ã€ŠGate of Godã€‹


 Chapter 1: Strange World

    Chapter 1: Strange World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Faint smoke and a thinyer of mist enveloped a small mountain town made from stone at the foot of the Cang Ling Mountain. As dawn broke, a light golden ray of light shone on the ground. It shone on a small courtyard in the vige, almost as if it was wrapping it up in a thin golden fabric...

    "God damn it... which damned idiot stole my Fire Plume Chicken!"

    An untimely scream broke the silence at dawn in this courtyard. It frightened a few of the lush green feathered, golden crowned birds.

    Fire Plume Chicken?

    It was still a chicken!

    ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯ curled his lips and shook the Fire Plume Chicken roasting on the rack. He nced at the clear river water next to him, then slowly retrieved a few rough yellow bags. He opened them, revealing red, white, grey... powders of various colors.

    These were all good stuff. The vige was not particr about food and didn¡¯t have much in terms of seasoning. Other than oil and salt, they did not have anything else. As such, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to risk his life to try seasoning made from various nts.

    Eating...

    Was one of the joys of life! However, ever since he came to this godforsaken ce, other than buns, he only had vegetables and steamed rolls. He couldn¡¯t even find a dumpling.

    In order to ensure that he continues growing, Fang Zhengzhi decided to eat something more substantial. Even though he was only six, he had the maturity of a 20 year old, and this made things rather unbearable for him.

    "Ssh!"

    Fang Zhengzhi smelt the aroma wafting from the meat and forcefully swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Then, he raised his head to look at the rising sun light up the sky, his youthful face sinking deep into thought.

    Being an ancient historian was a good profession. One could study the ancient annals, be adept in the ancientnguage, understand astronomy, geography, constetions, fate. asionally, when looking through some books, one could even learn about medicine in the ancient times.

    Yet...

    It wasn¡¯t of much use.

    The previous Fang Zhengzhi was still struggling after losing his job. Having been through hundreds of trials and tribtions, he had managed to travel to an ancient world. He thought that he could rise to fame here. Without considering anything else, just with his research into the ancient culture, he should have a chance to enter the imperial exam and be a schr right?

    Who would have thought...

    Having been here for more than a month, he realized that there was no imperial examination. They had no eight-legged essay, no ssics! It was apletely different world where even animals looked different.

    Fire Plume Chicken? Didn¡¯t it just have an especially long red feather on its tail? Even if itid red eggs, it is still just a chicken!

    Fang Zhengzhi greedily sniffed in all the aroma of the roasted meat, then began seasoning the Fire Plume Chicke. He put some ¡®chili¡¯ and some ¡®cumin¡¯ and ¡®honey¡¯...

    "I found you, you chicken thief!"

    A feminine voice scared Fang Zhengzhi so much he dared not straighten up. He remained hunched, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Getting caught was not a good situation to be in.

    What now?

    With such small arms and short legs, there was no way he could run. When he realized this, Fang Zhengzhi turned his neck in despair.

    He wanted to see who had caught him.

    After suffering a beating, at least he can find a chance to exact revenge. For example, he could use a stone to smash her window, or throw a few eggs at her...

    After seeing who it was, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    The person was a stranger, someone he had never seen before. The important point here was that she was about his age, probably about five plus, her white and tender face was adorned with features as exquisite as a doll. She wore a skirt with three white flowers on it. She had a jade green flower in her hair and golden thread shoes on her feet.

    At such a young age, one could already sense her perfection and aura transcended society. She was bound to be a beauty capable of wrecking an entire nation.

    Except...

    What was with her smile, her arms akimbo and her condescending expression?

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely unhappy, where did this little buggere from? What was she doing dressing up this way in such a poor, deste location?

    The more important thing was that she dared to look down on him?

    Even though he was also a little kid, his mental age was over 20! Notwithstanding anything else, he could easily beat anyone in knowledge.

    "Where did youe from little brat, scram! This is my chicken!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the roasted chicken exasperatingly.

    "Little thief, who are you calling a little brat?" Lolita¡¯s smile stiffened and her tiny fists were clenched.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw Lolita clench her fists tightly.

    Oh... is she looking for a fight?

    Fang Zhengzhiughed coldly. Even though he did not have much experience in this area, it would be a huge joke if he couldn¡¯t defeat a five year old girl.

    "If you still don¡¯t scram, I will whack you!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he needed to show this little girl the stern side of him, thus, he grit his teeth and red at her.

    It was a pity that with his infant like features, he looked like he was simply making a funny face.

    "Whack me?! Okay... ¡®Chi Guyan¡¯ epts your challenge, I would like to see what you have to offer!" Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s statement, she stiffened, an expression of excitement breaking out over her face.

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to react. Shouldn¡¯t Lolita be scared to tears and run away?

    What did she mean by what I had to offer.

    Ugh...

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could clear his thoughts, he felt a figure lunge at him. Shortly after, he felt a gust of wind next to him which blew his hair in all directions.

    What the heck? Almost subconciously, Fang Zhengzhi moved away from the rock he was sitting on and rolled to the side...

    "Boom!"

    A loud sound echoed out from behind him.

    When Fang Zhengzhi looked behind, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

    The green rock that he was sitting on was the size of a bucket. Now, there was a huge cavity in the middle of the rock, just above it was Lolita¡¯s fist, still in mid air.

    "F*ck... me!"

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely stunned.

    What could possibly be more shocking than a five year old girl splitting a bucket sized rock with her bare hands? Furthermore, more importantly, Lolita still looked fresh, her palms not even red.

    Reckless girl? The reincarnation of God?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brain exploded in an instant. He could not wrap his head around many things, was this world really that ridiculous? There weren¡¯t any extraordinary people in the vige. They were hard working, working from sunrise to sunset, but there was nothing special? At most there were a few groups of men who went hunting.

    The only difference between this world and the previous world was that everyone here was stronger and the beasts have morphed into various species. However, wasn¡¯t this rather normal for a low technology society?

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he was living in a peaceful generation...

    In the blink of an eye, he felt that his world had been turned upside down, yet, this was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that Lolita turned her sights on him again. Her eyes glimmered as if she had just found a new toy.

    Again? No way...

    What do I do if I can¡¯t beat her?

    Run!

    Even though the five year old girl may not be very smart, however, this was also the age where they did not know how to control their strength. Exining to her the importance of using the appropriate force for the appropriate asion didn¡¯t seem like a smart choice.

    There was no need to say anything else. He turned and ran, disregarding his Fire Plume Chicken, all he hoped for was that his short legs could run a little faster...

    "Humph, useless chicken thief!" Lolita miraculously didn¡¯t chase Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, she turned back to look at the aromatic roasted Fire Plume Chicken.

    "The mountains will not change, the rivers will not stop flowing, I will be back!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he could not give up his staturepletely.

    Even if he ran, he had to do so openly, and he had to leave sufficient reason to keep the person waiting in the same area for him.

    Lolita did not even look at Fang Zhengzhi, her big eyes staring at the sulent roasted Fire Plume Chicken.

    Then, she could not resist but bend over and sniff the chicken. Then, she opened her mouth and took a bite off the chicken wing. A surprised expression broke out on her face. She savored every bite of that delicious chicken.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi returned.

    He appeared behind Lolita like a gust of wind, a snicker curling on the edges of his lips as he raised a foot!

    He aimed it right at the girl¡¯s butt.

    Then he viciously...

    Kicked her!

    How could Lolita, still obsessed with her chicken, be able to react in time?

    "Plonk!" Lolita lurched forward and then fell into the clear river head first.

    "The weather is great today, the sun is bright, birds are chirping and the aroma of flowers fill the air. More importantly... it¡¯s great for a bath!" Fang Zhengzhi took the chicken in his hand, turned and sprinted away.

    "Thief, that¡¯s my chicken!" Lolita¡¯s voice could be heard from the river.

    "You think too much, this is my chicken!" Fang Zhengzhi corrected her, not turning back.

    "Damn!" Lolita leapt from the river, her agility like a snow leopard, however, she was still misty eyes. One could not tell if it was water or tears...

    "Kaboom!"

    "Chia!"

    A loud but cohesive sound could be heard from afar.

    "Ah! Oh my god! Miss... missus, what happened to you!" Ady, about 35 years old and wearing a traditional dress, screamed in horror as she ran over.

    Behind thedy was a cloud of smoke. That was a group of soldiers in shining armor. THeir armor had a crimson triangle emzoned on it, signifying their standing. They were 300 strong and all rode ck snow-able dragon stallions.

    These animals looked like horses, and they had the ferocity of a wild beast. However, they wererger than horses and grew jet ck fur. They were enveloped by white scales and it was said that they were the descendants of the dragons.

    The leader of the troop was someone wearing a ck armor decorated with clouds. He was bulky, had dark skin and looked to be in his forties.

    Looking at him gave people the shivers, the smell of fresh blood radiating from him.

    "I deserve to die!" The hulking man dismounted and kneeled on the ground. He was uncharacteristically respectful as he scanned the roasting rack and the few seasoning bags like a hawk.

    "What... is in that direction?" Lolita did not pay anymore attention to thedy or the man, instead pointing her tiny finger in the direction that Fang Zhengzhi had ran off in.

    "Replying missus, that is the Southern Mountain Vige!" The hulking man replied without hesitation.

    "Southern Mountain Vige? Okay then, we will go to the Southern Mountain Vige." Lolita replied then walked towards the sedan adorned with jewels just behind the man.

    "Missus, we still have to go to a few more cities on this trip? For a small vige like the Southern Mountain Vige..." Thedy immediately reminded Lolita of this. However, upon seeing the expression on the missus¡¯s face, she shut up immediately.

    "Each vige has its own uniqueness, we should not discriminate this way!" Lolita nced at thedy and leapt into the sedan.

    In the instant that Lolita leapt into the sedan, the water on her body seemed to be frozen in the air, falling to the ground only after the girl entered the sedan.

    "Missus is wise, I am ashamed not to have thought of that!" Seeing the puddle of water she left behind, the hulking man knelt on the floor, the respect on his face growing every minute.

    However, thedy was still confused, she murmured to herself, "Big Dao road, small Dao road... how does that link to the existence of countless lifeforms? And what link has this to going to the Southern Mountain Vige?"

    Even though she was confused, she still knew what to say as a servant.

    "Missus is wiser than us, you were able to read since three and understand the workings of the world. Now, I believe that no one will dare to bully you!" As she spoke, she grew prouder and prouder.

    Yet, Lolita who had entered the sedan shivered.

    No one dares to bully me?

    "Yue Er, you don¡¯t have toe on board, walk!"

    "Ah? Walk!" Thedy¡¯s face became bitter. She looked at the winding mountainous road to the Southern Mountain Vige and her expression quickly morphed to one of pain.

    "May I ask what special set up missus would like on this trip?" When the hulking man stood up, he nced again at the wooden rack by the river bank.

    "Add another preliminary exam!" Lolita¡¯s voice could be heard from inside.

    "Preliminary exam? What is the age restriction?"

    "Mm... six to eight."

    "Yes ma¡¯am!"

    ...

 Chapter 2: Conspiracy

    Chapter 2: Conspiracy

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    How big could the Fire Plume Chicken be? It could feed a family of three for two meals if eaten sparingly.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meal was extremely filling, and his tummy was full from it. He kept burping as he wiped off the oil from the corners of his mouth.

    He found a rock and rested there. He then cremated the rest of the bones, then surveyed his surroundings with hisrge ck eyes. After ensuring that he wasn¡¯t being followed, he hummed a tune as he strolled towards the city like an adult.

    "The mountain road here winds endlessly, and the rivers... ay?" The moment they reached the entrance to the vige, they heard conversations breaking out sporadically.

    "My god, the people from the Divine Monkey Pce havee to the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "God is looking over us! This is something that has never happened before, is the Southern Mountain Vige about to produce a prodigy with great morality and sense of justice?

    Monkey God Temple? [1]

    People wondered if they had any links to the Monkey God in Journey to The West.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the intense chatter about him. He raised his hand to wipe away the grease on his mouth and walked in the direction of his home...

    ...

    The Southern Mountain Vige got its name because it was just south of Cang Ling Mountain. It was a palm sized area, with only about a hundred families. In the grand scheme of things, it was a speck of dust on a vast beach.

    The entrance to the courtyard had a pile of firewood that the owner had harvested from the forest. Fang Zhengzhi asionally had the thought that a spark would be able to send the courtyard ¡®into the skies¡¯.

    "Dry wood, and a strong fire..."

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to hum and he quickly went around the gate of the courtyard. He turned to one of the side paths, walked about 10m and saw a green ceramic roofed building built from rock and sand.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s home in this world.

    "Vige elder, is it okay if we settle on this namelist for the imperial exam?

    "No that is not possible, vige elder!"

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi pushed open the wooden door, he heard the voices of twodies.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very familiar with these two voices. He could easily tell that the first voice wasing from thedy owner of the courtyard beside them. She was about 25-26 years old, slightly plump and loved to wear a red scarf.

    As neighbours, he was extremely familiar with theyout of her house. In order to improve the ¡®friendship¡¯ between neighbours, he had just gone over this morning.

    The second voice was from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mum in this world, "Qin Xuelian". She had great figure, and she lived up to her name, looking like the snow lotus from heaven. [1]

    How does someone like her marry someone like his dad?

    It was pure coincidence.

    It was said that his dad had ¡®identally¡¯ seen his mother naked. Then, being an ¡¯honest man¡¯, he began to tell everyone that he had already seen everything there was to see about Qin Xuelian. Since that was the case, wouldn¡¯t it be unfair to her future husband? He would have to live with such a guilty conscience, Yunyun...

    He had perpetrated the story for a full three years. Every vige within a ten mile radius knew about this. As a result, his mother needed to reconsider the impact to her reputation.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi felt that his father¡¯s ¡®honesty¡¯ was extremely shameless, he had to give props to his dad for being so persistent and spreading the story for three years.

    "Determined, he was very determined!"

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s looks were transcendent, her figure was slender, however, her clothes were clearly worn. The only new piece of fabric was the patch on her shorts.

    "Mum!" Fan Zhengzhi shouted in the voice of a child when he entered the room. He didn¡¯t like such a high pitched, childlike voice, but he was a child now.

    If he had the gruff voice of a thirty year old man, he believed even the gods would be shocked.

    "Ah darling, you¡¯re back, are you thirsty, have some water..." Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, Qin Xuelian set everything aside and brought him a cup of water.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not push it away either. Having eaten the Fire Plume Chicken, he was extremely thirsty and he gulped down the water.

    After putting down the cup and burping did Fang Zhengzhi realize that there was a guest in the house.

    This was an aged man with a long white beard and a long cigarette in his hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi recognized him as the vige elder of the Southern Mountain Vige!

    He was the leader of this utopia. He was the king here.

    The best example of his power was that all the game that the vigers brought back was to be rationed out by him.

    "Ms Fang, I still have to go and visit the other families, let¡¯s just settle with what Mrs Li has said! This time, when the Divine Constabryes to our vige, we must settle their food, drinks, and amodation. Mrs Li has also agreed to donate four ¡®Fire Plume Chickens¡¯, and provided us a huge stone house, thus, her child must be given priority on the list."

    The vige elder raised his huge hand and thumped his chest, then he put the cigarette in his mouth, took a deep puff and blew out a huge ring of smoke.

    "Isn¡¯t it just a Fire Plume Chicken? I can just go and borrow one now?" Qin Xuelian adjusted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cor and and her clothes as she prepared to go out.

    Fang Zhengzhi was curious, his mother had a huge ego, and would never ask for help from the neighbors unless it was absolutely necessary, why was she being so insistent? Now she wants to go out to borrow Fire Plume Chickens?

    "Ms Xuelian wants to go borrowing Fire Plume Chickens? Hahaha, did I hear that correctly? There are only so few Fire Plume Chickens in the vige. Now that the Divine Constabry ising to town, everyone is offering them up, where can you find any to borrow?"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was feeling confused, the plump Mrs Li¡¯s mouth twitched andughed. Sheughed so hard so that the fats on her body began to tremble.

    "This..." Qin Xuelian stopped in her tracks and frowned.

    "Sister Xuelian, listen to me, the Southern Mountain Vige has over a hundred families, and not every family can participate in the exam. The vige elder¡¯s arrangement is also for the good of the vige. Think about it, the Divine Constabry¡¯s examination is to test the power of the vige. If we don¡¯t produce good results, we may not even be able to set up our own ¡®school¡¯ here!" Mrs Li advised once again.

    Exam, selection, school...

    When he thought about the exam that was mentioned when he entered the room, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as he finally understood.

    The Divine Constabry was here to hold an exam and selection. Since not everyone in the vige could participate, the vige elder was the key person to butter up to.

    Except...

    Since the vige elder was the key person, what was Mrs Li doing in our home? It would seem that she wasn¡¯t too assured, and the only usible exnation there was they were co conspirators!

    They ganged up together to bully my mum? That was intolerable, Fang Zhengzhi did not like bullies, and he was the type to fight back if shoved!

    "Mrs Li, you can say that my family is unable to give any Fire Plume Chickens, but how can you say that my son cannot produce good results?" Qin Xuelian was okay with admitting that she was poor, but she would not ept anyone telling her that her son couldn¡¯t make it."

    "Okay, stop arguing, this matter is settled! The Li family has contributed significantly to the vige over the past few years. They have given up more of their game and it is only right that one of the slots for the exam be reserved for the Li Family. As for the preliminary examination... even though Zhengzhi is also of age, he is still slightly younger, and the Li¡¯s kid is a month older, let¡¯s give it to the Lis." The vige elder kept the cigarette and walked outside.

    How much difference would a month make?

    Any discerning person could tell that the vige elder was biased.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered as a thought shed past his mind, then, he ¡®innocently¡¯ voiced his opinion.

    "Mom, since the vige elder and Mrs Li have said that we must produce results at the imperial exams, why don¡¯t we have an internal selection test first?"

    [1] This actually refers to the Divine Constabry, however, due to the simrity between the Divine Constabry and the Monkey God Temple in mandarin, the MC mistook the Divine Constabry for the Monkey God Temple.

    [2] Mt Tianshan is also known as heaven, or snow mountain, in the Xin Jiang region.

 Chapter 3: Law of Dao

    Chapter 3: Law of Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was not loud, but it caused the vige elder, who was at the exit, to halt. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question was the one that he feared the most.

    If this was a question raised by an adult, the vige elder would have to think about it¡¯s implications. Under any normal circumstance, when faced with such a situation, they would have held apetition before deciding on the namelist. However, this was different, the peopleing were from the Divine Constabry and this chance was extremely rare.

    He felt the silver inside his pocket and his face paled and flushed at the same time. In the end, he grit his teeth and stepped forward, preparing to just exit without addressing the question. He was keenly aware that this was his only chance for him to get such a bribe/

    Mrs Li¡¯s expression was more normal. After all, she had given the silvers to the ¡¯biggest customer¡¯, and she was not afraid that the vige elder would go back on his word.

    "Aiya, what does a kid know? Where would we find the time to arrange a preliminary test? Your time would be better spent if your mother taught you a few more hunting techniques. This would ensure that you won¡¯t be skilless in the future..." Mrs Li tried to blow him off.

    "Hunting?" Fang Zhengzhi did not even let Qin Xuelian say anything. He immediately looked at Mrs Li innocently, "Mrs Li, I heard that you know everything about the mountains, then do you know which snake has the longest lifespan?"

    "Which snake has the longest life span?" Mrs Li stiffened as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, still looking at her naively, "Zhengzhi ah, this mountain has so many species of snakes, there is the Three Eyed Snake, the Lesser Snake, the Silver wed Snake... silly boy, who will know which snake has the longest lifespan?"

    Outside the door, the vige elder, who was preparing to leave, heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. He sighed internally, This kid was really silly, why was he caring so much about the lifespan of snakes? He should care more about the species and their attacks.

    "A pity, I wanted to tell you all the answer." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in disappointment.

    "Oh? You know?" Mrs Li was slightly amazed.

    The vige elder was also amazed, a six year old kid knows which snake has the longest lifespan? That¡¯s not very possible, even the oldest hunters in the vige could not be certain.

    "Mm, it is the ¡¯Snake¡¯ that doesn¡¯t wear out [1], don¡¯t you all know that?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the two people as if he was talking to idiots.

    "The ¡¯Snake¡¯ that doesn¡¯t wear out?!" Mrs Li was stunned when she saw a six year old kid look at her with those eyes. In that moment, her whole body started shivering.

    This little kid was scolding her? How could it be? How could a six year old kid think of such a way to chide others? No way, this must be something Qin Xuelian taught him.

    "You..."

    "Don¡¯t say anymore, let¡¯s go!" The vige elder was also trying to hold back his tongue. He could tell that whilst Fang Zhengzhi was insulting Mrs Li, he was also insulting the vige elder.

    Was he going to exert his dominance as vige elder? Bicker with a six year old?

    The vige elder still cared about his reputation. He had a guilty conscience, but when he thought about that man from the Fang family who never spoke...

    He didn¡¯t wait for Mrs Li to say anything, he just dragged her along and left.

    Mrs Li had wanted to say more, but if she were to speak whilst being dragged out by the vige elder, wouldn¡¯t she be proving that she indeed could not stop talking?

    In that moment, she bit back her tongue.

    After repeating this process a few times, Mrs Li was able to gain some distance between herself and the house.

    Qin Xuelian looked at the vige elder and Mrs Li ¡¯fleeing¡¯, and then she nced at the ¡¯innocent¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi. She was slightly amazed at where Fang Zhengzhi had learnt such a question, but her focus was still on the national exam name list.

    Because...

    She really couldn¡¯t just roll over and ept it.

    She grit her teeth and prepared to go chasing after them. Then, a coughing sound could be hearding from inside the house.

    "Don¡¯t chase them..." a sigh could be heard from inside the house.

    "They are obviously bullying people! Mrs Li must have bribed him! The four Fire Plume Chickens are not the point. Even though we are poor, I do not care about that. The Southern Mountain Vige has not had visitors in decades. Now that the Divine Constabry is here and holding a national exam for all six to eight year olds, Zheng Er is right, there needs to be a preliminary selection. How can the namelist be decided by the vige elder? If we go ording to age, Huzi from the Li Family is not even in line. I cannot let Zheng Er fall behind, this chance is so rare!"

    Qin Xuelian bit her lip as she stretched out her arm to grab Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed internally, chiding himself for being too young. His words did not carry any weight. In an instant, he felt his arm being gripped by Qin Xuelian and his mouth twitched.

    If you want to have a discussion, go ahead, why grab me so tightly?

    "It hurts..." Fang Zhengzhi could not extract his hand, he could only moan in protest.

    "Aish, Zheng Er ah, my heart hurts too. Previously, when the Blue Fire Wolf hade down from Cang Ling Mountain, if not for your dad protecting the vige and losing his arm in the process, the vige would have been destroyed. Back then, everybody hailed your dad as a hero, but before long, they began bullying us again. They give us less rations, poor housing, and are even trying to cut us off from the national exam!"

    When Qin Xuelian talked about the arm, she was clearly agitated and grabbed Zhengzhi¡¯s arm even tighter.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to swear, the veins in his arm popping out, his expression revealing a worry way past his years.

    His own mother, pretty, patient, gentle, virtuous, why is she is so naive and innocent? It is no wonder that after his father spread stories about her, she married him after a few years. Didn¡¯t I just say my arm hurt?

    "Don¡¯t say anymore, it is not good for the child to hear such things. Zheng Er is still little and he still has a long way to go. The fact that the Divine Constabry is here shows that they have taken notice of the Southern Mountain Vige. If they really set up a school here, then there is hope for the future of the Southern Mountain Vige!" Dad¡¯s voice boomed.

    "Hope? The hope is all for the others. Seeing the vige elder¡¯s attitude, even if the Divine Constabry sets up a school here, Zheng Er would never be recruited!"

    Qin Xuelian was fuming, and she gripped Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand tighter, almost lifting him off the ground.

    Mother, my mother, please don¡¯t be so ¡¯rough¡¯! Fang Zhengzhi was on the verge of tears. How could a mother bear to do this to her son?

    "Mother! Hand, my hand hurts..." Fan Zhengzhi felt that if he didn¡¯t voice out, his hand would be ruined.

    "Aiya, what happened to you? Who caused your hand to be like that?" Qin Xuelian looked down and saw a bruise on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm. She immediately thought that someone had bullied him just now.

    This hit a nerve and Qin Xuelian begun to sob.

    "Zheng Er ah, you are my only hope, you must remember that this world respects "Dao of all creation¡¯. Don¡¯t just think that the Li Family is strong now, but they are barbaric and uncouth!"

    "What is the Dao of all creation?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked as he looked up at his mother with curiosity.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the type who liked to live a carefree and leisurely life. However, the family was really poor, and meals were hard toe by. If she continued to live a carefree life, then they would only be bullied more and more.

    Carefree was carefree, but being carefree and bullied everyday made you aplete idiot.

    "The Dao of all creation is... haha, actually I am not sure either, but I know that the Dao of all creation originates from the "Law of Dao". So, Zheng Er, if you want to be strong, you must be educated and literate!"

    Educated and literate?! Is the key not cultivation?

    Fang Zhengzhi became more and more curious, what is the rtionship between getting stronger and being literate?

    "Mother, have you read the "Law of Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi regretted this the moment he asked it. His mother was illiterate, how could she have read the "Law of Dao"?

    "Haha, that¡¯s a good question, even though I have never read it, but when I was younger, when I passed by the city¡¯s schools, I eavesdropped on a few lines. However, I am illiterate and can¡¯t remember much, let me recall..."

    Qin Xuelian smiled cryptically, then cleared her throat. She put her right hand behind her back, raised her head, and pretended to be like a professor as she "imparted knowledge" to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Ahem, one of the chapters starts this way... yes, The Dao,which can be told, is not the true Dao; The Name,which can be named, is not the true Name... what¡¯s next? I forgot..."

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked when he realized that his mother knew the Dao of all creation, his eyes widened.

    The Dao,which can be told, is not the true Dao;

    The Dao of all creation? Isn¡¯t this the Dao De Jing from his previous life?

    "Zheng Er, please don¡¯t worry, I may have forgotten this chapter, but I remember another. The Emperors of the past created the Art of Invisibility. There are 4320ws. This is further split into 8 segements of the Bagua, each segment has three Qi, for a total of 24 Qi. Qi is made up of Earth, Heaven and Human factors, for a total of 72 factors..."

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart rate increased, isn¡¯t this the "Art of Invisibility"?

    "And then... hang on, I will tell you another, ahem..."

    Qin Xuelian smiled awkwardly, then seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blushing and stunned expression, confidence built up on her face. It would seem that her son was stunned by her knowledge?

    Being able to show off her "skills" in front of her son made Qin Xuelian contented. She cleared her throat and continued.

    "Confucius said, isn¡¯t it pleasant to practice what you¡¯ve learnt? Isn¡¯t it great when friends from afare to visit? Isn¡¯t part of being a gentleman not ming someone for not recognizing you?"

    Fang Zhangzhi heard his mother stumble through the sentences and he couldn¡¯t react in time. It was almost as if he was walking on a cloud, isn¡¯t this the "Confucian Analects"?

    How could this world have the teachings of Confucius and Mencius? They even had the ssics? Was this a coincidence?

    Furthermore, what is the link between the Law of Dao and the Dao of all Creation?

    Hang on...

    If his mother did not recall wrongly, this world did not have the ssics, and did not have the annals because all of them were amalgamated in the Law of Dao!

    As a history researcher and graduate, Fang Zhengzhi did not dare say that he memorized the entire Law of Dao, but he did know it pretty well.

    He was going to be sessful! Not even god could stop him now!

    "Erm erm...."

    Fang Zhengzhi recited a passage of the Tao Te Ching in his head, then, he raised his hand in the sky and shouted, "Dao of all Creation,e to me!"

    "..."

    In an instant, the sky was still as blue as before, the ground just as it was. The only thing that changed was Qin Xuelian¡¯s expression. She was stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi blushed...

    What was going on? Was there something wrong with the scene? What went wrong?

    Qin Xuelian was stunned. When she looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, she recalled how her son had just chided the vige elder and Mrs Li with a question. Her expression darkened, "Come here quickly! Could Zheng Er be... possessed?"

    [1] The mandarin word for snake has a simr pronunciation as the mandarin word for tongue. In this case, the MC is leveraging the word snake to rte it to a mandarin phrase which means a tongue that does not wear out. He is insulting Mrs Li for talking too much rubbish.

 Chapter 4: Itâ€™s Lonely At The Top

    Chapter 4: It¡¯s Lonely At The Top

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    "Possessed?!"

    Some fear still lingered in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart. After a herculean effort, he finally managed to pin this "crime" onto Mr Youfang, who passed by Southern Mountain Vige several days ago. That¡¯s how he managed to escape from the house.

    However, this raised some rms in his heart. He was only six years old, there were times where he should keep a low profile. If he was really deemed as possessed....

    Thinking back on what he saw long ago: drinking talisman water; crucified; burned and buried alive....Fang Zhengzhi heart felt an icy chill. Though he was not sure whether this world had such "torture".

    The smart move was to be cautious.

    After strolling around within the flow of the crowd, he somehow ended up in the vige square. Gazing upon thepact crowd, Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback.

    The square, which was normally used to distribute the hunted quarry, was currently surrounded by lively vigers. On the west side, there was a one meter high stage made from lumber. Therge stage was carpeted with bright red cloths.

    In the middle of the carpet, three wooden chairs covered with premium hide and pelts were in a triangr arrangement.

    The one in the centre was a redwood chair with a carved beast head. On top of the chair was a fur pelt with silvery fine hair on the sides and fiery red fur in the middle.

    This pelt was the first thing Fang Zhengzhi focused on. He was immediately entranced by it. Those pitch ck eyes shone with brilliance. He had never seen such a skin before. Not only did he not see this before, he was quite sure, from the quality, that this did not belong to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    "That is an amazing thing. If I had this pelt, my family will turn rich overnight. Should I take it and run?" When this thought shed across in his mind, he quickly rejected it.

    With his short legs, it was possible that he would be caught even before he had a chance to run. At that moment, his little bottom would definitely split open from the spanking.

    As he was thinking about this, a shadow veiled his face.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" A stocky kid wearing a pair of open-crotch pants was ring straight at him. The kid was holding a chicken drumstick with one hand and wiping his oily mouth with the other.

    Blocked by a six year old little brat. Furthermore, he looked as reckless as a bull. Fang Zhengzhi had a hard time epting this situation .

    Adults are hard to deal with but same aged brats was definitely no problem. He could easily outsmart the kid.

    "What¡¯s up?" Fang Zhengzhizily replied.

    "Heard from my mom that you were not happy that I qualified for the kid¡¯s test? Saying that you want to test me? This Little Lord would like to ask you, do you dare to go head to head with me!" The little brat waved his sturdy arm as he yelled, showcasing his strength to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi lips twitched. This Li Huer was his neighbour Aunt Li¡¯s precious baby boy. Although not as smart, he did not had the same amount of meat intake. The brat¡¯s physical strength would definitely overpower him.

    "Aren¡¯t you preparing for the kid¡¯s test? Aren¡¯t you scared that any injuries might affect your results?" Fang Zhengzhi advised with concern

    Li Huer paused. His mind wobbling as he inwardly agreed. It would be real bad if he was injured. Hence, he heeded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s advice.

    "Instead of fighting, we canpete in something else!

    "You definitely won¡¯t beat me in running..." Fang Zhengzhi lead on with a mask of worry.

    "Who said I can¡¯t outrun you. Let¡¯s race now if you dare!" Lin Huer was obviously not convinced.

    "Alright. Can you see that piece of hide on the stage over there? Let¡¯s see who can steal it first," Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the brightly coloured hide in the middle of the stage.

    "Fine!" Li Huer instantly started nodding his head like chicken pecking on rice, turning towards the stage.

    He was truly a ignorant until the point of bravery. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart went out to him. After that, just as Li Huer was prepared to charge like a madman, he opened his mouth once again.

    "Wait a minute!"

    "What¡¯s the matter? Chickening out so early?" Li Huer stopped his feet and looked back at Fang Zhengzhi with a face of doubt.

    "Nope. Hand over the drumstick before you go, in case you have difficulty climbing upter," Fang Zhengzhi once again advised.

    Li Huer¡¯s eyeball tumbled in their sockets as he thought that by giving the drumstick to Fang Zhengzhi, he would definitely loseter on!

    "Oh, okay!" Li Huer unhesitantly agreed. He never thought of the much serious problem of whether he would still get his drumstick back after giving it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that, the drumstick reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Right after this, Li Huer was hysterical like a little piglet released from its cage, making a mad dash for the stage.

    Those movements, madness, boldness had absolutely no trace of hesitation...

    Let it be known that Li Huer¡¯s speed was surprisingly fast. Those vigers that surrounded the stage did not even had time to react before he slid past and went up the stage. Without even a gasp for air, he straight away grabbed the pelt on the chair and open it up to show Fang Zhengzhi with a victorious grin.

    However, it¡¯s self-evident what was going to happen next.

    Just as Li Huer was draping the pelt andughing out loud, a few of the vigers were starting to react.

    An open-crotch pants offered no protection against a harsh palm.

    Those few vigers had the same movements, madness and boldness that showed absolutely no hesitation...

    The crisp p connected with Li Huer¡¯s small bottom.

    "Ouch! Oh...Ah..." The continuous shrill of his voice clearly tranted his current mood.

    "Aih, it¡¯s lonely at the top." Fang Zhengzhi raised his head to soak in the rays from the sun and started munching on the drumstick in hisbhands...

    ...

    The official tests had started among the cries of Li Huer¡¯s cries of agony.

    The sounds of gongs and drums signaled the arrival of a few hundred soldiers d in shiny armor. They were riding onrge creatures with fine ck fur covering their entire bodies and their four limbs wrapped in white scales, appearing in the square smoothly and orderly.

    Almost half of the square was instantly upied.

    Those thunderous steps shocked the vigers so much that they unconsciously stepped back.

    "Aren¡¯t they riding on Snow Tredding Dragon Stallions?!"

    "Tsk tsk...they definitely are! Only the Divine Constabry are capable of raising Snow Tredding Dragon Stallions. Rumour has it that they can eat several kilograms of meat in a single meal."

    "So much? Won¡¯t my pockets be eaten dry with just a few meals?"

    "You? Haha...You are not even worth one Snow Tredding Dragon Stallion!"

    Groups of vigers in shabby clothes gathered on either sides of the army, whispering and pointing at those soldiers. There were much discussion.

    "Quick, look. They are carrying something. What could it be?"

    "God knows. Since this is cargo from the Divine Constabry, it must be something priceless!"

    There were some noise and all of the vigers¡¯ attention shifted the front of the troops. There was a mysterious object being carried by eight burly soldiers.

    A satin-like gold cloth material that was ced on the top that concealed the mysterious object. It was shimmering under the sun.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally noticed this as well. From his perspective, his eyes could see that the object carried by the eight soldiers was about two meters high but he could not estimate it¡¯s width.

 Chapter 5: Fleeting Like A Snowflake

    Chapter 5: Fleeting Like A Snowke

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    With the unyielding march of the eight soldiers, that golden drapery asionally pped in the wind. This allowed Fang Zhengzhi a peek inside the darkness. Other than the darkness, there was a certain gold sparkle that flickered from within.

    It was uncertain whether it was just a reflection of the golden drapery.

    "Everyone quiet down!"

    At this moment, the revered Vige Chief appeared from the crowd with a smile as he stroked his beard while holding a smoking pipe.

    "Southern Mountain Vige Chief Meng Bai wees honourable guests from the Divine Constabry!"

    "En, I¡¯m on a tight schedule. If everyone¡¯s here, then let¡¯s quickly get started!" Arge man wearing a ck Ripple Armour with a no-nonsense face stepped out from behind the mysterious object. He was greeted the Vige Chief with an impatient wave.

    "Yes, yes. This old man will make it quick. I humbly invite General Li to take a seat in the stage," Chief Meng Bai said without letting down his smile a single inch.

    "Fine." General Li nodded his head and looked at those eight soldiers by his side.

    "Put that thing up there."

    "Yes, sir!" the eight soldiers responded simultaneously. Then, with a single effortless leap, theynded firmly on the stage.

    This scene gave Fang Zhengzhi a mild shock. This world was indeed different. Eight soldiers were able to clear a one meter high stage while carrying arge weight?

    The vigers on the ground was also bbergasted by the eight soldiers feat.

    "They are indeed men from the Divine Constabry!"

    "But of course. Can¡¯t you see the red triangr marks on their armour? If I¡¯m not wrong, those are from the ¡®Red Pinion Squad¡¯!"

    "Red Pinion Squad?! Rumour is that you have to at least sessfully ¡®ess Dao¡¯. essing Dao meant that they would be among the men in the big-league that controlled the Dao of All Creation!"

    Hearing this viger¡¯s exnation, the others instantly gave envious looks at those eight soldiers on stage.

    At this moment, Vige Chief Meng Bai gave a grin and clumsily climbed the side of the stage to get on top. He faced the vigers engaged in heated discussion, waved his smoking pipe and cleared his throat.

    "Folks! With the honoured ones from Divine Constabry here, good fortune awaits us in the Southern Mountain Vige. At the Divine Constabry, lovely flowers in full bloom carpet their grounds. The Divine Constabry is the hope of the Southern Mountain Vige. The Divine Constabry is amazing. The Divine Constabry..."

    Listening to the "refined speech" that Vige Chief Meng Dai was straining his voice to deliver, Fang Zhengzhi finally came to an understanding why Southern Mountain Vige was so poor...

    Please. Even if it was ass-kissing, couldn¡¯t he made it more subtle? Why not use metaphors? As ast resort, even a fable would be more appropriate.

    ...

    On the stage, General Li was fidgety as he sat on the chair on the left. His hands was incessantly tapping the handle of the chair. He was trying his utmost to put up with the Vige Chief as he stared at him shooting spit from his mouth.

    As a general of an army, he appreciated the frankness of vigers but not this kind of tant ass kissing.

    The other soldiers were currently poised straight in the original position like javelins stuck in the ground. The only thing was that their face more or less showed some irritation.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the vige square. Fortunately, Meng Bai lived for many decades. Although his cultural refinement was low, he could at least notice minute details of the crowd.

    After free ying on the stage for more than ten minutes, he finally puffed from his smoking pipe and exhaled a light cloud of smoke.

    "Alright. Let us begin the first round of testing. Those selected please form up two. On the left will be the kid¡¯s test and on the right will be the official test. Let¡¯s line up one by one and take turns for the assessment!"

    Just as he finished, there were already a few dozen people walking out from the crowd. The two lines began the form within the chaos.

    The number of participants for this round of testing was just over forty. After splitting into the kid¡¯s test and official test, there were only about twenty in each line.

    Although it was a messy scene, the lines were formed pretty quickly...

    The General Li on the stage and the other soldiers all let out a sigh.

    Fang Zhengzhi was curious after listening to Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s instructions. Assessment? What methods of assessment did this world use?

    By squeezing through the gaps in the crowd, he managed to squeeze to the front. He then saw a familiar body. At this moment, Li Huer was held by arge fellow as he queued. That man was wearing a beast hide; glossy bronze skin and arms pulsing with veins.

    In the front of the line, a few soldiers were making some preparation.

    That fellow was the old man of Li Huer. The Deputy Captain of the Southern Mountain Vige Hunting Squad, Li Zhuangshi.

    Li Huer eye¡¯s were roaming around while wearing a intimidating face. He immediately saw the Fang Zhengzhi who was at the front of the crowd. He was just given a harsh spanking yet he saw Fang Zhengzhi still holding that drumstick. His mood started to boil. He stood in line but he was continuously hand signing and mouthing words at Fang Zhengzhi.

    From reading his lips, he seemed like he was saying, "When I done with this test, you¡¯re finished!"

    Fang Zhengzhi calmly stared at Li Huer. Then he put the drumstick in his mouth, tore and chomped on the meat, smearing his mouth with grease.

    Li Huer instantly exploded.

    His slightly tanned cheeks was red from suppressing his rage. He swung out his arms ready to leave the queue.

    Suddenly, a open hand struck his bottom.

    "Behave! If you little brat dare to fool around again, I will break your legs!"

    Li Zhuangshi had no where to put his face today. His own son yed "Robber" in front of the whole vige. If not for the fact that Li Huer was only six, the vigers would have sent him for at least 30 harsh paddlings instead just a little spanking.

    The first subject of assessment piqued Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s curiosity.

    Because...

    After the soldiers were done with preparations, they realised it was actually for blood drawing! This just felt like a body check from his previous life. What could be the use for this?

    As Fang Zhengzhi was trying to figure this out, the vigers around started speaking.

    "If our Southern Mountain Vige could produce a "Xuan Heavenly Dao Body", that would be a miracle!"

    "Xuan Heavenly Dao Body?! How can that be? Don¡¯t mention our vige. I don¡¯t even think the whole of the Northern Lands have a second Xuan Heavenly Dao Body. This test by the Divine Constabry is mainly to sieve out anyone from the ¡®Demon Race¡¯ that sneaked inside...

    Fang Zhengzhi was once again moved by the wonders of this world. There was actually a Demon Race? What¡¯s the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body all about? Did he have it? iling his arms, it seemed unlikely that he had such luck.

    He gave up after that...

    Six year olds getting their arms pulled by the soldiers to draw blood was definitely not a gentle gesture. As a result, this more or less scared these children out of their wits. One by one, they started bawling.

    The square suddenly got a lot noisier

    When it¡¯s Li Huer¡¯s turn, the same could not be said about him.

    Li Huer just exposed his arm and stared down unflinchingly at the long drawing tube that was in the soldier¡¯s hands. He did not mind the blood that was drained from his arm with a hard face of fearlessness.

    After the blood was drawn, Li Huer once again tried to intimidate Fang Zhengzhi with his side re.

    The meaning behind was obvious. Did you see that? This little lord was born fearless. I would never cry!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips slightly curled and he opened his mouth.

    His crow-ck eyes blinked and looked at the totally oblivious Li Huer with an extremely confused look.

    "Why did Big Brother Huer not cry? The other big brothers all cried except for you. Is it because you see the people at the Divine Constabry as one of a kind idiots?"

    Although Fang Zhengzhi voice at the front of the crowd was not that loud, it clearly caught the ear of the Li Zhuangshi that was still in the queue.

    After drawing his blood, his eyes swept over the kids that were vigorously crying. Then he looked that the Li Huer by his side who was currently blinking blindly and puffing up his mouth.

    His heart rate immediately shot up.

    The words from a six year old child had no intentions. Although not crying would beplimented as bravery to familiar people, the people from the Divine Constabry was anything but.

    What if those people misunderstood?

    This possibility might not be high but it was not impossible. If they really misunderstood, the repercussions would be enormous!

    Thinking about this, Li Zhuangshi blinked at Li Huer signalling for him to cry...

    Li Huer was currently smugly puffing out his cheeks, showing off his bravado and fearlessness to Fang Zhengzhi. He totally did not notice the look his father threw him.

    Li Zhuangshi was getting uneasy. Looking around at the soldiers drawing blood, he saw some weird looks.

    He raised his hand and struck hard across Li Huer¡¯s cheeks.

    "p!" Sweet and crisp for the ears.

    Li Huer¡¯s expression instantly froze, the arrogant expression did not even have time to disappear. He raised his head at Li Zhuangshi dumbfounded. He really did not understand what did he do wrong?

    From Li Huer¡¯s dumbfounded expression, it was clear that Li Zhuangshi¡¯s heart was cold as steel.

    If others saw this expression, they would immediately assume he¡¯s a clear idiot.

    With no hesitation to quickly achieve the desired effect, he raised his right hand high up and struck down again a second time.

    "p!" This time it was even heavier.

    The resounding p echoed throughout the whole square.

    "Cry! Are you dumb?" After the p, he was desperate for Li Huer to fulfil his wish.

    Li Huer tried to stifle his cries. However, the burning pain was too much for him to bear.

    "Wa!"

    The pitiful screams that pierced the heavens finally came out.

    Fang Zhengzhi let out a light sigh. He slightly raise his head to the skies with a trace of deep sorrow.

    "Life is always fleeting like a snowke..."

    ...

 Chapter 6: Off Game

    Chapter 6: Off Game

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The process of drawing bloodpleted amongst the cries of the children. After that, a meticulous and systematic check by the soldiers, the results were announced.

    There were no anomalies.

    All forty plus Southern Mountain Vige candidates had no Demons. What about the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body? There were no such luck. Everyone was rejected.

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered someone saying that there was not a second Xuan Heavenly Dao Body in the whole of the Northern Lands.

    Wait a minute. A second one? Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realised the hidden meaning. Who was the first person? Just as he was about to ask, he realised everyone was already fixated on the second part of the tests.

    The orderly soldiers hustled to carry a row of three legged ck cauldrons in front of the stage.

    Under the supervision of the soldiers, the candidates started to lift the cauldrons.

    Looks like it was apetition of strength or was there some other passing criteria? Fang Zhengzhi gathered his thoughts and tried to figure out in his heart.

    Out of nowhere, he heard the sound of crying...

    One look and he saw that it was Li Huer once again. Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled. He did not mess with him just now so what was happening?

    He figured it out after taking a closer look. The Li Huer who carried high hopes crumpled in front of the twenty-five kilogram three legged ck cauldron.

    Could it because of the p that he endured? Or was he just off his game?

    Fang Zhengzhi faintly remembered Li Huer once lifted one Great Jade Rock. Twenty-five kilogram was definitely not a problem or was it? Could he really be just off his game?

    A p from Li Zhuangshi answered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s queries.

    "Scram! You good for nothing brat!"

    After throwing that p, a kick connected with Li Huer¡¯s butt. His whole body rolled into the crowd like a football.

    After that, Li Zhuangshi¡¯s eyes suddenly was filled with sharp determination. Almost as if to recover all the face he lost today, he gave a loud roar and strided towards the two hundred and fifty kilogramrge cauldron.

    "Heh! Ri...rise for me!"

    The veins bulged on the his powerful arms; the muscles on his back swelled. Without much struggle, the two hundred and fifty kilogram big ck cauldron responded to themand and rised.

    "That¡¯s more like it!"

    "Deputy Captain Li really helped the Southern Mountain Vige to earn some recognition!"

    "Two hundred and fifty kilograms! That is such an immense strength!"

    The vigers swiftly broke into a cheer.

    The Vige Chief on the stage finally smiled at therge cauldron being lifted sky-high. That wrinkled old face lightened as if the sun was right below him.

    "What¡¯s the name of the person?" General Li opened his mouth upon seeing this scene.

    "Replying General. This is the Deputy Captain of the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s Hunting Squad. His name is Li Zhangshi!" Chief Meng Bai respectfully replied immediately after hearing this.

    "Not bad. He has the raw strength. He haven¡¯t even ess Dao yet he managed to lift two hundred and fifty kilogram. He has great potential. He passed this round!" General nodded. To be able to lift the two hundred and fifty kilogram of ck cauldron proved that his physical strength was definitely notcking.

    "Passed?!" tion burst from Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face after he heard this.

    Someone from this vige passed? This was the greatest happiness under the heavens. Futhermore, it¡¯s the Divine Constabry? If the people from the Divine Constabry really took a fancy, then they would definitely bemitted to grooming him. By then, even the whole of the Southern Mountain Vige might benefit from some of the glory.

    "He might have passed this round but the next round will be up his performance in that round!" General Li patiently exined after realising that Chief Meng Bai misunderstood the situation.

    "Yes, yes, of course. General Li is right. Performance. Let¡¯s see his performance in the next round. Haha..." Chief Meng Bai bobbed his head up and down yet there was no way he could hide that smile on his face.

    It¡¯s the Divine Constabry. Just the thought itself was exciting!

    The some of the vigers below the stage also heard the news. They, too, became abnormally fired up, feeling as if they were the ones that passed the round.

    At that moment, the crowd became boisterous.

    "Mrs Li, your man sure is amazing!"

    "The Li Family sure have it now. The people from Divine Constabry has taken a fancy on you. In the future, your status would rocket up!"

    "Definitely. This is the Divine Constabry we are talking about!"

    The group of women surrounding Mrs. Li was chattering away, sending their congrattions. Some even proposed having their daughters to be betrothed to Li Huer.

    This immediately caused Mrs. Li¡¯s smile to blossom. The fuming mood that was caused by her son¡¯s incapabilities vanished into the clouds.

    "Huer is still young, still young..." Mrs. Li maintained with a smile. She was so ecstatic that her mouth just could not close.

    Following this, Southern Mountain Vige asionally had some that passed too. However, they all only lifted the two hundred kilogramrge ck cauldron but it was pass albeit barely.

    In the end, the official test had three qualifiers. Meanwhile, the kid¡¯s test was going strong. Quite a few seven and eight year-olds forced out all their brawns, lifting the small ck cauldrons over their heads one by one. This really surprised the General Li who was sitting in his chair.

    "The children in your vige are not half bad!"

    "General Li, you are too ttering. Our vigers have lived in the Southern Mountains for generations and hunted for a living. We may not have much but we do have hardiness!" Chief Meng Bai was extremely delighted today because his eight year old grandson managed to sessfully join the qualifier queue. His heart was swimming in honey.

    As more people passed, the square got steadily more enthusiastic. Many vigers were going to the family members of those who passed to express their congrattions.

    Fang Zhengzhi held the half eaten drumstick, standing in the crowd leisurely looking on. He did not see his own mother, Qin Xuelian. Obviously, she was still fuming at home.

    There was nothing he could do about that.

    There was snag in his ns. The legendary incantation was not particrly easy to use. After meditation with the "Law of Dao", the Dao of All Creation did not sessfully assimte into his body. This meant that he was still just another average little brat.

    The physical assessment in the second round did not take up much time. The test for more than forty people waspleted swiftly. Three adults and five children managed to move on to the next round.

    Seeing the eight qualifiers lined up, General Li finally stood up from his seat.

    Chief Meng Bai saw and immediately waved his pipe, signalling everyone to be quiet.

    "Ahem. Here at the Southern Mountain Vige today, I was pleasantly surprised. I never thought there would so many exceptional talents in this ce. Well then, the next round will be thest round and the most important one. Regardless whether you pass or not, this general hopes that all of you can persevere down this path."

    After his speech, the crowd becamepletely silent. Everyone was holding their breath, pumped up for the start of thest round.

    "Before this round starts, I want to say something. I believe that everyone knows, our Great Xia Dynasty revere the Dao of All Creation. So today I shall demonstrate the power of the Dao of All Creation!"

 Chapter 7: Dao of All Creation

    Chapter 7: Dao of All Creation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As General Li was talking, two soldiers swiftly brought a gigantic jade rock in front of him.

    Everyone looked on silently. Not one person dared to make a noise.

    The Dao of All Creation.

    It was exhrating just to think about it. That was a power that only possessed by great people. Everyone who controlled the Dao of All Creation was immortalised in the record books by the dynasty. They became man among men, enjoying great rewards from the dynasty.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was locked onto General Li. He also would like to know what was this Dao of All Creation about.

    "Release!"

    With a light exhale, General Li got into action. His eyes lit up, right foot stepped forward forcefully, and directly struck the jade rock with his open palm.

    "Boom!"

    With a loud st, the whole rock erupted into countless small debris.

    All the vigers was all stunned by this scene. In their hearts, a person who could lift hundreds of kilogram of the ck cauldron was already extremely impressive. To break apart a giant rock with bare hand was something that they dare not think about.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly disappointed.

    "This is the Dao of All Creation? Shouldn¡¯t this be just called...Cleaving Huashan[1] Redux- Bare Palm Smashes Large Rock?" Fang Zhengzhi saw the broken pieces of the jade rock feeling a bit cheated.

    He still remembered the runaway Lolita at the vige entrance was also using the same move.

    What general of the Divine Constabry had such standards? Thumbs down!

    As Fang Zhengzhi was deep in thought with a pout, those jade rock gravel split further and further into even smaller pieces.

    This time shock shone through his eyes.

    It was still moving? Could it be that the power of that palm strike was still propagating? Fang Zhengzhi was baffled. ording to reality, shouldn¡¯t it be over when the strikended?

    However...

    "Eh?! This...Does it have to be this exaggerated?"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even have time to figure out the cause behind this when those gravel undergoing the continuous breakdown was turned into a pile of dust!

    If it was just one palm breaking apart a jade rock, Fang Zhengzhi would not have been this dumbfounded. He would have just thought that this world¡¯s martial arts power was slightly higher. After all, his previous life¡¯s hero novelsmonly featured such feats.

    What about a palm strike that turned rock into dust? Wasn¡¯t this a bit too fantastical?

    No matter how the power was exerted, it should not be possible to reduce the rock to such an extent. What was left on the stage was pure rock dust without a single gravel in sight. How did he controlled it to such an extent?

    Could this be the legendary Bone Crunching Soft Palm? But this only crunched bones.

    "Assemble!"

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi was muddled with questions, General Li aggressively shifted his leg back and lightly huffed at the jade rock dust. At the same time, he swiftly took back his outstretched palm.

    Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled. The boulder was struck into dust, yet what was this General Li trying to do?

    Assemble?

    What did that meant?

    The confusion was fleeting. Soon, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s jaws dropped. It was big enough to fit his small fist inside it. There¡¯s was no way he was wrapping his head around this inexplicable scene.

    Because...

    The gravel that was once broken down into dust seemed like it was given life. It was steadily fusing together. Those rock dust was actually moving by themselves like a magic show. From dust to gravel, and from gravel to palm-sized pebbles.

    Finally...

    "ck!" With this light click, it was reformed into the gigantic jade rock!

    "Fuck...What the hell is this?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was panicked for a moment. A palm strike to the rock split it into dust just gave his small heart a little jump. It was at most a confirmation that this world¡¯s martial arts power was higher than he expected.

    It might be because of some kind of peerless martial arts style or a secret art that was passed down through generations.

    But a rock that broke into dust was reassembled back? This was totally going against the any form ofmon sense!

    Even if he was sent back to his previous life, with even the most advanced technology, he would have no way of sticking back all the dust to form a rock. Furthermore, it was exactly the same rock from before!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that his view of the world was just tipped on its side. This world was unexinable. In this world, how was it possible to reverse the splitting of a rock?

    The Dao of All Creation?

    Fang Zhengzhi had never been so disturbed by a single event.

    He once again rubbed his eyes hard. The gigantic jade rock was still sitting right on top of the stage, shimmering lightly under the sun...

    "This is the Dao of All Creation!"

    The General Li on the stage exhaled lightly, pointing at the jade rock with a serene expression and announced loudly to the speechless crowd.

    The whole square was incredibly silent, not one person was talking, The light breeze flowed pass, bringing a wave of fine sand that went into some vigers¡¯ eyes. Yet, their eyes were still opened wide like bells£­unflinching.

    This was the calm before the storm. After the calm, came a sh flood of epic proportions.

    As if a zing pile of firewood, the whole square waspletely amed with discussion. Everyone was bursting with barely restrained excitement.

    "Dao of All Creation!"

    "That¡¯s so powerful. I also want to control the Dao of All Creation!"

    "Mummy, I will work hard. Once I can control the Dao of All Creation, I too will be a man among men!"

    The vigers were getting roused, especially Li Zhuangshi and the others who had passed the round. Their face was flushed red from the thrill. Seeing General Li on stage, they could almost picture themselves in the same spot.

    Simrly, Fang Zhengzhi also had a strong desire.

    Dao of All Creation?! How does one even control the Dao of All Creation? If the source of it was the "Law of Dao", he already studied and understood a portion of its contents.

    Why was it not working? What was the problem?

    "Now everyone , you have just witnessed the power of the Dao of All Creation. I believe that everyone hoped that one day you could obtain such power. However, there is one thing I must tell you. To control the Dao of All Creation is hard, incredulously hard! It can be said that there isn¡¯t even a ten thousand to one chance. To control the Dao of All Creation, other than having a good foundation, there must be fate!"

    After reaching this point, General Li paused. He swept across the exceedingly enthusiastic vigers with eagle eyes.

    "To obtain it, you need effort. To control it, you need understanding! Understand the source of all creation. Understand the nature of all creation. Understand the different existence in the world, like: mountains, water, rock, flowers, grass, trees, wood, sun, moon, stars... Everything about everything. They are all creations. Some alive, others are not. Their lives, age, sickness, deaths. How are they formed? How will they be destroyed?"

    "All of thises from the "Law of Dao". One book of "Law of Dao" covers all creation under the heavens! To control the Dao of All Creation, other than a strong mind and body, it more importantly requires a determination to umte, to study the "Law of Dao, to understand all creations!"

    "After all that I said, did all of you understand?" At the end of his speech, his body instinctively emitted an invisible but incredible pressure.

    "Understand!" All the vigers under this pressure unconsciously shout their reply in unity simr to General Li¡¯s subordinates.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not yell as he was currently lowering his head thinking about General Li¡¯s words.

    To control, there must be understanding. The source of the Dao of All Creation is the "Law of Dao". A single book of the "Law of Dao" exins all creations under the heavens!

    Understanding, understanding...

    Understood!

    Finally, he understood. The "Law of Dao" was only the foundation for the Dao of All Creation, simr to the roots of a tree. If you nted the tree on a rock, it would probably die. If the tree was to live and bear fruits, then other than nting it in soil, there had to be enough nutrients, a suitable climate and meticulous care. When all criteria are met, the tree would flower and bear fruits.

    The "Law of Dao" is the roots, the source and it is essential! There Dao of All Creation would be the fruits!

    His current situation was like owning a nice plot ofnd. It was equivalent to a stable foundation. In a sense, he was already ahead of most people.

    Of course, he still could not bepared to the runaway Lolita. If his guess was right, that runway Lolita had already essed Dao.

    essing Dao at the age of five? Who exactly was that girl?

    Then...

    What he needed to do next was simple. Other than developing his plot ofnd, he had to wait for fate, then the fruits would bear?

    The question was, did he have the fate?

    "Very good. The next round of the Divine Constabry test will begin now. The name of this round is ¡®Fate¡¯!" General Li gave a satisfying nod as he faced the vigers.

    [1]- Á¦Åü»ªÉ½: a move in a China made game called "ÃÎ»ÃÎ÷ÓÎ"

 Chapter 8: Illustration of All Creation

    Chapter 8: Illustration of All Creation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fate?!" All of the vigers were stunned, unable toprehend what General Li said. Fate? How could fate be tested?

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused as well.

    The fate as foretold in the legends would appear just like that? Did it have toe now? I¡¯m not prepared for this! Mainly because I¡¯m only six.I¡¯m not even matured yet.

    "Open it!" General Li ordered the eight soldiers carrying the mysterious object without much exnation.

    "Yes sir!" The eight soldiers replied in unison.

    After that, the eight soldiers walked towards the side of the object simultaneously. They stretched out their hands, grabbed the gold drapes that covered the object and gently unveil it.

    "What is that?"

    "Could it be...the Illustration of All Creation?! My god, thest round is actually the Illustration of All Creation."

    When the giant jade b that was made entirely of pitch ck jade was revealed, every viger was dumbfounded. Everyone was staring the jade b like deers caught in headlights.

    Especially those that passed the second round. They had eyes opened wide like saucers staring at it, afraid to miss even a second of it.

    On the pitch ck jade rock, light gold shimmers flowed along the surface. Those are countless of gold lines. There were characters and also figures that had an intricateplexity. From the top, these extended all the way to the bottom.

    As the lines progressed bottom, the characters and figures got moreplicated. From the initial simple characters and simple squares and circles, it slowly changed to aposite of squares and circles. Finally, the stars, sun, moon and a myriad of other figures and characters...

    At the most bottom was a portrait of a immensely expansive mountains and rivers scenery.

    General Li gave a small smile and a slight cough after seeing the expressions on the vigers¡¯ face.

    "That¡¯s right! This is the Illustration of All Creation! Although this was one with the lowest quality, without an strong and solid foundation, it would still be impossible to solve. The Illustration of All Creation is fate, and it is also the gate!"

    "To pass the final selection by the Divine Constabry, there are two ways. First way: Unravel the Illustration of All Creation! Second way: Be the top scorer in the Capital¡¯s "Law of Dao Examinations". Both will receive the special attention of the Divine Constabry!"

    Just as he finished, the vigers were in amotion.

    To them, both paths were too difficult. This first path was way beyond difficult. In legends, this Illustration of All Creation had proved too challenging even for some of the great men that had essed Dao. To these people who barely even read the "Law of Dao", it was an impossible endeavour.

    The second path was also extremely demanding. Although it was just the Capital¡¯s Law of Dao examinations, the requirement was to be the top scorer. In other words, even if you passed the examinations with the second highest marks, there would be no recognition!

    Any one of these paths was problematic for the vigers that were illiterate.

    However, it was the Divine Constabry after all.

    By entering the Divine Constabry, it was equivalent to an immediate rise in status. Why wouldn¡¯t it be a difficult task? The vigers were all chattering among themselve, yet no one raised any objections.

    "The road is shown to you by me, how you traverse it will depend on yourselves. Although both paths are challenging for all of you here, with the first two tests, I have noticed the huge potential of the Southern Mountain Vige. I will personally suggest to the Divine Constabry to set up a ¡®Hall of Dao¡¯ here. Those that passed the first two rounds will have the privilege of studying within the Hall of Dao.

    "Hopefully one day, under the guidance of the Hall of Dao, you can be the top scorer in the Capital¡¯s Law of Dao Examinations!"

    General Li did not mention the path through the Illustration of All Creation because he personally felt that this path was just too challenging. Forget about the Southern Mountain Vige. Even in the Divine Constabry, other than the Divine Lord and the "special guests", only Missus could solve the so-called "Illustration of All Creation of the lowest quality".

    When it came to General Li who was also an outstanding individual that essed Dao, he could only look on and sigh.

    Thinking about this, General Li immediately recalled his Missus. She was only five years old when she solved the Illustration of All Creation. When the current Sacred Lord heard about the news, even he jumped out of his skin. He personally send out a sacred order on the spot, praising the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands for producing an incredible "Pride of the Heavens".

    Although it was just a seemingly normal sentence, it was anything but. That was a sacred order! In the records, from the rise of the Great Xia Dynasty until today, there had only be thirty sacred orders given out. The rest was merely royal orders.

    "Alright, let¡¯s keep the Illustration of All Creation. Although solving the Illustration of All Creation was an indication of great fate, allowing people to instantly aligned the heart of Dao, facilitating the road to essing Dao, it was not something anyone could do. Only those with great umtions of knowledge could...could..."

    As General Li spoke to this point, he could not continue at all.

    For, at this moment, the Illustration of All Creation was shining with a dazzling radiance. Those initially dim golden flows of shimmers were suddenly burning hotter than the sun.

    The whole Illustration of All Creation waspletely lit up, golden light bursting from within!

    Vige Chief Meng Bai, who was currently standing on the stage with his head lowered and listening respectfully, suddenly realised General Li stopped talking. He felt something was amiss so he raised his head to look at General Li.

    "General Li?" Chief Meng Bai meekly voiced out.

    Then, when he say that brilliant golden light from the Illustration of All Creation, he almost cried.

    "This, could this be..." Chief Meng Bai was really moved. He was so moved that his pair of eyes were red. He pinched his thighs with all his might and realised that this was not a dream.

    The golden light from the Illustration of All Creation was still so obvious.

    At this moment, all the vigers were staring dumbly at the Illustration of All Creation. They could notprehend why the Illustration of All Creation suddenly lit up. Furthermore, the light seemed to be growing in intensity.

    Many of the vigers were confused but General Li knew very well what was happening, due to his knowledge. That¡¯s why he could not contain the stupefaction in his heart.

    Not only General Li but even the soldiers below the stage were stupefied by the radiance of the sacred b.

    "How, how is this possible?!"

    "The Illustration of All Creation... was solved!"

    "Who?! There was someone who could solve the Illustration of All Creation in a ce like the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "How much time was this in sight? It has not even been a minute..."

    All the soldiers could not believe their eyes. Forget about the Southern Mountain Vige, even in the Divine Constabry, there were few could solve it.

    This did not mean that no one have solved the Illustration of All Creation.

    It was just that no one in the Southern Mountain Vige had essed Dao! Without essing Dao and solving the Illustration of All Creation was equivalent to someone racing a ck Gale Leopard without learning how to walk and winning!

    It was incredulous, unimaginable even.

    All these years, the Divine Constabry would annually send out a team with the Illustration of All Creation to every county town to conduct tests. Their real motive was to advocate the meaning of Dao, set up Halls of Dao. This would allow more people the chance to study the "Law of Dao", and as a result, gradually travel down the path of cultivation.

    What about the Illustration of All Creation? That was purely ceremonial so as to respect the ways of their ancestors.

    But now...

    General Li just wanted to pass by, let these vigers have a glimpse of the Illustration of Creation then keeping it. Instead, he discovered that someone had already solved the Illustration of All Creation?!

    How was he to keep calm? How was he to keepposed?

    More importantly, it was in less than a minute.

    He still remembered that Missus initially spent a full week to solve the Illustration of All Creation. This had already shocked the whole Great Xia Dynasty.

    Who? Who exactly solved this? Did it have to be this fast? Could it be even be exaggerated further?

 Chapter 9: DUST

    Chapter 9: DUST

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like his whole body was soaked in sunlight. He felt out of ce. He could feel the blood flowing in his veins. A bizarre feeling started to take root in his heart...

    He did not understand what was happening to him. He only knew that when the Illustration of All Creation was revealed, his gaze was automatically drawn to it.

    Due to his hopes of the Dao of All Creation, he wanted to rify what this fateful opportunity meant?

    After this, he started to study it. The characters on it was all recognisable, it was simr to the words in his previous world. It was just the older form. This was a piece of cake for Fang Zhengzhi who was an expert in ancient literature!

    Eventer, he realised that these characters and figures had an air of familiarity about them. Every character, every figure, from top to bottom all abide by some kind of fixed rule.

    This kind of pattern was ufortable to look at. It was as if this had an original pattern that was purposely messed up.

    Making it extremely scattered and erratic.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not dwell too much on that. Since it¡¯s already jumbled, he would put it back together. After that, he attempted to link the characters and figures together...

    In the end, he was taken aback. As the characters and figures got moreplex, his thoughts got deeper. How would he deconstruct the these characters and figures and link them?

    He quickly realised that the pattern within seemed to follow the thought processes of the Eight Diagram Tactics.

    The figures and characters on the whole Sacred Rock was simr to a Matrix spell. Fortunately, this spell was notplicated. It was not something like the Left Azure Dragon, Right White Tiger, Front Vermillion Bird, Rear ck Tortoise Four Great Matrix Spells.

    Utilising his expert knowledge, together with the "Metaphysical Gates of the Hidden World"[1] that he researched in his previous life and some ancient records of different matrix spell knowledge, he finally came to an understanding...

    Right after that, the scenery in front of him suddenly changed.

    The sky disappeared; the earth gone. In front of him was an expansive ocean, the aquamarine waters rolled non-stop. A few birds flew across from the horizon and a waft of fresh scent drifted across the air.

    A golden round moon rose from the horizon. The once pitch dark sky was gradually illuminated. A star. Two stars. Three stars...

    When the countless stars finally dotted the skies, the hysteria in his heart grew exponentially. Those stars seemed like they were growing, then grouping together. One piece by one piece, star patterns start to emerge.

    Greatnds; deep valleys; mighty rivers; giant beasts; morphing clouds...

    Seemed like everything was included in these all epassing stars.

    "Hoom!"

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking of watching it for a while more, the whole world copsed. It turned into a particle of "dust", settling in his heart.

    When Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes, he realised he was back.

    The sky was still the sky, with the same shade of blue. Thend was still thend, with the same shade of yellow...

    What happened? Was it a hallucination?

    Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his little ws to scratch his head. After that, he looked around and quickly realised that the whole square was dead silent. Everyone had eyes opened wide and mouths agape...

    What he did know was that the golden glow of the Illustration of All Creation immediately vanished when his eyes opened. The golden veins once again dimmed. Light shimmers flowed across the ck jade rock.

    The Illustration of All Creation returned to normal and General Li came to realise something.

    Surprisingly, his pair of hands shaking with excitement. He did not expect a small mountain vige that they were just passing by was hiding such a wonderful surprise.

    "Is anyone among those present that is literate?" General Li suppressed his inner excitement and tried his best to maintain hisposure. However, he was still unable to hide the shaking from his voice.

    "Yes!" Just as General Li¡¯s words came out, someone in the line raised his hand.

    Every viger turned their gaze to one child on the stage after hearing that voice.

    "It¡¯s him?!"

    "Who would¡¯ve thought?!"

    After looking clearly at the child, the eyes of all the vigers became the greenest of envy.

    That child had a fair and clear face and wearing a red shirt with a red silk cloth tied on his head. He dressed extremely clean.

    At this moment, the child was raising his right hand with an expression of pride.

    He was the grandson of Vige Chief Meng Bai, Meng Jiangshan.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure of what was happening. When he heard that Meng Jiangshan was literate, he was slightly shocked. Although the character of the Vige Chief was far from ideal, it seemed like he did not hold back when it came to grooming his grandson.

    Seeing his own grandson raising his hand , Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face that was on the verge of crying finally broke into tears.

    Two rivers of old tears flowed down instantly.

    That was truly the tion from the bottom of the heart. The Illustration of All Creation was solved by his own grandson? There was no one else in the Southern Mountain Vige that was literate.

    Thinking about this, hot tears filled Chief Meng Bai¡¯s eyes. He could almost see the doors of the Divine Constabry weing him with open arms.

    "I can write one, two and three. Oh! I can write the characters for big and small too!" Meng Jiangshan bragged arrogantly haughtily while looking around at envious faces that were thrown at him.

    All the vigers immediately got even more impressed.

    General Li nodded indicating for Meng Jiangshan to continue.

    However, Meng Jiangshan was done.

    The situation suddenly got a little awkward. After waiting a while, General Li felt something was amiss.

    "No more?" General Li asked doubtfully.

    "No more. I already know how to write out five characters!" Meng Jiangshan was getting arrogant.

    Gneral Li¡¯s originally ecstatic face turned ck. His eyes turned to the now dimmed Illustration of All Creation. He had aplicated look on his face.

    Knowing five characters? Solving the Illustration of All Creation?

    No matter how it was spun, this was not logical.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s corner of his mouth lifted just a tiny bit after listening to the conversation between Meng Jiangshan and General Li. What if I just stood out and shouted, "This little lord here knows every word there is!" Wouldn¡¯t this scare the vigers into leaking themselves?

    However...

    How would he exin that he knew these words? Just now at home, he merely madly hollered while pointing at the sky and his mother used him of being possessed. If he stood out and shouted this, wouldn¡¯t he be locked up as a demon incarnate?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma.

    Naturally he noticed that the General Li from the Divine Constabry was finding the person who recognised those words. Although he was unclear of their intentions, he was quite sure it was not something bad.

    Fang Zhengzhi was thinking of revealing himself but he could not find a satisfying exnation on the spot. After all, to know so many words, won¡¯t you need some time? He was only six! His family was also poor...

    General Li was hesitant. He felt that this matter could go either way. If the child in front of him really used just the five words to unravel the Illustration of All Creation, then he would really be a peerless genius. But what if he mistook the wrong person?

    What will he do?

    "The "Law of Dao" has three thousand chapters with millions of sections. Every section have at least hundred and at most tens of thousand characters. Among these, some of themon characters recorded were at least ten thousand! Although the Illustration of All Creation is small, it has millions of intricacies. It contains the universe, thews of all creation, the valleys and rivers of earth, profound secrets. It contains the very axioms that governs everything between heaven and earth!"

    At this point, a delicate voice was heard.

    [1] "ÆæÃÅ¶Ý¼×" is one of China¡¯s greatest secret arts knowledge. It was regarded as the knowledge for kings in ancient times.

 Chapter 10: Wisdom in Retreat

    Chapter 10: Wisdom in Retreat

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shock reverberated through the crowd. The voice sounded soft and tender, yet the words uttered were...

    Completely iprehensible!

    Standing on the raised tform, General Li, his face stricken with anxiety, heard the sound. His eyes instantly lit up, and went down on one knee. The other soldiers, including those on horses who dismounted immediately, knelt down as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi wondered why this voice had an air of familiarity to them.

    An emerald green sedan lifted by some soldiers arrived the bottom of the stage. With unparalleled agility, a figure leapt out from the sedan andnded softly on the stage.

    A pretty girl with her hands ced behind her back, dressed in a silk skirt appeared on stage. Her hair was decorated with a single jade green flower and wore a pair of gold-threaded red shoes. It was Lolita!

    Her elegant, defined features coupled with the air of strength that seemed to radiate from each and every part of her instantly shed in front of the eyes of the stunned vigers.

    Lolita "Chi Guyan" observed the vigers at the bottom of the stage with a calm demeanor. Despite her young age of five years, she gave off a subtle, yet unmistakable aura of perfection.

    "Huh? What is Lolita doing here?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wondered, a growing sense of unease built up inside him.

    "Greetings Missus!"

    "Greetings Missus!"

    General Li and the soldiers dressed in shining armour around him shouted in unison upon seeing Lolita appear on the stage.

    "Vige Chief Meng Bai of the Southern Mountain Vige pays respect to Missus!"

    "Oh my God, she is the daughter of the Divine Constabry! The daughter of the Divine Constabry personally visited our Southern Mountain Vige!" The vigers couldn¡¯t believe what they had just witnessed.

    "Missus?! Lolita is the daughter of the Divine Constabry?" Fang Zhengzhi felt his legs almost give way, almost letting go of the chicken thigh he was holding on to.

    Alright...

    How can things be so coincidental, how can the Lolita I met at the entrance of the vige be the daughter of the Divine Constabry? Moreover, I even gave her a kick in the butt that sent her falling into the river!

    Revenge never ends. Fang Zhengzhi took one look at the azure blue skies, then crouched down and quickly squeezed his way into the crowd.

    This is no joking matter. In this world where ssism is rife, the arrival of the daughter of the Divine Constabry required even the usually high-ranking vige chief to kneel down. If she wanted to squeeze him to death, it would be even easier than killing an ant.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi promptly decided that retreating is the best strategy.

    Hidden among the crowd, Fang Zhengzhi carefully maneuvered through the people, afraid of making anyrge movements. As he squeezed among the vigers, he began to realise why the Divine Constabry that eluded the Southern Mountain Vige in many years suddenly made a mysterious appearance today.

    Preliminary examination? Children¡¯s test?

    What a sneaky Lolita, she is obviously using this public preliminary examination to achieve her own personal agenda, to catch me then finally killing me off!

    Fang Zhengzhi evidently did not believe that this Divine Constabry which had never set foot upon the Southern Mountain Vige for so many years will coincidentally decide to suddenly host a preliminary examination here. In order to confirm his suspicions, he peeked through the crowd to observe Lolita¡¯s expression.

    True to his beliefs, Lolita¡¯s jet-cked eyes were surreptitiously scanning the crowd from the top of the stage, her eyes darting left, right, front and back as if looking for something.

    "I knew it!" Fang Zhengzhi understood everything and instantly crouched back down.

    After scanning the entire crowd twice, Lolita¡¯s gaze finallynded upon Meng Jiangshan.

    "You im you can read, that means you are the person who solved the Illustration of All Creation just now?" Lolita¡¯s yful attitude at the vige entrance was reced by an expression ofplete tranquility.

    Stealing a nce at Lolita¡¯s expression, Fang Zhengzhi sighed to himself. "How fake! Obviously a rowdy person, yet she acts like such a cultured daughter of the Divine Constabry."

    Upon witnessing Lolita¡¯s questioning, the vigers who at first didn¡¯t dare to ascertain what had just transpired naturally guessed the mystery behind the Illustration of All Creation.

    Solving the Illustration of All Creation? This grants an undeniable entry into the Divine Constabry!

    "Meng Jiangshan solved the Illustration of All Creation?"

    "The Illustration of All Creation, Oh Heavens... Has actually been solved by Meng Jiangshan!"

    "He¡¯s no older than eight years, what a natural talent. This is truly worthy of a celebration for our Southern Mountain Vige!"

    All the vigers looked at Meng Jiangshan with unparalleled admiration.

    Yet Meng Jiangshan himself had confusion written all over his face.

    Touching his plumpish face, and then looking at the vigers¡¯ gazes - solving the Illustration of All Creations? How did I not realise? I obviously didn¡¯t even understand a thing!

    At a loss of what to do, Meng Jiangshan shot a nce at Vige Chief Meng Bai who was standing on the stage, the grandfather who gave him power in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai who was initially bowed down on the floor suddenly heard Lolita addressing his own grandson. A sense of anxiety rose up in him - he knew too well the demography in the entire Southern Mountain Vige.

    Ability to read?

    In this entire Southern Mountain Vige, who else other than his own grandson would dare to im that he could head?

    That means undoubtedly, it was his own grandson who solved the Illustration of All Creation! Holding on to this thought, he felt an immense sense of relief. He was about to gain power beyond imagination! Just as he started to break into a smile, he met Meng Jiangshan¡¯s questioning gaze.

    Is this kid dumb? Since he solved it he should quickly say it out!

    Engulfed by worry, Vige Chief Meng Bai immediately looked at his grandson Meng Jiangshan and without hesitation, began to nod his head incessantly.

    Meng Jiangshan was indeed smart, and quickly understood his intentions.

    Since even his own grandfather agreed that he was the solver of the Illustration of All Creation, it is most likely to be really true!

    "Yes, it is me who solved the Illustration of All Creation!" Meng Jiangshan confidently stepped out from the crowd,

    "Woah!"

    This time, all of the vigers truly started to feel the excitement.

    When Meng Jiangshan stood out initially, there was still a sense of uncertainty among the vigers. Now that Meng Jiangshan himself has admitted it, it must undoubtedly be correct!

    Solving the Illustration of All Creations at eight years old, only less than a handful in the Northern Lands who could achieve such a feat. No, not just the Northern Lands, there was only less than a handful in the entire Great Xia Dynasty capable of such feats.

    The Southern Mountain Vige had produced a talent, who would dare to bully the Southern Mountain Vige in the future? The Northern Mountain Vige on the mountain opposite this? Ha, even the high officials in the city would have to pay some respect to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Indeed, once a person rises to the top, everyone rted to him rises as well.

    Just the thought of it excites the vigers.

    "Cane, ten strokes!" Lolita seems to have failed to see the vigers¡¯ excited expressions, her face maintaining a sense of calm as if what she said was just another small matter.

    A kid who could only understand five words essing Dao? What a joke! Such freak urrences are impossible in this world.

    "Yes Missus!" A few of the soldiers standing guard below the stage stood out immediately upon hearing themand and effortlessly pinned down the half-kneeling Meng Jiangshan, his face still beaming with delight, and whipped out a cane as thick as one¡¯s arm.

    "Wooosh!" The vigers were still confused over what just happened when the sounds of the cane making contact with Meng Jiangshan¡¯s backside resounded.

 Chapter 11: Observe in Silence

    Chapter 11: Observe in Silence

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Oww! Pain..." Just a second ago, Meng Jiangshan was beaming with happiness. A secondter, he immediately started bawling uncontrobly without reason.

    The vigers were at a loss.

    What is happening?

    Wasn¡¯t everything going smoothly, wasn¡¯t the Illustration of All Creation solved? What is up with the sudden caning? Could it be that this was the prerequisite for entering the Divine Constabry? Anyone who solves the Illustration of All Creation had to first be caned ten times? How is it that nobody ever heard about this rule...

    Confusion was written all over the vigers¡¯ faces, yet nobody dared to stand out. After all, this was the order of the Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter.

    Fang Zhengzhi was likewise bewildered by the sudden change in situation.

    Lolita¡¯s calm expression was evidently fake. No matter how she much she tried to hide it, she was still unable to suppress the innate violence in her. Caning just like that, how cruel!

    Wait a minute...

    Did she just say solve the Illustration of All Creation?!

    Does this mean the Illustration of All Creation was solved?

    Could it be me?

    Could it be?!

    Excitement quickly grew in Fang Zhengzhi. It was possible! It was definitely possible! With my impressive talent, not only could I understand the writings and pictures on the Illustration of All Creation, I even had a vision. There is a huge possibility that this is true!

    Should I give it a try?

    If it was really me who solved the Illustration of All Creation, based on this world¡¯s superpowers, shouldn¡¯t it be theoretically possible to pulverise jade rocks and shake the ground with a single stomp?

    Holding on to this thought, his excitement grew. A wimpy schr in his past life, he never imagined that he could have transformed into a great warrior and hero.

    Ha ha ha...

    Fang Zhengzhiughed out silently to himself, then focusing his "Chi", slowly lifted his leg and rammed down heavily on the ground.

    Shortly after, he felt a slight numbness in his feet.

    And some form of soreness...

    The vige square that was built uponyers of stone remainedpletely still.

    "..."

    What happened? What was wrong? Where was the ability to turn stone into powder with the strike of a palm, to create a gigantic crater with the stamp of one¡¯s feet? Beads of sweat broke out on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead, could it be that the Illustration of All Creation was not solved by him?

    "Who is the one who solved the Illustration of All Creation?" Lolita didn¡¯t even bother to take a nce at sobbing Meng Jiangshan, expressionlessly sweeping her gaze across the vigers under the stage.

    The vigers looked at each other, all with the same puzzled expression.

    Nobody was able to understand anything that was happening.

    Across the whole vige square, other than the piercing cries of Meng Jiangshan¡¯s uncontroble bawling, and the subtle sounding from Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s shivering legs, there was nothing but dead silence.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s was simrly extremely confused. It was unclear if he really solved the Illustration of All Creation. If it really was him, how could there be no evidence of the rewards he was entitled to?

    Solving the Illustration of All Creation? Could it be a lie? Wasn¡¯t Lolita¡¯s purpose of putting in so much effort to make a trip to the Southern Mountain Vige just to catch him?

    Reaching this thought, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s emotions stabilised.

    Regardless of whether the Illustration of All Creation was really solved, even if that was true, taking into ount the kick he gave at the vige entrance, he would rather die than stand out!

    As such, he decided to wait and see.

    Lolita waited patiently for a few minutes, the sounds of Meng Jiangshan¡¯s crying continued to reverberate throughout the vige square.

    Gazing at the silent vigers, Lolita finally lost her patience.

    "Is anybody else here able to read?" Lacking other options, she could only change the question.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s twitched his mouth, his face an expression of pure disdain. I can read, but I would rather be beaten to death than stand out. Come here and bite me if you can!

    The other vigers continued to nce at one another, remaining silent as per before.

    Ten minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed, half an hour passed...

    No matter how Lolita or General Li altered the question, it was met withplete silence.

    On the other side, after the caning, Meng Jiangshan was carried down the stage.

    His blood that flowed down his backside was gory beyond belief.

    This instilled a sense of anxiety among the vigers, who upon witnessing this horrible sight would never dare to im this "credit" for themselves.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai didn¡¯t even dare to lift up his head, his shivering body remained bowed on the stage. Not because he didn¡¯t want to speak for his grandson, but because he understood what had happened.

    It seemed that the Illustration of All Creation was not solved by his grandson. That means Meng Jiangshan¡¯s actions were chargeable as an attempt to deceit the Divine Constabry.

    This act of deceit warranted a death sentence.

    Ten strokes of the cane? A punishment as light as this was already unfathomable.

    "Missus, could it be... the sunlight?" A soldier tasked with protecting the sacred rock discreetly made his way to Lolita¡¯s side and softly asked.

    Lolita wasn¡¯t present to personally witness the incident, hence looked questioningly towards General Li.

    General Li pondered deeply. He, along with all of the soldiers on site, clearly saw the golden rays that emitted from the Illustration of All Creation.

    Why is it that nobody stood out?

    Could it really be a mistake? Looking up at the ring sun, his confidence finally wavered.

    In a vige such as the Southern Mountain Vige, vigers were unable to even read, let alone solve the Illustration of All Creation. How can this even be a possibility?

    Holding on to this thought, General Li reconsidered the situation.

    The emission of golden rays? The reflection of the ring sun? It was no mystery, it was definitely caused by the sunlight!

    General Li had no time to waste pursuing this unconfirmed case in the Southern Mountain Vige, he had to reach the next city before sunset.

    If his hundreds of soldiers had to stay overnight in the Southern Mountain Vige, it would significantly dy their journey.

    "Missus... It might really be due to the sunlight." General Li made a decision.

    "If that is the case, proceed to make the necessary preparations!" Lolita nodded.

    "Roger!" General Li acknowledged and passed down orders to cover up the Illustration of All Creation and remove it from the stage...

    Seeing General Li depart, Lolita refocused her gaze on the kneeling Vige Chief Meng Bai.

    "Stand up!"

    "Roger, roger... thank you Missus!" Vige Chief Meng Bai immediately bowed in gratitude, his back was thoroughly soaked with sweat, yet he couldn¡¯t muster the courage to wipe it.

    "Meng Bai, let me ask you, why are the Fire Plume Chickens you sent so unappetising? Are you intending to y a fool with me?" Lolita casually asked.

    "Unappetising? Fooling with Missus? This..." Beads of sweat began to reappear on Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s forehead. When he initially heard the news that the daughter of the Divine Constabry wanted to eat Fire Plume Chickens, he was delighted. He immediately ordered one to be roasted at home.

    Yet, it seems that this daughter of the Divine Constabry was unsatisfied, putting the chicken down upon taking just one bite. Lacking other options, Vige Chief Meng Bai had to source for Fire Plume Chickens throughout the vige and even gathered the best Fire Plume Chicken chefs in the vige.

    But now...

    Despite roasting over twenty Fire Plume Chickens, this Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter still remained unsatisfied?

    What to do? Am I really going to die today? This is the end of my Meng family, this is the end of the Southern Mountain Vige...

    Observing Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s shivering figure, her mouth twitched as if pondering over a thought, then swept her gaze across the vige crowd once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately re-concealed himself.

    This Lolita had the ability to split giant stones with her bare hands, and most importantly, she had immense power being able to casually ordering ten strokes of caning. Who could deal with that?

    "If anybody can roast a Fire Plume Chicken that is satisfying enough, you are entitled to take this gold ingot!" The sides of Lolita¡¯s mouth etched into a subtle smile, then with a flick of her hand, a shining gold ingot magically appeared.

    Under the ring rays of the sun, the ingot of gold radiated a warm golden light, light that sparked excitement in the hearts of the people.

 Chapter 12: Staying Alive

    Chapter 12: Staying Alive

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The vigers¡¯ eyes instantly widened, each of their faces flushed bright red. What could excite one more than this precious gold?

    A gold ingot in exchange for a Fire Plume Chicken? This is a gift from heaven!

    To these vigers, even tiny pieces of broken silver were sufficient to cover a household¡¯s monthly expenses.

    This was an ingot of gold!

    They could live off this for dozens of years! The eyes of each viger glimmered with greed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was no exception.

    "Gold!" Fang Zhengzhi instinctively shouted out loud. If not for the shouts of excitements of other vigers, he would have been exposed instantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was brimming with excitement, what kind of Fire Plume Chicken does Lolita like to eat?

    This was too easy, wasn¡¯t it the one he roasted?

    Ha ha ha... I am going to earn a gold ingot!

    Fang Zhengzhi grinned with delight.

    Yet, after some consideration, he realised something was amiss...

    Roasting a Fire Plume Chicken by himself was no problem, indeed, the ingredients were part of his family¡¯s secret recipe. But what method should he use to pass the chicken to her?

    "Hey, this is the Fire Plume Chicken I roasted. Let¡¯s have a fair exchange of money and goods. Now pass me the gold!"

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid. If he proceeded as such, it was akin to suicide!

    Enlisting the help of others?

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly rejected this thought.

    Firstly, if others were to carry out the exchange for him, getting the gold back from them would be a huge problem. Moreover, no matter how many people were involved in the exchange process, the Southern Mountain Vige only consisted of over a hundred households. Given Lolita¡¯s abilities, discovering the source of the chicken would be easy.

    Sigh, I still can¡¯t stay alive...

    What to do, what to do?

    Fang Zhengzhi hopped about in anxiety, but he couldn¡¯t think of a suitable solution. Wait a minute, how about waiting till Lolita leaves the vige, then stealthily leaving the chicken on the path towards the vige entrance?

    No!

    What if Lolita ys cheat?

    Even though this idea was indeed feasible, but it definitely wasn¡¯t the safest. I have to get my hands on this gold ingot. She had already taken it out, it would be risky to allow her to take it back.

    Fang Zhengzhi cried out silently. Lolita was definitely doing this on purpose, using gold to lure him into her trap. Yes, this was definitely the case.

    But, the gold!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were glimmering with greed. Even though he knew this was Lolita¡¯s trap, but not iming this gold ingot he was entitled to was unthinkable!

    "Who cares, this might be Lolita¡¯s trap, but I must get my hands on this gold!" As Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself, the excited vigers couldn¡¯t control themselves anymore and started to call out.

    "I can roast! I can roast!"

    "Missus please wait, I have a Fire Plume Chicken at home, I will go roast it immediately!"

    Undeniably, the power of a single gold ingot was colossal. In a matter of seconds, the vigers quickly dispersed towards their individual households.

    Even Li Zhuangshi who passed the round didn¡¯t hesitate, failing to qualify for the Divine Constabry, he might as well take advantage of this opportunity to earn some gold!

    The scuttling of the vigers left Fang Zhengzhi no choice but to run as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him, blending in with the frenzied crowd. Naturally, he didn¡¯t wish to be left alone in the middle of the vige square, waiting to be caught by Lolita...

    ......

    The entire vige square became deste.

    However, just as quickly, the square started to fill up again. The vigers from each household began to prepare their stoves, roasting the Fire Plume Chickens with unprecedented intensity.

    Dozens of households filled the vige square, their numbers limited only by the shortage of Fire Plume Chickens in the vige.

    On the other hand, Vige Chief Meng Bai led a team of vigers armed with water buckets, standing on alert for any mishaps that may set the vige on fire.

    "Mum, don¡¯t go!" Fang Zhengzhi, his face speechless, cried out at Qin Xuelian, who somehow got her hands on a Fire Plume Chicken. Yet, looking at her restless expression, Fang Zhengzhi knew her mind was set.

    "Zhengzhi you are still young, you won¡¯t understand. This is gold, arge ingot of gold. If luck is on our side, we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about our finances for dozens of years!" Qin Xuelian didn¡¯t even bother to pay any attention to Fang Zhengzhi, snatching up the furnace with one hand and sprinting out of the house. Fang Zhengzhi had no chance to stop her at all.

    As she ran she screamed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s dad, "Quick! Hurry up!"

    "Alright, alright... I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming!" A man with big eyes and bushy eyebrows ran out from somewhere within the house, carrying a pile of charcoal. His face seemed sincere and honest, wearing a tattered piece of leather, carrying the same restless and excited expression. However, his right arm was nowhere to be seen.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even have any time to react before his dad disappeared without any trace.

    "After being married for years, their personalities indeed influenced each other..." Fang Zhengzhi stared nkly at the now deserted hut. I know that children of poor households have to assume the family head role early, but I¡¯m only six! How can they leave me alone at home just like this?

    Ultimately, a child has no say over the adults. At his young age, he had no choice but to stand guard at home and assume the role of a good boy. It would be wishful thinking to hope that the adults would listen to his opinions.

    Gold...

    Shiny ingots of gold, who dare say kids won¡¯t understand? I want it even more than you adults!

    How can I safely, yet sessfully, im that gold? Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the azure blue skies, hisrge ck eyes shifting around in their sockets. I have to present the Fire Plume Chicken in front of the entire vige, else she might go back on her words. But, I bet she will capture me on the spot.

    Even if my punishment is light, I¡¯ll still be spanked. If the punishment is heavy, I might not even be able to keep my life!

    What to do?

    I must think of a way that will allow me to retreat in one piece! And there¡¯s another problem, where do I even find a Fire Plume Chicken? As he pondered, his gaze drifted towards his neighbour¡¯s courtyard.

    The Fire Plume Chicken...

    This problem can definitely be solved!

    Only by increasing our interactions can we truly capitalise on our neighbourly spirits! As he thought of his neighbour, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered Li Zhuangshi¡¯s feat of lifting the two hundred and fifty kilograms of ck cauldron. At the same time, memories of the preliminary examination and Lolita¡¯s incessant questions on stage, asking who knew how to read, flowed through his mind.

    "Aha!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up.

    ...

    The army of chefs on the vige square finally begin to disperse, their hands carrying a single roasted Fire Plume Chicken, forming a snaking queue waiting for Lolita to sample their masterpieces.

 Chapter 13: Fraud

    Chapter 13: Fraud

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Aiya, none of your Fire Plume Chickens can pass, look at here, then here... it¡¯s all ckened, don¡¯t you know it¡¯s burnt? You have to separate the chicken from the heat with a piece of bamboo! How can you even think of earning that gold when you don¡¯t even know this?" Mrs Li eximed with glee, her hands wrapped around a golden-brown roasted Fire Plume Chicken, pointing out the mistakes of each viger.

    "I bet the gold ingot will belong to Mrs Li this time!" Vige Chief Meng Bai nodded, taking a nce at Mrs Li¡¯s roasted chicken.

    Li Huer¡¯s backside still ached, but still managed to continue grinning gleefully, siding with his mother.

    The well-built Li Zhuangshi stood smiling by the side. He had seen almost all of the Fire Plume Chickens at the vige square, and noticed that only his Li family¡¯s chicken was "perfect".

    On the other hand, Qin Xuelian had to borrow a chicken, hence was slightlyte. As such, she was unable to roast the Fire Plume Chicken using Mrs Li¡¯s method of roasting the chicken slowly using indirect heat, resulting in a small burn mark on her chicken.

    "Sister Xuelian, your roasted Fire Plume Chicken obviously isn¡¯t going to pass..." Mrs Li rattled on, making her way towards Qin Xuelian¡¯s side.

    "Whether it¡¯s good or not, isn¡¯t for you to judge!" Qin Xuelian retorted, not convinced.

    "Ha ha ha... Sister Xuelian, your chicken might be roasted better than the rest, but you can forget about the gold. Better for you to think about how you are going to repay the money for this Fire Plume Chicken!" Mrs Li gleefully replied.

    "Slow down, slow down, one person at a time!" The soldiers standing guard around Lolitamanded, directing the chaotic crowd.

    Lolita herself was slowing savouring a tiny bite of each chicken. Despite enjoying herself initially, the burnt and unptable chickens eventually caused her to lose her appetite.

    Even those which looked decent on the outside were totally nd and tasteless to her.

    "Missus, please try the chicken I roasted. You won¡¯t regret it!"

    Mrs Li¡¯s turn had finally arrived. Without hesitation, Mrs Li lifted up her roasted Fire Plum Chicken and fished out a small delicate piece of bamboo.

    "Ka Cha!" The Fire Plum Chicken¡¯s stomach was sliced open in one swift motion.

    Immediately, a savory bamboo aroma wafted out from the Fire Plum Chicken, lingering on the stage.

    "Missus, this is the bamboo-infused roasted chicken I specially made!" Mrs Li introduced happily.

    "Wow, she actually hid bamboo leaves in the chicken¡¯s stomach!"

    "Mrs Li¡¯s move is indeed ingenious!"

    "Why didn¡¯t she tell us about this idea?"

    Upon witnessing this scene, the vigers began to exim.

    "Next!" Lolita took one nce, softly waved her hand and closed back her eyes.

    "Huh?" Mrs Li was at aplete loss.

    The vigers queuing below were simrly unable toprehend the situation. What was happening? Bamboo-infused roasted chicken! How could it be that the daughter of the Divine Constabry wasn¡¯t even interested to try a bite, and immediately asked for the next person in line?

    "Missus, please, try a bite..." Mrs Li pleaded, unsatisfied with the oue.

    "What garbage! Missus already ordered the next in line, you better quickly get off this stage! Bamboo infused roasted chicken? What a pointless addition to the recipe!" The soldier standing guard at the side immediately began to drive off Mrs Li from the stage.

    "A pointless addition? What do you mean?" Mrs Li frowned, confused, as she reluctantly made her way back into the crowd, disappointment written all over her face.

    What was wrong? No matter how hard she thought, she couldn¡¯t understand why...

    One by one, the remaining Fire Plume Chickens were brought on stage, then sent back down. Eventually, it was Qin Xuelian¡¯s turn, who stood at the very end of the queue.

    Qin Xuelian carefully carried up the Fire Plume Chicken, holding it gingerly and gently cing it in front of Lolita.

    Opening her eyes, Lolita frowned upon seeing the empty queue behind Qin Xuelian. Nheless, she picked up a small piece of the chicken with her chopsticks.

    cing it in her mouth, she chewed slowly.

    And eventually swallowed the piece.

    "Not too bad, even though it isn¡¯t the one I wanted, but I consider it the best among the people here! Reward her with twenty pieces of silver!" Lolita waved her hands.

    Uponmand, the soldier at her side immediately fished out twenty pieces of silver and ced it in the hands of Qin Xuelian.

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s face instantly broke into a smile. Twenty pieces of silver, this is enough to buy a hundred Fire Plume Chickens! One Fire Plum Chicken in exchange for a hundred, this trade cannot be more worth!

    "How is this, father of Zhengzhi, isn¡¯t this worth it? We managed to earn so much in so little time!" Qin Xuelian, unable to contain her happiness, dashed down from the stage and waved the twenty silver pieces in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Dad, "Fang Houde".

    At the same time, she shot Fang Houde a look that said, "You can start your praise now."

    "My wife is indeed a genius!" Fang Houde instantly began to dere, smilingly.

    "Look at the state of yourself!" Smiling brightly, Qin Xuelian chided softly.

    "What great handiwork by Mrs Fang!"

    "This time, the Fang family seems to have earned quite a sum!"

    "Twenty pieces of silver! With prudence, it could feed the family for a year or two..."

    The vigers enviously looked at Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde. In this poor Southern Mountain Vige, twenty pieces of silver is equivalent to a small fortune.

    Mrs Li¡¯s expression darkened instantly, bearing a bitter sense of resentment. Why was her own bamboo-infused roasted chicken not rewarded? Qin Xuelian¡¯s chicken was even slightly burnt!

    Fraud, there must be fraud involved!

    Ultimately, Mrs Li was still a smart person. It was the Divine Constabry, how could there be fraud involved... she could only me her own bad luck.

    After giving out the reward of twenty silver pieces, Lolita "Chiguyan" frowned once more, disappointment evident in her bright sparkling eyes.

    Could I have been mistaken?

    Even though the chicken thief definitely ran towards the Southern Mountain Vige, this doesn¡¯t necessarily imply that he is an upant of the vige...

    What a misfortune! Not only was she unable to eat the Fire Plume Chicken she wanted, but she even let the idiot get off scot-free after giving her a kick on the ...!

    Arg, what a cruel bastard. Missus promise to catch you one day!

    "Missus, the sky¡¯s getting dark..." A soldiermented in a low tone, observing the approaching sunset.

    "Noted." Lolita stood up from her chair, having finally given up.

    "Wait!"

    At this moment, a youthful voice cried out from a distance, following which a figure wrapped like a huge dumpling swiftly ran into sight.

    Just by observing the person¡¯s shape, it was clear that he was no more than six or seven years of age. However, he wore a cap and his face was thoroughly shrouded with cloth, making himpletely unrecognisable.

    "What are you doing?! Stand still!" One of Lolita¡¯s guard, witnessing this peculiar attire, sprang into alertness.

    "It¡¯s okay, let him in." Lolita smiled to herself. She has already identified the figure from his distinctrge, jet-ck eyes.

    This "dumpling" in front of her, was the bastard who kicked her backside and toppled her into the river!

    "Bastard, you have finally appeared!" Lolita smiled coldly to herself, on the outside her face remained devoid of expression. To her, Fang Zhengzhi is now finally a piece of meat ced on her chopping board.

 Chapter 14: Confidence

    Chapter 14: Confidence

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate, widening his steps while running towards the stage.

    The sudden appearance of this "dumpling" left the vigers baffled. Along with the darkening sky, the vigers had no way of identifying which household this kid belonged to.

    "Could it be that even he¡¯s here for the gold?"

    "That can¡¯t be possible. I don¡¯t see any Fire Plum Chicken on him."

    A questioning look appeared on the vigers¡¯ faces, unable toprehend what was happening.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly reached the bottom of stage, lifting his butt and with a swing of his legs, he climbed onto the stage.

    Observing his movements, Lolita couldn¡¯t help but to let out of a burst ofughter. This bastard is indeed only a simplemoner.

    As she thought, anger begin to rise up within her. To be defeated by amoner, this was the biggest humiliation!

    "Are you also here to present your roasted Fire Plum Chicken?" Pretending to not have recognised the figure, Lolita asked calmly.

    "Thats right!" Fang Zhengzhi responded with the same calm tone.

    "Then, where¡¯s your chicken?" Lolita eyed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands suspiciously.

    "Here!" Fang Zhengzhi reached behind his back and produced a Fire Plum Chicken from his dumpling-like attire.

    "It¡¯s alive!"

    The vigers below the stagepletely lost theirposure upon seeing the chicken in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. It was still full of feathers!

    "It has just been killed, I haven¡¯t had the time to roast it yet!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    The vigers immediatelyughed out loud, the daughter of the Divine Constabry just said that time was short and she had to leave, could there even possibly be enough time to roast it?

    "Haha... Go and roast it then!" Lolita smiled gently.

    Theughter on the vigers¡¯ faces instantly froze. The Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter actually gave him the permission to roast on the spot!

    "If I don¡¯t see the gold, I won¡¯t roast!" Fang Zhengzhi retorted without hesitation.

    The already shocked vigers were nowpletely stunned. What kind of person is this? Asking for gold when he hadn¡¯t even roasted the chicken, is he asking to be spanked?

    "Spank his butt!"

    "Yeah! Whose child is this?"

    "Do anybody still give a damn!"

    The many vigers who toiled endlessly for almost an hour roasting the Fire Plume Chicken only to be rejected without even being tasted were naturally unhappy with this "dumpling" spouting nonsense on stage.

    "I didn¡¯t even get to eat your roasted chicken, why should I give you gold?" Lolita asked with a slightly inquisitive tone, her expression maintaining the same sense of calmness.

    "Because, if I don¡¯t see the gold, I won¡¯t roast!" Fang Zhengzhi replied directly, knowing that his cover was blown from the look in Lolita¡¯s eyes.

    It is obvious that she wanted his roasted Fire Plume Chicken, since this was the case why should he continue to hide?

    Want to eat? Sure... first give me the gold! I¡¯m self-confident just like that!

    "Haha..." Lolitaughed gently, then with a flick of her hand tossed the gold ingot on the table towards Fang Zhengzhi. "Alright, I¡¯ll give you the gold!"

    Catching the gold with his outstretched arms, excitement built up within him. Gold, my gold... You are finally in my hands, I used my life to exchange for this!

    Following which, learning from the ancient ancestors, he opened his mouth and took a huge bite, realising...

    He couldn¡¯t bite it!

    Oh well... my teeth aren¡¯t strong enough yet!

    Without further hesitation, he stuffed the gold inside his clothes, touched it again, and grinned delightfully.

    The vigers below the stage were dumbfounded, unable to react. Gold... The gold was really given to him? How is this happening? I should also had brought up a live chicken!

    Nobody understood what was going on.

    Nobody!

    Mrs Li held onto her bamboo-infused roasted chicken as per before, but this time, her face was green as the bamboo.

    "What the hell, whose child is this! A chicken with feathers still intact exchanged for an ingot of gold?!" She wanted to dash onto the stage and pry open this "dumpling", taking a good look at the "filling" inside.

    However, once she noticed the soldiers standing guard beside Lolita, this intention vanished just as quickly.

    On the other hand, Qin Xuelian was still smiling in delight from her twenty silver pieces, grinning so happily that her eyes were nothing but a line. As such, she couldn¡¯t even be bothered with the events unfolding on the stage.

    Fang Houde simrly continued his ceaseless praises, his mouth dry from the incessant talking.

    ...

    Having received the gold, Fang Zhengzhi became serious.

    "Bring me the tools!"

    Once the words left his mouth, the legs of the vigers almost gave way. This joker not only dared to bring a feathered Fire Plume Chicken over, but also didn¡¯t bother to bring along his tools?

    Vige Chief Meng Bai hastily delivered the tools himself.

    After which...

    Fang Zhengzhi began to systematically pluck the Fire Plume Chicken, then proceed to remove its inner organs. After a thorough wash, he set up his roasting pit.

    Below the stage, the vigers looked on.

    "His technique seems decent!"

    "But there seems to be nothing special about it?"

    Questions welled up within the vigers, but they continued to look on silently.

    Simrly, Lolita observed carefully, but saw nothing special even until the stage when Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Fire Plume Chicken was already sizzling and dripping with oil.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly dispirited.

    He forgot a very important matter - as he stood wrapped like a dumpling in front of the roasting pit, he might as well be roasting himself as well...

    Sweat flowed uncontrobly out of his pores, but there was no other way.

    He couldn¡¯t take off this costume, else he was bound to be famous!

    Taking out a tightly bound, yellow coloured paper bag, he extracted the multi-coloured seasoning ingredients hidden inside and slowly poured it onto the Fire Plume Chicken.

    "What is this you are holding?" The guards sprang into alert.

    Fang Zhengzhi took one look at the guards. He was already burning inside and had no strength left to address such questions.

    "You don¡¯t have to eat it!" Fang Zhengzhi replied coldly, yet frankly. The gold was already in his possession.

    "You..." Angry at being insulted by this young kid, the soldiers started to retort.

    "Shut your mouth, you all better move to one side!" Lolita¡¯s eyes had already lit up instantly as she observed Fang Zhengzhi take out his seasoning packets, as he poured these "ingredients" onto the Fire Plume Chicken. She was already looking forward to sinking her teeth in that chicken.

    Because, this aroma was the exact same one she encountered at the entrance of the vige.

    This enticing aroma sent saliva uncontrobly into her mouth. She couldn¡¯t contain her excitement.

    Observing Lolita¡¯s excitement, Fang Zhengzhi thought of an idea.

    "This chicken... actually has a name!"

    "What¡¯s its name?" Lolita asked inquisitively.

    "Speaking of its name... you might as well see it for yourself!" With a wave of his hand, a wrapped yellow paper bag soared towards Lolita.

    Lolita snatched it from the air.

    And opened the packet.

    Her eyes widened with disbelief.

    The yellow paper bag didn¡¯t contain the chicken¡¯s name, but contained just one sentence.

    "How can man not be true to his words?"

 Chapter 15: Giving his all

    Chapter 15: Giving his all

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Lolita read out the words softly, then her expression changed from one of disbelief to a joyful smile. Her smile quickly began to widen.

    Ha ha...

    Never would I have thought that this bastard went through a few years of education, and even knows this quote about trustworthiness from "Analects of Confucius and Law of Dao".

    Does he really think I will let him off based on trustworthiness alone? Ha ha, he seems to have thought through this situation quite thoroughly!

    Wait a minute, he was educated?! Could the mystery behind the Illustration of All Creation be linked to him?

    That¡¯s not very possible, even if this bastard received some education, just based on the poor, dpidated condition of the Southern Mountain Vige alone, it is impossible to reach a level that enables one to solve the Illustration of All Creation!

    General Li must be mistaken!

    Lolita knew very well that a broad spectrum of deep knowledge was imperative for solving the Illustration of All Creation...

    Fifteen minutes? Solving the Illustration of All Creation?

    And by a bastard chicken theft in the Southern Mountain Vige? This is downright impossible!

    But, what if?

    General Li might have imed that the incident was an illusion triggered by the sunlight, but so many soldiers on the vige square personally witnessed the incident. The possibility that it was a mistake seems low!

    Unless...

    It is really him?!

    "Guards, catch this bas... Huh? Where is he!"

    When Lolita raised her head, other than an abandoned roasting pit along with the Fire Plume Chicken that was still emitting its heavenly aroma, Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere to be found!

    "He got away?!"

    Lolita finally came to her senses.

    What happened? How did he disappear! This... Lolita brimmed with anger. This is too humiliating! It wasn¡¯t easy setting up this trap sessfully, but how can he suddenly just... disappear?

    She couldn¡¯t contain her temper anymore.

    "Shameless, absolutely shameless!" The contempt in Lolita¡¯s tone was clearly evident.

    Shouldn¡¯t a man possess a stronger spirit?

    The guards Lolita previously chased aside were standing far away, their faces crestfallen.

    Hearing Lolita shout, they were instantly jolted out of their temporary depression. Yet, by this time the "dumpling" was already nowhere to be found.

    Due to the almost hour-long roasting process, night had fallen on the Southern Mountain Vige. The vige square waspletely engulfed by darkness...

    "Chase him!" Some of the soldiers immediately sprinted off without further hesitation.

    The vigers below the stage were at aplete loss. Why did the person roasting the chicken... disappear? Didn¡¯t he already receive the gold ingot?

    Why would he run?

    Nobody couldprehend the situation.

    "Shameless bastard!" Lolita¡¯s face flushed red with anger.

    Evidently, her adversary had set up a perfect n, bidding this time till everybody had finished their roasting, and all the chickens have been sampled.

    Then, making this appearance...

    He had already predicted that he would be allowed to roast the chicken on stage.

    Roasting the chicken slowly, time flowed on.

    When nightpletely fell on the vige, and patiently waiting till she chased away the guards, he then proceeded with his great escape. Before that, he even managed to confound her with his note "How can man not be true to his words?"

    wless!

    Even Lolita had to admit, this n was wless. Every individual detail was carefully thought out and nned, from the geographic conditions down to the individual people involved. And his brevity, it was indeed respectable.

    And could it be that he really was the one who solved the Illustration of All Creation?

    Hmph! Despite this, his shamelessness was still unprecedented. Taking the gold and then running away? Do such people even exist?

    "Cruel, this is too cruel!" Lolita was relentless.

    Not only was she kicked in the butt, but despite havingplete control of the situation, this bastard was still able to fool with her mind.

    Argh! Lolita wanted to scream out loud.

    At least this bastard wasn¡¯t shameless enough to run off with the Fire Plume Chicken...

    Holding on to this thought, Lolita¡¯s gaze was quickly drawn towards the dripping, sulent Fire Plume Chicken that was still giving off a heavenly aroma.

    Gently bending her body, she brought her nose in front of the chicken thigh and inhaled softly. "Gulp" The aroma was salivating.

    Her cherry-red lips parted slightly, and bit down on a chicken wing. Instantly, Lolita¡¯s face filled with bliss. The meat was perfectly smooth, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The savory chicken left a distinctive aftertaste in her mouth that led her to close her eyes in bliss.

    The sense of euphoria she experienced was extraordinary.

    "This is too delicious!" Lolita gasped softly in delight. Reopening her eyes, her gaze was met with the wide-open eyes of the vigers staring right at her.

    The vigers were not spared from the salivating aroma of the Fire Plume Chicken. The scent was too unique, as if the product of dozens of herbs and spices that whenbined together, produced a heavenly taste.

    "Gulp!" Staring, mouth agape, at her chicken, then ncing at their Fire Plume Chicken they held on their hands, they finally began to understand.

    What makes that chicken worth an ingot of gold!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the thought of being caught pushing his every step.

    He definitely wasn¡¯t dumb. After personally witnessing the extent of Lolita¡¯s violence, if he was caught, the consequences would be disastrous.

    His stumpy legs provided him an advantage at this moment, not only due to his rapid cadence but also gave him a geographical advantage!

    Rather than running directly out of the vige square, he stealthily slipped into a small drain beside the square...

    This was where people normally disposed of their rubbish, a ce most would naturally avoid.

    For his money and his life, he was willing to sacrifice everything else!

    Making a decisive choice, he crawled into the drain, circling it till he located a huge tree which he climbed. From his high vantage point, he could generally figure out what was happening at the vige square.

    He then began to strip, removing the pieces of cloth around him that made his "dumpling" costume, hanging them one by one on the tree branches. In a blink of an eye, he has transformed back into Fang Zhengzhi...

    ......

    Back on the stage in the vige square, Lolita let out a satisfactory burp, thennded her gaze on the anxious faces of the soldiers beside her.

    General Li also managed to rush back upon being notified of the incident, his expression carefully controlled.

    "Ah..." Lolita sighed softly, looking up at the dark skies. Did she really just let that bastard escape sessfully?

    The incident of the Illustration of All Creations...

    After some consideration, Lolita decided to give up for the moment.

    Firstly, the incident was not confirmed. Secondly, it was indeed dark, if her adversary had the intention of hiding, it would be extremely difficult to locate him within a short amount of time.

    "These Fire Plume Chickens might not have lived up to my expectations, but the effort put into them is clearly evident. Purchase all these roasted Fire Plume Chickens at double the market price, and distribute them to the soldiers to eat on the move!" Satisfied from the meal, the lingering anger in Lolita subsided.

    "Thank you Missus!" Upon hearing this, the vigers began to smile.

    They might not have earned the gold ingot, but being able to sell off the Fire Plume Chicken at double the market price was indeed satisfactory enough for them.

    "Move out of the vige!" General Li ordered immediately, believing that Lolita was not intending to further impose punishments on these soldiers.

    "Roger!" The soldiers rapidly left to prepare to move off, not daring to hesitate for a single second.

    "General Li!" Lolita shifted her attention towards General Li.

    "Missus, what are your orders!" General Li knelt down instantly on one knee.

    "The Southern Mountain Vige seems decent, pass down my orders, arrange for a Hall of Dao to be built immediately!" Lolita seemed to have thought of something.

    "Yes Missus!"

    "This Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s preliminary examinations saw a total of eight people passing the second round, we will add one slot for first batch of entrants into the Hall of Dao, totalling up to nine people, a number that symbolises longevity! Hmm..... Thisst entrant into the Hall of Dao will have an age limit. The entrant must be between six and eight years of age!"

    "Yes Missus!"

    While General Li was skeptical of the meaning behind the age limit of six to eight years, he didn¡¯t dare to show it.

    Lolita nced at the dark skies, then picked up the coarse, yellow slip of paper again and took a look. The edges of her mouth curved into a slight smile.

    "Little bastard, this is my specially prepared "gift" for you, you better not disappoint me!"

    ......

 Chapter 16: A Happy Occasion

    Chapter 16: A Happy asion

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Qin Xuelian wasn¡¯t a greedy person. On the contrary, she was very easily satisfied.

    As such, she wasn¡¯t overly jealous of the winner of the gold ingot. Instead, she was overwhelmed with delight at having been award with twenty silver pieces and hummed a little tune all the way back towards her hut.

    Walking past the Li family courtyard, she even let out a soft "hmph" with a hint of delight. Fang Houde¡¯s mood was just as cheerful.

    In Fang Houde¡¯s heart, being able to marry a wife as beautiful as Qin Xuelian was already the epitome of prosperity for him. Today, her superior "skills" even earned them twenty pieces of silver.

    What was there not to celebrate about?

    Well...

    When pleasant surprises start to present themselves regrly, people are likely to be blessed with unbelievably good luck.

    That was exactly how Fang Houde felt at this moment.

    Because, he just stepped on gold!

    Shiny, sparking gold!

    On his journey home, the idental kick he gave sent the gold rolling. The sound, the feeling, they were overwhelming!

    "Gold!" Fang Houde¡¯s eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

    Snatching up the ingot of gold like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, he held it with delight.

    "Whose gold is this? It looks so familiar! It looks like that gold ingot belonging to the daughter of the Divine Constabry, could it be that the boy on the stage identally dropped it while running away?" Staring at the gold ingot in Fang Houde¡¯s hands, Qin Xuelian was equally amazed.

    Fang Zhengzhi pressed his ears against the wall, overhearing their conversations, his heart pounding with impatience. He had considered a wide variety of methods to pass the gold to Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    But in the end, he finally decided on this method. It was safe, and most importantly, there was no evidence that it came from him!

    What he didn¡¯t quite understand was why were these two people on the other side of the wall not rushing home immediately after picking up the gold? Waiting for it to be reimed?

    Please don¡¯t turn it over to the vige!

    That would have caused him to vomit gallons of blood...

    "How about we pass it to the vige chief, and leave the investigation to him to return the gold to its rightful owner?" Fang Houde consulted Qin Xuelian, his hands still wrapped around the gold.

    "Dong!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to knock some sense into his simpleton dad with a rock, Qin Xuelian has alreadynded a brutal blow directly onto Fang Houde¡¯s head.

    "Are you stupid! This is gold! We can leave this for Zhengzhi¡¯s marriage in the future!" Although Qin Xuelian wasn¡¯t greedy, she definitely wasn¡¯t dumb enough to give up the gold.

    Moreover, Fang Houde even suggested turning it over to the vige chief!

    Her blood started to boil with anger as memories of the vige chief prioritising the Li family in the preliminary examination namelist flowed back to her.

    "Your scolding is justified! We should leave this gold for Zhengzhi¡¯s future marriage!" Fang Houde instantly broke into a smile, and courteously presented the gold ingot to Qin Xuelian.

    "That¡¯s more like it!" Not giving any face to Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian snatched over and immediately kept the gold ingot. A thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Hey, the person on stage just now, could it be Zhengzhi?"

    Fang Zhengzhi, concealed behind the wall, started to sweat profusely. It was no easy task dealing with his own mother!

    ......

    When Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde opened the gate to the house, Fang Zhengzhi was already "sound asleep" on his bed.

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde nced at one another, smiled softly and left.

    Once they exited from the house, Fang Zhengzhi immediately opened his eyes. The gold was settled, but there was something else bothering him strongly.

    Sitting upright on his bed, he gently pushed open the small window beside his bed and looked out at the starry skies, his mind reying what he saw earlier that day.

    Was it me who solved the Illustration of All Creations?

    Fang Zhengzhi was undecided. After some thinking, he decided to give it another try.

    Man¡¯s knowledge is limitless, Yin, Yang, holding his breath, channeling his Chi, breathing in deeply...

    In just one night, Fang Zhengzhi deeply experienced the "universe", and tried his hands on channeling his "Chi" to absorb "spiritual energy", then realised...

    The "spiritual energy" he absorbed, was what people normally call "air".

    Left with no other methods, he gave up.

    "What the hell, where¡¯s my Fire Plume Chicken? Why am I missing one?" Just as he was prepared to sleep, a sharp cry from the neighbouring courtyard pierced the silent air.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth, and casually covered himself up with his small nket.

    ...

    Ten dayster, a contingent made up of two horse carriages and more than ten soldiers in glimmering armour came to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Despite its small size, the contingent put the whole vige into another state of frenzy. Vige Chief Meng Bai quickly assembled the vigers and ordered a celebratory feast to be held in the vige square.

    The construction of the Hall of Dao was indeed an event deserving of celebration, an event envied by viges across thend. It signifies that the Southern Mountain Vige now upies a spot under the holymand of the Divine Constabry.

    Promptly, a new wood-crafted memorial arch was set up in the Southern Mountain Vige ancestral hall, adorned with the words "Divine Constabry".

    After worshipping the memorial arch on bended knees, Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face flushed with delight, holding a cigar in one hand, and a bowl of wine in the other.

    "My fellow vigers, it is our great fortune to have the Divine Constabry set up this Hall of Dao in our humble Southern Mountain Vige. From today onwards, our vige will now also be able to produce great heros that understand the Law of Dao!"

    Once he finished his opening speech, Vige Chief Meng Bai drained his wine, took a puff of cigar and delightfully introduced the two robed men beside him. Then, it was their turn to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi initially thought that this would be a huge waste of time, but luckily after a simple introduction from each of them, they quickly ended their speech.

    Evidently, after travelling such a long distance to the Southern Mountain Vige, they were starving!

    Finally, the feast officially began.

    The numerousrge tables on the vige square were surrounded by joyful vigers, downing their wine continuously. On the other hand, staring at the vigers at his table, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought of something.

    "Uncles, someone asked me a question today. What has legs but can¡¯t walk? Do you all know the answer?"

    Hearing this interesting question, the vigers began to ponder.

    What has legs but cannot walk?

    "Is it fish from the river?"

    "How is that possible? Fishes have tails, not legs!"

    "..."

    More and more answers were shouted out, the vigers¡¯ discussions bing more and more intense, each suggesting his own solution to the question. Some vigers also seemed to be deep in thought.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi...

    Was devouring the food on the table as fast as he could!

    ...

    Once the feast ended, the vige square was riddled with mess. The male vigers stood up and left, leaving the women behind to clean up the litter.

    Fang Zhengzhi might only be six, but he was also fortunately grouped with the men. As such, he was not obliged to clean up. It was still early, hence Fang Zhengzhi decided to talk a walk around the vige with his stumpy legs.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, let¡¯s y hide and seek!"

    "I don¡¯t want to y"

    Fang Zhengzhi sternly rejected the invitation of a little boy, whose mucus was flowing uncontrobly from his nose.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, let¡¯s go swim in the river!"

    "Is your elder sister going?"

    "My elder sister is still helping with the cleanup..."

    "Then I¡¯m not going!"

    "..."

    Fatigued from having walked one full round around the vige, Fang Zhengzhi prepared to go back home and take a rest.

    Just when he reached home, Qin Xuelian¡¯s thrilled voice sounded out from outside the door before Fang Zhengzhi even had time to lie down on his bed.

    "Zhengzhi¡¯s dad! Zhengzhi¡¯s dad! Miracle! It¡¯s a miracle!"

 Chapter 17: Tired at Heart

    Chapter 17: Tired at Heart

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Miracle? Am I going to have a baby sister? Fang Zhengzhi pressed his ear against the window and listened.

    Then he understood. The miracle was actually linked to the Hall of Dao - The Divine Constabry has been generous, having added another slot apart from the initial eight slots with one condition: The entrant must be between six to eight years of age.

    "Mrs Li must have bribed the vige chief in the previous preliminary examination!"

    "How can this be? Our vige chief is an honourable man." Zhengzhi¡¯s dad persuaded.

    "I don¡¯t care, no matter what, this time the slot belongs to our Zhengzhi. Tonight you areing with me to visit Vige Chief Meng Bai. Make sure you bring in the incident about your arm during our conversation, is that clear?"

    "This... Alright..."

    Without doing anything wrong, once again Fang Zhengzhi was left alone at night in his home, staring up at the silvery moonlight and counting the infinite stars in the sky...

    ...

    He was sound asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a low crying sound.

    Gently opening the door, he saw the tear stricken face of his own mother, Qin Xuelian, and his own father anxiously providing words of reassurance by her side.

    "Why? Why give it to the Li family!"

    "There must be some reason behind vige chief¡¯s actions..." Fang Houde softly tried to persuade her.

    "Reason? Isn¡¯t it just based off the fact that Li Zhaungshi passed the test and was able to lift the two hundred and fifty kilograms of ck cauldron? In the future if Li Zhuangshi managed to achieve first-ss results in the Law of Dao examination, he would be able receive personal training from the Divine Constabry! Vige chief is evidently trying to curry vour with the Li family!"

    "But, Li Zhuangshi is indeed the biggest hope of the entire vige..."

    "I don¡¯t care! Li Zhuangshi is Li Zhuangshi, Li Huer is Lihuer. My Zhengzhi isn¡¯t inferior to Li Huer in any way. Moreover, Li Huer even failed the previous examinations!"

    "Ah..."

    Qin Xuelian let out a deste sigh, berating Fang Houde for his uselessness. Bing increasingly dismal, she began to cry harder and harder.

    Recounting Qin Xuelian¡¯s delighted mood a few hours before, then having witnessed this, Fang Zhengzhi put together the pieces of the puzzle and figured out what has happened.

    Looks like our vige chief gave the slot to Li Huer.

    Alright...

    Knowing that there was no opportunity for him to enter this Hall of Dao, Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the sky, deep in thought. If I can¡¯t enter this Hall of Dao, I¡¯d better think of another method.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too concerned about whether or not he could enter the Hall of Dao,

    What he needed was an opportunity to deceive the vigers that he had already started to learn and read, so that in the future if any situation arises that revealed his ability to read, the vigers would notugh it off.

    Show the entire vige he could read? An idea suddenly came to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Mum, even if I don¡¯t enter the Hall of Dao, I still can learn!"

    "Not entering the Hall of Dao? Self-learning?!" The instant Qin Xuelian, who was still sobbing hysterically in the living room, heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, her body jerked, rapidly wiping off her tears with her sleeves.

    "Since when did Zhengzhi wake up..." Fang Houde gawked awkwardly at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing by the door.

    "Ah, Zhengzhi you must be hungry, let mummy cook something for you!" Qin Xuelian expression quickly turned into a smile, walking towards Fang Zhengzhi, squatting down and embracing Fang Zhengzhi in her arms.

    Feeling warm and fuzzy inside, Zhengzhi thought, "It seems that his parents were unwilling to show him their fragile side."

    "Good boy Zhengzhi..." Qin Xuelian whispered softly over and over again, her body beginning to shake uncontrobly.

    ......

    The next few days were peaceful and uneventful once again, but what Fang Zhengzhi found peculiar was that his dad had suddenly disappeared, his mum giving him the exnation that his dad embarked on a long journey.

    At the same time, something was happening in a huge house within a city in the Northern Lands...

    Wearing a pink dress, Lolita, her eyes bright as the stars, sat in front of her desk, looking down at a slip of paper in her hands.

    "Li Huer? Six years old? This bastard¡¯s name is indeed horrible!"

    With a wave of her hands, the slip of papernded in a furnace some distance away, then lifted up the brush on her desk and began to write.

    "Come!" When she finished writing, Lolita sighed softly.

    "Missus what is your order!" A soldier walked in and knelt on one knee.

    Bring this question to the Hall of Dao within the Southern Mountain Vige, I want you to personally test a six year old kid by the name of Li Huer!" Lolita pointed towards the slip of paper she wrote.

    Standing up straight, the soldier gingerly received the paper with both hands.

    Then, looking down at the paper, the expression turned to one of confusion...

    "Six year old?" The soldier didn¡¯t dare to press further, but had to confirm what he just heard.

    "Yes, if this Li Huer can solve this problem, throw him into the drain beside the vige and make sure you step down hard. But don¡¯t harm his life. If he can¡¯t solve it... give him ten strokes of the cane on the spot!"

    "Yes Missus!" The soldier immediately exited the room.

    Exiting the room, the soldier eyed the slip of paper again, feeling a sense of pity for the kid named "Li Huer". This question was tough even for him, much less a six year old kid in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    And most importantly, no matter how this Li Huer answered the question, the consequences are equally bleak.

    After the soldier left, Lolita was left to herself. Casually flipping through a book on military tactics, she slowly stood up and walked out of the door.

    "If the Illustration of All Creation was really solved by this little bastard, then this question should be no problem for him! But... what if he really managed to answer it? Am I supposed to invite him to the Divine Constabry? Watch over him daily? Hmm... more like torture him daily! Ha ha..."

    ...

    This day, The Southern Mountain Vige was bustling with excitement. Toiling together, the construction of the Hall of Dao finally finished! Facing towards the south and built withyers of stone, it was indeed majestic.

    The redwood-constructed memorial arch at the door was carved skillfully with the words "Hall of Dao". This was a gift by the Divine Constabry, delivered to the vige on horse, and a stamped bright-red rectangr on the top by the Divine Constabry.

    Within the hall, there were four small courtyards, two learning halls, one training ground and one leisure hall.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t qualified to enter, but he managed to steal a few glimpses during the construction of the Hall of Dao, and overheard the conversations between the two robed men as they drew with their small ck brushes.

    Other than these, the Hall of Dao¡¯s exterior was adorned with a fewrge words painted in ck ink.

    Today¡¯s lesson: Fundamentals of the Law of Dao and the Trimetric ssic

    Taken aback, a scene appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind - Students attempting to memorise the scriptures of the Trimetric ssic, "Men at birth, are naturally good. Their natures simr; their habits differ..."

    Well...

    Fang Zhengzhi realised that not entering the Hall of Dao wasn¡¯t a bad thing. It is indeed tiring to have to recite the Trimetric ssic with these people.

    The first batch of entrants into the Hall of Dao naturally attracted much attention.

    The vigers of the Southern Mountain Vige surrounded the entrance of the Hall of Dao, shouting words of congrattions to those who entered.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai personally apanied his own grandson, Meng Jiangshan, past the entrance of the Hall of Dao. As for Li Zhuangshi, holding on to Li Huer¡¯s hand, he individually returned thepliments to the vigers.

    As Fang Zhengzhi noticed Li Huer, Li Huer¡¯s gaze fell on Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    Their expressions were wholly different.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was cool andposed, showing a hint of dissatisfaction.

    Li Huer on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear, waving his thick, muscr arms at Fang Zhengzhi, he raised his head proudly, as if saying: "Look at me! Little Lord me is the one entering the Hall of Dao!"

    As they held each other¡¯s gaze, Zheng Zhengzhi felt a tap on his shoulder.

    Turning behind, a familiar figure appeared within his field of vision. It was his dad Fang Houde, who had previously gone missing for the past few days! He was wearing a torn, tattered and dusty leather hide, fatigue evident from his bloodshot eyes. Yet, the smile on his face was unmistakable.

    "Zhengzhi, guess what this is!"

 Chapter 18: Destiny

    Chapter 18: Destiny

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Not paying any attention to the vigers around him, Fang Houde happily retrieve a tightly wrapped object from this pockets with this left hand, then carefully opening the rough yellow wrapping to reveal a tattered book.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt tired all of a sudden. The cover of the book read "Fundamentals of the Law of Dao and the Trimetric ssic"...

    "Huh, what is Old Fang holding in his hands? Am I seeing this correctly? Its a book!"

    "No wonder I haven¡¯t seen him in days, he must have specially made a trip to the county town and purchased this for Zhengzhi! But... can Zhengzhi even read the words on it?"

    "Without a teacher, is the child going to learn by himself? That seems impossible..."

    Upon seeing Fang Houde retrieve this book from his pockets, the vigers surrounding him started to discuss animatedly.

    "Fang Houde, why do you even bother? Zhengzhi is a good kid, but fate is determined by Heaven. Some people are destined to seed, while some are destined to hunt for a living for the rest of their lives... This is fate, it cannot be changed!" Witnessing this scene, Vige Chief Meng Baimented, sighing.

    Fang Houde¡¯s lips wavered slightly, then without speaking, continued to look at Fang Houde and gingerly gave it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Meeting his gaze, and having heard the relentless persuasion of the adults, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that this "Fundamentals of the Law of Dao and the Trimetric ssic" in front of him is now the most valuable thing in the world.

    Well, it seemed that there were some things he had to do.

    "Thank you dad!" Fang Zhengzhi respectfully received the book with both hands, and gave his dad a deep bow.

    "Thump thump thump..."

    Just at this moment, the sounds of hooves hitting the ground came from a distance.

    "The Snow Tredding Dragon Stallions!"

    "Quick, take a look! It¡¯s the Red Pinion Squad of the Divine Constabry!"

    The attention of the vigers were quickly fixed onto the five soldiers mounted on their Snow Tredding Dragon Stallions quickly closing in from afar.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s eyes lit up as well.

    It has only been a matter of days, but the Divine Constabry has already sent people over. Does this mean that the Divine Constabry highly values our Southern Mountain Vige?

    "Lords, Vige Chief Meng Bai pays his respects!" Vige Chief Meng Bai quickly made his way towards to the front of the crowd, calling out loudly once the soldiers arrived.

    "Is there a six year old boy among the entrants of the Hall of Dao?" The leading soldier halted his mount upon hearing Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s words.

    "Li Huer?!"

    The surrounding vigers were stunned. When they recovered from their initial shock, their expressions changed to one of deep admiration and envy.

    The Divine Constabry specially sent soldiers to the Southern Mountain Vige to look for Li Huer. This was unheard of! Does the Divine Constabry want to teach this child personally?

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was equally shocked, but at the same time, slightly disappointed.

    Why does the Divine Constabry ask for Li Huer, and not his own grandson Meng Jiangshan?

    Despite his slight disappointment, Vige Chief Meng Bai quickly came to his senses and took a nce at Fang Houde and Fang Zhengzhi standing beside him, as if saying "Look, this is called fate!"

    Who dares say fate isn¡¯t determined by the Heavens?

    "Lords, may I know what you seek from my son?"

    "Missus personally gave orders to test Li Huer with a question." As he spoke, the leader of the soldiers¡¯ fished out a white piece of paper with an illustration drawn on it.

    "Oh my God, the daughter of the Divine Constabry actually personally interviewed Li Huer!"

    "This is a one-time ticket to achieve great sess!"

    "Who would have thought Li Huer had such luck, one¡¯s fate... really cannot bepared!"

    The few vigers who heard the soldier¡¯s words opened their mouth in admiration, staring with wonder at Li Huer, as if they saw the great man he was about to be.

    "The Divine Constabry values you greatly, it is your blessing! Huer, make sure you perform well!"

    "Yes, Dad!" Li Huer happily replied, his face beaming with delight.

    The leader¡¯s mouth curved into a smile, value? Blessing? If this is a blessing, nothing can be called a curse!"

    Without further ado, he opened up the paper.

    This smile on Li Huer¡¯s face instantly vanished. Once he saw the illustration drawn on the piece of white paper, he waspletely stunned.

    What is this? I don¡¯t understand anything at all!

    "Oh Lord, our Huer has just entered the Hall of Dao today, would it be better to test his physical strength?" Staring nkly at the piece of paper, Li Zhuangshi was equallly stunned.

    Why wasn¡¯t the test about lifting cauldrons? Or even lifting stones? If that wasn¡¯t possible, maybe testing his archery skills? Combat pole techniques? These definitely would be a problem.

    But the paper...

    What is drawn on the paper? He couldn¡¯tprehend a thing.

    "Missus personally set this question, who dares change it? Proceed with your answer!" Ignoring Li Zhuangshi¡¯s pleas, he urged the stunned Li Huer to reply.

    Beads of sweat formed on Li Huer¡¯s forehead, answer? Answer? Answer what? He couldn¡¯t understand...

    "Answer it quick, Huer!"

    "Yeah, answer it!"

    The surrounding vigers were equally worried. This was an extraordinarily rare opportunity, if he managed to answer it, he would be noticed by the Divine Constabry, or even brought into the Divine Constabry!

    If that happened, the name of the Southern Mountain Vige will be renowned beyond imagination!

    Fang Zhengzhi took once nce at the paper on the leader¡¯s hands. A smile quickly begin to form on his face.

    This is a picture depicting military tactics! What is Lolita even trying to do...

    The entire paper was filled with various military formations, and even included information such as military strength and soldier typeparison. This was something even ordinary soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to understand!

    "I... I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t understand..." After an entire fifteen minutes passed, Li Huer finally stammered.

    The leader felt a sense of doubt rise within him.

    When he initially saw this military drawing, he was already slightly curious. Why would Missus set such a question for a six year old child?

    The art of war strategies was not something a six year old would be able to answer, but considering Missus¡¯s innate talent, he pondered whether this Li Huer could be just as gifted?

    "You really can¡¯t answer?" The leader confirmed again.

    "Ye... Yes ..." Li Huer sputtered, his face white with fear.

 Chapter 19: Seedling

    Chapter 19: Seedling

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Cane, ten times!" The leader waved his hands. The soldiers behind immediately pounced upon Li Huer, pressing him to the ground.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai and Li Zhuangshi didn¡¯t even have time to react. They hadpletely no idea what has happened? What is this all about? Cane... ten times?

    "Pow!"

    The soldiers couldn¡¯t be bothered with these thoughts. Raising the cane high, the cane made contact with Li Huer¡¯s backside.

    Li Huer didn¡¯t even have time to reach, his face nk with confusion. Yet, the burning pain on his backside was indeed real.

    "Wah..."

    Li Huer began to bawl.

    "Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow... "

    Before Li Zhuangshi had time to plead for his son, all ten strokes of cane had alreadynded.

    "Move out!" The leader took one nce at Li Huer lying on the floor, shook his head and sighed. Mounting his horse, the soldiers took off into the distance.

    The vigers were all staring nkly at the Li Huer, lying sprawled onto the floor, each carrying an expression of pure shock. They were still deep in admiration and envy for Li Huer¡¯s luck a second ago, but in the next second he was already sprawled onto the floor!

    Aren¡¯t things happening too fast?

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Li Huer, thinking about the illustration written on the white paper, then recalling everything that had happened previously. His mother¡¯s delighted shouts, the Divine Constabry¡¯s great gift, adding another slot to the Hall of Dao, the age requirements of being between six to eight years of age...

    All of a sudden, he realised what was happening. Could this all be Lolita¡¯s doing?

    The generosity of the Divine Constabry? This is obviously a trap. If he was the one who entered the Hall of Dao, he would be the one lying on the floor today!

    He never expected Lolita¡¯s revenge toe so quickly.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the azure blue skies, and a dark feeling rose up inside him. Isn¡¯t it just a kick to the backside? Does that merit such an obsession to take revenge?

    Looks like she deserves more kicks!

    Fang Zhengzhi pondered, purely, over this challenging problem.

    ...

    It was obvious to anybody that Li Huer was canned because he was unable toe up with a reply.

    "Li Huer, don¡¯t give up! Study hard and you will definitely be able to answer the question in the future!"

    "Yeah, Huer, this is a form of training by the Divine Constabry! It has always been said that bitternesses before sweetness!"

    "Yes, we all believe in you!"

    As the surrounding viges reassured the sobbing Li Huer, nobody med the Divine Constabry. That was unthinkable. Nobody would ever dream of doing such a thing.

    Hearing the reassuring words of the vigers, Vige Chief Meng Bai and Li Zhuangshi quickly came to their senses. After all, love is painful! Inflicting pain on Li Huer definitely means that the Divine Constabry cares deeply about him! No matter what, if Missus was able to recall Li Huer¡¯s name, and even personally send people to test his knowledge, it is surely a good thing!

    Listening to the vigers, Li Huer started to smile, wiping off his tears. No wonder he was caned! It was the Divine Constabry¡¯s way of caring for him...

    Looking at Li Huer¡¯s tear stricken smile, Fang Zhengzhi sighed silently, "How can man even possess such stupidity?"

    ...

    Night fell. At the Fang household, Fang Zhengzhi was in his room, looking out of the open windows and staring dreamily at the stars.

    Then, his hand unconsciously slipped over the book in his pocket. A strange feeling welled up in him. This is probably his first ever book in this world!

    Trimetric ssic may be one of the most ordinary books, moreover it¡¯s heavily torn and tattered, yet this represented all the hopes and dreams Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde pinned on him.

    As he thought, he carefully took out the Trimetric ssic.

    "Men at birth, are naturally good. Their natures simr..."

    Words, words that were still the same as those of his previous world, text, text that also came from his previous world. Not a single word was missing, how could things be so coincidental? Who wrote the Law of Dao of this world?

    Wait no...

    It should be who copied the Law of Dao of this world!

    "Boom!"

    The sound of thunder roared, a bolt of lightning came shing down. Droplets of rain fell from the skies, bouncing off the windowsill, as if conveying Heaven¡¯s dissatisfaction.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips. Tilting his head to one side, he continued reciting the Trimetric ssic.

    "Their habits differ, neglected not taught, their nature deteriorates..."

    As he read, Fang Zhengzhi felt something was amiss. There was a strange feeling within him, as if something was about to ur, something was about to break out of its shell.

    He stopped reading.

    The feeling disappeared.

    He continued.

    The feeling returned.

    What was happening? Fang Zhengzhi was confused. Could this Trimetric ssic be a treasure? cing down the Trimetric ssic, he continued to ponder.

    He decided to instead try reciting the Tao Te Ching from his past life.

    "Tao (The Way) that can be spoken of is not the Constant Tao The name that can be named is not a Constant Name.

    Nameless, is the origin of Heaven and Earth;

    The named is the Mother of all things.

    Thus, the constant void enables one to observe the true essence.

    The constant being enables one to see the outward manifestations.

    These twoe paired from the same origin.

    But when the essence is manifested,

    It has a different name.

    This same origin is called "The Profound Mystery."

    As profound the mystery as It can be,

    It is the Gate to the essence of all life."

    "Boom!"

    All of a sudden, Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart shatter...

    Actually, a better way to describe it would be that something in his heart shattered. Like the sprouting of a seed, there was a certain feeling flowing within him. He couldn¡¯t grasp it, but it definitely was real.

    Books! Reading books!

    I understand, I finally understand! Chi techniques, channeling spiritual energy, meditation, enlightenment, they arepletely useless in this world!

    This world revolves around Dao, and only through the reading of books can one be enlightened. Moreover, the deeper the contents of the book, the more enlightened one bes. Even though the Trimetric ssic can stir something within him, it was nowhere as strong as that from the Tao Te Ching.

    Even the opening chapter of the Tao Te Ching can instill in him such joyfulness!

    Then, it¡¯s time to continue! The second chapter of Tao Te Ching,

    "As soon as beauty is known by the world as beautiful, it bes ugly.

    As soon as virtue is being known as something good, it ..."

    Wait a minute, what was it that came next?

    Fang Zhengzhi wiped the sweat off his forehead with his meaty palms.

    Hmm...

    Although I was indeed a schr specialising in the ancient literature, but who was to say that such a schr was to be able to memorise the entire Tao Te Ching?

    If I was asked to fill a word in the Tao Te Ching, or trante the original texts, that would indeed be doable. But if I was supposed to memorise the entire text...

    Nevermind, let¡¯s try Doctrine of the Mean.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly regained his focus, and began to recite the Doctrine of the Mean. The feeling of joy once again washed over him. He felt like he was floating, he felt truly alive!

    Then.

    Stuck again.

    Nevermind, let¡¯s try The Works of Mencius...

    After working for almost two hours, he had recited whatever he could memorise from the Four Books and Five ssics. He felt divine. Despite the immense sense of joy he felt, he began to feel mentally fatigued. He was still young, only six years of age. His mind was still undeveloped and naturally will begin to feel tired after these recitations.

    As he dreamt, he vaguely saw a ck seed buried deep inside his heart. On the seed, a small, delicate leaf was dancing around.

    On the leaf, a pearly droplet of water was forming.

    "Plop!"

    The droplet hit the ground. Instead of sttering, it rapidly prated the ground, as if disappearing within the thirsty soil. As it sunk through, it showed no signs of stopping.

    Very quickly...

    The droplet vanished.

    Immediately after, another pearly droplet began to form, and slowly fell onto the soil.

    Again and again, the cycle continued. Droplets formed and reformed...

    The first rays of sunlight peeked through the window andnded on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s boyish face. Sitting up, his jet-ck eyes opened slowly.

    He felt like a brand new person.

 Chapter 20: An Apricot from within the Wall

    Chapter 20: An Apricot from within the Wall

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Could I have essed Dao? Could it be so easy? Ha ha ha..." Fang Zhengzhi grinned happily as he thought. Hisrge eyes scanned his surroundings, and quicklynded on a fist-sized rock in the courtyard outside his window.

    "Wooosh!" He jumped out of the window andnded onto the courtyard.

    Quickly, he made his way towards the rock.

    "Alright, you are going to be my experimental subject!" Fang Zhengzhi brought himself into a stance he thought was cool enough, then channeling his "energy", he opened up his palms and brought it down upon the limestone.

    "..."

    Calm came before the storm.

    "O!"

    Biting his lits, Fang Zhengzhi almost cried in pain. Yet, the rock remained the same as before, without a single crack.

    What¡¯s happening? Didn¡¯t I already exhaust all my effort reciting a whole night¡¯s worth of text? Why was there no progress at all? Fang Zhengzhi was vexed. What did I do wrong?

    Wait a minute.

    Talking about progress...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, there was indeed progress! The feeling of progress was real, but the type of progress wasn¡¯t the same as what he expected.

    What he thought initially was that after a night¡¯s worth of hard work, his meridians and bones will be reformed, just like the characters in martial art novels. His skin and bones would be as hard as metal, and his strength would match that of a bull.

    But now, things couldn¡¯t be more different!

    Meridians and bones, they were still the same as before. His strength was also unchanged. Yet, his ability to control what was happening inside his body seemed different.

    The feeling was that of control, not dexterity.

    It was an ability to control isted parts on his inner organs. For example, he realised that he could control the contraction and expansion of his meridians. He could feel the flow of blood within his body, and was even able to increase the speed of its flow slightly...

    Actually, this wasn¡¯t something people normally considered hard.

    For example, if one became agitated, his heart beat would naturally increase. During exercise, blood would naturally flow faster.

    However, these are twopletely different concepts.

    Because...

    This form of control is truly real!

    Control? Control of one¡¯s body? Fang Zhengzhi was filled with doubt. The practices of this world waspletely different from what he thought. Could this also be the Dao of All Creations?

    ...

    ...

    A few dayster, in a huge house within a certain city in the Northern Lands.

    A soldier knelt on one knee. Above him, Lolita, d in bright-red armour, sat with her legs crossed, a few young girls standing by her side, carefully wiping the sweat off her forehead.

    "Couldn¡¯t provide an answer?"

    Lolita frowned. Did she make a mistake? Was the incident of the Illustration of All Creation an illusion?

    "What does this Li Huer look like?"

    "Missus, Li Huer had a roundish head. He was slightly bulky and his lips were rather thick."

    "Hmm?" Lolita understood. Standing up slowly, she lightly made her way beside the window and looked out at a blossoming flower, its petals white as snow.

    It was indeed not that little bastard!

    This doesn¡¯t make sense, while the vige chief of the Southern Mountain Vige indeed doesn¡¯t look too bright, but he should still be able to make a decent decision. This little bastard can read, with the age restriction set between six to eight years of age, how is it possible that another person was chosen instead of that little bastard?

    Lolita couldn¡¯t understand.

    Where did the problem lie?

    Could it be that the vige chief of the Southern Mountain Vige didn¡¯t know that little bastard could read? Isn¡¯t that even more improbable? They live in the same vige, how could he not know something as simple as this?

    Moreover, after this incident, that little bastard will definitely be more alert.

    Men from the Divine Constabry visiting the Southern Mountain Vige would definitely have raised amotion. That little bastard should have been the question, how could he contain himself and have given an answer?

    His mental strength seems to be not too bad! If this was the case, sending more people after him would likely be futile. I shouldn¡¯t act rashly and alert him any further. I¡¯ll wait till he rxes and loosens up, then think of a perfect n to capture him!

    Reaching this thought, Lolita¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Before taking, one must first give! I have to find something that little bastard won¡¯t be able to resist, then, when the right timees, lead him onto the hook and finally... Heh heh, bring him over to the Divine Constabry and give his backside a good spanking!"

    ......

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to work hard. Each day, he would recite texts the second he woke up, and right before he sleeps. When bored, he would carry his Fundamentals of the Law of Dao and Trimetric ssic as he walked around the vige.

    This attracted some attention from the vigers, sparking some discussion.

    "Oh? Zhengzhi is starting to read again?"

    "He¡¯s really trying to learn this by himself?"

    "Zhengzhi,e here quickly,e to auntie... Tell auntie, how many words did you learn within this timeframe?" A middle-aged woman sitting in front of her courtyard pulled Fang Zhengzhi to her side.

    "I¡¯m not telling!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly retorted.

    "Is it because you can¡¯t even recognise a single word? Ha ha ha..." The womanughed out.

    "Auntie, can you read the words on this book?" Fang Zhengzhi asked, looking expectantly at her with a serious look on his face.

    "What did you just say? How can auntie know how to read?" The woman replied ufortably.

    "You mean auntie doesn¡¯t know how to read? Ha ha ha..." Fang Zhengzhiughed loudly, then spun around and walked away, leaving behind a group of vigers staring nkly at one another.

    After making his round around the vige, Fang Zhengzhi would lie down on arge rock by the fence of the Hall of Dao, basking in the sunlight and yfully imagining himself as a student from within the hall.

    "Look, Fang Zhengzhi is secretly trying to listen to the teacher again!"

    "What can he hear from the outside? He can¡¯t even see what¡¯s being written by the teacher, how can he understand just by listening?"

    "Only the Heavens know!"

    Looking at Fang Zhengzhi secretly trying to join the lesson going on inside the hall, the vigers began to discuss again. Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi never made any noise, nor raised anymotions, hence as time passed the vigers had begun to get used to this.

    As the days passed, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s self-reading had slowly stopped attracting the attention of the vigers. Seeing him make his rounds with his book becamemonce.

    Gradually, the vigers had also began to consider Fang Zhengzhi as a schr, just not the same as the real schrs within the Hall of Dao.

    Even so...

    Fang Zhengzhi was still known to everybody as an intellectual.

    Except, how many books had he read, were they of any use? Nobody knew.

    ...

    One particr afternoon, when the sun shone brightly in the sky, Fang Zhengzhi was sleeping at his usual spot on therge rock beside the Hall of Dao. Suddenly, he noticed a tiny leaf sprouting out of the branches of a small tree, half of its surface peeking out from behind the walls.

    Inspired by the sight, he recited a poem which is used to love alot.

    "With so much spring in the garden, how can it be contained? A spray of red apricot blossom has already reached over the wall."

    "Brother, I see you have been waiting for the apricot!" Just as he was about to fully close his eyes, satisfied, the light above his head seemed to be blocked by something. Opening his eyes, he saw a schrly-looking middle-aged man standing right in front of him.

    Fang Zhengzhi recognised him as a teacher from the Hall of Dao. His name was Wang Anhua. He was a decent, cultured man, but his face was a bit toorge, blocking the sun from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Everyday I¡¯ve been seeing you lying here under the sun, today I wish to test you a question. How about it?" Wang Anhua seems to not have heard the poem Fang Zhengzhi had just recited.

    "If I can answer it, would you promise me something?" Fang Zhengzhi sit up slowly from the rock, and asked innocently.

    Wang Anhua was taken aback. He had seen his fair share of students, each of them replying humbly and sincerely when he tested them. Who even negotiates conditions like this boy?

    However, considering that Fang Zhengzhi intended to ask for the promise to be granted only after he had answered the question...

    Curiosity took over. Is this boy really so confident?

    "Ha ha... tell me, what are your terms?" Wang Anhua didn¡¯t dismiss Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, and instead asked, his interest perked.

 Chapter 21: Based off Man Himself

    Chapter 21: Based off Man Himself

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I want to read the Law of Dao, every Law of Dao in the Hall of Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi blurted out.

    For the past month, as he studiously recited his texts, he saw a pattern emerge. The more he read the same content, the less enlightenment he gained. As such, he decided he needed to find a new "battlefield".

    Troubling his dad to purchase the books from outside the vige? Not only was that financially not viable, it was also a demanding journey. Most of all, the number of books his dad bought were not enough at all.

    "Alright, but you must be able to answer my question!" Without saying anything more, Wang Anhua nodded.

    Once again, Fang Zhengzhi sat up slowly. His expression were calm, but his heart was pumping with exhration. Hard work indeed pays off, after blindly waiting for a month, his "fish" finally came on the hook!

    It is said that every schr has an innate talent-cherishing heart. Knowing that he had nothing to lose, Fang Zhengzhi camped outside the Hall of Dao everyday trying his luck. By doing so, firstly, people would be aware that he had been listening in on the lessons, hence would be more epting of the fact that he knew how to read in the future. Secondly, if luck shone on him and he managed to attract the attention of some Sir, the benefits would be endless!

    Just one question, Fang Zhengzhi just needed a Sir to ask him just once question, he had utmost confidence that a second question will definitelye his way!

    He imagined, endless times, what he would do when he met a Sir from the Hall of Dao, pretending to be a good boy and answering whatever he was asked.

    As he thought, he decided the best reward he could receive, would be gaining entry into the Hall of Dao to study. Or maybe not...

    Even if the opportunity presented itself, did he really have to study the Trimetric ssic with the rest of the students?

    Apart from being a huge waste of time, and even pulling down his intelligence, all he seeked was the Law of Dao, the permission to study the Law of Dao!

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi employed an even more direct method.

    The method of goading!

    "Sir, please ask." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone became much friendlier.

    Wang Anhua smiled slightly, as if satisfied with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden change in attitude.

    "A person of great virtue is like the flowing water, how would you exin this?¡¯ Wang Anhua asked casually.

    Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. He assumed that under normal circumstances Fang Anhua should have tested a primary-level knowledge question, such as maybe reciting the Trimetric ssic, or writing a few words from The Book of Family Names.

    Never would he have thought that Wang Anhua would actually test him with the Tao Te Ching from his previous life.

    There was indeed something weird about this.

    Having slept outside the Hall of Dao everyday, he could more or less discern the contents of the lessons going on within. Until now, the sybus has only progressed until the Thousand Character ssic.

    He actually asked me this? Fang Zhengzhi felt a growing sense of unease.

    Give up? Remain low profile? Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling that this was a more suitable strategy, but he still felt unsatisfied at heart. After all, he had toiled for over a month for this opportunity, if he gave up, it would seriously hinder his progress.

    "Haha... Can¡¯t answer?" Wang Anhua smiled softly, then turned around and left.

    "Wait!" Fang Zhengzhi called out.

    "Thought of it?" Wang Anhua turned his head to look back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma, yet he really wished to gain permission to read the books.

    "A person of great virtue is like the flowing water. Water benefits all things and contends not with them. It puts itself in a ce that no one wishes to be and thus is closest to Dao." Gritting his teeth, Fang Zhengzhi finally decided to answer.

    Wang Anhua asked him to exin the phrase "A person of great virtue is like the flowing water". This phrase originated from Chapter 8 of Tao Te Ching and consisted of two paragraphs. Fang Zhengzhi was only able to recallpletely the first paragraph, and wasn¡¯t too sure about second, hence cut short his exnation.

    As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, Wang Anhua¡¯s eyes instantly widened, shock written all over his face. He only required Fang Zhengzhi to exin the phrase. What he didn¡¯t expect was that Fang Zhengzhi was even able to point out where the phrase originated from.

    This evidently showed that exining it would definitely not be a problem for him.

    Indeed, after reciting the original paragraph, he continued to speak.

    "The nature of a person with great virtue is simr to that of water. Water supports all creations, yet neverpetes and contends with them. It resides in ces despised by everyone, hence is close to Dao"

    "Excellent! Excellent exnation! I never thought that the Southern Mountain Vige would house such a talented self-taught schr! Haha... From today onwards, if you ever need to borrow a book, you cane to the back of the Hall of Dao and call out for me!" Wang Anhua¡¯s emotions were mixed andplicated, but didn¡¯t pursue the matter further. He had already gotten the answer he wanted.

    "Can I ask you a question?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped Wang Anhua once more.

    "Sure, please ask!" Wang Anhua halted in his tracks.

    "How can one ess Dao?¡¯

    "ess Dao?! Haha... Look at me, since when have I essed Dao?" Wang Anhua was slightly taken aback. He didn¡¯t expect a six year old child to ask him how to ess Dao.

    "Since Sir is lecturing in the Hall of Dao, it naturally means that you haven¡¯t essed Dao." Fang Zhengzhi replied, seemingly without even having to think.

    "You are really smart, that¡¯s right, I indeed haven¡¯t essed Dao, if one wishes to do so... it¡¯s really too hard! However, since you asked, I¡¯ll tell you one thing. The Dao of All Creations, are based off Man himself! This is what my Sir once taught me!" Once he finished his sentence, Wang Anhua returned to within the Hall of Dao.

    "The Dao of All Creations, are based off Man himself?!" Wang Anhua¡¯s words sent Fang Zhengzhi into deep thought...

    ......

    In the middle of that night, a creature, it¡¯s skin white as snow and it¡¯s ws sharp as a de, soared out of the Hall of Dao and disappeared into the night sky.

    A dayter, the flying creaturended onto an unbelievably huge courtyard. At its entrance, a gold-ted sign was hung up, on it disyed two bright-red words - "Divine Constabry".

    After which, a tightly sealed roll of paper was passed by a soldier into a study. Wearing a sky blue dress, Lolita took a look at the letter, her starry eyes glinting with a faint light, and her tender lips curved into a delighted smile.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?! Haha... After letting him off for a month, he is finally baited onto my hook!"

    ...

    Dao of All Creations, are based off Man himself?!

    The next few days saw Fang Zhengzhi lying on his bed, these few words upying his every thought. On the surface, understanding this phrase wasn¡¯t hard at all.

    The hard part lies in finding the link between its meaning and essing Dao.

    Previously, General Li of the Divine Constabry mentioned that to be able to grasp the Dao of All Creation, one must first understand All Creation. Yet, Wang Anhua from the Hall of Dao imed that the Dao of All Creation, are based off Man himself?!

    Why does it seem like there was some sort of conflict between what these two people said...

    Should I believe General Li? Or believe Wang Anhua? Or could it be that they are both right?

    Fang Zhengzhi seems unable toe to a firm conclusion. Recently, through consistent hard work, his progress has improved significantly. The single leaf he saw in his visions had now turned into five, and the single water droplet now became five water droplets.

    At the same time, he had gained a much greater control over his body.

    The flow of his blood, the contraction of his meridians, he could already control them perfectly. At present, he was even able to feel something he couldn¡¯t quite identify within his body.

    If he had to name this, it was better described as flesh.

    The ability to control flesh? This was unthinkable to the Fang Zhengzhi of the past, but it seems that now, the his feeling was incredibly strong .

    Except, he wasn¡¯t able to control it entirely. He could only control a tiny portion, for example, making the flesh at the tip of his finger much bouncier than before, or making it slightly harder, or changing the characteristics of the thinyer of exposed skin on his arm...

    He had no idea what was the use of being able to control his flesh, but nheless, it did indeed feel good.

    Wait...

    Control? Control over myself? The Dao of All Creations, are based off Man himself!

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the answer to the problem that troubled him for so long was finally revealed. Could this mean... in order to control All Creations, one must first be able to control oneself?

    I see! I see!

    All creations originates from the heart, all creations are based off Man himself!

    Seedlings have already sprouted from within his heart, those water droplets must be the source of his control over the body... All that was needed was to gain total, perfect control over himself!

    That means...

    All the conditions seem to have been satisfied!

    Happy and excited, Fang Zhengzhi felt as if all the problems that troubled him were finally resolved at this moment! Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wait to try it out. Rapidly standing up from his bed, he opened the window and jumped out onto the small courtyard once again.

    As he faced that fist-sized stone once again, he still felt slightly nervous.

    After all, his previous try came with an excruciatingly painful consequence.

    "In order to seed, one must first learn to sacrifice!"

    Gritting his teeth, Fang Zhengzhi took a deep breath, slowly adjusted his body and concentrated his flesh onto his right palm...

    Gradually, a particr feeling arose inside him, the concentration of flesh in his palms were increasing...

    A little bit more, a little bit more!

    "This is it, this is it... this is the feeling I want! Don¡¯t stop now!"

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly unleashed a muted roar, and immediately brought down his right palm towards the stone.

    "..."

    After a short moment of silence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression once again started to twist.

    "Ouch!"

    Fang Zhengzhi "happily" began to hop about, then, limped his way back through his window and into his room...

    "Crack!"

    A soft noise sounded out from behind Fang Zhengzhi. On top of the stone in the small courtyard, a finger-length crack suddenly formed...

    ...

 Chapter 22: Birthday

    Chapter 22: Birthday

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A few dayster, on one particr noon.

    "His Virtue is light as a hair. Still, a hair will admit ofparison as to its size. The doings of the supreme Heaven have neither sound nor smell.¨C That is perfect virtue"

    Fang Zhengzhi read softly, carefully closed the Law of Dao and Doctrine of the Mean he borrowed from the Hall of Dao, then began to recite...

    "Grrr!" The sound of his stomach reminded him that it was time to eat.

    "Zhengzhi, quicklye and eat, it¡¯s your birthday today!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice sounded out from the living room.

    "Birthday? Nice!" Evidently, Fang Zhengzhi had no idea that it was his birthday, but since Qin Xuelian said so, it should be true. As such, he immediately hurried out of his room.

    After today, I would be seven years old? The silent flow of time suddenly struck Fang Zhengzhi.

    These days, unsure whether it was due to growing up, hitting puberty or other causes, he definitely felt that his appetite was expanding quickly.

    Birthday... would there be delicious food?

    A piece of meat, a table full of vegetables, two eggs. This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sumptuous birthday meal.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hunger grew quickly, feeling warm and happy inside. This might be considered a very ordinary meal to many people, but what if they ate nothing but vegetables mixed with minced meat for every single one of their previous meals?

    Looks like the ingot of gold he gave indeed had some use to it...

    But, my dear mum, that is an ingot of gold! Can¡¯t we be more generous? Cook a little more meat, please don¡¯t leave it for my future marriage!

    Even though he was really tempted to voice out these thoughts, regrettably, because of certain circumstances, he shouldn¡¯t have known that his house had an ingot of gold. As such, he was unable to voice these out.

    Moreover, he knew very clearly that even if he really expressed what he thought, considering Qin Xuelian¡¯s personality, it was likely that she would still save up the gold. Suffering herself, yet leaving all her money for the next generation. This was the selflessness the ancient Chinese showed towards their children.

    "Zhengzhi, take the meat, I made this specially just for you!" Qin Xuelian picked up a piece of braised meat and ced in in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bowl.

    "Mum, you eat!" Zhengzhi rejected respectfully.

    "You eat, you eat! Today is your birthday, your mum took a really long time to braise this!" Fang Houde advised.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reject further. He knew Qin Xuelian would definitely not eat it, this was the unconditional love parents had for their children! Moved, a thought suddenly arose - he was already seven years old?

    Wolfing down the meal, Fang Zhengzhi took another walk around the small courtyard, then, re-entered the house.

    Just as he got ready to read another round of books, he heard Qin Xuelian¡¯s voiceing from the living room...

    "Zhengzhi is at an age when his body is growing, his appetite is also getting bigger and bigger!"

    "Yes I understand, but the previous strong members of the hunting squad are all studying in the Hall of Dao. Now, the remaining members of the hunting squad don¡¯t even dare to go anywhere deep. The game at the bottom of the hill is really too little, for one entire vige with a hundred over households, this just isn¡¯t enough..." Fang Houde replied with the same worried tone.

    "So what if we managed to hunt more animals? The first pick will still go to the households of those studying in the Hall of Dao. Just take Li¡¯s family as an example, previously he was able to huntrge amounts of game, hence more were distributed to his family. But now they arepletely reliant on the vige for support, and during every distribution, the highest numbers always goes to vige chief and their family!"

    "It¡¯s all because of hope, ultimately the Li family is the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s biggest hope!"

    Just as they were speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Opening the window of his room, Fang Zhengzhi looked outside and saw the vige chief, bringing along a group of vigers, standing in the middle of the small courtyard.

    "Oh, Houde!"

    "Vige chief, what¡¯s the matter?" Hearing his voice, Fang Houde immediately made his way to the center of the courtyard.

    "There¡¯s something I need to discuss with you!" Vige Chief Meng Bai took a puff of cigar, then gave Fang Houde a knowing look.

    "Vige chief, please speak." Fang Houde replied indifferently.

    "You see, in the recent one or two months, some of the main workforce in the vige had entered the Hall of Dao to study, along with that two Sirs had also arrived at the Hall of Dao.

    "I understand, I¡¯m willing to volunteer." Fang Zhengzhi instantly understood Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s intent.

    "Yes, it would be great if you are willing to volunteer. Even though you already lost an arm, but you were still indeed one of the strongest in the hunting squad in the past. You are experienced, you know the Cang Ling Mountain, you know which ces cannot be visited, I have absolute confidence in you! Some new members have just joined the hunting squad, I hope you can show them the ropes as well. Please make a trip to the mountain tomorrow, everyone in the vige depends on you guys!"

    "Don¡¯t worry Vige Chief!" Fang Houde nodded.

    Vige Chief took another puff, patted Fang Houde¡¯s shoulders, and quickly gathered his group of vigers to proceed in another direction.

    ...

    Enter the mountains? Hunting prey?

    Fang Zhengzhi always knew that the Southern Mountain Vige relied on the hunting squad for their livelihood, but had never seen it in action. He heard that the mountains were too dangerous.

    Even the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad only dared to hunt at the outskirts of Cang Ling Mountain, and didn¡¯t dare to venture deeper inside...

    As he thought, he heard a low sobbing sounding from the living room once again.

    "Entering the mountain?! This isn¡¯t a joke! That¡¯s too dangerous, you are forbidden from going!" Desperation was evident in Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice.

    "This... This isn¡¯t something I have a choice in, there are only that many people in the vige, taking into ount the old and the young... if nobody enters the mountain, wouldn¡¯t we all starve to death? Only by entering the mountain and bring back game can we have meat to eat, leather to sell at the capital market, that¡¯s how we get maintain our livelihood..." Fang Houde reassured her softly.

    "Why must they choose you out of so many people in the vige? Didn¡¯t you already break your arm for the vige? Even worse, they are pampering those in the Hall of Dao, yet still forcing you to enter the mountain? How do you even hunt with one broken arm, you can¡¯t even pull a bow! Moreover, don¡¯t we already have gold now..."

    "Sheesh! The gold is reserved for Zhengzhi¡¯s future marriage, we can¡¯t spend it without good reason! Although I can¡¯t pull a bow, I can still hold a spear! Furthermore, what vige chief said was right, I¡¯m more familiar with this Cang Ling Mountain. I would mainly be involved inmand and control, and not considering the rest of the beasts, hunting a few small prey still wouldn¡¯t even be a problem!"

    "You always only think about the vige, I won¡¯t allow... sigh... the spear in our house is a little rusty, I ... I¡¯ll go prepare it for you now..." Halfway into her sentence, upon seeing Fang Houde¡¯s expression, she finally let out a sigh, turned around and walked towards the storeroom filled with metal tools.

    The voices stopped, Fang Houde also began to prepare his hunting tools...

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the green des of grass growing out on the small courtyard, sighed softly, his expression slightly worried for the first time. The entire economy of the vige depended on that one hunting squad.

    The Hall of Dao was indeed prestigious, and was the future hope of the vige, but before that hope was realised, it was also a kind of burden. After the already poor Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s mainbour force was selected to study in the Hall of Dao, the level of stress naturally shot up.

    Hunting squad? He didn¡¯t even know when would he be qualified to go up the mountain...

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought, his vision suddenly came into focus. Because, he saw that piece of stone in the middle of the courtyard, and on that stone, was a finger-length crack!

 Chapter 23: Running into Trouble

    Chapter 23: Running into Trouble

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    A month passed in the blink of an eye. Fang Zhengzhi persisted in his daily studying routine - studying in the morning and revising once more before bed. In the day, he stopped sleeping outside the Hall of Dao.

    One early morning, the sky just began to brighten.

    "Damn it, who on earth is it? Why am I missing another Fire Plume Chicken?!" Within the Li Family courtyard, Mrs Li¡¯s voice was just as domineering as before.

    Isn¡¯t it just one chicken?

    Did you think that by shouting out so loudly, I will return it to you? Naive!

    Along the small river outside the vige, Fang Zhengzhi was leisurely adding wine and colourful seasonings on the Fire Plume Chicken. Then, he brought his nose towards the chicken, took a sniff, lightly tore off a piece and ced it in his mouth.

    Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Just right!

    Then, the immediately took down the entire chicken from the roasting racks and started to wolf it down...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have any other choices. Even though these days his dad repeatedly brought the hunting squad to the mountain, but, due to the vige rules, when it was time to distribute the spoils, their portion was close to pitiful.

    His appetite grew exponentially, but the food was really too little,pletely unable to meet his growing needs. Faced with no other options, he could only once again leverage on his "friendly" neighbour.

    Anyway, the Li family didn¡¯t contribute anything at all, but were always given thergest portions from the hunting spoils.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt no guilt. Devouring the entire chicken, he patted his round belly and felt his body surge with strength.

    Then, he gradually made his way to the grass field beside the river, found a fist-sized stone in the field and gently ced it on the floor.

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes and slowly regted his breathing. Then, his eyes flew open, opening his palms and brought it down upon down the stone.

    "Crack!"

    A deep crack formed on the fist sized stone. Without much hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand moved in a sh once more. Another palmnded on the same spot on the stone.

    "Crack!" This time, the crack on the stone opened up rapidly like a web.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes shed, a third palm struck the stone.

    "Boom!" The stone finally shatteredpletely and reduced into a pile of smashed pebbles.

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately rubbed his slightly reddened palm. But, his expression still seemed to be rather delighted.

    Three palms! It is a huge improvement from the five palms a week ago!

    This strength althoughpared to Lolita and General Li was akin to the difference between Heaven and Earth, but for someone who used to be a meek and wimpy schr in his past life, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed happy.

    No matter what, he was now a fierce man who could shatter stones with one hand! Even though he needed three palm strikes, but if it was his past life, it might not have been able to make him a fighting champion, but it was still possible to make him a ck belt.

    "Aha!"

    Fang Zhengzhi imitated the sound of his idol in his past life, took a stance, looked at his own reflections in the river and felt rather cool.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Just as he was grinning happily, a young voice sounded out from behind.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned his head and saw an eight year old boy from his vige.

    "Bad... Bad news, the hunting squad... hunting squad ran... ran into trouble... vige... vige chief asked me to look for you!" The boy shouted, panting for breath as he ran.

    "What?!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, an extremely ufortable feeling rose up in him. The vige chief sent someone to find him, and it was regarding the hunting squad, could it be...

    This is bad!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t dare to think any further, and sprinted towards the vige, his speed as fast as the wind.

    The eight year old boy was instantly stunned. Staring at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stumpy legs bolting away, he couldn¡¯t understand - how can someone run so fast? Recovering from his initial shock, he immediately began to open up his footsteps and started to run, following behind Fang Zhengzhi. But he realised after a while, he couldn¡¯t even see Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s backside anymore...

    ...

    Once he entered the Southern Mountain Vige, Fang Zhengzhi heard a wave of faint crying sound.

    His heart raced again, his tiny palms filled with sweat. Not bothering to keep up his pretence of being a small, delicate kid, he immediately sprinted towards the source of the crying.

    Very quickly, he arrived at the vige square.

    At this moment, the square was packed with vigers. The vigers were huddled together, the wailing cries of womening out from within the crowd. His mother Qin Xuelian was among them.

    "Boo hoo... Houde, you... something better not happen to you..." Qin Xuelianpletely lost her usual calm demeanor, her face filled with tears.

    Her words sent a shiver down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spine.

    Without even thinking further, he instantly dove into the crowd.

    Very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi located his dad. Fang Houde was lying t on an old, thick piece of leather, his face pale and white, the ground around him stained with blood. Apart from Fang Houde, another seven or eight vigers were in this same state.

    "Zhengzhi is here!"

    "Don¡¯t worry, your dad is fine, it¡¯s only a few injuries..."

    Once the vigers saw Fang Zhengzhi, they immediately attempted to reassure him. They were all afraid this young boy would be triggered.

    "Injuries?!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi looked at his dad Fang Houde, he saw a huge gaping wound bleeding profusely on his thigh, along with streaks of blood on his chest and waist.

    From Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s point of view, it looked like he was sliced open with a knife, but upon closer inspection, he realised that it didn¡¯t seem like it. Because, around every streak of blood was five lines of open wounds.

    Looking at the other vigers, he realised that their injuries were all simr. Every injured viger had w marks on their body, blood flowing uncontrobly from their wounds...

    "Who would have thought that Blue Fire Wolf woulde down the mountain again!"

    "Indeed, that lone wolf which separated from its pack harmed many people at the foot of the mountain these few years. The Northern Mountain Vige also met with itst time, I heard that two people were injured by it.

    "But this time our Southern Mountain Vige suffered seven or eight casualties!"

    The vigers chipped in their views one by one, each of their faces shing with anger. However, there was nothing they could do. The Blue Fire Wolf was too strong. It was something that thesemon vigers would never be able to match up to.

    Anyone who encountered it in the mountains, could only run!

    "Blue Fire Wolf?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist instantly tightened.

    He recalled what his mother told him in the past - His dad¡¯s right arm was broken by a Blue Fire Wolf. At that time, the Blue Fire Wolf had found its way into the vige, his dad stood at the frontline blocking its advance. Only when faced with thebined efforts of the entire vige did the Blue Fire Wolf finally flee.

    Could it be the same one?

    "That Blue Fire Wolf didn¡¯t appear these few years, we thought it was already dead, who knew that it wille out at this time..." A viger drawn out a long sigh.

    It¡¯s really the same one!

    "No matter how much you have, all of you go and retrieve the medications you have for stopping blood flow!" Vige Chief Meng Bai was leading a team of vigers to apply medicine onto the wounds of the casualties, his face dripping with sweat.

    "The hunting squad suffered so many casualties, how are we going to preserve our livelihood from now?" A familiar voice erupted from the crowd. It was Mrs Li.

    "What¡¯s the point of saying this now? Saving lives is the priority!" A viger instantly retorted.

    "The livings of hundred or so households in the vige all depend on the hunting squad, without the squad, the entire vige would starve to death! How can I not say this?" Mrs Li refuted huffily.

    "Sigh, this is indeed true..."

    "If the hunting squad cannot hunt more animals, I don¡¯t know how we are going to carry on living."

    A few thirty-over year old women began to sigh.

 Chapter 24: Shock

    Chapter 24: Shock

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s small fist tightened once again, and ran quickly towards Fang Houde. As he ran past Mrs Li, his stumpy leg "identally" stepped right onto her foot.

    "Oww!..." Mrs Li screeched sharply.

    Fang Zhengzhi instantly got a shock, turning around and losing his bnce, his other leg once again "identally"nded onto Mrs Li¡¯s backside.

    "Plop!" Mrs Li lost her bnce, sprawling on the floor, her four limbs spread out evenly.

    "Pfft pfft... O, which blind little bastard..." Because of her screeching, sand entered her mouth. She hurried attempted to spit it out, then turning her head back, she realised there wasn¡¯t even a figure in sight.

    At this time Fang Zhengzhi had already sped past Mrs Li and arrived in front of Fang Houde.

    As he carefully scrutinised his dad¡¯s injuries, he realised that other than the wound on his leg, the bleeding had stopped in the rest of the injured areas. But this wound on the leg, without almost a year of rest and recovery, he was afraid that it wouldn¡¯t be able to get better.

    "Oh, Zhengzhi is here, actually daddy... daddy is fine, don¡¯t ... don¡¯t worry, tell your mum ... not ... not to cry..." Fang Houde¡¯s lips were slightly purplish, his body and face drenched in sweat, but he still strained to extend his left hand, patting Fang Zhengzhi on the head.

    "Hmph! You seem to have a lot of energy, might as well go hunting in the mountain!" Mrs Li finally came to her senses, realising that the person who pushed her was likely to be Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Mrs Li, that isn¡¯t something you should be saying! Zhengzhi is still a little boy, what he did wasn¡¯t even on purpose, he was just worried! How can you even suggest asking a kid to go hunting in the mountains?"

    "Exactly! Your family¡¯s Huer is even older than Zhengzhi by a month, why don¡¯t you ask him to go hunting?"

    "Can¡¯t you see that old Fang is already injured? How can you bully people like that!"

    When the vigers heard Mrs Li¡¯sments, they instantly couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye anymore and one by one, began to voice out.

    Mrs Li¡¯s face flushed with redness, realising that she probably said something wrong. ncing around at the indignant faces of the vigers, she swallowed the words that were about toe out of her mouth, and only mumbled lowly.

    "Didn¡¯t the Northern Mountain Vige use to have a child who went up the mountains at nine years old, ain¡¯t that amazing..."

    "Shut up!" Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s finally lost his temper. The hand in which he held his cigar trembled slightly and even his snow-white beard red up.

    "We will discuss the matter regarding the hunting squad after a few days, for now saving people is the priority! You few, carefully, help to carry home those whose bleeding has stopped. I will immediately depart to the capital and buy some herbs back. Everyone please contribute what you can!

    "Vige Chief, I have some copper pieces, you can have them!"

    "My family has saved some broken silver pieces, please wait, I¡¯ll go retrieve them now!"

    "Mrs Li, why not you contribute some as well?" Some vigers looked at Mrs Li.

    "This... The two people in my family are still studying in the Hall of Dao, whether this hunting squad still can enter the mountains in the future is still a big question. The food and drink rations at home, shouldn¡¯t I be saving up on them..." Mrs Li immediately tried to conceal herself among the crowd.

    When the vigers heard what she said, they all became somewhat infuriated.

    "Forget it, it¡¯s voluntary! If the Li family really excelled in their studies in the future, that is also our Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s blessing. My own family still has some money, we should be able to purchase a few..." Vige Chief Meng Bai gave a sigh, and didn¡¯t say anything more.

    "Did you all hear that? Even vige chief said that the Southern Mountain Vige has to depend on us in the future, education is now extremely valuable in the county!" Mrs Li instantly stood up straight when she heard his words.

    While the vigers still remained slightly ufortable, they also didn¡¯t argue further. Ultimately, everybody saw that in the Divine Constabry¡¯s previous examination held for the Southern Mountain Vige, Li Zhuangshi was indeed the strongest in the entire vige.

    The Law of Dao examination in the capital does indeed test one¡¯s understanding of the texts, but what¡¯s most important would be one¡¯s physical abilities. Dao is essed through texts, based on the Law of Dao, but the person most respected is always the one with the strongest physical abilities!

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at Mrs Li, her face filled with delight, then looked at his mum Qin Xuelian, looking down and sobbing, then at the surrounding infuriated vigers who dared not speak. He suddenlyughed out in his heart.

    Afraid of being used as possessed?

    Does that mean that I can only endure?

    Grow up slowly under a low profile?

    Hmph...

    The weaker I portray myself, others will only continue to look down on me, look down on the Fang family. Now that my dad Fang Houde has already be bedridden, who will manage this family?!

    Am I going to wait until my own delicate mother Qin Xuelian copse with fatigue?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly started to hate himself. He hated himself for being too cautious, hating himself for always thinking too far ahead. In the end, he lost what was most valuable.

    Even though he was only seven!

    But so what?

    At the moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes red with determination.

    He felt that he was already capable, he must do something for this family!

    I will support the whole family! Standing up suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi wordlessly strode towards arge stone in the vige square.

    The surrounding vigers couldn¡¯t understand what he was trying to do.

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t do anything stupid!"

    "What is he trying to do?"

    "He must have been triggered, quick, stop him!"

    As the vigers prepared to hold back Fang Zhengzhi, he has already raised his fist.

    "Boom!"

    A deafening sound resounded. Therge stone began to shake furiously. Then, lines of web-like cracks began to spread quickly on the surface of the stone.

    "Crack!" The stone shattered.

    All the vigers, including Vige Chief Meng Bai, and Mrs Li, and even Qin Xuelian, were stupefied, each of them staring at the young Fang Zhengzhi,pletely unable to react.

    "Pah!"

    The cigar beside Vige Chief Meng Bai fell to the floor, but, hepletely didn¡¯t notice this. Instead, he continued to stare unmoving with his eyes widened in shock.

    What is this?

    Are his eyes ying tricks on him?

    A seven year old boy shattering a stone with one fist. This... this ispletely unimaginable!

    At this moment, all the vigers on the square were in a dream-like state, all unwilling to believe that they had just witnessed. But, this scene truly appeared right in front of their eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze swept across the faces of every single viger. He saw Mrs Li¡¯s dropped jaws, and Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s wide eyes.

    Until his gaze stopped on Qin Xuelian, her face filled with shock.

    Gazing at his mom¡¯s tear-stricken face, he suddenly drawn out a long sigh. Then, on his young tender face, an expression of pure determination appeared!

 Chapter 25: The Hunting Squad

    Chapter 25: The Hunting Squad

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I! Want! To! Enter! The! Hunting! Squad!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice resonated across the entire length of the vige square. His voice wasn¡¯t very loud, but it shocked the hearts of every viger.

    "Hunting squad?!"

    "He said... he said he wants to enter the hunting squad?"

    "My God, he¡¯s only seven!"

    When they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, the vigers looked at one another, not daring to believe what they just heard.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was the first toe to his senses. Taking a look at Fang Houde¡¯s seemingly lifeless form, he mouthed softly, "Houde... you have such a good son!"

    Listening to the discussion arising all around herm, Qin Xuelian¡¯s body began to tremble intensely. Her beautiful eyes took one look at Fang Zhengzhi, then looked at Fang Houde lying in front of her. Tears instantly spewed from her eyes again...

    ...

    Very quickly, like the wind, news of Fang Zhengzhi wanting to enter the hunting squad found its way into every household in the entire vige. When some of the old viger who never stepped a foot outside their houses heard the news, their face were filled with disbelief.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi shattering the stone with one fist was something dozens of people saw with their own eyes.

    "This is unbelievable, how did Zhengzhi do it? Don¡¯t tell me he... essed Dao?"

    "How is this possible! I bet that stone was already cracked, when Zhengzhi saw his own dad injured, his anger gave him this strength!"

    "No matter what, even if the stone was already cracked, to shatter it with one fist is not something a seven year old child can achieve!"

    "Yeah! What brute force, this is definitely much stronger than me when I was young!"

    Waves of discussion began to spread throughout the vige, and the vigers all began to praise the Fang family for raising such a strong child.

    However, everywhere the wind blows, there was bound to be some flying specks of gravel.

    For one, Mrs Li was extremely indignant: "Isn¡¯t it just brute force? He can¡¯t even enter the Hall of Dao, and definitely won¡¯t be able to pass the eventual Law of Dao examinations, so what if he has strength? It¡¯s still a lifetime of hunting for him!"

    Li Zhuangshi also began to worry, looking at Li Huer from time to time and sighing sadly. He himself was unable to guess what he was thinking...

    Vige Chief Meng Bai sat on the carriage, journeying towards the county, his eyes wandering towards the endless streams of mountains outside the carriage. Distressfully, he brought the cigar he was holding to his mouth, inhaled deeply and breathed out a concentrated puff of smoke.

    "Oh Fang family... how can I ever make up to you! It¡¯s all my fault for being so blind, not being able to see the potential of this child. But, it¡¯s already toote, the namelist of the Hall of Dao entrants have already been submitted, changing it... is really too difficult..."

    ...

    In the Fang family household, Qin Xuelian gingerly wiped away the bloodstains on Fang Houde¡¯s body, and lightly sat down beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Zhengzhi... you... must you really enter the hunting squad?" Qin Xuelian¡¯s expression wasplex, after what happened at the vige square, even she had no idea how to discuss with her own son.

    Treat Fang Zhengzhi as an adult? But he¡¯s only seven.

    Treat him as a child? This also seemed somewhat inappropriate. This was because he was about to be a hunter entering the mountain, the lifeline of the entire Southern Mountain Vige...

    "Yes, mum!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He knew what Qin Xuelian was thinking, but, there are things that he had to do. Now that Fang Houde had fallen, he must stand up. At this time when his family was in peril, he must support it!

    "But, you are now only seven..." Qin Xuelian spoke somewhat hesitantly.

    "Mum, don¡¯t worry, I will take care! Moreover, didn¡¯t vige chief already say? Now that I entered the hunting squad, all the animals I hunt belong to me. Now that dad is injured, how can he live without eating any meat?" Fang Zhengzhi reassured his mum.

    From a logical point of view, he knew what he did was somewhat impulsive. Dangers lurked everywhere on the Cang Ling Mountain, even though he managed to gain some breakthroughs, but it was still impossibly difficult to defend himself against anyrge predators he would meet.

    Most importantly, he hadpletely no fighting skills to defend against the wild beasts, in his past life he never even fought with a dog! Now he was to suddenly start hunting wild beasts?

    That didn¡¯t even seem right.

    But, after making this decision, he had never regretted.

    And what was extremely fortunate was that the vigers in the Southern Mountain Vige were indeed rather simple-minded. Coupled with the priority of Fang Houde¡¯s injury,even though he did something that stunned the entire vige, nobody suspected how he suddenly became so powerful.

    Now, the next problem was how to enter the mountains, how to survive long-term on the mountains, and how to stay safe while still being able to hunt animals.

    Fang Zhengzhi somewhat understood the hunting techniques of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    An extremely rigid method, setting small traps at some path junctions, then, the entire hunting squad sticking together as a group, wandered about the Cang Ling Mountain and shot down animals with bows and arrows.

    Nothing could be more primitive than this!

    This wasn¡¯t the method Fang Zhengzhi wished to employ, because if anyrge beasts were encountered, the entire squad would be in danger. If luck shone on them, they might be able to maintain this for one or two months. But, can they maintain this for a lifetime?

    A few of the elderly vigers were ridden by old injuries, some even missing an arm or a leg. These were the consequences!

    He had to change this hunting strategy!

    Fang Zhengzhi went into deep thought. How can I hunt down animals, yet preserve my own safety? Moreover there is another hidden danger, that¡¯s the Blue Fire Wolf that constantly roamed the outskirts of the Cang Ling Mountain!

    As Qin Xuelian looked at the frowning Fang Zhengzhi, her lips moved slightly.

    "Zhengzhi, actually, a few days ago I found an ingot of gold..."

    "Mum, leave that gold to take care of dad!" Fang Zhengzhi knew what Qin Xuelian wanted to express, since he had already stood out, he didn¡¯t try to hide any further.

    "You... you know..." Qin Xuelian couldn¡¯t conceal the shock in her eyes anymore, then she remembered that day when she saw the "dumpling" kid on the stage. She suddenly understood.

    As she looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, her expression became extremelyplex.

    "Zhengzhi has grown up..."

    "Mum, don¡¯t worry, you can leave this family to me!"

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything further. He knew clearly that he had to step up sooner orter, it was just a matter of time.

    Cang Ling Mountain? Blue Fire Wolf! Heard that the pelt of the Blue Fire Wolf... is worth quite some money. Then, let me take a look at what you are truly capable of!

    ...

    Half a monthter, one morning...

    Dressed in cotton clothes, Qin Xuelian carefully prepared a leather jacket for Fang Zhengzhi.

    The Cang Ling Mountain was filled with deadly and poisonous insects and one cannot dress too thinly when entering the mountain. At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was wearing thick-soled leather shoes, a pair of leather gloves, and a leather jacket that extended to his thighs. He even wore a leather cap on his head.

    From afar, he couldn¡¯t be differentiated from a small mountain beast.

    Although...

    His attire was filled with patches!

    After a period of rest, coupled with the herbs the vige chief purchased from the county, some of the lightly injured members of the hunting squad had more or less recovered. Fang Houde could also get up from his bed and take a few slow steps.

    "When you enter the mountain, if you encounter any huge beasts... hide at the back!" Fang Houde¡¯s voice called out from inside his room.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. Knowing very well his dad¡¯s simple personality, it required great courage to say these words.

    "Dad don¡¯t worry, I will always hide behind!" Fang Zhengzhi carried up hisrge basket, then hid a small dagger in his leather shoe and stepped outside the door.

    "Zhengzhi, you didn¡¯t bring a bow..." As he left, Qin Xuelian called out.

    "I don¡¯t know how!" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth.

    "Zhengzhi... de... you didn¡¯t even bring a hunting de..."

    "I don¡¯t know how either..."

    "This... you didn¡¯t even bring anything, how are you going to hunt?"

    "I have this!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the basket he carried on his back, then took out the dagger he concealed in his shoe, and dangled it in front of Qin Xuelian...

    ...

 Chapter 26: Too Imperious

    Chapter 26: Too Imperious

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    In reality, Qin Xuelian¡¯s doubt regarding Fang Zhengzhi represented the doubt of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad. When Fang Zhengzhi, carrying hisrge basket, appeared at the assembly point in the vige square, all the members of the hunting squad stared at him nkly.

    "Zhengzhi, where¡¯s your bow?

    "I left it at home!"

    "Then... your de?"

    "I didn¡¯t bring it!"

    The members of the hunting squad were speechless. Was he nning to hunt prey, or be the prey?

    "Zhengzhi, ignore them. When we go up the mountain, you will stay behind the squad. Gain some experience first, don¡¯t rush into action when you encounter wild prey, understand?" A middle-aged man with a slightly roundish face and plumpish body walked beside Fang Zhengzhi and ced his hands on his shoulders.

    This was the Deputy Captain of the hunting squad, Ding Qingshan!

    Ever since Li Zhuangshi entered the Hall of Dao, he took up the appointment as Deputy Captain. How about the Captain? That position had always been taken up by the vige chief.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t entered the mountain for more than ten years.

    "I understand, I won¡¯t participate!" Fang Zhengzhi replied honestly.

    The members of the hunting squad were stunned, then immediatelyughed out. When they knew Fang Zhengzhi shattered a stone with one fist, they were all slightly curious about this seven year old boy.

    Of course, more importantly they were considering what surprise this talented boy can bring to the hunting squad.

    But now...

    It was indeed a surprise.

    "He is still a kid after all..." Ding Qingshan sighed softly.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai personally came to the vige square to send the hunting squad off. As he looked at therge basket Fang Zhengzhi carried on his back, he simrly had no choice but to shake his head.

    ...

    Taking advantage of the morning fog, a team of over ten people walked along the small trails that led behind the vige and quickly journeyed towards the Cang Ling Mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi on the other hand followed behind the squad, carrying hisrge basket.

    Tall mountain peaks, winding trails, thendscape filled with towering ancient trees and dense grass fields. To say that there were dangers lurking everywhere was definitely not an exaggeration.

    This sparked a sense of novelty in Fang Zhengzhi. Living in the city all his past life, mountains and forests were a rare sight for him. Looking left and right, he hummed a little tune as he walked.

    As the rest of the hunting squad looked at him, they just smiled.

    No matter how they tried to see it, they felt that Fang Zhengzhi looked nothing like a hunter, but instead looked like he was here to make a sightseeing tour.

    But, they didn¡¯t say anything much. Ultimately he was still a kid, entering the mountain for the first time would no doubt spark some curiosity.

    As they walked on, an hour passed and the sky was already illuminated brightly. The hunting squad had already almost reached the outskirts of Cang Ling Mountain. This, was where the Southern Mountain Vige usually hunted.

    "First inspect the respective traps, check if we had captured anything!" Ding Qingshan quickly gave out orders to the surrounding hunting squad members.

    "Roger!" The hunting squad immediately sprang into action.

    "Woosh!"

    Right at this moment, the sound of an arrow slicing through the air resounded. Then, a long arrow nailed itself right in front of the hunting squad.

    "Who¡¯s that?" Ding Qingshan was the first to react, his gaze swept across the densely packed bushes. The rest of the squad each pulled out their long des, and anxiously formed a circle.

    Fang Zhengzhi just happened to end up right in the center of this circle.

    "Ha ha ha... I thought there was a wild beast, who would have thought it would be people from the Southern Mountain Vige!" A middle-aged man dressed in green leather walked out from the dense forests, veins bulging from his arms and deep scars covering his face.

    "They are from the Northern Mountain Vige!"

    "Zhang Yangping, this is the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s territory, why would vigers from the Northern Mountain Vige end up here?"

    Ding Qingshan quickly recognised the man¡¯s identity, frowning deeply, the grip of his hand on the long de didn¡¯t loosen and instead, he held it defensively in front of his chest.

    "The Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s territory? Ha ha ha... Heard that Southern Mountain Vige was attacked by the Blue Fire Wolf, I thought that you guys will never set foot upon the mountain again!" Zhang Yangpingughed.

    "Zhang Yangping, Northern Mountain Vige peopleing here, are you trying to snatch prey from the traps we set?" When Ding Qingshan saw Zhang Yangping appear in this ce, he quickly realised his purpose.

    "What do you mean snatch? The prey is from the mountain, don¡¯t tell me "Southern Mountain Vige" is written on them? Ha ha ha... Since you havee, we will make a move first!" After finishing his sentence, Zhang Yangping prepared to leave.

    "Stop right there, hand over our prey!" Immediately, a member of the hunting squad stood out.

    "Prey? Oh... I forgot. That¡¯s right, we indeed managed to pick up some prey around here, but if you want to have it, you have first ask if my de here agrees..." Zhang Yangping waved his hands and immediately, over twenty men jumped out from behind the bushes, prey hanging from each of their waists.

    Gloominess was evident in Ding Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Looking at the twenty over members of the Northern Mountain Vige, then turning behind to look at his ten over hunting squad members, he struggled intensely inside.

    "Ha ha ha... don¡¯t want it anymore? Don¡¯t tell me you all haven¡¯t even realised this yet, in this world the strongest is always the winner. One can only listen to whoever¡¯s fist is the toughest! Southern Mountain Vige? What a joke! We are not only here to snatch today, we will be here to snatch every single day in the future! Hmph, let¡¯s go!" Zhang Yangping chuckled delightedly, turned around then disappeared in the vegetation.

    "What are you staring at? Come snatch it back if you have the balls!"

    "Southern Mountain Vige? Ha ha, your Southern Mountain Vige has no capabilities anymore!"

    " Ha ha ha..."

    A few of the Northern Mountain Vige membersughed as they walked.

    "Deputy captain!"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige are too imperious!"

    "Let¡¯s fight it out with them!"

    When the Southern Mountain Vige witnessed this, they were instantly triggered.

    "No we can¡¯t, they have too many people, and among us there are people who haven¡¯t recovered fully from their injuries. If we were really to fight it out, we will definitely suffer!" Ding Qingshan gripped tightly on the long de in his hands

    "But... our prey has been taken away by them..." People were still unsatisfied.

    "Let¡¯s not talk about this any further, everyone go search if there are any left which they missed out." Ding Qingshan urged.

    "Roger."

    "Uncle Qingshan, I¡¯ll go pick some herbs!" Fang Zhengzhi voiced out at this moment.

    "Pick herbs? Are you picking them for your dad? What a filial child, the surroundings here are usually safe from danger, but don¡¯t wander too far, make sure youe back to this spot before it gets dark, understand?"

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then ran off in a sh.

    "This child... indeed seems to run really fast!"

    "Deputy captain, today is Zhengzhi¡¯s first time on the mountain, what if he gets lost?"

    "How will children who grew up in the mountain lose their way? Moreover, since he joined the hunting squad, it is inevitable that he has to go through some hardship. Let¡¯s do it this way... if he hasn¡¯t returned before the sky darkens, we will go search for him. Hunting is the priority now!"

    "Roger!"

    ...

 Chapter 27: The First Time

    Chapter 27: The First Time

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Under Zhang Yangping¡¯s leadership, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squareughed loudly as they brought the game back to their own territory.

    "Deputy captain is indeed brilliant, this time our yield is really high. The Southern Mountain Vige hasn¡¯t visited the mountain in many days, there are really quite a few good prey in the traps..." A hunting squad member following behind Zhang Yangpingughed happily.

    "Of course, under normal circumstances, the Southern Mountain Vige and Northern Mountain Vige went about their own businesses in their own territories. But this year, the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s luck hasn¡¯t been good, having encountered the Blue Fire Wolf and I even heard that they suffered seven to eight casualties. They won¡¯t be able to pose any short-term threat to us!" Likewise, Zhang Yangping was delighted.

    "Indeed our deputy captain¡¯s thinking is flexible, if it was us we would never have been able to think of this!"

    "Huh? Deputy captain, there is a... small child behind!"

    Very quickly, Zhang Yangping and his team noticed that following behind them, was a six or seven year old child, wearing a leather jacket and carrying arge basket on his back.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother trying to conceal his intentions, and outrightly sauntered behind them.

    Why?

    The reason was simple. Having to walk around in the mountain alone, he was obviously scared!

    "Such a young kid? What is he doing!"

    "Quick, look! He is carrying arge basket behind his back, could it be someone from another vigeing to Cang Ling Mountain to pick herbs?"

    "Then let¡¯s ignore him, carry on!"

    Zhang Yangping and his team continued to walk, until they reached the Northern Mountain Vige territory.

    While Fang Zhengzhi continued to follow behind them.

    "Deputy captain, we have already reached our Northern Mountain Vige territory?!"

    "What are you saying, how big can this Cang Ling Mountain be? There are so many peopleing from other ces and viges to pick herbs on the mountain. He is just a childing up to pick herbs, why do you care so much about him!" Zhang Yangping huffed.

    Indeed, the rest of the hunting squad thought the same. There were many viges surrounding the Cang Ling Mountain,ing up to pick herbs was a usual sight.

    However, people usually chose the deeper parts of Cang Ling Mountain for herb picking, herbs on the outskirts were exceedingly rare.

    Looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tender age, the hunting squad members understood again. Looks like this kid didn¡¯t dare to venture too deep...

    Fang Zhengzhi waited till the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige stopped, and understood. More likely than not, this was the hunting territory of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Reaching his destination, he leisurely began to take out the hoe, shovels and other tools from therge basket from his bag.

    Then, he began to dig...

    When the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, who had started searching for more prey, went past him, they nced a few times at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, realising that he brought neither a bow nor a de, they rxed and didn¡¯t pay any further attention to him.

    Fang Zhengzhi dug energetically. As he dug, he took out his ruler to make measurements, and from time to time took out a drawing from his pocket to take a few looks. Other times, he would be carrying stones from his surroundings and shifting them around.

    His purpose in following the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad naturally was not to shout out, "Return my prey!"

    Because, that was obviously asking for trouble...

    Not only did the opponent have over twenty strong men, but just their bows or des alone was something he couldn¡¯t defeat with his small dagger.

    Those good at offense, their enemies can¡¯t defend against them. Those good at defense, their enemies have no idea how to attack!

    Fang Zhengzhi evidently wasn¡¯t really here to pick herbs. The past few days he had thought long and hard, and finally came up with a big n, a n that was enough to make sure the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad would never be bullied, a n that would always put him at an undefeatable position.

    As the saying goes: The time spent sharpening a de won¡¯t hinder the cutting of trees. If he wanted to reap huge rewards, he have to first sharpen a "razor-sharp de".

    His initial n was to carry out this n at the Southern Mountain Vige territory, however now that an "ident" had happened, he decided to carry it out on the Northern Mountain Vige territory instead...

    Time flowed by quickly. Very soon, it was noon. Fang Zhengzhi stopped his work, took out the lunch Qin Xuelian prepared for him, ate his pic meal, took a short break and recited The Great Learning.

    As the sky started to darken slightly, Fang Zhengzhi started to leave...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first time up the mountain was devoid of any interesting surprises.

    When the vigers of the Southern Mountain Vige realised that he returned with empty hands, theyughed casually. After all, he was a kid, and moreover it was his first time in the mountain. Not catching anything was normal.

    The second Qin Xuelian saw Fang Zhengzhi, she immediately hugged him tightly.

    "I¡¯m just happy that you are back..."

    Mrs Li¡¯s words were still undeniably harsh: "I thought you were so talented, after one whole day in the mountain, howe you didn¡¯t even manage to catch a green furred rabbit?"

    Some of the vigers in the square were unhappy when they heard this.. Ultimately, to them, for Fang Zhengzhi to stand out and volunteer to join the hunting squad was already something very respectable.

    "Zhengzhi is only seven, to have voluntarily joined the hunting squad¡¯s expedition is already good enough!"

    "That¡¯s right, am I right to believe your family¡¯s Li Huer wouldn¡¯t dare to go?"

    "He is so young, and moreover this is his first expedition up the mountain, how can you really judge him as if he is an adult?"

    The vigers noisily began to discuss. When Mrs Li heard this, she became unhappy. Arms akimbo, she retorted, "My family¡¯s Li Huer has not joined the hunting squad, but my family¡¯s Li Huer is studying! Next time when he passes the Law of Dao examinations, he is going to be a high-ranking official! When he excludes the entire Southern Mountain Vige from taxes, wouldn¡¯t that be much better than hunting some animals on the mountain!"

    When she brought up the Law of Dao examinations, the vigers instantly stopped their chattering. The father and son of the Li Family are both currently in the Hall of Dao. The hopes of the Southern Mountain Vige are pinned on those who qualified to enter the Hall of Dao, and nobody wished to offend her.

    "Alright, all of you stop quarreling. Everybody just do well what you are supposed to do!" Vige Chief Meng Bai stood out at this moment to round up the discussion.

    "Vige chief¡¯s words are indeed wise. Everybody has their own unique lives! Moreover, isn¡¯t it true that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to hunt anything this time? Why can¡¯t people say anything about it?" Mrs Li mumbled in a low voice, ncing at Fang Zhengzhi with a disdainful expression.

    "Qingshan, why is the yield so little today?" Vige Chief Meng Bai changed the topic.

    "It¡¯s all because of the Northern Mountain Vige..." Ding Qingshan walked over to Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s side and spoke in a low voice. He didn¡¯t know if it was appropriate to talk about this incident in front of the entire vige.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s brows quickly knitted together.

    "Next time... enter the mountain earlier!" When Vige Chief Meng Bai finished speaking, he sighed heavily, cing the cigar on his hand into his mouth and angrily took a few puffs.

    "I understand." Ding Qingshan understood his intentions. The two viges were too near to each other, Southern Mountain Vige people marrying across to the Northern Mountain Vige people and vice versa wasmon.

    The affinity between them was strong, but so was the friction between them!

    Fighting over the mountain, fighting over prey, these weremonce. If this incident could be settled peacefully, they naturally didn¡¯t wish for it to escte into a big conflict.

    The amount of prey was meagre and very quickly, it was all distributed.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi voluntarily entered the hunting squad, he was rather well taken care of. Even though his first time up the mountain yielded no returns, the vige chief still gave a small piece of meat to him as a "encouragement".

    The rest of the vigers didn¡¯t have much opinions. After all, there was still a person lying injured in the Fang family household.

    When Mrs Li witnessed this, she was displeased. "Not only did he not catch anything, he still benefited from the reaps of the hunting squad. This trade is indeed worth it..."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything, except when he got home, he identally dropped a ck coloured "animal trap" at the Li family doorstep.

    The consequences...

    Were indeed very obvious.

    "Aiya! Which damned person ced a trap at my doorstep!!" Mrs Li¡¯s agonizing screech pierced through the dark night.

    ...

 Chapter 28: Prey

    Chapter 28: Prey

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Very soon, more than ten days had passed. Due to the low yield, the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad had to go to the mountain almost every other day.

    Even when entering the mountain for days in a row, Fang Zhengzhi would always run off to "pick herbs" the second he reached, then returning back to the gathering point when the sky got dark. As days passed, the hunting squad members had gotten used to it.

    They just told him to remain cautious, and run immediately if he encountered anyrge beasts.

    Having entered the mountain seven or eight times, not even mentioning green furred rabbits, he didn¡¯t even manage to catch a single strand of fur. This was the great results Fang Zhengzhi handed over to the Southern Mountain Vige after entering the hunting squad.

    The consequences were obvious.

    Mrs Li¡¯s mockings became more and more imprudent, and as for Vige Chief Meng Bai, once Fang Zhengzhi was brought up, he could only shake his head, "Sigh... Zhengzhi still can¡¯t match up to Fang Houde¡¯s first expedition up the mountain..."

    Even though the vigers took into consideration Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s young age, and his need for experience, but it had already been seven or eight times, no matter what shouldn¡¯t he have already caught something?

    Unable to understand, yet unable to voice out.

    As such, as time passed, the vigers stopped caring about whether Fang Zhengzhi could catch anything, because, he definitely couldn¡¯t.

    The vigers felt ufortable, but Qin Xuelian was delighted.

    "Zhengzhi, hiding behind once you enter the mountain, this is the right way!"

    "Mum... actually I didn¡¯t hide." Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat speechless, was he that sort of person? You are my mum! How can you think this way?

    "Mummy knows, mummy knows, ha ha... the huge basket you are carrying... is it for you to hide and sleep in?" Qin Xuelian nced at therge basket Fang Zhengzhi carried, blinked a few times, wearing an all-knowing expression on her face.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi decided to go and study.

    Then, he returned to his room, opened up Facing the South in The Law of Dao and Han Feizi, and began to read.

    "The fault of the lord of men is: After having entrusted certain ministers with the state affairs, he guards against them with ministers not entrusted. His reason for so doing is that the non-entrusted and the entrusted will be enemies. Contrary to his expectation, the sovereign will fall under the spell of the non-entrusted. In consequence, the ministers with whom he is now guarding against the entrusted, are mostly those whom he used to guard against. If the lord of men cannot make thew clear and thereby restrain the power of chief vassals, there will be no other way to win confidence from the petty officials."

    This period of time, apart from the time spent on the mountain, it was mainly spent on reading and memorising books. Re-reading ssical ancient books from his past life, his reading speed was naturally fast, and understanding it wasn¡¯t a problem as well.

    As such, the frequency of Fang Zhengzhi borrowing books from the Hall of Dao was rather high.

    Wang Anhua faced this with a doubtful attitude, "A child who only just reached seven years old... really can read so fast? Did he even try to understand! This is faster than me by many times"

    If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t a natural talent, then he was a mediocre person who read without thinking.

    Actually, Wang Anhua wished to believe thetter. Because, if the former was really true, that was definitely too frightening to think of...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what Wang Anhua thought. He just revised and studied at his own pace. Also, he didn¡¯t fix what he wanted to study, every time he made a trip to the Hall of Dao to borrow books, he randomly scanned through them, and took it if it felt "deep" enough.

    Was his progress fast?

    That is something evident enough to not require further answers...

    As he began to read and recite more texts, the sensation in his heart grew stronger and stronger. The initial five pieces of leaves had already became non-existent, reced instead by a small tree with five branches, on it growing a countless number of delicate tree leaves. And below, the moistened earth became softer and softer.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control over his body had progressed rapidly.

    Other than being able to control the flesh in every part of his body, he could even feel his own bones. However, his bones were too hard, and making any changes to it would require more time.

    One night passed.

    In the wee hours of the morning, Fang Zhengzhi once again followed the hunting squad up the mountain.

    As usual, they gathered at the vige square. What was different was that everybody busied themselves with their own agendas, and didn¡¯t bother noticing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s presence.

    As usual, Vige Chief sent off the hunting squad, giving a short motivational speech before they embarked on their expedition, then finally left.

    "To the mountain!" Ding Qingshan ordered. The hunting squad readied themselves and moved out.

    An hourter, when the sky was still slightly dark, the hunting squad arrived at the Southern Mountain Vige hunting territory.

    "Uncle Qingshan, I¡¯m going to pick herbs!" Fang Zhengzhi informed Ding Qingshan.

    "Please do!" Ding Qingshan didn¡¯t say anything further. This had already be habitual.

    "Oh, today I wille back with prey!" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, then finally decided to warn them in advance.

    "Ha ha ha... Zhengzhi, go early and return early!" Ding Qingshan didn¡¯t take much notice.

    "Ha ha, what do you think this child will catch today?" Another member of the squad asked curiously as he watched Fang Zhengzhi leave.

    "What else can he catch? You really think a seven year old child would have such great abilities? He can be considered blessed by the mountain God if he even caught a green furred rabbit!"

    "Ha ha ha..."

    A wave ofughter erupted, then the hunting squad proceeded to begin with their usual hunting route.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moving speed was rapid, his two stumpy legs gliding him along like the wind.

    To be able to move as fast, the theory behind it was simple. He just had to concentrate the muscles in his body onto his two legs, then as much as possible reduce the weight on his upper body...

    And the terrain, he had already walked this path seven or eight times and was more or less familiar with it. As such, where to jump over, where to detour, he already nned for beforehand.

    Without much ado, he had scuttled over to the territory of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Here, was where he carried out his n.

    Then, he busied himself again, slowly shifting around the stones and rocks on the ground ording to the piece of drawing on his hands. Then, once again he covered it with grass...

    "Woosh, woosh..."

    The sound of arrows piercing the air echoed about his ears. Fang Zhengzhi knew this came from the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    He didn¡¯t pay much attention to this, other than carefully noticing the movements around him, he slowly carried on with his own agenda.

    When the cement of all the rocks and stones were satisfactory, it was already almost noon. Fang Zhengzhi took out and consumed his lunch, then began to rxfortably for a while.

    All the way until it was afternoon. He finally began to stand up, lightly stretching his body. Then, looking up at the sky filled with white clouds, he felt the cooling blow of the mountain wind on his face. Then, as he listened to the movements of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, the edges of his mouth finally, and gradually, began to curve upwards, revealing a light smile.

    Then, he opened up his footsteps, following the direction of the sound, very carefully began to make a detoured way towards the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    ...

    A must to mention, the yield reaped by the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad today was plentiful. After a day of toiling, the bodies of the over twenty members of the hunting squad werepletely filled with all sorts of prey.

    Other than the prey hanged on their bodies, what delighted the Northern Mountain Vige Deputy Captain Zhang Yangping most, was that they managed to capture a Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    This wild animal was the treasure of the Cang Ling Mountain.

    Exceptionally fierce, this could be considered as a small ferocious beast that couldn¡¯t be taken down without the effort of more than ten men.

    But once it was captured, any light injuries suffered were definitely worth the effort. Because, other than the humongous size of this Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog and its soft delicate meat, the most valuable part of it was its two metal fangs.

    This was something that was stronger than pig iron, sharp yet sturdy. To the hunting squad, this was undoubtedly a natural weapon which only required some simple processing to produce a metal spear.

    At this moment, the corners of Zhang Yangping¡¯s mouth was drawn back into a smile, giving orders to tie up the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog tightly with a thick, coarse rope, then prepared to pack up early...

    Right at this moment, a figure quickly shot out from the bushes.

 Chapter 29: Discuss a Small Matter

    Chapter 29: Discuss a Small Matter

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Zhang Yangping had years of experience hunting in the mountains.

    Despite ordering his people to bind up the game, he didn¡¯t let down his guard. Because, he knew very clearly, therger the prey, the stronger the scent of blood it gave off, and the easier it was to attract huge beasts.

    "Oh no, oh no... the Blue Fire Wolf is here!"

    Zhang Yangping didn¡¯t even have time to give out orders to the surrounding hunting squad members before the figure cried out in a tender voice, running as he shouted.

    "Blue Fire Wolf?!"

    "What?! The Blue Fire Wolf is here!"

    Once the members of the Northern Mountain Vige heard the news, horror instantly appeared on their faces.

    On the outskirts of the Cang Ling Mountain roamed a lone wolf, its name was Blue Fire, this was something everyone within miles of the mountain knew.

    "Run!"

    Almost without any hesitation, Zhang Yangping passed down the wisest possible order to the hunting squad.

    Nobody was willing to provoke the Blue Fire Wolf. This beast wasn¡¯t even supposed to appear at the outskirts of the Cang Ling Mountain. Even though it was a lone wolf, which was much easier to defeatpared to the entire Blue Fire Wolf pack...

    It was still truly a fearsome monster, and easily broke away from the category of beasts.

    Not mentioning thesemon vigers, even the great people who essed Dao would have difficulty dealing with it.

    "Deputy... deputy captain, where should we run towards?" A member of the hunting squad was so anxious that stuttered uncontrobly.

    "Follow that child, the direction he came from is definitely where the Blue Fire Wolf appeared!" Zhang Yangping looked at Fang Zhengzhi sprinting madly from afar, biting his teeth as he gave the order.

    "Quick, run!" The entire hunting squad immediately sprang into action.

    Leaving the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog on the ground, they ran towards Fang Zhengzhi at lightning speed.

    ...

    As he felt the sound of footsteps closing in behind him, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth once again curved into a smile. His footsteps slowed down on purpose, trying his best to act out the role of a panicking seven year old child running around like a headless chicken.

    Closer, closer...

    As he saw his destination approaching, Fang Zhengzhi hesitated no further, with a dive and a roll, he shot into the vegetation.

    "Eh? That kid is missing!"

    "Don¡¯t care about the kid, hurry up and run!"

    "Wait a minute! Do you feel something is wrong? If there really was a Blue Fire Wolf, due to its smell, the surrounding animals should have reacted as well. But as we ran here, the animals only ran for a short while, without the intent of leaving." Zhang Yangping was extremely meticulous, as he ran the entire way here, he never stopped paying attention to his surroundings.

    It can be said that the increasing prosperity of the Northern Mountain Vige these few years were very closely rted to Zhang Yangping.

    "Aiya!"

    Right at this moment, a cry sounded out. In addition to Zhang Yangping¡¯s words, the panicking hunting squad members instantly woke up with a start.

    "What happened?" The members of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad weren¡¯t able topletelye to their senses.

    "This is bad! We fell into a trap! This ce... has a different feel to itpared to before..." Zhang Yangping quickly realised something amiss.

    He was well-versed with the entire Cang Ling Mountain. He knew the Cang Ling Mountain terrain as well as he knew his own children. Every stone, and even every tree, he could remember clearly.

    "Where¡¯s the kid?"

    "Where did he run to!"

    "First find the kid, then... Aiya!"

    A few hunting squad members only managed to run a few steps ahead before a voice cried out.

    "Everyone stay still!" Zhang Yangping¡¯s expression was ugly, but he quickly managed to calm down. Different kinds of dangers were frequent on the Cang Ling Mountain, as the deputy captain of the hunting squad, he had to ensure that no mistakes were made.

    When the hunting squad heard his orders, they instantly stood still, not daring to move about randomly.

    "Deputy captain, this ce is filled with traps!"

    "Who dug these?!"

    "Saving people is the priority... Aiya!"

    A member of the hunting squad who wanted to rescue those who fell into the trap immediately stepped on an empty space, his entire body falling through.

    "What are you doing?! I already said, everyone stay still!" Zhang Yangping finally showed his temper. He had already realised the severity of the situation. It seemed that they had entered an area that was filled with pitfalls.

    Any single movement couldnd them into a pitfall.

    Nobody dared to continue moving. Because, the three members of the squad who fell into the pitfall physically confirmed to them, the holes around the area were so plentiful and concentrated that just by walking a few steps couldnd them into one.

    What to do? Who in the world did this? Could it be that kid? That isn¡¯t possible... that kid looked like he was only six or seven years old!

    Zhang Yangping pondered intensely.

    Walk back the same path we came from? Not only might we not make it back, if we did this, what about the three trapped members? Leave them behind? That¡¯s impossible!

    Try and rescue them?

    More of our members might fall into the traps.

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s forehead beaded with sweat. Gripping the long de on his hand tightly, his gaze swept across thend, carefully observing his surroundings...

    Very quickly, he realised something strange.

    His surroundings all seemed very strange and unfamiliar, his vision simply couldn¡¯t extend into the distance, as if he entered an entirely new space. All the familiar signs he could identify with seemed to bepletely gone. He was simply unable to determine his bearings.

    "Rocks!"

    Zhang Yangping finally realised the crux of the problem. Within the area they were confined in were numerous seemingly randomly ced rocks, yet coincidentally, these rocks blocked their line of sight.

    Their entire field of vision seemed to have been cut off from outside the area.

    What is happening here?

    "Umm... can I discuss a small matter with everyone?"

    Just when Zhang Yangping was still try hard to understand the situation, a voice called out from afar. Then, a child around seven years of age slowly walked out from behind a huge stone.

    "It¡¯s the kid!"

    "Deputy captain, we finally found the kid!"

    "Stay still!" Zhang Yangping immediately ordered, a cold gaze in his eyes. Then, he turned his head over to look at Fang Zhengzhi, "Kid, you... know that there are pitfalls here?"

    "Definitely." Fang Zhengzhi was very honest.

    "Then can you bring us out?" Zhang Yangping asked again.

    "Of course I can!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate in replying.

    "Thank you so much." Zhang Yangping immediately expressed his thanks. He felt as if he saw the light at the end of a tunnel.

    "Mm... no problem, but, if you must thank me, then there is really something I must discuss with you." Fang Zhengzhi ced his hands behind him, looking at Zhang Yangping with an innocent look.

    "What do you want to discuss?¡¯ Zhang Yangping tried to force himself to stay calm.

    "First, I wish to... conduct a robbery!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the prey hanging off Zhang Yangping, licked his lips and lightly rubbed his hands together.

 Chapter 30: Hidden Weapon

    Chapter 30: Hidden Weapon

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "..." Zhang Yangping couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. Robbery? What¡¯s the meaning of this?

    "What did he say? Robbery?!"

    "Did I hear that correctly?"

    When the members of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad regained their senses, they were all stunned.

    "This kid... wants to rob us?" Zhang Yangping finally came to his senses. He was just too shocked. Even in his dreams, he would never have imagined that there would be a day when a boy seven years of age would talk to him about robbery. No matter how he looked at the situation, it didn¡¯t make any sense at all!

    Is this even possible?

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad weren¡¯t the strongest, but within the outskirts of the Cang Ling Mountain, they were king.

    Robbed by a six or seven year old boy?!

    Zhang Yangping wanted tough out loud. He felt that if he told others, nobody would believe him. But... he indeed felt that, the tone of the boy seemed like he wasn¡¯t joking.

    "Deputy captain, I think this kid is tired of living!"

    "That¡¯s right, shoot him!"

    "Shoot!"

    Zhang Pingyang didn¡¯t stop the hunting squad from carrying out their thoughts and immediately gave his order. After all, the other party had already made clear his intention, hence he didn¡¯t hesitate much about whether the child¡¯s life would be harmed.

    The mountain people were simple, but once they turned fierce, they were even more unreasonable than those living in the city.

    We are being robbed, are we supposed to stand there and be ridiculed?

    "Woosh!"

    "Woosh, woosh, woosh..."

    The twenty-over hunting squad members drew their bows and began to shoot. It might not had been a rain of arrows, but the power was still astonishing. The sound of the bowstring releasing sounding out in session, and instantly, over ten metal arrows flew towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi knew things wouldn¡¯t be so simple, but faced with this barrage of arrows, he was still given a rude shock. Indeed, this robbery was a shady and potentially fatal business.

    Can¡¯t they be more civilised? It¡¯s wouldn¡¯t even be toote to give some warning before shooting.

    Fang Zhengzhi let out a scornful huff, then with a sh, took cover behind the huge stone. He then raised up therge basket on his back and blocked off the blind arrows.

    Looks like this world is indeed quite different from thewful society in the past.

    Shooting arrows just like that, that¡¯s just too cruel!

    Isn¡¯t it just a robbery? We can talk through it.

    At least, you all could have asked, can you not rob us? Can you not, can you not...

    Damn! Fang Zhengzhi raised his middle finger and covered himselfpletely with therge basket. Then, he sat inside and casually fished out a jerky, took a few bites and patiently waited for the barrage of arrows to end.

    Luckily, he relied on his intelligence. If he really had to use brute force, who knows how many holes would have been shot through his body.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t rush. He had enough confidence that the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. Because, when they entered the area, he had already "sealed" the entrance of the maze with a stone.

    Even though it was said to be "sealed", it was in reality only temporary blocked. Toiling for so many days, all he waited for was this moment. He wanted to use knowledge to change destiny.

    For example, at this moment, based off The Art of Bing Invisible he learnt in his past life, and taking advantage of the rocky terrain, he dug out a "Rock Formation" filled with pitfalls.

    This wasn¡¯t something that epassed great skill, and was a far cry from the real huge ancient formations. The only thing worthy of wonder was using rocks to block vision, then referencing the Eight Diagrams and Five Elements to plot a few "paths", and digging many traps along these paths.

    If this was the world from his past life, a "pitpat" would cause all these rocks to disappear. But this world was indeed primitive, people used swords, knives, spears and poles.

    And feats such as using one¡¯s strength to split open stones was something not everyone could achieve.

    Even though the watered-down version of the rock formation wasn¡¯t of much use, but on the whole still managed to contain some schemes and mechanisms, and in addition to the preparation made beforehand, it was more than enough to deal with a bunch of ignorant hunters.

    The shooting of arrows quickly ended.

    The calm was simr to that after a storm, but Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid enough to stick his head out.

    Who knew if there was someone aiming a bow at him right outside.

    Zhang Pingyang raised his tough wooden longbow, staring suspiciously at therge piece of rock, could he have been shot dead? If he really died, how are we going to get out?

    "Hey, kid, are you dead?" Zhang Yangping probingly shouted out.

    "That¡¯s still early." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tender voice quickly echoed back.

    "Still alive? Ha ha... kid, how about we make a deal? I give you two green furred rabbits, you bring us out. How about it?" Zhang Yangping said generously.

    "Naive!" Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain.

    Zhang Yangping was instantly taken aback. Called naive by a seven year old kid, this doesn¡¯t feel very right. This puny kid right in front of them really dared to fight it out with their Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?

    "Deputy captain, let¡¯s be cautious, slowly find our way out. I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t escape this ce!" A hunter suggested.

    "That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it just a few traps? We just have to tread carefully! This ce isn¡¯t too big, with some time, we definitely will be able to escape!" Another hunter nodded.

    As he listened to the members¡¯ suggestions, Zhang Yangping once again sunk into deep thought. Very quickly, he also gritted his teeth.

    "Alright, that¡¯s what we will do! You few, go and rescue the trapped people. Tread carefully, don¡¯t separate, everybody stick together first!" Zhang Yangping quickly ordered.

    "Roger!" The hunters immediately acknowledged, then began to move carefully, ensuring that there was no traps beneath their feet.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard themotion outside, he sighed to himself. Indeed this formation was a bit too simple, but, if something was added in, it will instantly be a grand one.

    Stick together? Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly. He knew the opportunity had arrived.

    Want to escape? Not so easy! He had already guessed that these traps weren¡¯t sufficient to deal with the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad. Ultimately, these traps were rigid and dead.

    Furthermore, the most important problem was that the area where Fang Zhengzhi dug his traps wasn¡¯trge enough.

    Alright...

    It¡¯s time to add in some ingredients, time to test out the real trump card!

    As he thought, Fang Zhengzhi fished out a few ck egg-sized objects. Even though these things looked rather in, these were the real "high-tech".

    Carefully prodding his head out from behind the stone, he quickly realised that the hunting squad had begun moving towards Zhang Yangping¡¯s position.

    "Beware, hidden weapon!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted out lightly, flicking his tiny arm, the few items on his hand smashed towards Zhang Yangping¡¯s position in one wave.

    "Deputy captain, be careful, this kid can throw hidden weapons!" Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, and then seeing the object flying towards them from the air, a hunter immediately shouted.

    "Hidden weapon?!" Zhang Yangping instinctively moved aside, easily dodging it.

    Yet when Fang Zhengzhi saw Zhang Yangping and his squad dodge the objects, he was delighted. What he feared the most was the other party will be able to catch what he threw.

    "Hidden weapon? Ha ha, please call it "high-tech"!"

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 Chapter 31: Unjust Involvement

    Chapter 31: Unjust Involvement

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Pop, pop pop..." A wave of muffled sound echoed out, closely followed by a immensely thick fog that rose up from below the feet of Zhang Yangping and the rest of the hunting squad.

    "Why is there smoke?"

    "This is bad, this kid is starting a fire!"

    "Quick, run!"

    "Aiya..."

    In the middle of the waves of chaotic shouting, a hunting squad member once again stepped on thin air, and fell into the depths of the trap.

    "You dare to set fire in the mountain, this is too cruel!" Zhang Yangping clenched his fists tightly. Robbery was robbery, but setting a fire to the mountain was an act that destroyed their future.

    How were they going to hunt in the mountain next time? This is too cruel!

    "Where¡¯s the fire?"

    "Quick, get the water bottle over. Eh? Seems like... there¡¯s no fire!"

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this? There¡¯s only smoke, ah... cough cough... so suffocating..."

    As the hunting squad hurriedly tried to locate the origin of the fire, they realised that there weren¡¯t even any ces that caught fire. There was only a immensely thick and suffocating smoke that expanded outwards unstoppably.

    Very quickly, they werepletely unable to see their surroundings clearly.

    Looking at this scene unfolding before him, Fang Zhengzhi was rather dissatisfied, and shook his head. These few days, not only did he dig the traps, he also put in much effort to experiment with some saltpeter and white sugar. These smoke bombs were indeed of inferior quality. Moreover, there was even a smothered bomb. Out of the four smoke bombs he threw, there was actually one which didn¡¯t produce any smoke!

    What a huge failure!

    I need to improve on this next time!

    Then, taking his time, he slowly took out a pile of smoke bombs from the big basket. His small arms swung with wind-like speed, and threw the bombs one by one.

    Smoke bombs couldn¡¯t kill, but, if used appropriately, its power was definitely stronger than a real bomb. Of course... a real bomb was something Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not try his hands on.

    Not only did it require too many ingredients, but just the potential danger of it alone was enough to hold him back.

    "Even though I prepared quite a few, but I must still use them prudently!" Fang Zhengzhi decided that he couldn¡¯t afford to waste.

    "Aiya, help...."

    "Quick, run away quick, aiya!"

    "How are you guys?"

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi conserved and held back, but under the barrage of low-grade smoke bombs, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad finally descended into chaos, each of their eyes flowing with tears evoked by the thick smoke. Coughing uncontrobly, their legs instinctively wanted to run away.

    And this

    Was exactly what Fang Zhengzhi hoped for.

    "Cruel kid, he actually used such shameless tactics on us. Smoke?! How do I even deal with this!" Zhang Yangping roared. He didn¡¯t want to move, but he couldn¡¯t take the smoke anymore. Lifting his de, he prepared to make a decisive move.

    Unfortunately, after running less than ten steps, his feet met with thin air.

    "Aiya!" With a sharp cry, Zhang Yangping¡¯s body dropped downwards like a stone sinking in the water.

    ...

    At a forest not too far away, Ding Qingshan and his team were searching furiously for prey. Then, lifting his head, his expression instantly changed.

    "Which ce just caught fire!"

    "Deputy captain, the smoke ising from that direction. It seems to be the Northern Mountain Vige¡¯s territory!" A hunter following beside Ding Qingshan noticed the billowing smoke as well.

    "Quick, gather everybody to go over and take a look!" Fire on the Cang Ling Mountain was of huge importance. Even though the fire started at the Northern Mountain Vige¡¯s hunting territory, Ding Qingshan still didn¡¯t dare to hesitate. After all, Cang Ling Mountain was the livelihood of many viges in its radius.

    "Roger!"

    ...

    Very quickly, following Ding Qingshan¡¯s lead, the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad members had rushed to the source of the fire.

    Ding Qingshan frowned. Because, looking at the scene in front of him, screaming sounds cried out continuously, and the thick smokepletely covered the entirendscape.

    He was absolutely unable to see clearly what was happening.

    "Deputy captain, Northern Mountain Vige people seems to be caught inside. Should we help?"

    "What are you saying, obviously we should help!" Gritting his teeth, Ding Qingshan didn¡¯t hesitate much. Even though the situation in front of him looked very dangerous, but, the Northern Mountain Vige and the Southern Mountain Vige were ultimately intrinsically linked.

    The usual fighting over hunting was unpreventable, but turning a blind eye when others were in peril was impossible.

    "Quick, go help them!" When a few hunters heard Ding Qingshan¡¯s orders, they immediately lifted their arms, broke off some nearby tree branches and quickly rushed into the smoke.

    Of course, the faster they rushed, the faster they fell. Without much ado...

    The Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad alsonded into the traps.

    "Aiya, what the hell!, Why is there a hole here!"

    "Damn... it!, Where did this trape from!"

    "Fire? Where¡¯s the fire?"

    After the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad had "fallen", the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad was also unfortunately dragged into this. In a blink of an eye, the entire squad had fallen inside the traps.

    The already rather small area was quickly filled with over thirty men. This made some of the traps somewhat squeezy. The more unfortunate ones had three or four people falling into them.

    "Eh? Why did you guys also fall in?" A Southern Mountain Vige hunter was slightly shocked when he saw the Northern Mountain Vige hunter in the same trap as him.

    "Ah... don¡¯t mention it anymore, we were robbed by a seven year old kid!" The Northern Mountain Vige hunter sighed, shaking his head.

    "Robbed?! Isn¡¯t it a fire?"

    "There¡¯s no fire, that kid only smoked out the area, he didn¡¯t set any fire..."

    ...

    Half an hourter, the smoke began to disperse, revealing a huge mess. The ground was filled with all kinds of bow and arrows, des and spears, and even a few tightly bound prey.

    On the other hand, the Northern Mountain Vige and Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad squatted in their traps, their faces filled with tears.

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad didn¡¯t have a choice. When they were waiting on top, they also thought of standing still to avoid the pitfalls. But the smoke was too suffocating.

    Compared to standing on top and suffocating for half an hour, they honestly rather waited in the traps. At least, smoke rises upwards, it was actually quitefortable inside the traps.

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad was nowfortable, but on the other hand the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad was filled with indignation. They were here to save the fire, but what happened? Not only did they not manage to save any fire, the entire hunting squad was now also in trouble.

    "Robbery?! You Northern Mountain Vige people are the ones being robbed, how does this even concern us?" When many of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad members realised this, they began to scold angrily.

    But in the end, even though they were indeed unhappy, they ultimately epted their fate. Luck wasn¡¯t on their side...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea that the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad had rushed in, he was just leisurely hiding behind the rock and tossing smoke bombs.

    When everything was finally silent and no movement was left, then did he decide to stop. Once the smoke began to disperse, he carefully assessed his surroundings, realised that there was no one hiding in ambush and finally began to rx.

    Ambush? Without a gas mask, how can anybody stand it? This thing was advanced technology indeed. How suffocating is it? Whoever tried will definitely know!

    "Oh, what a nice de!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed very delighted, picking up a glinting long de as he walked. Then, without any remorse, kept it inside the big basket.

    "Nice sword!" He kept it too.

    "This spear isn¡¯t bad either!"

    "Eh? This bow... mighte in useful someday. "

    When the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, entrapped in their respective pitfalls, heard the voiceing from outside, they faces turned ck. They naturally knew who was the one picking up stuff on top.

    The Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad on the other hand was filled with shock.

    Because, this voice was too familiar. This young voice, could it be... Fang Zhengzhi?

 Chapter 32: A Huge Yield

    Chapter 32: A Huge Yield

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Zhengzhi, is... is that you?" Ding Qingshan was the first to react. He was currently squeezed in a hole with a few other members of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad, his faceden with mud. He felt very ufortable.

    "Huh? Uncle Qingshan, what are you doing here?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard Ding Qingshan¡¯s voice, he quickly ran over and popped his tiny head into the hole.

    "It¡¯s really Zhengzhi?!" After looking at Fang Zhengzhi, his face instantly reddened. That¡¯s right, what is he even doing here? Isn¡¯t it because he just had ill luck, the Northern Mountain Vige was the one being robbed, yet he also involved himself in it.

    Wait...

    Something seemed wrong. Just now... the Northern Mountain Vige person seemed to have said, they were robbed by a seven year old boy?!

    Could it be...

    That¡¯s impossible?! If it really was Fang Zhengzhi who robbed the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, wasn¡¯t that a little too inconceivable?

    "Not possible, not possible...¡¯ Ding Qingshan furiously shook his head.

    He remembered that the seven or eight times Fang Zhengzhi came to the mountain, he didn¡¯t even manage to catch a single prey. Rob the Northern Mountain Vige? Even if the sun rose from the West, something like this happening was still not possible!

    "Kid, you... you dare to rob our Northern Mountain Vige, let us out quickly, else..." A Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad member instantly shouted when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tiny head.

    Ding Qingshan¡¯s face finally changed at this moment. That feeling of shock and horror was unprecedented. Looking at the Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tiny head popping into the hole, then looking at his young and small face, he suddenly felt like burying himself in the ground.

    As the deputy captain of the hunting squad, even though he wouldn¡¯t make fun of Fang Zhengzhi outrightly...

    But, this didn¡¯t imply that he looked up to Fang Zhengzhi at all, after the many times he returned empty-handed, he had already considered Fang Zhengzhi as a yful andzy kid.

    But now...

    Thiszy kid managed to do something they would never be able to do, he robbed the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?!

    He didn¡¯t dare to believe, but, this was reality.

    As he heard the Northern Mountain Vige hunter¡¯s words, he already could affirm that thezy kid in his heart, taught him an unforgettable lesson on "robbery" today.

    Just one person, robbing the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad. How unbelievable was this, how unthinkable was this, how...

    Wait, something else seemed to be not quite right.

    Us, the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad, seemed to have also fallen into this trap!

    Ding Qingshan¡¯s face reddened once again. Because, there weren¡¯t many words he could find to describe his current feelings. What if the other party wasn¡¯t from the Southern Mountain Vige? Then his hunting squad, would it have been robbed by a seven year old kid as well?

    "Zhengzhi robbed the Northern Mountain Vige?!"

    "Could it be wrong? Is it really Zhengzhi who robbed the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?"

    "My God, he¡¯s only seven!"

    After Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice called out, Ding Qingshan was stunned beyond words. The rest of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad were of no exception, nobody dared to believe this fact.

    But, the feeling of being stuck in the trap wasn¡¯t exactly veryfortable. As such, a few of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad members quickly began to shout out.

    Even though they indeed lost some face, but fortunately, under these circumstances, the Southern Mountain Vige was ultimately in safe hands.

    "This kid is from the Southern Mountain Vige?!" Zhang Yangping, squatting in a trap, heard the discussion outside. The long de in his hands fell directly to the ground.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was alone by himself, he still wished to take advantage of the opportunity when the other party lowered his guard, then immediately retaliate. But if the entire Southern Mountain Vige was added in, then this was obviously a huge, well-nned out "conspiracy". Retaliation would then be impossible.

    It¡¯s over, this time it¡¯s really over...

    We have been robbed!

    "All of you better quickly surrender your weapons, then prepare yourselves to be captured!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted out as he paced forward and backward outside the traps with his stumpy legs.

    "Dream on!" The Northern Mountain Vige people were reluctant.

    "Ah, dare to disobey? Whichever hole from which a person dares to disobey... I¡¯ll go to that hole and take a piss!"

    "..."

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad finally yielded, and surrendered one by one. Even though some were reluctant, but when they thought of their heads really being peed on, how were they going to live with this next time?

    Ding Qingshan¡¯s feelings wereplicated. He didn¡¯t know where he should be happy or gloomy.

    But, this dilemma didn¡¯tst for long.

    "Ha ha ha... this time our yield is huge!" Looking at the prey the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad detached from themselves and held in their hand, Ding Qingshan couldn¡¯t stop smiling.

    "Uncle Qingshan, there is a huge tied-up pig over there!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t actually know the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog¡¯s real name, but, he could guess that this was the best catch for the Northern Mountain Vige this time.

    Because, that pig was huge, its meat was plentiful!

    "You all... shameless!" When Zhang Yangping heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, his face instantly changed. The value of that one Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was even greater than thebined worth of all the prey on their bodies.

    Most importantly, in order to hunt that Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog down, the Northern Mountain Vige people had suffered multiple injuries.

    Yet now...

    It had been snatched away by the Southern Mountain Vige just like that, how could he ept it?

    "Huge pig? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog!" The eyes of a member of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad lit up. That was the real treasure. Even if one roamed the mountains for a year, it would still be difficult to encounter this.

    "You few watch over them, we¡¯ll go over and take a look... Zhengzhi, lead the way!" Hearing this, Ding Qingshan¡¯s excitement rose.

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ...

    Very quickly, led by Fang Zhengzhi, Ding Qingshan and the team rapidly arrived in front of the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    "Oh great God, it¡¯s really the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, it¡¯s even a matured Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog. Those two metal tusks are indeed sharp, who would have thought that the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad would be able to take this beast down!¡¯ A hunter eximed.

    "What a huge yield, this time our yield is really huge indeed!" Looking at the tied-up Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog in front of them, the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad beamed delightedly.

    "Ha ha ha... what are you all waiting for? Others have already tied this up nicely for us, let¡¯s not wait anymore and bring this Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog away!" Ding Qingshan¡¯s face was bright red with delight. This day¡¯s yield was even more than that of this entire month.

    A matured Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was definitely a surprise gift from Heaven.

    Everybody instantly sprang into action.

    "Zhengzhi, you can watch from the side, we won¡¯t trouble you. Let us carry this!" A member of the hunting squad patted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulders. The look in his eyes was as if he had just seen treasure.

    "Ha ha..." Fang Zhengzhiughed. He never nned to help out. This kind of physical work naturally belonged to the adults. He was only seven, there were some things he had to be "considerate".

    ...

    As usual, Vige Chief Meng Bai was holding his cigar, anxiousness showing slightly in his eyes. In this period of time, the yield of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad had be lower and lower.

    Now, the entire hundred over households in the vige didn¡¯t even have enough to eat.

    He was also considering having a meeting with the Northern Mountain Vige. They couldn¡¯t go on like this.

    "If this can¡¯t work, we can only bribe them with some money!" Vige Chief Meng Bai gritted his teeth, and made a difficult decision.

    "Come quick! The hunting squad came back with game today, what a huge yield! There are dozens of game, and even a Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog!"

    Vige Chief Meng Bai, still gritting his teeth, was stunned, then, the worried expression on his face immediately turned into one of pure ecstasy. Dozens of game? And even a Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog?!

    Oh God, this was the biggest yield in years!

    "Quick, hurry up, send all the strong people in the vige to receive the hunting squad!" Vige Chief immediately began to call out. He recognised that this news came from the hunting squad advance party.

    "Roger... Roger!" A viger heard, and was just as delighted.

    The hunting squad had a huge yield. This extremely good piece of news was enough to delight the entire vige.

    ...

 Chapter 33: Returning to the Village

    Chapter 33: Returning to the Vige

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A short whileter, news of the hunting squad catching a Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog had spread across the entire Southern Mountain Vige. Everybody, old and young, was in a delighted mood. One after another, they ran to the back of the vige and prepared to wee the hunting squad.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai stood right at the front of the crowd, his cigar in his hands shaking slightly.

    A moment ago he was still thinking of making a deal with the Northern Mountain Vige people, but now it seemed that this waspletely unnecessary. After all, in making a deal, if the terms were not good enough, nobody would agree to it.

    Qin Xuelian stood in the middle of the crowd, her thoughts weren¡¯t quite the same as the everyone else. All she wished for was that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to return safely...

    Time went by slowly. The hunting squad still hadn¡¯t appeared. But, nobody left, and nobody was anxious. Instead, they were filled with excitement and anticipation.

    Because, the slower they walked, the more prey they carried.

    Finally...

    From the depths of the dense forest, a figure appeared.

    "It¡¯s the hunting squad!"

    "They are back, they are finally back!"

    The vigers¡¯ excitement instantly rose, it was as if they were celebrating the new year.

    "Qingshan, how is it, how much is the yield?" Vige Chief Meng Bai spotted Ding Qingshan among the group, and immediately walked over to him, holding his cigar. That stride didn¡¯t seem old at all.

    "Vige Chief look, everything behind is our yield!" Ding Qingshan pointed at the prey hanging off the hunting squad members, and the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog that was being carried in the middle of the group, his face beaming with happiness.

    When Vige Chief Meng Bai saw these, he couldn¡¯t contain his happiness anymore. This was because on all of the hunting squad members, apart from the Fang Zhengzhi walking at the front, there were at least two animals hanging from almost everybody¡¯s waist, some even had three or four.

    "Woah..."

    "What a beast, this is such a big Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog!"

    "My God, there are at least a dozen animals, their bodies are filled to the maximum!"

    The vigers were all extremely happy. Immediately, some of the vigers volunteered to help carry the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, and some helped to detach the animals hanging off the hunting squad members.

    Qin Xuelian also rushed out of the crowd and gave Fang Zhengzhi a huge embrace.

    "Are you injured? When they took down the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, did you participate?" Qin Xuelian¡¯s biggest concern was whether Fang Zhengzhi got injured when the hunting squad took down the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart was filled with warmth. Family love would always be the most precious thing in the world.

    "I didn¡¯t participate!", Fang Zhengzhi replied immediately. In reality, he indeed didn¡¯t participate. This Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was hunted down by the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, all he did was carry it away from them.

    "That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good..." Qin Xuelian finally rxed after hearing this.

    "Of course he won¡¯t participate. This useless kid only knows how to hide on the mountain and sleep. It would be incredible if he could even get hurt!" Mrs Li stood within the crowd, after hearing Qin Xuelian and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s conversation, she couldn¡¯t resistmenting coldly.

    The rest of the vigers also smiled. After all, Fang Zhengzhi not catching a single animal in many days was the reality. Furthermore, they also saw, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was indeed empty.

    Not even a green furred rabbit was hanging from it.

    "That¡¯s because Zhengzhi is still small!"

    "That¡¯s right, he¡¯s just a seven year old boy, how much can you expect?"

    "He might be small, but, by always following the hunting squad into the mountain, not being able to catch anything wouldn¡¯t be a problem in the long term. He just has to work harder!"

    The vigers discussed, all of them smiling. This time the yield of the hunting squad was huge, but nothing hanged off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, making the vigers feeling slightly ufortable.

    Ding Qingshan was conversing with the vige chief at this moment. When he heard themotion, he instantly frowned.

    "All of you shut your mouths. This time the hunting squad was able to catch so many animals, it is all due to this child Zhengzhi, if not for Zhengzhi... how would we have caught anything at all!" Ding Qingshan¡¯s tone seemed serious. As the deputy captain of the hunting squad, his words indeed beared some weight in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    "What?! All because of Zhengzhi?¡¯

    "What¡¯s this all about?"

    "What did Zhengzhi do? Don¡¯t tell me he was able to catch something?¡¯

    When the vigers heard Ding Qingshan¡¯s words, all of their faces were filled with disbelief. They couldn¡¯t understand, how could Fang Zhengzhi, with his tiny arms and short legs, who didn¡¯t even bring a de up the mountain, be of any use in the hunting squad?

    Most importantly, Ding Qingshan said, it was all because of Fang Zhengzhi!

    What is happening?

    It wasn¡¯t just the vigers. Even Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face was filled with suspicion as he looked at Ding Qingshan.

    "It was Zhengzhi who robbed the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, that is why, the yield this time was all due to Zhengzhi¡¯s efforts alone!" Gazing at the looks of suspicion on everybody¡¯s faces, then shifting his gaze over to Mrs Li, gave a spiteful huff, then exined loudly.

    "Robbery?!"

    "What did he say? Fang Zhengzhi robbed the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?!"

    "How is this possible?"

    After hearing Ding Qingshan¡¯s words, the vigers¡¯ expressions turned into that of disbelief.

    They indeed remembered, the past seven or eight times Fang Zhengzhi entered the mountain, didn¡¯t he not even manage to catch a green furred rabbit? How could he suddenly have robbed the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad! Over twenty strong men, each of them armed with bows. How can a child who didn¡¯t even bring along a de rob the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?

    No matter how they thought, they still felt that...

    This was all a fantasy!

    "Fang Zhengzhi robbed the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?!" Mrs Li¡¯s expression darkened. No matter how much she thought, she couldn¡¯t understand how Fang Zhengzhi could rob the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad!

    When Qin Xuelian heard about the robbery, she was instantly taken aback. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi standing beside her, she absolutely didn¡¯t dare to believe that her own son had actually robbed the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad!

    "Zhengzhi... how could you do such a stupid thing? Did you get hurt, did you get hurt?"

    "I didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t, mum... don¡¯t touch me, don¡¯t take off my clothes, I already said I didn¡¯t!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s probing instantly made Fang Zhengzhi somewhat anxious. Don¡¯t tell me I have to be stripped in front of so many people!

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face immediately changed, gazing across at the surrounding vigers, their faces deep in shock, then looking at Ding Qingshan¡¯s serious expression.

    Likewise, he didn¡¯t dare to believe it. But, Ding Qingshan couldn¡¯t possibly be lying.

    Moreover...

    Most importantly, when Ding Qingshan spoke, among all the hunting squad members, none of them stood out to oppose. This could only mean one thing - what Ding Qingshan said was true.

    "This is really all Zhengzhi¡¯s doing?¡¯ Vige Chief Meng Bai walked over to Ding Qingshan¡¯s side and asked softly.

    "Yes of course, this is all Zhengzhi¡¯s doing! It was impressive. He actually dug out arge trap in the Northern Mountain Vige¡¯s hunting territory, not only did the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squadnd into trouble, even the entire group of us fell inside!"

    Even though Ding Qingshan knew that admitting this would be rather embarrassing, but reality was reality. This was something everybody managed to see, hence naturally, he didn¡¯t dare to hide it.

 Chapter 34: Genius

    Chapter 34: Genius

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "A huge trap? He dug it by himself? How did he even do that!" Vige Chief Meng Bai felt that things were bing increasingly mysterious. Recalling what he recently thought of Fang Zhengzhi, his wrinkled face instantly flushed red.

    "It¡¯s really Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s doing?"

    When the vigers heard Ding Qingshan and Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s conversation, one after another their jaws began to drop in shock. This kind of news indeed had too much of an impact on them.

    "That can¡¯t be? This child Zhengzhi is so strong that he can actually rob the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad? Ha ha ha..."

    "What I saw was true, previously at the parade square I had already realised how impressive Zhengzhi was, he definitely had huge potential. This incident has exacted revenge for the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, this is really an amazing feat!"

    Even though the vigers were making fun of Fang Zhengzhi not too long ago, but, when the truth was confirmed, their attitudes changed instantly and their faces not even the slightest bit reddened from their previousughter.

    No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi did exact revenge for the Southern Mountain Vige this time.

    When Vige Chief Meng Bai heard Ding Qingshan¡¯s reply, he had also epted the truth.

    "Good... good boy! Quick, carry all the animals to the vige square!¡¯ Vige Chief Meng Bai fished out his cigar, took a deep breath, then began to give orders for the vigers to move the animals to the vige square.

    ...

    There was indeed strength in numbers. A short momentter, all of the prey had been neatly ced in the middle of the vige square. The Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog on the other hand was hung up high.

    The festive air of the Southern Mountain Vige was simr to that of during the new year. The only person whose face was ck as night was Mrs Li. Gazing at the animals on the vige square, she refused to believe her eyes.

    "Zhengzhi,e over quick!" After all the animals had been ced neatly, Vige Chief Meng Bai waved to Fang Zhengzhi, who was currently being surrounded by a group of people.

    "Vige Chief." Fang Zhengzhi walked over to Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s side.

    "Tell everybody, what method did you use to rob the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad?" Vige Chief Meng Bai still found it rather unbelievable.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi had only just turned seven.

    Hearing Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s words, they also quieted down, one by one stopped chattering. They all waited expectantly for Fang Zhengzhi to share his robbery experience.

    Qin Xuelian had already finished inspecting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body a long time ago, and was assured that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was indeed free from injuries, hence she also stood smiling among the crowd and looked on.

    Even Fang Houde was supported by a few people to the vige square, something that didn¡¯t happen very often. Still disabled, he was sitting on a chair at this moment, holding a walking stick in his hands. However, the smile on his face couldn¡¯t be missed.

    "Good boy, you finally realised your potential. You have even surpassed your own dad!"

    Gazing at the expectant faces of the vigers, he knew it was time for him stay "low profile".

    Feeling around in his pockets, he took out the illustration he prepared. The source of the "Rock Formation Illustration" posed as a problem. Naturally, he definitely could not im that he was the one who came up with it. Indeed, if he admitted that he had studied the Eight Diagrams Tactics before, that would be a little too shocking.

    Hence...

    After some pondering, Fang Zhengzhi could only pin the source of these ideas on, and credit it entirely to, Lolita.

    "Did you say... after you had previously seen the question the Missus from the Divine Constabry asked Lihuer... you then thought of this drawing based on that?" After Fang Zhengzhi exined, Vige Chief Meng Bai looked at the drawing on his hands and was absolutely shocked.

    Genius! What is a genius?

    Having the memory of an elephant... no, this was called being able to deducing multiple things from just one event!

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi replied confidently.

    "Good boy, what a good boy..." Vige Chief Meng Bai welled up with emotions. He was almost unable to speak, and could only mutter incessantly.

    The other vigers were alsopletely stunned. After seeing that one question, he was able to think of and apply methods inspired from the question to deploy traps. This was really too extreme.

    "Zhengzhi is amazing, he was actually able to draw something like this just by taking a look at the question. This is really too smart!"

    "Yes, Mrs Fang had given birth to a great son!"

    "Houde, you are going to live such afortable life now. I bet even if you were dreaming you would have smiled yourself awake!"

    The vigers showered praises without any form of holding back. A few women quickly surrounded Qin Xuelian, and profusely offered to marry off their daughters to Fang Zhengzhi to be his wife.

    Among them, there were even women who scrambled over trying to curry favor with Mrs Li the previous time in the vige square to marry off their daughters to Li Huer. In a blink of an eye, these people began to say the same thing to Qin Xuelian.

    Mrs Li¡¯s expression instantly turned even uglier.

    Fang Zhengzhi, listening to these spirited discussions from the side, felt that these matters had to be considered at length. After all, these so-called "daughters" were really too small.

    Most of them were two or three years of old, and among them there was even one who was only given birth to two months!

    How could he possibly know what they would look like in the future?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t really someone who judged based on people¡¯s looks, but, if he really had to marry a fat woman like Mrs Li... that was definitely going to be quite brutal.

    Nobody came over to ask Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion, these made him somewhat gloomy.

    As the women argued intensely about how good their daughter was, the men were still in deep shock.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi attributed his thinking to Lolita, it still stirred up a ratherrgemotion. To be able to imprint in memory and copy out the illustration just by taking one look at it was already an amazing feat, yet he was still able to alter it further.

    Wang Anhua, who was among the crowd, looked at the trap formation Fang Zhengzhi drew and his eyes instantly lit up brightly. Taking a few steps out of the crowd, Vige Chief took over the illustration from Vige Chief Meng Bai and studied it carefully.

    Then, his initial shock grew bigger and bigger. Even though he didn¡¯tpletely understand what was illustrated on it, but looking at the formation, it seemed contain some incredibly amazing patterns.

    Could it have originated from the Eight Diagrams Tactics?

    That was an extremely profound knowledge found within the Law of Dao, even those great people who essed Dao might not be able toprehend this. A seven year old child, really could reach such a level just from reading?

    "Sir, what do you think?" Vige Chief Meng Bai looked at Wang Anhua expectantly. In this Southern Mountain Vige, Wang Anhua represented knowledge and learning.

    "I can¡¯t really understand..." Wang Anhua answered honestly.

    "Can¡¯t understand?! Do your words refer to..." Vige Chief Meng Bai wasn¡¯t quite able to understand what Wang Anhua said.

    "Do you think it would be possible to let me bring this back and study it in more detail over the night? I¡¯ll get back to you after a few days!" Wang Anhua didn¡¯t speak further. He had thought of Lolita¡¯s instructions for him.

    "Zhengzhi, what do you think?" Vige Chief Meng Bai turned over his head and seeked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion.

    At this time, in Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s heart, he had already treated Fang Zhengzhi as a member of the hunting squad, this was the due respect he had to show to an "adult".

    "Alright! But, I have a request." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

 Chapter 35: Shameless greed

    Chapter 35: Shameless greed

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "What request?" Wang Anhua wasn¡¯t surprised that Fang Zhengzhi would make a request, after all, he had already experienced Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness first-hand.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai frowned. He felt that it was inappropriate for Fang Zhengzhi to make such a request. After all, Wang Anhua was a Sir from the Hall of Dao. However, the illustration belonged to Fang Zhengzhi, hence he didn¡¯t attempt to vocalize his thoughts.

    "I would like to request Sir to copy out the illustration and give one to each member of the hunting squad" Fang Zhengzhi spoke his mind.

    "Oh? What for?" Wang Anhua asked questioningly.

    He had initially thought that Fang Zhengzhi would request for this to remain a secret or ask for some other benefits, but never did he think that Fang Zhengzhi would only request for him to copy it out a few times.

    "Because, I¡¯m thinking that.... if we make use of this illustration to set up the same trap at multiple locations within the Cang Ling Mountain, then, we can link up all these areas so that in the future, the prey would fall into the trap by themselves. All the hunting squad would have to do is to kill off the entrapped prey."

    Fang Zhengzhi expressed his ns. He had wanted to copy the illustration by himself initially but having bumped into Wang Anhua, he decided to let him exhibit his generosity.

    Saving more time to read books, what a noble and thoughtful idea! Thumbs up for myself!

    In fact,, he had already prepared to give the illustration to the vige from the moment he took it out.

    The Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad had yed a huge role in the result of today¡¯s yield. It would had been difficult to subdue all of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad without getting injured, even if he had managed to trap all of them by himself.

    That aside, what if he was the only person who could catch a single prey? That would indeed be very tiring.

    Hunting....

    It¡¯s just a mean of survival. Fang Zhengzhi wanted to invest more effort into his studies and training.

    Thus, giving out the rock formation illustration and hence bringing out its greatest potential, was the best way to go.

    "Can... can this method really work?" Vige Chief Meng Bai grew excited even before Wang Anhua could reply. If this method was carried out, it would have solved one of the greatest problem that had been pestering the Southern Mountain Vige.

    It didn¡¯t just mean that the hunting squad would bring in more food, the greater benefit was that the safety of the hunting squad would increase substantially.

    " Yes, I think this is doable!" Wang Anhua nodded his head as he looked at the illustration.

    The vigers that heard this revealed an expression filled with shock and happiness. This was a great aplishment that would prevent the Southern Mountain Vige vigers from going hungry.

    "If it was possible, it would be great!"

    "Yes! It would be like having a hunting farm on top of Cang Ling mountain!"

    "Vige Chef, I think we can give it a try. Since the hunting squad would still continue to enter the mountain as per normal, all they have to do is to bring along an additional shovel. There wouldn¡¯t be any harm in it!" Ding Qingshan, who had personally experienced the sheer potential of the trap, replied enthusiastically.

    "Alright, alright ... we will give it a try! Hahaha...." Vige Chief Meng Bai nodded. Thinking about what would happen once this n was carried out to itspletion, he envisioned piles and piles of prey stacked up highly.

    Mrs Li¡¯s face darkened. Darting her eyes back and forth between Fang Zhengzhi and the smiling Vige Chief Meng Bai, she felt a sense of unease.

    ...

    After the joy of a good yield gradually disappeared, Vige Chief Meng Bai frowned again.

    Because, he now faced a greater problem. It was something he had never even taken into consideration before, but in ordance to his promise to Fang Zhengzhi....

    Every animal that Fang Zhengzhi caught belonged entirely to him.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face alternated between red and white as he looked at the pile of animal, at a loss of what to do.

    "Zhengzhi ... can I discuss something with you?" Vige Chief Meng Bai put aside his cigar and quietly pulled Fang Zhengzhi to the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what the vige chief was about to say. He had robbed the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, and now, the Southern Mountain vige chief was about to rob him.

    "Say what you wish vige chief, I¡¯m very easy to talk to! Moreover, I¡¯m a person of great virtue, I¡¯ll keep to my words, even if it means... death!" Fang Zhengzhi replied with an innocent expression.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face instantly turned red.

    Even a seven year old kid was able to keep his words. As a vige chief, am I going to go back on them?

    "This...this, haha..." Vige Chief Meng Baiugh dryly as he looked towards the pile of animals stacked up in the vige square, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tender face. It was hard for him to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed silently to himself. He knew very clearly that his small arms could not save him. If he really wanted to take everything away, he was sure that the vigers would have some things to say.

    Or,the vigers would not discuss about him. However, behind his back, they would criticize his parents for being unwilling to contribute to the vige, and being unable to uphold the virtues that made one human.

    Man can be greedy, however...

    One cannot be shamelessly greedy.

    If it was not for the help of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad would not have surrendered so easily. Furthermore, it would had been impossible for him to carry all the animals down by himself.

    "The amount of game is plentiful today, I believe they would take some time to finish by myself. Vige Chief, please distribute some of it out. But, the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog....." Fang Zhengzhi stopped speaking without saying anything further.

    "Yes.....yes! I understand what you mean!" Vige Chief Meng Bai instantly began to smile. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions were clear, other than the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, the rest were to be distributed out.

    Although the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog had been taken away, there were still a lot of animals leftover. This left Vige Chief Meng Bai extremely satisfied with this oue.

    However...

    Even though Vige Chief Meng Bai was satisfied, that didn¡¯t mean that everyone else was as well.

    The moment Mrs Li heard Vige Chief Meng Bai announce that the entire Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was to be distributed to Fang Zhengzhi, her face flushed red as if she had swallowed a fly.

    She instantly couldn¡¯t hold back any longer.

    The Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was a treasure. Not only was its meat more plentifulpared to that of other animals, its metal tusks were especially sharp. Being harder than raw metal, it could be used to make valuable tools that were worth silvers.

    Usually, Vige Chief Meng Bai would take one metal tusk for himself, and the other one would definitely fall into the hands of Li family.

    But now, not only was she not given the metal tusk, she didn¡¯t even manage secure a strand of hog hair.....

    How could Mrs Li bear with this?

    "How can vige chief be so biased? ording to usual practices, how can the rules be changed just because the yield is higher this time? Old Li from our family had led the hunting squad for the past few years and had also suffered his fair share up in the Cang Ling Mountain. Now that he entered the Hall of Dao, he has to study every single day. This is all for the vige¡¯s future! But now, we are getting bullied! I don¡¯t ept this method of distribution!"

 Chapter 36: A Tuft of Fur

    Chapter 36: A Tuft of Fur

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When Vige Chief Meng Bai heard Mrs Li¡¯s incessant nagging, he instantly began to frown.

    Usually, he could easily turn a deaf ear to Mrs Li¡¯s words, but today wasn¡¯t quite the same. This pile of animals by right belonged entirely to Fang Zhengzhi himself.

    He had already, with great difficulty, persuaded Fang Zhengzhi to change his mind, if any further changes urred, the conclusion wouldn¡¯t be as simple anymore.

    When the other vigers heard Mrs Li¡¯sints, they also became rather unhappy. Vige Chief Meng Bai deration to distribute the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog to the Fang family was something everybody had already expected and had noints about.

    After all, when Fang Zhengzhi entered the hunting squad, all the prey he hunted belonged to him. These words were announced by the vige chief in front of everybody.

    Furthermore, the Southern Mountain Vige had barely any yield after being in the mountains for such a long time. If it weren¡¯t for Fang Zhengzhi, the other animals wouldn¡¯t have been caught, not even mentioning the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    "Mrs Li, all these hunted prey today actually belongs to Zhengzhi!"

    "Indeed, it is already very kind of Zhengzhi to offer to split these animals with everyone."

    A few of the vigers standing beside Mrs Li quietly began to remind her.

    "Since Mrs Li doesn¡¯t exactly agree with this distribution method, I think I can make some changes!" Fang Zhengzhi stepped out of the crowd at this moment.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was taken aback, but he didn¡¯t attempt to stop him. Because, Fang Zhengzhi was now qualified to speak in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    The other vigers, seeing that Fang Zhengzhi had spoken, also looked on curiously.

    "Ah, at least Zhengzhi can reason properly. Luckily auntie didn¡¯t take care of you for nothing. Quick, tell everybody, what changes should be made!" Mrs Li was overjoyed when she saw Fang Zhengzhi step out. When she heard the vigers¡¯ discussions, she had also thought of giving up. But now it seemed that Zhengzhi was still a kid after all, how could he actually contend against adults?

    "I think we should distribute the other animals to the rest, then my family and the Li family will share this Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog together. What do you think auntie Li?" Fang Zhengzhi winked a few times at Mrs Li.

    "Sharing the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog among my family and your family?" Mrs Li never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would actually be so generous. She immediately grinned delightedly, "That makes sense, I agree with this form of distribution!"

    The rest of the vigers also heard what Fang Zhengzhi had said. Their eyes widened. Ipletely don¡¯t understand this. Wasn¡¯t he highly intelligent just now, how did he suddenly be so dumb?

    Qin Xuelian also became quite worried, and wanted to step out to prevent this.

    Unfortunately, she was held back by Fang Houde.

    "Don¡¯t worry!" Even though Fang Houde was simple and down-to-earth, he knew that his son was indeed not stupid. Since Fang Zhengzhi had said these, he definitely had his reasons.

    Even if they really had to share half of the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog with Mrs Li, as long as it was reasonable, Fang Zhengzhi would also approve of it.

    "That means, Auntie Li has agreed to it?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    "I agree, of course I agree!" Mrs Li nodded, her head bobbing like a chicken pecking on its feed.

    "Sure! Then let¡¯s invite vige chief and everyone else to bear witness to this moment. Today, the prey over here won¡¯t be distributed to Auntie Li, then, I¡¯ll share a portion of the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog with Auntie Li!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked towards Vige Chief Meng Bai.

    "Ok!" Vige Chief Meng Bai nodded. Since Fang Zhengzhi himself volunteered to distribute the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, he didn¡¯t bother to unnecessarily involve himself any further.

    The rest of the vigers also began to nod their heads one by one, looking at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression of someone looking at a fool.

    Mrs Li naturally didn¡¯t have any furtherments and instantly epted.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi cleared his throat, and began to speak once again.

    "Then... may I invite Uncle Qingshan, to distribute the tuft of fur on top of the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog¡¯s head to Auntie Li!"

    "Pff!" Ding Qingshan was drinking his water at this moment, and abruptly spat it out.

    The other vigers were also taken aback. When they managed to react, their looks that bore the expression of one looking at a fool instantly shifted onto Mrs Li.

    "A tuft of fur?!"

    "This... Ha ha ha, he distributed a tuft of fur!"

    "This kid Zhengzhi, I already said that he had potential, looks like I wasn¡¯t wrong!"

    The vigers all began tough. Nobody criticised Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s idea. Because, if it were them, they would have done the same. Except...

    This idea, how did he even think of it?

    Mrs Li¡¯s face was ck as night, her thick, muscr arms began to quiver. She finally understood the meaning behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words just now.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Mrs Li¡¯s fist tightened furiously. She was defeated by a seven year old kid, moreover, it was a very obvious disy of intellectual defeat. Her anger almost caused blood to spurt out of her mouth.

    She hated, hated herself for her impulsive actions just now. How could she have not stated clearly before, the hog had to be split equally into half? At the very least, receiving one metal tooth was also not too bad either!

    But it was already toote.

    The words had already left her mouth. She wanted to shamelessly go back on her words, start bawling, "Bully!"... But, going back on her words to a seven year old kid , shouting that she was bullied by a seven year old kid?

    No matter how thick her skin was, she really couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it.

    "Hmph!" Mrs Li snorted coldly, forcefully stomped her feet, turned around and dashed into the crowd. In a sh, not even a shadow of her could be seen. She really didn¡¯t have the face to stay here anymore.

    "Mrs Li, this tuft of fur, do you still want it? Looks like she doesn¡¯t want it anymore, just right... make this into an ink brush!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the rapidly disappearing Mrs Li, stroking the tuft of fur on the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog as if it was a piece of treasure.

    ...

    Deep into the night, a bird, its body white as snow and its ws sharp as a knife, once again shot out from the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s Hall of Dao and instantly disappeared into the night sky. Its speed was amazingly fast...

    The morning after, within the Northern Lands Divine Constabry, in a beautiful antique-styled study room, Lolita peered at the illustration in front of her, slightly lost in thought.

    "This formation isn¡¯tplicated, but it blends in knowledge from the Eight Diagrams Tactics... if it was really drawn by that little bastard, then... the previous case of solving the Illustration of All Creation can now be confirmed!"

    Lolita took another look at the illustration. Light shed within her bright pupils.

    "Come!"

    "Missus, what do you need?" A soldier instantly walked in from outside the study and knelt down on one knee.

    "Make preparations. There¡¯s somewhere I want to go."

    "Yes Missus! But... the Lord is now in the capital city, I fear that there are still ten days before he would be able to return. Should we wait for the Lord before setting off?" The soldier instantlyplied with her order, then gingerly asked.

    "Ten days? Ok, I understand!" Lolita nodded. Looking out at the rays of light from the rising sun, the edges of her mouth curved into a slight smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi? Let me see where else you can run to this time little bastard!

    ...

 Chapter 37: Killing with anothers blade

    Chapter 37: Killing with another¡¯s de

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    More than ten days passed in a sh.

    These days, Fang Zhengzhi lived afortable life. Working together, the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad¡¯s efficiency was much higher than him alone. Their shovels moved rapidly, digging pitfalls that were big and round.

    Fang Zhengzhi on the other hand took up the role of an overseer. Here... Here needs to be dug a little towards that direction, this rock should be slightly higher, this piece is too small...

    Other that that, he stood guard at the tiny piece ofnd he dug himself and lived a free and leisurely life of reading books and waiting for prey.

    "This mountain is opened by me, this tree is nted by me, if you wish to pass... you musty down your life."

    The ancestors usually likened guarding a tree and waiting for rabbits to knock into it [1] to reaping without sowing. But now, Fang Zhengzhi was evidently living such a life.

    Except, what he guarded wasn¡¯t a tree, but instead was a piece ofnd.

    The results were also entirely different. They weren¡¯t even able to finish collecting the prey they caught each day. Considering solely green furred rabbits, they could already collect at least two each day. Along with a few other animals, Fang Zhengzhi even thought of gathering some feed and turning this into a natural farnd...

    The booming sess of the Southern Mountain Vige naturally attracted the envy and jealous hatred of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    Further considering the leftover anger from being robbed by Fang Zhengzhi...

    Raid, raid, another raid!

    Three times in a row.

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad over and over again learnt their lesson, improvising on their raiding tactics. Direct raiding, surrounding them, groups of three and groups of two...

    Zhang Yangping had to invest a lot of effort and racked his brains.

    But ultimately...

    They werepletely useless!

    Under the assistance of the rock formation, the Southern Mountain Vige vigers were as sly as ck foxes hiding in the shadows, each of them appearing and then disappearing unpredictably. When attacks came from one direction, defences came from all four directions.

    After three attempts, it could be said that the Northern Mountain Vige had suffered a double loss trying to trick the enemy.

    Not only did they not manage to snatch the animals, their weapons were seized in each attempt. The originally razor-sharp spears and scimitars now mostly became huge worn-out metal swords.

    Without weapons, the animals they killed became lesser and lesser.

    It could be said that their lives were quite miserable.

    Inparison, the Southern Mountain Vige lived each day as if they were celebrating the new year. Everyone was happy and joyful, the hunting squad came back with more and more game, and every single household was able to enjoy meat, how could one not be happy?

    ...

    The night was calm as water.

    Fang Zhengzhi sensed within his body which he could control more and more freely everyday, there was a faint yet mysterious sensation. It felt as if there were some schools of thinking, or something else, which were about to conflict. The control he had over his body¡¯s flesh also seemed to had be finer.

    Or...

    Could it be that the way he thought previously was wrong? What he controlled wasn¡¯t at all flesh? Was it blood? That was unlikely... what was it?

    Hence, unable to understand, he could only employ the most primitive of methods - umting vast amounts of knowledge! Continuing with his reading and memorising, increasing his powers. Once he reached a certain level, when a breakthrough was supposed to happen, wouldn¡¯t a breakthrough naturally ur?

    ...

    While Fang Zhengzhi was reading his books at ease, within the neighbouring courtyard, Mrs Li was pacing around continuously in her room, restless and agitated.

    And beside Mrs Li, Li Zhuangzhi¡¯s expression also seemed to be somewhat dark.

    "Can you go think of something? You have been studying in the Hall of Dao everyday, you haven¡¯t seen... the gaze in the vige chief¡¯s eyes whenever he looks at Fang Zhengzhi, are always glinting with light!"

    "That nonsense trap he drew, who knows what divine assistance shone on it. It was really able to divert the animals to run along the pathways he formted, and one by one jumped into the trap as if they were queuing up to do so!" Mrs Li¡¯s saliva flew all over the ce.

    "No matter what, this is a good thing!" Li Zhuangzhi folded his legs and sat on the bed.

    "A good thing? Don¡¯t forget, when the Divine Constabry gave the Southern Mountain Vige an extra entrant spot, that spot was snatched right from the hands of Fang Zhengzhi. Even though it had already been reported up, but, does this mean it can¡¯t change? Even though vige chief indeed has no ns to do so, but, how about a monthter? A yearter? Who can ensure that the vige chief wouldn¡¯t think of a way to swap Li Huer!" Mrs Li became rather anxious.

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s face instantly sunk. After staying in the Hall of Dao for such long periods of time, he had begun to understand the outside world even more. One just had to pass the Law of Dao examinations to enjoy a good deal of favour from the royalties.

    This tiny Southern Mountain Vige is simply not somewhere people could remain for long.

    Walking out, entering the county, or even the capital... this was the future Li Zhuangshi nned for himself.

    "We cannot lose the spot in the Hall of Dao, Li Huer¡¯s improvement within this period is still quiterge. As long as he can continue studying in the Hall of Dao, he would definitely be able to pass the Law of Dao examinations in the future!" Li Zhaungshi¡¯s gaze moved to Li Huer who was sleeping soundly in the next room.

    "Then why don¡¯t you think of an idea? Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position in the Southern Mountain Vige is rising higher and higher, very soon he will be able to rise over our family. If it continues like this, this spot will definitely be snatched away by him!" Mrs Li was impatient.

    "If I have to think of an idea... This kid Fang Zhengzhi is quite smart, furthermore, he did indeed contribute to the vige. Our actions cannot be too obvious... Oh, I have an idea!" Li Zhuangshi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    "What idea?" Mrs Li immediately moved in closer.

    "We will get somebody else to kill him!"

    "What?" Mrs Li was taken aback.

    "Stop shouting! You are indeed unnecessarily soft-hearted!" Li Zhuangshi was now educated, and began to learn from the words of his Sir. Invoking these words, then looking at Mrs Li¡¯s shocked expression, began to exin in a low voice.

    "I¡¯m not nning to really kill him. Think about it, the Northern Mountain Vige people definitely hate Fang Zhengzhi to the core. We will secretly give them the illustration he drew, the consequences will naturally be obvious. I wish to... kill him, but the Northern Mountain Vige people will definitely not sink to such standards. After all, the mutual dependence between the two viges are quite strong. But, breaking an arm or a leg will definitely happen!"

    "You mean?" Mrs Li became interested.

    "All we need is for Fang Zhengzhi to have his limbs broken, then he will be just like Fang Houde. No matter howrge his contributions are, vige chief would still not pin the hopes and future of the vige on him. Law of Dao examinations, the namelist of the Hall of Dao, would naturally not concern Fang Zhengzhi anymore. As for what else he can do, it would be continuously helping us to hunt animals, ha ha ha..."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n for setting up a natural farnd was smoothly carried out. In order to save time, and at the same time minimise the killings between different species, he intentionally split the trapped animals into different groups.

    A few dayster, as per his usual routine, he carried his basket of already-prepared feed up the mountain alone.

    With the protection of the rock formation, the outskirts of the mountain was typically very safe. Furthermore, there was also improvement to his abilities. The stronger one was, the more guts he had. Hence, he didn¡¯t worry much.

    After entering the mountain, he directly made his way over to his personal spot. Checking on the hungry animals stuck within the traps, Fang Zhengzhi threw down the feed.

    Then, finding arge rock facing the sun, he took out his books and began to recite softly.

    "T¡¯ai Kung: "As for the ¡®six thieves¡¯:

    "First, if your subordinates buildrge pces and mansions, pools and terraces, and amble about enjoying the pleasures of scenery and female musicians, it will injure the king¡¯s Virtue.

    Second, when the people are not engaged in agriculture and sericulture but instead give rein to their tempers and travel about as bravados, disdain-ing and transgressing thews and prohibitions, not following the instructions of the officials, it harms the king¡¯s transforming influence..."

    This was the chapter on Honouring the Worthy in the Six Secret Teachings, which mainly discussed the Six Thieves and Seven Harms.

    Fang Zhengzhi was deeply engrossed in his book. He had no idea that all around him, there were currently over twenty people, wielding long des and with wooden bows slung around their backs, lying in ambush, They were the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    "Deputy captain, the intelligence is urate. The person has indeed arrived, and there is nobody from the Southern Mountain Vige following him!"

    [1] This is a Chinese idiom that describes a person who witnessed a rabbit running into a tree, then thereafter began to guard the tree daily waiting for rabbits to knock into it again. This is used to imply waiting idly for opportunities and hoping for things to happen without any practical course of action, rather than showing initiative.

 Chapter 38: Fire

    Chapter 38: Fire

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Ok, everybody make the necessary preparations. We have to be careful, we can¡¯t let this guy escape. When I count to three, everyone will rush out together, destroy his arms but make sure you don¡¯t harm his life."

    Looking at the wooden bow behind his back, an icy glow appeared in his eyes. A few days ago, his metal bow had been taken away by the Southern Mountain Vige people, and the cause of all of this, was Fang Zhengzhi. This vengeance was something he couldn¡¯t swallow.

    "Understood. Deputy captain don¡¯t worry, we will act appropriately!" The hunting squad members nodded. The Northern and Southern vigers were mutually dependent. Appropriate forms of revenge and conflicts were always present, but if killing urred, this rtionship would be destroyedpletely.

    "One"

    "Two"

    "..."

    "Awoo!"

    Just when Zhang Yangping was about to count to three, the howling sound of a huge beast suddenly resonated throughout the entire Cang Ling Mountain.

    This stunned all of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad members, who were already prepared to act. This sound... was too near, as if it sounded out from right beside their ears.

    "This..." A hunting squad member was somewhat puzzled.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was simrly rather puzzled. He was just reading his book, where did such a loud howl evene from? He had stayed in the Cang Ling Mountain for some time, and had encountered a countless number of animals.

    But...

    This sound definitely couldn¡¯t havee from just any ordinary beast.

    "Awoo!"

    As he pondered, a humongous shadow shot out with lightning speed from the dense forests, and ended up less than hundred metres away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    "What the... f*ck! It¡¯s humongous!" Fang Zhengzhi was truly shocked this time. The beast in front of him was really too big. It was at least twice the size of the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    Its navy blue fur were like metal needles enveloping its body. Its razor-sharp front ws were perched on a piece of stone, and those ck ws emanated the cold air of the forest. They looked even sharper than the two metal fangs on the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.

    Most uniquely, on the forehead of this wild beast, there was a line of fire-red fur. That fur was like a zing trail, leading all the way from its forehead to its tail...

    "Blue... Blue Fire Wolf!"

    "Deputy captain, it¡¯s... it¡¯s the Blue Fire Wolf!"

    When the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad saw the beast that shot out, they trembled uncontrobly, the weapons in their hands almost dropping to the ground in fear.

    Zhang Yangping shook uncontrobly with shock.

    Blue Fire Wolf, this was the real king of the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts.

    It couldn¡¯t even be ssified as a beast anymore, it was a truly fearsome monster!

    "Deputy captain, what should we do?" A hunter¡¯s legs trembled in fear. Faced with the monster Blue Fire Wolf, there was only one way. That was to run, run as far as they possibly could.

    The Blue Fire Wolf was too strong, even adding a few people to their group, they were nothingpared to the Blue Fire Wolf, much less their strength of twenty over people.

    Shoot arrows?

    I¡¯m afraid that before you even manage to pull your bow, the Blue Fire Wolf would have already pounced right in front of you.

    Moreover, even if you somehow managed to shoot a few, that wasn¡¯t sufficient to injure the Blue Fire Wolf. Because, the skin and fur on the Blue Fire Wolf was too thick. An average arrow could only at most scrape the surface of its skin, if one really intended to kill the Blue Fire Wolf with arrows, that was downright impossible.

    "Run!" Zhang Yangping ordered, barely hesitating at all.

    "How about the kid?

    "Leave him, hurry up and run!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi also prepared to run. He didn¡¯t even bother taking along his basket, among other personal items. This thing in front of him was obviously very terrifying. Even though he didn¡¯t know what it was, but one look at its head told him that it was even bigger than the lion he knew from his previous world.

    The reason he entered the mountain today was only to feed the animals, he didn¡¯t even have a friend beside him.

    Fight one to one?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t dumb.

    But at the second he turned his body.

    The Blue Fire Wolf also began to move, an icy yet blood-thirsty glint shining in its faint blue pupils. Slightly curving its front ws, its gigantic body shot towards Fang Zhengzhi like a streak of lightning.

    "Snap!"

    The sound of stepping on broken wood rang out and immediately after, the gigantic Blue Fire Wolf disappeared.

    "Huh?" Looking back, Fang Zhengzhi instantly stopped running. In his sudden burst of panic, he had forgotten that he was surrounded by pitfalls.

    No matter how deadly a beast was, as long as it stepped on the trap, it would definitely fall in!

    ...

    "Deputy captain, quick, look! The Blue Fire Wolf seemed to have fallen into the trap!" A Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad member who was preparing to run had just realised what was happening.

    "Fell into the trap?" Zhang Yangping was simrly taken aback. He knew Fang Zhengzhi was surrounded by pitfalls, but, the Blue Fire Wolf was an extremely sly beast, it would never fall into just any ordinary trap.

    But now...

    "It really fell inside the trap, quick look, it¡¯s just over there!" Another hunter shouted out.

    "This kid¡¯s traps are indeed amazing, don¡¯t tell me even the Blue Fire Wolf had been tricked?" Zhang Yangping didn¡¯t dare to believe, but this reality was unfolding right before his eyes.

    "Deputy captain look, that kid is going over!

    "Deputy captain, that is the Blue Fire Wolf, if it had really fallen into the trap, it¡¯s definitely worth a huge amount of silver! I heard that the worth of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s skin is even calcted in gold!"

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad members were excited. Even though they deeply feared the Blue Fire Wolf, but after so many years of hunting on the mountain, how could they not have developed even a slightest blood-thirsty personality?

    Right in front of their eyes, the Blue Fire Wolf had fallen into the trap. Their bad luck instantly turned into an opportunity.

    The Blue Fire Wolf was indeed worth a lot of money, but just the thought of being able to remove such a huge hidden danger in the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts was definitely something worth risking

    "Prepare to act, today we will snatch this Blue Fire Wolf first! This will make up for our losses these few days!" Zhang Yangping pondered for a short moment, then biting his teeth, gave his orders.

    "Roger that!" The Northern Mountain Vige hunting square began to shout out one by one.

    While they shouted, they also didn¡¯t dare to let down their guard. Each of them drew their bows and prepared to kill the Blue Fire Wolf together.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi at this moment was walking unhurriedly towards the pitfall containing the Blue Fire Wolf. All of a sudden, he heard a wave of shouting around him, then, saw a few men wielding long des and bows scuttling out from the bushes.

    "You want to snatch my prey? This ce is filled with traps!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately recognised that these people were the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    But, he wasn¡¯t worried at all. Because, with the presence of these traps, they had absolutely no way of snatching.

    Ideals are perfect, but reality is cruel.

    Very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi began to realise something was amiss. All of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad members seemed to have grown a pair of divine eyes, even though they ran as fast as rabbits, but all of them skidded around the traps skillfully.

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this was downright impossible.

    Then...

    Something even more impossible thing happened.

    "Awoo!"

    With an infuriated howl, the Blue Fire Wolf which had fallen into the trap suddenly jumped right out.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    The twenty over shouting hunting squad members were also simrly stunned.

    All of them stared at this fearsome beast, their faces convulsed with pure fear. From those faint blue pupils, everyone had managed to infer one emotion...

    Fury!

    "The Blue Fire Wolf has jumped out, run away quick!"

    "Run!"

    After a moment of shock, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad members immediately regained their senses and one following another, instantly began to run.

    "Blue Fire Wolf? This is the Blue Fire Wolf?! But... why is there no fire?" Hearing the cries of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, a wave of suspicion swept over him.

    Then, he suddenly regained his senses.

    "What the f*ck, Blue Fire Wolf!"

    His stumpy legs could instantly turn into wheels of fire, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s running speed was definitely not slow. But,pared to the Blue Fire Wolf, it was still slightly inferior.

    With a "swoosh!", the Blue Fire Wolf leapt, and blocked off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s escape path.

    Most importantly...

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi had really managed to see fire.

    At the instant the Blue Fire Wolf leapt, he saw with unmistakable rity, a ball of bright-red me engulfed its razor-sharp ws, and once the Blue Fire Wolfnded, that ball of me once again mysteriously disappeared.

    "There is really fire!"

 Chapter 39: Its name was Blue Fire

    Chapter 39: Its name was Blue Fire

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that his knowledge of this world was indeed too shallow. But, what was with that ball of fire? That was too mysterious indeed.

    It felt as if it appeared out of thin air.

    You mean fire can appear out of thin air, and disappear into thin air? Thispletely exceeded his imaginations, fire from friction? Or what else was it due to?

    Was it the Dao of All Creations?

    The Blue Fire Wolf didn¡¯t read books, how could it master the Dao of All Creations?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt lost and bewildered. This world seemed to bepletely different from what he imagined. He thought that he had managed to understand this world very well, but after turning around, he realised that as before, he was still standing outside the door of understanding.

    He couldn¡¯t understand this at all!

    After a sh of bewilderment, Fang Zhengzhi understood one thing...

    Now, he should run!

    "Awoo!" Ideals will always be perfect, but reality is always cruel.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even managed to turn his body. The Blue Fire Wolf had already turned into a stream of light and dove towards him, those faint blue pupilspletely fixated on the ¡®prey¡¯ in front of it.

    Its razor-sharp ws shed in a beautiful arc mid-air, a bright-red me burning on its ws.

    Like fireworks in the night sky.

    Even though Zhang Yangping and the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad bore some hatred towards Fang Zhengzhi, but as they witnessed the Blue Fire Wolf hunting down Fang Zhengzhi, they still couldn¡¯t bear for this to happen.

    "This kid... what a pity!" Zhang Yangping sighed as he ran. He was powerless. Because, even if he stopped to shoot an arrow, he still wouldn¡¯t be able match the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s speed to save Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Let¡¯s run!"

    "Sigh... we actually allowed a kid to defend us!"

    "We have no choice, he is really too close to the Blue Fire Wolf, there is no way to save him!"

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad stared at the Blue Fire Wolf, which had already pounced in the air right on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. All of them felt somewhat helpless. They wanted to save him, but at death¡¯s door, who would even be willing to stop their footsteps.

    Fang Zhengzhi was scared.

    Met with the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s pounce, the inexperienced Fang Zhengzhi mind almost nked out, unable to think.

    But evidently the Blue Fire Wolf didn¡¯t bother to take that into consideration. In its eyes, the child of a human undoubtedly had the most delicious and tender meat. Furthermore, the reason that prompted it to ignore the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad to focus on killing Fang Zhengzhi was none other than that this kid actually dug a trap for it!

    As the king of the outskirts of Cang Ling Mountain, how could it ept this?

    Sensing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fear, the Blue Fire Wolf could confirm, the delectable vour that would dissipate its rage was about to enter its mouth a secondter.

    "Bam!"

    The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s ws reached the ground first. There was no sound of bone breaking.

    But, it didn¡¯t feel disappointed at all. Because, Fang Zhengzhi was right in front of its eyes, it could already even smell his delicious meat.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was indeed too near to the Blue Fire Wolf. Too near, so near that he was almost unable to breathe.

    At the crucial moment just now, he didn¡¯t manage to react much, forgetting every single defense techniques and only very instinctive fell back in fear...

    But, falling back, coupled with a roll, gave him the extreme luck to have avoided the killing blow of the Blue Fire Wolf.

    Even though he managed to avoid one blow, he had ultimately still fallen on the ground, facing the sky. Moreover, the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s razor-sharp ws, which seemed to be made from mythical metal, was ced right in between his two stumpy legs.

    The distance from his vital parts was only the length of a first.

    Dead!

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi was really dead!

    For the first time, he felt the terrifying wave of a death threat sweeping over him. As the saying goes, an anxious dog can jump over a wall. Let alone a human who was about to be killed.

    Fang Zhengzhi retaliated.

    There wasn¡¯t any form of technique, acting on pure instinct to kick away this threat in front of him.

    The two stumpy legs at this instant turned into two rapidly kicking mini motors. That speed could definitely invoke a gale of wind.

    "Ahhhhh... go away, go away..."

    As he shrieked, Fang Zhengzhi concentrated all the strength in his body to kick at the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s approaching head and ws.

    The Blue Fire Wolf was delightedly preparing to enjoy the delicious meal in front of it at this moment. When it suddenly saw the barrage of kicksing towards it, it was almost unable to react and a few kicksnded on its nose and eyes.

    But, it wasn¡¯t too worried.

    Because that power was indeed too weak. It was just the struggles of a human child faced with death, what use could it have? With its strength, even if it stood still to take a few kicks from this kid, it wouldn¡¯t even budge an inch.

    Completely inconsequential.

    Feeling the powerless kicks that posed as nothing more than a form of irritation, the Blue Fire Wolfughed coldly and cruelly inside. The delicious meat was right in front of its eyes, and it advanced. It¡¯s huge mouth suddenly widened, and prepared to bite down on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tiny legs.

    Then...

    Right at this moment, a huge wave of strength and power washed over the Blue Fire Wolf.

    "Grr, grr grrr...."

    From the originally powerless stumpy legs, a terrifying power emerged. Every kick thatnded on its face felt like a huge hammer smashing down on it.

    "Awoo!"

    The Blue Fire Wolf unleashed a blood-curdling howl. Its gigantic body was flown upwards, then, along the same arc projectile path, it came back down and mmed into the ground, returning back at the same spot it leapt from.

    All of these happenings, from the moment the Blue Fire Wolf pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi, to it being kicked back wildly by Fang Zhengzhi, all urred in a blink of an eye.

    Zhang Yangping and the rest of the hunting squad, situated not too far away, werepletely stunned.

    All they saw was the Blue Fire Wolf pouncing, Fang Zhengzhi falling to the ground, then the Blue Fire Wolf being kicked away by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "How is this possible?"

    "This is supposed to be... the Blue Fire Wolf!"

    "It was actually sent flying by a kick?"

    Zhang Yangping and the rest of the hunting squad stared at Fang Zhengzhi as if they had seen a ghost. They werepletely unable to believe that under these circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi actually didn¡¯t die!

    "Deputy... Deputy captain, look... look at the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s nose!"

    "It¡¯s bleeding! The Blue Fire Wolf is injured!"

    A few observant hunters quickly noticed that on the edges of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s mouth and on its nose, a few drops of bright-red blood trickled down.

    "Drip, drip..."

    The blood dripped onto the floor, and soaked into the ground.

    ...

    "Awoo!"

    The Blue Fire Wolf reared its head and unleashed a mad, infuriated howl. That sound, other than anger, was filled with solitary and arrogance.

    Its name, was Blue Fire.

    It was a lone wolf. In the outskirts of this Cang Ling Mountain, it was the real king.

    Regardless of when and where, any animal or human that encountered it only had one thought. That was to run. Having ruled thisnd for the past years, it had never been wounded in a manner such as today.

 Chapter 40: Speed

    Chapter 40: Speed

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s madly kicking legs stopped, sweat dripping like rain from his forehead.

    What was terror, what was a narrow escape? He felt that at this moment, no one would be able to understand this feeling better than him.

    It was too frightening.

    A moment ago, when his short legs came into contact with the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s forehead, it felt as if the kicknded on a metal board.

    The immense strength and resistance sent his heart to his throat. When he saw the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s salivating mouth biting down on him...

    At the instant, Fang Zhengzhi felt as if he had stepped into the door of death.

    Every single pore on his body leaked profusely with sweat. Fortunately, at this crucial period, his nked-out mind finally unleashed its abilities. That feeling of desperation had pushed him to move everything he could control in his body onto his stumpy legs.

    His heart only contained three words...

    Give everything possible!

    Then, the results seemed very remarkable. The Blue Fire Wolf was finally kicked away by him, at the same time, he felt a unique sensation. At that moment, he felt his stumpy legs fill up with power.

    As if it was about to explode.

    Wait a minute, just now, he seemed to be...

    Controlling?!

    That¡¯s right, it was control. When the word control shed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, he finally came to realisation. Running away now was downright impossible, the Blue Fire Wolf was too fast. If he dared to turn his body, his back would definitely get attacked.

    That means he could only try to control his body.

    I am now someone who can shatter a stone with one fist, I can¡¯t be scared, I am very strong! Fang Zhengzhi reassured himself while trying to gain control over the flow of things in his body.

    Thinking of that rejuvenating feeling of kicking away the Blue Fire Wolf, then looking at the Blue Fire Wolf staring at the ground, its nose and mouth dripping with blood.

    His confidence instantly grew.

    "That¡¯s right, I am very strong!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed, doing so to bolster his confidence further.

    Some distance away, the alreadypletely stunned Zhang Yangping and the rest of the hunting squad were instantly jolted back to their senses by these words.

    "What is he saying?"

    "He seems to have said... he is very strong?!"

    "He¡¯s indeed very strong!"

    Thatst sentence came out from Zhang Yangping¡¯s mouth. Even though he didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, but, to be able to kick the Blue Fire Wolf away definitely wasn¡¯t something luck could achieve.

    "Deputy captain, now that the kid and the Blue Fire Wolf are confronting one another, let¡¯s escape quickly!" A hunting squad member reminded in a soft voice.

    "No!" Zhang Yangping suddenly bit down on his teeth. "This Blue Fire Wolf has been wreaking havoc in the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts for so many years, who knows how many vigers it had killed. Now... there¡¯s an opportunity!"

    "Opportunity?!" The hunting squad members couldn¡¯t really understand his intentions.

    "That¡¯s right, an opportunity which we never had for so many years! All of you look, now that the Blue Fire Wolf is deep inside the trap formation area with that kid, it can drop down anytime. Furthermore, that kid has the ability to hold off the Blue Fire Wolf for a short time. This kind of opportunity, did we ever have it?" Zhang Yangping calmly analysed the situation.

    As the deputy captain of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, he had the responsibility of ensuring the hunting squad members¡¯ safety. But, as long as the threat of the Blue Fire Wolf remained, that safety would forever only be temporary.

    "I will follow Deputy Captain!" A hunting squad member very quickly responded. His eyes were fixated on the Blue Fire Wolf not too far away with an icy glint in his eyes.

    His own older brother, had died under the ws of the Blue Fire Wolf. At that time, he was only seventeen!

    "I will also follow Deputy Captain!" Another member simrly stood out. There was an almost three inches long wound on his calf that extended into the bones. As long as it was a rainy day, it would be exceptionally painful.

    This was due to running away too slowly during his previous encounter with the Blue Fire Wolf. In the end, he was shed by the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s ws.

    And that was the same time he personally witnessed his buddy, who stuck with him all the way since childhood, dying in the mouth of the Blue Fire Wolf. That brutal scene appeared even in his dreams.

    "Deputy Captain, let¡¯s do it!" All of the hunting squad members drew their wooden bows, each of their faces revealing a look of pure conviction.

    "Good, that¡¯s the way! Everybody, follow my orders!" Zhang Yangping gazed at the vigour and determination that radiated out from each of the men¡¯s bodies. Traces of tears entered his eyes.

    The wickedness of the Blue Fire Wolf had caused a lifetime of pain for all the viges within miles of the mountain.

    ...

    On the outside, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current state still seemed very brave and powerful. At least, Zhang Yangping and the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad had already pinned their hopes on him.

    But in reality, inside his heart, Fang Zhengzhi was deeply agonized.

    What, I am very strong? That was just words to reassure himself. Compared to the Blue Fire Wolf...

    "Snap!"

    The shattering sound of rocks sounded out. The gigantic body of the Blue Fire Wolf crawled up. Faced with such immense strength, the broken pieces of rocks on the ground immediately exploded into powder.

    How powerful the Blue Fire Wolf was can be seen from this.

    "Awoo!"

    Howling, the Blue Fire Wolf wildly rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi. It actually wasn¡¯t too far off the ground, its entire body keeping close to the ground. It was just like a ray of blue light.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never before seen such an offensive tactic.

    Don¡¯t tell me the offensive strategy of wolves aren¡¯t all about head-on pounces and going around in circles? Then, what¡¯s the meaning of this strange gliding scene in front of me?

    Indeed, I can¡¯t try to understand this world based on my past thinking!

    "I¡¯ll dodge!"

    Oh, terrain!

    His eyes suddenly lit up. Fang Zhengzhi, evidently not bothering to be graceful, rolled on the ground towards his right, ending up behind a rock.

    Having pounced at thin air, the Blue Fire Wolf didn¡¯t stop at all. Its humongous body twisted around, and two balls of fire suddenly erupted from its two hind ws.

    It was like stepping on two balls of fire.

    Then, initially pouncing towards the front, its entire body forcefully changed direction and was instantly pouncing towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    Nearer, nearer...

    At this moment, the two front ws of the Blue Fire Wolf also burst into two bright-red balls of me. There was even a small me dancing in its faint blue pupils.

    ...

    A wave of scorching smell spread out, a smell so provoking that it even numbed the scalp of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Experience, was what hecked the most. Real hunters would never turn their heads at such moments.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t aware of this. He turned his head, and saw that the Blue Fire Wolf was already less than one meter from his back, those razor-sharp fangs dripping with a faint trace of blood...

    "Am I going to die?!" Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t godlike, at this instant, he had no way of retaliating. He rolled on the floor, wanting to run...

    He couldn¡¯t even stand up.

    The huge stone was right in front of his eyes, but this single step was so far away. Like a huge ravine, there was simply no way of stepping across.

    "Why is this Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s speed so fast?!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t give up, but he had no alternatives. The disparity in strength was toorge, he simply couldn¡¯t dodge this strike.

 Chapter 41: The Disappearing World

    Chapter 41: The Disappearing World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Swoosh!"

    Right at this moment, the sound of an arrow splitting the air rang out. Immediately after, a metal arrow filled with anger and infuriation appeared like a meteor right in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    From its path, its target was aimed right at the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s eye.

    Anger radiated from the faint blue pupils of the Blue Fire Wolf. Once again, its body twisted around, snapping open its two ming front ws. Its charging body quickly halted to a standstill.

    Just a short standstill.

    The metal arrow with uncanny uracy shot past the tip of its nose, carrying along with it the sound of the wind.

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely stunned. He didn¡¯t know who shot the arrow, but that arrow, from both its timing and its uracy, was extremely incredible. Under normal circumstances, it should have pinned itself right inside the left eye of the Blue Fire Wolf, then, blood spurting out into the air.

    But...

    The Blue Fire Wolf had actually managed to avoid it? This was too extreme! It was actually able to stop?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood, why when twenty-over weapon and bow-wielding vigers encountered the Blue Fire Wolf, they could only run.

    Not only was the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s speed very fast, its flexibility and agility were also incredible.

    No matter how proficient one¡¯s archery skills are, one might still not be able to hit it. To be able to continuously change directions up in the air, it meant that it could, at the most crucial moment, avoid any shots to its vital organs.

    It was different,pared to those beasts in the previous which had a range of abilities limited to pouncing, biting or sweeping rted tactics, it waspletely different. Within the pupils of the Blue Fire Wolf, Fang Zhengzhi could sense the presence of wisdom.

    "Did you have to..." Fang Zhengzhi was indeed intimidated by the Blue Fire Wolf, but, his instinct to run was still there. Once he saw the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s astonishing halt, he once again rolled and smoothly hid himself behind a huge stone.

    Then, without even having time to catch his breath, a ming, sharp w began to reach over.

    "Snap!" The huge stone, like a beancurd, quickly shattered.

    A huge wolf head, its mouth filled with blood, peeked out from above the stone, its faint blue pupils that stared down at Fang Zhengzhi boiled with rage.

    Under normal judgement, Fang Zhengzhi should be running away now.

    The Blue Fire Wolf could also somewhat judge that this human kid in front of it would choose to roll backwards once again. Then, at this time, all it needed to do was to leap up towards the location this kid would roll to, and deal the fatal blow.

    Yet...

    Mysteriously, this time, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have the intention to roll.

    Not only didn¡¯t he roll, he didn¡¯t even bother to run. Staring silently at the Blue Fire Wolf, his eyes were somewhat fearful, but, strangely, it also radiated an air of self-confidence.

    "Boom!"

    Just when the Blue Fire Wolf became somewhat suspicious, the ground on which its hind ws stepped on melted like snow, then, its humongous body directly fell through the ground...

    "An opportunity!" At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi set aside his fears. With a roar, he pushed the entire pile of broken stones in front of him into the pitfall.

    "Smash you to death!" Even though he was unsure whether his actions would be consequential, but shouldn¡¯t it at least give him more time? He couldn¡¯t run, what else could he do? He could only force himself to fight.

    ...

    "It fell in again!" A Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad member widened his eyes.

    "Shoot!" Zhang Yangping once again drew his bow. The bow in his hands faced the skies. That previous arrow was shot by him, just that it was a direct shot. Now, he prepared to do a projectile shot.

    The other vigers were also mostly experienced, even though their archery skills couldn¡¯tpare to Zhang Yangping, their cooperated shots were still very proficient.

    Instantly, over twenty hunting squad members raised their bows together and shot towards the skies. Over twenty metal arrows rained down into the pitfall where the Blue Fire Wolfy.

    Looking at the rain of arrows, he involuntarily took a step back. The Northern Mountain Vige people were... actually helping him?

    Recalling the arrow that stopped the Blue Fire Wolf, he quickly confirmed this fact.

    Without further hesitation, he rapidly carried up stones, using up all the strength in his body to m it down into the pitfall. Each broken stone fell with an air-piercing sound, each stone was like a cannon, producing a loud "Boom!" after falling into the pitfall.

    "Awoo!" From within the trap, the infuriated howl of the Blue Fire Wolf sounded out once again.

    Holed up in such a pitfall, itpletely couldn¡¯t leverage on its speed advantage. Every single arrow that fell from the skiesnded with uncanny precision and uracy on its body. Moreover, the impact of those stones was also unusually powerful.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The stones and arrows turned into raindrops, continuous and never-ending.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hold back. Zhang Yangping and the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad naturally also didn¡¯t hold back. Pulling back the bow, releasing an arrow, once again pulling back the bow, then releasing another arrow, until all the arrows in the quiver behind their backs were expended.

    ...

    "It should be dead." Fang Zhengzhi carefully reached his head into the pitfall. He had already thrown down every single stone he could find around him.

    Looking into the trap, all he could see was stones and metal arrows.

    Some arrows were even smashed by Fang Zhengzhi, but, those arrowheads were securely impaled on a huge body enveloped in blue fur.

    The faint blue pupils snapped open.

    "Awoo!" Even when it was expelled by the wolf pack a few years ago, the Blue Fire Wolf had never felt such rage.

    It was actually injured by a human child, again and again? Furthermore, he even felt a hint of a death threat. This was the biggest insult to the King¡¯s pride.

    "Boom!" A loud sound rang out. The Blue Fire Wolf, trapped by stones and arrows, suddenly moved. It leapt,pletely dislodging all those stones and arrows.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly flinched.

    Because, at the moment the Blue Fire Wolf shot out, he realised... the bright-red patch of fur that extended from its forehead all the way to its tail started to radiate a ray of blood-red light.

    Changed form?

    Or was it evolution?

    Could it be so exaggerated, were the beasts of this world terrifying to such extremes?!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think for too long, and instant broke into a sprint. All the ideas he could think of had already been thought of, all he could do had also been done. Even the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad¡¯s arrows had beenpletely used up.

    Now...

    Other than running, what else could he do?

    "Awoo!" The Blue Fire Wolf howled deeply. Its humongous body sprang into the air. It absolutely left no chance of escape for Fang Zhengzhi. A front w, engulfed in mes, shed towards him.

    At this time, would there still be arrows?

    The answer was obvious...

    Lead it inside another trap and smash it again? That would probably be a waste of energy.

    Then, the only choice, was a reckless confrontation!

    Staring at the ming razor-sharp ws in front of him, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face turned white as paper with fear. But, he still gritted his teeth, stood his ground, controlling every single movable substance in his body and concentrating them onto his small arm. Once again, he felt that explosive sensation.

    "Fire? To hell with the fire!"

    There was nothing fanciful about this punch, it was very direct. It didn¡¯t even bring along the sound of wind. In a sh, it came into contact with the sharp ws of the Blue Fire Wolf.

    But...

    This punch produced a mysterious sensation inside Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was too quiet. So quiet that he couldn¡¯t hear anything at all, as if the entire world didn¡¯t exist anymore. All of the flowers, grasses, trees, wood, wind, fire,pletely disappeared...

    "Boom!"

    Between the fist and the w, a powerful impact caused Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest to feel as if it had been smashed, his entire body naturally flew and rolled backwards.

    On the other hand, the advancing Blue Fire Wolf, at this moment, also rolled backwards from the same powerful impact.

    "Plop!"

    Both man and wolf, toppled down at almost the same time.

    At this moment, the entire world became quiet beyond imagination. Not too far away, Zhang Yangping and the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad werepletely stunned. They simply couldn¡¯t believe.

    What happened just now?

    It seemed as if the kid and the Blue Fire Wolf met force to force! Then... he and the Blue Fire Wolf actually... actually fell backwards at the same time? Were they... evenly matched?

 Chapter 42: Opened

    Chapter 42: Opened

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A seven-year-old child and the king of the outskirts of Cang Ling Mountain were evenly matched?!

    If they hadn¡¯t seen this for themselves, nobody would even have such thoughts, much less believing this incident really happened.

    At this moment, Zhang Yangping and the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad stared till their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

    "The Blue Fire Wolf was fended off by one punch?!"

    "Furthermore, it seems to have fallen hard to the ground..."

    "How can this be possible?!"

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad one by one began to mutter, as if they were on a dream journey. Theypletely couldn¡¯t regain their senses after such a powerful shock.

    "Shoot, quickly shoot!" Zhang Yangping suddenly shouted out, his face filled with delight. A child who can match up to the Blue Fire Wolf... no matter how he did it, this was an opportunity, a real opportunity!

    "Deputy captain, I don¡¯t have... don¡¯t have arrows?" A Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad member dug about in his quiver. It was empty.

    "Oh!" Zhang Yangping managed toe to his senses. All the metal arrows seemed to have been expended, what were they supposed to do now? Don¡¯t tell me they were supposed to helplessly let such a good opportunity go to waste?

    "Deputy captain, we are willing!" A hunter pulled out a long de and stepped out.

    "I am also willing!" Another hunter pulled out a ck spear.

    "Excellent! You are all indeed worthy of being men from the Northern Mountain Vige! Charge... everybody, charge!" Zhang Yangping naturally understood everybody¡¯s determination. To be able to take advantage of this opportunity to remove the biggest danger in the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts, on top of taking a risk, even if they had to lose a few lives, it was still worth it.

    ...

    "Awoo!" The Blue Fire Wolf who had fallen onto the ground rolled over, disbelief simrly evident in its faint blue pupils. All the blue fur enveloping its body instantly stood up, a thick smell of blood emanating from the fur that extended from its forehead to its tail.

    It seemed to be undergoing some sort of change...

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi was also currently taken aback. I didn¡¯t die? And, it seemed like I even fended off the Blue Fire Wolf? What was that sensation just now?

    The entire whole seemed to have disappeared, Ipletely wasn¡¯t able to sense anything...

    Or could it be said that, everything was within my senses?

    What was that all about? Why did it feel like I was perched on the origins of the universe?

    The Dao of All Creations, the disappearing world, origins...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. The huge sealed door within his heart seemed to have been truly opened at this very moment. The Dao of All Creations, originates from Man himself, understanding All Creations, in control of All Creations.

    In control? Control... first and foremost, was control! Control oneself, then, let one¡¯s body sense, let one and All Creatione together in some sort of harmony.

    I understand, I finally understand!

    What he controlled was definitely not any flesh nor blood, but it was his entire self. Man¡¯s body, simrly, belonged to All Creations. Regardless of whether it¡¯s flesh, blood, or bones, they were all made up of some substance.

    In his past world, this substance was called "particles"! The smallest substance that can exist independently.

    Mountains, rivers, flowers, grasses, trees, wood, stone, the existence of everything came about from particles. And what he needed to do was start from controlling his body, to controlling All Creations!

    The "door" had now been truly opened!

    That means, next...

    Fang Zhengzhi ran. Scampering off and taking to his heels, he fled in a sh into the distance.

    The door was indeed opened, but still, the Blue Fire Wolf seemed to have opened it earlier than him. After truly understanding, Fang Zhengzhi now had a more urate judgement of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s powers.

    The Blue Fire Wolf definitely controlled the Dao of All Creations, else, it simply couldn¡¯t just control its body to such an extent. Most importantly, that fire...

    Was a level he definitely currently couldn¡¯tpare to.

    Having umted its energy and waiting to strike, the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s eyes instantly turned nk. When it previously thought that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely run, he instead stood still. Now, when it thought that Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t run anymore, he instead started to run again?!

    Zhang Yangping and the hunting squad were simrly taken aback. At this moment, raising their long des and spears, they were rushing wildly towards the Blue Fire Wolf, but halfway,

    They realised...

    The child who was able to match up to the Blue Fire Wolf ran away?!

    What was the meaning of this? Could they even work together anymore? Was there still even a tiny bit of rapport between them?

    The instant Zhang Yangping saw Fang Zhengzhi fleeing, he had also thought of retreat. But thinking of the injuries the Blue Fire Wolf had suffered, he definitely couldn¡¯t give up this opportunity easily.

    "Charge!" Using his voice and through his actions, Zhang Yangping took the lead and sent a message to all the hunting squad members. He was determined to kill the Blue Fire Wolf.

    "Charge!" The rest of the hunting squad members, seeing that even their deputy captain didn¡¯t retreat, naturally also lost any intention of retreating.

    Under the charge of Zhang Yangping, the twenty over hunting squad members quickly surrounded the Blue Fire Wolf, then, things became much simpler. Long des hacked down, the spears thrusted forwards...

    This kind of coordination was something they had already done countless times.

    The only thing different this time was that this time, their foe was a king, the Blue Fire Wolf, the lone wolf that ruled the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts, a real monster.

    The consequences were obvious.

    How could twenty over hunting squad members defeat the infuriated Blue Fire Wolf?

    The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s speed, coupled with its unparalleled agility and control over its body, and in addition to its thick and solid coat of fur, left the twenty over hunting squad members simply unable to significantly harm it at all.

    After merely a few moves, several hunting squad members were injured. Moreover, there was even a hunting squad member who was shed by the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s ws, tearing out arge piece of flesh...

    Zhang Yangping instantly panicked.

    Under normal circumstances, they would run once they encountered the Blue Fire Wolf. They had never truly fought with the Blue Fire Wolf, but seeing the fight between Fang Zhengzhi and the Blue Fire Wolf outside just now...

    It had been sent flying by a kick, and stumbled backwards after a punch.

    This insinuated some assumptions in Zhang Yangping¡¯s mind.

    If it wasn¡¯t for this reason, he wouldn¡¯t even have had taken such a huge risk, bringing the entire hunting squad under the tooth and ws of the Blue Fire Wolf.

    "It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over..." Zhang Yangping hands trembled slightly. He never expected such a huge change of events. Even if he wanted to retreat now, it would simply be impossible.

    Once they ran, the Blue Fire Wolf would definitely seize the opportunity and pounce over. Even under the most conservative of estimates, there would definitely not be less than five lives lost.

    But, if they were to fight on like this, how many more people would die?

    Dreadfully...

    The entire hunting square would die here?

    What to do?

    What was he supposed to do now?

    Distracted by his thoughts, Zhang Yangping¡¯s movement strayed. The de that initially hacked towards the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s head strayed from its line of movement and directly hacked onto a piece of stone below the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s feet.

    Not needing to dodge, the Blue Fire Wolf instantly seized this opportunity.

    An icy glint of death radiated from its faint blue pupils, shooting out, it had already pounced right in front of Zhang Yangping. Its two sharp ws grabbed onto Zhang Yangping¡¯s raised arms, then opening its ferocious mouth, it bit down towards Zhang Yangping¡¯s throat...

    "Deputy captain!"

    "Deputy captain?!"

    "..."

    When the hunting members witnessed this scene, a wave of rmed cries resounded. But, the Blue Fire Wolf was too fast, even if they wished to save him, they would still have absolutely no way to stop the bite of the Blue Fire Wolf.

    Its razor-sharp teeth emanated a bloody yet icy smell.

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s eyes widened. Even the usually calm himpletely lost all forms of resistance faced with this sudden change of events.

    All he could do... was to stand still and wait for the impending kiss of death!

    The air, at this moment seemed to congeal and thicken.

    The world...

    Was so quiet that he could hear the sound of his heart beat.

    "Psssh!"

    Bright-red blood spurt out like a fountain, forming a beautiful lotus-like flower in mid-air.

 Chapter 43: Due Respect to a King

    Chapter 43: Due Respect to a King

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad held their breath. Everyone stared, petrified, at the scene urring right in front of their eyes, look at the kid who had suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Yangping, with one hand impaled into the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s throat...

    It was too fast!

    Just like a shooting star across the night sky, resplendent yet momentary, nobody had seen clearly how did this kid suddenly appear.

    Blood continued to gush from the back of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s neck into the sky, like a fountain. Where the blood sprayed, there were even fairly discernible glints of silver light...

    ...

    Did Fang Zhengzhi run?

    Under that kind of situation, naturally he ran. Taking the Blue Fire Wolf head-on? He wasn¡¯t stupid! But, after seeing the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad rush in, he returned.

    Fighting head-on wasn¡¯t usible...

    A sneak attack was still a very pleasant move! If it was sessful, revenge would be taken! If it was unsessful, leaving the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad as sacrificial victims, then run away again?

    With his life guaranteed, Fang Zhengzhi, who had decided on a sneak attack, stealthily hid behind the sea of people.

    The minds of all twenty over hunting squad members at this instant were focused entirely on one thing, that was surrounding and attacking the Blue Fire Wolf. Who would even randomly decide to take a few looks behind his back?

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was also very cautious. Rather than making amotion by shouting and screaming, he carefully made use of the vigers¡¯ bodies to block the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s vision.

    A sneak attack was a skill-based move, emphasising on avoiding the enemy and constantly changing positions.

    In order to achieve this, one must first choose the best "shield". Hence, as the deputy captain of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, Zhang Yangping was naturally the best choice.

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to add in a stab or something after Zhang Yangping managed to hit and injure the Blue Fire Wolf.

    Unfortunately, Zhang Yangping and his squad failed badly in living up to his expectations, causing him to be very disappointed. Not only did they not create any good opportunities for him to stab the Blue Fire Wolf, now he evennded himself into great danger.

    Then...

    The Blue Fire Wolf pounced, its tworge ws perched firmly on the two raised hands of Zhang Yangping, its huge mouth already one inch away from Zhang Yangping¡¯s throat.

    Right at this life-threatening moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    An opportunity!

    It was really a God given opportunity!

    The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s toughest parts were naturally its back and the fur enveloping its body. On the other hand, its most vulnerable part was definitely its neck. That was a fatal part, and was also where the fur was the softest.

    Save Zhang Yangping? He actually didn¡¯t really consider this.

    But, forgoing such a good opportunity was definitely punishable by Heaven.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi acted.

    Even though Zhang Yangping¡¯s hands were raised, it didn¡¯t hinder the movement of his small body at all.

    In a sh, he shot out from behind Zhang Yangping¡¯s arms to his front, then, forcefully stabbed forward with the dagger he had been hiding inside his shoe.

    He had to kill in one blow, how could Fang Zhengzhi hold back? Strength, speed, were at its maximum. These wasn¡¯t even the slightest sound of wind, and the dagger immediately impaled its way through Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s throat. The extra strength even pierced a hole through the back of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s neck.

    Then, blood spurted out from the hole, forming a beautiful flower of blood...

    ...

    The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s faint blue pupils stared motionlessly at Fang Zhengzhi beneath its body. Even at death, it couldn¡¯t believe that it had actually died under the hands of a human child.

    But, with its throat pierced, and having lost a huge amount of blood, it felt its strength disappear rapidly.

    The two ws perched on Zhang Yangping¡¯s shoulders became weak and powerless.

    "Guuu..."

    The Blue Fire Wolf wanted to howl, but, as blood spurted out from its throat, blood also flowed out from its mouth. All it could manage was a gargling sound.

    "Swoosh!"

    Fang Zhengzhi pulled back. After hitting the target, he had to be careful of the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯sst struggle.

    The dagger extracted itself from the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s neck...

    Blood once again spurted out. Regardless of whether it was the neck, or the throat, huge amounts of blood flowed out uncontrobly.

    The Blue Fire Wolf was filled with hate and anger. It wanted to kill all of the cruel human race. Hence, in the end, it still lifted up its ws and mmed down with all its remaining strength.

    What a pity...

    Fang Zhengzhi had already slipped behind the back of Zhang Yangping.

    Then, the stunned Zhang Yangping once again became the avenue for the Blue Fire Wolf to vent its rage.

    Even though the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯sst remaining strengthen wasn¡¯t enough to deal a fatal blow, but it still managed to rip apart the leather hide on his body, shing two bloody wounds on his arm.

    The impact sent him flying.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    Two sounds rang out almost at the same time. One was the sound of Zhang Yangping falling the ground, the other was the powerless Blue Fire Wolf mming into the ground.

    Its faint blue pupils stared fixated on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. It couldn¡¯t ept this, it really couldn¡¯t ept this. Because, even at thest moment, it didn¡¯t even manage to hit Fang Zhengzhi once...

    Fang Zhengzhi was also looking at the Blue Fire Wolf. He read the dissatisfaction in the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s eyes. Then, he slowly made his way towards the Blue Fire Wolf, lifting up its w with his small arm, and, softly and briefly, ced it on his body.

    This was the due respect shown to the king.

    A trace of surprise shed in the pupils of the Blue Fire Wolf, then, its huge mouth seemed to show a hint of a satisfied smile, and then slowly closed its eyes.

    "Deputy captain!"

    "Deputy captain, are you alright?!"

    At this moment, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad had managed to regain their senses. All of them rushed towards Zhang Yangping¡¯s side.

    "No problem, no problem..." Zhang Yangping patted off the dirt from his body, then looked at the wound on his arm and shook his head. Having escaped from right under the kiss of death, this small injury was nothing.

    Seeing Zhang Yangping¡¯s injury, all the hunting squad members began to worry. One after another, they took out their herbs and rapidly bandaged up Zhang Yangping¡¯s injury.

    A momentter, Zhang Yangping led the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    "Zhang Yangping expresses my gratitude towards little brother for saving my life, at the same time, representing all the viges within the area, expresses my gratitude towards little brother for helping Cang Ling Mountain to eliminate this Blue Fire Wolf!"

    "So, this Blue Fire Wolf is now my prey?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Blue Fire Wolf in front of him. Having known the ropes, he saw that the skin of the Blue Fire Wolf was definitely worth quite some silver.

    "Ha ha... of course!" Zhang Yangping nodded.

    "Alright, the wolf skin belongs to me, you all can have the rest!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand, seeming extremely "generous". But in reality, the fundamental reason was, if he really were to carry such a big Blue Fire Wolf back to the vige, it would be extremely tiring.

    "This... thank you so much!" Zhang Yangping became truly touched. The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s meat wasn¡¯t worth much silver, but, if he brought this Blue Fire Wolf back to the vige, it could resolve the pent-up worries and frustrations of the vigers.

    Those vigers whose lives were ruined by the Blue Fire Wolf would definitely be very moved.

    "There is one thing I want to ask, how... did you all know the pitfall locations within the rock formation?" Fang Zhengzhi expressed the greatest suspicion in his heart.

    From the second the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad appeared, to the moment the twenty over people surrounded and fought the Blue Fire Wolf, during the entire process not a single person stepped into the trap...

    Was that possible?

 Chapter 44: Solving the Mystery

    Chapter 44: Solving the Mystery

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Once Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question came, Zhang Yangping and the rest of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad suddenly quietened down. Looking around, their gaze fleeted among one another.

    Zhang Yangping looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his mouth moved. A few times, he wanted to speak, but yet swallowed his words.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this question would be tough to answer, but if he didn¡¯t understand the truth, he would definitely be unsatisfied.

    But, he didn¡¯t rush them. Because, he knew that if he forced Zhang Yangping and the hunting squad, the answer he received would probably not be true.

    They had to be truly willing to do it.

    A few of the Northern Mountain Vige, seeing that both Zhang Yangping and Fang Zhengzhi remained silent, began to peel off the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s skin. Witnessing this scene, Fang Zhengzhi mind wavered, and finally made a firm resolution.

    "Little brother, what is your name?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Oh, Fang Zhengzhi, honest and upright in your conduct [1] ... a good name indeed! Previously, I only knew little brother Zhengzhi as a sneak attacker, who knew that you would be such a truly brave and intelligent person!" Zhang Yangping praised Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he paused and sighed. "Not only did little brother Zhengzhi save my life, you saved the lives of the entire Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, and even eliminated the Blue Fire Wolf for all the viges within the area. I won¡¯t hide anymore, but I indeed feel rather guilty!"

    "The reason is... we had already acquired your Southern Mountain Vige pitfall location map." As he spoke, Zhang Yangping retrieved a yellowish hand-drawn illustration from his pocket and passed it over to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw at the yellow illustration Zhang Yangping handed over.

    He became really infuriated.

    All the effort and time he had spent was actually taken away by other people just like this?

    This was an act of piracy!

    Shameless!

    Who did this?! Only the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad possessed the Rock Formation Illustration, it simply couldn¡¯t have spread!

    Was it Wang Anhua?! Fang Zhengzhi thought of a person, but quickly dismissed that thought. As a Sir from the Hall of Dao, receiving the most honourable treatment possible from the Southern Mountain Vige, and also having no conflict of interest at all with him, there was simply no need to do such a thing!

    Conflict of interest...

    Pondering carefully, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad seemed to have long been hiding in ambush. Furthermore, when they appeared, they evidently didn¡¯t know about the presence of the Blue Fire Wolf.

    Else, they couldn¡¯t have run away immediately after seeing the Blue Fire Wolf leap out from the pitfall.

    That means, everything that happened was directed at him.

    "It¡¯s Li Zhuangshi!" In a sh, Fang Zhengzhi was certain. It was definitely Li Zhuangshi¡¯s doing. Because, only as the previous deputy captain of the hunting squad could he had acquired the Rock Formation Illustration.

    "I... I never thought that little brother Zhengzhi actually guessed it so quickly. It is indeed Li Zhuangshi who gave us the illustration!" After hearing Fang Zhengzhi utter the two words Li Zhuangshi, he was instantly taken aback.

    He had guessed who the betrayer was based on one sentence. Wasn¡¯t this a little too smart?

    A shiver went down Zhang Yangping¡¯s back. He was only seven? Such great wisdom and such great strength, this was simply something that came out of a nightmare!

    As the previous deputy captain of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad, Li Zhuangshi had naturally met with Zhang Yangping before.

    Although Zhang Yangping didn¡¯t understand Li Zhuangshi¡¯s intentions, but one thing was for sure. Being in possession of that pitfall location map could only benefit the Northern Mountain Vige. There was no harm.

    But...

    The current circumstances seemed to have went beyond expectations.

    After witnessing first-hand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intense battle with the Blue Fire Wolf, he had already lost any intention of confronting Fang Zhengzhi. All he wished was for Fang Zhengzhi to spare the lives of the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad, so much so that he was even willing to convince the Northern Mountain Vige vige chief to give a sum of money every month to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    There was only one goal.

    Peace!

    "I need you to do something for me!" Fang Zhengzhi finally confirmed his thoughts after listening to Zhang Yangping¡¯s confession.

    "Little brother Zhengzhi, please say!" Zhang Yangping nodded.

    "Follow me to the Southern Mountain Vige and personally testify that it was Li Zhuangshi who gave the Northern Mountain Vige this illustration!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that based on Li Zhuangshi¡¯s position in the Southern Mountain Vige, if there was only the illustration as evidence, and not a personal testification, Vige Chief Meng Bai would likely not believe this.

    "Alright!" At this moment, Zhang Yangping had already decided to make peace with the Southern Mountain Vige and hence naturally didn¡¯t dare to offend Fang Zhengzhi. At the same time, he could discuss with the Southern Mountain Vige vige chief about his future ns of making peace.

    ...

    The Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad were indeed proficient. Within a short amount of time, the skin of the Blue Fire Wolf had beenpletely peeled.

    Removing hisrge basket, Fang Zhengzhi ced the Blue Fire Wolf skin inside it, and walked with Zhang Yangping towards the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Very quickly, they reached the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Today, Fang Zhengzhi had secretly went up the mountain, hence there was nobody to wee him. Hence, he led Zhang Yangping directly to Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s house.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was currently lying on a wooden chair, smoking his cigar. When he suddenly saw Fang Zhengzhi and Zhang Yangping walk in, he was instantly taken aback.

    "Oh, isn¡¯t this Yangping from the Northern Mountain Vige? Why would you havee to our Southern Mountain Vige! Wife... pour a cup of good tea!" Vige Chief Meng Bai was rather familiar with this key figure in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    He was calm, and was able to look at the big picture. If things went smoothly, he would definitely be the next vige chief of the Northern Mountain Vige. Hence, Vige Chief Meng Bai was more courteous towards him.

    On the other hand, his treatment of Fang Zhengzhi naturally differed greatly.

    Very quickly, a cup of tea was served.

    Zhang Yangping didn¡¯t dare to drink, and instead stared strangely at the empty table in front of Fang Zhengzhi. He really couldn¡¯t understand, based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities, he should be extremely well respected in the vige. Why did it seem that Vige Chief Meng Bai treated Fang Zhengzhi as just an ordinary viger?

    "Little brother Zhengzhi, please drink!" With two hands, Zhang Yangping brought the cup of tea in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    A hint of suspicion instantly appeared in Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s eyes. Only at this moment did he realise that Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have arrived with Zhang Yangping.

    "Did this child Zhengzhi bring Yangping over? Don¡¯t worry, just ignore him, this tea is for guests!" Vige Chief Meng Bai waved, his expression unconcerned.

    Zhang Yangping was taken aback once again.

    In his heart, he respected people based on their strength, not their positions! If even Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t qualified to drink this cup of tea, then as a "guest", how could he bring himself to drink it?

    "Since little brother Zhengzhi didn¡¯t drink, then this tea... I won¡¯t drink it!" When Zhang Yangping finished his sentence, he immediately turned over the cup, and directly poured the tea onto the floor.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was now truly somewhat stunned.

    He had treated Zhang Yangping well with a good gift, yet he poured this cup of tea away? Don¡¯t tell me he came here today to cause trouble? As he thought, Vige Chief Meng Bai sort of understood, he definitely came to fight for territory in the Cang Ling Mountain.

    "Since you have already came over, tell me what you want to say!" Vige Chief Meng Bai slowly picked up his cigar, pretending to be calm, took a puff, then secretly looked towards Zhang Yangping.

    He knew very clearly that based on strength alone, the Northern Mountain Vige had an advantage over the Southern Mountain Vige. Hence, he had decided, as long as the Northern Mountain Vige promised to not cross the line in the future, this problem could be resolved satisfactorily.

    "Alright! The main reason I am here in the Southern Mountain Vige today is to help little brother Zhengzhi testify the fact that Li Zhuangshi had secretly passed this pitfall location map to us, the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad!" Zhang Yangping didn¡¯t say anything further, handing over the yellowish paper map on his hand to Vige Chief Meng Bai.

    [1] Zhengzhi in Chinese is ÕýÖ±, which means upright and honest.

 Chapter 45: Personal Testification

    Chapter 45: Personal Testification

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This time, Vige Chief Meng Bai was truly stunned. No matter how he tried to think, he couldn¡¯t understand why would Li Zhuangshi give the Rock Formation Illustration to the Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad.

    The Rock Formation Illustration was the biggest advantage of the Southern Mountain Vige.

    After Ding Qingshan and the rest¡¯s experiments, their hunting yield was indeed much greater than before. Li Zhuangshi giving the Rock Formation Illustration to the Northern Mountain Vige... what was his purpose?

    For money?

    That¡¯s not possible. If Li Zhuangshi and the Northern Mountain Vige really underwent this trade, why would Zhang Yangping expose him?

    Furthermore, why are Zhang Yangping and Fang Zhengzhi together? Furthermore, he even said that he was here to help Fang Zhengzhi testify. What was this all about?

    A never-ending stream of questions caused Vige Chief Meng Bai to havepletely no idea what was going on.

    "Yangping, please rify what you had just said!" Vige Chief Meng Bai picked up the illustration Zhang Yangping handed over. Looking at it, his face changed again. Because, this illustration was real.

    Zhang Yangping knew that Vige Chief Meng Bai would ask, hence already prepared his answer.

    Thus, without missing out anything, he narrated how Li Zhuangshi secretly passed him the map, and then provided him information about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whereabouts.

    "So, you actually intended to ambush Fang Zhengzhi?" Vige Chief Meng Bai almost didn¡¯t dare to believe it.

    "Yes!" Zhang Yangping nodded. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi who was at his side, his expression revealed a trace of guilt.

    Vige Chief didn¡¯t say anything further. He grasped the cigar on his hand tightly, his withered palms even turning white from using too much strength.

    Li Zhuangshi...

    Why would you do this?

    "Wife... get Li Zhuangshi and the Mrs Li over, and, at the same time call Fang Houde and Mrs Fang over as well. Don¡¯t let anyone know about this!"

    After giving his instructions, Vige Chief Meng Bai once again moodily smoked his cigar. Pacing around in his small room, his expression was extremely anxious and he didn¡¯t pay any further attention to Zhang Yangping and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought, since vige chief had already called over his own parents, then there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. Hence, he rxed and smiled cheerfully, then leanedfortably on the chair.

    Zhang Yangping came today to testify, hence naturally he had already prepared to confront Li Zhuangshi personally. Thus, he also waited quietly for Li Zhuangshi to arrive.

    ...

    Not too longter, Fang Houde, holding his walking stick and supported by Qin Xuelian, walked in.

    Once Qin Xuelian saw Fang Zhengzhi lying on the chair, and Zhang Yangping sited beside him, then Vige Chief Meng Bai anxiously pacing around, she was startled. Did Zhengzhi cause a trouble?

    "Vige chief, Zhengzhi is still young... if he caused any trouble, we are willing to assume responsibility!" Qin Xuelian immediately shouted out.

    When Vige Chief Meng Bai, who was smoking his cigar gloomily, heard this, he became even more anxious and waved his hand furiously. "Mrs Fang, please take a seat first..."

    "Brother Yangping, did my son offend you in any way?" Fang Houde recognised Zhang Yangping and asked worriedly

    "Oh, little brother Zhengzhi is your son?" When Zhang Yangping saw Fang Houde, he was simrly taken aback. He was quite familiar with Fang Houde¡¯s personality, simple and kind, during every hunt he would definitely be at the front. He used to be a strong member of the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad, unfortunately, a few years ago, the Blue Fire Wolf...

    Once he thought of the Blue Fire Wolf, Zhang Yangping¡¯s eyes gazed at Fang Zhengzhi, who was sitting at the side.

    "Houde... you have nurtured a great son!"

    Very quickly, Zhang Yangping exined the reason for his arrival. But, he didn¡¯t mention the Blue Fire Wolf incident. After all, things should be settled systematically.

    Most importantly, in Zhang Yangping¡¯s heart, he Southern Mountain Vige people definitely knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities. As a stranger, praising Fang Zhengzhi would seem unnecessary. Furthermore, it could easily be misunderstood that Fang Zhengzhi was in cahoots with other viges.

    After listening to Zhang Yangping¡¯s words, Fang Houde¡¯s and Qin Xuelian¡¯s expressions immediately changed.

    "The Li family wants to sabotage my son!" Qin Xuelian had been constantly concerned about Fang Zhengzhi, and was the first to react. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes. Her own husband had contributed so much to the Southern Mountain Vige, yet they didn¡¯t even a single benefit. Now when her own son had contributed the Rock Formation Illustration, he was plotted against!

    "Mrs Fang, please mind your words, why would Li Zhuangshi sabotage his own people? Let¡¯s wait until Zhuangshies before discussing this further!" Upon hearing, Vige Chief Meng Bai became even moodier.

    Li Zhuangshi was the hope of the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Furthermore, he was the only person in the Southern Mountain Vige who was personally praised by General Li from the Divine Constabry. As long as he passed the Law of Dao examinations, he had a high chance of entering the Divine Constabry.

    Colluding with other viges to sabotage Fang Zhengzhi?

    If other vigers got to know about this, things would definitely go out of hand!

    ...

    After a quarter of an hour, Li Zhuangshi and Mrs Li finally arrived, one followed by another.

    Mrs Li¡¯s expression was that of irritation. Li Zhuangshi was currently studying in the Hall of Dao, yet he was called out. This would affect his studies, who was to bear responsibility for that?

    As she prepared tosh out, she saw Zhang Yangping and the yellowish paper illustration on Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s hands. Then, looking at Fang Zhengzhi and his family, the look on her face instantly changed.

    "Vige chief, the reason we did this, was for peace between the two viges, think about it... if we really had to fight on like this, the Southern Mountain Vige would definitely suffer in the long term!"

    "Shut up!" When Li Zhuangshi heard Mrs Li¡¯s words, his initially somewhat calm expressionpletely changed. Naturally, he understood that they had been exposed.

    But, as long as he didn¡¯t admit it, what could these Southern Mountain Vige people do to him?

    But now, after Mrs Li¡¯s words left her mouth, he had to act.

    "You really... sigh..." In reality, when Vige Chief Meng Bai saw that illustration, he had already understood. After hearing Li Zhuangshi¡¯s and Mrs Li¡¯s words, he confirmed his thoughts.

    He sighed heavily, but in his mind, he was calcting quickly how best to settle this problem.

    Under normal circumstances, the way to settle it would definitely be announcing it to the entire vige, punish Li Zhuangshi in public and chase him out of the Southern Mountain Vige...

    But, could he really chase Li Zhuangshi out of the Southern Mountain Vige?

    Li Zhuangshi was the hope of the Southern Mountain Vige, and most importantly, was the person noticed by General Li of the Divine Constabry!

    Vige chief Meng Bai hadpletely no idea what to do.

    On one side was hope, and the other side was reason...

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian naturally also heard Mrs Li¡¯s words. Fang Houde could temporarily restrain himself and waited for Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s decision.

    Qin Xuelian on the other hand couldn¡¯t endure it anymore.

    Fang Zhengzhi was her own son, Mrs Li might be able to deceive others, but deceiving her? How could she even be deceived? Furthermore, Zhang Yangping had also imed that Li Zhuangshi was the one who had provided information to Zhang Yangping about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whereabouts.

    The intention was too clear.

    "Li Zhuangshi, you purposely gave the illustration to the Northern Mountain Vige, then provided information about Zhengzhi¡¯s whereabouts. Evidently, you intend to sabotage Zhengzhi. I¡¯ll definitely not endure this, I will report it to the entire vige, and let the entire vige bring justice to our Fang family!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s tone didn¡¯t contain even the slightest intention to concede.

 Chapter 46: Father

    Chapter 46: Father

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s face changed once again. He knew very clearly that if Qin Xuelian announced this incident, he would definitely be denounced by the entire vige, and even exiled from the vige.

    "Vige chief! I didn¡¯t reveal Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whereabouts to Zhang Yangping. The illustration was indeed given by me, but that was because I have my own sorrows. Firstly, it is for the peace between the two viges. Secondly, it is about the money Zhang Yangping promised to give me. I did something silly for the sake of my studies, but now, Zhang Yangping evidently regretted, and ganged up with Fang Zhengzhi to sabotage me!"

    Li Zhuangshi could only refuse to admit, and made use of the situation to put forth his own ideas, pushing all the me onto Fang Zhengzhi and Zhang Yangping.

    "Hmph! You say my Zhengzhi and Zhang Yangping ganged up to sabotage you? If you can say this, where¡¯s your evidence?" Qin Xuelian instantly stood up.

    She never realised that a person¡¯s skin could be thick to such an extent.

    Li Zhuangshi didn¡¯t rush to retort, and instead, stealthily observed the change in expression on Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s face. He knew very clearly that even he himself didn¡¯t believe what he had just said. But, if there was one person who believed, or if there was one person who was willing to believe, then things would be easier...

    There¡¯s hope!

    Vige Chief Meng Bai actually didn¡¯t speak?

    Yes, if Vige Chief Meng Bai didn¡¯t speak, that means that there is hope!

    "Vige Chief Meng Bai, I was wrong! I shouldn¡¯t have believed the Northern Mountain Vige and eyed that bit of silver. But I was thinking for the future of the Southern Mountain Vige. Studying is expensive, I am sure you know how hard the Law of Dao examinations is. But, I have confidence! General Li of the Divine Constabry even praised me personally. As long as I work hard, I would definitely be able to pass the Law of Dao examinations. Then, the Southern Mountain Vige would be prosperous! These people here are afraid... they are jealous!"

    Li Zhuangshi immediately struck while the iron is hot. Disregarding everything else, he could only stake his chances on the Law of Dao examinations and on Vige Chief Meng Bai. Furthermore, he also skilfully portrayed his own importance in the vige.

    He was betting, betting that Vige Chief Meng Bai would not exile him from the Southern Mountain Vige.

    "All of you shut up! Wife... close the door!" Vige Chief Meng Bai couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and red fiercely at Li Zhuangshi. The hand holding his cigar trembled slightly, and a heavy sigh came out of his mouth.

    ...

    The room wasn¡¯t very big. The atmosphere was fairly strange, everybody sat silently on their chairs, all their expressions different from one another. Vige Chief Meng Bai pondered intensely.

    Convince the Fang family?

    Ask the Fang family to keep this secret?

    Firstly, seeing Qin Xuelian¡¯s attitude, he was no idea if they would agree. Secondly, paper cannot contain a fire, the truth would eventually spread. Even if the Fang family remained silent, who was to say that the Northern Mountain Vige people won¡¯t speak about this?

    Problems would definitely arise sooner orter once it was known that Li Zhuangshi had sabotaged Fang Zhengzhi.

    No, this cannot happen. Li Zhuangshi was the hope of the Southern Mountain Vige, the person which the Divine Constabry had praised.

    Furthermore, his family upies two slots in the Hall of Dao, that was something that had to be reported up to the Divine Constabry. The previous time, the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus had even personally tested Li Huer.

    This meant that the Divine Constabry had pinned their hopes on the Li family.

    If the Fang family¡¯s actions were made known to the Divine Constabry, would they be disappointed in the Fang family, or even because of this, be disappointed at the Southern Mountain Vige?

    Vige Chief Meng Bai frowned deeper, habitually cing the cigar in his mouth, yet realising that the cigar had already finished burning. This made him even moodier.

    Sacrifice the Fang family?

    When this thought crossed Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s head, he felt a bleeding sensation in his heart. Fang Houde is also someone who had contributed to the vige.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance in the hunting squad was excellent, and even drawn the Rock Formation Illustration for the Southern Mountain Vige hunting squad. How could he bring himself to let the Fang family to be mistakenly used?

    "Sigh..."

    Vige Chief Meng Bai sighed deeply, feeling as if he had aged another ten years. At this moment, he felt a huge mountain pressing down heavily on his body, pressing so hard that he couldn¡¯t even straighten his back.

    "Vige chief, it¡¯s obvious. Li Zhuangshi wants to use the Northern Mountain Vige to harm my son. If this incident isn¡¯t properly dealt with, we refuse to ept it!"

    "Refuse to ept it!"

    "Refuse to ept it!"

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice echoed around the small room, causing Vige Chief Meng Bai to feel as if he had been hammered in his heart.

    Mrs Li¡¯s mouth twitched, wanting to speak, but was pped across the face by Li Zhuangshi. "It¡¯s all your fault, asking me to participate in the Law of Dao examinations, look what happened now? People are offended! People are jealous! No matter how hard I work in the future, there would be no rewards. The Southern Mountain Vige can only remain poor forever!"

    pped in the face by Li Zhuangshi, Mrs Li was indeed taken aback. Just as she prepared to start a fight with him, she quickly realised what was happening.

    "It¡¯s my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have allowed Zhuangshi to enter that Hall of Dao. Our Li family used to be reputable in the Southern Mountain Vige, but ever since he entered the Hall of Dao, our portion of meat had decreased, and the cost of studying for the two people in our family had increased so much. All those paper, ink, they are all money, we can¡¯t be carrying on living like this..."

    Mrs Li used the tantrum-throwing technique. Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s expression instantly changed again. He knew it was time for him to make the decision.

    On one side was the future of the Southern Mountain Vige, on the other was the Fang family which had contributed to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    "Old Fang family, I¡¯m sorry! I represent all the vigers in the Southern Mountain Vige and hereby kneel down to you. The Southern Mountain Vige can¡¯t lose its hope..." Once Vige Chief Meng Bai finished his sentence, he instantly mmed to the ground on both knees. His entire body started to tremble.

    Fang Houde was stunned.

    Qin Xuelian was also stunned.

    A cold glint shone in Li Zhuangshi¡¯s eyes. He knew that he won the bet.

    Mrs Li covered her face and stopped her bawling. She paused her act, her eyes filled with satisfaction as she looked at Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Vige Chief Meng Bai kneeling on the ground, then looked at Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde, their faces filled with disbelief, and didn¡¯t say a word.

    He knew that since this vige chief in front of him had made a decision, then any further arguments would only contribute to making them aughing stock.

    "Dad, mom, let¡¯s leave!"

    "Yes... Zhengzhi, let¡¯s leave!" Qin Xuelian instantly recovered from her shocked state after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. There were no tears in her eyes, she only wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible, and not expose Fang Zhengzhi to such personalities. Because, Fang Zhengzhi was only seven.

    "Vige chief!" Fang Houde still didn¡¯t dare to belief. He had done so much for the Southern Mountain Vige, yet he didn¡¯t even have the ability to acquit his own son. How could he ept this?

    "Fang Zhengzhi and Zhang Yangping of the Northern Mountain Vige had conspired together to sabotage Li Zhuangshi, now as the Southern Mountain Vige vige chief, I dere that the Fang family is now exiled from the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "Exiled from the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "Exiled from the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    The voice of Vige Chief Meng Bai rang out like thunder in Fang Houde¡¯s heart, causing the walking stick on his hands to tremble.

    "Ha ha ha... alright, alright! Li Zhuangshi, today the Southern Mountain Vige has protected you. But, I, Fang Houde, will definitely avenge for my son!" Fang Houde¡¯sughter suddenly rang out.

    Then, his gaze turned cold, and the walking stick on his hands instantly swung towards Li Zhuangshi.

    So what if he was simple? So what if he was kind and sincere? As a father, he only had one wish, that was to protect his one and only son as well as he could.

    What to do if his own son was wronged?

    Then he must fight, even if he cannot win, he still must fight!

    Because...

    He was a father!

    "Hmph, overestimating yourself!"

    Li Zhuangshi saw the walking stick smashing towards him and waspletely unconcerned.

    Even when Fang Houde was at his peak, he still couldn¡¯tpare to Li Zhuangshi. Moreover, now Fang Houde had a broken arm, and his leg was heavily injured as well.

    A fist punched out. Li Zhuangshi wanted to use reality to let Vige Chief Meng Bai understand, his decision... was absolutely right!

    "Hmph, overestimating yourself!"

    Right at this moment, another huff rang out coldly. Then, a figure shed past Vige Chief Meng Bai, and stood in front of Fang Houde.

    "Boom!" One small fist and onerge fist smashed into each other.

 Chapter 47: The Dumbest Decision

    Chapter 47: The Dumbest Decision

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was too fast, so fast that people were simply unable to react.

    Even Li Zhuangshi was only able to recognise the other person after the two fists connected. A glimmer of shock shed across his eyes, but, the shock quickly turned into a cold smile.

    But...

    The cold smile didn¡¯tst for long before itpletely vanished.

    Because, he felt, from that seemingly weak fist, the power of the violent surge of a mountain torrent erupted. Resist? He didn¡¯t even manage to consider this before the huge strength swept him off his feet, his body smashing onto the stone walls of the small house like a kite with a broken string.

    "Snap!" On the thick stone walls, due to the huge impact force, a web-like crack began to emerge.

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s face instantly turned a deathly shade of white. His chest rumbled, opening his mouth, he suddenly vomited a mouthful of fresh blood. Gazing at Fang Zhengzhi, whose face was filled with calm, he didn¡¯t dare to believe no matter what that this was real.

    What was that humongous strength all about?

    Was it strength that man could control? How did he achieve this? He is just a seven-year-old kid!

    "This..."

    Vige Chief Meng Bai waspletely stunned. Simrly, he didn¡¯t dare to believe this scene that unfolded in front of his eyes. From the second Fang Houde attacked, to Li Zhuangshi¡¯s countermove, then the sudden appearance of a figure.

    All these happened too fast.

    He didn¡¯t even understand at all what has transpired. Why did Li Zhuangshi suddenly fly back? Why is there a crack in the stone wall? This is not possible; how can this be possible?

    Li Zhuangshi... was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s single punch?!

    "How can this be possible?!" When Mrs Li initially saw Fang Houdesh out with the walking stick, her heart was filled with ridicule. She knew her own husband¡¯s strength, in a contest of strength, Fang Houde¡¯s actions were simply asking for trouble.

    But, she didn¡¯t understand, how did the contest of strength... turn into Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Fang Houde¡¯s walking stick forcibly stopped in mid-air, his gaze tightly fixated on this seemingly weak figure. But it was this very figure who had done what he had wanted to but couldn¡¯t do most!

    Furthermore, he did it so directly and efficiently, who would dare believe this?

    Fang Houde¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, scenes reconstructing themselves in his mind.

    "I! Want! To! Enter! The! Hunting! Squad!"

    "Mum, leave that gold to take care of dad!"

    "..."

    "He is my son? He is my, Fang Houde¡¯s, son!"

    Qin Xuelian mouth was also agape at this moment. When she saw Fang Houdesh out, she wanted to hold him back. Because, she knew that Fang Houde would definitely suffer.

    But, she didn¡¯t do that.

    As a father, he should stand out like a man. Even if he obviously knew he was going to suffer, but for his own son, what was he to be scared of?

    But...

    The sudden change in situation indeed was something she simply couldn¡¯t believe.

    "Zhengzhi... my Zhengzhi... sent Li Zhuangshi flying?! One fist? Using only one first?!" Qin Xuelian felt the scene in front of her suddenly be blurry. A teardrop rolled down.

    "My Zhengzhi, really can now support this family!"

    The atmosphere in the room once again became mysterious. Nobody opened their mouth to speak, all their gazes ending up on Li Zhuangshi. That was a person who lifted five hundred pounds of ck cauldron? What happened? He flew?!

    "Those who humiliates others, will definitely be humiliated!" Fang Zhengzhi insipidly took a look at Li Zhuangshi, then trained his gaze onto Mrs Li at the side.

    Mrs Li was instantly taken aback, a gust of cold air rushed from below her feet to her back.

    She instinctively took a step back, then, just happened to knock into the chair behind her. Her entire body instantly toppled backwards, and sat down onto the floor with a "plop".

    This sound finally snapped the crowd in the room back into reality.

    "Ha ha ha... Well said little brother Zhengzhi! Those who humiliates others, will definitely be humiliated! Even though I am a crude man, but I still can discern that this sentence contains deep wisdom!"

    At this moment, Zhang Yangping, sitting by the side, suddenly stood up. His gaze swept across Li Zhuangshi, who was leaning against the wall, then finally ended up onto Vige Chief Meng Bai, whose face was filled with shock.

    "Vige chief, your Southern Mountain Vige has indeed opened up my eyes today!"

    "I seemed to have heard that you imed that Li Zhuangshi is the hope of the Southern Mountain Vige, is that correct? Did you know, this is the biggest joke I, Zhang Yangping, have ever heard in my entire life!"

    "Ha ha ha..."

    "I, Zhang Yangping, have never been scared of anybody in any vige in this area, but my objective foring to the Southern Mountain Vige today is to achieve two things. Firstly, to attest for Fang Zhengzhi about the trap illustration incident. Secondly, I wish to discuss a peace treaty with the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige is even willing to pay money each month to the Southern Mountain Vige in order to achieve this peace, do you know the reason why? Because of one person, Fang Zhengzhi! But, we don¡¯t need to beg for peace anymore, because, Fang Zhengzhi is no longer a person from your Southern Mountain Vige! Hence, I have to tell you this..."

    "Today, vige chief! You have made the dumbest decision ever!"

    "The dumbest decision ever!"

    "The dumbest decision ever!"

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the small house, then, he strode behind Fang Zhengzhi and reached into the huge basket behind his back.

    "Vige chief, do you think this hope of the Southern Mountain Vige... can kill this?!"

    "Woosh!"

    A humongous bloodstained fur coat instantly unrolled itself in front of everybody¡¯s eyes. Long strands of blue fur stood upright, as hard as needles. On its back, the fire-red fur that extended from the forehead all the way to the tail emitted an air of blood. Even though it was only a coat of fur, but the air of a savage beast still remained incredibly powerful, filling the entire room.

    Everybody¡¯s gaze waspletely fixed.

    Li Zhuangshi finally started to feel a hint of terror. How could he not know what this fur coat represented? But, he didn¡¯t dare to believe. Or it could be said, no matter what, he didn¡¯t want to believe.

    Mrs Li, who had already crawled back up, after suddenly seeing this fur coat, her legs instantly gave way and was so frightened that she immediately sat back down.

    Aplicated glint shone in Fang Houde¡¯s eyes. In them, there was agitation, there was anger, there was hate, there was relief... but, in the end, all these emotions turned into a drop of hot tears.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for a man to shed tears.

    "Arm... my arm!"

    "Houde, Houde, do you see this? Do you see this? Zhengzhi, our Zhengzhi, has taken revenge for you!" Qin Xuelian couldn¡¯t control her tears anymore, grabbing tightly, she shook Fang Houde¡¯s empty sleeve.

    Vige chief Meng Bai¡¯s initial expression of shock instantly turned into a dark reddish-purple shade. He didn¡¯t dare to believe, Fang Zhengzhi previously sending Li Zhuangshi flying was already something so shocking that nobody would dare to believe.

    That meant that the scene unfolding in front of him, was simply terrifying! Terror thates from the depth of the soul!

    "Blue... Blue Fire Wolf?!"

 Chapter 48: Scenery

    Chapter 48: Scenery

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Vige Chief Meng Bai had difficulties even opening this mouth. The air of savageness emitted by the Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s body had even caused his body to tremble.

    Blue Fire Wolf, the real Blue Fire Wolf skin, there is no second one in the entire Cang Ling Mountain outskirt!

    Why did it suddenly appear in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s basket? Zhang Yangping just said that, said that Fang Zhengzhi... Fang Zhengzhi killed the Blue Fire Wolf?!

    "This, this... how can it be possible?!" Vige Chief Meng Bai thought of the predicament of the Southern Mountain Vige these few years, and thought of all the fateful asions when the hunting squad encountered the Blue Fire Wolf.

    Yet today, the King of the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts, had quietly appeared right in front of him. Except, he had just exiled the person who killed it from the Southern Mountain Vige?!

    "Today, vige chief! You have made the dumbest decision ever!"

    "The dumbest decision ever!"

    "The dumbest decision ever!"

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s words echoed about his ears. Vige Chief Meng Bai sat,pletely unable to move, on the floor, the cigar on his hands had already fallen somewhere far away....

    ...

    Once they have walked out from Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s house, Zhang Yangping had followed tightly behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Little brother Zhengzhi, the Southern Mountain Vige exiling you, that is a good thing!"

    "Oh... sorry, I didn¡¯t mean that. What I meant was, the Southern Mountain Vige might not be the best ce, why not you consider our Northern Mountain Vige?"

    "Our Northern Mountain Vige has verdant hills and limpid waters, as long as you are willing toe to the Northern Mountain Vige, I promise I will give... Hey, hey, little brother Zhengzhi, don¡¯t go away..."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply Zhang Yangping, and quietly followed beside Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    The family of three returned to their door of their small mud house in silence. Qin Xuelian patted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hair, the expression in her eyes was somewhatplicated. "Zhengzhi, did you really kill the Blue Fire Wolf?"

    "Yes." Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Good, very good!" I, Fang Houde, am truly satisfied to have a son like you! But, sigh..." Fang Houde looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then looked at the rising chimney smoke around him with a deste look in his eyes.

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s gaze swept across the mud house, and discretely wiped away the moisture at her eyes with a handkerchief, then, quickly began to pack.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything further, and only quietly observed. He understood very clearly his Dad¡¯s current feelings. Growing up in the Southern Mountain Vige since young, his dad had contributed and sacrificed everything for this Southern Mountain Vige.

    Even after losing an arm, he still continued to participate in the hunting squad¡¯s mountain expeditions.

    But in the end...

    He was chased out of the vige.

    Even though Qin Xuelian didn¡¯t grow up in the Southern Mountain Vige, but, in this era, women that were married out were like water that was thrown out, who would have the face to return back to their mother¡¯s house?

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi knew, after Zhang Yangping took out the Blue Fire Wolf skin, the situation could still be salvaged. As long as his dad opened his mouth, everything would return back to normal.

    But, once a person¡¯s heart had been broken to such an extent, could it still return back to normal?

    "Mum, dad... let¡¯s leave!" Looking at the setting sun, Fang Zhengzhi shot a meaningful nce towards Zhang Yangping, and walked to Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde¡¯s side.

    "Let¡¯s leave!" Fang Houde once again looked back, and sighed.

    "Actually, we indeed haven¡¯t returned home in some time!" Qin Xuelian tried to make herself happier as she packed her luggage.

    "Dad, mum, do you wish to learn the Law of Dao?"

    "Good son... The Law of Dao can¡¯t be learnt so easily, normal people like us wouldn¡¯t be so fortunate!" Fang Houde looked at his arm, and shook his head.

    "What are you saying? Isn¡¯t our son already reading the Law of Dao? Isn¡¯t that right, Zhengzhi?" Qin Xuelian instantly became somewhat unhappy.

    "Yes, mum is right! Not only am I reading the Law of Dao, I can even understand everything that is written on it. I can even memorise an entire portion the Law of Dao. Dad, mum, I can really teach you to learn the Law of Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian with an earnest look on his young face.

    The expression on Fang Houde¡¯s face instantly froze.

    Qin Xuelian also looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her face filled with shock. She absolutely couldn¡¯t believe it, but they were words that came from her own son. But, as his mother, how could she doubt them?

    Fang Zhengzhi began to recite.

    "This, is the Six Combinations Travel Tactics from Law of Dao and The Art of Bing Invisible Chapter!" When Fang Houde finished reciting, he patiently exined it to Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    "My son... had sessfully self-studied?!" The bag Qin Xuelian held in her hands instantly fell to the ground.

    ...

    "I never expected sister Xuelian¡¯s hometown was actually the Northern Mountain Vige?! Ha ha ha... this is excellent!" Zhang Yangping eximed happily as he helped to pack the luggage.

    "Going to the Northern Mountain Vige, I have one request!" As Fang Zhengzhi looked at Zhang Yangpingugh delightedly, he couldn¡¯t resist dampening his enthusiasm.

    "Little brother Zhengzhi, if you have any request, please say it. As long as the Northern Mountain Vige can do it, we will definitely ept!" When Zhang Yangping heard this, he instantly thumped his chest, expressing that he would guarantee it.

    "I want to have the entire Law of Dao!"

    "The entire Law of Dao?!" Zhang Yangping was taken aback. Collecting and amassing the entire Law of Dao wasn¡¯t a small sum of money. It required the effort of the entire vige to achieve that.

    "As a form of repayment, I am willing to make an edit to the Rock Formation Illustration that Li Zhuangshi gave to you!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that collecting the entire Law of Dao was indeed rather difficult, hence decided to make an exchange.

    "That illustration can still be further edited?!" Zhang Yangping asked in disbelief.

    "Yes, I just have to add something on top of it, make some changes, then... all the rock formations the Southern Mountain Vige created on the Cang Ling Mountain will belong entirely to the Northern Mountain Vige!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Really?!" Zhang Yangping instantly became excited.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Good, good good... this is great! If this was really possible, I will definitely convince the entire vige to work together and put together the entire Law of Dao for little brother Zhengzhi!" When he thought of the expressions of the Southern Mountain Vige people when all the rock formations they had put in so much effort to set up turned into the Northern Mountain Vige¡¯s overnight, Zhang Yangping felt a wave of delight.

    This period of time, because of the rock formations, the Northern Mountain Vige had suffered quite a lot, even their weapons were almost entirely gone.

    "Thank you!" Fang Zhengzhi was willing to believe Zhang Yangping¡¯s promise.

    "Right, little brother Zhengzhi, what do you want the Law of Dao for?" After the terms were settled, Zhang Yangping became slightly curious.

    "Of course, it is to participate in the Law of Dao examinations."

    "Law of Dao examinations?! Then I suggest you give up, the Law of Dao examinations is too hard. Furthermore, there is still a theory exam, and there is no Hall of Dao in our Northern Mountain Vige. You can¡¯t possibly self-study, can you?"

    "Yes."

    "Yes... wait a minute, what is yes supposed to mean? You really intend to... self-study?!"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    "..." Zhang Yangping stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression of calm, and suddenly was at a loss for words. Self-study? Participate in the Law of Dao examinations?

    Can he not make such a humorous joke?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further, and looked back at the already faraway vige behind him. "Southern Mountain Vige, the next time I see you, I wonder what kind of scenery I will see?"

    ...

    Not too long after Fang Zhengzhi and the rest left the Southern Mountain Vige, a squad of soldiers d in bright, shining armour guarding a huge sedan quickly marched in.

    Vige chief Meng Bai was sitting within the courtyard, holding the cigar in his hands, sighing in despair as he stared at the setting sun.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi... what a good child, if this didn¡¯t happen, what would happen if he could enter the Hall of Dao?! In the future... sigh...."

    Vige Chief Meng Bai understood that it was already toote to regret. He could only hope that the choice he made was a right one. After all, the Hall of Dao and the Law of Dao examinations, were what really changed a person¡¯s destiny.

    "Vige chief, vige chief... quick, quick! The Divine Constabry people are here, and ... the Missus from the Divine Constabry, has also... alsoe personally!" Right at this moment, a vige hurriedly ran over and shouted, panting heavily.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai was stunned, Divine Constabry? The Missus from the Divine Constabry came personally?! Bless the Heavens, hopefully great fortune woulde this time!

    He prayed silently in his heart, then recalled the previous incident when the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus tested Li Huer.

    "Go, call along the Old Li family, ask them to bring along Huer and wee the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus together!" Vige Chief Meng Bai kept his cigar, as if having found thest glimmer of light in the abyss of darkness.

    "Okay!"

    ...

 Chapter 49: Divine Constabulary Orders

    Chapter 49: Divine Constabry Orders

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    News of the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus visiting the Southern Mountain Vige once again spread in a sh throughout the entire vige.

    Once they heard this news, the vigers instantly became very excited. This was a fortune from heaven! Nobody important ever visited the Southern Mountain Vige of before.

    But now? Within the span of less than two months, people from the Divine Constabry arrived and again. Moreover, the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus even personally arrived the second time. What did this represent?

    This represented that the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus remembered the Southern Mountain Vige.

    As long as the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus remembered the Southern Mountain, that was an opportunity, a huge opportunity that meant great fortune and hope!

    Vige Chief Meng Bai anxiously dragged Li Huer on one hand, holding a cigar in another, and hurriedly brought along Li Zhuangshi and Mrs Li along with the rest of the vigers to the vige entrance.

    "Yuuu..."

    After a wave of brayinging from the Snow Tredding Dragon Stallions, few hundred-people strong army finally stopped.

    Leading the army, General Li didn¡¯t hurry to dismount after seeing the crowd, and instead turned his head to look at therge sedan adorned with jade coloured pearls.

    The curtains of therge sedan opened from inside, Lady Yuer, wearing a beautiful dress, raised her small head arrogantly and walked out. Her hands even held a roll of white cloth.

    Looking at the crowd of vigers in front of her, Lady Yuer huffed softly and then bowed her body and pulled open the sedan curtains from the outside.

    Then...

    Wearing a sky-blue dress, with a jade-green flower in her hair, wearing her gold-threaded red shoes, Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan slowly emerged from within the sedan.

    "Southern Mountain Vige Vige Chief, along with the rest of the vigers, wees Missus!"

    Once he saw runaway Lolita Chi Guyan, Vige Chief Meng Bai instantly became delighted and knelt down, pulling Li Huer down with him.

    When the rest of the vigers witnessed this, they also knelt down immediately.

    The Divine Constabry controlled the desert. Not even mentioning the Southern Mountain Vige, even officials from the county and capital had to pay respects when they saw the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus.

    "Rise!" Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan¡¯s jet-ck eyes swept across the vigers. Realising that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t among them, sheughed coldly to herself.

    You indeed went into hiding? But, you can¡¯t run away today.

    "Yuer, reveal it!"

    "Yes, Missus!" Lady Yuer immediately leapt down from the sedan and walked to the front of the crowd when she heard Lolita Chi Guyan¡¯s orders.

    Then, she slowly unrolled the white cloth on her hands.

    Eyeing the white cloth, excitement instantly began to rise in his heart.

    He initially believed the main purpose of the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus visiting the Southern Mountain Vige was to take a break from her journey, but now it seemed that she was here to convey orders from the Divine Constabry.

    Furthermore, looking at the rather gentle expressions of General Li and Lady Yuer, it meant that the Divine Constabry¡¯s visit to the Southern Mountain Vige bore no ill intent!

    "An order that involved so many people, yet not bearing any ill intent? Could it be that a great opportunity is about to befall on us? But, I wonder whose family would have this fortune!"

    As Vige Chief Meng Bai thought, he gazed at Li Huer who was standing by his side, and instinctively tightened his grip.

    He had to seem as if he was extremely close to the Li family. Only through this could he convince the Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus that she had great insight and knew how to identify talents.

    Li Zhuangshi and the rest of the vigers¡¯ eyes also lit up when they saw Lady Yuer pull out the roll of white cloth. Even the injury on his chest didn¡¯t feel painful anymore.

    "The Divine Constabry¡¯s Missus has arrived personally, could it be that great fortune is about to befall on us? I wonder whether it would befall on me, or on Huer?" Li Zhuangshi was so agitated that he didn¡¯t even know where to put his hands.

    Lady Yuer finallypletely revealed the roll of cloth, looking at the crowd of vigers in front of her, she coughed softly. Her expression remained haughty.

    "The Divine Constabry, brings about good fortune everywhere, controlling the five capitals and twenty-seven counties in the Northern Desert... has specially given this great fortune today, weing Southern Mountain Vige viger, Fang Zhengzhi, into the Divine Constabry!" When Lady Yuer had finished reading, she rolled back the white cloth, shifted her gaze towards Vige Chief Meng Bai and waited for him to receive the orders.

    Yet...

    Vige Chief Meng Bai waspletely stunned. Hearing this, his initial joyful expression instantly changed into a deathly shade of white.

    "Wee... wee Fang Zhengzhi into the Divine Constabry?!"

    Vige Chief Meng Bai raised his head, gazing at the darkening sky that now only contained rays from the setting sun. His entire body felt as if he was hit a million times and fell to the ground.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!" A shiver also went down Li Zhuangshi¡¯s spine.

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to enter the Divine Constabry? How... how could this be true! Wait, no, how could this be possible? He... he had made the Fang family... no, Fang Zhengzhi must not enter the Divine Constabry!

    "Vige Chief!" Li Zhuangshi didn¡¯t wait for the rest of the vigers to speak, and instantly rushed to Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s side.

    Then, he vigorously gave Vige Chief Meng Bai a meaningful look, his expression terrified. If Fang Zhengzhi had really entered the Divine Constabry, it would be a huge disaster to both the Li family and the entire Southern Mountain Vige.

    Shaken by Li Zhuangshi, Vige Chief Meng Bai instantly regained his senses. How could he not understand what Li Zhuangshi was trying to convey? But... he regretted! He really regretted!

    If he hadn¡¯t made that decision today, then this piece of news in front of him would definitely be the happiest asion that had ever befell on the Southern Mountain Vige since its inception.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is going to enter the Divine Constabry?!"

    "Why isn¡¯t the old Fang family here? Quick, go and notify them!"

    "What a happy asion, the happiest asion ever!"

    A few of the vigers who didn¡¯t know that Fang Zhengzhi had been exiled welled up with excitement when they heard Lady Yuer¡¯s words. Even though they didn¡¯t know why was Fang Zhengzhi invited into the Divine Constabry, but it was still an extremely happy asion.

    "Why have you not received the orders?" Lady Yuer, holding the white cloth in her hands, waited for a while, yet nobody went up to receive the orders. She instantly became somewhat unhappy.

    "Replying... replying the Constabry¡¯s question! I... I am guilty!" Vige Chief Meng Bai suddenly crawled up, then once again knelt down on the ground after hearing Lady Yuer¡¯s words.

    A faint ray of light shed within Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan¡¯s jet-ck eyes when she witnessed this scene. She was somewhat confused, she had personally invited that little bastard Fang Zhengzhi into the Divine Constabry, the Southern Mountain Vige should be grateful. Why did he suddenly say that he was guilty?

    When Li Zhuangshi and Mrs Li heard Vige Chief Meng Bai plead guilty, they instantly became alerted. This vige chief better not be stupid.

    Now Fang Zhengzhi already didn¡¯t belong to the Southern Mountain Vige, if the Divine Constabry had managed to locate Fang Zhengzhi, the Southern Mountain Vige would definitelynd into big trouble as well.

    "Reporting... reporting to Missus, Fang Zhengzhi has already left the vige, including his parents, they have all left the Southern Mountain Vige. I... I wasn¡¯t able to keep them, I... I am guilty!" Tears rolled down Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s eyes. He really regretted, regretted so much that he wasn¡¯t even able to stop his tears.

    Left the vige?! Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan was slightly taken aback. She would never have thought that such a thing would happen. Left the vige? Why must he leave the vige?

    "What is the reason Fang Zhengzhi left the vige?" Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan looked at Vige Chief Meng Bai.

    "This, this..." A wave of hesitation rose inside Vige Chief Meng Bai. Gazing at Li Zhuangshi, he finally gritted his teeth. "It¡¯s my fault, previous Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s dad Fang Houde encountered the Blue Fire Wolf on the Cang Ling Mountain and was attacked. When he returned, he couldn¡¯t recover properly. Hence, in order to... in order to seek better treatment, they... they left the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    Vige Chief Meng Bai had also considered pinning the crime on Fang Zhengzhi for sabotaging Li Zhuangshi, but he didn¡¯t do so. Because, sabotaging a person regarded as important by the Divine Constabry was the dumbest of actions.

    Furthermore...

    More importantly, Vige Chief Meng Bai felt a sense of guilt towards the Fang family. He didn¡¯t want Fang Zhengzhi to enter the Divine Constabry, but at the same time, he also wished that Fang Zhengzhi was able to enter the Divine Constabry.

    This was a veryplicated feeling.

    "Audacious Meng Bai, do you know what is the punishment for lying to the Divine Constabry!"

 Chapter 50: Eight Years

    Chapter 50: Eight Years

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As a powerful general in the fierce battlefields, the amount of people General Li led was over a hundred thousand. Not even mentioning the strange tone of Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s words, just his stammering alone was enough for him to confirm that the other person was lying.

    After a roar, he leapt down from the Snow Tredding Dragon Stallion and arrived in front of Vige Chief Meng Bai. A sword glowing with an icy glint instantly pressed itself against Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s neck.

    "Ah!"

    The sudden change in situation caused the entire Southern Mountain Vige vigers¡¯ eyes to widen, crying out sharply. But, nobody dared to move.

    "General... General Li please spare my life!"

    Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s entire body trembled with fear. Feeling the chilling air around his neck, he instinctively wanted to dodge, but the strong air of death that emanated from General Li caused him to remain rooted to the ground.

    "Speak, why did Fang Zhengzhi leave the vige?" General Lipletely ignored Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s pleas, pulling his sword, a trickle of blood flowed down its tip.

    Instantly, Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s entire back was soaked with sweat. Without even being concerned about the sharp pain in his neck, his entire body began to tremble violently.

    He knew very clearly the methods of the Divine Constabry. If they really wanted to investigate, there was simply no way to hide.

    Li Zhuangshi and Mrs Li were simrly taken aback. Looking at the sword ced on Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s neck, they knew that they could no longer avoid the inevitable.

    "Meng Bai, I will give you one more chance to speak the truth. A few dayster would be my father¡¯s birthday, hence, I can promise that I won¡¯t kill today!" At this moment, runaway Lolita Chi Guyan spoke.

    Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan¡¯s tone was calm, but Vige Chief Meng Bai knew that this was thest opportunity that the Divine Constabry would give to the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai regretted, this was obviously a happy asion, yet, things had to be like this. He had personally destroyed the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s greatest hope.

    "It is me, it is me who exiled Fang Zhengzhi from the Southern Mountain Vige!" Vige Chief Meng Bai knelt down onto the ground. He knew, once these words left his mouth, that there was no turning back.

    "Vige Chief has exiled Fang Zhengzhi from the Southern Mountain Vige?!"

    "What is going on?"

    "Why did he exile Fang Zhengzhi and his family from the Southern Mountain Vige? The old Fang family had contributed so much to the vige!"

    The vigers instantly became agitated when they heard these words. Fang Houde lost his arm for the Southern Mountain Vige, and furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had even contributed the Rock Formation Illustration to the Southern Mountain Vige. These were great contributions.

    When Li Zhuangshi and Mrs Li heard these words, their legs also weakened, and fell onto the ground. It¡¯s over, now, everything will be over.

    Vige Chief Meng Bai didn¡¯t dare to conceal anything further, because it was simply impossible to do so. Even if he didn¡¯t admit it, the Northern Mountain Vige people would also know about this incident.

    Hence, he revealed everything from the moment Fang Zhengzhi drew the Rock Formation Illustration, to when Fang Zhengzhi killed the Blue Fire Wolf.

    "What?! Fang Zhengzhi killed the Blue Fire Wolf?!"

    "My God, the Blue Fire Wolf was killed by Fang Zhengzhi? How is this possible!"

    "The Blue Fire Wolf!"

    When the vigers heard thest few sentences, they werepletely stunned. The king of the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts, the Blue Fire Wolf, had actually been killed by Fang Zhengzhi? This... was something people simply couldn¡¯t believe. Fang Zhengzhi was still a seven-year-old kid!

    A talent, a real talent!

    "That little bastard killed the Blue Fire Wolf?!" Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan was truly taken aback this time. The Blue Fire Wolf¡¯s power wasn¡¯t very strong, but its speed was too fast. Even if she had encountered it, she couldn¡¯t guarantee that she would be able to kill it.

    Simrly, shock was written all over General Li¡¯s face. This time when he followed his Missus to invite Fang Zhengzhi, he was still rather dubious of her intent.

    It was only a seven-year-old kid, what could be so special about him?

    But, after hearing Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s words, all his suspicion instantly vanished. A seven-year-old kid killing the Blue Fire Wolf? His Missus¡¯s foresight was indeed something he, and the rest of the people, couldn¡¯tpare with.

    "Missus, the Southern Mountain Vige is so inflexible in their actions, furthermore they are simply selfish in the way they carry out their decisions. Why not we simply dismantle the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s Hall of Dao?" Lady Yuer seemed somewhat infuriated.

    "Please don¡¯t! I beg Missus, please don¡¯t dismantle the Hall of Dao! Meng Bai is willing to take responsibility for everything!" When Vige Chief Meng Bai heard, hey down on the ground. He knew very clearly that if the Hall of Dao was to be dismantled, that meant thest glimmer of hope for the Southern Mountain Vige would bepletely gone.

    "Missus please don¡¯t dismantle the Hall of Dao!"

    "Missus please don¡¯t dismantle the Hall of Dao!"

    "Missus please..."

    One followed by another, the rest of the vigers also began to kneel down. No matter how big a mistake Vige Chief Meng Bai made, the Hall of Dao was ultimately still the hope of the entire Southern Mountain Vige.

    "Missus, I... I know that Missus is kind and merciful, please don¡¯t take away thest hope of the Southern Mountain Vige. I am willing to use my life to guarantee that within ten years... no, eight years, within eight years, the Southern Mountain Vige Hall of Dao will definitely produce someone who can enter the First-Level Roll in the County Law of Dao examinations!" Vige Chief Meng Bai furiously pounded the ground with his head, until blood began to flow.

    "Please Missus!"

    "Please Missus!"

    The rest of the vigers also began to kowtow.

    "I understand, since the truth has been revealed, I will keep my promise just now! Vige Chief Meng Bai is old and muddled. Thirty strokes of the cane and remove him from the position of Vige Chief! The Li family... Li Zhuangshi will be caned a hundred strokes, the rest, twenty strokes!" Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan waved her hands and didn¡¯t speak further.

    "Thank you Missus! Thank you Missus for sparing our lives!" Vige Chief Meng Bai instantlyy on the ground, his entire back soaked with sweat.

    "Thank you Missus!" Li Zhuangshi instantly pulled Mrs Li down andy on the ground as well.

    "Within eight years, if nobody from the Southern Mountain Vige manages to enter the County Law of Dao examinations First-ss Roll, I will deal out punishment regarding today¡¯s crimes as well as for attempting to lie, at the same time, demolish the Southern Mountain Vige Hall of Dao!" Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan looked at the crowd kneeling down on the ground and spoke once again.

    "Thank you Missus, Missus is kind and merciful!"

    ...

    "Woosh woosh woosh..."

    Military canes struck the bodies of Vige Chief Meng Bai and the three members of the Li family. But, among the surrounding vigers, nobody was unhappy with the oue. Because, just like Vige Chief Meng Bai said, the Divine Constabry being merciful and not killing them was already a gift from Heavens.

    "From today onwards, the Southern Mountain Vige Vige Chief will now be held by Ding Qingshan!" General Li announced after familiarising himself with the situation.

    "Roger!" Ding Qingshan walked out of the crowd and knelt down to express his gratitude.

    "Do you know where Fang Zhengzhi has headed off to?"

    "This... replying General Li, I don¡¯t know..." Ding Qingshan shook his head. He indeed didn¡¯t know where Fang Zhengzhi went.

    "Alright!" General Li nodded, then walked to Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan¡¯s side. "Missus, should we send some people to search in the surrounding viges?"

    At this moment, runaway Lolita Chi Guyan was mesmerised by thest streak of colour from the setting sun. After hearing General Li¡¯s words, she pondered slightly and shook her head.

    "There is no need. The Dao of All Creations emphasises nature. Everything is determined by the Will of Heaven, since we missed this current opportunity, it would be meaningless to force it again. This order... burn it!"

    Lolita looked at the white roll of cloth on Lady Yuer¡¯s hands and waved her hands. Nobody knew her true intent of inviting Fang Zhengzhi into the Divine Constabry. It was only to add some joy to her life and to be able to torture him every day.

    Recruit talents? With the reputation of the Divine Constabry, there were so many people who could only dream of entering it. No matter how talented he was, he was ultimately still a kid who hadn¡¯t even essed Dao.

    Talent?

    Indeed, it was said, one¡¯s gains are worth celebrating, losses shouldn¡¯t be regretted. If one really had the ability, wasn¡¯t there indeed no harm in waiting a few more years?

    ...

    "Return to the constabry!"

    "Return to the constabry!"

    Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan didn¡¯t bother staying at the Southern Mountain Vige any further, and returned into her big sedan. Pouting slightly, Lady Yuer sat down at one side.

    "Missus, Yuer doesn¡¯t understand, why didn¡¯t you dismantle the Hall of Dao?" Until now, Lady Yuer still couldn¡¯tprehend why was her Missus¡¯s temper so good today.

    "The objective of the Hall of Dao is to spread Dao. Even though the Southern Mountain Vige Chief is unwise, it is not representation of everybody. If we dismantled the Hall of Dao just like that, it would harm the hearts of the people"

    "No wonder, Yuer understands now. Missus is thinking about the entire Northern Lands!"

    "Northern Lands? Ha ha..."

    Runaway Lolita Chi Guyan shook her head, smiled slightly and didn¡¯t speak any further. She stared out silently at the shrinking sight of the vige outside, her lips curved into a smile.

    "Little bastard, since you have been humiliated today, I, Chi Guyan, will temporary let you off. But, since you were able to solve the Illustration of All Creation, and killed the Blue Fire Wolf, then, I believe one day, we will meet again. When the timees, I can only hope that you won¡¯t be too weak!"

 Chapter 51: Beside the River of Trust

    Chapter 51: Beside the River of Trust

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Beside the River of Trust

    ...

    Time flies, and years flow. This year, Fang Zhengzhi is now fifteen!

    In the Huai An County, in the Northern River of Trust Province, a stream of river flowed through the county, splitting this ancient city into its North and South, and at the same time creating a water traffic path, causing this city to be an important business andmerce district in the Northern Desert.

    The sun shone brightly, and a cool breeze was blowing.

    On the River on Trust, a few pleasure boats sailed along in the direction of the wind, sending silky ripples spreading across the river surface.

    The biennial Law of Dao examinations was only three days away. The River of Trust Province had set the examination location at the Huai An County, and attracted gifted schrs and beautifuldies from all around, one after another gathering at the riverside of the River of Trust.

    The green willows swayed gently in the breeze, and a tall rectangr stage adorned with red carpets elegantly upied the best sightseeing spot in the River of Trust. The stage was decorated withnterns and coloured banners, and below the stage, brocade clothes and flowery robes decorated its surroundings, which were covered densely by fresh flowers.

    In the March Spring, a hundred flowers bloomed.

    ording to rules set in the previous years, a gathering of schrs would be organised before the start of the Law of Dao examinations, inviting famous people from all parts of the area to gather and watch.

    It was called, the Hundred Flower Gathering!

    "Grr!"

    A low beastly growl was heard, but not many people paid attention to it. After all, beast rearing techniques had already bemonce in some bigger families within these years.

    "Young Master, over here, there is a mix of good people and scumbags, and even consist of people who dally with women and have affairs. Considering your reputation, there is absolutely no need for you to attend this gathering!"

    A strong, sturdy man with a bearded face sat on a "Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger", which was enveloped in red and white fur, with a thin opening on its forehead and a red ball of me zing on its tail. He was asking a youth dressed in a blueish-white fine robe and his attitude was unusually respectful.

    The finely-clothed youth slowly raised his head, looked at the tablet adorned with three big words - Hundred Flower Gathering, and slightly paused his steps. His expression was exceedingly cold.

    "When I left, grandfather instructed me to act with courtesy!" The finely-clothed youth replied indifferently, then continued to walk towards the front.

    The strong man didn¡¯t dare to speak any further. He quickly jumped off the Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger and followed behind the finely-clothed youth, walking towards the Jade Square.

    The Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger growled in a low voice, then in one leap, jumped on the beast stand at the entrance andy down softly. Around the Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger, many different kinds of fearsome beasts alsoy.

    The finely-clothed youth didn¡¯t walk very quickly, and walked directly towards the high stage of the Hundred Flower Gathering. As he walked, he slowly took out a Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan from his pocket. Tossing it lightly, an ink painting of a Mountain River Illustration revealed itself.

    When a few schrs dressed in brocade robes who were chatting animatedly saw the finely-clothed youth, they were instantly taken aback, then fixing their gaze upon the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan, a horrified expression appeared on their faces.

    They quickly moved away and gave up their spots.

    On the other hand, the finely-clothed youth¡¯s expression remained the same, neither angry not happy, neither downcast nor delighted. Walking towards the centre seat in front, he gradually sat down.

    A plump man dressed in brocade clothes at this moment was chatting loudly with another man dressed in brocade clothes beside him, while holding a handful of fruits. Laughing animatedly, he suddenly saw the finely-clothed youth and his face instantly turned a deathly shade of white, as if he had seen a ghost. He hurriedly shot up and quickly grabbed the man beside him and ran off.

    In a blink of an eye, the surroundings of the finely-clothed youth seemed to have vanished like smoke in thin air, leaving only the strong bearded man.

    "Back off!"

    "But, this ce..."

    "Back off!"

    "Yes, young master!"

    The strong bearded man¡¯s gaze swept across his surroundings once more, and backed off. But, none of the rest of the schrs surrounding him was willing to return back to their seats.

    "Yan Xiu actually participated in the Hundred Flower Gathering? Isn¡¯t this too unthinkable?"

    "With some calction, it seems that Yan Xiu had reached the age of sixteen this year."

    "No wonder!"

    After a few sentences of debate, the schrs sitting a distance away didn¡¯t speak further and continued to admire the flowers and taste the wine.

    Right at this moment, a youth whose face was fair and clear, dressed in a yellow brocade robe, with a long blue sword at his waist walked smilingly up the tall stage, apanied by a few armoured bodyguards.

    "Quick, look, Meng Yushu is here!"

    "I heard that this Meng Yushu had essed Dao since a year ago. I fear that his participation in the Law of Dao examinations this time would definitely gain him the Double Roll Champion!"

    The schrs discussed softly among one another, an envious look appearing on each of their faces.

    The youth dressed in a yellow brocade robe, Meng Yushu, heard the discussion around him, and a somewhat delighted expression appeared on his face. Following which, he directly made his way over beside Yan Xiu and lightly cupped his fist with his other hand as a sign of greeting.

    "Huai An Meng Residence, Meng Yushu, expresses his fortune in meeting Young Master Yan Xiu!"

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was ice cold. Without even taking a look at Meng Yushu, he remained seated on his chair and lightly swayed the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan on his hands.

    A light gust of wind blew across. Meng Yushu felt a deste sense of chilliness. Considering the Meng Residence¡¯s prestige in the Huai An County, and his abilities of having essed Dao, there wasn¡¯t much people he had taken the initiative to greet.

    But, this Yan Xiu in front of him didn¡¯t even bother to look at him.

    This was an indifferent form of disregard, and furthermore, it was in front of so many schrs. Meng Yushu¡¯s expression changed slightly, and gripped the sword on his hand. His chest rose a few times, but, ultimately restored the smile on his face.

    "Since Young Master Yan Xiu loves peace and quiet, then Meng Yushu shall take his leave!" Meng Yushu once again cupped his hands, finding a way out of the situation.

    "Aiyo, Heaven has opened his eyes! Such a good seat with nobody sitting on it? This is really my blessing!" Right at this moment, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind Meng Yushu.

    Meng Yushu frowned.

    He had just found an excuse that Meng Yushu loved peace and quiet, but never thought that somebody woulde and make noise. If he really allowed him to sit here, then weren¡¯t his words just now pping his own mouth?

    Just as he prepared to act to prevent this, he suddenly realised that there seemed to be no need to do so.

    Considering Yan Xiu¡¯s personality, don¡¯t tell me he would really allow somebody to sit calmly beside him?

    The edges of his mouth curved into a smile. Thinking of Yan Xiu¡¯s coldness a moment ago, and thinking that the new person had overestimated his own capabilities, he suddenly felt that watching the tigers fight from the side-lines wasn¡¯t actually a bad choice.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know whether the new person would be a tiger.

    But ultimately, he could still take the opportunity to find out, how much patience this Yan Xiu, known as the cold Asura among the youths in the Great Xia Dynasty, actually had.

    "Hey, are you sitting or not? If you are not, please make way!"

    Just as Meng Yushu became secretly delighted with his thoughts, he felt a burst of strength on his shoulder, then, his entire body was pulled up by this strength and his body leaned back.

    "Plop!" He fell on his buttocks.

    "People these days have such poor inner quality! Good dogs don¡¯t block the way, doesn¡¯t anybody know this?" A voice filled with disdain rang out once again. Then, anky youth dressed in a blue coarse robe, wearing a blue cloth on his head effortlessly bypassed Meng Yushu, walked towards a seat beside Yan Xiu and sat down.

    "Ah, this Hundred Flower Gathering is indeed not too shabby, they even provide a fruit tter!" Seeming as if he had discovered a new continent, the youth picked up the fruits ced in front of him and bit down. The sweetness was unparalleled.

    As the youth¡¯s voice sounded out, the initially bustling Hundred Flower Gathering instantly became extremely silent. Only the sound of the willows dancing in the breeze along the riverside was left, giving off a gentle rustling sound.

 Chapter 52: Yun Qingwu

    Chapter 52: Yun Qingwu

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The schrs stared, their mouths agape with shock. Nobody dared to believe what was happening.

    Did he want to live anymore?

    He actually provoked Meng Yushu? Not only did he provoke Meng Yushu, he even took away the fruits ced in front of Yan Xiu? What an act of killing two birds with one stone!

    Most importantly, this youth seemed to be savouring it without a care for the world.

    Isn¡¯t this too cocky?

    Meng Yushu¡¯s expression turned ck. When he saw clearly the youth sitting beside Yan Xiu, his face was so ck that water could drip out of it.

    That blue robe made with coarse cloth, the coarse cloth worn on his head, and the boots he wore on his feet that were polished so brightly it could almost give off light, was clear evidence that he was a country bumpkin from the vige.

    A country bumpkin, actually standing on his territory, under the gaze of everybody, causing him to fall to the ground?

    He absolutely couldn¡¯t stand this!

    As he prepared to explode with rage, a soft wave of recitation sounded out at his ear.

    "Act with courtesy, act with courtesy..."

    Meng Yushu was taken aback, then realised that this sound came from Yan Xiu, who was sited beside the youth. At this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was cold as ice, his two lips opening and closing continuously.

    He was reciting that phrase "act with courtesy".

    "Act with courtesy?" Meng Yushu frowned deeply. The hand gripping onto the sword at his waist almost turned white. What did Yan Xiu¡¯s words mean? Is he asking him to act with courtesy?

    But this person had stepped on his head, was he still supposed to be courteous?

    All of a sudden, Meng Yushu thought of the main event of this Hundred Flower Gathering and his eyes instantly lit up as if he suddenly understood something. This is what he meant...

    Once he thought of this, Meng Yushu stood up from the floor, lightly patted away the dirt from his buttocks and took a slight bow towards Yan Xiu and the youth.

    "I am Meng Yushu, how can I address you?"

    These words were naturally directed towards the youth, but when this scene reached the eyes of the surrounding schrs...

    They were instantly baffled.

    What was happening? He actually didn¡¯t retaliate and unsheathe his sword? How can he stand this? Furthermore, he even asked for his name? Since when did Meng Yushu have such good temper?

    They absolutely didn¡¯t dare to believe.

    At this moment, the youth was still chewing on the fruits, when he heard Meng Yushu¡¯s question, he waved his hands and with a look of disdain, replied, "If you don¡¯t have anything to say, leave. I am waiting to see the performance."

    "..."

    The surrounding schrs instantly felt as if someone had stuffed an egg in their mouths. They werepletely lost for words. Who was this person dressed in a coarse robe? He actually didn¡¯t even bother to reply Meng Yushu and instead asked him to leave?

    This attitude, indeed... caused people to be unable to reply.

    Meng Yushu was simrly stunned. Carefully sizing up this youth, he thought for a while and realised, there didn¡¯t seem to be such a person in the Huai An County!

    Just as he prepared to rage, he heard Yan Xiu begin to recite once again.

    "Act with courtesy, act with courtesy..."

    Meng Yushu¡¯s expression changed again and again, his chest rising and falling furiously. After exactly fifteen minutes of restraint did he manage to hold back the anger rising inside him.

    "Since young master havee to this Hundred Flower Gathering, you would definitely know that the main event of this gathering is centred around this word "Flower". How about we make a bet today?" Meng Yushu tried his best to keep his voice calm, but he still involuntarily gritted his teeth.

    "Bet? Hmm... tell me more!" The youth¡¯s expression seemed interested.

    "Let¡¯spete who can unveil the veil of the beauty, shall we?" Meng Yushu twitched his mouth towards the high stage behind him with a challenging look.

    "Beauty? There are beauties today?" The youth¡¯s expression seemed slightly taken aback.

    Meng Yushu instantlyughed coldly to himself. He was indeed a country bumpkin, he didn¡¯t even know that the main event of the Hundred Flower Gathering was "Compete for Beauties"?

    Betting with such a person, would it be losing his dignity?

    But, since Yan Xiu continuously spoke of acting with courtesy, he would carry out matters ording to the rules of the Hundred Flower Gathering, hopefully this Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t have any further opinions?

    "How about it, does young master dare to ept this?"

    "The winner is whoever unveils the beauty¡¯s veil first?" The youth continued.

    "Naturally!" Meng Yushu nodded.

    Even though mainpetition of the Hundred Flower Gathering was for the beauties, but, it is centred aboutpeting throughnguage arts. If one wished to unveil the beauty, they had to disy sufficient linguistic ability and win the hearts of the beauty in front of the crowd in order for her to unveil.

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t believe that this country bumpkin in front of him would have any linguistic ability.

    Furthermore, even if this country bumpkin really had some outstanding work of art, just based on his attire alone, it wouldn¡¯t be possible at all to win the beauty¡¯s heart.

    Hence, this round of betting was a sure-win. Ever since the rules of the bet had been agreed upon, the results were already set.

    "Sure!" The youth seemed to have not hesitated at all and nodded agreeably.

    Meng Yushu was instantly delighted. This country bumpkin was indeed brave, he actually dared to bet with him? He couldn¡¯t me himself then.

    "Since we made a bet, there should be a stake!" Meng Yushu patiently guided.

    "Yes, you are right!" The youth nodded once again. He didn¡¯t feel that there was a problem at all.

    Meng Yushu felt that this was enough. Looking at the youth in front of him, he dug into his pockets and finally hesitated a little.

    If he betted too much, it wouldn¡¯t be good if this person decided to shrink away.

    "How about we just bet a hundred taels of silver?" Meng Yushu probed.

    "Sure!" The youth instantly smiled when he heard this.

    "Alright, let¡¯s invite Yan Xiu to be our witness, we will put out a hundred taels of silver each, and bet who can unveil the beauty¡¯s veil first!" When Meng Yushu finished his sentence, he fished out a piece of hundred tael silver banknote and ced it in front of Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu nced, and his expression instantly became even colder, continuing to mumble, "Act with courtesy, act with courtesy..."

    On the other hand, the youth took up the silver note with a delighted look.

    "Can I invite young master to ce down his silver note as well?" When Meng Yushu saw the youth take a look, but didn¡¯t act, he became somewhat suspicious.

    "Silver note? Oh... this isn¡¯t a problem, just rx, anyway, I won¡¯t lose!" When the youth heard, he waved his hands towards Meng Yushu, his face unconcerned.

    Meng Yushu¡¯s expression instantly darkened further.

    What was the meaning of this? Betting without taking out the money? Cheat!

    Just as he prepared to argue, he looked at Yan Xiu and instantly swallowed his words. Hepletely believed that with Yan Xiu as the witness, this person would definitely not y cheat.

    Furthermore, in the Huai An County, there were indeed not many people who dared to y cheat against Meng Yushu.

    "Hmph!" Meng Yushu huffed. Since the bet had already been confirmed, he didn¡¯t bother quarrelling with the youth further and sat down alone a distance away.

    "Meng Yushu actually made a bet with that person about who will unveil the beauty first?"

    "This seems interesting, don¡¯t tell me Meng Yushu didn¡¯t notice the namelist of the Beautypetition today, and doesn¡¯t know who today¡¯s beauty is?"

    When the schrs heard Meng Yushu and the youth¡¯s conversation, they instantly began to discuss spiritedly.

    At this very moment, on the River of Trust, a humongous three-story high decorated pleasure boat adorned with golden silk gradually cruised down the surface of the River of Trust. On the tip of the decorated pleasure boat, a golden g printed with the words "Yun" danced in the wind.

    Ripples spread across the water surface. This pleasure boat sailed between many other boats, yet, nobody wouldpare this to the rest of the boats.

    Because, the owner of this pleasure boat, represented the highest of mountains, a mountain that simply nobody could summit.

    "She... why would shee to the Huai An County?" Meng Yushu¡¯s face, initially filled with confidence, instantly turned ugly when he saw this boat.

    Simrly, he clearly knew who this pleasure boat represented. A woman of wonder that caused an infinite number of schrs in the Great Xia Dynasty to fall heads over tails for her. Violin, chess, reading, drawing, poetry, phrases, songs, essays, there was nothing she wasn¡¯t proficient in. Most importantly, nobody had ever unveiled Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil.

    Furthermore, there was never a person who managed to set foot upon Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat!

    Of course, this ¡®person¡¯... referred to men!

 Chapter 53: Inner Quality

    Chapter 53: Inner Quality

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Meng Yushu felt that this bet can be nullified. Because, it simply wasn¡¯t possible for a person to unveil Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil. But, as he thought of his previous anger, he was still rather unsatisfied.

    No matter what, he still had to try. If that really wasn¡¯t possible, then he had to think of another method.

    Who would have known that the Hundred Flower Gathering in the Huai An County would actually attract Yun Qingwu to participate in it?

    This was simply unthinkable...

    What was the reason?

    ...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze shifted to the gradually approaching pleasure boat, his expression didn¡¯t change a single bit, as if he had seen yet, yet as if he hadn¡¯t see it.

    Only when the boat reached the riverside did he adjust his posture, as if he had suddenly thought of something.

    On the other hand, the youth sitting beside him was still the same as before.

    So much so that he even leaned back slowly, and slightly closed his eyes, as if enjoying the crisp wind from the riverside and the flowers blooming around him.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak. The youth also didn¡¯t speak.

    Except that after Yan Xiu¡¯s behaviour became too proper, the youth¡¯s appeared even more unmorous. Sitting together with such differing postures, it appeared extremely awkward.

    When the surrounding schrs saw this, they didn¡¯t know what to say.

    These two people sitting together was absolutely too uncoordinated, but they just had to sit together like this. Furthermore, they even seemed to be harmonious and in peace.

    Weird, too weird!

    ...

    The schrs at the Hundred Flower Gathering naturally set their aims on the flowers, even though Yan Xiu and the youth could attract their attention for a while, but it was indeed not possible for all these schrs to keep on staring at these two men?

    Furthermore, the pleasure boat adorned with golden silk had finallye to a halt.

    Except, the people on the boat didn¡¯t have any intention ofing down. But, despite this, the atmosphere in the Hundred Flower Gathering had evidently be livelier.

    The schrs cheered and jumped, loudly shouting Yun Qingwu¡¯s name. There were even a few who actually brought over their brushes and desks, and began to write there and then.

    Drawing pictures, writing poems, creating inscriptions, the atmosphere was lively indeed.

    The Hundred Flower Gathering was a gathering for schrs to socialise before the Law of Dao examinations, hence there was no specially appointed judge. The rules were simple, after the talented girls disyed their skills, the schrs would ce flowers inside the baskets in front of the girls, which counted as choosing a beauty.

    Even though it was simple, it was very fair.

    "Boom!"

    A gong sounded. The Hundred Flower Gathering had officially begun.

    Then, the talented girls began to mount the stage and disy their skills, each of them wearing colourful long dresses, ying musical instruments, dancing, some even made a few poems on stage, encouraging schrs topose poems to pair with theirs.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze remained calm as water.

    On the other hand, the youth was full of interest, watching eagerly, he even shouted out phrases such as "not bad" or "beautiful" from time to time, attracting silent criticisms from the surrounding schrs.

    "Country bumpkin!"

    "Inner quality!"

    "I am embarrassed to be seen with such a person!"

    In actual fact, the schrs were also deep in discussion, most of their voices even louder than the youth. But, a youth wearing a coarse blue robe sitting in the middle of schrs dressed in embroidered clothes and fanciful garments naturally caused people to feel strange.

    The youth lightly patted away the dust on the cleanly washed robe he wore on his body. He naturally wasn¡¯t able to hear other people scolding him in their hearts. With a leisurely and carefree expression, he continued to listen to the songs, eating and drinking to his heart¡¯s content.

    Or it could also be said, even if he was able to hear, he wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to them. Because, from where he was from, that was how everybody dressed. If he really had to dress like these schrs every day, time will definitely hang very heavily.

    Finally, the singing had more or less stopped, and movement appeared within the pleasure boat that stopped by the riverside.

    The boat doors opened gradually. Two rows ofdies dressed in standardised jade-green dresses neatly walked out, and behind them, twodies dressed in gold-threaded long skirts followed.

    When everyone had neatly arranged themselves below the boat, an graceful figure finally walked out slowly from within the boat.

    Wearing an elegant sky-blue long skirt imprinted with a few snow-white tree peonies, and with a mirror-shaped pearl flower with the appearance of a golden moon on her head, her jet ck long hair fell all the way to her waist, ending right at the golden purple belt at the waist. It was a female figure of absolute beauty.

    Unfortunately, a ck cloth blocked the woman¡¯s facial features. Yet, this brought out the woman skin, which was as white and beautiful as snow...

    Stepping lightly on the ground, a pair of boots embroidered with flowers sewn from golden threads wrapped around the woman¡¯s feet and slowly walked up the riverside.

    Then, directly up the stage.

    Up until now...

    The schrs below the stage were alreadypletely silent, staring paralysed at woman on the stage, a zing ray of light shining their eyes.

    Of course, there were also exceptions.

    For example, Yan Xiu, who was sitting right at the front, continued to wear his usual ice-cold expression, and the youth sitting by his side continued to leisurely munch on his fruits.

    "Youngdy Yun Qingwu, please excuse my ugly disy!" A voice crisp as a nightingale sounded out, Yun Qingwu lowered her head slightly, bowing. Her posture was elegant and her temperament was outstanding.

    "Great!" Below the stage, the youth pped cheerfully, instantly pulling the stunned schrs back to reality.

    Good things have always been wildly pursued by people.

    Those who destroyed their beautiful dreands naturally wouldn¡¯t be treated well.

    All the schrs stared at the youth, their faces filled with anger. A few even began to crack their fists, if Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t by his side, the situation would definitely not have been dealt with as courteously.

    Yun Qingwu gazed at the youth. She didn¡¯t even seem to have flinched, instead, she gradually turned her body around and gave another bow to the youth.

    "Yun Qingwu expresses her thanks to young master!" Her manner was extraordinaryposed.

    "You¡¯re wee, I wonder what song is sister Qingwu going to y today?" The youth¡¯s jet-ck eyes looked at Yun Qingwu, felt the anxious atmosphere around him, and smiled lightly.

    Naturally, he understood why the surrounding people were enraged, but, people should be treated simrly. When other women mounted the stage, there were many cheers. If there wasn¡¯t any when Yun Qingwu went up, wouldn¡¯t it be strange!

    "Who would have thought that young master also understands music. Today, youngdy wishes to perform a song called The Reeds and Rushes." Yun Qingwu replied softly, not a single glimmer of disdain in her eyes. Instead, she was extremely respectful.

    "The Reeds and Rushes?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, and didn¡¯t speak any further.

    Yet, this caused the surrounding schrs to reveal an expression of disdain.

    When they saw the youth inquire Yun Qingwu, they expected a deep discussion, yet all he did was nod, without expressing a single opinion!

    But, after despising the youth, the schrs once again began to burn with passion. Yun Qingwu¡¯s choice of The Reed and Rushes, represented exactly the mncholy and dejection of pursuing one¡¯s love, yet falling short.

    Such ady of wonder, yet despairing over not being able to pursue her love, indeed instilled a sense of pity in their hearts.

    "This round of beauty, I will choose Yun Qingwu!" A schr sitting in the front row instantly walked out. Going in front of the flower basket with Yun Qingwu¡¯s name inscribed on it, he prepared to ce the fresh flower on his hands inside.

    Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Because, another schr was able to run faster than him.

    In a sh, he ended up in front of the flower basket. The fresh flowers in his hands reached the flower basket before the other schr. When the flower entered the basket, his face flushed with red, a wild look on his face, "Ha ha ha... I am the first!"

    When the other schrs saw this, they immediately began to panic, one by one they stood up from their chairs and rushed madly to the bottom of the stage, each of thempeting to ce their flowers in the basket, afraid of being too slow.

    Hence, all the suspense in the Hundred Flower Gathering¡¯s beauty instantly disappeared...

    "Do you even have the slightest bit of inner quality? She hadn¡¯t even performed, why are all of you rushing to court her favour and choose the beauty, rush your balls... balls!" The youth sitting right at the front gazed at the sea of schrs blocking his field of vision, and finally lost his patience and huffed.

 Chapter 54: Simple and Direct

    Chapter 54: Simple and Direct

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The youth¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but, the schrs that were pushing and shoving were instantly taken aback. They felt as if they had suddenly choked on a mouthful of chilli water. Their throats and hearts burned like fire.

    "Inner quality?!"

    "Court her favour?"

    Their intentions were pointed out in front of everybody, furthermore, it was in the face of a beautiful woman that could copse an entire nation. All of the schrs felt as if their tails had been stepped on!

    Then, the youth¡¯s behaviour diverted the awkwardness in their hearts, because, if they really had to choose who trulycked inner quality, this youth would definitely get all the votes.

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, that "balls... balls!", what was the meaning of that?

    Could he at least quote some ssics? Or stop the crowd with his strength and powers? As a schr, how could he actually say such vulgar words, furthermore, it was right in front of such a beautiful woman. This brought absolute disgrace to education.

    Ashamed to be associated with him!

    The awkwardness within the hearts of the schrs turned into anger flowing out of their bodies. But, today was the Hundred Flower Gathering, emphasising on art, notbat. Moreover, if they really fought, it would only serve to confirm the youth¡¯s words.

    "Hmph!"

    A few of the schrs who had already reached the stage ced the flowers in their hands into the basket and quickly returned to their original seats. Except, when they walked past the youth, they couldn¡¯t help but to huff coldly.

    "Thank you young masters for your affection. Yun Qingwu will now perform The Reeds and Rushes." Yun Qingwu bowed once again towards the schrs, her expression seemed to not have changed a lot.

    Hearing Yun Qingwu¡¯s words, the crowd of schrs instantly began to quieten.

    The youth¡¯s eyes closed slightly, a hint of a smile appearing once again at the edges of his mouth. Looking at Yun Qingwu¡¯s gaze that was calm as the autumn¡¯s water, he seemed to be pondering over something.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was still ice-cold as before, except the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan on his hands began to fan a little more anxiously.

    A guqin was carried out by the twodies behind her dressed in golden long skirts. They lifted it to the back of the high stage, and Yun Qingwu slowly sat down behind the guqin.

    Her slim, pale fingers plucked the guqin lightly.

    Music that was as beautiful as flowing water begin to sound out. The entire Hundred Flower Gathering had bepletely silent. Everybody stared intently at Yun Qingwu¡¯s movements.

    "Thick grow the rush leaves;

    Their white dew turns to frost.

    He whom I love

    Must be somewhere along this stream. "

    "I went up the river to look for him,

    But the way was difficult and long.

    I went down the stream to look for him,

    And there in mid-water

    Sure enough, it¡¯s he..."

    "..."

    The sound of the guqin was like water, both music and song were beautiful. To be able to be described as a woman of wonder in this era, not only did she have to possess an amiable personality, but more important, required great musical talents.

    Every single word was absolutely crisp, every tone was sweet-sounding to the ears.

    As the sound of Yun Qingwu¡¯s guqin began to y, thedies in green dresses also began to dance, asionallying together to form a blooming flower, and asionallying together to form the ripples of flowing water...

    Every schr was mesmerised by the scene in front of them,pletely intoxicated by this iparable music and dance. All of their eyes were filled with enchantment, indulging themselves in the most beautiful sounds of the world.

    The youth also quieted down, carefully listening to Yun Qingwu¡¯s voices, and didn¡¯t make a further sound.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu remained seated on his chair as usual, his expression calm, lightly fanning himself. It seemed as if he was listening, and at the same time also seemed like he wasn¡¯t.

    The song ended. The guqin stopped.

    Yet, the lingering sound continued to echo throughout the air.

    Nobody knew how much time had passed before the schrs finally snapped out of their mesmer.

    "What a beautiful piece!"

    "The piece was beautiful, the person even more so!"

    "To have listened to Yun Qingwu¡¯s piece, I am willing to live ten years less..."

    The crowd of schrs began to use the best praises they could think of to express their deep emotions. There were even schrs who began to stir, preparing to hand over the poems that they had already written to win a smile from the beautifuldy.

    "Huai An Meng Residence, Meng Yushu. Having heard such divine music, I am extremely grateful. I wish to leverage on this opportunity to y a piece together withdy Qingwu, what do you think?"

    At this moment, wearing a yellow embroidered robe, Meng Yushu finally walked out from the crowd. Apanied by a few bodyguards, he arrived below the stage.

    When the schrs heard Meng Yushu¡¯s words, they instantly began to swear silently.

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t offer pearls, nor offer jades, nor offer poems, yet he wanted to y a duet with Yun Qingwu. It was obviously to win her heart, what a brilliant move.

    But, this move was still rather despicable.

    Considering Yun Qingwu¡¯s temperament, it was naturally hard to decline in front of everybody.

    This way, he would have a huge advantage. To be able to y a piece with Yun Qingwu, this honour and glory would definitely give him something to talk about next time.

    As the schrs thought about this, Yun Qingwu stood up slowly, her expression calm as water.

    "Since Young Master Meng is so defined, Yun Qingwu won¡¯t refuse. But, I had already yed the piece The Reeds and Rushes, if I yed the same genre of songs, I am afraid the rest of the schrs might lose their interest. But, I have an ancient piece Surrounded on All Sides here, if young master can y it together with these two maids by my side, Qingwu would naturally y a piece together with young master."

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was crisp and clear, neither harsh nor vulgar, neither advancing nor retreating, yet, when her voicended, Meng Yushu¡¯s face instantly changed.

    He only wished to leverage on this advantage today to ensure that Yun Qingwu wouldn¡¯t be able to object. If he really had to y a piece on the stage, it would only be ying for fun, even though it wasn¡¯t as if hepletely didn¡¯t know how to y, but if it was an ancient piece...

    He would definitely be a huge disgrace.

    Meng Yushu instantly felt an urge to jump into the River of Trust.

    He couldn¡¯t advance, but he also couldn¡¯t retreat.

    Agree?

    The other party would only let her two maids y the guqin with him, if he really could y the piece, Yun Qingwu would perform a duet with him. But what if he couldn¡¯t y it?

    Then he would be a big joke in the Hundred Flower Gathering.

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t speak, but the schrs who had cursed silently at him had guessed what he was thinking as well, and began to snicker.

    "Young Master Meng, y a piece!"

    "Yeah, Young Master Meng!"

    "Let me see how good Young Master Meng¡¯s guqin skills are!"

    In front of beautiful women, there would definitely be a mysterious force that made some schrs who originally wouldn¡¯t dare to open their mouths muster their courage, even if it was only to be noticed by the beautiful woman, or, even just nced at.

    Meng Yushu¡¯s expression changed from red to white, then back to red. His legs moved. He wanted to walk forwards, but ultimately resisted the temptation. Finally gritting his teeth, he waved at Yun Qingwu.

    "Even if they are only Lady Qingwu¡¯s maids, I believe they had the fortune to be infected with Lady Qingwu¡¯s divine voice. If I managed to match their standards today, I believe it wouldn¡¯t be good! Let¡¯s leave it at that then!" Meng Yushu didn¡¯t wait for Yun Qingwu to speak and instantly returned back to his seat like he was escaping.

    Just like a gust of wind.

    "Thank you, Young Master Meng, for your modest decline! Yun Qingwu represents my two maids to express my gratitude!" Yun Qingwu seemed to have felt everything was expected, and instead, holding on to the two maids beside her, bowed slightly towards Meng Yushu.

    When the schrs witnessed this scene, they once again swore silently at Meng Yushu for being able to escape so fast. He ran once he realised things weren¡¯t going well, yet he still sounded so dignified and pompous. He was indeed a scoundrel!

    But, after Meng Yushu¡¯s experience, those schrs who stubbornly wished to try to win this beautiful woman¡¯s heart and unveil her veil began to worry.

    Even Meng Yushu was defeated. Who else in this ce would be able to unveil Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil?

    All of them were hesitant, looking around at each other.

    Right at this time, a rather indolent voice suddenly sounded out.

    "Beauty Yun Qingwu?"

    The schrs were taken aback, thinking who else had decided to bring shame to himself. Then, they realised where the sound came from. It was the youth sitting beside Yan Xiu.

    "Country bumpkin!"

    "He really wishes to unveil Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil?"

    "With his capabilities?"

    The schrs felt that he was simply despicable. Yun Qingwu had traversed the Great Xia Dynasty and experienced God knew how many storms. The Northern Desert, the Southern Nation, the Western Liang and the Eastern Metropolis, yet, not a single schr had ever caused her heart to waver.

    A country bumpkin, what abilities could he have?

    At this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze shifted to the youth beside him, the look in his eyes having a hint of change for the first time. But it was only change, very quickly, it disappeared and returned back to normal.

    The youth on the other hand seemed to have simply not heard the discussion going on around him. Standing up from his seat, he casually walked towards the stage.

    The blue coarse robe pped slightly in the gentle wind.

    "Turns out that it¡¯s young master, Yun Qingwu greets young master once again!" Watching the slowly approaching youth, Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression seemed to have not changed much. Lowering her head slightly, she gave a gentle bow.

    "Today, I made a bet with the person just now whose name was Meng Yushu!" The youth walked in front of Yun Qingwu, his jet-ck eyes silently staring at the beautiful woman in front of him.

    "This bet that young master made, is rted to Yun Qingwu?" Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t seem surprised at all.

    "Exactly!" The youth nodded.

    "Yun Qingwu brazenly takes a guess, this bet young master made with Young Master Meng, is about who can unveil this veil from Yun Qingwu¡¯s face?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression was calm as water.

    "Smart!" The youth nodded again.

    "Since this is the case, young master must definitely be an outstanding person. Even though Yun Qingwu is untalented, I still wish to invite young master to teach me!" Yun Qingwu bowed once again.

    "Alright!" The youth experienced the faint yet delicate fragrance emanated by Yun Qingwu¡¯s body, and simr took a bow towards Yun Qingwu.

    Then...

    Extending his hand, a piece of ck cloth ended up on his right hand.

    "Actually, I prefer things to be a little simpler, a little more direct!" The youth looked at the cloth on his hands that was still slightly warm, and then gave a radiant smile towards Yun Qingwu whose expression waspletely stunned.

 Chapter 55: Not Good at Socialising

    Chapter 55: Not Good at Socialising

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The entire world waspletely silent at this moment, as if time had stopped. Only the gentle wind at the riverside of the River of Trust continued to blow lightly.

    At the same time, a face of absolute beauty appeared in front of the youth¡¯s eyes.

    In the ancient times, there were beauties that hid the moon and shamed the flowers, sunk the fishes and alighted the birds. Yet, Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t fall behind them. With her long, curved eyebrows, bright pupils, snow-white skin, her lips fainting showing a shade of red, like the most breath-taking stroke of brush in a vast snowyndscape.

    Except at this moment, this face of absolutely beauty, was in a state ofplete shock. Her delicate lips were slightly agape, and disbelief filled her bright pupils.

    Not only did Yun Qingwu not dare to believe, the maids beside her at this moment also stood with their mouths agape and their eyes wide-open. Staring at this youth in front of them, they were simply unable to react.

    Too fast!

    In a sh, the veil on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face had appeared in the hands of this youth. It felt as if that piece of cloth had never even left the youth¡¯s hands.

    Below the stage, even Yan Xiu¡¯s constant ice-cold expression also seemed incredible at this moment. His thin lips opened and shut, shut and opened, his eyes filled with a look of disbelief.

    Most exaggerated of all was Meng Yushu. His eyes were round and wide-opened, a fist instinctively stuffed into his mouth. His two cheeks were so stuffed that it even reddened, yet he didn¡¯t realise.

    The expressions of the schrs that were previously jeering were nowpletely frozen at this moment.

    Silence. Nobody made a sound.

    Because...

    Nobody could ever imagine that something like that had just happened.

    "Hmm, not too bad! The Reeds and the Rushes... how could you not be able to pursue that man? Looks likedy is burdened with a worry!" The youth looked at Yun Qingwu, and sighed unexpectedly.

    Then, he turned around and walked down the stage. Walking directly to Yan Xiu¡¯s side, he picked up the hundred taels silver note beside Yan Xiu¡¯s hand and caressed it, his face beaming delightedly.

    "Everybody has seen it, I have already unveiled the veil, this silver note naturally belongs to me!" After finishing his sentence, the youth kept the hundred taels silver note into his pocket and strolled away into the distance, perfectly contented...

    "Yun Qingwu¡¯s... veil has been removed?!"

    "Unveiled just like that?"

    "This is too beautiful! She can copse a city with one look, then copse a country!"

    "Wait a minute... did he say silver note?!"

    Even though the schrs¡¯ hearts were shocked upon facing such a situation, but after seeing Yun Qingwu¡¯s absolute beauty, they werepletely mesmerised. After a long time, somebody finally managed to react.

    "Catch him!"

    Quick, catch that lecher!"

    After their initial, what erupted was fury that filled the Heaven. At this moment, the hearts of the schrs werepletely ignited, nobody bothered about the rules of the Hundred Flower Gathering anymore.

    In broad daylight, within the Heaven and Earth, he had actually dared tomit such an errant act.

    Furthermore, he had even sphemed the purest goddess in their hearts, if this could be tolerated, what could not?

    "Where is he?"

    "Where did he run to?"

    The schrs began to search everywhere, yet unfortunately, the youth had already disappeared without a trace. Not even his shadow could be seen in the scene of the Hundred Flower Gathering.

    "How could you not be able to pursue that man?" Yun Qingwu managed to regain herposure at this moment. Looking at the direction the youth had disappeared into, her lips parted slightly. Nobody knew whether it was due to anger, or something she had suddenly thought of, but her face actually revealed a faint smile.

    This scene instantly stunned the angry schrs once again. She was indeed endowed with a natural beauty that was impossible to hide.

    "Pack up, let¡¯s leave!" The smile of Yun Qingwu¡¯s face disappeared in a sh. Instead of covering her face with the veil again, she walked back slowly towards the pleasure boat at the riverside, her expressionpletely calm.

    "Yes, Lady!"

    ...

    As Yun Qingwu left, the Hundred Flower Gathering came to a close, leaving a bunch of schrs cracking their fists, swearing that they would find that lecher and take revenge for shaming Yun Qingwu.

    "What ad, I, Meng Yushu, will definitely not let you off!" Meng Yushu felt his slightly painful face. Gripping the sword on his hand tightly, an icy glint glowed in his eyes.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu was also nowhere to be seen, as if he had vanished in thin air.

    ...

    On the pleasure boat, Yun Qingwu sat quietly on a red sandalwood crafted chair, with a red desk in front of her. A guqiny on the desk in front of her and beside the guqin, a bronze, animal-shaped censer emanated a faint floral aroma.

    "Lady, servant is curious about one thing!" A maid dressed in a golden long skirt standing beside Yun Qingwu looked at her and asked softly.

    "You want to ask me why didn¡¯t I dodge?"

    "Yes, given Lady¡¯s enlightenment state, if you didn¡¯t wish to... who would be able to unveil your veil?"

    "What if I said I dodged?"

    "This... he looks like he¡¯s only around fifteen or sixteen years of age?"

    "That¡¯s right, only fifteen or sixteen years of age!"

    The maid didn¡¯t speak any further, but her expression was truly horrified. Yun Qingwu simrly didn¡¯t speak, her bright pupils silently gazing at the ripples on the river surface.

    ...

    Within the Huai An County, in an alley a hundred meters away from the Western city gate.

    A youth wearing a coarse blue robe was stopped in his tracks by a youth wearing a fine robe. Behind the finely clothed youth, a strong bearded man followed riding on a Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger.

    "Robbery?" The youth looked at the strong bearded man behind the finely clothed youth, then looked at the Three-Eyed Scarlet me Tiger he sat on. The edges of his mouth curved into something that seemed like a smile, his expression remaining calm andposed.

    "No!" The finely clothed youth shook his head.

    "Then, can you let me pass?" The youth continued to ask patiently.

    "No!" The finely clothed youth was just as patient.

    The youth didn¡¯t say anything further, and silently eyed the two people in front of him. The edges of his mouth all along curved into a smile, and stood just like that on the spot.

    "Yan Xiu!" The finely clothed youth waited for a while, then finally spoke again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" When the youth heard Yan Xiu speak, he wiped the smile off his face for the first time, appearing somewhat serious.

    "I¡¯m not good at socialising, but, I am quite curious about you." When Yan Xiu finished his sentence, it seemed rather challenging for him, as if it was the first time he had said so many words in one breathe.

    "Unfortunately, I am not interested in men." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth.

    Blocked by a stranger youth, who then shouted that he was very interested in him. No matter how he looked at the situation, it didn¡¯t seem very normal. Or, this person called Yan Xiu in front of him, like he said, really wasn¡¯t good at socialising.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed, as if he was somewhat disappointed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. This was this first time he had taken the initiative to interact with a stranger, yet he was rejected.

    Give up?

    This thought instantly disappeared. Because, in Yan Xiu¡¯s dictionary, these two words, give up, didn¡¯t exist.

    Then, he thought of the advice his grandfather gave to him before he embarked on his journey. When interacting with others, especially when it was the first interaction, he should be sincerer.

    "I can give you some money!" Yan Xiu thought of the delighted smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face when he picked up the hundred taels of silver, and felt that he could express his sincerity a bit more.

    The strong bearded man behind Yan Xiu shifted slightly. Looking at Yan Xiu, his expression turned awkward. He felt that his young master was really about to hit a wall today.

    Because, after uttering such words, as long as it was a schr, he would definitely be infuriated.

    "Sure, then can you treat me to a meal?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard, he didn¡¯t even stop to think before quickly epting his offer.

    "I can!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Then, let¡¯s go!" With somebody to treat him to a meal, Fang Zhengzhi became enthusiastic and quickly walked towards Yan Xiu. Then, shoulder to shoulder, they began to walk out of the alley.

    The bearded strong man looked at these two people in front of him. His expression instantly became extremely strange. His mouth was opened widely, and stared till his eyeballs almost popped out. Then, he finally sighed. "It seems that my young master is actually very good at socialising!"

 Chapter 56: Double Dragon Roll Champion

    Chapter 56: Double Dragon Roll Champion

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The Drunken Immortal Restaurant, was already the best restaurant in the Huai An County. But, today was clearly much livelier than before. Except, this liveliness seemed to feel more like noise and mour.

    "Get that lecher out, I saw him go in!"

    "Yes, today I swear I will fight that lecher with my life"

    "If I don¡¯t kill that lecher, I am not human!"

    A crowd of schrs dressed in brocade clothes blocked the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, shouting at the top of their voices. Yet, nobody really dared to cross that doorstep.

    Because...

    At the door, there was a Three Eyed Scarlet me Tiger, and a strong bearded man.

    A few schrs who weren¡¯t afraid of death had already tried. At this moment, they were lying on the ground, groaning continuously, serving as an effective warning to others.

    As the cause of themotion, Fang Zhengzhi still seemed rather good. Sitting in a private room on the second level beside the window, he could see clearly the scene unfolding on the streets below the building, hence, he naturally saw how extreme the strong bearded man¡¯s actions were.

    The exquisite dishes on the table had been more or less finished, yet the wine they drank was extremely little. Both Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, seeming to have a great rapport with each other, stopped at tasting, and didn¡¯t drink further.

    Furthermore, in what seemed like an even greater rapport, after the dishes were served, they hadn¡¯t even spoke a single word.

    It felt as if they were extremely close friends.

    Finishing their food, Yan Xiu paid the bill, as if everything was only to be expected.

    Then, Yan Xiu fished out a silver note and passed it towards Fang Zhengzhi. "Here!"

    Fang Zhengzhi received it, took a look, realised that it was a thousand tael silver note, smiled, and pushed the note back to Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu was puzzled, but didn¡¯t take the initiative to ask.

    "We are now already friends!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled. Even though this Yan Xiu¡¯s outward appearance was as cold as an ice cube, but inside, he was as pure as a white piece of paper.

    "Grandfather said, I must be sincere towards my friends!" Yan Xiu was confused.

    "What your grandfather said is right. Friends must indeed be sincere towards one another. Since you have already treated me to a meal, as an exchange, I can answer some of your questions!" Fang Zhengzhi continued to smile.

    "Hmm, I wanted to know why did you employ such a method to unveil Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and asked the question that had been in his heart all along.

    "Because, I prefer things to be a little simpler, and a little more direct!" Fang Zhengzhi replied earnestly.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid of being misunderstood as a lecher?" Yan Xiu continued to ask.

    "Since even you said it¡¯s a misunderstanding, what do I have to be afraid of?" Fang Zhengzhi answered with his own question.

    "That¡¯s true!" Yan Xiu earnestly pondered over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, then, nodded his head.

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    "Alright!"

    The two people walked down the building side by side, then, shoulder to shoulder, walked towards the doorstep of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

    Fang Zhengzhi swaggered out of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, yet, those schrs that previously wanted to fight Fang Zhengzhi with their life didn¡¯t move at all.

    Because, beside Fang Zhengzhi, stood Yan Xiu.

    Nobody was stupid enough to fight Yan Xiu with their lives, because, that was simply giving their life away! All of the schrs watched with their mouths closed, as if they had swallowed a fly, their eyes filled with disbelief.

    Yan Xiu actually walked together with this lecher?

    This lecher is only a country bumpkin, why would the great Yan Xiu associate himself with him?

    They were simply people from two different worlds!

    The schrs didn¡¯t dare to believe, but, from what was unfolding before their eyes, it seemed that the lecher and Yan Xiu were truly good friends. Because, they walked shoulder to shoulder.

    Afterwards, an even more ridiculous scene urred.

    The lecher actually bid goodbye to Yan Xiu at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant doorstep, and even exchanged a proper nobleman¡¯s expression of courtesy.

    "They really know each other?"

    "That¡¯s not possible, they didn¡¯t even exchange a sentence in the Hundred Flower Gathering!"

    "Then, that exchange of courtesy just now... furthermore, they walked out together from the Drunken Immortal Restaurant?"

    Nobody was able to understand this, because, there was simply nobody who would believe that the great Yan Xiu would eat with a person he knew for less than an hour, and even paying the bill.

    Then, they recalled the scene when Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Hundred Flower Gathering, and thought of polite and respectful state of Meng Yushu after he stood up from being pulled down by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Suddenly...

    They seemed to have understood something.

    When Fang Zhengzhi left, nobody followed anymore. Because, they knew that even if Fang Zhengzhi was really a lecher, they were definitely not capable of bing his enemy.

    ...

    Exiting from the Huai An County west gate, a blue Silver Scale Horse had appeared under Fang Zhengzhi. Its name was very domineering, butpared to the Snow Tredding Dragon Stallion, its height, weight and lineage was definitely no match.

    The reason it was called Silver Scale was very simple. Because on this horse¡¯s forehead, there was a triangr piece of silver scale. There was ultimately some lineage behind it, at least it managed to grow a piece of scale.

    But what use was that?

    It could only be used for show.

    "Ride!" A light cry sounded, and the Silver Scale Horse began to dash after exiting the gate, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake as it ran along the narrow horsene, and crossed over the numerous plots ofnd that were filled with hope.

    ...

    After galloping wildly for a total of three hours, the ring sun that hung up high in the skies began to set gradually. A barely discernible vige in the faint mist began to slowly appear in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    This vige¡¯s name, was Northern Mountain Vige!

    "Zhengzhi is back!"

    "Sneaking off to the county again? Vige chief is waiting for you!"

    Watching Fang Zhengzhi appear, they greeted him enthusiastically. After all, within these few years, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s contribution to the Northern Mountain Vige spoke for itself.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi called out in reply, then urged his horse, galloped towards a courtyard with a stone-built two-storied house and stopped.

    It was perfectly squarish, designed personally by Fang Zhengzhi, and built by thebined efforts of the vigers of Northern Southern Vige. It was strong, sturdy, shielded the wind and blocked the rain, and its appearance and venttion were all top notch.

    "Mum!" Once he entered the small courtyard, Fang Zhengzhi immediately brought the Silver Scale Horse into the stable.

    "Zhengzhi is back, have you eaten?" A concerned voice sounded out, immediately after, a woman dressed in a green long skirt walked out from the stone house within the courtyard.

    Her silky long hair lightly draped over her shoulders, he skin was white as snow and her features were like a painting. From the outside, she looked at most twenty-four to twenty-five, and didn¡¯t seem like a person over thirty years of age at all.

    This person was Qin Xuelian.

    "I have more or less eaten!" Fang Zhengzhi walked to Qin Xuelian¡¯s side and moved his face in front of Qin Xuelian.

    Qin Xuelian instantly leaned over and gave Fang Zhengzhi a kiss, then a satisfied expression appeared on her face. Turning around and pulling along Fang Zhengzhi, she walked into the house.

    Fang Zhengzhi could only ept this helplessly.

    Because this was only of Qin Xuelian¡¯s hobby, one that persisted since young till now. She had to give him a kiss!

    "Eat a little more, mum had made some nice food for you. Your Uncle Yang Ping had also delivered quite a few animals to our house, that underground "storeroom" you made is almostpletely full." Qin Xuelian nagged.

    "Oh, then I should indeed eat more, where¡¯s dad?" When Fang Zhengzhi entered the house, he didn¡¯t see Fang Houde at home.

    "He¡¯s having a chat at Uncle Yang Ping¡¯s house, he seems to be waiting for you. But you don¡¯t have to rush, it¡¯s not toote to go over after finishing your food!" As Qin Xuelian spoke, she carried out a bowl of steaming meat broth and ced it in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi inhaled and savoured the aroma.

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s culinary skills were top-notch. These few years in the Northern Mountain Vige, Fang Zhengzhi ate really well, except, this Uncle Yang Ping who was now the vige chief wanted to find him today.

    It seemed that...

    He whoes is surely ill-intentioned!

    "The Law of Dao examinations, I have already waited eight years, it¡¯s about time!" Fang Zhengzhi finished thest mouthful of soup in the bowl, looked at the bright moonlight outside his window, and a name suddenly appeared in his mind.

    "Chi Guyan, Hidden Dragon Roll, Rising Dragon Roll, Double Dragon Roll Champion! Fully deserving of being the number one schr in the entire younger generation of the Great Xia Dynasty, she is truly incredible!"

 Chapter 57: Heaven Dao

    Chapter 57: Heaven Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The birds soared up high into the sky, and the lonely clouds drifted leisurely across the skies.

    Within craggy mountain stones, on a thousand feet high cliff, a huge golden hall was stood. On the outside, which was decorated with pristine white jade tiles established among the lush green trees, countless gifted schrs and beautifuldies dressed in white walked about.

    In front of the huge golden hall, a piece of pitch-ck tablet stood proudly in the mountains, on it imprinted tworge words - "Heaven Dao"!

    "Missus, there¡¯s a message from the constabry!" Behind therge hall, outside a quiet wooden attic, ady dressed in a green long skirt, a green jade hairpin in her hair, waited carefully outside the doorstep.

    "Speak!" Within the attic, a crisp voice sounded out. Even though it was only one word, but when it entered people¡¯s ears, it sounded as clear as the cries of a hundred birds.

    "Ten dayster, it would be the Duan King¡¯s twenty-year-old celebration feast, the Lord wishes that Missus would attend!" Thedy instantly replied.

    "Reject!" The voice sounded once again from within the attic, as usual, there was only one word.

    "Yes, Missus!" When thedy heard this, she didn¡¯t dare to ask any further and quickly withdrew.

    After thedy backed away, a faint sigh came from within the attic. "Sigh... Father Lord¡¯s method of dealing with things are always so extreme. People said that me achieving the Double Dragon Roll Champion was to assist my father, yet who would know that this was only to protect him!"

    ...

    In the Northern Mountain Vige, within a small stone courtyard, a huge animal hanged on a huge wooden rack. Below the animal, a bonfire was burning strong, and a rich aroma wafted in the air.

    "Houde, these ingredients are about to be finished. You need to ask that child Zhengzhi to get more for me, else you will have nothing to eat next time!" Beside the bonfire, a man with a few strands of silver hairughed as he swallowed down a bowl of wine.

    "Ha ha... you have to tell him this yourself, I can¡¯t make this decision!" Fang Houde, sitting beside the man, was also holding a bowl of wine at this moment. Except, one of his arm waspletely made out of a certain white coloured metal.

    "Dad, Uncle Yangping!" At this moment, a rather indolent voice called out from outside the courtyard.

    "Ah, Zhengzhi is here! Quick, quick sit down and apany uncle to drink!" When the man with a few strands of silver hair heard this voice, his eyes instantly lit up and hurriedly walked out to wee him in.

    This was the previous Northern Mountain Vige hunting squad deputy captain, and now the vige chief of the Northern Mountain Vige, Zhang Yangping.

    "Apany you to drink? I have no interest in that... here, ingredients!" Outside the courtyard, Fang Zhengzhi, wearing a coarse blue robe, instantly revealed a look of disdain after hearing Zhang Yangping¡¯s words, and casually threw a huge bag of ingredients to Zhang Yangping.

    Zhang Yangping instantly caught it with both hands, as if it was treasure, and beamed even more delightedly.

    "Ha ha ha... Zhengzhi indeed knows me well!" Zhang Yangping quickly kept the ingredients and pulled Fang Zhengzhi to sit down beside the bonfire. "Zhengzhi, I have discussed with your dad, and the entire vige had agreed. From now on, you will be the captain of the hunting squad!"

    "Captain? Isn¡¯t it deputy captain?" Fang Zhengzhi asked curiously.

    "Houde, look at your son, ha ha ha... how can he be a deputy captain? Of course he must be a proper captain! Furthermore, please don¡¯t run off outside again, after all, I am already old, there are some matters in the vige which you have to familiarise yourself with sooner orter!" Zhang Yangpingughed, his expression looked if he was ming Fang Zhengzhi. Yet, he was secretly analysing the change in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    "Uncle Yangping, why don¡¯t you consider Brother Li?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, and continued to smile faintly.

    "That kid, how can hepare to you!" Zhang Yangping waved his hands.

    "I admit I can¡¯tpare to Brother Zhengzhi, but I definitely can win you!" An unconvinced voice came from within the stone house, then, a youth with a tough and stocky build walked out, his hands carrying two jugs of wine.

    "Ah, stupid boy, you dare to act tough in front of your dad? Come, let¡¯spare today!" When Zhang Yangping heard this, he instantly stood up and received the jug of wine from the youth and prepared to pour.

    "Stop acting Uncle Yangping! I know the reason why you called me here today!" Fang Zhengzhi eyed the people in front of him, twitched his mouth and felt rather helpless.

    "Ha ha..." Zhang Yangpingughed, a somewhat awkward expression appearing on his face. "That Law of Dao examination is too difficult, furthermore you self-studied these few years. Look at those people in the Southern Mountain Vige, they had studied for so many years, yet nobody was able to pass the capital¡¯s Law of Dao examination!"

    "That¡¯s right, Brother Zhengzhi! No matter how powerful you are, even if you are not able to pass the theory examination, it would still be useless!" At this moment, the stocky youth at the side urged.

    "How about, wait another two years?" Zhang Yangping probed.

    "If I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, two years ago, Uncle Yangping seemed to have said that same thing?" Fang Zhengzhi walked up to the bonfire and slid his hand across the prey, and a huge chunk of meat ended up in his heads.

    cing it in his mouth and chewing, his mouth filled with oil.

    "Even though that¡¯s true, but, you have also seen, there were many bouts of continuous droughts these few years, the animals on the Cang Ling Mountain also seemed to have be lesser and lesser. Furthermore, the poption of the vige has been increasing..."

    "That¡¯s why there is a greater need to participate in the Law of Dao examinations. As long as I can pass, then we can be exempted from tax!" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Zhang Yangping¡¯s sentence midway.

    "But there¡¯s no way you would be able to pass? The Law of Dao examinations, from the county examinations, to the capital examinations, at least a few months is required to finish the examinations. If you leave, I am afraid that the vige..." A look of worry appeared on Zhang Yangping¡¯s face.

    "Uncle Yangping, here is a silver note, it will be able to support the vige for a while!" When Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, he fished out a hundred tael silver note and handed it over.

    "This is? A hundred taels?!" Zhang Yangping received the silver note from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, his face full of doubt. Then, looking at the note, his jaws instantly dropped, his face filled with disbelief.

    "Ha ha ha... actually, Brother Yangping need not worry. I still have some savings at home, if the vigees to any harm, you just have to tell me!" Fang Houde looked at the silver note on Zhang Yangping¡¯s hands, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi, a smile appearing on his face.

    "Aye..." Zhang Yangping sighed.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew, from this sigh onwards, his journey towards the Law of Dao examinations had officially begun.

    For these eight years, the vige had been constantly against him participating in the Law of Dao examinations.

    Fang Zhengzhi also didn¡¯t forcefully participate. After all, he could leave easily, but his parents in the vige would be scolded. Even though after the examinations, the scolding towards his parents would disappear, but when he thought of the scene eight years ago when his parents were exiled from the Southern Mountain Vige, he couldn¡¯t bear to let his parents suffer like that anymore. Not even for a day!

    As such, he had to seek Zhang Yangping¡¯s agreement!

    And in order to ensure that his parents or the vige would have any fantasies, even when he asionally entered the city, he would never ask about matters rted to the Law of Dao examinations.

    Anyway, Fang Zhengzhi felt that as long as he participated, he would definitely pass. Rules? Were they even important?

    ...

    On the second morning, news of Fang Zhengzhi intending to participate in the Law of Dao examinations spread like a wild gust of wild throughout the entire Northern Mountain Vige. Each and every household began to discuss the news, even the Southern Mountain Vige across the mountain had also received the news.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is going to participate in the Law of Dao examinations, did you know?"

    "How can I not know! I heard that in order to participate in the Law of Dao examinations, this child Zhengzhi had even specially donated a hundred taels of silver to the vige!"

    "A hundred taels? That¡¯s incredible!"

    "But the Law of Dao examinations is impossible to pass, sigh... but since Zhengzhi is so determined, and wants to take a look, we can treat it as him taking some time off to go see the world!"

    "Obviously it is to see the world! What else? Don¡¯t tell me he still can pass? Ha ha ha... if self-studying can make one pass the Law of Dao examinations, I will instantly finish eating the entire patch of pumpkins at my house!"

    "Ha ha ha, your pumpkin patch contains a few thousand pounds of pumpkins, can you finish eating it?"

    "I promise I will finish it in a day, ha ha ha..."

 Chapter 58: Registration Qualifications

    Chapter 58: Registration Qualifications

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the Northern Mountain Vige vigers discussed about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s participation in the Law of Dao examinations, the Southern Mountain Vige had started an emergency meeting.

    Ding Qingshan¡¯s expression seemed rather ugly.

    In reality, after he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had shifted to the Northern Mountain Vige, his expression had never been happy. Because, within the time of less than a month, almost the entire outskirts of the Cang Ling Mountain had been upied by the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Ding Qingshan had tried to think of other ideas, but unfortunately, they werepletely useless.

    After which, he had even considered informing the Divine Constabry about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whereabouts so that the Divine Constabry would take him away. Unfortunately, within the entire eight years, the Divine Constabry had never again set foot upon the Southern Mountain Vige.

    He had also mentioned this to the Hall of Dao¡¯s Sir, Wang Anhua, but Wang Anhua only smiled. Nobody knew that Wang Anhua had already informed the Divine Constabry a long time ago.

    Hence, the only reply he received was these three words, "I don¡¯t know".

    "Today is the eighth year, if we can¡¯t pass again this time, then..." Ding Qingshan¡¯s seemed rather anxious, because, he remembered very clearly the scene from eight years ago.

    "Brother Qingshan, don¡¯t worry! This time, I have full confidence! Furthermore, Huer is also well prepared, I am confident that he will pass the county examinations!" Li Zhuangshi¡¯s voice rang out.

    Ding Qingshan looked at Li Zhuangshi and nodded. Just as the previous vige chief, Meng Bai, expected, even though Li Zhuangshi indeed stepped out of his boundaries eight years ago, but he was indeed the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s only hope.

    Because, within these eight years, Li Zhuangshi was the only person who had sessfully passed the county Law of Dao examinations.

    He just needed to enter the First-ss Roll in the capital examinations in order to achieve sess.

    "What do you feel... about the possibility of Fang Zhengzhi passing the Law of Dao examinations?" Ding Qingshan looked at the crowd once again and expressed his worries.

    "Impossible!" Li Zhuangshi promised.

    "Brother Li, how can you be so sure?" Ding Qingshan knew that there was resentment between Li Zhuangshi and Fang Zhengzhi. After hearing Li Zhuangshi¡¯s words, he was indeed dubious.

    "If we talk about thebat examinations, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be able to pass the county Law of Dao examination. But for the theory examination, he would definitely not be able to pass! How can a person who self-studies understand the words of the wise men? What he read, is only surface-level! Furthermore, there are two rounds of theory examinations in the county, if he isn¡¯t able to pass these two rounds, he won¡¯t even have the opportunity to participate in thebat examinations!" Li Zhuangshi exined to Ding Qingshan.

    "But what if?" Ding Qingshan was still slightly uneasy.

    "There is no what if! Going back a million steps, even if he really had the capability of passing the Law of Dao examinations, he would still not be able to pass it. Brother Qingshan don¡¯t worry!" Li Zhuangshi seemed very sure of himself.

    "Why is that?" Ding Qingshan asked puzzledly.

    "Because, he doesn¡¯t even have the qualifications to register for it!" Li Zhuangshiughed out loud coldly.

    ...

    It was already one day before the Law of Dao examinations.

    The sun rose up high in the sky. After breakfast, Fang Zhengzhi casually packed his luggage in the small courtyard, and outside the small courtyard, there was a crowd of vigers pointing things out.

    "Zhengzhi, aren¡¯t you going to participate in the examinations? Why haven¡¯t you left yet?"

    "That¡¯s right, the sun is about to reach its highest point!"

    "I saw that the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s side had already left once the sky started to brighten, don¡¯t you need to reach the county early to make preparations?"

    The vigers "enthusiastically" inquired Fang Zhengzhi, even though their tone wasn¡¯t very nice, but their faces were filled with smiles. They didn¡¯t have any ill-intent at all.

    "I havepleted my preparations!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and mounted the Silver Scale Horse.

    Qin Xuelian once again ran out from within the house, holding a few big bags of roasted meat wrapped in yellow paper. "Zhengzhi, take these meats to eat on your journey, don¡¯t be hungry!"

    "Ok, thanks mum!" Fang Zhengzhi received it and then lightly pulled the horse reins.

    The Silver Scale Horse let out a delighted, low neigh, then gradually made its way around the vigers, and strode unhurriedly towards the entrance of the vige.

    "Sister Xuelian don¡¯t worry, Zhengzhi wille back within a few days, he won¡¯t take too long!"

    "That¡¯s right, I heard the theory exam in the Law of Dao Examinations is really hard!"

    "If Zhengzhi can¡¯t pass the theory examinations, he can return right after?"

    "That¡¯s of course!"

    "That¡¯s great! After a few days I can follow Brother Zhengzhi up the mountains to hunt again!"

    The vigers discussed spiritedly, even Qin Xuelian wasn¡¯t angered when she heard these chattering. "I believe he still might be lucky and somehow make it pass the first round with his cleverness?"

    "Ha ha ha..." The vigersughed and then dispersed.

    When Fang Zhengzhi, who hadn¡¯t journeyed too far away, heard Qin Xuelian¡¯s words, he almost fell off the Silver Scale Horse and didn¡¯t feel very good.

    "Mum, you are my mum!"

    ...

    "Ride!" After leaving the vige, Fang Zhengzhi increased his pace. Even though the Silver Scale Horse wasn¡¯t as noble as the Snow Tredding Dragon Stallion, he still had to spent twenty silver pieces in order to purchase it.

    The entire Northern Mountain Vige only had this one horse, and the Southern Mountain Vige? Naturally it was impossible that it would have one.

    If not for the Silver Scale Horse, Fang Zhengzhi would be forced to painstakingly follow the Southern Mountain Vige, journeying in the dark before the sun even rose. The happiness he felt now didn¡¯t need any further mentioning.

    Galloping wildly the entire way.

    Around two kilometres from the Huai An County, Fang Zhengzhi encountered the group of people from the Southern Mountain Vige rushing to participate in the examinations.

    Li Huer, who was the same age as Fang Zhengzhi, was also among the group. He wore a short robe, with his thick eyebrows and sturdy, dark figure, he bore some resemnce to Li Zhuangshi.

    "Oh, Fang Zhengzhi, you really intend to participate in the Law of Dao examinations?" Li Huer just happened to turn around, and instantly saw Fang Zhengzhi riding the Silver Scale Horse. Even though his tone was sour, but when he saw the Silver Scale Horse, he was filled with envy.

    "That¡¯s right!" Fang Zhengzhi halted the Silver Scale Horse and rode alongside Li Huer and the rest of the group.

    "Zhengzhi, even though there is some misunderstanding between our families, but we indeed still have the bond of being from the same vige. I see you have also grown up, but this Law of Dao examinations is not the same as hunting on the mountains, it is too difficult! Unfortunately, I still have to prepare for the capital examinations, else I can take some time off to help you out a bit!"

    Li Zhuangshi looked at Fang Zhengzhi and instantly assumed the position of a senior. In his heart, after this capital Law of Dao examinations, he would likely be recruited into the Divine Constabry, and his future would be limitless.

    "Uncle Li, in this capital examination, I hope you don¡¯t screw up again?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly, and pulled the horse¡¯s reins. The Silver Scale Horse brayed loudly and galloped off into the distance.

    Leaving behind a cloud of swirling dust...

    Li Zhuangshi choked on a mouthful of horse-hoof mud, and coughed violently.

    "Dad, why didn¡¯t you tell him about the Law of Dao examinations qualification requirements just now?" Li Huer initially wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Li Zhuangshi, hence he was somewhat puzzled.

    "What do you know? Fang Zhengzhi has too many tricks up his sleeves! I am afraid that if I tell him that now, with his cleverness, he might actually really think of an idea! Hence, theter he knows the better. When he is unable to enter the examination venue, he can only gloomily return back to the vige, ha ha ha..." Li Zhuangshi gazed at the vanishing Fang Zhengzhi andughed.

    "Dad is indeed smart! Once dad passes this capital examinations, you will be able to enter the Divine Constabry. When the timees, you must make sure Fang Zhengzhi suffers the consequences!" Li Huer beamed with pride.

    "Nonsense! You better remember this, Fang Zhengzhi is not our enemy!" When Li Zhuangshi heard Li Huer¡¯s words, his expression instantly changed.

    "Why isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi our enemy? I don¡¯t quite understand..." Li Huer was rather confused.

    "Because his dad and your dad grew up together! We also entered the hunting squad together! Sigh... the truth is, eight years ago, I did that only because I was afraid of Fang Zhengzhi snatching your spot in the Hall of Dao. But in the end, he simply didn¡¯t need to snatch your ce in the Hall of Dao. Hence, the Li family ultimately owes the Fang family! But, even though I don¡¯t wish to harm him, I also don¡¯t wish for him to be stronger!"

    Li Zhuangshi looked at Li Huer¡¯s confused expression, and felt rather resentful that Li Huer didn¡¯t meet his expectations.

    "These few years, even though Fang Zhengzhi had upied the Cang Ling Mountain outskirts, with some intention of bing king of the mountain, but he didn¡¯tpletely eradicate everyone. Else, how can the Southern Mountain Vige survive till now?"

    "I understand!" Li Huer nodded.

    "Uncle Li is right, even though my grandfather lost his position as vige chief because of Fang Zhengzhi, but, I don¡¯t hate him!" Within the crowd, a youth who was slightly older than Li Huer spoke. It was Meng Bai¡¯s grandson, Meng Jiangshan.

    ...

    The Law of Dao examination registration had already begun a month ago, even though it was only a day away from the Law of Dao examinations, but, the registration area waspletely dested.

    Hence, without even queuing at all, Fang Zhengzhi stood in front of the registration official.

    "Registration!"

    "Hall of Dao token, Hall of Dao rmendation letter!" The registration official was yawning at this moment and prepared to pack up after an hour. When he suddenly heard someone wanting to register, then looking at the coarse blue robe the other party wore, he became slightly annoyed.

    "Hall of Dao token? Rmendation letter? What are those?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face with filled with puzzlement.

 Chapter 59: Iron Fist Method

    Chapter 59: Iron Fist Method

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    But, confusion was confusion. Fang Zhengzhi still managed to react quickly.

    Regarding things like "God of doors blocking the way", he was rather familiar. In a sh, he yed along and prepared to unleash his ¡®iron fist method".

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi pretended to search about his body, until the other party started to be annoyed, then shed a smile he believed was very bright at the registration official.

    "Lord official, I seem to have forgotten, I was rushing to register, please amodate me this time!"

    "If you don¡¯t have the Hall of Dao token and rmendation letter, you cannot register!" The registration official shook his head without a second thought.

    "I really forgot to bring, and my vige is far away, I can¡¯t make it in time!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes darted, and out of the blue, a piece of broken silver dropped out from within his sleeves.

    This was the essence of his iron fist method!

    Expectedly, the registration official¡¯s eyes lit up and his gaze swept across his surroundings. Then, very quickly, he picked up the piece of broken silver.

    "Without the Hall of Dao token and rmendationter, I have no way to enter your name into the list. You really cannot register, go back and take it!" The registration official helplessly shook his head, then ced the piece of broken silver back into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Having such a tedious job, yet not even being able to keep the silver on his hands, who would be able to understand the pain in his heart?

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly speechless, what happened to the iron fist method? What was wrong here?

    Even silver couldn¡¯t be used, that meant he couldn¡¯t fool around leisurely anymore. He can¡¯t register? After waiting eight years, he waited to be told that he couldn¡¯t register?! This ispletely illogical!

    ...

    What to do if I can¡¯t register?

    The Fang Zhengzhi who initially walked along the streets of the Huai An County brimming with confidence instantly felt a sense of misery after such an incident.

    He had to think of an idea...

    Hall of Dao token, rmendation letter? Isn¡¯t this a little too difficult? Don¡¯t tell me they can¡¯t even give people the responsibility and space for self-studying? They indeed had to attend the Hall of Dao?

    Fang Zhengzhi detested this unreasonable rule.

    Up until now, he had more or less understood why Vige Chief Meng Bai would make such a decision eight years ago. In this world, if one couldn¡¯t even enter the Hall of Dao, how could they even have a chance to pass the Law of Dao examinations?

    But, when I left the vige, why did nobody tell me this?

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed towards the direction of the Northern Mountain Vige and quickly shook his head. The Northern Mountain Vige didn¡¯t even have a Hall of Dao, naturally, nobody had ever participated in the Law of Dao examinations. This regtion for registering, who would even know it?

    What to do?

    If he really wasn¡¯t able to register, he definitely couldn¡¯t just gloomily return back to the vige?

    No!

    This kind of problems...

    "I can¡¯t do this!"

    Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. He had alreadypleted, with great difficulty, the job of "convincing" Zhang Yangping, no matter what he couldn¡¯t go back. He had to think of a method to participate.

    If that really wasn¡¯t possible...

    Then make a fake one!

    But what did the Hall of Dao token and rmendation letter look like? This wasn¡¯t very easy to fake. I believe that when I finish making one, the registration area would probably have closed?

    Wait a minute, since it is already counterfeiting, why don¡¯t I directly make a ¡®examination card¡¯?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, and instantly saw a ray of light in the pitch-ck darkness. His future was bright.

    Then...

    Let me find a real examination card to refer to now!

    ...

    Finding a target was simply no challenge at all to Fang Zhengzhi, no challenge at all! Currently, the Huai An County was filled with schrsing from all over to participate in the Law of Dao examinations

    And the biggest assembly areas, were naturally restaurants and inns.

    If he struck at the restaurants...

    It seemed like a good idea, they were messy and crowded and one bit of negligence could get him a card. But, it would be too hard to return after obtaining it.

    Ruining people¡¯s future after studying painstakingly for so many years was something Fang Zhengzhi would never do. Hence, he decided to strike at the inns, finding a few luggage at random, no matter what he should be able to obtain a few examination cards?

    Coming and going as he pleases, just like the wind!

    Then...

    After Fang Zhengzhi casually assessed a few inns, an examination card was found.

    "Turns out the examination card in this world is simple as such?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the small squarish paper card on his hands and wanted to swear. Weren¡¯t the officials being a little stingy?

    Things such as photographs naturally didn¡¯t exist in this world, even the name was directly written on the card. The only difficulty was the official stamp and the examination number.

    The official stamp was simple, and was instantly settled within a matter of minutes. Carving out a few exquisite flowers was indeed difficult, but carving out a few words wasn¡¯t too much of a problem.

    As for examination number...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he could fill in arge number, ensuring that there wouldn¡¯t be any repeats and conflicts.

    Within the time of less than half an hour, everything was settled.

    Fang Zhengzhi had even spiritedly made a few extras. Staring at the faked examination cards in his hand, Fang Zhengzhi sighed silently to himself. Turned out that creating false documents in this world wasn¡¯t hard at all!

    Little did he imagine that for things such as participating in the Law of Dao examinations, who else would even falsify anything?

    ...

    The second day, a cool breeze swept across the surface of the earth, and the sun shone brightly in the sky. It was a good weather.

    In the early morning, like ants, the schrs participating in the Law of Dao examinations filled up the "Qingfeng Academy".

    As thergest academy in the Huai An County, the Qingfeng Academy couldn¡¯t bepared to the standard vige Hall of Dao. It was a ce where students in the county studied the Law of Dao and investigated the Dao of All Creations.

    Built with red bricks and zed tiles, it was wide, spacious and glittering with light.

    And today, it was used as the theory examination venue for the Law of Dao examination.

    Two rows of armoured county guards stood guard at the entrance of the Qingfeng Academy, while the schrs waited at the door painstakingly.

    Within the crowd, Li Huer looked around to find a familiar figure. After a round of searching, he couldn¡¯t find any.

    "Ha ha ha, he indeed didn¡¯te!" Li Huerughed happily.

    But, not too longter, hisughter froze. Because, in the distance, a youth dressed in a coarse blue robe strolled towards his location, humming a little tune.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, why... are you here?" Li Huer was slightly unable to believe this. Could it be that the registration counter didn¡¯t inform him that he couldn¡¯t register without the Hall of Dao token and rmendation letter?

    Li Zhuangshi and Meng Jiangshan also noticed Fang Zhengzhi at this moment, each of them revealing a simrly shocked expression.

    This didn¡¯t make sense?

    At this moment, shouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi be gloomily returning back to the vige?

    "I am here to participate in the examinations!" Fang Zhengzhi said in a matter-of-fact tone. Obviously, he was here to participate in the examinations, else could it be that he was here to admire the scenery?

    "Examinations?! Can you even enter?" Li Huer¡¯s expression turned into one of despise. He obviously didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi really had some way to register sessfully.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he instantly understood that Li Huer and the rest should had known that he wasn¡¯t qualified to register. But, with the documents in his hand, everything was possible. He didn¡¯t bother with such details.

    "I think... I can!" Fang Zhengzhi was frank, without a single bit of diffidence.

 Chapter 60: Sound of the Gong

    Chapter 60: Sound of the Gong

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Can? You think you can?! Ha ha ha... how is that possible!" Li Huer was slightly taken aback, then immediately after, a wave ofughter erupted.

    Li Zhuangshi and Meng Jiangshan were also shaking their head, smiling, at this moment. How could a person without even the necessary registration qualifications enter the examination venue?

    I suppose he didn¡¯t even know that the Law of Dao examinations required registration in advance?

    He indeed stayed too long in the vige and haven¡¯t seen the world, he¡¯s too naive...

    "Let¡¯s go, I believe there¡¯s still some time left. Let¡¯s go earn some money first!" Li Zhuangshi didn¡¯t pay any further attention to Fang Zhengzhi and instead, led Li Huer and the rest to a spot crowded with people.

    Earn money?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up and instantly followed.

    Very quickly, he saw a huge tree surrounded by people, these people were mostly young masters dressed in flowery clothes. Three rings of people in the inside, three rings on the outside, it indeed seemed very crowded.

    "Guess the role, guess the role, the top three First-ss Roll schrs in the theory examinations! Guess correctly and you will earn!" A wave of shouting sounded out from within the crowd.

    "Top three First-ss Roll schrs? That¡¯s definitely going to contain me!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard, he instantly believed that this was a great opportunity to turn rich. If he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait another two years.

    On the other hand, Li Zhuangshi and the rest had already squeezed their way into the crowd, but, very quickly, they came back out.

    "Sigh... this Meng Yushu¡¯s rate, isn¡¯t it a little too low?" Li Zhuangshi seemed rather unhappy.

    "Uncle Li, I heard that this Meng Yushu had already essed Dao, logically, he should be able to directly participate in the capital examinations. His purpose ofing to the county examinations is just for leisure and gain the title of Double Roll Champion. It¡¯s normal for him to have such a low rate!" Meng Jiangshan spoke, seeming to have understood.

    "True! At least it¡¯s an investment that will definitely pay off!" Li Zhuangshi sighed and prepared to leave.

    "You really want to buy Meng Yushu? You will lose!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had to remind these people. Their foresight was too poor, don¡¯t tell me they can¡¯t even see this Roll Champion standing right in front of them?"

    "Don¡¯t buy Meng Yushu? Don¡¯t tell me we have to buy you? Ha ha ha..." When Li Zhuangshi heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he instantly began tough, seeming to be extremely confident in the information he had.

    "Yes, I think if you buy me, you will win!" Fang Zhengzhi replied confidently.

    "Ha ha ha... you can¡¯t even enter the examination venue, buy you?!" Li Zhuangshi once again began tough, then paying no further attention to Fang Zhengzhi, swung his arms and squeezed into the crowd.

    Fang Zhengzhi also squeezed, but, his method was not exactly the same. Li Zhuangshi used brute force, while Fang Zhengzhi used the indirect technique of stepping on toes.

    ¡®Ouch!"

    "Ow... who stepped on my feet!"

    Like a gust of wind, Fang Zhengzhi overtook Li Zhuangshi and reached the front of the counter.

    Li Zhuangshi was already sweating profusely as he squeezed among the crowd. When he suddenly realised that Fang Zhengzhi had already reached the front of the counter, his eyes instantly widened. "What method did this kid use?"

    "Buy Fang Zhengzhi!" When Fang Zhengzhi reached the counter, he instantly put down ten silver pieces.

    "He really bought himself?!" Among the crowd, Li Zhuangshi heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and was filled with disbelief. Isn¡¯t this downright dumb? He can¡¯t even enter the examination venue, yet he still betted on himself?

    Li Huer and the rest, who were also squeezing among the crowd, had also heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, and were simrly shocked. Was Fang Zhengzhi stupid? He definitely wasn¡¯t.

    Then why would he spend money to buy himself?

    Don¡¯t tell me he really had a way of entering the examination venue? Is this even possible?

    When the boy servant who was busy collecting money at the counter suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he was simr stunned.

    Almost everybody here bought Meng Yushu, hence, he already held a bunch of paper slips with Meng Yushu written on it, giving out one to almost everybody who came. He just had to write the amount of money they wished to bet on it.

    But out of the blue, there was someone buying Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi?

    Who is that!

    The boy servant didn¡¯t even wish to bother with him, but after seeing the twenty pieces of silver in front of him, he finally gritted his teeth and flipped through the name list on his hand. Then, he realised there wasn¡¯t even such a person.

    "Are you sure this Fang Zhengzhi registered?" The boy servant¡¯s tone was rather irritated.

    "Oh..." When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he instantly realised a critical problem. It seemed that he... really didn¡¯t register?

    "This... seems, I can¡¯t confirm..."

    "Are you crazy? You have to bet on somebody with this ten silver pieces, else I won¡¯t take it!" The boy servant was evidently annoyed. Didn¡¯t this guy see that he was busy? He must be here to cause trouble.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a reasonable person, and most importantly, his gambling character was strong. Since he had already took out the money, doing something thatcked character such as keeping it back was something he wasn¡¯t exactly very willing to do.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, why not you just follow us and buy Meng Yushu!" Li Zhuangshi had finally made his way over at this moment, looked at the ten pieces of silver on the table and sighed.

    "Alright, then I¡¯ll bet that Meng Yushu doesn¡¯t make it to the top three in the theory examinations!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it instantly caused the bustling crowd to quieten down. But not too longter, the silence turned into roars ofughter.

    "Ha ha ha... he actually betted that Meng Yushu would not make it into the top three?!"

    "Did I hear this correctly? A person who had essed Dao, not making it into the top three of the theory examinations? How could such a thing even be possible!"

    "Exactly, he must be here to give away money!"

    Within the crowd, the look on everybody¡¯s faces as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi was as if they had seen a fool.

    Even Li Zhuangshi, Li Huer and the rest looked at the ten silver pieces and shook their heads. Who would have known that the famously clever Fang Zhengzhi in the Southern and Northern Mountain Vige had be a fool when he entered the county?

    Fang Zhengzhi happily walked out from the crowd, holding on to the bill of warrant that the boy servant had written,pletely ignoring the crowd¡¯s discussions.

    Fool?

    You people are the fools!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel that he would lose any money at all. Based on the information he had obtained visiting the county the previous time, he knew very clearly that Meng Yushu was full of respect towards Yan Xiu.

    That meant that Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities were definitely stronger than Meng Yushu.

    Furthermore, Yan Xiu¡¯s age and his were around the same, hence naturally he would participate in the Law of Dao examinations. After calction, Yan Xiu would upy a spot, he would upy another spot.

    Thest spot would be simple.

    All he needed to do was to do some tampering, write out another copy of his answer, make some minor edits and randomly toss it over to a candidate near him. He would instantly rise meteorically and be the top three in the theory examinations.

    A ten times pay-out!

    In a blink of an eye, ten silver pieces would be a hundred. It was definitely something to be happy about.

    "Boom!"

    As Fang Zhengzhi smiled delightedly, a gong sounded from the Qingfeng Academy.

    The first gong, entering the venue!

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, the gong has sounded! Let me see how you even enter!" When he heard the gong, Li Huer instantly walked over the Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side and grinned happily.

    Li Zhuangshi, Meng Jiangshan and the rest also began to approach him and followed behind Fang Zhengzhi. Their meaning was clear, let¡¯s see how you enter!

    "Oh, look and see!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled, then strode towards the Qingfeng Academy.

    Li Huer and the rest nced at each other, and followed closely behind.

    Not too longter, the queue had reached Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Examination card!" The guard in charge of inspecting didn¡¯t even bother ncing at Fang Zhengzhi, and shouted out the usual phrase.

    Then, Li Huer and the rest of the people following right behind Fang Zhengzhi began tough. Ha ha ha, without the examination card, let me see how you enter!

    Then...

    The smiles on their faces froze.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi very quickly took out a piece of "examination card" and passed it to the guard. The guard was indeed responsible, inspecting the examination card closely, the finally threw it into a wooden box at the side.

    "Enter!"

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled, thanked him sincerely and stepped in.

    When Li Huer, Li Zhuangshi and the rest witnessed this, their eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. They were simply unable to believe what had just happened in front of their eyes.

    "He... entered?!"

 Chapter 61: Making such a joke

    Chapter 61: Making such a joke

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Li Huer had thought of many different possibilities, for example, Fang Zhengzhi sneaking in when the guard wasn¡¯t paying attention, or hiding behind someone else and then stealthily making his way in.

    That was the reason why followed behind Fang Zhengzhi so closely.

    But...

    He had never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would walk in from the front door in such an honourable way without any tricks!

    How is this possible? How can he have the examination card?!

    "Guard... Lord Guard, I want to make a report! His real name is Fang Zhengzhi, that examination card just now definitely belongs to someone else!" Thest possibility Li Huer thought of was that Fang Zhengzhi had stolen someone else¡¯s examination card.

    Hence, he decided to prevent this from happening as soon as possible.

    Report? That was definitely a rare and interesting urrence. Stealing someone else¡¯s examination card? That was even more unheard of! Because, that meant that even if you had managed to passed, it was still be counted as another person¡¯s achievement.

    Helping others in such a way, who would do that?

    When the schrs queuing at the door heard Li Huer¡¯s words, they looked over, their faces filled with doubt. Then, they quickly noticed Fang Zhengzhi who was standing at the door.

    "Huh? Isn¡¯t this the idiot who had just betted Meng Yushu wouldn¡¯t make it into the top three?"

    "Wait a minute, why do I feel that he looks familiar!"

    "I have that feeling too. Aiya! Isn¡¯t he that lecher from the Hundred Flower Gathering?!"

    A few schrs whose eyes were sharp very quickly realised Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "real identity", and instantly began to discuss.

    "Seems that this lecher is called Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Betting that Meng Yushu wouldn¡¯t make it into the top three? With his level of intelligence, he actually still dares to participate in the examinations? Let¡¯s just wait for him to fail, ha ha ha..."

    The discussion grew louder and louder, but the expression of the guard standing in front of Li Huer grew colder and colder.

    "Are you mad? Why are you raising amotion when there is no problem!" As the guard saw the increasing number of people gazing in his direction, he tightened his grip on his de and prepared himself to preserve order in the venue.

    "Lord guard, he is really called Fang Zhengzhi, that examination card definitely doesn¡¯t belong to him!" Li Huer didn¡¯t understand what the discussion about the lecher was about, but he was very sure that the examination card on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands were fake.

    "Open your eyes and stare carefully!" At this instant, the guard didn¡¯t bother talking to Li Huer anymore, instantly fished out the examination card he threw into the wooden box and shoved it in front of Li Huer¡¯s face.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi! How... how is this possible?!" Reading the tworge words on the card, Li Huer absolutely couldn¡¯t believe it.

    On the other hand, a delighted grin instantly appeared on the face of Fang Zhengzhi who was standing right at the door.

    "Brother Li Huer, you are indeed brave! You really dared to make such a joke with Lord Guard? Alright, you win, I admit I lost the bet. These three coins belong to you now!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he fished out three coins from his pocket and quickly passed it over to Li Huer.

    Li Huer¡¯s face instantly darkened. What was the meaning of this? Since when did he make such a bet with Fang Zhengzhi? This was a misunderstanding!

    Huh? I actually get three coins...

    Li Huer instinctively wanted to reach out his hands, but halfway through the motion, he realised that something seemed to be amiss.

    Raising his head, he realised that the expression of the guard was even darker than that of his.

    "Ching!" An icy glint shed.

    The guard drew out his de. He was really infuriated! As a grand guard, he was actually yed around by this person who was dressed in such an unsophisticated manner, and furthermore, he only betted three coins?

    The pride of a grand guard, is only worth three coins? I dare you to lower it even more!

    "Either you die, or you get lost!" The guard¡¯s tone turned cold as ice, every single word gave of the feeling of the bursting of an ice bead.

    "Lord... Lord guard, it¡¯s not what you think it is! I... I cannot get lost, I still need to participate in the examinations. I have the examination card!" Li Huer was instantly scared dumb, but quickly managed to react. He was filled with hate, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s move was too damaging!

    But, after thinking about his future, he instantly took out his examination card and ced it in the hands of the guard.

    "To hell with your examination guard, get lost to another queue, I don¡¯t allow you to enter here!" After all that was said and done, the guard didn¡¯t tear up Li Huer¡¯s examination card. But, he really couldn¡¯t swallow this anger.

    "Brother Huer, I can¡¯t help you either, looks like you can only slowly go and queue somewhere else!" Fang Zhengzhiughed again and quickly kept the three coins back into his pockets, and swaggered into the Qingfeng Academy.

    Leaving Li Huer to stare after him nkly, shivering alone in the wind.

    ...

    Li Huer miserably changed his queue to that of another guard. Meng Jiangshan and the rest couldn¡¯t stand by idly and watch, hence apanied him as well. Li Zhuangshi on the other hand had already passed the county examinations and didn¡¯t need to take it again, hence he simply walked away.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi was rather busy.

    He had to prepare for his n of transforming ten silver pieces to a hundred.

    Hence, he started to scan the surroundings carefully for Yan Xiu. He had to at least speak to Yan Xiu and determine whether he had the confidence of getting into the top three.

    Unfortunately...

    After a round of searching, he still couldn¡¯t find Yan Xiu!

    What was this all about? He didn¡¯t enter? Or...

    Don¡¯t tell me he didn¡¯t participate in the county examinations?!

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought of this point, his forehead instantly beaded with sweat, then something that caused him to sweat even more happened.

    "Lecher?! Ha ha ha... I actually met you here, die!" After a wave ofughter, Meng Yushu, dressed in a yellow brocade robe appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi in a sh. The situation between them was a critical point that could explode any moment.

    The schrs seated on their seats waiting for the examination to start were instantly shocked.

    Don¡¯t tell me they are going to fight?

    This was the Qingfeng Academy, the venue of the Law of Dao theory examinations. People actually dared to raise amotion here?

    Grabbing the sword on his hands, an icy glint shed.

    The crowd was shocked and confused. Don¡¯t tell me that they weren¡¯t afraid of having their examination qualification annulled?

    Instantly, they hurriedly closed their gaping mouths.

    If it was Meng Yushu, then things werepletely different. Firstly, Meng Yushu was already a student from the Qingfeng Academy, this was his home ground. Secondly, Meng Yushu wasn¡¯t at all afraid of having his examination qualification annulled, because he was already qualified to directly participate in the capital examinations.

    "Meng Yushu?" Fang Zhengzhi instantly noticed Meng Yushu and quickly scanned the sword on his hand. Twitching his mouth, he seemed filled with disdain, and replied, "Wait for me to find Yan Xiu before I entertain you!"

    To Fang Zhengzhi, money was the priority. Meaningless fights and scuffles such as this was something he simply despised.

    "Yan Xiu?" Meng Yushu was slightly taken aback and suddenly thought of the scene at the Hundred Flower Gathering.

    Could it be that this kid is actually acquainted with Yan Xiu? Meng Yushu hesitated slightly. He indeed heard some discussions about this kid and Yan Xiu appearing at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant at the same time after the Hundred Flower Gathering.

    That meant that there was some sort of rtionship between this kid and Yan Xiu.

    If they really were friends...

    What to do?

    Give up?

    Meng Yushu naturally wasn¡¯t satisfied. Having been pushed to the ground in front of everybody, and losing a hundred taels of silver to him, no matter how he looked at the situation, letting the other party off wasn¡¯t a possibility.

    Since the other party appeared in this ce, there was only one possibility. He was here to participate in the Law of Dao examinations. Since this was the case, what was there to rush?

    He can¡¯t deal with the other party during the theory examination, but how about thebat examination?

    When that timees, I will identally...

    Cause a severe disability? Or even killing him! With his social status and his Dao abilities, he would at most get a warning.

    Manughter during the Law of Dao examinations, even Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t be able to confront him about that.

    As he thought of this point, a smile instantly broke out on Meng Yushu¡¯s face. His gaze at Fang Zhengzhi at this moment seemed as if he had seen a prey on his hands, like a fish in his.

    An icy glint shed again, and the sword returned into its scabbard.

    "You are finding Yan Xiu? Did I hear you correctly? Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even participate in the theory examination!" Meng Yushu quickly assumed a nobleman¡¯s character.

 Chapter 62: Seated Side by Side

    Chapter 62: Seated Side by Side

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Yan Xiu... didn¡¯t participate in the theory examination?!" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback, and instantly felt like he was in dreand. Indeed, Heaven¡¯s ns supersedes our own, ns are wed!

    Were his ten silver pieces about to fly away?

    No! That was ten valuable silver pieces, money that came from blood and sweat!

    Fang Zhengzhi was upset. Without Yan Xiu, if he were to help two people attain a meteoric rise, this pressure was really a little toorge.

    Not even mentioning that the risk of throwing around two pieces of paper would increase by many times, just the writing of threepletely different answer sheets and ensuring that they would all enter the top three was already stressful enough.

    It was over.

    Meng Yushu initially prepared to leave, but after seeing the changing expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and recalling Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous words, his mind lit up, as brightly as amp.

    "Looks like this kid wants to find Yan Xiu to cheat?"

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to pass the Law of Dao theory examinations with his abilities alone, hence, he could almost confirm that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s purpose in finding Yan Xiu was to sit beside him and cheat.

    "Little brother, since we met, why don¡¯t we sit together?" Meng Yushuughed coldly inside, then asked probingly.

    "Sit together?" When Fang Zhengzhi, who was still secretly distressed, heard, then looking at Meng Yushu, his eyes instantly lit up. The soul that entered dreand instantly flew back into his body.

    That feeling was like seeing money fly away, then sessfully flying back, moreover, as it flew back, it even brought along a pile of money brothers along the way.

    Simply invigorating.

    "Sure, let¡¯s sit together!" Fang Zhengzhi instantlyughed, and happily agreed.

    Seeing this, the delight in Meng Yushu¡¯s eyes increased even more. Indeed, he had guessed correctly. That meant, next... shouldn¡¯t he y around with this prey on his hands?

    "How aboutter we..."

    "Brother Meng¡¯s purpose in asking me to sit together, do you want to say... that we should exchange answerster?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even wait for Meng Yushu to finish his sentence before interrupting him to ask.

    "Ha ha ha... that¡¯s right! I wish to exchange answers with you, ha ha ha..." Meng Yushu couldn¡¯t restrain himself anymore andughed heartily.

    Fang Zhengzhi alsoughed, the expression on his face was as bright as the March sun.

    Then after, Meng Yushu and Fang Zhengzhi,ughing together just like that, walked shoulder to shoulder towards a pair of seats beside one another.

    When the other schrs witnessed this, they instantly stared at another, their faces filled with shock. They werepletely unable to react.

    "What¡¯s happening?"

    "After shouting about fighting and killing just now, in a blink of an eye, they even agreed to sit beside one another?"

    "This change... is too fast!"

    The crowd was stunned, but the two people were stillughing happily.

    "Let me introduce myself, I am Meng Yushu!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Ha ha ha..."

    Without much ado, all of the examinees for the theory examination had entered the venue.

    A few invigtors dressed in ck official robes also walked in at this moment, and one of them began to read out the rules of the theory examination.

    They were all rather simr.

    For example: Don¡¯t whisper to one another, don¡¯t walk around without permission, if one was caught cheating, they would immediately be asked to leave the examination venue and their grades would be annulled and so on...

    When Meng Yushu and Fang Zhengzhi heard the official talking about cheating, they looked at one another. Both of them gave a reassuring look to each other, it was as if they were saying:

    Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely pass my answer to you!

    "The first round of theory examination willst a total of two hours!" Afterying down the examination rules, the invigtor announced the examination time.

    Then, one by one, the theory examination papers were personally passed down by the invigting officials. In the Law of Dao examinations, the theory examination was the first step, and was also used to test the students¡¯ understanding of the Law of Dao¡¯s meaning.

    To put it simply, it tested their foundations.

    Fang Zhengzhi received the examination paper from the invigtor. Picking it up, he took a look and realised that it was filled with densely packed words describing questions of all sorts, most of them originating from famous texts.

    Finishing so many questions under two hours? To an average person, this was indeed rather difficult.

    For example, the examination paper¡¯s first question was, what were the Four Intelligent Creatures?

    This was a paragraph from the Book of Rites, under the chapter "Ceremonial usages; their origins, development, and intention".

    One could rather urately guess the difficulty level of the Law of Dao theory examinations from this one question. It wasn¡¯t too hard, because one only had to familiarise themselves with the various texts in the Law of Dao in order to exin it.

    But, it wasn¡¯t too easy either.

    Because, the origin of the question wasn¡¯t very clear. For example, the Four Intelligent Creatures appeared in many different books in simr forms, if one recalled incorrectly, a miss was as good as a mile.

    As such, if one wanted to answer them correctly, what he needed was time.

    Two hours was evidently a little short.

    "They were the Qi-lin, the phoenix, the tortoise, and the dragon. When the dragon bes a domestic animal, (all other) fishes and the sturgeon do not lie hidden from men (in the mud). When the phoenix bes so, the birds do not fly from them in terror. When the Qi-lin does so, the beasts do not scamper away. When the tortoise does so, the feelings of men take no erroneous course."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even have to stop to think before answering the first question, then, started on the second.

    Sitting by his side, Meng Yushu saw that Fang Zhengzhi had started writing.

    After being slightly taken aback, he quicklyughed out coldly in his heart. How could he be so fast? Even if he himself answered the question, he would still have to carefully review and analyse the entire examination paper, before guessing what the Lead Examiner emphasized in this examination.

    Then, roughly categorise which text within the Law of Dao the question woulde from.

    People such as Fang Zhengzhi who would pen down their answers just like that was very obviously putting on an act.

    When he thought of this point, Meng Yushu instantly calmed down. Next, the other party would just have to follow every step heid out for him.

    ...

    The entire Law of Dao examination venue was extremely silent.

    When most of the examinees received their examination paper, the first thing they did was analysing the question, guessing the direction the answer would take from the Lead Examiner¡¯s intentions.

    People such as Fang Zhengzhi were ssified as rare creatures.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t be med. Because in this world, people only knew one book, and that was the Law of Dao. This book wasn¡¯t specifically subdivided into texts and the Four Books and Five ssics.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cognition was indeed different.

    In his mind, the Law of Dao had long ago been subdivided by him into different categories.

    For example, the four categories - Confucian ssics, humanities, religions and beliefs, and personal works, which were then split into further subcategories - Changes, poetry, rites, history and spring and autumn...

    He had even managed to ssify them by dynasties.

    As such, he had no need to ponder carefully over the questions like the rest of the examinees, and could identify with one look which text the question set by the Lead Examiner had originated from, then, split them by their dynasties.

    Under an hour, his writing stopped and he kept his pen.

    Everything was as smooth as the moving clouds and flowing water. Fang Zhengzhi was very satisfied with his own performance. Looking at his neat and proper examination paper, he gave himself full marks.

    It was still early, and Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t rush to submit his paper. Because, there was a rather annoying rule in the theory examinations that one couldn¡¯t leave the examination venue early to prevent questions from being leaked.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi gazed towards Meng Yushu.

    His expression seemed to say, "Come, I¡¯ve already finished writing! Let¡¯s cheerfully exchange our answers!"

 Chapter 63: Report

    Chapter 63: Report

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Meng Yushu was burying himself in the questions at this moment. Suddenly feeling a strange gaze from the side looking over towards his direction, he turned around and saw Fang Zhengzhi blinking at him.

    "He finished? Wait, no... he grew tired of acting? I guess he should be trying to cheat now?"

    After a thought, Meng Yushuughed out coldly once again inside his heart. Looking at his own paper, even though a portion of it was still unfinished, passing the theory examination indeed wouldn¡¯t be too hard.

    After some consideration, he decided to proceed with the n.

    First, help Fang Zhengzhi pass the theory examination, then during thebat examination...

    "He he!" When Meng Yushu thought of his, he almost couldn¡¯t control himself tough out. This n was indeed too perfect, first put on a show of helping Fang Zhengzhi, then when the other party had lowered his guard and bore gratitude towards him, step on him until he died.

    It was simply double torture, both physically and mentally.

    Without much hesitation, Meng Yushu began to quickly start copying, preparing to pass his answers to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Sitting beside him, when Fang Zhengzhi saw this, a smile simrly appeared on his face.

    But, in order to finish copying his answers, Meng Yushu still required some time. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t rush and waited by the side patiently and quietly.

    A few of the examinees who were scratching their heads trying to answer the questions quickly realised Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leisurely state.

    "This guy had finished?"

    "That¡¯s impossible? It hasn¡¯t even been an hour!"

    "I¡¯ve never seen somebody write so fast?"

    After a wave of suspicion, the examinees began to understand. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attire, he was obviously here for fun. Hoping that he could pass the Law of Dao examinations?

    That was simply a joke.

    "Lecher!"

    "Country bumpkin!"

    After a round of ranting in their stomachs, a disdainful expression appeared on their faces. They held back their anger, waiting to unleash a wave ofughter at this guy when the results were released.

    When that timees, let¡¯s see whether he would still have any face left.

    Just as the examinees cursed silently in their heads, Meng Yushu had more or less finished copying.

    Looking at the answers he copied out, Meng Yushu was a hundred percent confident that with this answer, even though one it wasn¡¯t First-ss Roll standard, but making it into the Second-ss Roll was definitely not a problem.

    Anyway, all he needed was for this guy to pass the theory examination.

    The difference between the First-ss Roll and Second-ss Roll wasn¡¯t very big.

    After he finished copying out the answers, Meng Yushu carefully folded up the paper and began to give Fang Zhengzhi a meaningful look.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi looked like he had almost fallen asleep, his eyes were thin as a slit and his head, supported by his arms, jerked about. He absolutely didn¡¯t notice Meng Yushu at all.

    Meng Yushu instantly became somewhat worried.

    Why is this guy still sleeping? Doesn¡¯t he want to pass the theory examination?

    "Cough!" Meng Yushu took the risk of being noticed and lightly coughed out.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this sound, his eyes finally opened. Turning around, he saw Meng Yushu vigorously blinking at him. That expression was remarkably alike to a good person willing to offer him something.

    In an instantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    He instantly used his nce to reply Meng Yushu, then silently put his hands under the desk and made a beckoning motion.

    As Meng Yushu prepared to toss the answers in his hands over, he then quickly realised something was amiss. They promised to exchange answers, but why was this guy¡¯s hands empty?

    Was he ying cheat?

    He once again blinked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly replied with a spreading of hands motion, a bitter look on his face.

    Meng Yushu quickly understood. This person was here to y a fool, after having written so much, it was indeed all an act. I presume his answer sheet now is still nk?

    When he thought of this point, Meng Yushu finally rxed.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had really passed his own answer over, he might even be rather worried that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do something. But now, it seemed like he evidently prepared to depend on himself to pass this theory examination.

    That meant...

    Naturally, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    Anyway, he had already nned to help this person pass the theory examination. Hence, there wasn¡¯t any purpose in exchanging answers.

    He flicked his hand.

    The well-folded paper turned into a white stream of light, and quickly flew towards the hand Fang Zhengzhi ced under the desk.

    Meng Yushu¡¯s abilities emphasized speed, uracy and power.

    It was simply impossible for him to miss...

    However, reality seemed to be ying an enormous prank with Meng Yushu.

    Because the hand Fang Zhengzhi extended under his desk suddenly shifted an inch to the front, and just this inch happened to cause the power of the paper to seem a little too much.

    Very unfortunately...

    He didn¡¯t manage to catch it. The paper dropped right between the two of them with a "Pa!".

    Hatred filled Meng Yushu¡¯s heart, what was this guy trying to do? He had controlled his own strength so well, what was he rushing for? He still reached out his hand to catch it, look what happened, overreaching himself in trying to be clever?

    Just as he prepared to push the paper back with wind from his palms.

    He realised Fang Zhengzhi was in pain. Raising highly the hand he had just reached out, an exaggerated and excruciating shout came out from his mouth.

    "Aiyo!"

    The silence in the examination venue was instantly broken by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    A few of the invigtors wearing ck official robes abruptly turned back their heads, and a few pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle¡¯s quickly locked onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "What happened?!"

    "Nobody move!"

    "Whoever moves will instantly have their results forfeited!"

    Meng Yushu got a fright. He never expected that throwing this paper would injure Fang Zhengzhi in such a way? Isn¡¯t that shout a little too excruciating? Don¡¯t tell me that I used too much strength just now?

    That¡¯s not possible...

    I definitely controlled my strength?

    Was this guy really so fragile and spoilt?

    Other than the hatred in his heart, he felt helpless. Because, the paper on the ground was his handwriting. Once it was picked up by the invigtor, no matter how much reasons he had, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to justify it.

    With a flick of his hands, Meng Yushu decided to eliminate the evidence.

    Just at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi also moved. He didn¡¯t wait for Meng Yushu to destroy the evidence at all, and with one sweep, picked up the paper on the floor and raised it up high.

    "Report!"

    "Report!"

    "Report!"

    A high voice echoed about in the examination venue, shaking the eardrums of a few invigtors, Meng Yushu and the rest of the examinees.

    All of the examinees¡¯ gazers were fixated on the paper on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Each of their expressions was filled with shock. Paper? This is cheating!

    The moment Meng Yushu saw Fang Zhengzhi pick up their paper, he waspletely stunned. Till now, he hadn¡¯t understood what Fang Zhengzhi intended to do.

    Was he crazy?

    Report?

    Who was he trying to report? I am helping him to pass the theory examinations! Reporting me? Can he still pass the theory examination? Why is there even such a person in this world?

 Chapter 64: Releasing the Results

    Chapter 64: Releasing the Results

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Report?!"

    A few invigtors looked at one another, a simr expression of shock appearing on their faces. Cheating in the county Law of Dao examination wasn¡¯t something that was umon.

    After all, this was a world where strength was respect.

    There were many people with powerful training, but only had a surface levelprehension of the Law of Dao,cking a deep understanding and usage.

    Hence, during the theory examination, the initial rules had given enough space for cheating to ur.

    For example, after entering the examination venue, there were no preassigned seat numbers, and not every seat was monitored closely with by invigtors. It was actually hint to examinees.

    Cheating was allowed!

    In this world, everything was result-based.

    Just like on the battlefield, nobody cared how one fought, what formation one employed, what troops one used. People only cared about one thing, whether you managed to win the battle.

    But...

    If cheating was discovered, that was apletely different matter altogether.

    Given the space, and given the rxed rules, one still managed to get caught?

    That was humiliating, simply humiliating.

    A few of the invigtors quickly reached Fang Zhengzhi and unfolded the paper.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you wait! Let me see how you pass the theory examination!" Meng Yushu didn¡¯t bother arguing with the invigtors. Because, the handwriting on the paper and his own were one and the same.

    There was no way to argue over this point.

    Results of the theory examination was glory to him. It was important! But, it wasn¡¯t worth sacrificing himself over.

    Because, due to having essed Dao, he would be able to participate in thebat examination without even participating in the theory examination. He could even directly skip the county examination to participate in the capital examination.

    That was the rule of this world.

    Power determined everything!

    But...

    He waspletely humiliated today and had was unable to remain at this ce anymore.

    He stood up, and left.

    But, Meng Yushu leaving the venue didn¡¯t bring about any good words for Fang Zhengzhi. Even those examinees who saw Meng Yushu leave the venue looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if they were looking at an idiot.

    "He actually reported Meng Yushu?!"

    "That¡¯s simply too stupid! Without Meng Yushu, how can he pass the theory examination?"

    "Harming himself, how can he live like this!"

    Sitting a distance away, Li Huer also witnessed this scene, and silently celebrated. It was lucky that Fang Zhengzhi had done something so stupid, else with Meng Yushu¡¯s help, he might really be able to pass the theory examination.

    But now, it seemed like...

    There was no doubt that Fang Zhengzhi was going to fail the theory examination.

    Everyone was silently worried. Even a few invigtors secretly shook their heads at Fang Zhengzhi. This kid was too stupid? He had given up such a good opportunity.

    After this brief episode, the examination venue once again regained its silence.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea that the Law of Dao examinations in this world would have such an inside story. Based on his understanding of ancient history, the Law of Dao examination should be rather simr to the imperial examination of the past.

    Cheating?

    Once it was caught, that was something that would ban one from examinations for life.

    Having sessfully eliminated a rival, Fang Zhengzhi was delighted. Then, he once again leisurely rested his body on the table and took a nap.

    When the rest of the examinees witnessed this, they shook their head once again.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this guy¡¯s purpose in participating the Law of Dao examinations is to take a nap?"

    "After so many years of intense studying, sess is already right in front of his eyes, but he gave it up just like this. That is really too stupid!"

    ...

    "Dong!" A gong sounded.

    The first round of the Law of Dao theory examination had officially ended.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked out of the Qingfeng Academy lookingpletely rxed. After walking a few steps, he was blocked by Li Zhuangshi, Li Huer and the rest of the gang.

    "Zhengzhi, I heard Huer say that you reported Meng Yushu?" Li Zhuangshi was the first to open his mouth.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi realised that Li Zhuangshi and the rest seemed to have betted that Meng Yushu would enter the top three. Could they be here to ask him for money?

    "If you want money, I don¡¯t have. If you want my life, you are not getting it either!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly expressed his stand.

    Li Zhuangshi was taken aback, then aughter quickly followed.

    "Ha ha ha... a few pieces of silver are a small matter. Your future is an important matter. Look at you, such a good future right in front of your eyes, yet why did you give it up?" Li Zhuangshi said with a mature, adult tone.

    Then, looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lost expression, he reassured.

    "Hmm, but what you did was also right! At least people know how honest you are! Seeing the answers of the theory examination right in front of your eyes, yet remaining indifferent. If you have the opportunity of bing an official in the future, you would definitely be an honest and upright one!"

    "Yes! We all support you!" Li Huer interrupted at this apt moment.

    "Even though you lost your advantage in this time¡¯s theory examination, but it¡¯s alright. You are still young, you can take this as a learning opportunity. There will be more opportunities next time, it wouldn¡¯t make any difference to participate a few yearster." Li Zhuangshi reassured once again.

    "I think... I can pass the theory examination!" Fang Zhengzhi thought of his own answers and felt that he had full confidence of scoring full marks.

    "Sigh... man must know himself well!" When Li Zhuangshi heard, he seemed rather pained, then pulled along Li Huer and the rest. "Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go back and eat, the results will be released tomorrow!"

    "After the results are released, I wonder what else can you say? I saw you sleep for over an hour, you think you can pass the theory examination like that? Doesn¡¯t that mean I am going to top the roll? Ha ha ha..." Li Huer also began tough.

    Meng Jiangshan and the rest were also in the examination venue and naturally noticed Fang Zhengzhi sleeping. They shook their heads silently and sighed.

    Fang Zhengzhi also shook his head, how could small fry predict the ambitions of the great!

    ...

    Inside the grading room of the Qingfeng Academy.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s examination paper was passed from an invigtor to a middle-aged man whose official attire had the world "Imperial" sown on it. The middle-aged man gently received the paper, his brows threaded tightly in a frown.

    "You can¡¯t find it?"

    "There¡¯s no record in the namelist, furthermore, there isn¡¯t even this register number in the examination!" The invigtor bowed and replied.

    "This is mysterious, what address is shown in it?"

    "Northern Mountain Vige!"

    "Northern Mountain Vige? Is there a Hall of Dao there?"

    "That was what I suspected as well, the Northern Mountain Vige doesn¡¯t have a Hall of Dao. However, the neighbouring Southern Mountain Vige within the same mountain has a Hall of Dao. Furthermore, the Divine Constabry had built it personally eight years ago! I had initially also noticed this Hall of Dao, but within eight years, it only produced someone who barely passed the county examinations, and didn¡¯t even pass the capital examinations. After that, I didn¡¯t pay attention to it anymore..."

    "You say, eight years ago, the Divine Constabry went to a vige to build a Hall of Dao?" A hint of shock appeared on the middle-aged man¡¯s face.

    "Yes, furthermore, that was the Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter¡¯s... personal order!"

    "The Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter? Chi Guyan?!"

    ...

    The second morning.

    In a patch of space outside the Qingfeng Academy, the examinees waiting for the release of the results had alreadypletely surrounded two pieces of "Roll Stones".

    These two stones were categorised as First-ss Roll and Second-ss Roll.

    It was less than an hour to the release of the results. Fang Zhengzhi also strolled over leisurely.

    Li Zhuangshi, Li Huer and the rest had already upied a good spot in the area long ago, once they saw Fang Zhengzhi, they instantly felt somewhat spiteful.

    He came sote, yet he still said that he was confident of passing the theory examination?

    "Fang Zhengzhi,e here, I reserved a spot for you!" Li Huer called out loudly. He liked to have a close-up view of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression when he didn¡¯t make it onto the roll.

    "Zhengzhi,e quickly!" Li Zhuangshi also shouted out loudly.

    People had reserved a spot for him, Fang Zhengzhi naturally didn¡¯t have any reason to reject. Then, he leisurely made his way over. Right at this moment, a few officials dressed in ck official clothes also walked over from afar.

    "Make way!" The results announcing official split the crowd and directly made his way over the two roll stones.

    Then, he gingerly took out a square-shaped, seal-like stone and pressed it into a square-shaped depression on the roll stone. Instantly, faint golden rays of light emanated from the roll stone...

 Chapter 65: Twenty Names of the Roll

    Chapter 65: Twenty Names of the Roll

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Very quickly, rows of densely packed names appeared on the roll stone, below it, there was a row of tiny register numbers. It felt as if it was carved.

    It was extremely miraculous.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth. He already didn¡¯t feel shocked encountering such situations.

    The Dao of All Creations originated from man, controlling All Creations.

    Names appearing on the roll stone seemed extremely strange, but having to do so in reality wasn¡¯t very hard. One just needed to use the Dao of All Creation to modify the arrangements of the stone particles within the stone to achieve this.

    The roll stone was specially made, the square-shaped stone was naturally specially made as well. Pressing these two pieces of stone against each other, then making some modifications would achieve such an effect.

    "Have, have!"

    When the names on the roll stone gradually became clearer, excitement started to grow within everybody. One by one, they widened their eyes, trying to find their names on the roll stone.

    "Got it, I got it!"

    "Ha ha ha... I made it to the roll!"

    One by one, voices started to call out, then, the people who made it to the roll celebrated happily, while those who didn¡¯t sighed with sorry. There were also a few who congratted those who made it on the roll.

    There were also people who consoled those who didn¡¯t make it to the roll.

    "Your brother is lucky this time, brother, you cannot be discouraged. Two yearster we¡¯llpete again!"

    "Brother don¡¯t be discouraged, with your talents, you just need to work hard to do better after you go back, study hard, and you will definitely do well!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was looking at the individual names, then a wave ofughter sounded out beside his ear.

    "Ha ha ha... I, Li Huer, made it as well. I made it!"

    "My name, that¡¯s my name, Meng Jiangshan, ha ha ha... I have seen my name too!"

    Evidently, these two voices came from Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan respectively. Both of them made it to the roll, while among the other Southern Mountain Vige examinees, none of them managed to make it.

    "Not bad, Huer! Jiangshan, you have definitely fulfilled your grandfather¡¯s dreams this time!" Li Huer instantly spoke to encourage these two people, then turned around and consolidated the Southern Mountain Vige people who didn¡¯t make it.

    Finally, his gazended on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be discouraged! We already expected you not to make it to the roll, when you go back, you have to continue studying hard. If you really can¡¯t, you can still continue to go hunting! The Northern Mountain Vige needs you!"

    "That¡¯s right, the Law of Dao examination actually doesn¡¯t suit you. You have another path to walk, for example, being the deputy captain of the hunting squad or something. Who knows, you might even be able to be a good vige chief!" Li Huer also consolidated him by the side.

    Meng Jiangshan didn¡¯t speak, and patted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder like an elder brother, aforting expression appearing on his face.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t worried at all.

    This was only the Second-ss Roll. If his name was really on the roll, that was what would truly be unexpected. Based on his abilities, how could he end up on the Second-ss Roll like Li Huer and the rest?

    "Zhengzhi, you must face reality, don¡¯t be too arrogant! Your Uncle Li also entered the Second-ss Roll previously. We are crude people, those who can enter the First-ss Roll are reputable schrs and martial arts families. People like us simply don¡¯t have the chance!" Li Zhuangshi, assuming the role as an experienced man, began to "reconcile" Fang Zhengzhi.

    Very quickly, Li Zhuangshi and Li Huer¡¯s voice attracted the attention of the examinees around them.

    When the examinees turned their heads around, they finally identified Fang Zhengzhi. After all, the incident of Fang Zhengzhi reporting Meng Yushu in the examination venue was still fresh in their minds.

    In addition to the incident when Fang Zhengzhi unveiled Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil in the Hundred Flower Gathering, and being seen together with Yan Xiu at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, the amount of people paying attention to him naturally became quite numerous.

    It could be said that now, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reputation had already shook the entire Huai An County, and became the first famous person in this time¡¯s Law of Dao examination. Except, during the Hundred Flower Gathering and at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, nobody knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name.

    Hence, the effect wasn¡¯t asrge.

    "Ha ha ha... looks like this guy didn¡¯t make the roll?"

    "That¡¯s for sure, he¡¯s a sleeper! Sleeping for over an hour, how can he make the roll?"

    "Indeed, he¡¯s hurting himself, how is he going to live like his!"

    The examinees one by one started to discuss about Fang Zhengzhi, especially those who didn¡¯t make the roll, venting their emotions.

    In the middle of the discussion, a group of people appeared from afar.

    The leader was a youth dressed in a yellow brocade robe, with a sword at his waist. Behind him, a few armoured bodyguards followed.

    It was Meng Yushu and his bodyguards.

    "It¡¯s Meng Yushu!"

    "Meng Yushu¡¯s results in the first round of theory examination had already been forfeited, what is he doing here?"

    "Ha ha ha... let¡¯s sit back and enjoy the show!"

    When the crowd of examinees saw Meng Yushu appear, they were slightly taken aback. Immediately after, they seemed to have thought of something. Shifting their gaze back to Fang Zhengzhi, an evil delight in watching the fires burning across the river began to appear.

    "Hey! Isn¡¯t this Young Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi? Did you enter the roll?" Meng Yushu smiled slightly. He didn¡¯t bother to conceal his intentions, he was here to watch Fang Zhengzhi, hence naturally directly walked over beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "He didn¡¯t!"

    "He didn¡¯t make the roll!"

    Before Fang Zhengzhi had the chance to reply, other examinees instantly began to reply enthusiastically to court Meng Yushu¡¯s favour.

    "Ha ha ha... didn¡¯t make it? Why did this happen? Taking into ount your talents and skills, you should definitely make it! Ah, this is only the Second-ss Roll? Don¡¯t worry Young Master Fang, the First-ss Roll isn¡¯t released yet!" Listening to the surrounding voices, Meng Yushu instantly consolidated Fang Zhengzhi, his expression filled with concern.

    "Releasing the First-ss Roll, twenty roll members!"

    At this moment, the result official announced once again.

    After which, the result official once again retrieved a square-shaped stone from his pockets and walked in front of the other roll stone. Very quickly, the roll stone representing the First-ss Roll began to emanate faint rays of golden light.

    Hearing this, the examinees all shifted their attention from Fang Zhengzhi to the First-ss Roll roll stone.

    After all, whoever managed to make the First-ss Roll would definitely be renowned schrs. Out of the few thousand examinees, only the top twenty were selected. They could be said to be the best of the best.

    Even though it was only the county examinations, being able to enter the First-ss Roll in the theory examination was definitely something that would receive invitations from all around. If the person¡¯s age was young enough, they would likely be given the opportunity to be personally nurtured by a few powerhouses.

    With a sh of golden light, twenty names instantly began to appear.

    What was different from the Second-ss Roll was that the names of the people on the First-ss Roll were muchrger, and it even included a brief overview, such as where one was born, which Hall of Dao did onee from, previous contributions, whose rmendation did one receive and so on.

    One just had to take a single look at it to know that it was definitely more than one grade above the Second-ss Roll.

 Chapter 66: Three Nones on the Roll

    Chapter 66: Three Nones on the Roll

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Compared to the densely packed names on the Second-ss Roll, the twenty names were naturally much clearer, and could be finished reading in a much faster time. Just as the names finished appearing, the crowd had already finished reading.

    "Ha ha ha... there¡¯s no Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He¡¯s neither in the Second-ss Roll, nor the First-ss Roll! Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t make the roll!"

    "s he¡¯s just a faker, Heavens won¡¯t deceive me!"

    In an instant, shouts began to arise from the crowd. They felt as happy as if they had entered the First-ss Roll, looking at Fang Zhengzhi as if they were looking at an idiot.

    "Zhengzhi, as I said, we must learn to face reality!" At this moment, Li Zhuangshi sighed heavily, but the delight on his face was simply unconceble.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, have you finally given up?" Li Huer also mocked.

    Meng Jiangshan once again sighed and gently shook his head. Indeed, this world emphasized one word - power!

    "Aiya, Young Master Fang didn¡¯t make the roll?! That¡¯s not right, with Young Master Fang¡¯s talents, how can you not make the roll? I believe that there¡¯s definitely some errors in the marking of the papers, you must request to relook at the paper, ha ha ha..." At this moment, Meng Yushu also couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore. Even though he couldn¡¯t follow up on his n to cripple Fang Zhengzhi during thebat examination, but being able to see Fang Zhengzhi miss the roll was a very happy asion indeed.

    "Is there a Young Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi here?" At this moment, the results official spoke.

    The initially impassioned crowd were instantly taken aback, then suddenly seemed to have thought of something. s, this guy¡¯s misdeeds had already invoked Heaven¡¯s anger and people¡¯s hatred, even the officials had noticed him.

    ¡®He is Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "That¡¯s right, quick, arrest him!"

    A few enthusiastic examinees quickly pointed out Fang Zhengzhi from the crowd, each of them filled with righteous indignation, their expressions upright and inspoken.

    "You are Fang Zhengzhi?!" The results official at this moment had already arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi and carefully checked out the fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth dressed in a coarse blue robe standing in front of them. A hint of shock appeared on his face.

    "That¡¯s right!" He had already been pointed out by so many people, Fang Zhengzhi was magnanimous. Come at me with whatever problems you have, at the very most, I¡¯ll just run away.

    "Young Master Fang¡¯s registration had some problems. In order to act with caution, I wish Young Master Fang can answer some of my questions!" When the results official heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply, he nodded and continued to ask.

    "Ha ha ha... this guy indeed has some problems!"

    "Arrest him, arrest him!"

    When the examinees heard the result official¡¯s words, they instantly became excited.

    Fang Zhengzhi also deliberated. Could it be that he¡¯s faking act was exposed? What should he do then? He must not admit it even if he was hit to death!

    "Please ask." Fang Zhengzhi swept his gaze across the surroundings as he replied, searching for the best escape route.

    "I am just carrying out my orders, and will ask only two questions. Firstly, which Hall of Dao did young master study in. Secondly, who is young master¡¯s rmender?" After the result official asked, he quietly waited for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was pondering intensely.

    These two questions were easy, because he simply didn¡¯t have any. But if he admitted this, it was as if he was confirming the fact that he had snuck into the Law of Dao examinations.

    How should he reply?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was pondering, Li Huer couldn¡¯t hold back anymore.

    "I know, I know. He didn¡¯t even enter a Hall of Dao before, and it would simply be impossible for him to have any rmender!" After Li Huer spoke, he shot a provoking gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Didn¡¯t enter a Hall of Dao before?!"

    "Ha ha ha... no rmender!"

    "This guy actually participated in the Law of Dao examinations, this is simply humiliating the intellectuals!"

    "He is indeed a faker going through motions!"

    When the surrounding examinees heard Li Huer¡¯s words, they instantly began tough, and started giving names to Fang Zhengzhi such as country bumpkin, straw bag and faker.

    Definitely, the title "lecher" wasn¡¯t spared as well.

    "Didn¡¯t enter a Hall of Dao before? And without a rmender?" Looking at Li Huer, the result official frowned slightly and then shifted his gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi, as if asking for a confirmation.

    "Yes, I indeed self-studied!" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and finally decided to not deny it.

    "Ha ha ha... self-study? A person who self-studied participating in the Law of Dao examinations? What a joke!"

    "That¡¯s right, if one can self-study and pass the theory examination, I will go and finish drinking the entire River of Trust now! Ha ha ha..."

    "The water from the River of Trust only? I can finish drinking all the water from the toilets, ha ha ha..."

    The examinees couldn¡¯t control themselves anymore and one by one, began tough. The misery from not entering the roll instantly transformed into a powerful sense of superiority.

    "Fang Zhengzhi seeded in self-studying, I respect this! I wish young master wouldn¡¯t take offense at my questions just now. Finally, congrattions Young Master Fang for topping the First-ss Roll!"

    "Topping the First-ss Roll?!"

    In an instantly, the bustling crowd instantly became silent. All of them felt as if they had been struck by lightning, and remained rooted to the grounds, their expressions unchanging. But, the words of the result official reverberated throughout their ears.

    "Congrattions Young Master Fang for entering the First-ss Roll!"

    "Entering the First-ss Roll?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi entered the First-ss Roll?!"

    "How is this possible? A person who self-studied... entering the First-ss Roll?!"

    The initially mocking students instantly felt as if their mouths had been a lump of feathers, their voices were instantly muffled. Each of them stared with their eyes wide open, and their faces flushed with red.

    The two people who previously pledged to finish drinking the water from the River of Trust and water from the toilets wore a queer and entric expression. Looking at the result official, then looking at Fang Zhengzhi, their mouths were open so wide that it could fit a few fists.

    On the other hand, the result official didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to the examinees, who were so shocked that their faces flushed red. Walking directly in front of the First-ss Roll roll stone, he pressed the square-shape stone on his hands onto it.

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name appeared on the First-ss Roll.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Hall of Dao: None, Rmender: None, Records: None;"

    Other than these, below Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name, there was a register number. That was the number he faked.

    The gentle wind beside the River of Trust began to blow lightly.

    It blew onto Li Zhuangshi¡¯s wide-opened eyes, and onto Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan¡¯s wide-opened mouth, and of course, blew onto Meng Yushu¡¯s shocked face, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

    The wind, was very gentle, and was very cooling.

    It was initially an excellent weather, it was cooling and was good enough for one to enjoy the cool breeze at the riverside.

    But, at this moment, nobody could feel this in their hearts. Because, they felt hot, so hot that their entire bodies felt as if they were dripping with sweat.

    Other than Fang Zhengzhi, everyone else had their mouths agape at this moment.

    Because, there was simply nobody who was willing to believe that this was real.

    "How is this possible?!"

    "How can Fang Zhengzhi enter the First-ss Roll!"

    "It¡¯s the First-ss Roll!"

    In reality, everybody was willing to believe that they had heard wrongly.

    Unfortunately...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was so clearly disyed on the First-ss Roll, shing with blinding golden rays. It was like a majestic mountain pressing down so hard onto them that they werepletely unable to breathe.

 Chapter 67: Accept Smilingly

    Chapter 67: ept Smilingly

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Meng Yushu tightened his fists. A cold glint shed in his eyes. "Entering the First-ss Roll? Hmph! Let me see how much further you can go!"

    Meng Yushu huffed coldly, turned around and left.

    "Huh? Young Master Meng is going to leave just like this? Hey... Young Master Meng watch out!" As Fang Zhengzhi looked at Meng Yushu leave, a concerned look instantly appeared on his face.

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t even bother to turn back his head, and continued to walk away hurriedly! Watch out? I think you should be the one who will have to watch out?

    As he thought, Meng Yushu suddenly skidded.

    "Aiyo!"

    Crying out in fear, his body leaned forward exaggeratedly. Flying forward, hended face-first onto the ground.

    "I already told you to watch out, sigh..." A long drawn out sigh came from Fang Zhengzhi, then slowly ced the fruit that he had skinned into his mouth. Biting down, the sweetness was incredible...

    After a moment, the examinees finally recovered from their shock.

    "Brother Li, I heard you are going to finish drinking the River of Trust?"

    "I believe Brother Zhang¡¯s taste is a little more exquisite..."

    Instantly, the examinees began to tease, and the crowd¡¯s gaze quicklynded onto those two people who talked big.

    "Fraud!"

    "There is definitely some problem with the examination paper!"

    "How can it be like this! He obviously didn¡¯t make the roll; how can it suddenly be added in? That¡¯s right, this is impossible!"

    Under the gaze of the crowd, the two looked at one another and hurriedly found a logical exnation to the problem. Because, other than this reasoning, they simply couldn¡¯t think of any other reason for Fang Zhengzhi to enter the First-ss Roll.

    A person who had never entered a Hall of Dao entering the First-ss Roll of the theory examination?

    I don¡¯t believe, even if I die!

    "Brother Li is right, let¡¯s wait till the second round of theory examination, this Fang Zhengzhi will definitely fall!"

    "Brother Zhang, I support you! Unexpected luck cannotst long, only real power will persevere!"

    The two¡¯s words were quickly resonated by the crowd. A bunch of examinees who missed the roll instantly began to make noise once again and continued to harp. But, nobody dared to make any further public pledges.

    At this moment, Li Zhuangshi had also shifted his gaze away from the roll stone, but a glimmer of shock remained in his eyes. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi, he sighed inside. Thinking of his eight tedious years of studying, he was only able to enter the Second-ss Roll in the county examination.

    Who would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi, a person who didn¡¯t even enter the Hall of Dao, would actually enter the First-ss Roll with luck and self-studying?

    Heaven wasn¡¯t fair!

    Simrly, he believed that Fang Zhengzhi was exceedingly lucky, and there was no rtion to his abilities whatsoever.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother to pay further attention to the crowd¡¯s discussion. Humming a little tune along the way, he walked leisurely towards the inn. Power? I am the power!

    A fake document became a real one?

    Ha ha ha... the ancient people are indeed sincere and wouldn¡¯t bully me! When the fake bes real, it is both real and fake! Between real and fake, who can differentiate?

    ...

    The second round of the Law of Dao theory examination was the day after the release of the result.

    When Fang Zhengzhi entered the venue, he didn¡¯t notice Meng Yushu and started to guess. That guy indeed had his examination qualification forfeited?

    As he thought of that, he grew delighted.

    The second round of theory examination had different questions aspared to the first. If the first round was described as the theory behind the Law of Dao, then the second round could be described as emphasizing the usage of the Law of Dao.

    Furthermore, the direction of the questions was more flexible and practical.

    Other than a few summaries and exnations of texts, a few military matters were added in. For example, during military movements, what should one do when a mountain is encountered, or when a river is encountered etc.

    Furthermore, at the end, there was even a mini battle formation illustration.

    The timing was also two hours, but the difficulty level virtually increased by many times.

    But, to Fang Zhengzhi, it was theplete opposite. The first round of the theory examination required discussing the texts, and too many areas required writing.

    On the other hand, the second round emphasized thinking.

    Especially thest battle formation illustration, was an extremely simple snake formation.

    How hard could this be? They were only three different variations, attack the snake head, and its tail would move; attack the snake tail, and its head would bite; or, attack the snake¡¯s body, and both its head and tail would twist.

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to surmount all difficulties along the way, andmonly used the clearest and simplest words to exin and discuss the mostplicated processes. For example, for thest snake formation, he only used once sentence to summarise.

    "Seize the head, nk the tail, chop the body!"

    Then, perfectly ending his work, he once again began to nap happily. The total time he used was less than half an hour,pared to the first round, it was almost twice as fast.

    This action naturally instantly attracted the indignation of the examinees.

    Among them, there were even people who hadn¡¯t even started writing. Yet, on this side, Fang Zhengzhi was already lying on the table and almost asleep. How could they swallow this anger?

    "Faker! Sleep all you want!"

    "The second round is much harder than the first, yet he didn¡¯t even use half an hour?!"

    "He must miss the roll! Else I refuse to give in!"

    The crowd of examinees were indignant, but couldn¡¯t do anything. If people wanted to sleep, would one still dare to make noise? This was the examination venue of the theory examination!

    The examination ended, the papers were submitted and the examinees exited.

    The second day morning, the results were released again.

    Compared to the first round of theory examination, the second round evidently had much lesser people. After all, after a round of selection, some people had already returned back to where they came from.

    However, there were a few people who missed the roll who didn¡¯t rush to return home. Instead, they invited their friends to stay in the Huai An County to admire the flowers and admire the moon, and at the same time, prepare to admire Fang Zhengzhi miss the roll.

    "Guess the top three in the theory examination!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was leisurely walking around in front of the roll stone when he suddenly heard a sounding from the betting station below the tree. His eyes instantly lit up.

    Even though the second round of examination results weren¡¯t officially released yet, but his hundred silver pieces seemed like they could be collected in advance!

    Without further ado, he instantly slipped away to the front desk.

    It was still the same boy servant fromst time.

    "Hi, I previously betted that Meng Yushu would not make it to the top three, my betting slip is here!" Fang Zhengzhi ced the betting slip in front of the boy servant.

    When the boy servant who was busy shouting saw Fang Zhengzhi, a bitter look instantly appeared on his face.

    "Young master indeed has great foresight; young master has actually won the only bet! I wonder if young master can tell me your name?" As the boy servant kept the betting slip, he fumbled around in his pockets, but his face looked as if his flesh was being cut apart.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hide. After all, he was a famous person now.

    "You are Young Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi?!" When the boy servant heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, his expression of having his flesh cut apart instantly changed. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if he had seen a rtive.

    Looking at the boy servant¡¯s moved expression, he felt somewhat confused. Don¡¯t tell me he had already be so famous? Even a boy servant knew his name?

    "Young Master Fang, can youe over for a moment!" The boy servant at this moment managed to regain his senses, and instantly fished out a hundred silver note and ced it in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Then, he made a beckoning sign towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    With money in his hands, Fang Zhengzhi naturally didn¡¯t fear anything else. Anyway, there was still some time before the official release of the results, hence he followed the boy servant to the side.

    "Young Master Fang reporting Meng Yushu had done us a great favour this time. All of the money betted on Meng Yushu had entered my wallet. Betting has betting rules, since Young Master Fang had been of great help, my master had passed down instructions to reward Young Master Fang greatly if we meet him!"

    As he spoke, he fished out another two pieces of hundred silver notes and passed it respectfully to Fang Zhengzhi.

    The great reward was two hundred pieces of silver? Fang Zhengzhi instantly smiled. As the saying goes, ept smilingly, ept smilingly. If one didn¡¯t smile, how could one ept?

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi gave a very cultured and affable smile, then quickly kept the silver notes into his pocket.

    Without a trace of politeness.

    "Thank you very much!" Fang Zhengzhi expressed his gratitude.

    Being given money in the early morning, and furthermore, it was insisted that he take it! This was simply double the happiness! This master seemed to have a rather good personality.

    Fang Zhengzhi had gambling ethics, hence he bore a good impression of such people who followed the gambling rules as well.

    "My master usually resides in the capital city, these two days we just happened to pass by the Huai An County, and just happened to hear about Young Master Fang¡¯s doings, and even received such a huge help from Young Master Fang. Hence, we were instructed to tell Young Master Fang if we meet him that if Young Master Fang doesn¡¯t mind, our master is willing to organise a feast for missing the roll and make friends with you. Then, personally send Young Master Fang out of the city and ensure your safety the entire way!"

    When the boy servant said the word, master, he was filled with pride.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. He initially thought that a magpie was announcing good news, yet who would have thought that he would meet a crow¡¯s beak making inauspicious remarks. Feast for missing the roll? Miss your head!

    "I¡¯ll leave the feast for missing the roll for your master to eat alone! And at the same time, help me pass a message that the mountains won¡¯t change, and the rivers would always flow." Twitching his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi turned around and walked away.

    As he walked, he mumbled softly, "Having such bad luck in the early morning, I thought it was a master with some foresight? Who knew that it would be like this! If I encountered that person, if he is a male, I¡¯ll smack him with a rod, if she is a female, I will bang bang bang on the spot!"

    "If she is a female, I will bang bang bang on the spot?" Staring at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leaving figure, a strange expression appeared on his face, as if he didn¡¯t know how to react. "What is bang bang bang supposed to mean?"

 Chapter 68: Leaving Behind a Legend

    Chapter 68: Leaving Behind a Legend

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Nearing the release of the results, crowds began to form at the entrance of the Qingfeng Academy. Just as Fang Zhengzhi returned to the entrance of the Qingfeng Academy, the sound of Li Huer shouting entered his ear once again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, quick,e here. I reserved a ce for you!"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked, then continued to walk to the side as if he hadn¡¯t noticed at all.

    "Huh? Why is he going there? He must be scared of us seeing his expression when he misses the roll, ha ha ha... reserve this spot for me, I will go get him here!"

    Li Huer evidently had been waiting for this moment, without caring whether Fang Zhengzhi was willing to or not, he forcefully dragged Fang Zhengzhi to the spot he reserved for him.

    Fang Zhengzhi let out a long-drawn sigh. I treated you so kindly, yet you remain indifferent and didn¡¯t bother appreciating me. Why is there people who had to stick their faces out to be pped?

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be worried about missing the roll, you have already entered the First-ss Roll once and can return to the vige with a peace of mind!" When Li Zhuangshi saw Fang Zhengzhi walk over, he called out.

    When the other examinees saw Fang Zhengzhi, they began to discuss heatedly. Although their voices weren¡¯t as loud as the first time, it was only aparison.

    Faker, lecher, he will definitely miss the roll! Swearing such as these were still unavoidable.

    In a restaurant opposite the Qingfeng Academy, Meng Yushu, wearing a yellow brocade robe, looked at Fang Zhengzhi within the crowd with a dark expression. Unlike before, he didn¡¯t openly run in front of the roll stone to humiliate Fang Zhengzhi, instead, he chose a good seat to look from afar.

    But it was exactly this that made him even unhappier.

    As a great Young Master from the Meng Family, he was actually afraid that a country bumpkin would make the roll again? This was downright shameful!

    ...

    The appearance of the result official was always prompt and on time, neither early orte, as if he had already calcted everything well beforehand.

    The examinees began to grow excited. Because, the second round of theory examination decided who among them would be able to qualify for thebat examination.

    As ofst time, the result official pressed the square-shaped stone into the depression in the roll stone, and faint golden rays of light were emanated.

    What was different was that the names on the Second-ss Roll were exactly half the numberpared to before, and the names were bigger. But, the examinees felt very cold inside.

    Thepetition in the Law of Dao examination was toorge!

    Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan at this moment also stared hard attempting to search for their names. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi maintained his leisurely expression.

    Second-ss Roll?

    That was meant for others, he didn¡¯t have any interest in that.

    "Ha ha ha... I made it, I made it again!" Li Huer finally found his own name on the roll, and was delighted beyond imagination.

    "I also made it!" Meng Jiangshan¡¯s name very close to Li Huer, and was even two names ahead of Li Huer.

    Then, their gazes shifted towards Fang Zhengzhi. Just as they prepared to speak, the examinees beside them began to cry out.

    "Fang Zhengzhi missed the roll!"

    "Ha ha ha, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name isn¡¯t on the roll!"

    "Don¡¯t rush, don¡¯t rush, there¡¯s still the First-ss Roll!"

    A few of the examinees began to shout, even though somebody managed to reminded them about the First-ss Roll, but his tone and expression were as if saying, First-ss roll? This faker can enter the First-ss Roll again.

    Dream on!

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s still the First-ss Roll! You might be lucky and make it there again!" Li Zhuangshi simrly reassured Fang Zhengzhi by the side, but his expression was that of pure delight.

    After a wave of discussions, the First-ss Roll was finally released.

    The twenty names were as big as a bucket, it was hard not to notice.

    "Not in the First-ss Roll!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name is not on it, ha ha ha... this time, he really missed the roll!"

    "His lucky stint has finally ended!"

    "A faker definitely should miss the roll!"

    After a moment, the crowd grew impassioned, as if they were celebrating the new year, each of them almost crying out tears of joy.

    One examinee was even brave enough to walk towards the result official.

    "May I ask, is anybody missing from the First-ss Roll?"

    "Naturally there isn¡¯t!" The result official shook his head, then added in, "There is a total of fifteen people on the First-ss Roll, twelve names would be released, while the rest of the top three names would be personally announced by the Imperial Messenger!"

    After the result official finished his sentence, the crowd began tough.

    The top three in the theory examination, could it even be applicable to Fang Zhengzhi? Naturally, it wasn¡¯t rted to him at all. The top three of the theory examination wasn¡¯t the result of a single round, but thebination of results of both rounds of theory examinations.

    The previous round, Fang Zhengzhi was lucky enough to fill out a vacancy in the First-ss Roll.

    Even if he managed to top this round of theory examination,bining the results from the previous round, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to make it into the top three.

    In reality, this was also the reason why Meng Jiangshan didn¡¯t participate in the second round of theory examination. Because, after his results from the first round was forfeited, it was pointless to participate in the second round.

    "Ha ha ha... top three in the theory examination, if Fang Zhengzhi can enter the top three, I¡¯ll strip naked and run one round around the Huai An County!" The examinee who previously pledged to finish drinking the entire River of Trust instantly changed to a new one this time.

    "One round? Even running ten rounds isn¡¯t a problem to me!" The other one simrly continued, wearing a smile on his face.

    "Really?" Among the crowd, a weak voice called out.

    The examinees looked. It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Naturally! I always keep my word!"

    "Everyone can bear witness, I won¡¯t go back on them!"

    The two took one look at Fang Zhengzhi and instantly began tough. If they were previously afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would be lucky, they weren¡¯t worried at all now.

    "Do you dare to sign a deration?" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.

    "I dare, why wouldn¡¯t I? What if you don¡¯t enter the top three?" When one of them heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he instantly replied.

    "These two hundred pieces, you can have them!" Fang Zhengzhi fished out two hundred silver notes from his pockets.

    "Alright! Everyone bear witness, I will make a bet with Fang Zhengzhi today. If he can enter the top three, I will strip naked and run one round around the Huai An County city!"

    "I¡¯ll run ten!"

    The two weren¡¯t afraid at all. They had full confidence that the first round, Fang Zhengzhi was only filling a vacancy in the First-ss Roll, no matter what, he had no way of entering the top three in the overall results!

    Fang Zhengzhi was also fully confident. Because, he knew very well why he entered the First-ss Roll the first round. Since this Imperial Messenger who marked the papers was able to turn his fake certificate into a real one.

    He naturally was a "man of wisdom".

    Based on the examination paper he submitted in the second round of theory examination, missing the roll was impossible. But, he didn¡¯t make the Second-ss Roll, nor did he make the First-ss Roll!

    The results were obvious.

    He was definitely among the top three.

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be impulsive. This is two hundred silver pieces, the fact that you missed the role is already made clear, you must face reality!" When Li Zhuangshi saw Fang Zhengzhi fish out two hundred silver pieces, his expression instantly changed.

    Two hundred pieces! Even if it was to release his anger, it was still not worth it.

    "There¡¯s no harm!" Fang Zhengzhi waved the two hundred silver pieces.

    On the other hand, the two examinees that made the bet quickly retrieve paper and ink and wrote down their names, as if they were afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would go back on his words. Then, they each imprinted on it their handprints.

    "A new ancient legend is about to emerge from the Huai An County..." Looking at the undting river waters in the distant River of Trust, he let out a long drawn sigh. Being able to leave behind a legend in this ancient city, he gave himself a thumbs up.

 Chapter 69: Every Word a Treasure

    Chapter 69: Every Word a Treasure

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As Fang Zhengzhi sighed about bing a legend, the surrounding examinees sighed at Fang Zhengzhi. Two hundred silver pieces ending up in the hands of others just like that. This was something that couldn¡¯t even be described by the word ¡¯stupid¡¯.

    "A faker thinking of entering the top three? He must be dreaming!"

    "He must have been living in a dream all along?"

    "Ha ha ha... that¡¯s right, a person who hadn¡¯t even entered the Hall of Dao making it into the top three? There really isn¡¯t a joke funnier than this."

    The examinees began to discuss one by one. Their voices were so loud that even Meng Yushu, sitting in the restaurant opposite the Qingfeng Academy, could hear them clearly.

    "Top three in the theory examination? Ha ha ha... this country bumpkin can dream!" Meng Yushuughed so hard that his face almost cramped. Naturally, he knew how hard it was to make it into the top three of the theory examination.

    Even he himself, having essed Dao, couldn¡¯t have hundred percent confidence that he would have the fortune to make it into the top three.

    essing Dao was true strength, but the theory examination emphasized one¡¯s understanding of the Law of Dao. Such things were rted to one¡¯s innate learning talents, and also depended on one¡¯s luck of getting the right questions.

    Nobody dared to say that they would definitely make it into the top three of the theory examination.

    Else, why would Meng Yushu put in so much effort in order to make it into the top three of the county examinations, and even top the roll. Because, the top three and the roll champion represented real glory.

    Even among the great people who made huge contributions to the dynasty afterwards, not everybody had the glory of attaining top three in the Law of Dao examination.

    ...

    The Law of Dao examination was where the dynasty picked its future leaders, hence it was extremely important. Even if it was only the county examination, the Great Xia Dynasty would still send an Imperial Messenger to be the chief examiner.

    The doors of the Qingfeng Academy opened once again.

    A middle-aged man wearing an official robe with the word "Imperial" down onto it gradually made his way out, apanied by a few invigtors, with a red roll on his hand.

    The initially bustling crowd instantly grew silent.

    The arrival of the Imperial Messenger represented the grace of the King, furthermore, his hands held the top three names in this Law of Dao theory examination.

    "Wee Imperial Messenger, Lord Qin!" The result official instantly walked forward and weed the middle-aged man respectfully.

    Imperial Messenger Qin nodded, and proceeded to sweep his gaze across the crowd. Striding towards the front of the First-ss Roll, he didn¡¯t speak any further and instantly opened up the red roll in his hand.

    "I have discussed with the rest of the examination officials and decided on the top three of this theory examination."

    "Third: Huai An County Qingfeng Academy Li Bowei. Comments: Careful thought process, and considered all aspects!"

    Imperial Messenger Qin paused after he said this, then, the result official instantly walked to the front of the roll stone and pressed lightly with his hand. The two words, Li Bowei, along with a brief biography and thements appeared.

    "Congrattions Young Master Li for attaining third ce in the theory examination!"

    "Young Master Li is indeed well-known for his talent, and the pride of our generation!"

    Among the crowd, people instantly began to congratte a schr dressed in a white brocade robe.

    But, very quickly, it became quiet again. Because, Imperial Messenger Qin continued to announce.

    "Second: Huai An County Qingfeng Academy Zheng Xinzhao,ments: Thoughts were deep and enlightening!"

    "Zheng Xinzhao came in second?! That means only the champion is left?"

    "Do you think Fang Zhengzhi will be the roll champion?"

    "Can you don¡¯t make such a joke? Roll champion? A person who didn¡¯t even entered a Hall of Dao attaining roll champion? Ha ha ha..."

    "Ha ha ha... I just thought the atmosphere was a little too serious and decided to make a joke."

    Just as Imperial Messenger Qin finished his sentence, a wave of discussion erupted below, includingughter from a few examinees without a care for the world.

    "In first ce, roll champion for the theory examination, Fang Zhengzhi!" Using his voice, Imperial Messenger Qin sessfully suppressed theughter in the area.

    In an instant, the examinees who were mocking daringly felt as if they had swallowed a fly, choking till their necks were flushed red.

    "Roll... roll champion?! Fang Zhengzhi is the roll champion?!"

    "How is this possible?"

    Each of the examinees didn¡¯t dare to believe their ears. They had never thought that a person who filled a vacancy in the First-ss Roll during the first round of theory examination would be able to attain Roll Champion in the overall results.

    "Everybody seems to be in disbelief? Actually, personally, I didn¡¯t really believe it. But, I can tell everyone that if the first round of theory examination was ranked, Fang Zhengzhi would also be the Roll Champion!"

    "Because, out of all the years I chaired the examinations, this is the first time I saw full marks in the theory examination!"

    "Full marks!"

    "Full marks!"

    Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s words were like a bowl of cold water poured into a bucket of hot oil, instantly causing an explosion within the crowd. Full marks? First full marks in a theory examination?!

    Who could believe it, and who would want to believe it?

    Shock filled the eyes of everybody at the venue.

    But, would Imperial Messenger Qin lie? Naturally, that was impossible.

    Reality?

    This was reality?!

    Only now did people finally start to understand.

    Why Fang Zhengzhi would report Meng Yushu? For a person who would attain full marks, why would he need to take Meng Yushu¡¯s examination paper?

    That was beneath him!

    Completely and absolutely beneath him!

    Meng Yushu, sitting at the restaurant opposite, waspletely stunned at this moment.

    "First full marks in a theory examination? He... he attained full marks that round?!" Meng Yushu¡¯s heart felt as if a huge stone had fallen on it. Because, for the first round of theory examination, even he couldn¡¯tplete it fully.

    And furthermore, for those questions he did, he was only confident of answering eighty percent of them.

    Just as filled with disbelief as Meng Yushu were Li Zhuangshi, Li Huer and the rest of the gang.

    "Full marks?!" Li Zhuangshi and the rest exchanged nces at one another, their facespletely filled with shock. Because, they knew very clearly that Fang Zhengzhi had really never entered the Hall of Dao even for a single day in his life.

    "How is this possible?!"

    Imperial Messenger Qin gazed at the shocked expressions below, and he could somewhat resonate with them. Because, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s examination paper the first round, his expression was the same as theirs.

    As for the second round...

    It could only be described as horror!

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s second round of examination paperments: Simple words, astonishing meaning, every word a treasure!" When Imperial Messenger Qin announced this, he almost couldn¡¯t hide the emotions in his voice.

    In reality, there was something even more shocking that he could announce.

    That was that overnight, he had sent Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s second round¡¯s examination paper to the Imperial Academy, requesting in the letter to rmend using Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer as the official interpretation of the Law of Dao!

    But, he didn¡¯t dare to say this.

    Because for matters that concerned the Law of Dao, even with his status, he could only make suggestions.

    But this also reflected Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s emotions when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s examination paper. Excitement, confusion, horror, and even feeling slightly uneasy and rmed.

    Because, that answer was simply too brilliant.

    Every single word made insights about the subject at hand, causing people to wish there was more. It felt as if that it was specially summarised for those questions.

    Even Imperial Messenger Qin himself didn¡¯t dare to say that he could think of a better answer.

    "Simple words, astonishing meaning, every word a treasure!"

    Hence, even though Imperial Messenger Qin didn¡¯t announce the full extent of the situation, the entire crowd grew silent upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sments. Because, everybody knew what these eight words meant...

    How extraordinary it was!

 Chapter 70: A Bright Moon Shining Overhead

    Chapter 70: A Bright Moon Shining Overhead

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Simple words, astonishing meaning, every word a treasure!"

    "Roll champion, Fang Zhengzhi is really the theory examination Roll Champion!"

    At this moment, the faces of the two examinees who previously made the bet with Fang Zhengzhi turned a deathly shade of white. They understood clearly that after today, they would never have the face to appear in the Huai An County again...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name quickly appeared on the most eye-catching position of the First-ss Roll.

    That position represented true glory!

    Li Huer and Li Zhuangshi finally nced at one another. They knew very clearly that once Fang Zhengzhi sessfully passed the theory examination, that meant they couldn¡¯t stop the rest of the situation from unfolding.

    Looking back to eight years ago...

    The scenes of the past appeared one by one, yet nobody could bear to look back!

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sbat abilities could only be described with one word, and that was...

    "Monstrous!"

    A monster who was able to barge deep into the Cang Ling Mountain yet being able to return with his clothes in perfect condition! Nobody knew how he did it, but eight years ago, that was reality.

    "You are Fang Zhengzhi?" When Imperial Messenger Qin finished his announcement, he finally noticed Fang Zhengzhi within the crowd. A sh of shock appeared in his eyes. "I heard that you were young, but I never knew you were so young!"

    "Thank you, Lord Imperial Messenger, for your praise!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed. To have the acumen to identify pearls, this meant that at least this Imperial Messenger Qin had some insight.

    "When I praised you just now on top, you didn¡¯t even smile once. It is very pleasing to me to know that a youth can have such a personality, I hope that you don¡¯t fall too early in thebat examinations!"

    Imperial Messenger Qin nodded, then, didn¡¯t speak further, turned around, and left.

    After years of chairing the examinations, he had seen too many talents. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was the brightest of them all, but, it was ultimately only a county theory examination.

    The roll champion of the theory examination was always of different levelpared to thebat examination.

    He still had to observe further Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities and potential.

    ...

    Sitting at the restaurant opposite, Meng Yushu¡¯s expression at this moment was frightfully dark. Staring at Fang Zhengzhi within the crowd below, he finally couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. Leaping up, he actually directly jumped down from the second floor of the restaurant.

    "Hmph! So what if you are the theory examination roll champion? How can the light from a grain of ricepete for splendour with the grand moon!"

    With a cold cry, a line faint green shadow shed across his body. In mid-air, when the shadow disappeared, Meng Yushu¡¯s body followed the shadow¡¯s path and quickly changed into a few different postures.

    Then, the strange thing urred.

    Meng Yushu¡¯s body suddenly slowed down mid-air, and his falling speed suddenly decreased. It felt like a piece of leaf floating in the air, falling slowly to the ground.

    Giving off a slight sound.

    "It¡¯s Meng Yushu!"

    "That just now should be Dao Seal?"

    "I never thought that having only essed Dao for a year, Meng Yushu would be able to mimic the Dao Seal. I fear he has already reached the threshold for the ¡®Divine Seal State¡¯?"

    "If the theory examination roll champion is Fang Zhengzhi... then this time¡¯sbat examination¡¯s roll champion would no doubt be Meng Yushu!" When the crowd witnessed this scene, one followed by another, they began to shower praises.

    Culture could bring peace and stability to a country, while a military could establish a country.

    Compared to the roll champion of the theory examination, thebat examination roll champion was definitely more valuable!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, in thebat examination, I will show you what is true power!" Meng Yushu took one look at Fang Zhengzhi, turned around, and left. He didn¡¯t bother concealing the anger in his tone at all.

    To a grand young master of the Meng Residence, he indeed didn¡¯t have to conceal.

    "He had dered war!"

    "There will be a good show to watch now, I believe Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t even be able to pass the first stage!"

    "The roll champion of the theory examination being eliminated in the first round of thebat examination? I can¡¯t wait!"

    When a group of examinees heard Meng Yushu¡¯s words, they instantly grew excited. Evidently, even though Fang Zhengzhi attained the theory examination roll champion, but they remained unhappy with him in their hearts.

    Combat!

    That was the foundation of establishing a country!

    "Hey, those two over there, what are you waiting for? Shouldn¡¯t you be stripping now?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay any attention to Meng Yushu at all, neither did he bother about the discussion around him. Instead, he gazed at the two examinees preparing to escape not too far away...

    "Woosh!"

    One sentence caused everybody¡¯s attention topletely shift back to those two examinees. At the same time, the crowd silently heaved a sigh of relief that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bet with them.

    The roll champion of the theory examination? A person who didn¡¯t even enter a Hall of Dao before?

    No matter how one put it, Fang Zhengzhi attaining the roll champion was a fact. That meant that naturally, there was no way to argue over this any further. As the saying goes, if one didn¡¯t ask to die, one won¡¯t die!

    The faces of the two examinees alternated between red and white. But, they couldn¡¯t argue against what was written in ck and white. The swarming crowd seemed to be finding an avenue for them to vent their frustrations, and a momentter, on the great streets and small alleys of the Huai An County, a beautiful scenery appeared...

    ...

    At night, in the inn, Fang Zhengzhi sat in front of the window and read silently, feeling the gradual changes in his body. In the span of eight years, he seemed to have walked in front of a door.

    That was a door that separated his body from the outside world.

    Within the door, all creations were stars that brightly lit up the entire sky.

    Outside the door, was an empty void, quiet and dark.

    These two entirely different feelings were like twopletely different worlds.

    The Dao of All Creation originated from Man, controlling All Creations!

    These eight years, Fang Zhengzhi had always followed these words. But now, he felt a strong sensation, and felt that these words needed some modifications...

    But, how to modify? And what should it be?

    That was the confusion Fang Zhengzhi felt in his heart.

    "Crack!" An extremely soft sound came from somewhere on top of him. The sound was too soft, even the asional footsteps outside the room was louder than that.

    But, the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a faint smile.

    Then, pressing his foot lightly on the ground, his entire body leapt onto the roof like a streak of meteor.

    He didn¡¯t make any weird movements like Meng Yushu did, and not a single hint of light radiated from his body. But, the speed was insanely fast, as if he was propelled up by a whirlwind.

    Insanely fast, yetnding on the ground so lightly that it caused people to be flustered.

    There wasn¡¯t a single bit of sound, as if he had been standing there all along.

    On the roof, a ck figure stared at the Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden appearance, and was stunned for exactly three seconds. Then, turning into a stream of light, it quickly fled into the distance.

    "A bright moon shining overhead, what a beautiful scenery!"

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t give chase, and only raised his head to look at the huge silver moon hanging in the night sky. Then, finding an arch in the roof, hey down.

    Just like that, quietly, the moonlightnded onto his body.

    ...

    The second day, a piece of news spread across the Huai An County. One of the top three in the theory examination, Li Bowei, mysteriously disappeared.

    ...

    The third day, Li Bowei was found in a small dpidated alley,pletely unconscious! Based on what he said after he awoken, he had identally fallen down after his celebratory drink, hence took a nap in the small alley.

    But why would he go to the small alley?

    He didn¡¯t exin.

    ...

    The fifth day, the Law of Daobat examination had officially begun.

 Chapter 71: Challenge Fang Zhengzhi

    Chapter 71: Challenge Fang Zhengzhi

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The venue was naturally still the Qingfeng Academy, however, the location had shifted to thebat square behind the academy. Three huge stages neatly upied the vastbat square.

    Behind the stage, was where the judges of thebat examination sat.

    Imperial Messenger Qin sat in the centre seat, while two others sat beside him. One of them wore a ck official robe, from the embroidery on his official robe, he seemed like the county head of the Huai An County.

    The other was dressed like a schr, around forty-six to forty-seven years of age, his tiny eyes were half opened and a few crops of white hair were evident at near his temples.

    A few invigtors waited below the stage, waiting for the gong signifying the start of thebat examination to sound out.

    "The first round ofbat examination, based on elimination! We will draw lots to determine Leader and Follower. The person who draws "Leader" will be the stage leader, and can freely choose any person who drew the word "Follower". The winner, will advance a level! The loser, will be eliminated! There will only be one round ofpetition!" Imperial Messenger Qin quickly announced the rules.

    These rules could be said to be simple and rough.

    Moreover, luck and chance were also important. Because, the person who drew the word "Leader" very obviously had the power to act.

    But, things had always been like this and who was to say that luck wasn¡¯t part of one¡¯s abilities?

    The drawing of lots proceeded very quickly, and each of the examinees chose, from ten boxes, a small stone token with words written on it. Then, after the lots drawing ended, names appeared on the two roll stones representing leader and follower.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s luck seemed not to bad, drawing a "follower" word.

    That meant that his fate was decided by others.

    Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan¡¯s luck were not too bad either, and like Fang Zhengzhi, drew a "follower" word. This caused their emotions to be rather pessimistic, sitting on their seats and sighing, Heavens is ying with them, luck isn¡¯t fair.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mood remained the same as always. Because, he realised something strange. The roll stone that represented the "leader" word actually bore Meng Yushu¡¯s name.

    "Huh? Meng Yushu still can participate in thebat examination?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather confused, but didn¡¯t probe deeper.

    Then, he quickly realised something curious.

    A familiar face appeared at the venue.

    Wearing a brocade robe, and an icy cold expression on his face - Yan Xiu.

    How could Yan Xiu enter thebat examination venue? Fang Zhengzhi was indeed confused. Because, those who could enter the examination venue were very obviously all examinees.

    But, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even participate in the theory examination. And most importantly, when the lots were drawn previously, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even go up the stage. Yan Xiu¡¯s name wasn¡¯t on the roll stone either.

    Here to watch?

    Fang Zhengzhi could only use this exnation. But, to be able to enter thebat examination venue to watch was something that was rather stunning. At least, an average person wouldn¡¯t be able to do so.

    Just as he thought, a voice sounded out at his ear.

    "Challenge Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. Hadn¡¯t it just started? Who was so cruel as to select him out of the vast sea of people?

    This was the first round, in a real eliminationpetition.

    If one lost, no matter how good the results in the theory examination were, one would instantly be eliminated.

    With his reputation as the theory examination roll champion, he still couldn¡¯t scare aoff this person?

    Raising his head, Fang Zhengzhi understood. Because, the person that stood on the stage was the one wearing a yellow brocade robe with a sword at his waist - Meng Yushu.

    At this moment, the crowd of examinees grew excited.

    After the results were released at the theory examination previously, they naturally thought that Meng Yushu and Fang Zhengzhi would definitely fight. But, they didn¡¯t realise that this fight woulde so fast, appearing in the first round.

    "Meng Yushu challenges Fang Zhengzhi, this luck isn¡¯t normally so good!"

    "That¡¯s right, taking into ount Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s roll champion results at the theory examination, as long as he doesn¡¯t lose the first round ofbat examination, he would be able to, at the very least, pass the Law of Dao examination!"

    "Looks like Meng Yushu has hardened his resolve to ensure Fang Zhengzhi doesn¡¯t pass!"

    "That¡¯s natural. If it were you, getting reported by him at the theory examination, how would you let him pass thebat examination?"

    The examinees discussed spiritedly, each of themmenting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bad luck. Because, the first round ofbat examinations didn¡¯t even need to be watched to know that the results were decided long ago.

    After all, in their hearts, Meng Yushu was the only examinee who essed Dao in this Law of Dao examination.

    This was a round thatcked the most suspense, but, it was a round that everybody looked forward to most.

    "Young master¡¯s decision is indeed somewhat unexpected!" On the judging stage, wearing a ck official robe, the county head¡¯s gazed at the middle-aged schr beside him and smiled gently.

    "Young master¡¯s ambition isrge. If he challenged some random people, he might be afraid of gettingughed at?" The middle-aged schr looked at Meng Yushu standing on the stage, and looked as if everything was to be expected.

    "Ha ha..." Imperial Messenger Qinughed gently, clenched the fist he ced below the stage, released it and didn¡¯t speak further.

    At this moment, Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan¡¯s gaze was also fixated on Fang Zhengzhi.

    They had initially confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely pass the Law of Dao examination. But, now it seemed that this confirmation was about to turn into a question mark.

    Meng Yushu...

    That was the power of having essed Dao, no matter how strong Fang Zhengzhi was, he definitely couldn¡¯t be stronger than him?

    Changing their mind, when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, they were filled with pity.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be disappointed! Even though you lost, but, you can take the examination again next time. As long as you don¡¯t meet someone like him next time, there will still be a chance!" Li Huer reassured.

    "That¡¯s right, Fang Zhengzhi. Losing today is all because luck isn¡¯t on your side!" Meng Jiangshan simrly advised by the side.

    "Indeed, luck is not on my side." The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a smile. Then, he stood up slowly and strolled leisurely towards the stage.

    Three stages hosted fights at the same time, naturally, the other stages had already started to fight.

    However,pared to the other two stages, the stage in which Fang Zhengzhi was at waspletely surrounded by examinees. Under the other two stages, the number of people could be counted with one¡¯s fingers.

    The stark contrast was indeed a little unduly.

    In the end, Fang Zhengzhi went up the stage. After the signal was given by the invigtor, the two cupped their fists, representing that friendship came first, whilepetition came second.

    "Take out your weapon!" After cupping his fist, Meng Yushu directly unsheathed his sword, which gave off an icy glow.

    "I won¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    Just as he prepared to snatch the first move, Meng Yushu stopped in his tracks. His gazended on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s coarse blue robe, and a cold smile suddenly appeared on his face.

    "If you don¡¯t have any weapons, feel free to choose any below the stage!" An arrogant expression appeared on Meng Yushu¡¯s face.

    "I have a weapon, but, against you... I don¡¯t need any." Fang Zhengzhi expressed the truth.

    These words not only caused Meng Yushu to be taken aback, even the examinees below the stage were stunned after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Immediately after, a wave ofughter erupted.

    "Ha ha ha... he actually said that he won¡¯t need a weapon to fight Meng Yushu?"

    "Isn¡¯t this overestimating himself a little too much?"

    "I believe he thinks that by not using a weapon, his injuries would be lighter?"

    The examinees very quickly guessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions and doubled over withughter.

    On a seat not too far away, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all, but the finger he ced on the chair moved very slightly.

    On the judging stage, a glint appeared in Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s eyes.

    "Don¡¯t need weapons? Ha ha... interesting!"

 Chapter 72: This was possible?

    Chapter 72: This was possible?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If it was said that Fang Zhengzhi using his understanding of the Law of Dao to achieve roll head in the theory examination was something that people werepletely unable to believe.

    Then...

    Faced with Meng Yushu who had essed Dao, under the pressure of true power, yet still being able to win without using any weapons, that was simply something that downright couldn¡¯t exist.

    Naturally, it was impossible for Meng Yushu to believe this.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression indeed caused him some unease. Because, that expression was too calm, and most importantly, a deep sense of disdain and contempt was clearly evident in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    Stealthily shooting a nce at Yan Xiu, Meng Yushu saw that Yan Xiu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much.

    Then, he moved.

    He decided to use the most direct method to resolve this battle ofrge disparity in strengths.

    "Die!"

    With an icy glint, Meng Yushu leapt up.

    Then, the stage felt as if it had been sttered with a wave of raindrops. Or perhaps a better way of saying was that it was really raindrops. Because, within the lush white glow, one by one raindrops were rapidly falling from the skies.

    In an instant, those raindrops were falling towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "So powerful!"

    "Dao Seal summoning rain, and the sword following the fall of the rain!"

    Most of the examinees didn¡¯t ess Dao, and naturally were filled with admiration.

    Dao Seal, that was something that interpreted the existence of All Creations, and what Meng Yushu used now was the Rainfall Dao Seal. Tracing the Rainfall Dao Seal and integrating sword techniques within the Rainfall Dao Seal.

    Under this situation, the sword could attack like the raindrops.

    At the judging panel, a slight smile appeared on the county head¡¯s face, evidently very approving of Meng Yushu¡¯s abilities.

    "Plop plop plop..."

    As the raindrops fell on the stage, fine thin cuts appeared on the red carpet that adorned the stage, looking as if it had been poured over by the rain of the spring.

    On the other hand, Meng Yushu gentlynded on the ground.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared.

    This caused Meng Yushu to feel extremely shocked.

    He had clearly seen Fang Zhengzhi standing at his original location just now, furthermore, he simply couldn¡¯t avoid this technique. But... very mysteriously, when his sword rainnded, it seemed to not have contacted any objects.

    "How slow!"

    A voice lightly sounded out from behind Meng Yushu.

    Meng Yushu waspletely taken aback. Looking behind, he realised that Fang Zhengzhi was still standing at his original location, and below his feet, were the scars that he had just created with his sword rain.

    "How is this possible?"

    Meng Yushu couldn¡¯t ept this at all. He simply couldn¡¯t understand how Fang Zhengzhi avoided his attack, and yet returned back to his original location.

    Not only him, even the examinees under the stage were absolutely confused.

    Meng Yushu leaping up, then causing visions of raindrop to appear in mid-air, thennding from the air, everything was perfect.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi stood at his original location all along.

    But when they blinked and looked again, they realised that there strangely weren¡¯t any scars at all on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, as if Meng Yushu had ghosted through him.

    In the entire venue, other that the shock of the crowd, there were two other people whose expression were rather abnormal. One was Imperial Messenger Qin, the other was Yan Xiu. At this moment, a faint glint shed in both their eyes.

    As if they had seen something extremely incredible.

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Ha ha... this is indeed a battle of vastly differing strengths!" Imperial Messenger Qin mumbled softly, his eyes seeming as if he was deep in thought.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu lightly gripped the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan on his hands and then, one word came from his mouth.

    "Friend!"

    On the stage, Fang Zhengzhi quietly stood at his original spot, staring at Meng Yushu whose face was filled with shock.

    "Using rainfall as a seal, then integrating sword techniques within, not too shabby..." Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, then, nodded as if he realised something.

    But, when his voice entered Meng Yushu¡¯s ears, it was nothing but shame.

    A person who didn¡¯t even ess Dao calling him not too shabby, if this was not shameful, what was?

    "You actually mocked me as slow!"

    Meng Yushu¡¯s expression turned cold. Pushing off the ground lightly with his feet, his body quickly changed into a few strange postures. A faint ray of green light shed in mid-air, and the image of falling leaves shed then subsided.

    "Another Dao Seal!"

    "This time, it should be the falling leaves!"

    The attention of the examinees was once again absorbed by Meng Yushu. After all, even though Fang Zhengzhi avoided Meng Yushu¡¯s attack just now, he seemed to have not moved at all.

    Most importantly...

    There were never any rays of light that radiated from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Just like an extremely average person.

    "Woosh!" Meng Yushu moved again. But this time, his body blurred and his movement tracks became extremely drifty.

    It felt just like a piece of leaf dancing in a strong gale.

    "This time, he integrated the Dao Seal into his body movements!" An acute examinee quickly saw through it. Meng Yushu was using his body movements to mimic the dancing of falling leaves.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the drifting Meng Yushu beside him.

    Suddenly, he felt that it was getting too boring. He actually wished to see whether Meng Yushu would have any new moves, but in reality, he was disappointed. Extremely disappointed.

    There was nothing too new and interesting about Meng Yushu¡¯s moves.

    "Sigh..."

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed lightly.

    Then, clenching his hand into a fist, he calmly lowered himself into a small horse stance, as if he was trying to practice some sort of kungfu on the stage.

    Very slowly, Fang Zhengzhi unhurriedly punched out with his left fist.

    The two people on the stage seemed rather strange at this moment. Because, their actions seemedpletely unrted to that of the another.

    Meng Yushu was employing his body movements to prepare to attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi stood alone on the stage in a horse stance, then, slowly pushed out with his left fist.

    "What is he doing?"

    "Practising kungfu? Or punching the air?"

    "What a joke, he thinks that by punching the air, he can win? Don¡¯t tell me Meng Yushu will still decide to bang onto his fist?"

    When the examinees saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements, they all began to ridicule.

    Nobody knew what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements were too slow, so slow that even if people didn¡¯t want to avoid this attack, it would still be rather impossible.

    Yet...

    Just as the crowd felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were too ridiculous.

    Meng Yushu suddenly slipped, then, Meng Yushu, initially drifting indefinitely on the stage, fell head over heels and his head mmed towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist.

    "Bang!"

    A dull thud, then Meng Yushu¡¯s face was heavily punched by a fist.

    Everybody was instantly stunned.

    How is this possible?

    During their confusion, an even stranger scene appeared. Because, after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist contacted Meng Yushu¡¯s face, Meng Yushu¡¯s body traced a beautiful arc in the air like a shooting star.

    With a "boom!", he fell outside the stage.

    Below the stage, the examinees looked at the unconscious Meng Yushu and were instantly stunned...

 Chapter 73: Luck Coming to an End

    Chapter 73: Luck Coming to an End

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    What was this about?

    Nobody understood why Meng Yushu would slip, then, after slipping... just happened to smash into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist.

    The entire venue was silent...

    Everybody stared, stunned, at Fang Zhengzhi, who was unhurriedly pulling back his fist.

    Defeated?! Meng Yushu defeated? How did he get defeated?

    On the judging panel, the county head wearing an official robe¡¯s eyes turned around with shock. Staring at Fang Zhengzhi standing on the stand, and then shifting gaze to the middle-aged schr sitting by his side.

    He simrly didn¡¯t understand what had just transpired.

    On the other hand, meeting the county head¡¯s gaze, the middle-aged schr also shook his head. His expression was the same as the county head, in absolute disbelief.

    "I see!" At this moment, Imperial Messenger Qin mumbled softly.

    "What did Imperial Messenger see?" The county head turned his head towards Imperial Messenger Qin.

    "Hmm, it can be said that I see, and also don¡¯t see. County Head Wang, look there!" Imperial Messenger Qin pointed towards the right side of the stage in front of Fang Zhengzhi as he spoke.

    "Stone?!" County Head Wang stared, then was suddenly taken aback. "You say, just now he..."

    "That¡¯s right, but, whether this stone was originally on the stage, or was thrown by him onto the stage, I don¡¯t know..." Imperial Messenger Qin looked deep in thought.

    "But this doesn¡¯t make sense! This is only the first round, the possibility of a stone appearing on top isn¡¯trge! Furthermore, even if there really was a stone, how could he be so sure that Meng Yushu would definitely step on that stone, and, be so sure that the position Meng Yushu would fall towards, would definitely be where he ced his fist?" As the county head thought, things seemed even more impossible. But, the more impossible it seemed, the more shock he felt.

    Because, this was easy to say, but to really carry this out, it was insanely hard.

    "I don¡¯t know, but he indeed did it... didn¡¯t he?" Imperial Messenger Qin shook his head.

    The county head didn¡¯t speak further. But when he shifted his gaze back towards Fang Zhengzhi, aplicated expression appeared in his eyes. Indeed, as Imperial Messenger Qin said, no matter how it happened, Fang Zhengzhi had really managed to do it...

    The gaze of the middle-aged schr was at this moment fixated upon the small stone on the stage, then, looking at the unconscious Meng Yushu below the stage, an icy glow appeared in his eyes.

    The examinees naturally overheard the conversation at the judging panel and finally noticed the "unweed guest" on the stage.

    "Stone?!"

    "A piece of stone?"

    All of the examinees exchanged nces at one another, and were at a loss for words.

    Meng Yushu tripped over a stone, then coincidentally smashed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist, and then... sent flying?

    This was the truth?

    But the truth was a little too inconceivable?!

    "The first round, Fang Zhengzhi wins!" Regaining his senses, the invigtor quickly announced Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s win.

    But, below the stage, was nothing but silence. Because, none of the examinees were able to understand how something so coincidental could ur in this world.

    "Coincidence?" Yan Xiu¡¯s lips parted slightly, then, slowly shook his head. The Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan on his hands hurriedly fanned a few times, then gradually calmed down.

    ...

    "Fang Zhengzhi, isn¡¯t your luck a little too good?" Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan stared at Fang Zhengzhi who walked down from the stage and returned back to his seat, their eyes filled with envy.

    Fang Zhengzhi spitefully twitched his mouth. Faced with such a question, he indeed couldn¡¯t be bothered to reply.

    But, this expression when seen by Li Huer and Meng Yushu, seemed like he was powerless to dispute.

    "Alright, no matter how good your luck is, it will finally end one day!" Li Huer and Meng Yushu could only believe this.

    ...

    Afterwards, thepetitions became rather dull.

    Most of it was a battle of brute strength, or using some weird tactics. Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan were somewhat bored, but, Fang Zhengzhi watched with great interest.

    It was the simplest moves that consisted of the greatest imagination.

    For example, a man wearing a blue robe employed the move "Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon", even though there was neither a rhinoceros nor a moon, the main point was the groin kick that followed right after "Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon". That move was rather incredible.

    Instantly causing his opponent to kneel over and beg for mercy.

    There is always something to learn from everyone. All along, Fang Zhengzhi fought with a learning mentality. That was also why he allowed Meng Yushu to demonstrate two moves.

    Afterwards, Meng Yushu and Li Huer seemed to have rather bad luck.

    Because, being at the bottom of the theory examination, naturally they faced the attack of the tempest.

    After shouting out "Heaven killed me!", Meng Jiangshan fell from the stage. His mouth was filled with mud and seemed battered and exhausted.

    On the other hand, Li Huer was rather brave and fierce, his fists carrying the sound of the wind and in spite of the opponent causing him to bepletely unable to fight back, he managed to push his opponent below the stage.

    "I won, I won!"

    Li Huer simply couldn¡¯t contain his happiness. But, if this was apanied by two huge panda eyes, it became rather unsightly.

    Finally, the first round ended.

    Among the top three of the theory examination, Fang Zhengzhi, as the top of the theory roll, defeated Meng Yushu and sessfully entered the second while. On the other hand, Zheng Xinzhao¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t very good.

    Because, Li Bowei actually challenged him in the first round.

    Then, an incredible and outstanding battle unfolded. Each move was fatal and deadly, and every step was tense. Finally, Zheng Xinzhao finally lost. Unfortunately, he even suffered a heavy injury.

    From what it seemed like, Li Bowei seemed to be overly pressured by Zheng Xinzhao and almost fell off the stage, then, flicking his sword, he just happened to identally cut Zheng Xinzhao¡¯s wrist.

    His meridians were instantly cut!

    This also meant that in the future, it would definitely extremely hard for Zheng Xinzhao to improve in thebat examination. But, this ident happened on the stage, and everybody had witnessed the situation that unfolded. Hence, nobody overly questioned Li Bowei¡¯s actions.

    "Gong!" The second round of thebat examination started.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance in the theory examination was incredible, no matter whether he won this round or not, he could still pass the Law of Dao examination. However, this was not the case for Li Huer. He only managed to enter the Second-ss Roll in the theory examination, hence, needed to advance another round.

    What was different from the first round was that the fight wasn¡¯t determined by "leader" and "follower" anymore, and instead was decided based on drawing lots.

    After all, the method of choosing leader and follower was only appropriate to filter out people in the first round. Its main purpose was to use the fastest method to eliminate the ones people considered weak.

    Only after sessfully filtering out the fish in troubled water could the realpetition be even more wonderful.

    After lots were drawn, matched names very quickly appeared on the two roll stones.

    After which...

    Li Huer¡¯s expression turned rather ugly. Because, he knew the person whose name was matched with his, and moreover, he was extremely familiar with him. His name was: Fang Zhengzhi!

    "Sigh, brother Huer is right, indeed, my luck has finallye to an end..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Li Huer¡¯s dejected expression and sighed gloomily, his eyes filled withughter.

 Chapter 74: A Hurried Goodbye

    Chapter 74: A Hurried Goodbye

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Li Huer¡¯s expression was frozen, his two panda eyes blinked and looked towards the azure blue skies. He looked as grieved as a soldier leaving and not being able to return.

    "Can you defeat me in a way that will allow me to keep my face?" Even though Li Huer constantly mocked Fang Zhengzhi during the theory examination, but in thebat examination, at least he knew himself well.

    "How does Huer want it to be like?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly.

    "For example, we will first be locked in battle for around twenty bouts, then, with great difficulty, you defeat me!" Li Huer thought for a while, and decided that this method saved him some face.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi generously nodded.

    When he saw Fang Zhengzhi agree, Li Huer instantly smiled happily. Hurriedly turning his head around, he secretly shot a nce at Fang Zhengzhi and an expression of a sessful n appeared on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi also smiled slightly, as if he hadn¡¯t noticed the expression on Li Huer¡¯s face at all.

    Thepetition went by rather quickly.

    Not too longter, it was Fang Zhengzhi and Li Huer¡¯s turn to mount the stage.

    Due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stunning performance in the first round, he was naturally paid special attention during the second round.

    On the judging panel, the gazes of the three people were fixated on Fang Zhengzhi. Below the stage, it was filled with examinees. On the spectator stand, Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze also shifted over.

    The only regret was that this round, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was indeed rather weak.

    After all, Li Huer¡¯s win in the first round was rather difficult. This was something that everybody had personally witnessed.

    "Kill!"

    Once the match started, Li Huer bravely and fiercely charged towards Fang Zhengzhi, his two tough fists carrying the sound of the wind.

    At Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side, his movement was just as big, butpared to Li Huer¡¯s fist, his was indeed much smaller, and his body wasn¡¯t as stout and strong.

    But, under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s deliberate actions, the sound of the wind indeed wasn¡¯t soft.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    Two men, four fists, intensely collided into each other.

    Li Huer advanced, Fang Zhengzhi retreated. Fang Zhengzhi advanced, Li Huer retreated.

    Under the stage, as the examinees watched this intense battle, they werepletely unable to understand what was happening.

    "Why did the fightst so long?"

    "This isn¡¯t very right, Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Meng Yushu. Why is he actually fighting so hard with this idiot?"

    The three on the judging panel were also filled with shock at this moment.

    Li Huer¡¯s abilities was something they naturally were able to infer with one nce. From the first round of assessment, there was almost no suspense in thispetition.

    Why would so many people pay attention to this.

    The biggest reason was that everyone wanted to know what kind of ability did Fang Zhengzhi reach.

    But now...

    They had seen his abilities, but, this intense fight between the two, and being evenly matched, what was this about? With Li Huer¡¯s abilities?

    The crowd absolutely couldn¡¯t understand this.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first round was initially apetition regarded to be without suspense, yet Meng Yushu lost.

    The second round, it was still apetition regarded to be without suspense, but the difference was that Fang Zhengzhi was so strong that there would be no doubt about this win. Yet, the two were fighting so intensely, just like they were equally matched...

    "He he ha he!"

    Li Huer and Fang Zhengzhi fought intensely on stage, yet below the stage, nobody cheered. All of them stared nkly at the two, thinking that something was amiss.

    Fang Zhengzhi was someone who kept his words. Since he had agreed to allow Li Huer to lose with face, naturally he had to care about their rtionship, having grown up together ever since they were babies.

    Hence, he didn¡¯t rush at all.

    Just like that, the two fought with punches and kicks on the stage for more than a quarter of an hour, and like before, didn¡¯t even look like it was about to end.

    "Giving chance?" Yan Xiu¡¯s lips moved again, and said two words. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Li Huer¡¯s attires and seemed to have understood something.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Li Huer continued to fight.

    Finally, Li Huer¡¯s eyes slowly lit up. Because, he had already "forced" Fang Zhengzhi to a corner of the stage. Furthermore, it seemed from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression that he didn¡¯t realise that at all.

    "An opportunity!" Li Huer felt a sense of delight within, and without caring about anything else, lowered his body into a deep squat. Then, his two arms reached out and pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Tiger pouncing on the prey!

    Li Huer had full confidence in this move, because it was personally taught to him by Li Zhuangshi. Its purpose was to pounce onto a powerful opponent and fall down the stage, hence, most probably, the opponent would definitelynd before him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I apologise! Anyway, you have already passed the Law of Dao examination!"

    Looking at Fang Zhengzhi standing on one corner of the stage, Li Huer simply couldn¡¯t contain the smile on his face anymore. He seemed to have already felt the glory and sess right in front of his eyes.

    Below the stage, the crowd of examinees witnessed this scene, their mouths agape in shock.

    Did this mean that this was the end of Fang Zhengzhi?

    "Plop!" A dull thud sounded out from below the stage.

    Li Huer¡¯s current posture was beautiful. Two fists reaching out towards the front, and two legs bent at an angle, lying face down on the floor.

    It had to be said that the change in his movements was indeed extremely strange, in a sh, the tiger pouncing on the prey turned into eating dog faeces, and the reason that led to this was...

    Unfortunately, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly nted his body.

    And very unfortunately, gave Li Huer¡¯s butt a kick.

    Just like that, an "evenly-matched" battle ended.

    Li Huer raised his head. Spitting out the mud from his mouth, his expression was queer. What happened? He had clearly seen that he was about to embrace Fang Zhengzhi, why did he suddenly appear behind him?

    Where was the face they agreed upon?

    The sudden situation didn¡¯t give him any face at all!

    ...

    Based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle in the second round, the crowd was just as stunned as the first round. The difference was that the process wasn¡¯t quite the same.

    Having passed two rounds, it could almost be confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ranking wouldnd him into the First-ss Roll.

    Once they thought of this, the crowd began to look at Fang Zhengzhi differently. Even though these two rounds of fights in thebat examination left everybody speechless...

    "Theory examination Roll Champion,bat examination First-ss Roll, not bad!" At this moment, County Head Wang also began to ponder, and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with some admiration.

    This time, Imperial Messenger Qin didn¡¯t speak, and calmly lifted up the cup in front of him and sipped on his tea.

    The middle-aged schr on the other hand turned his head to one side and huffed lightly.

    ...

    The third round also employed the drawing lots method.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was a man who wielded a spear, around the age of thirty with a few pockmarks on his face.

    He was very evidently an "old-timer¡¯ in the county examination.

    Once he mounted the stage, he showed his rich experience. Instead of shing with Fang Zhengzhi directly, he chose to do so indirectly.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t rush, and with a rxed expression on his face, employed the tactic of "If the enemy doesn¡¯t move, I won¡¯t move", and quietly watched on. Very unfortunately, after circling Fang Zhengzhi twice, he identally tripped and amazingly fell off the stage...

    ...

    The fourth and fifth round after that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s luck was just as extreme, every opponent falling off the stage due to his own "blunders".

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi helplessly spread open his hands, expressing his innocence.

    ...

    Then, after rounds and rounds of innocence, the examinees shockingly realised a serious problem. Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have reached the finals.

    His opponent wasn¡¯t anybody else but the third in the theory examination, Li Bowei.

    The crowd released a sigh of relief. "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s luck seems like it is finally going to end!"

    After all, Li Bowei¡¯s performance in thebat examination waspletely different from Fang Zhengzhi, disying true strength and power the entire time, and even defeated the second in the theory examination.

    "Start!" The invigtor gave off the order to start.

    "Please!" Li Huer very gracefully gave a beckoning sign towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Please!" Fang Zhengzhi simrly mimicked Li Bowei¡¯s actions.

    Li Bowei finally smiled, but, the smile on his mouth was unusually cold, as if it came from hell, bringing along an air of chilliness.

    "Five days ago, after a hurried goodbye under the moonlit night, I long to see you again!"

 Chapter 75: Divine Seal

    Chapter 75: Divine Seal

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mm, then?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he smiled.

    "Why don¡¯t you look shocked at all?" Li Bowei thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression would change greatly after expressing this. But, it seemed like it had failed quite badly.

    "Am I supposed to be shocked?"

    "Do you understand my main point? I said me, me!" Li Bowei emphasised.

    "Then?"

    "..." Li Bowei stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who wore an innocent look on his face and felt a deep sense of defeat. Then, his tone suddenly changed, like a thousand-year-old cier.

    "Die!"

    In a sh, Li Bowei charged towards Fang Zhengzhi, the sword in his hands pointing towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat. His speed was fast as lightning, and a faint glow radiated from the top of his de.

    "This is the ability Li Bowei has been hiding!" County Head Wang quickly stood up.

    "Something is wrong!" Imperial Messenger Qin simrly realised something.

    "Li Bowei and I are both from the Qingfeng Academy, and was already very close to essing Dao... wait! Something is really wrong! It is not possible for Li Bowei to have such power!" The middle-aged schr instinctively waited to defend Li Bowei, but after seeing Li Bowei¡¯s movements clearly, he waspletely stunned.

    Because...

    The ability Li Bowei was disying now had long exceeded that of Meng Yushu who essed Dao a year ago.

    From what the Qingfeng Academy knew, Li Bowei was still a slight bit away from essing Dao, and it was impossible for him to improve by so much within a few days!

    ...

    At the stage, in a blink of an eye, Li Bowei¡¯s sword was an inch away from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    Furthermore, the sword¡¯s power didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of being restrained, instead, the icy glow expanded outwards. If this stab was sessfully, it would definitely kill in one blow!

    It was too sinister and deadly!

    Under the stage, the examinees stared at Li Bowei¡¯s attack, their mouths agape in shock. It was too fast, so fast that people simply couldn¡¯t react.

    If Li Bowei¡¯s previous performance caused people to feel that he was powerful, then now...

    This can only be described by horror!

    "Woosh!" Two figures closed the distance between them.

    Immediately after, a dull sound boomed from the stage, then the two figures quickly shot apart.

    "Ha ha ha... who would have thought! Fifteen years of age yet reaching such a level. Talent, a true talent! Even more talented that what I thought!" Li Bowei stretched his shoulders, the icy glow in his eyes expanding.

    "You aren¡¯t too bad either!" Fang Zhengzhi also gave a sincere praise. Shaking his palms, the shards of ice stuck to it fell to the ground.

    "What is even more worthy of celebrating is that today, will be the day of your death!" When Li Bowei finished his words, the air in the entire stage became a lot colder.

    Brandishing the sword on his hands, ayer of translucent ice crystals instantly appeared on his sword. At the same time, a dense white mist emanated from his body.

    "Divine Seal! Li Bowei had reached Divine Seal!" County Head Wang¡¯s eyes instantly widened. He simply couldn¡¯t believe that a person who reached the Divine Seal State could appear in the county examinations.

    After essing Dao, man could begin to understand All Creation, but, this required a process.

    For example, even though Meng Yushu essed Dao for a year, he still couldn¡¯t reach the Divine Seal State, and could only rely on the Dao Seal to force his powers to reach the abilities of the Divine Seal early stage.

    But that was only based on power. If he really met with someone who reached the Divine Seal early state, he would no doubt be defeated.

    Because, the good thing about this was that one¡¯s powers would increase. However, the bad thing was that before every move, he had to first disy the Dao Seal to prepare.

    But if one reached the Divine Seal, then everything would be different.

    The Divine Seal represented that onepletely sealed a form of All Creation into one¡¯s body, hence when employing it, it wouldn¡¯t require the assistance of any Dao Seal at all.

    In order to achieve this, one required chance and understanding.

    Because, in order to seal All Creation into one¡¯s body, this represented that one¡¯s understanding of the Dao of All Creation had already reached an extremely high level. For example, how it was made, how it changed, its different properties, how to destroy it... everything was in one¡¯s grasp.

    "It might not even be as simple as Divine Seal!" Imperial Messenger Qin opened his mouth as well.

    From what was happening on the stage, Li Bowei borrowed the help of cold air, freezing into ice crystals and giving off an icy mist. Just from this point alone, one could infer that he already wasn¡¯t at the early stage of Divine Seal anymore.

    As of which level he had reached, it was currently unable to be determined.

    "This Li Bowei, how could he conceal himself so much?" The middle-aged schr sighed deeply.

    Under the stage, the examinees werepletely stunned at this moment. Li Bowei had actually reached Divine Seal? Furthermore,pared to the Divine Sealte stage... it seemed to be even higher.

    How could this not cause people to be shocked?

    "Die!" Li Boweipletely ignored the crowd¡¯s shock, as if he had already expected all of these to happen. Then, he moved again. Completely enveloped in a white, icy mist, he charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Isn¡¯t it just a little bit of cold air?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth in disdain.

    Then, his body also gave off a dense white mist. Moreover,pared to Li Bowei¡¯s mist, it was even thicker...

    "Divine... Divine Seal?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi he... he also reached Divine Seal?"

    Instantly, none of the examinees were able toe to their senses. If the fact that Li Bowei had achieved Divine Seal was a shocking matter, then Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden attainment of Divine Seal was something people simply couldn¡¯t imagine.

    It was just a county examination of the Law of Dao examination.

    Those who essed Dao could directly skip this and participate in the capital examinations. Two people who reached Divine Sealing here topete? Wasn¡¯t this simply bullying?

    As the examinees were filled with shock, two balls of white, icy mist shed into each other.

    Then, an intense shing sound sounded out from within the white mist.

    After which, Li Bowei¡¯s body flew out from the white mist, like a meteor flying through the skies, mmed into the ground with a boom.

    The white mist gradually dispersed. Fang Zhengzhi quietly stood on the stage and looked at Li Bowei lying on the ground.

    "Wow!"

    In an instant, all the examinees were roused. All their doubts were finally resolved. So what if Fang Zhengzhi could defeat Meng Yushu? Even a Divine Seal person like Li Bowei was defeated!

    That meant that Fang Zhengzhi possessed true power!

    "How powerful!"

    "I never thought that he had actually reached Divine Seal!"

    "A person who had never entered the Hall of Dao, relying solely on self-study! Achieving Roll Champion in the theory examinations, and even reaching Divine Seal? Isn¡¯t this simply unthinkable?"

    The examinees discussed spiritedly.

    On the spectator stand, Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan nced at one another, their faces filled with absolute shock.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... reached Divine Seal?!"

    At this moment, Imperial Messenger Qin also stood up. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi standing on the stage, he looked as if it had seen a perfectly beautiful piece of unpolished jade.

    Then, just as everybody¡¯s gaze werepletely fixated on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Sitting at the spectator stand, Yan Xiu stood up suddenly. His ice-cold expression now seemed to have be rather anxious.

    "Beware!"

    "Boom!" Just as Yan Xiu¡¯s wordsnded, a gigantic roar sounded out from the stage. An immense destructive force instantly caused the entire stage to shake wildly.

    "Zoom zoom zoom..." Broken pieces of rocks and pebbles flew out from the stage like knives, instantly piercing bloody holes into the bodies of the examinees below.

    "Ah ah ah ah!" The examinees below the stage instantly cried out in pain.

    On the stage at this moment, dust flew everywhere. It was simply impossible to discern what was happening inside, only a faint blue glow of light blinked in and out of the cloud of dust.

 Chapter 76: Demon Eye

    Chapter 76: Demon Eye

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    After an instant, the dust dispersed. A youth wearing a white brocade robe appeared, with an icy glint in his eyes. The sword on his hand impaled itself into the ground, and ayer of ice crystals covered the de of his sword. Below his feet, there was a humongous crack in the sound.

    The strangest thing was.

    A portion of skin had been peeled off his face, revealing a crystal-like, faint blue gem on his forehead. Within the gem, there was a faint flow of light, just like an eye.

    "I never thought that having hidden within the human world for five years, I have been exposed today!" As the youth spoke, his gaze swept across the crowd below the stage, with a demonic air around him.

    "Ah!" As the gaze of the youth swept across the crowd below the stage, the examinees instantly began to cry out.

    The expressions of three people at the judging panel also changed suddenly. At this moment, they naturally knew the true identity of the youth on the stage, and knew well what the gem on the youth¡¯s forehead stood for.

    "The demon race!" County Head Wang¡¯s face was a deathly shade of white. He never thought that the demon race would be able to sneak into the Law of Dao examination.

    "Surround him, don¡¯t let him run away!" After identifying the youth, the middle-aged schr quickly shouted towards the surrounding guards.

    "Audacious demon race, you dare destroy the talents of our human race! Die!" Imperial Messenger Qin looked at the huge gaping hole on the stage and carried a grieved expression on his face.

    All these years, the appearance of the demon race in the Law of Dao examination wasn¡¯t something that had never happened. Their goal was simple, nip the problem in the bud by eliminating the weak and young talents of the human race, hindering the growth of the human race from its roots.

    Except, the appearance of the demon race in the county examination, and even forced to reveal its identity, this was indeed rare.

    Imperial Messenger Qin clenched his fists and prepared to act.

    Right at this moment, a "snap" sound came from within the crack on the stage. Then, a slender hand reached out from within the crack.

    It grabbed onto the legs of the demon youth, whose face was still covered halfway with Li Bowei¡¯s human skin.

    Faced with the sudden attack, the demon youth, who was already preparing to unleash his killing fury, waspletely stunned, and immense shock appeared from within his eyes.

    Still alive?

    How can he be still alive? And...

    Still hiding beneath the ground?!

    "Boom!" A loud sound boomed. The demon youth was instantly pulled below the ground by the hand, then, the bloodcurdling sound of bones breaking sounded out from below the ground.

    "Snap, snap... bang!"

    After a wave of the sound of bones breaking, a figure leapt out gracefully from the crack, then gentlynded onto the ground. A coarse blue robe danced in the gentle wind...

    "Such bad luck, I identally tore my shirt, does this count as an industrial injury?" Fang Zhengzhi patted off the mud from his body, then stared at the tear in his robe and sighed deeply.

    "..."

    Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s lips twitched, but didn¡¯t speak. His fist clenched even tighter.

    He actually killed a demon?

    How did he do that?

    Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s heart was filled with doubt. Because, every single demon possessed the power of a human who essed Dao ever since they were born.

    As they grew older, the abilities of a demon would also grow rapidly. From that attack just now, the destruction force of this demon youth was indeed not weak.

    How is this possible? Fang Zhengzhi only reached the Divine Seal State, could it be that this demon only reached the Divine Seal State? Or was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true abilities even stronger than that he showed?

    If it was thetter...

    When Imperial Messenger Qin thought of this, he instantly rejected this thought. Impossible! A fifteen-year-old youth without a strong family background, and never having studied in a Hall of Dao, being able to reach the Divine Seal State just by self-studying was already the best of talents. How could he reach the state stronger than that of Divine Seal, the Star Conglomerate State?

    In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, not even mentioning those below fifteen years old, even the amount of people who managed to reach the Star Conglomerate State below the age of eighteen amounted to no more than a hundred!

    "Could it be... Yan Xiu!" Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s gaze quickly noticed Yan Xiu, who had stood up from the spectator stand. Then, he recalled Yan Xiu¡¯s voice previously, thought for a while, and finally understood.

    If Yan Xiu assisted from behind the scenes, then this incident could be exined!

    As Imperial Messenger Qin was intensely trying to reason in his heart, the crowd of examinees below the stage waspletely stunned by what had just transpired.

    The demon race!

    A strong speciespletely different from the human race!

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to kill him? How is it possible that he could kill a demon? Why was the first thing he cared about after killing the demon his clothes?

    Everyone had an urge to kneel down after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words just now.

    Could he not be so stingy!

    "Fang Zhengzhi killed a demon?!" Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan nced at one another, their eyes filled withplete shock. They understood that from now onwards, the path Fang Zhengzhi would walk was going to bepletely different from theirs.

    Killing a demon wasn¡¯t something an average person could do.

    Every person who was able to kill a demon would be emphasized upon and nurtured by the dynasty, bing a person deserving of people¡¯s respect.

    At this moment, Imperial Messenger Qin also moved. In one leap, he stood on top of the stage. Then, lowering his head to look at the demon within the cracks, whose face was the colour of golden paper, he nodded lightly.

    Still alive? This is a good thing!

    When Yan Xiu saw Imperial Messenger Qin mount the stage, he also gracefully made his way onto the stage. But, he didn¡¯t pay any attention to the demon youth, and instead fixated his gaze upon Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I can give you a set of clothes!" Yan Xiu opened his mouth.

    When the examinees below the stage heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words, they instantly felt the urge to kneel down again. Wasn¡¯t the main point here about Fang Zhengzhi killing the demon? Why was Yan Xiu, like Fang Zhengzhi, first concerned about clothes?

    "Alright!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he instantly smiled.

    Among the examinees, there were already people kneeling on the floor. It seemed that the thought process of these two people in front of them wasn¡¯t something normal people could understand.

    Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s expression was also just as queer. But, considering Yan Xiu¡¯s social status, he forced down the doubt in his heart.

    "This time, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s contributions in killing the demon cannot go unnoticed!" Imperial Messenger Qin thought for a while, and decided that such a wording would be more appropriate.

    "I didn¡¯t contribute at all!" Yan Xiu replied indifferently.

    Imperial Messenger Qin smiled. He often heard people say that Yan Xiu¡¯s personality was too icily arrogant. Today¡¯s encounter confirmed this fact, hence he didn¡¯t speak further.

    "You say he is a demon?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have realised something afterwards.

    "Oh... that¡¯s right!" Imperial Messenger Qin was taken aback.

    "He looks rather simr to us..." At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi became rather curious, his jet-ck eyes stared at the demon within the crack.

    "On the forehead of every demon is a natural "Demon Eye". This is what they use tomunicate with Heaven, Earth and Nature, and build their strength!" Imperial Messenger Qin exined.

    "Oh, I see!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Reaching into the crack, with a woosh, he pulled out the demon youth from within the crack.

    "Ah!"

    This movement instantly rmed Imperial Messenger Qin and the surrounding examinees.

    This guy was still alive!

    "This demon eye seems not too shabby, I wonder how much I can sell it for if I dig it out?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to the crowd¡¯s shock and felt about the demon eye on the demon youth. It was rather cold.

 Chapter 77: Heaven Dao Pavilion

    Chapter 77: Heaven Dao Pavilion

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "How much... can the demon eye sell for?"

    Towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process, the crowd felt like they had seen a vulgar piece of gold embedded in an extremely precious gem.

    Only able to sigh, fabricating objects and messing with people!

    ...

    Of course, in the end, Fang Zhengzhi also wasn¡¯t able to dig out the demon eye of the demon youth as a souvenir.

    After all, from the dynasty¡¯s point of view, they had already caught a live culprit with great difficulty. Imperial Messenger Qin wouldn¡¯t bear to stand by the side and let Fang Zhengzhi kill him.

    The demon eye was the source of the demon¡¯s strength, and also the forbiddennd of life.

    The La of Dao examinations had ended.

    Then, everybody finally managed to react.

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have achieved thebat examination roll champion?!

    This result was something the crowd had never even considered, but, nobody dared to argue against this result.

    A person who had already reached the Divine Seal State attaining the roll champion of the county Law of Dao examination¡¯sbat examination simply wasn¡¯t something debatable. But, what the crowd couldn¡¯t understand was how did a person who didn¡¯t ever enter the Hall of Dao reach Divine Seal?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, is the roll champion of the Law of Dao examination¡¯sbat examination, and also the roll champion of the theory examination!" Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s voice echoed about the entirebat arena of the Qingfeng Academy.

    "Double Roll Champion?!" At this moment, Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan only wanted to find a hole to bury themselves in. The difference between them and Fang Zhengzhi was really too big.

    After which, County Head Wang, as the official of the Huai An County, also expressed his congrattions towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everything seemed like a matter of course. But the examinees at the venue felt like they were deep inside a dream. From the start to the end, they were unable to belief that this initially despised youth...

    Was able to quietly break the record of the Huai An County which hadn¡¯t been broken in over thirty years.

    Double Roll Champion!

    There were people who excelled at theory, and people who excelled inbat. But to be the master of pen and sword, this was exceedingly rare! Even in a bustling ancient city like the Huai An County, this hadn¡¯t appeared in dozens of years.

    ...

    Three dayster, the wind gently blew in this ancient city of Huai An. But, regardless whether it was a passer-by, or schrs leaving leisurely, everybody was discussing the miracle that happened in this Law of Dao examination.

    Normally, a county examination wouldn¡¯t receive much attention. But, this Law of Dao examination held in the Huai An County spread like a wild gust of wind across the entire Northern Desert, even to the Imperial Capital.

    Because, it was too unbelievable.

    A person who had never entered the Hall of Dao, attaining the roll champion in the theory examination, and even defeating a demon during the theory examination, bing the double roll champion of both the theory examination roll and thebat examination roll.

    This was initially a story deserving of praise, to be passed along the streets and alleys.

    But, as long as schrs and literary people who had contributed in the arts heard the two words Fang Zhengzhi, they revealed an expression of imcable hatred and misery.

    The reason was because Fang Zhengzhi had polluted the purest thing in their hearts. He was a disgraceful and cultured daredevil who forcefully unveiled Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil. A lecher!

    For such people to sing praises, no matter how much money was involved, it was still difficult!

    ...

    ...

    Every dynasty always had something glorifying.

    For example, in the Great Xia Dynasty, ever since the country was formed, a phrase circted among the people: One pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries.

    In the distant mountain peak that rose through the clouds in the Northern Desert, in front of the Golden Hall, the two words - "Heaven Dao" was like a divine spirit that overlooked all living things, emanating a strong sense of dignity.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion, the ce where every schr in the Great Xia Dynasty would give their lives to enter.

    And at this moment, in the rear court of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, within a quiet garden, ady wearing a pink muslin dress with a pair of jet-ck eyes seated, gazing at the sand table ced in front of her.

    Thedy¡¯s eyes were extremely bright, as if millions of stars were twinkling within. It was like the Milky Way, and also like a rippling jade pool.

    Her hair was jet-ck, like a waterfall, falling to her waists. There were no golden hairpins nor jade ornaments decorating her hair, except for a freshly-picked tree peony diagonally tucked into her hair, which was delicate and brightly-coloured.

    Her long eyebrows trembled slightly, and a faint sparkle radiated from her wless fair skin. Her soft lips were as tender and lovely as a petal.

    At her waist, was a snow-white fur belt, perfectly bringing out thedy¡¯s exquisite figure.

    If people passed by, they would definitely sigh. Thisdy belonged to Heaven, and was almost impossible to meet in the mortal world. Even though thedy¡¯s features still seemed rather young and tender, but her powerful temperament faintly emanated from her body.

    "Double Roll Champion?" Thedy¡¯s lips parted slightly, with a voice that was as clear as a skrk.

    "After not meeting for eight years, the first information I received was that he had attained the double roll champion. Looks like this little bastard¡¯s eight years weren¡¯t wasted! But what is this incident of forcefully unveiling Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil at the Hundred Flower Gathering about? His personality still hadn¡¯t changed!"

    "Next, this little bastard should be going to the River of Trust Capital to participate in the capital examinations? Capital examinations... I believe the River of Trust Capital alone actually won¡¯t be able to stop him! Alright, seeing that this little bastard had worked hard, I will give him a ¡¯present¡¯!"

    "Yuer!"

    "Present!" Outside the garden, ady dressed in a green dress instantly walked in.

    "Prepare the writing materials, I¡¯ll write a letter to my Lord Father."¡¯

    "Roger!"

    ...

    ...

    While Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was from the Huai An county, causing him to be a famous character, Fang Zhengzhi was happily trying on clothes.

    "Young Master Fang, this brocade clothes seems to match young master¡¯s temperament perfectly!" The shopkeeper fawned on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, the reason the shopkeeper would do this wasn¡¯t exactly very rted to Fang Zhengzhi himself. After all, merchants had their own merchant circles.

    But, if the person apanying Fang Zhengzhi was Yan Xiu, then things werepletely different.

    "I prefer robes! It¡¯s freer, and more elegant!" Fang Zhengzhi expressed his own opinion.

    "Young Master Fang indeed has an eye for beauty. I just happen to have a valuable handmade robe that I kept preciously. Its texture is soft and has a new and original style. It is a perfect match with Young Master Fang¡¯s free-spirited personality!" The shopkeeper had owned the shop for dozens of years and the client had to be God himself.

    Very quickly, a dark blue robe was taken out. It was tender and silky, and its texture was extremely soft. Furthermore, the string used were all silver threads, and was indeed unusually elegant.

    "Not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, satisfied.

    ...

    "Are you participating in the capital examination in the River of Trust Capital?" Yan Xiu nced at the strong bearded man, then shifted his gaze to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Of course!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Then, let¡¯s meet at the capital examination!"

    "You are participating in the River of Trust capital examination as well?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words, he became somewhat curious. He initially expected Yan Xiu to participate in the county examination, but didn¡¯t see him in the end.

    "Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Then can you attain Roll Champion?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed rather regretful.

    "Not necessarily!" Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Alright, see you at the capital examination!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled. Capital examination? Yan Xiu? Who knows what the result would be.

 Chapter 78: The Difference between North and South

    Chapter 78: The Difference between North and South

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    To Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi always had his own way of looking at things.

    Yan Xiu spoke very little, almost reaching the point where every word was gold. Furthermore, bounded by culture, abiding by etiquette, every word and action, every smile and fury, were determined by rules.

    Fang Zhengzhi was different. He never bothered about these rules and viewpoints whenever he did things.

    Everything he did followed two words...

    Free spirit!

    Heughed as he pleased, ate as he pleased, the only thing he controlled was the happiness and anger in his heart.

    These two people should belong in twopletely different worlds. But, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Yan Xiu and him had somethingmon deep in their blood.

    That was rebellion.

    Treating each word as gold, from an outsider¡¯s point of view, as a form of personality. However, after some careful thought, how was this not a form of rebellion against conventional thought!

    It was still a month away from the capital examination.

    The time seemed to be ample, but in reality, it was very rushed. After all, from the Huai An County to the River of Trust Capital, even with wild galloping on horseback, it required at least half a month of time.

    As such, after passing the county examination, in order to conserve their time and energy, most examinees would directly make their way to the River of Trust Capital.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt about in his pockets for a few silver notes, and decided there would be time to make a trip back to the vige, enjoy a meal at home, have a good sleep and then journey to the River of Trust Capital.

    Anyway, he had his own horse, and could do as he pleased.

    ...

    As Fang Zhengzhi rode the Silver Scale Horse and wildly galloped back to the vige, the Congrattory Team had finally followed the path and arrived at the entrance of the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Previous Vige Chief Meng Bai¡¯s hands trembled as he ced the cigar into his mouth. Staring at the Congratry Team passing by, he sighed deeply.

    After the county examination, Li Huer and Meng Jiangshan had returned to the vige.

    As such, news of Fang Zhengzhi attaining Double Roll Champion in the county Law of Dao examination hadnded like a bomb on the Southern Mountain Vige a day ago.

    The vigers of the Southern Mountain Vige finally exploded.

    They held back for eight years, all for the only hope of the Law of Dao examination.

    But now?

    A person who hadn¡¯t even entered the Hall of Dao snatching away this hope the Southern Mountain Vige held for eight years just like that. Furthermore, this person was initially from the Southern Mountain Vige!"

    How could they not rage, how could they not rage?

    Double Roll Champion! Even the vigers that lived far away from the county knew that this represented. That was supposed to be the glory of the Southern Mountain Vige, but now, it waspletely unrted to the Southern Mountain Vige at all.

    The raging vigers naturally needed somewhere for them to vent their frustration. Due to the Li family having Li Zhuangshi, who was on the way to the capital examination, they temporarily avoided this disaster.

    However, previous Vige Chief Meng Bai couldn¡¯t escape.

    Then, many matters were raised and emotions were expressed. For example, When Fang Zhengzhi was able to draw out the Rock Formation Illustration, why did some people still remain blind?

    Or: Fang Houde had contributed so selflessly to the Southern Mountain Vige, why did some people still remain blind?

    In the end, the spearhead still pointed at the truth of the matter. Such a good child, all because he was smart, being exiled from the vige by some certain blind people.

    As a result, these years, the Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s situation got worse each day, while the Northern Mountain Vige became more prosperous with each passing day.

    As he heard the tongues wagging in the discussions, and faced with such relentless usations, Meng Bai only had one thought. Why hadn¡¯t he died yet?

    The Congrattory Team finally mercilessly went pass the vige entrance of the Southern Mountain Vige, and quickly made their way towards the Northern Mountain Vige. Meng Bai suddenly felt that he couldn¡¯t hold back the emotions he had restrained for eight years anymore.

    "Wa!" A mouthful of blood spurt out.

    Staring at the Congrattory Team disappearing into the distance, Meng Bai¡¯s body began to tremble intensely. A few drops of tears appeared in his already turbid eyes, and the cigar in his hands fell to the ground.

    "Houde, Zhengzhi, Xuelian... I... I... regret so much, I am so sorry! I was blind, I was really blind..."

    ...

    In contrast to the Southern Mountain Vige, two rows of people had already been neatly queuing at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Vige Chief Zhang Yangping rubbed his hands intensely, and stood at the front of the row with a face filled with anticipation. Beside him also stood Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Fang Houde¡¯s face was filled with a silly smile, while Qin Xuelian seemed rather anxious.

    "This is indeed impressive! I heard Fang Zhengzhi attained Double Roll Champion! A Double Roll Champion hadn¡¯t appeared in the Huai An County for dozens of years!"

    "That¡¯s right, I knew this child has potential the second I set my eyes on him. When he decided to participate in the Law of Dao examination, I was the first one to support him!"

    "Support? I remember that you were saying, if Fang Zhengzhi really could pass the Law of Dao examination, you will finish eating the entire patch of pumpkin you owned?"

    "What nonsense! I am famous for my uracy in reading people! Cough cough... what I said was, if Fang Zhengzhi could pass the Law of Dao examination, I will donate the entire patch of pumpkins I own to the vige for a celebratory feast!"

    "I see!"

    "Mum, what is a Double Roll Champion?" A five-year-old boy biting on a chicken leg, his mouth filled with oil, gazed at the woman, her arms akimbo, in front of him with wide eyes.

    "This... Double Roll Champion, is something only a very powerful, very powerful character can be!"

    "When I grow up, I also want to be a Double Roll Champion!"

    ...

    As the vigers discussed spiritedly, a group of ck dots began to slowly appear in the distance. Gradually, the ck dots grew bigger, and the red silk clothes and ck official robes of the Congrattory Team began to appear.

    "It¡¯s here, it¡¯s finally here!"

    "Quick, let¡¯s go!" Zhang Yangping instantly became excited. Ever since they received news of Fang Zhengzhi attaining Double Roll Champion from the Northern Mountain Vige, he had been standing guard at the vige entrance with the vigers.

    Double Roll Champion, this was definitely the happiest asion ever since the beginning of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Not only the Northern Mountain Vige, even viges from all around sent their congrattions. Even the vige head of a few vigers specially discussed with Zhang Yangping about forming an alliance.

    "Good... News..." As the Congrattory Team arrived at the vige entrance, they began to announce.

    "Congrattions Fang Zhengzhi of the Northern Mountain Vige, topping the Huai An County Law of Dao examinations. Theory examination roll champion,bat examination roll champion, two roll champions altogether, bing the Double Roll Champion!" The leading congrattory official¡¯s voice echoed about the entire vige.

    When they heard this, the vigers finally exploded in excitement.

    "Double Roll Champion!"

    "He is really the Double Roll Champion!"

    Even though the vigers had already known this beforehand, but to be able to personally hear the congrattory official¡¯s announcement was apletely different feeling altogether.

    The huge red banner was passed from the congrattory official¡¯s hands into Vige Chief Zhang Yangping¡¯s hands. To be able to produce a Double Roll Official, the future of this vige would definitely not be neglected anymore.

    Gazing at the red banner on his hands, his hands trembled in excitement.

    Double Roll Champion.

    A vige that didn¡¯t even contain a Hall of Dao actually producing a Double Roll Champion! How glorifying and moving was this!

    "Sister Xuelian, hold on to this red banner, tomorrow... tomorrow, we will hang it up, hang it inside the vige ancestral hall. Finally... finally our Northern Mountain Vige has produced a great character!" The rim of Zhang Yangping¡¯s eyes were already moist, gingerly passing the red banner to Qin Xuelian¡¯s hands as he spoke.

    Qin Xuelian received the red banner, and slowly opened it. These few years, Fang Zhengzhi had taught her to read. Hence, as she saw the two words, Fang Zhengzhi, in the middle of the red banner, a few pearly drops of tears finally flowed down her cheeks.

    "My son... my Zhengzhi... is really a Double Roll Champion!"

 Chapter 79: Ambitious

    Chapter 79: Ambitious

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mother of my child..."

    Fang Houde¡¯s remaining hand tightly gripped onto Qin Xuelian. This iron man, this man who had previously contributed selflessly, finally also filled with tears today.

    Eight years ago, it was all because of the Law of Dao examination, all because the Li family was the biggest hope of the Southern Mountain Vige! The three members of the Fang family were mercilessly exiled from the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Eight yearster, his own son had be the Double Roll Champion of the county Law of Dao examination.

    All feelings of being wronged had disappeared, the only thing that remained was pure pride.

    Fang Houde gazed at the direction of the Southern Mountain Vige and instinctively straightened his back, as if saying. "Look, my son didn¡¯t enter the Hall of Dao, but, my son also passed the Law of Dao examination. Furthermore, he is still the Double Roll Champion!"

    ...

    This day, the Northern Mountain Vige was bound to celebrate.

    Every viger in the vige busied themselves in a patch ofughter and happiness. Those who cooked, cooked, those whoid out the cutleries,id them out. On the vige square, the faces of both the old and the young were filled with joy and happiness.

    When Fang Zhengzhi returned to the vige, it just happened to be when the feast started.

    Hence...

    As he shouted happily at the vige entrance, I, Fang Zhengzhi, have returned, other than the replies of a few birds, there was nothing else. Everybody was gathered at the vige square, eating and drinking.

    Who would stupidly stand guard at the vige entrance?

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather gloomy. He had attained the Double Roll Champion, by right the news should have already reached the vige, why did nobody wee him when he entered the vige.

    Even more frustrating, he didn¡¯t even manage to see the shadow of the Congrattory Team.

    This is indeed a huge failure.

    After some pondering, Fang Zhengzhi finally decided that his skin wasn¡¯t thick enough to reach the point of shouting, I am the Double Roll Champion, I am back, quicke and wee me.

    Hence, he could only miserably ride the Silver Scale Horse home alone.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi became even gloomier. His house was dark and unlit, even themp wasn¡¯t lighted. Don¡¯t tell me they had already slept? So early?

    As he thought, a wave ofughter seemed toe from not too far away.

    Listening closely, he realised that he came from the direction of the vige square.

    "Could they all be dancing at the vige square... alright, I¡¯ll go take a look!" Fang Zhengzhi secured the Silver Scale Horse, and groped his way towards the vige square in the dark.

    No too longter, he saw that the entire vige square was filled with people.

    Every single viger, no matter old or young, were chatting spiritedly, eating and drinking around the tables. Everybody wore an expression of joy, but...

    Not a single person noticed Fang Zhengzhi in the dark.

    "Huh? There is food!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t fuss over this, when he saw the tters of dishes on the table, his eyes instantly lit up.

    Sweeping his gaze across the square, he saw Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian sitting at the table in the centre of the vige square.

    Fang Houde seemed very happily, and his face was flushed red from drinking. Qin Xuelian seemed to change her usual stance, mysteriously, she didn¡¯t stop him and instead picked out dishes for Fang Houde.

    When he saw his parents, Fang Zhengzhi directly made his way over to the table in the centre.

    As he walked, he passed by exactly five to six tables.

    Finally, a drunken old man saw Fang Zhengzhi passing by, and he was instantly taken aback. Rubbing his eyes furiously, he seemed to be inplete disbelief.

    "Why does it look like Zhengzhi is back?"

    "Old man Li, did you drink too much? After passing the county examination, Zhengzhi will go to the River of Trust Capital to participate in the capital examination, how can he return? Quick... quick, drink!"

    "That¡¯s... that¡¯s right!" The old man thought for a while and agreed. Preparing for the capital examination was such an important matter, why would Fang Zhengzhi return?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hear the discussion going on around him, and immediately went to Fang Houde¡¯s side.

    Plopping down on the seat, he then picked up his chopsticks and quickly picked up a big Green Furred Rabbit leg from the middle of the table into his mouth.

    "Indeed, it still has the taste of the vige¡¯s roasted meat!" Fang Zhengzhi spoke as he ate.

    "Definitely! Not mentioning other things, but the most famous thing in our Northern Mountain Vige is this roasted meat. The ingredients are personally prepared by Fang Zhengzhi!" Zhang Yangping instantly boasted as he drank.

    "Thank you Uncle Yangping for your praise!" Fang Zhengzhi drank a mouthful of wine.

    "You¡¯re wee... huh? Uncle Yangping... ah!" Fang Zhengzhi!" Zhang Yangping casually waved his hands, then, turning around, his entire body sprang up from the chair.

    "Zheng... Zhengzhi?!" At the moment, Qin Xuelian also noticed Fang Zhengzhi, who was chewing on the rabbit leg, her face filled with disbelief.

    "Mum, I have returned to stay two days, do you have a very surprised and happy feeling?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and casually acted like a spoiled child towards Qin Xuelian.

    When Fang Zhengzhi smiled casually, the entire vige square suddenly became silent.

    All the vigers stared with their eyes wide open, staring at Fang Zhengzhi eating the roasted meat at the table, as if they had seen a monster.

    A Double Roll Champion who was supposed to be making his way towards the capital Law of Dao examination...

    Returned to the vige?!

    The vigers were all filled with disbelief, but, after a moment of shock, the entire crowd became filled with passion. No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s return was definitely a happy asion.

    "Ah, Fang Zhengzhi really returned!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is back?"

    "It¡¯s really Fang Zhengzhi!"

    All the vigers instantly stood up and one by one began to surround him. A few vigers were still chewing on bones, and couldn¡¯t even speak clearly.

    Among them, the happiest person was Qin Xuelian.

    When she saw Fang Zhengzhi clearly, she couldn¡¯t contain herself any further and tears flowed down her cheeks. In one swift motion, she hugged Fang Zhengzhi, as well as the mouthful of oil on his mouth, very tightly, with no intention of letting go.

    "Mum..." Feeling the warmth of Qin Xuelian¡¯s embrace, Fang Zhengzhi could only very tediously swallow the roasted meat in his mouth.

    "Coming home to stay two days is good too, your mum can make you some delicious food, ha ha ha..." Fang Houde looked at Fang Zhengzhi and smiled happily, but the rims of his eyes were still somewhat moistened.

    ...

    After the pleasant surprise, the vigers began to ask spiritedly.

    Towards the Law of Dao examination, they bore a curious attitude. After all, to an average viger, they would never have the opportunity to participate in the examination in their lifetime.

    As such, they began to ask, what were the questions in the Law of Dao theory examination, or, whether it was hard, or, can people eat inside the examination venue etc...

    All kinds of question, odd questions of every description.

    Fang Zhengzhi on the other hand didn¡¯t mind at all, and earnestly replied them.

    After the vigers had more or less finished their questions, Zhang Yangping spoke.

    "Zhengzhi, even though you have attained the Double Roll Champion this time, but don¡¯t give yourself too much stress in the capital examination!"

    "That¡¯s right, I heard that the county examination is only the doorstep, only if one passes the capital examination can he be a true great character, and be rewarded by the dynasty!" Another viger added.

    "Yes, Fang Zhengzhi, after all, you had never studied in the Hall of Dao before. You are still young, don¡¯t worry, we are all proud of you passing the county examination this time. If you didn¡¯t perform well in the capital examination, our entire vige will still support you, waiting a few more years before taking another examination is still alright!" Zhang Yangping continued.

    "Your Uncle Yangping is right, no matter what, you have already taken the first step. Next time, your Uncle Yangping will definitely support you. This River of Trust capital examination, you just have to do your best, don¡¯t give yourself too much stress! Your mental wellbeing... is very important!" Fang Houde nodded at one side.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood, Zhang Yangping and his dad saying such things probably meant that they were worried that he would give himself too much pressure.

    It felt like what modern parents said when they sent their children into the examinations, don¡¯t stress, just do your best, passing or not isn¡¯t important...

    "I feel that this time¡¯s capital examination, I can attain Double Roll Champion once again!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently, filled with confidence.

    "Ha ha ha..." When the surrounding vigers heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they instantlyughed. There wasn¡¯t any ill-intention, just a very happyughter.

    "Good child, ambitious!"

    "Yes, having ambition is a good thing, but don¡¯t set your target too high. Double Roll Champion of the capital examination, seems like the River of Trust Capital hasn¡¯t produced one in over a hundred years?"

    "Ha ha, this child Zhengzhi is kidding, you actually took his words seriously?"

    The vigers¡¯ughter was filled with goodwill. Nobody took Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words seriously. The county examination was passed by Li Zhuangshi of the Southern Mountain Vige six years ago, but at the capital examination, he hadn¡¯t even passed the first round once.

 Chapter 80: Serene Ink Pond

    Chapter 80: Serene Ink Pond

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Two dayster, Fang Zhengzhi prepared to journey to the River of Trust Capital to participate in the capital examination.

    Compared to the previously time when he left quietly, this time, when they heard the news that Fang Zhengzhi was leaving, the entire vige rushed over in the early morning.

    Stuffing food and drinks of all kinds into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bag.

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t worry! You have the vige to take care of you, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you pass the capital examination. Whatever Double Roll Champion, don¡¯t think too much, just do your best!"

    "Yes! What¡¯s important is that you do your best. You are young and still have many years ahead of you!"

    Qin Xuelian swept her gaze across the chatty vigers, then, ced the bundle she wrapped onto the Silver Scale Horse and walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Zhengzhi, do your best! Even if you don¡¯t pass, don¡¯t feel embarrassed! Is that clear?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather gloomy. He had already attained Double Roll Champion, why didn¡¯t his own mother believe in him? He was her blood son!

    But, he instantly understood.

    Just like the first time he went hunting on the mountain, Qin Xuelian didn¡¯t expect him to be able to hunt something. All she wanted the word "safety", hence, she didn¡¯t want Fang Zhengzhi to have any stress at all.

    Maybe, this was the true love a mother showed to her son, a selfless love.

    "Zhengzhi, take care on the way!" Fang Houde stood beside the Silver Scale Horse and fed the horse feed into the horse¡¯s mouth, and used his remaining hand to caress the Silver Scale Horse. His expression was that of heavy reluctance and unwillingness to let go.

    A father, no matter how reluctant he was, cannot reveal it. Maybe, Fang Houde was someone like that. He would rather express his unwillingness to the Silver Scale Horse.

    After bidding goodbye to the vigers, he was stopped once again at the vige entrance by Zhang Yangping.

    "Take these pieces of silver, you would definitely have to spend some along the way, don¡¯t be too prudent!" Zhang Yangping threw over a bulging wallet.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reject it. Even though he still had a hundred tael silver note in his pocket, but this wallet represented the hope Zhang Yangping had in him.

    "Thank you Uncle Yangping!" Fang Zhengzhi expressed his thanks.

    "Go on!" Zhang Yangping waved his hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi pulled on the horse reins. The Silver Scale Horse neighed loudly and galloped forward.

    "You must remember, even if you can¡¯t pass this capital examination, it¡¯s alright! The entire vige and I will always support you! Don¡¯t be embarrassed to return!"

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s shouts came from behind him.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth. What ¡¯being unable to pass¡¯?

    ...

    Normally, among examinees there was the culture of being apanied on the way to the examination. This was not only because they could take care of one another, but also due to safety.

    From the Huai An County to the River of Trust Capital, it required half a month on horseback, and along the way were many mountain paths and barrennds.

    Due to being dyed for a few days at the Huai An County, and then making a return trip back to the Northern Mountain Vige, hence was rather rushed for time.

    When he managed to return to the Huai An County, most of the examinees had already formed groups and left.

    Left without a choice, he could only ride alone.

    Wilding galloping all the way, clouds of dust were raised behind him. His luck was indeed rather good, only after galloping for eight days did he meet a group of mountain bandit robbers.

    "Robbery!" A few bandits wielding sabres blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s path.

    At the same time those few bandits opened their mouth, over ten bandits with their bows drawn appeared from the bushes on both sides of the mountain road, each of their metal bows pulled into the shape of a full moon.

    Arrows glowing with an icy glint aimed directly at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    Maybe, Fang Zhengzhi only needed to say the word "no" for him to understand the bitter beauty of an arrow rain...

    ...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was being robbed, the River of Trust Capital was exploding with activity.

    The River of Trust Capital was the source of the River of Trust, backed by a tall mountain. On the mountain was arge green pool, its name was Serene Ink Pond. It was the source of the River of Trust, and a white jade statue was constructed in the middle of the pond, set quietly in the pond and being bowed to by schrs from every ce.

    And today, the countless schrs dressed in brocade clothes gathered around the Serene Ink Pond.

    Some were smiling, walking along calmly and asionally drinking a mouth of pond water and singing a few words of praise. Some sat down gracefully, admiring the mountains, the water, and the flow of people.

    Water, was the soul of All Creation.

    Anywhere there was water, naturally there would be ancient and elegantly-constructed restaurants.

    It only had to hang up a few words of poems like "The Serene Ink Pond¡¯s unique water, high on the mountains, were people" in order to cause all the schrs to gather. Even though the price was many times higher, it couldn¡¯t affect their refined and elegant attitude of minds.

    Yan Xiu, wearing his brocade robe, was different from the group of schrs visiting the Serene Ink Pond. Even though he didn¡¯t paint nor recite poetry like those schrs, but, he had money.

    Hence, the best sightseeing garret at the Serene Ink Pond was upied by him.

    And he even reserved it for an entire month at one go.

    After following someone for a long enough time, his personality would be more or less affected by him. For example, the strong bearded man¡¯s current manner was silent, neither happy nor angry.

    Of course,pared to Yan Xiu¡¯s coldness, the strong bearded man¡¯s sess stillcked behind a little.

    Within the garret, a maid sat respectfully in front of the table. Her hands flew about, pouring tea for Yan Xiu. On the other hand, Yan Xiu was gazing coldly at the schrs appearing non-stop by the Serene Ink Pond¡¯s sight.

    Below the garret, at a rather lively table, a few brocade-clothed schrs bobbed their heads and discussed excitedly.

    "Quick look, another person from the Hidden Dragon Roll arrived at the River of Trust Capital!"

    "Are you talking about Kang Xingping? Even though Kang Xingping is number eighty in the Hidden Dragon Roll, but,pared to those few at the River of Trust Capital now, the difference is still huge!"

    "Indeed, I never thought that just a capital examination would attract so many people from farawaynds to participate! Tang Yucheng, number thirty-five in the Hidden Dragon Roll, with the enlightenment state of Divine Seal Peak State, I heard that he had already touched the threshold of the Star Conglomerate State."

    "Especially that Hua Kangan! Number twenty on the Hidden Dragon Roll, with the enlightenment state of the Star Conglomerate State. At the same time, his name is also on the Rising Dragon Roll! Who would have thought that he would actuallye to the River of Trust!"

    The few schrs sighed heavily as they discussed.

    "Looks like this time¡¯s River of Trust Capital examinations wouldn¡¯t be easy to pass. Even I wish to change to some other capital. Taking the examination in this River of Trust capital is really a form of torture!"

    "This thought is good, but changing capital now? How do you change? Just the distance alone is too long to make it in time! Furthermore, even though the number of participants in this time¡¯s River of Trust Capital isrge, but, the good thing is that this is a very rare asion! Else why do you think all these people would alle to the River of Trust Capital?"

    "Brother Li is indeed right, ha ha ha... I was just making a joke, if we didn¡¯t want to try, why would we be here?"

    Yan Xiu quietly sat in the garret and listened. His expression was cold, and he didn¡¯t speak a word. He also didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to the maid pouring his tea. But, he instinctively tightened the grip on the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan in his hands.

    ...

 Chapter 81: Wanted Order

    Chapter 81: Wanted Order

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had always believed that he was knowledgeable about robbery. As the saying goes, professional people would do professional things. But, the conduct of these mountain bandits in front of him caused him to feel very pained.

    A sessful person had to be with the right people, in the right ce and at the right time.

    Usually, the right time referred to information, its practical usage could refer to intelligence, news etc. These bandits didn¡¯t even show a slight bit of interest in him, and robbed him just like that. Naturally, they lost the right time.

    As for the right ce, that didn¡¯t need any mentioning. Not digging a few traps was already the dumbest of moves. Once they met, all of their archers had revealed themselves, hence whatever strategic location they had had disappeared.

    The only advantage was people, after all, they had more people...

    Fang Zhengzhi was sure that these mountain bandits in front of him weren¡¯t very experienced.

    Then, the question came.

    To directly disperse them, or... wipe them out?

    Looking at the colour of the sky, it seemed to be already gettingte. If he continued to journey at this time, he had to journey at least five miles to reach the Wan County, furthermore, he still had to find an inn afterwards. It was going to be rather troublesome...

    "Brother mountain bandits, hello! Young master me had to rush when leaving the house, hence didn¡¯t bring much money. I only have a hundred taels. Other than that, I have thirty broken silver pieces. If brother mountain bandits don¡¯t mind, you can have them!" Fang Zhengzhi thought of something, and very generously fished out a hundred tael silver note and a bag of broken silver pieces from his pocket.

    "Young master? Which family¡¯s young master?" The bandit leader was at least rather vignt. Those in his profession had one rule, that was to eliminate the rootspletely. Hence, he quickly seized the "profound theory" within Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Ha ha... brother bandits are only conducting a robbery, why must you know young master me¡¯s family background?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly, with a mysterious look on his face.

    This caused the bandit leader to confirm his thoughts. This youth in front of him had to be some important family¡¯s young master, if he was robbed today, there would definitely be consequences next time.

    When he thought of this, the bandit leader thought of killing.

    "Looks like brother bandits feel that it is too little? No problem, five miles in front would be the Wan County, the boss of the money farm there and my father are acquainted. Hence, I will be able to borrow fifty thousand silver notes to give to brother bandits as ransom, what do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled inside, but on the outside, a trace of fear appeared on his face.

    "Fifty thousand silver notes?!"

    The bandit leader was taken aback, getting fifty thousand taels just like that... this was a huge bargain! If they really could get that, they would definitely turn over a new leaf, and not live the bitter life of robbing anymore.

    When the surrounding bandits simrly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, their emotions began to stir up. The hand holding the sabre of a few whose hearts weren¡¯t as strong began to tremble.

    Fifty thousand silver taels!

    How could they not be stirred up?

    "Why must we believe you?" The bandit leader quickly changed his thought. The "fatmb" had already reached his mouth, how could he give it up? But, even though he was excited, he could at least still rationalise.

    "My words are naturally trustable, but if brother bandits don¡¯t believe this, it¡¯s indeed inevitable. Else, you can send two people to escort me, so everybody can rx!" Fang Zhengzhi quickly suggested an idea.

    The leader bandit thought for a while, then seek the opinions of the surrounding bandits, and finally nodded.

    "Alright, we will do as you said!"

    The transaction was smoothlypleted. All the archers naturallyy down their weapons. Then, two bandits wielding short des also surrounded Fang Zhengzhi, one on the left and one on the right.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually rather cooperative. Leaping off from the Silver Scale Horse, then looking at the colour of the sky, he seemed rather regretful and blinked a few times at the bandit leader.

    "Brother bandit, look, the sky is already dark. I have to travel so many miles of mountain roads, can I have something to eat as nourishment?"

    "Now, we are the ones robbing you, but you want us to give you something to eat?" The bandit leader felt that no matter how he thought about it, this request seemed rather ufortable. He was the one robbing!

    Since when did robbers give their victims food?

    "Young master me is weak and sickly, without any food... how can I travel five miles of mountain paths? You definitely can¡¯t let me ride my horse, right?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the mountain path ahead and seemed very grieved.

    "This..." The bandit leader was somewhat hesitant.

    He naturally couldn¡¯t allow Fang Zhengzhi to ride his horse, if he ran away, who could catch him?"

    "Brother, what are you scared of! This kid is so weak that he can almost be blown away by the wind. It wouldn¡¯t be toote to bring him back to the mountain stronghold and have a good feast, then sending him to the Wan County tomorrow." A bandit with a small beard instantly came over.

    "How can we allow outsiders to enter the mountain stronghold?" The bandit leader¡¯s tone changed.

    "Brother, we are going to be rich tomorrow, what do we need the stronghold for?"

    "Hmm... that¡¯s true!" The bandit leader understood. The feeling of have fifty thousand silver taels, yet still remaining the mountain king of this tiny mountain was indeed too sullen.

    As he thought, the bandit leader quickly felt at ease.

    "Alright, bring him back to the mountain stronghold!"

    "Thank you, brother bandit!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly expressed his gratitude. Such "broad-minded" people were exactly the ones he liked. The sky was darkening, and he still had to find an inn!

    Furthermore, no matter how small a mosquito was, it still had meat. Even though the bandits were still rather inexperienced, they definitely had some housing.

    Where was the house?

    Naturally, it was in the stronghold.

    You can¡¯t expect a bandit to conduct a robbery, and at the same time bringing along all their money?

    ...

    They entered the stronghold.

    The stronghold wasn¡¯t big, and built at the side of the mountain, surrounded by lush trees. From afar, it was indeed hard to notice.

    The stronghold door was very new, and looked like it was chopped less than a year ago. This also confirmed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s guess. Once they entered the stronghold, they instantly reached the living room.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi made himselffortable. With alcohol and meat, he dined on cloud nine.

    "Young Master Fang eat and drink well!" As the bandit leader spoke, a cold glint faintly shed in his eyes, and decided that once he got the fifty thousand taels of silver, he would instantly kill this Young Master Fang.

    "Ha ha ha... good, give me one more bowl!" Fang Zhengzhi indeed didn¡¯t bother being polite, and ordered the bandits to pour for him. At the same time, pulling over the entire table of meat in front of him.

    After he more or less finished eating, the main topic had alsoe. Fang Zhengzhi was locked up.

    Definitely, there wasn¡¯t any jail or rted things in the stronghold. He was locked in a room, which was decorated rather cleanly. There was a bed and a nket, except there wasn¡¯t a servant girl to serve him.

    "Without a servant girl, how can one sleep?" Fang Zhengzhi expressed his young master temper.

    The reply was a cold look.

    "Young Master Fang, there isn¡¯t a single female in this stronghold. If you really want a servant, how about I find you a male one to serve you?" The leader bandit said mercilessly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    Huh? This wasn¡¯t the same as what was shown in the televisions!"

    It was said that the bandits were strong and powerful, from time to time having the habit of breaking into houses for robbery and snatching servant girls. If that wasn¡¯t possible, couldn¡¯t you at least get a strongholddy to y with?

    Sigh... a bandit such as yourselves is simply embarrassing!

    An entire night of silence.

    The second day, after being served breakfast by the robbers, Fang Zhengzhi finally casually did a stretch, and with a reluctant expression, said one word to the bandit leader.

    "Robbery!"

    ...

    The wind was cooling as usual, and Fang Zhengzhi who was galloping wildly on the Silver Scale Horse was in a rather good mood.

    This time, the reap was plentiful. After eating and drinking, the other party had even generously given a few hundred silver taels for his travel expenses.

    Even though there wasn¡¯t any heroic saving of strongholddies, or unintentionally saving a few lost princesses in the mountain stronghold, but the sleep at night was at least rather good.

    But, unfortunately for the bandit leader, he would never have thought that he actually met someone from the same trade.

    Furthermore...

    It was a lone ranger in the same trade.

    "My money, my money..." The bandit leader howled with sorrow as he gazed at the direction in which Fang Zhengzhi was disappearing into.

    "Brother... as the saying goes, where there¡¯s life, there¡¯s hope! This person from the same trade is indeed very kind, he only took our money, and didn¡¯t harm our lives." The bandit with the small beard came over again.

    "Get lost!"

    ...

    Five dayster.

    At the Southern gate of the River of Trust Capital, a youth wearing a blue robe, pulling along a Silver Scale Horse with a casual expression, looked up at the ancient city called "River of Trust".

    Just as he was about to express how bustling this ancient city was, his gaze suddenly froze.

    Because...

    He saw a portrait drawing at the city gate.

    It wasn¡¯t because of how much this drawing seemed to be painted by renowned experts, nor how lifelike this drawing was. It was because there were three words written at the top of the portrait.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Have I already be so famous? My portrait is even pasted on the city gate of the River of Trust Capital?" The youth was confused, then, it suddenly changed.

    Wait a minute...

    Don¡¯t tell me this is a wanted order?!

 Chapter 82: A mouthful of fragrant tea

    Chapter 82: A mouthful of fragrant tea

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know whether he had killed the River of Trust Capital Head¡¯s entire family, but, he felt that his name shouldn¡¯t be appearing on this official portrait drawing at all.

    Interesting?

    Being pasted at the city gate for no good reason!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should shout that he was wronged in front of the county head¡¯s door, or at least make a rification. But, if he really did this, it seemed a bit like walking into the trap.

    What to do? After being wanted, can he still peacefully register for the capital examination?

    "Young Master Fang! At least I have managed to wait for you!" As Fang Zhengzhi was deep in hesitation, an excited voice came from within the city gate.

    Then, a boy servant wearing ck clothes quickly sprinted towards his direction.

    "Oh no, I¡¯m discovered!" Fang Zhengzhi instinctively wanted to kick out, then, suddenly realised that this boy servant was somewhat familiar. After looking carefully, it was actually the one in charge of the betting stand at the Huai An County.

    "Because of Young Master Fang¡¯s blessing, I have already been shifted to the River of Trust Capital to work. This is a small gift I¡¯ve prepared, I hope Young Master Fang can keep it!" As he spoke, the boy servant fished out a red banner from his pockets and respectively passed it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Huh? Giving me money again?" Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat strange. Sometimes, good things came too fast, it was indeed hard to get used to.

    But, getting used to was one thing, receiving it was another.

    Hence, without hesitation, he directly received the red banner. Opening it, he saw a letter of invitation, with a fifty tael silver note inside.

    The boy servant actually had fifty taels of silver? If this was given to an average household, it probably could be used to pay a year¡¯s worth of bills?

    Even though he was a little stunned in his heart, but Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reveal it.

    He only smiled slightly. ept smilingly, why can one ept without smiling?

    "Since things are like this, I¡¯ll keep it. Then, what is this invitation letter about?"

    "Thank you, Young Master Fang! This invitation letter is because my master heard that Fang Zhengzhi was the Double Roll Champion of the county examination, hence specially held a feast to apologize to Young Master Fang!" The boy servant instantly exined.

    Fang Zhengzhi somewhat understood. This master seemed to have felt that the words passed to this boy servant had hurt his heart, hence was here to apologise.

    But...

    Now he is a wanted man? Can he still enter this River of Trust capital? Furthermore, could this feast be set up to harm him, purposely capturing him in exchange for reward?

    The probabilities were too many, hence Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should take a look first.

    "You... do you know what is this about?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the portrait at the city gate.

    "This? Young Master Fang doesn¡¯t know?" The boy servant felt rather odd. But, looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, the boy servant instantly became respectful again. "Young Master Fang has misunderstood, this is not a wanted order!"

    "Not a wanted order?!" Fang Zhengzhi had an urge to swear. If this wasn¡¯t a wanted order, why was it pasted at the city gate? If this wasn¡¯t a wanted order, why did you paste my portrait?

    "It indeed isn¡¯t a wanted order, but, the results are even more powerful than a wanted order. I am only a runner, and don¡¯t know the details. But, my master would definitely know." The boy servant¡¯s eyes spun, and very quickly diverted the attention of Fang Zhengzhi to his purpose foring this time.

    "You mean, when I meet your master, I will know?" Fang Zhengzhi naturally inferred what the boy servant meant.

    "Yes!" The boy servant nodded his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude changed slightly. He had been feeling that something was strange about this. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up, walked directly to the portrait drawing in front of the city gate and tore it down.

    This move instantly attracted the attention of some passers-by.

    "Ah! It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Quick look, Fang Zhengzhi has appeared!"

    "This lecher has finally arrived at the River of Trust Capital, there will be a good show to see this time round!"

    Instantly, a few passers-by dressed in schr clothes began to shout. Each of their expressions were indignant at injustice, but, nobody went to capture Fang Zhengzhi.

    A few armoured soldiers guarding the city gate also heard this voice.

    Then, sweeping their gazes across Fang Zhengzhi, they mysteriously didn¡¯t have any intention of advancing. But, within the eyes appeared an unmistakable sense of pity.

    "Looks like it really isn¡¯t a wanted order..." Fang Zhengzhi rxed.

    If it really was a wanted order, him tearing it up in front of everybody would definitely cause the guards at the city gate to catch him, or at least interrogate him.

    Then...

    That¡¯s where the problem came.

    Who would be so brave as to paste his portrait at the city gate. Furthermore, most importantly, the guard at the city gate clearly knew about his, but didn¡¯t stop it from happening?

    This was a ce where the officials pasted announcements and wanted orders!

    Isn¡¯t it too strange?

    "Young Master Fang, can we enter the city now?" The boy servant didn¡¯t quite understand the true intention of Fang Zhengzhi tearing down the portrait, but guessed that whoever had their portrait pasted at the city gate would definitely not be veryfortable.

    "Don¡¯t we need to go inform your master first?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and asked casually.

    "Young Master Fang don¡¯t worry, as long as you nod your head, there will naturally be someone to inform our master!" When the boy servant said this, a proud expression instantly appeared on his face.

    "Let¡¯s go!¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi thought that it was almost time to eat, and there was someone giving him money and treating him to a meal, naturally he thought that it would be inconvenient to reject.

    "Young Master Fang, please. Oh, by the way, my name is Su Jiu, Young Master Fang can call me Ah Jiu next time. If in the future Young Master Fang wants tomit some murder or arson and so on, feel free to get someone to inform Ah Jiu, I will definitely carry it out perfectly!" As Su Jiu walked, he introduced himself to Fang Zhengzhi.

    For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi became rather speechless. This Su Jiu... seems rather interesting?

    "How about things like snatching women?"

    "Young Master Fang who do you think I am? I will snatch one for you right now!" When Su Jiu heard this, he instantly became excited.

    "There is a person in the Divine Constabry called Chi Guyan, do you know her?"

    "..."

    ...

    Snatching Chi Guyan naturally wasn¡¯t an option, and Fang Zhengzhi on the other hand didn¡¯t fuss over it. Instead, he followed Su Jiu to a ce called "Moonview Restaurant".

    Once they entered the hall, a girl servant wearing a red dress reced Su Jiu and led Fang Zhengzhi up the building.

    Very quickly, they reached the fifth floor and he was brought into an exquisite ancient-styled room.

    Then, the girl servant excused herself.

    And another girl servant served a pot of fragrant tea and refreshments.

    "Young Master Fang please wait, master will arrive soon!" The girl servant slowly withdrew.

    Everything seemed to be clear and in good order. Under such circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi also had the rare opportunity to assume an elegant manner. Smiling faintly, he nodded his head at the girl servant. When the girl servant withdrew, he lifted up the teacup in front of him, sipped it lightly, rolled it over his tongue, then after savouring it for a while, swallowed it.

    The fragrance filled his mouth, and texture was smooth and slippery.

    "Not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi praised, then poured the remaining tea in the cup into his mouth.

    "I apologise for my previous slip of the tongue, and feel very guilty inside. I heard Ah Jiu say that Young Master Fang once said that "I he is a male, I¡¯ll smack him with a rod, if she is a female, I will bang bang bang on the spot!". I am willing to ept it, but I don¡¯t know what does this bang bang bang... mean?" At this moment, a sweet voice rang out from outside the door.

    Then, an exquisite figure walked in slowly.

    She wore ck thin summer dress with ck pleated skirt with a golden tree peony sown on it and on her shoulders, were a light muslin thin covering. Her facial appearance was picturesque, and her skin white as snow. Between her eyebrows, there was a bright red vermilion dot, like a beautiful red flower in the white snow.

    One look at her caused one to feel her sweetness and charm, and be absorbed by her beauty.

    "Pfff!" Fang Zhengzhi was initially preparing to leisurely swallow a mouthful of fragrant tea. Suddenly hearing the girl¡¯s words, he instantly sprayed his mouthful of fragrant tea towards the girl¡¯s face...

 Chapter 83: Sacred Message from the Heavens

    Chapter 83: Sacred Message from the Heavens

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As a good man who respected women.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally couldn¡¯t allow such horrible things to happen. Hence, as the tea danced in mid-air, he had already reacted. The water poured away couldn¡¯t be recovered, but, it could be blocked.

    In a sh, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand reached out with the speed of lightning, and wanted to block the tea that flew towards the girl¡¯s face.

    ...

    Wu Yuer indeed felt slightly shocked. But, that was just a slight shock, even though she was only eighteen this year.

    But those who truly knew her, knew how shocking this eighteen-year-old girl¡¯s abilities were.

    It was just a mouthful of tea.

    How could it cause Wu Yuer to be at a loss?

    Hence, she only lightly waved her hands to block off that mouthful of tea. Not mentioning one mouthful, even a drip of tea wouldn¡¯t be able to touch her face.

    But, she had still miscalcted.

    When the tea was effortlessly blocked, she realised that she had miscalcted. Because, a hand had already reached forward, then, before she managed to react, that hand had already touched her face...

    The entire scene paused for three seconds.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a delicate, soft feeling on his hand. A faint air of warmth emanated from the silky-smooth skin, and he suddenly felt that there were s some things that he wasn¡¯t able to control in this world.

    For example, he clearly only wished to block the tea.

    But he would never have thought that a strange force would push his hands slightly, then, very coincidentally ending up on the girl¡¯s face.

    Alright...

    Fang Zhengzhi had to ept this great feeling on his hand!

    Then, he coughed lightly and quickly withdrew his hand.

    His expression remained normal. Without a word, he returned back to his seat, as if nothing had happened at all, and that everything returned back to the scene when the girl entered.

    Slowly, he poured a new cup of tea for himself and slowly drained it, keeping his pressure under control.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes blinked. She was somewhat in disbelief as she saw Fang Zhengzhi return back to his seat. Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression seemed as if it hadn¡¯t changed much.

    Furthermore, he seemed to have returned to the elegant posture of drinking tea.

    How...

    Can man be shameless to such an extent? At this time, shouldn¡¯t he at least apologise sincerely, or, express his awkwardness and change a topic?

    The entire situation became slightly quiet.

    Finally, Wu Yuer opened her mouth.

    "Seems like this is what bang bang bang means..."

    ...

    All the way until Wu Yuer sat down slowly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face didn¡¯t turn red, and his heart didn¡¯t jump. He remained as calm as a meditating monk.

    "I heart that Young Master Fang seems to be interested in the portrait at the city gate?" Wu Yuer spoke again.

    "That¡¯s right!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head lightly, not even mentioning what had just happened. It was not that he didn¡¯t want to mention it, but he felt that such awkward things should just go with the wind.

    How could he say in front of a girl, I touched you just now, will you me me? He really couldn¡¯t do something as thick-skinned as that.

    "Then, have young master heard about the Three Dragon Roll?" When Wu Yuer saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s calm expression, she had more or less guessed what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. Instantly, she felt that she was a little too petty.

    This thought caused her to feel somewhat stunned.

    It was clearing him who had disrespected her, but now, she seemed to feel guilty? This was indeed something strange.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw that Wu Yuer didn¡¯t be angry, and instead asked him about the Three Dragon Roll, he felt that this matter should be over.

    But, he didn¡¯t quite understand, how was the Three Dragon Roll rted to the portrait on the city gate?

    But, since he was the guest, he couldn¡¯t do too many things at his own ord.

    "Hidden Dragon, Rising Dragon, Golden Dragon, make up the Three Dragon Roll!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Indeed, then do you know what is the meaning of this Three Dragon Roll?" When Wu Yuer rxed, she poured herself a cup of fragrant tea and sipped lightly, as if not rushing to return back to the main topic.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He only knew that the Great Xia Dynasty had created the Three Dragon Roll, but, as for its meaning, he actually didn¡¯t know. The only thing he knew was that the Three Dragon Roll represented the ranking of different abilities.

    "The Hidden Dragon Roll records young talents below the age of eighteen, while the Rising Dragon Roll sets the age limit to twenty-eight. Also ranked by abilities, the Golden Dragon Roll doesn¡¯t limit the age, but, it represents the strongest of abilities." Wu Yuer exined slowly.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He knew this as well, but he didn¡¯t quite understand what was the point of Wu Yuer discussing these.

    "Young Master knows how the Three Dragon Rolls are ranked, then, does Young Master know about a prophecy from eight years ago?" Wu Yuer continued.

    "What prophecy?"

    "Eight years ago, the teachers of the state received a sacred message from the Heavens, appearing on the Heaven Dao Tablet. It said: The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he suddenly thought of a name in his heart. A name that was deeply ingrained in him.

    Double Dragon Roll Champion, Chi Guyan!

    "I believe young master had already guessed who this sacred message is referring to?" When she asked, her gaze instinctively nced into a certain direction.

    That direction, was where the Heaven Dao Pavilion resided.

    "Double Dragon Roll Champion, Divine Constabry Chi Guyan!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "That¡¯s right. Even though nobody knows where the peace written in the sacred message refers to the battle between the human race and the demon race, or the Emperor position in the Great Xia Dynasty, but, the current Emperor had long announced that the Double Dragon Roll Champion will be able to control all the armies under the sky, and given the title Heaven Army General!" Wu Yuer exined once again.

    "Regrettably, Chi Guyan isn¡¯t that yet." Fang Zhengzhi said the truth. Even though Chi Guyan was the Double Dragon Roll Champion, but she wasn¡¯t the Heaven Army General.

    "Actually, she can be that! Since a year ago when Chi Guyan attained the Double Dragon Roll Champion, our Emperor had already expressed his intentions to give her the title of Heaven Army General. But, Chi Guyan, citing that ten years isn¡¯t up yet, rejected it, then secluded herself in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, far away from the Imperial Government and away from any powerful factions." A rare respectful tone appeared in Chi Guyan¡¯s voice.

    "She is very smart!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He believed that what Wu Yuer said was true.

    "Everybody considered Chi Guyan¡¯s actions noble and virtuous, yet young master imed that she is smart. Looks like young master and Chi Guyan are both smart people!" A glimmer of shock appeared on Wu Yuer¡¯s face for the first time.

    "Are you praising yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly.

    "Ha ha... I am just agreeing with young master¡¯s view!" Wu Yuer smiled lightly as well, then continued. "Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s actions secluding herself from the world are extremely smart, but, two yearster, the ten years would be up and when that timees, Chi Guyan would have to resign to fate, be the Heaven Army General and be a legendary beauty!"

    "But, I still don¡¯t know, how is this rted to the portrait on the city gate?" No matter how powerful Chi Guyan was, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t believe that the Runaway Lolita kicked by him eight years ago into the river would have any rtion to him.

 Chapter 84: Criminal Demand Order

    Chapter 84: Criminal Demand Order

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "If it isn¡¯t because of a piece of criminal demand order! I believe everyone would have the same thing as young master!" When Wu Yuer mentioned the criminal demand order, her gaze was intensely fixated on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    "Criminal demand order?!" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly didn¡¯t feel too good.

    "With young master¡¯s intelligence, naturally you would be able to guess who this criminal demand order is demanding? And who made this demand?" Wu Yuer saw the change in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, and her mouth curved into a slight smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent.

    He wasn¡¯t dumb, it was his portrait that was hanged on the city gate, and Wu Yuer had to talk about Chi Guyan. Who this criminal demand order demands, and who made this demand, if he still didn¡¯t know, he would definitely be an idiot.

    Now, he also finally understood why Wu Yuer had to mention Chi Guyan first.

    With Chi Guyan¡¯s position and status in the Great Xia Dynasty, personally giving this criminal demand order, its effect was definitely predictable.

    Double Dragon Roll Champion!

    People used to believe that that was something that was almost impossible to achieve. After all, even though the Hidden Dragon Roll and Rising Dragon Roll had some parts that ovepped, but nobody in history had ever achieved the Double Dragon Roll Champion at the same time!

    Eighteen-years-old and twenty-eight-years-old. The difference was ten years, how would that be simple? But, a year ago, the thirteen-year-old Chi Guyan had suddenly entered the world and used her shocking talents to cause all of the schrs in the world to submit willingly.

    Such a person, and moreover, a girl! Why would the schrs not act?!

    "What crime?" Fang Zhengzhi tried his best to make his expression seem a little calmer.

    "Forcefully unveiling Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil!" Wu Yuer smiled, and at the same time took out a white piece of paper from her pocket and passed it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    On it, was aplete copy of the criminal demand order.

    "Such an act, a degenerate scum of themunity, calls out to every schr and literary person, and unites all the talents to work together and publicly dere themselves enemies with this person! Forcefully stop him from progressing to prevent him from destroying the great reputation thatsted throughout all ages of our Great Xia Dynasty!"

    Fang Zhengzhi only had to take one look for his entire expression to change. These words... were too malicious?

    "Actually, young master need not worry too much. Even though Chi Guyan had sent out the criminal demand order, but, she drew a baseline for the people! Hence, also leaving a tiny opportunity for young master to live!" Wu Yuer¡¯s slender finger gingerly pointed at thest paragraph of the criminal demand order.

    ncing, Fang Zhengzhi also realised the baseline set by thest paragraph of the criminal demand order. In his heart, he naturally knew what the tiny opportunity to live Wu Yuer talked about was.

    A tiny opportunity to live...

    It was really only a tiny opportunity to live!

    "This criminal should be punished to death by everybody, but our towering Great Xia Dynasty has great reputation, how can we act like this criminal? Hence, appealing to all schrs in the world, using thunderous power and proper, open methods to kill this criminal in the Law of Dao examination!"

    Isn¡¯t this evidently not wanting me to happily participate in the Law of Dao examination? Fang Zhengzhi had an urge to dash up the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and kick Chi Guyan down the clouds from the mountain peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Proper, open method... what kind of proper, open method was this? And even appealing to all schrs in the world!

    Wasn¡¯t this a very typical case of asking a bunch of people to gang up on him?

    "Young master is participating in the capital examination this time, do you have confidence?" Seeing that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak further, she slowly drank a cup of fragrant tea, seeming perfectly calm.

    "I guess... the River of Trust Capital should be rather bustling this time?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply directly, and instead asked in return.

    "Within the five constabries of the Northern Desert, except those not qualified to participate in the capital examination, are all gathered in the River of Trust Capital. I¡¯ve already prepared everybody¡¯s information for young master." Wu Yuer nodded, then, took out a thick envelope from her pocket and passed it to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi reached out and received it, then suddenly had an urge to swear. This thickness, wasn¡¯t it a little too exaggerated?

    Chi Guyan!

    It was just a kick, and already eight years... you actually still haven¡¯t forgiven me?

    Forcing me to death!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally couldn¡¯t give up the capital examination. Or, it could be said that even if he gave up the capital examination, Chi Guyan would have other methods to send him into submission once again.

    He suddenly felt somewhat regretful. Eight years ago, he should have put some poison in that Fire Plume Chicken...

    Sigh, Chi Guyan¡¯s life in exchange for the entire Southern Mountain Vige being killed? After a thought, Fang Zhengzhi felt that even if he was given another opportunity, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to do it.

    "I wish to know one thing, whose idea, and whose drawing was the portrait on the city gate by?" Trouble had alreadye, hence Fang Zhengzhi could only face it head-on.

    "Kang Xingping, number eighty in the Hidden Dragon Roll, Divine Seal Late Stage, direct line of descent in the Kang family, the ninth son!" Wu Yue seemed to have prepared long ago, and in one breathe revealed Kang Xingping¡¯s information.

    "Where is he now?"

    "Serene Ink Pond!"

    "Why... are you helping me?"

    "Because, I wish to personally see whether the number one lecher who could cause the number one schr Chi Guyan to personally pass down a criminal demand order really was what she described." Wu Yuer twitched her mouth and smiled slightly.

    "Then what do you feel?"

    "It¡¯s true!"

    "Cough cough... Oh, I seemed to remember that you are treating me to a meal, I wonder when are we eating?" Fang Zhengzhi quickly changed the topic.

    "He he he..."

    The beautiful girl shook gently, and her smile was like the blooming flower.

    In front of the Serene Ink Pond, a pale-faced schr wearing a white robe, with a jade-green fan in his hands gazed at a line of white curtain falling from a piece of mountain rock and recited loudly.

    This scene had a sense of air swallowing the mountains and rivers.

    Instantly attracting the countless attentions of people by the side of the Serene Ink Pond. One by one, beautiful women wearing colourful clothes gazed at the man in front of the pond, and chattered in a low voice, their faces seeming like peach blossoms.

    "Young Master Kang is indeed a huge talent who entered the Hidden Dragon Roll!"

    "Naturally, Kang Xingping is famous for being proficient in both literature and arts, and, is a direct descendant of the Kang family. Whoever marries him would definitely be happy for life!"

    "Hey, how can sister say such a thing, so embarrassing!"

    A fifteen to sixteen-year-olddy gently covered her face, her two cheeks blushed red with embarrassment. But, her gaze eventually instinctively floated towards the schr in front of the pond.

    "Ssh!"

    Right at this moment, a loud sound of water rang out, as if a huge piece of hundred-pound rock suddenly smashed into the river.

    Immediately after, a few urgent shouts came from beside the pond.

    "Hey, whonded into the water!"

    "Young Master Kangnded into the water!"

    "Oh no, Kang Xingping had fallen into the Serene Ink Pond!"

    When a fewdies heard, their flowery expressions instantly changed and gazed towards the source of the sound. At where Kang Xingping initially stood, a fifteen to sixteen-year-old youth stood, standing in the cool breeze, and the blue robe lightly billowing in the wind.

    "Sorry, my hands slipped!" The youth calmly gazed at Kang Xingping, whose mouth was agape in shock inside the Serene Ink Pond and spoke softly. Then, instantly turned around and left...

    ...

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    There were countless schrs beside the Serene Ink Pond, and very quickly, somebody recognised the true identity of this youth. After all, the entire River of Trust capital had Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s portrait pasted all over it, even if one didn¡¯t want to recognise him, it was still difficult.

    "This is too much? Don¡¯t tell me he isn¡¯t afraid of offending Kang Xingping by doing this?" Someone instantly expressed his doubt.

    Offend? Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the doubtful man, and spitefully twitched his mouth. He was now the public enemy of the entire city, and under the attack of everybody, how would he be afraid of offending people?

    Else, was he supposed to act like a baby while everybody attempted to kill him, and hide his entire body inside his shell like a turtle?

    "Let the sword fall on my neck and Iugh at the sky, l leave my loyalty and justice behind!"

 Chapter 85: Instigation

    Chapter 85: Instigation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Not too far away, in an elegant viewing room, Yan Xiu, wearing brocade clothes, sat within and naturally saw the scene happening in front of the Serene Ink Pond.

    "This friend of young master is indeed free-spirited, but unfortunately offended some people he shouldn¡¯t be offending" The strong bearded man standing behind Yan Xiu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and sighed lightly.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak, and instead stood up gradually and walked out of the room.

    "Young master wishes to help him?" The strong bearded man saw Yan Xiu¡¯s actions and a glimmer of shock appeared on his face, but, he didn¡¯t hold him back.

    "Grandfather had said that we should be sincere towards our friend!" Yan Xiu didn¡¯t reply directly, but the meaning in his words were very obvious.

    "But, the person he offended is Chi Guyan!" The strong bearded man reminded.

    The entire Great Xia Dynasty knew what Chi Guyan represented. Double Dragon Roll Champion and with her outstanding status, even the current Emperor didn¡¯t dare to force Chi Guyan to do something she didn¡¯t want to do.

    "So what?" Yan Xiu retorted.

    The strong bearded man was taken aback, then instantly a trace of smile appeared on his contorted face. That¡¯s right, since he said he must be sincere, what¡¯s the point of considering other things?

    In an instant, the strong bearded man suddenly felt that this young master in front of him seemed to have grown up. At least, he knew what was loyalty between friends.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally couldn¡¯t leave. In reality, when he appeared at the Serene Ink Pond, he had never prepared to leave.

    Kang Xingping, whose body and hair waspletely drenched with the cold pond water, blocked off his route. The initially handsome schr temperament had alreadypletely disappeared from Kang Xingping¡¯s body.

    What remained.

    Was a drowned rat that was freshly fished out from the pond.

    "What a Let the sword fall on my neck and Iugh at the sky, l leave my loyalty and justice behind! Today, let me see how you canugh!" Kang Xingping naturally couldn¡¯t control his rage.

    In reality, anybody who was leisurely admiring the scenery, if pushed by somebody into the pond, naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to act as if nothing had happened.

    Moreover, he still upied a spot in the Hidden Dragon Roll, representing the top hundred talents among the youths in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Brother Kang!" A voice sounded out from behind Kang Xingping¡¯s back. Then, wearing a purple robe, his eyes so small that it was almost a line, a youth appeared beside Kang Xingping.

    "It¡¯s Cai Yongfeng!"

    "Number fifty-six on the Hidden Dragon Roll, Cai Yongfeng!"

    "I heard that his abilities had already reached the Divine Seal Advanced Stage, and is about to enter the Divine Seal Peak Stage!"

    When the schrs beside the Serene Ink Pond saw the purple robe youth, somebody instantly recognised thing. Two youth talents on the Hidden Dragon Roll was a rare sight.

    But today, they gathered together, and the reason was something everybody was naturally well aware of.

    Don¡¯t tell me that before the Law of Dao examination, this good show is about to start in advance?

    "If Brother Cai is here to view the fight, I naturally wee you. But if Brother Cai is here to help, I believe there is no need to!" Kang Xingping saw Cai Yongfeng, but his expression didn¡¯t seem very happy.

    The criminal demand order had gathered all the schrs under the sky in the River of Trust Capital.

    Hence, whoever was the first to defeat Fang Zhengzhi would be someone noticed by everybody.

    Most importantly, this would definitely be known by Chi Guyan.

    Kang Xingping wouldn¡¯t let such a good opportunity end up in the hands of hands, especially since he was pushed into the pond by Fang Zhengzhi, Cai Yongfeng¡¯s appearance was even more scheming.

    Causing him to owe him a favour, and at the same time bing famous and winning the heart of a beautiful woman.

    "Ha ha ha... Brother Kang is mistaken. I¡¯m here only to stop the fight, not to help! You should know that the Law of Dao examination is the true fight!" Cai Yongfengughed gently, filled with calm and elegance.

    Usually, his abilities were stronger than Kang Xingping, but his fate with women didn¡¯t match up to Kang Xingping. If he could prevent Kang Xingping from bing famous, and also use this opportunity topete with the dazed Kang Xingping, it would naturally be a good thing.

    Even though both of their targets were Fang Zhengzhi, but there was only one Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, naturally both of them had their own thoughts and ideas.

    Maybe this was what the ancient saying meant, even though there were many talents in the world, but they were all like a sheet of loose sand, unable to cooperate...

    Kang Xingping instantly understood Cai Yongfeng¡¯s malicious intentions, and was filled with anger. But, he didn¡¯t have a choice. He had alreadynded in such a state, if he couldn¡¯t fight and take revenge for this humiliation, how could he be satisfied?

    "If I am Young Master Kang, I will definitely let him feel what it¡¯s like to fall into the pond, then talk about stopping the fight, or helping in the fight!" Fang Zhengzhi, standing right in front of the two people, spoke at this moment.

    Kang Xingping¡¯s eye lit up suddenly, and at this moment, Cai Yongfeng also stood out. His intentions were very clear, it was naturally to stop him, then disy his elegance.

    But if he also fell into the pond?

    Kang Xingping felt that this was a good idea, but the person who suggested this idea had to be Fang Zhengzhi, causing him to feel a strange feeling.

    A glint shone inside Cai Yongfeng¡¯s slit eyes. Gazing at Fang Zhengzhi, whose face was filled with calm as if none of these concerned him, the edges of his mouth curved into a smile.

    If he wanted to sow dissension between the two of them and cause him to fall into the trap, then Fang Zhengzhi had underestimated him too much.

    "Brother Kang you cannot fall into his trap. You must think carefully, he was the one who pushed you into the pond, I¡¯m only here to help. Brother Kang cannot act without reasoning!" Cai Yongfeng reminded.

    Kang Xingping was stunned. When he looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, sweat gradually broke out from his back. If not for Cai Yongfeng¡¯s reminder, he might really had fallen into the trap.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at these two people in front of him and smiled, sighing inside his heart. Seems like to be able to enter the Hidden Dragon Roll, one must really be somewhat scheming. Compared to those simple vigers living in the vige, they were definitely stronger.

    Then...

    Did the trap fail?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up and gazed at the azure blue skies.

    "Since Young Master Kang doubts my words, then let¡¯s make a bet. From the second this guy appeared, he had already intended to stop us from fighting fairly. Yet, now he actually said that he wishes to help you, this is indeed harbouring unfathomable motives. How about I leave now, and we¡¯ll see if he stops you. How about that?" When Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he turned around and left.

    Kang Xingping¡¯s mouth opened and closed. He didn¡¯t want to y such games with Fang Zhengzhi, but letting Fang Zhengzhi leave just like that was something he naturally didn¡¯t wish to happen.

    He moved and prepared to act.

    "Brother Kang, don¡¯t, leave him to the Law of Dao examination..." When Cai Yongfeng saw Kang Xingping act, he instantly went forward to stop him. To him, the purpose was to get merit for making the first move.

    As for Kang Xingping?

    His ranking was already behind that of his, what did he have to be scared of?

    The two, one in offense and one in defence, naturally contacted very quickly. Kang Xingping¡¯s abilities were already below that of Cai Yongfeng. Even though he acted first, he was still blocked by Cai Yongfeng.

    The already battered him instantly flew into a rage.

    Thinking of the words Fang Zhengzhi said previously, the rage was quickly directed towards Cai Yongfeng.

    And right at this moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned his head. His legs moved, and his figure changed. Just like a meteor, he instantly charged towards the two people.

    "Brother Kang, let me help you!" As Fang Zhengzhi shouted, he had already reached the front of the two people.

    As he saw Fang Zhengzhi approaching, Cai Yongfeng couldn¡¯t help but to shout out inside his heart - this is bad! Fang Zhengzhi wanted to attack using the strength of another! Without much hesitation, he instantly pulled back to block.

    And when Kang Xingping heard this, even though he wasn¡¯t very happy, but when he thought of what Cai Yongfeng just did, he still decided to watch the fight from the side.

    First get Fang Zhengzhi to battle with Cai Yongfeng, then he would im the rewards from the battle!

    When he thought of this, the edges of Kang Xingping¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.

    But, very quickly, the smile on Kang Xingping¡¯s face froze. Because, he suddenly felt an intense paining from his stomach.

    Looking down, he realised a leg had kicked onto it.

    "You..." Kang Xingping would never have dreamed that Fang Zhengzhi would unleash a sneak attack on him at this moment again. Furthermore, he even did so in the name of teaming together against Cai Yongfeng.

    Shameless...

    The epitome of shamelessness!

    No matter how unhappy Kang Xingping was, he was still sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kick, and traced out a beautiful arch in mid-air.

    "Ssh!"

    Hended into the Serene Ink Pond once again.

    The change happened in a sh, happening so quickly that people were simply unable to react.

    At this moment, Cai Yongfeng was also slightly taken aback. He didn¡¯t understand why would Fang Zhengzhi suddenly change his target of attack just now.

    Don¡¯t tell me that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t want me tond into the Serene Ink Pond as well?

    "Thank you, Brother Cai, for your kind help and cooperation, allowing me to take my revenge. Moonview Restaurant tonight, see you there!" Fang Zhengzhi cupped his fist towards Cai Yongfeng, then turned around and left elegantly.

    Leaving Cai Yongfeng with his mouth agape beside the Serene Ink Pond...

 Chapter 86: Tempest

    Chapter 86: Tempest

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Kind help and cooperation? See you there?!"

    Cai Yongfeng¡¯s mouth lightly mumbled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, then, his face instantly turned a deathly shade of white. Slowly turning his head around and gazing at the Kang Xingping inside the pond, then gazing at the surrounding schrs and beautiful women.

    From their eyes, Cai Yongfeng inferred two emotions, shock and anger!

    "Cai Yongfeng, you double-dealing and backstabbing malicious vile person, I, Kang Xingping, and you cannot exist together!" Within the pond, Kang Xingping made an oath.

    The schrs and beauties beside the pond also stared at Cai Yongfeng and shook their heads.

    Even in their dreams, they would never have thought that Cai Yongfeng, ranked among the Hidden Dragon Roll, would actually conspire together with Fang Zhengzhi? What kind of charisma did this Fang Zhengzhi have?

    Just as the crowd was filled with doubt, another person appeared beside the pond.

    Then, the crowd saw a shocking scene. Wearing brocade clothes, with an expression cold as ice and waving a Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan, a youth walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    "Resolved?" Yan Xiu looked at Cai Yongfeng standing beside the pond and Kang Xingping who hadnded inside the pond.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. In front of Yan Xiu, he didn¡¯t like to lie. If he ever wanted to exploit Yan Xiu, he would add on a sentence like, thank you Young Master Cai for your help.

    "I can treat you to a meal!" Yan Xiu lightly nodded.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reject.

    Yan Xiu turned around, then, as if he thought of something, suddenly shot his gaze towards Cai Yongfeng standing by the pond. His tone was cold. "Thank you, Young Master Cai, for your help!"

    A light gust of wind blew past, and time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    Standing by the pond, Cai Yongfeng stared at Yan Xiu with an expression of disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also slightly stunned inside. He believed that Yan Xiu was able to see the problem in this, but, Yan Xiu¡¯s words were evidently...

    "They are indeed together!"

    Those who were initially in denial at this moment had lost all their doubt. Because, everybody believed that a person as cold as Yan Xiu would never lie.

    When Cai Yongfeng wanted to exin further, Kang Xingping who was inside the pond didn¡¯t give him any further opportunities to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walked shoulder to shoulder towards the restaurant.

    But, beside the pond, calm was already impossible. The raging Kang Xingping wildly attacked Cai Yongfeng, each of his moves were deadly, and every move was sinister.

    Such wild attacks naturally caused Cai Yongfeng to not be able to hold back.

    Then...

    A deathmatch began to start beside the pond.

    But in the end, it was Kang Xingping and Cai Yongfeng who were fighting to the death beside the pond? There seemed to be something wrong somewhere.

    ...

    Inside the restaurant, Fang Zhengzhi sat beside Yan Xiu, while the strong bearded man stood behind. A maid poured tea beside the two people, and everything was calm.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t question further. Because, he had already personally witnessed everything that had happened. Fang Zhengzhi also didn¡¯t speak. Because, he knew Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t inclined towards chatting.

    Just like that, the two sat quietly and watched the fight unfolding beside the pond.

    Until the two had exhausted all the strengths, and after a few people who couldn¡¯t bear to watch it anymore broke up the fight, this silence was finally broken.

    "The capital examination is going to start ten dayster." Yan Xiu spoke first.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "This time, I heard the content is going to be different from the usual." Yan Xiu continued.

    "Because of me?" Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    "Yes, and no!" Yan Xiu nodded and shook his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak, and instead lightly sipped a mouth of tea and waited quietly for Yan Xiu to continue his exnation.

    "Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s status is outstanding, but she didn¡¯t participate in the Imperial Government, and, all along, the capital examination¡¯s content had always been set by the Imperial Academy before seeking the Left Minister¡¯sments and then distributed."

    "But, this time, the number of participants in the River of Trust Capital examinations is really too many, hence the Chief Examiner suggested a new examination content. The Imperial Academy had already authorized it, and so did the Left Minister."

    Finish this exnation in one breathe, Yan Xiu¡¯s face seemed somewhat flustered, as if he wasn¡¯t very used to it.

    "I understand." Fang Zhengzhi nodded once again.

    "The change in the capital examination isn¡¯t in your favour." Yan Xiu drank another mouth of tea and continued.

    "Do I have a choice?"

    "No."

    "Then let nature take its course."

    ...

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi appeared beside the Serene Ink Pond, new of him entering the River of Trust Capital naturally spread very quickly. Everybody guessed that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ten days would pass veryfortably.

    But in reality...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s days passed veryfortably.

    Yan Xiu had also booked a new room for him, beautiful and secluded.

    Indeed, Yan Xiu was indeed very sincere towards Fang Zhengzhi, and the reason Fang Zhengzhi epted this act of sincerity wasn¡¯t to use Yan Xiu to protect himself.

    But instead, he felt that to be able to get away from these noisy flies, it was definitely not a bad thing.

    It was getting nearer to the capital examination. Initially when nobody expected any more events to ur, an explosive news suddenly began to spread.

    Yun Qingwu hade to the River of Trust!

    This undoubtedly nted a fuse in the River of Trust, which was already ridden by a strong undercurrent. Countless schrs began to spread news that Yun Qingwu definitely came because of the criminal demand order.

    After all, Yun Qingwu was the biggest victim mentioned in the criminal demand order.

    Next, there were three days left to the capital examination. As of tradition, the River of Trust Capital held a huge gathering of schrs and beauties.

    Almost every schr that entered the River of Trust Capital gathered at the cultural exchange venue.

    But, an even stranger thing urred. Unlike what everybody expected, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t appear in the cultural exchange. Furthermore, even Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t participate.

    The huge cultural gathering started among huge cheers, yet ended in a deste sigh.

    This caused a huge question to appear in the hearts of the schrs in the River of Trust Capital.

    What was the reason for Yun Qingwu¡¯s arrival?

    If it was due to Fang Zhengzhi, then why didn¡¯t she condemn him at the cultural gathering? Such a good opportunity wouldn¡¯t have been given up by any other person.

    Then...

    If Yun Qingwu¡¯s arrival wasn¡¯t due to Fang Zhengzhi? Why would she choose this timing that would cause the most assumptions toe to the River of Trust Capital?

    The crowd couldn¡¯t understand.

    Just as they discussed spiritedly, filled with doubt, they suddenly realised with a shock that it was already officially the start of the capital examination.

    Was it calm?

    Actually, it was indeed calm.

    Because, ever since Fang Zhengzhi arrived at the River of Trust Capital, he had only appeared once at the Serene Ink Pond. Even though it caused some activity, but,pared to the real tempest.

    That was only...

    An inadvertent brush of shoulders!

    And now, the real tempest was about to befall!

 Chapter 87: Undercurrent

    Chapter 87: Undercurrent

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    It was a hazy and rainy dawn.

    Ayer of faint mist lightly enveloped the River of Trust Capital, like ady just out from the shower, emanating an otherworldly sense of beauty.

    The capital examination was, as usual, split into the theory examination andbat examination. But what was different from the county examination was that this time, the capital examination had some changes. There was only one round of theory examination, and hence whoever was leaving would be determined by just one round of theory examination.

    It was rather cruel.

    But, to those who could travel great distances to the River of Trust, this cruel reality was rather insignificant.

    Definitely, there were always exceptions. For example, at this moment, Li Zhuangshi was rather gloomy. Staring at the dense mass of schrs participating in the River of Trust Capital at the capital office, he didn¡¯t even have the mood to try anymore.

    Can it not be so extreme?

    It¡¯s just a capital examination, why are there so many people?

    The Great Xia Dynasty had set clear rules for the Law of Dao examinations. The number of people epted every capital¡¯s Law of Dao examination was fixed. No matter how many people were in the capital, the final name list of epted people would remain the same.

    Hence, the consequences were simple. The more people participating in the capital examination, the lower the chances of being epted.

    Eight years...

    Li Zhuangshi eximed that Heavens was messing with him. He had prepared for eight years, and used two years to pass the county examination of the Law of Dao examination. After being flushed with sess, he then failed two times in the capital examination.

    It could be said that he had fallen into a deep ravine in an instant.

    And this year, was thest year of the eight years he had, and was the year that Li Zhuangshi believed he had the most confidence.

    Yet, why did such a thing just had to happen?

    He wasn¡¯t satisfied, he really wasn¡¯t satisfied. Gazing at the indistinct yet fine drops of rain falling from the skies, Li Zhuangshi¡¯s hand instinctively felt a letter in his pocket.

    A cold glint shed in his eyes.

    "I¡¯m sorry!" At this moment, Li Zhuangshi seemed to have made a very difficult decision.

    ...

    As time passed, the number of schrs gathered in the River of Trust Capital office became more and more, not at all affected by the drizzling rain. Instead, it surged a sense of enthusiasm in the schrs.

    Everybody were discussing spiritedly about what questions woulde out in this theory examination, and also guessed what kind of rankings would result from this time¡¯s theory examination.

    "The capital examination questions had always been very tough, furthermore, there always would be aplete recitation of text from the Law of Dao! The three thousand volumes of the Law of Dao, how many people on this world would be able to recite itpletely? It has to depend on luck."

    "Even though luck ys a part, but true ability is the most important! The recitation of the Law of Dao only brings out the question, the main point is still the usage and understanding of the Law of Dao!"

    "Who do you think this time¡¯s theory examination Roll Champion would be?"

    "Does that even need any guessing? Hua Kangan¡¯s ability is the strongest, number twenty in the Hidden Dragon Roll and with the Star Conglomerate Enlightenment State, and at the same time ranked in the Rising Dragon Roll! But discussing about the theory examination, I instead seem to believe that it would be Zhang Hetong!"

    "I also believe that it would be Zhang Hetong. The Zhang family had been involved in the government all along and is a family with literary reputation. Furthermore, I heard that he had been personally praised by the Chief Examiner in the county examinations, and hisments were "Outstanding literary talent"!"

    "What do you all think about Fang Zhengzhi? I heard that he had attained Roll Champion in the Huai An County! And, seems like it was full marks..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Full marks? Ha ha ha... who had ever seen his examination paper before? Only Heavens would know how he had gotten this full mark. I only heard that he reported this opponent called Meng Yushu, and barely made it to the First-ss Roll in the first round. Such a theory examination Roll Champion is nothing more than a frog in the well!"

    "Ha ha ha... Brother Chen¡¯s wise observations, I indeed agree!"

    ...

    As the crowd discussed, two people approached slowly from afar.

    One was dressed in brocade clothes, holding a Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan, his expression cold as ice. The other wore a slight smile on his face, wearing a blue robe that danced lightly in the drizzling rain.

    It was Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is here!"

    "Yan Xiu is actually walking with him?! Don¡¯t tell me Yan Xiu is participating in this capital examination as well?"

    "Oh, I had forgotten Yan Xiu... he seems to be sixteen this year, based on the Yan family traditions, leaving at sixteen, he might really be able to participate!"

    "If Yan Xiu also participates in this capital examination, then it is indeed going to be interesting! I don¡¯t know what enlightenment state Yan Xiu has already reached."

    "Even though Yan Xiu¡¯s name is famous, but nobody had ever seen him fight. He isn¡¯t even ranked in the Hidden Dragon Roll, no matter how strong he can be, I believe he shouldn¡¯t have reached Star Conglomerate?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t cause any shock to the crowd, but Yan Xiu¡¯s appearance caused the crowd to start guessing. After all, the Yan family¡¯s reputation was something everybody in the Great Xia Dynasty was familiar with.

    Hearing the discussion going around them, Yan Xiu¡¯s cold expression seemed to have a rare change. He frowned slightly, but very quickly returned to its original calm.

    "Looks like you don¡¯t seem to like other people associating you and the Yan family." Fang Zhengzhi easily noticed Yan Xiu¡¯s change in expression.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Then, you need to have some proof, and is this the reason you left the Western Liang and came to the faraway Northern Desert to participate in the Law of Dao examination?" Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded again.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t inquire further. After he got to know Yan Xiu, he managed to infer that the Yan family didn¡¯t belong to the Northern Desert. Under normal circumstances, giving up what was near to pursue what was far wasn¡¯t a wise move.

    But since Yan Xiu gave it up, he naturally had enough good reasons.

    "Gong!"

    The gong signifying the start of the examination sounded, and the theory examination had official begun.

    Due to therge number of people participating in the capital examination, the amount of space in the River of Trust Academy naturally wasn¡¯t enough. Hence, the venue of this theory examination is held in the capital office of the River of Trust Capital.

    The two red wood doors carved with animal figures represented the prestige of the capital office. Four rows of armoured capital guards stood at the north, south, east and west of the capital office, each armed with a spear and awaited with military discipline.

    A few other invigtors wearing ck official clothes also patrolled about the capital office door.

    From this, it could be inferred that the capital examination was indeed much stricter than the county examination.

    Definitely, passing the capital examination was like crossing the dragon¡¯s gate, leaving one¡¯s name in the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s record books, and most of all, receiving the protection of thew.

    As long as one didn¡¯tmit any serious crimes, one would likely not face any punishments.

    Furthermore, one would even receive the invitations of powers from all around, bing an advisor, or even being given some appointments and enjoy special treatment.

    The crowd of schrs walked in in a line.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally walked shoulder to shoulder with Yan Xiu. At the door that led into the capital office, Fang Zhengzhi noticed Li Zhuangshi, whose brows were threaded together in a deep frown.

    Li Zhuangshi simrly also noticed Fang Zhengzhi, and his eyes instantly lit up.

    "Zhengzhi, our fates are indeed different routes to the same destination! This capital examination, to have met such a situation, is indeed Heaven ying with us!" Li Zhuangshi, for the first time, somehow didn¡¯t mock Fang Zhengzhi, and instead expressed his empathy.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded, expressing his agreement.

    When Li Zhuangshi saw Fang Zhengzhi nod, a cold glint inadvertently shed in his eyes.

    "Sigh... never mind! Your father and I have a deep bond with one another, and I really cannot bear to see you miss the roll today, hence I wish to help you out a bit. A few days ago, I have received an answer sheet through a friend, I¡¯ll give one to you!" As Li Zhuangshi spoke, he carefully fished out a letter from his pocket and stealthily stuffed it into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. He looked at Li Zhuangshi, then looked at the letter in his hands.

    "Uncle Li, you really wish to do this?"

    "I hope that you can understand me!" Li Zhuangshi¡¯s expression was filled with sincerity.

    "Oh, then thank you Uncle Li!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak further and directly stuffed the letter into his pocket, and with big strides, walked into the door of the capital office.

 Chapter 88: Acting Early

    Chapter 88: Acting Early

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Once he entered the examination venue, Li Zhuangshi saw Fang Zhengzhi standing at the entrance quietly looking at himself.

    "Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve been discovered?" Li Zhuangshi had a guilty conscience, but forcefully calmed himself down. "Zhengzhi, why don¡¯t you find a seat to sit down first?"

    "I wish to ask Uncle Li a few questions." Fang Zhengzhi walked to Li Zhuangshi¡¯s side and spoke calmly.

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s heart thumped, and sweat instantly broke out from his back. If Fang Zhengzhi had seen through him now, then everything was over.

    "Please... ask!" Li Zhuangshi inhaled deeply.

    "What would happen if Uncle Li misses the role this time?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone sounded calm, just like they were chatting casually.

    "Miss the roll?" Li Zhuangshi frowned. "If I miss the roll, I believe I will take the examination again. Even if the Hall of Dao in the Southern Mountain Vige is demolished, I will still bring Huer to another vige!"

    Li Zhuangshi didn¡¯t conceal. This were his true intentions. After eight years of effort, how could he give up?

    "Then what if you were banned from participating in the Law of Dao examination?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    "This..." Li Zhuangshi was taken aback. He indeed hadn¡¯t thought about this. Then, he was suddenly stunned. Why would Fang Zhengzhi suddenly ask such a question?

    Just as he prepared to speak, he realised that Fang Zhengzhi had already shaken his head and walked away.

    "Looks like Uncle Li haven¡¯t thought about that..." A faint voice floated over, yet it caused Li Zhuangshi to feel a chilling sensation in his bones.

    "Had he realised? No... I can¡¯t wait anymore!" Li Zhuangshi gritted his teeth and quickly followed.

    ...

    The examination venue of the capital examination was different from that of the county examination. Every seat was separated with a wooden board, and people outside cannot be seen. Hence, there was naturally no way to interact or cheat.

    If the county examination¡¯s theory examination was the epitome of rxation, then the capital examination¡¯s theory examination could be described as seamless and gapless.

    This didn¡¯t mean that the Great Xia Dynasty had suddenly preferred the pen to the sword. Instead, it was because the purpose of the capital examination and the purpose of the county examination were twopletely different concepts.

    Passing the county examination meant that one had begun to practice.

    It was equivalent to entering the door.

    The Great Xia Dynasty naturally wouldn¡¯t directly block the talented at the doorstep, hence, giving chance at the theory examination was counted as normal.

    But the capital examination was different. After the examination, one¡¯s name would enter into the record, and every month, there would even be money grants. Even though it wasn¡¯t much, but the social status waspletely different.

    Hence, the possibility of cheating was really too low, and the punishment would be incredibly serious.

    A light one would be forfeiting one¡¯s examination results, a serious one who ban one from three rounds of examination. If the situation was especially vile, it might even cause a lifetime ban from participating in the Law of Dao examination.

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi had prepared before bing. Furthermore, due to Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation in the room, he naturally had be more familiar with the rules of the capital examination.

    The amount of people participating in the examination was too many, hence the time to enter the venue wasn¡¯t as strict.

    The interior of the capital office was spacious and rooms of various sizes filled the examination venue. Each venue had invigtors patrolling, and Fang Zhengzhi quickly found a brightly-lit spot and sat down.

    Then, he waited quietly for the theory examination to begin.

    Then, right at this moment, an invigtor wearing a ck official robe suddenly walked towards Fang Zhengzhi, and behind him, Li Zhuangshi followed.

    "He arrived rather quickly!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed. His face was calm as normal, and didn¡¯t seem anxious at all.

    Li Zhuangshi followed behind the invigtor and his gaze was fixated at the spot where Fang Zhengzhi stuffed the letter into. He was indeed afraid of Fang Zhengzhi, he was too smart.

    He didn¡¯t dare to wait till the official start of the examination.

    Because, the longer he dragged, the easier it was for problems to ur.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?" The invigtor walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Somebody reported that you brought the answer sheet into the venue!" The invigtor¡¯s gaze instantly became fierce.

    When the words left his mouth, the attention of a few schrs who were currently finding their seats were instantly perked. Bringing the answer sheet? Wasn¡¯t this cheating?

    "Fang Zhengzhi brought in the answer sheet?!"

    "This isn¡¯t very possible? With his Roll Champion results in the county theory examination, even though he wouldn¡¯t be able to get a good ranking in the capital examination, but making it into the Second-ss Roll wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Why would he bring in the answer sheet?"

    "I believe it is for a good ranking! He knows that this time, thepetition in the capital examination is intense, hence took the risk of bringing in the answer!"

    "Hmm, that¡¯s possible!"

    One by one, the schrs started to gesticte, and discussed softly.

    "Theory examination answer sheet? The theory examination hadn¡¯t even begun, why would there be an answer sheet?" Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t at all anxious. He continued to seat at his table, his face filled with an innocent expression.

    The invigtor was taken aback. After being reminded by Fang Zhengzhi, he instantly managed to regain his senses. As the invigtor of the capital examination, he had the responsibility and task of maintaining order in the examination venue.

    Hence, after hearing Li Zhuangshi report, he didn¡¯t think too much and directly walked over.

    Now that he understood, the invigtor¡¯s gaze shifted towards Li Zhuangshi. The meaning was clear, can you exin what you are reporting?

    "It¡¯s the capital examination¡¯s materials! Inside, there is the original text of the Law of Dao, and a few answers guessed outside the exam!" Li Zhuangshi met the invigtor¡¯s gaze and instantly exined without concealing anything.

    If the invigtor left at this moment, all his previous efforts would have gone to waste.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, exin yourself!" The invigtor nodded lightly and looked at Fang Zhengzhi again.

    "Hmm, we can¡¯t bring in materials?" Fang Zhengzhi heard the invigtor¡¯s words and looked as if he had just woken up from a dream, his expression filled with shock.

    When the surrounding schrs saw this, they instantly began tough.

    This Fang Zhengzhi was indeed dumb, he actually asked such a question.

    This was the capital examination; how could he be allowed to bring in resources rted to the Law of Dao. If that was really allowed, there would likely be people who would bring their entire bookshelf over.

    "Obviously not! Bringing in materials is counted as cheating!" The invigtor instantly cited the rules.

    "But the examination hasn¡¯t even started, this isn¡¯t allowed too?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    "No!" The invigtor could already confirm that this Fang Zhengzhi in front of him would definitely possess cheating materials, else he wouldn¡¯t ask such questions.

    "Alright, then what are the punishments for bringing in materials into the examination venue?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem too worried.

    But, the surrounding schrs already couldn¡¯t quite contain themselves.

    Bringing in materials into the examination venue was counted as cheating, based on the rules, even if it was found out before the examination started, one would be removed from the examination on the spot.

    If there were answers within the materials rting to guessing of questions, they would be banned from participating in the next three rounds of examination.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is going to be removed from the examination!"

    "I never thought that this would happen, this is indeed the greatest news of this capital examination!"

    "Indeed!"

    The surrounding schrs also could confirm that Fang Zhengzhi being removed from the examination had already be a reality, except that this incident was too shocking.

    Bringing in materials?

    Then, reported by people on the spot, and then being removed from the examination...

    Indeed, the consequences of some things came very quickly!

    "Bringing in materials into the examination, following the rules set by the Imperial Academy, must be removed from the examination! About whether one would be banned from future examinations, it would require the personal judgement of the chief examiner!" The invigtor¡¯s tone at this moment seemed extremely cold and heartless.

 Chapter 89: Body Search

    Chapter 89: Body Search

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    After hearing the invigtor¡¯s words, the surroundings schrs¡¯ faces were filled withughter. They waited for Fang Zhengzhi to be brought out of the examination venue, yet Fang Zhengzhi quietly sat at his spot, as if nothing had happened.

    "Fang Zhengzhi,e out with me!" The invigtor saw that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move, and urged.

    "Why?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was filled with innocence.

    "You brought in materials into the examination, and have been counted as cheating, yet you still ask why?" The invigtor became rather impatient.

    "Invigtor, as the invigtor of the theory examination, mustn¡¯t you bear responsibility for your words? I wish to ask you, have you personally seen me bring materials into the examination venue?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    The invigtor was taken aback. He indeed hadn¡¯t seen Fang Zhengzhi bring in any materials, but, a witness had reported him. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi just now seemed to have already admitted...

    Wait, no, it seems like he didn¡¯t admit!

    "Why not you search me?" Fang Zhengzhi saw that the invigtor didn¡¯t speak, and took the initiative to suggest.

    "Search?" The invigtor was somewhat hesitant. The Great Xia Dynasty respected human rights, especially those of schrs participating in the examination. If there wasn¡¯t any good evidence, searching the bodies of examinees as he pleased wasn¡¯t within his powers.

    "Invigtor, I have personally witnessed him bringing in materials into the examination venue, and furthermore, in his pockets, there is a letter. Inside it, are the materials!" Li Zhuangshi affirmed by the side.

    "Are you sure?" The invigtor continued to hesitate.

    "Yes!" Li Zhuangshi nodded.

    "Then... search!" The invigtor stared at Li Zhuangshi for a full three seconds, then finally gritted his teeth.

    When the surrounding schrs heard about the search, they instantly stood up. Searching a person in the examination venue was a rare asion, and naturally caused their interests to be perked.

    But, they were rather doubtful, based on the behaviour Fang Zhengzhi had just shown, it probably wouldn¡¯t be very easy to search Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body?

    "Come! Search me!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cooperativeness waspletely unexpected.

    As he spoke, he even took the initiative to stand up from his seat, and conscientiously flipped open all his pockets and poured out a few notes and silver pieces he had. Then, he signalled to the invigtor that he could personally begin the search.

    Looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, the invigtor felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right. He had also heard some news about Fang Zhengzhi, especially the incident that happened at the Serene Ink Pond.

    The people involved might have not been able to understanding what was happening, but how could the spectators not guess?

    To be able to magically frame everything on Cai Yongfeng, what good things woulde out of a person like that?

    Then what was wrong?

    The invigtor momentarily couldn¡¯t understand, but since Fang Zhengzhi had already signalled that he could begin the search, as the saying goes, the arrow is already on the bow, and has to be shot!

    Without a choice, he couldn¡¯t only trust Li Zhuangshi once!

    Instantly, the invigtor took two steps forward and began the search. Fang Zhengzhi on the other hand didn¡¯t resist at all. He opened his hands and his express was calm and magnanimous, simr to that of amb waiting to be butchered.

    Seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s manner, Li Zhuangshi simrly had a feeling that something was wrong. Fang Zhengzhi was too calm andposed, just like a third party uninvolved in the situation. This wasn¡¯t possible. If he really brought in materials, he would definitely not be able to be asposed.

    But, the materials were clearly on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. This point, Li Zhuangshi could almost confirm.

    "Don¡¯t have?!" The invigtor searched thoroughly, and he instantly felt somewhat cold. If he really managed to find something, it was still eptable. But now, he didn¡¯t manage to find anything, what should he do?

    His gaze quicklynded on Li Zhuangshi.

    "That¡¯s not possible, there clearly is. I¡¯ve seen it myself, let me search!" Li Zhuangshi was also simrly in disbelief, and instantly went forward to search personally.

    This was actually against the rules, but Fang Zhengzhi seemed as if he hadn¡¯t even noticed. He continued to open his hands, his expression calm, and epted Li Zhuangshi¡¯s search...

    At this moment, the surrounding schrs also stared with their eyes rounded. They searched on the table, on the chair and on the floor. They also believed that Fang Zhengzhi definitely brought materials into the examination venue.

    But, why wasn¡¯t there any?

    "Can I participate in the examination now?" After waiting for everybody to finish searching the areas around him, Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke.

    "I¡¯m sorry for the disturbance!" The invigtor frowned, and prepared to leave.

    "Wait a moment!" At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly halted the invigtor.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" The invigtor stopped in his tracks, but for some reason, his heart suddenly trembled. Because, he could clearly see the smile at the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    It was a very harmonious smile, yet, the invigtor felt a sense of chilliness in his heart.

    "My Great Xia Dynasty has always been people-oriented, and respects schrs taking part in the examination. Everything has to be fair. Previously, somebody suspected me of bringing in materials into the examination, then, I epted the search. This is something I believe everybody had seen. Then, I wish to follow the invigtor¡¯s principles in dealing with things, as long as there is a report, he can carry out the search. Now, I also wish to make a report!" Fang Zhengzhi revealed a slight smile.

    "You are also making a report?!" When the invigtor heard this, he instantly felt that an ominous feeling.

    "Yes, I suspect everybody had brought in materials into the examination venue, and hope that invigtor can search everybody participating in the capital examination one by one?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the invigtor with a casual look.

    "What?! Search one by one?"

    "What logic is this!"

    "Why search our bodies without any evidence?"

    The surrounding schrs were instantly provoked, and began to cry out. But, after a thought, they suddenly began speechless. Because, they had also previously helped the invigtor to search Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Search everybody?!" The invigtor was taken aback. He finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi was so cooperative just now. Furthermore, he even took the initiative to request for a search. This was simply digging a hole for him to jump into!

    Searching everybody one by one, how long was this going to take? This time, the number of participants in the capital examination was at least five times more than the past examinations. The dy wasn¡¯t very important, but such an act is indeed too extreme!

    It would definitely cause the chief examiner to notice.

    If he didn¡¯t do as Fang Zhengzhi said, then it would be unfair. If Fang Zhengzhi blew up the matter, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    At this moment, he finally understood who was the true butcheredmb!

    "This, without evidence..." The invigtor said these words with huge difficulty. Such words couldn¡¯t even convince himself.

    Because, previously, he had very clearly searched Fang Zhengzhi without any evidence at all.

    "Wasn¡¯t suspicion the same as evidence? I seem to have been searched just like that just now? I hope invigtor can believe me! Furthermore... I think I can also be like Li Zhuangshi and help invigtor to conduct the search!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have full confidence.

 Chapter 90: Fruits

    Chapter 90: Fruits

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The invigtor¡¯s sweat finally broke out. Indeed, the way the dealt with this problem was somewhat problematic, if it was escted, the person in the worst position would be him.

    No wonder Fang Zhengzhi would ept the search so willingly, and even took the initiative to suggest...

    Seems like Fang Zhengzhi is just waiting for him?

    The invigtor¡¯s gaze shot to Li Zhuangshi who was behind him, and felt the urge to rip Li Zhuangshi into eight chunks.

    "If invigtor feels that searching the entire examination would be too troublesome, then at least you should be searching the people in this room? Just now they were searching very happily..." A bright smile lighted up Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    "Search this room..." The invigtor swept his gaze across the dozens of examinees in the room, and finally made up his mind. "Search!"

    When the surrounding examinees heard this, their expressions instantly turned bitter. The wheel of fortune reversed! Just now, they were indeed searching Fang Zhengzhi very happily, but now, it was about to be their turn to be searched.

    The invigtor¡¯s movements were very swift, because the longer they dragged, the worse it was for him.

    Within fifteen minutes, the search of dozens of people in the examination room had beenpleted.

    The invigtor gazed at the roomful of schrs crying out theirints, and let out a sigh. His gaze returned back to Fang Zhengzhi. "Is this okay now?"

    "There is still one person, did invigtor forget?" Fang Zhengzhi used his nce to signal to the Li Zhuangshi standing behind the invigtor.

    "Him? He isn¡¯t from this examination room... Li Zhuangshi, prepare to be searched!" The invigtor wanted to say something, then had second thoughts. He had already searched this entire room of people, and this one person wouldn¡¯t amount to much.

    Instantly, he reached his hands towards Li Zhuangshi. His actions were rough, and didn¡¯t have any intention of bearing any "tender, protective feelings" towards Li Zhuangshi. After all, everything was caused by Li Zhuangshi.

    "This... invigtor, why would I bring in materials?" Li Zhuangshi was taken aback, and instinctively wanted to dodge. But, he was very quickly held down onto the ground by the invigtor.

    "sh!" A tearing sound rang out, and a hole was even torn in his shirt.

    The invigtor¡¯s actions were indeed rough. After holding back for so long, controlling the anger in his stomach, now that he was searching Li Zhuangshi, he naturally wanted to take his revenge.

    When the surrounding schrs saw this scene, their eyes were rounded with shock.

    Some who weren¡¯t as brave even shut their eyes, and didn¡¯t dare to look directly.

    Li Zhuangshi cried out, "ouch ouch!", and struggled intensely. But, how could he retaliate against the strength of the invigtor? A pair of huge hands searched about Li Zhuangshi¡¯s body, and asionally pinching a few times.

    "Huh?" Just as the crowd thought that things were more or less about to be over, a letter was suddenly found by the invigtor.

    "Quick, look. There is a letter!"

    "Could it be..."

    "Don¡¯t tell me he was the one who brought in materials?!"

    Li Zhuangshi was currently suffering on the ground, when the suddenly heard the word letter, he raised his head. His face instantly turned a deathly shade of white.

    What is this about? Why... why do I have a letter?!

    This is simply impossible!

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s eyes were now round with shock, and stared at the invigtor with disbelief while he slowly opened the letter. Inside it, were the contents he passed to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Letter? In my pocket?

    In a sh, Li Zhuangshi felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Then, he recalled the scene when he entered the examination venue. Fang Zhengzhi was chatting with him inside the door. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi stood too near to him, so near that it was somewhat strange.

    But, at that moment, all he thought about was to achieve his goal with underhanded means, and simply didn¡¯t notice Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands at all.

    "You... you sabotage me, this... this letter is clearly on your body, I personally gave it to you..." Li Zhuangshi suddenly pointed his finger at Fang Zhengzhi, and his expression was filled with malevolence.

    But, the malevolent expression disappeared in a sh. Because, very quickly, he noticed the cold nce that shot out from the invigtor¡¯s eyes.

    "It is you!" The invigtor was furious.

    No wonder Li Zhuangshi reported Fang Zhengzhi so confidently, he wanted to impute Fang Zhengzhi. But, the progress of things seemed to have met with an idental.

    The person reporting had be the one cheating?

    "Uncle Li, I think... you should think clearly, if you were banned from participating in the Law of Dao examinations, what should you do..." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he gazed at Li Zhuangshi, whose expression was filled with both horror and rage.

    "No! It won¡¯t happen... I cannot be banned from the examination, this is myst chance! Cai... Cai Yongfeng... Young Master Cai save me!" Li Zhuangshi suddenly leapt up from the ground, and charged towards the door.

    At the door, Cai Yongfeng dressed in brocade clothes looked at Li Zhuangshi with a dark expression.

    "Young Master Cai, it¡¯s you, it¡¯s you who said that as long as I sabotage Fang Zhengzhi, you will help me in the theory examination, quick... quick help me to plea for leniency!" Li Zhuangshi grabbed onto Cai Yongfeng¡¯s sleeves, and his forehead instantly filled with terrified sweat.

    "You really know how to use people wrongly! People like you should be banned permanently from the examination! Useless thing!" Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression changed, and then flick his hands and forced Li Zhuangshi away.

    Then, he turned around and left without a second nce.

    Li Zhuangshi stood stunned on the stop. He looked at the leaving Cai Yongfeng, then turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was sitting at his table, and a teardrop began to flow down his cheek.

    He only wanted to pass the Law of Dao examination, he had also worked hard. But, after three rounds of examination, he waspletely unable to pass the capital examination. Now, it was thest year of hope for him, yet for some unfathomable reason, he encountered this situation where every schr was gathered at the River of Trust Examination.

    Helplessness, destion...

    Just as he was on the verge of giving up, Cai Yongfeng appeared in front of them, promising that as long as he sabotaged Fang Zhengzhi, he would be able to help him during the theory examination.

    The theory examination, for three times in a row, he was stuck at the theory examination.

    Li Zhuangshi was really unhappy. He had also hesitated and knew the risk of doing this. But, what could he do? Passing the examination based on his abilities alone? He really didn¡¯t have the confidence.

    Suddenly, he felt that this scene in front of him was very familiar.

    Eight years ago...

    He nned to sabotage Fang Zhengzhi. Even though he managed to preserve his life, but he was physically punished very rather badly.

    And this time, he evidently wasn¡¯t as lucky.

    Both times, he wanted to harm others, but instead was the one who was harmed.

    ...

    Li Zhuangshi was taken away. He didn¡¯t speak any further. But, at thest moment of leaving, his gaze was fixated on Fang Zhengzhi. In those eyes, were tears and regret, but there was not a single trace of hate left...

    Fang Zhengzhi simrly looked at Li Zhuangshi.

    In reality, he had given Li Zhuangshi a chance, and, it wasn¡¯t just once.

    As long as Li Zhuangshi ceased his n in time, this n wouldn¡¯t have been possible at all. If he didn¡¯t report Fang Zhengzhi, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for Fang Zhengzhi to cause the invigtor to search his body.

    Everything seemed to be what Li Zhuangshi inflicted upon himself.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi knew that this incident wasn¡¯t concluded yet. Because, the real culprit behind the scenes was Cai Yongfeng. Number fifty-six in the Hidden Dragon Roll, Cai Yongfeng.

    "Divine Seal Advanced Stage?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth and closed his eyes slightly. Very quickly, a world filled with swirling white mist appeared in front of his eyes. On the ground was a humongous patch of crystal-likeke, and within theke was a huge tree that reached into the Heavens. Its branches were lush and dense and each piece of leaf was as sparkling and translucent as a green jadeite.

    And on the huge tree, countless numbers of multi-coloured fruits hung. Each fruit was as dazzling as the multitude of stars that filled up the night sky.

    ...

 Chapter 91: A Difficult Question

    Chapter 91: A Difficult Question

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    "Boom!" The gong rounded, and represented the official start of the theory examination.

    The examination paper was very quickly given out. A group of schrs instantly began to briefly nce over the questions. When they finished, their faces instantly turned into a bitter, forced smile.

    Difficult...

    It was too difficult!

    Who was the one who had set this paper? He actually even included the Diagrams Tactics, and also the I Ching volume. This was a notoriously hard volume in the Law of Dao.

    Even the vocabry used was foreign and exotic. Most of the schrs simply skipped over this volume, even if there was someone who was able to read it, all they could do was read...

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi also saw the contents of the I Ching that were being tested. Without the countless numbers ofter generations¡¯ annotations and interpretations, it was really very hard to understand.

    Just the terms mentioned in it - Force Hexagram, Field Hexagram, Sprouting Hexagram, Enveloping Hexagram, Attending Hexagram, Arguing Hexagram, Leading Hexagram, Grouping Hexagram, Small umting Hexagram, Treading Hexagram, Pervading Hexagram, Obstruction Hexagram....

    All these could cause people to be dizzy.

    But, this evidently couldn¡¯t stump him. After all, the efforts of theter generations were great, and they had already used simple words to express the deep meanings behind this, and, the summary was very beautiful.

    Other than the I Ching, the theory examination paper also tested the contents of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the main area being tested being the judgements and usages under different conditions.

    From the examination paper, one could infer that the capital theory examination,pared to the county theory examination, was indeed much harder. Furthermore, the questions were very flexible, hence the possibility of cheating and copying the model answer was much lower.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he couldn¡¯t help by sigh. Even if Li Zhuangshi really managed to sabotage him, Cai Yongfeng probably wouldn¡¯t be able to care about him?

    After all, based on conventional reasoning, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for answers that werepletely the same to appear.

    Hence, why would Cai Yongfeng take the risk to share his answers with Li Zhuangshi?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think further, and quickly started to answer the questions. The summary of the Thirty-Six Stratagems was already done and ssified nicely byter generations. Winning stratagems, desperate stratagems, enemy dealing stratagems, attacking stratagems etc... Theory-wise, Fang Zhengzhi had long agomitted these to heart.

    As the surrounding schrs scratched their heads and pondered hard, Fang Zhengzhi had already begun to write furiously, wearing a light smile on his face, just as if he was copying out notes in ss.

    "He¡¯s so powerful?!"

    "Such a hard question, yet writing after taking just one look?"

    "Isn¡¯t this a little too extreme?"

    The surroundings schrs were somewhat in disbelief. But, after all, Fang Zhengzhi had attained Roll Champion in the Huai An County, hence the possibility of him failing the theory examination was ultimately very small.

    Even though they were dubious, but nobody believed that Fang Zhengzhi was scribbling nonsense.

    Hence...

    The surrounding schrs became much more stressed. They were initially already anxious, but when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pen flying, and considered that the number of people passing the capital examination was limited, their foreheads instantly beaded with sweat.

    "I must pass!"

    "The reward of this capital examination is going to be the one and only of its kind!"

    When the schrs thought of that special reward in this capital examination, they all couldn¡¯t bear to give. One by one, they calmed down, and began to ponder seriously.

    But...

    The capital examination¡¯s questions were really too difficult!

    Fang Zhengzhi wrote very quickly, and continued to write just as fast the entire way. He just had to sweep his gaze across the question toe up with the answer. This feeling was veryfortable, just like a university student studying literaturepeting with high school students in an essaypetition.

    It was a bit of a bully.

    But, bullying once in a while, what was wrong with that?

    As he wrote, Fang Zhengzhi saw a weird question. Write from memory the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings. This question wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    After all, the Six Secret Teachings was a text even the generals in his previous world had to read.

    The capital examinations emphasized military tactics and this was understandable.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi read, he was used to ssifying them by name and title. When he read the Six Secret Teachings, he would split them into six portions, then, giving a title to each portion.

    For example: Civil Strategy, Military Strategy, Dragon Strategy, Tiger Strategy, Leopard Strategy, Dog strategy etc... This didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t read ording to the order listed in the Law of Dao, but was instead a long-term habit.

    Then...

    Hereiny the problem.

    Which chapter was the twenty-seventh chapter?!

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped writing, and tried his best to recall what it was like when he was reading the Six Secret Teachings. He thought for exactly fifteen minutes, but didn¡¯t recall anything about the twenty-seventh chapter shing across his mind before.

    Was he about to lose marks?!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked to the back. There were still a few questions, but there weren¡¯t any further questions that caused him a headache in writing a chapter from memory.

    When studying, the teacher had taught examination skills.

    If one encountered a question one couldn¡¯t do, or didn¡¯t have the confidence in doing, then leave it nk first!

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to do the questions behind.

    The furious writing sound rang out again, and not too longerter, the questions behind had all beenpleted. Then, he had toe back to this problem regarding the twenty-seventh chapter again.

    "Leaving a question nk! That is an action that disrespects my efforts!"

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally couldn¡¯t leave this question nk. Not mentioning how many marks this was worth, this attitude alone wasn¡¯t very good.

    Then...

    He couldn¡¯t possibly write out the entire Six Stratagems?

    Even if he did this, he still might not get the marks. The question was about writing the twenty-seventh chapter from memory, if one wrote out the entire volume, it was evidently not answering the question!

    What to do?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should sneakily take a peek.

    After all, the examination hall was huge, there would definitely be somebody who knows which chapter this twenty-seventh chapter was? He didn¡¯t ask for much, he just had to peek just once sentence, and everything would be solved.

    A very cheerful thought, hence Fang Zhengzhi carried it out.

    Opening his eyes wide, and using all his eye-power, his neck even elongated...

    Unfortunately, the left and right side at the back were allpletely separated by wooden boards. Even though the gap between every wooden board was only the length of a fist, but, it was still rather hard to look to the left and right through this gap.

    As for the front, that was even more impossible. Everybody knew how hard it was to see the answers one was writing from behind him.

    Other than a sweaty back, even the slightest bit of paper wouldn¡¯t be seen.

    Alright...

    Give up!

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t a perfectionist, asionally leaving a tinge of regret, or damaging a beautiful piece of work, was still eptable.

    But, eptable was eptable. Giving up before the time was up was something he didn¡¯t wish to do. Hence, even though he clearly knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything, he still intensely and continuously swept his gaze about the examination venue. Sweeping his gaze across...

    Then, he suddenly saw somebody in the same situation as him.

    That was a fatty wearing brocade clothes. At this moment, the fatty seemed rather anxious. The beads of sweat that filled his forehead rolled down continuously, and his pair of eyes were wide open, looking left and right.

    And on his right-hand side, an examinee was discreetly lifting up his examination paper in the direction of the fatty.

    "Cheating?" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.

    Against a fatty like that who he felt no animosity towards, he didn¡¯t wish to report him. Ten years of intense studying and the imperial capital examination, how could that be a joke?

    Never mind, let him be.

    Just as he thought, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze quicklynded on a patrolling invigtor. At this moment, the invigtor¡¯s gaze was intensely fixated on this fatty.

    On the other hand, the fatty continued to extend his neck, simply oblivious.

    "Looks like they are about to be caught together..." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head rather sadly. Just as hemented that this fatty and the examinee on his right were about to be asked to leave the examination venue, his eyes suddenly lit up.

    Wait a minute...

    I know!

 Chapter 92: Proving innocence

    Chapter 92: Proving innocence

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    At this moment, the invigtor also moved. His footsteps were very light, and there was almost no sound. His footsteps weren¡¯t fast, but every step seemed as if he was floating in the air.

    To be an invigtor in the capital examinations, how could his abilities be weak?

    Fang Zhengzhi could almost confirm that within two seconds, this fatty would be caught. And, the youth cheating together with him would also face the same punishment.

    "Report!"

    A clear voice broke the silence of the examination venue, causing the fatty¡¯s head to instantly retract.

    The invigtor stopped in his tracks, a trace of anger appearing on his face. But, he still walked towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s direction. Because, the person who spoke, was Fang Zhengzhi himself.

    The surrounding schrs simrly raised their heads, all their gazes fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Reporting again?!"

    "Don¡¯t tell me there is another person stupid enough to cheat with him?"

    Within the crowd, there were people who heard about the incident when Fang Zhengzhi reported Meng Yushu during the Huai An County examinations, hence, hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they instantly guessed.

    "Report what?" The invigtor walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    This invigtor naturally wasn¡¯t the same one as before. After all, the invigtor had lost face, hence had long since went to some faraway examination venue to invigte.

    "He is peeking!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the fatty.

    The fatty¡¯s initially somewhat worried face instantly turned white.

    "You... you are speaking nonsense, since... since when did I peek!" Even though the fatty was anxious and afraid, but, admitting on the spot was impossible, hence he naturally began to argue intensely.

    When the surrounding schrs heard this, they more or less understood what had happened. Some people recognised the fatty and knew his academic abilities. Fang Zhengzhi report about the fatty should be true.

    But, was it really good to destroy somebody¡¯s future like that?

    The eyes of the invigtor lit up. He previously thought that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to defend the fatty, but now it seemed like that wasn¡¯t the case.

    "You personally saw him peek?" The invigtor understood. He was worrying about not catching the fatty in action, but now since somebody stood out to report, he naturally was happy to help Fang Zhengzhi.

    "This... with the wooden board blocking, I couldn¡¯t see clearly..." When he heard the invigtor¡¯s words, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a slight smile. His tone instantly changed, and suddenly started to mumble.

    "You... you didn¡¯t see clearly yet you reported me?" When the fatty heard this, his legs that were initially trembling and shaking all over stopped shaking. He instantly puffed out his chest and raised his head, seeming very open and honourable.

    "Blocked by the wooden board? You should still be able to see clearly!" The invigtor blinked a few times at Fang Zhengzhi and began to guide him systematically. Peeking during an examination required him to catch this in action in order to impose any punishments.

    But after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shout, there naturally wasn¡¯t any opportunity to catch him. But, if a witness who was in the examination as well as the invigtor both make usations, then that was another matter altogether.

    "Even though I didn¡¯t see it clearly, but, I definitely saw him turn his head. Furthermore, I got a method to prove that he was peeking just now!" Fang Zhengzhi simrly returned a meaningful nce to the invigtor.

    The invigtor instantly understood tacitly.

    But, what method was there to prove that he was peeking?

    He actually couldn¡¯t think of one at the moment.

    When the fatty heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, his initial inted confidence was as if burst by a needle, instantly decreasing by half. He had personally witnessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s methods before.

    A method to prove?

    It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over...

    Fang Zhengzhi wants to toy with me, what can I do? The fatty¡¯s heart instantly jumped into this throat.

    "What... what method do you have to prove..." Blood filled the fatty¡¯s face due to his anxious, causing it to seem flushed with red.

    "There is a method to prove that he was peeking?" The surrounding schrs also looked at one another, and didn¡¯t quite understand what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method was.

    "Tell me more!" The invigtor signalled Fang Zhengzhi to speak.

    "Announce the answer! If he really can do the question, then naturally he would be able to answer it. If he couldn¡¯t do it, then naturally one can prove that he was peeking just now!" Fang Zhengzhi replied in a matter-of-fact manner.

    When the invigtor heard this, his face instantly darkened.

    Announce answers? This was the theory examination! Even though he evidently knew that the fatty would definitely not know, but if he really asked the fatty to announce his answers, this was indeed too extreme.

    And just announcing one¡¯s answers would prove that one didn¡¯t peek? This logic seemed rather usible, but upon careful inspection, it was definitely not.

    Even if somehow, the fatty managed to announce this answer, who would judge whether it was right or wrong?

    When the surrounding schrs heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "idea", they instantly began tough. Announce answers? Ha ha ha... how can he even think of this!

    "Yes, what I mean is for him to announce some fixed answers, answers which everybody would know. For example, writing from memory the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings. He doesn¡¯t have to recite the entire thing, he just has to say one sentence, then I¡¯ll believe that he didn¡¯t peek. But if he can¡¯t even recall one sentence, that proved that hepletely doesn¡¯t know and hence, would definitely have peeked!"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the expression of the invigtor and the surrounding schrs, and continued to exin.

    The invigtor frowned once again. No matter what, whether it was writing from memory or not, announcing answers was something he definitely couldn¡¯t allow.

    Just as he prepared to open his mouth to prevent this.

    The fatty had already begun to shout excitedly.

    "I know, I know!"

    He was really excited. Fang Zhengzhi reported him and it was impossible for him to im that he wasn¡¯t afraid at all. After all, he really was peeking just now, and thought that it was all over.

    But, he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would state such simple terms.

    In the entire examination paper, he naturally didn¡¯t know eighty to ny percent of it. Even for the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings, he couldn¡¯t recite itpletely.

    But, following what Fang Zhengzhi said, as long as he recalled one sentence, everything would be fine.

    One sentence?

    That was such a simple request! To be able to pass the county examination, the text in the Six Secret Teachings naturally had to be reviewed many times, one sentence was nothing to him!

    "Now when our two armies, opposing each other, have deployed their armoured soldiers and established their battle arrays, releasing some of your troops to create chaos in the ranks is the means by which to fabricate deceptive changes!" In order to prove his "innocence", the fatty was desperate.

    He simply didn¡¯t bother waiting for the invigtor to agree. Once Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he instantly announced the "answer".

    But, his abilities were indeed limited. This sentence was a very queer sentence. It wasn¡¯t an opening, nor was it the conclusion. It wasn¡¯t even a main point of the chapter.

    It was purely just among the two or three sentences that he really remembered...

    But, after the fatty finished his sentence, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi proudly, as if saying, how is that? Are you convinced that I know now? Reciting one sentence was a small matter!

    "That¡¯s right, the twenty-seventh chapter indeed contains this sentence, I can confirm!" The youth sitting beside the fatty instantly stood up upon hearing.

    He had all along been waiting for an opportunity to speak. Now, the opportunity finally came. Hence, he naturally couldn¡¯t give up this chance for him and the fatty to prove their "innocence"!

    The surrounding schrs also nodded one by one. Gazing at the invigtor and Fang Zhengzhi, their meaning was simrly just as obvious. He had answered it, what are you going to do now?

    "Shut up! If you dare announce the answer again, I will punish you for cheating!" When the invigtor met the gazeing from the surrounding schrs, his expression instantly became colder.

    "Looks like I had really seen wrongly!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly seemed disappointed and regretful. Then, he sat down with a guilty expression.

    The surrounding schrs were taken aback, they didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to actually give up so easily.

    "What was that all about?"

    "That¡¯s not right, Fang Zhengzhi let him off just like that?"

    Even though they were somewhat regretful, but, when they saw the invigtor at the edge of raging, naturally nobody dared to speak again. One by one, their gaze returned back to the examination paper on their own desks.

    The invigtor coldly swept his gaze across the surrounding schrs, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi and instinctively nced at the examination paper in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, he realised that the rest of the questions seemed to have beenpleted, but the only one left was writing from memory "the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings". It seemed to be nk.

    "Could it be..." A cold glint shed in the invigtor¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 93: Three Days

    Chapter 93: Three Days

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was cheating! And it was cheating very openly! The evidence was sufficient, and if such acts were condoned, could this venue still be an imperial examination venue?

    The invigtor¡¯s expression grew cold. Just as he prepared to reach his hands out to confiscate the examination paper, he realised Fang Zhengzhi had already started writing.

    King Wu asked the T¡¯ai Kung, "In general, what are the great essentials in the art of employing the army?"

    The T¡¯ai Kung replied: "The ancients who excelled at warfare were not able to wage war above Heaven, nor could they wage war below Earth. Their sess and defeat in all cases proceeded from the spiritual employment of strategic power. Those who attained it flourished; those who lost it perished.

    Now when our two armies, opposing each other, have deployed their armoured soldiers and established their battle arrays, releasing some of your troops to create chaos in the ranks is the means by which to fabricate deceptive changes.

    Deep grass and dense growth are the means by which to effect a concealed escape."

    Fang Zhengzhi wrote very quickly, and didn¡¯t pause at all, just as if there was a Law of Dao ced right in front of him. Wherever his pennded, words flowed. In an instant, the twenty seventh chapter of the Six Secret Teachings - "The Unorthodox Army" - waspletely copied out from memory.

    The invigtor¡¯s hand that was reaching towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s examination paper stopped forcefully in mid-air. His lips moved, as if he had just swallowed a fly, and forcefully swallowed back the words that were already in his mouth.

    How was this possible?

    He had initially almost confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi acted on purpose just now. But, why would things be like this? Writing out the entire text from memory just based on a random irrelevant sentence?

    No matter how he thought, it was something that couldn¡¯t possibly happen...

    "Then what was wrong?" The invigtor looked at the twenty-seventh chapter that Fang Zhengzhi wrote out from memory, and confirmed that not a single word was wrong.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had written out everything right in front of him, hence naturally couldn¡¯t be suspected of copying. Then, where did the problem lie?

    The invigtor frowned deeply, but still couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Invigtor, do you still have anything for me?"

    Fang Zhengzhi had already finished writing. The feeling ofpleting the entire paper was very satisfying. Raising his head to see the invigtor still standing in front of him, the edges of his mouth curved into a smile.

    "No... nothing!" The invigtor really wanted to say something, but in the end, shook his head helplessly and left.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the leaving invigtor, then nced at the surrounding examinees and smiled faintly. Actually, cheating was an art.

    ...

    "Boom!" The gong signifying the end of the theory examination finally sounded.

    Countless schrs began to cover their faces and break out in tears once the gong sounded. This time, the capital examination paper was too hard, and many people had left more than half their paper nk.

    This represented that they were bound to miss the roll in this capital examination.

    As he left the examination venue, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t encounter Li Zhuangshi again, and instead saw Yan Xiu at the gate, his expression cold as ice.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be med. After all, Yan Xiu¡¯s position in the crowd was really too eye-catching.

    A huge wave of schrs swarmed out of the venue, but, very mysteriously detoured around Yan Xiu, causing a strange void to appear in a two-meter radius around him.

    Yan Xiu stood just like that among the crowd, like a crane within a flock of birds.

    "How was it?" Yan Xiu asked.

    "Not bad." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "How about the I Ching?" Yan Xiu continued to ask.

    "Not a problem." Fang Zhengzhi was confident.

    Yan Xiu was silent, then looked up into the sky, as if thinking about something. A momentter, he retracted his gaze and looked at Fang Zhengzhi again.

    "Thebat examination, I will be roll champion!" Yan Xiu¡¯s tone at this moment was filled with confidence.

    "I think I will be." Fang Zhengzhi was just as confident.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips quivered, as if he wanted to continue arguing, by in the end, he didn¡¯t speak further. Instead, he flicked open the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan in his hand with a "whoosh!".

    Revealing a vast mountain river illustration. An indistinct ray of light shed. It was unclear whether that was due to the reflection of the sunlight, or the glow of the paper fan...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was fixated on that mountain river illustration, and a strange feeling welled up inside him. This illustration seemed too realistic.

    "Is there a name for this fan?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious.

    "Yes, it¡¯s called the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan!" Yan Xiu lightly shook the Golden Bone paper fan.

    "Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and didn¡¯t speak further.

    ...

    The biggest advantage of walking with Yan Xiu was that Yan Xiu¡¯s body had a natural repulsion force. Anybody and anything that went past would divert their paths to skid around them.

    This saved Fang Zhengzhi a lot of trouble.

    For example, that fatty who took the examination with him. Even though he followed closely behind Fang Zhengzhi all the way, but didn¡¯te up to greet him.

    The two walked slowly, under the gaze of the passers-by all the way into the room of the Serene Ink Pond.

    The number of participants in this capital examination was muchrger than before, hence the day of the release of results was set to three dayster.

    ...

    Within the capital office, the invigtors were marking the scripts in an orderly manner.

    Every name was sealed onto the script. After being checked through by the invigtors, the scripts would be passed to a long table.

    Wearing a ck official robe, Imperial Messenger Qin sat in the middle of the long table, and around him, there were a few other messengers with the word "Imperial" sewn onto their robes marking the scripts.

    After the long table, was a rosewood chief table.

    An elderly man with a few tufts of silver hair, around the age of fifty sat in the middle. His eyes were half closed and seemed to be extremely pink with health. Simrly, he wore an official robe on his body, but what was different from the other messengers was...

    His official robe was white in colour.

    On the white official robe, an extremely lifelike picture of a bird was sown in silver thread.

    "Beautiful, beautiful!" A messenger dressed in a ck official robe gazed at the script in his hands. Seeming extremely excited, he quickly made his way to the elderly man.

    "Elder Han, this examination paper is beautifully written, and imbued with deep meaning!" The messenger opened the examination paper and passed it in front of the elderly in the white official robe respectfully.

    The elderly referred to as Elder Han wearing the white official robe at this moment also opened his eyes. A faint glint of light shed in his eyes, and which vanished in an instant.

    Then, Elder Han received the examination paper and swept his gaze across it. Then, he lightly ced it down in front of the messenger.

    When the messenger saw this, he instantly took up the examination paper again, turned around, and returned to the long table without speaking further. He wrote "Roll Ready" beside the examination paper.

    The other messengers looked at the messenger at the long table and nodded lightly, then, began to conscientiously review the scripts once again.

    Not too longter, Imperial Messenger Qin also stood up.

    Holding an examination paper in his hand, he gradually made his way towards Elder Han.

    "Elder Han, please read!"

    Elder Han opened his eyes once again, and received the examination paper from Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s hands. Sweeping his gaze across it, his initially semi-closed eyes widened, and his lips twitched, opening and closing slightly as if softly reciting the answers written on it.

    After exactly fifteen minutes, Elder Han ced down the examination paper lightly.

    Then, smearing his hand across it, the name sealed onto the script was erased, revealing a list of examinee particrs.

    The next moment, Elder Han¡¯s brows threaded together in a frown, a very tight frown...

    ...

    There were three days to wait, hence the schrs in the River of Trust Capital naturally wouldn¡¯t wait lonelily, and instead, as if already agreed upon, appeared at the river side of the River of Trust.

    Because, here was a person who enchanted and captivated their souls.

    Beside the River of Trust, that flowed through the River of Trust Capital, Yun Qingwu¡¯s pleasure boat stopped silently at the shore. It blended into the surrounding scenery, and in addition to the green willows that draped down, it was as beautiful as a fairnd.

    Countless schrs surrounded the pleasure boat and waited, craning their necks and looking around, just to be able to see Yun Qingwu¡¯s figure once. Some schrs even took out their precious collection of jewellery as well as renowned poetry and pictorial art, wishing to admire them together with Yun Qingwu.

    But, Yun Qingwu never came out once, as if Yun Qingwu simply wasn¡¯t inside the pleasure boat...

    These three days, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life was more or less simr to Yun Qingwu, and also didn¡¯t appear in the streets of the River of Trust Capital. Instead, he stayed in the room and leisurely read his books, or drank tea and ate snacks with Yan Xiu.

    Three dayster.

    In front of the capital office door of the River of Trust Capital, numerous schrs were already waiting in front of the roll stone. Each of their faces was filled with anxiety and nervousness. After all, this capital examination only had one round of theory examination.

    Passing it meant life, failing it meant death!

 Chapter 94: Rather Generous

    Chapter 94: Rather Generous

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the schrs were hoping for their names to appear on the roll stones, they were also guessing the top three in this time¡¯s theory examination.

    As someone who had just been transferred to the River of Trust Capital, Su Jiu naturally wouldn¡¯t give up such a good opportunity to make money. Hence, early in the morning, he brought a few other boy servants toy out tables not too far away from the capital office.

    "Guess the roll champion, or the top three, the pay-out is high!" Su Jiu called out with great energy.

    A group of schrs on the other hand surrounded the table, and incessantly fished out their money.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a punctual person, but he wasn¡¯t someone who liked to wait mindlessly in front of the roll stone. Hence, only now did he walk over shoulder to shoulder with Yan Xiu.

    As he passed by the betting table, he also heard Su Jiu¡¯s shouts.

    Thinking that Su Jiu was after all an acquaintance, he believed that he should still go and greet him. Furthermore, he also wanted to see whether there was anybody wise enough to bet on him attaining Roll Champion.

    "Let me go take a look!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Alright." Yan Xiu nodded, turned around and followed Fang Zhengzhi towards the betting table.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t expect Yan Xiu to have such an interest, and was rather taken aback. But, he quickly understood. He heard that rich people always had a habit of gambling.

    Yan Xiu was rich.

    But, even if he wasn¡¯t obsessed, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be too conservative in such an area.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s appearance naturally caused the surrounding schrs to part ways very consciously. Fang Zhengzhi was satisfied at such an oue, the feeling was just like shooting a high-pressure water gun around.

    As Su Jiu called out to collect money, he realised that the schrs in front of the table had dispersed, and thought whether the government hade to raid?

    Raising his head, he realised it was Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    "Ah, it¡¯s Young Master Fang, ha ha..." Su Jiu instantly began tough, but quickly ced his hand at an area on the betting table.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also smiling.

    Because, he had already seen clearly the words on the table in front of Su Jiu. And where Su Jiu covered with his hands, was exactly where his name was.

    Other than that, more than ten names were densely written on the table.

    Below, pay-outs of all kinds were listed below them.

    Among them, Zhang Hetong¡¯s Roll Champion payout was the lowest, yet the amount of people who betted that was the most. Next was Hua Kangan, the pay-out was more or less simr to Zhang Hetong. After them, were a few other random people.

    Tang Yulong, and even Cai Yongfeng¡¯s name were all listed under Roll Champion.

    "Can I bet on myself?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled

    "Ha ha... Young Master Fang, can youe with me?" Su Jiu reached out his other hand, and signalled to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded, turned out and walked in the direction Su Jiu was pointing to.

    Not too longter, the three people arrived under a tree.

    "Young Master Fang, my master had said that as long as you bet on yourself in attaining Roll Champion, no matter how much you buy, we will pay double on the spot!" Su Jiu smiled happily.

    "I only wish to know, why is Second-ss Roll below my name? And, the pay-out is so low?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t directly reply Su Jiu¡¯s question.

    "Seems like Young Master Fang had seen it, ha ha... this is to earn money, I hope Young Master Fang won¡¯t me me! After all, we have to adapt to the cries of the crowd." Su Jiu smiled apologetically.

    "Ah, nobody bet that I would enter the First-ss Roll?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t press Su Jiu further.

    "Nobody!" Fang Zhengzhi said confidently, then, seemed to have thought of something. "But, there is one person who bet that Young Master Fang would be Roll Champion! I initially thought that you sent someone to bet, but now it seems like... it isn¡¯t!"

    "Someone betted that I would be Roll Champion?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed suspiciously at Yan Xiu, who was standing beside him with a cold expression.

    Yan Xiu shook his head lightly.

    If it isn¡¯t Yan Xiu, who could it be? Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat confused, who else would be so wise in the River of Trust Capital? Actually betting that he would be Roll Champion?

    "Say, should I still bet on myself?" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.

    "My master said, however much you bet, we will pay the same amount on the spot!" Su Jiu quicklyughed again.

    "She is indeed quite generous. Never mind, help me check, who is the one who betted that I would be Roll Champion!" Fang Zhengzhi turned around and left. Anyway, he had never prepared to bet today, and he felt that earning money with such a method was akin to asking money from girls.

    "Alright!" Su Jiu instantly nodded.

    After Fang Zhengzhi walked out a few steps, Su Jiu began to mumble again. "Master is indeed supremely clever; Young Master Fang really didn¡¯t bet!"

    "Wait a minute, I bet a hundred taels!" When Su Jiu¡¯s words just left his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi turned back again.

    Su Jiu¡¯s face instantly turned bitter.

    "Young Master Fang, you really bet?"

    ...

    With two hundred silver taels on his hand, Fang Zhengzhi leisurely walked towards the roll stone, shoulder to shoulder with Yan Xiu.

    Then, very naturally, a path was formed for them.

    But,pared to the previous moment, there were much more sounds of chattering.

    "Quick, look, Fang Zhengzhi is here. I had betted that Fang Zhengzhi will enter the Second-ss Roll!"

    "Brother Wang is indeed wise! I also betted that he would enter the Second-ss Roll!"

    "I betted Fang Zhengzhi will miss the roll..."

    "Miss the roll? Is your head squashed by a door? No matter how many people there are in this capital examination, and no matter how intense thepetition is, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s theory examination would never miss the roll! He would definitely be on the Second-ss Roll!"

    "Exactly, betting that Fang Zhengzhi would miss the roll? You are indeed stupid enough!"

    The schr within the crowd who betted that Fang Zhengzhi would miss the roll was instantly condemned and denounced by the crowd, and pulled out a dozen strands of hair gloomily.

    And at this moment, a few result officials wearing ck official robes also walked out from within the capital office.

    "Give way!" The leading result official gazed at the imprable crowd of people, and frowned. This time¡¯s capital examination had exactly five times the amount of peoplepared to before. They were indeed extremely tired.

    Very quickly, the crowd gave way.

    The result official directly walked in front of the roll stone, and in the same order as before, announced the Second-ss Roll first.

    The leading result official fished out a ck seal stone from his pocket and pressed it onto the roll stone. Instantly, with a sh of light rays, a list of densely packed names began to appear on the roll stone.

    Even though the number of people participating in the capital examination was five times more than before, but, the number of people making it onto the roll was still fixed.

    All the schrs at this moment craned their necks and widened their eyes, carefully inspecting the roll stone for their names. Not too longter, the cries of schrs began to sound out.

    "Ha ha ha, I made it, I made it..."

    "I also made it, I also made it!"

    A few of the people who made it onto the roll began to exim happily. After all, this capital theory examination was too hard. To be able to make it onto the Second-ss Roll was already extremely lucky.

    And when they further thought about the special prize in this time¡¯s capital examination, they became even happier.

    "Tsk, it¡¯s just a Second-ss Roll, what is there to be happy about?" Of course, there were also some smug and self-righteous people who mocked those who made it onto the Second-ss Roll.

    "I won?! I won! Ha ha... I won!" Right at this moment, an untimely voice rang out from within the crowd.

 Chapter 95: Top Three

    Chapter 95: Top Three

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was the person who pulled out several strands of hair after being condemned and denounced by the crowd. At this moment, he was gazing at the roll and dancing for joy, remarkably alike someone who had gone mad.

    The crowd also began to realise that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name wasn¡¯t on the Second-ss Roll.

    "Don¡¯t tell me Fang Zhengzhi really missed the roll?!"

    "He should have missed the roll! After all, just the number of county theory examination roll champions participating in this capital examinations is already more than ten, furthermore, there are even schrs and talents in the Hidden Dragon Rolling from all over. There are only twenty names on the First-ss Roll, no matter what, it won¡¯t be possible that Fang Zhengzhi is among them!"

    "Sigh... those who depend on luck will ultimately fail!"

    "My money!"

    When they thought of the difficulty of entering the First-ss Roll, and the abilities of the people participating in the River of Trust Capital examination this time, the crowd also more or less confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi should have missed the roll.

    Indeed, schrs from five capitals gathering at the River of Trust Capital had sessfully stopped Fang Zhengzhi from progressing.

    As they thought, the result official also took out a ck seal stone and walked in front of the First-ss Roll stone, and pressed down. Instantly, golden rays of light shed and twentyrge names appeared.

    "Hua Kangan!"

    "There¡¯s also Tang Yulong, Cai Yongfeng, Kang Xingping..."

    "Indeed, thepetition in this First-ss Roll is too intense!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name isn¡¯t on the First-ss Roll, do you think he can obtain top three?"

    "I heard he never even entered a Hall of Dao before, to be able to attain Roll Champion for the county theory examination is already a miracle. Capital theory examination top three? Ha ha ha..."

    "Zhang Heping also isn¡¯t in the First-ss Roll, he should be among the top three! He is indeed the theory examination Roll Champion! Wait a minute, looks like Yan Xiu¡¯s name isn¡¯t here as well, could it be..."

    As the crowd discussed, somebody finally realised that other than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name, Yan Xiu¡¯s name also wasn¡¯t present on the First-ss Roll.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi missing the capital theory examination roll after attaining Roll Champion for the county theory examination was somewhat unexpected, but it was still eptable. But, how could Yan Xiu miss the roll?

    Hence...

    There was only one possibility.

    As they thought, the crowd¡¯s gaze turned to fix upon Yan Xiu, who was standing among the crowd with a cold expression. They were all guessing, what position would this youth from the Western Liang get in the River of Trust Capital theory examination.

    "Boom!" A gong sounded, drawing the attention of the crowd back to the result official¡¯s body.

    "Theory examination top three, will be personally announced by the Chief Examiner! The Chief Examiner of this River of Trust Capital examination is Imperial Academy Chief Imperial Messenger, Han Changfeng himself!"

    After the announcement by the result official, a team of people walked out from within the capital office. Leading the team was a man with tufts of silver hair on his head, wearing a white official robe with a bird sewn onto it with silver thread, so lifelike that it seemed as if it was about to soar into the sky.

    It was Imperial Academy Chief Imperial Messenger, Elder Han, Han Changfeng.

    Behind Han Changfeng, a few imperial messengers with the word "imperial" sewn onto their official robes followed. The chief examiner of the Huai An County, Imperial Messenger Qin, was also among them.

    "It is actually Elder Han who¡¯s the chief examiner!"

    "All along, Elder Han is only the chief examiner in the imperial examinations, who would have expected that this time he actually supervised the capital examination!"

    "No wonder the questions in this time¡¯s capital theory examination are so difficult..."

    "Even though the questions were hard, but to be able to pass the capital examination with Elder Han as the chief examiner, it is indeed a huge benefit to one¡¯s future!"

    When the crowd heard that the chief examiner this time was the Chief Imperial Messenger Han Changfeng of the Imperial Academy, they were extremely excited. After all, in the dynasty, there existed the rtionship between teachers and students.

    For example, this capital examination is supervised by Han Changfeng. Hence, under normal circumstances, schrs who pass this capital examination would be able to leverage on Han Changfeng¡¯s reputation and be Han Changfeng¡¯s student.

    This were the rules of the dynasty, and a form of respect to teachers.

    ...

    When Han Changfeng walked in front of the roll stone, everybody stopped their chattering. Pindrop silence filled the venue. After all, with Han Changfeng¡¯s status and reputation in the Great Xia Dynasty, even the River of Trust Capital head would have to give up his main seat.

    "The River of Trust Capital examination, gathers schrs from five capitals across the Northern Desert, and is even referred to as a gathering of talents. The Imperial Academy emphasises this strongly. To have the opportunity to be chief examiner of the River of Trust Capital examination, this old man feels very pressured."

    Han Changfeng¡¯s tone was amicable and good-natured, and didn¡¯t assume great airs. He even referred to himself as an old man, rather than his status as chief imperial messenger, causing the schrs below to instantly feel a sense of closeness.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t recognise Han Changfeng, hence he looked at Yan Xiu, wanting to infer Yan Xiu¡¯s impression of Han Changfeng from his expression.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was calm and cold as always.

    "The top three in the capital examination is first read by the invigtors, then passed to the individual imperial messengers to review, and finally selected by me. If anybody is against the decisions, you can request for a review at the Imperial Academy!"

    "Now, I¡¯ll announce the top three of this capital examination!"

    "Linjiang Capital, Tianhe Academy, Zhang Hetong!"

    When Han Changfeng finished speaking, he paused for a moment, then a result official revealed Zhang Hetong¡¯s particrs and experiences on the third position of the First-ss Roll.

    "Zhang Hetong is third?!"

    "I never thought that Yan Xiu¡¯s theory examination abilities would actually be above Zhang Hetong!"

    "Leaving home at sixteen, this time, the Yan family is going to produce another talent to shock the world!"

    When the crowd heard that Zhang Hetong was third, they were startled, and began to discuss softly. And among the crowd, a group of schrly-looking people also began to congratte a man wearing green brocade clothes.

    But, the man wearing the green brocade clothes didn¡¯t look too happy...

    "Second, Western Liang Yan family, Yan Xiu!"

    After waiting for Zhang Hetong¡¯s name to appear, Han Changfeng didn¡¯t wait further and immediately announced the name of the second ce.

    "Yan Xiu is second ce?!"

    "Then who will be the roll champion of this theory examination?"

    The crowd¡¯s gaze skirted around Fang Zhengzhi, and concentrated on Yan Xiu.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was as cold as ever, just as if everything was going ording to his expectations. But, when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was standing beside him, his gaze seemed mysteriouslyplicated.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also looking at Yan Xiu. He wanted to say a few sentences to congratte him, but, he knew that Yan Xiu would probably not be very willing to hear them.

    The reason was simple. Because, Yan Xiu lost in the theory examination.

    "Can you treat me to a meal?" Yan Xiu suddenly spoke.

    "Can we eat in the Moonview Restaurant?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    "Can." Yan Xiu nodded.

    When the crowd heard the conversation between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi, they were all somewhat confused. Yan Xiu had evidently obtained second ce, why did he ask Fang Zhengzhi to treat?

    Could it be that Yan Xiu believed that Fang Zhengzhi would be roll champion?

    How was such a thing even possible!

    If a person who didn¡¯t even study a single day in the Hall of Dao attain the roll champion for this River of Trust Capital theory examination, what would all the schrs and students in the world say.

    Don¡¯t tell me every student and schr studying in the Hall of Daos of the Great Xia Dynasty...

    Are all swines?!

 Chapter 96: Secret Revealed

    Chapter 96: Secret Revealed

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was what everybody thought in their hearts. This might not be due to hate, and more likely due to pride. A person who never entered a Hall of Dao before, relying solely on self-study was able to defeat them.

    Then they really had to doubt their own intelligence.

    "This River of Trust Capital examination, theory examination roll champion, Northern Mountain Vige, Fang Zhengzhi!" As Han Changfeng announced the two words, Fang Zhengzhi, their entire atmosphere in the venue instantly became very strange.

    In reality, when they heard the three words Northern Mountain Vige, they were already stunned.

    "Theory examination roll champion? Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "¡¯Fang Zhengzhi again?!"

    "Really Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    The mouths of all the schrs were agape. They had thought of a million possibilities, but, they had never thought that this River of Trust Capital theory examination roll champion would actually be Fang Zhengzhi.

    A criminal demand order.

    Talented schrs from the five capitals in the Northern Desert left their four capitals, and entered the one River of Trust Capital.

    But even so, they still couldn¡¯t prevent Fang Zhengzhi from attaining roll champion of the theory examination?

    How was this possible that talented schrs from the five capitals of the Northern Desert, would actually lose to a vige youth which nobody knew, who had even never stepped into a Hall of Dao before?

    "I don¡¯t believe!" A voice rang out from the crowd.

    "Yes, I don¡¯t believe either!" Another voice followed closely.

    Nobody believed, and nobody was willing to believe. If Fang Zhengzhi attained the roll champion of the county examination, it could still be exined using luck.

    But, even when schrs from the five capitals gathered at the River of Trust Capital, he was still able to attain the theory examination roll champion.

    Nobody believed that such a thing was possible.

    "Actually, when I saw the name on the examination paper, I was just as shocked as you all, and also believed that such a thing was possible. Recalling the past when I studied hard for ten years before being able to attain top three in the capital examination, I indeed feel rather hesitant."

    Han Changfeng wasn¡¯t at all enraged by the voices of the schrs, and instead his expression was filled with calm.

    When the crowd heard his words, they quietened down. Because, Han Changfeng reflected the hearts of the crowd, everybody had studied in an academy or Hall of Dao, and worked studiously each day.

    Yet, they weren¡¯t able topare to a vige youth who didn¡¯t even enter a Hall of Dao, how could they ept this?

    "But if I tell you about an incident, I believe your thoughts might change!" Han Changfeng saw that the crowd went silent, and continued to speak.

    "An incident?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me Fang Zhengzhi has something else that is even more shocking?"

    "He is just a normal vige youth!"

    The crowd was confused, but still waited silently for Han Changfeng to speak.

    "Eight years ago, the Divine Constabry was spreading Dao when they passed by the Southern Mountain Vige of the Huai An County, and coincidentally brought along an Illustration of All Creation into the mountain vige to spread Dao!" As Han Changfeng spoke, his tone was actually slightly moved.

    "Eight years ago? Illustration of All Creation?!"

    Everybody looked at each other, not understanding what was the reason Han Changfeng was bring up this incident at this moment. But, the four words, Illustration of All Creation, caused everybody to have thought of a possibility.

    But, this possibility quickly vanished in a sh.

    Eight years ago? How old was Fang Zhengzhi? Only six or seven...

    How was that possible!

    As the crowd was filled with doubt, nobody noticed a person who had initially turned around and prepared to leave, suddenly stood rooted to the ground.

    It was Li Zhuangshi.

    After one day of suffering, he had finally decided to stay. Because, he wanted to see how far Fang Zhengzhi could go.

    Previously, when he heard that Fang Zhengzhi was the roll champion, he had already prepared to leave silently.

    But, Han Changfeng¡¯s words caused him to stay once again.

    Eight years ago, the scene of the Divine Constabry bringing the Illustration of All Creation to the Southern Mountain Vige appeared in front of his eyes. Then, the expression on his face suddenly froze.

    Because...

    He knew very clearly what had happened at that time.

    Could it be, the Illustration of All Creation was really solved? It was Fang Zhengzhi... the six-year-old Fang Zhengzhi!

    But, at that time...

    At the time, even the Hall of Dao wasn¡¯t established? He had never evene into contact with books, this... solving the Illustration of All Creation? How was this possible, how was this possible...

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s heart was in an intense struggle, and fixated his gate on Han Changfeng¡¯s body. He wanted to hear Han Changfeng finish his words, stand out and tell Han Changfeng that at that time, there wasn¡¯t even a Hall of Dao in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    And Fang Zhengzhi, at that time, hadn¡¯t even started to self-study...

    How was that possible?!

    "I guess that all of you wouldn¡¯t want to believe this, but the fact is, eight years ago, that Illustration of All Creation was solved on the spot. And at that time, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in the Northern Mountain Vige, and instead belonged to the Southern Mountain Vige!" When Han Changfeng said this, his expression also seemed to change slightly.

    A six-year-old solving the Illustration of All Creation. Since the dawn of history, only that girl from the Divine Constabry had managed to do it.

    Even though he didn¡¯t witness it personally, but when he thought of a vige kid causing the Illustration of All Creation, which had baffled countless talents and schrs, to radiate with light, even he was unable to maintain his calm.

    Six-year-old, what kind of monstrous talent was that!

    The crowd¡¯s mouth opened again, their eyespletely round. But,pared to their previous shock, this time, it was a sense of horror that came from deep within their souls.

    Li Zhuangshi¡¯s face was flushed red.

    He had personally witnessed the scene that day. But, wasn¡¯t that due to the sunlight? It really was Fang Zhengzhi, the six-year-old Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Seemed like...

    From the start, he was already destined to lose.

    But what wasughable was that he still racked his brains trying to plot against the Fang family.

    Howughable, how ignorant.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze also turned towards Fang Zhengzhi, but this time, in his eyes, a rare expression of shock appeared, as if he had seen a scary monster.

    "I believe my meaning should be very clear? Then, does anybody now still have any doubts about Fang Zhengzhi attaining roll champion in the theory examination?" As he spoke, Han Changfeng¡¯s gaze swept across the crowd, and finallynded on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    In reality, everybody¡¯s gaze was trained on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Solving the Illustration of All Creation at six years of age!

    How terrifying was that!

    Within the crowd, Fang Zhengzhi stood silently on the spot. Looking at the gazes that fixated onto him from all directions, he felt slightly taken aback.

    He indeed had never thought that Han Changfeng would send people to investigate him? Furthermore, uncovering the incident eight years ago when he solved the Illustration of All Creation.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s biggest secret.

    But within a matter of three days, Han Changfeng had managed to uncover his biggest secret? It didn¡¯t matter how he did it, but, now, this secret was already revealed to the world. Then, from now on, he was going to be at a ce where the wind and the waves are the fiercest, the heart of struggles.

    The previous county examination, there was already the incident of a demon using the Law of Dao examination to kill human talents urring.

    With Han Changfeng¡¯s experiences, shouldn¡¯t he have been able to consider this aspect?

    Then, revealing this under thousands of staring eyes, it was probably not only for exining the theory examination roll champion? With Han Changfeng¡¯s reputation, being the chief examiner of the capital examination and personally deciding the theory examination roll champion, even if he didn¡¯t exin, so what?

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought of this, he instinctively forced his gaze towards Han Changfeng¡¯s eyes. He really wished to know why did this Imperial Academy¡¯s Chief Imperial Messenger would reveal this secret in front of the entire crowd...

    What were his motives?!

 Chapter 97: Heart of the Struggle

    Chapter 97: Heart of the Struggle

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When Fang Zhengzhi looked at Han Changfeng, Han Changfeng was also looking at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Their eyes met.

    Han Changfeng instantly felt as if a sharp sword was pointed at him. The expression in his eyes instantly changed, and the faint movement of air began within the sleeves of his white official robe.

    "That expression in his eyes is so sharp! This sharpness has already reached such a stage?"

    "Elder Han!" Right at this moment, Imperial Messenger Qin who had all along been standing behind Han Changfeng suddenly spoke.

    Han Changfeng frowned, and the air moving in his body quickly vanished. A momentter, the expression on Han Changfeng returned to its original, calm state.

    "Yes?"

    "The announcement of the theory examination top three has beenpleted, may I seek permission to inform the Imperial Academy as soon as possible, and pass it to the left prime minister for reviewing!" Imperial Messenger Qin instantly asked respectfully.

    "The left prime minister is busy with imperial affairs, we¡¯ll wait for thebat examination to end, and report them together!" Han Changfeng thought for a moment, and shook his head.

    "Roger!" Imperial Messenger Qin nodded and withdrew.

    When Han Changfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, he didn¡¯t feel the sharpness from before. What was left was the faint smile of a sunshine boy.

    Then, he also noticed Yan Xiu, who had been standing beside Fang Zhengzhi all along with an ice-cold expression.

    After a moment of thought, Han Changfeng quickly made his way beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Are you Fang Zhengzhi?" Han Changfeng¡¯s tone of asking was only left with the amiability of an elder.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Not bad, solving the Illustration of All Creation at six years of age, nting the heart of Dao. Your future would definitely be limitless. Thisbat examination, I have great expectations of your performance!" Han Changfeng smiled gently.

    "Thank you chief imperial messenger!" Fang Zhengzhi returned the same gentle smile.

    "Ha ha... good, very good!" Han Changfeng nodded, and instantly turned around and left.

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Han Changfeng¡¯s leaving figure, and the smile on his face didn¡¯t change at all. He didn¡¯t know what was Han Changfeng¡¯s intentions, but, if one really wanted to talk about the heart of the struggle.

    He seemed to have long ago stood at the top.

    "To the Moonview Restaurant?" Fang Zhengzhi turned around and looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Okay." Yan Xiu nodded.

    As such, the two walked shoulder to shoulder towards the direction of the Moonview Restaurant.

    As the crowd of schrs looked at the leaving figures of Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, they were filled with admiration. To be able to be praised personally by Han Changfeng was something every schr under the skies would yearn for even in their dreams.

    But, other than admiration, there was also jealous, and even a mysterious sense of hatred.

    The crowd gradually dispersed, and the doors of the capital office slowly became empty again. All that was left were two huge words glowing with golden light at the position of first-ss roll champion- Fang Zhengzhi.

    River of Trust Capital, theory examination roll champion!

    ...

    Within the Moonview Restaurant.

    In an exquisite study room, Wu Yuer, wearing a ck pleated skirt was reading the books on her table. The rays of light passed through the window andnded on her body, adding a lush glow to her already beautiful face.

    "Master, Su Jiu asks to meet you!" Ady in a red skirt respectfully spoke at the door.

    "Yes, let him enter." Wu Yuer nodded, but didn¡¯t put down the book in her hand.

    "Roger!" The maid withdrew.

    Not too longter, Su Jiu, dressed in his boy servant attire, walked into the study room. But, he stood still after taking two steps, and didn¡¯t dare to advance further.

    "Master, this is the ounting records for this month!" Su Jiu fished out an ount book from his pocket.

    "Put it down." Wu Yuer nodded.

    "Roger! Master is indeed smart and wise. Fang Zhengzhi had really attained the theory examination roll champion, and the betting table set up outside the capital office indeed earned quite some money. But, there¡¯s a small ident. Before the release of the roll, Young Master Fang wanted to bet, and I replied ording to master¡¯s orders. Young Master Fang had initially already left, but afterwards due to the slip of my tongue... he came back and betted a hundred taels!" When Su Jiu reached the end of his sentence, his voice very evidently became softer.

    "You will go and pay two hundred taels of fine, then find the fourth sister to receive your punishment!" Wu Yuer¡¯s actions still didn¡¯t change at all.

    "Thank you master!" Su Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, and instantly withdrew.

    After Su Jiu withdrew, Wu Yuer put down the book on her hands, turned around and looked at the sky outside the window. Smiling, she spoke. "Only betting a hundred taels? Looks like his impression of Su Jiu isn¡¯t too bad!"

    "Master, Young Master Fang is here! Do you wish to meet him?" At this moment, the maid¡¯s voice sounded out from outside the door again.

    "Alone?" Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes lit up.

    "There is also Young Master Yan Xiu from the Western Liang Yan family." The maid replied respectfully.

    "Why did he bring a wooden nk here, this is indeed dull... go and prepare first, and treat them well!" Wu Yuer twitched her mouth and seemed somewhat unhappy.

    "Roger!" The maid quickly responded, and withdrew.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu sat down in an exquisite room in the Moonview Restaurant. The maid returned with another teapot filled with fragrant tea, and gave them the menu.

    The previous time Fang Zhengzhi came to the Moonview Restaurant, he had never seen the menu. After all, Wu Yuer had paid the bill.

    Hence, his only impression was that the Moonview Restaurant¡¯s dishes were not too bad.

    With the menu ced down, as the person treating the guest, Fang Zhengzhi naturally, very courteously, pushed the menu towards Yan Xiu, signalling him to order as he wished.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t show Fang Zhengzhi any trace of politeness, and in an instant ordered a pile of dishes of all kinds. There were no less than twenty kinds of dishes.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively felt around for the money in his pocket.

    Three pieces of hundred tael notes, and a bag of broken silver. It should be enough for a meal.

    After Yan Xiu had finished ordering, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to order a few fruits for dessert, hence, reached out his hand and picked up the menu to take a look.

    Just this one look caused Fang Zhengzhi to bepletely struck dumb.

    "This is... a robbery?!" Fang Zhengzhi had indeed already prepared himself. He knew that the dishes in the Moonview Restaurant would definitely not be too cheap.

    But, he had absolutely never expected it to be so expensive.

    Roughly sweeping his gaze across it, based on what Yan Xiu had just ordered, it required at least five or six hundred taels of silver to pay it off.

    Could it not be so dark?

    Treating a guest and not bringing enough money, what to do?

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask, can I write an IOU? After all, there isn¡¯t any card swiping in this world...

    Just as he was deep in distress, somebody walked in from outside the door. It was Su Jiu.

    At this moment, Su Jiu instinctively felt around on his buttocks, but, the smile on his face was very respectful. The way he looked at Fang Zhengzhi was remarkably alike looking at a rtive.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also smiling.

    Because, when he saw Su Jiu, he also felt as if he had seen a rtive.

    "Ah Jiu congrattes Young Master Fang for attaining the capital theory examination roll champion! At the same time, also congrattes Young Master Yan Xiu for attaining second in the capital theory examination!" As Su Jiu spoke, he bowed towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    "Ha ha..." When he heard Su Jiu¡¯s congrattory words, the smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face became even wider.

 Chapter 98: Win-win

    Chapter 98: Win-win

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Young Master Fang and Young Master Yang please enjoy; Ah Jiu will take my leave!" Even though Su Jiu was here to express his congrattions towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, he knew that in such a situation, as a boy servant, he wasn¡¯t qualified to enter.

    Hence, after expressing his congrattions, Su Jiu prepared to leave.

    But, would Fang Zhengzhi allow Su Jiu to leave just like that? Naturally that wasn¡¯t possible, hence, he quickly halted Su Jiu.

    "Since you are here to express your congrattions, then let¡¯s eat together!" Fang Zhengzhi very generously pointed to the seat beside him.

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and didn¡¯t speak. All along, he was never a person who chose friends based on their social status, else why would he be together with a poor person like Fang Zhengzhi?

    Furthermore, today, Fang Zhengzhi was the host. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi inviting a person who expressed congrattions to eat together was within the etiquette.

    However, Su Jiu received a huge shock.

    Not mentioning Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s status in front of Wu Yuer, even based on these two people¡¯s achievements in front of him, one was the roll champion of this capital theory examination, and the other was second ce, and was Young Master Yan Xiu of the Western Liang Yan family.

    No matter how he looked at the situation, there was no way that he could join them?

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi actually invited him to join them, how honourable was that! The previous time, due to him getting close to Fang Zhengzhi, he was transferred from the Huai An County to the River of Trust Capital by Wu Yuer. Now that he ate with Fang Zhengzhi, without thinking, his position was about to rise again.

    "Thank you, Young Master Fang, thank you, Young Master Yan Xiu!" Su Jiu furiously rubbed his hands, and very gingerly walked towards the dining table and sat down. He naturally couldn¡¯t just leave. After all, such an opportunity was too rare.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw Su Jiu sit down, the smile on his face became even more amiable.

    If Su Jiu didn¡¯t seek anything, then under normal circumstances Su Jiu should have left after being invited to eat. But now, Su Jiu had already sat down, hence, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be med.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted money, Su Jiu also wanted money. It seemed somewhat conflicting, but in reality, there was no conflict. Because, the method both of them used to gain money was different, but, one thing was definite.

    This deal a win-win situation!

    The three sat together. With Su Jiu joining them, things such as pouring water and wine were very generously taken over by Su Jiu. He even requested for the maids to withdraw, and everything was carefully taken care of by him.

    Just as Su Jiu expected, this news reached Wu Yuer¡¯s ears very quickly, and caused the eyes of Wu Yuer, who was reading in the study room, to sh with a hint of shock.

    "Eating together? This Su Jiu is indeed clever!"

    ...

    This feast was initially a celebratory feast. Yan Xiu didn¡¯t like talking, but with Su Jiu joining them, naturally there were some rumours and gossips about the River of Trust Capital, hence the atmosphere became livelier.

    The mealsted for almost an hour.

    When he saw that it was more or less finished, Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.

    "Today, both Yan Xiu and I entered the first-ss roll. To have Ah Jiu to celebrate with us, the treatment indeed feels very different. Luckily, Ah Jiu didn¡¯t bring any presents, else I would indeed be rather guilty." Fang Zhengzhi expressed his gratitude to Su Jiu.

    Su Jiu¡¯s hand that was holding onto a cup instantly halted. Didn¡¯t bring any presents?! After a moment of shock, he regained his senses. That¡¯s right, if all he did was express his congrattions and not join them for the meal, it was still alright. But now that he had joined them, if he reallyplied with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s statement about not bringing a present, that was really too rude.

    But, he really hadn¡¯t thought that he would be able to join them!

    Then...

    Where was he supposed to get a present now?

    When he thought of this, beads of sweat instantly broke out on Su Jiu¡¯s forehead. He hadn¡¯t at all prepared a present? This didn¡¯t seem very easy to settle...

    "This meal is indeed very nice, I wonder how much it costs? Ah Jiu is well-versed with this Moonview Restaurant, I believe you should know?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the dishes ced in front of him and casually remarked.

    Just as Su Jiu prepared to respond, his eyes instantly lit up. Having been a runner for so many years, Su Jiu¡¯s greatest ability was discerning people¡¯s intentions from their bodynguages, and understanding the thoughts of the upper ss.

    Hence, he instantly understood. Fang Zhengzhi was helping him out of embarrassment. With Su Jiu¡¯s intelligence, he was definitely able to understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    "Ah Jiu was in a hurry, hence didn¡¯t prepare any exquisite presents. In this Moonview Restaurant, Ah Jiu can also be counted as half a host. To have received such good treatment from Young Master Fang and Young Master Yan Xiu, if you don¡¯t mind, why not let Ah Jiu fulfil my responsibilities as a host?" Su Jiu said probingly.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that at this moment, he should false reject. But, as the saying goes, it was better to be safe than sorry. What if Su Jiu really changed his mind, what was he supposed to do then?

    "Alright, then thank you Ah Jiu!" Fang Zhengzhi said without a trace of politeness.

    Su Jiu instantly smiled. This way, the issue about his present was resolved.

    "Young Master Fang and Young Master Yan Xiu please enjoy, Ah Jiu will leave for a while!" When he finished his sentence, Su Jiu pushed open the door and left. With a wave, he gathered the maid.

    "Put this on my bill!" Su Jiu said with a generous expression.

    When the maid heard, they stared at Su Jiu with rounded eyes. "Brother Jiu, are you sure? This meal isn¡¯t just any normal meal!"

    "Isn¡¯t it just a meal?" Su Jiu waved his hands. Just as he prepared to re-enter the room, he suddenly felt as if something was wrong. "You mean there is a problem with this meal?"

    "It¡¯s master¡¯s intentions!" The maid nodded.

    "How... how much money?" Su Jiu¡¯s voice started to tremble.

    "Rounding off, the total is: six hundred and eighty-eight taels!" The maid¡¯s expression was that of pity.

    "Ah?! This... this is robb..." Su Jiu instantly felt as if he was struck by lightning and stood dumbfounded on the spot, his face filled with absolute disbelief.

    ...

    In the Moonview Restaurant, within an exquisite study room.

    Wu Yuer very quickly received this news. Her plot seemed to have been foiled! Because, the person paying the bill was Su Jiu, a pitiful scapegoat.

    "Seems like it is like this, ha ha... looks like I really underestimated his shamelessness!" Wu Yuer¡¯s lips parted slightly, and smiled faintly. Theplexion of her face seemed to glow even brighter, just like a seductive ck spirit.

    Then, Wu Yuer picked up her brush, and a row of beautiful words appeared on the white paper in front of her.

    "Pass this to Young Master Fang."

    "Yes, master!" A maid quickly walked towards the study table, and gingerly folded the piece of paper and ced it into an envelope before slowly withdrawing.

    ...

    After a fulfilling meal, Fang Zhengzhi looked at the colour of the sky and wanted to take an afternoon nap, hence pulled Yan Xiu along and left. Just as he reached the doorstep, a maid appeared beside Fang Zhengzhi, holding a letter in her hands.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to be rather anxious. Su Jiu said that he was about to foot the bill, but afterwards, he had never returned. He shouldn¡¯t have reneged and ran away?

    "Young Master Fang, my master passed this to you!" The maid respectfully passed the letter to Fang Zhengzhi.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he breathed an inwardly sigh of relief. If Wu Yuer was at the Moonview Restaurant, then his situation wouldn¡¯t be so bad that he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. Hence, he nodded, reached out his hand and received the letter from the maid. Then, unfolding it, his eyes instantly narrowed.

    "Yun Qingwu?!"

 Chapter 99: Day of the Combat Examination

    Chapter 99: Day of the Combat Examination

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The content within the letter wasn¡¯t much, just one simple sentence. Furthermore, just the content alone wasn¡¯t something very shocking.

    Very simply, it stated that in the capital examination, Yun Qingwu was the person who sent somebody to bet on Fang Zhengzhi attaining roll champion.

    Yun Qingwu betting that he would be roll champion?

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed felt somewhat curious inside. He only met with Yun Qingwu once, how was she so sure? Another thing which Fang Zhengzhi was curious about was Wu Yuer¡¯s control of information and intelligence.

    Yun Qingwu sent somebody to buy that bet, and from that intention it could be inferred that she didn¡¯t want people to know. Even though Wu Yuer was the person behind the betting scene, but to truly trace back to the real buyer, it still required some time.

    Yet, she was able to give a confirmed reply very quickly.

    There was only one possibility. That was that Wu Yuer¡¯s control of information regarding everything in the River of Trust Capital had already far surpassed what Fang Zhengzhi was able to imagine.

    "Wu Yuer?"

    Fang Zhengzhi pocketed the letter, looked up into a window of the Moonview Restaurant, and his mouth curved into a smile.

    Ady, such a youngdy.

    Yet being able to control the vast underground world. If somebody said that thisdy didn¡¯t have any hidden powers behind her, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not believe it.

    "Help me tell Yuer that I wille and see her again, muacks!"

    Yuer?! When the maid heard the way Fang Zhengzhi referred to Wu Yuer, a trace of horror shed across her face. But, very quickly it returned back to the initial state of calm.

    "Yes, Young Master Fang!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu left.

    Yet, a figure appeared at the window that he looked at just now.

    That was a beautiful and alluring face, but, at this moment a slight red blush appeared on this face, staring at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leaving figure.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s body trembled slightly, and spat lightly.

    "Muacks?! What a number one lecher on Earth, he is really... the most shameless!"

    ...

    Three dayster, in the imperial capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Yan capital city.

    The huge city walls guarded this ancient city that had went through countless blood storms. As the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, what the defensive structure of this ancient city was naturally the foundation of national defence.

    On the city walls, countless soldiers wearing shiny armours, wielding long spears patrolled nonstop, and behind the city walls, was the garrison of patrol guards in the imperial capital Yan.

    Numerous wooden target boards used for training were nailed deeply into the ground.

    On the military drill ground, rows of patrol guards were practicing their spear tactics. Every spear thrusted out brought along an icy-cold glint.

    In the middle of the drill ground was a huge wooden military tent, and on the tip of the tent was a golden g. On it, the huge word "Duan" billowed in the wind.

    Within the military tent, a youth around the age of twenty-three to twenty-four sat, his features were sharp as a sword, and he wore a white official robe with an illustration of an animal sewn onto it with golden thread.

    "I have received information that the results of the River of Trust Capital theory examination roll champion are out!" The youth¡¯s gaze trained onto an old man wearing a ck-white Dao robe sitting behind.

    "Lord, this person can rise above so many schrs, and is indeed rare and valuable. Furthermore, I heard that this person at six years of age had already managed to solve the Illustration of All Creation, and nted the heart of Dao. Should we..."

    "Elder Wen, have you forgotten that piece of criminal demand order?" A schrly-looking middle-aged man sitting opposite the ck-white Dao robed man interrupted him at this moment.

    This caused a tinge of unhappiness to sh across the old man addressed as Elder Wen, but, this tinge of unhappiness quickly vanished.

    "Chi Guyan¡¯s criminal demand order shocked the world, how can I forget? But, ever since Chi Guyan attained the Double Dragon Roll Champion, she entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion and never took a single step out of the Heaven Dao Pavilion within a year. Furthermore, nobody had ever since heard any news from her. But, this time, due to a youth, she gave out a criminal demand order. Don¡¯t you think that there is something weird about this?"

    "Yes, I express the same curiosity as Elder Wen, I wonder what Elder Wen is trying to convey?" When the youth heard Elder Wen¡¯s words, he waved his hands at the schrly middle-aged man at the side, who was already preparing to speak.

    The schrly middle-aged man instantly closed the mouth that he had just opened, but there wasn¡¯t a single sh of unhappiness on his face.

    "I assumed that with Chi Guyan¡¯s exceptional talents, she definitely wouldn¡¯t give out a criminal demand order due to a youth¡¯s one-time-off improper conduct. I believe this order is intended to test the waters!" Elder Wen replied respectfully.

    "Since it¡¯s testing the waters, then if I follow Elder Wen¡¯s suggestions and recruit this person into the army, won¡¯t I go against Chi Guyan¡¯s intentions?" A trace of confusion appeared on the youth¡¯s face.

    "I¡¯m afraid the waters that she is testing isn¡¯t the same one we are thinking of..."

    "Elder Wen, please exin!"

    "At this moment, I¡¯m still unable to guess Chi Guyan¡¯s intentions, however, no matter what they are, as long as this person is in our army, then the power would be in our hands. When that timees, whatever Chi Guyan¡¯s intentions are, they would still be convenient for us!"

    "Hmm..." The youth nodded, but didn¡¯t immediately express his thoughts. He gazed in the direction of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, as if thinking of something.

    ...

    At this moment, within the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Lady Yuer was staring with shock at a piece of paper on her hands, then very quickly turned around and ran towards the garden in the rear court of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Missus, missus... that little bastard attained the theory examination roll champion!"

    "Rude!" A gentle shout came from within the garden, then, ady in a pink skirt walked out from the garden. "Next time, refer to him as Young Master Fang!"

    Thedy¡¯s gaze shot towards Lady Yuer, her tone filled with unquestionable grandeur.

    "Yes Missus, Yuer knows her mistake!" When Lady Yuer heard this, she instantly knelt down in fright.

    "Ha ha... I never thought that this little bastard would indeed be rather hardworking. Capital theory examination roll champion?" The edges of thedy¡¯s mouth curved into a slight smile and looked up at the sky, her gaze that likened that of countless shining stars shed with a faint light.

    Lady Yuer was stunned for a moment. Even though they were bothdies, but, she was always shocked by her Missus¡¯s appearance, especially when her Missus smiled.

    A beauty that copsed nations, the beauty of a Goddess!

    "The news I wanted you to reveal to Han Changfeng, did you reveal it?"

    "Replying Missus, I had already followed Missus¡¯s orders and told Wang Anhua of the Southern Mountain Vige Hall of Dao to pass the message. Indeed, as Missus had expected, when Han Changfeng received this piece of information, in front of the entire crowd, he revealed that little... Young Master Fang¡¯s incident about solving the Illustration of All Creation eight years ago. I believe now this news should have been passed to Yan capital."

    "Yes, Han Changfeng won¡¯t have any other choices, he had to do this! Furthermore, I believe that thisbat examination, Han Changfeng should already made his own arrangements. I wish to see how is that little bastard is going to pass thebat examination under such circumstances?"

    "Missus, Yuer is somewhat confused. On one hand, you sent out the criminal demand order. On the order hand, you revealed the incident of Young Master Fang solving the Illustration of All Creation to the world. These two incidents, one is harmful, while the other is beneficial. What are your intentions of doing so?"

    "Because, I want to confirm something!" When thedy said this, a trace of light shed across her eyes.

    "What is that? Don¡¯t tell me there is still something in this world that Missus isn¡¯t able to understand?" Lady Yuer¡¯s face was filled with confusion.

    "It is indeed something that even I can¡¯t understand. The implications of this thing are too heavy, only when the results of thebat examination are out will I be able to confirm it absolutely."

    "Something with too heavy implications?" The confusion on Lady Yuer¡¯s face deepened further. She indeed couldn¡¯t understand, her Missus resided in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, what else could have such a huge implication.

    ...

    A few dayster, all of the youths participating in the River of Trust Capital examination took off their brocade and flowery clothes, and changed into armours of all kinds.

    The reason was very simple...

    Today, was the day of thebat examination!

 Chapter 100: Pocket Dimension

    Chapter 100: Pocket Dimension

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was dawn, a gentle wind blew, and the air at the Serene Ink Pond was as crisp and cooling as ever.

    Fang Zhengzhi liked to stay at the Serene Ink Pond. A major reason was that the air here was simr to that of the Northern Mountain Vige. As usual, after breakfast, he wore his blue robe and left.

    However, this day, Yan Xiu had changed his usual attire. Dressed in armour, silk of all kinds wrapped around his arm. At his chest, he wore a silver breastte.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t a full body armour, it still looked exceptionally cold and smart.

    "You are wearing this?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s robe, and a trace of doubt appeared in his eyes.

    "Huh? Why are you dressed like that?" Fang Zhengzhi was also confused.

    He remembered that the previousbat examination in the county, he also wore a blue robe. Furthermore, the rest of the examinees participating in the examination also were also simrly dressed.

    "Today is thebat examination!" Yan Xiu reminded.

    "I know." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    When Yan Xiu saw Fang Zhengzhi nod his head, he thought for a moment and didn¡¯t speak further.

    The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards the direction of the capital office.

    ...

    The venue of thisbat examination was also within the capital office of the River of Trust Capital.

    However, what was different from the theory examination was that people didn¡¯t have to wait in front of the capital office to await the start of the examination.

    Instead, they could directly enter the capital office.

    Hence, when Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu reached, other than the two rows of soldiers in front of the capital office door, there were few people walking around, and not too many people were waiting outside.

    "Registration!" A guard halted Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Then, the two people made a registration at the guarded table. Then, they each received a ck metal tablet, with their names written on it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious, what was the use of this?

    He wanted to ask, but, the guard didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of exining, and from Yan Xiu¡¯s expression, it seemed that he had already knew about the existence of this long ago.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and decided to ask Yan Xiuter on.

    They entered the capital office. Under the directions of the guard, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu very quickly arrived at the rear court.

    The rear court was a piece of rather vast and innd. There were flowers, grass, and a big tree. Other than that, what could be seen was a group of examinees wearing armours of all kinds.

    ¡¯

    Not too longter, Han Changfeng, wearing a white official robe, appeared on a stage built in the rear court apanied by a few imperial messengers.

    "Boom!" The gong sounded, signalling that the time for thebat examination hade.

    Han Changfeng stood up on the chair on top of the high stage, and walked forward two steps. Looking down at the examinees wearing armours of all kinds, he lightly nodded his head.

    Finally, his gazended on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Blinking slightly, a glimmer of shock seemed to sh across his eyes, but very quickly vanished again. Then, Han Changfeng coughed.

    "Thisbat examination gathers the most talented schrs from the five capitals of the Northern Desert, as well as those from other ces. In order to ensure that there wouldn¡¯t be too many fatal incidents, the Imperial Academy decided to fix the location within the ¡¯pocket dimension¡¯."

    "I believe everybody had seen the tablet on their hands. The rules are simple, pass the tests of the pocket dimension, ensure that you don¡¯t lose the tablet on your hands, then, sessfully reach the centre of the dimension. The imperial messengers and I will be waiting for you there!"

    "I have to exin that if you encounter any dangers in the pocket dimension, you can immediately crush the tablet, then you will naturally be able toe out. But, crushing it also represents that you are disqualified!"

    "Understood?!" After Han Changfeng finished his sentence, he swept his gaze across the examinees below once again.

    "Understood!" The examinees instantly responded.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. Pocket dimension? What¡¯s that? Crushing the tablet will result in disqualification? Thisbat examination seemed to have been different from what he imagined.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked around him. Everybody seemed to be hurriedly making theirst preparations, and nobody seemed to have anything to ask.

    "What is the... pocket dimension?" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and in the end still nced towards Yan Xiu.

    When Yan Xiu, who was preparing his breastte, heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, he was evidently taken aback, and a trace of disbelief shed across his eyes.

    "You don¡¯t know?"

    "Cough... I never entered the Hall of Dao, you know that." Fang Zhengzhi found an excuse for himself.

    "Oh!" Yan Xiu nodded, and felt that he had forgotten his manners just now and seemed rather embarrassed. "There are three thousand volumes in the Law of Dao, hence there are three thousand parallel dimensions, and millions of pocket dimensions! You have already essed Dao, hence there should already be a pocket dimension within your heart?"

    "A pocket dimension within my heart?" Fang Zhengzhi instantly understood. It seemed that the other world he saw was his own pocket dimension.

    "Yes, I don¡¯t know what your pocket dimension looks like, because, everybody¡¯s pocket dimension is different. This is determined by each person¡¯s method of essing Dao. But, the fundamentals that make up a pocket dimension won¡¯t change. Air, water, trees, earth... and so on. All these make up the fundamentals of a pocket dimension." Yan Xiu exined.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded. At the very start, his pocket dimension was also made up of air and earth. Then, a seedling appeared, absorbing the moisture in the air and gradually condensing into pearls of water, seeping into the ground and constructing a cycle.

    At the end, the seedling grew into a huge tree that extended into the skies, and ake was formed above the ground.

    When he thought of this, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly had a feeling. He seemed to have sensed a level of understanding which he had never sensed before. Everybody had a pocket dimension that belonged to themselves?

    Then the direction of training...

    Was it to consistently perfect this pocket dimension?!

    "Then, where is the ce we are entering today?" Even though Fang Zhengzhi more or less understood the concept of this pocket dimension, but, he was still unclear about entering the pocket dimension to participate in thebat examination.

    "The Imperial Academy consists of a few pocket dimensions of ancestors who have passed away. Entering such a pocket dimension would enable us to sense the "Dao" that our ancestors practised!" Yan Xiu exined again.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood.

    Everyone¡¯s pocket dimension was different. After a person passed away, if he used some special method to preserve this pocket dimension, it could allow descendants to sense the process of "Dao".

    Looks like this world indeed has many mysterious things which he didn¡¯t know about.

    Pocket dimension...

    It shouldn¡¯t be as simple as a preservation. Crushing a token would enable one to exit the pocket dimension, this should be a pocket dimension that was improvised by descendants.

    An independent space?

    I wonder what the pocket dimension of this ancestor is going to be.

    The more Fang Zhengzhi thought, he more excited he became. Because, he felt, faintly, that entering the pocket dimension would help him to seek his future direction of practicing.

    Then, he looked at Yan Xiu and suddenly felt like something was amiss.

    "All of you knew that you had to enter the pocket dimension... hence, changed your attire?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu¡¯s attire, as if understanding something.

    "Yes, I thought that you had known!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi swept his gaze around, and finallynded on the body of a youth. That was a youth whose figure was somewhat simr to his.

    Of course, most importantly, that armour the youth was wearing looked very pretty!

 Chapter 101: Ah Li is Useless

    Chapter 101: Ah Li is Useless

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Man depended on their armour, while horses depended on their saddle.

    Fang Zhengzhi had all along believed that some things had to be given to more suitable people to bring out their biggest value.

    ...

    The entrance of the pocket dimension was a ck stone door. The four corners of the stone door were adorned with four different coloured gems, and in the middle of the stone door, the picture of a mini altar was carved.

    On the altar was a metal bracelet, its material was unclear.

    The stone door opened, and the participants entered.

    Everything urred smoothly and orderly. As usual, Fang Zhengzhi walked shoulder to shoulder with Yan Xiu, and entered the stone door together.

    Then, stepping in, he saw a white world. Everything was white, pure and untainted with other substances. However, very quickly, the scenery in front of him changed. When he looked again, a world constructedpletely with stone appeared.

    A stone table, stone bench, stone trees, stone flowers...

    "Stone?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat curious. After all, it was his first time entering a pocket dimension. Just as he prepared to go explore, he felt a huge pressure pressing down from his head, as heavy as a mountain.

    What was this about? Challenging them once they entered, not allowing people to even breathe?

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively looked at Yan Xiu who was by his side, and realised that Yan Xiu was also frowning slightly. Evidently, he had also felt this pressure.

    "It is the world of gravity!" Yan Xiu¡¯s knowledge of the pocket dimension was evidently much more than Fang Zhengzhi.

    World of gravity? When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he more or less understood. The increasing pressure on his body should be caused by this world.

    He indeed had some understanding of the Dao of All Creations.

    Hence, he knew very clearly that to increase the gravity of a world, it wasn¡¯t through modifying the mass of matter. After all, there were rules that all creations had to follow.

    For example, the mass of a body is always constant.

    Hence, the reason for this world of gravity should be due to the fact that underneath the ground, there was an object with a huge attractive force, generating a certain gravitational field. This caused the people and objects above the ground to feel the attractive effects of this gravitational field, bing a world of gravitypletely different from the outside world.

    "It is as simple as just increasing the gravitational strength?"

    "It shouldn¡¯t be just this!" Yan Xiu pointed to a spot a hundred meters in front of them.

    That area was filled with countless deep craters, there were big ones and small ones. The big ones were no less than one meter in width, while the smalls ones were as narrow as fingers. Densely packed, nobody knew what were they used for.

    A mechanism?

    Or was it a trap from the legends?

    Fang Zhengzhi was an impulsive person, but this didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t intelligent. Hence, he decided to wait and see. The other examinees were also waiting. Nobody wished to be the hero at this moment and everybody seemed to be waiting for others to investigate.

    At this moment, what they pitted against one another was patience.

    Fang Zhengzhi had this patience, Yan Xiu naturally had it too, hence the two didn¡¯t rush. Because, there were many examinees in this venue, there would definitely be someone whose personality was staunch to show off.

    Furthermore, in thisbat examination, there were over a dozen girls.

    As expected, after a round of incitement, a youth stood out. He wore a sturdy, ck armour, and held a mountain axe in his hands. One look showed that he was a fierce and murderous man.

    "Ah Li,e on!"

    "Ah Li, we have faith in you!"

    When the crowd saw that someone had stood out, they naturally began to urge him on.

    The youth seemed very satisfied with such an effect, this was the feeling of being at the centre of attention he wanted. Hence, he began to flex his muscles towards the crowd, and waved the mountain axe in his hand.

    As he did this, he discreetly nced at a few girls within the crowd.

    "Ah Li!" A girl very cooperatively gave the youth a coquettish nce.

    "Ha ha ha... let me show you what I¡¯m made of!" The youth was instantly excited. After a wave ofughter, his chest was filled with power, and his entire person rushed in.

    One step, two steps...

    Very quickly, the youth had charged some distance through the craters of varying sizes, at least ten steps.

    This caused the youth to feel somewhat delighted, this was nothing amazing? Under the influence of the gravity, even though his actions were indeed slower, but he was still able to run.

    Just as he was about to shout happily, aren¡¯t I, Ah Li, very powerful, the crowd of examinees behind began to cry out in rm. "Ah Li, sky... the sky!"

    "Boom!" A huge rocknded on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

    On the other hand, the youth named Ah Li carried his mountain axe and stared nkly at the huge rock an inch away from his feet, his face a deathly shade of white.

    Just now, if he wasn¡¯t reminded, won¡¯t this huge rock have fallen onto his head?

    "I¡¯m only here to participate in the examination, not to risk my life..." The delight on the youth Ah Li¡¯s face instantly vanished, and what reced it was a sullen and pitiful state.

    Turning around, he didn¡¯t hesitate and began to retreat.

    However, when some things were done, it seemed that there won¡¯t be any way to undo them.

    For example: Ah Li¡¯s current predicament.

    The youth Ah Li didn¡¯t wish to y anymore, but the people controlling the pocket dimension seemed to not have the intention of letting him off. The second he turned around, another huge boom rang out from the sky.

    However...

    This time,pared to the previous time, the sight was extremely spectacr. On the sky, pieces of huge rocks appeared in mid-air, each piece asrge as a person.

    Once almost ten gigantic rocks appeared, they descended from the sky in freefall.

    If it was said that the speed of rocks falling from the sky was frightening enough, then, in the world of gravity where due to the huge force of attraction within the ground, the speed of descent undoubtedly increased by many times.

    Especially when the youth Ah Li simrly experienced this force of attraction...

    The difficulty of avoiding this could be inferred.

    "Zoom zoom..."

    Every piece of rock was as fast as lightning descending from the Heavens.

    "Boom boom boom..." The sound of a wave of huge rocksnded echoed, and new craters began to appear on the ground. At the same time, numerous clouds of dirt were raised.

    The huge cloud of dirt blocked the vision of the crowd, but, it vanished very quickly. After all, in this world of gravity, the weight of the dirt had also increased.

    The dirt vanished.

    But, strangely, the youth Ah Li within the falling rocks hadpletely vanished. There was no dead body, nor an excruciating cry, and he didn¡¯t leave any treasures or wallets behind either.

    "Could he have passed?! He passed?"

    "Amazing!"

    "Ah Li, good job!"

    When the crowd saw that Ah Li had disappeared, they all began to cheer.

    And right at this moment, a clear voice suddenly sounded out from the sky.

    "Chen Youli, eliminated!"

    "..."

    "E... eliminated?!"

    The crowd nced at one another, unable toe to their senses. What was happening just now? Why did he suddenly get eliminated?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the slowly disappearing huge rocks not too far away, and the numerous new craters in the ground. The edges of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

    "Looks like... Ah Li is useless!"

 Chapter 102: Yan Xiuâ€™s Sincerity

    Chapter 102: Yan Xiu¡¯s Sincerity

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Crushed by the rock, naturally he would be eliminated!" Within the crowd, a rather arrogant voice sounded out. Then, a schrly-looking youth wearing a white armour and waving a jade-green paper fan in his hands walked out.

    "Young Master Kang is indeed talented, under such circumstances he is actually able to see the truth!"

    "Yes, yes, he is indeed a talent in the Hidden Dragon Roll!"

    Instantly, a few examinees began to tter Kang Xingping. To many people, to be able to enter the Hidden Dragon Roll was something that was too high to reach.

    After all, this represented that he was the top hundred among the youths under the age of eighteen in the Great Xia Dynasty!

    "Then, will he die?" As a group of examinees brownnosed Kang Xingping, a weak looking youth, wearing a somewhat tattered body armour, asked.

    The other examinees covered their mouths andughed as they heard this.

    "No, the person controlling the pocket dimension is the examiner. As long as the examiners decide that this examinee has no further ability to continue the examination, then without requiring him to crush his tablet, he would still be eliminated!" Kang Xingping¡¯s eyes also noticed the tender youth and exined very patiently.

    "I see, that means that within the pocket dimension, there wouldn¡¯t be any threats to our lives?" The weak youth heard and breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Not necessarily!" Kang Xingping smiled as he shook his head.

    "Not necessarily?" The weak youth was confused.

    "That¡¯s right. There is one circumstance which the invigtor wouldn¡¯t be able to control, and that is the fighting between the examinees. If during the fighting, someone wasn¡¯t able to crush his tablet on time and was instead killed by another person, he would definitely die!" Kang Xingping continued to smile as he spoke.

    "Who would even fight in the examination?" When the examinee heard, he also began tough.

    "That¡¯s not true, for example, I... will!" Kang Xingping looked at the weakly youth, and the smile on his face became wider and wider.

    The youth was taken aback. Looking at Kang Xingping¡¯s expression, the smile on his face instantly vanished, and instantly took a step back.

    "Young... Young Master Kang, we... we have no enmity against one another, you..."

    "That¡¯s right, we have no enmity, but, we are rivals!" As Kang Xingping spoke, he moved the jade green paper fan on his hand and began to step towards the examinee.

    "Rivals?!" The weak youth¡¯s expression changed. But, he still wasn¡¯t quite able to understand. "But, there isn¡¯t this necessity? Why must we fight among one another, isn¡¯t it better for everybody to work together?"

    "Work together? Ha ha ha..." Kang Xingping smiled wilfully. He looked at the expression of the weak youth in front of him, as if he was looking at an idiot.

    When the other examinees heard the weak youth mention working together, they also began tough. Each of them stared at the weak youth, their faces filled with ridicule.

    "Some people are indeed naive!"

    "It¡¯s alright, people grow wiser from each experience!"

    "I believe it¡¯s someone from a random vige, it is indeed difficult enough to reach this stage. Unfortunately, he doesn¡¯t even know the rules of thebat examination!"

    "Don¡¯t tell me he doesn¡¯t know that there is an unchanging rule in thebat examination, that is, defeat a person to advance a stage?"

    "Defeat a person to advance a stage?! Don¡¯t tell me..." The weak youth heard the discussion going on around him, and his expression instantly turned pale. He had finally understood.

    This was the same as the first round of the county examination.

    A knock out system!

    In the first round, as long as one could defeat their opponent, they could advance a level. The capitalbat examination was also the same. Even though the method and venue had changed, but the rules hadn¡¯t changed.

    Hence, to be able to advance stages in this pocket dimension, there were two methods. First, pass the level in the pocket dimension. Second, defeat someone in the same stage.

    Hence...

    Whether to rely on one¡¯s actual strength to pass the rockfall matrix in the pocket dimension, or to directly find a weak examinee to knock him out, this choice was very simple.

    Actually, it was indeed normal. The amount of people passing the capital examination was already fixed. Hence, naturally it would require a brutalpetition. The strong wins, while the weak loses.

    "Interesting, looks like the game can be yed this way as well!" Fang Zhengzhi, who was thinking of a n to pass the rockfall matrix, heard the discussion going around him and his eyes instantly lit up.

    At this moment, Kang Xingping had already walked to the side of the weak youth. Waving the jade green fan on his hands, he looked at the expression of the weak youth as if he was looking at a sheep waiting to be killed.

    The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curved into a slight smile. Just as he prepared to step forward, he released a hand from beside him reached out and blocked his path.

    "I don¡¯t like his fan." Yan Xiu¡¯s expression seemed very calm, just as if he was talking about a normal hobby of his.

    "So, you are going to fight?" Fang Zhengzhi turned around and looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Sooner orter, I will have to fight. If we wait until the third round, we will both be targeted." Yan Xiu also looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Actually, they are only targeting me." When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he understood Yan Xiu¡¯s intentions.

    "Grandfather had said that we must be sincere towards our friends." Yan Xiu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change.

    "Alright, since you don¡¯t like his fan, I will give this weak one to you. I¡¯ll go and find a stronger one." Fang Zhengzhi smiled again.

    "Alright." Yan Xiu nodded again.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak further, because, Yan Xiu had already acted. Just as Kang Xingping prepared tosh out at the weak youth, he blocked in front of the youth.

    "Yan Xiu?!" Kang Xingping was slightly taken aback.

    When he saw Yan Xiu suddenly appear in front of the weak youth, the expression on his face changed slightly. There were two reasons for his arrival at the River of Trust Capital this time. The first was to spread the name of literature men, and kill the number one lecher in the world in the Law of Dao examination. The second was to pass the capital Law of Dao examination.

    Hence, he was apprehensive towards Yan Xiu. After all, he had already entered the first-ss roll in the theory examination. Based on usual practices, all he had to do was to pass two rounds in thebat examination to be able to pass the capital examination with his overall result.

    However, if he fought Yan Xiu in the first stage...

    That was indeed not wise.

    That was also the biggest reason why he didn¡¯t take the risk to instantly challenge Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was alright to y, but not fool around.

    Pass the first two rounds steadily before fighting wouldn¡¯t be toote either.

    This was what Kang Xingping thought. Yan Xiu knew this, Fang Zhengzhi also knew this. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t let things go on ording to the ns of everybody else.

    He knew very clearly the power of Chi Guyan¡¯s criminal demand order.

    He also knew even more clearly that within the crowd, there were many people who were here due to the criminal demand order. The first two rounds, they wouldn¡¯t gang up on him. But the third round waspletely different.

    Yan Xiu taking the initiative to start a fight naturally wasn¡¯t something everyone else could understand.

    Hence, when the rest of the examinees saw this, they were indeed shocked to a certain extent. After all, he had chosen a strong opponent in the first round.

    No matter how they viewed the situation, it still didn¡¯t seem wise.

    "Are they going to fight?"

    "Challenging Kang Xingping, number eighty in the Hidden Dragon Roll, in the first round?"

    The crowd discussed spiritedly. Among the shocked, there were also some who were excited. Members of the Yan Family left home at sixteen. However, before the age of sixteen, they only stayed in the Yan residence.

    Nobody had ever seen Yan Xiu fight before, and nobody knew Yan Xiu¡¯s true abilities.

    ...

 Chapter 103: Fan Too Ugly

    Chapter 103: Fan Too Ugly

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A gust of cool wind blew across, and the initially calm atmosphere turned somewhat stressful due to Yan Xiu¡¯s sudden challenge. Everybody¡¯s faze was fixated on this Yan family youth who left home at sixteen.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak, and instead quietly looked at Kang Xingping. Even his expression didn¡¯t change at all.

    However, Kang Xingping¡¯s brows threaded together in a frown. He really didn¡¯t wish to make enemies with Yan Xiu at this moment, furthermore, he believed that there wasn¡¯t any deep animosity between him and Yan Xiu.

    When he thought of this, Kang Xingping seemed to have more or less understood.

    "Seems like this person is Young Master Yan Xiu¡¯s friend, sorry for that!" Kang Xingping smiled faintly, and finally decided to that taking a step back was the wisest choice.

    From what he thought, no matter what, he was a reputable person in the Hidden Dragon Roll, as long as he took a step back, Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t force anything.

    However, his thinking seemed to be quite wrong. Because, once his words left his mouth...

    Yan Xiu attacked!

    His speed was zing fast, in a sh, he appeared in front of Kang Xingping.

    It had to be said that the dimension they resided in now was a world of gravity. In such a world, those who were weak wouldn¡¯t even be able to run a few steps without feeling tired.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s actions seemed in one with nature, without any sense of slowing down. It felt as if he was very used to this world of gravity. Or, it could be said that Yan Xiu simply wasn¡¯t affected by the world of gravity at all.

    Kang Xingping¡¯s expression instantly changed. No matter what, he would never that thought that Yan Xiu would act upon speaking, or, it could be said that Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even bother speaking.

    "So quick?!" Kang Xingping instinctively wanted to leap backwards.

    However, as he leapt, he felt the difficulty of leaping up in the world of gravity. Normally, he would be able to casually cover the distance of at least two to three meters.

    However, this time, Kang Xingping couldn¡¯t even leap back half a meter. And at this moment, Yan Xiu had already appeared beside him...

    Kang Xingping was indeed shocked by the speed Yan Xiu had revealed.

    However, that was only shock. To be able to be in the Hidden Dragon Roll, number eighty among the youths of the Great Xia Dynasty, Kang Xingping had the ability of the Divine Seal advanced stage.

    Towards the Dao of All Creations, he had a deep level of understanding and enlightenment. Compared to people like Meng Yushu who had to rely on the Dao Seal to borrow the powers of the Dao of All Creations, his level waspletely different.

    "Tornado!" Kang Xingping shouted out. The jade green fan in his hands flicked open, then, his body spun rapidly. "Dance!"

    In an instant, Kang Xingping¡¯s body seemed to be concealed at the eye of the tornado. Around him, the sound of countless gusts of wind pierced the air.

    Using the wind of the Dao of All Creations and merging wind with body, he turned into a powerful tornado. Any object that attempted toe close or attack would be spun around by the tornado. If one forcefully broke in, one would suffer the attacks of multiple gusts of wind. It could be said that this was a move of absolute defence.

    Kang Xingping was apprehensive of Yan Xiu, hence, he didn¡¯t stubbornly fight directly with Yan Xiu, and instead used a defensive move to probe Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities.

    This, was experience!

    When the surrounding schrs saw Kang Xingping¡¯s "Tornado Dance", each of them were filled with admiration. Using a tornado as defence was indeed more powerful than using a few normal rocks to defend.

    "I think Yan Xiu would first retreat?"

    Everybody began to predict the direction of the battle using their individual experiences. Because, at this moment, the best choice was to retreat. After Kang Xingping¡¯s move had ended, then leverage on that opportunity to attack.

    However...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s speed didn¡¯t decrease at all.

    It felt as if Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even notice Kang Xingping¡¯s moves, and his entire body mmed towards the centre of Kang Xingping¡¯s tornado.

    "What¡¯s this about? He actually didn¡¯t retreat!"

    "Isn¡¯t that asking for trouble? Won¡¯t he be sliced and killed by the wind?"

    "The Yan family leaves home at sixteen, and this should be Yan Xiu¡¯s first battle, his experiences... are indeed somewhatcking!"

    When the surrounding examinees saw Yan Xiu¡¯s actions, they each began to sigh in their hearts.

    On the other hand, Kang Xingping was delighted. The defensive power of his "Tornado Dance" was extremely powerful, however, the wind would definitely be used up.

    If he wasn¡¯t shocked by Yan Xiu¡¯s speed, he wouldn¡¯t even use such a defensive move.

    After all, in a battle of two people, a defensive move would always only be a passive move.

    "He actually didn¡¯t retreat? Asking for death!" Kang Xingpingughed coldly inside. The speed of spinning increased, as if he had already seen the light of victory.

    However, before the light managed to reach him, a hand reached him first.

    A hand that was forcefully reached in from the outside. Most importantly, this hand was choking his neck...

    Immediately after, he felt as if somebody had pushed him hard onto the ground.

    "Boom!"

    A cloud of dirt rose.

    Kang Xingpingy t on the ground, his body deeply sunk into the earth. His eyes were round, and a trickle of blood flowed out from the edge of his mouth. Even till now, he didn¡¯t understand what had just transpired.

    "W... Why?!" Kang Xingping wasn¡¯t satisfied. No matter what, he would never have thought that he would be eliminated in the first round, furthermore, he was eliminated by Yan Xiu.

    "Your fan, it¡¯s too ugly!" Yan Xiu lightly fanned the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan, his tone calm.

    "F... Fan, too... too ugly?!" Kang Xingping stared at the jade green paper fan that had fallen not too far away. His chest rose, everything turned dark, and he fainted.

    The surrounding examinees at this moment were allpletely stunned, each of them stared withplete disbelief at the cold Yan Xiu standing in front of the dirt hole.

    It seemed that a fan being too ugly was also a valid reason?

    Of course, whatever reason Yan Xiu used to challenge Kang Xingping wasn¡¯t the main point. The main point was that the abilities that Yan Xiu had just demonstrated, that continuous movements, were really too strange, so strange that people were simply unable to believe it.

    Just as everybody had expected, Yan Xiu indeed mmed into Kang Xingping¡¯s "Tornado Dance".

    Furthermore, he had directly mmed into it without any form of dodging. However, the instant he mmed into the tornado dance, an exaggerated change urred in Yan Xiu¡¯s movements.

    If what Yan Xiu demonstrated before was speed, after the change, what he demonstrated was lightness. It was as if his entire body became weightless, and mysteriously started to spin around Kang Xingping.

    From an outsider¡¯s point of view, it was as if he was blown up by the gust of wind and absorbed into it.

    Next.

    Was the scene that shocked everybody. Kang Xingping, that resided at the heart of the tornado, was lifted out with one hand by Yan Xiu from the tornado, like a little chick being picked up.

    Then, with a crash, he was smashed into the ground by Yan Xiu.

    The venue at this moment suddenly turned silent, leaving only the sound of the gentle wind. There was even a person who reached out his hands and rubbed his eyes. Staring at Yan Xiu, he didn¡¯t know how to believe this.

 Chapter 104: Face Too Ugly

    Chapter 104: Face Too Ugly

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Speed!" Finally, somebody broke the silence.

    "Yes, a speed even faster than Kang Xingping. From the moment he entered the tornado, causing his body to integrate with the tornado, then unleashing his attack on Kang Xingping!" Due to someone¡¯s reminder, somebody instantly understood.

    "Isn¡¯t this too extreme? In a blink of an eye changing from a direct attack to the integration with the tornado. This control over body and wind... I fear it¡¯s even more powerful than Kang Xingping!"

    "It isn¡¯t just more powerful! This is defeating the enemy in just one move. To be able to reach such a level, I believe it requires the minimum ability of Divine Seal Peak!"

    "Can it be... even more powerful?!"

    At this moment, when the crowd looked at Yan Xiu again, they had already beenpletely stunned by the ability Yan Xiu had demonstrated. Experience? In front of true power, that was just a joke.

    Furthermore, who would dare say that the one move Yan Xiu demonstrated wasn¡¯t an extremely powerful battle experience?

    Leaving home at sixteen, using one move to defeat Kang Xingping, number eighty in the Hidden Dragon Roll.

    At least the Divine Seal Peak State?! Or even stronger!

    "Kang Xingping, eliminated!"

    "Yan Xiu, advanced!"

    In the sky, a clear voice sounded out. Immediately after, Kang Xingping also vanished from his original spot, and a ck stone door appeared in front of Yan Xiu.

    The stone door opened. Yan Xiu turned around and nced at Fang Zhengzhi, then walked in.

    Afterwards, the stone door closed.

    Only at this moment did the crowd finally believe that Kang Xingping had truly been defeated by Yan Xiu in one move.

    One move...

    As they recalled the scene when Yan Xiu initiated the fight with Kang Xingping, everybody believed that challenging a strong person on the Hidden Dragon Roll was a very unwise move.

    But in reality?

    He wasn¡¯t even able to enjoy the fight.

    ...

    Kang Xingping being eliminated in the first round was something that nobody could have thought of. Then, an even more unbelievable thing happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi had actually walked out from the crowd.

    Furthermore, he didn¡¯t walk towards the direction of the rockfall matrix, and instead walked towards a youth wearing a purple armour, his eyes narrow as slits.

    "Umm... I feel your face, is too ugly!" Fang Zhengzhi recognised Cai Yongfeng who stood in front of him, his tone filled with sincerity.

    Cai Yongfeng was instantly stunned.

    Not only Cai Yongfeng, all of the examinees werepletely stunned.

    Was this thebat examination of the Law of Dao examination, or a beauty contest? It was still eptable if that was a fan, but a person¡¯s face being ugly... was this something people could decide?

    Born by parents, how could people change this?

    Of course, all these weren¡¯t the main point. The main point was that Fang Zhengzhi actually so "frankly" told Cai Yongfeng in his face that his face, was too ugly!

    "What does he want to do? Don¡¯t tell me he wants to challenge Cai Yongfeng in the first round?!"

    "This isn¡¯t very possible? Cai Yongfeng is number fifty-six in the Hidden Dragon Roll, and had already reached the Divine Seal Advanced Stage a year ago. Rumours say that he had already reached the Divine Seal Peak State!"

    "Could it be that he had mixed around with Yan Xiu for too long, and really believed that he was Yan Xiu?"

    After the surrounding schrs managed to react, they all began to discuss.

    Everybody felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s action was as dumb as digging his own grave. After all, with his ranking as the theory examination roll champion, all he had to do was to carefully make his way to the third round to pass the capital examination.

    As the crowd discussed incessantly, Cai Yongfeng didn¡¯t lose his calm due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "frankness", and instead seemed appreciative.

    "Looks like you have already guessed?" The edges of Cai Yongfeng¡¯s mouth curved into a cold smile.

    "Anyway, there will definitely be someone in the first round toe out and test the water, why not I choose one myself. Hope you don¡¯t mind?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt as if he wasn¡¯t frank enough, because, Cai Yongfeng had actually held back.

    "Of course, I don¡¯t mind, ha ha ha..." After he spoke, he walked out from the crowd. And behind him, four armoured youth around the same age as him walked out.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the youths following behind Cai Yongfeng, and his smile grew even wider.

    Buy one get four free?

    This was indeed an unexpected surprise!

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi knew very clearly that for him to pass the first two rounds, it indeed wasn¡¯t very easy. Because, the people who came to the River of Trust Capital this time didn¡¯t have the exact same purposes.

    Some of their goals were to defeat him, while some aimed to remove him from the Law of Dao examination.

    Kang Xingping belonged to the former. Because, he had the status of being the ninth son of the Kang family, hence, he had to ensure that he was able to pass the capital examination.

    However, Cai Yongfeng was different. He had already secretly instigated Li Zhuangshi to sabotage Fang Zhengzhi in the theory examination, hence, needless to say, he belonged to thetter.

    The former would patiently wait for the third round before advancing their motives, while thetter would act in the first two rounds.

    Things were ssified into importance and urgency.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi naturally picked thetter.

    ...

    Outside the pocket dimension, in the capital office of the River of Trust Capital, in a spacious lounge, a project was cast in the air. What appeared on the projection was the scene of Fang Zhengzhi and Cai Yongfeng.

    And around the projection sat Han Changfeng and a few other examiners.

    "He¡¯s very smart, but he made a life-threatening mistake!" An examiner looked at the projection and spoke softly.

    "Indeed, if he could stay beside Yan Xiu for protection for the entire time, he might really have the chance to pass the first two rounds!" Another examiner also nodded at this moment.

    "What if from the start, he hadn¡¯t ever thought about seeking Yan Xiu for protection?" Imperial Messenger Qin spoke as he heard the conversation between the two examiners.

    "Then isn¡¯t him really too naive? Don¡¯t tell me that he really believed, just by him alone... he is able to make enemies with so many people, then smoothly pass thebat examination?" The examiner who had spoken first gazed at Imperial Messenger Qin.

    "How would worldly things have an absolute?" Imperial Messenger Qin didn¡¯t continue to argue, and seemed to be speaking to himself.

    "Ha ha..." The other examiners didn¡¯t speak further, however, an expression of disbelief appeared on their faces.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had suddenly began to move within the picture.

    This naturally attracted the attention of the examiners once again, then, the eyes of the examiner instantly turned round.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t, as they had expected, charge towards Cai Yongfeng and the other four, and instead, turned around and ran towards the direction of the rockfall matrix.

    This sudden change in situation caused all the examiners to be stunned.

    After all, they had clearly heard that Fang Zhengzhi had initiated the challenge against Cai Yongfeng. That sentence, "You look, very ugly!" still echoed till this moment.

    What was this about?

    Running away?!

    After a moment of shock, a wave ofughter erupted from the examiners who were discussing previously.

    "Ha ha ha... Imperial Messenger Qin, is this what you mean by seeking Yan Xiu¡¯s protection?"

    "Hmm?"

    As Fang Zhengzhi ran towards the rockfall matrix, even Han Changfeng, wearing a white official robe and closing his eyes slightly all along, suddenly opened his eyes and eximed in confusion.

    On the other hand, Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s face turned slightly red, and his lips parted, but didn¡¯t make a sound. Instead, he fixated his gaze strongly onto Fang Zhengzhi, with an expression filled withplete disbelief.

    ...

 Chapter 105: Come In Quick

    Chapter 105: Come In Quick

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Within the pocket dimension, everybody was stunned by what was happening in front of them. Because, they simply couldn¡¯t understand what had just transpired.

    Or, it could be said that it was not only them who couldn¡¯t understand, even Cai Yongfeng and the other four people couldn¡¯tpletelye to their senses.

    What was happening?

    Why did the situation suddenly change...?

    What happened to choosing somebody himself to test the water? Now that somebody had stood out and ced himself right in front, why did the person who had chosen him suddenly turn around and run?

    This was too much for the chosen person to handle.

    "He... ran towards the rockfall matrix!"

    "Don¡¯t tell me he wishes to pass the matrix?!"

    "I believe that he felt that something was wrong, and decided to use the method of forcing his way through the matrix to pass the first round?"

    "Forcing his way through the matrix? Isn¡¯t this asking for death?! Furthermore, how would Cai Yongfeng let him go? Once he chased Fang Zhengzhi into the matrix, Fang Zhengzhi would face the impasse of having a wolf in front, and a tiger behind!"

    When the crowd saw clearly the direction Fang Zhengzhi was running towards, they all began to discuss incessantly, their eyes filled with spite.

    On the other hand, the edges of Cai Yongfeng¡¯s mouth curved into a cold smile.

    He didn¡¯t intend to block Fang Zhengzhi. Forcing a way through the matrix? Even in the outside world, the risk was huge. This was even more so for the world of gravity.

    The power of the rockfall matrix was multiplied, while the movements of people were impeded.

    How could passing the rockfall matrix be considered easy?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had already reached the edge of the rockfall matrix. He just needed to take another step in front to face the attack of the rockfall. Then, he stopped, turned around and smiled faintly at Cai Yongfeng and the rest of the examinees.

    Cai Yongfeng and the rest were instantly taken aback.

    What was this guy trying to do? Are you going to enter or not?

    "Aren¡¯t... you alling in?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Cai Yongfeng with his finger, and asked very sincerely.

    When the crowd heard this, they instantly received another shock from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. He is actually still taunting Cai Yongfeng? Does he really wish to "face enemies both in front and behind"?

    At this moment, Cai Yongfeng was also slightly shocked. Heughed coldly inside, asking for death!

    He instinctively moved forward, however, after taking one step, he quickly withdrew his leg. Then, a faintly discernible smile appeared on his lips.

    Because, he suddenly recalled the incident in the Serene Ink Pond. At that time, he believed that he had seen through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s plot, but in the end, he was still defeated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Now that he thought of it...

    Cai Yongfeng had to admit that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intelligence wasn¡¯t below that of his.

    The situation ahead wasn¡¯t clear, and he didn¡¯t know what wicked ideas Fang Zhengzhi had. Advancing so riskily mightnd him into another scheme.

    "Ha ha... we are noting in!" When Cai Yongfeng thought of this, he made up his mind. The art of war had advised using silence to deal with action. If he didn¡¯t act ording to the other party¡¯s expectations, and instead calmly and silently deal with it, how bad could the results be?

    "If you don¡¯te, I¡¯m going to enter?" Fang Zhengzhi assumed a posture of entering the matrix.

    "Please enter!" Cai Yongfeng wasn¡¯t tempted to move at all.

    The crowd instantly began tough. The more Fang Zhengzhi did this, the more it meant that he didn¡¯t dare to enter. Even though they didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true intention were, but he evidently wanted to trick and taunt Cai Yongfeng and the rest to go near him.

    Enter the rockfall matrix? Does he dare to do that?

    Just as they thought, their eyes instantly widened. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had really entered.

    One step, two steps...

    Fang Zhengzhi walked forward casually, as he walked, he even turned around and shed a bright smile at Cai Yongfeng and the rest, then, asionally leaping towards the left, and asionally taking two steps to the right.

    "Let a rock fall and smash him to death!"

    "Quick, smash him to death!"

    The crowd instantly began to pray inside their hearts.

    Then, just as everybody had expected, pieces of gigantic rocks began to appear in the air one by one, and the sharp sound of them slicing the air began to sound out.

    "Boom boom boom..." The dust on the ground began to move.

    The crowd instantly began to smile, forcing one¡¯s way into the rockfall matrix? He deserves to be eliminated!

    Just as the crowd waited for the voice eximing that Fang Zhengzhi was eliminated, the cloud of dust within the rockfall matrix quickly vanished.

    Then, the smiles on everybody¡¯s faces became frozen.

    Because, right at the heart of the rockfall matrix, a youth wearing a blue robe was casually humming a tune, and lightly patting off the dust on his body with his hands.

    "A meteor shower is really very beautiful, especially if seen close-up, it¡¯s extremely thrilling!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled very brightly, and stood quietly at his position. Then, he beckoned a finger towards Cai Yongfeng.

    "Come!"

    "Come?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed about the pocket dimension.

    Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression finally turned extremely dark. He wanted to wait quietly, but he couldn¡¯t allow Fang Zhengzhi to really pass the stage just like that.

    "He... he actually wasn¡¯t smashed by the falling rocks?!"

    "How did he do that?"

    "The rocks in this rockfall matrix is fast as lightning, it is simply unavoidable?"

    The crowd was filled with bewilderment. Because, under such a condition, it was impossible to avoid the rocks of the rockfall matrix. Not mentioning the abilities of those participating in the capital examination, even the schrs participating in the imperial examination, or the great people in the Rising Dragon Roll, wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the falling rocks as easily as Fang Zhengzhi under such conditions.

    ...

    Outside the pocket dimension, the examiners stared at Fang Zhengzhi within the projection, and were simrly stunned.

    "Why wasn¡¯t he smashed? Don¡¯t tell me he dodged them?" An examiner expressed his confusion.

    "No, he didn¡¯t even dodge!" Within the room, the voice of the examiner in charge of controlling the rockfall matrix sounded out.

    "He didn¡¯t dodge? Don¡¯t tell me he had already..."

    When the other examiners heard this, they instantly frowned deeply.

    "To be able to attain the theory examination roll champion in this capital examination, just a rockfall matrix... wouldn¡¯t be considered amazing. However, to be able to discover this within such a short span of time is indeed somewhat surprising!" An examiner looked at Imperial Messenger Qin who was not too far away and gave him a meaningful nce.

    On the other hand, Imperial Messenger Qin at this moment was looking at Fang Zhengzhi who was within the projection, and a smile filled his face. "Maybe it is only a moment of luck? Ha ha..."

    "This is luck?" Han Changfeng¡¯s gaze was fixated on Fang Zhengzhi in the projection. The expression on his face was somewhatplicated. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had used practical actions to reply Imperial Messenger Qin¡¯s question.

    ...

    Within the pocket dimension, all the examinees werepletely stunned by the scene unfolding before their eyes.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi, with his hands behind his back, was leisurely strolling about the rockfall matrix. The blue robe danced lightly from the wind generated by the falling rocks.

    And as he walked within the rockfall matrix, in the sky, numerous rocks smashed towards the ground like raindrops.

    However...

    For some strange reason, not a single one managed to smash onto him.

    There were times when the crowd clearly saw a rock smashing towards the position Fang Zhengzhi was moving towards, yet, Fang Zhengzhi stopped suddenly. Then, that piece of rock, very coincidentally,nded in front of him.

    Most importantly, the entire time, Fang Zhengzhi had never lifted up his head and looked up.

    "Are youing? Young Master Cai!" As Fang Zhengzhi walked, he even smiled at Cai Yongfeng and beckoned his finger, not at all in a hurry to pass the rockfall matrix.

 Chapter 106: I Can Tell You

    Chapter 106: I Can Tell You

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    None of the examinees were willing to believe the scene in front of them. They didn¡¯t understand how Fang Zhengzhi did it, but, reality was reality, it was simply unarguable.

    Fang Zhengzhi did it, moreover, with unparalleled ease.

    Hence, after confirming this, the gazes of all the examinees finallynded on Cai Yongfeng and the other four examinees. They all wished to see how this person chosen by Fang Zhengzhi would deal with this situation.

    Walk in confidently like Fang Zhengzhi?

    That was the most unwise move.

    But what if the argument couldn¡¯t be won? He would lose his face, and that was even worse than being eliminated from thebat examination. In the future, the nickname "cowardly turtle" would likely stick to him.

    Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression was very dark, so dark that water could drip out of it.

    His hands tightened together into a fist, then rxed, then very quickly, tightened again. He was in a huge dilemma. Because, even he didn¡¯t know whether to enter.

    Logic told him to let Fang Zhengzhi pass the first round, then, in the second round, think of another idea. However, as a talent who was number fifty-six on the Hidden Dragon Roll, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose the face.

    Just as Cai Yongfeng was deep in hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi made a move that caused everybody to almost kneel down on the ground.

    Because, he had actually walked out of the rockfall matrix. As he walked out, Fang Zhengzhi lightly patted the dust on his body, then, leisurely walked towards Cai Yongfeng.

    The examinees were all instantly shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions once again.

    What does he want to do?

    "Young Master Cai, do you want me to tell you the secret of the rockfall matrix?" Fang Zhengzhi quickly walked to Cai Yongfeng¡¯s side. As he spoke, he even blinked a few times at Cai Yongfeng.

    All the examinees werepletely bewildered. Tell Cai Yongfeng the secret of the rockfall matrix? Heavens... can he not bully people like that!

    Cai Yongfeng at this moment felt as if he was sick.

    He had already be so stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions that he waspletely unable to think. To be able to avoid being crushed by the rocks in the matrix, this had clearly proved that Fang Zhengzhi had solved the rules of the rockfall matrix.

    Under normal circumstances, shouldn¡¯t he keep the advantage and continue to taunt?

    Or, directly and smoothly, pass the first round! At the very least, he shouldn¡¯t be running out again and telling him the secret of the rockfall matrix?

    "You... are you joking?" Cai Yongfeng really didn¡¯t dare to believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "I am very serious. Look... look at all those craters, did you see them? Did you realise that every time the rocks fell, they would disappear, however, the craters wouldn¡¯t instantly disappear..." As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he even gestured with his hands.

    Cai Yongfeng didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would really tell him the secret of the rockfall matrix, but he still instinctively followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reminder and noticed the craters on the ground.

    Very quickly, his eyes lit up. Because, he realised thew within this. As Fang Zhengzhi had said, the rocks in the rockfall matrix would disappear immediately after falling, however, the craters wouldn¡¯t disappear.

    And these craters, had left a huge crater map on the ground.

    This was a hint!

    A hint purposely left in the pocket dimension!

    Based on the position of these craters, then inferring thew of the falling rocks wasn¡¯t difficult to Cai Yongfeng. To be able to make it into the first-ss roll of the capital examination, how could he not be familiar with matrixes and formations?

    "Why are you telling me these?" After confirming that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t tricking him, he still couldn¡¯t guess Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    "There¡¯s no reason, I initially thought that you could see it, but looks like I overestimated you. So, in order to remind you, I specially demonstrated it out for you, but you still didn¡¯t manage to solve it. Hence, I can only tell you!" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth towards Cai Yongfeng, as if speaking about something very normal.

    However, Cai Yongfeng felt a sense of shame that he had never felt before.

    "I am asking you, why are you telling me this?" Cai Yongfeng felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were too vicious. What was "thinking that I can see it"?

    He was filled with hatred and regret. His attention had all along been fixated on the falling rocks and Fang Zhengzhi, and simply didn¡¯t notice the craters on the ground of the rockfall matrix.

    "Didn¡¯t you already say? I had already chosen to fight you. The location... is within the rockfall matrix, yet you didn¡¯t dare toe. Hence, I can only tell you the secret of the rockfall matrix!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly, then, beckoned his finger towards Cai Yongfeng and turned around to walk towards the rockfall matrix.

    "But you didn¡¯t dare toe!"

    Cai Yongfeng felt as if he was struck by lightning, and his eyes almost narrowed into a slit. His hands instantly tightened into a fist. He didn¡¯t know why would Fang Zhengzhi tell him thew of the rockfall matrix.

    But, there was one thing he was clear about. Now, he didn¡¯t have any escape route. If he hesitated at this time, he would never have the face to live in society anymore.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Cai Yongfeng bellowed.

    "But... I haven¡¯t understood!" A youth behind Cai Yongfeng was somewhat hesitant.

    "After entering, just follow my footsteps!" Cai Yongfeng said coldly. He naturally understood that even though there were hints, not everybody could infer the rules of the rockfall matrix.

    "Alright!" When the four youths behind heard this, they instantly nodded.

    ...

    All the examinees stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression of shock as he re-entered the rockfall matrix, as well as Cai Yongfeng and the other four. They all bore the same question in their hearts.

    Why did Fang Zhengzhi choose the rockfall matrix as the battle arena?

    Furthermore, when he was in a position of advantage, why did he tell thew of the rockfall matrix to Cai Yongfeng?

    These two things, no matter how people looked at them, seemed very conflicting.

    As the crowd was lost in their confusion, clouds of dust rose from within the rockfall matrix.

    Because, as Fang Zhengzhi, Cai Yongfeng and the rest entered, one by one, huge rocks fell from the skies onto the ground, then, smashing a huge crater in the ground.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    A deafening sound resounded.

    Everybody were anxiously staring at this scene. Each of them wished to see whether Cai Yongfeng really was able to master the rockfall matrix like Fang Zhengzhi did.

    Very quickly, the cloud of dust dispersed.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood casually at the heart of the rockfall matrix, and opposite him, wearing a purple armour. Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression was just as calm.

    Even though the four youths standing behind Cai Yongfeng looked white and pale, but, nobody was crushed by the rock. From this point, it could be seen that Cai Yongfeng¡¯s directions weren¡¯t wrong.

    "Cai Yongfeng really mastered thews of the rockfall matrix?!"

    "I never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would really be dumb enough to tell thew to Cai Yongfeng!"

    "Isn¡¯t this too dumb? Such a move is simply reaping the consequences of his actions, now, he really has to fight five people by himself!"

    When the crowd had seen clearly the people within the rockfall matrix, they somewhatmented Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s naivety.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi instead smiled towards Cai Yongfeng.

    "Have you mastered it? Do you wish to try further?"

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, should I say that you are too naive, or say you are too stupid!" After Cai Yongfeng confirmed that thews of the rockfall matrix were correct, he regained his confidence once again.

    "Looks like now, I can more or less tell you why I must bring you into the rockfall matrix." Fang Zhengzhi maintained the faint smile on his face.

    "Why?" Cai Yongfeng was taken aback. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s faint smile, he suddenly felt that something was about to go wrong.

 Chapter 107: Complete Control

    Chapter 107: Complete Control

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Do you remember that idiot that was used by you in the theory examination?" Fang Zhengzhi looked straight at Cai Yongfeng. The word idiot was strong and forceful.

    "Ha ha ha... that one! Alright, I admit I had used him, but the person who suggested the idea was he himself. Furthermore, didn¡¯t you also call him an idiot?" Cai Yongfeng was somewhat spiteful.

    "Yes, I don¡¯t really like him, or it could even be said that I hate him. But, I also don¡¯t like people using him at their own will!" Fang Zhengzhi calmly looked at Cai Yongfeng.

    "Looks like this is the reason why you chose me to fight. But, how is this rted to bringing me into the rockfall matrix?"

    "He was banned from the Law of Dao examination because of this!"

    "So what?"

    "Hence, I also don¡¯t really wish for you to participate in the Law of Dao examination in the future!"

    "Oh? How are you going to do that?" A shiver went down Cai Yongfeng¡¯s heart again, however, his expression was that of disbelief.

    "I heard that the rockfall matrix is controlled by the examiners from the outside world, hence, people won¡¯t really be harmed!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the surrounding craters, as if speaking to himself.

    "That¡¯s right!" Cai Yongfeng didn¡¯t understand why Fang Zhengzhi would suddenly mention that.

    "Then... what if they lost control?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone was calm, as if talking about something very normal.

    "Lose control?!" Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    He didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi could achieve such a thing. However, from his eyes, he felt a strong sense of confidence. But, such a thing was too shocking. He really couldn¡¯t understand how a person within the pocket dimension could control the rockfall matrix, which could only be controlled by people outside the dimension?!

    "What... do you mean?!" For the first time, Cai Yongfeng¡¯s voice felt as if it was tremoring.

    "In the Law of Dao examination, there has always been an unspoken rule. If during thebat examination, somebody identally used too much force... he wouldn¡¯t be punished!" When Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he moved.

    One step, directly stepping towards the front.

    And following the movement of his footsteps, a rock rapidly appeared in mid-air, then with lightning speed, smashed towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    When Cai Yongfeng and the other four youths saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements, they were filled with confusion. How was Fang Zhengzhi going to cause the rockfall matrix to go out of control?

    "Boom!"

    A deafening sound rang out.

    What was different this time was that the deafening sound didn¡¯te from the rock smashing into the ground. Instead, it was because Fang Zhengzhi hadnded a kick on the rock.

    "Kicking the rock?!" Cai Yongfeng¡¯s eyes instantly turned round.

    He suddenly understood what did Fang Zhengzhi mean by causing the rockfall matrix to go out of control. Using one¡¯s kick to change the direction of the falling rock before it smashed into the ground.

    Naturally, the rock would break away from the control of the examiners in the outside world.

    However...

    This was easy to say, but it was very difficult to really achieve this. Not mentioning how fast the rock fell from the sky, even if one really was able to kick the rock by some stroke of luck.

    Based on the weight of the falling rock, to change direction in a blink of an eye, it required at least a force equivalent to two times the weight of the falling rock.

    It simply couldn¡¯t be achieved by man!

    Just as Cai Yongfeng was pondering about this, the strange scene began to unfold. The rock that was kicked by Fang Zhengzhi had suddenly stopped, and floated in mid-air.

    Then...

    "Zoom!" It was like a huge stone ball that suddenly changed its direction, flying towards Cai Yongfeng and the rest with zing speed.

    This time, Cai Yongfeng was truly terrified. He was absolutely unable to imagine how Fang Zhengzhi had achieved such a feat, however, the rock in front of his eyes had truly changed its direction.

    He wanted to dodge, but the speed of the falling rock was too fast, so fast that he was simply unable to dodge.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Cai Yongfeng bellowed. Waving his hand, a blue sword appeared in his hands. A gust of wind blew, radiating a dark and icy glow.

    "Crack!" With one sh.

    The wind blew, and the rock split from the middle.

    "Bang!"

    "Bang!"

    Two sounds. The two people standing behind Cai Yongfeng were directly hit by the two flying rocks.

    "Ssh!"

    Two mouthfuls of blood spurted out at the same time. The bodies of the two youths flew, and mmed into the ground.

    Their faces were deathly white.

    It was too fast!

    Everything happened in an instant. From the moment Fang Zhengzhi kicked the falling rock, the rock changed direction and flew towards Cai Yongfeng, then the two rocks mmed into the two youths behind Cai Yongfeng after being split by the sword.

    In a blink of an eye, the two youths had fallen.

    The spectating crowd watched with their eyes widened. They hadn¡¯t even managed to react to what was happening. But, why they thought of the scene when the rock was kicked by Fang Zhengzhi, then flying towards Cai Yongfeng.

    They were instantly stunned.

    Changing the direction of the falling rock?! Heavens... isn¡¯t this too extreme?

    "How... how did you do that? This is simply impossible!" Cai Yongfeng turned around and stared at the two youths whose faces with deathly pale, the shock in his heart couldn¡¯t even be described with words.

    "I will tell you!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled. "But, you must fall first!"

    "Fall?!" Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression changed again. Just as he prepared to order the two youths to surround Fang Zhengzhi with him, Fang Zhengzhi had once again began his assault again.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed was so fast that it was simply somewhat extreme.

    Completely unaffected by the world of gravity at all, his entire body looked extremely light. Leaping up, he actually reached a height of no less than two meters.

    The falling rocks appeared in mid-air once again.

    However, this time, there were exactly four huge pieces of rocks falling towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The sound of a kick connecting with the falling rocks rang out.

    Then, an extreme scene unfolded. The four pieces of rock changed their directions at the same time, and flew with zing speed towards Cai Yongfeng and the other two youths.

    "I... I want to go home!" A youth standing behind Cai Yongfeng became instantly dumbfounded at this moment.

    On the other hand, the spectating crowd stared with their mouths agape. If it was said that Fang Zhengzhi had previously solved the rockfall matrix, that was a disy of knowledge and wisdom.

    But now...

    This was the disy of true power.

    Suddenly, at the same time, the words Han Changfeng announced to the crowd when Fang Zhengzhi attained the theory examination roll champion rang out in their heads.

    "Solving the Illustration of All Creation when he was six!"

    "Furthermore, attaining the county double roll champion during his first participation in Law of Dao examination, and when the talents of the five capitals gathered at the River of Trust capital, he still attained the theory examination roll champion!"

    "What... he depended on isn¡¯t luck!"

    "Power, it¡¯s true power!"

    All of the examinees understood this at the same time. This youth in front of their eyes who walked out from a normal vige had reached a stage where his powers couldn¡¯t even be imagined.

    Changing the direction of the falling rocks?!

    Furthermore, at the same time changing the direction of four rocks!

    It was simply impossible for this to be a coincidence!

 Chapter 108: Not On Purpose

    Chapter 108: Not On Purpose

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    But, how did Fang Zhengzhi achieve this? The same question resided in everybody¡¯s hearts. After all, this was indeed too difficult!

    "Bang bang!"

    Just as the crowd was deep in confusion, two dull sounds rang out from within the rockfall matrix. Immediately after, two youths, almost at the same time, flew up into the air.

    A bright blood flower bloomed in mid-air...

    And at this moment Cai Yongfeng was also filled with horror, and his expression was deathly white. A moment ago, in order to block the rock Fang Zhengzhi kicked towards him, even though he used all his effort to block, he still suffered some injuries.

    A few wounds were cut on his clothes and arms, and a stream of blood flowed from the web between his thumb and forefinger.

    "Sto..." Just as Cai Yongfeng prepared to say stop, a few deafening sounds rang out again.

    Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression had already changedpletely.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have simply not intended to give him any chance. He didn¡¯t even bother speaking another word, and instead continuously kicked rocks, one by one, towards his direction.

    At this moment, he finally understood the meaning behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "What if control was lost?"

    Actually, when direction of the falling rock changed its direction, even the examiners outside the pocket dimension wouldn¡¯t be able to urately deduce whether it would injure an examinee.

    Unless, they forcefully shut down the rockfall matrix.

    But...

    This was impossible, because, the Law of Dao examination had to be fair! Fang Zhengzhi used his own strength to control the falling rock, hence if Cai Yongfeng wanted to dodge, he had to use his own strength to dodge.

    ...

    Outside the pocket dimension, in a lounge, all the examiners stared at Fang Zhengzhi who was flying around in the rockfall matrix with absolute shock. Even they had never thought that such an incident would actually happen in the Law of Dao examination!

    "Controlling the falling rock?! I never thought that he already possessed such powers!"

    "This is indeed beyond expectations... but, if this continues, I believe somebody would be harmed?" An examiner looked towards Han Changfeng.

    "Since they had participated in thebat examination, they were already mentally prepared. You must all remember this sentence. Thebat examination, is the battlefield!" Han Changfeng¡¯s eyes shed with light, but as the chief examiner of the capital examination, he couldn¡¯t stop the examination because of such a small matter.

    "Roger!" The examiners instantly nodded.

    ...

    Within the pocket dimension, the examinees had already beenpleted stunned by what was urring.

    In the sky, rocks appeared non-stop, and every single one of these rocks were urately kicked by Fang Zhengzhi, and sent flying towards Cai Yongfeng¡¯s direction.

    At this moment, Cai Yongfeng seemed to be in a terrible mess.

    The hand that held the ck sword began to tremble. The clothes on his body werepletely tattered, revealing the bloody wounds within.

    He couldn¡¯t ept this. He really couldn¡¯t ept losing like this. As a talent on the Hidden Dragon Roll, he had all along been superior to others, how would he ever be shamed as such?

    "If you can do it, I can too!" Cai Yongfeng gritted his teeth, and finally moved.

    He knew that if things continued like this, when his energy waspletely expended, he would definitely lose as well. Furthermore, he would lose even badly...

    He could only give his all!

    Cai Yongfeng bit his lips, and mimicked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, leaping towards the right.

    Very quickly, a huge rock appeared in mid-air.

    Everything was under control. Cai Yongfeng could master the rockfall matrix, hence, naturally he could deduce where the rock would appear. Hence, he quickly adjusted his position, and then mustered all his strength to kick towards a huge rock falling towards his head.

    At this moment, a wild look appeared in Cai Yongfeng¡¯s eyes. He controlled every single strength in his body and believed that if Fang Zhengzhi was able to change the direction of the rocks, then, with his abilities, he could definitely achieve it too.

    "Boom!"

    The leg and the rock contacted.

    Cai Yongfeng was filled with delight. He kicked it?!

    Just as he filled with delight, an excruciating pain shot up from below his feet.

    "Crack!" A crisp sound rang out.

    Cai Yongfeng felt a huge reaction forceing from the falling rock, then, his entire body was sent flying and mmed onto the ground. His foot was severely disfigured.

    "Bro... broken?!" Cai Yongfeng didn¡¯t dare to believe it. Both of them used their legs to kick the rock, why did Fang Zhengzhi achieve it so easily, yet he suffered the consequence of broken bones.

    "I have reached the Divine Seal Peak Stage! Why can he do it, but I can¡¯t?!"

    "Zoom!"

    Almost at the instant Cai Yongfengnded onto the ground, a rock with shot towards Cai Yongfeng with lightning speed.

    "Crack!"

    Cai Yongfeng couldn¡¯t even move at all before the rocknded on his arm. Then, it immediately crushed down onto Cai Yongfeng¡¯s arm, and in an instant, his bones werepletely broken.

    Then, it was still not over.

    In the sky, another piece of rock smashed towards Cai Yongfeng.

    "Boom!"

    A cloud of dust rose.

    ...

    The spectating crowd stared with their eyes rounded. If this reallynded on Cai Yongfeng, he would either die or bepletely disabled.

    Will it hit?

    "Hey... Young Master Cai! Why didn¡¯t you dodge it?!"

    Just as the crowd was filled with doubt, a voice filled with shock rang out from within the rockfall matrix. Then, a figure rapidly shot towards Cai Yongfeng.

    However, this figure seemed to have been rushing too much. The position itnded on was exactly the Cai Yongfeng¡¯s broken arm.

    "Ah!" Cai Yongfeng instantly cooperatively let out an excruciating cry.

    "Huh? Sorry, I really didn¡¯t do that on purpose!" Fang Zhengzhi quickly jumped backwards. Then, squatting down, he carefully inspected Cai Yongfeng¡¯s injuries.

    The spectating crowd was nowpletely stunned.

    Not on purpose?

    Who would believe that!

    Most likely, from the very start, Fang Zhengzhi had already nned to force Cai Yongfeng to fight with him in the rockfall matrix? How can this not be on purpose!

    It was too pretentious...

    "Are... are you alright? Is it pain? Should I quickly get a doctor to take a look?" Fang Zhengzhi asked with concern as he fiddled with Cai Yongfeng.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! You... you..." Before Cai Yongfeng entered the rockfall matrix, he had entertained many possibilities. However, he had never thought that he would end up in such an oue.

    His hand and leg werepletely crushed and broken, and even his ribcage was broken by the falling rock!

    At this moment, he was no different from a disabled man.

    "Don¡¯t speak, be careful of blood flowing into your chest, else even God won¡¯t be able to save you..." Fang Zhengzhi saw that Cai Yongfeng was rather agitated, and instantly calmed him down.

    Cai Yongfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi whose face was filled with concern. He was filled with hatred, this person is obviously pretending, everybody, don¡¯t believe him!

    Anger and rage filled with heart, and Cai Yongfeng vomited a mouthful of thick blood.

    "Wah... I... I only have one thing I wish to ask you!¡¯ Cai Yongfeng wasn¡¯t satisfied. He was filled with hatred, but at the same time, he also understood that identally harming an opponent in thebat examination wouldn¡¯t result in any serious punishments.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had even cared to run beside him to check on his injuries, and painted a typical image of being "unintentional".

    Under such careful arrangements, nobody could say a word.

    Was it shameless?

    It was indeed shameless enough!

    However, from some other point of view, how was this not a demonstration of wisdom and intelligence?

    "Don¡¯t be agitated, make sure you don¡¯t be agitated, do... you wish to ask why was I able to control the falling rock?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand Cai Yongfeng¡¯s thoughts at this time very well.

    "Yes..." Cai Yongfeng really wanted to know the answer. Because, if he hadn¡¯t overestimated himself, he wouldn¡¯t have lost so easily, and even more so, wouldn¡¯t have lost so tragically.

    "What if I don¡¯t tell you?" A smile appeared on the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    "You... you ... just now... just now... cough cough, you said, if I fall... you..." Cai Yongfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile, and his face was flushed with red. Another mouth of blood spurted out from his mouth.

    "Cai Yongfeng, should I say that you are too naive, or say that you are too dumb!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Cai Yongfeng very seriously.

    Cai Yongfeng¡¯s expression instantly changed. He suddenly felt that this sentence Fang Zhengzhi uttered was very familiar. Because, not too long ago, he seemed to have said the same thing to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However...

    That was one moment, this was another!

 Chapter 109: Upright, Grand, Upper Grade

    Chapter 109: Upright, Grand, Upper Grade

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Ah!!!" Cai Yongfeng let out a bitter howl. Thinking that even at the end, he didn¡¯t even know how he lost, anger rushed into his head. Everything turned dark, and he fainted.

    "Sigh... his inner qualities are really too inferior!" Fang Zhengzhi lightly shook his head.

    At this moment, a few voices also rang out in the sky.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, advance!"

    "Cai Yongfeng, eliminated!"

    "Li... , eliminated!"

    "..."

    When the examinees heard these voices, they finally confirmed that Cai Yongfeng had really lost, and due to this battle, Fang Zhengzhi would enter the Hidden Dragon Roll, and assume the position of number fifty-six.

    A youth from the vige reaching the high level of number fifty-six the instant he entered the Hidden Dragon Roll.

    It was an absolutely shocking news.

    Very quickly, a stone door appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the stone door, smiled, and finally decided to stroll in. He indeed had thought of using this rockfall matrix to earn some money, or so on.

    For example: iming a few hundred silver pieces from each examinee, then, bringing them to great heights and so on.

    Unfortunately...

    This was the Law of Dao examination. If he really did that, he might be used of helping others to cheat, and when that timees, it would backfire on him.

    The stone door closed, and vanished.

    ...

    "Brother Hua, what should we do... in the second round?" Within the examinees, a youth wearing a ck armour with thick eyebrows looked at the disappearing stone, and an icy glint shed in his eyes.

    "I indeed never expected Fang Zhengzhi to have such abilities. He should at least have reached the Divine Seal Peak Stage?" Another youth wearing a white armour, with a book on his hands looked amazed.

    When they finished their sentence, they both looked at a youth by the side.

    That was a youth around the age of eighteen. His face was white and clean, and his features were clear. What was most unique was the armour on his body. It was a blue, soft metal armour, and on it, there were various carved lines. It looked extremely exquisite.

    And on the breastte of the armour, a translucent sapphire was etched into it. Just one look told people that this armour wasn¡¯t just an average one.

    Beside the youth, other than the two youths wearing ck armour and white armour, the other examinees instinctively withdrew three meters.

    Because, that youth¡¯s name was Hua Kangan.

    As a genius who had reached the Star Conglomerate State at the age of eighteen, his arrogance could be inferred. Only people like Tang Yulong and Zhang Hetong could speak to Hua Kangan at all.

    "It is indeed somewhat unexpected. Looks like things need to change a little..." Hua Kangan looked at the ck armoured youth Tang Yulong, and the white armoured youth Zhang Hetong, his expression remaining calm as always.

    "How about, in the second round, I will challenge him!" Tang Yulong spoke coldly.

    Within the three people, even though Tang Yulong was number thirty-five in the Hidden Dragon Roll, but, inparison, he was the weakest there. However, Tang Yulong was the most vicious of the three.

    "Brother Tang you need not rush, now that we know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true powers, we don¡¯t have to rush our actions!" Zhang Hetong shook as head. Born in a schrly family, he preferred to fight with strategy.

    "Yes, Brother Zhang is right. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities have already been confirmed, it is at least Divine Seal Peak State. Furthermore, it might even be stronger! Continuing to test in the second round would already be futile!" Hua Kangan nodded.

    "What is Brother Hua¡¯s intention?" Tang Yulong asked, confused.

    "Actually, Fang Zhengzhi had given me an idea!" Hua Kangan looked at the rockfall matrix, and seemed deep in thought.

    "Brother Hua is referring to..." Zhang Hetong¡¯s eyes lit up, as if having guessed Hua Kangan¡¯s intention.

    "He treated Cai Yongfeng like that, why can¡¯t we use the same method against him? Giving him a taste of his own medicine, isn¡¯t that great?" The edges of Hua Kangan¡¯s mouth curved into a cold smile.

    "I understood, during the third round, brother Hua wants to..." When Zhang Hetong heard this, he also began tough coldly.

    "Yes, as long as we conserve our energy, at the third round, one of us will upy Yan Xiu, while the other two will attack together. At that stage, he will be a disabled man, so what if he passed the capital examination?" Hua Kangan looked, somewhat impatiently, at Tang Yulong, who was standing beside him and looking confused as ever, and exined.

    "Brother Hua, wise words!" When Tang Yulong heard this, he instantly nodded in deep admiration.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Hua Kangan didn¡¯t speak further. Looking at the crowd of examinees at the side, a trace of despise appeared, then, he walked in the lead towards the rockfall matrix.

    Zhang Hetong and Tang Yulong exchanged a nce, and instantly followed.

    Looking at Hua Kangan and the rest walk into the rockfall matrix, youths who were simrly confident also followed behind, and carefully entered the rockfall matrix.

    Of course, not everybody who received the hint had the confidence of passing the rockfall matrix. After all, most people had limited knowledge about formations and matrixes.

    Hence, after more than ten youths entered rockfall matrix, the scene gradually turned chaotic again.

    "Brother Zhang, I¡¯m sorry!"

    "Brother Li, you don¡¯t have to be. The winner and loser are still undetermined!"

    "Ah... you... you actually sneaked a surprise attack?!"

    The examinees cried out as they fought among themselves. Then, one by one, stone doors began to appear quickly, vanish, appear again, then vanish again...

    Not too longter, almost half the examinees disappeared within the pocket dimension.

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi walked out from the stone door, he just happened to notice Yan Xiu, in his armour, standing not too far away in front of him. His hands were ced behind his back, and the expression on his face couldn¡¯t be seen.

    And in front of Yan Xiu, there was a huge mountain cliff. The sound of water couldn¡¯t be heard below the cliff. Evidently, there wasn¡¯t any river flower, only a ck mist swirled around beneath the cliff.

    The gentle wind blew, and Yan Xiu lightly fanned his Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan.

    "You are here?" Yan Xiu spoke without even turning back his head.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi lightly nodded and walked to Yan Xiu¡¯s side.

    "A little slow." Yan Xiu seemed to be speaking to himself, and at the same time, seemed to be ming.

    "I was conveniently settling some private matters, hence I had to dy a little." As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he walked to Yan Xiu¡¯s side and looked at the cliff in front without a much change in his expression.

    "Jump now?" Yan Xiu pointed at the cliff in front.

    Fang Zhengzhi stuck out his head and took a look.

    And realised...

    It really was quite high!

    "Wait a while!" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and shook his head.

    "Alright!" Yan Xiu seemed to not have noticed the change in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    As the two spoke, the sound of a wave of soft footsteps came from not too far away, apanied by the deafening sound of stone mming onto the ground. Not too longter, three people appeared behind them.

    The person at the front had a white, clean face, and wore an exquisite blue armour, wearing a rather arrogant expression on his face. And behind him, there were two youths wearing a ck and white armour respectively.

    The youth wearing the ck armour had a cold and cool expression, while the youth wearing the white armour looked somewhat dignified and cultured.

    When the three people appeared, their gaze instantly fell on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze also fell on the three youths. However, it finallynded on the leading youth¡¯s blue armour. When he saw that exquisite armour, the edges of his mouth quickly revealed a bright smile.

    "I like this beautiful armour! Upright, grand, upper grade!"

 Chapter 110: Jade Sea Armour

    Chapter 110: Jade Sea Armour

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Rubbing his hand furiously, Fang Zhengzhi instinctively walked towards the leading youth. As he walked, he even revealed an expression he considered to be warm and friendly.

    However, when this smile ended up in the eyes of Hua Kangan.

    Something seemed to be not quite right.

    Looking at Fang Zhengzhi walking over with a treacherous smile, Hua Kangan frowned, and felt as if the way Fang Zhengzhi looked at him seemed somewhat strange.

    Standing behind Hua Kangan, Zhang Hetong and Tang Yulong also noticed this point.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this guy has some special interests?" The two nced at one another, then thought of Yan Xiu who had never left Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side, and a weird thought suddenly came into their head.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked to Hua Kangan¡¯s side, then, carefully inspected the armour he wore. When he was satisfied with looking, he even reached out his hands to feel it.

    Hua Kangan instantly became rmed, and quickly sprang apart from Fang Zhengzhi, his expression filled with caution.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what do you want to do?", Hua Kangan¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t too friendly.

    "You recognise me?"

    "Who doesn¡¯t recognise you here?"

    "Since you know me, make an offer!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the armour on Hua Kangan¡¯s body, and his eyes glittered.

    "Make... make what offer!" Hua Kangan looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression and a chill instantly went down his spine.

    On the other hand, Zhang Hetong and Tang Yulong instinctively walked towards the side, feeling that the further they were from Fang Zhengzhi, the better.

    "Armour, I like your armour!" Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his hands.

    "Armour?!" Hua Kangan¡¯s face was filled with disbelief.

    "You want to buy Hua Kangan¡¯s armour?!" Zhang Hetong was just as shocked, but immediately after, he suddenly began tough. "Ha ha ha... Brother Hua, somebody has noticed your ¡¯Jade Sea Armour¡¯ that has been passed down in the Hua family for generations!"

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, do you know how valuable Brother Hua¡¯s Jade Sea Armour is?! You actually want to buy it?" At this moment, Tang Yulong waspletely reduced toughter by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Are you selling?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth towards Tang Yulong, and simply didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to him. In his eyes, there was only the Jade Sea Armour that Hua Kangan wore on his body.

    "You really want it?" When Hua Kangan realised what was happening, a mocking smile gradually appeared on his face.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Hua Kangan¡¯s lips parted slightly. Just as he prepared to make a sky-high offer, he suddenly noticed Yan Xiu standing behind Fang Zhengzhi, and was instantly taken aback.

    Don¡¯t tell me Yan Xiu wishes to buy?!

    If it was Fang Zhengzhi who wanted to buy, he could terrify him with a price of a few thousand taels.

    However...

    If it was Yan Xiu, not even mentioning a few thousand, even if it was a few hundred thousand, Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t even blink. When that timees, his price had already been announced, and he would have to eat his words

    What he was afraid of losing was ultimately his own face.

    "Are you selling or not?" Hua Kangan carefully pondered for a moment, and decided to probe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone to determine whether it was him or Yan Xiu who wanted to buy.

    "Not selling? Then among the three of you... at least one won¡¯t be able to pass this round!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Hua Kangan, then looked at Tang Yulong and Zhang Hetong who were standing behind him.

    "We can¡¯t pass this round? Ha ha ha... Didn¡¯t just say that we can¡¯t pass this round?! Do you know who am I?" Tang Yulong suddenly began tough.

    Without waiting for Hua Kangan to speak, he had already stood out and walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You?" Fang Zhengzhi took one look at Tang Yulong and seemed somewhat spiteful. "Tang Yulong, number thirty-five in the Hidden Dragon Roll, Divine Seal Peak Stage, seventh child of the Tang family, with three elder brothers above you. Unfortunately, these brothers aren¡¯t very useful, and they are too weak. Hence, for your status in the Tang family, you used your status as their younger brother to chase them out of the Tang family. Furthermore..."

    "Shut up! How... how do you know this?!" Tang Yulong¡¯s eyes turned round from staring. This incident wasn¡¯t some special secret, after all, in the past this incident had been spreading all around. However, he didn¡¯t think that a poor person from a vige would know his greatest sin.

    "Zhang Hetong, number twenty-eight in the Hidden Dragon Roll. A year ago, you have already reached the Divine Seal Peak State. By now, you should have already sensed the threshold of the Star Conglomerate State? Am I correct?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay any attention to Tang Yulong, and instead shifted his attention to Zhang Hetong.

    "Looks like Young Master Fang had investigated us before? But, I¡¯m curious, what method is Young Master Fang going to use to ensure one person out of us three isn¡¯t going to pass this second round?" Zhang Hetong smiled.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... whatever you have to say, be direct!" Hua Kangan instinctively ced his hands behind his back and signalled to Zhang Hetong.

    Zhang Hetong received the message and swiftly, moved to Tang Yulong¡¯s side.

    "Let¡¯s make a bet, if I can make one of you stay in the second round, this armour will be mine!" Fang Zhengzhi appeared to not have noticed Zhang Hetong and Tang Yulong¡¯s actions, instead, looked at Hua Kangan with a faint smile.

    "Ha ha ha... do you know that this Jade Sea Armour is passed down from generations in my Hua family. Furthermore, during the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, it is the armour my ancestor wore during his first time in the battlefield. Afterwards, due to this Jade Sea Armour, he achieved great feats in the battlefield, hence the emperor personally gifted the armour to him. Hence, this Jade Sea Armour was able to be passed down to the next generation, bing the honour and glory that the younger generations of the Hua family fought for! Let me ask you, as a poor vige person, what item do you have to bet with my Jade Sea Armour?!" Hua Kanganughed, his face filled with arrogance.

    "This Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan of mine, I wonder whether it can be used to bet with your Jade Sea Armour?" At this moment, Yan Xiu who was silent all along walked over slowly, lightly waving the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan in his hand.

    "Yan Xiu!" Hua Kangan¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    "Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan?! He is holding the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan?!" When Tang Yulong heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words, shock instantly appeared on his face.

    "Who would have thought, the Yan family actually gave the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan to Yan Xiu?!" Zhang Hetong¡¯s gaze alsonded on the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan in Yan Xiu¡¯s hands, horror appearing on his face.

    "You trust me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips twitched, as if wanting to say something. Then, he seemed to swallow back the words, and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a very serious expression.

    "We are friends!"

    "Because your grandfather said that you must be sincere towards your friends, that¡¯s why you trust me?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly.

    "No, grandfather said, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan cannot be lost!" Yan Xiu shook his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback. Ever since the first time he met Yan Xiu, he kept hearing Yan Xiu say, grandfather said this, grandfather said that. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impression of Yan Xiu was that he was someone who would obey everything his grandfather said.

    However, this time...

    Seemed to be an exception!

    Furthermore, it was an exception that was made for him!

    "Rx, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan won¡¯t be lost!"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu very seriously, then, turned around and looked at Hua Kangan. "I won¡¯t use Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan to bet with you, but I can tell you that if you don¡¯t bet with me, not only one of you won¡¯t be able to pass the second round, all three of you won¡¯t be able to pass!"

 Chapter 111: Donâ€™t give up your life

    Chapter 111: Don¡¯t give up your life

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was just an armour.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt thatpared to Yan Xiu¡¯s trust, there was simply nopetition. Even though he had full confidence of retaining a person, but he still wouldn¡¯t use the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan to take this risk.

    Anyway, thebat examination didn¡¯t ban examinees from fighting.

    Hence, why not be more direct. Whoever¡¯s fist was the toughest, was the winner!

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed didn¡¯t feel that there was any sort of bullying or other improper conduct. After all, he knew very clearly the reason why Hua Kangan and the rest came to the River of Trust Capital. Since they would have to fight sooner orter, he who struck first had the advantage.

    On the other hand, when Hua Kangan heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he waspletely stunned.

    "If I don¡¯t bet, all three of us wouldn¡¯t pass?!" After a moment a shock, Hua Kanganughed. He had never imagined that somebody would actually dare to say such words in front of his face.

    Regardless of whether it was the Hua family, or the talents in the five capitals of the Northern Desert, he had always been the best among them. It could be said that other than that pride of the Heavens Chi Guyan, he had never been afraid of anybody in the Northern Desert.

    But today...

    What did he just encounter! This was very clearly a robbery!

    The grand number twenty in the Hidden Dragon Roll, a genius of the Star Conglomerate State, being robbed in the capital Law of Dao examinations? Furthermore, robbed by someone who only had the ability of Divine Seal?

    Hua Kanganughed so hard that his body started to tremble. His expression turned even colder.

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, are you trying to rob me?" Hua Kangan almost cramped inughter.

    And at this moment, the examinees who had passed the first round also followed up. However, when they witnessed such a scene in front of them, they were instantly astonished.

    "Heavens, what did I just hear? Fang Zhengzhi seems to be robbing Hua Kangan?!"

    "Is there something wrong? Shouldn¡¯t it be Hua Kangan robbing Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "This Fang Zhengzhi is indeed arrogant and unrestrained. Doesn¡¯t he know who Hua Kangan is? There is a world of difference between the Star Conglomerate State and the Divine Seal State!"

    "Could it be that after winning Cai Yongfeng, he became dizzy with sess?"

    As the examinees heard Hua Kangan¡¯s words, a mocking expression appeared on their faces.

    "Alright, robbery!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Hua Kanganughing so joyfully, and thought thatter on he was about to forcefully remove his clothes, hence decided to be more or less cooperative.

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, if you have the ability to rob me today, not even mentioning the Jade Sea Armour, everything on my body, feel free to take them. I won¡¯t pursue the matter afterwards!" Hua Kangan bent over withughter.

    "I, Zhang Hetong, will also give you anything you want which I have on my body, as long as you are able to rob me!" Zhang Hetong also cooperated,ughing wildly.

    "Brother Hua, Brother Zhang, why bother with him? Fang Zhengzhi all you did was rely on the rockfall matrix to defeat Cai Yongfeng, don¡¯t be dizzy with sess. I¡¯m going to cross this mountain cliff of the second round right now, let me see how you stop me!"

    Tang Yulong heard their words and stood out. When he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his expression was filled with contempt. In reality, he had never looked straight at Fang Zhengzhi before.

    When Zhang Hetong saw Tang Yulong¡¯s actions, he instinctively reached out his hand, but finally withdrew it. He also wanted to see what abilities did Fang Zhengzhi have to retain all of them.

    Hua Kangan also didn¡¯t speak. He indeed nned to surround and kill Fang Zhengzhi in the third round, but since Fang Zhengzhi had sent himself to them, he didn¡¯t mind carrying this out in the second round.

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, and calmly took a step back, forming a path.

    On the other hand, the instant Yan Xiu withdrew, Tang Yulong moved.

    His speed was extremely fast, just like a ck panther, bypassing Fang Zhengzhi with zing speed and ran straight towards the mountain cliff in front.

    The second round of examination was different from the first round.

    If it was said that one could rely on knowledge and understanding of matrixes and formations to pass the first round, then there waspletely no method to use such tactics to pass the second round. What mattered is true power.

    Leaping over the cliff in the world of gravity!

    The level of difficulty could be imagined.

    If one didn¡¯t have an extremely high level of confidence in his control over his body, then this jump...

    Would really be very exciting.

    When the examinees saw that Tang Yulong was about to leap, they instantly became excited. Nobody knew how hard the second round was.

    However, if it was Tang Yulong, there definitely wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    After all, with the ability of a number thirty-five in the Hidden Dragon Roll, passing the capital examination simply wasn¡¯t a problem.

    Hence...

    The examinees looked very carefully, fixating their gazes on Tang Yulong and attempting to memorise all his actions. Because, they all wished to see what method did Tang Yulong employ to jump over the cliff.

    Then, Tang Yulong prepared to leap.

    However, some people appeared in the field of vision of the crowd in a very untimely manner.

    "Young Master Tang, don¡¯t jump! If you jump, you will fall!" Fang Zhengzhi stood behind Tang Yulong and furiously waved his hands, his face filled with sincerity.

    Tang Yulong turned around and nced at Fang Zhengzhi, and revealed a contemptuous expression. How could this tiny cliff bother him, Tang Yulong?

    elerating, Tang Yulong arrived at the side of the cliff. Then, with a deep squat, he leapt up and flew into the air, his posture extremely light and graceful.

    When the examinees saw the posture and height in Tang Yulong¡¯s leap, as well as his calm andposed expression in mid-air, they instantly felt a deep sense of admiration.

    "Indeed, he is a talent, number thirty-five of the Hidden Dragon Roll!"

    "If I am half as good as him, I won¡¯t have to worry about this capital examination anymore..."

    "Indeed too amazing!" A few female examinees who had passed the first round saw Tang Yulong¡¯s light and graceful actions instantly began to squeal.

    And right at this moment, an untimely voice instantly shattered this beautiful scene.

    "Young Master Fang,e back quick!"

    As the examinees were taken aback, they realised that Fang Zhengzhi had followed closely behind Tang Yulong and leapt up, pouncing towards Tang Yulong.

    This moment, the examineespletely lost their senses.

    What was this about?

    Don¡¯t tell me the annual synchronised cliff jumping event was showing? Just as they pondered, the examinees realised that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Tang Yulong¡¯s posture in the air was filled with grace, however, Fang Zhengzhi was like a falling leaf being blown around in the air, waving his hands and legs and gliding through the air.

    "Young Master Tang, I will save you!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he glided. However, very strrangely, even though his actions didn¡¯t seem very beautiful, but yet he didn¡¯t fall down towards the cliff, and instead glided higher and higher.

    A whileter, he surpassed Tang Yulong¡¯s height.

    At this moment, Tang Yulong was focusing his attention on controlling the wind. His feet stepped on a gust of wind, and concentrated a stream of air onto his hands, turning into twin turbines as thin as a cicada¡¯s wings.

    Then, he suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "I will save you".

    Instantly, he got a shock. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was really too close to his.

    "Don¡¯t tell me Fang Zhengzhi had also jumped?!" As Tang Yulong thought, he instinctively turned his head back.

    And realised that there wasn¡¯t anyone behind him. Looks like it was a misperception, how could Fang Zhengzhi jump? Most importantly, he wouldn¡¯t be able toplete the jump!

    However...

    Very mysteriously, not too far away, Hua Kangan seemed to be trying to convey something to him. Furthermore, not only Hua Kangan, even Zhang Hetong and the crowd of examinees were looking at him anxiously.

    "A tiny mountain cliff, why would that require a reminder?" Tang Yulong was somewhat spiteful. He felt that these people were overthinking. With his abilities, not mentioning this mountain cliff, even if it was ten feet wider, it still wouldn¡¯t be a problem!

    Just as he thought, he suddenly felt his head bang onto something.

    Or, it could be said, he was stepped by something?!

    It was very heavy!

    At least, Tang Yulong couldn¡¯t maintain his graceful posture anymore...

    "Ah!" Tang Yulong let out a startled cry, and his body fell vertically towards the bottom of the cliff. Looking back, he met with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, which was filled with innocence.

    "Young Master Tang, I had already said, don¡¯t give up your life..." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands towards Tang Yulong as he said, looking as if he was in tears.

 Chapter 112: How Many Stars

    Chapter 112: How Many Stars

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Tang Yulong didn¡¯t dare to believe it. But no matter how much he didn¡¯t believe, he still fell down.

    ...

    Hua Kangan and Zhang Hetong were also in disbelief, and all of the examinees attempted to digest what had just transpired.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just floated leisurely onto the top of Tang Yulong, then, very unfortunately, stepped onto Tang Yulong¡¯s head.

    Tang Yulong¡¯s cries still echoed about in their minds.

    "This works?"

    Everybody felt that what Fang Zhengzhi did was too strange.

    However, after a temporary shock, a hint of a cold smile appeared on Hua Kangan¡¯s face. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had already leapt to the middle of the mountain cliff.

    Naturally, he couldn¡¯t return.

    Hence, even though Tang Yulong was eliminated, but he still won the bet.

    Just as he thought, a mysterious scene unfolded once again.

    After stepping on Tang Yulong¡¯s head, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue to fly forwards, and instead, very quickly returned back. Every single action seemed exactly the same as when he leapt out.

    It felt as if he had jumped over, then returned back. Everything seemed as if it was yed backwards in slow motion.

    "Dao reversal!" Zhang Hetong was the first to cry out.

    "Star Conglomerate! He... had actually reached Star Conglomerate!" When the examinees witnessed this scene, they also cried out in shock.

    Because, at this moment, what Fang Zhengzhi was using was none other than the Dao Reversal of the Star Conglomerate State.

    When one reaches the Star Conglomerate State, the Dao of All Creations would integrate into one¡¯s pocket dimension, and one could create the creations they mastered anytime they wish.

    Flipping over a hand, the mountain stones vanish. Turning back the hand, the mountain stones return.

    Tang Yulong leapt from the cliff by borrowing the wind from all creations. However, Fang Zhengzhi leapt from the cliff using the wind he generated by himself. This wind originally belonged to his body, hence naturally, he could absorb this wind back into his pocket dimension.

    And when the pocket dimension absorbed back the wind, his body could return back to its original point by following the path of the wind.

    This was the Dao Reversal of the Star Conglomerate State!

    ...

    In a lounge outside the pocket dimension, Han Changfeng, wearing a white official robe, instinctively tightened his fist.

    "Indeed... Star Conglomerate!"

    As to Fang Zhengzhi reaching the Star Conglomerate State, Han Changfeng wasn¡¯t as shocked as others expected. In reality, during the rockfall matrix, Han Changfeng had already predicted this oue.

    But, he just needed further evidence to proof this.

    "No wonder he was able to control the falling rocks in the rockfall matrix. If he really reached the Star Conglomerate State, there are at least ten different methods to achieve such an oue!" An examiner suddenly understood.

    "I never thought that in thisbat examination, there would actually be two talents of the Star Conglomerate State!"

    "I believe there¡¯s still more!" Han Changfeng spoke again, and looked at Yan Xiu within the projection whose face was filled with calm. It was too calm, so calm that it was as if everything was only to be expected.

    "Elder Han feels that Yan Xiu had also reached Star Conglomerate?"

    "The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan is among the Yan Five Treasures, if Yan Xiu isn¡¯t even able to reach Star Conglomerate, how would that person in the Yan family agree to him bringing out the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan?" Elder Han instinctively looked towards the West, his gaze filled with respect.

    "Elder Han is right, three Star Conglomerates... it is really a rare asion!"

    ...

    Within the pocket dimension, for the first time, Hua Kangan¡¯s expression turned extremely ugly. Thinking that a poor vige boy had actually stood on the same line as himself, he felt a sense of shame.

    "Star Conglomerate?! Today, I will destroy you!" Hua Kangan reached out his hand and ced it on his waist. A sword as white as jade was unsheathed from his belt.

    With a light flick, a chill air emanated from the sword.

    The examinees suddenly felt a rising sense of coldness, and instinctively retreated a few steps. It was very evident that Hua Kangan was about to fight with all his might.

    The fight between two Star Conglomerate States?

    It was indeed a rare sight!

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was leisurely, but when he saw that sword on Hua Kangan¡¯s hand, he seemed rather tempted. What a nice belt.

    I heard that the robbery will be a full set, Heavens is really kind towards me...

    "Die!" Hua Kangan moved. His body turned into a white line and shot towards Fang Zhengzhi. If one inspected carefully, that white line was formed by an icy mist.

    Using the spray of icy mist to increase his speed, Hua Kangan evidently didn¡¯t intend to hold back.

    In a sh, he arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    When elites fight, they aimed to kill in one blow.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the rainbow tactics of Hua Kangan, then looked at the sword that stabbed towards his throat, and twitched his mouth. He didn¡¯t like to fight directly, the biggest reason for that was that he didn¡¯t have much experience in closebat.

    After all, he was just a normal person in his past life, and didn¡¯t have much battle experience.

    In this life, even though he had trained, but he still grew up in a vige, hence nobody had taught him any superior battle tactics. Everything had to be discovered by him alone.

    Dragon w?

    It seemed to not feel very suitable...

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather helpless. He was full of power, but his moves weren¡¯t cool enough.

    "First, dodge. Then, punch his face..." As Fang Zhengzhi mumbled, he also moved. Then, he dodged.

    And after that...

    Hua Kangan felt a sharp, burning pain on his face!

    "Boom!" A sound echoed, backed by a strong gust of wind, like the wild wind blowing across fallen leaves.

    Hua Kangan hadn¡¯t even understood what had just happened. All he saw was a figure shing in front of him, then, he flew up and mmed onto the ground.

    "Plop!" He fell backwards onto the ground, facing the sky.

    The pain on his face caused Hua Kangan to feel like crying, but he still decided to ensure for a moment. Just as he prepared to stand up, the sword on his hand was stepped on. Then, his chest was simr stepped on by somebody and rendered immobile.

    "You..." Hua Kangan couldn¡¯t understood. They both reached the Star Conglomerate State, but why didn¡¯t he even have the ability to retaliate in front of Fang Zhengzhi?

    He wasn¡¯t satisfied, he was enraged! He really couldn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi had just done. He seemed to have not done anything, but the problem was that he somehow fell.

    "Don¡¯t struggle, your speed... is too slow!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Hua Kangan, his expression filled with disdain. This direct sh was really meaningless and tactless, hence he decided to bring a quick end to the battle.

    The surrounding examinees, who were preparing to see a great battle, were allpletely stunned. Didn¡¯t this end a little too fast?

    Looking at Hua Kangan who was pinned onto the ground by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet, none of them were able to regain their senses. What had just happened?

    Speed?! A glimmer of shock appeared on Hua Kangan¡¯s face at this moment. He tried hard to recall the scene that just transpired. All along, he believed that his speed was very fast. But,pared to that ghostly speed that Fang Zhengzhi had just demonstrated...

    He felt as powerless as a walking baby.

    Was this all based on speed?!

    Hua Kangan suddenly felt somewhat bitter. Ever since young, he was the only who bullied others. But now, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have not even bothered using any moves, and instead, used speed alone to bring him to the ground.

    This feeling of being bullied really felt too bitter.

    "I lost! But, I don¡¯t wish to be like Cai Yongfeng, not even knowing how I lost! I only wish to ask you one question, what... is your enlightenment state?" Hua Kangan really didn¡¯t wish to believe that a person could be as fast as tis. Hence, he had to grit his teeth and ask the question he was most unwilling to ask.

    "I don¡¯t know either." Fang Zhengzhi spoke the truth. Nobody had ever spoken about enlightenment states with him, hence, he really didn¡¯t know.

    "You don¡¯t know?! Alright... let me put it this way. In my pocket dimension, I have already gathered three stars. I essed Dao through water, hence, I mastered the water star, mist star, ice star - these three forms! How... many stars do you have?"

    "How many stars?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled the countless number of glowing fruits on the tree in his pocket dimension, and thought, this should be the star that Hua Kangan is referring to?

    "I haven¡¯t really counted it specifically, but it should be around one or two hundred!"

    "Around one or two hundred!" Hua Kangan¡¯s expression instantly froze. His two eyes turned round, and stared fixedly at Fang Zhengzhi. He really wanted to say.

    You must be lying?!

    ...

 Chapter 113: Entering the Finals

    Chapter 113: Entering the Finals

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Hua Kangan didn¡¯t speak further, and directly removed the Jade Sea Armour from his body, acknowledging the bet and admitting defeat. He had said these words in front of so many people, even if he knelt down, he still had to swallow these words.

    "Wait!" Fang Zhengzhi halted Hua Kangan, who was preparing to leave.

    "I am inferior, I had lost today. All I wish to do now is pass the Law of Dao examination, then, return to practice in seclusion! If you feel that it is improper, I... will jump off the cliff!" Hua Kangan felt somewhat aggrieved.

    Based on his powers, no matter where he took the examination, he would attain roll champion. However, now, he had specially rushed to the River of Trust Capital to find trouble with Fang Zhengzhi. In the end, not even mentioning attaining roll champion, even his clothes were robbed...

    "You are mistaken, that¡¯s not what I meant. You can do what you want in the Law of Dao examination, but I... feel that your sword looks not too bad." Fang Zhengzhi spoke in an embarrassed manner.

    "..." Hua Kangan looked at the white jade sword on his hand, and sighed miserably. A single slip really caused evesting sorrow. Now, even his weapon was gone.

    ...

    After the sword was passed into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Zhang Hetong.

    Zhang Hetong instantly felt a sense of chill shooting up from his feet to his head, and beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead. He instinctively tightened his grip on the book in his hands.

    "This book... is my father¡¯s lifetime of political experience, I... I..." As Zhang Hetong spoke, he started to move backwards.

    "Lifetime of political experience? Are there illustrations too?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t believe it. Reaching out his hand, he snatched over the book from Zhang Hetong¡¯s hand.

    Instantly, his eyes froze.

    This thing was...

    "It is indeed a political book, I just happened to intend to learn some. I¡¯ll help you take care of it for now!" Fang Zhengzhi generously kept the book into his pocket.

    Zhang Hetong looked at Fang Zhengzhi stuffing the book into his pocket, and his face instantly changed. He seemed extremely gloomy, his expression was in even more pain than having his flesh cut.

    "Young Master Fang... This is... the only copy! Don¡¯t destroy it!" Zhang Hetong discreetly wiped his tears, even his eyes appeared reddened.

    "Don¡¯t worry, we are all schrs, who would do something like destroying books!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand towards Zhang Hetong, yet sighed inwardly. Indeed, hard work really pays off. Having been in this world for so many years, as a person whose mental age was much bigger than his actual age, today is really a present surprise.

    ...

    After all was well, Fang Zhengzhi returned to Yan Xiu¡¯s side once again. Yan Xiu, on the other hand, had already been waiting beside the mountain cliff. Afterwards, the two travelled side by side. Leaping out, the easily arrived at the opposite cliff.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi turned back his head, and waved his hand towards the stunned examinees, telling them, you can start to jump now.

    This scene not only shocked the examinees, even the examiners in the lounge outside the pocket dimension werepletely stunned.

    "Defeating Hua Kangan, who was also at Star Conglomerate, in one move?!"

    "Have you all ever thought that... what if, he isn¡¯t Star Conglomerate, is that possible?"

    "This... this is too terrifying! He¡¯s only fifteen, if he really isn¡¯t Star Conglomerate, when this news spreads, I¡¯m afraid that the entire Great Xia Dynasty will be tremored?"

    The examiners nced at one another with an expression of horror. Because, they didn¡¯t dare to think in that direction. After all, in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, the people under the age of fifteen who had reached the "Heavenly Reflection State"...

    There was... only one!

    "Impossible, there can only be one Double Dragon Roll Champion! One Chi Guyan is already enough, how is it possible that there would be a person so monstrous?!" When Han Changfeng said this, a trace of anxiety appeared on his face for the first time.

    He knew too clearly the state of the imperial affairs. On the surface, it looked calm and tranquil, but in reality, the undercurrent was strong and powerful. Once a second person who might be able topete for the Double Dragon Roll Champion appeared, the entire bnce would be broken.

    Chi Guyan was very smart, she knew to seclude herself in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, away from everything. Most important, Chi Guyan had already been favourited by the current emperor, and was also the daughter of the Divine Constabry. With such a status, nobody used to use any "special" tactics on her.

    But if there was another person...

    Who dared to confirm that he would be as smart as Chi Guyan.

    Will the current emperor admit that he was wrong? King Duan had received the support of the Divine Constabry, how would he allow a second Double Dragon Roll Champion to appear? The crown prince controlled the Eastern Pce, would he turn a blind eye towards a second Double Dragon Roll Champion?

    Furthermore, the demon race had been hiding in the dark, how could they not act?

    One move, moved the entire board. One wrong move, and the entire board would be in chaos!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should be able to progressfortably after this, and in reality, he indeed progressed veryfortably. Because, there were already no more blind examinees who attempted to challenge him.

    After all, even Hua Kangan of the Star Conglomerate had fallen...

    When the examinees looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, they instinctively retreated a few steps, and maintained a minimum distance. Furthermore, they even consciously concealed the weapons and objects on their bodies well.

    Only Heaven knows whether Fang Zhengzhi would suddenly get into the mood for another robbery...

    The third round passed, the fourth round was also smooth.

    All the way until the semi-finals did a youth wearing a white armour, with some scars on his body walked timidly towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Young... Young Master Fang, please... please show mercy..." The youth instinctively retreated two steps as he spoke, and was deep in panic.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly at the youth, and slowly, a step at a time, advanced towards the youth.

    On the other hand, the youth retreated continuously, but, his pace of retreat was slightly slower than that of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s advance. This way, between the retreats and advances, the distance slowly closed.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked very rxed, as if he had reached into a cage and caught a Fire Plume Chicken.

    The youth was extremely anxious, so anxious that sweat dripped continuously from his forehead. Even his arms were trembling.

    Finally, the distance between the two closed in until they were a meter away. And at this time, the panicked expression in the youth¡¯s eyes disappeared, and what reced it was calm.

    "Woosh!" The youth moved. His sword tactics were powerful and strong,bined with the close distance, and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s underestimation of his opponent. Hence, the youth was a hundred percent confident.

    Just as the youth believed that his plot had seeded.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly bent down, and casually tightened thece on his shoe.

    "Sorry, my shoce came loose!" Fang Zhengzhi exined without even raising his head.

    On the other hand, the youth was stood rooted to the ground. His sword had stabbed out, very directly, and in a very stable manner, on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, bringing along with it a gust of strong wind.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally raised his head, and looked at the youth with an expression filled with confusion.

    "You want to sneak an attack on me?"

    "Ah!" The youth was enraged. After a loophole had appeared in his n, he didn¡¯t have the need to conceal any further. Dropping his sword down, he shed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Unfortunately...

    He still flew, turning into a butterfly, and spun a few rounds in mid-air.

    Then,nding on the ground.

    "You... saw through it?!" The youth was somewhat in disbelief. He felt that his acting was proficient.

    "To be able to reach such a stage in thebat examination, how could one be as weak as that? Even if one clearly knew that there wasn¡¯t a chance, he will still give his best, am I right? Furthermore... you defeated Hua Kangan! In order to give you thisst opportunity, he had also given enough, ha ha..." Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly.

    "..." The youth sighed softly, and his eyes darkened. Finally, he crawled up from the ground, and cupped his fist towards Fang Zhengzhi. "I lost, congrattions, Young Master Fang. You have entered the finals!"

    ...

    The time Fang Zhengzhi took to deal with this youth didn¡¯t even amount to fifteen minutes. On the other hand, Yan Xiu¡¯s side seemed to be even faster. Because, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even give his opponent the opportunity to open his mouth.

    "Then, there¡¯s only me and you left?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu who was standing not too far away.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded. A serious expression appeared on his face for the first time.

 Chapter 114: Torrential Pearblossom

    Chapter 114: Torrential Pearblossom

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi also wiped the smile off his face. He had thought of countless methods to convince Yan Xiu, for example, recite The Quatrain of Seven Steps to demonstrate that there had to be conflicts between brothers.

    Even though his surname wasn¡¯t Yan.

    Furthermore, he had even thought of sitting together and chatting, then, shaking hands and making it a draw, so both of them will be the roll champion together.

    However, as he thought, he always had a feeling.

    Disrespect!

    No matter whether it was him who admitted defeat, or Yan Xiu who admitted defeat, that was a show of disrespect. Furthermore, from Yan Xiu¡¯s serious expression, it could be inferred that Yan Xiu really wanted to have a proper match with him.

    "Let¡¯s battle!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the stone door that had appeared.

    "Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded again.

    The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder, each entering their respective stone doors.

    The scene changed. What appeared in front of the two was a humongous arena,pletely built using white jade. Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu took up the left and right side of the arena respectively.

    And around the arena, numerous examinees sat on stone chairs.

    They were all talents and schrs who had undoubtedly passed the capital examination. Hua Kangan, Zhang Hetong and the rest were also among them.

    And on the top of the arena, there was a row of judges. Han Changfeng, wearing a white official robe, sat at the main seat, while beside him sat Imperial Messenger Qin and a few other examiners.

    When Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu appeared, the examinees instantly let out a wave of cheering.

    Because, this was thest battle, and this battle decided who would be the roll champion of thisbat examination.

    "Do you need to rest?" Han Changfeng stood up and asked.

    "No need!"

    Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have spoken at the same time.

    "Alright, then let¡¯s start!" When Han Changfeng finished speaking, he sat down.

    The gentle wind blew, bringing along a wave of chilliness. The examinees below the arena held their breaths at this moment, waiting in anticipation for thisst grand battle.

    Whether Yan Xiu from Western Liang Yan family, leaving home at sixteen, was stronger, or Fang Zhengzhi, whose abilities were secretive and mysterious, was stronger?

    This was a question not only the examinees were concerned about, even all of the examiners were also simrly concerned. Because, nobody could conclude what stage the two people in front of them had reached.

    Yan Xiu, wearing his armour, lightly fanned his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi wore the Jade Sea Armour, with a white sword at his belt. Even though both of these were robbed from Hua Kangan¡¯s hands, now, both of their surnames were Fang.

    Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi never had the habit of paying respect to others during battles, but this time, both of them, very tacitly, paid respect to one another.

    Then, both of them spoke the word "please" at the same time.

    Then, Yan Xiu moved. He waved the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. Instantly, a stream of crystal-like water beads appeared on the fan.

    "The Dao of All Creation originates from shape! Elder Han has foresight, Yan Xiu indeed has reached the Star Conglomerate State!" The examiners eximed in admiration when they saw this scene.

    Yan Xiu left home at sixteen, and this represented that he had only reached the age of sixteen this year. Reaching Star Conglomerate at sixteen, in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there probably were only twenty or thirty people who achieved this.

    The surrounding examinees were simrly excited. Even though they had already guessed that Yan Xiu would definitely have reached Star Conglomerate, but the feeling of guessing and actually seeing it for themselves werepletely different.

    "This sword technique of mine is called "Torrential Pear Blossom". It consists of water, ice and flower, these three forms of the Dao of All Creations!" Yan Xiu gazed at the beads of water on his fan and exined to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Torrential Pearblossom? Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat confused. In reality, he didn¡¯t understand what this Torrential Pearblossom Yan Xiu spoke about meant, but it probably was a technique that could integrate the Dao of All Creations.

    There was another point which he didn¡¯t quite understand, why was this a sword technique?

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind Yan Xiu¡¯s words, but there was one point he understood. Yan Xiu¡¯s sword technique consisted of water, ice and flower, these three forms of the Dao of All Creations.

    Then, he felt that he should first exin what technique he was about to use, just like Yan Xiu.

    Unfortunately...

    He didn¡¯t know how.

    "Then, let¡¯s start!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head in acknowledgement.

    A glimmer of shock appeared on Yan Xiu¡¯s face at this moment. He felt that Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t conceal his sword techniques, but Fang Zhengzhi really didn¡¯t reveal it.

    This was somewhat shocked, but he quickly understood.

    Because, he thought of many ns that hid themselves from the world didn¡¯t wish to reveal their techniques to the world.

    Was Fang Zhengzhi one of them? He didn¡¯t know! But since he thought it was so, then it was so.

    Hence, Yan Xiu moved. Rolling up the fan, the beads of water flew up into the sky like a dragon rising from the sea, and a momentter, formed many snow-white pear blossoms.

    Each flower was formed solely by white ice and snow, but, on the petals, a sense of chill emanated. One didn¡¯t have to touch it to feel the sharpness within.

    Fang Zhengzhi had more or less understood why Yan Xiu would call this Torrential Pear Blossom a sword technique.

    Because...

    It was really very sharp!

    "Zoom zoom zoom..."

    The pear blossoms in the sky instantly exploded apart, and hundreds of petalsnded towards Fang Zhengzhi like a rain of swords.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively wanted to find somewhere to hide, but the area that the petals covered was too vast. At the very least, there was not a single ce to hide in this entire arena.

    "Why must his first move be already so extreme?!" Fang Zhengzhi sensed the coldness and sharpness of the petals, and wasn¡¯t quite able to adapt to this.

    After all, if one really discussed about this, his battles with those of Star Conglomerate States were too little. His previous match with Hua Kangan mostly depended on speed, and this was the first time he had seen such a huge area attack technique like this.

    What to do?

    As the saying goes, the most dangerous ce is always the safest ce.

    For example, these petals shouldn¡¯t attack Yan Xiu himself, right?

    That was how Fang Zhengzhi thought, hence, he moved. Before the petalsnded on the ground, he had already charged towards Yan Xiu, his speed ghostlike.

    One fist...

    Not aimed at the first.

    Instead, punched out towards Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

    Yan Xiu seemed to have expected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method of offence. When Fang Zhengzhi charged towards him, he had already begun to retreat. Every step back was as if he was stepping on a piece of ice.

    A step, a slip. Even though his speed couldn¡¯tpare to Fang Zhengzhi, but, the difference wasn¡¯t big.

    Furthermore, even more unique, was whenever Yan Xiu¡¯s feetnded, or his body turned, there was always the sensation of a gust of wind blowing onto his body, elusive and unpredictable.

    "Speed didn¡¯t give me an upper hand?!" This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi faced such a situation. His fist actually didn¡¯t hit?

    Just as he was filled with shock inside, an even more tragic incident urred. Because, as Yan Xiu moved, the petals flying down from the sky seemed to have changed their area of attack.

    At this moment, they had already reached the top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, and an air of chilliness suddenly pressed down on him.

 Chapter 115: Classical Quotations

    Chapter 115: ssical Quotations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It couldn¡¯t be dodged.

    Hence, he could only use brute force. Lowering his body, he drew the white jade sword which turned into a sword barrier, blocking off the petals from his body with each sword.

    However, even so, there were still quite a few petalsnding on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    A blue glow shed on the Jade Sea Armour, as if a curtain of water was covered onto it, struggling to resist the attack of the petals.

    "My... Jade Sea Armour!" When Hua Kangan saw this scene, he instantly felt a strong heartache.

    "Brother Hua, still can¡¯t move on from the past..." Sitting beside him, Zhang Hetong heard Hua Kangan¡¯s words and lightly shook his head.

    On the judging panel.

    Han Changfeng and the examinees saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attempt at resistance that was filled with loopholes and frowned. They nced at once another, unable to understand.

    "Why isn¡¯t he attacking?"

    "Seems as if, he doesn¡¯t know how..."

    "Don¡¯t tell me we overestimated him?"

    "Born in the vige and never having entered a Hall of Dao, looks like... the result of this battle has already been determined!" An examiner looked at the two people on the arena and said confidently.

    In reality, the examiners couldn¡¯t be med for their view of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even though there was the protection of the Jade Sea Armour, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s situation still seemed difficult. At this moment, even he had felt his greatest weakness.

    Fang Zhengzhi dodged and retreated continuously, but there were really too many petals, and he simply couldn¡¯t avoid them all.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to sigh gloomily. Currently, it was as if he was guarding huge treasures, but, how were these treasures supposed to be used? Hepletely didn¡¯t know.

    He had discovered everything by himself.

    Such a situation might not be obvious when fighting with a weaker opponent, however, if the opponent¡¯s abilities were simr to that of his, the weakness became very obvious.

    Alright...

    I need to remain calm!

    What should I do if I can¡¯t use the treasures? What should I do? What should I do...

    Fang Zhengzhi tried hard to recall the famous quotes from his past lives, he had even uncovered all the ssic quotations his teachers had taught him. This caused his thoughts to go from his university to his high school, then to secondary school, and finally to his primary school. Furthermore, his thoughts even ran from primary six all the way till primary three...

    Wait a minute!

    Primary three!

    Wasn¡¯t that the stage when he was learning to writepositions? His current situation seemed to be a stage of discovery and learning. He didn¡¯t know about writing styles, he didn¡¯t know how to write introductions, how to write conclusions, what vocabry to use, what adjectives, verbs, nouns, hepletely didn¡¯t understand...

    The famous quote from his primary three essay teacher was: If you don¡¯t know how to write, then copy!

    Copy!

    Cough cough... the original quote was taking reference! He had to take reference! Teachers are all noble, I love all of you!

    That¡¯s right, Yan Xiu seemed to have exined the sword technique of his Torrential Pear Blossom, it consisted of water, ice and pear blossoms, these three Dao of All Creations.

    Water and ice, I have already mastered them.

    But pear blossoms... I seem to not have mastered this!

    What to do if I don¡¯t have pear blossoms?

    Never mind, I have tree peonies, Chinese roses and roses...

    Roses, roses with thorns!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up and felt as if he had suddenly been enlightened, as if the foggy road ahead had been cleared up, and his thinking had suddenly came into focus.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    Even his actions mimicked that of Yan Xiu. Waving the white jade sword on his hand, a stream of crystal water beads appeared on the body of the white jade sword.

    Then, swinging the white jade sword, the crystal water beads flew towards the sky, and a momentter, transformed into crystal, transparent roses in the sky, small thorns appearing on the stalks of the roses.

    Under the re of the sunlight, it glowed with an icy glint.

    "Come on, Torrential Roses!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed, and the thorns suddenly changed directions, colliding fiercely with the petals in the air, and some thorns even shot towards Yan Xiu.

    This sudden change in situation instantly caused everybody to feel somewhat bewildered.

    "He attacked?!"

    "Torrential roses... is this a coincidence?"

    "Why do I feel that something isn¡¯t quite right."

    The spectating examinees saw the technique that was almostpletely simr to Yan Xiu¡¯s, and felt somewhat confused.

    On the other hand, at the judging panel, Han Changfeng frowned.

    "Torrential Roses?" Yan Xiu¡¯s expression at this moment also had the slightest bit of change. Gazing at the Torrential Roses that collide with his Torrential Pear Blossoms in the air, then gazing at the thorns that flew towards him.

    He had a very mysterious feeling, as if something had been stolen.

    However, the thorns had already neared him, and Yan Xiu still made a move to dodge. It was different from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brute method of defence, instead, Yan Xiu¡¯s body instantly became blur.

    Just like he was blown unsteadily by the wind. However, his expression was very calm, furthermore, every step seemed as if it was stepping on the surface of ice, with a slight glide.

    Very quickly, he bypassed the thorns that shot towards him.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. What was that technique? His thorns were clearly so densely packed, he was actually able to pass through it?

    As he thought, he also began to observe Yan Xiu¡¯s leg movements.

    However, as he observed, he suffered the attack of a few pieces of petals on his body. It was quite painful, but there was no life-threatening danger.

    I¡¯ll bear it for a while.

    Fang Zhengzhi started to mimic Yan Xiu¡¯s technique.

    Then, he fell down...

    "Plop!" He fell onto the ground.

    A battle between two people, and one of them fell?! This was definitely a huge opportunity, how would Yan Xiu give it up? Moving his body, the pear blossoms in the air instantly merged together as if they weremanded, and turned into five huge petals.

    "Torrential Five sh!" Yan Xiu bellowed in his heart. He naturally didn¡¯t intend to hold back against Fang Zhengzhi, even though they were friends, during a battle, he had to give his all.

    As Yan Xiu moved, beads of crystal water began to drip from above the stage, turning into a real torrential rain.

    And within the torrential rain, the five flower petals turned into a stream of white line, and shed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt very vividly that when the torrential rainnded on his body, a strong binding force also acted upon his body, as if he was stuck in mud.

    On the other hand, the five flower petals pressed forward with indomitable vigour.

    "This is wanting me to die when I¡¯m sick!" Fang Zhengzhi had indeed fallen down just now, that was because when he was learning Yan Xiu¡¯s technique, the wind he controlled was a little too strong.

    As a result, he blew himself down. However, in his mind, he constantly thought of Yan Xiu¡¯s technique.

    Hence, at this critical moment, he wanted to dodge...

    His footsteps, as usual, mimicked the path of Yan Xiu¡¯s footsteps and dodged.

    "Boom!"

    The five flower petals mmed onto the arena, and deep cracks appeared at the same time.

    And not too far away, Fang Zhengzhi was drifting unsteadily, as if he was stepping on a piece of ice. Even though his actions weren¡¯t very morous, but...

    He still managed to dodge Yan Xiu¡¯s attack.

    "Wind Shadow Technique! Why... why do you know my Yan family¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique?!" At this moment, Yan Xiu was finally, truly shocked. If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Torrential Roses just now was really a coincidence, then this Wind Shadow Technique definitely couldn¡¯t be a coincidence.

 Chapter 116: Monstrous

    Chapter 116: Monstrous

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique looked extremely out of practice, and could even be considered nondescript and neither fish nor fowl, but, Yan Xiu could confirm that this was indeed the Wind Shadow Technique.

    How is this possible?

    The Wind Shadow Technique had all along been a secret technique of the Yan Xiu, and had never flowed out of the family.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t wish to believe it, the surrounding examinees and Han Changfeng and the rest at the judging panel also didn¡¯t dare to believe. What had they just seen?

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have made the exact same movements as Yan Xiu?!

    "Wind Shadow Technique?" Fang Zhengzhi made a mental note, then recalled the sensation he felt a moment ago.

    A huge picture suddenly appeared in his mind. That was an illustration made up of nine squares, it was the Nine Pce Technique in The Art of Bing Invisible.

    Previously, he had to mimic Yan Xiu¡¯s footsteps in order to execute this technique.

    But when he really began to execute it, that was when he knew what mysteryy behind this technique.

    It had actuallyprised of the Nine Pce positions. Without dozens of years of research, one simply wouldn¡¯t be able to understand it. However, to Fang Zhengzhi, the positions of the Nine Pce wasn¡¯t too difficult, because, it had already been clearly exined in the future world.

    It had even been utilised in mathematics, bing the three by three magic square used in magic tricks.

    But, what was difficult was that he really wasn¡¯t used to this technique.

    Furthermore...

    Even though he had understood the deep meaning behind the Wind Shadow Technique, but understanding was just understanding. What he grasped now was only the surface, if he wanted to perfectly imitate this technique, he wasn¡¯t able to achieve that for now.

    But even so, Fang Zhengzhi was delighted.

    "From now on, I am also someone who knows body techniques!" Fang Zhengzhi was delighted, and subconsciously began to smile.

    "Why do you know my Yan family¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique?" Yan Xiu saw that Fang Zhengzhi was smiling, and had to ask again.

    "Oh, this..." Fang Zhengzhi regained his senses, and looked at Yan Xiu. He thought about whether he should fabricate a reason, for example, my technique is called Ghost Shadow Technique, or Secret Technique.

    But when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back. He really couldn¡¯t plot anything against Yan Xiu.

    "If I said that I copied it after watching your technique... will you believe?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu very seriously.

    "He copied it?!"

    "How is this possible? Who would be able to copy a technique during a battle?"

    "Furthermore, it is the Yan family¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique. There is simply no possibility!"

    Once Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wordsnded, Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t even had the chance to reply before a wave of shocked voices exploded from around the arena. Nobody believed what he had just said.

    "I... believe!" Unexpectedly, Yan Xiu nodded.

    Then, the surrounding examinees instantly turned speechless. Somebody even believed this?

    "You really believe?" In reality, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really believe it himself.

    "Yes, I don¡¯t believe in such things, but I believe the words you say! However, can you tell me, how did you perform it?" Yan Xiu asked calmly.

    "Your technique consists of wind, ice and the Nine Pce Technique in the Dao of All Creations, hence, I copied it out based on the Nine Pce Technique. However, I couldn¡¯t copy too much..." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "I see! Then, look carefully!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    Then, he moved again. His body became blurred, and continuously stepped around on the arena, turning into a blur shadow.

    It was too quick, and further adding the help of the ice, it quickly caused people¡¯s vision to blur.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi watched very carefully. His eyes were tightly fixated on Yan Xiu¡¯s steps, not even leaving it for a second. He didn¡¯t understand why Yan Xiu did this, but he knew that Yan Xiu was teaching him.

    The shadow disappeared, and Yan Xiu returned to his original position once again.

    "Have you seen clearly?" Yan Xiu asked again.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and recalled the technique Yan Xiu had just demonstrated. Then, he linked it to the Nine Pce technique and pondered how to re-enact it. Gradually, his eyes became brighter and brighter.

    "I can perform around half of it!" Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

    "Half?!"

    "He only watched once, yet he¡¯s able to perform half of it?"

    "Is he lying? He really thinks he is some unprecedented genius? Ha ha ha..."

    When the surrounding examinees heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply, thenughed coldly once again. Because, even they hadn¡¯t been able toprehend what they had just seen, not even mentioning having to perform it.

    However...

    When Han Changfeng, who was sitting at the judging table, heard this, he frowned even deeper. Only watching it once? He really can perform half of it? Suddenly, a sentence mysteriously appeared in his mind.

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    Shock the world?!

    No... this wasn¡¯t possible, such things were simply impossible. The Yan family¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique is profound and mysterious and contains deep meaning, without several years of learning and understanding, it was definitely impossible to master!

    As Han Changfeng thought, Yan Xiu spoke again.

    "Try it?¡¯

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    His body instantly turned into a shadow. At the start, his upper body was still rather unstable, but after Fang Zhengzhi walked one round, it slowly began to stabilise.

    Then, his body became blur.

    "He... really managed to learn it?!"

    "He only watched once? And managed to learn it?!"

    "Can he not be like this... it is very demoralising!"

    The surrounding examinees at this moment werepletely shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions on the arena. They weren¡¯t even able to think, why did this fight between the two suddenly became an exchange of techniques.

    Because, in their hearts, they didn¡¯t dare to believe that this scene, was real!

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions with shock in his eyes. But, after the shock, it mysteriously turned into happiness. Because, he could confirm that Fang Zhengzhi really didn¡¯t lie to him.

    "Copying out the Wind Shadow Technique? Then... that Torrential Roses just now shouldn¡¯t be a coincidence?" When Yan Xiu thought of this, he instinctively gripped his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth fan tighter.

    His expression seemed somewhat hesitant.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?! This..." Han Changfeng¡¯s expression had alreadypletely changed at this moment. Because, regardless of whether this youth in front of him had reached the Heavenly Reflection State, just to be able to understand more than half of the essence of the Wind Shadow Technique after watching it once was already too monstrous.

    Two years...

    There were still two years to the time mentioned by the sacred message.

    Then, two yearster, what stage would he grow into?!

    Han Changfeng didn¡¯t dare to imagine. These few years, he had always been the chief examiner of the imperial examination, and had examined countless schrs and talents in the world. However, this time, he was really shocked.

    What should he do?

    Han Changfeng struggled intensely in his heart.

    "Elder Han! I heard that the Divine Constabry has a special prize for this capital examination, do you think that I should announceter, or will you announce personally?"

    At this moment, Imperial Messenger Qin, who was sitting beside Han Changfeng, spoke.

    Han Chengfeng¡¯s body tremored slightly, then his expression instantly reverted to its original calm state. But, on his forehead, beads of sweat had appeared.

    "Yumei¡¯s thoughts are detailed, this is indeed the blessing of the imperial government. Since this is the case,ter, Yumei can announce it!" Han Changfeng turned his head and smiled gently towards Imperial Messenger Qin.

    "Roger!" Imperial Messenger Qin Yumei instantly nodded.

 Chapter 117: Sufficiently Cowardly

    Chapter 117: Sufficiently Cowardly

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    On the stage, streaks of shadows shed.

    A momentter, the shadow vanished. Fang Zhengzhi stopped, and looked silently at Yan Xiu with an anticipating look, just like that of a good student.

    "At least mastered sixty percent!" Yan Xiu spoke.

    "Thank you!" Fang Zhengzhi sincerely bowed towards Yan Xiu.

    "I didn¡¯t teach you anything."

    "Yes, I understand."

    "Then let¡¯s continue?"

    "Alright."

    Hence, the two people met each other¡¯s eyes once again. The atmosphere on the arena returned back to its initial state, as if whatever that had happened previously didn¡¯t happen.

    "The sword technique I will be using next is different from what I previously used, it will be harder to learn." Yan Xiu spoke again.

    "Looks like this sword technique is very powerful." Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    "It¡¯s very powerful, but, I don¡¯t like it." Yan Xiu continued to speak.

    "Don¡¯t like it?" Fang Zhengzhi more or less understood Yan Xiu¡¯s meaning. He didn¡¯t like it, yet he still mastered it. Hence, this sword technique should bepulsory for people of the Yan family to learn.

    "This sword technique is shaped by the sun, containing Fire, Light and Wind, these three forms of Dao, and it also contains the killing intent of the Dao of Asura!" When Yan Xiu finished speaking, he moved.

    He waved the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand, and following Yan Xiu¡¯s actions, the air on the arena suddenly heated up, In the air, a red spot of light appeared out of thin air. The spot grew bigger and bigger, and grew brighter and brighter.

    Just like a red sun.

    "Sun in the Sky!" Yan Xiu bellowed. The expression on his face suddenly turned violent, and a faintly discernible red glow shed across his eyes.

    All along, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Yan Xiu was a person who was cold as ice, however, this sword technique caused him to be affected by violence. Looks like this should be the reason he doesn¡¯t like this sword technique.

    Is this the killing intent of the Asura Dao?

    Alright...

    It was really a little hot!

    If Yan Xiu¡¯s previous Torrential Pear Blossom was filled with coldness, then this sun undoubtedly caused people to feel as hot as if they had entered a desert.

    "Could this be the legendary Heaven¡¯s Fire and Ice?"

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought of this, Yan Xiu suddenly leapt up.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill?"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was carefully observing Yan Xiu¡¯s movements, a dazzling red light appeared at the edges of Yan Xiu¡¯s fan.

    Then, the red light streaked across the air in a beautiful arc.

    Bing bigger and bigger.

    In a sh, a powerful killing intent emanated from Yan Xiu¡¯s body, then, the red light broke away from Yan Xiu¡¯s fan and turned into a fiery half-moon that shed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Uh..." Fang Zhengzhi instantly gave up attempting to continue observing. Because, life was the greater priority.

    Luckily, he had learnt the Wind Shadow Technique just in time.

    His body dodged, and his legs were like wind.

    "Boom!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi dodged, a deafening sound exploded on the arena.

    Debris flew.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced over his shoulder, and the expression in his eyes turned into shock. He had finally understood how powerful the "very powerful" Yan Xiu referred to was.

    The scene evidently seemed somewhat extreme.

    On the arena, originating from Yan Xiu¡¯s arm, a deep sword mark cut the arena into two, and on the white jade-like stones, a ck, charred mark appeared

    This terrifying power instantly gave the surrounding examinees a huge shock.

    "Is this... really the level of a capital examination?"

    "I believe it would even be a rare sight in the imperial examination?"

    "Yan family people... indeed live up to their name!"

    As the examinees discussed in shock, Han Changfeng, who was at the judging table, had mixed emotions for some reason. The Yan family¡¯s "Asura Sword" originated from the battlefield, and contained the killing intent of Asura. Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t be able to learn it?

    Just as Han Changfeng expected.

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed couldn¡¯t learn Yan Xiu¡¯s Asura Sword.

    But, there was no problem...

    He could make changes!

    You use the sun, then I will use the moon. You use fire, then I will use ice. Even though the sun had a brightness that cannot be matched, but the moon can borrow the light of the sun.

    This was the Dao of the inter-promoting rtion between Yin and Yang.

    I cannot use Asura, but, I can borrow your Asura!

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi moved. Waving the white jade sword in his hand, a beautifully white moon appeared in the sky under the red sun, borrowing the light of the red sun to radiate its own light.

    "Kill!"

    Unlike Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack was bright and white, and didn¡¯t contain any violent intent, except for an iparable sense of calm and coldness.

    "Kill!"

    On the arena, a deep sword mark appeared again. However, this time, it was covered by ayer of ice.

    Han Changfeng instantly felt sick, and leapt up from his seat. Looking at the sword mark that emanated an air of chilliness, he simply couldn¡¯t conceal the shocked expression on his face.

    They surrounding schrs stared with their eyes wide. This was possible? How much enlightenment did this require, and what level of mastery of all creations did he have?

    To be able to learn any technique so quickly, and most importantly, expanding and inferring new things for those that he learnt!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother about the reactions of the people around him...

    Instead, he nced towards Yan Xiu.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu was inwardly shocked. Even though, when he mentioned the Dao of All Creation that the Asura Sword contained, he thought that Fang Zhengzhi might be able to learn it.

    But...

    Thinking was thinking. Having really been learnt by Fang Zhengzhi, he indeed felt somewhat overwhelmed.

    In order to understand the intent of Asura, Yan Xiu had put in a lot of hard work.

    "You borrowed my light? How about the killing intent of Asura?" Yan Xiu looked at the sword mark on the arena, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi, and tightened the grip on his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "Light can be borrowed, but the killing intent of Asura cannot... however, the personality of Asura is kind-heartened, and is also one among the Dao of kindness. However, due to him usually having hatred and fighting persistently, the world had misjudged him as not being part of the good. I understand this; Hence, I can use another method to bring out the killing intent of Asura!"

    "Another method?" Yan Xiu was somewhat confused.

    "Yes, in order to use the killing intent, one¡¯s heart must containing killing, simrly, one¡¯s heart must contain peace." When Fang Zhengzhi said these, he seemed rather enigmatic.

    "Peace?" Yan Xiu didn¡¯t quite understand.

    "Yes... this is a more graceful way of saying. Actually, it is about magnifying the fear in one¡¯s heart. Or more frankly, I am sufficiently cowardly, hence this kind of cowardly attitude can also be a protective killing intent!" Fang Zhengzhi exined very generously. Luckily, his skin was sufficiently thick. An ordinary person would never admit that he was cowardly.

    Furthermore, cowardly to such an extent.

    "Cowardly attitude?" Yan Xiu was slightly taken aback, then, seemed to have understood something. "Thank you for teaching me this!"

    "Ha ha, you don¡¯t have to thank me. I believe you won¡¯t be able to learn this, because, not everybody is as cowardly as me." Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently.

    When both of them interacted with one another, the surrounding examinees, as well as Han Changfeng and the examiners at the judging table, were already so shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speech that they werepletely unable to speak.

    Seems like...

    Being cowardly can also be a form of killing intent?!

 Chapter 118: Mountain River Illustration

    Chapter 118: Mountain River Illustration

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though at a nce this speech seemed absurd, however after careful analysis, this speech contained wisdom.

    For example, when a person is filled with extreme happiness, his strength may berger. However, times of in extreme grief, his strength will be evenrger.

    Protecting others...

    That was a form of protection based on love, family and friendship. All along, it was respected as being selfless! But protecting oneself? It seemed somewhat shameless, but as Fang Zhengzhi imed, under situations with an extreme fear of death...

    The potential of man can simr be invoked.

    ...

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak further, because, Fang Zhengzhi had given him too much shock today. It felt as if the amount of shock he experienced in his entire lifetime couldn¡¯t evenpare to that he experienced today.

    "Kill!" Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan waved again. Compared to before, this time, he waved two times in a row.

    Then...

    Two streaks of fiery half-moons shed towards Fang Zhengzhi in the shape of a cross.

    "Kill!" Fang Zhengzhi also moved. His white jade sword followed Yan Xiu¡¯s actions and quickly waved twice.

    Two simr streaks of white half-moons mmed towards the other two.

    "Boom!"

    They were evenly matched in strength.

    This time, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t ask further. Instead, he began to continuously change his techniques, however, every time he changed to a new one, he would pause slightly to exin to Fang Zhengzhi the Dao of All Creation it contained.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi disyed an extremely impressive ability to steal and copy, no matter how Yan Xiu changed, he would always be able to find a method that was simr, or close enough, to defend against Yan Xiu¡¯s attack.

    As Fang Zhengzhi mastered more and more techniques, the fight between them became more and more amazing.

    There were no more pauses.

    Only pure attacks against one another!

    It didn¡¯t feel as if they were fighting, instead, it felt like an exchange of skills between fellow apprentices of the same master.

    The surrounding examinees were alreadypletely stunned by this method of battle at this moment. They had never thought that actually... stealing techniques, could also be done so openly and honourably?!

    Han Changfeng had already returned back onto his hair, the edges of his mouth maintaining a slight smile. However, that smile was more or less frozen. Furthermore, as time passed, the shock in his eyes became deeper and deeper.

    "Monstrous, truly monstrous!"

    On the arena, Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi both disyed the Wind Shadow Technique, and continuously manoeuvring their way around. On the sky, asionally, a bright red sun hung, and from time to time, it filled with a torrential rain, and also sometimes filled with countless sharp ice.

    This was indeed a beautiful and magnificent battle.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t worried at all, because, he strongly believed in one thing.

    A battle is a battle between who would tire out first!

    Anyway, the white fog in his pocket dimension was very dense, and simply couldn¡¯t be used up in a short amount of time. This method of fighting that was purely based on mimicking also didn¡¯t require much mental energy, no matter how the opponent moved, he followed.

    It was somewhat shameless, but it followed a very famous technique from his previous world.

    The Star Diversion!

    Fang Zhengzhi fought very happily, and seemed as if the more he fought, he happier he became.

    However, right at this moment, Yan Xiu stopped.

    The essence of the Star Diversion was whatever technique the opponent used, one would use. If the opponent didn¡¯t attack, then one naturally wouldn¡¯t know what technique to use...

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi also stopped.

    "I..." Yan Xiu¡¯s lips moved, and said one word, seeming somewhat hesitant.

    "If you wish to admit defeat, I will say it ahead of you." Fang Zhengzhi could feel that Yan Xiu was somewhat tired, hence, he could easily guess what Yan Xiu wanted to say.

    "I indeed cannot defeat you with fair tactics!" Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked, because, Fang Zhengzhi could always infer what he wanted to say.

    Such a friend was very understanding, however, on the arena... they were opponents.

    "That means you still have unfair techniques?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly.

    "The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan is used against enemies, not friends!" Yan Xiu once again tightened his grip on the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hands.

    "On the arena... we are enemies!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    "However, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan uses external powers, and doesn¡¯t belong to me." Yan Xiu was still somewhat hesitant.

    "Speaking about external powers, I was also simrly borrowing your power."

    "That is because this is the arena battle. If it isn¡¯t an arena battle, I believe you will have your own method of fighting, and wouldn¡¯t need to borrow my techniques to fight against me."

    "You have said it too. This is an arena battle. Since it is an arena battle, you must give your all! Don¡¯t tell me... that isn¡¯t right?" Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t actually that admirable, he only felt that an important battle between friends on the arena naturally allowed one to employ any tactics. He didn¡¯t wish for Yan Xiu to have any misgivings.

    Because, that wasn¡¯t true friendship in which they could open their hearts to one another.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak further, and instead, silently looked at Fang Zhengzhi. His expression seemed somewhat strange. Then, the strange expression slowly vanished, and was reced by a slight smile.

    Yan Xiu, who had never smiled before, actually smiled at this moment. That was a true, genuine smile. It was very rxed, and didn¡¯t contain a trace of worry and stress.

    Then, Yan Xiu gradually raised the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand.

    "This Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan is one among the Yan five treasures. Its biggest secret is this mountain river illustration on the face of the fan! This illustration is drawn by my Yan family ancestor."

    "In those years, my ancestor first entered the world of humans, and fell in love with a woman."

    "This woman came from a prominent family background, she is the daughter of a literary family. Proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she was considered as a talented woman of her generation. However, my ancestor at that time was only an ordinary schr."

    "In order to pursue this woman, my ancestor studied hard, and presented her with works of poetry."

    "At that time, the world was in chaos, and the woman was touched by my ancestor¡¯s sincerity. Theyy down an oath that country came before family, and as a man, a country and itsnd were the priority!"

    "Hence, my ancestor determinedly entered the army, starting from a small soldier, experiencing the blood and fire of battlefields, and achieving brilliant military exploits, finally helping our ancestor emperor to establish the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    "In the end, when my ancestor went to search for the woman again, she had already passed away years ago due to her illness, and remained a widow for life. She only left a snow-white fan and a final sentence!"

    "ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint!"

    "My ancestor was filled with grief, and painstakingly picked up the brush, and finally drew this mountain river illustration!"

    When Yan Xiu said this, he gently raised his head and looked into the sky. The light smile on his face turned into a mysterious trace of misery, as if he was grieving for his ancestor.

    And right at this moment, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand suddenly emitted a radiant splendour.

    As if it had heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words, and felt the same grief.

    Spirituality!

    At the same time, an air of extremely sorrow emanated from the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. It instantly spread out and filled the air of the entire pocket dimension.

    The schrs that sat surrounding the arena were very quickly affected by this atmosphere. Their bodies, one by one, mysteriously began to tremble, as if crying about this historical story.

    "I suddenly feel a little uneasy..."

    "Me too!"

    "What a powerful air! What an impressive spirituality! The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan among the Yan five treasures indeed lives up to its name!" Han Changfeng, Qin Yumei and the rest of the examiners also felt this powerful air, and stood up at the same time.

    At this moment, everybody¡¯s eyes were fixated at the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan on Yan Xiu¡¯s hands.

    Including Fang Zhengzhi!

 Chapter 119: Heavy as a Mountain

    Chapter 119: Heavy as a Mountain

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the person nearest to Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi naturally felt it the most. He even felt as if he was personally at the scene, and witnessed the incident that day.

    A general with outstanding military achievements, arriving at the woman¡¯s house filled with expectations and joy.

    Yet, all he was able to see was a white paper fan and herst words...

    "ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint!"

    The woman¡¯s love, and the woman¡¯s silence, as well as at the moment she left, even though she knew she was about to depart from this world, she didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her man, who fought valiantly on the battlefield.

    "Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision finally focused.

    Because, Yan Xiu had already moved. At this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression seemed as if he was influenced by the spirituality of the fan. Waving the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan on his hands, the extraordinary beauty of the mountain river illustrationpletely erupted.

    Just like water flowing downwards.

    A brilliant ray of light lit up from the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. It spilled out of the fan and began to proliferate unstoppably.

    Then, a strange scene urred.

    With Yan Xiu at the heart, the scenery within the circumference of the light suddenly changed, transforming into a huge mountain river illustration.

    Towering mountain rocks and craggy cliffs filled the high mountain. On the mountain, the scene was beautiful. Countless trees swayed gently, and within the mountain rocks, a powerful waterfall flowed down from the mountain, adding on a silver-like band of light into the entire world.

    The sound of flowing water, and the light gust of wind, and even the sound of the trees swaying, could all be heard clearly.

    This was an illusion formed by countless points of light, however, this illusion seemed to integratepletely with reality. Reality and illusion simply couldn¡¯t be distinguished from one another, and this illustration was the exact same scenery on Yan Xiu¡¯s paper fan.

    Fang Zhengzhi was filled with shock, and a powerful sense of grief filled his heart. He knew very clearly that this was due to the influence of the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. If he could stay calm, the first thing he should do was to remove himself from these thoughts.

    However, thinking was thinking. If he really wanted to achieve this...

    It was too difficult!

    "Heaven and Earth Reversal!" At this moment, a low bellow came from Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth. His voice was filled with a sense of misery that felt as if his mood had fallen into a deep valley.

    Fang Zhengzhi at this moment truly felt miserable...

    When he saw the mountain river illustration, he didn¡¯t feel any strong sensations other than some slight effects on his mood, causing him to feel a little miserable.

    However, after Yan Xiu¡¯s Heaven and Earth Reversal...

    He really felt as if the entire world had reversed, just like falling from the top of the mountain into the deep valley.

    His heart almost shattered.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t the main point. The main point was that he had a very heavy feeling. This feeling didn¡¯te from his heart, and instead, came from his back.

    Just as if a huge mountain was pressing onto his body.

    ...

    "The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan has its own spirituality, and this spirituality can form thend of mountain and river. In thisnd... Fang Zhengzhi might not even be able to move!"

    At the judging table, an examiner looked at the illustration on the arena and eximed.

    "Even if he could move, his actions would still be strongly hindered. Battling with Yan Xiu within this mountain and rivernd, winning is simply impossible."

    "Once the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan is out, the results are confirmed!" Han Changfeng once again returned back to his seat. He seemed to be somewhat relieved. No matter how monstrous one¡¯s talents were, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to ovee the internal influence of the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "How powerful!"

    "Yan Xiu has the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, within the Star Conglomerate, I fear he is already unmatched!"

    Gazing at the scene that suddenly appeared in front of them, the surrounding examinees were simrly shocked. Even though they were under the arena, they were still able to sense a heavy pressure.

    Let alone Fang Zhengzhi who resided at the centre of the arena.

    Right at this moment, Yan Xiu moved again, waving the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "Kill!"

    Following his bellow, the fiery half-moon appeared once again, and a red sun shed into existence in the sky. It was the Asura Sword that Yan Xiu had previously used.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should be dodging.

    However, as he attempted to use the Wind Shadow Technique, he understood that he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge.

    Because, that pressure was too powerful, so powerful that he was almost unable to move. He was only able to take one step before the heat from the Asura Sword reached him.

    "I have to block it!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have a second choice.

    Gritting his teeth, in the end, he still waved his white jade sword. A bright moon appeared in the sky, and a streak of white light zoomed towards the fiery half-moon.

    "Boom!"

    The two shed into one another.

    Unlike being evenly-matched previously, this time, the white light was like snow, instantly torn apart by the fiery half-moon and turning into little spots of moonlight...

    A powerful and overbearing st washed over. Fang Zhengzhi felt that his chest seemed to have suffered a heavy impact, and the Jade Sea Armour on his body gave off a glittering blue light.

    "Crack!" Below his feet, a deep crack emerged. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi was lifted off the ground and backwards.

    With a plop, he fell, face-up, onto the ground.

    Under the influence of thend of mountain and river, Yan Xiu was still Yan Xiu, however, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi anymore. His abilities had been hindered greatly, and was simply unable to fight against Yan Xiu.

    "The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, is indeed powerful!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the evidently darkened rays of light on the Jade Sea Armour in front of his chest. Maybe, if he suffered another attack, he was going to get injured.

    "Can... you still defend against this?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and spoke.

    "If the one standing in front of you is an enemy, I believe you won¡¯t ask this?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t directly reply Yan Xiu¡¯s question, and instead asked back.

    "Yes, I won¡¯t!" Yan Xiu nodded, then, a streak of fiery half-moon once again shed towards Fang Zhengzhi from his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    Gazing at the fiery half-moon that sped towards him, Fang Zhengzhi felt a bit like he had just asked for trouble. However, he didn¡¯t go as far as admitting defeat at this moment.

    If he couldn¡¯t win based on quality, he could only fight with quantity.

    With a continuous wave of the white jade sword, in one breathe, Fang Zhengzhi waved three times. Three streaks of bright white light sped directly towards Yan Xiu¡¯s fiery half-moon.

    "Boom boom..."

    The violent air raged in the arena.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi had once again been pushed back. However, unlike the previous time, he didn¡¯t fall. Instead, he was only pushed back three steps by the st.

    "Looks like... three against one isn¡¯t enough!" A bitter smile appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. Now, he was merely holding on.

    As long as thend of mountain and river existed, his power decreased dramatically...

    Hence, victory and defeat had already been decided.

    "Am I going to lose?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the mountain and rivernd formed by countless spots of light around him. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t ept defeat, however, he felt that losing like this was somewhat weird.

    He had clearly asked Yan Xiu to give his all, however, when he really gave his all, Fang Zhengzhi himself instantly admitted defeat...

    It was really too embarrassment.

    "I have to at least hold on for five minutes?" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while and felt that this was the bare minimum. At least it wasn¡¯t too embarrassing.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi began to initiate the attack.

    If three streaks couldn¡¯t defeat one, then four streaks, five streaks, six, seven, eight, nine streaks...

    Feeling the white fog that was still dense within his pocket dimension, he moved.

    The bright moon lit up the sky, andpletely unleashed all the fear in his heart. Streaks of white light sped towards Yan Xiu.

    A glimmer of shock once again on Yan Xiu¡¯s face.

    Based on his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi, there were many meaningless things he wouldn¡¯t bother to do. However, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was mysteriously staunch.

    Most importantly, this battle intent definitely couldn¡¯t be faked.

    ...

    The surrounding examinees were simrly stunned.

    On the arena, a situation that had initially already been inverted seemed to gradually turn even under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s frenzied counterattack. Streaks of white light wildly shed away from the white jade sword.

    Just like the bright moon in the sky, giving off itsst light.

    Qin Yumei silently looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his expression somewhat respectfully. Maybe, only during certain special moments can one really see the true nature of a person¡¯s heart.

    For example: A battle which one was clearly about to lose, yet still gave his all.

    This was a form of respect to one¡¯s opponent, and at the same time, was a form of respect to oneself.

    Han Changfeng¡¯s expression turned ratherplicated. It seemed to contain a trace of admiration, however, within the admiration, there was a mysterious trace of fear.

    Maybe, he was more willing to see Fang Zhengzhi give up, aspared to his frenzied counterattack on the arena.

    ...

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t hold back. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions had already told him that true sincerity towards a friend was fighting without holding back at all.

    As such, Yan Xiu also began to turn somewhat frenzied.

    Streaks of fiery half-moons continuously cut down from the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, and the red sun in the sky glowed brighter and brighter, as if it waspletely burning with fire.

    The burning heat and icy winter shed on the arena.

    But, the sweat on Yan Xiu, whose body resided in the burning heat, was far from that of Fang Zhengzhi, whose body resided in the icy winter.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead and back was alreadypletely soaked with sweat, and the hand that held on to the white jade sword also trembled slightly.

    The white mist in his pocket dimension became thinner and thinner.

    He knew that if this continued, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for much longer...

    "Looks like... I am really going to lose!" Mysteriously, Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat sad. Was this the legendary "never say die"?

    He recalled the words he left at the vige entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige before he left.

    Can I pass the capital examination?

    I¡¯ll attain another double roll champion and show you!

    Maybe, he had really set his expectations too high up? Now, he was definitely about to pass the capital examination, even though the advantage Yan Xiu had in the overall results was a little higher due tobat examination.

    But it was still second ce.

    "Am I going to be the second child this time?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really like this position. He would rather be the third child... hmm, actually, the fourth and fifth wasn¡¯t too bad either...

    As he thought, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs suddenly slipped, and all of a sudden, took a step out.

    Huh?

    Fang Zhengzhi was filled with surprise. What happened?

 Chapter 120: The Secret of the Mountain River Illustration

    Chapter 120: The Secret of the Mountain River Illustration

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    That feeling of that moment was wonderful, just as if the hinderance of his body hadpletely disappeared. Or, it could be said, it didn¡¯tpletely disappear, but a portion of it had disappeared.

    Had the effects of the mountain and rivernd weakened?

    Just as his heart filled with delight, Fang Zhengzhi instantly felt that mountain-like pressure pressing down on him again.

    Furthermore, it seemed to be even stronger than just now.

    It didn¡¯t weaken...

    Don¡¯t tell me that it was an illustration? That¡¯s not possible, I had indeed taken a step forward just now.

    Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to think further before a few streaks of fiery half-moons shed towards him once again, shocking him so badly that he could only wave his sword continuously, then block off Yan Xiu¡¯s attack with four times the number of counterattacks.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    After a stream of sts, Fang Zhengzhi once again was pushed back multiple steps.

    The sadness in his heart flowed out again.

    And at this moment, his entire body had suddenly retreated a few steps. That wonderful feeling washed over him again. Compared to the dull feeling before, this seemed even clearer.

    There¡¯s a problem somewhere!

    Fang Zhengzhi could almost confirm that at that moment, the pressure on his body had decreased somewhat. Even though it wasn¡¯t much, but it had truly be lighter.

    As he grew delighted, the pressure once again increased.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart was really going to shatter...

    Can we still y together happily?!

    Wait a minute, seems like something isn¡¯t quite right! That feeling just now was definitely real, then, where does the problem lie? It was definitely unrted to Yan Xiu, then, was it... my mental state?

    Sadness decreased the pressure.

    Happiness, increased the pressure?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. Yes, that¡¯s right...

    But, why is this so? And where was he supposed to find sadness?

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat conflicted. Even though he had found the method, but he believed that this method definitely had a reason behind it, and wasn¡¯t just created out of the blue.

    Hence, this secret definitely resided in the mountain river illustration.

    The mountain river illustration...

    Normally, in an intense battle, nobody would bother paying attention to the illusion formed by the points of light. However, Fang Zhengzhi at this moment inspected them carefully.

    Beginning from each individual mountain, water, grass, tree in the illusion, he began to observe carefully.

    Then, he realised a problem...

    This seemed to be an ink painting. Because, the colour of the mountain actually wasn¡¯t green, and instead, was the colour of ck ink. This wasmonly used in Chinese ink-style paintings.

    It wasn¡¯t surprising.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi felt very surprised.

    Since one wished to integrate this light constructed illusion with reality, why must the colour of the mountain be painted with ck ink? Wouldn¡¯t using a lush green match the real environment more suitably?

    As he thought...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly turned round, and received a great shock.

    "This simply isn¡¯t a mountain river illustration!"

    The mountain was a ck ink mountain, that was the ck hair of the woman. The river was a bright silver river, that was the grey-white hair of the woman. ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint!

    This painting was the Yan family ancestor¡¯s deep and fond memories of the woman.

    The mountain river was the woman, the woman was the mountain river...

    Since the ancient times, heroes were the ones who were filled with affection for the opposite sex. The Yan family¡¯s ancestor sacrificed thendscape for a beautiful woman! He was indeed a lovesick man, he actually integrated the woman into the mountain river drawing. I know, I know!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned brighter and brighter

    He recalled the emotions Yan Xiu had when he used the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, and suddenly understood that the power of the mountain river illustration originated from grief.

    If this was the case...

    The more he resisted, and the more he opposed it, the greater the pressure on his body.

    No, from the start, that was already wrong. It wasn¡¯t resistance, instead, it was absorbance. Hepletely absorbed this grief into his body, merging his heart and the mountain river illustration together.

    He instantly acted when as he thought. Fang Zhengzhi decided to attempt to feel grievous, but, to be able to feel miserable without any reason was indeed rather difficult...

    He could only borrow some tools.

    "What is love? Why love drives men crazy?"

    "Flying off to different ces, the old wing returns to the cold winter."

    "Uniting is joyful, parting is bitter, and in the middle, there¡¯s lovesickness."

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice sounded from the arena.

    This caused the surrounding examinees to feel somewhat confused.

    "What is Fang Zhengzhi trying to do? He still has the mood for poetry at this time?!"

    "I believe he is admitting defeat in advance..."

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was filling his heart with misery, attempting to merge as one with the mountain river illustration.

    He simply didn¡¯t notice Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze at all, and instead shook his head inwardly. Not too longter, he actually managed to squeeze out a drop of tear, and entered the role of a grieving man.

    Just as he expected.

    The deeper his grieving emotions, the lesser the pressure on his body became. It felt as if the mountain river illustration had heard his inner thoughts.

    This spirituality was indeed something people would never expect.

    As the pressure on his body decreased, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to shout happily, I have finally ovee the mountain river illustration. But, he couldn¡¯t shout, and couldn¡¯t allow any happy emotions to generate.

    Because...

    Once he became happy, he was most likely to return back to the start line.

    It was rather ufortable, but, in order to win, Fang Zhengzhi could only hold on.

    A whileter, feeling that the pressure on his body had almostpletely disappeared, Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked at Yan Xiu with an expression filled with misery and grief.

    And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi also stopped his movements.

    He fixated his gaze tightly on Fang Zhengzhi,pletely unable to believe this scene...

    "I¡¯ming!" Fang Zhengzhi uttered a hoarse, low cry, and the name of a powerful martial artist from his previous world came to his mind. He could create a Deadly Grief Fist during times of misery.

    Hence, today I¡¯ll leverage on his grief to create a Deadly Grief Sword and see how good it is.

    With that idea, he moved.

    His body was fast as lightning, and his speed instantly soared to its peak.

    It was very fast, so fast that even the surrounding examinees and the examiners at the judging table were almost unable to react.

    "How is it possible that he is so fast?!"

    "Where did the heavy pressure from the mountain river illustration go to?"

    The examinees and examiners¡¯ faces were filled with shock at the same time.

    And right at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had already reached Yan Xiu¡¯s side. Waving the white jade sword on his hand wildly, streaks of white light erupted like a torrential flood from the mountains.

    Yan Xiu was stunned, but he still managed to instinctively withdraw.

    The Wind Shadow Technique turned into a stream of shadows.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi evidently didn¡¯t intend to let Yan Xiu off. He couldn¡¯t maintain that grief for the entire time, else, he was really going to die of misery.

    Hence, he had to finish this battle while he still had sufficient grief.

    He didn¡¯t even bother about techniques.

    It was apletely desperate battle based on brute force.

    From an outsider¡¯s point of view, Fang Zhengzhi definitely wasn¡¯t using a Deadly Grief Sword, but instead, a more appropriately named Crazy Demon Sword...

    "I kill, kill kill..." Fang Zhengzhi waved his sword wildly as he chased.

    The moon in the sky grew brighter and brighter, and streaks of white light even fell from the sky, lighting up the arena.

    As for the red sun.

    It seemed to have lent the bright moon too much light, and turned somewhat darker.

    "Boom!"

    Finally, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword hit Yan Xiu squarely on the chest. His body flew backwards, and then fell off the arena. However, once he fell, Yan Xiu immediately sprang back up.

    His expression was somewhat shocked and confused.

    He wanted to say something, but ended up not saying a word.

    But, he didn¡¯t retreat further, and instead began to frantically attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    The red sun radiated itsst light.

    The bright moon grew brighter and brighter.

    Red and white, countless rays of light intersected, just like the alternation of moons and stars. This scene was undoubtedly stunning, at the very least, all the examinees and examiners werepletely shocked.

    "Capital examination... is this really still a capital examination?!"

    Nobody would consider this battle as a capital examination. Because, even the imperial examination wouldn¡¯t contain such a scene.

    On the arena, countless shadows merged together.

    After an intense sh.

    The shadows vanished, leaving two figures each standing at a corner of the arena.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s armour at this moment was already torn and tattered, and a streak of blood had emerged. His hair seemed to be in a mess, and his forehead was beaded with sweat. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and gulped down deep breaths of air.

    For a member of the Yan family to not even be able to control his own breathing meant that it was obvious that he was about to reach his limit.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi also didn¡¯t seem too well. Streaks of scars filled his Jade Sea Armour, and blood simrly filled his arms and legs. His hair also fell messily on his shoulders, and his face was filled with beads of sweat.

    Nobody knew whether it was sweat, or whether it was tears.

    An arena battle...

    Was really a battle of who would tire first!

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this well, if things proceeded on like this, both of them would definitely get injured.

    "I... had already... expended all my energy!" Yan Xiu¡¯s tone was somewhat out of breath. However, his expression was filled with true friendship and sincerity towards his friends, as if telling Fang Zhengzhi that he hadn¡¯t held back at all.

    "I... still have a bit, actually, I have one technique I¡¯ve yet to use!" Fang Zhengzhi was simrly gulping for breath, and maintained the misery on his face.

    "Between friends, we must be sin... sincere! If you have any moves... use them!" Yan Xiu grabbed the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand tightly, and a trace of shock shed across his eyes. But, it quickly vanished.

    He believed Fang Zhengzhi. As long as Fang Zhengzhi said that he had, he definitely had.

    "I believe, it will... harm you." Fang Zhengzhi lightly shook his head.

    "Even you aren¡¯t afraid of being injured, as a man from the Yan family, how can I be scared of blood?!" Yan Xiu¡¯s expression at this moment suddenly turned extremely serious.

    "Then... look carefully!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words had justnded before the entire arena filled with a blinding ray of white light, just like the brightest star in the entire milky way.

 Chapter 121: Supplementary Weapon in War

    Chapter 121: Supplementary Weapon in War

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    How fast was the speed of light? In an instant, the entire arena, and even the entire pocket dimension, was shrouded in white light.

    The examinees and examiners were instantly taken aback.

    A moment ago, they were all doing the same time, which was staring intently at Fang Zhengzhi. However, in a blink of an eye, they could only see one colour in the eyes. That was very, an extremely pure white...

    Just like milk.

    However, this milk white wasn¡¯tfortable, just like daggers that stabbed through the skin of their eyes, drilling deep into their eyes.

    An intense pain overwhelmed them.

    "Ah!"

    "Ah... ah ah..."

    "My eyes!"

    Next, the entire pocket dimension descended into chaos.

    Because, nobody could see a thing, and nobody knew what was happening. Their vision had already beenpleted filled with white, or another way of putting it was, they had been temporarily blinded.

    "Ah, I can¡¯t see anymore, am I blind? Why can¡¯t I see a thing!"

    "What is this all about?!"

    What is man¡¯s greatest fear?

    That was definitely the danger of the unknown. Hence, after being unable to see, everybody began to shout and scream continuously. The entire situation descended into chaos, and some examinees even instinctively stood up from their chairs and prepared to run.

    However, they were quickly tripped by their friends beside them.

    "Ah, who stepped on my face!"

    "Pain!"

    Excruciating criesbined with the round of falling down and faces hitting the ground echoed about, ying out a magnificent symphony of an imminent end of the world.

    However, no matter what they did, they were still unable to see.

    They could only wait for their vision to gradually recover.

    After nobody knew how long, the whiteness in the crowd¡¯s visions began to disperse, reced by spots of green. As the green slowly began to spread, the surrounding scenery also gradually turned from a blurry mess into something clear...

    Next, the entire world returned back into their eyes.

    However...

    After everybody¡¯s visions had recovered.

    The scene on the arena caused them to instantly widen their eyes again, each of them filled with an expression of disbelief. Because, other than Fang Zhengzhi, there was nobody else on the arena.

    "Where is Yan Xiu?! Where did Yan Xiu go to?"

    Fang Zhengzhi stood very patiently on the arena. After hearing their words, he pointed with his right hand towards Yan Xiu, who was sitting on the ground with a flustered expression. His left hand quickly kept a ink-coloured object back into his pocket.

    "Yan Xiu fell off the stage?!"

    "What was that all about, why was there such a blinding light?"

    "What a powerful light, it is even more powerful than the sun!"

    After the crowd discovered that Yan Xiu hadnded below the arena, they became even more shocked. Nobody bothered to find out who had stepped on whose face, because, they were more concerned about what had just happened.

    Han Changfeng¡¯s vision had also returned at this moment. As the chief imperial messenger from the Imperial Academy, his cultivation naturally cannot bepared to the average examinee.

    For example, even though he clearly couldn¡¯t see a thing just now, he didn¡¯t move at all.

    What joke was this...

    Even if he wasn¡¯t able to see, he would still be able to hear clearly with his ears. If there really was danger around him, with his perceptive capabilities, he would definitely be able to realise it. Moreover, this was also the pocket dimension!

    But, when he saw clearly the scene in front of him, he couldn¡¯t quite contain the shock in his eyes.

    "Actually, I¡¯ve one technique that I have yet to use?"

    Han Changfeng suddenly recalled the words Fang Zhengzhi spoke to Yan Xiu on the arena.

    One technique?

    Was this the technique that Fang Zhengzhi all along didn¡¯t use?

    Mysterious. His heart was now somewhat in confused. If that ray of light was really caused by Fang Zhengzhi, then, how did he achieve it?

    Ability...

    That¡¯s impossible! Not mentioning that Fang Zhengzhi was only at Star Conglomerate, even one in the Heavenly Reflection State wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve that! Then, there was only one possibility. It was treasure, Fang Zhengzhi hid a fearsome treasure on his body!

    What was that?

    "I told you all to look carefully, yet you all really looked carefully... sh grenade, I believe none of you had ever seen this before?" Fang Zhengzhi met the shocked gazes that shot towards him, and sighed in his heart. He twitched his mouth with a face filled with innocence.

    This was the real advanced technology, the product of chemistry.

    Of course, a long time ago, Sun Tzu had already mentioned in his chapter, Attack by Stratagem, that a sh grenade used powerful light to hinder the opponent¡¯s vision, and was a supplementary weapon in war.

    However...

    The light from the sh grenade at that time was indeed nothing too special. However, the one Fang Zhengzhi used now, even though it was nothingpared to the modern military ones, but the powerful light could still blind people for at least two minutes.

    Two minutes? In this world, that was enough to achieve anything.

    When Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, his expression seemed somewhatplicated...

    In his memories, the only person who could create such powerful and blinding light so quickly seemed to only be his grandfather.

    Fang Zhengzhi?

    How did he do it? Did he rely on something?

    Actually, Yan Xiu felt that he had already did his part just now. The instant when the white light exploded, he had already realised it, and the first thing he did was to frantically employ his Wind Shadow Technique.

    Unfortunately, his legs had still been tripped, then, he rolled to the bottom of the arena.

    "You..." Actually, Yan Xiu really wished to ask Fang Zhengzhi, what is this?

    But, when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back. Because, he knew very clearly that some techniques, especially this powerful and secretive technique, shouldn¡¯t be known by too many people.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu¡¯s slightly parted lips, and naturally understood what Yan Xiu was thinking.

    However...

    About the sh grenade, he temporarily hadn¡¯t thought of an exnation. Teach Yan Xiu chemistry knowledge? No matter how he looked at it, it wasn¡¯t very appropriate. However, without talking about chemistry, was he supposed to tell Yan Xiu that he actually had the memory from another world?

    "I am willing to tell you, but... not now!" Fang Zhengzhi looked around at the surrounding examinees.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed slightly, then, a smile appeared on his face again. He had lost; However, he had found a friend that was truly willing to exchange secrets with him.

    "Ok." Yan Xiu nodded. The smile on his face vanished, and he didn¡¯t speak any further.

    The surrounding examinees at this moment were still stuck in their moment of shock. All of them wished to know the answer, however, they knew that Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t say it.

    On the judging table, Han Changfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi in silence, seeming slightly out of sorts. The other examiners, on the other hand, also exchanged nces to convey the shock in their hearts.

    The venue seemed somewhat silent.

    Right at this moment, Qin Yumei turned her head around, and looked at Han Changfeng.

    "Elder Han... is it time to announce?"

    Qin Yumei¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, however, Han Changfeng heard it. Instantly breaking out of his thoughts, he was just about to announce when he suddenly received a shock.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    Seemed to not only be the roll champion of thebat examination, but was also the roll champion of the theory examination. Then, that means... he is the double roll champion of this time¡¯s capital examination!

    This...

    Han Changfeng evidently couldn¡¯t really ept this fact.

    In reality, before the start of this River of Trust Capital examinations, nobody had ever thought that Fang Zhengzhi could attain roll champion in this capital examination, furthermore, it was a double roll champion!

    This was the true champion of the schrs from the five capitals in the Northern Desert!

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name first appeared in the theory examination paper, he had thought of many possibilities, however, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s theory examination paper was too outstanding, so outstanding that he simply wasn¡¯t able to find any ws.

    Every single question was beautifully answered, and the content he wrote from memory didn¡¯tck a single word.

    Under such circumstances...

    He really couldn¡¯t find any reason to give the roll champion to any other examinee.

    However, thebat examination was different.

    There were many variables in thebat examination, furthermore, there was even Hua Kangan of the Star Conglomerate State. Even so, Han Changfeng had made other arrangements to prevent this.

    In order to strengthen the variables in thebat examination, he had specially utilised the pocket dimension to remove the examiners from the scene of the examination. Under such circumstances, there were more opportunities, and...

    The circumstance of a few examinees ganging up on one person might even ur.

    But in the end?

    identals appeared time and time again, and finally, it had reached this stage.

    "Then... I¡¯ll have to trouble Yumei!" Han Changfeng¡¯s tone seemed somewhat pained. He had already tried his best, even though he was the chief examiner, there were still people judging him from below.

    He knew, from now onwards, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s glory couldn¡¯t be concealed anymore.

    After all, this River of Trust Capital examination gathered the eyes of every schr under the skies.

    Very quickly, news of Fang Zhengzhi attaining the double roll champion of the River of Trust Capital examination had spread in the fastest possible time across the entire Northern Desert, into the imperial capital, into the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and even to the demon race...

    "The Northern Desert Divine Constabry is once again going to... sigh..." Han Changfeng sighed heavily inside his heart.

    And at this moment, Qin Yumei had already stood up. Slowly tidying up his ck official robe, he lightly cleared his throat.

    Then, his gaze swept across all the examinees and looked at Yan Xiu.

    Finally, itnded on Fang Zhengzhi, who was on the arena.

    "Now, as an imperial messenger from the Imperial Academy, I represent Elder Han to announce the final results of this River of Trust Capital examination!" Qin Yumei¡¯s voice contained an aura of authority.

    This one sentence shocked the examinees back to their senses. Each of them instinctively shot their gazes towards Fang Zhengzhi who was standing on the arena, each of their gazes containing too many emotions.

    "Combat examination roll champion, Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi is also the theory examination champion of this capital examination, hence, he is the double roll champion!"

    "Double roll champion!"

    When these three words echoed about the examinees¡¯ ears, each of their eyes were filled with unparalleled envy. Because, they were really very envious.

    Double roll champion of the capital examination!

    Furthermore...

    This was the River of Trust Capital examination, a capital examination that had gathered talented schrs from the five capitals of the Northern Desert!

    If this didn¡¯t cause jealousy, how could it not cause envy?!

    This was really a move that would enjoy tremendous poprity in the world, a move that was akin to a fish leaping over the dragon¡¯s gate!

    But now, the person who received all these...

    Was actually a youth who came from the viges!

    "Furthermore, I am going to make another announcement. I believe everybody had heard that the Northern Desert Divine Constabry had specially set a prize for this capital examination!" Qin Yumei¡¯s voice sounded out again, and when he mentioned the prize, his voice contained a mysterious trace of excitement.

 Chapter 122: A Real Answer

    Chapter 122: A Real Answer

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everybody¡¯s gaze at this moment began to light up. Because, among them, many went through the trouble of rushing to the River of Trust Capital from capitals all around just for this prize.

    But, they didn¡¯t know the criteria for this prize.

    "As long as one entered the first-ss roll of this capital examination, they would receive the Divine Constabry¡¯s invitation to participate in a great constabry feast organised by the Divine Constabry three monthster!" When Qin Yumei finished this sentence, he paused.

    Delighted looks instantly appeared on the faces of the examinees below when they heard this. The constabry feast was a grand event, and it wasn¡¯t just the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert who would attend it.

    The schrs discussed spiritedly, even the man from the imperial capital might appear.

    "The opportunity to participate in the constabry feast is rare, however, the even rarer opportunity will be that the top three in the capital examination would be able to enter the "Heavenly Treasure Hall". As for other schrs, as long as their performance in the constabry feast is outstanding, they would also have the same opportunity to do so!"

    "What does the Heavenly Treasure Hall in the Divine Constabry contain? I believe I don¡¯t need to introduce it further to you all? I wish toment impolitely that even I wish to have such an opportunity..."

    Qin Yumei looked at the surrounding examinees, and a smile that contained a trace of admiration appeared on his face.

    When the examinees heard this, they also truly became excited. To be able to interact with officials from all around, that was an opportunity for interaction and disying one¡¯s abilities. Naturally, it was something to be happy about.

    However, the Heavenly Treasure Hall was a ce that could really change a person¡¯s destiny.

    "Incredible! I initially thought that only the top three would have the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Treasure Hall, I never thought that even the first-ss roll would have an opportunity!"

    "Congrattions... With Young Master Li¡¯s results, you would definitely make it onto the first-ss roll!"

    "Ha ha ha, Brother Wen, how are you not one among the first-ss roll as well? Honestly, if I was able to enter the Heavenly Treasure Hall, I would be satisfied for my entire life!"

    "That¡¯s indeed true!"

    The examinees who felt that they had an opportunity to enter the first-ss roll all began to discuss spiritedly. Because, they all understood how valuable the opportunity of entering the Heavenly Treasure Hall was.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was filled with bewilderment.

    He had a strong urge to give Qin Yumei a beating. Why is he not introducing it? What is in the Heavenly Treasure Hall? I don¡¯t know!

    Furthermore...

    Why must it be the prize set by the Divine Constabry!

    A tiny figure mysteriously shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. His impression of that figure was too deep. Heard that Chi Guyan had been secluding herself in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for a year, I believe she wouldn¡¯t suddenly return back to the Divine Constabry?

    As he thought, he began to rx somewhat.

    As long as he didn¡¯t encounter Chi Guyan, he should be able to preserve his life!

    ...

    Next, Qin Yumei began to announce the capital examination top three, and also the names of schrs who made it to the first-ss roll. Every time he read out a name, an invigtor at the side would record it down

    When the names of all those who had passed the capital examination had been announced, everybody received a small metallic token with their names and also the seal of the Imperial Academy etched onto it.

    "As long as you have this, you will be recognised by the Great Xia Dynasty. Simrly, you will also have the responsibility of fighting the demon race, do you understand?" Qin Yumei looked at the examinees who had passed the capital examination below and asked.

    "Understood!" The examinees instantly replied as one.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t very interested in such a formal ceremony. He was more interested in how much money this metallic token could get him each month, unfortunately, nobody exined that to him.

    Looking at Yan Xiu, he realised that Yan Xiu also wasn¡¯t too concerned.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi expressed the curiosity in his heart.

    "Will you go to the Heavenly Treasure Hall?"

    "Of course, I will go." Yan Xiu didn¡¯t quite understand why Fang Zhengzhi would ask this.

    "Are there treasures in the Heavenly Treasure Hall?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    "Treasures?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi queerly, then, quickly understood. "You wish to ask me what the Heavenly Treasure Hall is... is that right?"

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "After the Law of Dao entered the world, by Heaven¡¯s decree, it was split into three thousand volumes. These three thousand volumes represented three thousand parallel dimensions, each of these parallel dimensions containing millions of pocket dimensions. The human race esses Dao through the pocket dimension and begins to practice, and gradually advances!"

    When Yan Xiu said this, he paused slightly, and continued.

    "As for the Heavenly Treasure Hall, it is one among the three thousand parallel dimensions! Most importantly, after countless years of operating by the Divine Constabry, the Heavenly Treasure Hall has almost reached the peak of parallel dimensions."

    "Parallel dimension?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat confused. He had more or less understood the concept of pocket dimensions now.

    It was nothing more than human beings opening up a parallel space and new world in their own bodies. As for how this world was constructed, and what method was used to construct it, this was determined by everybody¡¯s individual practicing methods.

    Then...

    Parallel dimension, what was this?!

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded. He didn¡¯t exin to Fang Zhengzhi what a parallel dimension was. Because, every parallel dimension waspletely different, and there was simply no way to describe it.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask further. He felt that no matter how much he asked, it wouldn¡¯tpare to him personally experiencing it himself.

    ...

    The River of Trust Capital examination finally ended under the shock of everybody.

    Just as Han Changfeng had expected, once the River of Trust Capital examination had ended, news of Fang Zhengzhi attaining double roll champion spread like a wild gust of wind across the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    Nobody knew how this gust of wind would affect the Great Xia Dynasty.

    But, at least when the county head of the Huai An County heard this news, he had rushed to the Northern Mountain Vige overnight...

    And at the same time, in the rear garden of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Lady Yuer, with her face flushed slightly red and in an out-of-breath manner, was reporting this shocking news to ady wearing a pink cotton skirt/

    "Mi... Missus, Young Master Fang had attained the double roll champion again!"

    Lady Yuer was shocked, but the expression of thedy wearing a pink cotton skirt didn¡¯t change much. Instead, she carefully gazed at the garden in front of her.

    Thedy¡¯s eyes were very bright, just like stars in the night sky. She looked, from the fence of the garden, to the pavilion, to each individual tree and each individual de of grass...

    She looked very carefully and seriously, just as if she was having a heart-to-heart talk with her loved ones.

    "Yuer, pack up." After thedy finished looking, she spoke again. Her voice was as clear as a mountain spring.

    "Alright... is Missus going to the ¡®Heaven Academic Altar¡¯ again?" Yuer nodded, and prepared to enter the room to retrieve her coat and shawl.

    "No, I want to go down the mountain." Thedy gently shook her head.

    "Roger! Yuer will now go and prep... huh?! Missus... you... you want to go down the mountain?!" Right after Yuer had received the order, she suddenly became stunned.

    "Yes." Thedy nodded.

    "Missus, didn¡¯t you say that you are going to stay in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for three years? Now, we have only stayed for a year, why are you going down the mountain?" Yuer was somewhat confused. She remembered the words that thedy spoke as they were about to go up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Secluding herself from the world for three years...

    Then, go down the mountain!

    "Because, he had given me a real answer!" Thedy looked in the direction of the Northern Desert, and with a deep feeling of homesickness in her expression.

    "Missus, what answer is that?" Yuer instinctively asked.

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!" Thedy looked at Yuer, and didn¡¯t me her.

    "What, what kind of answer is that? Isn¡¯t the Double Dragon Roll Champion Missus yourself?" Yuerpletely couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Ha ha..." Thedyughed gently, just as if the most beautiful flower in spring had bloomed, causing the hundreds of flowers in the garden to lower their heads shamefully.

    Without replying Yuer¡¯s question further, thedy looked into the sky.

    In the sky, the white clouds continuously changed their shapes. asionally, it took the form of a gigantic, soaring bird, and asionally, it took the form of a sharp sword out of its sheath.

    "Nangong Hao!" Thedy¡¯s mouth uttered a name, then, gradually went into deep thought.

    Yuer, witnessing this scene, instantly held her breath and didn¡¯t dare to cause any disturbance. Because, she knew that her missus was reminiscing the scene of the battle a year ago.

    After nobody knew how long, thedy shook her head, and her expression seemed somewhat deste.

    "That sword... I really couldn¡¯t avoid it!"

    ...

 Chapter 123: Tempest

    Chapter 123: Tempest

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    One pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries, all along, these were the focus of the imperial officials and powers in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was a ce where powers gathered, and even containing schrs from the thirteen constabries, hence news of Chi Guyan going down the mountain were simply unconceble, even if one tried to conceal it.

    Moreover, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t intend to conceal it at all.

    Based on the tradition of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Chi Guyan first knelt before the Heaven Dao Tablet, then, knelt before the Heaven Dao Pavilion Head, "Mu Qingfeng", then kowtowed to the various ces, the Heaven Academic Altar, the Divine Rain Pond... and so on.

    Then finally did Chi Guyan officially leave the mountain gate of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ...

    Nobody thought that Chi Guyan would actually leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion at this time, because, there were still two years to the time of the divine message.

    Going down the mountain?

    To other schrs from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was just going down the mountain. However, to Chi Guyan, it wasn¡¯t so simple...

    Because, going down the mountain contained an unstable tempest!

    Going into a tempest early?

    No matter how one looked at this, it wasn¡¯t a wise move.

    Because, due to Chi Guyan¡¯s status, she simply didn¡¯t have to do such a thing. She only had to seclude herself in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for two years, then, no matter how the situations had changed, she was going to be a person of huge power and status, and enjoy the respect of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    If this person wasn¡¯t Chi Guyan, everybody would definitely feel that this person was the dumbest person in the world, stupid, idiotic...

    But, these words could never be linked to Chi Guyan.

    Because...

    Chi Guyan was the Double Dragon Roll Champion, the real pride of the Heavens, and, the only powerful fourteen-year-old in the Great Xia Dynasty who had achieved Heavenly Reflection!

    Then, why would Chi Guyan go down the mountain ahead of time? What was her purpose?

    ...

    In the imperial city of the Great Xia Dynasty, in the Yan Capital.

    Faint marks of battles and wars could be seen on the gigantic city wall, still as vivid as ever, but within the city walls, there was always a dryness that permeated the air.

    The imperial city that had peace for an entire year seemed as if great trouble was brewing.

    This could be inferred by the asional sounds of cups breaking within the various pces.

    "What?! Chi Guyan went down the mountain, she went out of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "What does she want to do..."

    Two simr voices seem to have sounded out in the imperial capital at the same time. However, what was different was their expression. There was happiness, worry, doubt, and horror...

    ...

    In the imperial capital training grounds of the patrol guards, within a huge military tent, a youth around the age of twenty-three to twenty-four was sitting at the main seat. The picture of a beast sewn in golden thread on his white brocade robe revealed his status.

    The emperor¡¯s family in the Great Xia Dynasty had the surname of "Lin".

    He, was the sixth prince of the emperor, the imperial prince, King Duan, Lin Xinjue.

    Such a powerful identity should be enjoying life in the pce, however, King Duan Lin Xinjue had long shifted his recreational area into the military tent, being among the military men.

    But, at this moment. King Duan Lin Xinjue was frowning deeply, as if thinking about something.

    On the military table, a delectable aroma was being emitted an exquisite furnace, and at the table sat two people, on its left and on its right. The one on the left was an elder wearing a ck and white Dao robe, on the right was a middle-aged man dressed like a schr.

    Other than them, there was no other person.

    "Don¡¯t tell me even Elder Wen isn¡¯t able to guess the intention of Chi Guyan?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression seemed somewhat troubled.

    "Replying King Duan, Chi Guyan¡¯s move was too sudden, I indeed cannot guess it! However, I believe that Chi Guyan¡¯s move might be rted to the River of Trust Capital examination..." Elder Wen, wearing a ck and white Dao robe, shook his head lightly.

    "It is only a small capital examination, Elder Wen had also said that Chi Guyan¡¯s criminal demand order was only to test the waters, why is there a conflict in intentions now?" The middle-aged schr sitting on the right spoke.

    "I have said that I can¡¯t guess it. The reason I feel that it is rted to the River of Trust Capital examination is only because that both their timings are too coincidental..." Elder Wen looked at the middle-aged schr with a calm expression.

    The middle-aged schr didn¡¯t speak further, and Lin Xinjue, on the main seat, started to ponder once again.

    "Why not we follow Elder Wen¡¯s previous suggestion and recruit this Fang Zhengzhi into the army early?" After a slight moment of deep thought, Lin Xinjue spoke again.

    "If we could recruit him, naturally that would be good. However, this person had unexpectedly defeated Yan Xiu from the Yan family, and also attained the double roll champion of the River of Trust Capital examination. Furthermore, I heard that his abilities had already reached Star Conglomerate. It is a time when he is glowing the brightest, I feel that the respective powers would all have their own ideas, if your highness King Duan enters into this..." Elder Wen seemed somewhat worried.

    "I understand, the army ranks people based on their military achievements. If we promised too much, it might waver the heart of the army. But if we offer too little and force the recruitment, he might rebel in the future!" Lin Xinjue heard this and instantly understood.

    "Your highness King Duan is wise!"

    "Your highness King Duan, based on the current circumstances, if we just stay dormant in the army, others might be able to take advantage and make the first move. I have an idea, I wonder if your highness is willing to try it!" The middle-aged schr spoke again.

    "Huh? Mister Hua, please speak!" When Lin Xinjue heard this, he looked at the middle-aged schr, Mister Hua.

    "Chi Guyan had gone down the mountain, and would definitely return to the Divine Constabry. I¡¯ve heard that three monthster, the Divine Constabry had set a constabry feast inviting the imperial officials from the Northern Desert, and also inviting the first-ss roll schrs from the River of Trust Capital examination to participate in it. If King Duan is able to personally attend it, there are three benefits!" When Mister Hua said this, he paused for a while, waiting for Lin Xinjue¡¯s reply.

    "Mister Hua, please teach!" Lin Xinjue¡¯s tone instantly became as respectful as a student.

    Mister Hua saw this, and a satisfied expression also appeared on his face. Then, standing up slowly, he walked to the middle of the military tent and bowed towards King Duan Lin Xinjue and Elder Wen.

    "The first benefit: Even though Chi Hou pays allegiance to your highness, but he is far away in the Northern Desert. If your highness doesn¡¯t go for this feast which gathers the imperial officials, the imperial officials would definitely see Chi Hou as the leader. But, if your highness attends this feast, they would definitely see your highness as the leader! It is to win their hearts!"

    "Yes, not bad!"

    "The second benefit: When Chi Guyan returns to the Divine Constabry, if your highness is able to personally visit the Northern Desert to show your sincerity, even if you cannot win her heart, in the future when you achieve great things, it would also be of help! It is for building your career!"

    "Good point, Mister Hua!"

    "The third benefit: Even though the River of Trust Capital examination is a small one, but, it gathered schrs from the five capitals of the Northern Desert. Even though they aren¡¯t very useful now, but in the future, it would only be something beneficial and without any harm! Furthermore, your highness would also be seen as someone who values talents! It is for the emperor¡¯s intent!"

    "Well said! Winning hearts, building career and emperor¡¯s intent!" When Lin Xinjue heard Mister Hua¡¯s words, he instantly stood up and respectfully returned a bow to Mister Hua.

    "For your highness King Duan to be able to receive the help of Mister Hua, you would definitely achieve sess! But, the three benefits Mister Hua said are indeed correct, but other than the three benefits... there is one harm. This time, I advise your highness King Duan to give up a benefit to avoid a harm!"

    "Give up a benefit to avoid a harm?" Lin Xinjue felt somewhat confused.

    "Yes, your highness, think carefully, what is the reason for Chi Hou¡¯s feast? Naturally, it is to establish himself among the imperial officials! If your highness visits personally, there would be the intent of being the host, then, it would barge in the way of Chi Hou¡¯s intentions..."

    "He is just Chi Hou, even if he is one among the thirteen constabries, how can hepete against your highness King Duan for honour?! Don¡¯t tell me he even wants to be the king of the Northern Desert?" When Mister Hua heard this, he seemed slightly infuriated.

    "No! Elder Wen¡¯s reminder is timely. This harm, I must avoid! I understand Elder Wen¡¯s meaning, and would definitely act carefully to ensure I don¡¯t get in the way of Chi Hou¡¯s intentions!" Lin Xinjue waved his hands, thought for a while, then bowed towards Elder Wen.

    "Your highness King Duan is far-sighted!" Elder Win instantly returned the gesture.

    ...

    In the Yan capital city of the imperial capital, the ce where the tempest gathered, King Duan was discussing in the military tent, and the other pces were also discussing spiritedly. Within the city, countless grand horse carriages continuously moved about.

    There were those who went out of the pce, and some who had just returned.

    Among those, the ce with the most horse carriages was no doubt the Crown Prince Pce where the words "Eastern Pce" hung.

    ...

    Of course, no matter how the situations changed, they weren¡¯t important to Fang Zhengzhi at all. Because, he knew nothing about the news of Chi Guyan going down the mountain.

    The River of Trust Capital which was far away in the Northern Desert naturally wouldn¡¯t be as well-informed as the imperial capital.

    Now, the thing that the schrs in the River of Trust Capital cared more about was, why would Yun Qingwu suddenly send an invitation to Fang Zhengzhi? That was the lecher who tore down her veil!

    Could it be just because he is the double roll champion of this capital examination?

    They weren¡¯t satisfied!

    Hence, at this moment, at the riverside of the River of Trust, countless schrs gathered. They all wished to see whether this number one lecher in the world would have to face to ept Yun Qingwu¡¯s invitation.

    The wind was somewhat cooling, and the willow branches continued to sway lightly.

    But, the schrs all felt very hurt...

    However, Fang Zhengzhi evidently didn¡¯t care much about this. Those in the light never did dark things, even though he had very directly unveiled Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil.

    Hence...

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared at the riverside of the River of Trust.

    Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t beside him. There was only him, alone. But, when he appeared, the attention of all the schrs surrounding the riverside were all drawn to him.

    He was still wearing a blue robe, lightly swaying in the wind following Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leisurely footsteps.

    "He really came?! Thick-skinned..."

    "This lecher really revealed his true nature. I am indeed interested what presents would he have to give Yun Qingwu!"

    The schrs who saw Fang Zhengzhi were very angry, and very jealous. However, nobody came up to stop him. Because, they were all very curious. Why would Yun Qingwu invite Fang Zhengzhi?

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi had something that they all didn¡¯t?

    The pleasure boat anchored at the riverside, and ady wearing a jade-green dress waited quietly. When she saw Fang Zhengzhi, she stepped out gracefully and weed him.

 Chapter 124: Please Unveil

    Chapter 124: Please Unveil

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Since there was somebody who specially waited in the wind to wee him, Fang Zhengzhi naturally stopped, and looked at this girl in the green dress who wasn¡¯t considered exceptionally beautiful, but was still rather pretty.

    He felt that he should disy his elegance and refined personality.

    For example, praise thedy¡¯s personality, or, describe thedy¡¯s polite manner.

    As he thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively blurted out a dialect that circled the Northern Mountain Vige for many years.

    "Thisdy looks devilish handsome!"

    The sentence left his mouth...

    The wind in the entire riverside seemed to have silenced. Every schr stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression of shock. They were really unable to believe that this was the double roll champion who defeated all the schrs in the River of Trust Capital.

    Thedy in green dress was also taken aback.

    Having followed Yun Qingwu for so many years journeying through the country, she could indeed be considered experienced and knowledgeable. Else, she wouldn¡¯t be tasked to wait at the riverside. However, she still hadn¡¯t understood the meaning behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Was he flirting with her?

    Or...

    He liked people who were like her?

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the green skirtdy who was stunned, rooted to the ground, and sighed inwardly. He initially wanted to liven up the atmosphere, but, it looks like not every situation allowed him to make jokes?

    "What I meant was, ady dressed in green skirt waiting at the riverside of the River of Trust beside the willow tree, in the cool breeze, this style is indeedparable to the winter-sweet in the snow!" Fang Zhengzhi helplessly rephrased his words.

    "Thank you for Young Master Fang¡¯s praise, the wind at the riverside is strong, Young Master Fang, please board the boat!" Her tone changed. Thedy in green dress evidently managed to react.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move. All along, he understood one rule. It was easy to board the ship, but hard to leave the ship.

    Just like the previous time he brought Yan Xiu to the Moonview Restaurant. After eating and drinking, it was extremely tough to settle the bill. If he hadn¡¯t encountered Su Jiu, he would definitely be held in the restaurant for that meal.

    If he didn¡¯t guess wrongly, Yun Qingwu¡¯s status was more or less the same as the restaurant owner in his previous world.

    Even though Yun Qingwu was definitely the best among the restaurant owners, she was someone that the average person wouldn¡¯t pay attention to, and if one wanted to meet her, it was as hard as climbing into Heaven.

    But, she also lived through hardships and uncertainties, even if she personally invited him, silver and treasures were definitely unavoidable.

    Thedy in the green dress saw that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t intend to board the boat, and was somewhat confused.

    "There is something that I must make clear first, I am only here to listen to music and eat. I don¡¯t have any money to give, nor did I bring any presents." Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and finally decided to speak his mind.

    Even though when Yan Xiu heard that Yun Qingwu had invited him, he gave him a pearl that was as big as an egg. However, he didn¡¯t ept it.

    Taking a friend¡¯s treasure to drink in thepany of women?

    He really couldn¡¯t bring himself to do such things.

    "He actually didn¡¯t bring any present!"

    "This person is indeed thick-skinned. If he imed to be number two, nobody would ever dare to im they were number one! He is really too shameless!"

    "He actually didn¡¯t bring any presents when meeting Yun Qingwu, quick, chase him away!"

    When the stunned schrs suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they instantly expressed the anger in their hearts. Which person meeting Yun Qingwu wouldn¡¯t bring along a treasure?

    "Young Master Fang, don¡¯t worry. This time,dy had personally sent out the invitation, a present is naturally unnecessary!" Thedy in green dress covered her mouth andughed gently, then once again, waved lightly to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "A present is naturally unnecessary?!"

    When the surrounding schrs heard this, they all felt like they were struck by lightning, and stoodpletely stunned on the spot.

    To be able to be invited by Yun Qingwu is already a blessing from Heaven, he actually still didn¡¯t bring any presents? Even in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, nobody would be able to ept such a thing?

    "Then, let me board the boat and listen to a piece!" Fang Zhengzhi very reluctantly nodded his head.

    ...

    As the schrs stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure from the back and gritted their teeth, Fang Zhengzhi was leisurely admiring theyout of the pleasure boat and the beautiful ink paintings...

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s pleasure boat was indeed uniquely poetic.

    Not even mentioning the various beautiful jewelleries, each of them positioned perfectly to match the boat, just the various kinds of paintings and poems that adorned the body of the pleasure boat itself were amazing.

    It seemed like the jewelleries were grown on the body of the boat, as if they were naturally.

    "This boat looks like a work of art, but..."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say it, because, based on the positions of the jewelleries, he deduced very quickly that Yun Qingwu was not only proficient in poetry, singing, chess and paintings, she was also well-versed in the formations of The Art of Bing Invisible.

    Yun Qingwu...

    Is probably not as simple as she seems on the surface?

    "Please sit, Young Master Fang. Lady will arrive soon!" Thedy in green dress led Fang Zhengzhi into an elegant room on the boat.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that these words seemed to cause people to fantasize.

    He sat, and waited quietly.

    Then, a fewdies in green dresses began to send in tes of exquisite snacks, and ced them on the table in front of Fang Zhengzhi, then slowly withdrew.

    When the refreshments had all been served, an elegant figure appeared from behind the pearl curtains.

    Wearing a simple yet elegant white dress, with a simple ink lotus embroidered onto it, her hair fell like a waterfall to her waist. She didn¡¯t wear any jewellery on her head, and she radiated the air of purity.

    But, as usual, her face was covered by a ck veil. The snow-white shoes on her feet moved, and she bowed lightly towards Fang Zhengzhi, then, quietly sat in front of the piano table opposite Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yun Qingwu, ady that caused the schrs in the entire Great Xia Dynasty to go crazy over her.

    "Young Master Fang, thank you for waiting!" Yun Qingwu spoke, her voice as clear as the chirp of birds.

    This was indeed a one-to-one date. Who knew how many schrs could only dream for such an opportunity. However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too excited.

    The reason he was here to see Yun Qingwu was because he was somewhat curious.

    He was curious about why Yun Qingwu would confidently bet that he would attain the theory examination roll champion, and was also simrly curious about Yun Qingwu¡¯s real purpose ining to the River of Trust Capital.

    But, this curiosity didn¡¯t require any rushing.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently, and bowed towards Yun Qingwu.

    "Thank you Lady Qingwu for your invitation!"

    "What would Young Master Fang like to listen to?" Yun Qingwu pointed at the guqin in front of her.

    "How about the Ancient Tune of Guangling?" Fang Zhengzhi thought that since Yun Qingwu had asked, why not he choose something that was harder. He wished to see whether Yun Qingwu knew this ancient piece that was rumoured to be lost in history.

    "Ha ha..." Yun Qingwuughed gently.

    Unfortunately, the ck veil concealed her beautiful smile, and nobody was able to see the style of her smile.

    "Looks like Young Master Fang is someone who cherishes the world. However, this Ancient Tune of Guangling is divided into the parts Jingli, Quhan, Wangshen, Hanzhi, Liefu, Chenming, Toujian, Junji, Weixing, I wonder which part would Young Master Fang like to hear first?" Yun Qingwu smiled, then asked back.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had yed a little too big. He never thought that Yun Qingwu would actually know how this. If he couldn¡¯t deduce whether the tune Yun Qingwu yed was authentic, wouldn¡¯t that be a little embarrassing?

    "It is still early, let¡¯s start from Jingli." Fang Zhengzhi pretended as if there wasn¡¯t a problem.

    "Alright!" Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ...

    At the riverside of the River of Trust, very quickly, countless schrs heard the melodious and ssical Ancient Tune of Guangling. The melodious sound of the guqin floated in the air, as if whispering the stories of home.

    Instantly, the schrs were overwhelmed.

    In reality...

    That was the greatest reason why they gathered at the riverside of the River of Trust.

    After the Jingli ended, the second part, the sound of Quhan very quickly sounded out...

    Fang Zhengzhi listened to the music within the pleasure boat, and helped himself to the exquisite snacks. On the other hand, the schrs stood in the cool breeze, and revelled in this beautiful guqin music.

    ...

    The song ended, and the guqin was kept.

    Yun Qingwu sat quietly on the chair, and her jet-ck eyes looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, also looking at Yun Qingwu. However, ayer of ck veily in between them.

    Then, Yun Qingwu spoke.

    "Young Master Fang, can you guess why I would invite you here?"

    "Before I guess, can you remove your veil?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply Yun Qingwu¡¯s question immediately, and instead asked her back.

    "Ha ha... looks like Young Master Fang already has a n. Since Young Master Fang wants to see, why not you act the same way as you didst time?" Yun Qingwu simrly asked back.

    The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth gradually curved into a light smile, then, he stood up from the chair and walked towards Yun Qingwu.

    "Young Master Fang really dares to unveil my veil again?" Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements, but didn¡¯t seem to bother dodging. Instead, she enquired softly.

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I dare?"

    "The previous time, during the Hundred Flower Gathering, after Young Master Fang unveiled my veil, you managed to escape... this time, in this pleasure boat, I believe you wouldn¡¯t be able to leave so easily." Yun Qingwu looked around, and reminded him softly.

    "If I really wouldn¡¯t be able to leave today, what difference does it make if I unveil you?" Fang Zhengzhi understood very well the meaning behind Yun Qingwu¡¯s words. Once he boarded the ship, he had already known that it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to leave.

    "Young Master Fang is right, then,e and unveil!" Yun Qingwu lightly nodded her head, then, stood up and signalled that Fang Zhengzhi could begin unveiling.

    Looking at Yun Qingwu¡¯s easy-going expression, Fang Zhengzhiughed again, then, lightly waved his hand and walked, step by step, towards Yun Qingwu.

    On the other hand, Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t attempt to move back, and instead stood quietly on the spot.

    The room wasn¡¯t big.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t walk quickly, but, he still managed to arrive very quickly in front of Yun Qingwu.

    The distance between the two of them was less than an inch. Fang Zhengzhi could even smell the faint fragrance that emanated from Yun Qingwu¡¯s body.

    "I am going to unveil!"

    "Since young master wishes to do so, then please go ahead!"

    Fang Zhengzhi lightly nodded his head, then, he moved. His right hand grabbed towards the ck veil on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, with a speed as fast as lightning. It was very fast, and didn¡¯t carry any sound of breaking through the air.

    And right at this moment, or, it could be said that once Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand moved, Yun Qingwu also moved. Her curved and elegant figure at this moment revealed an extreme flexibility.

    One feet tapped the ground lightly, and the other rose off the ground. However, she didn¡¯t lean back, and instead, with her one feet anchored to the ground, she quickly turned towards the left, and at the instant she turned...

    Her snow-white dress flew up, just like a white lotus flower that had suddenly bloomed.

 Chapter 125: Both hands must be strong

    Chapter 125: Both hands must be strong

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though the beauty of the lotus cannotpare to that of the rose, nor is it as noble as the peony, but, it is the most sacred of them all.

    Just like Yun Qingwu at this moment.

    Even though she was only wearing a in dress, she had an air that inspired reverence.

    Furthermore, Yun Qingwu¡¯s speed was very fast, at least faster than the movement of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand, and, no matter whether one discussed about the timing of the dodge, or the movement of the dodge, she seemed to have mastered them well.

    Evidently...

    She had nned it well long ago, furthermore, she seemed to have even practised it specially for this asion.

    The posture of her body turning was beautiful,bined with the floating of her snow-white dress, it was enchanting.

    But, very unfortunately, the second she turned her body, a hand appeared in front of her eyes. That was a hand that seemed to have been waiting in front of her face all along.

    A hand?!

    Where did this hande from?

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t quite understand. Because, she had very clearly seen that she had dodged the hand that Fang Zhengzhi reached towards her veil.

    But, why was there another hand?

    Most importantly, after she turned her body, she just happened to hit the arm of this hand...

    Then, the feeling on her face became lighter, and the ck veil ended up in this hand.

    "You..." Yun Qingwu looked at the ck veil in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, and her expression was somewhat stunned.

    A beautiful face was revealed once again. Her features were picturesque, her skin was white as snow, and her tender lips that carried the stunning colour of a reddish purple was slightly open, revealing a row of glistening white teeth.

    Everything was exactly the same as the first time her veil was unveiled by Fang Zhengzhi, her beautiful features indeed seemed to contain the feeling of a sacred lotus being vited.

    There were times when worldly things just don¡¯t go ording to n.

    No matter how urate one¡¯s calctions are, what was toe, would definitelye!

    Fang Zhengzhi lightly waved the ck veil in his left hand, and faintly smiled at Yun Qingwu, who had knocked into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest on her own ord.

    Just as Yun Qingwu expected, she had dodged it. But, what she dodged was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand. But, the ck veil now ended up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left hand.

    The most important point was, the actions of the two people seemed somewhat out of ce.

    From Fang Zhengzhi extending his hands, one following another, to Yun Qingwu turning to the left, then to the moment the ck veil ended up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left hand, no matter how one looked at it, it still seemed as if Yun Qingwu¡¯s shy turn of the body had caused her to end up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    If this scene was witnessed by any schr or man...

    He probably would raise his and attempt to kill immediately. Vition, this was the vition of the most beautiful lotus in the world, and it was the type that was absolutely unforgivable.

    "As a man, I cannot only depend on one hand. I have to use both at once, both hands must be strong!" Fang Zhengzhi announced his conclusion about this beautiful ident.

    The shock on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face gradually vanished, and was slowly reced by calm.

    Silently looking at this youth standing so close to her, she didn¡¯t scream and jump back like the average women, instead, very calmly, she extracted herself from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest and returned back onto the chair.

    "Can I leave now?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to intend to return back to his seat.

    "Do you think you can leave?"

    "Your veil had already been taken off, naturally, I would be able to leave."

    "Looks like you indeed know the reason why I invited you." A trace of shock shed across Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    "The reason Yun Qingwu came to the River of Trust Capital would definitely not be as simple as ying a piece of music for me, I think... if I hadn¡¯t attained the theory examination roll champion, I should be in some trouble now. You didn¡¯t bet that I would attain thebat examination, naturally, that was due to Yan Xiu¡¯s presence. Now that I am the double roll champion, I won¡¯t have any other problems outside, and will only be left with the problem of you."

    "You are afraid that you won¡¯t be able to unveil me?" Yun Qingwu remained calm as per usual after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "If I can do it once, I can do it twice. What do I have to fear?"

    "This time, there would definitely be a storm brewing in this Divine Constabry feast, does Young Master Fang intend to go?"

    "When the stormes, at most I¡¯ll just run."

    "Ha ha..." A faint smile finally appeared on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face. "What other people talk about is facing the storm, and facing it calmly. However, Young Master Fang¡¯s first thought is to run, that is really shallow."

    "Then, are you counted as a part of the storm?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu seriously.

    The smile of Yun Qingwu¡¯s face vanished, and for the first time, her expression seemed somewhat hesitant. She didn¡¯t look at Fang Zhengzhi, and instead gazed at the swaying willows at the riverside.

    "My surname is Yun [1]."

    "Understood."

    ...

    Coming out from the pleasure boat, the wind at the riverside seemed to have turned colder. The schrs looked at Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi also looked at them. Looking at one another, Fang Zhengzhi spoke.

    "Aren¡¯t you all... cold?"

    "Cold?" The schrs nced at one another, unable to understand the meaning behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Just as they prepared to speak, Fang Zhengzhi had already turned around and left...

    ...

    The second day, at the city gate of the River of Trust Capital.

    Su Jiu, dressed in a boy servant attire, stood at the city gate. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi, who was holding his Silver Scale Horse not too far away with a leisurely expression, he quickly went up to him.

    "Young Master Fang, are you leaving?"

    "Your information is really powerful." When Fang Zhengzhi saw Su Jiu appear, he knew that Su Jiu should have been waiting there long ago.

    "Thank you, Young Master Fang, for your praise, my master knows that Young Master Fang is leaving. But, she doesn¡¯t understand one thing, and sent me to ask something." Su Jiu respectfully helped Fang Zhengzhi to hold the Silver Scale Horse, then, led Fang Zhengzhi past the city gate.

    "Please ask."

    "Master wishes to ask why Young Master Fang has the time to meet with people inside the pleasure boat in such a romantic setting, but forgot his previous promise in the Moonview Restaurant?"

    "Ha ha, because your master is too ck!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly.

    Going to the Moonview Restaurant again? Getting ughtered like a sheep?

    "Too ck?" Su Jiu was filled with confusion, but, still continued to send Fang Zhengzhi off very respectfully. Of course, since he was here to send Fang Zhengzhi off, Su Jiu indeed didn¡¯t forget about the money and gifts.

    ...

    As Fang Zhengzhi was leaving the River of Trust Capital, riding the Silver Scale Horse and stirred up clouds of dust, within the Moonview Restaurant, Wu Yuer was looking at the mirror in front of her over and over again.

    "ck? That¡¯s not possible... it is clearly very white, somebodye!"

    "What orders do master have!" A maid in a red dress instantly entered, bowing her body.

    "What do you think of my skin?"

    "Master¡¯s skin is white as snow, and is unique and rare. It isparable to the moon in the sky!"

    "Alright, you can leave!" Wu Yuer nodded, then turned around and looked at the mirror. "Is this lecher blind?"

    ...

    Fifteen dayster, in the capital city of the five capitals of the Northern Desert, The Northern Capital, Golden Scale City.

    As an important military city which the Great Xia Dynasty established to fend against barbarians of the North, the prosperity and bustling nature of the Golden Scale City was obvious. Traffic was heavy and endless, and countless business people wore fabric hats around the city.

    However, no matter how big a business was, they would still deliberately avoid a huge constabry area. Because, that was the Northern Desert Divine Constabry among the one pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries.

    Two rows of soldiers wearing shiny armours stood guard at the gate of the Divine Constabry. On the chest of each soldier¡¯s armour was a blood-red coloured triangr seal.

    The Divine Constabry, Red Pinion Squad!

    They were the true elites among soldiers, and was the symbol of power of the Northern Desert Divine Constabry.

    A sense of killing naturally emanated from the bodies of each member of the Red Pinion Squad. That was an air that could onlye from experiencing the blood and fire of the battlefield.

    Nobody was willing to go near them.

    But, at this moment, ady wearing a green dress, wearing a silver hairpin in her hair, walked casually towards them. Her expression was fearless, and even contained a little bit of arrogance.

    Thedy walked in front of the huge gate of the Divine Constabry, raised her head and looked at the golden tablet inscribed with the two words "Divine Constabry", her eyes filled with a deep sense of longing.

    "One year... I¡¯ve finally returned!"

    And right at this moment, a slightly plump middle-aged man who was wearing an airy robe also ran quickly from within the Divine Constabry to wee her. Behind him, a few soldiers from the Red Pinion Squad followed as well.

    Once he saw thedy.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes instantly lit up.

    "Ah, Yuer is back, where is Missus?" The middle-aged man greeted thedy very politely, but his eyes constantly searched behind thedy.

    "How can I tell you the whereabouts of Missus?" Lady Yuer replied with an arrogant expression.

    "Oh... Yuer, aren¡¯t you causing trouble for me? Lord knows that Missus had left the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and had been expecting Missus¡¯s return day and night!" The middle-aged man¡¯s face instantly fell.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t dare to trouble hisdy in front of him.

    Even though she was only a maid in the Divine Constabry, but, the person she apanied was Chi Guyan, whose status in the Divine Constabry was even more important than the lord.

    As the maid of Chi Guyan, she indeed had the right to be proud.

    Furthermore, nobody could argue against that.

    "I can only tell you that Missus didn¡¯t travel with me." Yuer raised her head slightly, then walked past the middle-aged man and strode towards the Divine Constabry.

    "Didn¡¯t travel with you? How can Missus not travel with you? You served Missus for a year in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and even went down the mountain together? Missus..." The middle-aged man was confused and shocked. When he thought of Missus being outside alone, he prepared to ask questions such as whether it would be dangerous, but, thinking again, he realised that with Missus¡¯s abilities, such things were definitely impossible.

    "You are really wordy. How can I know Missus¡¯s thoughts?" Yuer was somewhat impatient.

    "Then..."

    "Missus had said that before the date of the feast, she would definitely return!" Yuer waved her hands, and walked towards a small, quiet garden within the constabry.

    "I have to help Missus pack, people like you... are too clumsy!"

    The middle-aged man didn¡¯t pursue further, and instead, he stared confusedly at Yuer¡¯s disappearing figure.

    "There are still more than two months to the feast? What is Missus doing?" The middle-aged man pondered as he walked, then, suddenly filled with shock. "Now, news of Missus returning to the Divine Constabry is spreading across the entire Great Xia Dynasty, but, Missus didn¡¯t return? What should we do? No, I have to report to Lord immediately!"

    [1] Yun in Chinese means cloud, and Feng Yun was tranted as storm. Hence, giving rise to the link between Yun Qingwu¡¯s surname and the aforementioned "storm".

 Chapter 126: A Fish Rising into the Sky

    Chapter 126: A Fish Rising into the Sky

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Along the way, all the ces he passed by were bursting with happiness.

    The capital examination was being held at the same time within the five capitals of the Northern Desert, and at this time, was the time that the congrattory team was travelling to the various counties and viges to announce the good news.

    In any big county, there would always be a schr who had passed the capital examination.

    Hence, at every city gate of the county cities, there would always be a team waiting for the return of a few schrs, furthermore, even were even other scheming people who took advantage of his time to organise a few special activities.

    For example, the most popr folk game,ntern riddles, or some women who were not conceding to men set up an arena in the county city in a contest for marriage, both in the arts and inbat.

    The entire way, Fang Zhengzhi walked and stopped, stopped and walked, and yed very happily. Naturally, he guessed manyntern riddles, and under various kinds of envious gazes, breaking up affectionate couples.

    Was guessingntern riddles and breaking up affectionate couples rted?

    Naturally, it was. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s favourite riddle to guess was the kind when a guy and a girl were browsing thenterns, and the girl screaming, "I want, I want..."

    Then, when the guypletely racked his brains but still wasn¡¯t able to answer thentern riddle which the girl wanted.

    It was the time when Fang Zhengzhi would always appear on the scene.

    Afterpleting his grand deed, he would walk away, concealing his abilities and his name.

    ...

    Within the morning mountain and forests, there was a faint mist, and the clear sound of birds singing rang out. Just like a girl who had just came out from a bathe, the sound of water from her body dripping onto the ground contained a hazy and natural beauty.

    A row of officials with red silk hanging off them were walking along a mountain road.

    They banged their gongs, shocking the small birds foraging for food on the trees, then leisurely passing by the vige entrance of the Southern Mountain Vige and journeyed towards the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The previous Southern Mountain Vige chief stood quietly at the vige entrance and looked at the congrattory team. The mncholy in his heart could be imagined, even though this was already the second time he saw such a team.

    The pain in his heart didn¡¯t decrease a single bit, and instead, grew stronger and stronger.

    "Vige chief, we have to go!" Wearing a teacher attire, with a face as big as a bowl, Wang Anhua appeared behind Meng Bai at this moment.

    And behind Wang Anhua followed another middle-aged man dressed in a teacher attire, and two horse carriages filled with books of all kinds.

    "Must you go?" Meng Bai¡¯s trembling hands picked up his cigar, and inhaled deeply.

    "The order has already arrived. The Hall of Dao will be moved to the Northern Mountain Vige. It is only separated by a mountain, if vige chief has any requests in the future, you can still get somebody to pass the message to me." Wang Anhua bowed lightly towards Meng Bai.

    "Sigh..." Meng Bai sighed heavily, then turned around and walked back towards the centre of the vige. His figure contained an unspeakable sense of loneliness.

    ...

    Compared to the loneliness of the Southern Mountain Vige, the Northern Mountain Vige was undoubtedly bustling with happiness and activity.

    The Huai An County head wore a ck official robe and personally led Vige Chief Zhang Yangping as well as Fang Houde and stood under a huge tree at the vige entrance, waiting for the arrival of the congrattory team.

    Zhang Yangping and the crowd of vigers at this moment were still somewhat in disbelief.

    "Fang Zhengzhi passed the capital examination?!"

    "And, he is the double roll champion?"

    "The Hall of Dao from the Southern Mountain Vige is going to be moved to the Northern Mountain Vige!"

    "The county head personally rushed to the Northern Mountain Vige overnight to send his grattions, and even order people to bring along all the necessary materials for building the Hall of Dao!"

    Every single incident seemed to hammer onto the fragile hearts of the vigers.

    To a remote and ordinary small mountain vige, nobody would ever think that such things would happen, or, it could be said that every single thing aforementioned was something they had absolutely never thought of before.

    "County head, are... you sure that you didn¡¯t get it wrong?" Zhang Yangping felt that such a thing was even more shocking than gold falling from the sky.

    "Ha ha, Vige Chief Zhang, what are you saying? This time¡¯s River of Trust Capital examination is one that everybody in the world paid attention to, and gathered the schrs and talents from the five capitals of the Northern Desert. The incident of Young Master Fang attaining the River of Trust Capital examination double roll champion is known to everybody, how can I be wrong?"

    The county head didn¡¯t appear impatient at all, and instead smiled gently and exined.

    The Northern Mountain Vige belonged to the jurisdiction of the Huai An County. Within a county, a roll champion in the capital examination was always a happy asion. Furthermore, this was a double roll champion.

    Most importantly, everybody understood that this River of Trust Capital examination wasn¡¯t just any ordinary one.

    Else, with his status, even he wouldn¡¯t rush overnight to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Fang Houde¡¯s expression at this moment seemed both emotionally moved and worried. Even though the previous time, when Fang Zhengzhi had attained the county examination double roll champion, he had already been moved.

    But this was different...

    The capital examination!

    An examination that truly allowed one to enter the books of history!

    "Boom!" The sound of a gong rang faintly from a distance away.

    Then, within the mist, a row of officials with red silk hanging off them gradually revealed themselves.

    "They are here, they are here!"

    "The congrattory officials are really here!"

    "Why do I keep feeling as if I¡¯m dreaming?"

    The vigers all began to grow excited. But, to them, such news was really too hard to imagine. Even if they had really seen the congrattory officials, not everybody would be able to ept this immediately.

    But, reality was reality.

    Especially when the congrattory officials neared them, then passed a huge red banner respectively into the hands of the county head, followed by the county head passing it into Fang Houde¡¯s hands.

    Only then, all of the vigers finally understood...

    Fang Zhengzhi had really passed the capital examination, furthermore, he was the double roll champion!

    Zhang Yangping was so moved that he knelt onto the ground and kowtowed to the skies, shouting, "Heaven has eyes!"

    On the other hand, tears filled the eyes of the vigers. The Northern Mountain Vige had produced a schr, furthermore, a strong schr that had attained the capital examination double roll champion...

    Eight years ago, when Fang Zhengzhi and his family were invited by Zhang Yangping into the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Who would have thought that there would be such a day?

    Within the mountain valley, a real dragon that shot into the clouds had appeared. How could people not be excited, how could they not tear.

    Fang Houde¡¯s hand were trembling. He was a man over forty years of age, yet, the tears in his eyes fell like raindrops. His face, that had experienced the attack of the mountain wind, contained an unparalleled satisfaction.

    Having a son like that, what else could he ask for?

    "His mother is still waiting, I... I will go inform her!" Fang Houde gazed at the two huge golden words on the red banner, and his voice was somewhat choked.

    "The previous time, after the county examination, Zhengzhi had returned for a while. I wonder will he return again after the capital examination?" Another viger looked at the mountain path and asked somewhat excitedly.

    "Ha ha... young Master Fang had attained double roll champion, but he has to participate in the feast of the Divine Constabry. Furthermore, he has the opportunity to entire the Heavenly Treasure Hall! I believe that he is currently on the way to the Golden Scale City!" The county head heard the viger¡¯s words and replied, once again with a smile on his face.

    "Participating in the feast of the Divine Constabry?!"

    "Isn¡¯t that too amazing? The Divine Constabry..."

    "Then what is this Heavenly Treasure Hall?"

    "If you don¡¯t know, don¡¯t ask. That is definitely somewhere with many treasures. How could there be anything inferior in the Divine Constabry?"

    "Then when can this child Zhengzhi return to the vige again?"

    "What would hee back for? Our vige is small, and this child Zhengzhi has potential. He would definitely be achieving great things outside!"

    When the vigers heard the county head¡¯s words, then began to discuss spiritedly once again. Even though they all wished that Fang Zhengzhi could return to the vige for a while, but when they thought of Fang Zhengzhi soaring like a dragon after passing the capital examination, they were all able to understand.

    "Yes, I believe it would be hard for him to return in this short span of time. After participating in the feast of the Divine Constabry, the imperial examination would begin quickly after that. When that timees, he would still have to rush to the imperial Yan capital!" The county head revealed all that he knew.

    "Wow... entering the imperial capital!" A viger stared with his eyes wide open.

    "I wonder whether Fang Zhengzhi has enough money on him to spend?" Zhang Yangping thought of Fang Zhengzhi leaving without much money, and had initially thought that he would return after the capital examination.

    However, he had never thought that he actually passed, and was about to rush to the Golden Scale City, then to the Imperial Yan Capital. Along the way, the amount of money he needed would definitely not be little...

    As he thought, he began to feel rather guilty.

    Just as they spoke, another wave of the sound of hooves sounded out from the small mountain path.

    "Looks like the teachers from the Southern Mountain Vige Hall of Dao had arrived, I never thought that they would be so fast!" A viger heard the sound and instantlyughed.

    The Hall of Dao from the Southern Mountain Vige had moved to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    This was definitely something that caused every viger in the Northern Mountain Vige to be delighted about.

    Initially, when the Southern Mountain Vige had established the Hall of Dao, the Northern Mountain Vige people were filled with envy. But now, the tides had turned, and this year, it was their turn.

 Chapter 127: Heaven Dao Scholar

    Chapter 127: Heaven Dao Schr

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The county head also contained some excitement in his heart. He knew very clearly that the meaning of this Hall of Dao wasn¡¯t just any ordinary one. Because, it was personally established by the daughter of the Divine Constabry.

    Among the mist, the sound of hooves came nearer and nearer.

    A figure gradually appeared riding on horseback. A blue robe danced lightly in the wind, and at the edges of his mouth, there was a faint smile.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" The county head¡¯s jaws instantly dropped.

    The Law of Dao county examinations was invigted by the county head, hence, naturally he was able to instantly recognise Fang Zhengzhi. However, h was in disbelief.

    "Zhengzhi is back?"

    "Why did hee back to the vige? Isn¡¯t he going to participate in the feast of the Divine Constabry?"

    The viges stared with disbelief at the figure that appeared from the mist, some even shot their gazes towards the county head, confused.

    The county head was filled with confusion. The invitation of the Divine Constabry was extremely important. For such an opportunity, ordinarily people would instantly rush to the Golden Scale City to familiarise themselves with the surroundings, learn about matters within the Divine Constabry and undergo some social interaction...

    But, Fang Zhengzhi actually chose to return to the vige?!

    After a moment of shock, the county head had suddenly somewhat understood. Then, a genuine trace of admiration appeared in his gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    A dragon that had already soared into the skies, as it soared, it didn¡¯t look at the vast sky, but instead looked back at thend that raised it.

    Such values...

    Were incredibly valuable!

    Fang Houde simrly saw Fang Zhengzhi, but only felt very surprised. There wasn¡¯t much shock in his gaze, because, he knew his son¡¯s heart.

    "Uncle Yangping, Dad! Huh? County head..." At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi held his horse and neared the crowd.

    This time, there were actually so many people at the vige entrance weing him, causing him to be indeed somewhat surprised. Recalling the previous county examination, he had felt around in the dark to enter the vige.

    "Is there enough time?" Fang Houde didn¡¯t speak much, instead, very normally opened his mouth and asked. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to conceal his hands, which were trembling due to him being overly moved.

    "It¡¯s still early, I can stay in the vige for some time!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Zhengzhi... incredible! Your Uncle Yangping really didn¡¯t overestimate you. Alright, go back and visit your mum first, we still have to wait here for a while!" Zhang Yangping¡¯s tone was filled with the care and concern of an elder.

    "You all aren¡¯t waiting for me?"

    "Waiting for you? Ha ha ha... we indeed really aren¡¯t waiting for you!"

    "The Hall of Dao of the Southern Mountain Vige is going to move into the Northern Mountain Vige, the county head had personally delivered the materials. Me and your Uncle Yangping will be waiting here for a while more." Fang Houde exined to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "The Hall of Dao of the Southern Mountain Vige is going to move into the Northern Mountain Vige?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly inwardly taken aback.

    This was good news, but, at the same time, this was a news that caused him to feel somewhat fearful. After all, the Hall of Dao of the Southern Mountain Vige was personally established by Chi Guyan. Without Chi Guyan¡¯s orders, who would dare to move it?

    Chi Guyan...

    That Runaway Lolita shouldn¡¯t have left the Heaven Dao Pavilion, right?

    That order should havee from within the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    But, why would she make such an arrangement? What was the purpose of this move?

    Curry favour with him? Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t dare to consider this. Not mentioning that he was only the double roll champion of the capital examination, even the double roll champion of an imperial examination wouldn¡¯t even receive a second nce from Chi Guyan.

    Furthermore, there was already the criminal demand order.

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    This was the legend of spanking one for a sweet date to eat?

    Or, nting a chess piece in the Northern Mountain Vige, a piece that could squeeze him to death any moment!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think too much about this. Because, with his current abilities, if Chi Guyan really wanted to squeeze him to death, he indeed really wouldn¡¯t be able to resist.

    When he returned home, Qin Xuelian was sewing a leather shoe in the room.

    Their eyes met.

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat delighted.

    But Qin Xuelian¡¯s eyes were widened. She rubbed her eyes hard, then, said to herself. "Ah... my longing had turned into a sickness, I have always hoped that Zhengzhi would return, but, my Zhengzhi is going to achieve great things, why would he return to the vige?"

    "Mum, I am back!"

    "Yes... as long as you are back, it¡¯s good. Huh?! Zheng... Zhengzhi, you..." The leather shoe in Qin Xuelian¡¯s hand fell to the ground, and a teardrop fell from her eyes.

    Then, she suddenly stood up and immediately gave Fang Zhengzhi a big hug.

    Warmth...

    It was actually sometimes very simple.

    ...

    At night, the Northern Mountain Vige was bustling with activity. A feast filled the vige square, and other than the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige, vige chiefs from all around also came over to send their congrattions.

    The county head, whose face was flushed with red, inquired the various vige heads about the situations in their vige, Wang Anhua also looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an unparalleled sense of delight and joy.

    "After eight years of not seeing you, you have grown up!"

    "Mister Wang doesn¡¯t look old at all."

    "Ha ha ha... who knew that after so many years, your mouth would still be as merciless as before?"

    The happy atmosphere and the simplicity of the vigers filled the entire vige square. Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t attempt to find out things from Wang Anhua, because, he knew Wang Anhua would definitely not say them.

    ...

    The second day morning, the county head presided over the ceremony for the Law of Dao, then, interacted with Fang Zhengzhi about his experience during the examination, then returned to the Huai An County under the protection of a group of county guards.

    The vige chiefs from the various viges also brought presents from their respective viges.

    After the initial excitement, the Northern Mountain Vige resumed its simple life.

    Everything was very calm.

    The calm was just like the frozen surface of ake, no matter how strong the wind was, it still wouldn¡¯t be affected.

    Of course, there would also be exceptions. For example, sudden appearance of water birds on the surface of theke. They might not be able to peck through the thick ice surface, but they would definitely be able to leave a row of small w marks on the surface of the ice.

    And also, like a schr who had appeared at the small mountain path at this moment. He was dressed inly yet elegantly, and his white robe billowed. Even though he stirred up a cloud of dust along the way, the edges of his clothes weren¡¯t at all stained by the dirt.

    The schr¡¯s eyes were very bright, just like the brightest star in the night sky.

    The distance from the Huai An County to the Northern Mountain Vige wasn¡¯t too far, other than a few plots ofnd and small trails, there was only one main path. Hence, the county head who was rushing back to the Huai An County naturally had the fate to meet with the schr.

    In reality, even though it was the main path, it actually wasn¡¯t wide. At most, it would allow a horse carriage to pass. If there were two carriages, they could only travel by from the side of the road. Hence, this time, the county head didn¡¯t ride a horse carriage when rushing to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Instead, he rode lightly on horseback, along with six guards.

    The schr saw the county head, and the county head also naturally saw the schr.

    By right, when one encountered an official from the county, one should at least greet...

    But, the schr didn¡¯t have such consciousness.

    The county head stopped, but the schr didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping. This caused the six guards following behind the county head to be anxious.

    They were indeed anxious, but they weren¡¯t infuriated.

    The expression of the county head also didn¡¯t contain any form of anger, but the shock in his eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed.

    The schr finally passed by the county head and the rest of the group...

    Nothing else happened.

    But, the county head and the guards behind him gazed at the leaving figure of the schr and heaved a sigh of relief in unison, then wiped off the beads of sweat from their forehead that formed from their anxiousness.

    "County head, is there a possibility that he is going to the Northern Mountain Vige?" A guard asked very carefully.

    "No matter where he is going, that isn¡¯t something we can ask!" The county head shook his head, but the expression on his face still hadn¡¯t calmed downpletely.

    "Roger!" The guards instantly answered.

    "Let¡¯s go!" The county head raised his whip, and mped his knees together.

    A cloud of dust rose. He didn¡¯t know the ability of the schr, he also didn¡¯t know the name of the schr. But, he didn¡¯t doubt that the schr had the power to determine his life and death in one sentence.

    The reason was very simple.

    On the sleeves of the schr, the two words, "Heaven Dao" was sewn.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was somebody who knew how to enjoy, and especially enjoying the fresh air of the mountain forest. In the morning, when a greenish white was revealed at the horizon, and when the red sun just started to rise, that warm feeling was veryfortable, and very soft.

    To be able to find a smooth, big stone, then covering it with ayer of fur nket, piling a few delicious alcohol and snacks at the side and then roasting a freshly butchered curly furred rabbit.

    Then, reading his book while waiting to enjoy the meal.

    It was definitely a huge life blessing.

    As the saying went: Within a book, there is a house of gold, and within the book, there is a beautiful girl.

    As Fang Zhengzhi flipped the pages of the books, and took in the dense aroma of the roasting meat, he would asionally ponder, when would his beautiful woman appear?

    But, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed passionate about books.

    At least, the book in his hands was definitely a good book.

    No matter how others thought, Fang Zhengzhi believed that this good was good.

    Furthermore, it was extremely valuable. He could confirm that the value of this book was definitely much higher than those second-handed Law of Dao bought at the county that were now in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s home.

    After all, this book was a lone book.

    Even though he had attained it in a very lucky manner, but this book was indeed a lone book that contained illustrations.

    Fang Zhengzhi read very conscientiously, and was also very rxed. As he read, he even hummed a very famous tune, his eyebrows even somewhat dancing.

    "Beat the drums furiously but bang the gong slowly, stop the drums and the gongs to listen to the song. All sorts of gossips can be sung, hear me sing the Eighteen Touches."

    "Reach out to touch the sister¡¯s hair, clouds fly across half the sky. Reach out to touch to front of sister¡¯s head, Heaven full..."

    "..."

    Singing in the mountain would cause one to be more or less affected by the scenery and enter an intoxicated state. Sometimes, one would even enter a state from which they wouldn¡¯t be able to extricate themselves from, and would unconsciously sing in an even happier manner.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was in this intoxicated state.

    The happier he sang, the less able he was to control his voice.

    Hence, the song passed through the forests, across the brook, over the mountains and echoed within the mountain passes.

    Nobody knew how far his voice had gone.

    However, one point was for sure...

    If somebody walked past him, that person would definitely be able to hear the words of his song very clearly.

 Chapter 128: Reminiscence

    Chapter 128: Reminiscence

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    When there is the sound of singing in the mountain, naturally, there will be people following the song.

    For example, a schr riding on a Snow Cloud Stallion, with his white robe billowing in the wind.

    The Snow Cloud Stallion was different from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Silver Scale Horse. Since it was named a stallion, it naturally couldn¡¯tpare to an ordinary horse.

    And, the Snow Cloud Stallion that the schr rode was the elite among the Snow Cloud Stallions, and was named the "Scarlet me Snow Cloud"!

    Its entire body was white as snow, but, in the middle of its forehead, was a fiery scarlet mark.

    The lineage of an ordinary Snow Cloud Stallion was already extremely royal, and contained the blood of draconic beasts. This Scarlet me Snow Cloud had descended from the most noble of draconic beasts, the fire dragon¡¯s lineage.

    It was said that scarlet mes would appear on its hooves when it galloped wildly.

    This was the origin of Scarlet me Snow Cloud.

    The speed at which the schr road wasn¡¯t very fast, but, when the source of the song became nearer, the schr¡¯s face gradually changed. His initial interest and expression of novelty suddenly turned somewhat strange.

    When a figure lying on a piece of fur nket ced on a huge rock, wearing a blue robe and basking leisurely in the sun appeared in front of him.

    The schr finally stopped.

    "Shameless!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was roasting the meat and singing his song. When he suddenly heard an icy, condemning voice scolding him, he instantly didn¡¯t feel very well.

    This was obviously bullying?!

    Shameless?!

    You are clearly the one scolding people without a reason, yet you actually have the face to call me shameless?

    Can you have a little bit of conscience, at least give me a reasonable exnation before you scold?

    I didn¡¯t steal, I didn¡¯t rob, and I didn¡¯t smash the window of your house. The curly furred rabbit is raised in my home, the ingredients are prepared by me, even the firewood used for the fire is...

    Hmm, that is indeed picked up from the ground, but, this cannot serve as a reason to scold me?

    I finally had the chance to read my book properly, sing a song, indulge in my feelings, and roast a curly furred rabbit to cater to my hunger. Who have I offended?

    Opening his eyes to take a look, he saw a white-robed schr riding a tall snow-white horse, gazing at him coldly.

    The white-robed schr riding a white horse,bined with that skin that was white as snow, as the eyes that were as bright as stars. One look at him deduced that he was a pretty boy that caused countless girls to scream.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi believed that he was rather handsome, when the saw the white-robed schr, he still sighed inwardly.

    "Appetite and lust are only natural!" Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain. His mood was rather good today, he finally had the chance to return to the vige, hence didn¡¯t wish to subdue a person based on strength just because of an unfriendly word.

    This was really too violent.

    Hence, after speaking, he continued to flip the lone book in his hand, and didn¡¯t bother paying any further attention to the white-robed schr.

    A trace of surprise shed across the white-robed schr¡¯s eyes.

    Just as he prepared to speak again, a strong waft of meat aroma suddenly filled his nose.

    Then, his gaze was absorbed by the curly furred rabbit roasting in front of Fang Zhengzhi, and a bright light instantly shed across his eyes. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, then looked at the roasting rack on which the curly furred rabbit was ced.

    The edges of his mouth curled into a faint smile, the schr had suddenly seemed to have thought of something.

    "Reading?" The white-robed schr looked at the book that didn¡¯t even contain a single word on its cover.

    "Obviously!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t very polite.

    "If you don¡¯t mind, we can exchange some views!"

    "You also read this before?"

    "Naturally." The white-robed schr nodded, very confidently.

    "This liar Zhang Hetong, what happened to the lone book? Sigh... I indeed trust others too easily!" Fang Zhengzhi silently swore, then, pointed at the empty space beside him. "Let¡¯s read together!"

    The white-robed schr looked at the small empty spot that was only half a body wide beside Fang Zhengzhi, hesitated for a moment, but still finally walked over.

    Just as hey down halfway, the gaze of the white-robed schr was absorbed by an illustration in the book on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Then, the white-robed schr¡¯s bright eyes instantly turned round.

    "Woosh!"

    The white-robed schr instantly sprang back up.

    "You... shameless, lecher... what, what kind of book are you reading?!" The white-robed schr¡¯s chest rose and fell urgently, and a trace of red shimmered across his face.

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi was truly somewhat angered.

    He felt that a person could be shameless, but a person couldn¡¯t be shameless to such an extent?

    They were both men, and there were no women here. What are you pretending for? Furthermore, you said that you have also read this before, now, I am sharing it with a good heart, yet, not only did you not appreciate it, you actually opened your mouth and swore at me again?

    Intolerable!

    "Grandson of a turtle!" Towards such a person who he hadn¡¯t even met before, and opening his mouth to hurt him multiple times, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hold back at all, and used a Northern Mountain Vige dialect to scold him back.

    "Grandson of a turtle?!" The white-robed schr instantly lifted up his hand, but halfway through the motion, he forced it back down. His chest rose furiously for a few times.

    Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi very carefully, from the eyebrows, to the eyes, then to the nose, then to every single move Fang Zhengzhi made. He looked very carefully, as if he was judging something.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel ratherfortable being looked at by the white-robed schr.

    This guy didn¡¯t read the lone book, instead, he stared at himself...

    Could it be that he had some sort of special interest?

    Forget it, he is just a passing schr, all he did was to scold him a bit. That wasn¡¯t enough to turn him into a mountain kind and rob him.

    But...

    That horse indeed doesn¡¯t look too bad!

    "This roasted rabbit... are you selling it?" The white-robed schr seemed to not know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts, and opened his mouth to speak again.

    "Not selling!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even think before rejecting.

    "Then what if I exchange for it with something?"

    "Not exchanging! Wait a minute... what are you using to exchange?"

    "How about this Scarlet me Snow Cloud of mine?" As the white-robed schr spoke, he pointed at the Snow Cloud Stallion behind him.

    Scarlet me Snow Cloud!

    In exchange for a roasted rabbit?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in somewhat of a disbelief. This was simply getting whatever he wished for? Was there even a better deal than this? His favourite thing in his life was to meet with an idiot once he left his house door!

    "I need to consider for a moment!" Even though Fang Zhengzhi was excited inside, but, on the surface he looked very calm. He knew that the more he wanted something, he calmer he had to be.

    "Then forget it." The white-robed schr seemed somewhat disappointed, then turned around and left.

    "Wait, considering your sincerity, I will exchange with you!" Looking at the white-robed schr turning around, Fang Zhengzhi finally couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.

    The white-robed schr stopped, and his mouth curled into a faint smile again.

    "But, after our exchange, I won¡¯t have any transport options? What to do then?" The white-robed schr turned around again, and the smile on his face vanished. A hesitant expression reced it.

    "No problem, I have a Silver Scale Horse at home, I can sell it to you!" Fang Zhengzhi suggested very generously.

    "This... alright!" The white-robed schr nodded in a very difficult manner.

    Seeing that the white-robed schr had actually agreed, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt somewhat weird. Was this guy really an idiot?

    No matter how he looked...

    He still didn¡¯t really look like one.

    "Then, sit there and wait, I haven¡¯t finished roasting yet!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at a stone that was further away from him.

    The white-robed schr nodded, then, slowly walked over and sat down gingerly.

    Fang Zhengzhi rxed. At least, the white-robed schr didn¡¯t have any intention of sneaking an attack on him, else, it would be more appropriate for him to sit closer to him.

    He wasn¡¯t taking the opportunity to rob him?

    Then, was he really going to use his Scarlet me Snow Cloud to exchange for a roasted rabbit of his?

    Could prosperity note so quickly? He really couldn¡¯t ept it.

    No, no...

    There was definitely a trap waiting for him to jump into.

    But, where did the problem lie? He really had the best end of this deal.

    Scam him of a roasted rabbit? After eating, then running away?

    If this was the case, there would be two possibilities. First, he would beat this guy up badly. Second, he wouldn¡¯t be able to win him, enabling him to run away...

    The second was needless to mention. If the other party really had that power, he could just rob him and he still wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it.

    If it was the first, then, he could at least give him a beating.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll risk a curly furred rabbit to make this gamble!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that the most he would lose was a curly furred rabbit. The price to pay was small, hence he could make this gamble.

    ...

    Next, nothing unexpected happened.

    As Fang Zhengzhi roasted the curly furred rabbit, the white-robed schr sat on the stone and stared expectantly at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, as if he hadpletely forgotten his previous unhappiness in having seen the lone book.

    The white-robed schr¡¯s eyebrows were very long, and glinted in the sun. It was incredibly beautiful. A faint light shed in his eyes, just like stars in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi asionally nced at the white-robed schr, and always felt a surging sensation in his heart.

    "Pretty boy!" Fang Zhengzhi swore to himself. He felt that the world was really too unfair to actually be able to produce such a beautiful man.

    Following the turning of the roasting rack by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, the aroma of roasted meat began to diffuse into the surroundings.

    Finally, Fang Zhengzhi fished out a small wooden box and opened it. It was filled with seasonings of a variety of colours. This was a secret recipe, and wouldn¡¯t be let out easily.

    Compared to the seasoning wrapped in a coarse yellow paper eight years ago, the current one evidently seemed more advanced.

    After sprinkling on the seasonings, the aroma of the roasted meat was finallypletely emanated.

    "Gulp!" The white-robed schr¡¯s mouth produced the sound of saliva being swallowed.

    "I don¡¯t dare to im anything else, but the quality of this roasted meat is the best within ten miles of this ce!" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the white-robed schr, then, swiftly moving his right hand across the roasted meat, a piece of rabbit leg fell into the te held on his left hand.

    "Yes!" The white-robed schr replied, and hurriedly received the rabbit leg which Fang Zhengzhi passed over. Then, he opened his mouth very slightly and took a bite.

    Instantly, a crisp sensation spread across his tongue. The oil and delicious rabbit meat were mixed together, causing the white-robed schr to be instantly intoxicated.

 Chapter 129: Hodgepodge

    Chapter 129: Hodgepodge

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Very quickly, a piece of rabbit leg waspletely destroyed by the white-robed schr.

    The white-robed schr looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, then reached out an elegant, white hand.

    Alright...

    Since he had already decided to sacrifice his curly furred rabbit, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think of leaving some to himself, hence passed the rest of the rabbit meat into the hands of the white-robed schr.

    Then, he began to help himself to the snacks beside him.

    These snacks were special products of the mountain. There were a few sun-dried goods, and also a few fresh fruits. Other than that, there was also the fruit wine which Fang Zhengzhi had specially brewed. There were grape ones, orange ones...

    Even though it wasn¡¯t as stimting as spirits, but, there was an exclusive clear and sweet taste. Furthermore, those dirty merchant goods naturally couldn¡¯tpare to his homemade ones.

    The white-robed schr¡¯s hand impolitely stretched out again.

    Fang Zhengzhi very exaggeratedly drank from the mouth of the bottle, then, passed the wine bottle into the white-robed schr¡¯s hands.

    The white-robed schr was somewhat taken aback. Looking at the wine bottle which Fang Zhengzhi passed over, he hesitated for exactly fifteen minutes before finally drinking a very small and careful sip. Then, his eyes lit up...

    The wine bottle was never returned again.

    "Bandit, robber!" Fang Zhengzhi swore in his heart, but then thought that no matter what, the other party was still a guest, a guest was God... alright, I¡¯ll bear this first.

    ...

    After a filling meal and drink, Fang Zhengzhi led the white-robed schr back to the vige to see the horse, and prepared to finish this exchange early, then, chase the white-robed schr back on the road.

    But...

    Once they returned home, the ident happened.

    The vigers of the mountain always treated their guests with enthusiasm, and Qin Xuelian naturally wasn¡¯t an exception. When she saw Fang Zhengzhi bring the schr back home, she thought that he was a friend who also participated in the examination and instantly, very hospitably, invited the white-robed schr into the house to take a seat.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi very tantly led the Scarlet me Snow Cloud into his own stable.

    When Fang Zhengzhi had settled everything, things seemed to be somewhat out of control.

    "Zhengzhi, how can you be like this?!" Qin Xuelian was somewhat angry.

    "Huh..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Qin Xuelian¡¯s expression, and knew that his mum was still too pure.

    "Taking care of guests is our duty, how can you take possession of his horse, furthermore... it is such a valuable horse. You cannot do such a thing!"

    "..."

    "Yes, Zhengzhi, your mother is right!" Fang Houde also spoke.

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the white-robed schr, the white-robed schr on the other hand sat very indifferently on the chair, and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an innocent look, as if saying, you settle this yourself.

    "Wrong move!" Fang Zhengzhi regretted in his heart, he had forgotten the opinions of Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    Don¡¯t tell me this was the white-robed schr¡¯s idea?

    Even though he wasn¡¯t very satisfied, but, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t dare to go against the orders of his parents.

    "You go, we won¡¯t exchange anymore!" Fang Houde seemed very helpless.

    When the white-robed schr heard this, the edges of his mouth curved into a smile once again, then, walked over with a mysterious look beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Just now, I heard from your mother than you are going to the Divine Constabry a few dayster to participate in the feast. I don¡¯t have any urgent matters, why not I wait a few days for you, then, after you leave the vige, we will carry on with the exchange?"

    "Wouldn¡¯t that not be very good?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that this still went against Qin Xuelian¡¯s intent.

    "A gentleman¡¯s word is as good as gold, how can I go against them?" The white-robed schr expression seemed to be in a difficult situation.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the difficult look on the white-robed schr, and felt that this wasn¡¯t quite right, just as if the other party had already nned everything out.

    There was a problem...

    But, where did the problem lie?

    What was this guy¡¯s purpose? Staying a few days in the vige? He didn¡¯t have to go through so much trouble, he just had to throw a few pieces of silver to find a viger¡¯s house to live in.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi agreed. He decided to see what kind of ns this white-robed schr had.

    When the white-robed schr heard this, he instantly began to smile, and his eyes were as bright as stars in the sky.

    ...

    The next few things took ce very smoothly. When Qin Xuelian heard that the white-robed schr wanted to stay a few days in the vige, she instantly prepared a room very hospitably.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively wanted to oppose his, but, after a thought, it was at least better for this guy to be near himpared to being outside.

    ...

    The second day, there were no incidents. Everything was calm.

    In the early morning, Fang Zhengzhi was reading. The white-robed schr was also reading. At noon, the two ate at the same table. In the afternoon, the white-robed schr would walk about in the vige. At night, they would eat again, and read again...

    It felt as if they were family.

    ...

    The third day, Fang Zhengzhi realised something strange. Every time the white-robed schr left in the afternoon, he would carelessly leave the book he read in the morning on the table.

    ...

    The fourth day, the same thing happened.

    ...

    The fifth day, it was still the same.

    ...

    The sixth day, Fang Zhengzhi finally couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore. Leveraging on the opportunity when the white-robed schr left the house, he picked up the book on the table.

    "After staying at my home for so many days, he at least has to pay some rental fee?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that there wasn¡¯t any problem at all, and instantly opened up the book.

    ncing down, he was taken aback. It was actually a book describing martial techniques.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. What did heck the most currently? Wasn¡¯t it hisck of techniques?

    But...

    Was this counted stealing?

    No problem, how could schrly things be considered stealing?

    Fang Zhengzhi very quickly dismissed such a thought, and began to read very carefully. Then, he realised that this book was somewhat jumbled.

    If one used a phrase to describe it, it was a hodgepodge.

    Sword techniques, spear techniques, pole techniques, de techniques...

    All kinds of techniques were gathered together in this book. Furthermore, very peculiarly, there was only one move listed for every single kind of weapon, and the description of every move was extremely simple.

    For example: What kind of Dao of All Creation did this technique contain, what was the most difficult part of it, and how powerful was it?

    Then...

    Then there wasn¡¯t anything else!

    It felt just like the outline of techniques.

    "What lousy book is this? Don¡¯t tell me this guy reads such a messy book?" Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat surprised.

    Generally speaking, didn¡¯t books have names such as "Northern Gate Thirteen Swords", or "Southern Mountain Nine Spear Tactics"? Then, the key point of every technique would be described, and might even be exined with an illustration.

    However, this book didn¡¯t contain any of such descriptions, and didn¡¯t have any illustrations either.

    It was a little too simple.

    Even though he was somewhat doubtful, but just as Fang Zhengzhi said, now, what hecked most was techniques. Even though this was a very messy and very simple outline of techniques.

    But...

    It was at least better than nothing.

    ...

    The sixth day, a book appeared on the table once again.

    It had the same cover, and was still a huge hodgepodge. But, the content waspletely different. There were new techniques, but under each weapon, there was simrly only one technique.

    Fang Zhengzhi contained the unhappiness in his heart, and continued to read with a learning attitude of a sponge that had been dry for a long time.

    ...

    The seventh day, it was another book.

    ...

    The eighth day, the same thing happened...

    The ninth day...

    ...

    Twenty dayster, before the sky lit up, a clear neigh of a horse shocked Fang Zhengzhi awake from his sleep.

    "This is bad!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly thought of something, and flipped into the garden without even having the time to put on his pants.

    When he looked, indeed, the Scarlet me Snow Cloud had vanished from his stable. Not too far away, only the figure of the white-robed schr riding the Scarlet me Snow Cloud was left.

    Then, the white-robed schr looked back.

    The edges of his mouth carried a mocking smile. However, when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s uncovered legs, the smile on his face instantly vanished.

    "Shameless... shameless person!!!"

    Fang Zhengzhi heard the swearing that came from afar, and angrily pointed a middle finger towards the leaving figure of the white-robed schr.

    "I am schr? Isn¡¯t the person who runs away after eating the most shameful? What happened to the exchange we agreed upon? Where is the trust between people?!"

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was very unhappily, but he didn¡¯t dare to make the grand move of running around in the vige without pants. Hence, when the sound of Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice came from within the room, he did another flip and returned back into his room.

    "Zhengzhi, what happened?"

    "Mum, it¡¯s nothing, just that my Scarlet me Snow Cloud is gone!"

    ...

    Two dayster, the first ray of sunlight in the morning shone into the Fang family¡¯s garden.

    As Qin Xuelian prepared Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rations, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi very seriously.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat ufortable being stared at by Qin Xuelian.

    "Mum, is something wrong?"

    "Next time when youe back, make sure you bring "Gu Yan" [1] back!" Qin Xuelian instructed Fang Zhengzhi very seriously.

    "Gu Yan?" Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew from Qin Xuelian that Gu Yan was the name of the white-robed schr, but, what did she mean by bringing him back

    Oh, that¡¯s right, that guy had stayed in his home for twenty days, but didn¡¯t pay rent!

    "Mum, don¡¯t worry, I will definitely catch him back!" Fang Zhengzhi thumped his chest. Hunting geese for a lifetime, yet being pecked in the eyes by a goose, how could he let it go as easily?

    ...

    Compared to his previous lonely departure from the vige.

    This time, when Fang Zhengzhi left the vige, it evidently stirred up a greatmotion. Every single viger came together to send him to the vige entrance. Seeing Fang Zhengzhi mount the Silver Scale Horse, Qin Xuelian finally couldn¡¯t contain herself, and tears flowed down her cheeks.

    On the other hand, Fang Houde reassured her by her side, and shot a few encouraging looks towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    As per normal, Zhang Yangping brought along a full wallet, but this time, what it contained wasn¡¯t pieces of broken silver, and instead, contained silver notes of small denominations.

    "Take care along the way!"

    "Yes!"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded, bade goodbye to the vigers, and rode away.

    ...

    A monthter, in the capital of the five capitals of the Northern Desert, the Northern Capital, Golden Scale City. Countless people and horse carriages passed through the grand city gate, and merchants bearing gs also enthusiastically greeted the guards at the city gate.

    As an important city that guarded the Northern, the Golden Scale City had a unique smell of iron and blood. Most importantly, within the city, there was always groups of soldiers in shiny armour patrolling.

    Compared to the peace and quiet of the River of Trust Capital.

    The security of this city was evidently stronger by several times.

    [1] The name of the schr is Gu Yan is pronounced differently from the Guyan in Chi Guyan. This Gu Yan means "Ancient Geese".

 Chapter 130: Divine Constabulary Great Feast

    Chapter 130: Divine Constabry Great Feast

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the Divine Constabry that guarded the five capitals of the Northern Desert, the security today was like an irond.

    At this moment, at the door of the Divine Constabry, two huge white jade sculptures stood on both sides of the constabry, grand and majesty, and at the side of the two white sculptures.

    Two rows of Red Pinion Squad members stood wearing shiny armours, each of their expressions was cold as ice, and carefully observing the movement around them.

    They all knew very clear how important today¡¯s Divine Constabry feast was.

    Among the entire five capitals of the Northern Desert, officials ranked five and above were almost all present. Not only that, even schrs from the Western Liang, Southern Nation and Eastern Metropolis all gathered for the feast.

    The reason was very simple...

    The number one talented girl in the Great Xia, Chi Guyan, was back.

    To the government officials, this was a rare opportunity to interact with the future number one marshal. To the schrs and youths, there was a deeper meaning.

    A year ago, when Chi Guyan attained the Double Dragon Roll Champion in front of everybody in the Imperial Yan Capital, that level of talent and genius caused many to instantly have the urge to kneel.

    Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t engaged.

    This was a secret everybody in the world knew. Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s engagement had to be determined by the current emperor, but, nobody felt that the emperor wouldn¡¯t go through Chi Guyan¡¯s agreement.

    Hence, Chi Guyan¡¯s engagement was ultimately determined by herself.

    ...

    Within the Divine Constabry, in an independent and elegant courtyard.

    Pavilions were filled with clear water, and the aroma of flowers filled the air.

    Wearing a green dress, Yuer stood outside the pavilion and looked at thedy within who was wearing a pink dress, and at this moment, thedy was holding an ancient book in her hands, reciting quietly in the pavilion.

    It was Chi Guyan.

    "Missus, this time, King Duan travelled light, and imed that he wasn¡¯t here for the feast, and instead wants to visit Missus... It is rare for Missus toe back, do you really not wish to meet him?" Yuer carefully asked in a soft voice behind thedy.

    "The next time Lord Father asks you to convey a message, you don¡¯t have to convey it."

    "Yes, Missus!"

    "It¡¯s almost time, go get ready."

    "Roger!" Yuer nodded, then, instantly beckoned to the surroundings.

    Very quickly, around twenty maids appeared, some holding screens, some holding ornaments. Evidently, they had already been waiting not too far away.

    ...

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first time in the Golden Scale City, naturally, he was somewhat curious.

    Even though Yan Xiu had been here a few times, but evidently, he wasn¡¯t a qualified tour guide. Today, wearing a white brocade robe with an ink bamboo sewn onto it, Yan Xiu seemed even more noble and icily arrogant.

    The entire way, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak, and instead very calm walked shoulder to shoulder with Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, with Yan Xiu walking beside him, at least it wasn¡¯t difficult to find the Divine Constabry.

    It had been eight years. When he saw that familiar armour, and the familiar red triangr seal, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that time had indeed passed rather quickly.

    Today, the Divine Constabry¡¯s gate was wide open, other than the Red Pinion Squad standing guard at the side of the gate, there were still servants in charge of serving the guests walking around at the constabry gate.

    "Greetings to both young masters!" A servant wearing a short robe saw Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, and immediately went up to them.

    "This is a gift for lord." Yan Xiu passed a gift list to the servant.

    "I represent lord to thank Young Master Yan Xiu!" The servant took a nce at the name on the gift list, then looked at the contents of the list and his expression instantly became respectful.

    Then, the servant¡¯s gaze shifted to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also looking at the servant.

    Alright...

    He had definitely brought along a gift.

    Fang Zhengzhi also took out a gift list from his pocket, and gracefully ced it in the servant¡¯s hand.

    The servant received the gift list and looked at the name, and a faint light shed across his eyes. Then, opening the list, he swept across it and his expression suddenly became somewhat queer.

    "One pound of dried sweet potato, half a bag of peanuts, two pieces of locally produced preserved meat..."

    "Young Master Fang, are you sure you didn¡¯t take the wrong gift list?" The servant seemed somewhat incredulous.

    "Some local products from my hometown, I hope lord will like them!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head very seriously. This was a genuine mountain product.

    In the previous world, even if one had money, one wouldn¡¯t be able to buy this.

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gift list indeed contains a unique local vour!" A wave ofughter came from behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, wearing a blue brocade robe, a white-faced man appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Greetings to Young Master Lu!" When the servant saw the new person, he instantly began to smile.

    "Huh, isn¡¯t this Yan Xiu? I had recently heard that you are friends with this country bumpkin, I never thought that you two are really inseparable?" The man in the blue brocade robe didn¡¯t pay any attention to the servant, and instead turned his gaze to Yan Xiu who was standing beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak, he didn¡¯t even bother taking one nce at the man in the blue brocade robe.

    A glimmer of shock shed across the man¡¯s face, but, it quickly disappeared. He didn¡¯t continue arguing with Yan Xiu, and instead returned his gaze back to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I never thought that you would actually dare toe to the feast? Don¡¯t you know that my cousin is back? Ha ha... my cousin really hates you very much!" The man in a blue brocade robe looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a mocking look.

    Fang Zhengzhi also didn¡¯t pay any attention to the man in a blue brocade robe, and instead looked at the servant in front of him.

    "Is this how the grand Divine Constabry treats their guests?"

    "This..." The servant was taken aback. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi, then looking at the man in blue brocade robe and Yan Xiu, his expression changed slightly. "Young Master Lu, Young Master Yan Xiu, Young Master Fang, pleasee inside!"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then walked together with Yan Xiu into the Divine Constabry.

    When they reached the constabry gate, Fang Zhengzhi turned his head back, and looked at the man in blue brocade robe who was still standing outside with contempt, and gave him a middle finger.

    "Idiot!"

    His voice was clear and loud. Definitely, not only could the guests and servants hear this very clearly, even the Red Pinion Squad standing guard outside the constabry gate were able to hear it clearly.

    The expression of the man in blue brocade robe instantly darkened.

    "Oh right, who is the cousin he is talking about?" When they entered the constabry gate, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu who was beside him.

    "The Battle Constabry guards the Southern Nation, while the Divine Constabry guards the Northern Desert. Even though they are separated into north and south, but they still have family rtions. He is the ninth son of the Battle Constabry, hence, naturally his cousin would be..." Yan Xiu exined as he walked.

    "Ha ha... You better not tell me his cousin is Chi Guyan." Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly.

    "Exactly!" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, and nodded his head very seriously.

    "..." The smile on Fang Zhengzhi instantly froze.

 Chapter 131: Strange Corner

    Chapter 131: Strange Corner

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Then, his leg that was halfway into the constabry gate stopped in mid-air.

    Chi Guyan returned?!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck from the sky. Wasn¡¯t it already agreed that she was practising in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Where was the trust between people?

    Then...

    Can I run now.

    "Young Master Fang, pleasee inside. Missus had specially instructed to serve Young Master Fang well when he enters!" When the servant saw Fang Zhengzhi pause, he instantly felt somewhat confused.

    Even though he was spiteful of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gift list, but, he didn¡¯t dare to be spiteful of Fang Zhengzhi himself. After all, this was the character who had just attained the River of Trust Capital double roll champion.

    Furthermore, Chi Guyan had indeed instructed that they mustn¡¯t offend him.

    Else, why would he, a little servant, risk infuriating the ninth son of the Battle Constabry, Lu Yusheng, just because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned around. Chi Guyan actually had special instructions for him.

    Something is wrong!

    But, once he turned around, Lu Yusheng appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi again.

    "Young Master Fang, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t dare to enter?" A cold smile formed on Lu Yusheng¡¯s lips. He knew very clearly how much Chi Guyan hated this person in front of him.

    Lecher, shameless, gathering every schr under the skies to prevent his advance.

    Such hatred wasn¡¯t something an average person could enjoy.

    "Idiot!" Fang Zhengzhi huffed again, then, entered the constabry.

    The cold smile on Lu Yusheng froze once again, and a gaze ck as night shed in his eyes, and his two hands instinctively tightened into a fist. Country bumpkin, let me see how long you can stay happy!

    ...

    After entering the constabry gate, it was deep as the sea.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never entered the constabry gate, hence, he really felt very deep now. Right after entering the gate, he felt as if he had stepped into a maze.

    The paths were bending and winding, and each of them led to a house.

    And, most importantly, every house looked more or less the same.

    Without a servant familiar with the path, he really felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able toe back out.

    Along the way, the fragrant aroma of flowers filled the air, and the jade green pines made a faint sound. Compared to the well-guarded situation outside the door, this ce was evidently another world altogether.

    After walking for almost fifteen minutes.

    A middle-aged man wearing a big robe went up to them.

    "Young Master Yan Xiu is here, the person beside you... should be Young Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi, right?" The middle-aged man looked at Yan Xiu, and a genial smile appeared on his face.

    "Greetings, Housekeeper Wen." When Yan Xiu saw the middle-aged man, he made a slight bow.

    Fang Zhengzhi had initially disliked such customs, but, since he had already entered, there was no point in being special. After all, all he wanted to do now was to safely finish a meal.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi also bowed slightly.

    When Housekeeper Wen saw this, a trace of surprise shed across his eyes, he even seemed to be somewhat shocked. After all, the outside rumours had imed that Fang Zhengzhi was a lecher who didn¡¯t understand customs.

    "This time, lord has directly set the great feast outside the Heavenly Treasure Hall, both of you, pleasee with me!" Housekeeper Wen returned a bow to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, then exined.

    Outside the Heavenly Treasure Hall?

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat curious about the Heavenly Treasure Hall. After all, this was one among the three thousand parallel dimensions in the Law of Dao.

    I wonder what¡¯s special about it.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression remained very calm, as if he had already guessed it.

    ...

    Under the guidance of Housekeeper Wen, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu once again passed by a corridorpletely paved with white jade, then, began to be able to hear some lively chattering.

    Evidently, they had arrived at the location of the feast.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat confused. He could clearly see guests at the constabry door, yet, the entire way here, other than the servants and maids of the constabry, he didn¡¯t see any other guests.

    "There are quite a few roads in the constabry. In order to allow guests to enjoy different kinds of sceneries, the roads taken for this feast were specially chosen!" Housekeeper Wen seemed to have understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suspicion.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t said a word, but Housekeeper Wen was still able to understand what he was thinking. From this point alone, it could be seen that the housekeeper of the Divine Constabry wasn¡¯t as simple as he thought.

    "The seats of you two young masters had already been arranged, but..." When Housekeeper Wen brought Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu to the entrance, he gazed towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, seeming somewhat hesitant.

    "Is there a problem?" Yan Xiu opened his mouth and asked.

    "The status of you two young masters are somewhat different, based on the arrangements of the constabry, I fear you wouldn¡¯t be able to sit together." Housekeeper Wen replied.

    "Oh, then please arrange my seat based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s seating location." Yan Xiu nodded to show his understanding.

    The constabry naturally had its own rules.

    The different statuses and natures of the guests naturally were already arranged for.

    Yan Xiu came from a noble family, hence he understood this logic. Thus, he also knew that it was difficult to go from low to high, but, there wasn¡¯t such a big problem going from high to low.

    "Then Young Master Yan Xiu will have to sacrifice!" Housekeeper Wen nodded, and didn¡¯t speak further, directly bringing Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu into the door.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have any opinions. He was just here for a meal; did it matter where he sat?

    If he really sat at the main seat of the Divine Constabry, then that wasn¡¯t very possible. Moreover, Chi Guyan had returned. In view of his safety, he felt that the stranger the position of his seat was, the better...

    Entering the door.

    Fang Zhengzhi instantly felt as if he had walked into a vast sea of books. Rows of antique tables were ced in the centre, and around them hanged various kinds of ssicalndscape paintings.

    The great feast hadn¡¯t started yet, hence, there were schrs in brocade robes looking at the paintings.

    asionally, some even recited a few verses of poems, attracting a round of praise from all around.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t cause any great movements. Because, only a few people had noticed these two people, then, shock appeared in their eyes.

    Because...

    Everybody knew that Chi Guyan had sent out the criminal demand order.

    Based on normal logic, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t participate in this feast. After all,pared to the opportunity of entering the Heavenly Treasure Hall, life was definitely more important.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s coldness indeed saved Fang Zhengzhi quite some trouble. At the very least, nobody had mocked him like Lu Yusheng did.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi really understood what was called a strange corner.

    Because, that was the strangest seat in the entire venue.

    A huge treepletely blocked the view of the main seat. When one discussed about admiring the scenery, such a seat was definitely the best seat in the entire feast.

    Because, this seat was almost able to enable one to admire of all the natural scenery around.

    But, how many people participating in the feast were here to admire the scenery? Each of them all wished to be as close to the main seat as possible, in order to interact with the important officials in the government.

    "Young Master Fang, here..."

    "Very good!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. This was the kind of seat he wanted.

    If the Divine Constabry feast didn¡¯t have fixed seating, if he chose, he would also definitely choose this. It was a feast, hence, the better the scenery, the morefortable one would be.

    "Not bad." Yan Xiu also nodded.

    "Then, I¡¯ll have to sacrifice both of you young masters!" Housekeeper Wen once again bowed towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, then, turned around and left to continue entertaining other guests.

    Not too longter, Housekeeper Wen appeared at the door again. This time, the person he guided over was Lu Yusheng.

    Other than Lu Yusheng, two men wearing brocade robes stood beside him. Evidently, these should be people whose statuses were rather high, such as young masters.

    Because, once they entered the door, Housekeeper Wen directed them towards a location near the main seat.

    On the other hand, Lu Yusheng revealed a humble expression.

    But...

    This humble expression quickly turned into a joyful surprise. Because, he had, very luckily, seen Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu sitting in the strange corner.

    Then. Lu Yusheng, bringing along the other two people, walked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Oh... sitting here? Isn¡¯t it a little too far? Isn¡¯t that a little disrespectful of Young Master Fang¡¯s double roll champion status? Housekeeper Wen... how can you arrange for Young Master Fang to sit here?" Lu Yusheng gazed at Housekeeper Wen, who was standing behind him, and seemed to be slightly ming him.

    "The arrangement of the seats had always been arranged based on status, I hope Young Master Lu can understand." Housekeeper Wen naturally understood Lu Yusheng¡¯s intent, and a trace of worry appeared on his face.

    He didn¡¯t wish for such a thing to happen. But, he had no way of preventing Lu Yusheng from greeting Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I see, I had wronged you, Housekeeper Wen!" Lu Yusheng replied Housekeeper Wen very apologetically, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi again.

    Just as he prepared to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Idiot, scram!"

    "What... what did you say?" Having been scolded two times in a row by Fang Zhengzhi, Lu Yusheng had controlled himself. This time, he was scolded again, and furthermore, he was scolded in front of his twopanions.

    His expression naturally didn¡¯t seem too happy.

    "Young Master Lu, the great feast is about to start!" Sensing this atmosphere, Housekeeper Wen knew that it was more or less time for him to hold this back.

    "He¡¯s just a country bumpkin, to be of the same level as this guy, wouldn¡¯t Young Master Lu lose your identity? Let him eat here quietly, we will go sit at the front!" The man standing at the side, wearing an ink green brocade robe, also spoke. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a haughty look.

    "That¡¯s right, anyway, sitting here, nobody would be able to see him. Isn¡¯t that right?" Ha ha ha..." The other man in a brocade robe alsoughed.

    Hearing their words, Lu Yusheng¡¯s chest rose and fell a few times, then, finally held back.

    He also knew the importance of this Divine Constabry¡¯s great feast. No matter how angry he was, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to attack Fang Zhengzhi in this feast.

    "Hmph! Watch out in the Heavenly Treasure Hall!" Lu Yusheng huffed coldly, turned around, and left.

    "Idiot!" Fang Zhengzhi replied, his expression filled with disdain.

    "Can... can you at least change a phrase?" Lu Yusheng¡¯s stopped in his tracks again. Turning around, his face was hideously dark.

    "Idiot!"

 Chapter 132: Chi Guyanâ€™s Thoughts

    Chapter 132: Chi Guyan¡¯s Thoughts

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If there was one thing in this world that Lu Yusheng couldn¡¯t stand.

    It was definitely being scolded by a country bumpkin, who to him, upied a much lower position than he did in his heart. Furthermore, it was a continuous scolding. Most importantly, he even used the same term to scold him continuously.

    "You dare call me an idiot?!" Lu Yusheng almost couldn¡¯t control himself anymore.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, was filled with indifference. Anyway, the other party had already disliked him once they met, hence, naturally there wasn¡¯t such a thing as offending him.

    "Don¡¯t tell me you want to fight? This is the great feast of the Divine Constabry, can you show some character?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng with despise.

    "Character?! You are talking to me about character?" The anger in Lu Yusheng¡¯s heart rose again. Being lectured by a poor country bumpkin about character was intolerable to him.

    But...

    In the end, Lu Yusheng didn¡¯t have the opportunity to attack.

    Because, when the two people beside him saw this, they instantly grabbed Lu Yusheng and pulled him away.

    If Lu Yusheng had really caused amotion in this great feast, that would definitely not be a small matter. They all knew very clearly how important this feast was.

    The officials of the five capitals of the Northern Desert were looking, and naturally, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t have to be mentioned. Furthermore, they had all received a piece of information. King Duan, Lin Xinjue, had also arrived.

    "Release me, all of you, release me..." A deste tone filled Lu Yusheng¡¯s voice.

    ...

    The buzzing fly beside his ear had finally left.

    Fang Zhengzhi also had the rare opportunity to enjoy a moment of peace. Even though the schrs around them that witnessed this scene more or less seemed to want to enjoy a good show, but, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother about these.

    Instead, he began to admire the surroundingndscape with great interest.

    Where¡¯s the Heavenly Treasure Hall that they mentioned?

    Why can¡¯t I see it...?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked to the left, then looked to the right. But, other than paintings, there wasn¡¯t any great buildings or halls, furthermore, there wasn¡¯t even a small pavilion...

    "Liar!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed a middle finger towards the direction Housekeeper Wen was leaving in.

    He was still somewhat curious about this Heavenly Treasure Hall. If the pocket dimension was created by man himself, then, who was the person who created a parallel dimension such as the Heavenly Treasure Hall?

    Heaven?

    Or, was it God?

    Don¡¯t tell me that deities really existed in this world?

    ...

    As he thought, a ritual music sounded out beside his ear.

    When the officials and schrs heard this music, they returned to their respective seats one after another. Fang Zhengzhi guessed that this signified the start of the feast.

    Then, he swept his gaze across the arrangement of seats.

    On the left, it was mostly official robes. That should be the ce where the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert sat.

    And on the right, schrs wearing various kinds of brocade robes sat.

    The main seat was set up at the most easternmost part of the small courtyard. It was said that purple clouds came from the east, and people also respected the east as king. Thus, that should be the reason why the main seat was set up in the east side.

    From the main seat all the way to where Fang Zhengzhi was, his seat seemed to be thest one.

    Luckily, it wasn¡¯t an examination, and there was no elimination of thest person. Furthermore, the dishes should all be the same, and he shouldn¡¯t receive different treatment due to the difference in seating.

    Furthermore, the scenery here was beautiful, and the environment was peaceful, hence, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind at all.

    Very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi realised that Lu Yusheng¡¯s seat seemed to be at the second level among the schrs, and wasn¡¯t the first. He remembered that Lu Yusheng had the status of being the son of the thirteen constabries.

    Then, based on the seating arrangement of the Divine Constabry, what was the status of the first level? Don¡¯t tell me that there are people more important than the thirteen constabries here?

    "If, based on the seating arrangement, which level will you be sitting at?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Temporarily at the second level." Yan Xiu thought for a while and replied.

    "Temporarily?" Fang Zhengzhi heard the implied meaning behind Yan Xiu¡¯s words.

    "Yes, two yearster, I will be at the first level." Yan Xiu added. He didn¡¯t state the reason, but his tone was confident.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He knew that Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t lie to him, but, he didn¡¯t quite understand why must the time be set two yearster?

    Just as he prepared to ask, a wave of clearughter rang out.

    Immediately after, a group of people walked in from outside the courtyard door.

    The person in front of was a middle-aged man, wearing a dark purple official robe that had a huge fanged beast sewn onto it. On the forehead of the huge beast, there was a bright red triangr seal.

    He seemed to be around forty years of age. His eyes were like that of a tiger, and his body emanated a chill in the air.

    Evidently, this was an iron blooded lord who had fought at all corners of the world, with outstanding military achievements.

    On the left side of the man followed a woman around the age of thirty. She wore a jade green hairpin in her hair, and a bright red brocade dress with a flying white crane sewn onto it.

    An air of dignity and elegance formed a stark contrast between her and the man.

    On the right...

    Naturally, it was Chi Guyan.

    To be able to walk together with Chi Hou, one could infer Chi Guyan¡¯s position in the Divine Constabry.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen Chi Guyan after she had grown up. Today, Chi Guyan wore a long pink dress, with a white, fur shawl draped over her shoulders and a pink belt at her waist. Her jet-ck hair fell to her waist.

    On her head, there was a jade green sparrow pin, and in the mouth of the sparrow was a small pearl. It was crystal clear, and one look at it showed that it wasn¡¯t an ordinary good.

    Once she appeared, she had attracted the attention of all of the schrs.

    But, a white veil covered her face, concealing her nose and lips, only exposing a pair of eyes that was as bright as stars.

    Even so, one could still see the powerful temperament emanating from Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    "Wee Lord, Mrs Chi, and princess daughter!" When the schrs and officials saw them, they instantly stood up.

    "Why did she still put on a veil?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat disappointed.

    He wasn¡¯t disappointed because he was unable to see Chi Guyan¡¯s appearance, instead, he felt that if he could see what Chi Guyan looked like, he would be able to escape early if he met her on the streets.

    "Chi Guyan hasn¡¯t reached the age of sixteen, and isn¡¯t engaged yet. During the feast, naturally, she would be veiled." Yan Xiu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question and exined.

    Fang Zhengzhi was enlightened. Was this the fabled story about waiting in the boudoir to be betrothed?

    But, which blind person would want to marry this runaway Lollita, wait, no! Now, she should be called, runawaydy!

    If one really married such ady, not mentioning anything else, if there was an argument, and not being able to win... that was definitely a rather miserable thing.

    Fang Zhengzhi always felt that if ady was too smart, it wasn¡¯t very good.

    It would actually be better for girls to be gentle and virtuous...

    Wu Yuer?

    No, too seductive. Furthermore, she always felt somewhat dark!

    Yun Qingwu?

    She was indeed gentle...

    But, her identity was too mysterious.

    No matter how much he thought, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t think of a girl who met his conditions.

    "Oh no, she¡¯sing over!"

    As he thought, Chi Guyan had already walked towards his location.

    Fang Zhengzhi instantly crouched his body behind the big tree beside the table. He sat at thest row, under normal circumstances, he shouldn¡¯t be discovered, right?

    As he thought, Fang Zhengzhi began to rx slightly.

    As expected, Chi Guyan seemed to not have discovered himself, and quickly walked past. As she walked with Chi Hou and Mrs Chi towards the main seat, she even greeted the officials and schrs.

    "Thank you lord for the feast!"

    "Princess is really bing prettier and prettier!"

    "..."

    "Ha ha ha..." Today, Chi Hou seemed to be happier, and carried a smile on his face the entire time.

    As for Chi Guyan, it was hard to see. After all, she was veiled.

    When the three of them reached the main seat and greeted the crowd, all the officials and schrs finally returned back onto their seats.

    At this most, Housekeeper Wen also stood out from behind the main seat.

    As a housekeeper of a constabry, he had the responsibility and task of being the host of this feast.

    He lightly coughed twice.

    Very quickly, a kind smile appeared on his face. Just as he prepared to speak, a voice that was as clear as the chirps of a hundred birds rang out.

    "Housekeeper Wen, why do I feel that there is a person missing?"

    When Housekeeper Wen heard this, the smile on his face instantly froze. A person missing? How is this possible? Every person that was invited had arrived, even those who weren¡¯t invited had arrived.

    There wasn¡¯t anybody missing...

    He wanted to argue, but, he also understood that he couldn¡¯t argue.

    Because, the person who spoke was Chi Guyan.

    Not mentioning that he was just a small housekeeper, even if he was Chi Hou himself, he also wouldn¡¯t doubt Chi Guyan¡¯s words at all.

    But...

    Who is missing? Didn¡¯t Missus usually not pay any attention to the invitation of guests to the constabry feast? Could it be that girl Yuer badmouthing him in front of Missus?

    As he thought, cold sweat broke out from Housekeeper Wen¡¯s back.

    "Who does Guyan feel is missing? Tell me more!" Chi Hou looked at Chi Guyan beside him, with the smile still on his face.

    "I heard that in this Law of Dao examination, the River of Trust Capital had produced a double roll champion that had risen above the schrs of the five capitals, why didn¡¯t I see him?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes revealed a trace of doubt.

    "Oh? Guyan is right, I am actually also extremely curious about this double roll champion. Our Northern Desert had indeed not produced a capital examination double roll champion in many years!" When Chi Hou heard this, he also nodded and looked at Housekeeper Wen.

    Housekeeper Wen instantly heaved a sigh of relief.

    Because, this person wasn¡¯t missing...

    "Replying lord and Missus, Young Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi is..." Halfway through his sentence, Housekeeper Wen suddenly shut his mouth.

    He suddenly realised that with this Missus¡¯s genius talents, she would definitely not miss out anybody on the way here, and was instead questioning him for a special reason.

    She definitely had other motives!

    As he thought...

    He suddenly felt somewhat sick.

 Chapter 133: Too Cold At The Top

    Chapter 133: Too Cold At The Top

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    In reality, other than Housekeeper Wen feeling sick, Fang Zhengzhi sitting at the strange corner also didn¡¯t feel very well. Or, it could be said that he felt extremely sick.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t believe that with Chi Guyan¡¯s intelligence, she would suddenly choose such an unimportant matter to discuss in such an important setting.

    Hence...

    There was only one possibility.

    Chi Guyan did it on purpose!

    What was her purpose? First, casually point him out, then, find an opportunity to attack him? Or, directly order him to be arrested?

    This was the Divine Constabry?

    Where am I supposed to run to...?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought about the winding road when he entered, and a sense of helplessness rose inside his heart. Not mentioning how well-guarded the Divine Constabry was, even if he really was allowed to run, he probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to run out within an hour.

    The entire atmosphere of the feast suddenly became strange, and everybody¡¯s gaze instinctively fell on Fang Zhengzhi who was in the strange corner.

    They naturally saw Fang Zhengzhi.

    But, they didn¡¯t understand, he was just a double roll champion of the capital examination, why did he deserve Chi Guyan¡¯s attention?

    Beads of sweat had already formed on Housekeeper Wen¡¯s forehead at this moment, and he pondered quickly in his heart.

    What was wrong?

    Not serving him properly? That¡¯s not true, I had personally served him, furthermore, I had even specially instructed the people below to prevent any incident in which Fang Zhengzhi would be mocked because of this status.

    Then...

    Position?!

    Housekeeper Wen suddenly realised a huge problem, but this problem wasn¡¯t rted to him. Because, the seating arrangement in the Divine Constabry feast was personally ordered by Chi Hou to sit based on status.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was the capital examination double roll champion, but his status was still a civilian, a civilian viger.

    But, even though this was so, if there was really something that Chi Guyan was unsatisfied about, then he would definitely be the person who got into trouble.

    Not Chi Hou.

    "Missus, please forgive me. My arrangement was wrong, I am willing to pay for my mistake!" Housekeeper Wen knew that this moment that arguing would definitely result in a heavier punishment than confession.

    "What mistake does Housekeeper Wen admit to?" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out again. It was very calm.

    "This... is... because of the seating arrangement..." Housekeeper Wen instinctively looked at Chi Hou, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead like rain.

    When Chi Hou saw the look Housekeeper Wen gave him, he had also more or less understood. However, this seating arrangement was personally ordered by him, if he had admitted this now, based on Chi Guyan¡¯s personality...

    When he reached this thought, Chi Hou gave Housekeeper Wen a very motivating look, then, slowly turned his head to the side.

    When Housekeeper Wen saw Chi Hou¡¯s actions, his heart instantly fell to the bottom of a valley.

    He knew...

    It was time for him to bear the consequences.

    "As the saying goes: Meritocracy is key. My Divine Constabry that protected the Northern Desert with our army, and defended against the Northern barbarians had never depended on judging people based on the family in which they were born. This mistake that Housekeeper Wen hasmitted today is no small crime!" Chi Guyan continued.

    "I admit my mistake, and hope that Missus can take into ount my years of service to remove my housekeeper appointment, then fine me three years of annual sry!" Housekeeper Wen knew that he had to bear the consequences, hence, naturally took the initiative to suggest his punishment.

    "Yes, it¡¯s fine as long as you know you are in the wrong. Go and make further arrangements!" At this moment, Chi Hou finally spoke.

    To have someone to bear the consequences was naturally afortable thing. Chi Hou definitely knew that Chi Guyan was just bringing up a topic, now, they could finally enter the main issue at hand.

    "Roger!" When Housekeeper Wen heard this, he instantly felt as if he had been granted great amnesty, and instantly prepared to carry on.

    "Wait a moment!" At this moment, Chi Guyan suddenly stood up.

    "I¡¯ll go personally!"

    Once the words left her mouth, all the officials and schrs in the feast werepletely stunned.

    The Divine Constabry¡¯s feast invited the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert, and also the schrs from all around. Before the start of the feast, Chi Guyan leveraged on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s incident to demonstrate the Divine Constabry¡¯s resolve to value meritocracy.

    This move was naturally intended to win the hearts of the people.

    Perhaps, from the very beginning, the Divine Constabry had alreadyid out this n, hence, this wasn¡¯t something that caused people to feel too shocked.

    But, Chi Guyan personally going over, the meaning behind this was nowpletely different.

    Who was Chi Guyan? She was the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s true number one talented girl, the Double Dragon Roll Champion that shocked the world, the future number one marshal of the Great Xia Dynasty. Having such a status, yet personally inviting a schr who had only just passed the capital examination?

    No matter how they viewed the situation, it still didn¡¯t seem as simple as bringing up a topic.

    A trace of shock also shed across Chi Hou¡¯s face at this moment.

    He was very fond of and loving towards Chi Guyan. Or, it could be said that without Chi Guyan, it was still reasonable to say that he might not even be in such a stable position of power today.

    When he heard Chi Guyan¡¯s attempt to win the hearts of the people, he also understood very well Chi Guyan¡¯s intentions, but now...

    He didn¡¯t quite understand.

    From what he remembered, the Great Xia Dynasty didn¡¯t consist of much people whom Chi Guyan would personally invite. Does it matter if he was King Duan? The imperial prince had waited more than ten days in the Divine Constabry, yet, Chi Guyan hadn¡¯t even met him once.

    If one had to think of someone whom Chi Guyan would invite personally, that might only be Nangong Hao.

    But who was Nangong Hao?

    The true number one schr in the Great Xia Dynasty, Heavenly Reflection Peak Stage, upying the first ce in the Hidden Dragon Roll the moment he came out, then, upying the first ce in the Rising Dragon Roll.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Chi Guyan, perhaps, he would truly be the brightest star in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Compared to such a great genius like Nangong Hao, what abilities and character did Fang Zhengzhi have? He was just a double roll champion of a capital examination, and only had the ability of Star Conglomerate State, at most, he would be at the Star Conglomerate Peak Stage.

    He might be able to be among the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Roll, but, on the Rising Dragon Roll, there were so many Heavenly Reflection States, who would even pay any attention to a youth who hadn¡¯t even reached the Heavenly Reflection State?

    The meaning behind Hidden Dragon, meant that one just had some hidden potential.

    That was all...

    But, does having hidden potential mean that one would definitely be sessful and achieve great things?

    Nobody would agree with that. Because, from the Star Conglomerate State to the Heavenly Reflection State, there was a huge and heavy door separating them. Who knew how many people, in their entire lifetime, hadn¡¯t been able to take the crucial step out of the Star Conglomerate State into the Heavenly Reflection State.

    As Chi Hou and the crowd were filled with shock, Chi Guyan had already walked towards the direction of thest seat.

    This scene.

    Even caused Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes to reveal a glimmer of shock and confusion.

    "You know each other?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply. Because, he simply didn¡¯t know how to reply this question. Answer that he didn¡¯t know? Eight years ago, he had sessfully kicked Chi Guyan into the river.

    But if he answered that he knew.

    Within these eight years, not even mentioningmunicating through letters, he had never even met her once.

    Do we know each other?

    We don¡¯t know...

    Don¡¯t know?

    Alright, actually, we know each other.

    No matter whether they knew each other or not, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he could start running now. Without meeting in eight years, yet you still recognise me? That was really like seeing a ghost.

    No matter whether other believed it, Fang Zhengzhi definitely didn¡¯t believe.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi ran.

    However...

    Just as he left his seat, Chi Guyan had already blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s path.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to feel somewhat shocked. How is this possible? In front of so many people, how did she recognise himself in one nce? Don¡¯t tell me it is because of Yan Xiu sitting beside him?

    "Young Master Fang, how are you these eight years?" Chi Guyan stood quietly in front of Fang Zhengzhi. She was very close, and her eyes were as bright as stars.

    Fang Zhengzhi could even feel the faint heat emanated from Chi Guyan¡¯s body. It was very real, but, he didn¡¯t quite like this reality.

    "Eight years? What eight years? What is princess saying? I absolutely don¡¯t understand..." Fang Zhengzhi felt that at this moment, if he acknowledged Chi Guyan¡¯s words, he would be so stupid that it would be cute.

    Wasn¡¯t that just admitting that eight years ago, he had kicked her into the river?

    Ha ha...

    Even if he was beaten to death, he still wouldn¡¯t admit it.

    "Is that true?" A trace of a smile shed across Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes.

    Then, gently lifting her feet, she took another step towards Fang Zhengzhi. The distance between the two people was already extremely close, but, Chi Guyan still took a step forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as if the distance between them was a little too close.

    Not only Fang Zhengzhi, even the officials and schrs at the scene also felt that the distance between them was a little too close.

    "Then, do you know what¡¯s ¡¯too cold at the top¡¯?" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out again. It was very soft, as if she had forced her voice into a very thin line.

    Furthermore, when she said this, she evidently seemed to be smiling faintly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly widened.

    He finally knew why Chi Guyan would take another step, because, she had to say this sentence, and this sentence mustn¡¯t be heard by others.

    Too cold at the top...

    The meaning of this actually wasn¡¯tplicated. It described a person who stood at a high position, yet being unable to handle the cold wind there.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t quite understand what was the reason Chi Guyan said that to him. Or, in other words, what was her intention?

    Top?

    How high was the top?

    Before Fang Zhengzhi understood, Chi Guyan spoke again.

    "Young Master Fang is powerful and talented, yet, you are neglected by the Divine Constabry. I don¡¯t feel good about this, hence, hereby apologise to Young Master Fang. Young Master Fang is magnanimous, hence would definitely forgive me for my mistreatment. I wish to invite Young Master Fang to sit together with me!" As Chi Guyan spoke, she bowed gently towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    In an instant.

    The entire feast grew absolutely silent, not a single other voice rang out.

    Everybody stared with their eyes wide open. Nobody would have thought that Chi Guyan would actually invite Fang Zhengzhi to sit together with her.

    That was the main seat...

    The main seat of the Divine Constabry!

    Who would have thought that a youth who had just passed the capital examination, and hadn¡¯t even donned an official rank, would be able to sit at the main seat of the feast in which the Divine Constabry organised and gathered the officials and schrs from the five capitals of the Northern Desert.

    Furthermore...

    He was personally invited by Chi Guyan.

    Lu Yusheng¡¯s mouth at this moment was opened so wide that a fist could be stuffed into it, and his face flushed with red. He recalled that the previous moment, he was still mocking Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi, invited to sit together with Chi Guyan?!

    This was definitely an incident that trembled the five capitals of the Northern Desert, and even the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

 Chapter 134: The Desolating Gale Freezes River Yi

    Chapter 134: The Desting Gale Freezes River Yi

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    At this moment, even Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, his face filled with shock. He really couldn¡¯t understand why would the pride of the Heavens, Chi Guyan, suddenly make such an invitation towards Fang Zhengzhi?

    Sitting together!

    Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t one who valued family backgrounds, but, these two people in front of him...

    One was the daughter of the Northern Desert Divine Constabry, the number one talented girl in the Great Xia Dynasty, the Double Dragon Roll Champion, the future assigned number one marshal of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    How about the other?

    He was just a schr from a faraway vige, who had never even entered a Hall of Dao before.

    These two people, no matter how he looked, shouldn¡¯t be able to interact with one another, right?

    Furthermore, most importantly...

    Not too long ago, Chi Guyan had even sent out a criminal demand order. The usation and harming power in her words didn¡¯t require further guessing, but now...

    Wasn¡¯t the change in attitude too fast?

    Just because Fang Zhengzhi attained the River of Trust Capital double roll champion?

    No matter how he looked, he didn¡¯t seem quite possible.

    "Don¡¯t tell me that between them... there really is a secret that nobody can know about?" For the first time, Yan Xiu seemed to feel that his brain wasn¡¯t useful enough.

    The officials of the Northern Desert five capitals also dropped their jaws. How can a person who was only a double roll champion of a capital examination receive such treatment?

    That seat...

    Other than the master of the Divine Constabry, only people with statuses such as King Duan or the crown prince would be able to sit there, right?

    An ordinary civilian...

    Why?

    ...

    Actually, Fang Zhengzhi also really wanted to ask why. Because, once Chi Guyan¡¯s words left her mouth, he felt the deep implications of Chi Guyan¡¯s words.

    Looking at Chi Guyan¡¯s clear yet bright eyes.

    Too cold at the top?

    This top was really high up!

    As the saying goes, evil stems from not being content, mistakes stem from greed, from only when one knows how to be content can one be truly happy. The meaning was clear. The root of all evils and mistakes was not knowing contentment.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s invitation seemed to be raising him high, and giving him the highest honour and unlimited glory. But, this glory seemed to be approaching dusk.

    Do I have the ability now to sit at that main seat?

    Definitely not.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current situation was just as she said. It¡¯s too cold at the top, furthermore, it was a very bone-chilling frost.

    Now, he had also suddenly understood why Chi Guyan would send out the criminal demand order. From the very start, Chi Guyan had intended for him to stand at the top.

    Without that criminal demand order, naturally, the incident of schrs from the five capitals gathering at the River of Trust Capital wouldn¡¯t had happened, and such a difficult capital examination wouldn¡¯t happen.

    But...

    He still attained the River of Trust Capital double roll champion.

    Such an oue naturally wasn¡¯t what Chi Guyan wished to see. Hence, at the great feast, Chi Guyan once again ced him at the top.

    But this time...

    It was really a little too high.

    If I sat down there, I believe the schrs of the entire Great Xia Dynasty would be discontented.

    The final results would be very obvious. In the entire Northern Desert, or even the entire Great Xia Dynasty, people who wanted to sit at this seat to be sessful overnight would challenge Fang Zhengzhi. Then, tell everybody in the world, look, I have defeated Fang Zhengzhi, the person who sat at the main seat at the great feast of the Divine Constabry...

    How domineering, how satisfying.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi? He would undoubtedly be a stepping stone that all the schrs under the world would wish to step upon.

    After the stepping stone had been stepped on over and over again, so many times that it loses its value, it would likely be the time when it was kicked away.

    At that time, whether it was death or disability...

    It was really hard to predict.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this point. After a moment of shock, Chi Hou and the officials of the five capitals naturally also understood this point. Hence, after thinking about the criminal demand order that Chi Guyan sent out not too long ago, and then thinking about Chi Guyan specially pointing out Fang Zhengzhi at the great feast a moment ago...

    The shock on their faces began to gradually turn into mock and ridicule.

    Lu Yusheng hadn¡¯t understood, but, he had seen its effect. Because, he could already see the bright glow that shed in the eyes of the surrounding schrs.

    That was a cold glow which appeared when a wild beast met its prey.

    At this moment. Yan Xiu also understood. His lips parted slightly. Just as he prepared to stop Fang Zhengzhi, he saw Fang Zhengzhi shaking his head lightly towards him.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that refusal was an inferior n.

    Not even mentioning that after he rejected, Chi Guyan might even punish him for being "unable to differentiate good from bad", just this action of rejecting alone might not even be possible.

    If he was Chi Guyan.

    Then, definitely, she would invite over, and over, and over again...

    And when that time came, Chi Guyan would naturally be respected for valuing meritocracy. As for himself? Most likely, he would be a criminal condemned by everybody?

    Both ways, he could be killed by everybody.

    The difference was, one was being killed at the top, the other was being killed deep down the valley.

    "Checkmate!"

    Sitting meant death, not sitting also meant death!

    "Young Master Fang, please!" Chi Guyan saw that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move, and bowed lightly once again. That attitude definitely seemed like a suprememander that thirsted for worthy people.

    When the officials at the feast witnessed this, they each began to nod.

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion shocks the work, indeed, that is a well-deserved reputation!"

    "Just a double roll champion of a capital examination would receive such treatment, if we could contribute greatly to the Northern battlefield, I really wonder what would we get?"

    "A general would have a tiger daughter. Chi Hou¡¯s teachings are indeed impressive!"

    Nobody paid further attention as to why Fang Zhengzhi would sit on the main seat. Because, they had seen a true general andmander that respected her people.

    Chi Hou at this moment also stood up from his seat and nodded lightly towards Fang Zhengzhi, his face as gentle as the spring breeze.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that at this moment, he had already taken one step into the door of death. At the great feast of the Divine Constabry, he was just a de of grass that could be crushed by anybody.

    His abilities were too low.

    Time, location, and people...

    He didn¡¯t possess any of them.

    Eight years ago, when he defeated Chi Guyan in his mastern, by dragging time, he had the advantage of time. He also utilised the advantage of location, which was the path below the stage. Furthermore, he ran away unexpectedly.

    Naturally, he could escape even from Heaven.

    But now?

    Without possessing anything, how could he break out of this dead end?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan who was only an inch away from him, and felt the faintughter in her bright and clear eyes. He suddenly felt that, perhaps all along, he had never escaped from the palms Chi Guyan¡¯s hands.

    From the moment she sent out the criminal demand order, to the Divine Constabry inviting schrs who made the first-ss roll of the River of Trust Capital examination to the great feast.

    All of these were within Chi Guyan¡¯s control.

    As for him, one step at a time, he walked into the dead end set by Chi Guyan.

    A light gust of wind blew across, lightly blowing up Chi Guyan¡¯s hair. The edges of her dress also billowed in the wind, it was very beautiful and mesmerising, like the most beautiful flower in the wind.

    But, this flower contained thorns that shed with a cold glint.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly had an urge.

    An urge to pluck out all of the thorns from this flower.

    One thorn by one thorn, plucking all of them out!

    Just like the clothes she wore on her body.

    Then, leaving one pretty flower of unparalleled beauty, and her blooming, was all controlled by his thoughts.

    One thought, the flower bloomed, another thought, the flower closed.

    Since everything led to death, then what was he to be afraid of?

    Since it was a dead end, why not die to the end?

    The desting gale freezes River Yi, the doomed hero has made his death wish...

    As he thought, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Then, this light expanded in his eyes at a horrifying speed, just as if he had seen the brightest ray of light in the darkness.

    "I know!"

    Didn¡¯t Chi Guyan want him to feel the cold at the top?

    Then, he would stand even higher, a height so high that even Chi Guyan wouldn¡¯t be able to control.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was betting. He betted that Chi Guyan didn¡¯t want him to die yet. Even though he didn¡¯t have a hundred percent confidence about this, he had at least ny.

    After all, with Chi Guyan¡¯s abilities and status.

    If she really wanted him to die.

    Eight years ago, he would have already been dead. Then, how could he survive till now?

    Wanting him to feel the frost at the top, yet, not wanting him to die immediately. This was definitely the attitude of a hunter.

    It was said: When a sessful hunter catches a fearsome prey for the first time, he wouldn¡¯t immediately kill the prey, and would instead use various methods to incite this prey and analyse its reactions. Because, he needed to understand the habits of such a prey.

    Then, catch even more prey of the same kind.

    No matter how Chi Guyan thought, one point was for sure.

    She didn¡¯t want him to die yet...

    Since that was so, then what was he to be scared of?!

    After being clear about one thing, everything became clear. Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan who was an inch away from him, then looked at her eyes which were bright as stars, and the edges of his mouth gradually curved into a smile.

    The smile was very bright, just like the sunny spring after the snow had melted...

    Chi Guyan was very close to Fang Zhengzhi, so close that she could feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breathing. Because, she had to ensure that her words were fully passed into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears.

    Furthermore...

    It mustn¡¯t be heard by a third person.

    Hence, this was the distance that allowed her to achieve this.

    Then, she saw Fang Zhengzhi, who had been carrying a bitter expression the entire time, smile. Furthermore, he smiled very brightly.

    She really didn¡¯t quite understand how could this shameless bastardugh at such a time? Don¡¯t tell me he had already given up struggling?

    Just as she thought, she suddenly felt a warmth on her hand.

    Then, lowering her head to look...

    On her hand, there was another big hand?!

    This hand was very big, but, it wasn¡¯t rough, and there weren¡¯t the calluses of war that her father¡¯s hand had. On the opposite, it even felt warm and smooth.

    Furthermore, she could even feel that when his big hand held onto her small hand, it even seemed to rubbed her hand on purpose.

    That seemed to be stroking...

    "Shameless bastard, how dare you!" Chi Guyan swore inwardly, and instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand. But, that big hand was too strong, and tightly gripped onto her tiny hand.

    Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, and realised that at this moment, he was gritting his teeth. It seemed that her attempted withdrawal just now caused him to expend quite some energy. But, why is he stillughing?

 Chapter 135: Look at Death in the Eye, Then Be Reborn

    Chapter 135: Look at Death in the Eye, Then Be Reborn

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though at this moment, due to Fang Zhengzhi gritting his teeth, his smile seemed somewhat weird, but he was indeed smiling. Furthermore, he was smiling very happily.

    Under the watchful eyes of everybody, Chi Guyan had very politely invited Fang Zhengzhi onto the main seat.

    Yet...

    Such a scene happened.

    Furthermore, it was in front of the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert.

    In front of all the schrs and youths.

    In front of Chi Hou and Mrs Chi...

    So brazenly, and so recklessly holding on to Chi Guyan¡¯s hand.

    This was vition, and the sacrilege of a pure and white lotus!

    "He... he grabbed Chi Guyan¡¯s hand!"

    When this thought finally expanded in everybody¡¯s minds, they stared with their eyes rounded. At this moment, the entire atmosphere at the feast was frozen, and people even forgot to breathe.

    Chi Hou¡¯s eyes instantly turned round. As the guardian of the five capitals of the Northern Desert, who won his reputation through defeating the northern barbarians, the iron-blooded Chi Hou had revealed an expression of shock that he had never revealed on the battlefield.

    Mrs Chi was also simrly taken stunned.

    As a woman filled with elegance and dignity, this was the first time she felt as if her heart had jumped into her throat.

    Her own daughter being vited? Furthermore, it was by a country bumpkin, and vited in front of the officials and youths from the five capitals of the Northern Desert?!

    As a mother, she couldn¡¯t ept it. Even if she wasn¡¯t a mother, she would also be absolutely unable to ept it...

    All the officials were so shocked that they couldn¡¯t close their mouths.

    The officials who were just happily discussing about the tiger daughter of the powerful general, and the Double Dragon Roll Champion, at this moment, felt as if they had bitten off their tongues. Or perhaps, even if they had really bitten it off, they wouldn¡¯t feel a thing.

    Because...

    The scene in front of them had alreadypletely exceeded their imaginations.

    The schrs were stupefied, andpletely stunned. The pride of the Heavens in their hearts, second to none in the Great Xia Dynasty, the number one talented girl, Double Dragon Roll Champion, future number one marshal of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Was held by the hand by a poor someone from the viges?!

    Nobody could ept such a blow...

    Because, their hearts had really shattered!

    Even Yan Xiu was so shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions that his jaws dropped. If the previous time, when Fang Zhengzhi suddenly reached out to unveil Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil only caused him to be somewhat curious.

    Then, this scene in front of him wasn¡¯t something which a simple ¡¯curiosity¡¯ could exin.

    Because...

    The other party wasn¡¯t Yun Qingwu anymore. Instead, it was the Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter, Chi Guyan!

    "You dare!"

    "Scum, oh my Heavens... if such a lecher is allowed to go on like this, even the sun and the moon would be punished!"

    "This is audacious to the extreme?! How can such a person exist?!"

    After the silence, it was a frightening outbreak of horror. All of the officials were filled with a powerful sense of coldness, nobody would tolerate such an incident.

    Especially if such an incident urred in front of their eyes!

    Hence, the officials moved. Lu Yusheng also moved.

    Even Chi Hou had already tightened his fist, his expression dark. He had decided that he must ensure that this person who dared vite his precious daughter was chopped and burnt to ashes!

    The officials also stood up from their seats, and were determined to reduce this saint-viting scum into ashes.

    However, as the person involved in the incident, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay any attention to the anger around him, instead, he smiled and continued to caress Chi Guyan¡¯s hand...

    It was very smooth, and very soft, just like silk. It was indeed very tender...

    In reality, when he did this, he had already known that there would be such consequences. But, does it matter? Anyway, he had already stood on the high mountain, why not stand at its peak?

    That was what he did. Furthermore, he did it calmly andfortably.

    Despite facing the mountainndslide-like strength from Chi Guyan when she withdrew her hand...

    He still didn¡¯t let go.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi held on with his life.

    As long as he held on, he would never let go!

    "Are you done touching?" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression was very serious, and contained a chill that entered the bones.

    "No!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head lightly.

    "You... aren¡¯t afraid of dying? Or perhaps, you don¡¯t even care about the life and death of your parents and the entire Northern Mountain Vige?" Chi Guyan didn¡¯t attempt to struggle further, but, this didn¡¯t mean that she allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold on like this. But, she really wanted to know, what was this shameless bastard in front of her thinking?

    "I¡¯m afraid!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone was very sure.

    "Then, you still dare to do such a thing?!" Suddenly, a powerful air emanated from Chi Guyan¡¯s body. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi was speaking the truth, but that was exactly the reason she couldn¡¯t understood.

    "Because I¡¯m afraid of dying, that¡¯s why I did this!"

    "Reason?"

    "Look at death in the eye, then be reborn!" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly kept his smile, and looked at Chi Guyan very seriously, and looked at that pair of bright eyes.

    A strange glow shed in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t need any further exnation from Fang Zhengzhi, she had already understood the meaning behind his words.

    "You think I won¡¯t kill you?"

    "If you wanted to kill, eight years ago, I would have already been dead. Now... I would have died long ago!"

    Chi Guyan remained silent, as if thinking of something. She didn¡¯t want to admit that she had lost to this shameless bastard in front of her, but, she indeed lost once again.

    "I can only help you block off the snowstorm at the surface!"

    "That¡¯s enough!"

    "But, in order to achieve this, it isn¡¯t enough for just me to agree! I believe my father lord. My mother, the officials from the Northern Desert five capitals and the schrs under the skies would all require a logical reason."

    "Didn¡¯t you already think of it?"

    "I indeed had thought of it, but unfortunately... you can¡¯t do it!"

    "How would you know if you didn¡¯t try?"

    "You really wish to try?"

    "Of course, I want to try!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that Chi Guyan¡¯s question was simply nonsense. Did he still have a choice at this time? Try, and there will still be an opportunity to live. Don¡¯t try, and his head would likely fall to the ground immediately.

    Chi Guyan nodded, and didn¡¯t continue asking. Instead, she slowly turned her body around and stood shoulder to shoulder with Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Let¡¯s go!" This time, Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was very loud, so loud that everybody in the entire venue could hear her very clearly.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was just as loud. This time, he didn¡¯t hesitate, and instead, holding Chi Guyan¡¯s hand, walked towards the direction of the main seat with a light smile on his face.

    In an instant.

    The scene that was initially about to explode suddenly quietened down.

    The officials who stood up due to their anger and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi stopped, their actions just like a statue. Furthermore, those whose jaws dropped due to their anger were simply unable to close it back.

    What had they just seen?

    Chi Guyan...

    Actually allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold her hand.

    She didn¡¯t resist?!

    Furthermore, she didn¡¯t even cry out at all...

    How was this possible?

    "Boom!"

    Everybody felt as if they had been struck by lightning. Their eyebrows, beards, and hairs all stood up straight. Nobody would ever have thought that such a thing would happen.

    At this moment, Chi Hou¡¯s eyeballs evidently popped out more than usual.

    He knew too clearly his precious daughter¡¯s personality, strong and firm. If she was unwilling, not mentioning one Fang Zhengzhi, even ten Fang Zhengzhi-s wouldn¡¯t be able to convince her.

    What was this about?

    Chi Hou looked at the dignified and elegant Mrs Chi beside him, and Mrs Chi also looked back at him. The shock in her eyes were even greater than that of his.

    An extremelyplicated look shed in Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes. He couldn¡¯t believe it, but, he chose to believe. Because, the person that held Chi Guyan¡¯s hand, was his friend.

    Due to running too fast, Lu Yusheng had already reached a distance less than two meters away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    But, now, Lu Yusheng¡¯s face was flushed red, and his mouth was agape, just as if somebody had forced a lump of feathers down his throat, choking him so badly that veins popped out from his throat.

    In his hands, he still held a sword.

    That was a sword that glowed with an icy glint. But, that sword was forcefully halted in mid-air. He couldn¡¯t bring it down, nor could he withdraw it.

    "Huh? Young Master Lu... are you going to do a sword performance?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sword Lu Yusheng raised, and a curious expression formed on his face.

    "Sword? Performance?!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s throat moved.

    Who did a sword performance? Naturally, it was done by actors for officials tough at. As the ninth son of the grand Battle Constabry, doing a sword performance at this feast?

    Lu Yusheng felt that he definitely couldn¡¯t bear this insult.

    But, he still bore it. Because, he saw Chi Guyan standing beside Fang Zhengzhi, as well as the icy glint that shone in Chi Guyan¡¯s bright eyes.

    "Since cousin has such elegance, why not perform The Drunken Beauty?" Chi Guyan looked at Lu Yusheng silently. Her voice was as crisp as the cries of a hundred birds.

    "The Drunken Beauty?!" Lu Yusheng felt that no matter what, he couldn¡¯t link himself with this role. After all, that was a girl.

    "If cousin isn¡¯t here to do a sword performance, don¡¯t tell me you are here to harm people with the sword?" Chi Guyan¡¯s tone suddenly changed, and naturally emanated a powerful aura which even Fang Zhengzhi could clearly sense.

    Lu Yusheng instantly trembled, and the sword in his hands almost fell to the ground.

    He looked at Chi Guyan, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi. His face alternated between blue and white, and finally, raised his head to the sky, and sighed deeply.

    "Young Master Fang is indeed clever. I just happened to want to do a sword performance, furthermore, the performance is exactly The Drunken Beauty that cousin had mentioned!" When Lu Yusheng said this, his entire face had already turned from red to green.

    That...

    Was really caused by suffocation.

    "Then, I¡¯ll have to trouble young master!" Fang Zhengzhi gave him a praise, then, holding Chi Guyan¡¯s hand, went past Lu Yusheng and continued walking to the main seat.

    At this moment, time seemed to have stopped...

    Everybody looked at Fang Zhengzhi, as if they had seen a live monster!

 Chapter 136: Losing Once More

    Chapter 136: Losing Once More

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A country bumpkin opening holding the hand of the grand Divine Constabry¡¯s daughter, Chi Guyan, and furthermore, Chi Guyan had actually willingly allowed him to hold.

    If this wasn¡¯t horrifying, then, what was this?!

    Nobody could understand what had just happened. Because, everything happened too suddenly, and too quickly. They were simply unable to react.

    Or, it could be said that the two seemed to have already discussed this well beforehand.

    Could it be...

    A thought rose up in the everybody¡¯s head.

    This thought was crazy, but, it wasn¡¯t illogical.

    If...

    If this thought was true, then, all the inferences made by them before this were overturned. Because, if this was really the case, then everything seemed to bepletely different.

    Chi Guyan sent out a criminal demand order at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and ordered to punish Lecher Fang Zhengzhi for forcefully unveiling Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil.

    Wasn¡¯t this jealousy between a couple?

    Then, when Fang Zhengzhi attained the River of Trust Capital examination double roll champion, and was invited to the great feast of the Divine Constabry, Chi Guyan actually went down the mountain at this time!

    Wasn¡¯t this longing between a couple?

    And now, at the Divine Constabry¡¯s great feast, inviting Fang Zhengzhi to sit at the main seat by citing meritocracy, this evidently was telling everybody in the world that they were one true pair?!

    This was a forced engagement!

    A force engagement set up against Chi Hou due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s status.

    In front of the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert, and in front of all the schrs and youths, they were already in a true rtionship. Under such circumstances, how could Chi Hou act in a hostile manner?

    When they thought of this, everybody felt somewhat horrified.

    Because, if things were really like this, would Chi Hou agree? Would the number one schr in the world, Nangong Hao, agree? And how would King Duan feel? How would the emperor view this matter?

    Nobody knew about these.

    Because, this was definitely a powerful storm, furthermore, it was a storm that would destroy the peace and calm in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression became truly ugly.

    Chi Guyan had always been his pride. essing Dao at four years of age, and solving the Illustration of All Creations at five years old, bing the youngest pride of the Heavens in the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s history.

    At ten years of age, she rose up to first ce in the Hidden Dragon Roll, at thirteen, she challenged the number one talent at that time, the first in the Rising Dragon Roll, Nangong Hao, then became the Double Dragon Roll Champion that shocked the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    How talented was this, how high was her status.

    In addition to her extreme beauty, with a smile that copsed nations.

    It was a time when she was shining the brightest. It could be expected that in the future, even if Chi Guyan was married to the emperor¡¯s family, she would definitely be the queen.

    Not needing to mention the princes from powerful families.

    In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, which prince wouldn¡¯t be in admiration of Chi Guyan? If she picked one randomly... it still wouldn¡¯t result in picking a poor viger.

    Even though...

    Chi Hou felt that with the status of the Divine Constabry, money and fortune wasn¡¯t important. But, when he actually saw the pearl in his palms being held by a poor viger.

    No matter how he thought, it wasn¡¯t satisfying.

    Definitely, the most important reason was, if Chi Guyan really wished to do as she pleased, even he, the lord of the great Divine Constabry, wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to stop her...

    This was the real reason why he didn¡¯t look too happy.

    Mrs Chi could sense her husband¡¯s feeling. As a mother, who wouldn¡¯t wish for her daughter to be happy. But, didn¡¯t this happinesse a little too suddenly?

    She hadn¡¯t prepared for it at all!

    Everybody felt that this was something that definitely couldn¡¯t happen. But what was the reality? This was exactly what happened, it was very sudden, but...

    It was real!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew how people thought. He also knew that everybody, including Chi Hou, would likely have an urge to butcher him right now.

    But, nobody moved.

    This was the reality...

    And this was the results Fang Zhengzhi wanted.

    Chi Guyan had pushed him up high, hence, he had to use Chi Guyan to defend against this tempest, even though that would cause him to stand even higher.

    That was looking at death in the eye, then being reborn!

    In the entire venue, there was only one person¡¯s thinking that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know. That was Chi Guyan. He didn¡¯t understand why Chi Guyan would rather go along with him instead of killing him.

    But, Chi Guyan had really done this.

    Hence...

    The next few steps were simply.

    Life was a performance, and the time to rely on performing skills hade.

    "I... don¡¯t agree!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi led Chi Guyan beside the main seat, Chi Hou finally spoke. Ever since Chi Guyan was five, this was the first time he objected to Chi Guyan¡¯s decision.

    "I side with your father lord!" Mrs Chi simrly spoke, but, her voice was much gentler.

    "But we already have a promise!" Chi Guyan seemed to have already thought of this, hence, once Chi Hou and Mrs Chi voiced out their objections, she didn¡¯t even seem to be surprised.

    "Promise? What promise?!" Chi Hou¡¯s face was filled with confusion.

    From what he remembered, Chi Guyan had never interacted with this person called Fang Zhengzhi in front of him. Then where did this promisee from?

    "Does father lord remember, eight years ago I went to the Southern Mountain Vige? Furthermore, I had established a Hall of Dao there?" Chi Guyan continued to speak.

    "What about that?"

    "Eight years ago, I had already essed Dao for a year, and believed that I wouldn¡¯t have any enemies among people my age, but... I lost to him!" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What?! How can this be possible?" Chi Hou instantly felt somewhat sick.

    Not only Chi Hou, even the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert, and the youth schrs, all felt somewhat sick.

    The number one talented girl in their eyes, the Chi Guyan who was almost the best in thend, actually lost to a vige kid eight years ago? That time...

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was only six or seven?

    How is this possible?!

    "I also felt that this wasn¡¯t very possible, but, I indeed lost... furthermore, because of this, I even lost my marriage!" Chi Guyan¡¯s tone seemed to contain somement.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi felt that if this girl didn¡¯t be a star actress, it really was a waste of her acting talents.

    She was actually able to weave the truth and lies so perfectly, that was considered losing? Wasn¡¯t it just a kick in the butt?

    Furthermore...

    She still mentioned losing her marriage!

    Wait a minute!

    What is the meaning of losing her marriage?!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly stared at Chi Guyan with his eyes round. Don¡¯t tell me this girl wants to marry me? Can Heaven not y such a prank? I can¡¯t take care of such a fearless girl.

    "Losing your marriage?!" Chi Hou was evidently even more shocked than Fang Zhengzhi.

    In an instant, he raised his hand up high, then, looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, and then looked towards Chi Guyan. Finally, he lowered it powerlessly.

    On the other hand, the officials from the five capitals of the Northern Desert as well as the schrs stared at Fang Zhengzhi furiously. They had an urge to tear Fang Zhengzhi to pieces with their teeth.

    He actually made use of a child¡¯s innocence to force a marriage?

    This was intolerable!

    "However, even so... I still made a condition. That was, he must defeat me another time within ten years, then, this promise would be considered valid!" Chi Guyan looked at Chi Hou¡¯s expression and added.

    "Defeating you another time within ten years? Eight years ago... then, isn¡¯t there another two more years?!" Light shed in Chi Hou¡¯s eyes, then, he suddenly began tough.

    "Ha ha ha..."

    At this moment, not only did Chi Houugh, even the officials of the Northern Desert five capitals and the schrs alsoughed at the same time.

    Defeating Chi Guyan another time within two years?!

    Wasn¡¯t this the funniest joke in the world?

    Who was Chi Guyan?

    That was the Double Dragon Roll Champion, number one talented girl in the world!

    Even though they didn¡¯t know what method of Fang Zhengzhi employ to defeat Chi Guyan eight years ago, but, it was simply a dream to even think of defeating Chi Guyan again within two years.

    The time of two years, that was the time stated on the divine message, and at that time, not even mentioning the Fang Zhengzhi who was still on the Hidden Dragon Roll, even if he somehow entered the Rising Dragon Roll, it was still impossible for somebody to defeat Chi Guyan.

    What was the Double Dragon Roll Champion?

    That meant that among those below the age of twenty-eight, she was the best in thend!

    If Fang Zhengzhi really defeated Chi Guyan within two years?

    What did that mean?

    Wasn¡¯t that telling everybody, he was the real Double Dragon Roll Champion?!

 Chapter 137: The Same Confidence

    Chapter 137: The Same Confidence

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A poor viger, a person who had never even entered a Hall of Dao, a person who had just passed the capital examination, a person who hadn¡¯t even reached the Heavenly Reflection State...

    Was the Double Dragon Roll Champion?!

    Not even mentioning that nobody believed it, nobody had even thought of it before.

    On the other hand, looking at Chi Guyan, her natural ¡¯Xuan Heavenly Dao Body¡¯, essing Dao at four, solving the Illustration of All Creation at five, ranked number one in the Hidden Dragon Roll at ten, and battling Nangong Hao with her Heavenly Reflection State abilities at the age of thirteen, a battle that shocked the world.

    That battle trembled the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    A thirteen-year-old girl already had such talent, what heights would she reach in the future?

    Almost nobody dared to guess.

    Even the current emperor agreed on the scene itself that Chi Guyan was the Double Dragon Roll Champion that shocks the world mentioned in the divine message, because, in the history of the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there had never been a person who reached Heavenly Reflection State at the age of thirteen.

    Furthermore, Chi Guyan was born in the iron-blooded noble family of the Divine Constabry, and began studying military books and military tactics since young. If her cleverness wasn¡¯t a talent that shocked the world, then what was it?

    Comparing between them, who was higher and who was lower, simply didn¡¯t require anypetition.

    "I think such a meaningless promise... can be voided!" Afterughing, Chi Hou evidently rxed, and seemed much happier than before.

    "That¡¯s right, this is simply an impossible task!"

    "Yes... not mentioning two years, even if it was twenty years, there still wouldn¡¯t be hope!"

    When the officials heard Chi Hou¡¯s words, they also instantly began to add on. There were even schrs at the side giving Fang Zhengzhi a spiteful look.

    Because, even among them, there were already powerful people of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Star Conglomerate?

    In their eyes, that was at most a joke...

    "Man cannot be without honour, if I reneged the promise halfway, then, I would have lost my honour. No matter what, since Young Master Fang suggested this, I must keep my promise, and wait another two years! And within these two years, I won¡¯t discuss with anybody about engagement. I hope father lord can uphold this!"

    Chi Guyan¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t very loud, but, it caused all of the discussion going around them to suddenly turn silent. Because, her tone was very serious, and very determined.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he looked at Chi Guyan, and all of his confusion was suddenly cleared up at this moment. He finally understood why Chi Guyan was willing to bring him into this.

    He used Chi Guyan to defend against the surrounding storm.

    On the other hand, Chi Guyan was also using Fang Zhengzhi to defend against the surrounding storm.

    Even though the storm was different, but, their degree of annoyance was the same.

    Any matter in the world, no matter how unbelievable it was, as long as there was a win-win situation for both parties, would be a logical one. It was just as if two sworn enemies who were initially fighting suddenly encounter a third person who wished to eliminate both of them.

    This, these two parties would also put aside their enmity and fight the third person together.

    This was how the world worked.

    There were no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

    If Chi Guyan was still in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, then she naturally wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being harassed by the storm. But, once she left the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was equivalent to stepping back into the storm.

    Then...

    Considering Chi Guyan¡¯s family background and family status, the average noblemen wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to this. But, if it was a lord? Or, it was a prince or even a crown prince?

    Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s status was powerful, she still had to take into consideration the status of the Divine Constabry as well as considerations for the future, thus couldn¡¯t offend all of the noblemen, princes and crown prince.

    Even though she was the pride of the Heavens.

    But, she also had her own troubles, and her own worries.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly began to somewhat pity Chi Guyan. She had pushed him towards higher ground, but how about Chi Guyan? All along, she stood at the top.

    Mutual help?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, but still felt that this phrase was unsuitable. To hell with mutual help, all he wished for was, after finishing the imperial examination, marry a beautiful and gentle wife then return home to leisurely live the rest of his life.

    That was true life.

    As to why he wanted to participate in the Law of Dao examination, it was the same reason a person who was filled with knowledge would definitely want to show it off in the outside world. Furthermore, the most important point was, those sisters in the Northern Mountain Vige were pretty.

    But, they had alwayscked a certain temperament.

    Ever since young, he had watched them as babies. The memory was really too deep. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mental age was around twenty, and that feeling was indeed weird.

    It was like raising a baby until she was ten years old, then, suddenly saying, I want to marry her.

    Fang Zhengzhi really couldn¡¯t bring himself to do that.

    But, the Chi Guyan in front of him was different, and at least, he hadn¡¯t seen her for these eight years. Hence, that memory only remained at a certain deep moment.

    It was barely still eptable...

    "My ass!"

    Fang Zhengzhi eventually decided to continue treating Chi Guyan as an honoured guest. Of course, if she insisted, he felt that he could still keep her as a bed-warming servant, or a woodchopping girl and so on.

    When he thought of this, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth instantly revealed an intoxicated look that everybody understood.

    Then...

    This expression very naturallynded in the eyes of Chi Hou.

    As the iron-blooded Divine Lord, having fought countless battles and controlling the five capitals of the Northern Desert, what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking might not be understood by Chi Guyan, but as a man, Chi Guyan could see his mind very clear.

    Then, Chi Hou became infuriated.

    He felt that one could be shameless, but couldn¡¯t be shameless to such an extent. This wasn¡¯t shameless anymore, instead, it was scoundrelly. What right did a poor schr from the vige have to control the marriage of his precious pearl?

    Even thinking of it was a sin!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will swear now that if you can¡¯t defeat Guyan openly within two years, I will make sure I let you know what rather being dead means!" As Chi Hou spoke, he lightly clenched his fist in the air, and a jade-green lightsword was gripped in his hand.

    That was an inch long lightsword, so sharp that even the air around it trembled slightly, emanating an endless sense of chill.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively took a step back.

    Then, at this moment, Chi Hou lightly flicked his finger.

    The jade-green lightsword in his hand flew out like a sword that decapitated people from a thousand miles away.

    What a powerful lightsword!

    It can actually leave his hand?!

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought, he saw the lightswordnd on an artificial mountain not too far away. Then, in an instant, a powerful tremor originated from the entire artificial mountain, and immediately after, countless lightswords flew up into the sky, and exploding apart just like the Heaven scattering flower blossoms.

    "Boom!"

    The huge five-meter-high artificial mountain was instantly reduced into powder.

    Real powder...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly became round. He could still barely achieve reducing a stone into powder with one palm, but now, he had aplished something like this in front of him.

    Lightsword.

    It was initially already a Dao of All Creation.

    But, when the lightsword left his hand, it could still change its form, consisting of the Dao of All Creations that could reduce stone into powder.

    What was this concept?

    It was just like integrating a Dao of All Creation within the Dao of All Creation.

    It was somewhat extreme, but what was for sure was that Chi Hou¡¯s abilities could definitely finish him in a second.

    Chi Hou¡¯s rage shocked the entire Northern Desert.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally was also shocked.

    Wait a moment...

    There seems to be something wrong with this scenario?

    Wasn¡¯t it just a promise, not being able to win, wasn¡¯t that a very normal thing? Two years ago, you can walk your nk bridge, and I¡¯ll walk my sunshine road.

    We don¡¯t owe each other anything.

    This is the normal scenario!

    What¡¯s the point of loving and killing one another?

    "Lord, I think that we can discuss about this further!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that the most painful thing in the world was waiting for death.

    Defeat Chi Guyan within two years?

    He really hadn¡¯t thought about this...

    "No discussion is necessary. I have already decided that within these two years, I will announce to the world that I¡¯ll treat you like the Divine Constabry¡¯s future son-inw. But if you disrespect Guyan in any way, I won¡¯t wait two years!" Chi Hou waved his hands, indicating that he had made up his mind.

    "You really don¡¯t need to treat me like the future son-inw? There is simply no need..." Fang Zhengzhi felt that things seemed to be getting out of control.

    "Don¡¯t tell me you feel that my Guyan can casually arrange a marriage with anybody? Without a name and without a status, how would the outside world view Guyan!" Chi Hou was enraged again.

    "I don¡¯t have to care about these details."

    "You don¡¯t have to care, but I care!"

    "Since this is the case, there are some things I have to make clear. I didn¡¯t bring any engagement presents. Furthermore, I hope that during lord¡¯s announcement to the world, please make it clear that I wouldn¡¯t be a son-inw living with his wife¡¯s family!" Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, and felt that it was better for some things to be stated clearly.

    "Not living with your wife¡¯s family?! Don¡¯t tell me you still want Guyan to marry into your lousy vige?" Chi Hou naturally didn¡¯t care about the present, but this sentence about not living with his wife¡¯s family caused him to be enraged again.

    "The mountains be famous not because of its height, but because of the deities living there. The waters be powerful not because of its depth, but because of the dragons living in it. Things may seem humble, but there are great virtues within. The great people of the past had already taught us, why isn¡¯t lord able to see past this?" At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned somewhat serious.

    "You..." Chi Hou swallowed the words that came to his mouth. Then, he looked very seriously at Fang Zhengzhi. "I really want to see if two yearster, you can still negotiate as freely with me as today!"

    "I think I can!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was very serious.

    It felt as if he was saying something that was very ordinary. If he wasn¡¯t speaking about this incident, nobody might even feel that he was joking.

    Chi Hou was slightly taken aback.

    Suddenly, he felt that there was something familiar on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, just like the first time he entered the battlefield. At that time, fifty thousand barbarian cavalries stood in front of him.

    But, he still chose to look at them with contempt.

    Because, he had enough confidence. And now...

    On Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, he saw the same confidence.

 Chapter 138: Stunning Beauty

    Chapter 138: Stunning Beauty

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This thought quickly vanished from Chi Hou¡¯s mind.

    Then, he felt likeughing. A poor person from the vige who hadn¡¯t even entered a Hall of Dao, had already reached his maximum glory in the capital examination.

    Even if he really was able to take another step forward, how could hepare with Chi Guyan, who possessed the "Xuan Heavenly Dao Body"?

    This promise...

    He didn¡¯t even have to bother about it. Because, two yearster, it would naturally be voided.

    Chi Hou thought this way. The officials from the Northern Desert five capitals, as well as all the schrs on the scene thought this way. How can the glow of a firepare with the brightness of the moon?

    "He actually said that he can?!"

    "This confidence is indeed shocking, don¡¯t tell me that he doesn¡¯t find it funny at all?"

    "Really shameless! A person who had only reached Star Conglomerate dreaming of defeating Chi Guyan, who possesses the "Xuan Heavenly Dao Body" as well as attained the Heavenly Reflection Peak Stage, in two years?"

    The officials of the five capitals of the Northern Desert and the schrs didn¡¯t pay attention to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression like Chi Hou did. Instead, when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they were instantly filled with despise.

    Right at this moment, Chi Guyan, who had all along remained silent, suddenly spoke.

    "Since you feel it is possible, that means we have affirmed our promise. Then, please unveil this veil from my face now!"

    Chi Guyan¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t very loud, but, it caused everybody¡¯sughter and chattering to stoppletely.

    Everybody feel as if they had been struck by lightning. Chi Hou, Mrs Chi as well as the officials and schrs were stunned once again.

    Those officials and schrs that spoke a moment ago nced at one another without their mouth agape.

    Because, they would never have thought, Chi Guyan actually believed it?!

    Furthermore, she invited Fang Zhengzhi to unveil her?!

    How is this possible?

    Everybody felt that Chi Guyan didn¡¯t have to bother about Fang Zhengzhi, and even didn¡¯t have to go ording to her promise. Because, this was a promise that could nevere true.

    Even if she had to honour her promise, all she had to do was to bestow a title upon Fang Zhengzhi. Then, after two years, the promise would naturally be voided.

    It simply didn¡¯t require such a move.

    Was Chi Guyan dumb?

    This naturally wasn¡¯t possible...

    But, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t make a smart move, just as if how nobody knew why Chi Guyan would suddenly leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    These moves werepletely unbelievable.

    Don¡¯t tell me in her heart, Chi Guyan believes in this promise? Or perhaps, Chi Guyan believes that Fang Zhengzhi would really be able to defeat her?

    Everybody quickly dismissed that thought. Because, there was simply nobody who believed that these two possibilities existed.

    But...

    Other than these two possibilities, what other way was there to exin this incident.

    "Guyan... this matter..."

    "Father lord, my decision has already been made!" Chi Guyan looked at Chi Hou and immediately cut his sentence short, looking at Fang Zhengzhi with a pair of eyes as bright as stars. The look in her eyes told everybody that Fang Zhengzhi was free to continue.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly bewildered.

    What is this all about?

    Has Chi Guyan¡¯s brain been struck by lightning?

    Did a big cabbage suddenly grow in Chi Guyan¡¯s brain? In reality, Fang Zhengzhi simrly felt that it was already sufficient for Chi Guyan to announce this promise. Further customs and practices were simply unnecessary.

    Because...

    Even he himself didn¡¯t believe that this was a promise that could be aplished.

    Then, why did she do this?

    What are her motives?

    Don¡¯t tell me it is another trap for me to step into? Fang Zhengzhi was rather hesitant. He really didn¡¯t understand what Chi Guyan stood to gain from doing this.

    "I don¡¯t wish for my fianc¨¦ to be humiliated. Even if it is only on the surface, that still cannot be tolerated!" When Chi Guyan saw that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move, her lips parted slightly and a soft voice entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears.

    "Fianc¨¦? Humiliated?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. For the first time, he saw a trace of seriousness in Chi Guyan¡¯s expression. Because, Chi Guyan¡¯s reason was very simple, but, it was truer than any other reason.

    "Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t?" Chi Guyan saw that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t act, and the mocking look of ady appeared in her eyes. But, that mocking look disappeared in a sh.

    "I can¡¯t?!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know whether Chi Guyan exchanged the word "dare" with "can" on purpose, but this sentence was an insult to any man.

    Even though he clearly knew that Chi Guyan was goading him, he still acted without the slightest bit of further hesitation.

    Chi Guyan indeed didn¡¯t move. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t even intend to resist. She stood, just like that, quietly on the spot, giving permission for Fang Zhengzhi to remove the veil on her face.

    Hence, a soft veil ended up on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Then...

    The entire world suddenly brightened up.

    Because, the girl that appeared in front of him was really too bright. Fang Zhengzhi had initially thought that Chi Guyan should be very pretty. Ever since young, he had already noticed that she would be a beautiful woman in the future.

    But, he had never thought that this beautiful woman would be as stunning as this.

    A pair of long eyshes trembled slightly, with a pair of eyes as bright as stars. Her white and wless skin radiated a faint sparkle, and her bright, pink lips were as tender as the petals of a flower.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind only contained one sentence.

    This girl belonged to the Heavens!

    Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s current features still appeared somewhat child-like, but her powerful temperament had already been faintly exposed.

    If Wu Yuer was the epitome of charm and Yun Qingwu was abination of elegance and dignity, then, Chi Guyan would be the most stunning stroke of the brush among a million paintings.

    She carried a beauty that overlooked the sentient beings of the world, she was the only tree among the sea of a million flowers.

    The air in the entire feast froze at this moment. When all of the schrs looked at Chi Guyan, whose appearance had been revealed, they all had one feeling.

    A feeling of beingpletely subdued...

    This beauty was enough to melt any form of snow and ice, just like the glorious sun, lighting up everybody¡¯s souls. It was something their hearts couldn¡¯t resist.

    "That¡¯s average..." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth. Does it matter how pretty she was? She isn¡¯t even my type.

    "Looks like you are very blind!" Chi Guyan impolitely returned a sentence. Her soft, pink lips parted slightly, allowing a sweet breath to escape.

    That fragrance caused everybody to feel as if the person in front of them was a beautiful flower.

    "I¡¯m blind?!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to retort, but suddenly felt as if there was something wrong somewhere. Because, he actually felt that Chi Guyan seemed rather familiar.

    I seem to have seen her somewhere before?

    Eight years ago?

    But, at that time, she was still a kid. She simply didn¡¯t look like her grown-up self, how is it possible that I¡¯ve seen her before? Where did I see her?

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought, the officials of the Northern Desert five capitals were alreadypletely stunned. Chi Guyan had really allowed Fang Zhengzhi to unveil her?

    Isn¡¯t this unbelievable?

    Most importantly...

    Why did their conversation feel like the argument between a young couple?

    How can things be like this?

    At this moment, Chi Hou also looked at Mrs Li. A simr confusion was evident in both of their eyes. Neither of them knew what Chi Guyan was thinking.

    "Right, can I invite a friend toe over and sit?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue thinking where he had seen Chi Guyan before. Because, he had just met the gaze of Yan Xiu, who was sitting in the strange corner with his eyes wide open.

    At this moment, if one described Yan Xiu aspletely calm and maintaining his cold expression, that was impossible. Because, the incidents today had happened too suddenly.

    So suddenly that even he wasn¡¯t able to react...

    "Definitely! Now, you are already half a master of the Divine Constabry, this is your entitlement!" Chi Guyan replied without even bothering to think.

    As she had just said, no matter what happened two years ago, at least at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was by name Chi Guyan¡¯s finance. Hence, nobody could look down upon him in this Divine Constabry.

    "My friend naturally will be your friend. Let¡¯s sit together?"

    "Yes."

    Chi Guyan nodded lightly. Then, she walked very naturally to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side and lightly wrapped one hand around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Her expression was very calm.

    Just like that, the two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards Yan Xiu¡¯s direction.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan didn¡¯t walk very fast. But, every step they took produced the clear sound of footsteps. Because, at this moment, the entire world was silent.

    Nobody spoke. They had even almost forgotten to breathe.

    Because, the scene in front of them had truly exceeded their imaginations, causing their brain topletely lose its ability to think.

    If it was said that when Fang Zhengzhi held Chi Guyan¡¯s hand and walked towards the main seat not too long ago already caused people¡¯s jaws to almost drop to the ground.

    Then, now...

    Chi Guyan taking the initiative to wrap her hand around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm was undoubtedly like a loud and clear p to their faces, whipping upon the faces of the Northern Desert five capital officials as well as the schrs.

    Chi Guyan used her actions to tell officials from the Northern Desert five capitals as well as the schrs present on the scene that now, Fang Zhengzhi was her, Chi Guyan¡¯s, fiance.

    In the Divine Constabry.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the master. His status and position were something they couldn¡¯tpare to, and had no way topare to.

    At this moment, Lu Yusheng was still standing at the path. He had already prepared to carry on with his sword performance. However, at this moment, the sword of his hand that shed with an icy glow had left his hand.

    "ng!" It fell onto the ground.

    As for his mouth, it was opened so widely that it could fit a fist.

    He didn¡¯t dare to believe what was happening. But, he had no choice but to believe. Because, this scene unfolded clearly before his eyes, and the distance to him...

    Was getting closer and closer.

    Closer and closer...

 Chapter 139: The Moon was a Bow

    Chapter 139: The Moon was a Bow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Young Master Lu, the quality of your sword performance is indeed... too low!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sword thatnded on the ground and sighed heavily with a sad expression on his face.

    "It is indeed bad!" Chi Guyan also shook her head.

    Lu Yusheng¡¯s throat moved slightly. He wanted to exin, yet, when the words reached his mouth, he wasn¡¯t able to utter them. What was there to exin? That he was actually quite proficient in sword performance?

    Wasn¡¯t that just saying that he was somebody who did sword performances?

    When he thought of this, Lu Yusheng once again felt that somebody had stuffed a lump of feathers into his mouth. He was really stuck, so stuck that he didn¡¯t even have the ability to exin himself.

    At this moment, Chi Guyan, holding on to Fang Zhengzhi, had already moved past him.

    The both of them...

    Didn¡¯t even give him a second nce.

    "Let¡¯s sit together?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a queer expression, then looked at Chi Guyan who was standing by his side. Finally, a cold expression returned back to his face.

    "Alright!" Yan Xiu didn¡¯t refuse.

    "Chi Guyan¡¯s oversight today had caused Young Master Yan Xiu to be treated badly. I hope that Young Master Yan Xiu can help me ask for Grandfather Yan¡¯s forgiveness when you return to the Western Liang!" Chi Guyan bowed lightly towards Yan Xiu to express her apology.

    "Princess is too courteous!" Yan Xiu returned a simr bow to Chi Guyan.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard the conversation between Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan, he wondered. Why did both of them like to mention his grandfather? He was curious, but this was ultimately Yan Xiu¡¯s family matters. If Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak of it, he naturally wouldn¡¯t ask.

    The three of them walked shoulder to shoulder. Chi Guyan continued to lightly wrap her hand around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm, while Yan Xiu walked on the other side of Fang Zhengzhi. They looked just as if they were three very good friends.

    When the three of them arrived at the main seat, Yan Xiu bowed again towards Chi Hou.

    "I pay my respect to lord!"

    "Ha ha, Yan Xiu, there is no need for this courtesy. Let¡¯s sit together!" Instead of being unhappy with Fang Zhengzhi for inviting Yan Xiu over, Chi Hou seemed to be extremely courteous towards Yan Xiu.

    Then, the Divine Constabry great feast finally began.

    On the other hand, Lu Yusheng stood in the middle of the path and performed The Drunken Beauty.

    When his swordshed out, shadows danced in the air. It was as if clouds were floating in the air...

    Frankly speaking, Lu Yusheng¡¯s sword performance wasn¡¯t bad. On the contrary, it was actually rather enjoyable. His grace was perfect, but, very unfortunately, the expression on his face wasn¡¯t as nice.

    ...

    "Bang!"

    Not too far away, within an exquisite room, a crystal-white cup was smashed mercilessly onto the floor, instantly turning into a pile of broken pieces.

    This was an extremely precious teacup. It waspletely genuine and definitely crafted by famous professionals. As for its value, it was minimally able to feed a family of three for more than ten years.

    But, the person who smashed the cup didn¡¯t seem to have been cured of his anger. Instead, he stepped onto the pile of broken pieces, crushing the crystal-white pieces them into powder...

    "Kill!" A voice that was cold as ice rang out from a youth around the age of twenty-three. His sharp brows were filled with anger, and his white brocade robe billowed lightly.

    "King Duan, you cannot!" An elder wearing a ck and white Dao robe standing behind the youth shook his head lightly, and quickly tried to stop him.

    "Why? Isn¡¯t he just a poor viger? I have already been waiting at the Divine Constabry for so many days, but Chi Guyan didn¡¯t even bother to meet me once. Now that this ten-year promise had suddenly appeared, this is clearly humiliating me!" King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s body trembled slightly. Evidently, he was on the brink of exploding with rage.

    "One who aplishes big things wouldn¡¯t be fussy about the details! King Duan, please calm down!" The elder wearing the ck and white Dao robe sighed and continued to persuade.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue didn¡¯t speak further, but he still couldn¡¯t control the anger in his body.

    "King Duan, think carefully. Now that you and the crown prince arepeting in front of the emperor, the side that Chi Guyan would choose is the most important consideration. If Chi Guyan found out that you are the one who killed Fang Zhengzhi, even if you were able to void this promise, Chi Guyan would likely be inclined to side with the crown prince!"

    "What is your meaning?"

    "Observe silently!"

    "No, it would still be fine if I didn¡¯t witness this. But, now that I have personally witnessed this, how can I ept it?"

    "Sigh... if your highness wants to proceed with this forcefully, there would more or less be some risk." Elder Wen seemed to be in a difficult situation. He looked at the main seat of the feast not too far away and shook his head.

    "When I initially chose this path, I had already prepared myself mentally. How can I not deal with a small risk? Elder Wen, why not tell me your thoughts?"

    "Killing with a borrowed knife!"

    "Killing with a borrowed knife?! Whose knife? How can I borrow it?"

    "Whoever¡¯s hate is the deepest would be the person whom you borrow the knife from! King Duan, please look!" Elder Wen pointed to a location at the feast.

    At that seat, a person danced in the air. On one hand, he held a sword that glinted with an icy glow, on the other, he held a silver cup. He performed with a bitter expression on his face...

    ...

    The dishes at the Divine Constabry great feast weren¡¯t as grand and exquisite as imagined. But, it contained a tough taste that was filled with the battles of iron-blooded soldiers.

    The main dish was a freshly butchered blue-horned white goat. A fire was started in the middle of the venue, in which wine was being boiled, causing people to feel as if they had returned to the military barracks of the battlefield.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually rather used to such a feast. The taste of the wild catered to years of living in the vige. On the other hand, Yan Xiu was pleasantly surprised.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to be even more curious about Yan Xiu¡¯s background.

    After the great feast officially started, the atmosphere seemed to return to normal. Chi Hou also revealed the aura of an iron-blooded general, and downed wine as if they were water...

    The personalities of men from the battlefield were all along very straightforward.

    Chi Hou was no exception. When a matter had already been settled, he wouldn¡¯t bring it up further. Mrs Li, due to having been with Chi Hou for many years, gave of the feeling of a woman that matched up to men within her dignified and elegant temperament.

    Hence, she simrly downed a few cups of wine with the officials from the Northern Desert five capitals as well as the schrs.

    When the Divine Constabry great feast had ended, Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and a few other schrs were arranged to remain in the Divine Constabry.

    After all, the next morning, they were about to enter the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    ...

    The moon was a bow, the stars were fire. Within the Divine Constabry, the shadows of trees danced lightly, and the aroma of flowers filled the air. The green waters flowed gently, while in a certain pavilion of the Divine Constabry, there were two elegant figures. One stood while the other sat.

    Lady Yuer, standing at the side of the pavilion, wearing a green dress and a silver hairpin, was gazing at Chi Guyan, who was ying the guqin in front of her. At this moment, her fair, white face was filled with curiosity.

    She really couldn¡¯t understand what her Missus was thinking.

    "Missus..."

    "Do you wish to ask why I did that?" Chi Guyan pressed her hand on the strings of the guqin, and the music that likened the sound of flowing water stopped suddenly.

    "Yes, that little... Young Master Fang, how can he match Missus?" Yuer¡¯s mouth twitched. She evidently seemed rather unhappy.

    "About this point, I don¡¯t feel whether this match is important. Everybody is equal, why must we segregate people ording to their status? But... today¡¯s incident indeed exceeded my imaginations!"

    "Don¡¯t tell me even Missus didn¡¯t think that such an incident would happen?" Yuer was somewhat shocked. Ever since she started following Chi Guyan, this was the first time she had heard that something exceeded Chi Guyan¡¯s imaginations.

    "Actually, the reason I left the Heaven Dao Pavilion was to confirm a thought in my heart." Chi Guyan didn¡¯t reply Yuer¡¯s question, and instead continued to speak.

    "A thought in your heart?"

    "Yes, a thought that had troubled me for a year. But afterwards, I realised that it was rather difficult to confirm this thought. Because, that shameless bastard was too living toofortably, just like an ordinary civilian! I thought... that he would at most carry an attitude to only try his luck in the Law of Dao examination?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me Missus¡¯s thought is rted to Young Master Fang?" Yuer naturally inferred who the shameless bastard that Chi Guyan mentioned was. Hence, her expression seemed even more curious.

    "It could be said to be rted to him, but notpletely rted to him! The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world! This Heaven Dao divine message definitely isn¡¯t as simple as it seems on the surface. Furthermore, the Heaven Dao¡¯s divine message would definitely not fix a time for no good reason. Two yearster, there would definitely be a huge plot in the entire world, but... I don¡¯t know what this plot is! For the Great Xia Dynasty, for the entire human face, I can only force him. Furthermore, I had already made every preparation possible. If my thought was really wrong, then I will let go and allow him to continue living the life he wants in the Northern Mountain Vige."

    "The Heaven Dao divine message?! Isn¡¯t Missus the Heaven Dao divine message? How can it be rted to Young Master Fang? Furthermore, why did Missus say that it exceeded your imagination?"

    "The time has yet toe, how can the Heaven Dao divine message be confirmed so easily? Of course, I am only guessing now. I initially wanted to give him some pressure, but I had never imagined that he would be even smarter than what I imagined! Other than this, even though this shameless bastard has an easy-going and rxed personality, he is filled with arrogance. This arrogance ensured that he didn¡¯t admit defeat, hence... this time, I lost to him again!"

    "Missus lost to him again?! Don¡¯t tell me that Missus had really lost to him eight years ago?"

    "I lost once fighting one-to-one with him, and also lost another time in ying mind games. Actually, there are some things I still concealed today!"

    When Lady Yuer heard this, she acknowledged them. But, she was still confused. After all, she simply had never thought about the things Chi Guyan had said today.

    "But even if it was eight years ago, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities simply couldn¡¯tpare to Missus¡¯s. In a one-to-one fight... how can you lose?"

    "That¡¯s right... how can I lose?"

    Chi Guyan slowly raised her head and looked at the crescent moon in the sky. A gust of wind blew across, sweeping up the hair on her shoulders, and the pristine white dress that she wore. She looked just like a fairy from the moon pce.

    "I believe he will definitely be very shocked at tomorrow¡¯s Heavenly Treasure Hall!"

    Her slender yet pale white fingers moved slightly, and the strings of the guqin was once again plucked lightly.

    "Ding!" A note rang out.

    Immediately after, music that likened the flow of water began to trickle. The entire world at this moment seemed to be infected by this music, entering a state of pure calm.

    Yuer didn¡¯t speak further. Instead, she quietly stood by Chi Guyan¡¯s side. The confusion on her face had disappeared, and what remained was only peace and quiet.

    The moon was a bow, the stars were fire, the music was flowing water...

    ...

 Chapter 140: Heavenly Treasure Hall

    Chapter 140: Heavenly Treasure Hall

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The following morning, a gentle wind blew and a marble white colour joined the sky and the earth.

    Fang Zhengzhi who donned a blue robe stood within the Divine Constabry and looked at the scene happening in front of him. His expression seemed to be in somewhat of a disbelief.

    "This... is the Heavenly Treasure Hall?!"

    "That¡¯s right, this is the Heavenly Treasure Hall! It was bestowed by the Heaven. When the emperor established the Great Xia Dynasty, he built this pce. My ancestor was wise and had great foresight, hence, the emperor assigned my ancestor to protect this pce. Thus, today¡¯s Divine Constabry was established!" Chi Hou, who donned a purple official robe, pointed to a location beside him.

    The location that Chi Hou pointed at...

    Was a huge piece of ck stone that was a metre tall. The stone was shaped like a pagoda, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It had a corrugated surface filled with circles and circles of grooves that formed a path, as if dividing the stone into levels.

    If one took a closer look, one would realise that at the top of the stone, there was a very strange illustration.

    It looked like a pagoda, but it wasn¡¯t a pagoda. It looked like a tower, but it wasn¡¯t a tower. In the middle of the illustration, there was a very clear word - "Treasure". Below it, there was a circle of mysterious symbols.

    "The Heavenly Treasure Hall looks like this?" Fang Zhengzhi was truly shocked. He initially assumed that the stone was just a decorative stone.

    After all, there were many simr stones in this courtyard. There was even an artificial mountain.

    Of course...

    That artificial mountain had been destroyed by Chi Hou, and likely had to be rebuilt.

    However, he still remembered the pocket dimension rather clearly in the River of Trust Capital examination. In order to enter the pocket dimension, one had to pass through a stone door.

    But, where was one supposed to enter this Heavenly Treasure Hall from?

    This was the doubt in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart. Then, he gazed at Yan Xiu who stood beside him in a brocade robe.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression seemed very calm, without the slightest trace of worry.

    Other than Yan Xiu, the other schrs that prepared to enter the Heavenly Treasure Hall were just as calm, as if they had already known about this. Nobody revealed any expression of shock.

    "Alright... I indeed think too much!" Fang Zhengzhi dismissed his thought and continued to listen to Chi Hou.

    Then, Chi Hou began to exin the origin of the Heavenly Treasure Hall. Ever since the dawn of history, this ck stone had been ced here. Nobody was able to move it away.

    Then, he exined about its discovery, as well as the rest of its history.

    After his speech, Fang Zhengzhi had more or less understood one thing. This illustration on top of the stone wasn¡¯t drawn by man. Instead, it was inscribed by the Heaven Dao. The so-called Heavenly Treasure Hall actually wasn¡¯t a hall.

    It was just a metaphor for this stone.

    A metaphor that sabotaged people! Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to express his contempt for the person who thought of this metaphor. A stone was a stone, why must he give it the name of a hall.

    But, he had also understood.

    The pocket dimension was created by man, while the parallel dimension was created by Heaven. This should be the main differentiating factor between pocket dimensions and parallel dimensions. Then, what was so special about the Heaven-created parallel dimension?

    When he thought of this, Fang Zhengzhi realised something else that was special.

    Because, after Chi Hou had finished speaking, he fished out a ck stone that was made up of the same material as the Heavenly Treasure Hall. Its shape looked just as if it had been separated from the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    Observing Chi Hou¡¯s movements, Fang Zhengzhi finally realised that there was a gap at the tip of the Heavenly Treasure Hall. The shape of this gap was exactly the same as the shape of the ck stone in Chi Hou¡¯s hand.

    "Boom!"

    When Chi Hou ced the ck stone in his hand onto the tip of the Heavenly Treasure Hall, a tremor shook through the entire space.

    Immediately after, a crack appeared in front of them out of thin air.

    That crack was like a ck hole. Nobody could see what was inside, but, the twinkling starlight inside could be seen.

    "Thank you lord for opening the Heavenly Treasure Hall for us!" When Lu Yusheng saw this ck hole, he instantly bowed towards Chi Hou. Then, he took the lead and strode inside.

    The other schrs also followed closely behind Lu Yusheng and entered.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu, and realised that Yan Xiu was also looking at him. Then, they both nodded and walked shoulder-to-shoulder until they were beside Chi Hou.

    Then, a hand blocked their path.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Hou, confused. He didn¡¯t understand why would Chi Hou block his path.

    "Even though I don¡¯t really like you, but, there is something that I must remind you about!" Chi Hou¡¯s expression at this moment suddenly turned serious.

    "Lord, please speak." Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, but eventually nodded his head politely.

    "The Heavenly Treasure Hall was created by Heaven Dao. If something happens to you inside, I wouldn¡¯t be able to help you!" Chi Hou looked at the people who had already entered the Heavenly Treasure Hall and reminded.

    "Thank you Chi Hou for the reminder."

    "Furthermore, within the Heavenly Treasure Hall, teamwork is the most important..."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak. But, he understood what Chi Hou meant. If they wished to work together as a team with him inside, that was indeed a little difficult.

    "Finally..." When Chi Hou spoke, he seemed somewhat hesitant. But, the hesitation quickly vanished from his face. "Your luck isn¡¯t very good. Justst night, Lu Yusheng had a breakthrough!"

    Fang Zhengzhi became silent once again. He naturally understood the meaning behind Lu Yusheng¡¯s breakthrough. This breakthrough definitely didn¡¯t mean imply attaining Divine Seal after essing Dao, and also didn¡¯t imply attaining Star Conglomerate after attaining Divine Seal.

    Instead...

    Lu Yusheng had reached the Heavenly Reflection State!

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Chi Hou had blocked his path. But, he was simrly confused. Why would Chi Hou block his path?

    These were two questions that werepletely the same.

    The former was understood, thetter was confused. But, there was no conflict between them.

    "Looks like you seem somewhat confused. Actually, it is very easy to understand. If you fail to defeat Guyan within two years, there wouldn¡¯t be any harm to me. After all, it is better for Guyan to not make a choicepared to making a choice within these two years! Furthermore, if you defeat Guyan within two years... there would be no harm to be either. Although I feel that it is impossible!" Chi Hou looked at the expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and exined with a gentle smile.

    "Chi Guyan¡¯s tongue is indeed as glorious as the lotus flower. She changed lord¡¯s attitude in one night!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he finally understood.

    This time, it was Chi Hou¡¯s turn to be silent. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi, his lips parted slightly, but couldn¡¯t utter a single word.

    Only until Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu vanished, shoulder-to-shoulder, into the crack did Chi Hou finally heave a heavy sigh. "What the heck, this kid actually saw through this so quickly?! What a failure, what a failure..."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that since the Heavenly Treasure Hall was given by Heaven, there naturally would be rules and tests of the Heaven Dao. For example, like that rockfall matrix in the River of Trust pocket dimension, as well as that cliff.

    But, he never thought that it would actually be a beautiful, spring garden.

    Stone bridges, ancient roads, flowing water...

    And the flowers that blossomed throughout the gardens. Everywhere was the colour of spring, causing people to feelpletely safe and calm. There was nothing except for the beautiful scenery of the blossoming flowers.

    This was the Heavenly Treasure Hall?

    "The time within the Heavenly Treasure Hall isn¡¯t the same as that of the outside world." Yan Xiu spoke.

    "Faster?"

    "No, slower! One day in the Heavenly Treasure Hall is like two hours in the outside world. Time here is one-twelfth of that in the outside world!"

    "Then, wouldn¡¯t practising here enable one to progress twelve times fasterpared to the outside world?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly thought of a very serious problem. That was, what if Chi Guyan stayed in the Heavenly Treasure Hall for two years...

    What was he going to do then?

    "Yes. But, the parallel dimension can only be opened for a maximum of three days in a year!"

    "So, that is six hours in the outside world?"

    "Yes!"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded. There were rules within All Creations of the world. These rules could be very special, but, they couldn¡¯t destroy the equilibrium between All Creations.

    ...

    Naturally, rain would be abundant in spring.

    The sky drizzled. Raindropsnded within the blooming flowers, shing with a crystal glow. Unfortunately, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bring an umbre, thus could only allow the spring rain to flow down his face.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the only person within the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    Hence, there would definitely be somebody who brought an umbre. That person was Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know that the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in Yan Xiu¡¯s hand had this ability. But, at this moment, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan indeed turned into an umbre. The golden bone turned into the shaft of the umbre, while the silver thread turned into the supporting branches. The mountain river illustration turned into a paper umbre canopy.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid it would be soaked?"

    "How can it be considered one of the Yan Five Treasures if it could be soaked?¡¯ Yan Xiu shifted the umbre on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. The spring rain was covered, leaving two youths standing under an umbre.

    "Are there any other abilities?"

    "Yes."

    "Can it turn into a sword?"

    "Yes, it can." Yan Xiu seemed to be very cooperative. Lightly pulling the umbre shaft, the de of a sword that shed with an icy glow appeared.

    "How about a spear?"

    "It can." Yan Xiu pushed the umbre shaft forward. Then, the entire shaft passed through the umbre canopy and turned into the tip of a spear. The canopy quickly folded together, turning into the shaft of a spear. On the shaft, many silver threads appeared, causing it to seem to glow with light.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at this golden-tipped, silver-shafted spear in front of him very serious and sighed to himself. "It is indeed worthy of being one of the Yan Five Treasures!"

    The Heaven and Earth Fan once again turned into a Heaven and Earth Umbre. They continued to advance forward, walking across the stone bridge, passing through the flowing waters and walking among the flowers while admiring the beautiful scenery.

    However, this beautiful scenery didn¡¯tst long.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu weren¡¯t the only two people within the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    Hence, after they crossed the stone bridge, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu stopped. They looked silently at the numerous youths that blocked in front of them. Fang Zhengzhi saw an ill-intention within their eyes.

    "Don¡¯t you wish to admire the scenery first before fighting?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng, who was leading the pack.

    "What do you think?" Lu Yusheng asked back.

    "A moment ago, Lord told me that we must work together as a team within the Heavenly Treasure Hall."

    "Of course, I know this. But, does it matter if we lose two people?" Compared to the previous day, Lu Yusheng¡¯s expression was clearly different.

    Now, his expression was filled with confidence. A sense of confidence that came from within his bones.

    Because, he had attained Heavenly Reflection!

 Chapter 141: Resonance of All Creation

    Chapter 141: Resonance of All Creation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu knew this, but Lu Yusheng did not think they knew. As such, Lu Yusheng waited for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrogance to consume himself and attack.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi really attacked.

    Everything went ording to Lu Yusheng¡¯s n. Furthermore, Yan Xiu also attacked.

    A bright red sun and silver moon appeared instantly in the air. They lit up the entire area, a ray of red and white light forming strange shapes in the air.

    Then, the red ray of light and silver ray of light intersected each other, forming a cross as they crashed towards Lu Yusheng.

    The aura from this attack was powerful as it cut through the air.

    Lu Yusheng sneered.

    This was a smile of disdain and condescension.

    If this was a day ago, seeing this would have shocked him. This meant that his opponent was at the peak of the Star Conglomerate State

    Furthermore...

    This was abined attack by two pinnacle Star Conglomerate cultivators.

    More importantly, they attacked using the same techniques, so the attacks buffed each other up as they flew towards Lu Yusheng.

    The meeting of the two rays of light resulted in arge burst of energy.

    However, change was a part of life.

    A youth¡¯s feelings for a girl can change in a matter of days and the difference between a cultivation state was stark. Even though the difference was not enough for Lu Yusheng to smash his opponents, he could easily parry their attacks.

    Lu Yusheng had no intention of dodging away. He did not even blink.

    He simply waved his hand in front of him. Then, hundred of flowers bloomed, their aroma filling up the entire area, each one blossoming in the field.

    It was a sea of flowers.

    When the light rays impacted the petals of flowers, the flower shattered in a bloom of light. However, there were so many flowers!

    Countless petals flew towards the oing rays of light...

    Almost like moths to a me, they swarmed the two rays of light. However, the conclusion was slightly different, the countless petals had consumed the attackspletely.

    Lu Yusheng chuckled happily. He loved the feeling of being in control. Of course, he was also looking forward to seeing the awe in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes when everything died down. He had suffered the same thing yesterday.

    As such...

    He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to feel the same way.

    In fact, he even thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s awe would be ten times, or even a thousand times more...

    However, his smile did notst long. This time, the person with their eyes widened was still him. When the attacks calmed down, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were nowhere to be seen.

    They disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.

    The two of them basically vanished.

    The red sun and silver moon in the sky also disappeared.

    Everything returned to normal. A light breeze continued to blow, the water beneath the stone bridge continued to flow...

    Lu Yusheng felt a sharp pain on his face, almost as if he had been cut by a knife. He unconsciously raised his hand to touch his face and realized that there was a shallow wound.

    He did not know if this was damage from the indiscriminate power of the flowers, or some residual energy from the attack.

    I clearly blocked the attack, why am I still injured?

    Why is a shallow wound... this painful?

    Lu Yusheng looked at the youths next to him.

    Those youths stared wide eyed in the direction where Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had disappeared. They were all extremely awed. Furthermore, none of them looked at Lu Yusheng.

    "Piak!" Lu Yusheng raised his hand and pped the youth closest to him.

    It was crisp and resounding.

    This p also helped distract him from the pain in his face.

    "What are you all stoning here for? Chase!"

    The youths reacted instantly and ran towards a door at the side of the courtyard. However, they still did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu would run.

    Furthermore, they had run without hesitation.

    How unheroic?

    Neither the youths not Lu Yusheng understood why they had run.

    The reason was simple. Lu Yusheng was born from a powerful family and was imparted with the corresponding values. One of those values was to meet every challenge head on.

    Retreating was an option, but one had to lose the battle first.

    Who would retreat upon contact?

    How unreasonable!

    The youths with Lu Yusheng gave chase, leaving him to stand alone in his original position. All of a sudden, the pain came back. He could only distract himself from the pain temporarily.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had actually ran. To be more urate, Yan Xiu had initiated the retreat. He had dragged Fang Zhengzhi along as he ran away.

    "He seems quite powerful?"

    "He is, even after webined powers, we only managed to scratch him!"

    "Is this the power of Heavenly Reflection?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused, Why would the petals take to the air, and shatter in bursts of light?

    "Mm, once you¡¯re in the Heavenly Reflection State, your pocket dimension can link up with the life outside. This link will give you the ability to move the things around you." Yan Xiu knew that Fang Zhengzhi had never entered the Hall of Dao, so he was not surprised by the question.

    "Is it just like your Mountain and River location in your Heaven and Earth Fan?"

    "There are some differences. The fan creates and set up the territory ording to a fixed set of parameters. When you¡¯re in the Heavenly Reflection State, only the portions of Dao of All Creations that you have understood will link up with the outside world. Lu Yusheng probably has the flower petal Dao of All Creation in his pocket dimension."

    "Does that mean that if he is out of the sea of flowers, he can¡¯t mop even the life around him?"

    "He just can¡¯t move the flower petals. If his pocket dimension has trees, and there are trees in the surrounding area, then he can move trees. The same logic applies to grass, water, stones. As long as they exist in his pocket dimension, he can move them."

    "So powerful? Then, how do we defeat him?"

    "The best way is to find a ce where there¡¯s nothing for his pocket dimension to link up with, or a ce with little to link."

    "And if we can¡¯t find such a ce?"

    "Then we have to rely on our wit!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded his agreement. Even though Yan Xiu said use wit, that meant that if they went head to head, both sides would be seriously injured. The difference between states was really great.

    It was no wonder many did not believe that he stood a chance to defeat Chi Guyan in two years time.

    After all, the difference between their abilities was too great.

    In eight years, through his own discovery and experimentation, Fang Zhengzhi managed to go from ess Dao to Divine Seal, then to the Conglomerate Star state, and finally to the peak of the Conglomerate Star state.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was not hardworking.

    He simply did not know how to progress to the next states.

    As such, he could only stop at the Conglomerate Star, collecting stars as he went along, understanding the Dao of All Creation for each life form. This gave his pocket dimension hundreds of ¡¯stars¡¯.

    ...

    After going through the spring garden, they were faced with a forest. Trees towered over them and there was no rain or warmth of spring.

    There was only the scorching sun and furnace like heat.

    "It feels like we¡¯ve just entered summer?" Fang Zhengzhi eximed as he felt the temperature rise.

    "Every parallel dimension is aplete world. As such, they will naturally have the four seasons!" Yan Xiu looked at the forest in front of him, his tone heavy.

    "Chi Hou said that we must work together, it seems that... he was right." Fang Zhengzhi said cryptically.

    "Indeed." Yan Xiu did not seem to think that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sment was out of ce. He just nodded coldly in agreement.

    Then, they looked at each other before entering the forest.

    In front of them, they could hear the deep, guttural growls of beasts and the sharp chirps of birds...

    ...

    "Ah!"

    "Aiyo..."

    The pursuing youths immediately screamed as they passed through the side door. The reason was simple, they had stepped on nails.

    The nails were dropped identally by Fang Zhengzhi. They were extremely handy and portable. He even ced a few hooks at the tip.

    They allowed the nails to stick to human flesh.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always kept some with him for emergencies.

    Lu Yusheng saw this scene as he walked through the side door. He was furious, You all injured yourself before you even caught the person?

    No matter what, the people with him were all at least Conglomerate Star powers!

    He had hoped that they would act like the powers they were.

    Can¡¯t you spot something as bright as nails?

    Lu Yusheng was infuriated and decided to teach these people a lesson.

    Then, in the moment he stepped out, he felt a sharp pain at the base of his foot. When he raised it to take a look, he saw a green nail lodged at the base of his foot.

    "Ah... f*ck! He actually painted the nails green and threw them in the grass!" Lu Yusheng screamed, his voice piercing through the woods and into the heavens.

    ...

    Yan Xiu coincidentally heard this voice. He immediately turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi suspiciously.

    "Was that Lu Yusheng¡¯s voice?"

    "Probably!"

    "Did something charge into the Spring Garden?" Yan Xiu guessed as he felt the beasts around them.

    "I think he probably stepped on a nail by ident!" Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the Spring Garden and smiled.

    "Nails?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi. It was natural for the Spring Garden to have flowers and greenery, but why would it have nails?

    "Mm, we were in a hurry to leave just now, so I dropped some nails at the doorstep..." Fang Zhengzhi retrieved a bag as he spoke. Inside the bag were countless nails in various colors- green, yellow, ck, white...

 Chapter 142: The Scariest Scene

    Chapter 142: The Scariest Scene

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had never liked to waste things.

    He always felt that even something as small as a nail would have its use. If he had just thrown a few nails into the bush, that would have been too stingy.

    He remembered a ssic example recorded in the annals of history.

    Han Xin seeked protection in Xiang Yu¡¯s army.

    Once, Xiang Yu had set up an ambush for the Qin Army. They nned to trap the Qin Army in the mountain pass and attack with fire.

    The difference was that Xiang Yu proposed to use fire arrows only whereas Han Xin suggested pouring oil before using the ming arrows.

    In the end, the difference in damage dealt was clear.

    Throwing nails was the same idea. If it was in the bush, one should use green. If it was in the sand, one should use yellow. If it was at night, one should use ck...

    Else, it would be a waste.

    Yan Xiu looked at the colorful nails in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Then, he turned back and saw a pale glow on the floor.

    "You want to try too?"

    "Mm."

    "If you want to throw nails on the road, the best way is to throw a few on the path for them to see. Then, this some into the bushes by the roadside..."

    "Ok!" Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes glimmered as he learnt.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. He was quite the guru in setting up traps using nails. He had been setting up such traps for over eight years.

    Having done his research and experimentation for over eight years, he was extremely professional.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi taught Yan Xiu some other traps. For example. How to use the distance between two trees to block the view of the enemy. Another example was how to ce a rock to make the opponent take a longer route unconsciously.

    Of course...

    All of these were for a purpose.

    That was to enhance the effectiveness of the nails.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu did not hurry along. They did not even seem to realize the immense danger they were in. Yan Xiu was listening intently as Fang Zhengzhi continued to describe his techniques in excruciating detail.

    He had always been the one to educate Fang Zhengzhi about cultivation. This time however, Fang Zhengzhi was teaching him and this was quite an emotional moment...

    Not long after Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu left.

    Lu Yusheng arrived too, infuriated by the previous incident. Then, he saw the nails thrown in the middle of the road by Yan Xiu.

    "Again? I¡¯m not falling for that again!" Lu Yusheng snorted, then turned to shout at the group of youths, "Open your eyes wider and see the nails on the roads you fools!"

    After finishing, Lu Yusheng turned to the bush by the roadside.

    Then...

    Nothing happened.

    Lu Yusheng rxed. He felt that this was his time for redemption after the humiliation previously. He turned to the youths behind him, wanting to let them know how smart he was.

    "Follow me! Walk faster, I must kill Fang Zhengzhi today!"

    Soon after...

    "Ouch, f*ck... f*ck... f*ck... f*ck me!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s screams rang out once again. His face wasforted, "Fang Zhengzhi, I will not let you off!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was introducing Yan Xiu to more trap setting knowledge when he heard the screams behind him. He felt like he was wronged.

    Those nails were ced by Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t think that Lu Yusheng was scolding the wrong person.

    Afterall, Fang Zhengzhi was the one who had brought the nails. He was just in charge of throwing them.

    The two innocent and pure people looked at each other, then, they nodded at each other innocently. Fang Zhengzhi meant ¡¯not bad¡¯.

    Yan Xiu meant, "well done."

    Since they had very little nails left, Fang Zhengzhi decided to teach Yan Xiu some methods of improvising.

    For example: What kind of branch can be turned into a wooden spear the most easily. The more important aspect here was where the spear must be hidden in order to shoot prey more urately.

    These were all knowledge he gained from hunting. However,the only difference was that Fang Zhengzhi experienced was a slight increase in his uracy and lethality.

    Yan Xiu listened intently. Then, Fang Zhengzhi began to demonstrate.

    Afterwards, Fang Zhengzhi asked Yan Xiu to try it out himself.

    New knowledge would always capture attention and rouse curiosity. As someone from the city, Yan Xiu knew extremely little about the jungle.

    As such, Yan Xiu began trying out enthusiastically.

    Before long...

    The road was filled with all kinds of traps. There were over 30 unique traps along that path alone.

    ...

    Lu Yusheng finally gave up the idea of pursuing. Firstly, he had been met with too many set backs, but, more importantly, this was a parallel dimension.

    Every parallel dimension was aplete world.

    It had the four seasons, flora and fauna, mountains and rivers, unknown life forms...

    Anything that was unknown had the potential to be dangerous. Lu Yusheng felt this keenly and decided to manage his risks more conservatively.

    An unlucky youth dressed in ck was pushed to the front. He was one of the top talents in the world. At the tender age of 22, he was at the peak of the Star Conglomerate State. He was ranked 89th on the Rising Dragon Roll. Whilst his ranking was not high, he was still ranked on it.

    By being pushed to the front, it did not mean that he wasn¡¯t a talent.

    He just wasn¡¯t a disciple of the 13 Constabries.

    As such, he was relegated to the front...

    It may seem tyrannical, but this was the cold truth of the world.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walked side by side in the forest. They knew that Lu Yusheng and the others were behind them because they heard a noise after some time.

    This voice was loud and pitiful. It was difficult not to hear it.

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand Lu Yusheng¡¯s emotions. If there was a choice, Lu Yusheng would definitely change his route. After all, there were many paths in the forests.

    But, he couldn¡¯t.

    He wanted to chase Fang Zhengzhi down, and he wanted to return the pain he was feeling. He even wanted to cause Fang Zhengzhi many times more pain than what he was currently suffering. As such, he could only follow the same path.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this. As such, he wanted to inflict as much pain as possible to the pursuing Lu Yusheng.

    Only then would Lu Yusheng continue pursuing him...

    Of course, that was insufficient. After all, if someone suffered too much pain, the person would retreat.

    In order to keep Lu Yusheng on his tail, Fang Zhengzhi will always change his route ording to the direction of the screams. Furthermore, he would also leave some marks behind so Lu Yusheng knew where he was going.

    Sometimes, in order to prevent the distance between them and Lu Yusheng from growing too big, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu would even stop to take a break, eat, and drink every now and then.

    They had their reasons for keeping Lu Yusheng on their tail.

    There were many dangers in the forest. Fang Zhengzhi could clearly feel the presence of dangerous, unknown life forms. As such, someone needed to sacrifice themselves. Fang Zhengzhi was of the opinion that the stronger the person, the greater the responsibility.

    Since Lu Yusheng was so powerful, he should take on such a responsibility.

    With two groups to choose from, one advancing steadily and the other screaming pitifully and reeking of blood, the choice of targets for an unknown life form was obvious.

    Perhaps this is the teamwork Master Hou was talking about!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu slowed down as Lu Yusheng and the other pursuers slowed down. The pursuing group slowed down to be more wary of the trapsid, whilst defending themselves against attacks from unknown life forms.

    "They¡¯re fighting again?" Fang Zhengzhi heard the sounds of battle behind. This was apanied by the roar of a wild beast. He imagined the gore behind him.

    "Probably, let¡¯s wait here for them!"

    "Ok!"

    "Are we being too cruel?"

    "I kind of pity them, but Chi Hou said that teamwork is important, so I have no choice..."

    "You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll goy more traps!" Yan Xiu bounded off like a deer. Clearly, he was enjoying this a lot...

    ...

    The sky began to darken as the sun set. The forest began to fill withyers of mist, causing the air to feel humid and warm.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped.

    Yan Xiu was also slightly wary. The screams and the roars behind them were all but gone. Technically, there was no reason for Fang Zhengzhi to stop.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did stop. As such, Yan Xiu also stopped. He trusted Fang Zhengzhipletely.

    "The road ahead is not good!" Fang Zhengzhi said seriously as he looked ahead. There was a faint ray of light up ahead.

    "Is there a problem?"

    "There is much less beast signature here! Way less than the other ces!¡¯

    "Because it¡¯s night time?"

    "No, there are day hunters, and there are nocturnal hunters!"

    "Then what is it?"

    "There can only be two reasons for this. The first is that there is a powerful life form up ahead. The second is that no life form dares to enter the area!"

    "Which do you think it is?"

    "I don¡¯t know, we will only know after we get there."

    "Then let¡¯s go take a look."

    "I think we should take a look from the trees first!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head as he looked at a huge ancient tree over a meter wide.

    "Okay!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to climb trees since young. He had been climbing for so many years that it was almost second nature. As such, he had a much easier time than Yan Xiu.

    He reached the top very quickly.

    He found a suitably thick branch to stand on. He judged that this height should be sufficient for him to see what was ahead.

    Then...

    He saw it.

    After that, he stepped on air. His legs turned to jelly and he slipped...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite a strong and courageous man, but his legs wobbled at what he saw.

    This was a parallel dimension, and these dimensions would naturally have some foreign life forms. Fang Zhengzhi was prepared for that. He would not have been scared even if he saw a ferocious beast the size of a hill.

    Based on the surprises this world had already given him, he could have epted something like that.

    But...

    What if it was human?!

    The moon was high up in the air. Ady in a white robe danced gracefully on the surface of theke. Fang Zhengzhi had always looked forward to seeing such a beautiful scene.

    It was alluring.

    As long as she was dainty and elegant.

    Even a silhouette would be alluring.

    Of course, the dancer must be ady...

    If thisdy could step on water so calm it could act as a mirror, she would be simply exquisite.

    Just try to imagine it...

    The moon high up in the sky, a daintydy dressed in a white robe dancing on the surface of theke. That beautiful scene was like something created by heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi was looking at this.

    But...

    This was something in a parallel dimension created by Heaven...

    "F*ck me... ghost!"

    No matter how thick the branch, Fang Zhengzhi could not bnce himself after his legs turned to jelly. As a result, he tumbled towards the ground.

 Chapter 143: Respect towards the Strong

    Chapter 143: Respect towards the Strong

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu was climbing up the tree when he suddenly felt the light above him was blocked out.

    When he looked up, he saw Fang Zhengzhi tumbling towards him, screaming that he had seen a ghost...

    "Ghost?" Yan Xiu did not quite believe it. He was more willing to believe the existence of gods because gods were the stronger of the two.

    However, he calmly extended a hand to catch Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was grabbed by the arm, dangled in midair. This was slightly embarrassing for him, after all, he was a pinnacle Star Conglomerate expert.

    Falling from a tree?

    How humiliating.

    However, upon thinking about what he had just seen, he still felt extremely unsettled. After all, he would much rather see beasts in the Heavenly Treasure Hall than humans.

    Furthermore, this was ady.

    Only 10 people from the Divine Constabry had made the trip into the Heavenly Treasure Hall. Other than himself and Yan Xiu, there was only Lu Yusheng and his sevenckeys.

    Without considering the fact that Lu Yusheng and his group were behind.

    Was Lu Yusheng ady?

    Evidently not.

    His seven followers were also notdies.

    So where did thisdye from?

    Even if there were unknown life forms in the parallel dimension, there shouldn¡¯t be ady?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu and motioned for him to let go. Then, he tiptoed on a branch and scurried to the top once again.

    Within a few moves, he was back at his vantage point.

    He looked out again...

    Thedy was all but gone. All that was left were some ripples on the otherwise calm water surface.

    "Gone?" Fang Zhengzhi was quite confused. He was sure that his eyes were not ying tricks on him. He was not hallucinating, but, where did thatdy go?

    When he thought of the elegant, daintydy dancing on the water, he suddenly felt...

    A sense of familiarity towards this figure.

    However, he could not be sure. When he had seen the scene, he had been too flustered and shocked to take a good look.

    At this point, Yan Xiu was already by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side and he followed Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze to theke.

    "There¡¯s ake ahead."

    "Mm."

    "Where¡¯s the ghost that you were shouting about?"

    "Would you believe me if I told you it disappeared?"

    "No!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Yan Xiu had always trusted him. Even when I asked him to follow my techniques before this, he had trusted me.

    Why doesn¡¯t he believe me now?

    "Because, there is no such thing as ghosts!" Yan Xiu replied confidently.

    "Did your grandfather tell you that?"

    "Confucius said, don¡¯t use words to judge and talk about ghosts and gods."

    "This sentence is telling one to keep a distance from ghosts and gods, reminding us not to revere them. What does this have to do with the existence of ghosts?" Fang Zhengzhi was curious about Yan Xiu¡¯s choice of description.

    "If you¡¯re righteous, you will have no demons!" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

    "But I just saw ady dancing on the surface of the river. Do you believe that?" Fang Zhengzhi did not debate this any further. He decided to just state the facts.

    "I believe!"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, "Didn¡¯t you just say you didn¡¯t believe it?"

    "I believe that you saw a dancingdy on theke, but, I don¡¯t believe that she¡¯s a ghost!" Yan Xiu exin.

    "But how can there be anotherdy in this parallel dimension?"

    "That¡¯s why, we must go check it out."

    Fang Zhengzhi did not reply immediately, instead, he thought about the scene just now. That sense of familiarity would be unlikely to strike him again right?

    "Come, let¡¯s go take a look!" Fang Zhengzhi said with determination.

    "Okay!"

    The two of them jumped off the tree andnded below. Just as they prepared to walk to theke, Fang Zhengzhi stopped, almost as if he thought of something.

    "Should we let Lu Yusheng and the others take point?"

    "No matter what, Lu Yusheng is already in the Heavenly Reflection state. I think we should be more careful when dealing with experts like that!" Yan Xiu said calmly.

    "And so?"

    "We can go survey theke first and set up a few traps. Then, we can hide." Yan Xiu said calmly.

    "You¡¯ve changed, you¡¯re evil now! I remember that you used to like facing your enemies head on." Fang Zhengzhi said seriously.

    "If I told you I learnt from you, would you believe me?"

    "No!"

    "It seems like... I¡¯m not evil enough yet."

    "People must learn and mature. Congrattions, you are maturing!"

    "I will work hard!"

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was teaching a kid the wrong things. However, if he really had to make a choice, he would still choose to teach Yan Xiu some tricks. Yan Xiu used to be too righteous and easily taken advantage of.

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi was not a heroic person. If he knew he couldn¡¯t win, he would run. He would never go head on into a battle in which he could not win. To him, that was courting death.

    He preferred to pick his battles. That way, he could live longer.

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    "Okay!"

    The two of them did not enter side by side. As what was in front of them was still unknown, they kept a distance with great coordination. Fang Zhengzhi was in front whilst Yan Xiu was behind. The two of them carefully masked their movements as they walked towards theke.

    The humid air blew at them.

    Both Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were extremely careful. As such, there were no surprises.

    Even until they had reached their respective hiding bushes by theke, everything was calm.

    It was a strange calmness. It was almost as if the entire world had quietness.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He did not like this kind of calm. The calmer the environment, the more dangerous it was. Furthermore, there was no cave surrounding thiske.

    So where is the dangering from?

    Theke?!

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to look at theke. He wanted to see if there was anything in theke. Theke water was clear and he saw no fishes or flora inside.

    However, the base of theke was ck and dark like an abyss. He simply could not see the bottom.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu was hiding in a bush not far away from where Fang Zhengzhi was. He too was looking at theke, his eyebrows furrowed, almost as if he was thinking about something.

    "Did you find anything?"

    "Theke is dark and I can¡¯t see much, but, there shouldn¡¯t be ady!" Yan Xiu said truthfully.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded slightly. He also felt that if there really was ady dancing on the riverke, it would be quite ridiculous.

    But I really saw it?

    As he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi unconsciously looked up at the bright moon in the air.

    The Heavenly Treasure Hall was a parallel dimension. Naturally, this moon was not from his world, but was the moon of this parallel dimension.

    It looked brighter than the moon in his pocket dimension. Furthermore, it looked like something was riveting inside, almost like a small shadow on the moon.

    It did not block out much of the light from the moon, just a tiny bit.

    The shadow was small, but Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was something strange about this shadow. It was a de, no, a knife, hang on, now it¡¯s a spear...

    "..."

    Within a few moments, that shadow had morphed into over a dozen shapes. Fang Zhengzhi was frustrated just looking at it.

    Just as he was about to start scolding, he heard a sound next to him.

    "Plonk!"

    "Someone fell into the water?" Fang Zhengzhi could feel that this should be the sound of someone falling into the water.

    Then, he unconsciously looked towards theke. He saw a ssh of white water and ripples expanding outwards.

    "Not good!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at where Yan Xiu was supposed to be. His eyes widened, the bush was now empty.

    "That was Yan Xiu?!"

    That was the first thought in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He felt like Yan Xiu was in trouble.

    Based on his understanding of Yan Xiu, Yan Xiu would never jump into the water suddenly. He must have met with some trouble, or he was dragged down into the water forcefully by something.

    At such a time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brain told him to remain calm and observe for signs of how Yan Xiu fell into the water.

    However, with the thought that Yan Xiu may be in danger, he could not calm down.

    Theke was deep and dark.

    Almost as if it was filled with ink.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not very willing to jump in because of the possibility of unknown dangers below. However, he still jumped.

    Soon after Yan Xiu fell into the water, he jumped into theke.

    The reason was simple...

    The person who had fell in was Yan Xiu.

    "Plonk!"

    The second sound of something falling into the water rang out. A huge ssh was seen once again as ripples formed on the water surface,pounding with those from the first ssh...

    ...

    The quiet and still night was punctuated by the sounds of two sshes. However, peace quickly returned, almost as if nothing had happened before this.

    The moon was high up in the sky, its faint light shining on the surface of theke causing a faint silver glow.

    Slowly, the surface of theke returned to calm and a river figure floated out once again. Her hair was silky and she looked like she had been there all along. Actually, it looked like she never left.

    Then; thedy began to dance, her movement elegant and mesmerizing.

    Her toe tips barely touched the water surface, but yet they did not cause any sshes or ripples. She looked like she was holding something in her hands, but upon closer inspection, her hands were empty.

    She looked like she was dancing and not dancing at the same time!

    ...

 Chapter 144: A Different World

    Chapter 144: A Different World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what was happening above him. All he thought about was saving Yan Xiu. Having grown up in a vige, he had much experience with rivers andkes, so he took to water very well.

    Furthermore, with the support and help of the Dao of All Creation, it was no exaggeration to say that Fang Zhengzhi was like a fish.

    But where was Yan Xiu?

    No more than 10 seconds had passed between Yan Xiu falling into the water and Fang Zhengzhi jumping in after him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was suspicious and worried. Even though he and Yan Xiu had some distance between them, he should still be able to see Yan Xiu. But now, he could not see Yan Xiu.

    He could not even see a shadow. All he saw was ck, almost as if he was swimming in ink.

    What was happening?

    Where is Yan Xiu?

    Could it be...

    All of a sudden, Fang Zhengzhi stiffened. He did not actually see Yan Xiu fall into the water, all he heard was the ssh of water. Then, he simply did not see Yan Xiu in the bush Yan Xiu was supposed to be hiding in.

    As such, his first thought was, Yan Xiu had fallen in.

    What was the truth though?

    He had not actually seen Yan Xiu jumping/falling into the water.

    What if something had simply fallen into theke, and Yan Xiu had just happened to leave the bush to check something out...

    The chances were slim, but it was notpletely impossible.

    The other possibility was that Yan Xiu was forcefully dragged to the bottom of theke by some unknown power. He too may be in thisplete darkness.

    This was also possible. If Yan Xiu was being dragged to the bottom of theke, then Yan Xiu¡¯s rate of descent would definitely be much faster than his.

    But it should be sufficient to get to the bottom of theke...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not turn back immediately.

    If it was the first case, then Yan Xiu was still on the shore and safe. Since he was safe, then Fang Zhengzhi need not be in a hurry to return to the surface.

    But what if it was the second option?

    That would mean Yan Xiu was in real danger.

    As such, he must get to the bottom of this pitch ckke. It may be dangerous, but Fang Zhengzhi was willing to take the risk for Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu was his friend.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he had entered the ink like part of theke, he simply saw his surroundings darken like nightfall. He could not even see his fingers.

    I guess I¡¯m here.

    He continued to go deeper, then, he felt increasingly suffocated. He had already spent quite sometime underwater, yet, he had not even reached the bottom. It was almost as if thiske was bottomless.

    Why was it this way?

    How deep was thiske? If Yan Xiu was at the bottom of theke, there should be some movement in the water.

    Something is not right...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was amiss. He should be reaching the bottom some time soon, after all, he had been diving for quite some time.

    However, he got the feeling that he was actually swimming in circles.

    He was even starting to lose his sense of direction...

    "Go up!" Fang Zhengzhi finally decided to resurface. If Yan Xiu was really down here, there should be some movement in the water. Since there was none, it was highly likely that Yan Xiu was still on the shore.

    Resurfacing was naturally easier than diving.

    Before long, Fang Zhengzhi felt a ray of light just above him - he was about to reach the surface.

    "Whoo!" The ability to breathe refreshed Fang Zhengzhi. He had already held hi breath for more than seven minutes. Even with the Dao of all Creation, this timing was about his limit.

    The moment he resurfaced, he looked towards the shore.

    But...

    He waspletely stunned.

    What the hell is going on?

    Theke was still the same. However, the scenery had changed. Gone was the lush, dense forest. In its ce was an orchard, filled with flora and fruits.

    There fruits on the trees were of various colors, red, green, yellow...

    Where is this?

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment. Anyone else would have been unable to ept this fact. After all, he had only been in the water for about seven to eight minutes.

    Why did the surroundings change after he resurfaced?

    He was stunned for a full five minutes before he began to feel the water around him cooling.

    From the blossoming gardens to the luscious, dense forest... then to the orchard filled with fruits?!

    This was the four seasons!

    But, why did it be autumn after he surfaced from theke?

    Could it be...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked to the bottom of theke. It was pitch ck and bottomless, almost as if it was filled with ck ink. However, Fang Zhengzhi found an even more apt description.

    This was a passageway!

    A passageway between summer and autumn.

    "Woosh!"

    At this point, a sound could be heard nearby. Then, a head popped out from under theke.

    They looked at each other.

    "Why did you jump in?"

    "Why did you drop into theke?"

    The two voices echoed out. They said different things, but they meant the same thing.

    Then, the two of them looked at each other with confusion. They did not understand what the other person was saying.

    "I thought you dropped into the water, so I jumped"

    "I saw you jump, so I jumped too!"

    The two of them were speechless. Even so, they felt a warmth in their hearts. This was true friendship. Only true friends would have such simr thoughts.

    "Let¡¯s get to shore first!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the shore.

    Yan Xiu nodded.

    The two of them swam towards the shore. Before long, they were back on drynd. Fang Zhengzhi had some guess about what had happened, but, he could not be certain.

    Then, they exchanged their views about what happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that Yan Xiu had happened to leave the bush, but the truth was not what he thought.

    "You heard me fall in, then, seeing that I wasn¡¯t in the bush, you decided to jump in?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly.

    "Yes, and you?" Yan Xiu nodded and asked.

    "So you never left the bush? And never moved?" Fang Zhengzhi did not understand.

    "Mm."

    "Then our situations are identical! I also heard you fall in, that¡¯s why I jumped."

    "Oh?" Yan Xiu was confused as well.

    The two of them became silent once again, deep in contemtion.

    "I understand now!"

    "I think I understand too!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Yan Xiu¡¯s voices rang out in quick session. The two of them looked at each other in disbelief. The exnation wasplicated and difficult to understand.

    However, there was no other possible exnation.

    That was...

    When they were on the banks of theke, they appeared to be together, but in actual fact, they were in twopletely different spaces seeing twopletely different sceneries.

    The Heavenly Treasure Hall, a parallel dimension...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind began to twirl. If this was the case, then, they would naturally not be able to see each other¡¯s presence, but, how could the ssh be exined?

    Was it a hallucination?

    Or was it caused by the difference in position as well as time?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu, and Yan Xiu looked back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I think that inside the Heavenly Treasure Hall, there are many different spaces!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts were still rooted in the view from the previous world.

    "I guess you can use the exnation that this ce is formed by many worlds..." Yan Xiu nodded, but, he was exining it using the notion of the modern world.

    "ording to your exnation, a parallel dimension is made up of countless pocket dimensions?" Fang Zhengzhi tried to forge a guess from Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation.

    "There is such a possibility. Inside the Law of Dao, it says that there are 3000 parallel dimensions and each one contains tens of thousands of items! Having different pocket dimensions in this parallel dimension is reasonable!"

    "Then thiske is..."

    "If my guess is correct, the bottom of thiske is the link between the previous world and this world!" Yan Xiu assured.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded, Yan Xiu¡¯s idea and his were the same.

    Else, there was no way of exining why they were greeted with apletely different surrounding when they resurfaced. This meant that during their time in the water, they had already moved from the previous world to the current one.

    As such, when they surfaced, they naturally came here.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anymore, unconsciously looking at the surface of theke.

    The surface of theke looked calm as always. There was nody dancing on the surface. The surface of theke reflected the scenery around it, fruit trees and all.

    .

    It looked like a Mirror Lake.

    "Mirage!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened, almost as if his brain had essed something new, finding the door to another world.

    But this feeling was still kind of fuzzy and he didn¡¯t quiteprehend it fully.

    However, he had a strong feeling that this parallel dimension could provide the solution to a problem he had been facing.

    "You thought of something?" Yan Xiu asked when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    "Not yet, but can you tell me the powers of the Heavenly Reflection State again?" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head slightly. He had to reconfirm his thoughts.

    "Sure, Heavenly Reflection means that the things in your own pocket dimension are able to link up with those of the outside world. Then, you can take control of the energy of the things around you. However, the limitation is, your pocket dimension must have the Dao of all Creation for that item!" Yan Xiu was slightly confused at why Fang Zhengzhi would pose such a question. However, he still exined it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Things in your pocket dimension can link up with the things in your surroundings. However, the items must be present both outside and in your pocket dimension..." Fang Zhengzhi contemted this.

    He felt that something mysterious about this.

    Heavenly Reflection...

    Pocket dimension and everything else?!

    And, it must be present in the pocket dimension!

 Chapter 145: A Shadow on the Moon

    Chapter 145: A Shadow on the Moon

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Why is there such a restriction? Why can¡¯t one just manipte the energy around them? What is the logic here?

    Questions floated in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    This made him look at theke once again. On the surface, a light breeze blew and the reflection of the fruit trees swayed.

    The reflections moved with the water.

    Is it because of the wind? The link between the pocket dimension and the world, the reflections, the different worlds and spaces...

    Phrases kept popping up in his mind. Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to catch the link between them, however, he kept missing it by inches.

    An introduction...

    Yes, it needs an introduction!

    An introduction was needed to link everything together.

    "Zhengzhi... look up?!" At this point, Yan Xiu¡¯s voice rung out as he pointed at the moon in the sky.

    "On top?" Fang Zhengzhi unconsciously raised his head to take a look.

    And then, he saw Yan Xiu pointing at a faint figure on the moon. It kind of looked like a dark cloud.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen the same thing in the previous world.

    The figure kept changing shape whilst on the moon.

    As such, he was not too surprised initially. However, soon after, his eyes widened.

    Because...

    This figure was different from the previous one. The previous one took on the shape of various weapons, but this one was different.

    It was a person, ady, a dancingdy!"

    "This was thedy you saw?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "No, I didn¡¯t see a silhouette, I saw the real person..." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He did not know if that was the real person, but it definitely wasn¡¯t a silhouette.

    "Real person?" Yan Xiu was confused once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not exin further. Right now, he was overwhelmed with emotions and questions.

    What is the link between this silhouette... and the girl from the previous world?

    Could this be her silhouette?!

    Is this the silhouette that she has projected using theke?

    It could be exined, but all possible exnations were quite strange. They involved her real body being in a separate world from her silhouette.

    If that was the case, then the shadow of the item which kept changing into different weapons...

    Where was it situated?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the moon, then back at theke. All of a sudden, an audacious idea sprang into his mind.

    "I would like to dive down once again to verify my hypothesis." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu and said seriously.

    "Okay, I¡¯lle with you!" Yan Xiu replied instantly.

    "No, wait for me on the shore, I will tie a string to my waist. If I stop moving below, then... you pull me up!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "What are you thinking?" Yan Xiu could guess why Fang Zhengzhi was using such a method, but he didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to test.

    "I don¡¯t know just yet, I will only know after I try it out." Fang Zhengzhi really had no idea.

    "Okay then." Yan Xiu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at his surroundings. It was a habit of his to have some string on hand. He used it toy traps and save his life when he jumped off cliffs. However, it was still not long enough, so he turned his attention to the surrounding fruit trees.

    He found some slightly softer and flexible branches and rattan, forming a rattan rope with Yan Xiu¡¯s help.

    He finally got it to the length he wanted...

    He tugged at the rope to ensure it was strong enough.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi nodded to Yan Xiu and jumped into theke.

    Yan Xiu held on to the other end of the rope as he stood on the shore. He looked anxiously at the calmke...

    "Woosh!"

    At this point, a head popped out on the surface. The moment he broke the surface, he began to pant.

    Yan Xiu naturally heard thismotion and he looked in that direction.

    When he saw who it was, his expression changed. It did not look good.

    "Yan Xiu?!" The person in theke also noticed Yan Xiu. His expression revealed traces of surprise. When he saw the orchard behind Yan Xiu, surprise consumed him.

    The person who popped out of theke was naturally Lu Yusheng. At this point, he found himself at a loss for words.

    After all, the change in surroundings when he resurfaced was something that required time to process and ept.

    Within moments, more heads broke through the surface of the water.

    Upon seeing the change in the surroundings, they all looked on in disbelief.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was getting worse and worse.

    Because...

    He was now faced with a huge problem. He could not run. He had to stay here to ensure Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s safety. As such, he could not let go of the rope.

    Lu Yusheng had thought that Yan Xiu would run upon seeing him. However, Yan Xiu only stared at him calmly.

    "Hmm?" Lu Yusheng was slightly taken aback, Could this be a trap?

    After all that happened in the forest, Lu Yusheng naturally thought that this was a trap. The other factor that made him confident that this was a trap was that Fang Zhengzhi was not beside Yan Xiu.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi hiding?" Lu Yusheng¡¯s gaze darted around. Realizing that Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere to be seen, his gaze returned to Yan Xiu.

    Then, it stopped.

    He realized that Yan Xiu was holding onto a rope.

    "Go and take a look!" Lu Yusheng ordered the people behind him. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Yan Xiu¡¯s traps only served to slow them down.

    As for injuries?

    Their injuries were light. The seven youths behind him were all Conglomerate Star cultivators. They may face some issues when dealing with simple traps, but the injuries were not life threatening.

    The seven youths hesitated, but did not object.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression darkened. Seeing the seven youths approaching, his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan opened up.

    Lu Yusheng squinted.

    Naturally, he knew the power of Yan Xiu¡¯s fan. After all, the Yan Five Treasures lived up to their name. However, Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities were limited and he could not bring the full power of the fan to bear.

    This was a chance...

    If they were all Conglomerate Star cultivators, Lu Yusheng would be unable to do much. However, as a Heavenly Reflection cultivator, the difference between him and Yan Xiu was incredible.

    Lu Yusheng sneered icily. The water around him became way too calm. He controlled the water and directed it towards him.

    He formed a small whirlpool.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth twitched. His greatest fear was that Lu Yusheng¡¯s pocket dimension had the Dao of all Creation for water. It seemed like he did.

    Fighting by theke.

    Lu Yusheng could link up with the water in theke.

    This was an incredibly disadvantageous battle ground. Under rational circumstances, Yan Xiu would definitely choose a different location. He would much rather return to the Spring Garden.

    But...

    He couldn¡¯t.

    Lu Yusheng attacked. The seven Conglomerate Star youths also attacked with him. They too had alreadye onto shore. It was clear that they were slightly injured, but the injuries were not too great.

    As such, it did not impact their abilities much.

    "Heaven and Earth switch!" Yan Xiu did not hesitate. He bellowed instantly and the fan in his hand exploded with a wave of color, almost like a waterfall.

    The radiant light beamed from the fan as it expanded to the surroundings.

    In an instant, a gargantuan Mountain River Illustration appeared.

    The mountains and rocks were huge, countless trees swaying lightly in the wind, a raging waterfall falling from the peak of the mountains, almost like a silver strand.

    The Mountain River Territory.

    The seven youths were initially very quick. However, in the moment they entered the Mountain River Territory, their movements were slowed significantly.

    This caused Lu Yusheng¡¯s water attack to reach Yan Xiu first.

    "Open!" Yan Xiu¡¯s fan chopped down at the flow of water.

    A ray of red light appeared.

    The wave parted right down the middle like a screen.

    However, the water quickly formed two additional waves and attacked Yan Xiu from both sides...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was in the water, was oblivious to what was happening above. He was intent on swimming to the bottom.

    In the pitch ck darkness, Fang Zhengzhi did not dare let his guard down.

    His eyes were opened but he could not see anything. Even so, he continued to keep them open.

    With each passing second, Fang Zhengzhi dove deeper and deeper. His chest became increasingly suffocated. He may be able to take the pressure, but theck of oxygen was getting to him.

    Afterall, under these circumstances, making an oxygen tank was quite impossible.

    But...

    Even though he may not be able to make an oxygen tank, he could make a few oxygen bags. As such, every time he felt increasingly suffocated, he opened one of them.

    "Bloop bloop bloop..."

    Bubbles floated to the surface as color returned to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    Then, he continued to dive deeper.

    With each passing second, the pressure on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body increased. The bottom of theke was pitch dark. He had no idea what depth he was at, but he knew that he would try to get as deep as he could...

    He had lost all concept of time.

    His hands finally touched something solid. This was not mud or the bottom of the river. This was a smooth and hard object.

    Indeed!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. He kicked hard with his legs and his face pressed up against the object. In such ck water, in order to see the object and verify his hypothesis, he had to get in close, really close...

 Chapter 146: Treasure Hall

    Chapter 146: Treasure Hall

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When Fang Zhengzhi stered his face on the object, he finally saw it. That was a human figure, his reflection to be exact.

    "It is like this!" Fang Zhengzhi always had a doubt. If the parallel dimension was formed from many pocket dimensions, then there must be a mirage that linked them all together.

    Then, what was this mirage?

    Initially...

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that the mirage was the moon.

    After all, based on the area covered by the moonlight, it was the most suitable to be the mirage. However, when he saw the different shadows on the moon, he rejected this hypothesis.

    As such, he came to the bottom of theke.

    He saw a smooth mirror...

    Mirage!

    The entire bottom of theke was a huge mirror. Using the reflective ability, it linked all the pocket dimensions together.

    The mirror at the bottom of theke was the source of everything!

    "Mirage?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was filled with this term. Then, all of his questions were answered. He finally understood why he was always stuck in his own pocket dimension.

    He also finally understood what was required to open the door to a parallel universe.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very emotional. However, just as he was getting overwhelmed by emotion, his eyes were attracted to a pearl, a ck pearl.

    It looked extremely smooth, but it did not glow.

    If not for the fact that he saw his own reflection, if not for the fact that the ck pearl was blocking a part of his body, he would not have noticed it.

    Fang Zhengzhi unconsciously reached towards the pearl.

    This was a very unconscious decision. He did not think that he could reach the pearl. After all, the pearl was below the mirror.

    In actual fact, when his hand had reached the base of theke, it did not pass through the mirror. However, the reflection of his hand passed through and grabbed the pearl.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand felt icy.

    "Hmm?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised. He felt that this was too incredible, he actually felt like he was holding onto something.

    The pressure on his chest became higher and higher and he felt increasingly suffocated.

    "Let¡¯s think about it after surfacing!" Fang Zhengzhi did not look at it any longer. He just swam for the surface as quickly as possible.

    What he did not know was that in the moment the pearl went into his hand, the shadows on the moon disappeared. Thedy on theke in the previous world also disappeared...

    ...

    On the banks of theke.

    Yan Xiu used the Wind Shadow Technique to dodge the attacks from the aqua pirs from all sides. He only dodged on the outskirts of the bank, never going any further.

    This was because he still held the rope in his hand.

    "Yan Xiu, I do not wish to be enemies with you. As long as you tell me where Fang Zhengzhi is, I can let you go!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s voice was crisp and arrogant.

    He had the right to be.

    Even though Yan Xiu could suppress those other Star Conglomerate people, they could not hold him back.

    That being said, he never entered the Mountain River Territory. This ce was huge and he was not stupid enough to step into it.

    Yan Xiu did not reply. He was busy fending off the attacks from the seven Star Conglomerate people. Even though they were being suppressed by the Mountain River Territory, they did not lose their battle powers.

    Furthermore, Lu Yusheng kept up his manic attack with water pirs. Yan Xiu was under immense pressure.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yusheng was holding back in view of Yan Xiu¡¯s standing, Yan Xiu would be in an even worse state.

    However, Lu Yusheng¡¯s patience was limited.

    He did not want to be enemies with Yan Xiu, but that did not mean that he could not.

    After all, this was a parallel dimension. He could exin it in many ways, and there was no way of verifying it.

    "Boom!" At this point, the sun in the air split into two.

    "Twin Sun Light Up!"

    Yan Xiu grit his teeth. The light in his fan was intense, but it was taking its toll on him.

    With the radiance of the sun, the youths in the Mountain River Territory came under immense pressure.

    They could feel the air around them heating up. Even though there was a cool autumn breeze blowing around theke, they still felt like they were being roasted.

    At this point, the entire earth began to shake.

    A ray of icy blue light shone to the ground.

    "It¡¯s the treasure hall!"

    "The treasure hall has appeared!"

    "Master Lu!"

    The seven youths looked to Lu Yusheng the moment they saw the icy blue light.

    Naturally, Lu Yusheng also saw it. The Heavenly Treasure Hall was run by the Divine Constabry and everything was kept in the treasure hall.

    This was what everyone was here for.

    "Enter the treasure hall first!" Lu Yusheng made an executive decision. After all, the person in front of him was Yan Xiu and not Fang Zhengzhi. He felt that he could let Yan Xiu off for now. However, if he didn¡¯t manage to make it into the treasure hall, he would have lost out significantly.

    The seven youths heaved a sigh of relief.

    They quickly left the Mountain River Territory and sprinted towards the source of the icy blue light...

    ...

    "Woosh!" A figure jumped out from theke, almost like a fish jumping out of water.

    Yan Xiu heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Fang Zhengzhi. However, when Fang Zhengzhi saw Yan Xiu again, he frowned deeply.

    The Mountain River Territory surrounded Yan Xiu.

    There was only one possibility...

    Yan Xiu had just experienced an intense battle. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell on the disappearing figure of Lu Yusheng.

    A wave of rage swelled in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    He could tolerate Lu Yusheng antagonizing him, but he could not tolerate Lu Yusheng going after his friend. His fists were now balled up.

    "Where are they going?" Fang Zhengzhi jumped andnded next to Yan Xiu.

    "The treasure hall." Yan Xiu pointed at the icy blue light in the near distance.

    "Treasure hall? Is there treasure inside?"

    "There is a lot, but, the Divine Constabry has ordered that we are allowed to look and learn. However, we are only allowed to bring one item out with us."

    "Then, we will stop them from seeing, learning, and taking anything away!"

    "Okay!" Yan Xiu nodded. Even though he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was unrealistic, he did not rebut.

    ...

    The wind was bone chilling. This was a world formed from ice and snow. There was no mountain or water here. There was only ice, and treasures wrapped in ice.

    All kinds of treasure filled the world. There were des glowing icily, bloody spears and ancient manuals in aged boxes.

    Just like Yan Xiu said, without the necessary powers, one could not even break the ice.

    If that was the case, you could only stare widely at the treasures.

    Lu Yusheng looked at the icy pce like world and he smiled contentedly. He had the power to break the ice.

    The seven youths also had the ability to do so.

    Even though they could only break through some of the tinned ice, it did not matter, they had Lu Yusheng with them.

    The Heavenly Reflection one.

    This was the biggest reason why they followed Lu Yusheng.

    With Lu Yusheng helping them break the ice they could not, they could ess more treasure.

    Any rtionship here was built on mutual benefit.

    "Have your pick!" Lu Yusheng pointed at the treasures and told the seven youths. He was incredibly generous and he enjoyed this feeling of power.

    "Thank you Master Lu!" The seven youths smiled.

    "Hahaha..." Lu Yusheng smiled too. So long as he stayed here, he would definitely find Fang Zhengzhi, unless Fang Zhengzhi was willing to give up the treasure.

    "Master Lu, wipe that silly smile off your face, did your family build this?" A this point, a voice rung out and two figures appeared behind Lu Yusheng and the seven youths.

    Lu Yusheng stiffened. This voice was way too familiar.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    The seven youths also heard the voice. They turned around simultaneously to look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    The seven youths burst out inughter.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no way of running in the treasure hall. Yet, despite knowing Lu Yusheng is here, he still came? Is he courting death?

    "People actuallye looking for death, how hrious!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s smile turned into an icy chuckle.

    "Exactly, how hrious!" Fang Zhengzhi agreed with what Lu Yusheng was saying.

    "So... you¡¯ve realized your death is inevitable?"

    "Not yet."

    "And you dare toe?"

    "There is so much treasure here, why wouldn¡¯t Ie?"

    "So you want to see these treasures before you die?"

    "Will you let me see?"

    "Hahaha... of course I will let you take a look! In fact, I will take them out of the ice andy them out for you. It¡¯s a pity that you will only be able to look at them!"

    "That¡¯s not a bad idea! However, if I had to do it, I¡¯ll make it more artistic. For example, I will not use so much energy to take the treasures out of the ice. I will strip you all and tie you on the ice pirs. Then, I¡¯ll let you all look carefully and closely..."

    "Go to hell!"

    Lu Yusheng raged. In an instant, snow surrounded him, each snowke glimmering with an icy light.

    The seven youths chuckled icily. They could imagine how bloody it would get.

 Chapter 147: Floating Snowflakes

    Chapter 147: Floating Snowkes

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A fight between a Heavenly Reflection cultivator and a Star Conglomerate cultivator was no real contest at all.

    Yan Xiu stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi. The fan in his hand glowed with a rainbow light. He knew that only by working together would they stand a chance.

    However, to Yan Xiu¡¯s surprise, Fang Zhengzhi pressed Yan Xiu¡¯s fan down softly, then pulled Yan Xiu behind him.

    Yan Xiu did not understand.

    The seven youths did not understand either.

    "What is Fang Zhengzhi trying to do?"

    Everyone was incredulous, Could he be trying to fight Lu Yusheng alone? Is he dumb, or insanely arrogant?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak. He simply looked at the floating snowkes silently.

    More and more snowkes flew in the air. Each one was glimmering in the air and they surrounded Lu Yusheng, the seven youths, Yan Xiu, and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu was quite nervous, but, Fang Zhengzhi was calm andposed.

    The seven youths were like spectators. If Yan Xiu did not attack, they would not need to waste any energy.

    More and more snow gathered in the treasure hall, virtually filling up the entire hall.

    The sneer on the seven youths became deeper and deeper. They could feel a strong suffocating force. This was Lu Yusheng¡¯s power, the power of Heavenly Reflection.

    However, in actual fact, Lu Yusheng¡¯s expression was weird.

    As he looked at the floating snowkes, he was surprised, confused, and even slightly flustered. On some level, he could not believe what was happening.

    Only he knew.

    The snowkes floating in the air were not all under his control.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Lu Yusheng did not understand. He looked at the surroundings unconsciously. The snow was the same as before. Then, his eyes glimmered.

    Is it the environment?

    Lu Yusheng had just broken through the previous night. Furthermore, the conditions for his breakthrough were quite unique. As such, he had not adapted fully to his powers. The only possible exnation for the situation was the environmental factors.

    "Why aren¡¯t you attacking?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng silently, disdain, condescension and impatience written all over his face.

    "Humph, I guess you really are dumb!" Lu Yusheng waved his hands and willed the snowkes to move.

    Almost like they were controlled by some energy, the snowkes began to swirl, faster and faster, until finally, a de-like icy chill blew out.

    "Ah!" A voice screamed.

    One of the youths grabbed his arm. There was a wound on his arm caused by the de-like icy wind.

    "Master Lu, what are you doing?" Another youth could not believe his eyes as he stared at the injured youth.

    At this point, a knife like snowke was flying towards him.

    "Stab!¡¯

    The defenceless youth¡¯s face had a deep gash and blood flowed out. It was a bright streak of red amongst the white in the air.

    "Master Lu, are you trying..." the other youths looked at their injuredrade. They unconsciously retreated, trying to get out of the snow storm.

    However, the entire treasure hall was filled with snow, where were they going to go?

    "What¡¯s going on? Why isn¡¯t the snow under my control?!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s expression changed when he heard the screams of the youth.

    Only now did he feel that only a little bit of the snow was under his control, the rest of the snow...

    Were like strangers.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed. When he saw the snow swirling, he had already nned to attack, but Fang Zhengzhi had stopped him.

    Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi

    His expression wasplicated. It was filled with disbelief and surprise.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi also noticed Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze. However, he did not exin, he simply blinked at Yan Xiu

    Then, he turned his gaze towards Lu Yusheng once again.

    "Master Lu, you are indeed a man of your word. After you kill them, I will keep to my end of the deal!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was calm. It was almost as if he was discussing something between friends.

    "What deal? I... I didn¡¯t even attack them!" Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, Lu Yusheng stiffened. He simply did not know what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    But...

    This did not mean that the others did not understand it.

    After hearing what Fang Zhengzhi had to say, the seven youths looked at Lu Yusheng in horror. Even though they did not know what deal was struck, they understood what was going on.

    Lu Yusheng was going to kill them!

    "Master Lu need not act any longer. Now, the treasure hall is in our control. Later, I will fulfill your wish, but, we can¡¯t let too many people know about it!" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    Lu Yusheng¡¯s expression changed. He knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. Fang Zhengzhi was clearly trying to sow discord and cause internal conflict!

    "Don¡¯t believe him, I have no reason to attack you all!" Lu Yusheng felt a need to put a stop to this. After all, having an enemy at his back was not a good idea.

    Then...

    Just after Lu Yusheng finished, yet another youth screamed. Five to six gashes of blood appeared on the youth¡¯s chest.

    Each gash was deep and to the bone.

    In the air, blood stained snowkes continued to dance about like demons.

    The seven youths panicked.

    They did not want to believe Fang Zhengzhi, but yet, they had to ept the facts. Lu Yusheng was the only one in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    This was a well established fact.

    Only Lu Yusheng could control the snowkes.

    Lu Yusheng¡¯s expression changed. Naturally, he knew what he was doing. Since he wasn¡¯t controlling them, why was there another person controlling the snowkes?

    This notion kept floating around Lu Yusheng¡¯s mind.

    He unconsciously noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s faint smile.

    "Could it be..."

    A notion shed by Lu Yusheng¡¯s mind. However, he crushed it quickly. That was impossible.

    After training for so many years with help from countless treasures and the teachings from his ancestors, he was still stuck at the pinnacle of the Star Conglomerate State.

    If not for the special help, he would probably need another couple of years to break through. The 24 year old him did not believe that there was another talent like him in the world.

    Furthermore. There was no other Heavenly Reflection State person insert 28...

    Impossible!

    The seven youths also had the same thought as Lu Yusheng.

    However, they refused to believe it, and they did not dare to believe it.

    "Lu Yusheng, even though you¡¯re a disciple of the 13 constabries, I am also from a reputable family. Whatever you want from the treasure hall, we will willingly cede it to you. If you continue to attack us, don¡¯t me us... ah!"

    A youth tried to negotiate with Lu Yusheng for thest time. However, before he could finish, the snowkes moved once again. This attack wasrger than those before it, 20-30 snowkes flew towards him.

    Even if he had prepared for this, his thighs and arms were still injured from the sudden attack.

    Bright red snow shot out like arrows.

    The youth paled. However, his gaze towards Lu Yusheng was filled with rage and hate.

    "Lu Yusheng!" The youths could not stand it any longer. Even though they did not want to believe that Lu Yusheng would attack them, they had to face the facts.

    Why would Lu Yusheng want to kill them?

    What kind of secretive deal did Lu Yusheng and Fang Zhengzhi make?

    They did not know the answers, but they didn¡¯t need to know. The fact was that Lu Yusheng was trying to kill them, and he had already attacked.

    So...

    No matter how unwilling they were, they had to attack.

    When faced with a life or death situation, they would bring all their power to bear!even though they did not think that they could fight Lu Yusheng, what else could they do in such a desperate situation?

    "Kill!"

    "Lu Yusheng, you forced us into this!"

    "Die!"

    The seven youths attacked at the same time. They all activated their weapons and used their finishers without mercy.

    The different colored lights flew towards Yusheng through the snow.

    This change was not something Lu Yusheng wanted. He wanted to exin himself, but the light was already closing in on him.

    As such, he could only defend.

    Even though this was abined attack from seven Star Conglomerate cultivators, Lu Yusheng was not afraid. He was already in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    It was extremely difficult to injure him!

    However, at this point, the snow in the air began to change again.

    When he controlled the swirling snow to block him, even more snowkes went in front of the snowkes he controlled.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The snowkes crashed together.

    shes of light broke out all over the sky. Countless snowkes fell to the ground, almost covering the entire area in snow.

    With a boom, Lu Yusheng, who did not have enough time to raise his defences, took the hit from seven des. His body flew and impacted an ice pir.

    Cracks appeared on the pir, almost as if it had been sliced by a knife.

    "Sh*t!" Lu Yusheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale beyondparison.

    His eyes were filled with awe. No matter how much he couldn¡¯t believe it, not only did he fail to block the attack from the seven youths, there were snowkes inside his control area that were not under his control?

    The seven youths were also stunned.

    They were equally shocked, Our attacks actually managed to hit Lu Yusheng so easily?

    "What¡¯s going on?" The seven youths asked themselves.

    At this point, the snowkes in the sky did not seem to stop. Instead, they seemed to exploded and fly towards Lu Yusheng and the seven youths.

    The snowkes filled the sky and let out a bone chilling sound, almost as if countless des were flying willfully in the wind.

    "Stab stab stab..."

    shes rang out in the air.

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths were wounded in multiple ces. In an instant, the blood stained the clean snow, making a beautiful scene in the air as the snowkes swirled.

    The immense pain made Lu Yusheng lose his energy to stand up. He sat on the ground. He did not look at the seven youths, instead, he stared at the smiling Fang Zhengzhi with wide eyes.

    The seven youths all recovered and looked at Lu Yusheng, then at Fang Zhengzhi.

    In an instant, a terrifying notion welled up in their hearts.

    It was like a burning bonfire in their bodies.

    They did not dare to entertain this notion previously. If it was true, then, this would be something that would cause the entire empire to shiver.

    However, what else could exin what was going on here?

    "You¡¯re... in the Heavenly Reflection State?!" Lu Yusheng stammered. His voice was pained, and despairing. However, he managed to force the question out.

    The seven youths also stared at Fang Zhengzhi wide eyed.

    They wanted to hear Fang Zhengzhi deny it, however, the snow still flying in the air seemed to make their question redundant.

    If...

    If the snow in the sky was really controlled by Lu Yusheng.

    Why didn¡¯t he block the attacks just now?

    The question was moot. What wasical was that they still doubted and questioned if Fang Zhengzhi was in the Heavenly Reflection State!

    "Master Lu, are you blind?" Fang Zhengzhi sneered. Then, with a single thought, the snow in the sky began to move.

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths wanted to dodge to the side. However, they were immobilized.

    They could only look on in despair at the swirling snowkes in the air...

    "Are we going to die?!" The eight of them had the same thought sh through their mind. They did not want to die like this, but, they could not resist it.

    At this point...

    The snowkes in the sky stopped.

    The gazes of the eight people also stopped. They saw a few words, words formed by the snowkes, frozen in midair.

    "This is such an obvious indication of Heavenly Reflection, yet you all can¡¯t see it? Are you blind?"

 Chapter 148: How Embarassing

    Chapter 148: How Embarassing

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths looked at the words floating in the air dazedly. They knew that the only possible exnation was that Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, they did not dare to believe it.

    "He... is really in the Heavenly Reflection State?!"

    "How is that possible?"

    "He is only 15 years old. If I recall correctly, other than Chi Guyan, he is the only person who managed to attain this state below 15 years old..."

    The seven youths looked at each other. They remembered the scene at the banquet the previous night, the deal between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in two years time.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was really in the Heavenly Reflection State?!

    Then, the deal would not be as hopeless as it looked!

    A notion shed by the minds of the eight of them. Before this, no one believed that Fang Zhengzhi could defeat Chi Guyan.

    But now...

    Their confidence was wavering.

    The difference between the Star Conglomerate State and the Heavenly Reflection State was too great. So many youths were stuck at this door, unable to breakthrough.

    But...

    Once the breakthrough was sessful, the transition from elementary to advanced Heavenly Reflection State was a smooth one. The probability of attaining the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State in two years was at least 20%!

    Even so, no one would seriously think that Fang Zhengzhi could defeat Chi Guyan in two years. After all, Chi Guyan was the ¡¯Xuan Heavenly Dao Body¡¯. She had special abilities that would allow her to easily defeat people of the same level as her.

    However, this battle was not as hopeless as it seemed before.

    Even if it was just a shred...

    It was still hope!

    "Now, you all have two choices, one is death, one is life, which do you choose?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke, breaking the train of thought of the eight of them.

    "Of course we choose to live!" One of the youths shouted. As a disciple of a renowned n, he was used to a cultured life. He did not have much experience with blood and battle.

    As such, he had a natural fear of death.

    "But you all have been pursuing us from the Spring Garden, don¡¯t you all think you should pay a price?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at them sinisterly.

    "Price? What price?"

    "I would like to rob!" Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "Rob?!"

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths stiffened when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. They had thought of many possibilities, but they did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to rob them.

    What a low price to pay?

    As long as they could live...

    Money was a peripheral item!

    "Of course you can! Master Fang is such a great person, I will give you all of my silver!"

    "I do not have much silver with me, but I can give you all of my equipment. I also have a head dress. Don¡¯t look down on it, the pearl is one of the best pearls harvested from the deep ocean!"

    "Master Fang, my bracelet is not bad. When you wear it, you can smell a faint aroma when you study and it will help you concentrate!"

    The youths immediately took out everything valuable from their bodies and obediently handed them over. They also thanked Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi sneered.

    He loved robbing people and having them thank him!

    "Then, what about Master Lu?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng.

    "You really won¡¯t kill me?" Lu Yusheng could not believe it. Just like he had said, Fang Zhengzhi

    "I didn¡¯t say that, all I said was I will rob you first, but if you have nothing valuable, then..."

    "I... I do!" Lu Yusheng grit his teeth. He retrieved a purple gold box, then opened it. A strong aroma wafted out of the box.

    "The Hundred Battle Pill of the Battle Constabry!" Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes shed with awe when he saw the pills inside.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think much of the broken box. However, Yan Xiu was clearly the most discerning. When the other youths took out their items, his expression did not even chance.

    However, when Lu Yusheng retrieved this box, his jaw dropped.

    What did this mean?

    The Hundred Battle Pill was an exceptional item!

    Who cares? Take it first.

    Fang Zhengzhi snatched the purple gold box over and stuffed it in his pocket.

    "There are three inside, I spent many years... please leave one for me..." Lu Yusheng painfully stretched out a hand as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi snatch the box away.

    "Go go go, say any more and I will kill you first before I rob!" Fang Zhengzhi snorted icily.

    Lu Yusheng shut up immediately. Yet, his expression was incredibly pained, almost as if he had suffered a huge blow.

    ...

    After robbing everyone, Fang Zhengzhi spoke once again.

    "All of you, strip and tie him... to that pir!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Lu Yusheng, then at a meter thick ice pir nearby.

    The seven youths raised their guards once again. They wanted to resist, but now that their lives were in his hands, they had to do as they were told.

    After a brief hesitation, the seven youths got to work.

    "If you don¡¯t get himpletely naked, I will make sure you all arepletely naked first!" Fang Zhengzhi said calmly as he saw the seven youths scurrying about.

    In an instant, the seven youths turned from meek sheep to ferocious wolves.

    Four youths grabbed Lu Yusheng¡¯s arms and legs. The other three ripped away at his clothes. This was too barbaric to be seen.

    All that could be heard was the shredding. They clearly ignored the instruction of ¡¯take off¡¯, they simply ripped.

    "You all..." Lu Yusheng wanted to struggle. However, he was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi had other ideas. As such, he could only weep silently.

    After Lu Yusheng was stripped, the seven youths used the ripped fabric as rope and tied him tightly to the pir.

    Throughout the entire process, Lu Yusheng grit his teeth. Only when his body touched the ice pir did he grunt.

    Because...

    The ice was too cold.

    "Now it¡¯s your turn!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng, then at the seven youths.

    "Master Fang, didn¡¯t you tell us to tie one person only?" One of the youths retreated in fear.

    "Did I say so?"

    "..." The seven youths looked at each other and thought carefully. He really didn¡¯t say so.

    "Do you want to do it yourselves or do you want me to do it for you?"

    "We will do it ourselves!"

    The seven youths stripped quickly. Then, they ¡¯helped¡¯ tie each other up to the ice pir with their clothes.

    Before long, all seven of them were moaning and grunting...

    ...

    After the eight of them were tied to the ice pir, Yan Xiu spoke once again.

    "Actually, I always knew that you could attain the Heavenly Reflection State, but I never expected you to attain it so quickly!" Yan Xiu said with surprise. As a friend, he was naturally happy for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fast? I don¡¯t think so." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Is it not fast?" Yan Xiu asked curiously.

    "If you attained Star Conglomerate at eight, would you still think this is fast?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu calmly.

    "Conglomerate Star at eight, I am 16 this year. So I had eight years, naturally... hold up, you mean you attained Conglomerate Star at eight?!" Yan Xiu eximed just as he was about to answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    Not only did Yan Xiu gasp at that revtion, the eight men on the pirs were also stunned by this fact.

    "Conglomerate Star at eight?!"

    "Humph, how is this possible?"

    "Based on my knowledge, even though Chi Guyan essed Dao at four, she was also Conglomerate Star at eight! He says he attained Conglomerate Star at eight? Is he lying?!"

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths could not believe their ears. If Fang Zhengzhi was really Conglomerate Star at eight, why did it take so long for him to breakthrough to Heavenly Reflection?

    They felt that something was amiss...

    No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State, at 15 no less!

    Fang Zhengzhi saw the shock on Yan Xiu¡¯s face and sighed in exasperation, "Aish... Star Conglomerate at eight, but it took me seven years to get to Heavenly Reflection, how embarrassing!"

    "Star Conglomerate at eight, Heavenly Reflection seven yearster, embarrassing?"

    "If this is embarrassing..."

    The eight people tied to the ice pir ¡¯enjoying¡¯ the chill felt like they had just swallowed a fly when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sighs.

    Even though they were being tortured by the cold, their faces flushed.

    Can you not be like that? Can¡¯t you let us retain some dignity? Yes, you may think that waiting seven years for Heavenly Reflection after attaining Star Conglomerate at eight is a disgrace...

    But then...

    What would that make us?

    What would that make the talents of the various powerful ns in the empire?

    Conglomerate Star at eight.

    Heavenly Reflection at 15.

    Yet, he was still sighing here, looking depressed. Could he possibly be more arrogant?

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths thought of the same thing. They would much rather hear Fang Zhengzhi shouting andughing that he is a talent and a genius. They did not want to hear him sigh.

    "Haish... I was Conglomerate Star at eight and waited seven years for my Heavenly Reflection, what a disgrace!"

    How disgraceful could you be?

 Chapter 149: Revealing the Secret

    Chapter 149: Revealing the Secret

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s depressed look. As a friend, he felt like he shouldfort Fang Zhengzhi. For example, You may have taken seven years to reach Heavenly Reflection, but you made it.

    However, it did not seem very appropriate. After all, he was still stuck at Star Conglomerate.

    As such...

    After some thought, Yan Xiu changed his technique.

    "Shall we go see what treasures there are here?" Yan Xiu decided to change the subject and distract Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Sure! You¡¯re more knowledgeable than me in this field, can you introduce the treasures to me?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s depression was immediately wiped off his face.

    "Of course!" Yan Xiu nodded, then, his gaze darted around the room and he picked out a few special treasures to introduce to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi followed silently behind, listening intently to the introduction Yan Xiu was giving him like an obedient student.

    After Yan Xiu introduced all of the treasures, the two of them began walking towards the depth of the treasure hall. The Divine Constabry had been managing the Heavenly Treasure Hall for so many generations and there were much more treasure.

    Lu Yusheng and the seven youths stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Their eyes were filled with anticipation. However, as Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were walking too slowly, the eight of them had to suppress their movements.

    Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi savored every step as they sauntered. They then stopped at a ce about 500m out.

    The two groups could see each other, but hearing the conversation was near impossible.

    At this point, Yan Xiu turned around and looked at Lu Yusheng.

    "Are you really not going to kill them?"

    "Mm, haven¡¯t you already realized it?" Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by Yan Xiu¡¯s question.

    "If you want to kill them, this is yourst chance. Even though killing Lu Yusheng may cause some trouble, this is the Heavenly Treasure Hall. If something happens to Lu Yusheng here, the Divine Constabry would have to take some responsibility too. As long as we have sufficient reason, Chi Hou will definitely take our side. Furthermore, the Battle Constabry would not make enemies with the Divine Constabry over someone like Lu Yusheng.

    "The reason why I¡¯m not killing Lu Yusheng is because there¡¯s something I need him to do, and he¡¯s the only one who can do it."

    "What is it?"

    "Do you remember when we hurt Lu Yusheng with our joint attack back at the Spring Garden. Back then, I was slightly surprised. However, when I battled him just now, I could feel that he did not haveplete control over his surroundings."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I believe that there are problems with his Heavenly Reflection. If you consider the fact that he just broke through yesterday, these two are way too uncanny to be a coincidence."

    "You think that there is someone behind Lu Yusheng?"

    "Mm."

    "Is it Chi Hou?"

    "No, just like Chi Hou said so tantly just now, my existence is of no consequence to him."

    "Then who do you think it is?"

    "I don¡¯t know, but these are the facts. Firstly, the link will not break as long as Lu Yusheng is alive. Secondly, the Dao of All Creation is about natural progression. Lu Yusheng¡¯s forced breakthrough goes against the will of Heaven. Even if he survives, it would be a difficult life. Thirdly, if someone wants him dead, why should we be in a hurry to take this responsibility? This is why Lu Yusheng is more valuable alive than dead."

    "I understand now! Then, let¡¯s walk deeper. I heard that there is an extremely important item in the treasure hall, do you want to go take a look?"

    "If even you think it¡¯s important, then naturally, we must go."

    "Mm, then let¡¯s go!"

    "Great!"

    ...

    To Lu Yusheng and the seven youths, fabric could not restrain them.

    As such, upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu leave, Lu Yusheng finally moved.

    "Mater Lu, we had no other choice just now..."

    "Humph! Leave the treasure hall first. We won¡¯t know what will happen if Fang Zhengzhi returns!" Lu Yusheng¡¯s eyes shed with an icy glow. He grabbed another youth¡¯s clothes and put it on.

    "My clothes..." the youth who had his clothes taken felt like crying.

    But, did he dare to deny Lu Yusheng? Of course not...

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were still admiring the treasures and sauntering about, Lu Yusheng and the seven youths escaped from the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    Coming out before the time is up?

    This was something never before seen, and the Divine Constabry¡¯s interest was piqued.

    Then...

    News of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection Realm exploded outwards like a rock into water.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is in the Heavenly Reflection State?!"

    "How can this be? He is only 15, how is that possible..."

    "Demon? If that is the case, the duel in two years..."

    Just like how Lu Yusheng and the others were, everyone who heard the news were in disbelief that Fang Zhengzhi was in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    When Chi Hou heard this, his jaw dropped, "What the heck? He¡¯s in the Heavenly Reflection State! That doesn¡¯t make sense, Heavenly Reflection is not that easy?!"

    He remembered that he attained Heavenly Reflection at 20. All of sudden, he felt old.

    As for the officials from the Constabries who had not left, as well as those young talents, they were all wide eyed when they heard the news.

    None of them were willing to believe this.

    But...

    If this was told from the horse¡¯s mouth, what other choice did they have?!

    ...

    In a isted courtyard in the Divine Constabry, ady in a green dress was slightly nervous. She could not understand why there was someone like her master, able to breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection State at 15?

    There were only two in the empire!

    The instrumental music from the pavilion stopped.

    Chi Guyan, who donned a pink dress and a white fur coat, kept her instrument. Her exquisite eyes glittered like stars, but she exuded an aura of calm, almost like ake in autumn.

    "Is he finally in the Heavenly Reflection State?" Chi Guyan looked to the pale blue sky. She was not surprised, she expected this...

    ...

    In the ancient building, King Duan Lin Xinjue was rather solemn, looking out at the pavilion in the distance. He smashed the white jade cup into the ground once again.

    With a smash, it turned into powder.

    "Heavenly Reflection... a 15 year old Heavenly Reflection. I guess this news is going to spread throughout the empire? I suspect even father knows about this!"

    "Kind Duan please calm down. Once Fang Zhengzhi attains Heavenly Reflection, then his marriage with Chi Guyan cannot be hidden anymore. You need to quickly return to Yan Jing!" A ck robed elder looked at King Duan and advised.

    "Return to Yan Jing? Why? Do you think I am afraid of a Heavenly Reflection?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s rage seemed to increase.

    "You are definitely not scared of Heavenly Reflection. However, he did not kill Lu Yusheng, and this intellect on his part shocks me. My lord, that¡¯s why you must return to Yan Jing quickly!"

    "He did not kill Lu Yusheng? What has this got to do with me returning to Yan Jing?" Lin Xinjue was slightly confused.

    "My Lord, why do you think he didn¡¯t kill Lu Yusheng?"

    "It must be because of Lu Yusheng¡¯s standing. As a hillbilly, where will he find the courage to go up against the Battle Constabry?"

    "My Lord, what you¡¯re saying is reasonable, but you must not forget that he bargained with Chi Hou in front of everybody at the banquet yesterday. Would someone like that be scared of a status? Furthermore, Yan Xiu of the Yan Family was in the Heavenly Treasure Hall with him. Someone like Yan Xiu is even less likey to be scared of Lu Yusheng¡¯s status."

    "Then what does Elder Wen think?"

    "If he had killed Lu Yusheng, this would have been over. We can prod the Battle Constabry in the right direction. But, he didn¡¯t kill Lu Yusheng. This can only mean that he knows the truth."

    "You¡¯re saying that Fang Zhengzhi knows Lu Yusheng was under ourmand? Did Lu Yusheng reveal that secret?"

    "No! If he knew that we were behind Lu Yusheng, then Lu Yusheng would be dead by now! The fact that Lu Yusheng is alive means that he knows the situation, but he doesn¡¯t know who is behind it... then, he let Lu Yusheng live, hoping for us to kill him, giving him exactly what he wants."

    "Elder Wen is wise, but, how did he manage to find out?"

    "This was a miscalction on my part. I thought that he was only Star Conglomerate. If that was true, it would be impossible for him to realize the secret of Lu Yusheng¡¯s Heavenly Reflection. But, if he too was Heavenly Reflection, then the secret was all too easy to find out."

    "Elder Wen, please don¡¯t me yourself. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Heavenly Reflection breakthrough took us all by surprise. However, I still do not understand what is the link between him not killing Lu Yusheng and us returning to Yan Jing?"

    "My Lord, you are wise and smart, I am sure you understand that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s greatest wish is for us to kill Lu Yusheng. And on this, Lu Yusheng would be worried about this too! As such, if we continue to stay in the Divine Constabry, we. Any keep this secret for much longer! The secret is at risk of being exposed whether we kill Lu Yusheng or not. But, if we return to Yan Jing, then things will be different. First, we can dodge the spear, secondly, we can let Lu Yusheng rx and this will stop him from revealing the secret!"

    "Elder Wen is nning a... tactical retreat?"

    "My Lord, do you want to continue charging on?!"

    "What¡¯s done is done, we can¡¯t undo it, neither should we try to!"

    "Aish..." Elder Wen sighed as he stared out at the branches swaying in the breeze. A faint, resigned smile broke out on his face.

 Chapter 150: Ice Wall

    Chapter 150: Ice Wall

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    After a while, Elder Wen finally spoke again.

    "If that is the case, my lord, you can only afford to risk it onest time. You must host the wisdomponent of the imperial examination. However, this has traditionally been hosted by the crown prince. By doing so, you will cause some havoc, so please think carefully!"

    At this point, Elder Wen really wanted to say something, If no one knows who is behind this, then why does it matter?

    However, he could not say it. He was a strategist, and he was not in a position to say this...

    Lin Xinjue knew what Elder Wen was getting at. However, understanding was a separate issue. He always saw things to the end and he would not give up halfway.

    This was a weakness, but it was also a great strength.

    "If I arrange for someone else to be the host, then the crown prince will not agree. However, if I personally request to host it, then the chances are much higher. Then, if I cede the supervising role of the military exercise to the crown prince, this would be easily resolved!" Lin Xinjue was determined, but he also understood Elder Wen¡¯s intentions.

    "This is the best way to do things. But if the Crown Prince finds out about Fang Zhengzhi being in their Heavenly Reflection state, then more issues would up. If my lord wishes to be the host, then you must strike while the iron is hot!"

    "Mm, then I will return to Yan Jing now, then go to the Eastern Pce!"

    "The choice not to report higher and go straight to the Eastern Pce is a wise and humble one. I respect it!" Elder Wen nodded. Even though Lord Duan, whomanded the armies, could be brash at times, he was no barbarian. At the crucial moments, he could still disy extraordinary wit. This was the reason why Elder Wen chose to stay with him...

    ...

    Inside the HEavenly Treasure Hall, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were looking at the treasure as they walked. Yan Xiu only stopped after more than two hours.

    Fang Zhengzhi sensed the temperature around him.

    This ce was even colder than the outskirts of the hall. Furthermore, there was no sign of any win. It was almost like a sealed freezer.

    "It should be just up ahead!¡¯ Yan Xiu pointed in front.

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze followed Yan Xiu¡¯s finger. He was slightly confused. Yan Xiu seemed to be pointing at a wall, a wall made of ice.

    It was thick, and it glowed with an icy blue light.

    "Here?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "What is this?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze swept over the wall. He could not see any special treasure! The wall did not even have so much as a strand of fur?

    Is it an engraving?

    But where was the engraving?

    "Look inside the ice!" Yan Xiu pointed to the ice wall and his expression turned solemn.

    "Inside?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the wall again.

    Then, he realized that there seemed to be nothing inside. However, there was a few small white dots. These dots were melded with the ice, and would look like snow on first nce.

    Of course, these dots were truly formed by snow.

    However, the more Fang Zhengzhi looked at the position of the dots, the more he felt like these dots were ced there on purpose. This looks like...

    The Illustration of All Creation!

    No, this was not the Illustration of All Creation!

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that the Illustration of All Creation had lines and irregr shapes over and above the dots. However, the ice wall only had dots.

    "I heard that this wall records a battle, but, it doesn¡¯t look like it..."

    "Battle?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s curiosity was piqued. How can one record a battle using these white dots?

    Yan Xiu did not say anymore, and Fang Zhengzhi did not continue to probe.

    The two of them sat down at different spots and began to stare at the wall.

    Two hours.

    Four hours.

    Nightfall.

    ...

    The two of them continued to look at it.

    It had been a two days since they had entered the treasure hall. They spent a day squatting in front of the ice wall, but they did not see anything special.

    Yan Xiu had no intention to leave. He examined the wall closely, scribbling drawings on the ground sporadically.

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to emte Yan Xiu¡¯s concentration, but he was already blurry eyed. He didn¡¯t manage to figure anything out. Guess? He must have some leads at least?

    Okay then....

    Why put so much effort into understanding a war? The rewards did not warrant the effort. Fang Zhengzhi decided to take a nap. Even though this ce was slightly cold, it did not mean he could not catch some shut eye.

    Then, hey out his clothes and found afortable ce to lie down.

    "The peaks of the mountain look like jade, the dense forest looks like millions of silver..." Fang Zhengzhi recited a poem as he serenely closed his eyes.

    He did not fall asleep immediately, his leg shaking listlessly..

    He kept thinking where to go after he got out.

    In three months, the imperial examinations were beginning. Just the journey from Golden Scale City to Yan Capital took two months.

    Without nes in this world, everything was so inconvenient.

    Then, should he go straight to Yan Capital? Or should he stay in the Golden Scale City and rx? Forget it, he had better go to Yan Capital. If he stayed in the Divine Constabry, he would be constantly reminded that Chi Guyan was his neighbor.

    He would not be able sleep well.

    When he thought of Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi felt a sense of familiarity. He had seen that nose and lips somewhere before.

    In my dreams?

    Bleh!

    Fang Zhengzhi would never dream of Chi Guyan unless it was a nightmare.

    If he really beat her in two years, what was he going to do? Marry her? Haha... Chi Guyan... you are to naive!

    You want me to marry you?

    Dream on!

    Mm...

    An eye for an eye, he must humiliate her, then, he will call off the marriage in front of everyone. Then, when everyone doesn¡¯t want her, he will act like the nice guy and make her one of his servants?

    But, Chi Guyan was quite pretty, making her someone who poured his tea and cut timber would be a waste.

    What if she was a ¡¯bed warmer¡¯...

    That was more like it!

    "Master, the bed is warmed, please rest well!"

    Thinking about Chi Guyan¡¯s bright eyes and chirpy voice after warming his bed, calling out to him, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth broke out in a lusty smile. He quite liked the thought of it.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi remembered someone with simrly bright eyes.

    "Gu(3) Yan!" [1]

    Hold on...

    Something is not right!

    A person¡¯s eyes was the window to the soul. If a male and a female had the same kind of window, what did that mean?

    Gu(3) Yan...

    Gu Yan!

    "F*ck... me!" Two faces appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind all of a sudden. These two faces quickly joined together.

    Most importantly, they fit perfectly!

    "If Gu(3) Yan is Chi Guyan, then why did she go to the Northern Mountain Vige? To find me?" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously. He did not think this was possible.

    Then, he thought about the books that Gu(3) Yan had left on his table.

    Were they to teach him techniques?

    Without considering the fact that Chi Guyan was unlikely to be that nice, those things, were not really techniques. They were just abination of weird swords, spears, poles, des...

    If not for the fact that he was quite desperate, he may not have looked at them.

    Those things were quite useless.

    Hang on!

    Those techniques may seem messy, but they had a special order to them. He did not really realize it then, but thinking about it now, it looked like...

    The Illustration of All Creation!

    "The ice wall!"

    "And the messy techniques!"

    "Could it be..."

    "I understand now!" Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes all of a sudden.

    [1] This is a different Gu Yan

 Chapter 151: Investigation

    Chapter 151: Investigation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The ice wall was still the same, but in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, he had already begun to treat the white dots as the constetions in the Illustration of All Creation.

    He began to link up the messy techniques like they were constetions.

    Then..

    What was in front of him was a gigantic painting!

    Was he right?

    .

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know, neither did he want to know. A thousand people can interpret one thing a thousand ways, why must there be a right way? All he needed to know was his own interpretation.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi began to join the dots based on his own hypothesis.

    Slowly, a picture began to form.

    It did look like a battlefield, which was what Yan Xiu said, but...

    It looked like it was following one person.

    Actually, it looked like a wrecked picture. The ces with other people were deliberately hidden. As such, this picture recorded one person¡¯s actions on the battlefield, and this person was killing his way around the battlefield with the various techniques.

    "These are..."

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious, even though this looks like a battlefield, the various poses looked like patterns.

    No!

    This was not a battlefield!

    All of a sudden, Fang Zhengzhi had an impression that this was a set of techniques. The battlefield was used to show the technique in action, and when and how to fully exploit each technique...

    This was a technique manual for battle.

    But, who was the person in the pictures?

    Why would it be a tattered picture?

    What did theplete picture look like?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea, but he remembered everything, soaking up the information like a sponge. He would remember them first, then filter the techniques ordingly after.

    As he remembered, he began to imitate and practice the techniques in his mind.

    At this point, Yan Xiu also stood up. Then, he began drawing with his fan in his hand, his expression ecstatic.

    "Did he realize it too?"

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask, but Yan Xiu was extremely absorbed. It would not be wise to break his concentration now.

    Sometimes, enlightenment strikes in that moment. Furthermore, what we understand on our own is much more suited for us than something others teach us.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he was right.What if I¡¯m wrong?

    As he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi also found another ce to practice.

    ...

    The opening. Of the Heavenly Treasure Hallsted six hours outside, but that tranted to three days inside.

    Chi Hou sat quietly on a wide wooden bench outside. He looked at the sky and judged that it was about time. Then, he nced at his servants.

    Some of his maids began to prepare.

    Based on Chi Hou;s standing, there was no need for him to wait for Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu toe out. He could wait in his study for Fang Zhengzhi toe thank him.

    But for some reason...

    Chi Hou had a feeling that if he really sat in his study, then, it was likely that Fang Zhengzhi would not show up at all.

    "He¡¯s in the Heavenly Reflection State? Did he attain it some time back? Or did he breakthrough in the Heavenly Treasure Hall?" Chi Hou had countless questions.

    Of course, the most important thing...

    He wanted to confirm Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true ability.

    ...

    Before Long, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu sauntered out of the crack side by side. They nced at the maids standing around, as well as the purple robed Chi Hou.

    "Hmm? Are you preparing the maids for your advances?" Fang ZHengzhi hated it when Chi Hou did this. At the very least, shouldn¡¯t he be more subtle about it?

    Then, should he show his disgust? Or should he ept it?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, take this!¡¯

    Whilst Fang Zhengzhi was feeling conflicted, Chi Hou had already attacked.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, "Can I have a cup of tea first?"

    In actual fact, before he hade out, he had thought about many things. He had wondered if people would lead him to Chi Hou to show his thanks, or would he be given a ce to rest.

    But...

    Never would he expect that he would be forced to fight, and with Chi Hou no less?!

    How vert exciting! Chi Hou was clearly toying with him. For f*cks sake, what level are you, and what level am I? This is a little too much, even for bullies...

    So what if I can¡¯t win?

    I can¡¯t possibly be a punching bag.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi thought of running, but, he quickly squashed this idea as it surfaced. When Chi Hou attacked, his maids attacked as well.

    However, they were different from Chi Hou, they fired off steels, ck, glossy, steels.

    The ck steels hovered over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. Chi Hou was trapped inside the too as he charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    At this point, Yan Xiu looked up at the steels and the charging Chi Hou. Then, he calmly retreated behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "..."

    This was the first time he saw Yan Xiu retreat. Furthermore, Yan Xiu had retreated in such a decisive manner. Fang Zhengzhi was sad, but frustrated.

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth. Running was out of the option, and his helper was not gonna help him. Then, the decision was simple, fight it out.

    He attacked.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body did not appear where Chi Hou thought it would. Instead, Fang Zhengzhi had charged towards his hands/

    This action confused the maids by the side.

    Is he courting death?

    Just as the maids were thinking about this, Chi Hou¡¯s eyes brightened and his lips broke out in a subtle smile.

    He did not retract his p. Instead, his palm turned to ws as he grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat. It was quick as lightning, but, there was no glow.

    No idents...

    Fang Zhengzhi was caught, but, he was not grabbed by his throat. Instead, Chi Hou had gotten the shoulder.

    At the most crucial moment, he had shifted his body slightly. This was the Wind Shadow Technique taught to him by Yan Xiu. However, even with this technique, he barely managed to dodge Chi Hou¡¯s grab on his throat.

    Chi Hou was slightly stunned. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was betting on the fact that he was not going for the kill.

    However, he never expected Fang Zhengzhi to dodge his grab on the throat.

    "The Yan Wind Shadow Technique?"

    "Master Hou is Indeed knowledgeable and powerful. However, your win is ungentlemanly. You used a sneak attack, I did not even manage to use the Fang 13 Rod superior technique!"

    "Fang 13 Rod superior technique? So... you need a rod?"

    "Yes!"

    "Maid, get a rod over here!" Chi Hou let go of Fang Zhengzhi and waved to his maid.

    After he felt the grip on his shoulder loosen, Fang Zhengzhi smiled. Then, the smile disappeared almost immediately. His expression immediately became stern.

    "Master Hou, I just came out from the treasure hall. I found a piece of treasure, but I don¡¯t know what it is. I was hoping you could exin it to me?" Fang Zhengzhi searched himself as he asked.

    "Mm, take it out for me to see!" Chi Hou listened and nodded.

    This was quite the reasonable request. Many of the powerful disciples have asked him for advice. After all, the things inside there were collected by the Divine Constabry over the years.

    Then, Chi Hou saw Fang Zhengzhi retrieve a small cloth bag.

    This fe does treasure his things, and he looks quite serious?

    Just as he was thinking, he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand turn over. The small cloth bag opened and a grey ck powder flew towards his face.

    Chi Hou did not know what this was. However, he still managed to reach. He advanced, a ray of light shing in front of him. The powder like substance fell to the ground.

    "Nice try, how dare you attack me!" Chi Hou bellowed and grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat again.

 Chapter 152: Failing at an easy task

    Chapter 152: Failing at an easy task

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi knew Chi Hou¡¯s speed and exploited the Wind Shadow Technique to the maximum, causing Chi Hou to miss.

    How could he let someone catch him twice in a row?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it would be too humiliating to be caught again. At the very least, he must put up some resistance.

    "You attacked me first, now you¡¯re shamelesslyining about me?" Fang Zhengzhi dodged and weaved. Then, he waved, "Take this, Heavenly Maid Scattered Flowers!"

    As Fang Zhengzhi waved, an icy glow enveloped thend and shot towards Chi Hou.

    Offense was the best defence.

    This was fact.

    Seeing the icy glow shot out by Fang Zhengzhi, the surrounding maids were all confused. They had no idea what this was. However, anyone who dared to attack Chi Hou was incredibly courageous.

    Who was Chi Hou? The name Iron Blood Divine Marquis wasn¡¯t to be said at will.

    He was a master of strategy, how could a trick like this fool him? Even though the maids felt that the icy glow looked good, no one felt that it could hurt Chi Hou.

    The truth reflected this...

    After seeing the icy glow from Fang Zhengzhi, he did not even dodge. Rays of light radiated from his body, enveloping him.

    The moment the icy glow impacted the light shield, they disappeared into the ground.

    "Cling, ng, ng..."

    The ring of objects falling to the ground rung out.

    After the icy glow fell to the ground, the maids finally realized that the icy glow was actually countless silver needles.

    "Again!" Seeing the silver needles fall to the ground, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of giving up. He waved his hands again and an icy glow shot towards Chi Hou once again.

    "Again? I would like to see how many more things you can scatter!" Chi Hou chuckled lightly as the light shield radiated outwards once again, knocking the needles out of the sky.

    "Again!" Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of giving up.

    With another wave of his hand, the needles took to the sky once again. This stubbornness tickled the maids. How silly, why drag it out when you know you¡¯re not going to hit?

    After all, all you can do is dy the inevitable...

    Chi Hou looked at the glow in front of him, slightly confused. Fang Zhengzhi should not be this dumb, what is going on?

    Having experienced hundreds of battles, Chi Hou was not one to underestimate his enemy.

    Even though he knew that his opponent was much weaker and those needles could never hurt him, he would not let the needles evene close.

    What if they wereced with poison?

    What if Fang Zhengzhi was just trying to make himcent?

    Chi Hou had no way of confirming this. However, he was rather curious why Fang Zhengzhi would consistently use techniques that could not harm him. Fang Zhenghi was probably trying to make him lower his guard after repeated attacks.

    This sounded like quite the n. However, Fang Zhenghi could not even break his shield, what good would making him overconfident do.

    Chi Hou may be thinking this way, but his servants were not able to think at such a level.

    They looked on with pity and mocking as Fang Zhengzhi kept sending out futile attack after futile attack.

    "This Heavenly Maid Scattered Flowers looks pretty!"

    "I wonder how many more flowers he can scatter?"

    "I think he¡¯ll be out very soon!"

    Just as the servants expected, Fang Zhengzhi had limited needles. He was no porcupine, so after several attacks, he had run out of needles.

    Even so, he was unfazed. He had other things to scatter - powder, ash, nails, daggers, dried fruits, snacks...

    ...

    The sky was enveloped by a steel, but what was happening underneath the was dumbfounding.

    Chi Hou looked on as Fang Zhengzhi continued to scatter items. Finally, he showed traces of surprise. How many ¡¯secret weapons¡¯ does this person have?

    "A lot!" Fang Zhengzhi understood Chi Hou¡¯s expression and answered his question without any hesitation.

    He was in no hurry. He was always prepared for any eventuality and had all sorts of secret weapons that wouldst him some time.

    As such, he was extremely willful in his scattering of items. He was not scared that he would finish scattering all his items...

    After absorbing the attacks for about 15 minutes, Chi Hou was getting exasperated. At the rate Fang Zhengzhi was going, the entire courtyard was going to turn into andfill.

    Within a heartbeat, Chi Hou¡¯s footsteps increased.

    He was incredibly quick. No matter how Fang Zhengzhi tried to weave and dodge, Chi Hou was within striking range in moments. He grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi with both hands.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled wryly.

    Seeing the grin, Chi Hou had an ominous feeling. Fang Zhengzhi looked like a hunter after his prey had fallen for the trap.

    However, he had absolutely no idea how Fang Zhengzhi nned on breaking his defences.

    If he couldn¡¯t break the defences, what use was trickery?

    Just as he thought about it, Chi Hou saw a radiant ray of light. That ray of light was like an incredibly sharp needle piercing his eye.

    "What the hell is that?!"

    Chi Hou retreated unconsciously, the light surrounding his body shining at maximum brightness.

    However, he was already blinded by the ray of light. His light shield could block all sorts of foreign matter, including poisonous gas.

    However...

    It could not block light, and it definitely could not block the ray of light that he was just exposed to.

    The world around him suddenly became snow white. There was nothing around him, almost as if he entered an empty space. This greatly unsettled Chi Hou.

    "B*stard, aren¡¯t you afraid that I will kill your family for this deceit? Won¡¯t you be blinded by this?" Just as Chi Hou thought about this, he heard the servants around him scream simultaneously.

    "Ah, my eyes!"

    "Oh oh, I can¡¯t see..."

    "What is this?"

    Their screams echoed out. Just like Chi Hou, they were all consumed by this light, blinded by its radiance.

    Chi Hou could not see, but he was not flustered. Experience told him thatposure was required in times of emergency. As such, the moment he lost his sight, he chose to increase his defenses.

    The intensity of light around his body increased.

    He was quite interested to know what methods Fang Zhengzhi would use to attack him after blinding him.

    However, Chi Hou was disappointed. The light around him decreased and he slowly began to regain his vision. However, throughout this time, Fang Zhengzhi did not attack.

    It was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi ran away.

    "He was just trying to escape?" Chi Hou was increasingly puzzled. The Divine Constabry isn¡¯t big, where could he have gone to?

    After going through so much to numb Chi Hou and blind him, why not take the chance to attack?

    At the very least, he would have gone down fighting?

    Humans are curious by nature. As such, Chi Hou really wanted to find out where Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared to. His eyes widened as he slowly regained his vision.

    Until...

    He saw a faint glow. It was a faint blue dot.

    This light stood out in the sea of white. Then, the glow became brighter and harder. When Chi Hou finally saw it clearly, he realized that it was like a sapphire. However, there were countless rays of light circling it.

    Swirling, swirling, swirling...

    "The Hypnotic Eye!" Chi Hou shuddered. He finally realized what he was looking at. It was one of the treasures of the Divine Constabry.

    In fact, he had brought it into the Heavenly Treasure Hall himself.

    However, at that time, he did not think much of this. In order for it to take effect, it required a very strict condition.

    The enemy must look at it for more than three seconds for it to take effect.

    It did not seem difficult, but which enemy would look at the Hypnotic Eye for more than three seconds in a real battle? The potential for use was too low. As such, Chi Hou threw it into a corner of the hall.

    After so many years, he had almost forgotten its existence.

    But now...

    The Hypnotic Eye was right in front of his eyes. That meant Fang Zhengzhi had managed to find it in the recesses of the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    More importantly...

    He had stared at it for more than five seconds.

    These thoughts flew through Chi Hou¡¯s mind, but his eyelids were incredibly heavy. His light may be able to block all forms of attack, however, it could not defend against the hypnotism of the Hypnotic Eye.

    "I have failed miserably in such an easy task! What was that ray of light?" Chi Hou sighed as his eyes closed and he fell to the ground.

    "Bang!" With a loud thud, Chi Hou fell to the ground.

    All of the servants stared wide eyed as their master slumped.

    The fall was so crisp, almost as if he had fallen asleep instantaneously. His head cocked to one side and he crumpled.

    It was so fast... Chi Hou did not even manage to protect his own face.

    He fell to the ground face first. Even though he looked quite pathetic, at the very least, he was in a deep sleep. I wonder if his face would hurt after he wakes up?

 Chapter 153: Battle

    Chapter 153: Battle

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Anything that could be called a treasure must possess certain extraordinary abilities. If the treasure failed to benefit you, it could only mean that the treasure was not meant for you.

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi muttered to himself.

    Yan Xiu did not really understand it initially. He had thought that treasures were only differentiated by their power, why would anyone think of suitability?

    In actual fact, he did not really approve of it when Fang Zhengzhi hugged and kissed the Hypnotic Eye. Fang Zhengzhi was also screaming that his Enchanting Incense could be retired.

    What was the Enchanting Incense?

    It was just a very ordinary tool. Just because a treasure could rece it spoke little of its value.

    Yan Xiu felt that the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Treasure Hall was extremely precious and one could only bring out one piece of treasure. He felt that Fang Zhengzhi should have taken a powerful manual to study, or a legendary armor. At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi could have chosen a weapon.

    Hypnotism?

    In a duel, only a fool would stare at the item on your hand for a few seconds.

    On the battlefield, it would be a bloodbath and no one would be staring at what was in your hand.

    A nce was possible.

    But it would be miraculous if anyone stared at it for three seconds or more.

    However, now, Yan Xiu was doubting his own judgement. The incredibly experienced and powerful Chi Houy on the ground.

    That was an undeniable fact.

    Chi Hou had stared at the Hypnotic Eye for more than three seconds...

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was keeping the Hypnotic Eye. Perhaps it may be of some use?

    What he did not know was that this Hypnotic Eye would be termed as one of the 10 legendary treasures. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s innovativeness would fully exploit its power. This showed the world how powerful this thing was.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept the Hypnotic Eye cautiously. Then, he nced at Chi Hou and the surrounding servants, who were all in shock.

    "The floor is very cold!" Fang Zhengzhi reminded.

    "Hmm?"

    "Are you all really going to stand there and watch your master sleep on the ground? I really don¡¯t mind it!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand in exasperation.

    "Oh gosh!" The servants all screamed. Then, they rushed over to pick Chi Hou up and ce him on a chair.

    "Master has fallen, call for help!"

    "What are you talking about? Master is just asleep. Maybe he¡¯s too tired!" Just as the servants were all screaming, Housekeeper Wen finally showed up.

    He looked at the snoring Chi Hou on the chair and then turned to look at the innocent looking Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was incredibly shocked and terrified.

    Regardless of how Fang Zhengzhi did it, he had knocked Chi Hou down. This fact alone would have his name reverberate throughout the entire empire, even shocking the demons.

    It was a pity this would never be made known to the public.

    "Young Master Fang, missus told me to invite you over to her ce once you exit the Heavenly Treasure Hall. She should be ying her instrument in the pavillion, please follow me!" Housekeeper Wen bowed politely.

    "I¡¯m busy, ask her toe look for me if she needs to find me!" Fang Zhengzhi rejected the invite without hesitation

    "..."

    Housekeeper Wen was stunned for a moment. In the entire North, much less the Divine Constabry, no one dared to order the missus around.

    Just as he was about to retort, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xi were already walking away.

    Housekeeper Wen felt a chill down his back, Is he really leaving? Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi halted suddenly and turned around.

    Housekeeper Wen smiled.

    "Did Master Fang have a change of heart?"

    "What change of heart?" Fang Zhengzhi looked on in confusion. Then, he pointed at the "secret weapons" scattered all over the floor. "I would like to request that thedies help clear up the mess on the floor and return the things to my room. Thank you!"

    Then, he turned and left, leaving Housekeeper Wen and the servants standing in the wind, staring wide eyed at his silhouette...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that Chi Guyan was unlikely to put her standing aside ande look for him. After all, Chi Guyan¡¯s life story was rather unique.

    She was born with a silver spoon, started cultivating at the age of four, solved the Illustration of All Creation at five, entered the Star Conglomerate State at eight, and became the leader in two of the boards at thirteen.

    All of these pointed to the fact that she was an incredible talent.

    If someone like that was not even a tad arrogant and spoke to the people around her humbly, one would even use her of being hypocritical.

    But, Chi Guyan came.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was sunbathing in the courtyard, a figure dressed in pink showed up. Her aura was intimidating, and sent chills down the spines of others.

    "I heard that you defeated my Lord Father?" Chi Guyan walked over and sat down opposite Fang Zhengzhi, her posture refined.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that there was a servant who followed Chi Guyan around all the time. Her name was Yue Er. Her absence meant that Chi Guyan had a motive for finding him.

    "A small matter that is not worth talking about." Fang Zhengzhi was not one to pass on a beauty and he leaned in to admire Chi Guyan¡¯s beauty.

    However, he quickly readjusted his posture. Afterall, Chi Guyan was so refined and he had to ensure that he wasn¡¯t too shabby.

    "I never thought that you would be able to hypnotise the Lord Father with the Hypnotic Eye. I am impressed."

    "You¡¯re praising me?"

    "Yes, it is apliment."

    "I¡¯m sure that your purpose ining is not just topliment me?" Fang Zhengzhi picked up a snack with his fingers and gobbled it.

    "Of course, I came to tell you that King Duan has already left the Divine Constabry and is making a mad rush for Yan Capital!" Chi Guyan also picked up a snack, but nibbled on it.

    Her actions were incredibly slow, gentle, and refined whenpared with those of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    "Who is King Duan?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    Then, he picked up the te of snacks and ced it on his side of the table.

    "He is themander of the armies of the empire. Furthermore, he is themander of the guards of the capital, and is on par in status with the heir to the throne." Chi Guyan raised her hand and a snack flew right into her open palm.

    "What has that got to do with me?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned and shifted the snacks towards him even more.

    "If my guess is right, he is returning to the capital in an attempt to be the Chief Examiner for the Imperial Examinations."

    Chi Guyan no longer sucked up the snacks with her palm. Instead, she gently stood up and walked next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She extended her hand and grabbed a snack.

    Fang Zhengzhi winced as he saw Chi Guyan ce yet another snack in her mouth. He no longer shifted the snacks around. Instead, he lifted up the entire te and swallowed all the snacks.

    "I still don¡¯t think it has anything to do with me." After licking the te, Fang Zhengzhi finally heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he offered the empty te to Chi Guyan.

    "Incredibly shameless!"

    Chi Guyan chided as she frowned. Her starry eyes nced over the areas where the snacks were before. Her fingers moved slightly and a few shes of lightter, the areas licked by Fang Zhengzhi were instantly shed.

    As for the clean areas, they morphed into flower shaped snacks.

 Chapter 154: Eyes on the Capital

    Chapter 154: Eyes on the Capital

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Then, Chi Guyan picked up a flower shaped snack. Her luscious pink lips parted and the flower shaped snack disappeared as her tongue deftly nicked it into her mouth.

    One had to admit that Chi Guyan¡¯s actions were incredibly beautiful.

    "I only came here to tell you this. You¡¯ll have to decide for yourself if it has anything to do with you." Chi Guyan blinked as she swallowed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly angered, What a pitiful snack. Even after all that I¡¯ve done, you still managed tond in Chi Guyan¡¯s palm.

    Then, he raged.

    He lifted up the entire te of snacks and poured everything into his mouth as Chi Guyan looked on, wide eyed.

    "Oh... then thanks for telling me this!" Fang Zhengzhi chewed as he spoke, his voice barely audible.

    "You¡¯re bing increasingly shameless!" Chi Guyan eximed as she gave up the notion of snatching the snacks from his mouth.

    "Thanks for thepliment."

    "You think that I¡¯m praising you?"

    "Of course."

    "Okay then... since you¡¯re so shameless, do you dare to gamble with me?" Chi Guyan snickered as she challenged Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was almost as if a goddess revealed her mischievous side. It was incredibly alluring.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never seen this side of Chi Guyan. Maybe the almighty Chi Guyan has a side of her that I don¡¯t know?

    Either way, she was in no way rted to him.

    "I have nothing to fear, but, you must first tell me what the wager is!" Fang Zhengzhi was not dumb. One needed to know everything about the wager before they epted a wager with Chi Guyan.

    "I will get someone to bring over 10 boxes of snacks. If you can finish them all, I lose. Else, you lose. What do you think?" Chi Guyan challenges as she looked at the empty te.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. 10 boxes of snacks are not difficult to finish. What is Chi Guyan thinking?

    "And the odds?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan.

    "I heard from Housekeeper Wen that you have quite a few secret weapons. It must be a hassle carrying the all. I have something that can resolve that problem!" Chi Guyan said as she produced a silver, mirrorlike item.

    It was incredibly bright and it was attached to a soft leather strap.

    "Heart Protection Mirror?" Fang Zhengzhi knee that even though it looked like a belt, it was widely used as it could protect the heart extremely well.

    "Mm, Heart Protection Mirror. But, it is different from an ordinary Heart Protection Mirror. It can store things." Chi Guyan nodded and ced the Heart Protection Mirror in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "It can store things? Is this a legendary storage item?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback. He never expected Chi Guyan to wager this much.

    She was actually willing to bet a piece of treasure.

    Storage treasures were incredibly rare. Only the richest people could afford them, yet, Chi Guyan was willing to use it on a wager?

    Ten boxes of snacks...

    Could she have poisoned them?

    "Don¡¯t regret it!" Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not really believe it, he still grabbed the Heart Protection Mirror. He was not going to give Chi Guyan a chance to regret.

    "Of course I won¡¯t regret it. However, if you lose, you will have to stay in the Divine Constabry for a month. During this time, you must serve me every day and listen to my every order..." Chi Guyan rattled on.

    "That much huh?"

    "Do you dare?"

    "You have to let me see the portion sizes first. If you bring 10 water tank sized boxes, I definitely can¡¯t finish it!" Fang Zhengzhi was cautious despite his excitement.

    "Ok!" Chi Guyan nodded. Then, she looked in the direction of the entrance, "Yue Er, bring me 10 boxes of snacks."

    "Yes, missus!"

    Yue Er¡¯s crisp voice rang out, and it was closely followed by rapid footsteps.

    Before long, 10 boxes of snacks wereid out in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Each box was filled with a different kind of snack, but all of them were exquisite.

    Fang Zhengzhi examined each of the boxes. The portion sizes were notrge.

    Ten boxes...

    He could definitely finish them!

    What was the catch? Chi Guyan would not be so nice as to gift him a treasure.

    However, he had to admit that Chi Guyan knew how to hook Fang Zhengzhi. The prize was too attractive.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to pick up the Heart Protection Mirror and kiss it.

    "Okay, it¡¯s a deal!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was no way Chi Guyan could have poisoned the snacks. This Heart Protection Mirror was his.

    "Then eat up!" Chi Guyan pointed at the snacks.

    ...

    ...

    Chi Guyan walked out of the courtyard, leaving the Heart Protection Mirror behind.

    She was incredibly frustrated. It wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi cheated. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi finished all 10 boxes in her presence.

    But, why is he fine?

    That¡¯s impossible, I definitely put axative inside!

    Fang Zhengzhi waszing around in the courtyard. This wager was way too easy. Did she really think she could get me withxatives?

    Does she underestimate me that much?

    Fang Zhengzhi did finish the 10 boxes of snacks in Chi Guyan¡¯s presence. However, he didn¡¯t eat them. Those 10 boxes were sitting prettily inside the Heart Protection Mirror.

    The technique was not difficult.

    "Aish... she lost such a great piece of treasure so easily?" Fang Zhengzhi did not expect that anyone except for himself would do something like that.

    Losing a Heart Protection Mirror just to tempt someone into takingxatives?!

    Even the rich should not be this willful...

    ...

    "Missus, you already nned to gift him the Mirror, why did you putxatives inside then?" Yue Er followed behind Chi Guyan, still confused by what just happened.

    "That would be too easy! He must make some sacrifices to get it. He refused toe when I invited him, defeated my Lord Father, and even snatched snacks from me! I must punish him!" Chi Guyan¡¯s lips twitched, Maybe the medicine hasn¡¯t taken effect.

    "I see!"

    "Has Lu Yusheng left the Golden Scale City?" Chi Guyan¡¯s mind was off thexative. She looked at the sky, deep in thought.

    "After King Duan left, Lu Yusheng also said his goodbyes. He seemed to leave in a hurry. By now, he should be a few miles outside the city." Yue Er nodded.

    "Is General Li out?"

    "How does Missus know?"

    "My Father Lord... takes too much care of King Duan. However, the incident with Lu Yusheng is insufficient to affect the rtionship between the Divine Constabry and the Battle Constabry. I have a letter with me, have it sent to the Battle Constabry in the quickest possible time!" Chi Guyan sighed lightly and retrieved a letter.

    "Yes missus!" Yue Er received it promptly.

    "Get everything prepared, I want to go out."

    "Where does missus want to go?"

    "Yan Capital."

    "Missus wants to go to the capital?! Then... why don¡¯t you travel with young master Fang?"

    Chi Guyan did not reply. Instead, she raised her head and stared at the darkening skies. Her lips parted slightly and she murmured to herself.

    "For this edition of the Imperial Exams, the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s "Xing Qing Sui" would probably participate. The one from the Su n... will also participate... the one from the Southern Pce... I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be difficult for King Duan to be the Chief Examiner of this edition."

    ...

    The next day, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu went to say goodbye to Chi Hou. They then set off for the capital.

    However, Chi Guyan and Yue Er did not appear. Fang Zhengzhi did not probe and Chi Hou did not say anymore than ¡¯Take care.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi suggested borrowing two of the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions...

    Chi Hou immediately red up.

    His demeanor as the Iron Blood Army Marquis immediately showed.

    "I won¡¯t lend them to you!"

    "You¡¯re indeed the foundation of the Five Northern Constabries. I am sorry for thinking that you were petty. Since you think that giving them to us is more appropriate, Yan Xiu and I thank you sincerely!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and replied.

    "Thank you sir!" Yan Xiu bowed in sync.

    "..."

    ...

    With the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, they were elevated to the Divine Constabry¡¯s Red Pinion Squad status. No one dared to stop them en route to the Golden Scale City.

    Ever since he saw these beasts when he was six, he had been dreaming of them for many years. Now that he had one, he galloped excitedly out of the city.

    "There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you!" Fang Zhengzhi finally remembered the conversation he had with Chi Guyan.

    Even though Chi Guyan did not say anything explicitly, Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was something amiss and he wanted to rify it with Yan Xiu.

    "What is it?"

    "Yesterday, Chi Guyan came over to tell me that King Duan had left the city on a mad rush to the capital. She said that he is looking to be the Chief Examiner of the examination, what do you think?"

    "King Duan came to the Northern Divine Constabry? Rushed back to the cap... to be the Chief Examiner of the imperial examination!" Yan Xiu murmured to himself. Then, his expression changed, "If King Duan is the Chief Examiner of this edition of the Imperial Examination, there may be trouble!"

    "Why so?" Fang Zhengzhi did not understand.

    "Even though I can¡¯t figure out why King Duan did not show himself in the Divine Constabry, Chi Guyan¡¯s must have a reason for her actions. Furthermore, King Duan admires Chi Guyan. He frequently deals with the military affairs but never in political affairs. As such, his wanting to be the Chief Examiner of the examination must have something to do with you!"

    "You¡¯re saying that King Duan will try to make me fail?"

    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that simple. If King Duan really is the Chief Examiner of this edition of the Imperial Examination, I think... you should withdraw!"

    "Withdraw?" Fang Zhengzhi understood Yan Xiu¡¯s intentions. If King Duan wanted to stop him from passing, then failure was the only oue for him.

    Furthermore...

    His life may even be in danger.

 Chapter 155: Out of ones element

    Chapter 155: Out of one¡¯s element

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi did think of giving up. However, upon thinking about Qin Xuelian¡¯s and the vigers¡¯ looks of anticipation when he left, he could not bring himself to return without some achievement.

    Furthermore, would he be able to escape even if he withdrew?

    Since we only live once, Fang Zhengzhi decided not to give up. That being said, he had no intention of butting his head against a brick wall.

    "Why do you think King Duan wants me to fail?" Fang Zhengzhi did not really understand. He had no feud with King Duan. He had not even met King Duan.

    "I think it has something to do with Chi Guyan." Yan Xiu answered.

    "Jealousy?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that this was quite the farfetched reason.

    "Possibly, but more importantly, it should have something to do with the Divine Message. You must have heard about it!"

    "Mm, the the Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world? However, isn¡¯t this referring to Chi Guyan?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    "Yes, King Duan thinks it¡¯s Chi Guyan, and so does the Crown Prince. Even the Sages have said that it is Chi Guyan, but what if you defear her?"

    "Defeat Chi Guyan? Haha... I doubt that it¡¯s possible?" Even though Fang Zhengzhi had said he would at the banquet, it was just a ploy to gain some support. He did not actually think that he could defeat Chi Guyan.

    "Yes, everybody thinks that it is impossible. However, you¡¯re in the Heavenly Reflection State now. Other than Chi Guyan, you¡¯re only the second person to attain this state before 15 years old! What would the others think?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even though Yan Xiu was not particrly interested in politics, his background gave him a good understanding of it.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand, "You think that I shouldn¡¯t have broken through?"

    "You should have only broken through after the Imperial Examination. Once you pass it, you would have the right to enter politics. When you¡¯re finally appointed as an official, more eyes would be on you." Yan Xiu exined.

    "So, what you¡¯re saying is, they don¡¯t want me to be an official?" Fang Zhengzhi understood what Yan Xiu was getting at. If he was just a peasant, his death would not cause that much of amotion. However, if he was an official, there would be investigations into his death.

    In the ancient world he knew, the murder of an official could escte all the way to the pce.

    "Yes, I think that King Duan doesn¡¯t want you to be an official!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    "I understand now. So what you¡¯re saying is, if I want to live, I need to pass the Imperial Exam and be and official? And this will make them hesitate?"

    "Exactly!"

    "I¡¯ve really stirred up a ho¡¯s nest!" Fang Zhengzhi finally realized the gravity of his actions and words.

    If he had just waited to fail in the challenge two years down the road, he may not be in this much trouble. However, his breakthrough into the Heavenly Reflection Realm meant that he was now in the eye of the storm.

    No matter how much he tried to avoid it, trouble wille looking for him. Since that¡¯s the case, he had no other choice. He had to fight to the end!

    "You just said that King Duan deals with the military affairs, so, who deals with the politics?" Fang Zhengzhi had to know his opponent if he was to fight to the end.

    "Other than the sages, the Crown Prince is the main leader." Yan Xiu answered.

    "The Crown Prince? King Duan..." Fang Zhengzhi had seen cases of power struggles before, but he never expected to be in the middle of one.

    Sadly, this was not a repeat of the history he knew. If he knew who woulde up on top, he would just pledge allegiance to that camp.

    But now, he had no idea...

    How was he going to y this game?

    Since he did not know, his best shot was to remain neutral.

    Fang Zhengzhi had some ideas on how he was going to achieve this. A power struggle was always incredibly vicious. If he took sides too early, he would not be able to extract himself from the furball.

    Remaining neutral was the best strategy he could adopt.

    "If the Crown Prince is the Chief Examiner of the examination, would it be better for me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked after some thought.

    "At least it¡¯ll be better than King Duan." Yan Xiu answered.

    "Then, what can I do to make the Crown Prince challenge the hosting rights for the exam?" Fang Zhengzhi did not really understand the inner workings of the pce.

    "If the Crown Prince heard about your breakthrough, then I think the Crown Prince will be able to guess why King Duan wants to be the Chief Examiner of the examination. He should try to interfere. However, King Duan left the Golden Scale City a day earlier. Based on his speed, we can never catch up to him. Even if we do catch up, it would be impossible for us to get news to the Crown Prince fast enough." Yan Xiu said listlessly.

    "If our aim is just for the Crown Prince to know I¡¯ve broken through to the Heavenly Reflection Realm, then it¡¯s not difficult at all!" Fang Zhengzhi thought of someone immediately.

    "You have an idea?"

    "Mm!"

    "What idea?"

    "Advertisement, announcements, everywhere! As long as I can find this person, I believe that she would be able to spread the news to all corners of the kingdom in the quickest possible time!"

    "You want the entire kingdom to know about your breakthrough?"

    "Yes, since they will find out sooner orter, we should announce it and use it to our advantage."

    "What do you mean?"

    "We already know King Duan¡¯s intentions. I¡¯m not sure about the Crown Prince and one other person!"

    "Who¡¯s intentions?"

    "The Sage¡¯s!"

    "The Sage¡¯s intentions?!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu quickly arrived at a small city near the Golden Scale City. Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu quickly arrived at a town nearby the Golden Scale City. Because they were riding the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, the guards at the gate were incredibly respectful.

    The moment they entered the city, they saw Su Jiu, dressed like a boy servant, waiting for them.

    "Greetings, young master Fang!" Su Jiu smiled radiantly upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Su Jiu? Aren¡¯t you at the River of Trust Province? Why are you here?" Fang Zhengzhi was just about to go look up Wu Yuer. Meeting Su Jiu at the gates was too suspicious.

    "We know that you have attained the Heavenly Reflection State, as such, I was sent here to congratte you." Su Jiu replied promptly, already expecting Fang Zhengzhi to ask that question.

    "You¡¯ve been here the whole time?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly emotional.

    He had just attained the Heavenly Reflection State the day before. Furthermore, he was in the Divine Constabry when it happened. Yet, Wu Yuer was still able to know that he had broken through and even arranged for Su Jiu to wait at the gates.

    That could only mean one of two things. First, she had arranged for Su Jiu to wait nearby the Golden Scale City. Second, her sources extended to the Divine Constabry.

    "Before yesterday, I was at the Golden Scale City. Once master knew that you attained the Heavenly Reflection State, she had me leave the Golden Scale City and wait for you here. I just arrived." Su Jiu shook his head.

    "I see, I have something to tell Wu Yuer, is she here?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "She is already rushing to the capital. If you have anything to say, you can just tell me!" Su Jiu replied respectfully.

    "Wu Yuer is going to the capital?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He did not know why Wu Yuer was going to the capital, but he did not question further, "I want you to tell everyone that I have attained the Heavenly Reflection State!"

    "Master, how far do you want the news to go?"

    "The capital!"

    "That will take at least three days!"

    "Mm, three days is not a problem, but I have a request."

    "Please go ahead."

    "I want this news to reach the ears of as many people as possible."

    "I understand, please rest assured." Su Jiu pounded his chest in assurance.

    "What about the silver that Wu Yuer gave me to congratte me?"

    "Isn¡¯t master going to give it to me?" Su Jiu looked on in anticipation.

    "What do you think?"

    "Haha... I¡¯m just kidding. Master has prepared a thousand ounces of silver, please ept it!" Su Jiu smiled.

    "A thousand ounces? I will reward you with a hundred ounces then!" Fang Zhengzhi rudely took the silver from Su Jiu and kept it in the Heart Protection Mirror.

    Then, he retrieved a cheque for a hundred ounces of silver and threw it out.

    "Thank you for the reward!"

    ...

    At dusk two monthster, the sun was slowly setting. It cast a golden crimson light on the high wall of the capital.

    The capital looked like a ferocious beast crouching on the ground, its aura intimidating.

    Even though it was close to night time, the roads leading to the capital were still packed with people. As the capital of the empire, it was incredibly prosperous.

    The rivers inside flowed quickly and crisply.

    The guards patrolled the walls, each one with a spear in one hand and dressed in bright armor. They were all incredibly solemn.

    This was the core of the empire.

    It was magnificent and sacred.

    However, no matter how magnificent and sacred the ce, there will still be people who don¡¯t belong. For example, there was a youth dressed in a blue long sleeved shirt entering the city, his sleeves fluttering in the breeze.

    This would have been decent.

    However...

    The youth¡¯s expression waszy. He was slouched on his stallion. If not for the fact that he was riding the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, most people would suspect that he would fall off his ride.

    Next to the blue sleeved youth was an impably dressed youth. He was much more solemn, in fact, a little too solemn.

    He was so solemn he looked a little icy.

    No one would have expected these two men to be a team. But the fact was that they were riding together at the same speed.

 Chapter 156: Trials and Tribulations in the Capital

    Chapter 156: Trials and Tribtions in the Capital

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not rush to the capitol. If he had galloped the entire way, the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions would have only required a month to get here.

    But, he was not in a hurry.

    For one, he wanted to prepare well for the Imperial examination. Secondly, he wanted to see what everyone was saying about him breaking through to the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Fang Zhengzhi had travelled to the capitol from the Northern Desert. Along the way, in the various teahouses in the cities and towns, he had heard the storytellers weave a tale about his breakthrough although each edition was slightly different. The kids ying on the streets had alsoposed poems and songs about his breakthrough.

    The gist of it was that Fang Zhengzhi came from a poor mountain vige, but managed to top both the County and Capital Examinations. He even managed to attain the Heavenly Reflection State at 15.

    All in all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reputation was much better than it was when he had participated in the River of Trust Province Examination. He was now a role model for kids everywhere.

    He was particrly popr amongst the younger generations.

    Kids in the streets frequently wore blue long sleeved shirts and held wooden swords as they announced Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival.

    The first time Fang Zhengzhi heard it, he was shocked. Those kids were incredibly haggard, but yet, they got the job done.

    He had to admire Su Jiu¡¯s methods.

    Teahouses...

    And kid¡¯s songs. These were really the fastest ways for news to travel.

    He made many stops along the way, reading up and enjoying the scenery. Every time he saw a ce he liked, he would stop for a rest to read his books and taste the tea.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t particrlyzy.

    However, he had a feeling that he should enjoy this lifestyle while itsted. Once he reached the capitol, he probably had to fight for his life.

    Even so, the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions got him to the capitol in two months, faster than Fang Zhengzhi had expected.

    "We¡¯re finally here..." He raised his head and stared at the words "Yan Capital". Fang Zhengzhi shifted into a morefortable position and nodded as he approached the gates.

    "I think that most of the hostels here are full, why don¡¯t you stay with me?" Yan Xiu was keenly aware of the crowd during the Imperial Examination period.

    This was something that happened every other year. Not only were people rushing here for the exam, there were peopleing as spectators, and there were officials who came to relive their experiences from back in the day.

    "Stay with you? I expect quite a bit of trouble whilst we are here, can you handle it?" Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu was just using a cover reason to mask his worry for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I¡¯ll try." Yan Xiu replied calmly.

    "Okay, let¡¯s do it then." Fang Zhengzhi did not reject the offer. They were friends, and pleasantries were unnecessary.

    ...

    The two of them passed through the city gates. Upon seeing the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions, the guards at the gate were stunned for a moment, their eyes glimmering.

    The Snow Treading Dragon Stallions were the mark of the Northern Desert Divine Constabry.

    News that Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were riding the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions had spread very quickly. Seeing the two men outfit riding towards the gate, two names shed in the minds of the guards.

    "Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu are in the capitol!"

    The moment they came to that realization, one of the guards rushed towards the city centre hurriedly, probably to deliver a message.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu looked on calmly. They had seen this happen too many times along the way and thought nothing of it

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    "Mm."

    ...

    The Fragrance Restaurant is the oldest teahouse in the capitol. It is said that it was founded centuries ago, and has always been a melting pot of ideas and conversations.

    Then, the people would write poems on the walls. There were love poems, poems describing scenery, but most spoke of revenge and armies.

    The ancient writings on the walls of the teahouse attracted many tourists.

    With business flourishing, the teahouse managed to blossom. Even the teacups had a natural tea aroma as a result of the number of cups of tea they had held.

    There was also an exquisitely designed space inside the teahouse.

    There were many rich people in Yan Capital, however, there were no more than 20 people in the entire city who could make the owner open up the space for them.

    Now, there were three people in the room.

    Two females and one male.

    It quickly became one male and one female. After the waitress made and served the tea, she respectfully took her leave.

    The faint aroma of the tea wafted into the air. The scent was incredibly refined and soothing.

    "Ninth brother, I am unwell!" Thedy eximed in a coquettish voice. Her voice was crisp and did not really fit with the environment.

    Her makeup was also incredibly unique. Her hair was bound by a red hairband. She wore a purplish red cloak and rose gold high heels. Her eyes were as clear as water.

    She exuded an aura of ss.

    If not for her dainty, small mouth, and her shaking slender legs, the aura might be a lot stronger.

    The youth sitting opposite her was much more refined and well mannered. He wore white and had a flower pinned on his top. His face was white, but a little too pale, making him seem slightly weak.

    The youth sighed as he stared at the girl.

    "Where are you feeling unwell?"

    "My heart!"

    "If it¡¯s your heart, then I can¡¯t do anything about it. After all, heart problems can only be cured by heart medicine!" The youth replied calmly. He was all too used to the girl¡¯s antics.

    "But you have the medicine?" The girl pressed.

    "Aish... I can give you whatever you want, but I can¡¯t give you the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion!" The youth quickly saw through the ruse of the girl.

    "I see... how about we have a wager?" The girl took her legs off the table, her eyes filled with anticipation.

    "No one here would be willing to wager with you." The youth shook his head.

    "But you¡¯re different from them. You pamper me so much. Ever since I was a little kid, you have been extremely good to me. You¡¯re almost like my brother..."

    "Okay okay, tell me how the wager will go." The youth interrupted in exasperation.

    "Do you know Fang Zhengzhi?" Once the youth agreed, the girl¡¯s eyes brightened and she rushed to his side, her eyes blinking.

    "Mm, the entire empire is buzzing over the news that he has attained the Heavenly Reflection State, how can I not know him?" The youth unconsciously leaned backwards. Then, he picked up the ss in front of him, sniffed it lightly, then took a sip.

    "Tell me what is your opinion of him."

    "I don¡¯t have much of an opinion. However, he must be quite smart for Chi Guyan to openly dere a possibility of marriage in front of the Five Constabries. From an ability point of view, he topped both the examinations he has participated in. He also achieved Heavenly Reflection at 15. These points alone make him quite extraordinary." The youth took another sip.

    "Can you not talk about the engagement between her and sister Yan?" The girl pouted.

    "Okay, I won¡¯t talk about it." The youth said in exasperation.

    "Mm, you¡¯re the best to me! Since you think that Fang Zhengzhi is quite extraordinary, let¡¯s use him as the center of our wager?" The girl beamed.

    "Use Fang Zhengzhi? How?" The youth asked.

    "I think that once he has met me, he will willingly help me feed and take care of my ride. He will be my servant!" The girl blinked confidently.

    "Servant? I don¡¯t think so. I heard that he had challenged bing an inw of the Divine Constabry. Even though hees from a poor family, I think that he is quite the principled man. He will not be easily tempted by riches.

    "Since you don¡¯t believe it¡¯s possible, do you ept the wager?"

    "Sure, but if you lose, I don¡¯t ask for anything in return. Just stop having ideas about my Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, okay?" The youth nodded after a moment of silence.

    "Sure!" The girl leapt in joy, "You better keep to your word. I have news that Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu arrived in the city some time ago, I will go find him now, hahaha..."

    Just as she was about to leave the elegant space, she turned back to look at the youth.

    "Actually, I am killing two birds with one stone here, aren¡¯t I smart?" Then, she turned to leave before the youth could respond.

    The youth looked at the disappearing silhouette of thedy and looked on pamperedly. However, he quickly shook his head and turned to watch the darkening sky, his expression increasingly worried.

    "There¡¯s always something to worry about!"

    ...

 Chapter 157: Well Done

    Chapter 157: Well Done

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi was in the capitol. As such, he was quite curious and decided to go take a stroll, trying out the local delicacies along the way.

    He did not call Yan Xiu along. He knew that Yan Xiu had already visited these ces before and preferred the serenity of home.

    He casually strolled out the front door, humming a tune as he walked.

    The capitol was bustling with activity. There was something that captured his attention every few steps. There were baskers, delicacies, poets, painters...

    Fang Zhengzhi loved to look at the scenery too.

    After all, good things are meant to be shared. Good scenery makes one incredibly happy. Looking at it every now and then made life a lot easier.

    "I searched for her in chaos a million times, yet, when I turned around, she was standing there in the dim light!"

    Many a times, people thought of ¡®her¡¯ as various types of items, beauties, flowers, top grade tea, etc...

    For Fang Zhengzhi, ¡®she¡¯ was money and treasure. Even though he was not greedy, who would everin about earning more money?

    Right now...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he had found ¡®her¡¯.

    In front of him was a youngdy. She was smiling rather proudly, her purplish red cloak making her stand out amongst the crowd.

    She was like an elf in fire.

    Her clear blue eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, this was not the point. An ingot appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm. It was about the size of his fist and represented at least a hundred ounces.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was incredibly lucky. He was being paid to walk around. He wasn¡¯t even given a chance to refuse!

    What is this girl trying to do? Fang Zhengzhi was slightly suspicious.

    "Bring my horse back to the stable and feed it, do you understand?" The young girl threw the reins to Fang Zhengzhi, then walked to the residence at the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. Is this girl treating me as her servant?

    Do I look like a servant?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think of himself as a servant. However, if he listened to this girl and took the horse to the stable, he would be able to earn a hundred ounces of gold easily.

    All he had to do was go to the residence and say he was the subordinate of the girl and it would all be done.

    A hundred ounces of gold just to bring a horse to a stable. What a steal!

    But...

    The question remained, should he set aside his ego for a hundred ounces of gold?

    There was no way he was going to return the hundred ounces of gold. He would rather lose his life than give those gold back.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell on the reins in his hand.

    Then, he looked at the jade white top grade horse. Even though he didn¡¯t know what breed it was, it looked incredibly powerful, possibly even better than the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion.

    This girl...

    Seems to be quite rich?!

    Fang Zhengzhi virtually confirmed that the girl must be from a wealthy family. She was just quite the spoilt child.

    "Okay then, since you¡¯ve been so pampered, I shan¡¯t give you any chances!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and tightened his grip. Then, with his other hand, he stroked the Snow White neck of the horse in front of him.

    The girl happened to turn around. Seeing this scene, her eyes glimmered and her smile widened.

    "What a ssic viger, easily tempted by money. I bet you didn¡¯t know that that¡¯s the quality I¡¯m targeting, humph!" The young girl scoffed as she walked back to the residence.

    One must act out the scene to perfection!

    In the residence, a youth was staring wide eyed out the window of his room, his expression pained. He could not believe what he was seeing

    "That¡¯s... quite a despicable method?" The youth felt that the girl¡¯s methods made it hard for him to believe this was a fair bet.

    But he had no other choice. After all, the terms were that Fang Zhengzhi would help her feed and lead her horse. Everything else was fair game.

    Even though her methods were questionable, no one could argue with the results.

    The youth suddenly remembered thest thing the girl had said to him, "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s very smart of me to kill two birds with one stone?"

    Two birds with one stone...

    I guess she did it. She got my Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion and her revenge.

    ...

    This seemed like the perfect n. A coincidental meet outside a hotel, a huge sum paid for a menial task.

    There was no risk, yet the rewards were enormous.

    Any normal person would not be able to resist the temptation.

    Fang Zhengzhi was no different, in fact, he had no intention to resist it.

    The girl had gotten him there.

    However, even the most perfect n is bound to have ws. The girl predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would keep the gold, and he did.

    But...

    She had underestimated Fang Zhengzhi, or maybe, overestimated him.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly ced the gold in his Heart Protection Mirror. Then, he smiled as he saw the girl enter the hotel.

    She did not turn back.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not turn back either. But, he did not head towards the hotel. Instead, he headed in apletely opposite direction, riding the girl¡¯s snow white stallion.

    "Since you¡¯re so rich, I will satisfy your willfulness!" Fang Zhengzhi hummed as he rode the stallion, kicking up clouds of dust along the way.

    The youth saw it all from the window of his room.

    His eyes widened considerably and his jaw dropped. He looked on in disbelief. As the brother of the girl, he felt like he should stop this.

    But he did not...

    In fact, he wanted to jump up and shout, "Well done!"

    ...

    After some time in the hotel, the girl finally came out. The time was about right, Fang Zhengzhi probably left after feeding the horses.

    He was indeed a hillbilly. How could someone like that be a match for sister Yan.

    The girl smiled as she waved the reins in the air.

    "Piak!" A crisp whip echoed through. Her smile became increasingly radiant. She thought she saw a ck stallion with a bolt of purple lightning on its head appear in front of her.

    "Purple Lightning, White Snow, what a match made in heaven!"

    Her crisp voice rung out. Her golden braids bounced in the wind as she skipped her way to the stables.

    She would never let her beloved stallion stay in such a run down stable.

    "I¡¯m sorry White Snow, once we¡¯re back, I will feed you your favorite golden grass! I will also find you a good man, hahaha..."

    The girl was incredibly excited as she bounded to the stable, her smile incredibly wide.

    However, her smile quickly froze. There were only three horses in the stable, and none of them were her White Snow.

    "Where is my White Snow?!"

    The girl looked on in confusion. She looked around at the enclosures, "Why is my White Snow gone? Who stole my White Snow!"

    .

    Just as she fumed, her gaze fell on the caregiver at the corner of the stable.

    She bounded lightly and arrived like a me in front of the stableman. Her purplish red cloak pped in the wind, revealing her intricately designed armor.

    "Tell me, where did my White Snow go?"

    "White Snow? What White Snow?!" The stableman was just feeding some of the other horses and was shocked by the question.

    "Snow Jade, my Snow Jade!"

    "Snow Jade?!" The stableman looked on in fear. He was keenly aware of what the Snow Jade was. There were less than five people in the entire city who were qualified to own such a fine stallion.

    Coupled with her dressing, there could only be one person!

    My god...

    The stableman¡¯s legs turned to jelly.

    "No, I swear to god, I did not see any Snow Jade. I did not even blink from when I came in the morning. I swear I did not see it!"

    The stableman fell to his knees. Tears streamed from his eyes. He was keenly aware that his head could roll with a singlemand from the girl.

    "No? Did a hillbilly not bring my Snow Jade here to feed it?" The girl asked in disbelief.

    "Just now?! No, I swear on my life!"

    "If you dare to lie to me, I will kill you now!"

    "I would not dare, I really would not dare! Even if I was the most courageous man on earth, I would not dare to lie to you!" The stableman raised his head and pleaded.

    "Let him go, he is telling the truth. Snow Jade was ridden away by Fang Zhengzhi." The youth finally appeared, slightly exasperated.

    "What?! That b*stard took my gold... and my Snow Jade Stallion?!" The girl could not wrap her mind around that fact. Her crystal blue eyes were filled with disbelief.

    In that instant, she remembered the snicker at the edge of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips. She had thought that he was smiling at the thought of easy money.

    But now...

    She knew that it was a smile of mockery, pure and unadulterated mockery!

 Chapter 158: Scapegoat

    Chapter 158: Scapegoat

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ever since she was a little kid, she had never been mocked this way. She could not ept it and swore revenge for the humiliation.

    "I want to kill him!" She raged. This was the first time she was driven to such fury.

    The youth looked at the girl and shook his head. He did not want to destroy her hopes, but he felt that he had to remind her of a bloody truth.

    "But you can¡¯t beat him, he¡¯s already in the Heavenly Reflection State!"

    "..." Her lips parted gently. This was the first time she had felt so helpless. "Yes, Fang Zhengzhi is in the Heavenly Reflection State. How did someone like him manage to breakthrough?!"

    "Shameless, disgrace. I will bite him to death if I have to!" The young girl clenched her fist tightly. Even if she could not take him on, she had other methods. For example, she could scratch, w, bite... anything that could inflict pain on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Bite?" The youth looked at the dainty lips of the girl and sighed, "I don¡¯t think you can bite him either!"

    "Ninth brother, why... why are you helping an outsider!" The young girl¡¯s eyes turned misty, tears threatening to fall at any moment.

    The youth could not stand seeing her cry. He may have been a little too harsh after all.

    "Okay, don¡¯t cry, let me make it up to you."

    "If you want to make it up to me, give me your Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion!"

    "Then forget it."

    "How about you lend it to me for a month?"

    "No."

    "Half a month? Seven days... three days, one day!!!"

    "I won¡¯t even lend it to you for two hours. Everyone knows your style. Once I lend it to you, I can forget about having it back." The youth smiled and left.

    The girl was left hopping, "Fang Zhengzhi, you caused me my Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. I will definitely take revenge for this! Hang on... my White Snow!"

    ...

    White Snow was still being ridden by Fang Zhengzhi. Even though it was slightly disobedient at the start, a few whips quickly solved that problem.

    White Snow cried as it was being ridden by Fang Zhengzhi.

    As the premier breed of horses, White Snow came from a superior bloodline and could sense the changes in the environment. As such, it had a special name, Traceless Snow Treader. It could maneuver through thick snow without leaving any tracks behind.

    Everyone who had own it before treasured it immensely. Who would dare humiliate it this way.

    The more humiliating thing was that this b*stard riding it was prepared to sell it away...

    "Hi, brother, do you know where the horse market is?" Fang Zhengzhi asked a youth who looked like a peddler.

    The youth waspletely taken aback as he looked at the Snow Jade Fang Zhengzhi was riding. This was the premier breed of horses!

    "East... there¡¯s a horse market in the East!" The youth did not know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity, but anyone who could ride a Snow Jade was not antangonizable.

    "Thank you!" Fang Zhengzhi threw out a bunch of coins as a reward.

    The youth was incredibly excited and grabbed the coins out of the air with both hands. Seeing that it was just a bunch of tattered copper... he was incredibly disappointed. Could he be any less stingy?

    ...

    The horse market in the east was bustling with activity. There were many sellers who flocked to this ce. After all, this was where all the money was.

    When Fang Zhengzhi arrived, there was a huge uproar.

    "Wow, it¡¯s a Snow Jade!"

    "It really is a Snow Jade, there¡¯s actually someone willing to sell a Snow Jade?!"

    When people found out that Fang Zhengzhi was thinking of selling the Snow Jade, all of the sellers were incredibly excited. This was something royalty loved.

    "Ten thousand ounces!"

    "Are you trying to take advantage of him? Young man, I¡¯ll give you 15 thousand!"

    "Get away, I will give you 30 thousand, and we can deal right now!"

    "50 thousand, I¡¯ll give you 50 thousand!"

    Before long, Fang Zhengzhi got rid of the Snow Jade. He sold it for 68,888 ounces, an incredibly prosperous amount.

    The one who walked away with Snow Jade was a young male with small eyes. Yet, he was impably dressed and clearly from a rich family.

    He gently stroked the Snow Jade and looked at the quickly disappearing silhouette of Fang Zhengzhi. He mocked, "This fe sold a Snow Jade for less than 70,000 ounces? How dumb! This time, I will show the Wangs what a true horse is! I now have a Snow Jade! He can no longer be as cocky when talking to me!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he did not get a fair price, but he did not mind. Money was king here.

    For doing absolutely nothing, he had managed to get over 60,000 ounces of silver and a hundred ounces of gold. He was incredibly happy and wanted to trat Yan Xiu to a meal.

    He hummed a song as he walked back to his hotel...

    ...

    A soldier stood next to the young girl.

    The soldier was petrified. He knew all too well that the young girl in front of him was consumed by rage and ice.

    "You¡¯re saying that Fang Zhengzhi sold my Snow Jade?!" The young girl never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would let go of it so soon.

    "Yes!" The soldier trembled.

    "How much silver did he sell it for?"

    "I think he sold it for 60,000+ ounces..."

    "He sold my Snow Jade for only 60,000 ounces of silver? That¡¯s preposterous!" The girl clenched her fist tightly, "Do you know who he sold it to?"

    "The second son of Han Zhengfeng, Han Tianzhen!"

    "Han Tianzhen? He is just the son of the Imperial Academy¡¯s Chief Imperial Messenger. How naive.... how dare he buy my Snow Jade! Come, let¡¯s go to the Han Residence to get my horse back! Oh, no... let¡¯s go catch the thief!"

    "Yes!"

    ...

    The Han residence was destined for bad luck this day. However, Han Tianzhen had not realized it just yet. He was extremely happy and was grooming his recently bought Snow Jade personally.

    "Build a special stable for my Snow Jade, she cannot live with these ordinary stock!"

    "Yes master!"

    "Hahaha..." Han Tianzhen smiled radiantly. He felt that he would finally be able to hold his head up high in the city. He will show those who doubted him what he was made of.

    However, Han Tianzhen¡¯s smile quickly froze.

    Because...

    Arge group of armored soldiers barged through. He was quite surprised. There were few people in the city who would dare to barge into the residence of the Imperial Academy¡¯s Chief Imperial Messenger.

    That was until he saw a young girl holding the reins to a horse.

    She looked like an elf. She had crystal clear eyes, but those who knew her were keenly aware that her eyes merely masked her devilish heart.

    And her Snow Jade had been taken away from her.

    Han Tianzhen did not deny that fact. However, he did not understand why he was still beaten 50 times despite the fact that he did not resist. Why was he beingbelled a horse thief?

    He had bought that horse...

    He had bought it using real silver.

    "This is a set up!" Han Tianzhen grabbed his butt as he was being dragged out of the Han Residence, his small eyes filled with pain as he stared into the sky.

    ...

    The young girl was also quite heartbroken. She had saw whip marks on the butt of her White Snow. White Snow had clearly been whipped.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will fight it out with you!"

    For someone who loved her horse almost as much as her life, whipping her horse was extremely infuriating. This waspounded by the fact that he had humiliated her before humiliating her horse.

    She was now filled with an uncontainable rage.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was not aware of the storm that he had kicked up in the city. He was now sittingfortably in the best restaurant in town.

    "Bring me all of your best dishes!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled at the waiter.

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with confusion. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was not a particrly generous person. When it came to food, he would never be this willing to spend.

    "What¡¯s the happy asion?"

    "Nope, nothing at all. I just made a small fortune." Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu was incredibly rich. As such, his 60,000 ounces of silver was just a small fortune.

    "How much?"

    "Not much, just 68,000 ounces of silver."

    .

    "Ah?!" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi. He wasn¡¯t too surprised by the amount, but he was stunned at how Fang Zhengzhi managed to earn that much in two hours.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anymore. He felt that this money was insignificant to Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu did not probe further either.

    As such, the two of them began to eat and drink happily.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s happiness was not echoed by King Duan, who was sitting in an army camp. His brows were furrowed deeply.

    "Is there no other option?" He looked at Elder Wen and his other advisors, his expression pained.

    He had never expected that news of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breakthrough would spread so quickly. News had reached the capital even before his people could.

    He knew that it would be meaningless to go to the Eastern Pce now.

    "This has been a matter that has been discussed for more than a month now. However, the sage has not made a decision. It would not be wise to continue the fight, you should aim for second!" Elder Wen shook his head.

    "Are you saying I should attempt to be the vice Examiner?" King Duan was visibly unhappy. He had already said that he would like to be the Chief Examiner of the examination. If he withdrew in favor of second ce now, it would be apletely different dynamic.

    "King Duan, I have a n!" One of his middle aged advisors chirped.

 Chapter 159: Challenge to to be the Chief Examiner

    Chapter 159: Challenge to to be the Chief Examiner

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mr Hua, please speak!" King Duan said impatiently.

    "the Crown Prince is favored by the sage to be the Chief Examiner of the examination because of Han Zhangfeng¡¯s support. Han Zhangfeng is the Imperial Academy¡¯s Chief Imperial Messenger. He has immense experience in invigting the imperial examination. As such, the sage will feel easy if someone he rmends is the Chief Examiner of the examination. Why not you try to do a little switcheroo!" Mr Hua¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    "Switcheroo? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s very possible. Han Zhangfeng is the Crown Prince¡¯s teacher since a young age. They are incredibly close and it would be virtually impossible toe between them."

    "It would be difficult toe between them. However, that is not your intention!" Mr Hua added.

    "What do you mean?"

    "I have researched Han Zhangfeng¡¯s invigting of the River of Trust Province Examinations. At that time, he had sent the Crown Prince various secret mails. Even though I don¡¯t know what the content of the letters was, but based on the events during the examination, Han Zhangfeng probably did not want Fang Zhengzhi to top the examination."

    "Why so?" King Duan was slightly confused.

    "Han Zhangfeng has been the Chief Imperial Messenger for many years. He is incredibly scheming and probably has seen the threat to the dynasty long before us. As the Crown Prince¡¯s teacher, he would want the dynasty to remain stable. If it is unstable, the Crown Prince would be unable to ascend the throne of the Eastern Pce!"

    "What do you mean?" King Duan¡¯s eyes brightened.

    "Han Zhangfeng would not allow too many variables to enter the courts. If Fang Zhengzhi was not so unpredictable, he would definitely value and use him, but..."

    "I understand now, you want me to work with Han Zhangfeng and prevent Fang Zhengzhi from participating in the examination?"

    "That is only half of it my lord!" Mr Hua shook his head.

    "Mr Hua, please educate us all!"

    "It would be parochial to just focus on the Imperial Examinations. My Lord, you should focus on the power struggle at hand. Han Zhangfeng is a valuable ally. If you can get him in your camp, then your path to the throne would be a lot easier. Even if you can¡¯t get him over, you can take the chance to..." Mr Hua ced his hand on his throat and made a dragging motion across it.

    "Mr Hua is extremely intelligent, killing two birds with one stone! However, Han Zhangfeng has always been extremely cautious. Even if he wants to prevent Fang Zhengzhi from participating, why would he ally himself with me?"

    "That¡¯s not difficult at all. I have just received a very important piece of news. Han Zhangfeng¡¯s second son has been thrown into the Heavenly Jail because of an incident with a horse..."

    "You¡¯re saying that Han Tianzhen has been thrown into the Heavenly Jail? Who has that audacity?"

    "It¡¯s Ping Yang..."

    "Ping Yang?! Why would Han Tianzhen antagonize her?"

    "Han Zhangfeng has always spent his time on tutoring the Crown Prince and the the affairs of the Imperial Academy. He has traditionally neglected his kids. Even though Han Tianzhen is without any skills, he has not caused much trouble. However, he loves to race. With Han Zhangfeng as principled as he is, where will Han Tianzhen find a decent stallion to race with? Naturally, he loses more than he wins. As such, he always goes to the horse market t try his luck. He finally caught a break and found a Snow Jade. He spent 68,888 ounces of silver, but that Snow Jade..."

    "Is Ping Yang¡¯s?" King Duan finally realized what was going on.

    "Mm, more coincidentally, the one who sold the horse to Tianzhen is Fang Zhengzhi! My lord, this is a golden opportunity for you. If you can save Han Tianzhen from the Heavenly Jail, Han Zhangfeng will have to thank you. Then, you can tell him about Fang Zhengzhi selling the horse to his son..."

    "There are such coincidences in this world? But Fang Zhengzhi just arrived here, how could he have Ping Yang¡¯s Snow Jade? That Snow Jade is her precious. Even I¡¯ve never ridden on it before."

    "I am not sure about that. I do not know how Fang Zhengzhi managed to get Snow Jade from Ping Yang. Furthermore, he went to sell it on the market. This is quite inexplicable."

    "Forget it, let¡¯s not care about this first, I am going to make a trip to the Heavenly Jail!" King Duan said loudly and walked out.

    Elder Wen looked at King Duan and Mr Hua. He did not stop them. Fang Zhengzhi antagonized Ping Yang? Is this really a coincidence?

    ...

    The capital was extremely crowded. However, there was a ce forbidden to sellers and tourists. That was the pce, the residence of the royal family.

    This was a huge city within the city. Everything here was coated in goldcquer or made of jade. The floors were white marble and each structure was intricately carved, exuding an aura of magnificence and prosperity.

    At this moment, a male in his forties, dressed in a purple robe, and having pointed, phoenix like eyes, was walking towards a room with the words ¡®Advanced Academy¡¯ printed in gold.

    An elderly man stood at the door. He was rather fair.

    "Xing Hou, you are finally here, the emperor has been waiting for some time!"

    "Mm, thank you Mr Fan!" The man who was called Xing Hou smiled and nodded. Then, as Mr Fan opened the door to the room, he stepped through.

    The room was impably designed. It was covered in the paintings of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in the empire. Huge canvases of calligraphy also lined the walls.

    At the back of the room was a bookcaseid on golden satin.

    "Greetings emperor!" The middle aged man fell to his knees without a second nce.

    "Guest Xing, please rise and sit next to me." Amanding voice echoed throughout the space. This was the aura of the Emperor, and it almost seemed like he scorned everything under the sun.

    When the middle aged man heard the voice, he rose slowly. Then, he walked forward. However, he did not follow themand and sit next to the bookcase. Instead, he sat at a seat about five meters away.

    After he sat down, the middle aged man did not speak, waiting calmly for the voice to ring out again.

    "Aish... you guys care about tradition and rules too much. The ancestors of the thirteen constabries ventured in all directions and conquered more than half of the empire¡¯s territories. As the head of the thirteen constabries, why are you still being such strangers with me?" The voice rang out once again.

    "This official is a military general. I should actually maintain a 10 meter distance from you. Now, I am only five meters away, I have already broken the rules!" The middle aged man replied respectfully.

    "Whatever, I heard that Qing Sui wants to participate in the Imperial Examination, is he prepared?" The voice¡¯s tone changed to one of care and concern.

    "Emperor, even though Qing Sui has been working very hard, he is still not up to speed. Right now, he is merely at the intermediate stages of the Heavenly Reflection State. I am afraid he will disappoint you."

    "To reach the intermediate stages of the Heavenly Reflection State at 22 is apudable. Your expectations are too high. In my view, the favorites to top the examination are Qing Sui and Su Donglin from the Su n. Once Qing Sui tops the ranking, send him to me, he will get better training."

    "Thank you emperor! However, in my view, Su Donglin had already made it to the advanced stages of the Heavenly Reflection Realm five days ago. Furthermore, the Southern Pce is also participating. Their representative is Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother. Qing Sui¡¯s chances of topping the board are bleak!" The middle aged man rose, then fell to his knees.

    "Please rise, even though Qing Sui is only in the intermediate stages of the Heavenly Reflection State, but the Stabilisation Constabry has many secret techniques. However, the Southern Pce fe might be a bit of a problem. Also, I haven¡¯t seen Chi Guyan in very long. When you return, help me ask her toe visit me more!"

    "You still pamper Chi Guyan a lot, I am incredibly envious! But Chi Guyan did not stay with me this time. Instead, she has chosen to stay... with Ping Yang." The middle aged man rose quickly and sat back on the chair.

    "Oh? Chi Guyan is staying with Ping Yang? Oh, how careless of me. Ping Yang¡¯s birthday ising in a few days and they are childhood friends. It is only normal that they are staying together. Mm... actually, I have invited you over today to ask your opinion on something."

    "Please go ahead." The middle aged man rose upon hearing the request.

    "For some reason, both the Crown Prince and King Duan want to be the Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examination. None of them seem to be gaining the upper hand on this. the Crown Prince has suggested letting Han Zhangfeng be the Chief Examiner. This is in line with the rules of the previous Imperial Examination rules, so I am assured. However, King Duan has had quite a good eye when ites to appointing people. He has said that he wanted to use this experience to better himself. I am afraid that if I do not give it to him, I may destroy the fire in him. What do you think?"

    The middle aged man understood what was going on. He maintained a respectful tone and stature as he lowered his head, his eyes glimmering.

    This question was not difficult. All he had to do was say his opinion. However, the implications of his answer were beyondprehension.

    It was far more sensitive than the power struggle between the Crown Prince and King Duan

    As the leader of the thirteen constabries, Xing Yuanguo was keenly aware that his tone and reply would determine whether the Stabilisation Constabry will still be able to lead the thirteen constabries.

    As such, his answer must be careful and well thought out.

 Chapter 160: Tore it up

    Chapter 160: Tore it up

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    More importantly, he must not show any bias to the Emperor. Else, the emperor will deem that he too was involved in this power struggle.

    Xing Yuanguo thought quickly on his feet before providing his reply.

    "Replying to the Emperor, this official believes that the Crown Prince is trying to abide by the royal rules and wishes. Official Han is incredibly experienced in invigting the Imperial Examinations. He is able to spot talents from a distance and is a great choice for the Chief Examiner of the Imperial Exam. On the other hand, King Duan is experienced in the other fields. His skills are also equally capable. Having him as a supervisor would also allow him and Official Han to learn from each other. However, this may make the Crown Prince feel that you do not trust him enough. As such, I suggest a triumvirate!"

    "Triumvirate? Please borate!" The Emperor¡¯s tone had traces of surprise.

    "You can have Official Han be the Chief Examiner, and pick King Duan and another prince to assist him. This way, the Crown Prince will not be antagonized, and King Duan¡¯s experience can be grown!"

    "Mm, what you say is reasonable. But who do you think I should send as the other person?"

    "This will depend on who you favor. I am rather slow, and can¡¯t think of anyone at the current moment." Xing Yuanguo knew that saying anymore could potentially be dangerous.

    "Haha... you are just like before. Okay then, since it is rare for you to visit me, let¡¯s go take a walk in the park." The voice chuckled, relieved of a heavy burden.

    "Yes, my lord!"

    Xing Yuanguo replied immediately and heaved a sigh of relief. He immediately thought of what he had discussed with Chi Guyan about the Imperial Examination when she visited him. He sighed to himself, "No wonder the emperor pampers her this much. She is the top of the ranking boards and is a true talent indeed! That Fang Zhengzhi? I think he is just a joke!"

    ...

    Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Xing Hou was thinking. At this point, he was happily wining and dining away with Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu still seemed quite hesitant.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as he looked at Yan Xiu.

    "About the... Mirror Projections that you told me aboutst time. I still don¡¯t really get it." Yan Xiu had always tried to figure out cultivation matters himself, and found it difficult to ask for help now.

    "Mirror Projections?" Fang Zhengzhi had a revtion. In this world, there was only the "Book of Dao", there was not much research into physics.

    His Mirror Projection theory would be easily understood by anyone in the previous world who had an understanding of physics. However, for someone like Yan Xiu, this was apletely foreign concept.

    "Let¡¯s do an experiment!"

    "Experiment? Sure!" Yan Xiu did not know what an experiment truly was, but he understood that Fang Zhengzhi was about to demonstrate something.

    But, how was he going to demonstrate Heavenly Reflection?

    Just as Yan Xiu was thinking to himself, Fang Zhengzhi called a waitress over and asked for candles and white paper.

    The waitress quickly brought them over.

    Before long, everything was ready. The only thing missing was a convex lens.

    But this was no problem for Fang Zhengzhi. He managed to form an ice cube in his hand, which he quickly molded into a rudimentary convex lens.

    Then, as Yan Xiu watched on in awe, Fang Zhengzhi used a simple experiment to demonstrate mirror image reversal.

    As he worked, he exined the concept to Yan Xiu.

    "When you¡¯re in the Heavenly Reflection State, your pocket dimension is the reflection of reality. Then, all you have to do isbine what is in your pocket dimension with what is out here. It¡¯s very simple, you can try it out."

    "That simple?" Yan Xiu felt that something was not quite right after hearing what Fang Zhengzhi had to say. If it is that simple, why are so many people stuck at this level?

    But he did not doubt Fang Zhengzhi. It was a fact that Fang Zhengzhi had done it.

    Then...

    He began to try out what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    Very quickly, he felt that his pocket dimension seemed to link up with the outside world. This came as a surprise to him. However, it was not as easy as Fang Zhengzhi said to breakthrough into the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Yan Xiu still had some trouble having his pocket dimension reflect everything in the real world. After all, he did not have Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foundation.

    Even so, Fang Zhengzhi had given Yan Xiu the key to breaking through.

    With the key, he believed that even if he could not do it now, he would be able to do it in the future.

    "Thank you!" Yan Xiu thanked Fang Zhengzhi sincerely.

    "You¡¯re wee. When we get back, I will show you a few more experiments. I will also further exin the uses of mirror image. Back on... erm, anyways, mirror image can be used in many areas." Fang Zhengzhi took a sip of wine. He nearly let slip tha he was from another world, but he managed to catch himself in time.

    Yan Xiu was deep in thought and naturally did not notice Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s slip.

    ...

    A few dayster at noon... The sun was shining brightly on a patch of blooming flowers in Ping Yang¡¯s residence, and the aroma of flowers filled the air.

    "How is it, have you sent the invite?" Ping Yang wore a purplish red cloak as she swayed on a swing. Next to her was a servant like middle aged man.

    "Replying to master, the invite..." The middle aged man hesitated.

    "You didn¡¯t send it?"

    "No no no... I sent it over myself the first thing in the morning." The middle aged man fell to his knees when he saw Ping Yang¡¯s expression change.

    "That¡¯s good. Was he very happy to receive the invitation?" Ping Yang smiled radiantly when she heard it.

    "Erm... Young Master Fang did not even look at it before he tore it up."

    "What?! He tore it up? I invited him to my birthday party and he tore up my invitation? What did he say?" Ping Yang¡¯s smile froze as she jumped from the swing.

    "Replying to master. He... he said that you were just trying to butter up to the powerful. Then, he said that he did not know many in the city. Those who sent him invites on their own ord probably wanted something from him, or wanted to rob him... idiot!"

    "I? Butter up to him?! Why do I need him to like me? He will be the death of me! Fine, since you won¡¯t take the easy way out, I will make sure you suffer!" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes shed with fury as she clenched her fists.

    However, she recovered quickly. After her chest heaved a few times, her eyes shed with a bright glow.

    "Bring me pen and paper!"

    "Yes ma¡¯am!"

    After a while, the middle aged man brought pen and paper. He also set up a table in the courtyard for Ping Yang.

    Before long, she passed the man a letter filled with feelings of love.

    The middle aged man could not believe his eyes.

    "A love... love letter?!"

    Ping Yang was writing a love letter. Furthermore, it was a spicy love letter. Every word and phrase was carefully chosen to arouse.

    The final sentence was.

    "My greatest hope is for us to meet once at Ping Yang¡¯s residence!"

    After she was done, Ping Yang ced the letter in an envelope. However, she still doubted its effectiveness, so she penned a name at the bottom.

    "Chi Guyan!"

    After she was done, Ping Yang smiled to herself.

    "Go, send him this letter. Make sure he reads this in front of you and sees who has signed off on it! Do you understand?"

    "Yes!" The middle aged man nodded.

    Only now did he realize what his master was thinking.

    This is a forged love letter!

    But will Chi Guyan smack her for doing this? Okay... that is between them, who am I to question?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather bored. After Yan Xiu had learnt his mirror image theory, he had locked himself up inside his room, refusing toe out.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi would asonally go to the gardens to admire the flora, sit down to have tea and read books.

    Just at this moment, a man was rushing over in his direction.

    Fang Zhengzhi recognized the man as the same person who had sent the invite. What is wrong with the people here?

    Two invites for a birthday party?

    The middle aged man quickly arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi. He bowed politely and ced a letter with impable handwriting in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms.

    Fang Zhengzhi received it and saw Chi Guyan¡¯s name on the envelope.

    "Chi Guyan?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the middle aged man.

    The middle aged man looked back at him.

    "She hopes to meet you in Ping Yang residence!" The middle aged man said carefully. He had no other choice.

    "Meet her? She must be dreaming!" Fang Zhengzhi snorted derisively.

    Then, he tore the letter to pieces right in front of the middle aged man¡¯s eyes.

    "Tell Chi Guyan that I am very busy!" Fang Zhengzhi continued sipping his tea, ignoring the middle aged man thereafter.

    The middle aged man waspletely rooted to the ground. This was unbelievable.

    That¡¯s Chi Guyan¡¯s letter!

    Even though it¡¯s a forgery...

    Why didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi take a second look?

    ...

    Very quickly, Ping Yang was the one to be stunned by what happened. Her happiness was quickly extinguished when she heard what happened.

    She was not scared, she waspletely floored.

    "You¡¯re saying that he ripped it apart?! Are you sure he saw Chi Guyan¡¯s name?" Ping Yang was in disbelief. However, she knew that the man in front of her would never lie to her.

    "I am sure, I even made sure I reminded him that she wrote it." The middle aged man answered.

    "Then he tore it up?"

    "Yes, he ripped it up, he didn¡¯t even take a second look!"

 Chapter 161: Yan Capital Reels in Shock

    Chapter 161: Yan Capital Reels in Shock

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "How is this possible? What was the problem? Could it be that this jerk was not shamelessly dead set on marrying my Sister Yan? How could he tear the paper from Sister Yan?"

    Lady Ping Yang did not understand. She really could notprehend the reason behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. Was she exposed? That could not be possible. How could she be exposed when he did not even open the letter?

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi really did not want to marry Sister Yan?!

    Her rejection of this thought came just as fast as the appearance of it. That woodlouse did not want to marry my Sister Yan? That was not possible.

    "Oh right...He tore up Sister Yan¡¯s letter. I expose him!" Lady Ping Yang¡¯s eyes brightened immediately. She happily skipped towards the lone building with a loft at the side of the courtyard.

    ...

    Chi Guyan dressed in a simple yet elegant garb. It was an easygoing dress with a purple sash tied around as a belt.

    Currently, she was studying a piece of chart in the loft. On the chart, there were many varieties of soldiers and horses set up. There were also some thin lines and careful dots. It was clear that it was an ancient chart containing a war formation.

    Beside the table was a huge te of sand, with sand piling up like mountain ranges. There were tiny gs of different colours stabbed into the sand.

    Lady Ping Yang barged in at this moment.

    Compared to her previous energetic skipping, Lady Ping Yang became much more cautious when she entered the loft. She quietly walked towards Chi Guyan like a docile kitten.

    "Sister Yan, are you researching on matrix set-ups again?"

    "Mm, shouldn¡¯t you be swinging on the swing? What are you here for?" Chi Guyan nodded. Her eyes never left the paper chart in front of her.

    "At first, I wanted to find someone to apany you. Unfortunately, I wrote a letter to that someone using your name yet he tore it up. That was too audacious," Lady Ping Yang fired from her tiny mouth with a face of fury.

    "Oh," Chi Guyan nodded once again.

    "Doesn¡¯t Sister Yan want to know who tore your letter?"

    "It was your letter!" Chi Guyan swiftly corrected Lady Ping Yang. Afterwards, she held up the chart in her hands and put it under the sun¡¯s rays, "Are you referring to Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Sister Yan is just too smart. There¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t guess. Then...Aren¡¯t you angry?" Lady Ping Yang¡¯s eyes shone with traces of honest hope.

    "I¡¯m not. Why would I be angry?" Chi Guyan shook her head.

    "He tore your letter! Are you not mad? If it¡¯s me, I would divorce him! Er...I¡¯m mean, call off the engagement. I will immediately call off the engagement unless hees here on his knees and begs!

    "Firstly, that was your letter. Secondly, it is expected that he will tear up my letters. It will be out of the norm if he did not tear it," Chi Guyan once againid down the matrix paper chart that was in her hands.

    "Ah?! Is it really thatplicated between you two?"

    "Indeed it is."

    "But I want him toe to my birthday banquet. He did not reply to the invitation letter. He did not even budge when I use Sister Yan¡¯s name to write a letter to him. I can¡¯t just tie him up and drag him there, can I?" Lady Ping Yang was seemed slightly disappointed. Just the thought of her carefully thought-out n going to waste was enough to break her heart.

    "You really want him to attend your birthday banquet?" Chi Guyan finally turned her gaze towards Lady Ping Yang.

    "Definitely."

    "After that, you are going to mess with him?"

    "Why would you say that? I¡¯m not someone who would do something like that. I will treat him like a VIP and let him have a time of his life..." Lady Ping Yang blinked innocently but the corners of her mouth curled revealing traces of her cunningness.

    "If you want to invite him to your birthday banquet then it¡¯s simple."

    "Sister Yan, you have a n?"

    "En, you shall send someone to deliver some silver notes over. Next, tell him those will be his as long as hees to your banquet. Additionally, tell him there¡¯s no need for him to bring gifts. He will naturallye," Chi Guyan answered with barely a single thought.

    "That simple?"

    "Yes. Just that simple."

    "That can¡¯t be," Lady Ping Yang found it hard to believe. However, this idea was from Chi Guyan herself, there was no way she would doubt Sister Yan.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was bbergasted. There was actually someone offering him money to appear at a banquet. Furthermore, they specifically told him there was no need to bring gifts?

    Wasn¡¯t this too oundish?

    Staring at the piece of 500 silver note, Fang Zhengzhi felt that returning this would be too hard on the person¡¯s heart.

    So he turned his attention to middle age man in front of him.

    "No gifts required?"

    "Yes. Absolutely no gifts required!"

    "Let me think about it. Depends on whether I have time," Fang Zhengzhi kept the 500 silver note into his shirt and waved, indicating that the middle age man could leave.

    "This...Mister, how do you expect me to answer to my mistress?" the middle age man was stunned after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer and watching him pocket the money.

    "Just say it¡¯s up to my mood," Fang Zhengzhi impatiently waved off the guy once again.

    In the Three Kingdoms Era, to convince Zhu Geliang toe out of seclusion, Liu Bei went to find him three times; during the Song Dynasty, the gold medallion that beckoned Yue Fei to return back to the capital court was sent out in eighteen different directions. With just one visit, it would never be enough to invite him over too.

    Fang Zhengzhi really had no idea who was the master that the person just mentioned. However, that person was persistently trying to invite him over to this birthday banquet must have his reasons.

    In that case, he held power in this exchange. Yan Capital was filled with wealthy families. Wouldn¡¯t this be considered as the heroic act of stealing from the rich to give to the poor?

    That¡¯s right...

    He was the poor!

    ...

    "Depends on his mood?!" Within the Ping Yang Residence, Lady Ping Yang was once again furious.

    Afterwards, she immediately raced towards the loft beside the courtyard. This time, Ping Yang was obviously in a fit yet the instant she entered the loft, she reverted back to the demeanour of a kitten.

    "That jerk said it depends on his mood, his mood... Sister Yan!" Lady Ping Yang tone was desperate but her volume was suppressed to the minimum.

    "Hm?" Chi Guyan was puzzled. Logically speaking, he would not have rejected the offer. So what was the problem?

    After a moment of thought, Chi Guyan came to a realisation.

    "Looks like I underestimated his shamelessness. He is currently taking advantage of the situation, absolutely crossing the line..."

    "Sister Yan, do you have any more ideas?"

    Chi Guyan was silent. If she was not wrong, the best move to make was to ignore Fang Zhengzhi for now and utilise other methods to make Fang Zhengzhi bend.

    However, with this, there was a one percent chance of failure. This was because Fang Zhengzhi might back out in a fit of rage, take the money without showing up at the banquet.

    "Is it a must for him to go?" Chi Guyan decided it was better to rify what Lady Ping Yang wanted.

    "Yes! He muste at any cost!"

    "Then, you have to send again."

    "Send again?"

    "Yes. Send them until he is satisfied."

    Looking on as the middle-aged man went on his once again with the notes, Lady Ping Yang clenched her fist until her knuckles were white. Hn, I shall let you have your satisfaction for now. There will be hell to pay once you enter the Ping Yang Residence!

    ...

    In theing days, Fang Zhengzhi lived a very cosy life. Every day, he had someone sending him money. Furthermore, to show their sincerity, the other party had shifted from notes to silver taels. Chest after chest was carried into this room.

    The traffic into his room was not light...

    This kind of life sure wasfortable for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    However, for Yan Capital, this was a stupefying urrence.

    Who was Ping Yang?

    She was none other than the infamous demoness in Yan Capital. In the whole of Yan Capital, she had always been the one that was taking. Since when did she starting giving people money?

    But now...

    Everyone was faced with a puzzling sight. Every day at the exact same time, someone from the Ping Yang Residence would carry a chest of silver taels to the inn where Fang Zhengzhi was staying.

    They would just drop the money there and leave.

    A mere country bumpkin. Firstly, in the Law of Dao Examinations, at the county level and provincial level, he became the Double Roll Champion. Secondly, within the Divine Constabry, he managed to set a date for a showdown with Chi Guyan in two years¡¯ time and had the people from the Divine Constabry publicly announcing his engagement to her.

    Now, aftering to Yan Capital, he had the infamous tyrant of Jin Capital providing him with a stream of silver taels.

    This was just too extraordinary...

    Everyone felt that this was so inconceivable that a woman who ims that she is still a virgin after marrying and having a child would have been more believable.

    ...

    In the tent of the Patrol Guards, King Duan, Lin Xingjue was so shocked by the news, his teeth almost dropped out.

    However, his analysis of this news was expectedly more insightful than those bystanders within the capital. He felt that there was more than meets the eye on this issue.

    Ping Yang badgering Fang Zhengzhi?!

    That was ludicrous. However, he could not for the life of him think a reason as to why the arrogant and tyrannical Ping Yang was sending Fang Zhengzhi money.

    "How do you view this issue?" King Duan turned his gaze towards Mister Hua and Elder Wen.

    Elder Wen shook his head, his skills lied in the bigger scheme of things. Regarding these bizarre events, he was not well versed in their intricacies.

    Mister Hua seemed to have some thoughts on this but the more he thought, the more it escaped him.

    "I have sent people to investigate. Seemed like Ping Yang wanted Fang Zhengzhi to grace her birthday banquet, therefore she sent people to send him money non-stop," Mister Hua revealed the results of his investigations.

    "Ping Yang inviting Fang Zhengzhi to her birthday banquet? The...The credibility of this information aside. Logically speaking, shouldn¡¯t it be Fang Zhengzhi giving to Ping Yang? Why are the roles reversed?" King Duan was even more mystified after listening to what Mister Hua had to say.

    "That¡¯s why I can¡¯t wrap my head around this. Moreover, I remember that Fang Zhengzhi actually sold of Ping Yang¡¯s Snow Cloud Stallion. Shouldn¡¯t those two be enemies? Yet the act of sending money is symbolic to making friends. This is really a conundrum."

    "Whatever the case is, Fang Zhengzhi is not allowed near Ping Yang under any circumstances! You should know the uniqueness of Ping Yang. This concerns the existence of that ce... She is not just Princess Ping Yang. Also, she is adored by Father. If she was to be acquainted with Fang Zhengzhi..."

 Chapter 162: Sure Hit One-shot Kill

    Chapter 162: Sure Hit One-shot Kill

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Rest assured, Your Highness. I will definitely get to the bottom of this!" Mister Hua nodded. With the approaching Imperial Examinations, they knew very well that they could not afford any more mistakes.

    But just the thought of the peculiarity of this situation...

    It gave Mister Hua a headache. If Ping Yang was continuously sending silver taels to Fang Zhengzhi, her aim was definitely to invite Fang Zhengzhi to her birthday banquet. But why...

    ...

    "Fuck...That¡¯s pain!" Fang Zhengzhi looked on as another chest of silver taels was carried in front of him. He stopped the middle age man that was about to leave, "How many more days to your mistress¡¯ birthday banquet?"

    "To answer young master¡¯s question, there are still 3 days!" Once the middle-aged man heard this from Fang Zhengzhi, his heart soared. ording to his mistress¡¯ wishes, he was supposed to send until he was satisfied. Could it be that the day had arrived?

    "Understood. Once you send three chests tomorrow, I will naturally go your mistress¡¯ banquet. There¡¯s no need to disturb me in future." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand, signalling that the man could leave.

    "..." The middle-aged man jaw dropped, "Three chests at once?!"

    The person in front of him was much more shameless that he could have imagined. However... For someone to reach this level of shamelessness, it was kind of impressive.

    ...

    Three dayster, with sun almost at its peak, brilliant warm light bathed Yan Capital.

    As the residence closest to the pce, Ping Yang Residence architectural style was most simr to it. If not for a gigantic wall between them, such a residence within the pce would not look a single bit out of ce.

    Splendid golden buildings and white marble ted the corridors. Every corner exuded extravagance.

    Just a simple residence yet it was built ording to the pce¡¯s standard. From this, it was clear how important the Ping Yang Residence was to the current Sacred Lord.

    In front of the cinnabar gates, one horse carriage after another stopped there. After a moment, they would once again take off in a sh.

    At the side of the gates, a few armour d soldiers guarded the entrance. From the design of those armour, it was not hard to discern that they were the exact same kind of armour used by the Imperial soldiers.

    In fact, they were the Imperial Ranger Squad of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the three words "Ping Yang Residence" that was hanged on residence gates. Unrestrained curiosity welled up in his heart. Although he had never stepped foot into the pce, he had strolled around the entrance of the pce before.

    He just had an attitude of a tourist as he strolled around the pce gates, wanting to admire the kind of pce this world had.

    Therefore, he naturally knew the uniqueness of the soldiers standing outside of Ping Yang Residence.

    "This person that invited me to this birthday banquet looks like a really big deal!" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused. Logically speaking, this kind of people did not have to give in to his whims.

    Did he miss something?

    Normally he would have asked Yan Xiu. However, these few days, Yan Xiu was enclosed in his room studying mirror projections. It seemed like he was at the most crucial part. He did not even take a single step out of the door and all his food was sent up by the people in the inn.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew better than to ask him about such a trivial matter.

    "Could this be a ruse to entrap me?" As Fang Zhengzhi thought of this, he felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, after walking a couple of rounds about the gates, he got ready to stand the other party up.

    Just as he was about to leave, a middle-aged man dashed out from within the residence. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi, he was so full of emotions it was as if he just saw his own father.

    "Young Master Fang, you have finally arrived. Our mistress¡¯ has long awaited your arrival!"

    "Are you sure your mistress lives here?" These few days, Fang Zhengzhi had been seeing this man¡¯s face every single day. There¡¯s no way he could have pretended not to know him.

    "Yes!" The middle age man confirmed with a face of confidence.

    "Alright." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. Since he was already outside to wee him, walking out now would be quite distasteful. After all, he had epted their silver taels.

    The middle age man saw Fang Zhengzhi nod, immediately went in front to lead the way.

    Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand instead to show that there¡¯s no need to rush. Then, he took out a letter.

    "This is a gift list."

    "Young Master Fang brought a gift?!" Middle age man studied the letter being handed. He was slightly taken aback. He clearly remembered that Fang Zhengzhi only reluctantly agreed toe after he said that there was no need for gifts.

    However, now that he actually brought something, it was hard not to be shocked.

    Did he previously misunderstand Fang Zhengzhi?

    Could it be that he was down on hard times and rejected because he was unable to send a gift?

    If that was the case, then these gifts on this gift list were probably not used with his own money but it was a courteous gesture nheless.

    The middle-aged man knew that Fang Zhengzhi came from a mountain vige, that¡¯s why this was his first thought. When he opened the list...

    He realised that he was too naive.

    The list was packed with words scrunched together, filling up the whole page.

    What were these things?

    " One piece of homemade bacon."

    "One spiced hoof."

    "..."

    More importantly, what was this roll of rabbit fur for?

    Was there anyone that still used rabbit fur to make coats here in Yan Capital?

    "Just a little something from the mountains, there¡¯s no need for thanks," Fang Zhengzhi generously blinked at the middle-aged man.

    "..." The middle age man felt that if this came from anyone else, he would whack him upside down without hesitation. However, he did not dare to do it to the Fang Zhengzhi in front of him. He still had to wee him with a smile.

    He then very respectfully epted the gift, "On the behalf of my mistress, I would like to thank you for this fine gift!"

    His voice was not considered loud but it was enough to be heard clearly by the other officials and lords that was alighting from the carriages.

    "Fine gift?!"

    "This person seems familiar? Who is it? Is he a wealthy lord from somewhere?"

    "Blue long sleeved shirt... If I¡¯m not wrong, he should be Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Isn¡¯t he born from mountain viges? How does he have the money to send Princess Ping Yang a fine gift?!"

    "Rumours has it that for the past few days, men from the Ping Yang Residence were sending him silver taels every day. Could it be..."

    From the way this was put, the faces of those lords and officials instantly changed. Princess Ping Yang sent Fang Zhengzhi silver taels, and Fang Zhengzhi returned with a huge gift for the celebration of her birthday.

    Was there an unspeakable secret between them?!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to correct these people. The middle age man heard the discussions around him and wanted to give an exnation. In the end, he did not dare to open his mouth.

    After all, he might offend the VIP in front of him.

    If he were to walk out on them, this problem would be on him... The paddles would be sure to follow. If they wanted to delve deeper, they might even ask him to cough out the silver taels wasted. Just these thoughts were enough to send a chill up his spine.

    "Mister Fang, please!" The middle age man dare not speak more. His job was to fetch Fang Zhengzhi to the inside of Ping Yang Residence, no matter the cost.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded and followed behind. Since he already gave out the gift list, it would be his loss if he did not at least go in for a meal.

    Seeing that Fang Zhengzhi finally stepped foot into the residence, the middle age man could finally sigh in relief.

    A knowing glint shed across his eyes as he nced to the right of the gate after crossing it.

    ...

    At this moment, there was an extremely unexpected sight in the Ping Yang Residence.

    For not far from the right of the gates was a youngdy that was almost looked like a fairy. She was called Ping Yang. The most adored princess by the current Sacred Lord.

    The Ping Yang today wore a brilliant red dress with a peony sewn in the top using golden threads. On her head, a red sash gently floated in the breeze with her night hair cascading down to her waist.

    Such a scene drew out admiration from the hearts of many of the lords but no one dared to approach her.

    Because...

    Everyone knew hidden under that noble appearance was a true monster.

    Arson, robbery, there¡¯s nothing she won¡¯t do.

    However, none dared toin. She had a position as high as the dynasty¡¯s adviser to the Sacred Lord. The lowest she could be viewed as was a noble merchant family. There was no one that dared toin to the face of the Sacred Lord.

    Today¡¯s Ping Yang had glossy clear eyes with an absolutely stunning smile painted across her face.

    Seeing this smile, people knew someone was going to get it today...

    Ping Yang felt that her n today was perfect. Unlike anything the world had ever seen, there was no chance of it failing.

    To ensure the practicality of this n, she had done countless of experiments.

    The results were obvious...

    Countless officials and lords would be unlucky. They were all the court pce¡¯s respected officials or the lords of high-ranking noble families. They all had something inmon which was that they were all skilled masters that reached the Heavenly Reflection State or higher.

    This operation by Ping Yang was given the name " Sure Hit One-shot Kill".

    The inner workings of this n were quite simple.

    Speed. Blinding Speed. In a move faster than the other party could react, a pail of leftover water from washing feet would pour down on his head.

    Would the skilled masters that reached Heavenly Reflection State be caught in the area of effect?

    Of course not...

    Therefore, Ping Yang used a matrix spell. This originally was a matrix spell used in the Small Dimension. It can swiftly bind masters of the Heavenly Reflection State for a brief moment of eight seconds.

    Of course, to move such a powerful matrix spell from the Small Dimension to here by hand, and set it up at the gates of the Ping Yang Residence required a ton of silver tales. However, this was not something Ping Yang was bothered with.

    Only the results mattered.

    Will the results only be a pail of feet washing water on the head? Of course not!

    The oue Ping Yang wanted did not just simply stopped at a pail of feet washing water. There was still a lot of follow-up work to do. She could already imagine Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face when the pail of feet washing water rain down on him as he walked through the gates of the banquet hall.

    She was really looking forward to that expression of shock and confusion.

    After that, as the host, she will generously apologise for bumping him while he was still stunned. Then, order her housekeepers bring the putrid Fang Zhengzhi around and parade him in front of the esteemed guests.

    After Fang Zhengzhipletely lost his face, she would then bring him to a bathtub she already prepared beforehand.

    After that, something would emerge from that bathtub. That thing would be very slimy and slippery. Furthermore...

    It definitely will bite!

 Chapter 163: The Darkness Plaguing The Heart

    Chapter 163: The Darkness guing The Heart

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang was not bestowed the title of Yan Capital¡¯s demoness by being merciful and gentle. Therefore, she specially ordered people to bring in a live ¡®Scarlet Thread Cyclops Viper¡¯ that lived around volcanoes.

    Except for its poor vision, this creature was a killer in every other aspect. Furthermore, it possessed a very convenient characteristic. It loved hot water. Once bitten by its needle-like fangs, there was little hope of getting it off...

    However, its venom was not fatal.

    After all, Ping Yang still had many other tricks that she wanted to try out.

    How could she let him go just like that?

    But...

    Ping Yang would not find something just for looks and no practical applications. Although the venom of this Scarlet Thread Cyclops Viper is non-lethal, it had an interesting effect on the body. It would instantly increase the sensitivity of the pain receptors.

    In other words, a single bite would have you screaming for your mummy and daddy.

    This was what caught Ping Yang¡¯s attention.

    For the sake of ensuring that Fang Zhengzhi would jump out of the bath screaming, Ping Yang had invested a huge amount of effort. No fewer than ten people were involved in bringing this to fruition.

    It was just a pity for the guinea pigs. Every one of them went out of Ping Yang Residence with tears in their eyes.

    "You despicable lowlife. I will definitely have you walking in and carried out!" Just the thought of what was going to happen was enough to bring a smile to her face.

    Now...

    The middle age man that she ordered to be the lookout at the door had gone out.

    That meant that Fang Zhengzhi had arrived and he was about to enter the grand gates of the Ping Yang Residence.

    Ping Yang was getting excited. She bent down and stroked the silk-like snow white coat of her noble steed.

    The king among horses, a jade in the snow.

    Ping Yang¡¯s love for it was to the extreme. Previously, her Snow White was sold off by Fang Zhengzhi. This too had to be avenged. Furthermore, it would be avenged by both her and Snow White.

    While riding on Snow White, she would aim to pour the pail of feet washing water over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s skull.

    This was a consideration on the ount of speed and the deep "friendship" between the master and the servant.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have any idea that he was about to walk into a trap made especially for him. Under the purposeful guidance of the middle age man, he arrived before the bright cinnabar gates to the hall.

    "Mister Fang, please!" The middle age man walked to the side of the gates with a face of utmost courtesy.

    Such courtesy wasmon with some high-ss residences. The servants that fetched guests would always let the guests step into the gates first.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi did not feel a need to follow such traditions.

    This did not arouse his suspicions.

    Therefore, he tried to humbly give way too.

    When the middle age man saw this, his face changed. He immediately weed him in again.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not beat his stubbornness. He nodded and took his first steps through the gates.

    ...

    The eyes of Ping Yang who was riding on Snow White¡¯s back burned with brilliance. She saw the blue long sleeve that she wanted to rip to shreds even in her dreams.

    That¡¯s right.

    That was indeed Fang Zhengzhi!

    The man behind all those nights spent grinding her teeth.

    "Go, my Snow White!" Ping Yang gave an order and forcefully kicked both her feet back. The hand holding the pail of dirty water could wait no longer.

    Snow White moved. It recognised the order given by its master. Moreover, it had been repeatedly practising this for quite some time.

    Its four hooves began to move into a gallop.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice anything amiss at the moment. After entering the Ping Yang Residence, looking around in admiration was all he could do.

    After that, he heard the faint sound of clopping hooves.

    Was it possible to ride horses in the residence?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards that direction in bemusement. Then, he saw Snow White.

    Naturally, Snow White also saw Fang Zhengzhi.

    The two pairs of eyes met.

    Mild curiosity blossomed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. He felt like he had seen this horse somewhere before. It almost looked like the horse that he sold off not too long ago.

    On the other hand, Snow White¡¯s eyes betrayed fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.

    As the king of horses, Snow White was meticulously cared for and treated with the utmost respect from the moment it was born. All it ever ate was the freshest of grass and lived in a separate court just for it.

    No human had ever abused it or shouted at it.

    The human in front of him was different.

    He was the first who beat and shouted. Furthermore, he used all his might and did not hold back. He left several lines of blood along its backside with no trace ofpassion.

    This kind of pain...

    It was called its first time.

    This kind of pain was engraved into its bones and left a deep impression. It could be even said that this pain in certain situations could be a darkness that gues its heart.

    It was obvious.

    Fang Zhengzhi was that darkness in Snow White¡¯s heart.

    In addition, this darkness was immense. More importantly, this darkness was formed not too long ago. In fact, it was so recent that it could not forget even if it wanted to.

    "Su!"

    A drawn-out hiss came out.

    Snow white raised its two front hooves. It was spooked.

    Ping Yang was a lover of horses, naturally, she would be adept at riding. However, at this moment with her eyes focused on Fang Zhengzhi, she had one hand on the reins and the other one holding on to the pail of feet washing water.

    At this point, she would have never thought that her beloved Snow White would raise its legs.

    Something like a spooked horse?

    Who would have expected this?

    Fortunately, Ping Yang was calm. When Snow White suddenly raised its hooves, she instinctively held out her hands to hold the reins steady.

    Unfortunately...

    She forgot about the pail of feet washing water in her other hand

    As a result, the feet washing water slipped out of her hand and travelled unceremoniously up into the air.

    Ping Yang¡¯s hands tightly gripped on to the reins. She took pride in her elegant riding skill.

    Even when the horse was spooked, she was able to stabilise and hold on.

    However, her proud moment was quickly doused by the falling pail of water.

    The pail of feet washing spun two and a half rounds in the air and dropped squarely on her head. Expectedly, all the feet washing water that she saved for a week drenched her.

    Sharp chills...

    A soaring heart!

    Ping Yang¡¯s heart was soaring. She had an earning to fly but unable to due to ack of wings. Then, shended. There was no way she could have held on after being hit on the head with the pail and getting drenched with the foul-smelling water that was enough to knock her out.

    Hence, the noble horsewoman Ping Yang fell off her ride.

    Her butt made contact with the ground.

    "Thud!"

    It was a dull sound but a sound that brought about a world of pain.

    "Ouch!" A distinct sniffle came of Ping Yang¡¯s mouth. The pair of glossy eyes were filled with water. It was uncertain whether it was feet washing water or tears...

    In that brief moment, everyone in Ping Yang Residence was stunned.

    They were not able toprehend why Ping Yang¡¯s calm andposed Snow White would be spooked. What confounded them more was how did such an excellent rider like Ping Yang would fall off her horse?

    Everything happened too fast, they did not even have any time to react.

    The middle age man was confused.

    ording to the schedule, by now, Princess Ping Yang would have flipped the pail of feet washing water over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cranium.

    But why is it that there was no movement?

    Or was it...

    There was movement. It just did not happen in front of his eyes but to the right of the residence.

    Therefore, the middle age man stepped forward and turned his head to the right of the residence. Right away his face froze.

    "Princess Ping Yang fell?!"

    Was there anything more absurd than this?

    He could clearly see that Fang Zhengzhi was still in his original position. He had not moved a single step or twitch even a single muscle.

    Then, why would Princess Ping Yang fall?

    Princess Ping Yang and Snow White went through countless of simtions to build that seamless cooperative action. Where did it all go wrong?

    The middle age man was stumped. Fang Zhengzhi was in a simr state of confusion. With a just quick nce, he was not able to recognise the woman in front of him. After all, she was decked in a different set of clothes and essories today.

    Furthermore,st time Fang Zhengzhi could only see her back for the majority of the time.

    "Is thedy an acrobat?"

    Fang Zhengzhi thought it was better not tough at an acrobat that fell while performing. That was too disrespectful to their profession.

    Then again, such a standard was enough to get hired in such an established residence?

    Such a pity for that exceptional horse that looked just like the one he sold. That creature was worth anywhere between sixty to seventy thousand taels.

 Chapter 164: Hysteria In The Building

    Chapter 164: Hysteria In The Building

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to get a clearer look at thedy who fell, she already covered her face with both hands. She jumped up so quickly that she almost flew and immediately sprinted into the residence.

    "Ah! The smell, ugh..."

    A pitiful and miserable moan reverberated within the walls of the residence.

    The feet-washing water that was left to sit for a week permeated every inch of her body from top to bottom... Such a feeling could only be fully appreciated by those who had experienced it.

    Especially the "Ouch" that came after Ping Yang nted her butt on the ground.

    It was subconsciously made but the cause of such a sound was enough to destroy her appetite for the whole week...

    Ping Yang ran, leaving a trail of water as it dripped from her body. She did not stay at the gates for long. Instead, she abandoned her panic-stricken Snow White and ran into the residence alone.

    Upon seeing this scene...

    Everyone in the Ping Yang Residence finally had a chance to react. A whole bunch of handmaidens, guards, servants, including the middle age man standing behind Fang Zhengzhi, took off immediately chasing behind Ping Yang like the wind.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the suddenly deserted residence gates, he was slightly taken aback.

    What was going on?

    Why was everyone chasing behind thatdy? Will there still be anyone showing him the way? Where exactly was this birthday banquet going to take ce?

    Nevermind, let¡¯s just go with the flow.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think much of it. Since everyone was following thatdy, he might as well follow and take a look.

    Surely this wouldn¡¯t be the wrong way, would it?

    ...

    Ping Yang¡¯s destination was clear. She needed water. Clean, warm water.

    In this humongous estate, there were flowers, grass, hills, trees and of course, water. However, that was the clear pond water and Ping Yang would never jump into it.

    After all, there were numerous guests present. If any rumours of the incident like Ping Yang jumping into in pond within the residence tomit suicide were to spread, she would predictably be theughing stock of Yan Capital.

    Therefore, Ping Yang purposefully ran in the direction of a pre-prepared bathtub.

    The handmaidens knew where Ping Yang was headed and they knew very well what was inside. So, they must reach there before Ping Yang and scoop that creature out of the water.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s walking pace was not slow but the crowd in front was in such a hurry that he had no choice but to increase his speed.

    He caught up quickly.

    "Thump!"

    The building¡¯s door finally flung open by the two handmaidens in a mad rush, under the stares of the guests with their mouth agape.

    Following close behind, all those guards and servants kneeled down one after another.

    Ping Yang dashed in.

    The only thing was she did not realise that someone followed her in.

    That, someone, was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Along the way, he saw more and more guests. So, he was quite pleased with himself for choosing to follow this crowd.

    He was still curious. Why did thedy bring him into one of the rooms in the living quarters? Wasn¡¯t the banquet suppose to be in the main hall?

    Was it moved to the living quarters instead?

    Or was this part of the living quarters part of the Small Dimension?

    Fang Zhengzhi still did not fully understand this world. He was here to eat. After following the right people, he arrived and sat down obediently waiting for the food to be served.

    The bunch of servants and guards kneeling outside did not dare to raise their heads. Therefore, they did not realise Fang Zhengzhi rushing into the quarters after following them there.

    Scooping out the Scarlet Thread Cyclops Viper in time was all that upied the minds of the front two handmaidens. They did not even have time to think that someone would be foolhardy enough to follow in behind them.

    Ping Yang only had the thought of bathing on her mind. As soon as possible.

    Hence, after entering the living quarters, she made a mad dash towards the direction of the bathtub. All the while, she was taking off her clothes piece by piece.

    The stench...

    The stench was just too strong!

    She could bear it no longer.

    From the outer red dress, moving on to the inner silk shirt. Ping Yang was taking it off at light speed. At this point, she had lost the patience to elegantly let her handmaidens undress her.

    Unfortunately, Fang Zhengzhi was following right behind.

    What the hell? We are here to eat! What are you undressing for?

    The sight before him was quickly turning into one that was not meant for children. A strong feeling of justice welled up in his chest. He definitely could not allow such an unsightly scene unfold.

    This mistress of Ping Yang Residence first send him silver taels, now lured him into the living quarters and intending to use such a cheap trick to get close to him.

    There was absolutely no way that he was going to let the other party have their way.

    "Stop you devil! This gentleman here is not this kind of man!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out in the quarters. He was going to suppress thedy¡¯s evil aura with his aura of justice.

    Ping Yang froze.

    The two handmaidens that were trying to scoop up the viper froze too.

    Three pairs of eyes slowly turned.

    Then, they all saw a man standing behind Ping Yang. That garb consisting of a blue Changshan gently swaying...

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    The two handmaidens¡¯ jaw dropped in shock.

    While Ping Yang¡¯s face lost all its colour. No matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand why Fang Zhengzhi was behind her and within the room in the living quarters?

    Of course, that was not the most important detail. What was most important was...

    She was naked.

    As she turned her head, her body naturally followed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not wish for this scene to unfold. However, he did indeed see a pure untouched body of a maiden.

    "Ah! You despicable lowlife!" Ping Yang was the first to react. Initially, she wanted to give him a thundering p but there was still a distance between them.

    Therefore, she went with the next alternative. Find a ce to hide.

    So...

    She saw the bathtub behind her, and the two handmaidens silently standing there.

    Ping Yang did not think too much.

    Since they already stopped moving, then it definitely meant that the viper was out of the water.

    Following that, in a movement quicker than the time it takes to blink, she jumped. Like a fairy dancing in the breeze, she entered the tub in one graceful leap.

    The two handmaidens werepletely overwhelmed by the appearance of Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that...

    They became horrified.

    They wanted to remind Ping Yang.

    However, in the instant that Ping Yang entered the water, she could feel that her feet stepped on something slippery. That slippery object was slithering up from her ankles at a lightning-quick speed.

    "Ah!!!"

    For the first time, Ping Yang understood the excruciating pain that caused people to scream for their mommy and daddy.

    For the first time, she understood why all those Heavenly Reflection State officials and young men went out with tears in their eyes.

    The pain prated all the way to her bones.

    Like a knife being violently stabbed into her heart.

    Spreading to the depths of her brain and the depths of her soul.

    The Scarlet Thread Cyclops Viper¡¯s uniqueness was precisely this. It was a treasure that could cause human an absurd amount of pain. Previously, Ping Yang was ted to get her hands on this.

    But now, all she wanted to do was cry...

    She had onest thing to do which was to jump out once again from the bathtub.

    This was a must.

    It was also her instinct after the pair of sharp fangs sunk into her.

    She leapt, simr to when she first went in, it was just as graceful. Even in the most difficult of times, she would always maintain her poised demeanour.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pupils dted.

    He originally thought the youngdy had some sense of shame and jumped into the tub after his warning.

    Now, it looked like...

    The other party did not heed the warning. Instead, she was once again advancing on him with hidden intentions.

    However, this scene of a beauty emerging from a bath was quite a sight for sore eyes. Those exquisite curves, and that elegant pose, especially when she justnded. That instant when one foot just touched the ground.

    Stunning.

    Only...

    Why did thedy had something dangling from her backside?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes focused. He saw clearly that it was an unknown creature. Although he did not know exactly what it was, the experienced Fang Zhengzhi who hunted on the Cang Ling Mountain reacted without warning.

    Within a second of Ping Yangnding, Fang Zhengzhi closed the gap to Ping Yang, with a sh of radiance, drew out the White Jade Whipping Sword.

    "Kach!"

    Split by the sword into two. The viper¡¯s life reached an end.

    Credit had to be given to Fang Zhengzhi for that decisive action. It was swift with no trace of hesitation.

    Ping Yang broke out of her stupor.

    Only...

    Now Fang Zhengzhi was too close to her. Close enough to see every nook and cranny of her body; close enough for her to smell the male scent emanating from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "Wah!"

    Inexplicably, Ping Yang cried. This time, she was really bawling, her clear eyes filled to the brim with tears.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    He clearly helped her. Why did she not cry when she was bitten and instead, crying now?

    Just as he was figuring it out, Fang Zhengzhi felt something under his feet.

    Looking down...

    "Oh!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face flushed red. He had stepped on her leg.

    "Oh my, I¡¯m so sorry. The situation was urgent and I had a misstep!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately apologised. After that, in a blink of an eye, he turned and ran out the living quarters leaving behind a trail of smoke.

    Now that he caused such a mishap, it was best he did not stay here for long.

    Just an instant after Fang Zhengzhi escaped, an ear-splitting voice came out from the living quarters, rocking the whole of Ping Yang Residence.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! I¡¯m going to kill you!"

 Chapter 165: Execution In The Courtyard

    Chapter 165: Execution In The Courtyard

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This room in the living quarters was chosen by Ping Yang because it was only a courtyard away from the birthday banquet location.

    This room was specifically selected by her. The purpose for the distance was so that when Fang Zhengzhi screamed in pain, she would throw open the doors.

    So when Ping Yang was wailing in trauma within the room, those guests sitting down at the banquet could hear everything.

    For example, King Duan, Lin Xingjue. Another one was the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, Han Changfeng.

    Even Chi Guyan who was studying in another courtyard could hear Ping Yang¡¯s cries. Those starry eyes looked towards Ping Yang¡¯s room in curiosity.

    "That shameless thief...What did he do to Ping Yang now?"

    Her first thought was Ping Yang probably suffered some misfortune orchestrated by Fang Zhengzhi. This was within the realms of her predictions. It was just that what kind of misfortune caused Ping Yang to cry out in such distress?

    When King Duan and Han Changfeng heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice, they swiftly shared a nce. Both could see the killing intent radiating in the other¡¯s eyes.

    As for the other guests, all eyes were on the opposite living quarters.

    There, they could see in the courtyard in the living quarters was covered with kneeling guards, handmaidens and servants.

    They did not know what was going on.

    But...

    They did indeed hear the princess shouting, "Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!"

    Therefore, their eyes naturally focused on the young man d in a blue changshan, who was currently standing at the door to the living quarters. That man was Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    The Fang Zhengzhi that just escaped from the living quarters also heard that exmation. He was really curious. Who exactly was thatdy in the room?

    Why did she know his name?

    Did he know her?

    As he was thinking about this, he once again tried to recall the image of thedy in the room. He could not shake off the feeling that he met her before. Those eyes that were as clear as spring water seemed especially familiar.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not have the time to ponder on such matters.

    A more pressing issue was emerging in front of him.

    He saw the courtyard full of handmaidens, guards and servants.

    These people were definitely not kneeling for him.

    Then...

    There was only one other possibility. They were kneeling for thedy within that room.

    This deduction was simple. After wandering around Yan Capital for the past few days, he realised that the people in this world had a strong belief in their caste system ideals.

    Remembering what happened at the front gate, when thedy dropped from her horse, every one of them was unusually startled. After thedy ran towards the living quarters, all chased like their lives depended on it.

    At that time, he did not think much of it. He simply assumed that the acrobatdy was embarrassed after falling off her horse. Those handmaidens were probably just busy preparing for the banquet.

    Thinking back on it, suddenly, he achieved some rity on the situation.

    Thatdy was not an acrobat. She was the true mistress of the Ping Yang Residence!

    That was the only exnation for what was happening in front of him.

    Therefore the exact situation must be that after these people saw thedy fell from her horse and getting drenched, they chased after her in total panic. After reaching the living quarters, they all kneeled down, not daring to get up.

    They did not immediately disperse after this.

    Such a pose and practice meant that all these people were waiting for the punishment for their failure of protecting their mistress.

    The mistress fell down in her own courtyard?

    As her attendants, they failed to protect her at a critical moment.

    This was the crime!

    In this world, even if it was due to the mistress¡¯ own carelessness that she fell off the horse, the servants and handmaidens would still kneel for forgiveness. The purpose of this was to take responsibility for the mishaps that befell their mistress.

    This was the separation between the low-ss and the high-ss.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not fond of this caste society. In this kind of society, even the best servants might lose their lives because of their master¡¯s displeasure.

    There was no need for a reason.

    Simrly, he was someone born to mountain vigers.

    Despite the raw talent that he might possess, those noble families and high ranking officials would never recognise him. They were more fond of those of equal standing as them. It was an arrogance that seeped into their bones.

    Never will there ever be someone in the noble family that would dere that a mountain viger was of equal standing.

    Just like how humans view dogs. No matter how smart a dog is. It is but a dog. To humans, it would just be a very smart dog. They would never treat it like a human.

    In the eyes of those noble families, mountain vigers born in poverty was no different than a dog.

    Different eras create different worlds.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood thisw. The Southern Mountain Vige¡¯s former Vige Chief Meng Bai and Li Zhuangshi also understood thisw, that was why they fought tooth and nail trying to get into the Law of Dao Examinations.

    They want to fight against their own fate.

    Through the Law of Dao Examinations, enter the Imperial Halls, to rise above all men!

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mindset was different from Li Zhuangshi and such people. He understood thisw but that did not mean he approved of it. Thepetitive Imperial Halls were filled with sinister intentions, and there was darkness within the Official Courts.

    Those are not something that he needed to experience to understand.

    Therefore...

    From the beginning, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was to pass the Law of Dao Examinations, get one of the so-called "titles" in this world, find a wife and live out the rest of his life back at home in peace.

    An easygoing and rxing life.

    These had always been his dream. For the sake of this dream, he needed a lot of things. For example, money...

    However, now he was faced with a problematic situation.

    His life might be a forfeit.

    Because...

    After the voice rang out from the room, Fang Zhengzhi could see those guards that were kneeling suddenly stood up in unison. Following after this was a "Shiiing!", a crisp and synchronized sound of swords being drawn.

    The cold unforgiving swords shimmered under the sun.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first thought was to run.

    However, this thought was extinguished just as fast as it bubbled out because other than the guards within the courtyard, outside of here were even more of them pouring in like ants.

    Those guards wore the same as the guards within the courtyard but their weapon was different. On their backs were quivers full of arrows with pure white fletchings.

    "Shua!"

    The whole unit¡¯s bowstring sounded off.

    In a blink of an eye, three rows of archers that their bow¡¯s pulled fully.The courtyard walls and gates were all upied by even more archers.

    Too fast...

    Almost as if these soldiers were already outside prepared for this. This change of scene was unbelievably quick. Furthermore, these soldiers¡¯ training was famous for being intricatelyplex.

    The atmosphere was suffocating. The killing intent in the air permeated the air like a sea of fog.

    In the distance, the roaring of footsteps could be heard. It was clear that reinforcements were rapidly heading in this direction.

    What Fang Zhengzhi did not know was that these guards were already prepared in advance by Ping Yang.

    It was just that the situation did not go ording to n. Originally, these guards were supposed to grab him from the room after he jumped out of the bathtub, and serve him a few hard paddlings in front of the guests.

    But now...

    Their mission now was to surround and execute Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in the dark about this but he knew that even with this Heavenly Reflection State power, trying to escape from this was all but nought.

    ...

    Those officials and noble family members sitting down at the banquet had an unobstructed view to all of this.

    Yet, no one stepped forward or even moved from their seats. They were all used to such rapid transformations of a scene because they too had such an amount of soldiers in their own residences.

    Although their soldiers were not as highly trained as the Ranger Squad.

    This did not affect their boisterous mood at all.

    Everyone had their own thoughts about the current situation. They suddenly remembered the rumours not too long ago. Princess Ping Yang was ordering people to send silver taels every day.

    Now...

    She wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead.

    Was she purposely luring him into Ping Yang Residence with silver taels?

    With the power that Ping Yang Princess had, was it necessary for her to spend so much time and resources on such a trivial matter? What was in their past that led to such a contrasting treatment within the span just a few days?

    No one understood but if Ping Yang was able to kill Fang Zhengzhi, this might greatly please the majority of the guests.

    King Duan was squinting his eyes slightly. He was really looking forward to this scene.

    Han Changfeng also had an almost undetectable smile on his face. If Ping Yang was able to get rid of Fang Zhengzhi, then he would not have to be concerned with the Imperial Examinations.

    To him, this would definitely be safer.

    ...

    Would Fang Zhengzhi really surrender without a fight?

    Of course not.

    Although he was unsure whether these soldiers with the swords and bows would really charge to eliminate him, he was notfortable with his fate being in another¡¯s hand.

    God knows if someone¡¯s hand just twitched...

    A torrential rain of arrows would descend upon him. He would not be able to block them all no matter his skill level.

    Especially those white fletching arrows. The frost aura from those arrows could be felt even from such a distance. Those were definitely not normal arrows that were found in his vige.

    The path forward was totally blocked.

    Escape was no longer an option. Then, the only other option was to turn back in.

    Hence, under the bewildered eyes of officials and nobles at the banquet, and the soldiers holding their swords and bows, Fang Zhengzhi did a one- eighty and dived back into the living quarters...

    ...

    Ping Yang had always thought that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless but never in a million years would she had expected that he would be shameless enough to return back here.

    She did not even have time to jump back into the tub.

    The two pairs of eyes once again met.

    Ping Yang saw the desperation on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, ready to perish together with her. Then, her mind inexplicably shed to the conversation she had with Brother Jiu.

    "I¡¯m going to kill him!"

    "But you can¡¯t beat him. He¡¯s already a Heavenly Reflection."

    Yes, Fang Zhengzhi was already at Heavenly Reflection and she was only at Star Conglomerate.

    More importantly...

    The two handmaidens behind her had not even essed Dao.

 Chapter 166: Rights

    Chapter 166: Rights

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang was very unwilling to admit that she was in a bit of a tight spot. As Fang Zhengzhi moved towards her step by step, she was forced to acknowledge that if they were to have a martial arts showdown, she would not stand a chance.

    However, she was Ping Yang, the Sacred Lord¡¯s most adored princess. She possessed in-born nobility and arrogance. Even in such a scenario, she would never lower her head.

    She did not say anything nonsensical. For instance, "What are you doing?" or " Don¡¯te near me! I will scream and I will have you die a horrible death."

    Those ssy eyes suddenly reflected an uncharacteristic calmness.

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She did not believe that this vige cockroach was capable of doing anything outrageous here within the residence.

    If he really was going to do such things, how would she run?

    Fang Zhengzhi also looked at Ping Yang, his eyes scanned her pair of ssy orbs, scrutinised her face and every part of her body. Finally, he was able to ascertain that thisdy was indeed that stubborndy in front of the inn that day.

    He did not know what was the point of thedy¡¯s actions that day. Once again, he was unsure what this stubborndy was up to just now at the gates.

    What he did know was the reason she was so willing to send him silver taels non-stop to invite him to this banquet in the Ping Yang Residence.

    "The soldiers outside are after my life. If you do not want them to barge in and see this sight, what should you do?" Fang Zhengzhi calmed down too after discerning Ping Yang¡¯s identity.

    Since there was already resentment between them, then using his time to exin the misunderstandings was wasteful. Get straight to the point and negotiate.

    Ping Yang was slightly taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden change in attitude. What appalled her more after he made eye contact was how his eyes roamed from her head to toe then back up again.

    Furthermore, he was so focused and thorough.

    Most importantly, after looking, he did not even show a tinge of red on his face and calmly tried to discuss terms with her?

    So a person¡¯s level of shamelessness could reach such an extent.

    Ping Yang sighed. Just as Fang Zhengzhi had mentioned, she had to settle what was in front of him. Therefore, she gave the lifeless handmaidens a nce.

    These two personal handmaidens were carefully hand-picked by Ping Yang from all the handmaidens in the residence.

    Although they lost theirposure due to shock, they quickly recovered after given a nce by Ping Yang.

    "Princess has ordered, no one is allowed to enter!" One of them swiftly sent out the order.

    While the other one promptly took off her outer clothing and covered it with Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    ...

    Outside the courtyard, after watching Fang Zhengzhi shoot back into the living quarters, the soldiers marched orderly to the gates but they did not enter.

    Instead, they patiently waited for their orders.

    This orders coulde in many forms such as unusual silence, piercing screams or a disparaging voice...

    If anyone of those was present, they would bust down the door without hesitation and heroically capture the bold and audacious Fang Zhengzhi.

    If the sound was the current one they were hearing.

    The answer was obvious.

    They could only obediently wait at the door.

    This was because their princess highness was taken hostage by the psychotic Fang Zhengzhi. The moment they force open, they might risk the life of the princess highness.

    The officials and the nobles could also hear the orders by the handmaidens from outside the courtyard.

    Every one of their eyes held shock and terror.

    They did not know how Fang Zhengzhi offended the princess but if they were Fang Zhengzhi, they would have immediately surrendered just now.

    Only by offering yourself for capture and then beg for mercy to Ping Yang, would he have a chance to escape with his life.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi had a dubious engagement. Whether Chi Guyan would save him would be anyone¡¯s guess but there was a slight possibility that Ping Yang would let him live a couple more years on ount of this engagement.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current methods...

    It was equivalent to destroying hisst string of hope.

    King Duan, Lin Xingjue¡¯s eyes held a refined glimmer. He held up his cup, discovered it was tea and poured it out. Without waiting for the servants, he poured himself a cup of wine instead.

    Such a delightful event, how could he just enjoy it with tea?

    Han Changfeng did not reveal his thoughts like King Duan. He silently took a sip of his tea, while slightly reminiscing.

    ...

    Within the room, Fang Zhengzhi was right in front of Ping Yang. The distance between them was less than one meter.

    Ping Yang did not back down, allowing Fang Zhengzhi toe near her. Although she was only covered by a single piece of clothing from the handmaiden, some areas had a tantalising beauty about them.

    However, the thought of retreating never appeared in her mind.

    "Well, let¡¯s negotiate," Fang Zhengzhi started.

    "You think you have the right to negotiate with me?" Ping Yang calmly stared at Fang Zhengzhi, her ssy pupils revealed a trace of arrogance.

    "I think I do," Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Even if you could walk out of Ping Yang Residence today, you will not be able to exit Yan Capital!" Ping Yang¡¯s tone was impassive.

    "Hm, you are right. What if I don¡¯t escape from here?"

    "Don¡¯t escape? Won¡¯t you be..." Ping Yang wanted to say he would be waiting for his own death but she knew Fang Zhengzhi was smarter than that.

    "To be more specific, what if I don¡¯t go out of this room?"

    "You..." Ping Yang heart froze. In that instant, it seemed like she figured out something.

    "If I lived here for a year or two, by then we could have made an irreversible connection. After that, maybe a flower would bloom and we would bear some fruits or what not..."

    "Despicable!" Ping Yang finally lost her cool.

    Even if she was the high and mighty princess highness; even if the Scared Lord adored her the most. Whenever she was in front of Fang Zhengzhi, she always could not find a grab hold to wield her authority in front of him.

    "Alright, shall we talk about the terms?" Fang Zhengzhi once again opened his mouth and asked the same exact question. However, now the arrogance on Ping Yang¡¯s face had vanished.

    ...

    The living quarters had been quiet for a while now.

    The soldiers in the courtyard and the officials and nobles outside the courtyard were all anxiously waiting. They all knew what was going on inside.

    But they were not expecting him to sessfully negotiate.

    This was because the person inside the room was Ping Yang - demoness of Yan Capital. Even if it was not Ping Yang, the most Fang Zhengzhi could achieve was walking out of the living quarters.

    Zooming out, there¡¯s Ping Yang Residence, the Yan Capital and even the whole of the Great Xia Dynasty. Where could Fang Zhengzhi possibly run?

    Once he relinquished Ping Yang as his bargaining chip, that would be the moment when he loses his life.

    Without question.

    In the eyes of everyone, Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking.

    Seconds turned to minutes, Fang Zhengzhi had been in the room for fifteen minutes.

    At this point, a figure appeared from a distance.

    It was such an exquisite and refined figure. Covered by a pink dress with snow white petals imprinted on it. Silky crow-ck hair cascade down to the waist.

    The figure seemed to be walking leisurely. However, after close scrutiny, the figure¡¯s feet were actually walking on a light green glow.

    That was not the Wind of the Dao of All Creation...

    It was Lightsword.

    With a path of Lightsword under the feet, the figure possessed incredible speeds.

    The figure arrived in the middle of the banquet in an instant.

    The Lightsword disappeared, revealing an iparably gorgeous face. The pride of the dynasty; the guardian of all life. She was Chi Guyan, the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s most splendid representative.

    Those starry eyes looked at the officials and nobles present, then moved towards those soldiers holding their bows taut at the courtyard.

    Chi Guyan did not greet anyone, including King Duan who was seated down.

    This was an extraordinary air of arrogance.

    However, among all those present, no one dared to criticize her for theck of courtesy because she was Chi Guyan. She was a Double Dragon Roll Champion. She was chosen. She did not even need to kneel for the Sacred Lord.

 Chapter 167: Arrival of His Majesty

    Chapter 167: Arrival of His Majesty

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chi Guyan¡¯s appearance was not unexpected since everyone knew that Chi Guyan had entered Yan Capital and was residing in Ping Yang Residence.

    Instead what was worth guessing was whose side would she chose between Ping Yang and Chi Guyan?

    This seemed like a tough decision.

    The smart people that truly understood this situation knew that it was just a simple choice. On one side, there was her childhood ymate and the most adored princess of the Sacred Lord. On the other side was only a mountain viger with an unlikely engagement.

    Maybe Chi Guyan did not need Ping Yang¡¯s authority.

    But...

    Ping Yang¡¯s other identity would even give a Doube Dragon Roll Champion like Chi Guyan second thoughts.

    That was what made Ping Yang truly terrifying.

    An identity that allowed her to wreak havoc in Yan Capital unimpeded.

    So Chi Guyan¡¯s purpose ofing here was simple.

    King Duan, Lin Xingjue and Han Changfeng, even some of the great officials within the court pce were all intelligent people. Therefore, they were now thinking how would Chi Guyan sessfully save Ping Yang.

    However, Chi Guyan¡¯s next course of action made some of them almost facent.

    Because...

    She sat down.

    She sat down demurely and gracefully. It was just like she was just another guest at the banquet. She sat down under the gazes of all the guests who were expecting something to happen.

    After that, her eyes shifted to the handmaiden beside her.

    The handmaiden took a brief moment to collect her thoughts and promptly poured a cup of quality hot tea for Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan then took a small sip. After moisturising her lips with it, she set it down and that pair of eyes that shone like stars calmly looked towards the living quarters.

    Her face was calm and her manner was indifferent.

    Those intelligent officials were now mystified by Chi Guyan¡¯s actions. If Chi Guyan did not want to save Ping Yang, she could have just kept a low profile and not turn up.

    So was it possible that she did not want to see Fang Zhengzhi die at the hands of Ping Yang?

    Only that...

    With her brains, if Chi Guyan really wanted to save Fang Zhengzhi, she would not have made an appearance. Instead, she would probably avoid all the soldiers in the courtyard and discretely lend a helping hand.

    With these two possibilities, both did not require her toe out.

    Yet, here she was.

    Furthermore, she appeared at the most crucial and most appropriate moment. As such, she should have gone with the most appropriate course of action which was to save Ping Yang.

    What was the meaning of sitting down and enjoying the spectacle?

    Everyone, including King Duan and Han Chengfeng, could not decipher the thoughts of Chi Guyan.

    ...

    Just as everyone was wrecking their brains around Chi Guyan¡¯s purpose behind her actions, the door to the living quarters clicked and slowly opened out from the inside.

    At this moment, everyone¡¯s gazes focused on thoserge doors.

    "Finally, someone¡¯sing out!"

    Everyone thought to themselves in unison. They were looking forward to the next exciting scene to unfold. Would it be Fang Zhengzhiing out with Ping Yang at his mercy? Or would it be Fang Zhengzhi walking out alone and showered with arrows on sight?

    Everyone was waiting in suspense.

    A figure slowly walked out from within. She was in the full-length bright red dress with the golden peony enhancing her noble aura. A pair of ssy orbs calmly made contact with the crowd.

    Just like a fairy.

    Ping Yang walked out of the living quarters. Fang Zhengzhi was not beside her and so was her ever-present pair of handmaidens.

    The dress on her body was the piece she wore previously. Now, it was clean,fortable and it was even emanating a light flowery scent.

    All the soldiers rxed their bows.

    The officials and nobles outside the courtyard also unconsciously stood up, looking on nervously at the Ping Yang standing at the doors to the living quarters.

    "Sister Yan!" Ping Yang immediately spotted Chi Guyan in the crowd.

    Chi Guyan was simply too brilliant. It was impossible to miss her even with a quick scan of the crowd.

    "Ping Yang, were you being mischievous again?" Chi Guyan chided just like an older sister. She then stood up and ambled towards Ping Yang without a single trace of shock or uneasiness.

    It was like she knew from the start that Ping Yang was going toe out of the room in one piece.

    "No way... I was just finding someone to y!" Ping Yang came beside Chi Guyan with a face of innocence. After that, she gave the soldiers a look.

    "Step down!"

    "Yes!" The soldiers paused for a moment to reply. Then, retreated like the tide. Simr to when they came in. They entered fast and exited even faster.

    In an instant, the courtyard was empty and calm.

    Even those handmaidens and servants who were kneeling also disappeared.

    Only Ping Yang and Chi Guyan were left at the door.

    This sight...

    It jolted the crowd so much that they were speechless.

    Could it be that Ping Yang defeated Fang Zhengzhi?

    Indeed...

    Even if the vige cockroach was at Heavenly Reflection, he was no match for Ping Yang at the Star Conglomerate State!

    Just as they thought of this, Ping Yang turned back and called, " Sister Yan has arrived. Are you noting out?"

    Ping Yang¡¯s voice was not loud.

    But it was enough to be heard clearly by the guests.

    "Come out?! Who¡¯sing out? The two handmaidens?"

    "If it was the handmaidens, then her question would not match."

    "Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s..."

    As everyone was silently guessing, another figure came out. His blue changshan gently flowing in the breeze.

    The figure then came in between Ping Yang and Chi Guyan, the corners of the mouth lifting ever so slightly.

    "How is this possible?!"

    "Why is he not dead? How could he have let Ping Yange out? Why did he even let Chi Guyan walk to Ping Yang¡¯s side just like that?

    Everyone could not fathom the reason behind all this.

    Ping Yang opened her mouth once again.

    "Sister Yan, you must help me. Fang Zhengzhi previously promised me a Golden Jade Hairpin for my birthday. However, here he is today with nothing to show me. I tried to reason with him but instead, he tried to escape! Luckily this was my residence. He was stopped by the soldiers under mymand. Otherwise, he would have disappeared!" Ping Yangined while acting vulnerable.

    After hearing this, Chi Guyan immediately understood. She turned to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You promised her a Golden Jade Pin?"

    "Golden Jade Pin?" Fang Zhengzhi was really tempted to continue. To hell with that Golden Jade Pin. I couldn¡¯t afford it even if I wanted to.

    His terms with Ping Yang did not include a Golden Jade Hairpin. However, it included maintaining her reputation and integrity. At this juncture, thisdy¡¯s reputation was bigger than the heavens. Naturally, he had no objections. However, he did not expect Ping Yang to force him into such a tight spot.

    If he agreed right here in front of everyone.

    Wouldn¡¯t that be equivalent to admitting that he owed her a Golden Jade Hairpin?

    Forget it. Since he already had an eyeful of her chaste body, to be able to walk out of here with his life was nothing short of a miracle. As for the hairpin, he should agree first and just conveniently forget about it in the future.

    Ping Yang was not short of silver taels anyway.

    "The craftsman crafting the Golden Jade Hairpin suddenly feel sick, so..." Fang Zhengzhi trailed, his face showing a look of dejection.

    Chi Guyan stared at Fang Zhengzhi. She then turned back to Ping Yang and grabbed on to her hand, "You can rest easy Ping Yang. Your sister will definitely squeeze the Golden Jade Hairpin out of him!"

    "Thank you, Sister Yan!" Once Ping Yang heard this, she was ecstatic. She also did not forget to give a quick nce to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi indignantly returned the look, his silently added on in his heart, "Chi Guyan promised you. This has nothing to do with me!"

    ...

    The three of them chatted boisterously. The guests all the banquet all could not figure out what was going on.

    However, suddenly, all those great pce officials, including Kong Duan and Han Changfeng, and nobles saw a sight that disturbed them to the core.

    One of Chi Guyan¡¯s hands held Ping Yang¡¯s hand, while the other wrapped around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm. The three of them, walked shoulder to shoulder, through the courtyard and towards the banquet.

    If Ping Yang¡¯s words at the living quarter¡¯s doors were an act.

    Then what was this?

    There was no need for this to be in the act.

    "Golden Jade Hairpin?!"

    "What about taking the princess hostage? What about killing Fang Zhengzhi?"

    The guests gawked at the sight of the three of them lightly smiling. None of them knew how to react or what was going on.

    Most importantly, Chi Guyan actually grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm?!

    "Chi Guyan, could it be..."

    "How is this possible?"

    Although the crowd heard rumours of Chi Guyan personally agreed to the engagement with Fang Zhengzhi at the Northern Lands Divine Constabry, this was the first time those who lived Yan Capital saw Chi Guyan held onto Fang Zhengzhi.

    Their minds were utterly andpletely blown.

    Therefore, the guests looked at one another...

    Was it possible that Chi Guyan knew from the start that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were just ying around?

    That was why she sat down and waited for them.

    This was really the only exnation that was still usible. This also exined the Chi Guyan¡¯s was in no hurry and took aid-back approach.

    Just that such a reason was totally out of their predictions.

    Because...

    This situation really took a drastic turn in the mood!

    One minute, their swords were out and ready to go at each other¡¯s throat. Then in the next minute, they were as close as a family?

    Must it be so exaggerated that it was right at the edge of believableness?

    "Shatter!" A wine cup shattering on the ground was heard.

    King Duan saw the sight of Chi Guyan holding onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm. He pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed. However this was different from just now, this time his eyes contained the coldness of thousand-years-old cier.

    Han Chengfeng¡¯s hand that was currently holding the teacup was also shaking. The boiling hot tea spilt onto his hand yet he gave no thought of it.

    In one mouth, he gulped down the rest of the tea in the cup.

    Right at this moment, when everyone was still stewing in the shock of the entricities between Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang, an extremely piercing voice prated through the residence.

    "Your Majesty has arrived!"

 Chapter 168: Chapter 168 Blazing Qilin [1]

    Chapter 168: zing Qilin [1]

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Regarding the phrase "Your Majesty", Fang Zhengzhi was familiar with it. In his previous life, he encountered this word multiple times. From the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty to thest emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Pu Yi.

    In the annals of history, there never was ack of outstanding national leaders nor was there ack of corrupted dictators.

    However, those would always be just something he read in the books. This would be the first time he saw a real emperor in this world, and he got a small case of nerves.

    King Duan, with all the officials and nobles, stood up.

    His Majestying to Ping Yang¡¯s birthday banquet was no surprise.

    Chi Guyan maintained a calmposure, and so did Ping Yang. Within their calm was a trace of tion. However, they did not possess any extreme emotions towards the arrival of His Majesty.

    Not longter, a storm of footsteps echoed down.

    A group of figures slowly walked towards them from a distance.

    There was so soldiers making a path, nor any extravagantyout. There were not even any concubines following in procession. Only a total of nine people came.

    At the front was a man, garbed in a gold Royal Robe. A five-wed dragon was stitched on it with gold threads. His head was adorned with a golden crown. It was the standard dressing of an emperor.

    Behind this man followed eight young men d in different silk robes. Every one of them was oozing extravagance. They emitted a supernatural kind of aura.

    When that line of people appeared, a young man, with a pair of sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, wearing traditional Chinese clothes walked out from the crowd and came in front of the row.

    "Wee, Father!"

    "Wee, His Majesty!"

    "Wee, Princes!"

    After that young man in the traditional clothes kneeled, all the officials and nobles followed suit.

    Chi Guyan did not kneel. She only bent forward slightly, showing her respects to the front man. Ping Yang simrly did not kneel, she did not even bother bending forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to kneel. However, it was as if his heart was zapped by lightning, his two legs totally could not bend.

    "This is the current Sacred Lord?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s jaws dropped in stupefaction. This was the first time he was this stupefied. He was not shocked to this extent even when Chi Guyan publicly announced her engagement with him at the Divine Constabry.

    He subtly nced at Ping Yang beside him, then at the young man who was kneeling on the floor.

    The was only one thought running through his head.

    "Ping Yang and the young man at the front of the line... She can¡¯t be his blood daughter, can she?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was not someone who could not ept reality but the emperor before him was just too young. Terrifyingly young.

    If not for that standard emperor garb, Fang Zhengzhi definitely would not have pegged him as the current ruler.

    In the living quarters, Fang Zhengzhi figured out Ping Yang¡¯s identity. The current princess and the kneeling young man was at least twenty-four to twenty-five years old.

    But...

    The current Sacred Lord looked no more than twenty years old!

    A pair of brilliant eyes radiating vigour, a full head of ck hair without a single silver hair, his skin was smooth and unblemished. How could this be the Sacred Lord that sired so many royal children?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face revealed the confoundment he felt in his heart. This sight eventually was spotted by the current Sacred Lord, Lin Mubai. After all, beside Fang Zhengzhi were his two most favourite people.

    Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.

    However, the Sacred Lord¡¯s face did not show any change, as if he did not see anything. He merely scanned past Fang Zhengzhi and shifted his focus to the young man kneeling in front of him.

    "That¡¯s very considerate of you, Xingjue! You arrived even earlier than me. Quick, rise!"

    "Thank you, Father!" The young man rose.

    "Tianrong, on most days you are busy with the political work but you should take a walk outside sometimes. It¡¯s not good to hide inside your Eastern Pce. Regarding this point, you should learn from King Duan!" The Sacred Lord advised. His gaze turning to a young man behind him who was wearing a silver silk robe with a white dragon imprint.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi noticed the young man behind the Sacred Lord. He was a man with eyebrows fine like a willow and a pair of long narrow eyes. His features made him look slightly feminine. However, he wore the white dragon silk robe and also held the post at Eastern Pce. This was without a doubt the current crown prince of the dynasty.

    Crown Prince, Lin Tianrong¡¯s face straightened up instantly after hearing his father¡¯s advice.

    "Father¡¯s advice was indeed filled with wisdom. I will definitely learn from Brother Xingjue in future!" The crown prince was prepared to kneel after finishing but was blocked by the Sacred Lord¡¯s outstretched hand.

    Then, the Sacred Lord stopped his interactions with his sons behind and turned to his kneeling subjects.

    "All rise. Today, I¡¯m here for a banquet. All of you need not stand on ceremony!"

    "Thank you, Your Majesty!" All the officials and nobles rose after hearing his words.

    Seeing all his subjects rising, the Sacred Lord gave a gentle nod and smile with warmth.

    "Father!" Pung Yang called out delicately, pulling Chi Guyan with her as she went forward.

    "Haha...Ping Yang, you have once again grown one year older. You are really getting more beautiful as you grow. You might even surpass your mother soon! Oh right... I came here bearing a gift. Now you can¡¯t chase me out likest time, can you?"

    "Then I have to see what kind of gift is it!" Ping Yang curled her lips.

    "zing Qilin Spear. How do you like that?" The corner of the Sacred Lord¡¯s lips lifted as he mentioned the zing Qilin Spear.

    When the rest of his subjects heard of, "zing Qilin Spear", these three words, all of them lost their colour. The Demoness of Yan Capital possessing one of the Ten Great Treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, zing Qilin Spear...

    How would they survive the days toe?

    "Father is really giving me the zing Qilin Spear? Hahaha... Father sure dotes on me!" The moment Ping Yang heard about the zing Qilin Spear, she looked absolutely delighted. She could barely contain her smile from breaking out.

    "Guyan greets His Majesty!" Guyan found that this was an appropriate time to open her mouth.

    "En... Guyan, this is where you are wrong. One year ago, you visited Heaven Dao Pavillion and did not even allow me to have an audience with you. Now that you havee down from there, and evene to Yan Capital. After seeing me once, why did you never visit me ever again?" Although the Sacred Lord¡¯s tone seemed meful, his expression was simr to that of the familiar love of a father.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt ufortable seeing such a sight.

    A twenty years old young man giving such an expression was just too hard to imagine.

    "Your Majesty was right in scolding me," Chi Guyan slightly bowed. She only answered back but she gave no promises about going to the pce to visit him.

    The Sacred Lord¡¯s face betrayed a tiny amount of disappointment but he did not say anything and turned to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Following the Sacred Lord¡¯s gaze, everyone attention was focused on Fang Zhengzhi.

    At this point, people realised...

    Fang Zhengzhi had been standing the whole time and did not kneel at all.

    "So you are Fang Zhengzhi?" The Sacred Lord slowly analysed Fang Zhengzhi, it seemed like he was thinking about something.

    "Yes," Fang Zhengzhi was indeed stunned by the arrival of the Sacred Lord and therefore, forgetting to kneel. However, now that everyone had risen, did he still need to kneel?

    "Audacious Fang Zhengzhi. Why did you not kneel in the presence of His Majesty?" One official saw that Fang Zhengzhi refused to kneel and immediately highlighted his disrespect.

    The Sacred Lord looked at that official in the eye and waved him off. After that, he walked forward to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I¡¯ve heard your story. Born in a mountain vige, and have never stepped foot into a Hall of Dao. Yet, at the age of six, you deciphered the Illustration of All Creation. Furthermore, you are a Double Roll Champion at the Law of Dao Examinations at Huai An County and River of Trust Province. Now, you are just fifteen years of age and yet you have already broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State. Such tremendous achievements for someone so young. It¡¯s the fortune of my Great Xia Dynasty to have you!"

    The Sacred Lord praised Fang Zhengzhi openly, with a hint of admiration on his face.

    "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately paid his respects.

    He was not sure about the traditional mannerism in this world but he felt that his reply was adequately respectful.

    "En, although you have obtained such achievements, you must remember to always revise the sagely words within the "Law of Dao"! Since I inherited the throne at the age of eighteen, it has been more than thirty years already. I have seen quite a few young men bursting with potential to only shine for an instant and ruined their bright futures after maturing into greedy adults that only knew to satisfy their own mortal desires. They wasted such an incredible foundation they possessed. You must learn from the past mistakes of your predecessors. Continue to polish yourself, don¡¯t stop improving. Make yourself an asset to the dynasty!" The Sacred Lord saw Fang Zhengzhi paying his respects and nodded in approval.

    "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty!" Fang Zhengzhi once again answered back.

    However, his mind was brewing up a storm. Inherited the throne at eighteen and had been on the throne for more than thirty years?

    Adding that up...

    That would be at least fifty years old?!

    Just as he thought about this, he once again studied the young man that had aplexion simr to him. He silently berated in his heart, "You purposely messing with me?"

    The Sacred Lord naturally could not read Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. After hearing his words, he nodded again and turned into the banquet to find a seat.

    From the start till the end, in his conversation with Fang Zhengzhi, not once did he mention about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s engagement to Chi Guyan nor did he give out any Divine Message.

    He merely gave him a piece of advice to maintain an attitude of continuous self-improvement.

    The officials looked on as the Sacred Lord took his seat in the banquet hall, and at the same time thought of the few sentences he said just now. One by one, different emotions coloured their faces. Some were green with envy, while others to softly snickered at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Han Changfeng¡¯s eyes concealed his swirling emotions. He seemed as if he was slowly dissecting the advice that the Sacred Lord gave to Fang Zhengzhi.

    On the other hand, King Duan had a cold smile that threatened to break out, "Fang Zhengzhi, even my father did not approve of your engagement to Chi Guyan. Can you still pass the Imperial Examinations?"

    [1] Qilin (÷è÷ë) - an ancient Chinese mythical beast.

 Chapter 169: The Beginning of the Imperial Examinations

    Chapter 169: The Beginning of the Imperial Examinations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As he thought about this, King Duan, Lin Xingjue quickly followed behind the Sacred Lord, Lin Mubai. He felt that he should relieve some of his father¡¯s burdens.

    However, today was Ping Yang¡¯s birthday banquet. Discussing the pce politics here would be quite distasteful.

    King Duan understood this, therefore, he suppressed his thoughts but his smile grew even greater instead.

    ...

    No one else continued trying to chase down what transpired in the living quarters between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi. With the arrival the Sacred Lord, Ping Yang¡¯s banquet officially began.

    The Crown Prince, Lin Tian Rong personally invited Chi Guyan to join them at the VIP seats. However, Chi Guyan kindly and respectfully rejected and sat beside Fang Zhengzhi instead.

    Seeing this scene, the Sacred Lord did not show any expression.

    Obviously, he was merely tolerating this.

    The Crown Prince did not mind at all. He simply said something along the lines of "Today is Ping Yang¡¯s birthday and you two are practically sisters since childhood". After that, he set himself down beside the Sacred Lord.

    Fang Zhengzhi observed this and realised why Chi Guyan decided to enter Heaven Dao Pavillion a year ago. Matters in the pce was filled with nitpicking procedures.

    Attention must be paid to even the matter of a mere seating arrangement.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should not be an official. In fact, he did not want to be an official. He was not afraid of shing heads with others, but felt that that required too much effort.

    If he must choose...

    He would definitely choose a more rxed posting.

    "Come, I shall use Ping Yang¡¯s birthday to raise a toast to my beloved subjects!" Under the leadership of the Sacred Lord, all the officials and nobles raised their cups to celebrate Ping Yang¡¯s birthday.

    After three rounds of toasts, some of the nobles had loose energy spare and suggested some entertainment toplement celebrations such as recitation of poetry and exchanging couplets.

    After all, a chance to exhibit their talents in front of the Sacred Lordes only once in a blue moon.

    The foundation for the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty was the "Law of Dao". After the control of the Dao of All Creation came the flourishment of the dynasty. To witness the resulting talents that bloom from this flourishment was of no objection to the Sacred Lord.

    After this, a few of the nobles started to churn out their poetry or couplets

    Fang Zhengzhi had no interest in such subjects. He always felt that reciting poetry and exchanging couplets were too insubstantial in terms of skills required. Especially the exchange of couplets. He reckoned that if he just copied down some of the great ssics, it would be enough to scare them into the ground.

    Therefore, his attention was instead ced on Chi Guyan.

    Today, Chi Guyan was gorgeous as usual. Her pale skin softly gleamed like a jade, with a light scent emanating from her.

    However...

    This was not what grabbed his attention.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s focus was on what was in her hands. The pair of slender and pale hands were untainted and currently holding a pure silver tripod wine cup.

    Chi Guyan was drinking.

    Most importantly, she was chugging it down. Cup after cup went down without a hitch.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled

    He had never seen Chi Guyan drink. At least, he did not see her drink at the banquet at the Divine Constabry previously.

    That was not important. What was important was that he decided to wait for Chi Guyan drink till her cheeks were red, wobbly on her feet. Then, immediately after that when her guard was down, issue a challenge to her.

    When that timees in front of so many guests, Chi Guyan would be too embarrassed not to take it right

    Although this was quite despicable, he would be able to wipe the floor with her in front of the Sacred Lord, Crown Prince, King Duan, the princes and other guests.

    He was excited just thinking about it.

    Hence, he started the wait...

    When Chi Guyan was already on her twentieth cup, Fang Zhengzhi still did not see even a single hint of intoxication. Her stunning face did not colour a single shade of red, it was still glowing and smooth like a jade.

    Fang Zhengzhi was disappointed.

    Did ady really need to hold her liquor this well? The men would not stand a chance.

    Chi Guyan suddenly realised Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weird expression. Her starry orbs hid a sh of something.

    "Want topete with me?"

    "I don¡¯t drink!" Fang Zhengzhi calmly pushed aside his half-empty wine cup. He then poured himself a cup of tea.

    He remembered amon saying. On the table, never test your liquor with ady.

    Especially thedies who could drink because thesedies could drink the whole table under.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi remembered Chi Guyan¡¯s identity, Northern Lands¡¯ Divine Constabry. What is that ce?

    That was the Iron Blood Army Marquis¡¯ noble family.

    A woman raised in the Iron Blood Army Marquis¡¯ noble family...

    Alright.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realised he was still too naive. For Chi Guyan to drink, it naturally meant that she would not be intoxicated.

    The officials and nobles that sat beside these two heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and instantly rolled their eyes. From the start of the banquet to now, Fang Zhengzhi was drinking non-stop. Yet, here he was brazenly iming that he did not drink?

    Who would believe?

    Just as they had this thought.

    Chi Guyan once again spoke, "Mm, not drinking is not necessarily a bad thing."

    Those few officials¡¯ and nobles¡¯ face immediately looked as if someone gave them two tight ps. Chi Guyan actually believed him?

    This scene with Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at the table was spotted of King Duan.

    From the very beginning, he was observing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. Especially when the nobles suggested topete with poetry recitation and the exchange of couplets. His eyes never left Fang Zhengzhi from then.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was too calm. It was as if he gave no thoughts to all the voices around him.

    "So his weakness is here!" King Duan¡¯s eyes shed for an instant.

    He had been thinking of the uing Imperial Examinations the whole time. However, after interacting with Han Changfeng, he learnt of the situation of the Theory Examinations at the River of Trust Province.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s theory results were outstanding.

    Be it Tao Te Ching or set up of troop matrices. He could even recite the Law of Dao without a single word amiss.

    On this point, even Han Changfeng had to admit. To remove Fang Zhengzhi using the Theory Examinations was almost impossible unless they bribe every invigtor in one go.

    However, doing so would pose too great a risk. For just one Fang Zhengzhi, Han Changfeng was unwilling to take the risk and so was King Duan.

    So...

    The best n was to rig the questions. Find Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Achilles¡¯ Heel subject and increase the weightage of the questions on that subject.

    In this way, even if Fang Zhengzhi could perform in other questions, he would still not be able to make it to the Theory Examinations first-ss roll.

    "Born in a mountain vige... Naturally, he would not have the time to recite poetry ore up with couplets! Even if he thought about it... There would be no one to exchange with him right?" The more King Duan thought about this, the more probable this seemed.

    At this point, a noble in a green silk robe walked towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    "I¡¯ve heard that Young Master Fang was the Double Roll Champion in the Theory and Combat Examinations in examinations at the River of Trust Province. Today, I came to learn a thing or two from you!" As he said this, he prepared to open his mouth to construct a couplet for exchange.

    The rest of the nobles saw this and all were waiting for augh as Fang Zhengzhi inevitably fumbles.

    Fang Zhengzhi was currently keeping track of the number of cup of wine that Chi Guyan was drinking. He was quietly measuring her liquor threshold. He had no leftover interest to exchange couplets with this noble.

    He simply waved his hand.

    "Not free!"

    The tone sounded like a senior chasing off a mischievous youngster.

    The green silk robe noble¡¯s face changed. Originally, he came here to use Fang Zhengzhi to highlight his own talents. There was no way he was giving up this easily.

    When he tried to start once again, a voice came from the VIP seats.

    "It is said that the second young master of the Tian Family, Tian Muyu was bestowed the beautiful title of " The Ingenious Hand for Couplets". Just now I heard Young Master Muyu effortlessly create a couplet as you opened your mouth. Do you mind if I have a bout with you?"

    The Tian Muyu wearing his green silk robe turned and realised that the person was King Duan.

    His whole persona immediately changed.

    Having a couplet bout with King Duan?

    Did he even dare to win?

    Tian Muyu naturally did not dare but he could not reject either. Therefore, he could only brace himself for what was toe and gave King Duan a bow.

    "Since King Duan has such refined interests, Tian Muyu is happy to oblige!"

    Such a sight naturally attracted the attention of every guest in the hall.

    Every official and noble¡¯s heart was flipping out.

    King Duan was obviously saving Fang Zhengzhi from disgrace. In other words, he¡¯s purposely saving Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, what was the purpose of this action?

    No one understood.

    However, that did not stop people from guessing.

    For example, could he be under King Duan? Or was King Duan purposely had other sinister intentions for him but protect him in front of the Sacred Lord to remove suspicion?

    Some even guessed that King Duan was taking advantage of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rtionship with Chi Guyan to pull her to his side.

    The Sacred Lord did not bother with this matter.

    However, the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes shone with a knowing look. After all, the topic of Fang Zhengzhi was sensitive. Any matters rted to him had more than meets the eye.

    ...

    What happened next did not bode well for Tian Muyu.

    As King Duan constructed three lines, he could barely stutter out one toplement them. In the end, he practically ran back to his seat.

    "p!" A resounding pnded on Tian Muyu face.

    The hand that pped him belonged to an official that looked rather frail, " Everyday I reminded you to revise and practice yet you only cared about making a mess outside. Aren¡¯t you a joke today?"

    He was obviously reprimanding Tian Muyu but it could also be seen as a way to protect him.

    Tian Muyu immediately kneeled down and vowed to improve his ways and work harder.

    The elder and a youngling act were not bad. That p was solid. Afterwards, the old official turned to King Duan and profusely praised him and wee King Duan to provide advice for the useless Tian Muyu.

    King Duan simply waved his hand and did not say much. He returned to his drink and food, as if he did not just best Tian Muyu.

    Protect Fang Zhengzhi?

    Never in a million years. However, his nning was definitely meticulous. He did not wish for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weakness to be exposed too early. If that was the case then people would be suspicious if he were to increase the weightage of couplet and poetry subjects in the uing Imperial Examinations.

    Moreover, there were still a few days left before the examinations. Although it was not much time, he did not want Fang Zhengzhi to realise his weakness.

    God knows if he would desperately learn from people the techniques of constructing couplets in the next few days.

    King Duan did not forget. Fang Zhengzhi had the noble blood Yan Xiu by his side.

    To annihte someone, it was necessary to inte their egos.

    ...

    The birthday banquet ended on a high note. The officials made themselves known and the nobles showed off their talents. Everyone was satisfied and happy.

    When the Sacred Lord took his leave, the Crown Prince and King Duan followed behind.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw the Ping Yang that was purposefully blinking at him, he knew in his heart that was not a good sign. Of course, he knew that if he did not leave soon, it would probably be difficult to leaveter on.

    The Crown Prince and King Duan did not get far before Fang Zhengzhi followed behind in a sh.

    This scene was coincidentally witnessed by those imperial officials

    Everyone looked at one another, revealing a look of confoundment and spection.

    Especially Han Changfeng. His eyes stuck to the backs of King Duan and Fang Zhengzhi. Those orbs shimmered and shed, his forehead creased into three deep gorges.

    ...

    Eight dayster, the Imperial Examinations that everyone was focused onmenced.

 Chapter 170: Thousand Carps Swimming Through The River

    Chapter 170: Thousand Carps Swimming Through The River

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A fine drizzle floated down from the sky in Yan Capital. This was not supposed to the right weather for a stroll. However, the moment the first ray of sunshine touched the sky, countless of gifted schrs wore their traditional clothes or silk robes and made their way down the streets.

    One after another opened their wax paper umbres.

    A plethora of patterns was imprinted on these umbres. There were rivers and mountain in ink, paintings of rushing rivers. There were red, white, green and a variety of colourful flower imprints that looked like a bouquet from above.

    This looked like a living breathing canvas.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walked beside each other in the crowd. Yan Xiu wore Chinese traditional clothes with a decoration of rivers and mountains in ink on it. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi donned his usual blue Changshan.

    Both carrying a wax paper umbre each, drifting through the streets.

    The location of the Imperial Examinations had always been at the Imperial Academy. As thergest academy in the whole of the Great Xia dynasty, its architecture was ssic yet a strong historical aura permeated its walls.

    Rumours have it that the history of the Imperial Academy was even longer than that of the Imperial Pce of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    It was the previous dynasty¡¯s pce. After the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, the old pce underwent a renovation but the basic structures were preserved.

    When Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu arrived at the gates of the Imperial Academy, they found that it was blocked by a sea of young schrs in their different upscale items of clothing.

    Of course, there were somedies all dressed up surrounding them and looking on. There were also somedies dressed simply and elegantly, reading topete in this examination on an equal level as the men.

    Compared to the examinations in the River of Trust Province, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu did not attract too much attention this time.

    After all, in this massive Yan Capital, there were simply too many blinding talents. For example, Xing Qingsui from the Peace Province or the eldest son of the first-ss official of the Su family, Su Donglin.

    There were even rumours that there was even someone from the secretive Southern Pce n wasing.

    Su Rui trusted the credibility of this information since it was from Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi once asked Yan Xiu how capable these people were and Yan Xiu had a veiled reaction and replied with one sentence, " Extremely capable!"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not inquire further.

    Because, for Yan Xiu to admit their strength, those people must be the real deal.

    "What do you think would happen if I became the Double Roll Champion again?" Fang Zhengzhi looked around the crowd surrounding the door and casually mentioned.

    Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    His face showed a hint of shock but it was fleeting. He immediately returned to his cold and aloof persona.

    "That would be very difficult!" Yan Xiu opened his mouth.

    Although it was an answer, it was not very informative.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew very well. Although he achieved Heavenly Reflection State, the Imperial Examinations were different from the Provincial Examinations. Passing the Imperial Examinations meant that they could rise to be pce officials.

    This clearly showed the height of the bar set.

    Many young schrs who passed the Provincial Examinations were stopped at this stage. They then returned to their books to revise day after day, year after year, diligently preparing for the next one.

    This resulted in a phenomenon.

    It was the phenomenon ofpression. For example, the first ever Imperial Examinations might only pass fifty people. That batch¡¯s fifty-first candidate onwards would bepressed to the next Imperial Examinations.

    However, in the next Imperial Examinations, there would also be new candidates entering. After the even more mercilesspetition, there would be more people beingpressed to the third Imperial Examinations.

    Such was the cycle.

    The history since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty was close to a thousand years. The biannual Imperial Examinations had their candidates gettingpressed down all the way to today and its difficulty level had reached truly titanic proportions.

    The limit of intake set by the Imperial Examinations made it simr to watching thousands of carps swimming through the river. It was a spectacr massacre.

    Heavenly Reflection State?

    Maybe, there were only two who achieved the Heavenly Reflection State by the age of eighteen in the whole of the Great Xia Dynasty. But what about those who achieved it before age twenty-eight? There was got to be at least fifty or sixty of them.

    If the age was thirty-eight, forty-eight or fifty-eight...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how many people have reached the Heavenly Reflection State in today¡¯s Imperial Examinations. However, as he looked forward, he could see that at the gates there were all kinds of middle age men from thirty to forty years old and old men from forty to fifty years old. This was truly like a bloom of a hundred flowers.

    "Did Chi Guyan take part in the Imperial Examinations?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly asked.

    "Mm, the previous one before this," Yan Xiu nodded.

    "What position did she get?"

    "Double Roll Champion!" Yan Xiu was puzzled when Fang Zhengzhi asked for her cing.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked for a moment but he quickly recovered. Chi Guyan was already at the peak of the Heavenly Reflection State a year ago. She definitely would not be far from that just another year before that.

    Taking the Double Roll Champion was not anything surprising to her.

    It was just that since Chi Guyan was the Double Roll Champion, then wouldn¡¯t he lose face if he did not get the same title?

    Would she look down on him?

    "It seems like I have no choice but to take the Double Roll Champion title too!" Fang Zhengzhi helplessly sighed.

    His voice was not considered loud.

    It was just a normal conversation between two people, especially in the rain. Normally, no one would have taken note of it.

    However...

    This was the Imperial Academy where all the candidates taking the Imperial Examinations were congregated. The three words "Double Roll Champion" at this moment in time held a terrifying lethality.

    Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi uttered the three words " Double Roll Champion", pair after pair of eyes shoot daggers at him.

    It was not long before someone recognised Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. After all, previously the information about Fang Zhengzhi obtaining the Heavenly Reflection State spread like wildfire.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He is indeed a prodigy. However...This is the Imperial Examinations. It was not a stage where a young genius that just entered the Heavenly Reflection state could freely swagger around. Double Roll Champion, haha..."

    "ssic case of ignorance is bliss. He is still young!"

    Many of the candidates shook their heads as they nced at Fang Zhengzhi. After that, the rain in front of some of the candidates stopped abruptly. Almost as if it was being controlled.

    Heavenly Reflection!

    Heavenly Reflection was spotted this easily at the gates of the Imperial Academy.

    "This would not be easy. However, I absolutely must obtain the title of Double Roll Champion!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at those candidates controlling the rain. This was the first time since he got here that he became serious.

    "Do you really want to be the Double Roll Champion?" Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was getting sombre too.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Then, you would first have to be the Roll Champion for the Theory Examinations!" Yan Xiu also nodded. He did not think that it was possible for Fang Zhengzhi to be the Double Roll Champion but he chose to believe in him nheless.

    This trust came from the bottom of his heart. It was pure and did not need any reason.

    "Gong!" The gong signalling the opening of the gates reverberated in the air.

    All the candidates started entering the examination stage. No one bothered with Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s conversation. In their eyes, it was merely a presumptuous and arrogant act.

    Someone who just reached the Heavenly Reflection State wanted to be the Double Roll Champion?

    Merely a frog in a well, ignorant of the world around him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not bothered by the stares. He realised that he was about to enter the examination halls. At this moment, a schr in a light yellow schr garb suddenly blocked him from the front.

    The schr held the umbre very low.

    He could not see his face but the body frame was lithe and small.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused. They were already knocking the gong to enter, why was there someone here blocking him? Was this person not scared that he would be beaten up by him?

    As he was thinking about this, the umbre was slowly raised.

    Revealing an unblemished face with an otherworldly beauty. The most striking feature was the pair of ssy eyes that glistened like the water under the autumn sun.

    "It¡¯s you?!" Fang Zhengzhi did not need to guess. Only one person possessed such eyes. That was the Princess Ping Yang from the Ping Yang Residence.

    "Yes, it¡¯s indeed me! Are you happy to see me?" Ping Yang blinked at Fang Zhengzhi looking very calm.

    "Happy my ass! I¡¯m going to take an examination soon, temporarily unavable to give a damn about you," Fang Zhengzhi made his stance very clear.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you know very well that I¡¯m Princess Ping Yang yet you dare to treat me like this?!" Ping Yang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. Her eyes projected disbelief.

    "Not happy? We made a deal already. You can¡¯t send people to assassinate me in the next two years. Why would I be afraid of you?" Fang Zhengzhi eyed Ping Yang dismissively.

    "Hmph, I was forced into this by you!" Ping Yang moved her small lips.

    "But you already swore? There¡¯s no going back. What is the point of saying this now?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that now was not the time to dig up buried bones.

    "That¡¯s indeed useless. Then shall I talk about something more useful? For example... I have the answers to the Theory Examinations. Do you want to take a look?" Ping Yang discreetly moved nearer to Fang Zhengzhi and took an envelope from her chest.

    "Answers?" Fang Zhengzhi scanned the envelope in Ping Yang¡¯s hand. He could not shake the feeling of deja vu in this situation.

    Previously in the River of Trust Province, Li Zhuangshi also used the same tactic to lure him. In the end, karma bit him from the back.

    However, the person in front of him was Ping Yang.

    She was the most adored princess of the Sacred Lord. Furthermore, after his few interactions with her, Fang Zhengzhi realised that Ping Yang¡¯s intelligence was on apletely different level than Li Zhuangshi.

    So...

    The answers in Ping Yang¡¯s hands just might be real.

    At this point, Yan Xiu also noticed the envelope in Ping Yang¡¯s hands. Traces of astonishment shed across his eyes.

    From the moment Ping Yang appeared, he had been standing beside these two people. Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi did not purposely keep the conversation from him. Therefore, Yan Xiu eventually realised who Ping Yang was.

    "I can swear that these answers here are real. Yesterday night, I send some people to sneakily infiltrate the Imperial Academy and stole one examination script. Over the night, I found a few pce officials to write these out for me," Ping Yang exined in all honesty.

    "Why did you want to steal the examination script? It can¡¯t be that you want to simply share the answers with me right?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped doubting the legitimacy of the answers.

    With Ping Yang¡¯s usual methods, stealing an examination script from the Imperial Academy was not that surprising.

    It was just that he did not understand what was the reason behind her doing so?

 Chapter 171: Difficulty Of The Theory Examinations

    Chapter 171: Difficulty Of The Theory Examinations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Because I¡¯m taking part in the examinations too."

    "You¡¯re taking part too?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang¡¯s schr outfit and found it strange. A princess of the pce came here to participate in the examinations simr to the carp run in the river. She was not here to be an official neither was she here to gain recognition. There was only one other reason...

    She was here for fun.

    However, the Imperial Law of Dao examinations were draconian. To obtain to right to enter the Imperial Examinations, one would have to pass the county and provincial examinations first.

    Could Ping Yang have passed the county and provincial examinations?

    Of course not.

    "Can¡¯t I?" Ping Yang did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. Her face a look of indignation.

    "Of course you can. However... Your entry pass is a fake, isn¡¯t it?" Fang Zhengzhi was able to believe that Ping Yang stole an examination script but he did not believe that she could bribe the whole of Imperial Academy to give her an entry pass.

    Furthermore...

    What was intriguing was her outfit she wore today. Obviously, she was here to create trouble and fulfil her mischievous impulses.

    The original prideful expression of Ping Yang faltered after Fang Zhengzhi brought up the entry pass. However, Ping Yang will be Ping Yang.

    Even when she was seen through, she did not panic.

    "That¡¯s right. I especially found someone to make this. It cost me a hundred silver taels. You see...Isn¡¯t it exactly like the real thing? Aren¡¯t I smart?" Ping Yang took out the pass from her chest and showed it off to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "One hundred taels?! Are you a pig?" Fang Zhengzhi thought about how could she so easily get duped by others. Scamming yourself would be better than letting others take advantage of you.

    "Such gall. You dare to scold me? p yourself!"

    "To hell with the p. You should count your blessings that I¡¯m not reporting you. Oh right, next time if you need another fake entry pass, you can find me. I give a fair price, no matter young or old. Only ny-nine silver tales!" Fang Zhengzhi could not care less about Ping Yang after finishing. He walked around and towards the gates of the Imperial Academy.

    "Look for you?" Ping Yang was stunned for a moment. However, she was not satisfied with Fang Zhengzhi just walking away like that, "You really don¡¯t want? With this baby, you will definitely get into the first-ss roll!"

    Ping Yang looked very sure of that.

    "A pity. I¡¯m aiming for roll champion!" Fang Zhengzhi continued forward without turning his head.

    "Based on the current you? Someone who had just entered the Heavenly Reflection State...Yet you want to take the title of roll champion? You should count your blessings if you don¡¯t fall out of the roll!" Ping Yang ended with a forceful "Hmph". After that, she turned her eyes turned to Yan Xiu, "Yan Xiu... Do you want?"

    "Answering Your Highness, I don¡¯t," it seemed like Yan Xiu understood Ping Yang¡¯s status clearer than Fang Zhengzhi. Therefore, his tone might be calm but it was not disrespectful.

    "Why not?" Ping Yang was honestly curious now. She could understand if Fang Zhengzhi did not want it but why was Yan Xiu the same too? Did he even reach the Heavenly Reflection State?

    "Because I¡¯m aiming for the second ce," Yan Xiu continued towards the gates after his deration.

    "Second ce?!" Ping Yang stared at the backs of Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Her ssy orbs hid a trace of doubt, "Did they really not know the intensity of the Imperial Examinations? But...If one took the first ce and the other took the second ce, then what would I be?"

    ...

    Not long after Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the Imperial Academy, he saw Ping Yang also followed behind leisurely. He silently sighed to himself.

    This world¡¯s examination verification process was rtively outdated.

    Of course, the reason might be something to do with the sheer amount of candidates. However, the most important reason would be that practically no one would fiddle with the entry pass.

    To enter a Law of Dao Examination, one would just need to enter a Hall of Dao and the right to participate in the examinations could be obtained.

    ...

    The Imperial Examinations were conducted in spacious and brightly lit rooms. Every room had four invigtors and they sat facing the four cardinal directions.

    Three sides of each seat were fenced up and every seat was two meters apart from one another. In such a setup, trying to cheat would be a challenge in and of itself.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu decided to sit beside each other this time.

    However, unfortunately, they were tailed by a Ping Yang.

    To ensure they did not seat near her, they purposely found a space with exactly two seats left and sat down.

    With that, Ping Yang had a look of annoyance in her eyes.

    She swept her eyes across to the seat of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left. Her eyes lit.

    "Stand, this seat is mine!" Ping Yang swaggered over to the seat on the left of Fang Zhengzhi. It was currently upied by a noble young master wearing traditional Chinese clothing.

    He was currently closing his eyes, resting his mind and controlling his breathing. Out of nowhere, he heard this sentence and was slightly peeved.

    "Where did this wild brat appear from? Are you sick? Did you not see that this is my..." The noble young master did not finish before his mouth mmed shut.

    For he recognised that pair of distinctive ssy eyes from the gentle schr.

    "You dare scold me? p yourself!" Ping Yang raised her eyebrows.

    The noble young master¡¯s face was ashen. Without hesitation, he gave himself two tight ps and fly up from his seat.

    "Prin..."

    "Scram!"

    "Yes yes yes... I will scram now!" The young master let out a sigh of relief. He ran out in a sh, not daring to stay in the room any longer.

    Those that sat near that young master naturally saw everything.

    After that, their faces also eventually paled. Immediately, they stood up, getting ready to take the examination in another room.

    However, Ping Yang was here to cheat. If everyone in the room was gone, then who would be luring the invigtor¡¯s attention away from her?

    "All better sit down, not a single movement!"

    With one sentence, cold sweat started dripping from people¡¯s foreheads. No one dared to move.

    Fang Zhengzhi softly sighed. Of course, he understood that in this world, not everyone had to guts to stand up to authority.

    "Gong!"

    The gong that signalled the start of the exam rang out.

    The four invigtors walked in after that. All of them had a garb of jet ck official uniform. On the chest area was imprinted with therge character - Imperial.

    This indicated that the invigtors for the Imperial Examinations were all Imperial Messengers.

    This clearly showed the considerable difference between the Imperial Examinations and the provincial and county examinations.

    Once one cleared the Imperial Examinations, it was equivalent to a carp bing a dragon. The true qualifications for stepping into the Imperial Government of the Great Xia Dynasty. Be it the military sector or the Department of Flood Control.

    All who step in could get a position and rank.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have much interest in official ranks therefore, he did not have to suffer from massive stress like most people.

    His face was rxed andid back.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu on his right had a stern expression. He looked slightly nervous. However, the Ping Yang on his left was the same as him. Her eyes darted left and right, looking unbelievably rxed.

    In no time, the examination scripts were being handed down.

    When the invigtor who was giving out the examinations scripts reached Fang Zhengzhi, he stopped for a brief moment then continued past him.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice that detail. He simply picked up his script.

    His teacher said before.

    When handed the script, the first step, also the most important step was to write down his examination index number and name!

    Since young, Fang Zhengzhi had followed his teacher¡¯s teachings. He had enshrined this lesson in his heart.

    After he wrote down his index number and name, he started flipping through the script. It had ten-something pages filled with writings densely packed together.

    No matter the quantity or quality both alone was enough to fill one with helplessness and despair.

    Everyone said it was very hard...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mind them. However, this time he held the ten-something pages of examination scripts in his hand. This was the first time he felt the indomitable difficulty of the Imperial Examinations.

    Ten-something pages of script. Such arge quantity, with only four hours. Was it possible to finish?

    Disregarding everything else...

    Simply finishing the paper would be a challenge for most.

    "Alright, you don¡¯t have much time...Start the paper!" Fang Zhengzhi did not falter. With a sweep of his eyes, he picked up the pencil and started writing.

 Chapter 172: Finally Done

    Chapter 172: Finally Done

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The first question was on the subject of I Ching.

    More specifically, the Bo Zixia¡¯s "Zixia Anthology".

    Of course, such titles were not in the script. In this world, there was no Bo Zixia or Zixia Anthology. They did not exist.

    There was only the "Law of Dao".

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pen scratched the paper as he began work.

    "The hexagram predicates that there is the right time for every action. Softness belies toughness. By closing oneself off of outside influence, one can achieve growth of character."

    "Humilityes with satisfaction, such is thew of the world..."

    The question was referring to the bnce of your inner and outer spirit. The answer to this was in the original scriptures. Although these were testing on I Ching, it was not hard to answer them.

    After finishing the first question, he quickly jumped to the next.

    The second question immediately delved into " The Works of the Sage of Ghost Valley" and it was on one of the articles stated within. The question asking about the Three Rites and required students to provide their own interpretation of the Three Rites.

    It was hard to admit but the Imperial Examinations were indeed demanding.

    Without studying "The Works of the Sage of Ghost Valley", and without knowing the articles within, they required candidates to determine the origins of the Three Rites and provide their own interpretations. It was indeed something beyond the understanding of an average person.

    However, this did not pose a difficulty to Fang Zhengzhi. His mind contained the modern interpretations, and also included the most in-depth and elegant analysis of the texts.

    Interpretation?

    The best interpretation would the conclusion arrived after thousands of years and generations of work.

    The second question was quickly dealt with. He continued onwards to the next question...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi wrote at top speed. The scratching sound between the pen tip and the paper surface could be heard by the whole room because everyone was looking at him.

    Those eyes looked like they saw a ghost.

    Even Ping Yang could only stare dumbly at the unstoppable Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that, she rubbed her eyes hard. She could not believe that one person could st through the rigorous examination script at such incredible speeds.

    Last night, she saw with her own eyes the few pce officials wrecking their brains and scratching their heads as they tried to finish the paper.

    Every single one of them was scrunching their eyebrows that they were going white.

    However, why is it that the same paper, in front of Fang Zhengzhi, looked like a child¡¯s y. There was no pause at all.

    Ping Yang sat on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left. Therefore, she could clearly see his actions. After a single look at the script, he would immediately take his pen and start writing.

    Then, he would move on to the next question.

    In no time at all, the first page was almost filled.

    "Is this copied?" Ping Yang really wanted to stand up and report Fang Zhengzhi. However, she remembered she had answers on her too so she suppressed the thought of exposing him.

    This was the first time Yan Xiu took part in the Imperial Examinations together with Fang Zhengzhi, therefore he did not know the state of Fang Zhengzhi when he took the Imperial Examinations. He was briefly taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ridiculous speed.

    A thought unconsciously surfaced in his mind. Did he do the script before?

    On second thoughts, that couldn¡¯t be right...

    If Fang Zhengzhi really did the same script before, he would not have kept it from him. Furthermore, the probability of this happening was infinitesimal.

    Then, was he messing around?

    The thought was popped by Yan Xiu as soon as it bubbled up.

    He got the Roll Champion title for both the theory examinations at county and province level. There was no way Yan Xiu could believe that Fang Zhengzhi was simply doodling on his papers.

    "He could do it so fast?" Yan Xiu looked at the examination script on the table. He took a deep breath and gradually exhaled. After that, he calmly began answering.

    However, Yan Xiu did not start from the first question. Instead, he flipped to the back and started from there.

    Currently, Fang Zhengzhi was burying his head in the script, scribbling away. He did not notice the actions of Yan Xiu.

    In fact...

    It was not only Yan Xiu, the other candidates were also carefully choosing which questions to answer. In the whole room, there was no one like Fang Zhengzhi who could tackle all the questions in order.

    Even Ping Yang, who possessed the answers, was no exception.

    Eventually, the room was filled with the sounds of pen scratching paper. This indicated that all the candidates had begun to answer their questions. No one had time to bother with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Those who did not know him naturally thought, "How did this fellow even get into the Imperial Examinations?"

    While those who knew him could only silently sigh. Did he have to be so outrageously good?

    ...

    The minutes slowly ticked by.

    After two hours, Fang Zhengzhi was still maintaining a consistent speed. In his hands, there was still half of the papers that were untouched. He pushed on.

    However, those that noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were bbergasted.

    "Is...is he aiming to finish everything?!"

    This thought rose up in many people¡¯s minds. After that, it was swiftly and forcefully suppressed by them.

    Because it was simply impossible.

    More importantly...

    There was no need to do that.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about that. He was currentlypleting the questions one by one in order. As he was doing, he realized a peculiar trend.

    In every sheet of the examination script, a few couplets would periodically appear.

    "As expected of Yan Capital, the people here sure knows how to y. These couplets that even three-year-olds could do... Must it really appear in the Imperial Examinations? This... Was this something they came up withst minute?"

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that such a question was too much of an insult to his intelligence. However, there was nothing he could do about that. Since it came out, he would pair them with some of his own.

    To prevent his intelligence from degrading, he wrote a few extra lines under each couplet. In other words, for every line that needed aplementing line, he gave more than 5 lines to be coupled with.

    After doing that, he felt a bit better.

    "One line with 5 possible pairings! This would fit the demands of the Imperial Examination..."

    ...

    Time trudged on under the sounds of the candidates¡¯ pen scratching the paper. Before they knew it, another hour had passed.

    Ping Yang had started to check her answers at this point. She might look like she was checking but it was merely an act.

    Compared to Ping Yang and Yan Xiu, the rest of the candidates were not looking as well. They were basically still burying their nose into the table, writing with all their might. There were even a few that were sweating bullets and shaking under the stress.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pen did not stop either. He still had thest page to finish.

    In front of him, there were already eleven fully answered pages.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked around. He found that Yan Xiu was refining his answers while Ping Yang was leisurely swaying her head as she checked her answers.

    A small minority of the rest of the candidates were also done but the majority was still facing their scripts and scribbling away.

    "All of them are doing so fast?" Fang Zhengzhi remembered when he took part in the county and provincial examinations. He basically slept half the time yet he did not expect that the Imperial Examinations gave him such a hard time.

    In thest fifteen minutes, he still had one page unfinished.

    "Why you... Who in the world...came up with so many questions?" Fang Zhengzhi silently cursed. With no more time to look around, he quickly resumed writing.

    Time once again flew.

    Thest question on thest page. Fang Zhengzhi thought that it would be the same as the provincial examinations. The subject would be something rted to military formations and matrices. However, that was not the case. The question came out of the "Book of Rites".

    It tested on the Meaning of the Ceremony of Capping.

    On this point, Fang Zhengzhi was familiar with it. This world had their own rites for the Ceremony of Capping. However, it was different from the Ceremony of Capping in his world.

    In his previous world, by taking part in the imperial selection and passing the Adolescent¡¯s Examinations, one could take part in the Capping Ceremony.

    There was an iron-d rule regarding the Ceremony of Capping in this world. One must be at least the age of sixteen. The age of sixteen was perceived as the time when people transit from adolescence to adulthood.

    Thinking about this, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered Yan Xiu¡¯s household also had rites toe of age at sixteen. Therefore, Yan Xiu probably did the Ceremony of Capping before leaving the Yan n.

    Previously at the Divine Constabry great banquet, Yan Xiu said something that Fang Zhengzhi remember even until now. He said that after two years, he would reach the first-ss position.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand what it meant then.

    Two years?

    Eighteen years old...

    "Dong!"

    As he was figuring this out, the gong signaling the collection of scripts sounded off.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes swept around and realized that the four invigtors were starting to collect the script from all four directions. Without any further dy, he added hisst sentence on the Meaning of the Ceremony of Capping with lightning quick speed.

    After writing everything, he finally let out a sigh of relief, "Damn, finally done!"

 Chapter 173: A Serious Incident

    Chapter 173: A Serious Incident

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was a release that welled up from the bottom of his heart. From the moment he stepped into the room, for the whole 4 hours, Fang Zhengzhi did not stop writing. This feeling of serenity after the anxiety...

    It was a feeling that only those who had experienced it could understand.

    Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi sighed, he unconsciously let out his voice. The sound was not loud. It could only be considered as mumbling to himself at the most.

    However...

    His voice easily propagated through the silent examination room. Everyone¡¯s eyes swept across the room and focused their sights on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Finished?!"

    Everyone felt like they were just struck by lightning. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice continuously reverberated in their minds.

    "You really finished everything?!" Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes revealed the shock that struck his heart.

    "Here you go lying again... Why can¡¯t you be honest for once?" Ping Yang had an indignant look of disbelief.

    The rest of the candidates had a variety of expressions. Some faces were shocked, and some were too shocked to even make a sound. However, there were more people that were sneering and mocking.

    "He actually said he finished everything? Hahaha... What can be funnier than this?"

    "As a human... He should have more integrity and be more humble. One should not be too shameless..."

    "I have never seen someone so thick-skinned and despicable!"

    The jeering of the candidates naturally attracted the attention of the four invigtors. Four pairs of paralyzing eyes suddenly all focused on Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that, one of them noticed that Fang Zhengzhi still had his pen in his hands.

    At that exact moment, his eyes shed. He was entrusted with a mission in this round of invigtion. His eyes were locked on Fang Zhengzhi the whole time.

    However, from the start of the examination, Fang Zhengzhi did not move a single centimeter from where he sat. For the whole duration of four hours, he was writing and writing...

    Just like an unstoppable mill.

    Under such circumstances, even if he was purposely trying to find fault, there was no opening for him.

    "Cheating by exceeding the time?!"

    Although it was a small vition and they could not cancel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eligibility, they could at least nullify the marks for that question. In this way, they could have something to show for.

    Thinking of this, the invigtor did not hesitate. He took a few strides and came to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    "Just now when the gong sounded off, didn¡¯t you hear it?" The invigtor scanned the pen that Fang Zhengzhi just put down, his tone was stone cold.

    Fang Zhengzhi who was preparing for a liberating stretch heard the voice. He turned and saw the invigtor looking at him with an icy expression. His heart froze. Could it be that they discovered that he wrote thest sentence after the sound of the gong?

    Usually, such an incident would not have any impact. There were many times when the invigtors closed one eye to such a vition.

    However...

    This did not mean that it was allowed. If the invigtor was to be impartial, then writing hisst line did indeed exceed the time.

    But will Fang Zhengzhi honestly admit that?

    Of course not!

    "Yes I did hear it," Fang Zhengzhi replied boldly.

    "Since you heard it, why were you still moving your pen?" The invigtor¡¯s eyes revealed the icy chill swirling within.

    "Did I? I did not notice... Oh right, I have a habit of spinning my pen. Have a look if you don¡¯t believe," Fang Zhengzhi innocently picked up his pen and started spinning it in his hands...

    The invigtor¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. He did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to stubbornly deny. However, in this situation, if he did not produce any evidence, there was nothing he could do to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You moved. I can be the witness. I saw it clearly just now." On the left-hand side, a voice softly floated by, threatening to add oil to fire to satisfy her mischief.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even need to turn his head to know that the voice belonged to Ping Yang.

    Someone who had done nothing wrong would not be afraid of usations. However, this Ping Yang was weird. She had answers on her body yet she dared to report to be a witness?

    "With a witness, then that question you were answering would have its marks nullified!" The invigtor¡¯s eyes lit up the moment he heard Ping Yang¡¯s words. He held up Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script and asked, "Candidate, please rify which was the question that was answered after the gong?"

    "It was on thest..." Ping Yang was preparing to say it was thest page when her tiny cherry lips opened wide.

    Because...

    She saw on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sst page was filled with characters scrunched together to fit into the page.

    "A whole paper totally filed up?!"

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. She remembered what Fang Zhengzhi said just now. Her ssy orbs once again shifted to the rest of the papers.

    Then, she saw that the previous page was filled and so was the page before that...

    At this point, her eyes froze on that page. She stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script and could not look away for even a second.

    The invigtors also noticed Ping Yang¡¯s peculiar behavior at this moment.

    His eyes also shifted to the paper in his hands. He was stunned. Page after page flew up as he flipped.

    One page, two pages, three pages... Twelve pages of the examination script!

    All were filled!

    There was not a single question left nk!

    "My god... What is this that I see?!" The invigtor¡¯s face suddenly changed from white to red, then from red to purple andstly, it swelled to be a purplish red that matched the color of a pig¡¯s liver.

    He had been working for the Imperial Academy for about six years now.

    Within that time, he oversaw the conduct of two county examinations, assisted the Imperial Examiner with the conduct of the provincial examinations and had been the invigtor for the Imperial Examination twice including this time.

    However...

    It was not just him who had never seen it. Even the whole of Imperial Academy had never seen anyone who couldplete the scripts.In the whole history of the Great Xia Dynasty, there had never been anyone who could finish the whole examinations script within the allocated time.

    "Is this fake?! Cheating?" The invigtor simply could not believe his eyes. However, he had been intently observing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand since he began writing.

    He knew it clearer than anyone.

    The examination script was produced by Fang Zhengzhi own two hands.

    It was just that this matter was too unbelievable. How could such a thing even happen? Even if this paper¡¯s answer was ced in front to let him copiously copy, it would be difficult to even finish copying everything within the allocated four hours.

    To do finish...

    The mere thought of finishing everything was hard to swallow like a fishbone lodged in the invigtor¡¯s throat. His mouth was gaping yet he was not taking in any breath.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what the invigtor and Ping Yang were currently thinking. Instead, he was only thinking, that damn Ping Yang, since you dared to testify against me, I dare to report you!

    "I want to make a report!" Fang Zhengzhi decided to take the advantage of making the first move.

    "Oh," the invigtor nodded in a daze.

    At this moment, Ping Yang also still reeling from shock. She did not even register Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    The rest of the candidates and invigtors heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s report. However, there was already an invigtor beside him, the rest of the invigtors naturally would not intervene.

    As a result, Fang Zhengzhi realized that his promation was ignored.

    "I said, I want to make a report!" Fang Zhengzhi was peeved. In this broad daylight, as a morally upright citizen, he wanted to lodge a report yet everyone ignored him?

    Where is the justice!

    "Oh... Ah?!" The invigtor finally reacted, "What do you want to report?"

    "I¡¯m reporting her for cheating. She had answers with her. Search her body if you don¡¯t believe!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Ping Yang, waiting for her to be searched. After getting her expelled from the room, then there would be no one to act as a witness against him.

    "What?! You dare to report me?" Ping Yang regained her sense when she heard the word "answers". Her pale wless face contorted. She totally did not expect Fang Zhengzhi was actually going forward and report her?

    "Answers?!" The invigtor felt that his brain was about to crash, there was no way for him to make a sound judgment.

    However, when the rest of the invigtors heard "answers", they could barely suppress the shock on their faces.

    If...

    Someone really had answers on them, that meant that the examination script was leaked prematurely. If that was true, this incident would shake the whole Great Xia empire. If it was traced, from the bottom Imperial Messengers to the top Chief Imperial Messenger, even the Headmaster of the Imperial Academy would be implicated.

 Chapter 174: Six Sets of Examination Script

    Chapter 174: Six Sets of Examination Script

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The invigtors¡¯ shock originated from the severity of such an offense. However, when Fang Zhengzhi made the report against Ping Yang, the rest of the candidates all had a face of puzzlement.

    When Ping Yang chased away that noble, everyone found out about her identity.

    Now...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to report her?!

    Was it possible that Fang Zhengzhi actually did not know who she was? It was highly unlikely because the incident at Ping Yang¡¯s birthday banquet was the talk of the capital.

    Since he knew, he still dared to report?

    Everyone was waiting for Ping Yang to start firing at him.

    Then, she really did. However, the target was not Fang Zhengzhi, it was the invigtor who did not recognize her.

    After reeling in shock, the invigtor regained his senses.

    "Someone snuck in the answers?"

    With such a serious incident, there was no way he could be careless.

    "Search!"

    "How dare you!"

    The first sentence was utter by the invigtor while the one after came out of Ping Yang.

    The invigtor was once again stunned by Ping Yang¡¯s audacious words. This was the Imperial Academy, he was one of the Imperial Messengers with the responsibility of conducting the examination.

    Within the examination room, there was actually someone who challenged him?

    Such gall!

    Just as he was about to exercise his absolute authority to subdue this impertinent candidate, his eyelids did a jump.

    Because...

    He noticed that the eyes of the candidate had such rity, simr to an autumn pond.

    The pair of eyes were gorgeous but only one person in the of the Yan Capital, or rather the whole of the Great Xia Dynasty had such gorgeous eyes.

    Princess Ping Yang!

    "Prin...prin..."

    "What are you mumbling on about? Collect the scripts and scram!" Ping Yang slightly tilted her chin up, a face of haughtiness and dominance. She did not wish for her identity to be revealed too much.

    However, that did mean that she could just allow this invigtor to search her body.

    "Yes, yes!" The invigtor dare not speak further. He swiftly collected Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s scripts, fearing to question Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s transgression of exceeding the time limit any further.

    Compared to his mission, his head was definitely more important to him.

    The rest of the invigtor noticed the abnormality. They were prepared to go forward to check it out when they saw Ping Yang turned and gave them a small smile.

    In an instant, the three invigtors felt a chill shot down their spine.

    "Why did this demoness want to participate in the Imperial Examinations?This...this is simply too..." The three invigtors gave each other a look and quickly decided on the path of self-preservation.

    It did not matter if she really snuck in the answers. Even if she was guilty, there was no one who dared to charge her. In the end, they would be the one at the short end of the stick.

    In this situation, it was more rational to ignore her rather than checking her.

    ...

    It did not take long for the four invigtors to collect all of the scripts.

    After reaching this stage, Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was about time to return to the inn for a bath and some rest. However, Ping Yang definitely would not let him escape so easily.

    "Hmph, don¡¯t think you are such a big shot just because you could finish the whole paper. I also know how to write bullshit!" Although Ping Yang was shocked by Fang Zhengzhipletion of the entire examination script, she did not have a clear look at the legitimacy of his answers.

    "What? He really finished everything?"

    "Twelve pages of questions, he finished every question?"

    "How is that possible? There were six sets to the twelve-page examinations script..."

    "If he finished everything, didn¡¯t that meant that he finished six examinations worth of questions? Toplete six examinations within four hours..."

    Those candidates that were preparing to leave had their jaws agape as they heard Ping Yang¡¯s words.

    They could not believe that such a thing would happen. However, since Princess Ping Yang said this, then it was highly likely that it was the truth.

    At this point, Yan Xiu was looking at Fang Zhengzhi like he was a monster.

    Six sets of examination questions in four hours?

    "Yes, I¡¯m dead tired from it. Luckily I made it in time... What¡¯s wrong? Did you not finish?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused after hearing Yan Xiu¡¯s question.

    "Did you not know that you can choose which questions to do? Every question had a marking to indicate which set it belonged to. Did you...miss it?" Yan Xiu questioned further.

    "Marking to indicate which set? I saw it!" Fang Zhengzhi remembered after Yan Xiu reminded him. At the beginning of every question, there was a special marking.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what those were for. All along, he thought it was for aesthetic purposes.

    "You saw them yet you finished every question?" Yan Xiu¡¯s face revealed confoundment.

    "Oh no... Did I break a rule?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed when he heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words.

    Break a rule? Yan Xiu observed Fang Zhengzhi tensing up and his face was at a loss. Such a way to break a rule. It was not some rule that anyone could break just by thinking of it. An average person was really not capable of breaking such a rule.

    "I don¡¯t think so," Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Oh, that¡¯s great! For a moment, I thought I broke a rule. Since it was not against the rules then all is well. The questions were so simple anyway and I knew how to do everything. So, I finished them without a pause."

    "..."

    Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rxed face, his mouth opening then closing. Not really sure what to say.

    "..."

    The rest of the candidates at looked at one another.

    "Simple?!"

    "Know how to do everything?!"

    "So he finished them without pause?!"

    "Did he have to insult us like that?!"

    Ping Yang focused her ssy orbs at Fang Zhengzhi. She was very annoyed, extremely annoyed! What was the meaning behind this? What was the meaning of the "simple questions"?

    It was obviously used to outrightly insult her!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!"

    "Sure thing. However, now is not the time," Fang Zhengzhi gave Ping Yang a bored stare. After that, he pulled Yan Xiu with him out of the room.

    He did not wish to continue spending his time with the unruly princess.

    The rest of the candidates saw Ping Yang started firing and immediately scatter like spooked birds.

    In an instant, the examination room only left Ping Yang who was shaking and pouting her tiny cherry lips.

    "What was there to gloat about? So what if he finished all six sets... My god! That fellow actually finished all six sets of questions? What for?"

    ...

    The biannual Law of Dao examinations had always been the focal points for both the citizens and officials in the whole of the Great Xia Dynasty, The Imperial Examinations was the focal point of the focal points.

    After every Theory Examination, many of the candidates would discuss among themselves the difficulty of the examination.

    Furthermore, some officials would take the lead to open up a forum to exchange ideas with the candidates on the thought processes required to answers the questions.

    The idea was to examine the questions together with the students, analyze ande to a conclusion together.

    In actuality, those officials were also gauging each students potential from the way they approached the analysis. This allowed them to pick out the students with exceptional talents in advance.

    After all, to approach them after the release of the results might be toote.

    Moreover, to provide them with opportunities before they know of their choices would very much reduce the costs and easier to win over their hearts.

    However,

    There was an exception in this year¡¯s Imperial Examinations.

    Because after the Theory Examinations, the whole of Yan Capital exploded. Everyone was debating about the legendary rumor. Which was about how Fang Zhengzhi finished all six sets of the examination script!

    Four hours, six full sets of examination papers. He actually answered all of the questions without fail in such a demanding examination.

    Since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, such an event had never happened before...

    No one was willing to believe it was possible but the authenticity of this incident could be questioned no further.

    All of the candidates that were in the same room of Fang Zhengzhi could pat their chest confidently and even dig out their eyes to support the credibility of such ims.

    The invigtors in the Imperial Academy could also confirm the rumors.

    This was even witnessed by a mysterious big shot in the capital.

    Well, who was this person? No one dared to utter her name as they were quite happy with their lives in Yan Capital.

 Chapter 175: Aftermath

    Chapter 175: Aftermath

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The next morning, the whole of Yan Capital, from the various pce officials in their conference halls to the restaurants in big streets and small alleys. There was no one who was not talking about one name.

    He was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "An examination script with six sets, the whole six sets were finished in just four hours?!"

    "Even if he did finish it, so what? Who knows if he just simply filled in nonsense? If it was nonsense, I could finish it too!"

    "It was probably not nonsense, right? It was the Imperial Examination after all."

    "Well then, have you seen anyone who finished all six sets of the examination script before? If it was not nonsense... How did he finish them?"

    "Most likely..."

    ...

    The East Pce, within the Royal Pce, was the residence of the crown prince for generations.

    Today, within the East Pce sat a person. He wore a White Dragon Silk Robe. With willowy eyebrows and a pair of narrow eyes, he stared at the pot of "Tri-crowned Orchid"

    It was a species of orchid that grew in the Southeast. It was unbelievably rare and priceless.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had a unique adoration for orchids. He felt that they were pure and elegant. Not unlike his own status and style.

    He loved the arts. Frequently saw the orchids as his friends and include them in his writings.

    At this moment, below him sat another person. He had a greying beard and hair dyed by the white sands of time. His face was thinning but his eyes showed an intense vigor.

    He was dressed in a red pce robe.

    Within the pce of the Great Xia Dynasty, there exist a system where red represented the ministers while purple represented marquis.

    From this point, the person¡¯s identity was not hard to guess. He was the current Left Prime Minister, Yu Yiping. Yiping as first-ss[1]. It was unclear whether his forefathers had to foresight to name him as such.

    Currently, Yu Yipping was indeed a first-ss official in the pce court.

    The Crown Prince, Lin Tianrong did not really like Yu Yiping because the way Yu Yiping did things was too direct. Sometimes, this bluntness did not sit well with him.

    However, the Sacred Lord liked Yu Yiping¡¯s bluntness.

    Therefore, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had to tolerate him. Even when Yu Yiping almost smashed his pot of "Tri-crowned Orchid" into a pile of dirt, Lin Tianrong did not show any outward signs.

    "Didn¡¯t Prime Minister always allowed me to settle things? Why are you risking yourself for such a small matter?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong found it hard to wrap his head around this or it might be he did not bother to try and understand this.

    No matter what kind of suggestion he brought up, Yu Yiping would alwayse up with enough reasons to support his own "correct" opinion such that there was no way for the Crown Prince to reject it.

    Then...

    Why should he try and understand?

    Or it might be that in front of Yu Yiping, there was no need for him to try and understand.

    This seemed like spineless but the intelligent people could easily see the rationale behind this. Although he was bestowed the title of Crown Prince, before he ascends to the throne, he was nothing.

    He needed to rely on the pce officials and the Left Prime Minister was the best official there is.

    It was just that this pce official was a bit more direct. Therefore, as the Crown Prince, the best way to interact was to "show need". Only when he showed enough need for him, he could have a use for the Left Prime Minister who had great influence in the pce.

    "My actions were precisely so because this issue needed to be settled. On the side of Han Changfeng, they already sent out the news. Fang Zhengzhi did indeed finish all six sets of the examination script. Furthermore, from his previous interaction with Fang Zhengzhi in the River of Trust Province¡¯s provincial examinations, the chances of Fang Zhengzhi writing nonsense was zero. Then... This person was the one existence that could threaten the bnce of the pce politics!" Yu Yiping¡¯s face was much calmer than it was a moment ago.

    "Then, Prime Minister¡¯s meaning is?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong prodded.

    "Edit! Now we can only take the risk of editing his answers. In the Imperial Examinations, only Fang Zhengzhi finished all six sets of questions. This is a pro and a con because this way, we could easily find his sealed script among the others. With just some minor adjustments, we could kick him off the roll," Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes shone with an icy re.

    "However, I¡¯ve heard that King Duan also wanted Fang Zhengzhi out of the roll. I always thought that we should save those that King Duan wanted gone. Why are we on the same side as King Duan this time, Prime Minister?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong expressed his opinion to show his need for him. He must act to win him over.

    "We have to act ording to the situation. If you blindly move ahead, how could you achieve great things?" Yu Yiping indeed did not take bother with the Crown Prince¡¯s opinion.

    "Prime Minister¡¯s advice is indeed wise. Then let¡¯s move ording to your n," the Crown Prince replied. After that, he slowly lifted the pot of "Tri-crowned Orchids" and carefully walked towards the backyard.

    He murmured to himself as he walked, "My precious... Where should I ce you?"

    ...

    Within the Imperial Academy, Han Changfeng¡¯s eyebrows were scrunched tightly. He would never have thought that such a miracle could happen. Someone actually finished all six sets?

    This created an uneasiness in his heart.

    Heavenly Reflection at fifteen.

    In the Imperial Examination, he finished all six sets in one sitting...

    Impossible!

    If Fang Zhengzhi was the one mentioned in the Heavenly Prophecy, then, the incident at the doors of the River of Trust examination location was enough leverage for Fang Zhengzhi to bring me to my grave.

    Whether it was for the stability of the pce politics or for the preservation of oneself, Fang Zhengzhi must be eliminated.

    Han Changfeng was waiting.

    Waiting for the reply from the East Pce because to do this, he needed cooperation from the Left Prime Minister. Even if he was the Chief Imperial Messenger for the Imperial Academy and the Chief Examiner for the Imperial Examinations, hecks the power to carry such a n.

    Simr to Han Changfeng, King Duan Lin Xinjue was just as anxious. As the Supervising Inspector of this round of Imperial Examinations, he naturally had the power to inspect any of the candidates¡¯ scripts.

    Therefore, he had immediately sent someone to retrieve Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script.

    After that...

    He felt that his mind just got whacked by a sledgehammer. A bit of dizziness and a bit of disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script was easy to recognize. The seal did not need to be opened to know which one it was. The couplets on the script had five to six paired sentences for each one. What was the meaning of this?

    Didn¡¯t heck the skills of pairing couplets?

    Was it all an borate act?

    King Duan had a soreness in his heart that came from being outyed by someone else. He believed that Fang Zhengzhi did this on purpose. He purposely pretended that he did not know how to pair couplets so as to lower the difficulty of the Theory Examinations in the Imperial Examinations.

    All for the goal of his noble triumph of finishing all six sets of the examination papers.

    Despicable!

    King Duan was so enraged he almost tore up the papers in front of him. However, he manages to suppress that urge because he could not do it, not in front of the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at him.

    "Edit! Even if I was to be used of being an ipetent inspector, his script must be edited!"

    ...

    Within the Ping Yang Residence, the Ping Yang dressed up in a red cloak was not happy. The more she thought about it, the more furious she got. The more furious she was, the more her lips pouted.

    "I¡¯m furious, furious..."

    Stalks of brightly blooming flowers suffered horrible fates in her poisonous hands. Even the flower pot was shown no mercy.

    Ping! Piang! These sounds echoed in the small garden.

    At this point, a Chi Guyan wearing a pink dress appeared. Her gentle footsteps were heard and even flowers bow in her presence.

    "Sister Yan!" Ping Yang jumped up the moment she saw Chi Guyan.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Why are you expressing your frustrations here alone?" Chi Guyan calmly walked towards Ping Yang, then, she pulled Ping Yang towards her to sit.

    "Who else but that despicable man. Sister Yan, you knew that I was going to enter this round of Imperial Examinations. Initially, I thought that with my answers, I would definitely win him. However... that fellow actually finished everything? That was totally unreasonable!" Ping Yang was once again enraged at the thought of this.

    "I see. But it¡¯s not worth it to be angry at such a shameless person. You said that he finished everything but that did not mean that he will beat you."

    "How can he not? Six sets of examination papers... He finished everything by himself!" Ping Yang did not understand.

    "He merely finished. Are you sure that what he wrote was correct?"

    "How do I even confirm? I¡¯m not the Chief Examiner. How would I know if it was right or wrong?" As Ping Yang said this, she was humbled because even as the Chief Examiner, she would not be able to judge whether Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answers.

    "Would you like to be the Chief Examiner though?" Chi Guyan gently smiled.

    "Of course. However, the Chief Examiner was already appointed. I don¡¯t have a chance even if I wanted to," Ping Yang did not really catch Chi Guyan¡¯s meaning.

    "It¡¯s not totally impossible."

    "Sister Yan, is there still a way for me to be the Chief Examiner?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes revealed her incredulity when she heard that.

    [1]: First-ss trante to Chinese is Ò»Æ· which is read as yi pin and sounds the same as Yu Yiping¡¯s name, hence the pun.

 Chapter 176: Quality over Quantity

    Chapter 176: Quality over Quantity

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "There is a way but it only allows you to examine one person¡¯s script. Would you be willing?" Chi Guyan asked.

    "Of course I will! I¡¯m only afraid that..."

    "Afraid that you can¡¯t tell the difference between right and wrong?"

    "Sister Yan, you are teasing me again..."

    "Then don¡¯t you just need someone to look at it for you?"

    "Who?"

    "I believe... His Majesty should be interested in that shameless fellow¡¯s script."

    "Father?!" Ping Yang was briefly stunned. After that, her ssy eyes immediately shimmer, "I understand now. Sister Yan wants me to find my father. If Father gained some interest in that fellow¡¯s script, he would definitely order the people at the Imperial Academy to send it over?"

    "Ping Yang is indeed smart. Enlightened with only a little guidance."

    "Hahaha... Naturally. I shall go find my father now!" After finishing the sentence, Ping Yang disappeared in a blink of an eye, skipping and hopping as she went out of the courtyard.

    Chi Guyan looked on at Ping Yang¡¯s fading figure, then turned towards the direction of the pce, "If I¡¯m not wrong, Your Majesty also needed a reason to have a look at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script right?"

    ...

    Inside the pce, within the study room.

    The Sacred Lord, Lin Mubai, dawned his Golden Dragon Robe and sat in his Dragon Throne. In his hands, he was flipping through an academic memorial but his eyes were looking out the window.

    At this moment, the doors were pushed opened by someone from the outside.

    Such an impudent action was worthy of a beheading.

    Instead, the Sacred Lord¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    "Only Chi Guyan knows the way to my heart!"

    The Sacred Lord did not even need to turn his head to know that it was definitely Ping Yang who was approaching. Only she could barge into the room with such gall.

    "Ping Yang, you came? Come sit beside me," the Sacred Lord showed an amiable smile.

    "Father!" Ping Yang lightly skipped to the side of Lin Mubai.

    "What brings you to me?"

    "Did Father heard of the incredible rumor? It is currently making waves everywhere in the capital."

    "Oh? What could cause such a big uproar? Even my Ping Yang was disturbed?"

    "I wasn¡¯t really disturbed by it. I¡¯m just curious. I¡¯ve heard that Fajg Zhengzhi actually finished all six sets of the examination script. I was thinking...he definitely deceiving us!"

    "Oh really?" The Sacred Lord gave a small smile and resumed reading the academic memorial within his hands.

    "Is Father not curious to have a look at what kind of cheap method that the scum, who was merely pining for fame, used?" Ping Yang saw that the Sacred Lord seemed to be disinterested. In the instant, she was anxious.

    "The conducting structure for the Theory Examinations of the Imperial Examinations was headed by Han Changfeng as the Chief Examiner. Even I found find it hard to interfere with this," the Sacred Lord seemed to be out on the spot by Ping Yang.

    "What is a mere Han Changfeng? I shall go the Imperial Academy now and order him to obediently hand over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script to us. He dares to defy my orders? Hmph!" After her outburst, she jumped up.

    "This...this is not very nice?" The Sacred Lord was about to stop her but Ping Yang did not even bother with him and was already gone with the wind.

    "She really doese and go like the wind. This personality definitely took after her mother..."

    ...

    Within Yan Capital, low and high ranking officials were holding academic conferences within their residences.

    Among them, the conference at the Left Prime Minister¡¯s Residence was the most respected and grand. Countless of the Imperial Examinations candidates entered its halls, hoping to be guided towards enlightenment by the Left Prime Minister.

    The Left Prime Minister, Yu Yiping, personally weed them into the main courtyard, where he sat at the head of the conference. His smile perpetually painted with a slight smile while he discussed with the candidates as he savored his tea.

    After a thorough discussion of the questions, naturally, the candidates began to probe the Left Prime Minister on his predictions of which families would clinch the top three positions.

    The prediction of the three positions had always been a hot topic in these conferences.

    This indicated the official¡¯s judgment of the current political climate. The candidates also used this to gauge whether they had followed the right people or would they have to reconsider a ce that could bring forth their potentials.

    After all, the choice had to be mutually beneficial.

    Yu Yip was naturally prepared for this, therefore, he did not even show a trace of panic.

    "In this round of the Imperial Examinations, the were several outstanding individuals. Close to home, we have Xing Qingsui from the Stabilisation Constabry and Su n¡¯s Su Donglin. Further away, we have Nangong Mu from the Nangong n. If I¡¯m not wrong, the top three in this Imperial Examinations would be between these three."

    "Comparing this three, Su Donglin¡¯s reputation is the biggest and also the most likely person to clinch the top spot. However, in my opinion, the Roll Champion would instead give taken by Nangong Mu!"

    After Yu Yiping finished, he gently lifted his teacup and took a small sip.

    "Nangong Mu? Isn¡¯t he Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother?"

    "Prime Minister Yu¡¯s analysis made sense. Nangong Hao is already the Great Xia Empire¡¯s greatest talent. Nangong Mu is Nangong Hao¡¯s blood-rted younger brother. Their age difference is only two years. After taking the title of Roll Champion at the Capital Examinations two years ago, because of Chi Guyan, he abruptly pulled out of the Imperial Examinations. This time round¡¯s Imperial Examination, he is sure to clinch the top spot."

    "However, this round¡¯s Imperial Examination had Fang Zhengzhi... He answered all six sets of the examination script. Wondering what is Prime Minister Yu¡¯s views on this?" One of the candidates could no longer hold back after hearing this.

    When the other candidates heard this, they too showed the look of anticipation.

    Yu Yiping seemed like he was expecting this question. With his smile showing no signs of diminishing, he slowly put down his cup. After that, he calmly stated, "Although Fang Zhengzhi was the Double Roll Champion in both the county and provincial examinations, both cannot bepared to the Imperial Examinations. Since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, no one had ever finished all six sets of the examination script in four hours. This person did something like this only belies the suspicion that he is simply stealing fame and reputation."

    "I¡¯m have always believed when ites to such things, quality is required more than quantity. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Even if the highest scoring set is used as a gauge, he would just as easily drop to the lower-ss rolls!"

    "The most he could hope for is only the second-ss roll!"

    As Yu Yiping approached the end, his tone was iparably firm.

    "I see!"

    "I have greatly benefited from listening to Prime Minister Yu¡¯s speech!"

    "Low-lives that spread lies and deceit to garner undeserved fame do notst long. After the release of results three dayster, I would like to see whether Fang Zhengzhi would still have the face to participate in the Combat Examinations?"

    "By that time, he might just gain the reputation of being theughing stock, hahaha...."

    When the candidates heard this, they could not hold in theirughter too. This was not saying that they were near-sighted but in their hearts, they simply could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could do finish everything and still maintain uracy.

    Just as the Left Prime Minister had said.

    Quality over quantity. Who could argue with such logic?

    How would it be possible?!

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know about the discussions that surrounded him happening all over Yan Capital. After the end of the examinations, he and Yan Xiu rode out of Yan Capital...

    Five kilometers outside of Yan Capital, there was a quaint and serene vi. Within the vi was a hugeke dubbed the "Five Kilometers Red".

    The name came from the five kilometers of red shores.

    It was described as five kilometers of red shore because along theke, scarlet red rocks lined the shores. Whether it was the sandbanks or rocks along the shoreline, everything was painted a fiery red.

    Rumour was that the Five Kilometers Lake was the site of the most devastating and brutal battle between the Demon Army and the Human Alliance.

    The wholeke was dyed red, even the rocks by the shores were not spared.

    After millennials, this red still did not fade.

    The purpose of Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s visit was obviously not tomemorate the heroes of the past. They were here to appreciate the view and of course, one more thing. To use theke as a mirror to solve Yan Xiu¡¯s Mirror Projection mystery.

    The vi did not have many guests here. Yan Xiu originally wanted to book the whole ce but he was stopped by Fang Zhengzhi, "There are not many people here anyway. Here is quite quiet."

    ...

    While Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were enjoying their vacation at thekeside vi, the Imperial Academy was gued by a devastating peril the likes of which they had never seen for the past hundred years.

    Ping Yang wasing.

    With the attitude of an unruly bandit, she kicked aside the guards at the gates of the Imperial Academy. She, just a single individual, viewed the hundreds of guards at the Imperial Academy as ants.

    She opened a bloody path towards the heavily guarded Script Grading Hall of the Imperial Academy with gale force speed.

    Nearly a hundred Imperial Messengers who were buried in the scripts all raised their heads in unison.

    Seated a fair distance away, at arge study desk was Han Changfeng. In that moment, his face immediately changed. The ink brush that was just dipped in jet-ck ink was dropped onto the floor with a "Pa" due to rm.

 Chapter 177: Release of Results of the Theory Examinations

    Chapter 177: Release of Results of the Theory Examinations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Was Han Changfeng not calm enough?

    Of course not.

    It was just that anyone who was caught red-handed doing something unspeakable would struggle to keep their cool. Especially when the person who caught him was the Sacred Lord¡¯s most beloved Princess Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang invaded the Imperial Academy?!

    The purpose of yer visit was clear to everyone because no matter how much chaos she caused in the capital, she had never disrupted the conduct of political matters.

    So...

    Just as Han Changfeng¡¯s face ashen, Ping Yang cut through the crowd of Imperial Messengers while wearing her red cloak. She was like a red fireball that shot in front of him.

    Her tender cherry-sized lips curled into a smile.

    Her ssy orbs studied Han Changfeng¡¯s face at close range.

    "Lord Han, you look nervous... Don¡¯t tell me you are illegally altering the scripts?"

    With this sentence out, the whole Imperial Academy was like the surface of ake after a giant rock fell into it. All the Imperial Messengers were momentarily dumbfounded.

    Han Changfeng¡¯s jaws dropped like a stone. He was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out.

    "Princess Ping Yang, please don¡¯t make such usations so easily..." Han Changfeng¡¯s heart was in turmoil but he quietly reigned in his facial expressions.

    "Hahaha, Lord Han sure can¡¯t take a joke as usual. I¡¯m here on the orders of my Father to retrieve someone¡¯s script," Ping Yang smile with such vibrancy it wasparable to the sakura blooms in spring, after seeing Han Changfeng¡¯s agitated expression.

    ...

    Nights in Yan Capital was not quiet. Candle mes in residences lit up like the stars in heaven. People from all walks of life moved about within these residences, causing a flow of dark shadows that traversed the streets outside.

    Compared to Yan Capital, the surface of the Five Kilometer Lake was much calmer. A crisp green covered theke like a coat of jade. The moonlight that drifted down bathed the area with a silver hue.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the surface of theke, his mouth slightly opened and his eyes were not even blinking.

    Because...

    He saw a woman. A woman dancing under the moonlight. Just like the scene he saw at the Heavenly Treasure Hall. The same dress floating in the air, the same elegant figure.

    However, this was not the Heavenly Treasure Hall. It was the Five Kilometers Lake.

    So...

    Where did this womane from?

    Fang Zhengzhi was stumped. He really wanted to have a good look at her features but there seemed to be a veil of light in the air in front of him, reducing the rity of the woman¡¯s features.

    However, he felt a great sense of wonder.

    He felt that the woman was familiar. He must have seen her somewhere before but he did not know exactly where.

    The woman softly danced on the surface of theke, enjoying the glow of the moon. The scene was stunning yet strange. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart felt like it was struck by lightning.

    However, this was different from the quick nce he had at the Heavenly Treasure Hall. This time, Fang Zhengzhi could study her carefully, scrutinize her every move.

    Hence, he realized that the woman kept her dancing within a certain area.

    It seemed circr.

    It was not a big circle but the woman could never leap out of that circle. It felt like she was doing this on purpose yet when looked upon closely, it seemed like she was trapped inside.

    Fang Zhengzhi yed with the thought of calling Yan Xiu here to have a look. However, just as he was about to get up, packets of radiance slowly drifted down from the sky.

    Almost like the moonlight dripped down from the skies.

    Pure white light gently floated down from the heavens.

    Right at this moment, a ray of light of the same kind shot out from the woman¡¯s forehead. That light consumed those starry lights drifting down or rather, it assimted with them.

    As Fang Zhengzhi was mesmerized by this sight, the woman suddenly disappeared.

    As if she had never existed.

    Serenity returned to theke surface. The blood-soaked rocks along the shoreline were the same intense red. A breeze came along, revealing a soft glow in the air...

    ...

    Three dayster, daybreak.

    The fiery sun rose, slowly peeking it¡¯s head out, bathing the horizon in its golden rays and painting the sky gold.

    At the gates of Yan Capital, two young adults riding side by side, they rode on the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions that was only possessed by the Divine Constabry of the Northern Desert.

    The two young adults were not riding very fast, therefore, the guards at the capital gates could easily discern who they were.

    No one stopped them.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the aloof Yan Xiu beside him. He did not probe him because he knew what Yan Xiu was thinking. In his heart, he firmly believed that Yan Xiu could definitely do it.

    ...

    At the gates of the Imperial Academy, the crowd was packed like sardines.

    Countless of candidates were already waiting at the gates before the sun even rose because today was the release of the results of the Theory Examinations.

    Such a day was of incredible significance.

    Too many of the candidates, this could be the pivotal moment in their lives.

    Hence,st night was fated to a sleepless night, not just for the candidates. The Imperial Messengers that were evaluating the scripts lost their sleep too.

    The Imperial Examinations gathered talents from the Northern Lands, Western Liang, Southern Nation and the Eastern Metropolis. It was the grandest asion in the Law of Dao Examinations.

    This meant that many of the candidates traversed thousands of kilometers to get here. Therefore, there were situations of candidates red-eyed and still chewing on dry rations in the mouth.

    Other than the candidatesing to see their results, the Yan Capital¡¯s pce officials appeared too.

    The release of results of the Theory Examinations was the best time to seize the talents. It was also the time to test their own intuition. To sessfully pull over a candidate on the first-ss roll would be a significant achievement.

    "Quick, look. It is Xing Qingsui from the Stabilisation Constabry!" The crowd rapidly grew noisier. After that, all eyes were on the young man that was walking here from a distance away.

    The young man was about twenty-three to twenty-four years of age. His face was dark. He did not look like someone grew up infort like the rest of the noblelites but his aura was extremely intimidating.

    Like a coiled panther that was ready to spring on its prey. His eyes possessed a soft gleam and his thick eyebrows gave him a wild demeanor.

    "I¡¯ve heard that Xing Qingsui was in the middle stages of the Heavenly Reflection State. He was even personally groomed by Lord Xing from the Stabilisation Constabry. He has been sharpening himself on the battlefield for a few years. In this round of Imperial Examinations, he will probably get a good position."

    "For this round of the Imperial Examinations, I look forward to seeing Su Dongling from the Su n."

    "Well, I would disagree on this point. Su Donglin might be in hister stages of the Heavenly Reflection State but his skills were not tested on the battlefield. Although his state level is high, he may not fare well against Xing Qingsui on the battlefield.

    "Su Donglin is arriving!"

    As the crowd was discussing, a young man wearing a white traditional chinese outfit made his way here. His age was about twenty-five to twenty-six years old. The face was smooth and pale but in between his eyebrows, there was a tiredness that could not be shaken off.

    Almost as if they pushed himself too much on certain things.

    Behind the young man, followed two young female attendants.

    The two female attendants had delicate features. One wore a green dress that reached their ankles while the other wore a red one. Themon feature was the sword that was slung on the backs of these two attendants.

    The sword was simrly distinguished by green and red, matching each attendant¡¯s outfit color.

    "Look, it¡¯s Su Donglin¡¯s left and right attendant!"

    "Lord Su¡¯s love for his son is extraordinary. The left and right attendants actually followed him to see the results. This is simply too..."

    "Don¡¯t hide your envy you brat, what nonsense are you spouting?"

    "Hahaha..."

    The crowd¡¯s attention at this point was all focused on Xing Qingsui and Su Donglin. No one noticed a pair of eyes. That pair of eyes was calm, not a tiny glimmer was reflected in those eyes.

    However, that pair of eyes was special because it was too calm. In the context of the congregation of talents at the gates of the Imperial Academy, this pair of eyes did not fit in.

    The owner of this pair of eyes did not seem to want the attention of others.

    He simply stood under the shade of a tree. He wore a in shirt with a whitening sash that hanged off of his hair.

    This kind of outfit was extremely ordinary.

    An average person would not even look twice at him.

    Yet it was exactly this kind of ordinary person that attracted the gaze of many pce officials. All the officials present subtly nced over at the young man.

    However, no one went forward to interact with him. Within their eyes was the expression of apprehension. Fear from the bottom of their hearts.

 Chapter 178: Arrogance

    Chapter 178: Arrogance

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The pce officials fear a young man?

    This was defyingmon sense. However, if this young man¡¯s surname was Nangong, then it would be understandable to a certain extent because there was a peerless genius produced by the Nangong n.

    A genius that was possibly on par with Chi Guyan.

    He was the number one prodigy of the Great Xia Dynasty, Nangong Hao.

    The young man in front of them would be Nangong Mu, the younger brother of Nangong Hao.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu returned to the inn on their Snow Treading Dragon Stallions. As they secured the reins of these horses, they could feel the obvious increase in foot traffic along the main streets. Most were all in one direction.

    That direction was naturally the Imperial Academy.

    Today was the release of results of the Theory Examination. The atmosphere in Yan Capital was heavy and tense but it seemed to have no effect on Fang Zhengzhi. He always preferred to go with the natural flow.

    Simrly, Yan Xiu did not show any indication of nervousness. He upied his mind with introspection. From the end of the Theory Examinations till now, he had been reflecting and trying.

    On their way back, the two exchanged few words.

    As Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu approached the Imperial Academy¡¯s gates side by side, heads looking like ck dots stretched as far as their eyes could see. Forget about the Results Tablet, even the guards at the gates werepletely blocked.

    Any sort of elevation near the Imperial Academy was fully packed with people.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a small scare when he saw such a sight. He recalled that there were not so many candidates that participated in the examinations.

    So where did all these peoplee from?

    As he was thinking, he subconsciously scanned the crowd surrounding him. After that, he realized that other than the candidates, there were some pce officials wearing their official uniform mixed with the crowds.

    There were even some passing merchants that came to see what was going on.

    Without a doubt, the Imperial Examinations¡¯ release of results was indeed one of the grand asions in the Great Xia Dynasty. Be it, officials or citizens, everyone was keeping an extremely close watch of the event.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leisurely stroll with an easygoing expression on his face while humming a small tune. His eyes sweeping the crowd in front of him, looking for the limited empty spaces.

    However, when people start noticing him and Yan Xiu, the crowd start to bubble with discussions.

    This puzzled Fang Zhengzhi. He remembered when he was going to take Theory Examinations, he and Yan Xiu were obscured by the blinding talents of Yan Capital.

    However, today...

    Seemed a bit special.

    Of course, he did not know that in the three days that he was gone, he had be the talk of the capital. From the main streets to the back alleys; small and big residences, everyone knew and talked about him.

    He made history. No matter what method he used, whether he wrote nonsense or not, it was an irreversible fact that he broke the rule that no one else could for the past thousand years.

    Everyone, simultaneously turned their heads to face one position. Countless pairs of eyes all pointed in unison at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    He finally came. What do you think his expression would be when he drops out of the roll?"

    "Well, I feel that he wouldn¡¯t drop so far off the roll. To be able to be the roll champion in the River of Trust Provincial Examinations, won¡¯t he at least have a shot at getting on the second-ss roll?"

    "Didn¡¯t you hear about Prime Minister Yu¡¯s analysis?"

    "You mean that sentence about quality over quantity?"

    "That¡¯s right. If Fang Zhengzhi earnestly attempted the questions in the Imperial Theory Examinations, he might have a chance at the second-ss roll. Unfortunately, he finished all six sets of the script. Such low-life that lusts after superficial fame and wealth would naturally not have time for checking and refinement."

    "Brother Tang¡¯s eyes sure are sharp. I¡¯m impressed!"

    The candidates started to murmur among themselves. They were looking forward to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression when he dropped out of the roll. This intention was probably spurred on by jealousy.

    It was like when people are used to wearing clothes out, then suddenly one day, one person did otherwise. Propounding that going out naked could allow one to fully embrace what Mother Nature has to offer.

    Then...

    This person would be either stoned or drowned in spit.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions this time did not simply break the mindset that was instilled over a long period of time. He went and crushed the history of the Great Xia Dynasty since its founding under his feet.

    He did something that no one had done since the beginning of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Finishing the six sets of questions in the examination script in under four hours.

    If such a thing actually happened, then didn¡¯t it meant that he was one level higher than the likes of Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao?

    Whether it was the previous round when Chi Guyan became the Double Roll Champion or the round before that when Nangong Hao who got the title of roll champion for the Imperial Examinations, no such thing had happened before.

    No one believed that such an achievement was possible.

    Furthermore, it was achieved by a mountain viger that had not ever step foot in a Hall of Dao before. The officials did not believe and the noblelites even more so.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at those eyes that shot at him and felt confused. Yet, at this time, a disturbance arose in the crowd.

    A young man wearing a white traditional chinese outfit, followed by two female attendants wearing a red and green dress respectively, forced a path through the crowd towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position.

    With this, the already packed crowd that blocked the Imperial Academy¡¯s gates barely had any room to maneuver. Some of the slower people were pushed down with the butts hitting the floor.

    Hence, among the soft discussions, the disharmonious cursing grew.

    "Where¡¯re your eyes?!"

    "Leg, leg... My leg!"

    "Ahh, Lady, you¡¯re sitting on my face!"

    "..."

    The extremely puzzled Fang Zhengzhi heard the moans of thest guy. His curiously wondered what kind of soreness would that be when someone sat on his face.

    Therefore, he started to find out the source of this voice.

    However...

    Unfortunately, as he was still finding, a figure blocked his line of sight. Furthermore, two more people stood on each side of this figure.

    It was Su Donglin and his two female attendants.

    The two attendants had delicate and elegant features. It was hard to discern their age. On their backs was a sword slung diagonally. The unique features were their eyes. Sharp and piercing just like the swords sheathed in the scabbard.

    "It¡¯s the Sword Attendants," Yan Xiu spoke. His gaze was not on Su Donglin either. Like Fang Zhengzhi, his attention was on the two attendants.

    The feeling of being overlooked caused Su Donglin¡¯s face to darken. The once pale and unblemished face immediately dropped in temperature.

    "So you are Fang Zhengzhi?" Su Donglin opened his mouth.

    "Looking for something?" Fang Zhengzhi heard his question and turned to look at Su Donglin in slight annoyance.

    Su Donglin saw the look of annoyance on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. It was like his heart got pierced by something, the chill on his face got even icier.

    "Do you know what kind of people I hate the most? It¡¯s those low-lives like you who chase after fame and glory by faking it. I¡¯m different from the likes of you. I relied on my abilities. Soon, my name would be carved on the Roll Tablet. There¡¯s a ce where you could no hope to even see!" Su Donglin stared at Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes brimming with arrogance.

    Rationally speaking, he had no grudges against Fang Zhengzhi but in the three days after the examination, the person everyone was talking about was Fang Zhengzhi.

    He originally thought that after the examination, he would be able to enjoy the most triumphant of glories but instead, he was all but forgotten.

    The feeling was like after marriage, as he was about the go on a honeymoon but realized that someone was already a step in front of him and enjoy himself.

    How could he bear with such a feeling?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand Su Donglin¡¯s thoughts. He felt that everything was happening too suddenly. Without antagonizing anyone, someone jumped out and proimed that his abilities were superior to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities.

    You had the ability...

    You came up just because you had the ability?!

    "Have you heard of this saying?" Fang Zhengzhi did not reply Su Donglin. Instead, he posed a question to him.

    "What saying?"

    "Thirty years on the east bank, the next thirty years on the west bank."[1]

    "Are you saying that you are young and still have a lot of time ahead of yourself?" Su Donglin underestimated him.

    "No, what I meant was, I¡¯m the east bank and you are the west bank. If you want to be at the top, wait another thirty years," Fang Zhengzhi answered in an exceedingly indifferent tone.

    "You...arrogant prick!" Su Donglin¡¯s face changed. HIs pupils dted in rage and his aura exploded. A raging tidal wave of energy poured out from his body.

    With his Late Stage Heavenly Reflection State¡¯s capabilities, he had confidence that he could make someone who just reached the Heavenly Reflection State to kneel before him.

    However, to his disappointment.

    Fang Zhengzhi totally did not sense the pressure from him.

    Instead, he looked at Su Donglin innocently. He felt like a boat inside the storm. Bobbing up and down within the storm but never sinking.

    "Young master, Master has ordered to refrain from causing trouble!" Right at this moment, the attendant in red suddenly opened her mouth. Although her voice was not loud, it had a mysterious sharpness to it.

    "Hmph! I hope there is a fluke and you pass the Theory Examinations!" Su Donglin was held back by the attendant. However, unlike most noble young masters, he did not vilify her for her disrespect but instead, he collected back his aura.

    Peace was restored.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze once again went past Su Donglin, directing it at the female attendant in red. He could sense that those two were not themon attendants because their power was definitely above average.

    Su Donglin once again felt the piercing pain of being overlooked. His eyes shed but he did not dispute with Fang Zhengzhi any further because the gate of the Imperial Academy had opened.

    Two rows of soldiers in shining armors swiftly marched out from within the gates.

    The crowd that initially surrounded the gates saw the soldiers and immediately retreated to a distance. They opened a path from the gates of the Imperial Academy to the Roll Tablet.

    [1] This Chinese saying "ÈýÊ®ÄêºÓ¶«,ÈýÊ®ÄêºÓÎ÷" means that the world is ever-changing, nothing will stay the same. For the first thirty years, you might be on the east bank side of the Huang River but in the next thirty years, the flow of the Huang River might change such that you be situated on the west bank instead.

 Chapter 179: Happiness, Anger and Sorrow

    Chapter 179: Happiness, Anger and Sorrow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    No one was discussing anymore. Not one dared to dy the soldiers¡¯ time by even a second because they knew that the release of results was upon them.

    Rows of anxious and nervous pairs of eyes focused on the soldiers and the inside of the Imperial Academy. The atmosphere seemed to be suffocating as some kind of pressure started bubbling up.

    Some candidates were so nervous that their faces were turning green.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi would not mind whatever results he got, however, that was not to say that he did not care about it at all. Therefore, he was beginning to fill up with anticipation.

    Yan Xiu, at this point, abandoned his thoughts and focused his eyes on the Imperial Academy.

    Soon, a team of official messengers in their ck official robes appeared in their sights. Every one of the officials had the character for "Imperial" on their chest, representing their rank.

    The person leading the team was someone Fang Zhengzhi knew. He was the Chief Examiner for the Huai An County County Examinations, Imperial Messenger Qin Yumin.

    After Qin Yumin stepped out of the gates of the Imperial Academy, his eyes swept the crowd in front of him. He showed a slight hint of shock. It was obvious that the crowd today was greater than the crowds that showed up for the past release of results for the Theory Examinations.

    However, it was not surprising if he thought about it.

    Previous results release of the Theory Examinations had more candidates and pce officials while the majority of the citizens would view the results after the Combat Examinations.

    However, this time it was different.

    Because...

    A heavenly miracle happened in this round of Theory Examinations, therefore, passing merchants and citizens with free time woulde and squeeze for a look.

    Everyone wanted to see the oue of this Theory Examinations.

    Qin Yumin did not stand at the gates for long. He cut through the crowd and came to the two huge Roll Tablets beside the door.

    These two tablets were different from the tablets at the River of Trust Province.

    The tablet had the standard features of a tablet but magnified to gigantic proportions and dark as ink. Whether it was the height or width, they were all twice in size in every dimensionpared to the Roll Tablet at the River of Trust Province.

    "This round of Imperial Examinations had two thousand three hundred and fifty-seven candidates. Following the rules of the previous rounds, the Theory Examination will have first and second-ss rolls. The first-ss roll will contain the top twenty while the second-ss roll will start from the twenty-first position to the two hundredth position."

    As Qin Yumin exined to this point, his eyes surveyed the anxiously waiting candidates and spectators.

    When the candidates heard the number of them that participated, they were all dumbfounded. They would publicise the number of participants in every round of the examinations. However, in this round, the number of participants was a full five hundred more than the previous round.

    In this case, the chance of eptance became all the more precious.

    Furthermore, this was only the Theory Examinations. If the disqualifications from the Combat Examinations were taken into ount, then, in the end, those that truly passed the Imperial Examinations at most also would not exceed fifty candidates.

    Every two years, the number of people in the Great Xia Empire that manage to pass the Imperial Examinations were not more than fifty. For the more than two thousand candidates, their chances were paper thin.

    However, if they ever pass, it would be equivalent to the carp jumping through the dragon gate. They gain the rights to step into the pce courts.

    Qin Yumin did not say anything redundant because he knew that everyone now only cared about the names on the Roll Tablets.

    He swiftly took out an exquisite rectangr box made out of pure metal from his chest.

    The box was ck and it was hard to tell what was the exact material used to craft it. On the top and four sides of the box were different characters carved into it, there were even some archaic patterns adorning the surface.

    "Ka!"

    Qin Yumin removed the seal on the box.

    After that, he took out an ink-ck jade rock that was shaped like a cube from inside the box.

    All the candidates immediately tensed up because when this ink-ck jade rock was pushed into the tablet, it would determine the fate of their futures...

    "Wvoom!"

    The ink-ck jade rock was pushed into an indentation on the Roll Tablet. After that, the enormous Roll Tablet started to shine was blinding light.

    One by one, names started to appear on the rock.

    The tension at the location reached saturation point. Everyone opened their eyes wide, intensely scanning the rock for names.

    They were all overly anxious to the point where they forgot about their money pouch.

    Within the fully packed crowd, some figures started to wind their way through. No matter which world, there was no shortage of such people.

    This also made sure that today was a definitely a day filled with happiness and shock.

    "It¡¯s out!"

    "I thought I just saw my name, where did it go? Where did my name go?!"

    "Ah, that¡¯s my name but...why is the address behind my name wrong?!"

    There were more than two thousand people participating in the Imperial Examinations, there were bound to have people with the same name. As a result, after every name was the address of each individual and the index number for the examination.

    This helped to facilitate the determination of passing candidates in the event of any confusion.

    Surprise but after that, it turned to a heavy disappointment so the candidates that tool such a blow broke down and cried on the spot.

    "Ah...Why? Why is it that I have the same name but different fortune!"

    "It was obvious that I made it. How is it possible that I didn¡¯t? There must be a mistake, a mistake..."

    Sobs started to sprout from within the crowd.

    "I passed! I really passed this time!"

    "I made it... I made it into the roll!"

    "Hahaha, ten years of hard work, ten years of poring over books. I finally passed the Theory Examinations today!"

    Such exmations would naturally exist butpared to the wails of failing, it was obviously fewer.

    However, these exmations attracted the most attention.

    Whenever there was someone screaming "I passed, I passed", the surrounding people all looked towards that person with expressions of envy and jealousy.

    The students that came from the same province state, after getting over their disappointment, started celebrating for those that made it onto the Roll Tablet.

    As everyone was sharing their happiness and sorrows, some voices that did not fit the situation rang out.

    "There is no Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name is not on the Roll Tablet!"

    "Did he drop out of the roll as expected?"

    "In pursuit of quantity, he neglected quality. Such an oue was as expected. He might have had a chance to get on the second-ss roll but he fell out of the rolls instead. He deserved it!"

    "As a human, it¡¯s better if we lead down-to-earth lives! Why force it out if we really cannot do it?"

    As these voices grew, more people joined in. Whenever they said something, they would subtly nce over at Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi maintained an expression free of worries.

    Second-ss Roll?

    Fang Zhengzhi barely gave a thought about the Second-ss Roll Tablet. At the very least, he felt that Yan Xiu and his name would not appear on that tablet.

    Simrly, Yan Xiu did not pay much attention to the Second-ss Roll Tablet despite the fact that he was only sixteen.

    He was the noblelite from the Yan n of Western Liang. Although it was not something to be bragged about, it was his greatest source of motivation.

    There was not a single noblelite from the Yan n that would want their names on the second-ss roll.

    There was no such history since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    As a result, Yan Xiu also would not do it. In his heart, if he got into the second-ss roll, it would be equivalent to dropping out of the roll altogether.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was aloof. He was waiting.

    Fang Zhengzhi was waiting as well.

    However, this did not mean that the citizens felt that Fang Zhengzhi should continue to wait becauseing up was the first-ss roll of the Imperial Examinations.

    On the roll would be only twenty names.

    Within these twenty names, from the top to bottom, no one was expecting to see his name.

    Whether it was during or after the Imperial Examinations, no one had ever thought about this. The reason was simple. Fang Zhengzhi just entered the Heavenly Reflection State.

    This was not enough reason to support their predictions.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability waspared to other candidates, there was quite a considerable gap.

    The top twenty in the whole of the Great Xia Empire. Which one of them wasn¡¯t an elite that got into the Rising Dragon Roll? There were even some that had the ability to be in the top twenty or thirty positions on the Rising Dragon Roll but because of the age restrictions, they were not on the roll.

    Those people would be the fiercestpetitors in this round of the Imperial Examinations.

    Forty-year-olds in the Heavenly Reflection State!

    They had meditated in the Heavenly State for at least ten years. Whether it was their foundation or their understanding of the Dao of All Creation, they had all reach the highest of levels.

    The gap between such individuals and a fifteen-year-old who just entered Heavenly Reflection State was not even the difference between Heaven and Earth.

    It was at least, the difference between worlds.

 Chapter 180: Missing person

    Chapter 180: Missing person

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    After the 180 names were announced, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was still nowhere to be seen. It would seem that Fang Zhengzhi had failed to be ranked.

    Su Donglin did not wander far. Upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name missing from the Second-ss Roll, he walked over.

    "Congrattions!"

    "You too!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Me too?" Su Donglin was taken aback. He was clearly being sarcastic, but Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to get it.

    Just as he was about to reply, one of his servants shot him a look.

    Su Donglin had no choice but to keep quiet.

    However, he snorted to himself, "I will let you be happy for a while, after the First-ss Roll is released, I will see where you can hide!"

    ...

    After Qin Yumin released the Second-ss Roll, he waited for a while so everyone could soak it in. Then, he coughed lightly.

    "I believe that everyone knows that the Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examination is the great Han Zhangfeng. The emperor has also sent King Duan and the Ninth Prince to assist him."

    "Now, I would like to invite Official Han to release the First-ss Roll!"

    After Qin Yumin finished, he looked respectfully towards the Imperial Academy. All of the messengers and soldiers also became extremely serious.

    The moment Qin Yumin finished his statement, a line of people exited the Imperial Academy.

    The leader of the pack was dressed in white. His clothes were adorned with golden embroidery of beasts. The beasts were the symbol of the Empire¡¯s armies.

    There was only one person in the empire who could wear this design on his clothes. He was the person who controlled the armies, King Duan.

    To the left of King Duan was a young man. He looked slightly younger than King Duan, possibly in his early twenties. He was dressed in green, and there was an Ink Lotus on his clothes.

    He looked rather pale, but had an aura of elegance about him, except, it was slightly too much...

    Even though the youth walked to the left of King Duan, neither Qin Yumin nor the academics, or even themon people took a second look at him.

    Even Han Zhangfeng, who was dressed in white official robes, had more looks in his direction than the youth.

    "We respectfully wee King Duan, Ninth Prince, and Official Han!" Qin Yumin led the academics in a deep bow.

    King Duan nodded lightly as he turned to look at Han Zhangfeng, "Official Han, can you kick off the First-ss Roll?"

    "Sure!" Han Zhangfeng did not hesitate as he walked to the front of the stone.

    Then, he retrieved a ink colored box and opened it.

    Without a second word, he ced the inkstone inside the grooves of the stone.

    In an instant, the First-ss Roll glowed golden. It was as almost as bright as the sun and it stained the entire sky golden.

    All of the candidates struggled to open their eyes.

    However, no one wanted to shut their eyes. They all wanted to see who had made it to the roll.

    Su Donglin did not look at the stone. Instead, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. He did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could make it.

    He saw Fang Zhengzhi looking at it.

    However, his expression was still one of boredom.

    Very quickly, names began to appear on the stone. Then, a scream of surprise could be heard.

    "Xing Qingsui!"

    "Who would have thought that he would have been on the First-ss Roll?!"

    The first voice was of surprise, the second one was one of doubt.

    It seemed like a good thing.

    However, not everyone saw it as a good thing. The fact that Xing Qingsui¡¯s name is on the First-ss Roll meant that he was not in the top three.

    Then...

    Who could be better than Xing Qingsui?

    Su Donglin?

    They quickly thought about Su Donglin. However, before long, Su Donglin¡¯s name appeared as well.

    "Su Donglin is on this roll too?"

    "What... what¡¯s going on?"

    Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. In everyone¡¯s view, the only person who could defeat Xing Qingsui was Su Donglin.

    But Su Donglin had only made it to the First-ss Roll.

    This threw everyone into confusion.

    Being in the advanced stages of the Heavenly Reflection State meant that he was the top candidate in the Imperial Examinations.

    So, who could defeat Su Donglin?

    The key issue here was that it wasn¡¯t just one person. Three people had better scores than Su Donglin.

    "Congrattions young master Su!"

    A voice rang out.

    This voice was like a thorn in Su Donglin¡¯s side. His expression immediately darkened.

    He clenched his fists so hard they were turning white.

    The person who said this was none other than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Furthermore...

    Fang Zhengzhi had looked so innocent and sincere when he said that.

    It was almost as if he was congratting a friend.

    Su Donglin was fuming, but he decided to suppress it. He saw that Fang Zhengzhi was quite happy, showing no signs of sadness at all.

    Did he make it as well?!

    Su Donglin looked to the roll as he thought about it.

    Then, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was not there.

    "Hahaha... then I must congratte Young Master Fang for missing out on this one too!" Su Donglin found a sliver of constion from this.

    Top three?!

    That was an absolute joke.

    There was saying, "The more you do, the more mistakes you make." Even if one person did the six highest scoring papers on the examination, he could not beat the one person who concentrated on doing one.

    "Nangong Mu¡¯s name is not there!"

    "Nangong Mu¡¯s name is missing!"

    Someone in the crowd suddenly remembered that Nangong Mu, a visitor from the Nangong family, had alsoe to participate.

    More importantly, Nangong Mu had a brother.

    He was Nangong Hao, the first talent of the empire.

    Could someone like him miss out on the ranking?

    Definitely not.

    That could only mean one thing. Nangong Mu was in the top three, and he possibly topped the rankings.

    All of the officials turned to look at the youth, who was standing under the shade of the trees.

    He was wearing an unassuming t-shirt. His ordinary features became rather outstanding and his white patches of hair fluttered in the breeze.

    "It is no wonder he is Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother!"

    "With a brother like Nangong Hao teaching him, isn¡¯t it quite expected of him to make the top three?"

    "I heard that Nangong Mu had the ability to pass the Imperial Examinations two years ago, but he gave it up."

    "It seems that it had something to do with Chi Guyan, but no one knows the details."

    None of themotion seemed to affect Nangong Mu. His gaze was still calm, almost lifeless.

    "Why does it feel like... there is one name missing from the roll?!"

    Just as all the officials were focused on Nangong Mu, a question arose from near the front.

    A missing name?!

    Even though this sounded ridiculous, it caught the attention of everybody. However, they quickly realized what this person meant.

    The First-ss Roll contains 20 names. Taking away the top three, 17 names should have been released.

    However...

    There were only 16 names on the board?!

    "There really is a missing name!"

    "It¡¯s not a missing name, it¡¯s a missing person!"

    "Could they have missed it out?"

    All the confused gazes concentrated on Han Zhangfeng.

    However, Han Zhangfeng¡¯s expression did not change.

    He simply looked towards King Duan, who was standing nearby.

 Chapter 181: Topping the Theory Examination

    Chapter 181: Topping the Theory Examination

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    King Duan naturally knew what Han Zhangfeng meant.

    Even though Han Zhangfeng was the Chief Examiner, he was still a King. As such, Han Zhangfeng would not willfully announce the top three names.

    In actual fact, King Duan had not wanted to announce the top three. He had tried to push it away, but Han Zhangfeng vehemently refused, even falling to his knees.

    "King Duan, please let me off. I am already very old, I cannot take this kind of trauma!"

    This exasperated King Duan.

    As for the Ninth Prince "Lin Yun", he was next to useless. All he did usually was race horses and gamble.

    He clearly could not take on such a responsibility.

    King Duan cleared his throat and retrieved a gold card.

    There was a saying that the top names must be written on gold.

    This was all the more so for the Imperial Examinations. Writing their names on a gold card emphasized their value.

    Seeing the gold card, the entire crowd quietened down.

    "As everyone can see, there is one less name on the First-ss Roll. That is because, for the first time ever, there had been a tie in the top three!" King Duan quickly ayed everyone¡¯s worry.

    "A tie!"

    "That means that there are three others other than Nangong Mu in the top three?!"

    "Oh gosh, another three people managed to better Su Donglin and Xing Qingsui? How is that possible..."

    The chatter below intensified following the announcement.

    Su Donglin¡¯s expression darkened. He did not mind being beaten by someone like Nangong Mu. But being beaten by yet another three people? That was something he could not swallow.

    "The tie this time is for third ce. The two people are Nangong Mu from the Nangong Noble Family and Qing Yang from the Qing n!" King Duan opened the gold card and announced.

    "Nangong Mu is third ce?!"

    "And who is Qing Yang? Why haven¡¯t we heard of him?"

    "Where is the Qing n? Is that a location or a residence? If he can take top three in the Imperial Examination, why does no one know him?"

    The discussions intensified after the announcement.

    There were way too many surprises in this edition of the Imperial Examination. First, Xing Qingsui and Su Donglin had failed to make the top three, and then, an unknown named Qing Yang had made it.

    King Duan could guess who this Qing Yang was. However, he could not say it because he knew that even the emperor knew about this.

    Since the emperor had not said anything, he had to keep his mouth shut as well.

    Nangong Mu, who was standing in the shade, had the first glimmer of emotion in his calm eyes upon seeing his name on the roll.

    "Third?"

    King Duan knew the impact that this ranking would cause. As such, he did not interrupt the discussions, letting them die down on their own instead.

    Finally, all their gazes returned to him.

    "For this edition of the Imperial Examination, the second ce goes to Yan Xiu of the Yan Family!" King Duan unconsciously in Yan Xiu¡¯s direction as he announced the name.

    Everyone looked in that direction as well.

    Yan Xiu was just 16 and at the pinnacle of the Star Conglomerate State. Because of his second cing at the River of Trust Provincial Examination, he moved to 13th ce on the Hidden Dragon Roll.

    That was quite a good result.

    However, no one was too surprised. After all, he was from the Yan Family.

    However, today...

    The 16 year old Yan Xiu had managed to take second ce in the Imperial Examination. This took the world by surprise because he hadn¡¯t even attained the Heavenly Reflection State.

    A Star Conglomerate cultivator can get second ce?!

    At this point, everyone looked at Yan Xiu with shock. This meant that Yan Xiu¡¯s potential had not been fully harnessed.

    When he finally broke through, he may be even better than many of the Heavenly Reflection State cultivators in the city.

    Did the Yan Family manage to cultivate yet another talent?

    But...

    Why would such a talent stay together with Fang Zhengzhi, who did not even make it? That was so confusing. As everyone looked at Yan Xiu, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    When one person did well, it was only natural for others topare him with those around him.

    But the difference was way too big.

    One was the second ce in the Imperial Examination. The other was a greedy, obnoxious, reputation driven boy. It defied reason why the two would hang out together.

    At this point, Su Donglin came over with two of his servants.

    "Congrattions! The fact that Brother Yan is able toe in second ce surprises me. I heard that you are still in the Star Conglomerate State. For thebat examinations, you can travel with me. I can make sure you make the First-ss Roll!"

    "It¡¯s okay." Yan Xiu nced at Su Donglin expressionlessly, almost as if he was talking to a stranger.

    "This is the first time Brother Yan is participating in the Imperial Examinations. I am afraid you do not know the dangers of thebat examinations. Furthermore, this edition will be different from the others. It would be unwise for you to travel alone as a Star Conglomerate cultivator." Su Donglin advised again.

    "You¡¯re... very naggy!" Yan Xiu¡¯s tone became incredibly icy.

    "Naggy?!" Su Donglin¡¯s expression changed and he clenched his fist before lightening his grip.

    The Yan Family...

    No one dared to antagonize them, even in the capital.

    "Why don¡¯t you tell him that you already have a partner?" At this point, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Su Donglin and Yan Xiu.

    "Even if I told him that you would be travelling with me, I doubt that he would be able toprehend it based on his intelligence." Yan Xiu replied.

    "That¡¯s true!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    When Su Donglin heard the conversation, his expression darkened significantly and was filled with disbelief.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is travelling with you? Hahaha... you¡¯re telling me Fang Zhengzhi is travelling with you?! How can someone who didn¡¯t even make the list travel with you?!" Su Donglin looked at Yan Xiu and chuckled.

    Even though he did not dare antagonize the Yan Family, he still dared to throw in a few words of mockery.

    At this point, King Duan¡¯s voice rang out again.

    "The top scorer on this edition of the examination is the River of Trust Province, Huai An County, Northern Mountain Vige¡¯s... Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Su Donglin¡¯sughter ceased.

    He couldn¡¯t even close his jaw. His entire face was contorted into an unrecognizable mess. This was a face of immense sadness and disbelief.

    At this moment, the entire crowd went silent.

    All of those who were just discussing why Yan Xiu would hang around with Fang Zhengzhi all stared in disbelief.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is the top scorer on the Theory Examinations?!"

    "How can he possibly top the Theory Examinations?!"

    "This must be wrong, it is definitely wrong. Hepleted six different papers, how can he possible top the exam? Does the theory exam value quantity over quality?"

    "We want to examine the papers!"

    "Yes, we don¡¯t believe that he can top the exam!"

    No one was willing to believe that Fang Zhengzhi could top the Theory Examinations even though the announcement came from king Duan.

    How can someone so greedy and unfocused top the examinations?

    How can someone possibly finish six papers in four hours and still manage to top the examinations? That is impossible.

    King Duan¡¯s expression was quite ugly. In fact, announcing thatst name was incredibly difficult for him.

    He knew the impact that this announcement would cause.

    When he had heard the news, he was in greater disbelief than anyone in the crowd.

    However...

    That was the truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi had finished six papers in four hours. Furthermore...

    Every word was wless!

    Full marks.

    There was nothing to fault in any one the papers.

    When King Duan had saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer sheet, he was incredibly conflicted. He had never expected that someone could be this good.

    Han Zhangfeng was trembling slightly.

    He knew that he had defied an order, but, he did not regret.

    In fact, whilst he was in the Imperial Academy, he had plenty of time to alter Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script.

    However, he hesitated. He hesitated upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script. The script was too perfect. It was a wless work of art.

    For some like Han Zhangfeng who spent his life amongst books, this work of art was of extraordinary value.

    This represented a piece of history.

    This was one of the greatest moments in the entire history of the empire.

    In four hours, a candidate managed toplete six sets of papers wlessly. His handwriting was immacte and his answers were well thought out. It was almost a replica of the answer sheet.

    How can he let such a script disappear simply because of a personal feud?

    Han Zhangfeng raised his pen again. He had dipped it in ink, but he could not bring himself to alter the script, finally dropping the pen to the ground.

    At that point, Han Zhangfeng was stunned.

    But he was incredibly happy.

    He had personally sent this script into the annals of history for the entire popce to see.

    This script was now avable to all the officials, all of the noble families...

    It was possible to finish all six sets of papers!

    "King Duan, my lord, please release the papers!" Han Zhangfeng bowed. He was unwilling to let Fang Zhengzhi pass. In fact, he did not want Fang Zhengzhi to live.

    However, he had to respect the script, the script that could bring the entire empire to its knees.

 Chapter 182: World of the Sage

    Chapter 182: World of the Sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Release the scripts!"

    "Yes, we want to see the scripts!"

    Upon hearing Han Zhangfeng, the entire crowd turned rowdy again. Without seeing the script, none of them were willing to believe the fact.

    This was something that went against anything that they could understand orprehend.

    King Duan looked at Han Zhangfeng, then back at the rowdy popce. If he had a choice, he would reject the proposal.

    But, he did not.

    Ever since the moment he began announcing the top three, he knew that no one would be able to believe the result.

    As such, the only choice was to release the scripts to prove the fairness of the examination. Furthermore, this was an order from the Emperor, Lin Mubai.

    An academic wearing ck official robes appeared next to King Duan (Lin Xinjue). In his hand was a wooden box covered by a gold cloth.

    King Duan knew that it contained Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script.

    "Release it!" King Duan nodded. He tried to look as approachable as possible. He had to bring himself to smile.

    So, he smiled, and he smiled radiantyly.

    The gold cloth was lifted and the wooden box was opened. The other academics move forward.

    12 academics held up each of the 12 pieces, raising it high above their heads. They stood in a straight line and the name on each script was clear for all to see.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    More importantly, each paper had the same score, each one had the same imperial seal which read, "The Emperor¡¯s Seal"!

    The entire crowd fell silent.

    The entire crowd stared at the row of scripts wide eyed. They did not need to verify that, they knew what the seal meant.

    "The Great Sage marked it himself!"

    "The Emperor¡¯s Seal... it is the Emperor¡¯s Seal!"

    "All correct?! He got them all correct!"

    "12 pieces papers, four hours, not a single mistake, not even a misspelled word!"

    "No marks deducted at all!"

    All of the officials at the scene were stunned. The crowd was in awe, especially the candidates who had just taken the exam.

    They were the least willing to ept this fact.

    Anyone who had seen the exam knew that this edition of the Imperial Examination was much harder than any they had ever seen.

    Four hours...

    They couldn¡¯t even finish two papers.

    Those who had made it to the Second-ss Roll had finished one paper at most, and those who had made it to the First-ss Roll had only managed to do most of the questions.

    It was too difficult!

    Yet, for such a set of papers, someone actually managed to finish them all in four hours, and without mistake! Completely wless!

    How did he do it?

    It was impossible for someone to cheat. In the entire history of the empire, no one had managed to cheat the exams.

    So how did he do it if he didn¡¯t cheat?

    Su Donglin felt his face heat up as he flushed. He felt like his face was on fire.

    "The Emperor¡¯s Seal... all correct?!"

    Su Donglin felt like he had wasted two decades studying. In the face of the examination paper, he felt worse than a three year old kid.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Su Donglin began to tremble. That was a tremble of shame and anger.

    He thought about what Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had said previously.

    "Why don¡¯t you tell him that you already have a partner?"

    "Even if I told him that you would be travelling with me, I doubt that he would be able toprehend it based on his intelligence."

    "That¡¯s true!"

    That was mockery and humiliation. Complete, unadulterated humiliation. Su Donglin was beingpletely ignored by Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    "The first round!"

    "The first round of thebat examinations!"

    "I will be sure to kill you!"

    Su Donglin did not stay around. He could not. Just moments ago, he had said to Fang Zhengzhi, in front of everyone, that his name would be carved at the highest point of the Roll.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name upied the top spot.

    The top scorer of the Theory Examinations, Fang Zhengzhi!

    At this point, no one dared to question the validity of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ranking. Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi with envy and jealousy.

    All of the officials were incredibly flustered.

    An unprecedented talent had just made his name today. This meant that the ancient traditions of the courts were bound to be injected with new blood.

    All of the candidates looked at Fang Zhengzhi with fire in their eyes.

    He may be the top scorer in the Theory Examinations. However, he is just in the elementary stages of the Heavenly Reflection Realm. What a great stepping stone. What a great opportunity for them all.

    Why won¡¯t they be excited?

    As long as they defeated Fang Zhengzhi in thebat examinations, the whole world will focus on them.

    All of the Heavenly Reflection candidates looked at Fang Zhengzhi like wolves stalking the sheep. They were all filled with anticipation.

    Nangong Mu, who was in the shade of the trees, also left.

    He left the moment the scripts were released. He did not say anything to anybody. Just before he left, he unconsciously nced southward.

    That was where the Nangong family was.

    There was another stunning talent there, Nangong Hao.

    Xing Qingsui did not leave. He was not angry. However, when he saw those scripts, his eyes became brighter and brighter, almost like a predator who had just spotted its prey.

    ...

    Inside the aromatic garden of Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    Ping Yang wore a red cloak as she sat on the swing, staying still as she stared in the direction of the academy.

    "He must be very happy now?"

    "Damn it, I can¡¯t let him be this cocky!"

    "But, why is it that this damned hillbilly can do that well? The entire test..."

    "Argh, he¡¯ll be the death of me, he¡¯ll be the death of me, oh oh oh..."

    Ping Yang continued to mutter to herself as her expression changed continuously. She was happy, angry, sad, crazy...

    At an isted small courtyard on the other side of the Ping Yang residence.

    Chi Guyan, who was dressed in a pink dress,y on a wooden chair wrapped with beast hide. The dress was knee length, and it revealed her exquisite legs.

    Her posture looked ratherzy, and her starry eyes looked into the sky. The golden rays of light from the sun shone on her, making her look like an immortal who descended from heaven.

    "It is no wonder that shameless thief always lies down in this position. It is quitefortable... the entire examination. This time, I don¡¯t have to push, he went up there himself, then let me take a break..."

    Chi Guyan muttered to herself before closing her eyes, smirking to herself.

    Yue Er, who was dressed in a green dress, stood guard at the entrance to the small courtyard.

    She was stunned by what she saw. Having followed by Chi Guyan¡¯s side for so long, she had never seen Chi Guyan sit this way.

    "Why does it feel like missus has changed. Didn¡¯t she always scold me for poor posture?"

    ...

    ...

    With the announcement of the Theory Examination rankings, everyone could not believe their eyes and themotion in the city showed no signs of abating.

    There were still quite a few people who came to visit Yu Yiping, the Left Prime Minister. However, his gates were visibly less popr.

    He had once said that it was unwise to try to finish the entire exam. Yet now, it had be a forbidden phrase.

    No one dared to mention the incident.

    However, it was now a story that everyone in the city knew. The storytellers in the teahouses even weaved stories based on it.

    This was clearly the work of his detractors.

    Yu Yiping knew this, and so did the Crown Prince, Lin Tianrong. Only Lin Xinjue told it to everyone he saw, "I don¡¯t know! Who is so audacious? Who dares to defame the Left Prime Minister!"

    The stable political system was now being rocked. This did not seem to have anything to do with Fang Zhengzhi. But without Fang Zhengzhi, would this even have happened?

    ...

    Thebat examinations would be held in bad weather.

    The rain on this day seemed to be even stronger than before. Dark clouds filled the sky and winds raged around the entire city.

    Today was the beginning of thebat examinations, and the weather was not good.

    But so what?

    There could be no rainbows if there was no rain.

    Over 200 candidates in armor stood in the open as the rain pummeled their bodies. They stared intently at the front.

    The entire atmosphere at the Imperial Academy¡¯s backyard was solemn.

    There was a yellow umbre in the midst. This umbre covered two people. One was the bored looking, sapphire color armored Fang Zhengzhi, and the other was the seemingly icy Yan Xiu.

    The two of them stood under the yellow umbre. They looked extremely clean, a clear difference from the rest of thepetition.

    Han Zhangfeng, who was in white official robes, stared at the lonely umbre. He raised his head to look at the torrential rain.

    Did I make a mistake then?

    After so many years of being Chief Examiner, he had seen his fair share of bad weather. However, he had never seen a case where the candidates used an umbre when he himself did not!

    He could only wish that this kind of people did not join the army. Else, such undisciplined fellows were bound to suffer.

    But this was just the Imperial Examinations. Could he say anything?

    Naturally not.

    "You are all the elites of the empire. You are also the future of the Empire. One day, when you walk into the courts, into the armies, I hope that your indomitable spirit will hold strong!"

    "The keys to the Great Xia Dynasty will soon be open to you. However, you must first cross this door. Inside this door ispetition, cruel, intensepetition!"

    "They will try to stop you in your tracks. Your responsibility is to smash them!"

    "I believe that you all know what "Meng Tian" means to the Great Xia Dynasty. That¡¯s right, he is the one who rode a thousand miles to kill the Devil Lord, "Di Sikong", the "Sagely Battle God!"

    "Today, you all have the honor of entering the "World of the Sage". That is Meng Tian¡¯s world, and it records all of Meng Tian¡¯s exploits.

    "At every level, you will all see a different world, and understand different things."

    "Of course, you must be able to find them, and remain standing!"

    "The rules are simple, thest one standing is the champion of this edition of thebat examinations!"

    As Han Zhangfeng finished, he scanned the group of candidates. All of them had an insatiable thirst.

    They looked on in anticipation.

    For this edition of the Imperial Examination, the Emperor had agreed to use the "World of the Sage" as the battleground. He may have been feeling generous. Anyone who entered, regardless pass or fail, would benefit greatly.

    However, this also meant that there were immense dangers...

    The World of the Sage may be rather difficult for the candidates here today. However, as the Emperor aptly said, "Which warrior has not bled?"

    Naturally, Han Zhangfeng knew what he meant.

    Without brushes with death, one could not stand tall in the battlefield no matter how strong one was. That person could not be the bastion of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The demons were incredibly vicious and this was a fact every human must ept.

    However...

    Why did it look like Fang Zhengzhi was not at all nervous. In fact, he looked like a bored outsider?

    Han Zhangfeng could not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about. Did he not want to pass thebat examinations? Or, was he that confident?

    That was impossible.

    Thebat examinations were different from the theory examinations. They required skill.

    Even though an elementary stage Heavenly Reflection Cultivator was not weak, he was in no position to be cocky. Furthermore, there was a target on his back.

    More importantly, the people controlling the World of the Sage were Han Zhangfeng and King Duan.

    Time, space, and people...

    If Fang Zhengzhi still managed to be thest man standing.

    That would be senseless.

    "Go on in!"

    "Yes!"

    Everyone except for Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu answered in unison.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not be bothered, and Yan Xiu was unwilling to answer.

    They feltpletely differently, but the two of them stood under the same yellow umbre.

    The huge stone door parted.

    This signalled the official opening ceremony of the Imperial Combat Examinations...

    "The World of the Sage? Meng Tian... why haven¡¯t I heard of him?" Fang Zhengzhi looked on in confusion. Then, he sighed lightly as he looked at the drenched candidates around him.

    "Why act... dumb!"

    However, he did not notice that every candidate who walked through the stone doors unconsciously looked in his direction, their eyes glimmering.

 Chapter 183: Weak

    Chapter 183: Weak

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had never heard of Meng Tian, and he had never heard of the World of the Sage. But so what? It would all be fine as long as Yan Xiu knew about it.

    Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi trusted each other immensely.

    "Do you know this Meng Tian?"

    "Yes I do."

    "Do you know about the World of the Sage?"

    "I know a little."

    "Good!"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Each of the candidates rushed to go through the gates.

    There was an age old saying that it was better to enter first. Being inside first meant that one was more familiar with the world and thus in an advantageous position.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were in no hurry.

    As such, the two of them waited quietly outside. They only made their way through the gate after everyone entered.

    There was no big n behind their patience. Fang Zhengzhi was just afraid that squeezing with the rest would dirty his clothes. He also did not want to get wet.

    ...

    The moment they stepped through the stone doors, the rained stopped.

    A vast expanse greeted them. There were no tables or chairs, not even a tree in sight. The only thing that could be seen were the green stones on the ground.

    The space was not big, but it allowed enough space for all 200 of them to stand inside.

    In the near distance was a bridge, a stone bridge. To be more urate, it was a broken stone bridge.

    On the other side of the bridge was a mountain. The mountain was covered by mist so no one could see anything clearly. They surmised that it was a mountain from the silhouette.

    This did not seem much different from an ordinary pocket dimension. However, since it was known as the World of the Sage, how could it be this simple?

    "Cross the stone bridge!"

    Four simple words echoed out throughout the space. It clearlyid out what they had to do.

    This was a stone bridge that was broken from the center.

    There was a stone at the start of the bridge. It was carved with two words, "Broken Bridge!"

    There was nothing else.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes focused on the broken bridge but no one took the first step. This was an endless broken bridge.

    The gap was clear for all to see, but everything past the gap was covered with white mist.

    No one knew how long the bridge was, or if there was even a bridge on the other side.

    Everything was unknown.

    This was the most unsettling thing.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look at the bridge. He looked at the stone te, at the two words to be exact...

    "Broken Bridge."

    These were two incredibly sharp words.

    Every stroke was carved deeply into the stone.

    "If my guess is correct, Meng Tian¡¯s weapon was a sword?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Yan Xiu.

    "It was a sword, but he stopped using it." Yan Xiu was slightly surprised. How did Fang Zhengzhi know Meng Tian used a sword when he didn¡¯t even know who Meng Tian was?

    Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the two words.

    Yan Xiu nced at it and nodded in understanding.

    "Speaking of swords, there is a legend in the Great Xia Dynasty. It says that a sword is hidden in the World of the Sage. That is the sword that Meng Tian used to kill the demon lord Di Sikong!"

    "There is a sword hidden in the pocket dimension?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused. If that was the case, why can¡¯t he keep his own sword in his pocket dimension?

    "When you are at that level, you can keep tens of thousands of things in your pocket dimension. Naturally, you can keep a sword." Yan Xiu was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. After all, he knew Fang Zhengzhi had never gone to school. Ever since Fang Zhengzhipleted the Theory Examination in four hours, he believed this fact even more.

    No academy would teach a student like that.

    "So... where is the sword?"

    "No one seems to be able to find the sword. It is said that the Sagely Battle God never used it again after killing the Demon Lord."

    "Then what did he use?"

    "Sabre, a short one."

    "A short sabre? Why would someone who uses a sword change to using a short sabre..." Fang Zhengzhi had difficulty understanding it. Would a right handed person be able to use his left hand to write at such short notice?

    Neither he nor Yan Xiu understood it.

    No one in the Great Xia Dynasty could exin it either. However, the fact was that he did change to using a short sabre after killing the Demon Lord.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were discussing it, a figure appeared next to them. This was a figure in a red cloak, and her petite body made her look rather frail.

    "You managed to sneak in?" Fang Zhengzhi did not even need her to take off her hoodie for him to recognize her.

    "What do you mean sneak in? I came in here on my own ord okay?" The crisp, unhappy reply came from under the red cloak.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in disbelief. He did not see Ping Yang in the Imperial Academy. She was also not in the courtyard when they entered the World of the Sage.

    It was easy to verify this, her cloak was dry.

    "Do you have something to say?" Fang Zhengzhi was toozy to call her bluff.

    "I want to defeat you!"

    "Sure, but I heard that there is a sword here. I want to go take a look first."

    "You¡¯re talking about the Sagely Battle God¡¯s sword? Hahaha... you want to find that sword? No one has been able to find it in centuries... okay, this feels like fun, I have decided to join you, celebrate!"

    Ping Yang stiffened, then guaffawed. She immediately agreed and proposed something rather selfless.

    It was all a quick process.

    Then, Ping Yang waited for Fang Zhengzhi to wee her into the group, but instead, Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "You are too weak!"

    This was a simple and direct statement. But it was an impactful one. Ping Yang began to doubt herself for the first time.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you say that I am too weak?!"

    "Isn¡¯t that the case?"

    "I am somoene who wants to defeat you!"

    "But, the truth is that you are too weak." Fang Zhengzhi maintained his viewpoint.

    "Okay, you forced me into this!" Ping Yang pouted, her crystal clear eyes filling with rage.

    Then, she turned and left without hesitation.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite pleased with Ping Yang. At the very least, she knew what shame was. It was not easy for a Star Conglomerate State cultivator to leech of someone like him.

    However, very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi found that he had overestimated Ping Yang.

    Because...

    Ping Yang returned quickly. This time, there was a male in bright green armor next to her.

    "Bodyguard? Protection?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    "Tell them what your cultivation level is now." Ping Yang walked to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu and said.

    "In reply to the princess, I hit the Heavenly Reflection State a year ago!" The middle aged man replied respectfully.

    "Okay, now, I want you to defeat me!" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi as she said this.

    "I cannot touch the Princess!" The middle aged man was scared out of his wits when he heard it.

    "Enough with the excuses. If you can¡¯t defeat me today, I will go raid your house tomorrow!" Ping Yang was incredibly domineering, ignoring the pleas of the man.

    "Princess, do you really want me to defeat you?" The middle aged man was in disbelief.

    How could he possibly take up this battle. He was in the Heavenly Reflection State and she was just a Star Conglomerate Cultivator. The difference was way too stark.

    "Of course!" Ping Yang nodded.

    All of the other candidates began to take notice as well.

    All of them were in disbelief.

    "That¡¯s... Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Why is she in thebat examinations? And it looks like she¡¯s challenging Wang Chuanping?"

    "Wang Chuanping is a Heavenly Reflection cultivator. Princess Ping Yang is only in the Star Conglomerate State, why would she challenge him? Did Wang Chuanping antagonize her?"

    The candidates thought to themselves.

    Su Donglin stepped out from the crowd at this moment.

    Su Donglin was dressed in green. His hair was let down and he was inexplicably charming. However, it was a pity he could not rid himself of that look of tiredness.

 Chapter 184: Ping Yangs Pillar

    Chapter 184: Ping Yang¡¯s Pir

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    He looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang, his fists clenched, "Fang Zhengzhi, you look like you¡¯re quite free?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was really quite free.

    He finally understood what Ping Yang wanted to do.

    She wanted to challenge a Heavenly Reflection candidate to prove her abilities? This was not something normal people would choose to do.

    But, Ping Yang was just a Star Conglomerate cultivator, where did she get the confidence to defeat a Heavenly Reflection cultivator from?

    "Princess, my apologies!" Wang Chuanping also understood. He was already 36 years old and thepetition was getting more and more intense each year.

    He did not wish to give up his chance here.

    Furthermore, Ping Yang had already asked him to defeat her. All he had to do was ensure he didn¡¯t injure here.

    Ping Yang smiled when she heard Wang Chuanping.

    Then...

    Something unbelievable happened.

    Ping Yang attacked.

    She jumped into the air and kicked at Wang Chuanping. Even though she could not match him in cultivation level, she did not lose out in speed or power.

    Wang Chuanping did not move. He did not even think of dodging.

    If he had to dodge, then what was the difference in their cultivation levels for?

    "Bang!"

    Ping Yang stopped in mid air, almost as if there was an invisible wind stopping her from getting any closer.

    "Star Conglomerate against Heavenly Reflection? It doesn¡¯t seem like much of a fight..."

    "But, she¡¯s Ping Yang!"

    Two of the candidates began to discuss the battle, and the tide also seemed to change slightly.

    Ping Yang, who was finding it difficult to advance, burst into mes. That was real mes, and it burnt her red cloak into ashes.

    The sky was scattered with grey ashes.

    However, in the middle of the ashes, almost like an elf bathing in fire, Ping Yang looked out arrogantly.

    A bright red armor covered her body from head to toe.

    This was an armor for ady. It was designed with flowers and red crystals lined the tes, each crystal bursting into mes.

    "The Red me Flower Armor!"

    All of the candidates, including Su Donglin, realized what was going on the moment they saw the armor.

    That¡¯s right...

    She is Ping Yang, the princess most pampered by the emperor. It was only normal that she had the best treasures the empire had!

    So long as she wore the Red me Flower Armor, even the advanced Heavenly Reflection Stage Su Donglin could not do any harm to her.

    Wang Chuanping, who was only in the intermediate stages, was even less of a question.

    But was the armor enough?

    It would only be enough to force a tie.

    "Roar!" A beastly roar rang out, and another me shot skywards from Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    Under the intense red light, there was a spot of gold that seemed to flicker.

    It was like a gold point, and from the moment it showed itself, it brought with it an incredibly vicious and domineering aura.

    "The zing Qilin Spear!"

    "One of the ten great treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    "The Emperor actually gave her the zing Qilin Spear..."

    All of the candidates were in awe when they saw Ping Yang holding the zing Qilin Spear.

    They had all heard rumors that the Emperor, Lin Mubai, had given the zing Qilin Spear to Ping Yang for her birthday, but no one had seen it before.

    Until today...

    The zing Qilin Spear was out for all to see.

    The devilish girl of the capital was no longer just armed with an indestructible armor, she was now armed with the zing Qilin Spear. She was now... a vicious devilish girl with a credible way to hurt people.

    That being said, no one would dare attack Ping Yang.

    However, daring to, and being able to, were twopletely different concepts.

    To put it simply...

    They had the ability to protect themselves before. Now that Ping Yang has the zing Qilin Spear, she could destroy any defence they put up.

    Fang Zhengzhi had heard about the zing Qilin Spear when Lin Mubai mentioned it at Ping Yang¡¯s birthday party.

    Today was the first time he saw the zing Qilin Spear in person.

    It was apletely red spear. At the tip of the spear was a golden pearl. Light flowed inside the pearl, almost as if there was some sort of blood flowing inside.

    Below the the pearl were scale like designs. The designs extended all the way to the bottom of the spear, making it incredibly exquisite.

    "Good spear!" Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know his spears, it did not take a genius to figure out that this was a good spear.

    Wang Chuanping¡¯s expression of calm had been reced by crimson.

    He had finally understood why Ping Yang had said that if he did not fight her, she would go raid his home.

    A Star Conglomerate Ping Yang was nothing to be afraid of.

    But, with the protection of the Red me Flower Armor and the attacking prowess the zing Qilin Spear brought, Ping Yang was incredibly terrifying.

    Ping Yang smirked as she raised her head. She unconsciously looked at Fang Zhengzhi as she thursted the spear towards Wang Chuanping.

    "Roar!" The beastlike roar echoed out once again.

    The entire sky filled with mes and crashed towards Wang Chuanping. In the midst of the fire was a golden point, which was going straight towards Wang Chuanping¡¯s throat.

    Wang Chuanping wanted to retreat, but the aura seemed to root him in ce.

    He wanted to defend himself. However, the wind he controlled only managed to repel the mes but not the golden light.

    That was a homing golden light.

    It was impossible to block!

    This was the zing Qilin Spear. It could prate everything.

    Only a spear like that could qualify to be one of the top ten treasures of the Great Xia Empire. It was said that this was the most fearsome weapon around.

    The golden light stopped.

    It stopped about an inch from Wang Chuanping¡¯s throat.

    Wang Chuanping sat on the ground. He had underestimated his opponent, and that was his undoing. If he had kept his distance from Ping Yang from the start, he would not have lost so quickly.

    "So what about my abilities?" Ping Yang turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang, looking at Yan Xiu instead.

    Yan Xiu understood what Fang Zhengzhi was asking, and nodded.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi nodded to Ping Yang.

    "Not bad!"

    "Not bad?! You..." Ping Yang wanted to flip out. Her zing Qilin Spear and herself were not just ¡®not bad¡¯. No one there could block an outright attack from her.

    However, her goal was to join Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s group and find the legendary sword.

    Even though...

    The possibility of it was unlikely, she had a feeling that if anyone had a chance, it would be Fang Zhengzhi.

    Someone who managed to finish the entire examination should know this world well right?

    That was what Ping Yang thought.

    If Ping Yang knew that Fang Zhengzhi did not even know Meng Tian, she may not think that way...

    Ping Yang swallowed her words before she could say them.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anymore and epted Ping Yang with exasperation. Then, he walked over to the fallen Wang Chuanping.

    "You have lost!"

    "Yes..." Wang Chuanping was not happy about it, but that was the fact.

    "The Imperial Examinations are only held once every two years, and each one is harder than thest. You don¡¯t want to go out like this, do you?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "Of course, but..." Wang Chuanping¡¯s eyes glowed with pain, but he could not do anything.

    "Then, do you want a second chance?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled radiantly.

    "A second... second chance?!" Wang Chuanping was floored. He did not really understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.

 Chapter 185: Whos going out first?

    Chapter 185: Who¡¯s going out first?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "That¡¯s right, a second chance. A chance for you to retake the exam." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Another chance?! Then... what do I need to do?" Wang Chuanping finally understood what was going on. He was not dumb, a price must be paid for what he wanted.

    "It is very simple. All you have to do is challenge that fe!" Fang Zhengzhi casually pointed towards the crowd.

    The entire crowd became tense.

    Then, everyone¡¯s gaze looked towards where Fang Zhengzhi was pointing.

    The entire crowd was stunned.

    Because...

    Fang Zhengzih was pointing at Su Donglin?!

    "How is that possible? How can Wang Chuanping challenge Su Donglin?"

    "Isn¡¯t that asking Wang Chuanping to kill himself?"

    "This is the second chance?"

    No one could believe what they were seeing. But, Fang Zhengzhi was pointing at Su Donglin, and everyone could see it clearly.

    Su Donglin squinted. Naturally, he heard the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Wang Chuanping, and saw where Fang Zhengzhi was pointing at.

    In an instant, he knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying.

    "So, he wants to use Wang Chuanping as a stepping stone?" Su Donglin decided.

    It was easy to guess. He had already made it clear to everyone that he wanted Fang Zhengzhi out in the first round.

    Now, Fang Zhengzhi was sending someone to challenge Su Donglin, so that he could send Su Donglin into the second round.

    That meant that Su Donglin could not find trouble with him in the first round.

    The other candidates also understood what was going on. But it was quite the shameless move.

    "Isn¡¯t this quite shameless?"

    "He¡¯s using Wang Chuanping as a shield!"

    All of the candidates were furious. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything because Ping Yang, with her Red me Flower Armor was standing next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just moments before, Ping Yang had taken Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side. This was something no one had expected, but something they had to consider.

    Wang Chuanping was filled with fear. He too was keenly aware of what was going on.

    "Fang, Young Master Fang... you must be joking. Su Donglin is in the advanced stages of the Heavenly Reflection State, I... how can I beat him?"

    Wang Chuanping knew that he was in no position to bargain, but, if this was his second chance, it was as good as nothing.

    "You definitely can¡¯t defeat him, but with me, we can." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "You?!" Wang Chuanping was stunned.

    He did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying. If Fang Zhengzhi wanted to use him as a stepping stone, then, Fang Zhengzhi had no reason to fight.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to fight?

    What is the logic here?

    When the other students heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they too were confused. Even Su Donglin was confused.

    Wang Chuanping and Fang Zhengzhi teaming up?

    Two elementary stage Heavenly Reflection cultivators, one of whom recently broke through, want to fight an advanced stage Heavenly Reflection State Su Donglin?

    Is this not courting death?

    No one understood what was going on. With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ster performance in the Theory Examinations, he did not need to take such a risk.

    Does he not want to pass the Imperial Examinations?

    Then, at this point, Yan Xiu, who was standing next to Fang Zhengzhi, spoke up.

    "And me!" Yan Xiu¡¯s tone was cold, but incredibly firm.

    Everyone thought that Fang Zhengzhi was nning to use Wang Chuanping as a stepping stone, but Yan Xiu knew he would not do that.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no reason to do it.

    Pass one round?

    That was not something Fang Zhengzhi would consider. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first priority was always to remove the ¡®obstacles¡¯.

    This was the same thing he did in the River of Trust Province Examinations.

    Since Su Donglin had already said that he will knock Fang Zhengzhi out in the first round, why would Fang Zhengzhi let him pass the first round?

    This sounded quite unbelievable, but Yan Xiu believed that Fang Zhengzhi could do it.

    Ping Yang smiled radiantly.

    Her petite face lit up bright red with excitement.

    "You three want to battle Su Donglin? Sure, I want to join too!" As she spoke, she waved the zing Qilin Spear animatedly.

    The candidates who were mocking Fang Zhengzhi were all stunned.

    This was not a simple 2v1.

    This was...

    "A 4v1?!"

    "Princess Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi, Wang Chuanping... four against one Su Donglin?"

    "How... shameless!"

    The other candidates finally reacted. Actually, they had already reacted ever since Fang Zhengzhi spoke to Wang Chuanping.

    They should have thought that it would end it a 4v1?

    This was even more shameless than using Wang Chuanping as a stepping stone.

    Initially, Su Donglin had thought that Fang Zhengzhi was just prolonging his time here. Now, his expression changed as he looked at Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    If it was just Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Wang Chuanping, he may not have thought much of it. But with Princess Ping Yang in the picture, he had a problem on his hands.

    He knew how ridiculously powerful the zing Qilin Spear was.

    Furthermore, Ping Yang was protected by the Red me Flower Armor.

    More importantly...

    No matter how daring he was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to injure Ping Yang!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you really want to do this lopsided fight?" Su Donglin felt that no matter how shameless a person, they must have their boundaries. A 2v1 was shameless enough.

    Now, it was going to be a 4v1.

    Was there anything more shameless?

    This waspletely ridiculous.

    "I think that a 4v1... sounds great!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He did not think that there was anything wrong with this. He wanted Su Dongping out of thebat examinations. A 2v1 and a 4v1 made little difference.

    As for being a gentleman...

    That was not something he valued.

    "You..." Su Donglin¡¯s expression darkened. All this while, he had been plotting how to get rid of Fang Zhengzhi in the first round.

    But now...

    He was about to be kicked out?!

    ...

 Chapter 186: Yan Xiu in Danger

    Chapter 186: Yan Xiu in Danger

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    In the Imperial Academy, both King Duan and Han Zhangfeng looked ufortable as they stared at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang through the screen.

    They knew that Ping Yang, armed with the Red me Flower Armor and the zing Qilin Spear could make waves in thebat examinations.

    Time, space and people...

    Everything was within their calctions. Everything except Ping Yang.

    They had guessed that Ping Yang may smuggle herself into the World of the Sage. However, they had thought she would be there to try it out. They did not expect her to team up with Fang Zhengzhi.

    The great princess of the Great Xia Dynasty had wanted to join Fang Zhengzhi so badly she even found a Heavenly Reflection student to fight...

    Now, she was teaming up with Fang Zhengzhi to partake in a 4v1 battle.

    No one could have predicted this.

    The Ninth Prince, who was near Han Zhangfeng and King Duan, was confused. Doesn¡¯t Ping Yang hate Fang Zhengzhi?

    During her birthday party, she had also asked him for ideas...

    What¡¯s going on?

    ...

    In the World of the Sage.

    Wang Chuanping¡¯s expression kept changing. He had no other way out. He had to either withdraw now or battle Su Donglin with Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was not a difficult choice.

    The first choice had him waiting for another two years, the second choice gave him a lifeline.

    "Thank you Young Master Fang for the chance! Thank you Princess Ping Yang! Thank you Young Master Yan Xiu!" Wang Chuanping made his decision quickly and drew two huge des.

    When battling Ping Yang, she did not draw a weapon before. As such, he did not draw his. By the time she drew her weapon, it was toote.

    But now, he did not hesitate to draw his weapon.

    He was battling Su Donglin after all.

    Yan Xiu also opened up the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    Ping Yang was incredibly excited and she stepped towards Su Donglin.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi. He walked over slowly towards Su Donglin and smiled.

    "Young Master Su, I am sorry!"

    "Humph, Fang Zhengzhi! Are you getting ahead of yourself?" Su Donglin¡¯s eyes shined with an icy glow despite being surrounded.

    1v4.

    Two elementary stage Heavenly Reflection cultivators, Ping Yang decked with treasures, and a son of the Yan Family, holding the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    For Su Donglin, he had a chance at victory...

    But that chance was a slim one.

    But this was the Imperial Examinations, not a real fight to the death. Su Donglin¡¯s chances were significantly higher.

    He did not have to defeat all four of them.

    He just needed one.

    As long as he could defeat one of them, he could enter the second round easily.

    From there, he can plot his revenge...

    Everything was within control!

    "So, who to defeat first?" Su Donglin looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, finally deciding on Yan Xiu.

    The reason was simple.

    Yan Xiu was the weakest, and he was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s closest buddy. He was the best choice, all things considered.

    But...

    Is Yan Xiu really the weakest?

    Su Donglin felt that way. Everyone else felt that way, including Ping Yang and Wang Chuanping.

    But Fang Zhengzhi did not think so.

    But this did not matter, the battle had begun.

    The first one to attack was Ping Yang.

    Even before the other candidates could fully clear the area, Ping Yang attacked, her zing Qilin Spear burning up the air as a homing golden glow shot towards Su Donglin.

    This attack had floored Wang Chuanping before.

    However, Su Donglin was not Wang Chuanping. He was in the advanced stages of the the Heavenly Reflection Realm, and he was one of the core disciples of the Su n.

    More importantly, Wang Chuanping had no idea that Ping Yang had the zing Qilin Spear. Furthermore, he had not kept his distance from Ping Yang.

    Su Donglin knew that Ping Yang had the zing Qilin Spear.

    As such, he dodged the attack easily.

    When Ping Yang attacked, Su Donglin already began to move. He moved as quickly as a bolt of electricity, almost as if he predicted the attack...

    In fact, he was electricity.

    A purple electric glow wrapped his body.

    He was almost like a purple snake, dodging and weaving about, never letting anyone get a clear view of him.

    He was bathing in the purple electricity.

    No one could follow his speed.

    In the blink of an eye, Su Donglin dodged Ping Yang¡¯s attack, took a leap, and appeared right in front of Yan Xiu.

    All of the candidates did not even have a chance to gasp.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s eyes were filled with fire as he watched on. His expression darkened as he considered how he would dodge this attack when he was faced with it.

    There was also another youth in the crowd.

    He was immensely calm. Even after seeing Su Donglin¡¯s electrifying speed and agility, he was still expressionless.

    His t-shirt and armor looked rather workaday.

    However, everyone around him unconsciously maintained their distance.

    He was Nangong Mu, Nangong Hao¡¯s brother.

    ...

    Su Donglin¡¯s idea was simple.

    He wanted to defeat Yan Xiu before Yan Xiu had a chance to react. This was the power difference between them. He had no intention of letting Yan Xiu use his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    This was just the first round of thebat examinations.

    He did not want to use too much time and energy on a 1v4. He had a long way to go, and he wanted to get to the top.

    Now that Su Donglin was right in front of Yan Xiu, arge current of purple electricity exploded outwards.

    At the advanced stages of the Heavenly Reflection Realm, he could easily manipte everything around him.

    Even though there was no clear indication of electricity around him, he was able to find whatever little bit there was.

    He was able to influence the outside world and cause purple electricity to flow.

    Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear worked the same way. Due to its unique construct, it was able to create fire in the surrounding.

    The Blue Fire Wolf was also simr.

    Due to its intense speed, the friction between its body and the air caused a fire to burn. However, its fire was definitely no match for the zing Qilin Spear.

    Electricity had the potential to temporarily paralyze someone. Furthermore, its speed was only second to wind and that was why it was Su Donglin¡¯s choice.

    Inside the Purple Lightning Storm, an electric snake shot towards Yan Xiu and it covered Yan Xiu¡¯s body, almost as if it was going to shatter him.

    Su Donglin¡¯s eyes glimmered. He knew that once the electricity wrapped around Yan Xiu, it was over.

    Yan Xiu would not be able to move.

    But he could.

    "You¡¯re done!" Su Donglin bellowed, then drew a sword.

    When the sword was drawn, the tip began to drag a shadow. That was a ck silhouette, almost as if it was attached to the tip and forcefully dragged along.

    The entire air was filled with static as the ck figure was drawn through it.

    "This is the Su n Shadow de Technique!"

    "Su Donglin wants to defeat Yan Xiu first?!"

    "How fast... first, he used the electric field to immobilize Yan Xiu, then he¡¯s using the Shadow de Technique to pierce Yan Xiu¡¯s defences!"

    "I get it now, Su Donglin wants to knock Yan Xiu out so he can advance to the second round!"

    When Su Donglin drew his sword, all the candidates knew what was going to happen.

    However, no one could save Yan Xiu now.

    Yan Xiu was already enveloped by the electric field. Under its influence, he was going to be numb and it could prove lethal in battle.

    This was the greatest difference between the Heavenly Reflection Realm and the Star Conglomerate Realm.

    Restriction by field!

    The Heavenly Reflection cultivator could control the various fields that the surroundings had, and he could use them to attack and defend. More importantly, he could use them to suppress and interfere.

    No matter how powerful the Star Conglomerate cultivator, he would find it difficult to bring his powers to bear in this field.

    And the Heavenly Reflection cultivator could only get stronger when in this field.

    He was faster and stronger.

    The electric fieldsbined with the Su n¡¯s speed and Shadow de Technique.

    This was quite the unavoidablebination.

    Everyone thought this way, including Su Donglin, Ping Yang, and Wang Chuanping.

    The only person who didn¡¯t think so was Fang Zhengzhi.

    The shadow buzzed as it flew towards Yan Xiu.

    Then, Yan Xiu dodged.

    Whilst being wrapped by the purple lightning, he moved and his Wind Shadow technique allowed him to dodge Su Donglin¡¯s attack.

    Su Donglin could not believe his eyes.

    "How is this possible?!"

    The other candidates also could not believe their eyes. How was Yan Xiu not numbed by lightning. This was virtually impossible.

    It did not make any sense.

    It was almost as if a human, who was locked up and chained inside a wooden box, suddenly escaped. More importantly, the lock and box were undamaged.

    Unless...

    A thought shed by their minds, but, it quickly disappeared.

    Very quickly, all of their jaws dropped. The next scene was utterly unbelievable.

 Chapter 187: The Third Heavenly Reflection

    Chapter 187: The Third Heavenly Reflection

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu was still icy and expressionless.

    However, his body was surrounded by a green glow as leaves circled him.

    Other than this, his skin was covered with a thin greyyer of substance. It looked like the branches of a tree, and there were clear markings on it.

    "Another field!"

    "It¡¯s wood... no, it¡¯s a field of trees!"

    All of the candidates were unable to conceal their shock and awe when they saw this scene unfold before their eyes.

    Yan Xiu was standing inside the protection of a huge tree.

    This could only mean one thing...

    Yan Xiu was in the Heavenly Reflection State!

    For over a century, no one had managed to breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection State before 18. That was until Chi Guyan came along.

    Not long ago, Fang Zhengzhi broke through at the Divine Constabry, making him the second youngest Heavenly Reflection talent.

    Within a few years, there were now to Heavenly Reflection powers under 18.

    This was a stunning fact.

    And now...

    Yan Xiu, at the age of 16.

    He managed to breakthrough during the Imperial Examinations, bing the third person to attain this feat under the age of 18.

    No one could believe their eyes.

    Three Heavenly Reflection powers under 18?!

    One was a surprise, two was a coincidence, three...

    Was earth shaking.

    If not for the fact that Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi had already done it, Yan Xiu¡¯s breakthrough would have rocked the entire empire.

    Top of the two Dragon Rolls.

    Yan Xiu was just 16, and well within the parameters of the Hidden Dragon Roll.

    After all, he still had two more years to go, and anything could happen in these two years.

    There was another name that could fulfill the great prophecy. Yan Xiu.

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, King Duan and Han Zhangfeng stared wide eyed at the screen. They could not believe their eyes.

    "How is this possible?"

    "Yan Xiu broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State?"

    "Yan Xiu of the Yan n..."

    King Duan looked at Han Zhangfeng and saw Han Zhangfeng looking back at him. They were both thinking of the same thing.

    After all, they were looking at the future.

    Han Zhangfeng was of the view that they should cultivate their own dragon. As such, they had to remove all the obstacles in their chosen dragon¡¯s way.

    They could remove Fang Zhengzhi by saying that he was a threat to the stability of the empire.

    But what if the person was going to be Yan Xiu?

    Han Zhangfeng frowned. He could not treat Yan Xiu the same way he treated Fang zhengzhi.

    If anyone in the Yan Family caught wind that Yan Xiu was under threat, the bacsh would be uncontainable.

    King Duan was different from Han Zhangfeng. He wanted to be the dragon. He wanted to rule the Great Xia Empire. That was a position of unmatched power, wealth, and fame.

    That was what he was truly after.

    However, in order to do so, King Duan needed to be sharp enough to get rid of all the obstacles in his way.

    If the person in the prophecy was really Yan Xiu...

    Then what was he to do?

    Just as Han Zhangfeng and King Duan were deep in thought, the Ninth Prince gasped, then heaved a sigh of relief. However, no one knew what or who he was relieved about.

    ...

    "Yan Xiu is in the Heavenly Reflection Realm!"

    "16 year old Yan Xiu has really broken through!"

    All of the candidates in the World of the Sage looked at Yan Xiu in awe.

    Su Donglin felt the tide of the battle turn. The moment Yan Xiu was in the Heavenly Reflection State, then his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was incredibly scary.

    The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was a reflection of its user¡¯s power.

    Furthermore, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan had its own suppressive field. Combing the two fields, Su Donglin would need all his power in a 1v1.

    More importantly, Yan Xiu was only 16. Heavenly Reflection State at 16...

    Su Donglin would never be daring enough to antagonize a 16 year old Heavenly Reflection Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu was very different from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu had the terrifying, intimidating Yan Family standing behind him.

    Then...

    His original n could no longer work.

    His eyes glimmered and he grit his teeth. His gaze quickly shifted from Yan Xiu to Fang Zhengzhi.

    If Yan Xiu was in the Heavenly Reflection State, then the weakest person was naturally Fang Zhengzhi!

    This was an easy decision, but not easy to execute. It would be difficult to defeat Fang Zhengzhi before the others had time to react.

    Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State, so he lost the advantage of a difference in cultivation level.

    This made it at least 10 times more difficult.

    But Su Donglin had no other choice.

    He had to try.

    Su Donglin did not turn the de towards Fang Zhengzhi. Based on his own power, Fang Zhengzhi would react immediately or run if he saw the de turn towards him.

    That was not something he wanted.

    As such, he decided to feint towards Yan Xiu. When Fang Zhengzhi came to help, he would turn around and attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, before Su Donglin could attack Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi ¡®fell into the trap¡¯ on his own ord.

    He was also surrounded by the purple electricity, almost as if he was being strangled by a purple electric snake.

    Boom!

    Both of their electric fields shed together in mid air, causing a loud crash.

    At the same time, the purple electricity from each field interacted with each other, hissing and crackling, suppressing and attacking each other.

    All of the surrounding candidates were greeted with yet another unbelievable sight even before they could react from the first one.

    Because...

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s electric field shed with Su Donglin, it did not vaporize immediately. In fact, it held its own, forming a clear division between the two fields.

    "How is this possible?!"

    "There is no clear winner?"

    "One is an advanced stage Heavenly Reflection State cultivator, the other just entered the state two months ago..."

    "Why are they so evenly matched?"

    All of the surrounding candidates could not believe their eyes.

    Su Donglin himself could not believe it either. When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s electric field hit his, he felt a wave of unprecedented suppression.

    He had a feeling that if he did not put everything he had into it, his own field would be suppressed.

    This was something he could not bring himself to ept.

    "How is that possible, how can you... be so evenly matched with me when ites to field controlling?!" Su Donglin was wide eyed.

    "Evenly matched?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback. This is evenly matched?

    But he did not feel this way?

    This was just very normal controlling...

    What was going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea, so he could not answer Su Donglin¡¯s question.

    ...

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng were stunned as they watched the battle unfold.

    Neither of them could believe that Fang Zhengzhi, who had just broken through, could force a tie with Su Dongling when it came to field controlling.

    In thisbat examination, Su Donglin¡¯s greatest advantage was his cultivation level.

    Advanced stage Heavenly Reflection Realm.

    This meant that he had much more control over the various fields than anyone. When the fields shed, his would generally suppress those of his opponent.

    This wasmon sense.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi defied allmon sense.

    "What is going on?" The two of them were confused.

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s experience was anything but normal.

    Eight years ago, Fang Zhengzhi thought about cultivating after looking at the Illustration of all Creation.

    Then, he officially became a cultivator after fighting with the Blue Fire Wolf.

    In one year, he managed to attain the Star Conglomerate Realm smoothly.

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought so for the longest time. He had no idea that after he had attained that state, he needed to link up the stars he collected with the outside world to attain Heavenly Reflection.

    His idea was simple, collect more stars and raise his powers.

    In actual fact, his ideas had shown results.

    Upon collecting his second star, his power rose. This way, he kept thinking that the self proimed genius he was had found the right way.

    As such, he began collecting the third star.

    Each star represented another Dao in the Dao of All Creation.

    There were the simple ones, wind, fire, lightning, ground. Then there were, flowers, grass, trees, wood, mountain, rivers...

    In the end, after collecting everything there was around him, he even began to collect stars of the sun, moon, stars. He tried understanding everything he could.

    In seven years, he never stopped trying to collect new stars and understand new elements. In the end, his pocket dimension had hundreds of stars.

    He had thought that this made him immensely powerful.

    However...

    He quickly realized that he was wrong. Upon participating in the River of Trust Province Examinations, he realized that he was still in the Star Conglomerate State, and there was a Heavenly Reflection State above him.

    In the Heavenly Treasure Hall, he understood a way for him to link up his pocket dimension with the real world.

    This allowed him to breakthrough.

    He did not need to train as hard as Yan Xiu, and he did not need to link up each item inside his pocket dimension individually with the outside world.

    He had managed to attain the Heavenly Reflection State the moment he wanted to.

    Because...

    He was always in the Heavenly Reflection State!

 Chapter 188: Mountains and Rivers

    Chapter 188: Mountains and Rivers

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng did not think of this. The Ninth Prince was also equally confused.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi did not know what was going on.

    No one had ever had a simr experience. As such, there was no record of it in history.

    But he had some idea.

    In the World of the Sage, Fang Zhengzhi saw Su Donglin¡¯s expression and knew that he was just as powerful as Su Donglin in this aspect.

    This came as a pleasant surprise.

    More surprisingly, he felt like he still had energy in reserve.

    A such, he continued to exert his suppression over Su Donglin. Little by little, his electric field began to suppress Su Donglin¡¯s.

    Su Donglin started to sweat.

    This was such a domineering electric field. He did not want to go down like this.

    He could not take this.

    As someone who had already spent a few years in the Heavenly Reflection Realm, he felt that he had to go down with a fight.

    How can he be suppressed by someone who had broke through barely two months ago?

    That would be immensely humiliating?!

    All of the other candidates were going crazy. They had thought that Su Donglin was not giving it his all when Fang Zhengzhi matched him previously.

    But now...

    Su Donglin was being suppressed by Fang Zhengzhi? He looked like he was losing ground, and his sweat did not look fake at all.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is suppressing Su Donglin?!"

    "How is that possible, he just broke through recently!"

    "Elementary and advanced stages... there are two rungs of difference?! What is going on?"

    All of the candidates looked at each other in confusion. Then, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with awe and fear.

    He was really a demon.

    Wang Chuanping felt the suppression from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s field andpletely forgot to help.

    Ping Yang also stopped moving.

    She had always thought that she was the key to winning this battle.

    Thest time, she did not wear her Red me Flower Armor and did not wield her zing Qilin Spear. She was subdued as a result.

    However, she had never expected that result.

    As such, she decided toe take her revenge, armed to the teeth this time.

    But now...

    It would seem that revenge would be hard fought.

    Yan Xiu had always trusted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities. After Fang Zhengzhi had taught him the theory, it was almost as if he saw a glimmer of light in the dark.

    He was at the peak of the Star Conglomerate Realm at 16. His talent was unquestionable.

    With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s direction, together with more than a decade of knowledge, he trained hard. He had spent the past two months trying and breaking through, and he finally made it a day ago.

    He had told this to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He had thought that he would be on the same starting line as Fang Zhengzhi once again, but now, it seemed like Fang Zhengzhi had given him nothing but dust to bite.

    He was able to go even with Su Dongping, even suppressing Su Dongping.

    Did Fang Zhengzhi manage to reach the advanced stages of the Heavenly Reflection State in two months? Or... the pinnacle?!

    This was not something people wanted to think about, or know the answer to.

    However, Yan Xiu did not find this hard to ept. He would just be in awe if that was the case.

    Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi himself was in disbelief. Why is Su Donglin so weak? Where is the power of the advanced Heavenly Reflection State?

    Show it to me!

    Hiding it?

    Okay then, if you want to hide it in a 4v1, then I will kill you!

    Fang Zhengzhi drew his sword. This was a white jade sword. Even though it was not as powerful as Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear, it was not bad.

    "Mountains and Rivers!" Fang Zhengzhi said softly.

    Then, the white jade sword rang out with the thunderous boom, its de glimmering. Then, a mountainous suppressive force crashed towards the ground. A silver light pierced the shadow andnded on the tip of the sword.

    At this point, there was the sound of flowing water.

    Su Donglin was in utter disbelief. He actually felt like there was a mountain holding him down and the silver light was like a waterfall.

    Dripping water could pierce a rock. In fact, it could even pierce steel.

    This was one of the sword techniques that Fang Zhengzhi learnt in the Heavenly Treasure Hall. It had no name, so he came up with his own.

    Rainbow White Light.

    Su Donglin was suppressed by this mountainous energy and had no way of dodging. He could only meet the attack head on.

    The Shadow de Technique hummed as it burst through the air.

    The two incredibly sharp des impacted each other.

    The white de from the top, the shadow de from the bottom.

    "Boom!"

    The impact from the two electric fields, as well as the contact between the des, caused an immense energy field which blew everyone backwards.

    The calm after the storm.

    It waspletely silent.

    Su Donglin looked in horror at his own de. There was a hole in the de, a clean hole that wasn¡¯t there before.

    A de destroying another?!

    Su Donglin looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous tie with him could be forgotten. After all, as long as two people were in the same cultivation realm, it could happen.

    But...

    Why would his family¡¯s top technique lose to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡®Mountain and Water¡¯ de?

    No one had even heard of that technique!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look at Su Donglin, looking at his sword instead.

    The white jade sword continued to glow with light. However, when the two des collided, he felt as if he could not use all his energy.

    It was almost as if the de would break if he used all his energy.

    The mountain and water technique was incredibly domineering. Any technique formted by battle was definitely powerful, but the white jade sword was definitely not as powerful.

    Both of them were incredulous.

    All of the candidates were stunned.

    In the sh, Fang Zhengzhi hade out on top.

    The two month Heavenly Reflection hillbilly.

    He actually managed to match the heir of the Su n evenly in the maniption of fields. Then, in a battle of des, he actually came out on top?!

    What is this... f*ck us all!

    Yan Xiu was stunned. But, he was more taken aback by the familiarity of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique. It felt as if it was from the...

    Ice Wall!

    The ice wall in the Heavenly Treasure Hall!

    Did Fang Zhengzhi really understand the sword techniques? Mountain and water... Yan Xiu searched his mind. He had understood some of it.

    But it was rather blurry.

    His memory was jolted when Fang Zhengzhi used the technique in real life. This allowed him a slightly deeper understanding.

    Wang Chuanping was on the verge of breaking down.

    When he had first entered the World of the Saint, he had thought of how to defeat Fang Zhengzhi and use that to get to the top.

    But now...

    That looked like courting death.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glowed. No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡®Mountain and Water¡¯ technique looked quite manly and domineering.

    Just as she was about topliment him, she realized Fang Zhengzhi was looking at her.

    He looked like he was looking at amb.

    She recalled what had happened previously and blushed. Just at this point, a voice rang out.

    "Hi, can I borrow your zing Qilin Spear for fun?"

 Chapter 189: Catch one more

    Chapter 189: Catch one more

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice and this jolted her out of her thoughts.

    Borrow the zing Qilin Spear...

    For fun?!

    What did he mean?

    This was thebat examinations, who ever borrowed or lent weapons in here? Even though they were temporary allies, this did not mean that they were going to be on the same side the whole time?

    How shameless must he be in order to even think of asking?

    Furthermore, the zing Qilin Spear was one of the 10 greatest treasures in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    At the very least, he should respect the zing Qilin Spear and be polite about it. He had to promise to treat the zing Qilin Spear well.

    What did he mean by for fun?

    In an instant, that shred of a good impression that she formed disappeared into thin air.

    Ping Yang was furious. She had gone through so much begging and pleading just to get this zing Qilin Spear, yet now, someone was asking to take it out for a spin...

    "No way!" Ping Yang rejected him outrightly.

    "Oh, I see, then it¡¯s okay!" Fang Zhengzhi did not seem to mind and was not disappointed at all.

    Ping Yang¡¯s clear gaze stared through Fang Zhengzhi. Did I reject him too outrightly? I guess I could have let him take a look.

    She was rather generous if people asked nicely.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi would not dare to steal her zing Qilin Spear.

    That was her special right.

    Just as she was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi asked again, "If you can¡¯t lend me your zing Qilin Spear, do you have any other treasures? Maybe a good sword that you can lend me. You¡¯re a princess after all, I¡¯m sure you have something?"

    "I¡¯m sure you have something?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the World of the Sage.

    All of the candidates were stunned when they heard this. They could not believe how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was.

    "Fun... I will make sure you have fun!" Ping Yang could not take it any longer.

    The zing Qilin Spear in her hand began to roar. She did not send it flying at Su Donglin, sending it towards Fang Zhengzhi instead.

    The golden light was extremely domineering.

    Fang Zhengzhi jumped. He had thought that he was rather sincere. She could have lent anything other than the zing Qilin Spear.

    He wasn¡¯t particrly picky. It could have been a de, a pole...

    Why would she attack him all of a sudden?

    He may not have experienced the power of the zing Qilin Spear personally, but he was not blind. There was no way he would defeat it head on.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi began to run.

    Ping Yang chased him manically at the back.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi could not run too far. He had to ensure that Su Donglin did not escape their control.

    As such, he ran circles around Su Donglin.

    Ping Yang raged and followed behind him, chasing for her life. However, due to the differences in their cultivation level, she was much slower.

    The entire scene began to look very strange.

    The battle had turned into a chase between the two of them.

    All of the candidates did not know what to think of this development.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    Just as they were trying to figure out what was going on, Su Donglin raged.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Su Donglin could almost breathe fire.

    Is this the time to be borrowing weapons? And then, after trying to borrow weapons, he¡¯s ying catching in front of me?

    What is the meaning of this!

    Do I mean so little?

    Su Donglin had lost count of how many times he had been ignored by Fang Zhengzhi. He hated this feeling; he had always been the center of attention.

    "Go to hell Fang Zhengzhi!" Su Donglin could no longer suppress his rage. He couldn¡¯t even be bothered to change his sword as he charged at Fang Zhengzhi.

    A strange ck shadow appeared on the tip of his de once again. This time, it was even darker, almost like a bottomless abyss.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was running around, felt the de flying towards him.

    Then, he smirked, "You¡¯re finally angry!"

    Without hesitation, he sped up and the electricity around him exploded outwards. A bolt of purple electricity passed through Ping Yang.

    Even though Ping Yang was wearing the Red me Flower Armor, she still did not dare to face the electricity head on.

    As such, she could only use the zing Qilin Spear to block it.

    Fang Zhengzhi used this opportunity to leap into the air, his white jade de glimmering in the air. The white light glowed like the stars in the Milky Way.

    At the same time, Yan Xiu also attacked. The fan in his hand glowed radiantly as it linked up together with his tree field.

    It turned into a whole new drawing.

    A huge wave of suppressive force fired towards Su Donglin. It brought with it immense sadness and the branches of trees.

    Upon seeing this, he finally reacted. As a spectator for most of the battle, he could clearly see that Su Donglin had attacked Fang Zhengzhi with everything he got.

    From the start, Su Donglin had no way of retreating.

    He could not possibly pass up this incredible opportunity.

    Two des appeared to his left and right.

    "Hack together!"

    "Kaboom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi and Su Donglin shed, then, Yan Xiu and Wang Chuanping¡¯s attacks hit.

    "Sh*t!"

    Su Donglin spat out a mouthful of blood as he stared at the four people in front of him. He was immensely pale and tired from the battle.

    He held a broken sword in his hand...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s de trembled slightly, humming as it did. But, it did not break.

    This meant that in the sh, Fang Zhengzhi hade out on top by a little bit.

    Combined with Yan Xiu and Wang Chuanping¡¯s attacks, Su Donglin did not stand a chance.

    "Have I lost?!" Su Donglin was stunned. He had never expected to lose in the first round, but the fact was that he was out. He was quite badly injured.

    As the other candidates looked at the bloody Su Donglin, no one could believe that he was out.

    "Su Donglin lost?!"

    "Isn¡¯t that a little too quick..."

    "It did not look like he gave Fang Zhengzhi any trouble at all?"

    The candidates looked at the defeated Su Donglin. No one was willing to ept the truth that wasid out in front of them.

    Before entering the World of the Save, everyone was thinking of how to defeat Fang Zhengzhi, or of how Fang Zhengzhi would avoid Su Donglin¡¯s challenge.

    But the fact was...

    Su Donglin¡¯s defeat had opened up the Imperial Combat Examinations.

    The First-ss Roll, advanced Heavenly Reflection State Su Donglin, was knocked out in the first round?!

    No one could believe this. All of them refused to believe it despite seeing it with their own eyes.

    In the middle of the crowd, an initially calm pair of eyes glimmered.

    Nangong Mu ruffled his clothes and his lips parted, "Fang Zhengzhi huh? I wonder how much effort I would need?"

    No one heard Nangong Mu speak because he was too soft. It was almost as if he didn¡¯t speak.

    But if anyone had heard it, they would have been shocked beyond words.

    Fang Zhengzhi had proven that he was on par with Su Donglin. What did Nangong Mu mean by how much effort would he require?

    Nangong Mu did not look at Fang Zhengzhi any longer and his expression returned to one of calm.

    Not far away from Nangong Mu, Xing Qingsui, who was dressed in ck, was also staring at Fang Zhengzhi. He exuded a strong aura of battle intent.

    "Interesting, thisbat examinations will be interesting!"

    "Master, is it time to act?" A middle aged man standing behind Xing Qingsui spoke up. He was dressed unassumingly and looked rather frail, but he had a scar on his neck.

    It looked like his throat had been slit by a knife. However, no one knew how he avoided death.

    "No, I want to observe further!" Xing Qingsui shook his head.

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, King Duan and Han Zhangfeng frowned. They had never expected this battle to end so quickly.

    Furthermore, Su Donglin did not even injure Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I had heard that Su Donglin was quite powerful, butcks experience. It really showed today!" Han Zhangfeng looked at the bloody Su Donglin and shook his head.

    "Su Donglin had never been in battle, so he didn¡¯t understand the importance of a cool head!" King Duan nodded, then looked to the Ninth Prince.

    "Ninth Brother, what do you think about Su Donglin¡¯s first round exit?"

    The Ninth Prince was still stunned. He stiffened slightly upon hearing King Duan¡¯s question.

    "About that..."

    "Forget it, you¡¯ve been addicted to horse racing all these years. I doubt you have any interest in this. If you¡¯re ever free,e roam the camps with me and expand your horizons."

    "Thank you brother. However, you mentioned battle experience just now. Has Fang Zhengzhi ever been on a battlefield?"

    "Him? He¡¯s a hillbilly. What kind of battle experience can he have? He may have some hunting experience. His victory was based on some wit. If he was ever in a real battle, I think he will wet his pants. It should show when he fights Xing Qingsui." King Duan chuckled dismissively.

    "Mm, King Duan is right. Xing Qingsui has been under the tutge of Xing Hou all this time. He probably knows all the tricks by now." Han Zhangfeng nodded in approval.

    "Official Han¡¯s words are exactly my sentiments. However, there is a problem. Fang Zhengzhi and three others defeated Su Donglin, who shall move on to the second round?" King Duan asked.

    "Wang Chuanping challenged Su Donglin, so he should pass!" Han Zhangfeng immediately understood what King Duan was driving at.

    "Okay, since Official Han is the Chief Examiner, we will do just that. Brother, do you have any objection?" King Duan did not even wait for a reply before ncing at the examiners.

    ...

    Inside the World of the Sage, a huge door appeared in front of Wang Chuanping. At the same time, a crisp voice echoed throughout the space.

    "Su Donglin is out, Wang Chuanping advances to the second round!"

    All of the candidates, who had not even collected themselves after that shock, all turned to Wang Chuanping.

    Their eyes filled with surprise.

    Never did they expect that the winner would be Wang Chuanping!

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Why is Wang Chuanping through to the second round?"

    "I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s because he challenged Su Dongping?"

    Some of those who had entered in thepetition before guessed this. Such scenarios had happened before.

    Under such circumstances, the judgementy with the Chief Examiner.

    Sometimes, the first one to attack would be deemed the winner. Sometimes, the one who inflicted the heaviest damage would be deemed the winner. Other times, the one to issue the challenge would be handed the credit.

    However, for the current case, Fang Zhengzhi should have been he logical winner. Afterall, he had done the most work.

    Without Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and Wang Chuanping could not have seeded.

    But the fact was that Wang Chuanping was through.

    All of the candidates could not understand the decision. However, the decision did not contravene any rules so no one protested.

    They all looked at Fang Zhengzhi, expecting him to protest.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi heard it, he was extremely happy.

    "Hahaha... that¡¯s great, I didn¡¯t make it through!" It was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi had expected this to happen.

    "That¡¯s great?!"

    All of the candidates could not believe their ears, Is he out of his mind?

    Ping Yang was immensely conflicted. She should have been angry about being struck by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lightning. However, in the next moment, Su Donglin was defeated.

    She wondered why she was so ¡®cooperative¡¯ just now. Was she smart, or dumb?

    Now that she heard what Fang Zhengzhi had said, she was even more conflicted.

    "Why are you so happy?"

    "Of course I¡¯m happy. I never wanted to go to the second round this way." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang with disdain.

    "This way? You don¡¯t want to enter the second round through battle? Then what do you want?" Ping Yang felt that she was always being schooled by Fang Zhengzhi. However, the truth was she couldn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    "I want to go through there!" Fang Zhengzhi did not exin any further, simply pointing away from himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually pointing towards the broken bridge. The mist still covered the other side, and no one knew how big the gap was.

    It was impossible to see what was on the other side.

    "You want to cross the broken bridge?! Why... why?" Even Ping Yang was shocked. She knew what the broken bridge was.

    "Fang Zhengzhi wanted to cross the broken bridge?!"

    "Is he dumb? Based on his abilities, he can easily find someone weaker than him and bully them!"

    "Why is someone so dumb already in the Heavenly Reflection State whilst I¡¯m still in the Star Conglomerate..."

    All of the candidates were shocked to hear what Fang Zhengzhi had to say. That was a very willful thing to consider doing.

    If he couldn¡¯t cross the broken bridge, he would be out.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignited the discussion around him. He looked at the broken bridge, deep in thought, almost as if he could see the other side.

    "Did you forget our goal?"

    "Our goal? You¡¯re referring to that sword... right?" Ping Yang seemed to remember something.

    "Exactly, since we want to find that sword, we cannot fight our way through this examination. As such, we must try the broken bridge." Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "But what if you can¡¯t go over? Then won¡¯t you be out? Then, how would you enter the second round?" Ping Yang did not understand.

    "I already thought this through. I will first find someone to apany me. If I can¡¯t cross it, I will push him down. That way, I can enter the second round." Fang Zhengzhi said honestly.

    Ping Yang was stunned, then her eyes glimmered.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... there is no one on this Earth who is more shameless than you! However, your idea is not too bad. Furthermore, it sounds like a lot of fun. I have decided to stay with you. I will even help you catch someone to stay behind with you." Ping Yang said excitedly.

    "It¡¯ll be great if you can get one for me too!" Yan Xiu chimed in.

 Chapter 190: Taking a risk

    Chapter 190: Taking a risk

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu quickly reached an agreement, stunning all the other candidates.

    What¡¯s going on?

    They were such bullies.

    They were treating them likembs. If they couldn¡¯t make it across they would simply push them off. Could they be any more shameless?

    Each of the candidates looked at each other.

    They hoped that someone would protest this and chide them for being so shameless, kicking the three of them out in the process.

    But who would step up?

    Nangong Mu had no interest in interfering, and Xing Qingsui did not want any trouble right now.

    Su Donglin¡¯s example was clear for all to see.

    1v1?

    Right now, that was impossible. Any fight would be a 3v1. The only thing they could do was wait.

    Nangong Mu and Xing Qingsui were both waiting.

    The other Heavenly Reflection State candidates would not push their luck either. Ping Yang would not lock onto them. The reason was simple. She was looking formbs, the weaker the better.

    As such, they couldn¡¯t be less bothered.

    This was thebat examinations, and not the time to let emotion rule their actions. Furthermore, everyone wanted to see how Fang Zhengzhi would be after crossing the bridge.

    All of the Star Conglomerate candidates looked at each other in exasperation and helplessness.

    Ping Yang looked at them and smiled radiantly, almost like a Blue Fire Wolf looking at its prey.

    Other than those who were in the Heavenly Reflection Realm, all of the others began to look for ces to hide themselves. However, the area was small and unblocked. Where could they possibly hide?

    This scene looked quite strange. A bunch of people manically trying to hide. This was a stark difference from the confidence they had when they entered the World of the Sage.

    Ping Yang¡¯s abilities could be seen from how she caught people.

    "You, exactly, you! Come over! You dare to note? When we get out of here, I will go raid your home!"

    "Ah?! Your highness, mercy please..."

    After a string of threats, three poor souls had been captured by Ping Yang. The three of them looked extremely bitter.

    All of the candidates who had been let off heaved a sigh of relief. They would live to see another day.

    "Let us go. We just want to participate in the examination!"

    "Exactly your highness. You all can continue crossing the bridge, but we are innocent..."

    "Your highness, I have an eighty year old mother. My wife left me very long ago. I am the only one left to feed my mother. The examination is my only hope. Your highness, please leave my family with this sliver of hope."

    The three poor souls pleaded with Ping Yang. One of them was even on the verge of tears.

    "Shut up. You still have mouths to feed? I have heard that so many times. Based on your abilities, you all have no chance of passing the examinations. Stop struggling. If you¡¯re obedient, I will give you 500 taels of silver each right now!" Ping Yang produced three cheques with a wave of her hand.

    She did not even blink.

    "Thank you your highness!" The three poor souls immediately said their thanks.

    Just as Ping Yang said, they did not have much of a chance to pass thebat examinations. Not getting knocked out in the first round would be a good result for them.

    Now that they were each given 500 taels of silver, they considered themselves lucky.

    After they said their thanks, the three poor souls wanted to take their cheques.

    However, when they raised their heads, the cheques were gone from Ping Yang¡¯s hand. They had changed hands and were now held by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Don¡¯t show off your wealth. Don¡¯t you know that? Damn it, let me help you safekeep it." Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely and kept the cheques.

    Ping Yang was stunned, but Yan Xiu was calm.

    As for the three poor souls, they looked at their silver disappear. This guy was such a bully. Not only was he taking them as disposable, he even took away their silver.

    "Actually, you all should thank me." Fang Zhengzhi began to console the three of them.

    "Thank you?!" The three of them looked at each other, unsure of what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.

    The other candidates began to chide Fang Zhengzhi in their hearts. How shameless? You take them as your stepping stone, and you still want to take their money?

    "If my guess is right, you three are on the Second-ss Roll right?" Fang Zhengzhi continued, ignoring the chatter around him.

    "Yes... that¡¯s correct." The three of them nodded.

    "ording to the rules of the Imperial Exam, the First-ss Roll people need to pass only two rounds to pass the exam. But for those on the Second-ss Roll, you all need to pass three, or even four rounds, am I right?"

    "That¡¯s correct..."

    "Then, based on your powers, how many rounds can you pass?"

    "Well... if we are lucky, we can pass the first. If we get even luckier, we may pass the second. As for the third and fourth..." The three of them looked at each other. They knew that it was too difficult for them to pass those rounds.

    For this edition of thebat examinations, there were more than 30 Heavenly Reflection cultivators. All of the Star Conglomerate cultivators also had secret techniques of their own.

    "This is why you all should thank me. If I cross the broken bridge, then you all can follow me. I can bring you along for the rest of the rounds as well. As long as you follow me to round four, you would have passed right?" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Cross the broken bridge? To round four... this..." The three poor souls wanted to say it wasn¡¯t very possible, but they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to say it.

    "Oh yes, I forgot, this is just the first payment. If you manage to follow me to round four, then each of you must give me... mm, let¡¯s say, another 500 taels of silver!"

    "Young master Fang, if you can bring us to round four, even a thousand taels will not be expensive."

    "Is that so? Then let¡¯s make it 2000."

    "..." The three of them were speechless. Then, one of them tried to speak up, "Young master Fang, if you... fail to cross the bridge and throw us off, that silver... return..."

    "I said that it¡¯s payment, so it¡¯s not refundable. How can you do business without taking risks? Is there anything certain in this world? Don¡¯t you agree?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the three of them.

    "Yes, young master Fang is right... we were too naive." The three of them looked at each other, tears in their eyes. Isn¡¯t all the risk with them?

    "Okay then, let us cross the bridge." Fang Zhengzhi walked towards the broken bridge.

    The other candidates were all speechless. This works? This is no business deal, this is daylight robbery!

    No refund if they lost, and they had to make extra payment if they won...

    ...

    "Shameless!"

    Inside the Imperial Academy, King Duan and Han Zhangfeng looked at each other. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi and said the same thing.

    However, the Ninth Prince¡¯s eyes were glimmering.

    I guess being this shameless is quite a plus point? The Ninth Prince thought to himself.

    ...

    The broken bridge did not change. The only difference was that there was now one person standing on it, the breeze causing his sleeves to p.

    There were five others standing at the starting point.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu looked at the man on the bridge intently. The other three had their heads lowered, visibly troubled.

    The other candidates did not bother waiting any longer.

    They began to fight. Every now and then, the sky would echo with the elimination of one person and the advancement of another.

    "How long has it been? How boring... I think he should just push them down and forget about it!" Ping Yang was slightly impatient. Fang Zhengzhi had been standing there for over an hour.

    Yan Xiu did not speak, whilst the other three were shivering in their spots. They did not like putting their fates in the hands of others.

    "I think Fang Zhengzhi is being stubborn. Yan Xiu, you should know that we cannot pass the barriers in this world with our current abilities. They only used this world to let us train. Do you really think he can cross the broken bridge?" Ping Yang asked again.

    "He definitely can." Yan Xiu replied calmly.

    "You trust him that much? If we spend so much time in this round, will we still have opponents in the second round? Then are you going to fight with Fang Zhengzhi?" Ping Yang questioned.

    "I believe him." Yan Xiu repeated, his tone without doubt.

    ...

    As time passed, the number of people left in the first round became lesser and lesser. The sounds in the air continued to echo. There were already people in the third round.

    The rest of the candidates stared at Fang Zhengzhi in disdain.

    "So long? Has he fallen asleep?"

    "I think he is waiting! He is waiting for us to progress to the next round before pushing the three of them down. At the very least, he will not be criticised as much?"

    "Hahaha... I think so too!"

    After they finished, they continued to fight, ignoring Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 191: Seemingly Broken

    Chapter 191: Seemingly Broken

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared from the screen. The screen was filled with many candidates.

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng were staring at Xing Qingsui.

    At this point, Xing Qingsui had just dispatched his opponent and entered the third round.

    "Not bad, clean!" King Duanplimented.

    "Mm, Xing Qingsui has indeed gotten some of Xing Hou¡¯s battle prowess after following him around the battlefield for so many years. Even a Heavenly Reflection opponent did not manage tost a minute. These years were not wasted by him. Nobles with such thirst are rare now." Han Zhangfeng nodded.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s abilities did surprise him.

    "This edition of the Imperial Examinations are very exciting. Official Han, why don¡¯t you analyze who wille out on top. Will it be Xing Qingsui or Nangong Mu?" King Duan turned to look at Nangong Mu, who had also just made it to the third round.

    "King Duan, my lord, that is difficult for me to say. Pardon my blindness, but Nangong Mu¡¯s opponents have been too weak... almost as if he was purposely trying to conceal his powers." Han Zhangfeng shook his head.

    "Mm, this Nangong Mu..." King Duan did not continue, deep in thought.

    The Ninth Prince also seemed to be deep in thought.

    Han Zhangfeng did not engage King Duan anymore, looking at the time instead. Then, he happened to see the Ninth Prince deep in thought.

    "Haha... what is the Ninth Prince thinking about?" Han Zhangfeng asked politely.

    "Mm, I am wondering if Fang Zhengzhi can cross the broken bridge." The Ninth Prince replied after some thought.

    "The Ninth Prince thinks too much. The World of the Sage was created by the Sagely Battle God himself. His will is in each barrier. It is not very possible for a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator to break them." Han Zhangfeng¡¯s eyes glimmered as he heard the question. However, he still exined it patiently.

    "Then is there no way to pass this barrier?" The Ninth Prince asked doubtfully.

    "It is passable, but you need to find the right ce. Those who had chosen the broken bridge have yet to find the right way and too many have failed trying to go up against it. However, to the best of my knowledge, never in history has a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator made it through." Han Zhangfeng smiled and nodded.

    "I see, then... I guess he won¡¯t be able to break it either." The Ninth Prince said disappointedly.

    "It¡¯s not a guess, it¡¯s definite!" King Duan spoke up again, then sighed lightly.

    His eyes seem to sigh with him.

    "Ninth Brother, I am not trying to chide you, but you are of the royal bloodline as well. Sometimes, you must be more careful. Even though you¡¯re just an assistant and Official Han is still the Chief Examiner, you should at least go read up on the World of the Sage right? It¡¯s a good thing no one heard your question. How can a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator cross the Broken Bridge Barrier? That is simply the twisted idea of an arrogant youth."

    "My Lord, you are wise!" The Ninth Prince nodded as he listened to King Duan, but his eyes continued to think.

    However, the screen was focused on the second round of the World of the Sage and he did not know how the First Round was unfolding.

    ...

    Inside the World of the Sage.

    Ping Yang¡¯s voice had be more and more impatient.

    Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu are already through to the third round, and I am still here in the first round!" Ping Yang pouted in frustration.

    Yan Xiu was still calm and icy, almost as if he never heard the announcements.

    As for the three poor souls, they became more and more worried. The longer Fang Zhengzhi took, the higher the chances of them being pushed over.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked the most rxed amongst them all.

    He was not overly serious or stern. He looked rather bored as he looked at the stones on the bridge and the thick mist on the opposite side.

    He looked more like he was trying to enjoy the view.

    From the moment he stepped on the bridge, he had been admiring it.

    He had been looking at the stone te for quite a few minutes. Then, upon stepping on the bridge, he looked at every stone, even every crack.

    It must be said that the broken bridge showed signs of age. If this was his previous world, this would be a popr tourist attraction.

    Since this was a barrier in the World of the Sage, what was so special about it?

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell that the World of the Sage was different from the pocket dimension he was in during the River Of Trust Province Examinations.

    Those barriers were linked by magical formations. However, the Broken Bridge was different. This was an exquisitely built bridge, with nothing else apart from its beauty.

    He didn¡¯t feel any pressure when standing on the bridge. There were no falling rocks, no hidden traps. It looked like an ordinary bridge.

    But this was the World of the Sage.

    This was a world created by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    This was definitely not a normal bridge.

    Fang Zhengzhi had expected to see some hints on the bridge, some words or patterns at the very least.

    However, after more than an hour, he realized...

    There was nothing.

    This design was utterly intoxicating.

    However, Fang Xhengzhi was not bothered. He was actually quite rxed.

    After all, if he couldn¡¯t cross it, the solution was simple.

    He would just throw someone off.

    Since it was so simple, Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not need to be so stubborn about crossing the bridge.

    Crossing it was a bonus.

    There was no loss to him even if he failed to cross it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always been very willful. As such, after admiring the scenery, he began to look around the bridge, seeing if there were any floating reflections of sorts.

    However, he was disappointed to find nothing under the bridge. There were no rocks or floating images. All he saw was the dark valley.

    He could not see the bottom. Perhaps, there was no bottom.

    "Even though there is no particrly beautiful scenery below, one still feels like god looking down on Earth."

    "Broken Bridge..."

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the blurry white mist and shut his eyes, enjoying the breeze. Then, a picture formed in his mind.

    It was also a broken bridge.

    Every time there was a snowstorm, the bridge would be covered by snow. As a result, it blended into the surroundings and the bridge would barely be seen. The snow would make it look like it was broken in the middle, but it was merely an illusion.

    "A river runs through the heart of the lush valley."

    "The air is moist even though there is no rain, the sky is dim even though there are no clouds."

    "The Broken Bridge stands in the middle of it all as flowers wilt all around it."

    "The bells chime in the Northern Forest as I think about the view from my Western Window." [1]

    "The Broken Bridge during Winter is one of the ten greatest sights in the West Lake. Have I suddenly returned to my previous world? Wouldn¡¯t it be cool to destroy a luxury car?"

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi stiffened.

    "Hang on!"

    If he thought of the white mist as the the snow, then this would just be like the Broken Bridge on the West Lake. They were both ancient and had elements that prevented others from seeing it in its entirety.

    The West Lake Broken Bridge was an optical illusion created by the snow.

    The current Broken Bridge was obscured by mist, and this created a rather holy illusion.

    It looked blurry.

    It wasn¡¯t actually broken!

    Broken Bridge!

    "I think I get it... no way?! Could it be that this broken bridge is..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, almost as if he had been enlightened.

    [1] adapted from a poem written by Zhang Hu.

 Chapter 192: Jumping into the Valley

    Chapter 192: Jumping into the Valley

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Blurry is a term usually used to describe something that is partially obscured and not very clear.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not using that term in this regard. He was thinking of a stranger and more mystical meaning.

    The design in front of him was not too difficult to guess.

    Usually, all of the barriers in the pocket dimensions would contain some form of hints. At the very least, they would tell you what you needed to do to pass.

    However, the Broken Bridge gave no such hints. From the words on the stone, to the construct of the bridge, everything was very normal.

    It would be difficult to know where to begin.

    This looked like a barrier which required raw power to go through.

    But, this was a barrier, a barrier in the World of the Sage. There had to be more than one way through.

    There was no hint. That meant that the hint had already been given.

    That is because...

    The hint is the broken bridge!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he was right. This was too daring and novel a move. Very few people would think of the same idea.

    However, if it was the same principle as how he attained the Heavenly Reflection State...

    Then it was not impossible.

    If this bridge was a reflection, then there had to be a real stone bridge somewhere else.

    As he thought about it, he turned around and left the bridge. He then walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked over.

    "Is he nning to jump off the cliff simply because he can¡¯t cross the bridge?" Ping Yang kicked her leg in the direction of Fang Zhengzhi, her expression doubtful.

    "I don¡¯t think so?" Yan Xiu had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. However, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not do something so extreme.

    As for the other three poor souls, they sweat profusely as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi pacing about, "What is he doing? Is he trying to find a good burial ground for us?"

    They wanted to cry just thinking about it...

    Even though they knew that it was inevitable, they still felt sad when it came.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were thinking. All he thought about was finding that other stone bridge. He walked the cliff, stamping his foot every now and then.

    "No? No rush... there are still many more ces to go."

    "No again?"

    "What bad luck, still nothing?"

    Every time he walked a few steps, he would extend his leg and step down, trying to see if there was a hidden stone bridge.

    However...

    Even after going around the entire cliff, he still did not step on anything solid.

    Was he wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that if the bridge they saw was a fake, then there should be a real one by the cliff side.

    But there wasn¡¯t.

    "That¡¯s not quite right? Isn¡¯t there supposed to be a real one and a fake one?" Fang Zhengzhi cursed in his heart, his mind twirling.

    Blurry.

    It looks like it¡¯s broken when it¡¯s not...

    This theory should still hold true.

    So what was the problem?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, he turned to look at the white mist at the other side. He began to observe the changes carefully.

    Time began to pass.

    A momentter.

    His eyes glimmered.

    "Broken Bridge... broken! I understand now, I thought that there was another real bridge, but there isn¡¯t. Since this is named the broken bridge, it really is a broken bridge. There is another half on the other side, but they are not in a straight line. They are apart!"

    This way, those not powerful enough will definitely fall to the valley.

    Yes, this must be the case!

    Two halves that are not ced in a straight line.

    The broken bridge was the hint, hinting that there was a hidden half on the other side. As long as the direction was correct and one was powerful enough, one could reach the other side.

    It was simple.

    However, if one could not see the opposite side, it would be difficult to understand the logic.

    It was a good thing Fang Zhengzhi could apply what he learnt.

    So...

    What was the correct direction?

    Fang Zhengzhi began to look at the white mist once again. Very quickly, he found the position of the other half. The mist was a little thicker there.

    This was a very ordinary scene. Mist would always be a little thicker at certain ces.

    Those who did not know why the mist would be thicker would not know that there was another bridge behind it.

    What allowed Fang Zhengzhi to know that that was the location was that no matter the changes, the mist around that area was always thicker than the surroundings.

    "Let¡¯s go, we will cross the bridge!" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, smiling.

    "Cross the bridge? How?" Ping Yang was taking a nap, her eyes snapping open in doubt when she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    Yan Xiu did not speak, but, he was equally doubtful.

    "Of course we¡¯ll jump, watch closely!" After Fang Zhengzhi finished, he did not exin any further, jumping off the cliff and towards the mist.

    This shocked Ping Yang.

    She never understood why Fang Zhengzhi would think of such a method after more than an hour examining the bridge?

    Jump...

    Was it so easy?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi did not jump from the broken bridge. He jumped off the cliff?

    He really jumped off it!

    "Fang Zhengzhi really jumped off the cliff!" Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped.

    "..." Yan Xiu¡¯s jaw also dropped. He did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would decide to jump off the cliff all of a sudden. Was he hallucinating?

    The three poor souls also stared widely as they saw Fang Zhengzhi jump.

    "Jump off a cliff?!"

    "That¡¯s his bright idea?"

    "How did he manage to attain Heavenly Reflection? Who does something so dumb? If you gave me an hour to think, I would at least use a bamboo stick to help me jump!"

    The five of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s disappearing silhoueete.

    Fang Zhengzhi was floating in mid air, a light breeze supporting him. He was clearly controlling the wind elements around him.

    This was something very normal.

    It was not special at all.

    It was the pedestrian nature of his actions that puzzled everyone.

    So many people before him had tried the same tactic. Some of them had jumped from the cliff, the others from the broken bridge.

    They all ended up...

    The same way.

    "Drop down!"

    The three hostages shouted in unison.

    No one expected Fang Zhengzhi to be able to cross the broken bridge. Never would they expect that the way to cross the bridge was by jumping.

    Yan Xiu wanted to stop him, but, it was toote.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already took the leap. He was incredibly quick and disappeared into the thick mist in an instant.

    "So dumb! To think I trusted him so much!" Ping Yang scolded, then, she turned to look at the three hostages, almost as if saying, "So who wants to go first?"

    "..."

    The three hostages immediately understood what Ping Yang meant. They looked at each other. Since Fang Zhengzhi had jumped, one of them had the chance to live.

    Under such a circumstance, no one was willing to step out.

    The three of them did not move.

    However, Yan Xiu moved. He looked at the white mist in the distance, his expression icy. Then, he also jumped in the same direction as Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang was just about to choose yet another two people. Seeing Yan Xiu walk to the edge of the cliff, her jaw dropped once again.

    "Yan Xiu, are you going to follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s footsteps and jump? Don¡¯t be dumb... this is the World of the Sage, I will never believe that this is the way to pass the barrier!" Ping Yang said in disdain.

    "Since he jumped, I will jump too!" Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was icy. He ignored Ping Yang¡¯s advice and walked towards the spot where Fang Zhengzhi had jumped off

    He squatted, then leapt into the air!

    "No way?! He really leapt!" Ping Yang looked at Yan Xiu, who was in mid air, in disbelief.

 Chapter 193: Into the Second Round

    Chapter 193: Into the Second Round

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The three hostages were in utter disbelief. If Fang Zhengzhi was stupid to jump, Yan Xiu was clearly not some who would do something so dumb!

    Furthermore...

    Even if Yan Xiu thought that Fang Zhengzhi was right, he need not be in such a hurry to jump.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi had already jumped, he could have waited for the announcement that Fang Zhengzhi passed before jumping.

    But he jumped even before the announcement was made.

    This was clearly irrational.

    "Has he also be stupid from hanging out with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    Just as they were thinking about it, a crisp voice rang out in the sky.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is through to the second round!"

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi is indeed out, which one of you will let me push you... oh? Hold on... he advanced to the second round?!" Ping Yang¡¯s expression stiffened.

    The three hostages were also shocked.

    "Fang Zhengzhi advances to the second round?!"

    "How is that possible?!"

    "He really jumped over? Is that possible?"

    The three hostages looked at each other, filled with disbelief. They found it hard to ept the truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not push them off the cliff.

    If he advanced to the second round, that could only mean one thing.

    He crossed the Broken Bridge!

    "He... he really crossed it?!" Ping Yang stared at the white mist, unable to bring herself to believe that this was true.

    The Broken Bridge in the World of the Sage...

    No Heavenly Reflection state person had ever crossed it in centuries.

    But Fang Zhengzhi managed?

    "What is his cultivation level? No way... no way he has broken through the Heavenly Reflection State right?" Ping Yang only had one exnation, but that exnation seemed even more ludicrous.

    Just at that moment, a second voice rung out in the air.

    "Yan Xiu advances to the second round!"

    "What?!" Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped. Her surprise and shock was even more than when Fang Zhengzhi had saw her naked.

    The three hostages were also in shock.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had passed because he had been hiding his true powers, then how did Yan Xiu make it over?

    "You can actually jump over!" The three hostages could not believe it. But they had to, that was the truth.

    It had happened right in front of their eyes.

    ...

    Time passed slowly. By the time Ping Yang and the others reacted, minutes had past.

    Ping Yang quickly looked to the three hostages.

    "You all jump first!"

    "What?! Please no... princess please!"

    "If not, I will push all three of you down!" Ping Yang picked up the zing Qilin Spear, a raging me around her.

    She looked like she was bathing in fire.

    The three of them looked at Ping Yang and resigned to fate.

    "Your Highness... since we are going to jump, can I jump from here?" One of the hostages looked at the Broken Bridge. He felt that jumping from the cliff side was too crazy.

    If he had to jump, he would rather jump from the Broken Bridge.

    "Okay then, go ahead!" Ping Yang looked at the Broken Bridge, then at the cliff, her lips curling upwards into a sneer before nodding.

    The hostage did not notice her sneer. Upon hearing that he could jump from the bridge, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    He did not dy any longer.

    He rushed to the Broken Bridge and leapt before Ping Yang could change her mind...

    "Ah!" His screams could be heard as he fell.

    ...

    "Song Zailin has been eliminated"

    The crisp voice resounded through the air after a brief pause.

    When Ping Yang heard the voice, her smile became even more radiant, "What an... idiot! You two, where do you want to jump from?"

    "We will jump from there!" The other two hostages broke out in cold sweat upon hearing Song Zailin¡¯s elimination. They chose to jump from the same spot as Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu without hesitation.

    "Okay, you all can go ahead." Ping Yang nodded.

    "Young master Tang please?"

    "Young master Li, I think you should go first!"

    The two of them began to push each other forward.

    "Enough nonsense. You, stay. If he is eliminated, I will push you down. You... go jump!" Ping Yang ordered them in exasperation.

    The two hostages looked at each other. They knew that they had no other choice. At least they had a chance to live if they jumped.

    As such, young master Tang grit his teeth and sprinted to the cliff. Then, he leapt into the white mist.

    Ping Yang looked on nervously as she saw him disappear into the mist.

    ...

    "Tang Jiming advances to the second round!"

    The crisp voice rang out in the air once again.

    "Hahaha... I am so smart. You have to jump from that location!" Ping Yang was excited when she heard the voice.

    The other hostage began to sweat, "What has this got to do with your highness? Fang Zhengzhi figured it out."

    "What did you see?"

    "Ah?! I said that your highness is smart and able to see through the trap!"

    Do you really think I¡¯m stupid? I just don¡¯t want to kill you and stop me from going through using the Broken Bridge. Else, I would stab you right now with my spear." Ping Yang walked towards the cliff, ignoring the hostage.

    The hostage did not say anything else. He eximed to himself, "Your highness... you can only pierce with a spear!"

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy.

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng were looking at the screen.

    It was showing the third round of the World of the Sage. After intensepetition, almost all of the candidates were in the third round, leaving only a few in the second round.

    "I guess Nangong Mu will have to start showing his true abilities now?" King Duan sipped his tea excitedly.

    Anyone who could enter the third round was probably in the Heavenly Reflection State. It would not be as easy to conceal one¡¯s abilities now.

    Just at this moment, a ck robed messenger ran from the other room.

    "Message for King Duan, Ninth Prince and Official Han. Fang... Fang Zhengzhi has already entered... entered the second round." The messenger struggled to swallow his saliva as he delivered the message, clearly still recovering from his shock.

    "What¡¯s the use of being so flustered?" Han Zhangfeng was clearly displeased by the messenger¡¯s demeanor.

    "Yes... yes..." the Messenger replied, mouth agape.

    "No worries, it¡¯s over already. How many people are left in the second round?" King Duan waved Han Zhangfeng away and did not chide the messenger for his flustered demeanor.

    "In... in reply to your highness, there were originally two left, but now, there are seven." The messenger knew that he was slightly out of sorts. He took a deep breath before continuing his message. What he just saw was way too stunning.

    "Two left? Haha... that¡¯s not enough for the three of them. They¡¯ll have to fight amongst themselves... hang on, you said seven?"

    King Duan smiled when the messenger replied with two. But upon closer thought, it did not seem right. How did two plus three give seven?

    "Messenger Wang, are you okay? You seem to be talking nonsense. How are there seven people in the second round? Didn¡¯t you say that there was no one left in the first round?" Han Zhangfeng¡¯s tone was icy.

    "King Duan, Official Han, please forgive me! There is no one left in the first round. However, of the three people Fang Zhengzhi and his group captured, two of them passed as well, so there are seven in the second round."

    "What do you mean? You¡¯re saying that two of his hostages passed... are you saying..." Han Zhangfeng seemed to finally see the light and his expression changed.

    "They... passed the Broken Bridge Barrier!"

 Chapter 194: Just Passing By

    Chapter 194: Just Passing By

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "What?!" King Duan¡¯s teacup fell to the ground when he heard the news, "You said that they crossed the Broken Bridge? How is that possible?!"

    "He really crossed the Broken Bridge..." The messenger was also in disbelief, but that was a fact.

    "He really crossed the Broken Bridge?!" King Duan¡¯s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He kept staring at Han Zhangfeng. Han Zhangfeng was equally shocked by the news.

    Both King Duan and Han Zhangfeng knew that Fang Zhengzhi had a high chance of passing the first round, but neither of them expected him to do so by crossing the Broken Bridge.

    In so many years, no one had been able to find out the truth behind the Broken Bridge.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi figured it out?

    "How did he cross the Broken Bridge?!" Han Zhangfeng was in awe. In his many years as the Chief Examiner, he had seen his fair share of talents, but he had never been floored like this.

    This was the World of the Sage.

    A world created by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. How could it be solved so easily?

    "He jumped. He jumped over..." The messenger¡¯s voice became softer towards the end. Even he could not believe that one could jump over.

    "He jumped over?!" Han Zhangfeng had expected a different answer. When he heard what the messenger had to say, he waspletely stunned.

    Was there an even more direct and simple answer?

    This method must have been tried by others before him.

    "How did he manage to jump over the Broken Bridge?" King Duan had expected Fang Zhengzhi to have a different method. He refused to believe that Fang Zhengzhi had used such a "stupid" method.

    "He did not jump from the Broken Bridge. He jumped from the cliff side." The messenger exined.

    "From the cliff? This, this..."

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng looked at each other once again. As a king and a Chief Examiner, they could not be too liberal with their expressions in front of their subordinates.

    That being said, they could not understand where they had went wrong.

    "Okay, I got it. You... may take your leave." King Duan did not say anything else.

    As a king, he did not want his intentions to be too obvious. As such, he had to try to calm himself down, but his fists were clenched. He did not understand how Fang Zhengzhi could create miracle after miracle.

    He was someone who had never ever been formally taught.

    First, he had topped all the prior examinations. Then, he broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State at the Divine Constabry, bing only the second person under 18 to achieve that feat.

    After entering Yan Capital, hepleted the entire theory examination in four hours. Furthermore, his scripts werepletely wless, making him the top scorer in the Theory Examinations.

    Now...

    He managed to solve the unsolvable Broken Bridge?

    And he jumped from the cliff!

    Could he be any more crazy? Were these all coincidences? Or heaven¡¯s will?

    King Duan did not know, but for the first time ever, he felt threatened, almost as if there was a sword dangling over his head.

    Han Zhangfeng looked at the leaving messenger. He too was unsettled. Ever since Ping Yang joined Fang Zhengzhi, nothing had gone their way.

    Fang Zhengzhi had showed stunning abilities, knocking Su Donglin our in the first round.

    And now, he actually managed to cross the broken bridge?!

    This made him lose his cool.

    He had to calm himself down. He no longer watched Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu. He closed his eyes, deep in thought as he pondered the his next moves.

    He needed to deliver a lethal blow.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... the Broken Bridge. He managed to cross it... the Broken Bridge!" Han Zhangfeng kept repeating it to himself. He wanted to calm himself down and convince himself that it was all a coincidence. But when someone experienced too many coincidences, it was no longer a coincidence.

    What now?

    He cannot be flustered. The more flustered he was, the worse it will get.

    This is a confidence, this must be a coincidence. He definitely cannot pass the second barrier, definitely not! Han Zhangfeng convinced himself as his breathing slowed.

    The Ninth Prince did not even look at the leaving messenger. He did not say or ask anything from start to finish.

    It was almost as if he did not even hear the messenger.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what was going on inside the Imperial Academy. He was strolling along the Broken Bridge, enjoying the view as he went.

    That¡¯s right, he was still walking on the Broken Bridge.

    However...

    This side was surrounded by thick white mist. It was almost like a pce in the clouds. The view was outstanding, but he could not see what was ahead.

    What he could be sure of was that this bridge was way longer than the one before.

    If the two parts were like a sword, the first one would be like the sword hilt, and the one now was the sword de.

    A de many times longer than the hilt.

    "That is indeed the case! There is another bridge on the other side, but it is a much longer one!" Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why it was impossible to jump from the bridge on the other side.

    When he turned to look behind, he could not see anything but white mist.

    However, another figure quickly came through the white mist.

    It was Yan Xiu, dressed in white.

    "You¡¯re here?"

    "I¡¯m here."

    Their conversations were rather simple. They did not need lengthy sentences to convey what they wanted to say to each other.

    "Let¡¯s go." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Okay." Yan Xiu nodded.

    As such, the two of them began to walk slowly along the bridge. It was almost as if they were walking on clouds.

    "Hahaha... so there is another Broken Bridge on this side. I actually managed to cross it. Father must have been shocked that I jump? Sister Yan would also not have thought of this, hahaha... I am to good, too smart."

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were waking, Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out behind them. Then, a red light shone through the white mist as she walked out, waving her zing Qilin Spear.

    "Hey, Fang Zhengzhi! Why didn¡¯t you wait for me?" Ping Yang chased from behind, looking rather discontented.

    "Why did you wait so long beforeing over?" Fang Zhengzhi replied without turning his head.

    Ping Yang was stunned as she blinked. She knew what Fang Zhengzhi was driving at, but it was difficult for her to admit her mistake.

    As such, Ping Yangughed after her eyes darted around for a little bit.

    "Hahaha... it¡¯s like that. There was one person who insisted on jumping from the bridge. I tried very hard to stop him but to no avail. In the end, not only did he fall to his death, he also dyed me."

    After Ping Yang finished, the two hostages looked on in disbelief. What utter rubbish? Since when did you stop him? You agreed to let him jump!

    But after some thought, they decided against calling Ping Yang out.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe it either, but he chose not to call her lie. He continued walking ahead, but slowed down slightly for Ping Yang to catch up.

    After all, he was not in a rush. He would just enjoy this scenery for a little longer.

    ...

    There were two candidates left in the second round. The two of them were bruised and battered. Their breaths werebored and raspy, their eyes bloodshot. They held their weapons shakily.

    The winner advanced and the loser was out.

    This was thebat examinations, why wouldn¡¯t they give it their all?

    "Kill!" One of the candidates drew his sword. Just as he was about to go all out, he heard footsteps, apanied by theughter of a girl.

    "Why are there other people?" The two candidates looked to their back suspiciously.

    They saw five figures walking out of the white mist. The entire scene was rather weird.

    Before long, the figures became clearer.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and the five others appeared.

    The two candidates were stunned by what they saw.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Princess Ping Yang?!"

    "And Yan Xiu, young master Tang... what is going on?"

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared from the mist. He heard his own name being called. When he turned his head, he saw two candidates staring at him.

    "It¡¯s been tough on you both. Please carry on, we are just passing by." Fang Zhengzhi greeted the two candidates and walked on, ignoring them thereafter.

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang ignored the two candidates as well. They followed behind Fang Zhengzhi and walked towards the second round barrier.

    The two candidates looked at the group in shock. They gently rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

    "Just passing by? What is the meaning of that?"

    "Was that really Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu? Are... are my eyes ying tricks on me?"

    "We can¡¯t both be blind right?"

    "Then... can you tell me why there are five of them?"

    "..."

    "Could it be... that they crossed the Broken Bridge?!"

    "My gosh, that¡¯s... that¡¯s impossible?!"

    The two candidates were stunned. They simply could not believe that anyone could cross the Broken Bridge. However, it was a fact that they were traveling as a group of five.

    Then...

    There was only one possibility. They crossed the Broken Bridge, all five of them.

    But why were they a group of five and not a group of six?

 Chapter 195: Twin Stone Tablets

    Chapter 195: Twin Stone Tablets

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    No one answered the questions of the two candidates. The group of five had already walked to a tall tree some distance away.

    This was a rather dense tree, but there were no fruits on it.

    It was a very normal looking tree, and there were two pitch ck stone tes below.

    "This is the second round barrier!" Ping Yang pointed towards the two stones underneath the tree and told Fang Zhengzhi.

    "How do you know?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the stones.

    These were toopletely identical ck rocks. The only difference was that the one in front had scriptures carved all over it whilst the one at the back was smooth as a mirror.

    "Of course I know, how else do you think I got in here?" Ping Yang said contentedly.

    "Oh? How did you get in here?"

    "I had... ahem, that¡¯s a secret. I¡¯m not telling you!" Ping Yang caught herself in the nick of time.

    "If my guess is correct, this must be the "Spiritual Chinese Schr Tree" which let Meng Tian understand the Dao of Heaven. This would mean that the two stones are the "Twin Stone Tablets." Yan Xiu spoke up suddenly.

    "Yan Xiu is right. These are the twin stone tablets. However, they have never been solved by anyone all these years. They are very different tablets, one has words on it, the other doesn¡¯t. However, the one with words will change every 15 minutes." Ping Yang interjected.

    "Then, how do we solve it?" Fang Zhengzhi did not want to destroy Ping Yang¡¯s excitement.

    Furthermore, he did not understand any of these.

    "One has to memorize all the words in 15 minutes. Then, you have to copy them on the other board. You will only pass if you get them all correct. If you¡¯re off by even one word, you¡¯re out." Ping Yang said arrogantly.

    "So easy?" Fang Zhengzhi could not believe it.

    "Simple? Who knows how many incredible talents have failed at this stage. The words on the tablet are from an ancientnguage, not something that we use now. Memorizing 3000 constantly changing foreign words with no rules to them is simple to you?" Ping Yang asked in disdain.

    "Is that not simple?" Fang Zhengzhi replied condescendingly.

    Ping Yang¡¯s face immediately flushed red with anger.

    "Humph. I can guess what you¡¯re thinking. Many people have tried what you¡¯re about to do. There have been many equally shameless people who tried to copy down the words on pen and paper. However, the words here are incrediblyplex. Copying them down would take a huge amount of time. It would be impossible to copy them over to the other stone in time! I think that we should go kidnap the other two before one of them emerges victorious?"

    Ping Yang snorted, then unconsciously looked towards the two seriously injured candidates. Her zing Qilin Spear began to buzz.

    "I said that it was simple. We will definitely pass it!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang and took out pen and ink.

    "What are you taking pen and ink for? I already told you copying is no use!" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi with condescension.

    "Did I say I was going to copy it down?" Fang Zhengzhi returned the condescending look.

    "If... if you don¡¯t n on copying, then why have you taken out ink?" Ping Yang flung her hands in the air.

    "To pour!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately sshed the ink on the stone. The ck stone became even more ck with ink.

    This was sphemous.

    Utterly sphemous.

    Ping Yang was livid. She never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would do something so sphemous. He was destroying the tablets!

    More infuriatingly, after Fang Zhengzhi sshed the paint, he took out a huge brush and began scrubbing the stone.

    Fire began to dance on Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear.

    Just as she was about dere battle on Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi retrieved a few pieces of paper and began to join them together.

    "Oh? What are you doing?" Ping Yang froze as her eyes revealed her confusion. What was he doing, joining the paper together?

    "Do you know what is a letterpress?" Fang Zhengzhi did not even raise his head.

    "What press?"

    "Aish... with your intelligence, you won¡¯t understand even if I exined it to you. Let me show you a mold." Fang Zhengzhi continued to work.

    Yan Xiu quietly watched by the side, not speaking.

    The two hostages were quiet as well. They did not dare say anything.

    Ping Yang was clearly on the edge of blowing up. They were certain that only Fang Zhengzhi had the audacity to speak to Princess Ping Yang like this.

    "How dare you insult my intelligence? If you don¡¯t exin to me what press and mold you¡¯re making, I will challenge you in a fight to the death!" Ping Yang was furious.

    "Sure, but you have to do me a favor." Fang Zhengzhi said unhurriedly.

    "What is it?"

    "Lend me your zing Qilin Spear for fun."

    "Quit dreaming!"

    "Then do you want to quickly enter the third round? Valuable time will be wasted if I don¡¯t have the zing Qilin Spear."

    "Humph, don¡¯t try to lie to me. I am smart enough not to fall for it." Ping Yang snorted derisively as she pouted, determined not to fall for the trick.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anymore. He picked up the joined up pieces of paper and pressed them on the stone tablet.

    Before long, he turned around.

    The white paper was filled with the words of the tablet.

    Ping Yang was quickly mesmerized by the words. Her eyes darted around as she pondered over it. However, she couldn¡¯t fully understand it.

    "Do you n to memorize them in advance? It¡¯s no use. The words will change order in a while." Ping Yang looked at the paper with the words. She still thought that this method was not going to work.

    "Don¡¯t talk so much rubbish, pass me the zing Qilin Spear!"

    "You... humph, if you dare lie to me, I will fight it out with you!" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s extended hand and unwillingly ced the zing Qilin Spear in his hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi took the zing Qilin Spear in his hand and stabbed it into the ground.

    A huge column of mes shot up into the sky. It¡¯s domineering aura seemed even more intense in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control.

    "Boom!" A loud sound echoed out.

    A huge hole appeared instantly in the ground.

    "What... what are you trying to do?" Ping Yang was unsettled by this.

    "Trying out its power? Do you have a problem?" Fang Zhengzhi spun it around contentedly before getting to work.

    In his previous world, he would need at least a couple of days to build a three thousand word letterpress.

    But it was much easier in this world.

    Him, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang could control the elements around them. As such, the five of them could easily change the shape of the soil to make a mold.

    Building a letterpress would probably only take them 15 minutes here.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi began to delegate the work. The paper in his hand was torn into five pieces and each person began to make the mold.

    Ping Yang was slightly unwilling. However, she began to be more excited after seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s demonstration.

    Before long, with five people working on it, a mold asrge as the tablet was formed.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi began to exin to Ping Yang and Yan Xiu how this mold was used.

    At the start, Ping Yang was still doubtful and untrusting. However, after hearing it through, her eyes began to glimmer.

    "That works? But... isn¡¯t it too shameless?"

    "Do you understand?"

    "Understand."

    "Then I will demonstrate once. After I pass, I will leave the mold behind."

    "Go on."

    "There¡¯s something I must say first. After we get out of this ce, I want to patent this technology. Anyone who wants to use this must pay me silver. Do you all understand?"

    "What is a patent?" Ping Yang was confused.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to sweat. It looks like this world is really very different. Forget the patent, let¡¯s just pass the Twin Stone Tablets.

    He walked up to the tablet with scriptures. The moment the words changed, he quickly raised up the mold in his hand.

    Seconds passed.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi nervously.

    After about ten minutes, Fang Zhengzhi hadpleted his three thousand word mold.

    Then, he began to stroll over to the empty tablet.

    He brushed his mold with ink as he walked over.

    "I press!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately pressed the mold against the empty tablet.

    When Fang Zhengzhi lifted the mold, the tablet was filled with the 3000 words from the other tablet. They were naturally identical.

    "Hum!" A bright, golden ray of light shot skyward.

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy.

    King Duan was clearly unsettled, his eyes glowing as he pondered.

    Han Zhangfeng closed his eyes, silently sitting on the chair, notmenting on the third round as he had done before.

    The Ninth Prince, on the other hand, was enjoying the third roundpetitions.

    Then, he saw a figure appear in the picture. That was a figure who should not have been there. He simply appeared out of thin air in the middle of the raging battle.

    His blue colored long sleeves were gently pping in the breeze.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!" The Ninth Prince was so shocked by what he saw that he couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    "What is Ninth Brother yelling... oh? That, that is Fang Zhengzhi?! How... how did he advance to the third round?" King Duan was just about to chide the Ninth Prince about breaking his train of thought when the figure caught his eye.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who was fascinated.

    Everyone in the third round stood rooted to the ground.

    They all looked at the youth dressed in the blue long sleeve. It was indeed Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just at this moment, the messenger from before entered the room once again. He walked briskly, even forgetting some of the formalities in the process.

    "King Duan my lord... Ninth Prince, Official Han, Fang... Fang Zhengzhi crosses the Twin Stone Tablets! He... he¡¯s into the third round!"

    "Hm?!" Han Zhangfeng¡¯s eyes shot open. His sharp gaze scanned the screen, finally locking into Fang Zhengzhi.

    He wanted to calm down, but he couldn¡¯t.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just crossed the Broken Bridge! And now he¡¯s crossed the Twin Stone Tablets?!

    If this was luck, how f*cking lucky was this guy?

    "The Twin Stone Tablets... he actually cleared the Twin Stone Tablets! What... what is going on?!" King Duan, despite his temperament, found it difficult to calm down.

    He could have attributed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crossing of the Broken Bridge to luck.

    But it was impossible to get lucky with the Twin Stone Tablets.

    Furthermore...

    Countless geniuses have failed to cross the Twin Stone Tablet barrier. It was too difficult, bordering on impossible to solve.

    "How did he solve it?!"

    By this point, King Duan and Han Zhangfeng were quite puzzled.

    Even the Ninth Prince could not figure out how Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    The messenger really wanted to respond, but he did not really know how to describe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method of solving the Twin Stone Tablets.

    "He... seemed to make a rock just like the Twin Stone Tablets... with identical inscriptions, then... he pressed it on the empty tablet. Then... he passed!" The messenger himself could not even understand what he was saying.

    "Rubbish, the inscriptions on the Twin Stone Tablets change every fifteen minutes. How could he manage to make an identical one in that time?" Han Zhangfeng¡¯s voice became incredibly icy.

    "About that... I don¡¯t know. But that was what he did. And Yan Xiu and the others..." Before the messenger could finish, a figure dressed in white appeared on the screen.

    It was Yan Xiu.

    Then, momentster, Ping Yang and the two hostages also appeared in the third round.

    "Five... five?! They... they all passed the Twin Stone Tablets?! What... what is going on? How could all five of them memorize the 3000 words?!" Han Zhangfeng lost his cool.

    He was seeing somethingpletely senseless.

    Fang Zhengzhi could be a genius. He could have incredible talents. But how did he manage to impart it all to the other four?

    If only Fang Zhengzhi had passed the Twin Stone Tablets, one could attribute it to him being talented and having superb memory.

    But...

    All five of them passing?

    That was beyond any logical exnation.

 Chapter 196: Storm and Fire

    Chapter 196: Storm and Fire

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Han Zhangfeng was not the only person to lose his cool.

    The entire Imperial Academy exploded into chatter upon seeing Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi appear on the screen.

    No one could exin why Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and the three others could all pass the Twin Stone Tablets.

    Could it be that they had managed to memorize all 3000 words on the first tablet and copy them over to the second one wlessly?

    How is that possible?

    At this moment, everyone could only think of one possibility.

    "Did they cheat?!"

    ...

    What could they possibility have done to cheat and give all five of them superhuman memory?

    No one could figure it out. The candidates of thebat examinations were also equally stumped.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing idly in the third round.

    This was also a in. There were rocks piled neatly on one side and a stone house stood to the east of the in. It was surrounded by a forest of trees.

    In the ins, each of the candidates were hurt rather badly.

    However, they all stopped battling, staring in awe at the five figures who had appeared on the in.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "Five people?!"

    "Why is it five people... how did they make it to the third round?"

    All of the candidates remembered the three hostages that Ping Yang caught. They were thought of as being extremely unlucky. But now, two of them stood in the third round.

    "Gulp!" One of the candidates swallowed his saliva with difficulty.

    "Could it be that... they crossed the Broken Bridge?!"

    "If it¡¯s five people, wouldn¡¯t it mean that they crossed the Twin Stone Tablets as well?" Another candidate added.

    "How is that possible?! I will never believe that all five of them passed the Twin Stone Tablets!"

    Their shock was possibly even greater than Han Zhangfeng and the others in the Imperial Academy. After all, they had paid in blood to get to the third round.

    But Fang Zhengzhi and his group were unblooded.

    They didn¡¯t even have a scar.

    "Oh, so you are only in the third round?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the surrounding candidates. He seemed slightly surprised, but a different kind of surprised aspared to the other candidates.

    "What do you mean by only?"

    The candidates werepletely thrown off by thement.

    "Then, you all can carry on!" Fang Zhengzhi did not see a need to exin himself to them.

    He just snatched the mold from one of the hostages and ced it inside his Heart Protection Mirror.

    This mold contained the 3000 characters on the Twin Stone Tablets and was of significantly higher value.

    He wanted to keep it as a souvenir.

    Furthermore, it was the key ingredient to press.

    That being said, it was not that easy to make the mold for 3000 words in under 15 minutes.

    If not for the abilities that he had gotten in this world, allowing him to form the mold so easily, he would not have finished it in such a short time.

    If this was the previous world, he would probably take more than an hour to form the words.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not exin this to the other candidates, and did not bother wandering the battleground. The number of candidates was less than he expected.

    This meant that there were people already through to the fourth round.

    There were only four worlds in the World of the Sage. Entering the fourth round meant that one was into the final round of thebat examinations.

    "Is that thes barrier?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the stone house some distance away.

    He had no idea what was inside. Everyone who entered had no memory of what had happened inside. Also, no one had everye out of the stone house...

    ...

    The rain in the capital showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it grew in intensity, eventually turning into a downpour.

    Very little people roamed the streets in this weather.

    Even the guards of the city showed signs of frustration as they stood at the gates.

    Just at this moment, a group braved the rain and walked towards the city. They were all armored soldiers. However, as they walked, it was almost as if the rain parted for them, never actuallynding on their armor.

    This scene alone was sufficient for others to know that they were all at least in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Each of the soldiers rode a fine stallion. Each one was pitch ck and their hooves were covered in scales. They kicked up clouds of mist as they galloped.

    The guards at the gate immediately rid themselves of their frustrations. Those expressions were quickly reced with ones of respect.

    They did not stop as they passed through the gates.

    They were headed for the pceplex.

    When this group of soldiers passed, the guards heaved a sigh of relief. However, their eyes glimmered with curiosity and nerves.

    Calm seemed to return after the soldiers left.

    But things were not as they seemed.

    15 minutes after the group of soldiers passed the gates, a ck robed man wearing a hat appeared in their field of view.

    The guards tensed once again.

    This figure was not as open with his cultivation level and abilities as that group of soldiers. However, the guards could tell that he was not a simple person.

    In fact, anyone who was traveling alone in such torrential rain would attract attention. Furthermore, this person wore his hat very low, obscuring his face from view.

    "Freeze, take off your hat!" Two of the guards reacted instinctively.

    The figure stood still in the rain.

    However, he did not take off his hat. He stood there quietly, almost like a ck statue.

    "Didn¡¯t you hear me, I asked you to take off your hat?" The two guards bellowed once again, their spears raised. They glimmered after being washed by the rain.

    A line of archers above them were also alerted to the scene.

    They quickly drew their bows and tensed. They were ready to shoot at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Security at the capital was incredibly tight.

    There were two guards outside the gate, eight more inside, and a line of archers above. There were no less than 20 guards.

    No one dared to act rashly with such a troop guarding the gates.

    But the ck robed man moved.

    After the bows were drawn, he began to move excruciatingly slowly. He raised his hands, almost as if he was surrendering.

    The guards began to tense.

    Their training told them that these people were always extremely dangerous. They would not let down their guard until the threat was gone. This man had to first take off his hat and announce his identity.

    If it was someone suspicious, they would instantly raise the rm, activating the guards in the city, including those in the guard camp.

    "Take off your hat slowly. Do not try to resist. There are at least 10 arrows aimed at you!" The guard warned. This was both a warning and a test.

    The ck robed man did not speak. He raised his hand slowly and pointed it at the two guards.

    "Fire!"

    The guards¡¯ expressions changed. They had already seen the ck robed man draw something from his sleeves. His sleeves were pitch dark, but there was something glowing faintly.

    That was a scary sight.

    "Bang bang bang..."

    The sound of arrows releasing pierced through the sky.

    10 arrows pierced the rain without any loss to their momentum as their bright tips, glowing faintly in the rain, flew towards the ck robed man.

    "Hum!"

    A ray of light shone from the man¡¯s sleeves. In a swift motion, he broke all ten arrows and shot through the rain. He passed by the bodies of the two guards and left a small crack on the city walls.

    It was a swift knife stroke.

    The two guards looked at the ck robed man in disbelief.

    However, they could not speak. Their throats had already been slit. Each slit was as clinical and clean as the one on the city wall.

    The torrential rain showed no signs of stopping.

    A second wave of arrows was fired, but the ck robed man had left.

    It was almost as if he never appeared at the city gates.

    He had killed two guards.

    Then he had left?

    This did not make any sense, especially for someone as skilled as him. But that was what he did, and he did it all without saying a single word.

    ...

    On the banks of ake, a red rock stood tall in the rain. It was almost like a raging fire in the rain and it looked like it was going to boil away all the rain in the sky.

    Ady in a white dress stood atop this rock. She held a green umbre in her hand. There was an ink painting on the umbre.

    However, this painting was clearly no ordinary painting.

    From the stroke of the brush, to the red stamp at the back of the painting, everything about it screamed that it was worth more than jade or jewels.

    However, this painting was drawn on the umbre. And thedy was using it in the rain.

    She raised her head slightly as she looked in the direction of Yan Capital. Her silky ck hair flew in the wind as her white veil was blown up by the rain, revealing a beautiful face underneath.

    "What a great view..." Thedy seem to moan lightly. She sounded like she was talking to herself, but also like she was greeting the ck figure walking towards her.

 Chapter 197: Crumbling

    Chapter 197: Crumbling

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The ck figure came closer and closer, his hat cleaned by the torrential rain. His robe pped as the wind blew.

    Very quickly, the ck figure arrived in front of thedy.

    Then, he stopped, but he did not speak. He stood still like a ck statue about two meters from thedy.

    "Do you have something to ask me?" Thedy asked as she looked at the ck robe man.

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare." The ck figure shook his head. He didn¡¯t say he didn¡¯t have a question. He simply said that he wouldn¡¯t dare in an icy tone.

    "Ying Shan has another brother?"

    "Yes!"

    "Which other territory amongst the ten has a vacancy for vice ruler and above?"

    "The Dark Territory."

    "Go see to it."

    "Yes master!"

    The ck figure left, leaving thedy standing in the torrential rain, her white dress dancing in the sea of red.

    ...

    Inside the World of the Sage.

    Everyone stared wide eyed at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing in front of the stone house. Only now did they believe that Fang Zhengzhi had passed the Broken Bridge and the Twin Snow Tablets.

    If not...

    How could he think of entering the stone house?

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the outside. There was a wooden door.

    It was not yet dark. Normally, one should be able to see the inside of the stone house through this door. However, it was pitch ck inside.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not see anything no matter how hard he tried.

    He turned to look at Yan Xiu.

    This time, Yan Xiu did not speak.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi, blinking her crystal clear eyes over and over again. However, her lips never parted.

    "Okay then, I¡¯m going in..." Fang Zhengzhi could guess what they were thinking.

    If Ping Yang could not say anything about the stone house, it could only mean that there were absolutely no records about it.

    Ping Yang nodded.

    Yan Xiu stood icily by the side, neither shaking nor nodding his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward and pushed open the door.

    Having made it into the third round, he was a lot more confident. He had already passed the examinations, ranking was secondary.

    There shouldn¡¯t be any threat to his life inside a pocket dimension, right?

    Just as he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the stone house and blended together with the darkness in an instant.

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, King Duan felt slightly relieved as he saw Fang Zhengzhi enter the stone house.

    Han Zhangfeng¡¯s expression was much moreplicated. He wanted to say that Fang Zhengzhi was not getting out of there, but, after the past two incidents, he was losing that confidence.

    The Ninth Prince was the calmest of them all. As he saw Fang Zhengzhi enter the stone house, he raised his cup and sipped his tea. Then, he let out a puff of steam...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he had entered a house.

    This house did not seem very big. He was able to walk to each end within a few steps. It probably wouldn¡¯t take more than a minute to finish going through the house.

    That was what he had thought.

    However, when he saw a ray of light in front of him, he realized that he was quite wrong.

    The world in front of him was huge and he could not see the end.

    Because...

    This was a desert, a desert filled with endless sand.

    But this was no ordinary desert. There were four doors in each of the four directions, North, South, East, and West.

    Each door was made of the same yellow rock. More importantly, all four doors werepletely identical.

    "It looks like this round is luck?" Fang Zhengzhi immediately knew what this round was about. Choose one of the four. His chances did not seem bad.

    A figure appeared in front of him.

    This middle aged man wore an academic green tunic. He had broad shoulders, thick eyebrows, andrge eyes.

    He looked like a ferocious general on the battlefield, but he was a ferocious general dressed like an academic.

    The middle aged man looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked back at the middle aged man, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise.

    "Mirage? Or hologram?" Fang Zhengzhi could not figure it out and he did not have anyone to exin it to him.

    "Choose one, choose one from four, it is very fair!" The middle aged man spoke tly.

    "It is very fair. So what happens if I choose wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi feigned interest.

    "Naturally, you¡¯ll be out."

    "Then what if I get it correct?"

    "You¡¯ll advance."

    "Can I not choose?"

    "No."

    "If I don¡¯t go through any door, I won¡¯t be choosing."

    "You will have to go through the door."

    "You¡¯re so sure?"

    "There¡¯s no other way other than to go through one of these four doors."

    "What if I simply defeated you?"

    "A lot of people have tried, you can try to." The middle aged man replied calmly, not at all surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    "I guess I have to choose one."

    "Yes."

    "Any hints?"

    "No."

    "Okay then, goodbye." Fang Zhengzhi waved to the middle aged man. Then, he turned and walked away. There was one more door, the door that he hade through.

    "Hang on! I would like to remind you that you will be withdrawing if you go through that door." The middle aged man called out to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You think I will believe you?" Fang Zhengzhi pushed open the door and stepped through without looking back.

    ...

    The scene in front of him changed again. The desert, stone doors, and the middle aged man disappeared.

    He was back in the third round, and there was a stone house right in front of him.

    Yan Xiu was to his left, Ping Yang was to his right. He was back where he was. It was almost as if he had never gone through the stone door.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused, Is that all?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, eliminated!"

    At this point, a crisp voice rang out in the air.

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were shocked. They looked slightly excited, but slightly disappointed at the same time.

    The other candidates were all rooted in their positions.

    However, they recovered quickly and stared at Fang Zhengzhi with condescension.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has been eliminated?"

    "Hahaha... he¡¯s really been eliminated!"

    "Can the stone house barrier even be passed? I guess he has no hope of topping both ranking rolls now?"

    The candidates mocked.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body began to disappear slowly, almost as if a strong wave of force was drawing him out.

    "I guess I am not very lucky..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "Aren¡¯t you angry?" At this point, the middle aged man¡¯s voice rang out in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. His tone was slightly mocking.

    "Why should I be angry?"

    "Don¡¯t you want to advance?"

    "I do, but advancing is not important to me. I value the process more than I value the result. I will... take the result as ites." Fang Zhengzhi had always been like that. It would be great to advance, but he didn¡¯t really care even if he failed.

    ...

    The scene changed once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should be in the Imperial Academy by now, but he wasn¡¯t. He was still faced with the desert, the four doors, and the middle aged man.

    "You chose wrong once, but, I think you have good character. I am giving you another chance to choose." The middle aged man looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly.

    "Another choice?"

    "Yes."

    "I never change my mind after I¡¯ve made a decision." Fang Zhengzhi turned around and walked through the door behind him without hesitation.

    What the hell? Choose again? Do you really think I am stupid?

    Fang Zhengzhi pushed open the third door.

    He was still faced with the third round. Yan Xiu was to his left and Ping Yang was to his right.

    Everything was the same as what he had just experienced.

    The only difference was that Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were expressionless and showed no trace of surprise. As for Ping Yang, her jaw had dropped.

    "You... how are you out?!" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief.

    "Fang, Fang Zhengzhi is out?!"

    "How is that possible, how did he get out?"

    "Stone house, he came out from the stone house?"

    "Is he eliminated?"

    All of the candidates were stunned when they saw Fang Zhengzhi exit from the stone house.

    At this point, a shaky voice rang out in the air.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, advances... to the fourth round!"

    The voice was not as crisp as clear as before. It was almost as if the person behind the voice could not believe what was happening.

    Even so, the voice rang out throughout the entire third round world.

    All of the candidates were stunned by what they heard.

    "Advance... advance to the fourth round?!"

    "Boom!" Just as all the candidates were focused on Fang Zhengzhi, the entire third round world began to tremble. This waspletely different from when Fang Zhengzhi had crossed the Broken Bridge and the Twin Stone Tablets.

    It was almost as if the world was going to copse.

    Even the stone house and the trees were shaking vigorously.

    The change in the environment caused many candidates to turn pale. They had no idea what was going on.

    In the history of the Great Xia Empire, there was no record of a pocket dimension ever copsing.

    What¡¯s going on?

    What the hell is going on?

    No one could exin why the World of the Sage was trembling. The World of the Sage was created by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, and even the Great Xia Empire had not uncovered all of its secrets.

 Chapter 198: Meng Tians Sword

    Chapter 198: Meng Tian¡¯s Sword

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Boom!" The ground caved in.

    Everything happened in an instant. Many candidates had not even fully recovered from the shock.

    Fang Zhengzhi himself was rather doubtful of what just happened. He was still quite lost, unsure if what he was seeing now was real or fake.

    Moments ago.

    He had been eliminated and told to advance at the same time.

    Was this copse the same as before? Try again after the world had copsed?

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice may have seen random, but it was actually based on hints gotten from the previous two barriers.

    The first was the Broken Bridge.

    The second was the Twin Stone Tablets.

    They had already revealed the rules of the World of the Sage.

    Blurry.

    One in the light, one in the dark.

    Since that was the case, a choice between four should not appear.

    One in the light, one in the dark, and blurry.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if he had guessed correctly. That being said, he felt that if he had to make a choice, the door behind him would give him the highest chance.

    It did not seem very logical, and there was no way of proving that this was the correct method.

    That being said, passing the stone house required luck.

    Then...

    He did not need to go off much logic or sense.

    He was just trying his luck.

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, King Duan and Han Zhangfeng grew increasingly unsettled.

    A king and a Chief Examiner should never have such expressions, but they had it. Even the Ninth Prince dropped his cup of tea.

    The three of them had the same reaction. Even the messenger who rushed over was incredibly flustered.

    The screen in front of them hadpletely nked out.

    That meant that the World of the Sage was out of control.

    This was something that was rare, even in the annals of history. A pocket dimension rarely went out of control.

    The only way that could happen was that the pocket dimension grew a consciousness. However, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had died a long time ago.

    How could his pocket dimension have a consciousness?

    That was impossible.

    Unless...

    King Duan and Han Zhangfeng looked at each other. There was only one possibility, one reason to exin what was happening.

    "Meng Tian left a shred of his consciousness in the pocket dimension before his death?"

    The two of them spoke at the same time, stunned by what they were suggesting.

    If Meng Tian had left a shred of consciousness in there, why hasn¡¯t anyone found it all these years? Why hasn¡¯t anyonee into contact with it?

    Is it possible that he left it...

    "In that sword?!"

    Han Zhangfeng thought of it first.

    That was something that existed only in legends. No one had seen it or found it before.

    They could not even be sure that it exists.

    However, everyone knew that he had made his name whilst using a sword. He had also killed the Demon Lord with a sword.

    But...

    No one saw that sword after he dispatched the Demon lord.

    Meng Tian left the world and left behind the World of the sage. However, he did not take the sword with him. As a result, everyone naturally guessed that the sword was in the World of the Sage.

    King Duan¡¯s gaze was icy. He was fully aware of the implications of losing control over the World of the Sage during the Imperial Examinations.

    "Ninth Brother, you and I have the responsibility of being invigtors of this edition of the examinations. Now that the World of the Sage is out of control and unpredictable, I have to stay with Official Han to deal with it. Please brave the rain and report this to the Emperor!"

    "Sure!" The Ninth Prince did not hesitate to agree.

    Then, he turned and left.

    After the Ninth Prince had walked out, King Duan looked at Han Zhangfeng.

    "Official Han, how do you propose we resolve this?"

    "Go and see if the doorway into the World of the Sage is passable, then, report back to me immediately." Han Zhangfeng ordered one of the messengers.

    "Yes sir!" The messenger ran out upon receiving the orders.

    "Now that the World of the Sage is out of control, what do you think are Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chances ofing out alive?" King Duan smiled.

    "I think they are slim!" Han Zhangfeng replied softly. However, his expression was slightly pained.

    As the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, Han Zhangfeng has presided over many imperial examinations. He never wanted to see the elite talents stuck in a pocket dimension.

    But...

    This was Meng Tian¡¯s pocket dimension. In order to break it down by force, one needed to be at least three or four times more powerful.

    Even if it was possible, it could cause the World of the Sage to crumble.

    This was why Han Zhangfeng thought the chances were slim.

    ...

    In the World of the Sage, Ping Yang grabbed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm tightly. Her eyes were filled with awe, her jaw dropped as she gasped.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like the fact that she held his arm in a death grip.

    However, he decided against throwing her off when he saw what was unfolding in front of his eyes.

    The sword...

    The sword that Fang Zhengzhi had wanted to find.

    This was a sword that many people, not just Fang Zhengzhi, had wanted to find. However, for the past few centuries, no one had evenid eyes on it.

    And now, there were many swords.

    Heavy ones, light ones, long ones, short ones...

    Countless swords were stabbed into the rocks on the ground. In the middle of it all, there was an exquisite sword which glowed with a golden light. A golden dragon wrapped itself around the sword hilt, and here was a golden pearl at the tip of the sword.

    However, that sword was chained up.

    ck chains locked the hilt in ce, and they were tied in all four directions torge ck rocks.

    "That sword... could it be?!"

    "That must be Meng Tian¡¯s sword!"

    "My gosh, this sword really exists?!"

    There were only about 30 students left in the World of the Sage.

    All of the candidates clustered together, including Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu, who had advanced to the fourth round.

    No one bothered about why there was a sea of swords after the World of the Sage crumbled. They were all looking at that sword.

    Yan Xiu was staring at it too. He did not move, turning to look at Fang Zhengzhi instead.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at that sword.

    He could feel that the sword was immensely powerful. It glowed as brightly as the sun amongst the sea of swords. It was clearly the king of all the des here.

 Chapter 199: The battle intensifies

    Chapter 199: The battle intensifies

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "This sword... is probably worth quite a lot of money!" That was the first thought in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    The sword¡¯s workmanship and material were clearly superior. Without even considering the fact that it was sealed in the World of the Sage, it would be worth a huge sum of money even if it was made by a cksmith.

    Fang Zhengzhi only thought of money.

    The other candidates thought of other things.

    For example, Would my time in the examinations be easier after I got that sword? Would I be able to inherit Meng Tian¡¯s techniques?

    No matter what it was, the sword was incredibly attractive to all the candidates.

    Naturally, the candidates swarmed towards the de. Their greed was evident in their eyes, almost like hungry wolves spotting helplessmbs.

    Lunging could not fully describe the intensity of the snatching contest that followed.

    All of them exploded towards the sword.

    They forgot everything else, each of them focused purely on that sword.

    "That sword is mine!"

    "That sword belongs to whoever can get it."

    "Move aside, don¡¯t try to block me!"

    The ck chains were pulled taut by many of the candidates.

    Over a dozen others rushed straight towards the sword, each of them demonstrating superhuman agility.

    The rock was not high at all.

    As such, a few of them made it to the top rather quickly.

    It was a good thing the rock was wide.

    It could still fit over a dozen candidatesfortably.

    However, when they all reached for the de, the peace was shattered. What followed was an intense snatching contest.

    However, not everyone decided to partake in the snatching contest.

    Xing Qingsui, who was dressed in ck, decided to stay out of it. An icy middle aged man who stood behind him also decided against joining in the slugfest.

    Apart from them, Nangong Mu was one other who did not move.

    He did not even bother much about the sword. He nced at it out of the corner of his eye, then ignored it thereafter.

    Following which, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Ah!"

    "Ouch..."

    Pitiful screams could be heard from the rock.

    The shes of the various fields had reached an all time high. They attacked and suppressed each other, making the rock aplete bloodbath.

    Cracks and booms echoed from the top of the rock.

    Very quickly, candidates began to fall from the rock. Some were attacked from the back, whilst the weaker ones were simply kicked off the rock.

    The one who suffered the worst fate was a candidate dressed in purple, tight fitting shirt.

    He was the fastest amongst all the candidates. He stood in the middle of the rock and reached for the sword. He was on the verge of touching the hilt.

    However, his position also meant that he took the brunt of all the attacks.

    "Sh*t!"

    He spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was thrown into the air. Then, as he was sailing through, he was attacked no less than a dozen times.

    He finally fell to the base of the rock.

    Quite pitifully, he had fallen at a bad location. He was just at the edge of the rock, his head rested against it.

    As a result...

    He was trampled all over as people tried to scale the rock.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pitiful candidate. Then, he raised his head, staring at the rapidly darkening sky.

    He was waiting.

    He was waiting for the voice to ring out.

    He was waiting for this candidate¡¯s elimination announcement.

    However, the voice never rang out.

    It was strangely quiet.

    The bloodbath raged atop the rock.

    "Something is wrong!" Fang Zhengzhi muttered to himself. He did not know if what he was seeing was real. If it was, there was a serious problem.

    Ping Yang released her grip on his hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned by his newfound freedom.

    Ping Yang should be the least tempted by the sword.

    She already had the zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    But Ping Yang was walking towards the rock against all his expectations, almost as if she was going to take the spear?

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised. However, he could understand why Ping Yang was doing that. The reason was simple, she was the beloved Princess.

    Who would dare snatch anything from her?

    It seemed logical and simple, at least to Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    However...

    That was far from the truth.

    A figure stepped in front of Ping Yang. This figure had not moved before, but he moved now.

    This man was Xing Qingsui. He was the scion of Xing Hou. Bar any surprises, this man would inherit the leadership of the thirteen constabries.

    He was immensely muscr and his eyes glowed with a beast like nature.

    He too held a sword in his hand. It was a ck sword, almost twice as wide as a normal sword. It did not glow, but no one doubted its power.

    This de was named "meteor", and it was made from an actual meteor mold.

    It was also known as an aerolith.

    "You are the third ced Qing Yang?" Xing Qingsui grabbed his sword and stared Ping Yang down.

    It was a simple question.

    However, none of the candidates understood what Xing Qingsui meant.

    There was no Princess Ping Yang, there was only a Qing Yang.

    So why did he call her Ping Yang?

    Ping Yang pouted. She knew what Xing Qingsui was thinking. She could deny that she was Qing Yang and walk up to the sword undisturbed.

    But, would she?

    Naturally not.

    She was Ping Yang, the arrogant Ping Yang.

    "That¡¯s right, do you want to stop me?" Ping Yang raised her head, her Red me Flower Armor flowing with a red light. Her zing Qiling Spear was lowered, her voice dangerous.

    "Of course." Xing Qingsui nodded, not retreating in the slightest.

    Those candidates who did not scale the rock gasped. They did not scale the rock for a simple reason, they were simply not strong enough.

    In such a scenario, giving up was their best option.

    By giving up now...

    They would have a chance at the scrapster.

    The logic was simple. They were happy to see more people join the furball, especially Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang vs Xing Qingsui?

    This was a great battle. On one side was one of the favorites to top thebat examinations, on the other side was a young girl with two very powerful treasures.

    Who will win?

 Chapter 200: Battle Spirit

    Chapter 200: Battle Spirit

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang smirked.

    She didn¡¯t even ask for help from Fang Zhengzhi or Yan Xiu. She immediately sprang into action, attacking the Heavenly Reflection State Xing Qingsui despite being in the Star Conglomerate State.

    This was not a wise decision. It was too rash.

    However, Ping Yang made the decision without any hesitation. Her crystal clear eyes were filled with arrogance, the arrogance of a princess.

    There was also a hint of stubborness.

    This was Ping Yang.

    She unleashed the zing Qilin Spear, a tall column of me shooting skyward. It crashed down towards Xing Qingsui, a golden light shing in the sea of fire.

    It was like amp in a storm.

    "Roar!" The beast like aura filled the sky.

    This was one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Empire, the most powerful weapon there was. It could pierce any material and burn the area to ashes. Who dared to go up against it?

    The candidates near Xing Qingsui unconsciously retreated a few steps.

    None of them dared to get too close to the zing Qilin Spear. Who knows if it¡¯ll cause any coteral damage?

    Furthermore...

    They knew that if Xing Qingsui wanted to defeat the zing Qilin Spear bearing Ping Yang, his only chance was a roaming battle.

    He had to dodge the lethality of the zing Qilin Spear.

    If he could do so, he should emerge victorious.

    However, against their expectations, Xing Qingsui did not dodge. Not only did he not retreat, he advanced and went into the sea of fire.

    "Is he crazy?!"

    All of the other candidates thought to themselves.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s calm expression also changed. In actual fact, he was still expressionless when Xing Qingsui challenged Ping Yang.

    However, he became extremely solemn after seeing Xing Qingsui advance instead of retreat.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes also shed with a curious glow. He knew how powerful the zing Qilin Spear was. He could not understand why Xing Qingsui wanted to meet it head on.

    That being said, he knew that Xing Qingsui would not walk into his death.

    Then, was he trying to find survival in the most dire of situations?

    Xing Qingsui would obviously not stop to exin himself. He was incredibly quick, even faster than the zing Qilin Spear.

    However, his Meteor ck sword was dragging behind him, not raised to strike.

    When facing a sea of fire, many people would have attempted to use water or unmeltable ice. However, Xing Qingsui had neither of these things.

    Even so...

    He managed to break through the sea of fire.

    A subtle aura around him seemed to slice open the sea of fire. It was as if his sword parted the waves, allowing him safe passage through.

    Fang Zhengzhi had once heard a famous quote.

    Can you part the sea with your sword?

    He did not know if anyone could do it at that time. But now, Xing Qingsui had done it. Furthermore, his de was still dragging behind him.

    "It¡¯s battle spirit! Sword like battle spirit!"

    "It¡¯s no wonder he is the heir of the Stabilisation Constabry. He has already realized the battle spirit of the Dao of all Creation at such a young age! He has also been hiding this ability in previous duels."

    "I guess no one pushed him to use it before?"

    All of the students who saw this scene stared wide eyed as they gasped.

    "Battle Spirit?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand.

    This was almost like the Asura that Yan Xiu had showed previously. This Battle Spirit probably had the same effect, despite going by a different name.

    However, Asura used killing to increase the prowess of the technique.

    On the other hand, this Battle Spirit seemed toe from inside, allowing the user to charge forward courageously.

    This spirit originated from one¡¯s courage and grew stronger from the blood and fire of the battlefield. Xing Qingsui had made this battle spirit his field of control. Since it was as sharp as a de, it could easily split open the sea of fire.

    He was like a talented general wrecking havoc amidst mere soldiers.

    Xing Qingsui and Ping Yang advanced towards each other.

    They closed in quickly.

    They were so close that the zing Qilin Spear was almost within range of Xing Qingsui¡¯s forehead.

    The spear had a golden glow at the tip. That was what gave the zing Qilin Spear its piercing power.

    Xing Qingsui stared down the golden glow. His expression showed no fear. His de finaly swung into action when the golden glow was less than an inch from his forehead.

    He met the zing Qilin Spear with a simple stroke, his de drawing a dark line in the air as it moved.

    It shed with the golden glow.

    "Boom!"

    A sharp de aura exploded outwards from the merge of the zing Qilin Spear and the Meteor ck sword.

    "Bang bang bang..."

    The de aura smashed into the swords lying about the rocks, letting out metallic screeches as it passed.

    "Kacha!" Countless des broke!

    The weapons parted after the merge.

    Xing Qingsui retreated a couple of steps. After all, he was facing one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty. The most lethal zing Qilin Spear.

    Even though he was in the intermediate stages of the Heavenly Reflection State, he was still knocked back.

    Ping Yang was not thrown backwards by the impact. She charged forward, the zing Qilin Spear a mere five meters from Xing Qingsui.

    She wanted to strike whilst he was frazzled.

    The logic was simple.

    Everyone knew that, but Xing Qingsui didn¡¯t seem to be clear about it.

    When Ping Yang charged forward once again, Xing Qingsui matched the charge, his sword trailing behind him just as he had done previously.

    "Boom!"

    The Meteor ck sword and the zing Qilin Spear shed once again.

    The result was no surprise.

    Xing Qingsui was thrown back.

    However, he was thrown back a significantly shorter distance this time.

    The spectating candidates all shook their head. Not everyone could realize the tiny details amongst such an intense battle. As a result, they did not understand why Xing Qingsui insisted on battling this way.

    To them, this was a very stupid method, possibly even stupider than Ping Yang not requesting for help.

    However, Yan Xiu did not shake his head.

    He had spotted the tiny details.

    The second time Xing Qingsui rushed towards Ping Yang in the same manner, he had been concentrating on how far Xing Qingsui was thrown back.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not focus on the same things Yan Xiu did.

    He was looking at Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression.

    Xing Qingsui showed no signs of fear. He charged on courageously, his courage seeming to build with each sh.

    If Xing Qingsui was relying on his Battle Spirit,

    Then...

    This could only mean that Xing Qingsui¡¯s battle spirit was getting stronger and stronger.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked to Yan Xiu. He realized that Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was bing increasingly solemn.

    "You realized it too?" Fang Zhengzhi whispered.

    "Yup." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "This is the Xing Qingsui you told me about before?"

    "Yup, Xing Qingsui of the Stabilisation Constabry!"

    "What is your confidence level if you had to fight him?"

    "None. No one is confident about going up against a member of the Stabilisation Constabry."

    "What are their origins?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "The Stabilisation Constabry is the leading constabry. However, they are the ones with the least history. When our ancestors set up the Great Xia Dynasty, the Stabilisation Constabry was just a nomadic n. However, when the country was stabilized, they had be one of the thirteen. Furthermore, they became the leader of the Thirteen Constabries."

    "Was there some chance encounter?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interest in the Stabilisation Constabry was piqued.

    "No, there was no coincidence in their growth. They managed to achieve everything through battle. They were not particrly talented, but they had a thirst for battle, a thirst that bordered on craziness. Even today, the Stabilisation Constabry holds true to their roots. Every disciple is dragged off to the battlefield at the age of six. They start by being a stable hand, and slowly progress into the ranks of the army."

    "Just like this?" Fang Zhengzhi stared intently at Xing Qingsui.

    "Mm, the more intense the battle, the stronger the Battle Spirit of their disciples. Xing Qingsui is probably using Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear to refine his Battle Spirit!"

 Chapter 201: Frail man

    Chapter 201: Frail man

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Xing Qingsui, not speaking.

    In actual fact, he had not had any interaction with Xing Qingsui. He had only heard about this person from Yan Xiu. They had not really met in both the Theory or Combat Examinations.

    However, from Xing Qingsui¡¯s rising Battle Spirit, he could sense that this man had the same crazed Battle Spirit and technique of the Stabilisation Constabry.

    Perhaps...

    This was how the people of the Stabilisation Constabry fought.

    Go against the current and end up losing ground.

    Realizing the Dao of all Creation in battle allowed one to get used to the heat of conflict.

    "Boom!"

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s Meteor ck sword shed with the zing Qilin Spear once again.

    This was the fifth time these weapons had shed.

    Countless sharp auras flew around the two of them. Smashed rocks and broken swords circled the two as they fought.

    But this time.

    Xing Qingsui retreated less than three meters.

    The retreating candidates were all stunned by the intense battle. No one had expected the battle between Xing Qingsui and Ping Yang to turn out this way.

    shing head on?!

    Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear continued to glow as columns of me shot skyward.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi realized that Ping Yang¡¯s chest was heaving, her dainty lips panting.

    The zing Qilin Spear was one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, if the person using it was not strong enough, then wielding it will also take its toll.

    This was the case for everything. Even medicine has side effects.

    Ping Yang was only at the pinnacle of the Star Conglomerate State. Each use of the zing Qilin Spear took more and more energy out of her.

    This was not advantageous for her.

    However, with Xing Qingsui going head on against her, she was in the most advantageous position possible.

    As such, she did not consider a roaming battle with Xing Qingsui.

    The battle raged on.

    Xing Qingsui was clearly panting more than Ping Yang. His chest heaved with each breath. He was sweating so profusely his shirt stuck to his back.

    However, he held his de steady.

    No matter how deep his footprint, no matter how tired he was, the hand holding his sword was always calm and steady.

    "Fight!" Xing Qingsui charged forward once again.

    Ping Yang stabbed with her zing Qilin Spear.

    Columns of me shot skyward once again. Xing Qingsui used his Battle Spirit to slice open the sea of fire once again. Then, he struck with the Meteor sword.

    "Boom!"

    Unsurprisingly, the sword shed with the golden light.

    This was something within everybody¡¯s expectations.

    However, what they did not expect was that this time, Xing Qingsui was not immediately thrown backwards. After the weapons shed, he still managed toplete his strike.

    "Boom!"

    The golden light shimmered and an aura exploded from the sh.

    The two of them flew backwards.

    The distance was four meters.

    Even further than the previous hit.

    Then, everyone was shocked. They were all in disbelief. Of the four meters of separation, one was caused by Ping Yang retreating.

    This was the first time Ping Yang had been thrown backwards in the entire battle.

    Xing Qingsui had retreated a mere three meters, no different from the past five times.

    "He actually managed to push Ping Yang back after going head to head?!"

    "That¡¯s quite unbelievable!"

    All of the candidates could not believe their eyes.

    Ping Yang could not believe it either. This was the first time her eyes glowed with surprise.

    Just now.

    She had expected it to y out like the previous few times.

    However, her expectations were shattered by the blow from Xing Qingsui.

    She had never expected him to have the energy to continue the strike. He should have been thrown back.

    That was what everyone expected.

    Everyone except Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    "What do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "It¡¯s difficult." Yan Xiu shook his head slightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question and Yan Xiu¡¯s answer were incredibly vague.

    However, they understood each other perfectly.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu continued to discuss the battle whilst Ping Yang raged. If she could not defeat Xing Qingsui with the zing Qilin Spear, how was she going to defeat Fang Zhengzhi and top thebat examinations?

    As such, she was about to go crazy.

    She lunged.

    Almost like she had been set on fire.

    Xing Qingsui did not retreat. His eyes glowed like a beast as he gripped his sword tightly.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The weapons shed repeatedly.

    Ping Yang attacked with the zing Qilin Spear over and over again.

    Columns of mes shot skyward as the golden glow homed in on Xing Qingsui, flickering as it circled his body.

    Everytime the golden light got close to him, his de was there to block it.

    Ping Yang advanced bit by bit.

    Every step she took wasbored. Each time she pushed Xing Qingsui back, he would quickly recover and lunge forward, making it difficult for her to suppress him.

    Xing Qingsui was still calm as he fought, a strong will fueling him.

    Even though he was sweating profusely and his clothes had been shredded by the battle, he didn¡¯t seem to care.

    He shed with the zing Qilin Spear repeatedly.

    He did not even dodge a single time.

    The battle between the two heated up. It got so intense even the candidates on the rock stopped fighting.

    All of them stared at the two battling figures.

    They all wanted to know how this intense battle would turn out.

    Only a few knew that this white hot battle was alreadying to an end.

    The few of them included Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, and a middle aged man standing closest to the battle.

    He wore a very workaday attire. He looked quite frail, and had a scar on his neck that seemed to fade in and out of view.

    Weirdly, his clothes were very clean.

    He wore a blue long sleeved shirt that was almost as clean as the one Fang Zhengzhi wore. It was almost as if he hadn¡¯t been in battle.

 Chapter 202: Sword to the back

    Chapter 202: Sword to the back

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    With the tense atmosphere, no one noticed that this frail youth¡¯s clothes were impable and clean.

    Everyone was focused on Ping Yang and Xing Qingsui.

    Ping Yang was attacking manically...

    However, even the wildest of storms had to break sometime.

    After all, Ping Yang was only at the pinnacle of the Star Conglomerate State. There was a limit to how much she could attack with the zing Qilin Spear.

    "Boom!"

    The two figures parted.

    Ping Yang fell back.

    She did not want to fall back, but Xing Qingsui¡¯s sword had impacted her arm.

    So she fell back.

    Even so, thanks to her Red me Flower Armor, she was unhurt.

    When Meteor impacted the armor on her arm, a sh of red light ensured that she took no damage. Even so, she was forced backwards.

    She began to pant as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. The arm holding onto the zing Qilin Spear began to tremble.

    Xing Qingsui was also panting heavily. His breathing was hastened as he began to sweat even more profusely. Despite all this, his sword arm was still extremely stable.

    "How powerful!"

    "It is no wonder their constabry leads the thirteen. It is extremely admirable of him to continue to charge forward in the face of the zing Qilin Spear."

    All of the candidates began to discuss the battle, focusing their gazes on Xing Qingsui. They momentarily forgot about the sealed sword on the rock.

    "You¡¯ve... lost!" Xing Qingsui looked at Ping Yang and gasped for air.

    Ping Yang did not speak. Even though she knew that it would be difficult for her to raise her spear, she did not believe that Xing Qingsui could raise his sword either.

    This notion was dispelled quickly.

    Xing Qingsui raised his sword.

    The Meteor was raised and pointed at her. Xing Qingsui¡¯s sword arm did not shake.

    Ping Yang bit her lip. She was silent for some time. Then, she walked to Fang Zhengzhi, "I¡¯ve... lost, so I¡¯m... about to be eliminated. However, I am curious... what did you see in the stone... stone house?"

    "Hallucination!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the panting Ping Yang. He could not describe what he had seen, so he used the simplest possible exnation he could think of.

    "Hallucination? I see that it is testing... your character! Hang on, in the hallucination... were...were there anydies?" Ping Yang suddenly thought of some of the character tests using hallucinations.

    There were usually some unspeakable scenes.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand why Ping Yang would ask this. He wanted to ignore her, but, after recalling her understanding of the Twin Stone Tablets, perhaps she had found out something about the stone house?

    He began to think, then recalled that he had seen her aftering out of the door.

    "Mm, I saw you."

    "You saw me?! You¡¯re...pletely shameless!" Ping Yang¡¯s face flushed as red as an apple.

    She immediately thought of the time when Fang Zhengzhi had saw her naked. She simply could not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would say something so shameless in public.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not mind being called shameless. However, this was a little too much. She had asked if there were anydies and he had just replied honestly. Yet, he was being scolded for that?

    Was it possible to be even more wronged?

    "You son of a b*tch!" Fang Zhengzhi replied rudely, his voice having the ent of a northern viger.

    "You... you f*cking hillbilly. How dare you scold me?!" Even though Ping Yang did not understand the ng, she knew that the phrase was definitely not nice.

    "So what if I¡¯m scolding you? Do you want to fight it out with me? Do you even have the energy?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang¡¯s trembling arm with condescension.

    "You, you..."

    "Why aren¡¯t you out yet?" Fang Zhengzhi stared into the sky, ignoring the fuming Ping Yang.

    He had found it a little weird.

    He had his doubts from the moment the candidate fell off the rock.

    That candidates wounds made it impossible for him to continue participating in thebat examinations. He should have been immediately evacuated for treatment.

    But now...

    That candidate was still lying on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood.

    Right now, Ping Yang had already admitted defeat.

    Why was she still able to stand here and argue with him?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question pissed Ping Yang off. Just as she was about to gather herst bit of energy to attack him, she stopped.

    She realized the implications of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    Fang Zhengzhi was right, this was thebat examinations...

    Why was she still here?

    "Han Zhangfeng, are you sleeping? Why aren¡¯t you letting me out?!" Ping Yang stared into the sky, knowing that Han Zhangfeng would be looking down at this.

    The other candidates also began to react after hearing what Ping Yang said.

    The intense battle atop the rock had caused serious injuries to a few candidates. They should all have been eliminated.

    But...

    They were still here.

    The sky was still silent, and no candidate was eliminated.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Have the rules changed? Are there no more eliminations?"

    "How is that possible?"

    All of the candidates looked at each other in doubt.

    Then, they all thought of the same thing.

    Previously, they were all too attracted by the sword to think of the issues that stemmed from its appearance.

    Now that they thought about it, there were way too many issues...

    Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu had already advanced to the fourth round.

    Why are they still here?

    Furthermore, what was up with that feeling of crumbling? It was almost as if the World of the Sage waspletely smashed, then reformed.

    Advancing into the fourth round should not have had such a strong sensation.

    "Where is this?"

    "Is this still the World of the Sage?"

    "Why is everyone here at the same time? Where... did the dese from?"

    Questions began to surface in everyone¡¯s mind. No one could figure out what was going on. None of them had ever experienced something like this.

    They were all here to participate in the Combat Examinations.

    But now...

    The rules seemed to have changed.

    There was no voice in the air, the injured candidates were not eliminated. Everything seemed strange and unexpected.

    "Could it be that the World of the Sage..."

    All of their expressions changed as the possibility surfaced in their minds.

    "Is the World of the Sage out of control?"

    "How can it be? The World of the Sage was created by Meng Tian! And Meng Tian has already left for so long..."

    "What if this wasn¡¯t the World of the Sage? Why are there no eliminations?"

    "The sword... the problem is with the sword!"

    When someone eximed, everyone turned to look at the sword on the rock. It still glowed with a golden light, but everyone¡¯s feelings about it had changed.

    Previously, everyone wanted to get hold of that piece of treasure. But now, the feeling waspletely different.

    It would be great to be in possession of a piece of treasure.

    However, if the treasure was controlling them.

    Then it was quite dangerous.

    "The World of the Sage is out of control, and that sword... that sword is controlling it?" One of the candidates guessed.

    "It could be a test. A test in the middle of thebat examinations to see how we adapt to such challenges?" Another candidate suggested.

    All of the candidates were at a loss. Who knew what was happening?

    ...

    Inside Yan Capital, it continued to pour.

    A soldier in shy armor galloped into the pceplex.

    When the guards at the gate saw this man, they did not stop him. They did not even ask for his identity.

    Everyone who saw this soldier orded him a lot of respect.

    Not long after the soldier entered the pceplex, the Ninth Prince galloped through the gates. He did not hold an umbre, and did not have many guards around him.

    "Did the Emperor ask for you to be here?" The guards immediately extended their hands when they saw the Ninth Prince.

    "There is an emergency at the Imperial Examinations. I need to see the Emperor right away." The Ninth Prince was not angered by the blockade, but he was in a hurry.

    "If the Emperor did not ask for you, we will have to inform him first and wait for the Emperor..."

    "I know the rules, but this is an emergency. I have to see him right away!" The Ninth Prince interrupted the guard and repeated.

    All of the guards looked at each other, slightly hesitant.

    "The Ninth Prince is invigting the Imperial Examinations. If it is an emergency, there is no need to report, just let him go!" A voice rang out from inside the pceplex.

    "Yes!" The guards replied immediately.

    "Ninth Prince, please!"

    "Thank you!"

    The Ninth Prince said a simple thank you. Naturally, he knew where the Emperor would be at this time of day and headed straight for the Imperial Academy.

    ...

    Inside the World of the Sage, almost everyone was staring at that de.

    "Regardless whether the World of the Sage is out of control, or the rules have changed, the problem must be with the sword. Everything should be resolved if we manage to take it out!" A candidate suggested.

    The other candidates nodded as they heard the suggestion.

    So, who was going to do it?

    It looked like a simple question.

    But it was difficult to execute.

    Because...

    There was a problem that no one was willing to raise.

    If the World of the Sage is out of control, and the problem is with the sword, then this sword has a consciousness.

    In other words, the sword was in control of the World of the Sage.

    Whoever could extract the sword...

    Was basically in control of the World of the Sage.

    This was something no one was willing to say, but it was something everyone knew deep in their hearts.

    "Since we are in the Imperial Examinations, let¡¯s go by the rules? Whoever is the final victor will have the right to extract the sword!"

    A suggestion was thrown out very quickly. This was a suggestion that was fitting for the time and the environment.

    No one objected.

    Everything was based on one¡¯s ability.

    The students on the rock came down unwillingly. Even though they agreed with the suggestion, they were slightly unhappy.

    After All, they had all fought for the sword previously.

    Of the 30 candidates, less than 25 still had the ability to fight.

    Xing Qingsui kept his sword. He had spent a great amount of energy in the battle with Ping Yang. ording to the rules of the Imperial Examination, he should be in the fifth round.

    As such, his opponent would also have to be someone in the fifth round. This gave him some time to rest.

    Everything seemed very normal.

    Xing Qingsui kept his de and walked to the middle aged man. He sat down and closed his eyes.

    No one bothered to look at Xing Qingsui any longer. All of the candidates who had yet to pass the third round began to fight.

    Ping Yang was resting as well.

    However, her expression was not good as she grit her teeth everytime she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang.

    Aftering out of the stone house, he was through to the fourth round.

    Some people were not too happy about that.

    However, this did not matter to Fang Zhengzhi. He could easily subdue themter.

    With Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang teaming up, the rankings were quickly set. Those who were displeased with Fang Zhengzhi were all subdued.

    The rest of the candidates continued to fight.

    Everything seemed to be in order. Everyone was here for the examinations. There were no personal feuds here, so no one went for the kill.

    Even so...

    The orderly atmosphere was quickly shattered.

    This sound did note from the battle. The position from which the sound originated from was not quite right. It¡¯s tone was also filled with disbelief.

    "You..."

    All of the candidates battling stopped.

    Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

    Then, everyone¡¯s eyes widened. No one wanted to believe what was unfolding before them.

    No one could believe that Xing Qingsui was the origin of the sound.

    No one expected Xing Qingsui to cry out like that.

    Right now...

    There was a de sticking out of Xing Qingsui¡¯s chest. The de was driven in from the back and came out on the other side. Blood dripped from the tip.

 Chapter 203: Difficult to Survive

    Chapter 203: Difficult to Survive

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The de looked extremely ordinary, like one of the des lying on the ground.

    Even more strangely, there was no one behind Xing Qingsui. It was empty with the exception of some des in rocks.

    Xing Qingsui paled and winced. He was in extreme pain, his lips quivering as he gripped the ground.

    He was stabbed in the back?!

    He did not scream. Instead, he had only said ¡®you...¡¯. This was testament to Xing Qingsui¡¯s endurance.

    But, why was there a de sticking out of his chest?

    Furthermore...

    Why couldn¡¯t anyone spot his attacker?

    Most importantly, who was Xing Qingsui referring to when he said ¡®you¡¯?

    Questions shed past the minds of everyone on the scene. They were all stunned by what they saw. Who had the audacity to attack Xing Qingsui?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised.

    Afterall, he did not understand this world very well. If he had tried to get to the bottom of everything, he would have a really bad headache by now.

    As such, he was only curious about the strange happenings, never shocked.

    This kind of attitude caused him to think not about who the de had pierced, but why the de was an ordinary one.

    After all, this was the Imperial Examinations.

    Which person here did not have a decent weapon?

    His concentration was drawn away. He guessed that the de was possibly embedded in one of the rocks before. This realization caused him to notice a surprising scene unfolding before his eyes.

    Many of the des began to rise from the ground.

    It was almost as if an invisible hand was pulling them from the ground, causing a light grinding sound as the des were extracted.

    However, all of them were so absorbed by the fact that Xing Qingsui was stabbed that none of them realized that there was a de at their back.

    "Yan Xiu!" Fang Zhengzhi lunged without a second thought.

    He knew that there was a de at his back without even looking. He was not going to stand still and be stepped.

    Yan Xiu was looking at Xing Qingsui, his gaze filled with doubt and curiosity.

    He suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echo out.

    Before he could turn around, he felt a wave of force crashing into him. Then, his body was forced towards the ground.

    He instinctively wanted to fight it and break free.

    However, he gave up quickly.

    He had heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, and Fang Zhengzhi was standing next to him.

    Even though he did not know why Fang Zhengzhi would lunge at him, he did not resist.

    "Plonk!" The two of them crashed to the ground.

    Just at that moment, the sound of des rushing through the air could be heard above them.

    That was not all.

    Sounds of des piercing bodies seemed to ring out simultaneously. The ring was slightly icy as the des pierced their chest.

    They were all stabbed in the back, just like Xing Qingsui.

    "Ah!"

    "Ah, ah, ah..."

    Cries of pain echoed out.

    Not everyone had Xing Qingsui¡¯s endurance. As such, many of them began to cry out pitifully, their cries echoing throughout the sea of des...

    "The swords... the swords are attacking us!"

    "The World of the Sage is out of control!"

    "Run."

    Screams pierced through the chaos.

    Any candidate capable of entering the third round would be reasonably alert. As such, there were a few who still managed to dodge the attacks of the des.

    The entire crowd went out of control.

    "Who dares to attack me?! Are you tired of living?!" An arrogant voice pierced through the crowd. Even Ping Yang was not spared from the attack.

    She was Princess Ping Yang, the most pampered princess in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Who had the audacity to sneak and attack on her?

    This was an almost lethal attempt on her life.

    How could she not be enraged?

    Ping Yang¡¯s rage reaffirmed everyone¡¯s suspicions. There was no candidate who would dare to do such a thing.

    The only possible exnation was that the World of the Sage was out of control.

    Fang Zhengzhi had initially thought so too. However, he quickly dismissed the thought.

    He recalled what Xing Qingsui had said when he was stabbed in the back.

    Xing Qingsui had said, "You..."

    He did not scream.

    Xing Qingsui, having been the first to be attacked, naturally had the greatest say in the matter.

    In fact, Xing Qingsui¡¯s subsequent actions proved it all.

    Xing Qingsui was on the move.

    Even though he was seriously injured, he stubbornly held Meteor in his hand as he struck at the frail looking middle aged man next to him.

    The de sliced through the air.

    "ng!" One of the des from the ground met Xing Qingsui¡¯s attack in mid air.

    This made it easy for the middle aged man to dodge the first attack.

    Even though Xing Qingsui was already injured from the attack, the middle aged man never let down his guard.

    "Why is young master doing this?" The middle aged man looked at Xing Qingsui in surprise.

    "Ahem... this... shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that? Who... are you?" Xing Qingsui bit his lip, his sword drooping.

    His hand was shaking.

    This was the first time his hand had shook.

    Perhaps he was too emotional, or perhaps his injuries were too severe.

    The middle aged man smirked. He looked at all of the injured candidates before his gaze returned to Xing Qingsui.

    "Has young master forgotten my name? I am your most loyal guard. I saved your from the battlefield three years ago. I am Xing Zhong. Have you forgotten the name you gave me?" The man looked at Xing Qingsui.

    "Three years ago..." Xing Qingsui¡¯s gaze was slightly lost.

    The middle aged man was right. He had been severely injured in the battle three years ago. At that time, he had been cornered at the top of a mountain by a thousand strong devil army.

    He had spent all his energy in an attempt to get out of the trap.

    He ended up in aa.

    When he awoke, this man was by his side.

    Much like him, the middle aged man had entered aa, and he had taken a few nearly lethal blows to the neck.

    If not for the timely arrival of reinforcements, the two of them would not have escaped death.

    As such, Xing Qingsui had requested that this man be allowed to take on the surname Xing. This man would also be his most loyal guard, someone who he taught everything to. In three years, this man had never left him.

    This man had done a lot whilst joining Xing Qingsui on the battlefield.

    "You are not Xing Zhong. Xing Zhong died... three years ago. Who are you?" Xing Qingsui was sure of himself.

    He had checked up Xing Zhong¡¯s identity. This man could not have existed.

    The man in front of him was clearly not Xing Zhong.

    "Isn¡¯t it a little toote for young master to realize this now?" The middle aged man smirked. At this point, Xing Qingsui realized that there was another de aimed at his neck.

    All of the candidates saw the scene unfolding before them.

    They had heard the conversation between the two people, but they could not fully understand what they were saying.

    Even so, they could be sure of one thing. Xing Qingsui had already deduced the source of the attack. More importantly, the flying de had proven the point.

    "Who is he?!"

    "Why would Xing Qingsui¡¯s guard turn on him?"

    He is actually trying to attack us."

    The questions and answers were incredibly messy.

    However, this was clearly not the time to ask these questions. Those uninjured candidates began to turn their weapons on the middle aged man.

    Three of them even started to attack.

    Three sword glimmered in the air. Two went towards the middle aged man whilst the other one went for the sword in mid air.

    This was the best way they could help now.

    However, the de aimed at Xing Qingsui¡¯s throat was already in motion. It was quick as lightning, much faster than any of the other three des.

    Xing Qingsui stared at that de, but did not close his eyes.

    Closing one¡¯s eyes was the action of a coward. As the heir to the Stabilisation Constabry, he would stare death in the eye without any fear.

    Why didn¡¯t Xing Qingsui try to block it?

    His hands were already trembling. How was he going to raise his sword?

    "ng!"

    "ng!"

    Two crisp sounds rang out.

    The de aimed at Xing Qingsui fell to the ground. Another de fell to the ground with it. That was a jade green de.

    Another de also fell to the ground.

    That de was slightly further from Xing Qingsui.

    That was a deep blue de, slightly longer than the jade green one.

    The middle aged man did not have a sword in his hand. All he had was a sabre. His sabre was undecorated, but glimmered with an icy glow. It had a faint blood aura. This sabre had taken lives before.

    "Oh?" The middle aged man looked to his right.

    That deep blue de had beenunched at him. However, it had note from the three charging students. It hade from a youth to his right.

    This youth wore a short sleeved workaday top, but his gaze was incredibly calm.

    This youth was Nangong Mu.

    "It¡¯s the Green and Blue Dual de!"

    "The Green and Blue Dual de of the Nangong n is with Nangong Mu? Is he training with the Green and Blue Secret Art?!"

    "My gosh, is there anyone in this world who can perfect that?"

    The candidates were all in shock when they saw the des on the ground. Their shock from this was significantly more than when they were attacked by the middle aged man.

    One of the reasons was that...

    Nangong Mu was using the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    The other three candidates were unsurprisingly stopped. Their des were met by three other hovering des.

    "I would expect Nangong Hao¡¯s brother to be slightly smarter. I never expected him to be such an idiot?" The middle aged man mocked.

    "Indeed." Nangong Mu nodded.

    He did not hesitate to reply, seemingly unprovoked by the middle aged man¡¯s provocation. It felt like he was replying to a normalment.

    The surrounding candidates could not understand.

    Why would Nangong Mu be so epting of mockery?

    "I guess you¡¯re not very talkative huh?" The middle aged man seemed slightly taken aback by Nangong Mu¡¯s reply.

    He definitely was not naive enough to think that Nangong Mu would be scared of him. If Nangong Mu was afraid of him, he would not have attacked.

    "You can use your shadows to control the des on the ground and can hide your shadows underground. Such abilities are rather surprising. It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re not human!" Nangong Mu did not respond to the question, choosing to mutter to himself.

    "You¡¯re a man of few words, but your observation skills are quite exemry. There is something I don¡¯t quite understand though, why do you think I am not human?" The middle aged man smiled.

    "In order to have such control, one must be above the Heavenly Reflection State. There are only 39 people in the world who are capable of manipting shadows to such a level, and none of them are here. As such, you are definitely not human. If I am correct, there is someone amongst the devils who fights like you do. That man is Ying Shan." Nangong Mu replied.

    When the middle aged man heard the name "Ying Shan", his smiled froze and his eyes glittered with surprise for the first time.

    He was not surprised by Nangong Mu¡¯s abilities, but he was surprised that Nangong Mu could guess who he was through observation, knowledge and his fighting technique. That was something to fear.

    "You remember it so clearly? You can¡¯t be a fake... I can¡¯t believe that the Nangong Family still loves to keep records of these even after they went underground. It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re going to die." The middle aged man did not deny what Nangong Mu said.

    So...

    In a way, he had admitted that Nangong Mu was right.

    The surrounding candidates all stepped backwards unconsciously. Their faces were filled with fear.

    If what Nangong Mu said was true...

    This was way too scary.

    There was only one person named Ying Shan amongst the devils. He was the Vice Domain Chief of the Ying Domain of the Ten Devilish Domains.

    "How is that possible?!"

    "Why would the demons send a Vice Domain Chief to the Imperial Examinations?"

    "No, I don¡¯t want to die just yet."

    All of the candidates felt incredibly helpless. They had no chance of facing off against Ying Shan.

    He was more powerful than any Heavenly Reflection cultivator.

    "Is Ying Shan... very powerful?" Fang Zhengzhi climbed up from the ground and asked Yan Xiu.

    "I think it¡¯s very difficult to survive!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    This was the first time that Yan Xiu had described a situaation this way. And he had to pick a time like this to say it.

 Chapter 204: Supernatural State

    Chapter 204: Supernatural State

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. Difficult to live meant that their chances of survival were extremely low. No one was willing to ept that fact.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    He was still a virgin.

    He could not simply just die like this.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to give up so easily, but would Yan Xiu joke about such matters? Naturally not! This was a truly dangerous situation.

    "Do we have any chance to survive?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "The chances are extremely slim. Ying Shan entered the "Supernatural State" four years ago. He is probably in the intermediate stages now. Even if we all joined forces, it would be a hard fought battle. Furthermore, more than half of the others are seriously injured." Yan Xiu shook his head as he looked around.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know much about what came after the Heavenly Reflection State. He did not know what the Supernatural State was but he knew Yan Xiu would not lie.

    Furthermore, just as what Yan Xiu had said, more than half of the candidates were seriously injured. There were less than 10 people who could fight.

    If they included the difference in cultivation level, their chances of winning were extremely low.

    "First, tell me what are the differences between the Supernatural State and the Heavenly Reflection State." Fang Zhengzhi did not think it was an appropriate time to ask this question but it would be even worse to enter battle knowing nothing about the opponent.

    Yan Xiu knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking and did not find the question inappropriate.

    "Without truly entering the Supernatural State, it is impossible to fully understand the differences. When do you think a person is able to unleash his full power?" Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Full power?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Yan Xiu would ask that question. He thought for a moment, then answered, "In moments of extreme anger? Or when filled with love?"

    This answer was one that he got from a movie. Whenever a person saw someone they loved being squashed by a rock, they would be able to explode with unimaginable power.

    "Mm, that is one. However, that stems from ack of control over one¡¯s emotions. Even though the power is immense, it is not easily replicated. Furthermore, love and hate would not be able to heal the physical wounds." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "They can heal their wounds?" Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. He was under the impression that an injured person would need to seek treatment. How was it possible to heal wounds with power?

    "The Supernatural State gets its name from its ability to allow the person to enter the said state." Yan Xiu exined solemnly.

    "Supernatural?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard what Yan Xiu said, he began to get suspicious. Isn¡¯t that something that happens to people when they are about to die?

    "Mm, it is said that a terminally ill patient is able to go about normal activities during this phase. They are able to recover from their injuries. They arepletely lucid and their power is at a maximum."

    "What do you mean?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand. He was not fully sure, but he was beginning to understand what Yan Xiu was saying.

    "People in the Supernatural State are able to walk the line between life and death. They are able to perfectlybine their strength and speed with their pocket dimension, thus allowing them to unleash their full powers. More importantly, they have incredible healing!" Yan Xiu finished solemnly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was equally solemn. He had expected the Supernatural State to be very powerful, but he ever expected it to be this ridiculous.

    Supernatural...

    He could remember clearly that the ancient annals recorded this state very clearly. Even the most gravely injured people could walk when they were in that state.

    To control one¡¯s body and maintain it in that state?

    Walking the line between life and death?

    Must it be that ridiculous? Even if I critically injure him, he can still jump around?

    He finally understood why Yan Xiu said it would be difficult for them to live through this. This man was virtually invincible.

    How are we ever going to defeat a man who can unleash his full power and still get up despite being critically injured?

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent. His gut told him that running away was the best option now.

    But...

    What if they couldn¡¯t get out?

    They were essentially stuck now that the World of the Sage was out of control. No one could get in or out, and they were stuck here with a Supernatural State cultivator hell bent on taking their lives.

    And this man had to be a demon. There was no room for negotiations.

    What now?

    Fang Zhengzhi and everyone else had the same ideas. In the face of a Supernatural State cultivator, a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator could only run, the further the better.

    But now, they had no chance of escaping.

    Who wouldn¡¯t crumble?

    Cries rose and fell as people sighed and cried in fear and resignation

    When Ping Yang heard Ying Shan¡¯s name, a look of fear spread over her dainty little face.

    She was no different from a helpless chicken in the face of a Supernatural cultivator. This was despite her possessing the Red me Flower Armor and the zing Qilin Spear.

    She was easy prey.

    She unconsciously started to run. She ran next to Fang Zhengzhi and grabbed onto his hand. She had no idea why she did that.

    However, she felt slightly safer next to Fang Zhengzhi, even if it was just for a moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his arm being squeezed by Ping Yang once again. He felt ufortable, but he did not push her away.

    As a guy, he had to give in to ady.

    As such, no matter how unwilling he was, he would take point.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression did not change much. He was the first to guess Ying Shan¡¯s identity. Furthermore, he had chosen to step out and fight, meaning that he did not fear Ying Shan.

    Xing Qingsui was not scared either. He only had one mentality, go against the current and lose ground. That¡¯s the way he refined his abilities. However, he was in no position to advance now.

    Ying Shan chuckled as he looked around at the trembling candidates.

    "Actually, I had never expected to get out of this ce alive. I thought that I only had one chance at an attack. The moment my identity was revealed, the invigtors would intervene. However, heaven has been kind to me. The World of the Sage is now out of control. There is no need for me to hide any longer."

    Ying Shan smirked as he looked at Nangong Mu, Ping Yang, and finally at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Ying Shan would look at him, but he knew that it wasn¡¯t a good sign.

    Nangong Mu also turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everyone seemed to look at Fang Zhengzhi. They all realized that the person who had caused the World of the Sage to go out of control was probably Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Extract the sword and the seal would be broken. Then, the invigtors can regain control ande save us!" Fang Zhengzhi knew what these people were thinking.

    He quickly devised a n to divert all their attentions.

    Luckily, this n was not a bad one.

    This gave everyone, who were on the verge of giving up, a shred of hope.

    With hope and a goal, then even arch enemies could be allies. Furthermore, they were looking death in its face.

    The candidates began to move. They no longer fought each other like before. Instead, each one of them aimed to remove the sword.

    Ying Shan¡¯s gaze turned icy in an instant.

    "Young master was right, you are an unpredictable person!" Ying Shan said cryptically before disappearing.

    Then, a loud boom could be heard.

    In the next moment, Ying Shan appeared at the bottom of the rock.

    There was one person in front of him, and that was Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s right hand covered his chest. There was a trickle of blood that wasn¡¯t there before. It was clearly caused by that loud boom.

    "The Nangong Family are indeed idiots. You want to try to stop me without any swords?"

    "I will have a sword after I stop you." Nangong Mu replied tly.

    Then, the Green and Blue Dual des appeared in front of me. The des were not anywhere near Nangong Mu initially, but they were near to Xing Qingsui.

    He kicked them over to Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu retrieved them and held the blue one in his right hand, and the green one in his left.

    "I have always heard that the Nangong Family had two great teachings, the "Dragon Combat n" and the "Green and Blue Secret Art". However, people have only seen the Dragon Combat n. I guess you should know why?" Ying Shan mocked as he looked at the Green and Blue Dual des.

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be rushing to get a de of your own?" Nangong Mu ignored the question.

    "Is there a need?" Ying Shan replied.

    Just as Ying Shan finished his statement, the candidates on the rock seemed to be frozen in ce, each of them wincing in pain.

    Then, des began to rise from the ground.

    They flew towards the candidates.

    They stared wide eyed at the flying des. They wanted to dodge, but it was difficult to.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The des smashed against the fields of the various candidates and turned to metal dust. The candidates all paled from the impact.

    "Sh*t!"

    One candidate could not hold it in any longer and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Very quickly, there was a second, then a third...

    "I think you do!" Nangong Mu sprang into action. He stabbed the Green and Blue Dual des into the ground. Two rays of light shone and intersected each other like two enormous dragons.

    "Kaboom!" Two cracks appeared in the ground.

    A ray of green light and a ray of blue light shone from the ground.

    All of the candidates on the rock seemed to heave a sigh of relief as their bodies rxed.

    "It seems like I have underestimated you!" Ying Shan was slightly taken aback as he began to take Nangong Mu seriously.

    All of the candidates who were seriously injured stared wide eyed at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

    They could not believe what was happening.

    "He managed to block it?!"

    "Is this the power of the Green and Blue Secret Art?"

    He managed to block the underground shadows of Ying Shan despite only being in the Heavenly Reflection State. That was quite shocking.

    Then, an even more shocking thing happened.

    Nangong Mu attacked Ying Shan. He held one de in front of him and one behind as he attacked. A green and blue field began to surround him.

    Green for wood, blue for ice.

    These were twopletely immiscible fields.

    Wood would die in ice.

    It was like a tree in winter - there was no chance of survival.

    However, when Nangong Mu controlled these two fields, these twopletely pr fields began to intersect andbine.

    This waspletely unbelievable.

    Green and Blue Secret Art, wood and ice?

    This was unthinkable.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Mu. He could feel what the two colors stood for. How did Nangong Mu manage tobine these two fields?

    He realized...

    It was not very possible for the two fields to mix.

    However, Nangong Mu seemed to prove him wrong; ice and wood could mix.

    Ying Shan did not retreat. He simply used a sword to block it. However, this simple action did not seem too simple.

    Since Nangong Mu was attacking, his des would naturally sh with Ying Shan¡¯s.

    The blue sword was up first. He was attacking with ice.

    An incredibly icy wave crashed towards Ying Shan. The de which shed with the blue de instantly turned to ice.

    Then, the green de shed with Ying Shan¡¯s de.

    At that very moment, something strange happened.

    The ice on Ying Shan¡¯s de seemed to take on a life of its own. It began to extend towards Ying Shan¡¯s arm, covering it in an instant.

    "Is this the Green and Blue Secret Art?!"

    "It¡¯s so powerful!"

    All of the candidates began to cheer when they saw this. They saw a possibility of victory.

    However, Ying Shan¡¯s expression did not change too much. He quietly looked at his de and his frozen arm.

    "I am curious, how did you do it?" Ying Shan asked.

    "Blue is ice, green is wood. However, wood is not just wood, it is life! Everything has life, including ice." Nangong Mu replied.

    "Wood is life... I see. However, aren¡¯t you afraid that answering me so directly would reveal the secret of the Nangong Green and Blue Secret Art?" Ying Shan nodded.

    "So what if you know? Can you do it?" Nangong Mu replied calmly.

    "Haha, you are right, I can¡¯t do it. I have to admit, if I was still in the Heavenly Reflection Realm, I would lose!" Ying Shan nodded once again.

    Then, with a shake of his arm, the ice covering it crumbled. However, because his arm had been covered with ice, his skin was a little purple from frostbite.

    Even so, the purple tint began to fade quickly as the redness returned to his skin.

 Chapter 205: Variable

    Chapter 205: Variable

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This scene was indeed stupefying.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never thought that the power of the Dao of All Creation would be as strong. He could witness the speed of Ying Shan¡¯s recovery with his very own eyes.

    Thispletely went against all the knowledge he gained in his previous world.

    He recalled his process of practising Dao over the past years. The ess of Dao can give life to the particles that made up one¡¯s body, allowing them to congregate to a single point to increase one¡¯s power and speed.

    After one attained the Divine Seal State, one could use the pocket dimension within to interact with the outside world, controlling the power of All Creation.

    After one attained Star Conglomerate, the Dao of All Creation would be controlled by one¡¯s pocket dimension. Hence, one would be able to borrow the power of various Dao of All Creation in order to execute powerful techniques.

    As for Heavenly Reflection, it was the perfect fusion of the pocket dimension and the outside world.

    Borrowing the Dao of All Creation to create one¡¯s unique territory.

    As for the Supernatural state.

    It could actually allow one to walk the line between life and death, controlling the powerful energy of the Supernatural state. This seemed as if it was the most mysterious concept within the Dao of All Creation.

    I really wonder what kind of power lies beyond the Supernatural state...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think for much longer. The scene unfolding before him didn¡¯t give him any more time to understand it further.

    Nangong Mu evidently knew Ying Shan¡¯s enlightenment state. The healing of the wounds on Ying Shan¡¯s arm was already to be expected, hence he wasn¡¯t too shocked.

    Thus, once again, he moved.

    All of a sudden, two rays of light, glowing green and blue respectively, lit up and intersected one another. The green provided support, while the blue provided the main force. Despite it being ice, it could still prosper and grow with life.

    Up in the sky, a blizzard of ice and snow began to brew. A blue light glowed, covering the swords that were impaled into the ground below with a thickyer of solid ice.

    Ying Shan bathed within the ice and snow, standingpletely still and allowing the ice and snow to cover his body.

    With a faint smile, he lightly waved the de in his hand. A ck light instantly expanded from the tip of his de, swallowing the entire territory of ice and snow.

    "Boom!"

    A horrifying force exploded from Ying Shan¡¯s body.

    It was as if the entire sky had turned ck.

    That, was Ying Shan¡¯s territory. Or, it could be said that this was the ck world.

    The ck light pressed down upon the green and blue rays. These two rays supported themselves strenuously, just like two faint candlelights in the dark night.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t very bright, it didn¡¯t extinguish.

    "How long can you hold this up?" Ying Shanughed.

    "I believe I can hold on for another five minutes." Nangong Mu gritted his teeth.

    "What happens after five minutes?"

    "Then you will have to wait five minutes to find out."

    "Looks like you are indeed quite determined. However, can you really hold on for five minutes?" Ying Shan waved his de once again. The sky turned even cker, likening the cloud-covered sky at midnight.

    "I can." Nangong Mu¡¯s tone sounded very confident.

    At the same time, the green and blue rays of light on his body grew in brightness. Under additional pressure from Ying Shan, his green and blue territory actually expanded instead of falling.

    "I never thought, I really never thought that... Today, there is actually an unexpected surprise. Nangong Hao¡¯s little brother had actually attained the Heavenly Reflection Peak State?!" As Ying Shan looked at this scene unfolding in front of his eyes, the shock in his eyes grew.

    "Heavenly Reflection Peak State?!"

    "Nangong Mu actually attained the Heavenly Reflection Peak State?"

    "How can such a powerful person not enter the Rising Dragon Roll? The Heavenly Reflection Peak State can definitely rank him among the top twenty in the Rising Dragon Roll. Taking into ount the Green and Blue Secret Art, he would at the very least be ranked among the top ten!"

    "Nangong Hao has attained the Heavenly Reflection Peak State. Now, Nangong Mu has also done the same?! My God... This generation of the Nangong family are both Heavenly Reflection Peaks?"

    When the examinees heard what Ying Shan said and looked at Nangong Mu wrapped within the green and blue rays, a deep sense of respect grew within them for the first time towards this lonely, yet ordinary youth.

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t speak. His expression was very calm, as if he had heard something that was very ordinary.

    "But, is the Heavenly Reflection Peak State... truly enough?" Ying Shan looked around at his surroundings, then looked at the sword on the rock. A powerful aura of confidence filled his eyes.

    Even though it was the Heavenly Reflection Peak State, it only meant that the territory control would be stronger than the Heavenly Reflection Beginning State. On the other hand, the Supernatural State was another world altogether.

    The difference between two enlightenment states was the difference between Heaven and Earth.

    Nangong Mu remained silent. The perseverance in his eyes didn¡¯t diminish one bit.

    "Seems like you are rather self-confident?" Ying Shan was supposed to end this fight quickly. However, he was truly somewhat surprised by Nangong Mu¡¯s actions. Furthermore, everything was under his control. He didn¡¯t mind wasting time for some answers.

    "Self-confident? No, you are wrong. I am not self-confident." Nangong Mu finally spoke.

    "Then why do you appear so calm?"

    "If you were me, you would be just as calm."

    "Looks like you are unwilling to reply my question?"

    "Of course I am unwilling."

    "Then, let¡¯s not waste any more time." Ying Shan nodded. Then, step by step, he walked towards Nangong Mu. He walked very slowly. However, every step he took caused the green and blue rays of light surrounding Nangong Mu¡¯s body to waver.

    Just as if it had been pressed down upon by a powerful force.

    This scene instantly caused a sense of destion to fill the hearts of the examinees.

    Ever since Xing Qingsui became severely injured from the sneak attack, Nangong Mu became their hope. However, if even Nangong Mu wasn¡¯t able to block Ying Shan, who else would be able to pull out that sword?

    Even though Nangong Mu attained the Heavenly Reflection State, even though he had the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    But now, his opponent was Ying Shan. Ying Shan, the Vice Domain Chief within the Ying Domain of the Ten Devilish Domains, with the power of the Supernatural Intermediate State.

    Every examinee knew this. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi also knew this.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s opponent was Ying Shan of the Supernatural State. Just as he said, he was able to hold on for five minutes. However, it was ultimately only five minutes.

    There was no hope of winning.

    Hence, the current situation required cooperation.

    Fang Zhengzhi shifted his feet, and slowly advanced forward a step. It was the same way Ying Shan walked towards Nangong Mu.

    Yan Xiu also took a step forward, right at the instantly Fang Zhengzhi lifted his foot. Thus, Ping Yang was also unconsciously pulled forward a step by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence, Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi with shock in her eyes.

    "I always thought you were very afraid of dying."

    "That¡¯s right. Did I ever say that I¡¯m not afraid of dying?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang.

    "Yet, you still walk forward?" Ping Yang didn¡¯t quite understand.

    "If I can run, I would definitely be running now." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was very normal. There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of shame on his face when he imed that he wanted to run.

    "You are indeed very shameless." Ping Yang felt that she was truly embarrassed to be grouped together with the person in front of her.

    "Thank you for your praise. So, you will follow me, is that right?"

    "Yes." Ping Yang nodded. Her voice was pitifully soft. She was indeed very embarrassed to be in the same team as Fang Zhengzhi. However, at this moment, she didn¡¯t have a second choice.

    "Looks like you are also very afraid of dying."

    "Do you think I am the same as you? This is called seizing the chance to live." Ping Yang twitched her mouth and retorted.

    "Then, for this chance to live, lend me your zing Qilin Spear to y around with."

    "Your words are always so irritating. Can¡¯t you at least respect my zing Qilin Spear?" Ping Yang seemed somewhat unhappy. However, she still passed the zing Qilin Spear to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Holding it lightly, Fang Zhengzhi was able to feel the surging powering from the zing Qilin Spear.

    With the spear in my hands, the world is mine.

    At this instant, Fang Zhengzhi felt as if he overlooked the entire world.

    Hence, the speed of his movement increased slightly. He walked, step by step, towards Ying Shan.

    Changes in a battle always urs within the time it takes for a breath.

    Ying Shan was holding up against Nangong Mu. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to not be paying attention to the movements of the people around him. Hence, he noticed Fang Zhengzhi walking towards him.

    As well as Yan Xiu and Ping Yang who were following behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the same time Ying Shan turned his head, the gazes of the other examinees also fell upon Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is joining the battle?"

    When this thought rose within the examinees, they couldn¡¯t really believe it.

    After all, from the start of thebat examinations, Fang Zhengzhi had embodied the great values of winning due to outnumbering others. After which, he began to channel his efforts into the Broken Bridge and the Twin Stone Tablets.

    All along, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t a hero in the hearts of the people. At the very least, nobody among them would pin their hopes on him.

    Nangong Mu was the descendant of the Nangong family. He mastered the Green and Blue Secret Art, one of the two great teachings of the Nangong family.

    Even with such powers, he wasn¡¯t able to match up to Ying Shan.

    Then, what use was Fang Zhengzhi?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have to guess to understand the thoughts of the surrounding examinees. But, were their thoughts important? Of course not.

    Thus, he naturally wouldn¡¯t stop what he was doing.

    Just like that, Fang Zhengzhi walked all the way up to the side of Ying Shan¡¯s territory before stopping.

    "Hello, my name is Fang Zhengzhi!" Fang Zhengzhi, very magnanimously, introduced himself to Ying Shan.

    Under the current circumstance, such a self-introduction indeed didn¡¯t fit the situation. At the very least, when the surrounding examinees heard this, they instantly felt the urge to bow down.

    At this time, shouldn¡¯t he be saying, "Evil demon, surrender while you can!"?

    Even though such a sentence was just as inappropriate.

    At least it embodied some vigor within. What was the meaning of this self-introduction towards the demon?

    Ying Shan was slightly taken aback. Then, he suddenly began tough.

    "Young Lord was right. You are indeed an unfathomable person!" This was the second time Ying Shan said this. Hence, this meant that the first time he said this was also directed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Your young lord knows me?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed somewhat shocked.

    Just as Ying Shan was about to reply, he realised that no matter whether he replied "Yes" or "No", it still seemed somewhat inappropriate.

    If he replied "yes", that meant that his young lord had met with Fang Zhengzhi before. However, if he replied "no", that seemed to conflict with what he had just said.

    It was a very simple conversation. However, many things could be inferred from the words within.

    "Looks like... you are about to join the fight?" Ying Shan didn¡¯t reply Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. Instead, he directly approached the main topic.

    "No, I am here to negotiate peace!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Negotiate peace? Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, you are a very intelligent person. Do you really think that us, the demon race, can negotiate peace with your human race?" Ying Shan felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

    "Why not? You can exin your reasons, but, can you at least take a seat and make a pot of tea? Then, we can have a nice chat and discuss the history of the demon race and the human race." Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "Make a pot of tea? Have a nice chat? Don¡¯t you feel that you are a little naive?" Ying Shan looked towards Fang Zhengzhi. He couldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would actually make such a request under such circumstances.

    Where did this thought evene from?

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words evidently caused him some anger. In fact, it caused him so much anger that the shadow territory around Ying Shan trembled slightly. This caused Nangong Mu¡¯s green and blue territory to grow a little brighter.

    Ying Shan¡¯s attention was focused on Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, there was no way he would notice this detail.

    The other examinees were also fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, they naturally would not be able to notice this. However, Nangong Mu knew this.

    Thus, the gaze Nangong Mu shot towards Fang Zhengzhi changed somewhat.

    He didn¡¯t understand whether or not Fang Zhengzhi was doing this on purpose. However, he could clearly feel the pressure on his body decreasing slightly.

    "Yes, you are right, I am indeed somewhat naive. This ce isn¡¯t very suitable for making tea. Most importantly, there are no tea leaves!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed.

    Tea leaves...

    Ying Shan¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. He suddenly felt as if he wasn¡¯t suitable to chat with Fang Zhengzhi. Because, no matter how they talked, their thoughts didn¡¯t seem to be on the same frequency.

    "If you wish to dy time, you might be disappointed." Ying Shan decided to not speak with Fang Zhengzhi any further.

    "Why do you always think badly of others? Alright, since you aren¡¯t willing to sit down and have a chat, why not let us make an exchange?" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head lightly, seeming somewhat disappointed.

    "If you have something to say, say it quick." Ying Shan was losing his patience.

    "This spear on my hand... do you recognise it?" Fang Zhengzhi waved the zing Qilin Spear on his hand.

    "The zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten great treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, containing the blood of the zing Qilin. It¡¯s offensive power ranks first among the ten great treasures, how would I not recognise it?" Ying Shan nodded.

    In reality, if it wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi held the zing Qilin Spear on his hands, why would he even bother making such useless conversations with Fang Zhengzhi?

    In thisbat examination, he had sneaked into the World of the Sage.

    Everything was within his control.

    The only thing he had miscalcted was that Princess Ping Yang would enter. Furthermore, she had even brought along one of the ten great treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, the zing Qilin Spear.

    Despite being in the Star Conglomerate State, Ping Yang was able to gain the advantage in power over Xing Qingsui of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    He kept waiting until the battle between Xing Qingsui and Ping Yang ended in order to see how powerful the zing Qilin Spear actually was.

    Now that the zing Qilin Spear fell in the hands of Fang Zhengzhi, with his Heavenly Reflection powers, what would happen if Fang Zhengzhi was matched against himself of the Supernatural State?

    Nobody knew for sure.

    This was also the reason why Ying Shan didn¡¯t confront Fang Zhengzhi immediately. Because, Ping Yang stood beside Fang Zhengzhi all along.

    He didn¡¯t wish for the zing Qilin Spear to end up in the hands of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Because, that would be the only variable in the World of the Sage. Now, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have picked up this variable and even stood in front of him.

    Most importantly, he held the zing Qilin Spear and offered to make an exchange.

    Ying Shan was already about to lose his patience. However, at such a time, he still decided to maintain his patience for a little longer...

 Chapter 206: Shame

    Chapter 206: Shame

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The thing that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯tck the most was patience.

    Control over the World of the Sage had been lost. Everybody in the World of the Sage kenw this. Hence, the people of the Imperial Academy would simrly know this. He didn¡¯t know what was the situation at the Imperial Academy at this moment.

    However, there was one thing he was sure of. The longer he dragged, the more advantageous it was for his side.

    "How would you feel if I use this zing Qilin Spear to make an exchange with you?" A slight smile appeared at the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. He patiently waved the zing Qilin Spear in his hand with a sincere expression of his face.

    "Use the zing Qilin Spear to make an exchange with me?!" Ying Shan was slightly taken aback. Then, he became truly shocked.

    He hadn¡¯t interacted much with Fang Zhengzhi. In reality, this was the first time they had met with one another. However, he didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi was an idiot.

    Will someone who attained the Double Roll Champion in the county and capital examinations be an idiot?

    Definitely not.

    Moreover, Ying Shan would definitely not be so naive as to believe that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brain had suddenly failed. He could feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s calm and collected demeanor. Under such dire circumstances, such a demeanor was already deserving of respect.

    Then, what is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention?

    Ying Shan couldn¡¯t understand.

    The surrounding examinees couldn¡¯t understand as well. When they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they were dumbfounded. Behind their confusion, there was even greater horror and worry.

    They were truly afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would give the zing Qilin Spear to Ying Shan.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was a person who would be impossible to read by ordinary thinking.

    If the zing Qilin Spear was really passed into Ying Shan¡¯s hands by Fang Zhengzhi, that would be the time that they would truly lose theirst chance of survival.

    The shock on Ping Yang¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be concealed as well.

    If there was one person who seemed rtively calmer at the scene, that would be Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do. However, no matter whether Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were true or false, he would still believe that Fang Zhengzhi had his own reason for doing this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, the zing Qilin Spear is mine!" Ping Yang felt like she had to remind Fang Zhengzhi of this fact.

    "But, isn¡¯t it now in my hands?" Fang Zhengzhi reminded Ping Yang as he held on to the zing Qilin Spear to ept the reality in front of her.

    "If... you pass the zing Qilin Spear into the hands of the demon race, I will never forgive you." Ping Yang evidently didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to say such a shameless thing.

    "Between your life and the zing Qilin Spear, which one would you choose?"

    "I want both!"

    "One cannot be too naive. You always have to sacrifice one thing to gain another. I choose life, so, naturally I will have to sacrifice the zing Qilin Spear." Fang Zhengzhi chided patiently.

    "Hmph!" Being unable to win the argument, Ping Yang didn¡¯t bother arguing further.

    When Ying Shan heard the conversation between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes glinted with light. Even though he wasn¡¯t keen on believing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, there was always a probability. If Fang Zhengzhi truly gave up the zing Qilin Spear, that would save him quite a lot of trouble.

    "You are truly willing to pass the zing Qilin Spear to me?" Ying Shan thought for a moment, and then decided to maintain his patience for a little while longer.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi seemed very sure.

    "Alright, as long as you pass the zing Qilin Spear to me, I will spare your life!" A deep, sinister smile formed at the edges of Ying Shan¡¯s lips.

    "Make an oath."

    "An oath? Sure! I, Ying Shan, swear to the Demon God that as long as Fang Zhengzhi passes the zing Qilin Spear to me, I will definitely spare Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life!" Ying Shan hesitated for a moment, but decided to swear solemnly in the end.

    After all, he only swore to spare Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life. He didn¡¯t promise to not attack Fang Zhengzhi. For example, disabling him for life?

    "Yes, this oath doesn¡¯t seem too bad. However, what I want isn¡¯t for you to spare my life, so... I believe this oath is useless." Fang Zhengzhi nodded very seriously.

    "You..." Ying Shan face fell. The smile on his face froze instantly. He felt as if he had been fooled around with.

    Furthermore, him, the great Ying Domain Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains, was actually fooled around by this tiny kid in front of so many people of the human race?

    You don¡¯t want life. Then, what were you discussing with Ping Yang about? And why did you still ask me to make an oath?

    This is shame, true shame!

    The other examinees looked at one another, not knowing whether tough or to cry.

    Call Fang Zhengzhi stupid?

    But the great Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains seemed to have been fooled and yed around with by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Call Fang Zhengzhi smart?

    What kind of smart person would take out the zing Qilin Spear, the only source of self-protection, as an item of exchange at such a time?

    Ping Yang¡¯s clear gaze shot towards Fang Zhengzhi. She really wanted to exim, well done! However, when the words reached the edges of her mouth, she swallowed it back. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was using her zing Qilin Spear to make a bet.

    "Hmph, I just knew you would talk glibly!" Ping Yang huffed lightly and cocked her head to one side.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression remained calm. It was just as if everything was to be expected.

    Among the people present at the scene, the person who was affected the most was Nangong Mu. He could clearly feel that Ying Shan¡¯s emotional state had been battered greatly.

    The pressure from Ying Shan¡¯s territory had been noticeably reduced by a little.

    Within the time span of a few sentences, Fang Zhengzhi was able to cause Ying Shan to almost lose control over his emotions twice, giving Nangong Mu more time and more strength. How is Fang Zhengzhi able to achieve this? Nangong Mu really couldn¡¯t understand.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression was a ghostly shade of pale. But, he strenuously continued to hold his eyes open. He felt somewhat angry, angry at himself for bringing Ying Shan into the World of the Sage. Even more, he hated himself for not holding his guard against Ying Shan.

    If it wasn¡¯t for this, how would Ying Shan¡¯s sneak attack be a sess?

    Now, all he wished for was to use his life to exchange for all the mistakes he had made. However, he had already lost his qualification to do so. The only person who was qualified to do this now was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What are your terms? I will only give you one chance to speak!" Ying Shan had no way to continue negotiating with Fang Zhengzhi happily any further. Because, he felt that he might die of anger if this continued.

    "My terms are very simple. I want to use the zing Qilin Spear to exchange for your weakness!" Fang Zhengzhi could feel Ying Shan¡¯s rage. Thus, he couldn¡¯t continue to fool around. It is fine to y with fire, however, no matter what, it isn¡¯t fine to burn up oneself.

    "Weakness?" Ying Shan was taken aback. He really didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to ask for this.

    The other examinees were also taken aback.

    This exchange simply couldn¡¯tplete. Why would Ying Shan be stupid enough to tell his weakness to Fang Zhengzhi? That was evidently impossible. Then, what were the intentions of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words?

    "The zing Qilin Spear is what I use to protect my life. Your weakness is what you use to protect your life. I am using my life protection to exchange for yours. Such an exchange is only fair, don¡¯t you think so?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the ncesing from the surrounding people. Instead, he looked at Ying Shan calmly.

    "Ha ha, what you said does makes sense." When Ying Shan heard this, he finallyughed out. "Then, how can you prove that the weakness I speak of is real?"

    "All you have to do is to make an oath to the Demon God. Or, maybe you can let me jab at your weakness just once?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ying Shan anticipatedly.

    His intention naturally wasn¡¯t to make an exchange.

    Even people of his previous world weren¡¯t stupid enough to make an exchange with a stranger, and there were even less reasons to do so under current circumstances. Thus, the reason he wanted to exchange Ying Shan¡¯s weakness was because weakness was too vague, and hard to trade.

    Of course, if Ying Shan really revealed it, he didn¡¯t mind listening.

    However, will the Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains be so stupid? Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have such a hope. Yet, what would be the difference whether he did or not? His aim was to dy time, hence, the purpose of this exchange was only an excuse to dy time.

    A vague and extremelyplicated exchange was the best way to dy time.

    Furthermore, most importantly...

    Fang Zhengzhi was conducting a test.

    He was testing how much Ying Shan feared the zing Qilin Spear.

    From their conversation, Fang Zhengzhi could confirm that Ying Shan knew very well the power of the zing Qilin Spear. Hence, if Ying Shan really agreed to this exchange, it meant that he was indeed extremely fearful of the zing Qilin Spear. The results of the battle will hence be an unknown. If Fang Zhengzhi himself fought with all his strength, there would be at least a fifty percent hope of winning.

    However, if Ying Shan immediately chose to give up on the bet.

    This meant that the threat of the zing Qilin Spear to him would at most cause some light injuries, that was it. If he wanted to leverage on the zing Qilin Spear to defeat Ying Shan, there wasn¡¯t even a one out of ten chance of winning.

    "Ha ha ha... You are truly willing to go to such painstaking lengths as to use the zing Qilin Spear to exchange for my weakness? Unfortunately, I will have to disappoint you." Ying Shan already didn¡¯t bother to engage in any further conversations with Fang Zhengzhi. Waving the de on his hand, he prepared to advance.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw Ying Shan¡¯s determined attitude, he knew that the zing Qilin Spear on his hand didn¡¯t pose as much of a threat to Ying Shan as he thought.

    However, he was just trying to dy time. Hence, he didn¡¯t mind talking more.

    "Calm down. If you don¡¯t agree to these terms, we can change to another one..."

    "Stop your nonsense, prepare to die!"

    Ying Shan was truly enraged this time.

    Even though the zing Qilin Spear posed as a threat to him, he was ready to fight to the death. He hadn¡¯t even thought of walking out of the Yan Capital alive. Then, as long as this threat didn¡¯t cost his life, it wasn¡¯t considered a threat.

    Stepping out, Ying Shan had actually given up on the trapped Nangong Mu under his immense rage and instead turned around and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, and his n instantly changed.

    The tactic of dying time immediately turned into creating a diversion and luring the enemy away. Moreover, he had never thought that he would have to fight face-to-face with Ying Shan so quickly.

    Hence, when Ying Shan moved, he quickly shouted out.

    "Quick, run!"

    Then, without giving any opportunity for Ping Yang and Yan Xiu to speak, he pulled along the two people on his left and right and began to run. That demeanor waspletely devoid of any hesitation and doubt.

    The examinees who were prepared to watch a huge battle unfold at one side were instantly stunned.

    If this was thebat examinations, wouldn¡¯t running immediately when the battle began mean that one admitted defeat and was to be eliminated?

    Can he not be so weak?

    In any case, you are holding on to the zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten great treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty. If now isn¡¯t the time to fight with all your might, when is? At the very least, why can¡¯t you at least make a few jabs with the spear and run away when the situation turns dire?

    Isn¡¯t running away once the enemyes like what you are doing now a little too shameless?

    Will Fang Zhengzhi care about these things that didn¡¯t cause any pain or difort?

    Of course not.

    Preserving his life was his greatest virtue. As for enlightenment during a battle or making aeback, to hell with these! That¡¯s forceful cheating.

    "We are just making an exchange, can you at least show some sincerity? If you can¡¯t ept one of the terms, we can always continue discussing. If the next one is rejected as well, there is always another one! Fighting and killing are never ways to resolve a problem..." As Fang Zhengzhi ran, he didn¡¯t forget to shout out loudly.

    "Alright, let¡¯s sit together and talk this out nicely!" Ying Shan¡¯s eyes were already somewhat bloodshot. The feeling of being shamed affected him deeply, hence, he gritted his teeth tightly.

    "I feel that it is still better to maintain some distance. If you stop, I will definitely stop immediately." Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not fall for this trick.

    "Hmph!" Ying Shan huffed coldly. He didn¡¯t bother replying Fang Zhengzhi any further. The speed of his legs increased, instantly turning into a smoky shadow...

    Ying Shan¡¯s speed gave Fang Zhengzhi a huge shock.

    Isn¡¯t this a little too fast?

    Luckily, I am prepared and learnt Yan Xiu¡¯s Wind Shadow Technique so that I won¡¯t be too slow either.

    One chased, while the other ran.

    Ying Shan¡¯s territory naturally shifted a little towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position.

    Nangong Mu, who was initially trapped within Ying Shan¡¯s territory, regained some colour in his face. The pressure on his body also rxed very evidently. His eyes were filled with a slight shock as the green and blue territory illuminated up and expanded.

    Even if the rest of the examinees didn¡¯t understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention, it was impossible for him not to understand.

    Only he knew how many intentions Fang Zhengzhi had.

    Without further ado, and even without much hesitation, Nangong Mu turned around and leapt towards the position of the rock. The Green and Blue Dual des on his hands shed towards the four ck chains that sealed the golden sword.

    The golden sword hilt was wrapped around by a golden dragon, whose faint golden glow illuminated the de of the sword.

    The chains that were able to seal such a sword naturally couldn¡¯t be broken with any ordinary weapon. However, the swords on Nangong Mu¡¯s hand were not ordinary weapons either.

    They were treasures that were passed down through generations among the Nangong Nobles. The Green and Blue Dual des.

    The Green and Blue Dual des, other than being the essential weapon for employing the Green and Blue Secret Art, was extremely sharp. Even among the weapon list of the Great Xia Dynasty, it ranked in the top thirty.

    "ng!" A crisp sound resounded.

    A pinkie sized incision was made on the ck chain.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s body trembled. Fresh blood spurted out of the wound on his chest, staining the robe he wore on his body red.

    Such a movement naturally wouldn¡¯t escape Ying Shan¡¯s ears.

    The figure that charged towards Fang Zhengzhi decelerated. Turning back his head, Ying Shan realised that Nangong Mu had raised his Green and Blue Dual des once again and shed down with lightning speed.

    "I see!" As the Vice Domain Chief among the ten domains, he was naturally well-versed with the arts of war. However, due to his rage, he fell for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick.

    This struck another blow to his pride.

    Fang Zhengzhi must die!

    However, the more pressing problem now was to stop Nangong Mu from pulling out the sword.

    Ying Shan instantly made a decision. Turning his body, the entire body once again charged towards Nangong Mu, who was standing on the rock. He simply didn¡¯t bother with Fang Zhengzhi anymore.

    Fang Zhengzhi always upheld a famous quote.

    If the enemy doesn¡¯t move, I won¡¯t move. If the enemy moves... I will move around, anyhow!

    Now that Ying Shan had moved towards Nangong Mu, he naturally couldn¡¯t allow Ying Shan to reach Nangong Mu¡¯s side as easy.

    "Watch out for my hidden weapon!"

 Chapter 207: Shadowless

    Chapter 207: Shadowless

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi roared as if he was afraid that Ying Shan wouldn¡¯t know.

    "Hidden weapon?" Ying Shan definitely didn¡¯t feel that using a hidden weapon behind his back was shameless. Not too long ago, he had used the same method to harm majority of the examinees at the scene.

    However, he didn¡¯t slow down. Because, his target was Nangong Mu.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions now was undoubtedly disturbing him from behind.

    With his vast battle experiences, Ying Shan definitely wouldn¡¯t be held back by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s harmless disturbance.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s state was only Heavenly Reflection. Even if he threw out a few hidden weapons, how could they even harm him?

    On the other hand, Nangong Mu had already raised his sword once again and the chain was very likely to be broken.

    Time was everything.

    Hence, Ying Shan continued to advance.

    Not knowing what hidden weapons Fang Zhengzhi threw at him, he instinctively waved the de on his hands behind his back, causing a ck barrier to appear behind him.

    That was enough.

    But...

    The impact of the hidden weapon he imagined seemed a little too forceful.

    "Boom!" A loud bang resounded.

    The ck barrier behind Ying Shan¡¯s back waspletely shattered without any resistance, turning into spots of ck light. A force with the power of a volcanic explosion rushed towards him, instantly mming into Ying Shan¡¯s back.

    Ying Shan, who didn¡¯t have any time to react, stumbled and almost fell face-down onto the ground.

    The rumbling in his chest resembled the rolling of waves.

    "Pssh!" A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out from Ying Shan¡¯s mouth into the air, which quickly turned into steam. A powerful scorching, piercing pain came from the skin on his back.

    Without even looking, Ying Shan knew that he suffered minimally broken bones and torn muscles.

    Ying Shan was deeply shaken.

    He really couldn¡¯t understand what kind of hidden weapon had such a strong power?!

    Turning back his head, he discovered a fully scarlet spear impaled onto the ground. The golden rays glinted from the tip of the spear, glowing faintly from under the ground.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi dashed towards the spear with lightning speed and smoothly regained the spear.

    "I have already reminded you, yet you didn¡¯t take it seriously? You are really disappointing me too much..." Fang Zhengzhi held the zing Qilin Spear and gazed at Ying Shan with an innocent expression on his face.

    "The zing Qilin Spear?! You... You used the zing Qilin Spear as your hidden weapon?" Ying Shan¡¯s eyes were wide with shock.

    He would never have thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be so brave as to send the zing Qilin Spear as a hidden weapon flying towards his back.

    One must note that under the circumstances just now, if he didn¡¯t pursue Nangong Mu, or, as long as he treated it a little more seriously and turned his head around to look, that zing Qilin Spear would definitelynd in his hands.

    Throwing the zing Qilin Spear as a hidden weapon? This was the act of a daredevil.

    Not only was Ying Shan unable toprehend this, the rest of the people on the scene also stared with their eyes opened wide.

    Nobody would ever had thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "hidden weapon" was actually the powerful zing Qilin Spear! Wasn¡¯t that a little too much?

    "He threw out the zing Qilin Spear?!"

    "Oh my God, that¡¯s the zing Qilin Spear? Isn¡¯t he afraid that..."

    "This is simply nonsense!"

    The examinees stared at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief, their mouths agape.

    Ping Yang¡¯s face simrly turned somewhat pale with fear.

    Standing behind Fang Zhengzhi, she had the clearest view of what had transpired.

    When Fang Zhengzhi shouted out, "watch out for my hidden weapon", the zing Qilin Spear had already left his hands and turned into a ray of light and flew towards Ying Shan, bringing along a small golden glow.

    At that moment, her heart had fallen apart.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had purposely shouted, "Watch... hidden weapon!"

    The most important factor was the word, "watch".

    What is this guy trying to do? You don¡¯t value other people¡¯s treasures at all? Ping Yang regretted somewhat, regretted lending her zing Qilin Spear to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, what left her speechless was that Fang Zhengzhi had actually retrieved the zing Qilin Spear. Furthermore, he seemed to have caused Ying Shan of the Supernatural State to spurt out a mouthful of blood?

    That waspletely unbelievable.

    Yan Xiu had also witnessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. No matter how much he trusted Fang Zhengzhi, he was ultimately stunned by such a daring move.

    However, fortunately, Ying Shan actually didn¡¯t turn around.

    Instead, he used a simple ck barrier to defend against the zing Qilin Spear, the treasure with the greatest offensive power among the ten great treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    This move was naturally effective.

    However...

    This move? Why is this effective?!

    Nobody had thought of such an oue. However, it was a fact that Ying Shan didn¡¯t use his full powers to defend against this move.

    One move was enough to injure Ying Shan?

    Among the people present at the scene, even Nangong Mu with his Green and Blue Secret Art was unable to injure Ying Shan beyond a few superficial wounds. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s move caused Ying Shan to spurt out a mouthful of blood?

    It was obvious who was better.

    "ng!"

    Right at this moment, a crisp sound snapped people out of their thoughts.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s sword had alreadynded at this moment. One chain among the four ck chains had already been broken off. This caused the wound on his chest to once again flow with streams of bright, fresh blood.

    However, he didn¡¯t stop.

    Instead, he continued to sh towards the other three chains.

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t distract himself by observing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle. For some unknown reason, he felt that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be able to hold back Ying Shan.

    Maybe it was because Fang Zhengzhi was able to rile up Ying Shan¡¯s emotions with just a few sentences previously.

    Or, maybe it was because that there was no other choice at the moment.

    After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to focus on what he was supposed to do. As for the rest, he would let Fang Zhengzhi settle them.

    Just as Nangong Mu had expected.

    After Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powerful blow, Ying Shan stopped. His eyes shed with a faint cold glow. For the second time, he felt shamed. And this time, it was built upon his vast battle experiences.

    Hidden weapon...

    Who in this world would use the zing Qilin Spear as a hidden weapon?

    He really wanted to turn around and grab Fang Zhengzhi, then ce his mouth close to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ear and shout, "Why would you throw the zing Qilin Spear?"

    However, he couldn¡¯t do this. Because, he had to stop Nangong Mu.

    Once the sword was pulled out.

    Only the Heavens would know whether the World of the Sage would once again fall under the control of the Imperial Academy. When that timees, all his ns would be foiled. Hence, he didn¡¯t have time to dy any further.

    Injury?

    This was indeed true. However, being of the Supernatural State, how could he be afraid of injuries? The blood and charred flesh on his back began to peel off rapidly, and slowly began to recover with a speed that could be observed with one¡¯s naked eyes.

    The Supernatural State.

    Even though such a heavy injury required some time to heal, Ying Shan didn¡¯t dy much longer. Lifting his feet, he pounced towards Nangong Mu once again.

    "Watch out for my hidden weapon!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was like an overly attached woman bugging Ying Shan. He had no choice but to slow down slightly.

    Ying Shan was already injured. If he was impaled by the zing Qilin Spear once more, he would require at least an hour to recoverpletely.

    An hour...

    There were many things that could happen under such circumstances. For example,the sword would be pulled out, or, he could even be killed by these people.

    The Supernatural State was very powerful.

    However, that didn¡¯t mean that he was invincible.

    In reality, every human had one simr weakness. That, was their pocket dimension.

    The pocket dimension was the core of all their power. The heart of Dao grew from the heart. The ess of Dao was done through the heart. Hence, the power of human¡¯s pocket dimensiony in their hearts.

    On the other hand, the demon race¡¯s powers lie within their demon eye. They gained and controlled power through their demon eye. If the demon eye was injured, this meant that all their powers would disappear.

    Ying Shan naturally couldn¡¯t allow such a thing to happen. Hence, this time, he definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate his opponent like what he did previously.

    He turned his head.

    However...

    The zing Qilin Spear he expected didn¡¯t arrive.

    What came was a silver light that filled the entire sky. It was like stars that shone in the night sky, bright yet hidden. The sound of air being pierced could be heard.

    Naturally, that was the "Torrential Pear Blossom" which Fang Zhengzhi always loved to use.

    Under the additional power provided by the Heavenly Reflection State, the silver needles were each covered with ice and frost. As for its deadliness, killing a person of the Star Conglomerate State wasn¡¯t a problem at all.

    Ying Shan gazed at the starlights that flew towards him and narrowed his eyes. He didn¡¯t know what trick Fang Zhengzhi was trying to y, and what treasures Fang Zhengzhi threw at him.

    But, after the lesson learnt from his first experience, he definitely wouldn¡¯t underestimate his opponent.

    A powerful force rose from Ying Shan¡¯s body.

    The dense, ink-like territory instantly condensed itself, focusing on blocking the starlights that flew over.

    "ng ng ng ng..."

    A stream of sounds rang out. The starlights shed into the territory, then, fell to the floor one-by-one, revealing a scene of broken needles...

    Other than that, there wasn¡¯t any further changes.

    "Just that?" Ying Shan stared, somewhat confused, at the broken needles on the ground.

    Ping Yang was also somewhat confused.

    When she saw Fang Zhengzhi give up using the zing Qilin Spear for a second time and instead, fish out a handful of silver needles from his pockets, she was filled with hope and expectation. She eagerly anticipated Fang Zhengzhi to make another miracle.

    But now...

    This eager anticipation seemed somewhat inappropriate.

    The other examinees also stared with their eyes wide open. When Fang Zhengzhi injured Ying Shan in one move, they had actually pinned all their hopes on Fang Zhengzhi.

    As the saying went, taking advantage of one¡¯s injury to take one¡¯s life. Quoting military tactics, pursue while at an advantage. The essence of these were that the second attack would be stronger and deadlier than the first.

    Then, what was the meaning of this starlight that was loud as thunder, yet as small as raindrops.

    Couldn¡¯t he at least make a nicer show?

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t too shocked this time.

    He knew very well that the handful of silver needles were very ordinary street products. There wasn¡¯t even the smallest bit of improvement or enhancement. How could such a thing harm Ying Shan?

    "How is the power of my Torrential Pear Blossoms?" Fang Zhengzhi fished out another handful of silver needles once again and waved them in front of Ying Shan, anticipating his review.

    "..." Ying Shan didn¡¯t speak. He fell into silence. Because, he really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    He only knew that he seemed to have turned cultured today, so cultured that he didn¡¯t even have the slightest bit of temper. He really wanted to swear, however, that was evidently a waste of time.

    Hence, he didn¡¯t pay any further attention to Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, he continued to charge towards the rock.

    However, due to the previous dy.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s sword once again shed onto the second chain. This time, Nangong Mu¡¯s strength seemed to be even stronger than the previous time. He was actually able to cut halfway into the chain.

    "Don¡¯t run, watch out for my hidden weapon!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted out once again the moment Ying Shan turned his head.

    This time, Ying Shan didn¡¯t turn his head immediately. His speed was fast as lightning, turning into a smoke-like shadow just with his speed alone. In an instant, he had arrived beside the rock.

    He was too fast, so fast that people couldn¡¯t see clearly what was happening.

    Under such circumstances, there was no hidden weapon that could be faster than Ying Shan¡¯s speed.

    Everybody held their breath. Because, as long as Ying Shan ascended the rock, Nangong Mu wouldn¡¯t be able to sh the chain. Then, the battle would turn into a horrible one.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression was as calm as ever. With his abilities, he could naturally feel that Ying Shan had arrived below the rock. However, he didn¡¯t move. The sword in his hands shed down with the same powerful determination.

    As if hepletely missed what was happening.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s hand strenuously pushed against the ground. He wanted to stop Ying Shan. However, having lost so much blood, to be able to resist fainting was already the best he could do.

    This moment seemed to have be the most critical moment in the battle.

    Anybody would be able to guess Ying Shan¡¯s intentions. No matter how Fang Zhengzhi attempted to harass Ying Shan, as long as he didn¡¯t dare to fight head-on with Ying Shan, it would forever be futile.

    Everybody could predict that Ying Shan¡¯s next move would be to mount the rock, and then descend into a killing spree.

    However, right at this moment, the de in Ying Shan¡¯s hands suddenly turned around.

    As always, people move with their des.

    The moment he turned his de, he seemed to spin backwards on the spot. Instantly, the advance became retreat, shing towards his back with the speed of a ck light.

    A sly and crafty military tactic.

    As the Vice Domain Chief of the Ying Domain in the Ten Devilish Domains, Ying Shan was very proud. All along, he had been respected for his outstanding talents.

    However, this time, he had been controlled by Fang Zhengzhi multiple times.

    He could indeed charge immediately up the rock. However, if he did this, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself. This wasn¡¯t rted to the task at hand. He only wanted to win on an intellectual level for once.

    Even though it was only once.

    If he couldn¡¯t achieve this, he would never be able to calm his own heart. If his heart wasn¡¯t calm, how could he reach the peak level of power?

    Hence, he chose to counter-attack.

    Using slyness to defeat slyness.

    He decided to change the direction of his de at the critical moment Fang Zhengzhi chased up to him and thrust suddenly towards him, catching him off guard. This would take down that annoying person in one move.

    The de was still the same de, carrying along the faint smell of blood.

    However, under the intense wrapping of shadows, the shiny, bright de turned pitch-ck, as if it was soaked in ink. Within this pitch-ck shadow territory, not a glimmer of light shone.

    This was Ying Shan¡¯s most powerful technique, a technique that shook their entire Ten Devilish Domains.

    The Shadow de Technique.

    There was another name for this de technique, Shadowless.

    Under the influence of his dark shadow territory, his de was able to be untraceable and unable to locate.

    Due to this de technique, when Ying Shan became known to the world, he gained a nickname within the demon race. That was, Ghost Shadow de.

    Either he didn¡¯t participate in a fight, or he would deliver the killing blow in one hit!

 Chapter 208: Face Head-On

    Chapter 208: Face Head-On

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Going from advance to retreat was something that was extremely hard to achieve. However, Ying Shan¡¯s movements were as smooth and natural as the moving clouds and flowing water. It was as if everything he had done before was in preparation for this strike.

    Darkness covered the ground, and the de in Ying Shan¡¯s hand had already disappeared.

    This was Shadowless.

    However...

    Disappearing alongside Ying Shan¡¯s de was also Fang Zhengzhi, as well as Yan Xiu and Ping Yang.

    This seemed to not make any sense at all.

    However, it was for a fact that when Ying Shan drew his de and counter-attacked, Fang Zhengzhi disappeared. Or, it could be said that all along, Fang Zhengzhi had never appeared behind Ying Shan.

    Ying Shan¡¯s expression of unparalleled self-confidence froze.

    He couldn¡¯t understand. Where did Fang Zhengzhi go? Why would Fang Zhengzhi suddenly disappear?

    "Are you looking for me?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice sounded out from behind Ying Shan¡¯s body.

    Ying Shan turned around and was even more shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi standing below the rock. Holding a zing Qilin Spear in his hands, a simrly shocked expression appeared on his face.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi never expected Ying Shan to turn around suddenly.

    He was indeed pursuing Ying Shan from behind, and his objective was naturally also to dy Ying Shan from going up the rock.

    However, he didn¡¯t chase closely behind Ying Shan. Or, it could be said that all along, he maintained a misalignment behind Ying Shan¡¯s body. This wasn¡¯t because he could guess Ying Shan¡¯s intentions.

    Instead, it was a habit.

    To someone who was well-versed with sneak attacks, it was only natural for him to instinctively avoid a few possibilities of falling for a sneak attack as well.

    This was simr to a general on the battlefield who was well-versed in cutting off people¡¯s supplies. He would definitely guard the back of his own battlefield very heavily.

    Fang Zhengzhi was such a person. He was used to unleashing sudden attacks, and used to sudden counter-attacks. Hence, he would definitely not allow himself to follow so closely behind the enemy¡¯s back, and instead, pursue at a misaligned angle.

    Ying Shan¡¯s counter-attack was incredibly beautiful.

    However, there was one greatest w in this counter-attack. That was before one¡¯s de turned, one mustn¡¯t turn his head, not even reveal the slightest bit of intention to do so.

    Hence, it would naturally be impossible for Ying Shan to know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position.

    Hence, Ying Shan counter-attacked.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have time to react, charging in front of Ying Shan. In an instant, both of them entered each other¡¯s visual blind spot. This was a golden opportunity.

    If Fang Zhengzhi took advantage of this, he would definitely be able to inflict serious damage upon Ying Shan.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no way of knowing that Ying Shan would turn around. Hence, he maintained his zing speed and charged in front. He wanted to stop Ying Shan from the side, thus, he naturally didn¡¯t take advantage of this opportunity.

    This was a coincidence that left people speechless.

    However, this coincidence caused Ying Shan¡¯s heart to once again be unable to reach a state of calm. Such a perfect n was foiled? What hint did he reveal?

    How could this not harm him?

    A list of doubts rose up within Ying Shan¡¯s head.

    These questions simrly filled the minds of the surrounding examinees.They already couldn¡¯t understand the reason why Ying Shan turned around.

    Now, they were still unable to understand the reason.

    The scene that unfolded a moment ago.

    Ying Shan very evidently unleashed a powerful killing blow. The power of that de likened one that aimed to slice off a mountain peak.

    However, all along, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t following behind Ying Shan.

    This was something they had seen very clearly.

    Then, what is Ying Shan trying to sh with this de? The air? Or, was it to vent his rage?

    Nobody could understand. However, there was one point which they understood very well.

    Fang Zhengzhi had sessfully blocked the way between Ying Shan and Nangong Mu. Yan Xiu and Ping Yang stood in the same row beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    Standing below the rock.

    Ying Shan¡¯s de was as ink-ck as before. However, this ink-ck de seemed somewhat heavy in his hands. The Shadow de Technique emphasized slyness and being traceless. If it was used during a sneak attack, it would be even more unexpected. That was the most important reason he was sent for this task.

    Now that tracelessness had turned into traceable, the power of this de technique had been reduced by at least seventy percent.

    "How... did you see through it?" Ying Shan had to ask this in the end. This stemmed from his pride and self-respect.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew very well what Ying Shan was asking.

    Answer with the truth?

    That was just because his luck was a little bit good...

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t so stupid. If he wasn¡¯t able to win based on abilities, then, he had to defeat the opponent with his temperament, at least causing the opponent to feel afraid.

    "Because, your move contains a life-threatening weakness. Or, it could be said that every single one of your moves contained a life-threatening weakness. This is a habit you cannot change. And it is this very habit that lets me know whatever you are going to do." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was very serious. It was like an elder pointing out the ws of a younger person¡¯s techniques.

    Ying Shan frowned slightly. Everyone had a weakness. He was no exception. However, he didn¡¯t know whether Fang Zhengzhi was speaking about the same weakness which he knew of.

    He was more inclined to believe that Fang Zhengzhi was spouting nonsense.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had indeed previously proved this with his actions. Each of his actions were indeed expected and foreseen by Fang Zhengzhi. That was a rather bad feeling, it was even somewhat scary.

    Being able to determine an opponent¡¯s weakness with one look?

    Has Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talents already reached such a level?

    "He really saw through Ying Shan¡¯s moves?"

    "Isn¡¯t that... not very possible?"

    "So it seems that Ying Shan previously wanted to deliver a killing blow to Fang Zhengzhi? But, it has been foreseen by Fang Zhengzhi, allowing him to dodge it? No wonder..."

    When the examinees heard the conversation between Ying Shan and Fang Zhengzhi, they began to guess.

    "ng!" A gentle sound snapped Ying Shan and the examinees from their thoughts.

    On the rock, two chains had already been broken. The golden sword let out a low cry, as if it could break out from the stone any moment.

    At this moment, sess took another step forward.

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi stood out until now, he hadn¡¯t even fought once with Ying Shan face-to-face. However, he injured Ying Shan badly on his back, and most of all, dyed at least two minutes worth of time.

    Most importantly, up till now, Ying Shan hadn¡¯t even taken a single step up the rock.

    There was no other way to describe this other than being a miracle.

    Just like how Fang Zhengzhi used two hours toplete six examination papers in the theory examination of the Imperial Examination, bing the theory examination roll champion with his full marks.

    Nobody would have thought of such an oue, much less that such a thing would ur.

    But these were the facts. Facts that cannot be argued against.

    "Will you be able to stop me even if you are able to see through my techniques?" This time, Ying Shan didn¡¯t rush to ascend the rock immediately. Because, he had already viewed Fang Zhengzhi as a true enemy.

    At least, it was an enemy that allowed him to take seriously.

    "There is a saying. When you meet with a problem, you must face it head-on!" Fang Zhengzhi stood his spear on the ground with a proud and unyielding expression on his face.

    However, this aura appearing from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    In addition to everything Fang Zhengzhi did previously, truly caused people to feel slightly unwell.

    Ying Shan had this exact feeling.

    Face head-on?

    Then, what did you just do? Sneaking an attack on me from behind, relentless sly and cunning tactics, since when did you ever face head-on?

    The surrounding examinees also had this same thought. However, at this moment, they stood in the same camp as Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, they could get used to this indisposed feeling.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu had opened the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hands and stood quietly beside Fang Zhengzhi. He didn¡¯t feel indisposed. Instead, he only chose to fight alongside Fang Zhengzhi at this time that Fang Zhengzhi decided to face this battle head-on.

    Ping Yang simrly stood shoulder-to-shoulder beside Fang Zhengzhi. By right, Ping Yang should have walked away at this moment. Because, she already had no more strength to fight. More importantly, she had already given her zing Qilin Spear to Fang Zhengzhi. Then, how could she fight with Ying Shan of the Supernatural State?

    However, Ping Yang didn¡¯t walk away.

    She stood beside Fang Zhengzhi and waved her fists, preparing for the fight.

    "Can you take a rest at the side?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words harshly cracked down on Ping Yang¡¯s determination for the battle.

    Ping Yang¡¯s tiny mouth instantly pouted, seeming as if she was very angry. As the great Princess Ping Yang, she had pride and arrogance that ran through her bones. Furthermore, she had another reason to be arrogant, one that came with her birth.

    That was a reason that everybody within the Yan Capital knew.

    She didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know this. However, all along, Fang Zhengzhi gave her the feeling that either he didn¡¯t know, or he didn¡¯t care.

    "I am very strong!" Ping Yang insisted.

    "Strong? Can you defeat me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Ying with a look of despise.

    "I can defeat you!" Ping Yang¡¯s clear eyes looked towards Fang Zhengzhi as her tiny lips curled into an arrogant look. Her expression was very serious, as if she was reciting a fact.

    "Will you die... if you don¡¯t boast?" Fang Zhengzhi casually shot a middle finger towards Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang¡¯s face instantly flushed red. She stared hatefully at Fang Zhengzhi, then looked at Ying Shan, then finally gritted her teeth and "gloomily" went to one side.

    "You will definitely regret this!"

    "I wont!" Fang Zhengzhi replied Ping Yang¡¯s words very directly.

    Then, he looked towards Ying Shan. There were some things that he could not avoid forever. When facing Ying Shan, he might be able to temporarily suppress Ying Shan based on intellect. However, the huge difference in enlightenment state meant that he wouldn¡¯t be able to deliver a life-threatening blow.

    The Supernatural State...

    That, was the enlightenment state of a truly powerful man.

    Ying Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to fight him face-to-face. However, Fang Zhengzhi stood right in front of him, holding the zing Qilin Spear, giving him no choice but to believe it.

    "Then, show me your true powers!" There was no light on Ying Shan¡¯s de. It was like a shadow that danced in the darkness. However, the tip of the de pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    The zing Qilin Spear on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand simrly pointed towards Ying Shan. The zing Qilin Spear glowed with a red light, and a tiny golden light glowed quietly at the tip of the spear. That, was the zing Qilin True Blood.

    He knew that it was difficult to avoid this battle further. However, he suddenly realised a problem.

    It seems like I don¡¯t know any spear techniques?

    What should I do?

    This seemed to be a problem. However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have too much time to think through this. Because, Ying Shan¡¯s de had already moved.

    Within the pitch-ck darkness, Ying Shan¡¯s de stabbed directly towards him.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu also moved. He flipped over the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hands almost at the exact instant Ying Shan¡¯s de moved.

    "Heaven and Earth Reversal!"

    To be considered among the Yan Five Treasures, the power of the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was no ordinary matter. In the Star Conglomerate State, it could turn into a Mountain River Territory. Now, Yan Xiu had entered the Heavenly Reflection State.

    His own territory and the Mountain River Territoryplemented and gave life to one another. It was actually able to forcefully tear a gap within the boundless, infinite darkness. A huge mountain range extended towards the sky, just like the lone peak in the ck darkness.

    A powerful yet sad pressure pressed down upon Ying Shan.

    Ying Shan¡¯s figure slowed down slightly, then, he began to elerate once again. However, the footprints he left on the mud became evidently deeper than before.

    "Rise of the Eastern Red Sun!"

    Yan Xiu let out a low bellow as a bright red sun appeared on top of his head. Following which, a powerful red crescent shed towards Ying Shan.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally couldn¡¯t let Yan Xiu face Ying Shan all by himself.

    When Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain River Territory appeared, he had also moved. Even though he wasn¡¯t familiar with spear techniques, did it matter? Nevermind that.

    He held a spear in his hand, however, why can¡¯t a spear be used as a sword?

    For example...

    "Mountain Waterfall Cascade!"

    At the moment Yan Xiu employed the Asura Cut, Fang Zhengzhi also leapt upwards. Using the tip of the spear as the tip of a sword, he plunged the zing Qilin Spear down from top to bottom.

    This blow.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what power it would have.

    However, there was one thing he knew for sure. The shing of a de downwards and the plunging of a spear downwards were indeed different in their powers.

    Most importantly, the Mountain Waterfall Cascade could concentrate all the powers on one single point.

    This was a technique used for stabbing.

    "I¡¯ll stab you to death!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother about which sword techniques couldn¡¯t be used with spears. He only lived by one value. Any spear technique that could kill people was a good spear technique.

    Ying Shan could feel an immense pressure on his body.

    As he gazed at the killing intent from Yan Xiu¡¯s sword, there wasn¡¯t much change in his expression.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi leapt up and directed the tip of the spear towards the ground, plunging down towards his head, he was truly shocked by this strange technique.

    The wielder of a spear.

    King of the weapons. Pole for a month, de for a year, spear for a lifetime.

    Among the eighteen weapons, the spear was the hardest to use. However, once it was mastered, a spear could be one¡¯s second life. A spear was like a dragon in the water.

    Usually, there were three basic fighting techniques for the spear. Left head-off, right head-off and thrust.

    However, no matter how much Ying Shan grinded his brain, he never would have thought that somebody would raise his spear and plunge it down from above.

    "He doesn¡¯t know how to use a spear?" This thought instantly shed across Ying Shan¡¯s mind. However, after this thought shed, another thought arose.

    "There is trickery involved!"

    Such a great talent who attained the Double Roll Champion in the county and capital examination not knowing how to use a spear? That probability was too low. Even if he might not be proficient at it, he should at least be well-versed with its basics.

    However, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi waspletely portraying ayman who used the spear as a stick.

    Very evidently, he was definitely trying to employ some sort of trick.

    Ying Shan couldn¡¯t see through the trick, hence he didn¡¯t bother. He lightly waved the de in his hand, turning it into two de intents, one of them real, and the other an illusion. The illusion led the attack, while the real one followed behind. This was experience, using an illusion to test one¡¯s real power.

    However, splitting one into two meant that the de didn¡¯t embody Ying Shan¡¯s full power.

    This caused the surrounding examinees to feel somewhat stunned.

    When Fang Zhengzhi leapt up high in the air and plunged his zing Qilin Spear downwards, an icy feeling gripped their hearts. Because, nobody in history would ever use the zing Qilin Spear in this manner.

    What caused them even more shock was that when Fang Zhengzhi plunged down with the spear, Ying Shan didn¡¯t take the opportunity to advance. Instead, he held back and used de intents.

    Ying Shan didn¡¯t have sufficientbat experience? Couldn¡¯t he see the weakness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique?

    This was evidently something that wasn¡¯t quite possible.

    Then, could the truth be that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strange spear technique contained a profound secret that they couldn¡¯t understand? But, where in the world is the profound secret in this plunge?

 Chapter 209: Rising Sword and Shattered Rock

    Chapter 209: Rising Sword and Shattered Rock

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Nobody could guess.

    However, the truth revealed itself.

    Fang Zhengzhi channeled all his energy into this plunge. In addition to the fact that Mountain Waterfall Cascade was a technique with very high prating power, all the power was concentrated at the tip of the spear, which happened to be at the same spot at which the True Blood of the zing Qilin Spear was located.

    This jab seemed very ordinary. However, its true power was extraordinary.

    However, Ying Shan defended against it with a fake. Then, the results of what happened next could be predicted.

    In an instant, the illusion was pierced through, turning into bits of ck light. After which, the posture of the zing Qilin Spear remained the same, plunging directly towards Ying Shan while bringing along a spot of golden light.

    "Boom!"

    The spear contacted with the de.

    The zing Qilin Spear¡¯s bizzare technique at this moment was executed brilliantly. Upon contact, Ying Shan instantly felt trouble. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strange technique, which he thought was a fake, was a real one.

    A intensely sharp and oppressive air channeled itself from the tip of the zing Qilin Spear into the de in Ying Shan¡¯s hand.

    Leaving a hole with the size of a speartip in the jet-ck de.

    This wasn¡¯t over yet. Because, at this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s cut had arrived. Asura embodied killing. Even though it was a righteous Dao, the air of killing definitely inspired reverence.

    After Ying Shan¡¯s de was prated by the zing Qilin Spear, it was already a little futile to block off Yan Xiu¡¯s Asura Cut.

    As the saying went, a single slip may cause evesting sorrow. During a battle, a single mistake and the loss of a key moment would cause one to be defeated. That was the meaning behind this.

    However, Ying San was still Ying Shan.

    The Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains. His vastbat experience and decisiveness at key moments were definitely not something any average person couldpare to.

    After losing a move, he changed from advancement to retreat. At the same time, the de in his hand shed upwards. That was one of the hardest techniques to master for the de, with the intent of the technique Water Cutting de.

    Water Cutting de. Even water could be cut. The speed, agility and deadliness of the de was evident.

    "Boom!"

    The second sh rang out once again.

    Right at the moment this sound rang out, Ying Shan vanished.

    His body hadpletely immersed into the shadow territory.

    Not only could the de be shadowless. Ying Shan himself could turn shadowless as well.

    However, immersing into the shadow territory during a battle meant that the injury suffered by Ying Shan during the sh caused him to have no choice but to hide.

    This oue undoubtedly caused great shock to the surrounding examinees.

    They really couldn¡¯t understand how did this nonsensical technique injure Ying Shan once again?

    Then, they thought of something which Fang Zhengzhi had previously said.

    "When you meet with a problem, you must face it head-on!"

    At that moment, almost everybody believed that Fang Zhengzhi had said this grudgingly. It was only a form of reassuring himself after falling into impasse.

    However, the facts were that once Fang Zhengzhi faced it head-on, Ying Shan was defeated.

    A very strange defeat.

    Fang Zhengzhi actually had the advantage in a head-onbat?

    The examinees couldn¡¯t understand the meaning behind this. Ying Shan himself couldn¡¯t understand it as well. He really couldn¡¯t understand, why was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique not a fake?

    Don¡¯t tell me he really doesn¡¯t know spear technique?!

    Impossible!

    Ying Shan really didn¡¯t want to admit this. This was due to his experience, as well as his self-respect and self-confidence. He didn¡¯t believe that his judgement would be incorrect. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t go against the judgement of his many years of experience due to one failure alone.

    However, his de had already been damaged. Even though it wasn¡¯t broken, the initially advantageous situation he used to have had now suffered a sudden, devastating decline.

    Anotherbat?

    That was something only an idiot would do.

    Moreover, on the rock, NAngong Mu¡¯s sword had alreadynded once again.

    The third chain had been sliced into two by the Green and Blue Dual de.

    "Buzz!"

    The cry of the sword was like that of a dragon. The golden glow expanded greatly and the rock seemed to be on the verge of exploding. It was as if the sword was struggling to release itself from the rock by itself.

    The surrounding examinees looked at the scene unfolding before them.

    Each of them revealed a delighted expression. It was as if they had seen a tiny glow of light in the pitch-ck darkness. That, was the hope of life. How could it not bring delight?

    Yan Xiu held the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand with a calm expression. He stood under the rock and guarded it tightly.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat bbergasted.

    He was astonished as to why would Ying Shan¡¯s power be so weak? What happened to Supernatural?

    Before engaging with Ying Shan, he had even prepared to suffer injuries. However, why did Ying Shan escape so quickly after just one contact?

    Or, could it be said that I am really a talent? The technique I created at thest minute had actually brought out three hundred percent of the power of the zing Qilin Spear?

    Fang Zhengzhi was a little confused. However, all along, he wasn¡¯t someone who advanced prematurely.

    After winning a move, it was better to stand guard below the rock.

    As long as Nangong Mu broke off the four chains, the World of the Sage would return to the control of the Imperial Academy once again. When a few imperial messengers or simr people arrive, the rest of this wouldn¡¯t be much of his problem anymore.

    Safety!

    Was always the utmost priority.

    That was simr to the value that Fang Zhengzhi scrupulously abided by all along. He had always despised things such as challenging higher levels, leveling up during times of great danger and enlightenment while at the doors of death.

    Not too long ago, he had just gained enlightenment about the territory of the Heavenly Reflection State. As to the feeling of pacing around the doors of death in the Supernatural State, he didn¡¯t even have the slightest bit of knowledge. Charging in to fight just like that?

    That was undoubtedly an act of suicide.

    Within the shadow territory, Ying Shan¡¯s figure danced around. However, no matter how he danced, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu continued to remain unmoving under the rock.

    Without the slightest bit of hurry and worry.

    This way, Ying Shan became worried.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu could afford to wait slowly. However, he couldn¡¯t.

    He needed to prevent Nangong Mu from pulling out the sword as fast as possible. However, under current circumstances, the probability of charging up the rock before Nangong Mu broke off the fourth chain wasn¡¯t too great.

    Hence, he had to change his strategy.

    Ying Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. In an instant, he spotted Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was standing by the side, pouting her mouth. She was bored stiff and was in a bad mood. Her clear eyes were fixated on Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, and even seemed to be saying something with her mouth.

    Ying Shan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    However, they quickly darkened again. Because, he saw the Red me Flower Armor on Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    Hence, he could only shift his gaze away with great difficulty onto those heavily injured examinees thaty on the ground.

    In an instant, his eyes lit up with the brightest possible glow.

    The examinees on the ground might not match up to Nangong Mu of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State, nor could they match up to the crafty and shameless Fang Zhengzhi, nor the heavily gifted Yan Xiu.

    However, to be able to enter the third round of the Imperial Combat Examination, which of them wasn¡¯t the creme of the human race?

    Most importantly, all of these people were heavily injured. Any blow could take their life easy. This way, what was the point of giving up something so easy to attain for something much harder?

    When he thought of this, the edges of Ying Shan¡¯s mouth curved into a slight smile.

    Hence, the shadow territory slowly expanded. His body had also gradually broken out from the shadow territory. This was something very natural. A condensed territory could concentrate its powers, causing it to be as dense as ink. As it widened, it naturally couldn¡¯t maintain its shadowless state.

    In an instant, everybody¡¯s gaze was fixated on Ying Shan.

    They were all guessing that this would be the Ten Devilish Domains vice domain chief¡¯sst struggle. Hence, it would be impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to be as lucky as before.

    Would Fang Zhengzhi die?

    This thought shed across their mind, bringing along a few dilemmas.

    In the end, they all reached one conclusion.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death could exchange for the reopening of the World of the Sage, saving them from the abyss of suffering, then, that was worth the death.

    For an ordinary mountain viger.

    Wasn¡¯t this the greatest honour and glory one could attain? His name would be forever recorded in the books of the Imperial Academy, and remembered by future participants of the Imperial Examination.

    How great was that!

    Among them, the majority were descendents of nobles. Ever since birth, they were treated highly and with nobility. The death of an ordinary viger could exchange for their lives. How great was that?

    As they thought, their faces were filled with calm. Or, it could be said, it was peacefulness.

    However...

    This peaceful expression didn¡¯tst for very long. Because, they all felt as if there was something very hard, and somewhat cold, near their necks.

    As such, all the examinees instinctively lowered their heads.

    As they looked down, the peaceful looks on the faces of the examinees finally couldn¡¯t be maintained anymore. Instead, it turned into absolute horror.

    Sword!

    Dozens of swords floating in mid-air.

    This was a horrifying scene. Even more horrifying was that these swords floated frightfully close to their necks. The slightest movement was sufficient for blood to be drawn.

    These swords were naturally the swords on the ground. However, these swords were controlled by ck shadows that reached out from beneath the ground.

    Around the hilt of each sword wrapped a ck shadow.

    They were just like hands.

    "Ah!" A blood-curdling cry rang out. An examinee grabbed his neck with both hands as his eyes widened and rolled about. His mouth was wide open. He wanted to breathe, but that felt like something that was absolutely impossible.

    "Plop!"

    The examinee¡¯s head tilted to one side, and crashed to the ground. Bright red blood flowed out from the chink between his fingers, dripping on and staining the rock-filled ground.

    Very powerless, and very helpless.

    When the examinees each witnessed this scene, they had no way of concealing the terror in their eyes anymore.

    "Ah!"

    "Don¡¯t kill me!"

    "I still have a great future ahead, Vice ... Vice Domain Chief Ying Shan, please don¡¯t kill me!"

    Even though begging to be spared in front of the demon race wasn¡¯t a very glorifying thing for humans, there were still many among them who had never entered the battlefield.

    They hadn¡¯t yet passed the imperial examination, and hadn¡¯t yet served their country.

    Hence, in the true face of death, the human attribute of horror naturally greatly surpassed their rationality.

    "Why are you all making noise! Ying Shan¡¯s actions are naturally meant to threaten them with our lives. Don¡¯t tell me you want to be a burden to them?" A voice rang out among the morous and horrified shouts.

    It was Xing Qingsui.

    The "them" Xing Qingsui referred to was naturally Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.

    There was also a sword that pressed against his neck. He was powerless to defend against this.

    However, he didn¡¯t cry out. Ever since that sword pressed against his neck, he didn¡¯t make a single sound. Only until cries of horror sounded out from around him was he finally enraged enough to speak.

    The gazes of the examinees instantly focused onto Xing Qingsui.

    They really wanted to say something. However, when they had clearly seen the sword at Xing Qingsui¡¯s neck, they forcefully swallowed back the words that reached their mouths.

    As the direct descendant of the Stablisation Constabry, he grew up in the battlefield ever since young. What he saw was blood, what he drank was rain. As they charged and broke through enemy lines, since when was there even a single time they didn¡¯t discard their notion of life and death?

    This was the Stabilisation Constabry. The head of the thirteen constabries, the Stabilisation Constabry!

    "Well said! Today, I will meet death together with Young Master Xing!" Another voice sounded out at this moment.

    "I am willing to die as well!" A third voice closely followed.

    Very unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t a fourth. Because, not everybody was able to see past life and death like Xing Qingsui did. Even though at a certain moment, one or two certain people burned with righteousness, it was always impossible for everybody to be the same.

    "I don¡¯t want to die!"

    "I don¡¯t want to die either..."

    "Ah!"

    A third cry sounded out. The person who fell was the exact same examinee who shouted "I don¡¯t want to die". This caused his eyes to be filled with disbelief.

    He was clearly begging for forgiveness, yet, Xing Qingsui and the rest were begging to die.

    Why was he the second person to die?

    He couldn¡¯t understand, and didn¡¯t have time to try and understand. Because, his mind had already blurred, and his body and turned powerless...

    This sudden turn in events instantly caused the rest of the examinees who were preparing to beg for mercy to close their mouths shut.

    Each of them stared with their eyes wide open at Ying Shan.

    "ng!"

    A clear sound rang out in the quiet space. Nangon Mu¡¯s sword had finallynded on the fourth chain. This time, he had used every bit of energy he had. Blood spurted out wildly from his chest.

    However, the chain broke with one sh.

    "Boom boom boom!"

    An immensely powerful tremor spread out from the rock as lines of cracks began to form on the rock, covering the entire rock like a huge spider web.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s looked at the rock beneath his feet with a calm expression in his eyes.

    The entire time, he only focused on doing what he was tasked to do. No matter what happened below, no matter whether Fang Zhengzhi won or lost.

    Even if blood-curdling cries rang out, even if he could clearly hear cries of mercy.

    He only focused on what he was supposed to do.

    There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of hesitation, nor the slightest bit of pause.

    It was somewhat apathetic.

    However, it embodied a determined perseverance.

    The cracks of the rock widened even greater. There was even a faint glow that seemed to be about to explode from within the rock. If it was not too long ago, this scene.

    Was undoubtedly a moment filled with hope and survival.

    However, after a sword ced itself beside the neck, the mood and attitude of one looking at this scene would evidently change.

    The World of the Sage was out of control.

    There was still some value to their existence.

    However, once the World of the Sage was reopened, the imperial messengers of the Imperial Academy would charge into the world. When that time came, nobody knew whether Ying Shan, forced into an impasse, would take a risk out of desperation and kill them all in one move.

    "Boom!"

    Finally, the rockpletely shattered. A beam of golden light rushed out from the rock towards the sky, turning into a golden light pir that connected with the sky.

 Chapter 210: Real Versus Fake

    Chapter 210: Real Versus Fake

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    At this moment, the only thing left in the World of the Sage was a patch of golden light.

    There was no more darkness. The golden light lighted up the entire ground, illuminating the sword-filled ground, as well as people¡¯s eyes.

    However, everybody¡¯s mood and thoughts werepletely different.

    Nangong Mu stood beside the light pir, his eyes tightly fixated onto the sword that radiated with a golden light.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s gaze was filled with a preparedness for death. From the moment the golden light glowed up, the only thing on his mind was that his death was finally worth it.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes on the other hand was filled with an intense joy. She gripped her two fists tightly in an emotionally moved manner.

    Ying Shan looked at the golden light with a somewhat cold look in his eyes. His expression seemed somewhat malevolent. However, he didn¡¯t rush towards the golden light immediately. Instead, he stood still on the spot.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, they, on the other hand, were fixated upon Ying Shan, as if they hadpletely missed the golden light.

    The expressions of the other examinees at this moment also became immenselyplicated. Some were happy, some were devastated. Some cried, while some stood stunned.

    Finally, the golden light dissipated.

    The entire World of the Sage returned back to its initial calm.

    The only thing left was a sword. A sword impaled into the ground that glowed with a faint golden light. The body of the sword shuddered slightly, and the low cry of a dragon seemed to emerge from the de of the sword.

    "Pull the sword!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s voice rang out at this moment.

    However, Nangong Mu didn¡¯t move.

    He only gazed silently at that sword, standingpletely still on the exact same spot. He seemed to be waiting, and also seemed to be admiring. Nobody knew what he was thinking.

    But, he indeed didn¡¯t move.

    Surprisingly, Ying Shan didn¡¯t move as well.

    A strange calmness settled over the entire ce. Time, on the other hand, continued to flow by.

    Nobody knew how long had passed before Nangong Mu finally moved. He didn¡¯t pull out the sword. Instead, he slowly turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing not too far away. He seemed to be asking something.

    At this moment, Ying Shan also looked towards Fang Zhengzhi. His eyes seemed to be waiting for something.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel the gazeing from the two of them. He obviously knew the meaning behind Nangong Mu and Yingshan¡¯s gaze.

    Now, the seal of the sword had been broken.

    However, what was unexpected was that the examinees in the World of the Sage didn¡¯t disappear immediately. Then, that also meant that the World of the Sage was still out of control.

    The reason Nangong Mu persisted in shing open the sealing chains was naturally to reopen the World of the Sage. As long as the World of the Sage was under control, those swords held against the examinees¡¯ necks wouldn¡¯t pose a danger anymore.

    However, reality was that those swords were still against the necks of the examinees.

    The examinees, on the other hand, were still lying on their exact same spots.

    Then, the moment Nangong Mu pulled out the sword would be the moment Xing Qingsui and the rest of the examinees perished.

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t pull out the sword.

    Ying Shan could continue to wait indefinitely.

    Fang Zhengzhi definitely could choose to wait as well. However, no matter how long they waited, there was always a limit.

    The scene in front of him was undoubtedly a stalemate. Nangong Mu and Ying Shan, on the other hand, had tossed the key to resolving this stalemate to Fang Zhengzhi at the same time. It seemed somewhat unthinkable.

    However, both Nangong Mu and Ying Shan didn¡¯t think that there was any problem with this decision.

    At this moment, the other examinees had also finally understood the intentions of Nangong Mu and Ying Shan. However, the feeling of having their fates held in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands was definitely not a very good one.

    "Pull out the sword!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s hurried voice rang out again. There was a trace of resolution in his voice. Of course, he knew what everybody was waiting for. However, in his mind.

    There was only one way, forward.

    Then, he would naturally pin hisst hopes on pulling out the sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth. He actually didn¡¯t really like making such a decision. Because, this required quite a lot of brain cells. However, he had no other choice.

    After all, not only did this choice determine the life and death of the few examinees, it simrly also determined the life and death of himself, Yan Xiu and the rest.

    It seemed as if pulling out the sword wasn¡¯t rted to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life at all. What was reality like?

    Now, thest hope of reopening the World of the Sage was pulling out the sword. However, who dared to say for sure that once the sword was pulled out...

    The World of the Sage would definitely reopen?

    The sword was impaled into the ground. That was a bargaining chip. However, once the sword was pulled out, this represented that thest bargaining chip would be used up. Sess and failure depended on this one move.

    Nangong Mu had thought of this. Ying Shan had also thought of this.

    Hence, the two of them didn¡¯t move.

    "If I add this sword to the zing Qilin Spear, I wonder whether they can defeat you?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sword and finally spoke.

    "Maybe." Ying Shan didn¡¯t deny nor confirm.

    "If I ask you to let them all go, is there a possibility?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the surrounding examinees. He didn¡¯t really like these people. However, at the very least, at this moment, he was in the same camp as these people. Or, it could be said, they were of the same race.

    "There is."

    "Then, what are the terms of this exchange?"

    "A sword."

    "So, I¡¯ll have to pull out the sword first. Is that right?"

    "There is no need."

    "Looks like you don¡¯t wish for this sword to be pulled out?"

    "Of course."

    "However, if the sword isn¡¯t pulled out, how can we guarantee our lives?" Fang Zhengzhi tossed the problem over to Ying Shan.

    "This is your problem."

    "You are really naive. Do you really think I care about their lives and deaths?" As he spoke, Fang Zhengzhi walked towards the sword impaled on the ground.

    Step by step, Fang Zhengzhi neared the sword.

    Ying Shan didn¡¯t speak, neither did he move. However, the other examinees on the other hand were on the verge of tears. Because, they could clearly feel that as Fang Zhengzhi neared the sword, the swords on their necks turned a little bit colder.

    Nangong Mu looked at Fang Zhengzhi. His expression was calm. All along, he didn¡¯t speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked up to the sword.

    Then, his hand grabbed onto the hilt of the sword.

    Every movement he made waspletely without hesitation. It was as if he was grabbing a very ordinary sword. He didn¡¯t even bother to take a single nce at the surrounding examinees.

    This caused a sense of despair to fill the hearts of the surrounding examinees.

    Only Xing Qingsui¡¯s gaze seemed extremely calm, as if in approval of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand held onto the sword hilt.

    He could clearly feel the intricacies of the carvings into the sword hilt. Moreover, he could even feel the tremendous power that this sword contained within. That, was power as dazzling as the sun.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu had also walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements and remained silent.

    On the other hand, Ping Yang pouted her tiny mouth.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you really going to pull out the sword?" Inside her heart, Ping Yang was hoping that Fang Zhengzhi would pull out the sword without hesitation. However, as the princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, she suddenly felt that this seemed somewhat inappropriate.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply Ping Yang¡¯s question. Instead, he gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

    Then, he let go of his hand slowly.

    "I believe this sword is fake!" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned around and looked at Ying Shan with an extremely serious expression on his face.

    "Fake?" Ying Shan was slightly taken aback.

    He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi only had two choices, either pull out the sword, or don¡¯t. However, he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would say such a thing at such a time.

    Was the sword real or fake?

    Ying Shan had no way to determine the answer to this problem.

    In the entire World of the Sage, the only person who might be able to answer this question was Fang Zhengzhi alone.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi was the one who defeated the Broken Bridge, the Twin Stone Tablets and the stone house.

    However...

    Could Ying Shan trust Fang Zhengzhi?

    Of course not. Hence, he had no way of determining the authenticity of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu also looked towards Fang Zhengzhi. Simrly, he didn¡¯t know whether Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were true. Fang Zhengzhi might be using this method to trick Ying Shan.

    However, what trick could he employ based on the legitimacy of the sword?

    When Yan Xiu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, a slight pondering look appeared on his face. However, he didn¡¯t speak.

    "Real or fake, you would know once you pull it out. Isn¡¯t that right?" When Ping Yang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, she seemed to have suddenly understood something. Then, she suggested aloud very cooperatively.

    "Since it is fake, why is there a need to pull it out?" Fang Zhengzhi shot a disdainful look towards Ping Yang. He didn¡¯t even need to wait for Ying Shan to speak.

    "You..." Ping Yang was enraged.

    She felt as if she was extremely smart. She was able to instantly understand the intentions behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, and act it out with him in such a cooperative manner. However, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to not have epted this kindness.

    This caused her to be somewhat angered.

    "If you don¡¯t pull out the sword, how do you know whether it is real or fake?" After Ying Shan heard the conversation between the two people, he finally spoke again.

    "What is the reason the World of the Sage went out of control?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t directly answer Ying Shan¡¯s question. Instead, he asked a question back at him.

    "That is naturally due to the consciousness of this sword controlling the World of the Sage. Hence, as long as one possesses this sword, he possesses the ability to control the World of the Sage." Ying Shan replied.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded lightly. When the World of the Sage crumbled and they appeared in his sea of swords, he was naturally filled with doubt. Hence, at first, he had directed this question towards Yan Xiu.

    "You are right. However, this sword has no consciousness. Hence, it is naturally a fake." Fang Zhengzhi was very confident of his reply.

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi, if this sword was fake, will you be so nice as to tell it to em? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know what this represents?" Ying Shan suddenlyughed.

    Just as he said, if this sword was fake, that meant that Fang Zhengzhi had lost hisst bargaining chip.

    "I said just now that their lives and deaths don¡¯t matter to me." Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly.

    When the other examinees heard this, they red at Fang Zhengzhi with menace in their eyes. Even if you don¡¯t care about our lives and deaths, you don¡¯t have to say it out like that!

    That is too insulting.

    However, Ying Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behaviour was too abnormal.

    He had no choice but to doubt. If Fang Zhengzhi really didn¡¯t care about the lives and deaths of these examinees, it would be impossible for the current situation to be as calm.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi cared about their lives.

    Then, it was simply impossible for him to say something such as "the sword is fake".

    What is...

    His intention?

    All of a sudden, Ying Shan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    He understood.

    Fang Zhengzhi was lending him a knife to kill.

    First, ensure that these examinees lost all their value to him. Then, using his de to kill off these examinees.

    When that time came, he would pull out the sword and still be able to bear a righteous name.

    However, if he pulled out the sword now, even if he lived, he would be hated upon by millions of people.

    This was a very perfect n.

    At the same time, it meant that the sword in front of Fang Zhengzhi, was real!

    If it was said that Ying Shan had been somewhat confused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words previously, now, after having understood everything, Ying Shan¡¯s mind was as clear as snow.

    "Since you imed that the sword is fake, why would you continue to hold on to it?" Ying Shan was now very sure of himself. Hence, he obviously wouldn¡¯t fall for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trap as easily.

    As long as these examinees were in his hands, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t pull out the sword.

    "You don¡¯t me you are willing to use their lives to exchange for this fake sword?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ying Shan with some shock.

    "I only wish for this sword not to be pulled out." Ying Shan nodded.

    "Make sure you don¡¯t regret, this is really a fake sword." Fang Zhengzhi urged very persistently.

    A slight smile formed on the edges of Ying Shan¡¯s smile. Once he determined that the sword was a real one, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions undoubtedly became nothing but a joke.

    "Leave that sword and I will let them go!" Ying Shan said directly.

    "Alright, however, there are currently three people standing beside this sword. Hence, you have to let go of people in an order. For each of us that leaves, you must let go of a portion of them. How about that?" Fang Zhengzhiid out his terms.

    "Alright!" Ying Shan nodded.

    Ping Yang looked towards Fang Zhengzhi. She really couldn¡¯t quite understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. Don¡¯t tell me Fang Zhengzhi is really willing to give the sword to Ying Shan?

    "Since when did this shameless guy be so righteous?" Ping Yang mumbled.

    Of course, Ping Yang wanted to rescue the people.

    However, she understood that using the sword to exchange for the people was ultimately only a temporarily relief. Once Ying Shan regained the advantage, whether their people would be worthy of fighting against Ying Shan would remain an unknown variable.

    This didn¡¯t suit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s usual actions.

    If the person who did this was Xing Qingsui, then, Ping Yang wouldn¡¯t speak.

    However, this was Fang Zhengzhi?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t notice Ping Yang¡¯s strange expression. Instead, he only took one look at Yan Xiu, then nodded slightly towards him.

    Yan Xiu understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions. He walked away slowly until he reached Ping Yang¡¯s side.

    "That sword is real, am I right?" Ping Yang looked at Yan Xiuing over and asked very softly.

    "It is fake." Yan Xiu took one look at Ping Yang and spoke calmly.

    "Who is going to believe that? The light is so bright. What kind of fake sword would have such a power?" Ping Yang twitched her mouth. She naturally wouldn¡¯t believe Yan Xiu¡¯s words.

    Ying Shan didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to Ping Yang and Yan Xiu.

    Instead, his finger moved slightly. The swords against the necks of five examinees dropped to the ground.

    As they felt the God of Death leave them, the five examinees breathed out heavily. Then, they hurriedly crawled to Ping Yang and Yan Xiu¡¯s side, as if they had long forgotten the heavy injuries on their bodies.

    Fang Zhengzhi once again shot his gaze towards Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu simrly left without the slightest bit of hesitation. However, he didn¡¯t walk towards Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. Instead, he walked very quietly to the side.

    This scene appeared somewhat strange. After all, it was understandable if Yan Xiu left. However, why would Nangong Mu leave?

    Could it be that Nangong Mu had also believed Fang Zhengzhi that the sword was fake?

    How could it be fake?

 Chapter 211: Pulling out the sword

    Chapter 211: Pulling out the sword

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The golden pir that reached the sky a moment ago was something everybody had seen with their own eyes.

    The sealed stone had alsopletely exploded and shattered on the ground. On top of that, the material of the four chains that sealed the sword was definitely not ordinary as well.

    If it was said that the sword was fake, there was simply nobody that would believe.

    Furthermore, this was said by Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, the more reason why people wouldn¡¯t believe it.

    "Don¡¯t tell me Fang Zhengzhi is really going to use that sword to exchange for our lives?"

    "Can he be so good?"

    "No matter how hard I try, I still can¡¯t understand. I feel that the probability of this is rather low!"

    One by one, doubts rose within the hearts of the people.

    Some of them were still filled with hatred from things Fang Zhengzhi had said previously. Another portion of the people were filled with astonishment from the words he was saying at this moment.

    However, these thoughts didn¡¯t persist for very long. The joy of freedom made them forget all the misgivings they had.

    Was there anything that could be more important than escaping with their lives from the de on the neck?

    The situation entered a stalemate once again.

    Because, there was still one person left beside the sword. Ying Shan¡¯s hand simrly still held the lives of thest five people.

    No matter what kind of exchange it was, only at thest moment would one be able to tell whether it was sessful. For example, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi stood beside the sword, while Ying Shan still controlled the life and death of the five examinees.

    Xing Qingsui was naturally among these five examinees.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu gripped the Green and Blue Dual de tightly in his hand, as if preparing to do something.

    There was a saying that went, the onlooker sees more of the game. Nangong Mu believed greatly in this saying. As such, all along, he had used the perspective of an onlooker to view this exchange.

    That was the reason he was willing to listen to Fang Zhengzhi and leave the sword.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t believe that the sword was fake.

    However, he had to leave.

    Because, only by leaving could he then rescue the lives of the next five examinees.

    The person involved in the situation would have to guess whether the sword was real or fake. However, an onlooker wouldn¡¯t have to. All he had to do was to take one look to know that the situation was obvious at a nce.

    Ying Shan had spared the lives of ten examinees.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi continued to stand beside the sword.

    It seemed like a fair exchange. However, it actually wasn¡¯t fair. Because, only one person was needed to pull out the sword!

    This was a very cruel reality. Fang Zhengzhi had made the wisest possible choice. Exchanging for the lives of ten examinees by asking two people to leave.

    As for the lives of thest five examinees, they naturally couldn¡¯t be saved anymore.

    Then next...

    Fang Zhengzhi should be pulling out the sword.

    Nangong Mu had thought of this a long time ago. At this moment, Xing Qingsui had also suddenly thought of this. After the state of the situation had advanced until this step, it actually wasn¡¯t too difficult to understand it now.

    When he understood this, he bit his lips tightly and prepared himself mentally.

    A gust of wind lightly blew past. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blue robe billowed in the wind. The situation had suddenly turned somewhat quiet. Everybody was waiting, waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to pull out the sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood beside the sword and gazed towards Ying Shan.

    Ying Shan was also looking at Fang Zhengzhi.

    His eyes narrowed slightly. Previously, he had been confused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, hence didn¡¯t manage to guess this immediately. However, at this moment, he understood.

    So that is the reason!

    Ying Shan was somewhat regretful. However, if he had another chance to choose, he would still make the same choice. It was a very worthwhile exchange to use the lives of ten ordinary examinees to bet for a chance. Most importantly, he still held the most important person in his hands - Xing Qingsui.

    "Are you going to pull out the sword?" The edges of Ying Shan¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.

    "This sword is fake, why will I pull it out?" Fang Zhengzhi lightly shook his head.

    "Are you going to say this even now?"

    "I am just speaking the truth."

    "Then, what are you going to do next? If you want me to let go of the people first, I can tell you immediately. That is impossible." Ying Shan¡¯s face carried a firm expression.

    "No, I only need you to make an oath to the Demon God. After I leave, you will let go of the people!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head once again.

    "You are going to leave?" A glimmer of shock shed across Ying Shan¡¯s eyes.

    "Since you said that it was impossible for you to let go of the people first, then, it would definitely have to be me who leaves." Fang Zhengzhi said this as if it was somewhat obvious.

    "Alright!" Ying Shan nodded.

    If the exchange was really smoothlypleted, then, the person with the advantage would naturally be him. Because, as long as the exchange waspleted, the sword would return back under his control. He would also regain active control the situation. Then, there was no purpose in any further trickery.

    The remaining examinees were somewhat confused. What was the point of making such a request? Because, they all believed that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely pull out the sword.

    Don¡¯t tell me it is to enrage Ying Shan again?

    If that was really the case, they could only conclude that Fang Zhengzhi really had nothing better to do.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression also seemed somewhat shocked.

    He felt that his judgement couldn¡¯t be wrong. Then, what was the point of Fang Zhengzhi doing such a thing? For the first time, he felt as if he couldn¡¯t really understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak further. Instead, he quietly stood on the spot, waiting for Ying Shan to make the oath.

    "I, Ying Shan, swear to the Demon God that as long as Fang Zhengzhi abides by the agreement and leaves, I will also abide by the agreement and temporarily free the remaining five examinees!" Ying shan used the word, "temporarily". The meaning behind it was even more obvious.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He didn¡¯t voice out any objections.

    Ever since Ying Shan¡¯s voicended, he had begun to leave slowly. It was as if he was doing something that was only to be expected. He walked very indifferently, and very calmly.

    However, this movement caused the rest of the people to stare with their eyes wide with shock.

    Ying Shan indeed used the lives of the ten examinees to bet for this chance.

    However since when did he believe that this chance would be fulfilled? However, now it seemed like he had won the bet. Fang Zhengzhi had really left. He left that sword.

    Each of the examinees looked at Fang Zhengzhi with their faces filled with disbelief. All of them felt that Fang Zhengzhi should have pulled out the sword. However, the reality was that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t do so. Instead, he had really left.

    "What is Fang Zhengzhi even doing?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me he doesn¡¯t know that once the sword ends up in Ying Shan¡¯s hand, that means that we would all die?"

    "I... I can¡¯tprehend this!"

    The examinees werepletely stunned. They really didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    The swords at the necks of Xing Qingsui and the other four examinees fell to the ground.

    Ying Shan had fulfilled his part of the oath.

    Fang Zhengzhi had also fulfilled his promise.

    Hence, the two of them, just like two righteous men who valued trust very highly, exchanged ces. Ying Shan stood beside the sword, while Fang Zhengzhi returned back to Yan Xiu¡¯s side.

    This seemed to be an extremely peaceful and harmonious exchange.

    However, when it was a human and a demon who were in such harmony, it seemed more or less somewhat strange.

    Most importantly, this wasn¡¯t an exchange everybody wished to see. At least, among the examinees who were still alive, none of them were willing to witness such a conclusion.

    Xing Qingsui had been carried to the crowd by a few examinees whose injuries were rtively lighter. His gaze was fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi. It was filled with a deep sense of dissatisfaction. He really couldn¡¯t understand, why Fang Zhengzhi would give up that sword at thest and most critical moment?

    "Why didn¡¯t you pull out that sword?" Xing Qingsui asked with great difficulty.

    "If I said that I gave up my own chance to live so that you can live temporarily, would you believe?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply his question directly. Instead, he directed a question back at Xing Qingsui.

    "I don¡¯t believe!" Xing Qingsui replied without even thinking.

    "How about the rest of you?"

    "We don¡¯t believe either!"

    "Then, what do you think is the remaining possibility?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly.

    Xing Qingsui grew silent. The rest of the examinees also looked at one another, not knowing what to say.

    "The sword is fake?" An examinee asked probingly.

    "That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t tell me you people aren¡¯t able to understand such a simple thing?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to reply this question with great despise.

    "..."

    "How can that sword be fake?"

    The examinees were somewhat speechless. However, an even greater majority of them were in disbelief.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even bother replying anymore. Instead, he lightly waved his hand and looked at the crowd with a disdainful gaze.

    Among the crowd, there was only one person who was calm.

    That was Yan Xiu.

    Nangong Mu stood beside the crowd, seeming somewhat lonely. However, his gaze had all along been fixated on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. He wished to infer something from his expression.

    However, what disappointed him was that when Fang Zhengzhi mentioned that sword, his expression was calm the entire time.

    Ying Shan stood beside the sword. His gaze slowly began to sharpen. No matter what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, it was him who had regained the advantage in the current situation.

    As long as the sword was in the ground.

    Then, the World of the Sage would be sealed.

    With the power of the Supernatural State, killing off Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu would only be a matter of time.

    ...

    At this moment, the situation seemed to have returned back to its starting point.

    However, it was more serious than its initial state.

    Xing Qingsui and the rest of the examinees had alreadypletely lost their strength. The only people at the scene with energy left to fight were Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, as well as the injured Nangong Mu.

    As for Ping Yang?

    She waspletely ignored by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "How are you so sure that the sword is fake?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She didn¡¯t really wish to ask Fang Zhengzhi this question. Because, she would definitely be despised by Fang Zhengzhi once she asked this. However, she was really too curious.

    "Do you want to try?" Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Ping Yang.

    "Try? How?" Ping Yang was somewhat taken aback.

    "Try to pull it out of course..." Fang Zhengzhi said in a very straightforward manner.

    "Pull..." Just as Ping Yang was prepared to ask how he was going to pull it out, her eyes turned round.

    Or, it could be said, not only Ping Yang, but everybody¡¯s eyes had turned round.

    Ying Shan¡¯s expression turned somewhat distorted for the first time. That was a distortion caused by being intensely shaken from deep within his heart. He had thought of countless possibilities, but he had never thought of this.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s calm was finally broken.

    All along, he felt as if he understood Fang Zhengzhi. However, in the end, he suddenly felt as if he couldn¡¯t really understand. And now, he had a thought.

    He seemed to have been overthinking all along.

    He didn¡¯t know how Fang Zhengzhi did this. However, if Fang Zhengzhi was really able to achieve this, then, the advantage had all along been with him.

    The sword...

    Had been pulled out.

    Without a single sound.

    It floated in mid-air and gave off a faint, golden glow.

    That was an extremely mysterious scene.

    However, that was reality.

    "You... don¡¯t tell me you..." Ying Shan would have never even dreamt that Fang Zhengzhi could be able to achieve this. Because, this was his ability. Shadow control.

    "You have a problem?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ying Shan with an innocent expression.

    In this pocket dimension, there were a few hundred types of Dao. He had conglomerated seven years of stars. Shadow? Shouldn¡¯t he at least conglomerate something like that?

    The first time he witnessed Ying Shan controlling the shadow on the ground to pull out the sword.

    He had already felt that this move didn¡¯t seem too bad at all.

    Hence, he began to try it. However, thinking and doing ultimately required some trial and error. This trial and error required some time.

    Hence, the entire time, he was dragging time. At the same time, he had been trying non-stop to control the swords on the ground with shadow.

    Until the moment he held that sword with his hand.

    He could finally ascertain that he was already capable of achieving this.

    Then, he evidently didn¡¯t have to pull out the sword immediately.

    Would Ying Shan pull it out?

    Of course not.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in a rush at all. At the very least, he wasn¡¯t rushed enough to pull out the sword while Ying Shan still controlled the lives of over ten examinees. He had sufficient time to wait.

    As for whether that sword was real or fake?

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally didn¡¯t know.

    What he needed to do was to let Ying Shan feel that he wouldn¡¯t pull out the sword.

    Hence, he kept telling everybody. That sword is fake, it is fake, it is fake...

    Furthermore, he had even used his own actions to tell Ying Shan and the rest of the examinees.

    He had the opportunity to pull out the sword.

    But, he didn¡¯t pull it out. The entire time, he didn¡¯t pull it out.

    Even if he had the sword hilt in his hand, he wouldn¡¯t pull it out either.

    This way, Ying Shan would definitely not have expected Fang Zhengzhi to attempt pull it out once again.

    Even more importantly, even if Ying Shan strongly believed that the sword was real, he would still grow doubts due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s consistent actions. Was there a possibility that the sword would be fake?

    Even though it was only a guess.

    Opportunities...

    Sometimes grew within the span of just one thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thinking was very simple. All he wanted to do was to ensure other people wouldn¡¯t expect him to pull out the sword. As for how they thought? He didn¡¯t know, and didn¡¯t have to know.

    And now...

    At the moment when everybody felt that the sword might really be fake.

    He pulled out the sword.

    When Ying Shan stood beside the sword with unparalleled self-confidence, he had effortlessly sent a shadow through the ground towards the sword hilt, then, rapidly pulled it out.

    Ping Yang wouldn¡¯t be able to think of such a turn of events. Hence, her tiny mouth grew wide with shock.

    Nangong Mu simrly didn¡¯t think of this. Because, he remembered very clearly the people who were able to control shadow.

    Hence, the calm on his face was broken, turning into shock.

    Ying Shan had even more reason to not have thought of this. Because, this was his technique. Just as Nangong Mu said, the people within the human race who knew how to use this technique were few. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name wasn¡¯t among them.

    Yan Xiu, on the other hand, was able to think of this. However, he wasn¡¯t sure that Fang Zhengzhi could achieve it.

    However, why did that even matter?

    No matter whether Fang Zhengzhi was able to achieve this or not, he would definitely have a way to pull out the sword. This, was how Yan Xiu thought in his heart all along.

    The situation...

    At this moment, entered a short state of calm.

    The sword floated in mid-air, glowing with a faint golden light. Everybody¡¯s gaze was fixated upon that sword, the sword that Fang Zhengzhi pulled out from the ground.

    The trace of a smile appeared on the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    "Pull out the sword? What a simple thing to do!"

 Chapter 212: Dragon Protection Squad

    Chapter 212: Dragon Protection Squad

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Within the Yan Capital, the torrential rain remained.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun stood under the downpour with an expression of anxious worry. The torrential raindrops sttered on his face, however, he remainedpletely still.

    In front of him was the Advanced Academy. Eunuch Pan, wearing an official robe, waited outside the door of the Advanced Academy, signifying that Emperor Lin Mubai was inside.

    The World of the Sage had gone out of control.

    This was a very urgent matter. Because, nobody knew what was happening within the World of the Sage. Not only did this concern the conducting of the imperial examination, more importantly, it concerned the safety of the creme of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Most importantly, Ping Yang was also trapped inside.

    Princess Ping Yang, one who was favored most by the Emperor. More importantly, one who could not afford to suffer the slightest bit of mishap.

    Even the current crown prince¡¯s importance couldn¡¯tpare to that of Ping Yang in the Great Xia Dynasty. Because, Ping Yang represented protection. A protection that concerned the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    If it was any other time, Ninth Prince Lin Yun would definitely rush into the Advanced Academy without the slightest bit of hesitation, even if he were to meet with a raging temper of a dragon.

    But now...

    He stopped.

    The reason was that other than Eunuch Pan, there was a team of soldiers in brightly-coloured armour standing outside the door of the Advanced Academy.. No matter how much the torrential rain battered them, the armour on their bodies remained clean.

    Their territory could be exposed to the outside world. Furthermore, it could be maintained indefinitely. This only meant that every single one of them had a power above the Heavenly Reflection Intermediate State.

    An armyposedpletely of people above the Heavenly Reflection Intermediate State.

    There was only one in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    That was the Dragon Protection Squad.

    A soaring golden dragon was etched on the chest of each soldier, representing their grand status. They do not have to greet princes, nor do they have to dismount when they enter the imperial capital. That was the privilege of the Dragon Protection Squad.

    The background of every single member of the Dragon Protection Squad was extremely noble. They came from the thirteen constabries and were the direct descendants of noble families. However, they only obey the orders of the present Emperor.

    They represented the Emperor. At the same time, they were the link that connected the Emperor to the thirteen constabries and all the noble families.

    The Dragon Protection Squad appearing in the imperial capital wasn¡¯t something very out of the ordinary.

    However, dozens of Dragon Protection Squad members appearing at the imperial capital at the same time represented only one possibility. Something big had happened. Something big that concerned the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun stopped. He hesitated. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate for much longer.

    Very quickly, Ninth Prince Lin Yun moved.

    Step by step, he walked towards the door of the Advanced Academy.

    Standing guard at the door, Eunuch Pan moved his lips, but didn¡¯t speak. The dozens of Dragon Protection Squad members also looked at Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    A person walked out from the group, blocking in front of Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    His expression was as cold as ice.

    He held a sword in his hand. That was a sword that was already unsheathed. The de of the sword was polished until it was sparkling bright, glowing with a silver light under the battering of the torrential rain.

    "Ninth prince, you seem to have an urgent matter?" The person who spoke wasn¡¯t the one holding the sword. Instead, it was a person standing beside Eunuch Wei. He was over thirty years of age, and his expression was just as cold.

    "Yes!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun nodded with a determined expression.

    "How urgent?"

    "Very urgent!"

    "What has ninth prince been governing recently?"

    "The imperial examination."

    By right, the imperial examination concerns the future of the Great Xia Dynasty and is extremely urgent. However, I believe you can still wait for a while."

    "What if in addition to that, it also concerns Ping Yang¡¯s safety?"

    "Ninth prince, please enter!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad member blocking Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s path kept his sword and made way.

    Without another word, and without any form of apology, he left quietly and returned to where he initially stood. It was just as if he had never moved before.

    Eunuch Pan¡¯s expression contained some shock. However, he still quietly pushed open the door of the Advanced Academy.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun walked in. The moment he crossed the main door that led into the Advanced Academy, the raindrops that stuck to his body seemed to have been fixed in ce, hanging in mid-air. Then, after Ninth Prince Lin Yun crossed the doorpletely.

    Those raindrops fell onto the ground and returned back to the storm.

    ...

    Within the Advanced Academy, a faint aroma hung in the air. However, the aroma was mixed with a trace of blood scent.

    Two members of the Dragon Protection Squad stood on the left and right sides of the academy respectively. A g stood in the dead center of the academy. A g stained with blood.

    A person was covered under the g.

    This was a form of etiquette, an etiquette that belonged to the Dragon Protection Squad. There was only one circumstance under which such an etiquette would appear. The meant that there was someone among the Dragon Protection Squad who died.

    And now, this dead person was carried into the Advanced Academy.

    Then...

    Things weren¡¯t as simple as somebody dying.

    The Dragon Protection Squadprised five hundred people. This was something that remained constant ever since the Great Xia Dynasty was founded. Fifty people formed one group. Every group was appointed a Dragon Envoy.

    "A Dragon Envoy died?!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun finally understood why the Dragon Protection Squad member at the door would im that even the imperial examination could wait.

    Because, it had been ten years ever since a Dragon Envoy had to be reced.

    What exactly happened?

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun didn¡¯t ask. Because, this wasn¡¯t something he should ask. What he needed to do now was to answer, answer properly when inquired by Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "Hail Emperor!"

    "Speak." Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice came from behind the table. However, it didn¡¯t seem to carry any intention of asking the Ninth Prince to rise.

    "Report! The World of the Sage had gone out of control. Everyone who entered the third round ofbat examination have been trapped in the World of the Sage. May Emperor spare my uselessness!"

    "Have you investigated the reason behind this?"

    "Replying Emperor, I didn¡¯t dare to jump to a conclusion for the definite reason behind this, however, I guess that it might be rted to the sword in the World of the Sage."

    "Guess? As the invigtor of the imperial examination, you dare to tell me that you are guessing? Furthermore, you are guessing about the sword that doesn¡¯t exist? Do you know the incident about Ping Yang entering thisbat examination?"

    "I know."

    "With her abilities, even if she uses the zing Qilin Spear, the time would definitelye when she exhausted her strength. She... didn¡¯t enter the third round, right?"

    "Ping Yang didn¡¯t use the zing Qilin Spear. She followed Fang Zhengzhi, passed the Broken Bridge, the Twin Stone Tablets and entered the third round..."

    "Broken Bridge, Twin Stone Tablets? You mean Fang Zhengzhi was able to solve the Broken Bridge and Twin Stone Tablets?"

    "He even solved the stone house."

    "So, Ping Yang is now trapped in the World of the Sage as well?"

    "Yes."

    "What are you still kneeling for?! Follow me to the Imperial Academy!" After Emperor Lin Mubai finished speaking, he stood up from the chair and charged out directly,pletely ignoring the ninth prince.

    When the two members of the Dragon Protection Squad witnessed this, they didn¡¯t speak a single word. Instead, they continued to stand quietly on the spot. Their expression was as calm as before, just like two carved statues.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun took once nce at the two members of the Dragon Protection Squad, looked at the Dragon Envoy on the ground covered by a g, then turned around and left. He didn¡¯t say a single word. However, he seemed to be pondering something.

    ...

    Within the World of the Sage.

    The crisp cry of the sword resonated in the sky. The golden sword rose from Ying Shan¡¯s side and turned into a streak of light,nding in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    A cool gust of wind blew past, billowing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s robe.

    With the spear on his right hand, the sword on his left, and even a trace of a smile at the edges of his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi looked somewhatical. However, not a single person would make fun of him at this moment.

    Because, the sword Fang Zhengzhi held in his hand was the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    Ying Shan¡¯s expression was frightfully dark.

    In his entire life, he had been praised by countless people. However, behind the praises, he had also simrly went through countless failures and setbacks. This caused his personality to be cold yet firm and persistent.

    But now...

    That firm and persistent personality of his seemed to be facing the greatest challenge of all.

    His distorted expression represented the rage in his heart. The feeling of being yed around in the palms of others caused him to have no way of holding back the burning anger in him.

    Most importantly, the person who yed him like a fool, was someone who was less powerful than him.

    That feeling was like an adult who experienced dozens of years of trials and hardships being fooled around by a three-year-old kid. Shame, unwillingness, anger, misery...

    Ying Shan didn¡¯t say another word. Instead, he swallowed the shattered teeth that he had bitten.

    Then, he tore off theyer of skin on his forehead.

    An emerald green pearl was revealed on his forehead. Its faint sea green glow was like the mes of hell, causing people to shudder involuntarily.

    The demon eye, origin of the demon¡¯s power.

    "Green?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat confused.

    He remembered that in the previous county examination, the demon he defeated had a blue demon eye. However, the one on Ying Shan¡¯s forehead was instead green.

    "The emerald green demon eye means that Ying Shan had already entered the Supernatural Intermediate State." Yan Xiu said.

    "Seems that the colour of the demon eye is rted to one¡¯s power?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard Yan Xiu¡¯s words, he understood and guessed that the colour of the demon eye should represent the power of the demon.

    In the previous county examination, the demon¡¯s power was around that of Star Conglomerate.

    This meant that the Star Conglomerate State was blue and the Supernatural State was green. What about the Heavenly Reflection STate?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to speak, the words that reached his mouth turned into another sentence...

    "If the demon eye turns ck... what does that mean?"

    "Turns ck? Oh no!" Yan Xiu didn¡¯t reply Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. Because, his expression had already changed. There was never a previous time when his expression was as shocked as this.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression simrly turned extremely shocked. He gripped the Green and Blue Dual des in his hands tightly, and his legs unconsciously shifted two steps towards the direction of Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was an instinctive movement. However, the meaning behind this action represented the fear that rose in Nangong Mu¡¯s heart.

    Ever since Ying Shan¡¯s identity was exposed.

    To holding off Ying Shan afterwards, and thenstly slicing the chains on the sword.

    Nangong Mu had never revealed the slightest bit of horror.

    But now...

    He had clearly taken two steps backwards.

    The other examinees were also terrified.

    Each of them felt as if they had seen Death crawl out from hell. They were absolutely terrified.

    "Quick, run!"

    "Why can¡¯t we leave even though the sword had been pulled out?!"

    "I don¡¯t want to die!"

    The examinees started to shout. Their voice, filled with hope for a miracle, rang out. However, ever since Fang Zhengzhi had pulled out the sword, there weren¡¯t any further movements.

    The sword...

    Was it real, or was it fake?

    This wasn¡¯t a question that they were concerned with anymore.

    They were more concerned with how they were going to hold their ground for fifteen minutes.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know these. Instead, his face was filled with confusion.

    At this moment, Ying Shan¡¯s face turned extremely distorted. The emerald green demon eye on his forehead seemed to have beenpletely sucked in, turning into a ck colour, the same ck colour as a ck hole.

    This was an extremely strange scene. At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t understand. What is Ying Shan trying to do?

    "Should we... run?" Ping Yang¡¯s clear eyes gazed towards Ying Shan. Despite her arrogance and pride, her expression at this moment turned into one of hesitation and indecisiveness.

    Her hand held tightly onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm.

    This was also an instinctive move. Even Ping Yang herself wouldn¡¯t be able to exin why she would always grab onto Fang Zhengzhi instinctively.

    "Run where?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    The perimeter limits of the sea of swords in front of them could be seen with one nce. There was simply nowhere to run.

    "I¡¯ll ask you onest time, is the sword in your hand... real or fake?" Ping Yang looked at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand with a trace of hope.

    "I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t I have to test such a thing out before I know?" Fang Zhengzhi exined very innocently. He really didn¡¯t know.

    "I think it isn¡¯t very convenient to try anymore." Ping Yang wanted to speak further, but stopped.

    "Why..." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to finish his sentence before he hurriedly shut his mouth. Because, Ying Shan had already charged towards him.

    In reality, this wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t see Ying Shan¡¯s movements.

    However, Ying Shan had disappeared.

    In an instant, he disappeared without a trace. Aspared to his shadowless form within his dark territory, this time, Fang Zhengzhi could confirm that this was a form of speed.

    Extreme speed.

    Almost within the span of a thought, Fang Zhengzhi felt a slight numbness on the skin of his head.

    As if his face had been cut by a de.

    That was also extreme speed. However, it was the wind generated by the extreme speed...

    Sneak attack?!

    No, this was a head-on attack!

    Fang Zhengzhi had never entered the Hall of Dao, nor did he practice any fist techniques in his past life. However, he knew one rule. This was a rule that he had concluded based on his own experiences.

    If someone wanted to attack your face...

    What should you do?

    Should you dodge to the left, or dodge to the right? Or, should you turn around and run? Or even fall to the ground?

    Actually, all of these weren¡¯t fast enough.

    Falling to the ground was the easiest. However, it would be rather hard to crawl back up again.

    Hence, in conclusion.

    Squatting, was the fastest.

    This squat wasn¡¯t any simple squat. It had to be a deep squat. Moreover, it had to be an instinctive deep squat. One cannot fear splitting his pants. After all, face... was the most important.

    Fang Zhengzhi had this awareness. Furthermore, he had remembered this learning experience by heart.

    As such, he squatted very quickly, and very deeply. A little bit more and his butt would have touched the ground.

    "Rippp!"

    Without a doubt, it was impossible for the underwear he wore inside to withstand such a fast and deep squat. It bidded goodbye to its life with a rather muffled sound.

    However, as the saying went, gain is luck, while loss is fate.

    You can¡¯t make progress by clinging to old things. If the old doesn¡¯t go, the new will note.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had saved his face. It was very thrilling, and very dangerous. A fist stopped right on top of his head...

 Chapter 213: The Most Powerful Strike

    Chapter 213: The Most Powerful Strike

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This fist naturally belonged to Ying Shan.

    For the first time, the distance between Fang Zhengzhi and Ying Shan was reduced to a brushing of shoulders. Actually, a better description would be a brushing of the head.

    How quick!

    Fang Zhengzhi eximed to himself. However, his actions didn¡¯t stop.

    Squating deeply was a matter of skill.

    This matter of skill naturally wouldn¡¯t be just a simple squat.

    When one squatted all the way, it also meant that the power in his body had reached an explosive point. It was just like a bow being drawn suddenly.

    As such, after squatting deeply, Fang Zhengzhi very naturally continued with another action.

    Thousand Years of Pain!

    Under normal circumstances, the best position to use the Thousand Years of Pain would be behind a person¡¯s body. However, Fang Zhengzhi had always been somebody who didn¡¯t care too much about the details.

    Being behind had its benefits, however, being in front... had its own advantages as well.

    The zing Qilin Spear and the sword naturally wasn¡¯t suited for such a move. Hence, When Fang Zhengzhi squatted down, he had already kept these two weapons into the Heart Protection Mirror.

    Thus, he could use this move without any worries.

    Furthermore.

    He definitely could put in all the power he had.

    "Kill!"

    Fang Zhengzhi pressed his palms together. Using all the strength he could muster, he pushed towards the position on top of his head.

    Did this move hit its target?

    Actually, one could know based on the feelingsing from his two hands alone.

    "Boom!"

    Compared to Ying Shan, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power was naturally somewhat lower. However, it was impossible for the power of a strike that contained all his strength to not be immense.

    In addition to that, the target of this strike was among the most vital parts of the human body.

    Furthermore, it was an extremely soft part.

    One hard, while the other soft.

    Actually, the oue of this could be imagined...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if Ying Shan would feel the pain.

    However, he could hear the sound of something shattering. Most importantly, he felt Ying Shan¡¯s body tremor. This was a tremor that truly originated from the soul.

    "Ah!"

    At this moment, even a man as powerful as Ying Shan shouted out with a sound that came from the depth of his soul. Then, he retreated. He advanced fast, but retreated even faster.

    The entire world seemed to have turned silent at this moment.

    Nobody could understand what had just happened.

    It was too fast...

    So fast that nobody was able to observe clearly.

    All they saw was Ying Shan moving, then, disappearing. The next moment, Ying Shan appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Then, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have squatted then. After that...

    Ying Shan retreated.

    He even let out a shout when he retreated.

    This voice sounded very deste. Furthermore, it carried some peculiar form of shame and anger.

    Everybody¡¯s gaze instinctively shifted to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Thus, somebody saw the posture Fang Zhengzhi was in before he had time to pull back his hands.

    They had no idea what kind of technique this was. Because, there were never any books that mentioned it, nor were there anybody who had described it to them. However, they could see where this technique targeted.

    Then, they looked towards Ying Shan.

    Very quickly, they realised that Ying Shan¡¯s face was distorted in a rather exaggerated manner. He was unable to resist the trembling in his legs, and furthermore, he even instinctively pressed his legs together.

    "Don¡¯t tell me...?!"

    "Seems like, it is that ce?"

    "..."

    When this thought shed across their minds, everybody instinctively reached out their hand and used it to cover a certain part.

    Pain...

    Even though they didn¡¯t experience it personally, they could imagine that kind of pain.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned somewhat strange. He believed that he had read all the books in the world, however, he had never seen this technique before.

    Even though this technique wasn¡¯t very morally upright.

    But, what he was more concerned about was, how did Fang Zhengzhi think of this?

    Because...

    Ying Shan¡¯s movements were too fast. It was so fast that simply nobody would have time to think. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reaction was mysteriously fast. Not only was he able to use the action of squatting to avoid Ying Shan¡¯s punch, he was even able to add in a continuation to utilise this technique.

    It was definitely impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to have thought of this on the spot under such circumstances.

    Then, there was only one exnation. This technique had always existed within Fang Zhengzhi. Or, it could be said that he had either used it before or practiced it before.

    Ping Yang¡¯s clear eyes at this moment seemed somewhat stunned. However, after the moment of shock, her small face suddenly flushed red. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi and huffed very shamelessly.

    "Shameless!"

    Yan Xiu definitely wouldn¡¯t scold Fang Zhengzhi for being shameless like Ping Yang did. Instead, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then pressed his palms together and tried mimicking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements for a few times.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt the various types of gazesing towards him from all around.

    He was somewhat confused.

    Why does everybody¡¯s gaze seem so strange after seeing this Thousand Years of Pain? Don¡¯t tell me they don¡¯t know the beauty of this technique?

    Didn¡¯t I manage to cause Ying Shan to retreat? Why is nobody praising me?

    Don¡¯t tell me that this world...

    Didn¡¯t contain such a move?

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought of this, a trace of understanding suddenly rose within him. So that is the case.

    He had initially felt that the reason his move seeded was due to its continuous flow. However, now it seemed like the true reason why his move was sessful was because this technique simply didn¡¯t exist in this world.

    Since that was the case, Ying Shan naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to expect Fang Zhengzhi to employ such a move.

    That, was the critical reason for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sess.

    And next, Fang Zhengzhi realised something even stranger. He had initially felt that Ying Shan would be able to recover very quickly. After all, Ying Shan was of the Supernatural State.

    Even though this move was deadly, it was ultimately impossible for it to cause any severe injuries.

    However, Ying Shan didn¡¯t seem to be as calm as before. Instead, he bit down on his lips very tightly. That pain had even caused sweat to appear like raindrops on his forehead.

    "What is this all about?" Fang Zhengzhi was very confused.

    When Yan Xiu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he looked towards Ying Shan. There wasn¡¯t too much of a shock in his expression. Instead, he looked as if everything had been expected.

    "Ying Shan hadpletely absorbed the power of the demon eye into his body. Hence, he had lost all Supernatural abilities. However, his power and speed hadpletely surpassed his initial Supernatural Intermediate State." Yan Xiu exined.

    "This is possible?"

    "The cost of this is that after fifteen minutes, his power would be gonepletely."

    "This means that we must drag for fifteen minutes?"

    "Yes."

    Fang Zhengzhi understood. However, what he also understood was that these fifteen minutes would be easy to drag. The reason he was able to cause Ying Shan to retreat a moment ago waspletely because of luck.

    However, luck cannot shine on a person forever.

    Hence...

    He still had to think of a way to defeat Ying Shan.

    On the other hand, Ying Shan naturally wouldn¡¯t give him any time. After his face contorted in the extreme manner. Ying Shan finally moved again. He took a step forward, but a slight tremor continued to run through his body.

    It was likely due to the extreme pain.

    Yan Xiu blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Because, he could tell that Ying Shan¡¯s target was Fang Zhengzhi. As such, blocking Fang Zhengzhi was the same as blocking Ying Shan¡¯s attack.

    Nangong Mu also blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    His expression was very calm. However, his eyes were filled with determination. There was no reason for this. He just stood right at the front, holding the Green and Blue Dual des and pointing to the front.

    "Work together!" Two words came out of Nangong Mu¡¯s mouth.

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu also nodded.

    As such, the three youths stood together. Fang Zhengzhi stood in the middle, Yan Xiu stood on the left, while Nangong Mu stood on the right.

    The other examinees exchanged nces. Then, two people stood out.

    Among them, one was Wang Chuanping, the person who Fang Zhengzhi had let off in the first round.

    The other was a middle-aged man.

    "My name is Wang Manxin. I am Chuanping¡¯s cousin. Since Chuanping had stood out, I will stand out as well." The middle-aged man spoke.

    "Nicely done!" A clear voice sounded out. Then, a figure appeared beside Fang Zhengzhi, wearing a Red me Flower Armor that shed with a red glow under the light.

    "What are you doing here?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang.

    "I am wearing the Red me Flower Armor, I can take at least a blow!" Ping Yang raised her tiny head high, with an air of arrogance and determination.

    "You are going to be my meatshield?"

    "Hmph, your words are always so annoying. This is called sharing delights andmon hardships. Don¡¯t you know?"

    "The meaning of sharing delights andmon hardships is sharing your food and suffering together. Then, can you share half of your treasures in the Ping Yang Residence for me to y around with?"

    "Dream on!"

    "Shut up!" When Ying Shan heard Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang quarreling like kids, he finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He couldn¡¯t even be bothered to care about the pain in his body. In an instant, his speed had actually reached an extreme state once again.

    "You are all going to die!"

    Ying Shan¡¯s enraged roar reverberated in the air.

    A smoke-like shadow charged towards Fang Zhengzhi with a zing speed.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s sword had also moved at this moment.

    A green and blue glow lighted up. Without any form of dodging. It shed down directly towards that shadow.

    Yan Xiu had also opened the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. A light that was as bright as the starry skies glowed from the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, crushing down on the shadow with the force of a mountain.

    Wang Chuanping and Wang Manxin¡¯s body also lighted up, using their two different types of territories to protect the six people.

    However, the sh they expected never happened.

    "On top!" An rmed cry came from an examinee at the back.

    The six of them raised their heads at the same moment.

    In the sky, a ck shadow was plunging down rapidly.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how Ying Shan achieved this. However, Ying Shan did indeed manage to do so. Charging at them head-on with an extremely fast speed, yet suddenly appearing at the top.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s sword had already shed forwards, while Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan had also been used.

    Then, the only people who were able to defend against Ying Shan¡¯s attack seemed to be Wang Chuanping and Wang Manxin¡¯s double territories.

    Fang Zhengzhi could initially wait until Wang Chuanping and Wang Manxin fended off this blow before he attacked. However, since the both of them had stood out, that meant that in a way, they were like ants on the same string.

    He naturally couldn¡¯t let these two people get injured as easily.

    Hence, he moved.

    Holding the zing Qilin Spear and the sword in his left and right hands respectively at the same time, he thrusted out towards the ck shadow that fell from the sky.

    Can the sword and spear be used together at the same time?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think so. However, if he had ten hands, he definitely wouldn¡¯t mind grabbing ten weapons to fend this off.

    "No, it isn¡¯t the top! It¡¯s below!" Right at this moment, another voice sounded out. That was the severely injured Xing Qingsui.

    "Below?!" Fang Zhengzhi startled.

    Then, he suddenly felt as if his legs had been trapped by something, just like a pair of metal cuffs locking his feet and preventing him from moving.

    "Die!" A voice came from below the ground. Immediately after, a palm rose out of the ground. This was a knife-likem. It was zing fast and carried along with it an intense and powerful killing intent. The target was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that it was already exceedingly difficult to change from a mad charge to an attack from the top.

    However, he had simply never thought that Ying Shan would actually still have something up his sleeves.

    The shadow on top was an illusion.

    The attack from under the ground was the real, deadliest blow.

    This was experience. An unparalleled amassing of battle experience. At the same time, this was the most powerful technique that made Ying Shan the Vice Domain Chief in the Ying Domain of the Ten Devilish Domains.

    Double Shadow Kill!

    Even among the demon race, there were rarely people who had seen this move.

    This was a deadly move with the intent to kill.

    It was Ying Shan¡¯s most powerful killing technique,bining the five Daos of shadow, sunlight, earth, Asura¡¯s kill intent and immobilisation.

    Using sunlight to project the shadow on the ground into the sky, then lighting the sky up with an intense glow, causing people to be unable to discern whether the shadow was real or fake. Then, immersing into the earth to reach beneath people¡¯s feet, first immobilising the opponent, then unleashing the killing intent of Asura.

    It was veryplicated.

    And, most importantly, it was very fast.

    So fast that people would have no way of reacting.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts were as boundless as the sky, however, he had no experience fighting with elites in the battlefield. Hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to see through Ying Shan¡¯s move.

    Even though Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu were experienced, how could their experience match up to that of Ying Shan?

    Furthermore, with Ying Shan¡¯s current abilities, it would be rather impossible for the six of them to fend off Ying Shan¡¯s relentless attacks even if it was a head-on collision.

    Under such powerful anger.

    Ying Shan had actually given up unleashing it head-on. Instead, he chose to employ such a mysterious sneak attack and killing blow. The endurance of his mind could be clearly seen.

    Furthermore, Wang Chuanping and Wang Manxin¡¯s territory mainly defended them against attacks from the top and around them.

    As for an attack from below the ground.

    It was evidently extremely weak. This also ensured that Ying Shan¡¯s attack didn¡¯t meet with much resistance. His speed was also so fast that nobody was able to see it clearly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to think of methods to defend against people hitting his face.

    However, in his previous world, he hadpletely zero experience seeing people suddenly appear from below the ground. Hence, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be any habitual moves for him to defend against such an attack.

    It seemed very helpless.

    But, this was reality.

    It was always impossible to forcefully cross the huge difference between power and experience.

    Even if one was as smart as Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, he could only look on helplessly as the palm pierced towards his throat. A palm that was like a knife, carrying along with it the killing intent of Asura and the prating power of an extreme speed.

    "Boom!"

    A tremendous boom sounded from where the six people stood.

    That was a sound generated by the force of the strike. At the same time that sound rang out, a ck light exploded outwards like a ripple.

    The entire World of the Sage shook from this powerful impact.

    At the same time, a mouthful of boiling, red blood spurted towards the sky. Under the glow of the sunlight, the beads of blood seemed shiny and transparently bright, just like the blossoming red flowers.

 Chapter 214: Thrice

    Chapter 214: Thrice

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The bright flower blossomed in mid-air, turning into blood mist droplets that were as thin as dust as theynded.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his face grow somewhat hot. That was the heat generated by the blood mist falling onto his face. The palm of his hands also grew hotter. Because, he held a boiling hot hand in his own.

    Ping Yang¡¯s clear gaze looked silently at Fang Zhengzhi as the edges of her mouth curved into a happy smile.

    "I have said... my... my Red me Flower Armour can block off one strike, am... am I right?" Ping Yang¡¯s lips opened slightly, breathing out a wisp of air, likening that of an orchid flower. However, this wisp of air also contained the faint scent of blood.

    "Why?!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand.

    He really couldn¡¯t understand. There wasn¡¯t much friendship between him and Ping Yang. Furthermore, considering Ping Yang¡¯s arrogance, why would she serve as a meat shield for him at this moment?

    "Because, I am smart enough."

    "Smart?"

    "I want to live, so, you definitely cannot die... as long as you don¡¯t die, there is still a chance I can live..." A trickle of blood flowed down the edge of Ping Yang¡¯s mouth. Her body suddenly grew limp,pletely falling into the arms of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!" Another loud sound exploded.

    This time, it naturally came from Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu fighting Ying Shan together.

    After Ping Yang blocked off an attack for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu were the fastest to react and detect Ying Shan¡¯s location. The Green and Blue Dual des as well as the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan exploded with a bright glow, pressing down on Ying Shan.

    After Ying Shan charged out from the ground, the distance between the six people and Ying Shan had be a tiny circle. Hence, Ying Shan naturally had nowhere to run.

    Furthermore, after a sessful attack.

    Ying Shan didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of intention to retreat. He was ready to continue attacking. However, he had no choice but to deal with Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu¡¯s joint attacks.

    A pair of empty palms shed with the Green and Blue Dual des as well as the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    However, it was Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu who stumbled back.

    In addition to forcefully absorbing the power of the demon eye into one¡¯s body without a care for destroying one¡¯s powers, how could Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu¡¯s joint attacks defeat Ying Shan of the Supernatural Intermediate State?

    "Die!" Ying Shan¡¯s expression turned wild. At this moment, he only had one thought. That was to kill, to kill Fang Zhengzhi, to kill Fang Zhengzhi regardless of anything else.

    Hence, after causing Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu to retreat, he set his aim upon Fang Zhengzhi once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi carried Ping Yang in his arms.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s body was still etched in between him and Ying Shan.

    If he allowed Ying Shan another blow, there was a very high possibility that Ping Yang would block another attack for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!"

    Another palm contacted.

    Bright red blood soared in the air, creating a sparkling blood mist like that of a blood rain.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards a man standing in front of him whose face was a deathly shade of white. He wanted to ask once more, why. However, this time, the man didn¡¯t wait for him to ask.

    "Princess is right... if Young Master Fang ... dies, none of us would be able to... live..." The man fell to the ground with the simr trace of a smile on his mouth.

    At the moment the man fell, another man blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was Wang Manxin, Wang Chuanping¡¯s cousin.

    The man just now was naturally Wang Chuanping. He was the only person fast enough to be able to block Ying Shan¡¯s palm strike. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t a Red me Flower Armour on his body.

    "There is still me!" Wang Manxin looked at Ying Shan. He held his de horizontally in front of his chest with a firm and resolute expression on his face.

    At this moment, time seemed to have stoppedpletely.

    Everybody stared with shock at Wang Chuanping, who had fallen to the ground, as well as Wang Manxin, who was standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Everybody understood.

    This wasn¡¯t a rash action. This was the hard truth.

    From the time Ying Shan appeared until the time he sessfullypleted his sneak attack.

    Xing Qingsui had fallen. Even though Nangong Mu had harmed Ying Shan, it was only a superficial injury.

    Only Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi stood out, Ying Shan suffered setbacks after setbacks. He suffered the injury on his back, then allowed Fang Zhengzhi to sessfully dy enough time for Nangong Mu to slice open the chains.

    Then, after which, pulling out the sword and causing Ying Shan to retreat once again, and almost losing the battlepletely.

    One incident followed by another told everybody one fact. That was, Fang Zhengzhi was their truest hope in being able to escape the World of the Sage.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi still held that sword in his hand.

    The sword with the greatest chance of reopening the World of the Sage.

    Most importantly...

    Ying Shan¡¯s target waspletely focused on Fang Zhengzhi.

    How big was the difference between a killer with a target and a killer without one? That was the difference between an normal person and a madman.

    Nobody wished for that to happen, regardless of whether they admitted it or not.

    Now, their lives were firmly tied to that of Fang Zhengzhi. As long as Fang Zhengzhi lived on, Ying Shan¡¯s target would always be only Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, they could employ unlimited tactics by the side.

    However, what if Fang Zhengzhi died?

    Then, the consequences could be imaged.

    Ying Shan, who had lost his target, would begin a mad killing spree. Nobody would be able to escape the World of the Sage, and nobody would be able to prevent their imminent death.

    "There¡¯s me as well!"

    "Me too!"

    "I don¡¯t want to die! But... I still have to stand out!"

    One by one, the examinees began to move towards the six people. Their eyes contained the same look. They were all ants on the same piece of string. Either they lived together, or they died together.

    ...

    Ying Shan charged out from among the six people.

    The time Ying Shan took to deliver three palm strikes was extremely little. So little time passed that it was easy to neglect it. However, within such a short span of time.

    Ping Yang was injured. Wang Chuanping had fallen from that one palm strike.

    Nobody knew whether he was alive or dead.

    Even Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu suffered light injuries from confronting Ying Shan.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s chest had alreadypletely been stained red. It was unknown whether this was due to the blood mist that fell from the sky or the aggregation of his previous injuries.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s face was pale and white. His breathing was heavy andboured.

    Such a scene was evidently an even greater crisis than before.

    However, it was due to such a crisis that the examinees turned wild. Each of them stood out one by one and blocked in front of Ying Shan with their chests puffed out.

    Even Xing Qingsui had stood up. Furthermore, he stood right at the front, holding the sword stabbed into his chest and allowing droplets of fresh blood to spill onto the rock below.

    "Ying Shan,e on! I, Xing Qingsui, am not afraid of you!"

    ...

    Ying Shan¡¯s expression at this moment turned malevolent. ck light shed around his body continuously, making him seem extremely unstable, and extremely berserk.

    "Those who block me shall die!"

    Ying Shan let out an enraged roar and moved again. He turned into a misty blur shadow and charged towards Xing Qingsui. The berserk ck light revolved around his two palms.

    At the moment Ying Shan charged towards him, Xing Qingsui raised the sword in his hand. Once again, his hand became as stable as the mountain, pointing the ck Meteor Sword at Ying Shan.

    He carried a proud expression on his face, just as if he was a general on the battlefield. He smiled as he gazed at the tiny enemies that charged towards him. That was a form of contempt. No matter how powerful the opponent was, in Xing Qingsui¡¯s heart, he would be as tiny as an ant.

    This was because...

    He was fearless.

    This time, Ying Shan didn¡¯t attempt to cross Xing Qingsui.

    His palm was aimed directly at the sword wound on Xing Qingsui¡¯s chest. Killing a creme of the human race such as Xing Qingsui was also part of his task.

    However, right at this moment.

    A golden light plunged down from the skies. That was like a waterfall, a waterfall that fell from the skies to the ground, carrying along with it a rapid current of light rays.

    A powerful waterfall from the sky, just like the silver river descending from Heaven.

    This was the Mountain Waterfall Cascade.

    However, at this moment, there was no mountain. There was only the sky shining with a faint golden light. This was a waterfall that fell from the sky. It was higher than the mountain, and the current was more than that which fell from the mountain as well. It had an even greater destructive power.

    Within the flowing current, there was also a sword.

    A sword that was initially impaled into a rock and was pulled out in the end.

    At this moment, Ying Shan¡¯s gaze followed that stream of golden light. He suddenly felt somewhat emotional. All along, he believed that he was a genius, born with a talent and gift that greatly exceeded that of his race.

    In the previous world he lived in, he was the most powerful.

    Starting out by joining the Ten Devilish Domains as a pawn.

    Time and time again, he managed to live on the battlefield, and time and time again, his aplishments filled the books. He didn¡¯t have a powerful background, nor did he have a fortunate childhood. Instead, due to having to live a harsh life ever since he was born, his body turned frail and weak due to malnourishment.

    Despite his numerous aplishments in battle, opportunities passed by time and time again, opportunities that he was not allowed to take advantage of due to his weakly appearance.

    Until...

    He met a woman.

    That was a woman that he would remember for life.

    He recalled the first time he met with the woman, there wasn¡¯t a second person following beside her. Despite her noble status and background, she came alone.

    The woman stood in front of her within the blood-filled battlefield, stepping on a pool of blood that had already turned ck, and looked at him...

    She only said one simple sentence.

    "A book cannot be judged by its cover!"

    This was a famous quote from the world of the human race. Ying Shan didn¡¯t know why the woman would say such a thing to him. However, ever since the woman had said this, he became the Vice Domain Chief of the Ying Domain.

    The second time he met the woman, she had also said one sentence.

    "A book cannot be judged by its cover!"

    It was still the same quote from the world of the human race. However, this time, Ying Shan understood.

    He understood that his appearance had finally be his advantage. He could be leveraged on to achieve greater things. He was about to enter the human world and be the most important member of the demon race nted among the thirteen constabries.

    Within the time of three years, he led and controlled the elites of the demon race within the Yan Capital. Time and time again, he was able to deliver the most critical information during the most critical times of battle, ensuring that the demon race was always at an advantage in the war against humans.

    The third time he met the woman...

    Was beside the Ten Mile Lake. She was wearing a white dress with hair that was as silky as a waterfall. Ying Shan deeply remembered every single word she spoke and every single action she made.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t understand why the woman wanted him to participate in thebat examination.

    He couldn¡¯t understand why he was tasked with such a job despite his status.

    Was it because he hadn¡¯t done well in these three years?

    Or was it because he was bing older?

    He couldn¡¯t understand. However, he had no reason to question. Instead, he asked about the person¡¯s characteristics.

    The woman replied.

    "A person who cannot be judged by his looks!"

    Initially, Ying Shan didn¡¯t quite understand this sentence. But now, he understood. When that golden waterfall fell from the sky above his head, he understood.

    He understood why the woman would request for him to enter thebat examination.

    He understood even more why he had to be the one carrying out this task personally.

    Because, this was indeed a person who cannot be judged by his looks!

    A fifteen-year-old human with intelligence so sly that even he couldn¡¯tpare to. And now, he had disyed a talent inbat that the rest of the world wouldn¡¯t be able to match.

    If this person continued to live, the demon race would be at risk!

    "Kill!"

    Ying Shan gave up Xing Qingsui despite their close proximity.

    Because, his true target in thebat examination had always been one person. That person was Fang Zhengzhi. A person whom the young lord of the demon race was willing to sacrifice a vice domain chief for in order for the person to die.

    ...

    The riverside of the Ten Mile Lake was experiencing a storm. A white dress danced in the torrential rain.

    The woman lightly held a green umbre in her hand. The ink painting on the umbre seemed even clearer and brighter. Beside the woman, the bright red rock was being pounded on continuously by the rain, bing so smooth that it was like a sea of fire.

    A boat travelled gradually towards her on the surface of theke.

    Drawing a faint line on the surface of the stormyke, as if connecting all the droplets of water thatnded on theke into a pristine white pearl ne.

    Not too longter, the boat stopped beside theke.

    A few women wearing green dresses walked down. None of them held an umbre. The torrential rain battered their faces, but their expressions remained extremely respectful.

    "Young lord."

    "Yes." The woman nodded, but she didn¡¯t move.

    "There is news from the Yan Capital. The Imperial Academy had lost control of the World of the Sage. I guess, is this rted to Vice Domain Chief Ying Shan?" A girl in a green dress at the front of the line spoke softly.

    "Unrted." The woman didn¡¯t even think before immediately shaking her head.

    "Young lord feels that it is?" The girl in the green dress was somewhat confused. However, she didn¡¯t dare to express any form of doubt.

    "Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Fang Zhengzhi?! No matter how talented he is, he is ultimately only a human who had just entered the Heavenly Reflection State. With Vice Domain Chief Ying Shan¡¯s powers, Fang Zhengzhi should be dead by now. Then, how will the World of the Sage being out of control be rted..." The girl in the green dress suddenly stopped speak and knelt down instantly.

    "It is fine. Rise. Actually, the probability of Ying Shan being able to kill Fang Zhengzhi is only one out of ten. Or, it could be said that it is only five percent." The woman looked towards the Yan Capital with a pondering look.

    "Thank you young lord! But, why... why is it... five percent? Ying Shan is..." The girl in the green dress rose gradually. Her expression evidently looked somewhat shocked, as if in disbelief. However, she had no choice but to believe.

    Because, the person who stood in front of her was her young lord. At the same time, she was imed to be the most talented genius the demon race ever had within the past thousands of years. A miraculous girl who was well versed with the The Art of Bing Invisible, astronomy, geography, deduction from aspects of celestial bodies, one who knew everything under the world, one who was always in control of any situation on heaven and earth.

    "Actually, the reason I sent Ying Shan into thebat examination is only to dy Fang Zhengzhi from entering the imperial government." The woman spoke calmly.

    "Using a vice domain chief to exchange for the time a person enters the imperial gov..."

    "Very worth."

    "..." The girl in the green dress grew silent.

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!"

    "I understand, I am stupid and shallow!"

    "You can leave."

    "Roger!"

    A gust of wind blew past. The woman lightly raised her head. Her beautiful eyes gazed towards the direction of the Yan Capital once again. Her jet-ck hair lightly danced in the wind while the white cloth on her face billowed, revealing a stunning beauty.

    If Fang Zhengzhi witnessed this scene, he would definitely recognise this woman.

    Because, her name was...

    Yun Qingwu!

 Chapter 215: The Vast Lake

    Chapter 215: The Vast Lake

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The schrs in the Great Xia Dynasty had a lot of opinions about Yun Qingwu.

    Song, dance, poetic essays and the four arts, she was proficient and knowledgeable about all of them. But, she was a miraculous woman. However, she was a woman with a veil. There was almost nobody who had ever seen Yun Qingwu¡¯s face.

    Until Fang Zhengzhi appeared.

    In the Huai An County, during the Hundred Flower Gathering, Fang Zhengzhi unveiled Yun Qingwu in one move.

    Afterwards, he entered Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat at the riverside of the River of Trust, gaining the reputation of a lecher.

    Fang Zhengzhi had asked Yun Qingwu a question in the boat, asking whether she was an influential figure. At that time, Yun Qingwu only said one sentence.

    "My surname is Yun!"

    In reality, her surname was really Yun. Because, the Demon Lord who controlled the Ten Devilish Domains also had the surname Yun.

    Yun Qingwu, a person without any influence, bringing along only a group of maidservants, travelling about the various capitals and cities alone. Who would ever think that she was actually the young lord of the demon race?

    However, this was the miraculous woman pursued by schrs all over the world despite never having seen her face, a person who nobody dared to offend. Who could she be if not the young lord of the demon race?

    The situation...

    Finally descended into chaos from this moment onwards.

    ...

    Within the World of the Sage, The expression in Ying Shan¡¯s eyes carried a sense of yearning. It was a yearning for the past, and it is this very yearning that gave him an unwavering determination in his heart.

    He had toplete this task.

    Because...

    This was recognition.

    How many times would a demon even be recognised in his entire life?

    "Kill!" The ck light on Ying Shan¡¯s body congregatedpletely at this hands, carrying a vast and powerful air of death as it pushed towards the golden waterfall that descended from the skies.

    The golden waterfall crashed down.

    Without dodging, surging forward rapidly, the golden tip of the sword concealed itself within the waterfall. It was faintly discernible.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi could afford to hide behind the crowd of people.

    Over ten people...

    Even if Ying Shan was able to kill each of them in one strike of the palm, he ultimately still required some time.

    The longer time was dyed, the higher Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chance of living.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the Holy Mother, he didn¡¯t have the great ambition of protecting the world, nor did he possess the sense of righteousness to rescue the human race from disaster. However, with a group of people blocked in front of him.

    Who were willing to block off the fatal blows for him, one following another.

    How could he continue to hide behind?

    This wasn¡¯t the Holy Mother, nor was this ambition and righteousness. This was the pride of a man, especially when there was a woman who was about to faint falling to the ground in front of him.

    Even though he didn¡¯t really like this woman.

    But she was ultimately...

    Still a woman.

    How could a man allow a woman to block in front of him?

    "Die!" Fang Zhengzhi knew he couldn¡¯t defeat Ying Shan. However, he had to try. Even if he had topletely let out all the energy he had in his pocket dimension, he still had to try.

    A sword shed down!

    The golden light exploded outwards.

    The waterfall that fell from the skies seemed to have found an avenue to escape at this moment. The golden rays of light crushed downpletely, mming together with a ink-ck palm.

    The light and the dark.

    The golden ray and the faint shadow.

    Twopletely different lights intersected.

    Fang Zhengzhi fixed his gaze tightly on Ying Shan below him.

    Ying Shan also fixed his gaze tightly on the Fang Zhengzhi on top of his head.

    The four eyes met.

    Yet, their expressions werepletely the same. It contained determination, an unwavering determination. Both of them bit down hard on their lips. Fang Zhengzhi held the sword hilt in his hand.

    While Ying Shan held the sword de.

    "Boom!"

    A huge boom resounded. The golden light and the ck light exploded with the two people at the center. Countless rays of golden light that resembled swords and countless rays of ck shadow shot out in all directions.

    "Ah!" A examinee who wasn¡¯t able to dodge in time was directly hit by the light. He grabbed his shoulder tightly. There was a wound on his shoulder, a wound that seemed to have been shed by a sword.

    Yet, the golden light and the ck shadow didn¡¯t stop.

    Each of the examinees gritted their teeth. They wanted to dodge. However, the speed of the golden light was too fast. In addition to the initial injuries on their bodies, how hard it was to dodge could be imagined.

    However, after a huge mountain stood in front of the examinees.

    The situation seemed to have taken a turn.

    Very quickly...

    Green and blue rays lighted up at the same time, immersing itself within the huge mountain and turning into a gigantic territory that shielded the examinees within.

    Rays of golden lights and ck shadows crashed onto the territory, resounding with a rumbling sound.

    Regardless whether it was Nangong Mu or Yan Xiu, or even the heavily injured examinees hiding within, they could clearly feel the intensely sharp power contained within these rays.

    "How powerful!"

    "Why would it be so powerful?"

    The examinees couldn¡¯t quite understand. How can a person who had just entered the Heavenly Reflection State be so strong? So strong that they were trembled, so strong that they were fearful.

    His power...

    Where did ite from?

    "It is concentration!" Nangong Mu¡¯s lips parted slightly, gazing at Fang Zhengzhi who was bathing in the golden light.

    "Concentration?" The examinees were confused.

    "The two of them are both deep in concentration!" Yan Xiu also spoke. He didn¡¯t choose tobine strength with Fang Zhengzhi at this moment. Because, he knew that anybody who was concentrating on a task wouldn¡¯t wish for anybody to distract them.

    This was the trust between friends. It was also respect for a friend¡¯s abilities.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to prevent Ying Shan from killing people, while Ying Shan swore to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Two different beliefs, yet, they both became a form of concentration.

    However, the difference in power was still unavoidable. This was reality, a reality that one had to face no matter what.

    Ying Shan had the power of the Supernatural Intermediate State. In addition to absorbing all the power of the demon eye, how could Fang Zhengzhi defeat the blow that Ying Shan had put all his strength in?

    The golden sword crashed with the ck shadow. A tremendous power crashed towards Fang Zhengzhi like a wave, endless and infinite.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never felt such a powerful force before. Even when he was faced with Chi Hou in the Divine Constabry, he never had such a feeling.

    It might had been because Chi Hou held back, or it might be due the amount of determination contained in this force.

    Regardless, Fang Zhengzhi had no way of preventing this force from entering him. The powerful force flowed from the de of the sword to the sword hilt, then forced itself into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body through his arms and crushed towards his heart.

    Dao grew from the heart.

    The pocket dimension of the human race was located at the heart.

    If the heart faced an impact too powerful, the pocket dimension would also face a simr damage, and might even shatter and copse.

    Then...

    Even if the person didn¡¯t die, he would still be a disabled man.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this. However, that force was too strong. All he could do was to release all the power he had in the pocket dimension to oppose that force.

    However, in his previous full-force attack, he had already channeled the power in his pocket dimension. How would he have any leftover power?

    A lush green glow suddenly lighted up.

    Protecting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart like ayer of film.

    The force mmed into theyer of film, generating an intense tremor. The feeling caused Fang Zhengzhi to feel somewhat ufortable, agitating the blood and air in his body.

    However, that force didn¡¯t enter into his heart.

    "What is it?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me... it is the Heart Protection Mirror? The Heart Protection Mirror that Chi Guyan lost to him when he was leaving the Divine Constabry?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled the scene at the Divine Constabry.

    He suddenly had a feeling that Chi Guyan seemed to have lost to him on purpose...

    Other than being able to contain items, this Heart Protection Mirror seemed to actually be able to protect the heart?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that his luck was rather good. At the very least, he seemed to have obtained a rather good treasure. However, the Heart Protection Mirror was able to protect one¡¯s heart, but was unable to counter the force that entered his body.

    If it wasn¡¯t able to defend against that force, the Heart Protection Mirror would be destroyed sooner orter.

    It was only a matter of time.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know how much power his pocket dimension still contained. The previous attack had alreadypletely used up all the white mist in his pocket dimension.

    However, in his pocket dimension, there was a tree. That was a humongous tree that almost reached into the sky. On the tree, there werepletely lush green leaves, and various kinds of fruits.

    Below the tree, there was ake that was as vast as the sea.

    The water that fell from the huge tree, droplet by droplet, came together and formed a stream. Then, it formed a pond. And now, it was ake...

    Eight years ago...

    Fang Zhengzhi nted the heart of Dao in his heart by observing the Illustration of All Creation.

    After battling with the Blue Fire Wolf, he sessfully essed Dao, attaining Divine Seal, then Star Conglomerate. Each of these sesses came naturally.

    As for the rest of the time, he began to continue collecting stars. He collected stars continuously, one by one by one, causing hundreds of stars to fill his pocket dimension.

    These stars dripped water onto the earth below the tree.

    After ordinary people conglomerated stars, it was one droplet of water that fell to the ground. However, in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case, hundreds of droplets of water fell to the ground. Naturally, ake formed within his pocket dimension.

    There was a time when Fang Zhengzhi felt that he could already rule the world.

    He depended on thiske, theke that was as vast as the sea. This had always been something he counted on, forming the source of his confidence.

    However, things that urred afterwards caused Fang Zhengzhi to change his view. He realised that enlightenment state might be more important. Hence, theke remained ake, waiting silently within his pocket dimension.

    It had never been used by Fang Zhengzhi before.

    However, the current circumstances seemed somewhat different. The white mist in the sky had beenpletely used up.

    Then, what was left?

    It was theke of course.

    Hence, theke began to roll, and began to boil. It was like a pot of boiling water. Threads of white mist rose from the middle of theke, quickly filling up the sky once again.

    Immediately after, the dense white fog shed together with the force that entered his body.

    There was no movement. There was no sound.

    However, when this white fog shed with the force that entered his body, Fang Zhengzhi felt somewhat dizzy and his limbs felt somewhat weak. He didn¡¯t know if this was due to exhaustion.

    The only thing he could confirm was that the force entering his body hadn¡¯tpletely disappeared.

    It continued to crash towards his heart.

    Then...

    He could only cause theke to boil once again, then, filling up the sky with white fog again.

    Once, twice, thrice...

    After the fourth sh, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that his head wasn¡¯t dizzy anymore. His limbs weren¡¯t weak anymore either. Because, the force that entered his body had alreadypletely disappeared.

 Chapter 216: Confession

    Chapter 216: Confession

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up once again.

    On the other hand, Ying Shan¡¯s face was a deathly shade of white. He could naturally feel the powerful and continuous energying from within Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, shing together with his force over and over again.

    However, he couldn¡¯t understand why would a person of the Heavenly Reflection State possess such vast and endless power?

    Genius...

    Even if he was a genius, how could such an unconventional thing happen?

    Ying Shan was filled with immense shock.

    What caused him even more shock was that an immense power began to press towards him. That was naturally Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power. Because, he held the de of the sword in his hands.

    The boundless power crashed down upon him like the sea.

    Ying Shan¡¯s hand that grasped the sword actually became somewhat unstable.

    "Boom!"

    The sword and the palm separated.

    The rock on the ground turned into powder, as if it had been struck by a waterfall that descended from the sky. A deep crater appeared. Within the deep crater, there were even countless sword marks etched clearly within.

    Ying Shan¡¯s body was forced back exactly five steps before he managed to stand still.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi stood on the spot holding the sword in his hand.

    He didn¡¯t take a single step back.

    This scene, without a doubt, caused everybody to fill with shock.

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi attacked, to the moment Ying Shan retreated, the amount of time that passed seemed very long. However, in reality, the amount of time that passed between the connection of the sword and the palm to their separation was only the blink of an eye.

    "Ying Shan... was forced to retreat?!"

    "How is this possible?!"

    "A person of the Heavenly Reflection State had actually forced a person of the Supernatural Intermediate State to retreat?"

    Everybody stared at Fang Zhengzhi, their faces filled with shock.

    Even Yan Xiu, despite his unwavering trust for Fang Zhengzhi, was still in somewhat of a disbelief. He trusted Fang Zhengzhi, however, that didn¡¯t mean that he believed Fang Zhengzhi could win.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi had won. He forced Ying Shan to retreat within one move, while standing still without moving.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes shed with light. His calm expression was shattered. He had pinned all his hopes upon Fang Zhengzhi. However, that hope was due to intelligence.

    It wasn¡¯t due to power.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had once again gained the advantage in a battle of power. How could he not be shocked?

    Xing Qingsui held the sword in his hand, his body alreadypletely stained with blood. However, he didn¡¯t even notice it one bit. Instead, what he was more concerned about was, how could Fang Zhengzhi win in one move?

    Ping Yang¡¯s tiny mouth opened slightly. She had already copsed from exhaustion, however, she wasn¡¯t yet unconscious.

    After experiencing Ying Shan¡¯s power personally, she evidently knew how much power Ying Shan¡¯s fully-powered palm strike contained. Despite wearing the Red me Flower Armour, she was still unable to defend against it.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi was actually able to force Ying Shan to retreat?

    "How did he..." Ping Yang wanted to ask, how did he do it, why could he do it. However, when the words reached her mouth, she didn¡¯t speak.

    For some unknown reason, after experiencing the Broken Bridge, the Twin Stone Tablets and the stone house, she always had this feeling in her heart. As long as Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do something, he seemed to definitely be able to achieve it.

    There wasn¡¯t a reason.

    It seemed very unreasonable. However, Fang Zhengzhi was such an unreasonable person.

    Fang Zhengzhi held the sword in his hand.

    Naturally, he knew why. If it was a battle of enlightenment states, Ying Shan definitely overpowered him. However, if it was a battle of strength, he didn¡¯t believe that he would lose to Ying Shan.

    This was a sense of confidence that came from within his bones.

    Unfortunately...

    This sense of confidence met with a problem.

    He certainly didn¡¯t intend to stop. After winning a move, he should leverage on his advantage to give chase. However, he couldn¡¯t do so. Because, a tiny problem appeared with the sword in his hand.

    It broke.

    "Crack!"

    In an instant, the golden sword, from the sword hilt to the de of the sword, was filled with web-like cracks. Then, piece by piece, fell to the ground.

    The sword...

    Was it real?

    This question appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind again.

    He had no way of ascertaining whether this sword was real. Then, why would his sword appear here? And what was the power contained in the sword all about?

    If this sword was real.

    Why would it break? Or, it could be said, from the start to the end, this had always been a broken sword?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the broken sword in his hand and began to think.

    On the other hand, when the examinees behind him saw the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand break...

    They didn¡¯t think this way.

    They didn¡¯t consider whether this sword was real or fake. What they were more concerned about was, what to do with a broken sword?

    This feeling was very hard to describe. It was as if the hope that had just started burning within them was suddenly extinguished by a pail of cold water. Their hearts were filled with a chilling sense of coldness from their heads to their toes.

    Ying Shan¡¯s thoughts were theplete opposite of the examinees.

    The sense of coldness in his heart began to burn with hope once again after seeing the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand break.

    "How can one fight... with a broken sword?" Ying Shan looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everybody else looked at Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    Then, gritting their teeth, they held out the swords in their hands.

    One following another, swords appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Within them, there was apletely ck sword. That was Xing Qingsui¡¯s ck Meteor Sword.

    "My sword can hold a fight!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s tone seemed somewhat weak. However, his expression was very determined. For a sword user, the sword was his life.

    Xing Qingsui offered his sword to Fang Zhengzhi. This was equivalent to offering his life to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t receive the sword.

    He was thinking. From the Broken Bridge to the Twin Stone Tablets to the illusion within the stone house, scenes shed within his mind.

    Broken...

    Yet not broken!

    One in the light, one in the dark. The Twin Stone Tablets.

    Advance, yet there was no path. Retreat, and one could exit.

    "I understand!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. He finally understood what the levels in the World of the Sage represented.

    "Come out, if you still wish to leave!" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly shouted out loudly.

    His voice reverberated in the air.

    This caused the other examinees to feel somewhat shocked. They couldn¡¯t really understand what Fang Zhengzhi was shouting. Come out? Leave? Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi had suffered some brain damage after shing with Ying Shan?

    Within the World of the Sage, don¡¯t tell me that other than themselves, there were still other people?

    The wind blew lightly...

    Other than that, there were no other movements.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face reddened slightly.

    Don¡¯t tell me I guessed wrongly?

    That¡¯s not very possible...

    "The world is so big, don¡¯t you wish to go out and explore it?" Fang Zhengzhi shouted again, unsatisfied.

    The wind continued to blow. Other than that, there were still no other movements.

    On the other hand, the rest of the examinees looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if they were staring at an idiot.

    Don¡¯t tell me he had really turned dumb?

    "It is so lonely to stay here alone. There is nobody to talk to you, or bring you to see the beautiful sceneries. Such loneliness, don¡¯t you feel cold?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice sounded out once again.

    However, other than his own voice, there weren¡¯t any other replies.

    "There are other people here?"

    "Is he crazy? How can there be other people in the World of the Sage?"

    "How is he talking to?"

    Each of the examinees were filled with disbelief. The World of the Sage was a pocket dimension, controlled by the royal family. How could nobody know if there was somebody inside?

    Yiong Shan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, somewhat confused. He didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. However, there was one point he knew very clearly. He had to kill Fang Zhengzhi as fast as possible.

    Time was running out, he didn¡¯t have any more time to waste.

    Even though he suffered injuries in that previous attack.

    However...

    So what?

    This was his task. This was also hisst task before his death. Then, he had toplete this task, no matter what he had to sacrifice.

    Hence, Ying Shan moved again.

    His figure bent slightly like a bow as the ck light in his palms began to flow. This strike was hisst strike.

    Win, and he would be king.

    Lose, and he would fail.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi continued to shout out. "Come out please, as long as you are willing toe out, I will definitely treat you well. I will pamper you, love you, care about you, hold you in my hands..."

    When Ping Yang heard this, she almost couldn¡¯t lie still anymore. Her small face reddened slightly, spitting out lightly towards Fang Zhengzhi. "Shameless!"

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed slightly, seeming somewhat helpless.

    On the other hand, Nangong Mu¡¯s expression became rather strange. He thought, could it be a female?

    The sword that Xing Qingsui held trembled slightly. It wasn¡¯t because hecked strength. Instead, he suddenly regretted. Why did he take the initiative to offer his own sword to such a person?

    Ying Shan¡¯s bent body suddenly paused.

    A powerful feeling of shame suddenly rose up inside him. He couldn¡¯t understand. As the great Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains, why would he lose to such a person?

    This was evidently a lecher without the slightest bit of doubt.

    Furthermore, his lecherous personality was so obvious.

    Genius...

    Monstrous.

    Lecher!

    Words bounced themselves continuously within Ying Shan¡¯s mind. They were almost impossible to get rid of. However, he still moved in the end. His body was as fast as lightning. Because, no matter how much he couldn¡¯t stand his lecher in front of him.

    That was still his target. A target he had to kill.

    "Come,e into my embrace. I will bring you to review the huge world, explore the countless mountains and rivers. Only I can give you happiness!" Fang Zhengzhi continued to drone on.

    Yet, at this moment, Ying Shan attacked.

    His speed was zing fast, so much so that nobody would be able to react in time. His body was like a mist. There was still a shadow that hadn¡¯t disappeared at the spot he initially stood.

    This was hisst attack. How could Ying Shan hold back?

    However...

    A figure was even faster than him.

    That figure came out from below the shattered rock. It turned into a faint ray of light and soared into the sky. Then, it descended down from the sky, drawing a beautiful arc in the sky.

    Finally, itnded into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Ying Shan¡¯s charging body stopped. His eyes were filled with disbelief. That was a true sense of shock that came from the heart. Anybody who witnessed such a scene would definitely be filled with shock.

    At this moment, all of the examinees also stared with their eyes widened.

    Even somebody as calm as Nangong Mu dropped his jaws.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s body trembled. The ck Meteor Sword in his hand actually left his hand and fell to the ground with a ng.

    Only Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes still maintained the final trace of calm. However, within that trace of calm, there was still a faint glow. That was a sense of happiness that truly came from the heart.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes that were as clear as water looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Her face was flushed with red. She really couldn¡¯t believe such a mysterious thing had happened. "Dont... don¡¯t tell me he was previously... talking to... talking to the sword?!"

 Chapter 217: Pride

    Chapter 217: Pride

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everybody¡¯s gaze was drawn towards Fang Zhengzhi. Or, it could be said that everybody¡¯s gaze was fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand.

    Because, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi held a sword in his right hand.

    A sword that appeared extremely ordinary, yet, wasn¡¯t ordinary at all. There were no decorations on the hilt of the sword, nor were there any exquisite carvings.

    From the hilt of the sword up to the bright and clean de of the sword, it turned from jet-ck to glowing bright. It seemed to be of the highest quality. However, this feeling of quality was broken at the tip of the sword.

    Because, at the tip of the sword, there was a purple scar. It was an extremely evil purple...

    Just one look was enough to deduce that this purple scar didn¡¯t belong to this sword.

    It was like a bloodstain on the de of the sword, giving people the urge to wipe it off immediately. However, this sword had been buried under the rock for nobody knew how long.

    How could a bloodstain exist?

    When everybody saw the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, there were filled with variousplicated expressions. Envy, jealousy, shock,ment and disbelief...

    As for the purple scar at the tip of the de, it was neglected by majority of the people.

    Except for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what this purple scar was. It was the blood essence of the Demon Lord Si Kong. Because, at the instant he held that sword in his hand, an image shed across his mind.

    A sh that shocked the world.

    Leaving a sword scar within the Blood Shadow City. A sword scar that split the Blood Shadow City into two.

    Causing the fall of Demon Lord Si Kong.

    However, the fall of Demon Lord Si Kong left a drop of blood on the sword. This drop of blood also represented a curse. A curse through the blood, ensuring that it would remain forever on the sword.

    The curse was actually very simple. Meng Tian would never be able to use a sword for the rest of his life.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t quite understand. Why would the Demon Lord Si Hou leave this curse? Cursing a person to never use a sword again? Why couldn¡¯t he just curse him to death? Or curse him to be unable to fight again?

    That seemed to be more direct.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand the reason behind this, hence didn¡¯t bother to think further. However, it was because of this curse that led to Sagely Battle God Meng Tian never using a sword ever again, changing to the de.

    Because, he couldn¡¯t use a sword anymore.

    "How about I call you Purple Scar?" Fang Zhengzhi asked softly. He wasn¡¯t a person who judged a book by the cover. However, he felt that his name seemed rather suitable for this sword.

    The sword in his hand let out a low cry, as if replying Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. This caused the surrounding examinees to reveal a shocked expression once again.

    Don¡¯t tell me this sword really has consciousness?!

    "I understand, seems like you don¡¯t really like this name. Then, let me change it. How about I call you... Traceless?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, as if being able to sense the dissatisfaction in the sword.

    Very quickly, the sword let out a clear cry, just like that of a dragon.

    "Alright, I will call you Traceless!" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curled into a slight smile.

    "Traceless?!" When the surrounding examinees heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they werepletely speechless. This sword is named Traceless? Can¡¯t you see that huge purple scar at the tip of the sword?

    Don¡¯t tell me this was the legendary tale of covering one¡¯s ears whilst stealing a bell?

    A person could be shameless...

    Who knew that the sword would be just as shameless!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the surrounding examinees with a disdainful expression. He naturally knew what these people were thinking. However, he knew the thoughts of "Traceless Sword" even more clearly.

    It felt as if there was a scar on a person¡¯s face.

    Wouldn¡¯t he never wish for others to call him scar face?

    If there were really people who did this, they were definitely itching to be punched.

    Man had pride.

    As for a sword...

    How could it not have pride?

    Fang Zhengzhi held the sword, pointing the tip of the sword at Ying Shan. An evil purple shed at the tip of the sword.

    "Looks like this is the real sword!" Ying Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    "Didn¡¯t I already tell you earlier that the sword just now was fake?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke without a single trace of red on his face.

    "..." Ying Shan¡¯s lips quivered.

    He had no way of arguing. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had indeed said that the golden sword was fake. However, under those circumstances, there were simply nobody who would believe that.

    Don¡¯t tell me that he really knew the sword was fake?

    Then why would he pull out the sword?

    Ying Shan felt that his mind was in a mess. He couldn¡¯t really understand. However, very quickly, his mind cleared up again. Because, no matter what the truth of the matter was.

    He only had one task. That was to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence, Ying Shan moved. A shadow shed across until it neared Fang Zhengzhi. The ck light flowed about his two palms as a cold glint filled his eyes.

    This seemed to be a deadly blow that would definitely kill.

    However...

    This deadly blow was blocked by a sword.

    That sword came from the ground. It was a very ordinary sword. However, that sword blocked in front of Ying Shan. Furthermore, the tip of the sword pointed at Ying Shan¡¯s throat.

    Ying Shan definitely wouldn¡¯t let an ordinary sword block his way. Instead, he lightly pushed the sword. Instantly, the sword was reduced to powder.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that Ying Shan could go nearer to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Because, a second sword, a third sword, a fourth sword... all the swords impaled onto the ground began to move at this moment. One by one, they were pulled out from the ground and flew into the air, blocking Ying Shan¡¯s advance.

    "How... is this possible?!" Ying Shan looked at the numerous swords floating in the sky. He couldn¡¯t understand the logic behind this.

    Controlling swords with shadow?

    Ying Shan definitely could achieve this. Furthermore, he also knew that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to achieve this.

    Hence, when the first sword blocked his path, he wasn¡¯t taken aback at all. Because, with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities, he could easily use shadow to pull out swords.

    However...

    This didn¡¯t mean that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to pull out all of the swords in the sea of swords.

    Not even mentioning that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have this ability.

    Even Ying Shan himself didn¡¯t believe that he could achieve this.

    Even though the sea of swords wasn¡¯t vast, it still covered a few miles of area. Using the shadow territory to cover the area of a few miles, and still having to control it to pull out he swords.

    It was simply impossible.

    The surrounding examinees also looked at this scene with an expression of shock.

    In the sky, one by one, the swords spun rapidly. It was just as if they were being moved by a tremendous tornado. The infinite number of swords formed a huge sword tornado with Fang Zhengzhi at the center.

    "What is this all about?"

    "So many swords... how can he control all of them?"

    Each of the examinees was filled with disbelief. Not even mentioning that Fang Zhengzhi was only of the Heavenly Reflection State, even a person of the Supernatural State wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve this and control as many swords.

    What level of mental power and control must one achieve in order to achieve this?

    This was something that was simply impossible.

    "Don¡¯t tell me..."

    A thought rose within the minds of the examinees.

    Then, an expression of pure joy appeared on all of their faces. That was a joy that came from deep within their hearts, as if they had been given a new life.

    Nangong Mu lowered the Green and Blue Dual des in his hands. Because, there was no more need for him to fight.

    Yan Xiu simrly kept the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. His expression seemed somewhat cold, however, he couldn¡¯t conceal the bright glow in his eyes.

    Xing Qingsui fell to the ground. He picked up the sword from the ground and kept it again. His face seemed somewhat pale, however, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    Ping Yang¡¯s tiny mouth formed an O shape. Herrge, clear eyes was also in the shape of an O. She looked at the sword tornado that circled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head with an expression of unparalleled happiness.

    However, when she recalled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless words a moment ago.

    She still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

    "Hmph!" Ping Yang cocked her head to one side and pouted her tiny lips. However, her eyes were still fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi silently held on to the sword.

    He stood unmoving in the middle of the sword tornado with a smile on his face. He looked at Ying Shan.

    "I am not satisfied!" Ying Shan had certainly already understood what had transpired by now. However, he wasn¡¯t satisfied. He truly wasn¡¯t satisfied.

    "So what whether or not you are satisfied?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was filled with calm.

    Ying Shan was silent. He didn¡¯t speak anymore. Because, just as Fang Zhengzhi said, why did it matter whether or not he was satisfied?

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi held the Traceless Sword...

    The oue had already been determined.

    Even if he was of the Supernatural Intermediate State, he didn¡¯t have the slightest glimmer of hope of harming Fang Zhengzhi. This wasn¡¯t rted to his powers. This was because Fang Zhengzhi controlled that sword.

    When Fang Zhengzhi held that sword, it was equivalent to controlling the entire World of the Sage.

    Then, what other chances did Ying Shan have?

    Not even mentioning killing Fang Zhengzhi, even his own life and death was determined by a single thought from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I lost!" Ying Shan gradually raised his head and looked into the sky. He didn¡¯t know which direction was that. Instead, he could only take that direction as the direction in his heart.

    A direction towards the Ten Mile Lake at the outskirt of the Yan Capital.

    He knew that at the riverside of the Ten Mile Lake stood a woman. A woman that waited in the torrential rain.

    What the woman was waiting for was naturally not he himself.

    Instead, it was an answer sheet. An answer sheet that could make her smile.

    Ying Shan bit down hard upon his lips. He had never seen the woman smile before. That might be because he had only seen her three times, or it might be because women didn¡¯t really like to smile.

    He didn¡¯t know these. However, he only knew that as a demon, he couldn¡¯t disappoint the woman.

    In reality, regardless of whether it was on the battlefield or when he was nted in the Yan Capital, he had smoothlypleted each of his tasks every single time.

    How many times could one be recognised in his life as a demon.

    He used to be confident and felt that he would be able to repay this recognition.

    Yet now...

    Was thest day he would be living in this world. He had failed hisst task. He had no way of presenting a satisfactory answer sheet to the woman.

    He didn¡¯t know what the woman¡¯s expression would be like when she heard of this. He only knew that he would be a demon who let a woman down.

    Disappointment.

    Ying Shan¡¯s eyes gazed quietly at the direction in his heart. He didn¡¯t cry. Because, he was a demon. A demon who was the vice domain chief of the Ten Devilish Domains.

    He couldn¡¯t bring himself to cry in front of humans.

    Even if he died.

    He had to be a demon with his own pride and dignity.

    Hence, he moved.

    Step by step, he walked towards Fang Zhengzhi, and walked towards that sword tornado formed by an infinite number of swords, allowing the swords to stab through his body one by one.

    There wasn¡¯t the slightest sh of ck light on his body.

    He didn¡¯t resist.

    Instead, he looked silently at Fang Zhengzhi and walked, one step at a time, into the sword tornado...

 Chapter 218: Heaven Dao Sage Tablet

    Chapter 218: Heaven Dao Sage Tablet

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The storm in the Yan Capital didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping. Instantly, it grew stronger and stronger.

    This caused the air in the Imperial ACademy to seem somewhat stressful. Especially after "All hail the emperor!" sounded out from outside the door, everybody felt as if there was a huge stone in their hearts.

    From the time the World of the Sage had went out of control till now, a very long time had passed.

    However, it still didn¡¯t seem to have any intent of recovering.

    One must know that the people within the World of the Sage were all the future creme of the Great Xia Dynasty. It was like the foundation of a dynasty.

    They represented the future of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    If there was no future, how could a dynasty survive for long?

    Especially when the Xing Qingsui of the Stabilisation Constabry was also trapped within. That was the son of the first wife of the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s Xing Hou, the assigned sessor of the Stabilisation Constabry.

    Most importantly was Ping Yang.

    The Princess Ping Yang who was favored the most by the Emperor, a person whom no idents must ur to.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue didn¡¯t personally report this to Emperor Lin Mubai. He knew very well Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s reaction after hearing this piece of news.

    Furthermore, there still wasn¡¯t a confirmed answer to the incident urring inside the World of the Sage.

    Under such circumstances...

    Why would he be willing to take responsibility for this unknown storm? However, this was an imminent storm. Even if he wanted to avoid it, there was no way to do so.

    Hence, he could only ept it.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue stood up from his chair. Han Changfeng naturally stood up as well. However, once the two of them stood up, they knelt down on the floor together.

    Other than King Duan Lin Xinjue and Han Changfeng, all the Imperial Messengers in the Imperial Academy also knelt down on the ground.

    Nobody dared to raise their heads.

    The footsteps outside the door grew nearer and nearer, then it stopped.

    Lin Mubai wore a golden dragon robe and stood with his hands behind his back. His eyes carried an expression that waspletely out of harmony with his appearance. He didn¡¯t look at the people kneeling down onto the ground. Instead, he only gazed at the somewhat empty room.

    Behind him, stood Ninth Prince Lin Yun dressed in a brocade robe, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong dressed in a white dragon robe, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping drssed in a white official robe, and the Six Council Officials of the dynasty.

    By right, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong could avoid this matter altogether. However, he still came. Because, he was the crown prince, the crown prince that controlled the imperial government.

    He simply had no way of shirking this responsibility.

    Hence, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping naturally came as well.

    If the Emperor, the crown prince, and the left prime minister were all present, how would the Six Council Officials dare not toe?

    "Your imperial examination was indeed held very well. I remember when we were choosing the chief examiner of the imperial examination, each of you fought so hard for this, promising to do it very well. But now?" Emperor Lin Mubai spoke.

    The emptiness of the room reflected that the World of the Sage was still out of control. Then, things wouldn¡¯t be solved very easily.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue lowered his head. The other imperial messengers also kowtowed on the floor.

    Nobody dared to reply. Because, everybody could hear the anger that Emperor Lin Mubai attempted to conceal in his tone. Once the Son of Heaven raged, no matter how high you stood, you could still fall a thousand yards.

    "Speak!" Emperor Lin Mubai spoke again. A powerful aura expanded outwards.

    This caused King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s back to instantly be soaked with sweat. He wanted to speak, but his throat felt unnaturally dry. He couldn¡¯t produce a single sound.

    Han Changfeng¡¯s forehead was also beaded with sweat. However, he couldn¡¯t follow King Duan Lin Xinjue and remain silent. Because, he was the chief examiner of the imperial examination.

    Hence, no matter what happened, he couldn¡¯t remain silent.

    "I feel that the World of the Sage being out of control, might be... a good thing!" Han Changfeng lowered his head. Even a man as calm as him felt an immense pressure when faced with the air of a dragon that Emperor Lin Mubai gave off.

    "A good thing? Mister Han please continue." Emperor Lin Mubai didn¡¯t sit down. Instead, he stood on the spot without a change in his expression.

    "Replying Your Majesty, ever since I became the imperial messenger of the Imperial Academy, and held the role as chief examiner for the imperial examinations for so many years, I had always been cautious and conscientious, and disyed utter loyalty and responsibility. I had never made any mistakes. I don¡¯t believe that this imperial examination is affected by external powers. The reason might be because rted to the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had broken the Broken Bridge, the Twin Stone Tablets and the stone house." Han Changfeng gritted his teeth.

    "Continue."

    "I believe that the World of the Sage being out of control seems very dangerous, but, it might be a test. A test given by the World of the Sage to the examinees. The World of the Sage is a world created by Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. Hence, no matter how dangerous the test would be, there wouldn¡¯t be any threats to their lives. The longer it dragged meant that the examinees went through more tests. Could... this be a form of opportunity?" When Han Changfeng finished his sentence, his heart tightened.

    This was the best way of putting things. It was equivalent to pushing himself towards the ce where the wind and the waves were the fiercest. If his guess was correct, he could naturally avoid a disaster being pinned onto his head.

    However, if a real problem urred...

    The charge of hosting the examination inappropriately would be worsened.

    However, Han Changfeng didn¡¯t have any other choices. Because, if there was really something bad uring in the World of the Sage, there was simply no way he could avoid the charges. Since he would be in trouble either way, what harm would there be in adding another charge to this?

    "Oh?" When Emperor Lin Mubai heard this, his brows clearly rxed.

    He naturally understood the World of the Sage very well. There was only one reason why the World of the Sage went out of control. That was a piece of consciousness Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had left in the World of the Sage.

    That consciousness temporarily controlled the World of the Sage.

    Just as Han Changfeng said, that consciousness originated from Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. Hence, there was a huge possibility that no true harm woulde to the examinees involved in the imperial examinations.

    But what if it wasn¡¯t a test?

    Emperor Lin Mubai now had two choices. One was to forcefully open the World of the Sage. However, that could possibility disturb the consciousness within the World of the Sage, and might even destroy the World of the Sage.

    Even though there was a chance to save the people, there was also a chance to kill them...

    The other possibility was to wait.

    Just as Han Changfeng guessed, wait for the test of the World of the Sage to end.

    These were two very difficult choices. If there was something bad urring within the World of the Sage, further waiting would definitely aggravate it. However, if the World of the Sage waspletely fine, what would they do if a problem suddenly urred?

    Emperor Lin Mubai gazed at the empty room, weighing the benefits and losses.

    Nobody spoke at this moment, and nobody helped Han Changfeng to beg for forgiveness at this moment.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping frowned slightly. His thin face seemed somewhat dark. Han Changfeng was a good ally of the Crown Prince, hence he evidently didn¡¯t wish to lose Han Changfeng due to such an incident.

    However, acting before there was a clear resolution to the incident...

    Was undoubtedly causing them to fall into the trap of bing the passive party.

    Hence, he waited.

    Simrly, none of the Six Council Officials spoke. There might be some logic behind what Han Changfeng was saying. However, before things were truly resolved and understood, who would dare to stand out blindly?

    As for Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, he naturally wouldn¡¯t speak. Han Changfeng was the Crown Prince¡¯s teacher. This was something that every knew. As the Crown Prince of the dynasty, he had his own stance.

    This stance was fairness and justice.

    The atmosphere in the Imperial Academy returned to its initial state of silence.

    Until...

    A scene suddenly appeared in mid-air inside the room.

    In that scene stood a youth wearing a blue robe. He held a sword in his hand. A sword that had a purple scar at the tip of the de.

    And around the youth.

    Countless swords were whirling around him with zing speed.

    This was a shocking scene. What was even more shocking was that in front of the youth, there was a weakly middle-aged man. That man was tolerating countless swords stabbing through his body.

    The middle-aged man didn¡¯t produce a single sound. Instead, he bit down hard onto his lips.

    Blood, stained the earth.

    ...

    Outside the Yan Capital, within the Ten Mile Lake, a boat sailed slowly into the distance. The torrential rain battered the boat, causing the g on it to dance in mid-air.

    Yun Qingwu, wearing a white robe, stood quietly at the head of the boat. She held a green umbre in her hand and gazed in the direction of the Yan Capital.

    "It should have ended about now."

    "Young lord, we need a minimum of one month to get from the Yan Capital to the Huai An County... please remember to rest." Thedy in the green dress looked at the back of Yun Qingwu. She didn¡¯t inquire further about the results of the imperial examination. Because, Yun Qingwu had never been wrong about what she said.

    Then, Ying Shan¡¯s task should have failed.

    Or, it could be said that ever since the very start, this was a task doomed for failure. However, she didn¡¯t express any suspicion. Just as Yun Qingwu said, if a failed task could lead to victory of the overall situation, was it still a failure?

    "Yes, the Huai An County..." Yun Qingwu nodded. Her eyes were slightly hazy. A picture suddenly shed across her mind. That was the Hundred Flower Gathering held a few months ago at the Huai An County. It was that very moment which she had been unveiled.

    Huai An County, Cang Ling Mountain.

    Didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi grow up from the Northern Mountain Vige below the Cang Ling Mountain?

    As she thought, Yun Qingwu instantly shook her head. Very quickly, her gaze turned brighter.

    "A demon appeared in the imperial examination. Thebat examination would be forced to stop. Han Changfeng¡¯s position as the Chief Imperial Messenger would definitely be hard t o hold onto. The human race would have lost a great talent leading the Imperial Academy. The Crown Prince controlled the government, hence he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape censure. King Duan has failed in his responsibilities of supervising the imperial examination. Hence, the Cang Ling Mountain situation wouldn¡¯t concern the two of them anymore."

    "Stabilisation Constabry, the head of the thirteen constabries. I am really excited to see how you would foil the ns I had set in the Cang Ling Mountain? The ¡¯Heaven Dao Sage Tablet¡¯ is mine, "The Vast World" is also mine. This is a deadlock!"

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Academy, everybody stared silently at the scene that appeared in mid-air.

    That was naturally the scene depicting the World of the Sage.

    The scene depicting the World of the Sage had appeared in the Imperial Academy. This seemed to be a happy asion, representing the fact that the World of the Sage had returned to the control of the Imperial Academy.

    However, when this scene appeared in the middle of the Imperial Academy, nobody could feel happy. Because, everybody¡¯s gaze was fixed upon the youth inside the scene.

    Even Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes shed with light. Because, this was a scene that nobody would be able to imagine, and a scene that simply nobody would be have to predict...

 Chapter 219: Owner of the Sword

    Chapter 219: Owner of the Sword

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It¡¯s... Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Staring at the youth in the scene, almost nobody wished to believe what they had just seen. In their hearts, no matter how talented Fang Zhengzhi was, he was only somebody who had just entered the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Killing an enemy with a sword?

    Or was it killing an enemy with a ten thousand swords? No matter how they looked at the situation, it didn¡¯t make any sense. How could a person who just entered the Heavenly Reflection State have the power to use ten thousand swords?

    One by one, doubts arose in their hearts.

    Then, their gazes were drawn to the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. That sword seemed extremely ordinary. However, the purple scar at the tip of the sword was extremely evil.

    "Could it be... that sword?!"

    There was a sword in the World of the Sage. That was the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. This was a legend, yet, it was a legend that everybody knew.

    "Fang Zhengzhi had retrieved Meng Tian¡¯s sword?" When this thought rose in their minds, everybody was filled with an unparalleled sense of shock.

    Next, what caused even greater shock was that the middle-aged man in the middle of the sword tornado had a ck gem-like object on his forehead.

    It seemed somewhat faint and dark. However, there wasn¡¯t a single person who didn¡¯t know what it represented.

    The demon eye!

    The demon race. That man was a demon?!

    Fang Zhengzhi was using the sword of Meng Tian to kill a demon.

    Most importantly, behind Fang Zhengzhi stood over ten examinees. Among them was the severely injured Xing Qingsui, and Nangong Mu whose chest was stained with blood.

    There was also...

    Ping Yang, lying on the ground with blood dripping down her lips.

    "What actually happened in the World of the Sage?!"

    "Ping Yang is injured?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi had obtained the sword of Meng Tian and is using it to kill the enemy?"

    One by one, questions that caused great shock arose in everybody¡¯s hearts.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s lips moved, but remained silent in the end. Instead, he let out a long drawn out sigh. He knew that the situation was already out of his control.

    The Six Council Officials instinctively gazed towards Han Changfeng. No matter what happened in the World of the Sage, just the fact that a demon had snuck into thebat examination was enough to give Han Changfeng no way of escape.

    Moreover, Ping Yangy on the ground, and the direct descendant of the Stabilisation Constabry, Xing Qingsui, had a sword stabbed through his body. All of these meant that whatever happened in the World of the Sage, it definitely couldn¡¯t be exined by something as simple as a test.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression was somewhat pale. As the supervisor of the imperial examination, he had the responsibility of monitoring and supervising it. However, this current oue was something he would never have thought of, and would never wish to think of.

    However, this was reality.

    Then...

    Next up was finding out how to resolve this problem.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was simrly somewhat dark. As the Crown Prince in charge of the government, mishaps in the imperial examination were something he couldn¡¯t shirk any responsibility in. Moreover, what grieved him the most was Han Changfeng.

    Han Changfeng was his teacher, and his biggest ally and supporter as he attracted talents into the government.

    As an elderly official who had organised the imperial examinations for many years, how many disciples did he have below him? It was an extremely horrifying number. It was these disciples who had been the greatest supporter of the Crown Prince.

    Now, this huge tree seemed to be on the verge of falling. How could Crown Prince Lin Tianrong be satisfied with this oue?

    Among the people in the crowd, the only person with a different emotional state was Ninth Prince Lin Yun. Political matters werepletely irrelevant to him. As the supervisor of the imperial examination, he had to take responsibility for this as well.

    However, these weren¡¯t the things he was most concerned about. What he was most concerned about was the fact that Ping Yang was still alive, Xing Qingsui was still alive. Even though Nangong Mu was injured, he was still alive. As well as Fang Zhengzhi, and Yan Xiu...

    At least half of the the future creme of the Great Xia Dynasty were still alive.

    Actually...

    That was enough.

    "I want to enter!" After a temporary shock, Emperor Lin Mubai regained hisposure. However, a painful look remained in his eyes.

    His gaze was fixed upon Ping Yang¡¯s body. That was his daughter, his blood daughter. The daughter he loved the most. As long as he saw Ping Yang, he would be able to think of a woman.

    That was a woman he thought of every single moment of his life.

    But now, the daughter of that woman and himself was lying on the ground, with blood dripping from the edge of her mouth. How could he not feel pained? How could he still have the audacity to meet that woman again?

    "Emperor, you cannot! Even though the World of the Sage is reopened, but, nobody can ensure that this isn¡¯t a trap. If it was purposely set by the demon race..." When Yu Yiping heard Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words, he instantly knelt down onto the ground.

    "Trap? I am the true dragon son of Heaven, why would I be scared of a trap?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s tone turned cold and directly walked past the crowd towards the scene projection.

    Nobody dared to stop him. Instead, a stone door in the projection rapidly opened.

    The first person who followed behind Emperor Lin Mubai was naturally Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. Even though the person who moved first was Ninth Prince Lin Yun, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong still managed to win based on speed.

    Next was Ninth Prince Lin Yun, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the Six Council Officials.

    Since Emperor Lin Mubai had entered, how would they dare to not enter?

    As he looked at the people entering, King Duan Lin Xinjue finally gritted his teeth and stood up from the ground. Then, following behind the crowd, he entered.

    Han Changfeng didn¡¯t follow. Instead, he sat down on the floor with a rather nk expression on his face. He didn¡¯t speak. All he did was sit in silence.

    Around him, the imperial messengers of the Imperial Academy were just as silent. Their eyes looked towards Han Changfeng silently. Nobody spoke...

    ...

    Within the World of the Sage.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood with the sword in his hand. Around him, the countless swords had already fallen to the ground. Because, Ying Shan had given up struggling. Since Ying Shan had given up, the swords had lost their purpose.

    Ying Shan was dead...

    This was definitely a shocking and joyful thing for the people within the World of the Sage.

    A smile formed at the edges of Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth. This was the happiest kind of smile for a friend. Fang Zhengzhi had done it. Hence, he was happy for Fang Zhengzhi.

    As for Nangong Mu and Xing Qingsui, they each began to tend to their own injuries.

    The other examinees looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then looked at the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Their gazes were filled with aplicated expression. There was envy, and a few unknown emotions...

    However, these emotions were quickly reced by shock.

    Because...

    Emperor Lin Mubai had appeared in front of them.

    Not just Emperor Lin Mubai. There were still Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, Ninth Prince Lin Yun, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, the Six Council Officials, King Duan Lin Xinjue. All of them appeared in the World of the Sage.

    Emperor Lin Mubai and Ninth Prince Lin Yun looked at Ping Yang.

    While Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, King Duan Lin Xinjue and the Six Council Officials were permanently fixed upon the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "This is the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?"

    "One that can control the World of the Sage, a sword that contained consciousness?"

    Everybody¡¯s emotions were more or less stirred up. Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s gazes were somewhat fiery. Even as princes, this sword still stirred up excitement within them.

    After all, the Sagely Battle God represented a legend in the Great Xia Dynasty. A legend that had never been surpassed by any second person after so many years.

    "Hail Emperor!" The examinees looked at the people who entered. Their bodies suddenly trembled and knelt on the ground.

    "Rise." After Emperor Lin Mubai responded, he directly made his way beside Ping Yang. He reached out his hand and pressed it onto Ping Yang¡¯s arm as his body glowed with golden light.

    It was as bright as the sun.

    "Father?! I... I am fine..." Ping Yang had never thought that the first person who entered the World of the Sage would be Emperor Lin Mubai. Hence, she was naturally somewhat stunned.

    As she felt the heating from Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s hands, her heart grew warmer inside.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded. After channeling Qi into Ping Yang¡¯s body, all he felt were st injuries. There wasn¡¯t any serious injury.

    "First, send the injured out. The Law Council will be in charge of investigating whatever happened in the imperial examination. As the chief examiner of the imperial examination, Han Changfeng will be temporarily confined in the Law Council prison. His crimes will be settled after everything bes clear!"

    "Roger!"

    The Imperial Academy organized thebat examination. Hence, there were naturally doctors specialised in treating the injured.After the injured examinees were sent out, they could receive treatment immediately. Hence, there wouldn¡¯t be any threats to their lives.

    ...

    The torrential rain in the Yan Capital caused puddles of rainwater to congregate on the streets. However, the restaurants and residences all around the Yan Capital was bustling with activity.

    Because, today was the day thebat examination roll would be released. It also represented the announcement of the imperial examination¡¯s final results.

    However...

    The door to the Imperial Academy was fully shut.

    This caused the people of the Yan Capital to guess wildly. Countless rumours began to spread.

    As the saying went, paper cannot wrap a fire. There were no such things as perfectly sealed walls in the world. The things that happened within the World of the Sage were personally witnessed by all of the imperial messengers. Furthermore, there were many injured casualties and within the Imperial Academy, there were families and rtives of the examinees walking about to see how they were doing. Hence, things naturally began to spread rapidly.

    "Did you hear? A demon had entered thebat examination. I think it was even a Vice Domain Chief!"

    "Vice Domain Chief? How is that possible?"

    "How can it not be possible? My cousin witnessed it personally with his own eyes. He had participated in thebat examination this time and said that the demon was named Ying Shan. He was even of the Supernatural Intermediate State!"

    "Supernatural Intermediate State? Oh my God... then, how are they still alive?"

    "I seems that Fang Zhengzhi had obtained a sword. That was the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. Then, he killed that demon called Ying Shan."

    "Fang Zhengzhi killed Ying Shan?! Didn¡¯t he just enter the Heavenly Reflection State? What is this all about? Not mentioning that he killed Ying Shan, I wouldn¡¯t even believe if he managed to block one attack!"

    Within the restaurant, youths in brocade robes discussed. There were also busybodies shouting out at one side. However, most of them were half in disbelief.

    However, the door of the Imperial Academy was shut tightly. This was an undebatable reality. This also meant that a problem had definitely urred during thisbat examination.

    ...

    In the military tent of the Patrol Guards.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression was somewhat ugly. As the imperial prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, he naturally didn¡¯t worry about losing his life because of this. However, he still felt somewhat ufortable about the investigations of the Law Council.

    This was because the Law Council had always been under the control of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. If the Law Council leveraged upon this opportunity to pin crimes, even he himself wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid being punished.

    And below King Duan Lin Xinjue, Elder Wen who was dressed in a ck and white Dao robe also frowned tightly.

    Inparison, Mister Hua who was dressed in a schrly attire had a rather calm and indifferent expression. He only sat quietly on the chair, as if waiting for King Duan Lin Xinjue to speak.

    "Mister hua, you seem like you have an idea?" King Duan Lin Xinjue looked at Mister Hua¡¯s calm expression with some confusion.

    "Replying Your Majesty, I wouldn¡¯t im that it is as great as an idea. However, I believe that the person who should be worried is the Crown Prince. Your Highness, on the other hand, wouldn¡¯t need to worry too much." Mister Hua smiled lightly.

    "Why is this so Mister Hua?"

    "The greatest criminal charge this time will naturally be upon Han Changfeng. Even though the Law Council is controlled by the Crown Prince, if they really conducted thorough investigations, there wouldn¡¯t be any benefits to the Crown Prince."

    "What do you mean?"

    "If Your Highness wants to gain the advantage in this, you only need to do one thing!"

    "What is that?"

    "Help Han Changfeng to plea for leniency in front of the Emperor."

    "You want me to help Han Changfeng to plea for leniency? My father is currently furious. I didn¡¯t fulfill my responsibility in the supervision, how can I still help others to plea for leniency?" King Duan Lin Xinjue couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Your Highness please recall, what was the reason you requested to conduct the imperial examination?"

    "That is naturally to form ties and recruit talen... Wait a minute. You mean?" When King Duan Lin Xinjue heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had somewhat understood.

    "Han Changfeng had conducted the imperial examination for so many years. Even though he had made mistakes, he still maintains the heart of the Emperor. If Your Highness helps Han Changfeng to plea for leniency, the Emperor would naturally infer that you prioritize protecting the creme of the dynasty. Why would he me you?"

    "However, the heart of the Emperor is hard to guess. What is the point of me taking such a risk?"

    "Two benefits. Firstly, gain the reputation of prioritising talents. Even if the Emperor mes you, he wouldn¡¯t truly punish you. Secondly, if Your Highness helps Han Changfeng to plea for leniency, how do you think the Crown Prince would think?"

    "It would naturally be..." When King Duan Lin Xinjue said this, his eyes finally lit up. "I understand, Mister Hua your n is killing two birds with one stone?"

    "Your Highness is smart and wise. As long as Your Highness helps Han Changfeng to beg for forgiveness, then, not only would your mistakes in the imperial examination not be made more severe, the Emperor would also regard you highly. Han Changfeng is the teacher of the Crown Prince, yet the Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t help him to plea for leniency. However, Your Highness is willing to do so, implying that you prioritise talents. Other than that, Your Highness can leverage on this opportunity to spread the incident about Han Changfeng¡¯s son. Even if the Crown Prince still trusts Han Changfeng, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had always been overconfident about his own decisions and thoughts. Hence, he might not hold back just because of Han Changfeng¡¯s reputation as the teacher of the Crown Prince. Then, there would be two oues. The first would be that the Crown Prince and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would part ways, the second would be that one party will give in. As for Han Changfeng, no matter whether he would be spared, it would still be impossible to be as powerful as before."

    "Mister Hua¡¯s n is indeed wise! There is one more thing I wish to consult Mister Hua about. Fang Zhengzhi had obtained Meng Tian¡¯s sword in the World of the Sage..."

    "That sword is Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword. Fang Zhengzhi is just an ordinary citizen. Your Highness wouldn¡¯t have to worry about this."

    "Alright, then I will act ording to Mister Hua¡¯s ns. I will enter the pce to meet the Emperor right now!" After King Duan Lin Xinjue finished speaking, he immediately walked out of the military tent. There was no more worry left on his face.

 Chapter 220: Movement of the Undercurrent

    Chapter 220: Movement of the Undercurrent

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    In the imperial pce of the Yan Capital, in front of the door to the Advanced Academy, dozens of members of the Dragon Protection Squad continued to wait outside, allowing the torrential rain to fall upon them, yet remaining as still as a mountain.

    When a middle-aged man around the age of forty, wearing a purple official robe, whose phoenix eyes were long and narrow walked over from afar, the dozens of members of the Dragon Protection Squad suddenly turned respectful. When the middle-aged nearer, they neatly bowed towards the middle-aged man.

    "Lord Hou!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad only took orders from the current Emperor. However, in front of the middle-aged man, they were still extremely respectful. This wasn¡¯t very much rted to his order of feudal nobility.

    Because, even if a prince was in front of them, they still dared to hold their swords.

    However, the middle-aged man was different. He was the lord of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Stabilisation Constabry, the head of the thirteen constabries, the most stable pir of the dynasty, and the sworn brother of the current Emperor.

    The Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s Xing Hou, Xing Yuanguo.

    Xing Yuanguo looked towards the dozens of members of the Dragon Protection Squad. A faint glimmer of light shone in his long and narrow phoenix eyes. He naturally knew about the Dragon Protection Squad returning to the Yan Capital. However, he didn¡¯t ask further.

    He was a general, and a military lord. His responsibility was to protect the country. Hence, he only protected the country.

    As for what he shouldn¡¯t know, he never inquired further. This was the teachings passed down in the Stabilisation Constabry ever since it was founded.

    "Yes." Xing Yuanguo lightly nodded his head. He didn¡¯t speak a further word with the Dragon Protection Squad, and walked in immediately after Eunuch Pan pushed open the door.

    Once he walked into the Advanced Academy, Xing Yuanguo saw the dead body covered by the g. Beside the dead body stood another two armoured members of the Dragon Protection Squad.

    His expression changed slightly. However, he didn¡¯t ask further. Instead, he walked quietly to one side and knelt down.

    "Hail Emperor."

    "Official Xing get up quickly, how is the kid Qingsui¡¯s injuries?" As Emperor Lin Mubai spoke, he stood up from his dragon chair and personally went in front of Xing Yuanguo to support him up.

    "Bleeding isn¡¯t of any much significance to a man. He can only me his own weakness. This incident has been caused by Qingsui, identally bringing in the demon into thebat examination and causing injuries to the princess. I am responsible for my failed supervision, and hope that I will be punished as due!" Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t stand up immediately and instead insisted on kneeling onto the ground.

    "The spy of the demon race is hard to guard against, Official Xing need not me yourself. The reason why I called you here today is to discuss about matters of the country." Emperor Lin Mubai reached out to pull him up again.

    This time, Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t insist in kneeling further. Instead, he stood up very quickly.

    "Emperor please tell me more!"

    "There are three thousand volumes of the Law of Dao, while there are thirty-six types of Heaven Dao. Ever since the Great Xia Dynasty was founded, we had been collecting the thirty-six Heaven Dao Sage Tablets. There are currently thirteen in the Sage Land, nine in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, while the rest of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets are spread in various ces. I¡¯m sure that you know the importance of this Heaven Dao Sage Tablet."

    "Your meaning is?"

    "The Stabilisation Constabry had always maintained close ties with the Divine Constabry. Now that the Sagely Relic had descended in the Cang Ling Mountain of the Northern Desert River of Trust Capital¡¯s Huai An County, I wish that you can go there personally."

    "Why not ask the Divine Constabry to obtain it directly?"

    "I fear that the power of the Divine Constabry alone isn¡¯t enough to guarantee sess. I¡¯m sure you know the geography of the Cang Ling Mountain, despite hundred of years it still hadn¡¯t been explored fully. If an army recklessly enters the mountain, they might face losses. Furthermore, after the Sagely Relic had appeared, the Dragon Protection Squad had been attacked along the way, causing them to lose a Dragon Envoy..."

    "Is it the demon race?"

    "Yes."

    "I understood. I will move out now!"

    "Orders for the Dragon Protection Squad. Your task for this journey to the Cang Ling Mountain is to ensure the safety of Xing Hou. If there are any idents, all of the Dragon Protection Squad will face death as the heaviest punishment!" When Emperor Lin Mubai heard Xing Yuanguo agree to this, his gaze turned towards the two members of the Dragon Protection Squad beside him.

    "Roger!" When the two of them heard this, they instantly knelt down.

    "Official Xing, you must remember that safety is always the first priority. No matter how important the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is, it cannotpare to the Stabilisation Constabry. You must take care!"

    "Thank you for your concern!" Xing Yuanguo nodded, then immediately bowed and left.

    On the other hand, the two members of the Dragon Protection Squad beside the dead body instantly stood up and followed behind Xing Yuanguo.

    ...

    Within the Ping Yang Residence, a faint medical aroma came from within the exquisitely designed room. Ping Yangy grudgingly on the bed. There seemed to be tears in her clear, big eyes while her tiny mouth pouted.

    Beside her, ady in a pink dress sat. Wearing a snow-white fur belt, thedy¡¯s elegant body was brought out perfectly.

    Herrge jet-ck eyes were extremely bright, as if spots of stars were glowing within them. Her silky hair fell to her waist like a waterfall, and a jade-green pearl flower was horizontally inserted on her hair. There was pureness within her tender beauty.

    "Sister Yan, I don¡¯t want to lie down, I want to ride a horse..." Ping Yang looked towards Chi Guyan who sat beside her and spoke with a begging tone.

    "Sure, do you want to ride your Snow Jade, or the Ninth Prince¡¯s Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Chi Guyan smiled lightly and revealed a youthful look of pure beauty.

    "Sister Yan, you have a way to let me ride the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion? Brother Jiu is very stingy. No matter how many times I asked him, he didn¡¯t lend it to me. Does Sister Yan really have an idea?"

    "Yes, but we must wait until your injury is recovered."

    "Oh... alright!" Ping Yang stuck out her tongue and gave a pained look. Then, tucked her tiny head into the nket. However, right before her head went in, the edges of her mouth curved into a crafty look of somebody getting away with her evil scheme.

    Chi Guyan looked at Ping Yang hidden inside the nket and the edges of her eyes revealed a trace of fondness. Then, she stood up softly from the chair and walked slowly towards the window, staring out at the fresh flowers dancing in the torrential rain outside the room.

    "Passing the Broken Bridge, the Twin Stone Tablets and the stone house? And even obtaining Meng Tian¡¯s sword... I fear King Duan and the Crown Prince are going to start acting."

    "A Vice Domain Chief entering thebat examination? The first person he attacked was Xing Qingsui, yet, his target afterwards was Fang Zhengzhi? Hm..."

    "Supernatural Intermediate State? Paying such a big price to attack one person? If it is just to strangle the baby in the cradle, isn¡¯t the chance of sess greater on the road?"

    "Such a big sacrifice just to dy the advancement of the imperial examination. No! Looks like there are other plots at y. The Dragon Protection Squad had lost a Dragon Envoy. The city gates had been attacked by unknown people. Looks like... they want to lure the snake out of its hole! But, which snake are they trying to lure?"

    "King Duan? The Crown Prince? They have all been affected by the imperial examination. Then, it is... the Stabilisation Constabry! In order to lure the Stabilisation Constabry... it is going to cost the demon race something. What is it going to be?"

    Light shed in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes. However, the expression on her face remained calm. Instead, she continued to stand quietly in front of the window, staring at the torrential rain that still hadn¡¯t stopped.

    ...

    It was night. However, there was still a fire light glowing in the Eastern Pce.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong still wore the same white dragon brocade robe that he wore outside the pce today. However, his expression seemed extremely dark. Yet, he remained silent.

    Because, the person sitting below him was Yu Yiping.

    If Yu Yiping didn¡¯t speak, he could remain silent.

    "Give it up!" After a long time, Yu Yiping finally gritted his teeth. A Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy was very important. However, it was exactly because he was too important that Yu Yiping had to give him up.

    Because, this was a Chief Imperial Messenger who had lost the people¡¯s trust. Then, he might be a hidden chess piece who could affect the overall situation.

    "My teacher... would never do anything that went against me." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t retort. Instead, he mumbled softly.

    "Crown Prince, if you wish for your position in the Eastern Pce to be stable, you must consider the worst case scenario. Even if there was the slightest bit of chance, you still have to nip it in the bud. Crown Prince, you must understand the principle behind affecting the overall situation just by pulling a single strand of hair."

    "What do you n to do?"

    "King Duan plead leniency for Han Changfeng. Hence, he had naturally gained a good reputation of treasuring talents. Then, let us push the boat with the current and make the incident about Han Changfeng intending to falsify the theory examination paper known. This way, the Emperor would definitely bing suspicious about King Duan pleading leniency for Han Changfeng. If Han Changfeng would truly consider the overall situation for Crown Prince, he would definitely use King Duan of having insufficient information!"

    "But this way, my teacher would definitely die without a doubt. Furthermore, I fear that the members of the Han Residence might..."

    "My teacher¡¯s years of teaching and achievement..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong couldn¡¯t bear to do so.

    He had been taught by Han Changfeng ever since he was young. Even though Han Changfeng had justmitted a serious offence, if he was willing to help Han Changfeng to plea for leniency with King Duan, when things settle down, not only would Han Changfeng be spared from death, he might only be demoted by one level and could remain in the government.

    "We have to proceed with this quickly! Else, when the Emperor starts to question, the pressure on thew council will be even greater. Crown Prince, you mustn¡¯t lose the advantage just because of one moment of kindness!" Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes shed with light.

    "But..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was somewhat hesitant.

    "Crown Prince!"

    "Why must you... sigh... alright, let¡¯s go ording to what you said!"

    "Crown Prince is firm and decisive in handling affairs. I will definitely follow you till death!" Yu Yiping stood up at this moment and actually knelt down directly in front of Lin Tianrong.

    "Get up quick!" When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw this, he instantly stood up from his chair. However, a faint glint shed at the sides of his eyes.

    ...

    Two dayster, the rain stopped. However, the wind persisted. It continued to wreak havoc within the Yan Capital, invoking surging waves of wind, causing the sky above the Yan Capital to be filled with darkness.

    In the early morning within the Imperial Hall, numerous officials stood in silence. Emperor Lin Mubai sat straightly on the dragon chair. However, his expression didn¡¯t seem too happy. This was because thew council had finalised the case of the Imperial Examination.

    As thew official of the Great Xia Dynasty, even though ¡¯Wan Chong¡¯ was almost fifty years of age and his hair was already beginning to turn white, he had always been swift and decisive in his actions. Furthermore, this case concerned the most important Imperial Examination with the Emperor personally supervising it and the Crown Prince¡¯s secretive maniptions. Naturally, he dealt with this case very swiftly.

    The few of Han Changfeng¡¯s most serious crimes were quicklyid out. Among them, there was a statement of confession which Han Changfeng had signed himself, proving that he had the intention of tampering with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s theory examination paper, as well as pointing out King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s various failings of his responsibilities to investigate this incident.

    Why it was a failure to investigate and not conspiring with Han Changfeng?

    The reason was very simple. The entire government knew that Han Changfeng was the teacher of the Crown Prince. If it was said that he received orders from King Duan Lin Xinjue, who would believe that?

    "Han Changfeng intended to tamper the theory examination paper?!"

    Such a crime was a bolt from the blue, shocking the entire Imperial Government. However, this had been confessed and signed by Han Changfeng personally. The evidence was irrefutable.

    The officials were filled with shock. However, nobody stood out to object this.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression turned ashen. He gazed at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong who stood within the Imperial Hall. He would never have thought that his brother would be as heartless.

    This had also strengthened the belief in his heart to fight for the great position.

    Because, he knew that if he admitted defeat in this fight, his situation in the future would be worse than that of Han Changfeng.

    As the Duan King, he controlled the military.

    This was his first time participating in the Imperial Examination, hence he definitely could bear the consequences of failing in his supervision. However, this also meant that he had no way of being involved in the Imperial Examination in the future.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was calm. After sacrificing Han Changfeng, the position of Chief Imperial Messenger was now empty. However, he didn¡¯t reckon that King Duan Lin Xinjue would be able to take advantage of this position.

    Hence...

    The Imperial Academy was still under his control.

    The case of the Imperial Examination had temporarily assumed a state of calm due to Han Changfeng¡¯s personal confession of the crime. Next up would naturally be to settle the rest of the matters rted to the Imperial Examination. For example, the arrangements of the post-examinations.

    How could it not have a result?

    Hence, there was the suggestion of a rematch. However, a rematch of the entire examination wasn¡¯t an option. After all, that was equivalent to announcing to the entire dynasty that the Imperial Academy was incapable.

    Furthermore, due to the attack by the demon race, the majority of examinees suffered heavy injuries. An immediate rematch would indeed seem unfair.

    The final verdict was that a preliminary examination would be added before the court examination. This way, not only would it not affect the conduct of the court examination, but it could also give the injured examinees sufficient time to recover.

    After the matters of the Imperial Examination had beenpletely settled, the hearts of the officials finally united. Because, they all knew that there was a very important matter that was finally about to be raised.

    That was the sword left by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!

    "Emperor, the identity of the demon that appeared in the World of the Sage had been confirmed to be the Vice Domain Chief of the Ten Devilish Domains¡¯ Ying Domain, Ying Shan!" Law official Wan Chong would naturally not mention the sword directly.

    Because, that was the dumbest possible action. Under circumstances when the intentions of the Emperor was still unclear, the thing he had to do most was to make sure the officials of the Imperial Government knew the power of the sword.

    "He really is Ying Shan?!"

    "I heard that Ying Shan is of the Supernatural Intermediate State. Fang Zhengzhi had only just entered the Heavenly Reflection State, how could he kill Ying Shan?"

    "Seems that he had obtained the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian."

    "Who would have thought that one sword would be able to kill Ying Shan. This is indeed terrifying."

    When they heard the words of thew official, the numerous officials began to discuss spiritedly. Shocked expressions appeared on each of their faces, while Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue quietly stood on top of the Imperial Court.

    They were naturally waiting, waiting for the most suitable moment to give the most suitable reason. Then, the sword wouldnd in the hands of the most suitable person.

 Chapter 221: Divine Order

    Chapter 221: Divine Order

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Even though the sword was obtained by Fang Zhengzhi, he obtained it from the World of the Sage. The World of the Sage belongs to the Imperial Government. Hence, the owner of the sword would definitely be the government!" An official instantly stood out after receiving a visual prompt.

    "Mr Wan is right, I agree!"

    "I agree too!"

    "Even though Fang Zhengzhi does have some talent, he is ultimately still of the Heavenly Reflection State. It is indeed a fearful possibility that the demon race would attempt to steal such a powerful sword. When that timees, not only would both the sword and a life be lost, the consequences are also dire. I hope Your Majesty can give the order for Fang Zhengzhi to return the sword to the government for protection as soon as possible!"

    "Mr Li¡¯s analysis is very wise. It is said that the ordinary man is innocent; however, a man with great treasures and ambitions would be in great danger. News of Fang Zhengzhi obtaining the sword from the World of the Sage had already spread to public. If he doesn¡¯t surrender it, his life might be in danger!"

    "I agree! In order to protect the great treasure of the dynasty and spare Fang Zhengzhi from this danger, I hope Your Majesty can pass the order!"

    Very quickly, officials began to stand out one by one. Each of them wore an expression of absolute selflessness, righteousness and empathy for others.

    However, in their hearts, Fang Zhengzhi was just an ordinary citizen who hadn¡¯t entered the government. Combined with his low birth status, how could they allow Fang Zhengzhi to obtain that sword?

    Furthermore, even if Fang Zhengzhi had passed the Imperial Examination, his official rank would only start from Rank Seven. And even if the Emperor was being very generous and kind, the highest rank obtained in history after passing the Imperial Examination was only Rank Five.

    On the other hand...

    These officials who were able to discuss in this Throne Room, even those standing at the furthest corners, were at least Rank Four Officials. In a government filled with Rank One, Two, Three and Four Officials, who would care about one Fang Zhengzhi?

    "Father Emperor, may I express my opinion!" At this moment, King Duan Lin Xinjue finally stood out from the crowd. The officials had begun discussing the matter at hand and the time hade. Naturally, he had to speak before Crown Prince Lin Tianrong did.

    This was the first-move advantage.

    When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw King Duan Lin Xinjue stand out, he retracted his feet that was in the middle of stepping out. However, there wasn¡¯t much change in his expression.

    "Yes." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded his head with a calm expression.

    He naturally knew what conflicts were going on in the Imperial Government and had already made a decision in his heart about this matter. However, as the Emperor, there were some things that had to be said by the high ranked officials.

    "Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is the military hero of our Great Xia Dynasty and represents the heart and soul of our dynasty¡¯s army. Now, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword had been found again. This is the perfect time to boost our military power. I request for the sword to be handed to me temporarily for protection and boost the morale and power of our army!" When King Duan Lin Xinjue saw Emperor Lin Mubai nod his head, he instantly bowed and spoke.

    "His Highness King Duan is right. The sword represents the heart and soul of our army. With this sword, the army of the Great Xia Dynasty would definitely feel blessed by the Emperor and protected by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. When they face the demon race, they would definitely be able to do so with determination and spirit!"

    "I also agree that the sword be handed to the military for protection!"

    After King Duan Lin Xinjue finished his speech, two middle-aged men wearing armours stood out. Both of them were military generals leading their respective armies with respectable positions in the Imperial Government.

    "Sixth Brother¡¯s words are logical, however... his views are a little superficial. Sagely Battle God Meng Tian indeed came from the military. However, he represents the entire Great Xia Dynasty. He is the hero of our Great Xia Dynasty. Riding alone for a thousand miles to kill Demon Lord Si Kong in the Blood Shadow City, how impressive is that! The determination within his bones is something everybody in the dynasty respects. I request for Father Emperor to hand the sword to me, using it as a means for the government to impart values. During the Law of Dao Examination, it could be disyed prominently at the door to send a message to the people!"

    After Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heard this, he stood out and spoke loudly, looking towards King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s direction.

    "His Highness Crown Prince is indeed wise and able to look at the situation as a whole. Using the sword to send a message to the people would be just like spreading the spirit of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian to the people. As the Crown Prince, if he is able to employ this spirit to constantly improve himself, it would be a blessing to the dynasty and a blessing to the entire world!"

    "I agree that this sword should be guarded by the Crown Prince as well to send a message to the people!"

    "Me too!"

    "Me too!"

    "Me t..."

    "..."

    Once Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s wordsnded, a huge group of officials rushed out and bowed down on the ground.

    In the Imperial Government, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong controlled the political matters. Hence, his power naturally exceeded that of King Duan Lin Tianrong. This was clearly reflected in the current situation.

    "Ever since I have been following the Emperor and received Emperor¡¯s kindness, assisting in running the government, prioritising the stability of the society, I believe that the Crown Prince guarding the sword is a blessing for the people!" After everybody had expressed their opinions, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood out, slowly walked in front of the officials and knelt down with both his arms raised.

    "Left Prime Minister is right, I hope that Your Majesty can value His Highness Crown Prince¡¯s sincerity!" The Law Official also stood out at this moment.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue looked around at the officials that knelt down all over the floor and tightened his fists and bit his lips. Just as he prepared to speak again, he saw Emperor Lin Mubai lightly shaking his head on the dragon throne.

    This caused King Duan Lin Xinjue to instantly swallow back the words that reached his mouth.

    "Crown Prince and King Duan both have good points. Let¡¯s put aside this matter for now, tomorrow, order Fang Zhengzhi into the pce to continue the discussion. We will end for today!" Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hands, stood up and left.

    "Long live the Emperor!"

    ...

    In the Ping Yang Residence, Ping Yang wore a red robe and sat in her chair and yed mindlessly with a jade toy. Then, she heard the knockinging from outside the door.

    "Princess Your Highness, Young Master Fang wishes to meet you."

    "Young Master Fang? Which Young Master Fang? It can¡¯t be Fang Zhengzhi, right?" Ping Yang was filled with doubt. She didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi woulde to the Ping Yang Residence to visit her.

    "It is."

    "Huh? That shameless guy really came? I bet he wants something from me. That¡¯s right... that guy had obtained the sword of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, I bet he wants to request for me to help him plea in front of my Emperor father."

    Ping Yang¡¯s clear eyes glinted with light, instantly guessing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions. Then, a smile formed on the edges of her mouth.

    "Let him in!"

    "Roger!"

    ...

    Not too longter, Fang Zhengzhi was brought to an apartment by the Ping Yang Residence¡¯s housekeeper. A gust of wind blew, causing his blue robe to dance lightly in the wind.

    "Young Master Fang, please enter!"

    "Oh, thank you. This is for you!" Fang Zhengzhi casually tossed a bronze coin into the housekeeper¡¯s hands, then entered the room with a smile on his face.

    Leaving the housekeeper standing rooted to the ground in the wind.

    "One cent?!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi initially thought that Ping Yang would have more or less recovered from her injury. However, when he entered the room, he realised that Ping Yang was lying on the bed with a thick nket over her.

    Most importantly, there was still a slight trembling within the nket. The injury seemed very serious.

    "Do... do you have... have... something for me?" Ping Yangy in her bed. Her voice seemed extremely pained. Beads of sweat even formed on her forehead.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, a suspicious expression filled his face.

    Ping Yang had indeed blocked an attack for him. However, she wore the Red me Flower Armor on her body. He didn¡¯t believe that she would be injured so severely.

    Furthermore, with Ping Yang¡¯s status, if she was really injured as badly, why would there not be any servants or housekeepers caring for her in the room?

    Fang Zhengzhi took one nce around the bed and immediately realised that there weren¡¯t any articles of clothing, and the pair of golden threaded shoes on the floor seemed somewhat messy.

    You want to trick me with such an obvious acting?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly to himself. However, the expression on his face was filled with care and concern, hastily walking towards Ping Yang¡¯s bed.

    "Which part of your body is injured? Is it still very bad? Let me see!"

    As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he quickly tore off the nket covering Ping Yang¡¯s body. He decided to use his own actions to tell Ping Yang, your acting is really bad.

    In an instant, the nket was pulled off and danced in mid-air.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes instantly turned round. Her face turned deathly pale and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, as well as the nket dancing in the air, with absolute disbelief.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi waspletely taken aback.

    He had correctly guessed the beginning of the story. Ping Yang was acting. However, he hadn¡¯t correctly guessed the ending of the story. Ping Yang was indeed acting, however, at this moment, Ping Yang wasn¡¯t wearing clothes.

    Or, it could be said that Ping Yang only wore oneyer. That was a bright red bellyband with a golden peony sewn onto it.

    Of course, on her small white leg, there was a skirt that she didn¡¯t have time to removepletely. Beside it, there was a red robe.

    "Ah!" Ping Yang screamed.

    Her voice instantly reverberated around the entire Ping Yang Residence. Even the air of the pce beside the Ping Yang Residence echoed with this piercing scream.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew very clearly how many archers stood guard around the Ping Yang Residence, and knew even more clearly what a huge crime he hadmitted on this day.

    Disrespecting the princess!

    If it was said that the previous time was unintentional, then what was this?

    If it was also imed to be unintentional...

    Even Fang Zhengzhi himself couldn¡¯tpletely believe this exnation. Hence, he ran. He charged out of the room with the fastest possible speed and ran outside without even turning back his head.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes burned with a raging me. Grabbing the red robe beside her and wearing it over her body, she instantly gave chase. She had already decided that no matter what kind of betrayal of friendship this represented.

    Today, she must kill this shameless guy.

    However, once she reached the door, she suddenly stopped. Because, a jade-green coloured gold hairpiny on the ground at the entrance of her room.

    Ping Yang was sure that this jade-green gold hairpin didn¡¯t belong to her. Because, she simply had never worn goods of such trash quality.

    "Could it be?" Ping Yang was in somewhat of a disbelief.

    However, she still continued to advance forward. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had already stopped. He waspletely surrounded by a group of soldiers armed with bows and arrows.

    Wishing to escape from the Ping Yang Residence?

    This was simply a huge joke. The importance of Ping Yang to the Great Xia Dynasty meant that Emperor Lin Mubai would naturally ce the best soldiers here.

    Not mentioning Fang Zhengzhi, even someone as powerful as Ying Shan, or even Xing Hou Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilisation Constabry wouldn¡¯t dare im that they would be able to walk out of the main gate of the Ping Yang Residence.

    "Arrival of the Divine Order!" Just as Ping Yang prepared to order for Fang Zhengzhi to be captured, a voice suddenly sounded out. Then, a small eunuch in official clothes quickly walked towards Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 222: Challenge of Authority

    Chapter 222: Challenge of Authority

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When they heard about the arrival of the Divine Order, all of the soldiers armed with bows instantly knelt down. This didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t know about the severity of the situation. Instead, it meant that they knew about the severity of the situation too well...

    Because, the person running out of the room was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang¡¯s scream was bloodcurdling. That evidently came from receiving a huge shock. If it was any other person running out of the room, they didn¡¯t mind treating him as an assassin and killing him on the spot.

    However, if it was Fang Zhengzhi...

    Then that would be somewhat normal.

    Which soldier in the Ping Yang Residence didn¡¯t know that Fang Zhengzhi and Princess Ping Yang were definitely sworn, jealous enemies? However, no matter how much animosity there was between them, it wasn¡¯t something that they could interfere with.

    Hence, they decided to kneel down and hastily stay out of the situation.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s initially despondent eyes instantly felt as if they had seen a ray of light. The soldiers that blocked his way actually knelt down? Without further ado, and without caring about the thing called a Divine Order which he felt wasn¡¯t very much relevant to him, he decided that running for his life was the priority.

    In a sh, he manoeuvred around the kneeling soldiers and the small eunuch, wind billowing around his feet.

    "Young... Young Master Fang, Divine... Divine Order!" Just as he prepared to announce the Divine Order, the small eunuch noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was actually running away. He was evidently unable to react to this.

    The Divine Order had arrived, why did this guy suddenly run away?

    He couldn¡¯t understand. However, to be able to locate Fang Zhengzhi in this Ping Yang Residence required quite a lot of effort. If he really allowed Fang Zhengzhi to run away, where was he supposed to find him again?

    "Quick, catch him, don¡¯t let him run!" When Ping Yang saw that Fang Zhengzhi intended to run away, she simrly didn¡¯t bother about the Divine Order anymore. Instead, she barked orders to the soldiers.

    "Woosh!"

    The soldiers who were initially kneeling on the ground instantly stood up. However, all of them understood. She said catch, not kill. Hence, the problem would be simple.

    A few leaders leapt up and blocked off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s path of escape. The soldiers behind nked from the left and right.

    The pitiful Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even manage to run fifty metres before being surrounded once again. This dealt quite a heavy blow to his pride. No matter what, am I not someone who had passed the Imperial Examination?

    The Heavenly Reflection State! I have actually been blocked off by these generals in the Ping Yang Residence? Shouldn¡¯t I be the kind of person that tantly dances among thousands of soldiers?

    What is wrong here?

    "Young Master Fang, Young Master Fang, don¡¯t run! Divine Order!" The small eunuch didn¡¯t notice Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi being blocked off, he instantly ran over.

    "For me?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat doubtful.

    He always thought that this Divine Order was for Ping Yang. He had never imagined that it would actually be for him. Divine Order? What Divine Order? Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m about to be promoted to an official?

    That¡¯s too fast.

    I had just passed the Imperial Examination. The rankings aren¡¯t even out yet, how can I receive the Divine Order now? But, I haven¡¯t prepared myselfpletely for this yet!

    At this moment, Ping Yang also came to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side. After she heard the small eunuch¡¯s words, she seemed to have understood. She could guess the gist of this Divine Order¡¯s content. However, this caused her to raise a new suspicion.

    She believed that Fang Zhengzhi came to seek her help today.

    Hence, she malingered and pretended to be sick. However, it seems that Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t received the Divine Order? Then, why is he here?

    "The Emperor invites Fang Zhengzhi to bring the sword tomorrow to the Throne Room during morning assembly!" The small eunuch didn¡¯t care about what happened between Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. Instead, he hurriedly announced the contents of the order.

    Then, he threw down the Divine Order and swiftly ran away, disappearing from sight.

    This was the Ping Yang Residence...

    If there was one ce in the Yan Capital that eunuchs were most unwilling to go to, it would definitely be the Ping Yang Residence without a doubt. If it wasn¡¯t for the Divine Order, he would never be willing to even take half a step into the Ping Yang Residence.

    Furthermore, the current situation seemed like there was a fight going on.

    If I don¡¯t run now, when else?

    The small eunuch ran, leaving Fang Zhengzhi standing alone in the middle of the army holding the Divine Order written on a golden cloth and looking at the archers in front of him that carried arrows yet didn¡¯t draw their bows.

    Bring the sword into the Throne Room?

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally didn¡¯t think that it would be as simple as bringing in the sword. Very evidently, this was a daylight robbery. Don¡¯t tell me I really have to give the sword to the country?

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi had also thought that the sword in his hand would be an object of jealousy for some people. However, it was just jealousy.

    His reasoning was that since the sword was obtained by him, it naturally belonged to himself.

    This was reasoning from his past world.

    As the saying went, kill monsters, level up and win treasures...

    He had killed the monster, and passed the level. Hence, the treasure obtained naturally belonged to himself. This was something very logical and reasonable. However, in reality, this world didn¡¯t seem to be like that.

    Under the rule of the Emperor, all of the treasures in the world belonged to the Royal Family.

    "Looks like my thinking was too na?ve!" A faint smile formed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips. All along, he was someone who preferred to go with the flow, without much interest in things like power.

    Of course, he still wasn¡¯t interested in these. This was his personality, one that didn¡¯t like being bounded or restricted. The paths of entering the Imperial Government as an official or entering the armyprised too many restrictions of freedom. This wasn¡¯t something he strove for.

    However, not striving for these didn¡¯t mean that he could be bullied.

    "Hey, Fang Zhengzhi, does this thing belong to you?" Ping Yang¡¯s voice interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts.

    "Huh? Why would my jade-coloured golden hairpin be with you? Never mind, I initially already intended to give it to you. You can have it, I have something on and will have to leave first!" Once he finished speaking, Fang Zhengzhi prepared to leave.

    "You are going to leave just like that?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in somewhat of a disbelief.

    The previous time in the room, after Fang Zhengzhi had held her hostage, Chi Guyan used a jade-coloured golden hairpin as an excuse to dissolve the tense situation between Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    At that time, even though Fang Zhengzhi had made the promise, Ping Yang didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would really carry it out.

    Why would a shameless person keep his words?

    This was the first thing Ping Yang thought. The second thing she thought was that even if Fang Zhengzhi really gave it to her, he would definitely do so with an intention.

    But now...

    She felt that she had thought wrongly. The previous scene demonstrated to her that before he came, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know that the Emperor would ask him to enter the pce. More importantly, now that Fang Zhengzhi had evidently knew of this, why did he choose to leave?

    Doesn¡¯t he know that I am the great princess? Or, he had simply never seen me as the princess?

    "Don¡¯t tell me you still wish to extort from me? This jade-coloured golden hairpin cost me two hundred silver taels, it is very expensive!" Fang Zhengzhi naturally didn¡¯t know what Ping Yang was thinking. He wondered if Ping Yang wasn¡¯t very satisfied.

    But, he had already spent two hundred silver taels on this. It was indeed extremely painful.

    However,pared to the blow that Ping Yang had blocked for him in the World of the Sage, it was naturally too little. If Ping Yang wasn¡¯t satisfied, he could actually consider adding another fifty taels to buy a pearl flower, or something simr.

    "Hmph! Only two hundred silver taels..." When Ping Yang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exnation, she knew that Fang Zhengzhi had misunderstood her intentions. However, this also made even clearer the fact that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t here to seek her help, causing her to unconsciously pout her lips. Then, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. "Shouldn¡¯t you help me put this on after giving it to me?"

    "I still have to put it on for you? How troublesome..." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth very helplessly. However, in order to escape as fast as possible, he decided to bear with it.

    Hence, he quickly walked in front of Ping Yang, held the jade-coloured golden hairpin, chose a modern and pretty angle and inserted the golden hairpin diagonally.

    "Hmm, not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that his taste in choosing things was rather impressive.

    "Hmph... only not bad? It is clearly very beautiful, alright?" Ping Yang pouted her lips highly, an arrogant expression filling her face.

    This scene undoubtedly didn¡¯t quite match the previous tense atmosphere. Most importantly, around the two of them, there were a few hundred armoured soldiers wielding bows.

    What happened to catching him?

    Each of the soldiers stared nkly at Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi, heaving a sigh inwardly. Indeed, if the other party was Fang Zhengzhi, no matter how loudly the princess cried out, there was actually nothing wrong...

    But, what happened between the two of them in the room?

    ...

    The second day, in the early morning, the sky of the Yan Capital seemed constantly somewhat dark under the billowing wind. It was slightly cold. On the other hand, in the Throne Room within the Imperial Pce, this coldness was intensified.

    As the meeting room of the Great Xia Dynasty, the glory of the Throne Room couldn¡¯t be described in words. Bright red paint caused the entrance to glow with unparalleled brightness. Within the room, a huge golden pir held up the entire structure of the room. On top of the golden pir, eight lifelike golden dragons twisted their bodies around it from the bottom of the pir to the top. The forms of the eight golden dragons were all different, arranged in the formation of The Golden Dragon and Pearl.

    One golden pir with the golden dragon carved on it. This was the one and only symbol of the imperial power.

    Among those there were able to stand within the Throne Room, who among them didn¡¯t represent the greatest authorities in the Great Xia Dynasty? They held meetings in the room, but controlled the countless number of lives in the world.

    This, was the highest level of authority in the world.

    But today...

    This authority seemed to be facing a challenge, a challenge that had never been faced before. They were waiting for a person. A person who wasn¡¯t an official, didn¡¯t hold any appointment, and didn¡¯te from any prestigious family background.

    All the officials stood silently within the Throne Room. However, there was an air of coldness on everybody¡¯s faces. They really didn¡¯t understand how could an ordinary citizen dare to make them wait?

    Don¡¯t tell me he didn¡¯t know what a great glory it was for an ordinary citizen to receive the Divine Order?

    Who among those who were invited to the room didn¡¯t kneel for a few hours before the time they were expected outside the room, awaiting the start of the morning assembly and waiting to meet the Emperor?

    But today...

    The time for the morning assembly had already exceeded by half an hour. What could be discussed and what couldn¡¯t be discussed were all not negotiable.

    Yet, this guy who should be kneeling outside waiting to enter the room actually hadn¡¯t arrived?

    Most importantly, the eunuch in charge of reporting actually imed that that guy had overslept. Furthermore, he was currently taking his time in a restaurant within the Yan Capital eating bread and drinking chicken soup...

 Chapter 223: Killing two birds following another two birds with one stone

    Chapter 223: Killing two birds following another two birds with one stone

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The present Emperor, the numerous officials, Crown Prince of the Eastern Pce, were all standing in this Throne Room, waiting for an ordinary citizen who was still eating his bread.

    How unbelievable was this.

    The officials were enraged, each of them filled with righteous indignation. There were even people who entertained the thought that it wouldn¡¯t be reasonable to pin a criminal offence of withholding truth from the Emperor. However, not a single official voiced this out.

    The reason was very simple. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was an ordinary citizen, he was the theory examination roll champion of this Imperial Examination, a stunning talent that scored full marks in all six examination papers. Furthermore, he had even defeated and killed the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race, Ying Shan.

    Most importantly, nobody knew who leaked the news, but in one night, the entire Yan Capital knew of the news that Fang Zhengzhi was going to enter the pce to meet the Emperor. Hence, numerous rumours were raised. Some imed that the Emperor was about to reward Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s valiant achievement in killing the demon.

    There were also some who imed that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance in this Imperial Examination was extraordinary, hence was about to be promoted against convention.

    Of course, the centre of attention was always at the incident of the sword. Hence, naturally there were people who suggested that the Emperor might be eyeing the sword...

    In that case.

    The officials knew very clearly that no matter what, it was impossible to kill Fang Zhengzhi on the spot just because he waste in entering the pce.

    That was tyranny, and also a move that would bring chill to the hearts of the people.

    Naturally, nobody dared to mention it.

    However, this wasn¡¯t an eptable reason for Fang Zhengzhi to undermine the Imperial Government. Such a sphemous act deserved harsh punishments and serve as a warning to others.

    "At least fifty strokes on the spot!"

    "Fifty? I believe that if it isn¡¯t at least a hundred, it would simply be useless!"

    "In the end, it is still because he is too young andck experience. He doesn¡¯t know how to judge the importance of things. The first time I entered the pce to meet the Emperor, I had knelt in front of the room for exactly three hours."

    A few high ranking officials discussed softly among themselves about how best to punish Fang Zhengzhi when he arrived.

    Right at this moment, a loud announcement suddenly rang out from outside the door.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, enter the room and meet the Emperor!"

    "He¡¯s here?!"

    "This guy ate his bread for a total of half an hour, why hasn¡¯t he choked to death?"

    "Don¡¯t you know that he paired it with chicken soup? The hope of him choking to death isn¡¯t very high. However, there is indeed some hope in seeing him beaten to death."

    When they heard the voice outside the door, anticipating looks appeared on each of the officials¡¯ faces. Even they were angered. Then, as for His Highness the Royal Crown Prince, His Highness King Duan and the Emperor, how could they not be angered?

    "Huh? The morning assembly hasn¡¯t started yet?"

    A leisurely voice sounded out from outside the door. Right after which, a figure wearing a blue robe stepped across the door of the Throne Room and walked over in a very natural and poised manner.

    "Citizen Fang Zhengzhi greets the Emperor!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you are really daring. What time is it already?" When one official heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he instantly stood out.

    The Emperor was supposed to be kind and forgiving, hence he naturally couldn¡¯t tell off an ordinary citizen personally. Thus, it was the jobs of these high ranking officials to do so in advance. This was knowing the Emperor¡¯s intent, a good role model of an official who understood the Emperor¡¯s intent.

    "Time? I am indeed early! I had already told them that it was still early, but the eunuch in charge of leading the way didn¡¯t want to believe me at all. When I heard that I am invited by the Emperor yesterday, I was so excited that I couldn¡¯t sleep the entire night. Only in the early morning was I finally able to close my eyes. Who knew that I would still interrupt everybody¡¯s morning assembly? Should I go outside the room to kneel for a while?"

    As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he turned his body around and really prepared to step across the door once again and kneel for a while outside the room.

    "Stop right there, you... you bettere back..." How could the official ever imagine that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s skin would be as thick? He was clearly almost an hourte, yet, he imed to be early?

    All the officials in the dynasty had already been standing for such a long time in this Throne Room. Who among them wasn¡¯t aching all over and would allow Fang Zhengzhi to continue to drag the time?

    "Never mind, one who doesn¡¯t know isn¡¯t guilty. Fang Zhengzhi was born in a vige, and this is the first time he is invited to enter the pce. Not knowing the timing of the morning assembly can be forgiven. Please enter!" At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai spoke.

    "Emperor is kind and forgiving!" When the officials heard Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words, they all praised in unison.

    After Fang Zhengzhi heard what Emperor Lin Mubai said, he turned around swiftly and smoothly, looking at the numerous enraged officials with an innocent expression on his face.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I heard that you killed Vice Domain Chief Ying Shan of the demon race in the World of the Sage. I am very happy. What reward would you like?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked.

    Naturally, he couldn¡¯t direct inquire about the sword. This was the heart of the Emperor. The Emperor¡¯s role in the dynasty was to gain the support of the people. Hence, the things he had to do were naturally righteous.

    As for the sword...

    He believed that the officials below him would definitely bring it up. What he had to do was to make a decision, a decision made very helplessly under very pressurised and forced circumstances.

    "Contributing to the building up of the dynasty, risking my life and shedding blood is my lifelong desire. I don¡¯t crave for great riches, nor do I want a high ranking position and a handsome sry. If Your Majesty insists on rewarding, I feel that an Anti-Death Medallion or something simr would be sufficient." Fang Zhengzhi replied in a righteous manner.

    "Anti-Death Medallion?!"

    "This guy is indeed thick-skinned!"

    "How can man be shameless to such an extent? Ever since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, not even five Anti-Death Medallions have been given out. Who among them didn¡¯t make great, evesting contributions and aplish great things for the country? This guy on the other hand only killed a Vice Domain Chief of the demon race, yet he still dares to ask for an Anti-Death Medallion?"

    When a group of officials heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, their eyes turned round with rage. They had absolutely never seen such a sphemous and shameless person.

    "Pff..." Emperor Lin Mubai coughed softly. Even he would never imagine that Fang Zhengzhi would give such a reply. The Anti-Death Medallion definitely couldn¡¯t be given to him.

    However, he asked, and Fang Zhengzhi replied. This wasn¡¯t exactly inappropriate, and probably could be considered as the innocent heart of a child.

    "The Anti-Death Medallion cannot be obtained so easily, it requires a great aplishment. However, you are only fifteen years of age, there would still be many opportunities to do so in the future." Emperor Lin Mubai shook his head lightly with a faint smile on his face.

    "I see..." Fang Zhengzhi seemed somewhat disappointed.

    On the other hand, the two high-ranking officials standing by the side knew what they should be saying. Just as they were preparing to start, Law Official Wan Chong took the first step and instantly stood out from the crowd.

    He was the chief investigator of the Imperial Examination¡¯s case, hence, was naturally the one with the biggest say.

    In the situation today, the favour of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, as well as the entire room of officials were already all in the bag. All he had to do was to reach in and grab in order to win it. Hence, why would he end up behind others?

    Fighting for achievements, understanding the Emperor¡¯s intent...

    All these tested an official¡¯s ability to see the situation. To be able to be one of the Six Council Officials, Wan Chong naturally had his own unique insights

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am the Law Official Wan Chong, in charge of the case of Han Changfeng during the Imperial Examination. There is one thing I wish to understand from you. I heard that you used the sword that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian left in the World of the Sage when killing Ying Shan, is that true?" Law Official Wan Chong brought out the main topic with one sentence, using investigation of the case as an excuse.

    As for why he asked this even though he knew the answer clearly.

    It was his scheming. He had definitely considered that Fang Zhengzhi would im that this was false. However, he had material proof and eye-witnesses to justify this. How could he allow Fang Zhengzhi to lie openly in the Imperial Hall?

    If Fang Zhengzhi lied, he really didn¡¯t mind charging Fang Zhengzhi with withholding truth from the Emperor. This was killing two birds with one stone, doubling his contributions.

    "That¡¯s right!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded with a sincere expression on his face.

    "This sword is left by Sagely Battle God Meng Tian when he died and is of great importance to the Great Xia Dynasty. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was lucky and fortunate to be able to obtain this sword in the Imperial Examination, it is still a contribution. I plea for Your Majesty to grant Fang Zhengzhi a thousand fine silver tomend him for his service in retrieving the sword!" Law Official Wan Chong was slightly disappointed when he saw Fang Zhengzhi nod.

    However, this didn¡¯t affect his ns. It only meant that his contributions would be downyed a little.

    When the other officials heard this, they suddenly understood. Using Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s aplishments to force him to surrender the sword. This was what the Emperor wanted. To be able to be the Law Official, Wan Chong indeed had his own fortes.

    "I agree with Mr Wan. Fang Zhengzhi, having obtained Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword in the Imperial Examination, is indeed the pride of our dynasty, and a blessing to the people. A thousand fine silver isn¡¯t enough to reward such a contribution, I hope Your Majesty can increase the reward!"

    "I also agree to this. Such a great contribution deserves more reward!"

    "I agree!"

    "I agree!"

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t even had the time to speak before a group of officials stood out one following another, simply not giving him a chance to object.

    Each of their faces were filled with righteousness, wanting to reward Fang Zhengzhi for his contribution.

    The sensation, the excitement, the virtues, permeated the air of the Throne Room and hung overhead for a long time.

    When Emperor Lin Mubai saw this, his expression turned somewhat awkward, as if he was pondering something. He didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of speaking.

    "I wish to speak. Fang Zhengzhi had done a huge service during this Imperial Examination, from killing the Vice Domain Chief of the demon race to retrieving the prized sword for the dynasty. All of these are great contributions. Now, even though the Imperial Examination had been dyed, but with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s aplishments of attaining Roll Champion in the theory examination and passing the three stages of the Broken Bridge, Twin Stone Tablets and the stone house and hence could be considered as passing four stages, I wish that Your Majesty can grant kindness to Fang Zhengzhi and allow him early entry into the government. I believe this doesn¡¯t go against the rules of our ancestors!" At this moment, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood out from the front of the crowd of officials. He also pled for Fang Zhengzhi to be rewarded.

    However, he pled an even greater reward.

    It should be known that under usual circumstances, one who passed the Imperial Examination was qualified to enter the government as an official. However, this required waiting. A short time to wait would be half a year, while a longer time would be three to five years. Even waiting more than ten years and still not receiving the appointment wasn¡¯t unheard of.

    Fang Zhengzhi was fifteen years old. Entering the government as an official at fifteen years of age was an extremely rare urrence in the history of the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    But now...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping directly requested for Fang Zhengzhi to be appointed as an official. This seemed to go against thews of ancestors. However, in reality, this was a brilliant move. Granting great kindness to Fang Zhengzhi could not only spread the name of the Emperor, but also cause Fang Zhengzhi to be a person envied by everybody in the world.

    This was killing another two birds with one stone, on top of the Law Official¡¯s scheme. This was the brilliant move of killing two birds following another two birds with one stone.

 Chapter 224: Cannot bear to part with

    Chapter 224: Cannot bear to part with

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    What was the slyness of the old? What was understanding the Emperor¡¯s intent? Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping used his actions to tell all of the officials present that he was the person who knew the Emperor¡¯s heart best.

    At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression finally seemed somewhat at ease.

    This was the exact oue he wanted. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was an ordinary citizen, his performance in the Imperial Examination, regardless of whether it was the theory examination or thebat examination, all proved that he was indeed a talent who could be nurtured.

    Since that was the case.

    He naturally couldn¡¯t recruit him forcefully.

    The same knife cuts bread and fingers. Emperor Lin Mubai knew this very clearly. But, he needed this sword, the sword that could rebuild an awe-inspiring Great Xia Dynasty. But, he didn¡¯t wish to turn Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart cold because of this.

    Hence, he had to grant great kindness. And, it had to be true great kindness.

    Donating a sword.

    And receiving unparalleled rewards in return, and also the opportunity to enter the Imperial Government. To an ordinary citizen, this was enough. Of course, he could grant Fang Zhengzhi even more benefits. However, Fang Zhengzhi was still too young.

    The young had to face obstacles and difficulties. One couldn¡¯t reach the sky in a single bound.

    Emperor Lin Mubai respected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities. However, Fang Zhengzhi was ultimately still an ordinary citizen. He had to strike a bnce and not lose the support of the noble families.

    "Council Official Qiao, are there currently any formal appointments avable?" Emperor Lin Mubai finally spoke.

    When they heard Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words, the officials present were slightly taken aback. Even though his words were very simple, the two words formal appointments expressed the Emperor¡¯s intent.

    He was about to gain an appointment directly?

    Entering the government at fifteen years old, and holding a formal appointment once he entered. Such kindness of the Emperor was exceedingly rare in history. It was clearly evident that Emperor Lin Mubai held Fang Zhengzhi in high regard.

    As the officials were taken aback, nobody bothered to consider whether Fang Zhengzhi would be willing to surrender the sword. From their viewpoint, since the Emperor intended to obtain the sword, could the opinion and views of an ordinary citizen still be considered an opinion?

    The Minister of Manpower Official ¡¯Qiao Dean¡¯ stood out at this moment and lightly rubbed his greying beard. This expression was calm, but inside, he was rapidly considering how to reply this question.

    He understood the intention of the Emperor, but Emperor Lin Mubai didn¡¯t make clear what rank he was considering. This caused him some difficulty. If he announced an appointment that was too high ranking, the officials might be against it. If he announced one that was too low, he feared that the Emperor would me him.

    "The Wen Tian County in the Wu An Capital of the Southern Nation seems to becking a county head..." Minister of Manpower Official Qiao Dean asked probingly. A county head was a rank seven official appointment. This was already very hard to achieve.

    Furthermore, to be in charge of a county was an extremely important appointment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is still young, a county head is in charge of the lives of many citizens and require some experience. It is too chaotic and the location is a little too far. I can¡¯t bear for this to happen." When Emperor Lin Mubai heard Minister of Manpower Official Qiao Dean¡¯s words, he shook his head lightly.

    When the officials heard this, they were taken aback once again. This meaning of thisst sentence was very clear. Don¡¯t tell me he wishes for Fang Zhengzhi to remain in the Yan Capital?

    Then, he would be a real Imperial Official.

    Among the Imperial Officials, the smallest appointment was already almost rank five.

    Rank five?!

    An ordinary fifteen-year-old citizen who had just passed the Imperial Examination was about to be appointed as a Rank Five Official. This Emperor¡¯s kindness was something almost nobody in history could match up to.

    Minister of Manpower Official Qiao Dean also wiped off the beads of sweat that formed on his forehead at this moment. He had never thought that Emperor Lin Mubai would hold Fang Zhengzhi in such high regard.

    The Emperor¡¯s intent was already obvious, hence, he naturally knew how to reply.

    Just as he prepared to speak.

    A voice sounded out from outside the door.

    "Your Majesty, outside the room, Xing Qingsui of the Stabilisation Constabry, Yan Xiu of the Yan family and Nangong Mu of the Nangong Nobles wishes to meet Your Majesty.

    "Qingsui? Isn¡¯t he heavily injured? Why would he meet me? Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu... Isn¡¯t Nangong Mu injured as well? Quick, wee them in!" When Emperor Lin Mubai heard the voices from outside, he nodded his head.

    A look of doubt and suspicion formed on the faces of the officials when they heard the voices outside. Yan Xiu requesting to meet the Emperor wasn¡¯t something that they hadn¡¯t expected.

    However, what was the reason Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu requested to meet the Emperor?

    Both of them were injured in thebat examination. Why did theye all the way to the pce instead of resting their injuries?

    Could it be that something happened to the Stabilisation Constabry? Or, there was an important matter from the Nangong Nobles?

    That¡¯s not probable...

    If something really happened, it was sufficient to send somebody to report it.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood quietly within the room. He was also somewhat confused. He didn¡¯t tell Yan Xiu that he was going to meet the Emperor. Furthermore, he had only met with Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu once in thebat examination. Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu had specially requested to meet the Emperor just because of him?

    He had truly never imagined this.

    Very quickly, Xing Qingsui, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu walked in. Xing Qingsui was carried on a stretcher by four guards. Even though he was wearing a ck official robe, there were still bloodstains visible on his chest.

    "Subject Xing Qingsui hails Your Majesty." Once he entered the Throne Room, Xing Qingsui crawled up from the stretch and kowtowed onto the floor. His body trembled as he bit his lips tightly. He was evidently in extreme pain.

    "Subject Yan Xiu hails Your Majesty."

    "Subject Nangong Mu hails Your Majesty."

    Today, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t wear a brocade robe. Instead, he wore a ck official robe with a Mountain River illustration sewn onto it. It seemed somewhat solemn. Nangong Mu also wore an official robe simr to that of Yan Xiu.

    However, a sword was sewn onto it instead.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen Yan Xiu in such an attire.

    Then, recalling Yan Xiu addressing himself as subject when he greeted the Emperor, a thought suddenly shed across his mind. Could Yan Xiu have had an official position or title of nobility all along?

    How could he never have mentioned it before...

    However, after a brief moment of consideration, he realised that it was normal. Yan Xiu was the descendent of the Yan family. Furthermore, he was a direct descendent. Hence, it was normal for him to have inherited a title of nobility.

    "Rise!"

    "Thank you Your Majesty!"

    "Somebodye, Qingsui is injured, give him a seat!"

    "Thank you Your Majesty, but, I can stand."

    "The Stabilisation Constabry is indeed thend of heroes. I never thought that Qingsui¡¯s attitude would be simr to that of Xing Hou. However, Qingsui, what important matter do you have to talk to me about instead of resting your injuries at home?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Xing Qingsui in a rather confused manner. The rtionship between Xing Hou and himself were as close as brothers, hence, he would naturally treat Xing Qingsui like his own son.

    "I am here because of the sword."

    "Sword?"

    "I heard that there were some high-ranking officials in the government who wished to snatch Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword. However, I had personally witnessed Fang Zhengzhi killing the demon with the sword. If it wasn¡¯t for Fang Zhengzhi, the sword would never be revealed and remain buried deep within the World of the Sage. Even though I know that I have no say in the Imperial Government, but I don¡¯t agree with this move." Xing Qingsui¡¯s tone was very determined, staring at the officials like a tiger eyeing its prey.

    When the officials heard Xing Qingsui¡¯s words, they were taken aback.

    Xing Qingsui was actually here to help Fang Zhengzhi keep the sword?

    If these words came from Yan Xiu, they would definitely not be as stunned. However, they seemed to never have heard that Xing Qingsui was now on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    What actually happened in the World of the Sage that spurred the direct descendent of the Stabilisation Constabry to plea for Fang Zhengzhi? This indeed exceeded their imaginations.

    "Ha ha... don¡¯t tell me you are all here because of the sword?" A glimmer of shock shed across Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes. The reason he asked Xing Qingsui instead of Yan Xiu was actually very simple.

    Because he didn¡¯t want anybody to mention the sword.

    Xing Qingsui had followed Xing Hou for many years in the Stabilisation Constabry, hence he could naturally infer this intention. However, this didn¡¯t deter him from voicing it out. This represented the determination in his heart.

    "I am here for the sword!"

    "Me too!"

    After Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu heard Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words, they replied respectfully.

    This scene instantly caused the officials to be somewhat taken aback. Fang Zhengzhi was just an ordinary citizen. The fact that he was close to Yan Xiu was already something unthinkable.

    However, even more unexpected was that after thisbat examination.

    He had actually spurred Xing Qingsui of the Stabilisation Constabry and Nangong Mu of the Nangong Nobles, a family which isted themselves from the people thousands of miles away, to plea for him in front of the Emperor?!

    The three of them seemed to have no power to speak regardless of whether it was in the Yan Capital or the Imperial Government. However, the three of them represented three powerful forces in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The Stabilisation Constabry, leader of the Thirteen Constabries.

    The Yan family of the Western Liang.

    The Nangong Nobles hidden away in the world!

    Furthermore, other than Nangong Mu, the other two were almost undisputed sessors. This also meant that these two people would be forces of immeasurable power in the future of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Emperor Lin Mubai wanted for Fang Zhengzhi to surrender the sword.

    The officials could understand this. Hence, the officials knew very clearly that the three people in front of them understood this as well. However, this didn¡¯t deter them from entering the pce to plea in front of the Emperor.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    What traits did he have that caused the three of them to enter the pce for him?!

    A glimmer of light shed across Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes. It was naturally impossible for him to instantly change his mind because of Xing Qingsui, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu¡¯s words.

    However, he was still rather shocked by the behaviour of these three people.

    Emperor Lin Mubai respected talents. He admired and valued Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent. However, he had also heard of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behaviour outside and hence wasn¡¯t very satisfied with his way of dealing with things.

    He had always felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality required some tuning. Furthermore, his mentality was too leisurely,cking pressure and motivation.

    He didn¡¯t really understand how the cold Yan Xiu could walk together with Fang Zhengzhi.

    But, he never expected someone with a frank and straightforward personality like Xing Qingsui to have any form of rtion with Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, Nangong Mu had a lonely personality ever since young. How could such a person click with someone with a personality like Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s?

    Could it be that my views of Fang Zhengzhi had been... wrong?

    This thought rose in Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s mind. As the Emperor of the Dynasty, he had unparalleled self-confidence. It was simply impossible for him to admit his mistakes easily. Even if any doubts arose in his heart, it would quickly be suppressed and rejected.

    "The Imperial Officials had already made a decision on this matter. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s contribution of the sword would be rewarded by gold, and taking a post in the Yan Capital! Qingsui, you are injured. You should go back and rest. Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu, please stay. After the morning assembly, apany me to walk the Imperial Garden and chat with me. Ha ha... It is very rare for the two of you to visit me, I have been thinking of you!" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled softly and waved his hands lightly at the three of them.

 Chapter 225: Hole in the Throne Room

    Chapter 225: Hole in the Throne Room

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Xing Qingsui, Nangong Mu, and Yan Xiu were all here because of Fang Zhengzhi and the sword.

    However, they all knew what the Emperor, Lin Mubai, meant when he refused to say anything explicitly, calling it the decision of the courts.

    Going against the Emperor¡¯s wishes was extremely dangerous.

    However, after looking at each other, they could feel the determination in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Xing Qingsui was pale from standing so long. He had been stabbed in the chest during thebat examinations. Even though he was carried here, the strain of standing was taking its toll on him.

    However, as someone who had fought on the battlefield, and as the heir of the Stabilisation Constabry, he would stand for what he believed in, even if it meant a possibility of going against the Emperor¡¯s wishes.

    Xing Qingsui stepped forward, but did not answer.

    Yan Xiu had already stepped forward before this. Nangong Mu virtually stepped forward in synchronisation with Xing Qingsui.

    "Your highness!"

    Before the three of them could say anything, Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward and blocked them. Then, he turned to smile at them.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu came. However, since they were here, he could not possibly let them go up against the Emperor.

    He had been listening in from start to finish. In actual fact, he had expected everything that the officials had said. What had surprised him was that the Emperor wanted him to stay in the capital.

    Does he really want to make me an official?

    If Fang Zhengzhi was merely an ordinary citizen, any wronged feeling of his would have been eliminated. The Emperor was incredibly generous to reward him with gold and an official position in exchange for the sword.

    It was a pity that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ambitions were never political.

    As such, the position of an official was not particrly attractive to Fang Zhengzhi. In fact, it was almost negligible.

    Just as he was preparing to voice his opinion, a red figure rushed in from outside the door. Then, it ran up to the Emperor.

    "Father, you¡¯ve been so biased. How can you ask them both to go to the Imperial Gardens? Who will apany me then..." A crisp voice rang out.

    There were only a few people in the Great Xia Dynasty who could rush into the Throne Room unobstructed. Those were all the dictators of a particr region, people who were on par with Lin Mubai.

    Other than those people, there was one other...

    That was Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was the Emperor¡¯s favorite princess. As such, she could go find the Emperor at all times of the day unobstructed. Even the officials did not dare to breathe a word about the regtions when speaking about her.

    She was the most pampered princess of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Haha... Ping Yang is here, then I must definitely apany my Ping Yang first!" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled as he looked at Ping Yang in the red cloak. He then motioned for her to sit by his side.

    "Father is the best! You promised to apany me first ya? Then let¡¯s go to the Imperial Gardens!" Ping Yang grabbed the Emperor¡¯s hand and shook it lightly.

    "Hang on for abit, my morning court session has not ended. When this is over, I will apany you in the Imperial Gardens." Emperor Lin Mubai said in a pampering manner.

    "Isn¡¯t it just a broken sword? Can it be better than the zing Qilin Spear you gave to me?"

    "Ping Yang, you can¡¯t say that. Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is a hero. How can you say his sword is a broken sword?"

    "Is that so? Then let¡¯s say it¡¯s a treasure, but why should there be an argument about it? I say that the sword belongs to who has it. Don¡¯t... you all agree?" Ping Yang looked at the Emperor innocently before turning to the other officials, smirking as she did so.

    "About this..." All of the officials looked at each other. They could tell that Ping Yang was here about the sword as well.

    However, Ping Yang was different from Yan Xiu and the others.

    Yan Xiu and Xing Qingsui represented the future powers of the Great Xia Dynasty. However, Ping Yang represented the current power of the Great Xia Dynasty, a power which no one dared to antagonize.

    At the very least...

    No official wanted to go against Ping Yang in public.

    If they went against Ping Yang, it was very possible that their backyard may catch fire, their house may be sacked, and their official robes may be torn of their body as they walked on the street...

    That kind of mental torture was possibly worse than death.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was still smiling. He knew from the moment Ping Yang entered what she was here for. However, he was unwilling to call her out.

    As such, he looked to his Left Prime Minister, Yu Yiping.

    Yu Yiping knew that he was probably the only person who could say something. Ping Yang would probably diss anyone else.

    "Princess is logical. However, that can only apply for items without owners. If the item is already owned by someone, then the rule cannot apply. I have a jade bracelet here that was given to me by an ancient Emperor. Everyone here knows that this is mine. Even if I drop it now, anyone who picks it up cannot im it. It is still mine. I wonder if Princess agrees with this?"

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smiled and took out his jade bracelet as he looked at Ping Yang calmly.

    In fact, his statement may have seemed ordinary, but it was incredibly loaded. He had made it known that this jade was given to him by an ancient emperor. No matter how rebellious Ping Yang could be, she would not be so willful when she was talking about the ancestors.

    "You..." Ping Yang¡¯s face was flushed. She swallowed her words just before she said it out loud. She may be rebellious, but she still knew her limits.

    If an ancient emperor had presented this to Yu Yiping, who was she to say that it did not belong to him? That fact itself was a deal breaker.

    All of the officials knew exactly what Yu Yiping was doing. He managed to stump Ping Yang with a single sentence.

    As an official and a minister, Yu Yiping was able to understand what the Emperor wanted and felt, was able to resolve the Emperor¡¯s problems and put the Emperor¡¯s mind at ease. His skills were indeed admirable.

    The Emperor nodded and smiled. He did not want to see Ping Yang argue with his officials.

    The best way was to use the ancient emperors to shut Ping Yang up. This way, the issue could be easily resolved.

    "Minister Yu is wise! I am extremely convinced!"

    Just as everyone was awed by Yu Yiping¡¯s intellect and wit, a voice rang out.

    All of the officials looked in the direction of the voice. They quickly realized that the voice hade from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?! He¡¯s praising Minister Yu?"

    "He has given up I guess?"

    "Give up? Official Li is rather deep. Did you think that a hillbilly like him could possibly go up against all of us? Won¡¯t we all be put to shame?"

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly. That being said, everyone thought that Fang Zhengzhi was doing the right thing.

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to react to the situation and find some support in a huge pir who was Yu Yiping. At the same time, he did so whilst following the wishes of the Emperor. This was quite the feat.

    Heir Lin Tianrong looked to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He had always thought of Fang Zhengzhi as a hillbilly. He never thought much of his ¡¯extraordinary¡¯ abilities. However, seeing Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu all step up for him was quite the sight.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also about to be given the post of an official.

    If that was the case...

    It would not be a bad thing for him to absorb Fang Zhengzhi into his camp. If Fang Zhengzhi really decided to side with Yu Yiping, then he would have a stake in the ims to the sword as well.

    After the Heir, Lin Tianrong, nced at Fang Zhengzhi, he turned quickly to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and nodded his approval.

    Yu Yiping knew what Lin Tianrong was thinking. However, he did not think that Fang Zhengzhi would be easy to absorb. That being said, since Fang Zhengzhi was willing to show such sincerity, he would not be too petty.

    "Young master Fang, thank you for yourpliment. In this Imperial Examinations, you have proven yourself to be the undisputed best. You finished the entire Theory Examination wlessly, stunning the empire in the process. Then, in the Combat Examinations, you defeated one of the demon¡¯s Vice Domain Chief, saving Princess Ping Yang and countless candidates in the process. These are all great achievements. I believe that you will serve well as an official in the capital!" Yu Yiping¡¯s attitude changed as he smiled warmly at Fang Zhengzhi. Hisst statement showed his approval to make Fang Zhengzhi an official in the capital.

    King Duan clenched his fists tightly when he heard it.

    He could tell that Yu Yiping was trying to recruit Fang Zhengzhi. However, thinking about the possibility of Fang Zhengzhi siding with the heir sent chills down his spine.

    He was extremely unsettled. He did not understand why he felt this way. Fang Zhengzhi was just a hillbilly. Even if he was made an official, he would just be a Rank Five Official.

    With countless officials in the capital, a Rank Five Official was really not particrly powerful.

    But...

    Why did he feel so unsettled?

    King Duan was furious.

    However, Ping Yang was even more furious.

    She was here to help Fang Zhengzhi im the sword. Instead of appreciating her held, Fang Zhengzhi spoke up for Yu Yiping. This enraged her immensely.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I came here to help you!" Ping Yang exploded with rage.

    "Thank you your highness. However, I do think that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping makes sense. Any item with an owner should not be taken away even if it¡¯s lying on the floor. For example... this sword!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    As he spoke, a ray of light shone from his chest, shooting high up in the throne room, before...

    "Boom!"

    A loud sound echoed out and a two meter wide hole appeared in the throne room.

 Chapter 226: A slight tug

    Chapter 226: A slight tug

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    There was a de stuck right in the middle of the cavity.

    It looked like an incredibly ordinary sword. There were no patterns or intricate engravings on the hilt. The entire sword, from hilt to de, began to glow.

    A faint purple light began to shine from the ground. This was a strange purple glow, and it represented Si Kong¡¯sst drop of blood.

    This de was not exquisite, however, no one in the entire court would call this an ordinary de.

    This was Meng Tian¡¯s sword, the sword which had killed the Demon Lord Si Kong.

    Everyone in the throne room was staring at the sword.

    "This is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword?!"

    "This is an extremely good sword!"

    "With this sword, the glory of the Great Xia Dynasty would be reinforced!"

    All of the officials looked at the sword, their eyes filled with greed and lust. However, none of them dared to make a move on it.

    This de meant too much.

    This was the sword of Meng Tian, one of the greatest heroes of the Great Xia Dynasty. He was the pride of humanity, and his sword represented his legacy.

    King Duan and Lin Tianrong were both looking at the sword. Both their eyes glimmered and King Duan felt his hand shaking unconsciously.

    If he could get hold of this sword, then it would solidify his ce in the courts.

    This de represented greatness. Being Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword, it represented his legacy and will.

    Combining that with his current position, who would dare go up against him in the three armies?!

    The heir also felt his palms begin to sweat. He knew what King Duan wanted. You want to use the power of the sword to bring the three armies to their knees?

    He could not let King Duan have his way. No matter what, he had to get the sword, because the sword represented Meng Tian¡¯s will.

    The Emperor himself was slightly taken aback, nothing more. Even though the de was stuck in the ground, it was almost as if it was in his hand.

    As the Emperor, he could have the sword at any time he wanted.

    This was the first time Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu seen the sword.

    They knew that Fang Zhengzhi had gotten this sword from the World of the Sage, but, Why did he stab it into the ground?

    Also, what did Fang Zhengzhi mean...

    "An item with an owner?!"

    Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was much darker than everyone else. Even though he was also looking at the sword, he was thinking about what Fang Zhengzhi had said just now.

    "Any item with an owner should not be taken away even if it¡¯s lying on the floor!"

    What did Fang Zhengzhi mean by that?

    Could it be...

    Yu Yiping had a bad feeling. The feeling was strong, but he refused to believe that this was going to happen.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly nervous. He was not nervous about the sword, but about the gaping cavity he had caused in the throne room.

    Uh oh, I might have thrown it a little too heavily...

    Where is this ce?

    The Throne Room!

    Uh oh... am I going to have to pay for the gaping hole I made in the throne room? How much is it going to cause...

    Will anyone believe me if I said it was an ident?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze swept over all the officials in attendance, then he snuck a peek at King Duan and the Heir before finally looking at the Emperor¡¯s expression.

    Then he heaved a sigh of relief.

    No one seemed to notice the hole in the ground. All of them were looking at the sword. Well that was easy. He could simply push the me to the sword. No one would have the sword killed or fine the sword right?

    When he thought about that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s courage grew as he looked at the officials innocently.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you just said that this was an item with an owner, even if it¡¯s thrown on the ground, no one should take it away. What did you mean by that?" One of the officials stood out after Yu Yiping nced in his direction.

    "What do I mean? Don¡¯t you understand the meaning of that statement? Then how did you pass your examinations..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at that official condescendingly.

    "How did I pass my examinations?!"

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi. It was extremely humiliating for a Rank Four Official to be humiliated this way.

    It was nothing but tant humiliation...

    This humiliation was equivalent to a well read sage picking up the simple ¡¯Three Character ssic¡¯ and having it snatched away by a child saying, "Return it to me, it¡¯s not like you can understand it!"

    What audacity.

    "You..." The official¡¯s face turned red and white. He wanted to rebut Fang Zhengzhi, but it would really be a joke if a Rank Four Official took offence with what amoner said. As such, he had no other choice but to rephrase his question, "What I am asking you is, what is your purpose in saying this?"

    "Oh, so you are asking me for purpose? But, didn¡¯t Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping make it very clear? Any item with an owner should not be affiliated with who picked it up, but with who owned it initially. Do you have any issue with what he said?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Hahaha... Prime Minister Yu is clearly right. But you seem to imply that this sword is yours? Fang Zhengzhi, I do agree that you are talented, but this is the legacy of Meng Tian, how can it be yours?" The officialughed. He did not see the link between what Yu Yiping said and what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.

    "That¡¯s simple. All we have to do is call and see if the sword responds. Whoever makes the sword respond is clearly the owner?" Fang Zhengzhi said in a matter-of-fact fashion.

    He had called out the sword in the World of the Sage. He had the confidence to do it again here. All he needed was someone to question him.

    Then, he could prove it to everyone.

    "Is it possible that you can..."

    "Official Wang!"

    A voice interrupted the official. Then, one of the observers rushed out and shook his head at the official.

    As one of the invigtors of the Imperial Examination, he knew exactly what had happened inside the World of the Sage. He also knew that Fang Zhengzhi had called out the sword then.

    Fang Zhengzhi was clearly setting up a trap.

    The moment the official said anything to challenge him, Fang Zhengzhi could call the sword and the entire court would be silenced.

    Using Yu Yiping¡¯s words to silence the courts?

    The man who stood out smiled icily. He had to admire Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n. However, this was the throne room, how could a brash youth be allowed to have his way?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you found this sword in the World of the Sage and used it to kill a demon. It is only natural for this de to listen to you temporarily. However, this does not prove that the de is yours!"

    "Furthermore, this sword is the embodiment of Meng Tian¡¯s will. It was made to kill demons. Whilst I am sure you can use this sword, there are many talents in the Great Xia Dynasty. I believe that this sword should be given to someone more powerful. That is the only way its full power can be brought to bear!"

    "Of course, I also believe that you will have outstanding power in theing years. When that dayes and you have served the dynasty, who is to say the de won¡¯t be given to you?"

    After finishing his little speech, that man looked at Fang Zhengzhi contentedly. He thought that he outmaneuvered Fang Zhengzhi once again.

    So....

    What is Fang Zhengzhi going to do now?

    The official who had asked the question felt a chill down his back. He finally understood the danger just now. He had nearly yed right into the hands of a court novice.

    If he had done so, his future would have been over.

    He nodded appreciatively at thew official. Then, he retreated back into the crowd.

    The other officials also knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. They were slightly surprised. Even so, they mocked, You¡¯re trying to y us even before you enter court?

    Don¡¯t try to bite off more than you can chew. You may have the heart, but you don¡¯t have the abilities.

    Yu Yiping was slightly solemn. He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi had already given up, but Fang Zhengzhi was trying to turn it in his favor?

    Sadly, Fang Zhengzhi was still quite immature.

    Thew official saw that Fang Zhengzhi did not speak anymore. He also saw all of the officials looking at him. He knew that this was the time to close the case.

    "I will help young master Fang present the sword!" Thew official smiled at Fang Zhengzhi and at the seated Emperor.

    After getting the Emperor¡¯s approval, he walked to the sword.

    After a faint cough, he held the hilt in his hand.

    He tensed his arm and pulled...

    The sword did not move.

    "Oh? It is a good sword. It is stabbed quite deep into the ground, hahaha... I have to use some strength!" Thew official flushed in embarrassment when he failed to extract the sword.

    However, being a seasoned politician, he knew how to adapt.

    Heughed.

    But hisugh was slightly forced. His expression became solemn and his posture changed. He ced two hands on the hilt and tugged...

 Chapter 227: Sword Spirit Recognizing an Owner

    Chapter 227: Sword Spirit Recognizing an Owner

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This made his posture quite ugly.

    The sword was deep in the ground. In order to exert one¡¯s full force, it was impossible to maintain a straight posture.

    Thew official also didn¡¯t bother about his appearance anymore. He grabbed the hilt tightly and took up a more stable stance.

    He was putting in quite a bit of effort.

    However, in doing so, he looked quiteical and the other officials began to snicker amongst themselves.

    Before long...

    Those snickering officials realized that something was amiss.

    Thew official had been working the sword for sometime now. He was putting in so much effort the veins were popping out of his arms. His face waspletely flushed and he was sweating profusely.

    His smile had all but disappeared, sweat dripping from his forehead.

    He was using everyst ounce of his energy.

    However, the de still remained stuck in the ground...

    It did not move a single inch.

    All of the officials were stunned by what they saw. Law Official Wan Chong cannot even extract a sword?

    How is that possible?!

    Wan Chong was quite capable, which exined why he managed to rise through the ranks so quickly. He rose through the ranking boards very quickly as well. Even though his cultivation was slightly dyed as a result of his political ambitions, he already entered the Supernatural State a few years ago.

    How can someone in that state fail to extract a sword from the ground?

    No one could believe their eyes.

    Could it be...

    A thought shed in the minds of all the officials on scene. That was the only usible exnation, but it was slightly ridiculous.

    Perhaps... just perhaps... the de that Meng Tian left behind...

    Had a spirit!

    Everyone believed this. After all, it had caused the World of the Sage to go out of control. However, no one believed that the sword would really choose Fang Zhengzhi as its owner.

    He was just amoner who had just broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State. He did not even rank in the top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll. Furthermore, there was still the Golden Dragon Roll above that.

    And this sword?

    This sword once belonged to the mighty Meng Tian. Such a sword should be immensely arrogant. Why would it choose Fang Zhengzhi as its owner?

    All of them had thought that the de¡¯s spirit had used Fang Zhengzhi to kill the invading demon.

    But now...

    It looked like they were all wrong.

    "Could it be that this de has really taken Fang Zhengzhi to be its owner?!"

    All of the officials looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. No one had expected something like this to happen.

    King Duan frowned deeply. He wanted to give it a go, but he was weaker than Wan Chong. What would he do if he failed to extract the sword?

    The heir¡¯s, Lin Tianrong, eyes also glowed icily. He no longer looked at Wan Chong, who was still trying hard to extract the sword. Instead, he turned to look at Yu Yiping.

    Yu Yiping¡¯s expression darkened.

    If the de cannot be extracted, then he would be the ¡¯main culprit¡¯. After all, he had suggested finding an owner...

    Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui, and Nangong Mu were all stunned by what they saw. After the initial shock, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with conflicted expressions.

    They had heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯confession¡¯ in the World of the Sage.

    "Is there really such a thing?" The three people looked at each other in disbelief. Deep down, they rejoiced.

    Ping Yang¡¯s crystal clear eyes looked at the flushed Wan Chong. She too was surprised, but her expression quickly changed to one of anger.

    She nced furtively at Fang Zhengzhi, pouting, "Hmph, shameless person! Did he really manage to lie his way into getting the sword?"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wan Chong, who was sweating profusely. He knew what Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and the others were thinking.

    In actual fact, he had put in quite a lot of effort to achieve the current situation.

    Last night, he spent the whole night awake. After leaving Ping Yang¡¯s residence, he locked himself in his room, telling stories to the sword.

    He started with some children¡¯s stories, then progressed on to various martial art novels. In the end, he even narrated the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The whole point was to feel the strong happiness in the de.

    As for the confession?

    It had helped a bit. However, to let an arrogant de like the Traceless Sword want to belong to him, it was far from enough. Stories were the finisher.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt happier and more confident as time went by. He began to hum a little tune, "Tug and tug, tug at a carrot..."

    However, he did not watch his volume.

    The entire court began to fill up with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s humming. It was quite aical scene when coupled with Wan Chong¡¯s flushed expression.

    The Emperor¡¯s expression began to change slightly as he nodded towards a middle aged man in armor.

    "Official Wan, you havebored enough. Why not you leave such a small matter to a general like me?" The middle aged man stepped out from the crowd after getting the nod from the Emperor.

    All of the officials heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the middle aged man step out.

    "Thank you General Jin. You should not have to engage yourself in a small matter like this. However, I sprained my waist whilst walking in the park yesterday. My strength is simply not up to standard today!" The Law Official immediately let go of the hilt and wiped off the sweat on his face.

    He had already been embarrassed. However, he could not possibly continue being stubborn about it. He had already used up all his energy.

    "We might be in trouble!" Xing Qingsui was slightly worried when he saw General Jin step out.

    Yan Xiu did not speak, but he too was nervous. Even though he was not in the courts, he knew the abilities of General Jin very well.

    Even though General Jin was not the most powerful person in the courts, his congenital characteristics made him one of the strongest.

    Nangong Mu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, wanting to say something.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was still humming his tune, almost as if he did not see General Jining out. He looked rather aloof.

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly worried.

    However, the more flustered he was, the worse it would get. He simply could not go up against the officials here. He could only let things take its course.

    He decided to concentrate on the sword.

    In actual fact, he did not want Nangong Mu, Yan Xiu, and the others to be involved. That way, they could just be spectators.

    By this time, General Jin had already walked to the sword. He red at it then took arge step. He did not care about posture. His only intention was to extract the sword.

    He did not bother with anything fancy. His hulking arms were extended as he grabbed the sword. His body glowed red, almost like a sun in the throne room.

    "Get up!"

    All of the officials, including King Duan, the Heir, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, and the Emperor himself stared wide eyed as General Jin bellowed.

    "Kacha!" A loud sound echoed out.

    "Is it out?!"

    "Did he manage to extract it?"

    "General Jin is powerful!"

    All of the officials were ecstatic when they heard the loud sound. Any sound represented hope. At the very least, the sword was moving.

    "Kacha!" Another sound echoed out.

    All of the officials were getting increasingly excited. It was almost as if they saw the light at the end of a dark tunnel. They were all focused on the sword.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s darkened face also began to regain some color.

    If General Jin could extract the sword.

    Then, he would be left off the hook.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you say that the sword has recognized you as its owner. Now that it has been extracted, what do you have to say?" One of the officials stepped out contentedly. This was the official who had been humiliated previously.

    After being humiliated, this official decided to take this opportunity to get back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Is that right?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at him condescendingly. His lips twitched, "Official, not only are you a frog in the well, you¡¯re also... blind?"

    "You, how dare you say that I¡¯m blind?!" The official was stunned. His anger built, but he still did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.

    Blind?

    Before he could rebut, one of the officials tugged hard at his clothes.

    This made the official doubt himself.

    His gaze turned to look at General Jin, who was still trying to extract the sword.

    Then...

    He saw that General Jin¡¯s expression was slightly awkward. More importantly, his hands and legs were trembling vigorously.

    It was clear that General Jin had used all of his energy.

    Under his feet were two additional craters. These were clearly the result of General Jin digging in his feet in an attempt to extract the de.

    Even so, the sword was still deeply embedded in the ground.

    It was almost as if it had melded together with the throne room.

    General Jin did not manage to extract it?

    The official¡¯s rage disappeared in an instant. He was extremely ashamed. He felt as if he had just swallowed a fly. He decided to retreat without a second word.

    "What... what is going on?!"

    "Even General Jin cannot extract the sword?"

    "The sword really..."

 Chapter 228: Present the sword? Take the sword by force?

    Chapter 228: Present the sword? Take the sword by force?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Sword Spirit has recognized an owner?

    The smiles on all of the officials¡¯ faces disappeared when they saw the shaking General Jin. They all thought of the same thing.

    However, no one dared to say it out.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was contorted.

    King Duan, Lin Tianrong, as well as all of the officials in the throne room had a simr expression. The worst of them all was General Jin.

    General Jin¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and his lips turned purple from all the exertion.

    Even so, the de in his hand did not seem to move. No matter how hard he tried, the de would note out from the stone.

    The worst feeling was that he could not stop until Emperor Lin Mubai gave him permission...

    No one stood out.

    If General Jin could not extract the sword, that could only mean that the sword was incredibly difficult to extract. None of the officials had the confidence to try.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed as he looked at General Jin.

    He could tell that there was a problem. However, as the greatest power in the entire country and the son of the dragon, how could he be stymied by a de?

    This situation had escted far beyond that of a sword.

    If he knew that the sword had already recognized an owner, then he would not have asked Fang Zhengzhi to present the sword. He would have simply given the sword to Fang Zhengzhi and made himself seem generous.

    But now, if the sword could not be extracted, his authority would be impacted.

    For thousands of years, the Emperor was without equal. How could he be insulted like that?

    Emperor Lin Mubai knew that he had to make a decision.

    But...

    This de belonged to Meng Tian. It represented Meng Tian¡¯s will and determination. If Fang Zhengzhi was really its owner, then it would be impossible to extract it from the ground.

    Emperor Lin Mubai sped his palms as his eyes glowed. He exuded a mountainous, domineering aura.

    This aura quickly filled up the entire throne room.

    All of the officials turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai. They knew how powerful this man was. As the emperor, there was no one moremanding than him.

    "Is the Emperor going to take matters into his own hands?" All of the officials looked on withplicated expressions.

    Based on his abilities, there was a good chance that he could extract the sword himself.

    However, that wouldpletely change the situation. He would be taking the sword by force. Fang Zhengzhi had not offered the sword to him.

    Furthermore, what if he failed to extract it from the ground?

    The situation would really go out of control.

    Take the sword by force? Kill Fang Zhengzhi?

    Some people would want to see the issue resolved this way. However, most people did not want things to end that way. Even though they didn¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi deserved the sword, they thought that he was a talent who can be used in the future.

    "Hum!"

    The Traceless Sword began to hum at a high pitch. The entire de began to shake as a strange purple light glowed from the bottom, almost as if it was fighting against some force.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart in his throat. He could feel that the de was in a bad mood, almost as if it was being trapped by something.

    Just as he prepared to speak, the high pitched hum disappeared.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s aura also disappeared with it. The throne room returned to calm as Lin Mubai loosened the grip on his hands.

    He did not try to extract the sword, neither did he stop General Jin from trying. He sat on the throne quietly and calmly, almost as if he was waiting for something.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nced at Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression. His heart fluttered. He could guess what the Emperor was thinking.

    As the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Emperor had to think of the big picture. The sword may be a treasure of the empire, but it already recognized an owner.

    He could take the sword forcefully from its owner and be a thief. He may even have to kill off one of the brightest talents of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    That was not a wise choice.

    As such, he gave up any thought of taking the sword by force. As such, this matter had already been resolved. This was not a resolution that Yu Yiping had expected.

    It was a resolution that none of the officials had expected.

    And now...

    Emperor Lin Mubai still needed some way to retain his standing and reputation, a way that would satisfy all of the officials.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could have provided that way. However, that would utterly humiliate him in front of Fang Zhengzhi...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping knew what the Emperor wanted, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. After considering his options, he chose to remain silent.

    There were countless other intelligent officials present who could guess the Emperor¡¯s intentions. However, they all chose the same path as Yu Yiping.

    None of them were willing to admit that they were worse than an immature 15 year oldmoner.

    The throne room became incredibly silent. The silence was rather unsettling.

    The only sound that could be heard was General Jin¡¯s heavy panting and asional exmations.

    "Rise!"

    "Oh gosh!"

    "Rise!"

    "Come on up!"

    "..."

    This looked like a stalemate. However, amidst the stalemate, there was still one person standing in front of the throne. This person was Ping Yang, and she was extremely excited.

    "Come on, General Jin!"

    A crisp voice rang out throughout the throne room. Her naivety eventually resulted in General Jin shuddering and falling to the ground, thoroughly exhausted.

    At this point, a faint cough could be heard from outside the throne room.

    Then, a figure appeared at the entrance to the throne room. This man was in his eighties, and his hair waspletely silver. His face was thin and wrinkled and his eyes were drowsy. However, his silver dragon robe made sure that he was still respected.

    "King Liqin?!"

    All of the officials were stunned when they saw him.

    King Liqin was the uncle of the Emperor.

    He was an incredibly elderly man, but no one could ignore his presence.

    He did not meddle with the courts, but he was an influential man in the armies. He had stood next to the previous emperor and yed an invaluable role in his conquest of the south.

    Back then, he was touted as having immense wit and foresight.

    However, no one could understand why he had pulled out of the courts and given upmand of the armies after the previous emperor had taken the throne.

    He had just been leading a simple, leisurely life in the pce.

    If Meng Tian was a legendary figure, then King Liqin was a living fossil of the Great Xia Empire army.

    "King Liqin is here?!"

    All of the officials looked at each other, unsure of what was going on. That was until they saw ady behind King Liqin.

    This was ady dressed in a pink dress. She had a purple belt with gold embroidery tied around her waist which entuated her great figure. There was also a Roc Bird with its outspread wings embroidered in silver. The Roc Bird¡¯s eyes were golden pearls.

    The eyes glimmered like stars in the sky.

    Thedy also had a gold jade hairpin. It was also a Roc Bird with its wings extended. It was extremely magnificent.

    The girl was quite calm, but her eyes glimmered like the stars.

    The girl followed closely beside King Liqin. She did not speak, but all the officials looked at her closely.

    Because...

    She was the Heaven¡¯s Pride Talent of the Great Xia Dynasty. She was the top of the two Dragon Rolls, Chi Guyan.

    "Greetings, your highness!" King Liqin stepped into the throne room but did not advance any further. He bowed deeply upon entering.

    "Uncle, please rise!" Emperor Lin Mubai stood up from his throne and made a motion with his hands upon seeing the elderly man fall to his knees.

    King Liqin paused for a moment before standing up. However, he did not enter the throne room, choosing to stand at the entrance like a statue.

    "Thank you, your highness!"

    "What brings you and Chi Guyan here?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes glowed when he saw Chi Guyan.

    "The weather has been bad and I¡¯ve been bored. Chi Guyan happened toe visit me, so we decided to take a walk. We never expected to stumble across the throne room and interrupt a court session." King Liqin looked quite frail, almost as if he could be knocked over by a gust of wind.

    "Uncle, what are you saying? I can always postpone my court session. Now that you are here, how about we go sit in the gardens?"

    "I am deeply appreciative of your highness¡¯ goodwill. However, please do not let us interrupt the important court session. I have nothing better to do, a little wait wouldn¡¯t hurt." King Liqin looked at the Traceless Sword being held by General Jin as he spoke.

 Chapter 229: Presenting the sword

    Chapter 229: Presenting the sword

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    King Liqin looked like he was reminiscing something of old, but his eyes were incrediblyplicated and it was impossible for others to know what he was thinking.

    That being said, there was one thing all of the officials could be sure of.

    King Liqin¡¯s appearance in the throne room was definitely not a coincidence. Furthermore, Chi Guyan, the top ranked youth of this generation, was by his side.

    Would Chi Guyane into the throne room for no reason?

    Definitely not.

    For the past year, Chi Guyan has stayed away from politics. She had confined herself within the Heaven Dao Pavillion. She had only decided to descend from the mountain a few month ago, but had never taken a step into the courts.

    As such, King Liqin and Chi Guyan¡¯s arrival must be about the sword.

    How was the aged uncle of the Emperor going to resolve this conflict?

    Upon hearing what King Liqin had to say, Emperor Li Mubai nodded lightly. Then, he was silent. He definitely knew why King Liqin and Chi Guyan were here.

    However, as an emperor, he had no need to guess what methods King Liqin would use to solve this problem. All he had to do was nod or shake his head.

    As the emperor, his decision was final.

    King Liqin looked at the sword. He did not let Emperor Lin Mubai wait too long. After ncing at the Traceless Sword, he began to speak, almost as if he was murmuring to himself.

    "Good sword, this is really a good sword. Is this the sword from the World of the Sage? Is this Meng Tian¡¯s sword? I have heard my servants talking about this de over the past few days whilst I¡¯ve beenzing around in my residence. I never expected to see it for myself in the throne room. Not bad, not bad..." King Liqin praised the sword, but he did not move a single step.

    All of the officials were trying to guess what King Liqin was thinking? Was King Liqin eyeing the sword as well?

    The courts were still calm and silent. No one spoke other than King Liqin.

    King Liqin began to murmur to himself again.

    "All these years, I have not had any hobby other than collecting swords. However, with my age, I have be less and less mobile. I wonder if you can help me remove the sword so I can take a look at it?" King Liqin said.

    General Jin flushed when he heard this. He was the closest to the sword and he would be happy to help King Liqin, but he could not do anything.

    All of the other officials finally understood what King Liqin wanted. He wants to extract the swords too?

    King Liqin had not determined who would be the one to extract the sword.

    His statement was extremely simple.

    But, it was actually quite loaded. Now the Emperor had a perfectly legitimate reason to try to extract the de.

    News would spread that the current Emperor went to extract a sword from the ground just so his uncle to admire it.

    This would ensure that the Emperor¡¯s reputation was unsullied. In fact, people will even praise him for being filial. He would also be able to prevent people from calling a thief.

    If Emperor Lin Mubai did not choose to step out, then there was only one person who could extract the sword.

    That man was Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was also quite the perfect n. As a filial nephew, the Emperor could order Fang Zhengzhi to extract the de and present it to his uncle. That would also satisfy the courts.

    No matter what the Emperor decided, his reputation would not be at risk. More importantly, his decision would reveal whether he wanted the sword.

    If he did, he would extract it himself.

    If he didn¡¯t, he would make Fang Zhengzhi do it.

    King Liqin murmured to himself then stepped back into position. As an official and an uncle, he left the final decision to the Emperor.

    All of the officials looked to the Emperor, keenly awaiting his decision.

    Emperor Lin Mubai gently raised his hands and ced them on the dragon table. He calmly looked at the officials, then at the slightly anxious King Duan and Heir Lin Tianrong.

    Finally, his gazended on Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan did not speak. She had beenpletely silent since entering the throne room. She stood quietly by King Liqin¡¯s side, supporting him by the arm.

    She looked like a granddaughter taking care of her granddad.

    Even so, no one ignored her presence. She was the leader of the two dragon roles. She was also the one in the prophecy. As such, one day, she would be the most powerful in the world.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s expression was calm as ake.

    All of a sudden, Emperor Lin Mubai chuckled.

    "Haha... what¡¯s so difficult about uncle¡¯s request? This de was brought out of the World of the Sage by Fang Zhengzhi. I think he should extract it."

    Many of the officials were in shock when they heard this. Most of them thought that Emperor Lin Mubai would extract it himself, considering the significance of the sword.

    But it looked like the Emperor wanted Fang Zhengzhi to do it.

    How is this possible?

    No one was willing to believe this. This was something that no one had expected. Is the Emperor really going to gift this powerful sword, the sword that represents Meng Tian¡¯s will and our country¡¯s prowess, to amoner?!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping paled. If he had not said what he had said, none of this would have happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not have drove the de into the ground.

    No one would have tried to extract the sword.

    Was this a coincidence?

    Or did Fang Zhengzhi n this?

    Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes glowed icily. If it was thetter, Fang Zhengzhi was a scary man and a threat to his position.

    King Duan and the Heir both bit their lips. They had linked the sword to the battle for the throne. But now, the all powerful sword was about to be given to amoner?

    How could they ever be happy about that?

    Even though all of the officials were stunned, they still turned their gazes on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui, and Nangong Mu also turned to look at him, nodding their approval.

    Ping Yang smiled widely, almost as if she saw victory within her grasp.

    Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief. He had never lusted for power, and had did not want to challenge the Emperor¡¯s authority.

    All he wanted to do was keep the sword.

    But now, even though he did not know what was going on, it seemed like the sword... was safe?

    The Emperor had asked him to extract the sword.

    It was all too easy now. All he had to do was extract the sword in front of all of the officials and hand it over to the old man to take a look...

    And it would all be over?

    Fang Zhengzhi was ecstatic.

    "Yes your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed deeply towards the Emperor, then nced at the officials, a smirk at the edge of his mouth.

    Then, he began to saunter up to the sword.

    General Jin was quite relieved to see this. Before Fang Zhengzhi could say anything, he stood to the side, his hulking arms wiping the sweat from his forehead.

    All of the officials looked on solemnly as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to extract the sword.

    It would be extremely humiliating if an immature 15 year oldmoner managed to do something none of them could do, extract the sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think of all this. All he knew was that this de was his and he had no intention of giving it to anybody. Even if the opponent was the Emperor himself, he had to give it a try.

    "Extracting a sword, how simple!" Fang Zhengzhi hummed a little tune as he extended his hand and lightly gripped the hilt. Then, he tugged lightly.

    "..."

    All of the officials cursed as they saw Fang Zhengzhi move so casually. Must he humiliate them so badly? He could act a little at the very least?

    They did not have to think for very long.

    They all realized that Fang Zhengzhi was putting in quite a bit of effort.

    However...

    The sword was not extracted.

    "Could it be that this fe has some manners?"

    "No matter what, he has not humiliated uspletely."

    All of the officials were quite d to see that the sword was not extracted. The more effort Fang Zhengzhi required, the better they would look.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly doubtful.

    Whilst it looked like he was doing it rather casually, he was putting in a significant amount of effort.

    "Could it be stuck?" Seeing that the de was still in the ground, Fang Zhengzhi grabbed the hilt with both hands and tugged.

    "..."

    The only sound was that of the cold wind blowing in from outside the throne room.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile was frozen. The Traceless Sword was still stuck in the ground.

    "Could it be that even he cannot extract it?"

    "Haha... that¡¯s impossible. The sword has already recognized him as the owner, how can he not extract it?"

    "He should just be acting."

    The officials looked on as Fang Zhengzhi failed to extract the sword a second time. They began to hold little discussions amongst themselves, appreciative of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s effort to make it look difficult.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, be a little quicker, the Emperor¡¯s uncle is waiting for you!" Ping Yang pouted as she saw Fang ZHengzhi struggling.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang, his eyes fixated on the Traceless Sword. Sweat dripped from his forehead. I thought the sword already recognized me as its owner? Was my faith misced?

    F*ck me...

    Where is my fairytale ending?!

 Chapter 230: This sword is named Traceless

    Chapter 230: This sword is named Traceless

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    There was an old saying: One may be enjoying the scenery from the bridge, but the one truly enjoying the scenery is the one watching you from the tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that way right now. Before this, he was standing by the side watching others try to extract the sword. Now, everyone else was watching him.

    The person had changed, but the result was still the same.

    "Come on out, be obedient!" Fang Zhengzhi stroked the sword hilt and cooed. Then, he grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled.

    Again!

    Again...

    ...

    All the officials stared wide eyed at Fang Zhengzhi. They had no idea what game he was trying to y, but the sword had not moved a single inch.

    "Is he really acting?" One of the officials asked doubtfully.

    "Could it be that even he can¡¯t extract the sword?" Another official postted.

    "How can it be? The sword was stabbed into the ground by him, how can he fail to extract it? The sword already recognizes him as its owner!"

    "Does he really dare to defy an order from the Emperor?"

    All the officials began to chatter among themselves. They could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi himself could not extract the sword.

    There were only two possibilities. One, Fang Zhengzhi was defying an order from the Emperor, two, even Fang Zhengzhi himself could not extract the sword.

    Defy an order?

    That was virtually impossible. Even if Fang Zhengzhi had the courage to do it, he stood to gain nothing...

    "Even he cannot pull it out? Could it be that... he¡¯s not the owner?!"

    When this official spoke up, everyone began to look at Fang Zhengzhi differently.

    Before this, Wan Chong and General Jin had attempted to extract the sword without the Emperor giving a direct order for them to do so.

    But now that he had ordered Fang Zhengzhi to extract it, failing to do so would be a heinous crime!

    Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui, and the others all grew increasingly nervous seeing that Fang Zhengzhi could not pull the sword out. Why is it taking so long?

    Something is wrong.

    King Duan and the Heir¡¯s initially solemn expressions quickly brightened up. They would have a chance if Fang Zhengzhi could not extract the sword.

    King Liqin¡¯s expression was still mixed. The feeling from his eyes werepletely different from Chi Guyan¡¯s. Her eyes were shining like stars in the night sky. On the other hand, he was like a statue.

    Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Chi Guyan included. Her eyes glimmered. She could tell that Fang Zhengzhi was putting in a lot of effort into trying to pull out the sword, but the result was not what she expected.

    "Did someone mess with it?" Chi Guyan quickly dismissed the idea. There was no one who could have meddled with it in front of King Liqin and Emperor Li Mubai.

    So...

    He really couldn¡¯t extract it?

    Fang Zhengzhi was indeed struggling to pull out the sword. He had tried again and again, but the sword refused to budge. The cold wind continued to brush against his face.

    After some time, Emperor Li Mubai¡¯s expression began to change. As the Emperor, he could not rush Fang Zhengzhi. All he could do was nce in the direction of Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    Yu Yiping immediately understood what the Emperor wanted. He stepped out, "Fang Zhengzhi, age is catching up with King Liqin, don¡¯t let him stand out in the cold for too long."

    "Exactly, quickly pull the sword out!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you really have the audacity to defy an order from the Emperor?"

    All of the other officials began to chime in.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to sweat profusely. He too wanted to pull the sword out quickly, but the story waspletely out of control.

    What could he do?

    "Come on, stop throwing a tantrum! Come on out?"

    "If youe out, I will take you to see nice scenery! The world is huge and it would be very boring for you if you stayed here."

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to speak to the reactionless sword.

    The expressions on all of the officials¡¯ faces changed drastically upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. What is he talking about? Don¡¯t we stay here all the time too?

    This is the throne room, a ce where many people want to enter but can¡¯t.

    "We have gone through so much together. Think about it, I brought you out from the World of the Sage. We are meant to be together, by each others¡¯ side. Isn¡¯t that a great thing?" Fang Zhengzhi continued, ignoring the gazes of the other officials.

    All of them were puzzled upon hearing this. Is Fang Zhengzhi talking to the de? Even if the sword had a spirit, can it understand humannguage?

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi, clearly dumbfounded.

    However, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, and the others did not think that way.

    They had seen Fang Zhengzhi use such ¡¯nonsense¡¯ to convince the sword to follow him out of the World of the Sage. Fang Zhengzhi was using the same tactic now.

    "You still don¡¯t want toe out? Do you want me to tell you another story?" Fang Zhengzhi looked on doubtfully.

    "Hum!" The Traceless Sword hummed.

    F*ck... me! Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. This is the throne room! Is having such an arrogant and willful sword truly a good thing?

    The worst part was...

    He was telling the story of "Water Margin" yesterday. He had just finished the one about Wu Song defeating the tiger. The next one in line was about Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what do you think you¡¯re doing? Are you trying to defy an order?" Yu Yiping red at Fang Zhengzhi whilst he chuckled to himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely exasperated, but he had no other choice. He had to do it.

    "Your highness, yourmoner needs some preparation."

    "Preparation?" Emperor Lin Mubai was slightly confused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Yes, just like how one needs to prepare rations before a battle, I need to prepare too before I extract the sword." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Mm, approved." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    All of the other officials were speechless. What is there to prepare? That being said, they were all rather impressed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to understand the concept of preparing sufficient rations before a battle.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to narrate the story without hesitation.

    "After Wu Song killed the tiger, he became a constable in the province... there was a powerful family in the province, who had a chambermaid named Pan Jinlian. She was in her early twenties and exceedingly beautiful. The lord of the family wanted to make her his mistress, but she did not want that. She went to report this to the lord¡¯s wife. In a fit of anger, the lord..."

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to narrate the story. All of the officials felt something was amiss. What is this story? Why haven¡¯t we heard of it?

    When Fang Zhengzhi got to the point where Pan Jinlian seduced Ximen Qing...

    Ping Yang flushed and pouted, "This guy is so incredibly shameless!"

    Chi Guyan also could not believe her ears.

    She knew that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, but she never expected him to narrate such a story in the throne room. He even had the audacity to call this preparation?!

    It was unbelievable.

    All of the officials were angered by what they were hearing. How can such a person manage to top the Theory Examinations?

    "I will never want to be associated with this man!"

    "This person is a disgrace to all the academics!"

    "This is an insult to our culture and heritage!"

    All of the officials raged, anger building up in their chests. If not for the fact that the Emperor had approved this, they would have called for his head.

    Emperor Lin Mubai smiled bitterly as he heard Fang Zhengzhi continue to narrate the story.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of them. This is one of the best ssics from the previous world, what is so shameless about it?

    Fang Zhengzhi continued narrating.

    The Emperor and the other officials were forced to listen by the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally got to the point where Wu Song killed Ximen Qing at the Mandarin House, leaving blood writing behind. All of them were captivated by the story, and began to secretly apud it.

    It was almost as if a huge load had been lifted off their shoulders.

    All of them had felt something on their chest throughout this court session. However, they were all relieved by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s story. It was unbelievable.

    At this point, a soft hum could be heard. A ray of light shone skyward andnded in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. It was the traceless sword.

    "It¡¯s out?!"

    "That¡¯s... that¡¯s all it took?!"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "This is unbelievable!"

    "This is a story for the ages!"

    All of the officials were stunned when they saw the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Why would the de release itself after the story?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining anything to the officials. He gently gripped the sword and walked hastily to the door of the throne room, cing the sword in King Liqin¡¯s hand.

    "My lord, this sword is named Traceless!"

    "Traceless?!"

    "Can¡¯t he see the huge purple mark?"

    All of the officials saw the strange purple mark on the sword. They were all confused. Who gave the sword its name?

    King Liqin stared at the sword in his hand. He examined it from hilt to de, finally getting to the strange purple mark at the tip. His eyes finally began to show some life.

    "I see!"

 Chapter 231: Sword Envoy

    Chapter 231: Sword Envoy

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    King Liqin¡¯s words seemed to have no link to the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, but Fang Zhengzhi knew what King Liqin was driving at.

    He remembered the hallucination he had when he first held the Traceless Sword in the World of the Sage. He felt a wave of emotions as he remembered the power of the sword and the curse.

    I love my life, and I love a just cause. However, if I can¡¯t get both, I would willingly sacrifice my life for a just cause." This was something that was said by Mencius. Fang Zhengzhi used it to describe how Meng Tian gave up the sword for a just cause.

    "Hmm?" King Liqin¡¯s eyes glowed when he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. Then, his wrinkled face broke out in a smile, "I thought that the Emperor had gotten himself a good sword. Little did I expect that he had also gotten himself someone so knowledgeable! ..."

    All of the officials were stumped by the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and King Liqin.

    Fang Zhengzhi had presented the sword. King Liqin did not judge it, and only said a single phrase of ¡¯I see¡¯. Then, Fang Zhengzhi mentioned giving up his life for a just cause, drawing praises from King Liqin.

    What in the world is going on?

    King Liqin, one of the main pirs of the previous Emperor¡¯s sess, had never involved himself in politics. His appearance today waspletely unexpected, hispliments about Fang Zhengzhi even more so.

    All of the officials were stumped by what they saw.

    Then, something even more shocking happened. After saying that, King Liqin...

    Left!

    Chi Guyan also left with him.

    King Liqin did not even take the sword from Fang Zhengzhi, neither did he take a second look before leaving. More importantly, he left satisfied.

    Didn¡¯t he say he liked the sword?

    What¡¯s going on now?

    Why did Chi Guyan leave? What was her motive ining to the courts today? She said nothing from start to finish, standing quietly by King Liqin¡¯s side.

    She was almost like a spectator.

    However, Chi Guyan was wearing official robes and she wore the Roc Bird hairpin. There was no way she could just be a spectator.

    If she wasn¡¯t a spectator, why would she leave without saying a single word...

    Most of the officials looked at each other and looked at each other, unsure of what had happened. However, a select few had glimmering eyes. This select group included Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "The top ranking person on the two dragon rolls is indeed a talent!" Yu Yiping smiled widely, "She is able to attend to the Emperor¡¯s wishes without saying a single word. Who will she side with in the battle for the throne?"

    Yu Yiping did not speak again. He had already seen the subtle changes in Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression. If he could see it, the Emperor could definitely see it.

    Even though King Liqin¡¯s words seemed cryptic, the meaning could not be any more obvious. A good sword, and a good man. The person he was referring to was obvious for all to say.

    Furthermore, even though Chi Guyan did not speak, her stance was clear for all to see.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you have done a great service by presenting the sword today. You also killed a demon Vice Domain Chief, Ying Shan, during the Imperial Examinations, saving Princess Ping Yang and more than a dozen Great Xia Dynasty elites in the process. Many officials have requested that you be rewarded. As the Emperor, I must reward you handsomely. From today on, you will be the "Sword Envoy" of the Great Xia Dynasty, increasing the influence of the empire. You will also be rewarded with a thousand ingots of gold!"

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice resonated throughout the entire throne room. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had predicted most of the events of today. However, there was one thing he did not expect - that Emperor Lin Mubai would make Fang Zhengzhi the Sword Envoy.

    This was a position that did not exist before this...

    This was going to get interesting.

    The officials all had varying reactions to what Emperor Lin Mubai said. Some were jealous, others were chuckling icily, some were envious, some were derisive...

    "Thank you your highness, but... may themoner ask a few questions?" Fang Zhengzhi did not bother with the other officials¡¯ reactions. He was more concerned about whether he would be restricted in this post.

    If it is too restrictive, can I resign?

    "You are now the Sword Envoy, you are not to call yourself amoner, you have to call yourself an official!" Emperor Lin Mubai looked a little displeased.

    "Yes your highness. May the official ask a few questions?"

    "Go ahead."

    "What does the sword envoy do?"

    "The sword envoy¡¯s secondary responsibility for increasing the influence of the Great Xia Dynasty. Your primary responsibility is to take good care of this sword on my behalf." Emperor Lin Mubai paused for a moment as he pondered his words. Then, he continued, "Furthermore... you have the freedom to enter and exit the pceplex, including the throne room, and speak your mind in front of me!"

    Fang Zhengzhi had understood the gist of it.

    As the sword envoy, he was just a glorified sword guard. As for entering and exiting the pceplex as well as his freedom of speech, those were all peripherals. If he really brought the sword in and out of the pce for a spin everyday, he would be targeted by assassins everywhere.

    That being said, this was the perfect job for Fang Zhengzhi. He could be an official without doing anything. When he walked the streets, he would still be an official... hang on, he forgot to ask what rank the sword envoy was.

    "Official still has one more question."

    "Go ahead."

    "What... is the rank of the sword envoy?" Fang Zhengzhi did not have high expectations of the post. As a guard of a sword, he may be a rank seven official, or possibly even a lowly rank nine official.

    When Emperor Lin Mubai heard the question, he went silent.

    All of the officials looked to each other. They all knew that this was not an easy question to answer.

    The post of sword envoy was one that had never existed before this. This meant that it was not under the jurisdiction of any of the six ministries. As a result, it was unlikely to cause any disruption to the courts in the near future.

    However, determining its rank was rather difficult.

    If he set it too low, it would be disrespectful to the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. However, if he set it too high, it would not be appropriate for Fang Zhengzhi to assume that role.

    How can an untestedmoner, fresh out of the imperial examinations, be a rank one or rank two official? That would be ludicrous!

    "Rank four!" Emperor Lin Mubai grit his teeth as he spoke.

    "Rank four? Thank you your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi had never expected that he would be a rank four official in the blink of an eye.

    The jaws of all the other officials fell to the ground upon hearing that.

    Rank four....

    That was quite a high rank in the courts. The governor of a province was probably only a rank five official. Forrger cities like the Golden Scale City, the governor was only a rank four official.

    Rank four may be a little low for what Meng Tian¡¯s sword represented to the Great Xia Dynasty. However, for amoner who had just passed the imperial examinations...

    This waspletely unprecedented.

    Rank four official in a single leap. This was a rank that some people took many years, even decades to reach. How could they not be in shock?

    "Congrattions brother Fang on your appointment!" Xing Qingsui paled, but he stilled bowed to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Thank you!" Fang Zhengzhi returned the bow.

    It was rare for Fang Zhengzhi to thank someone. However, Xing Qingsui hade to the throne room to plead on his behalf despite the severe injuries he had suffered. This was something that surprised Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu also came over to say their congrattions.

    After a brief moment of hesitation, the other officials also came up to congratte Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were not trying to butter up Fang Zhengzhi. After all, the lowest ranking of them all was also a rank four official. However, this was a courtesy that had to be extended.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was no longer amoner. He was now a rank four official of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    More importantly, no one could guess what Emperor Lin Mubai was truly thinking.

    King Duan clenched his fists tightly and his eyes began to glimmer. The heir, Lin Tianrong, also looked on solemnly, almost on the verge of tears.

    As for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, his expression did not change much. He strode over to Fang Zhengzhi and praised him for his contributions and achievements.

    This surprised many people. Those who were familiar with Yu Yiping knew that Yu Yiping was preparing to take down a person when he treated them this way.

    "Humph, what¡¯s the big deal about this, he¡¯s just a rank four official..." Ping Yang looked up haughtily. However, her crystal clear eyes were glowing subtly...

    ...

    The strong gale had stopped and rays of sunlight shone on the grounds of the capital. It felt like the worst of the storms were over.

    However...

    To the north of the capital, there was a new bout of torrential rain.

    Cang Ling Mountain was thergest mountain in the Northern Lands. The area may be poor and backward, but it was densely popted.

    These vigers were extremely hardworking and lived off thend.

    Most of them never left their viges their entire lives. Their only wish was to live. However, the Great Xia Dynasty did not seem to think that their lives were particrly valuable.

    Troops of armored soldiers arrived at these viges. They held gleaming spears in their hands, their armors showing that they were from the army of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Seal the mountain!"

 Chapter 232: Seal the mountain

    Chapter 232: Seal the mountain

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Seal the mountain!"

    The same voice reverberated throughout multiple viges.

    More than a hundred families assembled in the main square of the Northern Mountain Vige, led by Vige Elder Zhang Yangping. There were over a hundred armored soldiers standing in front.

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian were amongst the crowd. Every viger was lost and helpless.

    "Commander sir, you can¡¯t seal the mountain. What are we going to eat if you seal the mountain?" Zhang Yangping pleaded with themander.

    "You¡¯re the vige elder of the Northern Mountain Vige?" Themander looked at Zhang Yangping.

    "Yes sir, I am the vige elder. Commander sir, all of us vigers hunt for a living. If you seal the mountain, we will be unable to hunt. Over a hundred families will lose their livelihood."

    "I hear that you all have a Hall of Dao in the vige?" The Commander ignored the pleas and posed a question of his own.

    "Yes, yes. That Hall of Dao was moved from the Southern Mountain Vige. Back then, ady from the Divine Constabry had ordered it. Ifmander sir does not believe me, you can confirm it with the sensei in the Hall of Dao." Zhang Yangping felt a tinge of hope.

    "Mm, the road from here to Huai An County has been sealed. If you all need to go there for any emergency, you had better go by a mountain road. However, there are many beasts along those roads, so go in a group. Take this token with you. When the soldiers on the mountain see it, they will let you pass." Themander took out a ck metal token and ced it in Zhang Yangping¡¯s hand.

    "Commander sir, then... are you still going to seal the mountain?" Zhang Yangping asked hopefully.

    "Sealing the mountain is a military order!"

    "About that... sealing the mountain... but...mander,mander sir... someone from our vige entered in the examinations this year. He passed the provincial exams, and..."

    "I know about that. Li Xiantai from Huai An County has already told me about it. If not for that reason, it won¡¯t be so easy for you all to make your way to Huai An County!" Themander waved his hand in exasperation, interrupting Zhang Yangping.

    "Commander..."

    "Okay, enough. I have been rushing through the night for a few days now. All of my soldiers are tired. Is there a ce for us to stay?"

    "It is already prepared."

    "Good. My soldiers and I will be setting up camp up here in the north. Even though we will be a slight inconvenience, we have already orded you many privileges. Other viges are not given such good treatment. As such, do prepare better alcohol and food for us. Do you understand?" Themander requested.

    "Yes, yes,mander sir, please rest assured!" Zhang Yangping wanted to add something, but he swallowed it. He had to swallow his pride for the safety of the hundred families he led.

    After all, this was a military order. It was undefiable.

    Even though the vigers knew that Fang Zhengzhi had already passed the provincial examinations, they did not know if he had passed the imperial examinations. They did not want Fang Zhengzhi to make enemies with the military because of this.

    This was the only way he could protect Fang Zhengzhi as an elder. He would inconvenience himself to ensure that his descendants had a smooth sailing future.

    "Oh please, he just passed the provincial exams. The results of the imperial examinations are not out yet. Will a hillbilly dare to go up against military orders?" Themander replied derisively upon seeing Zhang Yangping¡¯s expression. Then, he turned to his soldiers, "Eat and drink your fill tonight! Tomorrow, I want all of you energized! This is a big expedition, anyone who messes it up will be killed without hesitation!"

    "Yes sir!" The soldiers replied in unison.

    Themander nodded in satisfaction. Then, he frowned as he looked at the worn down Northern Mountain Vige, "Li Xiantai told me that kid is named Fang something? I missed it out because I was in a hurry. Forget it, this kind of vige will never produce anyone of importance. The imperial examinations are not so easy to pass. Furthermore, I am now acting on military orders, even the River of Trust Province Governor will have to be subordinate to those!"

    Zhang Yangping frowned as he saw themander walk away. He did not say anything else, sighing as he looked to the sky.

    Fang Houde walked up beside him upon seeing his reaction.

    "Brother Yang Ping, what¡¯s going on?"

    "The sealing of the mountain is a military order. We can¡¯t change that. If not for the fact that Li Xiantai had helped speak up on our behalf, we may not even be able to leave our vige." Zhang Yangpingmented in exasperation.

    "If it¡¯s a military order, there¡¯s nothing that we can do about it. There¡¯s nothing to worry about Brother Yang Ping. There must be some trouble in the mountains that will be resolved shortly. When Zhengzhi left, he left behind some silver cheques. I¡¯ll get Xuelian to bring it overter. It should be able to tide us through." Fang Houdeforted.

    "Aish... all I can hope for is a hasty resolution to this." Zhang Yangping sighed again.

    ...

    In the river that linked the capital to Huai An County.

    A boat was sailing quickly through the river when an eagle like bird of prey swooped down from high above andnded on a pole at the bow of the boat.

    Ady dressed in green rushed out and retrieved a bamboo container from the w of the bird. She took out the letter from inside it, read it, then rushed to the entrance of the cabin.

    "My lord, there is news from the capital!"

    "Carry on." A faint voice could be heard from inside the cabin.

    "The Vice Doman Chief has died in the Combat Examinations. He was killed by Fang Zhengzhi, and..."

    "Keep going."

    "And... Fang Zhengzhi is in possession of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s sword. Furthermore, he is now the sword envoy, a rank four official."

    "Okay, I got it, how long more to Huai An County?"

    "It would take at least another 17 days."

    "Do it in 15."

    "Your wish is mymand!"

    Thedy in green disappeared from the entrance.

    Inside the cabin, Yun Qingwu wore a in white dress. Her face was covered by a veil as she held a pen in her hand.

    There was a maroon desk and a stack of papers in front of her. There were countless dots and lines on each piece of paper, making it incrediblyplicated.

    Yun Qingwu frowned, then began to write. She had to consider each and every stroke, making it look extremely tedious.

    After some time, she had only made five strokes.

    She raised her head to look at the sky outside. She slowly put down the pen in her hand as her eyes glimmered, "To think that he still passed despite the sacrifice of a Vice Domain Chief? A rank four sword envoy... ording to the traditions of the Great Xia Dynasty, he should be on his way back to his vige? If this is Heaven¡¯s will, how do you think you will escape my n?"

    ...

    Inside the capital, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu said their goodbyes at the door.

    ording to the traditions of the Great Xia Dynasty, he should be going back to his vige to visit his rtives and celebrate his promotion with his parents.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not one who valued traditions, but it was still months from thebat examinations retest and the Court Examinations. Furthermore, his birthday wasing.

    It was his sixteenth birthday, the mark of maturity.

    As such, he had to celebrate his birthday back in his vige. After a few months from home, he was beginning to feel homesick.

    Furthermore, Yan Xiu had gotten a letter from Western Liang, asking him to make a trip back. Staying in the capital alone would be incredibly boring.

    He decided to make a trip back to the vige and take in the sights. He would bring the Traceless Sword on a tour!

    To stay in one city your whole life...

    Was so boring.

    The world was huge! One should go see it!

    "When we meet in the Court Examinations, I will definitely defeat you!" Yan Xiu waved his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan as he told Fang Zhengzhi confidently.

    "Haha... don¡¯t be so cocky, I am quite powerful now!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

 Chapter 233: In Trouble

    Chapter 233: In Trouble

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu nodded slightly, then mounted his Snow Treading Dragon Stallion and galloped towards the gates of the capital.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched as his friend left, then turned around and mounted his own Snow Treading Dragon Stallion. He was headed for the streets.

    On this return trip, Fang Zhengzhi should have had an officer follow him around to announce the good news. However, as he was nning to travel, he rejected the offer of an officer.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided that he would bring some souvenirs back home. As such, he decided not to leave with Yan Xiu, choosing to do some shopping first...

    ...

    Inside Ping Yang¡¯s residence, flowers were in full bloom, their aroma filling up the gardens. Ping Yang was dressed in a red cloak, visibly unhappy.

    "Why does Sister Yan have to go back to the Northern Lands so soon? Why don¡¯t I send a request to the Emperor, asking if I can follow you to the Northern Lands?" Ping Yang grabbed on to Chi Guyan¡¯s arm.

    "Don¡¯t you want your Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Chi Guyan smiled. She knew that the Emperor would never let Ping Yang out of the city.

    "Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion? Where?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    "It¡¯s here!" A voice rang out from outside the courtyard. Then, the Ninth Prince walked through.

    He was leading a horse.

    The horse was covered from head to toe in ck triangr scales. It had a purple colored horn on its forehead, with subtle lightning patterns lining the horn.

    It was clearly an extraordinary stallion.

    "Hahaha... Ninth Brother, you¡¯re finally willing to give me the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion!"

    "Give it to you? You must be dreaming. I am just lending it to you for a ride on Chi Guyan¡¯s ount. When Chi Guyan returns, you have to return the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion to me!" The Ninth Prince looked on reluctantly.

    "Ninth Brother, rest assured. I will definitely return it to you!" Ping Yang smirked. Before the Ninth Prince could say anything, she snatched the reins from his hands.

    "Haha..." Chi Guyan looked at Ping Yang pamperedly. Her starry eyes looked to the north, "The Heaven Dao Tablet, Cang Ling Mountain... it looks like that shameless thief is on his way back home?"

    ...

    After more than two hours, Fang Zhengzhi loaded up the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion and trotted it to the gates of the capital.

    "I am always a man of my word. I will bring you to see the world right now." Fang Zhengzhi murmured.

    All of the guards at the gate looked on conflictingly when they saw Fang Zhengzhi. However, none of them said anything, nor did they try to stop him.

    Once he was out of the gates, he headed north...

    Just as he was about to gallop and let the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion loose, he saw a figure appear on the road north. This figure was dressed in white, but there was no "Heaven Dao" embroidered on it.

    Most importantly, the figure was riding a horse.

    A horse which was very familiar to Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was snow white from head to toe, with a mark of fire in the middle of its forehead. This was the Scarlet me Snow Cloud, a descendant of the most powerful Fire Dragon bloodline.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always thought of it as his.

    "It¡¯s been so long, Young Master Fang!" A crisp voice rang out. The other person did not try to disguise his voice.

    "Drop the act! Human...oid!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the figure derisively. He knew that he was Chi Guyan in a man¡¯s disguise. He had confirmed this in the Divine Constabry previously.

    "I am also on my way to the Northern Lands. How about you take care of my meals and I¡¯ll pay you 500 silvers?" Chi Guyan surprisingly did not argue with Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I will ept nothing less than 1000!" Fang Zhengzhi replied in disdain.

    "600!"

    "If your offer is any less than 950, don¡¯t even think about it!"

    "700!"

    "I will give in to you a little more. 940, or we will go our separate ways!" Fang Zhengzhi hesitated, then grit his teeth.

    "900!"

    "880. I like this number. The remaining 20 shall be my tip to you. Don¡¯t think too much about it. I am so willful because I have the money." Fang Zhengzhi smirked. With the power of the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, the journey would take a month at most. Why not earn an extra 880 silvers along the way?

    More importantly, how could he tour without adypanion?

    Even though this was not apanion he liked, but she was still eptable.

    "You are still as shameless as before!"

    "Thank you for thepliment!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan continued bargaining just outside the city gates, oblivious to the fact that there was a figure in a ck cloak standing in the shadows.

    "Chi Guyan?" The figure said raspily before disappearing into the darkness.

    ...

    ...

    A monthter.

    There were troops of armored soldiers walking around in Huai An Country. This gave the entire ancient city a rather solemn atmosphere.

    Fang Zhengzhi rode the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion sloppily. Next to him was Chi Guyan, still in her disguise.

    Chi Guyan was much more refined than Fang Zhengzhi. As the breeze brushed against her clothes, they pped lightly in the wind, making her look refined and elegant

    Furthermore, her Scarlet me Snow Cloud drew the attentions of many young girls in Huai An County. Many of them looked out their windows just to catch a glimpse of it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already stopped thinking much about that.

    Along the way to Huai An County, there were countless girls following behind them at every stop. They were all mesmerized by the group of two. Initially, he found it interesting, but he slowly grew numb to it.

    "Why aren¡¯t you going back to the Divine Constabry? We are already at Huai An County." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he asked Chi Guyan.

    "Did I say I was going back to the Divine Constabry?" Chi Guyan smiled as she returned the look.

    Fang Zhengzhi happened to see the smile. He was slightly stunned. He had to admit that Chi Guyan did have the assets that would allow her to be arrogant.

    When she smiled, she was just as beautiful as the starry night sky,pletely mesmerizing.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not too attracted by the smile. After all, he liked a gentledy. At the very least, she could not be more powerful than him?

    Even though he was not one to bully ady, he did not want to be bullied by ady.

    "If you¡¯re not going back to the Divine Constabry, are you nning toe to the Northern Mountain Vige with me?" Fang Zhengzhi replied disdainfully. How is it possible that the powerful and rich Chi Guyan would want to follow him back to his decrepit hometown?

    "Mm, that was exactly what I had in mind." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "You¡¯re really going to follow me back to the Northern Mountain Vige?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback.

    "Yes." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "I am not to be taken advantage of. On the way from the capital, I have grilled you eight Green Furred Rabbits, 13 Fire Plume Chickens, two Metal-Toothed Thorn Hogs and one Steel Horned Goat. Now you want toe to my house for free food and lodging... you must be dreaming!" Fang Zhengzhi said solemnly.

    "Is that so? What if I have silver?"

    "Do you think you¡¯re the only one with silver? Do you think that silver can buy anything under the sun? This is not about the money, this is about a bottomline, do you understand?"

    "I¡¯ll give you 1000 silvers for a one month stay."

    "Deal!"

    "I remember that you like the number 880?"

    "Yes I do, but there is a difference of 120 between 1000 and 880. Do you think I am as spoilt as you? I will never give 120 silvers in tips! You are so naive!"

    "..."

    ...

    It was early in the morning. Since they were already in Huai An County, Fang Zhengzhi was in no rush to get back home. During this tour, he had taken care of everything, from cooking to washing.

    Now that they were in Huai An County, he wanted to find a nice restaurant to enjoy a meal in.

    "I¡¯ll make it clear. Now that we are in Huai An County, our previous deal has reached its expiry. We will split the bill inside the restaurant!" Fang Zhengzhi told Chi Guyan.

    "Didn¡¯t you just say that I was spoilt? Why are you helping me save now?" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhiically.

    "They are separate matters. You requested to follow me and I provided you with food. It is only right that you pay me. Now that our deal has run its course, how can I as a man allow ady to treat me?" Fang Zhengzhi replied derisively. He loved money, but he was not going to be given a treat by ady.

    "Man? Then why don¡¯t you treat me?"

    "Aren¡¯t... you a man too?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s dressing and smiled, "If you¡¯re willing to change into a dress, I might consider!"

    "Shameless!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pockets were quite full at this point. There were few in Huai An County who were richer than him. He had gotten almost 70,000 silvers from the sale of Ping Yang¡¯s horse, and Ping Yang had sent him even more afterwards.

    On top of the thousand gold reward from the Emperor...

    He had quite a fortune.

    As such, he picked the best possible restaurant. This was the same restaurant he had met Yan Xiu in.

    It was just as old and exquisite as before, but, there were many soldiers inside now.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not paid much attention to the soldiers he had seen along the way. However, seeing so many in the restaurant made him have his doubts.

    "Is Huai An County in trouble?"

 Chapter 234: You would be beheaded

    Chapter 234: You would be beheaded

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhenghi was slightly worried. He quickly called a waiter over and gave him a couple of silvers to find out what was happening. This was by far the most efficient way to gather information.

    "What is going on in Huai An County? Why are there so many soldiers?"

    "Master, you have asked the right person. I don¡¯t know the exact details, but a month ago, troops of soldiers began toe to Huai An County. I hear that there is ferocious beast on the loose in Cang Ling Mountain. All of the roads have been sealed. Can Ling Mountain itself has also been sealed."

    "Ferocious beast?" Fang Zhengzhi had entered the mountain once a month for the entire duration he had stayed in the Northern Mountain Vige. He knew how dangerous it was. However, most of the beasts would stay hidden unless they were being threatened.

    Just like the Blue Fire Wolf back in the day.

    Wolves tend to hunt in packs. However, that Blue Fire Wolf was travelling alone. It was definitely unique, and not likely to appear for decades.

    Could it be that another unique beast is on the loose?

    So many soldiers have been activated.

    What beast could it be?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask more, but the waiter shook his head. He clearly did not know any more. Fang Zhengzhi lost his appetite upon hearing that Cang Ling Mountain had been sealed for a month.

    He ordered a few snacks and finished them quickly. Then, he walked to the city gates.

    Chi Guyan did not say anymore. She simply followed Fang Zhengzhi all the way to the city gates.

    However...

    They were stopped at the gates.

    Just as what the waiter had said, the road to the foot of Cang Ling Mountain had been sealed.

    "Stand right there!"

    Two soldiers lowered their spears towards Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. Then, they looked at the stallions that the two of them were riding. After looking at each other, one of the soldiers said, "Where are you two young men going?"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Do you have the token to pass?" The soldier asked.

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then I¡¯m afraid you cannot pass. The military has sealed all of the roads to Cang Ling Mountain. If you have any pressing matters, you can go to the military to get a token." The soldier was respectful. He could tell that their stallions were extraordinary. He could not afford to antagonize them.

    "What token? I¡¯m not going!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "About that... please do not make things difficult for us. You really cannot pass without the token." One of the soldiers said with difficulty.

    "What if I charge past?"

    "If you charge past without a token... you would be going against militaryw. I am sure you know what the consequences are, so..."

    "It sounds serious. ording to militaryw, what will happen if I disobey an order?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the soldier and turned to ask Chi Guyan.

    "You will be beheaded!" Chi Guyan replied calmly.

    "I doubt you will dare to charge through if it is so serious?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "You can guess."

    "I¡¯m toozy to guess. I am someone who will just do as I wish. If you get lost along the way, don¡¯t me me!" After Fang Zhengzhi finished, he whipped the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion. With a whinny, the stallion bounded past the blockade and galloped towards the Northern Mountain Vige.

    All of the guards were stunned by what they saw. None of them could react in time. That man charged through despite knowing the consequences?

    Hang on...

    I think someone else charged through!

    Just as they were about to shout, a white figure shed past. Chi Guyan rode the Scarlet me Snow Cloud and followed closely behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yet another one?!

    All of the soldiers looked at each other in confusion.

    "Someone else has charged through!" Just as they were about to shout it out, an officer rushed over.

    "What are you screaming about?" The officer bellowed.

    "Sir, someone charged through the blockade, those two..."

    "Smack!"

    "Smack!"

    He pped both soldiers before they could finish their sentences.

    "Do you all want to die? You are both blind, but I am not. Do you two not know what that stallion is? It is the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion of the Divine Constabry. That is the stallion of the Red Pinion Squad!" The officer raged.

    "Divine Constabry... Red Pinion Squad!" Both soldiers felt a chill down their spines.

    Even though they had not spent much time in the army, the name ¡¯Red Pinion Squad¡¯ was etched deeply in their minds. That was the elite army of the Divine Constabry.

    "Those two are from the Red Pinion Squad?!"

    "Are you blind? There was only one Snow Treading Dragon Stallion!"

    "Then who was the other guy?"

    "I¡¯m not sure, but he must be from an equally elite army."

    "Is there another army as powerful as the Red Pinion Squad? Don¡¯t try to bully me just because I¡¯m not well read."

    "I am serious. Do you know the Stabilisation Constabry? Their ¡¯Mountain Breaking Army¡¯ is just as powerful! This was what my uncle told me!"

    "Your uncle knows a lot!"

    "Smack!"

    "Smack!"

    The two of them got pped again.

    "Shut up, both of you! Are you supposed to discuss the Mountain Breaking Army here? Don¡¯t try to implicate me even if you two have a death wish!"

    "Yes sir, we will not dare do it again."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had wanted Chi Guyan to eat dust. However, before the half mile mark, he realized that something was amiss.

    The Snow Treading Dragon Stallion had been overtaken by the Scarlet me Snow Cloud?

    No matter how hard he whipped his ride, he could not catch up. He was always trailing behind in the dust cloud of Chi Guyan. If he kept this up, he would die from too much dust inhtion.

    As such, an exasperated Fang Zhengzhi could only ¡¯cordially¡¯ invite Chi Guyan to travel alongside him.

    Chi Guyan did not object either.

    The narrow road waspletely upied by the two of them. The road became a little squeezy when they passed the army camps along the way.

    However, due to the fact that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Snow Treading Dragon Stallion was famed throughout the Northern Lands, all of the guards parted for them.

    Some of the ration carrying supply carts also stopped by the wayside for them to pass.

    No one came up to ask them if they had the token to pass through. They continued on their journey unimpeded. Fang Zhengzhi also began to rx.

    "This stallion is quite good. Maybe I should go get another hundred from the Divine Constabry and give one to each of the families in the Northern Mountain Vige. That would be great!" Fang Zhengzhi muttered as he rode alongside Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan ignored him, focusing solely on riding the Scarlet me Snow Cloud.

    "Cang Ling Mountain is a good ce. The grass is the best. Furthermore, there are many ferocious beasts. With such grass and meat, I¡¯m sure the hundred would reproduce to give many more."

    "Then, I can open up a stable. The horses can run about inside and I can pick the best to give back to the Divine Constabry."

    "Don¡¯t you think the Divine Constabry is quite stupid? How could they have not thought of that, aish... what a pity!"

    Fang Zhengzhi continued muttering to himself, seeing that Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t replying.

    "The method for rearing the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion is a Divine Constabry secret, how can we release it?" Chi Guyan finally replied.

    "You are absolutely correct. As such, in order for this great n toe to fruition, I must make the Northern Mountain Vige a subsidiary of the Divine Constabry. That way, it will still stay within the constabry. Don¡¯t you agree?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "You do think quite far, but, why would my Divine Constabry absorb a useless, far flung vige?" Chi Guyan replied with a question.

    "Useless? You couldn¡¯t be more mistaken. The Northern Mountain Vige is a prime location. It¡¯s scenery is fantastic and it is a hotbed for talents. I am willing to wager that the Northern Mountain Vige would be more prosperous than Huai An County in two months. Do you believe me?"

    "Two months?" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed.

    "Yes."

    "Are you for real?"

    "Of course."

    "Okay then. If you¡¯re able to make the Northern Mountain Vige more prosperous than Huai An County in two months, I will absorb them into the Divine Constabry. But what if you can¡¯t?"

    "That won¡¯t be possible. You can forget about discussing things that won¡¯t happen." Fang Zhengzhi waved her away confidently.

    "Stop daydreaming. If you can¡¯t do it, you will be my servant for two years. You will cook me whatever I want to eat!"

    "So vicious?"

    "If you don¡¯t dare to take it up, forget it."

    "Fine, deal!" Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth. His love for money had stemmed from the Northern Mountain Vige.

    On this trip back, he wanted to rify some things for himself. His silver would definitely allow the vige to continue surviving for many years, but this was far from enough.

    Without some powerful backing, the vige would not survive regardless of how much silver they had. They needed a powerful and influential backer.

    Who was better than the Divine Constabry?

    ...

    After a few hours, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan finally arrived at the entrance to the Northern Mountain Vige. The crystal clear river continued to flow through the entrance.

    However, all of thosedies who worked the fields at this time of day were missing.

    "The weather is so good, yet they¡¯re offzing?" Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself. He galloped towards his home without thinking much of it.

    Before long, he heard loud noises from the assembly square.

 Chapter 235: Villagers are troublemakers

    Chapter 235: Vigers are troublemakers

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Northern Mountain Vige had a tradition. Whenever there was a celebration, all of the families would gather at the square for a meal. It always added color to their otherwise mundane lives.

    As such, when he heard the loud noises from the square, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart leapt. Which family is holding a wedding this time?

    To think that I made it just in time.

    Fang Zhengzhi was incredibly happy.

    "There¡¯s meat to eat once Ie home, home is the best!"

    Fang Zhengzhi missed the dishes from his vige. When he brought Chi Guyan to his home, the doors were locked and the lights were switched off.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised. If there was a wedding in the vige, Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian were probably at the square too.

    What am I going to do? The doors are locked...

    Should I go over the wall? Fang Zhengzhi was not that uncouth. He chose to pry open a brick by the door. As he expected, there was a key there.

    After opening the door and making sure the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion and the Scarlet me Snow Cloud werefortable, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan made a beeline for the assembly square.

    Chi Guyan had spent some time in the Northern Mountain Vige. She knew the rules here and did not question Fang Zhengzhi.

    Before they arrived at the square, Fang Zhengzhi saw a few cauldrons and grills from afar. Meat was currently being grilled, its aroma filling the air.

    There were dozens of tables next to the grills.

    The sounds reverberated from the center.

    "So many people?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback. There were only a hundred families in the Northern Mountain Vige. After including all of the singles, there were usually no more than a dozen tables.

    But today was different.

    Was this marriage with someone from a neighboring vige? Are they here too? Where is the red cloth?

    Just as he was contemting, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze froze. He realized that there were many weapons by the side of the square. The center table was upied by soldiers.

    All of the vigers stood to the side of the soldiers. Ladies and children stood behind them, waiting on them constantly.

    "Why are there so many soldiers in the vige?!" Fang Zhengzhi began to have his doubts. The soldiers seemed to be having their way.

    They seemed to be used to this kind of treatment. They had clearly been staying here for some time.

    Does this have something to do with the ferocious beast?

    Is there a need for so many soldiers just to capture a beast? Furthermore, shouldn¡¯t these soldiers be at camp if they¡¯re trying to subdue the beast? Why are they here?

    Questions filled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He could not understand what was happening. He began brisk walking to the square.

    He arrived at the square shortly.

    The vigers were all busy serving and waiting on the soldiers. None of them noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Chi Guyan¡¯s arrival. However, Chi Guyan¡¯s attire was too outstanding. It simply did not fit in with the vigers.

    When they arrived at the outskirts of the square, they were finally noticed.

    "Ayy? Why is there an academic... ah! This is... oh my god, Zhengzhi is back?!" A voice rang out in shock and joy.

    The voice was rather soft considering the loud noises in the square. However, its impact was quite stunning. More and more people began to notice...

    "It¡¯s Zhengzhi!"

    "Why is Zhengzhi back all of a sudden?!"

    "Oh my god, Zhengzhi is back!"

    The voices ovepped and attracted the attention of all the vigers. Before long, all the vigers stopped what they were doing and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in surprise.

    "Zheng Er, it¡¯s Zheng Er, Zheng Er is back!" Qin Xuelian, who was holding a pot of wine next to the center table, eximed.

    Her body began to tremble as a smile broke out on her exquisite face.

    During the past few months, Qin Xuelian had been looking forward to this moment. She had missed her son so much.

    Excitement and surprise caused Qin Xuelian to flush.

    So much so she forgot about the pot of wine she was holding in her hand.

    "Smack!"

    The pot of wine fell on the table, flipping over tes and bowls. The wine happened to ssh on a 40 year old soldier. That man happened to be the leader.

    His expression darkened instantly.

    "Bloody b*tch,e quickly and clean up the mess you made!" The leader looked on unhappily.

    Qin Xuelian did not hear the leader¡¯smands. All she saw was her son returning. Everything else was secondary to her.

    Ignoring the bellows of the leader, Qin Xuelian rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Houde rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    Fang Houde was sitting near the outside. He wore a ck cloth shirt and looked rather frail. However, he brightened up upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Why is Zhenger...." Before Fang Houde could finish, he found that the atmosphere was changing. He turned his head and saw that all of the soldiers had stood up.

    "Crash!"

    With a crash of armor, over a dozen soldiers left their seats furiously. They looked at Qin Xuelian, who was stunned by what was happening.

    "Did you not hear what our leader said? Go clean up your mess!" One of the soldiers ced his hand on the hilt of his sword as he red at Qin Xuelian.

    "Soldier master, please do not be angered. Xuelian was too excited by her son¡¯s return. It was an honest mistake, an honest mistake..." Zhang Yangping, who was also seated at the center table, stepped out and apologized to the soldiers.

    "Oh please! Who hasn¡¯t had a son who left for work. If not for the fact that Li Xiantai had spoken up for you all, do you think that you would have the opportunity to go in and out of the vige? This is a favour from our leader. Do you think other viges have such privileges? We have already done so much for you all, don¡¯t take advantage of us!" The soldier said haughtily.

    "Yes yes yes, I will personally clean it for you!" Zhang Yangping walked towards the leader. However, he did not have a handkerchief. As he walked, he kept searching for a cloth.

    "Scram to the side. Our leader has made it clear that he wants that b*tch to clean it up!" The soldiermanded.

    "Hahaha..." All of the soldiers looked at Qin Xuelian and smirked with lust.

    Qin Xuelian was rooted to the ground. In that moment, she had no idea what to do.

    She had never been forced into this position before. More importantly, she was about to be taken advantage of in front of her son.

    In that instant, she blushed...

    Fang Houde clenched his fists tightly. How can he call himself a man if he can¡¯t even protect his wife?

    Just because he was a loyal citizen didn¡¯t mean that he had to take the soldiers¡¯ humiliation.

    They may be backward, but they were righteous.

    Even so, he could not possibly put the vige in danger simply because he was angry. After all, they were soldiers of the Great Xia Empire. Attacking them would be akin to a rebellion.

    Even though he was furious, he could not attack them.

    In an instant, Fang Houde pushed past the soldiers blocking Qin Xuelian. He hugged Qin Xuelian, fiercely protective of her.

    One of the soldiers was nearly pushed to the ground.

    That soldier waspletely embarrassed. He looked at Fang Houde, then back at hismander.

    Themander was slightly stunned by what he saw.

    A viger actually dares to go against the Great Xia Dynasty army? How audacious!

    Even though Li Xiantai had told him that the Northern Mountain Vige was special, themander did not think that they could go up against the army.

    Now that they had set up camp here, they had to find a way to subdue the vigers. How else was he going to maintain his reputation?

    His eyes glimmered icily.

    It would all be fine as long as no lives were taken.

    "Know your ce!" Themander bellowed.

    Upon hearing theirmander speak, all of the soldiers instantly knew what to do. He was going to make an example of Fang Houde. They could beat him till they were happy, so long as he did not die.

    "Oh? I knew that the vigers are all troublemakers! Brothers, beat him up! Make sure he learns his lesson!" The soldier did not hold back any longer.

    He had decided to make an example of this audacious viger. He wanted all the vigers to know who was boss now.

    "What did you say?"

    After the soldier gave themand, a voice rang out next to him.

    He was stunned. It felt like the voice hade from right next to him. More importantly, the voice was icy, bone chillingly icy.

 Chapter 236: Killing in a fit of rage

    Chapter 236: Killing in a fit of rage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I said, make sure he..." The soldier unconsciously turned to his back. He realized that there was a youth standing by his side.

    The youth was dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt. He still looked quite immature and couldn¡¯t be more than 15 or 16 years old.

    He had been staying in the Northern Mountain Vige for more than a month but he had never seen this youth. This youth must be the "Zhengzhi" the vigers have been talking about.

    Why would he be by my side all of a sudden?

    He was clearly at the perimeter of the square just moments ago.

    There were at least a few hundred meters between the edge and the middle of the square. More importantly, the square was filled with tables and vigers.

    How did he manage to get here so quickly...

    Just as the soldier was preparing to bellow, he felt his throat contract. When he looked down, he saw a hand gripping his neck. Then, he felt his legs lift off the ground.

    This made him immensely ufortable. He was finding it difficult to breathe.

    He wanted to move, but he waspletely immobilized. He felt like there was an invisible force restricting his every movement. He could not even blink.

    "Stop that!" Themander stood up ferociously and put his hand up. His face was flushed from all the drinking, but his eyes were filled with anger.

    His hand was ced on the hilt of his sword. He was threatening to pull it out at any moment.

    "Zheng Er, don¡¯t do it!" Qin Xuelian waspletely shocked by the scene unfolding before her eyes.

    "Ah, Zheng Er... release him quickly. Don¡¯t interfere in this. I am tough and can take a beating!" Fang Houde shouted from the side.

    "Zhengzhi!" Zhang Yangping also chimed in. He quickly turned to themander, "General Wang, this is a misunderstanding. Zhengzhi has just returned and doesn¡¯t know anything. I have some silver that I will use to procure better wine for you all. Please be merciful and let Zhengzhi off..."

    "Uncle Yangping!" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Zhang Yangping as he tightened his grip.

    The soldier who was suspended in the air turned pale as his lips turned purple. His eyes were bloodshot and looked like they were about to pop out at any second. He was being asphyxiated.

    "Young man, how dare you go against the army?" Themander looked on at his suffocating subordinate and tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

    At this point, a white figure walked out from behind Fang Zhengzhi and approached Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde. It was Chi Guyan.

    "Hello uncle and auntie!" Chi Guyan bowed slightly to Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian, almost like she was greeting her elders.

    This seemed very normal to the people of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, if people who knew Chi Guyan saw it, they would bepletely awestruck. Since when did the arrogant Chi Guyan ever bow to anyone?

    This was something that even the Emperor did not have the privilege of experiencing.

    "Ah? It¡¯s Guyan... you¡¯re here too? Ask Zhengzhi to put that man down!" Qin Xuelian looked at Chi Guyan in shock and embarrassment.

    She was a guest who had travelled a great distance to be here. Furthermore, she was a guest that Qin Xuelian liked. It was quite an embarrassment to her for Chi Guyan to witness this.

    "No worries, just let him settle this. Uncle, Auntie, let me apany you over there." Chi Guyan pulled Qin Xuelian by the arm and led her to the side.

    Qin Xuelian did not really understand what Chi Guyan was saying. However, she trusted Chi Guyan. She did not want to leave, but she was pulled to the side by Chi Guyan.

    "Who are you?!" For the first time ever, themander was being ignored. He waspletely furious at being ignored by two people at the same time.

    "Is it important?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Oh please, if my guess is correct, you must be the little boy who passed the provincial examinations? I never expected you to be so young. Even so, do you know what you¡¯re doing now? Going against the army is the equivalent of rebelling! If you let the man go now and kowtow to us in apology, I will forget that this ever happened!"

    Themander¡¯s eyes glowed icily. He knew that there was a youth who had passed the provincial examinations. But, so what?

    They were ordered to set up camp at the Northern Mountain Vige. They were in charge of the logistics at Cang Ling Mountain. Their orders hade from the headquarters. Who was this young man to question the army?

    The army was a powerful entity!

    "Kowtow and apologize?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as his grip tightened even more. "You are merely taking advantage of your position in the army to bully the vigers. Scum like you deserve to be executed!"

    "Executed?! Hahaha... you won¡¯t be so audacious! He is a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even if you passed the Imperial Examinations and was made an official, killing a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty is punishable by death!" Themander chuckled icily.

    He could feel the iciness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice. However, he did not believe that a youth fresh out of the provincial examinations would dare to kill a soldier.

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be brash!" When Zhang Yangping heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, he waspletely stunned. He could understand what Fang Zhengzhi was feeling.

    He must be enraged seeing his parents being bullied.

    However, he would destroy his future if he killed this soldier. He was the pride and hope of the Northern Mountain Vige. Zhang Yangping was not going to stand idly by and watch him destroy his own future.

    All of the other vigers were in chaos. Fang Zhengzhi was only right to protect Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde. However, he was going against the Great Xia Dynasty Army.

    He was going against a military order.

    If Fang Zhengzhi really killed the soldier, what was going to happen to them?

    "Let him go!"

    "If you don¡¯t let him go, we will deal with you severely!"

    All of the soldiers bellowed. They did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would kill a soldier in a fit of anger.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious. However, havinge from a peaceful world before, killing was always difficult for him. It was something that he did not want to do.

    Right now, he did not think of killing the soldier either.

    However, when he looked at the tables around him, the wave of fury consumed him.

    He saw that the main table was given wine and meat, whilst the other tables were given measly dishes.

    The dishes were clearly of different standards.

    The discrimination was clear.

    He had never felt such pure, unadulterated rage...

    Everyone was supposed to be equal, but was that the case? In the face of the soldiers, the vigers were all prey, having to give up the best that they had to the soldiers.

    They also had to be thankful for the ¡¯privileges¡¯ that the soldiers orded to them.

    How ironic.

    "This boy has an intent to rebel. He has attacked a soldier, capture him!" Themanderughed icily seeing that Fang Zhengzhi had ignored them. This fe dares to defy the army just because he passed the provincial exams?

    Upon hearing the order, dozens of soldiers leapt into action.

    All of them attacked Fang Zhengzhi.

    Each soldier held a sword in his hand. Each of their swords glimmered with an icy glow. Their form of capture involved a vicious beating before handing Fang Zhengzhi over to the military courts.

    They were too close.

    The moment they took out their swords, the tip was already at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi had many ways to block their attack.

    However, upon considering the views of the vigers, he suppressed his anger and subconsciously stepped back.

    He also released his grip on the soldier.

    Little did he expect that the soldier would lunge towards him, sword drawn, immediately after he was released.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered a phrase.

    Nice people finishst!

    He had only wanted to teach these bullies a lesson. However, he never expected that they would want to kill him when he did not want to kill them.

    "Die!" Fang Zhengzhi could not hold it in any longer. In fact, he did not see a need to hold it in any longer.

    A few hours ago, Fang Zhengzhi had met a simr problem at Huai An County.

    He had barged through the blockade. He should have been beheaded there and then.

    At that time, he had asked for Chi Guyan¡¯s opinion. However, this time, he did not. There was no need to.

    Everyone had a pressure point.

    Fang Zhengzhi included. His pressure point was Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian, and the Northern Mountain Vige.

    He could not stand idly by as his family and fellow vigers were bullied. No child in the world would watch his or her parents get bullied without doing anything.

    Kill!

    In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi moved forward.

    His hand was outstretched.

    "Snap!" A crisp sound rang out.

    The soldier who was being strangled stared at Fang Zhengzhi. He had never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would have the audacity to kill him! Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had done it so openly and without hesitation.

    He was a member of the Great Xia Dynasty Army!

    He was a subordinate of the general!

    Where did someone who had not even be an official get this courage from?!

    He could not figure it out. However, his neck was already broken. He could no longer breathe and the life slowly faded from his eyes. Finally, his head cocked to one side and his eyes rolled into his head...

    Fang Zhengzhi released his grip.

    The soldier¡¯s body crumpled to the ground. His body was faced towards Qin Xuelian as it fell.

    This was the second time Fang Zhengzhi had killed.

    The first time was when he had used the Traceless Sword to kill Ying Shan. He had no choice then. This was the first time he had made a conscious decision to kill.

    However, he had no regrets.

    In that instant, all of the attacking soldiers stood rooted to the ground. Even themander himself was in disbelief. Fang Zhengzhi had the audacity to antagonize the army?

    He even killed a soldier?!

    All of the vigers were stunned by what they saw.

    "Zhengzhi killed someone!"

    "He killed a soldier!"

    "What are we going to do?!"

    All of the vigers were at a loss.

    Themander was furious.

    "Shing!"

    With a swift pull, he drew his de. Never in his life had he been humiliated this way. Furthermore, he was being humiliated by a 15 year old.

    "Shing!"

    "Shing!"

    "..."

    All of the other soldiers drew their des as theirmander drew his. All of their eyes were filled with anger and shock.

    They were taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    Actions and words werepletely two different things.

    Fang Zhengzhi may have said it, but no one believed that he would do it. No one thought that he would kill a soldier in the face of hundreds more. Could anyone be more audacious?

    "How dare you rebel!" Themander bellowed. He knew that there was no point asking Fang Zhengzhi to kowtow and apologize. The army¡¯s reputation and prowess must not be damaged.

    If a teenager who had just passed the provincial examinations could kill a soldier in a fit of rage, what was the army for?

    Now that Fang Zhengzhi had killed, he had to find a way to pin a charge on Fang Zhengzhi that would ensure his execution. Rebellion! That was the most severe charge!

 Chapter 237: Bathing deep inside Cang Ling Mountain

    Chapter 237: Bathing deep inside Cang Ling Mountain

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Almost a hundred soldiers drew their swords as they stared down Fang Zhengzhi. They were all intent on killing him, and they were extremely overbearing.

    All of the vigers began to plead upon seeing this.

    "Commander sir, please no, please don¡¯t kill Zhengzhi..."

    "Zhengzhi, apologize to themander, tell him that you have no intention to rebel!"

    As vigers who had never been out, the Great Xia Dynasty Army was a godlike entity. No one thought that Fang Zhengzhi could go up against that.

    The entire scene erupted in chaos.

    Elderlies,dies, kids, were all nervous. Some were on the verge of tears, some others tried to use their bodies to block the path of the soldiers.

    No matter what Fang Zhengzhi just did, they all treated him as their family. No one wanted to see anything untoward happen to him.

    Chi Guyan looked at the fallen soldier calmly. She did not seem surprised, neither did she try to stop Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Kill!" Themander lowered his sword and bellowed. He prepared to kill this audacious teen in front of him.

    But...

    At this point, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. This figure was dressed in a blue long sleeved shirt which pped in the wind. His expression was icy. He ignored themander.

    Themander could not believe his eyes.

    He knew that his opponent was fast, but he did not expect him to be that fast. More importantly, he felt a strong suppressive force on his body.

    This was not an aura.

    This was actual suppression. He could feel and see the mountains and trees moving to suppress his every movement.

    "Area of control!"

    "Mountains and vines!"

    "He¡¯s... he¡¯s in the Heavenly Reflection State?! How can this be? He can¡¯t be more than 15 years old. Zhengzhi... they call him Zhengzhi... he, he¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?! The second person after Chi Guyan to attain the Heavenly Reflection State below the age of 18! He¡¯s the top performing candidate at the River of Trust Province Examinations!"

    In an instant, themander finally knew who was the youth standing in front of him.

    He had received the order to enter the Northern Mountain Vige over a month ago. Even though he did not know how Fang Zhengzhi did in the imperial examinations, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breakthrough at the Divine Constabry wasmon knowledge.

    Whenbined with what the vigers called him, it was not difficult to deduce who this youth was.

    It was a pity...

    He realized it toote.

    He began to sweat profusely.

    He may be the leader of over a hundred soldiers, but he was just amander in charge of logistics. He was not even finished with the Divine Seal State.

    As for the soldiers around him, they were just strong individuals. There were less than three cultivators amongst them.

    A hundred ordinary soldiers against a Heavenly Reflection State powerhouse.

    There was only one way this ended...

    Death!

    "Oh my god!" Themander screamed and fell to his knees. He was being forced downwards by the pressure from the mountains. In that instant, he felt all his energy dissipate.

    His heart had been pierced.

    "Plonk!"

    Themander fell to the ground, still in disbelief.

    How can amander like myself die here? He could not believe that the Northern Mountain Vige talent was Fang Zhengzhi.

    If he had known this earlier, he would never have allowed his subordinates to do what they did.

    However, there were no second chances.

    This may be Heaven¡¯s will.

    When someone is of poor character, karma would eventually catch up with him. It was just like how one¡¯s shoes would get wet if they always walked by the river.

    All of the other soldiers were also rooted to the ground. They too were being surrounded by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s area of control.

    "Heavenly... Heavenly Reflection?!"

    As soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty, they were trained to not fear death. However, that did not mean that they would willingly send themselves to their own deaths.

    Furthermore, theirmander had already died.

    None of them dared to act without direct orders.

    All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi in fear.

    At this moment, all of the soldiers looked to each other, all of them trembling in their spots.

    "ng!"

    A crisp ng rang out as a de was dropped on the floor.

    Then another one, and another one...

    Before long, all of the hundred soldiers hadid down their weapons.

    The vigers were in shock and awe. They were shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed and ability. Furthermore, they were in awe at themander¡¯sck of fight when Fang Zhengzhi appeared next to him.

    More importantly, all of the surrounding soldiers did not move.

    It felt like they were cemented to the ground. It was a little strange...

    "How... how powerful?! Is that really Zhengzhi? Why is he so powerful..." All of the vigers were in shock.

    This youth had lived with them for eight years.

    However, he had demonstrated abilities that none of them had ever seen before.

    "Zheng Er..." Qin Xuelian was happily surprised. Even so, she was worried for her son.

    Fang Houde was also in awe. He knew that his son was strong, but he did not know exactly how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was. Fang Zhengzhi rarely showed his powers in public.

    He finally knew today.

    But he was at a loss after seeing the results.

    "How long have you all been in the Northern Mountain Vige?" Fang Zhengzhi did not move anymore, staring calmly at the trembling soldiers.

    "We... we have been here... one... one month..." One of the soldiers stammered.

    "One month!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned icy, "So, you have had one months worth of meat and wine whilst my vigers have eaten one month of vegetables and drank in water?"

    "Yes, yes... this was themand given to us, we... we..." All of the soldiers paled.

    "Young master Fang, please have mercy!"

    "Young master Fang, we... we may have eaten well this one month, but we did notmit any heinous crimes... we don¡¯t deserve to die! Oh yes, and we gave the vigers the token for them to move freely in an out of Huai An County!"

    All of the soldiers fell to their knees.

    "Zhengzhi, what they said is true. Now that themander is dead, show them some mercy!" Zhang Yangping ran to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side and advised upon seeing the situation.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Zhang Yangping was thinking. The vigers have always been simple people.

    If he killed all the soldiers and ran the rivers red with their blood, it would cast a shadow over all of the vigers¡¯ hearts.

    He had killed themander precisely for that reason. By killing themander, he could prevent a massacre.

    "Scram!"

    ...

    The hundred strong army got out of the vige overnight. They lugged the two bodies along. Each one of them was pale, almost as if they had just experienced a catastrophe.

    "Brother Zhang... what... what are we going to do now?"

    "I never expected that the person in the Northern Mountain Vige was actually Fang Zhengzhi! And he is so audacious! We had been ordered to set up camp at the Northern Mountain Vige to provide logistical support for the army. Now that Fang Zhengzhi has chased us out and killed ourmander, we have to report this to General Liu!"

    "There are over ten thousand soldiers on Cang Ling Mountain alone. I don¡¯t think he can defeat us all, even with his powers.

    "Rest assured. Even if Fang Zhengzhi dares to kill us all, the army will never let him off!"

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    ...

    The Northern Mountain Vige was calm once again.

    However, a shadow was still cast over them. It felt like arge mountain was pressing down on the Northern Mountain Vige. The vigers felt that it was slightly difficult to breathe.

    The Snow Treading Dragon Stallion and the Scarlet me Snow Cloud were grazing on grass in the courtyard.

    Inside the room, fourmps were lit, instantly brightening up the entire room.

    Qin Xuelian stroked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, her eyes filled with motherly care.

    Fang Houde sat by the side, his expressionplicated.

    Zhang Yangping was also extremely worried. He paced up and down, sighing intermittently.

    "Zhengzhi, you were too rash this time. They were ordered by the military to be here. Now that you have chased them out of the vige, the army will definitely know about this."

    "Oh? Uncle Yangping, you know about the army?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Zhang Yangping in surprise.

    "You... aish! Why aren¡¯t you worried?" Zhang Yangping was taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. If he wasn¡¯t this worried, he may haveughed in exasperation.

    "Father, mother, I have already passed the imperial examinations. I also topped the theory examinations. Aren¡¯t I good?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Zhang Yangping and turned to Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    "Don¡¯t try to console us. If you¡¯ve passed the imperial examinations, why is there no announcer with you?" Zhang Yangping interrupted.

    "There was a problem during thebat examinations, so there will be a retest. The announcement would probablye after the retest!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Zhengzhi, I have watched you grow up. I know what you¡¯re thinking. You must be saying this to ay our fears? Are you going to tell us that you¡¯ve been made an official? Are you going to be the governor of Huai An County next month?"

    "Uncle Yangping, I can tell that you know me very well. I have been made an official, but I am not the governor of Huai An County. I am the Sword Envoy... I even have the official seal to prove it!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and retrieved an exquisitely carved rosewood box.

    The rosewood box had a carving of a sword on the top side. On each of the four sides of the rosewood box were the words Great Xia Dynasty.

    "You have the audacity to forge an official seal?!" Zhang Yangping was shocked when he saw the rosewood box.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he saw the looks of horror on Zhang Yangping, Qin Xuelian, and Fang Houde.

    "Dad, mom... do you all not believe me too?"

    "Of course we don¡¯t believe you! Zheng Er... even though we will miss you, you should run away whilst is dark. When the army gets here and can¡¯t find you, they can¡¯t do anything to us either.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Where is the trust between humans? My own parents don¡¯t believe me? I guess I can¡¯t tell the truth!

    "I heard that Cang Ling Mountain has been sealed?" Fang Zhengzhi decided to change the topic.

    "Yes, every vige in an 18 mile radius has been affected. The Southern Mountain Vige, the Western River Vige... they have all be bases for the army. Our vige has had it easy. Even though we have to help out with carrying some things here and there, we have it much better than the other viges."

    The moment he heard about the sealing of the mountain, Zhang Yangping frowned. The vige had suffered huge losses from the sealing of the mountain.

    "Does Uncle Yangping know why the mountain has been sealed?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "I heard that it is to catch a ferocious beast. Now the entire mountain is swarming with soldiers. There is a blockade at every mile, and a sentry every ten steps. The seal is extremely tight."

    "Are there any weak spots?"

    "We have gone through the mountain roads two times each day to get to Huai An County. It seems like the area where we have set up our traps is slightly less tight." Zhang Yangping replied after some thought. Then, his eyes glimmered, "Why don¡¯t you hide out there for a couple of days? Sometimes the most dangerous ces are the safest. Didn¡¯t you tell us that?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    "Uncle Yangping, I have some ideas to better our vige. However, we need to discuss the building of such infrastructure with all the other viges. Furthermore, I need Cang Ling Mountain as a base. I would like to go see the situation there." Fang Zhengzhi decided to tell the truth once again.

    "Okay okay, go ahead. You can go right now!" Zhang Yangping seemed to understand. Then, he reminded, "Remember to hide at the area where we set up our traps. As for your meals, I will personally send them to you!"

    For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to talk to Zhang Yangping. However, he could understand what Zhang Yangping, Fang Houde, and Qin Xuelian were feeling.

    "I¡¯m tired!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed and prepared to change.

    "I¡¯ve already changed, when are we leaving?" A voice rang out from inside the house.

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised when he heard this voice. He knew that it was Chi Guyan, but, why would Chi Guyan want to follow him into the mountains?

    Ever since he sparred with Chi Guyan eight years ago...

    He had not seen Chi Guyan reveal her abilities. Little did he think that he could see them again today.

    Eight years...

    She was the leader on two of the dragon rolls. She was also the top talent of the Great Xia Dynasty and his opponent two years from now. How powerful was she now? Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "We can leave once I¡¯ve changed!"

    "Mm." Came the reply from inside the house.

    Then, a figure walked out. Chi Guyan had changed.

    She wore a body hugging ck leather suit. It covered Chi Guyan from top to bottom. There were tough scales on the ck leather. An expensive belt wrapped around her waist and a leather hat adorned her head.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Chi Guyan dress up in many ways before.

    But, he had never seen such an animalistic side of her.

    Her animalistic dressing and her starry eyes seemed to dim down the ridiculously bright room instantly.

    Is this the leather ck suit?

    As the heir to the Divine Constabry, one could only wonder what hide this suit was made of. It looked quite tough.

    Hang on...

    Something was amiss.

    Chi Guyan had specially followed him all the way to the Northern Lands and the Northern Mountain Vige. Now, she is offering to follow him to Cang Ling Mountain, and had prepared the suit for the expedition way in advance.

    Chi Guyan had nned for this all along.

    Cang Ling Mountain?!

    Her aim was Cang Ling Mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. Cang Ling Mountain had been sealed and the entire Huai An County was swarming with soldiers. All of the viges have been used as supply points.

    Is it really just for a beast?

    What kind of beast required such manpower and resources? Even if it was a powerful beast, a single elite from the empire would be much better than an entire army.

    Why did they have to seal Cang Ling Mountain.

    Why did Chi Guyan have toe personally?

    Something is definitely amiss.

    There¡¯s definitely something that I don¡¯t know.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he thought about this.

    "You¡¯re... unfamiliar with Cang Ling Mountain, right?"

    "Hmm?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glimmered as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She instantly knew what Fang Zhengzhi meant. "I am unfamiliar with Cang Ling Mountain, but this does not mean I can¡¯t get in."

    "Yes, you can definitely enter Cang Ling Mountain, but... can you get to the center?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "And you can?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glowed even brighter as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Would you believe me if I told you that I took a bath there every month for six years?"

 Chapter 238: Chi Guyanâ€™s abilities

    Chapter 238: Chi Guyan¡¯s abilities

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi said confidently and with a slight challenge in his voice.

    Chi Guyan was solemn when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    Cang Ling Mountain was one of the ancient mountains of the Great Xia Dynasty. It had almost 10,000 years of history, and was more ancient than the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Just because they had conquered thend did not mean that they had finished exploring every part of it.

    Cang Ling Mountain was something like this. It was a mystery, an unexplored mystery. No one knew what kind of beasts were in there, or how many there were.

    Humans had trained some ferocious beasts to boost the army. However, the truly ferocious ones were all intelligent, why would they be subservient to humans?

    These beasts stayed in deep inside the mountains, eating the treasures of thend as they strengthened themselves and understood the Dao of their surroundings. Frequent battle built their cruelty and savagery. They were incredibly powerful and even the Emperor, the Four Sages, and the 13 Constabries would not go up against them willfully.

    Normally...

    These most ferocious beasts would stay at the pinnacle of the mountain. Much like their human counterparts, they liked the high ground.

    As such, the danger levels there were obvious.

    Cang Ling Mountain had existed for many years. As such, the beasts who ruled thend were powerful beyond imagination. Some of them may even be heritage worthy.

    Chi Guyan did not believe that a sane human would dare to venture into the center of Cang Ling Mountain. Furthermore, why would he dare to do something so audacious as taking a bath...

    But, this was Fang Zhengzhi.

    This made her think, Could it be possible that this shameless boy had a way to sneak into the center of the Mountain? How does he do it?

    "Can you really get to the middle of Cang Ling Mountain?" Chi Guyan spoke again after a moment of silence.

    "I just asked you if you believe me!" Fang Zhengzhi replied tly.

    "I believe you!" Chi Guyan¡¯s heart fluttered.

    "Aish... I never thought that you could be so naive. I guess I must have overestimated you. Get to the center of Cang Ling Mountain? You believe a statement that we use to bluff three year olds?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked, then bolted into this room.

    He left Chi Guyan rooted to the spot, staring at his silhouette...

    "Shameless!"

    ...

    Inside an ancient residence in Huai An County.

    Ady in green was pacing about frantically. She passed through a door and arrived at a loft.

    "Master!"

    "What¡¯s up?" A crisp voice came from inside the loft.

    "We have finished setting up at Cang Ling Mountain. "The Vast World" can be activated at any time!" Thedy in green was visibly excited when she said "The Vast World".

    "Is there any news about Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "To reply master, Fang Zhengzhi arrived in the city today. He left after a quick meal. He should be at the Northern Mountain Vige by now." Thedy in green replied promptly.

    "Mm, if he is going back to find his rtives, he should be going to pray to his ancestors tomorrow morning. Send the order, activate "The Vast World" tonight!"

    "Yes!"

    Thedy in green disappeared in a sh.

    Ady stood by the window of the loft. Her gaze was locked on the mountains in the distance.

    "Everything will be a done deal after tonight. The Stabilisation Constabry is in shackles. The only variable is Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan... if you all can¡¯t even get into the Vast World, how are you going to save the Stabilisation Constabry?"

    ...

    There was a path from the Northern Mountain Vige that led straight to Cang Ling Mountain.

    This was a path chosen by hunters for many years. Just a couple of hours ago, this path was guarded by four soldiers.

    But now, they were gone.

    In order to enter Cang Ling Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi had to change his dress up. He could no longer wear that tiger hat. He chose a ck leather one instead.

    He also wore a tight fitting beast hide suit.

    All these years, Fang Zhengzhi had roamed the mountains. He had never stopped training, and he was rtively fit.

    However, his suit had significant wear and tear. The fur was gone in some portions, revealing some ugly spots. There were also spots that had been mended with cloth.

    It was a far cry from Chi Guyan¡¯s top grade suit.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not bothered by this.

    The dragon could not suppress a snake. Even if Chi Guyan was a dragon, this was his territory. All she could do was follow his instructions.

    "Do you know that you should walk on the left?"

    "Not the right?"

    "The right side is for outsiders. If you don¡¯t think it is of too much inconvenience, you can walk on the right. However, you must be prepared to face pitfalls every 10 steps."

    "Setting up traps based on the habits of others. This method is crude, but effective."

    "The vige people are actually quite ingenious. There are frequent battles amongst viges here. However, you will never understand this."

    Chi Guyan did not rebut. She may be a Heaven¡¯s Pride Talent and the most precious girl in the Divine Constabry. She may have studied the "Law of Dao" since a young age. She may be familiar with various military strategies.

    However, this did not mean that she understood human nature.

    This had nothing to do with intellect and ability.

    This was experience.

    Only those who grew up in the mountains would have this kind of experience. She did not have any of that. She was lucky that Fang Zhengzhi had such experience. However, that was also a curse.

    However, this internal conflict was easily resolved.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s experience allowed him to understand the battles of the viges, and also allowed him to know the area. As such, he walked quickly, like a leopard prowling its territory for prey.

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised to see that Chi Guyan matched his speed, her eyes glimmering brighter with each step.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand this.

    He walked quickly because he knew the area well. He knew where there were rocks in the way, or vines on the ground. He knew where to take small steps, where to takerge strides, where to duck, where to jump...

    But... Chi Guyan did not.

    Despite this, Chi Guyan matched Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed, following closely behind.

    The two of them navigated the mountain paths, hidden amongst the trees.

    When he was young, Fang Zhengzhi followed the hunters up the hill. The journey would take over four hours to get to the outskirts of the mountain. Now that he was unrestrained, the journey took less than an hour.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped.

    When he stopped, he turned to look behind him.

    He saw that Chi Guyan was still behind him, her eyes glimmering as brightly as before, her suit still without a speck of dust.

    Her expression was as calm as ake, her skin glowing subtly. She was not panting, neither was she sweating. It was almost as if she had just taken a walk in the park.

    Fang Zhengzhi only took a single nce at Chi Guyan.

    His ego had been damaged slightly. He was running the entire time, why is Chi Guyan able to follow?

    So easily at that!

    This was his territory!

    Is the difference in our abilities really so great?

    This girl...

    Is he even human?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not believe his eyes. If this was Yan Xiu, he would definitely have questioned him.

    But, this was Chi Guyan.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose not to ask. One of the reasons why was because he saw a fire nearby. The sparks lit up the night sky.

    In the middle of the light was an armored soldier. He paced around solemnly with a spear in his hand.

    This was clearly a military camp.

    This was also a reason why Fang Zhengzhi had stopped. From what he saw, it looked like Cang Ling Mountain had been surrounded by arge army.

    However, based on the direction andyout of their camp...

    There was something visibly wrong.

    If they were just here to capture a beast, then the movements would be more frequent and the camp would be a temporary one. Itsyout may be orderly, but definitely nowhere near as ordered as the one in front of his eyes.

    Furthermore, there was a two meter high barricade around it.

    This was clearly a permanent camp.

    "Let¡¯s go around it?" Fang Zhengzhi asked. He was not too afraid of this army camp. However, ording to Zhang Yangping, the mountain was surrounded. This was definitely not the only camp.

    The moment they were spotted by one camp, they would trigger a chain reaction. All of the soldiers would start treating him as an assassin. That would not be good.

    "The army camp is 537 meters wide and 425 meters deep. Based on the coverage of the fire and the seven hidden guards, it would take us at least 15 minutes to go around it." Chi Guyan murmured.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother asking Chi Guyan why.

    This was not difficult. Each pole that made up the barricade was of simr length, and it was just estimation as to how many there were.

    He could have just as easily calcted the area of the camp. However, he had never measures the poles in this world, making his calction significantly less urate than Chi Guyan¡¯s.

    "And so?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "We will take less than five minutes if we went right through." Chi Guyan was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi did not ask her how she did it. This was mutual understanding between people of simr intellect.

    This may also be a reason why Chi Guyan was so arrogant.

    She could figure out so many things whilst the people around her could not. In such situations, choosing not to exin may be easier than exining.

    This ego massage would make someone more arrogant.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan meant. They would take much less than five minutes to cover that distance.

    Her five minutes included breaking through the door, knocking out the guards, and breaking out the other side...

    Amongst otherplicated procedures.

    "Ladies first!" Fang Zhengzhi invited Chi Guyan to take point.

    "Do you believe me if I my estimate of five minutes was for you?" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly.

    "No!" Fang Zhengzhi was not falling for it. He had used this trick so many times. Do you think you¡¯re going to get me with the same trick?

    He would never reply yes.

    "Then follow closely." Chi Guyan was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response. She smiled faintly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was just about to reply "how close" when his eyes widened. For the first time, he was made to swallow his words.

    What he was witnessing was utterly breathtaking.

    Under the light of the fires, a smirking Chi Guyan shot towards the army camp, her eyes glimmering like stars in the night sky

    Her speed was so quick it was terrifying.

    It felt like a meteor had brushed past Fang Zhengzhi and was headed straight for the camp.

    If even Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time, how could the two ordinary guards react in time?

    "Smack smack!" Two soft smacks rang out. The two soldiers stood rooted to the ground, stunned by what the just experienced. They looked like two statues in front of the camp.

    It was ridiculously fast.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Nangong Mu¡¯s speed in the World of the Sage. He was at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. However, Nangong Mu was like a kid in the face of Chi Guyan.

    Why is Chi Guyan so fast? They are in the same realm, why is there such a huge difference in their abilities?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling that Chi Guyan was even slightly faster than Ying Shan.

    It did not seem very possible, but the truth wasid out for him to see.

    Even so...

    This was not the most stunning thing. Fang Zhengzhi was stunned to see that Chi Guyan¡¯s feet had not moved at all.

    She was not walking, or jumping, or floating. She was moving...

    She had moved from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side to the entrance of the camp.

    "F*ck... me! A flying goddess... does she need to be this ridiculous?"

 Chapter 239: Overtake

    Chapter 239: Overtake

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by this.

    The Dao of all Creation was extremely cryptic and embodied the constant changes in the world. However, there were still rules that governed it. For example, for one to ride the wind, one had to go in the direction of the winds.

    One could not simply fly in a desired direction.

    That was simply ridiculous.

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he was already quite powerful. He had topped both the County and Provincial Examinations easily.

    He also topped the theory portion of the imperial examinations.

    After seeing Xing Qingsui¡¯s and Nangong Mu¡¯s abilities in thebat examination, he knew that it would be difficult to top thebat examinations.

    Even so, he had confidence to rank in the top three.

    With such a smooth sailing journey, it was inevitable that he would be a little arrogant. However, after seeing Chi Guyan¡¯s strange powers...

    He finally understood why all of the officials in the Divine Constabry and the capital were in disbelief when he said that he would defeat Chi Guyan in two years.

    The top ranked individual on two dragon rolls.

    Just a year ago, Chi Guyan had attained the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State at 13, surpassing all the other talents under 18.

    There were no less than 15 pinnacle Heavenly Reflection cultivators on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    They were all in the same cultivation state, but their abilities were vastly different.

    Furthermore, this was a year ago. Over the past year, Chi Guyan had not involved herself in the affairs of the world. She had focused on cultivating all this time. How powerful was she now?

    No one knew.

    He was slightly exasperated and heartbroken.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi would not give up so easily. A battle did not depend solely on abilities. n, strategy, technique, all yed an important role.

    For example, if he could not beat her with just his hands, he would use his feet, or secret weapons, powder, etc. He could use them at the most critical moments. If all else fails...

    He could use his teeth!

    This was scientifically proven. In his previous world, one of the fighting champions had used this method to great effect. Imagine this, two people are fighting when all of a sudden, one of them opens his mouth wide. This would surprise his opponent and render him unable to defend in time.

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask Chi Guyan how she did it. But, he had to keep up first...

    Follow closely.

    Chi Guyan was already through the main door of the camp. She was already about to disappear.

    Fang Zhengzhi charged towards the camp like an agile leopard. Even though he was nowhere near as quick as Chi Guyan, he did notg far behind.

    Furthermore, Chi Guyan had to despatch the sentries as she went along. This slowed her down and gave Fang Zhengzhi a chance to catch up.

    Before long.

    He saw Chi Guyan once again.

    Chi Guyan rushing through an army camp was the soldiers¡¯ worst nightmare. Before they could react, they were suppressed by her.

    In the moment Chi Guyan passed them, they froze in their positions, just like what happened with the two guards at the main gate.

    "Dead? Or suppressed?"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not take a close look. His main objective was to follow closely behind Chi Guyan.

    "Quickly! Just a little quicker!" Fang Zhengzhi muttered encouragement to himself. He controlled the wind under his feet and swept through the camp.

    He was close!

    Fang Zhengzhi could see that he was closing in on Chi Guyan. His lips twitched in disdain. She isn¡¯t that fast after all...

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not have to go through the hassle of despatching all those soldiers. Hepletely ignored that fact at this point.

    "What if I overtake her? She would be so embarrassed..." Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about that, he smirked, "Just before I overtake her, I should smile and pat her on the shoulder. Then, I should give her a friendly greeting! That would drive the point home!"

    He began to think of Chi Guyan¡¯s reaction, making him smile even more radiantly than before.

    "I will make sure you will be... embarrassed!"

    He was getting close...

    He was getting really close!

    Fang Zhengzhi was so close to Chi Guyan that he could smell the fragrance she wore. His eyes glowed, almost like a wolf who had spotted its prey.

    "Okay, let¡¯s start with a greeting!"

    Fang Zhengzhi extended his hand and reached for Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder.

    "Haish, why are you so slow? I¡¯ll be on my way... f*ck... me!" Before Fang Zhengzhi could finish, he felt himself crash against her.

    He finally reached her!

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected that to happen, neither did he expect Chi Guyan to stop all of a sudden.

    But it happened.

    Chi Guyan had stopped all of a sudden. She had stopped with no warning or greeting.

    She was speeding away one moment, andpletely stationary the next.

    She looked like she was floating away elegantly one moment, and then it was almost as if time froze.

    Fang Zhengzhi was definitely not as elegant.

    He had calcted Chi Guyan¡¯s speed. He knew that he did not have to slow down when approaching her.

    Even if he went at full speed, he would require at least three seconds before he could slowly overtake Chi Guyan.

    What was even more shocking was that the moment Chi Guyan stopped, her aura seemed topletely vanish.

    If Chi Guyan was like an unsheathed sword previously, then she was like a bamboo shoot in the forest when she stopped.

    Fang Zhengzhi crashed right into her, pushing her into the ground.

    She did not even resist.

    He felt like he was lying on a soft sponge. She was soft and warm, but Fang Zhengzhi could not enjoy it. Chi Guyan turned around and stared at him.

    Her eyes continued to glimmer like stars in the sky, her gaze stilled filled with her congenital arrogance.

    But this was not the most important point.

    There was a trickle of red by Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth, and it stood out from her paleplexion. It was like a rose petal in a bed of snow.

    "She¡¯s injured?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi could not believe that Chi Guyan was injured. Did she injure herself? Or was it from the fall I caused?

    This did not seem quite possible. No matter how fast or powerful he was, Chi Guyan¡¯s abilities should have been sufficient to prevent her from getting injured.

    In the end...

    Before Fang Zhengzhi coulde to a conclusion, he heard Chi Guyan¡¯s voice.

    "What are you doing here?"

    The question was quite queer. Fang Zhengzhi was certain that Chi Guyan did not direct the question to him, but, who was she directing it to?

    He subconsciously raised his head.

    He suddenly realized that there was someone in front of Chi Guyan.

    This person was dressed in ordinary armor and wore the helmet of a Great Xia Dynasty soldier. This person did not look any different from any other soldier.

    However, this person had crystal clear eyes.

    Eyes as clear and pure as water.

    Fang Zhengzhi recognized these eyes. He had only seen one person in the Great Xia Dynasty with such clear eyes.

    That person was Ping Yang.

    "Sister Yan!" The crisp voice rang out, confirming Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suspicions. However, it also piqued his curiosity.

    Ping Yang?!

    "What are you doing here?" Fang Zhengzhi repeated Chi Guyan¡¯s question.

    What would a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty be doing in an ordinary army camp in Cang Ling Mountain?

    There was nothing more surprising than this.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not think of something more unbelievable.

    Why would Ping Yang, who was supposed to be in the capital, appear in the Northern Territories? Furthermore, why would she be in an army camp, and one that they were passing through?

    The probability of this happening was so incredibly slim it was almost negligible.

    "Oh? It is you? The shameless one?! Oh my god... why are you lying on Sister Yan, get up!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out again in displeasure.

    Fang Zhengzhi could hear what Ping Yang was driving at.

    Indeed.

    Even though what Ping Yang said was simple, it revealed that she had expected to see Chi Guyan here.

    How did Ping Yang know that he and Chi Guyan would be on Cang Ling Mountain today?

    That was impossible.

    This was ast minute decision. How could Ping Yang possibly have known about it? How could she have nned to be here beforehand?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask why.

    But now was clearly not the right time. They were still in an army camp.

    Furthermore...

    This was an army camp on high alert.

    If Chi Guyan had continued on at her speed, she could have shut each soldier up before they had the chance to speak.

    However, Chi Guyan was squashed underneath Fang Zhengzhi.

    The result was well within expectations.

    "We¡¯re under attack!"

    "Someone has sneaked up the mountain, lock the gates!"

    "If you see the intruder, kill him!"

    Voices rang out from all around them. In an instant, the entire camp sprang to life as soldiers rushed out from their tents.

    "Outrageous!" Ping Yang looked on haughtily, her arms akimbo.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi felt a powerful wave of force from beneath him. Then, his body was carried by this wave of force.

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    Chi Guyan carried Fang Zhengzhi as she left. Surprisingly, she did not me Fang Zhengzhi, instead, she carried him and Ping Yang and rushed out of the army camp.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to get a little suspicious.

    Why would a small army camp make Chi Guyan so nervous?

 Chapter 240: Sage

    Chapter 240: Sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had many questions that he wanted to ask. However, there somethings were more important than others.

    Whilst finding out why Ping Yang was in the camp and why Chi Guyan was so nervous was important, getting out of the camp was even more pressing.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had the responsibility to clear the path now that Chi Guyan was injured.

    However, Ping Yang didn¡¯t n to give him that chance. Even though a Star Conglomerate cultivator was not powerful in the imperial examinations, she was like a death god inside the army camp.

    "Hahaha... who dares to stand in my way!"

    Ping Yang was much less refined than Chi Guyan.

    She chuckled as she barged through the camp.

    Before long, Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, and Ping Yang had broken through the gates of the camp and dashed into the darkness...

    ...

    Night time on Cang Ling Mountain was not as serene as one would expect. People worked in the day whilst beasts roamed the night. Most of the carnivores were nocturnal creatures.

    Ever so often, one could hear the howls and roars of beasts, even the cries of prey. There were clearly some intense battles under the shroud of night.

    Fang Zhengzhi had hunted in thesends since he was seven. He knew it like the back of his hand.

    He was probably the most knowledgeable about this ce amongst everyone in all the surrounding viges. He knew where the beasts were and where it was safe.

    As a result, the three of them had a pretty smooth journey.

    The beasts that they met were all herbivorous. They only ones of concern were arge green horned goat. A visibly excited Ping Yang lunged and grabbed the goat, kicking it viciously...

    Before long, the green horned goat was knocked unconscious.

    Ping Yang was still uncontented.

    "The beasts on this mountain are too gentle. Are there no powerful ones?" Ping Yang was still unsatisfied as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi just gave her the middle finger.

    "Is your brain damaged?"

    "What do you mean?" Ping Yang fumed.

    Fang Zhengzhi simply looked at Ping Yang condescendingly, not bothering to exin it to her.

    Ping Yang pouted and readied herself to hit Fang Zhengzhi. However, upon seeing the paling Chi Guyan, she stopped herself.

    After barging through the army camp, they continued walking, almost to the edges of Cang Ling Mountain. During this time, Chi Guyan swallowed a green pill.

    Color rushed back to her face, but it was still much paler than before.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell from this that Chi Guyan had probably not entered the Supernatural State. If she had, why would she need the help of pills to heal?

    Even so, what had happened just now? Why was Chi Guyan injured all of a sudden? Furthermore, the injury looked quite severe...

    "Sister Yan, it¡¯s my fault. If not for the fact that I appeared all of a sudden and forced you to hold back, you would not have been injured." Ping Yang felt extremely guilty as she looked at the paling Chi Guyan.

    "It has nothing to do with you." Chi Guyan shook her head.

    "Why not we descend the mountain first? We can rest at the Northern Mountain Vige or Huai An County. Afterall, the issue with the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is not pressing!" Ping Yang suggested.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned when he heard what Ping Yang said

    Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?

    What is that?

    "Since we are here, we should take a look before descending." Chi Guyan shook her head lightly as she nced at Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Shall we find a ce to rest first then?" Ping Yang pointed to a huge rock up ahead as she supported Chi Guyan by her arms.

    "Mm..." Chi Guyan hesitated for a moment before nodding.

    "Sister Yan, just focus on resting. There are no ferocious beasts here. Even if there are, I will finish them off easily." Ping Yang pounded her chest after Chi Guyan agreed to take a break.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked on in disdain. Will that make you stronger? Obviously you don¡¯t know your ce.

    However, he began to ge a little more suspicious when Chi Guyan agreed to take a break. With her arrogant character, she would not agree to rest so easily. This could only mean that her injuries were extremely severe.

    Chi Guyan quickly arrived at the side of the limestone, supported by Ping Yang.

    Then, she closed her eyes andy on it. Her great figure was entuated by her sleeping posture, but traces of weariness were clear on her face.

    Chi Guyan rested as Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang found a ce to sit nearby. They stared at each other.

    "What are you looking at!" Ping Yang fumed after five minutes.

    "How would you know I was looking at you if you weren¡¯t looking at me?"

    "Humph! That¡¯s because you were looking at me!"

    "Forget it, I am in no mood to argue with you. Tell me, what were you doing in an army camp on Cang Ling Mountain. Furthermore, what¡¯s up with the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to glean information from Ping Yang.

    "Hahaha... you want to know? I¡¯m not telling you!"

    "It¡¯s okay. I am going to make a trip to Huai An County tomorrow. When I am there, I will go to the restaurant and tell them about how Princess Ping Yang made her way into an army camp, filled with men..."

    "You... you won¡¯t dare!"

    "Why don¡¯t you wager me a few thousand silvers?"

    "Please, I am a princess, why would I ce a bet with you? Since you want to know it so badly, I will tell me my heroic story." Ping Yang said haughtily even whilst her eyes revealed traces of fury.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. He knew that Ping Yang just wanted to maintain her reputation.

    "I need to first tell you about the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion that I got recently. You know..." Ping Yang hesitated, then coughed, "I can¡¯t possibly be riding such a great stallion around the city in circles, right?"

    "Mm, so you decided to ride towards the Northern Lands?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and asked.

    "Yes, I rode for days and finally arrived at the Northern Lands. I arrived at the Northern Mountain Vige, but it was upied by soldiers. Furthermore, those soldiers were upying the rooms of the vigers. I didn¡¯t like what I saw, so I came up the hill alone." Ping Yang snuck a look at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Ping Yang would ride to the Northern Mountain Vige ¡¯by ident¡¯. Furthermore, Ping Yang had mentioned a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Ping Yang definitely had a motive foring here.

    As to why she chose the Northern Mountain Vige...

    That was still a huge question mark. After all, it would be easy for Ping Yang to know that he had left with Chi Guyan.

    Furthermore, he had toured around during this time and had not rushed for home. As such, Ping Yang could have easily overtook them and waited for him on Cang Ling Mountain...

    No!

    Ping Yang was waiting for Chi Guyan!

    She had guessed that Chi Guyan would scale Cang Ling Mountain, likely from the Northern Mountain Vige. As such, shey in wait in the army camp.

    Ping Yang seemed to know why Chi Guyan was here.

    "Tell me about the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet." Fang Zhengzhi felt that the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was the key to solving this mystery.

    "You don¡¯t know?" Ping Yang was slightly surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    "Should I know?"

    "I guess not. This is what of the greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty. You would naturally not know about it. However, if you don¡¯t know about the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, why are you at Cang Ling Mountain?"

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the answer to the question was simple but with far reaching ramifications.

    "Just out for a walk!" Fang Zhengzhi decided to shut Ping Yang up with this reply.

    "Oh please, who will believe that?" Ping Yang pouted. Then, her eyes glimmered uncontrobly, "The Heaven Sage Dao Tablet is something that everyone wants to get their hands on! The Great Xia Dynasty, the Northern Barbarians, even the demons view it as a treasure. It can make someone a sage immediately!"

 Chapter 241: Earthquake

    Chapter 241: Earthquake

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched when he heard that.

    He did not know what Ping Yang meant when she said sage, but she knew that there was a saying in the Great Xia Dynasty that went ¡¯one pavilion, four sages, 13 constabries.¡¯

    The pavillion referred to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, whereas the 13 constabries referred to the 13 pirs of support in the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    These were all powers in their own right.

    However, the four sages were four individuals.

    The fact that the four of them stood above the 13 constabries was testament to the power they had.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like to be restrained, but he knew that someone of lesser power and ability would always be restrained. Only when he was at the level of the four sages could he roam the empire without restraint.

    "The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked into the depths of Cang Ling Mountain. He smiled as he looked past the tall dense forest and the night mist.

    Cang Ling Mountain...

    This was his territory!

    "Oh yes, I saw you kill some people just now?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as he recalled Ping Yang¡¯s brazzen charge through the army camp.

    "Is there a problem?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi doubtfully.

    "Killing is against thew. Furthermore, you killed quite a few soldiers. That¡¯s akin to rebelling!" Fang Zhengzhi reminded Ping Yang helpfully.

    "Law? I am thew! Rebel? They attacked me, they are the rebels!" Ping Yang said arrogantly,pletely ignoring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reminder.

    "Everyone is born equal. Their job is to guard the camp. How can you call them a rebel just because they are of lower rank?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "What¡¯s the problem? I am the princess!"

    "Princess is just a title, just like my Sword Envoy post. I can¡¯t possibly charge them simply because they raised their voice at a higher official, can I?"

    "Why can¡¯t you?"

    "I can?"

    "Of course!"

    "Oh I see, thank you your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "How stupid. How can you not know this? How did you manage to be a rank four sword envoy?!" Ping Yang replied haughtily when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression of gratitude.

    Chi Guyan could not help but open her eyes when she heard this. Her eyes glimmered like stars in the night sky.

    "You¡¯re getting more and more shameless!"

    "Sister Yan, you¡¯re awake?" Ping Yang rushed over when she saw Chi Guyan open her eyes.

    "Mm, let¡¯s go."

    "Sure!"

    ...

    The deeper into Cang Ling Mountain they went, the thicker the mist was, almost as if there was ayer of dust and ash intent on blocking one¡¯s line of vision.

    The mist was extremely heavy near the center.

    This made it the perfect hunting ground for the ferocious beasts. They had superhuman olfactory senses and night vision. They became the masters of the mountain with these talents.

    "Roar!"

    An earth shaking roar rang out from deep inside the forest.

    The ordinary soldiers would never wander this deep into the mountain. They were just in charge of holding the perimeter. The depths of the mountain were not a ce they should be in.

    Ping Yang was not as calm as before. She clinged onto Chi Guyan¡¯s arm tightly. She even took some time to don her Red me Flower Armor.

    However, the moment Ping Yang finished wearing her armor, Fang Zhengzhi covered her with a ck cloth.

    What a joke.

    This was the depths of Cang Ling Mountain.

    The gaudiness of the Red me Flower Armor was like a shining beacon for ferocious predators to flock towards.

    "Didn¡¯t you want to find a few powerful beasts to y with? Now you¡¯re scared? Actually, there¡¯s no need to be scared. This is my territory. Just follow behind me and you¡¯ll be safe. Just remember to tip me afterwards!" Fang Zhengzhi forted¡¯ Ping Yang.

    "Oh please, like I¡¯ll ever believe you!" Ping Yang was put off by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. However, after Chi Guyan advised her, she swallowed her pride and put on a ck cloak, pouting as she did so.

    Fang Zhengzhi was way more calm andposed than Fang Zhengzhi. He sauntered, almost as if he was taking a walk in the park.

    Surprisingly, even though they heard the roars of beasts as they went along, they never actually ran into any powerful ones.

    Chi Guyan kept staring at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leisurely expression, her eyes revealing traces of surprise. She knew that their safety was all due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities.

    "You know the territories of all the beasts?" Chi Guyan guessed.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "However, even if you know their territories, you can¡¯t possibly know how they will move or where they will be. The hungry beasts will still infiltrate other territories to hunt. Furthermore, there are so many oveps. After some beasts die, their territories will be taken over by others, how do you..." Ping Yang was discontented with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    "Do you know how to judge position by sound?" Fang Zhengzhi replied condescendingly.

    "Judge position by sound?" Ping Yang said in surprise.

    "You won¡¯t understand it with your intellect." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Isn¡¯t it just judging position by sound? What¡¯s the big deal? I thought that you were doing something special, but you¡¯re just hiding!" Ping Yang huffed.

    "I see." Chi Guyan nodded. She finally understood why they had yet to be attacked by any beasts.

    After understanding the territories of the beasts, Fang Zhengzhi had nned the best possible route. Along the way, he pinpointed the locations of the beasts through the sounds they made.

    That way, their journey through Cang Ling Mountain would be much safer.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi led the group on a four hour journey towards the depths of Cang Ling Mountain.

    The mist around them got thicker as the roars also got fewer and far between.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi stopped all of a sudden. Even Ping Yang and Chi Guyan stopped at the same time.

    In the middle of the fog was a faint glow.

    "Is there a fire?" Ping Yang looked at the light doubtfully.

    "No, I think we are here." Chi Guyan looked at the faint light, her tone calm, almost as if she had known it all along.

    "It¡¯s a bit different from what I expected." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he looked at the light.

    "What were you expecting?" Ping Yang asked curiously.

    "The location of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet should be well lit, immactely clean, and there should be lightning, thunder, and tremors! That is the only way to match its power!" Fang Zhengzhimented.

    "Your imagination is quite vivid!" Ping Yang said disapprovingly.

    "Boom!"

    A loud sound echoed out just as PIng Yang finished.

    It was almost like a thunder p in response to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sment.

    "Is it about to rain?" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked to the sky.

    The light glowed weakly above them. The moon was also shining brightly on thend, but most of its light was blocked by the foliage.

    "It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s about to rain..." Fang Zhengzhi murmured.

    At this point, the earth shook, almost as if something had tunneled from underneath.

    "Kaboom!"

    The intense tremor and the subsequent boom caused Ping Yang¡¯s expression to change as she jerked her head towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Is it really an earthquake?!"

    "Boom!"

    A loud boom echoed throughout Cang Ling Mountain.

    However, there was no apanying lightning.

    A ray of light shot skyward. The intense boom was caused by the ray of light when it exploded from the surface.

    "Is that the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Ping Yang asked.

    "No!" Chi Guyan shook her head, her eyes glimmering like stars in the sky as she stared intently at the ray of light.

 Chapter 242: The Vast World

    Chapter 242: The Vast World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sky.

    He had thought that the light was from a firework. However, it did not explode into various patterns in the sky, it simply spread outwards and downwards.

    It was almost like the moonlight before, covering the entirend below it.

    In the blink of an eye, it had enveloped the entire Cang Ling Mountain, including Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, and Ping Yang.

    Soon after, the entire area began to shake and the earth began to crack. ck crack lines began to form, and the entire area threatened to copse.

    This was a familiar feeling.

    Fang Zhengzhi had felt this way in the World of the Sage once before. The entire world had copsed, sending him crashing into a sea of swords below.

    But this time...

    Cang Ling Mountain was copsing.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    "The copse of the World of the Sage was understandable since it was a pocket dimension. However, Cang Ling Mountain existed in the real world. Why would it copse?

    Was this the apocalypse?

    Questions flew by in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn. Her eyes glowed icily as her posture became more and more aggressive.

    However, she waited and did not move.

    Ping Yang had also experienced the same thing in the World of the Sage. Even so, she was still taken aback by what was unfolding. She clearly did not know what was happening either.

    "Boom!"

    A loud sound echoed out.

    The cracks in the ground began to disappear, healing as quickly as they formed. In the blink of an eye, everything returned to normal, the stars and the moon shining brightly on thend.

    The mist was heavy inside the woods. It was almost as if nothing had happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting increasingly suspicious. He quickly scanned his surroundings. The flora and the sky werepletely unchanged...

    It seemed like a happy ending. The worst was finally over. However, he still had a bad feeling in his gut.

    What just happened? Why did it disappear so quickly?

    If it had truly blown over, it would be so underwhelming.

    It was just thunder and light showers...

    "Sister Yan... what¡¯s going on?" Ping Yang looked at Chi Guyan.

    "If my guess is right, I think we are trapped!" Chi Guyan looked around her and frowned, deep in thought.

    "Trapped? But we didn¡¯t step on any traps, why would we be trapped?" Ping Yang was still confused. However, she did not mention that what she just saw was quite simr to what had happened in the World of the Sage.

    This was Cang Ling Mountain, in the real world.

    Such a scene did not make any sense.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also at a loss. As such, he did not interrupt Chi Guyan. He listened intently by the side.

    "If the entire Cang Ling Mountain is a trap, then we stepped right into it from the moment we entered." Chi Guyan looked up at the night sky.

    "The entire Cang Ling Mountain? How can this be? Cang Ling Mountain has existed for aeons, yet no one has ever said that it was a trap. Furthermore, to make the entire mountain a trap..." Ping Yang was in disbelief.

    "Is impossible right?"

    "Yes." Ping Yang nodded.

    "Normally, yes. That would be impossible due to the sheer size of Cang Ling Mountain. No one in the world would have the ability to incorporate Cang Ling Mountain into their pocket dimension. However... all that just happened meant that we have entered a whole new world!" Chi Guyan exined.

    "A new world... does Sister Yan mean that someone transported the entire Cang Ling Mountain to a different... space?" Ping Yang said hesitantly.

    "Mm." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "But didn¡¯t Sister Yan just say that no one could possibly do such a thing?"

    "No one can do it, but a treasure that exists in our legends can."

    "What treasure?"

    "The Vast World!"

    "The Vast World?! What is that?"

    "It was something that was destroyed centuries ago. I never expected it to resurface."

    "It was destroyed?"

    "Yes, it should not exist anymore. However, there is no other item in the world that could possibly turn the entire Cang Ling Mountain into a giant trap."

    "What does The Vast World do?" Ping Yang was curious.

    "The Vast World is one of the nine Divine Equipment. However, it is not like the others. The others are able to change the forces of battle in the blink of an eye. However, The Vast World is unable to do much in battle. The way to use it is extremely specific, however, it is still a Divine Equipment because... it can make a huge world a drop in the ocean!"

    Chi Guyan paused.

    "A drop in the ocean?" Fang Zhengzhi knew what that meant.

    This term had originated from the Su¡¯s "First Visit to the Red Cliff". It represented a drop in the ocean, and was used to describe something incredibly minute and insignificant.

    But, what did that have to do with the current situation?

    Could it be...

    Fang Zhengzhi thought of something all of a sudden.

    The entire Cang Ling Mountain could be made into a drop in the ocean.

    "What Sister Yan is saying is that someone has used The Vast World to morph Cang Ling Mountain into a drop in the ocean and absorbed it?" Ping Yang seemed to understand now, her eyes glimmering in disbelief.

    "I doubt that it is that simple. If Cang Ling Mountain was merely absorbed into The Vast World, it could not be termed as one of the nine Divine Equipment.

    "What else could there be?"

    "I don¡¯t know either. The books do not describe it in detail, but there is one sentence which lucidly summarizes its prowess."

    "What is it?"

    "No one who enters The Vast Worldes out alive!" Chi Guyan did not borate further, a conflicted look in her eyes.

    She was slightly lost and depressed, but there was a hint of steely determination and excitement in her eyes.

    It was impossible to know what Chi Guyan was thinking.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts were a lot simpler.

    "That¡¯s it, we¡¯ve been trapped... if we can¡¯t get back to the Northern Mountain Vige by morning, what would happen... if the army came back?"

    That was the top concern on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 243: Altar

    Chapter 243: Altar

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    One could not me Fang Zhengzhi for worrying to much. After All, his appointment as Sword Envoy in the throne room had only spread within the capital.

    Even if it had spread to Huai An County, it could not possibly have reached the army.

    If he was still in the Northern Mountain Vige, then the issue would be easily resolved. But what if he wasn¡¯t? Could the vigers stand up to the wrath and fury of the army?

    Fang Zhengzhi became increasingly worried.

    At this point, the fire ahead seemed to be brighter and brighter, almost as if it was being fueled. There were also soft sounds of killing...

    "Sister Yan?" Ping Yang looked to Chi Guyan for advice.

    "Can we advance?" Chi Guyan did not reply instantly. She turned to Fang Zhengzhi, asking him if there were any dangers up ahead.

    "Walk by the left." Fang Zhengzhi was getting worried about the Northern Mountain Vige. He was determined to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible...

    ...

    At the base of Cang Ling Mountain was a small stone cottage hidden deep inside the woods. It was surrounded by ancient trees, giving it a lonely and isted aura.

    A ck altar was right in the middle of the stone house.

    There was a faint silver glow on the altar.

    The glow originated from a whitish silver square gem. It was clear, but there was an extremelyplicated rune that flickered on its surface.

    Around the altar were nine men dressed in ck. They knelt in a circle around the altar, a green jade like pearl on each of their heads.

    This was the demon eye. A green one meant that they were in the Supernatural State.

    "It has begun, let¡¯s go!"

    A voice rang out behind the nine men. Then, a previously seated figure stood up. This figure was dressed in a ck cloak, and wore a hat.

    If any of the surviving soldiers from the incident at the capital¡¯s gates were here, they would recognize this man as the one who had killed quite a number of guards without reason.

    "Okay!"

    Another voice rang out.

    This man was wrapped around by green rattan. He was steely, and a dense beard covered his throat. He wore no armor.

    He looked like an aborigine.

    He did not have a demon eye on his forehead. This man was human.

    There was one strange thing about this man. Despite his barbaric aura, he held a jade green flute in his hand.

    This was something for the cultured and civilised. For someone as barbaric as him, a wolf canine may have been a much better fit. However, he was indeed holding a flute, very carefully at that.

    The cloaked male nced at his barbaric counterpart, looking at the flute in his hand. Then, he quickly looked away and walked towards the altar.

    He disappeared in an instant.

    After the barbaric man saw the cloaked figure disappear, a hint of unwillingness appeared in his eyes. He murmured something before finally stepping into the altar five minutester.

    ...

    The mist on Cang Ling Mountain became thicker and thicker.

    Fang Zhengzhi led the group through the dense forest and closer towards the spark. The roars around them became louder and more chaotic.

    The air was heavy with the smell of blood.

    It took the three of them quite a while before they finally got to the edges of the me.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed when he saw it.

    He could clearly make out an army camp under the light of the me. This camp was better built and guarded than the one before.

    The perimeter was not built with wood, but with tall stone pirs. They formed a huge circle, making the camp look like a castle.

    But now, the castle had been breached.

    It had been breached from all directions. There wererge cavities everywhere, and bodies littered the surroundings.

    Having read his fair share of history, Fang Zhengzhi knew how cruel and savage the battlefield was. However, seeing it in person was apletely different experience.

    This was a massacre, aplete and utter massacre...

    "It¡¯s the Mountain Breaking Army, the Mountain Breaking Army of the Stabilisation Constabry, and..." Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. She was keenly aware of how powerful the Mountain Breaking Army was.

    They were the pir of the Stabilisation Constabry and by extension, the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Each member of the Mountain Breaking Army was an elite handpicked from tens of thousands of soldiers. Each one of them was a cultivator. Just like the Red Pinion Squad of the Divine Constabry, they were one of the four ace armied of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Chi Guyan did not look well either.

    Even though Ping Yang did not say it, she had seen bodies of Red Pinion Squad members amongst the mountain of Mountain Breaking Army bodies.

    More importantly, there were no other bodies in the pile...

    No other bodies?!

    How were the defences breached? How did so many members of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad die? What is the origin of all the killing noises to their side?

    This was quite the strange sight.

    Even Chi Guyan looked lost for the first time. If they weren¡¯t being attacked, where was that noiseing from?

    "Sister Yan,e and take a look!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out again, her eyes filled with shock as she pointed to a location with her right hand.

    If one followed the direction of Ping Yang¡¯s finger...

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly realized that there was a higher concentration of bodies to the right of the camp. There seemed to be signs of digging in the middle of the bodies.

    It looked like an entrance to a tunnel.

    "If I am correct, that should be the entrance to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. The Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad must have retreated there." Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glimmered as she spoke.

    "Then let¡¯s go quickly!" Ping Yang said hurriedly.

    "What do you think?" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I think it could be a trap." Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at the bodies. He hesitated for a moment, "However, even if it is a trap, we must go in. We can¡¯t just stay out here and wait."

    "Oh? I thought you would choose to stay outside... I didn¡¯t expect you to say go in?" Ping Yang was slightly surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response.

    "How did you know I meant that you all would enter whilst I wait outside?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang in surprise.

    "You... humph, I knew that we couldn¡¯t rely on you!" Ping Yang pouted.

    "You will have to find out for yourself how reliable I am."

    "How do we find out?"

    "Yes, how do we find out?" Fang Zhengzhi mocked as he looked at Ping Yang¡¯s puffed chest, sneering as he did so.

    Ping Yang became a little suspicious as she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. She realized that Fang Zhengzhi was looking at her...

    "Shameless!" Ping Yang fumed.

    ...

    In the end, Fang Zhengzhi still went through the tunnel. As to why he would lead the entire group when he initially wanted to stay outside...

    That was a long story...

    Fang Zhengzhi entered happily whereas Ping Yang¡¯s face waspletely flushed. She pouted as she gave the death stare to Fang Zhengzhi.

    If looks could kill, Fang Zhengzhi would have been dead many times over.

    The tunnel was lit by stones which glowed white. As such, it was not as dark as expected. It was notrge, about five people abreast at most.

    With the carnage outside the tunnel, Fang Zhengzhi expected bodies to litter the tunnel. To his surprise, the inside of the tunnel was clean.

    There were no bodies. More surprisingly, there were no signs of a battle.

    However, the sounds of killing continued to echo out. From the direction of the sounds, it sounded like it wasing from within the tunnel.

    Why would there be killing sounds when there are no signs of battle?

    What is going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi was beginning to get suspicious.

    Chi Guyan was silent, deep in thought.

    The angry Ping Yang ignored Fang Zhengzhi. She simmered by the side, waving her fist at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back every now and then.

    She hadpletely forgot to consider the fact that there were no bodies in the tunnel.

    The tunnel extended downwards. The further they went, the more precipitous it got. Fang Zhengzhi felt that they were almost there.

    Just as he was thinking about it, the killing sounds became clearer and clearer.

    Very quickly, there was a ray of light up ahead. It felt like the first ray of sunshine at sunrise, lighting up the entire tunnel in an instant.

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously quickened his pace.

    Ping Yang¡¯s anger was also reced by excitement. However, it was stillced with anxiety. Every now and then, she would grab onto the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s clothes whilst her other hand gripped onto Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan was much calmer, her eyes glowing brighter by the second.

    "Kill!"

    "Oh oh..."

    "Go to hell!"

    The group of three exited the tunnelpletely just as the killing sounds got clearer.

    Light shone down on them. It was so bright Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to open his eyes. It was almost as if there was an intense sun beating down on them.

    But this was underground.

    How could there be a sun?

    Furthermore, it¡¯s nighttime now, where is the suning from?

    Fang Zhengzhi grew increasingly suspicious. However, his questions were quickly answered by a breathtaking scene.

    There was an intense source of light above him.

    It was not a sun, but a ball of fire. A golden ball of fire.

    A tall golden stone pir supported this ball of me. There were various carvings on the pir. Some were of flora and fauna, others were of scenery and ferocious beasts.

    It was at least a hundred meters tall and ten meters thick.

    Why would such arge golden stone pir be constructed underground? This was a strange sight.

    Other than the golden stone pir, there was yet another strange sight. There were eight statues kneeling around the golden stone pir.

    Each statue was carved with pure white stone.

    Their expressions were solemn, and they were covered in armor from head to toe. They held des, spears, swords, poles, axes...

    More importantly, each of the eight statues were the same height as the golden stone pir.

    An ancient, divine aura emanated from these eight stone statues. It made people want to pray to it upon looking at it.

    The killing sounds originated from these eight stone statues. However, there were no soldiers or bodies in sight.

    "This is?"

    "An altar! The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was borne from the Dao of Heaven. When it appears, it would always be apanied by an altar, used to offer sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao!" Chi Guyan seemed to be murmuring to herself, whilst exining to Fang Zhengzhi at the same time.

    "Offer sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao?"

    "Yes, only the sincere would be chosen by Heaven, and will be given the opportunity to peep at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet through the altar." Chi Guyan replied.

    "Where do we pray?" Fang Zhengzhi had no objection if he simply had to pray.

    One could kneel to the heavens, to hell, and to one¡¯s parents...

    Now that he was kneeling to the Heavenly Dao, he may get lucky and be enlightened immediately. He could be a sage and get his freedom.

    "The door to the altar has already been opened!" Chi Guyan did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. She pointed towards the golden stone pir.

    "Door to the altar?" Fang Zhengzhi followed Chi Guyan¡¯s hand and realized that there was a half opened door at the base of the pir.

    Half opened?

    Someone had already entered? He had better not be enlightened, or we would be in trouble.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to leave this damned ce and return to the Northern Mountain Vige. However, he had no way to do so.

    The only way he could think of was to get the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. That should be his way out of this ce.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had never gotten any of these storylines right...

    Since he was here, he would try his luck at getting a look at this Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. He was already one step closer to it.

    Furthermore, after seeing Chi Guyan¡¯s abilities, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s curiosity about the Dao of All Creation was piqued.

    Someone in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State...

    Could travel at a faster speed than someone in the Supernatural State?

    If Chi Guyan can do it, why can¡¯t I?

 Chapter 244: Red Demon Eye

    Chapter 244: Red Demon Eye

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to try his luck. He did not expect that someone else was even more tempted to try it out than him.

    Naturally, that person was Ping Yang.

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could run, Ping Yang took off.

    In an instant, she was headed straight for the for the half opened stone door. She did not even say anything to Fang Zhengzhi as she bounded towards the door like amb in an open pasture.

    "Hahaha, off I go..." As she ran, Ping Yangughed maniacally.

    This made Fang Zhengzhi slightly suspicious.

    Ping Yang is a princess! Does she need to be in this much of a rush? Isn¡¯t it just the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? Hasn¡¯t she seen it before?

    Can¡¯t she show a little more ss?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked to Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan seemed to understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s doubts from his look, "Actually, Ping Yang has never seen the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet before."

    "And you?"

    "I have." Chi Guyan nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi had questions again.

    Ping Yang was the most loved and pampered princess to date. If Chi Guyan had seen it before, Ping Yang definitely had a chance to see it.

    Is there something going on here?

    Hang on...

    Chi Guyan has seen the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet before? Then why isn¡¯t she a sage?

    "You¡¯ve already be..."

    "No!"

    "You didn¡¯t understand it?"

    "..." Chi Guyan was silent for a moment. Then, she shook her head, "The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is not what you think it is. It is not really a tablet. If you¡¯re lucky enough to see it, you will understand what I mean."

    "The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is not a tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to use Chi Guyan of lying to him.

    However, it was more important that he chase up to Ping Yang. Ping Yang was already at the entrance.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan rushed towards the stone door without hesitation.

    The moment they stepped through the doors, Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was detached from the world. It did not feel like he had stepped through the door, it felt like he was sucked in by an unknown force.

    The scene that unfolded before his eyes was even stranger.

    The golden stone pir was only ten meters wide at most. However, there was a huge magnificent throne room in front of him. The pirs were intricately carved.

    In the middle of the throne room was a huge ck cauldron.

    mes burned strongly inside the cauldron.

    Underneath the cauldron were many soldiers dressed in glowing armor. There were thousands of them.

    Ping Yang was standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi, her gaze sweeping over all of the soldiers. She seemed to be slightly excited, her mouth opening slightly in awe.

    "Uncle Xing!"

    "Yes... princess, your highness. Your highness, what... what are you doing here?!" A purple armored male in his forties with phoenix like eyes was shocked when he saw Ping Yang.

    Then, the middle aged man noticed Fang Zhengzhi and frowned. Just as he was about to speak, his gaze froze.

    Chi Guyan walked over.

    "Guyan!"

    "Uncle Xing, Guyan is honored to see you." Chi Guyan calmly bowed towards the middle aged man.

    "Your highness, Guyan, why... why are you here?!" The middle aged man appeared next to them in an instant.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked when he saw the man in front of him.

    If Chi Guyan¡¯s speed was stunning to him, then this middle aged man¡¯s speed was supernatural.

    He is Ping Yang¡¯s father¡¯s younger brother? And Chi Guyan¡¯s father¡¯s elder brother?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. Is this man Xing Yuanguo? The leader of the 13 Constabries and Xing Qingsui¡¯s dad?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a good impression of the Stabilisation Constabry.

    He admired them for their determination and nerver. Furthermore, Xing Qingsui had helped him in the throne room.

    However, Xing Yuanguo only had eyes for Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided not to interrupt them and greet Xing Yuanguo, potentially drawing his ire in the process.

    "It¡¯s a long story about how we got here. Is Uncle Xing trapped?" Chi Guyan nced at the thousands of soldiers behind him.

    "Nothing escapes Guyan¡¯s eyes. I shall not hide it from you any longer. This battle is the hardest that I¡¯ve ever fought in decades. However, I will not let the demons continue unchecked, even if I will die in the process!" Xing Yuanguo exuded an aura of determination and battle spirit.

    Fang Zhengzhi had felt a simr battle spirit from Xing Qingsui. However, if Xing Qingsui¡¯s was a creek, Xing Yuanguo¡¯s was a vast ocean.

    An endless ocean.

    The hardest thing for any general was to maintain his spirit after a setback. However, despite a devastating loss, Xing Yuanguo still had great battle spirit.

    Perhaps this was what made the Stabilisation Constabry the leader of the 13, and the pir of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Uncle Xing, what happened in the army camp?" Chi Guyan pressed.

    "You¡¯ve been there?"

    "Yes."

    "Mm, it was a massacre, but... it was a battle between the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes glowed the color of blood as he spoke.

    Chi Guyan frowned when she heard this, but she did not interrupt.

    Ping Yang also fell silent at this point.

    After a brief hesitation, Xing Yuanguo spoke again.

    "An hour ago, the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad realized that there was an attack on us. As such, they quickly came together to build the defences."

    "Your father had given memand of the Red Pinion Squad for this battle. I considered the tactics and strengths of each army. I gave the east and south gates to the Mountain Breaking Army and the west and north gates to the Red Pinion Squad."

    Xing Yuanguo paused for a moment.

    Chi Guyan nodded lightly. If she was inmand, she would have done the same thing. The Mountain Breaking Army were skilled in the spear and great at offence, whilst the Red Pinion Squad were mostly cavalry.

    This wasrgely due to where the armies were situated.

    The Red Pinion Squad was generally used to suppress and defend against the barbarians. As such, they needed to be quick and agile if they were to match up against the barbarians.

    They would beat the barbarians at their own game.

    As for the Mountain Breaking Army, they were mainly used to conquer other cities. As such, offence was the main focus of their training.

    Since they had different philosophies, putting them together would greatly lower their effectiveness.

    Xing Yuanguo had been a general for decades. He knew this and arranged his troops in the most logical fashion.

    "However, I never expected that this... would cause the internal massacre!" Xing Yuanguo grit his teeth and clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening.

    "Internal massacre?!"

    "Yes, the Mountain Breaking Army killed members of the Red Pinion Squad, and the Red Pinion Squad killed members of the Mountain Breaking Army. When I finally reacted, it was toote..."

    "The intruders were the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad. They... may have forcefully changed the entireyout to cause chaos?" CHi Guyan guessed.

    "I think that this is only one of the reasons. When the attack happened, the Mountain Breaking Army did not see the Red Pinion Squad. They saw ck robed, masked men. It was the same for the Red Pinion Squad." Xing Yuanguo shook his head.

    "ck robed masked men... Uncle Xing, are you saying that these men don¡¯t exist?" Chi Guyan frowned.

    "ording to my preliminary analysis, these ck robed masked men should be members of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad. However, their appearances have been changed. When a Red Pinion Squad member pierces the hallucination, he is actually stabbing a Mountain Breaking Army member." Xing Yuanguo continued.

    "If that was the case, why didn¡¯t you call off the attack?"

    "I did give the order, however, when the attack was stopped, those ck robed masked men..." Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression was pained. "When I gave the order to stop the attack, the massacre was just beginning!"

    Chi Guyan could guess what had happened.

    The mountain of bodies in the army camp exined everything. The trap had been near perfect, and the armies had fallen right into it.

    "Has Uncle Xing heard of The Vast World?" Chi Guyan asked suddenly.

    "The Vast World?! Of course... what you¡¯re saying is... we are trapped in The Vast World?" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression changed immediately.

    "This is just my guess, but, when the incident happened at the camp, I was still quite some distance away. Only The Vast World is capable of turning the entire Cang Ling Mountain into a trap!"

    "The entire Cang Ling Mountain! What a trap... I never expected the demons to be able to find the destroyed ¡¯The Vast World¡¯. Furthermore, they managed to restore it? There are only three people in this world who are able to restore The Vast World... but, why would someone go and serve the demons?" Fire danced in Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes.

    "That is a very good question, it¡¯s a pity you will never know the answer in this life." Just as they were speaking, a voice rang out from the stone door.

    Then, a ck robed figure appeared at the door. He wore a hat on his head, and his body waspletely covered by a ck cloak.

    There were nine other ck robed men around him.

    Each one of the nine had a jade green pearl like object on their forehead.

    That was the demon eye.

    Furthermore, a green one represented a demon in the Supernatural State.

    "Demons, Supernatural State Demons! Nine of them?"

    Xing Yuanguo was slightly surprised to see the cloaked figures, but he quickly recovered.

    "I thought that you would surprise me, but it is always the same few people. I am disappointed!" Xing Yuanguo shook his head as he looked at the cloaked man.

    "You have battled with us for so many years. Now that you are about to die, it is only right that you are sent off by an old friend! Furthermore, I, Bai Xing, am the only one in the 10 domains who can match up to you!" The cloaked man took off his har deliberately.

    Then, a picturesque face could be seen. He looked to be in his thirties, his face white and clean.

    He looked like an academic who had never experienced battle.

    However, anyone who looked at this man would suppress any such thoughts. His eyes were like daggers.

    More importantly.

    His demon eye was blood red!

    "As the leader of the demon¡¯s Star Domain, you have only brought along nine followers... isn¡¯t that insufficient?" Xing Yuanguo clenched his fists tightly when he saw the red demon eye.

    "Of course it isn¡¯t, so I wanted to give you a surprise! However, I didn¡¯t expect you to have an even bigger surprise for me. The top talent of the Great Xia Dynasty Chi Guyan, Princess Ping Yang, and if my guess is correct, the newly appointed Sword Envoy?" Bai Xing smiled as he looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Sword Envoy?!" All of the soldiers looked to Fang Zhengzhi when they heard what Bai Xing said.

    Some of them recognized Fang Zhengzhi.

    But why did Bai Xing call him the Sword Envoy?

    "Normally, when humans talk about newly appointed, they would give... some precious gifts and pair it with congrattions. I wonder if the leader of the demon Star Domain knows his manners?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke, emphasizing the word ¡¯precious."

    "Haha, the Sword Envoy is right. This is the first time we are meeting, and it is your first promotion. I should do the above two things. However, humans are also known for reciprocating. If I give you a gift today, will you reciprocate?" Bai Xing mocked.

    "Of course I will. We are men of our word, and we will do what we say. I will make sure I give you a gift if you give me one!" Fang Zhengzhi replied sincerely.

    "How interesting!" Bai Xing¡¯s smile became more radiant as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s innocent expression.

 Chapter 245: Kneel and thank me

    Chapter 245: Kneel and thank me

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was smiling too. He was smiling even more radiantly than Bai Xing. Furthermore, his expression of anticipation caused the soldiers under the cauldron to doubt his intentions.

    "Is he testing the waters?"

    "I think there is a 90% chance Fang Zhengzhi would surrender!"

    All of the soldiers looked on disdainfully at Fang Zhengzhi. They were about to fight, yet Fang Zhengzhi asked the demons for a gift? How audacious.

    Xing Yuanguo also stared at Fang Zhengzhi. He did not know what this young man was thinking. After all, what he knew of Fang Zhengzhi came from the stories he heard.

    This was the first time they had met.

    He had no idea whether Fang Zhengzhi was a loyal and righteous man, or a two faced, benefit-driven individual.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was a loyal man, then by the fact that he could still joke around when a battle was imminent meant that Xing Yuanguo had to take him seriously in the future.

    However, the enemy was much stronger now. Furthermore, they were trapped in The Vast World, their lives in danger. It seemed more probable that Fang Zhengzhi would surrender.

    Kill?

    Or leave him be?

    This was the question Xing Yuanguo had to answer. As the general, he had to be very sure before taking any actions. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was by Ping Yang¡¯s side.

    An unsuspecting Ping Yang.

    If Fang Zhengzhi decided to take Ping Yang hostage, then it would be a death sentence for his force.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes glowed icily. He did not stop Fang Zhengzhi, neither did he attack Fang Zhengzhi. He promised himself, If he takes the gift, I will kill him!

    Then, things began to unravel.

    Afterughing, Bai Xing thought for a moment before retrieving a gemstone. Then, he stroked it lightly a couple of times.

    "I heard that your honor is incredibly resourceful and intelligent. You attained the Heavenly Reflection State at 15, but have never managed to learn in an academy. You had no teacher to guide you, and have been stymied along the way. I have always been frustrated with the humans. They only look at the contributions of a family, but never realize the talents that surround them. It is a waste that you are with them. Now that I have met you, I hope that you will ept this gift. This gemstone contains the first part of our premier technique... the "Infinite Star Sword Technique!"

    Bai Xing¡¯s intentions were clear. He was sowing discord whilst trying to recruit Fang Zhengzhi. He even offered half of the demonic premier sword technique as a token of goodwill.

    After he finished, he ced the gemstone in his right palm and extended it. If you want it,e and take it.

    "Infinite Star Sword Technique?!"

    "Isn¡¯t that the technique Bai Xing trains with?"

    All of the soldiers were stunned when they heard it.

    Xing Yuanguo squinted. He knew that Bai Xing was up to no good. He had not offered jewels, armor, or weapons. He had offered up a technique scroll, half of it to be exact.

    If Fang Zhengzhi trained with it, he would naturally ask for the second half.

    It was only logical.

    What would Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice be? Take the technique stone and repay Bai Xing with his loyalty? Or reject it entirely...

    Xing Yuanguo did not have to think for long.

    The answer was for all to see.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked over without hesitation the moment Bai Xing extended his hand.

    Then, he took the gemstone.

    He bowed sincerely to Bai Xing, then shouted, "Thank you!"

    His voice reverberated throughout the throne room.

    However, all the soldiers¡¯ expressions darkened.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s hand was pressed against his waist. He did not know if it was a mere coincidence, but Chi Guyan moved slightly when Fang Zhengzhi did.

    She ced herself in between Xing Yuanguo and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Xing Yuanguo looked at Chi Guyan and realized that her eyes were just as bright as before. Her expression was as calm as ake in spring.

    Xing Yuanguo released his grip on his waist.

    It seemed rather unbelievable. Just a moment ago, he had promised himself that he would kill Fang Zhengzhi if Fang Zhengzhi took the gift. Now, even though Fang Zhengzhi epted the gift, he was not going to kill him.

    But this was the truth.

    After saying thank you, Fang Zhengzhi sauntered back.

    This was rather confusing.

    Why would he walk back after showing where his allegiancey?

    "Could it be..."

    A thought appeared in the minds of the soldiers. Fang Zhengzhi had taken up a position next to Ping Yang. He was less than an inch from her.

    Bai Xing¡¯s smile became even more radiant.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also smiling radiantly.

    This smiling contest continued for almost five minutes. Finally, Bai Xing could not take it any longer.

    "Your honor, where is the gift you promised?" Bai Xing did not want to remind Fang Zhengzhi, but he did not want to wait any longer.

    "Haven¡¯t I already given it?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Bai Xing quizzically.

    "You have? What... what did you give me?" Bai Xing was even more confused.

    "Didn¡¯t I thank you just now? That was my ¡¯gift¡¯ to you!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "The ¡¯thank you¡¯ was your gift to me?!" Bai Xing was taken aback.

    After the thousands of soldiers heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they all looked at each other in confusion.

    Isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi defecting?

    Why...

    "My Great Xia Dynasty is such a powerful empire with such a dense poption. The demon race are hermits with a few isted cities. As a rank four official and the Sword Envoy of the Great Xia Dynasty, it is a great honor for you that I¡¯ve thanked you so sincerely. After all, I¡¯ve only taken a small gemstone from you. Don¡¯t you think you should kneel and thank me for my generosity?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once again as he yed with the stone in his hand.

    When Bai Xing heard this, his expression darkened. Sword Envoy? Rank four official?

    As the domain chief of one of the demonic domains and themander of the demonic ten domain elite army, he was at least a rank two official in the demon world.

    A measly rank four official with no soldiers under hismand wanted him to kneel down after saying thanks?

    This was humiliation! Complete, unadulterated humiliation!

    All of the soldiers looked at the calm Fang Zhengzhi and the angered Bai Xing. If they still did not know what was happening, their brains were probably nonexistent.

    Defect?

    F*ck that!

    How can someone who dares to insult the opposingmander in such a tant fashion be used of defecting? Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions had made his stand very clear.

    He would fight the demons to the bitter end!

    "Well said! The Great Xia Dynasty is such a powerful empire with such a dense poption. Why would we surrender to the hermit demons with a few isted cities!"

    "You must be dreaming! Our rank four official would not be bought over with a measly stone!"

    "Yes, kill the demons, make the Great Xia Dynasty great again!"

    The morale of the soldiers swelled. This had little to do with what Fang Zhengzhi had done or said.

    This was pride!

    If an untested 15 year old youth dared to humiliate the domain chief of the demons, then how could they, as the elite soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty, back down?

    As soldiers, they were ready to die, but they would never give up their pride. They were the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad, the pirs of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    In an instant, the shadow of their previous failure was lifted. They only had one aim - to defeat the demons and retain their standing and pride

    Xing Yuanguo stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not know if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were nned or merely a happy coincidence. However, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had used the simplest of methods to reinvigorate the depressed army.

    Morale was the most important in any army.

    With good morale, anything was possible.

    Fang Zhengzhi, and untested and inexperienced youth who had not even finished the imperial examinations, had done something that a seasonedmander like him could not.

    He had given the thousands of soldiers a morale boost, and a cause to fight for.

    Ping Yang did not know much about troop management. However, she could feel the changes in the emotions of the thousands of soldiers. Was it because of Fang Zhengzhi?

    This shameless boy had managed to scam the demons of half of the "Infinite Star Sword Technique" and raise the morale of the soldiers at the same time? How unbelievable.

    "Shameless fe. It must be luck!" Ping Yang¡¯s mouth twitched, her head held high.

    Chi Guyan was different from Ping Yang. She had grown up in a military family and was familiar with military tactics. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi had potentially turned the tide of the battle.

    If they could win this battle...

    Fang Zhengzhi would have yed a huge role in it.

    Raising the morale of soldiers may seem simple, but is actually incredibly difficult. Someone who can encourage the soldiers is the rarest of all military geniuses.

    "This shameless thief... actually did it?" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed for the first time. She was here with Fang Zhengzhi.

    She had seen the expressions of the soldiers before. She knew that they were a beaten force. However, they were rejuvenated and given a new lease of life. They were now a strong army ready to fight for their pride.

    His methods may be shameless.

    But one could not argue with his results.

    Bai Xing¡¯s expression was ugly. He nced at the soldiers under the cauldron, finally stopping at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Master had warned me that Fang Zhengzhi is an unpredictable man. Master told me to be careful when dealing with him. I had ignored the advice then, but now, I must say that what master said was an understatement! It¡¯s alright though, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name will disappear from the world after tonight. The Vast World will be your burying ground!"

    Bai Xings body began to glow silver as he spoke. He looked like he was bathing in stars as a strong killing aura exploded outwards.

    It crashed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    The red demon eye meant that Bai Xing was one state higher than Ying Shan.

    Fang Zhengzhi had killed Ying Shan...

    However, he had done so because the Traceless Sword was in control of the World of the Sage. He could not match Ying Shan based purely on ability. Now that he was up against Bai Xing...

    He was not masochistic.

    "It would be a waste to not properly admire such a magnificent throne room!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured, then paced quickly to the side.

    A battle between two powerhouses was not a ce he wanted to be. He would just be a cheerleader by the side. Only an idiot would get in the middle of those two.

    Xing Yuanguo stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was confused when he saw Fang Zhengzhi moved, then, he heard what Fang Zhengzhi mumured.

    Admire?

    This child was not one for the refined arts.

    Clearly, Fang Zhengzhi was trying to use this time to run. Xing Yuanguo had always punished deserters, but he was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to run.

    He was not even angered.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already done the most important thing. As themander, he should be the one fighting this battle.

    But...

    Didn¡¯t he run a little too fast?

    At the very least, shouldn¡¯t he bring the princess along with him?

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi turned back and appeared beside Ping Yang and Chi Guyan. "Follow me, I found a lead on the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet,e on over!"

    Xing Yuanguo was taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    Isn¡¯t that excuse a little too ridiculous?

    Thousands of soldiers had not found any trace of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet after searching repeatedly. How can you find it without even walking to the edges of the throne room?

    However, with the impending battle, Fang Zhengzhi was offering to take Ping Yang and Chi Guyan along with him. This reassured Xing Yuanguo.

    Neither Ping Yang nor Chi Guyan could be endangered.

    "Your highness, Guyan, the emperor has decreed that we must find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. In the name of the emperor, Imand you to follow Fang Zhengzhi and find it!" Xing Yuanguo found the excuse a little ridiculous, but he decided to "fall for it¡¯.

 Chapter 246: Shan Jia

    Chapter 246: Shan Jia

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chi Guyan, being as smart as she was, knew exactly what Xing Yuanguo meant. However, since he had used the emperor¡¯s name, that meant that he had made up his mind.

    Ping Yang knew that Xing Yuanguo wanted her to hide for now. It was a good thing she was a bully, and she did not like being bullied.

    As such...

    She ran off with Fang Zhengzhi without putting up a fight.

    "Kill!" The morale of the soldiers under the cauldron hit a high as their roar echoed throughout the throne room.

    "Are you trying to bully us with numbers?" Bai Xing looked at the thousands of soldiers before ncing back at his ninepanions. His gaze finally locked onto Xing Yuanguo as he sneered.

    Being humiliated by a 15 year old boy was incredibly infuriating.

    However, when faced with a powerful enemy, he could not let his emotions get the better of him. Furthermore, now that the morale of the soldiers was at an all time high, he had to find a way to calm himself down.

    "Time and space are both in your favor. The only thing I have is the people." Xing Yuanguo replied coldly.

    "People? Hahaha... what a joke. I do not darement about the others, but I must say I have some confidence if I had topete with your people!" Bai Xing chuckled.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression darkened. He had battled Bai Xing many times over the years. He knew that Bai Xing was a difficult man to deal with. Bai Xing never fought a losing battle.

    Is there an ambush?

    Just as he was thinking about it, the lyrical music from a flute rang out from the stone door. It felt like rain in the desert - incredibly soothing and hypnotising.

    When Xing Yuanguo heard the flute, his expression changed instantly.

    "You all actually..." Even the battle hardened Xing Yuanguo could not keep his cool.

    At this point, he was sure that this was all a set up. When the Dragon Protection Squad had passed the message to the capital, they had fallen into the trap.

    He also knew why the demons chose Cang Ling Mountain. They could only set up this trap on Cang Ling Mountain.

    "Hahaha, Xing Hou, please put your hands together to wee a good friend of the demons, "Shan Jia"!" Bai Xing pointed mboyantly towards the stone door as he spoke.

    Xing Yuanguo ignored Bai Xing.

    His gaze was trained on the middle aged man standing at the entrance.

    That man was covered from head to toe in green rattan. He had a thick beard and wore no armor. He had a green flute in his hand.

    He looked like a barbarian.

    However, Xing Yuanguo did not underestimate him. His eyes glimmered; he was even more solemn than when he saw Bai Xing appear.

    The male also looked at Xing Yuanguo. However, it was no more than a nce. He did not speak as he sauntered over to Bai Xing¡¯s side.

    All of the soldiers were in disbelief when they saw that man.

    "His... surname is Shan!"

    "Shan Jia!"

    "Exactly, only people from that area will use rattan for clothing. But... why is his surname Shan?!"

    The thousands of soldiers were in disbelief when they realized the identity of the man. Their disbelief was quickly reced with fury.

    "Ever since the Great Xia Dynasty was founded, we have protected the Southern Mountain Range. As a Shan, you should know this better than anyone else! Why would you ally yourself with the demons?!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s tone was dangerous, his arm at his waist.

    Shan Jia was silent. However, when Xing Yuanguo said "as a Shan" his tiger like eyes shed with pain.

    "Shan Jia, do you know the consequences of your actions? Do you know what this means for the citizens of the Southern Mountain Range?" Xing Yuanguo continued.

    Shan Jia did not speak, almost as if he didn¡¯t hear Xing Yuanguo at all.

    "Come on Shan Jia, you have spent more than 20 years in Cang Ling Mountain, it is time for you to show them your abilities!" Bai Xing nced at Shan Jia and sneered.

    Shan Jia nodded but still remained silent.

    He was not as respectful as the other nine ck robed men nor as disciplined as the soldiers. He did not even greet Bai Xing. He merely nodded, then ced the flute to his lips.

    In an instant, a melodious tune filled the room.

    However, this time, the music was clearly more rushed. It¡¯s hypnotic nature was a lot more intense this time.

    "Kaboom!"

    A loud sound echoed out from the stone door.

    "Roar!"

    A beast¡¯s roar reverberated throughout the throne room.

    At the stone door was a beast with steel like blue fur. It¡¯s sharp ck ws glowed icily. More uniquely, there was a fiery red line of fur that extended from its forehead all the way to its tail...

    "Blue Fire Wolf!"

    "No, it¡¯s the Blue Fire Wolf King!"

    Before the soldiers could finish, additional figures came through the door. A second, a third...

    Within moments, nearly a thousand Blue Fire Wolves had made their way inside.

    Apart from the Blue Fire Wolves, there were various other ferocious beasts. There were the Steel Limb Golden Apes, the Tri-horn White Rhinoceros, and the sharp fanged Torrential Thunder Lions...

    They packed the entire room.

    However, they were all quite disciplined. It looked like a trained beast army There were 1000 Blue Fire Wolves on the perimeter whilst no less than 500 Tri-horn White Rhinoceroses took point. The Steel Limb Golden Apes rode the Rhinoceroses whilst the Lions guarded the back.

    Xing Yuanguo frowned deeply.

    From the moment Shan Jia entered through the stone doors, he had expected to face such an army. However, he did not expect Shan Jia to have trained them to such an extent.

    These were all different species of beasts.

    More importantly, they were all beasts which lived in herds!

    They valued cooperation more than anything else in the world.

    However, they only cooperated with their own species. Shan Jia¡¯s feat of making them cooperate with different species could not be over exaggerated.

    "It is no wonder you¡¯re the top n of the Southern Mountain Range!" Xing Yuanguo waved, his two handed sword in his hand.

    His sword was pure ck and ancient. Its sharp de was inscribed withplicated runes, each one shining elegantly.

    "Kill! For our pride!"

    "Kill!"

    The army charged under the leadership of Xing Yuanguo. None of them fled in the face of the beast army.

    They were the elite soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    For pride and glory!

    ...

    At the back of the throne room, Ping Yang grabbed onto Chi Guyan¡¯s arm tightly. She looked on unwillingly as she saw the army sh with the beasts.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you said you found a lead towards the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, where is it?" Ping Yang pouted.

    Chi Guyan did not speak. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi had made up an excuse to drag them both away. She had no reason to shame him now.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak. He did not even hear what Ping Yang said. His gaze was fixed onto the herd of Blue Fire Wolves.

    "Worked for 20 years?!"

    "20 years ago..."

    Eight years ago, when he was seven, he had killed a Blue Fire Wolf at the edges of Cang Ling Mountain. It was a lone wolf, but it was muchrger than those he saw now.

    In the moment that it died, it had looked back into the depths of Cang Ling Mountain. It¡¯s eyes seemed relieved, but also unwilling.

    At that time, the Blue Fire Wolf had already spent about three to four years at the edges of Cang Ling Mountain.

    No one knew why there was a lone wolf on the edges of Cang Ling Mountain. Despite its loneliness, it never stepped into the depths of Cang Ling Mountain, choosing to roam the perimeter.

    12 years...

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists tightly.

    That Blue Fire Wolf was the king of these thousand wolves, it was a king!

    Until now, Fang Zhengzhi could still keenly remember the gaze of the Blue Fire Wolf as it died, as well as its lonelyst howl.

    "Aroo!"

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously made a noise as he recalled that scene.

    A lonely and bright howl reverberated throughout the throne room.

    It interrupted that hypnotic flute music.

    All of the thousand Blue Fire Wolves stopped immediately. A thousand pair of eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi, their eyes filled with disbelief.

    This was the intelligence of the beasts.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how smart these beasts were. Since he was capable of discerning their location by sound, he was equally adept at imitating the sounds they made.

    As such, he howled once again. "Aroo!"

    In that instant, all of the thousand Blue Fire Wolves were moved.

    It was not just the Blue Fire Wolves, even the other beasts subconsciously looked towards the 15 year old youth at the back of the throne room.

    "12 years ago, he chased your king off Cang Ling Mountain!"

    "At that time, he promised your king freedom. He promised that he would let your king go!"

    "In fact, he didn¡¯t!"

    "He killed your king and dumped the body at the base of Cang Ling Mountain. He skinned your king!"

    Fang Zhengzhi stood at his original position,pletely absorbed in his storytelling. His actions were even slightlyical.

    Strangely, all of the beasts werepletely engrossed in hisical actions.

    "Rubbish! I, Shan Jia, descend from the top family of the Southern Mountain Range. I have been vegetarian my whole life. I never wear fur or leather. I drink only water from the spring! I am friends with the trees and partners with the beasts! How dare you use me of such atrocities?!" Shan Jia¡¯s expression changed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    As the top family of the Southern Mountain Range, they had their own methods of cultivating. They too believed in the Dao of All Creation. However, they were more focused on using their body to connect with nature.

    They lived in the woods and lived off thend. As such, only the top family of the Southern Mountain Range could have the surname Shan. They revered nature and everything it represented.

    They were partners with the beasts. They drew on the powers of the beasts to protect their homnd. In return, they never ate meat or wore fur or leather!

    Shan Jia was infuriated. What Fang Zhengzhi had said wentpletely against everything he believed in.

    It was almost as if someone told a monk that he had impregnated a woman. Even the most refined monk would protest vehemently against such an usation.

    When Xing Yuanguo had interrogated and even threatened Shan Jia, he did not even reply.

    However, the moment Fang Zhengzhi said a few cryptic words and made a fewical actions, Shan Jia waspletely infuriated.

    This stunned the thousands of soldiers.

    Even the nine robed men behind Bai Xing were stunned. Having known Shan Jia for so many years, they knew that Shan Jia was a man of extremely few words.

    His only replies have either been a nod or a shake of the head.

    Yet now...

    This introvert was speaking up?!

    Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She knew what Fang Zhengzhi was saying, but, How did Fang Zhengzhi manage to deduce that Shan Jia chased their king out twelve years ago?

    After all, this was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen Shan Jia. 12 years ago...

    Fang Zhengzhi could not have been more than three years old?

    "I¡¯m falsely using you? What if I have evidence?" Fang Zhengzhi could not be sure. However, his gut told him that Shan Jia had chased out the Blue Fire Wolf King.

    But what did this have to do with anything? Speaking rubbish was not a crime. If he got it right, the benefits could be immense. If he got it wrong, it would not matter anyways.

    "What evidence could you possibly have?" Shan Jia was in disbelief. He had never done such a thing, what evidence could this boy possibly have?

    "Of course I do!" Fang Zhengzhi produced the hide of a huge Blue Fire Wolf with a wave of his hand.

    Eight years ago, when he had killed the Blue Fire Wolf, he had brought the hide back, wanting to sell it for some silver. However, because Chi Guyan had gone to the Southern Mountain Vige, he had no choice but to guard against hering to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    As a result, he did not get a chance to sell the Blue Fire Wolf hide.

    As his family became richer, Fang Zhengzhi dismissed the idea of selling the hide. He decided to keep it as a memento of his first kill.

    It was being put to good use now.

    Shan Jia¡¯s gaze was fixed on the hide of the Blue Fire Wolf. All of the other Blue Fire Wolves also concentrated on that hide.

    That was the hide of their king.

    "Aroo!" In an instant, the thousand Blue Fire Wolves howled in despair. Their howls rocked the throne room, almost like an offering to their fallen king

    Shan Jia¡¯s expression darkened.

    "It¡¯s you! You killed their king, you bloody viger!"

 Chapter 247: Turn of events

    Chapter 247: Turn of events

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "You¡¯re lying! 12 years ago, I was only three years old. Saying that I killed their king is an insult to their king! Or... do you have a guilty conscience?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze became sharp and icy.

    He had expected Shan Jia¡¯s response.

    It was only reasonable for Shan Jia to respond that way. Shan Jia was actually not the guilty party. However, who cared about that? Fang Zhengzhi was just waiting for that response.

    "Aroo!" The one thousand Blue Fire Wolves howled after hearing what Fang Zhengzhi said. This time, their howls were filled with fury.

    As beasts who lived in a herd, their intelligence was much greater than those of other beasts. They had quicklye to a decision on who was lying.

    "Imagine if i had killed their king, wouldn¡¯t I have even less incentive to show his hide and speak out about the incident? Do you really think that these are mindless wolves who will be controlled by you?" Fang Zhengzhi said deliberately as he saw the raging pack.

    The eyes of the 1000 Blue Fire Wolves turned red in that instant.

    Shan Jia¡¯s expression also changed.

    He had no idea that the Blue Fire Wolf King was killed. He also did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi would use its hide to frame him.

    He felt incredibly wronged.

    He felt like the monk who knew that the kid in thedy¡¯s womb was not his. However, after the baby was born, a blood test revealed that it was a match to his.

    Was there anything more ridiculous than this?

    F*ck!"

    This is ludicrous!

    Shan Jia wanted to exin himself, but he did not know how.

    The thousands of soldiers were stunned by this turn of events. All of them looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Did Shan Jia really kill the Blue Fire Wolf King?"

    "If that is so, this is a great chance for us!"

    The soldiers did not know if Fang Zhengzhi was telling the truth. However, they were inclined to believe him. After all, like what Fang Zhengzhi said, he was only three years old 12 years ago.

    Killing the Blue Fire Wolf King at three?

    Is that possible?

    Of course not.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the surprise of the soldiers. He continued to motion with his limbs. He wanted to strike whilst the iron was hot.

    He would keep going, suffocating Shan Jia until he had gotten what he wanted.

    "I still have other evidence, would you like to see it? It has to do with the Tri-horn White Rhinoceros, the Steel Limb Golden Ape, and the Torrential Thunder Lions. Which one would you like to see first?" Fang Zhengzhi continued before Shan Jia could reply.

    "That¡¯s impossible!" Shan Jia¡¯s eyes turned red. He had chased all four of the kings away in four different directions.

    His sole intent was to prevent them from interacting with each other.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi could get his hands on the Blue Fire Wolf King hide, how could he possibly have those of the other three?

    Shan Jia did not believe it.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not have it, why would he announce it so loudly? Is he not afraid that his lies will be torn apart?

    Or...

    "Not good!"

    Shan Jia suddenly remembered something. He subconsciously tried to run, but it was toote. A purple light had hit his body, and there was a ray of ck light hidden within it.

    That was a lethal strike.

    "Sh*t!"

    Before he could say anything, arge ck sword had already pierced his heart, sending blood sttering everywhere.

    Shan Jia¡¯s eyes widened as the life slipped from him.

    He finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do, but it was toote. He could feel the energy exit his body in that instant.

    "Oh... I see... ahem..." Shan Jia coughed up a mouthful of blood as he red at Xing Yuanguo. His eyes were filled with pain and unwillingness. However, there was also a subtle glint of relief, almost as if a load had been taken off his shoulders.

    "Shan Jia, aren¡¯t you going to say anything before you die?" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    It was not difficult for someone as powerful as him to sneak an attack on Shan Jia. Furthermore, Shan Jia was flustered, his concentration fully on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Xing Yuanguo would never let an opportunity like that slip by.

    "Haha, you want to know the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s... attitude towards the Great Xia Dynasty? If you want to know... go... go take a look for your... yourself..." Shan Jia¡¯s eyes closed before he could finish.

    Even at the point of death, he still did not know why his n had failed.

    He had put in so much effort to set up Cang Ling Mountain and absorb it into The Vast World. He had also made all of the beasts his subordinates.

    Each of the 1000 Blue Fire Wolves were at the Divine Seal State. The Steel Limb Golden Ape were incredibly agile, the Tri-horn White Rhinoceros were powerful, and the Torrential Thunder Lions were ferocious...

    More importantly, with his training, these beasts could form powerful magical formations. Even if there were many times the number of soldiers, they would still die.

    What had gone wrong?

    The Blue Fire Wolf King...

    How could he have been killed by a three year old kid 12 years ago? Why? All of the viges at the foot of Cang Ling Mountain were all ordinary vigers. No matter how many of them there were, it would be impossible for them to kill a Blue Fire Wolf King!"

    "Dong!" Shan Jia¡¯s head hit the ground.

    "Aroo!"

    "Aroo!"

    "..."

    "Roar!"

    "Aroo!"

    All of the beasts, from the Blue Fire Wolves to the Torrential Thunder Lions, were in chaos. Each of them howled and roared continuously.

    They seemed to be honoring their dead kings, as well as praying after Shan Jia¡¯s death.

    Those were sounds of sadness and anger.

    What would a raging army of beasts do? Xing Yuanguo, Bai Xiang, even every member of the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army knew.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not.

    Shan Jia had trained these beasts for 12 years. If they would turn against him simply because of what Fang Zhengzhi said, then those 12 years would have been a waste.

    He had never intended to turn the army of beasts just by pinning the murder of the Blue Fire Wolf King on Shan Jia. He was just using it to create chaos.

    And...

    Give Xing Yuanguo a chance to attack.

    Just because Shan Jia was dead did not mean that the army of beasts would bemanded by Fang Zhengzhi. However, if Shan Jia was alive, Fang Zhengzhi would have no chance ofmanding the army of beasts.

    There was absolutely no reason to let Shan Jia live.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s idea was simple. He would create an opportunity for Xing Yuanguo to kill Shan Jia. Everything else was not his problem. All he had to do was find a safe ce to hide.

    Shan Jia¡¯s death resulted in chaos within the ranks of the beasts. He could not possibly predict what would happen next. They could tear Shan Jia apart, turn and attack the demons, or even scatter from the scene.

    However, he was sure that without Shan Jia¡¯s leadership, this army of beasts would be untamed.

    They would simply run riot!

    After the music stopped and the beasts finished their prayers, their eyes glowed with ferocity as they roared.

    They did not leave. They red at everyone in the throne room, including Bai Xing and the ck robed men. At this point, everyone was the enemy.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" A raging voice called out his name. This voice naturally originated from Bai Xing. He was furious.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not care.

    Bai Xing¡¯s opponent was Xing Yuanguo.

    Xing Yuanguo was quite the match for him. At the very least, Bai Xing had to concentrate fully if he wanted a chance to defeat Xing Yuanguo.

    "Kill!" The nine ck robed men behind Bai Xing leapt into action.

    "Kill!" The morale of the thousands of soldiers rose to an all time high. With the army of beasts left without amander, it felt like their fighting spirit had been ignited.

    The battle finally started. Everyone was inside the bloodbath, and the beasts attacked manically, regardless human or demon.

    "Ah!"

    "Go to hell!"

    ...

    The battle in the throne room was intense and savage.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood by the side of the battle, calm and serene. He was nked by twodies.

    "Where did you get the hide of the Blue Fire Wolf King?" Ping Yang did not understand what just happened. She could not suppress her curiosity any longer.

    "I killed it." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he replied disdainfully.

    "You killed it?! Don¡¯t lie to me. How old were you 12 years ago, three? You could kill the Blue Fire Wolf then?" Ping Yang did not believe it.

    "Did I say I killed it 12 years ago?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "He did kill the Blue Fire Wolf King. However, he didn¡¯t kill it 12 years ago. He killed it eight years ago. He was seven years old then!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice interrupted the conversation.

    "Sister Yan knows about this?"

    "Mm."

    "Okay then, since Sister Yan says that he killed it, I will believe him. But... he killed it eight years ago?! But he said 12! Fang Zhengzhi, you... you liar!" Ping Yang finally understood.

    "Aish... I thought that they were slightly dumb, but I never expected you to be like them... how did you not see through something so obvious?" Fang Zhengzhi mocked.

    "How dare you call me dumb? I willin about this to the emperor and have him strip you of your post!" Ping Yang raged.

    She could not possibly tolerate being called dumb in front of Chi Guyan.

    "You need to be able to get out first." Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang¡¯s fury. He was used to it, she was just a pampered princess.

    "Get out? Then... then why aren¡¯t you thinking of a method?"

    "I already thought of it. Didn¡¯t I just say? I already found a lead!" Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "You meant it when you said you found a lead?" Ping Yang said in disbelief.

    Chi Guyan was taken aback. She guessed that Fang Zhengzhi was just finding an excuse to get them out of the battle. How could he have possibly found a lead?

    "Of course it¡¯s real. Why else would I go back for you two? I am not sick..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Then tell us!" Ping Yang said anxiously.

    "Oh please, if I say it now, you will go to the emperor toin and strip me of my Sword Envoy position. And then you¡¯ll throw me in jail? I¡¯m not so dumb!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "You... you are now a rank four official, the Sword Envoy of the Great Xia Dynasty. How dare you disobey my direct order?" Ping Yang said haughtily, her arms akimbo.

    "I¡¯m about to be fired anyways, what¡¯s the difference?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang.

    "You, you... argh... Sister Yan, he¡¯s bullying me!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you should just tell us your lead. Maybe we can think of a solution together. I¡¯m sure time is of the essence for you too?" Chi Guyan finally said exasperatingly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. Just as Chi Guyan had said, time was of the essence. He had to get back to the Northern Mountain Vige by sunrise. Else, the damage could be irreversible.

    However, he wasn¡¯t too happy about being so submissive towards Chi Guyan.

    "I was just lying to her, you actually believed me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan.

    "..." Chi Guyan was stunned. Her lips parted, but words eluded her.

    Ping Yang¡¯s face flushed instantly. Her head was held high as a bright red spear appeared in her hand.

    It was the zing Qilin Spear.

    "I will kill you!"

    A column of me shot skyward as Ping Yang bellowed. It crashed towards Fang Zhengzhi, its aura intimidating and powerful.

    "You were all talking about the scene at the army camp. The Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were fighting illusions, but ended up fighting themselves. Afterwards, they were massacred by the ck robed masked men. Think about this, if the demons had such a powerful army, why bother training an army of beasts for 12 years?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he looked at the column of mes.

    Ping Yang¡¯s spear froze in its spot, the mes and the golden glow not able to advance any further.

    "Yes! Why?" Ping Yang asked curiously.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glowed as she thought about it. Then, she seemed to have a revtion.

    "What you¡¯re saying is..."

    "I think that we will have an answer very soon!" Fang Zhengzhi looked thoughtfully at the nine ck robed men standing behind Bai Xing.

 Chapter 248: The real face of The Vast World

    Chapter 248: The real face of The Vast World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The nine ck robed men were standing in a protective circle around Bai Xing. Their bodies glowed as they beat the attacking beasts backwards.

    The pale green light continued to flicker on their foreheads.

    Based on their Supernatural cultivation state, they would easily defeat any of the beasts.

    However, a swarm of beasts was a different story. They were limited by their limbs and speed.

    There were too many beasts in the throne room. There were over 1000 Blue Fire Wolves alone. Including the Steel Limb Golden Apes, Tri-horn White Rhinoceroses, and Torrential Thunder Lions, there were over 4000 beasts.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s motive was to find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. Cang Ling Mountain was part of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s territory. Even though it was dangerous, the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army should have been sufficient. Furthermore, they had reinforcements from the the five northern constabries.

    He had left the capital in a hurry and only brought two Supernatural State deputies with him.

    As such, hemanded the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army to avoid shing with the beasts. He made them rush Bai Xing and the nine ck robed men.

    This way, they could press the nine ck robed men hard.

    They all looked hard pressed to fend off the attacks.

    They had to battle over 4000 beasts and 2000 elite soldiers from the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army. The tide of the battle had shifted.

    "Domain Chief!" One of the ck robed men looked at Bai Xing anxiously.

    "I really never expected that master¡¯s efforts to set up such a wless trap would be... would be destroyed by a small little Fang Zhengzhi!" Bai Xing was unwilling to give up.

    "Domain Chief sir, you cannot hesitate any longer. If our deaths can destroy the Stabilisation Constabry, we would die a hundred times over!"

    "Yes, we would!"

    "Domain Chief sir, you cannot let the Stabilisation Constabry out of The Vast World. Else, the grand n of the demon race would be destroyed!"

    Each of the ck robed males pleaded with Bai Xing as they struggled to repel the attacks. Their expressions were determined.

    "Okay then, begin!" Bai Xing grit his teeth as he retrieved a silver colored longsword, his red demon eye shining brightly.

    At this point, all nine of the males looked relieved.

    "Hum!"

    A weird sound rang out.

    Then, the entire throne room began to shake. ck crack lines appeared in the air, almost like a spider web. It looked like the space itself was being torn apart...

    ...

    "F*ck, I think I guessed wrong!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out, a wave of awe rising in his heart.

    "You guessed wrong?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion.

    "It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over... we are so dead!" Fang Zhengzhi was worried.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Ping Yang was getting worried as well.

    "Why is everyone so set in their ways? Why must everyone die together? This way, no one will get out!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang and continuedmenting.

    "Oh I see!" Chi Guyan finally understood what was going on.

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. She was lost, but she heard Fang Zhengzhi say ¡¯die together¡¯.

    She did not like that phrase... no one in this world would like that phrase.

    ...

    When Xing Yuanguo saw this scene unfold before his eyes, his phoenix like eyes also shed with awe.

    "I understand now!"

    "It¡¯s a pity you understood toote!" Bai Xing¡¯s voice rang out. He was protected by the nine ck robed men, his sword lowered towards Xing Yuanguo. His voice was calm.

    "I have never been afraid of death. I am d to be apanied by the domain chief of the demon Star Domain!" Xing Yuanguo was calm.

    "Hahaha... let¡¯s have ourselves a great battle today!" Bai Xing¡¯s des moved as he entered the stars.

    The nine men guarding Bai Xing saw his actions. However, they did not stop him. The stage was set - everyone in The Vast World would die.

    Demons, humans, and beasts alike.

    They were all condemned to death!

    "Woosh!" A silver ray of light shot through the air. It pierced through the foreheads of three beasts and a stream of blood flowed from the open wound.

    Then, the three beasts fell to the ground, dead.

    Bai Xing stepped firmly on the body of one of the fallen beasts.

    He held the de in his right hand as he stepped on the beast with his left foot. He raised his head slightly, his attitude arrogant as his eyes glistened like lightning bolts.

    He did not speak, wielding the sword in his hand as he looked at the beasts around him.

    However, in that moment, the world became immensely quiet. No one knew if it was because Bai Xing was too quick, or because he was too powerful. All of the beasts stopped moving.

    There was a strange moment of quiet in the throne room.

    However, it onlysted for a moment.

    "Boom!"

    At this point, a loud explosion rang out in everyone¡¯s ears.

    Then, there were more than 2000 ck robed masked men in the throne room. Each one of them held a long spear, just like those that the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army wielded.

    However, their faces were all covered. One could not even see their eyes. It was almost as if they were mummified.

    When the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army saw this, they all stopped moving.

    They knew what the ck robed masked men represented. Death, absolute death, no chance at life.

    Whether they chose to battle or not.

    There was only one end, death!

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s gaze scanned the 2000 masked ck robed men, his eyes filling with rage. These were the men who had massacred the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army aboveground.

    Of the remaining 2000 members of both armies, almost 500 of them were severely injured.

    This was the worst losses Xing Yuanguo¡¯s had suffered to date, and his most painful loss.

    And now...

    He knew that the remaining 2000 soldiers in the throne room would not live. However, he could not stand idly by and watch the elite soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty die.

    "They¡¯re finally here! I¡¯m sure you recognize these things!"

    "Yes!" The 2000 soldiers replied in unison.

    "Okay, since you all recognize them, let me ask you this. You know that you will die whether you fight or not. Will you fight?" Xing Yuanguo asked.

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    "..."

    They all answered in unison, their voices reverberating throughout the throne room.

    Then, the 2000 strong Red Pinion Squad and Mountain Breaking Army moved like the waves, shouting as they charged the 2000 masked ck robed men.

    "Okay, let¡¯s battle!" Xing Yuanguo said solemnly when he saw this.

    Just as he finished, his figure disappeared from his previous location. A purple ray of light shot towards Bai Xing.

    "Bai Xing, let¡¯s have ourselves a battle to remember!"

    "Come on!" Bai Xing stepped on the body of the beast with one leg, his other leg bent. He stared intently at the purple light, the light beneath him getting brighter by the moment. It was almost as if there was a gxy behind him.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    The sounds of killing seemed to ring out at the same time.

    A silver ray of light shed with the purple.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom boom..."

    The explosions rang out as the silver light and the purple meteor shed together. It felt as if an infinite number of silver light rays were shing with a ball of purple fire.

    Remnants of each sh filled the sky.

    The ferocity of the beasts in the throne room reached a high. Roars echoed out as they began biting manically. For some beasts, they even attacked members of their own species.

    A Steel Limb Golden Ape smashed its arm on the head of a Tri-horn White Rhinoceros, causing it to crumple to the ground.

    At that moment, another Tri-horn White Rhinoceros fumed as it stabbed the Steel Limb Golden Ape in the back.

    "Kacha!"

    It¡¯s horn pierced through the body of the ape,ing out through its chest...

    ...

    The battle in the throne room had reached its peak. The ck robed masked men, the beasts, the soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army, and the demons, all killed without hesitation.

    There was nothing to be said.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes became watery as she continued to watch the battle unfold from the corner of the throne room.

    "Why is Uncle Xing going into a duel with that Bai Xing?" Ping Yang said tearfully, still unable to understand.

    "Bai Xing has sealed the only way out..." Chi Guyan stroked Ping Yang¡¯s face gently.

    "The only way out?" Ping Yang still did not understand.

    "Do you remember what Fang Zhengzhi said just now?" Chi Guyan subconsciously nced at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly, almost as if he did not hear the conversation going on just beside him.

    "Sister Yan is referring to why the demons would need to spend 12 years training an army of beasts when they had such a strange army already?" Ping Yang asked.

    "Yes, think about it... those ck robed masked men, should be an army belonging to The Vast World!" Chi Guyan stared at the 2000 strong army in the throne room.

    "Belong to The Vast World?!" Ping Yang was even more confused.

    "Initially, I had the same conjecture as Fang Zhengzhi. I thought the problemy with the nine ck robed men. I thought that the ones who had massacred our elite soldiers were the illusions of the nine men. But now..." Chi Guyan hesitated.

    "Was it not?"

    "No! Their illusions were of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad. Actually, they¡¯re illusions of every living soul in The Vast World!" Chi Guyan pointed at the 2000 ck robed masked men.

    If one followed Chi Guyan¡¯s finger...

    A ray of purple light shot out from one of the ck robed masked men. It was an exact replica of Xing Yuanguo¡¯s attack. It shot towards a Red Pinion Squad member.

    At the same time, another ck robed masked man began to glow, almost as if he was bathing in a gxy. A silver light flickered around him...

    "How... how is this possible?!" Ping Yang looked at the two ck robed masked men in disbelief.

    "Actually, this is genuinely "The Vast World"! Chi Guyan¡¯s tone was conflicted. No one could tell what she was thinking.

    "Genuinely "The Vast World"?" Ping Yang said in awe.

    "When we take an illusion as reality, reality bes an illusion. When we think we have something we don¡¯t actually have, we end up losing what we have." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be replying to Ping Yang and talking to himself at the same time.

    "When we take an illusion as reality, reality bes an illusion. When we think we have something we don¡¯t actually have, we end up losing what we have? This is quite apt, did you think of it yourself?" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi curiously when she heard it.

    "Have you read "Dream of the Red Chamber"?" Fang Zhengzhi asked curiously.

    "What is "Dream of the Red Chamber"?" Chi Guyan asked.

    "The "Dream of the Red Chamber"... is a dream that someone had in a red colored chamber!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    His heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten that there was no "Dream of the Red Chamber" in this world.

    "What has dreaming... got to do with what you said?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Did I say it had any link? Mm, I thought of that phrase myself. Aren¡¯t I smart?" Fang Zhengzhi had no qualms about iming the credit for himself.

    "Oh please!" Ping Yang did not want to let Fang Zhengzhi win so easily. Even though what Fang Zhengzhi said seemed simple, it seemed to have muchrger implications.

    When we take an illusion as reality, reality bes an illusion. When we think we have something we don¡¯t actually have, we end up losing what we have.

    Is that very applicable to the current situation?

    Ping Yang kept repeating this phrase to herself. Then, her eyes brightened up, almost as if she had a revtion.

    "What you¡¯re saying is, even though these masked men are fake, they are drawing on real energies?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan excitedly.

    "Aish... your intelligence needs a lot of work!" Fang Zhengzhi replied rudely when he saw Ping Yang¡¯s expression.

    "You chide me again?! Argh... tell me... where... where have I gone wrong?" Ping Yang pouted, then asked weakly.

    "Even though what you¡¯re saying is notpletely wrong, you did miss it by a little bit!" Fang Zhengzhi watched the intense battle between Xing Yuanguo and Bai Xing unfold as he spoke.

 Chapter 249: Door within the Throne Room

    Chapter 249: Door within the Throne Room

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When powerhouses met, the battle was constantly evolving.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how powerful Xing Yuanguo and Bai Xing were. However, in the short span of a few sentences, they had shed more than a dozen times.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what ¡¯offence is the best defence¡¯ meant.

    Xing Yuanguo attacked constantly, going for the kill with every hit. He pressed hard, going for lethal blows with each hand, his de swinging viciously.

    More importantly, he chained his techniques perfectly. The first technique transited smoothly into the second, and then the third...

    It looked simple, but anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was impossible to replicate.

    When Xing Yuanguo first started, his first stroke basically determined all of his remaining techniques. However, in the face of an enemy, who knew what the first stroke would be?

    Furthermore, the battlefield was constantly evolving. Different opponents used different techniques. One could not use the same set of techniques to suppress all potential opponents.

    As such...

    Xing Yuanguo adopted the concept of "adaptation".

    He constantly switched his techniques and strokes about. He trained to be ambidextrous so that he could adapt to any situation on the battlefield.

    He had learnt every possible technique, then changed it to make it uniquely his.

    "What did I miss out?!" Ping Yang said discontentedly.

    "Let¡¯s use Xing Hou as an example. The masked ck man may have gotten Xing Hou¡¯s power, but can he get his experience?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the masked ck man firing purple rays of light.

    Ping Yang did not understand at first. However, when she looked at the masked ck man, she had a revtion.

    Even though the masked ck man had Xing Yuanguo¡¯s abilities, his techniques were nowhere near as good.

    "I know what you want to say, but this is just one of the points you missed. There is something more important!" Fang Zhengzhi waved Ping Yang off, asking her to listen instead of speaking.

    Ping Yang swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue, her face flushed. She wanted to rebut, but she did not know what to say. Her mouth opened slightly.

    "Tell me!" Ping Yang fumed.

    "You said that the ck robed masked men were fake whilst the soldiers were real. This is a fatal mistake. However, the exnation for this is a lot moreplicated. I don¡¯t think you would understand it. It is said that you can have the same attitude towards wealth and poverty, a good or bad harvest, and a long or short lifespan." Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "What do you mean?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I¡¯m saying that one can face each of these scenarios with the same attitude and mentality." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "These are clearly different, how can you have the same mentality towards them? Poverty is poverty, wealth is wealth... do you think you¡¯re on the same level as the emperor?" Ping Yang asked in confusion.

    "This is why I say it is very difficult to exin it to you. Let me give you an example. Many would say that one¡¯s wealth and lifespan is decided by fate."

    "You can¡¯t say that he is totally wrong. If someone had been a saint in their previous life, they may be rewarded with wealth and longevity. If they did evil in their previous life, they may be punished with poverty and a short life."

    "This is the ssical view. However, the other viewpoint is that we are the masters of our own fate."

    "If one was blessed with wealth and longevity but did a ton of evil in his life, he may get his retribution in this life. Another man could have been cursed with poverty and a short life, but did something saintly in his life. He may not need to wait till the next life to reap the rewards of his actions."

    "In conclusion, one¡¯s fate may have been predetermined, but we cannot be restrained by it. We must create our own destiny."

    Fang Zhengzhi did not borate. Ping Yang¡¯s status made it difficult for her to understand equality and change.

    "I can understand a little... but, what has this got to do with our current situation?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi conflictingly. Even though she did not fully understand what Fang Zheng had said, she could feel that there was a lesson in morality behind it. However, she still did not know how it linked to The Vast World.

    "If I recall correctly, The Vast World got its name for its ability to make the sea a drop in the ocean!" Fang Zhengzhi looked to Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan nodded slightly. Fang Zhengzhi was right, The Vast World had the ability to make a sea a drop in an ocean.

    "What is the opposite of that? Making a drop in the ocean into a sea! It is just like our current situation now. If reality can be made into an illusion, illusion can be made into a reality!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Reality and illusion... how to we break it?" Ping Yang asked.

    "We can¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "We can¡¯t?! Then what¡¯s the point of saying all that?" Ping Yang said condescendingly.

    "In The Vast World, everything real is fake and everything fake is real. We can¡¯t break that, but, what if The Vast World didn¡¯t exist?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Didn¡¯t exist? You¡¯re saying..."

    "There is aw known as thew of conservation of energy. No item in the world can exist by itself. In order to support something as energy consuming as The Vast World, there must be something equally powerful."

    "You¡¯re referring to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?!" Ping Yang did not know what thew of conservation of energy was. However, when Fang Zhengzhi said ¡¯something equally powerful¡¯, she reacted immediately.

    "That¡¯s right. If we can find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, we can break The Vast World!" Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "That¡¯s equivalent to not saying anything. Uncle Xing and the soldiers must have searched the entire throne room. If they could find it, this wouldn¡¯t be happening!" Ping Yang said depressingly.

    "I just said that what¡¯s real is fake. Since the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is integrated with The Vast World, it must follow the same rule!"

    "What you¡¯re saying is..."

    "There are two possibilities. One, there is another throne room within this one. However, you said that this ce had already been searched. If it was here, they would have found it. So, only the second possibility..."

    "What is it?"

    "What¡¯s real is fake and what¡¯s fake is real! The altar is the throne room and the throne room is the altar! What that means is that the altar is the real throne room!"

    "Ah?!" Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped in disbelief. However, her eyes glimmered brightly.

    "I see!" Chi Guyan nodded slightly when she heard this.

    "Then let¡¯s get out of here!" Ping Yang did not really trust Fang Zhengzhi, but she trusted Chi Guyan with her life. Once Chi Guyan nodded, she did not hesitate at all.

    "Where do we go out from?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Through the stone door of course!" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi innocently.

    "I think your intelligence really needs work! Do you really think you cane out the way you came in?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang condescendingly.

    "Erm... we can¡¯t?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully. Then, she became anxious, "What now?"

    "If I guessed correctly, that should be the door!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed to his back.

    Fang Zhengzhi was pointing towards a closed stone door. This door was carved on the wall and it was nked by eight solemn and intimidating statues.

    It looked like the altar outside.

    There were many simr engravings on the wall of the throne room. There were also many engravings of walls and statues. A quick nce revealed no less than a dozen.

    But Fang Zhengzhi specifically chose this one.

    "Why there?" Ping Yang was confused.

    "Real and fake are direct opposites. The doors should also be the same!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed out that the engraving was directly opposite the stone door.

    "You... aren¡¯t lying to me right?" Ping Yang still did not believe him.

    "Try and you¡¯ll find out!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "How do I try?" Ping Yang asked.

    "If you believe me, you can try barging it with your head and see if it¡¯ll give!" Fang Zhengzhi said seriously.

    "Use my head... to barge it?!" Ping Yang paled. She hesitated, then grit her teeth. She shouted to the nearest Mountain Breaking Army soldier, "Hey... you! Come and protect the princess!"

    "Yes!" One of the soldiers who was having second thoughts immediately rushed over happily.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the expression of happiness on the soldier¡¯s face and sighed. Even the elite armies epted a couple which simply did not make the cut.

    This was an undeniable fact repeated throughout history.

    "What is your name?" Ping Yang asked as she looked at the soldier.

    "In reply to your highness, my name is Wen Daobao, my father is Wen Qinghe. I will guard your highness with my life!" The soldier puffed his chest and walked confidently to Ping Yang.

    "Oh so you are the son of one of thew ministers? Good. Now, I order you to barge through that door!" Ping Yang pointed at the door.

    "Ah?!" Wen Dabao paled upon hearing that.

    He had only joined the Mountain Breaking Army for the honour and glory. The Mountain Breaking Army was famed throughout the empire. As long as he served three years with them, he would be respected for the rest of his life.

    He may even be able to take over his father¡¯s post in the future with the help of the Stabilisation Constabry.

    In fact, Wen Dabao did not want to join this expedition to excavate the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    He simply wanted to serve in the army for three years.

    Of course, the Mountain Breaking Army did not really bother much about his presence. The deputy general initially had no intention of having Wen Dabao participate. However, Wen Dabao¡¯s father heard of the expedition and thought that it was a good opportunity for Wen Dabao to do something great.

    Afterall, an ordinary honorable discharge could notpare to an honorable discharge after doing something great for the dynasty.

    This was an understandable thought. Xing Yuanguo was leading the expedition, what could possibly go wrong?

    In the end, heaven knows best.

    Wen Dabao had used his talents at ¡¯cruising¡¯ in order to survive till now. Who else could understand the pain that he had went through?

    And now...

    He thought that he would have an excuse to leave the carnage andze around beside the princess. He never expected to be caught between a rock and a hard ce.

    This was hard for him to swallow.

    "Why? You dare to disobey a direct order?" Ping Yang stared at him, her arms akimbo.

    Wen Dabao began to sweat profusely when he saw that. A shiver went down his spine and he felt as if his head was going to explode.

    When Ping Yang raged, the entire capital trembled.

    Afterall, not everyone was Fang Zhengzhi. Ping Yang was a devilish girl in the capital who no one dared to antagonize. Even her father would sweat if he saw Ping Yang as she was now.

    If the emperor wanted his official to die, his official had to die.

    Ping Yang was not the emperor, but she was the master. As the most pampered princess in the empire, her wish was amand.

    "No... no... I... I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Wen Dabao stammered as he lowered his head.

    "Then why aren¡¯t you doing it?" Ping Yang bellowed.

    "Yes, yes..." Wen Dabao nodded repeatedly, but he was still rooted to the ground.

    When Ping Yang saw this, she red at Wen Dabao. Just as she was about to rage, Fang Zhengzhi walked over and patted Wen Dabao on the shoulder. Then, he whispered something in Wen Dabao¡¯s ear.

    Wen Dabao immediately raised his head, his eyes glowing.

    "Plonk!" He fell to his knees.

    "Thank you your highness, thank you princess! I will follow your orders!" Wen Dabao clenched his fists tightly, clearly reinvigorated.

    Ping Yang could not understand what was going on. Wen Dabao was clearly hesitant despite the ordering from me. Why is it that he is so motivated after Fang Zhengzhi spoke to him?

    What is going on?

    "Ah!"

    Before Ping Yang could question him, Wen Dabao charged, his eyes glowing as his body shot out like an arrow.

    He did not dodge or hesitate.

    "Dong!" A huge sound echoed out as Wen Dabao crashed against that door.

    Then...

    His eyes went ck as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

 Chapter 250: What are you doing?

    Chapter 250: What are you doing?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Wen Dabao had charged against the door with all his might. He struck the door with such speed and uracy.

    This could be seen from the trickle of blood from his forehead.

    Even though Wen Dabao was just nning to ride his time out in the Mountain Breaking Army, he was not weak. After all, he was the heir to a ministerial post.

    If not, he would not have bled from the impact.

    Ping Yang looked at the unconscious Wen Dabao suspiciously, then back at Fang Zhengzhi

    "What did you tell him?"

    "Nothing much. I just told him truthfully that the door was the exit. As long as he charged it, he would be doing something great for the empire!" Fang Zhengzhi said truthfully.

    "He believed you?" Ping Yang asked incredulously.

    "Of course not, but what if she had said it?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Chi Guyan.

    "You¡¯re... really shameless!"

    "Thank you!"

    "What now?" Ping Yang pointed at the unconscious Wen Dabao and the blood stained stone door. She was clearly saying that the path was wrong.

    "What do you mean?"

    "The stone door is a fake!"

    "What do you mean by fake? I just made a tiny calction error." Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "Tiny error?!" Ping Yang was doubtful. You call this a tiny error? It nearly cost someone his life! Although I don¡¯t really care about that guy¡¯s life...

    "The door is the real one." Chi Guyan spoke up.

    "Why is Sister Yan taking his side?" Ping Yang said unwillingly.

    "Look at the bloodstain on the door." Chi Guyan pointed to the spot where Wen Dabao¡¯s head had crashed against the door.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened. Then, her expression of suspicion turned into one of joy, almost as if she had just been fed honey.

    She saw a crack, a crack which was hidden by the blood.

    The crack was small.

    However, this was a crack that wasn¡¯t there before. No matter how intense the battle got, the throne room did not give.

    However, Wen Dabao had cracked the wall.

    The result was obvious.

    "In order to break the stone door, one must be powerful enough. This is simple logic. Sometimes, smart people like me miss out the simplest of details." Fang Zhengzhimented.

    "Humph!" Ping Yang snorted, but her hands did not stop.

    The zing Qilin Spear trembled as its me shot skyward, a golden light flickering in the air.

    Ability wise, Ping Yang may not be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s match. However, with the zing Qiling Spear in hand, there were few who could match her offensive prowess.

    "Boom!" A loud sound echoed out.

    In the sea of fire, a golden light homed in on the stone door. Then, it exploded, sending light flooding in from outside.

    It shone on the ground, revealing a ck tunnel.

    "Oh, it doesn¡¯t lead straight out?" Ping Yang was shocked to see the ck tunnel.

    "I said that there are two possibilities. The first is that there is another throne room within this one. The second one is that the altar is the throne room." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "I thought you said the first option was impossible?"

    "Stop harping on the small details. All roads lead to Rome. Do not be too concerned with the insignificant details." Fang Zhengzhi waved Ping Yang off.

    "Oh please!" Ping Yang huffed, then looked at the pitch ck tunnel. "Now that we have found the door, should we send someone to scout ahead?"

    "Isn¡¯t there someone already?"

    "Really? You?"

    "Of course not!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and nced at Wen Dabao. "The path is clear for you to see. If you continue to y dead, you will not have the chance to make your contribution!"

    When the prone Wen Dabao heard Fang Zhengzhi, he shot up immediately, almost like a monkey.

    Ping Yang was in disbelief.

    Chi Guyan was calm andposed, almost as if she had expected this from the start.

    "I had a dream just now. I dreamt that a golden armored heavenly general descended from the heavens. He said that I was a deputy, and that I was to protect princess Ping Yang and princess Guyan. He ordered me..." Wen Dabao began to narrate.

    "Enough rubbish! The color of blood in the blood bag on your forehead is a little faded. When you get back, make sure to make it a little darker. That would make it a little more believable. Understand?" Fang Zhengzhi waved him off.

    Wen Dabao was stunned, but he quickly recovered, smiling sheepishly. "Your honor, it is no wonder you are the top scorer in the imperial examinations. Your keen eye and mental acuity..."

    "Get down!"

    "Yes yes yes, I am on my way!" Wen Dabao leapt into the tunnel before his voice had travelled to the group.

    "How dare you scam me? I am a princess! You should be killed! The Mountain Breaking Army is an army of courageous soldiers. Why do we have to find such a timid guy?" Ping Yang raged as she stared down at Wen Dabao.

    "Everyone has their strengths. Wen Dabao is afraid of death. As such, he will be much more cautious and observant than a courageous man!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "As if!" Ping Yang cocked her head to one side.

    When Chi Guyan heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, her eyes brightened. This was something that her father had taught her.

    Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

    The best general is not one who can lead an elite army, but one who can best entuate the strengths of everyone that he had.

    How does someone who grew up in a mountain vige understand this concept?

    Is this really Heaven¡¯s will?

    "Your highness, princess, Sword Envoy, it is safe down here!" Wen Daobao¡¯s voice rang out from inside the tunnel.

    This time, Wen Dabao specially addressed the Sword Envoy as well.

    "Take Ping Yang with you first. Uncle Xing and I will be closely behind!" Chi Guyan¡¯s figure disappeared as she shot towards Xing Yuanguo.

    "Sister Yan!" Ping Yang looked at Chi Guyan anxiously.

    "Chi Guyan?!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Chi Guyan¡¯s back. He did not care for her elegance as she killed her way towards Xing Yuanguo.

    Why would the princess of the Divine Constabry, the top ranked youth in the empire rush out at this time?

    The exit was right in front of her.

    If what Ping Yang said was true, and the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet could really make one a sage, then why did Chi Guyan not seem to care? Did she not care, or was she doing this for the country...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say much. He had seen too many people in the previous world who were fiercely loyal to the country and incredibly filial.

    These people rarely died of natural causes.

    Were they right or wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in no position to judge. He simply led his life the way he wanted to. He would eat what he wanted, do what he wanted, and yed with whatever he wanted.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Zhengzhi picked Ping Yang up and entered the tunnel...

    ...

    The sun rose slowly at the break of dawn. The sky turned white and dew hung from the des of grass.

    This was good weather. It was not too hot or cold; perfect weather for the vigers who startedboring early in the day.

    However, no one from the Northern Mountain Vige went to the fields today.

    All of the vigers were gathered on the square. Zhang Yangping stood right at the front, his wrinkled face expressionless. However, it was clear that he was waiting on something.

    Clouds of dust could be seen at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    That was a thousand men strong army. Each soldier wore gleaming armor, their expressions solemn. Their spears shone in the son.

    "General, we are here!"

    "Mm! Deputy General Li!"

    "Yes sir!"

    "Pass the order, seal all the entrances and exits to the Northern Mountain Vige! Not even a bird should be able to fly out!"

    "Yes sir!"

    "Deputy Zhang, Deputy Chen, Deputy Wang, follow me into the vige!"

    "General, if the intelligence is to be believed, Fang Zhengzhi is in the Heavenly Reflection State. If only three of us enter the vige, will we..." One of the deputy generals was clearly worried.

    "What are you afraid of? Do you really think Fang Zhengzhi is rebelling? Will he ignore the lives of the hundred of families here? I have been authorized by the military to do this. Fang Zhengzhi has no other choice but to surrender!"

    "Yes sir!"

    "Enter the vige!"

    ...

    The tunnel was much longer than they had expected. Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and Wen Dabao took almost 15 minutes to get out.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned by what he saw.

    The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet... was not a tablet!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what that meant. However, he could not describe what the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was. He was in a utopia.

    The ce was spotless, even the ground was impably cleaned.

    The entire world was way too clean. The grass was jade green, the woods were luscious, and there was ake.

    Theke was so clear one could see the bottom.

    One would expect to see fishes in theke, but there were none to be seen.

    A field, woods,ke...

    Other than these, there were only four words, "Heaven Dao Sage Tablet".

    These four words were not imprinted on the ground or in the woods. They were not floating on the water or engraved into a rock. There wasn¡¯t even a rock to be seen.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know why he thought of the four words, but he knew that this was it from the moment he stepped onto the field.

    The field, the woods, theke... this was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    "Have you seen it?" Ping Yang asked after recovering from her shock.

    "Clean!" Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "Silence?" [1]

    "No I said clean!"

    "Oh, so what are we supposed to do now?" Ping Yang continued.

    "Break the cleanliness!"

    "You want to destroy the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Ping Yang was stunned when she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    "If we don¡¯t break the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, how do we break The Vast World?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "But this is utopia. Can you really bring yourself to... and, and... the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet is a gift from heaven. There are only 36 of them, how can you destroy them?" Ping Yang said fearfully.

    "There are so many? 36?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback.

    "Yes, there are 36 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets. Each one contains and embodies a Heavenly Dao. Anyone who can understand it will be a saint!"

    "Has anyone done so?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "Of course! The "Spiritual Sage" understood the 20th one which represented the Dao of constant change. The "Heavenly Barbarian Sage" understood the 28th one which represented the Dao of adversity..."

    "And how many more do we have?" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Ping Yang.

    "You¡¯re not wrong, but we can excavate this clean space and bring it back to the capital. That way..."

    "How are you going to bring it away if you can¡¯t get out?" Fang Zhengzhi reiterated.

    "You still can¡¯t destroy it! I... I don¡¯t agree!" Ping Yang pouted adamantly.

    "Don¡¯t use me of bullying you. We will decide this in a fair manner. There are three of us here, majority wins. Any objection?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Wen Dabao.

    When Wen Dabao heard this, he began to sweat profusely. Fang Zhengzhi was not bullying Ping Yang, he was bullying Wen Dabao!

    "Okay!" Ping Yang grit her teeth and nodded. She turned to Wen Dabao, "Tell us, whose side will you take? Mine, or this shameless fe!"

    "In reply to your highness. I am just a lowly soldier, I will follow your orders!" Wen Dabao replied instantly.

    .

    "Did you hear that?" Ping Yang raised her head haughtily when she heard Wen Dabao¡¯s reply.

    "However..." Wen Dabao spoke up once again, "However, because I know that you¡¯re the princess, you cannot remain trapped here. It would be horrible for thends. As such... I... I have to side with the Sword Envoy. This Heaven Dao Sage Tablet must be destroyed!"

    "You..." Ping Yang¡¯s expression darkened.

    "Okay then, since majority agree to destroy the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, I shall begin!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang and began to undress.

    "Ah! You... you shameless b*stard, what are you doing?!" Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped when Fang Zhengzhi began to undress.

    [1] In Mandarin, the words ¡¯silence¡¯ and ¡¯clean¡¯ have simr pronunciations.

 Chapter 251: Heaven is watching

    Chapter 251: Heaven is watching

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I¡¯m destroying the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi replied tly.

    "If you¡¯re destroying the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, why... why are you undressing?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s beast hide t-shirt on the floor, her face flushed.

    "Don¡¯t you need to take of your clothes when you shower?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang as he continued to strip. His Heart Protection Mirror was quickly came into view. It was held to his chest by a leather strap.

    Other than this, he only wore a pair of ck undergarments.

    "Ba... bathe!" Ping Yang waspletely stunned. Just as she was about to use him of being shameless and barbaric, she saw the Heart Protection Mirror on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    That was a silver colored Heart Protection Mirror, and it shone faintly in the light.

    "This Heart Protection Mirror looks familiar... why does it look just like Sister Yan¡¯s "Watertight Mirror"? Could it be..."

    Ping Yang immediately thought of something, but dismissed it just as quickly. The Watertight Mirror is one of the Divine Constabry¡¯s seven greatest treasures. Why would it be in this shameless fe¡¯s possessions.

    "Plonk!"

    Before Ping Yang could think of anything else, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into theke. He began swimming around like a fish taking to water.

    Wen Dabao was wide-eyed with awe as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. "The Sword Envoy is really a hero. You are bathing in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet and in front of the princess? No one else in this world has your courage!"

    After swimming around in theke, Fang Zhengzhi found that the temperature was perfect. It was not where as good as a hot spring, but it was quitefortable.

    He found it rather calming and enjoyable.

    He called out to Wen Dabao to join him.

    Wen Dabao paled when he heard it. Stripping in front of Ping Yang was unimaginable. Furthermore, he could not take the responsibility of breaking the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    He refused to go into theke.

    Without any other option, Fang Zhengzhi asked Ping Yang to join him.

    "Ew! Shameless!" Ping Yang rolled her eyes at Fang Zhengzhi, then ran off into the woods to enjoy the ¡®scenery¡¯.

    After being rejected by both people, Fang Zhengzhi could only smile resignedly. The view was great and the water wasfortable. It was a pity they didn¡¯t know how to enjoy it.

    "I shall wash off all the dust from this trip!" After swimming around happily, he began to scrub his back, humming as he did so.

    It was just the tune that he was humming when he met Chi Guyan in the woods.

    "Hit the drums and the gongs, stop the beat and hear me sing. All gossip can be made into song, hear me sing the 18..."

    His emotions began to go a little out of control. He was being hugged by the water, soothed by the warmth, and his voice grew louder and louder.

    His voice reverberated throughout the entire Heaven Dao Sage Tablet

    Ping Yang kept humming to herself, "Shameless, shameless, shameless..."

    Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes were glimmering. He wanted to kneel down to Fang Zhengzhi. He had always thought of himself as awless rebel. However, now that he had seen Fang Zhengzhi, he knew that he was still a far cry from Fang Zhengzhi.

    This man was peerlessly shameless.

    There was a saying, shameless people would be dealt with by heaven!

    Fang Zhengzhi was humming away happily, scrubbing and sshing around in theke. He caused ripples in the otherwise calmke...

    But he forgot...

    He forgot that this was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. It represented the Dao of Heaven and was incredibly powerful. The heavens were closest to humans here.

    Fang Zhengzhi never believed any of this.

    He had always dismissed talk of ghosts and gods. However, today... at this moment! He had no other choice but to believe it.

    He felt the water beginning to act strangely.

    None of this was the result of his own actions. It had happened autonomously. In an instant, the tiny ripples on the surface became a terrifying whirlpool.

    With theke as its epicenter, the waves picked up the humming Fang Zhengzhi, still in his underpants.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was in shock. He did not even have a chance to react.

    He had never expected that the initially calm Heaven Dao Sage Tablet would be so ferocious in the blink of an eye. It was going for his life!

    Lightning!

    Ordinarily, lightning was simply static discharge. However, this lightning was different. It looked like a ck crack, and it was headed straight for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    "What the f*ck?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi only managed to say these three words before being sucked into the crack by an immense force.

    "Could it be that I solved the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was not a pessimist. Even if he was, he could not be right now. If he was pessimistic, being dragged into a different space could only mean one thing - death...

    His only option was to remain optimistic.

    "I am going to be a sage!"

    ...

    Wen Dabao, who was standing on the banks of theke, saw Fang Zhengzhi being sucked in by the ck crack. However, he did not move.

    Firstly, he was too far away.

    Secondly, he did not have a death wish.

    "Sword Envoy, your honor!" Wen Dabao knelt to the ground, tears flowing from his eyes as he pounded the ground with his fists.

    Ping Yang, who was enjoying the ¡®scenery¡¯, also saw the scene unfold before her eyes.

    Her crystal clear eyes filled with shock, then fear,plete, spirit sucking fear. She experienced it all within the blink of an eye.

    "Shameless... b*stard... don¡¯t... don¡¯t die!"

    ...

    Inside the throne room, the battle was almost white hot.

    Xing Yuanguo had stopped attacking as ferociously. However, the purple glow continued to flicker around his body, almost as if it was locking his life within him.

    Bai Xing had paled considerably. If not for the fact that he had used the silver thread to protect himself constantly, he would have lost his life by now.

    The Stabilisation Constabry rose to its position through its battle spirit. Their people had boundless battle spirit, and Xing Yuanguo was the living embodiment of that.

    Xing Yuanguo was by far the most powerful leader of any of the 13 constabries.

    Even Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry would not dare face off against Xing Yuanguo.

    Even though Xing Yuanguo was holding back now, that maniacal battle spirit continued to crash towards Bai Xing like a wave. It caused Bai Xing to sweat profusely, drenching his clothes. His arms were injured in no less than five different ces, and each gash was deep.

    The worst wound was at the back of his waist.

    That wound had injured his internal organs. A strike that could injure the organs from the back of the waist had to be incredibly deep and vicious.

    The nine ck robed men were also thoroughly exhausted.

    They were all Supernatural State cultivators and could heal themselves every time they got injured. However, the energy required to do so was an astronomical amount.

    The deeper wounds required both effort and time.

    All the nine of them made a unified decision. Each of their green demon eyes turned ck.

    They absorbed all the energy from their demon eye, determined to fight to the bitter end.

    In actual fact, from the moment the masked ck robed men appeared in the throne room, everyone¡¯s fate was decided.

    The throne room was the final path of retreat from The Vast World. As long as it wasn¡¯t affected by The Vast World, they could still escape.

    The initial n was to have the army of beasts destroy the Stabilisation Constabry if they ever entered the throne room.

    When Bai Xing absorbed the energy of The Vast World into the throne room, the masked ck robed men descended. This represented the demons will to massacre the Red Pinion Squad and Mountain Breaking Army.

    This also represented them sealing the only escape path.

    Everyone would die.

    Since there was no way out, they saw no point in preserving the energy in their demon eyes. They would go down fighting!

    "Uncle Xing!" A ray of light appeared beside Xing Yuanguo just as a crisp voice rang out.

    "Guyan, what are you doing here? Our only hope is if you solve the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet! You... should go find it, quickly!"

    "Uncle Xing, I know what you¡¯re thinking. You want to kill as many of them as possible, leaving a few of us to find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet." Chi Guyan looked at Xing Yuanguo.

    Aspared to Bai Xing, Xing Yuanguo looked a lot healthier. However, he was still injured in many ces. Bai Xing¡¯s techniques were strange and unpredictable.

    It was impossible for Xing Yuanguo to dodge them all. He too had no less than five wounds on his body. Each wound was thin, but they cut to the bone.

    "..." Xing Yuanguo did not speak. Silence was his admittance.

    "But how can I watch on as you battle yourself to death? Furthermore, you know that even I am not guaranteed to solve the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!"

    "The future of the Great Xia Dynasty cannot end here!"

    "What if it¡¯s not me?"

    "Guyan, don¡¯t be silly! I knew you would say this. However, whether it is you or not is not up to you to decide. This is heaven¡¯s will. If you have such thoughts, you are going against heaven¡¯s will! You are showingplete and utter disregard for the future of the Great Xia Dynasty and the human race!"

    "Uncle Xing!"

    "Enough, I know about what happened in the Heaven Dao Pavillion. I also know what you¡¯re going to do after you descend the mountain. Furthermore, I know that you¡¯ve been suppressing your powers. Since I am about to die, why don¡¯t you let me see your powers?"

    "Your niece... will obey your orders!" Chi Guyan did not say anything else. She nodded lightly. The Divine Constabry and the Stabilisation Constabry had the closest rtionship amongst the 13.

    This was something known to everyone.

    However, even though they were incredibly close, there was never a marriage between the two constabries.

    No one knew why.

    The truth was, even without a marriage, the two constabries remained incredibly close, never once shing with one another.

    ...

    On the square of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The four men rode leisurely into the vige. Dust was kicked up by their stallions as they moved. The man on point red, his face dark as charcoal.

    "General, it seems like they are waiting for us?" One of the deputies was shocked to see the gathered vigers.

    "Mm, I guess our mission will be easilypleted!" The leading middle aged man nodded slightly, his gaze icy.

    "When you say mission, you mean?" The deputy was slightly confused.

    "Do you think that killing two soldiers is a grave crime?"

    "About that..."

    "Just tell me the truth!"

    "Yes, killing two soldiers in an audacious act. However, ording to my investigations, these soldiers took money from the army¡¯s coffers but never paid it out to the vigers. They forced the vigers to provide them food and alcohol. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions are borderline martialw, but, Fang Zhengzhi is not in the army, so his actions..."

    "What if the soldiers had insulted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents?"

    "ording to martialw, bullying and abuse of one¡¯s power are punishable by death!"

    "It¡¯s good that you know that. I have no feud with Fang Zhengzhi. Why would I antagonize him over two useless b*stards who deserved to die anyways?"

    "I understand now!"

    "If my guess is correct, Fang Zhengzhi should be in hiding!"

    "Do you want to search the vige?"

    "If I did, would I only bring three of you along?"

    "Sir, are you going to..."

    "He can hide, but there¡¯s someone who cannot hide!" The general¡¯s re settled on Zhang Yangping.

    There were two figures behind Zhang Yangping. One was Fang Houde, the other was Qin Xuelian.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you can only me yourself for antagonizing someone you shouldn¡¯t have. Now, you have destroyed your bright future!"

    The general looked in the direction of the capital, his right hand gripping the ck military token. His expression turned icy.

    The morning breeze released a few dead leaves from their branches, sending them tossing and turning as they fell to the ground.

    Zhang Yangping stood quietly on the square. His gaze scanned the four riding men, then he shivered.

    He had been hunting for dozens of years.

    Even though Zhang Yangping was not extremely adept at reading expressions, he knew what a killing aura felt like. In his dealings with beasts, this feeling was no stranger to him.

    He felt that aura from the four men.

    Even though they were only four strong, Zhang Yangping felt that they were even more scary than a thousand men. Four of them meant that whatever they did here would not be known by anyone else..

    ...

 Chapter 252: Growth and life

    Chapter 252: Growth and life

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had a dream to view the mountains and rivers from a height. Then, he would break through the air and leave behind a wonderful legacy.

    Right now...

    His dream seemed to being true.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked down and saw luscious green woods. It was a mountain, and there were tall trees,rge rocks, creeks, flora, and fauna...

    He could see the valley.

    He did not know if he was seeing it all in one nce, but he could feel the life in every flower, every de of grass, and every beast.

    The flowers were in full bloom, the grass was growing healthily, and the beasts roamed the woods.

    "Cang Ling Mountain?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was definitely Cang Ling Mountain. Even though he had never viewed it from such a height, he recognized theyout.

    Furthermore, he felt things that he had never felt before. He could feel the entire lives of the living things below him. He felt the lives of the flowers, the grass, and the beasts.

    This was a strange feeling. It felt as if everything was being returned to its original state.

    He felt a little empty inside.

    Fang Zhengzhi was intoxicated. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Was he really going to be a sage? He wasn¡¯t ready yet, isn¡¯t this all a little too fast?

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi saw a pair of eyes.

    The eyes slowly, almost as if waking up from a deep sleep. However, when they looked towards Fang Zhengzhi...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt impending danger. His heart trembled for the first time as he felt an overwhelming sense of loss.

    Iciness, arrogance, power, master...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why these phrases were popping up in his mind, but there they were.

    He thought about those words when that pair of golden eyes stared at him.

    "Kaboom!"

    A loud boom caused the entire mountain to tremble.

    A peerlesslyrge figure rose from the ground following the tremors. He could not see the appearance of the figure. It was constantly shrouded by a ck screen.

    The only thing he could see were the pair of golden eyes. There was a faint glow around the eyes, almost like the reflection from one¡¯s armor.

    Then, a bolt of ck lightning shot down from the sky, hitting Fang Zhengzhi on the head. It did not give him any chance to resist.

    "F*ck... me! Again?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s patience was wearing thin. How can you strike me with lightning so many times?

    I thought I was supposed to be a sage?

    Everything should revolve around me and blossom in my presence.

    Why am I being struck by lightning twice?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to curse, he swallowed his words. Once again, he felt as if he was in the air once again. However, this time, there was nothing supporting him.

    Gravity caused his body to plummet downwards.

    "There is noke below?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was trying to figure out what was happening. However, there was noke below, there were only rocks on a mountain.

    "Boom!"

    ...

    Ordinarily, free falling from such a height would cause one to break their limbs at the very least.

    However, this was no ordinary incident.

    "Liar!" Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his buttocks as he looked at the crater he had created. He was infuriated.

    He had clearly been travelling in the air. He had clearly seen the mountains and the rivers. However, when he opened his eyes, he realized that he was back at the same spot.

    No one could have epted that!

    Where was the trust between people? How was he going to make friends in the future?

    "I think I have improved?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled his connection to the myriad of items during his travel. That was a mysterious feeling, almost as if he had touched something.

    However, once he fell, the only feeling he felt was pain. He hadpletely forgotten about the connection.

    "Oh?"

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly saw a small stone house by the side. If not for the fact that he hadnded here, he would not have seen it.

    A stone house.

    It was all toomon in the mountains.

    All of the viges around here lived off thend. Each vige had their own hunting squad, and these squads scaled the mountain frequently. A simple stone house was a necessity.

    It was used as a resting spot for the hunters. After all, no one could guarantee that the hunting squad would not meet with any difficulties. There could be torrential rain, snow,ndslides...

    Ordinarily, each vige would only use the stone houses they constructed. They would only enter another stone house under some extenuating circumstances.

    That was the tacit understanding between viges.

    However, this was clearly not the time to honor such an understanding. Even if Fang Zhengzhi had left theke, he should still be in The Vast World.

    The Vast World had absorbed Cang Ling Mountain.

    This position...

    Was clearly at the base of Cang Ling Mountain!

    "I¡¯vee out of The Vast World?"

    "Or is this just another ce?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too sure of where he was. As such, he decided to investigate.

    The stone house ahead was naturally his first objective. After all, maybe he could find some ointment inside the house to treat his aches after the fall!

    "Is there anyone home?"

    "If you¡¯re doing unspeakable things inside, just call out!"

    Fang Zhengzhi politely announced his presence. The vigers may be backward, but some of them still engaged in activities that would be better unsaid.

    For example, outdoor sex, cheating...

    The stone houses in the mountains were the perfect ce for an escapade like that.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this all too well. In order to prevent an embarrassing scenario, he had better announce his presence. There was no reply.

    He pushed the door and tried to enter.

    When he did push it...

    He realized that the door was locked.

    "There¡¯s someone inside?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He was sure that someone was inside. If not, why would the door be bolted?

    But if there was someone, why didn¡¯t they reply? Were they really doing unspeakable things inside?

    Furthermore...

    If this was still The Vast World, why would there be other people?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have the patience to think so much. He decided to give the upants some time to put on their clothes. He was sure they woulde out after.

    He waited by the door for a few moments. However, there was no movement inside the stone house.

    What is going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi was infuriated. Even if you¡¯re wearing your clothes, there should be some reply! You can¡¯t simply ignore me! Do you really want to act like you¡¯re not inside?

    "If you don¡¯te out, I¡¯ming in!"

    "Aiya? You really think that I won¡¯te in?"

    "Boom!" A loud sound echoed out.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about destroying the property. He kicked down the wooden door and sauntered in.

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered the moment he entered the stone house. It was empty.

    Furthermore, it was well furbished. There was a small bed and quite a few chairs. Of course, that was not the most important thing.

    Most importantly, there was a ck altar in the middle of the stone house.

    A silver white square gemstone sat in the middle of the altar. It was crystal clear, but there were peerlesslyplicated runes glowing inside the gemstone.

    "What a treasure!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was in luck. He never expected to find such a treasure upon entering the stone house.

    He did not know what it was.

    However, he was sure that based on its appearance alone, it would fetch at least a few hundred silvers.

    "I guess even heaven can¡¯t prevent me from getting rich!" Fang Zhengzhi forgot all about his fall. He reached for the gemstone on the altar.

    It was warm, almost as if he was grabbing onto a piece of jade.

    But...

    It was heavy.

    It was so heavy that Fang Zhengzhi could not lift it up. It was almost as if it was being locked into ce at the altar by a thousand kilogram weight. Fang Zhengzhi could not lift it despite his best efforts.

    "What the hell is this? Why is it so heavy?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. This palm sized gemstone was as heavy as a mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the strongest person in a ten mile radius around Cang Ling Mountain.

    If he couldn¡¯t life up such a stone, who had put it here in the first ce?

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting suspicious.

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was discontented at his inability to take the gemstone away. It felt like he couldn¡¯t get an erection even though there was a naked beauty on his bed.

    How could he ever ept that?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what others would think, but he was not going to ept this result.

    As such, he began to circle the altar. Sess depended on the details. There must be a trick to lifting such a heavy gemstone.

    If the hint could not be found on the gemstone, then the altar was his best bet.

    Fang Zhengzhi was disappointed after circling the altar. After he felt everything there was to feel, he still did not find any catch.

    Was it really the gemstone?

    Fang Zhengzhi waltzed next to the gemstone and began examining it.

    He quickly realized that... he didn¡¯t recognize those runes.

    They were not words, or pictures, or ancient scriptures. Each rune was incrediblyplicated and tiny.

    There did not seem to be any order.

    "What the hell is this?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s curiosity was piqued. He had tried finding a hint but to no avail.

    Under such a circumstance, he had to try going head to head with it.

    He was not going to take a de to it. That was not going head to head. That was defacing an item of heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method was simple. He grabbed onto the gemstone and forced it into his Heart Protection Mirror.

    No matter how heavy it was, it would be his the moment he grabbed onto it.

    Fang Zhengzhi consciously moved the gemstone into his Heart Protection Mirror.

    He had done this many times before without incident. He had felt incredibly good each time, and the item was stored smoothly.

    But this time...

    It was clearly not as easy.

    "Kaboom!" A loud sound echoed out. The gemstone seemed to roar as a result of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s efforts. It felt like something was going to pop out from the stone.

    "Aiya, I can¡¯t subdue you?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the strange movement. He thought that some movement was better than no movement. He tried again.

    "Kaboom!" An explosion rang out.

    A third time!

    A fourth time!

    A fifth time...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was a principled man. He had always held on to one key principle - never waste anything! As such, he decided to try again.

    On his ninth try.

    The gemstone finally moved.

    "Hum!"

    The silver white gemstone glowed brightly, almost as if it had been encouraged by someone. The runes inside it began twirling like a small whirlpool.

    Fang Zhengzhi was captivated by the gemstone. At this point, he had a very weird feeling. The gemstone was captivating.

    This was a ridiculous attraction, but it did not affect him much.

    The feeling was strange, but real.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was preparing to pull again, the silver white gemstone dimmed, the runes disappearingpletely.

    The original silver white glow also disappeared.

    The entire gemstone turned ck.

    It looked just like any ordinary stone.

    "F*ck... me! Have I spoilt it?!" Fang Zhengzhi was getting worried. He unconsciously grabbed at the stone. Then, something strange happened.

    The gemstone was lifted off the altar.

    It felt like he was holding onto an ordinary stone. Its weight was almost negligible.

    "Oh man! Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a gemstone? Why did it be an ordinary stone in the blink of an eye? How can it be just like that? At least it should give me some sort of benefit?" Fang Zhengzhi shook the stone vigorously.

    He realized...

    That it was useless.

    The stone had be just an ordinary rock, losing all of its shine and glow. No one would be able to discern it from any other rock in the woods.

    "What the hell?!" Fang Zhengzhi threw the rock away. It sailed through the air, crashed into the wall, andnded in the corner.

 Chapter 253: Breaking The Vast World

    Chapter 253: Breaking The Vast World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Nothing earth-shaking happened. There was no heavy impact. There was just a small mark from the impact of the stone.

    Fang Zhengzhi circled the interior and found nothing special.

    He was preparing to leave.

    Just as he was about to get to the entrance, Fang Zhengzhi eyed the ck stone on the floor. He thought about it, then kept it in his Heart Protection Mirror.

    "I¡¯ll use it as one of my secret weapons!"

    ...

    Xing Yuanguo and Bai Xing were both shocked by what happened. Anyone would have been equally stunned by what happened.

    How could they all have exited the world in the middle of the battle?

    The throne room and altar had disappeared. The masked ck robed men had followed suit. The entire space around them underwent a massive transformation in the blink of an eye.

    They were back on Cang Ling Mountain in the blink of an eye.

    An army camp was in front of them, a mountain of bodies at its entrance.

    This was the army camp Xing Yuanguo was based at. Returning to it sent chills down his spine.

    Bai Xing was lost.

    However, he quickly recovered. His loss turned into awe, then fear. He realized that something impossible had just happened.

    "The Vast World has been broken?!"

    He had never expected this to happen. He knew that entering The Vast World was a one way trip.

    He could not have done it. Xing Yuanguo could not have done it. Even the most powerful sages could not have achieved this.

    There was only one possibility...

    Someone moved the "energy stone" powering The Vast World.

    However, how could the stone be moved? It was deep inside Cang Ling Mountain! Who had the power to move mountains within a hundred mile radius of this ce?

    "What just happened?" Bai Xing did not understand. However, he knew that there was a more pressing issue at hand. He took off.

    His body turned into a ray of silver light as he summoned all his residual energy and fled the scene maniacally. He charged into the depths of Cang Ling Mountain.

    Xing Yuanguo was equally confused.

    However, he had a feeling that he had been released from The Vast World. This was not just because the masked ck robed men had disappeared.

    More importantly, the fiercely determined Bai Xing had just taken off.

    Xing Yuanguo did not give chase. He did not know if this was just another one of Bai Xing¡¯s ploys. Furthermore, his first order of business was to ensure the survival of his 2000 wounded soldiers.

    Bai Xing may have ran, but the army of beasts had not.

    "Hold your ground!"

    The 2000 soldiers leapt into action upon hearing themand. They formed a humongous threeyered protective circle, their spears pointed outwards. They looked like an enormous porcupine.

    "Roar!"

    "Aroo!"

    The fury of the 4000 beasts turnedpletely on the 2000 soldiers. However, without a leader, these beasts could not break the defences of the soldiers.

    The intense battle raged on, but it was clear that the end was near.

    These beasts were all intelligent creatures. After realizing that they could not break the defences, they decided to give up. After all, they did not have an unresolvable feud with these soldiers.

    Chi Guyan stood in the middle of the circle, her eyes scanning the area. She spotted a soldier guarding Ping Yang.

    "Your highness, I, Wen Dabao is here to protect you! Any beast intent on harming you will only do so over my dead body!" Wen Daobao hollered, his spear lowered. He beat back an advancing beast.

    "Where is that shameless one? Is he dead? Where did he go..." Ping Yang kept murmuring to herself, ignoring Wen Dabao.

    Furthermore, she was wielding the zing Qilin Spear and wore the Red me Flower Armor. She was in no danger whatsoever.

    "Ping Yang!" Chi Guyan¡¯s body turned into a ray of light and she appeared right next to Ping Yang.

    "Sister Yan... that... that shameless guy... is dead... dead!" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes turned misty when she saw Chi Guyan.

    "Don¡¯t speak rubbish. That shameless thief is so lucky... how can he possibly be dead?!" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed even whilst sheforted Ping Yang.

    "He really is dead, I saw it myself! He was struck to death!"

    "How... how is this possible?!" The initially calm Chi Guyan became increasingly anxious when she heard Ping Yang¡¯s assertion.

    She knew that Ping Yang would never lie to her.

    ...

    A light mist covered the Northern Mountain Vige at dawn. The vigers watched the four riding men anxiously. They could guess what was going to happen next.

    However, none of their eyes showed any trace of fear.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was small, with only about 100 families. They had spent decades together. Even though their were small squabbles every now and then, they were always united when facing a foreign enemy.

    They were all a family.

    Furthermore, the enemy was looking for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Eight years ago, when Zhang Pingyang brought Fang Zhengzhi into the vige, the poor vige had gone through tumultous changes. They were now one of the more influential viges.

    In the past few years, the hunting squad had suffered no casualties. This was something unprecedented for the vigers.

    All of them were extremely grateful towards Fang Zhengzhi and the Fang family. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was only 15 years old, Zhang Yangping wanted to make him the vige elder.

    Zhang Yangping knew that no one would object even though Fang Zhengzhi was only 15 years old!

    Without Fang Zhengzhi, the Northern Mountain Vige would not enjoy the sesses it had. Who would ever agree to someone taking Fang Zhengzhi away?

    The four men approached, the killing aura thick in the air.

    "Good day vigers. Our general has heard that Young Master Fang is back in the vige. We havee to pay him a visit, may we know where he is?" One of the deputies dismounted and looked at the vigers, smiling warmly as he did so.

    "You four generals are here to see Zhengzhi?" Zhang Yangping stepped out upon hearing the deputies.

    "Yes!" The deputy nodded.

    "Since you¡¯re here to find Zhengzhi, you are a guest of the Northern Mountain Vige. We do not have much delicacies in the vige. However, we do have some meat, and I have a wine that has been aged for 30 years. Would you like toe in and have a seat?" Zhang Yangping motioned to the vigers, asking them to prepare the tables.

    "Hold on!" The general spoke up, "You are the vige elder here?"

    "Yes, my name is Zhang Yangping. I am the elder here. Please tell me any requests you have!" Zhang Yangping bowed.

    "We havee to meet with Young Master Fang with regard to some military matters. Since you are the leader here, please ask him toe out." The general waved Zhang Yangping away.

    "General, you havee at the wrong time. He has already travelled towards the capital. You know that he is currently participating in the imperial examinations, so..."

    "Smack!"

    Before Zhang Yangping could finish, he was whipped. Even though he was tough, the 50 year old Zhang Yangping still fell to the ground.

    "Don¡¯t try any tricks with me! I have orders to find Fang Zhengzhi, anyone who tries to stymie me shall be dealt with severely!" The general held his whip in one hand as he shed the ck military token. He red at every viger, almost like a death god.

    The vigers who were all preparing toy out the food and wine stopped. They all stared at the general with hatred.

    Vigers are troublemakers.

    Even though they may fear the might of the army, they would not simply look the other way if their leader was humiliated so tantly.

    "What are you looking at! Are you all really going to go against a military order? Stand out and let me see how tough you are!" One of the deputies hollered. He knew what he had to do.

    He dismounted and strode towards the viger.

    He wanted to antagonize and infuriate them. So long as one of them fought back, they had an excuse to punish them ording to martialw.

    By then, wouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhie out of hiding?

    "General, Zhengzhi is young and immature. He may have antagonized the military, but it is my fault. I did not discipline him well enough. Why don¡¯t you punish me instead, I will confess to all the charges!" Zhang Pingyang leapt up and walked to the deputy.

    "Scram!" The deputy kicked Zhang Pingyang back on the floor.

    Zhang Pingyang may be tough, but he was just an ordinary man. After being whipped and kicked, he paled and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Sh*t!"

    "Old man, old man, are you okay?!" A woman immediately fell to the ground and picked Zhang Pingyang up.

    That was Zhang Pingyang¡¯s wife.

    Behind her stood a tall, hulking youth. He looked to be in his twenties, and he wore a shirt made from striped hide.

    Upon seeing Zhang Pingyang pale, he fell to his knees.

    "What a useless bunch of scum!" The deputy cursed as he saw Zhang Pingyang vomit blood. His expression changed as he nced at the general.

    The general was calm. He did not even look at Zhang Pingyang. He mounted his horse and mmed his whip. The crisp sound echoed out.

    "Your leader has defied a direct order and is harboring a criminal! This is the consequence of his actions! If you all hand over Fang Zhengzhi, I will spare all of you. Else, you will all... die!"

    "Die!"

    Hisst word echoed throughout the entire vige. The expressions of all the vigers changed instantly as they retreated.

    The deputy realized that things were going to take a turn for the worse. He no longer held back.

    Furthermore, they were under direct orders.

    The general had only brought along three deputies. His motive was simple. There was only one thing left to do, kill!

    They would kill one to scare the others. This was the way the military did things.

    These were just a bunch of vigers, insignificant whenpared to the might of the army. Whilst they could not massacre an entire vige, they could definitely kill one or two.

    "Hand over Fang Zhengzhi!" The deputy strode forward and prepared to kick Zhang Yangping¡¯s wife away. Just as his leg extended, it was grabbed by a pair of arms.

    "What?" The deputy was stunned. He shifted his weight about and kicked with all his might. A figure tumbled to the side.

    "Don¡¯t harm my father!" The figure quickly rose. He knelt on the grass. This was Zhang Pingyang¡¯s son, Zhang Li.

    "Brother Li, don¡¯t do it!"

    "Li,e back quickly!"

    All of the vigers were getting anxious.

    "Oh, you aren¡¯t afraid to die. Okay then, I shall break a rule and ept your challenge. I will have my way with you!" The deputy smiled. He had found his target.

    "Stop!" At this point, a voice rang out from the crowd.

    A haggardly dressed man stepped out from the ground. He was determined, and furious.

    One of this man¡¯s arms was madepletely from a white metal.

    There was ady standing next to him. She was not dressed very well, but she had an elegance about her.

    "Uncle Houde! Auntie Xuelian!" Zhang Li was slightly nervous when he saw the couple. They were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents.

    If this only affected the other vigers, it would not be as bad. However, if it implicated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents, this was going to get very ugly.

    They knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character.

    He would never let the attackers off.

    But...

    They were under direct orders from the military! How could one man go against the army?

    "I will answer for my son¡¯s crimes! Come at me!" Fang Houde looked at the general fearlessly.

 Chapter 254: Purple Blood

    Chapter 254: Purple Blood

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Qin Xuelian did not speak, but she stood by Fang Houde¡¯s side. This was her way of supporting her husband, and her willingness to take responsibility for her son¡¯s actions.

    The general squinted as he scanned the two figures. He looked at them condescendingly.

    Even though he knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents were vigers, he expected them to have some special background. They should at least look well read, but these two were just normal vigers.

    How could these two people nurture a talent which could stun the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Even though the ck faced general did not believe it, he knew that he had nothing to worry about. These two were just ordinary vigers.

    "You are Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents?" The general queried.

    "Yes!" Fang Houde replied.

    "Take them!" The generalmanded.

    The moment the three deputies heard themand, their expressions changed. They hesitated - they had heard about how Fang Zhengzhi killed off two soldiers.

    Those two soldiers had been killed because they insulted his parents.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents were his greatest weakness, but they were also the most likely to cause Fang Zhengzhi to go berserk.

    "General, I think we should..."

    "Why? Do you want me to do it myself?" The general would not want to antagonize Fang Zhengzhi if he had the choice. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was quite the popr person.

    The top scorer in both the provincial and state examinations.

    He was already in the Heavenly Reflection State at 15 years old. Furthermore, his rtionship with that Divine Constabry talent was unknown.

    Even though the results of the imperial examinations were not out yet, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s potential was clear for all to see.

    But, did he have a choice?

    From the moment he epted this mission and entered the Northern Mountain Vige, he knew that there was only one way this would end.

    Either he or Fang Zhengzhi had to die.

    So what if he was a talent? Unrealized potential was meaningless. Even the person with the most potential was nothingpared to someone who had already made it.

    Why did he have to go an antagonize someone he couldn¡¯t?

    "Yes sir!" All three deputies grit their teeth when they heard themand. They may have hesitated, but they knew that there was no retreat from the moment they epted this mission.

    Capturing these two people was the only way to stop Fang Zhengzhi from resisting.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi was restrained, they would kill him. All they had to do was pin a charge on him and the higher ups would support it.

    "You can forget about harming uncle Houde!" Zhang Li stood between the deputies and the two figures.

    "Scram!" The deputy advanced.

    The other two deputies also dismounted. They drew their des, ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice.

    "Over my dead body!"

    "Then go to hell!" The deputy swung his sword quickly. His sword tip glowed icily as it flew towards Zhang Li¡¯s throat.

    Zhang Li had experienced battle during his hunting trips. Even though he was not as powerful as the deputy, he was notpletely ipetent.

    The moment he saw the de, he tumbled to the side. However, the deputy¡¯s de was too quick and it still nicked his shoulder.

    "Fight it out with them!"

    "Without the Fang family, we would not have what we have today!"

    "Zhengzhi had got into trouble because of our vige. We should take responsibility for it! Fight it out with them!"

    "Exactly, nothing can happen to the Fang family. If not, we will be letting Zhengzhi down!"

    When the vigers saw the deputies spring into action, they exploded. They all began to attack with everything they had.

    They threw spades, pickaxes, forkes, poles, stones...

    The three deputies were in disbelief. How dare an entire vige rebel?

    "Are you all trying to rebel? I would like to see who here dares to do it!" The deputy who injured Zhang Li fumed. He swung his de and cut a one meter hole in the ground.

    "His power was stunning."

    "Smack!"

    Just as all the vigers were recovering from the shock, a crisp sound rang out as a reply to him.

    The deputy looked down in disbelief. There was a stter of mud on his chest. Someone had just thrown mud at him.

    The vigers actually dare to go against the army?!

    The deputy was infuriated. He looked at the crowd and realized that their gazes were concentrated at a corner.

    "Tian Wazi!"

    "It¡¯s... Tian Wazi!"

    There was a three year old kid holding a wooden bow ring at the deputy. She wore a pair of loose pants and snot was dripping from her nose.

    "Baddie!" The three year old kid bellowed. She was fearless as she waved the wooden slingshot in her hand contentedly.

    "I hit him, I hit him!"

    All of the vigers went silent when they heard Tian Wazi¡¯s excited screams.

    Even though there were only four opponents, the hundreds of vigers were no match for them.

    They were just acting it out. No one had actually thought of attacking the generals.

    "Hit him!"

    "Hit them!"

    However, Tian Wazi¡¯s hit had invigorated the other kids. Within moments, a storm of mud and rocks were hurled towards the furious deputy.

    Many of the kids in the viges yed with slingshots. The youngest was not even two years old and the oldest were just seven.

    "Pitter patter!" The sounds continued to ring out on the square.

    Stones were aimed at the three deputies.

    The infuriated generals could not take it any longer. The vigers¡¯ resistance was sufficient for them to use the vigers of rebelling.

    "Kill!" The ck faced generalmanded. The only way to quell the riot was to begin killing.

    The moment he finished giving themand, two ck swords appeared in his hand. One was humongous whilst the other one was fine. They gave him both power and precision.

    "Woosh!" He swung his de at the crowd.

    In an instant, four to five vigers were injured.

    As the general guarding the perimeter of Cang Ling Mountain, the general was already in the advanced Heavenly Reflection State. Of his three deputies, one was in the nascent Heavenly Reflection State whilst the other two were in the Star Conglomerate State. The vigers were simply no match for them.

    "Ah! It hurts!"

    "They¡¯re killing us!"

    "Fight it out with them!"

    The vigers did not run. It may have been a stupid decision, but their resolve was strengthened.

    If they ran now, there was no turning back.

    "Such dumb scum!" The ck faced general¡¯s face darkened. He had nned on using a single strike to suppress the vigers. Little did he expect it to rile them up.

    Some of the vigers drew their hunting bows.

    "Fire!"

    The hunting party always had their bows on hand. Within moments, over 30 sharp arrows rained down on the four generals.

    "How audacious!" The ck faced general bellowed when he saw the rain of arrows. A wave of red exploded from his body, turning into a sea of fire as it reached the vigers.

    Territory of Fire.

    The arrows burned and cracked as they went through the fire. The fins were incinerated, causing the arrows to fall limply to the ground.

    "I will massacre everyst one of you audacious scum!" The ck faced general began to swing his sword as he used the fire to suppress the vigers. Many were caught in the sea of fire.

    "Ah ah ah..."

    "Extinguish it, quickly!"

    "Water, water..."

    The frantic vigers had never experienced such a battle before. They knew that the ck faced general was powerful, but they never expected him to be this powerful.

    Is this the power of an influential person?

    "He is a cultivator!"

    "Is this the power of the Dao of All Creation?!"

    The vigers had all heard of it, but few had ever seen it in action.

    "Stop!" Just as the vigers were panicking, a voice rang out. Then, an academic stepped out.

    "General, you are in the Heavenly Reflection State, how dare you bully untrained vigers?!"

    "Who are you?" The ck faced general was wary when he saw the middle aged man.

    "I am Wang Anhua, a teacher in the school of Dao here. I am under orders from the Divine Constabry!" The middle aged man replied solemnly.

    "Under orders from the Divine Constabry?"

    "Yes!"

    "Kill!" The ck faced general was solemn. He would not be afraid of the other vigers. However, he had to be cautious around a teacher reporting to the Divine Constabry.

    The other three deputies rushed towards Wang Anhua, understanding the general¡¯s intentions instantly.

    "You are a bully!" Wang Anhua¡¯s expression changed. He had no intention of courting trouble, but he could not stand by and watch the vigers be bullied.

    "Scum! Aren¡¯t you just trying to capture us to threaten our son? I will make sure you do not have the chance!" Fang Houde was loyal, but he was being pushed to the brink.

    He put a sword to his throat.

    A stream of blood flowed from his throat. He had already pierced the skin.

    Qin Xuelian also held a dagger in her hand. The tip was pointed straight at her heart. All she had to do was press down on it.

    "You two... hold on!" The ck faced general was worried.

    If he could capture them both, he could definitely apprehend Fang Zhengzhi. But, what if they were dead?

    Capturing Fang Zhengzhi would no longer be as easy.

    What if Fang Zhengzhi decided not to show up? What if he went back to the capital and announced their deeds here? The consequences could be dire. He had to get rid of Fang Zhengzhi here before such a talent was let loose.

    "Uncle Houde, don¡¯t do it!"

    "Brother Houde, please don¡¯t!"

    "Fang family, don¡¯t do anything stupid. If Zhengzhi sees this, none of us will be able to face him!"

    Zhang Yangping and Zhang Li hollered when they saw Fang Houde raise the de to his neck. The other vigers echoed the sentiments. Some of them who had been saved by Fang Zhengzhi before knelt down and pleaded.

    "Today, you all came for Zhengzhi. I am Zhengzhi¡¯s father. I will take responsibility for it. I cannot let you all suffer!" Fang Houde prepared to take his own life.

    "You won¡¯t dare! You know that I am going to use you to threaten Fang Zhengzhi. If you die, no one will walk out alive!" The ck faced general added.

    "You..." Fang Houde¡¯s expression changed.

    "Put down the sword and I can consider letting this go. I will personally go to my higher ups and plead his case. He may have killed two soldiers, but he does not deserve to die. As long as he surrenders himself, everything will be left to the military courts!" The ck faced general reassured. Thest thing he wanted was for Fang Houde to take his own life.

    "Brother Houde, did you hear that? Zhengzhi will not die! He may just have to take a beating!"

    "Yes, please put down the de!"

    "Uncle Houde, if you do this, Zhengzhi will me us for life!"

    All of the vigers advised Fang Houde against taking his own life.

    "I, Fang Houde, have let you all down!" Fang Houde bellowed, dropping his sword to the ground, crumpling to his knees as he did so.

    "Husband!" Qin Xuelian was heartbroken to see Fang Houde this way.

    "Subdue them, quickly!" The ck faced generalmanded urgently when he saw the couple drop the des.

    The deputy bounded over to the couple and kicked the des aside.

    Then, he tied them both up with string before finally heaving a sigh of relief.

    "Kill him!" The ck faced general felt a load off his shoulders. He turned to look at Wang Anhua and gave themand to execute him.

    "You... why are you soldiers so dishonest?!" Fang Houde was stunned to hear what the general said.

    "Fang Zhengzhi had the audacity to kill soldiers! That is an unpardonable crime! Wang Anhua has an intention to rebel! We havee here with orders from the highest in thend, and we intend to execute those orders!" The ck faced general chuckled as he looked at Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Now that things were this way, how could he possibly leave a teacher from the Divine Constabry alive!

    Even Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde had to be killed once their usefulness was up!

    "You soldiers are scum. You bully the citizens. If I have a chance at life, I will make sure you are all taken to task!" Even though Wang Anhua was a teacher, he was not a cultivator.

    When he heard what the ck faced general said, he knew that his time hade. However, he wanted to die with dignity.

    "Well, you must first be alive to report it!" The ck faced general snorted. He paid no attention to Wang Anhua as he swung his de, the sea of fire roaring towards Wang Anhua.

    Wang Anhua did not dodge. The de was too quick. He shut his eyes, his expression pained as the de neared.

    "Boom!" A huge explosion echoed out.

    A column of mes soared skyward, sending dust plumes flying in all directions.

    "Am I dead? Where... where is this?" Wang Anhua opened his eyes. He had no idea if he was alive, but he felt no pain.

    Was the de too fast?

    He had heard that a quick de delivered death painlessly.

    When the dust cleared, Wang Anhua was still seated on the ground. His gaze froze. He realized that he was not dead.

    All of the vigers were staring at him.

    The ck faced general¡¯s gaze also turned icy. The jaws of the three deputies dropped. The general¡¯s swing was blocked?

    "How fast!"

    The three deputies did not get a clear view of what just happened. The ray of light which blocked the ck faced general¡¯s sword was too quick.

    It was at least three times quicker than the ck faced general.

    "Who is it?!"

    All three deputies were fearful and awed.

    The ck faced general was silent. He nced coldly at a point about one meter from Wang Anhua. There was a sword there.

    That sword had a purple stain!

    A strange purple glow emanated from the de, almost like a drop of purple blood osciting on it. The drop of blood seemed to extend quickly down the length of the de.

 Chapter 255: Dismounted with a single blow

    Chapter 255: Dismounted with a single blow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    In the blink of an eye, the entire de was covered in purple.

    It was a strange sight.

    At this point, a sound could be heard from the air. Soon after, a figure descended from the sky.

    Within an instant, the Traceless Sword began to move, almost as if it had a connection with something in the surroundings. It began to hum...

    Then, it flew towards the figure.

    "Die!" A low, solemn voice could be heard from the figure. Then, a silver waterfall seemed to link up with the sky.

    In the middle of the silver waterfall was a purple glow.

    Mountains and rivers.

    The deputy had just secured Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian. He paled when he saw what was crashing towards him.

    He could feel how sharp that strange purple glow was. It felt as if that purple glow could prate anything in the world. He felt a shiver down his spine.

    Subconsciously, he wanted to retreat...

    However, he felt as if there was something strangling his movements. There was also a terrifying, powerful suppressive force above him, rooting him in ce. It was almost as if he was standing underneath a humongous waterfall.

    "Oh god!" The deputy screamed. Then, he felt his forehead being pierced by something.

    The world around him began to turn blurry.

    He seemed to see a youth dressed in hide walk over. The youth was holding a sword in his hand, apletely purple sword.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped beside the deputy. He ignored the deputy¡¯sst words as he fell to his knees.

    He faced Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde, "Dad, mom... I have let you down!"

    ...

    Dawn broke over the Northern Mountain Vige. It tinted the entire vige gold, but there were sshes of red spread throughout.

    That was blood, blood stained mud.

    All of the vigers were stunned when they saw Fang Zhengzhi fall to his knees. Everything had happened too quickly.

    From the moment the ck faced general drew his sword...

    To the block, and the waterfall, and a fallen deputy with a deep gash in his forehead.

    "He¡¯s dead?!"

    All of the vigers, including Zhang Yangping, were in disbelief. They had fought with this deputy, and this was the deputy which created the cavity in the ground.

    Such a powerful person was dead?

    Awe, loss...

    The emotions quickly changed to surprise, joy, and anxiety.

    They were surprised that Fang Zhengzhi could kill such a powerful person. However, they were anxious to see how much more Fang Zhengzhi could achieve.

    They really wanted the best for him.

    That was the family spirit within the Northern Mountain Vige!

    "Zhengzhi, go! They have set up an ambush!"

    "There are many soldiers outside! They have surrounded the entire vige."

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t bother about us! We are okay with dying! You are immensely outnumbered, run!"

    When all of the vigers recovered, they began to holler out their concerns. In their minds, Zhengzhi¡¯s return was less favorable.

    Wang Anhua¡¯s expression darkened.

    He still remembered his first meeting with Fang Zhengzhi eight years ago. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi was still a willful child, but Wang Anhua knew that this child had a bright future.

    However, he began to see less of Fang Zhengzhi after Fang Zhengzhi was given the boot from the Southern Mountain Vige. His loyaltiesid there, so he could not leave.

    However, he heard about many of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hunting exploits.

    At that time, Wang Anhua sighed to himself. He felt that such a talent was wasted in the woods. It was a pity he would never learn the "Law of Dao".

    That was until Fang Zhengzhi stunned the world by topping the Huai An County examinations.

    Then, he proceeded to destroy hispetition at the River of Trust Province Examinations.

    Wang Anhua was stunned and envious. How could a person who spent his time in the woods be so powerful? How talented is this child?

    As times changed, Wang Anhua¡¯s school was moved to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    When he was finally reunited with Fang Zhengzhi eight yearster, he realized that the youth standing in front of him was a soaring eagle.

    He was determined to settle down here and teach. He would be part of the Northern Mountain Vige family and spread word about the pride of the vige.

    Afterwards, news of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breakthrough into the Heavenly Reflection State reached his ears.

    On that day, Wang Anhua was over the moon. He drank a lot that night, stumbling as he walked around the vige announcing the news to anyone he saw.

    It was a pity...

    The Northern Mountain vigers had no idea what a 15 year old Heavenly Reflection State cultivator meant. They looked at him, lost.

    "Sensei, what is Heavenly Reflection?"

    "Sensei, can you show us what Heavenly Reflection is like?"

    Wang Anhua could only smile bitterly. Show you? I have not even entered Dao despite studying all my life. How can I possibly demonstrate Heavenly Reflection to you?

    Today, Wang Anhua finally saw what Heavenly Reflection meant.

    That powerful waterfall and its aura was like a masterpiece. Even so, Wang Anhua was rather saddened. Fang Zhengzhi had intervened because of him.

    "Zhengzhi, run! That ck faced general is also in the Heavenly Reflection State!" Wang Anhua lunged himself at the ck faced general mid-sentence.

    He would be willing to give up his life if it bought Fang Zhengzhi time to save his parents and run.

    Wang Anhua thought to himself, Even if Fang Zhengzhi is in the Heavenly Reflection State, he should only be in the nascent stages. How can he possibly match up to a battle hardened general?

    The ck faced general¡¯s expression darkened.

    He had never expected Fang Zhengzhi to kill his deputy in such a tant and swift way.

    More importantly, he wasn¡¯t running away?

    And now...

    An academic is trying to challenge his authority? He could not possibly allow himself to be humiliated this way. His grip on his sword tightened and a column of mes shot skyward. It morphed into a lion, its jaw wide open.

    "Go to hell!" The ck faced general knew that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to kill his deputy because of the difference in their cultivation levels and the element of surprise.

    Now, he was going to use his own abilities to teach Fang Zhengzhi a lesson.

    The lion made from fire was powerful, its red fangs targeted at Wang Anhua¡¯s throat.

    At this point, a bright moon appeared in the sky as a silver white de stopped the lion in its tracks.

    There was a strange tint of purple as it prated the lion.

    It struck first despite beingunchedter.

    It flew straight at the ck faced general without losing any momentum.

    The general was stunned. His reflexes used the find de to defend himself.

    "Boom!" A huge crash echoed out, apanied by the whinnying of a horse. Then, arge figure crashed to the ground.

    Dismounted with one strike!

    The ck faced general was in disbelief. He stared at his broken sword, fury building in his chest as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "How... how is this possible?!" The ck faced general was in disbelief.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was in the Heavenly Reflection State, but he did not know about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits at the imperial examinations. He also did not know that Fang Zhengzhi was wielding the Traceless Sword, Meng Tian¡¯s sword.

    No matter how talented Fang Zhengzhi was, he was still in the nascent stages of the Heavenly Reflection State. As an advanced Heavenly Reflection State cultivator, he should be able to defeat Fang Zhengzhi easily.

    But now...

    Everything that was happening seemed to be telling him that this was not just a student. His opponent was a ferocious tiger, with icy sharp fangs.

    He had not expected this.

    The top scorer of the examinations!

    He really does live up to his name!

    No one had expected this to happen. The other two deputies and the entire Northern Mountain Vige were stunned when they saw the battle unfold.

    "What¡¯s going on?!"

    "Is that man not a general?"

    "How can a general be dismounted with a single hit from Fang Zhengzhi? This... this is unbelievable!"

    "How powerful!"

    All of the vigers struggled to regain their senses. They were happy to see Fang Zhengzhi improve and be powerful. But, isn¡¯t this kind of power a little too ridiculous?

    How can a kid defeat a battle hardened general?

    Wang Anhua was rooted to the ground. He was prepared to die, but what he just saw gave him a sliver of hope.

    It was a surprise, but he simply could not understand how this was possible.

    "My son!"

    "Son, you..."

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian stared nkly at Fang Zhengzhi. Even as parents, they had no idea that their son was this powerful.

    "Dad, mom!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the ck faced general and walked quickly towards Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian. He knelt down and ced the Traceless Sword on the ground. Then, he kowtowed.

    He did not use the de to remove the rope tying them down. He carefully undid each knot with his hand.

    At this very moment...

    All of the vigers were touched by what they saw.

    With a son like that, what more could one ask for?

    The ck faced general did not disturb Fang Zhengzhi. He quickly nced at the two remaining deputies. The Star Conglomerate State deputy saw the nce and instantly understood what it meant.

    He turned and ran out of the vige.

    The Heavenly Reflection State deputy strode to the side of the general. He helped him up, tightening the grip on his de as he did so.

    "Son, go quickly! They still have an army, you... you can¡¯t beat them. Furthermore, the army is at their back, don¡¯t do something stupid!" Qin Xuelian released herself from the ropes. She wanted to hug Fang Zhengzhi, but Fang Houde held her back.

    "Mom!" Fang Zhengzhi fell to his knees. He saw the crow feet at the edges of his mom¡¯s eyes and the tears in her eyes. For the first time, he could see age catching up with her.

    He knew what his parents were thinking. However, if he left today, every achievement of his would mean nothing.

    His ster showing at the exams, the talent he was supposed to have, the Sword Envoy position he was conferred. If he couldn¡¯t save his parents, nothing else mattered!

    "Today, anyone who has the audacity to step on a de of grass in my vige and harm my people will die!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his sword, ring at the general as he did so.

    The strange purple blood like stain began to spread across the de. It soon covered the entire de.

    At the same time, there was a subtle purple glow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    It was the same shade of purple.

    After leaving the stone house, he had no idea if he had escaped The Vast World. Nheless, he rushed in the direction of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    It was already dawn.

    He had no mood to explore Cang Ling Mountain. His biggest worry was his vige. He rushed over as quickly as he could.

    Even so, he was still greeted by a stunning sight.

    The entire vige was surrounded by soldiers.

    He knew what this meant. He rushed inside without hesitation.

    When he entered the vige, his fury became uncontainable.

    The square was bloody with vigers howling from their wounds. He saw a general bullying his vigers.

    More importantly, he saw his parents tied up and Zhang Yangping in a foetal position, his clothes stained with blood.

    He could feel Fang Houde¡¯s helplessness, Qin Xuelian¡¯s fury, and Zhang Yangping¡¯s exasperation.

    As such...

    He had no reason not to kill!

    "Kaboom!" A thunderous explosion echoed out.

 Chapter 256: Monstrous killing aura

    Chapter 256: Monstrous killing aura

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fang Zhengzhi, since you have showed yourself, you will die today!" THe ck faced general¡¯s voice turned icy.

    He knew that he had passed the point of no return.

    Activating his troops was hisst resort.

    However, it was either his life or Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. What choice did he have?

    Right now, he had a few deputies and a thousand soldiers behind him. No matter how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was, he could not go up against an army.

    The result was final!

    When the vigers heard the ¡®boom¡¯, their expression changed. They knew that this was from the soldiers surrounding the vige.

    How could one man face off against an army?

    "Zhengzhi, bring Houde and Xuelian with you. Leave the rest to us!" Zhang Yangping stood up and straightened his back.

    There was no retreat for them.

    "Leave them to us!"

    "And me!"

    "Me too!"

    All of the vigers were riled up after hearing Zhang Yangping¡¯s words. They gripped their homemade weapons tightly.

    This time, they were all prepared to shed blood.

    The ck faced general squinted as he felt increasingly unsettled.

    The deputy next to him was all the more nervous. Even though the army was strong, that did not mean that they could do whatever they wanted. The Great Xia Dynasty was awful society.

    Massacre an entire vige?!

    That was something that waspletely unheard of.

    Even the robbers who roamed the woods would not dare tomit such a heinous act. Massacring a vige would alert the highest in thend. By then, even their backer will not be able to save them.

    "General, this..." The deputy retreated subconsciously when he saw the riled up vigers.

    "With things as they are, only the death of Fang Zhengzhi can quell this rebellion!" The general knew that this all started with Fang Zhengzhi, and it had to end with him.

    "Yes sir!" The deputy nodded. He had been trained to follow orders, and the general had just given him one. Furthermore, he had no better option.

    The ck faced general wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi as quickly as possible. Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do the same. He would never let the vigers get hurt.

    Fang Zhengzhi leapt into action.

    There was some distance between the square and the entrance. This distance was his best chance.

    He lifted the traceless sword, its purple light glowing radiantly. A tsunami appeared above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, converging on the Traceless de.

    Hum!

    The sword began to hum constantly.

    "Watch the Yellow River descend from heaven. It converges with the vast sea and never returns!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured as he swung the Traceless Sword.

    This was the second move he had learnt on the ice wall.

    "Unending Flow!"

    The first technique concentrated all his power into a single point, and was ideal for a sneak attack. On the other hand, his second technique was continuous.

    It was perfect for this scenario.

    "Together!" The ck faced general was still reeling from his previous engagement with Fang Zhengzhi. He threw chivalry aside as hemanded his deputy to join forces with him.

    The deputy was stunned to hear that. Even though the general had gotten the shorter end of the stick previously, he had attributed it to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden burst of power.

    Even if the advanced Heavenly Reflection State general could not wreck Fang Zhengzhi, he should not need tobine forces to subdue him.

    He may have been taken aback, but he did not hesitate. Neither did he underestimate his opponent.

    Every battle hardened soldier knew the dangers of a battle.

    He raised his sword and a humongous mountain appeared in mid air. He was the only deputy to be in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi had used the water element, he decided to use the mountains. As wood, he could ensure stability and aid fire.

    The ck faced general had partnered with this deputy for many years. He knew exactly what his deputy was trying to do. He nned tobine their attacks.

    He had been using the fire lion on the battlefield for many years.

    For the deputy, choosing wood was the natural choice.

    "Woosh!"

    His de swept through the air and a column of mes shot skyward. As it interacted with the mountains, its intensity and power was augmented. It grew to a size many timesrger than when it had faced Fang Zhengzhi before.

    "Go to hell!" The ck faced general chopped down. The lion roared maniacally and lunged towards the tsunami.

    All the vigers were captivated as they watched the battle unfold. Where else could they watch such an intense battle? It looked like two ferocious beasts engaging in a duel to the death. In fact, it was probably even more intense and terrifying.

    All of the vigers were anxious to see the result.

    No one knew who would emerge victorious.

    Their eyes were fixated on that tsunami and the ferocious fire lion. Then, the two attacks shed.

    "Boom!"

    Within moments, the lion was absorbed by the tsunami. It struggled in the water, its mes on the brink of being extinguished.

    The ck faced general flushed. He felt as if he had been hit in the chest by a tsunami. He spat out a mouthful of blood uncontrobly.

    The deputy suffered a worse fate. He looked like a broken kite as he was sent flying by the impact. He paled as blood spewed from his mouth. He simply could not control his body anymore.

    "Plonk!" The deputy fell to the ground, making a huge crater as he did so.

    A ray of purple light shot out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. The Traceless Sword¡¯s purple aura rose, morphing into a dragon like creature. It danced on the tip of the sword.

    A powerful force gushed out from the de and entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. The hatred within him grew as his killing intent was augmented. The world was now purple through his eyes.

    "Kill!"

    He chopped down and the purple glow morphed into a white crashing wave as it approached the general.

    The general was paralyzed by fear. He had expected Fang Zhengzhi to be powerful, but he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be this ridiculously powerful.

    How can this man be a nascent stage Heavenly Reflection cultivator?

    He is clearly a death god sent to reap our souls...

    The ck faced general felt that Fang Zhengzhi was just like the devil. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks were too powerful, almost ridiculously powerful.

    "Run!" Without any hesitation, the ck faced general ran towards the exit of the vige. A sea of mes enveloped him. In this crucial moment, he no longer held back.

    All he had to do was survive till his army came. There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could defeat an army.

    The purple glow still managed to catch up with him.

    It split the sea of fire in two and the radiant purple light sliced through the general¡¯s body.

    "Ah!" The general screamed in pain as one of his limbs was sent flying. Blood spewed from the open wound as the color drained from his face.

    All of the vigers were stunned.

    "How powerful!"

    "Oh my god... he¡¯s too good!"

    "I had no idea Zhengzhi was so powerful! He is much more powerful than the general! He beat them both using a couple of attacks!"

    All of the vigers got excited as they unconsciously tightened the grips on their weapons. They had a sliver of hope to cling onto now.

    Even though it was just a sliver of hope, it made a huge difference to their morale and attitude.

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian looked at each other. They wereforted and impressed by their son¡¯s abilities.

    Zhang Pingyang was also overjoyed. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power had instilled hope in his heart.

    "They may just survive after all!"

    Wang Anhua¡¯s jaw dropped so much that one could possibly stuff two ducks into it at this point. He knew that this was a battle between two Heavenly Reflection State cultivators. He also knew that Fang Zhengzhi had just broken through a few months ago.

    How did he be so powerful in such a short time?

    He had taken on the two men so effortlessly, defeating one of them within the first round and chopping of the limb of the general in the next!

    This was no duel, this was suppression!

    Wang Anhua could not believe his eyes.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi himself could not believe it. He gripped the Traceless Sword tightly. He could still feel waves of power rushing into his body.

    He could even feel the Traceless Sword¡¯s excitement. It was excited to draw blood, excited to kill.

    He had no idea what was happening.

    However, when he thought of what these men had done to his family and the helplessness he saw in his parents¡¯ eyes, the hate inside his heart became unsuppressable. It exploded outwards in an instant.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    The voices rang inside his ears. The world around him turned from faint purple to deep purple. There were also flickerings of red.

    Everyone who bullied a Northern Mountain viger must die!

    Dad, mom, I will take revenge for you! I will kill them all, everyst one of them!

    "Ah!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in rage, his voice echoing throughout the vige and beyond.

    "Die, you must all die! None of you will be spared!" Fang Zhengzhi repeated to himself, the purple glow from his sword radiating outwards.

    The circling purple gas doubled, almost like two intertwined dragons, circling and dancing at the tip of the de....

    "General!"

    A fearful shout rang out. There were traces of disbelief mashed into the fear.

    Then, the approach of the thousand strong army could be heard. Plumes of dust were kicked up as they charged, spears lowered.

    This was the general¡¯s elite squad.

    Even though they were no match for the Red Pinion Squad, they were still the elites of the army. About 20% of them were cultivators, and they knew how to fight as a unit.

    There were more than 20,000 troops stationed in various camps around Cang Ling Mountain. In order to ensure the quickest response times, the general had handpicked this squad to be by his side.

    This ensured that he could respond to every eventuality.

    And now...

    This elite squad was about to taste their first battle in a month. However, they were going up against poorly equipped vigers.

    Of course, there was a youth taking point on the opposing side.

    The strange purple glow continued to shine from the youth¡¯s sword as his killing aura spread outwards. His eyes glowed a strange shade of purple.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is intent on rebelling and the vigers have rioted! Kill them all!" The general looked at Fang Zhengzhi in aghast.

    This was the first time he had felt such fear after decades on the battlefield. He felt a chill down his spine, but, he could not stop now.

    If Fang Zhengzhi did not die, he would die.

    "General, we came to capture Fang Zhengzhi, these vigers..." One of the deputies said in aghast when he heard the order.

    He was not shocked by Fang Zhengzhi. He was taken aback by the general¡¯s orders.

    "Kill them! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" The general shed his ck military token. It represented his authority.

    "All of you listen up. Get in formation and charge!" The deputy grit his teeth when he saw the token. He hollered themand to his men.

    "Yes sir!" The army responded in unison.

    They got into formation within moments.

    They set up a phnx, with five riders on point. Cavalry guarded the nks whilst spearmen held the center.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    Their voices echoed throughout the mountain.

    All of the vigers subconsciously retreated when they saw this. Fear consumed them all.

    These were truly the elites of the army. They could feel the killing aura keenly.

    "Anyone who dares invade the Northern Mountain Vige shall die!" An icy voice that sounded like it came right out of hell rang out. Then, a figure charged the phnx.

    All of the soldiers were stunned by what they saw.

    They never expected Fang Zhengzhi to strike first in the face of an army!

 Chapter 257: Dao of Massacre

    Chapter 257: Dao of Massacre

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had attacked without any hesitation whatsoever. It felt like Fang Zhengzhi was a lone wolf attacking a herd of sheep.

    But...

    Were soldiers helplessmbs?

    Of course not! They were the elites of the Great Xia Dynasty, brave warriors who charged into battle. How could they possibly stand being belittled by a youth?

    "Kill!" Came the thunderous reply. 1000 soldiers moved in synchronisation as they charged towards Fang Zhengzhi. The first 500 lowered their spears, the sharp tips glimmering in the sun.

    "Go to hell!" Fang Zhengzhi swung his sword. A crescent shaped purple glow crashed into the advancing soldiers, sending blood spewing skywards.

    The five horsemen taking point immediately fell to the ground.

    All of the soldiers froze in their spots.

    They had heard of Fang Zhengzhi and knew that he was in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, they did not expect him to be this powerful.

    Blood stained the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned a deep maroon color, the glow of blood flickering in his eyes. His hate was reaching a maniacal level.

    "Die! Die! All of you invaders must die!"

    Fang Zhengzhi only had one thought on his mind. All those who had bullief the vigers must be killed. All of the scum within the army must be eradicated.

    Even so, none of the soldiers stopped their charge despite the prowess Fang Zhengzhi just disyed. After taking in a deep breath, they extended their line.

    Within moments, Fang Zhengzhi was surrounded.

    "Kill!" Another round of shouting rang out. More than a dozen horses whinnied and their riders lowered their spears.

    They would trample and stab him to death.

    This was clearly a well trained army. All of the horses charged towards Fang Zhengzhi and there was not a single spear out of ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned icy as he waved the Traceless Sword high above his head. The tsunami rushed out from his body, a purple glow flickering within it.

    "Die!" He hollered. The purple glow morphed into a dozen swords and shed with the cavalry and spearmen.

    Within moments, the cavalry were dismounted.

    However, the moment he defeated one wave, a second wave of men took their ce. They charged in the same manner.

    This was a simr concept to the tactics adopted by the maniples of the Roman Empire.

    This was the benefit of outnumbering one¡¯s opponents. Even though they were significantly weaker, they kept charging with fresh troops in an attempt to tire Fang Zhengzhi out.

    They wanted him to spend all his energy repelling each wave of soldiers. When he was sufficiently tired out, they would go in for the kill.

    Little did they expect...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was much too sharp. Each wave of soldiers was sent crashing to the ground, never to rise again.

    This was absolute carnage.

    No matter how well trained they were, fear eventually consumed them all. Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful, more powerful than they had ever imagined.

    "Die!"

    "Go to hell!"

    "All of you can go meet your maker!"

    He bellowed repeatedly, almost as if he was possessed by the devil. With each battle cry, dozens of lives were taken. Even their stallions were not spared.

    The purple light killed indiscriminately.

    All of the fallen stallions whinnied pitifully.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood in the middle of the soldiers but his expression revealed no fear. He was consumed by a boundless intention to kill.

    Wave after wave of soldiers gave up their lives. This caused the others to feel chills down their spines.

    They may be brave, but they still feared death. Their advance slowed to a crawl in the face of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s de of death.

    Despite this, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword seemed to get sharper with every moment. He showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, with every fallen soldier, the purple glow became more radiant.

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes werepletely purple.

    It was a strange tint of purple, and it was stained subtly with red.

    Fang Zhengzhi swung the Traceless Sword continuously. He had no idea how many people he had killed. With every life he took, the hate and rage in his heart was fuelled and he showed no signs of slowing down.

    He was growing more and more powerful by the second. He was in the zone, and nothing was going to break him out of it.

    In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi felt something strange happening. Inside his pocket dimension, there seemed to be another fruit forming on therge tree.

    It was a purple fruit, and it was marked with red lines.

    He was slightly taken aback. Fruits had stopped forming in his pocket dimension for quite some time now. What was this fruit?

    The Dao of Massacre?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea. However, as he continued to take lives, he felt that fruit be stronger and stronger.

    The hate and fury in his heart had also reached a maniacal stage.

    The purple gas at the tip of the Traceless de also began to swirl around Fang Zhengzhi. It crept up his arm and began to circle his body.

    "Go to hell, all of you!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone was icy as he red at the ck faced general, who was clutching his wound.

    The general looked at Fang Zhengzhi ferociously, but it wasced with traces of fear.

    The general had never felt such pure, unadulterated killing aura in his decades on the battlefield. He felt as if his entire army was going to be swallowed by it.

    He was on the verge of panicking. However, he could not stop now. As such, he continued tomand his soldiers forward.

    "Kill!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once again. This time, his target was the general.

    The Traceless de morphed into a ray of purple light, flying out of his hands and towards the general.

    The general, who was supervising the battle, was stunned. Fang Zhengzhi would throw his weapon in the heat of battle?!

    He instinctively used hisrge de to block the blow.

    Then, something strange happened. The Traceless Sword, which was aimed at his chest, stopped in the air. Then, it elerated towards his throat.

    "Sh*t!" Blood spewed from the open wound in his throat.

    The general¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. He could not believe that he would die to Fang Zhengzhi despite being guarded by a thousand soldiers.

    He wanted to say something, but his time was up.

    His energy left his body in an instant.

    "He... he is not... not human..." That was the parting thoughts of the general. He simply could not believe that a nascent Heavenly Reflection State cultivator could have such abilities.

    This was not even the power of a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator. Even cultivators in the Supernatural State would not be guaranteed victory.

    Fang Zhengzhi is in the Supernatural State?!

    No!

    No way!

    That¡¯s impossible!

    The general red at Fang Zhengzhi. However, as the life slipped from him, his body crumpled to the ground.

    Dead!

    In that moment, the intense battle halted and a silence consumed the battlefield.

    A gust of wind blew past, bringing with it the stench of blood.

    All of the soldiers looked at Fang Zhengzhi in fear. The sword returned to his hand. By now, the entire de was purple.

    All of the soldiers who were getting ready to charge halted. Their horses also stopped in their tracks. They could all feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s killing aura.

    Even the horses sensed danger.

    The vigers looked on, mouths agape and eyes widened. They could feel the powering from Fang Zhengzhi, who was enveloped by the purple gas.

    They all felt a wave of emotione over them.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s killing aura was so dense, they did not feel any fear. No matter what happened, Fang Zhengzhi was trying to protect them.

    This was the boy they had taken care of since young.

    "Is this Zhengzhi¡¯s power?!"

    "He¡¯s so powerful!"

    "This is bordering on ridiculous! It is no wonder he aced the River of Trust Province Examinations. I would not be surprised if he tops the imperial examinations as well!"

    "Exactly, as long as Zhengzhi is around, the Northern Mountain Vige would not be bullied ever again!"

    In that instant, all of the vigers felt a sense of security. They had no idea how powerful some of the best in the empire were. They only knew that Fang Zhengzhi was so powerful that he could stop a thousand strong army in its tracks.

    They did not care that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were glowing a strange shade of purple.

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned the soldiers surrounding him. Then, his gaze rested on the deputy who had gave the orders. The purple glow flickered.

    "Kill!"

    "Fight to the bitter end. Our general gave his life to quell this rebellion! Capture the rebel!" The deputy felt the iciness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze. He panicked when he felt that devilish aura.

    "Hiss!" A horse whinnied.

    A ray of purple had arrived in front of him.

    He could not even react.

    "Ah!" The deputy screamed in pain as he fell of his horse. Blood spewed upwards like a geyser from the open wound in his heart.

    He had taken out both the leaders despite being surrounded by a thousand men.

    This was the crowning achievement.

    The soldiers in the army felt helpless in the face of Fang Zhengzhi. If they gave it their all, they may win a pyrrhic victory.

    But...

    Who would want to do that?

    There were courageous ones in the group. However, that did not mean that all of them were courageous. A significant number panicked when they saw the general and the deputy fall.

    Some of the other deputies were also panicking.

    They knew that they should step up to the te at this moment. However, after seeing the fate of the general and that deputy, who dared to step up?

    No one wanted to die, and no one was willing to take the lead.

    None of them were willing to try defending against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks. They did not speak, subconsciously looking in the direction of the vige¡¯s exit.

    "Die, all of you must die!"

    Even after the soldiers stopped attacking, Fang Zhengzhi did not. His de swung once again as it swept through the ranks, cutting swathes of red.

    "Ah!"

    "Ah..."

    Pitiful screams echoed out as the soldiers looked at Fang Zhengzhi fearfully. The battle horses ran amok within the ranks.

    The disciplined army had been routed.

    "Die! All of you must die!"

    "No!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to swing once again, a scream pierced through the air. A figure lunged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively raised his de.

    "Die!" An icy voice rang out from his mouth. Just as he prepared to strike, he realized that the approaching figure was familiar.

    The figure looked purple and blurry through his eyes.

    However, he knew that it was someone precious to him.

    He felt pain in his heart, almost as if someone had stabbed him. He hesitated and did not strike.

    Just at that moment, he was overwhelmed by a wave of warmth. He felt a strange sense of calm as he was hugged by this figure.

    All of the hate gushed out of his body in that instant.

    His vision cleared and he finally realized who was hugging him.

    "Mother!"

    "Don¡¯t kill anymore. Son, you are my son, not a mass murderer. They have retreated, stop killing!" Qin Xuelian hugged her son tightly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

    Fang Zhengzhi shuddered.

    Kill?

    Not a mass murderer...

    Have I killed people?

    "Son, put down the sword. Listen to me please, put it down and stop killin!" Qin Xuelian grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword as she spoke.

    "Hum!" The Traceless Sword hummed and glowed purple.

    "What are you doing!" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned as he bellowed.

    The glow of the Traceless de dimmed and it calmed down.

    "ng!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grip on the sword released and it fell straight to the ground.

    In that moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision cleared. All of the purple disappeared and the hate and fury disappeared from his heart.

    "He dropped his de! Kill him! Kill him! Spearmen,unch your spears!" Just at this moment, a voice rang out. Then, a rain of spears blocked out the sun.

 Chapter 258: Execute them all

    Chapter 258: Execute them all

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    All of the vigers were stunned.

    They had thought that the army had been defeated. The deputies were all wetting themselves after the battle. Little did they expect that the army would take advantage of the situation when they saw Fang Zhengzhi drop his sword.

    The vigers simply could not understand.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi understood. This was ast ditch attempt by the deputies. If he did not die, they would still be dealt with harshly by the military even if they lived.

    Furthermore, soldiers lived and died by the orders they got.

    Even though they were afraid of Fang Zhengzhi, they had to respect and obey the orders of their superiors. Soldiers stillunched their spears.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had killed many of theirrades. These were their brothers in arms, people that they had a real connection with.

    After all, they had shared a camp for many years.

    Qin Xuelian paled as she saw the rain of spears. In that instant, she wanted to shield Fang Zhengzhi with her body.

    Fang Zhengzhi could guess what Qin Xuelian would try to do. From the moment he saw the spearsunch, he knew exactly what she would think.

    Because...

    Qin Xuelian was his mother.

    Even before Qin Xuelian could stand in front of him, he already took Qin Xuelian into his arms.

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s fear was unrestrained. Sweat poured from her forehead. She realized that she had made a mistake. She should have never rushed out like that. No matter how many soldiers he killed, Fang Zhengzhi was still her son.

    Her only son.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Qin Xuelian, his back towards the rain of spears. Waves crashed overhead - that was his shield.

    He knew that in the face of a thousand spears, a stone wall would be best. But, here was he going to find sand to make into stone in such a hurry?

    As such, he could only try to use the water to slow down the spears. Even so, it was unlikely that the spears would miss their mark.

    Was he going to die?!

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite sad to leave this all behind. The vigers here cared for him, and he had a warm family.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    Sounds echoed from behind him.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the spears should have alreadynded. However, his area of control had not been hit. Where were the soundsing from?

    Just as he was thinking about it...

    He turned around subconsciously.

    He saw something stunning. There was a green sword ray in the middle of the rain of spears...

    No.

    It was countless sword rays.

    The sword rays intertwined with each other like a spider web. The rays moved quickly, defending him from the spears.

    The moment the spears hit the web of light, the sword rays would explode into smaller and finer sword rays. Those rays would intertwine once again.

    "Dao is endless and constantly changing. The rules governing the world are Dao!" A crisp voice rang out next to him. Then, a figure dressed in ck shot through the air like a meteor.

    Within moments, the figurended next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She wore a tight fitting leather suit and had a branded belt around her waist. This entuated her great figure. She also wore a leather cap which covered her forehead.

    Under the cap, a pair of bright starry eyes stared at the soldiers and the bloody bodies of the fallen. She frowned.

    "Chi Guyan?" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to see the figure next to him. He had not figured out how he escaped The Vast World, but he knew it had something to do with the ck crack.

    How did Chi Guyan manage to escape?

    "Dao is endless and constantly changing. The rules governing the world are Dao!"

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what this cryptic sentence meant.

    This was an interpretation of Dao. It stated that Dao was represented by constant changes in physical properties. This change was known as ¡®gasification¡¯. It also said that the gasification was not random. It followed a strict set of rules, and these rules are Dao.

    The physical properties referred to Ying and Yang, as well as the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire, earth). Everything was formed from these basic building blocks, and were just representations of Dao.

    But, why would she say something like this now?

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the green web of sword lights above his head. He suddenly understood what Chi Guyan meant!

    Dao would give rise to one. One would be two, two bes three, and it would keep going on!

    He finally understood!

    Chi Guyan could produce an infinite amount of sword rays with a single one. Whenever one was shattered, it would reproduce itself. This was a cycle that would continue unbroken.

    It was one of the most powerful defensive techniques around.

    "Is the difference between our abilities really that great?" Fang Zhengzhi had a strong understanding of the theories. However, he did not have the practical experience.

    Chi Guyan was far more well versed in that aspect.

    She had managed to defend against the storm of spears effortlessly. All of the soldiers were stunned by what they saw.

    This was clearly the work of a Heavenly Reflection State individual. However, there were only a few who had such control over their territories.

    As fordies...

    A name appeared in the minds of the soldiers. They simply could not believe it. That¡¯s impossible! Why would she appear in such a tiny vige?

    All of the deputies paled instantly.

    Their eyes widened as they looked at the figure who had defended against their attacks so effortlessly. They were at a loss.

    At this point, a young voice could be heard from afar.

    "Sister Yan, you¡¯re walking too quickly, Ping Yang can¡¯t catch up!" Before long, a ming red figure jumped from the top of a house.

    Her Red me Flower Armor glowed in the sun and she held a bright red spear in her hand. There was a flickering golden light at the tip of the spear.

    When the soldiers saw this figure and heard the name Ping Yang, shivers were sent straight down their spines.

    "Ping Yang!"

    "The most favored princess of the empire, Ping Yang!"

    All of the soldiers did not want to believe that this was happening. However, the Red me Flower Armor was clear for all to see. Furthermore, that spear...

    My god...

    That was the zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Sister Yan?"

    "Ping Yang called thisdy Sister Yan?!"

    "There is only one person who Ping Yang calls Sister Yan. That is the top ranking individual on two of the dragon rolls. She is the heir to the Divine Constabry. She only answers to one person, and even the emperor has to ord her due respect! She is none other than Chi Guyan!"

    "It really is Chi Guyan!"

    In that instant, all of the soldiers retreated. Then, they all fell to their knees, the deputies included.

    "Greetings your highness, greetings princess Chi!"

    "Your highness?!"

    "Princess?!"

    All of the vigers looked at each other, unable to figure out what was going on. However, the soldiers had already dropped to their knees.

    "We themoners extend our greetings to your highness and the princess!"

    "Greetings your highness, greetings princess Chi!"

    After some chaotic chatters, all of the vigers fell to their knees. When they saw Chi Guyan stand next to Fang Zhengzhi, they were all stunned.

    They all remembered.

    This girl was Guyan, the Guyan who had spent almost a month in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    She was a princess?!

    "I, teacher Wang Anhua, extend my greetings to your highness and the princess!" Wang Anhua also rushed over and fell to his knees.

    He did not attend the feast the previous night. Furthermore, he had not seen Chi Guyan in eight years. As such, he did not recognize her when she appeared.

    When Chi Guyan had stayed in the Northern Mountain Vige for a month, the school had yet to be moved over. As such, he was in the dark about that.

    However, upon hearing the soldiers and taking a closer look, he realized that this was his master, the daughter of the Divine Constabry, Chi Guyan.

    All of them fell to their knees.

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian felt their legs turn to jelly. All this while, they had thought of Chi Guyan as their daughter-inw.

    Now that they heard that she was a princess, how could they possibly still think about that?

    "Son, kneel down quickly! Greet the two princesses!" Qin Xuelian pulled Fang Zhengzhi as she prepared to kneel. She had thought that Fang Zhengzhi did not know about this. Afterall, when Fang Zhengzhi had brought Chi Guyan back, they had met at the entrance to the vige.

    "Mom, get up! Dad, don¡¯t kneel!" Fang Zhengzhi pulled Qin Xuelian upwards.

    At this point, Chi Guyan also walked over and bent down. She held Qin Xuelian¡¯s arms respectfully.

    "Uncle, Auntie, please get up. I do not need you to kneel!" Chi Guyan made use of an invisible force to prevent Fang Houde from kneeling.

    "Get up! Uncle Yang Ping, get everyone to recover! What¡¯s there to kneel?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang pouted instantly.

    "Humph! I am a princess, why shouldn¡¯t they kneel?" However, she immediately saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression change. She added quickly, "All Northern Mountain vigers, please rise!"

    Her intentions were simple. The soldiers were to keep on kneeling.

    Upon hearing her words, all of the vigers looked at each other before standing up, their eyes filled with fear.

    Ping Yang walked over to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Shameless fe, I... I thought you were dead! If not for the fact that Sister Yan insisted that you woulde back here, I..." Ping Yang noticed the pile of spears on the ground. Her gaze turned icy as she looked at the soldiers.

    "How dare you attack a rank four official of the imperial courts!"

    All of the soldiers were stunned by what they heard. Rank four official? Who was a rank four official?

    Could it be...

    How is that possible?!

    ording to the dates, the imperial examinations would have just ended. Even if Fang Zhengzhi had passed, he could not possibly have been made an official. Even if he had, how could he be a rank four official?

    Rank four?!

    This waspletely unprecedented.

    When the deputies heard what Ping Yang said, they froze. They knew how difficult it was to climb the ranks in the courts.

    When has there ever been someone who was promoted to rank four immediately after passing the imperial examinations?

    However, this was said by Ping Yang. Ping Yang was the most favored princess of the empire! How could anything she said possibly be fake?

    In an instant, the deputies felt that their worlds were turned upside down. They could not even stabilize themselves despite being on their knees.

    All of the Northern Mountain vigers were wide eyed.

    "Rank four official?!"

    "Is she saying... that Zhengzhi is a rank four official?!"

    "Zhengzhi is a rank four official?!"

    The same thought shed through all of the vigers¡¯ minds. Their faces flushed in excitement. Afterall, Fang Zhengzhi was the only academic in their midst.

    As such, Ping Yang had to be referring to Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the humiliation the vigers had endured were instantly forgotten when they heard the news. Tears of joy flowed down their cheeks.

    Zhang Yangping¡¯s eyes turned red. He murmured to himself, "Zhengzhi is a rank four official? Really a rank four official? The River of Trust Province Governor is only a rank five official. Zhengzhi is rank four?"

    He was in disbelief.

    The ones most in shock were Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Fang Zhengzhi had told them about it. Furthermore, he even showed them the official seal of a rank four official. That being said, would they believe him then?

    Definitely not.

    However, now that Ping Yang said it herself, there was no way they could not believe it.

    "My son is a rank four official! Hahaha... my son has made it!" Fang Houde hollered. He was overwhelmed by the news and momentarily forgot the presence of Ping Yang and Chi Guyan.

    As for Qin Xuelian, she hugged Fang Zhengzhi tightly, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks and falling to the ground.

    She did not say a single word. She hugged Fang Zhengzhi tightly. In all honesty, she did not want to let go.

    "Sister Yan, these people have tantly attacked an official of the imperial courts. That is akin to treason! Should we execute them all?" Ping Yang nced at Fang Zhengzhi and Qin Xuelian. Then, her unrestrained icy gaze turned on the soldiers.

 Chapter 259: Still as shameless

    Chapter 259: Still as shameless

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Treason?"

    "Executed?!"

    The soldiers paled when they heard Ping Yang¡¯s words. They feared for their lives. Ironically, they had nned to pin such crimes on Fang Zhengzhi less than 15 minutes ago.

    But now...

    These crimes were being pinned on them.

    Treason!

    This was a crime that would result in the execution of nine rtions! [1]

    All of the soldiers did not want to die. More importantly, they did not want to implicate their families. However, they were mere soldiers, and they were no longer masters of their fates.

    "Mercy, your highness!"

    "Your highness, please have mercy on us, we had no idea!"

    "General Wang used the power and authority of the military token tomand us to kill Fang Zhengzhi. We were just following orders! Please do not execute us and our families!"

    All of the soldiers kowtowed and pleaded for mercy. Not a single one dared to look up at Ping Yang.

    After all, this was Ping Yang, the most favored princess in the empire. She was the unofficial master of the capital. None of the officials, even the rank one officials, dared to antagonize her.

    Chi Guyan saw the scene unfold before her eyes.

    She did not answer Ping Yang¡¯s question, neither did she stop the soldiers from pleading. Instead, she walked over to Zhang Yangping.

    "Greetings vige elder!"

    "Ah... prince... princess! I hope you are well!" Zhang Yangping was nervous to see Chi Guyan.

    As a northerner, how could he not know Chi Guyan? If Fang Zhengzhi was the pride of the Northern Mountain Vige, Chi Guyan was the pride of the five northern constabries.

    "I would like to thank you for taking care of Zhengzhi all these years. I came a littlete today and do not know what happened. Could you exin it to me?"

    "Yes, yes I will!" Zhang Yangping nodded without hesitation.

    Then, he began to recount the story. He told Chi Guyan about the general¡¯s arrival and subsequent shes.

    Chi Guyan listened quietly without interrupting.

    Fang Zhengzhi had helped Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian to the side. Then, he quickly arranged for the injured vigers to receive treatment. The rest of the soldiers continued to kneel anxiously on the ground.

    When they heard of the general¡¯s heinous deeds in the vige, they were all taken aback. They never expected the general to harm innocent vigers so indiscriminately.

    Zhang Yangping finished the story in moments.

    Chi Guyan nodded and looked at the kneeling soldiers. Her mouth twitched as she contemted.

    "Military token?"

    Chi Guyan was there when Fang Zhengzhi had killed the soldiers the night before. She did not stop him because it was within his power to do so.

    The soldiers had bullied the vigers. As an official, he had a responsibility to guard their rights. He may be charged for killing people in the process, but it was not a death sentence.

    However, if you add in the fact that the soldiers had insulted his parents, then the charge against them would be increased.

    As a rank four official in the imperial courts, it was well within his rights to have the two soldiers executed.

    However, today was different.

    Almost a thousand soldiers had surrounded the vige, harming the vigers in the process. Furthermore, they had a military token with them.

    This was no small matter.

    Last night, Fang Zhengzhi had already dered his position and status. Even if the army did not know his rank, they should have checked it out before charging into the vige.

    Even if they really wanted to activate the troops, they would only aim to capture Fang Zhengzhi. There was no reason for them to harm the vigers and attempt to massacre an entire vige.

    This was a path of no return.

    Someone must have directed this. The order could not have possiblye from General Wang.

    So, who gave the order?

    King Duan?

    Chi Guyan found that rather unlikely. King Duan had control over the military. He would be the prime suspect whenever something like this happened.

    For that same reason, he would never do such a thing.

    King Duan was not that stupid. He would not send people to follow Fang Zhengzhi back in an attempt to kill Zhengzhi. Furthermore, he was not one to use such blunt force to achieve such a fine intent.

    So...

    Could it have been the Crown Prince?

    He could potentially kill two birds with one stone. He would get rid of Fang Zhengzhi and pin it on King Duan?

    It sounded like a good n, but it had many problems. Firstly, this would be akin to dering war with King Duan. King Duan had been in control of the military for so many years. This is not something that the arrival of Fang Zhengzhi could affect. Furthermore, if she could think of this, the emperor himself could too!

    Not only would the crown prince fail to rock King Duan¡¯s position in the army, he would risk the emperor¡¯s displeasure. The crown prince loved stability.

    He had to seem generous and forgiving.

    Furthermore, the empire required bnce. Even though he was of a higher rank than King Duan, he would not interfere in the affairs of the military unless King Duan made a grave mistake.

    He would be the eventual winner as long as he did not make any unforced errors.

    Else, his life would be in danger.

    Furthermore, King Duan was carrying himself well in front of the Emperor.

    It would not be likely that the crown prince would risk a direct conflict with him right now.

    So, who was it?

    "Who had given the orders?" Chi Guyan spoke after a long pause.

    "We... we do not know. The messenger was dressed in ck. He arrived at General Wang¡¯s tent five days ago. At that time, the sky was dark and we could not see well. Then, he never left the camp. Last night, a soldier came to report that the garrison was chased out, with two soldiers killed in the process. General Wang immediately ordered us toe over at arrest the culprit." One of the deputies replied slowly and deliberately.

    "Five days ago?" Chi Guyan frowned slightly. They had chosen to set up a garrison at the Northern Mountain Vige in advance. This could only mean one of two things. One, they were afraid that they would be spotted during the railing process. Two, there were other co-conspirators.

    Arresting Fang Zhengzhi may have been an on-the-fly decision.

    The situation was even moreplicated now. If this was ast minute decision, how did they know that something like this would happen in the Northern Mountain Vige?

    Unless...

    This was all pre nned. Were the soldiers ordered to take advantage of the vigers? This was one possibility. The other was that the person had other motives.

    Was it for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?

    If it was for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, why didn¡¯t they enter Cang Ling Mountain? Did they have links to the demons? Who had the power tomand the entire army?

    Questions flew by in Chi Guyan¡¯s mind.

    However, Chi Guyan did not ask any of them. The general was dead.

    With themotion at the Northern Mountain Vige, the ck robed man was likely to have left the camp. There was only one way to get to the bottom of this.

    Bait him out.

    In order to do so, they had to capture all of the soldiers and interrogate them individually.

    That was the only way they could lure out the opponent.

    "Even though you were under orders, you have harrassed the vigers. We will have to investigate the details! From this moment on, you are not to have any interactions with others. You are to await further orders here. Anyone who runs will be executed, along with all nine groups of your family!"

    "Yes ma¡¯am!" None of the soldiers dared to protest. Even though Chi Guyan did not have control of the military, she was being groomed to be themander in chief.

    Who in their right mind would protest?

    "Sister Yan, they have done so much evil, why don¡¯t we kill them all?" Ping Yang said unwillingly.

    "The mastermind has yet to reveal himself! We will be helping him silence them if we execute them." Chi Guyan exined patiently.

    "I see. Then we will spare them for now! Sister Yan, how will we deal with them?"

    "We will punish themwfully!"

    "So we are going to hand them over to the military courts?"

    "No, at least not right now!" Chi Guyan shook her head.

    "Then are we just going to make them kneel here all day?" Ping Yang sneered as she nced at the kneeling soldiers.

    "Yes, let them kneel! Someone wille and bring them awayter!"

    "Where will Sister Yan take them?"

    "The Divine Constabry!"

    ...

    Within fifteen minutes, a grey armored middle aged man arrived by Chi Guyan¡¯s side.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this man.

    This was General Li, the same man who had apanied Chi Guyan to the Southern Mountain Vige. However, he had much more white hair than before.

    "Greetings mydy! I have already brought 2000 men to the gates of the vige. These are the medicine you asked for."

    "Good, leave the medicine here. Bring these men back to the Divine Constabry. Ensure that they to notmunicate with anyone along the way. Take them back separately and make sure they are well guarded. Interrogate them all individually back at the Divine Constabry!"

    "Yes ma¡¯am!" General Li replied respectfully before leaving.

    Within moments, all 1000 soldiers and the deputies were led away.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stay at the square. The moment Chi Guyan gave the orders, he already began leading his parents back to their home.

    Ping Yang looked at the leaving General Li, as well as the thankful vigers. She smiled.

    "Sister Yan, where are we going next?"

    "We¡¯re staying here!"

    "But we haven¡¯t had anything good to eat in so many days! You have no idea how horrible rations are. Why don¡¯t we go to Huai An County? What¡¯s there to eat here?"

    "Oh, that¡¯s where you are wrong. How can the food in Huai An County ever match up to the food here?" Chi Guyan ruffled Ping Yang¡¯s hair. Then, she looked anxiously in the direction of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s house.

    "There are delicacies here? Where at?"

    "The shameless fe¡¯s house."

    "What? What delicacy could he possibly offer us?"

    "You will find outter! However, it will take some effort if you want to eat something yummy today!" Chi Guyan frowned slightly. Today¡¯s events had already derailed her ns slightly.

    An event as major as this would spread quickly throughout the empire. An investigator from thew ministry would be sent over very soon.

    Massacring the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Even a rank one official did not have that much power, much less a rank four official.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were not unreasonable, killing nearly a hundred soldiers bordered on the ridiculous.

    "What happened?" Chi Guyan was confused. Based on what she knew about Fang Zhengzhi, he would never have killed this many people even if he was just guarding his vige.

    She didn¡¯t think much about it. All her questions would be answered when she saw Fang Zhengzhi. She guided Ping Yang towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s residence.

    "Sister Yan, do you think that he seems a little strange today?" Ping Yang asked as they walked.

    "Why do you say so?"

    "I feel like his gaze is much icier than before. Furthermore, he did not have an opinion as to how we should deal with the soldiers. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s slightly out of character?"

    "Why don¡¯t you ask himter?"

    "Never! That being said, did he really grow up in this vige? It¡¯s so run down here! Furthermore, none of these vigers seemed to have entered Dao. How did he be so powerful?"

    "Why don¡¯t you ask him?"

    "Not again! Sister Yan, you¡¯re bullying me!"

    ...

    Before long, they arrived at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s house.

    Fang House and Qin Xuelian were sitting in the living room. When they saw Chi Guyan and Ping Yang, the weed them at the door.

    "Greetings your highness and princess!"

    "Uncle, auntie, I¡¯ve said this before. Just take me as the Guyan you know. Else, I will not feelfortable." Chi Guyan immediately helped them up.

    "So where will you stay..."

    "We will have to trouble uncle and auntie!"

    "No way!" Just at this moment, a voice rang out from inside the room. Then, a figure in a blue robe appeared at the door.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    When Ping Yang heard it, she pouted and eyed Fang Zhengzhi discontentedly. "Fang Zhengzhi, you should be honored that I want to stay here! Furthermore, I saved your life today, shouldn¡¯t you be grateful?"

    "You can stay here, but you have to pay 100 silvers a night!" Fang Zhengzhi wagged his finger at Ping Yang.

    "Sister Yan, I take back what I said just now. He is just as shameless as before!" Ping Yang raged.

    "As for you, the treasured daughter of the Divine Constabry, you should find somece else to stay! I won¡¯t ept any amount from you!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang and said to Chi Guyan assertively.

    "Is that right? What if I offered you 10,000 silvers a night?" Chi Guyan smiled, not shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude at all.

    [1] The punishment involved the execution of all rtives of an individual, which were categorized into nine groups

 Chapter 260: Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s problem

    Chapter 260: Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s problem

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "10,000 silvers... for one night?!" Ping Yang could not believe her ears. Chi Guyan was the most intelligent person she knew.

    When did Chi Guyan ever do anything stupid?

    However, Chi Guyan was clearly doing something stupid right now.

    How could this dpidated house be worth 10,000 silvers a night? Then wouldn¡¯t her residence be worth millions a night? 10,000 silvers would be more than sufficient to buy the entire vige.

    "Do you think money can buy you everything?" Fang Zhengzhi replied apathetically.

    "15,000." Chi Guyan made a counter offer.

    "Mom,y out a mattress for thisdy! I want to see how long she can stay here!" Fang Zhengzhi turned and entered the house.

    Ping Yang was stunned.

    Where did his pride and determination go to? Didn¡¯t he say money could not buy everything? Why did he change his mind? He did not change at all! He was still as shameless.

    Fang Zhengzhi would never reject arge offer of silver!

    He turned and entered the house.

    Qin Xuelian was still recovering from what just happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi had be a celebrity in the vige ever since he killed the Blue Fire Wolf on Cang Ling Mountain. In the years after that, his name reverberated throughout all the nearby viges.

    Many people had came to the Fang Family asking for an engagement.

    Qin Xuelian had never agreed to any of them.

    Her son was meant for great things. He was meant to go to the major cities one day! How could any of these girls be a match for him?

    However, Qin Xuelian had taken a liking to Chi Guyan ever since she saw her. She was knowledgeable and carried herself well.

    Ever since that time, Qin Xuelian had wanted Chi Guyan to be her daughter inw.

    Why would her otherwise intelligent son do something so stupid today?

    Thisdy was not just ady from a rich and influential family. She was the daughter of the Divine Constabry, the top talent in the Great Xia Dynasty. All of the princes and princesses had to treat her with respect.

    She had countless admirers.

    Why would her son turn down such a great girl?

    More importantly...

    Chi Guyan was not angered by it! She even offered to pay arge amount of silver! What was going on? Is she really in love with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "It is our honor to host the princess. Please stay as many days as you like! Don¡¯t mention anything about the silvers. Both of you, pleasee in!" Qin Xuelian disregarded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wishespletely.

    As a mother, she had to make a decision on the spot.

    Even though the chances of anything materializing were low, she would still give it a go.

    As long as there was a sliver of hope, she would try.

    "Thank you auntie!" Chi Guyan smiled, then held Qin Xuelian¡¯s arm. She nced at the unhappy Ping Yang and walked leisurely through the door.

    "Son, go grill some meat! The princess loves it!" Qin Xuelian was ecstatic when Chi Guyan held her arm.

    She hadpletely forgotten about the troubles of the day.

    To be supported by the pride of the Northern five constabries, the daughter of the Divine Constabry was something that she did not even dare dream about.

    "If she wants to eat, she can do it herself!" Fang Zhengzhi said dismissively.

    "What is with that attitude. Your mom told you to go grill some meat. Grill more and send some to Uncle Yangping. He is injured and needs the meat!" Fang Houde bellowed when he heard Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    Are you bing rebellious?

    Ping Yang smiled when she heard this, "Uncle, auntie, I like grilled rabbit!"

    "Son, did you hear that, grill two green furred rabbits!" Fang Houde chuckled, then hollered to the unhappy Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Dad, Mom, I have a question for you." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice came floating out of the kitchen.

    "What is it?"

    "Am I your son?"

    "Bloody hell! If you don¡¯t do it now, I will break your legs!"

    "That¡¯s great! Uncle, do it now, I have the medicine to help him recover! This is a medicine specially made for the royal family! It can heal broken bones!" Ping Yang continued to add fuel to the mes as she waved a white jade bottle in the air.

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian looked at each other. They were at a loss. Was this really a princess?

    Should we act on it?

    Just as Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian were at a loss, a figure rushed out from inside the house. It brushed past Ping Yang like a gust of wind.

    "Not bad at all!"

    Before Ping Yang could react, the white jade bottle had been snatched by Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he kept it in his pocket.

    Before she could chide him...

    Fang Zhengzhi shot out the door, "I¡¯m going to grill the meat!"

    Ping Yang was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi off so easily. Just as she prepared to give chase, Chi Guyan held her back.

    "The meat he grills is the best thing in the entire Northern Mountain Vige."

    Ping Yang looked at Chi Guyan in disbelief. However, she was famished and tired of eating rations. She had no choice but to swallow her pride.

    "Humph! I will settle the score with you after you¡¯re done grilling the meet!" Ping Yang stomped her feet as she watched Fang Zhengzhi leave.

    ...

    The meal was quite enjoyable.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered when she saw the spread. She looked like a ravenous wolf salivating at a herd ofmb.

    She threw her royal demeanor away.

    She began to take inrge chunks of meat and drank wine by the bowls. Her mouth was stained with grease. Despite her petite size, she managed to finish an entire rabbit and a leg ofmb!

    As night fell, a familiar calm returned to the Northern Mountain Vige. The moon shone brightly in the sky, lighting up the courtyard of the house.

    Fang Zhengzhiy on the bench in the courtyard, enjoying the peace. He had a te of melon seeds and a sk of fruit wine by his side.

    A figure appeared in the courtyard. Under the light of the moon, a shadow of her petite and shapely body was cast on the ground. She wore a pink dress, looking like a blooming flower in the night.

    Chi Guyan had changed out of her disguise.

    She stopped to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right. However, she did not speak, choosing to stand quietly by his side.

    Anyone who saw this scene would not believe their eyes. A viger lying on his side whilst the treasured daughter of the Divine Constabry stood by his side.

    But this was the scene in a courtyard inside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were closed, almost as if he did not see Chi Guyan arrive. He reached for the fruit wine and took a gulp.

    Chi Guyan watched as Fang Zhengzhi put the sk back down.

    She extended her hand and the sk flew into her hands. Then, shockingly, she also took a sip of the wine.

    Afterwards, she put the sk back in its original position.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched but he did not open them. He rolled and switched to an even morefortable position.

    Chi Guyan still did not speak.

    This stalemate continued for a long time. The moon eventually reached its peak as the temperature dipped. It was sote that almost all life on the Mountain was asleep.

    "Now that you¡¯vepleted what you wanted to do, what are you still doing here?" Fang Zhengzhi finally broke the silence, his eyes still shut.

    "If the issues were resolved, I would definitely leave. The fact that I¡¯m still here means that I have unfinished business." Chi Guyan replied.

    "You have already handed the matters regarding Cang Ling Mountain to Xing Hou. What else is left for someone of your standing to do?"

    "There is!"

    "Life is like chess. Is it worth it to give up the game just to save a single piece?"

    "No."

    "Then why aren¡¯t you leaving?"

    "I still have unfinished business."

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke up. "Cang Ling Mountain was a trap set up by the demons. They wanted to sink the Stabilisation Constabry. You also set up a ploy here on Cang Ling Mountain. If I am correct, you already have troops stationed here."

    "Yes, I had arranged for 1000 Red Pinion Squad members and 500 Divine Constabry special forces members to hide at the base of Cang Ling Mountain." Chi Guyan replied honestly.

    "Yet you didn¡¯t tell me anything during our journey."

    "So what if I did?"

    "If I had known about it earlier, I would not have toured and enjoyed myself. I would have rushed back here to chase those soldiers away!"

    "Would the result be any different?"

    "Of course! For everyday earlier that I could have arrived, the vigers would have suffered for one less day."

    "Could it be any less than what they¡¯ve already suffered? Droughts,ndslides, and ack of game are already affecting them. What changes have you made in the past eight years?"

    "Changes?" Fang Zhengzhi was stumped. He could not bring himself to say that he had made any significant changes to the vige.

    The lives that they led were only better whenpared with the other viges.

    In actual fact, the vigers were still leading tough lives. They barely managed to fill their stomachs. Most did not have any stores or savings.

    Almost all of the silver he had earned over the years had gone into subsidizing vige expenses.

    How much could one person, a nameless person at that, do to change an entire vige?

    "If my guess is correct, you want to stay here and never enter the courts. You do not want to partake in thebat examinations and the subsequent court examinations." Chi Guyan continued.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not respond. He did think this way. He was afraid that a simr incident would ur. He was afraid of possible vengeance.

    He wanted to stay in the Northern Mountain Vige. He wanted to protect his parents and all of the other members of this ¡®family".

    "Based on your current abilities, you may be able to protect the vige right now. But can you protect it forever?" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out.

    "I have my methods." Fang Zhengzhi replied tly.

    "Yes, I am sure that you can do it, but you can¡¯t do it as quickly as me! Only when you are influential can you change the fate of a vige! With a singlemand, I could make the Northern Mountain Vige the most prosperous vige in the north!"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not deny it. It was all true. As the most talented youth in the empire, she could drastically change the fate of the vige.

    Furthermore, she was no living off the glory and status of the Divine Constabry. The constabry lived and died by her.

    She was not famous just because she was the second generation of an influential family. After all, the family was now basking in her glory.

    "It is a pity though. I may be able to change a vige, a city, or even a province. However, I cannot change a dynasty or the fate of humanity!" Chi Guyan¡¯s tone became very solemn, however, her expression was just as calm as before.

    "I heard that the Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!" Fang Zhengzhi said cryptically.

    "Do you believe it?"

    "No."

    "But I do. The Heavenly Prophecy cannot be wrong! You may think that I am not taking care of the Northern Mountain Vige, but I am more concerned with the fate of humanity. Someone has to do it. If you don¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll have to do it. This world will always need a hero."

    "Do you think you¡¯re a hero?"

    "No, I am just a chess piece. A chess piece in someone¡¯s n."

    "If you are just a chess piece, then so am I. Furthermore, I am an even weaker chess piece than you." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "I have a few questions that have been bugging me for quite some time." Chi Guyan did not respond directly, choosing instead to broach a new topic.

    "There¡¯s something that you don¡¯t know?"

    "Yes, for example: How do you learn other people¡¯s techniques so quickly? How did you manage to solve the Illustration of All Creation? Why are you even more powerful than an advanced state Heavenly Reflection cultivator even though you just broke through?"

    "I can answer your first question. I do not want to answer the second one. As for the third question, I do not know the answer." Fang Zhengzhi replied seriously.

    Chi Guyan was silent. Her eyes glimmered in anticipation as she awaited Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    "I sessfully essed Dao eight years ago. I attained the Star Conglomerate State a yearter. I did not know about the various states, so I spent seven years umting stars..."

    "What you¡¯re saying is, you managed to understand many of the Daos?"

    "I do not know if its is a lot. I estimate at least two to three hundred?" Fang Zhengzhi responded casually.

    "Two to three hundred..." Chi Guyan was in awe. This was the first time she had lost herposure in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she recovered quickly, her awe turning into joy. In that moment, she smiled.

    She looked as beautiful as a flower in full bloom.

    Fang Zhengzhi, whose eyes were still shut, was slightly moved. However, he had always seen Chi Guyan and himself as people from different worlds.

    She fought for the country whilst he fought for his home. How could they ever mix?

    "I know where your problem is!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, Chi Guyan spoke up. Her eyes glimmered with excitement.

    This was a rare sight.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen this kind of glimmer in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes.

    "What problem do I have?"

    "If I am correct, your pocket dimension has a huge tree filled with many fruits. Each fruit is about the same size!" Chi Guyan asserted.

    This stunned Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everyone¡¯s pocket dimension was different. It would differ based on one¡¯s cultivation process and techniques. For example, the first pocket dimension hs had came into contact with was a world made of rocks.

    As such...

    How could Chi Guyan guess what his pocket dimension looked like?

    This was not science!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand it. However, Chi Guyan¡¯s expression and words had piqued his curiosity.

    "What about it?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Do... do you one to be the one ying chess?" Chi Guyan smiled as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "A chess yer?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to chide Chi Guyan for jumping between topics too quickly. They were talking about chess when she changed the topic to cultivation. Now that they were talking about cultivation, she wanted to talk about chess?

    "Yes, didn¡¯t you say that you were an even weaker chess piece than me? If you don¡¯t want to be a chess piece, you have to be chess yer. You would be the master of others¡¯ destinies."

    "I do not want to be a chess yer." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, then continued. "In fact, I do not want to be either. There is another type of person, the spectator! There is an ancient saying, the spectator sees the most clearly!"

    "The spectator sees the most clearly..." Chi Guyan murmured to herself. After a moment of silence, she spoke up. "Actually, that was something that I tried working towards before. However, I never managed to do it. I never expected you..."

    Chi Guyan paused. She raised her head and looked at the bright moon, "Do you want to defeat me?"

 Chapter 261: The top talent

    Chapter 261: The top talent

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Chi Guyan¡¯s hair danced in the wind, almost like the sshes from a waterfall crashing against the rocks.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    Defeat Chi Guyan?

    He had thought about it before. This had nothing to do with the deal he had with Chi Guyan. As a man, he had to protect his pride. He would not be bullied by a girl!

    The first time he had seen Chi Guyan...

    Fang Zhengzhi was floored by her abilities. He had apletely new understanding of this world. He had thought that he had closed the gap after eight years of hard work.

    However, when he saw Chi Guyan in action hest two days...

    He could only exim to himself.

    Why is this girl so powerful?

    Isn¡¯t it a little too ridiculous?

    However, despite Chi Guyan¡¯s power, Fang Zhengzhi did not think that he would lose. Regardless, he still had a chance at winning. After all, there were many ways to defeat someone.

    He could defeat her mentally, verbally, intellectually...

    Of course, Chi Guyan was referring to defeating her in a duel.

    "Can I interpret your question as you wanting to marry me?" Fang Zhengzhi chose to answer the question with a question.

    "Don¡¯t you want to marry me?"

    "I actually want you to be my servant!" Fang Zhengzhi added additional phrases in his heart. You would warm my bed for me, sing for me, dance for me...

    "Servant?" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression froze. She was the treasured daughter of the Divine Constabry and the number one talent in the empire. Anyone in that position would be fuming if a guy wanted her to be his servant.

    However, Chi Guyan was calm.

    She contemted this question for a moment. Then, she smiled, "Your idea is not bad, but you must defeat me fairly first!"

    Fang Zhengzhi noted that she emphasized the word ¡®fairly¡¯. Her intentions were clear.

    What did she mean by fairly?

    He had to defeat her using his power, his techniques, his cultivation level...

    Furthermore, he could not have any tricks up his sleeve. He also could not rely on weapons or treasures. This was a pure contest of ability.

    This was clearly not a battle he was suited for.

    "If I defeat you fairly, you will be my servant?" Fang Zhengzhi needed to verify the terms of the wager first.

    "I will do it for a month." Chi Guyan replied.

    "Will you swear on it?"

    "Not only will I swear on it, I will announce it to the whole world!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes shot open. Imagine if the treasured daughter of the Divine Constabry, a princess, the top talent of the empire, and the prospectivemander in chief would be his servant for a month...

    "Not only must you serve me food and drinks, you must obey mymands, sing, and dance. Can you do it?" Fang Zhengzhi challenged.

    "I can." Chi Guyan nodded seriously.

    "Okay then, deal!"

    "Haha, what a vivid imagination you have. What if you lose?"

    "What do you want?"

    "I want you to be my servant for a month. If I¡¯m sitting, you must stand. If I¡¯m lying down, you must stand. If I¡¯m asleep, you have to guard the door, standing!" Chi Guyan returned the challenge.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at Chi Guyan. He seemed to understand why Chi Guyan would emphasize the word ¡®standing¡¯.

    Isn¡¯t it just standing?

    Fine, I¡¯ll do it!

    "Okay!" Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth.

    "In addition, you must tell me a joke everyday. If I don¡¯tugh on any given day, you will be beaten 50 times and forced to kneel and repent at my door!" Chi Guyan added.

    "Do you have to make it so serious?"

    "Are you scared?"

    "Me, scared? What a joke!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled icily. Then, he stood up from the chair. "However, I have no interest in taking up such a lopsided wager!"

    "Why don¡¯t you think about it? Other than singing and dancing, I know how to y the Guzheng, the drums, **, solve riddles, etc. Don¡¯t forget that I grew up in a military family! I am familiar with what guys like!" Chi Guyan blinked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was an open challenge to Fang Zhengzhi.

    F*ck!

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped in his tracks.

    He had honestly forgotten that Chi Guyan grew up in a military family. She had interacted with soldiers all her life, and she wasn¡¯t the usual, embroidery loving girl.

    ying the Guzheng, the drums...

    Damn.

    These were things that guys knew how to do. However, it was rare for ady to know how to do these things! Chi Guyan was a rare talent indeed.

    For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi felt his determination waver.

    However...

    He did not take the bait.

    After all, his opponent was Chi Guyan, the number one talent in the empire. He was just like a lead in a storm whenpared to Chi Guyan - utterly insignificant.

    "If you can promise me one thing, I will consider taking up the wager." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was solemn.

    "Tell me what it is."

    "Give me 50 teachers like Wang Anhua."

    "You don¡¯t want to open up a stable?"

    "I would much rather teach a man how to fish than to give a man a fish. If the vigers want to stand on their own feet, they would have to do it themselves. I can make the vige prosperous, but I cannot make it powerful."

    "Okay, I will bring over 50 of the best teachers from the top 10 schools in the Northern Territories. They will stay here for three years. After which, they can choose to stay or leave. I will rece those who leave with new teachers."

    "Will you participate in the court examinations?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "I participated two years ago, so I cannot participate this time. However, those who pass the court examinations have the privilege of attending the "Heaven Dao Pavillion disciple selection. I will be waiting for you there. I will also ept your challenge there! But, are you sure you want to challenge me so soon?" Chi Guyan knew what Fang Zhengzhi was getting at.

    "Since we are going to duel anyways, there is no point pushing it backwards. We are both constantly improving. That being said, I have a question. Why must I go to the Heaven Dao Pavillion?"

    "Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to be a spectator? Only the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavillion are free from the restraints of thews of the empire!"

    "What else?"

    "The imperial courts are highly political. Influence and authority rule there. The Heaven Dao Pavillion is the closest to ¡®Dao¡¯ in the entire empire. You will be able to ess significantly more resources there."

    "How many disciples do they take in every year?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. "One pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries" was the representation of power in the empire.

    The Heaven Dao Pavillion was right at the top of the food chain.

    They were the only ones who were peers with the Great Xia Dynasty. In the eyes of the cultivators, the Heaven Dao Pavillion was even more attractive than the imperial courts.

    However, such a well endowed ce was not open to everyone.

    "They only take in three disciples every two years. During the selection, the Northern Barbarians and the Southern Mountain Range people will all be attending. The Heaven Dao Pavillion and the Great Xia Dynasty have a standing agreement that at least one of the disciples will be from the Great Xia Dynasty." Chi Guyan exined.

    "Three?!" Fang Zhengzhi had expected the selection to be difficult, but he never expected it to be this difficult.

    Three disciples every two years?

    How many disciples did they have?

    "Are you thinking that they run the risk of not having any sessors by having such a stringent selection?" Chi Guyan guessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts.

    "I would like to think of it as a break in the line." Fang Zhengzhi did not deny it.

    "Haha, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. The Heaven Dao Pavilion has a tradition. At any point in time, they will have 3000 disciples inside."

    "3000 disciples?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    If they epted three every two years, 3000 disciples...

    That did not make any sense!

    "As to why they have 3000 disciples, you would understand once you enter. I think you should focus on passing the court examinations!"

    "Is it very difficult?"

    "Well, if you thought the imperial examinations were difficult, the court examinations would make them look like a piece of cake!" Chi Guyan exined.

    "Why so?"

    "Normally, people would be given the posts of officials once they pass the imperial examinations. Promotions would be given afterwards based on their contributions. However, the court examinations are the final Dao examinations. The final name list is strictly guarded. They will only select nine people, and there is no top three."

    "No top three?"

    "No top three. The top ranking individual in the court examinations would be given the title ¡®Ringleader¡¯.

    "Ringleader?" Fang Zhengzhi knew what it meant. This phrase was used to describe the leader in a particr field.

    This term could also be used to describe someone who was peerless.

    "Yes, ringleader is the special title conferred to the top scorer at the court examinations. Themoners would confer him the title of ¡®Top talent¡¯!" Chi Guyan said calmly.

    "Top talent?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan, "You are also a top talent?"

    "Yes, but why didn¡¯t you specify my gender in the title like what others do?"

    "Are there any in the Supernatural State at the court examinations?"

    "It differs from year to year. There were two in the edition I participated in."

    "Two Supernatural State? Why didn¡¯t they pass the court examinations?"

    "The Great Xia Dynasty uses the "Law of Dao" as the foundation for our cultivation. Many things can happen in the short span of two years. For example, who would have expected you to top both the county and provincial examinations?"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    The road of cultivation was constantly changing. It all depended on one¡¯s understanding. Who was to say that he couldn¡¯t breakthrough to the Supernatural State in two years?

    "I get it now."

    "Actually, a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator may not necessarily lose to a Supernatural State one. Even though the difference is significant, some who are at the pinnacle of the previous state can push through and breach the gap."

    "Like you?"

    "There is one other person!"

    "Who?"

    Chi Guyan did not answer Fang Zhengzhi immediately. A name shed across her mind.

    This was a name which reverberated throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    Nangong Hao!

    Four years ago, Nangong Hao had participated in the examinations, taking home the top spot at the imperial examinations. Everyone favored him to take home the title of ¡®top talent¡¯.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion also announced that Nangong Hao would definitely be selected as a disciple if he could pass the court examinations and attend the selection.

    However, he unexpectedly gave up that opportunity, iming that his foundation was not stable. He chose to return to the Nangong Family to continue his cultivation.

    This had caused an uproar.

    He had managed to defeat Supernatural State cultivators as a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator. How could his foundation not be stable?

    No one knew what he was thinking.

    No one knew why he would give up such a golden opportunity.

    Two years ago, when the examinations were held once again, everyone expected that Nangong Hao would return to im the title and enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, the attendee was Nangong Mu.

    In the end, Nangong Mu also gave up before the imperial examinations, choosing to return to the Nangong family.

    However, this time, no one was surprised.

    Chi Guyan had burst onto the scene. She destroyed all thepetition in her way, taking home the title of ¡®ringleader¡¯ and entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    One yearter, she challenged Nangong Hao.

    She topped the two Dragon Rolls and became the top talent of the generation.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s name slowly faded into obscurity. People were now raving over Chi Guyan, the one who they thought was going to fulfill the heavenly prophecy.

    However...

    Chi Guyan knew one thing.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion has an age restriction on the disciples they recruit. A quick calction told her that this would be Nangong Hao¡¯sst chance to be recruited.

    This meant that...

    Nangong Hao would definitely participate in this edition of the court examinations.

    "I think that you will meet him very soon. He will also participate in the court examinations!" Chi Guyan sat down next to Fang Zhengzhi without saying more.

    Fang Zhengzhi took in the aroma from her clothes. Then, he remembered something, "15,000 silvers a night, are you serious?"

    Chi Guyan¡¯s body moved slightly.

    "Make a guess!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. I have studied so much, don¡¯t try to trick me. If you do, I will make sure I make you something worse than a servant.

    "If I give you a way to instantly make yourself stronger, do you still want the silvers?" Chi Guyan continued before Fang Zhengzhi could respond.

 Chapter 262: New door

    Chapter 262: New door

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Of course... I do!" Fang Zhengzhi replied after a brief moment of hesitation.

    Chi Guyan chuckled and leaned back, seemingly unsurprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer. She turned to look at a row of trees in the vige.

    "Shameless Thief, we¡¯ve known each other for eight years right?"

    "Probably..." Fang Zhengzhi replied tly.

    "Do you think that each and every tree would grow the same way over eight years?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glowed faintly.

    "Of course not. They each receive different amounts of sunlight and grow in different soil. These will all affect their growth." Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "Now, what if the sunlight, soil, nutrition, weather, and every other environmental factor were the same?" Chi Guyan pressed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was thrown off. He had never thought about it that way. There was no wa this hypothetical scenario could evere true. How could two trees ever receive the same coverage of sunlight?

    "Even if that was the case, they¡¯ll still be different!"

    "Oh? Why?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glowed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mention the greenhouses from his previous world. Even though the nts in a greenhouse all received simr care, there were still differences.

    "Each seed is inherently different. Some may be of better quality. Humans are the same, there can never be twopletely identical persons. Even identical twins have minute differences." Fang Zhengzhi continued to think. I guess you don¡¯t know "gics"?

    "I really don¡¯t know how someone like you exists. You have never been to an academy. You self taught the Law Of Dao, but you keeping up with fresh perspectives." Chi Guyan eximed. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she continued. "Every tree, mountain, and river may be different. However, one can understand the Dao from any tree, mountain or river. The differences lie in the quality. The better the care, the better the flower..."

    Chi Guyan stood up and sauntered back into the house.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered. He understood such a simple concept, yet, he had failed to apply it.

    I see!

    Over the past eight years, I have focused on collecting stars. Every time I collected one, I moved on to others.

    In the end, I collected many stars, but each one was about the same size.

    In other words, they were all in the nascent stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood it. There was one other reason that made him believe it. Hisrgest fruit was the purple one with red stains.

    The Dao of Massacre?!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what these fruits would be once they were grown. However, this had opened up a door for him. Previously, he had wanted to breakthrough into the Supernatural state.

    But now, he wanted something different.

    If 300 nascent stage fruits made him this powerful, what if they doubled in size?

    Or even tripled, quadrupled...

    What would happen?

    He still had much to do!

    Fang Zhengzhi became increasingly excited, subconsciously grabbing the fruit wine and gulped it down. About half way through, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.

    F*ck!

    Chi Guyan had drank from this?!

    Chi Guyan had no idea if Fang Zhengzhi had understood her words, but she knew that he would one day.

    She did not spoon feed him because she knew that the best way for him to learn was for him to infer and understand it for himself.

    Furthermore, she wanted to preserve his ego.

    Fang Zhengzhi may be shameless, but Chi Guyan knew that he valued pride above all else.

    "He has already collected two to three hundred stars... I wonder how terrifying he will be if he "waters the tree"..." Chi Guyan paused at the door. People like Yu Yiping May think that Fang Zhengzhi was wasting his time bing a jack of all trades.

    Chi Guyan did not think so. Someone may be nting on one acre ofnd. He may be giving it the best fertilizer, but his production will always be limited. What if this man nted on 10 acres?

    100 acres?

    Even though this man would be off to a slower start, with effort and time, the production of the 100 acres ofnd will exceed that of one. And it would exceed by many, many times...

    ...

    The next day, Fang Zhengzhi and Fang Houde went to visit Zhang Yangping.

    Color had returned to Zhang Yangping¡¯s face. The superior medicine from the Divine Constabry had yed a huge role in his recovery. Furthermore, having grown up in the mountains, his body was tough.

    Many elderly vigers sat in a circle around Zhang Yangping.

    "Zhengzhi and Fang Houde are here!" The vigers stood up to wee them.

    "Zhengzhi, you¡¯re just on time. We were just discussing your return to the vige. We have never produced a rank four official. However, I have already asked Ah Nan to rush out the tablet. We have used the ancestral rosewood for this tablet. What do you think? Also, I thought of having a few tablets made at the entrance..." Zhang Yangping said excitedly.

    "Uncle Yangping, I actually came to discuss some things with you." Fang Zhengzhi knew that erecting a tablet was a tradition. It represented the highest honor and respect the vige could confer. He would show his official seal and it would be followed by a series of celebrations.

    However...

    He felt that the tablet was like a gravestone... however, Zhang Yangping had already rushed it out. Fang Zhengzhi had to admit that the speed at which he worked was quite stunning.

    He knew the origins of that piece of rosewood.

    That was wood that their ancestors had harvested. It was superior rosewood and the most valuable item in the vige. Yet, it was now made into a tablet?

    "Sure, please tell us if you think that we¡¯ve missed out anything else!" Zhang Yangping smiled radiantly, showing no signs of his injury the previous day.

    "Actually, I wanted to discuss the school." Fang Zhengzhi realized that Zhang Yangping had misunderstood.

    "School? Yes, Sensei Wang had suffered quite a bit. We should definitely take care of him. I will make the necessary arrangements to ensure he is contented."

    "I¡¯m talking about expanding the school..."

    "Expanding the school? Sure thing. With your reputation and links to the Divine Constabry, I am sure that we can take in a few more students. We can probably produce a couple more hopefuls."

    "Uncle Yangping, I¡¯m talking about making it into an academy."

    "Academy? I think that¡¯s a good idea! If it¡¯s an academy, we can... hang on, Zhengzhi, did you say academy?!" Just as Zhang Yangping was about to nod his approval, he hesitated.

    "Yes, I have already made a deal with Chi Guyan. She has agreed to send 50 of the best sensei to teach here. They will stay here for three years. That¡¯s why I want to make it an academy." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "This is great news, but..." Zhang Yangping¡¯s joy was dampened significantly.

    "Zhengzhi, we know that you mean well. However, the Northern Mountain Vige is extremely poor. Can theye? Furthermore, we can¡¯t house so many people." One of the vige elders smiled bitterly.

    "That¡¯s why we will need to renovate and rebuild. Furthermore, we must ensure that the vige bes prosperous soon." Fang Zhengzhi answered.

    "Zhengzhi... you should know the situation now. Even though we are richer than any of the other viges, we can barely scrape together enough to build another school. How can we possibly amodate 50 sensei? Furthermore, building their amodation would cost hundreds of silvers!"

    "I¡¯m not done... I¡¯m nning to build an arena which can amodate thousands. I would also like to build amodation for students, a library, hunting ground..." Fang Zhengzhi rattled off a list.

    The expressions of Zhang Yangping and the vige elders changed. This was a full fledged academy, and it was much better than the mega school in Huai An County.

    I¡¯m guessing that there is no school like it in the Northern Territories?

    "Zhengzhi, silver! All these cost silver!" Zhang Yangping reminded.

    "Yes. Based on my preliminary calctions, thend around the vige should be enough. However, in order toplete construction of the academy, we would require 200,000 silvers!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Two... 200,000 silvers?!" Zhang Yangping nearly fell off his chair. 200,000 silvers was an astronomical price. He was sure even the River of Trust Province did not collect that much in taxes annually.

    "Yes, in order to make the viger prosper, we have to do something else. If one wants to be rich, have less children and nt more trees..." Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "What?!" Zhang Yangping was stunned. What did that even mean? The entire Cang Ling Mountain is filled with trees, but our vige is not rich at all!

    "Hang on, I may have made a mistake. If we want to get rich, we must first build roads! I n to build a road to Huai An County, it will be..." Fang Zhengzhi reacted almost immediately.

    "Zhengzhi, it is quite a distance to Huai An County. My estimate is that it would take at least a few thousand silvers?" Zhang Yangping reminded.

    "That is a gross underestimate. I n to expand it to fournes. However, a cement road is too expensive. Asphalt is an even better alternative, but weck the equipment to make it happen. Let¡¯s start with gravel. We have an abundance of stone anyways. I estimate that it would cost about 30,000 silvers!"

    "30...30,000 silvers?!" Zhang Yangping could not believe his ears.

    The other vigers were scared out of their wits. They could barely scrap together a single zero, where were they going to find 5 zeroes?

    "Zhengzhi... your ideas are good, but... we don¡¯t have the silvers!" Zhang Yangping grit his teeth.

    "We do!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "We really don¡¯t!" Zhang Yangping was on the verge of crying.

    "We really do!" Fang Zhengzhi retrieved a stack of cheques and ced them in front of Zhang Yangping.

    He was not done.

    He began looking inside his storage.

    He took out box after box of silvers and ced them haphazardly on the table.

    Zhang Yangping and the other elders werepletely stunned.

    This...

    Is so much silver!

    They could see the value on the cheques. Each one was for 1000 silvers. Based on its thickness, it was worth at least tens of thousands of silvers.

    They could not believe their eyes when they saw the boxes of silvers.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was not done. After retrieving the boxes of silver, he began taking out ingots of gold.

    The golden glow filled the entire room quickly.

    "Uncle Yangping, just take a look. We have cheques, silvers, and even gold!" Fang Zhengzhi continued to pull out even more currency as he blinked.

    All of the others in the room were stunned. They rubbed their eyes vigorously to ensure that they weren¡¯t being tricked. Those with teeth picked up the gold and bit it.

    The toothmark was instantly printed on the gold.

    "Yup, but we are still missing a little bit even after all these. No worries though, I have ways to get around this. Let¡¯s start with the necessities and the more critical projects. The entire school is a long term project. We could start with the amodation and arena. Once we are done, the money for the rest of the projects will be in!"

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. It was all too easy to develop a school. Furthermore, if they became the premier school in the Northern Territories, it would be even easier.

    Just the reputation of the senseis would be enough to attract students and resources..

    Three years!

    They may not even need three years to make the Northern Mountain Vige the promisednd. He would have the most modern teaching methods here as well!

    Fang Zhengzhi became more and more excited. All of the academies were controlled by the courts and the number of slots were limited. Once they got in, they coasted.

    There were so many students who hoped to simply coast by. They just wanted the title of being a student in an academy. This made them feel superior.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to break this tradition and start a private institution.

    At the same time...

    He would create the term "school fees"!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was nning the development of the academy in his mind, a whisper rang out beside him.

    "Zhengzhi, tell Uncle Yangping the truth. Did you kidnap the princess?"

 Chapter 263: The killing blow

    Chapter 263: The killing blow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to tell Zhang Yangping the origins of these silver. After all, a significant amount hade from the sale of Ping Yang¡¯s Snow Jade stallion.

    As such, he simply reiterated that these silvers were all earned legitimately.

    Even though Zhang Yangping was not fully convinced, he ended up buying the story. After all, if Fang Zhengzhi could be a rank four official, what couldn¡¯t he do?

    Then, Zhang Yangping had Zhang Li father all the vigers at the square. He wanted to formally wee Fang Zhengzhi back and announce Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ns to build the academy and highway.

    After a whole afternoon, red silk hung from the top of the shrine. The shrine was cleaned and new cushions were ced in front of it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to have the red silk. After all, the events of yesterday were still fresh in his mind.

    However, Zhang Yangping insisted on it, all of the other vigers were also of the opinion that the events of yesterday should not dampen the festive spirit.

    Furthermore, some of the vigers wanted to use this joyous asion to rid the vige of the ¡®bad omens¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else. He arranged for those injured vigers and their families to sit at the top table.

    Ping Yang and Chi Guyan arrived on scene. The entire area seemed to brighten up, energizing all the vigers. Just as they were about to kneel, Fang Zhengzhi stopped them.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi ced Ping Yang on one of the tables next to the main table.

    Ping Yang immediately pouted.

    As the beloved princess of the empire, she had never been treated this way. However, just as she was about to re up, she realized that Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were also at this table.

    Fang Zhengzhi also took his seat here.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered when she saw this. She stopped pouting almost immediately.

    Chi Guyan was calm andposed from start to finish.

    After a round of prayers to the shrine, the rosewood tablet was ced next to the ancestral one. They were ced on the same level, representing simr status.

    Once most of the ceremonial events were finished, Zhang Yangping cleared his throat and motioned for silence. Then, he nced at Fang Zhengzhi, wanting him to announce the news.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and insisted on staying where he was.

    Zhang Yangping had no other choice. He stood on stage and began announcing the ns for the renovation and rebuilding of the school. He also mentioned the building of the new road to Huai An County.

    All of the vigers were stunned when they heard what Zhang Yangping proposed.

    "Where would we get so much silver?"

    "We barely have enough to feed ourselves."

    Zhang Yangping fully understood the thinking of the vigers. He motioned to Zhang Li and a few other youths. They began lugging the boxes of silver up on stage.

    All of the vigers could not believe their eyes. They looked at each other in disbelief when they saw the boxes of silver, the ingots of gold, and the stack of cheques.

    They had never seen such fortune in all their lives.

    Zhang Yangping saw the suspicion in their eyes. He began to reassure everyone that this money was donated by Fang Zhengzhi. Zhengzhi had used purely legitimate means to get this money.

    All of the vigers whooped and cheered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name when they heard this.

    Ping Yang could not believe her ears.

    "How is that legitimate? He got it from the sale of my Snow Jade stallion! He had gotten the rest of it by scamming me!" Ping Yang said in discontent.

    However, she was surprised to hear that Fang Zhengzhi was going to use the money to build a school and roads.

    All this while, she had thought that Fang Zhengzhi valued money as much as his life. She never expected him to invest his entire fortune in the future of his vige.

    He was actually doing something to better the society.

    In that moment, she felt like she did not understand Fang Zhengzhi as well as she thought she did. Just as she was about topliment him, she saw Fang Zhengzhi offer her a cup of tea.

    "Erm... as a princess, would you like to make a donation? This school is for the betterment of the empire after all. How about 80,000 silvers?"

    "Go to hell!" Ping Yang rejected him unequivocally. This guy was just as greedy and shameless as before! 80,000?! That was daylight robbery!

    "Are you really going to make the school that big?" Chi Guyan asked.

    "Of course! If I want to do something, I¡¯ll make sure it is the best!" Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "However, the funds required to run this school will be immense. The Divine Constabry can cover the expenses of the teachers. However, the empire simply cannot fund the maintenance of such a school. You need silver to maintain the library and hunting grounds. The Qingfeng Academy in Huai An County is funded by the empire and otherrge families. However, the Northern Mountain Vige..."

    Chi Guyan had made her point very clear.

    With the Qingfeng Academy in Huai An County, the empire could not possibly build a second one here, and definitely not one on such a scale.

    If it was just a small one, Chi Guyan may have some methods to keep it running. However, a school of such scale would require at least 100,000 silvers to run annually.

    "I have my methods for finding the funds." Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

    The best fields for money making were education, healthcare, property, food & beverages... basically, anything that was a necessity.

    Of course, in this world, property, healthcare, and F&B were not too suitable.

    As such...

    Education was his best bet.

    The families funding Qingfeng Academy were doing so in order to guarantee their sons a ce in there. This was the same concept he was going to use here.

    He would have 50 of the best sensei in all the North.

    He had already solved the most pressing issue, quality of teachers. All roads lead to Rome. With a few "little tricks", all of the problems would be resolved in due time...

    ...

    Inside a quiet residence in Huai An County.

    Bai Xing looked extremely haggard. He was themanding officer for this plot on Cang ling Mountain. However, he was the only demon who made it back.

    More importantly, he had lost both The Vast World and the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    "Please punish me!"

    "Domain Chief Bai, you said that The Vast World had already been taken when you returned?" A crisp voice could be heard from behind a curtain. There was a figure in a white dress sitting behind it.

    It was Yun Qingwu.

    "Yes, after The Vast World had absorbed Cang Ling Mountain, its weight was not something a normal person could move. One would need the power to move mountains and fill oceans. I believe that there are only two possibilities. One, the Four Sages had intervened. Two, our opponent had a treasure which countered The Vast World."

    "Which do you think is more likely?"

    "The former. The chances of thetter happening are negligible."

    "Mm, I can¡¯t me you entirely for this. I had forgotten to ount for two people. I never expected Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan to appear in The Vast World at the same time."

    "Master, what is our next course of action?"

    "Xing Qingguo has seen Shan Jia. This may not be a bad thing. Shan Jiaes from the top family in the Southern Mountain Range. They are highly valued by the Great Xia Dynasty. Take this opportunity to take over the Southern Mountain Range. That will be your task!"

    "But, master... Fang Zhengzhi, he..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi? I received news that he killed nearly 100 soldiers in the Northern Mountain Vige. Even with Chi Guyan supporting him, he will not have a good life in the capital. I think it is time for me to meet him as well. You don¡¯t have to worry about him!"

    "Yes master!"

    ...

    In the days after that, Fang Zhengzhi began his road of cultivation. Understanding the different Daos was the most difficult step, cultivating them was the easy part.

    They were like snowballs. One just needed to make a small one and roll it down a hill. When it reached the bottom, it would have naturally grown in size.

    Fang Zhengzhi was basically trying to roll all two to three hundred of his snowballs. His biggest question was whether he should roll them one at a time, or all at once.

    The answer was simple.

    He would roll them all at the same time.

    It did not seem very rational.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi like the feeling of rolling them all. That was reason enough for him. After all, he had many snowballs to y around with.

    As Fang Zhengzhi was cultivating, the Northern Mountain Vige was busy.

    After hearing that the Northern Mountain Vige was going to build an academy, the surrounding viges sent people to check out the validity of the information. This was earth shaking news.

    Did the Northern Mountain Vige have this much silver?

    No one believed it.

    However, when Zhang Yangping showed them the "mountain of silver", they bought it.

    All of the strongest in the viges congregated here. They imed that they would want to y a part in the building of the academy, even if they were not being paid!

    This was the innocence of the vigers, and it was the unity between viges when they saw a glimmer of hope. After all, once the academy was built, the most important phase wouldmence.

    Recruitment!

    They all had a reason to help out in this project. The thinking was, the more one contributed, the higher the chances of being recruited.

    In the east, an entire hill was ttened as soil and timber were lugged to the Northern Mountain Vige for the construction of the academy.

    The building of the road to Huai An County was also moving in tandem.

    It was quite a distance to Huai An County, and the road would pass through many viges. When everyone heard that the road was being renovated, they rushed to contribute. When they heard that there was a pay for builders, even those who worked the fields dropped everything toe and help.

    Fang Zhengzhi exined the building concepts, then handed the project to Zhang Li to run. After all, Zhang Li was young, and could easily handle the project.

    ...

    Yan Capital was in chaos at this moment in time.

    In the throne room, letters streamed onto the emperor¡¯s table. They all reported Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s massacre of the soldiers.

    "Emperor, Fang Zhengzhi hasplete disregard for thew. If we do not punish him severely, how can we maintain the reputation of our army?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has muddled up his personal affairs with his official ones. Even if the army hadmitted transgressions, they did so under direct orders. How can Fang Zhengzhi kill the soldiers?

    "One of our generals and many of the deputies died horrible deaths there. The army has been affected by this incident. I hope that the emperor will have thew ministry investigate this!"

    All of the officials were unified in their opinions and suggestions.

    If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was the Sword Envoy, a rank four official, thew ministry would have already issued an arrest warrant without consulting the emperor.

    "Your highness, I know that you care for such a talent. Fang Zhengzhi had just been promoted recently. You¡¯re concerned that arresting him now may affect him adversely. However, he has gone overboard this time!" Minister Wan Chong said in fury.

    Emperor Lin Mubai frowned.

    The army had sent news of the massacre to him. Then, he received a letter from Chi Guyan. Chi Guyan had detailed everything to him.

    It was clear who was in the wrong here.

    However...

    The army had to maintain their standing.

    If anyone could just massacre the soldiers, albeit with good reason, then thews of the country would not be respected. More importantly, the number of soldiers he had killed were too many.

    He had killed nearly a hundred, and injured hundreds more. He was not just protecting his vige and stopping the army from invading. This was a massacre.

    There were too many dead soldiers.

    The army¡¯s reputation would be destroyed if there wasn¡¯t even an investigation.

    However, should he let Fang Zhengzhi be investigated by the Law Ministry?

    Emperor Lin Mubai hesitated. In the letter, Chi Guyan had described the entire process and exined that Fang Zhengzhi was infuriated as a result of his filial piety, and killed to protect his family.

    "Your highness, I think that Fang Zhengzhi should not take all the me for this!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood out.

    "Oh, what does Minister Yu think?" Lin Mubai was slightly shocked to hear Yu Yiping¡¯s words. After all, Yu Yiping had a run in with Fang Zhengzhi previously.

    How could he not have seen it?

    "ording to my own investigations, the army had bullief the vigers, eating and drinking like kings whilst in the viges. Then, they were ordered to massacre an entire vige. That general even injured quite a few vigers. They are a disgrace to the army and should be dealt with!" Yu Yiping nced at King Duan as he spoke.

    "Minister Yu has a point. Sixth brother, you have done wonders with the army, and your achievements are there for all to see. However, their discipline... still needs some work. This could have been prevented!" The Crown Prince added.

    King Duan¡¯s expression darkened. He knew what Yu Yiping and the Crown Prince were getting at. However, the army was at fault here, and he could not possibly deny that.

    "Thank you for the reminder. I will definitely tighten my grip on their discipline. I will also ount for their actions in due course!" King Duan did not push the me away.

    He would admit his mistake.

    This was much better than trying to argue his way out. After all, everyone knew that the army was humongous. It was only natural for mistakes to ur from time to time.

    This was just a small one. Taking responsibility for it would not harm him in any way.

    "With King Duan at the helm, I am sure that their discipline will improve!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping answered immediately.

    One of the officials behind King Duan was about to step out. However, upon hearing Yu Yiping¡¯s words, he stepped back in line, visibly confused.

    Yu Yiping stepped forward once again.

    "Plonk!" He fell to his knees.

    The emperor gestured for Yu Yiping to recover. "Minister Yu, what did you do that for?"

    "Your highness, as the left prime minister, I should be virtuous and help you solve your problems. However, I have something on my mind that I would like to say, but it is not something an official should say!"

    "Please go ahead!"

    "Yes your highness. I don¡¯t think that it is important to determine if the army was in the wrong first, or if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s massacre came first. The Law Ministry is in charge of finding that out. My opinion today does not concern anyw, it concerns loyalty, moral and values. Fang Zhengzhi tends to overreact and kills without hesitation. He hadpletely ignored the army and this is not a good sign! I hope that your highness will be careful when using him in the future!"

    Yu Yiping kowtowed one more time, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked as loyal and sincere as humanly possible.

    All of the officials were stunned by Yu Yiping¡¯s words.

    Then, they were in awe.

    Yu Yiping first helped get Fang Zhengzhi out of trouble, attributing it to theck of discipline in the army. Then, he resolved that issue easily.

    His position was well considered and measured. Furthermore, he had helped the emperor solve the problem.

    This was a near perfect act.

    Then, he had dealt the killing blow.

    He did not talk about anyw. He simply talked about loyalty, moral, and values. These seemingly irrelevant points were his method of sealing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fate.

    Loyalty was always the more important. Even when filial piety and loyalty were at conflict, loyalty was always meant toe first.

    Yu Yiping had condemned Fang Zhengzhi, iming that he had no regard for the army or for power.

    He was simply calling Fang Zhengzhi disloyal!

    With such a passionate plea and a well measured position, the emperor was bound to give it some thought!

    Experience does count!

    "Your highness, Xing Hou has requested an audience with you!" Just as everyone was admiring Yu Yiping¡¯s act, a voice rang out from outside the throne room.

 Chapter 264: Prophecy of the four sages

    Chapter 264: Prophecy of the four sages

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Xing Hou is back?!"

    "How fast!"

    All of the officials were stunned when they heard the voice. After all, news of the events on Cang Ling Mountain had just reached the capital recently.

    "Have hime in quickly!" Emperor Lin Mubai did not step out of the throne room to wee him, but he stood up from the throne excitedly.

    Before long, Xing Hou, dressed in purple official robes, entered the throne room.

    "I have failed your highness, please punish me ordingly!" Xing Yuanguo fell to his knees.

    "Official Xing, please rise. I know all about the events on Cang Ling mountain. You have already preserved the pirs of our empire. Where have you failed?" Emperor Lin Mubaiforted.

    "Exactly, Xing Hou has suffered so much this time!"

    "It is a blessing to the empire that you can return."

    All of the officials chimed in. The Stabilisation Constabry was the pir of the empire with vast contributions throughout the years. Who dared to say anything against them?

    "The main reason why I could save the Mountain Breaking Army and Red Pinion Squad from annihtion is because of Sword Envoy¡¯s wit and bravery, as well as Chi Guyan¡¯s assistance in the battle. Even though I am guilty, I hope that your highness can reward Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan for their contributions!" Xing Yuanguo continued to kneel.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He was also on Cang Ling Mountain?"

    "What could a nascent Heavenly Reflection State cultivator do?"

    All of the officials began discussing Xing Yuanguo¡¯s words. His letter had reached the capital two days earlier.

    However, he did not go into the details of the happenings on Cang Ling Mountain.

    As such, the officials had no idea that Fang Zhengzhi was involved. Little did they expect that Fang Zhengzhi would have made any contributions of note there. What could he have done that would warrant the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s leader toe request for a reward for him?

    Xing Yuanguo rarely involved himself in politics, and had never requested for an official to be rewarded!

    Emperor Lin Mubai frowned slightly. He knew Xing Yuanguo¡¯s character very well. He would nevere asking for a reward for a junior. Now that he did, this man must have done something very important.

    "Official Xing, you have weathered much to rush back. I would like to close the discussion on this until tomorrow!" Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hand.

    "Yes!"

    "Withdraw!"

    "Xing Hou, the emperor invites you to the library."

    "Yes, your highness!"

    Yu Yiping looked at Xing Yuanguo, his eyes glimmering with despair. His near perfect n was almostplete.

    Yet, Xing Yuanguo hade along at just the right time to destroy it.

    How could he ever ept it?

    "Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilisation Constabry?! Why would these people who never involved themselves politically speak up for Fang Zhengzhi? King Liqin did so once, now the Stabilisation Constabry has done so, the Yan Family and the Nangong Family as well... hang on, Nangong Family! If there are no surprises, the top talent who has been in seclusion for four years should reappear soon!"

    "Nangong Hao! Four years ago, he managed to defeat Supernatural State cultivators as a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator. Four yearster... his potential and abilities promise to excite!"

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping definitely knew the importance of ¡®power¡¯ in the courts.

    Fang Zhengzhi was at his peak. He had broken through all the barriers from the provincial examinations all the way to the imperial one. This was his moment of power.

    It was only natural for the neutral parties to ride the wave.

    However, once this ¡®power¡¯ was broken, the consequences would be unimaginable. All of the ¡®bacsh¡¯ would be enough to paralyze him.

    "The court examinations would be where he loses his power!"

    ...

    Seven dayster, the Northern Mountain Vige weed a very special squad.

    They were the best teachers in the Northern Territories. They were proud and haughty. They should have been teaching in the best schools in thend, but they had all been sent to this dpidated vige.

    How exasperating.

    However, their exasperation did notst for long.

    Within half a day, Fang Zhengzhi was able to make these sensei beam like a sun. They walked around the vige, spreading happiness to the busy vigers.

    This change was confusing for Ping Yang. She simply could not understand what Fang Zhengzhi had done to these teachers.

    Their attitudes seemed to have changedpletely!

    Fang Zhengzhi never told Ping Yang what had transpired when he met the teachers.

    Upon meeting them, he gave them one piece of gold each.

    All of the sensei were stunned. As teachers, the empire gave them remuneration. How could they ept gold from other sources?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by the sensei reactions. He told them tly, "From today onwards, I will quadruple your sry. The extra wille from my own pocket, as an incentive!"

    All of the sensei looked at each other in confusion. However, when they felt the gold ingot in their hands, they chuckled.

    No one here was dumb.

    This extra cash was a reimbursement for the hardship they may face when moving to such a vige.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what these teachers were thinking. The silver was only able to buy over them temporarily. In order for them to be fully bought over, he had to give them ¡®hope¡¯.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi made them feel a sense of ¡®hope¡¯ that they had never felt before.

    This hope was not something he fluffed up on the spot.

    He simply told them about the education model he had in mind. He exined the recruitment of students, to the development of the school and its curriculum. He also told them about splitting up the students into various grades, subjects, and levels.

    Initially, the sensei were just moved by the gesture. Then, their thinking began to change. By the end, they were all on the verge of whooping and pping their approval.

    This entire process took four hours.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi yed his trump card. He would ensure that this partnership would benefit all parties involved.

    Fang Zhengzhi would give the 50 sensei 20% of the profits of the school. However, only those who stayed past the three years would qualify.

    This was not harsh. Even without the silvers, they would have to stay here for three years.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was impossible for the 50 of them to bepletely bought over by his new methods. However, as long as they taught ording to his n, the results would speak for themselves.

    He had even introduced the idea of ¡®stocks¡¯ to them.

    Three yearster...

    When they saw the results, he was sure that at least some would stay.

    Even if his education method had failed, the education these 50 sensei would provide over the three years would benefit all the students anyways.

    This was sufficient for him.

    ...

    Construction in the Northern Mountain Vige continued fervently.

    Two dayster.

    Chi Guyan and Ping Yang left together. When they left, Chi Guyan told Fang Zhengzhi one thing, "Xing Hou has returned to the capital!"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not probe. If it was going to rain, he could not do anything to stop it. All he could do was spend some money to buy an umbre.

    Furthermore, he was too busy ¡®rolling his snowballs¡¯. During his free time, he also had to exin the rules and operation of the school to the sensei.

    Wang Anhua was the mediator in these discussions.

    Everything was proceeding ording to n. However, Fang Zhengzhi was waiting on one person, a very well informed person.

    He had thought that Su Jiu woulde, but Wu Yuer was the one who turned up.

    A ck sedan chair stopped at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s door. Then, more than 10 masked men following behind the sedan chair began bringing silver into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s house.

    No one said anything.

    Boxes of silver began filling up Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s home.

    All of the vigers could not believe their eyes.

    "Is silver... really that easy to earn?"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak, nor did he stop them. His lips twitched as he murmured to himself, "This could have been easily done with cheques... the reason for changing them to silver is too obvious."

    When the transport of the silvers was done, the door opened from the inside.

    However, no one walked out. As such, Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice but to go in.

    The moment he entered, he smelled the faint aroma of tea.

    "I hear that you are building a school?" A voice rang out.

    "It may just be a rumor, why take it so seriously?" Fang Zhengzhi walked to a rosewood table inside the sedan.

    There was ady on the other side of the table.

    She wore a blue blouse, a ck skirt with golden embroidery and had a scarf on her shoulders. Her eyebrows were a work of art, her skin was white, and there was a red cinnabar in the middle of her forehead.

    She was exquisite. Her posture and demeanor were wless.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s beauty was undeniable. Her charm was clear for all to see

    "What if I saw it for myself?"

    "Since you saw it, I can¡¯t hide it from you anymore..." Fang Zhengzhi lifted up the ss of tea on the table. He sniffed it, said it was eptable, then drank it in a single gulp.

    "A cup of superior Nine Dragon Red Robe Tea is just eptable?" Wu Yuer said discontentedly.

    "The standard seems to have been raised significantly since our past meetings. What is the reason for that?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and asked.

    "Now that you are a rank four official, and you have grand ns to set up an academy, you have the potential for greatness. The bar has to be raised."

    "And then?"

    "When news of what happened here reached the capital, all of the officials called for an investigation by the Law Ministry. However, after Xing Hou returned, the emperor quelled all discussion on it. He also did not order you to return."

    "I never expected you to have ears in the court as well."

    "My guess it that there will be a resolution on this incident when you return to the capital. Your fate would have been decided by then."

    "You came all the way here to tell me this?" Fang Zhengzhi served himself another cup of tea.

    "In other words, as long as you don¡¯t return to the capital, this incident will never be resolved. Thew ministry cannot arrest you without a warrant, and you can continue being the Sword Envoy and run your school. Two yearster..." Wu Yuer continued.

    "What will happen in two years?"

    "When the court examinations begin in two years, you can return to partake in them. Your school will also be up and running. I am sure you can take home the top spot and be the top talent." Wu Yuer raised her ss, closed her eyes, and sipped.

    "This all sounds good, but your reason for having me wait two years seems a little weak. You said that the issue would be resolved once I return to the capital. Why shouldn¡¯t I resolve it earlier rather thanter?" Fang Zhengzhi put down his ss, picked up a melon seed and crunched.

    "What if I told you that I have intelligence which says that you will have great misfortune if you return to the capital now? Your life might be in danger as well. Is that reason enough?" Wu Yuer ced the cup down, her eyes glowing in anticipation.

    "Yes it is." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Wu Yuer smiled and reached for a melon seed. Just as she prepared to bite down on it...

    Fang Zhengzhi spoke.

    "However, when I left the capital, I made a promise to a friend. I promised to meet him at the court examinations. I will keep my promises."

    "Is a small deal worth more than your life?" Wu Yuer did not seem to understand. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was not known for being an honorable man.

    "The deal is not important, the person I made the deal with is important."

    "Is it Yan Xiu?"

    "Yes."

    Wu Yuer was silent. She put back the melon seed on the te. Then, she poured herself another cup of tea slightly disorientedly.

    The steam floated out of the cup, climbing into the air like a dragon.

    "If you are destined not to top the court examinations this time, will you participate?" After some time, Wu Yuer spoke again.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "Okay then, I hope you can change your fate."

    "I have always believed that I am the master of my own fate. Oh yes, who were the people you consulted this time? They aren¡¯t some scammers are they?"

    "Haha..." Wu Yuer chuckled lightly and did not say anymore. Only this man would dare call the four sages scammers.

    "You have travelled such a long way. Why don¡¯t youe inside for a rest?" Fang Zhengzhi invited her inside as he admired her figure.

    "Ew! I¡¯m off." Wu Yuer rolled her eyes at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I guess being kind isn¡¯t appreciated nowadays. Oh yes, please help me with the marketing for my new school. Here is a silver for your troubles!" Fang Zhengzhi stood up to leave, then left behind a silver.

    Wu Yuer picked up the silver and ced it in her pocket. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back... "This guy is really shameless. However, a silver is still money. It¡¯s better than nothing!"

    ...

    Three monthster, the newly renovated academy took its first step towards sess. A three storey high school and a two storey high aodation block was finished. The hunting ground was almostplete, and books were filling up the library.

    The road from the vige to Huai An County was alsoplete.

    Recruitment was going extremely well. News that the top 50 sensei in the north were here spread quickly.

    Furthermore, with the wide road leading to the vige, students from everywhere came to the vige in search for a spot.

    However...

    The date of the court examinations was also nearing.

    He knew that it was about time he set off for the capital. His only question was... Has Yan Xiu gotten stronger after so long?

 Chapter 265: Top ten

    Chapter 265: Top ten

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was less than a month to the preliminary examinations of the court examinations. It would take about two weeks to reach the capital.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not waste anymore time in the vige. After making sure everything was in ce, he went to pray at the shrine, apanied by Zhang Yangping and his parents.

    After everything was done, he began the journey back to the capital.

    Just as he left the vige, he heard of some shocking news. Chi Guyan did not return to the Divine Constabry, choosing instead to go straight to the Heaven Dao Pavillion.

    She also made an oath there.

    She would ept Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s challenge. However, Fang Zhengzhi had to qualify as a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple. Furthermore, the duel would be held in public.

    The loser would be a ve for a month.

    When the news was broken, it swept across the entire empire like a tornado. In the camps, in the restaurants, in the alleys, even at schools and in homes, everyone was talking about it.

    Is Fang Zhengzhi insane?

    He actually challenged Chi Guyan!

    If Fang Zhengzhi had just kept to their deal eight years ago and waited another two years, he could just lose quietly.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no ns to do that.

    Not only had he reminded the world of the challenge, he had brought it forward by two years?!

    Someone could overestimate themselves, but they shouldn¡¯t use their shamelessness and overconfidence to insult the top talent of the empire.

    This was akin to someone announcing their scorn for a well respected god, denouncing the god and sshing the god with dirty water.

    Who could ever ept that?

    Even if the challenge was to be held two yearster, everyone thought that it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to win this duel.

    "That is ridiculous!"

    "You would expect him to know himself better than that!"

    "How overconfident!"

    "Yes, someone who doesn¡¯t even know where he stands is worse than scum!"

    Intense discussions were held in every residence across the Great Xia Dynasty. The news was like a spark which ignited a pile of dry tinder.

    In actual fact, any other duel would not have riled up the public this much.

    However, the duel was between Chi Guyan and a viger. Furthermore, this viger had just broken through into the Heavenly Reflection State.

    This had resulted in a very different reaction.

    Everyone felt that their goddess was being insulted. They could not help but want to stand up for her.

    Furthermore, the difference in their status and the stakes of the challenge fueled the fire in many hearts.

    A servant!

    Chi Guyan was the treasured daughter of the Divine Constabry, the top talent of the empire, the futuremander-in-chief, and the dream girl of the public. How could she ever be the servant of such a shameless person?!

    No one would ept it, even if it was just for a day!

    In fact...

    It was unimaginable!

    Chi Guyan was innocent, generous and ssy. She could ept Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s challenge calmly, but the public could not.

    In times like this, there were people just waiting to fuel the mes.

    Ping Yang was one of them.

    Ping Yang had no idea that Chi Guyan had epted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s challenge. When it had happened, she was sleeping soundly.

    However, after knowing about it, Ping Yang ¡®dly¡¯ took advantage of it.

    "This shameless fe is also a bully. When we stayed there, he demanded that Sister Yan pay him 15,000 silvers a night!"

    Ping Yang began to use this story to defame Fang Zhengzhi.

    She sessfully enraged the entiremunity. She then said that Chi Guyan probably only epted this challenge out of fury.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has to atone for his sins at the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "He has to start kowtowing from the foot of the pavilion all the way to the pinnacle!"

    "He is incredibly shameless!"

    Words of fury continued to spread in the capital.

    Everyone was condemning Fang Zhengzhi for using such shameless methods to ¡®force¡¯ Chi Guyan into epting his challenge.

    Ping Yang was extremely happy with this result. She saw it as revenge for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s unwillingness to tell her about how he had managed to turn those 50 sensei. Fang Zhengzhi had iting.

    "When he is in the sh*t, I will ¡®generously¡¯ get him out of that sticky situation, hahaha..."

    She smiled radiantly as she imagined Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression when pleading with her to exin the situation to everyone. She couldn¡¯t wait for that day.

    Is this love and hate?

    Ew!

    Who would ever fall in love with that shameless guy?!

    Ping Yang¡¯s words began to gain traction. Many of the disciples of the most influential families discussed about gathering in the capital, preparing to ¡®wee¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi.

    Some of them were the top ten ranking youths in both the Hidden Dragon and Rising Dragon rolls.

    Those on the Hidden Dragon Roll were furious, however, they knew that Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State. As such, they could only speak, but they did not take any actions.

    However, the Rising Dragon Roll was a different story.

    Which of the top 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll was not at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State?

    Anyone of them would easily defeat Su Donglin, who Fang Zhengzhi defeated in a 4v1 scenario. It was extremely difficult to climb the upper echelons of the Rising Dragon Roll.

    This represented the differences in power even within the same state. Anyone in the top 10 was definitely a talent.

    Each of this talents began to announce their participation in the court examinations and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple selection.

    After all, some of them had already passed the court examinations and qualified for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple selection.

    It was a pity...

    The most highly anticipated piece of news failed to arrive.

    The Rising Dragon Roll¡¯s second ranked talent, Nangong Hao, never announced any intention to participate in this edition of the court examinations.

    Whether Nangong Hao would be participating was something that everyone was concerned about.

    After all, as long as Nangong Hao participated in the court examinations, he would definitely challenge Fang Zhengzhi.

    The reason was obvious.

    As long as Nangong Hao challenged Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi would not have a chance to participate in the Heaven Dao Pavillion disciple selection.

    If he could not attend that, how could he challenge Chi Guyan?

    Everything would just be a joke.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had calcted the time required to reach the capital carefully. It did not require much brain power. He simply needed to know his speed.

    Even so, he failed to ount for the inconveniences he would meet along the way.

    Thest time, he had travelled with Yan Xiu. They rode the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, so no one dared to antagonize them along the way. They reached the capital in record time.

    This time however...

    His entire path seemed to be lit brightly. There were groups of people pointing at him wherever he went.

    As such, a curious Fang Zhengzhi spent some silvers to have some tea in a teahouse. He wanted to understand what themotion was about.

    He quickly understood.

    Chi Guyan had indeed announced the terms of the challenge to the public. His Snow Treading Stallion became a signpost.

    As such, he decided to go by the smaller roads instead.

    He would tour the area.

    Fang Zhengzhi had nice dreams, but reality was rarely so nice. He did not know why, but all of the bridges he wanted to cross were broken. Furthermore, he kept running into mudslides, torrential rain...

    "What the f*ck is going on?" Fang Zhengzhi saw yet another broken bridge. He cursed, dismounted, and took off his clothes.

    He had to swim across.

    ...

    Not far from the bridge, a barefooted all man in a white robe observed Fang Zhengzhi as he swam across the river whilst leading the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion.

    He was expressionless.

    He watched as Fang Zhengzhi changed into new clothes and remounted his stallion. Then, he began walking towards the bridge. His steps were slow and small, but strangely...

    He reached the bridge in no time.

    Even more strangely, he did not swim across the river. He simply stepped on it. The moment his feetnded on the wood, the broken bridge seem toe to life, returning to its original state.

    There was something formed in chaos before Heaven and Earth existed. It stands unchanging in silence and solitude. It may be the Mother of the world. I do not know its name, so I can only term it Dao. Its greatness is far-reaching... Humans should strive to understand nature, and respect it."

    "If your fate is as such, you should ept it! Going against it will only result in tragedy!"

    The elderly man continued to chant as his figure disappeared from sight. Within moments, the bridge had disappeared and everything returned to normal.

    ...

    It was no exaggeration to say that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s journey was filled with problems at every turn. As such, when he arrived at the border city of Dong Lin, he decided to change his appearance.

    "Now that I have changed to ady¡¯s disguise, I would like to see who can recognize me!"

    Being envied by others showed that he was not mediocre. Fang Zhengzhi had never felt that he was mediocre, so he was not too angered by the trials. After all, he was prepared for those.

    However, he was a little short on time.

    If he had to go through so many barriers, he may not make it in time for the court examinations.

    However...

    He had underestimated the influence of Chi Guyan. He had also underestimated the number of admirers Chi Guyan had.

    When he stepped into Dong Lin City with his Snow Treading Dragon Stallion, he was stopped.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I think that you should go back to your vige. You should not partake in the court examinations. You might break your limbs if you participate!"

    A young man stepped out from amidst the raucousughter.

    He was about 26 years old, slightly tanned, had thick eyebrows, but donned a pristine white robe.

    "Aish... I¡¯m in a rush, you can alle at me together!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed. He had lost count of the number of people he had to defeat along the way. It was getting boring.

    "All together?! Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, open your eyes wide! This is Yu Wengu, ranked 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll. He is at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State!" One of the youths standing next to the white robed man nearly burst outughing.

    "Ranked 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at Yu Wengu.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I do not know if I am the unlucky one, or you are. I had already announced that I will participate in the court examinations and defeat you there. I never expected to meet you here." Yu Wengu beamed.

    "And so?" Fang Zhengzhi asked curiously.

    "I am exasperated too, but I guess it is Heaven¡¯s will that you don¡¯t make it to the capital!"

    "Why?"

    "How can someone with a broken leg participate in the court examinations? Don¡¯t you agree? Oh... I almost forgot, you¡¯re a rank four official now. I can¡¯t just break your leg like that. It would be an insult to you. Let me change my clothes."

    As Yu Wengu spoke, someone presented him a set of official robes and put it on him. He beamed as he put his arms through the sleeves, "I may not be as high ranking as you, but that¡¯s no problem, I can just add my hereditary knighthood. That¡¯s about right isn¡¯t it? Sword Envoy, your honor!"

    "I think... what you say makes sense!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his approval.

    ...

    Nothing in this world ever went ording to n.

    Countless talents were making their way into the capital, trying to have a go at Fang Zhengzhi. They all wanted to be the one to defeat him.

    Just as the discussions were reaching a peak, a piece of shocking news rocked the capital. Many of the talents were rooted in their ces.

    The reason was...

    Yu Wengu, ranked 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll, met Fang Zhengzhi in Dong Lin City. Yu Wengu¡¯s legs had been broken and he exasperatingly announced his withdrawal from the court examinations.

    Fang Zhengzhi rose from rank 53 to rank 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    He became the first person in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty to rank amongst the top 10 on the Rising Dragon Roll within six months of breaking through into the Heavenly Reflection State.

 Chapter 266: Four birds with one stone

    Chapter 266: Four birds with one stone

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was quite the plot twist.

    Initially, no one had thought much about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s challenge against Chi Guyan. After all, the difference between rank 1 and 53 was too great.

    However...

    Now that he was in the top 10... things were slightly different.

    Furthermore, ording to eyewitnesses, the battle was not as intense as imagined. After a few rounds, Yu Wengu was defeated.

    Many of those who were not as powerful as Yu Wengu began to worry.

    They had no qualms about schooling someone of lower ability than them. However, if this man was powerful enough to rank in the top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll...

    Who would be this masochistic?

    No one was a fool.

    ...

    Inside the capital, carriages stopped in front of the Crown Prince¡¯s residence every so often.

    Inside the residence, all of the officials sat around drinking tea. They discussed various political issues, but no one discussed Fang Zhengzhi.

    Before long, the Crown Prince walked out from the throne room, apanied by Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "Forget the pleasantries, just tell me what you think of the court examinations!" The Crown Prince began toying with a piece of jade as he took his seat.

    His gaze scanned across all of the gathered officials. His expression was gentle, but his eyes glimmered subtly.

    Yu Yiping took his seat right at the front, but he did not speak.

    "Your highness, I have an insignificant opinion." A rank four official, about 28 years old, stood up and walked to the middle of the room.

    "Go ahead." The Crown Prince nced at him, thenmanded.

    In the imperial courts, any 28 year old who could make it to a rank four official was quite the powerful individual. However, in the residence of the Crown Prince, he was just a nkton.

    There were other higher ranked officials ahead of him. Some of them were even rank one...

    As such, when this youth stepped out, all of the officials nced at him with disdain. Some other even shook their heads and sighed.

    "Young man, know your ce!"

    "Forget it, give the young man a chance."

    Many of the officials sighed under their breaths. Then, they looked around and discussed some political matters.

    "The emperor traditionally sets the questions for the imperial examinations. He will also be the chief examiner for them. History tells us that the emperor¡¯s questions tend to be more practical in nature. As such, I was thinking... why don¡¯t we take this chance to kill four birds with one stone."

    The youth¡¯s gaze was calm. He bowed and said every word deliberately and slowly, ignoring the gazes of those around him.

    "Oh? Four birds with one stone? Please borate!" The Crown Prince was slightly moved and he adjusted himself in his seat.

    All of the other officials looked on in scorn. It was good for a young man to have confidence, but promising four birds with one stone was a little overboard.

    "Yes your highness. The first one is to help ay the worry of the emperor. The emperor worries about country, citizens, and his empire. Even though the court examinations are important, it is nowhere near as important as any of those other concerns. Ever since Xing Hou¡¯s return from Cang Ling Mountain, the emperor is most concerned with the border territories!" The youth borated.

    "What is your name? What is your current position?" The Crown Prince began to take this man seriously.

    This was not a good question to ask, and it should never have been asked by the Crown Prince. Even though the youth was quite low ranking, he was one of the Crown Prince¡¯s officials.

    To not know the name of one¡¯s officials was nothing to be proud of.

    However, the Crown Prince asked it anyways. Furthermore, when the youth heard the question, he beamed.

    When the scornful officials heard the Crown Prince¡¯s question, their eyes revealed shades of jealousy.

    The mind of the emperor.

    It did not matter if he knew your name right now.

    It mattered if he would remember your name in the future. Since the Crown Prince had asked for his name in the presence of so many officials, he would not ask ever again.

    In other words, this man¡¯s name will be etched in the Crown Prince¡¯s mind from this day on.

    Simrly, this youth¡¯s name will be remembered by all of the officials.

    "Your highness, I am Su Qing. I am currently a messenger in the Imperial Academy, and I pen letters!" Su Qing bowed once again.

    "Su Qing? You do surpass your teacher, mm, not bad!" The Crown Prince nodded.

    "Your highness, official Su was ranked second in the imperial examinations four years ago!" One of the aides by the Crown Prince¡¯s side whispered.

    "Oh? And you were ranked second four years ago... wasn¡¯t that the year Nangong Hao participated?" The Crown Prince¡¯s eyes glowed.

    "Yes your highness. I was not as good as him, and he defeated me four years ago. However, Nangong Hao is incredibly talented, I am not ashamed to have lost to him!" Su Qing replied respectfully.

    "Mm, losing to Nangong Hao really isn¡¯t much of a loss. You mentioned some concerns about the border territories. Are you talking about the Southern Mountain Range?" The Crown Prince nodded and queried.

    "Exactly, the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s expedition to Cang Ling Mountain should be known by all. This incident was caused by an ambush started by the demons. More importantly, Shan Jia from the premier family in the Southern Mountain Range had a role to y in it. As such, the problem there is the main thing on the emperor¡¯s mind!" Su Qing replied.

    "You are right. This is what my father is most concerned about. However, how does this link to the court examinations?" The Crown Prince acknowledged Su Qing¡¯s point.

    "Your highness, after I passed the imperial examinations, I have examined the questions for the past 10 editions of the court examinations. Thebat examinations eventually determine the top spot. As for the theory examinations, there are questions on politics, military, cultivation etc., there are also questions on the six ministries - Personnel, Revenue, Law, Rites, War, and Work! The emperor has always ced a huge emphasis on the court examinations, especially since it is thest exam. Based on the current dynamic of the courts, he will aim to use this to appease the four vassals and ay the fears of the public!"

    "Appease the four vassals and ay the fears of the public?" All of the officials were stunned by what they heard. For an imperial messenger to know the past year court examination questions was not unexpected. However, for someone like that to have such foresight was rare.

    "Yes, the emperorcks people who can appease the four vassal states! As such, my guess is that the emperor will set questions on that!" Su Qing said confidently.

    "Official Su, your analysis is thorough. You are concerned about the people and have shown a great appreciation for the intent of the emperor! Since you can guess what the emperor wants, why didn¡¯t you participate in the court examinations four years ago?" The Crown Prince asked doubtfully.

    "I hope to serve the nation, not be a sage. I have already spent over 20 years studying the Law of Dao. Since I passed the imperial examinations, why waste more time attending the court examinations?"

    "Hahaha... Official Su, you are quite the maverick! There are many in the courts who chose this path because the couldn¡¯t make it in the cultivation world. However, you chose to give up cultivation!" The Crown Prince chuckled.

    "My ambitions are small, your highness!" Su Qing replied respectfully.

    "It does not matter. Everyone has different dreams. Official Su, you have a heart for politics, and your future is bright! Tell us more about your n." The Crown Prince waved.

    "Yes, firstly, you will be able to ay the concerns of the emperor. That is a duty that you will fulfill as a son. Secondly, you can strengthen ties with the vassal states. That is a duty that you will fulfill as a leader of this empire. As for the third and fourth, these were results that I did not n for. However, with things as they are, we have no other choice!"

    "Tell me about it!"

    "In the courts, the Crown Prince controls the politics and King Duan controls the army. This is the will of the emperor. However, should you ascend the throne one day, you have no one in the army... This is not good for the public. As such, for the stability of the empire, you must n ahead!"

    "My father does not like me to meddle in the affairs of the military."

    "That is the case if you participate directly. However, you could influence it in a way thates under your jurisdiction!"

    "Oh? How would I do that?"

    "I hear that the annual exercise is about to happen soon. If... if this exercise is linked to the court examinations in some way, then it is only right that you have a say in it!"

    "Link the exercise with the court examinations? Good n, good n! Quickly, tell me what the fourth benefit is!" The Crown Prince was getting excited.

    This man was mature well beyond his age. Furthermore, he had a mind of an experienced politician. Most importantly, he wasmitted to politics!

    All of the other officials were captivated. They no longer talked amongst themselves, their gazes fixed firmly on Su Qing.

    Even Yu Yiping nced at Su Qing. However, he did not take a second nce.

    "The fourth benefit concerns Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Fang Zhengzhi? I see... what does Official Su think of Fang Zhengzhi?" The Crown Prince was taken aback. He leaned forward in anticipation.

    "I believe that you should stabilize the Eastern Pce. However, Fang Zhengzhi is the biggest variable here. It would be best to eliminate him, but..."

    "But what?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is already in the system. In order to convict a rank four official of a crime, the emperor has to make the final decision. Right now, Fang Zhengzhi is at his peak, and there are many unknowns standing behind him. Chi Guyan, King Liqin, Xing Hou, the Yan Family... are just some of them. They may not have made their stands clear, but we cannot put them out of the equation!"

    "You are correct."

    "As such, I do not think that this is the right time to kill Fang Zhengzhi. Even though the time is not right, you should focus on stabilizing the Eastern Pce. When things take a turn for the better, you can use someone else to do the killing for you!" Su Qing¡¯s eyes glimmered without any killing intent.

    His eyes were calm like ake. It seemed like killing was not something that bothered him at all.

    "Have someone else kill him for me? I see... you have told me the four benefits. So, what is the n?" The Crown Prince gripped the jade in his hand tightly.

    "Yes, my method is simple. The Crown Prince can just observe the theory examinations. However, for thebat examinations, you can pitch the Southern Mountain Range as the location for it. Even though we have traditionally used pocket dimensions for these examinations, recent events can be a chance for you to convince the emperor otherwise!" Su Qing said solemnly.

    "What? Hold thebat examinations in the Southern Mountain Range?!"

    "Official Su, this may not be wise for the Crown Prince. The Southern Mountain Range is not stable right now, why would the emperor agree to hold thebat examination there?"

    All of the officials stepped forward when they heard that.

    "Your honors, that¡¯s where you are all wrong. The emperor is likely to agree to it precisely because the Southern Mountain Range is not stable!" Su Qing shook his head confidently.

    Just as an official was about to rebut, he was pulled back by yet another official. When the official saw the Crown Prince¡¯s expression, he swallowed his words.

    "Official Su, you make a lot of sense. However, how will holding thebat examinations there help me get these four benefits?" The Crown Prince asked appreciatively.

 Chapter 267: The Court Examinations begin

    Chapter 267: The Court Examinations begin

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yu Yiping put down the cup of tea in his hand. Even though he did not look at Su Qing, he was clearly impressed with him.

    Su Qing bowed to the Crown Prince once again.

    "Your highness, the court examinations are one of the most important events in the empire. By holding the examinations there, we show that we trust and value the Southern Mountain Range. Furthermore, we can use this opportunity to find out their attitude towards the Great Xia Dynasty. Even if they are opposed to it, they will not rebel openly. This will serve our first purpose." After bowing, Su Qing borated without dy.

    The Crown Prince nodded as Su Qing exined.

    "The court examination is also the best time for us to showcase our power. Countless talents and elites will be there. This will serve the purpose of deterrence and intimidation. After seeing our power, they will think twice before trying anything! This serves our second purpose, quelling the unrest in the vassal states!" Su Qing added.

    "Well said! The n will achieve the above two aims. How will we achieve the final two though?" The Crown Prince could barely contain his excitement.

    "The second and third benefits are linked. The candidates alone are insufficient to stun and awe the Southern Mountain Range. As such, we have tobine it with the annual military exercise. This will ensure that we have a strong military presence there. When that happens, there is no way they can object!"

    "That is indeed the case. If we had just held the military exercise there, they would not object, but it would be a tant intimidation technique. However, the rules of the court examinations dictate that the candidates can bring the soldiers over the border. This is a much more friendly approach!" The Crown Prince nodded his approval.

    "I am impressed by your highness¡¯ foresight. Furthermore, as part of the rules of the examination, you can oversee the examination on behalf of the emperor. The emperor needs to govern the country from the capital. As such, he cannot go to the Southern Mountain Range personally. Then, you can be the chief examiner for the court examinations as well. On the contrary, King Duan will only be a supporting cast member. You will also be able to helm the military exercise as a result..."

    "Good, very good! Tell me about thest one!"

    "Thest one is for someone else to do the killing for you. King Duan has a rocky rtionship with Fang Zhengzhi. I am sure that with some help from you, King Duan would not relinquish such a golden opportunity." Su Qing knelt.

    "Official Su, please rise! You are right! Holding thebat examinations at the Southern Mountain Range is a stroke of genius! We will also have a military presence. When I am invigting, all I have to do is have a moment of pse¡¯. I am sure sixth brother would not give up such an opportunity, hahaha... okay then, any other opinions?" The Crown Prince asked contentedly.

    "Official Su has great foresight. I do not have any other opinions!" Yu Yiping stood up from his chair and bowed to the crown prince.

    All of the other officials looked at each other and nodded. They were not stupid. Su Qing¡¯s n was good and had the approval of both the Crown Prince and Yu Yiping. They were not going to express any differing opinions.

    "Good, then let¡¯s get to work!"

    ...

    Deep in the night.

    Inside a secret chamber in King Duan¡¯s residence.

    A youth wearing the armor of the guards stood in the middle. King Duan sat in front of him on a raised tform.

    Next to King Duan were Mr Hua in the robes of an academic and Elder Wen in ck and white.

    "Your highness, I have acted in ordance to your instructions and presented the n to the Crown Prince. From his expression, he seems to agree!" The youth raised his head slightly.

    This was the rank four official Su Qing.

    "Good, well done!" King Duan smiled when he heard what Su QIng said.

    "Your highness, Su Qing has done a great service by presenting the Crown Prince with such a n!" Mr Hua stood up and helped Su Qing to his seat.

    "Thank you Mr Hua. However, it is not over yet. It is still a little too early to ask for a reward. I have brought over the reward the Crown Prince sent me. Your highness, please take it!" Su Qing bowed to Mr Hua, then to King Duan.

    "Hahaha... Official Su has risked much this time. You have also managed to fool the Left Prime Minister. You can keep the reward from the Crown Prince. Also, I have a pearl of the east, and it is something our vassal state gave me. It is now yours!" King Duan flicked his hand and the starry pearl was thrown out.

    "Thank you your highness!" Su Qing kowtowed.

    "Your highness, everything is now in ce. We just await themencement of the court examinations. I will now rush to the Southern Mountain Range to prepare!" Elder Wen stepped out.

    "Good, thank you. Only you can control the Southern Mountain Range. The sess of our n hinges on you!? King Duan stood up and bowed to Elder Wen.

    "Your highness, you¡¯re too kind! I will take my leave first!"

    "Elder Wen, it is getting dark, let me see you out!" Mr Hua walked to Elder Wen¡¯s side.

    "Okay!" Elder Wen nodded to Mr Hua.

    ...

    The Chung Yeung Festival, also known as the Double Nine Festival, was one of the four biggest festivals in the dynasty. There were always a myriad of activities on this day.

    This year¡¯s Chung Yeung Festival was particrly meaningful.

    The sun was high.

    The aura of autumn was dense at the Eastern Gate. Golden chrysanthemums were ced around the square. In the middle was a grand, festive stage draped in red silk.

    Rows of guards in golden armor stood around the square. Their expressions were solemn. The public stretched their necks and jumped to get a better look of the square.

    On the stage.

    Emperor Lin Mubai led the ceremony.

    As one of the biggest festivals, the Chung Yeung Festival had a myriad of traditions and ceremonies. After almost two hours, they were just about done with all of them.

    After emperor Lin Mubai poured a ss of wine on the ground, the ceremony was officially over.

    The heat was building as the sun shone overhead.

    However, none of the officials left. There was another important event today - the opening ceremony of the imperial examinations and the preliminary court examinations.

    They had chosen this date for a particr reason. Firstly, they were honoring the contributions of the ancestors and this could inspire the candidates to contribute to the empire. Furthermore, the imperialbat examinations were stopped due to unforeseen circumstances before. It was not to convenient to simply hold a retest.

    As a result, they named the retest the preliminary court examination. They also set it on this day so that it could be a Chung Yeung Festival activity.

    This would also allow the candidates to showcase their talents to the ancestors as a form of respect.

    The gong rang out.

    The preliminary court examinations were underway.

    As a result of the ident previously, there were only about a dozen survivors. This was not going to be too difficult.

    The rules were simple. They would draw lots to set up the bracket.

    Their names began to appear on the board. Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui, Nangong Mu were all on it.

    However...

    There was no Qing Yang.

    Ping Yang sat to the right of the emperor, dressed in a reddish golden robe. She pouted in discontent.

    All of the officials were not shocked by this.

    Everyone knew that Qing Yang was Ping yang.

    However, more importantly, Ping Yang had gone behind the emperor¡¯s back and ran out of the capital. Not scolding her was already pampering her.

    How could he possibly let Ping Yang continue to make trouble at the court examinations?

    The bracket was based on thest known result in the World of the Sage. Most of the candidates had only entered the third round.

    Nangong Mu, Xing Qingsui, and Fang Zhengzhi were the only ones who had entered the fourth round.

    As such, these three names were taken out of the draw and ced into the second round to ensure fairness.

    All of the candidates waited in anticipation.

    However...

    The officials were shocked to see that Fang Zhengzhi was not there.

    Ten days ago, news that Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Yu Wengu in Dong Lin City spread like wildfire. That journey should ordinarily only take seven days.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not appear. Furthermore, there was no news that he had even made it to the city.

    He waste?!

    This was something that all the officials refused to believe. This was the preliminary court examinations. The court examinations were one of the most important events, and something that the talents valued immensely.

    When was anyone everte?

    "This is an insult to everyone!"

    "This is not just an insult! I think that Fang Zhengzhi is so wildly confident he has no regard for the court examinations!"

    "The people in the court examinations are quite powerful. I guess Fang Zhengzhi decided to give up? Forget about it. If he doesn¡¯t appear by the time he needs topete, his opponent will be given a walkover!"

    "Even though he will still pass the preliminary court examinations even if he doesn¡¯t turn up, he will not make the top three."

    "I guess the top three will be a contest between Xing Qingsui, Nangong Mu, and Yan Xiu."

    "Yan Xiu just entered the Heavenly Reflection State recently. Even though he managed to rank second in the Theory Examinations, he would need quite a bit of luck to rank high in thebat examinations."

    "I¡¯m afraid his luck isn¡¯t good!"

    Discussions began to break out below.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s luck was really not very good. Even though he did not have to face Xing Qingsui or Nangong Mu, he had to fight one of the most powerful remaining candidates.

    He was a forty year old man who had broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State many years ago.

    "The third round, Yan Xiu vs Chen Yuanfang!"

    After two rounds ofpetition, a voice reverberated throughout the square.

    All eyes turned on Yan Xiu, whose eyes were closed. Today, he wore a white robe and white leather shoes.

    Over the past few months, he did not look much different.

    However, he was clearly more tired. Furthermore, his face was considerably slimmer than before.

    "I heard that Yan Xiu had stayed home the past few months. I wonder what he has been up to?"

    "Who cares. It is almost impossible for him to go from the nascent stage to the intermediate stage in that short period of time. Furthermore, his opponent has been in the intermediate stage for five years."

    "Even though it will be difficult, I think that Yan Xiu has a chance at winning. After all, he has the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, one of the five treasures of the Yan Family."

    "This will be exciting. I heard that Yan Xiu was powerful, now I get to see it for myself!"

    Yan Xiu ignored all the chatter around him. He stood up from his chair and squinted as he walked towards the stage.

    He arrive in the blink of an eye.

    His opponent was decked out in armor from head to toe. He held a ming red axe in his hand.

    An aura of head radiated from that man¡¯s body as subtle wafts of red smoke twirled above his head.

    The weapon gave away what kind of fighting technique he used.

    People who used axes generally relied on strength.

    Chen Yuanfang was the representation of strength.

    "Begin!"

    The invigtor¡¯s voice rang out and Chen Yuanfang sprang into action. He swung his axe, an aura of intimidation and power radiating from it.

    He was almost 40 years old.

    Even though he did not make much headway in the courts, he was famed in the army. He was reputed to be even more terrifying than a charging wild beast.

    His long career in the military gave him much invaluable experience.

    He knew that Yan Xiu had the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. As such, he had to strike even before Yan Xiu could activate the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "You¡¯re from the Yan Family? Yan Xiu, you are a talent! It is a pity you are too young! I have seen your Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan before. However, you have never seen my ming Buffalo!" Chen Yuanfang¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at Yan Xiu. His axe was lowered as mes burnt brightly around his body. He looked just like a raging buffalo.

 Chapter 268: Yan Xiuâ€™s abilities

    Chapter 268: Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    He had made his territory into the shape of a ferocious beast.

    This was one of the mostmon techniques in the military. It was the most direct and effective method of increasing one¡¯s attack power.

    It was domineering and simple.

    Columns of me shot skyward. Chen Yuanfang was not holding back. He could not have possibly held back anyways. He wanted to finish Yan Xiu off quickly, so he put everything he had into his first attack.

    All of the officials nodded their approval when they saw that.

    "As one of the core disciples of the Yan Family, Yan Xiu has the advantage in technique. However, Chen Yuanfang is smart to not let him use that advantage!"

    "Suppressing Yan Xiu using his strength and power is the best option!"

    "Being slightly weaker, I think Yan Xiu will choose a skirmish battle. Yan Xiu can use the Wind Shadow Technique to dodge around. I think it will be difficult for Chen Yuanfang to suppress himpletely."

    All of the officials nodded along and guessed how the fight would develop.

    Predicting andmentating on the battle was one of the hobbies of the officials. During the discussion, they could showcase their foresight.

    It was akin to attending an art exhibition. It was insufficient to say that the art was nice. One had topliment it on particr areas and show an appreciation for the techniques used. This was the only way to showcase one¡¯s understanding.

    This was politics.

    There were too little opportunities to showcase one¡¯s abilities in public. As such,mentating was the only way they showed the others that they knew how to ¡®fight¡¯.

    The officials used their own experiences to judge each action.

    However...

    They had forgot to ount for one problem. The person facing off against Chen Yuanfang was not just the heir to the Yan Family. He was only the third person, after Fang Zhengzhi, to attain the Heavenly Reflection State before 18.

    His name was Yan Xiu!

    In that moment, the jaws of all the officials dropped as they looked on in disbelief.

    Yan Xiu did not choose to skirmish with the Wind Shadow Technique.

    Instead, he charged.

    "So reckless?!"

    This was something that no one had expected. Everyone didn¡¯t think that it was possible. It was simply not rational to recklessly go up against such a powerful intermediate Heavenly Reflection State cultivator as a nascent Heavenly Reflection State cultivator.

    However, that was exactly what Yan Xiu did.

    Furthermore, when he charged, his body did not undergo any changes or radiate any power. There was no fire, no ice, not even a gust of wind.

    "You¡¯re insane!" Chen Yuanfang¡¯s eyes widened. He could not believe that Yan Xiu would charge him so recklessly. Yan Xiu was clearly scorning him.

    He was underestimating his opponent even though he was weaker.

    That was courting death!

    Chen Yuanfang would not let such a great opportunity slip by. He raised the axe in his hand and the mes shot skyward. The mes morphed into a threeyered tsunami and crashed towards Yan Xiu.

    If Yan Xiu underestimated him, he would teach Yan Xiu a lesson in blood.

    However, in that moment, he saw a red slow glow rise from the ground.

    Chen Yuanfang¡¯s gaze froze instantly.

    When he saw the sword glow, it meant that the sword was already inches from his face. This de had broke his threeyered fire tsunami in an instant.

    "Boom!"

    His body was thrown into the air and hended below the stage.

    The duel was over.

    A light breeze could be felt from afar as it caressed the shocked faces of the officials.

    "Yan Xiu won?!"

    "He won in a single round?"

    "How is that possible? How can an intermediate stage Heavenly Reflection State cultivator lose to a nascent stage one in a single round? And they fought head on!"

    "What the hell has Yan Xiu been doing the past month?"

    All of the officials were stunned. They knew that Yan Xiu was a talent, but that did not mean that they would ept this fact. After all, a experience and ability were of more value in a duel

    "Did Yan Xiu enter that ce?"

    "Are you talking about the area protected by the Yan Family... I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible? Yan Xiu just broke through recently, how can the Yan Family risk his life?"

    "I don¡¯t think they would. Even the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivators have less than 30% chance of survival. As a nascent stage Heavenly Reflection cultivator, his chances of survival would not exceed 1%!"

    "If he didn¡¯te out from that ce, how could he have improved this much over the course of just a few months?"

    "The Yan Family of Western Liang... if Yan Xiu really went there, then this court examinations would really be exciting!"

    All of the officials discussed the duel fervently. When they finished, they looked at Yan Xiu differently.

    Their gazes were filled with respect and appreciation.

    However, Yan Xiu did not bother about these things. He raised his head and looked towards the city gates. He recalled the scene from a few months ago.

    "I will defeat you when we meet in the court examinations!"

    "Haha... stop bragging, I am very strong now!"

    Subconsciously, he began to smile. That was a smile from his heart. However, it quickly disappeared, reced by a calm and cold expression.

    "I am here, where are you?"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting quite depressed.

    He had thought that he would face less troubles after defeating Yu Wengu and dressing up as ady. In actual fact, the number of challengers had decreased.

    However, he kept being stymied along the way by environmental factors. They seemed to be increasing in frequency.

    In order to cross the rivers, he had to strip and re wear his clothes. Furthermore, his current ride was a far cry from his Snow Treading Dragon Stallion. It had to ¡®rest¡¯ every hundred miles, else, it would start foaming.

    He kept being slowed down along the way.

    Even the gods would fume if they faced such problems, much less a human.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the rocks blocking the small road ahead. He dismounted in exasperation and climbed the rocks, lugging his stallion behind.

    "If I find out which b*stard did something so f*cked up, I will go after your sister!"

    "Sister? My sister is a little old... do you really want to do that?" A weak voice rang out from within the mountain.

    ...

    The first round of the court examinations were over quickly.

    The second round bracket was drawn. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was naturally inside, but he did not have the luck of the draw.

    His opponent was...

    Nangong Mu!

    Is that Nangong Mu of the Nangong family?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is really out of luck. To think that he would meet Nangong Mu in his first duel!"

    "Nangong Mu is at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. Furthermore, he has learnt the Green and Blue Secret Art, one of the premier techniques of the Nangong Family. He is no weaker than Yu Wengu!"

    "Speaking of Yu Wengu, I wonder how Fang Zhengzhi managed to defeat him?"

    "Is he not here yet?"

    Voices began to ring out as the crowd grew restless. ording to the rules of the examination, failure to turn up was akin to withdrawing.

    "I guess he really is hiding!"

    "If it was anyone else, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s absence would be surprising. However, since it is Nangong Mu, it isn¡¯t all that weird."

    "That¡¯s true!"

    On the stage, Nangong Mu went silent as he scanned the restless crowd.

    He was calm, choosing not to speak.

    The Green and Blue Swords in his hand continued to glow subtly.

    Time crept...

    After five minutes, Fang Zhengzhi still did not show up.

    The invigtor was growing impatient. After all, the emperor and all of the officials were present.

    He subconsciously nced in King Duan¡¯s direction.

    This was also the retest of the imperial examinations. Since the chief examiner, Han Zhangfeng, was being held by thew ministry, King Duan was the one in charge.

    "Announce it!" King Duan nodded.

    "Sixth brother, I heard that Fang Zhengzhi arrived in Dong Lin City 10 days ago. I am sure he is in the vicinity. This court examination concerns their future, why don¡¯t..." The Ninth Prince advised.

    "Should we just let the emperor and all the officials continue waiting? Ninth brother, as a prince, can you not weigh the importance of the two?" King Duan asked solemnly.

    "What I mean is we can have the other duels fought first, that way..."

    "Push this duel back? Ninth brother, I have to chide you now. I do not care for you usualziness, but do note where we are right now! The emperor and all the officials are watching! If we dy the duel for everyone who iste, what are the rules for? Without respect for the rules, who will respect thew? How can a country run withoutws?" King Duan chided.

    "Yes... sixth brother is right!"

    "Okay then, announce the results ording to the rules!" King Duan waved his hand, signalling to the invigtor to announce the results.

    "Yes, sir!" The invigtor nodded when he saw the sign.

    However, at that very moment, Nangong Mu fell to his knees. He paled and looked to be in extreme pain.

    All of the officials looked on doubtfully.

    "What is happening to Nangong Mu?"

    "He was just fine moments ago, why does he look like he¡¯s dying now?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai nced at Nangong Mu¡¯s pained expression and stood up from his throne. Nangong Mu was kneeling at him.

    "Call the doctor!"

    "Yes!"

    "I am here!" A voice rang out from the crowd. Then, a middle aged man sprinted onto the stage.

    All of the officials were getting anxious.

    However, the expressions of Yu Yuping, Lin Tianrong, and King Duan all turned ugly.

    They could tell that Nangong Mu was just buying time.

    However, with the doctor around, they had to suppress what they felt. After all, if Nangong Mu was faking it, the doctor could definitely tell.

    Before long, the middle aged doctor stood up.

    "Your highness, Nangong Mu¡¯s pulse is unsteady and he looks like he is having a panic attack. Even though it is not major, I think he needs to rest for a while!"

    "Since that is the case, let¡¯s dy this duel!" Lin Mubai nodded and returned to his seat.

    "Yes, your highness!" The invigtor nodded and announced, "Due to Nangong My¡¯s panic attack, this duel with Fang Zhengzhi is postponed to round 5."

    "Thank you your highness!" Nangong Mu forced himself to his knees to thank the emperor.

    "A panic attack at this time? Isn¡¯t it too much of a coincidence? If he had just controlled it for a moment longer, he would have won and been able to rest!"

    "Official Li, do you see it?"

    "Yes!"

    "Do you think anyone doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing?"

    "..."

    "Nangong Mu had spoken up for Fang Zhengzhi in the throne room. I have heard that he is an introvert and a recluse. I never expected him to be friends with Fang Zhengzhi."

    "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s very possible. It¡¯s probably just because Fang Zhengzhi saved him in the World of the Sage!"

    The duels continued despite the discussions below.

    The second duel was between Xing Qingsui and a nascent Heavenly Reflection State candidate. The candidate had already suffered some injuries from his first round.

    When he saw that his opponent was Xing Qingsui, he wanted to concede.

    However, Xing Qingsui did not want to let that happen.

    He shouted at the top of his lungs, "A man never retreats!" Then, he kicked that pitiful candidate onto the stage. After some brutal hits, Xing Qingsui kicked him off.

    The candidate cried as he rolled in the dust. He swore to serve the country loyally and never retreat.

    All of the officials were stunned by what they saw. They could only exim, "The Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s determination and spirit is admirable! It is no wonder they are so powerful!"

    The third duel was between two middle aged nascent Heavenly Reflection candidates. It was a tough fight, and one of them eventually won a pyrrhic victory.

    Yan Xiu was up next.

    Just as all of the officials were expecting Yan Xiu to showcase his technique, something dumbfounding happened...

 Chapter 269: Explosive Fang Zhengzhi

    Chapter 269: Explosive Fang Zhengzhi

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu had destroyed his opponent in the previous round. However, in this round, he seemed much weaker.

    In the previous round, Yan Xiu charged recklessly against Chen Yuanfang¡¯s raw power.

    However, in this round, just when everyone thought Yan Xiu would do the same thing, he used the Wind Shadow Technique. He looked like he was ying dodgeball.

    From start to finish, he never attacked a single time.

    The candidate facing off against Yan Xiu was stunned. He was preparing to defend when he saw Yan Xiu skirting around the stage. He felt like he had been pped in the face.

    "Trick?"

    "Is he trying to fool me into thinking he¡¯s weak?"

    "Is he trying to lure me in? Then finish me off?"

    Questions flew by in the candidate¡¯s mind, but they were quickly dismissed. In a duel, only the weaker side would use trickery.

    However, was Yan Xiu the weaker one here?

    Clearly not.

    So...

    What was Yan Xiu trying to do?

    "Yes, stalling time!" The candidate had a revtion. That being said, he did not like the feeling of being toyed around with.

    Just as he was thinking about it, a sword ray flew towards him.

    The candidate was stunned.

    Oh? I thought he was dying time?

    "Boom!" Even before the candidate could react, the sword ray impacted his body and sent him flying.

    It was a good thing that hended at the side of the stage and not off it.

    Furthermore...

    The sword ray was not very sharp. He only suffered minor injuries and no bones were broken.

    It was clear that Yan Xiu did not use his full power.

    If the candidate still didn¡¯t understand what Yan Xiu was doing by now, he was really an idiot. Yan Xiu was dragging time, but doing so in such a way that would not draw the ire of the officials.

    As such, Yan Xiu decided to use him as a sandbag.

    "I¡¯m going for it!" The candidate was a proud man. It¡¯s okay if you want to stall for time, but how can you treat me as a sandbag? That is uneptable!

    Anyone who could pass so many rounds was not weak.

    Sword rays began to radiate from his hand. They glowed radiantly and looked powerful.

    However, Yan Xiu made them look f*cking useless.

    Using the Wind Shadow Technique, Yan Xiu managed to dodge all of them. The sword rays did not even manage to slice a portion off Yan Xiu¡¯s clothing.

    He took another blow from Yan Xiu exasperatingly, his body sailing through the air.

    ...

    After fifteen minutes, the candidate had already endured countless blows and had been sent flying countless times. Each time, he ¡®luckily¡¯ missed falling off the stage.

    All of the spectating officials watched the "intense" battle unfold, "Is this really the second round of the preliminary court examinations?"

    30 minutes went by.

    45 minutes went by.

    One hour...

    The battle continued even after many fifteen minutes. With each sh, the person sent flying was always the same.

    The officials all frowned as they wiped the sweat from their foreheads. This battle was going on for too long. It was almost high noon.

    The sun was getting more and more intense.

    However, no one raised any objection. After all, the emperor was still here, who would dare leave?

    Furthermore, this was the preliminary court examinations. Who would dare disturb an ongoing contest? Even though they knew that Yan Xiu was buying time, all they could do was suck it up.

    However, how long more was this going to go on for?

    The officials sat there bitterly, unable to voice their discontent.

    In actual fact, the candidate battling Yan Xiu was the one suffering the most. His clothes were tattered and torn.

    Even though he was not critically injured, he had a multitude of minor injuries.

    More importantly, this duel was both physically and mentally torturous. He was on the verge of crumbling. He could not defeat Yan Xiu... did he really have to concede?

    Yes, he could concede!

    "I can¡¯t take it anymore, I concede!" The candidate¡¯s eyes brightened. He really could not take this bullying and public humiliation anymore.

    "Boom!"

    The candidate¡¯s body was thrown into the air. This time, he did not struggle, tumbling through the air and off the stage.

    The entire crowd went silent.

    He conceded?!

    All of the officials looked at one another, smiling bitterly. Anyone in his position was also likely to concede.

    "Yan Xiu is victorious!" The invigtor was on the verge of falling asleep. He was awoken by the sound of the candidate crashing off the stage. He announced Yan Xiu¡¯s victory as he nced at the sun.

    "It¡¯s almost noon?"

    When Ping Yang heard what the invigtor said, her eyes glimmered. She pouted and looked at the emperor with pitiful eyes.

    "Father, we have watched this duel for so long, I¡¯m hungry!"

    "Oh, Ping Yang is hungry?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Ping Yang in a pampering manner.

    "Your highness, we are almost an hour from noon, why don¡¯t..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood forward when he heard Ping Yang.

    "Why don¡¯t we what? I am hungry, and I want to eat now!" Ping Yang red at him.

    "Yes yes yes, the princess is hungry. I will get someone to prepare food for you!" Yu Yiping nodded, then turned to the invigtor, "Start the next round. I will prepare her meals personally, just hang on for a while!"

    "Yes, your honor!" The invigtor knew exactly what Yu Yiping wanted. Before Ping Yang could speak, you announced, "Next round, Nangong Mu vs Fang Zhengzhi!"

    All of the officials smiled when they heard the invigtor. No matter how Yan Xiu tried to dy and how Ping Yang tried to stall, they could not prevent the inevitable.

    They all waited for the invigtor to announce Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s withdrawal.

    Just at that moment, azy voice rang out from inside the crowd.

    "I¡¯m here..."

    Soon after, a figure walked out from within the crowd. He sauntered on stage, murmuring to himself, "I arrived just in time. It is a good thing I made a good choice by taking the highway for a while. It is a good thing I am notte!"

    "Please call me the timely youth!" The figure walked on stage and smiled sincerely at all the waiting officials.

    All of the officials froze when they saw the figure walk on stage. All of them recognized this man

    "It... it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He actually made it, but... what did he just say? Notte?!"

    "Timely youth? Can this guy get any more shameless?"

    All of the officials fumed. If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi waste, Yan Xiu would not have tried to stall for time. Then, they would not be sitting in the hot sun!

    "You seemed to have slimmed down over the past few months. I have brought some meat with me. Once the duel is over, I will grill some for you?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu on the stage.

    "That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good, I want some too!" Before Yan Xiu could reply, Ping Yang began whooping.

    "Since when did I include your share? You haven¡¯t even paid me rent!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang scornfully.

    All of the officials were stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. It was a great honor that the princess liked something you did. Not only did he not want to give her a share, he was asking the princess for rent?

    Then, they all remembered the rumor Ping Yang spread.

    15,000 silvers a night!

    Could it be true?

    "Oh please! I stayed at Uncle Fang and Auntie Qin¡¯s ce, not yours! Who are you to ask for rent!" Ping Yang looked back at Fang Zhengzhi with disdain.

    "Uncle Fang? Auntie Qin?"

    Fear began to show in the official¡¯s eyes. Ping Yang was a princess, yet she just called twomoners uncle and auntie, this was...

    "Ping Yang, don¡¯t shout willfully." Emperor Lin Mubai knew the implications of what just happened. He had no other choice but to remind Ping Yang.

    "Oh!" Ping Yang stuck out her tongue, but did not speak. She red at Fang Zhengzhi, almost as if she was saying, I¡¯m not giving you anything, what are you going to do about it?

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang, turning back to Yan Xiu, "So what about it, do you want some?"

    "Sure!" Yan Xiu nodded and walked off the stage calmly. However, his lips twitched slightly as he heaved a sigh of relief internally.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu had made his way up on stage, a glimmer in his calm eyes. This was not emotion, it was a burning battle intent.

    "Oh, I haven¡¯t seen you in months! You seemed to be tanner!" Fang Zhengzhi greeted Nangong Mu.

    "Let¡¯s fight!" Nangong Mu was much more straightforward than Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fight now? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s very good." Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely.

    "I was born ready!" Nangong Mu retreived his Green and Blue Dual de, the battle intent thick in the air.

    "Okay then..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded exasperatingly. Then, he sauntered over to Nangong Mu, "Let¡¯s shake hands before the battle?"

    Nangong Mu was stunned. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with his hand outstretched. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he ced both des in his left hand and extended his right.

    "Take my secret weapon!" Just as Nangong Mu extended his right hand, a silver ray of light shot out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm, enveloping Nangong Mu in an instant.

    All of the officials looked on in confusion. Didn¡¯t he say they would shake hands? Why did he use a secret weapon?

    The change was too quick!

    "Shameless!"

    "Utterly shameless!"

    "A sneak attack!"

    All of the officials began to curse and swear.

    "This guy... I never expected him to be this shameless!" Ping Yang¡¯s lips parted in shock. She never expected this from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even so, the guilty Fang Zhengzhi continued normally.

    Fang Zhengzhi had witnessed Nangong Mu¡¯s power. He had also seen the power of the Green and Blue Secret Art personally.

    It was only normal for him to throw a curved ball at such a powerful opponent. Only a fool would charge in recklessly!

    Furthermore...

    Nangong Mu had said that he was ready!

    "Clink clink ng ng!" All of the silver needles fell to the ground. Nangong Mu did not retreat. He used the des in his left hand to block the attack. A mirror like ice block appeared in front of him.

    All of the needles failed to find their mark.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you haven¡¯t changed a single bit!" Nangong Mu was not at all surprised by the sneak attack. He even felt respected by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It seemed like a roundabout way of thinking.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t.

    In the World of the Sage, Fang Zhengzhi had used such innovative ideas to fool Ying Shan!

    If Fang Zhengzhi had gave up that method and fought a serious, moral battle...

    Nangong Mu would feel that Fang Zhengzhi was not trying his best.

    "Thank you for thepliment!" Fang Zhengzhi epted Nangong Mu¡¯s pliment¡¯. Then, he squeezed a ck object in his hand.

    sh bang!

    In an instant, the stage was enveloped in a piercing white light.

    "Oh my god, my eyes, my eyes!"

    "What the hell was that?!"

    "Why can¡¯t I see anything?!"

    All of the officials began screaming. The light was too bright. It was almost as if countless rays of light were attacking their eyes.

    The entire crowd was in chaos.

    However, quickly, the white began to disappear. Then, the saw a small glow within the blurriness.

    It was a subtle blue glow.

    It was quite bright within their otherwise white field of vision. Then, the glow began to solidify. It looked more and more like a sapphire. However, there were rays of light twirling on its surface.

    Twirling, twirling, twirling...

    "What the hell is that?!"

    "Why do I feel a little... faint!"

    "Plonk!"

    One of the officials fell off his chair. Then, a second one followed. Before long, many of them fell to the ground.

    They did not know if the two contestants had fainted. However, many of the spectators did...

    How impressive!

 Chapter 270: Profound Mystery

    Chapter 270: Profound Mystery

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Most of the people who fainted were the guards as well as the spectators trying to catch a glimpse of the action.

    All of them fainted whilst standing.

    The remaining soldiers felt unsettled, "Protect the Emperor!"

    "Protect the Emperor!"

    ...

    "That... that is the Hypnotic Eye!"

    One of the officials finally recognized the identity of the blue stone. However, it was toote. After a moment of dizziness, he face nted into the ground.

    "The Hypnotic Eye?!"

    "Close your eyes, don¡¯t look at it!"

    "Hypnotic eye!"

    Chaotic screams rang out. However, those who had opened their eyes and looked at it were not spared.

    The guilty party, Fang Zhengzhi, was just leisurely lifting the Hypnotic Eye high up in the air. He shone it in various directions...

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless person!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was having the time of his life, a crisp voice rang out.

    Ping Yang was furious! She had fainted and nearly fell to the ground because of him!

    If not for the fact that the emperor had held her back in time and woken her up, her reputation would have been flushed down the drain.

    The Crown Prince and King Duan were both supported by the people around them after they fainted. Their faces were caked in mud and dust.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched when he heard Ping Yang rage, but he did not care.

    He continued to shine the Hypnotic Eye.

    He remembered that even Xing Hou had fell for it back at the Divine Constabry.

    In Dong Lin City, he had also used a sh bang and the hypnotic eye to defeat Yu Wengu.

    Now that he was up against Nangong Mu, how could he possibly hold back his ¡®secret weapon¡¯?

    If there was one person who was calm throughout all of this...

    That was Yan Xiu. When the white light exploded, he knew exactly what was going on. He immediately turned away.

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, the court examinations are a fairpetition, how dare you use such a thing!"

    "That is utterly..."

    When the officials finally regained their eyesight, they began to curse and rage at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I can¡¯t use this?" Fang Zhengzhi waved the Hypnotic Eye innocently.

    "You..." All of the officials had no choice but to suppress their anger and swallow their words. The Hypnotic Eye was a low grade treasure, and was not a forbidden item.

    Fang Zhengzhi was clearly nitpicking.

    However, they could not fault him at all.

    King Duan clenched his fist tightly. As a king, he had never been humiliated this way! Furthermore, he had been humiliated in front of so many officials!

    "Fang ZhengzhI!"

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was also ugly. As the second highest power in thend, how could he fall for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick?

    This was humiliating!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about this. He scanned his surroundings, then kept the Hypnotic Eye after there were no more faintings.

    He ignored the suspicions of the officials. After all, his opponent was Nangong Mu, and he was still standing.

    "You didn¡¯t faint?" Fang Zhengzhi asked doubtfully.

    After all, Nangong Mu was the closest to him. He would have been most affected by the shbang. Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Nangong Mu did not lose his sight temporarily.

    "One only sees what one believes! The Nangong Family trains the heart. Our heart is as calm as water, our mind stable as a rock." Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes opened at this point, his gaze still calm and steely.

    His eyes looked like an undisturbedke in autumn.

    "The add on to that phrase is - we rely on our hearts, but our hearts are unreliable!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and smiled.

    "Everyone¡¯s heart is different. Some people have reliable hearts." Nangong Mu said calmly.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say something, but Nangong Mu was not going to give him the chance.

    Nangong Mu did not n on holding back anymore.

    He charged at Fang Zhengzhi with the Green and Blue Dual de. The two rays of light shone together and intertwined like two humongous dragons.

    The blue sword was in his right hand, the green one was in his left.

    Blue was ice, green was wood.

    These were two elements that did not mash well together.

    Wood will die whening into contact with ice. Ice would freeze when in contact with wood.

    Thest time, Fang Zhengzhi had witnessed some form of intertwining andbination of the two rays in the World of the Sage. This time however, they looked like they hadbinedpletely.

    It was clear that Nangong Mu was much more powerful than he was a few months ago.

    "Blue is ice, green is wood. However, wood is not wood, it is life! Everything in this world has life. As such, ice does too." Fang Zhengzhi remembered what Nangong Mu said before.

    He immediately used the Wind Shadow Technique to dodge.

    He morphed into a shadow and disappeared from the area enveloped by the rays of light.

    "Cha cha cha!"

    Within moments, portions of the stage froze. The red carpet also froze instantly. In that moment, almost half of the stage was white.

    "The Green and Blue Secret Art of the Nangong Family!"

    "It is no wonder it is right up there with the Dragon Combat n. One single attack has that much power!"

    "I guess Fang Zhengzhi does not stand a chance despite his tricks."

    "Nangong Mu is already at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. With the Green and Blue Secret Art, I don¡¯t think that there are more than five people who can match up to him!"

    All of the officials eximed in awe as they stared at the ice on stage. Then, they shook their heads at Fang Zhengzhi.

    All tricks...

    Were useless in the face of true ability.

    However, they were all surprised to see that Fang Zhengzhi did not draw his sword.

    Did he not have a sword?

    That was impossible! Everyone knew that Fang Zhengzhi had a sword, a sword that once belonged to the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    That sword was named Traceless!

    "Aren¡¯t you going to draw your sword?" Nangong Mu looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I was just about to negotiate with you. How about we fight this out without any des?" Fang Zhengzhi swept away the ice on his shoulder and asked in anticipation.

    "Purely physicalbat?" Nangong Mu looked at his Green and Blue Dual des. He hesitated. Without his swords, he would not be able to bring the full power of the Green and Blue Sacred Art to bear.

    He would be throwing away his greatest advantage.

    However, he knew that a purely physical contest may be advantageous to him. After all, his Green and Blue Dual des were slightly weaker than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword.

    "I don¡¯t agree!" Nangong Mu shook his head.

    "Why not?"

    "Because I do not want to take advantage of you." Nangong Mu said with determination.

    "Thene at me!" Fang Zhengzhi said in exasperation.

    "You¡¯re really not going to draw your sword?"

    "Nope!"

    "Then let me show you the profound mystery of the Green and Blue Secret Art!" Nangong Mu¡¯s gaze was steely as the glow from his swords grew in intensity.

    "Oh? I thought you wouldn¡¯t use your sword since I am not using mine..." Fang Zhengzhi thought that by adamantly not using his de, Nangong Mu would not use his.

    However, he didn¡¯t manage to guess Nangong Mu¡¯s reaction.

    Not only was Nangong Mu going to use the sword, he was prepared to use his most powerful technique. There was no love lost there.

    Why must we use weapons?

    Why don¡¯t we have a good old fashioned physical battle?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that a physical battle would have been more amusing. However, Nangong Mu was clearly not one who enjoyed amusement. He had already leapt into action.

    He stabbed the Green and Blue Dual des into the ground.

    Two rays of light burst out once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Nangong Mu use this technique before. He had used this to defend against Ying Shan¡¯s attack.

    Last time, Nangong Mu used it defensively.

    This time however, he was using it offensively.

    With a loud "boom", two rays of light shot skyward, giving life to the crystals of ice on the stage.

    "Cha cha cha!"

    The sound of water freezing rang out. One could see that the ice was quickly forming around the green and blue lights.

    "Blossoming of a million flowers!" Nangong Mu muttered.

    Then, the light rays exploded into millions of tiny rays, dancing in the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi prepared to use the Wind Shadow Technique once again.

    However, he felt a strand already stuck to his leg. Then, he felt an icy cold.

    He could not help but shiver.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had experienced the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    Nangong Mu was able to face off against the Supernatural State Ying Shan despite being in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State. Furthermore, he was able to hurt Ying Shan with the Green and Blue Sacred Art.

    This was different from what Fang Zhengzhi did.

    Fang Zhengzhi had used trickery, Nangong Mu had used pure ability.

    "Great move!"

    "The Green and Blue Secret Art uses ice and wood. The Blossoming of a Million Flowers is the most powerful area of the Green and Blue Sacred Art. It uses the power of growth to set up an icy woody territory that is virtually inescapable!"

    "Inescapable? Can I break it?"

    "Haha, this trees are not your normal trees. You can¡¯t see these trees with your eyes!"

    "Could they be... the Dao of trees in the pocket dimension?"

    "Exactly!"

    All of the officials were stunned by what they heard. The stared at the rays of light, awed by what they were witnessing.

    Dao of trees in the pocket dimension!

    The Green and Blue Secret Art was able to attack one¡¯s pocket dimension. It is no wonder no one managed to learn it for centuries. It is also no wonder it is one of the two greatest techniques of the Nangong Family.

    Just as the officials were busy discussing the battle, Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was being frozen. From the moment that ray of light clung to his feet, he felt something was amiss.

    That cold was not enveloping him from the outside.

    It felt as if it had invaded his blood. It was a cold that attacked his blood vessels and rushed towards his heart.

    "Blossoming of a million flowers!"

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized what the flowers were. They were referring to his blood vessels and meridians.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not dare to slow down anymore. If he was really held in ce by these lights, he would turn into a popsicle.

    Furthermore, he would be a popsicle from the inside out.

    The energy within his pocket dimension began to shift as he forced himself to resist the cold.

    However...

    The iciness in his legs caused Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movements to be increasingly lethargic. Before he could resolve the one on his legs, he was hit on his arm.

    The icy feeling attacked him once again.

    And then a third, a fourth, a fifth all hit home...

    All of the lights and lines danced in the air, swirling around Fang Zhengzhi. Below the stage, more lines were emitted from the two des.

    "I guess the results are confirmed!"

    "As long as you are hit by one, you will be hit by a second, then a third, until you arepletely immobilized. There is no way to escape!"

    "In order to break this technique, one needs to be in the Supernatural State!"

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was being slowed significantly. They shook their heads. Only a Supernatural State cultivator could release their body of all the cold in an instant.

    "I think this shameless boy... is going to lose!" Ping Yang stared at the stage, her expression conflicted.

    Yan Xiu frowned. He was not far from the stage, and he could feel the iciness from the technique Nangong Mu just used.

    The Nangong Family, the secretive Nangong Family.

    They lived in extremely cold environments. Training there everyday meant that they had a peerless understanding of the cold. No one knew it better than them.

    "Cha cha cha!"

    The ice on the stage became thicker and thicker as more lines danced on the stage. It looked like a white mist was about to block out the sun.

    However, this white mist continued to move and grow.

    Fang Zhengzhi was enveloped by the white mist. His body, legs, neck, waist, and other parts of his body werepletely wrapped up by countless strands of white.

    The invigtor raised his hand at this point.

    ording to the rules, once Fang Zhengzhi lost the ability to resist, he would lose.

    "Achoo! It is so cold! It feels just like eating an icecream in winter!" Just as the invigtor was about to announce the results, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out.

 Chapter 271: Million Sword Illustration

    Chapter 271: Million Sword Illustration

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Ice cream?"

    Just as all of the officials were wondering what ice cream was, the lights and lines enveloping Fang Zhengzhi began to fall off.

    It looked like a cocoon shedding silk.

    It was extremely strange.

    All of the officials did not understand what was going on. Normally, shouldn¡¯t the ice be melted?

    Why is it falling off?

    Nangong Mu was also shocked, but the shock did not trante to his expression. As the person controlling the lines and string, he could keenly feel what was happening.

    It was not being countered, it was being assimted.

    "Assimted?!"

    "As the spring wind blows, millions of flowers bloom!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out again. This time, rays of iciness radiated from his body. They were thin and looked like threads.

    "You... could you have..." Nangong Mu¡¯s gaze changedpletely. He was in disbelief.

    "Blue is ice, green is wood. But wood isn¡¯t wood, it is life!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself. Then, he looked at Nangong Mu, "That was what you told me!"

    "No way!" Nangong Mu gripped the Green and Blue Dual des tightly in disbelief. He could not bring himself to believe what he was seeing.

    The Green and Blue Secret Art was something that generations of the Nangong Family did not manage to learn. Its difficulty was renowned. When Nangong Mu decided to learn it, no one supported his decision.

    However, Nangong Mu decided to forgo the more widely taught Dragon Combat n, choosing to learn the art which no one could teach.

    The reason was simple.

    Nangong Hao!

    Nangong Hao was the top talent of the Nangong Family. Not only did he enjoy praise and attention in the empire, he held a special ce in the Nangong Family.

    Nangong Hao was perfection personified.

    His abilities, values, and intellect were the best within the Nangong Family. He shone too brightly.

    Since young, anyone who mentioned the Nangong Family only mentioned one name.

    Nan Gonghao.

    No one knew that there was a second person in this generation. Even if they knew, they addressed him as Nangong Hao¡¯s brother.

    Brother!

    Brother!

    Nangong Mu had heard himself being called that his entire life. He was always just Nangong Hao¡¯s brother.

    He did not hate his brother. Nangong Hao loved and cared for him more than his parents ever did. However, this made him want to prove himself even more.

    How was he going to do that?

    By learning the Dragon Combat n?

    Nangong Mu knew that in terms of cultivation, his elder brother had more time and resources.

    If he chose to train in the Dragon Combat n, no one would notice him even if he became just as good as his brother.

    As such, he chose the Green and Blue Secret Art. He chose a lonely road which no one supported.

    His idea was simple. He wanted to solve this century old problem. He would chart a new path for his family and let everyone know that there was someone named Nangong Mu.

    In order to achieve this...

    Every day, every year, he worked harder than anyone else. In order to understand the profound mysteries of the Green and Blue Sacred Art, he read countless books. He would sit by himself in the library for days at a time...

    Finally, he seeded.

    His father, the leader of the Nangong Family, praised him for the first time publicly when he got wind of it.

    He also asked Nangong Mu to record down the process of understanding the Green and Blue Sacred Art. It would then be stored in the library.

    That was Nangong Mu¡¯s happiest day. He spent a whole month detailing down how he understood the Green and Blue Sacred Art. Then, he handed it over respectfully to his father.

    His father was ecstatic when he saw that book. He immediately held a family gathering and announced the publishing of the book.

    All of the elders were excited and praised Nangong Mu for his contributions to the family.

    In that moment, Nangong Mu felt that he was valued for the first time.

    Maybe he would finally stop being called Nangong Hao¡¯s brother. Maybe he would actually be called Nangong Mu.

    Days went by.

    The book he wrote still sat inside the library. No one went to borrow it. No one even nced at it.

    Dust settled on the cover and Nangong Mu would go wipe it off. Dust would settle again, and he would go wipe it...

    This continued for a year...

    Nangong Mu finally realized that nothing had changed. When people called him, they still called him Nangong Hao¡¯s brother. No one talked about the book he spent one month writing.

    That night, he stood quietly in the library as he stared at that book.

    Since then, he never looked at it ever again. He let the dust collect on its cover.

    From that moment on, his only thought was to defeat his brother using the Green and Blue Secret Art! That was the only way to let the Nangong Family know that the Green and Blue Secret Art was not weaker than the Dragon Combat n. It was even better!

    However...

    This belief that Nangong Mu had was shattered. By looking at it one time, Fang Zhengzhi had managed to get the profound mystery of the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    "I don¡¯t believe this, I don¡¯t!" Nangong Mu screamed in his heart.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was a talent. He had heard that Fang Zhengzhi had learnt Yan Xiu¡¯s technique just by looking at it.

    But this was the Green and Blue Secret Art!

    This was something that centuries of Nangong descendants had failed to understand!

    Nangong Mu couldn¡¯t believe it. The officials could not believe it either. However, the truth was that the threads holding Fang Zhengzhi in ce were dropping, and more were radiating from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    That was the scene.

    The only possible exnation was that Fang Zhengzhi was using the same technique Nangong Mu was, the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    "How does this shameless fe do it?!" Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped as her eyes glimmered with excitement and anxiety.

    Just at this moment, an official sprinted over to Ping Yang, holding a few tes of food in his hands.

    "Your highness, please have your meal!"

    "Go f*ck yourself, scram!" Ping Yang immediately cursed using the words she had learnt from Fang Zhengzhi. She red at the official exasperatingly.

    "What?!" The official¡¯s jaw dropped in confusion.

    "Scram!" Ping Yang fumed.

    "Yes your highness!" He did not dare stay any longer. He ced the dishes on the floor and left in a jiffy.

    ...

    On the stage...

    Nangong Mu bit his lip as he stared at Fang Zhengzhi. The Green and Blue Dual des in his hand screeched, almost as if the hilt was about to shatter.

    "How did you learn the Green and Blue Secret Art!"

    "Green and Blue Secret Art? I don¡¯t know it!" Fang Zhengzhi said truthfully.

    "You don¡¯t? Then how did you..."

    "Oh, you¡¯re talking about this? This is still a little different from the Green and Blue Secret Art. I have been thinking of something recently. Dao is endless and constantly changing. The rules governing the world are Dao! I never understood it before. I initially thought that Dao would give rise to one. One would be two, two bes three, and it would keep going on!" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Dao would give rise to one. One would be two..." Nangong Mu murmured to himself. He knew what this meant, however, he did not know why Fang Zhengzhi would bring this up now.

    "Yes, however, I did not know how it would go on endlessly! That was until you said that the wood in the Green and Blue Secret Art was not wood, it was life! As such, I need to thank you!" Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely.

    This was a sincere thought from Fang Zhengzhi. He had only been filled with life after understanding this.

    The profound mystery of the Green and Blue Secret Art was in its ability to control growth in cold. As such, by controlling life, he could cause the cold to exit his body.

    "Thank me?" Nangong Mu¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to say something but he could not find the words to express his feelings.

    "Oh yes, I need to thank you for allowing me to learn a new technique!" Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Nangong Mu was thinking.

    "New technique?" Nangong Mu¡¯s gaze froze.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, Nangong Mu saw a jade green lightsword. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was holding it in his hand.

    Holding a lightsword in his hand!

    This was a strange sight.

    However, he knew exactly what this meant.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s heart tumbled about in his chest.

    The spectating officials felt the same way. Furthermore, Ping Yang, Emperor Lin Mubai, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, and King Duan all felt the same way.

    "Is that Sister Yan¡¯s..." Ping Yang was stunned. She couldn¡¯t take it.

    "It¡¯s the Million Sword Illustration! It¡¯s the Divine Constabry¡¯s top secret Million Sword Illustration!"

    "How is that possible?!"

    "No way, it has to be fake. Why would the Divine Constabry impart their Million Sword Illustration to an outsider?!"

    All of the officials were awed by the lightsword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. This was a technique within the Million Sword Illustration.

    "Is this called the Million Sword Illustration?" Fang Zhengzhi had heard the name for the first time. He had first seen it being used by Xing Hou.

    Then again by Chi Guyan.

    He had always thought that this was a cool move. When the lightsword turned into a million others, it was the coolest sight ever!

    As such, after understanding Dao is endless and constantly changing. The rules governing the world are Dao, he decided to put it into action immediately.

    "I¡¯ming!" Fang Zhengzhi did not continue gripping the lightsword.

    He felt it getting unstable in his hand. If he did not release it now, it may explode in his hand. After all, this was the first time he was using it.

    He was still rtively inexperienced.

    The jade green lightsword flew out of his hand.

    It turned into a ray of light as it flew towards Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu grit his teeth as he pulled the Green and Blue Dual des out of the ground. His des glowed radiantly.

    "Fight!" Nangong Mu growled.

    A ray of blue and green light exploded from the sword. They intertwined like two dragons in the sky. They were at least 70%bined.

    There was even a faint rumble.

    Inparison to the Green and Blue Secret Art, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lightsword was still slightly inferior. It was smaller and seemed less powerful.

    The two rays met in the middle of the stage.

    In an instant.

    The jade green lightsword was swallowed by the Green and Blue light.

    In felt as if time had stopped.

    Everyone was focused on the swallowed jade green lightsword. No one spoke. Everyone held their breath, patiently waiting for the result

    They wanted to see if the lightsword will explode.

    At this moment...

    A jade green glow began to appear from within the green and blue light. Then, it became two, then three, then four...

    The domineering aura began to be felt.

    Countless jade green spots of light intertwined within the green and blue light. They danced around like a huge. If one looked closely, one would see that each dot was a tiny, fine lightsword.

    Those lightswords continued to move about, blocking the glow of the green and blue light. They continued to gnaw at and swallow the green and blue light.

    Million Sword Illustration!

    One of the closely guarded secrets of the Divine Constabry!

    "Boom!"

    A huge explosion rang out and a powerful aura crested over the stage. The entire stage trembled under the impact as the aura dissipated.

    "Kacha kacha!"

    All of the ice on the stage was shattered. They turned into ice crystal smithereens and were sent flying into the air.

    The entire stage looked white.

    Then, all of the crystals settled.

    Two figures appeared on the stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi remained in the same spot, his blue long sleeved shirt pping in the wind. Nangong Mu bit his lip, his shirt slightly torn.

    More importantly, there was crack underneath Nangong Mu¡¯s feet. This was a crack that he had caused in an attempt to stay on the stage.

    "Million Sword Illustration! It really is the Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration!"

    "How is that possible? How can Fang Zhengzhi know the Million Sword Illustration?!"

    "Divine Constabry, Fang Zhengzhi... why?!"

    "If he he had just learnt the Million Sword Illustration, it would not matter. After all, the Million Sword Illustration and the Green and Blue Secret Art are simr in power. However, Nangong Mu seemed to get the short end of the stick there!"

    "Yes, I never expected that he would be this powerful after just a few months!"

 Chapter 272: Challenging Nangong Hao

    Chapter 272: Challenging Nangong Hao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu in disbelief.

    After all, Nangong Mu was at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. His technique was at the same level as the Million Sword Illustration. Furthermore, his weapon of choice was the best for his technique. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi had nothing.

    In the end...

    Nangong Mu still got the shorter end of the stick.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State six months ago. To be even more powerful than the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection Nangong Mu was terrifying progress.

    King Duan clenched his fists. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities were too shocking. If this continued, he may actually...

    King Duan felt a chill down his spine when he thought of Chi Guyan¡¯s words in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    What if Fang Zhengzhi really defeated Chi Guyan?

    Then his animosity with Fang Zhengzhi...

    "No, that cannot happen!"

    All of the officials worried about the same thing. The events of the Northern Mountain Vige were still fresh in their mind. They were also reminded of Yu Yiping¡¯s words. This man was a rebel. If he continued to progress and develop, what would the courts look like in the future?

    Ping Yang was not concerned about the courts.

    She was more concerned about how Fang Zhengzhi learnt the Million Sword Illustration. This was a top secret Divine Constabry technique. Did Sister Yan really teach him?

    The only person who was not surprised was Yan Xiu.

    During the River of Trust Provincial Examinations, he was once equally shocked. However, now, he was not taken aback at all. The Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration?

    Even though the Yan Wind Shadow Technique and the Asura Sword Technique were not nearly as powerful as the Million Sword Illustration and the Green and Blue Secret Art, they were not that far off? Anyone who could understand the Asura Sword Technique and the Wind Shadow Technique would figure out the other two with time.

    Xing Qingsui was the only other calm person other than Yan Xiu. All he thought about was battle. The stronger his opponent, the more powerful his battle spirit.

    ...

    On stage.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s chest heaved as he gripped the Green and Blue Dual des. He knew that he had already lost, but he was not willing to ept this fact.

    He was not going to be stopped here. He had to advance. He had to defeat Nangong Hao.

    Four years ago, Nangong Hao had topped the imperial examination.

    Two years ago, he had the chance to participate. However, the top talent, Chi Guyan, was in that edition. As such, he had no choice but to give up. He had to take home the top spot.

    He was in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State. Coupled with the Green and Blue Secret Art, the coveted top spot was not out of his reach.

    However...

    He met Fang Zhengzhi.

    This man was destined toe in his way.

    "I cannot lose!" Nangong Mu stepped forward determinedly. He caused the crack to shatterpletely as a powerful aura rushed out from his body.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression was ferocious and beastlike.

    "Why can¡¯t you lose?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the ferocity on Nangong Mu¡¯s face.

    Nangong Mu did not say he didn¡¯t want to lose, or that he wouldn¡¯t lose. He said he could not lose!

    "None of your business!"

    "Aren¡¯t we friends?"

    "Friends?! I do not have any friends!"

    "Then why did you plead my case thest time?"

    "To repay you! To repay you for saving my life!"

    "I see. However, you should always repay someone with more than what you received. Even though you helped me plead my case, you didn¡¯t really help me did you?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "What do you want?" Nangong Mu was stunned.

    "Tell me why you cannot lose and I will take it as you¡¯ve repaid me." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Why do you want to know the answer?"

    "If I told you I was just curious, would you believe me?"

    "Okay then, it is because I want to rank first for this imperial examinations."

    "Why must you get the top spot?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again. Even though his interactions with Nangong Mu were little and short, he did not think Nangong Mu was someone who chased after des.

    "Because I cannot lose to one person."

    "Who?"

    "My brother!" Nangong Mu¡¯s tone was slightly agitated.

    "Your brother? Who is he? Is he very powerful?" Fang Zhengzhi asked curiously. He really had no idea who Nangong Mu¡¯s brother was. After all, he was only 11 and roaming Cang Ling Mountain four years ago.

    The vigers rarely talked about life outside the vige.

    The only things they really cared about were matters with direct impact to their lives. For example, they were concerned with the prices of meat in Huai An County, the kind of hide the rich people liked, or recent happenings in the River of Trust Province.

    At the very most, they would just find out about the new policies from the Divine Constabry.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, apart from finding out about Chi Guyan from the waiters, he did not care about much else.

    "You don¡¯t know who my brother is?" Nangong Mu was surprised.

    "Should I know him?" Fang Zhengzhi waved.

    "You really don¡¯t know?"

    "Yup."

    "Okay then, my brother is Nangong Hao!"

    "Oh."

    "Aren¡¯t you shocked?"

    "Why should I be shocked?"

    "My brother is Nangong Hao! Everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty knows him!"

    "But I really don¡¯t know him. I am not familiar with him either. This is the first time I have heard Nangong Hao¡¯s name. However, I hear Nangong Mu¡¯s name a lot! Don¡¯t you agree? Haha..." Fang Zhengzhi joked and beamed.

    All of the officials looked on in confusion when they heard Fang Zhengzhi chuckle.

    They could tell that Fang Zhengzhi was mocking Nangong Hao.

    Who is Nangong Hao?

    Nangong Hao was the pride and joy of the Nangong Family.

    More importantly...

    Nangong Hao was Nangong Mu¡¯s brother!

    How could Fang Zhengzhi tell Nangong Mu that he did not know his brother? Wasn¡¯t this akin to saying he didn¡¯t respect Nangong Mu and the Nangong Family?

    Everyone thought Nangong Mu would be infuriated.

    However, in fact...

    When Nangong Mu heard that, he stood rooted to his spot.

    "This is the first time I have heard Nangong Hao¡¯s name. However, I hear Nangong Mu¡¯s name a lot!"

    "A lot!"

    Nangong Mu kept repeating this in his head. He did not know if Fang Zhengzhi was telling the truth. However, this was the first time he had heard of someone who knew Nangong Mu but not Nangong Hao.

    How could someone know Nangong Mu and not Nangong Hao?!

    Nangong Mu gripped his Green and Blue Dual des tightly. This was an emotional reaction which resulted from decades of suppressed emotion.

    After some time, Nangong Mu¡¯s expression returned to normal.

    The ferocity disappeared from his face, reced by a familiar calm.

    "Can you do me a favor?" Nangong Mu stared at Fang Zhengzhi, his mind made up.

    "Sure thing!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Aren¡¯t you going to ask me what is it?"

    "Do I need to? I just told you, we are friends."

    "Friends? Yes... we are indeed friends!" Nangong Mu muttered to himself. Then, his grip on the Green and Blue Dual des loosened. "I want you to defeat Nangong Hao for me!"

    "Can, get him toe. I will definitely cave his head in! Even his mother wouldn¡¯t recognize him!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then realized something was amiss.

    Isn¡¯t Nangong Hao Nangong Mu¡¯s brother? Why did Nangong Mu want him beaten?

    Just as he was about to ask, Nangong Mu walked off the stage.

    "Thank you! I have lost!" Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were calm, almost as if he was relieved of a huge burden.

    "Oh? Didn¡¯t you say you cannot lose?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Mu doubtfully.

    "I can lose now!" Nangong Mu looked into the distance, in the direction of the Nangong Family. He had just set out from there recently.

    At that time, he only had one aim, defeat everyone and take the top spot.

    But now, he did not regret making this decision.

    "You can lose now?" Fang Zhengzhi did not understand what Nangong Mu meant.

    All of the officials were confused by what was happening. What¡¯s going on? Why did Nangong Mu suddenly concede? What did Fang Zhengzhi do to him?

    It sounded like...

    Hang on, Fang Zhengzhi said that he was going to defeat Nangong Hao!

    "Did I hear that correctly? Fang Zhengzhi had openly challenged Nangong Hao?!"

    "I think so. He even said he was going to cave his head in?"

    "What are callous man! But... what is he thinking? That is Nangong Hao of the Nangong Family. How does he have that much courage?"

    All of the officials stared at the fearless Fang Zhengzhi. They could not guess what he was thinking.

    He actually challenged Nangong Hao? He even issued the challenge in front of the Emperor. This shameless b*stard is getting more audacious by the day!" Ping Yang muttered excitedly.

    "Challenge Nangong Hao?" Xing Qingsui looked at Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu was calm, not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words at all.

    King Duan¡¯s solemn expression was reced by a radiant smile. "A viger who doesn¡¯t know his own ce! I guess Nangong Hao will have to participate in the court examinations."

    Everyone had their own ideas of what was going to happen. However, Emperor Lin Mubai was expressionless throughout. As the Emperor, he did not need to guess what was going to happen.

    All he needed to do was observe the developments and wait for the result.

    ...

    After announcing the results for Fang Zhengzhi vs Nangong Mu, the bracket for the semifinals was drawn.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in luck and drew a heavily injured candidate.

    Yan Xiu drew Xing Qingsui.

    Yan Xiu was not a man of many words and neither was Xing Qingsui. Without much words, the battle started.

    Xing Qingsuiunched the first attack. This was no surprise, after all, the Stabilisation Constabry believed in offense, offense, and more offense...

    Yan Xiu charged as well.

    This was a battle between the offenses.

    This was a much more intense and exciting battle. It was a battle that far superseded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s one in terms of entertainment value.

    After almost five minutes of intensebat, both of them slowed down.

    Yan Xiu was still calm and icy as before

    Xing Qingsui was pale. Sweat stains could be seen seeping through his ck shirt.

    "It looks like Xing Qingsui has not fully recovered!"

    "He broke his bones and suffered some serious internal injuries. I don¡¯t think he can make a full recovery in less than six months."

    "Yes, Xing Qingsui suffered some of the most severe injuries during the incident at the World of the Sage. It is a miracle that he survived. I think this battle is pretty much over."

    "That being said, I didn¡¯t expect Yan Xiu to be just as powerful as Xing Qingsui. He is indeed a talent!"

    All of the officials were engrossed in discussion as they spectated the battle.

    Fang Zhengzhi cheered Yan Xiu on from below the stage. He constantly drew the ire of the surrounding spectators.

    "Is this guy really the top student in the theory examinations?!"

    "How could this person possibly have produced those six wless scripts?"

    "It is an insult for someone as cultured as Yan Xiu to befriend such a person!"

    Many of the youths standing behind the guards chided when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shouts.

    Only Ping Yang was unsurprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. She too was chanting, e on, give it to him, give it to him...e on!"

    ...

    The battle on stage was almost white hot.

    Up till now, Xing Qingsui and Yan Xiu had not spoken a single word to each other.

    Xing Qingsui held a huge ck sword in his hand, his battle spirit getting stronger by the second. Yan Xiu stood in ce, his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan glimmering in the sun.

    "Fight!" Xing Qingsui muttered to himself as he lunged. He lowered his sword and his battle spirit became as sharp as a de

    However, in the moment he charged, Yan Xiu disappeared.

    He disappeared from where he stood.

    In fact, the entire world seem to vanish. It was reced by a white light. There was no other color.

    All of the spectators felt like they had just been stung in the eye. All of them cursed and swore in their hearts.

    "How can we be stabbed by white light twice in a day? Must they do that?! This... isn¡¯t this that b*stard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique?!"

 Chapter 273: A world of sneak attacks

    Chapter 273: A world of sneak attacks

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    No one expected Yan Xiu to use a tactic like this at this time.

    It felt like they had saved a young innocent looking child from a criminal, only to find out that the child was the criminal¡¯s boss.

    They were all in disbelief.

    From the very beginning, Yan Xiu matched Xing Qingsui¡¯s attacks. It all pointed to the fact that Yan Xiu was going to fight a very traditional battle.

    However, Yan Xiu decided to pull a stunt like this.

    This was something that no one would have guessed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had used it right at the beginning of the duel. On the other hand, Yan Xiu only pulled it out at the most crucial moment.

    I thought that he was supposed to remain just as pure despite being in badpany?

    All of the officials did not understand. However, they all closed their eyes subconsciously.

    They could guess what was going to happen next. The Hypnotic Eye? Again? That was a humiliation that they could not take.

    They would tolerate being blinded by white light twice in a day.

    However, they would not face nt into the ground twice in a day!

    As such, this time, everyone closed their eyes.

    Just at that moment, a huge boom rang out on stage. It was followed by a cracking sound, then a loud thud.

    All of the officials opened their eyes and stared at the stage.

    All of them were awed by what they saw.

    Of the two people originally on stage, only one was left standing...

    As for the other one...

    He was lying on the floor.

    Yan Xiu did not speak. He simply cupped his fist towards the prone Xing Qingsui. Then, he bowed towards Emperor Lin Mubai and the other officials.

    After which, he sauntered off the stage.

    It looked like a very normal situation. There was nothing rude or unprofessional about it. However, all of the officials looked at Yan Xiu quizzically.

    "He really went for a sneak attack?!"

    "I don¡¯t think it is a sneak attack? It¡¯s more of a roundabout way to win?"

    "Based on what we saw, Yan Xiu already had the upper hand. He could have won that based on his ability alone. Why would he choose to win in this manner?"

    All of the officials looked at each other in confusion.

    They did not think that Yan Xiu was wrong in doing this. After all, victory in a duel was what mattered. However, based on what they saw, Yan Xiu had no reason to use this method to be victorious.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression was also strange. He should not have been willing to lose in such a fashion. However, his gaze revealed no trace of that.

    He stood up quietly, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked up to Yan Xiu. Then, he bowed, "Thank you!"

    "You¡¯re wee!" Yan Xiu looked at Xing Qingsui and nodded.

    "Thank you?!"

    "Xing Qingsui is thanking Yan Xiu? And Yan Xiu looks like he was expecting it?"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    All of the officials were stunned by what was happening. None of them understood the situation.

    "Oh I see!" One of the officials seemed to have a revtion.

    "What is it?" Another official asked immediately.

    "Xing Qingsui is still recovering from his injuries. As such, the result of this battle was already determined from the start. However, based on his character, Xing Qingsui would fight to the bitter end! His injuries would only worsen and may even affect his performance in the court examinations!"

    "Oh I see, Yan Xiu wanted Xing Qingsui to conserve some of his energy for the court examinations. That¡¯s why he used such a method!"

    "I think that¡¯s the best exnation!"

    "It is no wonder he is a disciple of the Yan Family. He is virtuous and moral. He is not like someone else we know!"

    All of the officials also began to understand the logic behind Yan Xiu¡¯s actions.

    Ping Yang was displeased to hear the discussion between the officials. She pouted, "They used the same technique. Why is it that Fang Zhengzhi is shameless but Yan Xiu is virtuous? That being said... Fang Zhengzhi is quite shameless!"

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not affected by the words of the officials. Shameless? That is my best quality!

    Only an idiot would put in all his effort and tire himself out on the battlefield when there was an easier method.

    Did it feel good to be injured?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s belief was simple. He would avoid being hit if he could. His body was bequeathed to him by his parents. He wanted to protect it the best he could.

    ...

    Yan Xiu and Xing Qingsui¡¯s battle was over. This also meant that Yan Xiu had advanced to the final. The officials all looked at Yan Xiu differently now.

    After all, when the imperial examinations first began, who would have thought that a then Star Conglomerate State candidate would reach the final.

    Amidst the discussions, Fang Zhengzhi stepped on stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was a middle aged candidate in the intermediate Heavenly Reflection State. He had made it here after many hard fought battles. Furthermore, he suffered quite a few injuries from his previous battle.

    He kept panting as he stepped on stage.

    Furthermore, his shirt was stained with blood.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he still looked calm andposed even after his battle with Nangong Mu. His blue long sleeved shirt was still intact, pping in the wind...

    "Your honor, thank you for saving my life back in the World of the Sage. However, I will have to injure you today!" The middle aged candidate bowed.

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be wise and just concede?" For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was confident in winning.

    He really enjoyed this feeling, and wanted it tost a little longer.

    "I have already made it this far, how can I concede now?!" The candidate grit his teeth. Even though he knew what the result was going to be, he was not going to be a coward and concede.

    "That¡¯s true. Then I shall let you attack me three times. I will not move throughout your three attacks!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and walked to the edge of the stage.

    "Three attacks? Not move?" The middle aged candidate did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. However, he did not feel insulted.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi had proven his skills in the battle against Nangong Mu. He definitely had the right to say this.

    However...

    The middle aged man subconsciously nced at his left palm. He had something hidden there, something that he had spent many years preparing.

    If Fang Zhengzhi really did not move, this will be his best opportunity.

    However, he thought about the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had saved his life before. Right now, Fang Zhengzhi was also giving him three free attacks. To use such a shameless tactic right now not be right.

    Don¡¯t use it?

    Use it?

    The middle aged candidate felt extremely conflicted. In the end, he grit his teeth. He would do anything it takes to win this and enter the final.

    If he managed to get second ce here...

    Combined with his First Honor Roll result in the theory examinations... he could even make the top three.

    The status of being in the top three of the Imperial Examinations was an honor he simply could not give up.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am sorry! When I make the top three, I willpensate you ordingly!" The middle aged candidate thought to himself as his eyes glimmered.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in the best possible position.

    He was right at the edge of the stage. Any strike would knock him off.

    The middle aged candidate did not hesitate any longer. He raised his sword and charged.

    Somethings had to be used when one¡¯s opponent least expected it. Closebat was the best choice. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was not going to move.

    He thrust his sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi swayed to the side, a light flickering in his hands. He pushed the candidate¡¯s de about a foot from him. The middle aged candidate was also pushed to the right.

    "He really didn¡¯t move!" The middle aged candidate was happy with the result of his test. This was the best chance for him to make a name for himself.

    He did not hesitate anymore. He turned around, a powerful aura gushing out of his body. He swung his de from left to right, carving out a blue line in the air.

    This was a wave like aura. It contained a subtle white light. That was a lightsword, but a subtle one.

    At the same time, he ced his left hand behind his back and opened it slightly.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi blocked his strike, he could attack and knock Fang Zhengzhi off the stage.

    The middle aged candidate smiled as he thought of getting the top three spot. However, his smile did notst very long.

    Fang Zhengzhi vanished.

    Almost like a gust of wind, Fang Zhengzhi disappeared from his sight. There was no one at his original position.

    What was going on?

    I thought he wasn¡¯t going to move?!

    The middle aged candidate was in shock. Then, he felt that something was amiss, but it was toote. He felt a gust of wind just above his head.

    "On top?!" The candidate raised his head, his sword prepared to block any attack from above.

    However, when he looked up.

    His expression froze.

    He saw a ball of powdering straight at him. When it neared his eyes, it exploded.

    "My eyes, my eyes!" The middle aged candidate cried out in pain.

    Then, he felt a huge force at his butt. It felt as if he had been hit by a huge rock and he lunged forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi was at the edge of the stage.

    The candidate had chosen closebat. As such, he too was naturally at the edge of the stage.

    After being hit, he tumbled off the stage. Having been kicked in the butt, he fell face first onto the stone just below the stage.

    "Bong!" The middle aged candidate felt a sharp pain in his nose. His emotions were in turmoil.

    All of the officials were stunned to see the candidate at the bottom of the stage. After all, Fang Zhengzhi had said that he wouldn¡¯t move during the three attacks.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi had moved. Furthermore, he had taken advantage of the candidate¡¯s trust in him.

    "Aish... he¡¯s already in his forties, how can he be so naive?"

    "Exactly, how can you trust Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words?"

    "Even though he was going to lose, he shouldn¡¯t have lost in such a humiliating way."

    All of the officials shook their head after recovering from the shock. The embarrassed middle aged candidate sighed.

    He was sullen. He simply could not understand why someone as powerful as Fang Zhengzhi needed to do something so shameless?

    Had Fang Zhengzhi seen through his n from the start?

    Or did Fang Zhengzhi set out to y him?

    He was furious!

    "Why?" The middle aged candidate bellowed.

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be asking yourself that?" Fang Zhengzhi swept the dust off his hands and replied.

    "Ask myself?" The middle aged candidate was taken aback.

    "Don¡¯t you think that it is very naive of you to try a sneak attack on me?" Fang Zhengzhi said scornfully.

    All of the officials were shocked when they heard this.

    Fang Zhengzhi was clearly the one who had sneaked in an attack. How was it this candidate¡¯s fault?

    "How... how did you see through that?" The middle aged candidate¡¯s expression changed. He knew what Fang Zhengzhi was referring to, but he did not know how Fang Zhengzhi saw through it.

    "If you really believed me, you would have attacked me with whatever you had all three times. However, you wasted one attack testing me. That showed your intention to do something underhand." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "The first attack was a test? But... how can anyone trust their opponent fully during a duel? You can¡¯t be sure that I have sneaky intentions just because of that!" The candidate grit his teeth.

    "But I also tested you! I asked you to concede!" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "You tested me?" The middle aged candidate¡¯s expression froze.

    "Yes, if you didn¡¯t have any hope to win, you would note up on stage with your injuries. Furthermore, you want to win, you really want to win. However, you are not powerful enough. Naturally, you have to think of other methods. That was a sneak attack. As such, I gave you a golden opportunity to do so."

    "I see, I was too naive..." The middle aged candidate¡¯s expression darkened. Then, he looked at the item in his left hand. After a moment of hesitation, he grit his teeth, "Your honor, you saved my life once. Yet today, I tried to attack you with underhand methods. I deserve what I got. However, I have a gift for you and I hope you will ept it!"

    "Oh? What is it?"

    "It is something very suitable for you!" The middle aged candidate assured.

 Chapter 274: Unheavenly World

    Chapter 274: Unheavenly World

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Something most suitable for me?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened as he thrust out his right hand. "Hand it over!"

    "Your honor, this thing is best used when your opponent is unaware of it. If everyone knows that you have this, I¡¯m afraid..." The middle aged candidate hesitated as he looked around.

    "I understand!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and leapt to the candidate¡¯s side. He was not worried that this candidate might still have something up his sleeve. After all, the duel was over.

    "Your honor, this is known as the Seven Treasure Box!" The middle aged candidate carefully ced the box in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "Seven Treasure Box?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ck metal box in his hand.

    "Yes, this box is created from seven different treasures. It was crafted by the famous Mo Family Smith using the Seven Star Array Mold. Under normal circumstances, anyone weaker than a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator cannot defend against it. However, with the element of surprise, even a Supernatural cultivator may not be able to defend against it!" The candidate exined.

    "So powerful? Just now... you wanted to attack me with this?"

    "Yes..."

    "Okay then, thank you!"

    "You¡¯re most wee. I am d that it has found a good owner! I am sure that you can bring the most out of it!" The candidate said sincerely.

    "Hahaha... you have foresight!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and chuckled.

    All of the officials were stunned to hear Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sughter. Isn¡¯t this a little too strange? Fang Zhengzhi set up a trap for the candidate to fall into, yet the candidate was giving him a gift?

    Shouldn¡¯t he suffer some form of retribution?

    I guess nice guys really aren¡¯t rewarded!

    ...

    The duel was over within moments. The result was expected, but the process was jaw dropping.

    After the invigtor announced the results...

    He dered the start of the final.

    The duel would be between Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Based on their Theory Examination results, this duel would determine who would take home the top spot for the imperial examinations.

    Would Fang Zhengzhi win?

    Or would Yan Xiu from the Yan Family win?

    The officials stared at the two men on the stage. They were all guessing and predicting the results for this final.

    From what they had just seen, Fang Zhengzhi was already at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    By virtue of the fact that Yan Xiu could match Xing Qingsui¡¯s attacks in their duel, he was also of simr ability.

    This was a battle between two pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State candidates. Furthermore, they were both under 18 years old.

    Other than deciding who was going to be the top of the imperial examinations, it had another special meaning. It would determine who was the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s next talent.

    On stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu looked at each other.

    "I guess we have to fight again." Fang Zhengzhi said in exasperation.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "When we left the capital thest time, you said that you would defeat me. You have the chance now." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. They were friends, but they were not going to hold back during the duel.

    "Okay."

    "Will you use weapons?"

    "How about you?"

    "No."

    "Then I won¡¯t either." Yan Xiu immediately kept his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    All of the officials began to worry when they saw Yan Xiu keep his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. Can Fang Zhengzhi be trusted?

    Thest duel was a perfect example.

    Ping Yang looked at the officials in disdain. Then, she turned to look at King Duan. He was watching the spectacle unfold solemnly.

    Her eyes glimmered brightly in that instant.

    "Does Sixth Brother think that Fang Zhengzhi would trick Yan Xiu?"

    King Duan had not been happy ever since the start of the duels. When he heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice, he turned to look at her.

    "One can never trust Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words!" King Duan replied without hesitation.

    "Is that so? Then how about we have a little wager?" Ping Yang was getting excited.

    "Oh? What do you want to wager?" King Duan asked, his interest piqued.

    "I hear that you have a good bow named "Sun Shooting"..." Ping Yang said in anticipation.

    "I cannot give you the Sun Shooting Bow! That is my personal weapon!" King Duan interrupted Ping Yang.

    "Brother, you have plenty of weapons, but you do not have a good stallion. Why don¡¯t you use this opportunity to get yourself a good one?" Ping Yang had anticipated King Duan¡¯s reaction. She did not give up, choosing to bait him with an irresistible incentive.

    "You want to use your Snow Jade in a wager?" King Duan¡¯s eyes brightened. There was only one Snow Jade in the entire capital. This was a stallion he always wanted.

    However, the Snow Jade was Ping Yang¡¯s prized possession. She had never used it in a wager.

    "What is Snow Jade? I will use the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion!" Ping Yang waved him off.

    "Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion? That is Ninth Brother¡¯s..."

    "Don¡¯t worry about that. The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion is at my residence. When have I not kept my word?" Ping Yang interrupted King Duan and pounded her chest in assurance.

    When Ninth Prince Lin Yun heard this, his expression turned bitter.

    The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was his.

    However, there was no way he was going to get him back. When Chi Guyan borrowed the stallion from him, she had promised him that Ping Yang would return it when Chi Guyan returned to the capital.

    However...

    Chi Guyan was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. She never returned to the capital.

    As such, the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was his greatest sacrifice. Even though Chi Guyan had sent over a letter, Ping Yang had swallowed it when the Ninth Prince handed it to her.

    In that instant, the Ninth Prince¡¯s heart shattered.

    Take it from her by force?

    Ping Yang¡¯s residence had better guards than the pce.

    Reason with her?

    The only piece of evidence had been eaten by Ping Yang. Furthermore, Ping Yang was heavily favored by the Emperor. Even if she wasn¡¯t, there was nothing that he could do without evidence.

    His Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion had already fallen into the hands of the devil.

    Right now, Ping Yang was using his Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion in a wager. More importantly, she was going it in front of him. Only he could understand the pain in his heart.

    King Duan turned to look at the Ninth Prince.

    The Ninth Prince knew what King Duan meant. He grit his teeth and nodded.

    Since he wasn¡¯t getting it back...

    He might as well do someone a favor.

    "Okay then, I will bet that Fang Zhengzhi will draw his sword!" King Duan understood that the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was already in Ping Yang¡¯s hands.

    "It¡¯s a deal!" Hahaha..." Ping Yang could not contain her excitement.

    King Duan was also quite happy. He was not happy with the duels. However, now that someone was about to ¡®give¡¯ him a Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, he felt much better.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea that Ping Yang had bet on him.

    His concentration was fully on Yan Xiu. He could feel Yan Xiu exuding confidence.

    That was an innate confidence.

    "I am ready." Yan Xiu bowed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I am ready as well." Fang Zhengzhi bowed.

    "Then let¡¯s begin."

    "Okay!"

    In the eyes of the officials, Fang Zhengzhi was not one who valued such pleasantries. However, he bowed to Yan Xiu.

    This was something that confused the officials.

    However, their confusion was quickly reced by awe.

    "Open!" A voice rang out from the stage. Then, almost all of the officials stood up subconsciously.

    Yan Xiu had already moved.

    Normally, these officials would know better than to stand. However, in this case, even Emperor Lin Mubai shifted in his seat.

    After Yan Xiu finished speaking that word, his expression became pained as beads of sweat rolled from his forehead.

    Most importantly...

    There were two pale red whirlpools below his feet.

    These were not formed from air. They looked like they had appeared from thin air. Yan Xiu seemed to be being pulled down by the two whirlpools.

    "That¡¯s right, Yan Xiu had been to that ce!"

    "Oh my god. He¡¯s only 16 and just broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State. Why would his dad throw him into that bloody ce?!"

    "I never expected that someone from the Yan Family would be able toe out alive. Furthermore, he¡¯s only 16..."

    "Well done Yan Xiu! The results for this contest may be determined. However, the court examinations will be very interesting!"

    All of the officials were terrified by what they saw. When they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, their expressions were filled with pity.

    "When I went back this time, I actually went to a ce." Yan Xiu seemed to be muttering to himself as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

    "What ce?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly curious to find out after seeing Yan Xiu¡¯s expression. Yan Xiu was never one to express himself, which was why Fang Zhengzhi did not ask before that.

    .

    "I went to a parallel dimension simr to the Divine Constabry¡¯s Heavenly Treasure Hall. The others call it a "Unheavenly World", but the Yan Family calls it "Ancestral Hell"!" Yan Xiu continued.

    "Ancestral Hell?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    "Yes, I am about to attack!" Yan Xiu did not say anymore.

    "Come at me!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He had already prepared himself for this.

    "Zoom!" An icy gust of wind blew by and a figure appeared right in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    The initially calm Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He knew that Yan Xiu was more powerful than before. After all, he had watched the battle between Yan Xiu and Xing Qingsui.

    However...

    The speed that Yan Xiu showed before and the speed Yan Xiu had now werepletely different.

    What changed?

    Fang Zhengzhi used the Wind Shadow Technique in an attempt to dodge.

    However, it had no f*cking use.

    Yan Xiu continued to close on him like a phantom he could not rid himself of. Furthermore, he was much faster than Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was a speed Fang Zhengzhi had seen before.

    He had seen Ying Shan travel at such speeds in the World of the Sage.

    What the f*ck?

    Did he manage to breakthrough into the Supernatural State in just a few months?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, a sharp aura came crashing down on him. It felt just like a de was slicing down towards him,

    He dodged to the right reflexively.

    "Kacha!" His blue long sleeved shirt became a short sleeved one.

    At that very moment, there was a crack in the stage. It looked like it had been sliced cleanly with a knife. It went straight through the ground, and the rocks around it werepletely untouched.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes widened.

    What the hell is this?

    He nced at Yan Xiu and realized that Yan Xiu did not move. He was still standing at where Fang Zhengzhi was.

    He was still stepping on the two pale red whirlpools, his expression pained.

    However, this was not what Fang Zhengzhi was most concerned about. Yan Xiu clearly did not have a weapon in his hand.

    So...

    What the hell caused the crack in the stage?

    All of the officials looked at each other in disbelief when they saw the damage to the stage.

    "He really has understood it!"

    "He is already this powerful at 16!"

    "There are people in history who have attained such power at the Heavenly Reflection State. However, I think he is the only one who has done it at 16 years old!"

    "If nothing goes awry, he should be the sessor to the Yan Family."

    "I think this duel is over. I wonder what ns the Emperor will have for Yan Xiu in the future!"

    All of the officials concentrated on Yan Xiu. No one bothered to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 275: What a huge hole

    Chapter 275: What a huge hole

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If they had to choose between Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu for the top spot, almost 80% of the officials would choose Yan Xiu.

    The reason was simple.

    Yan Xiu was from an influential family.

    Naturally, Yan Xiu knew the rules of the court and the politics that were yed within it.

    Throughout history, there have always been battles between those of power and themoners.

    However, in the Great Xia Dynasty, none of these battles were intense. Those who came from the influential families often stood a great advantage.

    After all, the empire was now flourishing after many generations. The initial difficult phase was long over.

    Now...

    All the officials wanted was to maximise their gains, make a name for their family, and have their children inherit their post.

    They simply could not ept amoner entering the courts and disrupting the proceedings. At the very least, themoner could not rise too high!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what the officials were thinking.

    He was more concerned about the two whirlpools under Yan Xiu¡¯s feet. Furthermore, he wanted to know why Yan Xiu could damage the stage this way without a weapon.

    Should he ask?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that if he asked Yan Xiu now, Yan Xiu would definitely tell him. However, they were in a duel. Since Yan Xiu didn¡¯t want to say, he would not ask.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi could see that Yan Xiu was in pain.

    This meant that it was difficult for Yan Xiu to maintain this state. From this, Fang Zhengzhi assessed that he had learnt a technique to raise his power in a short period of time.

    A moment of revtion.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the best way was to drag the fight out. Apart from that, he had to waste Yan Xiu¡¯s energy...

    He couldn¡¯t use the Traceless Sword. As such, some of the techniques he learnt at the Ice Wall could not be applied. He would have to make do with a lightsword.

    Fang Zhengzhi leapt into action.

    Before Yan Xiu could act, he threw out a jade green lightsword.

    "One bes two, two bes three, three bes millions, and it would keep going on!"

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Chi Guyan use this to block countless spears. Even though he did not think he was as adept as Chi Guyan, but...

    He guessed that it could block an attack from Yan Xiu.

    He thought that way, but he honestly had no idea.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes glowed as the pain he felt became more intense. His legs seemed to sink even deeper into the whirlpool.

    However, Yan Xiu did not seem to mind.

    He had seen Fang Zhengzhi use this technique previously. He was not too surprised by it. That being said, the top secret technique of the Divine Constabry was a powerful one.

    It¡¯s strengthy in itsck of a weakness.

    It was the strongest possible defence.

    No matter how fast one was, one could not be faster than a lightsword. As ohne tried to go around the lightsword, one would be swallowed by even more lightswords.

    Once one was entangled, the only course of action was to charge.

    When faced with the endless Million Sword Illustration, charging was a nightmare.

    Yan Xiu chose to charge, but he charged in a slightly abnormal way.

    When Fang Zhengzhi released his lightsword, Yan Xiu leapt into action. He went behind FanG Zhengzhi and drew a symbol with his right hand.

    A thin pale red glow appeared.

    It flew towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!"

    Without any surprise, the pale red light shed with the jade green lightsword.

    Soon after, the lightsword exploded into a of lightswords, the lightswords flying around inside it.

    "I blocked it?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. Just as he was about topliment the technique, he realized that Yan Xiu had no intention of stopping.

    Yan Xiu went behind him once again.

    His speed was unimaginably quick.

    At that moment, yet another pale red glow appeared.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He reflexively threw out yet another lightsword. This lightsword may be able to break up into many pieces...

    However, each piece was smaller than the previous one.

    Furthermore...

    Time was needed for these small lightswords to reform back into the onerge lightsword.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not fully understand everything about this technique. After all, he had just learnt it hours ago.

    He could not have the lightswords form a giant in the blink of an eye like Chi Guyan could.

    Yan Xiu chose a point where Fang Zhengzhi could not block with his lightsword. In order to block Yan Xiu¡¯s attack, his only choice was to use yet another lightsword.

    After the new lightsword left his hand...

    It shed together with the pale red glow. It immediately shattered and turned into a lightsword.

    However, at this point.

    Yan Xiu had already taken up a new position. He fired yet another pale red glow.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what was going on.

    Yan Xiu was using his speed advantage to run circles around Fang Zhengzhi. This way, Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice but defend.

    But...

    Was that all?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not read Yan Xiu¡¯s mind. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not like the feeling of being beaten. He liked to take the initiative.

    That being said, he didn¡¯t have much of a choice now.

    The third lightsword left his hand.

    ...

    Below the stage, all of the officials smiled as they watched red disc after red disc sh with the green lightswords.

    "He is using his speed to get into favorable positions. Fang Zhengzhi cannot do anything but defend. I did not expect Yan Xiu to disy such maturity."

    "Mm, the Yan Family has always been strict. Having grown up in that environment, Yan Xiu is definitely extraordinary."

    "He is able to showcase such powerful abilities at 16."

    All of the officialsmented as they watched the battle.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nced at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, almost as if he was asking for an opinion.

    Lin Tianrong squinted, ying with the jade in his hand. When he saw Yu Yiping¡¯s gaze, he nodded slightly and turned to a youth behind him.

    That was a youth in rank four official robes. He was no more than 30 years old. Ordinarily, he would not be standing behind Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    But, he was there.

    His name was Su Qing, Lin Tianrong¡¯s new favorite.

    "I understand!" Su Qing replied when he saw the Crown Prince¡¯s gaze.

    Lin Tianrong nodded. He knew about the friendship between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. However, he did not have to think about that as the Crown Prince.

    All he needed to do was tell Su Qing what he wanted to do.

    Then, he did not have to care how Su Qing got it done. As long as he did.

    Su Qing also knew of the friendship between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. However, when the Crown Prince tasked him to do this, all he could do was nod and think of a n.

    That was what a strategist was supposed to do.

    King Duan continued to look at Yan Xiu. However, he did not make any moves. He was more concerned by another question.

    Why hasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi drew his sword?!

    No!

    He definitely will. The time is simply not ripe yet.

    King Duan assured himself as he nced at Ping Yang, who was nearby.

    Ping Yang looked extremely nervous. She gripped her skirt tightly as she stared at the battle on stage, unblinking.

    She continued to mutter to herself.

    "Is he really going to lose? Think of something! Use a trick! Aren¡¯t you always very smart? Why have you be dumb all of a sudden?!"

    ...

    Yan Xiu kept up the attacks and Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice but to defend. The atmosphere became tense as everyone waited for the result.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not in a good ce now.

    When he was blocking Yan Xiu¡¯s attacks, he realized something quite serious.

    The more lightswords he had to use, the slower they became. Furthermore, controlling them was increasingly tiring.

    "I see!" Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Yan Xiu would use such a method of offense.

    However, he could not understand why Yan Xiu could keep this up for so long?

    Could it be that this technique was not just a temporary spike in power? Then why was he in so much pain? More importantly, why did such a technique exist?

    This did not make any sense!

    If this was a long term increase in power, that would make the user invincible! Why was Yan Xiu the only person using it?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand this.

    At that very moment...

    An icy gust of wind rang out by his ear.

    "What the hell?" Fang Zhengzhi leaned backwards. The wind seemed to brush past his face. Then, a crack appeared just beneath his feet.

    It was a good thing his face was untouched!

    Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief. He nced in the direction of the attack.

    The story was not over.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    What the f*ck!

    Such a huge hole!

    He had no idea whether he was hallucinating, or if there was an actual hole. Either way, there was a gaping hole in the sword to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left.

    Just as he was about to mend it with his energy, he heard a gust of wind to his right.

    "God damn it!" Fang Zhengzhi realized that his sword was broken. Furthermore, it was being broken from all sides.

    I thought this was just a temporary buff?

    Why is he just as strong even after five minutes of intense battle?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was time to change his strategy. However, Yan Xiu did not give him much time to think.

    After the wind attacks...

    Yan Xiu arrived next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were less than a meter apart. Fang Zhengzhi could clearly see the beads of sweat on Yan Xiu¡¯s forehead, as well as the two pale red whirlpools beneath his feet.

    A strange feeling rose in his heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like there was a familiar aura from the whirlpools. He had felt this somewhere before.

    But where?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not recall.

    In all honesty, he did not have much time to think either. Yan Xiu had already begun his attacks. Every swipe was quick and vicious.

    "Kacha!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sleeve was sliced once again when he dodged a little more slowly.

    His short sleeved shirt was about to be sliced into a singlet.

    For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi was being embarrassed on stage. Furthermore, the person embarrassing him was none other than Yan Xiu.

    "Secret Weapon!"

    At such a critical moment, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to use his secret weapon.

    In that instant, the entire sky exploded in a ball of light. All sorts of weapons were thrown out into the sky.

    However...

    It was no f*cking use.

    Yan Xiu seemed to have predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would do that. A faint red glow immediately appeared in front of him.

    All of those cheap weapons fell to the ground. They were of absolutely no threat.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze froze. He knew that these weapons would not cause any harm to Yan Xiu. However, he wanted to buy some time.

    He wanted to push Yan Xiu back and give himself some breathing space.

    However, the ease with which Yan Xiu blocked the attack made him unsettled.

    He had seen this before.

    Xing Hou had done something simr back at the Divine Constabry. All of his secret weapons were of no use.

    And now...

    Yan Xiu was using a simr technique.

    What in the world is going on?!

    In that moment, Fang Zhengzhi thought about the battle between Xing Yuanguo and Bai Xing in The Vast World. At that time, Xing Yuanguo was surrounded by a dense purple glow.

    Bai Xing was surrounded by a silver light.

    "Could it be..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pale red whirlpool beneath Yan Xiu¡¯s feet. He suddenly thought of a nearly impossible idea.

    Even though he did not want to admit it, he thought that there was a 50% chance that it was true.

    No way?

    If that was the case, I doubt we can still y in the future?

 Chapter 276: Asura

    Chapter 276: Asura

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    How was he going to fight someone with abilities equivalent to Xing Yuanguo?

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know how powerful Xing Yuanguo was, he remembered that Bai Xing¡¯s demon eye was red. The Supernatural State Ying Shan had a green demon eye.

    It was not difficult to realize that Xing Yuanguo was at least a state more powerful than Ying Shan. That meant that he was beyond the Supernatural State.

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask Yan Xiu what kind of ce the "Ancestral Hell" was. However, Yan Xiu did not give him that chance.

    After defending against the secret weapons, Yan Xiu did not slow down.

    He stepped on the two whirlpools and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi. The distance between the two of them closed.

    Coupled with Yan Xiu¡¯s phantom like speed, Fang Zhengzhi had no time to react. He felt an icy gust of wind against his face.

    Dodge!

    That was his only option.

    However, he did not have many ideas as to how he was going to dodge. Yan Xiu was clearly more powerful. Under such a circumstance, Fang Zhengzhi had no way of winning, not unless a miracle happened.

    Was he going to wait for a miracle?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid. There were no such things as miracles or luck.

    Fang Zhengzhi still remembered something that his teacher taught him when he was younger. "If you can¡¯t get a miracle, make one."

    He got the first top spot in his entire life because of that.

    However...

    He was first from the back.

    Of course, it was a painful process, but it had a happy ending. Because of thatst ce, he was beaten senseless when he got home.

    Ever since then, he had worked hard for what he wanted, eventually creating a miracle of his own.

    He had made it into the university of his dreams. It was a pity that he made a small mistake when choosing his major. However, that was a memory from his "previous life".

    He had to start from scratch here. He needed to create another miracle.

    In a duel, only two things were important - ability and wit.

    In times of trouble, one needed to remain calm andposed.

    Yan Xiu was able to suppress him with his abilities. Furthermore, he was in pain now. Yan Xiu would aim to finish off Fang Zhengzhi as quickly as possible.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to give Yan Xiu a ¡®chance¡¯.

    It was akin to baiting his opponent in. When they think that you have slipped, they would be less alert.

    Fang Zhengzhi dodged.

    However, he did not dodge well. When the wind brushed past him, he leaned backwards just a little too much, falling to the ground.

    "Woosh!"

    The gust of wind brushed past his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed, visibly more anxious than before. He ¡®identally¡¯ fell on his butt. Then, as he climbed back to his feet...

    He showed Yan Xiu his back in his ¡®panic¡¯.

    That way, Yan Xiu would be standing behind Fang Zhengzhi. Everything was perfect.

    All of the officials were excited when they saw this.

    "It¡¯s a good chance!"

    "He is still too young. He flusters when meeting a stronger opponent!"

    "If he was more stable, he may have been able to hold on for another 15 minutes. But now, it looks like the duel is over!"

    "It¡¯s not his fault either. Yan Xiu is much more powerful."

    All of the officials looked on condescendingly at the flustered Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu strode over to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was not going to hold back during the duel.

    This was his respect towards Fang Zhengzhi, and his respect towards their friendship. Yan Xiu aimed for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    Even though humans had many acupoints in the back, many of them would not result in lethal or internal injuries. However, it could send a person flying off the stage.

    As such, Yan Xiu put everything he had into this attack.

    However...

    In the moment he raised his hand, his pained expression worsened and the two whirlpools underneath his feet trembled.

    The 15 minutes of exertion were taking his toll.

    He was already dehydrated from all the sweating.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi had guessed, Yan Xiu wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He did not want this to drag out.

    In the River of Trust Province examinations, Yan Xiu had duelled with Fang Zhengzhi once. Back then, he learnt that Fang Zhengzhi had more endurance than him.

    He was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi take advantage of his endurance again.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a gust of wind at his back. Without turning back, he knew that Yan Xiu was behind him.

    To have one¡¯s opponent behind you...

    This was the most dangerous kind of situation. In this kind of situation, one ordinarily had only two choices. One, he could just lunge forward in an attempt to dodge. Two, he could kick backwards and aim to hit Yan Xiu¡¯s privates.

    Both were out of the question.

    The first one was way too embarrassing.

    The second one was too domineering. If he didn¡¯t find the mark, he would lose this round. If he managed to hit his mark, Yan Xiu would not be able to start a family ever again.

    However, all of these were considered in his n. He had a much better way of dealing with the iing attack.

    For example...

    He fell forward, almost as if he was desperately trying to dodge.

    It was extremely embarrassing!

    Yan Xiu was not going to let a golden opportunity like that slip by. When Fang Zhengzhi lunged forward, he followed closely behind.

    Then, he thrust his palm towards the prone Fang Zhengzhi.

    At this moment...

    A lightsword appeared in front of his eyes.

    Then a second one, a third one, a fourth one...

    In an instant, six lightswords shot towards him from all directions at great speed.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed.

    He could tell that these lightswords were prepared in advance.

    In that flurry, Fang Zhengzhi would never be able to release that many lightswords.

    "I have been fooled!" Yan Xiu was stunned. He retreated subconsciously. Then, he felt a huge force at his back.

    He stopped retreating. At that very moment, all six lightswords converged on him, almost as if they knew where he was going to stop.

    "Boom!"

    All six lightswords exploded at the same time. Countless lightswords intertwined with each other, instantly forming a huge of lightswords. The lightswords enveloped Yan Xiu.

    All of the officials who thought the battle was over were stunned. All of them looked on in disbelief.

    What was going on?

    How did Fang Zhengzhi manage to fire off six lightswords simultaneously whilst trying to dodge?!

    That was impossible.

    Unless...

    A thought shed by in the minds of all the officials. Then, they all looked at each other in embarrassment, almost as if they had just been pped.

    They had just said that Fang Zhengzhi was too young and inexperienced. They used him of losing his cool in the face of a better opponent.

    But now...

    It was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was faking it.

    "Shameless! Trickery!"

    "How can someone be this shameless?! This is the court examinations! The Emperor is present!"

    "By doing this in front of all the officials and the Emperor, he has ruined the image of all the rank four officials!"

    All of the officials fumed from their embarrassment. They kept cursing in their hearts, but none of them dared to voice their displeasure.

    When Ping Yang saw this, she got excited. "Hahaha... this fe is really... hahaha... he should be even more shameless!"

    When King Duan heard Ping Yang¡¯sughter, he clenched his fists even tighter.

    Until now, Fang Zhengzhi had yet to draw his sword. Was he really not going to draw his sword? His Sun Shooting Bow was on the line!

    At this point, Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed slightly. However, he did not speak, simply knocking lightly on his throne.

    No one knew what he was thinking.

    On stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu being trapped in his sword. He smiled slightly, Yan Xiu really fell for it.

    "Open!" Just at this point, Yan Xiu bellowed. Then, a pale red ray of light shot towards the lightsword.

    In that moment, a huge hole was opened inside the sword.

    Yan Xiu leapt out easily.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile froze, "Must this be so ridiculous? What the hell is this?"

    "This is the Dao I learnt in the Ancestral Hell!" Yan Xiu seemed to feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s doubts. He did not attack, choosing to borate a little.

    However, when Yan Xiu said this, his body was trembling slightly.

    Most importantly...

    The two pale red whirlpools beneath his feet began rising. They rose to his ankles, almost as if they were swallowing him up.

    "This is... Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the whirlpools beneath Yan Xiu¡¯s feet. He had no idea what they were.

    However, he was unsettled by them.

    When they rose, he knew that trouble wasing.

    All of the officials were quite far from the stage. As such, they did not notice the changes in the red whirlpools.

    However, when they saw Yan Xiu escape from the sword, they all smiled.

    "In the face of true ability, even the most shameless tactics are useless!"

    "Resistance is futile."

    "Yan Xiu already fell for his trick once, I doubt he will repeat the same mistake. This duel should be over shortly."

    All of the officials seemed to be confident in their predictions. After all, Yan Xiu was outssing Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu did not exin it to Fang Zhengzhi immediately. He looked into the sky, almost as if he was trying to recall something.

    After a brief moment, he looked back towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Do you remember the sword technique I used back at the River of Trust Province Examination?" Yan Xiu asked.

    "Sword technique?" Fang Zhengzhi asked doubtfully. Then, almost as if he suddenly thought of something, his expression changed, "Asura Sword Technique!"

    "Exactly! I exined the meaning of Asura to you then!" Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Meaning of Asura!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. He finally knew why he felt a sense of familiarity when looking at the whirlpools beneath Yan Xiu¡¯s feet.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s Asura Sword Technique was created using part of the spirit of Asura.

    However, these two whirlpools were created fully using Asura. There was an even more apt term for this.

    Dao of Asura!

    In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi understood what was going on.

    Chi Guyan had once told him that the fruits on the tree in his pocket dimension were all in their nascent state. True Dao was not in the shape of fruits.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Dao looked like in its final stage...

    However, he knew that most people only trained in one type, or a selected number ofmon ones.

    Yan Xiu was no exception.

    "Because he went to the Ancestral Hell, he managed to fully develop his Dao of Asura?" Fang Zhengzhi thought of this possibility.

    However, he felt that there was still something missing from that exnation.

    If it was just an improvement on that Dao...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities may show improvement. However, he should not be this ridiculously powerful!

    This wasn¡¯t improvement!

    This was flying!

    Despite months of developing the fruits in his pocket dimension, Fang Zhengzhi had made some improvements. However, he was still not as ridiculously powerful as Yan Xiu. When he thought of Xing Yuanguo and Bai Xing¡¯s defences, he realized that it could not be as simple as what he thought.

    After all, Yan Xiu had improved at an unimaginable rate.

    What did he miss out?

    Dao of Asura.

 Chapter 277: Wheel of Good and Evil

    Chapter 277: Wheel of Good and Evil

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi kept repeating the words "Dao of Asura" to himself. He also tried to recall what he had read about the Dao of Asura from his previous world.

    It was derived from the Asuras. They were evil deities who loved battle. The males were extremely ugly but the females were incredibly beautiful.

    However, that exnation would not work in this world.

    So...

    There could only be one other exnation. The Dao of Asura is good natured. However, it has tints of hatred and a thirst for battle. That was why it was not taken as a good natured Dao.

    Hang on...

    The Dao of Asura... is one of the six?!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly thought of something. This world seemed to have too many descriptions of Heaven Dao.

    The Heavenly Prophecy, the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet...

    Heaven Dao was also one of the six Daos recorded in the annals.

    "Six Daos?" Fang Zhengzhi tried to probe.

    Yan Xiu, who was about to borate further, was stunned when he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never been to a school of Dao. People had always thought that this would result in him knowing less about cultivation than others.

    Anyone else would have been shocked to hear Fang Zhengzhi say Six Daos.

    However, Yan Xiu was not surprised.

    After all, this was Fang Zhengzhi, the man who managed to top every examination despite not having been to a School of Dao.

    This was a miracle.

    As such, he was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi knew about the Six Daos.

    "Yes, the Dao of Asura is just like the Heavenly Dao. It belongs to one of the six!"

    Fang Zhengzhi still did not understand it fully. It was not because Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation wascking, but because he was guessing something else.

    "What is after the Supernatural State?" Fang Zhengzhi asked abruptly. However, he knew that all the answersy in this one answer.

    "Rebirth State!" Yan Xiu answered. He was not shocked by the simplicity of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    "I understand." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    When Yan Xiu had said rebirth, he already had all the answers he needed. The Six Daos were paired with rebirth.

    Six Daos of rebirth!

    There were 3000 Daos on this world. The Six Daos of rebirth were the Supreme Daos.

    Since Yan Xiu had understood the Dao of Asura, it was only natural that he was this powerful. However, there were still some problems.

    Based on his current abilities, he could not haveplete control over the Dao of Asura.

    He could see this from Yan Xiu¡¯s pained expression.

    "Yes, even though I have understood the Dao of Asura, I am not powerful enough. The Dao of Asura is good natured. However, if I be consumed by it, I will turn evil. I am currently standing on the ¡®Wheel of Good and Evil¡¯. If I do not step on this, I will lose the goodness in me and turn into evil asura. As such, I can onlyst for 15 minutes more. If you can drag this out for another 15 minutes, I will lose!" Yan Xiu nodded to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I will defeat you within the next 15 minutes!" Fang Zhengzhi loved his jokes. However, he was not joking now.

    All of the officials looked on in disdain.

    After all, Yan Xiu had shown that he was much more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, Yan Xiu had made it clear that he could onlyst another 15 minutes.

    The only logical way was to drag the duel out.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi said he would defeat Yan Xiu within 15 minutes?

    What a joke!

    "Is he dumb?"

    "I think that that¡¯s an understatement! Don¡¯t insult dumb people!"

    "How can he possibly defeat Yan Xiu? Even though Yan Xiu cannot fully control the Dao of Asura, he can increase his abilities temporarily! Although he can¡¯t be as powerful as a Rewind State cultivator, he will have at least three times his original power. I don¡¯t think a Supernatural State cultivator can defeat him!"

    "I would like to see him swallow his words once he falls off the stage!"

    All of the officials mocked Fang Zhengzhi. No one believed that Fang Zhengzhi had a chance to win this duel.

    King Duan heaved a sigh of relief. "I think he will draw his sword now? Even though he may not have a chance... if he doesn¡¯t draw his sword now, when is he going to do it?"

    All of the officials were in disbelief. However, Yan Xiu nodded and said solemnly.

    "Good!"

    ...

    A light gust of wind blew Yan Xiu¡¯s clothes about. However, Fang Zhengzhi had no sleeves that could p in the wind.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s long sleeved robe had already be a tattered short sleeve.

    All of the officials were confused as to why Yan Xiu would say ¡®good¡¯ at such a time.

    Was it...

    Constion?

    Yes, it must be constion!

    With their friendship, it was not weird for Yan Xiu to console Fang Zhengzhi at this time.

    Just as the officials were all thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into action.

    He charged at Yan Xiu without any announcement or secret weapons. He looked like an arrow released from a bow.

    This was quite amon attack throughout the day.

    However, all of the officials were in disbelief to see Fang Zhengzhi attack in this manner.

    "This is how he¡¯s going to defeat Yan Xiu?"

    "I think he¡¯s giving up?"

    If Fang Zhengzhi had used some sort of innovative techniques or drew the Traceless Sword, the officials could have still rationalized it.

    However, they could not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would charge like that.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention to pull any more tricks.

    After knowing Yan Xiu¡¯s condition, Fang Zhengzhi only had one thought. He would defeat Yan Xiu fairly, or he would lose to Yan Xiu fairly.

    There was only one way to describe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feelings at this point.

    That was...

    As a man, one cannot be a coward!

    Yan Xiu had already told him that he could onlyst for another 15 minutes. If he dragged it out for the win, will he still be sportsmanlike?

    Fang Zhengzhi charged without hesitation.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed when he saw Fang Zhengzhi charge. His pain vanished momentarily. Even though he was still sweating, he smiled.

    This was a sincere smile.

    Friends.

    Yan Xiu knew that Fang Zhengzhi was actually powerful. However, he did not like to use his powers. After all, if he could live just by his brain, why do all that hard work?

    It was too uncivilised.

    Yan Xiu had once asked Fang Zhengzhi why he did not like to use force. Fang Zhengzhi replied that he was scared of getting hurt, or scared of pain.

    He did not understand that logic, but he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was telling the truth.

    And now...

    The officials may not think that Fang Zhengzhi couldst another 15 minutes. However, Yan Xiu knew that with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s endurance, he couldst another hour, much less 15 minutes.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi decided to use force.

    Yan Xiu was not surprised to see Fang Zhengzhi make that choice. The moment Fang Zhengzhi said that he was going to defeat Yan Xiu in 15 minutes, Yan Xiu knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice.

    They were friends.

    True friends.

    Yan Xiu moved, charging straight towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials tensed as they watched the duel unfold. Fang Zhengzhi was prone to using trickery, and Yan Xiu was too trusting.

    This did not look good.

    "Boom!"

    The two figures shed on stage.

    Then, they separated within moments, then shed agin.

    "Boom"

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    As the shocked officials watched on, Fang Zhengzhi charged Yan Xiu repeatedly. He hadpletely changed his battle method.

    "Brute force?!"

    All of the officials felt that this was impossible. After all, this was the most difficult way for Fang Zhengzhi to emerge victorious. So, what was Fang Zhengzhi up to?

    On stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to sh with Yan Xiu.

    Rays of light shed in the air as the figures shed in and out of view.

    Large mountains crashed down towards the stage.

    Rivers gushed on stage.

    A red sun rose from the east.

    ...

    Different territories continued to appear on stage. Mountains, rocks, rivers, trees, sun, lilies...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hold back this time.

    He used whatever he had inside his pocket dimension.

    He had a few hundred stars, representing hundreds of Daos. He could not be bothered anymore. There was only one thought on his mind.

    Charge!

    All of the officials were stunned when they saw the various territories.

    They knew what it meant.

    Each one was a Dao. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s techniques may look messy andplicated...

    However...

    Within a few blinks of the eye, he had utilized at least a dozen Daos. Furthermore, he still had many more in reserve.

    More importantly, despite Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacious attacks, Yan Xiu could not defeat him within a few rounds.

    That was strange.

    It was unbelievable.

    After all, Yan Xiu¡¯s current abilities were at least in the Supernatural State. Logically, Fang Zhengzhi should not even be able tost three rounds.

    Was Yan Xiu holding back?

    That did not seem very possible. If Yan Xiu wanted to hold back, he would not need to use the Dao of Asura. So, what was going on?

    Could it be...

    All of the officials thought of the same thing almost simultaneously. Then, they rejected it unequivocally.

    "Impossible!"

    "How can amoner like Fang Zhengzhi ever match up to Chi Guyan or Nangong Hao?!"

    None of the officials were willing to believe that Fang Zhengzhi possessed such power.

    The difference between the cultivation states were like a mountain.

    This was a rule. However, there were a select few who managed to break this rule. Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao were two of them.

    They had abilities and powers far beyond that of their cultivation states.

    It was likeparing two stones. One stone was bigger than the other. Ordinarily, therge stone would weight more. However, what if the small stone was made of ck iron ore?

    Under such circumstances, the small stone was no longer a small stone. It was iron ore.

    It was inherently different.

    Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao were such people. Even though they were in the Heavenly Reflection State, their bodies were inherently different from other cultivators in the same state.

    The reason was simple.

    Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao possessed rare Xuan Heavenly Dao bodies!

    Did Fang Zhengzhi have a Xuan Heavenly Dao body?

    Of course not.

    As such, how could he go even against such a powerful Yan Xiu?

    None of the officials could understand.

    However, the fact was that Fang Zhengzhi did not stop attacking. He lunged at Yan Xiu maniacally, ignoring the fact that his clothes were being shredded.

    Even though he was sustaining injuries with each attack...

    He did not stop.

    Even though his technique looked messy, it really wasn¡¯t.

    This was adapted from the book Chi Guyan left behind the first time he met her. He had used such a technique to break the code of the ice wall.

    And now...

    He was fighting for his life.

    He used whatever technique he could. He did not care if these were legitimate techniques. After all, he had never been taught any techniques.

    Yan Xiu felt more pain by the minute. His clothes were drenched in sweat.

    However, his eyes glimmered. Every attack from Fang Zhengzhi looked messy and uncoordinated. However, they were all exquisite.

    The only reason why they looked messy was because Fang Zhengzhi wasbining them all.

    "He can match up to me even though he has not understood a superior Dao?" Yan Xiu was not jealous of Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, he was surprised and happy for Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials watched the duel intently.

    There was only one thought on their mind.

    Did Fang Zhengzhi really n to defeat Yan Xiu this way? Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi was tiring Yan Xiu out now, but he was definitely using more energy than Yan Xiu.

    How long can hest?

 Chapter 278: Force

    Chapter 278: Force

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Their question was quickly answered. Fang Zhengzhi did notst very long. Yan Xiu started a counterattack.

    Not everyone could perform a powerful offense. Fang Zhengzhi was not Xing Qingsui or Xing Yuanguo. His attacking techniques could not go on endlessly.

    The moment Yan Xiu caught a short break, he started counterattacking.

    Even so, this did not stop Fang Zhengzhi from wanting to attack. Just when the officials thought Fang Zhengzhi should change up his technique, Fang Zhengzhi longed forward again.

    He was like an unshakable, sticky gum stuck to Yan Xiu.

    He continued to attack savagely and without pause. However, every technique and Dao used was unique.

    "Does he really n on fighting this way?"

    "Will Yan Xiu give him the chance?"

    "Even if he wins this way, he is also wasting time. He is just wasting time in a different way."

    "Official Wang has foresight. No ploy can deceive your eyes!"

    All of the officials nodded in agreement. Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities awed them, he still looked like he was wasting time. Fang Zhengzhi had said that he would defeat Yan Xiu in 15 minutes, but he was making no progress.

    What was Fang Zhengzhi going to do?

    What could he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to attack without pause.

    However, due to Yan Xiu¡¯s power, he was still thrown to the edge of the stage multiple times. Each time, he barely managed to escape being eliminated.

    Yan Xiu did not think that there was any problem with how Fang Zhengzhi was fighting

    Victory was all that mattered in a duel. Friendship did not have a ce here. Even if Fang Zhengzhi could not defeat him, Fang Zhengzhi could oust him and win that way.

    Yan Xiu thought that way.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not.

    He wanted to defeat Yan Xiu within 15 minutes. That was the only way he could take the top spot with no guilt.

    However, Yan Xiu was very powerful.

    Having understood the Dao of Asura, Yan Xiu was much more powerful than him. Despite his fervent attacks, he was unable to threaten Yan Xiu.

    What now?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought about what else he had. Secret weapons? No use! Sword techniques? He didn¡¯t have a sword! Million Sword Illustration? That didn¡¯t seem to work...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not seem to have any other options.

    What about other people¡¯s techniques?

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen many techniques along the way. Chi Guyan¡¯s? I¡¯ve only seen the Million Sword Illustration. What about Ping Yang?

    Urgh...

    She¡¯s not even as good as me!

    Another powerful person he knew was Chi Hou. However, he had not used any techniques. The next was Bai Xing.

    Bai Xing had given him a sword manual!

    However, he had not looked at it.

    Hang on!

    There was one person¡¯s techniques that he had seen. That technique had also left a deep impression on him.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s!

    Fang Zhengzhi was there when Xing Yuanguo had fought Bai Xing in The Vast World. He had seen how Xing Yuanguo suffocated Bai Xing with his attacks.

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll give it a go! I have no other choice now!" Fang Zhengzhi began to recall the beginning of Xing Yuanguo¡¯s flurry of attacks.

    Each angle, posture, and detail of each attack appeared in his mind. They reyed again and again and again..

    The first step!

    Charge!

    Fang Zhengzhi repeated the entire sequence in his head five times. He retreated to a corner of the stage before Yan Xiu could counter attack.

    He needed sufficient distance between himself and Yan Xiu.

    All of the officials had expected Fang Zhengzhi to continue fighting. Yan Xiu had expected it as well. But now, Fang Zhengzhi had retreated.

    What¡¯s going on?

    All of the officials were confused.

    Yan Xiu was confused as well.

    Just at that moment, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into action. His body was like a bolt of lightning as he charged. He spread out his arms, almost like an eagle swooping down on Yan Xiu.

    "Oh?" Yan Xiu had thought Fang Zhengzhi had found a different technique. However, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi charge again, a question mark appeared in his mind.

    However, he did not hold back.

    An icy gust of wind shot through the air, screeching as it flew towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    At this very moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions changed. He swooped towards the ground. These two actions were the opening moves when Xing Yuanguo battled Bai Xing.

    At that time, Bai Xing had also attacked Xing Yuanguo with a silver ray. This was quite simr to what Yan Xiu did.

    Yan Xiu looked on as Fang Zhengzhi swooped downwards. All of a sudden, he felt that these two moves connected quite seamlessly.

    It was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi had expected him to respond in that manner.

    Yan Xiu found it strange, but it did not bother him.

    By that time, Fang Zhengzhi was already in front of him. Fang Zhengzhi pped at Yan Xiu¡¯s face. Yan Xiu had no choice but to block it.

    Yan Xiu had nned on attacking, but he had to first defend against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s p.

    When he moved to block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack...

    He saw Fang Zhengzhi smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi was smiling. All of the previous moves were just preparation. The p was his first attack.

    It seemed like a very ordinary, straightforward p.

    He was not afraid that Yan Xiu would block it. He was only worried that Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t.

    "Woosh!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s posture changed and his other palm shot out. This brought with it a strong icy win. This was the killing blow.

    Xing Qingsui was spectating silently below. However, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moves, he felt unwell and stood up from his seat.

    "This, this is the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s..."

    Xing Qingsui did not continue. All of the officials had turned to look at him. Without concrete evidence, Xing Qingsui did not want to attract the attention of others.

    Furthermore, this bait and switch technique was not tooplicated. It may just be a coincidence that Fang Zhengzhi could use it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice Xing Qingsui. However, he used his actions to answer Xing Qingsui.

    This was no coincidence.

    His attack was blocked by Yan Xiu at the veryst minute. However, he was not done.

    Fang Zhengzhi still had many more attacks in store.

    After his attack was blocked, he raised his leg. He swept it at Yan Xiu¡¯s legs viciously.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed slightly when he saw this.

    He felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks were different from those previously. Before, Fang Zhengzhi was simply throwing out attack after attack.

    However, now, Fang Zhengzhi had clearly thought of what he was going to do next. All he was waiting for was Yan Xiu to block each one.

    What¡¯s going on?

    Yan Xiu did not understand the reasoning behind this.

    However, he knew one thing. One could not be led in a duel. He had to take the initiative. Sometimes, one had to sacrifice something in order to gain even more.

    For example, he would not block!

    Yan Xiu grit his teeth and allowed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack to pass. At the same time, a pale red glow appeared in his palm as he pushed it towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was a move that would injure both parties. However, Fang Zhengzhi would be on the losing end of that trade.

    He would just go with it.

    Yan Xiu thought that way. However, the result was not one that he predicted. Just as he attacked Fang Zhengzhi...

    Fang Zhengzhi turned abruptly. His leg continued to swing, but his body turned to avoid Yan Xiu¡¯s attack. He protected the other half of his body with his hand.

    "Boom!" Fang Zhengzhi shuddered, his face flushing slightly from the impact. Being weaker than Yan Xiu, he was still bound to suffer injuries despite blocking the attack.

    However, this did not affect his attacks.

    As long as it didn¡¯t affect the sequence, it was fine.

    When Xing Yuanguo was fighting Bai Xing they were on simr levels. Bai Xing knew Xing Yuanguo, so he would not risk attacking Xing Yuanguo.

    As such, Bai Xing could only continue blocking Xing Yuanguo¡¯s attacks.

    Yan Xiu was different. He was more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi, so he did not mind trading with Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi could still defend. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had continued his attack whilst defending.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kick connected with Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Even though Yan Xiu was stronger than Fang Zhengzhi, he did not manage to block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack. Since Fang Zhengzhi managed to block his, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries were less severe.

    "I hit him?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. This was the first time he saw hope during this duel. This was also the first time he had hurt Yan Xiu today.

    This method works!

    Fang Zhengzhi was excited. He momentarily forgot all of his injuries. Just as Yan Xiu was reeling from the hit, he pped.

    It was an ordinary p to Yan Xiu¡¯s face.

    Yan Xiu blocked it reflexively.

    Fang Zhengzhi skirted to the side and pped once again.

    This was the same sequence he used previously.

    Yan Xiu was shocked. He knew what Fang Zhengzhi would do next, however, he had no choice but to be led by Fang Zhengzhi.

    All that he could do was block.

    Fang Zhengzhi kicked.

    "..." Yan Xiu was speechless. He had already gotten the shorter end of the stick just now. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake again. He blocked.

    The scene on stage was inexplicable.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to attack relentlessly. Yan Xiu blocked all the time. Every now and then, Yan Xiu would choose not to block, and the two of them would fight it out.

    In the end, both sides suffered severe injuries.

    However, this did not affect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks. Fang Zhengzhi pped at Yan Xiu¡¯s face.

    "Since he knows that it¡¯s a feint, why doesn¡¯t he block it?" One of the officials looked at Yan Xiu in confusion.

    "If Yan Xiu doesn¡¯t block, that attack would no longer be a feint!"

    "I see!" The official finally understood.

    At that point, Emperor Lin Mubai, who had been silent throughout this entire duel, stood up from his throne. His eyes glimmered.

    There was one other person who stood up.

    That person was Xing Qingsui.

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi attacked a second time, he had not sat back down.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression darkened. He looked at Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression, trying to suppress something on his mind.

    He knew exactly why Emperor Lin Mubai would stand up.

    He recognized that this was Xing Yuanguo¡¯s technique and style. If he recognized it, the Emperor definitely did too!

    All of the officials were stunned when they saw Emperor Lin Mubai stand up. When they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, they seemed to think of something.

    "Fang Zhengzhi seems to be using... Xing Hou¡¯s technique!"

    "How is that possible?!"

    "How can Fang Zhengzhi know the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s technique?"

    It was quite stunning that Fang Zhengzhi knew the Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration. However, it was not impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi had spent time in the Divine Constabry. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had aplicated rtionship with Chi Guyan.

    However...

    How could he possibly know Xing Yuanguo¡¯s technique?

    All of the officials did not know that Fang Zhengzhi had seen Xing Yuanguo. As such how could he have learnt his technique?

    This was not their fault.

    Inside the courts, only a select few knew that Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Yuanguo had met in The Vast World.

    "It really is my father¡¯s fighting strategy!" Xing Qingsui confirmed. However, he could not suppress his awe and surprise at this realization.

    Even he had not been taught this technique.

    This technique looked simple, but it was extremelyplicated. It wasplex and had no fixed set of moves. It was not that this technique was difficult to learn. However, it required one thing.

    Force!

    That was the most important thing in this technique.

    Xing Qingsui did notck battle spirit. However, he was unable to fully utilize this technique. Xing Yuanguo told him that he did not have enough force.

    Xing Qingsui did not understand this.

    He felt that he was willing to die for victory. How could he not have force?

    What he could not understand was that he could feel that force from Fang Zhengzhi! And it was the same as the force he felt from his father!

 Chapter 279: Letâ€™s fly together

    Chapter 279: Let¡¯s fly together

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    How is that possible?

    Xing Qingsui did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi could get something he could not despite more than a decade of trying.

    What is going on?

    Xing Qingsui felt that he did not have less courage than anyone. So what did Fang Zhengzhi have over him? Battle spirit? No way! Determination? That didn¡¯t seem right either.

    Could it be...

    All of a sudden, Xing Qingsui thought of something, friendship!

    Friendship?!

    Xing Qingsui clenched his fists. His eyes glimmered, it has to be friendship. Fang Zhengzhi did not want to win for fame or benefit. He wanted to win because of his friendship with Yan Xiu.

    His father killed the empire¡¯s enemies not to contribute or get rewarded. He did so because of his friendship with Emperor Lin Mubai.

    A will to win could make someone brave. However, it could not multiply someone¡¯s abilities.

    Force!

    Force was a necessity!

    True friendship was something that could ignite someone¡¯s will to fight. It would cause someone to attack relentlessly and without consideration...

    "Father, I think I understand now!" Xing Qingsui looked towards the Stabilisation Constabry, unable to hold back his emotions.

    All of the spectating officials were in turmoil.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has really learnt Xing Hou¡¯s fighting technique!"

    "Is this a coincidence?!"

    "He is amoner who has never been to a school of Dao. He has managed to top every examination he has taken. Furthermore, he knows the secret Divine Constabry technique, as well as Xing Hou¡¯s battle technique..."

    Questions flew by in the officials¡¯ minds.

    Initially, they had thought that Fang Zhengzhi was simply a talentedmoner. Now, they began to question their beliefs.

    Eight years ago, when Chi Guyan set up the school in the Southern Mountain Vige, Fang Zhengzhi was chased out of the school. He ended up studying by himself in the Northern Mountain Vige. Was this a coincidence?

    Eight yearster, Fang Zhengzhi would defeat all his opponents despite being amoner who had never attended school.

    After which, he made a deal with Chi Guyan. Furthermore, the date for the duel was the same year that the Heavenly Prophecy was supposed to materialize.

    Was this also a coincidence?

    Even if the above were all coincidences... how can he ¡®coincidentally¡¯ know the Divine Constabry¡¯s secret technique and Xing Hou¡¯s battle technique?

    That is too many coincidences!

    This is a conspiracy!

    It is possible that it was all nned from the start.

    So...

    What was the motive?!

    What kind of responsibility did Fang Zhengzhi have in this conspiracy? What kind of revolutionary effect would he have on the courts?

    None of the officials could understand. This conspiracy was too deep and terrifying.

    Inparison, Emperor Lin Mubai knew more than the officials. At the very least, he knew what happened between Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Yuanguo in The Vast World.

    He had forcefully suppressed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s massacre of a hundred soldiers because of what happened.

    The Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s heart and loyalty was much more important than a hundred elite soldiers.

    However, Emperor Lin Mubai was also thinking of the same thing. "Is Fang Zhengzhi such a genius that he can replicate Xing Yuanguo¡¯s techniques just after one look?! If that was the case, how talented is this youth? I¡¯m afraid even Chi Guyan cannot do this! If he was not a talent, how did he manage to learn Xing Yuanguo¡¯s technique? Xing Yuanguo, who had never interfered with political affairs, came to plead on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behalf upon arriving in the city! Is there... really nothing more than meets the eye?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai did not want to guess what the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s role was in all of this.

    As the Emperor, he had the responsibility to snuff out any potential idents before they had the chance to fester.

    That was his job.

    "I hope that it really is a coincidence!" Emperor Lin Mubai nced at Fang Zhengzhi and sat back down.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong did not stare at Fang Zhengzhi. He quickly turned to look at King Duan. He had suddenly thought of something he didn¡¯t think of before.

    Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry might be on King Duan¡¯s side!

    Even though Chi Guyan had always remained neutral, she was still loyal to her father. Is she really as neutral as she seems?

    Was it a coincidence that Chi Guyan set up a school in the Southern Mountain Vige eight years ago? Was it not a plot?

    If it was a conspiracy...

    Is it possible that Chi Guyan is the mastermind? Or was King Duan the one working the strings?!

    They had one person to face the public whilst the other worked behind the scenes.

    King Duan may seem like he is working against Fang Zhengzhi, but in fact, he may be helping him. After all, Fang Zhengzhi has not been injured since he entered the capital. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had quite the smooth journey when King Duan was the chief examiner...

    Is there more to this than meets the eye?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted his eyes. It did not seem very possible. After all, this would be a massive conspiracy.

    However, in an attempt to be the most powerful in thend, anything was possible. The most impossible conspiracies could actually be the best ones.

    Whilst the Crown Prince tried to guess Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s allegiance...

    King Duan was doing the same thing.

    He had used the same logic as the Crown Prince. He wondered if Chi Guyan was loyal towards the Crown Prince.

    Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Stabilisation Constabry was also leaning towards that side?

    In the fight for the throne, each side would plot against one another. A single misstep could cost one the entire war. Losing the war meant that your life was in danger.

    Contest!

    Ever since he decided to contest, there was no turning back.

    Regardless of Fang Zhenghi¡¯s identity, regardless of the powers behind him, he had to die! Once he died, everything woulde to light...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know that he would draw such a reaction by imitating Xing Yuanguo. His only goal was to defeat Yan Xiu.

    He wanted to defeat Yan Xiu within 15 minutes.

    In his heart, he only had one thought. Attack, attack, and attack.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "..."

    The two of them continued to sh repeatedly. Fang Zhengzhi attacked relentlessly. Just as Xing Qingsui had guessed, one had force when one was fighting for friendship.

    As such, learning Xing Yuanguo¡¯s battle technique was not a problem.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi began to improvise as he fought. His techniques began to deviate from Xing Yuanguo.

    He incorporated some of his messy and uncoordinated techniques into the mix.

    There was no manual.

    But, he managed to link them all together.

    Yan Xiu shock increased by the second. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed had picked up. It was so quick even Yan Xiu was struggling to keep up.

    This was an unimaginable scenario for him.

    After all, he was much stronger and faster than Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he was the one being suppressed now.

    "Has he already reached such a stage after just a few months?" Yan Xiu was shocked, but he knew Fang Zhengzhi was capable of the impossible.

    Even so, he felt that this was almost unbelievable! He knew Fang Zhengzhi extremely well, which made Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s style of fighting all the more unbelievable!

    It was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi had be a different person.

    He had been held down for most of the fight. For Fang Zhengzhi to turn the tide of the battle so rapidly was strange.

    Just as he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi punched.

    He had picked an exquisite angle for the strike. It was right inside Yan Xiu¡¯s blindspot. When Yan Xiu saw it, it was toote.

    "Boom!"

    Yan Xiu was lifted from the ground momentarily. However, in the moment he was sent flying, Yan Xiu grit his teeth. A mountainous force pressed him back onto the stage.

    This caused his injuries to worsen.

    However, this allowed him to block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s next attack.

    Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

    ...

    The tide of the battle was now clearly in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s favor. He had the initiative now.

    "Can Fang Zhengzhi really defeat Yan Xiu?"

    At this moment, some people began to think this way. However, the majority still felt that Yan Xiu was going to win.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s battle technique required sufficient ability to sustain. When attacking this way, both sides did not get a moment of rest.

    Can Fang Zhengzhi keep this up for 15 minutes?

    Fang Zhengzhi was only in the Heavenly Reflection State. Even a Supernatural State cultivator would find it difficult to maintain such intensity for 15 minutes.

    The result was still going to be the same.

    At this moment, all of the officials began to notice a change in Yan Xiu.

    The pale red glow rose from his feet. The two whirlpools seemed to submerge his calves.

    From afar, it looked like Yan Xiu was being pulled down by the whirlpools.

    "What is going on?" All of the officials were stunned by what they saw.

    Some of their expressions began to change, almost as if they thought of something terrifying.

    As for Yan Xiu, he was drenched from head to toe in sweat. He looked like he had been dragged out of the sea.

    He knew that he was going to lose if he didn¡¯t think of something quickly.

    "No way, I have to fight to the veryst moment!" Yan Xiu was determined to win. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities surprised him, but he could not lose his dignity.

    I said that I would defeat you, so I will!

    Yan Xiu gave up defending. He did not have much time left. This would be hisst stand.

    "Bang, bang!" Two punchesnded solely on Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Yan Xiu did not move. He grit his teeth and swallowed the blood in his mouth. He moved his hands and a pale red light screen appeared in front of him.

    Fang Zhenghi¡¯s gaze froze.

    He knew how terrifying this red light was. Yan Xiu had used this to escape from his trap and destroy the Million Sword Illustration.

    In the end...

    The whirlpools had risen to his ankles.

    Now, Yan Xiu was using this power again.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw that the whirlpools were at Yan Xiu¡¯s thighs. His heart tightened. If they rose anymore, they would be at his organs, or even his heart!

    He could not let Yan Xiu do that.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop him.

    However, he was toote. Yan Xiu was not going to be hit a third time, so he shot out like an arrow.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no way of stopping him.

    Yan Xiu knew the power of his abilities. When he used this technique, he did not chop down, he simply charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Bang!"

    Fang Zhengzhi collided with the light screen.

    In that moment, he felt as if he had broken a pane of ss with his head. The pain was intense. When the light screen shattered into spots of red light, he finally understood...

    Now he knew why the Dao of Asura was a supreme Dao.

    Good!

    Evil!

    These two vastly different natures were incorporated into the light. They entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, causing a splitting headache.

    His body froze and he waspletely immobilized.

    Is this a hallucination?

    Or is this real?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea. He knew that the Dao of Asura was the best offensive Dao amongst the six. As such, it could not be weak.

    Of course, none of that was important right now. Critically, Yan Xiu was already charging towards him.

    If this attack hit...

    Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be sent flying off the stage.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to dodge.

    However, the intense pain he felt slowed him down. There was no way he could dodge.

    Yan Xiu was getting closer and closer!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards his chest.

    Was he going to lose?

    No!

    I said I would defeat you, so I will!

    Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth and lunged towards Yan Xiu.

    "Boom!"

    The attack connected.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was about to take off. However, before he did, he grabbed onto Yan Xiu.

    "Let¡¯s fly together!" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself as he held on to Yan Xiu tightly.

 Chapter 280: Fight for first

    Chapter 280: Fight for first

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Yan Xiu had already done his best. From taking the two hits from Fang Zhengzhi, to channeling all of his remaining energy into the Dao of Asura, Yan Xiu had calcted everything perfectly.

    However, he did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to charge at him!

    "I guess he¡¯s not scared of getting hurt!" Yan Xiu thought to himself. Then, his face paled.

    Fang Zhengzhi lunged, his arms outstretched. Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries would be aggravated, but, his attack also had immense power.

    Yan Xiu had not taken this into consideration.

    "Sh*t!" He spat out a mouthful of blood. In that moment, the red glow surrounding his body disappeared.

    Because...

    Yan Xiu had no energy left. He had fainted.

    This was the most dramatic end to the duel. No one would have guessed that in this critical battle, both candidates would be thrown off the stage at the same time.

    "Boom!"

    Dust shot skyward.

    "Yan Xiu, how are you?" Fang Zhengzhi cradled Yan Xiu in his arms the moment he recovered.

    "Doctor!" Emperor Lin Mubai hollered without hesitation.

    "Here!" A doctor on standby replied immediately. He rushed over to Yan Xiu and began diagnosing him.

    The atmosphere around the arena was tense.

    After all, Yan Xiu was the heir to the Yan Family of Western Liang. He had such talent and potential. Should anything happen to him, both the empire and the Yan Family would have suffered a great loss.

    "Your highness, his injuries are not severe. He simply fainted from overexertion. He should make a full recovery within five days!" The doctor reported.

    "Okay, I will leave Yan Xiu in your care." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    "Yes your highness!" The doctor carried Yan Xiu to his residence with the help of a few assistants.

    The crowd parted for them to pass.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched as Yan Xiu was carried away. He hesitated for a moment, then ran after the doctor.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, where do you think you¡¯re going?" Ping Yang pouted when she saw Fang Zhengzhi attempt to leave. The emperor has yet to announce the results, how dare you run away?

    She had to educate him on the rules and courtesies here.

    This would prevent him from causing even more trouble.

    "Your highness, do you not see my injuries? I need to find a doctor!" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Ping Yang with a pained expression.

    "Find a doctor?" Ping Yang wanted to ask him where his injuries were. However, she swallowed her words.

    After all, based on the intensity of that battle, Fang Zhengzhi was probably injured.

    Seeing that Ping Yang did not reply, he turned to look at Yan Xiu, then prepared to leave. However, he was not in luck.

    He was stopped by yet another person.

    This person was Xing Qingsui.

    "Thank you Fang Zhengzhi." Xing Qingsui said. He thanked Fang Zhengzhi for allowing him to understand what was force. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries, "The Stabilization Constabry has fought many battles throughout the years. We have medicine to treat your injuries. Why don¡¯t..."

    He wanted to ask if Fang Zhengzhi wanted to go there to heal.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi waved him off, "It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m quite busy. I¡¯ll go off first!"

    Then, before Xing Qingsui could reply, he bounded away.

    Xing Qingsui was rooted to the ground. He did not know whether to go after Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials were dumbfounded by the exchange.

    "Xing Qingsui thanked him? Whatever for?"

    "Does the Stabilization Constabry really have a rtionship with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    All of the officials started to guess in their minds. However, none of them dared to voice their thoughts. After all, the Stabilization Constabry was a pir of the empire.

    The leader of the 13!

    Who would dare say anything without concrete evidence?

    "Doctor Li, follow the Sword Envoy and tend to his injuries." Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Xing Qingsui, then back at Fang Zhengzhi. His eyes glimmered, then he turned to a doctor beside him and ordered.

    "Yes your highness!" Doctor Lee nodded and raced after Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials were stunned to see an empty stage.

    Both of them left? Who wins this round?

    "Did you have a clear look? Who hit the ground first?"

    "I think it is Fang Zhengzhi, after all, he was the one who was hit."

    "I won¡¯t be so sure. Yan Xiu was already unconscious. As such, he would not be able to suppress Fang Zhengzhi in the air. He could have hit the ground first. Furthermore, Yan Xiu had lost any power to fight after fainting. ording to the rules, Yan Xiu should have lost."

    "The invigtor did not announce that Yan Xiu lost the ability to fight. That means that the duel was still ongoing. ording to the rules, the winner should be the second one to hit the ground."

    All of the officials continued to discuss the potential result. This duel would affect the rankings for the imperial examination.

    "We will follow the rules of the imperial examinations. Three dayster, the Imperial Academy and the invigtors will announce the rankings!" Emperor Lin Mubai heard the discussions and announced to the crowd.

    "Yes your highness!"

    "Yes your highness!"

    "Yes your highness!"

    King Duan, the Ninth Prince, as well as all the imperial messengers acknowledged the order.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, then left.

    Ping yang was still slightly unhappy that Fang Zhengzhi left. She stood up from her seat, then recalled her wager. "Brother, will you send someone to give me the Sun Shooting Bow, or should I send someone to collect it?"

    "I will have someone send it to you tomorrow!" King Duan¡¯s expression changed, but he grit his teeth and took the hit.

    "Thank you brother!" Ping Yang beamed.

    ...

    The preliminary court examinations may havee to a close, however, everyone knew that it was far from over.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to use the Divine Constabry and Stabilization Constabry techniques had already attracted the attention of the officials.

    More importantly, this duel affected the rankings for the imperial examination, but there was no clear result.

    Who would top the imperial examinations?

    Would it be Fang Zhengzhi, or Yan Xiu?

    The answer would only be revealed in three days.

    Furthermore, there was one other issue.

    This issue had been forcefully suppressed by Emperor Lin Mubai. It was the massacre of the soldiers in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Before this, Fang Zhengzhi was not inside the capital. In order for the Ministry of Law to investigate him, they required the approval of the Emperor.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had just been promoted to a rank four official. If they issued an arrest warrant, the public may think that this was an attempt to retrieve the Traceless Sword.

    These were all valid concerns.

    However, now that Fang Zhengzhi was back, these questions were void. This case concerned the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

    They simply could not let it slide.

    Even the Emperor himself did not have any reason to suppress it now. This case would naturally fall into the hands of the Ministry of Law.

    In the Crown Prince¡¯s residence, Minister Wan Chong presented his idea to the Crown Prince. As long as the Crown Prince was willing to support it, he would present the idea to the Emperor.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was just below the Crown Prince. He knocked the table lightly with his right hand. He frowned, clearly undecided.

    "Prime Minister, what do you think?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was more than happy to ask for advice.

    "I think that this is not a bad opportunity, but... it isn¡¯t great." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping hesitated for a moment before speaking.

    "Please borate." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was slightly confused.

    "Based on the information I¡¯ve gathered, Chi Guyan and Princess Ping Yang were at the scene as well. It would be difficult for us to convict Fang Zhengzhi with these two around. At the very most, we could convict him for overdoing it."

    "Do you think we should just let it slide?" Minister Wan Chong frowned, unwilling to give Fang Zhengzhi a pass.

    "Since we are not guaranteed to get a conviction, I think we should just let this incident be a thorn in the court¡¯s side."

    "So you think we should wait a while longer?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

    "Yes, since we have already waited this long, I don¡¯t think we would mind waiting a little while longer. The results of the imperial examinations are about to be released. I think King Duan has a lot on his mind right now. Let¡¯s see what his decision will be!" Yu Yiping nodded.

    "Okay then, we will do as the Left Prime Minister says. Wan Chong, suppress this incident for now!"

    "Yes your highness!"

    ...

    The imperial academy was slightly more rowdy than usual.

    The rankings for the imperial examinations were not set just yet. Furthermore, the Emperor had only given them three days to decide.

    To make matters worse, the Chief Imperial Messenger, Han Zhangfeng, was still locked up in jail. His recement was also unwell, leaving the imperial academy without a leader.

    Everyone in the city was discussing the potential results of the imperial examinations.

    There were many betting houses giving odds for the results.

    "Comee, ce your bets on the rankings! You will win however much you bet! The results will be out in three days! Don¡¯t miss this chance! Yan Xiu or Fang Zhengzhi! You can make a fortune on this!"

    "I bet 50 silvers!"

    "Move to the side! I bet 200 silvers on Yan Xiu!"

    Voices continued to ring out within the city. The initially bustling city became even more boisterous.

    Inside the restaurants and hotels...

    There were groups of well dressed men sitting about. They were all talentsing to participate in the court examinations. Naturally, they were concerned about the rankings.

    "Young Master Li, what are your views on the rankings?"

    "I don¡¯t know for sure. However, I don¡¯t think that it is a difficult guess."

    "Oh? Please enlighten us!"

    "This was a duel with no clear result. As such, the result will be determined by the people. All we have to do is guess the result that the majority wants."

    "What the majority wants? Do you mean that Yan Xiu will rank first?"

    "Yan Xiu had suppressed Fang Zhengzhi for most of the battle. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of the Emperor, Yan Xiu is superior to Fang Zhengzhi. By letting the imperial academy decide, he has already made the results clear."

    "It is no wonder you were in the First Honor Roll for thest edition of the imperial examinations. Everything you have said makes sense. Based on my sources, King Duan is in control of the rankings ever since Han Zhangfeng was imprisoned. Since Fang Zhengzhi killed so many of his soldiers, it is unlikely that he will favor Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Exactly! He is very lucky to have been able to make it this far despite just being amoner. How can he still take home the top spot for the imperial examinations? Traditionally, the top spot has been a talented and influential person. Previously, it was Chi Guyan, and before that, it was Nangong Hao. They were all talents!"

    "The Yan Family has been silent for almost a decade. I never expected them to shock the world all of a sudden!"

    "Hahaha, that is true! My cousin was once with the Yan Family. I think he will be in town tomorrow. We can go build some bridges then."

    "I heard that Yan Xiu is icy cold. We will need you to help us break the ice."

    "Sure, sure..."

    ...

    Whilst the city was noisy, King Duan¡¯s residence was eerily quiet. Armored soldiers patrolled the grounds. Birds did not even dare to caw within a hundred meter radius.

    "Mr Hua, King Duan is waiting for you in the study. He has not had a sip of water or soup. Could you please..."

    "Mm, give it to me, I will bring it in!" Mr Hua took the food from the attendant and sent him away.

    "Thank you." The attendant took his leave.

    Mr Hua looked at the food in his hand. He was in no rush to enter the study. Instead, he turned and walked to a pavilion to his side.

    "Your highness is always patrolling the camps. Yet, you are mulling in your study now. I don¡¯t think that this is a problem I can solve. You¡¯ll just have to wait then!"

    Mr Hua sat in the pavilion and a cloaked figure appeared in the near distance.

    "So fast? Your talent is a little ring!" Mr Hua looked at the approaching figure, smiling icily as he did so.

 Chapter 281: Sun Shooting Bow

    Chapter 281: Sun Shooting Bow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Sir!" The figure nced at Mr Hua, stopping in his tracks as he did so. Then, he quickly joined Mr Hua in the pavilion.

    "I assume you are here to see King Duan?" Mr Hua smiled, unsurprised by the figure¡¯s reaction.

    "I would like his opinion on some insignificant matters." The figure nodded.

    "You call the rankings for the imperial examinations an insignificant matter?" Mr Hua¡¯s tone was calm, but his eyes glimmered.

    The figure moved in his seat. Then, he removed the hood on his cloak, revealing a youthful face. This was Su Qing, the one standing behind the Crown Prince during the duel.

    "You are extremely sharp. I am humbled by your ability. I wonder what views you have on the rankings for this examinations. I would like to learn more from you." Su Qing bowed.

    "You are too kind. I have no position in the courts, and I am just a guest in King Duan¡¯s residence. I am not fit to advise you. On the other hand, I would like to know what opinion you have." Mr Hua smiled but did not return the bow.

    "You have been a strategist by King Duan¡¯s side, contributing greatly to his ns. I am just a lowly official. How can my opinion ever match up to yours? However, since you asked, I will tell you my honest opinion. I hope you can correct me where I¡¯m mistaken!" Su Qing bowed respectfully once again.

    "It¡¯s okay. King Duan has been waiting for a long time, please enter with me!" Mr Hua waved him off and walked towards the study.

    Su Qing lowered his head as he looked at Mr Hua. However, his eyes glimmered subtly as he smiled to himself.

    ...

    Inside the study, King Duan was not at his chair. He was pacing around the room, deep in thought with his brows furrowed.

    At that moment, the door to the study was opened. Mr Hua appeared at the door with the food. However, he did not enter, choosing to stand by the door, waiting for Su Qing to enter first.

    Su Qing stood in line with Mr Hua but did not step forward any further.

    King Duan¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw the two of them. "Su Qing and Mr Hua, please have a seat!"

    Su Qing was about to let Mr Hua go first. However, Mr Hua had already turned to close the door. Su QIng had no other choice but to enter the room. Mr Hua followed behind, cing the food on the table.

    "I was just thinking about the rankings for this imperial examinations. Your arrivals are timely. Tell me what you think." King Duan subconsciously looked to Su Qing.

    Su Qing did not hesitate this time. He walked to the middle of the study and bowed to King Duan, "I am not worthy to talk about the rankings for the imperial examinations. However, since you¡¯ve asked, I will tell you my opinion."

    "Yes, please go ahead!" King Duan nodded and sat down.

    "The Emperor has given you the authority to determine the rankings. That shows his trust in you. However, this is not as simple as it seems. Not only does it concern the Emperor¡¯s wishes, it also concerns the conflict between the influential families and themoners. Your decision will show your stance."

    "You are right. I know this as well." King Duan nodded at Su Qing.

    "Your highness, you have to weigh your options carefully!"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Your highness, what do you think the Emperor prefers?"

    "Definitely Yan Xiu."

    "That¡¯s what I think too. May I also ask, does your highness value themoners or the influential families more?"

    "Definitely the influential families. So you think I should give the number one spot to Yan Xiu?" King Duan frowned slightly.

    "Your highness, I have no opinion on your final choice. However, I am sure that your highness would not be this concerned if things were that simple."

    "That is correct."

    "Mr Hua, please humor me in this hypothetical scenario. If King Duan gave the top spot to Yan Xiu, what do you think would happen?" Su Qing turned to look at Mr Hua.

    Mr Hua was minding his own business and drinking tea. When he heard Su Qing, he shook his teacup lightly and took a sip."

    "I see that Official Su has alreadye to a conclusion. I agree with everything that you¡¯ve said. Giving Yan Xiu the number one spot will appease the influential and support the Emperor. However..." Mr Hua hesitated towards the end.

    "What is it?"

    "The majority of people forget about one thing, and that is Yan Xiu¡¯s opinion." Mr Hua¡¯s eyes glimmered with confidence.

    "That is exactly what I am thinking of. If we give it to Yan Xiu but Yan Xiu is unwilling to ept it, the decision may backfire on us. If we give it to Fang Zhengzhi, not only do I not like it, the Emperor would not either. I would also be antagonizing the influential. I am caught between a rock and a hard ce!" King Duan nodded.

    "My lord, your foresight is admirable. However, even in a scenario with two difficult options, one will always be better than the other." Su Qing replied.

    "Official Su, which choice would you make?" King Duan asked.

    "Even though all the considerations seem equal, we should just ignore those and focus on the details!"

    "Oh? Please borate!"

    "Everyone seems to know where the Emperor is leaning towards. However, if we saw the examinations in istion, who do you think should be ranked first?" Su Qing asked.

    "If I waspletely impartial, I will give it to... Fang Zhengzhi." King Duan admitted reluctantly.

    "That¡¯s right. Fang Zhengzhi had rewrote history during the Theory Examinations. Hepleted six scripts wlessly! Even Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao did not manage to do that. In thebat examinations, despite being overpowered by Yan Xiu, he managed to hold his ground. Furthermore, Yan Xiu had fainted at the end, effectively handing Fang Zhengzhi the victory. Even if we ignore that fact, the final was a draw at best."

    "That is true." King Duan nodded.

    "If your highness insists on making Yan Xiu the top candidate, you would be appeasing the Emperor. However, the Emperor¡¯s intentions have traditionally been unclear. Even though you seem to be appeasing him, you would have destroyed your credibility! It is not worth it!" Su Qing reiterated.

    "What does Mr Hua think?" King Duan¡¯s expression changed. He turned to Mr Hua for advice.

    "Official Su has said exactly what I thought. However, I wonder how Official Su proposes to skirt around the influential families?" Mr Hua turned to look at Su Qing expressionlessly.

    "That is the reason why I am here today!" Su Qing said confidently.

    "What does Official Su propose?"

    "This incident seemsplicated, but it is actually very simple. All your highness has to do is use a few clever tricks to shift the me to someone else."

    "Who?"

    "The Ninth Prince!"

    "Ninth Brother? I see. He was my co-invigtor. He is indeed the optimal candidate. I nearly forgot all about him."

    ...

    Dawn the next day. The sun crept up from the horizon.

    The oldest teahouse in Yan Capital was a melting pot of talents and academics. In the morning, it was bustling with activity.

    There was an exquisitely designed room inside it.

    Not everyone could gain entry into it. However, for someone as powerful and domineering as Ping Yang, that was a piece of cake.

    Ping Yang wore a bright red cloak, her thin legs ced on the table. She fiddled with a snack in her hand before cing it in her mouth, savoring it as she did so.

    Sitting opposite Ping Yang was a well dressed youth. He helped Ping Yang cut open the snacks whilst watching her eat them with anticipation.

    This was the Ninth Prince, Lin Yun.

    It was not umon for a prince and a princess to have breakfast here. However, Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s expression was quite pitiful.

    "I don¡¯t think Ninth Brother is just asking me here for a chat right? You brought my favorite snacks and such great tea." Ping Yang swallowed and leaned back.

    "Haha, it¡¯s nothing much. You know that many talentse to the capital during this time every year, so..."

    "Oh? Is there anything fun in store?"

    "Previous gatherings were just between some old friends. However, this year, there are way too many talents here. Furthermore, almost all of the top 20 on the Rising Dragon Roll havee. Even the Emperor himself is respecting this turnout, so..."

    "So what?"

    "He started a huntingpetition in the East. The prize was something he set himself!"

    "Huntingpetition? Hahaha... that¡¯ll be fun! The reward must be something quite extraordinary! Thanks for telling me this, I have to go prepare!" Ping Yang said excitedly.

    "Aish, hang on!" The Ninth Prince shouted as Ping Yang stood up.

    "You have something else on your mind?"

    "You know, when those peoplee, they all have something of value. All I have is the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion..." The Ninth Prince hesitated.

    "No!" Ping Yang rejected him unequivocally.

    "I¡¯ll just borrow it for one day? I will return it to you after!" The Ninth Prince said depressingly. The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion belonged to him, yet he needed to borrow it from Ping Yang.

    How humiliating.

    ...

    Inside an exquisitely designed hotel.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a good night¡¯s rest here. Doctor Li was extremely adept. Within a day, Fang Zhengzhi felt energized and ready to go.

    Having not eaten for a day, he was famished.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to find something to eat. However, he wanted to go see how Yan Xiu was doing first.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s room was right next to his.

    This was not a coincidence. Yan Xiu had booked this room for Fang Zhengzhi in advance.

    After all, Yan Xiu did not have ack of silvers.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this all along, so this was not surprising to him.

    When he stepped out of the room, Fang Zhengzhi saw a hulking man standing solemnly at the door.

    "Young Master Fang!" The male greeted respectfully when he saw Fang Zhengzhi walk out.

    He did not address Fang Zhengzhi as an official. This was not because he was higher ranked than Fang Zhengzhi, but because he addressed Yan Xiu the same way.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this man.

    When he had first met Yan Xiu, this man was by Yan Xiu¡¯s side. In the River of Trust Province, this man always apanied Yan Xiu.

    However, ever since Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu began travelling together, this man had disappeared. Fang Zhengzhi could guess why this man was here.

    "Uncle Tie!" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what this man¡¯s name was. He only knew that Yan Xiu called him Uncle Tie, so he followed suit.

    "Is Young Master Fang on the way out?"

    "Yes, how is Yan Xiu?"

    "He regained consciousnessst night. He is resting now, would you like to go in?" Uncle Tie opened the door slightly.

    "He¡¯s still sleeping? Then it¡¯s okay." Fang Zhengzhi thought about it, but decided not to disturb Yan Xiu. After all, Uncle Tie was here. Yan Xiu was in good hands.

    "Okay then." Uncle Tie nodded and retook his position by the door.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anymore. He walked out of the hotel and sauntered along the streets, looking for yummy snacks to fill his stomach.

    Before long, he had at least five to six snacks in his hand.

    He continued bathing in the sun as he walked around. At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi noticed a furtive looking man in a ck short sleeved shirt by the alley.

    He looked to be carrying a box using a huge ck cloth bag.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not interested in that man. However, that man kept stealing nces at him. That pissed him off.

    As such, he decided to teach this guy a lesson.

    He wanted to let this guy know what would happen when you tried to sneak nces at others.

    "Aiya, young master, please have mercy!" Xiao Si fell to his knees and pleaded when he saw Fang Zhengzhi raise his fist.

    "Tell me, why are you scaring people with your ugly face?" Fang Zhengzhi questioned.

    "What?!" Xiao Si was taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s questions. His eyes darted around. "I know that I am not as handsome as you. You are clearly a powerful man. I wonder if you like treasure?"

    "Treasure? What kind of treasure?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. Was he in luck? Did he meet a thief waiting to sell away his loot?

    "Please follow me. This is a top quality treasure! Beware, don¡¯t let others see it!" Xiao Si looked on conflictingly.

    "Okay!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Very quickly, Xiao Si brought Fang Zhengzhi into a secluded area in the alley, away from the view of the public.

    "What is it, let me see it!" Fang Zhengzhi rushed.

    "Please have a look!" Xiao Si had no intention to dy. He took out what he was carrying.

    It was a wooden box.

    It was exquisitely carved from redwood. There were also engravings on the top.

    "This is a true treasure. It is the Sun Shooting Bow!"

 Chapter 282: Little Black Dragon

    Chapter 282: Little ck Dragon

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The servant continued to rub the carvings on the wooden box as he spoke, his rodent like eyes glimmering. He did not look like he wanted to give up the box.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched as tears built up in The servant¡¯s eyes. He scorned it. This was such an age old trick!

    Trying to raise the prices?

    "Since it¡¯s so precious to you, I don¡¯t want it!" Fang Zhengzhi turned and prepared to leave. He did not even take a second look at the box.

    The servant, who was still caressing the box, was stunned.

    "Young master, young master! Please don¡¯t leave. Such a treasure is only fit for someone as powerful as you. It is a waste for someone like me to have it!" The servant shouted as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to leave.

    "You want to give it to me?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled at The servant.

    "Ahem..." The servant cleared his throat, "Why don¡¯t you take a look at it before deciding if you want it?"

    "Okay then!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and turned around. Then, he added, "I am very busy, be quick!"

    "Yes yes yes..." The servant nodded.

    He did not caress the box any longer. He simply pressed the button on the box and it opened.

    "Oh? This box is not bad at all." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips thought to himself, but he did not express it.

    The wooden box opened.

    A pale green glow came through.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at it and his eyes brightened.

    There was a bow inside the wooden box. Furthermore, it was an exquisite bow. The bow was jade green and inscribed with various patterns. Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what it was made of.

    The most important part was the bowstring.

    It was covered in extremely tiny ck scales. Tiny line like rays of light flowed on the scales.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what the bowstring was made of, he was almost certain that this bow was worth a fortune.

    How can that bowstring ever be fitted on an unworthy bow?

    Good bow!

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously rubbed his hands together as he took the bow out of the box.

    It was heavy and cold to the touch.

    It was a hard bow.

    "Young master, how is it? Isn¡¯t it a good treasure?" The servant looked on in anticipation as he saw Fang Zhengzhi lift the bow.

    "Not bad at all!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded in satisfaction.

    "Young Master is someone who knows his stuff. This bow was given to me by my ancestors. It¡¯s initial owner was famed throughout thends..."

    "Just tell me how much you want for it. Like I¡¯ve said before, I¡¯m very busy." Fang Zhengzhi waved and interrupted The servant.

    He knew exactly what The servant wanted to say.

    The servant was going to tell him the glorious history of the bow and its famous owners. He will also narrate their contributions.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not f*cking interested.

    In actual fact, when he said he was happy with it, the deal was made. There was no need to waste any more time.

    "Since you¡¯re happy with it, I won¡¯t say anymore. Is this figure okay with you?" The servant waved five fingers in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Sure!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "You are decisive!" The servant beamed when he saw Fang Zhengzhi nod.

    "Naturally." Fang Zhengzhi took the wooden box from The servant and ced the Sun Shooting Bow inside.

    The servant rubbed his hands in anticipation as his eyes glimmered

    However...

    His expression darkened when he looked at the five coppers in his hand. He looked like he was just struck by a bolt of lightning.

    "I¡¯m off!" Fang Zhengzhi turned to leave after putting the wooden box in his Heart Protection Mirror.

    "Sir, sir!" The servant was getting anxious.

    "I told you that I was busy!" Fang Zhengzhi walked on without turning back. He disappeared within an instant.

    He left the servant standing by the alley.

    "Five... five coppers?! I meant 500,000 coppers!" The servant looked on in disbelief as he looked at the coppers in his hand. He then looked in the direction Fang Zhengzhi disappeared into.

    He was stunned for a full 15 minutes before he reacted.

    His eyes filled up with tears as he howled. He rolled on the ground before rubbing his face with his mud filled hands.

    The mud mixed with his tears and dirtied his face.

    Then, the servant lowered his head as he walked down the street. He continued to sigh as he walked, almost as if his mother had died.

    There was another figure sauntering behind the servant.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Not a great actor. If not for the fact that you were crying just a little too loudly, I might have actually believed you!" Fang Zhengzhi looked on scornfully.

    He did not believe that there was a deal this good.

    Since ancient times, there have been many people who have fallen for traps like these, causing them to lose their lives.

    It was weird for a servant like that to have a treasure like this. Furthermore, the servant had no skills to speak of, yet he dared to lure Fang Zhengzhi into such a secluded ce.

    He was trying to make Fang Zhengzhi fall into his trap.

    More importantly, the defenceless and innocent looks were all fake.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his money bag. In order for the servant to continue his act, Fang Zhengzhi had to give up 5 coppers.

    "I would like to see who this guy works for!" Fang Zhengzhi followed the servant through the streets. Finally, the servant reached the entrance of a teahouse.

    The teahouse was constructed using red wood. It was an ancient building. The signboard was red in color.

    Fragrance Restaurant!

    The servant stopped at the entrance. He looked around to make sure no one saw him, then entered with the crowd.

    Fang Zhengzhi followed the servant in.

    However...

    He had underestimated the volume of customers.

    In the blink of an eye, the servant had disappeared, leaving Fang Zhengzhi in the teahouse searching for him.

    "What would you like to have?" A waiter came over to serve Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Just a pot of tea will do." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand as he continued to look for the servant.

    "Okay, but you¡¯ll have to wait for a while. It is the breakfast hour and seats are limited. Why don¡¯t you take a seat by the corner?" The waiter invited Fang Zhengzhi to the corner of the restaurant.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned and he followed the gaze of the waiter. He quickly realized that there were no less than a dozen people queueing up.

    "God damn it, what kind of ce is this? Why is there a queue?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather experienced and he calmly looked around his surroundings. He realized that one of the tables had a wooden stick on it. It was used to demarcate reserved tables.

    "Actually, I have a reservation!" Fang Zhengzhi walked towards that table. At that moment, he saw a figure at the corner of his eyes.

    The figure shed by and rushed to the upper floors of the restaurant.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was the servant he was tailing. He changed direction and rushed up the stairs.

    "Sirs, you cannot barge into the rooms upstairs..." The waiter was stunned when he saw Fang Zhengzhi rush up.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the waiter.

    He flew up the stairs and saw the figure of the servant rushing towards the third storey.

    "Third storey?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    The Fragrance Restaurant was so popr, anyone who could dine on the third storey was definitely influential. There was definitely more to this than meets the eye.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think any further.

    All he wanted to do was give the mastermind a surprise. He wanted to jump in and scream, ¡®Oh, it¡¯s you!¡¯

    As to what good scaring the mastermind would do...

    Fang Zhengzhi had not considered that.

    He simply decided to have some fun since he was free now.

    Now that he had the Sun Shooting Bow, he was not giving it back. He was not worried that the servant would pinpoint him. After all, the servant had no evidence.

    All he had to do was deny.

    Very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi reached the third storey of the Fragrance Restaurant. There was a small wooden te on the door.

    It read, "The Sun is rising".

    ...

    The Ninth Prince had never felt as helpless as he did now. No matter how hard he tried, Ping Yang refused to budge.

    She was not lending the stallion no matter what.

    He desperately wanted to participate in the huntingpetition the next day.

    As a prince in the Great Xia Dynasty, Lin Yun had never involved himself in politics, state affairs, or the military.

    Even so, he was still a prince.

    He still had a great amount of power. No matter what it was, he had a way of getting what he wanted.

    The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was one such example.

    That was a gift from the Crown Prince on his birthday. This was something known to everyone. At that time, the Crown Prince had asked him to look after this stallion in front of the Emperor. He also tasked him with charging into the frontlines one day and contributing to the empire.

    Emperor Lin Mubai had praised the Crown Prince for showing maturity as the eldest brother. He also said that the Crown Prince could keep maintain the brotherhood.

    However...

    It was clear that the Ninth Prince did not understand what the Crown Prince meant.

    After getting the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, he toured the stables and became one of the best calvary shooters. Because he rode the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, he was given the nickname "Little ck dragon".

    Even though he was an idiot in politics...

    He was one of the best in hunting and horse riding.

    However...

    He had lost his prized Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion.

    If news of this got out, he would be aughing stock. How can the Little ck Dragon not have the Dragon Stallion?

    "Sister, lend me the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion for one day. I will split half of the prize with you?" Lin Yun pleaded with Ping Yang.

    "Half? No thanks!" Ping Yang shook her head in scorn.

    "I¡¯ll give it all to you, all of it! As long as you let me ride the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion to the huntingpetition tomorrow, I¡¯ll give you everything!" The Ninth Prince grit his teeth.

    "No way!" Ping Yang rejected him unequivocally.

    "Sister, what do you want? Just tell me what you want. I¡¯ll give you anything I have." The Ninth Prince said in exasperation.

    He never expected Ping Yang to be this stubborn.

    He had no choice but to bag. He had to do it in order to maintain his reputation.

    "I can lend it to you, but, you have to give me something." Ping Yang smirked as she looked at Lin Yun, who was on the verge of tears.

    "What is it, just tell me. I will have someone bring it over!" The Ninth Prince was ecstatic.

    "It¡¯s nothing important, you can give it to me now." Ping Yang smiled.

    "Please tell me." The Ninth Prince said doubtfully.

    He had not brought anything other than some snacks and his ancestral jade.

    "I just want you to write a receipt and put your fingerprint on it."

    "Receipt?"

    "Yes, write that you sold me the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion for 10,000 silvers." Ping Yang blinked at the Ninth Prince.

    "Sell... sell it to you?! No way! Defintiely not!" The Ninth Prince¡¯s expression changed. He rejected that proposal unequivocally.

    Even though the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was with Ping Yang, and the letter from Chi Guyan had been eaten...

    The Ninth Prince knew...

    The moment Chi Guyan came back from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion would be his once again.

    Ping Yang would definitely listen to Chi Guyan.

    If he wrote this receipt...

    The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion would really be Ping Yang¡¯s. Even if Chi Guyan returned, she could not help him. He would lose his Little ck Dragon title forever.

 Chapter 283: Squashed by the door

    Chapter 283: Squashed by the door

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "No? Okay then... I¡¯m going off first!" Ping Yang seemed to expect this reply from the Ninth Prince. She turned and prepared to leave.

    "Hang on!" The Ninth Prince blocked the exit in a hurry. "Sister, don¡¯t leave just yet, let us discuss it!"

    "Bang!"

    Just at this moment, the door to the room was kicked open.

    The Ninth Prince did not manage to dodge in time. He felt the door crash into the back of his head. The force flung him towards the wall. Then, he fell to his knees.

    "Surprise!" A voice rang out from outside the door. Then, a figure in a blue long sleeved shirt sauntered in.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he would be giving the upants of the room a huge surprise.

    However, he did not expect to be surprised to see someone kneeling on the floor the moment he entered.

    And...

    Oh?

    Ping Yang!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time.

    Shouldn¡¯t the servant be here? Why is it Ping Yang and a kneeling youth? Is he proposing?

    "I¡¯m sorry for disturbing!" Fang Zhengzhi prepared to turn and leave.

    "Stand right there!" Ping Yang was surprised. She never expected anyone to disturb her breakfast at Fragrance Restaurant. More importantly, the person who disturbed her was Fang Zhengzhi.

    How did this shameless guy manage toe in?

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped.

    "You want to leave after injuring someone? I don¡¯t think it is that easy. Furthermore, do you know who you injured?" Ping Yang smirked as she looked at the kneeling Ninth Prince.

    "Who is it?" Fang Zhengzhi was looking at the Ninth Prince¡¯s back, so he did not recognize him.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi saw his face, he may not recognize the Ninth Prince. After all, they had not met officially before.

    "The Ninth Prince, Lin Yun!" Ping Yang beamed as she announced. She wanted to see the fear on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face when he found out who he had injured.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was expressionless.

    "What did you say? I couldn¡¯t hear you properly... it¡¯s early in the morning, what¡¯s wrong with my ears? How strange!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured. Then, before Ping Yang could reply, he bolted out the door.

    He left Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince in the room. They looked at each other...

    ...

    Inside an ordinary room beside the Fragrance Restaurant.

    Su Ping looked at the crowd. He had a cup of piping hot tea in front of him.

    "Your honor, it has all been done!" At this point, a servant dressed in ck jumped in from the window and knelt in front of Su Qing.

    "Mm." Su Qing nodded and picked up his tea. He took a sip expressionlessly.

    "Your honor, you have great foresight! Fang Zhengzhi really followed me to the Fragrance Restaurant!" The servant continued.

    "How much did you sell the Sun Shooting Bow for?" Su Qing ignored the praises as he continued to enjoy his tea.

    "About that..." The servant¡¯s expression changed.

    "What happened?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is indeed shameless. He really lives up to that name! I only got five coppers for it!"

    "Five coppers?!" Su Qing was stunned, the cup in his hand shaking slightly. The tea spilled over the side and onto his hand, causing him to frown.

    "Your honor, please save me. If King Duan knew about this, he would punish me severely."

    "Forget it. It is not your fault anyways. If Fang Zhengzhi was so easy to take down, he would not have lived till today. I will handle King Duan. You can leave now!"

    "Thank you your honor! I will repay your kindness with my life!" The servant leapt out the window and disappeared into the distance.

    "The Sun Shooting Bow for five coppers... how can someone be this shameless? Even if you knew it was a conspiracy, you could have given at least 500? He probably has at least 50? Five coppers... how can a Sword Envoy only give five coppers? It is no wonder he is a lowly viger!" Su Qing muttered to himself. Then, he looked in the direction of the Fragrance Restaurant, "It¡¯s a pity the Sun Shooting Bow is not so easy to get!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to run whilst he still could.

    However, he forgot one detail. He was in the Fragrance Restaurant, and the waiter had brought along some backup.

    As such...

    He was unsurprisingly stopped at the stairway.

    Everything else happened naturally. The Ninth Prince bellowed at the guards to back off, then led Fang Zhengzhi back into the room.

    All of them looked at each other.

    "I am sorry for disturbing your breakfast." After a moment of silence, Fang Zhengzhi decided to break it. Then, he reached for a snack.

    He stuffed it into his mouth.

    "These are mine!" Ping Yang fumed and pouted. However, she did not stop Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, she looked on in anticipation.

    "Ohe on, you can spare one! Oh, this snack is quite nice!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself as he grabbed a handful.

    "I knew you never had it before. Is it good? Do you want more?" Ping Yang was happy to see Fang Zhengzhi gorging himself.

    "You have more?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened.

    "Of course we do. Ninth Brother?" Ping Yang looked at Lin Yun.

    "If Official Fang likes it, I can get someone to bring more to you." Lin Yun looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Okay, that¡¯ll be great!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then poured himself a cup of tea. He gulped it down and his eyes glimmered, "Good tea!"

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know how to appreciate tea...

    One did not need to know the art to know that this was superior tea. Its sweetness and aroma were dead giveaways.

    "Tell me, do you have something that you need my help with?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi haughtily.

    "Will you believe me if I told you that I went into the wrong room?" Fang Zhengzhi filled his cup again.

    "Wrong room? Such a coincidence?" Ping Yang did not believe it.

    "It is quite a coincidence. The snacks are almost finished, I¡¯ll take my leave if there¡¯s nothing else." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the empty te and prepared to leave.

    "You want to leave after injuring someone? You injured the Ninth Prince, my brother. You hit his head with the door. Do you really think you can leave so easily?" Ping Yang knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    She was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi get away so easily. She was going to use this to make him beg for his life.

    "I am sure Official Fang did not do it on purpose, we can..." The Ninth Prince waved her off. Even though he still felt a little faint, to harp on this incident made him look petty.

    Furthermore, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s rtionship was not ordinary. As such, he did not want to put Fang Zhengzhi in a difficult position.

    "Ninth Brother, do you want to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Ping Yang interrupted the Ninth Prince.

    "Of course!" The Ninth Prince was instantly excited.

    "As such, do you think that we should pursue this matter?" Ping Yang smirked.

    "Yes, of course we should!" The Ninth Prince instantly understood. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically, "Official Fang, how about you pay me 1000 silvers?"

    "1000 silvers?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were both in shock.

    "Are you trying to rob me?!"

    "How can you let him off so easily?!"

    The first one was by Fang Zhengzhi, the second one was by Ping Yang.

    Then, they red at each other, mes burning in their eyes. Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were both furious.

    "I don¡¯t care. Unless he pays at least 10,000 silvers, you can forget about borrowing the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. Furthermore, he has toe and be a servant at my residence for 10 days. He will serve me to atone for his mistake!" Ping Yang ordered.

    "Is your brain damaged? I didn¡¯t hurt you, why should I be your servant?" Fang Zhengzhi was infuriated.

    This was bullying.

    As someone with dreams, intellect, and courage, Fang Zhengzhi would never ede to such a request.

    "I just want you toe and be my servant!" Ping Yang insisted.

    The Ninth Prince began to sweat. Their rtionship is indeedplicated. Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have just scolded Ping Yang?

    Most importantly...

    Ping Yang was not angry?

    What¡¯s going on?

    Has Ping Yang changed? The Ninth Prince did not think that Ping Yang had changed for the better. Furthermore, he had just experienced how unreasonable she could be.

    There could only be one reason.

    The person who scolded her was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What if I don¡¯t admit to... injuring him?" Fang Zhengzhi questioned.

    "You want to deny it? Oh please, the injury is so obvious. Furthermore, I was witness to the incident together with so many waiters. With so much evidence against you, you can forget about denying it!" Ping Yang said confidently.

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent.

    Denying his actions was not going to work. Furthermore, ording to the rules of this world, injuring a prince could have massive consequences.

    At best, it was a misunderstanding.

    At worst...

    It could be seen as disrespect for the royal family and an intent to rebel.

    F*ck this.

    He had really entered the wrong door!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt wronged. He had been in a hurry to get to the bottom of his case. As a result, he ended up causing himself more trouble.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the Ninth Prince.

    He had injured the Ninth Prince. Ping Yang was simply leveraging the fact that the Ninth Prince would listen to her. However, what if the Ninth Prince didn¡¯t?

    What did Ping Yang say just now?

    Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?

    The Ninth Prince must have wanted to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. That was why he was listening to Ping Yang.

    What if he helped the Ninth Prince get the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion back?

    Hmm...

    Once he thought about the guards in Ping Yang¡¯s residence, he realized that it would be too much of a risk. Since he could not do it covertly, he had to snatch it from her now.

    To deal with Ping Yang was easy.

    However, he had to know why the Ninth Prince wanted to find Ping Yang to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion.

    "May I know why the Ninth Prince would like to borrow the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to the Ninth Prince, ignoring Ping Yang.

    "Official Fang should have heard about the huntingpetition that the Emperor is hosting?" The Ninth Prince answered.

    "Yes, I do." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Before every examination, all of the talents would have a gathering. Ever since Fang Zhengzhi exposed Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil, he had been known as a pervert.

    As such, he rarely attended these gatherings.

    "There is a horse race in thepetition. The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion is my ride, as such..." The Ninth Prince sulked.

    Fang Zhengzhi had an idea of what was happening.

    Ping Yang probably stole the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion from the Ninth Prince.

    Now, things were easier. All he had to do was take the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion back from Ping Yang and everything would be settled.

    How was he going to do it?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, he scanned Ping Yang¡¯s face...

    "What are you looking at? If you don¡¯te and be my servant, I will never lend the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion to the Ninth Prince. If you can, you can try snatching it from my ce!" Ping Yang saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s scheming expression and replied arrogantly.

 Chapter 284: Profound

    Chapter 284: Profound

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Servant?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang scornfully as he snorted. He would never be a servant in Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    "Okay then, I agree to being your servant!" After snorting, Fang Zhengzhi agreed to Ping Yang¡¯s demands.

    "What?!"

    Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince both eximed in surprise.

    Even Ping Yang could not believe what she just heard, much less the Ninth Prince. This shameless fe actually agreed to be a servant?

    "You... agree?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully.

    "Yes, I agree!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, I never expected this day toe, hahaha..." Ping Yang nearly fell overughing when she heard this.

    "Hahaha, yes indeed. I never thought this day woulde." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    The Ninth Prince looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then back at Ping Yang. He felt that something was amiss. Why would Fang Zhengzhi agree to be a servant?

    Afterughing for some time, Ping Yang noticed that Fang Zhengzhi wasughing too. This dampened her spirits.

    "What are youughing about? You¡¯re so happy being a servant?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered doubtfully.

    "Of course! Not everyone can be a servant in Ping Yang¡¯s residence." Fang Zhengzhi replied sincerely.

    "Do you really think so?" Ping Yang did not believe him.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Hahaha... okay then, you can follow me back to my residence and start now!" Ping Yang could not help but chuckle.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not move from his seat.

    He continued to drink the tea.

    "What¡¯s happening? Are you going back on your word?" Ping Yang then added, "if you¡¯re not my servant, I will never loan out the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion!"

    "Would someone as trustworthy as me go back on my word?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with scorn.

    "Then why aren¡¯t you going back to my residence with me?" Ping Yang asked.

    "No matter what, I am still the Sword Envoy, a rank four official. If I just go and be your servant right now, what would the public think?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "I will cut out the tongue of anyone who dares to say anything stupid!" Ping Yang replied haughtily, her arms akimbo.

    "Sister, Official Fang raises a valid point. As a rank four official, it is not appropriate for him to be a servant at your ce." Even though the Ninth Prince did not know what game Fang Zhengzhi was ying, he did not know what to say at this point.

    "So what do you want?" Ping Yang pouted and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "We have to sign a statement that says that I am serving you voluntarily. That way, there will be evidence and no one will say anything unwarranted.

    "Statement?" Ping Yang had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would use this opportunity to ask for some benefits. She did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to dig his own grave. "That¡¯s a great idea, let¡¯s sign that document!"

    "Official Fang, you really want to sign this document?" The Ninth Prince was in disbelief.

    He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi was just trying to get the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion for him. Then, he would simply walk off after that. Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had asked for an official document.

    Isn¡¯t that digging his own grave?

    "Of course! Words are empty! We need evidence!" Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "Hahaha... good! Get me someone!" Ping Yang leapt to her feet and rushed out.

    Within moments, a servant rushed into the room with the necessary writing instruments. Then, she bowed to the three upants and left.

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately picked up the pen. However, after twirling it in his hands, he did not write anything.

    "Now what?" Ping Yang asked suspiciously.

    "I can be your servant, but, I need you to agree to a few conditions." Fang Zhengzhi put down the pen and sipped his tea.

    "Tell me what they are!"

    "First, I need a room to myself! I cannot stay with anyone else. This room must be spacious, clean, elegant..."

    "Enough, I will give you your own courtyard!" Ping Yang interrupted.

    "Okay then!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head in satisfaction. Then, he continued, "I need to be paid. My sry is not much, 1000 silvers a day, 10,000 silvers in total. This must be given each day."

    "Okay! We will do as you say, 1000 silvers a day!" Ping Yang agreed.

    The Ninth Prince was sweating profusely. Is Fang Zhengzhi really going to be a servant? Which servant was paid 1000 silvers a day and had their own courtyard?

    However, seeing that Ping Yang had no objections, he did not raise any either.

    Furthermore...

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was going to be a servant so that he could benefit. He would not destroy Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    As for Ping Yang, did she ever care about silver?

    Of course not. She was already thinking of how to torture Fang Zhengzhi. Will she have him clear the toilets? Or have him wash her legs?

    If he dares to disobey...

    She¡¯ll have him whipped!

    Once Fang Zhengzhi entered her residence, her wish was hismand.

    "Next, I need to have personal time. The court examinations areing up, I need time to study."

    "Okay, I promise you. I will give you four hours daily."

    "Fourth, I..."

    "Okay, I¡¯ll give it to you!"

    "Next..."

    "I agree to all your terms! I will give you whatever you want. Do you have any other problems?" Ping Yang waved her hands in exasperation.

    "No problems, but I need to write them all down. If not, if you don¡¯t pay up then, who will I go to?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Write it down then!" Ping Yang nodded. She thought to herself, "Even though you¡¯ve written it down, you won¡¯t be able to do anything once you enter my residence!"

    "Okay, now that the terms are agreed upon, we need a witness." Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the Ninth Prince.

    The Ninth Prince heard this and nodded, "I will be the witness."

    Ping Yang had no objections.

    Everything fell into ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi began writing. Before long, he had a whole page, then a second one, and a third one... He was writing for so long Ping Yang was falling asleep.

    "Okay, I¡¯m done, do you want to take a look?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded satisfactorily. Then, he ced the stack in front of Ping Yang.

    "I don¡¯t have to look at it, just sign it!" Ping Yang signed her name without hesitation.

    Then, the Ninth Prince signed his name beside the word ¡®Witness¡¯.

    The stack of papers reached Fang Zhengzhi. Ping Yang looked on in anticipation. Once Fang Zhengzhi signed it, the document would take effect.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was in no hurry.

    "So, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t go back on your word?" Fang Zhengzhi hesitated as he nced at Ping Yang.

    "Why would I? Am I such a person?" Ping Yang pounded her chest and asserted.

    "Then why aren¡¯t you lending the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion to the Ninth Prince?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Ninth Prince worriedly.

    "That¡¯s simple. Ninth Brother, take this token and you can retrieve the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion from my residence!" Ping Yang retrieved a golden token and passed it to the Ninth Prince.

    The Ninth Prince reached forward ecstatically.

    However, he came up with nothing.

    "Hang on, I nearly fell for your trick!" Ping Yang kept the token and pointed to the document. "You have to sign it first!"

    "Okay!" Fang Zhengzhi signed on it without hesitation.

    Ping Yang picked up the document and made sure that Fang Zhengzhi had signed his own name.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, this day has finallye!" Ping Yang smiled happily as she passed the token to the Ninth Prince.

    The Ninth Prince looked at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically as he took the token.

    "Official Fang, I am sorry."

    "Nothing to be sorry about. Please go collect your Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion." Fang Zhengzhi waved him off.

    The Ninth Prince flew out of the room without a second word.

    He was really afraid that Ping Yang would go back on her word.

    ...

    Inside the room.

    Ping Yang was beaming.

    Fang Zhengzhi sat quietly by the side, drinking his tea. Then, he called for a waitress and ordered even more snacks. Since Ping Yang was paying, he did not need to be too conservative.

    Ping Yang was not angry at all. "Eat up eat up, when you¡¯re done, I will show you how ¡®fun¡¯ my residence is!"

    15 minutes passed.

    An hour passed.

    Fang Zhengzhi still did not move.

    Ping Yang was getting annoyed, "Aish, you¡¯ve been eating for an hour already! Are you done?"

    "Oh? Has it been that long? Okay then... I¡¯m off." Fang Zhengzhi pat his bum and looked at the rising sun, smirking as he did so.

    "Where are you going? Aren¡¯t you going back with me?" Ping Yang was getting anxious when she saw Fang Zhengzhi getting up to leave.

    "Why should I do that?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang with a confused expression.

    "Are you trying to go back on your word? The document has been signed and the Ninth Prince is the witness. You are to be my servant, so you should go back with me!" Ping Yang held up the document and waved it in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Oh... yes, about the document. You now owe me a small courtyard, 10,000 silvers, two sets of superior writing instruments. Also..." Fang Zhengzhi began listing out the terms and conditions.

    "Hold on, I will give them all to you. However, you have to be my servant first!" Ping Yang asserted.

    "Why?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "Because you signed the document!"

    "Yes I did."

    "So why aren¡¯t you going back with me?"

    "Why should I?"

    "You... because you signed the document!"

    "And so?"

    "It is clearly written that you are to be a servant at my residence for 10 days! Are you trying to go back on your word?"

    "Why would I go back on my word?" Fang Zhengzhi waved her off. Then, he pointed at the document in Ping Yang¡¯s hand. "Are you sure it says that I will be a servant at your residence for 10 days?"

    Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed as she stared intently at the document. It was written clearly that Fang Zhengzhi sincerely requested to go to Ping Yang¡¯s residence to learn to be a glorified servant...

    "There¡¯s nothing wrong with it!" Ping Yang asserted.

    "What does it say?"

    "It says that you are going to learn how to be a glorified servant at my residence!"

    "Is that so? Let me see." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the document. Then, he caressed the document before returning it to Ping Yang. It just says that I requested to learn at Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    "How can that..." Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped.

    There was a full stop ced strategically to break up the sentence.

    "I¡¯m sorry, I changed my mind. I do not want to learn there anymore. I¡¯ll be off now!" Fang Zhengzhi waved and ran away.

    Ping Yang looked at the document, stunned.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Ping Yang¡¯s furious screams echoed throughout the entire Fragrance Restaurant.

    Fang Zhengzhi sauntered along the streets of the capital. "Just a simple matter of changing the punctuation. Everything else will fall into ce easily."

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had to n the entire incident carefully. He needed to offer to draft the document and discuss the terms.

    It was just like a bargain. He just had to make sure Ping Yang thought that she was getting a good deal.

    If he didn¡¯t go through all that...

    It would have been quite the risk to scam Ping Yang.

    "I hear that there¡¯s a huntingpetition tomorrow?" Fang Zhengzhi looked into the sky and felt the bow with his hand. "The perfect time to test out this bow!"

 Chapter 285: Lousy Horse

    Chapter 285: Lousy Horse

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The next morning.

    The sun shone brightly in the sky. It made the entire city look golden, the autumn vibes heavy in the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi ran over to Yan Xiu¡¯s room the moment he woke up.

    Yan Xiu had already woken up, but he did not look well. It was unlikely that Yan Xiu would be able to participate in the huntingpetition.

    After saying his goodbyes, Fang Zhengzhi went downstairs.

    The moment he left the hotel, he saw a figure by the entrance. She was dressed in the Red me Flower Armor and wielded the zing Qilin Spear.

    "I heard that you are participating in thepetition?" Ping Yang asked haughtily.

    "Do you have any objections?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "You¡¯re riding this horrible horse?" Ping Yang queried scornfully when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s deplorable stallion.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned back to take a look.

    In all honesty, his horse was...

    Quite bad.

    However, he had already left his Snow Treading Dragon Stallion in Dong Lin City. He had bought this horse as a cheap recement.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "As a servant in my residence, your horse is an insult to my reputation. If you beg me, I will lend you my second best stallion." Ping Yang pointed to the horse next to her Snow Jade.

    Beside Snow Jade...

    There was a battle horse adorned with green scaled armor.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not recognize it. However, if Ping Yang called it her second best stallion, it could not be much worse than the Snow Jade or the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion.

    "It¡¯s okay." Fang Zhengzhi rejected the proposal unequivocally. If he epted the stallion, he would be admitting to being a servant in Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    "You really don¡¯t want it? I hear that the prize was set by the Emperor himself. It is definitely going to be good. Don¡¯t you want it?" Ping Yang tempted.

    "Based on pure quality, even if I took your offer, my stallion would still be second to yours." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Of course... there is no stallion that can match my Snow Jade in the city!"

    "What about the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?"

    "Not close! It is ranked third at best!" Ping Yang replied haughtily.

    "Oh? Which stallion is second?"

    "Second? That is Sister Yan¡¯s Scarlet me Snow Cloud."

    "Damn it!" Fang Zhengzhi did not like to curse. However, when he thought of the Scarlet me Snow Cloud, he couldn¡¯t help himself. After all... that was his horse...

    ...

    By the time Ping Yang and him made it to the hunting grounds, the sun was high up in the sky. Its beams lit up the hunting grounds and the surrounding areas golden.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi expected...

    The area was bustling with activity.

    Many armored talents were interacting with each other. Most of them werepliments about the others¡¯ horse. They would also look surprised when they fawned over the quality of the horse.

    Other thanpliments for the horse, theyplimented armor, weapons, even the hair clip used.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always not been interested in this.

    It was a good thing no oneplimented him. After all, his horse was so horrible it didn¡¯t deserve any praise. Even its ears were drooped as it looked at the grass by the side of the roadcklusterly.

    "Oh? It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Who would have thought that he would participate in the huntingpetition and horse race?"

    "I heard that ever since the previous incident, he had never attended such gatherings. Why is he here all of a sudden?"

    "I guess it¡¯s for the Emperor¡¯s reward"

    "Hang on, his stallion is... what is it called? I can¡¯t remember it¡¯s name."

    "Mud Striped Horse! It is native to Dong Lin City and is herbivorous."

    "Herbivorous? Aren¡¯t all superior breeds carnivorous? Is this horse good? Why is he riding it to thepetition?

    "Not at all. You can easily get one from Dong Lin City for 20 silvers!"

    "Hahaha..."

    All of them began tough. Then, they realized that Fang Zhengzhi was travelling with Ping Yang.

    Before long, many gathered around Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was apetition hosted by the Emperor himself. Everyone brought their best stallion and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ride stood out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not mind. If apetition depended entirely on the horse, what was the human for?

    Ping Yang did not mind either. In fact, she was smiling very happily. She wore the Red me Flower Armor, wielded the zing Qilin Spear, and rode the Snow Jade.

    Ping Yang was definitely the best equipped person there.

    As such, Ping Yang was d to stand beside Fang Zhengzhi. She shone like a bright star next to him. Furthermore, she stuck to him like glue. Wherever he went, she went.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Ping Yang was using him to make herself shine.

    After the gong rang out, the Emperor¡¯s arrival was announced. There were a few princes dressed in gaudy attires following behind.

    This was a gathering of the elites, and was also a chance for the princes to show off their skills.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly spotted the Ninth Prince riding the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. Then, he spotted the Crown Prince and King Duan riding battle stallions.

    Other than them, there were many officials following behind. However, there were significantly less officials than there were at the preliminary court examinations.

    That being said, there were more than twice the number of generals.

    They wore different armors. They were at least 50 of them of various ages.

    The apanying party brought the number close to 100. They galloped from the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.

    Fang Zhengzhi estimated...

    Without taking into ount the soldiers guarding the perimeter, there were at least 50 military personnel, seven officials, and more than 300 talents participating in thispetition.

    It was a grand sight.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that there were almost 200 candidates participating in this edition of the court examinations. Furthermore, they had to pass the imperial examinations before being allowed to participate in the court examinations.

    As such, he was sure that there were at least a hundred talents who had fluffed their way here.

    This was not a surprise. After all, this was a gathering of talents. Many youths relished the opportunity to showcase their skills to the Emperor.

    ...

    The Emperor arrived soon after. He had left the dragon robes behind, choosing a golden armor and a golden dragon cape. He rode a bright red battle stallion.

    When he saw Fang Zhengzhi...

    Emperor Lin Mubai was clearly taken aback. He looked at the Mud Striped Horse Fang Zhengzhi was riding, shook his head, then left.

    All of the other princes had also noticed Fang Zhengzhi.

    "That is Fang Zhengzhi? Why does he look like a spectator?"

    "I think he is here to provideedic value."

    Two young princes murmured to themselves. Then, they puffed their chests and followed behind the Emperor.

    King Duan looked on mockingly when he nced at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The Crown Prince snickered and did not take a second look.

    The Ninth Prince nced at all of the other princes before looking at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically. He rode over.

    "Official Fang, would you like a different horse? I have a few other good ones. I can still get them here in time for thepetition."

    "Thank you your highness. My horse may not look good, but it can run quite fast." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "I see." The Ninth Prince hesitated before leaving.

    All of the officials and the princes were confused to see the scene unfold.

    "How does the Ninth Prince know Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "No idea."

    "I heard something about it. Fang Zhengzhi had managed to get Ninth Prince¡¯s Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion from..."

    "From what?!" A shrill voice rang out beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    That official felt a chill down his spine. It was almost as if an icy gust had brushed past his neck, causing all of the hairs on his back to stand.

    "Humph!" Ping Yang snorted as she red at the official.

    ...

    The door to the hunting grounds were open. The Emperor and his entourage entered.

    It was time for the opening ceremony.

    Ladies dressed in long sleeved dresses began to dance. There were also servants walking around offering wine, food, and snacks.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a seat to himself as a rank four official. He began to eat without restraint.

    "Eat up eat up. I¡¯ll like to see you race on a full stomach!"

    "Official Li, I am guessing Official Fang is here to eat?"

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disgust when they saw him ravaging the food.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not say anything. He raised his sses to toast all of the officials.

    They were eating as well, but they ate sparingly.

    After the opening ceremony...

    The arena quietened down. One of the officials stepped out, cleared his throat, then announced the rules of thepetition.

    After the announcement, it was time for the Emperor¡¯s speech.

    Once that was done, registration officially opened.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided that he would throw his hat in since he was here.

    The officials in charge of registration were shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi register. All of the talents and generals could not help but lower their heads and snicker.

    "Fang Zhengzhi registered?"

    "I guess he is apanying someone?"

    "I guess he can¡¯t do much else."

    "Of course! If he can actually get a decent ranking with that Mud Striped Horse, I will write my name backwards!"

    "That¡¯s all? I am willing to run around this ce butt naked. Do you dare to do the same?"

    "Sure, what¡¯s there to be afraid of?!"

    The generals and talents continued to joke by the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked on by the side. In the end, he decided to give them a chance. He brought a piece of paper to them.

    "Why don¡¯t you write it down? Words are meaningless."

    "Brother Li, will you do it?"

    "Of course!"

    Before long, there were a few signed slips.

    Then, they all realized that there was no forfeit for Fang Zhengzhi if he lost.

    Just as they were about to add that into the slip, Fang Zhengzhi had slipped off to the starting point.

    "Forget it, let¡¯s give him a chance! Hahaha... let¡¯s not even talk about rankings. He¡¯s lucky if he doesn¡¯t end upst!" The group of youths chuckled.

    ...

    Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi stood side by side at the starting line. However, the aura surrounding them was vastly different.

    All of the spectators were eagerly waiting for the starting gong.

    Speed was paramount in apetition like this. In direct conflict, the differences between a superior and inferior stallion may not be that obvious.

    However, in apetition of speed, the differences were immeasurable.

    The Ninth Prince was also at the starting line with his Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. He was extremely eager for thepetition to start.

    He had swore that he would rank amongst the top three.

    As for the first and second ces...

    He had thought of them, but it was incredibly difficult to get that. If thepetition was within the capital, he would be extremely confident.

    However, the participants here werepletely different from before.

    They were elites from all corners of the empire. They had stallions of simr quality and skills to match his.

    "Dong!" The gong rang out and thepetition was underway.

 Chapter 286: Are you kidding me?

    Chapter 286: Are you kidding me?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A few hundred battle stallions charged out, kicking up plumes of dust as they galloped. The first few battle stallions were as fast as an arrow.

    They opened up a fifty meter gap within seconds.

    Even though Ping Yang was no particrly skillful, the Snow Jade¡¯s speed allowed her to ease herself into third easily.

    The Ninth Prince fell to seventh ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a far cry from them.

    The Mud Striped Horse stretched its neck and red at thepetition. It galloped at full speed but was unable to do anything much. It was of inferior stock.

    Before long, Fang Zhengzhi was just less than 100m from second ce.

    Of course...

    That was the second tost position.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi is here to apany the others!"

    "Even if he is riding the best Mud Striped Horse, I doubt that he can do anything much?"

    Everyoneughed when they saw Fang Zhengzhi. Their attention was no longer on the race, they just wanted tough at Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were filled with confidence.

    Even though they did not have the courage to register, they all felt that they would thrash Fang Zhengzhi if they had.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the chatter around him as he reined his stallion in.

    The Mud Striped Stallion whinnied. Then, it turned and left the racetrack, galloping into the woods.

    "Oh? Why is Fang Zhengzhi leaving the track?"

    "Is he trying to take a shortcut?"

    "Is he crazy? ording to the rules of thepetition, allpetitors must mark their names on the tablets at each of the four corners. He wouldn¡¯t havepleted the race unless he did that. So what if he runs to the finish now?"

    "Is he trying to hunt first?"

    "People have tried it before. However, they realized that it was still slower. After all, the hunting spots are all near the tablets."

    All of the spectators could not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. However, they were sure that he stood no chance in thispetition.

    Emperor Lin Mubai spotted Fang Zhengzhi leaving the racetrack. His eyes briefly glittered with suspicion. However, in the end, he simply shook his head.

    Thesepetitions were regrly held in the Great Xia Dynasty. The rules were standard and everyone was familiar with them.

    It was natural for Fang Zhengzhi to try some creative tactics on his first outing.

    However, the chances of them paying off were virtually none.

    ording to the rules, one had to kill four predetermined types of beasts and use the blood of the beast to inscribe one¡¯s name on the tablet in each of the corners.

    These beasts were all situated around the tablets.

    As such...

    The easiest way was to run a circle around the four tablets.

    There were people who had tried to run in the opposite direction.

    However, they never did well.

    Although running in the opposite direction meant that one did not have to squeeze with the others, however, one then had to face the beast alone. On the other hand, the others could face the beast as a group.

    It was clear which one was easier.

    Furthermore, there was no difference in the total distance. After covering each of the North, South, East, and West checkpoints, one had to return to the finishing line.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what everyone else was thinking. He had already disappeared into the forest, galloping leisurely, picking up small rocks every now and then.

    ...

    Time flew and the rankings began to stabilize.

    20petitors had already hunted down the beast at the first checkpoint. They had also written their names down on the tablet.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he disappeared without a trace.

    The Eastern Hunting Grounds were the royal hunting grounds. There were many levels inside it.

    The one that was opened today was on its perimeter. Even though there were many beasts, they were all of mediocre power. Most of them were herbivorous or omnivorous.

    They were not ferocious or dangerous unless threatened.

    As such, even though Fang Zhengzhi sped across thend, he would not face any trouble if he was smart.

    Thepetition continued to heat up. Very slowly, everyone¡¯s attention began to turn towards thepetitors in the lead. No one thought about what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    "I never expected Ping Yang to be so powerful. She is still in the top three."

    "But of course. She is riding the Snow Jade, the best stallion around. Furthermore, everyone keeps their distance from her."

    "The Ninth Prince is doing well too. It is no wonder he is known as the Little ck Dragon in the city. He has already moved up to fifth ce. Based on the explosiveness of his Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, he still has a chance to make the top three."

    "Everyone who has participated here is quite powerful. The top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll do live up to their name. It is a pity that only Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming are here. I heard that Wu Feng also registered for the court examinations. He is also in the city. I wonder why he did note today."

    "Wu Feng is ranked fourth on the Rising Dragon Roll. If he was here today, I am afraid Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming would not be first and second today.

    All of the spectators continued to chatter amongst themselves as the race progressed.

    Between the first and second checkpoints...

    Clouds of dust were sent skyward.

    Ping Yang slung the head of the ferocious beast on the back of her stallion. She held the zing Qilin Spear in her hand as she continued to stab at thepetitor behind her.

    "Your highness, please have mercy!" Zhang Feiyu was in fourth position. He was also ranked 12th on the Rising Dragon Roll and had the honor of taking up the worst position in the race.

    Princess Ping Yang was just ahead of him.

    Behind him was the king of the capital¡¯s races, Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    He was under immense pressure.

    Overtake?

    He really wanted to overtake Ping Yang. However, it was near impossible to speed past her when she is riding the Snow Jade.

    If the pass was not fast enough, her zing Qilin Spear would do some serious damage.

    If not for the fact that he was more powerful than her, he may have already been dismounted by now.

    "Just stay in your fourth position. If you dare overtake me, I will make sure you regret it!" Ping Yang raised her head as she stabbed at Zhang Feiyu once again, columns of me shooting skyward as she did so.

    Zhang Feiyu¡¯s body glowed blue. Within the columns of blue were petals of jade green that looked like lilies.

    When the mes crashed towards him, those lilies formed a protective shell around Zhang Feiyu and the water countered the mes.

    Even so...

    His speed faltered slightly.

    A 10 meter distance opened up between him and Ping Yang.

    It is no wonder that the zing Qilin Spear is one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Furthermore, it was the best offensive weapon. Even though he was at the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State, he was not immune to its effects.

    "Your highness, that is against the rules!" Zhang Feiyu looked at Ping Yang. Even though he was flushed, he did not dare show his fury.

    "Against the rules? In this city, I am the rules. You can tryining to the Emperorter if you¡¯d like!" Ping Yang replied rudely.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun saw what happened and shook his head in exasperation.

    The main reason why he remained in fifth was because Ping Yang was third.

    As a result, fourth position was a bad ce to be now.

    However, Zhang Feiyu¡¯s status was different. He was the heir to one of the thirteen constabries. His sister was also a concubine, making him Ping Yang¡¯s uncle.

    Else, would he even dare think of overtaking Ping Yang?

    When two tigers fought, injuries were inevitable.

    The Ninth Prince decided to let them fight it out.

    Zhang Feiyu sped up and chased after Ping Yang.

    "Your highness, why don¡¯t we work together to bring down Tang Zhongming. Then, you can take second and I will be third!" Even though Zhang Feiyu was her uncle, he could not do much.

    After all, Ping Yang was not just a princess. She was the one the Emperor loved the most.

    "Don¡¯t you think I want to?" Ping Yang sighed as she looked at Tang Zhongming almost 200m ahead of her.

    "Why don¡¯t you let me pass and I¡¯ll drag him back. You cane over and overtake him after!" Zhang Feiyu tried to convince Ping Yang.

    "Do you think I¡¯m dumb? Stay where you are!" Ping Yang looked at Zhang Feiyu scornfully.

    "..." Zhang Feiyu was speechless. He turned to look at the Ninth Prince, shaking his head as he did so.

    He wanted to work with the Ninth Prince. However, he would count himself lucky if the Ninth Prince and Ping Yang did not plot to defeat him.

    ...

    Thepetition intensified.

    Xian Tianying managed to inscribe his name on the second tablet. Tang Zhongming was not far behind.

    Then, Ping Yang¡¯s, Zhang Feiyu¡¯s, and Lin Yun¡¯s names all appeared.

    By this time, thepetition was past the halfway mark. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name had not appeared on any of the tablets.

    "Is Fang Zhengzhi nning to forfeit?" One of the armored youths looked on in disbelief.

    This was Wen Dabao, the youth who had been dragged away by Ping Yang in The Vast World.

    As a youth in the Mountain Breaking Army, he had aspirations but no ability.

    He would never register for such an intensepetition. However, with his status, he was still able toe spectate and enjoy the atmosphere.

    There were many like him in the crowd.

    These people loved to watch the concerts and wine and dine. They lived for a life like this.

    They always hung out at events like this.

    Wen Dabao loved such luxuries.

    They had a standard clique to talk about their ambitions, soothe their feelings, andfort themselves.

    As such...

    When Wen Dabao sighed, all of those around him looked at him in disbelief.

    "Do you really think Fang Zhengzhi can win?"

    "Is that a joke? He¡¯s riding that horrible Mud Striped Horse!"

    "Young Master Wen, have you been pped silly by your dad?"

    Many voices rang out. There were some who ced their hands on Wen Dabao¡¯s forehead, trying to check for a ¡®fever¡¯.

    "What the hell do you know?! I saw Fang Zhengzhi..." Wen Dabao stopped himself before he said too much.

    After leaving Cang Ling Mountain, Xing Yuanguo had ordered all the soldiers not to breathe a word about what happened. Anyone who disobeyed would be executed without trial.

    "What?" A voice rang out in doubt.

    "I saw him defeat Nangong Mu!" Wen Dabao recovered.

    "Nonsense, who didn¡¯t see that? If Nangong Mu did not decide to give up, would Fang Zhengzhi had won so easily?"

    "Exactly. Furthermore, in his battle with Yan Xiu, Yan Xiu clearly had the upper hand. Fang Zhengzhi is at best a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator."

    Many people began to mock him

    "Why? Were you in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State at 16?" Wen Dabao said in frustration.

    "Oh? What¡¯s up with you today? Fang Zhengzhi is just amoner. So what if his talented? He will never be able to make it in the courts. After he was made Sword Envoy, he has yet to make any progress." Another voice rang out.

    "Enough rubbish. Let¡¯s have a wager. I bet that Fang Zhengzhi will win!" Wen Dabao said in anger.

    "Oh, are you trying to give us silver? How much do you want to bet? If you win, we will pay you double!"

    "Comee, we will all join in!"

    "If we lose, we will all pay you double!"

    Many of the surrounding spectators crowded around Wen Dabao. They had spotted their prey.

    "Okay deal. I bet... five silvers!" Wen Dabao grit his teeth and stomped his foot.

    "Five silvers?! Are you kidding me?"

 Chapter 287: First name on the tablet

    Chapter 287: First name on the tablet

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A few of the scions heard it and chuckled.

    To these rich youths, what was five silvers? Even if they dropped it on the ground, they would not bother picking it up.

    "Ten silvers then!" Wen Dabao¡¯s face flushed.

    "Come on. How about this, four of us will wager you 500 silvers for a total of 2000. I am sure you have enough silvers?"

    "2... 2000?!" Wen Dabao felt sick.

    ...

    Thepetition continued to heat up but without incident. Names appeared on the tablet at the finish line.

    More than half of the people had already passed the second tablet.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name continued not to appear, almost as if he had disappeared.

    Wen Dabao stared at the tablet, murmuring to himself and praying for a miracle to happen.

    The four others involved in the wager just smiled leisurely by the side.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi had the Snow Jade now, it was unlikely that he would be able to catch up to thepetition.

    The officials seated below Emperor Lin Mubai all smiled when they saw the tablet.

    No one bothered with Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not deserve their attention.

    Before long...

    A name appeared on the third tablet.

    Xiang Tianying.

    It was no surprise that Tang Zhongming¡¯s name appeared shortly after.

    Before long, Ping Yang¡¯s name appeared. Then, it was followed by Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince.

    The standings had not changed.

    "I think that the race for top three will be between these five."

    "Xian Tianying has a natural advantage here. He is seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll and he was trained in horse riding from a young age."

    "Indeed, the Xiang Family guards the ¡®Star ins¡¯. That is an actual in. He was trained in horse riding since a young age. I doubt anyone is his match."

    "Princess Ping Yang is doing well." An officialplimented as he looked towards Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was happy to see Ping Yang holding her own. "Ping Yang is prone to causing trouble. I am sure she is doing something to keep Zhang Feiyu down."

    "Your highness, I doubt it. Ping Yang is one of the best at horse riding in the city. Furthermore, her Snow Jade is one of the best stallions in the empire. Also, suchpetitions are bound to cause some friction." Yu Yiping stepped out and tried to speak up for Ping Yang.

    "Prime Minister Yu, you don¡¯t have to speak up for Ping Yang." Emperor Lin Mubai replied. However, his happiness still slipped through.

    "In my opinion, Ping Yang does take after you, your highness!" Another official stepped out.

    "That is a given. A powerful man like the emperor is bound to have talented children." Many other officials chimed in.

    Emperor Lin Mubai did not speak again. However, everyone could tell that he was feeling good.

    Politics was a dirty business.

    As the leader of the empire, he had much to worry about everyday.

    Coming out to enjoy thispetition was a rare break for him. To be able to see his daughterpete and do well was a moment to be treasured.

    To hear his subordinates sing praises about his daughter made him even happier.

    ...

    There was a youth in a blue long sleeved shirt standing by the fourth tablet.

    He held the head of a green beast in his hand.

    If not for the fact that he had a disappointing yellow colored horse, he would have been quite awe inspiring.

    Fang Zhengzhi sized the tablet up.

    The tablet was made from a ck colored stone. It stood over five meters high and was over two meters wide.

    "What a huge tablet!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed.

    Then, he dismounted and walked to the tablet. It was cold to the touch.

    After feeling it for a moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi squatted down and tried to carry it.

    He quickly realized that this tablet was much heavier than he had imagined. Furthermore, it was rooted to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, it did not move from the ground.

    "That¡¯s it!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He had only thought of the process but he never anticipated such problems.

    His n was simple.

    His first n was to kill all of the beasts in the area. However, he rejected this proposal.

    It was too cruel.

    That was the excuse he gave himself. The real reason was that there were simply too many beasts.

    They were spread over toorge an area as well.

    In the first ce, he had no energy to kill nearly a thousand beasts at a go. Even if he did, chasing them down was no easy feat.

    Killing one was not a problem.

    Killing 1000...

    It would be impossible unless he had a months worth of time.

    Did he?

    Definitely not.

    As such, he had to use the second n.

    He would have to do something with the tablet. However, it was not as simple as he had thought.

    Smash it?

    That was against the rules. Furthermore, what if they wanted him to pay for it after thepetition? Destroying public property was definitely not the way to go.

    Since he couldn¡¯t smash it, his best option was to carry it away.

    However, its weight was quite ridiculous.

    "I¡¯ll try it anyways!" Fang Zhengzhi took out a small shovel exasperatingly. This was what he used to dig wells.

    It was something he need on his travels.

    He would work for his victory!

    Fang Zhengzhi kept encouraging himself as he dug.

    Soil and mud was sent skywards and the buried portion of the tablet began to show. However, the more it showed, the worse Fang Zhengzhi felt.

    "How long do I have to dig for..."

    ...

    On the road to the fourth tablet.

    A youth riding a ink ck stallion wave his whip in the air. He was closely followed by a youth on a green stallion.

    "Xian Tianying! The first ce is mine!" The green armored youth on the green stallion finally moved. With a wave of his hand, an icy ray of light shot towards Xiang Tianying.

    "Hiss!"

    The horse reared and whinnied. Then, the ck stallion twisted and crumpled to the ground.

    Xian Tianying¡¯s expression changed.

    He knew that Tang Zhongming would not dare attack him. However, attacking his stallion was something very normal.

    "Tang Zhongming, go to hell!" Xiang Tianying saw a crystal clear needle on his stallion¡¯s leg.

    "Hahaha... this ice needle will melt upon contact with flesh. However, I ced a little anesthesia on it. I¡¯m really sorry, but I am sure it won¡¯t do anysting damage to your beloved stallion!" Tang Zhongming¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    Xiang Tianying was just one rank above him on the Rising Dragon Roll. It was quite impossible for Xiang Tianying to kill him.

    Furthermore, he doubted that Xiang Tianying would dare to.

    "Despicable!" Xiang Tianying bellowed. He quickly retrieved a jade bottle and poured out a red pill.

    He flicked it into his stallion¡¯s mouth.

    "Hiss!" His stallion stood right back up. Its eyes glimmered red as cracking sounds could be heard from its body.

    "You have a booster pill! You... you prepared for this all along?!" Tang Zhongming knew that things were going to take a turn for the worse. These pills were the secret pills of the Xiang Family. They could boost a battle stallion¡¯s bloodthirst and ferocity in the blink of an eye.

    It wouldst for an hour.

    The only consequence was that the stallion would be put out ofmission for at least a month.

    A whole hour?

    Thispetition would have been over.

    The price to pay would be minisculepared to the rewards it promised.

    "Of course I prepared for it. However, I only wanted to use it after crossing the fourth tablet. I guess... I don¡¯t have any other choice but to use it now!" Xiang Tianying chuckled.

    He had prepared well in an attempt to get the top spot.

    During this confrontation, the sounds of a horse galloping intensified behind them.

    Before long, a figure d in red appeared. That was Ping Yang. Behind her were Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince.

    "Young Master Tang, I¡¯ll be off first!" Xiang Tianying did not bother with Tang Zhongming any more. He shot off into the distance.

    He was much faster than before.

    "Damn it!" Tang Zhongming cursed. He quickly retrieved a green pill and flicked it into his stallions mouth.

    "Aroo!" The green stallion shuddered and its legs were instantly covered in green scales. It radiated thirst and ferocity.

    Tang Zhongming had alsoe prepared.

    However, his pill was still inferior to Xiang Tianying¡¯s. Even though it provided the same explosiveness...

    But...

    It came at the cost of the stallion¡¯s lifespan.

    In other words, after thispetition, the horse would be retired.

    Even though his green stallion was not as good as Ping Yang¡¯s Snow Jade and the Ninth Prince¡¯s Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion, it was still an incredible stallion.

    As such, he did not want to use it unless he absolutely had to.

    However, with the Emperor himself hosting thepetition, there was too much at stake. Even the best battle stallion was worth sacrificing.

    This horse had apanied him for a whole three years. It had won him manypetition previously.

    All of this did not matter. He was only focused on this one.

    ...

    Names began appearing on the ranking tablet. This meant that people were beginning to cross the third tablet.

    Wen Dabao wanted to faint when he thought of the 2000 silver wager.

    "Brother, brother please! Please show us something!" Wen Dabao was on the verge of crying.

    He wanted to fall to his knees and pray, but he knew it was of no use.

    2000 silvers would empty most of his savings. He would not be able to enjoy his favorite luxuries for at least a month after that.

    He could not take that!

    "Oh?" Just at that moment, a spectator next to him gasped and his eyes widened.

    "What... what¡¯s going on?" Another spectator gasped in disbelief.

    Just as Wen Dabao was about to ask, he scanned the ranking tablets. His eyes widened when he saw the name at the top.

    Blood rushed to his eyes.

    "Hahaha... he¡¯s appeared, he¡¯s finally appeared!" Wen Dabao eximed in excitement.

    On the top tablet...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    "It really is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name!"

    "Look, Fang Zhengzhi is on the board!"

    "He is... right at the top?!"

    When all of them heard Wen Dabao eximing, they stared at the name right at the top tablet.

    The results tablet was also split into four. The one at the bottom represented the first checkpoint whilst the one at the top was the fourth checkpoint.

    "Fang Zhengzhi passed the fourth checkpoint?!"

    Everyone looked at each other in awe and disbelief. Even though they had all expected Fang Zhengzhi to do this, it feltpletely different when they saw it for themselves.

 Chapter 288: Finishing line

    Chapter 288: Finishing line

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "He really did that?"

    "He... he is showing aplete disregard for tradition!"

    All of the officials were furious after recovering from the initial shock.

    He was making trouble!

    All of them wanted to curse. However, the rules of thepetition only necessitated that thepetitor had to have their names on all four tablets.

    There was no obligation to run in a particr order.

    As such...

    They could only simmer.

    ...

    Xiang Tianying could not increase the distance between himself and Tang Zhongming.

    As a result, Xiang Tianying could not slow down. Even though one hour was enough for him to finish the race, he did not want his stallion to crumple to the ground on the finish line.

    Tang Zhongming wanted to take home the top spot very badly.

    In fact, no one wanted to be second. Only the first ce would be remembered and respected.

    As such, he continued to whip his horse and urge it forward. His expression was filled with ferocity as he chased behind.

    Plumes of dust flew skyward.

    However, Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming did not care. After all, the people eating the dust were those behind them. People like Ping Yang, Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince...

    Unless...

    They had people in front of them.

    Just as they were thinking about that, both Xiang Tianying¡¯s and Tang Zhongming¡¯s expressions changed.

    There was someone in front of them.

    A yellow Mud Striped Horse came into vision. It was not moving quickly, not even at the top speed of the Mud Striped Horse.

    It was almost as if that man was taking his horse out on a walk.

    The youth on the back of the Mud Striped Horse wore a blue long sleeve. He was whistling and basking in the sunlight.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were shocked to see him.

    THey could recognize this man as Fang Zhengzhi. Fang Zhengzhi had been under the spotlight ever since he showed up.

    He had been the center of attention.

    "Why is he out in front? And he¡¯sing towards us, did he..." A thought shed past Xiang Tianying¡¯s mind. Then, he had an answer.

    "He took the other direction!"

    "Idiot!" Tang Zhongming said in scorn. Only the vigers who had never participated in apetition like this would do that.

    Anyone who had participated in apetition like this would never do something like that to make it more difficult for themselves.

    "He must be trying to be different."

    "He¡¯s nothing but a joke!"

    Even though Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming agreed on this fact, this did not mean that they were allies.

    The two of them went around Fang Zhengzhi without stopping.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stop either. He didn¡¯t even take a second look at them. He passed through the middle easily.

    After passing Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming, a red figure came into view.

    "Oh, this girl is third?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. When Ping Yang closed, he courteously mocked, "Hi!"

    Ping Yang stopped in her tracks. She waved her zing Qilin Spear in her hand as she stood on the back of Snow Jade. She stabbed towards Zhang Feiyu.

    Zhang Feiyu got the shock of his life.

    What the hell?

    He was already shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi up ahead. And now, Ping Yang stopped to attack him?

    What did he do to antagonize her?

    "Your highness, why are you doing this?!" Zhang Feiyu flew off his horse to avoid being hit.

    "Oh?" The Ninth Prince reined his stallion in when he saw what was ahead. The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion whinnied and stopped.

    He would not overtake them whilst they were fighting.

    It was just not his character to do so.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you came from the fourth tablet? Have you etched your name on it?" Ping Yang attacked Zhang Feiyu as she barraged Fang Zhengzhi with questions.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "And you¡¯re going to the third tablet now?" Ping Yang continued.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll be on my way!" Ping Yang dropped back onto her horse and galloped away.

    Zhang Feiyu was stunned by what just happened.

    Then he looked at Ping Yang speeding off into the distance.

    "What the hell? She stopped just to talk to this guy?!" Zhang Feiyu wanted to ask Ping Yang what she was thinking. However, he realized that Ping Yang had always been this willful.

    He was rendered speechless.

    "Charge!" Zhang Feiyu leapt onto his horse and whipped it. His stallion galloped past Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Official Fang, we have killed quite a few of the beasts around the other three tablets. However, it is still notpletely safe. Do take care." The Ninth Prince advised

    "I¡¯ll be fine." Fang Zhengzhi waved the Ninth Prince off.

    The Ninth Prince did not say anymore. He closed his knees and a purple light glowed on the forehead of the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion as it shot forward.

    "Quality stallion!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    The Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion was indeed a top grade horse. It¡¯s explosiveness was much more than the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion.

    After the Ninth Prince sped off, the other talents began to pass Fang Zhengzhi.

    Some of them looked surprised to see Fang Zhengzhi. Others looked at him with expressions of mockery and scorn.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of them.

    He continued to urge the Mud Striped Horse forward. Every now and then, he would stop to feed it some grass...

    ...

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were significantly more anxious. They kept watching their surroundings.

    Normally...

    The tablet would appear right in the middle of the road. Thepetitors would usually see the tablet before hunting the beasts nearby.

    However, they had yet to see the fourth tablet. The distance was significantly more than what they had travelled before.

    However, Xiang Tianying could not stop.

    Tang Zhongming was too close forfort.

    As such...

    All he could do was continue galloping forward.

    After another five minutes, his eyes lit up. He saw a ck figure up ahead. It looked like a tablet.

    "I am finally here at the fourth tablet!" Xiang Tianying heaved a sigh of relief. Thispetition was his to win.

    ...

    At the finishing line...

    Wen Dabao continued to kowtow. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name did not reappear on any of the other boards.

    "Kaboom!"

    Before long, the sound of horse hooves rang out.

    Wen Dabao looked up in confusion.

    Very quickly, he saw two battle horses charging towards the finishing line.

    Wen Dabao and the other four in the wager looked up. All of the other spectators and officials waited for the results anxiously.

    Everyone stared at the two figures.

    "Oh? It¡¯s... them?!" All of spectators recognized the two approaching figures. They were Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    "Why are they here?"

    "This is the finish line!"

    All of the talents were confused. Tang Zhongming and Xiang Tianying¡¯s names had not appeared on the fourth tablet.

    Why were they at the finish line?

    Just as they were thinking about it, a fiery red figure appeared behind them. It was Ping Yang in the Red me Flower Armor.

    Then, Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince followed...

    All of thepetitors charged wildly towards the finish line.

    "What¡¯s going on?" All of the officials looked at each other in confusion. Why did they all skip the fourth tablet and rush for the finish line?

    Thepetitors charged forward.

    Within moments, they were by the side of the tablet.

    Then...

    The two of them were stunned.

    "Oh? Why are we here?" Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming looked at each other in confusion.

    "Yes, why are you two here?" One of the spectators questioned.

    "Don¡¯t you know that you have to pass the fourth tablet first?" Another spectator added.

    "This..." Xiang Tianying scanned the crowd and spotted Emperor Lin Mubai as well as the officials.

    "What¡¯s going on? Why are we at the finishing line?!" Tang Zhongming eximed in disbelief.

    "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you all that question?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression darkened.

    It would not be nice for the Emperor to question thesepetitors. As such, he had to do the job.

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming nced at each other in confusion.

    "Prime Minister, we did not see the fourth recording tablet on our way here. May we know if there were only three?" Xiang Tianying queried.

    "Rubbish! The rules clearly state four recording tablets, how can one of them go missing?" Yu Yiping was furious.

    "Yes, someone had already reached the fourth recording tablet!"

    "How can there not be a fourth recording tablet?"

    "Did you all take a wrong turn?"

    All of the officials chided when they heard this.

    "Take a wrong turn? That¡¯s impossible. We had followed the track all the time without deviating at all. How could we have made a wrong turn?" Tang Zhongming was confused.

    "Someone passed the fourth recording tablet?" Xiang Tianying was in disbelief. He had not left the path at all.

    However, even though he did not want to believe it...

    He nced at the results tablet to his side.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Xiang Tianying eximed. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was right at the top.

    That meant that Fang Zhengzhi had inscribed his name on the fourth recording tablet.

    "It really is him!" Tang Zhongming remembered that they had seen Fang Zhengzhi riding from the tablet. However, since they did not see it along the way, he did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi did either.

    Just as Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were recovering from their shock, Ping Yang, Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince arrived next to them.

    "Oh? We are at the finish line already?" Ping Yang asked.

    Zhang Feiyu and the Ninth Prince nced at each other in shock.

    What the hell is going on?

    Yu Yiping¡¯s expression turned ugly. He looked at a huge crowd galloping towards the finish line.

    And...

    Only Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was on the fourth tablet.

    "Wait, why am I at the finish line?"

    "We¡¯ve only passed three recording tablets!"

    "Didn¡¯t the rules specify four? What¡¯s going on?"

    As more people arrived at the finish line, the discussions became more intense. All of thepetitors were equally confused.

    They did not understand how they could arrive at the finish line without seeing the fourth recording tablet.

    It was too strange.

    Just at that moment, the results tablet lit up again. A name began to glow on the bottom of the third tablet.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    "Fang Zhengzhi is at the third recording tablet!"

    "If he came from the fourth recording tablet, how could it possibly vanish?"

    "Could it be..."

    All of thepetitors and spectators looked to the officials.

 Chapter 289: First place

    Chapter 289: First ce

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "That¡¯s impossible! If the fourth recording tablet was destroyed, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name would disappear along with it!" One of the officials refuted what thepetitors were thinking.

    "Then what¡¯s going on? Where is the fourth recording tablet?"

    "Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi removed the entire stone?!" One of the talents voiced his guess.

    "Impossible! The recording tablet is stuck 10m into the ground. Even a Rewind State cultivator would not be able to remove the tablet.

    "Does he have some treasure?"

    "I don¡¯t think someone like him would have any treasure?"

    "No matter how he did it... we can¡¯t just sit here and wait right?"

    "Yes, as long as we find Fang Zhengzhi, everything will be solved!"

    "We must stop him!"

    "He¡¯s already at the third recording tablet. If we chase him, we may not be able to catch up to him. He may even take home the championship."

    "We can go the opposite way and intercept him!"

    "Yes, we will just run one more round!"

    All of the otherpetitors quickly formted a n. Then, they leapt on their stallions and ran towards the first recording tablet.

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming¡¯s expressions darkened.

    One more round?

    Did they have the time to do that?

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Xiang Tianying clenched his fist. He was furious but helpless. If he waited here, his chances of winning were virtually none.

    If he chased, he still stood a chance.

    Stopping was a death sentence!

    "Charge!" Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming hollered almost simultaneously. Their battle stallions shot out like arrows from a bow.

    "That fe hid everything from me when he saw me. He didn¡¯t even leave a note! How evil!" Ping Yang pouted and tightened her grip on the reins. The Snow Jade shot forward.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the result would cause an uproar. When he had seen Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming, he knew exactly what would happen.

    Dig up the tablet?

    He had thought of it but it was impossible.

    The Heart Protection Mirror had limited space. Furthermore, in order to put it inside, he needed to hold it in his hand.

    Could he hold the recording tablet in his hand?

    Clearly not.

    He decided to employ an easier and more efficient method.

    The roads in this hunting grounds were quiteplicated. There were multiple paths within it.

    As the royal hunting grounds, this ce was not usually open to the public. It was only opened during events like this one.

    In order for thepetitors to recognize the path, there were aids and stones ced to point in the correct directions. This was to prevent thepetitors from taking the wrong path.

    However, this yed right into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    ...

    After he scouted the territory around the fourth recording stone, he made a tiny adjustment at one of the junctions.

    In order to prevent an ident, he walked on the path he wanted the others to take, patiently waiting for the otherpetitors toe.

    Then, he saw Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were not locals and did not know these grounds well. Seeing the directional stone and Fang Zhengzhi on the path was enough for them to fall into the trap.

    They ran around Fang Zhengzhi and shot away.

    Ping Yang, the Ninth Prince, as well as the otherpetitors all saw Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming take that path. Consumed by their desperation for a good ranking, they would not suspect the small adjustment Fang Zhengzhi made.

    Fang Zhengzhi also greeted Ping Yang to distract her from checking out the surroundings.

    As such...

    Everything fell into ce naturally.

    Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince would lead everyone down the wrong way. Seeing Fang Zhengzhie from the opposite direction would cause enough of a distraction. No one would suspect the small change he made at the fork.

    When everyone took the wrong path...

    No one would think that the wrong path was wrong.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite proud of what he did. Firstly, he did not destroy the recording tablet. Destroying it would have caused many problems for him.

    Secondly, he had not shifted the recording tablet. As such, he was not actually breaking any of the rules.

    Thirdly, when everyone reached the finish line, he would have reached the third recording tablet. By that time, no one would chase him from the direction of the fourth recording tablet.

    Who would realize the error of their ways?

    With things all falling into ce, what is preventing him from getting the first ce?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in no rush. He knew that he still had to solve one more thing. Only by doing that would the first ce be his.

    He continued to admire the lush greenery around him as he urged his horse along the path. He enjoyed the sounds of nature around him. Every so often, he would grill a rabbit.

    After inscribing his name on the second recording tablet, he did not continue walking further. He made a fire by the side and began grilling a rabbit...

    ...

    At the finishing line, all of the spectators saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name light up on the second tablet. All of them felt uneasy.

    "He had crossed the second recording tablet?"

    "He will win as long as he records his name on the first tablet!"

    "He cannot pass the first tablet!"

    Ever since the start of thepetition...

    No one would have guessed this result.

    Fang Zhengzhi was riding an inferior Mud Striped Horse. Hispetitors were all riding superior stallions.

    In the end...

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to aplish the impossible.

    This man with an inferior Mud Striped Horse had inscribed his name on three of the four tablets. He was on par with everyone else.

    More importantly, he had the initiative.

    What if he decided to hide?

    What if he took a detour?

    All of the spectators were anxious to find out what happened. They hoped that the others would not fan out to find Fang Zhengzhi and fall into his trap.

    If Fang Zhengzhi snuck past them, everything would be for naught.

    "As long as they guard the first recording tablet, Fang Zhengzhi cannot finish the race either!"

    "Exactly, stall Fang Zhengzhi and everything can still progress."

    "But... who would sacrifice themselves to stall Fang Zhengzhi?"

    All of the officials looked at each other anxiously.

    Wen Dabao was the only one who was excited. He managed to find three joss sticks.

    He lit them up at the front of the tablet. He prayed constantly, "Fang Zhengzhi, you must win. If you win, you will be my brother, you will be my brother, you will be my brother..."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi let the Mud Striped Horse roam by the side and graze on grass. Hey by the side of the road grilling a Green Furred Rabbit.

    He could imagine the crowd waiting to ambush him around the first recording tablet.

    It wouldn¡¯t matter if he went there earlier orter.

    However, if he went on an empty stomach, it would be disadvantageous towards him. By eating, he would have an advantage over his starving opponents.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this, so he patiently grilled his Green Furred Rabbit.

    Then, a red figure appeared in front of him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re grilling a rabbit here?!" Ping Yang had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would have taken a detour or rushed towards the first recording tablet.

    However, she never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would stop in the middle of thepetition to grill a rabbit.

    Is he not afraid of others spotting him?

    "You have an opinion?" Fang Zhengzhi continued grilling the rabbit.

    "Of course." Ping Yang pouted.

    "Then do you want to have some?"

    "Yes!"

    "What about the Ninth Prince?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang as he changed his posture.

    "Official Fang, thank you for the offer. I¡¯ll... have some as well." The Ninth Prince¡¯s voice rang out from afar.

    "How did you know that Ninth Brother was here?" Ping Yang was curious. Fang Zhengzhi did not even look in that direction.

    "I guessed." Fang Zhengzhi replied casually. Then, he retrieved a small box filled with spices to vor the rabbit.

    Before long, the aroma filled the air.

    The Ninth Prince arrived beside Fang Zhengzhi. He was slightly stunned. He had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi had inside that box.

    "Ninth Brother, you¡¯re in luck. This fe can¡¯t do anything right, but the meat he grills is delicious." Ping Yang salivated when she thought about the meat she was about to eat.

    "It smells great." The Ninth Princemended.

    ...

    Time flew.

    Fang Zhengzhi, the Ninth Prince and Ping Yang did not bring up the issue about thepetition.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished grilling the meat, he chewed on a de of grass as he looked into the sky.

    "Fang Zhegzhi, aren¡¯t you going to the first recording tablet?" Ping Yang asked suspiciously.

    "What good would that do?"

    "Nothing. They had already decided to ambush you there. Once you are there, they will capture you and restart the race from the first recording tablet."

    "Exactly."

    "So why aren¡¯t you surprised that I am here?"

    "Why should I be surprised? You¡¯re Ping Yang."

    "Oh please!" Ping Yang¡¯s mouth twitched as she vented her frustrations. Then, she nced at the Ninth Prince, "So how did you guess that he would be here?"

    "Because he promised to wait for them at the second recording tablet." Fang Zhengzhi waved her off as he changed his position once again.

    "Humph!" Ping Yang snorted. Even though she didn¡¯t want to admit it, it seemed that Fang Zhengzhi knew everything.

    The breeze blew gently and the sun crept to its peak. The ground began to heat up.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided that it was about time.

    He suspected that all of the otherpetitors would be hungry and dehydrated after a whole morning without food or water.

    "Let¡¯s go." Fang Zhengzhi swept the dust off his clothes and smiled.

    "Where to?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "To the finish line, don¡¯t you want to take first ce?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Finish line, that..."

    "You want to ask if the fourth recording tablet is on me?" Fang Zhengzhi waved Ping Yang off when he saw her expression.

    "Yes, hand over the fourth recording tablet and I can spare your life!" Ping Yang red at Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, her clear eyes, tiny lips and immature face failed to make any impact.

    Instead, she looked rather adorable.

    "Hahaha... I think you will not be convinced unless you search me. You can do so now." Fang Zhengzhi spread his arms.

    "Shameless!" Ping Yang¡¯s face flushed.

    The Ninth Prince did not speak when he saw this. He knew that there was no point in rushing Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You really want to know?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang.

    "Of course, I want toe in first!" Ping Yang replied haughtily.

 Chapter 290: The Arrow that decides his fate

    Chapter 290: The Arrow that decides his fate

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "First ce? Okay then, the fourth recording tablet is actually by the roadside, but..." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "But what?"

    "You guys went the wrong way." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at one of the directional rocks.

    "Wrong way?" Ping Yang murmured to herself. Then, her eyes glimmered, "Did you do something to the road? Oh yes, where I met you! I thought something was amiss, you... you¡¯re so shameless!"

    "Thank you for yourpliment. Now that you know, why aren¡¯t you rushing there?"

    "Before I go, I want to ask you a question." Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi quizzically.

    "Do you want to ask me why I told you?"

    "Yes, why did you tell me? If you hadn¡¯t told us, neither me nor Ninth Brother would have thought of this. Won¡¯t that give you a higher chance of finishing first?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion.

    "I will still get first even if I tell you now."

    "How is that possible? You still haven¡¯t etched your name on the first recording stone. Furthermore, there are so many people waiting for you. How do you n to pass them?" Ping Yang said in disbelief.

    "Pass? Why do I need to pass them? As long as I tell them the truth, they will be in too much of a hurry to run off. Who will want to stop me?" Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

    "Official Fang is right. They want to win thepetition, not find trouble with Official Fang. As long as he tells them the location of the fourth recording tablet, they will leave him alone." The Ninth Prince nodded.

    "I see. Is that why you waited for us here?" Ping Yang queried.

    "Wait for you? Oh please, stop thinking so highly of yourself. I was just hungry, so I stopped for a bite. Bye bye!" Fang Zhengzhi leapt onto his horse and galloped away.

    He left Ping Yang stomping her feet.

    "Shameless fe, even though you have a shorter distance to go, I will still beat you to the finish!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he had everything calcted perfectly.

    He had changed the road at the fourth recording tablet. He would force all of them to run another round.

    They would all be famished and exhausted. That way, their only aim would be to finish thepetition.

    Naturally, no one would stay behind to find trouble with him.

    Everything was falling nicely into ce.

    However, he never expected to meet Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stallion arrived at the first recording tablet, Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongying were clearly out of the running.

    A ck stallion and green stalliony crumpled on the ground.

    The ck battle stallion looked like it had broken all of its bones. The green battle stallion had no life in its eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not recognize Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming. However, he recalled that these two were the frontrunners.

    "Oh? Why did you kill your horses?" Fang Zhengzhi asked innocently when he saw Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    "You..."

    It was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was mocking the two of them.

    "Hand over the fourth recording tablet!"

    "Yes, hand it over before we turn nasty."

    "It is against the rules to take the recording tablet away. When we have verified it, you will be disqualified!"

    All of them were only concerned about the fourth recording tablet.

    "I didn¡¯t take it away! Did you all go the wrong way?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at thepetitors innocently.

    "Wrong way? How is that possible? We followed the stones... hang on, did you..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you shift the rocks!"

    "You... you..."

    All of thepetitors recovered from their shock.

    "I am not sure about that. I did not go in the same direction as all of you. When I came, the fourth recording tablet was by the roadside." Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid enough to admit what he did.

    "Oh please, you must have moved it on purpose!" One of thepetitors asserted.

    "So what if I did? Is identally kicking a directional stone cause for disqualification?" Fang Zhengzhi waved them off.

    All of thepetitors looked at each other, clearly infuriated.

    But...

    Were they really going to attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    If the fourth recording tablet was really on him, then they had sufficient reason to attack him.

    However, the fourth recording tablet was not with him.

    This was apletely different situation.

    Firstly, Fang Zhengzhi was a rank four official in the imperial courts. They could not attack him without a valid reason.

    Secondly, Fang Zhengzhi was quite powerful.

    Amongst all of thepetitors, only Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming had the confidence to defeat him.

    If they couldn¡¯t swarm him, it was unlikely they would defeat him in a duel.

    They could only swallow their anger.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, we¡¯ll let you off this time!"

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    Many of thepetitors were famished and tired from the race. Furthermore, they had just ran an extra round.

    Many of them were on the brink of exhaustion.

    They now knew the estimated location of the fourth recording tablet. As long as they followed the trail, they would find it.

    There was no reason for them to stay here.

    All of them mounted their horses and prepared to search for the tablet.

    At this point, Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming looked at each other. Then, they stepped out.

    "Don¡¯t be fooled by him. The fourth recording tablet is on him. He wants us to go looking for it and take first ce for himself." Xiang Tianying¡¯s voice rang out.

    All of thepetitors stopped in their tracks.

    "Young Master Xiang is correct. Fang Zhengzhi is notorious for being shameless. What Young Master Xiang said is usible." Tang Zhongming chimed in.

    "Yes yes, what they said is reasonable!"

    "Yes, we cannot be fooled by him again."

    "Search him!"

    "We should tie him up before going to find it!"

    All of thepetitors agreed with Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    As long as they had reason to suspect that Fang Zhengzhi stole the tablet, they had reason to attack.

    In fact...

    Whether Fang Zhengzhi had actually taken the tablet was secondary. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi could have never taken away such a huge tablet.

    They also knew that Fang Zhengzhi was likely to be telling the truth.

    However, they were unwilling to let Fang Zhengzhi off so easily.

    Before they restarted thepetition, they would tie up Fang Zhengzhi first. That was the only way they could prevent him from winning.

    It would also allow them to vent their frustrations.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he looked at the crowd. Then, he looked at Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming¡¯s stallions. He had a realization.

    They knew that they were out of contention, so they wanted to cause as much trouble as possible.

    They were trying to bring him down with them.

    "I already told you that I did not take the fourth recording tablet. If you all want to search me, you can send one representative. However, if you try to swarm me, I will be nasty!" Fang Zhengzhi decided to be a little more menacing.

    Even though he was not a high ranking official amongst those in the courts, he was one of the most powerful amongst thepetitors.

    All of them were stunned when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Are you going to kill us here?" One of them asked in disbelief.

    "Exactly! The Emperor is here today. If you kill us, you will be executed as well!" Another one stepped out.

    "I do not dare to kill any innocent people. However, what if I did so out of self defence? I remember that I had to defend myself once in recent history." Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    When they heard the phrase ¡®self defence¡¯, all of them thought of the exact same thing.

    The incident at the Northern Mountain Vige had already spread throughout the city. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s had yet to ount for his massacre of about 100 soldiers.

    "Oh please, self defence? You will have to defeat us first!" Xiang Tianying nced at all of the otherpetitors. If he did not speak now, they would all be scared off by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I was preparing to meet you in the court examinations. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just bring it forward to today." Tang Zhongming chimed in.

    With the support of these two powerhouses, the confidence of all the others were boosted.

    With them holding the front, Fang Zhengzhi was unlikely to be able to kill them.

    Fang Zhengzhi was exasperated.

    All he wanted to do was scare them off. However, his reputation did not seem to be sufficient to do that.

    He was sure that he could convince them all if he tried a little longer.

    As long as one person left, the others would follow. After all, time waits for no man.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was running out of time as well.

    He should have never told Ping Yang the location of the fourth recording tablet. With Ping Yang¡¯s speed, she would easily take first if he lost any more time.

    Not only would he lose the treasure, he would be mocked by Ping Yang. "I am first, you are second, I am first, you are second..."

    The thought of that made Fang Zhengzhi want to puke.

    He could not let that happen.

    He had to solve this crisis quickly.

    He flipped over his hand and a jade green bow appeared in it. It glimmered with a strong killing aura.

    All of the talents retreated subconsciously when they saw the bow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "That, that is..."

    "That looks like... it¡¯s really familiar. Is it the Sun Shooting Bow?!"

    "How is that possible? How can the Sun Shooting Bow be with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    All of thepetitors were in disbelief when they saw the bow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of them. He gripped the bow in his left hand as he pulled the bowstring taut.

    He had grown up in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Archery was no stranger to him.

    Even though he did not have a 100% uracy, he would easily kill any game within a 300m radius.

    Even though the others could not confirm that Fang Zhengzhi was in possession of the Sun Shooting Bow, they were all shocked by his actions.

    "Is he really going to fight all of us?"

    "That¡¯s crazy!"

    Even Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi draw his weapon.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bow string began to glow green.

    It was a lightsword.

    An aura of life rose from the bow. It elongate from the bowstring. the bow, and the surroundings.

    It looked like an arrow on the bow.

    However, this arrow was actually a sharp jade green lightsword...

    "What is this?"

    "The Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration. He has used it to make an arrow!"

    "What is he trying to do?!"

    All of them retreated slowly. They could all feel the powering from that arrow.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was wielding the Sun Shooting Bow...

    The Sun Shooting Bowbined with the Million Sword Illustration...

    How powerful would that be?

 Chapter 291: Return my pole position

    Chapter 291: Return my pole position

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    No one knew because no one had seen it before.

    However, they were all extremely anxious as they saw the jade green glow be brighter and brighter.

    "Ah! Don¡¯t shoot me!"

    "I am just here to participate in thepetition!"

    "Please stop! We have no feud, don¡¯t act rashly!"

    No one else had Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming¡¯s ability. As such, when they saw the arrow on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bow, they panicked.

    "Zoom!" A piercing sound rang out throughout the air.

    The arrow tore through the air, cutting a slim green crack as it flew towards the crowd.

    Clearly, the pleas had not worked.

    "Run!" All of them ran without hesitation. They could feel how terrifyingly powerful the green arrow was.

    If they were hit by it, many of them would die or suffer severe injuries.

    Amongst the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, the zing Qilin Spear was the best offensive weapon. The Sun Shooting Bow was the one with the highest lethal range.

    Even a normal arrow would be buffed by the power of the bow. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was using the Million Sword Illustration.

    The jade green arrow sailed through the air.

    It curved over the heads of all the retreatingpetitors. Then, itnded about 300m away, exploding in a sh of green.

    "Boom!"

    A crater was instantly formed in the ground.

    There were two innocent beasts in the crater bathing in their own blood. That was overkill.

    "Hiss..."

    All of them looked at the devastation just 300m away from them. They hissed and gasped, feeling chills running down their spines.

    If this was sent right into the middle of them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming looked at the crater and then at each other. Their expressions darkened.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to urge his horse forward.

    The Mud Striped Horse whinnied as it looked at the otherpetitors. Then, it began walking towards the crater.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled to himself. This was the first time he was using the Sun Shooting Bow. He never expected it to be this powerful.

    However, this was not what he was most concerned about.

    He was more concerned if he could pass easily after revealing this power.

    He scanned all of the otherpetitors. Then, he bared his teeth in an attempt to scare them.

    None of them noticed his expression. However, when they saw him riding over, they all opened up a path for him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was ecstatic.

    He did not want to resort to violence. Furthermore, Ping Yang was probably already at the third recording tablet. If he did not speed up, Ping Yang would really be in an advantageous position.

    He wanted the first position to himself.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you really think that you can scare us off with that arrow?" Xiang Tianying blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s path.

    Beside him was a solemn looking Tang Zhongming.

    "Us?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Tang Zhongming. "You want a 2v1?"

    "Yes! I had thought that one of us would have been enough. However, seeing as you have such a powerful bow to bully us, we will have tobine our powers." Xiang Tianying nodded.

    "I am bullying you all just because I have a good bow? So you want a 2v1?" Fang Zhengzhi could not figure out the logic.

    All of the otherpetitors were terrified when they heard this.

    Even though they knew that Xiang Tianying¡¯s reason was no real reason at all, they were not concerned about that.

    What was more important was that...

    The seventh and eighth ranked talents on the Rising Dragon Roll were about to join forces!

    And they were going tobine forces to fight Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was bullying.

    However, after seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow, anyone who wanted to duel him alone had a death wish.

    "What... about you all?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the others.

    "We will spectate!"

    "Yes, we will just watch from the side."

    "Rest assured, we will not interfere."

    All of the others looked at each other and made their stand clear. They were not like Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    If they tried to interfere, the arrow may be trained on them.

    No one was a fool.

    Furthermore, with Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongmingbining forces, there was no ce for them. Why find trouble for themselves.

    They were here for thepetition.

    Fighting...

    Was not part of their ns.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to fight either. However, he could not back down now that he was challenged.

    Furthermore, he had no idea who Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were.

    As a result, he didn¡¯t care.

    "Okay then, since we are going to fight, make it quick. My time is limited, I still want to finish first!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    Both of them were in the top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll.

    They were famed throughout thends. They had never been condescended to in this way before.

    "Finish first? Fang Zhengzhi, you can lie here for the rest of the day!" Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were rivals.

    They had not nned to cooperate.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow had caused their confidence to waver.

    Tang Zhongming felt the same way. If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had the Sun Shooting Bow, he would not join forces with Xiang Tianying.

    If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had caused trouble for him, he would be bathing in glory by now.

    He was supposed to finish first or second. However, right now, he was going home with nothing. He was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi off.

    "Return my pole position!" Tang Zhongming waved his hand and a longsword appeared in his hand. His body glowed blue as an icy gust cut through the air.

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback. He had not expected that his two opponents would be this strong.

    This guy¡¯s technique was no weaker than Nangong Mu¡¯s Green and Blue Secret Art.

    "I forgot to introduce myself, Tang Zhongming, pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State, ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll!" Tang Zhongming¡¯s tone was icy.

    "Xian Tianying, pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State, ranked seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll!" Xiang Tianying bellowed. Then, he nced at Tang Zhongming contentedly.

    "F*ck me!" Fang Zhengzhi cursed in his heart.

    Ranks seven and eight on the Rising Dragon Roll?!

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled how he had defeated the tenth person on the Rising Dragon Roll. Even though he had won, it was not a gentlemanly fight.

    Furthermore...

    Nangong Mu was not even within the top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll.

    That would mean that these two people were even more powerful than Nangong Mu.

    Perhaps...

    He may have gone overboard.

    "Ohe on... you are two famous people joining together to fight me. Isn¡¯t that a little inappropriate?" Fang Zhengzhi said disdainfully.

    "Who asked you to have such a good bow?" Xiang Tianying smirked when he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Why don¡¯t we make a deal. I won¡¯t use my bow and you will choose someone to duel me. If you lose, let me pass?" Fang Zhengzhi suggested.

    "Duel?"

    Xian Tianying and Tang Zhongming looked at each other and smirked.

    "Sure, but you have to beat us both in session before we let you pass!" Xiang Tianying¡¯s smile became more and more radiant.

    He could see fear in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. This guy was clearly not powerful.

    He wondered how Fang Zhengzhi made it into the top 10.

    "Okay then..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded hesitantly after hearing the terms.

    "Young Master Tang, please go ahead!" Xiang Tianying nced at Tang Zhongming.

    "Young Master Xiang is more powerful, you should go first!" Tang Zhongming knew that the first one to fight was always at a disadvantage.

    Furthermore, having never sparred with Fang Zhengzhi, spectating one match would give him some preparation.

    "You should go first because I am more powerful than you. You can test him out and I can finish him off." Xiang Tianying reasoned.

    "Does Young Master Xiang have no confidence to defeat Fang Zhengzhi?" Tang Zhongming rebutted.

    "I think Young Master Tang should go first."

    "I think it is more appropriate for Young Master Xiang to go first."

    The two of them began to bicker.

    All of the other talents shook their heads when they saw Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming bickering. They would have done the same if they were in that position.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was also in the top 10.

    Even though they were ranked higher than Fang Zhengzhi, they were not much more powerful. Any battle would result in severe injuries on both sides.

    The second one to fight was bound to be at a huge advantage.

    "How about I suggest something since you two can¡¯te to an agreement?" Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely.

    "What is it?" Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming looked at Fang Zhengzhi, unsure of what he was trying to do. They had heard all about Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was a shameless man who would stop at nothing to win.

    As such, they were extremely cautious.

    "It¡¯s simple. Just y rock paper scissors. Whoever loses will go first. Do you all know how to y?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if they yed this in this world.

    "Of course!" Xiang Tianying snorted.

    This was something he learnt when he was two!

    "Okay, even though it is immature, it is a fair method to decide. We will use that to determine who goes first!" Tang Zhongming nodded after a brief hesitation.

    "I can be the judge to prevent either one of you from cheating!" Fang Zhengzhi said solemnly.

    Both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming nced at Fang Zhengzhi suspiciously. What is he trying to do?

    However, they didn¡¯t think he could do much in a game of rock paper scissors.

    Both of them agreed after some thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi dismounted and walked into the middle of them two. Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming held their hands behind their back.

    "I will count to three and you must y together. Whoever reactste will lose." Fang Zhengzhi reiterated.

    "Enough nonsense, just start!" Xiang Tianying said in exasperation.

    Many of the otherpetitors gathered around, waiting to see what was going to happen.

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "One."

    "Two."

    "Three."

    "Open!"

    Fang Zhengzhi waved his arm and ordered. Both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming red at each other as they showed their hands.

    At this moment.

    "Boom!"

    A ring white light exploded in between both of them.

    "Eyes!"

    "My eyes!"

    "Sh*t, why can¡¯t I see?!"

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi! He used this tactic when fighting Nangong Mu thest time!"

    After the bright light exploded, the entire are went into chaos. Everyone was covering their eyes and scampering around.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will not let you off!" Xiang Tianying closed his eyes and roared. A column of purple light shot skyward. It glimmered in the sun like purple crystals.

    Purple Crystal Territory!

 Chapter 292: Rapid Dispatch

    Chapter 292: Rapid Dispatch

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Someone had oncepared various materials in the world.

    Purple Crystal got its name not just because it was a purple colored crystal. In fact, Purple Crystal had a second meaning - not easily broken.

    The Daos that Xiang Tianying understood and used were not weak at all. After all, he was ranked seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll. The Purple Crystal Territory was one of his strongest.

    In times of crisis, Xiang Tianying¡¯sposure shone. He did not scamper away nor did he try to open his eyes.

    He chose to close his eyes and defence.

    His ears perked up as he tried to listen out for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    Tang Zhongming¡¯s reaction was not much weaker.

    However...

    He was slightly slower than Xiang Tianying.

    This slower reaction caused his Ice Crystal territory to be crushed by Xiang Tianying¡¯s Purple Crystal Territory before it fully formed.

    "Boom!"

    Tang Zhongming felt a huge impact on his back as he was sent flying.

    Tang Zhongming finally understood why people said that one should not be afraid of powerful opponents but should be terrified of selfish friends.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not likepetitive duels.

    On a stage, there was limited space so his opportunities were also correspondingly limited. Furthermore, with nowhere to hide, he had less chances for a sneak attack.

    The woods on the other hand...

    He had lived in the woods all his life. There were trees, rocks, and other natural obstacles for him to hide behind.

    He could effortlessly calcte the blind spots andunch his sneak attacks.

    And now...

    Heaven had bequeathed upon him the ideal location.

    The Eastern Hunting Grounds were in the middle of a forest.

    All he needed was time and distance.

    The Sun Shooting Bow excelled with range and not closebat. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi needed time to use the Million Sword Illustration to form an arrow. He would not have this luxury on stage.

    Before the arrow could form, his opponent would have closed the distance.

    When Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming blocked him, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bow was virtually useless. As such, agreeing to their terms or not would have made no difference.

    However, once Xiang Tianying had proposed that they took turns to fight Fang Zhengzhi...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this battle was unavoidable. It didn¡¯t matter if they took turns or attacked him together.

    He needed to use the environment to his advantage and unleash the power of the Sun Shooting Bow.

    ...

    All of them began to recover slowly from the effects of the shbang. They saw a ray of light from afar.

    The light closed in slowly.

    It was a jade green light that made an arc in the air. It screeched as it tore through the air at neck breaking speeds.

    Tang Zhongming had never expected to be hit in the chest so quickly after he took a blow to his back...

    Furthermore, this hit was much more severe than the previous one.

    He felt like a million swords pierced through his body, trying to tear it apart.

    Even though his Ice Crystal Territory was up, his main focus was on defending the blow he suffered from the back.

    This caused his front to be left rtively undefended.

    Furthermore, Tang Zhongming was not in a good state after being hit the first time. Even if he tried to defend against the arrow, he would still have suffered some injuries.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this.

    He would take advantage of the weaker opponent.

    This was a simple logic. When faced with two opponents, one who was well prepared and one who had slipped up...

    One should always attack the one who slipped up.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi trained his arrow on Tang Zhongming without hesitation.

    "Boom!"

    Tang Zhongming¡¯s body was sent flying once again. This time, his body was surrounded by rays of green light. These were all sharp lightswords which shredded the armor he wore.

    Then, an explosion.

    Tang Zhongming finally knew how it felt to fly. However, this was too intense for him.

    He could not take it.

    "Dong!" Tang Zhongming¡¯s head crashed into the ground. His eyes rolled and he fainted. His body was covered in wounds.

    A huge crater appeared just below his body as clouds of dust were sent skyward.

    After the dust settled, it covered all of his wounds, but Tang Zhongming was now caked in dust.

    "Ah! What happened, what happened?"

    "Who was injured?"

    "What was that sound?"

    All of thepetitors who had yet to fully recover from the shbang screamed in terror.

    However, they quietened down quickly.

    All of thepetitors who regained their vision noticed the crater in front of them. Then, they saw the unconscious Tang Zhongming.

    "What... What is happening?"

    "Who did that? Could it be..."

    "Oh god, it¡¯s... it¡¯s Tang Zhongming. How... how is this possible?! Tang Zhongming is ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll!"

    All of them were terrified when they saw the state of Tang Zhongming.

    He was ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll. He was an elite in the empire. How could he have lost in the blink of an eye?

    Furthermore, he had lost in such a humiliating manner.

    Who didn¡¯t know the Tang Family?!

    Xiang Tianying finally opened his eyes. When he did, he was stunned by what he saw.

    "Tang Zhongming is defeated? So quickly? How is that possible!"

    Xiang Tianying was keenly aware of Tang Zhongming¡¯s abilities.

    Even though he was one rank higher than Tang Zhongming on the Rising Dragon Roll, it was because he knew the Dao of the Purple Crystal. This was something that Tang Zhongming couldn¡¯t break. If not for this advantage, he would not be able to defeat Tang Zhongming.

    But now, Tang Zhongming was lying on the ground.

    What was happening?

    Could it be that he had pushed Tang Zhongming away?

    Even if he did, he should not have caused this much damage to Tang Zhongming. This damage was far beyond what his Purple Crystal Territory could do.

    "It¡¯s... Fang Zhengzhi?!" Xiang Tianying did not want to admit it. However, he knew that no one else would dare to or had the ability to attack Tang Zhongming.

    In that instant, Xiang Tianying scanned the area for Fang Zhengzhi. After Tang Zhongming fell, he was up next.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi?"

    After confirming that Tang Zhongming was defeated, everyone was on the lookout of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Despite hundreds of pairs of eyes looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.

    "Where is he?!"

    "Where did Fang Zhengzhi go?"

    "I have experience with finding people! My uncle once told me that if your opponent is not around you, he is above or below you!" One of the talents offered.

    "On top?" They all looked upwards.

    Then, they realized that there was nothing above them except for the sun and clouds.

    Below?

    Ohe on! Fang Zhengzhi is only in the Heavenly Reflection State, how can he be below us?

    "No way, my uncle will never lie to me!"

    "Scram!"

    One of the more hot tempered talents kicked this guy on the floor. That talenty down, not daring to speak.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard! If you are a man,e out into the open and fight me!" Xiang Tianying hollered as he hid within his Purple Crystal Territory.

    "Zoom!" At this moment, another screeching sound rang in the air.

    A green glow could be seen in the sky. There was a ck crack that trailed behind this green glow as it tore through the air.

    "It¡¯s the Million Sword Illustration!"

    "Run!"

    All of the talents were scared out of their wits when they saw the green glow. They had all seen Tang Zhongming¡¯s tragic state.

    Xiang Tianying initially had no intention to run. However, upon seeing the arrow and Tang Zhongming¡¯s fate, he changed his mind.

    Even though his Purple Crystal Territory was powerful...

    Standing there and taking the arrow was stupid.

    He ran quickly into the crowd of talents. Running into a crowd was the safest option. There would always be people to block the arrow for him.

    "Boom!"

    A huge crater appeared where Xiang Tianying was standing moments ago.

    All of the scrambling talents were stunned to see Xiang Tianying run.

    "Young Master Xiang, Fang Zhengzhi is aiming at you, go defeat him!"

    "Yes yes, we are just watching. Please don¡¯t run towards us!"

    "I see Fang Zhengzhi! He is to the west! Young Master Xiang, I am sure that you can defeat him!"

    All of the other talents hollered out to Xiang Tianying. Many of them were from influential families as well. Even though they were not as powerful, none of them wanted to be a meat shield.

    When Xiang Tianying heard them, his expression darkened. He wanted to charge over, but he did not even know where Fang Zhengzhi was at.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, stop hiding! If you are a man,e out into the open and face me!" Xiang Tianying tried to anger Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, would Fang Zhengzhi fall for it?

    Clearly not.

    The reply came in the form of another green arrow.

    When the crowd saw the green light arrow flying towards them, they scattered. This was too powerful. Anyone within the st radius would be severely injured.

    Xiang Tianying grit his teeth when he saw the scattering talents. He rushed back into the crowd.

    "Boom!" Another crater formed.

    ...

    "Young Master Xiang, why do you keep following us?"

    "Yes, you wanted to challenge Fang Zhengzhi. You expect us to take the hits for you? Why are you shameless? To think that you¡¯re ranked seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll."

    "Show us how powerful you really are, go fight him!"

    All of them were furious after being shot at by Fang Zhengzhi. They could see that Xiang Tianying was using them for his own benefit.

    He was clearly using them as a meatshield!

    Xiang Tianying¡¯s expression darkened.

    He clenched his fists tightly. He really wanted to charge, but he could see that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position kept changing.

    Everytime he fired an arrow, he would move to a new spot.

    In order to get to Fang Zhengzhi, he would need to take at least three arrows. Furthermore, the closer he got, the harder it would be to dodge.

    As he closed in, the arrows would be faster. Could he really dodge then?

    Xiang Tianying was hesitant.

    Just as he hesitated, he realized all of the others scattered. No one wanted to stand near him.

    A light breeze continued to blow as the sun shone down.

    Xiang Tianying looked around him. He was always treated as a talent. He was pampered by his family and admired by others.

    However...

    He was alone in this moment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi,e and meet me out here!" Xiang Tianying hollered. However, everyone could hear the desperation in his voice.

    He was exasperated.

    "Zoom!" Another green light appeared in the sky. It screeched as it tore through the air and towards Xiang Tianying.

    This time, Xiang Tianying did not run.

    He could not run anymore. With his ranking and reputation, he would not be able to show his face in public if he ran from the arrow.

    He did not even care about winning.

    "Come at me!" Xiang Tianying¡¯s eyes glowed. A purple crystal armor appeared on his body and a purple crystal hexagon hovered above his head.

    Then, more and more hexagons began forming, eventuallybining into a huge shield.

 Chapter 293: Miracle

    Chapter 293: Miracle

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The purple shield continued to twirl above his head.

    The green ray of light screeching through the air impacted the purple crystal shield squarely. Then, it exploded.

    "Boom!"

    The entire earth shook.

    Countless green lightswords enveloped Xiang Tianying within instants.

    Xiang Tianying¡¯s expression changed. He would not have understood this power had he not experienced it himself.

    Only now did he know why Tang Zhongming would be knocked out by a single attack. The tearing feeling was unbearable for him despite his protection.

    His purple crystal armor began to crack under the attacks of the lightswords. It looked like it was about to shatter.

    "God damn it!" Xiang Tianying bit his lip. Blood dripped from his lip as the purple light around him glowed even more radiantly. The shield also started spinning faster.

    "Kaboom!"

    Columns of dust shot skyward and the ground beneath Xiang Tianying gave way. He fell to the floor...

    ...

    All of the otherpetitors were stunned by what they saw. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration was powerful, but they didn¡¯t expect it to be this powerful.

    Before this, the Million Sword Illustration had been impacting the ground.

    When it hit Tang Zhongming, none of them were able to see its effects.

    However, they could all see how the Million Sword Illustration was torturing Xiang Tianying.

    "Plonk!" Xiang Tianying¡¯s legs trembled as he fell to his knees. He continued to sweat profusely as he panted.

    Even though he managed to block this attack, he suffered significant injuries.

    "It¡¯s the Sun Shooting Bow, he definitely has the Sun Shooting Bow!" Xiang Tianying asserted. The Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration alone was unable to have such terrifying powers.

    The only possibility was that Fang Zhengzhi was wielding the Sun Shooting Bow, one of the 10 greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty. That was the only way the Million Sword Illustration could be augmented to this extent.

    Each of the 10 greatest treasures were immensely powerful.

    Ping Yang was only in the Star Conglomerate State. However, with the zing Qilin Spear, she could go up against Heavenly Reflection State cultivators. The reason why the Sun Shooting Bow was one of the 10 was because it would augment the power of the arrows it shot.

    "Is it really the Sun Shooting Bow?"

    "Why would Fang Zhengzhi have the Sun Shooting Bow?"

    "How is that possible?"

    All of them looked into the woods in disbelief. All of them knew that the Sun Shooting Bow was King Duan¡¯s prized possession.

    At this moment, yet another green ray of light shot through the air.

    It screeched as it flew towards Xiang Tianying.

    Xiang Tianying stared at the ray of light. He felt that he should dodge, but, could he dodge forever?

    "Boom!"

    The purple crystal armor on Xiang Tianying shattered and was carried away by the wind. At the same time, Xiang Tianying spat out a mouthful of blood. He was covered in bleeding wounds.

    "I don¡¯t believe it!" Xiang Tianying knelt in the crater, caked in dust. He kept punching the rocks as he roared.

    Everyone knew what had just happened.

    Xiang Tianying had lost.

    He had lost convincingly.

    No matter what, he would be ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll. From this day on, Fang Zhengzhi had taken his ce.

    "Fang Zhengzhi defeated Xiang Tianying?!"

    "Not only did he defeat Xiang Tianying, he defeated Tang Zhongming as well!"

    "Isn¡¯t that a little ridiculous?"

    All of them looked at each other in disbelief.

    Everything had happened too quickly.

    Many of them had not even recovered fully.

    Scissors paper stone, then the white light, then Tang Zhongming¡¯s defeat, then Xiang Tianying¡¯s cowardice...

    And finally...

    Xiang Tianying was defeated.

    It felt like quite a few rounds. However, the entire episode did not evenst three minutes.

    No one had recovered from their shock.

    Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming had a clear advantage going into the battle. However, Fang Zhengzhi had utterly defeated both of them.

    More importantly, neither of them even managed to get close to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Was such bullying necessary?

    "Bong!"

    Just as they were all sighing and shaking their heads, a figure jumped down from a tree. He held the Sun Shooting Bow in his hand as he chewed on a de of grass.

    "You¡¯re not convinced huh? Okay then, I¡¯ll give you a chance. You can take turns fighting me!" Fang Zhengzhi sauntered over to the kneeling Xiang Tianying.

    "..." All of the spectators felt the world spinning around them.

    How could someone be this shameless?

    He had already utterly defeated them. Now he wanted them to take turns fighting him?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re a bully!" Xiang Tianying spat out a mouthful of blood. He was on the verge of losing his consciousness.

    "I bullied you? Just now, as the seventh and eighth ranked on the Rising Dragon Roll, both of you wanted to fight me. Mind you, I was only ranked tenth. I didn¡¯tin then. All I asked for was for one of you to fight me instead. You rejected my proposal and wanted to take turns fighting me. Now I give you a chance to take turns fighting me, but you say I¡¯m bullying you. Aish, I don¡¯t understand what you are thinking..." Fang Zhengzhi said scornfully.

    "You..." Xiang Tianying stammered.

    He wanted to say something but he swallowed his words. Fang Zhengzhi was right.

    As the seventh and eighth ranked on the Rising Dragon Roll, it was quite shameless for them tobine forces against Fang Zhengzhi.

    They really couldn¡¯t me Fang Zhengzhi for using such tactics to defeat them.

    They had asked for it.

    This was something that was undeniable.

    Furthermore, all is fair in war. No matter how Fang Zhengzhi did it, a victory is a victory.

    "Do you still want to fight? If not, I am in a rush. I still want to take first ce!" Fang Zhengzhi waved the Sun Shooting Bow as he looked around.

    All of the otherpetitors retreated in silence.

    Xiang Tianying grit his teeth. He stood up and looked to the sky.

    He was extremely confident before entering the city.

    When he had heard about thepetition, he had every confidence that he woulde in first and bring honor to his family.

    However, now he was going to lose to Fang Zhengzhi and his Mud Striped Horse.

    How ironic.

    If this was anyone else, he would have roared, "I will beat you in two years!"

    However, he did not say that this time. If Fang Zhengzhi could win first ce using a Mud Striped Horse, what else could he not do?

    "I see that the quality of the horse is not the most important thing in thispetition!" Xiang Tianying murmured to himself as he lost consciousness.

    "Bong!"

    Xiang Tianying fell face first into the ground.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not waste anymore time. He had initially wanted to etch his name onto the recording tablet whilst everyone was still stunned.

    However, he rejected that thought unequivocally. He would lose the initiative if he did that.

    Firstly, he didn¡¯t have the blood of the required beast, so he couldn¡¯t write the name down.

    Secondly, even if he could write his name down, he could not outrun Tang Zhongming and Xiang Tianying.

    After all, both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were capable of stealing any two stallions.

    If that happened, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to do anything. He probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to reach the finish line. Even if he did, he would have wasted much more time trying to get rid of Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first arrow killed the beast. That gave him the blood he required. Then, he rushed over and recorded his name before galloping away.

    No one stopped Fang Zhengzhi.

    It did not matter if Fang Zhengzhi actually had the fourth recording tablet. They were just here to watch.

    They nned to y this role out to the end.

    "Run!" One of thepetitors screamed and leapt onto his horse.

    "I thought we agreed to run together... how can you leave me behind?" Yet another one replied furiously.

    "What a bunch of liars. Can you all be a little more honest? We should watch and race together!"

    All of the otherpetitors leapt on their stallions and chased after the first two.

    Fang Zhengzhi was closer to the finish line.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was riding the Mud Striped Horse. As long as they found the fourth recording tablet quickly, they still had a chance.

    ...

    Everyone waited patiently at the finish line. Wen Dabao continued to pray in front of the tablet for a miracle.

    "Stop praying, Fang Zhengzhi will never win!"

    "Everyone is waiting for him at the first recording tablet. As long as he appears, he will be caught. What chance does he have?"

    "Exactly, just forget about it and hand over the money. If you admit defeat now, we can still consider bringing you out next month."

    The four others in the wager mocked Wen Dabao.

    "Really?" Wen Dabao turned to look at them.

    "Since when have we gone back on our word?"

    "Then I want Hongyue, Qingzhu and Luliu as well as the little peach to apany me. I also..." Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    "Hang on, Wen Dabao, are you sure you have the stamina?"

    "Why not? I have to do it even if I can¡¯t. I need to make sure that I have enough enjoyment tost one month!" Wen Dabao smiled.

    "Scram! You can hope for a miracle to happen then!"

    "Miracle?" Wen Dabao was sullen. What miracle could there be. Everyone was blockading that area, including two high ranking individuals on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    If Fang Zhengzhi won...

    That would really be the biggest miracle ever.

    Just as Wen Dabao was about to plead with the others, a name began to glow at the bottom of the first tablet.

    It was a name...

    A very simple name, but one which represented a miracle.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Oh my god, it¡¯s a miracle!" Wen Dabao¡¯s grabbed his face in excitement. He felt like he had just been given a boost of energy.

    He bounded to the tablet and kissed the name.

    "Bong!"

    Wen Dabao continued to dance.

    "How... how is this possible?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi... passed the first recording tablet?!"

    "What? Fang Zhengzhi passed the first recording tablet? How is that possible? Didn¡¯t someone say they were all waiting there for him?"

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

    The jaws of all of the other spectators dropped when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name light up.

    No one wanted to believe that this was happening.

    But, it was.

    The results tablet was linked to the recording tablet. There was no way this could be faked.

    The uproar quickly reached the ears of the seated officials.

    All of the officials stood up and craned their necks to see what themotion was about.

    At the lowest point of the first tablet, a name was written clearly.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

 Chapter 294: Whoâ€™s first

    Chapter 294: Who¡¯s first

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It really is Fang Zhengzhi! How is that possible?" The expressions of all the officials changed. They had never doubted the results this much before.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was horrible. He could not understand what went wrong.

    How can Fang Zhengzhi manage to get past all of the other talents at the first recording tablet?

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed as well. It was slightly conflicted, so much so that it revealed his confusion.

    What was going on?

    Did he take advantage of Ping Yang?

    Emperor Lin Mubai wondered to himself. He knew the rtionship between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    He would not be surprised if Fang Zhengzhi had used Ping Yang to write his name down on the first recording tablet.

    However...

    Just as everyone was shocked, thest tablet on the result tablet lit up.

    It was just below Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name.

    Ping Yang!

    Her name appeared on the fourth tablet.

    "It¡¯s Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Ping Yang reached the fourth recording tablet?!"

    "Has the fourth recording tablet been found?"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    All of the spectators and officials were confused. Some of them had also thought that Fang Zhengzhi used Ping Yang to write down his name.

    As such, Ping Yang should be at the first recording tablet. However, she wrote her name down on the fourth one within five minutes of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name appearing.

    Could it be...

    All of the spectators thought of one possibility.

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi used Ping Yang to write his name down, then allowed Ping Yang to write her name down on the fourth tablet in a quick amount of time.

    There was only one possibility.

    Fang Zhengzhi brought the fourth recording tablet to the position of the first one. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi shifted the tablet.

    "Your highness, I have something to report!" Minister Wan Chong stepped out.

    "Hmm? What is it?" Emperor Lin Mubai calmed down quickly. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

    When Yu Yiping heard Wan Chong, he squinted. However, he also nodded slightly.

    "I have found a problem within thepetition. If the problem persists, everyone will question the fairness of thepetition. As such, I hope that this can be remedied immediately." Wan Chong saw the nod and continued.

    "What problem is that? Please borate." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    Minister Wan Chong calmed himself down. Even though Emperor Lin Mubai did not say it explicitly, he had implied support.

    "ording to the rules of thepetition, there is no overt rule against shifting the recording tablets. However, the tablets represent each of the four corners. If someone shifts the location of the recording tablets, they would have destroyed the fairness of thepetition. Your highness, imagine this. What if everyone starts moving the recording tablets around in the futurepetitions? How can we still hold them in an orderly manner?" Wan Chong said passionately.

    "Your highness, I agree wholeheartedly!"

    "Your highness, I agree as well. If we let such audacious behavior continue unchecked, it will not bode well for our future!"

    Very quickly, two other officials stood out and concurred with Wan Chong.

    Emperor Lin Mubai knew exactly what Wan Chong meant. However, he did not speak immediately, choosing instead to ponder over it momentarily.

    After all, thepetition had already started. To change the rules halfway was not very reasonable.

    Yu Yiping saw the emperor¡¯s expression and immediately knew what he was thinking. He needed a reason to implement this rule now.

    He looked at all of the other spectators.

    All of the other spectators knew instantly what the Left Prime Minister wanted.

    "Your highness, we all beg you to prevent such preposterous acts from being allowed!" Almost all of the spectators fell to their knees.

    When Wen Dabao heard all of the voices, he trembled in his ce.

    "What?" Wen Dabao yelled. Then, he looked at the results tablet, "Hahaha, the name is still there, the name is still there!"

    Just as he was about to celebrate, his gaze froze.

    He saw another name below Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. Ping Yang!

    "Princess Ping Yang is at the fourth recording tablet? My gosh, Fang Zhengzhi, please hurry up!" Wen Dabao eximed.

    "There¡¯s no way he¡¯s winning this. I think he may even be disqualified!"

    "Exactly, I don¡¯t think he can win thispetition."

    "How can amoner possibly go up against all of us?"

    Many of the spectators from influential families mocked when they heard Wen Dabao.

    "What are you saying? Why will he be disqualified?" Wen Dabao was confused.

    "Because he moved the fourth recording tablet! Such an outrageous act cannot be allowed!" One of the talents reiterated.

    "What? How is that possible?! Thepetition has already started. I must go beg the Emperor to change the rules after thispetition!"

    "Wen Dabao, do you want to die?"

    "Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see how many people are kneeling down?"

    They all pulled Wen Dabao back.

    Wen Dabao turned around and got the shock of his life. What¡¯s going on? Why is everyone kneeling.

    Just as he was thinking about it, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stepped forward. He straightened his robe and fell to his knees.

    "Your highness, there have been times when messengers had travelled over 300 miles a day just to change a single word in a military order. More recently, if not for the quick thinking and reaction of the previous emperor, the battle against the demons could not have been won. Even though the issue at hand today is small, it affects many people present today. Your highness, please make a decision!" Yu Yiping kowtowed and stayed on his knees.

    "Your highness, please make a decision!"

    Everyone echoed out Yu Yiping¡¯s words in unison.

    Emperor Lin Mubai heard their pleas. He looked at all of the kneeling people in front of him.

    "Yes, I was wrong. I will listen to everyone here today. There is a new addition to the rule, nopetitor can move the recording tablets. However... this is the only time a rule will be added whilst thepetition is ongoing!" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    All of the spectators echoed their support for this decision.

    They all knew the intentions of the Emperor¡¯s words. He could not have this happen again. The words of the Emperor were golden.

    If he kept changing rules to suit him, no one will trust him.

    Only Wen Dabao fell to the ground after hearing Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words.

    "My god, can you not y me like this?"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi galloped towards the finish line!

    Even though he was on the Mud Striped Horse, it was still a horse. Furthermore, his Mud Striped Horse had been moving at a leisurely pace all this while.

    The Mud Striped Horse was no match for Ping Yang¡¯s Snow Jade. Snow Jade was likely to defeat it even whilst moving with only three legs.

    However, Snow Jade had ran a full two rounds since the start.

    On the other hand, the Mud Striped Horse was well rested and refreshed.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had a three minute head start on Ping Yang. No matter how fast Snow Jade was, it was unlikely that Ping Yang had already overtaken him.

    As such, when he reached the final leg, he saw clear space ahead of him.

    Thepetition grounds were a circle. However, the start and finish point were about a mile from the circle.

    This was an intersection.

    After all, the Emperor, many officials, as well as countless spectators were at the finish line. It was impossible to ce the finish line on the track.

    However, this intersection was filled with people.

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He¡¯s back, he¡¯s back with just the Mud Striped Horse!"

    All of the spectators were stunned to see Fang Zhengzhi return. Even so, their expressions had traces of mockery.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the looks on all of the spectators faces. Until the very end, no one could be sure of winning.

    As such, he continued to keep his head up as he sped past the spectators. His horse kicked up plumes of dust, instantly caking the spectators in it.

    "Eat dust! Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it..." Fang Zhengzhi continued to murmur to himself as he sped towards the finish line.

    Just at this moment, he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Then, a zing red figure appeared.

    "It looks like..."

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Your highness, hurry up! Fang Zhengzhi is already over there!"

    All of the spectators had not learnt their lesson after being fed dust. They began hollering to Ping Yang.

    "What?! Fang Zhengzhi is already out ahead?" Ping Yang¡¯s face flushed. She was not willing to lose to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang loved Snow Jade very much. She had to oversee the bathing of Snow Jade personally.

    But now...

    She waved her whip.

    "Be obedient. I will only whip you once! But, you must chase up to that shameless fe!" Ping Yang lowered her head and whispered to Snow Jade.

    Snow Jade blinked its eyes, almost as if it understood. Then, it rubbed its head against Ping Yang adorably.

    Then, she was whipped!

    "Aroo!"

    Snow Jade howled in pain. As one of the most superior breeds, Snow Jade was extremely arrogant. The only time it had been whipped was by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It still remembered it to this day.

    When it saw Fang Zhengzhi in the morning, it had wanted to run. However, upon seeing that Fang Zhengzhi was riding the Mud Striped Horse, its confidence was boosted.

    "Oh please, lousy horse!" Snow Jade had snorted towards the Mud Striped Horse. The Mud Striped Horse nearly fell to its knees.

    The aura and demeanor of the superior species was undeniable.

    Even so, Snow Jade had allowed Ping Yang to lead it beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    But now, it was whipped.

    It was being whipped by its beloved owner.

    Then, it recalled when Ping Yang leaned down to whisper to it. Was I overtaken by that lousy horse?

    Snow Jade could not take such humiliation!

    It dug its hooves into the ground. The ground cracked under its feet as a white light enveloped its body.

    Its snow white scales and fur also began to glow.

    "Roar!"

    Snow Jade¡¯s superior bloodline kicked in. This was the Snow Jade at its best, the king of all stallions.

    "Woosh!"

    In a sh of light, it began to take off. It sped across the ground without leaving a single mark or kicking up any dust.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw that he was closing in on the finish line. He began to sing louder and louder. "Eat the dust, eat the dust... everyone eat dust!"

    Just as he was singing happily, he heard a screech behind him.

    It was so ear piercing that Fang Zhengzhi turned behind to take a look.

    Then, he saw a stream of white light flying towards him. Ping Yang was sitting aboard this white light

    "What??? The f*ck?!"

 Chapter 295: Final Victor

    Chapter 295: Final Victor

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The screech was from all of the spectators. However, that light...

    "It¡¯s Ping Yang!"

    Fang Zhengzhi saw that he was still about 300m from the finish line. Ping Yang was a mere 200m behind him.

    Was he really going to lose his first position?

    No way!

    He waved his whip and whipped the Mud Striped Horse.

    "Hiss!" The Mud Striped Horse whinnied. It seemed to feel that the Snow Jade was right behind it. Perhaps it was because Fang Zhengzhi just whipped it.

    Either way, the Mud Striped Horse went crazy.

    It dug its hooves into the ground and galloped away. Its speed was more than twice of what it was before. It looked like apletely different horse.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you can forget about running away!" Ping Yang shouted when she saw Fang Zhengzhi exim. She whipped Snow Jade once again.

    Liar!

    Snow Jade felt extremely wronged. Ping Yang had promised to whip it only once. Yet, it had just been whipped again.

    It did not slow down. After all, it was already doing all that it could. Even though its speed did not increase, a powerful aura exploded from its body.

    The Mud Striped Horse was stunned momentarily by this aura. Its eyes shed with pain.

    However, after a brief hesitation, it began to gallop away once again.

    ...

    Everyone at the finish line was waiting anxiously for the result.

    A Mud Striped Horse and a Snow Jade were racing. Unbelievably, their speed was about the same. It was impossible to tell who would cross the finish line first.

    "Princess Ping Yang is catching up!"

    "Overtake him and send his Mud Striped Horse back to Dong Lin City!"

    "How can the Mud Striped Horse ever match up to the Snow Jade?! How preposterous."

    Voices began to ring out by the side. Other than Wen Dabao, no one wanted Fang Zhengzhi to win.

    After all, if Fang Zhengzhi really won thepetition using a Mud Striped Horse...

    Where would they hide their faces?

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi was to be disqualified at the end, they didn¡¯t want such a thing to happen in the first ce.

    All of the officials were equally anxious.

    Competitions like this had always been a gathering ce for the influential and powerful. Commoners did not qualify to be here.

    Even though a Ping Yang victory would be unexpected, she was still of royal blood. That would still be an eptable result.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi took home first ce, what kind of story would there be?

    Emperor Lin Mubai smiled. No matter what the result, he already knew the result in his heart.

    As such, he could openly announce the prize for thispetition.

    The talents and scions of influential families participated in an attempt to curry favor with the Emperor. The Emperor hosted thispetition to showcase his generosity.

    That was an important quality for the ruler of the empire.

    There were a few points to consider as the Emperor. Firstly, he had to maintain the bnce of power in the empire. Secondly, he had to care for his people and his country.

    As such, the prize that he would set would naturally be precious and generous.

    However, he would not treat everyone under him equally.

    It was impossible for anyone to do that.

    As such, for thispetition, Emperor Lin Mubai had not announced the prize beforehand. He had two different prizes in mind.

    Even though both were valuable and precious...

    They hadpletely different meanings.

    One of them had value that could be measured by gold and silver. On the other hand, the other could not.

    If he was giving it to Ping Yang, it would be a right pocket to left pocket transfer. Not only would he beplimented for being generous and fair, he would be able to keep the treasure within the royal family.

    This was the best oue.

    However, if he had to give it to Fang Zhengzhi...

    He would never do it. Emperor Lin Mubai would not even give it to Xiang Tianying or Tang Zhongming. Even someone like Zhang Feiyu, who was a distant rtive of the royal family, was out of the question.

    However, the result was now clear.

    As such, he could rest assured and showcase his generosity. "I had already decided to give this away. However, you did not have the ability to win it. You can¡¯t me me can you?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai smirked.

    ...

    "Charge, charge!" The sound of hooves grew louder and louder.

    Fang Zhengzhi was increasingly anxious. He was closing in on the finish line, but Ping Yang was also catching up quickly. She was right behind him.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, you are about to lose!" Ping Yang smiled as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Victory was within her reach.

    "Is that right? If you dare overtake me, I will use my secret weapon!" Fang Zhengzhi threatened as he saw Ping Yang pull up next to him.

    "Shameless fe. Don¡¯t you dare! With so many eyes on you, you can try it!" Ping Yang snorted disdainfully.

    Fairness was valued in thesepetitions.

    Friendship always came beforepetition.

    Under normal circumstances, using a few tricks and secret weapons during apetition were normal. However, it would be impossible to hurt someone with so many people watching.

    "Naive, secret weapon!" Fang Zhengzhi flung his hand backwards when he heard Ping Yang.

    "Shameless fe, how audacious of you!" Ping Yang was stunned to see Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand action. She never expected him to be this brave.

    However...

    She was stunned to see nothinge out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "Could it be..." Ping Yang suddenly realized that Fang Zhengzhi was just scaring her.

    Just as she was about to chide him, her gaze froze.

    She saw a pair of menacing eyes. It was filled with the glow of lightswords and the icy aura of death.

    Could looks kill a person?

    Definitely not.

    Could looks kill a horse?

    Definitely not. But, it could scare a horse!

    "Roar!" Snow Jade, who was preparing to charge ahead, saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze. It stopped right in its tracks.

    This sudden stop cause Ping Yang to tremble. If not for the fact that she had above average riding skills, she would have been thrown off her stallion.

    "Argh... Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard!" Ping Yang knew exactly why Snow Jade would react this way.

    She had already guessed that Snow Jade may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from itsst meeting with Fang Zhengzhi.

    As such, she had led Snow Jade around Fang Zhengzhi this morning.

    She wanted Snow Jade to get used to Fang Zhengzhi and ovee its fear towards him. Snow Jade had acted fine all this while, so Ping Yang thought that it was fine.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s menacing gaze had shown that Snow Jade was still haunted by that experience.

    "Run quickly." Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang as he turned back around. He whipped the Mud Striped Horse again.

    He would not give up such a great opportunity.

    "Zoom..." The Mud Striped Horse dug in its hooves and sped towards the finish line...

    ...

    All of the spectators were stunned by what they saw.

    Ping Yang had already closed in on Fang Zhengzhi. Even if she had maintained her speed, she would have taken home first ce.

    However, Snow Jade suddenly stopped in its tracks.

    It did not even dare to move!

    All of the spectators could not understand what Snow Jade had felt. However, they felt paralyzed, almost as if a bucket of ice had been dumped over their heads.

    In the moment Snow Jade stopped, Fang Zhengzhi had guided the Mud Striped Horse over the finish line.

    Snow Jade was no more than 20m from the finish line.

    God damn it!

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Ping Yang was on the brink of copse. The first ce was meant to be hers. However, she had lost it to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s menacing gaze.

    Secret weapon...

    Was his gaze his true secret weapon?

    "What are you shouting about. Would you have gotten second without me? Learn to be happy with what you have!" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "..." Ping Yang¡¯s mouth opened slightly. She wanted to rebut him, but she had no good reason to refute Fang Zhengzhi.

    She would not have been able to take home second ce.

    "Humph!" Ping Yang snorted as she looked away.

    Snow Jade continued to walk cautiously over the finish line. It kept its eye on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whip and made sure to keep its distance.

    The surrounding officials and spectators looked at the simmering Ping Yang and the beaming Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were all thinking of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sment. "Would you have gotten second without me?"

    All of them looked at each other. They thought of the same thing. Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had a deal!

    They quickly remembered their guesses.

    Very soon, all of them thought they understood what was happening.

    Fang Zhengzhi had used Ping Yang to get past the defences around the first recording tablet. Then, he had given her the fourth recording tablet as payment.

    That was the only way to exin this result.

    It had to be that way.

    Just as they were thinking about it, more and more names began to appear on the results tablet.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun, Zhang Feiyu...

    All of their names began to appear.

    Before long, the entire tablet was filled with names.

    This made the officials and spectators confirm their hypothesis that Fang Zhengzhi must have done something to the tablet. Else, thesepetitors would not have waited till now to etch their names.

    Fang Zhengzhi must have ced the fourth recording tablet near the finishing line after guaranteeing his own victory.

    All of the officials and spectators looked at Fang Zhengzhi with mocking gazes. They could all guess what the result would be.

    Very quickly, many battle stallions appeared at the finish line.

    The Ninth Prince was the first one back. He was closely followed by Zhang Feiyu.

    The Ninth Prince had not gone with Ping Yang to find the fourth recording tablet. He had stuck to the original agreement, waiting for everyone by the roadside to restart the race.

    However, with the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion and his superior horsemanship, he was able to lead the pack and finish third.

    With that, thepetition was over.

    Now, it was time for the results.

    The Ministry of Law spokesperson prepared to step out at this moment. He prepared to discuss the results with the officials and announce the results and disqualifications.

    However, just as he was about to step out, he saw Emperor Lin Mubai looking at him.

    He instantly knew what the Emperor was about to do.

    The Emperor wanted to showcase his generosity.

    "Now that thepetition is over, let us invite the Emperor to say a few words before we announce the results." The representative bowed and moved to the side.

    Emperor Lin Mubai stepped forward.

    "Okay, since the results are not finalized yet, I do not have much to say. All I want to do is announce what the prize is going to be." Emperor Lin Mubai smiled at all the spectators.

    "Whoa!" Everyone was excited to hear what the prize was going to be.

    Emperor Lin Mubai smiled even more radiantly as he looked at all the looks of anticipation. This was exactly what he wanted.

    Only by announcing the prize before the results was he able to show everyone just how generous he was.

    He would let all of the talents and influential families know that he was fair to everyone and incredibly generous.

 Chapter 296: Must be silenced!

    Chapter 296: Must be silenced!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Emperor Lin Mubai coughed lightly as he saw the reaction from the crowd. He flipped his hand and a pair of shoes could be seen.

    This was a dark blue pair of shoes with gold embroidery. There were also clouds embroidered on this pair of shoes. It was impossible to see what material it was made of, but it was likely to be a soft metal.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pair of shoes with suspicion and scorn, "The prize is this pair of shoes?"

    How disappointing!

    Where is the trust between people?

    I thought the prize was supposed to be good? He could at least give a few boxes of gold. How much is a pair of shoes worth?

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely disappointed. However, all of the other spectators screamed in a very exaggerated manner.

    "It¡¯s the Wafting Cloud Shoes!"

    "Oh my god, the prize is the Wafting Cloud Shoes!"

    "Isn¡¯t this a little too ridiculous? If I had known this earlier, I would have tried my hand at thepetition too. Oh god... who wouldn¡¯t want that pair of shoes?"

    All of the spectators were envious just looking at the pair of shoes in the Emperor¡¯s hands. Some of them were even salivating.

    All of the participants felt intense heartache when they saw the prize. All of them regretted following the crowd and not going around the area with the fourth recording tablet one more time.

    Else, the Wafting Cloud Shoes would have been theirs.

    Just as they thought of it, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with jealousy and hate. "Are the Wafting Cloud Shoes really going to go to the shameless Fang Zhengzhi? Argh, how infuriating!"

    All of the spectators looked at Fang Zhengzhi with mockery in their eyes.

    You want the Wafting Cloud Shoes?

    No way!

    Half the people looked at Fang Zhengzhi with jealousy whilst the other half looked at him with mockery.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he still did not know what themotion was about.

    "Wafting Cloud Shoes? What the hell? Is it valuable?"

    Just as he thought about it, some of the older spectators began to show off their knowledge to their juniors.

    "I never expected the Emperor to be so generous. To think that he would make the Wafting Cloud Shoes the prize for thispetition. I am in awe."

    "Yes, the Wafting Cloud Shoes are a real treasure."

    "Even though it does not belong in the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, it is just as powerful."

    "More importantly, these Wafting Cloud Shoes were used by our ancestors when they set up this empire. It¡¯s significance cannot be overstated!"

    "That is one factor. The other point is that these shoes allow one to tread on snow without any marks. With these shoes, one could go through mountains, cross rivers, speed across ins with no difficulty at all!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s jaw dropped when he heard this. This treasure is so powerful? Won¡¯t it help him run away very quickly?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    Not bad, just right for someone like him.

    None of the spectators knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. If they knew that Fang Zhengzhi nned to use them to escape from sticky situations, they would kill him.

    After showcasing the Wafting Cloud Shoes, Emperor Lin Mubai announced the prizes for the second and third cing.

    Each treasure was greeted by gasps of awe.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not recognize these treasures. As such, he did not feel as awed by them. However, his thinking was simple. He would just collect as many of these as possible. In the worst case scenario, he would use them as secret weapons.

    In his battle with Ying Shan in the World of the Sage, he had used the zing Qilin Spear as a secret weapon to great effectiveness.

    After showcasing all of the prizes, Emperor Lin Mubai ced them all on the table and returned to his seat without a second word.

    The Ministry of Rites official stepped forward. He knew that it was his time to speak.

    "Okay, before we announce the results of thepetition, we have something else to announce. Thepetition values fairness above all else. As such, anyone who intentionally went against this value will be dealt with severely. They will be disqualified even if they had finished the race!"

    The official looked at the crowd below. He realized that many of thepetitors looked at him with wide eyes when they heard the announcement.

    Their guess must have been right!

    The official knew that he could not cut to the chase.

    "The horse racing and huntingpetition has been held for centuries. It¡¯s rules have been passed down for generations without any objection. However, there are alwayspses in the rules. With the Emperor¡¯s approval, we have decided to add another rule into thispetition."

    "Are you going to change the rules?"

    "That¡¯s a good thing! Fang Zhengzhi had moved the directional stone. That was an action that caused the fairness of thepetition to be questioned. We have to punish him!"

    "Exactly exactly!"

    The official¡¯s words caused a stir amongst all of thepetitors. All of them craned their necks and awaited the announcement.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. No way? Change in the rules?! Are they trying to drag me down? This is not good.

    Just as he was thinking about it, the official spoke.

    "The addition is simple. No one is allowed to move... the recording tablet!" The official paused momentarily. "The recording tablet represents the four checkpoints on the route. Anyone who moves it will be infringing the rules. I don¡¯t think there are any objections to this addition?"

    "No objection!"

    Many of the spectators shouted their approval. This was the moment they were waiting for.

    All of the participants frowned. Disallowing moving of the recording tablet? That was useless.

    The official did not say anything else. He continued to look at the participants, waiting for them toin.

    Surprisingly, after three minutes, no one spoke up.

    This caused the official some embarrassment.

    What the hell?

    The rule has been added. What are they all waiting for?

    Not only was the official embarrassed, all of the officials and the Emperor looked on doubtfully. Isn¡¯t this the time when they all start reporting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s transgression?

    What went wrong?

    "Ahem... is there no one with anything to say?" The Ministry of Rites official could not take it any longer.

    "Your honor, I have a question!" Very quickly, one of the participants stepped out and announced.

    "Oh? What question is it? Please go ahead, you will not offend anyone here." The official encouraged, giving that participant a confidence boost.

    "I want to ask, if someone moves the directional stone during thepetition, is that a transgression?" The participant queried.

    Upon hearing the question, the other participants looked on in anticipation. The moment the Ministry of Rites official nodded, they would report Fang Zhengzhi.

    They would make sure Fang Zhengzhi was stripped of his position.

    However, the Ministry of Rites official shook his head lightly.

    "The directional stones were ced before the start of thepetition. It is possible that they are moved during thepetition as a result of asional contact from a frightened horse. This ismon and not a transgression." The Ministry of Rites official thought about it, looked at Yu Yiping, then shook his head.

    "Oh..." The disappointment on that participant¡¯s face was clear.

    All of the other participants were equally disappointed. How could that not be a transgression? Aish... I thought thispetition was supposed to be fair!

    Fang Zhengzhi beamed.

    It was all just a scare. He had wanted to bring the entire recording tablet away. However, he did not have the ability to do so. How lucky!

    Ping Yang pouted as she red at Fang Zhengzhi. She muttered to herself, "This shameless b*stard really got lucky this time!"

    The Ninth Prince was smiling. He had only managed to get third ce thanks to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s help.

    Else, third ce would have probably went to Ping Yang.

    No one else spoke. Everyone was waiting for the official to announce the results.

    The Ministry of Rites official continued to wait...

    Five minutes passed...

    "Do you all have any other questions?" The Ministry of Rites official asked again. It was not like him to ask this question so many times.

    However, he had to ask.

    Because...

    Emperor Lin Mubai was waiting for him to disqualify Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the participants looked at him and shook their heads.

    He had already deemed that moving the directional stone was not a transgression.

    "No other questions?"

    "None."

    "..." The official could not take it any longer. He turned to look at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Both of them could barely keep themselves in their seats.

    What was going on?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping ced his hand on the seat as he prepared to stand up. Then, he was struck by a thought.

    Hang on.

    Someone asked if moving the directional stone was against the rules.

    Could it be...

    Oh no!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression darkened.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression also changed. He had also recalled that question. This was something no one had expected to happen.

    Moving the directional stone was too easy.

    Even though the majority ofpetitors were from foreignnds, there were participants from the royal family too.

    How can people like Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince take the wrong road? They hunt here annually!

    No one would have expected this.

    Mor importantly, if Fang Zhengzhi had only moved the directional stone, how could he have crossed the first recording tablet?

    Why would Ping Yang¡¯s name appear on the fourth recording tablet shortly after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name appeared on the first.

    If this was a coincidence...

    It would be one of the greatest coincidences ever.

    Emperor Lin Mubai, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and all of the officials did not understand.

    After the Ministry of Rites official looked around, he saw Left Prime Minister sh a nce at him. It was a simple look, almost as if he was just surverying thepetitors.

    However, the Ministry of Rites official instantly understood.

    "Okay then... before we officially announce the results, is anyone willing to share with us what happened during thepetition? Feel free to include any thoughts or lessons you¡¯ve learnt." The Ministry of Rites official emphasized the phrase ¡®what happened¡¯. He was afraid the participants would leave that out.

    All of the participants looked at each other, confused by the words of the Ministry of Rites official.

    After all, there was no such segment in previouspetitions.

    However, many of them relished the opportunity to speak in front of Emperor Lin Mubai and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    Very quickly, one of the participants stepped forward.

    "I am willing to share!"

    "Good, please tell us all the details." The Ministry of Rites official encouraged.

    When the participant heard this, his eyes glimmered. By having him tell them all the details, he would have more time to show his gift of the gap.

    After clearing his throat, he began recounting the entirepetition.

    He started with his thoughts during his inspection of his horse. He even included a vivid description of the surroundings and his feelings throughout thepetition.

    He also thanked the Emperor for hosting such a wonderfulpetition.

    He continued to talk without any pause. Just the beginning of thepetition took him five minutes to recount. All of the officials began rolling their eyes. The Ministry of Rites official was the most pitiful. After all, everyone was seated whilst he was standing.

    At his age, he could not stand for this long.

    "F*ck me, can you get to the point?" The Ministry of Rites official cursed in his heart even as he maintained a smile on his face.

    Where the hell is this b*stard from! He needs to be silenced, silenced!

 Chapter 297: Fate

    Chapter 297: Fate

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The participant who was talking did not know what the officials were thinking. He continued to recount the events of thepetition in great detail.

    He was so excited and animated that spittle flew when he spoke.

    The crowd of officials were bored by his story. Even Emperor Lin Mubai began to sip his tea in boredom.

    Finally, he got to the point where they passed the third recording tablet.

    All of the officials perked up their ears for this segment.

    All of a sudden, the participant became frustrated and depressed. He cried out that the heaven¡¯s were toying with him. All of the other participants sighed as well.

    Because...

    That was a painful memory.

    If not for the fact that they had fell for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick, Fang Zhengzhi would have never gotten first ce and won the Wafting Cloud Shoes.

    "Aish... we were all too focused on racing. We just followed the person in front of us. None of us noticed that the directional stone had been moved!" The talent shook his head.

    "Piang!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s teacup shattered on the floor.

    All of the other officials felt their legs turn to jelly.

    "He really moved the directional stone?!"

    "How is that possible!"

    "How can such a trick work?"

    All of the officials couldn¡¯t believe their ears. Even the spectators were stunned that such a basic trick would work.

    "Now that I think about it, the main reason was because Fang Zhengzhi had appeared on the wrong road at the right time. As such, we..." The participant sighed.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression darkened.

    However, no one stopped the participant. Everyone still wanted to know how Fang Zhengzhi passed the first recording tablet.

    That was still a big question for them.

    After the participant regained hisposure, he continued to recount what happened. He began telling the story of how they waited for Fang Zhengzhi at the first recording tablet.

    However...

    He did not seem to be in a hurry to tell the story of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival. He kept describing their defences and how they spent their time waiting. He talked about what books he read, how long he spent training, and how he made the most of that time...

    The Ministry of Rites official lost his patience. "It is not early, please speed up. Tell us about what happened at the first recording tablet."

    The participant was stunned. He began sweating profusely. That interruption had caused him to lose his train of thought.

    Talk about what happened at the first recording tablet?

    The participant thought about what that meant. He understood it quickly. After all, he was an educated person.

    He no longer beat around the bush, diving straight into the topic of interest.

    "At this point, Fang Zhengzhi appeared!"

    The Ministry of Rites official nodded when he heard this, motioning for the participant to carry on.

    The participant saw the nod and knew that he was on the right track. Even so, he did not dwell on the details.

    He narrated this section of the story very quickly. He first recounted how Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming challenged Fang Zhengzhi. Then he told the crowd about how fearful Fang Zhengzhi was.

    "Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming issued challenges to Fang Zhengzhi concurrently?"

    "If that is the case, Fang Zhengzhi should have no chance to win!"

    All of the officials frowned when they heard this. They could not figure out how Fang Zhengzhi could defeat both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    "Fang Zhengzhi used a sh of white light when Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming were arguing!" The participant recalled what happened. "Then, he hid somewhere far and took out Tang Zhongming. Then, through repeated attacks... he defeated Xiang Tianying."

    The participant did not continue speaking. He waited for the officials to judge his narration.

    However, no one took notice of him. Everyone was too shocked by the story they had just heard.

    "Fang Zhengzhi defeated Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming?!"

    "How is that possible?!"

    "Tang Zhongming and Xiang Tianying are ranked eighth and seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll respectively. Furthermore, Xiang Tianying has the Purple Crystal Territory! How did Fang Zhengzhi defeat them? Simultaneously at that!"

    "What is going on?"

    All of the officials were in disbelief. This result waspletely unexpected. Even a series of sneak attacks should not have been able to take them both out.

    They had seen Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle with Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi definitely had the ability to defeat them individually.

    However, to defeat both of them simultaneously was quite impossible.

    Ping Yang turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi. "This shameless fe is so powerful? He defeated both of them?"

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression darkened. How did this happen?

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at his shattered teacup without speaking. His lips twitched. Fang Zhengzhi moved the directional stone, then defeated both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming?

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    What are you?

    The Ministry of Rites official¡¯s expression was also quite ugly. This participant had skipped over all the details and jumped straight to the result.

    "Erm... please tell us more about how Fang Zhengzhi defeated Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming." The official turned to the participant.

    "Yes your honor!" The participant began to sweat again. It was clear that he had misinterpreted the official¡¯s words once again.

    "It is because Fang Zhengzhi had the Sun Shooting Bow. He used it from afar..."

    "What did you say?!" The Ministry of Rites official interrupted.

    "Your... your honor, I... I said that Fang Zhengzhi had... had the Sun Shooting Bow?" The participant trembled in his spot.

    "Sun Shooting Bow?!"

    "How did that happen?"

    "Why would Fang Zhengzhi have the Sun Shooting bow?"

    Everyone turned to look at King Duan.

    The Sun Shooting Bow was his.

    Ping Yang was also confused when she heard this. Didn¡¯t King Duan lose the Sun Shooting Bow to her? Why would Fang Zhengzhi have it.

    Emperor Lin Mubai turned to look at King Duan, who was nearby. He waited for King Duan to exin.

    King Duan smirked.

    From the moment he heard the words Sun Shooting Bow, he had already prepared his answer.

    "Your highness, I lost a bet to sister Ping Yang a few days ago. Two days ago, I had one of my servants send it to her. However, he told me that someone had snatched it from him along the way. I have sent people to find it! Could it be..." King Duan stopped and looked in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s direction.

    Fang Zhengzhi was just relishing his aplishments. However, he was stunned by what King Duan said.

    He had already felt that something was amiss when he got the Sun Shooting Bow.

    However, upon seeing Ping Yang and the Ninth Prince at the Fragrance Restaurant, he had put it on the backburner.

    It looked like...

    He had fell right into a trap!

    "Sword Envoy, could you please exin why the Sun Shooting Bow is with you?" The Ministry of Rites Official asked.

    "Would you believe me if I told you I bought it for five coppers?" Fang Zhengzhi said honestly.

    "Bought it with five coppers?!" The Ministry of Rites official looked at Fang Zhengzhi in awe and doubt.

    This excuse was...

    Completely unbelievable!

    All of the other spectators were also taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    What excuse could be worse than this?!

    Five coppers!

    That would only get you a roadside snack.

    How can the Sun Shooting Bow be sold for five coppers?

    "I would like to know where you got it from? I would like to go buy one as well."

    "Exactly, we would dly pay for such a treasure."

    "Five coppers for the Sun Shooting Bow. What a great deal."

    All of the officials stepped forward and rebuked Fang Zhengzhi. After all, they were all educated individuals. How can he treat them as idiots?

    "There are some things that you can¡¯t buy even if you want to. Some things depend on a person. A handsome man may be able to get it, but an ugly one... would find it difficult!" Fang Zhengzhi rebutted.

    "You..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you calling us ugly?"

    "Rubbish, this is an outrage!"

    The expressions of all the officials darkened.

    "I did not say that. However, if you all have my kind of luck and are able to buy the Sun Shooting Bow for five coppers, then you will be just as good as me." Fang Zhengzhi replied with scorn.

    "Audacious! Even if you are a rank four imperial official, you cannot speak rubbish here!" The Ministry of Rites official bellowed.

    "Do you have any evidence to prove that what I said was false?" Fang Zhengzhi rebuked.

    "King Duan had already made it clear that the Sun Shooting Bow was snatched, not bought!" The Ministry of Rites official¡¯s neck was turning red.

    "Yes, King Duan did say that the Sun Shooting Bow was snatched. That means that the Sun Shooting Bow was no longer with him. I happened to pass by and buy the bow from the person who snatched it. Isn¡¯t that very normal?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "You... nonsense!"

    "What nonsense?! If someone wanted to snatch the Sun Shooting Bow away, why would they sell it to you for five coppers?"

    "How can this be possible?"

    All of the officials judged that Fang Zhengzhi was simply finding excuses.

    "There are many things that were impossible in this world. When I participated in the county examinations, no one thought I would pass. However, I ended up topping the examination. Then, in the provincial examinations, no one thought I would pass. I also ended up topping the examination. What about the imperial examinations? Did anyone of you think that I could top the theory examination? What about today? Did anyone of you think that it would be possible for me to win?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at them with scorn.

    "You..."

    All of them were furious. They wanted to rebuke Fang Zhengzhi, but everything that he said was true.

    No one had believed in him.

    However, he still made it to where he was today.

    Thepetition today was the best example. He had won thepetition with a Mud Striped Horse. If not for the fact that they had seen it for themselves, no one would believe it.

    "Do you all have any other questions? If not, please announce the results, I am still waiting for my prize!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at all the officials.

    "Maverick!"

    "Your highness, I think that the issue with the Sun Shooting Bow is not as simple as the Sword Envoy says it is. Please allow the Ministry of Law to investigate this incident. We will give King Duan a peace of mind on this!" Law Minister Wan Chong stepped forward.

    He was solemn.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Fang Zhengzhi without speaking.

    As the emperor, he had to think further and broader than all his officials. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s short speech had struck him.

    Just as what Fang Zhengzhi had said...

    No one had believed in him ever since he started out. However, along the way, he had proven his critics wrong at every stage.

    How did he do it...

    A 15 year old Heavenly Reflection State talent.

    Even though he was aided by the Sun Shooting Bow, he had defeated both Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    This man now stood in front of him.

    It could be seen as a miracle.

    Four years ago, Nangong Hao was the talent that he valued the most. Two years ago, Chi Guyan overtook Nangong Hao as the brightest star.

    Even though she was not of royal blood, talent and power were of more importance.

    And now...

    Yet another star appeared in front of him.

    His decision would determine the fate of this star!

 Chapter 298: New Dynamic

    Chapter 298: New Dynamic

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Emperor Lin Mubai frowned deeply. Fang Zhengzhi may be a viger, but he was a talent. What was his decision going to be?

    Emperor Lin Mubai thought deeper and broader than everyone else.

    His decisions would impact the future of the Great Xia Dynasty. He had to ensure that the empire would continue to flourish after his reign.

    Just at this moment, a fiery red figure appeared in front of him. A pair of crystal clear eyes scanned the infuriated crowd of officials.

    "Sixth brother has already said that he lost the Sun Shooting Bow to me. As such, whether it was snatched away or not shouldn¡¯t have any rtion to him?" Ping Yang¡¯s voice was not loud, however, her tone sent chills down all the officials¡¯ spines.

    King Duan frowned when he heard this.

    "Sister, what do you mean?"

    "Would you all believe me if I said I sent someone to snatch the bow away? Fang Zhengzhi happened to run across my servant and bought the bow off him." Ping Yang smirked. She was clearly protecting Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials felt like they had just swallowed a fly.

    Should they believe it?

    This was a problem.

    King Duan felt his eyelids twitched.

    He did not believe it. After all, he had sent someone to sell the Sun Shooting Bow to Fang Zhengzhi. However, could he reveal that fact?

    Definitely not.

    As such, all he could do was believe.

    "Haha..." King Duan chuckled and did not object. He could see that Ping Yang was openly protecting Fang Zhengzhi. That was obvious for all to see.

    However, now that things were at this stage...

    The Emperor still had the final decision.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had questioned Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moral and values after the incident at the Northern Mountain Vige.

    He was questioning Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s loyalty and trustworthiness.

    This was the real killing blow.

    Whether that killing blow had attained its effectiveness was not dependent on whether Fang Zhengzhi was found guilty. Its effectiveness would be based on Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s decision on this matter.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nced at Ping Yang¡¯s determined expression. He remembered that figure that he could not bring himself to forget.

    His eyes were filled with pampering and love in an instant.

    "Today is the horse race and huntingpetition. As such, we shall only discuss matters pertaining to this. Everything else shall be dyed until the next imperial court meeting!" Emperor Lin Mubai felt a load off his shoulders.

    All of the officials were stunned by Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words.

    Even though the Emperor had not given his opinion on this...

    Their experience told them that the Emperor was taking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side as well!

    Furthermore...

    His protection of Fang Zhengzhi was more tant that Ping Yang¡¯s!

    Why? Why would the Emperor protect Fang Zhengzhi. What is the meaning of this?

    Could the Emperor be thinking of...

    In that instant, all of the officials thought of one thing. This did not bode well for them, so much so that none of them wanted to think about it.

    King Duan was also stunned.

    He had never expected that his ploy would be destroyed in this manner. More importantly, the Emperor had not returned the Sun Shooting Bow to him!

    The important thing here was not convicting Fang Zhengzhi of a crime.

    It was the Sun Shooting Bow.

    That was his bottom line.

    As long as the Emperor retrieved the Sun Shooting Bow, Fang Zhengzhi would have no chance at returning to the courts.

    Whether Fang Zhengzhi topped the imperial examinations or not would be negligible.

    It would be meaningless.

    All the honors that he would get would just be honors. It would not allow him to change the dynamics of the courts. King Duan would have one less person to think about.

    That was the reason behind King Duan¡¯s actions this time.

    He wanted to make Fang Zhengzhi the top of both the examinations. However, he could not do so whilst Fang Zhengzhi was still a threat. He had to neutralize the threat before the results were announced.

    But now?

    Not only had Emperor Lin Mubai protected him, the Emperor did not ask for the bow.

    Making Fang Zhengzhi the number one rank for the imperial examinations meant somethingpletely different now.

    "What is the Emperor thinking?" King Duan felt for the first time that he could not understand what the Emperor was thinking.

    All of the other spectators looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion and awe.

    All of them could not wrap their heads around what had just happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked to see things unfold this way. All he wanted to do was find a reason to prevent himself from being convicted of a crime.

    As for the Sun Shooting Bow.

    He had never expected to be able to keep it.

    "No mention of it? Is it mine then?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself naively. Then, he quickly dismissed that thought. I doubt it will be that easy.

    Ping Yang jumped out.

    Her feetnded squarely on the ground.

    She wanted to get Fang Zhengzhi off the hook, however, she had no intention of giving Fang Zhengzhi the Sun Shooting Bow.

    "Father!" Ping Yang said coquettishly.

    "Haha... my Golden Eagle Bow has been sitting in the pce collecting dust. Why don¡¯t you take it out for a spin?" Emperor Lin Mubai interrupted.

    "Golden Eagle Bow? Sure, sure!" Ping Yang beamed when she heard that.

    "Minister of Rites, announce the results!" Emperor Lin Mubai tapped Ping Yang¡¯s nose when he saw her radiant smile.

    Ping Yang immediately bounded to a ce beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What are you looking at, humph!"

    "The Golden Eagle Bow is even better than the Sun Shooting Bow?" Fang Zhengzhi could not help but ask.

    "That is the Emperor¡¯s bow. What do you think?" Ping Yang did not answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question directly because she did not know either. However, she could not admit that.

    "I see." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    All of the officials could not suppress their awe at what just happened.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s protection of Fang Zhengzhi was slightly cryptic.

    However, his previous sentence had cleared it all up.

    He had made it clear to all the officials and the influential families present.

    "Is that really going to happen?" All of the officials looked at each other. None of them spoke, but they could read each other¡¯s¡¯ minds.

    There was going to a new dynamic in the courts!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping squinted. He did not look at the Crown Prince, choosing instead to look at King Duan.

    The Minister of Rites stood rooted to the ground, almost as if he did not hear what the Emperor had just said.

    "Your honor!" Finally, one of the officials whispered a reminder.

    "Ahem..." The minister cleared his throat. "Right now, we will announce the top three ces for thispetition. In first ce, Ping... oh, that¡¯s wrong! It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi. Congrattions Sword Envoy, you have ced first!"

    "Haha... I won! I, Wen Dabao, am going to be rich!" A voice rang out after the announcement.

    He felt even more excited than if he had won thepetition himself.

    All of the spectators looked in the direction of the voice. They all looked at Wen Dabao in scorn.

    However, Wen Dabao did not mind.

    He could not contain his excitement upon thinking of the amount of money he had made on this bet.

    However...

    Wen Dabao did not notice that Fang Zhengzhi had heard his screams as well.

    "Oh? You won?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wen Dabao dancing. He smirked. That guy ced a bet on me?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi received the Wafting Cloud Shoes from the Emperor and expressed his gratitude.

    Then, he took off his shoes and put on the Wafting Cloud Shoes. A ray of light surrounded it as the Wafting Cloud Shoes morphed to fit his size.

    "Oh, not bad, just nice!" Fang Zhengzhi walked a couple of steps. It was extremely fitting, almost as if they were tailor made.

    All of the other officials were shocked to see this.

    Most people would bring the prize back to clean and disy. Then, they would pick an auspicious date to wear it.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he simply put it on immediately after getting it?!

    Who is this guy?!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what the officials were thinking. In his opinion, it was natural to change out his old pair of shoes for a new pair.

    ...

    Thepetition hade to an end.

    This was an unbelievablepetition. When news of the results reached the capital, it caused an uproar.

    "A Mud Striped Horse won thepetition?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi defeated the Rising Dragon Roll¡¯s seventh and eighth ranks?"

    "Unbelievable."

    "There¡¯s something else. I heard that Fang Zhengzhi snatched King Duan¡¯s Sun Shooting Bow. Not only did the Emperor not investigate the incident, it looks like he will give the bow to Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Oh my god, I regret not going to watch thepetition!"

    Many people began to discuss thepetition. In restaurants and alleys all over the city, the results and happenings of thepetition were the number one trending topic.

    Some people said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Mud Striped Horse was no ordinary Mud Striped Horse. The imed that it was the king of Mud Striped Horses. As such, it could fly!

    This story also gained traction quickly.

    After all, during thest stretch, many people were awed by the speed of the Mud Striped Horse.

    However, even whilst the entire city was heating up in conversation, King Duan¡¯s residence was icy.

    Inside the residence, there were countless valuable antiques smashed on the ground in front of King Duan. There were a few people kneeling by the side of those antiques.

    Each one of them shrunk into the floor, trembling.

    Outside the study, Mr Hua continued to sit in the pavilion. There was a pot of tea in front of him. He looked to be waiting for something.

    Before long, a ck cloaked figure appeared from afar. It looked like a shadow in the night. As it moved, it did not kick up any dust.

    "You¡¯re here?" Mr Hua said faintly, almost as if he was murmuring to himself.

    "Yes, I¡¯m here." The figure stopped and replied tly.

    "Then go in?"

    "Isn¡¯t Mr Hua going in?"

    "No thanks."

    "If you¡¯re not going in, can I infer that you are going to leave?" The figure removed the hoodie from his head.

    It was Su Qing.

    "Since I am not going in, I will naturally leave." Mr Hua raised his teacup lightly. A ball of me ignited within it. Within moments, the tea was steaming once again.

    "Won¡¯t reheating the tea cause it to lose its fragrance?" Su Qing nced at the cup of tea and remarked before entering the study.

    Mr Hua frowned as he heard this. He loosened his grip on the teacup and it fell to the floor, shattering as it impacted the ground.

    ...

    The next morning.

    A light breeze swept across the city as the sun continued to stain the entire city golden.

    There were throngs of people on the street.

    Everyone knew one thing.

    The results of the racing and huntingpetition was the hot topic of yesterday. Today, the announcement of the imperial examinations results consumed all the citizens.

    The examination had been ongoing for months now with the interruption. Today was the day reckoning.

    Who wouldn¡¯t be excited?

    A huge crowd had gathered at the entrance to the Imperial Academy even before dawn. THere were elegantly dressed youths, hawkers, and even vigers from the nearby viges...

 Chapter 299: Announcement of the Imperial Examination Results

    Chapter 299: Announcement of the Imperial Examination Results

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    One had to prepare before an important event.

    Fang Zhengzhi got out of bed early for once. When he got to Yan Xiu¡¯s room, he saw Yan Xiu waiting quietly at his table.

    Even though Yan Xiu was still pale, he looked much better than before. For starters, he had his usual iciness.

    Yan Xiu pointed to the snacks on the table when he saw Fang Zhengzhi enter.

    "Are you better?" Fang Zhengzhi took his seat and began to eat.

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded lightly and began eating. He had been waiting for Fang Zhengzhi for breakfast.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu did not like to talk whilst eating, so he did not say anything else.

    Very quickly, they finished their breakfast and began walking to the Imperial Academy.

    The Imperial Academy was packed with people. Outside the perimeter was a long table.

    There was nothing on the table.

    However, everyone knew that this table was ced by all the betting houses in the capital. It was used to for people to pay or collect their winnings.

    The arrival of Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu attracted much attention.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name reverberated throughout the city after the results of thepetition reached the city. From the hawkers on the street to the vigers from nearby viges knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name.

    "Look, Fang Zhengzhi is here!"

    "Oh my god! It¡¯s Yan Xiu! He¡¯s so handsome, so handsome!" Just as Fang Zhengzhi was expecting ament on him, he heard a scream by his side.

    This was clearly from a girl.

    "I really don¡¯t understand why Yan Xiu is always with Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Exactly, exactly!"

    "However, when I see Fang Zhengzhi, I think that Yan Xiu is even more handsome!"

    Many other voices began to ovey over thedy¡¯s voice.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly saddened. Am I not handsome?

    He once had a dream that he would make his name in the court examinations. Then, everyone would be screaming his name.

    However, he had only fulfilled half his dreams.

    Yan Xiu was the center of attention.

    Okay then...

    As long as it is not anyone else.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    Just as he thought of it, he heard an even more intense scream by his ear. It was many times louder than the scream that greeted him and Yan Xiu.

    "Oh gosh, look, it¡¯s Wu Feng!"

    "It really is Wu Feng. Wow... I have managed to see Wu Feng in person!"

    "The rumors are true, Wu Feng is even more handsome than expected!"

    In that instant, the voices grew. It was almost as if someone had thrown a bomb into the middle of the crowd.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked in that direction.

    He saw a youth walk towards them slowly.

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had found it difficult to believe that anyone could be as handsome as Pan An. After all, he had never beenplimented like that despite his looks.

    However, when he saw Wu Feng, he finally understood what that meant.

    He was exquisite, elegant, and wless.

    He was absolutely wless. If Fang Zhengzhi had to add another phrase behind it to describe this man...

    This man made him gay!

    He was dressed in a green flowy robe. He held a green jade flute in his hand. His expression was weing and his smile radiant.

    He was aplete opposite of Yan Xiu.

    This was Wu Feng.

    "Ranked fourth on the Rising Dragon Roll. Wu Feng and the Jade Flute." Yan Xiu exined to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Jade Flute? What¡¯s so special about it?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious. After all, this was the first time he had seen someone use a flute as a weapon.

    "He is the disciple of the "Clear Water Sage". They are incredibly skilled in music, and he is rumored to be the best." Yan Xiu exined.

    "Music? Can it be used in a battle?"

    "Can."

    "How?"

    "Blowing into the flute."

    "Oh, I see!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded even though he did not really understand. Blow what? How?

    Just as he was thinking about it, Wu Feng walked over. From his expression, he looked to be walking towards Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Very soon, Wu Feng stood in front of the two of them.

    "Greetings, Young Master Yan!" Wu Feng bowed to Yan Xiu respectfully.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips in disdain. He had seen many people greet Yan Xiu only to be ignored.

    Wu Feng must be asking for it.

    Just as he was thinking about it, Yan Xiu replied tly. "Good."

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu doubtfully.

    However, after Yan Xiu replied, he did not seem to want to speak.

    Wu Feng did not seem to be perturbed by it, almost as if he had expected this to happen. He continued to smile affectionately.

    "If my guess is correct, this must be the famous Fang Zhengzhi, Young Master Fang!" Wu Feng bowed to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not thought of replying. However, when he saw the jade flute, a scene shed in his mind.

    The markings on Wu Feng¡¯s Jade Flute looked exactly the same as those on the walls of the throne room in The Vast World.

    What¡¯s going on?

    Images kept shing in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He would think about the wall in that throne room as well as the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet he saw.

    He also remembered the ridiculous scene when he had exited The Vast World. He remembered the ancient aura and the ear shaking roars...

    "Can you let me take a look at your flute?" Fang Zhengzhi decided to ask.

    Everyone around Fang Zhengzhi was stunned by the question. Then, many of the talents looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disdain.

    Who asks to look at someone else¡¯s weapon during the first meet?!

    "Haha... I¡¯m afraid not!" Wu Feng chuckled, unaffected by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s seemingly unreasonable request.

    "Oh, then what must I do to be able to take a look?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "Does Young Master Fang really want to take a look?" Wu Feng¡¯s expression changed slightly. If Fang Zhengzhi had said it as a passingment, he would not have bothered with it. However, it was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was not making a passingment.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "If Young Master Fang really wants to take a look, you can try snatching it from my hand." Wu Feng smiled.

    "Oh? I see." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Jade Flute in Wu Feng¡¯s hand and smiled.

    "Dong!"

    Just at this moment, the gong rang out and the doors to the Imperial Academy opened.

    Two rows of imperial messengers dressed in ck official robes stepped through the gates. Each one of them carried a redwood box in their hands.

    Behind them were King Duan and Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    Other than these people, there was a young imperial messenger behind the group. He wore the robes of a rank four official and he held a golden box in his hands.

    Everyone held their breaths when they saw this. No one spoke, their gazes fixed on the imperial messengers.

    "Su Qing, you shall be the host for the announcement of the results today!" King Duan turned to the youth behind him and said.

    "Yes!" Su Qing nodded respectfully.

    Then, he walked forward quickly and stood in between the other two imperial messengers.

    He cleared his throat and bowed four times. Each time, he faced one of the four directions, North, South, East, and West.

    "The imperial examinations were held in two stages, the theory andbat examinations. There have been many trials and tribtions along the way that I am sure everyone is aware of..."

    Su Qing began to recount the happenings of this imperial examination.

    When he spoke about the World of The Sage, he mourned for the fallen and urged everyone else to do the same.

    The entire crowd sighed.

    When that was over, Su Qing motioned to the imperial messengers to begin the announcement.

    All of them opened up the redwood box in their hands. Each one contained a name and a brief description of the person.

    The Imperial Examination.

    It was one of the most important parts of the Dao Examinations. The emphasis on it was vastly different from the previous ones. After all, passing this examination meant that one qualified to enter the courts.

    "I got it, I got it!"

    "Congrattions!"

    "Young Master Li has made it, don¡¯t forget us when you be someone notable!"

    "Rx, I will never forget the people who I studied with."

    Very quickly, sounds of excitement and congrattions rang out in the air.

    There were few who made it to the honor rolls in the Imperial Examinations. The second-ss roll was reported in a jiffy.

    It was now time for the first-ss roll.

    This got everyone even more excited. Those who made it to the first-ss roll were ecstatic.

    Fang Zhengzhi heard many familiar names.

    The man who he had recruited after the loss to Ping Yang in the first round in the World of the Sage had made it to the first-ss roll. That man¡¯s cousin had also made it.

    "Official Fang, thank you. If not for your help, we will not be where we are today." Before long, the two middle aged men came over to thank Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You are too kind. I still have to thank you." Fang Zhengzhi had a good impression of both of them so he engaged in pleasantries.

    Before long, the first-ss roll had also been announced.

    However, there was no mention of Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu.

    This caused everyone to get suspicious.

    Xing Qingsui had gotten to the semifinals of the court examinations. After losing to Yan Xiu, he should have at least made the first-ss roll.

    Nangong Mu was in the top three for the theory examinations. Even though he had lost to Fang Zhengzhi one round earlier, it was quite impossible for him not to have made the first-ss roll.

    Could it be...

    A thought shed by in everyone¡¯s mind.

    "Did Fang Zhengzhi not make the cut?"

    "I don¡¯t think so? Fang Zhengzhi topped the theory examinations and made it to the final round of thebat examinations. He should either be first or second!"

    "Could it be Yan Xiu then?"

    "I think that¡¯s impossible!"

    The crowd burst into chatter.

    If Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu did not make the first-ss roll, they must have made the top three.

    However, including Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, there would be four names in the top three!

    Was there a tie?!

    Just as they thought about it, Su Qing stepped forward watched for a nod from King Duan and the Ninth Prince.

    "Announce the top three ranks for thebat examinations!" Su Qing bellowed when he got the approval from King Duan and the Ninth Prince.

    The crowd quietened down.

    Everyone was waiting for this result.

    Su Qing slowly opened the golden box in his hand. He pulled out a small golden parchment.

    He opened it up.

    Then, he spoke.

    "In third position for thebat examinations, we have Xing Qingsui of the Stabilisation Constabry!" Su Qing scanned the crowd as he spoke.

    The entire crowd exploded into chatter upon hearing this announcement.

    It was no surprise that Xing Qingsui was third. However, if Xing Qingsui was third, that would mean that there was no tie for third position!

    There were four missing names, yet, there was no tie.

    What was going on?

    No one understood what was happening.

    ording to the rules of the imperial examination, if there was a tie in the first or second positions, there would be no third ce.

    Could Nangong Mu be second? Either Yan Xiu or Fang Zhengzhi failed to make the cut?

    This did not seem very possible.

    Question arose in all the spectators¡¯ minds.

    Xing Qingsui, who was dressed in ck, walked over to Su Qing with a look of confusion. He clearly had a question on his mind.

    "Young Master Xing, congrattions on making the top three!" Su Qing congratted.

    "Mm, Official Su is too kind. May I ask how Nangong Mu fared in this examination?" Xing Qingsui asked. He had always been direct.

 Chapter 300: Results

    Chapter 300: Results

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Upon hearing Xing Qingsui¡¯s question, all of the surrounding spectators quietened down. This was the exact question on their minds.

    With Nangong Mu¡¯s results, he should at least be in the first-ss roll.

    Su Qing smiled but did not answer immediately. He turned to look at King Duan.

    King Duan did not speak when he saw Su Qing look at him. However, he nodded lightly.

    "Young Master Xing¡¯s question is warranted. However, Nangong Mu¡¯s situation is a little special. I am unsure of the details, but I can confirm that Nangong Mu is not ranked!" Su Qing smiled after seeing King Duan nod.

    "What?!"

    "Nangong Mu is not ranked?"

    "No matter what, Nangong Mu had already qualified for enough rounds to pass the imperial examinations. He should be ranked even if he didn¡¯t participate in the court examinations!"

    "This is against the rules!"

    Many people in the crowd were infuriated when they heard those words. After all, the imperial examination rankings were determined by the performance and results of the participants.

    Even though Su Qing did not say it explicitly...

    It was clear that Nangong Mu was not on any roll, not even the second-ss roll.

    This did not make any sense.

    "Does the Imperial Academy have a right to do that?" Xing Qingsui¡¯s gaze turned icy. Even though he did not interact much with Nangong Mu, they had gone through some things together in the World of the Sage as well as in the courts. He would not let this happen.

    Many of the talents on the first-ss roll also reacted to the news.

    "Why is Nangong Mu not on any roll?"

    "The Imperial Academy does not have the right to do that!"

    "Exactly exactly!"

    All of the talents echoed.

    Su Qing looked at the surroundings and sighed in helplessness.

    "Young Master Xing is correct, does the Imperial Academy have the right to do such things?" Su Qing¡¯s response was both a question and an answer.

    "What you mean is..."

    "Young Master Xing, this is not something that you and I can change. Furthermore, this decision was not made by the Imperial Academy. I am sure you know what I mean." Su Qing waved the crowd off. "There will be an exnation about Nangong Mu¡¯s case before the court examinations. Everything will be cleared up then."

    "Court Examinations?"

    "Why must we wait until then?"

    "Could it be because..."

    The crowd was jolted. Many of those who had expressions of doubt and suspicion shut their mouths immediately.

    "Can you guess the reason?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to Yan Xiu.

    "I can¡¯t be sure. I can only make a rough guess..." Yan Xiu nodded, then shook his head lightly.

    "What is it?"

    "If I am correct, it should have something to do with Nangong Hao."

    "Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    He did not know Nangong Hao before. However, ever since his battle with Nangong Mu, he found out that Nangong Hao was Nangong Mu¡¯s brother.

    However...

    How could these two things be linked?

    The rules of the imperial examination would not be changed unless there were extenuating circumstances. Why would Nangong Hao cause Nangong Mu to drop off the ranking boards?

    That did not seem very possible.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    It did not matter if Nangong Hao had such powers. Even if he did, Nangong Mu had said that his rtionship with Nangong Hao was good. As such, Nangong Hao would have no reason to bring harm to him.

    Since Nangong Hao would not harm Nangong Mu, what role did he y in Nangong Mu¡¯s failure to make any roll?

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded lightly without a second word.

    "Is Nangong Hao... powerful?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered his promise to Nangong Mu on stage.

    "I am no match for him." Yan Xiu replied with a conflicted tone.

    "Even with the Dao of Asura?" This was the first time Yan Xiu had admitted that he was not powerful enough to defeat someone, especially after he had understood the Dao of Asura.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not probe further. He knew that Yan Xiu would never lie to him. However, if Yan Xiu was no match for Nangong Hao...

    What was he going to do?

    He had to fulfill his promise to Nangong Mu!

    ...

    Xing Qingsui did not probe any further. He walked back to his spot.

    Su Qing did not want to dwell on it any further. He unfurled the parchment in his hand and looked at the crowd.

    The crowd quietened down.

    This was the moment of truth. The second and first for the imperial examinations.

    "The first ce for thebat examinations is... Yan Xiu!" Su Qing announced after the crowd quietened down.

    "It¡¯s Yan Xiu!"

    "It really is Yan Xiu!"

    "I already said that Yan Xiu will top thebat examinations! Hahaha... I win!"

    "Yan Xiu has both the abilities and the status!"

    All of them began to whoop and cheer when they heard Yan Xiu¡¯s name. Then, they turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi smugly.

    He was just a viger.

    You want to top the imperial examinations? Daydreaming.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi has nothing more to say right? However, he is quite lucky toe in second ce. He only managed it because Nangong Mu conceded!"

    "Exactly exactly!"

    Voices rang out from the crowd.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. He was the only one who knew what actually happened when they fell off the stage.

    Yan Xiu was unconscious then.

    Fang Zhengzhi could have used Yan Xiu to cushion his fall. However, he did not do that. In order to prevent Yan Xiu from taking additional damage, he chose to have both of them fall together.

    Furthermore, in the moment they hit the ground, he lifted Yan Xiu up a little.

    As such, even though theynded at the same time, those with poorer eyesight would think that Yan Xiunded slightlyter.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu turned back to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was filled with congrattions. However, Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze was filled with rage. His lips twitched as he prepared to speak up.

    Then, at this point, another voice rang out.

    "..." The crowd quietened down instantly as everyone looked at Su Qing, who raised the parchment.

    Su Qing was slightly embarrassed.

    He had wanted to finish reading the results, however, the crowd had interrupted him.

    The crowd was out of control.

    ording to the rules, he needed to pause after each name. However, after he paused, he realized that he probably shouldn¡¯t have.

    He cleared his throat after he saw all the eyes fixated on him.

    "First ce for thebat examinations goes to Yan Xiu! As well as Fang Zhengzhi from the Northern Mountain Vige! They are tied for first ce!" Su Qing finished the announcement in one breath.

    "Tie... tie for first?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu are tied for first?"

    "That means that Fang Zhengzhi has topped the imperial examinations!"

    "And... he topped both the theory andbatponents!"

    All of the spectators finally recovered from their shock. They suddenly recalled that Su Qing had skipped the second ce announcement.

    There was no second!

    It was a tie for first!

    There have only been a few tie for firsts in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Fang Zhengzhi topped bothponents again? He has managed to do it for all three examinations that he has participated in!"

    "My gosh... three times!"

    "Congrattions to you both!" Wu Feng came over and extended his congrattions to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. He did not seem surprised by the results.

    "Shouldn¡¯t congrattionse with a token or a gift?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Feng.

    "Haha... Young Master Fang is right. I have some silvers here, I hope that you¡¯ll ept them!" Wu Feng beamed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he handed them two cheques.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered when he saw them.

    What...

    10,000 silvers?!

    Who is he? Who gives 10,000 silvers at one go?

    "This amount is very little to Young Master Yan. I hope that you will not think of it as a joke." Wu Feng smiled as he looked at Yan Xiu¡¯s icy expression. Then, he turned and left.

    Yan Xiu frowned but did not speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused and curious to see Yan Xiu¡¯s reaction. He did not seem to like Wu Feng, so why would he greet Wu Feng?

    "His master and my grandfather have a good rtionship." Yan Xiu said after Wu Feng left.

    "I see." Fang Zhengzhi finally understood.

    Yan Xiu had told him quite a bit about his grandfather. However, he had never seen Yan Xiu¡¯s grandfather in person.

    Wu Feng¡¯s master was one of the four sages.

    For someone to have a good rtionship with a sage...

    Was he also a sage?

    One pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries. This was the phrase used to describe the powers in the Great Xia Dynasty. All Fang Zhengzhi knew of the 13 constabries were the Divine Constabry, the Stabilisation Constabry, and the Battle Constabry. Now, he knew of one of the sages.

    He would need to find a time to read up on the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    ...

    News of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s achievements spread like wildfire in the city. The imperial academy also ordered for the news to be spread to the other cities.

    At ake 30 miles outside the capital...

    A boat was stopped by the side of theke. Red autumn leaves floated in the air andnded on the tip of the boat, staining it red.

    Inside the boat, ady dressed in a white dress stroked the Guzheng in her hands. Music filled the air, serenading the talents by the river bank.

    "My troubles seem to leave me as I listen to this music!"

    "It is a pity that the music is unable to help us out of our situation!"

    "Ever since Fang Zhengzhi revealed Qingwu¡¯s face at Huai An County, she has not participated in any other gatherings. How frustrating!"

    "I heard that Fang Zhengzhi topped the imperial examinations. Aish... how depressing!"

    "Exactly! Why would there be someone like Fang Zhengzhi amongst the ranks of the educated..."

    "Zoom!"

    Just as these youths were discussing their lives, a ray of red light shot down from the sky. It sailed through the air and impacted one of the youth¡¯s chest.

    In that instant, he was thrown into the air and against a tree.

    "Plonk!" He fell to his knees.

    There was a red maple leaf at his chest.

    "Who was that! Who dares attack me?!" The youth paled, his tone belligerent.

    "People say that a Maple Leaf represents feelings. However, why can¡¯t I feel anything from you?" A figure approached from the distance.

    She wore a ck dress, a shadow of her great figure cast on the ground. A faint scent emanated from her body as she yed with a maple leaf in her hand.

    "Who are you?" The youth looked at the figure, his expression changing. This was ady, and a very attractive one.

    In any other situation, he would have took some time to admire her.

    But...

    After being attacked, he had no interest in admiring her.

    "You want to know?" Thedy¡¯s lips twitched as they curled into a yful smirk.

    "I do..." The youth nodded, then realized something was amiss. He shook his head, "I have no feud with you, why attack me from the shadows?"

    "Yes, why should I attack you from the shadows? I should attack you out in the open!" Thedy waved her hand and flung the maple leaf outwards.

    The youth was thrown into the air like a kite.

    All of the others were stunned when they saw this.

    A maple leaf!

    Who would have thought that a maple leaf would have such power!

    Just as they were thinking about it, thedy disappeared from her spot. She flew towards the the boat by the side of theke.

 Chapter 301: Court Examinations

    Chapter 301: Court Examinations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shended on the deck of the boat lightly with the tips of her toes. She did not make any sound as shended.

    Even so...

    In the moment thedy¡¯s toesnded on the deck, seven girls dressed in green surrounded her.

    Thedy was right in the middle.

    "Haha... I heard that Yun Qingwu was unique. I didn¡¯t expect that this is how she greets her guests?" Thedy chuckled.

    "Since you are a guest, please announce yourself!" A girl in green asked for the identity of the ck robeddy.

    "That¡¯s true, I am Wu Yuer." Wu Yuer nodded.

    "Wu Yuer?!" The expression of the girl in green changed. When she looked at Wu Yuer, she seemed to tremble slightly.

    "It looks like... you know me?" Wu Yuer smiled. Her skin was radiant, almost as if a gentle breeze had just caressed it.

    "I don¡¯t know." The girl in green shook her head.

    "Oh, is that right?" Wu Yuer ignored the green girl. She closed her eyes and listened to the music from the boat. "It looks like Ms Yun has other guests today."

    "How do you know?" The girl in green was shocked.

    "It¡¯s not too difficult. One just has to infer from her choice of music." Wu Yuer began to admire the way the boat was decorated.

    All seven girls in green were anxious.

    However, none of them moved, allowing Wu Yuer to walk on the deck.

    "Can I go in?" Wu Yuer asked after pacing around.

    "Since Ms Wu knows that she has an appointment, why don¡¯t you go in?" At that moment, anotherdy dressed in green walked out.

    She was slightly different from the other seven. She had a gold hairpin in her hair. It was quite difficult to notice if one wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    "What¡¯s the link?" Wu Yuer asked.

    "I see that Ms Wu is prepared today?" Thedy in green pressed.

    "It¡¯s not really any preparation at all. However, if I don¡¯t see her, I am not going to leave." Wu Yuer retrieved a cheque. "I heard that Ms Yun doesn¡¯t meet people receiving a gift first? I can¡¯t possibly break that rule today."

    She flicked her fingers and the cheque flew towards thedy in green.

    The expression of thedy in green changed as she grabbed the cheque with both hands. She retreated a few steps, stunned by the impact. However, she suppressed her shock quickly.

    "Thank you. However, mydy does not want the cheque." The girl in green tore up the cheque in her hands.

    The torn up pieces of paper floated on theke,bining with the fallen maple leaves. They looked like snow on the water.

    "I have already given you the cheque. Whether she wants it or not is none of my business." Wu Yuer walked towards the girl in green.

    The expressions of the other seven girls changed immediately.

    "Woosh!"

    Almost simultaneously, all seven of them drew their des. The des glimmered icily in the autumn sun.

    Wu Yuer stopped.

    However, she did not look at the seven girls. Instead, she turned to look at the center of theke.

    There was a light mist on the surface of the water. A faint figure was floating on the surface of the river. Before long, a boat cam into view.

    There was no paddle.

    A lone youth stood aboard the boat. He wore a white shirt. However, it was impossible to make out his appearance. He was surrounded by fallen maple leaves.

    "It¡¯s him?!" Wu Yuer¡¯s expression changed when she saw that boat. She stood rooted to the spot.

    At that moment, the music from inside the boat stopped.

    The door opened.

    Yun Qingwu walked out. She was dressed in white, a veil blocking her face. Her smooth, luscious ck hair danced in the wind.

    "I see that someone was even earlier than me." Wu Yuer murmured to herself. This was rather strange. Ordinarily, people would think that she was earlier than the figure on theke.

    "Yes, he is earlier than you." Yun Qingwu nodded lightly when she heard Wu Yuer. She was clearly in agreement with Wu Yuer¡¯s judgement...

    ...

    The wind in the capital was cold to the touch. It was clear that they were well into autumn.

    The date of the court examination had been set. It would be held five dayster at the dawn of winter.

    This court examinations were one of the grandest in history. Virtually all of the powers on the Rising Dragon Roll were here.

    The fourth ranked Wu Feng was the one who caught the most attention.

    The reason was simple...

    He was a core disciple of one of the four sages.

    There was one other reason. Wu Feng had done something recently. After the announcement of the imperial examination results, news of it reached the capital.

    Qin Yan, ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll, had been defeated.

    The person who defeated him was Wu Feng.

    People were not shocked that Wu Feng defeated Qin Yan. After all, they were only one rank apart.

    It wasmon for the talents to switch ces like this, especially near the top.

    However, they were all stunned by Wu Feng¡¯s choice of time to do so.

    It was only five days from the court examinations.

    "Is he not afraid of getting injured?"

    This was the first reaction from everyone. However, the fact was, Wu Feng was not injured. Furthermore, he had defeated Qin Yan in three rounds.

    Three rounds to defeat Qin Yan.

    Wu Feng was now ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    He took over the only contestable spot on the Rising Dragon Roll. He was now second only to Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao.

    Of course, this court examinations was the queerest one to date.

    After his defeat, Qin Yan withdrew from the examinations.

    Seventh ranked Xiang Tianying and eighth ranked Tang Zhongming also announced their withdrawal after the release of the imperial examination results.

    The withdrawal of these two candidates were linked to the racing and huntingpetition.

    However...

    People were curious why Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming would withdraw instead of trying to get revenge at the court examinations.

    After all, their enemy was Fang Zhengzhi.

    The wind continued to blow in the city.

    It was clearing out some of the dust before the court examinations. However, there was always more dust to take its ce.

    Everyone in the city was on their toes.

    However, there was one exception. That exception was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Over the past few days, Fang Zhengzhi found himself a new hobby. He would bring Ping Yang around to catch people. Yan Xiu would always tag along.

    He quickly became one of the most powerful in the city.

    Yan Xiu yed a huge role in this game.

    When some people would hide in their residences, Ping Yang¡¯s voice was more than enough to scare them out.

    These people included...

    Wen Dabao.

    "Young Master Wen, where are we going to eat today?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the depressed Wen Dabao mockingly.

    "Official Fang... will what I say go?" Wen Dabao asked bitterly.

    "You have to suggest something to us first. Only after you suggest can we know if it¡¯s eptable." Fang Zhengzhi encouraged.

    "..." Wen Dabao was on the verge of crying, "Why don¡¯t you decide, Official Fang?"

    "Okay then, I shall decide. Where do you want to go?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Ping Yang.

    "Why don¡¯t we go to the Fragrance Restaurant for food then go to the Jade Pavilion for some shopping?" Ping Yang blinked her eyes.

    "Not a bad idea. I think that¡¯s fine. What about you?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded solemnly. Then, he turned to look at Yan Xiu.

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded lightly.

    "Your highness, Young Master Yan, Official Fang, this really will not do. I... I..." Wen Dabao was on the verge of crying.

    All of his winnings from the hunting and racingpetition were spent over the past two days. Then, his own savings were also emptied.

    "No worries, it¡¯s on me this time." Fang Zhengzhi replied magnanimously.

    "..." Wen Dabao was on the verge of crying. He had fallen for this trick before.

    Two days ago, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had came to look for him.

    Wen Dabao was ecstatic. He immediately offered to treat Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu to a good meal.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "It¡¯s on me!"

    This caused Wen Dabao to fall this his knees. Fang Zhengzhi was such a good man. He thought that he had made the perfect choice to follow Official Fang.

    However, he finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant by treating.

    In short...

    It was bullying.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu would order whilst Wen Dabao would pay.

    Afterwards, Wen Dabao learnt his lesson. He hid within his residence and did not greet any guests. However, he could not escape Ping Yang.

    Wen Dabao realized that after he went into hiding, there were even more people who came over for meals.

    "Dabao!" A male walked out from the residence.

    "Father? Why are you out here?" Wen Dabao was slightly stunned.

    "Nothing much. My memory is failing me recently. I dropped some silvers a few days ago but I can¡¯t seem to find them now. Aish... so I decided toe out here and take a look.

    "Dropped silvers in the yard?!" Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes brightened. However, why would his fathere to his residence to look for silvers he dropped in his own yard.

    However, he did not say this out loud.

    Because...

    That would only result in a beating.

    "Mm, I will go look for it along the streets. I will be off for now." The middle aged man left.

    Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes glimmered when the middle aged man left. There are silvers in the yard? Hahaha... there are silvers!

    ...

    Three days passed very quickly.

    It was only two days from the court examinations. All of the talents began to stay home as they made their final preparations for the court examinations.

    At this moment...

    A piece of news reached the capital.

    This news was simple. It consisted of only one sentence - "Nangong Hao announces his participation in the court examinations!"

    "Nangong Hao is going to participate?!"

    "Is this real?"

    "Of course it is. This news came from the imperial academy."

    "If Nangong Hao participates, will Fang Zhengzhi have the chance to top the exam?"

    "What rubbish. Even if Nangong Hao doesn¡¯t participate, Fang Zhengzhi would not have a chance! There is still Wu Feng! Don¡¯t forget that he defeated Qin Yan in three rounds! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle against Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming is not even a feat worth mentioning."

    "That¡¯s true. I am really looking forward to the court examinations!"

    Discussions continued throughout all corners of the city.

    At the same time, a few cavalry sped past the gates to the city. They headed straight for the pce at neckbreaking speeds.

    "It¡¯s the Dragon Protection Squad!"

    "I wonder what news it is now?"

    "Anything that would cause the Dragon Protection Squad to rush to the capital in this manner is extraordinary."

    Everyone on the streets began guessing upon seeing the Dragon Protection Squad.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was with Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, happened to see the Dragon Protection Squad. However, he was not curious at all.

    Because...

    He did not recognize them at all.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s eyes brightened almost immediately.

    "Hey, look, it¡¯s the Dragon Protection Squad. I wonder why they are rushing?" Ping Yang screamed in anticipation.

    "Dragon Protection Squad?" Yan Xiu also turned to look at the speeding cavalry. His expression changed slightly.

    However, he recovered quickly.

    Then...

    Yan Xiu raised his head and looked into the blue sky and the clouds, seemingly deep in thought.

    "Hey, where are we going now?" Wen Dabao rushed over from the restaurant after settling the bill.

    However, this time, Wen Dabao was not depressed. On the other hand, he looked quite happy to settle this bill.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you want to go and y at the pce?" Ping Yang looked at Wen Dabao scornfully. Then, she smirked at Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 302: Mausoleum

    Chapter 302: Mausoleum

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Pce? Is there anything fun there?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened.

    He had been to the pce before. However, he was summoned to the throne room then. He had not had the chance to explore it before.

    In all honesty, he had never seen the pce in its entirety.

    "Have you heard of the... 3000 beauties?" Ping Yang was rather contented to see Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interest piqued.

    The residence of concubines...

    An image shed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Countless beauties walking past him, each with their own unique qualities.

    3000 of them!

    With 365 days in a year... he could change one everyday and have enough tost him 10 years!

    Furthermore, this was just an estimate. In his previous world, the Emperors all had more than 3000 concubines. For some of them, the concubines were virtually uncountable.

    "Ahem, I am still young. I can¡¯t be exposed to such things too early!" Fang Zhengzhi replied solemnly.

    "What are you thinking about? What do you mean by you are too young? You can¡¯t be exposed to such things so early?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi scornfully. "I am just bringing you there to take a look. Are you going?"

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "Yan Xiu, what about you?"

    "Nope."

    "What a disappointment." Ping Yang¡¯s lips twitched. Then, she turned to look at Wen Dabao.

    "I will go, I will go!" Wen Dabao did not even wait for Ping Yang to ask. He was salivating at the thought of it.

    "Scram! Is that a ce that you can go to? Do you believe that I will get someone to castrate you?" Ping Yang red at him as she made a chopping motion with her hands.

    Wen Dabao crossed his legs as sweat flowed from his forehead.

    "Come let¡¯s go, I will bring you to see what 3000 concubines look like!" Ping Yang pulled Fang Zhengzhi away after snorting at Wen Dabao...

    ...

    Inside the library of the pce.

    A golden armored member of the Dragon Protection Squad stood in the middle. There was a letter on the table.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping sat beside the table, his expression as calm as water. However, he kept looking at Emperor Lin Mubai, who was at the table.

    Emperor Lin Mubai scanned the letter, his expression changing slightly.

    "Where is he now?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s question was quite vague. However, the Dragon Protection Squad member understood immediately. He cupped his fist.

    "Your highness, he is rushing to the capital as we speak. Based on his speed, he should arrive shortly."

    "Mm... you may leave now." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    The Dragon Protection Squad member bowed and left the library.

    "Your highness, the implications of this are great. Should we gather all the officials?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied quickly after the Dragon Protection Squad member left.

    "What do you think I should do about this?" Emperor Lin Mubai questioned after some hesitation.

    "We have already confirmed the identity of the Demon Leader. As such, we only have two options. We can order for her capture. She should not have gone far. If we send the order now, we should be able to capture her. That will give us the upper hand against the demons. The second option is... lockdown the news and let things take their course." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied after some thought.

    "I was asking about him." Emperor Lin Mubai shook his head.

    "Him?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression changed as he looked out of the library. He clenched his fists then loosened them. "Your highness, do you n to use this opportunity to show mercy?"

    "What are your views on Nangong Mu?" Emperor Lin Mubai changed the approach.

    "Your highness, you have been merciful!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied.

    "Haha... I¡¯m afraid that you are the only one who would say that I¡¯ve been merciful? I think that Nangong Hao hase to the city because of this."

    "This is an opportunity."

    "I am worried that we will not be able to grasp this opportunity."

    "Based on Nangong Hao¡¯s ability, he could have topped the court examinations four years ago. Four yearster, he should be able to do so with no problem. Your highness, all you have to do is wait."

    "Mm... you¡¯re right!" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, then turned to look out the window. "Do you think... that there could be someone else that is the child in the Heavenly Prophecy?"

    "Are you referring to Yan Xiu?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping trembled.

    "No, I am talking about Fang Zhengzhi." Emperor Lin Mubai shook his head lightly.

    "About this... forgive my stupidity, but I don¡¯t see it." Left Prime MInster Yu Yiping¡¯s expression changed.

    "Yes, it is quite the long shot and it¡¯s just a thought I had. Anyways, the Crown Prince seems to be intondscaping?" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    "The Crown Prince uses the botany to understand the values required to be a leader."

    "It is good to improve one¡¯s values and health. However, he needs to improve his political involvement. As a leader, he cannot continue this way if he wants to be effective."

    "Your highness is wise!"

    "About the court examinations, the Crown Prince has suggested that I hold thebat examinations at the Southern Mountain Region. I find it refreshing and bold. What is your opinion?"

    "I think that this is quite bold, but it would affect the military. I am afraid King Duan..."

    "Let King Duan help him from the side. Brothers should work together more often. King Duan made some errors in hisst invigtion, I would like to give him a second chance."

    "Your highness, you have considered every possibility, I am impressed beyond words."

    "Mm, you¡¯ve always been too humble. I¡¯ve had a splitting headache recently. I keep thinking that something bad is about to happen. Why don¡¯t you apany me for a walk around the gardens?" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled and stood up.

    "Yes your highness!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bowed.

    ...

    The cold wind blew, causing theke to freeze over.

    The mountains were now covered in snow.

    It was incredibly cold now. The rivers andkes were frozen and thends were covered in snow.

    There was a huge mausoleum in the middle of thisndscape.

    Snow covered the vast limestone. The rock was not blocked by any foliage from the icy wind. This was an eternally icy world.

    The entire cemetery was covered in snow.

    This was the Nangong mausoleum.

    This was the home of the reputable Nangong Family.

    This ce had existed for aeons. It was established about the same time as the Great Xia Dynasty. The limestone may have aged, but the ice was still the same.

    The Nangong Family stayed right next to their ancestors¡¯ tombs.

    Many people could not understand it, but the mausoleum was the pir of this ancient family¡¯s fate.

    There was a stone tablet in the middle of the mausoleum.

    Each tablet was carved with a name, and under each name was the description of the ancestor¡¯s life. This was the residence of the Nangong Family, and it was also the resting ce of the Nangong ancestors.

    Today, there were a dozen people by the side door of the mausoleum.

    Each person¡¯s gaze was icy, their bodies covered in snow from head to toe. They had clearly been standing here for some time.

    However, none of them moved from their spots. They looked like statues by the door.

    This was a strange sight. If not for the fact that clouds of mist formed everytime they exhaled, one may be tempted to think that these men were dead.

    The snow continued to fall lightly to the ground.

    A figure walked out from the snow. The figure wore a green short sleeved shirt and his workaday appearance wasplemented by calm, expressionless eyes.

    He stopped at the mausoleum.

    Then, he fell to his knees and kowtowed to the mausoleum. The snow stained his forehead as he did so.

    "You¡¯re back?" The man right at the front of the stone door finally spoke.

    This was a slightly plump middle aged man. He wore a singleyer, but his cor was lined with fur. He revealed no expression.

    His eyes did not blink even as the wind blew against his face. His blood vessels showed through his eyes. He had clearly been in the snow for too long.

    "Mm." The figure nodded lightly as he replied.

    "Why did youe back?" The slightly plump middle aged man asked again. This time, his tone was icily dangerous.

    The figure did not speak. He chose to stand in the snow silently. His expression was as t as before, almost as if he wasn¡¯t even thinking about the question.

    "What is the core value of the Nangong Family?" The slightly plump man raised his head as he looked at the falling snow. Then, he looked at the figure in the snow.

    "Break rather than bend." The figure asserted.

    "Why did you admit defeat?" The middle aged man¡¯s tone changed.

    Silence once again. However, this time, the figure in the snow seemed to be deep in contemtion.

    "You can lose, you can die, but, you cannot bend!"

    "Yes."

    "Kneel to your ancestors!"

    "Yes." The figure nodded then walked through the dozen men and towards the stone tablet.

    There were a total of 3,478 tablets.

    However, his expression did not change. He walked quietly to the first tablet and knelt. Then, he kowtowed once, twice, thrice...

    For a total of 10 times.

    Only then did he stand up and walk to the second tablet. He kowtowed 10 times there. Then, he moved to the third tablet...

    "Master, is this a little too harsh?" One of the figures standing outside the mausoleum felt heartache as he saw the lone figure kowtowing to each grave.

    "The Emperor has been kind enough to not put his name on the roll. In all our history, there has been no one who has gotten a first-ss roll result. This is humiliation. The Nangong Family has been humliated! After he dies, are we supposed to put imperial examination first-ss roll on his grave?"

    "Master is wise."

    "You can all leave. I will wait for him here by myself."

    "I understand."

    The snow continued to fall on the two remaining people in the mausoleum. One of them stood by the side door silently. He was just like a statue, unspeaking and unmoving.

    The other figure kept kowtowing at the front of each gravestone. However, the determination in his eyes never wavered.

    "Dong, dong, dong..."

    The sound of his head against the ice and snow rang out, almost like a hammer knocking against the ground.

    ...

    In the pce...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt the urge to curse. He felt utterly cheated. Furthermore, he had been cheated in the worst manner.

    3000 concubines!

    Ping Yang did bring Fang Zhengzhi to the residence of the concubines. However, this pce did not belong to the Emperor.

    This was the residence of princesses.

    Fang Zhengzhi bowed so much he felt like he had sprained his waist. Crowds of them ran out like butterflies.

    Each one of them chuckled to themselves.

    More importantly.

    They would ask the same question each time.

    "Oh? Who is this?"

    They were almost like curious babies.

    He had no other choice but to introduce himself to each of them. However, he began to grow tired of it after more than 20 times.

    "I heard that Official Fang managed to clinch the top spot for the imperial examinations. Can you share with us how you did it?"

    "Exactly exactly. Official Fang, please share with us. We always here Sister Ping Yang call you shameless. How shameless are you? Why don¡¯t you try it on us?"

    "Why do you ask Official Fang so many questions at one go? Official Fang, ignore them. Tell me how you made everyone fall for your trick at the hunting and racingpetition! Also, tell me how you knew they would go one additional round?"

    All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi in anticipation, their dresses pping in the wind.

    "Don¡¯t be so draggy! Get me something nice to eat first!" Fang Zhengzhi could not take it any longer. He slumped into a chair and finished an entire fruit tter on the table.

 Chapter 303: Expand your horizons

    Chapter 303: Expand your horizons

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This sight stunned all of the princesses.

    Everyone of them was well respected wherever they went. Even the officials in the imperial courts did not dare treat them the way Fang Zhengzhi did.

    Fang Zhengzhi was just a rank four Sword Envoy. Furthermore, he had no authority or influence as an official. If not for the fact that he was the Sword Envoy, he probably couldn¡¯t enter the pce.

    Yet now, he was showing aplete disregard for them.

    Outrageous.

    "One¡¯s birthce dictates one¡¯s horizons. Official Fang is wolfing down the food, he must be hungry. We have many delicacies here thatmoners don¡¯t get to eat."

    "That¡¯s right. Official Fang is a guest of Sister Ping Yang. We would be petty not to offer some food to him."

    "Servant! Prepare some food for Official Fang. Let him broaden his horizons."

    Each of the princesses began to call for food. Even though they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with tints of scorn, they did not despise Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacity.

    After all, the rarer something was, the more valuable it was.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacity was well known throughout the city. The princesses were quite curious about him.

    With their interest and curiosity piqued, they were willing to ignore many of these details.

    Ping Yang smiled when she heard the discussions amongst her sisters. She pitied them quite a bit.

    They were trapped in the maze of the pce.

    Unlike her, these princesses spent most of their time in the pce. Many of them had not even left the pce before. As such, their outlook on the world was restricted to the pce.

    As a result, they were naturally arrogant.

    Expand the horizons of Fang Zhengzhi?

    This may sound normal to an ordinary person. However, Ping Yang knew that Fang Zhengzhi was quite experienced, especially when it came to food.

    He had probably tried all the delicacies in the capital as well as those in the various vassal states.

    To put it bluntly, Fang Zhengzhi would eat whatever he could wherever he went!

    However, Ping Yang did not say this out loud. She thought that Fang Zhengzhi would say it himself.

    However, surprisingly, Fang Zhengzhi did not say that. On the other hand, he looked on excitedly. "Good good, bring me something yummy. I want to expand my horizons!"

    "Hahaha... what a hillbilly!"

    "The top scorer in the imperial examination is just a hillbilly."

    All of the princesses chuckled when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. Theirughter filled the air instantly.

    Ping Yang pouted. This fe was embarrassing her. After all, she was the one who brought him in.

    The least he could do was behave.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about what the others saw of him. He had heard that the imperial chefs were the best around. He was going to taste it for himself today.

    Very quickly, the table was filled with food.

    There were over 30 dishes. Each one was exquisitely prepared. Upong serving each dish, a eunuch would also introduce it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Official Fang, please have a taste!"

    "Yes, you should expand your horizons."

    All of the princesses urged by the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not going to be courteous about it. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and stuffed the food into his mouth. His look of anticipation froze.

    Oh?

    I thought the imperial chefs were supposed to be the best there were! Why did it taste just like what he had in the capital?

    He did not think too much of it. He picked up a second piece.

    He chewed it slowly and closed his eyes, relishing the vors.

    All of the princesses stared at Fang Zhengzhi. They were all waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to break down in tears at how delicious the food was.

    "Quite average." Fang Zhengzhi confirmed that these dishes were pretty good but not out of this world.

    "Average? How can these be average?!"

    "Try this. This is my favorite."

    "Okay, I¡¯ll try it!" Fang Zhengzhi picked up another pair of chopsticks excitedly. He chewed on it, "It really is average. It is not much different from what I have normally."

    "How is that possible?"

    "Official Fang, you must tell the truth. This is the delicacy from the pce, it is not something you can eat normally."

    "That is true. You¡¯re from the countryside, how could you have possibly eaten such delicacies. I think you¡¯re just boasting?"

    "You said that our kitchen is just average. Why don¡¯t you do something for us?"

    "Yes, you should make us something!"

    "I would like to see if you can make something better than our pce chefs!"

    "Who can¡¯t boast? The key is to prove it with your actions."

    All of the princesses did not believe what Fang Zhengzhi said. Their favorite foods had just been dissed by someone. All of them chided, their faces flushed.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, show them!" Ping Yang finally spoke up. She had always like Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grilled meat. It was much better than these nd dishes.

    "I¡¯m toozy. It¡¯s too much work." Fang Zhengzhi was toozy to cook. He came here to y, not to cook.

    "That¡¯s because you can¡¯t!" All of the princesses said in scorn.

    "Yes, that¡¯s because you cant!"

    "I think so too. You probably can¡¯t cook!"

    Many other princesses began to chime in. No one believed that Fang Zhengzhi could cook.

    "God damn it. Who says I can¡¯t cook?!" Fang Zhengzhi could not take it any longer. How could he stand being despised this way. To make things worse, he was being chided bydies.

    He could not stand it any longer.

    "If you can do it, you should go do it!"

    "Exactly, if you really can, you should make something for us!"

    "Everyone can boast. However, not everyone can prove it with actions."

    All of the princesses were not going to take this lying down.

    "Okay, I will cook something for you. However... I have one condition." Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward and looked at all the princesses. He smirked.

    "Condition?" All of the princesses retreated slightly. They were wary of his smirk. Did he want to make one of them his wife?

    That would not do. They were never going to marry a hillbilly.

    "Tell us what the condition is."

    "It is very simple. The first bite you have is free. After which, you have to pay 100 silvers for each subsequent bite. If you don¡¯t want to pay in silvers, you can give me a treasure. How about it?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the princesses. They were all rich enough to afford 100 silvers a bite.

    "First bite is free?"

    "Each subsequent bite is 100 silvers?"

    "Okay, deal!"

    The princesses nodded after looking at each other.

    During banquets, there could be upwards of 1000 dishes. There were few dishes that they would take a second bite of. As such, they did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could make them eat this much.

    Ping Yang was rather surprised by this. Even though the grilled meat was tasty, it required quite some time to grill.

    There were no less than 20 people here. Fang Zhengzhi was only selling one for 100 silvers? How much could he earn? Probably a few thousand silvers at best...

    He clearly wasn¡¯t thinking ahead.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    He was beaming. At 100 silvers a mouthful, he would pauper the entire pce.

    ...

    Two hourster, just as all the princesses were getting restless, Fang Zhengzhi ran over. There were two eunuchs behind him carrying a huge pot.

    This was not the strangest sight. There were two more eunuchs behind them. One of them carried a hollowed out table whilst the other one carried a huge pot of charcoal.

    "He spent so long making one dish?"

    "He clearly can¡¯t make anything!"

    All of the princesses shook their heads in scorn.

    Ping Yang was quite confused. Why did he have a pot? And a hollowed out table? Did he find a way to grill meat in a pot? What a maverick.

    Just as she was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi arrived in front of her.

    The two eunuchs carefully ced the pot on the hollowed out table. Then, they ced the charcoal below the table.

    "What dish is this?" One of the princesses asked warily.

    "This is not a dish." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "It¡¯s not a dish? Then what is it?"

    "It is a hotpot."

    "Hotpot?" The princess was stunned.

    "Hahaha... it is a hotpot!" Another princess chuckled. In the pce, they had a tradition of eating hotpot during the winter months. They were still wondering what dish Fang Zhengzhi had cooked.

    It was just a hotpot.

    For a hotpot, even making the princesses eat a mouthful was an achievement.

    Ping Yang frowned. Why would Fang Zhengzhi do a hotpot instead of grilling meat? Even though it was rather chilly, it was not the season for hotpots.

    Furthermore, a hotpot was just cooking things in boiling water or stock. What was good about it?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the scorn on the faces of all the princesses. However, his smile did not diminish.

    He knew that they had hotpots here.

    However, could the hotpots here even be called hotpots?

    Today...

    He will let them know what is a Chongqing Hotpot!

    "ng!" Fang Zhengzhi lifted the lid to the pot and revealed a hotpot with eight different bases, each separated by a metal te.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to thank the fact that the pce kitchen was well stocked.

    In order to make one soup base, he needed at least 20 different ingredients. Furthermore, it was quiteplicated to make an eight vored hotpot.

    Back in the Northern Mountain Vige, it was virtually impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to make so many vors.

    Initially, he had only thought of making a two vored pot. However, upon seeing how well stocked the kitchen was, he changed his mind.

    There was an entire house filled with superior stocks. They simmered constantly in dozens of pots.

    There were people watching over it to make sure the fire was never extinguished.

    Normally, they would only take a little bit out to make soup for the emperor. However, Fang Zhengzhi virtually emptied the pots.

    He put a little in the soups and ced most of it in his Heart Protection Mirror.

    The guardian had wanted to duke it out with Fang Zhengzhi. However, he was knocked unconscious before he could put up a fight.

    After which, no one stopped Fang Zhengzhi.

    More importantly, he had the token given by Ping Yang.

    The eight colored soup boiled in the pot. It did look quite appetizing. However, what were the "leaves" rolling in the soup?

    "Can... this really be eaten?"

    "Is there poison in this?!"

    All of the princesses were hesitant upon seeing the leaves.

    "Of course not." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Inedible? Then are you trying to poison us?" The princesses raged.

    "Bumpkins. I am asking you to eat a hotpot. You have to take your meats and vegetables and cook them in the base!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he pped.

    Very quickly, an eunuch brought over all sorts of ingredients for the hotpots.

    "How dare you call us bumpkins?!"

    "Outrageous!"

    All of the princesses raged when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. However, they were also attracted by the ingredients the eunuch brought over.

    "Can these be put in the hotpot?"

    "Oh? This can be eaten?"

    "Wow... what is this. It looks like... ah, what is this?!"

    After all the ingredients were brought over, the princesses leapt to their feets. This was different from what they had seen before.

    "Enough with the talking. If you all don¡¯t want to eat it, I will start eating!" Fang Zhengzhi was hungry. He picked up a piece of pig brain and ced it in the hotpot.

    Within moments, he took it out and took a bite. It was delicious!

    The princesses could not resist it when they saw Fang Zhengzhi devouring the food. In the end, Ping Yang was still the first person to try, "I will have try it out!"

 Chapter 304: Emperor, robbery!

    Chapter 304: Emperor, robbery!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang was not afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would poison the soup base. She knew that no matter how outrageous Fang Zhengzhi was, he would never poison the princesses inside the pce.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had no reason to poison them.

    "Woosh!" Ping Yang did not swish the meat around like Fang Zhengzhi did. Instead, she poured the entire te of meat into the soup.

    The red soup base sshed skywards.

    "Ouch ouch ouch..." All of the princesses yelled when they were scalded.

    However, they were all attracted by the aromaing out from the hotpot. They began salivating.

    Ping Yang simply picked up one piece of meat and put it in her mouth.

    She chewed on it slowly.

    Then, her expression changed. Her entire face turned red, almost as if she had been lit on fire.

    "Water, water! I need water!"

    "Princess, princess, the water is here!" A whole bunch of eunuchs panicked when they heard her. Even though Fang Zhengzhi had made the food, the ingredients hade from the imperial kitchen.

    If there was any problem...

    The kitchen would be responsible as well.

    All of the other princesses stepped back when they heard this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you poison the food!"

    "Capture Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "We will not let you off today!"

    All of the princesses yelled in terror. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was quite powerful. It was very possible that he would take one or two of them hostage in a fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips in scorn. "Poison? Go fly a kite!"

    Just as he spoke, he ced a few pieces of meat in his bowl. He cooled them down by blowing on them before cing them in his mouth.

    Red oil trickled from the edge of his mouth.

    Just at that moment, Ping Yang took a big gulp of water and suppressed the redness in her face.

    "Hahaha... how awesome!" Ping Yang yelled as she picked up yet another piece of meat. She ced it in her mouth, "Yummy, very yummy!"

    All of the other princesses were stunned by this change. What was going on? Why was she okay all of a sudden?

    Could it be that water was the antidote?

    "Is it yummy?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang.

    "It is!" Ping Yang nodded vigorously.

    "Then you should eat some more, hehe!" Fang Zhengzhi looked on as Ping Yang ced more meat in her mouth. She now owed him 200 silvers.

    Easy money.

    All of the other princesses looked at each other in confusion. They all knew how picky Ping Yang was about food.

    What kind of food would make Ping Yang praise it to such an extent?

    All of the princesses were curious. After all, the meat on the table was ordinary. Furthermore, nothing had been done to the meat. Could it be that the hotpot was the magical ingredient?

    "I will try it as well!"

    "Me too!"

    "I... I will only try one piece."

    All of the princesses could not take it any longer. All of them reached for their chopsticks.

    "Wow, how spicy! How yummy!"

    "I... I am unable to take the heat. Are there any less spicy ones?"

    "Of course. This is tomato vored. This is not spicy." Fang Zhengzhi began to introduce each vor to the princesses.

    All of the princesses could not resist the temptation any longer.

    All of them began to dive in.

    Before long, all of them began to attack the food like famished animals.

    Each of them tried all eight vors, then continued to cook the meat in their favorite bases.

    Theypletely forgot about the 100 silvers price tag on every mouthful they had.

    All of the eunuchs were stunned to see the princesses attacking the food this way.

    Were these princesses?

    They looked like famishedmoners!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by this. After all, hotpot was adies favorite. With no real hotpot in this world, this was a great weapon.

    "One should always enjoy a good hotpot with some wine." Fang Zhengzhi waved to some of the salivating eunuchs.

    "Yes!" The eunuchs brought bottles of wine over.

    The wine in the pce was much better than those in the restaurants. After all, the wine in the pce were all vintages.

    Most of the princesses believed Fang Zhengzhi and began to gulp the wine down.

    Before long...

    They were all flushed and tipsy.

    Fang Zhengzhi was beaming. Now that they were tipsy, they would not know how much they ate. At the end of the day, all he had to do was quote an astronomical figure.

    ...

    Emperor Lin Mubai and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping were just enjoying the scenery. Then, they smelt the aroma from afar.

    This was quite a special aroma. It stuck to them and in that moment...

    Both of them felt hungry.

    "What is that?" Emperor Lin Mubai was curious.

    "It is not the time for meals yet. Why is there such an aroma? Furthermore, what is this? Why have I not smelt it before?" Emperor Lin Mubai thought to himself.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes brightened. He was slightly hungry, but he would not say this in front of the Emperor.

    "Will you walk with me?"

    "Yes!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded. Does the Emperor not know what this is? Why must he walk over and see it?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why women werepared to tigers.

    "Hey, that soup... you can¡¯t drink it!"

    "Ah? Why, it¡¯s very yummy..."

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless and exasperated. You can drink it, but can you at least leave a little? How am I supposed to eat without soup?

    Just as he was thinking about it, he heard voices approaching.

    "The Emperor is here!"

    "The Emperor is here!"

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned. His gaze scanned across all of the tipsy princesses. He felt his stomach turn, "Uh oh... will I be charged for this?"

    Just as he prepared to run, two figures appeared at the entrance.

    It was Emperor Lin Mubai and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "Gree... greetings fa... father!"

    "Greetings fa... father."

    All of the princesses fell to their knees. However, some of the princesses could not get back on their feet.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was furious.

    When did his garden be a ce for such things? Furthermore, the people who were drunk were princesses, his daughters!

    How humiliating!

    Just as he was about to speak, he saw Fang Zhengzhi holding a pair of chopsticks. There was a half eaten piece of meat at the corner of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    Fang Zhengzhi, how outrageous of you! How dare you toy with the Emperor¡¯s daughters!

    Emperor Lin Mubai squinted. He could smell the alcohol in the air. It was clear that Fang Zhengzhi had gotten all his daughters drunk.

    Just as he was about to rage...

    He saw a figure in red float in front of him.

    "Father,e quickly. You have to try this hotpot! It is absolutely delicious!" Ping Yang tugged at Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s hand and led him to the table.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyelids jumped. He curiosity was piqued as he looked at the steaming hotpot. This is the origin of the aroma?

    "Father, have a bite!" Ping Yang picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and fed it to Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai really wanted to avoid it.

    After all, he had noticed the rolling leaves in the pot. He really wanted to ask if the things inside were edible.

    However...

    Ping Yang had already passed the meat to him. He had no other choice but to nibble on it.

    "Is it nice?" Ping Yang looked on in anticipation after seeing Emperor Lin Mubai chew on the meat.

    "Mm... not bad." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded. Before Ping Yang could feed him again, he picked up a chopstick and began eating.

    "Prime Minister, you should have a taste as well."

    Emperor Lin Mubai turned to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping after eating three slices of meat.

    "Yes!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nced at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he too took a seat at the table.

    His eyes brightened the moment he ate it.

    "You should always enjoy a hotpot with wine." Ping Yang looked at Emperor Lin Mubai and followed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s footsteps.

    "Is that so? Hahaha... okay then, bring me some wine. All of you should have some!" Emperor Lin Mubai patted Ping Yang¡¯s head as he chuckled.

    "Thank... thank you father!"

    All of the princesses, who were scared out of their wits, climbed to their feet. Their clothes were drenched in sweat after that rude awakening.

    "Come over and join me."

    "Yes!"

    All of the princesses were ecstatic when they heard it.

    Then, the eunuchs all saw something that terrified them.

    Under the leadership of Emperor Lin Mubai, Princess Ping Yang, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, as well as the other princesses began to dig into the hotpot.

    Fang Zhengzhi chuckled to himself by the side.

    Before long, all the food was cleaned. Emperor Lin Mubai stood up, clearly satisfied.

    "What is this called?"

    "Your highness, this is a hotpot." One of the eunuchs replied instantly.

    "Hotpot? Hotpot can be done this way? Nicely done, very nicely done. Which chef thought of such a wonderful method? I must reward him." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded in satisfaction.

    "About this..." The eunuch turned to look at the beaming Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Father, this was not done by a chef. This was done by Fang Zhengzhi." Ping Yang¡¯s lips twitched.

    Fang Zhengzhi did this?

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed.

    Initially, he had thought of finishing his meal before berating Fang Zhengzhi for intoxicating his daughters. Only now did he realize...

    Fang Zhengzhi was in his garden and surrounded by his daughters for a reason.

    "I see." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded. He looked at the other princesses with aplicated expression.

    However, since he had said it, he could not take it back.

    After all, an Emperor does not joke.

    "Reward Fang Zhengzhi with 1000 silvers!"

    "Thank you your highness."

    Fang Zhengzhi thanked him immediately. Then, he rubbed his hands as he looked at the empty tes. "Your highness... I¡¯m afraid 2000 silvers is not enough."

    "Not enough?" This was the first time Emperor Lin Mubai had heard an official tell him that his reward was too little. How can 1000 silvers for a meal be too little?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how outrageous of you! How can you say that the Emperor¡¯s reward is too little?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood up in fury.

    "Left Prime Minister please cool down. You can get angryter. You also owe me quite a few silvers. Let me calcte... mm, you had a total of 35 mouthfuls. Taking away the firstplimentary mouthful, you owe me 3,400 silvers!" Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely.

    "What?! 3,400 silvers. What are you talking about?"

    "Is the Left Prime Minister trying to go back on a deal? Word travels fast in the capital!" Fang Zhengzhi shrugged his shoulders innocently.

    "Father, it¡¯s like that. We had a bet with Fang Zhengzhi. We said that he couldn¡¯t cook. We agreed that the first mouthful would be free, but every subsequent mouthful would be 100 silvers." Ping Yang exined.

    "One mouthful for 100 silvers?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was stunned. This was daylight robbery!

    Furthermore...

    He was robbing the pce!

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was audaciously robbing the Emperor as well as the Emperor¡¯s right hand man!

 Chapter 305: The court examinations begin

    Chapter 305: The court examinations begin

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everything in the empire belonged to the Emperor.

    There was nothing more audacious in this world than to bargain with the Emperor! He could be charged for ack of respect for the Emperor!

    Just as Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was preparing to speak, he saw Emperor Lin Mubai wave him off. He shut up instantly.

    "Hahaha... if Ping Yang had not told me the reason, I would have wronged Fang Zhengzhi. Since I hade here without an invitation and had so much to eat, I should pay up. I will pay ording to what was previously agreed on, 100 silvers a mouthful!" Emperor Lin Mubai was not angry at all.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s jaw dropped in disbelief.

    100 silvers a mouthful for a hotpot...

    The Emperor agreed to it?!

    "Left Prime Minister, the Emperor has agreed. Do you have any objections?" Fang Zhengzhi beamed when he heard this.

    "You... I didn¡¯t bring much silvers today, you can collect it from my residence!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping flung his hands in the air.

    "Sure, but can you write me proof that you owe me that amount?" Fang Zhengzhi retrieved a piece of paper and ink.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at the furious Yu Yiping, then back at Fang Zhengzhi. He smiled as he patted Ping Yang¡¯s head.

    In all honesty, he was a little stunned when he found this out from Ping Yang. 100 silvers a mouthful was quite the sum.

    However...

    It was average for food in the pce.

    There were records in history that Emperors sent riders out for 800 miles just to collect fresh ingredients.

    The sheer amount of manpower and resources needed made such expeditions expensive. Each mouthful would be worth at least 1000 silvers.

    Even though the Great Xia Dynasty had been through many wars, they were still quite rich.

    Furthermore, they had not been embroiled in any major wars recently. The treasury was stocked to capacity. 100 silvers a mouthful was insignificant.

    As a result, the Emperor would not be so petty about it.

    At the end of the day, everything in the empire still belonged to the Emperor.

    Just because the Emperor gave you silvers doesn¡¯t mean that the silver is yours.

    It still belongs to the Emperor.

    This was the power the Emperor had.

    However, Emperor Lin Mubai could not figure out if Fang Zhengzhi knew his thoughts when he asked for the silvers, or if Fang Zhengzhi was just audacious.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I did not bring any silvers out with me today... What should we do?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his domineering aura showing.

    "Your highness, you didn¡¯t bring silvers as well? That¡¯s easy. Why don¡¯t you write me proof of the debt as well?" Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "Outrageous! You want the Emperor to write down proof of a debt to an official? Aren¡¯t you afraid... that I will fire you and send you back to be a farmer?" Emperor Lin Mubai wanted to threaten him with execution.

    However, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was a rank four Sword Envoy. Furthermore, he had given him this post personally. To execute him would be rather ridiculous. As such, he decided to change his threat.

    "Not at all." Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "Oh, why not?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Fang Zhengzhi doubtfully.

    "If the Emperor wants me to die, I have to die. If the Emperor wants me to be a farmer, the Emperor would have his own ns. What¡¯s there to fear?" Fang Zhengzhi replied solemnly.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned. Then, he chuckled, "Hahaha... good, well said! Today, I will break my rule and write you a proof of debt. You can collect it from the treasuryter."

    "Thank you your highness. However, may I ask something? Can I not collect the silvers?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then asked.

    "Not collect the silvers? Why?" Emperor Lin Mubai was doubtful. Did this guy realize his mistake?

    "Based on my calctions, your highness ate a total of 47 mouthfuls. Subtracting the firstplimentary mouthful and the 1000 silvers you bestowed upon me, you only owe me 3600 silvers. However, the value of these silvers is nothing whenpared to the proof you will write me. I was thinking of auctioning it off..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you think of auctioning away this proof of debt! Do you know what a cardinal sin that is?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s anger was building.

    "Your highness, you have wronged me. You have eaten 47 mouthfuls of the hotpot and it is only logical that you pay for the meal. By writing down this proof of debt, you are showing the public how righteous and moral you are. It also represents your ability to govern the country in an orderly manner. By writing this proof of debt, you have shown yourself to be a man of honor and integrity. I hope that your highness will see that I am trying to help you!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled.

    "Shameless! When did this guy learn to bootlick?" Ping Yang murmured to herself scornfully.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned. He turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes glowing brightly. He had not realized that this young man had the gift of the gap.

    "Does that mean that I have to thank you for auctioning off my proof of debt?"

    "Your highness, you don¡¯t have to thank me. You just have to give me some silvers." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Hahaha... I can¡¯t give you silvers. However, here is a token from me. I hope that you will go to the Ministry of Rites to help out when you have the time!" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled. Then, his expression changed to one of solemn when he threw a gold token into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    "Ministry of Rites?" Fang Zhengzhi caught the token in mid air. It was made of pure gold. The front was engraved with the words ¡®golden dragon¡¯ whilst the back was a picture of a golden dragon.

    What is this used for?

    In his previous world, the Ministry of Rites hosted the imperial examinations as well as engaged in diplomacy. However, due to the importance of the Dao examinations, this world had set up the Imperial Academy.

    The Ministry of Rites only did diplomacy rted matters. They would also n the royal events, including the hunting and racingpetitions, rituals, etcetera.

    "Ministry of Rites?!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was stunned when he saw that.

    He had heard the exchange between the Emperor and Fang Zhengzhi. He could also guess that the anger the Emperor showed was unlikely genuine.

    But this was not important...

    Most importantly, the Emperor wanted Fang Zhengzhi to go to the Ministry of Rites!

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had only been an official in name only. Even though he was a rank four official appointed by the Emperor, he was powerless.

    But now, it was different. The Emperor had ordered Fang Zhengzhi to go to the Ministry of Rites. Even though he was currently positionless, the Emperor had already made his stand clear.

    The Emperor wanted to use Fang Zhengzhi.

    For a rank four official to enter the Ministry of Rites...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping knew that rank four was not much. However, Fang Zhengzhi in the Ministry of Law would shock the courts.

    "Could it be... that his guess during the racingpetition was going toe true so quickly? The new dynamic... he could not let this happen!"

    Just as he was about to speak, Fang Zhengzhi beat him to it.

    "Your highness, I will go to the Ministry of Rites as ordered. However... I antagonized the Minister during the racing and huntingpetition, as such..." Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask if he could choose not to go?

    He wanted his freedom!

    "When you¡¯re at the Ministry of Rites, you represent me! You do not have to worry!" Emperor Lin Mubai waved him off, signalling that there was no discussion on this matter.

    How domineering!

    Can¡¯t he respect my opinions?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. However, he did not speak anymore. After all, the Emperor¡¯s orders could not be defied.

    One could ask the Emperor for silvers or other peripherals.

    However...

    One could not defy an order.

    It was no different from the military. As a soldier, you had to obey yourmander without exception.

    The orders and wishes of the king were even more domineering.

    "Yes your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi kept the token. After all, the Emperor told him to go over in his free time. If he wasn¡¯t free, he could choose not to go.

    ...

    Two dayster, before the break of dawn...

    Good news reached the Northern Mountain Vige. This time, the provincial governor came personally to deliver the news.

    All of the vigers saw the words ¡®top of the imperial examinations¡¯. Then, they saw the name in gold. All of them were ecstatic.

    "Eh, old Fang, your son did it again! He is the top scorer for the imperial examinations!"

    "This is awesome. The Northern Mountain Vige has produced a rank four official who is also the top scorer of the imperial examinations. There are few in history who have done so!"

    Voices rang out in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The teachers who hade from the Northern Territory constabries all looked at each other in disbelief when they heard the news.

    To have a rank four official be the top scorer in the imperial examinations was quite the feat.

    "He really did it?!"

    All of the vigers from the surrounding viges swarmed to the Northern Mountain Vige. After all, they had students from all the surrounding viges.

    News of this spread like wildfire.

    All of the vige elders prepared carts of gifts for the Northern Mountain Vige. They all wanted to be the first to send their congrattions.

    The Southern Mountain Vige was the first one to react.

    "What are we waiting for? We didn¡¯t send anyone to aid in the construction of the school either! Are we just going to hideout here for life? We can¡¯t keep this up forever!"

    "We have to go!"

    "We have to be the first one to arrive. Don¡¯t you agree?"

    All of the Southern Mountain Vige vigers looked at the vige elder as well as Li Zhuangshi and his son.

    "Prepare the gifts! I will send them over personally!" Vige elder Meng Bai grit his teeth.

    "Elder, let me and Hu Zi go with you. And you... you shoulde as well!" Li Zhuangshi sighed as he looked at Mrs Li beside him.

    "Why should I? Why should I go with you?" Mrs Li was not taking any of that.

    "You can choose not to go, but I will make sure I break your legs first. Do you believe me?" Li Zhuangshi stepped forward.

    "Okay... okay! I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go!"

    ...

    Just as things were heating up in the Northern Mountain Vige...

    The court examinations were starting in the capital.

    The court examinations were held in the white jade square outside the courts. The Emperor himself would choose the questions, meaning there was no way to cheat.

    Dawn...

    It was well into autumn and the falling leaves danced in the wind. Two rows of golden armored guards guarded the door to the pce.

    There were armored soldiers wielding spears on each side. They kept the spectators out, leaving a path down the middle.

    This path led to the pce.

    The pce gates had been opened. Rows of talents streamed in towards the pce. However, they all stopped after entering the gates, awaiting further instructions.

    "Look, isn¡¯t that Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu?"

    "It looks like it. Fang Zhengzhi was the top scorer of the imperial examinations. Yan Xiu topped thebat examinations as well. I¡¯m quite sure the court examinations will be intense."

    "Fang Zhengzhi has topped every examination he was in. I am sure the court examinations will be no different.

    The crowd exploded into chatter upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu approach together.

    "Fang Zhengzhi can top the court examinations? What a joke!"

    "Exactly! They must be ignorant vigers. Wu Feng is participating in the court examinations, how can Fang Zhengzhi ever top the exam?"

    Some well dressed youths began to voice dissenting opinions.

    "Oh please, I watched the imperial examinations. No one thought that Fang Zhengzhi could top it but what happened? He did so anyways!"

    "Exactly, so what if Wu Feng is here? He may just be like all the other overrated talents. We still think Fang Zhengzhi can top it!"

    Thosemoners dressed shabbily replied with determination. They all supported Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Vigers will always be vigers. Their outlook on the world is always so parochial. How can Fang Zhengzhi defeat one of the core disciples of the four sages? Even if Wu Feng loses, there¡¯s one person who will not lose."

    "Who?"

    "Nangong Hao!"

 Chapter 306: Policy Paper

    Chapter 306: Policy Paper

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Nangong Hao?!"

    When the ragtags heard Nangong Hao¡¯s name, their expressions all changed, all of them bing silent almost instantly.

    "Nangong Hao... is participating in the court examination?"

    "If Nangong Hao participates, then it will be very difficult. Even though Fang Zhengzhi is powerful, I doubt he can defeat Nangong Hao?"

    "Aish... it would be good if he can get a decent ranking, why must he defeat Nangong Hao?"

    "That¡¯s true."

    Even though Nangong Hao¡¯s participation in the court examination was no secret in the capital, some of those in the outskirts had yet to hear the news.

    Four years ago, he was already the top talent of his generation. Four yearster...

    How powerful would he be?

    Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi ignored the chatter around him. He was now rather experienced with all these examinations having been through three of them.

    He felt that he needed to calm down.

    It was just an examination on the Law of Dao, it couldn¡¯t get much easier.

    Yan Xiu wore a green robe as he stood next to Fang Zhengzhi. They looked quite matching as they walked through the doors.

    Once they entered the pce, a few armored soldiers stopped Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. After checking their identities and a thorough pat down, they directed both of them to the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. After all, this was the court examinations. Everything had to go by the book.

    At this point, there were hundreds of candidates waiting inside the pce. They were all huddled around anxiously.

    "Young Master Yan, Young Master Fang!"

    Before Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu could walk into the crowd, a smiling youth walked towards them. Behind him was a group of impably dressed youths.

    It was Wu Feng.

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded icily without a second word.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze once again fell on the jade green flute in Wu Feng¡¯s hand. He felt a strange feeling just looking at the clouds inscribed on it.

    "Young Master Fang, how did you prepare for the court examinations?" Wu Feng smiled. He walked closer towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Is there a need to prepare?" Fang Zhengzhi replied tly.

    "Haha... you¡¯re right. I heard that Young Master Fang finished all six scripts in the theory examination. You have set a record." Wu Feng nodded.

    "It is true. If the court examination was testing the Book of Dao again, we will definitely have to concede to you." One of the youths behind Wu Feng nodded.

    "If we were topare understanding of the Law of Dao, I think that only Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan are your match. It is a pity..." Yet another youth hesitated.

    "What is a pity?" Fang Zhengzhi grew increasingly suspicious as he looked at the two of them.

    "Do you not know?" The two youths looked at each other, smirking as they did so.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not probe further. He knew that they would tell him anyways, even if he did not ask.

    Just as he expected, the two youths could not hold back their excitement.

    Just as they were about to speak, Wu Feng stopped them.

    "It is normal that Young Master Fang does not know. However, I would have thought that you would have known a little after spending so much time with Yan Xiu."

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed. Then, almost as if he thought of something, he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I¡¯m sorry. I forgot to tell you that the court examination does not test the Law of Dao!" Yan Xiu looked on apologetically.

    "It doesn¡¯t test the Law of Dao?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze.

    Yan Xiu had been recuperating from his injuries before this. As such, Fang Zhengzhi did not disturb him. After Yan Xiu recovered, he had focused all his energy on partying.

    He had paid little attention to the court examinations.

    After all, he had thought that the court examinations would be simr to all the previous ones. He had expected to be tested on the Law of Dao.

    As such, he did not probe.

    "Hahaha... do you really not know? There is still an hour before the examinations begin. You should really use this time to prepare." The two youths behind Wu Feng chuckled when they heard this.

    All of the other candidates also chuckled when they heard this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi doesn¡¯t know that the Law of Dao is not tested at the court examinations?"

    "This is interesting. We prepared for two years just for this exam. He did not even prepare at all? Hahaha..."

    "I haven¡¯t seen someone enter the court examinations unprepared."

    "I would like to see how he will even begin to answer the questions!"

    All of the candidates looked like they had just saw the most unbelievable thing ever. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly.

    "Since Young Master Fang doesn¡¯t know, we shall not disturb you any further. We will go off first. You should prepare a little." Wu Feng smirked as he left.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything.

    Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically, "About this, I..."

    "Why do you think Wu Feng said those words to me just now?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu. He knew that Yan Xiu did not withhold the information from him on purpose.

    Wu Feng had pointed the finger at Yan Xiu on purpose to cause a rift between them.

    He did not even attempt to mask it.

    "I understand." Yan Xiu nodded but did not exin further. He whispered, "The court examination questions have always been set by the Emperor. As such, they have never been questions about the Law of Dao."

    "Then what does it test?" Fang Zhengzhi began to understand. Even though there were many theories epassed by the Law of Dao, the Emperor could not possiblye up with the questions on the spot.

    It was impossible for him to set six scripts beforehand.

    Furthermore...

    More importantly, the Emperor could not possibly set so many questions. The maximum number of questions he could set was two.

    This was easier to understand.

    If the questions hade from the Law of Dao, then they would have hundreds of scripts with the same answer.

    How would they find the best of the best?

    "Policy!" Yan Xiu replied.

    "I see." Fang Zhengzhi had guessed as much.

    He had never expected to be back where he started. In his previous world, they were frequently examined on policy issues.

    They would ask the candidates a question based on the political climate.

    The candidates would present a policy to address the said issue. In effect, they were proposing a policy to the courts.

    Now...

    There was a problem.

    Just as these talents had said, other than incorporating various theories, a good policy paper had to take into ount current affairs and political climate.

    Only through an understanding of the issues faced by the government could One present a good paper.

    Furthermore, one would probably need tens, if not hundreds, of drafts for a policy paper to be watertight.

    That was the only way to stand out from the crowd.

    This was also the reason why they would look at Fang Zhengzhi with such mocking gazes.

    They had prepared for two years, concerning themselves with the political developments over the past two years. Furthermore, they had been improving their papers throughout this entire time.

    They probably had at least five such thesis.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not prepare. He simply came to the examination without any prior knowledge.

    If he could pass the theory examination.

    It would really be a miracle.

    "What will I do now?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He cursed in his heart.

    Even if he knew this beforehand...

    It would be impossible to know everything that had happened in the past two years within the past few days. Furthermore, he had to have a grasp of the problems the government was facing in recent times.

    It bordered on the impossible.

    "I have a few papers..." Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi before hesitating.

    "Yes, you should copy some of Yan Xiu¡¯s papers!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, if I were you, I would ask Yan Xiu to tell me what he had too."

    "Mm... we would like to hear Young Master Yan¡¯s thesis too. Could you please impart some knowledge to us?"

    When the surrounding candidates heard Yan Xiu, they surrounded the two of them like moths to a me.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression turned icy instantaneously.

    Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    He knew exactly what these candidates were thinking. Hisck of preparation was a dreame true for them. Why would they let him have a chance to copy from Yan Xiu?

    "Don¡¯t worry, I have my own ns. I will definitely be able to pass the theory examination!" Fang Zhengzhi rejected Yan Xiu as he nced at the surrounding candidates.

    He felt like he had just been stabbed in the heart.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s policy paper!

    I wish I could copy it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care if this was cheating. If he could cheat under the nose of the Emperor, it would be an achievement in itself.

    But now even that was gone...

    He would not be able to cheat even if he wanted to.

    Everyone knew that he did not prepare a policy paper. As such, he could not even switch it around with someone else.

    Was he really going to flunk the examinations?

    "He can definitely pass the examination? Did I hear that wrong?"

    "Hahaha... Brother Li, you did not hear that wrong. Young Master Fang is the top scorer for the imperial examination. It would be impossible for someone of that caliber to fail the court theory examination."

    "That is true, I was wrong. Young Master Fang, my apologies!"

    "In my opinion, Young Master Fang is truly a talent. Even we would find it impossible to rush out a policy paper now. Don¡¯t you all agree?"

    "Yes indeed! Hahaha..."

    All of the talents could not help but guffaw when they heard Fang Zhengzhi assert that he would pass. They all looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly.

    "F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his middle finger towards the rest of the candidates. Then, he turned to look at Yan Xiu. He wanted Yan Xiu to fill him in on some current affairs.

    Yan Xiu stiffened, then pondered for a moment. He turned to look at his surroundings before replying with only one word.

    "Works!"

    "Works? Okay I got it." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Even though he had not been in touch with recent happenings in the court, he knew that there were no major wars in the past two years.

    Even though the demons were up to their antics once again, it was not something a single policy could solve.

    As such, the question could not have anything to do with war.

    The six ministries represented the country¡¯s policy.

    Without wars, the Ministry Of Defence was out of the question. The Ministry Of Manpower was rarely involved in policy. The Ministry Of Finance dealt with money and rations. Since there was no war, neither of these things were a problem.

    All that was left was Ministry Of Law, Rites, and Works.

    Since it was peacetime, the Ministry Of Law could be eliminated.

    To decide between Works and Rites, anyone with some knowledge would guess the Ministry Of Works.

    The Ministry Of Works was in charge of developments and infrastructure. In recent years, the Great Xia Dynasty was riddled with droughts. Even the vigers were affected by this.

    Over the past few years, only the Northern Mountain Vige had managed to bounce back slightly. Other viges in the surrounding were still immensely poor.

    Even though Yan Xiu had only said a single word, it was the biggest hint he could possibly give.

    All of the other candidates were stunned when they heard what Yan Xiu said. They wanted to say something and use them of cheating, but they could not find anything to say.

    After all, the word ¡®works¡¯ meant little on its own.

    "So what if he knows it has to do with works?"

    "Exactly! Without sufficient preparation, knowing the topic is useless!"

    "The court examinations are not so simple. They only select 10 out of the hundreds that take part. I don¡¯t think he can write anything particrly stunning in such a short time!"

    All of the candidates left after saying their piece. However, every now and then, they would look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, afraid that Yan Xiu will tell Fang Zhengzhi his ns.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of the surrounding candidates. He focused on how he was going to begin this policy paper.

    He racked his brain...

    But he found a problem... he knew virtually nothing about the history and geography of the Great Xia Dynasty!

 Chapter 307: The examination begins

    Chapter 307: The examination begins

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The solution to persistent droughts was not to build the Great Wall or forts. It was to direct water from the sea into the rivers andkes before redirecting them to each vige and city.

    This was beneficial to the citizens.

    Furthermore, he had to bear in mind that this world had not invented the dam or cloud seeding just yet.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to make water scarcity the basis for his paper.

    However, without an understanding of the dynasty¡¯s history, he would not know what had happened where. He also did not know what infrastructure each city had.

    More importantly, he knew nothing about the geography of the empire.

    Where were the seas? Where were thekes? Where were the rivers? Where were the water sources... where was water in abundance? Where was water in short supply all year round? How was he going to begin without knowledge of any of this?

    This exam was no different from the thesis he had wrote in his previous world. Without real world examples, it would be a useless paper.

    Fang Zhengzhi sweat profusely.

    Was he really going to fail?

    Just as he was thinking about it, the sound of a gong rang out. Then, rows of imperial messengers in ck robes approached from afar.

    The one leading the group was Su Qing. He wore the robes of a rank four official.

    Su Qing¡¯s face was filled with color. He had a list of all the candidates in his hand. He led the group of messengers to the crowd of candidates.

    All of the candidates stopped talking, patiently waiting for Su Qing to speak.

    He was simply going to announce the rules for the entering the exam hall, as well as the guidelines for the examination itself.

    "The Great Xia Dynasty..." Su Qing did not waste any time. He began to recite all the rules for the examination. Then, he looked at the candidates, "This is the moment you¡¯ve all been waiting for. Enter the hall!"

    "Thank you your honor!" All of the candidates bowed in thanks.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bow like the rest of them. He was an official himself, why should he bow? Furthermore, he was of the same rank as Su Qing.

    There were quite a few like Fang Zhengzhi who did not bow. The dozen of them included people like Yan Xiu and Wu Feng.

    There were at least a dozen candidates who came from powerful and influential families.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not one of them.

    All of the candidates were screened one more time, their identities reverified. After all, the examination was to be held in the pce. Double checking was quite understandable.

    This second check was even more detailed than the first. First, one was questioned on their background before a blood test was done.

    This was to prevent a second incident like the one which happened in the World of the Sage.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen such a blood test before back in the Southern Mountain Vige. This time, the blood test was to screen for members of the demons. As such, it was much faster than the one in the Southern Mountain Vige.

    Before long, all of the candidates had been screened and verified.

    They were now officially invited into the hall. The imperial messengers led them all to the entrance of the square.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to get a little suspicious.

    He knew that Nangong Hao had announced his intention to partake in the court examinations. However, he could not feel this man¡¯s presence in the crowd.

    "Is this Nangong Hao so easy to miss?" Fang Zhengzhi did not ask anymore. He remembered that Nangong Mu was also quite easy to miss back at the imperial examination.

    How is Nangong Mu now?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the south. He did not know if that was where the Nangong Family was, but he subconsciously nced in that direction.

    ...

    All of the candidates arrived at the entrance to the White Jade Square very quickly. Two rows of armored guards stood by the entrance.

    They were all solemn.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been here before and he knew how well guarded the pce was. There was virtually a guard every ten steps. However, the number of guards seemed to be even more today.

    After entering through the doors, his field of vision expanded.

    The White Jade Square was true to its name. The entire floor was made out of White Jade and it was surrounded with White Jade fences. Each one had exquisite engravings of dragons and phoenixes.

    Today, there was a golden stage in the middle of the square. It was covered in a cloth weaves from gold thread. A huge umbre adorned with dragons was in the middle of the stage. It blocked out the sun that was beating down on the stage.

    A red cloth covered the ground below the stage. There were over 200 redwood tables on the square. Each one was at least three meters from each other.

    Okay then...

    This was going to be a whole new experience.

    Fang Zhengzhi could almost confirm that it would be impossible to cheat here. Furthermore, there were at least 20 imperial messengers around them.

    "Let¡¯s go." Yan Xiu spoke as he looked at the square.

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    All of the other candidates walked towards the redwood tables. This was different from the other examinations. This time, everyone tried to sit as close to the front as possible.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell on a pair of great seats. They were right at the mouth of the dragon on the golden door. Furthermore, it provided a wide field of vision.

    Since he had little confidence going into thispetition, Fang Zhengzhi decided to rely a little on Feng Shui to turn his fortunes around.

    Just as he was preparing to go over, he saw a fat candidate rush over maniacally.

    "Stealing my seat?" Fang Zhengzhi hade unprepared. He was already incredibly nervous. Should his seat be taken from him, it would the nail in the coffin.

    He flicked his hand and a nail flew over.

    "Ouch... why is there a nail on this seat?" The fat youth bounced right back up just as he prepared to sit down.

    All of the candidates were stunned by what the fat youth had just said. They all looked at their own chairs, concerned that this may be a test.

    However...

    Their seats were nail-free.

    "It is a good omen to have some redness at the beginning of such an event!" Fang Zhengzhi was pleased with the result. He walked over to the seat, retrieved his nail and sat down.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what are you doing?" The fat youth was furious.

    "Nothing much. I am bullying you. Do you have an opinion?" Fang Zhengzhi said straightforwardly.

    "You... you dare to bully me? Do you know who I am? I am the Nanqun..." The fat youth fumed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply. He pounded his chest as he spoke.

    "Are you looking for a fight?" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.

    "Yes!"

    "I would like to make a report. He wants to assault me!"

    "What? This is the theory examination. If you continue to make trouble, I will disqualify you!" One of the imperial messengers walked over upon seeing this.

    The fat youth shrunk when he saw this. He immediately motioned to the imperial messenger that he will not attack. Then, he red at Fang Zhengzhi after the messenger left.

    "Humph, Fang Zhengzhi, just wait and see!"

    "Why? Are you looking for a fight?" Yan Xiu walked next to Fang Zhengzhi. He waved his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan as he red at the fat youth icily.

    "No... I don¡¯t dare." The fat youth¡¯s expression changed as he tucked his tail between his legs and ran.

    All of the other candidates sat by the side when they saw this. No one dared to antagonize Fang Zhengzhi.

    This way, Fang Zhengzhi was given quite a lot of space to himself. He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.

    "Works?"

    "Water?"

    Fang Zhengzhi kept thinking of all the passages he had read before. Da Yu who conquered the floods? Not very appropriate... Sun Wukong in the Eastern Dragon Pce?

    Erm...

    That didn¡¯t seem on topic either.

    What about a poem aboutbour and farmers?

    Aish!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was in a mess. He could not think of anything that could work at the moment. He decided against thinking about it anymore.

    "Bong!"

    Just at this moment, a gong rang out.

    All of the candidates straightened in their seats. The second gong announced the arrival of the Emperor.

    Indeed, after the gong echoed through the air, a voice rang out.

    "All hail the Emperor!"

    "All hail the Emperor!"

    The voice neared and a huge carriage came into view. It was entirely made from gold. There were a few dragons engraved on it. Each golden dragon was filled withplicated patterns.

    "This pattern..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. This was the first time he had seen the carriage of the Emperor, however, this was the third time he had seen such patterns. The first time was back on Cang Ling Mountain in The Vast World. The second was on Wu Feng¡¯s jade flute.

    Three times?

    This was definitely not a coincidence.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this pattern definitely had a special meaning. The one he saw must have been linked to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. As for Wu Feng, his master was one of the four sages.

    As for Emperor Lin Mubai...

    He was ranked above the sages.

    This should be the Sagely Pattern!

    Okay, this was his guess. He thought that he should just ask Yan Xiu about it after the examination. This guessing was pointless.

    The carriage arrived at the White Jade Square. The door was opened and Emperor Lin Mubai walked out slowly. He wore a golden robe.

    Fang Zhengzhi noticed a youth next to Emperor Lin Mubai. He wore white but his robe was stained with some red.

    The red was reminiscent of blood, but its shape was rather unique. All of them were pentagons and looked like maple leaves.

    "Nangong Hao!"

    "Who would have thought that he was already in the pce!"

    "And he is travelling with the Emperor!"

    All of the candidates noticed the youth as well. When they recognized who it was, they could not help but discuss it heatedly amongst themselves.

    "Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the youth in white. He found that Nangong Hao lookedpletely different from Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu was in. It would be difficult to notice him in a crowd. However, Nangong Hao was like a bright light.

    This light was not ring. It came from within.

    There was an apt term for someone like this.

    Bright!

    His eyebrows were sharp, his pupils ck and shining. He was expressionless, his thin lips revealing no trace of emotion. He made one feel like he was above all worldly concerns.

    Emperor Lin Mubai had already exited the carriage. He seemed to notice the discussions below. He turned to nod at Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao returned the greeting.

    However, it was not one between an official and the Emperor, but rather one between a junior and a senior. Nangong Hao walked towards a redwood desk below.

    He sat down.

    He did not say a single word from start to finish.

    Emperor Lin Mubai did not say anything either. He walked to the stage and took his seat on the throne.

    Just at this moment, all of the officials began to approach. They were led by Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping as they took their seats on stage.

    All of the candidates held their breath.

    The court examinations were held once every two years. Many people chose to be officials right after the imperial examination.

    However, this caused them to have insufficient preparation for the court examination.

    Of the 200 candidates, few were officials. Some of them could not find vacancies in the court. Others were drawn the the academic rigour of the court examinations.

    Everyone wanted to attain the highest honor.

    The court examinations.

    This was thest mountain to cross. As long as they crossed this, they would be greeted by a boundless future. This was the key moment.

    Who wouldn¡¯t be nervous.

    What will the question be this time? Everyone was concerned about this. After all, this question will determine if their preparation had been a waste or not.

    Did they manage to guess the topic correctly?

    That was the golden question.

    "Bong!"

    The gong rang out for the third time. This represented the beginning of the court examination. Their questions were about to be answered.

    All of the candidates were silent as they stared at Emperor Lin Mubai. They waited for him to speak...

 Chapter 308: Unexpected Question

    Chapter 308: Unexpected Question

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Emperor Lin Mubai scanned the group of candidates affectionately.

    He was a young Emperor. If not for the fact that he was on the throne, he would have looked like a candidate himself.

    "Governing the country, maintaining peace in the vassal states, ruling the world. These are the goals of the emperor. Even though I am powerful, I need capable people to help me achieve these goals. I have scoured for talent from all corners of the empire. Because talents are scarce, I have used this biannual court examinations to find the top talents!"

    Emperor Lin Mubai paused, his expression pained. His ¡®depression¡¯ stemmed from theck of talent.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. What a good actor!

    Life was all an act.

    All of the Oscar winners and famous actors from his previous world could not hold a candle to Emperor Lin Mubai. His acting was impable.

    Even describing it as perfection would be an understatement.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could understand it.

    After all, as the chief examiner and Emperor, he had to forge a connection with the candidates.

    All of the candidates who were participating in the court examination would have went through all of the prerequisite Dao Examinations.

    Even though they were at the final examination and had much to say, but the Emperor may not be willing to listen. Whether what they said was of any use, or if the question was sincere or not was not the concern of the candidates.

    After all...

    This was the final barrier. Once they were in, they would not have to worry for the rest of their lives. If they failed, they may not have a second chance.

    As the Emperor, Lin Mubai had to break down the barriers in the hearts of the candidates. He wanted them to approach the examinations calmly.

    After Emperor Lin Mubai paused, all of the expressions of the candidates changed. Their wariness was reced with excitement.

    The courtcks talent?

    That¡¯s great, we are all talents!

    All of the candidates rubbed their palms in excitement. They were all at the edge of their seats, waiting for Emperor Lin Mubai to reveal the question so they could prepare their response.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded slightly, then continued. "I have said enough. You have all been studying diligently for many years. You are all very well read and intelligent. It is time for you to show us all your abilities!"

    Fang Zhengzhi also understood what the Emperor was doing.

    This was encouragement and praise.

    He first said that he had ack of talents, then praised the candidates for being well read and intelligent. He was telling them that this was their opportunity to show him what they got.

    All of the candidates grew restless in their seats. It was almost as if they had just been given a jab of steroids. If not for the fact that the Emperor was in front of them, they would probably shout at the top of their lungs.

    "I will not hold back!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was not like them. The Emperor always had other concerns. He would never take the words of inexperienced talents blindly.

    He was just engaging in pleasantries.

    However, all of these talents were fired up. They were all looking for affirmation and easily riled up. Furthermore, the one riling them up was Emperor Lin Mubai.

    He was a man of power with great acting skills.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Emperor Lin Mumbai¡¯s act wasing to an end. The question was about to be revealed.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at the expressions of the candidates. He nodded in satisfaction before turning to look to the south.

    "It is said that we should bury the hatchet. To our north we have the barbarians. We have vast mountain ranges to our south and vast seas to out west. We are vulnerable to sudden sneak attacks. Even so, the one that worries me the most is the demonic race. They cause me insomnia and ill appetite. It is said that the most powerful do not need to a battlefield attain victory. Those who are great tacticians do not need a battle to secure their victory. Those who are great warriors never lose and those who learn from their mistakes never die."

    "As the Emperor, the welfare of my citizens is the most important. I must ensure that they lead peaceful and prosperous lives."

    "The bestmanders win without lifting a sword. The next best alternative is diplomacy. After thates battle in the open. The worst strategy is to siege a city. I hope that you will all be able to provide me a strategy which can quell dissent in the outskirts and benefit the nation!"

    Tears welled up in Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes. They dropped down like beads of crystals, the depression clear on his face.

    It pained people just looking at it.

    However, all of the candidates were stunned.

    In that moment, all of the candidates felt like crying. However, their sadness was different from that of the Emperor¡¯s. They really wanted to cry.

    Two years!

    In the past two years, they had devoted all their time to researching the history and geography of the empire. They focused all their attention on how they would develop infrastructure to ensure water security.

    Some of the candidates even went to the affected areas to understand the pain of themoners.

    They had done everything they could to prepare for this day.

    More importantly, they had studied about infrastructure. They learnt about engineering, how to divert rivers intokes...

    But now?

    This was clearly a question on military strategy. Furthermore, the Emperor had made it very clear that he did not want an attack strategy.

    More importantly, he wanted a policy that would soothe the outskirts and benefit the empire!

    Wasn¡¯t this going to be about how to divert seas into rivers? How to build reservoirs? Your highness, did you not witness the droughts in the past two years? Why did you ask us about how to guard our borders? Where are we going to find our answers?!

    All of the candidates were on the verge of tears.

    Two years of preparation had beenpletely decimated by a single statement from the Emperor. The policy papers that they had spent so much time preparing were virtually useless.

    None of them had the mood to take the exam...

    Mother, I want to go home!

    All of the candidates¡¯ hearts sank. They prayed that the Emperor would test them more, that he would give them another question on water security.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at the tearful candidates in shock. He wondered if his speech previously was really that emotional.

    Why did they all look like they were about to break down in tears?

    The effect was rather unexpected.

    He was surprised that there were so many talents fired up to rush into the battlefield for the empire.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was happy with such an effect. He began to set up the finale.

    "Everyone, this policy question requires much thought and knowledge. Take great care in crystallizing your thoughts and pen them down!" The Emperor continued.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Emperor Lin Mubai was setting the rules.

    He wanted the candidates to analyze the problem carefully and conscientiously. He wanted them to draw on examples from history. The viewpointsid out in the paper must be based on facts.

    The Emperor had already set the stage for the theory examinations.

    Since the Emperor had already set out his requirements, it meant that there was no second or third question.

    All of the candidates were about to break down.

    They all wanted to beg the Emperor to give them another examination question!

    It was a pity.

    It...

    Was of no use!

    The Emperor had no intention of giving them another question. He sat back on the throne without a second word. He picked up his teacup, motioning to the candidates to begin writing.

    ...

    It was deep autumn and maple leaves filled theke.

    A broken boat rocked on theke. There were clear sword marks on it. Each mark was deep. If not for the strength in the construction of this boat, any of those strikes would have split it in half.

    On the boat were twodies in green dresses. There was also an instrument on the boat.

    At this point, two figures appeared from at the edge of theke.

    The one in front was skinny wore a ck cloak. The breeze blew the hoodie off his head, revealing a white face.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was here, he would have recognized this man as Bai Xing.

    "Where is the master?" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes glimmered as he looked at the boat.

    "Domain Chief, the master is fine. She is resting in the city. However, the master has already ordered your immediate return to the Southern Mountain Range!"

    "What is this about, bring me to the master!"

    "I¡¯m afraid not!"

    "Do you want to die?"

    "If you want to kill me, please do so in a more secluded area."

    "You... is the master injured?"

    "I already said that she is not in danger. I humbly request that you return the the Southern Mountain Range. The master has said that she will meet you there."

    "The master will go to the Southern Mountain Range?"

    "Yes."

    "I understand. Where is Nangong Hao now?"

    "Yan Capital!"

    "Yan Capital?"

    "That¡¯s right. Nangong Hao is participating in the court examinations as well. I have intel that tells me that the candidates will be having theirbat examinations in the Southern Mountain Range. You can wait for him there."

    "Nangong Hao will go to the Southern Mountain Range? Good! Very good! I will fight it out with this talent!" Bai Xing turned and left without hesitation.

    ...

    Inside the pce.

    After taking a sip of his tea, the Emperor looked at Nangong Hao, who was sitting silently at his desk.

    "Nangong Hao, your gift to me is rather significant..." Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes glimmered as he ced the teacup on the table beside him.

    He looked at the maple leaves at the edges of Nangong Hao¡¯s clothes. His expression changed slightly but he did not speak. He simply sighed.

    The other candidates did not notice the Emperor¡¯s expression. They were too busy trying to rack their brains for an answer.

    Emperor Lin Mubai had talked about governing the country, stabilizing the vassals and ruling the world.

    Then, he had came up with a question on how to stabilize the vassals. This waspletely different from what they had expected.

    Thereiny the problem.

    They had no policy for stabilizing the vassal states. What were they to do now?

    These candidates all understood some military tactics. However, the policy paper required opinion and rity of thought.

    The most important thing in the paper was not how beautifully it was written.

    What was valued was the opinions and views raised.

    The Emperor wanted to stabilize the vassal states. There were many ways to do this. He could marry a princess to the leaders there. He could give them gifts and tokens of friendships. He could givend and official positions, or he could dere war...

    But now...

    Was the Empire going to war?

    Clearly not.

    Without any actual wars, there was no evidence to go on. Without evidence and examples, the policy would be impossible to write.

    A policy about the Northern Barbarians would have certain specifics about that race and location. The same applied to the Southern Mountain Range and the demons.

    Without any specifics, how did the Emperor expect them to write the paper?

    All of the candidates frowned deeply, their pens shaking in their hands. Many could not bring themselves to begin writing.

    However, there was a minority who seemed well prepared.

    Wu Feng was one of them. His expression was filled with confidence.

    Many things in life were not without clues. However, one needed a keen sense of observation to spot these clues. Wu Feng always thought of himself as an observant person.

    Most people did not notice the Emperor looking towards the south before he asked his question.

    But, Wu Feng noticed it.

    Furthermore...

    Wu Feng had intelligence that thebat examinations would be held in the Southern Mountain Range.

    For the court examinations to be held there...

    The implications did not need to be borated upon.

    "I think that there are problems in the Southern Mountain Range!" Wu Feng¡¯s eyes glimmered as he began writing.

    The Southern Mountain Range had always been a natural defence for the empire.

    It was a great defence against the demons. Because of its presence, the demons had been unable tounch arge scale attack.

    The policy would need to keep the Southern Mountain Range on the empire¡¯s side!

    Wu Feng¡¯s eyes glimmered as he raised his pen. He contemted for a moment before beginning to write.

    He waspletely absorbed in his writing...

    Just at that moment, a voice rang out.

    "Don¡¯t give up, just do it!"

    Wu Feng jumped in his seat. His hand shook and a huge blob of ink fell onto his paper...

 Chapter 309: I am the master of my own paper

    Chapter 309: I am the master of my own paper

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Who is it?!" Wu Feng was furious. For the court examination, their scripts had to be immacte. This blob of ink basically rendered his script useless.

    There were about a dozen other candidates who were just as infuriated.

    They had suffered the same fate as Wu Feng. One of them had already written more than 300 words. That blob of ink of his paper meant that it was all a waste.

    The person responsible was Fang Zhengzhi. He was ecstatic.

    Sometimes the believers were rewarded. He had thought that he was going to fail, yet, the reality was a huge surprise.

    He was right to snatch this seat.

    The question was changed!

    As a major in history, Fang Zhengzhi knew little about water security. However, he was well read on governance and management of threats.

    He knew what the Emperor wanted.

    During the Three Kingdoms Era, Cao Cao hadmanded an army of over 800,000 to attack the Eastern Wu. Most of the officials had suggested that they surrender.

    However, Zhou Yu knew what his King wanted.

    Simr events could be seen throughout history. Emperor Wu of Han¡¯s attack of the barbarians, Kang Xi¡¯s suppression of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories... All of these told Fang Zhengzhi that an Emperor¡¯s ambition was boundless.

    Furthermore, the Great Xia Dynasty had remained peaceful for so many years. Their coffers were full. This would fan the ambitions of the Emperor.

    He could see this from what Emperor Lin Mubai had said just now.

    If one continued to write about peace and diplomacy, even the most well written policy would not be in line with the Emperor¡¯s wishes.

    It was simple. He would have to write about battle!

    Or at the very least, the idea of it.

    He could simply use the threat of an army to suppress the enemies of the empire. Simply by marching to the border could instill fear in the enemies, making them afraid to rise up for generations.

    Now that he knew what he was going to write about, it came down to the details.

    A n?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have one. He had no idea that the court examination would be a policy paper. He also did not know that it would be a topic like this.

    But it was no matter.

    In his previous world, there were many ssics that discussed policy. The three most famous were "Early Qin", "Feudalism", and "Six Nations".

    "Early Qin" discussed why the Qin Dynasty managed to prosper and its eventual downfall. It was a book on governing policy.

    "Feudalism" was a book on revolution.

    It analyzed the pros and cons of each revolution and had links to government.

    These two ssics were of little use, but it did not matter. "Six Nations" was apt! This book recounted how Qin managed to conquer all the other six nations.

    It targeted the passive attitudes of the other six nations at the time.

    They had all given Qin parts of theirnd or a number of cities in order to maintain temporary peace. However, they did not expect Qin to grow stronger as a result.

    In the end, after Qin destroyed the countries which did not carve outnd for them, they managed to turn back to conquer those which did.

    Even though it was a novel on the cowardice of the six nations, it all pointed to one lesson...

    Do not surrender, fight!

    What if the vassal states do not keep in line? Beat them till they do? Pacify? That is something one does when one is not powerful enough. No true Emperor would want to employ such a strategy.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if Emperor Lin Mubai was a Holy Spirit. However, he knew that he was not a careless man.

    The best example was...

    Emperor Lin Mubai had given Fang Zhengzhi his personal token to facilitate his entry into the Ministry Of Rites. This was sufficient to show the Emperor¡¯s decisiveness.

    With this in mind, Fang Zhengzhi began to write.

    Then, he saw the enraged nces of the candidates around him?

    "Is there something wrong, Young Master Wu?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Feng with confusion.

    "Nothing!" Wu Feng grit his teeth and forced a smile. He rolled up his script which was destroyed by the ink.

    "Then you should continue writing your own paper. Even if you keep looking at me, I will not let you copy my script!" Fang Zhengzhi shifted his table closer to himself.

    Wu Feng was furious!

    Why would I copy yours? I did not spend my two years as poorly as the others! I had prepared ns for all six ministries!

    Do I need to copy your script?

    Wu Feng was scornful.

    However, he was also infuriated. He realized that Fang Zhengzhi was even more scornful than him. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude bordered on condescension.

    Clear, unadulterated condescension.

    "Just wait and see. When I top the theory examination, we will know who is the one who needs to copy!" Wu Feng turned back to look at his script. As he was about to write, he frowned.

    Where was he at?

    God damn it!

    "Ahem! Nomunication during the examination!" One of the invigtors coughed lightly when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and Wu Feng talking.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his middle finger at that imperial messenger.

    He seduced me.

    He did not continue debating with Wu Feng. Fang Zhengzhi realized another problem.

    Did this world have the Warring States Era?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not very familiar with the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even if the Warring States Era existed, it was unlikely that the countries would be called Qin, Chu, Zhao...

    If they were, it would be too much of a coincidence.

    Without this period in history, the "Six Nations" could not be used either. How was he going to solve this?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked into the sky. There were a few leaves floating in the air, blown around by a light breeze.

    The world keeps changing - flowers bloom and wilt, spring came and went.

    When was he ever going to find himself a wife?

    Hang on... he was taking an exam now.

    He had to concentrate on that first. How was he going to use the "Six Nations"? Six Nations, Seven Nations, Eight Nations, Three Nations...

    I got it!

    If there isn¡¯t, I¡¯ll just make up a story.

    In many novels, the stories within them were all made up. They were there for the sole purpose of allowing the author to push his point.

    This was a simple concept.

    In primary school, they were tasked to write an essay. The topic of the essay was observing the growth of nts.

    One could not possibly buy a seed and watch it grow and bloom.

    It would take too long. The essay would never be submitted on time.

    The problem he had was solved.

    There was no way Fang Zhengzhi would write out the history of the Warring States Era. Only an idiot would do such a thing.

    He would use an analogy.

    He would use the Seven Kingdoms to describe the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s current predicament. They had the barbarians to the north, the mountain range to the south, the demons in the distance, and the problems from the seas in the west.

    He did not need to assign each kingdom their counterpart in this world. Anyone reading it would simply link the various problems to the seven kingdoms in their heart.

    This technique was not something the average reader would understand.

    However, since his reader was Emperor Lin Mubai, he had nothing to worry about. If the Emperor was not able to make such links, he would not be able to sit on that position for long.

    He would have been usurped long ago.

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked to himself as he thought about this. He had decided to base his policy paper off the "Six Nations".

    Even though it needed to be changed a little, this was easy for Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was a first-ss honour student of history, having read countless ssic literature all these years. He even managed to memorize the Law of Dao.

    His train of thoughts could not be stemmed.

    His brain was filled with ideas in an instant.

    He immediately began writing, his mind guiding his hands across the paper.

    "Woosh woosh woosh..."

    The brush swept across the paper.

    All of the furious candidates who were interrupted by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s outburst were stunned by this sight. They had heard about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed before.

    Now, they saw it for themselves.

    It looked like he was spasming.

    "So fast?!"

    "Didn¡¯t he say he didn¡¯t prepare? Why is he able to begin writing so quickly? Furthermore, it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s writing a paper, it looks like he¡¯s copying one!"

    "Could it be that he is just trying to fill his paper with something because he has nothing to write?"

    "I think that it is possible!"

    All of the candidates were doubtful. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed was unbelievable.

    Wu Feng was trying to regain his train of thought when he heard the wooshing sound of the brush.

    He turned to look.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "That speed..." Wu Feng¡¯s jaw dropped as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he turned to look at his nk script. He then looked at another person nearby.

    It was Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao was calm as water in his white robe.

    Nangong Hao was theplete opposite of Nangong Hao. Ever since the beginning of the exam, Nangong Hao¡¯s pen had not even moved.

    He shut his eyes, deep in thought.

    He looked like a statue in the middle of the examination square.

    Just at this moment, a fallen leaf fell lightly on Nangong Hao¡¯s shoulder. It was so natural that it made people feel that the leaf was on his shoulder all along.

    Any other candidate would have swept the leaf off their shoulder. However, Nangong Hao remained still as a statue.

    "Chirp chirp..." A bird chirped in the distance.

    Then, a red beak, green feathered, three tailed kingfishernded on the outskirts of the square. This was amon bird in the pce gardens and did not attract the attention of the candidates.

    However, Wu Feng¡¯s eyes widened.

    Because...

    He saw the three tailed kingfisher hop towards Nangong Hao. Before long, it had hopped onto Nangong Hao¡¯s shoulder, picked up the fallen leaf with its beak and hopped away.

    "This, this is... Natural Heart Dao!" Wu Feng¡¯s expression changed.

    As the disciple of one of the four sages, he knew that one¡¯s heart would continue to change as they progressed. Some would be more aggressive, others more peaceful. Some would be more passionate, others more serene.

    This had to do with the kind of Dao they cultivated.

    However, one kind of person was an exception.

    They were never changed by their cultivation. Their personality and hearts stayed the same throughout, regardless of external stimuli.

    It did not seem like much.

    However, these people were the most terrifying talents in the world. They could learn any Dao or technique.

    They could cultivate and train with the demonic and evil arts.

    Killing could cause them to improve, but so could healing and helping others.

    No matter what they did, it would bebined with the Dao in his heart. It would be a part of his cultivation, regardless good, evil, peace or violence.

    This was the Natural Heart Dao

    "I see, I see!" Wu Feng finally understood what Nangong Hao was doing the past four years. He finally understood why Nangong Hao had rejected the invitation from the Heaven Dao Pavilion four years ago.

    Back then, Nangong Hao had only said one thing when he rejected them.

    Poor foundation!

    At that time, most people did not understand what he meant. Nangong Hao was able to suppress intermediate Rewind State cultivators as a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State. If his foundation wasn¡¯t good, whose was?

    Almost everyone felt that Nangong Hao was finding an excuse for himself to not enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    But now, Wu Feng understood.

    Nangong Hao was not finding an excuse for himself. He was speaking the truth, but it was not something anyone had expected.

    In four years...

    Natural Heart Dao!

    This was what Nangong Hao considered a good foundation.

    In the Heavenly Reflection State, Nangong Hao was able to understand the Natural Heart Dao. This made him the same level as Wu Feng¡¯s master!

    Sage!

    This was something everyone wanted and worked for. That word meant that one was a peerless power.

    Wu Feng stared at Nangong Hao with jealousy. However, he suppressed this jealousy, because, his brain told him...

    Nangong Hao was not to be antagonized!

    Wu Feng looked back at Fang Zhengzhi, his lips twitching as he smiled bitterly.

    "I think both you and I are just here as fodder for this man!"

 Chapter 310: Script Submission

    Chapter 310: Script Submission

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Wu Feng did not think that Fang Zhengzhi was weak. Before he knew that Nangong Hao was participating, or before he saw Nangong Hao¡¯s Natural Heart Dao...

    He had always thought of Fang Zhengzhi as one of his biggestpetitors.

    Especially on the Theory Examination.

    Anyone who could finish six scripts in four hours perfectly was not to be underestimated.

    Wu Feng had tried it before, and two scripts was his maximum.

    Six scripts...

    The only way to describe it was "monster".

    However, he had to consider Fang Zhengzhi and himself as mere apaniments. It wasn¡¯t that Fang Zhengzhi was weak, but Nangong Hao was too strong!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice any of this. He was happily engrossed in his policy paper, writing down the knowledge of the ancestors of his previous world.

    Hepletely ignored everything around him.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "Six Nations" had some differences from the real "Six Nations". He simply used "Six Nations" as his foundation.

    After all, the history and dynamic during the era of the "Six Nations" was also slightly different from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, the concept of never surrendering would not change regardless of era or political climate. Even a small enterprise could use this concept whenpeting against giants in the market.

    So...

    What about the major yers?

    They can use the same concept. Never surrendering represents a will to fight. If the powerful take their pedal off the metal, they too will be weak.

    This was simple logic.

    However, in order for his "New Six Nations" to be even more applicable to this dynasty, Fang Zhengzhi had to change some of the sentences.

    One of the sentences inside the original was...

    "This empire rose from the ashes of the six nations, but it could also fall at their hands."

    What this meant was that if the ruling country was strong enough to conquer the nations but not strong enough to hold them, they could be overthrown easily.

    Fang Zhengzhi used this as the main idea for his paragraph, adding in details of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Anyone who was not a fool...

    Would be able to see that he was referring to the current Great Xia Dynasty. Whilst they were powerful now, they needed to exert that power so that the vassal states will remain subservient.

    Else, they will go down in mes.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s policy paper wasing to an end. He did not analyze the current political climate of the Great Xia Dynasty, choosing to analyze a period of history from the viewpoint of an outsider.

    The reason was...

    He did not know the current political climate.

    "Mm... I think that it¡¯s not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi stopped writing and began to check his work. He quickly realized a misspelled word.

    Then, a grammatical error.

    Phew!

    Checking one¡¯s work was always a good habit. It never hurt to check one more time. This idea was drilled into him by his teachers.

    He made the changes and burnished his sentences.

    He read it one more time.

    Satisfied...

    Then, he copied the entire script with his edits onto a fresh script.

    He looked around him and saw all the candidates frowning. Some of them were even chewing on their pens, almost like starving wolves.

    Why would they eat bamboo if they weren¡¯t pandas?

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in disdain. Then, he turned to look at Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu had already begun writing, and he looked rather confident.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised by this.

    Even though Yan Xiu also prepared ns rted to the Ministry of Works, as a disciple of the Yan Family, he was in tune with the sensitivities of the empire. As such, this policy paper should not stymie him.

    He then turned to look at Wu Feng and saw that Wu Feng had also begun writing. However, he seemed to be a little affected, a stark contrast from his usual cheery self.

    "Has Nangong Hao begun writing?" Fang Zhengzhi remembered and turned to look in that direction.

    He saw that Nangong Hao was still seated on his chair like a statue, his brush still on the table.

    Is he joking?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    Isn¡¯t he supposed to be the top talent? How can he take so long to think about a policy to subdue the vassal states? If he was this weak, it would be such a disappointment.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look around any longer. He calmed himself and stretched his arms. Then, he continued writing.

    Within 15 minutes, his "New Six Nations" policy was finished.

    "I would like to submit my script!" Fang Zhengzhi had always had the habit of sleeping after finishing his paper previously. After all, the previous exams did not allow him to submit his scripts ahead of time.

    However, the court examinations did not have such a rule.

    As such...

    He decided that he would like to enjoy the thrill of handing in his script before hand. After all, he had always done this in his previous world.

    He would treat it as reliving some of his old life.

    "Hand... hand in his script?!"

    "He¡¯s done?"

    "How is he so fast? I am barely done with my introduction."

    "Introduction? I haven¡¯t even thought of what I¡¯m going to write."

    All of the candidates were clearly stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. It was less than an hour since the start of the examination. Fang Zhengzhi was handing in his script?

    More importantly, all of them knew that Fang Zhengzhi hade to the court examinationpletely unprepared.

    How could he possibly be done?

    He was faster than the people who had prepared.

    Emperor Lin Mubai, all of the officials, as well as the imperial messengers in the White Jade Square were all stunned.

    Handing in one¡¯s script ahead of time?

    This was something that had not happened in centuries!

    Rubbish!

    Was there anything more ridiculous than this? This was tant disrespect towards the court examinations. Regardless whether Fang Zhengzhi was done or not, this attitude was telling the Emperor that his question was too easy!

    "Fang Zhengzhi came from a vige. Is it possible that he just wrote rubbish because he has no policy in mind?" One of the officials asked doubtfully. After all, finishing a policy paper in such a short time bordered on the impossible.

    "If that is the case, him handing in his script in advance will give him a one way ticket out of the courts." Another official shook his head.

    "You mean he actually has a decent policy on how to control the vassal states?"

    "I don¡¯t know. However, I know that we had once treated Fang Zhengzhi as an ignorant fool. However, he has shown us time and again that he is very intelligent. He will not dig himself a grave and jump into it."

    "That is true. However, how can he possibly write anything good in such a short time?"

    "Aish... I do not know. However, the Emperor himself ordered Fang Zhengzhi to help out in the Ministry of Rites. Even though he didn¡¯t give Fang Zhengzhi a post, I think... that there¡¯s more to it than meets the eye."

    "Do you mean that the Emperor thinks that Fang Zhengzhi is a talented diplomat? But it doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. After entering the capital, he has made enemies with many of the influential families."

    "I beg to differ. Who is Yan Xiu? He is the heir to the Yan Family. He is usually icy and a man of few words. Yet, how is he with Fang Zhengzhi? And then there¡¯s Princess Ping Yang. How many people dare to antagonize her? What about Chi Guyan? Then look at Xing Qingsui of the Stabilization Constabry, Nangong Mu of the Nangong Family. Which one of them is easy to get along with? Yet, they all have rtionships with Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi is actually talented in that area?"

    "I think that it is too early to say. We will know more after the theory examination."

    "I agree." The official nodded lightly and became silent. He did not say anything else, but he looked at Fang Zhengzhi rather strangely.

    Su Qing smiled and walked to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Is Official Fang nning to hand in your script early?"

    "Can I do it?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with a question.

    "Of course you can. However, why don¡¯t you check your work and think about it one more time?" Su Qing smirked, raising his voice slightly.

    The expressions of all the officials changed. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Su Qing, their hearts written on their faces.

    After his performance at the Crown Prince¡¯s residence, he did not get a promotion, but he was temporarily the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy.

    Many of the officials were not happy about it initially.

    However, seeing his wit today made them gasp silently in admiration.

    This statement meant more than what it seemed.

    Emperor Lin Mubai had made it clear that he wanted all of the candidates to think deeply. Su Qing¡¯s advice to Fang Zhengzhi was telling all the other candidates that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were going against the Emperor¡¯s wishes.

    This was quite the hit to Fang Zhengzhi.

    All of the officials turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai raised his hand and a servant immediately ced a new pot of tea in front of him.

    Emperor Lin Mubai raised his ss and sipped. He did not speak, neither did his expression changed. It was almost as if he did not see anything.

    All of the officials were stunned.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s attitude towards Fang Zhengzhi was rather cryptic during the racing and huntingpetition. No matter what Fang Zhengzhi did, he did not seem to fault Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why was this so?

    None of the officials spoke again. If Emperor Lin Mubai was not going to speak, then neither could they. They were in no position to question Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I have already checked my work thoroughly. I even have a draft here." Fang Zhengzhi ced his draft script in front of Su Qing.

    Su Qing nced at the draft in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. He raised his hand slightly, then realized what was happening.

    He took a step backwards.

    He was too curious. In fact, everyone there was curious as to what kind of policy Fang Zhengzhi had written.

    However, he managed to regain his senses at the most critical moment.

    For the court examinations, the scripts would be sealed right after they were collected. The Emperor would view them personally. As a rank four imperial messenger, who was he to view the scripts?

    Even the previous Chief Imperial Messenger Han Zhangfeng did not have the right.

    "Did he... do it on purpose?" Su Qing began to sweat profusely. When he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi again, his gaze was different.

    Fang Zhengzhi innocently waved his draft in front of Su Qing. He beamed as he did so, almost as if he was an innocent child.

    "Do you want to take a look? You cane and see!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his draft as he called out to Su Qing.

    "I do not dare take a look at the court examination scripts." Su Qing was shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. He retreated a few more steps, his head lowered.

    "You don¡¯t dare? Okay then... I thought you were really going to check the scripts on behalf of the Emperor." Fang Zhengzhi smirked innocently.

    All of the officials surrounding Emperor Lin Mubai were stunned by this sight.

    Those innocent sounding words were actually immensely loaded.

    Su Qing had used the Emperor¡¯s words to attack Fang Zhengzhi. However, Fang Zhengzhi had used the same method to return the favor. In the end, Fang Zhengzhi hade up on top.

    Did he do it on purpose? Or was it a happy coincidence?

    None of the officials could put their finger on it.

    All of the officials looked at Fang Zhengzhi, their gazesplicated.

    Then, another figure stood up from his seat and bowed to the Emperor.

    "I would like to hand in my script!"

    His voice was not loud, but it was crisp. The tone was t and calm, almost like a mist wafting through the valley.

    Itbined with the clouds in the sky softly.

    Even so, all of the officials looked at the figure in terror.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions had stunned them all, but this man¡¯s actions terrified them.

    Fang Zhengzhi handing in his script early may have been unexpected, but it was eptable.

    After all, it was Fang Zhengzhi.

    But...

    Why would Nangong Hao hand in his script early?

    Furthermore, Nangong Hao had been sitting silently at his desk all this while, a nk paper in front of him.

    He had not written a single word.

    But now...

    Nangong Hao had stood up and said the same thing as Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I would like to hand in my script!"

    What¡¯s going on?

 Chapter 311: Deciding who comes first in an art

    Chapter 311: Deciding whoes first in an art

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    No one could understand what Nangong Hao was thinking. Was he going to hand in a nk script? Was this question too easy? Did he find the court examinations too easy?

    But that did not seem very possible.

    If Nangong Hao did not care about the court examinations, he did not have toe all the way to the capital and announce his participation.

    Almost all of the officials knew that the Nangong Family valued their reputation. Handing in a nk script would not be tolerated.

    As such...

    What was Nangong Hao thinking?

    Just as all the officials were thinking about it, Nangong Hao picked up his script and flipped it over.

    "What... what¡¯s going on?"

    All of the officials were stunned when they saw it.

    In the moment Nangong Hao flipped over his script, they could all see that his script was not nk. It was filled with words.

    This meant that Nangong Hao was not handing in a nk script.

    It¡¯s not nk?

    How is that possible?!

    All of the officials were stumped. No one was willing to believe what they were seeing. Before Fang Zhengzhi had asked to hand in his script, Nangong Hao¡¯s script was still nk.

    Could it be...

    How is that possible?

    "Oh my god, how did he do that?"

    "That is impossible!"

    "Unbelievable."

    All of the officials were consumed by terror.

    If Nangong Hao was not handing in a nk script, there was only one possibility.

    Just now...

    In the moment that everyone was engrossed with Fang Zhengzhi, Nangong Hao hadpleted his script at supernatural speeds.

    However, when they tried to recall what happened...

    The entire episode, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s announcement to his exchange with Su Qing,sted no more than 10 minutes.

    This meant that Nangong Hao hadpleted his paper in that time.

    That was too fast!

    All of the officials were stumped by that speed.

    What stunned them even more was that Nangong Hao had finished his paper during a time which was least conducive for writing a paper.

    Any interruption would easily break one¡¯s train of thought and momentum.

    Yet, during the most chaotic part of the entire court examination, Nangong Hao managed to finish his paper.

    Furthermore, he hadpleted it in such a short time.

    This meant that Nangong Hao had already reached a state of nirvana where he could not be disturbed by anything around him.

    "Natural Heart Dao... is this Natural Heart Dao?!" Wu Feng looked at Nangong Hao with fear.

    This was the first time he feared someone to this extent.

    The fear stemmed from the depths of his heart.

    Su Qing finally recovered from his shock. He looked at Nangong Hao, then back at Emperor Lin Mubai. Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    "Seal the scripts." Emperor Lin Mubai replied.

    "Yes, your highness." Su Qing replied.

    All of the officials went silent when they heard this.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was the only one to hand in his script, then they could charge him for disrespecting the Emperor. But now, even Nangong Hao was handing in his script.

    What else could they say?

    Were they going to charge Nangong Hao as well?

    Su Qing had already walked over to Nangong Hao. He looked at the script on the table and prepared to seal it.

    Just at that moment, a hand stopped Su Qing.

    This was Nangong Hao¡¯s hand.

    "Young Master Nangong, do you not n on handing it in?" Su Qing was confused.

    "No, but I think that Official Su has got something wrong?" Nangong Hao¡¯s gaze towards Su Qing was in and calm.

    "What is it?" Su Qing was getting slightly suspicious.

    "Official Su participated in the imperial examinations four years ago. You made it into the courts and advanced to the post of imperial messenger. Can¡¯t you see who submitted their script first?" Nangong Hao pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Su Qing was stunned.

    All of the officials next to Emperor Lin Mubai were also taken aback.

    "Can¡¯t you see who submitted their script first?"

    They knew what Nangong Hao was getting at, and they knew that Nangong Hao was referring to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, they could not figure out why Nangong Hao would say something like that. This was a small matter. It was just the order of submission.

    If the imperial messenger in charge of sealing the scripts went in a different order, most people will not raise any objection.

    Was Nangong Hao a petty person?

    Clearly not.

    That meant that Nangong Hao was doing this on purpose.

    Another thought was raised in the officials¡¯ minds. If Nangong Hao was saying this on purpose, then did he hand in his script right after Fang Zhengzhi on purpose too?

    No one could understand it.

    However, Su Qing reacted quickly.

    He was second to Nangong Hao during the imperial examinations and a rank four official in the courts. However, he was nothing in the face of Nangong Hao.

    At least, he was nothing right now.

    There would always be a difference between rank one and two. It was an unassable gap.

    Su Qing knew this very well. Even though he was the invigtor for the examination, he still bowed to Nangong Hao apologetically.

    Then, he turned to bow to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Official Fang, please ept my apologies. I have made a mistake!" Su Qing walked over to Fang Zhengzhi and prepared to seal his script.

    A hand quickly stopped Su Qing in his tracks.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    What now?

    Su Qing¡¯s eyes glimmered, but he tried to suppress it.

    "Official Fang, do you not n on handing in your script?"

    "I still n to hand in my script, but I wonder if Official Su has neglected to consider some things?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Su Qing tly before looking at Nangong Hao.

    "What have I failed to consider?" Su Qing tried to remain calm.

    "Official Su participated in the imperial examinations four years ago. You made it into the courts and advanced to the post of imperial messenger. Can you not see who you were closer to?"

    "What do you mean?" Su Qing¡¯s expression darkened.

    "Official Su was already by Nangong Hao¡¯s side. Yet, you decided to turn around just because of something he said. This is a clear indication of your indecisiveness. You gave up what was closer and came to me, who was further. This is an extremely inefficient way of doing things. If this is how you handle theplicated matters at the imperial academy, I will be worried!" Fang Zhengzhi said with concern.

    Life was all an act.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was such a great actor. He had to use this chance to show off some of his acting skills as well.

    As to why he wanted to make things difficult for Su Qing.

    He did that on purpose.

    Reason?

    There were two reasons. Firstly, if he had let Su Qing collect his script, he would have lost out to Nangong Hao even though it seemed that he had the advantage.

    Those officials may not understand, but Fang Zhengzhi knew.

    Before Nangong Mu left, he hade to see Fang Zhengzhi. He did not say much, but Fang Zhengzhi remembered one sentence.

    "He wille after I leave!"

    At that time, Fang Zhengzhi did not really understand what was going on. However, after Nangong Hao announced his participation in the court examinations, he understood.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s challenge to Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao hade all this way for one purpose - restore the honor of the Nangong Family. Nangong Hao¡¯s submission of the script right after Fang Zhengzhi was proof of this point.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not know how he did it, the fact was that Nangong Haopleted his policy paper in that short period of time.

    Then, Nangong Hao¡¯s tactic was incredibly well nned and executed.

    Normally, the first one to hand in his script would be the one in an advantageous position.

    However, Nangong Hao had spoken up for Fang Zhengzhi. This allowed the spotlight to shine on him. This was also his way of showing who¡¯s boss.

    Nangong Hao would never allow himself to lose the advantage in the theory examination.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was to challenge Nangong Hao, he could not lose the initiative either. As such, he yed the ball right back into Nangong Hao¡¯s court.

    At the cost of Su Qing...

    As to why he wanted to bully Su Qing... that was the second reason. Su Qing was thick skinned enough to take it.

    More importantly, Su Qing had already dered war on Fang Zhengzhi with his little show previously.

    This was the perfect time for Fang Zhengzhi to kill two birds with one stone.

    All of the officials looked at each other in awe.

    It was clear...

    Fang Zhengzhi was doing this on purpose.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s statement was perfectly logical. He even used Nangong Hao¡¯s words, making it quite irrefutable.

    More importantly, it cut very deep.

    Su Qing was in this position only because the Crown Prince had ced him there. There was no explicit approval given by the Emperor. And now, Fang Zhengzhi was questioning his abilities in front of the Emperor.

    Furthermore, he had used Nangong Hao¡¯s words. This was the worst possible of concoction for Su Qing. His position was now in jeopardy and he could all but forget about a promotion.

    "Vicious!"

    "Extremely vicious!"

    They had never truly seen Fang Zhengzhi as a threat before this. No matter how talented Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be, they always treated him as a lowly viger.

    No one actually feared him.

    All of the officials thought that they would school him easily.

    However, having seen what he had done to Su Qing, they all gasped. Who were they to think that inexperience meant that he didn¡¯t know anything about politics?

    Fang Zhengzhi was the prime example.

    Su Qing¡¯s expression darkened. He had never been humiliated like this before. Four years ago, he lost to Nangong Hao in the imperial examinations.

    He gave up his cultivation to serve in the courts.

    He knew for a fact that Nangong Hao would never enter politics.

    Before, he was slightly unclear as to why Nangong Hao would say what he did. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply rified everything for him.

    The two of them were using him as their chess piece!

    Furthermore, they were doing it without any regard for him.

    Su Qing could not possibly ept being humiliated this way.

    Thoughts raced in his mind. He knew that he had to resolve this situation quickly. Else, his future would be ruined.

    That would mean that his n would fail.

    He knew that he could not rebut Fang Zhengzhi right now. If he did so, his future would be instantly erased.

    Right now, the only thing that he could do was self preservation. He need to prove that he had a talent for resolving problems.

    He had to use his actions to turn the tables back in his favor.

    "Official Wang, please help to seal Young Master Nangong¡¯s script." Su Qing nced at an imperial messenger.

    "Okay." One of the imperial messengers nodded and walked over to Nangong Hao.

    Âð?"Su QIng nodded then turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, his expression calm. "Young Master Fang, can you let me seal your script now?"

    All of the officials nodded when they saw this.

    It was mature and admirable that Su Qing was able to react so calmly in this situation. This simple action resolved the tension between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi.

    He sent someone else to collect Nangong Hao¡¯s script.

    He himself would stay and collect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s script.

    This way, both Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi would not have anything to say.

    "You are a quick learner, a quick learner indeed!" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he ced his script in Su Qing¡¯s hand.

    Su Qing¡¯s expression darkened once again. He raised his hand and received the script.

    "Thank you Official Fang for your lesson!"

    All of the officials nearly crumpled to the ground when they heard this.

    "A quick learner?!"

    "How shameless could this guy get?!"

 Chapter 312: You can breakthrough now

    Chapter 312: You can breakthrough now

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though Su Qing was young, he was a few years older than Fang Zhengzhi. They may both be rank four officials, but Su Qing was in a more powerful position.

    No matter what...

    It was weird for Fang Zhengzhi to say something like that.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did. Furthermore, he said it in such a calm and t manner. If not for his youth, the officials would have thought that a senior was educating his junior.

    Su Qing did not say anything else.

    He knew that if he did, he would be cursing and swearing.

    He could have superhuman tolerance, but even then, he had a limit. Su Qing¡¯s limit may be high, but he was about to hit it.

    Fang Zhengzhi still wanted to say more. He wanted Su Qing to roll on the floor in anger, cursing and swearing all the way.

    However, Su Qing did not reply, so he could not continue.

    He had to show that he was a man of ss.

    Nangong Hao did not say anything else either. He ced his script in the hand of the imperial messenger, turned and left.

    The maple leaf print on his clothes was blown up by the wind, staining his clothes red.

    All of the candidates were shocked. They could see that the stains on Nangong Hao¡¯s shirt were not maple leaves. They were blood in the shape of maple leaves.

    Where did Nangong Haoe from?

    Why would his clothes be stained with blood. Why was the blood in the shape of maple leaves?

    None of them knew.

    However, Emperor Lin Mubai did not find it surprising. He watched Nangong Hao leave, deep in contemtion.

    ...

    The theory examination was finally over.

    The results were set to be released five dayster. The location was the "Imperial Decree Hall". This was where the inaugurations and funerals were held.

    This was also where the Emperor paid his respects to his ancestors.

    However, after Emperor Lin Mubai took the throne, he ordered that the hall be used for the release of the court examination results. Many did not understand why, thinking that only the Emperor should ess that hall.

    The reason why he was the Emperor was because he was the one true dragon. He was the son of heaven andmoners could not be able to ess the same ancestral hall he did.

    One of these people was the previous Minister of Rites.

    He had already expressed his concerns to the Emperor. He backed it up with examples from history, iming that it was against the rules of rites.

    However...

    It was no use.

    Emperor Lin Mubai insisted that he did not see anything wrong with it even after examining the twelve rules.

    There was no discussion after that.

    The Imperial Decree Hall became the location for the court examination results release. For decades, it had not been changed.

    This was the hall that most of the candidates wanted to go to, and it was also the most heavily guarded location in the pce.

    Today, the light in the Imperial Decree Hall was lit.

    This was unusual.

    The light was only lit during inauguration, the annual memorial service, or the biannual announcement of court examination results.

    However, the light was lit this night.

    There was only one possibility, the Emperor himself was in the hall.

    The set up of the Imperial Decree Hall was different from that of the other halls. The other halls were filled with gold and jewels, the Imperial Decree Hall was filled with incense.

    The incense in the hall was particrly invigorating.

    Each of the scripts were ced neatly on the antique tables.

    As the Emperor, Lin Mubai should be concerned with the running of the country. He need not look through each script individually. In the past, he did not look through each one either.

    The method was simple.

    He would usually gather eight officials and have them judge the scripts first. Then, they would pass the top 20 scripts to him for him to rank.

    However, Emperor Lin Mubai did not do so this time.

    To judge 200 scripts was a tedious task, but Emperor Lin Mubai did it anyways. He began from the end of the court examinations and continued deep into the night.

    He did not move at any point within the past 10 hours.

    This did not seem very normal.

    More importantly, Emperor Lin Mubai did not choose to mark the scripts in his library. Instead, he chose to do so in the Imperial Decree Hall.

    The night was cold.

    The light in the Imperial Decree Hall continued to be lit. The lights in the city were bright as well.

    King Duan¡¯s residence was also brightly lit, a figure strolling back and forth within it.

    The Crown Prince¡¯s residence was also lit. Many carriages passed by, dropping officials off.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s residence was not lit. Furthermore, there was no movement inside. Ping Yang had left her residence in the middle of the night.

    What did she leave to do?

    No one knew.

    ...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion reached through the clouds. Anyone looking at the stars from the peak was bound to be able to feel the light of the stars.

    Ady in a pink dress with bright eyes stood quietly at the peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    She stood on a rock, barefoot, as she looked up into the stars.

    There was a young girl standing behind her. She wore a thick coat and had a white scarf around her neck. Even so, she still hugged herself, shivering from the cold.

    It waste autumn.

    However, in ces like the Heaven Dao Pavilion, autumn was a bone chillingly cold time.

    However, the young girl did not say anything. If Chi Guyan did not say anything, she would not say anything as a servant.

    Finally, Chi Guyan lowered her head, her eyes shining brightly. It looked like there was a constetions in her eyes.

    Yue Er looked at the constetions in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes enviously. She was filled with pride that she was able to be by Chi Guyan¡¯s side at this time.

    "Today is the court examination?"

    "Yes ma¡¯am. You haven¡¯t been concerning yourself with the affairs outside recently. As such, I did not mention it to you." Yue Er replied.

    "Mm... did Nangong Hao participate?" Chi Guyan nodded lightly.

    "He did."

    "He really participated..." Chi Guyan¡¯s lips quivered, almost as if she was muttering to herself.

    "Missus, do we need to do anything?"

    "There¡¯s no use. If it is Nangong Hao, then the results of the court examinations are final."

    "Do you really think that Fang Zhengzhi will lose?"

    "I don¡¯t think he will lose, but I can¡¯t think of how he will win. As such, I can¡¯t do anything, and I don¡¯t know what I can do."

    "There are things in this world that you can¡¯t think of?" Yue Er was shocked.

    "Yes, this is an example." Chi Guyan nodded as she looked into the east. That was where the capital was.

    Yue Er was stunned when she saw Chi Guyan¡¯s expression.

    Ever since Chi Guyan returned to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, she was like apletely changed person.

    She did not ask about politics, neither was she as cold as before. She would even talk to Yue Er about cultivation and sword techniques.

    Her statement just now was the perfect example.

    Chi Guyan of old would never say something like that. No matter how difficult the situation, she would find a solution.

    "Congrattions Guyan!" An elderly voice could be heard from afar. Then, a figure approached Chi Guyan from the back.

    He was silver haired and wore a white robe. However, his skin was smooth and he looked like a twenty year old youth.

    "Greetings Pavilion Leader!" Yue Er kowtowed when she saw the figure.

    The leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion was Mu Qingfeng, someone who stood at the very top.

    "Mm, you apany Guyan here everyday. You can¡¯t just keep addingyers. This is a warming jade that you can hold onto." A piece of jade appeared in Yue Er¡¯s hand.

    "Thank you Pavilion Leader!" Yue Er kowtowed in thanks.

    "Rise." Mu Qingfeng motioned for Yue Er to recover.

    "Master." The constetions in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes disappeared as she turned to bow to Mu Qingfeng respectfully.

    "Mm, you have already understood it. You can breakthrough now." Mu Qingfeng nodded.

    "Breakthrough? Didn¡¯t master ask me to get a better foundation and breakthrough only two yearster?" Chi Guyan did not quite understand Mu Qingfeng.

    "Your foundation is solid. Suppressing your breakthrough is meaningless." Mu Qingfeng shook his head.

    "I understand." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "If I am correct, Nangong Hao should also have broken through." Mu Qingfeng said as he looked at the direction Chi Guyan¡¯s toes were pointing towards.

    "Master, you mean that Nangong Hao is in the Supernatural State?"

    "Yes, however, I don¡¯t think that anyone knows about this, including the Nangong Family." Mu Qingfeng nodded as he looked in the direction of the capital. His eyes glowed.

    Those were mes.

    They were just like the lights in the capital.

    Chi Guyan did not speak. She stood quietly in position as she looked at the stars in the sky. The constetions appeared in her eyes once again...

 Chapter 313: Eight miles of fireworks

    Chapter 313: Eight miles of fireworks

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The next day, before the break of dawn, many of the officials were gathered, wining and dining as they waited for dawn.

    "You may all leave, the Emperor is noting today." A crisp voice rang out throughout the hall. Then, a figure in pce robes came through the door.

    "The Emperor is noting?"

    "How does Eunuch Wei know about this?"

    All of the officials were stunned by what Eunuch Wei just announced.

    Ever since he took the throne, Emperor Lin Mubai had rarely been absent from court. This caused all the officials to wonder if something major had happened.

    "I have no idea." Eunuch Wei shook his head, but showed no intention to leave.

    "Eunuch Wei is the Emperor¡¯s personal aide. Even if you do not know what happened, you should know where the Emperor is currently right? Could you enlighten us?" One of the officials asked when he saw Eunuch Wei stay.

    "Since Official Li has asked, I will tell all of you the truth. The Emperor spent the night in the Imperial Decree Hall. He is still there, but I really do not know why he is noting today."

    "I see, thank you Eunuch Wei!" Official Li shook Eunuch Wei¡¯s arm, then discreetly dropped a tael of silver into his sleeve.

    "Official Li need not be so courteous. The Emperor still required my presence. I will make my move first." Eunuch Wei said tly as he bowed to the officials and took his leave.

    Very quickly, the hall became rather chaotic.

    "The Emperor is in the Imperial Decree Hall?"

    "But, this is not the memorial period, what is the Emperor doing there?"

    "Could he be marking the scripts there? After all, this is the first time the Emperor has not given us the scripts to read."

    "Official Sun does make sense. But why would the Emperor read the scripts there and not in the imperial library?"

    "I am afraid that the Emperor values this court examination more than we can guess. The fact that he is personally marking all 200 scripts is testament to this fact."

    "What does Left Prime Minister Yu think of this?"

    All of the officials finished their discussions and looked in unison towards the silent, red robed, Yu Yiping.

    "Guessing the Emperor¡¯s intentions is not something we should do. The results will be announced in four days. Usually, the Emperor will meet with the top ten candidates before the results are announced. All we have to do is wait." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping sipped his tea and replied tly.

    "What Left Prime Minister Yu says is right!"

    "Since that is the case, we should leave."

    "Official Wang, I hear that you managed to get an exquisite blood jade. Under sunlight it looks like blood flows within. Could you let us take a look?"

    "This exquisite blood jade is one of the rarest jades. There is barely one every century. Official Wang should not be too selfish about it!"

    "Hahaha... I got this exquisite blood jade by chance as well. It is my honor for Official Qin and all of you other valued officials to take a look at it. I will prepare some drinks at my ceter. I hope you will all drop by."

    "We will definitely be there."

    "Hahaha..."

    All of the officials left the hall in groups.

    At this point, Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping stood up and looked towards the Imperial Decree Hall. He frowned, "Imperial Decree Hall?"

    ...

    Winter wasing. The fallen leaves covered the capital like a golden armor. They formed a soft carpet for people to tread on.

    Time continued to pass.

    It had been three days. It was only one more day to the results for the court examination. Everyone was engaged in heated discussions and guesses about the results.

    The capital was the gathering ce for everyone. There were businessmening to trade, andmonersing to look for work.

    If one did not do anything whilst they were young, then their youth was wasted.

    The younger one was, the more risks they could take.

    To the youths of the capital, this was great news to them! They were simply going to enjoy as much as they could whilst they were young.

    Wen Dabao had a keen nose for such fireworks. Even though he enjoyed living the high life, he was not talented in any way.

    However, this did not stop him from wanting the luxuries in life.

    He decided to find himself a talent. That way, with a talented buddy, he could truly be someone admirable.

    The talent in this case was naturally Fang Zhengzhi.

    Other than Fang Zhengzhi, Wen Dabao could not find a second person who would be willing to join him on his escapades.

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting rather bored nowadays. He had basically finished all of the delicacies in the capital. He had also seen virtually all the sights there were to see.

    His life was basically wining, dining and having fun.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had done everything except for having fun. He had read that the ¡®fireworks¡¯ in the past were quite different from the ¡®fireworks¡¯ that he had experienced in his previous world.

    In the Ming Dynasty, there was the ten mile long Qinhuai River. On one of its banks was the examination grounds for the metropolitan examination. On the other bank was the gathering point for everyone looking for some fun.

    The beauties of Qinhuai were famous throughout history.

    They sold their arts and not their bodies. That was the beauty of the ancient ¡®fireworks¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still a minor, so he still had some boundaries. He would not let himself go too far. All he wanted to do was admire and enjoy. After he looked at Wen Dabao, he turned to look at Yan Xiu, who was still enjoying his tea.

    He was surprised that Yan Xiu agreed toe without hesitation.

    Indeed, one should not judge a book by its cover. The wants and desires of the people here were not that much different from those of his previous world.

    "You¡¯re going to see fireworks? How can you leave me out?" Ping Yang appeared just as they were about to leave.

    "These... fireworks are not actually fireworks!" Fang Zhengzhi blushed. He felt so embarrassed, almost as if he had just been caught in bed with another woman.

    "Duh... I know that you are going to drink and listen to music. Do you really think that I am a stranger to such ces? I know them better than you do!" Ping Yang nced at Fang Zhengzhi scornfully, her head raised.

    "You¡¯ve been there?!" Fang Zhengzhi felt like the world was going to crumble around him. Ping Yang was even younger than him!

    How could she be familiar with such a ce?

    At what age did she go?!

    Who brought her there?!

    "Of course, I have been going to such ces to listen to music since I was six with my granddad." Ping Yang said haughtily.

    "Grandfather?"

    "King Liqin! Haven¡¯t you met him before?"

    "Him?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled who that was. He was the old man who wanted to take a look at the Traceless Sword in the throne room. He didn¡¯t expect that the old man was so dirty minded that he would bring along a six year old girl.

    How evil.

    All four of them left for the destination.

    Wen Dabao was ecstatic. He didn¡¯t think that Ping Yang joining was inappropriate. Even Yan Xiu was calm.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the only one who thought it was weird to bring the princess along.

    He wondered what the Emperor would think if he found out.

    ...

    There was no ten mile Qinhuai River in the capital.

    However, there was a street eight miles long that was adorned with rednterns and silk. It was quite different from what Fang Zhengzhi had envisioned.

    The decorations here were antiquated but elegant. Each loft was adorned with poems and paintings. Melodious tunes floated out into the street.

    There were sounds of guzheng, pipa, flutes...

    "I hear that the people here today are all intellectuals!" Ping Yang said excitedly.

    "The Princess is knowledgeable. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything you don¡¯t know. The announcement of the court examination results is tomorrow. I think that there will be many people here tonight." Wen Dabao replied respectfully.

    Fang Zhengzhi blinked and thought to himself, What¡¯s the link?

    Wen Dabao turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu after sucking up to Ping Yang. Then, he began introducing the area to them like a tour guide.

    "The most famous loft here is the "Intellectual Loft"! The night before the announcement of the court examination results, there will be a gathering held there. Many candidates would go there to talk about their policies!"

    "Discuss policies?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to reply.

    This gathering was quite simr to those that he had after each examination in his previous world. Candidates would match their answers with each other. If their sentiments were echoed by the rest, they would be more confident.

    They arrived at the entrance to the Intellectual Loft.

    It was a three storey tall loft. There were eight rednterns on the entrance and eight sets of couplets lined the doors. It looked like they were written by eight different artists.

    In the middle of the loft were the words Intellectual Loft written in calligraphy. Anyone unfamiliar with the penmanship would have found it difficult to discern the letters.

    "Congrattions Young Master Wu, congrattions! The Emperor had asked to meet you in person. I am sure you have made the top ten. Based on your abilities, I think it is possible that you even take home the top spot."

    "Yes yes I agree. I also heard that Fang Zhengzhi has been spending all his time wining and dining. He didn¡¯t even get called by the Emperor. I think he is out of the top 10."

    "I wonder if Nangong Hao met with the Emperor?"

    "Is that even a question?"

    "That¡¯s true. However, I haven¡¯t seen Nangong Hao since the examinations. It¡¯s almost as if he vaporized."

    Just as they were about to enter, they heardughter from inside. It was apanied by the melodious tunes from a guzheng.

    It was quickly apanied by the crisp sound of a flute. Itbined with the melody from the guzheng, giving the music a light wafting feel.

    "Hahaha... you have done well in the exams. The flute and strings sing for you. I think you should say something."

    "Yes yes. Young Master Wu, why don¡¯t you tell us the direction of your policy paper so that we can learn from you."

    After a short period of time, the music stopped.

    It was closely followed by ps and cheers.

    "What a bunch of idiots. The meeting with the Emperor is a secret. Unless you tell them yourself, how would they know? Official Fang, don¡¯t you agree?" Wen Dabaomented angrily.

    "Meeting with the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather confused.

    In the ancient times of his previous world, the emperor would meet with the top candidates just before the release of the results. He would ask them some additional questions before deciding on the top three.

    However, he did not know if they had the same tradition here. As such, he did not think too much about it.

    "Official Fang... don¡¯t scare me. Did you really not receive it? The invitation to meet with the Emperor before the release of the results. It means that you are in the top 10! Did you not receive it?" Wen Dabao¡¯s expression changed as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Wen Dabao did not participate in the court examinations.

    As such, he did not know what had happened inside. Even so, he was certain that Fang Zhengzhi could make the top 10.

    Even the top three.

    Even though the top spot would probably go to Nangong Hao, this did not bother him.

    It was Nangong Hao after all.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, his eyes filled with unspoken questions.

    "I heard that the Emperor was in the Imperial Decree Hall looking through all the scripts personally. As such, I thought that there wasn¡¯t any meeting with the Emperor." Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed when he heard this as well.

    "You thought that there wasn¡¯t... does... does that mean that Young Master Yan didn¡¯t receive the invite either?" Wen Dabao¡¯s jaw dropped in shock.

    "Yup, I didn¡¯t receive it." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "How is that possible? Both of you didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor? You are the top two candidates from the imperial examinations. Isn¡¯t it too much of a coincidence? Could Wu Feng... he lying?" Wen Dabao¡¯s expression revealed traces of rage.

    "No way. Wu Feng would not joke around with something like that." Yan Xiu shook his head as he looked at the lights in the Intellectual Loft. His grip on his fan tightened.

    "Oh gosh... Fang Zhengzhi. You didn¡¯t receive the invite. Are you going to fail? It¡¯s only a pity that Yan Xiu... did you mislead Yan Xiu?" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out.

 Chapter 314: Four Symbols and Bagua

    Chapter 314: Four Symbols and Bagua

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mislead?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Ping Yang with disdain. How could he have misled Yan Xiu when the examination was in such an open area.

    However...

    How could he fail?

    Even though he did not know what were the key pointers to look out for in a policy paper in this world, he was confident about his "New Six Nations".

    "If what Wu Feng says is true, how is it possible that both of you didn¡¯t receive the invite to meet with the Emperor?" Wen Dabao was confused.

    "The meaning of the policy." Yan Xiu said softly.

    "The meaning?" Wen Dabao was confused. He had no idea what the question was, so he had no way of understanding what Yan Xiu meant.

    However, at this point, the melodious music wafted out of the Intellectual Loft. It was intoxicating and calming.

    "Let¡¯s go inside first. How can we enjoy the music at the door?" Ping Yang did not seem bothered about whether Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu passed or failed.

    Before Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu could say anything, she dragged them both into the loft.

    Wen Dabao followed behind without any objection.

    Once they were inside, Fang Zhengzhi realized that the ¡®fireworks¡¯ here were quite different from those he knew. There was no intoxicating lights here, only poetic and elegant art.

    The inside of the loft felt like a circus tent. It waspletely empty inside, with four staircases leading up to the second floor.

    In the middle of the loft were dozens of tables filled with snacks and wine. There were scenic paintings all over the ceiling.

    On the second floor were eight slightly raised tforms. There was ady in a long dress on each tform, their faces covered by a white veil.

    Each one of them had a different instrument.

    On the third floor of the loft were four floating stages. They were in the directions of north, south, east, and west. There was ady in a long dress on each stage.

    Their dresses were in four different colors - green, red, gold, and white.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at it. He had a feeling that the Intellectual Loft was set up rather uniquely. There were four staircases, eight stages in the middle, and four floating stages at the top.

    "Four Symbols, Bagua!"

    ...

    "Oh? Fang Zhengzhi is here!"

    "And Yan Xiu... greetings Princess Ping Yang!"

    Very quickly, all of the talents at the center table saw Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Then, when they saw Ping Yang between the two gentlemen, they all stood up.

    The owner of the Intellectual Loft recognized Ping Yang instantly.

    The moment Ping Yang was seen, a thirty year olddy in a white dress came to them.

    "Your highness, do you want your usual seat?"

    "Of course." Ping Yang raised her head haughtily.

    "Your highness, please hang on a moment. I will arrange for it right now."

    "Do it quickly."

    "Yes your highness."

    Before long, they were all led to a table in the middle of the loft. From this position, Fang Zhengzhi could see all of the art inside the Intellectual Loft.

    PIng Yang looked at the seat, then blinked at Fang Zhengzhi. It was almost as if she was showing off her experience to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Not bad." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Hahaha... of course it¡¯s not bad." Ping Yang smiled immediately when she heard this.

    All of the other talents looked on scornfully. The talents who had just been chased out of the seat brooded by the side.

    "They will always be failures!"

    "We will see who has thestugh when the results are announced tomorrow."

    "Young Master Wu, tell us more about your policy. It will also allow some others to understand theirck of abilities."

    "Hahaha..."

    Very quickly, chuckles could be heard from around them.

    "Today¡¯s meeting should be about making friends and sharing knowledge. We should all make merry and enjoy the art. Let¡¯s not talk about the policy paper." Wu Feng waved all the other talents off, smiling as he did so.

    "Young Master Wu, you are wrong there. The policy paper is the onlyponent of the court theory examination. Anyone who can produce such stunning work is better than those who just memorize the Law of Dao!"

    "Exactly. Young Master Wu already called this a gathering of intellectuals, why hold back?"

    "Even though we also participated in the court examination, but we were not invited to meet with the Emperor. It is our good fortune to be seated next to Young Master Wu today. We hope that you will impart some knowledge to us."

    All of the talents pleaded with Wu Feng to discuss his paper with them.

    Wu Feng looked rather conflicted even as he smirked. He knew that the policy paper discussions would take center stage today.

    After making a show of rejecting them initially, Wu Feng decided to ede to their requests.

    "Since all of you think so highly of me, I will just tell you all my two cents worth." Wu Feng nced at Fang Zhengzhi. "My policy paper is centered around honesty when dealing with the vassals."

    "Honesty when dealing with the vassal states?"

    "Is that the statement found in the Law of Dao?"

    The eyes of the talents brightened when they heard this.

    "That is correct. The Emperor must ensure order and prosperity for the country. The officials must respect the wishes of the Emperor. Children must be filial to their parents and parents must be forgiving towards their kids. When dealing with other countries, honesty is the best policy."

    "I think that the Emperor values this very much. During the court examination, I noticed that the Emperor turned to look south. The uprising in the Southern Mountain Range must be on his mind. Yet, in the distance, there is also the problem of the demons. As officials, we cannot just solve the immediate problems, we must also prepare for the future."

    "Even though I do not know the details, the Southern Mountain Range have been our allies for centuries. They have also been a natural barrier against any invasion by the demons."

    "The Great Xia Dynasty has provided the Southern Mountain Range with support as well. We have helped them in the excavation and opening of roads. The Southern Mountain Range is bound to be grateful to us."

    "In order for a country to be powerful, we must be able to ept! In dealing with others, we must be honest and trust each other. Only then can we prosper together."

    "As such, I proposed that we needed to be sincere and honest in our dealings!"

    Wu Feng¡¯s voice was slightly raised when he got to this point. He sounded like he truly had a passion to save the world.

    "By being sincere, we can gain their trust? Young Master Wu is wise!"

    "It is no wonder you are third on the Rising Dragon Roll. Your talents are not easily matched. Your policy paper is much better than some of the books I have written."

    "Young Master Wu¡¯s policy paper is unique. It is meaningful and draws on knowledgeid out in the ssics. I think even Nangong Hao would be hard pressed to write a better paper."

    "That is true. Even though I used simr concepts in my paper, my ideas were not as lucidlyid out as Young Master Wu¡¯s."

    All of the talents gasped in amazement when Wu Feng finished. Some others also sighed in disappointment.

    "Naive." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched in disdain.

    The ideasid out were all true. However, the key was in when and how to use those concepts.

    There was no problem in trust and honesty.

    To advocate trust between countries was not wrong either.

    However, trust was not something that was easily achieved. They could not simply say they trust each other and go about leading their lives happily ever after.

    All trust was still built upon the foundation of power. Only when both sides stood to gain would there be trust and cooperation.

    Without the above foundations, trust was meaningless.

    Wu Feng did not here what Fang Zhengzhi said. After he finished, he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Then, he quickly walked over to the group of them.

    "Young Master Yan, Young Master Fang, Princess, I wonder what the three of you thought of that?" Wu Feng asked respectfully.

    All of the talents chuckled when they saw this.

    For a talent who had met the Emperor to ask for advice from two failed candidates was quite the sight to behold.

    They all fell vindicated when they recalled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrogance during the theory examinations. This waspounded by the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had handed in his script early.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I bet you didn¡¯t expect this to happen when you handed in your script early!"

    Yan Xiu nced at Wu Feng but did not reply. He opened up his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan and fanned himself.

    Then, he turned to look at the four dancingdies on the third floor of the loft.

    "Could you please not block me?"

    "..."

    All of the talents, who were waiting in anticipation, were stunned. They looked at each other in disbelief.

    Could you please not block me?

    Fang Zhengzhi also did not expect that someone as cold as Yan Xiu would say something so sarcastic. He wanted to give Yan Xiu a standing ovation.

    After Ping Yang recovered from the initial shock, she burst outughing, her hands clutching her belly as she did so.

    "Hahahahaha..."

    As for Wu Feng, he waspletely stunned.

    He looked at Yan Xiu¡¯s icy expression. His face turned red as his eyes glimmered. His lips quivered, almost as if he wanted to say something. However, he remained silent.

 Chapter 315: Multi talented

    Chapter 315: Multi talented

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The atmosphere in the Intellectual Loft was slightly strange now. This was not something the owner wanted to see. The owner shot a nce at one of thedies on the second floor.

    In that instant, melodious music filled the air.

    There was an ancient saying, the girl who ys the pipa covers half her face with the pipa shyly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was feeling great. He looked at the shy expression on the girl ying the pipa, a wave of emotions building up inside him. It was no wonder this Intellectual Loft was the most famous one around.

    Ping Yang quietened down after hearing the music begin.

    Wu Feng has returned to his seat. However, his expression was dark, his fists clenched tightly.

    "Young Master Wu, why bother with these people?"

    "Exactly! They did not even get invited to meet the Emperor. They are bound to fail."

    "They are just jealous of you."

    All of the other talentsforted when they saw Wu Feng¡¯s expression.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored them all. He turned to look at the decorations in the loft. It was designed with four symbols and the Bagua in mind. Furthermore, it seemed to be hiding something...

    For a loft like this to be designed this intricately... this world was moreplicated than he previously imagined.

    ...

    Inside one of the rooms adorned with antiques...

    There was a thick book on a redwood desk. There were a few letters next to the book, each one written in a different handwriting.

    Ady in a ck dress sat behind the table, opening each letter one by one. She read each one carefully, contemting its contents before putting it down.

    A bright light shone on thedy¡¯s face. Her snow white skin and exquisite features were illuminated. There was a spot of red in the middle of her forehead, almost like a drop of blood in the snow.

    "Master!" A servant in ck bowed as she entered.

    "What is the matter?"

    "Master, Young Master Fang and Young Master Yan are in the Intellectual Loft."

    "Okay, I got it, proceed ording to n."

    "Yes!"

    ...

    This gathering was not just to discuss the court examination. Each and every talent had a wish. They wanted to have a story that wouldst the ages.

    They were powerful when they were sober, and they lusted when they were drunk.

    How could they not have a story to tell?

    The Intellectual Loft was the number one ce for ¡®fireworks¡¯ in the entire eight mile street. This meant that they were truly special.

    That was the only way that they could remain on top.

    Anyone that could attract all the top talents of the capital did not just have the looks and the body.

    They also needed extraordinary talents.

    Furthermore, they had to be pure and ssy.

    The logic was simple. Any treasure that was easily essible to others was not a treasure at all. Only those that one could only admire from a distance would be treasured.

    Immortal Tune.

    She had burst onto the scene three months ago. She was extremely ssy.Even though she was not the most beautiful, she was the most gentle.

    She was as gentle as water. She was also as clear as a spring.

    Her name was also representative of her talents. Her music could intoxicate people. More importantly, she was multi-talented.

    She knew her poetry, could improvise and finish up others¡¯ sentences. Furthermore, she had fantastic penmanship.

    Even though she was no match for the famous Yun Qingwu, she had an advantage because she could be seen.

    Fang Zhengzhi was enjoying the music and dancing whilst snacking. All of a sudden, he realized that all the talents were on their feet, almost as if they were stabbed in the butt.

    Then, a red silk cloth dangled from the roof of the loft.

    "Is this a show?" Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    "No, Ms Immortal Tune is about to take to the stage. She is about to take to the stage." Wen Dabao said excitedly.

    "Immortal Tune?"

    "The top girl in the entire district." Ping Yang exined.

    "Oh." Fang Zhengzhi understood Wen Dabao¡¯s excitement. Top girl? How good could she be?

    Just as he was thinking about it, all the lights in the loft dimmed. The only lights remaining were those on the eight stages on the second floor.

    Before long, there were red drums on each of the small stages.

    "Drums?" Fang Zhengzhi was curious.

    This world always valued strings... why would they use drums?

    "Ms Immortal Tune!"

    Just at this moment, all of the talents gasped, their eyes glistening.

    Fang Zhengzhi was overwhelmed by curiosity. He looked up.

    He saw ady in a red dress float down from the roof of the loft. She hugged a ck guqin...

    She was like an immortal, a work of art.

    "I heard that Immortal Tune is in the Divine Seal State. It seems that it is true."

    "She floats down from the sky, almost like an immortal on this earth. Beautiful, perfection..."

    All of the talents werepletely mesmerized by her beauty.

    "Ding!" The strings on the guqin vibrated.

    Music filled the room. The music was soothing, causing one to feel weak and fall back into one¡¯s seat.

    "I think Immortal Tune used music to enter Dao." Yan Xiu mouthed.

    "Music to enter Dao..." Fang Zhengzhi recalled that Yan Xiu told him Wu Feng was also simr. Yan Xiu was saying this to remind him and give him advance warning.

    "Ding!" The strings were strummed once again.

    A gust of wind...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Immortal Tune as she continued to make music with her Guqin.

    Just like the other girls, Immortal Tune wore a veil. However, her veil was red and translucent. Her features could be made out through the veil.

    Her features were exquisite. Her eyebrows were thin, her pupils ck and shining. It was almost as if there was ink flowing inside her pupils, exuding an aura of calm and gentleness.

    Music filled the room.

    Fang Zhengzhi picked up a nut. Just as he was about to bite down on it, the music stopped. Then, two red cloths danced in the air.

    "Bong!"

    Drums rang out on both sides.

    All of the other talents were mesmerized by the music. They looked at the red silk in the air, fiery passion in their eyes.

    The music was captivating.

    The guqin and drumsplemented each other beautifully. Immortal Tune danced in the air with the music.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Immortal Tune was the most popr girl in the entire area.

    Her musical talents were sufficient to fire up all the talents.

    After a while, the music stopped and Immortal Tunended on the ground.

    "Ms Immortal Tune, tomorrow is the release of the court examination results. If you are willing to, perhaps one of us could sing and drink with you in your chamber."

    A voice rang out.

    "Drink in her chamber?"

    "Sing with them!"

    All of the talents were fired up when they heard this. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be with Immortal Tune.

    "Young Master Wu, you used music to enter Dao as well. You have the best shot!"

    "Yes! Young Master Wu, please go ahead!"

    "Both of you are incredibly talented! This will be a story for the ages."

    All the talents looked to Wu Feng.

    Wu Feng smirked when he saw this.

    "Greetings Immortal Tune. I am Wu Feng, ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll. It is nice to meet you." Wu Feng bowed and introduced himself "humbly".

    "Hello Young Master Wu." Immortal Tune¡¯s voice was intoxicating.

    Ping Yang smiled when she saw this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, would you like to try?"

    "Nope." Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation. He was a history major. He could recite ssics andpose poems, but when it came to music...

    He didn¡¯t know the keyboard, he didn¡¯t know strings. As for drums... he was utterly clueless.

    He only knew how to brag.

    Back on Yun Qingwu¡¯s ship, he had smoked his way through. If he had to y it himself, he would have been out of tune.

    "Hahaha... I think you can¡¯t! How about Yan Xiu?" Ping Yangughed.

    "I know a little, but I am no match for Wu Feng." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    Wen Dabao wanted to make a move. However, when he realized his opponent was going to be Wu Feng, he blushed and took a step back.

    At this moment, Wu Feng¡¯s ears twitched as he smirked. "Ms Immortal Tune is great at music and dancing. We also have a talented individual in our midst. He is the top scorer for the imperial examinations. If you perform a duet with him, it will be a story for the ages."

 Chapter 316: Donâ€™t fall for it

    Chapter 316: Don¡¯t fall for it

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As Wu Feng spoke, he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi encouragingly.

    All of the talents were stunned when they heard this. However, they recovered quickly. Even though it looked as though Wu Feng was giving up this golden opportunity to Fang Zhengzhi...

    In actual fact...

    It was a masterful stroke.

    Wu Feng had been dissed by Yan Xiu just now. This was his chance to regain the upper hand.

    There was no one under the age of 30 who dared to im that they were more talented than Wu Feng in music.

    The girl was right in front of him.

    No matter how good Fang Zhengzhi was, he could not be better than Wu Feng. Getting the girl was just a matter of time.

    Immortal Tune¡¯s eyes showed no emotion after she heard Wu Feng¡¯s words. Her eyes were icy and clear.

    "Young Master Wu, I am not as talented as you make me out to be. Furthermore, I am of a lower status. How can I possibly be talked about in the same league as our imperial examination top scorer? However, if Young Master Fang is willing to indulge me, it will be my pleasure to perform a duet!"

    "Hahaha... Immortal Tune, you are too humble. There are countless people who would jump at the opportunity to perform with you." Wu Feng chuckled, then turned to Fang Zhengzhi. "Young Master Fang, I am sure you will not turn down Ms Immortal Tune?"

    All of the talents immediately jumped in.

    "Young Master Fang, this invitation by Ms Immortal Tune is a golden opportunity."

    "Exactly, exactly. We are not as reputable as you. We have no choice but to admire by the side."

    "Young Master Fang, you topped the imperial examinations. Now you have the opportunity to perform with Ms Immortal Tune. We are envious of you."

    All of the other talents showed expressions of jealousy.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. Damn it.

    He knew exactly what the talents were thinking. However, he really did not know anything about music. There was no way he was going to fall into the trap.

    He decided to ignore them.

    He continued to sip tea and snack.

    All of the talents hesitated, realizing that Fang Zhengzhi was still snacking on the nuts. They looked at each other. They all thought the same thing, Fang Zhengzhi probably doesn¡¯t know music. That¡¯s why he isn¡¯t responding.

    This was quite reasonable.

    Fang Zhengzhi came from the viges. Even though he came into contact with the Law of Dao, music was a luxury he probably could not afford.

    "Young Master Fang, do you not know how to make music?" One of the talents asked scornfully.

    "Rubbish! Young Master Fang is a talent, how could he possibly not know music?"

    "Exactly! Don¡¯t talk rubbish!"

    Two voices rebutted almost immediately.

    However, right after, they smirked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Anyone in this world who did not know music or poetry was just a nerd.

    Even though he could perform in the examinations, he would still be aughing stock in social situations.

    Immortal Tune gaze moved when she heard the discussion. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, she curtsied to Wu Feng and began to walk towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Wen Dabao, who was brooding, brightened up when he saw Immortal Tune walking over. His jaw dropped.

    "Ms Immortal Tune... hi... I... I am Wen Dabao."

    "Hello Young Master Wen."

    "Ms Immortal Tune, I am a regr here. I listen to all of your songs..."

    "Wen Dabao, can you shut up?" Ping Yang looked at Wen Dabao dismissively.

    "..." Wen Dabao covered his mouth in fear.

    "Young Master Fang, I am Immortal Tune. May I ask what instrument you are adept at? I will get someone to prepare it for you." Immortal Tune turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Piano. Do you have one here?" Fang Zhengzhi asked without raising his head.

    "Piano?" Immortal Tune asked in confusion.

    All of the other talents looked at each other, lost. They had never heard of a piano!

    "Is he trying to make something up?"

    All of the talents looked at each other doubtfully.

    "The piano is a keyboard instrument that was invented in the ancient western world. It has 88 keys and three pedals. The one on the left is a softening pedal. It lowers the volume of the notes that are yed. The one on the right is a damper pedal. It causes the notes that are yed to sustain longer. The one in the middle is the sostenuto pedal. It allows the pianist to sustain certain notes whilst keeping the others unaffected." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Western world?!"

    "Did he just say western world?! Is he..."

    "How can that be?"

    All of the talents were stunned when they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed as well. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi awkwardly, but did not say anything.

    Immortal Tune was also shocked. However, she recovered quickly.

    "Young Master Fang is really talented. You even know the Western... Immortal Tune is not as talented. I would love to hear you y the piano, but we do not have the instrument here. Do you y any others?"

    "Violin. Do you have it here? It looks like this..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded understandingly. Then, he sketched a picture of a violin on a piece of paper.

    "Is that also from the west?" Immortal Tune¡¯s eyes glimmered when she saw the sketch.

    "Yes."

    "I am truly sorry, but we do not have a violin."

    "Then what about a cello?"

    "We don¡¯t have that either."

    "You must have a guitar?"

    "Erm... we don¡¯t."

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else. He waved exasperatingly. His intentions were obvious. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to perform, but they don¡¯t have the instruments for me.

    All of the other talents were stunned.

    Violin, cello, guitar...

    What the hell were these?

    They had not heard of these instruments before.

    This guy was just trying to shift the me away from himself!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about what the others thought. After all, what he had asked for exists, it just wasn¡¯t in this world.

    All of the talents were furious. However, they could not say anything. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was able to describe the instruments in detail, even sketching out how they looked like.

    Wu Feng did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi would be this shameless. He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would name instruments that didn¡¯t exist!

    However...

    No matter how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was, the fact was that he could not y the duet. All he had to do now was invite Immortal Tune to perform the duet with him.

    Everything was still within his control.

    "Ms Immortal Tune, since Young Master Fang is not going to y the duet, how about I y that duet with you?" Wu Feng bowed towards her.

    He looked like a knight in shining armor.

    "I heard that Young Master Wu has learnt the true art of ying the jade flute from the Clear Water Sage. I am sure that their duet will be a story for the ages."

    "I wonder which song Young Master Wu will choose?"

    All of the other talents chimed in with their approval.

    Wu Feng smiled and coughed lightly. "I heard that Ms Immortal Tune¡¯s Pingsha is extraordinary. It would be my honor toplement you with my flute."

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of stopping Wu Feng. He hade here to enjoy the music. He did not care who was going to go off with Immortal Tune.

    He looked at Immortal Tune.

    Normally, Immortal Tune would take her leave at this moment.

    However, she showed no intention of leaving.

    "I am sorry for not being able to give you the instruments you wanted. How about I make it up to you by drinking a cup with you?" Immortal Tune gestured to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Wu Feng, who was holding the jade flute, stood rooted to his spot.

    He was ignored?

    He was ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll and the most talented musician of his generation! Furthermore, he had just met with the Emperor.

    This meant that he should be in the top three of the theory examinations if there are no surprises.

    That was clearly a much greater achievement than the top scorer for the imperial examinations!

    However, it was a fact that he was ignored.

    Immortal Tune did not even turn back to look at him.

    All of the other talents were stunned as they looked at Immortal Tune in disbelief. Ever since Immortal Tune had started working here, she had never apanied someone to drink.

    Much less drink to make it up to someone!

    More importantly...

    She wasn¡¯t at fault!

    The instruments that he had asked for probably did not exist! Immortal Tune, don¡¯t fall for his trap!

    All of the talents wanted to vomit blood as they saw Immortal Tune raise her ss.

 Chapter 317: Iâ€™m just here for the music!

    Chapter 317: I¡¯m just here for the music!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi weirdly. She wondered to herself, Is this guy really so charismatic?

    Yan Xiu found it weird as well, but he did not say anything.

    When Wen Dabao looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes were filled with admiration and jealousy. This man is the master!

    Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback as well. He did not want to flirt with her. More importantly, he was neither rich nor powerful.

    More importantly, he did not know how to y music.

    What was Immortal Tune trying to do?

    "Young Master Fang, drink up." Immortal Tune raised her ss and gulped the wine down without waiting for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ss in front of him. He thought about it, then drank up.

    All of the other talents wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi when they saw him hesitate. He already had the girl, yet he still wanted to feign innocence.

    Wu Feng stood quietly in his original position.

    Even though he was ignored, he still had to maintain hisposure. He felt that even if Immortal Tune ignored him for now, she woulde back to him in the end.

    Yes...

    She will.

    "Young Master Fang, are you not going to invite me to sit down?" Immortal Tune asked.

    "Plonk!" Wu Feng¡¯s legs turned to jelly as he fell back into his seat. His face waspletely red. He did not know what happened.

    Where did he go wrong?

    He was asked to meet the Emperor! Furthermore, he was higher ranked than Fang Zhengzhi on the Rising Dragon Roll. Most importantly, he was a talented musician.

    He had all the advantages.

    But he lost.

    He had beenpletely schooled.

    Hallucination, this must be a hallucination.

    Wu Feng rubbed his eyes and looked at Immortal Tune. He saw that Immortal Tune was taking a seat at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s table. She even filled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cup.

    No way!

    Wu Feng could not take it any longer.

    He had been stymied at every turn. Each one waspletely unexpected and illogical. The n had been perfect. He had the initiative and the advantage, but the truth was cruel.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, with so many talents and beauties here, would you engage me in a poetrypetition in the spirit of this intellectual meet? You can choose the topic." Wu Feng raged.

    It was a pity that this was an intellectual meet and not a martial one. If not, he would challenge Fang Zhengzhi and destroy him.

    "Poetry?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Feng.

    "That¡¯s right. You can choose the topic." Wu Feng nodded confidently. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi would notpete with him in music. His only chance was to engage Fang Zhengzhi in an intellectual duel.

    "Nope." Fang Zhengzhi rejected him.

    "Why? This is an intellectual meet!" Wu Feng could not understand. He was already giving Fang Zhengzhi the advantage, why would Fang Zhengzhi reject him?

    "But I cam to listen to music." Fang Zhengzhi chewed on a nut and replied tly.

    "You... how about wepete based on couplets? I saw your script before. If you¡¯re not willing topete in poetry, how about couplets?" Wu Feng grit his teeth.

    "Nope."

    "Why not?"

    "I already told you before. I came to listen to music. Stop annoying me." Fang Zhengzhi said dismissively.

    "Hehehe..." Immortal Tune chuckled to herself, her hand covering her mouth.

    Ping Yang¡¯sughter was much more maniacal.

    "Hahaha!!" She did not even try to keep her volume down.

    Even Yan Xiu cracked a smile. It was almost as if all the unhappiness flooded out of him in that instant.

    Wen Dabao wanted tough too. However, he knew that he was not as good as Fang Zhengzhi. He could not afford to antagonize Wu Feng.

    As such, he blushed.

    He was trying to suppress hisughter.

    Wu Feng¡¯s expression darkened. It was even darker than charcoal.

    "Since Young Master Fang is here to listen to music, I haveposed a few new songs. I wonder if you are willing to walk with me?" Immortal Tune chuckled, then said.

    The entire loft fell silent when they heard this.

    All of the talents looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    They could not understand where Fang Zhengzhi got his luck from. He did not strum any strings, hit any drum, blow into any flute. He did not evenpose a poem.

    Even so...

    Immortal Tune invited him into her private chambers?

    Could the world be any more unfair?!

    Wu Feng had thought that he would be the lucky one tonight. After receiving the invite from the Emperor, he had thought that he would be going home with a prettydy. Tomorrow, his victory would be confirmed.

    He would enjoy himself to the fullest.

    However... no matter how he tried...

    He did not manage to seed.

    His ¡®fun¡¯ was stolen away by Fang Zhengzhi. More importantly, he did not even know how Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    "Walk? To where?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Immortal Tune with confusion.

    "Her chambers! Immortal Tune is inviting you to her chambers!" Wen Dabao was almost about to jump out of his seat.

    "Chambers? But... I just want to listen to music. I don¡¯t want to sleep with her." Fang Zhengzhi replied innocently.

    "Plonk!"

    All of the seated talents fell off their chairs and onto the ground. They red at Fang Zhengzhi murderously.

    Sleep with her?!

    Would Immortal Tune even want to sleep with you?!

    What was this guy thinking?

    Ping Yang also burst outughing. "Fang Zhengzhi, hahaha... I can¡¯t believe how hrious this is, hahaha..."

    Yan Xiu wasughing too, but he wasughing bitterly.

    Wen Dabao also wanted tough. However, he suppressed it, his body shivering. He whispered, "Official Fang, just because she invited you to her chambers doesn¡¯t mean that she wants to sleep with you. Furthermore, she must agree to it."

    "Oh I see." Fang Zhengzhi nodded slowly. That being said, in the ancient times, going into ady¡¯s chamber usually led to that.

    Perhaps those stories were lying.

    Or maybe they only recorded the stories of those who actually did it. Those who didn¡¯t were left out.

    "Hehehe... is this the first time Young Master Fang hase to listen to music?" Immortal Tune chuckled lightly.

    "Mm, it is." Fang Zhengzhi felt a little awkward saying that this was his first time even though that was a fact.

    "I am honored. Young Master Fang, please follow me." Immortal Tune extended her hand to Fang Zhengzhi after hearing the reply.

    "Hahaha... go quickly." Ping Yang chuckled.

    "Don¡¯t forget that the results will be announced tomorrow. I will wait for you at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall." Yan Xiu reminded as he nodded.

    "Official Fang, after you finished listening to the music, you must tell me about it. No one has heard Immortal Tune¡¯s newest songs." Wen Dabao looked at Fang Zhengzhi with jealousy.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. He finally understood why having fun was considered a good thing here.

    He was being asked out by ady so openly. More importantly, even the princess was supporting him.

    How could he resist?

    ...

    Inside the antiquated room in the Intellectual Loft...

    Thedy in the ck dress was still reading the letters in front of her. However, she had lost some of the concentration she had before.

    After reading a dozen letters, she stopped.

    Her eyes turned to look at the bright light as she bit her lip. Her expression revealed traces of anger as she contemted something.

    "Master!" Just at this moment, a servant in a ck dress entered the room cautiously.

    "How is it?" Thedy in ck asked anxiously.

    "Immortal Tune has already invited Young Master Fang to her chambers." The servant bowed and replied.

    "Oh, what did he perform?" Thedy in ck heaved a sigh of relief.

    "He didn¡¯t perform any music."

    "No music? Then did he recite poetry?"

    "Nope, he did not make music, neither did hepose a poem."

    "None of the above... did hee up with an outstanding couplet?" Thedy in ck asked doubtfully.

    "Master, Fang Zhengzhi did not do anything. In actual fact, Young Master Fang did not seem to want her. In order to finish the mission, Immortal Tune had to take the initiative." The servant replied.

    "That shameless fellow didn¡¯t try to win Immortal Tune over?" Thedy in ck was shocked.

    "Exactly. Young Master Fang did not try to win her over. Furthermore, when Immortal Tune invited him to her chamber, he said..."

    "What did he say?"

    "He said that he was only here to listen to music. He had no intention to sleep with her."

    "What? Hahaha... that shameless fellow really said that?"

    "Yes, I heard it loud and clear. Immortal Tune also found out that this is Young Master Fang¡¯s first time out. He doesn¡¯t know the rules here."

    "First time? Okay, I got it. You can leave now. Have Immortal Tune continue ording to n." Thedy in ck ordered.

    "Yes." The servant left the room.

    Thedy in ck picked up yet another letter from the table. She began to read it, this time with a smile on her face.

    "First time out? Only listen to music and not sleep with the girl? Hahaha..."

 Chapter 318: The annoucement

    Chapter 318: The annoucement

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The chamber was the private ce for the girls.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not particrly interested in entering the chambers at night. However, he still entered.

    To him, as long as one¡¯s moralpass was strong...

    There was not much difference between entering and not entering.

    There was a saying. As long as one believed in buddha, even alcohol and meat could pass through one¡¯s gut without being digested.

    Fang Zhengzhi stepped into Immortal Tune¡¯s chambers. He looked around and began to take in the decorations.

    Usually, the way the chamber was decorated would reveal something about the girl¡¯s character.

    Immortal Tune¡¯s chamber was extremely gentle and warm. Light incense filled the room, giving a calming effect.

    The floor was carpeted, making it veryfortable to walk on.

    As for color.

    It was primarily light blue and green. The carpets were light blue and the green came from the nts on the windowsill.

    "Young Master Fang, please have a seat." Immortal Tune gestured to a chair in the middle of the room.

    Fang Zhengzhi sat down without hesitation.

    Even though there were some differences between this world and his previous world, their thinking was not that much different. The customer was still the most important person.

    Leaving the seat in the chamber for the guest showed respect.

    Immortal Tune poured a cup of tea for Fang Zhengzhi as he sat down and brought him a te of nuts. Then, she bowed and ced the cup of tea in his hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move.

    He did not feelfortable being served by Immortal Tune this way. He felt that something was amiss.

    He had never been here before.

    He could possibly attribute the events of today to luck. However, he knew that everything happened for a reason.

    He had done absolutely nothing.

    He didn¡¯t perform the duet, he didn¡¯tpose any poems. He showed neither talent nor ability.

    Yet, he was invited into the chambers. Furthermore, he was invited by the most popr girl. There could only be two possibilities.

    One, he was incredibly handsome. Two, he looked like her father.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that neither was likely.

    As such, the only remaining reason was...

    He had no idea.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know, but, he wanted to know. As such, he began to observe Immortal Tune carefully.

    "Young Master Fang, please have some tea." Immortal Tune brought the cup of tea to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi thanked her and took the cup of tea. However, he did not drink it immediately.

    Immortal Tune did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to drink it.

    She turned and entered a room within the chamber. Within moments, she had changed into a different set of clothes.

    She was not in a pale blue dress.

    It was not as gaudy as her red dress, but it added ayer of gentleness to her. More importantly, Immortal Tune had removed her veil.

    Her exquisite features were in the open for Fang Zhengzhi to see.

    Immortal Tune¡¯s features were beautiful and small. Everything about her was small, her nose, her mouth, even her face.

    Yet, just looking at it was oddly calming.

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he would have to remove the veil himself. However, Immortal Tune clearly was not going to give him the chance, removing the veil herself.

    Then, everything proceeded ording to n.

    Immortal Tune ced her guqin on the rosewood desk and began to perform.

    A melodious tune filled the room. It felt just asfortable as soaking in a hot spring. Coupled with the intoxicating incense, this was true enjoyment.

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely listened to music and did not know much about it.

    However, he had heard great musicians, including Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s music was slightly more ssy and open. It transported one¡¯s spirits through mountains and oceans, making one feel oddly refreshed.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s music was more poetic. It made people feel like they were admiring various works of art. Everything from grass to creeks could be made beautiful by her music.

    Immortal Tune¡¯s music was different from both the others.

    It was gentle.

    It was as gentle as water and as warm as jade. Listening to it made one feel snug andfortable.

    Fang Zhengzhi was so captivated by the music hepletely lost track of time.

    All of a sudden, he felt thirsty.

    He looked at the cold cup of tea in front of him.

    Immortal Tune seemed to notice it. She immediately stopped ying and walked into an adjacent room. She came out with a fresh pot of tea.

    She also changed into another outfit.

    This one was green with embroidery of leaves. She had a matching green flower in her hair.

    If she was like water previously, now, she felt like spring. Everything about her screamed nature and the warmth of spring.

    "Young Master Fang, please have some tea." Immortal Tune filled the cup and brought it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi took the cup and felt the warmth emanating for it. Yet, he did not drink the tea.

    Then, his hand trembled a little.

    A loose piece of silver fell into the slightly cold cup of tea.

    Ssh.

    "Young Master Fang, you dropped a tael of silver." Immortal Tune did not react when she saw the silver drop into the cup. She picked it up and brought it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi coughed lightly, then kept the silver.

    Then, he ced the fresh cup of tea by his lip. He took a sniff, the aroma of the tea hitting his nose instantly. He gulped it down.

    He swirled the tea around in his mouth.

    "Good tea."

    "Thank you for thepliment. This tea was made by me. I used dried flowers to enhance the vor." Immortal Tune exined.

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He did not really know much about tea. He only knew if a tea was nice to drink or not. However, he now knew from Immortal Tune that this was a type of floral tea.

    Immortal Tune went back to her original position.

    "Young Master Fang, do you enjoy watching dances?"

    "Whatever you want to perform." Fang Zhengzhi actually enjoyed watching dances, but he could not possibly say that.

    He had to show some ss.

    "Then I shall dance for you." Immortal Tune smiled when she heard this. She immediately began to dance.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a wave of emotions build up as he watched Immortal Tune dance.

    In order to be the top girl in this world.

    Was quite difficult.

    In order to be this good with instruments, one must have had at least a decade of practice. Furthermore, in order to dance this well, she must have put in a lot of effort.

    The girls had to be beautiful and be able to sing, dance, make music...

    It was probably even more difficult than being a superstar in his previous world. They had to be young. Once they were past their prime, they would not be wanted.

    All of their talents would go to waste.

    This was the harsh reality.

    When they were in their prime, everyone would praise them and fight for them. However, when that was over, they would be shunned.

    They were just like flowers, aromatic and beautiful when they bloomed, but just brown and forgotten when they wilted.

    Fang Zhengzhi drank even more cups of tea as he watched the dance.

    After Immortal Tune danced for some time, she stopped. Then, she re lit the incense before retreating to the adjacent room.

    She must be going to change again?

    Ever since he came in, she had wore red, blue, and green. He wondered what she would change to now.

    Before long...

    Another figure walked out from the room.

    She wore a ck dress and golden cloth shoes this time. Furthermore, she had a red dot on her forehead.

    Her steps looked different.

    her aura and demeanor hadpletely changed from the warmth of spring just now,. This time, she was incredibly charming.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked when he saw the figuree out from the room. Isn¡¯t this too drastic a change?

    Did the clothes make that much of a difference?

    Even if it did, where did she get the charm from?

    Hang on!

    Something was not quite right!

    Fang Zhengzhi found something strange. Thedy was not holding a pot of tea or any instruments.

    She walked straight towards him.

    Beaming radiantly as she did so.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was amiss. He wanted to see how what thisdy looked like, but his vision was blurred.

    It was almost as if his eyes were covered by ayer of mist.

    More importantly, he felt all his strength and energy exit his body. He waspletely immobilized.

    "Damn it, I fell into the trap!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was jolted. He wanted to resist, but his body wouldn¡¯t respond to his will. All he could do was watch as the figure approached him.

    More importantly...

    He still couldn¡¯t see what she looked like.

    Damn it!

    Was he going to lose his virginity tonight? He was only 15! Even if he was to lose his virginity, he did not want to be raped!

    ...

    Dawn the next day.

    It waste autumn and the temperature was dropping. The wind was strong, sending fallen leaves flying into the air. Birds flew around, pooping wherever they went.

    One of the volleys hit Wu Feng on his head.

    Wu Feng was still deep in thought. He left the Intellectual Loft extremelyte. However, when he left, Fang Zhengzhi was still inside.

    That meant that Fang Zhengzhi spent the night there.

    Inviting someone into the chamber to listen to music and spending the night in the chamber were two very different things. Even though he did not think that Immortal Tune would sleep with Fang Zhengzhi...

    But what if she did?

    There was always a possibility. He was furious, so much so that he did not even realize the bird dropping on his head.

    When he realized it.

    He was even more infuriated.

    How fast could a bird be? Normally, he would be able to dodge in time. Either way, the birds were out of reach by now.

    "Damn it, wear pants when you go out!" Wu Feng hollered.

    The birds turned back to look at Wu Feng. Its ck eyes were filled with scorn, almost as if they were saying, "Who wears pants when they poop?"

    Wu Feng did not understand theirnguage.

    But, he did see the bird turn back.

    His eyesight was incredible. More amazingly, he immediately retrieved his jade flute and began to y.

    "Chirp!"

    This was just like the sound of the bird.

    It was crisp and sharp.

    The sound travelled through the air like an arrow.

    There was a saying.

    An injured bird would be terrified by the sound of the bow.

    After a bird was injured, even the sound of the bow would be enough to shoot it down.

    The bird in this case was not injured. In fact, it was quite proud of itself. Even so, it was still shot down. When the sound rang out, its wings froze in position.

    "Woosh!"

    The bird crashed into a branch and fell to the ground.

    Wu Feng put down the flute, his eyes shining icily. Then, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the poop off his head before turning back to the hotel.

    Today was the court examination results day.

    He was expected to do extremely well in this examination. How could he go to the hall with bird poop on his head.

    Many people were going towards the pce. Even though they could not enter the pce and hear the results...

    The announcement could be heard from the vicinity of the pce.

    Normally, the names of the candidates who passed would be announced three times. For the top three, the names would be ryed all the way from the Imperial Decree Hall to the outskirts of the city.

    It was the greatest honor.

    It was something every talent wanted.

    The previous night was a sleepless one. All of the talents woke up early in the morning and prepared their best outfit for the asion.

    This was a grand event with many honored guests.

    The disciples from most of the major families and well as some of the most influential people throughout the empire were eager to see the results...

 Chapter 319: Letâ€™s fail together

    Chapter 319: Let¡¯s fail together

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Years of studying...

    They had gone through so many examinations before making it here. Some people had taken five or six editions to get to this point.

    "Quickly quickly. The results are about to be announced. Let¡¯s find a good position."

    "I wonder what the results will be like?"

    "I heard that Wu Feng met with the Emperor. The other talents didn¡¯t say much so I think Wu Feng will probably be in the top three."

    "I heard that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t get the decree. I think he is going to fail?"

    "Even if he doesn¡¯t fail, Nangong Hao is bound to top the examination."

    "That is true!"

    All of the talents began to discuss their predictions for this edition of the court examinations. After all, it had captured the attention of everyone in the capital.

    Nangong Hao was ranked second on the Rising Dragon Roll. He was the top talent in the Great Xia Dynasty four years ago. Then, there was Wu Feng, one of the core disciples of the Clear Water Sage.

    Then there was Yan Xiu, someone who had demonstrated unprecedented abilities. Then there was Fang Zhengzhi, the top scorer in the imperial examinations.

    Discussions engulfed the entire capital.

    The entrance to the pce was packed with throngs of people. Everyone wanted to be the first to hear the news.

    Two rows of guards in golden armor stood beside the Imperial Decree Hall. They all held gleaming spears, their expressions solemn.

    All of the officials stood in the middle of the guards. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood at the head of all the officials.

    All of the candidates awaiting the results stood at a point 500m away from the entrance. All of them craned their necks.

    Yan Xiu stood in the middle of all the other candidates. His expression was cold even as he scanned his surroundings.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not returnst night.

    He was not too surprised by that. Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi was tired after listening to the music so he crashed at the loft.

    But...

    The time for the announcement of results hade... but Fang Zhengzhi was still nowhere to be seen.

    Even though Yan Xiu found Fang Zhengzhi quite willful, but he knew Fang Zhengzhi would not make a mistake like this.

    The announcement of results was too important an event to miss.

    "Where the hell is he?" Yan Xiu looked at the entrance to the pce, anxiety building up in his eyes. However, before the results were announced, he could not leave.

    He could only wait.

    He could only wait for Fang Zhengzhi to arrive.

    Wu Feng was quite happy. Even though there were a few setbacks along the way, they were insignificant. They did not dampen his spirit in the grand scheme of things.

    Of course, he was most happy about the fact that...

    Fang Zhengzhi was absent!!

    This was fantastic news.

    Wu Feng had always heard rumors that Fang Zhengzhi was very courageous. He would stand up to the other officials in court, even telling them off at times,

    However, noting to the announcement of the results was quite audacious.

    A night of fun...

    Go and have your fun!

    "Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯te? I wonder what he¡¯s up to?"

    "I heard that he went to the Intellectual Loftst night. Immortal Tune even invited him to her chambers. Maybe he didn¡¯t get any restst night so he can¡¯t wake up? Hahaha..."

    "I think he doesn¡¯t dare toe?"

    "Young Master Qin hit the nail on the head. Fang Zhengzhi did not meet with the Emperor, so I am sure he will fail this time. It is only normal that he would note to the results announcement, but..."

    "But what?"

    "It is a pity that Ms Immortal Tune would have to bear with him."

    "Hahaha, but I don¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi is even at the Intellectual Loft, I think he already found somewhere to hide?"

    "Hahaha..."

    All of the other candidates also realized Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s absence. As such, they began to discuss it animatedly.

    Wu Feng was also smirking. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi was hiding. He would never believe that Fang Zhengzhi overslept.

    The more he thought about it, the better he felt. He scanned the crowd and saw someone...

    Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao wore a white shirt. However, the blood on the shirt was gone. It was unclear whether it was washed off or if this was a new set.

    It was slightly dusty, but it still shone in the light.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes were bright like the sun. Yet, they also revealed an arrogant aura.

    One could see the brightness in his eyes, but no one could get close to him. One could only admire him from a distance.

    This was Nangong Hao to all the other talents.

    Too talented.

    He was a peerless talent. Even if Nangong Hao did not distance himself from others, he would never fit in.

    Wu Feng wanted to know something.

    He wanted to know if Nangong Hao met with the Emperor. It seemed like a foregone conclusion. There was no way Nangong Hao was going to fail.

    Yet, he still wondered about it.

    It was like a beggar in the rain. Even though he knew the streets would be virtually empty, he still held out his hands hopefully.

    He wasn¡¯t hoping that he did exceptionally well. He was hoping that Nangong Hao slipped up.

    Fang Zhengzhi had failed because he handed in his script in advance. Nangong Hao had handed in his script at that time as well.

    Would he suffer the same fate?

    Wu Feng did not doubt Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao¡¯s abilities. However, how would the Emperor be able to tolerate being disrespected?

    Wu Feng approached Nangong Hao.

    "Young Master Nangong!" Wu Feng smiled as he bowed to Nangong Hao respectfully.

    All of the other candidates stopped their discussions when they saw this.

    Wu Feng was greeting Nangong Hao before the release of the results?

    What was he trying to do?

    Were they going to engage in pleasantries? Or was this the spark before the fire?

    "Young master Wu." Nangong Hao looked at Wu Feng and returned the gesture, bowing respectfully as well.

    Even so, the candidates could feel an invisible, unscble wall between these two top talents of the empire.

    It felt very real.

    Wu Feng¡¯s lips twitched. He predicted that Nangong Hao would not ignore him, but the courtesy Nangong Hao orded him was unexpected.

    It was quite uncanny.

    It felt like Nangong Hao was being respectful and belittling him at the same time.

    This wave of emotions caused Wu Feng to be taken aback. Why shouldn¡¯t Nangong Hao ord me that courtesy?

    He was now ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    He was only one rank away from Nangong Hao...

    Why did he still feel this way?

    Wu Feng felt that he should be on the same pedestal as Nangong Hao. After all, the difference of one rank was not that much. He wanted to calm himself down, but he couldn¡¯t rid himself of that feeling.

    As a result, despite his best efforts, he still did not manage to ask Nangong Hao if he met the Emperor.

    He wanted to ask this question casually.

    It was supposed to be like a casual question between friends. However, when he was facing Nangong Hao, he could not bring himself to ask the question.

    "Young Master Wu wants to know if I met with the Emperor right?" Nangong Hao asked expressionlessly, almost as if he could read Wu Feng¡¯s mind.

    "Haha... I don¡¯t think that question needs to be asked. Your talent basically guarantees you the top spot in this examination." Wu Feng tried tough it off as he worked to maintain hisposure.

    Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but stammer a little. When Nangong Hao asked that question, he felt as if he had been read like a book.

    It was extremely ufortable.

    "I did not." Nangong Hao shook his head. His tone was extremely calm, almost like an icyke.

    His expression did not change.

    No matter how strong the wind, the surface of theke was still ice.

    Even though Nangong Hao was calm, the candidates who heard this could not maintain theirposure.

    "Did I hear that wrongly? Nangong Hao... said he didn¡¯t get the invite?!"

    "How is this possible?"

    All of the candidates could not believe their ears. Nangong Hao had topped the imperial examinations four years ago.

    Four yearster...

    He cut through the capital like a knife through butter.

    Yet he didn¡¯t get the invite to meet with the Emperor?

    It was atomic news.

    To meet with the Emperor meant that one was in the top 10. Those who did not would make the list.

    That was a fact that hadn¡¯t changed in years.

    Even though the top 30 would still be able to participate in the subsequentbat examinations, no one expected this to happen to Nangong Hao.

    Could it be that the top talent of the Great Xia Dynasty four years ago...

    Was not going to make the list?!

 Chapter 320: Parchment with missing names

    Chapter 320: Parchment with missing names

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If Nangong Hao did not say this himself, no one would believe that he was not invited to meet with the Emperor. Even when he did...

    No one believed he wouldn¡¯t make the list.

    So what happened?

    Could it be...

    All of the candidates thought of only one possibility. That was the only usible reason. Nangong Hao had handed in his script early.

    Was that the reason?

    The candidates could not be sure. If the Emperor had seemed that someone who handed in their script early was disrespectful to him...

    That did not seem very wise or fair.

    All of the candidates looked at Nangong Hao with looks of doubt and sadness. Yet, Nangong Zhao himself showed no emotion.

    It was almost as if him being on the list or not made no difference to him.

    The candidates did not believe that Nangong Hao did not care. Even if Nangong Hao did not care, he had to live up to the expectations of his ancestors.

    Top three.

    That was the minimum for any Nangong Family member.

    If they were not confident of making the top three, they would withdraw. Some of them would not even participate in the examinations.

    The fact that Nangong Hao was here meant that he had the confidence to make the top three. Furthermore, Nangong Hao was expected to top both the theory andbat examinations.

    Wu Feng was speechless as he looked at Nangong Hao.

    Comfort?

    He thought that it would be inappropriate tofort Nangong Hao. Mockery and irony were out of the question as well.

    As such, Wu Feng nodded and calmed himself down. Then, he returned to his original position.

    He would not be able to take it if he stood next to Nangong Hao.

    "Nangong Hao didn¡¯t meet the Emperor? Hahaha, I am definitely going to top the theory examinations this time. It is mine, hahaha..." Wu Feng was incredibly excited. His face filled with color and he felt as though he was on a cloud.

    Just at this moment, they saw a figure in the distance.

    An elderly man walked over. He did not sit in a carriage, but, all of the Royal guards orded him great respect as he passed.

    No one stopped him along the way.

    He cleared his throat lightly.

    All of the candidates looked on solemnly. They knew who this was.

    This was an aged man, but his eyes were still very cryptic. One could not make out what he was thinking.

    However, the silver official robes that he wore made everyone afraid to show anything less thanplete respect.

    He was King Liqin.

    Wu Feng¡¯s haze froze. It was unusual for King Liqin to be here. After all, he rarely concerned himself with the affairs of the court.

    So why would hee to the court examinations results announcement?

    What was his motive?

    "Your highness!" Wu Feng could not figure it out, but he still greeted King Liqin respectfully. His respect for King Liqin was true.

    The reason was simple.

    His master, the Clear Water Sage had given him only one instruction before he left for the capital.

    "You can disrespect anyone in the capital bar King Liqin!"

    This was an instruction, but it was also a warning.

    "Your highness!" All of the other candidates recovered from their shock, greeting King Liqin with utmost respect.

    "Mm, hello to you all." King Liqin¡¯s raspy voice rang out. Then, he smiled at all the candidates affectionately.

    King Liqin¡¯s greeting was casual, almost like a grandfather greeting his grandchildren. It was difficult to link this man to the father of the Emperor.

    All of the officials stood at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall. It was almost time for the results to be announced, but there was no movement inside the hall.

    They could only wait patiently.

    However, when King Liqin appeared, they could not keep theirposure any longer.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yuping¡¯s eyes revealed traces of doubt. Why would King Liqine here? He never concerned himself with the affairs of the court! This is abnormal!

    The other officials had the same suspicions. However, King Liqin was heading right towards them, his steps a little haphazard.

    Even though he looked like he was not very stable, one would realize upon closer inspection that he managed to maintain the same speed throughout.

    "Your highness!" All of the officials bowed and greeted King Liqin respectfully.

    "Mm, hello to all of you too." King Liqin smiled at them but did not slow down.

    Before long, King Liqin had passed through all of them and walked to the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall.

    At this point, the door to the Imperial Decree Hall was nudged open, leaving a space just enough for one person to pass through.

    "King Liqin entered the hall?" All of the officials were slightly shocked. There was only one man inside the Imperial Decree Hall.

    The Emperor.

    They were doubtful, but they could not stop him.

    Even the two rows of golden armored guards by the gates of the Imperial Decree Hall did not stop him.

    King Liqin entered the Imperial Decree Hall as easily as he would enter his own house. It made people wonder if he was even here in the first ce?

    ...

    Inside the Imperial Decree Hall, it was much calmer than it was outside.

    A light incense floated around inside the hall. There was a glowing red light in the incense pot, the light shining on a young man¡¯s face.

    That man was wearing a golden dragon robe. Only one man could wear such a robe.

    Emperor Lin Mubai.

    His eyebrows were scrunched together.

    There was a golden parchment in front of him. This was the results slip for the court examinations. There were already names on it.

    Once it was released, the results were set.

    Wu Feng¡¯s name was on it, with somements next to his name.

    However, the parchment did not have Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name. Neither did it have Yan Xiu or Nangong Hao¡¯s name.

    "You¡¯re here!" Emperor Lin Mubai was calm when he saw King Liqin enter.

    "Since the Emperor asked me toe, I came." King Liqin stepped forward.

    "It¡¯s been tough on you." Emperor Lin Mubai stood up from the desk and ced three joss sticks in front of King Liqin.

    King Liqin took it.

    Then, he kowtowed three times before taking seven steps forward and cing them in the golden holder.

    "What does the Emperor need from me?" King Liqin stood back at his original position after finishing the ritual.

    "I am thinking of sending troops to the Southern Mountain Range, what do you think?" Emperor Lin Mubai whispered.

    "Do you want to invade them or pacify them?" King Liqin asked, his expression unchanging.

    "What do you think of both?" Emperor Lin Mubai pressed.

    "If you are invading them, the Southern Mountain Range is vast. The woods are thick and ruled by beasts. Who will lead the expedition?" King Liqin asked.

    "What about Xing Hou?"

    "Yuanguo is loyal. Letting him lead the army is not a problem. However, his battle has always been with the demons, so he is not familiar with the Southern Mountain Range. Furthermore, the Mountain Breaking Army is skilled in siege. They will suffer heavy losses engaging in gueri warfare. Conquering them would take at least a decade, probably more!"

    "So what if I went in peace?" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and asked.

    "The Emperor already has a good n. I shall notment further." King Liqin looked towards the golden parchment.

    "I have three scripts here from three different candidates. I would like you to take a look." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and ced the three scripts in King Liqin¡¯s hand.

    King Liqin took the scripts in his hand, his gaze scanning over the one at the top. Then, his eyes glimmered.

    He quickly finished looking through that one.

    He began to look through the second script.

    This time, after a mere nce, his eyes cleared up, a bright light shining in his pupils.

    After reading it twice, he picked up the third script.

    The moment he picked it up, his eyes darkened significantly. However, this did notst long.

    Before long, his eyes began to shine. The more he read, the brighter it became. His eyes began to widen, light rays shining out of them.

    It was almost as if there was a rainbowing out of his eyes.

    Then, he picked up the second script once again and read the both of them over and over.

    "Good!" After reading both scripts five times, King Liqin finally spoke. He only said one word, but his voice was not raspy. It was magnificent and deep, almost like a dragon which had awoken from its deep slumber.

 Chapter 321: The time has come

    Chapter 321: The time hase

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    At that moment, a powerful aura emanated from King Liqin. This aura was different from that of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    If Lin Mubai¡¯s Dragon Aura was like the sun...

    King Liqin¡¯s was thick and powerful. It was a supernatural aura that had been hibernating for decades.

    It was difficult to imagine that such a frail body would be able to contain such a powerful aura.

    Even Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed when he felt this aura. His eyes glimmered as he looked at his uncle.

    The previous Emperor had eight siblings.

    When he passed on, there was only one brother left. That was King Liqing, the man who had once led the armies of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Uncle, are you already..." Emperor Lin Mubai asked in anticipation, his gaze towards King Liqin filled with respect.

    As the Emperor...

    He should have eliminated all threats to his throne.

    Yet, he did not do so. He did not even think about it because the person in front of him was King Liqin.

    King Liqin was the one who had conquered thends for the empire.

    "I¡¯m on the verge of it, but I¡¯m still missing an opportunity..." King Liqin¡¯s aura changed all of a sudden, his eyes turning misty and his voice bing raspy.

    "Do you need my help?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked this question as a nephew. He looked to King Liqin as his elder.

    "Not at the moment. I think you asked me here because of these scripts?" King Liqin shook his head as he passed the three scripts back to Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "Yes, I wonder if you have any opinion on them?"

    "The first one is a fine piece of work. He has backed up his arguments with evidence and his logic is sound. His analysis is thorough and clear. If not for the other two scripts, he would have topped the examination!" King Liqin exined.

    "I agree with what you said, but, thesest two..." Emperor Lin Mubai looked at thest two scripts conflictedly.

    "Are equally good."

    "You think so too?"

    "Yes."

    "That is why I am so conflicted. There can only be one top scorer for the court examinations. I must choose a winner."

    "If you really had to choose a winner, it woulde down to how the ideas are worded. It would not be the ideas presented in the script. The second script is immacte. Every word and sentence is wless. Even I would be hard pressed to find anything to change."

    "That is exactly what I thought!"

    "As for the third one, even though it has some hups at the start, it¡¯s conclusion is superbly worded. The story of the demolition of the six countries is impable. When one reads this, it is easy to link it back to all the ideas he hasid out. It is extremely enlightening!" King Liqin added.

    "So how do you think I should rank these two scripts?"

    "As I have said before, these two scripts are actually on par with each other. If I had to pick one, I would choose the third script. However, I know you probably prefer the second one." King Liqin replied.

    "Previously, when I asked you such questions, you would always skirt around them. Why are you so straightforward today?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked.

    "Haha, you have locked yourself here to mark the scripts. You have also called me in here to look at these three scripts. Isn¡¯t this all for fairness? Since that is what you want, that is what I will give you."

    "I understand, thank you!"

    "I will take my leave now."

    "Uncle..."

    "Does the Emperor need something else from me?"

    "If you manage to cross that barrier, can I request something from you?"

    "The thing that you¡¯re asking for... is very difficult." King Liqin looked at Emperor Lin Mubai, his eyes cloudy as he shook his head.

    "Even if you cross that barrier you can¡¯t do it?" Emperor Lin Mubai was filled with disappointment.

    This should not be an emotion the Emperor showed. But it was showing in a pure, unadulterated form.

    "I don¡¯t know." King Liqin shook his head.

    "I haven¡¯t seen Yu Er in 10 years, five months and 23 days! Uncle! She left when Ping Yang was only three and a half years old. 10 years, we made a deal for 10 years. But it is five months and 23 days overdue..." Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression was pained.

    "It has been so long. However, since you chose to be the Emperor, you should have been mentally prepared for this." King Liqin sighed.

    "I know, but.."

    "I will do my best!"

    "Thank you uncle!"

    "I will take my leave first."

    ...

    The doors to the Imperial Decree Hall opened and King Liqin walked out. All of the officials looked on doubtfully.

    Today was the release of the court examination results. King Liqin¡¯s attendance was quite surprising.

    And now, King Liqin exited alone. Normally, Emperor Lin Mubai would send King Liqin out personally.

    But now...

    There was no sign of activity inside the Imperial Decree Hall.

    King Liqin entered and exited the hall alone. It was almost as if there was no one else inside.

    All of the candidates waiting for the results were also equally shocked.

    Why was King Liqin out again? Was he done with the discussion? What did he discuss? Did it have anything to do with the court examination?

    Or...

    Was it about something else?

    Questions flew by in their minds but they had no answer.

    Wu Feng wanted to glean some information off King Liqin¡¯s expression. However, he was disappointed. King Liqin was too calm.

    He was as calm as ake.

    As for his eyes.

    It was cloudy. Wu Feng respected King Liqin, but he was also suspicious of him.

    "Master told me not to disrespect King Liqin. But Master is one of the four sages. He is on par with the Emperor himself. Why did he warn me about King Liqin? Could it be that King Liqin is also a safe? I doubt it? One pavilion, four sages, 13 constabries. That meant that there are only four sages. If King Liqin was already a sage, he should already have taken up one of the positions."

    Wu Feng did not really understand, but he still bowed respectfully.

    King Liqin walked out slowly. He passed the officials and the candidates. Then he left through the gates.through the front gates.

    Just as King Liqin

    In the moment King Liqin left the crowd, a gong rang out.

    "Bong..."

    This sound reverberated throughout the entire pce for a considerable time.

    The eyes of the officials and candidates brightened when they heard the gong. They became visibly excited.

    This was the sound they were waiting for.

    There was only one reason why the gong would sound. The announcement of results!

    Wu Feng was visibly shaking from his excitement. Nangong Hao, Fang Zhengzhi, and Yan Xiu did not meet with the Emperor!

    "All three of them didn¡¯t!"

    This was the best possible news to him!

    When Wu Feng hade to participate in the court examinations, his aim was to take home the top spot. In fact, he believed that he had the ability to.

    However...

    When he heard Nangong Hao was going to participate, his confidence wavered for the first time.

    As such, he challenged Qin Yan, ranked third on the Rising Dragon Roll. All he wanted to do was cement his own confidence.

    He wanted to know where he stood now.

    He defeated Qin Yan easily.

    This allowed him to regain his confidence. However, at the theory examinations, he saw a true talent in Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao was too bright, even Wu Feng struggled to open his eyes.

    His confidence fell to rock bottom again.

    He mentally prepared himself. If he couldn¡¯t be first, he would be second... after all, Nangong Hao himself was second on the Rising Dragon Roll.

    Taking second was not anything to be ashamed of.

    Especially if one¡¯s opponent was Nangong Hao.

    However, today, he heard something else. Nangong Hao did not meet the Emperor. That would mean that he was out of the top 10.

    How would Nangong Hao fight with him?

    He defeated Nangong Hao...

    He actually defeated Nangong Hao!

    How could he not be excited?!

    Wu Feng subconsciously nced at Nangong Hao. He realized that Nangong Hao was just as calm as before, nothing able to affect him.

    "Humph... keep acting!" Wu Feng thought to himself. When the results are announced, he won¡¯t be able to keep his cool any longer.

    Just as he was thinking about this, the doors to the Imperial Decree Hall opened, the incense from inside wafting out.

    Then, Emperor Lin Mubai in the golden dragon robe walked out. He held a golden parchment in his hands.

    "Long live the Emperor!"

    All of the officials fell to their knees and kowtowed to the Emperor.

    All of the candidates also fell to their knees, greeting the Emperor in the same way.

    "Rise." Emperor Lin Mubai raised his hands.

    All of them recovered.

    Then, servants carried a throne behind Emperor Lin Mubai and opened up arge golden umbre.

    Emperor Lin Mubai sat down and looked at the officials and candidates. He scanned them again and again...

    Then his expression changed.

    The reason was simple. One person was missing. However, Emperor Lin Mubai would not ask or say this out loud.

    He looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yuping.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping saw the gaze and immediately tried to deduce the Emperor¡¯s intentions. What was the Emperor trying to tell him?

    Was it because Fang Zhengzhi was absent?

    Unlikely... he had heard that Fang Zhengzhi did not meet with the Emperor, meaning that he wasn¡¯t in the top 10. It was unlikely that the Emperor would be concerned about Fang Zhengzhi.

    So...

    The reason was simple.

    He wanted Yu Yiping to announce the results.

    Historically, the Chief Imperial Messenger would be the one to announce the results. But now, the Chief Imperial Messenger was in jail.

    Even though he was still alive, his death was basically a foregone conclusion.

    The current temporary recement was Su Qing.

    He was just a rank four official and a temporary recement. He had no clout in the courts and it would be inappropriate for him to announce the results.

    As the head of all the officials and the right hand to the Emperor, it was only natural for him to be the one to announce the results.

    He thought that he had got it.

    He quickly stepped out from the group of officials and walked up to the Emperor. He stretched his arms out respectfully as he prepared to take the parchment from the Emperor.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned by this. He did not understand why Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was doing this.

    What was he thinking?

    Just as he was about to ask, he realized what was happening.

    Prime Minister Yu wants to help me announce the results?

    Emperor Lin Mubai did want an official to help announce the results. However, he was not expecting such initiative.

    Theck of a Chief Imperial Messenger was indeed a problem.

    But he still had the six ministers!

    He had the Right Prime Minister! He had the Crown Prince!

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed as he looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping solemnly. In the end, he still handed the parchment over.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping felt a wave of excitement as he took the parchment in his hands.

    Even though announcing the results was a small thing, it meant that the Emperor wanted him to take control of the Imperial Academy.

    Even though the Imperial Academy¡¯s main role of organizing the Dao Examinations seemed insignificant, it was the gathering ce for all the talents. Such an important role must be guarded.

    He was ecstatic.

    "Ahem!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping cleared his throat as he prepared to announce the results.

 Chapter 322: Release of the Court Examination Results (1)

    Chapter 322: Release of the Court Examination Results (1)

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    However, there were pleasantries to be said before the announcement. This was no problem for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. He was a seasoned veteran in the courts.

    Even though this was the first time he was announcing the results...

    He had heard it umpteen times.

    Firstly, he had to praise Emperor Lin Mubai on his achievements throughout the years and emphasize the value the Emperor put on the court examinations.

    Left Prime Minister had the gift of the gap and he knew all of Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s exploits like the back of his hand.

    He managed to recite all the achievements since Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s inauguration.

    All of the other officials and candidates listened to the speech quietly.

    After almost 15 minutes, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stopped. After all, this was the court examination results release. The announcement was the main show today.

    When he finished, he turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, his intentions clear. Good enough, please proceed.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping immediately understood the Emperor¡¯s intentions. He began to unfurl the parchments, revealing the names.

    The court examination results were announced differently from the imperial examination.

    The imperial examination announced the second honor roll first, then the first honor roll, before revealing the names of the top three. For the court examinations, the results were announced from top to bottom.

    Furthermore, there were only 10 names.

    For the 11th to 30th ranked candidates, they would have to check out the full list ced at the entrance of the pce.

    Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping looked at the parchment, the rock in his heart disappearing in that instant. His smile widened.

    Because...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was not on it.

    At the very top of the parchment were two words, Wu Feng!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not on the list!

    "For this edition of the court examinations..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stopped in his tracks, his smile frozen.

    He saw the word behind Wu Feng¡¯s name.

    Fourth!

    How could this happen?

    Wu Feng¡¯s name was right at the top, yet he was fourth. The Emperor¡¯sments were written clearly at the side as well.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could not figure out what was going on.

    Normally, the results were announced from top to bottom. Could it be that the top three were behind?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at thest row on the parchment.

    Even so...

    There was no mention of the top three candidates. Thest name on the parchment was ranked tenth.

    What was the problem?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s gaze froze. He could not find the top three candidates. This was something he did not expect.

    But, could he ask about it now?

    Of course not, so he could only look through the entire parchment.

    Then, he realized that the parchment only contained the names of those ranked fourth to tenth. There was no mention of the top three.

    There were only seven names on it.

    "Seven names..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping found the problem. There was still some nk space above Wu Feng¡¯s name.

    This space was for the top three candidates.

    But why was it not written down?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not dare to ask, but he looked back at Emperor Lin Mubai with a confused expression.

    Emperor Lin Mubai knew what Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was thinking.

    He was very exasperated as well.

    The time for the announcement of results hade too soon. He had no time to write down their names and hisments.

    Timing was crucial here.

    It represented fate and luck.

    If he missed the timing, it would not be a good omen for the empire. Furthermore, he was just about to engage the Southern Mountain Range.

    As such, he decided to leave it nk rather than writing some words haphazardly.

    This did not affect the announcement of the results.

    Initially, he had nned to announce the top three candidates himself before handing the parchment to the Minister of Rites to announce the rest.

    However, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had stepped out.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned by his actions. However, if he did not pass the parchment over to him, it would be extremely embarrassing for Yu Yiping.

    After some consideration, he decided to spare a thought for his Left Prime Minister.

    Then, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping began to talk about him. As a result, he could only wait by the side. He had hoped that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would look at the parchment after the speech.

    Then...

    If Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was smart, he would return the parchment to the Emperor. That would have been a smooth transition.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did nce at it.

    But, he immediately began to announce the results...

    This resulted in this embarrassing impasse. He could not continue announcing, but it was toote for Emperor Lin Mubai to stop him.

    "Announce what you see!" Emperor Lin Mubai knew that if he didn¡¯t speak, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would stand there awkwardly.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was shocked when he heard this.

    It was a simple instruction, however, the implications caused Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to take a step back.

    Announce what you see...

    Really?

    Anyone who would do that was an idiot.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not know why the top three were missing from the parchment, but he knew the rules of the announcement.

    He racked his brains for a way to salvage the situation. Finally, his eyes glittered.

    "Many people might not know the emphasis and special meaning this court examination holds. I shall only say one thing. The Emperor had spent the past three days in the Imperial Decree Hall, personally marking all the scripts. He did not leave at any time!" Yu Yiping emphasized thest sentence.

    All of the officials knew that Emperor Lin Mubai had marked the scripts personally.

    However, the candidates did not.

    All of them became visibly excited. Even though the rules dictated that the Emperor must mark each script himself, they knew that he was busy with court affairs.

    In previous examinations, it was an open secret that officials would vet the scripts before submitting the best to the Emperor.

    Yu Yiping knew this as well, so he emphasized what happened during this examination without mentioning the previous ones.

    It was a deliberate omission.

    Then, he looked at all of the excited candidates, steeling himself before he turned and knelt towards Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "Your highness, I know the rules of the court examination. However, your highness has always cared for the people, so I¡¯ll make a request on behalf of the people today. I hope that you will change the rules slightly for this announcement!"

    "Oh? What are you proposing?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked on doubtfully.

    "I would like to propose that I will announce the rankings from fourth to tenth. Then, your highness can personally announce the top three candidates to show how much you value talent!" He had wanted the Emperor to announce the top three candidates first, but he had already begun the announcement.

    Furthermore, the Emperor had already ced the parchment in his hands and ordered him to announce what he saw.

    If he returned the parchment to the Emperor first before taking it back after...

    The mistake would be too obvious.

    Of course, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping also had selfish concerns. If he handed the parchment back now, his long speech would have been for nothing.

    He would be utterly embarrassed.

    All of the candidates and officials looked at each other in confusion when they heard this.

    However, they all came to a consensus that this was Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s attempt at bootlicking.

    "We hope that your highness will announce the top three candidates personally!" All of the officials replied almost immediately. Who would pass on such a great opportunity to bootlick?

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at all the officials and Yu Yiping, who was kneeling in front of him. He was extremely contented.

    Even though Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would announce the results first, the situation would be resolved without any awkwardness.

    "Approved!" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the others began to thank him. The candidates were overjoyed to hear that the Emperor was going to personally announce the names of the top three candidates

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping heaved a sigh of relief.

    He began announcing the names without hesitation.

    "Ranked fourth for the examinations... Wu Feng!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s voice was confident and he said the name with conviction.

    Even so...

    All of the candidates were stunned when Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping announced this result? Fourth? How is that possible?!

    Shouldn¡¯t he be first?

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor. Neither did Fang Zhengzhi not Yan Xiu. Who could possibly defeat Wu Feng? That was impossible.

    Wu Feng stood rooted to the ground.

    He felt as if he had just been struck by lightning.

    He was extremely excited when he heard that the Emperor was going to announce the names of the top three candidates personally. He was going to be the recipient of this great honor.

    Everything happened so quickly.

    He didn¡¯t even manage to react in time. The honor of his name being called out was not what he wanted.

    Fourth?

    Why was he fourth?!

    Who were the top three?

    Wu Feng desperately wanted to know.

    Another thought shed in his mind. Did Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping make the wrong announcement? He was first! The Left Prime Minister must have made a mistake!

    That must be it!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping must have read the names off from top to bottom. His name was first on the list... it... it must be a mistake!

    "Wu Feng,e forward and show your thanks!" A voice rang out.

    Wu Feng really didn¡¯t want to move. This was not the result he wanted. He really wanted to ask what was happening. However, seeing as the Emperor himself was there, he could not bring himself to ask the question.

    "Wu Feng!"

    "I, Wu Feng, thank your highness!" Wu Feng shuffled forward and fell to his knees.

    Even so, he kept screaming in his heart.

    This is a mistake, it must be a mistake!

    As Wu Feng fell to his knees, voices began to ring out around him.

    "Ranked fourth, Wu Feng!"

    "Ranked fourth, Wu Feng!"

    "Ranked fourth..."

    The voices formed a chain from the Imperial Decree Hall all the way to the main entrance.

    When all of the talents at the gates heard Wu Feng¡¯s name, they all got excited. The first name was Wu Feng.

    Wu Feng had topped the court examination!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not make the list!

    Just as they were about to celebrate, they realized something was amiss. Fourth?

    Some of the golden armored soldiers on well groomed stallions also took a double take. They were about to gallop off in their respective directions with the news.

    Fourth position first?

    Historically, only the top three candidates were given the honor of having their names spread to the surrounding cities. Since the announcement was for fourth, they didn¡¯t have to go.

    "Eunuch Li, did you get that right? Why is the first announcement for the fourth position?"

    "The people in front said fourth, so I followed!" The man in a robe replied exasperatingly.

    The golden armored guard¡¯s lip twitched but he did not ask any other questions.

    Wait.

    All he could do was wait. He had to wait for the other names to be announced.

    Wu Feng was also waiting. He was waiting for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to remedy the mistake. To his disappointment, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not.

    He continued the announcement.

    "Ranked fifth..."

    "Ranked sixth..."

    "Ranked seventh..."

    "..."

    "Ranked tenth..."

    These announcements reverberated throughout the pce, eventually making their way out to the pce gates.

 Chapter 323: Release of the Court Examination Results (2)

    Chapter 323: Release of the Court Examination Results (2)

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    With each announcement, a candidate stepped out from the crowd and thanked the Emperor.

    When the golden armored guards heard the announcements, they felt reassured.

    They didn¡¯t hear it wrongly!

    The results were announced from fourth to tenth.

    The top three had not been announced!

    Even though they did not know what happened, their only job was to spread the news of who made the top three. Nothing else mattered to them.

    They did not have to move for the time being.

    The calmed down considerably.

    However, Wu Feng could not find any calm. Standing next to these candidates having made the top 10 should have been glorious.

    Yet, he could not bring himself to smile. He could feel the awkward gazes the other candidates were shooting in his direction.

    "First... I was supposed to be first. What happened?" Wu Feng was unwilling to ept the fact that he was fourth. He kept hoping for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to correct the ¡®mistake¡¯.

    However, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping finished announcing all the names without a hup. He rolled up the parchment and ce it in Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s hands.

    "Your highness, please announce the results for the top three!"

    "Mm." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded. Eunuch Wei immediately took the parchment from Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and ced it in the Emperor¡¯s hands.

    Emperor Lin Mubai took the parchment but did not open it immediately. He scanned the crowd once again, his gaze sharp.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    This was what Emperor Lin Mubai was most concerned about.

    He could announce the results right now, but what would happen after? Fang Zhengzhi was not around to thank him!

    Could Fang Zhengzhi be hiding in the crowd?

    Emperor Lin Mubai had to hope that this was the case. He did not dare believe that Fang Zhengzhi would be so audacious as to be absent on such a day.

    If he really embarrasses me today, I will have his head!

    Emperor Lin Mubai cursed to himself, then began his announcement. "During the course of reading the scripts, I came across many fresh ideas. The future of the Great Xia Dynasty is bright. However, there can only be three names. I made my decisions after much deliberations. Even if you¡¯re not named, do not despair. Study hard and you can still try again next time!"

    "Thank you, your highness!"

    All of the candidates immediately thanked the Emperor for this advice.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded once again. Then, he unfurled the parchment and looked over it. After a moment of hesitation, he announced, "The top scorers for the court theory examination... Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi!"

    His announcement was not immediately greeted by cheers. The entire crowd was silent as they stared at Emperor Lin Mubai.

    After some hesitation, the silence was finally broken. However, there were no cheers. Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

    "Did I hear that correctly? Nangong Hao?!"

    "I don¡¯t think you heard that wrongly. I heard that too. But how can it be Nangong Hao? He didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor?!"

    "Maybe he lied to Wu Feng?"

    All of the talents could not react when they heard Nangong Hao¡¯s name. Nangong Hao had said that he didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor.

    So why was he the top scorer?

    Even though this was something everyone had expected, they could not understand it, especially after recent developments.

    Of course...

    They were even more shocked to hear a second name after Nangong Hao¡¯s. This was a name all the officials dreaded.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "The top scorers are Nangong Hao AND Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice continued to reverberate in their minds

    "What is that supposed to mean... Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "They are joint firsts?!"

    "How can there be two people?!"

    "Furthermore, how can the second person be Fang Zhengzhi? Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor! This does not make any sense!"

    No one could understand what was going on. Nangong Hao taking home first ce was still eptable.

    Even if he did not meet with the Emperor.

    After all, Nangong Hao had been the favorite to top the examinations. However, having Fang Zhengzhi tied for first was unusual.

    How could two people who didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor be first?

    Tied for first?

    This was something that had never happened before! There had been no tie for first in the court examinations in history!

    Wu Feng¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

    What is going on?

    His first position was stolen by Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi? But neither of them met with the Emperor. Why? What was going on?

    "Your highness, I..." Wu Feng¡¯s jaw dropped as he stepped forward. Then, he saw the Emperor¡¯s gaze.

    It was a gaze that quelled all doubts.

    It represented his power.

    This caused Wu Feng¡¯s leg to freeze in mid air. He did not dare step forward, neither could he continue speaking.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the other officials were also in disbelief. They did not know how this could happen.

    This was the court examination!

    There was never a tie in the court examinations. The court examination was meant to find the top talent.

    How can there be two ¡®top talents¡¯ in a single examination?

    This was illogical. Furthermore, they could not bring themselves to believe that Fang Zhengzhi could be on par with Nangong Hao.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s lips twitched, but he did not speak.

    All of the officials also looked at Emperor Lin Mubai doubtfully. Even those in charge of rying the announcement were stunned.

    They did not know if they should ry the message.

    Emperor Lin Mubai knew what everyone was thinking by the looks on their faces. However, he was the Emperor.

    Who would dare doubt the decision he made?

    In actual fact, before King Liqin had given his opinion, he was leaning towards a particr decision. However, after hearing what King Liqin had to say, he changed his mind.

    Fairness!

    This was the most important value he stood by when marking all the scripts. He thought he had achieved it, but he hadn¡¯t.

    The rules stated that he must choose a winner!

    However, these two scripts were equally immacte. To choose a winner would not be fair. Since it was not fair, why should he do it?

    Rules? He was the rules!

    As to why he didn¡¯t meet with Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao? The reason was simple. Only three scripts had proposed to "fight".

    The top three were already decided.

    Since he knew who he was going to ce in the top three, why bother meeting them.

    All he had to do was meet the fourth to tenth ranked candidates and find out more about what they proposed. That would allow him to rank them ordingly.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was notzy. After all, in order to personally look through all 200 scripts, he had neglected the affairs of the state for the past few days.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi...

    It didn¡¯t matter if he met Fang Zhengzhi or not.

    Emperor Lin Mubai knew that his decision would not be questioned. However, he still had to exin his decision. Furthermore, the exnation had to be a good one.

    "My decision today may shock all of you, but this is something that is perfectly logical. It is said that there should always be a clear winner. Ever since I took the throne, I have seen countless scripts. I always thought that I would be able to judge one script as being superior. However, between Nangong Hao¡¯s and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s, I could not pick a superior one!"

    "I could not pick a superior one!"

    This sentence reverberated throughout the Imperial Decree Hall.

    All of the candidates and officials looked at each other.

    This was an easilyprehensible statement. However, for this to be said by the Emperor had great ramifications.

    For two scripts to be deemed as equal to the Emperor, how impable must they be?

    This showed off the Emperor¡¯s humility even whilst he praised Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao for their impable work.

    Wu Feng¡¯s face waspletely flushed.

    He thought of the events back at the Intellectual Loft. At that time, he talked about his policy paper in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Now...

    He felt a stinging pain on his face.

    "The Emperor is fair and wise!" One of the officials fell to his knees.

    All of the other officials followed suit.

    "The Emperor made a wise decision!"

    No one dared to doubt the decision of the Emperor. He was the leader of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    All the other candidates also fell to their knees.

    The people in charge of rying the information finally recovered.

    "In first ce, Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "In first ce, Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "In first ce..."

    The news was quickly ryed to the entrance of the pce.

    The crowd outside the pce was in uproar. Two people were tied for first? And it was Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi?

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    He managed to tie with Nangong Hao?!

    All of the shabbily dressed vigers whooped and cheered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name. A few men dressed in ck in the crowd looked at each other and left.

    The golden armored guards sprang into action as they sped towards the gates. They kept hollering, "Ranked first for the court examinations, Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Their voices reverberated throughout the entire capital.

    Nangong Hao, who was dressed in a white shirt, stepped out from the crowd. He walked slowly and steadily.

    Each and every step was regted.

    However, his mouth twitched in excitement. This was not excitement due to the result. He was excited that he found a worthy opponent.

    Tie?

    This edition of the court examination would be interesting.

    "Themoner thanks the Emperor!" Nangong Hao stood in the middle of the door to the Imperial Decree Hall, bowing to the Emperor as he showed his gratitude.

    "Commoner?" Emperor Lin Mubai sighed internally. However, he did not say anything as he looked at Nangong Hao.

    Behind Nangong Hao was an empty space.

    No one!

    "Fang Zhengzhi is absent!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze froze, an invisible aura of power exploding from his body.

    All of the officials read Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s emotions instantly.

    He was the Emperor.

    He had already given Fang Zhengzhi the highest honor. But where was Fang Zhengzhi? Not only did he not express any gratitude, he was absent!

    If Fang Zhengzhi had not made the list...

    He would have just forgotten about it and pretended he did not know Fang Zhengzhi was absent.

    But Fang Zhengzhi had made it!

    He had topped the examination!

    He could not ignore this!

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi, the Sword Envoy?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze scanned across all the candidates, his tone calm but dangerous.

    It was almost like an arrow sailing slowly through the air.

    No one dared to answer.

    All of the candidates looked at each other.

    All of the officials also looked into the crowd of candidates. They could forgive Fang Zhengzhi for beingte, but he was absent!

    This showed aplete disregard for the Emperor.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smirked. He saw that Fang Zhengzhi was absent and nned on punishing him after the announcement.

    However...

    He did not have to do it anymore.

    Fang Zhengzhi had topped the examination!

    He did not know if this was a good thing...

    Or a disaster.

    The Emperor was the highest in thend. Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to recover from this! No matter how magnanimous the Emperor is, he would not forgive such tant disrespect!

 Chapter 324: Voice from hell

    Chapter 324: Voice from hell

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    There were a few men in ck who ran to the Intellectual Loft as news of the court examination results spread throughout the city.

    They ran straight to the roof of the Intellectual Loft.

    In one of the antiquated rooms within, ady in a ck dress sat behind a study table holding a letter in her hand.

    This table waspletely empty, a far cry from what it was the previous evening.

    "Master!" Before long, a voice could be heard at the door. Then, a servant in a ck dress entered.

    "What is it?" Thedy in ck asked tly.

    "Master, Young Master Fang and Nangong Hao are tied for first!" The servant bowed and replied.

    "Tied for first?" Thedy in ck was visibly surprised.

    "Yes, the news is currently being spread throughout the city and to the surrounding viges." The servant confirmed.

    Thedy in ck nodded as she looked out the window. Her eyes glimmered. "Never did I expect that this shameless fellow could draw with Nangong Hao! It¡¯s a draw... did the rules of the court examinations change for him?"

    "Master, what do we do now?"

    "We follow our original n."

    "But... Master, the Intellectual Loft represents decades of hard work by the owner. Furthermore, it is the information source for the entire capital, are we really going to..." The servant in ck stopped herself in her tracks.

    "Are you questioning my decision?" Thedy in ck frowned as she looked at the servant.

    "I do not dare!" The servant fell to her knees without a second word.

    "I want all our operatives out of the city within 15 minutes."

    "Yes!"

    ...

    A light autumn breeze blew through the city. The atmosphere around the Imperial Decree Hall was tense.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at all of the candidates, rage building in his eyes. An intimidating aura emanated from his body once again.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "Your highness, I heard that Official Fang was at the district of fireworksst night. I heard that he spent the night with the top girl in the Intellectual Loft. I am afraid..." An official stepped out.

    "What is it?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze turned icy.

    "I¡¯m afraid he hasn¡¯t woken up."

    "Rubbish!"

    "I do not think that Fang Zhengzhi is still asleep. In fact, I think that Fang Zhengzhi has left the Intellectual Loft!" An icy voice rang out.

    Then, a figure walked out from the crowd.

    He wore an elegant robe and held a fan in his hand.

    "Yan Xiu?!"

    All of the candidates recognized the person instantly.

    Everyone held their breath when the Emperor raged. However, Yan Xiu still decided to step forward.

    Because, he was Yan Xiu.

    "Young Master Yan, we know that you are friends with Fang Zhengzhi. However, that does not mean that you can protect him and speak rubbish!" The officials were slightly shocked to see Yan Xiu step forward.

    All of the other officials also shook their head lightly when they saw Yan Xiu.

    "I believe that Fang Zhengzhi is not someone who will bete." Yan Xiu was unaffected by the looks he got from the other officials.

    "Haha... Young Master Yan, we would have bought any other reason. But saying that Fang Zhengzhi is neverte? Will we believe it?"

    "Exactly. We know that you are helping him. However, this is not the first time Fang Zhengzhi has beente."

    "Has Young Master Yan forgot about the incident in the throne room?"

    All of the officials chuckled when they heard this. Fang Zhengzhi is neverte? Despite being ordered to meet the Emperor aftering out of the World of the Sage, Fang Zhengzhi made them wait for a whole hour, iming that he was still eating.

    That was something none of the officials forgot.

    "Young Master Yan, do you have any evidence to show that Fang Zhengzhi is not in the Intellectual Loft?" The Minister of Rites stepped forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi had antagonized him during the hunting and racingpetition.

    Of course, this was not the reason why he risked stepping out today. He did so because he knew Fang Zhengzhi had a token.

    That token was for Fang Zhengzhi to go to the Ministry of Rites.

    He had no idea why the Emperor made such an arrangement...

    However, he knew that if Fang Zhengzhi really entered the Ministry of Rites, there would be no way of predicting what would happen.

    "I do not!" Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Since you don¡¯t have any evidence, isn¡¯t it inappropriate for you to step out this way? Even though you are from a noble family, you are not an official yet." The Minister of Rites nodded.

    Yan Xiu was silent. He knew that his actions were inappropriate. In fact, he could be charged for this.

    But could he not step forward?

    He couldn¡¯t.

    He decided to step forward, regardless of the consequences.

    "It¡¯s okay!" Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hand when he saw Yan Xiu fal silent. "Yan Xiu knows Fang Zhengzhi well. I am not surprised that he¡¯s stepped forward today."

    "The Emperor is merciful!" The Minister of Rites replied respectfully. Then, he turned to Yan Xiu. "Young Master Yan, you should not take advantage of the Emperor¡¯s kindness. I invite you to step back into position."

    Yan Xiu looked at the Minister of Rites, then back at Emperor Lin Mubai. He tightened his grip on the fan, a sh of determination in his eyes.

    "I would like to request for permission to go look for Fang Zhengzhi. I am sure something has happened to him!"

    All of the officials were stunned. They never expected Yan Xiu to forget the big picture just because of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Young Master Yan, you may be of noble origin, but you must remember your status here! You are a candidate!"

    "Let the Emperor settle the issue. Young Master Yan, you should just concern yourself with your own affairs."

    "Young Master Yan, get back in line!"

    All of the officials began to advise Yan Xiu. They did not want to see someone with such a bright future ruin himself in a moment of folly.

    The Emperor was already furious. He only pardoned Yan Xiu because of his noble blood. To push his luck was unwise.

    "I also do not think that Fang Zhengzhi would be absent without reason!" At this moment, another voice rang out. This voice was extremely close to the officials.

    All of their gazes froze.

    They turned to look at the figure at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall.

    The figure was in a white shirt, hi expression calm.

    This was Nangong Hao, the top of the court theory examination. He was neither an official nor of noble blood. Yet, when he spoke, all of the officials fell silent.

    The reason why...

    Was because they had no idea why Nangong Hao would say this.

    For Yan Xiu to speak up for Fang Zhengzhi was expected. However, Nangong Hao¡¯s reaction was inexplicable. Why? Aren¡¯t they rivals?"

    "Imperial Ranger Squad" Emperor Lin Mubai frowned as he nced at Yan Xiu and Nangong Hao.

    "Here!"

    "Go to the Intellectual Loft... bring Fang Zhengzhi back!"

    "Yes!"

    The reply was swift. Five of them shot out of the pce gates like rays of golden light.

    Yan Xiu looked at the Imperial Ranger Squad.

    He wanted to say something but he could not bring himself to speak. He bowed to the Emperor and prepared to return to his spot.

    "You do not need to return. Come forward." Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression became rather warm as he beckoned Yan Xiu forward.

    "Come forward?"

    "What was the Emperor trying to do?"

    "Isn¡¯t this the announcement of results? Could it be..."

    All of the officials were stunned when they heard the Emperor. Then, they thought of only one possibility.

    Then...

    The officials looked at the Minister of Rites awkwardly.

    They had guessed what was about to happen. If Yan Xiu was just of noble blood, it would have been nothing.

    However, if Yan Xiu was in the top three of the court examinations.

    His status would bepletely different.

    All of the other candidates were also confused when they heard the Emperor. Did Yan Xiu make it into the top three?

    How is this possible?!

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor either!

    "Ranked third, Yan Xiu!" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled affectionately as he looked at Yan Xiu.

    "It really is Yan Xiu?!"

    "Yan Xiu is ranked third in the court examination!"

    "Incredible! How did three people who didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor top the examinations?"

    All of the candidates were stunned. They were shocked that Nangong Hao, Fang Zhengzhi, and Yan Xiu all did not meet with the Emperor.

    Now that the results were released, this was a surprise within a surprise.

    This waspletely unexpected!

    Wu Feng paled... Yan Xiu was third?!

    Wu Feng was more affected by this news than Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi stealing his top spot.

    When he was already reading, Yan Xiu was still a baby who only knew how to cry.

    When he was easily breaking small trees with his hand, Yan Xiu was still enviously looking at him whilst sitting on a stone stool.

    Being able to be a disciple of one of the four sages was something that he prided himself on. Furthermore, he would always ask Yan Xiu, "Young Master Yan, what did you learn from this book?"

    "Young Master Yan, how is your progress? Did you breakthrough? Do you need me to guide you along?"

    "Young Master Yan, you cannot force a breakthrough. You must ensure your foundation is good!"

    More than a decade had past.

    That infant, that child that he once mocked and teased... that kid was now better than him. In fact, that kid had mercilessly defeated him.

    How could this happen?!

    He didn¡¯t meet with the Emperor!

    No way!

    Wu Feng could no believe his ears.

    However, Yan Xiu was already by his side. He bowed deeply, "Thank you your highness!"

    "Ranked third, Yan Xiu!"

    "Ranked third, Yan Xiu!"

    "Ranked third..."

    Voices reverberated throughout the entire pce as Yan Xiu stepped forward to say his thanks. Then, golden armored guards began spreading the news throughout the city.

    The entire capital was in uproar.

    "Yan Xiu is third?"

    "Yan Xiu is only 16 years old this year!"

    "How powerful!"

    Just as the capital was engulfed by the news, there was a spark in the firework district.

    Before long, columns of me shot skyward. It stained the entire sky red.

    ...

    At the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall, Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Yan Xiu satisfactorily. Even though Yan Xiu was a little rash...

    This did not affect his liking for Yan Xiu.

    However, at this moment, a ray of golden light shot towards him. The moment he reached the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall, he fell to his knees.

    "Your highness, there was a fire at the Intellectual Loft, the entire ce has been burnt to ashes!"

    "..."

    "What?! There was a fire at the Intellectual Loft?!"

    "How did that happen?!"

    "How is that possible? The Intellectual Loft has never caught fire in its decades of existence!"

    All of the officials were in disbelief when they heard this. More importantly, it was all too coincidental.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed. He med Fang Zhengzhi for being audacious, for disrespecting him by being absent. However, he never wanted to execute Fang Zhengzhi.

    If he did, he would have used ¡®catch¡¯ instead of ¡®bring¡¯ when he gave the order!

    "There was a fire in the Intellectual Loft... it has been burnt to ashes!" Emperor Lin Mubai frowned. Things were not as simple as they looked.

    All of the other candidates were also shocked. The Intellectual Loft was one of their favorite hangouts. For it to have been burnt down...

    What a pity...

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s shock waspletely different. He paled, his grip on his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan tightening.

    "Ah!" A deep, icy, hellish voice rang out throughout the Imperial Decree Hall.

 Chapter 325: Evil Asura

    Chapter 325: Evil Asura

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Then, there was a column of bright red light at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall. It was bright as blood, a strange aura circling around it.

    "Yan Xiu!"

    "Young Master Yan, what are you doing? This is the Imperial Decree Hall!"

    "This is the resting ce of all the past Emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty, don¡¯t be rash!"

    All of the officials werepletely taken aback by this voice. All of their gazes focused on Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes glowed red, his entire body surrounded by a red aura. There were two bright red whirlpools beneath his feet as well.

    "Dao of Asura!"

    "He has managed to progress so much in the past few days?!"

    "That Dao of Asurabines good and evil. Even though it is a good Dao, it stems from rage. Yan Xiu must have been triggered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death. He managed to progress as a result, but..."

    "But what?"

    "Yan Xiu has too little experience with the Dao of Asura. If he did not have a good foundation, then he may be controlled by the Dao of Asura. Then, the Evil Asura would take over... that would be unfortunate!"

    "He is a rare talent! He managed to understand and wield the Dao of Asura at 16! We can¡¯t let him ruin himself like that, we must help him!"

    All of the officials were worried when they looked at Yan Xiu.

    All of the other talents were also shocked when they saw this.

    "Is this the Dao of Asura?"

    "16 years old... top three in the court theory examinations... able to wield the Dao of Asura... how ridiculous!"

    "I think even if three of us go up against him, we would not be his match..."

    "Powerful indeed."

    Wu Feng¡¯s expression turned extremely ugly when he saw this. He was standing right next to Yan Xiu and could feel the power Yan Xiu was exuding.

    The aura felt like it hade straight out of hell. It was icy and sharp. He had no other choice but to retreat to the side.

    "Yan Xiu!"

    All of the other talents ranked fifth to tenth also retreated together with Wu Feng.

    Only one person did not retreat.

    Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao was also beside Yan Xiu. In fact, he was closer to Yan Xiu than Wu Feng was. However, he allowed the red aura to continue swirling around him.

    His white shirt pped in the wind.

    However, Nangong Hao¡¯s expression was not calm. In fact, there were glimmers of excitement in his eyes.

    "Yan Xiu?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hand lightly.

    A ray of golden light immediately shot into Yan Xiu¡¯s forehead. In that instant, the redness disappeared from Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes, the aura around him dissipating.

    "Nobleman Yan. If you are truly concerned, you cane with me to the Intellectual Loft!"

    Yan Xiu¡¯s body shivered slightly, the remaining aura absorbed by his body. He looked at Emperor Lin Mubai and the surrounding officials and candidates.

    He nodded.

    "Your highness, ording to the rules, after the results are released, we should announce the rules for thebat examination... Do you want to go to the Intellectual Loft now?" The Minister of Rites asked when he saw Yan Xiu nod.

    "Rules are dead, but we can be flexible. I will go to the Intellectual Loft first."

    "Yes!"

    ...

    The Intellectual Loft had been in operation for many decades. It had be quite thendmark in the capital. Countless talents had many unforgettable memories here.

    Apart from the memories forged here, it contained the writing of many talents. That knowledge and art was the true value of the loft.

    Now, all of that was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

    All that was left of the once exquisite Intellectual Loft were a few tattered stone pirs. All of the wood was burnt to a cinder.

    Other than that, there were many charred bodies in the ashes. It was impossible to tell their identities. Most of them weredies, but there were a few males as well.

    Countless guards and soldiers surrounded the remains. They held their spears in their hands, preventing the public from entering.

    In the middle of the guards.

    Emperor Lin Mubai stood in the middle of the wreckage, his expression solemn. He kept looking at the rubble.

    All of the officials stood behind Emperor Lin Mubai. They stared at what remained of one of the most popr ces in the entire capital.

    "How did this happen?"

    "It would be impossible to rebuild."

    "Aish... what a pity."

    All of the officials sighed as they looked at the rubble in front of them. Many of them frequented this ce.

    "Father!" At this moment, a figure in bright red rushed over. She immediately went through the guards at the perimeter and appeared next to the Emperor.

    "Ping Yang is here." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded as he ruffled her hair.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi? Where did he go?" Ping Yang asked anxiously as she stared at Emperor Lin Mubai with clear blue eyes.

    Emperor Lin Mubai did not reply.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was simr. It was icy, incredibly icy, almost as if it was covered by aeons of snow and ice.

    Before long, a golden armored guard appeared in front of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "Your highness, we found a total of 36 bodies. Everyone one was charred beyond recognition. We were able to determine their gender, but there is no way of knowing their identities."

    "We can¡¯t identify them? What about the cause of the fire?" Emperor Lin Mubai frowned.

    "We were only able to determine that the fire originated from within. This was not a fire set from the outside." The golden armored guard surmised.

    "Okay, you may take your leave."

    "Yes, your highness!" The golden armored guard disappeared from view.

    "Father, I heard that Fang Zhengzhi was absent today. Is it true?" Ping Yang asked as she watch the golden armored guard disappear.

    "Yes, he was absent." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    "That¡¯s impossible... he would never be audacious enough to absent himself... Yan Xiu, is Fang Zhengzhi still sleeping in the hotel? Answer me! Yan Xiu, why aren¡¯t you speaking?"

    "Get someone here!"

    "Yes your highness!"

    "I have an order for you. I want you to search every household in the capital for Fang Zhengzhi. You will not stop until you have found him!"

    "About... yes your highness!"

    ...

    The air was cold and drizzling. The raindrops pattered on the streets of the capital.

    A few figures walked the streets. They were either holding umbres or wearing jackets. Pedestrians tried to find shelter in shops or restaurants.

    Everyone was discussing the fate of one man.

    That man was Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a great honor to top the theory examination and tie with Nangong Hao. However, he had died in a sea of fire.

    King Duan¡¯s residence was much more lively than it had been for the past few days.

    Inside the library, King Duan was dressed exquisitely. He smirked as he sipped some superior tea.

    "I only drank the tea previously because it was good. However, today, it tastes extraordinary!"

    "The tea tastes much better because you¡¯re particrly happy today." One of the officialsmented.

    "You are all too superficial. I am not just happy about what you are thinking. I am happy because the Emperor has ordered for the military exercise to be held at the Southern Mountain Range! And the Crown Prince will be the one supervising it!"

    "Congrattions my lord, congrattions!"

    "I would like to see how the Crown Prince will pull this one off! Hahaha..."

    ...

    The Crown Prince¡¯s residence was also equally lively. There were even more officials there. They all had a pot of nts of various species for the Crown Prince.

    Countless officials were in the Crown Prince¡¯s meeting room.

    Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping stood right in front. He was calm as he squinted, a glint in his eyes.

    "Crown Prince, you have been tasked to lead the army this time. You can use this opportunity to get control of the army!"

    "It is not appropriate. There are many in the army who are loyal to King Duan. Any attempt to control the army now may result in rebellion. Furthermore, whether the Crown Prince is in control of the army or not has little impact in the grand scheme of things."

    "Official Liu is correct. However, this is a golden opportunity that we should not miss. I think that the Crown Prince can try to turn some of those officers and make them loyal to you!"

    "Official Wang is right!"

    Just as the discussions were heating up, a figure walked in through the door.

    "Do you think that King Duan did not think of all the things you have discussed? I am sure that King Duan has already made arrangements. Your highness, you may be in danger during this expedition!" The figure¡¯s voice rang out.

    He was in ck official robes. He was Su Qing.

    "Danger? Su Qing, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that King Duan will make an attempt on the Crown Prince¡¯s life?"

    "Official Wang, this is a battle for the position of the highest in thend. Do you think that the fact that the Crown Prince¡¯s brother will stop him?" Su Qing replied expressionlessly.

    "Then... based on what you just said, should the expedition to the Southern Mountain Range continue?"

    "Of course. However, the Crown Prince must prepare in advance for this expedition. Else, any problems could result in catastrophic consequences."

    "Official Su, what do you suggest?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong put down the pot of flowers in his hand as he turned.

    "Make concessions for future gains!"

    ...

    There were figures dashing about on the streets of the capital even whilst the residences of King Duan and the Crown Prince were packed with people.

    They were as quick as phantoms.

    Inside Ping Yang¡¯s residence, a sharp screech could be heard. A snow white, eagle-like bird shot into the sky. It flew through the rain and into the distance.

    Inside a hotel in the capital, Yan Xiu stood by the window, watching the rain fall onto the streets below.

    "Young Master, everyone has been sent out and the letter to Western Liang is on its way. However, the return trip would take at least 10 days."

    "Mm." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Young Master... thebat examinations begin in five days."

    "I know."

    "Young Master... Master had said that you are to finish the examination regardless of what happens."

    "I will, rest assured."

    "Young Master..."

    "Uncle Tie, I want to watch the rain alone."

    "I will take my leave!"

    ...

    The rain in the capital was not heavy but itsted for a long time. It rained non stop for five days, causing ponding in the streets of the capital.

    Everyone waited in anticipation for thebat examinations to start.

    However, everyone was concerned about the absence of one man. This person had vanished into thin air ever since the Intellectual Loft was burnt down.

    The army stood in the rain at the gates to the capital. They were all dressed in ck armor. They remained disciplined and still despite the onught of the rain.

    They formed a rectangle on the in.

    The armyprised 29 small rectangr units and onerge rectangr unit

    The small rectangles were formed by 2000 soldiers. Each one was led by an officer on a horse.

    They were the top 30 candidates from the court examination.

    Of course, only 29 of them arrived today. One was missing.

    Each of them led an army of 2000. Behind them was an army of 42,000.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked on at the soldiers and candidates in the rain, his expression solemn.

    "Your highness, it is almost time!" Eunuch Wei whispered a reminder.

    "Mm..." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, then looked at the darkening sky. He murmured to himself, "What an audacious fellow. He is still absent?"

    "Are you thinking of Official Fang?"

    "Yes, I don¡¯t think that he will die that easily. He did not die in the World of the Sage. He did not die despite the dangers in the Vast World. Yet, he died in the Intellectual Loft?"

 Chapter 326: A kiss must be on the lips.

    Chapter 326: A kiss must be on the lips.

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I also do not think that Official Fang is dead." Eunuch Wei whispered.

    Emperor Lin Mubai frowned slightly but did not say anything else. He tapped his fingers on the arm rest before standing up.

    "The location for thebat examination will be the Southern Mountain Vige. I have discussed this with their king. The main aim is to share tactics and improve our ability to cooperate in battle!"

    "I have sent an army of 100,000!"

    "I have a few requests. One, do not disturb the residents. Two, do not engage in mass destruction. Three, do not kill without reason!"

    Emperor Lin Mubai paused when he reached this point.

    "Yes, your highness!" All of the 29 candidates at the bottom of the wall replied in unison.

    "The rules of the examination are simple. The Southern Mountain Range is the location. You can set up camp in any of the four territories - Yan Ya region, Shi Zun region, Thunderous Lion region, and the Icy Monkey Region. These are the four war zones. The results will be determined by your final strength and territories controlled.

    "Do you understand?"

    "Yes your highness!"

    "Set off!"

    "Woo..." A long drone could be heard. The 100,000 strong army turned in its spot as it marched into the distance.

    On the walls of the city, the Ninth Prince watched as the army marched off into the distance. He sighed, "He still did not appear. This way, he has effectively missed thebat examinations. Even if he rushes back, it will not matter. Ping Yang, what do you... wait? Where is Ping Yang?"

    ...

    The incident at the Intellectual Loft consumed the entire city. Everyone wanted to know what happened to Fang Zhengzhi?

    Was he dead or alive?!

    The discussions leaned towards ¡®death¡¯ after the start of thebat examinations.

    The 100,000 strong army had already set off. This meant that Fang Zhengzhi had already missed thebat examinations. He did not have the token from the army and could not move any soldiers.

    Without soldiers, how was he going to battle the other candidates?

    How was he going to guard his territories?

    Fang Zhengzhi was the top of the theory examination. By missing out on thebat examinations, he was effectively giving this golden opportunity away. Only a fool would do such a thing.

    There was only one reason why Fang Zhengzhi would miss thebat examination.

    Something bad happened to him.

    Was he dead?

    ...

    Obviously, Fang Zhengzhi had not died. On the contrary, he was living a good life now. He was in a orchard filled with fruits of all variety...

    They were all sweet and juicy.

    He even had a servant.

    When he wanted to listen to music, Immortal Tune would appear in front of him. Guqin, drums, whatever Fang Zhengzhi wanted to listen to.

    It was the life of the gods.

    But...

    He couldn¡¯t get out!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked out across the vast orchard. There was an exquisite residence by the side of a creek. He was enjoying life, Immortal Tune ying music for him whilst he admired the scenery.

    Today, Immortal Tune wore a green dress as she sat in the grass. She looked just like an immortal sprite.

    "I really failed?"

    "Yes, your name was not in the top 10, neither was it in the subsequent list. I think you didn¡¯t make the top 30. ording to the rules of the court examination, you failed!" Immortal Tune nodded.

    "Okay then... your master said she would meet me in five days. Hasn¡¯t it been five days?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and shook his leg as he raised it on the table.

    "My master is rather busy these few days. Perhaps you could wait another couple of days?" Immortal Tune chuckled when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s uncouth action.

    This was not because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rtionship with her master.

    It was because she knew for a fact that Fang Zhengzhi had tied with Nangong Hao for joint first in the court theory examination.

    No matter how uncouth he seemed, he was an educated man.

    One¡¯s actions did not determine if one was elegant or educated. The heart was what differentiated the good from the bad.

    "Busy?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Immortal Tune doubtfully.

    "Yes." Immortal Tune nodded solemnly.

    "What is the name of your master?"

    "You will know when you meet the master."

    "Oh I see... Wu Yuer, you old hag! Get out here! Do you expect me to put a red carpet out here for you? Or are you too old to show your face in public?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then yelled.

    "Bloody hell! Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you scold me?" A crisp voice rang out in the sky. Then, a figure in ck appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    She wore a ck dress and leather shoes with golden embroidery. She had a ck beaded hair and which glowed in the light.

    Her skin was snow white and there was a red dot in the middle of her forehead. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

    She was born with such great features.

    "Master!" Immortal Tune fell to her knees when she saw Wu Yuer.

    "Mm, you can take your leave now." Wu Yuer nodded to Immortal Tune.

    "Yes master." Immortal Tune left.

    After watching Immortal Tune disappear into the distance, she turned back to look at Fang Zhengzhi. "How did you know I would be the one to bring you here?"

    "I do not know many people. Furthermore, you are the only person who I know who will treat me so well." Fang Zhengzhi nced at Wu Yuer before putting his other leg on the table.

    "Haha... you¡¯re quite smart. Tell me, why are you looking for me?" Wu Yuer smiled attractively.

    "Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that question?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Oh, I guess you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve been quite boredtely so I decided to find you for a chat. I heard that you failed the court examinations and are free at the moment." Wu Yuer blinked as she mocked.

    "I failed the court examinations?" Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that.

    "Of course. Did you expect to top the examinations with your mediocre talent?" Wu Yuer asked scornfully.

    "I am fine with not being first. But for me to fail... is unlikely. But since you said I failed, I must have failed. What an unlucky mouth you have!" Fang Zhengzhi replied equally scornfully.

    "How dare you say that of me? Are you tired of living? I treat you so well and did not collect any money from you!" Wu Yuer feigned anger.

    "Oh is that so? So I should thank you?"

    "Of course."

    "I can thank you, but you must let me go first."

    "Never!"

    "You really think that you can trap me using this pocket dimension?"

    "Yes."

    "Okay, you win. This bloody ce has trapped me. Let¡¯s just talk terms? What must I do for you to let me out." Fang Zhengzhi had tried everything the past few days.

    Axes, des, swords.

    He tried everything but to no avail.

    Furthermore, the orchard was clearly a veryplicated magical formation. It would be virtually impossible to navigate through it, much less navigate out of the pocket dimension.

    In the World of the Sage, Fang Zhengzhi had used the Traceless Sword to escape. That was because the sword was controlling the World of the Sage. However, it would be useless in this pocket dimension.

    "Terms? Sure. Stay here for a month and I¡¯ll let you out." Wu Yuer smirked when she realized that Fang Zhengzhi was giving in.

    "What about another one?"

    "Another one... you can be my subordinate for a month." Wu Yuer pretended to think about it.

    "Another one."

    "You can offer yourself to my "Shadow Sect". You must swear to help when you¡¯re required!" Wu Yuer¡¯s expression was solemn.

    "Offer? Are there any benefits?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at Wu Yuer.

    "Of course there are. Everyone who offers themselves can ask for three things from the Shadow Sect. The sect will do everything in its power to make ite true." Wu Yuer said proudly.

    "It sounds fair."

    "So you agree?"

    "I have no reason to reject."

    "Okay then. From this moment on, you have offered yourself to the Shadow Sect. Tell me your terms." Wu Yuer was rather excited even though she calmed herself down quickly.

    "The first one, you have to kiss me!"

    "Kiss you? Haha... go to hell!" Wu Yuer chuckled, then chided.

    "Why, are you going back on your word? I thought you were going to do your best to fulfill my wishes? Is there no trust between humans?"

    "Is that really your first wish?"

    "Is there a rule against it?"

    "Nope!"

    "Thene on, I¡¯m ready."

    "A kiss for your offering. This is such a good deal!" Wu Yuer catwalked next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She was extremely attractive.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled at Wu Yuer, his lips protruding out as he waited for her to kiss them.

    Wu Yuer blushed when she realized that Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of avoiding the kiss.

    "Can... can I not kiss you on the lips?"

    "How can that work? You must kiss me on the lips! How else can it be called a kiss?" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously.

    "Ok ok... but when I kiss you, you... you can¡¯t move!" Wu Yuer took a deep breath and grit her teeth.

    "I can¡¯t move when you kiss me? Is that even a kiss?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Yuer scornfully. Then he motioned towards her.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you are going too far! I am the leader of the Shadow Sect! Even if you join us, you can¡¯t be rude to me!" Wu Yuer¡¯s expression changed.

    Of course, there was something that she could not bring herself to say. Even though she looked very flirtatious...

    This was her first kiss!

    "Going back on your word again. What a waste of time. To think that you are the leader of the Shadow Sect. If you don¡¯t keep your promises, can the Shadow Sect even be trusted?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he picked up a nut.

    "You... Fang Zhengzhi, in order to prove our sincerity, I can tell you a piece of news!" Wu Yuer made up her mind.

    "Tell me about it."

    "Do you know Yun Qingwu?"

    "I¡¯ve met her before but I¡¯m not familiar with her."

    "What if I told you she was the leader of the demons?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. Yun Qingwu was the master of the demons? If news of this got out, all of the talents in the Great Xia Dynasty would go crazy.

    "What does this have to do with me?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled despite his shock.

    "Don¡¯t you want to know?"

    "Regardless, you¡¯ve already told me." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "I knew that you were shameless. Forget it, I¡¯ll tell you the truth. It¡¯s no use even if you go out now. Thebat examinations have begun. A 100,000 strong army is marching to the Southern Mountain Range. You will not be able to get the military token and you have no army. You will not pass thebat examinations." Wu Yuer sighed.

    "Then why are you trapping me here?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "I don¡¯t want you to go to your death..."

    "Didn¡¯t you tell me that in the Northern Mountain Vige. But, am I dead? No, I¡¯mpletely fine!" Fang Zhengzhi waved her off.

    "What if I told you you don¡¯t stand a chance against Nangong Hao?" Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes glittered.

    "Everyone has said that ever since I began the Dao Examinations."

    "This is different. I can confirm that Nangong Hao is already in the Supernatural State. He may even be at the pinnacle of it!" Wu Yuer asserted.

    "How do you know?"

    "I saw it for myself."

    "You saw it?"

    "Yes!" Wu Yuer nodded, then looked at the clouds in the sky, almost as if she was thinking of something.

    Her expression slowly turned into one of shock.

    After a moment of hesitation, Wu Yuer looked back at Fang Zhengzhi, "You¡¯ve been on Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat before. You should know how sturdy it is?"

    "Mm, more or less." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat was formed from magical formations. Everything about it was superior to even the best boats around.

    "Nangong Hao used three des. The first one destroyed the boat¡¯s Eight Diagrams and Five Elements Formation. The second one broke her 49 servant Sword Star Formation. The third one took Yun Qingwu¡¯s life." Wu Yuer spoke, her eyes glimmering like interlocking sword lights.

    "Yun Qingwu is dead?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked to hear this news.

 Chapter 327: Seven Stars

    Chapter 327: Seven Stars

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I don¡¯t know." Wu Yuer shook her head.

    "Didn¡¯t you say that you saw it with your own eyes? How do you not know now?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Yuer speechlessly.

    "Yes, I ran the moment I saw that things were taking a turn for the worse!" Wu Yuer shook her head, her hair pping in the wind.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. She was the leader of the Shadow Sect, yet she ran the moment she saw things were turning bad?

    However, if Nangong Hao was going for Yun Qingwu, why would Wu Yuer run?

    It did not make sense.

    Of course, Wu Yuer did not go into details and Fang Zhengzhi did not press further. However, he was certain Wu Yuer did not have any rtion to Nangong Hao.

    "That offer..."

    Wu Yuer began to speak when she saw Fang Zhengzhi be silent. Just as she was about to try convincing him, Fang Zhengzhi waved her off.

    "I will think about it. Let me out first."

    "You want to go even though you know you can¡¯t win?"

    "How would you know if you don¡¯t try?"

    "What if I told you that the Southern Mountain Range is virtually under the control of demons. Few will survive thebat examinations this time! You will..." Wu Yuer could not bring herself to say anymore.

    "If what you say is true, then I must go."

    "Why?"

    "Because he is there."

    "Who?"

    "Yan Xiu!"

    "Yan Xiu again. Are you willing to give up your life for Yan Xiu?" Wu Yuer knew that they had a good rtionship, but she did not know that Fang Zhengzhi was willing to sacrifice this much for Yan Xiu.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi affirmed.

    "I always thought that you were shameless, so shameless that you never thought of anyone else... okay then, what if I promised to bring Yan Xiu back safely?" Wu Yuer sighed.

    "Then, all the more I must go."

    "Why is that so?"

    "Because if you have the confidence to bring Yan Xiu back safely, then you should have the same confidence for me right?" Fang Zhengzhi bit a melon seed as he spoke.

    "..." Wu Yuer¡¯s lips twitched as her jaw dropped. She shook her head, "You and Yan Xiu are different. Yan Xiu has people around him, you don¡¯t..."

    "Don¡¯t I have you?"

    "Me?" Wu Yuer looked at Fang Zhengzhi awkwardly, her face flushing.

    "Yes, is there a problem?"

    "No problem at all. If you really want to go, bring this with you." Wu Yuer nodded solemnly and retrieved an item made from leather.

    "What is this?" Fang Zhengzhi took the leather in his hands and unfurled it. He saw a few dots scattered around it.

    "A map of the Southern Mountain Range."

    "Map? This can be called a map?"

    "What do you know? The Southern Mountain Range is covered by woods and mountains. It is vast and outsiders will never be able to construct a detailed map. The one that I¡¯m giving you now is the most detailed one there is." Wu Yuer said with pride.

    "This is detailed?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the dots on the leather as well as the specks and lines. He did not understand how this could be called detailed.

    "Let me introduce it to you. The Southern Mountain Range is different from the Great Xia Dynasty. It is made up of settlements. There are over 1000 settlements, but only sevenrge ones!"

    "Seven?"

    "Yes, other than the ruling Shan Family Settlement, the six other settlements are,Yan Ya Settlement, Shi Zun Settlement, Icy Monkey Settlement, Thunderous Lion Settlement, Iron Hill Settlement, and Nan Ling Settlement! As the ruling family, the Shan Family Settlement is in the Sagely Mountain City. The other six are scattered around it.

    "Sagely Mountain City?"

    "Yes, the Sagely Mountain City. I heard that thebat examinations are held at Yan Ya, Shi Zun, Thunderous Lion, and Icy Monkey. Actually, if you look at the Southern Mountain Range from above, it is the same as the Big Dipper Constetion.

    Big Dipper?

    Fang Zhengzhi unfurled the leather in his hands and realized that there were indeed sevenrge spots on it.

    It was in the shape of the Big Dipper.

    The Sagely Mountain City was right in the middle of the constetion, taking the position of Alioth. Yan Ya, Shi Zun, Thunderous Lion and Icy Monkey took the position of Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez respectively.

    Put simply, if the Big Dipper was seen as a spoon, Yan Ya, Shi Zun, Thunderous Lion, and Icy Monkey would form thedle.

    Sagely Mountain City, Iron Hill Settlement and Nan Ling Settlement were the handle.

    "I see!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Then, he looked at Wu Yuer, his mouth curling upwards into a smile.

    "What are you looking at?" Wu Yuer asked suspiciously.

    "You specially told me that the Southern Mountain Range was being controlled by the demons. Then, you told me about Nangong Hao¡¯s abilities and passed me this map. These can¡¯t all be coincidences?"

    "This... this is just in case."

    "Just in case of what?"

    "Why should I tell you?"

    "Okay then, I¡¯m leaving now."

    "You are so confident that I will release you now?"

    "If you had no intention of letting me go, why would you waste so much time telling me so much?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at Wu Yuer.

    "You... are really going?"

    "Of course!"

    "Okay then, you should go."

    "Oh? Just like that? Aren¡¯t you going to ce some of your best men under mymand to protect me?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised.

    "Wishful thinking. You are not part of the Shadow Sect yet, why should I protect you?" Wu Yuer¡¯s lips twitched in scorn.

    "Open the door." Fang Zhengzhi was getting annoyed.

    "Hang on, I have one more question for you."

    "What is it?"

    "Who... do you think is the prettiest? Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, or Ping Yang?" Wu Yuer hesitated before asking.

    "Why aren¡¯t you included in the question?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Include me? Then... amongst the four of us... who is the prettiest?" Wu Yuer¡¯s volume dropped as she blushed.

    "My mother is the prettiest!" Fang Zhengzhi replied triumphantly.

    "You... you shameless fe! I have changed my mind, you can forget about leaving!" Wu Yuer disappeared from where she stood.

    "No way? She ran away?!" Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. How could she leave like that?

    Where was the trust between people?

    ...

    The Southern Mountain Range was boundless. Dense forests were scattered throughout the range. The ¡®Stable Mountain Gate¡¯ was the boundary. Everything within it was the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s. Everything outside belonged to the Southern Mountain Range.

    Even though rtionships were cordial...

    As the boundary, the Stable Mountain Gate was well constructed. It was constructed from limestone and stood over 10 meters high.

    However, there were few battles here, so the walls were barely scratched. This was also testament to the cordial rtionship between the Southern Mountain Range and the Great Xia Dynasty.

    After the 100,000 strong army rested for a night, they were weed by the diplomatic mission from the Southern Mountain Range. At the gates, Crown Prince Lin Tian Rong reiterated the rules of thebat examinations.

    Then, the candidates led their armies into the territories.

    How big was the Southern Mountain Range?

    This was a question which few people knew the answer to. However, from territory alone, it was almost half the size of the Great Xia Dynasty. That being said, its poption was much lower.

    The ce was dangerous and ferocious beasts roamed everywhere.

    "It¡¯s difficult to even walk in this bloody ce. When will we be able to see a vige?" One of the candidates whined as he saw the dense forests.

    "Brother Li, you made a mistake. There are no viges here, they are settlements. When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Another candidate chuckled.

    "You and I are both of noble blood. If not for thebat examinations, we would not even be here! I... quick, there is movement up ahead, into your formations!"

    "Brother Li, no need to be this tense. It is just a few scattered beasts. We have 4000 men under ourmand. As long as we don¡¯t run into a herd, it should be of no problem."

    "Hahaha... Brother Wang is right. Come on, let¡¯s show them our skills and hunt some beasts to feed our men!"

    "If Brother Li would humor me, why don¡¯t we have a huntingpetition?"

    "Okay!" The candidate smiled and nodded. Then, he turned his horse around and shouted to his troops, "Rest here, Brother Wang and I will return shortly!"

    "Gen... General Li, this ce is teeming with dangerous beasts. Shouldn¡¯t we send some men to protect you?" One of the lieutenants raised a concern.

    "Hahaha... I am already at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. Do I need your protection?" The candidate said dismissively.

    "I was just..."

    "Enough, just wait and enjoy the game I will bring back!"

    "Yes general!"

    "Brother Wang, we were yed by Fang Zhengzhi in the hunting and racingpetition. Let¡¯s have a good one today!" The talent turned to look at his friend.

    "Since we want topete, we must have some reward. I... will use my piece of jade as a wager. How about it?" The youth chuckled.

    "Since you¡¯ve wagered that, I shall match you. I will wager my jade nk!"

    "Okay then, let us begin!"

    "Jia!"

    "Jia!"

    ...

    After 15 minutes, at a spot two miles from where the troops were resting, two bodies crashed into the ground. Eight masked men in ck stood around the bodies.

    "Humans... are really dumb sometimes!"

 Chapter 328: The real motive of the combat examinations

    Chapter 328: The real motive of thebat examinations

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    One of the masked men ced the dagger in his hands on his lips as he licked the blood on the de. His eyes glittered with pride.

    This was an arrogance that stemmed from within.

    "What are you talking about? The Domain Chief is still waiting. Strip these two humans and you two will dress up as them!" Another masked man ordered icily.

    "Yes!" The male immediately kept his de, his arrogance turning into respect.

    The wind blew and carried the scent of blood into the woods. This quickly attracted wild beasts. When the beasts saw the two naked bodies...

    "Roar!" They lunged and picked the bones clean within moments.

    Sometimes, things were just so ironic. These two men may have been of noble origin and led good lives. However, once they were dead, they were just bodies...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know that Wu Yuer would have brought him so far from the capital. In order to get back to the capital would waste too much time.

    More importantly, it would be meaningless.

    He should just head straight for the Stable Mountain Gates.

    However, Wu Yuer¡¯s actions had caused him a huge problem. Right now, he did not have any soldiers.

    No soldiers?

    How was he going to participate in thebat examinations?

    It felt like he was going to ice skate without skates. Ice skate barefoot? It did not seem like a huge problem. However, skating slowly was not the problem, he could not stand the cold!

    Was he going to ride into battle alone?

    That would be a legendary story.

    He had no idea if he was lucky or unlucky.

    A weekter, a figure appeared at the Stable Mountain Gates. The figure wore a blue long sleeved shirt and rode a poor horse of unknown breed.

    Only two people would enter the city at this time. A leather merchant, or Fang Zhengzhi.

    The answer was thetter.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the limestone buildings around him. He also looked at the solemn soldiers passing through the streets.

    He had two choices.

    He could find the general in charge of holding this fort. He could introduce himself and request for some soldiers. However, sess would depend on the general¡¯s character.

    The second option was to enter the Southern Mountain Range alone.

    Before making his final decision, Fang Zhengzhi decided to have a good meal. He had been rushing all the way to this ce. He couldn¡¯t possibly leave on an empty stomach.

    Being this close to the Southern Mountain Range, the city had nock of delicacies.

    Each restaurant served the meats of various beasts.

    "Recently ughtered! Cut off what you want to eat!"

    "Would you like to go inside?"

    All of the sounds showed how bustling the city was. Even though it was no match for the capital, this city was still doing quite well.

    Fang Zhengzhi picked a decent restaurant and chose a ce with the most people. He called a waiter and ced his order. Then, he began to drink.

    He chose the most popted ce so he could listen to recent news.

    The restaurants were always the best ce to gather information. Having roamed the streets for so many years, Fang Zhengzhi was well aware of this fact.

    The better the seat, the better the information that he could gather.

    As more and more customers entered, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears perked up. Most of them were talking about thebat examinations.

    Fang Zhengzhibined the information he heard here with those he gathered along the way. He began to have some understanding of thebat examinations.

    "The Great Xia Dynasty sent 100,000 soldiers."

    "Each candidate was given 2000 soldiers and the title of General."

    "Crown Prince Lin Tianrongmands over 40,000 troops in support."

    "The results will be based on the number of surviving soldiers and territories controlled!"

    Fang Zhengzhi enjoyed the wine and food leisurely as he listened to the news. At the same time, he thought of how he was going to do well in the examinations.

    On the surface, his biggest problem was that he did not have any soldiers. He could not take the test alone. However, this was not what was bothering him the most.

    The question bothering him the most was...

    The motive of the courts!

    In order to answer a question, one could not just take the question at face value. One had to guess the intentions of the person setting the question. Why would he set such a question? What was the question asking? What was he thinking? What were the hints and hidden ideas?

    The court examination.

    It was the most important examination in the Great Xia Dynasty. It was the examination which required the most thinking, intellect, and power. Yet, the rules were this simple? Guard the territories and conserve troops?

    If that was the case, why was there a need for 40,000 troops as reinforcements? What were they supporting?

    Ensuring the safety of the candidates?

    That sounded reasonable, but it did not seem very likely on closer thought.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi knew for a fact that he had topped the court theory examination. Wu Yuer had told him this when he left.

    To put it simply, the theory examination question was based on battle.

    The policy the Emperor was looking for was battle!

    That was what the Emperor was thinking as well!

    Battle...

    Then this was not as simple as an examination... There was something amiss, but the Emperor would not announce this to the public.

    Furthermore, Wu Yuer had told him that the Southern Mountain Range was virtually under the control of the demons. This meant that they did not haveplete control!

    Else, they would be at war now.

    Fang Zhengzhi trusted the intelligence from the Shadow Sect. However, he did not think that all of the officials in the Great Xia Dynasty were idiots.

    For the court to not know what the Shadow Sect knew was virtually impossible.

    As to why they didn¡¯t announce it...

    They must have been worried that this would cause mass hysteria. The other possibility was that the Emperor had no intention of discussing this.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened when he thought of this.

    "I understand now! Thebat examinations are not as simple as they look. Guarding the settlements is just another way of asking them to control the settlements."

    The first step was to use thebat examinations as a reason to control yan Ya, Shi Zun, Thunderous Lion and Icy Monkey. Then, they can use those four settlements as a base. In the event things take a turn for the worse, they could siege the Sagely Mountain City.

    Second...

    Fang Zhengzhi had not thought that far.

    After all, the current situation was not that bad. The Emperor¡¯s thoughts and the decision of the courts was still up in the air.

    He did not know, so he could not make an educated guess.

    However, there was one thing Fang Zhengzhi could be sure of.

    Would the Southern Mountain Range agree to the Great Xia Dynasty sending in 100,000 troops to control the four settlements. Would the demons agree?

    Definitely not.

    This was going to be a battle in the shadows. In Wu Yuer¡¯s words, few candidates would be able to survive this examination.

    This had nothing to do with the court¡¯s viciousness.

    If he was correct, each candidate would have a deputy. This deputy should have a secret token which will allow him to stop the exam immediately.

    It would be great if thebat examinations could continue as nned.

    However, should anything change for the worse, the deputy would be able to take control of the army and the 100,000 strong army would be one unit.

    Fang Zhengzhi had nothing but admiration for the Emperor¡¯s n.

    This was the best way to deal with the current situation. He could attack or defend. If the Southern Mountain Range was peaceful, then this would be a peaceful examinations.

    However, if they tried anything funny, he could dere war in an instant.

    More importantly, all the citizens were not alerted.

    Everyone thought of this as thebat examinations. Naturally, no one would think of the real reason why the Great Xia Dynasty was sending 100,000 soldiers into the Southern Mountain Range.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his ss and took a sip.

    It was a little spicy.

    This was some hard liquor.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s alcohol tolerance was average. He could not binge drink, so he had to moderate his intake of such hard liquor.

    Now that he had guessed the Emperor¡¯s intent, he had to think for himself. How was he going to top the examinations under such circumstances?

    Without soldiers...

    He could not join in the battle for territory. As such, he could not be graded.

    So, was he going to borrow soldiers?

    But what was he going to do after that?

    Was he going to enter the four settlements and fight it out stupidly like the other candidates who still thought it was an examination?

    That was too uncouth.

    He was an educated man. Why would he stoop so low?

    Furthermore, Yan Xiu would have figured it out as well. Wu Feng as well. As for Nangong Hao...

    That was a foregone conclusion.

    Fang Zhengzhi never underestimated his opponent. For Nangong Hao to engage him in that battle of wits during the theory examination showed that Nangong Hao was not a simple person.

    Right now, Nangong Hao may be looking at the secret token his deputy had.

    Okay then...

    Here came the problem.

    How was he going to ensure that he did well in the examination despite the confusion. How was he going to avoid battling all the other candidates?

 Chapter 329: Exotic

    Chapter 329: Exotic

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Of course, most importantly, he wanted to stay out of danger!

    Fang Zhengzhi was never fond of taking risks. Even though people said that breakthroughs were more likely on the brink of death...

    He always thought that it was a death wish.

    If you always walked along the river, your shoes were bound to get wet.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the safest way was to stay away from danger. He wanted to spectate the battles and gain understanding that way.

    Okay then...

    Since he could not think of anything now, he would just start moving first. It would not help if he just sat in the restaurant. It was much more effective to walk 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books.

    This was the idea he was applying to this situation.

    "Waiter, bill please!"

    "Thank you!"

    After he left the restaurant, Fang Zhengzhi found the camp of the general.

    Solemn soldiers guarded the perimeter. As the general of the border, he had quite a number of men under him.

    All of the soldiers wore gleaming armor.

    "Who are you? How dare you trespass this camp?!" One of the guards raised his hand to intercept Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in no mood to exin. He took out his official stamp and waved it in front of the guard.

    "Greetings Sword Envoy!"

    "Bring me to your general."

    "Your honor, please wait a moment. Let me announce your arrival!"

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Even though a rank four official was not much to be proud of in the capital, he was one of the most high ranking personnel here.

    Before long, the general in ck armor walked out. He was in his forties, his eyes small. It looked like he had two threads for eyes.

    "I am General Yu Tianfeng, may I know if you are Sword Envoy Fang?" Yu Tianfeng asked as he walked to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "It is an honor. I have heard much about your exploits in the court. You are young and talented. I did not believe some of the stories I heard, but now I do. Congrattions on topping the theory examination. I wonder what Sword Envoy Fang needs from us?"

    "I need to borrow soldiers."

    "Borrow soldiers? Erm... based on what I know, Sword Envoy Fang is not in the military. Why do you need the soldiers?"

    "I need 2000 to participate in thebat examinations."

    "Haha, I have heard about you missing thebat examination. It is saddening for me as well. Normally, 2000 soldiers would not be a problem, but, you know... this is not a good time." Yu Tianfeng hesitated.

    "Why?"

    "All I can say is that the entire border is on heightened awareness. I do not have enough soldiers myself. If I lend you some and lose the position as a result... I will be executed!"

    "I understand, goodbye." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and did not say any more.

    "Where is Sword Envoy Fang going? Since you¡¯ve already missed thebat examination, why don¡¯t you rest here for a few days? I will host you."

    "No thanks, I have to go back to the capital to get soldiers." Fang Zhengzhi waved him off and left.

    "I see, then I will not dy your trip any longer!" Yu Tianfeng smirked as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi walk into the distance.

    Go back to the capital?!

    Even if you do, you may not be able to get soldiers!

    "General, should we send people to follow him? Prevent him from going into the Southern Mountain Range?" One of his lieutenants whispered as he watched Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s silhouette disappear.

    "No need for that. Without soldiers, he would not be able to do anything in the Southern Mountain Range. Furthermore, he has incurred the wrath of the Emperor by missing thebat examination. By returning to the capital, he is finding trouble for himself. There is no way he will get any soldiers. He will not be able to participate this time!"

    "Then... should we report this to King Duan?"

    "Mm, send a message to King Duan. Tell him that Fang Zhengzhi tried to borrow soldiers from me but I did not give him anything. Then tell him that Fang Zhengzhi may return to the capital. Give King Duan time to prepare."

    "Okay, I understand."

    ...

    There was no way Fang Zhengzhi was going to go back to the capital to levy soldiers.

    Hisck of troops was his biggest disadvantage right now. This prevented him from participating in thebat examinations and protect his territory.

    Wu Yuer hadpletely f*cked him over.

    He had lost the initiative.

    Since she was going to let him go anyways, why bother catching him? Crazy b*tch!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what Wu Yuer was thinking. Maybe she did not want him to participate in thebat examinations. However, her actions showed that she had expected this oue.

    She even prepared the map.

    So what was the reason?

    Hang on...

    The map...

    Fang Zhengzhi took out the map Wu Yuer had prepared for him. Even though it was quite badly constructed, the spots were allbelled clearly.

    Yan Ya, Shi Zun, Thunderous Lion, Icy Monkey...

    He could not go there right now.

    After all, those four ces were probably the most dangerous andplicated in the entire Southern Mountain Range.

    There were 100,000 soldiers from the Great Xia Dynasty. There would also be troops from the Southern Mountain Range and possibly the demons.

    He did not even have a single soldier under hismand.

    He would be sending himself to his death if he went to any of these four locations.

    What about the Sagely Mountain City?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. The Sagely Mountain City was the capital of the Southern Mountain Region. If he went there, he would be able to immerse himself into the culture. That sounded like quite a good idea.

    However, he did not really know the Southern Mountain Range well. To go straight to the Sagely Mountain Vige would be overly ambitious.

    He had to understand the area first.

    He would understand it from the outskirts.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had decided that... if he couldn¡¯t participate in thebat examinations... he would just forget about it!

    He would just take this as an overseas holiday.

    The stress in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart disappeared in an instant. Since he was going on a trip, he had to prepare for it. He did not leave the city instantly, choosing to shop for clothes at a nearby store.

    "Do you have any ethnic clothes?"

    Fang Zhengzhi asked as he entered the shop.

    "Ethnic? You found the right ce! We have ethnic and exotic clothes in abundance!" The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes brightened when he heard this.

    "Bring me two sets." Fang Zhengzhi replied generously.

    "Okay, just wait a moment." The shopkeeper ran into the shop and carried out a pile of clothes.

    "What is this?" Fang Zhengzhi had really thought he hade to the right ce. However, he could not understand what he was seeing.

    "They¡¯re clothes!"

    "Are these for men or for women?"

    "I didn¡¯t know you were into that. These are all for women, but, if you like males... ahem, I have some inside!"

    "Scram!" Fang Zhengzhi raged.

    Who is this?

    He was so handsome, why would he be into that?

    "Young Master, please do not get angry. If you do not like these mediocre products, I have some valuable ones inside. They are truly exotic. There are those for the avant garde, or the passionate. Furthermore..."

    "I want what they wear in the Southern Mountain Range!"

    "Ah? That¡¯s quite difficult. The people in the Southern Mountain Range don¡¯t wear clothes."

    "Don¡¯t wear clothes?" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by this. Why wouldn¡¯t they wear clothes? Did they walk around naked?

    "Yes, they wear leather and use leaves to cover their privates. If you want that, I have a few leather pieces inside. However, you will have to get the leaves yourself."

    "Give me two!"

    "Okay, I will get you two superior leather clothing."

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Heart Protection Mirror now contained two additional leather robes. One was with leopard prints, the other with white tiger prints.

    It was rather domineering.

    Fang Zhengzhi was pleased with this.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi began to turn. He had to prepare food and other necessities for the trek.

    There were many people who would leave the gate to hunt in the Southern Mountain Range. As such, the things he needed were quite easy to find.

    He had everything he needed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not waste anymore time.

    He used the leather to mask his face, then barged through one of the gates.

    As to why he barged...

    The reason was simple. He did not have any permit to pass through nor the right to heart. It would be impossible for him to get out without revealing his identity. As such, he had to use violence.

    After exiting the gates, he was chased for a distance before he finally managed to melt right into the woods.

    He found a ce to change his clothes. He ced his blue long sleeved shirt in his Heart Protection Mirror, donning the leopard prints in its ce.

    He recalled Shan Jia¡¯s dressing back on Cang Ling Mountain. He found a few branches and made a hat.

    Then, he ruffled his hair.

    He thought that he was doing quite a good job of assimting.

    Mm...

    Quite exotic indeed.

    He wondered how the women here dressed. He looked at the vast green mountains in front of him. He wondered if he would see anything of interest.

 Chapter 330: Youâ€™re the boss

    Chapter 330: You¡¯re the boss

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Ten dayster.

    "Zoom!" An arrow shot through the air. It was a jade green arrow flying faster than a shooting star. It sailed through the air and exploded upon impact with the ground.

    "Aroo..." An armored scaled pig screamed in pain before falling to the ground, blood flowing from an open wound.

    Just at this moment, a figure appeared in the distance.

    A figure dressed in leopard prints and holding a jade green bow skipped next to the big. He hummed a tune as he did so.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to get to the Iron Hill settlement. It was the closest to the Sagely Mountain city.

    For the past 10 days, he used the map to find a way around the four major settlements. Coupled with the keen hearing he developed from his years on Cang Ling Mountain, he managed to avoid getting into trouble.

    Right now, he was already outside the four major settlements.

    This allowed him to rx a little. He wanted to hunt some game to make a nice meal for himself. This pig became his target.

    "Forgive me, I am just hunting for food!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed to the Arrow Toothed Pig, then smirked.

    It was quite the overkill.

    He kept his Sun Shooting Bow and retrieved a small knife. As he cut off pieces of meat, he murmured to himself, "Pig tails, pig ears, pig tongue, yummy..."

    However...

    After all, one man¡¯s meat was another man¡¯s poison.

    That being said, change and surprises were an inevitable part of life!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi hummed his tune and butchered the pig, there was a movement in the surrounding bushes.

    He was now on alert.

    It was not rare to encounter ferocious beasts here. However, ordinarily, there would not be too many small beasts where the dangerous ones roamed.

    He had already picked a position with many small beasts.

    Just as he thought about it, he heard a "zoom zoom zoom..." in the air. Then, rays of ck fell from the sky.

    "Spears?" Fang Zhengzhi immediately saw what those ck rays were.

    This was slightly different to thences used by the army. Those were not usually thrown, but one could throw a spear. Furthermore, they did a lot of damage to beasts.

    Did he wander into the hunting grounds of a tribe?

    But there was nothing on the map?!

    Fang Zhengzhi easily dodged all the falling spears. However, there was an order as to how they were thrown. They were not used to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were used to trap him.

    Circles of spears formed around Fang Zhengzhi. It was notrge, but it trapped Fang Zhengzhi in the center.

    "Freeze!" A voice could be heard from the bushes.

    Then, hundreds of figures appeared around him. Each one of them held a long ck spear in their hands and wore green rattan armor.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen this armor before. Shan Jia had worn it in The Vast World.

    However, these men wore armor which was much weaker and simpler. It only covered the vital areas like the chest and the groin. Everything else was left uncovered. They were all tanned from prolonged exposure to the sun.

    Aborigines!

    Fang Zhengzhi recognized these people instantly. He was certain that these men were from the Southern Mountain Range army.

    If it was just a hunting tribe, their dressing and weapons would be more varied.

    However, all of their armor and weapons were standardized.

    They had to be from the Southern Mountain Range army.

    If he had indeed run into the army...

    His n would be foiled.

    "Which settlement are you from?" One of the middle aged men looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s dressing and asked suspiciously.

    "Which settlement?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. He wanted to just use any random name, but he realized that it was not going to work.

    If he hadn¡¯t seen the aborigines...

    He would have thought of assimting into the army or a settlement. However, after seeing their appearance, he basically gave up on that idea.

    Because...

    He was too white.

    By asking which settlement he was from, his opponent was trying to trick him.

    The people of the Southern Mountain Range were not dumb at all.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi never expected that he would run into the Southern Mountain Range Army the moment he stepped outside the boundaries of the four settlements. He was not prepared for that.

    He did not have many options right now.

    His first option was to be weak and act like an idiot. He could refuse to answer every question and used some dance moves to shock them. Then, he may be able to seize an opportunity to escape.

    His second option was to be strong!

    There was a saying, if my enemy is weak, I am powerful. If my enemy is powerful, I am weak.

    It was a very simple equation.

    Fang Zhengzhi calmed himself down and looked slightly arrogant. He wagged his finger at the middle aged man.

    The middle aged man looked around his surroundings, his suspicions raised. However, this was still his territory.

    He walked next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I asked you which settlement you are from?!"

    "Smack!"

    With a clean swipe of his hand, one of the spears in the ground was split into two by Fang Zhengzhi. It was a clean cut.

    "You..." The middle aged man was stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. He subconsciously tightened his grip on his spear as he took a step back.

    All of the soldiers behind him also raised their spears. They prepared to charge forward when they heard themand.

    "What settlement?! Can¡¯t you see my leather? Do I look like a viger to you? I am an envoy! Are you blind?" Fang Zhengzhi replied rudely.

    After showing his power, he had to be fierce enough.

    "Envoy? You... are?" The middle aged man was slightly taken aback.

    He did not attack Fang Zhengzhi immediately because he noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was wearing superior leather. Only two types of people could wear such leather.

    An "ignorant" spy from the Great Xia Dynasty...

    Or someone of serious standing...

    But now, he did not attack Fang Zhengzhi because of an additional reason...

    Fang Zhengzhi was very powerful!

    "If I had chopped your neck, what do you think would have happened? Enough crap, get your people to move aside! Who are you to question me?" Fang Zhengzhi waved him off in exasperation. He had to show them that he would not tolerate nonsense.

    "Send the signal!" The middle aged man¡¯s expression darkened when he heard this. He waved to the soldiers behind him and Fang Zhengzhi was surrounded.

    After the middle aged man finished speaking, Fang Zhengzhi saw a soldier shoot an arrow into the sky.

    "Bong!" A crisp sound could be heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. What the hell is going on? Did he fail in his n?

    That¡¯s impossible.

    He would have been able to kill the middle aged man without any problem. The fact that he didn¡¯t showed that he was one of them. Furthermore, his attitude should have been convincing enough. There should be no reason for a ¡®rebellion¡¯.

    "Are you trying to vite my status?" Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to stick to his story. He had no idea how many people he was facing.

    "If you really are an envoy, tell us your intentions. If not, you can forget about leaving this ce!" The middle aged man did not have any intention of attacking just yet.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll have your head for this?" Fang Zhengzhi replied coldly.

    "I am just doing my job, I fear nothing!" The middle aged man replied with determination.

    "Fear nothing?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the middle aged man. This was only the second time he had interacted with someone from the Southern Mountain Range.

    However, he could see a strong determination in the eyes of the middle aged man.

    All these while, Fang Zhengzhi had read that those who grew up in harsher environments were stronger. He could see this trait from this man.

    The people from the Southern Mountain Range...

    Were really different from those of the Great Xia Dynasty!

    "Tell us!" The hundreds of soldiers shouted in unison when they heard the middle aged man. Their crisp voices echoed throughout the woods.

    Could Fang Zhengzhi say?

    He was not familiar with the Southern Mountain Range. The more he said, therger the gaps in his story. He could not juste up with a random story.

    Fang Zhengzhi had two choices.

    He could kill them, or run.

    Killing was an option. However, killing without reason was unnecessary. Furthermore, he did not know how they were like.

    Kill all of these soldiers?

    He was not a maniac.

    Even if he killed all of them, he would still have to run.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew he should be running.

    He wanted to be stronger than these people, but they were definitely stronger than him.

    It was not that he was not witty enough, but his opponent was much too determined. He wasn¡¯t even afraid of death. Such a person was not antagonizable.

    He turned...

    And ran.

    "You want to run? Even the fastest beasts cannot outrun us, haha!" The middle aged man chuckled icily when he saw Fang Zhengzhi run.

    The sky was filled with spears even before the middle aged man ordered for it.

    A row of spears blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s escape route.

    Then, hundreds of soldiers surrounded him from both sides. They all growled in a deep voice.

    "Aroo ooh ooh ooh..."

    "Dong, dong, dong!"

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather depressed. The road ahead was blocked and the soldiers surrounded his nks. Was he really going to have to resort to killing?

    Just as he was thinking about it, he heard crashing sounds in the near distance. Then, he heard waves of roars from beasts.

    He turned and was stunned by what he saw.

    Within moments, there were thousands of soldiers surrounding him. They all rushed his position, each one riding a two meter high beast.

    It was a wolf like creature with blueish-purple fur. It had a single silver horn on its forehead, and it was two to three timesrger than the wolf.

    It was the silver horned wolf!

    It was a beast which was even more ferocious than the Blue Fire Wolf. Each one had the power of a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator.

    "Damn it, why did I have to run into the elite army of the Southern Mountain Range!" Fang Zhengzhi paled.

    He did not know how many silver horned wolf squads there were in the Southern Mountain Range. He didn¡¯t think that there were many, so what was with the 1000 he saw in front of him?

    If this wasn¡¯t the main force of the Southern Mountain Range army?

    What was?

    "Hang on! I was just testing your reactions. You¡¯re right... I am an envoy!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his hands. He could not defeat them. There were more than 1000 silver horned wolves and soldiers. They could grind him down easily.

    He couldn¡¯t run either. His only choice was to try to prolong his life.

    "Then please tell us what you¡¯re here for." The middle aged man raised his hand, then walked briskly to Fang Zhengzhi without fear.

    "What if I killed you right now?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as the man walked over.

    "I will be one with the mountain. My flesh and bones will provide nourishment for the nts and my blood will give moisture to the ground. I will be with the Southern Mountain Range!" The middle aged man replied proudly.

    "Okay, I was just kidding." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. He knew that there were religions out there.

    They were capable of banding people together and produce zealots blindly faithful to their cause.

    "Tell us what you are here for." The middle aged man was in no mood to waste time.

    "I can say it, but I can¡¯t tell it to you."

    "Then who can you tell it to?"

    "Your general of course."

    "General?" The middle aged man frowned, then nodded, "I understand. Envoy, please follow me!"

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    What a change of attitude?

    Did his n seed?

    Okay then, he will meet with the general in charge then think of a n from there. In the worst case, he could kidnap the general!

    A lieutenant may be dispensable, but was a general?

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked. Everything was still in control, all he had to do was find a suitable opportunity to escape.

    ...

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi thought that he would be bound or blindfolded. However, none of the above happened.

    He began to rx a little.

    However, he was on alert right after exiting the woods.

    There was a hundred meter high rock in front of him. There was arge army camp below it. It was constructed using wood, with leaves as camouge.

    It was quite well camouged. Anyone looking for it from a higher position would have been hard pressed to find it.

    This was a real army cam, and it was well hidden and set up. But why would there be a camp here?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to run but he had no chance to.

    He had run into the main force of the Southern Mountain Range!

    The middle aged man led Fang Zhengzhi through the camp for more than 15 minutes. Fang Zhengzhi finally saw what the Southern Mountain Range army was like.

    Each soldier was dark skinned and wore the same rattan armor. They held long spears and were hulkingly huge.

    When Fang Zhengzhi walked through, he piqued the interest of all the other soldiers. However, no one asked any questions.

    He lost track of time.

    The middle aged man finally stopped then fell to his knees, murmuring almost as if he was saying a prayer.

    Soon after, he stood up and pointed respectfully to a wooden path in front of him.

    "Envoy, please!"

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi realized something different about the tent in front of him. It was covered with a thickyer of greenery and there were all sorts of carvings on the pirs.

    The middle aged man had kneeled towards these carvings.

    The defences around this tent were also much stronger. There were at least 20-30 guards in each of the four directions. There were no less than 100 soldiers guarding this tent.

    After seeing Fang Zhengzhi and the middle aged man.

    The guards at the front of the tent finally spoke. He lowered his spear at Fang Zhengzhi and the middle aged man.

    "Who is that man?"

    "Envoy." The middle aged man replied respectfully.

    "I understand, please enter." The soldier nodded. Then, he returned to his original position.

    The middle aged man quickly stepped forward and opened up one of the ps to the tent. Then he nodded to Fang Zhengzhi.

    As the p was opened, Fang Zhengzhi heard a caucus within, almost as if there was an ongoing intense discussion.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to enter.

    He stepped into the tent.

    The tent fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent as well. He realized that there was more than one person inside the tent.

    More than 20 people sat in two rows beside a table.

    They were all dressed differently from the soldiers outside. Their armor was more intricate and they had ayer of leather.

    More importantly, their arms had a faint glow. Upon closer inspection, they were all rather queer pictures.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi fell silent not because of the 20 people inside the tent. He quietened down because the person sitting at the top...

    Was ady.

    Adyying on a piece of golden leather.

    Her skin glowed and she was clearly in the pink of health. A snow white piece of leather wrapped around her privates.

    Her belly button and slender legs were there for all to admire. She was quite the attractivedy.

    There was a leather ring wrapped around her right leg. She had two daggers kept there.

    Other than the fact that she was dressed differently, what made her stand out was that she wore a bone toothed essory on her head. It was also adorned with a five colored feather.

    She was a person of power!

    "How exotic?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the features of thedy in front of him, admiring her glowing eyes.

    Thisdy was an exotic beauty.

    She was not hulking or tough, but exquisite and dainty.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was still in the position of weakness.

    After all, she was the boss.

    Was this the way the culture of the Southern Mountain Range?

    "Princess, the fake envoy is here!" The middle aged man walked in and fell to his knees. He did not even dare to look up.

    "Okay... you may leave now." Thedy¡¯s voice rang out. Then, she sat upright.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    Princess?!

    He knew this term well. After all, he had just had a hotpot and drinks with over a dozen princesses.

    But now...

    When he heard the term being said...

    He knew he was finished!

    Which envoy would call the princess a general?

    As such, all the pleasantries were just a trap to lure him here. And now, he had stepped right into the trap.

 Chapter 331: Whatever you say

    Chapter 331: Whatever you say

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi began to regret. He should have listened to Wu Yuer and not made the trip here.

    And now...

    He was just prey to them.

    Were they going to roast or steam him?

    The middle aged manplied with thedy¡¯s orders and began to walk out of the tent, his head lowered the entire time.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew he had to remain calm.

    There was a saying, I will not move if my enemy doesn¡¯t. If my enemy moves, I¡¯ll do something unexpected! Basically, it was about taking initiative.

    "We can always talk things out. Let¡¯s use words before we fight. You can ask me anything. I will only tell you what I know, and I will tell you in detail. I am okay with saying anything." Fang Zhengzhi made his stand clear as he tried to buy time for himself.

    Silence.

    After Fang Zhengzhi said his piece, you could hear a pin drop in the tent.

    Then, everyone inside began tough wildly.

    "Oh sh*t! Hahaha... I heard that the people of the Great Xia Dynasty are strong, but I guess this one is a coward!" Thedy chuckled, beaming as she did so.

    "This fe is really shameless. Even before we say anything, he¡¯s offered to betray his country."

    "Such a person is of no value, we should just kill him."

    "Mm, you are right. The people of the Southern Mountain Range are brave. The mountains are our partners, the trees our neighbours. We have weathered many storms as a race. Such a coward is a waste of our time."

    All of the generals shook their heads in scorn and disdain when they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about what they thought.

    The only person he cared about was thedy. She was the one in power. He had already aplished what he had set out to do.

    Make herugh.

    This was very important if he was going to get closer to her.

    Of course, there are many kinds ofughter. There isughter of excitement, sorrowfulughter, joyousughter, emotionalughter...

    And mocking.

    Fang Zhengzhi used the simplest method to get the princess tough. It didn¡¯t matter to him that the princess was mocking him.

    "Your highness, don¡¯t listen to these people. I am of great use. Firstly, I know everything in the Law of Dao. In fact, I have memorized it. Furthermore, I know the Eight Diagrams and Five Elements, Astrology, poetry, mm, of course, I am a good chef as well! Even the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty loved the food I made. He even rewarded me with silvers on the spot." Fang Zhengzhi rattled off his abilities.

    First, establish a connection.

    The next step was to market himself. He had to let them know that he was useful. That was the only way he could stay alive.

    "Not only is this guy shameless, he is boastful as well."

    "His ability to boast is not bad."

    "I heard that the people of the Great Xia Dynasty are cunning. I guess it is true."

    All of the generals scoffed when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. Their scorn became deeper. Who praises themselves that way?

    "Hahaha... interesting. You say that you memorized the Law of Dao, so I will test you on it. If you really memorized it, I will let you live. However, if you get one word wrong, I will chop off one of your fingers. Every additional word wrongly memorized will result in an additional finger chopped off."

    "What if I memorize 11 words wrongly?" Fang Zhengzhi thought about it before asking.

    "Off with your head!"

    "What about my toes?"

    "Nonsense. My words aremands. If I say the 11th wrong word will result in your head being chopped off, then it is not negotiable!"

    "Okay, you are the boss. What you say goes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. One day, he will make sure she got a taste of her own medicine!

    Thedy did not think too much into what Fang Zhengzhi said. After a brief moment of thought, she chuckled icily.

    "Mount Lei is 300 miles to the south. It has jade and gold. The water from it¡¯ske is potable, and the mountain is inhabited by lions... whates after that?"

    All of the generals were stunned when they heard this. Then, they turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi like they were watching a dead man walking.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also slightly taken aback.

    Thisdy was quite the cruel one. She picked one of the mostplicated segments of the "Sea and Mountain Scripture".

    More importantly, she did not even bother giving any hints. She simply expected Fang Zhengzhi to continue the sentence.

    Any normal person would be hard pressed toplete this challenge.

    But was Fang Zhengzhi an ordinary person? He was an archaeological talent in his previous world. In this world, he had spent eight years studying the Law of Dao.

    His memory was unparalleled. Furthermore, he had put in much effort to memorize this. He could even memorize the Law of Dao backwards.

    "Yet another 300 miles to the south is Xun Zhuang Mountain. It has jade and gold in abundance. There is also an abundance of limestone at its foot. It too is infested with beasts. There are six legged dogs, furry birds..."

    Fang Zhengzhi began reciting without courtesy.

    He did not stop at any time.

    He finished reciting the entire "Sea and Mountains Scripture" in a single breath. Naturally, he did not get a single word wrong.

    Silence.

    Pin drop silence.

    However, this time, thedy was clearly quite shocked by what she just saw. The generals around her stared at Fang Zhengzhi, their jaws dropped. This fe managed to do it?

    He memorized the entire section? How is that possible?

    Even though the Great Xia Dynasty had given the Southern Mountain Range copies of the Law of Dao, the content was too boring andplicated to them.

    Initially, the Great Xia Dynasty had sent a few teachers here to teach the Law of Dao. However, as time passed, only the royal family and some in the major settlements knew how to interpret the Law of Dao.

    "Should I continue?" Fang Zhengzhi asked after finishing the segment.

    "Mm... of course, continue!" Thedy suppressed her shock and turned to look at one of the generals.

    The general nodded, understanding what she wanted immediately. He took his leave respectfully.

    Before long, the p to the tent was opened once again. Six men carried and exquisite wooden chest inside.

    It was opened.

    Revealing books bound in gold thread.

    This was the Law of Dao. This was probably one of the original sets sent by the Great Xia Dynasty. That would exin why it was so intricately bound.

    The golden thread bound Law of Dao was ced carefully in front of thedy.

    Then, thedy flipped through one of the books casually.

    "Whates after... Dao creates everything, morals nurture everything. Things take on a myriad of shapes, and the environment is key to whether living things can grow."

    Even so, morals should be valued over Dao. Dao may create everything, and morals may nurture everything, but neither is the master of life. Everything is left to run its course." Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    Thedy was visibly stunned.

    All of the generals were all shocked by what they were seeing. Is this person even human? Did he really memorize the Law of Dao?

    "How is it? Not a single word wrong huh? You can¡¯t chop off my finger." Fang Zhengzhi said contentedly.

    "Humph!" Thedy snorted then picked up yet another book, "Whates after...?"

    "We can see how tall a mountain is. We can guess how deep the ocean goes. If you understand all of these around you, you would understand the world and the intentions of the heavens..." Fang Zhengzhi rattled off without hesitation.

    "I don¡¯t believe this. I must chop off your fingers today!" Thedy was furious. She threw the book aside and picked up yet another one.

    "You can¡¯t, you can¡¯t, you can¡¯t!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. She could have tested him on anything. But she chose the Law of Dao, his strongest suit.

    The next scene made all of the generals in the tent nervous.

    Thedy kept flipping through the books. She looked through each one and threw them to the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued reciting the Law of Dao from memory. He didn¡¯t get any word wrong. It was almost as if he was reading from the book.

    "How does he do it?"

    "Could it be that even one of the small troops from the Great Xia Dynasty can do this?"

    "No way?"

    All of the generals looked at Fang Zhengzhi, their confidence shrinking. This coward had exceeded all of their expectations.

    At the very least...

    He was almost like a god to them when it came to the Law of Dao.

    "This is infuriating! All of you... think of something quickly! Find a question that will stump him! I want all 10 of his fingers cut off!" Thedy was at her breaking point after almost an hour of questioning.

    No matter how she picked and chose the passages, Fang Zhengzhi replied instantly. Furthermore, his speed was even faster than she could read.

    How could she not be infuriated?!

    "Princess, this..."

    All of the generals looked on bitterly when they heard this. It was a tall task for them to even finish reading the Law of Dao.

    How could they possibly ask a question on it?

    More importantly, the princess was the one with the books. If she couldn¡¯t stump him with the books in hand, what did she expect them to do?

    Speechless.

    They were all speechless.

    "Your highness, why don¡¯t you challenge him inbat?" One of the generals scratched his head and his eyes brightened. Fang Zhengzhi was a shameless coward.

    What kind of power could such a person possess?

    The general felt that someone like that might be academically talented. However, his actualbat prowess would be nothing to fear.

    Thedy¡¯s eyes brightened when she heard the general¡¯s suggestion. Her anger was briefly soothed.

    "The Southern Mountain Range is different from the Great Xia Dynasty. You value intellect overbat ability. This is naturally your strength. However, we built our country through war and blood. Combat is our strength. Do you dare to battle our warriors?" Thedy looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her haughty demeanor returning.

    "I¡¯m not very good at horse riding or shooting an arrow. I¡¯m not good at wielding a sword either. This... is quite difficult!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at thedy, his expression pained.

    "Hahaha... okay then, we shallpete in archery!" Thedyughed when she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "This is my weakness!" Fang Zhengzhi pleaded.

    "I want topete in archery, what can you do about it?" Thedy said oppressively.

    "That¡¯s bullying?! Never!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Okay then! Get people to drag him out and behead him!" Thedy waved her hand.

    Half a dozen soldiers marched into the tent and lowered their spears. They prepared to drag Fang Zhengzhi out for execution.

    "Hang on!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted.

    "Why? You want topete all of a sudden?" Thedy smirked. What a weakling. Is he so easily scared into submission?

    "Not really..."

    "Guard!"

    "Okay, I want topete, I really want topete!"

    "Hahaha..." Thedy chuckled as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi in scorned. If not for the fact that she had nothing to do...

    People like this coward would not even live for three seconds!

    "But, I don¡¯t have a horse? How am I supposed topete?" Fang Zhengzhi squirmed. No matter how domineering these people were, there was no way they could be that unreasonable!

    "Rx, I have plenty of horses!" Thedy said generously.

    "Who will Ipete with? I can¡¯t possibly bepeting with you can I? The princess is so powerful. I doubt you need to ride a horse or shoot an arrow?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at thedy.

    "I haven¡¯t ridden a horse or shot an arrow?!" Thedy fumed when she heard this. "I am not like the princesses of the Great Xia Dynasty. Is there anyone here who dares im that they are better than me? Anyone?"

    "No your highness!" All of the generals answered in unison.

    "Did you hear that?" Thedy looked at Fang Zhengzhi triumphantly.

    "Words are empty, prove it!" Fang Zhengzhi nced at her scornfully.

    "Shameless person! How dare you doubt my skills? I willpete with you personally and make sure you are convinced!" The princess was angered.

    However, when the generals heard this, all of their expressions changed. They knew that the princess was much more skilled than Fang Zhengzhi.

    She was the best amongst all the youths.

    But that was just the youths!

    More importantly, thepetition would be held in the woods and away from the camp. The risks were higher there.

    "Princess, please don¡¯t!"

    "Your highness, this is a spy from the Great Xia Dynasty. He already knows where our camp is. He should be killed!"

    "Yes your highness! Don¡¯tpete with him!"

    All of the generals advised fervently.

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the camp, he was a dead man walking. He was just a toy for the princess to relief her boredom.

    However, they could not let the princess risk her life whilst toying with this man.

    Thedy¡¯s expression changed and she hesitated when she heard this.

    "It¡¯s better if you don¡¯tpete. Release me then. You already lost just now. You can¡¯t kill me!" Fang Zhengzhi said excitedly.

    "Activate the silver horned wolf squad. I want them to surround a two square mile area in the woods. Then, send 20,000 troops to support them. Uncle Tai, Uncle Mu, follow this man. If he tries anything funny, kill him! I willpete with him!"

    "Yes, your highness!"

 Chapter 332: Are you both blind?

    Chapter 332: Are you both blind?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Two middle aged men stepped forward.

    One was a heavily bearded man wearing heavy armor. He held a ck axe in his hand. The second one was a dark skinned bald man. He had two wolf fang like weapons on his back.

    They looked at each other, unspeaking, when they heard the princess¡¯s orders.

    With the silver horned wolf squad and 20,000 soldiers surrounding the area, he would not be able to escape even if he had wings. Furthermore, there were two generals escorting him.

    This was quite the wless n.

    Even though everyone felt that there was still an inherent risk in this n, they knew that it would be impossible to change her mind.

    All they could do was increase the security. How powerful can a ¡¯scout¡¯ be?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to fly. He even wanted to drag this princess into the sky with him. He wanted to get out of this god forsaken ce.

    "Then... can I ask another question?" Fang Zhengzhi said weakly.

    "Speak!" Thedy was visibly exasperated.

    "If, and just if, I win, what happens?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the princess excitedly.

    All of the generals were stunned when they heard this. Then, they all burst outughing.

    "This guys wants to win? Hahaha... does he not know that the "Mountain Rain" princess is the best female warrior in thend?"

    "He must be day dreaming."

    "He doesn¡¯t even know where he stands. He really is very thick skinned."

    All of the generals could not help butugh at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness.

    Princess Shan Yu also beganughing. A tear rolled down her cheek. No one had ever dared say something like that in front of her.

    "Okay, if you win, I will spare your life!" Princess Shan Yu could not even sit upright. She chuckled as sheid out the conditions.

    "Will you release me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Release you? Hahaha... what do you think?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with condescension.

    "I guess not." Fang Zhengzhi nodded lightly.

    "From the moment you stepped into this camp, you were never meant to walk out. Do you understand? Don¡¯t bother daydreaming anymore. Just be a good clown." Princess Shan Yuforted.

    "Rest assured, I will make you very happy." Fang Zhengzhi assured.

    "Hahaha... good, very good! Because of what you said, even if you lose, I will not kill you! I will just chop off your fingers and toes and hang you by a string. You will tell me a joke whenever I feel like it." Princess Shan Yuughed.

    "Thank you your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi replied ¡¯gratefully¡¯.

    "Mm, that¡¯s a good boy!" Princess Shan Yu chuckled and left the tent.

    All of the generals surrounded Fang Zhengzhi, staring at him coldly. They prepared to lunge at Fang Zhengzhi should he try anything funny,

    Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    He leisurely ced his hands behind his back and began to saunter out of the tent, humming a tune as he did so.

    He stopped briefly when he reached the entrance of the tent. He turned to look at the two generals following closely behind.

    The two generals were taken aback when they saw this. They had no idea why someone who was about to die was so rxed.

    "Open the ps? Are you two blind?" Fang Zhengzhi chided as he looked at the two generals.

    "You, you rascal, you must be tired of living! I am a general! Why would I open the ps for someone like you?" The bearded General Tai raged when he heard Fang Zhengzhi. His domineering aura was released instantly.

    "Just open it! Enough with your nagging. Do you not see the princess waiting for me outside? Are you going to take responsibility for dying thepetition?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "I will kill you!"

    "Brother Tai, don¡¯t be rash, he is just agitating us. The people of the Great Xia Dynasty are cunning. We need to keep our calm and ensure the princess is safe." General My advised.

    "Then do you really want me to open the p for him?" General Tai was not happy about this.

    "You, open the p!" General Mu nced at one of the other deputies.

    "Yes, sir!" The deputy did not want to do it, but the two generals outranked him by many times.

    He had no other choice but to follow orders.

    "Why take so long to open the p? You speak too much rubbish." Fang Zhengzhi nced at the two generals in scorn. Then, he walked out confidently.

    The two generals tightened their grip on their weapons as they watched Fang Zhengzhi walk out. If not for the fact that he was topete against the princess...

    They would slice him in half where he stood.

    ...

    The sun shone brightly.

    The valley of the Southern Mountain Range was blooming. A huge army surrounded it. There was an exquisite tent in the middle.

    Pots of fresh flowers lined the insides of the tent.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted as heid down on the chair. He sniffed the aroma of the various flowers, intoxicated by them.

    "Your highness." At this moment an official in a ck robe walked in. He looked at the Crown Prince and bowed respectfully.

    "Mm, Official Su is here? Tell me how thebat examinations are going." The Crown Prince slowly opened his eyes and looked at the youth in front of him.

    "Your highness, Wu Feng is currently in the lead. He has controlled 20 settlements and is using the Yan Ya Settlement as his base. He has almost 10,000 men under him." Su Qing reported.

    "Almost 10,000 men? He has already eliminated four people?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was slightly taken aback.

    "That is correct." Su Qing nodded.

    "What about Nangong Hao?"

    "He has not moved much. He still has the original 2000 men and he is using the Icy Monkey Settlement as his base."

    "Mm, the Icy Monkey Settlement is the one closest to the Sagely Mountain City. It is good that Nangong Hao has based himself there. Oh yes... how is Yan Xiu?"

    "Yan Xiu did not try to control any particr settlement. He is roaming between various settlements. However, he has eliminated one person and has 4000 soldiers under him."

    "I understand. How many candidates are left?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded.

    "About 20 candidates."

    "Noted. Did Fang Zhengzhi appear?"

    "No, but..."

    "But what?"

    "I received news that Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Stable Mountain Gate. He even tried to borrow troops from the garrison there in hopes of joining thebat examination. However, he was rejected. The people report that he may have gone back to the capital to levy troops."

    "Back to capital to levy troops? Haha... if you were Fang Zhengzhi, what would you do?"

    "If I was Fang Zhengzhi, I would also show my face in the Stable Mountain Gate. Then, I would fool people into thinking that I was returning to the capital to levy troops. I would then use that opportunity to enter the Southern Mountain Range and defeat a candidate and take his identity. Then, I will grow slowly from there.

    "That makes sense. That would mean that Fang Zhengzhi is hidden amongst the candidates?"

    "Yes."

    "Then let¡¯s wait patiently for him to show himself. However, don¡¯t let him grow too fast. Keep a close watch. If any other candidates are doing too well, report back to me."

    "I understand."

    ...

    In the imperial academy back in the capital.

    Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry stood respectfully below. He emanated a steely aura.

    "Official Xing, how are Qingmu¡¯s injuries?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes glimmered as he asked.

    "Your highness, he has recovered and is awaiting your orders at any time."

    "Mm, there is movement in the Southern Mountain Range. I believe that the demons have already smuggled themselves into our ranks. We will continue to act based on your n."

    "Yes, your highness."

    "Oh yes, there has been news from the Stable Mountain Gate. Fang Zhengzhi has gone to the Southern Mountain Range. Even though I did not give him any soldiers, I believe that he will be able to make his way into the army. However... to be honest, I am quite worried. Fang Zhengzhi is talented, but he is a maverick. Will he impede our n?"

    "Your highness, even though I have had very little dealings with Fang Zhengzhi, he is a man of good heart. Even though he is shameless, he is very clear when ites to the important things. I feel that he may even help advance your n!"

    "Advance? Haha... how can he possibly guess my n? Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about him. I shan¡¯t hold you back any longer, go make the preparations." Emperor Lin Mubai smiled as he shook his head lightly. He did not believe what Xing Yuanguo had said.

    "Yes your highness, I will take my leave!" Xing Yuanguo left.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi basked in the warm sun ofte autumn. The wind was slightly chilly, but it was not unbearable.

    Sunlight shone on the trees and leaves, leaving glimmering spots of light on the ground.

    "This horse... will not throw me off on purpose right?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly afraid when he looked at the two meter high, ck armored stallion. He kept his distance.

    "Hmph! We are great with horses. Even though this ck Armored Stallion is ferocious, we have managed to tame it enough to be ridden!" Princess Shan Yu snorted when she heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. Then, she began to feel a tinge of regret. Competing with this man was unbefitting of her position.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything more. He neared the stallion carefully, his eyes filled with fear. He would turn to look at Princess Shan Yu periodically.

    Princess Shan Yu rode a crimson beast. It¡¯s domineering stature and demeanor warranted its description as a beast.

    It was fiery red from head to tail. Even its hooves looked like they were lit on fire. It even had two sharp horns on its head.

    Dragon?

    Or Qilin?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not determine what it was, but he was sure that it was very powerful. He had no idea how Princess Shan Yu had managed to tame it.

    "Oi, get on the horse quickly! Do you need me to help you up?" General Tai mocked as he snorted, his axe on his shoulder.

    "No need. I can do it myself." Fang Zhengzhi replied innocently.

    General Tai¡¯s face turned red instantly.

    If this was said by anyone else, he would have praised them for their independence. However, Fang Zhengzhi had just asked him to pull open the curtain to the tent.

    Fang Zhengzhi was thest person he expected to say something like that.

    However, after Fang Zhengzhi finished, he mounted the horse. Even though he struggled a little, he managed to ¡¯crawl¡¯ onto its back.

    General Tai had no choice but to swallow his words. He snorted to himself, "I will have your head after thepetition is over!"

    Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what General Tai was thinking.

    After he mounted his horse, he looked out into the distance. He saw that he was surrounded by soldiers. In the far distance, growls could be heard intermittently.

    This was the silver horned wolf.

    "Mm... I¡¯ll wait for my chance!" Fang Zhengzhiforted himself. Everything was progressing well. All he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

    Then...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, he heard a loud roar right next to him. He turned to look at it.

    His eyes widened instantly.

    "Cloud... cloud pattern?!" The phrase flew through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brain. This phrase was enough to unsettle him.

    Why would there be cloud patterns here?

 Chapter 333: You Lost

    Chapter 333: You Lost

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The first time he had seen the Cloud Pattern, it was on the wall of The Vast World. That time, Fang Zhengzhi only expressed some curiosity towards it instead of regarding it highly.

    The second time he saw it was on Wu Feng¡¯s jade flute. Even though he was curious as well, Fang Zhengzhi believed that the pattern might be some sort of carving.

    However, when he saw the Cloud Pattern this time.

    It hadpletely overturned Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous opinions.

    Because, the Cloud Pattern appeared on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s leg. Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t fix his gaze upon Princess Shan Yu¡¯s long slender leg on purpose.

    Instead, it was because this appeared a little too strange.

    A blood-red Cloud Pattern appeared on her initially wheat colored leg. Furthermore, it seemed to be spreading and extending itself.

    From her thigh to her calves, then to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s t belly, all the way up to her shoulders. It was just like the flow of blood.

    Paired with Princess Shan Yu¡¯s snow-white animal leather, there was a wild, natural beauty as stunning as a bright-red colour drifting in the white snow.

    Fang Zhengzhi had heard Yan Xiu mention before.

    The demon race relied on the demon eye for cultivation of their Dao. They were born with this talent tomunicate with Heaven and Earth upon birth. On the other hand, the Great Xia Dynasty depended on understanding. Understanding Heaven and Earth through the Law of Dao, then understanding All Creation and controlling All Creation.

    However, this didn¡¯t seem to be the case for the Southern Mountain Range.

    The Southern Mountain Range cultivated their Dao through "blood". Blood that depended on external forces to grow, some of which came from nature such as nts and mountains, while some of which came from various beasts.

    It was essentially simr to the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s method of gaining control from understanding.

    However, the ways and means to do so weren¡¯t quite the same.

    A very simpleparison would be that if the Great Xia Dynasty cultivated the heart and soul of a person, using one¡¯s heart to understand All Creation and create a pocket dimension within one¡¯s body.

    Then, the Southern Mountain Range borrowed the power of All Creation and channeled it into their body, allowing them to integrate and reach an equilibrium with All Creation to change one¡¯s physique and achieve great strength.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this.

    However, he didn¡¯t know that this change would actually form a Cloud Pattern.

    Why would it exist in the form of a Cloud Pattern?

    "Roar!"

    While Fang Zhengzhi was still unsessfully attempting to understand the theory behind this, the beast Princess Shan Yu rode let out an earth-shaking roar.

    After which, Princess Shan Yu and the beast turned into a red ray of light and charged forward.

    It was as fast as a meteor.

    "What the... so... so fast!" Fang Zhengzhi jumped in shock. Compared to Ping Yang riding Snow Jade, this speed was many times faster.

    What exactly is this beast?

    He had heard that the grand stallions of the Great Xia Dynasty came from the Southern Mountain Range.

    However, can there at least be some sort of fairness? What the hell, isn¡¯t this extreme speed considered bullying?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to express his opinions.

    However, Princess Shan Yu simply didn¡¯t give him the opportunity. Lightly mping the beast with her legs, they immediately charged out. She didn¡¯t even make clear the rules of thepetition.

    As the saying goes, a man below a roof has no choice but to lower his head. But, no matter how low my head is, shouldn¡¯t you at least rify the rules of thepetition?

    Without the rules, isn¡¯t it still up to you to decide the oue of thepetition when the timees?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know whether he should give chase or not...

    Right at this moment, Princess Shan Yu turned her head around. Her jet-ck eyes gazed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stunned and confused expression as her lips curved into a faint but cold smile.

    There was a charming feeling of somebody ncing back and smiling beautifully. Because, she was indeed smiling, and smiling very coldly.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    This wasn¡¯t a fairpetition. The rules were set by her. The stallion was chosen by her. Even the final location was determined by her. But, so what?

    She was Princess Shan Yu.

    On her territory, it was natural that she had the final say.

    That was how domineering she could be. Most importantly, one had no choice but to ept it.

    Fang Zhengzhi epted it.

    If Ping Yang was said to be unruly and capricious, then this Princess Shan Yu was evidently domineering and arrogant, without a single care for the high moral principle of a princess.

    "Hell!" Fang Zhengzhi shot a middle finger towards Princess Shan Yu as she turned back and looked towards him. Then, he whipped the butt of the Grey Scale Stallion he rode on forcefully.

    The Grey Scale Stallion instantly let out of high neigh, then swiftly charged out.

    However, regardless of whether it was speed or aura, there was not a single trait that couldpare with the beast Princess Shan Yu rode.

    As Fang Zhengzhi set out, General Tai and General Mu followed closely. Even though the stallions both of them rode on couldn¡¯tpare to that of Princess Shan Yu, they were still evidently not just any average stallion.

    They followed behind Fang Zhengzhi effortlessly.

    "Can I use any external objects to interfere with my opponent?" Fang Zhengzhi negotiated with the two generals beside him as he chased after the figure disappearing into the distance.

    "Hmph, what do you think?" The bearded General Taiughed coldly.

    "Alright, looks like that is not possible." Fang Zhengzhi gave up.

    How do I y this game?

    He couldn¡¯t run faster than her, nor could he attack her. Wasn¡¯t this just forcing him down?

    Fang Zhengzhi initially nned to use his power to defeat Princess Shan Yu, then find an opportunity to kidnap her, using her to block off the thousands of soldiers to kill his way out.

    But now...

    He couldn¡¯t even keep her shadow in sight much longer.

    How was he supposed to kidnap her?

    I must think of a n. Two miles should be a very quick distance to cover. When that time came, if Princess Shan Yu imed that she had reached the finish line, then the oue would definitely be that she had reached the finish line!

    "I want to pause!"

    "No, thepetition had already started."

    "Nature is calling me!"

    "Hold it in!"

    "Damn you!"

    "Little kid, what did you say?"

    "I said, the mountains here are really high, the trees here are really green, and the sky... is so damn blue!" Fang Zhengzhi lightly raised his head and looked at the blue sky and white clouds. However, a sense of never-ending destion surged within his heart.

    "Rubbish." General Tai huffed once again.

    "Can I ask where should the arrow be shot for this horseback archery?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the two generals closely following behind him with a dejected look.

    Just as General Tai prepared to speak, the bald General Mu gently reached his hand out and stopped him. Then, General Mu pointed at the wooden target nted on the ground not too far away.

    Three white-feathered arrows were currently wedged inside the wooden target. All three arrows were impaled in the center bullseye area of the wooden target.

    "In the two miles circumference of this area, there are a total of ten targets. First, one must find the position of the target. There are three chances to shoot for each target. The person with the most arrows on the targets would be the winner! If both have the same number of arrows, the person who finished first would be dered the winner. Of course, the person who finishes first would definitely have a privilege. As for what this privilege is, I am not very clear!" General Mu exined by the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood.

    Only Princess Shan Yu had the power to exin this privilege.

    "Don¡¯t you at least have to give me the arrow?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue chattering and quickly reached out his hand towards the two generals beside him.

    General Tai¡¯s expression changed slightly and tilted his head to one side.

    On the other hand, General Mu helplessly grabbed a quiver from his back and threw it into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "Where¡¯s the bow?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to reach out his hand.

    "What the hell, what kind of spy are you. Using our military terms, you are already counted a scout. Why do you have nothing on you?" General Tai was somewhat enraged. As a spy, couldn¡¯t you at least have some awareness and bring a bow and arrow when you leave?

    "Actually, this is my first time as a spy, I have no experience... Sigh, if I was experienced, I wouldn¡¯t be caught by you people so quickly. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi said regretfully.

    "At least you finally said something true!" General Tai lightly nodded his head when he heard this, and unexpectedly fished out a rattan bow and threw it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi reached out his hand to catch it.

    And realised that this bow was rather heavy. Even though it was made with rattan, its toughness and hardness all seemed not too bad. As he pulled the bow...

    "I can¡¯t pull it, change one for me!" Fang Zhengzhi flicked his arm and threw the bow back to General Tai.

    "Ha ha ha... you can¡¯t even pull the bow, yet you dare to challenge Princess Shan Yu? How interesting!" When General Tai heard this, heughed so hard that he almost fell off his horse.

    When General Mu saw this, he shook his head somewhat helplessly. Gazing at Fang Zhengzhi, he whistled.

    Not too longter, a soldier in rattan armor ran over from a distance away.

    Holding a light bow in his hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi received the bow and tried pulling it, revealing a strenuous expression on his face. He seemed somewhat out of breath.

    When General Tai and General Mu saw this, they nced at one another with looks of despise and disdain in their eyes. They sighed to themselves. If they had known that this kid was so weak, what was the point of wasting both of their time doing this?

    However, despite this, General Tai and General Mu continued to remainpletely vignt.

    After all, this was a big event that concerned Princess Shan Yu¡¯s safety. Even if the possibility was one in a million, there mustn¡¯t be the slightest form of carelessness.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay further attention to the two generals behind him.

    He drew the bow and loaded the arrow.

    Shoot!

    "Woosh!" The arrow hit the center of the target.

    "Huh?" General Tai softly let out a sound of surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected Fang Zhengzhi to have such advanced archery skills despite his weak strength.

    Luck?

    Just as he thought, Fang Zhengzhi shot another arrow.

    Thud!

    It hit the center of the target again.

    Hitting twice in a row?

    This caused General Tai and General Mu¡¯s expression to change slightly. Archery on horseback sounded easy, but it was actually very difficult to hit the target while travelling at high speeds.

    Even more so for hitting the bullseye.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this kid..." General Tai¡¯s expression sunk slightly.

    Just as he prepared to speak, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s third arrow had left. The arrow traced a beautiful parab in the air beforending with a thud.

    He hit the target.

    However, it wasn¡¯t the center of the target board. Instead, it was a few inches away from the bullseye.

    "Damn... my shot was off!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed regretfully.

    General Tai and General Mu heaved a sigh of relief. They had to admit that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s archery skills were rather good. However,pared to Princess Shan Yu.

    There was still some disparity.

    Of course,pared to the two of them, there was also a rather great disparity.

    Hence, the both of them rxed once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to charge forwards, drawing his bow and shooting arrows on the way. It had almost established a pattern that there would be either two arrows on the bullseye or all three arrows on the bullseye.

    But, there would sometimes be deviations.

    In total, Fang Zhengzhi had shot seven targets. There had already been around three arrows outside the bullseye.

    The eighth target - all three arrows hit their mark.

    The ninth target - once again, all three arrows hit their mark.

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed extremely happy. However, General Tai and General Mu¡¯s expression were unconcerned. Little kid, you missed three arrows. You are already a dead man.

    Not too longter, the tenth target appeared in front of him.

    In front of the position of the tenth target, Princess Shan Yu, her body covered with a blood-like cloud pattern, sat on her bright-red beast with a cold smile on her face.

    "How is it?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then looked at the two generals behind him and asked casually.

    "Princess, this kid had hit the target for all nine of the previous targets. In total, he hit twenty-four bullseye. Three are outside the bull-eye." When General Tai heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words, he instantly replied respectfully.

    "Oh? He is actually notpletely useless!" When Princess Shan Yu heard that he hit twenty-four bullseye, she seemed slightly surprised.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak. Because, not too far away from Princess Shan Yu were countless Silver Horned Wolves which were at least two meters tall.

    On the body of each Silver Horned Wolf sat a soldier in rattan armour.

    He finally understood why Princess Shan Yu would ce the tenth target here. Because, this location was closest to the Silver Horned Wolf cavalry.

    There were almost five hundred Silver Horned Wolf cavalry soldiers.

    Adding on Princess Shan Yu herself and the two generals behind him.

    There wasn¡¯t the slightest chance of capturing Princess Shan Yu.

    "Silent? Do you think that you can live if you remain silent? If you lose, you die!" Princess Shan Yu looked at the silent Fang Zhengzhi and smiled coldly.

    Immediately after, she propped her arm beside the bowstring.

    At this moment, there was a fiery red bow on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s hand. It seemed to have been crafted with a red coloured wood. However, even though he was very far away, Fang Zhengzhi could still feel that steaming heat emitted by the wood.

    "Fire Rattan Wood?" Fang Zhengzhi had seen a small piece of such a wood in the Ping Yang Residence. It was regarded by Ping Yang like a great treasure, and seemed to have been ced on her zing Qilin Spear as a decorative ornament.

    Who would have thought that over here, Princess Shan Yu made it into a bow.

    "Woosh!" The cry of an arrow pierced the air.

    Immediately after, a powerful arrow streaked across the sky, its tail glowing with a fiery red colour. Finally, itnded securely at the bullseye of the tenth target.

    "Great archery skills Princess!"

    "Congrattions Princess for winning thispetition!"

    When General Tai and General Mu saw the arrownd on the tenth target, they instantly congratted Princess Shan Yu respectfully.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly dazed. Because, when Princess Shan Yu drew her bow, the cloud pattern on her body began to move gradually. The cloud pattern even shed with an extremely abnormal light.

    It seemed to be fire, and seemed to be blood. It might also be abination of fire and blood, flowing slowly on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body.

 Chapter 334: Unparalleled in the world

    Chapter 334: Unparalleled in the world

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was a strange scene. However, if it wasbined with Princess Shan Yu¡¯s wheat coloured skin, the white animal leather on her body and the five-coloured feathers she wore on her head, there was a uniquely wild and primitive sense of beauty.

    However, what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking at this moment wasn¡¯t about beauty. He was thinking...

    How powerful is this girl?

    What kind of distance would he be able to kill her in once hit? Or, was it that even in closebat, he had no way of defeating her?

    This was a very grim question. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had absolutely no idea how the Southern Mountain Range trained, and how powerful the Southern Mountain Range was.

    However, this question determined whether Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s next course of action would be sessful, and also determined whether he was able to continue living.

    "Somebodye, execute!" Princess Shan Yu lowered her bow at this moment. She turned around and shed a contemptuous smile at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Roger!" The five hundred Silver Horned Wolf cavalry soldiers instantly acknowledged respectfully.

    On the other hand, General Tai and General Mu who stood behind Fang Zhengzhi had already positioned themselves on both sides of him. They reached our their hands and grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t resist.

    Because, there was absolutely no use resisting.

    "Before I die, I have a wish." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands were held down by General Tai and General Mu, but his mouth was still free to speak. Hence, he instantly shouted out.

    "Oh? Tell me what wish you have." When Princess Shan Yu heard this, she nodded her head. It was indeed rather normal for a person about to die to have some unfulfilled wishes.

    "I wish to see my parents before I die." Fang Zhengzhi said sincerely.

    "See your parents? Where are your parents?" Princess Shan Yu was somewhat confused.

    "In the Northern Desert of the Great Xia."

    "Hmph, what nonsense. Why would I let you go back to the Great Xia? Stop dreaming. Pull him down!" Princess Shan Yu immediately huffed,pletely ignoring Fang Zhengzhi.

    Wasn¡¯t this just treating her as an idiot?

    "Then I have another wish." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have already expected his wish to be rejected. He wasn¡¯t angered at all, and continued speaking calmly.

    "Speak."

    "I am still a virgin. Before I die, I want to find a girl."

    "Scram, shameless person. Why would the women of my Southern Mountain Range sacrifice themselves for someone like you? Kill him!" Princess Shan Yu was slightly taken aback. Then, she became truly enraged.

    "Wait a moment, if both of these wishes cannot be fulfilled, I have a third wish."

    "Why do you have so much nonsense to say?"

    "My third wish is very simple. I want to know how powerful the person I lost to is." Fang Zhengzhi said with a sincere expression.

    "How powerful? Ha ha ha... Alright, I will fulfill your wish and allow you to die content. Using the enlightenment states of your Great Xia Dynasty, my current enlightenment state is the Heavenly Reflection Peak State. However, even if I meet with someone of the Supernatural Beginning State of your Great Xia Dynasty, I wouldn¡¯t be the slightest bit afraid." Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face was fillled with pride.

    "Heavenly Reflection Peak State, having the power of a Supernatural Beginning State..." Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Princess Shan Yu and frowned slightly. He had never expected this young Princess Shan Yu to be as powerful. This person wasn¡¯t someone he could capture with ease.

    Seems that I have to change my n.

    "How is that? Can you die content now?" Princess Shan Yuughed delightedly.

    "I feel that I can still struggle for a while." Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while and spoke determinedly.

    "Struggle? How do you wish to struggle?" Princess Shan Yu asked confusedly.

    "First, defeat you and preserve my life." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Defeat me? Ha ha ha... you have already lost, how can you win?" Princess Shan Yu immediately burst intoughter when she heard this, with a tender beauty simr to that of a ck rose.

    "Thepetition hadn¡¯t ended, anything is possible." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was confident.

    "Alright, today, I will let you lose contentedly!" Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t speak further and immediately picked up the Fire Rattan Bow, drawing it into a crescent shape.

    "Wait a moment!" Just as Princess Shan Yu prepared to shoot, Fang Zhengzhi instantly interrupted her.

    "What problem do you have again?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s hand shook slightly. She had almost released this arrow. Luckily, she stopped herself in time, else, she would truly have disgraced herself.

    "I want to confirm the rules with you. Is the final winner the one with the most arrows on the target board and the one with the highest uracy?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Naturally." Princess Shan Yu replied with a definite expression.

    "Then, what special privilege does the person who finish shooting first have?"

    "It can count as an additional arrow."

    "Only... counting as an additional arrow?"

    "Yes!"

    "Are you sure that it only counts as an additional arrow?"

    "Obviously, I never go back on my words!" Princess Shan Yu was filled with impatience. This guy was too annoying. If there weren¡¯t so many soldiers in front of her, she really wanted to just kill off this person.

    "Then, let me ask another question."

    "You still haven¡¯t finished asking?"

    "This is already thest question."

    "Alright, ask."

    "I want to know how will you deal with me if I win?"

    "You have absolutely no chance of winning, furthermore, you have already lost." When Princess Shan Yu heard this, she immediately replied with a disdainful expression.

    "What if?"

    "Alright, if you somehow won me, I will let you be a teacher in the Southern Mountain Range." Princess Shan Yu thought for a while and then answered.

    In reality, when Fang Zhengzhi demonstrated his ability to recite the Law of Dao, she already had this thought. However, Fang Zhengzhi was ultimately a spy of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Hence, a thought was just a thought. Reality was still reality.

    "Can I be your personal bodyguard?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed rather unsatisfied.

    "Personal bodyguard?" Princess Shan Yu was somewhat confused.

    "Yes, the type that follows behind you everyday and assumes your authority as my own." Fang Zhengzhi exined very patiently.

    "Ha ha ha... alright, I will fulfill your wish." Princess Shan Yu was once again amused toughter by Fang Zhengzhi. After so long, this was the first that she felt that a person could describe himself so lowly.

    Most importantly, when this guy talked about assuming her authority as his own, his face didn¡¯t even turn the slightest bit red.

    He was truly a talent.

    "Princess, you musn¡¯t do this. This person is a spy from the Great Xia, if he bes your personal bodyguard, it might affect your safety!" When General Tai heard this, he instantly stepped out to prevent this from happening.

    "Why, do you think that I will lose?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression immediately darkened.

    "I don¡¯t... dare!" When General Tai saw this, beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. Princess Shan Yu¡¯s domineering personality was notorious in the army. She never allowed people to doubt the decisions she made.

    "Then what are you still worried about?" Princess Shan Yu said coldly.

    "That¡¯s right, General Tai, what are you worried about?" Fang Zhengzhi also looked at General Tai. A faint smile appeared on the edges of his mouth.

    "You... little kid! Princess, I beg to personally kill this guy!" When General Tai saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s irritating face, he finally became angry again.

    "Alright, I grant you!" Princess Shan Yu nodded with a smile.

    "Thank you Princess!" General Tai wiped off the sweat on his forehead and respectfully withdrew.

    On the other hand, General Mu released his grip on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder and once again returned to his spot behind Fang Zhengzhi. The expression on his face seemed extremely solemn and vignt.

    "Princess had reached first, hence, you should be the first to shoot." At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi modestly gave up his chance.

    "Ha ha ha... you want to tter me? However, I won¡¯t let you off because of this." Princess Shan Yuughed out once again.

    Immediately after, she didn¡¯t waste a single second.

    A "Twang!" sounded out from the bowstring of the Fiery Rattan Bow and an arrow glowing with a fiery red light flew out,nding on the bullseye once again.

    "Nice! Good archery skills, Princess!"

    "Princess is might and powerful!"

    "Princess¡¯s archery skills are indeed unparalleled in this world!"

    The surrounding five hundred Silver Horned Cavalry soldiers instantly began to shout out. In their hearts, Princess Shan Yu was the Goddess in the army. Not only was she strong and powerful, she was also extremely beautiful.

    Even though she was somewhat domineering.

    But, she treated her people with care and concern that came from the depth of her heart.

    Furthermore, most importantly, Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t dependpletely on her family background to be able to obtain this position she was in today. Instead, it was due to her aplishments in the military. In many of the previous assaults, she fought at the frontline, charging ahead of the army and personally beheading the enemy general.

    Establishing brilliant military achievements.

    Such a princess naturally caused them to vow to follow her till their death.

    Princess Shan Yu seemed to have already gotten used to the exmations around her. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she drew her Fiery Rattan Bow once again. Herst arrow finallynded on the heart of the target once again.

    "Princess has won!"

    "Congrattions Princess for winning thispetition!"

    The Silver Horned Wolf cavalry soldiers instantly began to cheer. General Tai and General Mu who were standing behind Fang Zhengzhi also began to express their congrattions.

    "Hm, how is it? Are you utterly convinced of your loss yet?" Princess Shan Yu lightly nodded her head. Then, gazed towards Fang Zhengzhi with a dazzling smile on her face.

    If it was any other time, she wouldn¡¯t bother taking a single look at her opponent after winning such apetition. However, for some reason she didn¡¯t know, when she won Fang Zhengzhi today.

    It caused her to feel extremely happy.

    The feeling was as sweet as eating a piece of honey.

    "I am convinced on the outside, not not the inside." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Little kid, I believe that it is only on the outside that you are not convinced, right?" General Tai blurted out sarcastically.

    "Are you deaf?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You don¡¯t understand what other people are saying, how different are you from a deaf person?"

    "You... I will kill you now."

    "Thepetition isn¡¯t over yet, what the hell... hell are you anxious for. Don¡¯t tell me you want to go against military orders? Princess, this person wants to rebel!" Fang Zhengzhi very impolitely shot a middle finger towards General Tai, then instantly reported to the princess.

    "Little kid you... you are to wrong me! Princess, I ampletely loyal, I definitely have absolutely no intention of rebelling!" General Tai jumped in shock. He was extremely angry. His teeth chattered, producing cracking sounds. However, he managed to hold himself back."

    "Rise, I am not blind!" Princess Shan Yu replied lightly and waved her hands.

    A smile formed on the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    No matter what, he was the Rank Four Sword Envoy of the Great Xia Dynasty. So what if it was Princess Ping Yang? So what if it was Left Prime Minister You Yiping? These people couldn¡¯t exploit or bully me the slightest bit.

    How could it be that he would be bullied by a tiny general in the Southern Mountain Range?

    Even though a person had to lower his head when under a roof, this room was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s roof. It wasn¡¯t General Tai¡¯s roof. Hence, he had to suppress General Tai.

    "What are you waiting for?" Princess Shan Yu looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, whose face was filled with delight, and urged.

    "Alright." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Then, he drew the bow in his hands into a full crescent. From the posture alone, it was actually extremely professional and dashing. After all, his profession hunting in the Cang Ling Mountain for many years wasn¡¯t a fluke.

    When Princess Shan Yu saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shooting posture, she was somewhat amazed.

    One who knew archery evidently understood the importance of posture.

    Even for herself, just for the posture alone, she had practised for exactly three years. Only after that was she able to hit every single one of her shots.

    On Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, she had actually seen a trace of her own shadow.

    Or, it could be said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s posture was just as professional as hers.

    How was this possible?

    Just as she thought, the arrow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand finally left. The sound of air being pierced rang out at this moment. Even though its momentum seemed not too bad.

    It was ultimately too ordinary.

    It wasn¡¯t too impressive.

    The arrow traced a beautiful arc in the air, then, rapidlynded towards the target board.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s mouth curved into a slight smile. She felt that she had overestimated Fang Zhengzhi. Such a technique was only for show. At most, his uracy could be considered not too bad.

    However, in terms of power, it waspletelycking.

    Not even mentioning people.

    It couldn¡¯t even kill an ordinary beast in one hit.

    "Truly a waste of ti..." Princess Shan Yu wasn¡¯t even able toplete herst word before the smile on her facepletely froze. She stood firmly rooted to the ground.

    The Fiery Rattan Bow in her hands instantlynded on the ground with a thud.

    Along with Princess Shan Yu, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry and the two generals were all stunned.

    Everybody¡¯s eyes turnedpletely round, their faces filled with disbelief.

    "How is this possible?"

    "Why would it turn out like this?"

    "This... is simply impossible!"

    One by one, voices rang out.

    Especially General Tai, who waspletely stunned at this moment.

    He had considered many possibilities. For example, Fang Zhengzhi might be extremely lucky and hit the bullseye. Or, all three arrows would hit the bullseye.

    However, he had never imagined.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow would hit Princess Shan Yu¡¯s arrow!

    "Crack!" Following a crisp snapping sound, the white feather arrow was instantly cut into two. Then, it fell to the ground like a snowke.

    At this moment, the entire world seemed to have fallen silent.

    Leaving the slightly cold wind blowing onto people¡¯s faces. That was a wind that could rustle people¡¯s hair. However, nobody paid any attention to that. Because, their hearts were just as cold.

    The arrow was an ordinary arrow. The bow was an ordinary bow. The power was also a very ordinary and average power. However, the oue was nothing close to ordinary.

    "Coincidence, it must be a coincidence!" General Tai recalled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous performances and simply didn¡¯t wish to believe that Fang Zhengzhi could shoot down Princess Shan Yu¡¯s arrow so urately.

    Compared to shooting the bullseye...

    The level of archery required was easily a hundred or thousand times higher!

 Chapter 335: My name is Fang Zhengzhi

    Chapter 335: My name is Fang Zhengzhi

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Woosh!" Another whistling sound rang out.

    An arrow flew across everybody¡¯s eyes with lightning speed, then once againnded on the target. Following thending of the arrow, another white feathered arrow snapped into two.

    "Crack!"

    A sound that shook the soul rang out.

    This arrow was naturally the arrow Fang Zhengzhi shot. The broken white-feathered arrow thatnded on the ground was also naturally Princess Shan Yu¡¯s white-feathered arrow.

    However, this scene happened too quickly.

    Before anybody had managed to recoverpletely from the oue of the first arrow, the same thing urred once again.

    If a soul could tremble, then, everybody on the scene at this moment were trembling. General Tai¡¯s eyeballs were very close to falling on the ground.

    Bright red veins of blood filled his eyeballs.

    "He hit again?!"

    If the first shot was a coincidence, then, what was this?

    Was it still a coincidence?

    This was a question that didn¡¯t need much thought. However, it was exactly this simple and clear question that caused him to remain in disbelief.

    "It can¡¯t be, it is impossible for this little kid to have such skills. He is just a spy..."

    Just as unwilling to believe this as General Tai was the General Mu standing beside him, as well as the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers standing still in neat rows not too far away.

    Just fifteen minutes ago, when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, the only thing other than spite in their hearts was mockery.

    However, when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi now.

    They were filled with shock.

    "What urate archery skills!"

    This was the only thought that shed in their mind.

    The Southern Mountain Range respected true ability, and respected people for theirbat prowess.

    Among these skills, archery was held in the highest regard. After all, the geography andndscape of the Southern Mountain Range wasplicated, and the living conditions and environment were harsh. This had resulted in settlements fighting among themselves for territory.

    However, these struggles and fights between settlements couldn¡¯t ur in vast, open ces.

    Most of them urred in the form of ambushes in the dense forest and long distance shots.

    Hence, to be able to live in a ce like the Southern Mountain Range, archery was the most fundamental survival skill, as well as a survival skill that a powerful person had to possess.

    "He... can actually achieve this?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression was nowpletely frozen.

    As the leader from the younger generation in the Southern Mountain Range, she was fully deserving the title of number one in archery skills. To be able to attain the title of number one in a ce where strength and power determined respect...

    She was truly number one.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shot wasn¡¯t spectacr, and even appeared extremely ordinary. However, he used the simplest and most ordinary technique to shoot an arrow onto her own.

    If Princess Shan Yu wished to achieve this.

    She could definitely achieve it as well. However, she was too careless. She underestimated her opponent. Ever since she was informed that three of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrows had missed the bullseye, she didn¡¯t bother to consider such an oue.

    "Shameless!" Princess Shan Yu could only use this term to describe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    Because, other than this term, she really couldn¡¯t find another term that expressed her anger and dissatisfaction.

    Two arrows hadnded urate on her own two arrows.

    Then, from the current results, she had hit a total of twenty-eight arrows. Even if she included her special prize for being the first toplete and added another arrow, totaling to twenty-nine, Fang Zhengzhi had already shot twenty-nine arrows on the targets, resulting in a draw.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi still had another arrow in his hand.

    If Fang Zhengzhi released another arrow and shot down her own arrow.

    Then, the oue would be Fang Zhengzhi having thirty arrows on target, while she would only have a pathetic twenty-seven arrows.

    Thirty arrows, twenty-seven on the bullseye, three outside the bullseye. On the other hand, she had twenty-seven on the bullseye. No matter what, it was impossible for her to win Fang Zhengzhi.

    Cruel!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what Princess Shan Yu was thinking. However, he still shed a smile he believed was bright and warm towards Princess Shan Yu, and waved his hand furiously.

    In Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes, this action was undoubtedly the greatest mockery.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay any further attention to Princess Shan Yu. Instead, he drew the bow in his hand into a full crescent once again.

    Everybody¡¯s gaze was tightly fixated upon the arrow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Including Princess Shan Yu.

    At this moment, breathing seemed to havepletely stopped.

    Because, everybody knew that if Fang Zhengzhi managed to shoot down the white-feathered arrow once again, it meant that Princess Shan Yu was about to lose thispetition.

    "Woosh!"

    Under the gaze of everybody, the third arrow shot out and whistled through the air, its feather dancing freely in mid-air and tracing a beautiful arc.

    "Thud!"

    There was pindrop silence.

    Everybody looked towards the target.

    Without any doubt, the third arrow once againnded within the bullseye.

    However...

    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t hit the white-feathered arrow.

    It was like an isted arrow, carrying with it an air of coldness and arrogance. It didn¡¯t bother knocking off the white-feathered arrow on the target. Instead, it stood alone quietly on the target, enjoying its solitude.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was also in solitude. Just like a boat drifting in a torrential rain, surrendering itself to the powerful wind and quietly floating on the surface of the sea.

    Silence.

    Nobody spoke.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to hit Princess Shan Yu¡¯s white arrow, based on what Princess Shan Yu said, if one judged based on the number of arrows on target, as long as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrownded on the target, it meant that he had won.

    However, would Princess Shan Yu admit defeat?

    "Damn it, I missed!"

    Fang Zhengzhi swore, then forcefully smashed the bow in his hand onto the ground with a regretful expression. With a crack, the bow broke into two pieces.

    Immediately after, he looked towards Princess Shan Yu with an extremely miserable and bitter look.

    "Can... this be counted as a draw?" As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he pointed at the three arrows on the target.

    "Draw?!"

    All of the soldiers looked at one another in confusion.

    General Tai and General Mu were also absolutely confused. They didn¡¯t quite understand why Fang Zhengzhi imed that this clearly victorious oue was a draw.

    If this guy stupid?

    "You want to offer a draw with me?" Princess Shan Yu was slightly surprised.

    "That¡¯s right, I have a total of thirty arrows on target. However, there are only twenty-seven on the bullseye. Three are outside the bullseye. On the other hand, princess has twenty-eight on target. Adding on the extra arrow, there are twenty-nine. However, twenty-eight are within the bullseye. Hence, I was thinking whether you can grant me kindness and count the two arrows outside of the bullseye as one arrow within the bullseye?" Fang Zhengzhi exined with a gloomy look.

    Count the two arrows outside the bullseye as one within the bullseye?

    When Princess Shan Yu heard this, her eyes instantly lit up. Just as she prepared to agree readily, she suddenly felt that it seemed a little too enthusiastic.

    Hence, she coughed softly.

    "I believe that only three arrows outside the bullseye can count as one within the bullseye?"

    "Sigh... I am so young and talented, and possess such great archery skills. This is the time when I should be making great aplishments on the battlefield. I never imagined that I would die in a foreignnd away from home before I even managed to return my parents¡¯ love and care for me... How depressing, how depressing!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he instantly plead in a tearful voice.

    "Alright alright. Seeing that you are such a filial person, even though I won you this time, due to your decent morality and values, I will temporarily spare you this time!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pitiful expression and finally waved her hands impatiently.

    "Thnak you Princess!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly expressed his gratitude, but didn¡¯t kneel down.

    Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t seem to take much offense at his. Instead, she raised her head lightly and looked towards the azure blue sky with an expression of one standing on the peak of a mountain, unable to find any worthy opponents that could defeat her.

    "Princess¡¯s archery skills are unparalleled in this world!"

    "Princess is mighty and powerful!"

    "Princess is kind-hearted and caring, I am willing to follow Princess till death!"

    When the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers heard this, they instantly reacted and called out loudly.

    On the other hand, General Tai¡¯s expression was as dark as night. She actually didn¡¯t kill this little kid? Just as he prepared to speak, General Mu, who was standing beside him, pulled him back and lightly shook his head.

    "This kid is very smart. I fear he is even smarter than what we imagined!" General Mu said softly.

    "Old man, why do you regard him so highly? I think that this little kid is nothing but a shameless person! As for his archery skills... it can only be considered not too bad!" When General Tai heard General Mu¡¯s words, he was clearly somewhat unconvinced.

    "No, his archery skills are extraordinary. At the very least, it is higher than what it seems on the surface. However, in order for him to live, he can only lose. Furthermore... he must lose in this manner!" General Mu shook his head.

    "He can only lose? And must lose in this manner? Old man, don¡¯t tell me that you are saying this little kid¡¯s actions were all on purpose?" General Tai¡¯s expression was clearly somewhat shocked.

    "I don¡¯t know. But, he indeed managed to keep his life, didn¡¯t he?" General Mu looked at General Tai.

    General Tai didn¡¯t speak further. Instead, he looked towards Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to infer something from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face very badly.

    However, in reality, all he saw was a raised middle finger.

    "Little kid... I will make sure I kill you!"

    ...

    In the Sagely Mountain City.

    An ancient city was built on the peak of the highest mountain in the Southern Mountain Range. Legend said that a few thousand years ago, this mountain didn¡¯t exist at all. The Sagely Mountain City was only an ordinary city built in the middle of the forest.

    However, a huge incident changed the fate of this ancient city.

    That night, mes rose from the ground, swallowing the entire Sagely Mountain City. The glow of mes lit up the entire Southern Mountain Range. That was a disaster, a disaster that caused destruction to Heaven and Earth.

    A city, along with thousands of lives, was about to be eradicated from the world.

    However, at the most critical moment, a powerful person descended upon this city. With his own power, he moved thend in all directions and built a tall mountain.

    In the end, the powerful person saved thousands of lives, his own body buried below the tall mountain.

    In order tomemorate this powerful person, they named this mountain Sage Mountain, worshipped by thousands of people. The ancient city on the peak of the mountain was also renamed to Sagely Mountain City.

    Turning into a sacrednd for sessive dynasties of kings of the Southern Mountain Range.

    The Sagely Mountain City waspletely built by tough mountain stones. After dynasties of repairs, the mountain rocks of the present Sagely Mountain City was almostpletely covered by ayer of green coloured flora.

    It was a green coloured ancient city.

    At the Eastern side of this ancient city, there was a pce-like building constructed purely with white jade. That was the residential area of the kings of sessive dynasties in the Southern Mountain Range.

    At this moment, in a room coveredpletely with animal hide within this pce.

    A youth around the age of thirty was lying on a gigantic leather chair. His skin was dark. On his body, he wore a luxurious silver coloured leather hide, while the shoes on his feet were coveredpletely with golden threads that twined around them. Two five-coloured feathers adorned his hair, and between the two feathers, there was a dazzling blue gem.

    "Your Highness!" An elderly man wearing an animal skin walked into the room respectfully and knelt down on one knee facing the youth on the gigantic chair, his two hands raised into the air.

    "What is it?" The youth noblelite nced at the elderly man and picked up a fruit from the table, swallowing it in one mouth. His tiger eyes shed with a faint blue light.

    "Princess Shan Yu sent people to pass the message that everything had been arranged. The other two generals are ready and had already set up arrangements. Hence, she sent me to ask Your Highness, when will you attack?"

    "What¡¯s the rush? The cage had already been established, how could the beasts in the cage escape? A hundred thousand soldiers aren¡¯t enough. I believe there are still many people from the Great Xia Dynasty on the way. We won¡¯t rush into action for now."

    "Your Highness ns to swallow them all in one move? But, in this case, there will be quite a lot of pressure on us. After all, if there are more people, this battle cannot be fought as easily."

    "Don¡¯t worry, I have already set up arrangements for everything. The Great Xia... Ha ha, they had already sat in the position of power for long enough, isn¡¯t it time to change ces?" The young noblelite smiled coldly.

    "Your Highness, on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s side..."

    "What are you trying to say?"

    "I am only rather worried. Princess Shan Yu has the most elite forces of the Southern Mountain Range in her hands, three thousand Silver Horned Wolves. Would she..."

    "She wouldn¡¯t!"

    "I understand, I will take my leave!"

    ...

    The sun gradually began to set.

    In a huge military tent within the Southern Mountain Range.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already removed the animal skin on his body and changed into the symbolic rattan armour of the Southern Mountain Range army. On his head, he even wore a tattered straw hat.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his pristine white skin, one might really mistaken him as a standard leader of the Southern Mountain Range soldiers at first nce.

    The reason he was seen as a leader naturally wasn¡¯t the slightest bit rted to his official position. Instead, it was because Fang Zhengzhi had attained a piece of animal skin on his shoulder.

    Since he had decided to make a living in this army.

    He had to be domineering enough.

    Fang Zhengzhi had fully maximised this point.

    After all, nobody in the entire history of the Southern Mountain Range army ever had the courage to impersonate a leader in the princess¡¯s military tent.

    Princes Shan Yuy on a golden animal hide. However, her jet-ck eyes nced towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and finally settled upon the small animal skin on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder.

    "You are really quite reckless. You dare to impersonate a centurion in front of me? Tell me, who are you, what is your name, and what purpose do you have in my army? Don¡¯t worry, nobody would dare to enter my military tent without my permission!"

    "My name? I am Fang Zhengzhi." Fang Zhengzhi replied immediately without the slightest bit of hesitation.

 Chapter 336: A Huge Plot Reversal

    Chapter 336: A Huge Plot Reversal

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fang Zhengzhi? You are Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Princess Shan Yu, who was initially lying on the animal skin, suddenly shot up. An immense shock was clearly evident on her small wheat-coloured face.

    "That¡¯s right, ever since young, I was called this name." Fang Zhengzhi said calmly. A man never hides his name, do you have any opinions?

    "Ha ha ha... Fang Zhengzhi? Ha ha ha... you say you are Fang Zhengzhi?" When Princess Shan Yu heard this, she suddenlyughed out, so hard that her entire body trembled slightly. "Then, you are the Sword Envoy Fang Zhengzhi from the Great Xia?"

    "That¡¯s right." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He had never thought that his reputation would be so great. Even the princess of the Southern Mountain Range knew about him?

    "You are also the double roll champion of the Imperial Law of Dao Examination, and attained joint first with Nangong Hao in this court theory examination, is that right?" Princess Shan Yu continued to ask withughter.

    "That¡¯s right." When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he nodded again.

    "Ha ha ha... you are really shameless enough!" Princess Shan Yuughed so hard that the muscles in her face began to cramp, her long legs kicking furiously on the golden animal hide.

    "Thank you princess for your praise." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face didn¡¯t flush the slightest bit red.

    "Alright, enough jokes. Tell me your real name." At this moment, Princess Shan Yu withdrew herughter, her expression indicating a trace of coldness.

    "I am really called Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Do you think I look like an idiot?"

    "Princess is smart and wise, unparalleled in this world." Fang Zhengzhi instantly began to praise her unceremoniously. This person in front of him was his real roof over his head, he didn¡¯t dare to offend her.

    "Since you know that, why don¡¯t you report your name?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Do you believe I¡¯ll cut off your head right now?" Princess Shan Yu was slightly triggered.

    "I believe!"

    "Then, I will ask you onest time. What is your name?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Somebodye, drag this liar out and execute him!" Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t bother bickering with Fang Zhengzhi any further and immediately shouted out towards the outside of the tent.

    "Roger!" In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the curtain of the tent was pulled open. Four guards wearing rattan armour rushed in.

    "Wait a moment!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately shouted out.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" A faint smile formed on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s lips.

    "I¡¯ve changed my name. I am called Fang Zhengzheng!" Fang Zhengzhi tossed out the great principle that a man never hides his name without the slightest bit of hesitation.

    "Fang Zhengzheng?"

    "Yes, Fang as in Fang Zhengzheng, Zheng as in Fang Zhengzheng." Fang Zhengzhi said gloomily.

    "This name sounds very weird. Are you toying with me?"

    "Princess, what do you want? I told you I am Fang Zhengzhi, but you wanted to cut off my head. Now that I changed my name to Fang Zhengzheng, you say that I am toying with you?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to cry.

    "I am asking for your real name." When Princess Shan Yu said this, her voice was evidently raised.

    "Fang Zhengzhi."

    "You are really called Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "If it is fake, I will definitely change it."

    "The same Fang Zhengzhi that attained joint first with Nangong Hao in the theory examination?" The edges of Princess Shan Yu¡¯s mouth curved into a faint cold smile.

    "Should I say yes, or should I say no?" When Fang Zhengzhi saw Princess Shan Yu¡¯s cold smile, a chill instinctively ran down his back.

    "Tell me the truth."

    "No!"

    "That¡¯s better, at least you are honest. From what I know, that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even participate in thisbat examination. Furthermore, if he really came, he should be rotating among the four main settlements. Why would he run into the perimeter of my military camp alone?" Princess Shan Yu nodded her head in satisfaction, then waved her towards towards the four guards that rushed in.

    The four guards instantly retreated out of the tent.

    "Princess is smart and wise, unparalleled in this world. I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to lie to you sessfully." Fang Zhengzhi instantly began to praise. However, in his heart, he swore silently. You are really damn blind.

    "Alright, I see that your archery skills aren¡¯t too bad. Even though the power and aura iscking, your uracy is at least passable. I¡¯ll fulfill your wish of bing my personal bodyguard. Furthermore, I¡¯ll appoint you as the trainer of archers, in charge of the archery training of the Soaring Feather Thirteenth Regiment."

    "Thank you Princess! May I ask how many people are there in total in this Soaring Feather Thirteenth Battalion?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he quickly asked.

    "Three thousand!"

    "Princess is truly wise and insightful, giving me such an important responsibility. I will definitely not let princess down. Then, let me ask, am I now the Battalion Chief of the Soaring Feather Thirteenth Regiment?"

    "Dream on, how can it be so easy to be a Battalion Chief in my army? You are only in charge of their archery training. The rest of the matters arepletely unrted to you." Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with contempt.

    "Damn." Fang Zhengzhi silently raised his middle finger.

    "What did you say?"

    "I said, Princess truly knows how to use people, and is a bornmander!"

    "At least you know how to talk. Go help me get a te of fruits. I want fresh ones. If there is a single rotten one, I will break off one of your teeth!" Princess Shan Yu nodded, satisfied.

    "Isn¡¯t one te too little?"

    "Why? Don¡¯t tell me you, a small bodyguard, wants to eat fruits as well?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with disdain.

    "I am thinking for you, Princess. As the saying goes, good thingse in pairs. Princess, imagine how boring it would be for you to eat your fruits here. If there was someone who could sit beside you and tell you stories while eating fruits together with you, it would naturally be a lot more interesting." Fang Zhengzhi suggested in a well-intentioned manner.

    "Oh? You can tell stories?" Princess Shan Yu was somewhat surprised.

    "Of course, I can tell a lot of stories. For example, Journey to the West, Nine Immortals Crossing the Sea, those must-hear stories between Sun Wukong and the White Bone Demon..." Fang Zhengzhi said proudly.

    "Alright, permission granted!" Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t wait for Fang Zhengzhi to finish speaking before replying swiftly.

    "Thank you Princess."

    ...

    As the saying goes, with an order in my hand, the world is mine.

    Since he had already decided to mix himself into the military camp and be a small personal bodyguard for Princess Shan Yu, he had to be a good, "faithful" and "dedicated" bodyguard.

    As the saying went, being a monk for a day meant banging the gong for a day.

    A monk who didn¡¯t bang the gong wasn¡¯t a good monk.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked out of the princess¡¯s tent in a dignified and impressive manner, his face filled with unparalleled vigour. Now, he was carrying out Princess Shan Yu¡¯s order of wanting to eat fruits. Who dared to oppose him in the entire camp?

    "Hmph, little kid, you haven¡¯t died?" A cold huff instantly rang out. Then, he saw General Tai with his bearded face and disdainful look, carrying a huge axe in his hand and leading a group of soldiers patrolling towards his direction from afar.

    In his heart, the main reason Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi was because she wanted something fresh and interesting. After she got tired of him, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t even be able to live another three seconds.

    Then...

    His death was just a matter of time.

    "The one called Old Tai, yes, I am talking about you! Princess said that she is hungry and ordered for two tes of fruits. Go quickly!" Fang Zhengzhi casually picked up a de of grass and held it between his lips, shouting towards General Tai with a leisurely expression.

    "I am the great Tiger General..."

    "Princess ordered this, do you have any opinion?" Fang Zhengzhi simply didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to him and immediately waved his heads, retorting with an impatient look.

    "You little kid..." General Tai¡¯s eyes instantly turned round.

    "Looks like you really have an opinion. Then, I¡¯m going to tell princess." After Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, he prepared to turn around and go back into the princess¡¯s tent.

    "Wait a moment! You... go get two tes of fruits and deliver it to the princess¡¯s tent!"

    "Roger!" A soldier beside him instantly acknowledged.

    "This doesn¡¯t seem very right. The princess ordered for the great Tiger General to deliver it himself. I¡¯m not sure whether your actions count as disobeying a military order." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the soldier beside him andmented casually.

    "Little kid, you... are indeed vicious!" General Tai¡¯s expression filled with rage. However, he had no other choice.

    "Remember to open your eyes widely and be careful with your actions. If you pick a single rotten one, one of your teeth will be broken!" Fang Zhengzhi instructed General Tai who walked away towards the distance.

    "What the hell, if I don¡¯t kill you myself today, my surname isn¡¯t Tai! Nobody is allowed to stop me!" General Tai finally stopped in his tracks. His dark face instantly flushed red, as if a bunch of dry wood had suddenly been lighted uppletely by a raging fire.

    At this moment, there was no doubt about the valiance of the Southern Mountain Range.

    As the great Tiger General, how could he bear being bullied like this in front of the soldiers?

    His immediately raised his huge, ck axe over his axe, which gave off a faint glow. At the same time, General Tai¡¯s muscr arms instantly puffed up, almost doubling in size. The strands of beard on his face straightened suddenly, just like steel needles.

    "There is no cloud pattern?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather disappointed at General Tai¡¯s performance. Because, the situation he imagined in which the cloud pattern would cover General Tai¡¯s body didn¡¯t ur.

    What was this about?

    Wait a moment.

    Seems like it is time to run.

    "Princess,e out and save me quickly!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even think before he shouted out loudly.

    "What happened?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out, the curtains of the tent were pulled open. Princess Shan Yu, dressed in a snow white animal leather, walked out from the tent and swept her gaze across the surrounding soldiers with her jet-ck eyes.

    "Princess!"

    All of the soldiers knelt down onto the ground at this moment.

    General Tai¡¯s beard instantly softened. After a moment of hesitation, he finally lowered the huge ck axe raised highly on top of his head gradually.

    "General Tai, what is this about?" Princess Shan Yu looked at General Tai with a confused expression.

    "I deserve to die for disturbing princess¡¯s rest. But... but this little kid is really too much. I, Old Tai, had been following princess for so many years, but have never experienced such bully that I have to bottle up!" When General Tai reached the end of his sentence, his expression turned grieved, tears almost flowing out of his eyes.

    "Bully? Who bullied you?" Princess Shan Yu nced at Fang Zhengzhi who was standing by the side and returned her gaze back onto General Tai.

    "This kid obviously!" General Tai immediately pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhipletely disregarded General Tai with a casual expression on his face. He was the personal bodyguard of the princess. In the ancient past, this represented the trusted follower and confidant of the princess. Assuming her authority as my own, what can you do to me?

    "I see! Based on thews of the Southern Mountain Range, what should one do when bullied in front of people?" Princess Shan Yu nodded.

    "Kill!" General Tai¡¯s expression was savageous.

    "Yes, however, he is ultimately my personal bodyguard. There is no need to kill, you just have to give him a good beating. Even if he cannot leave the bed for three days, that isn¡¯t a problem. However, you cannot kill him, is that clear?" When Princess Shan Yu heard this, a trace of a smile appeared on the edges of her mouth as she spoke casually.

    "Clear!" When General Tai heard this, his tiger eyes shed with a delightful glint, just like a ravenous lion seeing a small mountain goat waiting to be killed.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, his body trembled slightly.

    Huh?

    This didn¡¯t seem to be very right.

    Wasn¡¯t a personal bodyguard the confidant and trusted follower of the princess? What happened to assuming her authority, bossing people around and barging anywhere he wanted? No matter how he looked at the situation, the oue didn¡¯t seem logical!

    What was this huge plot reversal?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should run. However, the camp was huge. Where was he going to run to? There was simply nowhere to run and hide himself in.

    It¡¯s over!

    I miscalcted something very simple. I am from the Great Xia, and this princess in front of me is from the Southern Mountain Range. Offending the Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range for a small personal bodyguard from the Great Xia.

    This was clearly an inappropriateparison.

    "Princess... don¡¯t I still have to tell you stories? If I was beaten and be bedridden, how do I tell them to you?" Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Princess Shan Yu with a pitiful expression.

    "Not a problem. Anyway, you don¡¯t die. You cane and tell me stories after the fight ends." An enchanting smile formed on the edges of Princess Shan Yu¡¯s lips.

    She looked at Fang Zhengzhi withughter in her eyes.

    "Tell you stories after the fight ends?" Fang Zhengzhi wondered why this world could be so heartless. Could there at least be a trace of kindness and innocence left?

    "Little kid, choose your weapon. I never fight somebody without a weapon in his hand. Just now, you wanted to knock off one of my teeth. Today, I won¡¯t hit you anywhere else. All I want is the teeth in your mouth!" General Tai¡¯s face turned slightly red.

    That was evidently caused by delight and excitement.

    The huge ck axe in his hand shed with a faint glow.

    "Woosh woosh!"

    As he waved the axe, the two lines of inch-deep cracks appeared in the space in front of General Tai. Very evidently, the great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range really wasn¡¯t too weak.

    "Then... can I first ask, what is General Tai¡¯s power?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the ck cracks and was somewhat afraid. He could achieve this as well, however, he couldn¡¯t make cuts as smooth as General Tai¡¯s

    "Not very high, using the enlightenment states of your Great Xia, I am only of the Supernatural Advanced State!" General Tai spoke with a cold smile.

    "Supernatural Advanced State?!" A cold bead of sweat instantly fell from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead.

    What the hell, this was considered not very high?

    A forty to fifty year old person bullying a youth not exceeding twenty years of age, did he really have the nerve to do this?

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively took a step back.

    On the other hand, General Tai took two steps forward. The aura from his body grew as the huge ck axe in his hand shook slightly, giving off a low buzz.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead was filled with sweat. Under the gust of the cold wind, he instinctively raised his head slightly.

    He looked towards the white clouds floating in the air, then looked around at the soldiers around him, creating a chilly atmosphere with their cold attitudes, and then looked at General Tai who was advancing towards him step by step.

    "Is this the infamous oue of being burned by himself?"

 Chapter 337: Suppression

    Chapter 337: Suppression

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    When the surrounding soldiers saw this, they began to shout out loudly. Each of them expressed their support for General Tai and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression of one looking at a man who was half dead.

    "Little kid, choose your weapon!" The smile on the edges of General Tai¡¯s mouth grew colder and colder as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. He had been holding back his anger for an entire day. Now was finally the time he could vent it all out.

    How could he not be excited!

    The hand that held the huge ck axe turned slightly white due to his over-excitement.

    "Wait a moment." Fang Zhengzhi quickly focused his gaze and spoke towards General Tai who was closing in on him step by step.

    "Why, do you want to beg for mercy?" General Tai smiled coldly.

    "Why would a great man like me beg for mercy?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was filled with disdain. Then, he looked behind at Princess Shan Yu. "But, I feel that thispetition isn¡¯t very fair."

    "Oh? Why isn¡¯t it fair?" Princess Shan Yu smiled gently.

    "A forty to fifty year old man who had trained for dozens of years bullying a pure and innocent fifteen to sixteen year old youth who had only trained for one to two years. How could this be considered fair?" Fang Zhengzhi scorned.

    "It is indeed not very fair. Then, what is considered fair to you?" Princess Shan Yu nodded her head lightly and smiled again.

    "If both parties suppress our states and fight purely based on techniques, I feel that it would be fairer!" Fang Zhengzhi suggested very quickly.

    "Suppress states? Fight purely based on techniques? Hmm... General Tai, what do you think?" When Princess Shan Yu heard this, she nodded her head again and turned her jet-ck eyes towards General Tai.

    "I have nothing against this. If I really used my state to bully this little kid, it is indeed an insult to my great reputation as a Southern Mountain Range warrior. Today, I will do what he said and not use my state so that he would lose contented and convinced!" General Tai replied, his expression filled with confidence.

    "Alright, I announce that both parties are not allowed to use their states inbat. If one party broke this rule, it would be considered cheating and punishable by militaryw!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s lips curled into a smile and announced loudly.

    "Thank you Princess!" Fang Zhengzhi hurriedly thanked Princess Shan Yu. Even though he didn¡¯t know how good were the techniques of the Southern Mountain Range, this was already the best idea he could think of.

    "Little kid, stop talking nonsense and let¡¯s start!" General Tai impatiently waved the huge axe in his hand around and then ced it back behind his shoulders.

    "Wait a moment!"

    "What is it now?"

    "I haven¡¯t chosen a weapon!"

    "Ha ha ha... choose a weapon?" When General Tai heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he burst out inughter. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi wanted topete with him using fist techniques. However, he had never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would choose to take a weapon. Wasn¡¯t that asking for death?

    In this case, there was no need to keep this axe of his.

    When the surrounding soldiers heard this, they also let out a wave of mockingughter.

    "The ignorant is indeed fearless!"

    "Asking for death."

    "Weapons don¡¯t grow eyes, little kid."

    The soldiers cried out one by one. She had already paved the path for Fang Zhengzhi. However, what was unfortunate was that Fang Zhengzhi had returned back to the origin by himself.

    Asking for death!

    Just as Princess Shan Yu felt that Fang Zhengzhi was a little too stupid, she saw Fang Zhengzhi looking at her with a bright grin on his face, rubbing his hands together furiously at the same time.

    "Then... princess, can I borrow your bow to y around with?"

    "You want to borrow my Fiery Rattan Bow?" Princess Shan Yu was clearly somewhat shocked. However, very quickly, her shock turned into mockery. "Can you draw it back?"

    "I feel I can!" Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

    When the surrounding soldiers heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they all began tough. They knew that in thepetition between Fang Zhengzhi and Princess Shan Yu, he wasn¡¯t even able to draw back an ordinary tough bow.

    He could only use a soldier¡¯s light bow.

    Now, thinking of using the Fire Rattan Bow to defeat General Tai was simply indulging in fantasy.

    "Ha ha ha..." Princess Shan Yuughed out as well. Then, she waved her hand and the Fire Rattan Bow, steaming with heat, appeared in her hands. "Take it!"

    "Thank you Princess for your reward!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly epted the favour.

    "Reward? What are you thinking? I am only lending it to you, you still have to return to me when you are done!" Princess Shan Yu was slightly taken aback, then, she immediately began to berate.

    "Oh, then, no thanks to you." Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat disappointed.

    "General Tai, you don¡¯t have to give me any face. Today, if you want to beat this little kid until he bes bedridden for five days, I will punish you for being too lenient with your soldiers!" When Princess Shan Yu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, she instantly grew angry.

    "Roger that!" When General Tai heard this, a delighted expression appeared on his face.

    "Go to the drill ground, I want to take a good look at this fight!"

    "Roger!"

    ...

    Fighting on the drill ground was a military tradition. In the Southern Mountain Range, this tradition was even more widespread. Whenever there were conflicts within the army, it would settled in the drill ground. Whenever one wanted to be promoted in the army, they could challenge people in the drill ground.

    By right, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s status meant that he was unqualified to participate in an openpetition with General Tai in the drill ground. However, Princess Shan Yu had spoken.

    Then...

    He was now qualified.

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    Under the arena of the drill ground, the soldiers grew excited. Many soldiers also stood further away, craning their necks to spectate this.

    "Begin!"

    Following the sound of the order, General Tai raised the huge ck axe in his hand as veins popped out from his arms. That steel-like strength was thoroughly disyed at this moment.

    "Fall!" General Tai charged directly towards Fang Zhengzhi like a wild bull, holding the huge axe high up in his hands. His speed was as fast as lightning.

    This battle strategy seemed somewhat silly on the surface. However, behind the surface was experience. Because, Fang Zhengzhi currently held the Fiery Rattan Bow in his hand.

    Even though General Tai didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi could draw it back, closebat would always be the most advantageous form ofbat at such moments.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally predicted that General Tai would charge directly towards him.

    There was no doubt about this point.

    However, he never expected that General Tai¡¯s speed would be as fast. Even under circumstances in which he had suppressed his state, he could still invoke a powerful gust of wind with his speed.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s big animal leather chair had already been carried to the drill ground. A golden animal skin covered the chair as Princess Shan Yuy horizontally on it.

    Revealing her snake-like waistline.

    A pair of wheat-coloured legs propped themselves on the chair. It was filled with an air of wildness.

    In front of her, there was a bowl of fresh fruits.

    The trace of a smile appeared on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s lips as she gently picked up a piece of fruit and ced it in her mouth. Her dark eyes were fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi, who was dressed in rattan armour with a quiver slung behind his back.

    "Little kid, why aren¡¯t you running? Are you too scared to move?" Princess Shan Yuughed softly.

    Suppressing one¡¯s state.

    Didn¡¯t mean that both parties would have equal powers.

    Especially when faced with a warrior from the Southern Mountain Range, justparing muscr strength alone, the warrior from the Southern Mountain Range would greatly overpower that of a soldier from the Great Xia. Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was General Tai.

    A monster who could tear apart live beasts, one whose flesh and bones were as hard as steel.

    When the soldiers witnessed the scene on the arena, they guessed that at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi should be running away. Because, only by moving continuously could he make use of his archery skills. Then, would Fang Zhengzhi choose to run to the left? Or run to the right?

    Just as everybody attempted to guess which direction Fang Zhengzhi would run to, Fang Zhengzhi unexpectedly remained rooted to the spot without moving an inch.

    Furthermore, his expression seemed extremely leisurely, shaking the leg that he ced on the arena...

    "Is this little kid asking for death?"

    The soldiers looked at one another. Nobody knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    "Die!" General Tai didn¡¯t care what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. Suppressing his power, the huge axe in his hand shed towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head without a moment of hesitation.

    Unable to dodge?

    That wasn¡¯t his problem!

    At the most critical juncture, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression remained calm and leisurely. He didn¡¯t even attempt to move his legs.

    Next...

    A scene that almost caused everybody to kneel down onto the floor ured.

    "Shameless!"

    This was the thought that rose in everybody¡¯s heart.

    In reality, all Fang Zhengzhi did was to raise the Fiery Rattan Bow and make a blocking attempt against the huge ck axe that sliced down towards his head.

    Naturally, everybody knew that this Fiery Rattan Bow was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s treasure.

    Who dared to slice it?

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. "You dare!"

    Fang Zhengzhi dared.

    But, General Tai really didn¡¯t dare.

    The huge ck axe that was already halfway to its destination was forcefully stopped an inch away from the Fiery Rattan Bow. General Tai panted loudly and gasped for air. His initially dark face flushed red all because of this moment.

    "You little kid..."

    Just as General Tai prepared to curse, Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    His entire body shot backwards into a corner of the drill ground¡¯s arena. Immediately after, Fang Zhengzhi moved again. His body was like lightning, charging forwards with his two arms wide open, just like an eagle diving towards General Tai.

    "Huh?"

    General Tai had never seen such a fighting technique. If Fang Zhengzhi wanted closebat, then, the previous moment was actually the best opportunity.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi wanted to increase the distance between them.

    Then...

    He had clearly already done so. Why would he return again?

    General Tai felt as if a question mark was spinning around in his head, so fast that he felt rather dizzy. However, Fang Zhengzhi had already closed the distance, hence, that was naturally in line with his own objective.

    He didn¡¯t use the axe again, instead, he punched out with his fist.

    He had already decided that as long as Fang Zhengzhi used the Fiery Rattan Bow to block it off, he didn¡¯t mind directly snatching off the Fiery Rattan Bow from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    However, just at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movement changed. From a huge roc spreading its wings, he charged forward with his body crouched and staying low onto the ground. These two consecutive movements were indeed the technique of the Stabilisation Constabry.

    General Tai¡¯s expression finally changed.

    He simply had no way of pulling back the fist heshed out. Right at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was already in front of him. One palm, a very ordinary palm. However, it was directed towards his face, which he had no choice but to block.

    "Good kid!" In his panic, General Tai raised his axe and blocked towards his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled, and smiled very brightly.

    The profound technique of the Stabilisation Constabry was indeed able to react to any different situation. The flexibility inbination of techniques was definitely first-ss.

    "Woosh!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand posture changed and his leg stepped out. His other palm was already on its way. This palm was the real and hidden killing blow.

    "Wham!" General Tai was struck by the palm and stumbled back.

    This change in situation happened too fast.

    So fast that the soldiers under the arena weren¡¯t able to reactpletely.

    But, General Tai retreated.

    That was reality!

    "Why would it be like this?!"

    "General Tai actually lost a move?"

    "What did he just do!"

    The soldiers¡¯ faces were filled with disbelief.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s initially angry expression froze at this moment. Because, even she hadn¡¯t expected Fang Zhengzhi to win in one strike.

    The colour of General Tai¡¯s face turned from red to purple.

    After losing to Fang Zhengzhi in one sneaky move, he was thoroughly discredited. Wasn¡¯t he the great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range? Losing to a mere nobody from the Great Xia in a drill groundpetition.

    How could he bear with this!

    Even if he only lost one move!

    "Die!" General Tai roared in anger as his mood suddenly changed. Just as he prepared to counter-attack.

    He saw that Fang Zhengzhi had closed in once again.

    Or, it could be said that from the moment he stumbled back, Fang Zhengzhi had already calcted that he would move back, hence, this move intended to close the distance between them once again.

    If one had to use one phrase to describe Fang Zhengzhi now.

    That would be...

    Moving like his shadow!

    General Tai¡¯s pulled back his fist and blocked!

    But, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique seemed to have already seen through all his moves. The fist that initially punched towards him suddenly changed, directly grabbing towards his crotch.

    "F..." General Tai cried out loudly.

    He would never have imagined that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s techniques would sink to such a level. Under such helpless circumstances, he could only bend his entire body into a hunchback shape, squeezing his legs together tightly and defending his own lifeblood with his life.

    Then, he felt a burning pain on his face.

    Very clearly, the grab Fang Zhengzhi made towards his crotch was a feint. The punch thatnded on his face was the real attack.

    One¡¯s muscles could be honed to be as hard as steel.

    However, one¡¯s face...

    Had no way to be honed.

    Hence, General Tai felt as if tears were streaming down his cheeks. Fresh blood danced around in his nose while a blissful feeling of experiencing the joys and sorrows of life filled his mind.

    The soldiers under the arena werepletely stunned at this moment.

    Two moves.

    General Tai lost two moves in a row?!

    Furthermore, he was even punched in the face by Fang Zhengzhi!

    How unthinkable was this!

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes were nowpletely widened. She suddenly had a feeling that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s technique was extremely strange.

    However, this strangeness seemed to have overturned the nature of All Creation. Furthermore, she even had a strange sense of familiarity. She seemed to have heard of such a fighting technique in her memory.

    However...

    She couldn¡¯t recall it at this moment.

    "This kid... who is he?!" For the first time, doubt rose in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s heart. Because, a person who could defeat General Tai based on technique and moves.

    Simply couldn¡¯t be any ordinary little spy from the Great Xia.

 Chapter 338: Grand Plan

    Chapter 338: Grand n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what Princess Shan Yu was thinking now.

    Or, it could be said that even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t be the slightest bit afraid. In reality, from the moment he decided to stay, he had been nning.

    This was an extremely grand n.

    However, this n must fulfill a requirement.

    That was to build up reputation in the Southern Mountain Range.

    Initially, he had nned to achieve this in two steps. The first was based off Princess Shan Yu. He wanted to use a cultured method to tell Princess Shan Yu stories, then, slowly gain Princess Shan Yu¡¯s trust.

    The second was to find an opportunity to gain popr authority among the entire army.

    Initially, he felt that in order to fulfill any of these two points, sufficient time was required. However, in reality, he seemed to have overestimated the difficulty of these.

    Because...

    He was actually able to sessfully challenge General Tai with such ease. Furthermore, what gave him an even pleasant surprise was that Princess Shan Yu had actually chosen to let Fang Zhengzhi fight with General Tai on the drill ground arena.

    Most importantly, it was a battle of technique!

    This was simply paving a shortcut for Fang Zhengzhi to reach the sky in a single bound.

    "Then, General Tai... Sorry for exploiting you!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grin was radiant. Because, he knew very clearly what would happen after today.

    Compared to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s radiant smile, General Tai now felt aggrieved, very aggrieved.

    The great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range, a powerful being of the Supernatural Advanced State, was now beaten up badly by a "pawn". Most importantly...

    The opponent wasn¡¯t nning to stop!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally wouldn¡¯t stop. The fighting technique of the Stabilisation Constabry was veryplicated. However, in theory, it was extremely easy - press forward with indomitable will. If the opponent retreats, I will advance. If the opponent falls, I will step on him a few times.

    In short, as long as he was alive, he wouldn¡¯t rest.

    Even if the opponent had to search for all his teeth on the floor, he had to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find any teeth.

    After sessfullynding two attacks, a third attackshed out.

    However, this time, General Tai was evidently more vignt. It was impossible for the great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range to be a showy empty vessel without any practical skills.

    Losing twice in a row.

    This was due to reasons of carelessness as well as miscalctions.

    He had never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would use such deadly and immoral moves. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s refined and cultured appearance caused him to have great difficulty imagining that his techniques would be as swift and powerful.

    Putting up such a desperate fight to the death at the start?

    The anger in General Tai¡¯s heart was nowpletely ignited. He began to counter-attack.

    Unfortunately...

    One wrong move led to many wrong moves.

    How could the Stabilisation Constabry¡¯s battle spirit be countered as and when one wished?

    On the arena of the drill ground.

    Fang Zhengzhished out with punches, palm strikes and grabs towards General Tai. Techniques that appeared messy and random actuallybined together naturally and beautifully to form one great technique.

    On the other hand, General Tai retreated step by step. He had already beenpletely forced to one corner of the drill ground arena.

    The soldiers below the arena werepletely stunned by this scene.

    Before the start of the fight, they had imagined countless possibilities. For example, Fang Zhengzhi would lose a few teeth, how long it would take for Fang Zhengzhi to beg for mercy, what kind of defensive moves would Fang Zhengzhi use.

    Yet, in reality.

    Everything was theplete opposite.

    This isn¡¯t right, the oue shouldn¡¯t be like this!

    Why was an ordinary soldier able to wreck the Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range so badly that he didn¡¯t even have the strength to counter. All he could do was...

    Retreat!

    General Tai¡¯s eyes were filled with red. He couldn¡¯t retreat anymore, he could only put his life on the line.

    The huge ck axe on his hand swept out horizontally at the most critical juncture as a streak of ck light drew a crescent-moon like arc around his body.

    This was the only move he could think of to force away his opponent.

    However, even so, he received a punch to the face. The pain was burning. This punchnded on his eye.

    A dark panda eye appeared on his face.

    On the other hand, after Fang Zhengzhinded an attack, he finally retreated gracefully, just like a leaf drifting down in the powerful wind, drifting to the other corner of the arena.

    "He finally retreated!" Even though General Tai had to take a punch, he was still somewhat happy inside. Because, if he still allowed himself to be forced back in this manner, he might really lose.

    This was something he would never wish to experience.

    "Do you feel a pleasant surprise?" Fang Zhengzhi stood with hands behind his back in a corner of the arena, asking General Tai with a bright smile on his face.

    He naturally didn¡¯t have to retreatpletely during that previous attack.

    But, he still retreated.

    The reason was very simple. He gained an opportunity, an opportunity to nt his authority and grow his reputation. Then, in order to make full use of this opportunity, he had to defeat General Tai justly and honourably.

    Furthermore, he had to ensure General Tai lost fully contentedly.

    If he forced General Tai off the arena in such a manner, the soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range would only believe that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely lucky.

    The opportunity would disappear instantly.

    That was how Fang Zhengzhi thought. However, that wasn¡¯t how General Tai thought. In General Tai¡¯s mind, he had forcefully pushed back Fang Zhengzhi by taking a punch.

    At this moment, the spirit of the soldiers below the arena was revived.

    Forced Fang Zhengzhi back?

    Then, General Tai was about to demonstrate his invincible might next!

    They were filled with anticipation, anticipating General Tai¡¯s splendid performance that wasing up next.

    Only Princess Shan Yu frowned slightly. Because, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was really too leisurely, as if he hadn¡¯t felt the slightest bit of regret after being forced back by General Tai.

    This was clearly not very normal.

    "Pleasant surprise?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s lips softly mouthed these two words. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi with her dark eyes, she grew even more curious.

    General Tai was also mouthing these two words.

    However, these two words came out in the form of an enraged bellow. "Pleasant surprise! Good kid... today, I really want to see how much of a pleasant surprise you can give me today!"

    General Tai naturally wouldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities exceeded that of himself.

    However, before his voice had evenndedpletely.

    The pleasant surprise came.

    Just as surprised as himself were the soldiers below the arena, as well as Princess Shan Yu who was lying down on the golden animal skin.

    "How is this possible?!" All of the soldiers widened their eyes.

    Because, on the arena, Fang Zhengzhi had drawn open the Fire Rattan Bow. Furthermore, he pulled it into a perfect full moon.

    The Fiery Rattan Bow emanated a scorching hot air.

    At the same time, it also ignited the eyes of the soldiers standing below the arena.

    A fire appeared in their eyes. That was the Fiery Rattan Bow, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Fiery Rattan Bow. He... actually managed to pull it open.

    At this moment, Princess Shan Yu sat up from her chair.

    She naturally knew very clearly how hard the Fiery Rattan Bow was. She knew even more clearly what state one¡¯s body had to achieve in order to pull the Fiery Rattan Bow into a full moon.

    Star Conglomerate!

    And, at least Star Conglomerate Peak!

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was only fifteen or sixteen, yet, he had already achieved the enlightenment state of Star Conglomerate Peak?

    Such a talent would be regarded extremely highly even in the Great Xia, not just the Southern Mountain Range. He is definitely not any ordinary soldier, definitely not!

    At this moment, Princess Shan Yu was almostpletely sure.

    Then...

    She thought of another question.

    Fang Zhengzhi and General Tai¡¯s positions were each at a corner of the arena. This meant that the distance between them were already at a maximum.

    If Fang Zhengzhi could pull open the Fiery Rattan Bow, then, was there a possibility...

    That his previous retreat was on purpose?

    When Princess Shan Yu thought of this, she instinctively tightened her fist. A piece of fruit instantly exploded under the pressure as the juice flowed out from between her fingers.

    General Tai¡¯s eyes waspletely wide with shock.

    An ordinary spy from the Great Xia was actually able to pull open the Fiery Rattan Bow?

    That, during that previouspetition with Princess Shan Yu, his inability to pull open the tough bow was... a pretence? This little kid dared to pretend in front of him!

    He didn¡¯t even have the time to vent his anger.

    An arrow streaked towards him with a speed as fast as lightning, carrying with it a powerful whistling sound and a faint red glow at its tail.

    If it was any other time, General Tai naturally didn¡¯t care about such an arrow.

    However, this time was different.

    He couldn¡¯t use his enlightenment state to fend against this. All he had was his flesh. An arrow shot out by the opponent from the Fiery Rattan Bow from such a close distance.

    Could that be forcefully blocked by one¡¯s flesh?

    Only a dumb idiot would block that!

    General Tai dodged without a moment of hesitation, rolling down on the ground while holding the huge ck axe in his hand directly in front of his body.

    "Woosh!" The whistling arrow brushed across the scalp of his head.

    Immediately lighting up the beard on his face.

    "Thud thud!" General Taished out without hesitation, extinguishing the me on his beard. He had been stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to pull apart the Fiery Rattan Bow.

    Else, there was simply no way he would be in such a difficult and panicked position.

    Just as he thought, a second arrow flew towards him.

    "Hmph, you think I will let you hit me?!" General Tai huffed coldly. He didn¡¯t roll over again. Instead, he pounced forward with his head lowered, just like a tiger leaping down the mountain.

    Advancing towards Fang Zhengzhi while dodging the arrow without taking any extra steps to move forward. That was his strategy.

    Else...

    You think I would really wait to get shot to death?

    All I have to do is to close the distance, then, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use the Fiery Rattan Bow!

    This was what General Tai thought. However, this thought was quickly reced by confusion. Because, the instant he pounced forward, he felt something impaled in his hand.

    Looking down.

    His eyes turned round once again.

    On the arena of the drill ground, why would there be...

    Nails!

    It was indeed nails. Furthermore, it was a huge patch of nails. Every piece had three edges, and on it, there were still pieces of small inverted hooks. It seemed that a lot of effort had been put into its making, causing it to sh with a faint glow under the re of the sun.

    This time, General Tai was clearly taken aback.

    It was impossible for something like this to appear on the arena, unless...

    As he thought, General Tai¡¯s gaze shifted towards Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he realised that Fang Zhengzhi was leisurely throwing sshes of nails onto the ground in all directions.

    Handful by handful, he threw the nails down onto the arena.

    "Little kid, you..." Ever since he was born, General Tai had never experienced such anger. Despite not using his state to protect his body, even though he was still made of skin and flesh, it was impossible for nails topletely prate his flesh as long as he paid a little attention.

    However, how was it possible for a person¡¯s entire body to be imprable by nails? For example, eyes, ears, face... and the lifeblood at one¡¯s crotch.

    Who would be able to train these ces to be as hard as metal?

    The previous moment, General Tai was forced to press onto the ground with his hand due to having to roll forwards. His hand was trained. However, even so, under circumstances in which hepletely didn¡¯t take any precaution against, the nails still left a few faint red marks on his palms.

    "Woosh!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay any attention to General Tai¡¯s cries. He directly replied General Tai¡¯s question with an arrow. Roll? Let me see how you roll!

    "Shoot you till you jump!"

    Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi throwing nails onto the ground and instinctively swore. "Shameless!"

    However, she quickly thought of another problem.

    In an arena filled with nails, General Tai was a warrior from the Southern Mountain Range, hence, his body was in a much stronger state than Fang Zhengzhi. Then, if the nails that filled the arena were stepped on...

    Wouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi be on a disadvantage?

    Why would he do this?

    Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t quite understand. If this was to prevent General Tai from nearing him, that was clearly not very possible. Because, the arena of the drill ground was only that big. If Fang Zhengzhi wished to use his bow continuously, he simply couldn¡¯t stand still on the same spot.

    Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t keep standing in the corner of the arena.

    However...

    What happened next caused the soldiers under the arena to bepletely stunned.

    As Fang Zhengzhi drew his bow and shot arrows over and over again, he threw all kinds of traps, nails and hidden weapons onto the ground.

    On the other hand, General Tai jumped and rolled around with great caution about the arena, his expression deep in concentration.

    His head remained constantly lowered, looking at where he stepped. However, despite this, he still couldn¡¯t avoid stepping on the them. Even though he wouldn¡¯t be impaledpletely by the nails, he still felt as if he was dancing happily on knives.

    In order to prevent himself to constantly stepping on the nails.

    He had to force himself to jump slightly higher as he flipped and rolled around. This way, the force with which hended onto the ground would be slightlyrger.

    Inparison to General Tai.

    Fang Zhengzhi was clearly much more rxed.

    He danced around on the arena as if he was riding a gust of wind under his feet, his eyes always looking straight ahead and never below his feet. It was just as if there were eyes beneath his feet that enabled him to avoid all the nails.

    General Tai flipped and rolled around on the arena in pursuit.

    While Fang Zhengzhi danced casually within the arena, constantly drawing the Fiery Rattan Bow in his hand and releasing one arrow followed by another towards General Tai.

    Princess Shan Yu frowned slightly. She couldn¡¯t understand why, for the same nails on the ground, General Tai had to take utmost caution while Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even step on one.

    What was this about?

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes fixated themselves tightly upon those loose nails and animal traps strewn across the arena. After a total of fifteen minutes, the expression in her eyes finally changed slowly, from the initial surprise into rm.

    "This kid actually knows..."

 Chapter 339: Explosion of the Blood

    Chapter 339: Explosion of the Blood

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Southern Mountain Range was established onbat prowess.

    Founded within the mountains and forests, surrounded by fearsome beasts yet being able to expand and thrive through forming of settlements, the Southern Mountain Range had nevercked brave warriors. It could even be said that if one was born within the Southern Mountain Range, he was destined to be a brave warrior.

    The structure of settlements was able to provide better training for the warriors of the Southern Mountain Range. However, the same settlement structure also restricted the Southern Mountain Range, making it impossible for the Southern Mountain Range to create a cultural heritage like the Great Xia.

    In reality, all the kings of the Southern Mountain Range in history had the ambition to unite the settlements. However, it was too difficult.

    The different cultures and the unique geographical limitations made this goal exceedingly hard to realise.

    Even the most basic factor, traffic.

    The Southern Mountain Range had no way of achieving this. Building roads and cutting across mountains were already extremely tedious tasks. Building roads and cutting across mountains in andscape filled with fearsome beasts was even harder.

    Because, there were some beasts that even the king of the Southern Mountain Range didn¡¯t dare to disturb.

    Hence, culture could not spread.

    This naturally resulted in a huge weakness.

    That was, ack of advisors!

    Princess Shan Yu would never take any interest in a spy from the Great Xia. She wouldn¡¯t even take a second nce at a talent who possessed extraordinary powers.

    However, when met with one who knew how to strategize and n military formations, she would definitely take a third nce, a fourth nce, a fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth nce...

    That feeling was like a plot of farnd faced with drought seeing the spring rain. Excitement, an inexplicable excitement.

    "Matrix? It is really a matrix!" Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t know how Fang Zhengzhi achieved it. But, she was absolutely sure that Fang Zhengzhi had employed a certain matrix in throwing down the nails onto the arena.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what Princess Shan Yu was currently thinking.

    What he was thinking now was very simple. That was to deplete. Or, demonstrate even more greatly the advantage he had in thispetition. As for the nails...

    Naturally, he couldn¡¯t throw them out at random. After all, those things didn¡¯t really know who was their master. Hence, in order to prevent harming himself, it was actually not too difficult to throw them out in a pattern.

    The results were obvious.

    At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi could see the horrified and stunned expressions of the soldiers below the arena.

    In reality, the soldiers were much more horrifiedpared to what Fang Zhengzhi imagined. Because, they would never have imagined such an oue.

    The great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Was in a miserably beaten-up state on the arena due to a little spy from the Great Xia.

    Ever since the start of thepetition, General Tai hadn¡¯t ever touched a single hair of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s while himself suffering multiple punches and palm strikes.

    Not only was his face battered and swollen, his blood also spurted everywhere.

    Now, even more shockingly...

    Due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s multiple arrowsing from the left and right, he was in a state of feverish restlessness rolling around on the arena with nails stuck all over his palms and clothes.

    Even his beard wasn¡¯t spared, with a few nailstched onto it.

    He looked nothing like a Tiger General.

    Inparison, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was leisurely and extremely rxed, drawing the Fire Rattan Bow in his hand into a full moon over and over again, arrows flying out one by one. He waspletely unstoppable.

    "General Tai, be careful!"

    Just as a soldier¡¯s reminder sounded out.

    On the arena, an arrow finally hit General Tai. Twenty to thirty arrows had already been shot towards his direction. He was already getting fatigued from the dodging as he became increasingly stressed.

    Under such circumstances, mistakes were naturally unpreventable.

    One arrow!

    Shot through General Tai¡¯s arm as blood sttered out, dissipating themselves in the air before slowly dripping down on the arena.

    "Ah!" General Tai shouted out in pain.

    Even though his flesh and bones were hard as metal, under such close distances, faced with arrows shot from the Fiery Rattan Bow and with his state suppressed, he had no way of blocking.

    "Is he going to lose?"

    "Is General Tai really going to lose?"

    Even now, the soldiers weren¡¯t able to believe that the powerful and ferocious tiger-like General Tai would lose in the hands of a small spy from the Great Xia.

    General Tai¡¯s face turned purple. He didn¡¯t rush to pull out the arrow. Because, even the most painful wound from an arrow wouldn¡¯t be able to cause him to anything more than frown.

    However, the wound in his heart caused his lips to quiver.

    He swept his gaze across the soldiers standing under the arena.

    From their faces, he saw despair.

    A powerful sense of despair.

    "No! I, the great Tiger General, cannot lose. I must not lose!" General Tai roared angrily but silently. Light shed in his tiger eyes, fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi as his pupils gave off an icy glow.

    He tightened his grip on the huge ck axe in his hand so tightly that his fingers began to turn white.

    Right at this moment,.

    Another whistling sound rang out in his ear. An arrow shot towards his face, carrying along with it a faint red glow with a speed like that of a meteor.

    This time, General Tai didn¡¯t roll about like he did previously.

    Instead, he forcefully twisted his head towards the right.

    The arrow brushed across his cheek, lighting up the beard on his face.

    However, General Tai didn¡¯t seem to mind this. Instead, he charged forward with zing speed, his feet directly mming onto the nails as if they were invisible.

    "Putting his life on the line?" Fang Zhengzhi only had to take one look at General Tai¡¯s state to know what he was thinking.

    He had already anticipated this.

    As the saying goes, a panicked dog could jump over a wall. This was the great Tiger General of the Southern Mountain Range, a Tiger General who was high up in position and respected by thousands of soldiers.

    If General Tai truly gave up that easily.

    Then, it would truly be impossible for him to be the great Tiger General who led thousands of troops in the Southern Mountain Range.

    The opponent had disregarded death...

    Who to do?

    Naturally, it was to fight fire with water.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t afraid of closebat. At the very least, he wasn¡¯t afraid of closebat with someone unable to use his enlightenment state, especially when an arrow was shot through the arm of this person.

    However, he still felt that he had to end fast.

    Else, if he dragged for too long, it wouldn¡¯t be a very happy asion if this General Tai grew enraged from the shame.

    The finale...

    Had to be grand!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi began to consider what pose he would make, General Tai was already in front of him. This caused him to feel somewhat surprised.

    This didn¡¯t make sense. Why was he so fast?

    When Fang Zhengzhi looked at General Tai, he realised something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Because, in General Tai¡¯s eyes, he inferred an intent to kill, a powerful killing intent that came from the heart. And, most importantly, there was a strange transformation within General Tai¡¯s pupils.

    Those pupils didn¡¯t seem like that of humans anymore...

    Instead, they glowed with a lush green colour. Shades of green flooded General Tai¡¯s eyes. They were extremely icy, and extremely chilling.

    "Oh no!" Fang Zhengzhi instinctively wanted to retreat.

    However, right at this moment, General Tai had already raised the huge ck axe highly above his head. His already extremely muscr arms seemed to have inted to at least double the size in an instant.

    That powerful explosive force and aura around him waspletely different aspared to before, as if he wasn¡¯t the same person anymore.

    Strands of ck needle-like fur grew out from and covered General Tai¡¯s arm. It looked just like a humongous monkey arm.

    "Woosh!" The huge ck axe shed straight down, carrying with it an indomitable momentum and a dark-green glow.

    "General Tai!"

    When the soldiers witnessed this scene, they instinctively cried out with rm.

    Naturally, they knew what the transformation of General Tai¡¯s body represented. That was state suppression. Now, General Tai had used the blood in his body. This meant that now, General Tai was truly of the Supernatural Advanced State.

    Of course...

    This also meant that Fang Zhengzhi would die without a doubt.

    However, such a scene couldn¡¯t excite nor delight the soldiers.

    Because, they were soldiers, soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range and soldiers with the pride of warriors. They could die, but, they must die in a just and honourable manner.

    This was a fairpetition.

    Both sides suppressed their states, then, entered the arena topete.

    It didn¡¯t matter who won in the end, but thepetition itself was fair.

    However, if one party broke the rules, thispetition wouldn¡¯t be fair anymore. Even if this party won thepetition, he would still be scorned and despised by the soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range.

    The soldiers didn¡¯t know why General Tai would do this.

    However, in reality, that was what General Tai did.

    "Stop!" At this moment, Princess Shan Yu also noticed something was wrong. She immediately shot up from her chair and instinctively attempted to feel for her bow.

    However...

    As she began to feel around, she realised that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Because, the bow was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    General Tai naturally knew that his actions disobeyed military orders, and might even result in grave punishments and being despised by the soldiers. However, he really couldn¡¯t endure such a defeat.

    He could lose in the hands of a warrior from the Southern Mountain Range.

    However, he couldn¡¯t let himself lose in the hands of a spy from the Great Xia.

    Furthermore, it was an extremely stupid and cowardly defeat.

    Disobeying military orders and being scorned by the people.

    This was indeed an extremely dire consequence.

    If it were in the past, he would never do such a thing. But now, the situation was different. Because, they were in the middle of a war between two countries, a time when they were seriouslycking in high-ranking military officers. He had calcted that Princess Shan Yu would definitely not kill him.

    As long as she didn¡¯t kill him.

    Then, he had an opportunity to put down his crimes and make aplishments.

    It didn¡¯t matter even if he was demoted to a small pawn. On the battlefield, when he defeated and killed the enemy generals and made great aplishments, all his position and power would return again.

    When that timees, who would discuss about the time he killed a small spy from the Great Xia during a drill groundpetition? People would only praise him for making great contributions to the Southern Mountain Range.

    "Die!" General Tai roared with rage. He wanted to release every bit of his anger and slice this shameless person in front of him into two.

    He was very confident. Because, using his Supernatural Advanced State abilities, he could kill this little kid in front of him even without his full strength.

    Yet...

    At the moment his axended.

    A ray of light appeared in front of his eyes. It was a jade-green coloured ray that appeared in mid-air, glowing with intense light. It looked like a lightsword.

    General Tai¡¯s eyes suddenly widened.

    Because, that jade-green lightsword had appeared on the bowstring of the Fiery Rattan Bow.

    As the Fiery Rattan Bow was pulled back into a full moon, the green lightsword continued to extend forward rapidly, condensing to form a green-coloured arrow.

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed didn¡¯t have the time to grab an arrow from his quiver.

    However, his most powerful arrow wasn¡¯t any ordinary arrow. It was the arrow formed by the Million Sword Illustration!

    "Boom!" A resounding boom echoed in the arena of the drill ground.

    The air of the arena seemed to have turned into water ripples, stirring up a terrifying hurricane. Then, the hurricane expanded, blowing open the gs on the arena of the drill ground.

    All of the soldiers under the arena instantly let out a wave of terrified cries.

    Because, they were too near.

    Or, it could be said that they simply had never imagined that there would be such huge incidents urring in this drill groundpetition.

    Streaks of wind des sliced through their rattan armour, cutting into their flesh and causing their bodies to tumble with the hurricane in mid-air and finallynding back onto the ground.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes had nowpletely turned around. If it was said that she was outraged when she saw General Tai¡¯s attack.

    Then now, she was shaken.

    Absolutely shaken.

    Along with the devastation of the hurricane, a huge green-coloured appeared on the drill ground arena. That was a formed by countless interwoven lightswords.

    A huge ck axe was hacked onto that huge green.

    Holding the axe, General Tai¡¯s tiger eyes turned round. His mouth fell open angrily as the fur on his arm stood erect like steel needles. His expression was that of utter disbelief.

    "How is this possible?" General Tai was truly in disbelief.

    A small spy from the Great Xia was actually able to block off an axe containing sixty percent of his strength? Furthermore, it was blocked off in such a strange and brazen manner before his very eyes.

    This arrow that Fang Zhengzhi shot out was actually a little rushed, and didn¡¯t manage to formpletely. Fortunately, the distance was close enough. Due to the close distance, the power was naturally great enough.

    The Million Sword Illustration.

    Was initially already a technique incorporating heavy defense.

    In addition to the power from the Fiery Rattan Bow, its destructive force was naturally tremendous.

    General Tai wasn¡¯t able to use his full power in his blow. Because, he believed that it wasn¡¯t very meaningful to split the entire arena of the drill ground into two just to kill a small spy.

    Sixty percent of his strength.

    Not mentioning someone of the Star Conglomerate Peak State, even any average person of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State would be sliced into two.

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was only fifteen or sixteen. Attaining Heavenly Reflection? Even if he was truly able to attain Heavenly Reflection, he was still going to die!

    Wouldn¡¯t it be impossible for this person to be of the Supernatural State?

    General Tai naturally didn¡¯t bother considering whether it would be possible for Fang Zhengzhi to have attained the Supernatural State. He felt that his attack was powerful enough.

    Of course.

    In order to coordinate with his unexpected sneak attack.

    The most strength he could muster in an instant was also at most sixty percent. In order to concentrate all hundred percent of his power into the attack, he also needed time. However, he wasn¡¯t allowed time.

    Because, he couldn¡¯t reveal his intention to go against his state suppression from the moment he began to charge.

    "Blocked?!" Other than shock, General Tai also felt as if his entire mind was nk. Because, he had never imagined that something like this would happen.

    Also, he had never thought...

    Of what he should do after something like this had happened.

 Chapter 340: The Descended King

    Chapter 340: The Descended King

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This didn¡¯t imply that General Tai didn¡¯t have sufficientbat experience. It only represented a temporarily nked out mind after a powerful shock.

    In cruder terms, his mind had cramped!

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s didn¡¯t cramp. Hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t give up such an opportunity. His reaction was extremely fast. It seemed that he had already began preparing for his second shot right after his first arrow left.

    In reality, the entire time General Tai stood rooted to the spot, he was already calcting rapidly how to deal with General Tai¡¯s released state.

    Actually, he had two choices.

    One was to immediately run down the arena and shout for help, then hug on tightly to Princess Shan Yu and beg for her protection.

    The second was to fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose the second.

    Because, even though the probability of the first choice seeding was higher, it was filled with unknown variables. After all, this was the army camp of the Southern Mountain Range. What would Princess Shan Yu¡¯s decision be?

    What choice would the soldiers below make?

    He simply didn¡¯t know.

    If he escaped rashly now and was surrounded by the soldiers, and if General Tai suddenly jolted back to consciousness and deliver a killing blow to him, he would very likely lose his life.

    Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t do things which were vague and out of his control.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi drew back his bow again.

    The Fiery Rattan Bow was instantly pulled into a full moon as green light began to condense rapidly. Then, it instantly shot out from the bow, carrying with it an air of sharpness, flying towards General Tai¡¯s chest with lightning speed.

    General Tai hadn¡¯t even been able topletely return to his senses.

    The second green lightsword reached him.

    His tiger eyes suddenly flicked open. He had never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would choose to take another shot after blocking his attack, instead of running away immediately.

    This sudden change in situation was too fast.

    So fast that he felt as if his mind couldn¡¯t catch up.

    From the moment he attempted to deliver a killing blow to Fang Zhengzhi to the moment the second arrow left Fang Zhengzhi, the entire process between these two moments urred within the blink of an eye.

    As he gazed at the second green lightsword nearing him, General Tai¡¯s mind waspletely nk. However, his arm instinctively raised up the huge ck sword and blocked in front of his chest.

    The power of the Supernatural Advanced State.

    Even if he made a slight blunder due to his shock, his acquired and conditioned reflex still remained. Hence, his huge ck axe blocked the path of the lightsword.

    "Boom!" A bang resounded.

    Rays of light shot out in all directions as General Tai instantly took two steps back.

    "Little kid, die!" General Tai felt the numbness in his arm and the wound that opened up on his chest from the explosion. He was clearly enraged by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. If Fang Zhengzhi turned around and ran, he really wasn¡¯t sure if he could catch up.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t run and instead chose to continue fighting.

    This gave him a huge opportunity.

    He knew very clearly that he could only choose to walk this dark path to the end. If he really allowed Fang Zhengzhi to run away, he would never be able to change his fate.

    As he saw the second lightsword being sessfully blocked off.

    The trace of a cold smile appeared on the edges of General Tai¡¯s lips.

    However, his cold smile seemed to have somewhat frozen very quickly. Because, a feeling of being ripped apart suddenly came from his waist.

    Lowering his head.

    General Tai¡¯s expressionpletely changed.

    Because, at his waist, there were three to four lightswords. Furthermore, these were three to four lightswords that hadpletely exploded apart. Countless green lightswords tore open his flesh like small sharp des.

    Why are there so many lightswords?

    General Tai couldn¡¯t understand.

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    His lightswords weren¡¯t created from the Fiery Rattan Bow?!

    General Tai had all along felt that the reason Fang Zhengzhi being able to block his attack was due to relying on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Fiery Rattan Bow. Hence, he had the unconscious notion that only with the Fiery Rattan Bow could he create the lightsword.

    However, in reality, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lightswords naturally didn¡¯t depend on the Fiery Rattan Bow.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who had decided to fight.

    Would naturally not hold back, especially when his opponent¡¯s statepletely overpowered that of his own. Holding back would truly be asking for death.

    The second lightsword...

    Was only a feint.

    This was the essence of the Stabilisation Constabry battle technique. Fang Zhengzhi knew very clearly that General Tai didn¡¯t understand the essence of such a technique. A fake move was a real one, a real move was a fake one.

    Thest three to four lightswords were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s real killing technique.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    Numerous sounds of explosion rang out at almost the same time.

    The entire drill ground arena began to shake due to these countless deafening sounds. The gs that stood at the edges of the arena werepletely ripped into powder.

    At the same time, a gigantic figure was sent flying from the arena.

    Then...

    Flying in the sky with a parab trajectory, then finally mming into the ground with a "thud!"

    This sudden change in situation instantly shocked the soldiers below the arena once again. Just as they recovered from their anguished cries, they saw the scene that unfolded before them. All of their eyes opened wide in shock.

    Even a few of the injured soldiers instantly forgot about the pain they were in.

    "What happened?"

    This was what everybody was initially thinking. However, this thought didn¡¯t persist for long. Because, they quickly saw clearly the figure lying on the ground.

    "General Tai?!"

    "General Tai has fallen!"

    "How.. how is this possible?"

    How could the soldiers believe these.

    If General Tai was defeated by Fang Zhengzhi with his state suppressed, even though that would cause them immense shock, they could still grudgingly ept it.

    After all, that only meant that Fang Zhengzhi had won General Tai based on technique.

    However...

    Now, General Tai didn¡¯t suppress his state.

    He had the power of the Supernatural Advanced State, yet, he was sent sprawling on the arena by a small spy from the Great Xia? Is this possible? How can this be possible?

    At this moment, Princess Shan Yu waspletely stunned.

    Even though she was amander of the army, even though she had seen countless fantastic oddities of every description, but, it was still very difficult for her to ept what was unfolding before her.

    General Tai was defeated by Fang Zhengzhi?

    If such a thing was spread out, there was simply nobody who would believe it.

    But, in reality...

    This scene had unfolded right before her very eyes. It was truly real.

    On the arena, General Tai¡¯s waist was soaked with blood. That was a truly severe injury. Even if she wasn¡¯t willing to believe it, she still had to admit that based on the rules of thepetition, General Tai had already lost.

    "Who is this guy? Who is he! How can he... can he... wait, what technique did he just use?!"

    Princess Shan Yu tried her best to recall the huge green on the arena.

    Because, it was the huge green that had blocked off General Tai¡¯s killing blow. After which, two lightswords exploded on General Tai¡¯s body.

    Lightswords...

    One lightsword could transform into a sword built by millions of swords?!

    "Could it be the... Million... Million Sword Illustration?! The secret technique of the Northern Desert Divine Constabry from the Great Xia Dynasty Thirteen Constabries... the Million Sword Illustration!"

    In an instant, Princess Shan Yu thought of a name that caused her immense shock.

    Chi Guyan!

    That was the true Pride of the Heavens of the Great Xia Dynasty. The Double Dragon Roll Champion, Chi Guyan. A woman who even the Emperor of the Great Xia had to treat with respect.

    "This guy is from the Divine Constabry!"

    However, the Divine Constabry was location far away in the Northern Desert. This was the Southern Mountain Range. Why would a person from the Divine Constabry appear in the Southern Mountain Range? Just as this thought crossed her mind, Princess Shan Yu suddenly thought of another incident.

    No!

    He isn¡¯t from the Divine Constabry!

    A dazzling light suddenly shed within Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes. Because, she finally recalled thebat technique that Fang Zhengzhi had used against General Tai.

    Stabilisation Constabry!

    Fang Zhengzhi had used the technique of the Stabilisation Constabry, using offense for defence!

    Previously, when Fang Zhengzhi had used thatbat technique, she already felt that it was extremely familiar, as if she had seen or heard of it somewhere.

    However, she didn¡¯t manage to recall it.

    Until the two words, Divine Constabry, appeared in her mind, another name slowly began to form.

    Head of the Thirteen Constabries.

    The Stabilisation Constabry!

    ...

    On the arena, General Tai was spread like an eagle on the ground. The excruciating pain from his waist caused his forehead to be filled with sweat.

    Injury.

    To a warrior from the Southern Mountain Range, this was simply something that was as normal as eating.

    However, suffering an injury under such a circumstance, against such an opponent, had already caused thest bit of wisdom to vanish from his mind.

    "Ah!" General Tai suddenly flipped over and stood up in the arena. At the same time, ck fur, dense and needle-like, instantly filled his entire body.

    At this moment, his pupils had turnedpletely green.

    That was an icy green.

    Even his huge arms at this moment puffed up by at least twice the size as a metallic luster appeared on his arms.

    The Supernatural State was derived from terminal lucidity.

    The practice methods of the Southern Mountain Range wasn¡¯t the same as that of the Great Xia. However, when one reached the power of the Supernatural State, the control and recovery abilities that one had was almost on the same level.

    The flow of blood stopped in a sh.

    The flesh and muscles shed by the Million Sword Illustration also began to recover rapidly with a speed that could be witnessed with one¡¯s own eyes.

    The strands of beard hair that filled General Tai¡¯s face stood erect. He only had one thought in his mind. That was to kill. Kill Fang Zhengzhi. Regardless of any consequences, he still must kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Enough, General Tai, I order you to stop!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice sounded out.

    This caused General Tai¡¯s body to tremble slightly. He could naturally discern the anger in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes. However, could he stop?

    No!

    If he stopped now, not only would it be difficult to calm her anger, the consequences would still be the same. Hence, he could only bet. Walk this dark road to the end and kill Fang Zhengzhi, then, wait to be demoted to a small pawn.

    Then use his aplishments to make up for his mistakes.

    "Die!" General Tai¡¯s eyes shed with a faint light. His speed was at a maximum, shooting towards Fang Zhengzhi like a ck shadow.

    "Stop General Tai, quick, stop him at all costs!" When Princess Shan Yu saw this, she finally began to panic.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was only an ordinary small spy from the Great Xia.

    It would naturally be impossible for her to give such an order.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi had rtions to the Stabilisation Constabry and Divine Constabry from the Thirteen Constabries, then, it was impossible for him to be just any ordinary spy.

    Even though she was still unable to determine Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity.

    One thing was for sure. Fang Zhengzhi must not die just like that. At the very least, she had to find out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s purpose for appearing in her camp.

    "Woosh!"

    "Woosh!"

    Almost at the exact moment Princess Shan Yu gave out the order, arrows began to streak towards the ck figure on the arena. The meaning behind the phrase, "at all costs", was already too clear.

    As soldiers from the Southern Mountain Range, they had to obey it no matter what.

    However, General Tai¡¯s speed was truly too fast. It wasn¡¯t something an ordinary soldier could stop. In almost the blink of an eye, he had appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Die!" General Tai had confidence in his speed and strength. He felt that it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to dodge his attack.

    Light radiated from the huge ck axe in his hands, as if it was about to part Heaven and Earth.

    Yet...

    At the moment his huge axe shed down, his eyes turned round once again.

    Because, a purple light appeared in front of his eyes.

    That was a sword.

    A sword with a purple scar on its tip.

    The sword was very ordinary. However, the scar on the tip of the sword gave off an arcane glow. That was an overwhelming murderous intent that caused trembling in the hearts of the people.

    General Tai felt that his speed was already at a maximum.

    However, the speed of this sword seemed to be even faster. At the very least, when General Tai shed down with his axe, this sword had already sessfully blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hold the sword in his hands.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi had never imagined that there would be any use in pulling out the Traceless Sword. However, the Traceless Sword had shot out from his Heart Protection Mirror on its own ord.

    Furthermore, it blocked in front of General Tai so quickly that Fang Zhengzhi himself didn¡¯t have any time to react.

    "Vrrr!"

    The sword¡¯s body shook lightly with a persisting dragon cry.

    That was an ancient outraged roar, carrying along with it a powerful aggression. Yet, it was also like a demon that charged out from hell, carrying with it an icy chill and a prating sharpness.

    Two different auras radiated from the body of the sword.

    Even General Tai¡¯s body trembled instinctively when he felt this atmosphere. It was the feeling of facing a King.

    The King who descended upon and ruled the world, one who had wiped out outstanding heroes.

    Domineering and arcane!

    Trembling the hearts of the people.

    The overwhelming aura pervaded the arena of the drill ground, and evenpletely filled the entire drill ground.

    The soldiers below the arena had also seen the sword that appeared. What they felt was different from General Tai. Even though they were even further from the sword, their powers were weaker.

    The domineering, arcane sword and the chilling air that seemed to have rose from hell caused them to bepletely rooted to the ground, each of their foreheads beaded with sweat.

    In just seconds, the rattan armour on their bodies had beenpletely soaked.

    Beads of sweat fell to the ground.

    The warriors of the Southern Mountain Range could face death without fear. However, they couldn¡¯t remain standing tall and proud in front of a King.

    "A sword?!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body was also somewhat frozen. However, what she didn¡¯t know was that under the pressure of this overpowering atmosphere, the blood-red cloud patterns on her body gradually began to appear.

 Chapter 341: Purple Crescent

    Chapter 341: Purple Crescent

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Just like fireworks shing in the night sky.

    Extending slowly from Princess Shan Yu¡¯s slender legs upwards. Lines of cloud pattern rapidly covered to her waist, without a hint of stopping even as it rose all the way up her chest...

    On the arena of the drill ground.

    General Tai didn¡¯t understand why would he have such a feeling. Because, there was only a sword in front of him, a sword that drifted in mid-air.

    He was shocked by a sword.

    General Tai naturally wasn¡¯t happy. Even though his body trembled, even though there was a strange feeling of danger in his heart, the huge ck axe in his hand continued to sh down.

    At this moment, the purple light suddenly expanded, turning into a crescent purple ray.

    "Boom!" The entire arena opened up from the middle, shed into two by the purple ray. The cracks didn¡¯t stop there. They continued all the way until almost a hundred meters was covered.

    At this moment, General Tai¡¯s body sprang up, his body thrown into the sky as the huge ck axe in his hand was split into two from the tip of the axe.

    "Pfft..." Blood was spurt, spilling down from the sky and dripping onto the arena, at the same time dripping on the Traceless Sword.

    The purple ray grew even more.

    The arcane and icy atmosphere instantly expanded outwards.

    Silence.

    The entire arena waspletely silent, even the sound of breathing couldn¡¯t be heard. Only the biting cold of the almost-winter wind blew upon the shredded remains of the g, giving off a hollow sound.

    All the soldier stopped whatever they were doing. The soldiers that drew their bows continued to remain drawing their bows, the soldiers who held arrows continued to hold on to the arrows. Nobody moved. Because, it seemed as if they had already forgotten how to move.

    Their movements were all different. However, the expression on their faces were the same.

    Horror!

    Shock!

    Their bodies werepletely soaked with sweat. However, not a single person attempted to wipe off the sweat that dripped down.

    Because...

    That air of death and destruction was like a murderous intent from hell. Even the warriors of the Southern Mountain Range felt a chill in their hearts when they felt it...

    The cloud pattern on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body was as colourful as a raging fire at this moment. A faint glow flowed around on the cloud pattern. However, she didn¡¯t speak a single word. She had already forgotten to give any further orders.

    Or, it could be said that there was already no need for her to give any further orders. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had won. General Taiy on the ground with the huge ck axe split into two halves.

    Also split into two halves like the huge ck axe was an arm. An arm filled with blood.

    The Supernatural Advanced State naturally enabled one to heal his body and recover from injuries. However, it didn¡¯t have the ability to regrow a broken limb.

    Hence, he had lost. He hadpletely lost.

    At this moment, the Traceless Sword once again let out a delighted cry. The purple light gradually dimmed, congregating back onto the tip of the sword, turning into an arcane purple scar.

    Fang Zhengzhi slowly wrapped his hand around the sword hilt of the Traceless Sword.

    Even he was shocked by the immense power from the sword just now. He knew all along that the Traceless Sword had consciousness. But, he never thought that the Traceless Sword had such mysterious secrets.

    However...

    If he thought through it carefully, it seemed very normal.

    Because, in the Throne Room, when the Traceless Sword was buried in the ground, countless high-ranking officials of the Supernatural State had tried to pull it out.

    Yet, they weren¡¯t able to do so.

    This was actually able to exin to a certain extent that the Traceless Sword already possessed a power stronger than the Supernatural State. However, this power wasn¡¯t something people could control.

    At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi was currently unable to control it.

    In the Northern Mountain Vige, he had already discovered this. The power contained within the Traceless Sword was too mysterious, so mysterious that he sometimes didn¡¯t dare to even touch it.

    He kept the sword.

    The purple light also disappeared.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at General Tai, who had fallen on the arena with an expression filled with terror, shock and disbelief, and then sighed gently. "If I said that I didn¡¯t do this on purpose, would you believe me?"

    General Tai didn¡¯t speak. Instead, he gritted his teeth tightly.

    "Alright, looks like you don¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. Then, he turned his gaze towards the soldiers frozen in their tracks.

    The art of form?

    Alright...

    Who knew that people of this world would also have such a hobby.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t focus too much on the soldiers. Because, his gaze was quickly attracted to the cloud patterns that appeared on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body.

    "Cloud pattern?" Fang Zhengzhi initially believed that the cloud pattern might be a physical result of the Southern Mountain Range training techniques. However, when he saw General Tai disy his state.

    He knew that he was wrong once again.

    If he didn¡¯t guess wrongly, the blood of the Southern Mountain Range was created by All Creation. For example, General Tai¡¯s blood should be the blood of the Green-Eyed Steel Arm Ape.

    However, based on this conclusion, the cloud patterns on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body...

    What in the world is it?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was tightly fixated upon the cloud patterns on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body, shifting from her leg, to her t abdomen, then to her chest, then up towards...

    Then, he saw Princess Shan Yu¡¯s angry eyes.

    Princess Shan Yu was indeed stunned by the scene that unfolded before her. However, this didn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t notice it if somebody tantly swept their gaze all the way from her legs up to her head.

    Just as she prepared to speak, she saw that Fang Zhengzhi had already bowed respectfully towards her.

    "Princess, did I just win?" A faint smile formed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips. His expression waspletely innocent, as if his actions just nowpletely didn¡¯t happen.

    Princess Shan Yu flinched slightly.

    The soldiers below the arena also regained their senses at this moment.

    "Win?!"

    "This small spy from the Great Xia actually won?"

    "What was that sword just now all about?"

    As the soldiers recalled that purple crescent, immense horror filled their eyes. A small spy from the Great Xia was actually able to have such great powers.

    How could they not be horrified!

    Princess Shan Yu listened to the discussion ongoing around her and turned silent. Fang Zhengzhi had indeed won. That was an undisputed fact. But, she couldn¡¯t announce this fact.

    At the very least, she couldn¡¯t announce it on the spot at this time.

    "Arrest General Tai!" Princess Shan Yu ordered as she nced at General Tai.

    "Roger!" A few soldiers instantly dashed on the arena and apprehended General Tai once they heard the order.

    "I am a little tired, let me return to my tent to rest." Princess Shan Yu nced at Fang Zhengzhi once more and prepared to turn around and walk towards the direction of her tent.

    "Princess, is there any reward for winning? At least appoint me as a Tiger General or something. Hey... Princess, don¡¯t go, if you can¡¯t, at least appoint me as a battalion chief or something!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly shouted out.

    "Dream on!" Princess Shan Yu replied without even turning back her head.

    "How stingy, I thought I had met a good princess who appointed people by merit. I never expected her to be blind." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth, slightly disappointed.

    "What did you say?" Princess Shan Yu suddenly whipped back her head, anger shing clearly in her dark eyes.

    ""I said, Princess is able to recognise talents, just like... Bo Le the Horse Connoisseur!" [1] Fang Zhengzhi initially wanted to describe Zhuge Liang of the army. However, he realised that such a person might not exist in this world. Hence, he quickly changed his words.

    Bo Le the Horse Connoisseur?

    Princess Shan Yu frowned slightly. Who was Bo Le? She didn¡¯t know. However, she believed that whatever came out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth wouldn¡¯t be anything pleasant.

    "I am going back to my tent."

    "Princess, at least reward me a te of fruits?"

    "..."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was given his own army tent with ayout that wasn¡¯t too bad. He was rather satisfied to be given a separate room even with the status of a pawn soldier.

    Especially when he saw the big baskets of fruits that Princess Shan Yu ordered for him, theints and grumbles in his heart instantly vanished into thin air.

    Bing an official was something that woulde sooner orter.

    Having things to eat...

    Was the most important thing as of now.

    As Fang Zhengzhi leisurely propped up his legs in the army tent and enjoyed his fruits, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent was brightly lit up by the candlelight.

    Twenty over generals dressed in sturdy rattan armour stood in two rows at the side with stern expressions on their faces. Nobody spoke. They waited quietly for Princess Shan Yu to speak.

    "All of you have seen what happened today. If you have any opinions, please express them." Princess Shan Yu slowly sat up from the golden animal skin, an icy glint shing in her ck eyes.

    "I have a daring guess which I don¡¯t know if I should say!" When a general heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words, he instantly stood out.

    "Speak."

    "In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there are only two people who are able to defeat General Tai in the younger generation." After the general paused slightly, he spoke.

    "Who?"

    "Double Dragon Roll Champion, Chi Guyan, and the number one schr of the Great Xia Dynasty, Nangong Hao!"

    "But Chi Guyan is female! As for Nangong Hao... their ages don¡¯t match." When Princess Shan Yu heard this, she instantly shook her head lightly.

    "Yes, hence I made a daring guess that this person might not be from the Great Xia Dynasty at all. He imed to be called Fang Zhengzhi. However, from the intelligence I received, Fang Zhengzhi simply didn¡¯t even participate in thisbat examination, hence naturally cannot appear in the Southern Mountain Range. Even if all these were possible, Fang Zhengzhi abilities are definitely not enough to defeat General Tai. Hence, there is only one possibility."

    "What possibility?"

    "The demon race!"

    "The demon race? No, he definitely isn¡¯t a demon!"

    "Why is princess so sure? Even though noblelite and the demon race have made a treaty, that is still ultimately something between noblelite and the demon race. Princess has three thousand Silver Horned Wolves, if noblelite doesn¡¯t trust..."

    "You don¡¯t need to speak anymore. If I say that he isn¡¯t a demon, then he isn¡¯t a demon!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tone sounded extremely confident at this moment.

    "Roger! I know my mistakes. However, no matter who this kid is, I feel that there is one matter which must be settled as soon as possible."

    "Are you talking about the sword in his hand?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression gradually returned back to an icy calm.

    "That¡¯s right. I believe princess had already witnessed the power of that sword personally. If our Southern Mountain Range can obtain that sword, it would definitely be like adding wings to a tiger in this war!" The general instantly replied.

    "That¡¯s right. Princess, that kid is already in our camp. As long as you give the order, we can take him down in one move without even breaking a sweat." When another general heard this, he stood out as well.

    "For the future of our Southern Mountain Range, Princess, please give the order!"

    "Princess, please give the order!"

    "Princess, please give the order!"

    One following another, a few other generals stepped out as well, kneeling down onto the ground as they spoke. After a moment, almost all of the generals had walked out.

    ...

    In the Southern Mountain Range, on an extremely ordinary looking mountain peak, at the entrance of a certain hidden mountain cave, four males wearing ck robes were vigntly guarding the cave.

    Right at this moment, a ck figure quickly sped towards them from the foot of the mountain. After a few effortless leaps, he reached the entrance of the cave.

    "Is Domain Chief around?" When the ck figure reached the entrance of the cave, he gradually came to a halt.

    "What is it about?"

    "Urgent military matters!" As the figure spoke, he tore off the mask on his face, revealing a faintly glowing demon eye on his forehead.

    "Please enter." The four ck robed males nodded as they stepped away from the entrance path.

    The ck figure rapidly entered the cave.

    Within the cave, a dark red gem was glowing with a faint light. Under the cast of light, there was a face whose features were like that of stars.

    On the forehead of that face, there was a blood-red demon eye.

    Bai Xing, the Domain Chief of the Star Domain in the Ten Devilish Domains.

    "Greetings Domain Chief!" The ck figure walked until he was around twenty steps away from Bai Xing before swiftly kneeling onto the ground.

    "Speak." Bai Xing spoke one word enthusiastically. His gaze remained on the dark-red gem in front of him. Within the gem, there was an illustration.

    Within the illustration, there seemed to be human figures moving.

    "In the camp of Princess Shan Yu, a Tiger General sent somebody to contact me." The figure ced a letter on the ground with both hands as he spoke.

    "Tiger general? I know. I will task you to do this job." Bai Xing lightly nodded his head without even taking a single look at the letter on the ground.

    "Roger, one more thing... I have another intelligence that I don¡¯t know whether I should say." The ck figure instantly epted the order and kept the letter back into his pocket. Then, he spoke hesitatingly.

    "Speak."

    "Roger! A person suspected to be Fang Zhengzhi is now in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s army camp." The ck figure said.

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Suspected?" Bai Xing¡¯s expression changed slightly, as he slowly raised his gaze. Spots of star lights twinkled in his eyes like constetions in the night sky.

    "Yes, however, because I didn¡¯t witness it personally, I don¡¯t dare to confirm this. But, that person himself indeed imed to be Fang Zhengzhi and even defeated Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tiger general in a drill groundpetition. Because of this, that Tiger General contacted our side." When the ck figure saw the sh of light in Bai Xing¡¯s eyes, he was filled with a slight delight as he hurriedly continued.

    "You say that Fang Zhengzhi had defeated a Tiger General of the Supernatural Advanced State?"

    "Yes!"

    "Are you sure that this piece of intelligence is urate?" Bai Xing¡¯s expression finally changed at this moment. A rare look of surprise appeared on his face.

    "I am sure! It had spread among Princess Shan Yu¡¯s entire camp, and personally witnessed by hundreds of soldiers! This is definitely urate!" The ck figure replied confidently.

    "Interesting, only a few months of not seeing him! This kid... had actually reached such a level?" A cold smile formed on the corners of Bai Xing¡¯s mouth. After which, he waved his hand towards the ck figure. "Leave!"

    "Roger!"

    Bai Xing waited until the ck figure had left before returning his gaze back to the dark-red gem. "One Nangong Hao, one Fang Zhengzhi... things are getting more and more interesting!"

    [1] Bo Le was a legendary person in the state of Qin who excelled in evaluating horses

 Chapter 342: Ascend the Throne and Become the Emperor

    Chapter 342: Ascend the Throne and Be the Emperor

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The night was as cold as water. Compared to the Great Xia Dynasty, the Southern Mountain Range was clearly much colder at night. The water vapour at night froze into hoar frost, causing the entire Southern Mountain Range to seem as if it was covered by a misty veil.

    In the Yan Ya settlement.

    The big settlement that was closest to the Great Xia, which was also the strategic trading location for the Southern Mountain Range and the Great Xia. The area it covered was huge, containing a total of eighteen small settlements.

    In the Yan Ya settlement, a mountain beast at least a hundred pounds in weight was being roasted on a huge bonfire. Animal oil dripped unceasingly onto the me, producing a sizzling sound.

    Around the bonfire satt twenty youths dressed in either robes or armours. The leader wore a fine green armour, holding a jade flute in his hand.

    It was Wu Feng.

    "Young Master Wu, congrattions!" A youth schr raised his wooden cup as he bit into the meat, shouting loudly towards Wu Feng.

    "It is still a little too early to talk about celebrations." Wu Feng shook his head with a gentle smile.

    "Ha ha ha... Young Master Wu is too humble. We have already upied the two main settlements of Yan Ya and Shi Zun and our army strength have reached twenty thousand people, thirty percent of the total number of participants. The number one of thebat examination is now Young Master Wu¡¯s, not just in name, but also in reality."

    "That¡¯s right! Young Master Wu, why do you insist on remaining so humble?"

    "Even though we lost in the hands of Young Master Wu, we lost contentedly. If Young Master Wu is able to sessfully obtain number one in thebat examination, it would also be a good thing for us."

    "That¡¯s right, as long as Young Master Wu obtains first ce, our ranking would naturally not be low."

    When the schrs heard this, they stood up one following another, raising the wooden cups in the hands and voicing out their inside thoughts.

    Wu Feng smiled once again, gazing at the constetions in the night sky. He tightened his grip on the jade flute. "What a pity, I lost in the theory examination!"

    "The theory examination is indeed unfortunate. However, the top three in this theory examination aren¡¯t in very favourable positions now." A schr quickly stood out and advised.

    "That¡¯s right, Nangong Hao is still hiding in his Icy Monkey Settlement. Ever since the start of the examination, the number of soldiers in his hand remained at two thousand without any progress. And, even though Yan Xiu now has six thousand people, he is still unable to upy any settlement, hence also pose no threat to Young Master Wu. As for Fang Zhengzhi..."

    "Ha ha ha... can you not mention him?"

    "That¡¯s right, he isn¡¯t even here, how can he attain any ranking? Ha ha ha..."

    The other schrs also began tough out one by one, each of them raising their cups in celebration, their faces flushed red and their eyes filled with mockery.

    "As long as thebat examination is ongoing, we cannot even let down our guard for a day. Starting from tomorrow, we will press on with our attack on the Thunderous Lion Settlement!" When Wu Feng heard this, he returned his gaze towards the people around him as a cold smile appeared on the edges of his lips.

    "Yes, take down the Thunderous Lion Settlement in one move!"

    ...

    The second morning.

    The morning frost emanated waves of chilliness as the wind blew upon it. In a huge army camp within the Southern Mountain Range, rows of soldiers braced the cold, patrolling back and forth the camp.

    Their ink-dark skin emanated a faint warm air.

    Inside an ordinary military tent.

    Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his body, slowly rising from his bed. He looked around his tent and decided to experience the military life of the Southern Mountain Range, at the same time conveniently filling up his stomach.

    Just as he reached the entrance of the tent, two spears intersected in front of him.

    "Banned from going out!"

    "Even my meals must be controlled?" Fang ZHengzhi looked at the two soldiers blocking his path with some confusion. Didn¡¯t he already integrate perfectly into the Southern Mountain Range army?

    "Stop, princess has ordered Fang Zhengzhi into her tent for questioning!" Right at this moment, a chief sergeant with a piece of animal skin on his shoulder walked over. Almost a hundred soldiers wearing rattan armour followed behind him.

    "Roger!" The two soldiers instantly kept their spears when they saw the chief sergeant.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. Even though he didn¡¯t know what had happened, from what was transpiring in front of him, it didn¡¯t seem like something good.

    However...

    If you can¡¯t do anything to prevent them, you might as well sit back and take things as theye.

    He didn¡¯t have any better idea at this moment. Who asked him to identally step into the main army of Princess Shan Yu. That could only be attributed to fate.

    ...

    Inside the military tent, Princess Shan Yuy on the golden animal skin. However, the animal leather she wore on her body had changed into a purple and ted leather clothing.

    A faint light flowed around the the armour te. Combined together with her wheat-coloured skin, it revealed a certain beauty and nobility within her wildness.

    Fang Zhengzhi happened to see this when he walked in.

    However, he kept silent. Because, there were twenty generals wearing heavy armours standing along the two sides of the military tent, their expressions solemn.

    Interrogating a criminal?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the atmosphere seemed strange, hence obediently kept his mouth shut.

    "Why didn¡¯t you kneel upon seeing the princess?" A trace of anger shed across a general¡¯s face when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behaviour.

    "Ah... All of these borate formalities and etiquettes should be done away with whenever possible. Even I didn¡¯tin, what are you allining about?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth, ncing at the other party with disdain.

    "Preposterous! You have already betrayed your country for glory. Now, you are a person of the Southern Mountain Range, hence you should naturally obey the rules of the Southern Mountain Range. How could you just do whatever you want as and when you..."

    "Alright, Fang Zhengzhi, I have a question that I wish to ask you." Princess Shan Yu sat up at this moment, gesturing towards the general who was prepared to continue speaking and looking towards Fang Zhengzhi with her dark eyes.

    "Princess, please ask!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly replied.

    "Two voices are echoing beside my ear. I want to listen to your opinion. The first voice is that even though the Southern Mountain Range is a vast territory with abundant resources, there are many mountains and forests, and also heavily popted by fearsome beasts. Furthermore, every year, we have to donate tens of thousands of horses to the Great Xia. Most importantly, we must take up the responsibility of being the natural shield of the Great Xia to defend them from the demon race. It is very unfair." As Princess Shan Yu spoke, she fixed her eyes tightly upon Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    "It is indeed very unfair!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded without even thinking.

    "Yes, the second voice is that even though the Southern Mountain Range donates tens of thousands of horses to the Great Xia, the Great Xia gives us crops and foodstuff in exchange. Our Southern Mountain Range indeed serves as the natural shield for the Great Xia, however, the Great Xia has sent people to teach the Law of Dao, strengthening the foundations of the Southern Mountain Range. Hence, it is very fair!" Princess Shan Yu continued when she saw Fang Zhengzhi nod.

    "Yes, it is very fair!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded once again.

    "..." Princess Shan Yu¡¯s mouth opened a little. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sincere expression, she actually didn¡¯t know what to say next.

    On the other hand, when the twenty generals standing by the side heard this, they began to shake their heads. Can this guy at least have some opinions of his own? He simply might as well not have said anything.

    "Princess, please continue." Fang Zhengzhi waited for a while before urging, seeing that Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t speak.

    "Continue with what? I have finished what I wanted to ask!"

    "Oh, since you have asked all that you want, there is nothing else. I will make my move first." When Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, he immediately turned around and walked towards the entrance of the tent.

    "Stop right there!" A general bellowed.

    "What is it?" Fang Zhengzhi turned back his head with a confused look on his face.

    "Why did you not answer the questions princess asked?"

    "I have already answered. You didn¡¯t hear it? Are you dreaming just now?"

    "You... you call that an answer?"

    "Then you teach me how to answer."

    "The person who princess asked is you!"

    "That¡¯s right, princess indeed asked me. I have already answered. If you don¡¯t have anything else for me, I will make my move." Fang Zhengzhi turned around once again.

    "..." The twenty generals were instantly speechless once again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I want you to choose one among these two." Right at this moment, Princess Shan Yu opened her mouth once again.

    "Princess, I don¡¯t know anything about these national matters. You can ask them, they are all generals. Why do you ask a lowly soldier like me?" Fang Zhengzhi replied gloomily.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am asking you very seriously!"

    "I am also answering very seriously!"

    "Somebodye, bring him out and kill him!"

    "Wait a moment, after some consideration, I feel that the answer just now is somewhat wed. I think it can be borated further." Fang Zhengzhi instantly changed into a bright smile.

    "Is it? But, I don¡¯t think there is any problem with it!"

    "There is definitely a problem!"

    "With you?"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was slightly taken aback. His eyes finally looked seriously at Princess Shan Yu, who had sat up. From Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes, he inferred an expression different from that the day before. If Princess Shan Yu the day before was a merry girl, then, Princess Shan Yu today was clearly apletely different person, turning into a wisemander.

    This girl actually set a trap for me?

    Luckily, I am resourceful.

    "Princess, it is not that I don¡¯t want to reply this question. Instead, no matter how I reply, the oue would both be death!" Fang Zhengzhi finally revealed a bitter smile.

    "Why is this so?" A faint smile appeared on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face as she heard this. Evidently, this wasn¡¯t very unexpected.

    "Princess had said that you heard two voices beside your ears. If I be one of these voices, the other voice would naturally hunt me to death. After all, I am only a lowly soldier, powerless and defenceless. Bullied and mocked in this army camp, I... I don¡¯t even dare to talk back!" Fang Zhengzhi became sadder and sadder as he spoke, seeming as if he was about to burst into tears.

    "Don¡¯t pretend to be pitiful. Tell me what I have to do for you to reply." Princess Shan Yu simply didn¡¯t fall for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick, and immediately waved her hand.

    "If you appoint me as a Tiger General and give me a hundred thousand troops, I think that I would be able to reply!"

    "Do you think that will happen?" Princess Shan Yu looked towards Fang Zhengzhi in disdain.

    "Else, fifty thousand should also be sufficient."

    "Dream on!"

    "Then at least five thousand?"

    "Five hundred, no more than that."

    "Thank you Princess!" Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. What the hell, even something as small as a mosquito was still food. Having five hundred was at least better than having nothing.

    "Speak."

    "Let me tell princess a story."

    "A story?"

    "Yes. Once upon a time, two starved people received the kindness of an elder. One fishing rod and one basket of big, fresh fishes... In the end, the person who picked the fish died beside the empty basket. The other used the fishing rod to fish everyday, living a blessed and happy life. End of story." Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking.

    "What kind of story is this?" A general asked with a confused look after Fang Zhengzhi was done speaking.

    "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for today; teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for today; teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime?" When the generals heard this, they softly mouthed this phrase over and over again. For a moment, there was nobody who spoke.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s brows also threaded together into a frown. Her jet-ck eyes shed with a faint glow. Only after fifteen whole minutes did she gradually let out a sigh.

    "So, this is your answer?"

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Princess Shan Yu descended into silence once again. Her dark eyes swept across the twenty generals standing at the side. After waiting for another fifteen whole minutes did she finally speak again. "Fang Zhengzhi, I have a task for you toplete."

    "Can I reject?"

    "You cannot."

    "Roger, Princess¡¯s task is the meaning of my life. I will definitely carry it out with my life, swearing to fulfill princess¡¯s wishes. Even if I die horribly, I wouldn¡¯t mind!"

    "Stop your nonsense. I want you to deliver a letter to the Sagely Mountain City!"

    "Deliver a letter? To the Sagely Mountain City?" Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Princess Shan Yu, then looked at the twenty generals at the side with immense confusion.

    Delivering a letter. You have to specially instruct such a thing to me in front of so many people?

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, these twenty generals seemed to have knew this long ago. When they heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words, they actually didn¡¯t raise any objections. There wasn¡¯t even a change in their expressions.

    "Is there a problem?" Princess Shan Yu asked again when she saw that Fang Zhengzhi was silent.

    "No problem, but... in the road towards the Sagely Mountain City, I am not familiar with the geography, and there are many fearsome beasts outside. I fear that I would be too weak and lose the important letter. When that timees..." Fang Zhengzhi evidently seemed to be in somewhat of a difficult situation.

    "That is why I promised to give you five hundred troops just now." Princess Shan Yu seemed to have already guessed that Fang Zhengzhi would say this.

    "Five hundred? I fear that it wouldn¡¯t even be enough to fill the teeth of a few fearsome beasts." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    "If they were any ordinary soldier, of course it wouldn¡¯t be enough. But, if they were my five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry, that would be enough!" Princess Shan Yu revealed a confident expression when she said this.

    "Five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry?!" Fang Zhengzhi was truly taken aback.

    He had naturally seen those before.

    It was exactly because of their existence that he was captured with no way of escape and brought directly to Princess Shan Yu. However...

    Wasn¡¯t the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry Princess Shan Yu¡¯s strongest forces?

    Giving himself five hundred out of the three thousand Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry?

    This was simply even more extremepared to winning a five million dor lottery in his past world! Furthermore, most importantly, why were the twenty generals around him still so calm when they heard this!

    This is impossible!

    I am an "outsider", how can nobody object when Princess Shan Yu gave himself five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry without any good reason? He really couldn¡¯t understand this.

    It was just as if somebody had suddenly ran over and told him that he was the truly Son of Heaven, and asking him to immediately ascend the throne and be the Emperor!

    What the hell, who would dare to do so?!

 Chapter 343: Every Citizen a Soldier

    Chapter 343: Every Citizen a Soldier

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was very brave. However, he wasn¡¯t the kind of blind idiot who asked for death. Hence, he felt that there was definitely some problem in this.

    But...

    What was the problem?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Princess Shan Yu. He wanted to infer something from her expression. However, other than her delicate facial features, he couldn¡¯t derive anything from it.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression was too calm, as if she was talking about something extremely normal. However, it was exactly because of this that Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was a plot hidden behind this.

    "What is it? You aren¡¯t satisfied with five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers?" Princess Shan Yu once again demonstrated her domineering attitude when she saw that Fang Zhengzhi remained silent for some time.

    "That¡¯s right, with five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers to protect you, your journey would definitely be very safe!"

    "Shouldn¡¯t you quickly express your gratitude?"

    When the surrounding generals heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words, they began to urge Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Thank you princess, can... I ask another question?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate much. He first thanked Princess Shan Yu before immediately following it with a question.

    "Ask."

    "After I send the letter, do I have any other tasks?"

    "Other tasks?" When Princess Shan Yu heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, a pondering look appeared on her face. "No other tasks. You can remain in the Sagely Mountain City."

    "I understand." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Prepare to leave now, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries are ready." Princess Shan Yu saw Fang Zhengzhi nod, then finally gave herst order.

    "Princess."

    "What else?"

    "There is one thing that I don¡¯t know if princess will reply me. But, I still wish to ask." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned slightly serious.

    "You can ask it and try."

    "Is princess¡¯s motive in setting up a camp here to await an opportunity tounch an attack on the troops of the Great Xia that participated in the examination?"

    "Preposterous! You think a small centurion can ask such a question?" When a general heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he immediately stood out and bellowed coldly towards him without even waiting for Princess Shan Yu to reply.

    "Princess, you can¡¯t answer this?"

    "What identity are you using to ask me now?" Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t reply Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words immediately. Instead, she asked a question back at him.

    "My own identity."

    "Alright, I can reply this question. My answer is... no!"

    "No?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed slightly. He could infer from Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes that she was speaking the truth.

    However, he couldn¡¯t really ept this truth.

    If Princess Shan Yu wasn¡¯t awaiting an opportunity to attack, why would she set up camp in this ce?

    "Alright, you have finished asking your question, and I¡¯ve replied you. You can set off now!" The generals also began to urge at this moment.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask any further questions.

    Because, he already knew what he was supposed to know. As for what he wasn¡¯t supposed to know, he seemed to be still in the dark, hence, there was no need to continue asking.

    On the other hand, Princess Shan Yu also didn¡¯t seem to intend to speak further. She took out a delicate animal skin and ced it in front of her, then took out a brush and began to write on it.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to raise doubts again.

    "The letter... is written on the spot?"

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi thought that it would be a letter that was already prepared beforehand, or, it would be something for him to send over. However, when he saw this, he had to cast away his previous thoughts.

    Not too longter, Princess Shan Yu had finished writing.

    She didn¡¯t spend much time on it, and seemed to be consist of only a few words.

    When the twenty surrounding generals saw Princess Shan Yu finish the letter so quickly, they all looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with a cold smile on their faces.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother speaking further as well.

    When Princess Shan Yu ced the letter she had written into a delicate leather, he immediately took a few steps forward, went in front of Princess Shan Yu and received the letter Princess Shan Yu passed to him with both hands.

    He quickly swept his gaze across it. On the leather envelope wrote "Confidential for the King", while on the bottom was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s name.

    Evidently, this envelope was addressed long ago.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept the letter in his pocket, then turned around and left.

    At the entrance of the tent, there was already a soldier wearing rattan armour with a piece of animal skin on his shoulder waiting for him. When he saw Fang Zhengzhiing out, he quickly walked over.

    "Guard Fang, I am the captain of the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry. I am ¡¯Teng Shisheng¡¯, mainly in charge of protecting Guard Fang along the way in your task to deliver the letter to the Sagely Mountain City!" Teng Shisheng gave Fang Zhengzhi a Southern Mountain Vige military bow as he spoke.

    "Yes, sorry for the trouble." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Teng Shisheng wasn¡¯t quite the samepared to the other warriors of the Southern Mountain Range. His arm wasn¡¯t considered too muscr. However, his muscles were extremely well-defined. It was evident that this Teng Shisheng¡¯s power wasn¡¯t average.

    Furthermore, it was likely to be someone with an extremely explosive strength.

    Such a person indeed shared certainmonalities with the Silver Horned Wolf.

    The armour on Teng Shisheng¡¯s body was simrly rather differentpared to that on other soldiers. Other than being more intricately designed, there was a silver illustration on the chest.

    It looked just like the head of a wolf.

    ...

    Under Teng Shisheng¡¯s guidance, Fang Zhengzhi quickly passed through the army camp and arrived at the entrance of the camp. Beside the entrance, there were currently a few hundred densely-packed soldiers riding Silver Horned Wolves and waiting on the spot.

    When they saw Teng Shisheng making his way over.

    The hundreds of Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry howled, as if they were undergoing some form of rite, or maybe weing their leader.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really know what this rite represented.

    However, he could faintly see that the hair of the Silver Horned Wolves who were quietly standing still on the ground slowly bristled up when they heard this sound.

    Their stances changed from that of passiveness to that of activeness, as if they were about to begin their hunt.

    "Shisheng, what kind of rite is this?" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat curious.

    "Guard Fang isn¡¯t a person of our Southern Mountain Range, hence might not be able to understand. Us, the people of the Southern Mountain Range,municate with the beasts through sounds. This is wolfnguage." Teng Shisheng exined.

    Wolfnguage?

    Fang Zhengzhi somewhat understood.

    Then, he recalled Shan Jia who he had met in The Vast World. When Shan Jia wasmanding the Blue Fire Wolf in the battle, he didn¡¯t produce any sound from his mouth. Instead, he depended upon a green flute formand.

    "Then, can things like flutes be used tomunicate with the beasts?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "Flutes?" Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression changed slightly when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, then he said softly. "Flutes indeed can. However, that is control... It is notmunication. The Southern Mountain Range doesn¡¯t advocate control. People and beasts are actually equal, thus only under extremely special circumstances would such methods be used."

    "I see." Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    "Guard Fang, if you don¡¯t have any further questions, let¡¯s set off as soon as possible." Teng Shisheng gazed at the rising sun and said to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Alright."

    ...

    With Teng Shisheng leading the way, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t need a map. Furthermore, from Teng Shisheng, he had learnt quite a bit of the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s culture.

    For example, the Southern Mountain Vige forbade very strictly the casual destruction of rocks. They believed that rocks were Earth, providing them an environment to live in. Without the support of the rocks, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive here.

    As for trees...

    They believed that trees were their own mothers. Chopping down trees to create rattan armour and weapons represented the protection and love of their mothers. They had to pray to the trees each day to repay their mothers¡¯ kindness.

    And, every settlement had its own unique role model. Due to differing role models, their powers also differed. Furthermore, each main settlement would worship a powerful beast for protection.

    The beast would ensure the safety of the settlement. The beast that each settlement worshiped was different, hence their names differed as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that these cultures were somewhat primitive. However, it was exactly these primitive cultures that represented the simple and pure nature of the Southern Mountain Range people.

    As the sun gradually began to set, Fang Zhengzhi had officially left the boundaries of the army camp, entering into the forests and mountains of the Southern Mountain Range. As they passed through forests and climbed across mountains, their travelling speed remained fast.

    "Do we have to set up camp tonight?" Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the slowly setting sun and then at the surrounding dense forests, then asked Teng Shisheng casually.

    "Why would Guard Fang ask this question?" Teng Shisheng¡¯s body trembled slightly when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. However, he still decided to ask.

    "I was only thinking whether you had to immediately start on your task after leaving the camp, or begin it only when nearing the Sagely Mountain City." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply Teng Shisheng¡¯s question. Instead, he spoke softly as if talking to himself.

    Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression changed at this moment. However, he quickly recovered, stretching out his hand to gently stroke the Silver Horned Wolf he sat on, as if thinking of something.

    "Looks like tonight still isn¡¯t the opportune moment." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then, felt the pang of hungering from his stomach as he listened to the surrounding sounds. "There is a river in front one mile away, let¡¯s cross the river first before setting up camp."

    "Why don¡¯t you choose to set up camp beside the river?" Teng Shisheng broke out of his silence at this moment. However, when he heard Fang Zhengzhi speak about the location to set up camp, his expression turned somewhat strange again.

    "It would indeed be more convenient to set up camp beside the river. However, water is the source of All Creation. Especially at night, the beasts would begin their hunt and congregate at the riverside."

    "I had initially thought that you wouldn¡¯t know about such matters regarding wilderness survival since you were born in the Great Xia. I never thought that you would actually be so familiar with the beast." Teng Shisheng nodded lightly. The attitude with which he looked towards Fang Zhengzhi changed significantly.

    "Actually, there are also beasts in the Great Xia. Furthermore, I was born within the mountains, hence, I have some understanding of them." Fang Zhengzhiughed gently.

    Then, he instantly urged his horse forwards.

    As Teng Shisheng looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leaving figure, he bit his lips lightly with what seemed to be a tinge of regret in his eyes. "It isn¡¯t because of tonight not being an opportune moment, instead... sigh..."

    ...

    To the soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range, setting up camp was simply as easy as whipping up a simple home-cooked meal. The five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers quickly set up an army camp, fencing up the perimeter around the camp.

    Then, they lit up a bonfire in each of the four directions - North, South, East and West.

    A hundred cavalry soldiers were in charge of patrol, while the other four hundred rested in camp.

    Everything seemed to be very orderly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was assigned to the military tent at the center of the camp. Around it, there were eight Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers guarding it. The protection seemed very thorough, but also seemed very forbidding.

    In the tent, Fang Zhengzhi casuallyy on the bed.

    All along, his attitude towards life was that if he could live one day happily, he would definitely not wait in misery for his death. From his probing in the day, he was almost absolutely sure about one thing.

    These five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries definitely had a special task.

    Was it to kill himself?

    Or, did they have another objective. Fang Zhengzhi was only eighty-percent sure about this point. He couldn¡¯t be absolutely sure.

    However, there was one thing he could guess.

    It definitely wasn¡¯t something good.

    Turning his body around, Fang Zhengzhi assumed another morefortable position. At the same time, he fished out the letter from his pocket.

    "Confidential for the King?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the words on the envelope. The edges of his mouth curved into a faint smile. He had never thought that he would actually have the opportunity to be a king.

    He immediately tore open the letter. As for the seal on the letter, he tore it into half unceremoniously and casually threw it on the ground.

    Let¡¯s see what Princess Shan Yu wanted to tell me now.

    Looking at the letter.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. What the, the first sentence of the letter and you are already scolding me. Is that even eptable?

    "You stupid shameless person, you dare to peek at my letter? Do you know that this is a crime? Wash your neck clean and wait for me to chop off your head!"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi disdainfully twitched his mouth.

    Then, he continued reading.

    He had initially thought that it would be important military affairs, however, he was clearly somewhat disappointed by the oue. Because, after this sentence, it waspletely nk.

    Except for the small row of words at the bottom of the letter.

    The words were rather tiny, and the quantity was just as little. There were only four words.

    "Every citizen a soldier!"

    "Every citizen a soldier? What is this about?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth and began to ponder what Princess Shan Yu was trying to convey with these four words.

    As for why Fang Zhengzhi knew that this letter was for himself.

    This was actually extremely simple.

    When Fang Zhengzhi was asking Princess Shan Yu questions, he answered "With my own identity". What was his identity in front of Princess Shan Yu?

    A spy!

    Let¡¯s think, would a great princess pass a letter containing important military matters to a spy from another country? This was simply throwing a steamed bun at a... handsomed!

    It would be gone forever!

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t naive. Hence, he simrly didn¡¯t expect Princess Shan Yu to be as naive as to believe that he had truly betrayed his country for glory and unswervingly be a runner to deliver letters for the Southern Mountain Range.

    Hence, it was impossible for this letter to be truly meant for the king.

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, Princess Shan Yu wrote this letter on the spot.

    Writing the letter on the spot, then passing it to him personally for it to be delivered. Then, the contents of this letter were naturally meant for him to see.

    "Every citizen a soldier... does that mean every tree and bush is an enemy soldier?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the roof of the military tent built with trees and grass, swiftly pondering over the rtionship between this sentence and his current predicament.

 Chapter 344: I am Fang Zhengzhi, Number One in the Theory Examination

    Chapter 344: I am Fang Zhengzhi, Number One in the Theory Examination

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Great Xia Dynasty had sent a hundred thousand soldiers into the four main settlements. Their objective was naturally to establish a foundation for future attacks or defences.

    On the other hand, the Southern Mountain Range had already made deployments.

    Princess Shan Yu imed that her objective wasn¡¯t to attack. Then, could it be to defend?

    Recalling the two different voices Princess Shan Yu mentioned, that could indeed be one possibility. Setting up preventive measures in the area outside the four main settlements to guard against the unexpected.

    However...

    If it was what it seemed on the surface, this seemed a little too simple.

    One attack, and one defence.

    Was that all?

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He felt that the arrangements within were even moreplicated than what he thought. From the start of thebat examination till now, everything was too calm.

    So calm that it felt somewhat unbelievable.

    When he entered Princess Shan yu¡¯s army camp, it was also definite that he would be killed. From this, the extent of the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s resolution could be inferred.

    It was likely they wanted war.

    If a war really broke out between the two countries, time was of the essence.

    But, how could they just wait over here in this manner? What were they waiting for?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was once again drawn to the leather with the words "Every citizen a soldier". Above the four words, there was a huge patch of nk space.

    Could words be hidden within?

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again. This world shouldn¡¯t have been able to master such superior ¡¯chemistry¡¯ techniques. However, why must she leave such a big patch of empty space?

    Furthermore, she hid the words ¡¯every soldier a citizen¡¯ at the bottom of the leather, and the words were also really tiny...

    Wait a moment!

    Hide!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Every soldier a citizen, a huge patch of empty space, hide! These three clues spun rapidly in his mind. He suddenly thought of something extremely scary.

    "Oh no!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand trembled. The leather envelope along with the intricately decorated animal leather fell to the ground, giving out a somewhat clear nging sound.

    Huh?

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively lowered his head and looked down. Then, he realised that there seemed to be something bulging from behind the leather. He instantly picked it up and tore the leather open.

    Not too longter, something green revealed itself.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyespletely lit up.

    "Somebodye!"

    "Guard Fang, what orders do you have!" A soldier quickly entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tent.

    "Call Teng Shisheng over, I have something to discuss with him." Fang Zhengzhi rapidly kept the leather envelope and letter back into his pocket as he instructed the soldier.

    "Alright." The soldier nodded and withdrew.

    A momentter, the dark-skinned Teng Shisheng walked in, wearing a rattan armour on his body. His hands were empty and didn¡¯t carry along any weapons.

    "Guard Fang, what is the reason you call me here sote at night?" Teng Shisheng looked at the dim candlelight inside the tent and at the te of roasted meat and bottle of wine in front of Fang Zhengzhi with a confused expression.

    "Drink." Fang Zhengzhi casually said.

    "Drink? This... Guard Fang might not know this, but the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry isn¡¯t allowed to drink while on a mission." Teng Shisheng frowned and instantly rejected when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "What if I force you to drink?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the wine in front of him, as if he had already expected Teng Shisheng¡¯s reaction.

    "Cough cough... I fear that I wouldn¡¯t be able to obey. Our task is to protect Guard Fang. All we need to do is to ensure Guard Fang¡¯s safety. As for other matters, I fear Guard Fang is unable to force upon us." Teng Shisheng smiled lightly and shook his head.

    "However, the order I received from princess is to give me five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries. Hence, shouldn¡¯t you listen to my orders?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to speak in a unhurried manner.

    "I know, but I can¡¯t obey!" Teng Shisheng shook his head again.

    "I see... Then, what is the reason you don¡¯t listen to my orders?"

    "The three thousand Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries only listen to Princess Shan Yu in their entire lifetime. As for other people¡¯s orders, we ignore all of them!" When Teng Shisheng said thest sentence, his tone was absolute.

    "How about your Southern Mountain Range king?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    "We don¡¯t listen!" Teng Shisheng replied without even thinking.

    "So powerful? Then... I wonder if you would listen to this thing¡¯s order?" The trace of a smile formed at the edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. Then, he fished out a green object and ced it on the table in front.

    That was a cyan coloured stone made with a very special material. It looked like a jade stone. However, a jade stone was green, while this stone was cyan. Furthermore, it looked even more crystalline and transparent.

    Most importantly, in the middle of the stone, there was a word.

    "Yu!"

    Teng Shisheng¡¯s gaze was tightly fixated upon the cyan coloured stone. Then, his expression finally changed. He gritted his teeth tightly as his fists produced loud cracking sounds.

    He lifted one leg slightly, as if having made a decision. However, a momentter, Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression gradually returned back to its initial state of calm.

    However...

    The expression in his eyes when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi was filled with shock.

    Without further hesitation, Teng Shisheng directly made his way to the table, then grabbed the bottle of wine and poured it down his mouth.

    "Gulp gulp!" An entire bottle of wine entered his stomach, yet, Teng Shisheng¡¯s face didn¡¯t even flush the slightest bit red.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t spend very long in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s army camp, hence, he really didn¡¯t expect the alcohol tolerance of the Southern Mountain Range people to be so extreme. One bottle of wine gone like that?

    At least leave a little for me!

    Alright...

    Now wasn¡¯t the time to be stingy about a bottle of wine.

    "Tell me your mission." Fang Zhengzhi asked the question in his mind.

    "Send you safely to the Sagely Mountain City, then, personally hand you over to the King for him to deal with you himself!" Teng Shisheng replied without the slightest bit of hesitation.

    "Other than handing over a person, I believe there is something else?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "And a letter!" Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression changed once again. Then, he fished out a leather envelope from his pocket with the same four words "Confidential for the King" written on it.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he finally understood. The letter in his hand had always been a fake. The letter on Teng Shisheng¡¯s hand was the real one.

    "Open it." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem have any intention of taking the letter from Teng Shisheng.

    "This..." Teng Shisheng was somewhat hesitant.

    "I said open it."

    "Roger!"

    Teng Shisheng finally gritted his teeth and instantly tore open the leather envelope, taking out an intricate animal skin and handing it into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi casually took it and ced it in front of him. Instantly, a smile formed on the edges of his face.

    "I see!" When Fang Zhengzhi finished reading the contents of the letter, he understood why none of the twenty generals objected in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent.

    Handing over a person!

    Was also handing over a sword!

    "Guard Fang, now that you know our mission, you should also now the aim of this journey to the Sagely Mountain City. Even though you have princess¡¯s token in your hands, we received the orders personally from princess, hence we must hand you to the king of the Southern Mountain Range. Thus, even if you have the token, it would be futile!" Teng Shisheng waited for Fang Zhengzhi to finish reading the contents of the letter before regaining hisposure and then speaking.

    "I know, however, I believe princess didn¡¯t set a clear time for you to reach, right?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded with a slight smile on his face.

    "This... indeed not!" Teng Shisheng thought for a while, and then replied.

    "Hence, before reaching the Sagely Mountain City, you must listen to my orders. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Teng Shisheng. He didn¡¯t conceal the smile on his face.

    "Yes!"

    "What if I order you to turn around now?"

    "That is possible. However, even if you bring us into the Great Xia Dynasty, we still mustplete princess¡¯s orders, unless you kill every single one of us." Teng Shisheng replied with confidence.

    This was the second time Fang Zhengzhi heard something like that in the Southern Mountain Range. The first time was when he was captured. This time, it was from Teng Shisheng.

    The Southern Mountain Range...

    Was indeed and of warriors!

    Fan Zhengzhi let out a sigh. However, the most important thing now, other than sighing, was to preserve his own life.

    "Pass down my orders. Early in the morning tomorrow, the entire army will turn back!"

    "Roger!" Teng Shisheng gritted his teeth. He looked at the cyan stone on the table, tightened his fist, but didn¡¯t raise any objections.

    "Get a few more bottles of wine, then sit down and eat some meat with me."

    "Roger!" Teng Shisheng gritted his teeth again. However, he didn¡¯t exit the tent immediately. Instead, he fixed his gaze tightly upon Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. His mouth opened then closed, as if wanting to say something, yet didn¡¯t speak in the end.

    "You seem to have a question for me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Teng Shisheng¡¯s behaviour, the edges of his mouth curling into another smile.

    "Yes, I can¡¯t understand!" When Teng Shisheng spoke, his body instinctively gave off a powerful air, as if a beast was about to pounce out from his body.

    "You don¡¯t understand why I would possess the princess¡¯s token?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Teng Shisheng with a calm expression,pletely unaffected by the air around Teng Shisheng¡¯s body.

    "Yes."

    "What if I said that the princess gave it to me herself?"

    "Impossible!" Teng Shisheng was absolutely sure.

    "Nothing is impossible. I¡¯m sure that you know ever since yesterday night, I have been monitored by you people in the army tent and simply didn¡¯t even have the chance to take a single step out. Even if I wanted to steal... where would I find that opportunity? Furthermore, fifteen minutes ago, I don¡¯t even know what the token of the princess looks like." Fang Zhengzhi casually replied.

    "Why did the princess give you the token?" The air around Teng Shisheng suddenly withdrew, as if he was somewhat disheartened.

    "This, I don¡¯t know. But, I can tell you for sure that I didn¡¯t steal it."

    "Who are you exactly? To be able to defeat General Tai and possess such a powerful sword, you definitely cannot be just an ordinary spy from the Great Xia." Teng Shisheng finally expressed the doubt in his heart.

    "Of course I am not a spy. In reality, I hadn¡¯t even entered the army of the Great Xia." Fang Zhengzhi replied very frankly.

    "Then you are?" Teng Shisheng looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Which Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "The Rank Four Sword Envoy of the Great Xia Dynasty, Double Roll Champion of the Imperial Examination and number one in the Court Theory Examination, Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "You... you are really the Fang Zhengzhi who attained joint first in the theory examination with the number one schr of the Great Xia Dynasty, Nangong Hao?!" Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression finally changed.

    "Do you have anymore questions?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently. He didn¡¯t boast very often. However, these reputations did indeed belong to him. What was wrong with bringing these up once in a while to bolster his self-confidence?

    "No more. I have already understood." Teng Shisheng shook his head.

    "Understand what?"

    "Understood that you indeed didn¡¯t steal it, and understood why princess would give you the ¡¯Cyan Stone Token¡¯" Teng Shisheng took one more nce at the cyan stone on the table and said confidently.

    "You really understand?"

    "Yes."

    "Alright, then go get the wine." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands.

    "As youmand!" Teng Shisheng respectfully delivered a Southern Mountain Range bow towards Fang Zhengzhi, then slowly withdrew, walking backwards until the entrance of the tent and only then turning his body around.

    When Fang Zhengzhi witnessed this scene, he blinked a few times.

    As youmand?

    Your attitude changes really fast...

    But, even though you understood, I myself still hadn¡¯t understood.

    Princess Shan Yu had told me the greatest military secret of the Southern Mountain Range, and gave me the Cyan Stone Token, then allowed me to truly have control over five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries.

    But...

    What was her reason?

    What does she want me to do?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand this yet. However, when he saw Teng Shisheng walk in holding two barrels of wine sealed in mud, he knew that tonight, he would probably not be able to understand this.

    ...

    The night was as silent as water. Constetions of stars filled the night sky as silver rays fell from the sky,bining with the frosted dew on the ground, causing them to sh with a faint glow.

    In a huge military tent.

    A wooden pail stood in the center, filled with golden coloured petals and giving off a faint heat.

    Within the wooden pail, Princess Shan Yu was lying horizontally inside. Her wheat-coloured skin turned extremely smooth and delicate under the moisture of the warm water. One slender leg was propped on the wooden pail, shaking gently.

    Her beautiful hair fell like a waterfall onto her shoulders as droplets of water dripped down.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes were partially closed, seeming as if she was relishing in this. Her tender lips parted slightly, breathing out a misty vapour.

    On her body, the red coloured cloud pattern flowed around very slowly, maintaining the temperature of the water.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?"

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes gradually opened, as a faint smile appeared on the edges of her mouth. Immediately after, her arm moved slightly. Droplets of water flew up from the pail,nding onto her face.

    "If you are really that Fang Zhengzhi, I believe five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries should be enough, right? The Great Xia Dynasty... I wonder what ns you will have after seeing my Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries?"

    Princess Shan Yu closed her eyes once again. Then, she slowly stood up from the wooden pail. Water droplets rapidly scattered upwards, enveloping her entire body. The glow of the candlelight produced an elegant figure on the ground.

    ...

 Chapter 345: Betrayed the Country?

    Chapter 345: Betrayed the Country?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Thunder Light Settlement.

    It wasn¡¯t an especially impressive settlement. As a small settlement under the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement, it contained the most primitive of living conditions.

    Tentages built by wood became the most iconic building of the Thunder Light Settlement. Other than that, the area surrounding the Thunder Light Settlement were densely packed with pieces of green mountain rocks stacked highly atop one another.

    Living in a location like the Southern Mountain Range filled with fearsome beasts, defence was naturally a necessity.

    Initially, there were defensive orders in the Thunder Light Settlement. Each day, twenty over youths armed with spears would patrol around the green mountain rocks.

    However...

    In this period of time, the Thunder Light Settlement didn¡¯t continue with this.

    Because, somebody else had taken over them to undergo this task. They were the soldiers from the Great Xia. Two thousand soldiers upied the Thunder Light Settlement, taking over their defences.

    On the other hand, what the Thunder Light Settlement had to do was to live a happy and peaceful life.

    Of course, enthusiastic and hospitable citizens would asionally roast a few mountain beasts and bring out homemade alcohol to give to these soldiers helping to protect the settlement, fulfilling their responsibilities as hosts.

    Chen Hao, thirty-three years old.

    A schr who wasn¡¯t very extraordinary, ranked twenty-three in the Court Theory Examination. It wasn¡¯t very high, but it wasn¡¯t too low either.

    As for his powers, it was average.

    However, this didn¡¯t cause him too much worry. Because, he believed that he had a very smart brain. And most importantly, he knew how to adhere.

    This adherence wasn¡¯t a blind adherence. Instead, it was an adherence that changed with the wind.

    Ever since the start of thebat examination, he had adhered to many schrs. Facts proved that all his decisions were extremely wise.

    In thisbat examination, there were three hot topics.

    First, Nangong Hao. Second, Wu Feng. Third, Yan Xiu.

    This was something almost everybody knew. Nangong Hao was naturally the best pick among them. Chen Hao also thought this way. However, Nangong Hao had indeed rejected thepanionship of everybody.

    Ever since he entered the Southern Mountain Range, he had decisively hurried off to the Icy Monkey Main Settlement. Then, he pinned himself there like a nail, not even straying an inch away from it.

    This caused most of the people to give up Nangong Hao, crossing over and surrendering to the second hot topic, Wu Feng.

    Chen Hao didn¡¯t make such a decision. Because, there were too many people adhering to Wu Feng, so much so that there almost wasn¡¯t any more space. With his abilities, it was naturally impossible for him to receive any good treatment there.

    Hence, he gave up Wu Feng.

    As for Yan Xiu...

    He was too cold, hence, also not his choice.

    Giving up the three hot topics seemed somewhat overly dumb. However, Chen Hao didn¡¯t think so. Because, he knew very clearly that the powerful people in the ancient times had to survive when caught between gaps, suffer patiently but with a firm resolve in order to achieve sess.

    All he had to do was to separate himself far away from the battlefield, hiding somewhere that other people wouldn¡¯t be able to find, then wait until thebat examination was about to end before jumping out.

    That way, his ranking would naturally be above those who were eliminated earlier.

    That was enough.

    A perfect n,bined with Chen Hao¡¯s survival policy of betraying friends for glory, caused him to finally be able to find a quiet area within the gaps.

    The Thunder Light Settlement was a small settlement at the very edge of the four main settlements.

    The scenery was beautiful, and the beasts plentiful.

    In the early morning.

    The bright beautiful sunlight shone on the green grass, gradually melting the frosted dew. Wearing a ck armour, Chen Hao walked out of the military tent and stretched.

    "Today is a good weather, suitable for hunting in the morning!" Chen Hao was somebody who knew how to enjoy life. Coming from a noble family, he wasn¡¯t used to eating the wild tree barks and military rations.

    As for the small beasts farmed in the Thunder Light Settlement.

    He couldn¡¯t kill and roast them everyday. After all, it was a militaryw that if other people didn¡¯t give it to him, he couldn¡¯t snatch them by himself. Else, if this was caught, he would be charged.

    However, this didn¡¯t trouble him. He was self-sufficient.

    He had soldiers, arrows, and power skills. Hunting and satisfying his taste buds were extremely rxed and joyful activities for him.

    "Come!" Chen Hao shouted.

    "General Chen, what do you want?" An armoured middle-aged man who looked like a militarymander instantly ran to Chen Hao¡¯s side and asked respectfully.

    "Make some preparations, I want to go hunting!"

    "I understand." The middle-aged man instantly understood when he heard. Casually waving his hand, almost a hundred soldiers instantly left the morning training squad and ran over.

    All of these people were experts at hunting. Following Chen Hao the entire way, they could coordinate well with his hunting techniques.

    Of course...

    Chen Hao camped at the Thunder Light Settlement, hence naturally had made some preparations. For example, digging a few traps at areas where mountain beasts often appeared, or cing a few animals traps along paths where animals walked.

    This way, he had a strong group of soldiers and sufficient arrows in addition to the asional animal that fell into the trap. Almost every single time he went hunting, he would have a fruitful harvest.

    When the hundred soldiers saw that Chen Hao called them to go hunting, they were all excited. Because, this meant that there would be another bonfire celebration tonight.

    Every time there was a bonfire celebration night, young women from the Thunder Light Settlement would run to the side of the bonfire and dance around. Their dancing h skirts had stunned the fiery hearts of many soldiers.

    Not only did they have things to eat, they also had things to watch. What a great life!

    Chen Hao looked towards the excited soldiers and nodded his head in satisfaction. These passionate soldiers were what he wanted.

    Only by feeding them during normal times would they have the strength to battle when the fighting truly started!

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    Barking out an order, Chen Hao rode on the famous stallion he brought from the Great Xia. He carried a jet-ck long bow on his back and two daggers at his waist. His style was filled with elegance.

    When the young women of the Thunder Light Settlement who wereboring in the morning saw the style which Chen Hao rode his horse, they covered their mouths and giggled softly, boldly shooting meaningful nces towards Chen Hao.

    In certain areas, the practices of the Southern Mountain Range were much more openpared to that of the Great Xia.

    As the soldiers looked at the flushed faces of the young women in the Southern Mountain Range, they all began to grow even more excited. Puffing out their chests and raising their head up high, they charged out on their battle horses behind Chen Hao.

    "Kill!"

    ...

    Half an hourter, Chen Hao gazed at the sky. Two rows of tears fell from the corners of his eyes. The ck armour on his body was already badly battered, while the long bow on his back was broken into two.

    The two daggers on his waist were even worse off, turning into a pile broken pieces.

    "Why?" Chen Hao couldn¡¯t ept this.

    He really couldn¡¯t understand why the trap he had set up below the tree had been shifted into the middle of the road. This caused him to fall into it directly without even being able to struggle at all.

    Of course...

    This wasn¡¯t the most important thing. The most important thing was, where did all these monsterse from!

    Chen Hao looked tearfully at the huge fearsome beast on top of his head, whose mouth was salivating with white foam. It was two meters high, covered in green and ck fur and had a silver horn that shed with light.

    "Awoo!" The Silver Horned Wolf let out a low howl.

    Chen Hao¡¯s powers had already reached that of Heavenly Reflection Peak. Hence, he naturally didn¡¯t fear one Silver Horned Wolf. However, it was impossible for him not to fear a few hundred Silver Horned Wolves.

    Furthermore, what he feared even more was those armoured dark-skinned soldiers riding on the bodies of the Silver Horned Wolves, holding ck spears in their hands.

    "You are caught!" A Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldier looked down arrogant at Chen Hao, who was in a dishevelled state inside the pitfall, with a disdainful cold smile on his face.

    "I don¡¯t ept this. This is the territory of the four main territories. I am here to participate in thebat examination. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t cross the territory. Your Southern Mountain Range soldiers cannot attack me, this is going against the alliance of the two countries!" Chen Hao attempted to argue strongly on basis of reason.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t ept this. These soldiers in front of him were clearly elite forces of the Southern Mountain Range. Being defeated by soldiers from the Southern Mountain Range evidently wasn¡¯t part of his n.

    "You are a participant of thebat examination?" When the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldier heard Chen Hao¡¯s words, he blinked a few times.

    "That¡¯s right, I am an examinee! Based on the agreement between our two countries..."

    "Leader... This guy is an examinee!" After confirming Chen Hao¡¯s identity, the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldier didn¡¯t bother waiting for Chen Hao to continue speaking, and instead immediately turned around and shouted out.

    Very quickly, a Silver Horned Wolf which was even bigger in sizepared to the rest appeared in front of Chen Hao. On the Silver Horned Wolf sat a dark-skinned man with extremely well-defined muscles.

    "What is your name?" Teng Shisheng looked at Chen Hao.

    "I am Chen Hao, a participant in thisbat examination. I believe that you had made a mistake and attacked the wrong person, is that right? Quick, free me." Chen Hao instantly exined.

    "Chen Hao?" Teng Shisheng nodded. Then, he flipped open a small leather notebook, nced at it, then recited. "Theory examination number twenty-three, with the power of Heavenly Reflection Peak."

    "That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. That is me!" Chen Hao hurriedly nodded like a chicken pecking on grains.

    "Alright, congrattions, you are eliminated!" When Teng Shisheng heard Chen Hao¡¯s validation, he nodded once again and spoke with a serious expression.

    "Eliminated?!" Chen Hao waspletely stunned. After a moment, he regained his senses. "What rights do you have to eliminate me? You aren¡¯t examinees from the Great Xia, this is against the rules!"

    Chen Hao was outraged. If these people really dared to do so, he didn¡¯t mind making aint against the barbarism of the Southern Mountain Range for destroying his young and great future.

    "Hi, Young Master Chen, how are you!"

    Just as Chen Hao began to raise his objections once again, another sound rang out from on top of the trap. Immediately after, a figure dressed in leopard print clothes appeared in front of his eyes.

    Of course, other than that rather extreme leopard print attire, the other party also gave him an extremely bright smile.

    Chen Hao was instantly stunned.

    His entire body stoodpletely rooted to the ground, his eyespletely widened. His jaws dropped so low that a big steamed bun could be stuffed into it. His face was a deathly shade of pale.

    Naturally, he recognised this face in front of him.

    Or, it could be said that any person who had participated in the court examination wouldn¡¯t be able to forget this face.

    However, he didn¡¯t believe it. He didn¡¯t believe that he would see this face in this ce. This was simply as terrifying as seeing a ghost in the broad daylight.

    He was so terrified that he was left speechless for a long time.

    Chen Hao¡¯s throat quivered slightly and instinctively wanted to move backwards. He wanted to open his mouth and shout, ¡¯Ghost!¡¯. But, when he felt the sunny rays of sunlight, he stopped himself from shouting this in the end.

    "As the saying goes, if one ran across an old friend in a distantnd, one must host a good celebration. Young Master Chen, is that right?" The youth dressed in leopard print nodded towards Teng Shisheng as he spoke.

    Teng Shisheng understood and instantly passed a bottle of wine into the hand of the youth in leopard print.

    The youth casually tossed the wine bottle into the trap.

    "Come, Young Master Chen, congrattions on your elimination!"

    "..." Chen Hao stared speechlessly at the wine bottle that was about to smash into his face.

    "Young Master Chen, can you not be like this? Why the bitter face? Smile, that¡¯s right, look at my expression. You must smile like this. Running across an old friend in a distantnd, what a moment to cherish!"

    "You... I am going to kill you!" Chen Hao was finally enraged. His face turned from white to red. Snatching up half of his long bow, he prepared to charge out of the trap and fight with his life.

    "Huh? Young Master Chen doesn¡¯t seem to be too convinced. Call me after you have made him convinced!" The youth was evidently taken aback by Chen Hao¡¯s sudden movement, his entire body leaping back.

    Then, he felt his hand to his chest and spoke towards Teng Shisheng.

    "Roger!" Teng Shisheng nodded. Then, he nced towards a few of the surrounding Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry soldiers.

    Instantly, five or six Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries let out a howl and leapt one following another into the pitfall.

    "Ah! It¡¯s too squeezy here! Don¡¯t jump down all at one go! Ahh, my hand... I surrender, I surrender. Quick, let go of your mouth. I really surrender!"

    ...

    The night of the Thunder Light Settlement was a lively night.

    The bonfire celebration night was being held in a grand manner. Five or six beasts were being roasted on the bonfire, giving off sizzling sounds oil dripped into the me. A group of young women wearing in hs danced around the bonfire, swaying their waists.

    Inciting waves of happyughter.

    Yet, in other times, the person whoughed the happiest was Chen Hao. Today, he shivered uncontrobly with a bitter expression. His face was very green. That was a shade of green left by punches to the face.

    His arm was badly injured.

    That was the teeth mark left by the bites of the Silver Horned Wolf.

    If he hadn¡¯t begged for mercy at the most critical moment, this arm wouldn¡¯t belong to him anymore. It wouldn¡¯t belong to him now, and it wouldn¡¯t belong to him in the future.

    Chen Hao¡¯s injury was truly very serious.

    However, his heart was the most severely injured.

    Because...

    When he was held hanging back to the Thunder Light Settlement, the remaining one thousand nine hundred soldiers were stupefied. Even thosemanding soldiers who usually treated him with great respect were stupefied.

    All the soldiers that he had been feeding made a very coordinated move.

    Betrayal.

    Just like the way he betrayed those schrs on the way without the slightest bit of hesitation, they didn¡¯t even take a second nce at him before weing their new general.

    Even till now, Chen Hao still hadn¡¯t understood why this person would appear in this ce.

    "Didn¡¯t this person miss thebat examination? Why would he appear here? Furthermore, what are those faithful and loyal Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries behind him all about? Don¡¯t tell me... he had betrayed the country?!" Chen Hao¡¯s eyes were tightly fixed upon the youth in leopard print not too far away, lying among the crowd with a leisurely look on his face.

    Because, that youth had a name that caused him great anger...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

 Chapter 346: The Great Plan

    Chapter 346: The Great n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chen Hao didn¡¯t know why Fang Zhengzhi would appear in the Thunder Light Settlement at this moment, just like how he still didn¡¯t know why those traps would have shifted in position.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhou wouldn¡¯t reply these meaningless questions from Chen Hao.

    After being a small pawn for many days, he had once again be a general with great difficulty. His biggest priority now was naturally to eat, drink and y well.

    "Guard Fang, which examinee should be attack in which settlement next?" Teng Shisheng held a bottle of wine in his hands, gazing at the young women dancing around the bonfire as he moved beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Why must be go to settlements to attack examinees?" Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head upwards slightly, tore off a piece of roasted meat and stuffed it in his mouth, then chewing on it as oil flowed down his mouth.

    "Isn¡¯t your purpose in bringing us within the four main settlements to win thebat examination?" Teng Shisheng replied as if everything were to be expected.

    "Is winning thebat examination rted to going to settlements to attack examinees?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with another question of his own.

    "It isn¡¯t rted?" Teng Shisheng was confused.

    "No matter whether you think it is rted or not, I feel that it isn¡¯t really rted." Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly and replied.

    "Then... today, you attacked him..." Teng Shisheng pointed at Chen Hao, who was located not too far away, his body covered with injuries.

    "Oh, this was purely just passing by, I guess his luck isn¡¯t very good." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head somewhat helplessly.

    "Passing by?"

    "That¡¯s right." Fang Zhengzhi replied confidently.

    Chen Hao, who was moaning in pain not too far away, heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. His expression instantly changed and suddenly felt a little sick. Passing by? What is this!

    As he recalled the hardships he had faced all the way here.

    Chen Hao almost began to cry. Going from the perimeter of the Southern Mountain Range all the way into the Thunder Light Settlement, was it easy? Just because you wanted to pass by here!

    That¡¯s why you eliminated me?

    Do you dare to go and pass by other settlements...

    Chen Hao was extremely gloomy. However, he didn¡¯t have any say.

    "Then, where should we go next?" Teng Shisheng also empathized somewhat with Chen Hao when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. However, he still asked curiously.

    "I haven¡¯t thought of it yet." Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    "..." Teng Shisheng grew somewhat speechless once again.

    He had initially thought that Fang Zhengzhi would do something earthshaking by bringing them into the four main settlements. However, Fang Zhengzhi actually imed that he hadn¡¯t thought of it yet?

    This way...

    Isn¡¯t this something that shouldn¡¯t being out of the number one of the Court Theory Examination in the Great Xia Dynasty?

    "That¡¯s right, I need to first go and find a person." Fang Zhengzhi thought for a while, then finally recalled what he needed to do.

    "Who?" Teng Shisheng instantly asked.

    "My friend, Yan Xiu!"

    "Yan Xiu? Number three in this Court Theory Examination, that Yan Xiu?" As Teng Shisheng asked, he flipped open the small leather notebook in his hand.

    "That¡¯s right."

    "I understand. Guard Fang wants tobine forces with Yan Xiu before beginning your attack?"

    "No, you won¡¯t understand this." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, then thought for a while and asked again. "How does the Southern Mountain Range address the leader of the settlement?"

    "The Southern Mountain Range addresses them as settlement chief!"

    "Settlement chief?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded. This was indeed very simr to the primitive societies of his past life.

    "Why does Guard Fang wish to ask this?"

    "You don¡¯t have to bother about this. After the bonfire celebration night ends, bring the settlement chief of the Thunder Light Settlement into my tent. I have something for him." After Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, he immediately poured a mouthful of wine into his mouth. Then, adjusting his posture, he began to watch the dances.

    "Alright." Teng Shisheng nodded. However, his expression was still filled with confusion.

    Because, he knew that based on the agreement between the Great Xia and the Southern Mountain Range, there weren¡¯t much things that the examinees of thebat examination would need to discuss with the settlement chiefs of the various settlements about.

    Could it be...

    That Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stay long-term in the Thunder Light Settlement?

    ...

    Deep into the night, inside a military tent. Two dimly lit candles radiated with faint glows under the gust of the wind, as well as producing the shadows of two people inside the tent on the ground.

    Wearing a leopard print, Fang Zhengzhi sat on a chair with a de of grass hanging from his mouth as he gazed at the Thunder Light Settlement Chief standing in front of him.

    The Thunder Light Settlement Chief seemed to be around forty years of age. His attire was indeed different from that of others. At the very least, it seemed much granderpared to the people wear h skirts outside.

    He wore a piece of animal skin on his shoulder and a robe woven together with rattan. There was also a hat with a long feather sticking out of it on his head.

    His dark skin gave off a faint glow under the illumination of the candle light.

    "I wonder if Young Master Fang has anything you need help with by calling me inte at night?" The settlement chief looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a very humble expression. He appeared extremely kind and friendly.

    "Yes, and no." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, and then nodded his head.

    When the settlement chief heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ambiguous answer, his face appeared very nk.

    "Alright, from now on, all your actions must obey my order!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the settlement chief¡¯s nk look and spoke with a different tone.

    "Obey your order? Is there some form of misunderstanding?" The settlement chief looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a confused expression, evidently not quite understanding the meaning behind his words.

    "Do I look like I misunderstand?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "Ha ha... even though I am only the settlement chief of a small settlement, I listen to the order of the Southern Mountain Range King, and obey the orders of the main settlement chief of the Thunder Lion Settlement. As the examinee of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯sbat examination, I fear you don¡¯t have to power to order me." When the settlement chief heard this, the trace of a cold smile appeared on his face.

    "Stop pretending. I am the personal bodyguard of Princess Shan Yu. The reason I am here at the Thunder Light Settlement today is to pass down Princess Shan Yu¡¯s military orders. Obey my orders!"

    "Pass down Princess Shan Yu¡¯s military orders?! Young Master Fang, isn¡¯t this joke going overboard?" The settlement chief was unmoved.

    "Don¡¯t tell me you dare to dy the military situation?"

    "Young master, I really don¡¯t understand what you mean."

    "The n has changed. The princess ordered me to bring five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries into the Great Xia¡¯sbat examination, you must support me from the side. Any questions?"

    "If princess needs any support, she could just say so. Why would she need to scare me with a military order? I am not a soldier." The settlement chief¡¯s tone at this moment seemed somewhat outraged.

    "Preposterous! Among the four main settlements, who isn¡¯t a soldier? I have already made clear my purpose. If you dare to continue dying the military situation, do you know what¡¯s the punishment?!"

    "Young Master, don¡¯t scare me. You are the examinee of the Great Xia, you can¡¯t say these kind of thing!" The settlement chief¡¯s body trembled, as if he had received a huge fright.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the settlement chief with a smile on his face. This guy really knows how to act! I had already scared him, yet he didn¡¯t relent.

    Looks like I must show him my true colours!

    "Ring!"

    A short de that Fang Zhengzhi normally used to cut meat was pulled out. Immediately after, Fang Zhengzhi immediately leapt in front of the settlement chief.

    "Whoever disobeys military orders would be killed!"

    "Wait a minute! As the examinee of the Great Xia, I wish that you can take responsibilities for your actions. Your current actions have already went against the treaty between the two countries, I advise you to stop immediately!" As he felt the bone-chilling colding from the de, the settlement chief¡¯s expression finally darkened.

    "Is it? What if I don¡¯t stop?"

    "You can kill me, but, the people of my settlement would definitely report this to the king. When that timees, the treaty between the two countries would be destroyed because of you. I will see how you exin it then!"

    "Oh... this is indeed a problem."

    "Young Master Fang, if you stop now, I can pretend that this never happened!"

    "I also wish that this had never happened. However, this Cyan Stone Token in my hand cannot pretend that nothing had happened!" Fang Zhengzhi fished out a cyan coloured stone as he spoke.

    This was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Cyan Stone Token.

    "This... don¡¯t tell me this is?" The settlement chief¡¯s expression

    "General sends his greetings to guard. If you have any orders, I will definitely carry them out!" The settlement chief at this moment finally assumed a serious expression. His body also gave off the aura of a military man.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he gradually put down the dagger in his hands. At the same time, kept the Cyan Stone Tablet back in his pocket.

    What the hell...

    I initially wanted to depend on my acting.

    Failure!

    Looks like there is still more work needed to be done on my acting. Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat disappointed about. However, he very quickly felt at ease.

    Every citizen a soldier!

    This was indeed its meaning!

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw Princess Shan Yu¡¯s letter, he had a very brave guess. However, he didn¡¯t dare to confirm it.

    Now that he had tested it out.

    It was actually exactly the same as what he guessed.

    However, that meant that thebat examination was about to be in great trouble.

    If he didn¡¯t guess wrongly, the initial settlement chiefs of the four main settlements had already been swapped by generals ormanders of the Southern Mountain Range. The original citizens had also been mostly swapped out by soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range.

    The four main settlements.

    Just by quantity alone, it already consisted of a few hundred thousand people.

    Even though it was impossible for all of them to be disguised soldiers, but, it wasn¡¯t difficult trying to hide a hundred thousand, or even two hundred thousand soldiers.

    The Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s n was to leverage on the opportunity of thebat examination to control the four main settlements in one move. Then, using the four main settlements as aunchpad to send their army into the Southern Mountain Range.

    If they advanced, they could attack. If they retreated, they could defence.

    However, the Southern Mountain Range on the other hand turned that ply for their own use.

    Swapping out the people in the four main settlements in advance, then, sending in soldiers into the four main settlements disguised as citizens.

    They had already made their preparations to fight.

    That was the real n of the Southern Mountain Range.

    As for Princess Shan Yu, nting heavy troops outside the perimeter of the four main settlements.

    There should be twoyers of objectives. The first was to attract the attention of the Great Xia Dynasty, purposely putting on acts outside the perimeter. The second was to establish a secondyer of defence to defend against the unexpected.

    This was a perfect, grand n.

    However, he didn¡¯t know, who was the person who nned this?

    Was it the king of the Southern Mountain Range? Or was it the noblelite mentioned by Teng Shisheng?

    Or was it...

    Yun Qingwu!

    The Demon Young Lord, Yun Qingwu!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know. However, after confirming the identity of the Thunder Light Settlement Chief, he had already uncovered the truth of this n. However, it was just uncovering.

    Wanting to foil this n was another matter altogether.

    So what if he knew?

    Without the order of the Southern Mountain Range King, or that of the noblelite, it was simply impossible to move these troops that were sent in advance.

    Now, even if he might be able to convince or suppress this "settlement chief" in front of him, once these "settlement chiefs" gathered together, things would be revealed sooner orter.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this would be no more than an act.

    The citizens of the two countries hadpletely different beliefs. If he dared to risk moving these Southern Mountain Range soldiers, he was almost absolutely sure that the consequences would be an honourless death.

    Maybe...

    This was the reason Princess Shan Yu dared to tell him the reason behind this so frankly.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he looked at the dancing mes in front of him. Within the mes, he seemed to have seen a face. A delicate face. However, that face seemed be mocking him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I have told you my n. What can you do to me?"

    That¡¯s right...

    What can I do to you?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi indeed couldn¡¯t do anything to Princess Shan Yu nor these Southern Mountain Range soldiers.

    In reality, after he had confirmed this n, he already had a thought. That was to immediately leave the four main settlements, then, get Teng Shisheng to bring him somewhere far away from the Southern Mountain Range.

    However...

    In that case, then what about Yan Xiu?

    Leave Yan Xiu in the Southern Mountain Range then wait for the few hundred soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range to begin their revolution? No, before I leave, I must bring Yan Xiu with me!

    Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth and decided upon the first step of his n. Then, he gazed at the "settlement chief" in front of him.

    "Tell me the current situation of the battle!"

    "Are you asking me about thebat examination?" When the settlement chief heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he asked probingly.

    "Yes!"

    "My orders are to remain in the Thunder Light Settlement, hence I don¡¯t know much about thebat examination. I only have some limited understanding of what is happening within the Thunder Lion Settlement." The settlement chief nodded his head and said quickly.

    "Alright, then tell me everything that you know." Fang Zhengzhi naturally guessed that a "settlement chief" of a small settlement wouldn¡¯t be able to have ess to much intelligence.

    However, it was better than nothing.

    Most importantly...

    Asking the "settlement chief" about the situation regarding thebat examination wouldn¡¯t raise suspicions easily.

    "Roger!" The settlement chief nodded once again, then recited everything about the situation around the Thunder Light Settlement as well as within the Thunder Light Settlement.

    As Fang Zhengzhi listened, he began to n his army¡¯s movement path. However, the longer he listened, the more he realised that the situation now was a lot moreplicated than what he had imagined.

    This feeling was like dancing on a pile of swords.

    It was ying with fire.

    What the hell...

    It really seems quite dangerous!

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly, then instinctively looked towards the settlement chief in front of him, looking at his dark skin and the faint light that shone onto his skin.

    Finally, his eyes gradually lit up.

 Chapter 347: Counterattack and Finding Treasures

    Chapter 347: Counterattack and Finding Treasures

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    If there was one day when you just happened to be participating in a very important fightingpetition and the opponents around you were more or less equal in power, right at this moment, you suddenly realised that you had a breakthrough.

    Many strange and different thoughts suddenly flooded your mind and the strength of your body suddenly surged, instantly overpowering your opponents.

    Would you be very happy?

    Chen Feiyu had recently been deeply stuck in this joy, almost unable to pull himself out from it. In the Court Theory Examination, his results were actually not too bad.

    Ranking number twelve in the Rising Dragon Roll, he had managed to attain fifth position in the theory examination, ranked just behind Wu Feng. It was already an extraordinary feat.

    However, that didn¡¯t have any use.

    Because, nobody would ever pay attention to this rank. After all, on top of him, there was Nangong Hao, there was Fang Zhengzhi, there was Yan Xiu, and there was Wu Feng.

    Those that people paid attention to would always be those who had the possibility of obtaining champion.

    As for what was below the champion?

    They were just non-entities serving as contrasts. No matter how talented they were, they wouldn¡¯t attract much attention from others.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s background was naturally not lowly. He was the direct descendant of one of the thirteen constabries. His elder sister was the dynasty¡¯s Imperial Concubine Hua Fei, even Ping Yang had to call him uncle.

    Of course, this was just as useless.

    Chen Feiyu had been extremely talented all his life. There were quite many notable incidents. For example, being able to recite poems at the age of seven, and being able to write beautiful, life-like calligraphy at the age of nine.

    However, very unfortunately, it was still useless.

    Because, his elder sister, the current Imperial Concubine Hua Fei, could recite poems at the age of six, and had extraordinary calligraphy skills at the age of eight. Hence, when Chen Feiyu brought the first poem of his life to his father at the age of seven to seek his praise, his father had only nced across it and sighed.

    "Passable!"

    Then, the rest of Chen Feiyu¡¯s life seemed to havended into some sort of curse.

    Number twelve in the Rising Dragon Roll was already an impressive result. However, people only cared about the top ten, at the very most, they might discuss about the number eleven who had the opportunity of entering the top ten.

    As for the number twelve?

    Who had the time to care about that!

    Not bad, manageable, passable.

    These became the mostmon phrases Chen Feiyu heard in his life.

    Not too long ago in the horseback huntingpetition in the hunting grounds of the Eastern Suburbs, the same thing had happened. Chen Feiyu¡¯s horseback skills were extremely impressive. However, nobody had paid any attention to him ever since the start of thepetition.

    Because, in front of him there were the number six and number seven of the Rising Dragon Roll, Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming. Further down, there were still Ninth Prince Lin Yun and Princess Ping Yang.

    Then...

    As somebody who didn¡¯t have too much chance of entering the top three, nobody paid any attention to him.

    This was something very saddening. Even more saddening was Fang Zhengzhi had gained more attention than him, riding a Mud Striped Horse! This was simply his miserable life fortune.

    Nobody cared about the number five in the Court Theory Examination, nobody cared about the number four in the horseback huntingpetition, ever since they had entered the Southern Mountain Range and began thebat examination, everybody¡¯s attention were all on Nangong Hao and Wufeng.

    And even when Chen Feiyu specially inquired about the intelligence sent to Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    The intelligence report only mentioned about how Wu Feng was doing, how Nangong Hao was doing, how Yan Xiu was doing. However, Chen Feiyu, who upied the Thunder Lion Main Settlement wasn¡¯t mentioned at all.

    Why wasn¡¯t he mentioned.

    He had also upied one of the four main settlements, how could they not report that?

    Chen Feiyu was very affected by his!

    To be born within the thirteen constabries, wasn¡¯t that noble? To be ranked twelveth in the Rising Dragon Roll, wasn¡¯t that impressive?

    However, Chen Feiyu¡¯s life seemed to have been destined to be a ck hole, going back and forth along the edges of glory, yet always existing as a ck hole.

    Not only couldn¡¯t he be a main character, he wasn¡¯t even qualified to y a supporting role. If he had to be described as something, it would be an utility man with a name.

    Even then, people had to ask.

    Does anybody still remember who Chen Feiyu was?

    Alright...

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s destiny this entire life was a huge word, "misery".

    However, it was alright.

    Chen Feiyu had a breakthrough, going from the Heavenly Reflection Peak State into the Supernatural Beginning State. Even though he had just broken through, it was definitely a path that went against his fate.

    This caused Chen Feiyu to feel extremely excited, so excited that he couldn¡¯t even contain himself.

    He had full confidence that him of the Supernatural Beginning State would definitely enter the top few of the Rising Dragon Roll.

    He wouldn¡¯t think about challenging Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao yet, however, disabling Wu Feng and suppressing Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s arrogance would be very possible.

    Leading the army and making it prosperous, strengthening the military powers, swallow humiliation and bear a heavy load upon his shoulders, and creating a great uprising in one move to be the brightest star in thisbat examination, that was what Chen Feiyu currently thought.

    Having taken over the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement, he had twelve thousand troops. Even though it was still some distance away from Wu Feng¡¯s twenty thousand troops, Chen Feiyu wasn¡¯t afraid.

    As long as Wu Feng dared toe!

    He dared to attack Wu Feng head on.

    Hence...

    Wu Feng came, advancing with his great military strength, sending troops towards him from the two directions of the Yan Ya settlement and the Shi Zun settlement in an attempt to take down the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement in one fell swoop to be his third base.

    Chen Feiyu onlyughed at this.

    Pretense!

    Let me see how long you can pretend. He could almost imagine Wu Feng¡¯s exaggerated and shocked expression when he realised that he had entered the Supernatural State.

    "Impossible, Brother Fei Yu, how could you breakthrough to the Supernatural State so quickly? This... this is simply unbelievable!"

    "Ha ha ha... A person¡¯s life would always have to change at one point. For example, now is my time!"

    Every time Chen Feiyu imagined this situation, he would always tremble slightly in excitement. He wanted these people to remember very clearly that this world didn¡¯t only consist of Nangong Hao, Wu Feng, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    There was also himself, Chen Feiyu!

    Come, you bettere,e carefully, don¡¯t sprain your back!

    Why would the thirteen constabries be named the thirteen constabries? Why were the thirteen constabries so closely united together? The reason was because the thirteen constabries were the thirteen forces that had followed the Founding Emperor in establishing the Great Xia.

    The thirteen constabries, born in the battlefield, built upon generations of friendly settlements, bonded by the same beliefs.

    There was a saying that had been running around in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "If the thirteen constabries remain standing, the Great Xia Dynasty will never die!"

    If the Great Xia Dynasty was described as arge, tall tree, then the thirteen constabries were doubtlessly the stems of the Great Xia Dynasty, stems that extended deep into the earth.

    Would the direct descendent of the thirteen constabries, Chen Feiyu, not know military techniques?

    That was simply a joke.

    Commanding troops and setting formations were too easy, so much so that even Chen Feiyu hade up with his own summary. That was the experience he had gained from reading countless military books.

    As well as the true knowledge he had gleaned from his countless times in the battlefield.

    Vigour!

    The most decisive factor in a battle between two forces was vigour. Victory came from using one¡¯s vigour to suppress and handicap the other party.

    Faced with Wu Feng¡¯s nking from two routes, Chen Feiyu wasn¡¯t thinking of staying in the Thunderous Lion Settlement and guarding it. He was thinking how best tounch a head-on attack to triumph over Wu Feng.

    "Twenty thousand troops, split into two? This is simply asking for death!" Chen Feiyu raised his head slightly and looked at the army of brightly-armoured soldiers with a cold smile on his face.

    He could almostpletely guess Wu Feng¡¯s n.

    The lowest requirement was leaving two thousand troops in each of the two main settlements. Then, the twenty thousand troops would instantly turn into sixteen thousand. Wu Feng had been staying in the Yan Ya Settlement. Hence, the forces that came from the Yan Ya Settlement would definitely be the main force.

    Calcting the army strength.

    The number of peopleing from the Yan Ya Settlement would be at least ten thousand, while thoseing from the Shi Zun Settlement would at most be six thousand.

    Wanting tobine forces then annihting me in one fell swoop?

    A dark-blue ripple-like glow lighted up on Chen Feiyu¡¯s body, while green tree leaves began to sh faintly in the light like beads of lotus.

    "Generals listen to my orders!"

    "Roger!"

    "General Li receive my order!"

    "Roger!"

    "You will personally lead two thousand fast troops, setting off at night and rush to the Thunderous Bird Settlement at the perimeter. Then, sessively set up defences at the Heaven Thunder Settlement, Changxing Settlement, this position, and here, here, here... set up a camp at every step, and a pass every ten miles. Only defend, don¡¯t attack! I wish to dy Wu Feng¡¯s main forces for five days to reduce the loss of our soldiers!" When Chen Feiyu finished speaking, he passed amander token into the hands of a soldier.

    In a true fight.

    Chen Feiyu naturally wouldn¡¯t use those schrs participating in the examination. Because, he knew very clearly that these people¡¯s goals were only to get a good ranking.

    If the descendant of the thirteen constabries wouldn¡¯t even able to determine who knew how to fight and who didn¡¯t, that was truly ruining the reputation of the thirteen constabries.

    "Roger!" Amanding soldier instantly received the token, then turned around and ran outside the tent without a second of hesitation.

    "The other soldiers will all prepare to move out and follow me. I will personallymand ten thousand soldiers to surround and kill the six thousand troopsing from the Shi Zun Settlement." Chen Feiyu continued to give his orders after themanding soldier had left the tent.

    "Young Master Zhang wishes to personally lead the troops, this..."

    Call me General!"

    "Roger, General Zhang, if all of us leaves to attack, wouldn¡¯t this Thunderous Lion Settlement be empty? What if General Li isn¡¯t able to guard his side, and we are unable to take down the troops from Shi Zun in time. If at that time, Wu Feng leads his troops into the Thunderous Lion Settlement, we would face enemies on both sides." Amander said doubtfully.

    "That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t General Zhang¡¯s actions a little too daring? I believe that we have the geographical advantage in this battle, defence is enough." Anothermander also suggested by the side.

    "Defence? Ha ha... Do you think I am happy or worried when I heard that Wu Feng ising to attack?" When Chen Feiyu heard these two general¡¯s words, he didn¡¯t express his anger immediately. Instead, he asked with a light smile on his face.

    "This... Wu Feng has control over two main settlements, and has almost two times the amount of troops we have, I believe... you would naturally be a little more worried."

    "That¡¯s right, if we have a few more days, we wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of him."

    When the twomanders heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s question, they nced at one another and replied.

    "Wrong, I am happy!" Chen Feiyu shook his head.

    "Happy? Where did this happinesse from?" When the othermanders heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s words, they were also somewhat confused.

    "I am happy that Heaven has given me an opportunity. And, this opportunity really came at the best possible time. I was initially thinking how I was going to defend against Wu Feng. However, now, I am at ease."

    "I don¡¯t really understand."

    "Yes, of course you wouldn¡¯t understand. Defence is indeed the best strategy now. All of you are extremely experienced in battle. Using the geography as an advantage to continue our defence, we indeed have an eighty percent chance of not losing! However, that is only not losing! Defence? Can we defend until we be first in thebat examination? Of course not! Defence? Can we defend until we have control over the three main settlements? Of course not! Then, let me ask you all, why must I defend?"

    When Chen Feiyu said this, his body naturally gave off a powerful aura. That was a self-confidence that came from his heart.

    Only one with immense self-confidence would have such a powerful aura.

    "I understand!"

    "We had initially thought that General Zhang wishes to remain undefeated in thebat examination. However, we never thought that General Zhang would have such ambition!"

    "General Zhang is indeed the descendant of the thirteen constabries, we are willing to follow you till death!"

    "Follow General Zhang and attain first in thebat examination!"

    When themanders heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s words and felt the powerful self-confidence and auraing from Chen Feiyu, they were taken aback. Then, began to kneel down on one knee one by one.

    ...

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished listening to the situation analysis of the Thunderous Lion Settlement by the settlement chief, a question had rose in his mind. Who is this Chen Feiyu?

    Why did nobody ever mention him in the past?

    Hmm...

    This was a question, however, it wasn¡¯t a question that bothered Fang Zhengzhi for too long. He felt at ease very quickly. Because, after looking at the dark skin of the settlement chief.

    He had thought of a strategy.

    A strategy he believed was rather impressive.

    That was passing off the fake as real.

    Since the Southern Mountain Range was able to conceal its soldiers in the four main settlements, he could also do the same by concealing his soldiers in the four main settlements.

    Wasn¡¯t it just smearing some ck oil.

    Bringing two thousand soldiers and five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries to rush about everywhere looking for Yan Xiu was evidently not something an intelligent person should do.

    That was a headless fly.

    Fang ZHengzhi naturally wouldn¡¯t do such tedious and thankless tasks, especially in a ce filled with fearsome beasts like the Southern Mountain Range. Hence, he decided to spread the news.

    Then, wait for Yan Xiu to unite with himself.

    The main settlements were naturally more effective in spreading news.

    After gaining knowledge about the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s "every citizen a soldier" strategy, he decided to take advantage of this strategy. He now possessed the Cyan Stone Token. As long as he was able to enter the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    Then, secretly contacting the Thunderous Lion Settlement Chief, asking him to use the natural resources of the Southern Mountain Range to spread the news and searching for Yan Xiu¡¯s trace. This would naturally be an extremely good shortcut.

    Attacking the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement?

    He had never thought of that. After all, Chen Feiyu had the military strength of twelve thousand soldiers. Despite the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries he had, it would still be an extremely arduous battle.

    Causing defeat on both sides was an extremely dumb move.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s initial thought. However, after he had found his way to the Thunderous Lion Settlement, this thought seemed to have changed somewhat. Because, he realised...

    There wasn¡¯t a single soldier in the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement.

    "Huh? I seemed to have picked up an empty settlement!"

 Chapter 348: A Brilliant Feat

    Chapter 348: A Brilliant Feat

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had experienced walking along and finding some coins on the floor. However, walking along and finding an empty settlement...

    Wasn¡¯t this a little extreme?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the world in front of him was filled with spinning question marks.

    Is there something wrong with the intelligence given by the Thunder Light Settlement Chief?

    That isn¡¯t very possible. The settlement had seen my Cyan Stone Token. He had even admitted his own identity, wasn¡¯t giving him false information a little too hical?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this possibility wasn¡¯t very big. However, the Thunderous Lion Settlement in front of him was indeed an empty settlement. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t even a guard at the settlement gate in sight.

    Could this be the legendary Stratagem of the Empty City?

    That didn¡¯t make sense.

    He didn¡¯t even n to attack the settlement, what was the point of employing the Stratagem of the Empty City?

    Fang Zhengzhi was very puzzled. Picking up something so beneficial to him for no reason caused him to feel a faint sense of sadness. There waspletely no sense of achievement.

    As thergest settlement among the six main settlements in the Southern Mountain Range other than the Sagely Mountain City, the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement wasn¡¯t something those small settlements like the Thunder Light Settlement couldpare to.

    The geography of the Southern Mountain Range was extremely unique.

    It was filled with dense forests, tall mountains and fearsome beasts, resulting in a huge danger - the safety of humans.

    What were the consequences of a world without a sense of safety?

    Naturally it would be panic and crime. However, this didn¡¯t happen in the Southern Mountain Range. Because, the Southern Mountain Range had seven safe havens.

    That was the six main settlements and the Sagely Mountain City.

    These were locations that generations of Southern Mountain City kings had painstakingly built up and established, locations where the citizens of the Southern Mountain Range pinned their hopes upon.

    It was because of these seven locations that the citizens of the Southern Mountain Range would be willing to live in such a densely forested and mountainous area, multiplying and thriving across generations.

    If the architecture of the Thunder Light Settlement was like a small mountain vige in the forests.

    Then, the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement was like a humongous war fortress leaning against a towering cliff with huge chasms dug around it on the other three sides. Five meters high of green stone filled the entire area behind the chasms, with thorns sticking out everywhere on the green stones. The bottom of this formation was all stones, while on top, there were even small holes for shooting arrows.

    The use of these holes naturally doesn¡¯t require much exnation, specially designed for the archers to shoot. There were a total of threeyers.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw the Thunderous Lion Settlement for the first time, he only had one thought. How was this any simr to the small mountain vige he had seen. This was simply a huge metal bucket.

    When he realised that he had been thinking whether to personally lead the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries to forcefully attack the city and upy a main settlement for the fun of it.

    He felt somewhat ashamed and embarrassed.

    If the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries were used tounch an ambush in the dense forests, or charge out in a quick attack, these were definitely not a problem. Even attacking a small settlement could be aplished with ease.

    However, if it was used to attack this "huge metal bucket", the loss would definitely be tremendous.

    The Southern Mountain Range...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement and suddenly felt a slight curiosity about the King¡¯s Capital, Sagely Mountain City, for the first time. If the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement could be constructed as such, then what would the Sagely Mountain City look like?

    The rest of the matter was simple.

    First, Fang Zhengzhi called Teng Shisheng to enter the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement with him, then, asked Teng Shisheng to locate the main settlement chief of the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement, finding out intelligence after shing the Cyan Stone Token.

    "Sending his troops to block off Wu Feng¡¯s two paths nking?" After Fang Zhengzhi heard the main settlement chief¡¯s exnation, a faint smile formed on his lips.

    Not bad!

    Familiar with military tactics!

    If he had led the army himself, there was a fifty percent chance that he would use the same tactic. As the saying went, seeking richness and honor required dangers and risks. How could one obtain first in thebat examination without taking any risks?

    A good general must have a crafty heart.

    If one only waited passively and set up a formation waiting for others to attack, or one chose to attack others, then one would never be able to achieve much sess in this path.

    A good general subdues an enemy without fighting.

    Even though this Chen Feiyu wasn¡¯t craft enough, but, he seemed to know very well how to use vigour in battle. You dare attack me?

    No problem, let me attack you first.

    That was vigour!

    Chen Feiyu dared to abandon this war fortress to face against an enemy attack, hence his army would definitely be highly motivated. Because, they weren¡¯t scared, hence, they didn¡¯t fear.

    However, there was another saying on the battlefield. That was things underwent myriads of changes in the blink of an eye.

    It might be that one had seen a definite advantage fifteen minutes ago, stand on the peak of the mountain and looking down at themon people below, while the next moment you werepletely defeated and turning into a captive prisoner.

    Chen Feiyu had neglected the biggest problem.

    That was allowing others to pick up an empty settlement.

    This was an error in his intelligence. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t attach importance to intelligence. Instead, it could only be said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance was initially already a ck hole in the intelligence reports.

    With the strength of twelve thousand soldiers, this meant that Chen Feiyu had also perfect control over the examinees around the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement. As for Chen Hao in the Thunder Light Settlement.

    The possibility of him daring to attack the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement was almost zero.

    Chen Feiyu was very confident.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also very confident. Hence, he led his army into the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement without the slightest bit of hesitation, epting this present given to him by Heaven.

    ...

    The battle between Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu was unexpectedly tragic.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s boldness and strategy of splitting up his army was indeed effective at the beginning. His two thousand soldiers and multiple army camps had dyed Wu Feng¡¯s main force in its attack.

    However, the total time taken wasn¡¯t five days. It was instead four days.

    Because, after realising that Chen Feiyu was dragging time on purpose, Wu Feng really became crazy. It was a wild craziness. Ten thousand troops advanced as if they had gone crazy.

    Wu Feng used the craziest, and most unreasonable form of fighting.

    Splitting ten thousand troops into four teams, each team consisting of two thousand five hundred people. Then, using the military strength of four teams to take turns breaking down the battalion all day and all night.

    The poor general would never expect himself to be battling against a crazy person like Wu Feng...

    This was simply a desperate fight.

    Two thousand troops indeed faced great difficulty in trying to dy a madman. Not mentioning that his military strength had been greatly deteriorated, he wasn¡¯t even able toplete setting up thest pass before facing the powerful offense of Wu Feng¡¯s army.

    In order toplete Chen Feiyu¡¯s task, the poor general ultimately had to order the entire army to put up a desperate fight. However, that only gave him one extra day at most.

    The two thousand troops were finallypletely captured. But, they didn¡¯t manage toplete the dy for five days.

    The time of one day for a person who only bathed, slept and ate was just another day.

    However, in a battlement, it was always an important turning point.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s ambush on Wu Feng¡¯s second group of soldiers were smoother than expected, the six thousand soldiers had been almostpletely demolished by him.

    Yet...

    Just as he was singing songs of victory and prepared to engage in the task of incorporating the captured troops into his own forces, an army of soldiers with bloodshot eyes suddenly charged out from his back.

    "Wu Feng?!" Chen Feiyu looked at the Wu Feng, who was leading the soldiers and holding a jade flute in his hands. The shock he had received was so great that he almost fell off his horse.

    He had naturally thought that Wu Feng mighte faster than what he nned.

    Hence, after his sessful ambush, he had been rushing his orders to attack.

    However, that was ultimately still the strength of six thousand soldiers.

    Ten thousand against six thousand, even though the ambush was sessful, to take down all of them in one fell swoop wasn¡¯t a simple task.

    Chen Feiyu felt that he was already very fast. However, he had never expected Wu Feng to be even faster.

    Yet, things had already reached this point. Chen Feiyu ultimately managed to think calmly.

    As themander in chief of the battle, staying calm was the most fundamental job he had to carry out. He had always been doing this job very well. Hence, in the time of two minutes, he made a wise choice.

    Give up a rook to save the king!

    Leave one thousand troops to forcefully attack Wu Feng from the back. Then, leading the main force to retreat into the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement overnight.

    After calcting, Chen Feiyu¡¯s battle was still considered sessful.

    Losing one thousand on top of two thousand troops to take down six thousand of Wu Feng¡¯s troops. It was still worth it, and could be considered as a ssic victorious situation where he exchanged one soldier for two.

    Standing at the city entrance of the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement, Chen Feiyu raised his head slightly with an evident smile on his face. After this battle, his military strength had increased instead of dropping.

    After all, everybody knew that in abat examination, people wouldn¡¯t risk their lives and kill others. Hence, the six thousand soldiers in the battle were almost all still alive. Only slightly over three hundred people had died. Hence, Chen Feiyu was able to recruit five thousand and seven hundred people.

    This had caused his total military strength to reach fourteen thousand and seven hundred people, almost fifteen thousand.

    While Wu Feng¡¯s total military strength had decreased by three thousand.

    Turning from twenty thousand to seventeen thousand. Furthermore, he had left four thousand people in the main cities of the two main settlements. Hence, the amount of people he was currently left with was fourteen thousand.

    Fifteen thousand against fourteen thousand, along with the advantage of the settlement. What did Chen Feiyu have to fear about Wu Feng?

    Any ordinary person would definitely shout loudly at this moment. "Come, if you dare to toe, I will make you wet your pants in terror!"

    However...

    Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t shout this.

    The direct descendent of the thirteen constabries had already remained silent for such a long time. How could his brilliant feat only have one part to it?

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s n was to bepleted in one fell swoop. He had indeed abandoned his rook to save the king. However, this n concealed another plot behind it.

    Usually, the one thousand soldiers were considered lost. However, Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t think this way.

    After leaving one thousand soldiers, he had left another two thousand troops. Furthermore, these two thousand troops used the technique of moving around to harass Wu Feng continuously.

    The point of this naturally wasn¡¯t to pursue a retreating enemy.

    Instead, it was a lure!

    He wanted to lure Wu Feng to attack the city. For that, he had already made his ns and preparations.

    After consolidating his military strength, Chen Feiyu led the fifteen thousand-strong army and entered the war fortress of the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement in a grandiose manner.

    After which, he simrly didn¡¯t rx.

    Instantly urging the task of setting up defences, deploying three thousand soldiers to guard the city gates, leaving the remaining twelve thousand to rest and reorganise.

    After all, it still took some time to reorganize after swallowing six thousand troops at one go.

    After Chen Feiyu had finished settling all these matters, it was already sunset. The sky gradually began to darken, as a powerful sense of fatigue caused this victorious returning general to finally feel somewhat sleepy.

    After settling the tasks of patrolling, the finally stepped back into thefortable stone house that the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement Chief had specially prepared for him. Gazing at the bed he was so familiar with, as well as the beautiful paintings he had brought from the Great Xia Dynasty, Chen Feiyu exhaled heavily as he removed the armour from his body.

    "So what if he is Wu Feng? Number three in the Rising Dragon Roll? Your fate... had already been determined!" At this moment, Chen Feiyu¡¯s sense of sess was so full that it was about to burst.

    After so many years of silence.

    He had never had the same feeling as this moment.

    Even though he was fatigued, he was fatigued in a happy, delighted and excited manner. Such emotions caused him to be unable to fall asleep immediately. Instead, he took out the wine bottle and poured himself another full cup.

    He could already see the Wu Feng¡¯s expression when he arrived to attack the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement. Faced with his well-guarded war fortress, he could already imagine Wu Feng¡¯s dejected and crestfallen expression.

    Yet...

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s n wasn¡¯t as simple as just luring Wu Feng to attack the city.

    All along, he had purposely concealed the fact that he had attained Supernatural State. This point was the true origin of his n.

    He prepared to take the initiative to challenge Wu Feng to a one-to-one battle after Wu Feng was unable to get past his defences.

    The third in the Rising Dragon Roll against the twelfth. Whoever lost would be eliminated and give up all his military force.

    What a perfect idiotic move!

    Chen Feiyu was absolutely sure that that was how Wu Feng would think.

    Things would be simple from then on.

    Stepping on Wu Feng beneath his feet in front of thousands of soldiers, amazing the world with a single brilliant feat using the power of the Supernatural State to shock the entire Southern Mountain Range and even the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Bing a person who truly attracted the attention of others.

    When he thought of this, the edges of Chen Feiyu¡¯s lips began to twitch uncontrobly. It was too exciting, too perfect. Only in this manner would his name truly be spread across the world.

    Defeating Wu Feng in a muddled warfare?

    How boring.

    Challenging Wu Feng on an arena?

    That was just as boring!

    Using his unexpected power to step on Wu Feng beneath his feet in front of thousands of soldiers, that was the real counterattack. A perfect counterattack!

    "It is too perfect! I must celebrate my sess beforehand!" Chen Feiyu was restraining himself. He had to temporarily restrain himself to ensure that his powers wouldn¡¯t be revealed in advance.

    Only in this way would his sess shocking enough.

    Hence...

    He could only drink alone, celebrate alone and wait alone.

    "Isn¡¯t it not very good to drink a celebratory wine alone?"

    Just as Chen Feiyu prepared to raise his cup to himself, a voice came from outside the stone house. Immediately after, a figure appeared at the door of the stone house.

    It was a person dressed in leopard print and wearing a animal skin hat, with a slight smile on his face. The ssic attire of a newly rich person of the Southern Mountain Range. However, if this was in addition to his fair facial features andnky build, it was somewhat inappropriate for a person of the Southern Mountain Range.

    It seemed slightlyical.

    However, Chen Feiyu¡¯s expression very evidently froze for a while, almost dropping the cup in his hand. Because, he felt that this was the time he should be standing on the peak alone, waiting for the moment his name became famous.

    However, a Fang Zhengzhi suddenly appeared.

    What the heck is this about?

 Chapter 349: Great Trouble

    Chapter 349: Great Trouble

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Didn¡¯t this guy disappear in the fire incident in the Intellectual Loft?

    No matter what, Chen Feiyu couldn¡¯t understand why Fang Zhengzhi would appear in this ce. Furthermore, most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Southern Mountain Range, at the door of his stone house.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who didn¡¯t even participate in thebat examination, appearing in the Southern Mountain Range?

    This was already a very mysterious case.

    Even more mysterious was that Fang Zhengzhi actually swaggered into his stone house in such an open, tant manner. Are the guards outside the door blind?

    "Why... why are you here?" It wasn¡¯t quite possible for Chen Feiyu not to feel the slightest bit shocked. However, paralysing him with shock wasn¡¯t quite possible as well.

    As the saying went, boldness stems from superb skill.

    That was Chen Feiyu¡¯s attitude now. Not mentioning that you are Fang Zhengzhi, even if Nangong Hao came, so what? I am already of the Supernatural Beginning State.

    Looking down on all the examinees in thebat examination, who do I have to fear?

    "I have already said, isn¡¯t it not very good to drink a celebratory wine alone?" Fang Zhengzhi simply didn¡¯t know that the Chen Feiyu in front of him had attained Supernatural State.

    Number twelve in the Rising Dragon Roll.

    Who feared him?

    Hence, as he spoke, he swaggered in and sat in front of Chen Feiyu.

    "Ha ha, Young Master Fang is right, all visitors are my guests. Since Young Master Fang has alreadye to my territory, then let¡¯s drink a cup together." When Chen Feiyu finished speaking, he personally poured a ss of wine for Fang Zhengzhi to express his sincerity.

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi picked up the cup and downed it in one gulp, without the slightest bit of suspicion.

    Chen Feiyu frowned slightly. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude caused him to feel somewhat unhappy. After all, this was his territory. How can you drink with me feeling so at ease?

    "I wonder why Young Master Fang came here to find me?" Chen Feiyu ultimately didn¡¯t attack immediately. After all, he was still somewhat curious as to why Fang Zhengzhi appeared here.

    "Not anything important, I just want to borrow Young Master Zhang¡¯s territory to y around a bit." Fang Zhengzhi said frankly. He indeed prepared to seek Chen Feiyu to "borrow" this territory.

    "Ha ha, borrow my territory? If I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, Young Master Fang seems to not possess any troops, is that right? Then, if I give my territory to you, can you guard it?" Chen Feiyu smiled coldly.

    "I should be able to." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Ha ha ha... Looks like Young Master Fang came prepared today. I wonder how you wish to guard?" When Chen Feiyu heard this, he began tough again.

    "Using troops of course." Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "You have soldiers?!" Chen Feiyu was clearly taken aback. Having troops and not having troops were twopletely different concepts.

    "Yes."

    "How many?"

    "Two thousand."

    "Two thousand?" Chen Feiyuughed again. "Fang Zhengzhi, pardon my frankness, but using two thousand soldiers to guard my Thunderous Lion Main Settlement isn¡¯t quite enough, is that right?"

    "It indeed isn¡¯t quite enough. Hence, I also prepared to borrow some soldiers from you." When Fang Zhengzhi heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s words, he pondered for a moment, then looked towards Chen Feiyu with an anticipated look on his face.

    "Borrowing territory and borrowing soldiers? I never thought that Fang Zhengzhi, number one of the theory examination, would also have times of such naivety?" Chen Feiyu¡¯s smile grew wider and wider.

    "Naivety is the natural quality of humans. I am always very kind and honest, hence, I am also a little kinder and more honest in my thoughts. After all, there are more good people than bad people in this world, am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t affected by Chen Feiyu¡¯s words at all, instead, he continued to ask in anticipation.

    "Ha ha ha..." As Chen Feiyuughed, he poured himself another ss of wine. Finishing it in one mouth, his gaze finally grew cold. "Fang Zhengzhi, do you think you can still walk out of here today?"

    "I think I can!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression remained calm.

    "Is it? Why not we try it out?"

    "Alright."

    "Ha ha ha...e, capture this great schr, number one in the Court Theory Examination!" Chen Feiyu looked at the confident look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and burst intoughter, then shouted out.

    His voice was rather loud. At the very least, Chen Feiyu believed that the five hundred soldiers around the stone house would definitely be able to hear his words.

    The door of the stone house moved slightly at this moment. A gust of cold, night wind blew into the stone house, causing the candlelight in the stone house to begin to dance.

    However, the soldiers that Chen Feiyu expected didn¡¯t appear. Other than the sound of the night wind, it was aplete silence inside and outside the stone house, just like the stars in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t affected by Chen Feiyu¡¯s shout at all.

    It was as if he had never even heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s voice, indifferently pouring himself another cup of wine then unhurriedly drinking a mouthful and conveniently picking up some of the snacks on the table and stuffing it into his mouth.

    Chewing on it, he thought, it tastes quite good.

    Chen Feiyu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s calm expression and finally understood. When he looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, his expression was clearlypletely different from before.

    In it, there was shock.

    It was different from the shock at the beginning. This time, the shock came from Fang Zhengzhi himself, a shock produced by a form of respect deep inside his heart.

    "Not bad!" Chen Feiyu lightly nodded his head. "I must admit, you indeed have some skills. You are actually able to take advantage of the time I fought with Wu Feng outside and nt an ambush in my Thunderous Lion Settlement in advance. Furthermore, you are able to maintain your patience and calm, waiting for me until I entered the stone house before springing into action."

    "Yes, you are right. That is indeed what happened." Fang Zhengzhi also nodded at this moment. Because, Chen Feiyu waspletely right.

    "If I were still the Chen Feiyu from before, you might really be able to win this time. Unfortunately, Chen Feiyu isn¡¯t the same Chen Feiyu as before. Can two thousand soldiers stop me?" A glimmer of light shed in Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes.

    "Two thousand soldiers aren¡¯t able to stop you?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    "Ha ha ha... you can give it a try!" Chen Feiyu finallyughed. This time, hisughter was wild, and could even be described as somewhat mad.

    In reality, he was indeed qualified tough madly. Just as he said, if he were still of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State, based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities and the soldiers nted around the stone house, it was impossible for him to escape.

    However, he was of the Supernatural State. Then, things would bepletely different.

    Fighting his way out, then making a rion call. When over ten thousand soldiers surrounded them, Fang Zhengzhi and the other two thousand soldiers wouldn¡¯t even be able to fly out of the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement even if they had wings.

    That was his confidence, a confidence that came from deep within his heart.

    Initially, he wanted to see Wu Feng¡¯s stunned expression. But now, there was Fang Zhengzhi who was asking for death, "tantly" sending himself to his doorstep.

    I am going to reveal my abilities so early?

    This is actually indeed quite exciting!

    Chen Feiyuughed out loud. At the same time, a dense, dull blue glow radiated from his body. That was essentially waves of ripples, and within those ripples, there were many jade-green leaves. With his body at the center, the entire stone house waspletely covered.

    He looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, wanting to see the deep shock and horror Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    However...

    Very disappointingly, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have been scared dumb, continuing to sit nkly on the chair and pouring wine into his cup.

    "Hey, are you blind!" Chen Feiyu finally couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore. He had already disyed his abilities. Shouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi have some sort of reaction?

    "What is it?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chen Feiyu innocently.

    "Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t see that I¡¯ve already had a breakthrough? A breakthrough from the Heavenly Reflection Peak State to the Supernatural Beginning State!" Chen Feiyu felt that he really had to remind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Breakthrough? That is really impressive, what should I do?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have finally managed to react after hearing Chen Feiyu¡¯s words. His expression also began to seem somewhat panicked.

    "Run of course!" Chen Feiyu replied without a moment of hesitation.

    "Oh, then I¡¯ll start running." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then gradually stood up from the chair and slowly strolled towards the outside of the stone house.

    Chen Feiyu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foolish yet adorable expression and instinctively felt as if something wasn¡¯t quite right. However, after thinking about his own powers.

    He quickly dismissed those thoughts of something being amiss.

    Is it scared dumb?

    As he thought, Chen Feiyu instantly leapt up. With a "ng", he drew out his sword and charged rapidly towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Ha ha ha... you wish to run? The entire Thunderous Lion Settlement is mine, let me see where you..." Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t finish his sentence. Because, after he charged outside the stone house, he waspletely taken aback by the scene in front of his eyes.

    The smile on his face froze like a statue.

    Because, outside the stone house, there were countless densely packed dark-skinned armoured soldiers.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the main point. The main point was that all of those soldiers rode on a huge beast at least two meters tall.

    That was a beast that looked like a wolf, its body coveredpletely in green and ck fur with a single silver horn on its forehead. However, its build was definitely at least two to three times bigger than a wolf.

    The Silver Horned Wolf!

    As the descendant of the thirteen constabries and an important member of the Great Xia Dynasty, how could Chen Feiyu not know that the Southern Mountain Range had an extremely terrifying force.

    The Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry!

    Every Silver Horned Wolf wasparable to a human of the Heavenly Reflection State. Adding on the mounted troops on the Silver Horned Wolf, it was definitely a terrifying existence.

    The greatest reason beasts were suppressed by humans wasn¡¯t because they weren¡¯t powerful enough, instead, it was due to their intelligence. Even though the higher-ss beasts were intelligent, it was still clearly somewhat inferiorpared to that of humans.

    However...

    If there were mounted soldiers who could control them, then this difference would be gone.

    "One, two... how many are there here!" Chen Feiyu parted his lips slightly and swept his gaze across the surrounding Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries, attempting to estimate the approximate amount in his heart.

    "You don¡¯t have to count, there are exactly five hundred!" Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth at this moment, the edges of his mouth curling into a kind and warm smile, like that of the spring breeze.

    However, Chen Feiyu¡¯s expression hadpletely changed.

    Five hundred?!

    Five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries!

    Why would this happen, how is this possible? Why would Fang Zhengzhi have the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries? The Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry was the elite among the elite forces of the Southern Mountain Range!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you dare betray your country?!"

    "I thought you were rather smart, yet why are you still like Chen Hao? Betraying my country? It isn¡¯t very good to falsely use people, did I ever say that I betrayed my country?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "Then... then what are all these Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries about?" Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t believe that the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries would obey Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s orders without any good reason.

    "Borrowed." Fang Zhengzhi said frankly.

    "Borrowed?!"

    "That¡¯s right, I had also prepared to borrow some soldiers from you, but you are too stingy and didn¡¯t agree. However, the people of the Southern Mountain Range are very generous, when I said that I want to borrow troops, they lent me immediately."

    "Who are you trying to scam?"

    "You!"

    "You... Fang Zhengzhi, no matter what, you are still the number one in the Court Theory Examination of the Great Xia. I, Chen Feiyu, also respect you for being an honourable and forthright person. Today, I challenge you to a duel. If you defeat me, all the ten thousand troops under me would be yours. If you lose, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries under you would be mine. How about that?" Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t continue arguing with Fang Zhengzhi and quickly proposed his own n.

    "Alright!"

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded very quickly.

    When Chen Feiyu heard this, his eyes instantly lit up. However, very quickly, his expression turned dark. Because, after Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, he continued to say.

    "I wonder whether you would choose for all of us to duel you, or would you duel all of us?"

    "You... Fang Zhengzhi, you are shameless!" Chen Feiyu finally exploded. Because, this Fang Zhengzhi in front of him clearly wasn¡¯t a "honourable and forthright" person.

    "Thank you for your praise. Teng Shisheng!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded, satisfied, then shouted out towards Teng Shisheng who was standing him.

    "Present!"

    "I want him alive!"

    "I understand!" Teng Shisheng instantly received the orders. Then, he raised his dark and muscr arm. Instantly five hundred Silver Horned Wolves let out a blood-curdling howl at the same time.

    "Awoo!"

    "Awoo!"

    "..."

    "Ah! Don¡¯t do this... Ah! Get away from me! I... I am not satisfied, I have already attained the Supernatural State. I am going to be number one in thebat examination. I want to make a name for myself!" Chen Feiyu¡¯s voice mixed together with the howls of the Silver Horned Wolves.

    He was struggling.

    He was of the Supernatural State, hence his powers were indeed very frightening.

    Pieces of his flesh were torn and bitten off. However, they recovered rapidly. Terminal lucidity enabled Chen Feiyu to stand strong and firm.

    However, the oue of that was a longer period of suffering.

    Two bloody streaks were shed on his arms.

    Not a problem, it could heal.

    A chunk of meat was bitten off his leg. Not a problem, it still could heal.

    "Ah! I cannot lose, I... don¡¯t want to lose!" Chen Feiyu¡¯s voice was very proud and aloof, however, it was also very tragic. Cries of pain reverberated about the entire Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    This also sent chill down the hearts of the soldiers guarding the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    "This voice seemed to havee from General Zhang¡¯s direction. Don¡¯t tell me something happened to General Zhang?!"

    "Oh no, it is definitely Wu Feng. Could he have took advantage of the time we left the Thunderous Lion Settlement to send in a group of soldiers to hide inside, waiting for an opportunity to ambush General Zhang?"

    "Quick, gather as fast as possible and rush towards General Zhang¡¯s house!"

 Chapter 350: Unfortunately, the person you are facing is me

    Chapter 350: Unfortunately, the person you are facing is me

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When the leaders in the army heard that blood curdling cry, they finally regained their senses. Immediately after, groups of soldiers led by their respectively leaders flooded from all directions towards the stone house.

    However...

    Just as they were about to near the stone house, all of them had no choice but to stop.

    Because, there were countless citizens of the Southern Mountain Range densely packed in front of them. Each of them was dark-skinned and wore various kinds of rattan clothing.

    "Move aside!" A leader instantly bellowed.

    "Why? What do you guys want to do?" An elder around the age of fifty, dressed in rattan attire and animal leather and wearing a hat with a feather on top of it on his head walked over.

    "I see it¡¯s settlement chief. Our general had been ambushed by people, could you please tell them to excuse us!" When the leader saw the elder in front of him, he recognised that this was the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement Chief. His tone instantly turned polite.

    "General Chen had been ambushed? Then you should hurry up and skirt around the East side!" When the settlement chief heard the leader¡¯s words, he instantly became somewhat worried.

    "Skirt around?!?" The leader¡¯s expression was filled with confusion and shock.

    "That¡¯s right, I¡¯m really sorry. We are currently holding the grand rain ceremony. This determines whether the weather will be kind to us this year, I hope you wouldn¡¯t interrupt. You guys know as well that we have our own Southern Mountain Range customs, this grand rain..." The settlement chief exined very patiently.

    "Stop! Now, we are currently rushing to save our general, would you please give way to us. I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be toote to continue the grand ceremony after we have passed!"

    "I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible. Our ceremony has already begun, how would we know that your general would be ambushed? Once this grand ceremony had started, it cannot be stopped. The altar can¡¯t be shifted either, else, we would be punished by Heaven. When that timees, our Southern..." The settlement chief continued to express his stance.

    "Fine fine fine, you don¡¯t need to say anything else. Brothers, let¡¯s detour!"

    The leading generals nced at one another and indeed couldn¡¯t do anything about this. After all, they didn¡¯t have much power or say in this, hence simply couldn¡¯t incite any obvious forms of conflicts with the Southern Mountain Range.

    Even though the Southern Mountain Range is only a vassal state of the Great Xia where people could only be named as Kings and not Emperors, and had to pay tribute to the Dynasty each year, it wasn¡¯t just any ordinary vassal state.

    The huge and resource-filled Southern Mountain Range, along with the brave and fearsome warriors, were definitely the best ally of the Great Xia.

    Of course...

    Those weren¡¯t the most important factors. The most important thing now was that they simply didn¡¯t have any time to argue with this settlement chief any further.

    "Quick, make a detour from the East side to behind the stone house!"

    "Roger!"

    All of the soldiers began to move swiftly, detouring towards the East side of the stone house. However, what they didn¡¯t know was that at the East side of the stone house, there was simrly another "important" grand ceremony going on.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Chen Feiyu, who was dodging and leaping around continuously outside the stone house with a faint smile on his lips and asionally letting out a few cheers.

    "Not bad, this is a beautiful move!"

    "Careful of your left side, oh no... I have already told you to be careful of the left side!"

    "The two Silver Horned Wolves behind you are about to ambush you, be careful! Sigh... what in the world are you doing? You actually believe what an enemy says? Isn¡¯t this a little too naive?"

    Fang Zhengzhi gave out instructions by the side, one following another. He wasn¡¯t in a rush at all.

    In Chen Feiyu¡¯s heart, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were naturally a sneak attack. However, in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart, it was apletely different opinion.

    What was a sneak attack?

    It is only a sneak attack when done on other people¡¯s territory!

    Was the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement Chen Feiyu¡¯s territory? Of course not. The person who controlled the settlement chief was Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, he was the true owner of the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement.

    Then...

    This begs the question. Can an attack on one¡¯s own territory be considered a sneak attack?

    Of course not. At most, it was called catching a turtle in a jar - a sure catch.

    Chen Feiyu truly felt very aggrieved at this moment. He gritted his teeth tightly, trying his best to persevere for as long as possible even if his entire body was in excruciating pain.

    However, he still believed that his soldiers would definitely arrive on time.

    After all, ever since the start of the fight, almost half an hour had passed. Yet, not a single shadow was to be seen.

    Had they fallen asleep?

    Chen Feiyu couldn¡¯t ept this. He truly couldn¡¯t ept this.

    Initially, he believed that as a person who had attained the Supernatural State, he should be standing on the lone peak of a mountain, looking down at the masses below him.

    However, in reality?

    He didn¡¯t even have the time to demonstrate his abilities in front of the soldiers, yet why did it seem that he was about to be captured alive? Furthermore, most importantly, he was captured in such a manner by a group of Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry Troops from the Southern Mountain Range.

    "One-on-one, I want to fight one-on-one, I am of the Supernatural State!" Chen Feiyu shouted out loudly.

    "Sigh... you are truly naive!" Fang Zhengzhi lightly shook his head. Then, he shot a nce towards Teng Shisheng. In an instant, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolves let out a synchronous howl.

    "Ah!" A bloodcurdling scream followed.

    Blood flowed uncontrobly from Chen Feiyu¡¯s hands. Because, four Silver Horned Wolves were biting down upon his hands and legs. At the same time, ck chains were being thrown up into the sky.

    Having his hands tied behind his back was actually not sufficient to describe Chen Feiyu¡¯s miserable situation.

    His entire body waspletely bounded by ck chains. If one didn¡¯t look carefully, nobody would realise that this was actually a live human.

    "Bring him down." Fang Zhengzhi casually waved his hand.

    "No, Fang Zhengzhi, you cannot do this to me. I am of the Supernatural State, I am number one in thebat examination!" Chen Feiyu struggled with all his might. However, he knew very clearly.

    Even if he mustered all his strength and managed to forcefully break out, he would still face the same oue of being forced down onto the ground.

    There was no use!

    At that very moment Fang Zhengzhi gave the order for five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries to attack, he already knew that everything was over. His dream was shattered once again.

    However, he truly couldn¡¯t ept this.

    Ever since young, he was never the best. Every single time, he was never able to attract the attention of others. He was miserable. After so many years of misery, he thought that this time, everything would change.

    Because, he had a breakthrough, a breakthrough into the Supernatural State. This was the true moment of glory.

    However...

    Heaven seemed to have given him another punch in the face.

    Just as he had nned everything out, swallowing humiliation while waiting to stand with honour in front of thousands of soldiers, a Fang Zhengzhi popped out from behind his back.

    His dream of spreading his name across the world was shattered once again.

    Falling from the peak of the mountain onto the ground. It was very painful, it was really very painful...

    "Fang Zhengzhi, let¡¯s discuss, let¡¯s discuss please... As long as you don¡¯t eliminate me, I can ept any conditions you want!" Chen Feiyu held on to hisst strand of hope.

    "Really?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chen Feiyu with some interest.

    "Yes, as long as you return the Thunderous Lion Settlement to me and return my army to me, I will ept any conditions you give!" Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes instantly lit up when he realised that Fang Zhengzhi was willing to talk.

    "You are indeed very naive, bring him away!"

    "No! I will give you the Thunderous Lion Settlement, I don¡¯t want it anymore. Just return me my army." Chen Feiyu¡¯s expression instantly changed when he heard this and instantly lightened his requests.

    "Bring him away!"

    "I don¡¯t want my army either. I don¡¯t want anything, I will find my own way again. I can rise once again. I will also give you money, don¡¯t you like money? No matter how much you want, I will give it to you. I am a descendent of the Thirteen Constabries, the prince¡¯s maternal uncle. I have money, a lot of money." Chen Feiyu¡¯s tone at this moment seemed to be that of a besiege.

    He wanted to be known by the world. He had waited for this moment, he had waited too long. Now, he had to watch this opportunity slip through his fingers right in front of his eyes.

    How could he ept it!

    "The prince¡¯s maternal uncle?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he finally seemed to somewhat change his attitude.

    "That¡¯s right, my elder sister is the Imperial Concubine Hua Fei, whom the Emperor is very fond of. I am the prince¡¯s maternal uncle. Fang Zhengzhi, if you dare to eliminate me, I would make sure that I never let you off after I return to the Great Xia!" Chen Feiyu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression and instantly thought of something.

    "You dare threaten me? Whack him, whack him till all his teeth fall to the ground!"

    "Ah... don¡¯t, I won¡¯t threaten you anymore. Fang Zhengzhi, let¡¯s make an alliance. With my abilities, I would definitely be able to help you. Really, you must believe me!" Chen Feiyu had never seen a person like Fang Zhengzhi.

    He dared to hit him even after knowing very clearly that he was the prince¡¯s maternal uncle?

    How could he be so fearless!

    "Oh? How can you help me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chen Feiyu with interest once again.

    "I can challenge Wu Feng to a fight. Then, in front of the thousands of troops, make a bet that whoever loses would have to give away all his army. All you have to you will be to reap the rewards of our battle. How about that?"

    "Then, after you gained all of Wu Feng¡¯s army, you would turn around and attack me?"

    "No, I will never attack you. After I gained Wu Feng¡¯s military strength, I will retreat to the Yan Ya and Shi Zun Settlements. I will definitely not make you my enemy!" Chen Feiyu said confidently.

    "I understand." When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he nodded his head lightly.

    "You... you agree?"

    "No, I only feel that your n seems not too bad. I will ept it grudgingly." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curved into a faint smile.

    "..." Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes instantly turned round and stared fixated at Fang Zhengzhi. His mouth opened and closed. However, he didn¡¯t utter a single word.

    "Bring him away and lock him up. Remember to feed him three steamed buns every meal. We cannot mistreat our guests." Fang Zhengzhi said with a generous expression.

    "Fang ZHengzhi... I, Chen Feiyu, swear that one of us will have to go!"

    "The prince¡¯s maternal uncle? How can he be so naive..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chen Feiyu, whose face was flushedpletely red and who was struggling incessantly while screaming his lungs out. He lightly shook his head.

    Now, the Thunderous Lion Settlement waspletely under his control.

    In addition to the ten thousand troops under Chen Feiyu¡¯s control, after some calction, he seemed to be able to be able to put together a formidable army. Then, what should he do next?

    Should he unify the Southern Mountain Range, or gloriously return to the Yan Capital to hide?

    Fang Zhengzhi began to think of a question he had never considered before. As the saying went, the bolder a man, therger his opportunities.

    However, the current problem he had to resolve was the attack of Wu Feng¡¯s troops.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s n sounded rather good. Using the tactic of goading to goad Wu Feng into engaging into a one-to-one battle, then, using one fight to determine the oue.

    This was a methodmonly used in thebat examination of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    After all, as long as there were other possible methods, under normal circumstances, the probability of two armies engaging into a full-blown battle was extremely low.

    This actually mirrored the ancient history of his previous world. When two armies fought, themanders would engage in a one-to-one battle. The winner of the battle would greatly raise the morale of the soldiers, hence, they would win.

    It was somewhat brainless.

    Fang Zhengzhi actually disdained to use such a method. After all, there was apletelyck of skill and military strategy within this.

    Wu Feng bringing his army to attack?

    Then...

    What should he do?

    ...

    The night was a quiet night. However, it wasn¡¯t a calm night.

    This night was destined to be extremely long, so long that people were sleepless, and so long that people¡¯s hearts trembled.

    In the night, a youth rode on a horse filled with scales. The top half of the horse was jet-ck while on its four hooves, there were circles of helix-shaped jade-green ripple patterns.

    There was an ancient saying used to describe a certain stallion.

    That was, four hooves trodding on snow.

    And this horse that the youth rode on trod on jade-green ripples. Its name was Jade Ripple Stallion!

    There was an exquisite jade-green armour on the youth¡¯s body, and he held a jade flute in his hand. There was a faint glow in his eyes, while his lips always seemed to carry a self-confident smile.

    After Wu Feng¡¯s strategy of splitting his army failed, he was actually furious. He had never imagined that Chen Feiyu would have such a brilliant tacticalyout.

    He actually attacked instead of defended?

    Wu Feng had to admit that he indeed hadn¡¯t factored this into his ns.

    Luckily, he didn¡¯t dwell on this. After realising that something was amiss, he instantly corrected his war strategy into a full-blown offence, seizing the opportunity to sessfully creep up behind Chen Feiyu¡¯s army.

    This could be considered a good save.

    One wrong move led to many wrong moves. Wu Feng knew this very clearly. Under normal circumstances and normal considerations, he should be retreating to reorganise his troops during such situations.

    This was very conventional strategy.

    However, would Wu Feng adopt a conventional strategy?

    Of course not.

    Turning a disadvantaged situation into his advantage and achieving sess with original ideas was the path Wu Feng walked. Moreover, his opponent was only the number twelve of the Rising Dragon Roll, Chen Feiyu.

    If he wasn¡¯t even able to defeat Chen Feiyu, he, Wu Feng, would really lose face.

    Chen Feiyu sent out two thousand troops on purpose to dy and harass him along the way. Wu Feng was obviously able to guess his intentions. This was to lure him to attack the Thunderous Lion Settlement!

    He knew very clearly how horrifying the defence fortresses of the four main settlements were.

    Using defence against an attack.

    Wu Feng was absolutely sure that if he forcefullyunched an attack on the Thunderous Lion Settlement, he would definitely be defeated.

    "Not a bad n, unfortunately... the person you are facing is me!" Wu Feng gazed towards the soldiers who had just retreated not too far away with a faint smile on his face.

    Barking out an order, over ten thousand troops advanced towards the Thunderous Lion Settlement with great strength and vigour, just like a huge ck cloud in the night sky.

    "Boom!" The sounds shook the sky.

 Chapter 351: That Stunned Look

    Chapter 351: That Stunned Look

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The second morning.

    A dense white mist covered the entire Thunderous Lion Settlement. In addition to the snow-white icy fog surrounding it, it gave off the impression of a winter silvery makeup.

    The dense ck cloud finally arrived in front of the Thunderous Lion Settlement, stopping at an area five hundred meters away from the Thunderous Lion Settlement and quietly gazing at the heavenly scenery in front.

    Wu Feng, wearing an exquisite jade coloured armour, rode on the Jade Ripple Stallion positioned at the front of the ck cloud. He gazed at the Thunderous Lion Settlement which was already so close to him with a faint smile on his face.

    "Reporting!"

    Right at this moment, a spy riding a horse dashed over from afar, arriving in front of Wu Feng. He dismounted and knelt down on one knee.

    "Speak." Wu Feng replied ndly.

    "The main gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement ispletely open. There isn¡¯t a single soldier standing guard." The spy quickly blurted out everything that he saw.

    "There are no defences?!" The smile on Wu Feng¡¯s face instantly froze.

    Before he arrived, he had considered many possibilities. For example, Chen Feiyu would set up defences around the Thunderous Lion Settlement in advance, or, Chen Feiyu would be standing at the main gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement waiting for him.

    However...

    What does not setting up any defences mean?

    The stratagem of the empty city?

    Wu Feng was also very well-read. Even though he didn¡¯t have much experience leading troops in battles, he was still well-versed with some of the famous stratagems.

    The eponymous stratagem of the empty city. Setting up an empty city to see if one dared to attack.

    Wu Feng frowned. He wasn¡¯t a suspicious person, however, he wasn¡¯t a reckless person as well. He was pondering Chen Feiyu¡¯s intentions.

    This form of pondering was one in which he ced himself in the other party¡¯s situation.

    However, after a long fifteen minutes of thinking, he couldn¡¯t understand what reasons Chen Feiyu would have to set up the stratagem of an empty city at such a time.

    It was simply too unexpected.

    The power of the Thunderous Lion Settlement¡¯s defences were imaginable. It was a fortress. In addition to Chen Feiyu¡¯s military strength, there was simply no need for him to employ such tactics.

    This time, Wu Feng was truly somewhat stunned.

    Giving up the fortified Thunderous Lion Settlement just to give him a scare? No matter what, such a thought process was somewhat unimaginable. It was more simr to that of a n thought out by a kid.

    But, was Chen Feiyu such a person?

    Of course not.

    If Wu Feng hadn¡¯t fought with Chen Feiyu before, he might feel that this was a sign that Chen Feiyu was surrendering to him. However, Chen Feiyu left the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Instead of defending, he attacked.

    Clearly, he wasn¡¯t a person who feared a battle.

    It was recorded in ancient books that the stratagem of the empty city was first employed with one¡¯s military strength was greatly outnumbered by the enemy, with the intention of enabling one¡¯s troops to escape and prevent the enemy from giving chase.

    But now...

    The settings were clearlypletely different.

    Chen Feiyu had the ability to fight. Wu Feng was very sure of this point.

    But, what was this all about?

    "General, are we attacking?" Amander was simr confused after listening to the spy¡¯s report. However, an empty city was ced right in front of him.

    Leave it?

    That was simply impossible.

    "Attack!" Wu Feng quickly made a decision. He had already arrived at the main gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Retreating now was impossible. As for what Chen Feiyu thought, since he couldn¡¯t understanding, there was naturally no need to continue thinking.

    "Send the entire army?" Themander asked once again.

    If it was apletely fortified Thunderous Lion Settlement, he would definitely not ask such a dumb question. However, the settlement in front of him had absolutely no defences. Hence, he had to voice out this question.

    "No, the Thunderous Lion Settlement leans against the cliff. There are three main gates. Give the orders. Send three hundred troops split into three groups, each group entering from a different gate into the Thunderous Lion Settlement for an hour. Report back after gaining knowledge about the situation within the settlement!" Wu Feng shook his head and decided upon a more conservative strategy.

    "Roger!" Themander instantly understood.

    The current situation in the Thunderous Lion Settlement was still unknown. The enemy hadn¡¯t revealed his intentions. Sending the entire army into the settlement would indeed be an extremely dangerous and risky move.

    Using three hundred soldiers to test the water was also indeed an extremely wise choice.

    ...

    The three hundred soldiers were quickly picked out, their horses galloping as fast as they could towards the three main gates of the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Not too longter, they smoothly entered the settlement.

    There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of resistance.

    This caused Wu Feng, who was standing not too far away, to frown once again.

    Don¡¯t tell me this idiot Chen Feiyu really gave up the Thunderous Lion Settlement to me? Or, could he have other ns.

    Wait a moment!

    Don¡¯t tell me Chen Feiyu was raising amotion in the East tounch an attack on the West?!

    Wu Feng¡¯s expression instantly changed. At this moment, he had over ten thousand roops. However, there were two thousand troops in his camp, the Yan Ya Settlement and the Shi Zun Settlement.

    If...

    Chen Feiyu gave up the Thunderous Lion Settlement and snuck around to attack the Yan Ya and the Shi Zun main settlements, it was equivalent to using one main settlement to swap for two.

    It was very worth it!

    Wu Feng was in a dilemma. He felt that there was a very high possibility of this happening. However, he was thinking of another n.

    What if this was what Chen Feiu wanted him to think?

    Then, causing him to give up the Thunderous Lion Settlement so that he could keep it safe? If that happened, whether they fought or not wouldn¡¯t be the problem anymore.

    Instead, it would be about him being outsmarted by Chen Feiyu.

    Mock and shame!

    This was something Wu Feng didn¡¯t really wish to ept, especially being yed around in the hands of Chen Feiyu after almost losing on the way here.

    That was worse than death.

    What should I do?

    Should I immediately retreat back to the two main settlements, or grit my teeth and take down the Thunderous Lion Settlement first?

    Wu Feng felt extremely hesitant. However, in the end, he decided to continue waiting. One hour wasn¡¯t too tedious to wait, hence, he decided to wait for the three hundred soldiers to return with the news.

    The dense ck cloud pressed down upon the Thunderous Lion Settlement five hundred meters away from the main gate.

    Quietly waiting for the news from the three hundred soldiers.

    The wind grazed the faces of the soldiers. It was somewhat cold, signifying that winter was truly approaching. They also knew one thing. When the winter came, thebat examination would end.

    The Great Xia would never allow a hundred thousand soldiers to suffer through winter in the chilling Southern Mountain Range.

    Because, the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty simply couldn¡¯t withstand the icy chill of the Southern Mountain Range. Other than them not being used to it, the other factor was that the snow would be too thick, greatly hindering the movement of the soldiers.

    If they were forced to stay through winter in the Southern Mountain Range.

    The price to pay would be extremely huge.

    As time slowly passedby, Wu Feng thought of another possibility. Would the three hundred troops be able to enter, but be unable to leave? If that was the case, should I stillunch an attack?

    Just as he thought...

    Three groups of soldiers galloped in from afar. There were exactly three hundred.

    When he saw this, Wu Feng finally heaved a light sigh of relief. Able to enter, and able to leave. The situation would at least be clearer than what he had imagined.

    "Reporting to the general!"

    "Speak!"

    "We patrolled for one round on horseback. Other than the citizens of the Thunderous Lion Settlement, there isn¡¯t a single soldier guarding. It really seems to be an unguarded settlement." Amander in charge of the three hundred soldiers immediately reported everything he had seen to Wu Feng, and waited for his decision.

    "You are really using the Stratagem of the Empty City against me?!" When Wu Feng heard this, he was slightly stunned.

    Thee wasn¡¯t a single person in the Thunderous Lion Settlement. The best n for him now would naturally be to lead his army into the settlement. However, he couldn¡¯t dismiss the feeling that there would be some traps inside waiting for him.

    What was this Chen Feiyu trying to do?

    Wu Feng gritted his teeth hard, giving off waves of cracking sounds. It was as if he was suffering from dental erosion.

    "General, what should we do now?" Themander standing beside Wu Feng looked at Wu Feng¡¯s slightly hesitant expression and finally decided to ask softly.

    "What idea do you have?" Wu Feng rarely seeked the opinions of themanders. However, this time, he asked. Because, he really couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Based on what I think, why not we send a part of the army into the Thunderous Lion Settlement to secure it, controlling the important areas of the settlement. After everything is secured, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to send the entire army in!" Themander quickly replied.

    "Hmm..." Wu Feng¡¯s eyes lit up slightly.

    This was indeed an excellent idea. As long as he controlled the key areas of the Thunderous Lion Settlement, even if Chen Feiyu had truly set up an ambush in the city, he would have to worry.

    Military strength!

    He definitely had an advantage over Chen Feiyu in that aspect.

    Combat abilities!

    He overpowered Chen Feiyu as well.

    Since he had an advantage in both areas, what did he have to fear?

    "General Wang."

    "Present!"

    "You shall personallymand three thousand troops into the Thunderous Lion Settlement and secure the key areas within an hour. Then, send soldiers back to report." Wu Feng quickly gave out the order.

    "Understood!" General Wang immediately nodded.

    Under themand of General Wang, three thousand soldiers charged towards the Thunderous Lion Settlement once again.

    On the other hand, Wu Feng continued to wait outside patiently.

    As the saying went, caution is the parent of safety.

    Thebat examination of the Court Examination wasn¡¯t a child¡¯s y. One blunder could cause the entire situation to overturn. When that time came, it would be toote to regret.

    As he gazed at the three thousand soldiers smoothly entering the Thunderous Lion Settlement through the main gate, Wu Feng¡¯s previous thoughts grew stronger and stronger. That was that there was a very high possibility that Chen Feiyu had skirted around to attack his Yan Ya and Shi Zun Main Settlements.

    However...

    If that was truly the case, Wu Feng could only bear with it.

    First, take down his Thunderous Lion Settlement, then, take back his Yan Ya and Shi Zun main settlements. That was the only way he could save the situation.

    "Chen Feiyu, if you really attacked my Yan Ya and Shi Zun, I will definitely... break all your teeth!" Of course, Wu Feng couldn¡¯t really do anything to Chen Feiyu.

    Even though he was a disciple of one of the four sages, Chen Feiyu¡¯s social status wasn¡¯t ordinary as well.

    However, after catching him, giving him a powerful beating was still alright!

    ...

    An hour passed by very quickly.

    The sky which was initially sill dark had already turned sunny. The warm sun glowed above the Thunderous Lion Settlement, causing the mist to slowly dissipate.

    The frosted dew on the grassy ins had also slowly begun to melt, turning it slightly damp.

    Standing in the icy cold wind for two hours was indeed a small kind of torture. The soldiers all tapped their feet uncontrobly.

    After all, themanders had horses to ride. However, they didn¡¯t

    Being punished to stand for two hours?

    Only those who had stood like this before would deeply understand how torturous it was.

    In reality, not only were the soldiers feeling ufortable, themanders also didn¡¯t feel very well. Even though they had horses to ride on, they didn¡¯t mean that they weren¡¯t tired at all.

    The soldier that General Wang sent back had finally returned.

    "Reporting to the general, everything had been properly arranged. We have controlled every important area of the Thunderous Lion Settlement. General Wang sent me to report back that you can send the army in."

    "Where is General Wang?" Wu Feng didn¡¯t give the orders immediately. Instead, he asked a question in return.

    "He is still in charge of deploying the soldiers in the Thunderous Lion Settlement." The soldier instantly replied.

    "Go and tell him to report back personally." Wu Feng¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly and gazed towards the bright sky, giving the order after a slight thought.

    "Roger!" The soldier received the order, turned around, and re-entered the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    On the other hand, Wu Feng continued to wait on the spot.

    A soldier reporting back wasn¡¯t sufficient to convince him that the entire Thunderous Lion Settlement was truly under their control. Only if General Wang, who had followed beside him all along, reported back personally would he then truly dare to rx.

    Not too longter, General Wang spurred his horse and rode out, and arrived in front of Wu Feng.

    "General."

    "There really isn¡¯t a single soldier in the Thunderous Lion Settlement?" Wu Feng looked at General Wang who stood in front of him, then nodded and asked.

    "This... I don¡¯t dare to confirm this. After all, there are too many citizens in the Thunderous Lion Settlement. It isn¡¯t impossible for the enemy to hide in certain ces we do not know about. However, I dare to confirm that the key areas within the Thunderous Lion Settlement are alreadypletely under our control. It is impossible for that to go wrong." General Wang hesitated for a moment, then replied carefully.

    "I understand. Pass down my orders. The entire army shall enter the Thunderous Lion Settlement!" Wu Feng finally gritted his teeth and gave the order for the entire army to enter.

    "Roger!"

    As Wu Feng gave his order.

    The dense ck cloud finally began to move slowly, marching out step by step towards the Thunderous Lion Main Settlement. It appeared extremely cautious and alert.

    Five hundred meters didn¡¯t require too much time.

    Very quickly, the army arrived in front of the main gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    Wu Feng raised his head lightly and gazed at his soldiers who were already standing guard on the fortress. Yet, his frown didn¡¯t rx one bit.

    The stratagem of the empty city?

    If the stratagem of the empty city was employed to such an extent.

    Then, shouldn¡¯t it not be called the stratagem of the empty city anymore? Shouldn¡¯t it be called a strategic escape?

    Wu Feng felt very ufortable inside his heart at this moment. Countless possibilities danced around in his mind as thoughts flooded his mind, causing him to be unable to grasp the concept behind this.

    He could clearly defend!

    Why would he employ a strategic escape?

    Was there a need for that?

    If he really didn¡¯t dare to fight, why would he send an army to attack? After attacking, if he truly didn¡¯t wish to fight anymore, there was clearly no need to deploy soldiers to harass them!

    He sent two thousand soldiers to lure him to attack the city.

    Yet, the oue of that was losing an empty city.

    No matter how he looked at the situation...

    It still seemed that Chen Feiyu had something wrong with his brain!

    This time, Wu Feng was truly a little disordered, so much so that he didn¡¯t know whether he should ask Chen Feiyu.

    "Chen Feiyu, what the hell, are you stupid?!"

 Chapter 352: How Big is the Shadow in the Heart

    Chapter 352: How Big is the Shadow in the Heart

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Very evidently, Chen Feiyu had really been unjustly implicated this time. Because, he had been wrapped like a ¡¯metal dumpling¡¯ the entire time and thrown into a cold corner.

    After Wu Feng greeted Chen Feiyu, his mood seemed to have improved. Waving his hand, he led his entire army and stomped into the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    Next, he personally patrolled the various key areas of the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    After a round of patrol, Wu Feng was finally sure that Chen Feiyu had really abandoned the Thunderous Lion Settlement and instead, turned around to ambush his Yan Ya and Shi Zun settlements.

    This caused him to feel extremely triggered.

    After initiating an ambush and using three thousand of his troops to exchange for six thousand of Wu Feng¡¯s, Chen Feiyu continued to use the Thunderous Lion Settlement to exchange for his Yan Ya and Shi Zun settlements.

    Aplete defeat!

    Most importantly, he had foolishly waited at the gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement for over two hours, giving enough time for Chen Feiyu to attack the two main settlements.

    He couldn¡¯t contain his unhappiness.

    "ng!" He threw a cup onto the ground, causing it to shatter into pieces.

    Right at this moment, the Thunderous Lion Settlement Chief who had been beside Wu Feng all along ever since he entered the Thunderous Lion Settlement spoke.

    "General, would you be resting in our settlement tonight?"

    "Resting?" Wu Feng hadn¡¯t actually considered this. However, after listening to the settlement chief, he gave it a thought.

    Over ten thousand soldiers rushed from the Yan Ya Settlement without stopping in order to attack the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    After which, theyunched attackssting multiple days, and stood in the cold wind ever since dawn for over two hours. If they continued to rush back to the Yan Ya and Shi Zun settlement, it would definitely affect the hearts of the soldiers.

    After all, soldiers were human too. They needed rest.

    "Yes, we will be resting in the Thunderous Lion Settlement tonight, I hope that Settlement Chief can make the arrangements." After reaching this thought, Wu Feng nodded and spoke politely to the settlement chief, suppressing the anger in his heart.

    "Alright, this is what we should do. When General Chen was in our Thunderous Lion Settlement, we made arrangements for him as well. However, he hadn¡¯t returned since he left the settlement to face the enemy a few days ago." When the settlement chief heard Wu Feng¡¯s words, he mumbled to himself.

    "Hadn¡¯t returned? Settlement chief, are you saying that Chen Feiyu hadn¡¯t returned since leaving the settlement?" When Wu Feng hard this, he was clearly surprised.

    "That¡¯s right." The settlement chief replied confidently.

    "Now I understand!" Wu Feng finally understood.

    After gaining knowledge that Chen Feiyu hadn¡¯t returned to the settlement, Wu Feng finally managed to link everything together.

    Ever since the start, Chen Feiyu¡¯s target had been the two main settlements - Yan Ya and Shi Zun.

    Leaving the settlement to face the enemy was only a feign. It was very possible that Chen Feiyu¡¯s initial n was to split his army into two, sending two thousand troops to drag time on purpose.

    Then, sending his main force to attack the two main settlements of Shi Zun and Yan Ya.

    However, they just happened to encounter his six thousand troops, and after which encountering him. After panicking, he left two thousand troops to lead him towards the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    His purpose was only to give himself more time.

    Seems like...

    He is only a cowardly turtle who could only run!

    Wu Feng was extremely confident in his own abilities. This confidence led him to believe that when others encountered him, they would either surrender or run.

    After all, ever since he had entered the Southern Mountain Range, he hadn¡¯t faced any form of resistance.

    "Seems that I have overestimated this Chen Feiyu. He is just a person who wishes to drag time until thebat examination ends. How could I have actually considered that he was plotting against me?" Wu Feng med himself.

    Sometimes, when one was too careful, they might actually miss out the simpler things.

    After understanding this point, Wu Feng finally rxedpletely, realising that Chen Feiyu couldn¡¯t pose any form of threat to him. Then, finishing off Chen Feiyu was only a matter of time.

    "Alright, then could I trouble you to help us make arrangements!" Wu Feng¡¯s mood lifted and a confident smile returned back to his face. He appeared extremely at ease.

    The settlement chief nodded his head. Very quickly, a few citizens of the Southern Mountain Range appeared behind him, each of them leading a general behind Wu Feng to their resting area.

    As for Wu Feng, the settlement chief attended to him personally.

    "This is the first time you are in my Thunderous Lion Settlement. As the settlement chief, I should fulfill my role as the host and bring you over to my side to drink a few cups, I wonder if you fine with that?"

    "Settlement chief, you are too kind. Alright, then I will follow your arrangements. That aside, I have some silver taels here, I hope that you will take them. If it is convenient, I wish to obtain some meat to reward the soldiers." Wu Feng nodded, then casually reached into his pocket and took out a few silver bars, handing it over to the settlement chief.

    "This... Since it is my job as the host, why not we do away with this silver?" The settlement chief appeared somewhat hesitant.

    "I hope that you ept this, our Great Xia has our own militaryws. Troubling you is already an inappropriate thing for us to do, if you won¡¯t even ept this silver, then..."

    "Since general insists, I express my gratitude towards you on behalf of the people of the Southern Mountain Range."

    "The Great Xia and the Southern Mountain Range had always been family, why is there a need to thank me?"

    ...

    After a courteous conversation, Wu Feng was led by the settlement chief into a huge stone house. It was filled with the bones and skin of all kinds of beasts. It appeared extremely wild.

    ncing at the decoration inside the stone house, Wu Feng nodded lightly.

    In the Southern Mountain Range, only the house of the settlement chief would contain such items. These animal bones and skin were from the hunts of the Southern Mountain Warriors after they became of age.

    To be able to have them ced in the settlement chief¡¯s house was actually a form of pride to the warriors of the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    There were a few other elderly people sitting in the stone house at this moment. Each of them had extremely dark skin and wore a hat on their head. However,pared to the settlement chief, there were no feathers in their hats.

    Wu Feng knew that these were the elders of the settlement with notable statuses. Since they were setting up camp in the Thunderous Lion Settlement, it was very important to ensure a good rtionship with them.

    "I represent the Great Xia to express my greetings." Right after entering the stone house, Wu Feng bowed in ordance to the Great Xia¡¯s customs towards the elders in the house.

    "General, you are too polite. We have already made preparations for your bath ceremony, please follow us in." When the elders saw Wu Feng bow, they quickly stood up one by one and spoke.

    "Bath ceremony? Alright, thank you for taking the trouble." Wu Feng nodded once again.

    The bath ceremony was indeed part of the Southern Mountain Range culture. Normally, the bath ceremony was prepared for returning warriors of the Southern Mountain Range. It was a great form of respect and honour.

    The ceremony wasn¡¯t veryplicated.

    It was mainly bathing and changing one¡¯s clothes.

    However, this honour was extremely great. Wu Feng had never thought that he would be treated in such a manner right after entering the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    He was somewhat hesitant, however, he had no way of rejecting.

    Because, rejecting the bath ceremony meant rejecting the friendly intentions of the Southern Mountain Range. It was an extremely disrespectful act.

    Seeing that Wu Feng had agreed, two elegant Southern Mountain Rangedies wearing rattan skirts entered gracefully from within the stone house.

    After seeing Wu Feng, the two women flushed slightly red and discreetly lowered their heads.

    "General, we are in charge of servicing you for the bath ceremony. Would you be willing?" A Southern Mountain Rangedy walked in front of Wu Feng and raised her head slightly, her face filled with shyness.

    "Thank you." Wu Feng had stayed in the Southern Mountain Range for some time.

    Hence, he naturally knew how daring the Southern Mountain Range were. This bath ceremony service wasn¡¯t considered something too out of the ordinary. Of course, in the process of the ceremony, usually, nothing much would happen.

    Because...

    This was a holy ceremony.

    ...

    As the settlement chief prepared the feast and wine in the living room, Wu Feng was brought by the two Southern Mountain Vigedies into the room.

    A huge wooden pail was already prepared inside. Steam rose from within the pail, and inside it was filled with all kinds of specialty herbs from the Southern Mountain Range.

    Wu Feng had tried such herbs before. Rubbing these herbs on one¡¯s body would cause one to feel very refreshed. It was indeed a rather blissful experience.

    Hence, he didn¡¯t bother being too courteous.

    He allowed the two Southern Mountain Rangedies to remove the armour from his body, then remove the brocade clothes he wore within, leaving him with nothing but a white pair of underwear.

    At this moment, Wu Feng¡¯s body was left with a pair of underwear and the jade flute he held on his hand.

    The two Southern Mountain Rangedies nced at one another shyly. Then, one of them prepared to remove Wu Feng¡¯s pants, while the other reached out both of her hands above her hand, waiting for Wu Feng to pass the jade flute into her hands.

    When Wu Feng saw this, he hesitated somewhat.

    "Can I hold on to my jade flute?" Wu Feng asked.

    "This... General, we have already prepared the weapon rack for you. The purpose of the bath ceremony is to wash away the dirt on one¡¯s body and one¡¯s soul. Based on our traditions, when the warriors go out for an expedition, they have to ssh the blood of beasts on their bodies. When they return, they have to wash away the blood. This weapon... had been in contact with blood, hence it would naturally be better to ce it at one side." A Southern Mountain Rangedy exined softly after hearing Wu Feng¡¯s request.

    "Since that is the case, let¡¯s follow your Southern Mountain Range tradition. However, would it be possible to ce the weapon rack nearer to me?" When Wu Feng heard this, he nodded once again.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll get the weapon rack." The Southern Mountain Rangedy nodded, then, turned around and left. A momentter, she returned holding the weapon rack in both hands and ced it at the door.

    When Wu Feng saw that the weapon rack was just nearby, he rxed and handed over the jade flute in his hand to thedy. Then, leapt up and entered the wooden pail.

    Water sshed in all directions.

    Wetting the hair of the Southern Mountain Rangedies.

    However, it didn¡¯t raise any negative reactions from the two Southern Mountain Rangedies. Instead, this caused their faces to flushpletely red.

    After ncing towards one another, the two of them carefully made their way to the side of the wooden pail. Their smooth arms scooped up the herbs from the wooden bucket and began to rub them over Wu Feng¡¯s body.

    Wu Feng felt the warmth from the water and the refreshing feeling that swept over him. He began to smile, allowing the twodies to service him as they pleased.

    Maybe it was because it was toofortable, or maybe it was because the perpetually drawn bow in his heart was finally released, but Wu Feng¡¯s eyes finally began to close slowly after taking one nce at the weapon rack at the door.

    There were two steps in the bath ceremony.

    The first was bathing, the second was changing.

    After fifteen minutes of bathing, one of thedies finally stopped.

    "General, I will retrieve the clothes."

    "Alright..." Wu Feng nodded lightly and continued to soak his body in the warm water, enjoying the massage of the otherdy.

    Time flowed by very quickly.

    Fifteen minutes passed...

    Thirty minutes passed...

    However, thedy that left never returned.

    This caused Wu Feng to feel somewhat suspicious. Opening his eyes, he saw thedy standing quietly at the door.

    She had a special Southern Mountain Range robe.

    She must have been standing there all along, waiting for him for fear of disturbing him.

    Wu Feng lightly shook his head and nodded towards thedy at the door. The panic in his heart instantly vanished.

    He was still too vignt.

    Just as he prepared to announce that he was done bathing and was ready to change, he suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Because, behind the Southern Mountain Rangedy, there was another figure.

    Due to being blocked by the body of thedy, he couldn¡¯t discern the identity of the figure.

    However...

    What was strange was that the figure seemed to be sitting casually on a chair and munching on fruits. Furthermore, he even poured himself a cup of wine from time to time.

    This caused Wu Feng to feel somewhat uneasy.

    After all, he waspletely naked at this moment.

    Being serviced by twodies while naked was something every man enjoyed. However, being admired by another man while snacking on fruits was a different feeling.

    "Who are you?!" Wu Feng instinctively shouted out.

    "Looks like Young Master Wu is done bathing?" When the figure heard Wu Feng¡¯s words, he slowly ced down the wine cup in his hand and stood up from the chair.

    Wu Feng heart skipped a beat.

    He felt that this voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it before somewhere. However, he wasn¡¯t quite able to recall.

    In the Southern Mountain Range...

    Was there somebody he knew in the Thunderous Lion Settlement?

    Wu Feng tried hard to recall, and finally realised that there wasn¡¯t.

    Right at this moment, the Southern Mountain Rangedy servicing him slowly stopped. Then, she walked quietly towards the door.

    As for the Southern Mountain Rangedy standing at the door, she immediately turned around and left.

    "They left?!" Wu Feng was slightly taken aback. After all, thatdy held the clothes in her hands. Weren¡¯t those clothes for him to wear?

    Just as he thought, Wu Feng¡¯s eyes immediately widened. The expression on his face frozepletely.

    Because, just as the two Southern Mountain Rangedies left, he finally recognised the figure at the door.

    That was a youth dressed in leopard skin. He seemed somewhat young, around fifteen to sixteen years of age. He even carried a thin, faint smile on his face.

    He had seen this faint smile before. Furthermore, his memory of it was extremely profound!

 Chapter 353: Elimination

    Chapter 353: Elimination

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!" This time, Wu Feng was truly stunned.

    After the instant when he saw the Southern Mountain Rangedy leave, he had already considered many possibilities. For example, him being tricked by Chen Feiyu and falling into his trap.

    Or, the person in front of him might be an envoy of the demon race.

    However, he had never considered that the person who appeared would be Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why would this guy be in the Thunderous Lion Settlement?

    This isn¡¯t right!

    Wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi not supposed to be participating in thebat examination? Or, even if he had secretly managed to participate, it would still be impossible for him to appear in Chen Feiyu¡¯s Thunderous Lion Settlement!

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi had allied with Chen Feiyu?

    The possibility of that is even lower.

    Furthermore, even if something like that had truly urred, Chen Feiyu had already turned around to attack his Yan Ya and Shi Zun main settlements Shouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi be following him?

    Wu Feng truly couldn¡¯t understand what was the meaning of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance at this ce.

    However, not understanding was one thing.

    There was one more thing that he understood very clearly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance here definitely wasn¡¯t a good thing. Hence, he instinctively wanted to leap out of the wooden pail and grab the jade flute on the weapon rack as fast as he could.

    However...

    Just as he prepared to leap, his expression froze once again.

    "Huh? Where is... my jade flute?!"

    "Young Master Wu, are you looking for this? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m only a little curious. Let me do some research before returning it to you." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to know very clearly what Wu Feng was thinking and spoke in a calm manner.

    At this moment, Wu Feng also noticed that his jade flute seemed to be...

    Hanging off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waist.

    "You... Return my jade flute, else, don¡¯t me me for not giving you any face!" Wu Feng¡¯s chest tightened. Without the jade flute, his powers fell by a huge proportion.

    This was simr to the case of a swordsman without a sword.

    Andpared to that case of a swordless swordsman, Wu Feng¡¯s current situation was clearly even more serious.

    "Ha ha." Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly. After which, he turned around and disappeared outside the door.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t run!" Just as Wu Feng prepared to charge out of the door, he sensed the faint smell of blooding from the door.

    This caused him to feel somewhat uneasy.

    Before he had the time to think through, a low animal growl came from the door.

    Immediately after, a huge head popped in from the door. That was a beast with a head of a wolf, and on the forehead of that beast, there was a sharp lone silver horn.

    It¡¯s huge body squeezed into the door, almostpletely blocking off the entrance.

    On the back of that huge beast, there was a soldier in rattan armour. His skin was pitch-dark and his strong, defined muscles bulged.

    "Silver... Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry!" Wu Feng waspletely startled.

    Of course, he knew what this was. One of the strongest forces of the Southern Mountain Range in which every single Silver Horned Wolf was equivalent to a human of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    In addition to the cavalry riding on the Silver Horned Wolf, that was a living nightmare.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you dare to betray the country!" Wu Feng roared angrily in denial. If he still didn¡¯t understand what was happening at this stage.

    Then that could only be described as cute.

    Outside the door.

    Listening to Wu Feng¡¯s hoarse screams, Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth spitefully.

    "Why is it that every single person would say the same thing when they see me? Don¡¯t tell me that they didn¡¯t know how to look at faces? Which part of me looks like a betrayer of my country?"

    A Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry charged into the room.

    Very quickly, a second Silver Horned Wolf charged in. Not too longter, there were three wolves, four wolves...

    "Boom!"

    A loud explosive sound rang out.

    The room began to crack apart from within. Debris and broken stones flew in all directions. Very quickly, a figure charged out from within the shattered stones, his body covered in scratches.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t the main point.

    The main point was that he waspletely naked. He wasn¡¯t even wearing his underwear!

    "He he he... Look, he isn¡¯t wearing any clothes!"

    "His figure isn¡¯t too bad!"

    "Just that he is a little too white. Unlike our muscr warriors of the Southern Mountain Range, he looks like a toy boy!"

    Outside the stone house, a group of Southern Mountain Range girls dressed in rattan skirts instantly covered their mouths and began to giggle when they witnessed this scene. asionally, there were even girls who bravely stared for a moment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am going to kill you!" Wu Feng¡¯s face instantly flushed red. He would never have imagined that Fang Zhengzhi actually gathered so many girls to witness the battle outside the stone house.

    Furthermore, most importantly, the settlement chief and the elders who were initially in the main room of the stone were all sitting around the perimeter of the house at this moment, each of their faces bearing a faint smile.

    It was very obvious that this was all prepared.

    How could one person...

    Reach such levels of shamelessness!

    "Young Master Wu, you are really powerful. Number three in the Rising Dragon Roll. If I don¡¯t make proper preparations, how could I take you down in one move?" Fang Zhengzhi patiently exined with a smile on his face.

    He feared that Wu Feng would not understand the trouble he went through.

    Wu Feng was so filled with anger that his lips began to quiver.

    His knuckles cracked under the tightening of his fist. However, he didn¡¯t have much time to continue arguing with Fang Zhengzhi. Because, he had already discovered that other than the Southern Mountain Range women watching the fight.

    There were a few hundred Silver Horned Wolves outside the stone house.

    "Why would things be like this? Why are there so many Silver Horned Wolves? Didn¡¯t the Southern Mountain Range only possess three thousand Silver Horned Wolves? There are... at least five hundred here!" Wu Feng couldn¡¯t understand.

    The Silver Horned Wolves were the creme of the Southern Mountain Range, yet why would five hundred of them listen to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s orders?

    If there were only one or two, that could be exined as a coincidence. However, what about five hundred? No matter how he looked at the situation, it was nothing close to a coincidence.

    "I want him alive!" Fang Zhengzhi casually waved his hand.

    "Roger!" Teng Shisheng instantly epted the order.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, this isn¡¯t fair. If you dare,e fight with me one to one! I don¡¯t fear you!" Wu Feng was truly in denial upon hearing the low growls around him.

    Because, he wasn¡¯t even able to use the technique he was most skilled at!

    Man can be defeated.

    However, losing in such a grieved manner was a little too tragic. At the very least, Wu Feng wanted the jade flute to be returned to him so that he could disy his abilities before being defeated.

    "Rx, you will have the opportunity." Fang Zhengzhi consoled in a sincere manner.

    "Opportunity? I... Ah!" Wu Feng didn¡¯tplete his sentence. A Silver Horned Wolf had alreadyunched a sneak attack from behind his back. Its sharp ws shed towards him, carrying along with it a force that could tear apart the air.

    Wu Feng could dodge.

    However, he had no way of continuing his argument with Fang Zhengzhi while dodging.

    Of course..

    After dodging this attack, he still had no way of focusing his attention anywhere else. Because, there were even more Silver Horned Wolves pouncing towards him one after another.

    "Awoo, awoo awoo..." Howls rang out one by one from the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    At the same time, the main roads of the Thunderous Lion Settlement were piled with huge stones that appeared out of nowhere, blocking them off and causing the movement of the soldiers travelling into the Thunderous Lion Settlement to slow to a crawl.

    Wu Feng actually had the heart to struggle on.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the strength. After losing the jade flute, there wasn¡¯t much difference between him and someone of the Heavenly Reflection Peak Stage. The only difference was that his techniques and movements were a little more ingenious.

    However...

    He simply had no way of unleashing his strongest technique, the Dao of music.

    He couldn¡¯t be whistling in front of a group of Southern Mountain Range girls naked!

    Speaking about being naked.

    This was the pain that Wu Feng felt most deeply at this moment. As a man, no matter how thick his skin was, it was impossible for him to focuspletely under the circumstance of beingpletely naked.

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Wu Feng¡¯s awkward movements, trying his best to cover up his body, and lightly shook his head. He was indeed a little too young. If it was Fang Zhengzhi himself.

    The boldness of his execution would definitely stem from his superb skill!

    Hmm...

    His psychological cultivation is too weak!

    Without the jade flute, and without any clothes covering up his body, Wu Feng didn¡¯t manage to hold the Silver Horned Wolves for very long before being pinned down onto the ground by a group of howling wolves.

    After which, he was naturally tied up by a metal chain.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I don¡¯t ept this!"

    "Unfortunately, you are still eliminated." Fang Zhengzhi replied somewhat helplessly.

    "Ah!" Wu Feng bellowed in anger towards the sky and let out a mournful roar. Blood rushed through his chest and finally, spurting out a mouthful of blood, he fainted on the ground.

    ...

    In the dark basement.

    Wu Feng woke up groggily. Then, he noticed another "fellow sufferer" who was also tied up like a metal dumpling.

    "Chen... Chen Feiyu?!" The shock that Wu Feng received was definitelyparable to that of when he saw Fang Zhengzhi. Because, from what he imagined, Fang Zhengzhi should have taken advantage of the time Chen Feiyu gave up the Thunderous Lion Settlement to attack the Shi Zun and Yan Ya Main Settlements to set up his ambushes in the Thunderous Lion Settlement."

    "Sigh..." Chen Feiyu nced at Wu Feng and sighed heavily.

    "What are you doing here?" Wu Feng finally asked the question in his heart.

    "The same reason as you of course. However... I arrived slightly earlier than you. I was already here sincest night." Chen Feiyu felt injustice, great injustice.

    There was never a time before this when he felt even more grieved than his moment.

    "Last night? Don¡¯t tell me you..." Wu Feng¡¯s expression changed once again.

    "I initially wanted to fight it out one-to-one against you, Unfortunately, along the way, a Fang Zhengzhi appeared." Chen Feiyu¡¯s heart began to bleed upon recalling the scene in which he was captured by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Young Master Wu, Young Master Chen, this medication is specially prepared by General Fang for you two. Furthermore, General Fang had already given instructions to release both of you after news of your elimination is sent out, and then treating you with courtesy."

    Right at this moment, the door of the basement opened.

    General Wang, dressed in armour, walked in with a tinkling sound. Then, he fished out two bottles of medication and two hearty tes of food.

    "You? What did you just say? General Fang?! That means that you have already..." Wu Feng¡¯s eyes instantly widened. Of course, he recognised this person in front of him. It was General Wang, the person he trusted and favoured most in his army.

    "Young Master Wu, this is inevitable. Based on the rules of the Court Examination, we must follow whoever eliminates you." General Wang nodded.

    "But... Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t participate in thebat examination. During the distribution of troops in the Yan Capital, he hadn¡¯t arrived on time. Hence, you guys don¡¯t have to follow him at all!" Of course, Wu Feng knew the rules of thebat examination. However, he was truly still somewhat in denial.

    "No, you are wrong. Even though Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to arrive on time during the distribution of troops, the Emperor didn¡¯t strike off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name in thebat examination. Hence, his name is still among the list of people participating in thebat examination!"

    "Didn¡¯t strike off his name?!"

    "Two young masters, please press your fingerprint here so that I can release both of you!" General Wang fished out a dark green paper from his pocket as he spoke.

    "Yes, it is indeed time to press my fingerprint..." Wu Feng gazed at the dark green paper in front of him and the light in his eyes finally extinguished. Without much further hesitation, he finally pressed his finger onto the dark green paper.

    At the instant Wu Feng pressed his finger down, a faint glow shed across the dark green paper.

    Wu Feng gazed at the faint light shing across the paper as a look of anguish filled his eyes. Because, he knew that this time, he had truly been eliminated...

    ...

    The afternoon sunlight was somewhat powerful. However,pared to a powerful and swift piece of news, that sunlight was clearly nothing inparison.

    In a mountain valley of the Southern Mountain Range where wild flowers bloomed.

    Su Qing, dressed in a ck official robe, was walking towards arge and exquisite military tent embroidered with a silver dragon. His face was ghastly pale. When he reached the entrance of the military tent.

    He still stopped in his tracks.

    From his expression, it could be inferred that he was extremely hesitant.

    This expression was actually rather rare on Su Qing¡¯s face. However, at this moment, this expression was clearly disyed.

    "Who is outside my tent?" Within the military tent, a ratherzy voice rang out.

    "Your Highness, it is Su Qing quietly waiting outside the tent!" A soldier at the entrance of the tent instantly replied Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s question.

    "Oh? Su Qing is here? Is heing with more good news?" When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heard this, he casually called out.

    Su Qing¡¯s expression instantly changed.

    However, he still managed to pluck up his courage and enter the military tent.

    Inside the tent, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was lying on an exquisitely crafted chair, ying with a golden-yellow coloured flower in his hand.

    "Crown Prince, Your Highness." Su Qing respectively bowed towards Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "Su Qing, if you have anything to say, just say it." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t even nce at Su Qing. Instead, he ced the flower in front of his nose and gently breathed in its aroma.

    "Thetest news of thebat examination, Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng are eliminated!" When Su Qing reached the end of his sentence, his voice clearly trembled slightly.

    "Oh, I see. I already know that Chen Feiyu has some talent, however, he would ultimately still be a little weaker inparison to others. It is normal for him to be eliminated. As for Wu Feng... Wait a minute, who did you say was eliminated along with Wu Feng?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong repliedzily, however, after saying the two words, Wu Feng, he seemed to have suddenly woken up.

    "Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng!" Su Qing evidently knew that Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would be taken aback. Because, he was also taken aback when he heard this news.

    However...

    He knew one more thing. This wasn¡¯t the truly shocking news.

 Chapter 354: Dare to attack Nangong Hao

    Chapter 354: Dare to attack Nangong Hao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Wu Feng is eliminated? Who eliminated Wu Feng? Is it Nangong Hao? Or is it Yan Xiu?" No matter how many times Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was answered, he was still in somewhat of a disbelief.

    "None of them... the person who eliminated Wu Feng is... Fang Zhengzhi!" Su Qing shook his head, took a deep breath and spoke.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" This time, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed for real and immediately stood up from his chair.

    His initialzy expression changed to one of immense shock at this moment and his pale white pace turned somewhat pink. His feminine and tender eyes was tightly fixated on Su Qing¡¯s face.

    He couldn¡¯t believe it.

    "Based on intelligence reports,st night, Fang Zhengzhi had eliminated Chen Feiyu. After which, at noon, he eliminated Wu Feng. Both of these incidents urred in the Thunderous Lion Settlement." Su Qing could understand Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s feelingspletely.

    However...

    Reality was reality.

    He could only speak the truth. However, even he himself wasn¡¯t able to understand how did Fang Zhengzhi aplish such a thing.

    It has to be made known that the Thunderous Lion Settlement was Chen Feiyu¡¯s settlement. Furthermore, most importantly, Chen Feiyu had over ten thousand soldiers.

    Not even mentioning that Chen Feiyu wasn¡¯t at all weaker than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just based on those ten thousand soldiers, if each of them spat at Fang Zhengzhi, it might even be possible to drown him.

    Leveraging on the fact that Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng were fighting among one another to reap the rewards?

    But, this probability was equally low.

    Wu Feng¡¯s abilities ranked him third in the Rising Dragon Roll. Just based on abilities and powers alone, he ranked above Fang Zhengzhi. In addition to the almost twenty thousand soldiers strong army in Wu Feng¡¯s hands.

    Taking the head of the enemy general from among tens of thousands of soldiers?

    Su Qing didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi had this ability. Moreover, Wu Feng was an expert in the Dao of Music. The offensive power behind this, not mentioning that Fang Zhengzhi was alone.

    Even if there was five Fang Zhengzhi-sing at him at one go, it would still be almost impossible for him to close in.

    Su Qing couldn¡¯t understand what had happened within the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Crown Prince Lin Tianrong couldn¡¯t understand either. Hence, what was left was silence.

    After exactly an hour of silence.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong finally returned back onto his chair. After all, he was the Crown Prince of the Eastern Pce, the chief examiner of this courtbat examination.

    "How is the current situation like?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong tried his best to remain calm. He had to consider the entire situation. Because, he knew very clearly all the ns that the Great Xia Dynasty had in mind during this military movement into the Southern Mountain Range.

    Initially, the entire n was being carried out smoothly and as nned one step at a time. However, there seemed to be a small ident at the moment. This was an ident that was out of his control.

    Hence...

    The most important thing for him to do now was to grasp this ident within his hands, or, discreetly destroy this ident.

    "Based on the rules of thebat examination, after Fang Zhengzhi eliminated Wu Feng, all the military forces and territories under Wu Feng would now bepletely under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control. Hence..." When Su Qing neared the end of his sentence, he sounded somewhat hesitant.

    "You mean, at this moment, the Thunderous Lion Settlement, the Shi Zun Settlement and the Yan Ya Settlement are all controlled by Fang Zhengzhi?" When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heard this, he felt somewhat giddy.

    He was really a little giddy. Among the four main settlements, three were taken by Fang Zhengzhi. This ident was trulyrger than what he had imagined.

    "Yes, based on the rules of thebat examination..."

    "I don¡¯t care about the rules of thebat examination! Send the order, the journey starts now. I want to go to the Thunderous Lion Settlement, I cannot allow Fang Zhengzhi to act so sphemously!"

    "Your Highness, I fear this is somewhat inappropriate. If Your Highness goes to the Thunderous Lion Settlement now, not only will you break the rules of the court examination, you might even raise suspicions on the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s side. If, by some unfortunate circumstance, the Southern Mountain Range n is disrupted, I fear there might be movements on King Duan¡¯s side. Your Highness, you must not forget that King Duan is the real person in charge of the military!" When Su Qing heard this, he immediately stepped in and advised.

    "Don¡¯t tell me my brother dares to badmouth me in front of Father Emperor?"

    "If I am King Duan, now only will I badmouth you, I will ask the Emperor to strip you of all your powers to host the court examination. After all, if the Southern Mountain Range n seeds, the rewards will be great!"

    "I dare him!"

    "Your Highness, please think this through carefully!" When Su Qing finished his sentence, he immediately knelt down onto the ground.

    When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw Su Qing kneeling down, a faint light shed in his soft eyes. However, in the end, he didn¡¯t continue to maintain his stand.

    "Smash!" The golden flower on the table shattered onto the ground.

    "Rise, in your opinion, what course of action should we take?" After a long while of silence, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong finally waved his hands towards Su Qing and signalled for him to stand up.

    "Your Highness, it wouldn¡¯t harm to pass down a secret order to ensure that Fang Zhengzhi can only do as he wishes within the three main settlements. However, he must not go near the Icy Monkey Settlement and raise any conflicts with Nangong Hao. In this case, things may still be controlled."

    "You think that Fang Zhengzhi would dare to attack Nangong Hao?!" When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heard this, he was somewhat taken aback. He knew very clearly how important this Southern Mountain Range n was.

    Nangong Hao!

    Must not be affected!

    "Wu Feng wouldn¡¯t dare to. Chen Feiyu wouldn¡¯t dare to. Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t dare to. However, Fang Zhengzhi might!" Su Qing replied confidently.

    "He will definitely be defeated, without a doubt! But... I¡¯m afraid that he would cause trouble. If he orders a brute force attack on the Icy Monkey Settlement, resulting in heavy casualties among the military forces of our Great Xia, things might be messed up."

    "If this is the case, would it be more appropriate to send to order to Nangong Hao for him to avoid fighting?"

    "Your Highness, don¡¯t you remember that Nangong Hao only listens to the Emperor? Furthermore, Nangong Hao definitely has enough reason and drive to battle Fang Zhengzhi." Su Qing reminded.

    "What you said does make some sense. Let¡¯s do it this way, you will personally make a trip to the Thunderous Lion Settlement and pass the order for me."

    "This... I fear I am unable to go."

    "Why?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me that Your Highness had forgotten that during the court theory examination, there had been some conflicts between me and Fang Zhengzhi?" When Su Qing recalled the scene during the court theory examination, his expression darkened somewhat.

    "Then, who do you feel is more appropriate for this?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded.

    "Xing Qingsui!" A glow shed in Su Qing¡¯s eyes. However, he still hesitated for a moment before finally voicing out the name.

    "Xing Qingsui? Yes... It is indeed better for him to go. However, Xing Qingsui has the Mountain Breaking Army of the Stabilisation Constabry with him. If he is ordered to enter the Thunderous Lion Settlement, will it expose things?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was evidently somewhat surprised by Su Qing¡¯s suggestion and his expression seemed somewhat hesitant.

    "Your Highness, you can order for him to make the journey alone. If he was to journey to the Thunderous Lion Settlement secretly, things naturally wouldn¡¯t be exposed." When Su Qing saw the Crown Prince¡¯s expression, he thought for a moment and suggested.

    "Alright, bring my order token and personally invite Xing Qingsui over. I will personally exin to him everything that was nned and arranged." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong stayed silent for a moment, but finally nodded his head.

    "Roger!" Su Qing nodded and withdrew with his head bowed.

    After leaving the military tent. Su Qing stabilised himself and raised his head lightly to gaze at the white clouds in the sky. An icy glow shed across his eyes.

    "Personally give the order? The position of the Stabilisation Constabry in the Great Xia indeed cannot be matched by anybody else, regardless whether it is the current Emperor, or the Crown Prince, or King Duan... Looks like it is time for some action!"

    ...

    At the same time news of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s elimination of Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu reached Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s military tent, a soldier in rattan armour also entered Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent.

    "Princess, Fang Zhengzhi had taken the Thunderous Lion Settlement, the Yan Ya Settlement and the Shi Zun Settlement. Furthermore, his current military strength has expanded to almost thirty thousand people." As the soldier spoke, his forehead dripped with sweat.

    He had sprinted all the way here.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the main reason he was soaked in sweat.

    The main reason was that he was truly frightened. How many days did these incidents take to happen? Three main settlements were now all under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control.

    This was simply terrifying.

    It felt as if an wolf had leapt into a flock of sheep. Isn¡¯t this a little too extreme?

    When Princess Shan Yu, who was lying on a golden coloured animal skin chair, heard this news, her initially casual and indolent expression turned into one of shock.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the soldier was present.

    She might have almost rolled off her chair in shock.

    Her body, covered in white animal leather, began to tremble and her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her wheat coloured skin also turned somewhat flushed with red.

    This was extreme surprise and delight. She had really never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to achieve this.

    Furthermore...

    He had done so in such a short span of time.

    "This guy, really caused me to... be very shocked!" Princess Shan Yu murmured softly as her dark eyes shed with light. "Tell me in detail how did this guy do it."

    "Roger!" After hearing Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words, he immediately acknowledged and began to describe in great detail how Fang Zhengzhi had taken down Chen Hao¡¯s Thunder Light Settlement, then set up a trap within the Thunderous Lion Settlement to ambush Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng.

    When the soldier finished his words.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed again.

    Her initial delight and surprise became somewhat awkward. When she thought of the scene in which Fang Zhengzhi tricked away Wu Feng¡¯s clothes and jade flute, she couldn¡¯t contain herself and scolded.

    "This guy is just as shameless as before in his acts!"

    "Princess, what arrangements do we need?"

    "You can withdraw and rest for now, I will naturally have my own ns."

    "Roger."

    ...

    Within the Southern Mountain Range, on the peak of an extremely ordinary mountain, at the entrance of a certain concealed mountain cave, there was also a ck figure, standing under the broad daylight. He seemed somewhat in a hurry.

    "What is it that needs to be reported in the day?" When a man in ck robe standing at the entrance saw this ck figure, he immediately walked out from the side and blocked in front of the mountain cave entrance.

    "Urgent matters!"

    "Domain Chief is currently taking his afternoon rest,e again at night!"

    "No, I must report this to Domain Chief right now. I wish that you will allow me to report immediately, else, if military intelligence is kept back and dyed, you will be responsible!" The ck figure spoke with a cold expression.

    "You... wait!" The ck-robed man didn¡¯t speak any further, turned around and entered the cave. A momentter, he walked out. However, there was an additional bright red palm mark on his face.

    "Enter!"

    When the ck-robed man spoke, his tone sounded clearly somewhat grieved.

    "Thanks." When the ck figure saw the palm mark on the ck-robed man¡¯s face, a faint sense of pity shed across his lips. However, he didn¡¯t dare to dy any further.

    Within the cave, Bai Xingy on a glittering and translucent ck stone. A faint icy aura was given off by the stone, causing the entire cave to feel somewhat chilly.

    A blood-red demon eye was embedded on Bai Xing¡¯s forehead, adding a blood-like mystery to this chilly atmosphere.

    "What?" Bai Xing¡¯s tone didn¡¯t sound very happy.

    "Domain Chief, Fang Zhengzhi had taken down the Thunderous Lion Settlement, and defeated Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu. Now, he controls the Thunderous Lion Settlement, the Shi Zun Settlement and the Yan Ya Settlement. Furthermore, he has almost thirty thousand soldiers." The ck figure felt the aura emitted from Bai Xing¡¯s body and didn¡¯t dare to beat around the bush. He cut straight to the point.

    "What?! How can things happen like this?" Bai Xing¡¯s initially calm expression was finally broken.

    "I heard that Fang Zhengzhi tricked Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng into entering the Thunderous Lion Settlement, then, set up an ambush." The ck figure instantly reported everything he knew.

    "Well done Fang Zhengzhi, a few days ago, he is still within Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent. Now, he already has control over three main settlements? This is truly somewhat unexpected."

    "Domain Chief, what should we do now? Should we make an early move?"

    "There is no rush. The more troops Fang Zhengzhi has in his hands, the faster he dies. This time, he cannot run anymore! However... in order to prevent the unexpected, insert a few more people inside!"

    "Understood."

    "You can leave."

    "Roger!"

    The ck figure quickly left.

    On the other hand, Bai Xing didn¡¯t seem to have any further intention of sleeping. Instead, he slowly rose from the ck stone and paced back and forth within the cave.

    "Based on time calctions, Young Lord should be reaching by now."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know about the reactions of people from each side after eliminating Wu Feng.

    In reality, he didn¡¯t even figure out that he was already in control of three main settlements. Only when General Wang reminded him on purpose, he seemed to realise that at this moment, he...

    Seemed to have some bragging rights!

    Within a short span of time, he had already controlled three of the four main settlements. The military force in his hands had almost reached thirty thousand troops. He was filled with power. All he had to do was to stamp his feet for the entire Southern Mountain Range to shake.

    "Don¡¯t tell me that this is the legend about how intended actions never lead to good oues, but unintended actions result in great results?" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head to the sky and felt like a lonely champion without a worthy challenger.

    Hence...

    The next question was raised.

    Where should he go and stamp his feet?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the four main settlements were extremely dangerous. The Southern Mountain Range had already arranged for soldiers to be ced within the four main settlements. However, after possessing strong military forces, this feeling became somewhat different.

    If it was said that the Fang Zhengzhi of before was a tiny sailboat in the middle of a tempestuous stormy sea that could flip at any time, now, he was riding a deluxe warship.

    Whenever he saw somebody he didn¡¯t fancy, he didn¡¯t have to speak anything more than one word...

    Die!

 Chapter 355: Start Once Youâ€™re Ready

    Chapter 355: Start Once You¡¯re Ready

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    I heard that this Nangong Hao guy is at some Icy Monkey Settlement. It should be quite near to my Thunderous Lion Settlement, why not I directly...

    ****!

    Fang Zhengzhi thought this way. Hence, naturally, he prepared to carry it out.

    The next few days, Fang Zhengzhi began to split his army into two paths, doing a "sweep" around the perimeter of the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Each path had almost ten thousand troops.

    This caused the examinees who slipped through the to feel extremely pained.

    Attacking two thousand with ten thousand?

    Was there truly a meaning in this?

    Denial, shame. Yet, ultimately, helplessness.

    It was simply impossible to defend against an army five times the size. The only thing they could do was to surrender one by one, then, give up their army.

    As Fang Zhengzhi began his sweep, the Southern Mountain Range, in which the undercurrent had always been surging, finally stirred up a torrential storm.

    Envelopes followed by envelopes of military reports were delivered into the tent of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, causing him to live the past few days rather unhappily.

    "Fang Zhengzhi eliminated Lue Qing, his army has expanded to thirty-four thousand troops."

    "Fang Zhengzhi eliminated Chen Dongping, his army has expanded to thirty-six thousand troops."

    "..."

    Looking at the never-ending letters of military report, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was extremely dark. His expression remained gloomy and solemn, andpletely lost the mood to appreciate his flowers like he did everyday before.

    Time passed very quickly.

    Five dayster, the number of troops under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯smand had reached the terrifying amount of forty-one thousand. It also meant hemanded almost seventy percent of the entire military strength in thebat examination.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi finally began to enjoy the treatment of amander in chief.

    In the huge stone house, each of the militarymanders quietly stood in two rows by the side, and beside them stood gloomy schrs.

    They were all examinees eliminated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence, naturally, they could only follow Fang Zhengzhi. Regardless of whether they were willing or reluctant, they had no choice but to follow him until the end of thebat examination.

    Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu were also standing in the stone house at this moment.

    These few days, it could be said that Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu¡¯s hearts had suffered extreme torment. However, if they wished to ensure that they would smoothly pass thebat examination, the only thing they could do was to help Fang Zhengzhi.

    Because, they were eliminated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    The rules of thebat examination were based on apetition, level-based system. For example, if examinee A was eliminated by examinee B, then, examinee A would be in one level below that of examinee B.

    If examinee B was eliminated by another person, then, examinee A would drop another level.

    In other words.

    Wu Feng had eliminated a bunch of examinees. As long as Wu Feng¡¯s ranking remained first in thebat examination, these examinees would gain their rankings based on the order of elimination.

    However, the current situation was that Wu Feng had been eliminated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    In this case, the examinees that Wu Feng had eliminated before had now entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s circle. If Fang Zhengzhi was eliminated by other examinees, they would likely have no hope left in thebat examination.

    Hence...

    The best course of action was for Fang Zhengzhi to attain first ce. This would enable their rankings to be higher.

    Of course, the gloomiest person of all was Wu Feng. He had initially nned to take down Chen Feiyu in one fell swoop, However, he had never imagined that he would be eliminated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It went without saying that this was a huge tragedy.

    "Pass down my order, ask all of the troops guarding the Yan Ya Settlement and Shi Zun Settlement to assemble at the Thunderous Lion Settlement!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed down at the rows of armoured militarymanders and gave his order.

    "Asking all of them to assemble at the Thunderous Lion Settlement?!"

    When the gloomy schrs heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they instantly became even more miserable. At this moment, they were all hoping for Fang Zhengzhi to gain a high ranking.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi ordered everybody to assemble?

    What was the meaning of this!

    "General, if all the troops were called to assemble at the Thunderous Lion Settlement, it is equivalent to giving up control over the Yan Ya and Shi Zun Settlement?" When General Wang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he instantly got a shock.

    He had fought together with Wu Feng before, hence, he knew very clearly how important and hard to attack the Yan Ya and Shi Zun Settlements were. Now, the settlements were already under their control.

    Giving them up like this...

    Would that be a little silly?

    "Oh, I know. Then let¡¯s give it up." Fang Zhengzhi said dismissively.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what are you trying to do? If you don¡¯t want to participate in this exam properly, can you not eliminate me? Now that you already control three main settlements, at the very least, you would be able to attain second ce!" Wu Feng finally couldn¡¯t control himself anymore.

    Not mentioning that the settlements he had put in so much effort to conquer were delivered into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi actually threw them away just as if he was throwing rubbish into the trash?

    How could he ept this feeling!

    "What are you doing? You are already eliminated. You wish to rebel? Pass down my order, gather some dung." Fang Zhengzhi nced at Wu Feng in despise and immediately brushed off Wu Feng¡¯s opinion.

    "Please don¡¯t!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, please reconsider!"

    "We are all willing to help you."

    When the schrs heard this, they became truly anxious. If Fang Zhengzhi lost the territory, and it was picked up by others, they were really about to suffer.

    The schrs couldn¡¯t understand. The militarymanders also exchanged nces among one another,pletely unable to guess what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    Just like how General Wang felt deep down inside, they all felt that this order by Fang Zhengzhi was a little stupid.

    However...

    Was Fang Zhengzhi stupid?

    This was an extremely serious question.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was said to be stupid, then, how could he take down both Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng in one day? Furthermore, didn¡¯t this mean that all these people who lost to Fang Zhengzhi were even more stupid?

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid, then this order was simply equivalent to giving up thebat examination ranking he already attained.

    They had absolutely no clue of what he was thinking.

    Each of the militarymander shook his head, simply unable to understand.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew what the schrs and themanders were thinking. However, it wasn¡¯t necessary for them to understand. Because, if they knew about the current situation in the Southern Mountain Range, they would probably have made the same decision.

    Every citizen a soldier.

    This meant that every main settlement was filled with soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed possessed over forty-thousand troops at this moment, and have control over seventy percent of all the troops in thebat examination. However,pared to the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s "every citizen a soldier", it was the difference between an ant and an elephant.

    Controlling territory?

    Controlling three main settlements indeed seemed extremely glorious. However, once the military force was divided, when the Southern Mountain Range began their n, these forty-thousand troops wouldn¡¯t even be able to defend themselves at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts at this moment were extremely simple.

    If every citizen is a soldier.

    Then, I will gather all my soldiers in one ce and unite all the troops. As for controlling territory, I have a powerful military force, what do I fear? Thebat examination hadn¡¯t ended yet!

    General Wang really wished to attempt to convince Fang Zhengzhi once more.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was the true examinee of thisbat examination. He didn¡¯t have any power to interfere. Hence, he could only carry out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order.

    Wu Feng also wanted to speak. However, he was already eliminated.

    Then, what else could he say?

    ...

    News of Fang Zhengzhi recalling all the troops guarding the Yan Ya and Shi Zun Main Settlements quickly spread once again into Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s ear.

    This caused Crown Prince Lin Tianrong to be somewhat speechless.

    "What is this guy Fang Zhengzhi thinking?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had a strange feeling that if Fang Zhengzhi continued to y on like this, there would be a huge impact on the Southern Mountain Range n.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was an examinee of thebat examination.

    As the chief examiner and crown prince, passing down orders to interfere with the decision of an examinee waspletely uneptable.

    Hence, the only thing he could do was to wait.

    Wait indefinitely!

    ...

    A few dayster.

    The military forces in the Yan Ya and Shi Zun Main Settlements finally gathered at the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    Taking advantage of these few days, Fang Zhengzhi had eliminated another examinee. His military strength had reached a terrifying forty-three thousand troops.

    Fang Zhengzhi did a calction.

    There were a total of fifty-eight thousand troops participating in thebat examination. After subtracting the two thousand in Nangong Hao¡¯s hands, fifty-six thousand remained. And now, he had forty-three thousand.

    The amount of troops remaining outside were no more than thirteen thousand.

    Then...

    It was about time to start!

    "Pass down the order, the entire army shall travel towards the Icy Monkey Settlement!"

    "General Fang, do we need to leave people to guard the Thunderous Lion Settlement?" When General Wang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, cold sweat formed on his back as he reminded softly.

    Even he knew how horrifying Nangong Hao was.

    This battle!

    Whether they were able to win was truly a question mark. Hence, leaving some troops to guard the Thunderous Lion Settlement to leave a path for them to retreat was undoubtedly the best choice.

    "Don¡¯t leave, don¡¯t leave even a single soldier." Fang Zhengzhi immediately replied without even giving it a thought.

    ...

    The grand army pressed towards the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Following Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong finally fell from his chair to the ground. He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would challenge Nangong Hao.

    However, he never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would be running over so soon.

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had actually given up control over the Thunderous Lion Settlement. The entire army pressed towards the Icy Monkey Settlement. How was this still an examination?

    This was simply a battle of life and death.

    "Stop him, we must stop him. Xing Qingsui hadn¡¯t reached the Thunderous Lion Settlement? Pass down my orders, write out to immediately disqualify Fang Zhengzhi from thebat examination!"

    "Crown Prince Your Highness, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s qualification to participate in thebat examination was personally given by the Emperor, would this action..." When one of the generals sitting in the military tent heard this, he instantly received a huge shock.

    "Compared to the Southern Mountain Range n, does it matter if we disqualify Fang Zhengzhi from thebat examination? I will write a letter to exin to my Emperor Father about this, pass down the order immediately!"

    "Roger!"

    ...

    Within Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent.

    As a piece of news arrived, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s dark eyes finally shed with a captivating glow. Cloud patterns began to appear on her wheat-coloured skin.

    "Attack the Icy Monkey Settlement? Are you sure?"

    "I am sure, a hundred percent sure!" The soldier arriving with the news replied confidently.

    "Alright, does Third Brother know about this news?" After Princess Shan Yu received the soldier¡¯s confident reply, she stood up from the chair and asked once more.

    "Replying Princess, after I received this news, I immediately passed it on to Noblelite. Noblelite should have received it by now, I believe he would pass down the orders in a moment¡¯s time." The soldier instantly replied.

    "Ha ha ha... not bad. After waiting for so long, it is about time for me to get some exercise!" When Princess Shan Yu heard the soldier¡¯s words, she finally smiled. Her smile was radiant, just like a beautiful and charming ck rose.

    ...

    As the main settlement that was closest to the Sagely Mountain City, it could be considered the most heavily guarded ce among the main settlements.

    If the Thunderous Lion Settlement was a huge fortress.

    Then, the Icy Monkey Settlement would be a tusk below the Sagely Mountain City of the Southern Mountain Range.

    The area it upied wasn¡¯t too big. However, it stood overbearingly in a vast open space. There were no geographical advantages such as trees or mountains that shielded it.

    However, it was indeed a tusk of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Because, right in front of the Icy Monkey Settlement, there was a wind valley. It was a wind valley formed by nature.

    The separation of a valley was like twopletely different worlds. Within the wind valley, it waspletely bleak. After the wind valley, it was the bustling and thriving Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Within the Icy Monkey Settlement, in a huge stone house constructed with very strong stone, Nangong Hao, who was dressed in a white schrly robe, sat quietly in front of the window, holding a book filled with ancient scriptures in his hand.

    The words of the ancient scripture in his hand seemed to be somewhat differentpared to the words of the Great Xia Dynasty. It¡¯s shape seemed somewhat strange. However, Nangong Hao seemed deep in concentration.

    "Young master." An armoured militarymander knocked softly on the main door of the stone house. After which, he gingerly made his way into the stone house.

    "Yes. Where is Fang Zhengzhi now?" Nangong Hao didn¡¯t raise his head. Instead, he continued to read the ancient scripture in his hand, even mumbling it softly with his lips.

    "I believe he would reach the wind valley in another two days¡¯ worth of journey." Themander replied.

    "Alright."

    "Do we need to make preparations?"

    "No need, just do what you are supposed to do."

    "Understood."

    Themander nodded, after which, he retreated respectfully. After walking out of the main door of the stone house, the expression on his face turned firm and determined. That was a form of arrogance.

    Compared to his respectful attitude just now, it was an entirely different form of arrogance.

    ...

    In the dark night, a ck figure bounded swiftly. After a few bounds,, the ck figure stopped on top of a protruding mountain rock.

    The ck figure that stood on top of the rock stopped.

    He reached one hand into his pocket and fished out a yellow map.

    After one nce, he kept it back into his pocket. After which, his entire bodyypletely t on the ground. Pressing his ear to the ground, he listened quietly for a while.

    Then, he turned and the tip of his foot shifted right by an inch and leapt off the mountain rock.

    He continued to dash.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had never trulymanded an army, nor did he have the experience of leading over forty-thousand soldiers. However, the militarymanders did.

    Military movements and tactical formations were as routine as eating. Even though they weren¡¯t very familiar with the geographicalndscape of the Southern Mountain Range, it didn¡¯t matter much.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi had Teng Shisheng leading the way.

    In addition to that, he already possessed the ability to determine the locations of beasts by listening to the sounds around them. In addition to the powerful clearing power of forty-thousand troops, smaller beasts simply didn¡¯t pose any form of a threat to them.

    Hence, along the way, he didn¡¯t face any significant obstacles.

    Two dayster, over forty thousand soldiers approached the enemy city and arrived at the natural defence of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    The Wind Valley!

 Chapter 356: Defeat the Wind

    Chapter 356: Defeat the Wind

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi only had a very simple understand of the situation at the wind valley. Furthermore, this understanding only came about from Teng Shisheng¡¯s exnation. As for the detailed conditions, he hadn¡¯t witnessed it personally hence wasn¡¯t very clear at this point of time.

    However, this didn¡¯t stop him from feeling the uniqueness of its position. Because, before even nearing the wind valley, he could hear the gushing sounding from within.

    The entire wind valley was like a huge mountain split into two from the middle by a sword, resulting in a long narrow valley that only allowed ten people to move in a row.

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, the two walls of the valley was filled with a white frost.

    Icicles filled the frost like spikes, making it impossible for people to get too close to it, nor climb on top of it.

    "Guard Fang, the wind valley is right in front. As long as we are able to get past the wind valley, we will reach the Icy Monkey Settlement." At this moment, Teng Shisheng walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side and said softly.

    "Is it easy to cross this wind valley?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the wind valley in front, then looked back at the mighty armoured troops behind him.

    If he wished to cross this wind valley alone.

    He definitely didn¡¯t need to inquire further. All he had to do was to charge in.

    However, if the over forty-thousand troops behind him were to charge in, they would definitely weigh him down. At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi more or less understood what was the meaning of being the chiefmander of an army.

    "Not easy." Teng Shisheng shook his head without even thinking.

    "There is a question I don¡¯t quite understand." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. He had already guessed Teng Shisheng¡¯s reply, hence naturally didn¡¯t feel too surprised.

    "Guard Fang, please ask." Teng Shisheng replied respectfully.

    "This wind valley lies right across the entrance of the Icy Monkey Settlement. In order to enter the Icy Monkey Settlement, one has to first cross the wind valley. However, in this case, how do the people inside leave?" Fang Zhengzhi thought of this question.

    "It goes like this. The opening of the wind valley is controlled by the Icy Monkey Settlement. At the exit of the wind valley, there is a huge rock. If one moved the huge rock to the left,the wind in the wind valley would be stopped. If it was moved to the right, the wind in the wind valley would start again. As for the exact reason for this, none of us are quite clear. However, it has always been like this for the past few hundred years." When Teng Shisheng heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, he exined.

    "Move the huge rock?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up slightly. In an instant, he thought of something. "Is the Icy Monkey Settlement positioned in an extremely vast and t piece ofnd?"

    "That¡¯s right, how does Guard Fang know this?" Teng Shisheng seemed somewhat surprised when he heard this. Because, he hadn¡¯t exined in detail the conditions of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    "Ha ha, I guessed it." Fang Zhengzhi smiled, but didn¡¯t exin further. After all, it required knowledge of physics in order to exin this.

    In reality, a geography like that of the wind valley required a lot of coincidence. However, in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous world, there were a few simr situations.

    From a scientific perspective, the wind is a force of nature.

    Under many circumstances, wind is able to grow stronger or weaker depending on the geography of thendscape. For example, in the desert, once wind began to blow, it would turn into a tempest.

    This was due to thendscape being too open.

    And, if two huge rocks were to appear in an open piece ofnd, the center of the two huge stones would form a wind gap.

    The reason was that the huge rock blocked the flowing path of the wind, causing it to forcefully squeeze in between the two huge rocks.

    Thendscape of the Icy Monkey Settlement was vast and open, and there were two huge mountains that seemed to have been formed from being forcefully cut into two. Hence, forming such a wind valley wouldn¡¯t be considered surprising.

    As for using the huge rocks behind the wind valley to control the wind within it, the concept was actually the same. If the direction of shift was just right, it could alter the flow of the wind, causing it to blow upwards, hence no longer blowing in the direction of the wind valley. This way, the wind would stop.

    Knowledge changes fate!

    Fang Zhengzhi understood these concepts. However, Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t quite understand them. Hence, after hearing that Fang Zhengzhi was just guessing, he looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with a strange expression.

    Teng Shisheng really couldn¡¯t understand. This kind of stuff could be guessed?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak further. He was thinking of a method to ovee the wind valley.

    When the group of schrs following the army saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, the trace of a smirk appeared on their faces.

    After all, in their hearts, Fang Zhengzhi depended on shameless tactics to achieve sess. During times when he would have to truly depend on his strengths, that wouldn¡¯t work anymore.

    Even though at this moment, they were all in the same boat as Fang Zhengzhi, but, for them to suggest tactics and strategies, Fang Zhengzhi still at least had to express it.

    For example...

    Sincerely consulting their opinions, or holding of grand feast and ceremony to say, "I can¡¯t do it. During such crucial times, I still have to depend on you guys!"

    This was what they expected to happen.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly hadn¡¯t thought of this. At this moment, his gaze was focused on scanning the surroundingndscape of the wind valley, calcting rapidly in his mind.

    This caused a group of schrs to be somewhat restless.

    "Asking too much is better than thinking too much. As the chiefmander, you must know how to be humble and seek advice. Pride and arrogance isn¡¯t a trait that amander should have." A schr quickly reminded.

    "That¡¯s right, you didn¡¯t even fight a battle before, stop pretending to think deeply!"

    "If you really wish to seek military strategies, you still have to consult Young Master Wu and Young Master Chen. Young Master Chen is the direct descendent of the thirteen constabries and had been reading military books ever since young."

    "That¡¯s right. If you wish to ovee the wind valley, you cannot charge in blindly. I suggest that everybody sit down and discuss together."

    When the schrs heard the voice, they also began to express their agreement. They all waited for Fang Zhengzhi to "have a change of heart" and humbly request for their advice.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard the voices behind him, a faint smile appeared on his face as he turned around and gazed at the "hungry, impatient" schrs.

    Of course, he knew what these people were thinking.

    He had eitherunched a sneak attack on them, or forcefully overpowered them with multiples times the number of troops they had. If they were topletely ept their defeat, it was naturally not very possible.

    "Since this is the case, then, let¡¯s all gather and discuss how to cross this wind valley." Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to think how this world nned to ovee a wind valley like this.

    "I have a n!" A schr quickly stood out.

    To these "academics" who had few chances to participate in battles, being able to demonstrate their ability tomand troops in such circumstances would definitely contribute in one way or another to the results of theirbat examination.

    Most importantly, if they were able to aplish something, when they had the opportunity to enter the military in the future, it would definitely be a good example for them to bring up to be considered for rapid promotion.

    "I have an idea too."

    "Me too!"

    When they saw a schr taking the initiative to stand out, there were instantly a few more schrs fighting to express their opinions.

    On the other hand, when Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu witnessed this scene, their expressions were nd and calm, seeming as if they were profound and unfathomable.

    "Come, speak one by one, don¡¯t rush." It was rare for Fang Zhengzhi to witness such "positive energy", and decided to not burst their bubble and dampen their enthusiasm.

    "This is my n. The wind blows from inside to outside. Hence, we can get a few defensive troops to guard the front. With them blocking off the wind in front, this would naturally reduce the power of the wind."

    "That¡¯s right, I agree with what Young Master Li said."

    "Young Master Li¡¯s n indeed isn¡¯t bad. However, there are a fewcking areas. It is indeed not a bad idea to ce the defensive troops in front. However, what if the wind from the wind valley is too powerful for the defensive troops to block off? I suggest we build a huge ¡¯shield carriage¡¯ which the troops will push forward. This will achieve a much better shielding effect!" Another schr chiped in.

    "Good n!"

    "The shield carriage is good, I feel that it is best to build two of these shield carriages to prevent any unexpected changes!"

    "Yes, not bad. I think it will work."

    The schrs fought to express their opinions, while the schr who suggested building the shield carriage carried an arrogant, haughty expression, waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to do as he nned.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he didn¡¯t agree nor disagree.

    Instead, he focused his gaze towards Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu, waiting for them to express their opinions.

    Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu naturally saw the gaze which Fang Zhengzhi shot over. They tilted their faces to one side, as if waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to beg them.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curved into another smile.

    He didn¡¯t look at Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu again, instead, he rode his horse and slowly trotted towards the direction of the wind valley.

    When Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu witnessed this scene, they instantly started to turn anxious.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this Fang Zhengzhi is really going to make two shield carriages?" Wu Feng looked at Chen Feiyu.

    "I think it might be possible!" Chen Feiyu nodded.

    "If he did this, we are definitely going to lose this battle." Wu Feng began to worry. After all, they were ants on the same rope as Fang Zhengzhi.

    "We cannot allow him to lose!" Chen Feiyu had also realised this. The expression on his face turned extremely grieved.

    He was truly very grieved.

    As a person of the Supernatural State, he didn¡¯t even have the time to reveal this powers before being taken down by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ambush. Now, when faced with the wind valley, he prepared to maintain his pride.

    Yet in the end...

    Fang Zhengzhi actually ignored him.

    He had a n, yet couldn¡¯t voice it out. Such grief was indeed ufortable. It was just as if he had thought of an extremely good idea, yet, nobody used it. It was indeed worrying!

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Chen Feiyu finally spoke. Anger was clearly evident in his tone. However, other than being angry, it also sounded very helpless.

    "Yes?" Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t travelled very far. Hence, after hearing Chen Feiyu¡¯s shout, he turned his head around and looked at Chen Feiyu with a confused expression.

    "I have a strategy for you. However, I have a condition!" Chen Feiyu¡¯s words seemed to have been forced out from his gritted teeth.

    "Condition? Oh, then, forget it." Fang Zhengzhi smiled, then turned around and continued to ride towards the wind valley.

    "Forget it?!" Chen Feiyu had never thought that his "goodwill" in taking the initiative to suggest a strategy would be faced with the words "forget it".

    This was simply even more shameful than being pped across the face.

    Spite!

    This was a deep sense of spite, and a utterly unjustifiable form of disregard.

    Chen Feiyu was extremely angry. Gazing around at the strange expressions on the surrounding schrs¡¯ faces, his expression flushed somewhat red.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, building the shield carriage would only decrease the movement speed of the army further. Furthermore, the wind in the wind valley isn¡¯t something you can imagine. No shield carriage would be able to block it!" At this moment, Chen Feiyu couldn¡¯t be bothered with what those schrs thought anymore, instead, he directly shouted out the ws of using the shield carriage.

    "Oh." Fang Zhengzhi casually replied.

    "Oh? What is the meaning of oh?!" Chen Feiyu really couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.

    He had already exined the ws of the shield carriage, yet, Fang Zhengzhi replied him with an "oh". What was the meaning of this? What was the meaning of this!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, my request is very simple. I only require that after you cross the wind valley, if you announce that the n was suggested by me, I will be willing to tell you the method of oveing the wind valley!" Wu Feng looked at Chen Feiyu¡¯s pained expression, smiled lightly, then said to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He only knew too well Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless personality.

    Negotiating terms with a person like Fang Zhengzhi?

    This was simply equivalent to cing a de across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck. No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi would never agree. Hence, he used the best possible word to use in this case. Request!

    Furthermore, this request was actually an unwarranted request.

    Because...

    After the army crossed the wind valley, there would definitely be military personnel reporting to their superiors that the n was suggested by Wu Feng. Hence, in reality, this was only an excuse Wu Feng made for himself.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard Wu Feng¡¯s words, he finally stopped again. Then, he turned his horse around and casually rode back slowly.

    When Wu Feng saw this, the smile on his face grew wider.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not have a n to ovee the wind valley. However, Fang Zhengzhi was too shameless, even if he wished to ask, he would still want to do so in an advantageous position.

    In his heart, he greatly despised people who were as shameless as Fang Zhengzhi.

    However...

    He had no other method. He had to help Fang Zhengzhi ovee the wind valley. Furthermore, there was another more important reason behind why he took the initiative to suggest a n.

    That was, he knew very clearly that Chen Feiyu had definitely thought of the same strategy as he did.

    If he didn¡¯t voice it out, it was equivalent to keeping this strategy in his heart. Hence, when Chen Feiyu¡¯s name was announced in the military department, there would be no involvement on his part.

    It was very helpless.

    However, Wu Feng¡¯s emotional state was clearly better than that of Chen Feiyu.

    Viewing the problem in another angle, since there was no way to resist this, then, why not just focus on enjoying - Enjoying the feeling of Fang Zhengzhi executing things ording to his own n.

    From a certain point of view, it was actually equivalent to oveing the wind valley himself.

    Of course, without that disgraceful ambush in the Thunderous Lion Settlement, Wu Feng felt that his emotional state would be even better.

    "Damn this Fang Zhengzhi, damn these Silver Horned Wolves!"

    As Wu Feng swore in his heart, Fang Zhengzhi had returned to his original position. However, he didn¡¯t look at Wu Feng.

    Instead, he turned to Teng Shisheng with a bright smile on his face.

    "Teng Shisheng, listen to my orders!" Fang Zhengzhipletely disregarded Wu Feng, and directly spoke to Teng Shisheng.

    "Roger!" Teng Shisheng instantly acknowledged.

    "Bring twenty Silver Horned Wolves, let¡¯s go and defeat the wind valley!"

 Chapter 357: If I had an Excavator

    Chapter 357: If I had an Excavator

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Defeat the wind valley?! Twenty Silver Horned Wolves?" Teng Shisheng had good military values. All along, he had the positive attitude of treating orders as his duty.

    However, after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he received a huge shock.

    As a citizen of the Southern Mountain Range, he knew very clearly how dangerous the wind valley was. It was precisely due to him knowing this that led to him saying something as rare as this.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi talked about oveing the wind valley in such a casual manner.

    Most importantly...

    Using twenty Silver Horned Wolves to ovee the wind valley?

    Is that possible?

    Of course not!

    At the very least, this was how Teng Shisheng thought in his heart.

    "Let¡¯s go." After giving the order, Fang Zhengzhi turned his horse around once more and casually trod in the direction of the wind valley¡¯s entrance.

    After a moment of stunned shock, Teng Shisheng finally regained his senses.

    "Section one, follow me to... defeat the wind valley!" When Teng Shisheng said the words ¡¯defeat the wind valley¡¯, his heart felt really empty.

    The Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops following behind Teng Shisheng also felt that their hearts were just as empty.

    However, the qualities of a soldier ultimately still came first. Hence, after Teng Shisheng gave the order, twenty Silver Horned Wolves stood out, almost at the exact same time.

    After which, they followed behind Teng Shisheng and ran towards the direction of the wind valley.

    When they witnessed this scene.

    All the schrs stoodpletely rooted to the ground.

    Among them, the person whose expression was the most vivid was naturally Wu Feng. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi turning his horse around, his heart was filled with self-confidence.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have disregarded him once again.

    Wu Feng didn¡¯t even know how many times this had happened to him. From what he could recall, from the moment he met Fang Zhengzhi, he had been disregarded without any reason by Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the entrance of the Imperial Academy during the release of the Imperial Examination results, in the Intellectual Loft, until this moment in front of tens of thousands of troops.

    He had been disregarded over and over again.

    He could say that the things that happened in the past could more or less be exined. After all, Fang Zhengzhi and himself stood at opposing ends. However, this time, what was the reason? I am suggesting a strategy to him!

    This caused Wu Feng¡¯s heart to feel extremely shaken.

    Arrogance, confidence!

    This was the first thing Wu Feng thought of. The second thing was, did something happen to this guy¡¯s brain? How can twenty Silver Horned Wolves ovee the wind valley?

    Of course, the other schrs and Chen Feiyu also thought the same way. After seeing Fang Zhengzhi return, they had also assumed that Fang Zhengzhi would consult Wu Feng.

    However...

    In the end, he instead gave out such an order.

    Each of the schrs gazed towards Fang Zhengzhi, who was casually riding towards the wind valley. They really couldn¡¯t understand where did Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blind confidence appear from.

    "Defeat the wind valley?!"

    "Twenty Silver Horned Wolves? Isn¡¯t this a big joke?"

    "What is this guy thinking."

    The schrs couldn¡¯t understand. How was it possible that the naturalndscape of the wind valley could be defeated? It could only be blocked. What was the meaning of using the word ¡¯defeat¡¯?

    Don¡¯t tell me this guy wished to charge through the wind valley...

    That¡¯s right!

    This guy definitely wishes to bring along twenty Silver Horned Wolves and charge through the wind valley, then, control the huge rock at the exit of the wind valley.

    But, wasn¡¯t this n a little too naive?

    The wind valley was the natural shield of the Icy Monkey Settlement. How could there not be heavy defences after the wind valley was crossed. If they really wished to charge across, why not bring along five hundred Silver Horned Wolves instead of twenty?

    The schrs couldn¡¯t understand the reason behind this. However, they were extremely sure that Fang Zhengzhi was nning to target the rock at the exit of the wind valley.

    However, very quickly, this belief changed.

    Because, after reaching the entrance of the wind valley, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t lead the twenty Silver Horned Wolves to charge through it. Instead, he began to stroll around the area of the entrance.

    He looked as if...

    He was picking something up.

    On the other hand, the twenty Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops leapt down their wolves one by one, then bent their elbows and began to knock on the two sides of the mountain.

    "What is this guy trying to do?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s trying to knock down these two mountains?"

    The schrs couldn¡¯t understand.

    Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu couldn¡¯t understand either. However, when they saw the twenty Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops begin to knock on the mountain rocks, they finallyughed.

    "Is this guy trying to be funny?"

    "Shifting the mountain?"

    "Can he not exaggerate it? If he really wanted to shift it, can he at least bring the forty-over thousand troops to shift it together? How long is twenty people going to take!"

    As Wu Feng and Chen Feiyuughed, they began to grow spiteful.

    Afterwards, they calmed down.

    They could almost predict that after Fang Zhengzhi finished knocking on the mountains, he would definitely return and modestly ask them for their opinions. When that time came, there would be more conditions.

    ...

    Even though Teng Shisheng was participating in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "mountain moving n", he still didn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order was very simple.

    Dig for stones!

    That was all.

    As for how many stones to dig, how much the stones should be, what should their shape be, he didn¡¯t specify. All he asked was for them to dig. Hence, they could only listen to their orders and dig.

    "Guard Fang, actually, I have a n to cross the wind valley." After a long moment of hesitation, Teng Shisheng finally spoke.

    In his heart, the reason Fang Zhengzhi requested for him and twenty Silver Horned Wolves toe over was naturally not to dig for stones. Instead, it was to consult him for strategies in private.

    He was a citizen of the Southern Mountain Range.

    The wind valley had always been a solid natural barrier for the Southern Mountain Range.

    And, even though Fang Zhengzhi had Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Cyan Stone Token, he was ultimately still of the Great Xia. Hence, by right, Teng Shisheng shouldn¡¯t be suggesting strategies to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, after interacting with Fang Zhengzhi for some time, Teng Shisheng¡¯s impression of Fang Zhengzhi had already changed. Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask him for a method to get past the wind valley in front of tens of thousands of troops.

    Actually...

    This implied that Fang Zhengzhi only wished to cross the wind valley, and didn¡¯t want to announce the method of crossing the wind valley to the rest of the people. Hence, this actually made clear his sincerity.

    "I know." Fang Zhengzhi turned his head back and nced at Teng Shisheng, nodded, then continued to focus his gaze on the stone walls on the two sides of the wind valley.

    "Actually, there is a difference in the wind strength within the wind valley. If you can follow a certain specific route, it could prevent a heavy loss. Not many people know this path, but I..." When Teng Shisheng reached the end of his sentence, he hesitated.

    "There are over forty thousand soldiers here. Even if you don¡¯t reveal the path, there would definitely be some soldiers with other motives among them who would memorise the path. Are you really prepared to reveal the path?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he turned around once again to look at Teng Shisheng.

    "This... I hadn¡¯t thought of this." When Teng Shisheng heard this, his expression changed slightly.

    "Do you know why I asked you toe over instead of the soldiers of the Great Xia?" Fang Zhengzhi looked around at the busied Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops around him and asked again.

    "Because, our Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops are stronger?" Teng Shisheng thought for a while and replied.

    "It is just knocking a few stones. Twenty Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops can achieve this. If I get one or two hundred Great Xia troops, I can achieve the same thing."

    "Then... is it because you want us to charge across the wind valley with you, then, control the rock switches at the exit of the wind valley?" Teng Shisheng guessed again.

    "If I wished to control the rock switches of the wind valley, how could there be no heavy troops guarding it? Wouldn¡¯t using twenty Silver Horned Wolves to fight for control over the rock switches be asking for death?"

    "Indeed." Teng Shisheng nodded, then lightly shook his head.

    He really couldn¡¯t guess. Because, Fang Zhengzhi had indeed considered the situation from all angles. However, it was precisely due to Fang Zhengzhi having considered the situation from all angles that caused Teng Shisheng to be unable to guess Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    "Because, you are of the Southern Mountain Range!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Teng Shisheng again with a serious and firm expression in his eyes.

    "Because we are of the Southern Mountain Range?" Teng Shisheng seemed to have guessed something. However, he still couldn¡¯t quite understand.

    "Yes, today, I have no choice but to defeat the wind valley. However, I don¡¯t wish to cause the Southern Mountain Range to lose a natural defensive shield just because of this. Hence, it is best that as little people as possible know about this method to defeat the wind valley."

    "You... You really intend to defeat the wind valley?!" Teng Shisheng was truly shocked this time.

    He had always assumed that defeating the wind valley was only an excuse, or, it might be a joke. However, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, he couldn¡¯t infer any signs that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to make a joke.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He knew that Teng Shisheng wouldn¡¯t be able to understand. However, due to having knowledge from his previous world, Fang Zhengzhi knew that there werews governing the nature and speed of the wind.

    Under normal conditions, wind blew from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. The greater the difference in pressure, the faster the speed of the wind.

    What Fang Zhengzhi wished to achieve was very simple. Change the pressure within the wind valley. This seemed very simple, but, was actually extremely difficult to achieve.

    Without special environmental conditions, it was simply impossible to achieve this.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi heard from Teng Shisheng that the wind in the wind valley could be controlled by a huge rock, he knew that there would definitely be a pressure node within the wind valley.

    As long as he was able to locate this node, then, use the unique pressure to create certain changes, he could, in theory, stop the wind in the wind valley.

    Of course, this was only in theory.

    Whether he could achieve this or not required experimentation.

    Teng Shisheng indeed couldn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. However, his military qualities decided that even if he couldn¡¯t understand, he would still choose to carry it out.

    "Can you draw out the terrain within the wind valley?" Fang Zhengzhi initially prepared to investigate it himself. However, since Teng Shisheng understood the wind valley, he could cut back on this step.

    "I can." When Teng Shisheng heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he hesitated for a moment then nodded. The terrain within the wind valley wasn¡¯t exactly a great secret.

    Anybody who had went through the wind valley once would be able to know this clearly.

    "Alright, just draw it on the ground." Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the ground as he spoke.

    Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t speak further. He immediately lifted the weapon in his hand and began to carefully draw on the ground. Not too longter, a geographical map of the wind valley was drawn on the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the map on the ground and began to ponder carefully.

    Time flowed past quickly.

    After over an hour, Fang Zhengzhi stopped looking at the map on the ground and began to draw beside the map. A strange diagram was drawn on the ground by Fang Zhengzhi.

    On the other hand, Teng Shisheng witnessed this by the side.

    However...

    He couldn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was drawing at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further to Teng Shisheng. Because, these things were rted to physics and mechanics, it was tooplicated. Without years of studying and gaining of knowledge in this field, it would be extremely difficult for ordinary people to understand this.

    He didn¡¯t exin. All he needed was to know that Teng Shisheng would definitely execute it. That was actually enough.

    After finishing the drawing, Fang Zhengzhi attempted to link all the diagrams together. As he began to link them, he nodded his head and shook his head from time to time.

    After another moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped. Then, he pointed to the diagram on the ground and began to deliver specific orders to the twenty Silver Horned Wolves.

    Dig at this area, dig at that area. Make this area deeper, make a hole in that area...

    The stones which the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops had previously excavated were all collected by Fang Zhengzhi and and pushed towards one side. At this moment, he was trying to use the walls of the mountain to create a pressure converter.

    When the wind blew towards this pressure converter, it would travel through a special path and cause the wind to blow back into the wind valley. This would hence disrupt the flow of the air within the wind valley.

    As for the stones that were previously dug out, it would be used to create a switch.

    Having possessed the Dao of All Creation.

    Changing the shape and matter within the stone wasn¡¯t something that was difficult. As the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops were busying digging, Fang Zhengzhi also began to mold the shape of the stones.

    ...

    Time flowed by quickly. After an hour, there were already dozens of gaping holes in the mountain wall.

    The forty-over thousand troops as well as the militarymanders and the schrs all gazed wide-eyed at Fang Zhengzhi and the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops.

    They really couldn¡¯t understand. What was Fang Zhengzhi trying to do?

    "Digging holes?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me he wishes to dig a tunnel in the walls of the wind valley?"

    "Is his brain broken?"

    "How long is he nning to dig?"

    When the schrs saw this scene, they began to feel spiteful.

    Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu also began tough when they saw this. They indeed respected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s imagination. He even thought of digging a tunnel.

    However...

    Can it be more practical?

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother paying attention to how the schrs thought. He was focusing on reviewing the holes in the two walls. He even asionally walked inside the wind valley to experience the intense wind which was as cold as a de.

    "If I had a excavator, it would truly be perfect!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the progress which was already nearing his end and began to imagine.

    In reality, these Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops were extremely powerful.

    If it wasn¡¯t for them, making such progress would take at least weeks for ordinary people of his past world.

 Chapter 358: Reincarnation of God

    Chapter 358: Reincarnation of God

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As time passed, dozens of huge gaping holes were almostpletely linked together, forming a gigantic snakehole-like thing.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the real name of this thing, was therge-scale wind turbine!

    "Guard Fang, everything has beenpletely dug as per your request." Teng Shisheng personally monitored everything by the side. After seeing that everything illustrated had beenpleted, he walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    "Alright, thank you for the trouble!" Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat excited. He knew that now was the crucial moment to begin to test if knowledge was able to change one¡¯s destiny.

    He picked up the various stones that he had already prepared beforehand, then, with a gentle leap, he leapt towards the entrance of a hole in the stone wall.

    After which, Fang Zhengzhi dived in...

    This action undoubtedly caused Teng Shisheng to receive another shock. Is this hide and seek?

    Not too far away, the forty-over thousand soldiers and the group of schrs who had already waited for a very long time looked at Fang Zhengzhi jump into the hole. They couldn¡¯t help but to stare with their eyes widened.

    "Don¡¯t tell me he really intends to dig a tunnel?"

    "What is this guy really trying to do? Don¡¯t tell me he really thinks that knocking around at the entrance of the wind valley would break its defence?"

    "He hadn¡¯t even walked into the wind valley, yet he wishes to defeat it? Do you think it is possible?"

    "Sigh, the name of the Great Xia has beenpletely tunnished by this guy this time..."

    The schrs felt the howling wind which was just as strong as beforeing from the wind valley and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who had already entered the hole, and shook their heads in despise.

    As for Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu.

    At this moment, they didn¡¯t speak again. Because, they felt that with their status, judging Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s idiotic actions was really beneath them.

    Yet, right at this moment, things changedpletely.

    A faint buzzing sound suddenly came from the mountain wall at the exit of the wind valley. Immediately after, the buzzing sound grew louder and louder, as if the entire mountain wall was about to topple.

    "Oh no, the mountain wall is going to fall from the digging!"

    "What are you worried for? Anyway, you are so far away from it, you wouldn¡¯t be the one crushed to death!"

    "Oh, that makes sense!"

    Just as a few schrs began to chatter among themselves, a powerful gust of wind suddenly blew past. That was a wind that was even faster and strongerpared to that within the wind valley.

    At the same time, a figure shot out from a hole in the mountain wall, carrying a bright, radiant smile on his face.

    "This guy still dares to smile?!"

    "The mountain is going to topple, yet he managed to survive, why shouldn¡¯t he be smiling?."

    "That¡¯s true... huh? Something seems wrong!"

    Just as a few schrs prepared to continue their discussion, they suddenly felt somewhat strange.

    That was a unclear and unidentified feeling of strangeness, as if it was echoing around their minds, yet they weren¡¯t able to grasp the crux of the feeling. It was a very weird feeling, yet, it was there.

    "Do you guys feel a little weird?"

    "A little, why do I feel... that a certain sound seems to be missing around us!"

    "Sound?! The sound of the wind in the wind valley seems to..."

    "The sound of the wind is gone?!"

    The schrs finally regained their senses. That strange feeling originated from the wind in the wind valley. The whistling sound that had been constantly ringing around their ears seemed to have suddenly disappeared at this moment.

    How can the wind not make any sound?

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    The wind in the wind valley, stopped?

    One by one, the schrs looked towards the wind valley. In an instant, their eyes turned round and their faces were filled with shock. That was a feeling of shock that came from the bottom of their hearts.

    The forty-over thousand soldiers also focused their gaze intently at the exit of the wind valley.

    That was a buzzing sounding from it. However, other than the buzzing sound, there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of the whistling of the wind. The powerful wind that blew from within the wind valley had also vanished.

    Their hair no longer billowed. Their bodies stood up even straighter.

    The wind in the wind valley...

    Had really stopped!

    "This is impossible!" Chen Feiyu could believe many things. For example, he had tried to believe that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ambush on him was already nned out beforehand. He could believe that given another of such an opportunity.

    He would still be captured by Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he couldn¡¯t believe that the wind in the wind valley could be stopped.

    Thispletely went against everything he knew. It was something that couldn¡¯t be exined at all.

    That was the wind!

    The shapeless, formless wind!

    Wu Feng also had the word "wind" in his name. [1] Because, he believed that the wind could never be blocked. He believed that the wind was unyielding and resolute. However, today...

    He encountered a mysterious incident that he waspletely unable to exin.

    The wind in the wind valley had stopped.

    What the hell, how is it possible that the wind could be stopped?!

    "What did this guy do? What did he do!" Wu Feng really wished he could deny this. However, the wind in the wind valley had indeed stopped.

    With his abilities, he could feel it clearly.

    This was the reality!

    A reality that was as solid as metal. There was no way of arguing against it. Then, the only thing he wanted to know was, is Fang Zhengzhi a monster! What arcane methods did Fang Zhengzhi use!

    Teng Shisheng grew up in the Southern Mountain Range ever since he was born. He believed that God existed in this world. In reality, the Southern Mountain Range worshipped God.

    Hence, there were many ritual ceremonies in the Southern Mountain Range.

    The shape of the wind valley was formed by nature. Exining it in terms of science, that was a natural phenomenon formed by the difference in pressure.

    However, if one were to exin it in terms of the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s beliefs.

    The wind was God¡¯s miracle!

    A miracle formed by God to protect the Icy Monkey Settlement, to protect the Southern Mountain Range.

    This miracle of God hadsted in the Southern Mountain Range for hundreds, or even thousands of years. There had never been a single person who could destroy this miracle without been harmed. It could even be said that nobody had even entertained the thought of doing such a thing.

    Yet, this miracle of God was destroyed by Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Furthermore, he had destroyed it sopletely, so easily, and so unbelievably. Even though he had experienced everything personally, he still couldn¡¯t understand.

    How did the wind in the wind valley stop?

    "Alright, now that the wind valley had been defeated, we can safely lead the army into the Icy Monkey Settlement." Fang Zhengzhi dusted the dirt from his body and felt the weak and powerless wind around him with an extremely leisurely look on his face.

    Such a thing only required using one¡¯s knowledge of science to alter a natural phenomenon. In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart, it wasn¡¯t very difficult to achieve this.

    The only fortunate thing was that his knowledge was veryplete. He was actually able to achieve it in the first try.

    Yet, despite having done so, he didn¡¯t feel as if it was a great feat.

    However, this wasn¡¯t how Teng Shisheng felt.

    He waspletely stunned as he stood rooted to the ground, listening to the buzzing sound entering his ear and the gentle, cooling wind within the wind valley.

    Not a single source of sound other than these were able to enter his ears.

    "Shisheng?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Teng Shisheng¡¯s dazed expression and waved his hand in front of Teng Shisheng¡¯s eyes. Yet, there was still no reaction from him.

    "Teng Shisheng!"

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t try to be polite anymore. He directly shouted out right beside Teng Shisheng¡¯s ear.

    "Ah? Ah!!"

    Teng Shisheng finally came to his senses. His entire face waspletely filled with shock. After making out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face in front of him, his dark face flushed red.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, this... this wind valley was really broken... by you?" Teng Shisheng was stillpletely in disbelief.

    "Yep." Fang Zhengzhi replied dully.

    "Could it be that the huge stone at the other end of the wind valley was coincidentally shifted? Hence..." As Teng Shisheng reached the end of his sentence, he couldn¡¯t even believe what he said anymore.

    The two armies were at war.

    Yet, the people at the Icy Monkey Settlement took the initiative to disable the wind valley.

    Did this possibility exist?

    Only an idiot would do such a thing, right?

    "What do you think?" A faint smile appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips as he asked back.

    "Guard Fang, subordi... No, Guard Fang, are... are you the reincarnation of God?" After being asked a question in return by Fang Zhengzhi, he seemed to have suddenly woken up. For the first time, a look of horror appeared in his eyes as he gazed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I feel that this might not bepletely impossible." Fang Zhengzhi nodded calmly.

    In a certain way, he had indeed arrived from another world. However, whether that was the reincarnation of God was something he truly didn¡¯t know.

    "Then... then Go... Guard Fang, what are the arrangements now?" After listening to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ambiguous reply, he suddenly didn¡¯t know how to address Fang Zhengzhi anymore.

    "Enter the wind valley, then, attack the Icy Monkey Settlement of course." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel that this question required another reply. However, since Teng Shisheng had asked, he had to show a little bit of patience.

    "Attack the Icy Monkey Settlement? Oh, yes yes yes, attack the Icy Monkey Settlement!" Teng Shisheng finally regained his senses.

    "Line up the whole army!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t waste any more time.

    "Roger!"

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi arrived in front of the forty-over thousand troops again along with Teng Shisheng and the twenty Silver Horned Wolves, the expressions of the forty-over thousand soldiers and the group of schrs were clearly somewhat exaggerated.

    If it was said that their hearts were filled with spite and disbelief when they heard that Fang Zhengzhi was about to defeat the wind valley with twenty Silver Horned Wolves, what they felt now was shock, an unparalleled sense of shock.

    "Enter the Icy Monkey Settlement!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother exining to these schrs who didn¡¯t have strong fundamentals, and directly gave out the order to the troops.

    "Roger!" At this moment, the forty-over thousand troops acknowledged in unison.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never gained poprity and trust in the military department. It could even be said that after the incident in which he he murdered military personnel in the Northern Mountain Vige, as well as being influenced by opinions of Duan Tianrong and a few of the officials, from certain points of view, not only did Fang Zhengzhi not gained their popr trust, his reputation wasn¡¯t too good either.

    But today...

    Fang Zhengzhi used an incident no ordinary person would ever dream of to demonstrate his military ability.

    The wind valley of the Southern Mountain Range, which nobody had been able to defeat in hundreds and even thousands of years, had been defeated. Furthermore, not a single soldier had been sacrificed. It was defeated with just the help of twenty Silver Horned Wolves!

    How shocking was that.

    How powerful was the boosting effect of this on the soldiers¡¯ morale.

    The duty of a soldier was to follow orders, to fight wars. However, any soldier would wish that they were able to follow an intelligence general to fight winning battles.

    In reality, after hearing that Fang Zhengzhi gave the order to attack the Icy Monkey Settlement and deciding to attack Nangong Hao, almost nobody believed that there was any possibility of winning.

    Just like they felt that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have the slightest chance of defeating the wind valley.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    After recalling the miracles that Fang Zhengzhi had created on the way from the county examination to the capital examination, then to the Imperial examination and then the Court examination, their views towards this somewhat "mischievous" general in front of thempletely changed.

    To have the opportunity to follow a general who could make miracles, this undoubtedly gave the soldiers the most powerful form of confidence. An army that was confident, the number of degrees in which their morale rose was conceivable.

    Of course, Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu were able to sense the change in the soldiers¡¯ attitudes.

    They initially felt that this attitude was something that should be changed by themselves. However, in reality, in front of Fang Zhengzhi, they didn¡¯t even have the slightest bit of opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

    Alright...

    To put it in a frank manner, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even give them the opportunity to give any form of suggestions!

    Grief, they were extremely grieved.

    The great man ranked third in the Rising Dragon Roll, and another pride of Heaven would had just entered the Supernatural state. Just as they were prepared to realize their ambitions and demonstrate what they were capable of.

    They just had to encounter a Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I really wish to see if the wind valley had truly been broken!" Chen Feiyu finally couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. He was captured by Fang Zhengzhi, however, this didn¡¯t mean that he epted his defeat.

    He wanted to see personally if the wind in the wind valley had truly stopped!

    "Young Master Chen, I will apany you!" When Wu Feng saw Chen Feiyu dash towards the wind valley, he simrlyshed his whip at his horse and followed.

    "I wish to see too!"

    "Yes, let¡¯s all go check it out!"

    When the schrs heard this, they all urged their horses and charged towards the direction of the wind valley.

    When Teng Shisheng saw this, he frowned. The actions of these schrs undoubtedly disregarded military discipline. Because, once their rash acts alerted the enemy, it might cause the entire n to fail because of this one act.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to mind at all.

    Instead, he waved towards Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng with a faint smile on his face. "Young Master Chen, Young Master Wu, and the rest of my brothers, remember to return as soon as possible!"

    "Hmph!" The schr who was the slowest immediately turned back his head and huffed coldly. He wasn¡¯t touched at all by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "well intentions".

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand. Then, he slowly waved it forward. When the forty-over thousand troops saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s signal, they finally moved.

    However...

    Their movements were extremely slow.

    The reason was very simple. The chiefmander Fang Zhengzhi, who was right at the front, was moving too slowly. Hence, as soldiers following behind, how could they move quickly?

    Teng Shisheng looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with some doubt in his eyes. He felt that since the wind valley had been defeated, it was important to start an unexpected assault immediately.

    However, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s currently expression, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t worried at all.

    Instead, he casually sat on the back of his horse, leisurely leaning to one side with a delighted look on his face. As he controlled his horse to take small steps forward, he even recited loudly some strange poem which nobody knew.

    "Oh great sea, oh great sea, you really contain many droplets of water. Oh great stallion, oh great stallion, other than running fast, you indeed still have four legs..."

    [1] - ¡¯Feng¡¯ in Chinese means wind.

 Chapter 359: Why are things so coincidental

    Chapter 359: Why are things so coincidental

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The grand forty thousand soldiers-strong army advanced forward slowly. Not too longerter, they finally arrived at the entrance of the wind valley. They entered slowly, just like the great sea flowing into a small river.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi continued to move slowly at the front.

    Teng Shisheng really wanted to give him some reminders. However, every time the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back. Because, he had slowly began to trust Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Leave two people at the entrance of the wind valley. After the army haspletely passed, destroy all the holes in the mountain walls." After entering the wind valley, Fang Zengzhi gazed at the two mountain walls filled with frost and casually said to Teng Shisheng.

    "Destroy?" Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t manage to catch it in time.

    "That¡¯s right, don¡¯t tell me you wish for the wind valley of the Southern Mountain Range to turn into an ordinary road in the future?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back with a faint smile on his face.

    "This... thank you Guard Fang!" When Teng Shisheng heard this, he understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    Defeat the wind valley, yet not destroy the wind valley. This action undoubtedly caused Teng Shisheng to feel touched. After all, the wind valley had always been a barrier for the Southern Mountain Range.

    A barrier that protected the Icy Monkey Settlement and the Sagely Mountain City.

    Teng Shisheng acknowledged, then, quickly called out two Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops. However, what went unnoticed was that Teng Shisheng still spoke a few sentences softly to the two Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops.

    After the great forty-thousand soldier strong army entered the wind valley, a white flying beast soared into the sky. Its speed was extremely fast, and disappeared without a trace in an instant.

    ...

    At the exit of the wind valley

    Beside arge, strange rock, a group of soldiers in shiny armours stood guard. Yet, the expressions on their faces were clearly a little exaggerated. Each of them stared with their eyes wide open, and their faces filled with disbelief.

    "The wind... wind valley, did the wind stop?"

    "Seems, seems that it... stopped!"

    "What is this all about? Did any of you move the stone?"

    "No, isn¡¯t the stone right in front of our eyes?"

    "Then how did the wind in the wind valley stop? This is impossible!"

    "Oh no! First, let¡¯s not bother about how the wind stopped. Quick,quickly go to the Icy Monkey Settlement and notify Young Master Nangong!"

    "Roger!"

    Two soldiers stood at attention and acknowledged, then rapidly leapt onto their horses and with ash of the whip, they charged towards the Icy Monkey Settlement which was at a distance not too far away.

    ...

    Within the Icy Monkey Settlement, in arge stone house built with strong stones, four middle-aged men wearing heavy armours stood at the two sides of a study table.

    On the study table, there was a min sand table, and on it, various kinds ofndscapes and markings were ced. It seemed extremely detailed.

    Nangong Hao, who was dressed in a white schrly robe, sat behind the study table, his calm eyes analysing a narrow mountain valley on the sand table.

    "Report!" Right at this moment, a voice rang out from outside the door.

    "What is it?" A middle-aged man dressed in heavy armour quickly walked to the door. After seeing two soldiers with worry written all over their faces, he frowned slightly.

    "Report general, the wind in the wind valley has stopped!" After the two soldiers heard the middle-aged man¡¯s question, they replied almost in unison.

    "Stopped?! Did you fail to guard the exit of the wind valley?" The middle-aged man frowned once again. A slight anger was evident in the way he looked at the two soldiers.

    The wind valley was a natural barrier of the Icy Monkey Settlement. However, the middle-aged man had already expected it to be defeated.

    Except...

    He never expected it to happen so quickly!

    "No, we didn¡¯t fail in our duties. However, the wind in the wind valley suddenly stopped. As for the reason behind it, we... we aren¡¯t too sure either." The two soldiers reported once again.

    "What?! The wind in the wind valley stopped, yet you guys don¡¯t even know the reason behind it?" The middle-aged man¡¯s initially anger seemed to be on the verge of exploding after hearing the report.

    One could make mistakes.

    However, if one didn¡¯t even know what mistake they made and how they made it, then this was something that couldn¡¯t be forgiven.

    "The... the huge stone didn¡¯t move, furthermore, we didn¡¯t discover any enemy soldiers either. Yet... yet, the wind in the wind valley stopped all of a sudden. In order to set up defences early, we... we decided to report back first!" When the two soldiers saw the anger on the middle-aged man¡¯s face, their bodies began to tremble slightly.

    "Did you just say that the stone switch didn¡¯t move, yet the wind in the wind valley stopped?" At this moment, Nangong Hao¡¯s voice rang out. His tone was extremely calm.

    However, there was still a slight trace of surprise on his face.

    "Yes, that¡¯s right!" When the two soldiers heard Nangong Hao¡¯s voice, it was as if they had seen a glimmer of hope.

    "What utter nonsense, the wind in the wind valley had all along been controlled by the huge stone switch. This had been part of the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s thousand-year history. How is it possible that the wind stopped without the stone switch moving?" The middle-aged man clearly didn¡¯t believe it.

    "General, we are telling the truth!"

    "The truth?" Just as the middle-aged man prepared to speak further, he saw Nangong Hao shaking his head lightly towards him and instantly closed his mouth.

    In reality, he knew very clearly in his heart that the information reported by these two soldiers would never contain any mistakes.

    However, he really couldn¡¯t understand.

    How could the wind in the natural barrier, the wind valley, suddenly stop?

    "Young Master Nangong, I feel that this might be rted to Fang Zhengzhi. However, I really can¡¯t understand, how is he able to ovee the wind valley?" Another middle-aged man spoke at this moment.

    "I don¡¯t know either." When Nangong Hao heard the middle-aged man¡¯s words, he nodded lightly and returned his gaze back to the sand table in front of him.

    Then, his finger moved slightly and a stream of energy cut the narrow mountain valley into two.

    "Young Master Nangong, based on my guesses, even though Fang Zhengzhi overcame the wind valley, he would definitely have suffered great losses. Why not we..." The first middle-aged man also walked to the center of the room at this moment.

    "What if Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t suffer any losses?"

    "General Lu, don¡¯t tell me that you believe Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t have lost a single soldier?"

    "It is not impossible!"

    "Ha ha... isn¡¯t this a joke?"

    "Stop arguing, let¡¯s listen to Young Master Nangong¡¯s opinion." A middle-aged man standing on the leftmost side of Nangong Hao spoke at this moment.

    When the two middle-aged men heard this, they closed their mouths and waited for Nangong Hao to speak.

    "It¡¯s fine, so be it if the wind valley was defeated. We will still follow the original n." When Nangong Hao looked at the four middle-aged men below, he smiled lightly.

    However, when he said this, nobody noticed that the finger that he ced below the study table moved slightly...

    ...

    Outside Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent, a white flying beast dived from the sky and finally stopped on a tree branch outside the tent.

    A soldier in rattan armour was slightly taken aback when he saw the white bird. Then, he quickly carried up the white bird and walked into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent.

    "Princess, there is news."

    "Open it." Princess Shan Yu, who was lying on a golden piece of animal leather and wearing a white leather skirt, said casually with her eyes half closed.

    "Roger." The soldier nodded. Then, he untied a small bamboo cylinder at the ws of the white bird and pulled out a small piece of animal skin from within.

    Sweeping his gaze across it, his eyes widened. Immediately after, the expression on his face became incredibly exaggerated, and the hand holding the animal skin even began to tremble.

    It seemed as if he wasn¡¯t even able to hold on to the animal skin firmly.

    "What¡¯s the news? Why are you so bbergasted?" Some unhappiness was clearly evident in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tone as she looked at the soldier¡¯s actions with her half-closed eyes.

    "Report... reporting to Princess! Fang Zhengzhi defeated the wind valley outside the Icy Monkey Settlement without sacrificing a single soldier, furthermore, the method he used was to... to stop the wind in the wind valleypletely!"

    "Defeating the wind valley without sacrificing a single... what?! Repeat what you said!" Princess Shan Yu repeated softly, then, her eyes suddenly shot wide open and her entire body sat up from the chair.

    "Fang Zhengzhi defeated the wind valley without sacrificing a single soldier!"

    "The sentence after that!"

    "The method he used was to... stop the wind in the wind valley!"

    "Stop the wind in the wind valley?! How is that possible? How did he do it?" Princess Shan Yu was clearly in somewhat of a disbelief. Or, it could be said that she was simply unwilling to believe.

    "The letter didn¡¯t exin that. It only mentioned that Commander Teng was involved in it from the start to the end, however, he still couldn¡¯t understand. There¡¯s another five words at the end."

    "What are the five words?"

    "Beyond logic and above reason!"

    "Beyond logic and above reason? That¡¯s right... it is indeed beyond logic and above reason. Participating in it throughout the entire process yet still unable to understand? This Fang Zhengzhi... Hell! Why is this guy so overpowered!" Princess Shan Yu initially prepared to speak in a dignified manner, however, halfway into her sentence, she couldn¡¯t contain herself anymore and began to swear.

    "..." The soldier stared at Princess Shan Yu who swore using a sentence that he had only hearding out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth and was instantly stunned.

    After a moment, the soldier finally regained his senses.

    "Princess, then we..."

    "Pass down the order, ask Teng Shisheng to watch Fang Zhengzhi closely. Apart from that, the n we previously agreed upon can be started in advance. About this guy... forget it, just pass down that order!"

    "Roger!"

    ...

    As Fang Zhengzhi was casually strolling into the middle of the wind valley.

    A piece of news seemed to have been spreading continuously. Apart from the Icy Monkey Settlement and Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent, a piece of news had also spread into a mountain cave not too far away from the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Fang Zhengzhi defeated the wind valley!

    The means were direct, and the methods brutal. Yet, he didn¡¯t sacrifice a single soldier.

    Bizarre, shock.

    When Bai Xing, who was dressed in a ck robe, heard this news, the look in his eyes turned extremely strange. However, he didn¡¯t speak.

    Because...

    Another person sat behind him.

    A girl dressed in a wheat coloured white dress, her dark silky hair fell to her waist and within her eyes, there was the faint spreading of water ripples.

    She was Yun Qingwu.

    The mysterious girl in the hearts of the schrs in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    And more importantly, the current demon young lord, a girl that dictated the great ns of the demon race.

    Unfortunately, a ck veil still covered Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, causing the most beautiful and real side of Yun Qingwu to be mostly covered up.

    "Domain Chief Bai¡¯s n is to stand by the side and yet reap the rewards?" After Yun Qingwu finished reading the letter, she didn¡¯t query the contents of the letter and instead posed a question to Bai Xing.

    "Replying young lord, my initial n is... indeed as such." Bai Xing didn¡¯t understand why Yun Qingwu would suddenly ask such a question. Because, he had already reported this n long ago.

    Furthermore, he even received Yun Qingwu¡¯s acknowledgement.

    "Yes, the n is not bad. However, the military situation has changed, hence, the n naturally has to change." Yun Qingwu nodded lightly. The tone of her voice sounded extremely indifferent.

    "I understand, I will listen to young master¡¯s n!" Bai Xing didn¡¯t query Yun Qingwu¡¯s n, instead, he quickly half-knelt onto the ground.

    "Then, let¡¯s start."

    "Roger!"

    ...

    The wind in the wind valley stopped.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that the temperature within the wind valley would turn very warm. After all, it was already close to winter. In addition to taking on the powerful wind gusts for years, the two walls of the wind valley was filled with a thick frost. This caused the temperature within the wind valley to be extremely cold.

    The soldiers of the Great Xia didn¡¯t prepare winter clothing in advance, hence after advancing in the wind valley for some time, they naturally began to shiver slightly.

    When a fewmanders saw this, their faces were filled with worry.

    "General... General Fang, now that the wind valley had been defeated, under normal circumstances, it is the best time tounch a surprise speedy assault on the Icy Monkey Settlement.."

    After holding himself back for half an hour, amander finally couldn¡¯t contain himself any further. However, he ultimately knew that the duty of a soldier was to obey.

    Hence, despite him having other thoughts, he could only use the method of making suggestions to voice them out.

    "That is indeed the case under normal circumstances." When Fang Zhengzhi heard themander¡¯s words, he nodded his head lightly as well. However, he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of increasing his speed.

    "Then..." Just as themander prepared to continue speaking, the sound of weapons shing came from the front. Furthermore, the sound seemed to be growing more and more intense by the moment.

    This caused him to hold back the words that had just reached his mouth.

    On the other hand, when Fang Zhengzhi heard this sound, a faint smile finally appeared on his face.

    Of course, he knew what caused this sound.

    Nangong Hao!

    A person who was able to rank joint-first with him in the Court Theory Examinations. If all he depended on was a natural barrier, then that was a true miracle.

    Even though the wind valley was defeated.

    The real danger and plot had just begun.

    How many troops did Nangong Hao have?

    He only had two thousand. Yet, he firmly maintained his position in upying the most important Icy Monkey Settlement among the four main settlements.

    Even though this was somewhat rted to his reputation, but, behind that reputation, there was a true reason for it. That was ability.

    Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t dumb.

    If he really required military strength, why would he stand guard at the Icy Monkey Settlement without moving at all?

    Based on Nangong Hao¡¯s reputation and abilities, if he wished to move, right before Fang Zhengzhi stepped into thebat examination, it was possible that he would already possess at least twenty to thirty thousand troops.

    In the art ofbat, there was a saying that went, as unmoving as the mountain! It represented stability!

    In the battle of stratagems and plots, there was a saying describing stillness as well - There is simply no need to move. Or, in other words, it was disdainful to move.

 Chapter 360: A Stalemate

    Chapter 360: A Stalemate

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know whether Nangong Hao seeked stability or disdained moving. However, he was absolutely sure that the path from the wind valley to the Icy Monkey Settlement...

    Would definitely not be an easy path to walk.

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi indeed nned to send a surprise force tounch a sneak attack after defeating the wind valley. However, once the wind in the valley stopped, Nangong Hao would definitely receive intelligence about it.

    The oue of sending a surprise force at such a time wouldn¡¯t be bad, however, it wasn¡¯t the best.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had the advantage in numbers, hence he didn¡¯t bother too much about how good the oue was. However, Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu evidently both felt that now was the best time to send a surprise force.

    Entering the wind valley to take a look.

    Only Heaven would know if that was just an excuse.

    The internal political struggles within the Imperial Government wasn¡¯t something Fang Zhengzhi was very familiar with. However, there was one thing which the Imperial Governments of the ancient past did mostmonly that Fang Zhengzhi knew very well of.

    That was...

    Snatching credit!

    Something like snatching credit was difficult to describe. However, it wasn¡¯t too hard to actually carry it out. In conclusion, it all boiled down to one sentence, do the right thing at the right time, and the achievements would naturally fall upon oneself.

    Of course, before that, it is essential for one to be able to discover the right time and the right thing to do.

    Wu Feng had this ability. Chen Feiyu had it too.

    Once Fang Zhengzhi defeated the wind valley, both of them abnormally charged into the wind valley with an extremely fast speed and without obeying military orders. The method they employed was to act first and report their sess, a bold move.

    Seeing the wind?

    Did the wind need to be seen?

    Even taking a million steps back, if they really wanted to see, reaching the entrance of the wind valley would allow one to have a sufficiently clear view. Yet, why did they still have to continue their advance and charge directly towards the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Hence, seeing the wind was only an excuse.

    The purpose of Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu was to be a squad of surprise troops, quickly making the greatest aplishment in this battle before Nangong Hao had the time to react.

    As for why they were in such a rush?

    The reason was too simple. In Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu¡¯s hearts, the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao was thest battle of thebat examination.

    Furthermore, now that the wind valley had already been broken by Fang Zhengzhi, if they didn¡¯t take advantage of this opportunity, Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu would miserably fall behind the curtains in thisbat examination.

    "Charge!" Fang Zhengzhished out crisply at his stallion with a whip. Instantly, the stallion he rode on let out a long bray and shot forwards.

    When the militarymanders saw this, their eyes instantly lit up.

    After taking his own sweet time for so long, he finally increased the movement speed!

    Under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lead, forty-over thousand soldiers advanced rapidly, and the sound of fighting beside their ears gradually became clearly. After some time, Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand once again, and the forty-over thousand troops instantly stopped.

    Because, the exit of the wind valley was right in front.

    However...

    At this moment, the exit of the wind valley was in a huge chaos.

    "It was indeed ced at this area." When Fang Zhengzhi saw the chaotic scene in front, the edges of his mouth curled into another faint smile.

    The wind valley was a natural barrier.

    At the same time, the wind valley was a natural defence. Because, the width of the wind valley only enabled ten people to advance together under normal circumstances. Hence, in a way, the exit of the wind valley was the best location for defence.

    In his previous world, Fang Zhengzhi used to watch a movie called The 300 Spartans. It more of less described three hundred fearsome Spartans defending against ten attacks by tens of thousands of soldiers at an entrance that only allowed a few people to pass through.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao seemed to be using the same method.

    However, his method was the opposite of that used in the movie. After the exit, it was a vast, open patch ofnd. This also enabled him to nt any ambushes he wished to.

    And now...

    Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the group of schrs evidently charged right into it.

    Over ten schrs, all of them of the Heavenly Reflection Peak Stage and above. Yet, when these ten schrs faced with an ambush by almost a thousand people, sweat soaked their bodies.

    It seemed as if they were suffering.

    "General Fang, should we provide them support?" Amander walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side at this moment and said somewhat worriedly.

    "Do you know what is the most fundamental thing people must have between one another?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply themander¡¯s question immediately, instead, he shot another question back with a faint smile on his face.

    "This... General Fang, please exin." Themander replied, confused.

    "Trust."

    "Trust?"

    "That¡¯s right. Look at the geography of thisndscape. At the very most, only ten people would be able to walk in a row. Hence, are you able to find ten heroes who canpare to Young Master Wu and Young Master Chen?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the two walls, then pointed at the schrs who were desperately involved in a messy fight with the soldiers and said loudly.

    "This... I fear that I can¡¯t!" When themander heard, he immediately shook his head.

    "Hence, all we can do now is to trust Young Master Wu and Young Master Chen. If even they aren¡¯t able to ovee this small ambush with their abilities, what is the point of sending more people in?"

    "General Fang, your words make sense!" When themander heard this, he instantly understood. However, he still felt as if there was something wrong with this.

    "Don¡¯t worry, as long as wepletely trust Young Master Wu, Young Master Chen and the rest, any ambush would be like smoke to us, all we have to do to disperse it would be to wave our sleeves." Fang Zhengzhi continued to exin.

    "Roger!" Themander acknowledged and withdrew respectfully.

    On the other hand, Fang ZHengzhi continued to maintain his trust in Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu. He sat leisurely on his horse and quietly spectated the fierce struggle between the evenly matched forces in front of him.

    After spectating for a while.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood something.

    What is Nangong Hao!

    The ambush in front of him was clearly a mini army formation. Military formations were not a problem to Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu.

    This was even more so for Nangong Hao.

    This formation that Nangong Hao had set up...

    After a detailed scrutiny by Fang Zhengzhi, he more or less managed to understand a few parts of it. Even though he didn¡¯t know the exact name of this formation, he could infer from the way it was set up that it contained two different concepts within it.

    One was the Big Dipper, the other was the Eight Diagrams.

    In other words, there were two formations. Or, it could also be said that it was a grand formation formed by two formations.

    The Eight Diagrams took the lead while the Big Dipper followed behind.

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to understand this cement. Because, the essence of the Eight Diagrams had always been defence. In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous world, there was a very famous person called Zhu Geliang.

    By using the Eight Diagrams as a foundation, he managed to conjure up a formation that was imed to be the strongest formation for defence, the Eight Front Strategy!

    Legend imed that one Eight Front Strategy was able to defend against a hundred thousand troops.

    Whether or not that was true, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know. However, it was recorded that the military chief Lu Xun of the Three Kingdom¡¯s Wu army had almost been trapped to death within the Eight Front Strategy.

    It¡¯s power could easily be inferred from that.

    On the other hand, the Big Dipper Formation was usually evolved into sword formations, spear formations, de formations and so on. The essence of the philosophy behind it was one word. Offense.

    Of course, this offense was an ordered form of offense.

    Using the seven positions of the Big Dipper to surround and attack a certain point.

    First defend, then attack!

    From the positioning of the two formation groups, Fang Zhengzhi could more or less understand Nangong Hao¡¯s thought process when dealing with military matters.

    Of course, it was naturally impossible that Nangong Hao setting up such a formation formed by two different formations at the exit of the wind valley was as simple as defense followed by offense.

    The Eight Diagrams was a defensive formation. In order to defeat the Eight Diagrams, one had to locate the life gate of the Eight Diagrams.

    That was the most fundamental thing people had to know.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this point. It was also naturally impossible that Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t understand it at all. But, understanding was understanding. There was no way of defeating the formation in front of him based on this concept alone.

    Because...

    Nangong Hao only left one death gate open.

    It could be imagined how big was a formation consisting of almost a thousand people. It also could be imagined how small was the exit of a wind valley that only allowed ten people to pass at once.

    The method Nangong Hao was said to be simple yet direct.

    However, it was a method that caused the greatest headache and greatest problem for people.

    cing the death gate at the exit of the wind valley meant that if one wanted to leave the valley, one had to pass through the death gate. It was either that or not exiting from the wind valley at all.

    "Cruel!" Fang Zhengzhi could only use this term to describe the method. After all, shameless was a word specially reserved for him, it definitely couldn¡¯t be used on Nangong Hao.

    At this moment, Wu Feng ,Chen Feiyu and the rest of the schrs who were engaged in an intensive battle with the soldiers finally noticed that within the wind valley, Fang Zhengzhi was riding on his horse and ¡¯leisurely¡¯ watching the show go on.

    "Why isn¡¯t this guying to attack?" A schr couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this guy wants to watch us die!" Another schr also couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore and swore when he heard this.

    When Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu heard their words, both of them grasped the weapons in their hand tightly and gritted their teeth somewhat miserably. Surprisingly, they remained silent and didn¡¯t speak a single word.

    The biggest difference between them and those schrs were that they were well-versed with military tactics.

    From an emotional point of view.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were undoubtedly burning the bridge after crossing, or it could also be leaving them in the lurch.

    However, from a logical point of view, they understood that even if Fang Zhengzhi sent soldiers to save them, the most it would achieve would be to decrease the pressure on them by a tiny bit. Fundamentally speaking, it wouldn¡¯t provide any significant help.

    After all, once the Eight Diagrams Formation was ced in action, everybody within the formation would be separated virtually. The more people that came, the more separations there would be.

    All they could do was to hate themselves for being too reckless.

    In order to snatch credit, they actually dived head-in into Nangong Hao¡¯s "ambush".

    Of course, this was something they understood only after diving in. As for why they dived in, this was another thing that caused them misery.

    The reason was...

    Nangong Hao had ced an illusionary formation at the exit of wind valley.

    An illusionary formation that consisted of only dozens of soldiers, one that used the Dao of All Creation and dozens of soldiers topletely conceal the ambush behind.

    Wasn¡¯t a wind valley exit guarded by dozens of troops a great opportunity for a surprise squad to dive straight into?

    Wu Feng felt somewhat suspicious. However, he wasn¡¯t able to resist such a Heaven-given opportunity. Hence, when Chen Feiyu and himself led the charge into it...

    Everything was toote.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know that Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu had faced this brief interlude beforending into the ambush. Of course, even if he knew, it still wouldn¡¯t affect his current show-watching mood.

    "Come, give Young Master Wu, Young Master Chen and the rest some encouragement!" Fang Zhengzhi ordered.

    "Roger!"

    Instantly, a few soldiers acknowledged the order and following which, carried out a fewrge drums. As they drummed on furiously, they also shouted out loudly.

    The power of the drums!

    When Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu heard the loudmotion behind them, they wanted to cry.

    With such a hugemotion, how could the Icy Monkey Settlement not know that Fang Zhengzhi had led an army to attack? The surprise force n that he and the rest had nned for so long was now officially foiled.

    Furthermore, they evennded inside the formation.

    ...

    Within the Icy Monkey Settlement, an urgent military report was once again passed into the huge stone house. Finally, a middle-aged man presented it in front of Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao, who was wearing a white schr robe, sat behind the study table and ced down the ancient book he held in his hands. He took up the urgent military report and slowly opened it up. After ncing through it, he quickly ced down the report.

    However, his dark pair of eyes lit up faintly, just like the first rays of light from the rising sun in the morning, bright and enchanting.

    "Young Master Nangong, is it that the formation we ced at the exit of the wind valley had trapped Fang Zhengzhi?" A middle-aged man asked somewhat enthusiastically.

    "No." Nangong Hao shook his head.

    "No? That¡¯s impossible. We had already set up the illusionary formation, as themander of the army, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely walk right at the front. Don¡¯t tell me he can still cowardly hide behind?" The middle-aged man was somewhat confused.

    "Even though this Fang Zhengzhi is shameless, but, he isn¡¯t a coward. He would not do something like hiding behind an army. If I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, he indeed walked in front of the army. However, he exploited Wu Feng and the schrs¡¯ depressed mood and hence eagerness to win honour and glory and turned them into a surprise force!" Nangong Hao shook his head once again and replied.

    "Surprise force?" The middle-aged man seemed to have not understood.

    "Yes, a surprise force to search and uncover ambushes."

    "Isn¡¯t this a little too shameless? No matter what, Wu Feng and the rest are all schrs and examinees who had entered the roll. Even though they are already eliminated, they should still be treated likemanders of a thousand-solder strong army. It is somewhat cruel and inhumane to treat them likemando troops and even more so for them to uncover ambushes." When the middle-aged man heard this, anger was somewhat evident in his eyes.

    "In a battle between two armies, there isn¡¯t such a thing as humane anyway. Fang Zhengzhi isn¡¯t familiar with the geographicalndscape of the wind valley, hence using Wu Feng to spearhead the attack is still a logical thing to do. Furthermore, if it wasn¡¯t for Wu Feng and the rest to want to do this on their own, it would be impossible for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s authority alone to make them budge." Nangong Hao exined calmly.

    "Then... based on Wu Feng and the rest¡¯s abilities, would they be able to defeat the formation Young Master Nangong had set?"" The middle-aged man nodded. After which, he asked again.

    "They cannot."

    "Looks like Young Master Nangong had thought of this oue a long time ago?" When the middle-aged man heard this, the worry on his face slowly began to dissipate as he heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Yes, and no. Now, it would be about how Fang Zhengzhi deals with this." After Nangong Hao finished his sentence, he didn¡¯t speak further and instead lowered his head and continued to read the ancient book in his hand.

    ...

 Chapter 361: Battle

    Chapter 361: Battle

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    At the exit of the wind valley.

    Forty-over thousand soldiers stood inside the wind valley, quietly waiting for the orders to be passed from the front. And in front, Fang Zhengzhi continued to wait with a leisurely look on his face.

    "Guard Fang, can they defeat this formation?" Teng Shisheng looked at the dozens of schrs suffering and holding themselves up in front, then finally couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore and asked.

    When they other generals heard Teng Shisheng¡¯s words, they also looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had indeed said that they should trust Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the rest of the schrspletely. However, the situation in front of them was clearly not one that could be resolved with trust.

    Over ten schrs entering the formation through the death gate. It was clearly an extremely difficult task to defeat a formation that consisted of almost a thousand soldiers.

    "Probably not." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the soldiers who were circling Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the rest of the schrs and shook his head.

    "Probably not?! Then... Then we are just going to continue waiting?" Teng Shisheng couldn¡¯t understand.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi felt that Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the rest would not be able to defeat the formation, then what was the point of dying further?

    "Of course not." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then, now we should..." Teng Shisheng was somewhat confused.

    "Wait."

    "Wait? Wait for what?"

    "What do you think is the most difficult thing in defeating this formation in front of us?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed towards the formation consisting of almost a thousand soldiers and said.

    "This... I don¡¯t really know." Teng Shisheng said honestly. As a native of the Southern Mountain Range, their knowledge and interaction with formations were indeed extremely little.

    Ever since young, their main experience had always been in survival techniques in the dense forests, as well as tactics for sneak attacks and surrounding people. But in terms of formations, their knowledge was pitifully inadequate.

    "I feel that the greatest difficulty would be that Nangong Hao only left one exit in the wind valley. In this case, if we wished to defeat the formation, there would only be one path for us to take." At this moment, a militarymander stood out and expressed his views.

    "General Li is right. Nangong Hao¡¯s formation at the exit of the wind valley is equivalent to having one man guard the pass to prevent thousands from passing through." Anothermander also expressed his opinion.

    "Yes, you guys only considered one side of the matter. There is another side." When Fang Zhengzhi heard their words, he nodded.

    "There is another side?!"

    When the two soldiers heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they were somewhat confused. After participating in years of military activities and wars, they believed that they had already seen almost everything.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words clearly implied that there was a point which they hadn¡¯t discovered.

    This caused them to feel more or less somewhat dissatisfied.

    However, now, Fang Zhengzhi was the truemander of the army. Even though they weren¡¯t satisfied, they didn¡¯t express it as clearly as those schrs.

    The othermanders were just as confused. They all wished to hear what ¡¯insights¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi, who had never participated in a single battle, had to say.

    "Can you guys decipher what formation Nangong Hao employed?" Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what thesemanders were thinking.

    In reality, this thought was apletely ordinary thought for any other person.

    Would a general who experienced hundreds of battles listen to a schr who had never been on the battlefield? This was clearly not very possible.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this. However, he had to change this.

    Now, he indeed possessed strong forces. However, this strong force was one which could turn around and stab him at any moment.

    Once thebat examination ended, or any unforeseen circumstances urred.

    This powerful force would immediately engage in their own actions, and there might even be somebody who would step out to take over Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position. Hence, at this moment, this military force wasn¡¯t very different from a time bomb.

    "If I¡¯m not wrong, it should be the Eight Diagrams Formation!"

    "The Eight Diagrams in front, and the Big Dipper behind!"

    Twomanders quickly expressed their views, their faces filled with confidence.

    "That¡¯s right, it is indeed the Eight Diagrams and the Big Dipper!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard their words, he nodded. Immediately after which, he continued to ask. "Then, can you see all the variations in this formation in front?"

    "This..." Amander immediately turned speechless.

    "Don¡¯t tell me General Fang is able to decipher it?" Anothermander immediately asked back, unconvinced, when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "I can¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi said honestly.

    "Ha ha..."

    The two generalsughed lightly, with a glimmer of delight on their faces. When they initially heard what Fang Zhengzhi asked, they were actually somewhat shocked, thinking that Fang Zhengzhi truly had the ability to decipher a formation in one nce.

    However, after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply, they mocked inside their hearts, he is indeed just another schr who only knew theory. How could the quality of his opinions and views be much higher than us?

    "I¡¯m unable to decipher it, is anyone among you able to decipher it?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother too much about the expressions of the twomanders. Instead, he continued to ask the people behind.

    "This..."

    "I can¡¯t."

    "We are within the wind valley, yet the formation is outside the wind valley. How could we see the variations within?"

    Each of themanders shook their heads one by one. This moment was actually the best opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. However, they indeed couldn¡¯t decipher the variations in the formation in front of them.

    "Yes, that¡¯s why there is another side of our greatest difficulty, and that is field of vision!" When Fang Zhengzhi heard thest sentence, he nodded with a gentle smile on his face.

    "Field of vision?!"

    Themanders couldn¡¯t quite understand. Because, the term "field of vision" had never appeared in any military texts.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the dazed and confused expressions of themanders and naturally understood what they were thinking. In reality, the term "field of vision" didn¡¯t even originate from any notable military texts.

    Instead, it originated from a game in his previous world.

    He only took it out and used it.

    "Now that we are trapped within the wind valley, our field of vision is only limited to a line in the entire formation, we aren¡¯t even able to see the entire formation. At the very most, we can only guess its origins from our experience. However, it isn¡¯t very possible to decipher all the variations in the formation." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "General Fang is right!"

    "That is indeed true!"

    "That¡¯s right, it is the field of vision!"

    When themanders heard this, even though they didn¡¯t quite understand the meaning behind the words ¡¯field of vision¡¯, they understood what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to convey.

    The formation that Nangong Hao had set indeed originated from the Eight Diagrams.

    However, despite it originating from the Eight Diagrams, it didn¡¯t imply that it would mimic the Eight Diagrams. With Nangong Hao¡¯s abilities and talents, adding a few variations to the formation was something extremely possible.

    Nangong Hao could achieve such a thing. Many of themanders could also achieve it.

    The difference was only the effectiveness of the variation.

    "Then... what should we do now?" The twomanders who mocked Fang Zhengzhi in their hearts flushed somewhat red at this moment.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s argument sounded extremely simple.

    In reality, it was a problem that many generals who experienced hundreds of battles would neglect.

    They didn¡¯t quite understand why somebody like Fang Zhengzhi who had never been on the battlefield would have such good observation skills. However, they understood that just on this point alone, they had already fallen behind Fang Zhengzhi in terms of knowledge by more than one level.

    The battlefield was constantly changing.

    One moment ago, you were still rampaging. The next moment, you might have already been degraded into a prisoner. Hence, in many situations, one¡¯s grasp of changes and ability to notice details actually decided whether a chiefmander had the capability to turn the situation around.

    "Wait." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer wasn¡¯t very much different from his previous one.

    However, themanders didn¡¯t voice out any further objects. Because, they had already slowly began to trust in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s judgement.

    Themanders and Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t question further.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother to exin further. Instead, he returned his gaze to Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu, who were still fighting furiously in front.

    "Pass down the order, the entire army shall rest right where they are and start on field cooking." After observing for a moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt that his stomach was somewhat hungry.

    "Start field cooking? General Fang... it is the moment when two armies are engaging in battle, should we just consume some rations?" Even though amander believed in Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order did seem a little too extreme.

    "There is no need, it is still early. There isn¡¯t much nutrition in the rations." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "No nutrition?" The expressions on the faces of themanders turned awkward. A war is breaking out between two armies, is something like ack of nutrition really an appropriate reason?

    Alright...

    You are the chiefmander, you have the final say.

    Even though themanders were filled with doubt, but after they thought of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words a moment ago, they still quickly passed down the order.

    Hence, forty-thousand over troops let out a surprised cheer.

    They didn¡¯t have much military awareness. For many of them, being able to have food to eat was their main reason for joining the army. Now that they could eat, they naturally began to celebrate that they didn¡¯t need to suffer in hunger anymore. And, most importantly, it actually wasn¡¯t just eating rations to stave off their hungry. Instead, it was field cooking.

    This was simply too good to be true.

    Each of the soldiers instantly began to dig and set up their metal stoves. Some soldiers even held bowls and chopsticks in their hands and began to drum enthusiastically.

    "Teng Shisheng, take out the few mountain beasts hunted a few days ago and roast them!" Fang Zhengzhi wiped his lips and said to Teng Shisheng, who was standing at the side.

    "Yes." Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t hesitate at all and immediately set up a campfire.

    Not too longter, the rich and fragrant smell of meat began to fill the air.

    This scene was definitely a strong contrastpared to the fighting outside the wind valley.

    Wu Feng, who was extremely flustered in his fighting, suddenly identified a waft of fragrant meat smell. This caused him to feel extremely confused. Why is there the smell of roasted meat?

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    This Eight Diagrams Formation contained fire attacks?!

    Instinctively, he turned towards the direction where the meat smell drifted from. Then, he saw that within the wind valley, there were a few huge mountain beasts being roasted on a campfire.

    The simmering oil dripped from the mountain beasts, causing the campfire below to give off a sizzling sound.

    "Roasting... roasting meat?! This Fang Zhengzhi, he... he still has the mood to roast meat?!" Wu Feng had considered many possibilities. For example, Fang Zhengzhi would watch by the side and not provide any assistance, acting only after they had lost. Or, Fang Zhengzhi would wait until they had exhausted all their energy before reaping the profits of their efforts.

    However, he had truly never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would sit beside them, start a campfire and begin roasting meat while they fought with their lives.

    Can things be more outrageous!

    Wu Feng felt a boiling sensation in his heart. Instantly, he felt something rather sweet in his mouth. He was so enraged by Fang Zhengzhi that he almost vomited out blood.

    Another person who was just as angry and close to vomiting as Wu Feng was Chen Feiyu.

    "Shameless, shameless, absolutely shameless!!!" Chen Feiyu was now already of the Supernatural State. This meant that he had greater survival abilities in the battlefield.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that he could escape immediately.

    At the very least...

    It wasn¡¯t very possible within a short span of time.

    In reality, what he currently wanted to do most was to charge back into the wind valley, then, pull on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ear and shout loudly, you go and fight, I¡¯ll eat some meat first!

    Unfortunately, the reality was that Fang Zhengzhi was eating meat, while he was fighting with his life.

    Of course, what caused Chen Feiyu the greatest anger wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were roasting meat on a campfire. Instead, it was because Fang Zhengzhi stared at them while eating his roasted meat, at the same time, he seemed to be chanting something with his mouth.

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    This guy is humming a tune?

    ...

    News of Fang Zhengzhi starting a field cooking session naturally and quickly reached a stone house within the Icy Monkey Settlement. This also caused a few middle-aged men to open their mouths in shock.

    "You say Fang Zhengzhi ordered them to start a field cooking inside the wind valley?" A middle-aged man was truly in somewhat of a disbelief, and had to confirm what he heard a second time.

    "Yes!" The soldier who was responsible for reporting the news instantly responded.

    "This guy is indeed daring. He actually ordered a field cooking during a war between two armies, isn¡¯t this a great military sin? Isn¡¯t he afraid that we would send our soldiers tounch a sudden attack?" The middle-aged man heard the soldier¡¯s confirmation and felt some spite in his heart.

    "I fear that he really isn¡¯t afraid of that!" The middle-aged man standing on Nangong Hao¡¯s left hand side spoke at this moment.

    "Why is that so?"

    "The entrance of the wind valley had already been blocked. They cannot exit, at the same time, we cannot enter. Furthermore, at this moment, the wind in the wind valley had also stopped. There isn¡¯t any danger of being within the wind valley."

    "Then... are we supposed to just watch them eat their hot meals right under our very eyes?"

    "If we really dispersed the formation outside the wind valley, then send soldiers tounch a sudden attack, I fear that that would be truly falling into their trap."

    "Young Master Nangong, what is your opinion?" Even though the middle-aged man knew that this was the case, he was clearly still somewhat unhappy that he was just supposed to watch this go on.

    "It isn¡¯t very good to eat without wine. Ask somebody to send a hundred barrels of good wine over and help me to properly reward the forty-over thousand soldiers inside the wind valley for their hardwork!" Nangong Hao continued to read the ancient book in his hand and replied without even raising his head.

    "We are still delivering wine to them?!" The middle-aged man clearly didn¡¯t know how to react.

    "Good n! Young Master Nangong, this n is indeed beautiful!" The eyes of the middle-aged man standing on Nangong Hao¡¯s left side instantly lit up.

 Chapter 362: A Shameless Plan

    Chapter 362: A Shameless n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Giving wine can be considered a good n as well?"

    "In the battle of two armies, the most important thing is to attack their emotions. While our army is fighting hard, Fang Zhengzhi started a field cooking tantly by the side. This is an attack on emotions. Young Master Nangong¡¯s gift of wine is also an attack on emotions. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a good n?"

    "It isn¡¯t just an attack on emotions. If Fang Zhengzhi rejected it, he would lose his goodwill in allowing the soldiers to cook. If he agreed, how would soldiers who had drunk the wine fight?" Another middle-aged man added in at this moment.

    "One hundred barrels of wine is enough to achieve this effect. Young Master Nangong¡¯s n indeed amazes me!" The middle-aged man who was initially still somewhat doubtful finally understood when he heard this.

    ...

    Within the wind valley.

    As Fang Zhengzhi chewed leisurely on his roasted meat and watched the battle, he saw over ten soldiersing over from afar. Every soldier carried a beam on their shoulder.

    On each beam, there were six wine barrels sealed with mud.

    "Hmm? Are they sending wine to us?" When Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he was slightly taken aback and felt somewhat surprised.

    "Nangong Hao is willing to give us wine? How is this possible?" Amander also stared in disbelief when he saw such a strange scene.

    The othermanders also frowned, trying to guess Nangong Hao¡¯s intentions.

    "I understand, Nangong Hao knows that we are cooking in the middle of a battle, hence he wishes to..."

    "Win their hearts?!"

    "Yes, Nangong Hao¡¯s move is indeed devious!"

    Very quickly, a fewmanders managed to guess Nangong Hao¡¯s intentions and instantly revealed a somewhat furious expression.

    "General Fang, should we send some people to stop them?" Amander stood out eagerly. At this moment, the best choice was to reject.

    After all, if they really allowed forty-over thousand soldiers to drink, everything would be over.

    Furthermore...

    Only Heaven knows if this wine contained drugs.

    "Why must we stop them?" A faint smile appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips.

    "Don¡¯t tell me General Fang really wishes to ept these hundred barrels of wine from Nangong Hao and then distribute it out for the soldiers to drink?" Themanders were somewhat confused.

    "Since we have people delivering gifts, it isn¡¯t polite to reject. Even though there are only dozens of soldiers, they are still military forces of the Great Xia. Keep these soldiers and make them hold on to these wine. When I take down the Icy Monkey Settlement, I¡¯ll use these wine to set up a feast to treat the forty thousand soldiers!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed generously.

    "Capture these soldiers?!" When themanders heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they exchanged nces with each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

    The other party sent you wine as gifts.

    Yet, not only do you want the gifts, you even want the people!

    Why must you be so shameless!

    "General Fang, in a battle between two armies, we don¡¯t kill messengers!" Amander reminded very softly.

    "I didn¡¯t kill them, I only wish to kindly ept and keep them so that they can contribute to us. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi casually waved his hands.

    "This... Alright!" Themander was somewhat helpless.

    After all, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was the truemander in chief of these forty-over thousand troops. As soldiers, all they could do was to obey the orders of the chiefmander.

    Over ten soldiers entered the wind valley with bright smiles in their faces. One of the stood out and loudly announced Nangong Hao¡¯s weing of the "guests".

    However, after the speech, the smiles on their faces vanished.

    Because, they were captured.

    From the status of over a dozen messengers, they became over a dozen prisoners. This change in status was indeed a little too fast, so fast that they weren¡¯t able to react.

    And after that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions broadened their horizons once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi began to announce loudly that Nangong Hao and himself had a bet that wasmunicated through letters. The bet was whether or not he could defeat the wind valley. Now, Nangong Hao had lost.

    He admitted losing the bet.

    The only thing he could do was to present them with a hundred barrels of good wine.

    However, the conditions of the bet were clearly a thousand barrels, Nangong Hao was clearly eating his words!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were filled with genuine sincerity, and in addition to the fact that Nangong Hao had indeed given them good wine after they defeated the wind valley, out of the forty-over thousand soldiers, there were actually more than half that believed.

    A man¡¯s life on the world ispletely based on his acting!

    Fang Zhengzhi was once again enlightened on the wisdom behind these words.

    Hence, amid the cheers from the crowd, Fang Zhengzhi wiped dry his tears and and pulled out the soldier who announced Nangong Hao¡¯s wee, then gave him an important task and let him out of the wind valley.

    When themanders saw this scene.

    They were allpletely stunned.

    "One can be shameless. But, how can one be shameless to such an extent?"

    ...

    News of over ten soldiers in charge of delivering the wine behind captured was naturally passed by that soldier who was given an important task to the Icy Monkey Settlement. Furthermore, most importantly, that soldier conveyed a certain message.

    "Fang Zhengzhi requests for Young Master Nangong to fulfill his part of the promise in the bet and deliver another nine hundred barrels of good wine!"

    When the four middle-aged men heard this news, they all became somewhat speechless. Not too long ago, they were still praising Young Master Nangong for his beautiful n.

    However, in the blink of an eye...

    The wine was kept by the other party, and even their people were kept as well. Most importantly, he had mysteriously used them. What is the meaning of losing the bet?

    "This Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless is truly extreme. I have never seen anybody capturing a team that bore gifts. Furthermore, he is still able to boast and craft lies without feeling any shame! Don¡¯t tell me he doesn¡¯t feel even the tiniest bit of guilt?"

    "I can only say that this person¡¯s way of doing things ispletely unpredictable!"

    "I truly never expected that such an excellent attack on emotions would actually be destroyed by such a method from Fang Zhengzhi."

    The four middle-aged men shook their heads. Nangong Hao¡¯s attack on emotions was indeed a great n. However, when it was met with somebody like Fang Zhengzhi, that was when the problem would arise.

    Everybody looked at Nangong Hao who was sitting behind the study table in unison.

    On the other hand, Nangong Hao remained silent. He no longer flipped the ancient book in his hands, and his eyes that were bright as the sun seemed to be deep in thought.

    He was indeed deep in thought.

    Because, even he was slightly shocked when he heard the news conveyed by the soldier, even though he was already somewhat mentally prepared.

    "He is indeed shameless enough. But, I wonder how skilled is he in the art of formations?" Nangong Hao finally ced down the ancient book in his hand and then, stood up slowly from behind the study table...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew for sure that Nangong Hao would not order any more people to deliver wine to him. Because, that was equivalent to delivering themb into the mouth of the tiger. Furthermore, most importantly, that was equivalent to admitting that he had lost the bet.

    Hence...

    This battle of emotions was as good as ended.

    Even though the militarymanders didn¡¯t wish to believe this, they all understood in their hearts that in this battle of emotions, Fang Zhengzhi indeed had the upper hand.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed shameless!

    However, just gaining the upper hand in emotions alone still wasn¡¯t a force strong enough to decide the oue of the battle. No matter how high the morale of your soldiers are.

    You still can¡¯t get out!

    What was the use of that?

    If they couldn¡¯t leave the wind valley, everything was pointless.

    Themanders knew this. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order was to wait. Hence, all they could do was to wait. Yet, none of them knew how long they were supposed to wait!

    Fang Zhengzhi had done many things in this period of time. For example, he ate the roasted meat, and drank two mouthfuls of clear water, and even loudly recited how Nangong Hao and himself had decided on the bet through letters.

    However, his gaze had never left Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the rest of the people on the battlefield. Even when he was looking at the group of people delivering the wine, his gaze continued to be fixated upon Wu Feng and the rest.

    And now...

    Now that he had finished his food and drinks, next, it was time to truly act.

    "Teng Shisheng!" At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke.

    "Present!" Teng Shisheng, who was currently tending to the campfire, instantly stood up.

    "General Li, General Chen, General Wang..."

    "Present!"

    "Present!"

    "..."

    When themanders heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they were instantly energised. They didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi wished to do, however, they had a faint feeling.

    It was time.

    "Prepare spears, bows and arrows." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further to Teng Shisheng and themanders and instead directly ordered.

    "Roger!"

    Teng Shisheng and themanders acknowledged once again.

    They indeed didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do. However, once they heard about the spears and bows, they felt as if it had struck a certain chord in their heart.

    "Silver Horned Wolves, watch the g on my hand. Wherever my g points to, you will shoot the spears to that location. Shoot ten spears each time!" As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he took out a small g.

    "Understood!"

    "The arrows of the archers mustnd in the vicinity of the spears, there cannot be any deviation, can you do it?"

    "Yes!"

    "Then... let¡¯s start!" After hearing the acknowledgements, a faint glow shed in his eyes. After all, no matter what, this was his first timemanding a battle.

    Even though these orders somewhat childish, and not somethinging from a chiefmander.

    Shooting wherever I point and so on!

    However...

    Isn¡¯t all that¡¯s required for the soldiers to understand?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too bothered about whether the order was beautifully worded. What he cared about was whether Teng Shisheng and themanders would be able to understand his order.

    "Woosh!"

    In a flurry of activity, some of the archers among the forty-over thousand soldiers took a step out and drew their bows.

    On the other hand, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolves lined up in rows of ten and nearly stood behind Fang Zhengzhi and themanders, raising the ck spears in their hands up high with cold glints in their eyes.

    At this moment, Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu had also noticed the change on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    All of them were somewhat confused.

    What is Fang Zhengzhi trying to do?

    There were spears and there were bows, could he be thinking of...

    Mass murdering these thousand soldiers and themselves?

    If that was the case!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will never forgive you even when I die!"

    Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu definitely knew about the incident in which Fang Zhengzhi murdered in the Northern Mountain Vige. However, they really didn¡¯t wish to believe that Fang Zhengzhi dared to do something like that over here.

    Thebat examination was a practice for the army.

    The Great Xia Dynasty always had one principle. That was that a soldier who had never seen blood before cannot be considered a good soldier. Hence, deaths and injuries were extremelymon in thebat examination.

    However, deaths and injuries were one thing. Being mass murdered under a barrage of arrows was still a little too much.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t care about how Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu thought. In reality, his gaze had alreadypletely left Wu Feng and the rest.

    The g in his hand finally moved at this moment.

    "There, the position ny five steps away from this ce in the South-East direction!" Fang Zhengzhi described the distance to the location he pointed out with great precision.

    There was an ancient saying.

    A hundred steps passes through anything!

    It meant that within a hundred steps, arrows never miss their target.

    In the history of his past world, there was a great general by the name of Lu Bu. He was able to hit a tiny branch a hundred and fifty steps away and was greatly respected

    In this world.

    In terms of strength, it had greatly surpassed that of his past world.

    As for whether they were able to hit things a hundred steps away, or even a hundred and fifty, withplete uracy, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t very sure. However, ying it safe, he decided to start from a position ny five steps away.

    "Woosh woosh woosh..."

    Once Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wordsnded, ten ck spears blew past his body like a gust of wind and then drew a beautiful arc in the air.

    Lastly...

    "Ding ding ding..."

    Each of the ck spears impaled itself into the ground, marking out a circr area that was five meters wide.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen the ability of the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry Troops to toss spears before. That time, he was mercilessly trapped on the spot by these Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry Troops.

    Now that he was seeing it once again.

    The feeling waspletely different.

    The ck spearsnded on the ground.

    In an instant, white feathered arrows were shot out, filling the sky like raindrops. Almost exactly a hundred arrows flew into the sky, just like streams of snowkes drifting down from the sky.

    "Woosh woosh woosh..."

    This movement naturally caused the thousand-soldier strong army to receive a huge fright.

    When they saw Fang Zhengzhi lead his army over, they actually weren¡¯t very concerned. After all, Fang Zhengzhi stayed where he was without any further movements.

    He even began to cook by the side.

    This had actually caused them to lower their guard slightly.

    However, the sudden change still caused them to be rmed. After all, that was an army consisting of over forty-thousand soldiers. It was a powerful and formidable force.

    The white feathered arrows that filled the skynded onto the ground.

    Instantly, some of the soldiers who were still standing near the ck spears quickly dodged away. The huge circle with the ck spears at its heart once again expanded by at least two times!

    At the same time, the other soldiers who were standing around the circle felt some sort of pressure of their bodies. That pressure didn¡¯t originate from the ck spears and white arrows.

    Instead, it originated from the surrounding soldiers!

 Chapter 363: Are you out of your mind

    Chapter 363: Are you out of your mind

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shock appeared on the faces of the soldiers when they felt the surrounding pressure.

    In reality, this theory was extremely simple. Because, when a "huge nail" that fell from the sky appeared within an army that was arranged extremely neatly, it would instinctively cause people to dodge to one side.

    In an instant, this also caused a huge empty space to appear in the area around the ck spear. This empty space naturally created a force outwards.

    A truly perfect formation not only required trained and quality soldiers, it also requiredmanders who embodied great leadership abilities.

    Of course, the formation that Nangong Hao set up was perfect.

    Hence, after seeing this happen, amander instantly waved his g furiously as he barked out firm orders.

    This caused the initially somewhat chaotic troops to return to their ordered state

    However, there wasn¡¯t much use in this.

    Because...

    Very quickly, ten ck spears descended from the skies, carrying with it a powerful gust of wind and impaling a "huge nail" in the corner of the formation.

    As the ck nail dug into the ground, feathered arrows that filled the sky fell once again.

    Another circle appeared, andpared to the previous circle, it was at least two timesrger. It looked like a bush filled with thorns.

    Anothermander stood out and waved the g in his hands, and started giving orders.

    However, before he even had the time to wave his g, a third "huge nail" fell from the sky once again. And, that wasn¡¯t all. The fourth, fifth, sixth...

    One by one, areas filled with ck spears and white feathered arrows formed at various areas within the formation. The initially ordered formation turned into arge face filled with holes.

    Themanders were soaked with sweat as they furiously waved their gs and attempted to give orders.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions caused them some headache, they remained confident that the Eight Diagrams Formation that Nangong Hao had set up will never be truly defeated by a few "huge nails".

    Hence, they continued to direct the troops as they shot a spiteful smile towards Fang Zhengzhi who was giving the orders to shoot.

    If casually throwing a few spears and shooting a few arrows could defeat a formation.

    Then, wasn¡¯t this formation a little too worthless?

    However, the spite on their face didn¡¯tst for long before it froze. Because, at this moment, they felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    The Eight Diagrams contained eight doors, while the eight doors had to continuously undergo variations and changes in order to maintain its power. However, when they directed the eight doors to undergo changes, they realised...

    No matter what route they varied, they weren¡¯t able to avoid the "huge nails" on the ground.

    This was equivalent to somebody setting up a trap in your path. Either you remove this trap, or you take the longer route.

    However, could the Eight Diagram Formation change its route within a variation?

    Of course it could.

    However, they couldn¡¯t. Because, Nangong Hao had never taught them that. Hence, they had no way of directing further changes to the formation.

    This way, it naturally caused the Eight Diagrams Formation to be unable to vary, and hence, causing it to lose its liveliness. This also meant that unlike before, the formation couldn¡¯t be used to suppress the schrs within the formation anymore.

    Putting it simply, when the Eight Diagrams was able to move and vary, I could have fifty soldiers fighting against Wu Feng. After a round of fighting, I could go to one side and take a break, then attack Chen Feiyu afterwards. After fighting, I¡¯ll rest again...

    But now?

    This meant that these fifty soldiers had to constantly fight Wu Feng and it was impossible for their other friends to help them.

    Could fifty soldiers hold back Wu Feng?

    Yes, however, they couldn¡¯t do so for long!

    "Why are things like this?!"

    Each of the g carryingmanders exchanged nces with one another and saw the doubt in each other¡¯s eyes. It was a form of doubt that stemmed from disbelief.

    Because, in order to achieve such an oue.

    There could only be one possibility.

    That was that Fang Zhengzhi had already seen through Nangong Hao¡¯s Eight Diagrams Formation and after which, very skillfully inserted "huge nails" one by one in the middle of the variation paths of the Eight Diagrams Formation.

    Themanders behind Fang Zhengzhi were just as bbergasted.

    When they saw that Fang Zhengzhi ordered for the shooting of spears and arrows, even though they carried out the orders ording to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s instructions, in their hearts, they believed that it was just a distraction method.

    However, when they saw that the Eight Diagrams Formation in front of them had actually begun to slow down in its rate of change, and, even seeming as if it was almost about to stop movingpletely, they were finally filled with shock.

    "There is something weird about the positions he shot at!"

    "It is the variation paths of the formation! The areas Fang Zhengzhi instructed us to shoot were the variation paths!"

    "That¡¯s right, in order for their movements to remain fluid, they have to first pluck out those arrows and spears. However, they simply don¡¯t have the time to pluck them."

    "Even if they plucked, that doesn¡¯t pose a problem to us. Because, they can never pluck faster than we shoot!"

    "How did he achieve this?"

    As themanders discussed, their gazes focused on Fang Zhengzhi. They were truly shocked.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t shooting randomly!

    He wasn¡¯t!

    He had a n, he shot with an aim. Every spot he shot would definitely hinder the movement of the formation!

    "Shoot!"

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pay the slightest bit of attention to the discussion among themanders behind him. Instead, he continued to give out orders from the front. And, his gaze had already slowly begun to expand towards the Big Dipper Formation behind.

    The Eight Diagrams Formation emphasized defence.

    Breaking that defence was the first step. The second step was an attack that destroyed the offensive power of this formation.

    Without offensive power, one could say that this formation was already a harmless formation that posed no threat. Hence, there would be no problem in entering it.

    As Fang Zhengzhi gave his order.

    ck spears and white feathered arrows rapidly shot towards the sky, and then, nailed down upon the vital points of the formation like countless huge nails.

    As for the people that felt the effects of this most deeply.

    That was doubtlessly Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the schrs.

    There was a time when they believed that they could hold back groups of soldiers, and even once believed that they could remain fearless even when faced with hundreds and even thousands of soldiers.

    But today...

    In front of Nangong Hao¡¯s formation, they seemed to have turned into useless soft plums, allowing Nangong Hao to rub them, pinch them, squeeze them...

    Furthermore, most importantly, they were bullied and shamed in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Unhappiness, misery.

    These emotions flowed through their minds over and over again. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. The surrounding soldiers were too agile. When your de shed down upon the two people in front of you, the results were that either you discover that there was actually nobody in front of you, or that ten people suddenly appeared.

    Formations were strange and mysterious.

    They knew this very well.

    However, even though they were within the formation, they had no way of defeating it. Because, the path they entered from was the gate of death that directly faced the Eight Diagrams Formation.

    How could they live when faced with death!

    Yet, at this moment, the feeling was different.

    That was a feeling of joy and freedom that came about from leading a perfect life. The faces of the surrounding soldiers stopped changing as they each stood with a dazed expression in front of all of them.

    The initial agility and fluidity had disappeared. All that was left was petrification, just like a log.

    It was extremely difficult to deal with an agile rabbit. However, it was definitely an extremely easy task to deal with a sheep that could only lower its head to chew on grass.

    Hence, they began. They raised their hand. The de fell, the hand raises, the de fell...

    "Ah ah ah!"

    "Ah!"

    "Crack!"

    Bloodcurdling cries and the snapping of weapons quickly started to sound out. Furthermore, as time passed, these sounds became more and more frequent.

    At the very end, huge empty spaces began to appear.

    Those spaces were the areas surrounding the schrs.

    The soldiers who were initially surrounding them tightly quickly backed off one by one. Because, it was definitely an extremely horrifying experience to face with a group of schrs of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State.

    The retreat of the soldiers didn¡¯t seem to cause these schrs to have any intention of stopping.

    Because, they had to unleash the anger that had built up for so long. And, it had to be a harsh and unforgiving form of unleash, even if they understood in some way or another that this opportunity was given to them by Fang Zhengzhi.

    But, so what if it was?

    After being suppressed and attacked by others for so long, now that they were finally able to stand back up, was it possible for them to not return a few fists?

    Arrogance was the fundamental nature of these schrs.

    Hence, they had to be on the very top. And, they could only be on the very top.

    Even though it was not an extent to which they would deliver fatal blows, but, casually causing a few broken bones here and there, or even identally causing people to fall to the ground with heavy injuries, were still frequent.

    Chen Feiyu was the one who had held back the longest in this period of time.

    After crossing the barrier to the Supernatural State with great difficulty, he had initially thought that it would be a time filled with honour and glory. Yet, he just happened to meet a certain Fang Zhengzhi. Not even mentioning that he was eliminated, now, he was trapped within Nangong Hao¡¯s Eight Diagrams Formation.

    This was a form of shame that only blood would wash away!

    A seven-inch sword swam around the bodies of countless bodies like a moving dragon. Within the faint blue glow, there were a few shes of jade-green light as fresh blood spilled.

    Yet, right at this moment.

    The whistling of an arrow suddenly rang out.

    Before this arrow whistling sound rang out, Chen Feiyu had heard too many arrow whistling sounds already. However, his attention was still captured by this sound. Because, this whistling sound was too loud.

    Raising his head.

    A glow shed in Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes.

    Because, that was a jade green arrow glow, leaving a ck crack that ripped space apart in its wake and flying towards his chest with lightning speed.

    "The Million Sword Illustration~"

    Chen Feiyu definitely knew that this was the ultimate technique of the Divine Constabry.

    He knew even clearer who was the one who had shot this arrow. Because, during the horseback huntingpetition, he had witnessed very clearly Fang Zhengzhi using this archery technique to badly injure the Number Seven and Number Eight of the Rising Dragon Roll, Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming.

    He didn¡¯t know why Fang Zhengzhi would shoot him.

    However, he wanted to block this shot!

    Because...

    He wanted to prove to everybody that he, Chen Feiyu¡¯s, strength had already long surpassed that of Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming, and even exceeded that of Fang Zhengzhi and Wu Feng.

    His sword shot out. Rain fell.

    With Chen Feiyu¡¯s sword at its heart, a snow white flower suddenly blossomed. After which, a torrential storm began to brew in the air as multiple jade-green coloured vines began to dance.

    "Open!" Chen Feiyu bellowed.

    With one movement of the sword, the torrential storm congregated at the tip of his sword, as the snow white flowers blossomed in all directions, turning into pieces of flower petals that spun at rapid speeds. With the sword in the center, it carried with it the power like that of the Torrential Pear Blossom and shed towards that jade-green light arrow.

    "Boom!" A loud echo resounded. Streaks of thin jade-green rapidly exploded outwards. However, at the same time those streaks of light intersected, the curtain of rain formed by the torrential rain spun towards those thin streaks of light like a tornado.

    The Torrential Pear Blossom Sword Technique!

    The secret technique of the Sun Constabry of the Thirteen Constabries, a sword technique that epassed both defence and offence.

    When the surrounding schrs saw this scene, the expressions of their faces instantly frozepletely. They knew very clearly what that jade-green arrow was.

    Because...

    As long as they had participated in the horseback huntingpetition of the East suburb hunting ground, there wasn¡¯t a single schr who wouldn¡¯t know that this arrow was shot by Fang Zhengzhi. And, there wasn¡¯t a single schr who knew the power that this arrow represented.

    In the Great Xia Dynasty, even the number seventh of the Rising Dragon Roll, Xiang Tianying, the Xiang Tianying who was renowned for his Purple Crystal Territory, had no way of directly blocking these arrows.

    However, a moment ago, Chen Feiyu had just...

    Blocked it?!

    And, it was a direct block.

    "Don¡¯t tell me..."

    "Could it be that Chen Feiyu had reached a new state?"

    "That¡¯s impossible!"

    "Without reaching a new state, how could he block this arrow with this abilities?"

    "Is it possible that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t put in all his power to avoid harming him?"

    As the schrs attempted to guess, they quickly understood one thing. It should be because Fang Zhengzhi had shown mercy.

    Because, using reaching a new state to exin this problem.

    Was a little too exaggerating.

    Furthermore, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and Chen Feiyu indeed belonged on the same time. The exnation that Fang Zhengzhi had shown mercy was clearly more reasonable topared to Chen Feiyu¡¯s enlightenment.

    Hence, after the schrs understood this, they all turned their gazes towards Fang Zhengzhi who was standing not too far away. Because, they all understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    "Put down your weapon and surrender!" A schr quickly began to shout out.

    "If you don¡¯t surrender, I don¡¯t mind crippling a few more!" Another schr also began to cry out.

    However, these cries, in the ears of Chen Feiyu, didn¡¯t sound very pleasing. Shouldn¡¯t everybody be cheering for the sword technique he had just disyed?

    What is this!

    I had blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration!

    Wait a minute, don¡¯t tell me that these people would believe that Fang Zhengzhi was showing mercy on purpose? Or, could it be that blocking the Million Sword Illustration wasn¡¯t sufficient to show that he had already attained the Supernatural State?

    Chen Feiyu really wished to shout out loudly. Open your blind eyes wide and look clearly! I, Chen Feiyu, had already attained the Supernatural State, I am stronger than Fang Zhengzhi!

    However, when the words reached his mouth, it turned into another sentence.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, shoot another arrow if you dare to!" This was because Chen Feiyu thought that praising himself was definitely much less amazingpared to being praised by others.

    Hence, he prepared to catch another arrow from Fang Zhengzhi to boost his prestige.

    Yet...

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing not too far away, only shot a middle finger at him, and after which revealed a spiteful and condescending expression on his face, huffing lightly towards him.

    "Are you out of your mind?"

 Chapter 364: Shocking Change in Situation

    Chapter 364: Shocking Change in Situation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Something wrong with my head?! Who are you saying has something wrong with his head? It is clearly you who shot an arrow towards me, yet you say there is something wrong with me?" Chen Feiyu was instantly stunned.

    He really couldn¡¯t understand.

    Why do such unreasonable things exist in this world?

    You shot an arrow at me, I allowed you to shoot at me once more. Yet, you im that there is something wrong with me!

    Furthermore...

    Most importantly, why did these schrs and soldiers have that look in their eyes? What kind of look was that! This isn¡¯t right, it ispletely different from the oue I wished for!

    Chen Feiyu was on the verge of copse. He felt that he had already demonstrated sufficient strength.

    Yet, not a single person believed him.

    This was misery, this was helplessness!

    In reality, Chen Feiyu was too involved in the situation. If he could view this situation from the perspective of a third person, it would likely be very easy to understand.

    Because, whenparing between whether an eliminated examinee had extraordinary powers and how the formation had beenpletely destroyed.

    Clearly, thetter would evoke more interest.

    After all, this demonstrated that Fang Zhengzhi had once again changed the oue of a stalemate battle.

    Why was it that the areas he shot at had just happened to break the flow and variation of the formation?

    This was a question that troubled everymander. Because, just as Fang Zhengzhi had said, under circumstances in which your field of vision was blocked, how can one understand the variation of the formation when one isn¡¯t even able to have a full picture of the entire formation?

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    All of a sudden, an extremely frightening thought shed across the minds of themanders.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that his field of vision was limited.

    However, from the moment he reached the exit of the wind valley, his gaze had never shifted for a single moment. That meant that all these time, he had been observing the changes and variation in the formation in front.

    If that was the case, then there would only be one possibility.

    Fang Zhengzhi had deduced the rules of variation of the entire formation just from observing changes in a small part of the formation under circumstances in which his field of vision was hindered.

    Heavens!

    What an astonishing act this was.

    When each of themanders looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, they suddenly recalled that Fang Zhengzhi was a miracle that had never before been seen in the Great Xia Dynasty ever since it was founded.

    A young mountain viger who had never even studied in the Hall of Dao before. Yet, he was able to soar and perform with flying colours in all of the Law of Dao examinations, a person who was able to attain Double Roll Champion all the way from the county examination, then to the capital examination, and finally to the Imperial examination.

    Most importantly, in the theory examination of the Court examination, he came out top as well. And, one who had attained joint first with Nangong Hao. This was something that nobody would have ever imagined.

    Yet, he did it.

    Just like not too long ago, nobody ever thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to ovee the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s natural barrier, the wind valley, without losing a single troop just based on twenty Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops alone.

    Then, in this stalemate and dead-end battle with Nangong Hao, what else was impossible?

    "Charge! Fight for General Fang!"

    "Those who surrender will be spared!"

    "Put down your weapons quickly, we are both of the Great Xia, there is no point in conflict!"

    At this moment, themanders were filled with adrenalin as if they had been injected with chicken blood, shouting loudly for the other side to surrender. They charged into the great formation that was now chaotic andpletely broken down like wild wolves.

    ...

    Within the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    A soldier quickly passed through the main gate of the settlement and ran towards arge stone house that directly faced the main gate as beads of sweat soaked his face.

    "Young Master, Young Master, bad news, the formation has been broken!" Right after he charged into the stone house, the soldier immediately knelt down onto the floor and reported this extremely urgent piece of military report.

    "What?! Defeated? How is this possible!" The expression of a middle-aged man immediately changed.

    "It is indeed broken, Fang Zhengzhi ordered his soldiers to shoot spears and arrows, destroying the structure of our formation. Now, the soldiers within the formation are almost all captured!"

    "Spears and arrows? This Fang Zhengzhi is truly daring, he dares to start a killing spree?"

    "No, all Fang Zhengzhi did was to use the spears and arrows to... tear, yes, he tore a hole. And this hole just happened to obstruct the change and variation within the formation, hence, hence..."

    "I understand, follow me to meet the visitors!" At this moment, Nangong Hao¡¯s voice sounded out. Immediately after, a white figure shed across the soldier¡¯s eyes. Before his voicended, his person was already out of the stone house.

    ...

    When news of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grand victory over Nangong Hao¡¯s formation reached the Icy Monkey Settlement, another piece of news was rapidly being passed to the Yan Capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    A noble stallion soared through the East Gate of the Yan Capital at lightning speed and dived straight in until it reached the entrance of the pce. After changing to another stallion, that news once again charged towards the Throne Room of the Imperial Pce.

    Now wasn¡¯t the period of time for morning assembly, yet, within the Throne Room, the officials stood neatly in two rows, a solemn expression filling each of their faces.

    "I plea for Your Majesty to send out troops as fast as possible, I¡¯m afraid any further dys might lead to situation changes!" A minister knelt in the center of the Throne Room and brought his head to the ground.

    "Your Majesty, please send soldiers to support. The Stable Mountain Gate is the main gate that separates us and the Southern Mountain Range, we mustn¡¯t lose it!" Another military officer dressed in armour simrly knelt down onto the ground.

    "Report!"

    "Urgent report from the Stable Mountain Gate!"

    Right at this moment, two voices closing in from afar that seemingly sounded out at the same time travelled into the Throne Room. This caused all of officials within the Throne Room to look towards the main entrance of the Throne Room.

    Not too longter, an armoured soldier was brought by four guards in golden armour into the Throne Room, raising a letter high up in his hands.

    "Just read it out." Emperor Lin Mubai, who was sitting on the Dragon Throne and dressed in a golden dragon robe, finally spoke after remaining silent for the entire time when he saw the soldier enter.

    "Roger!" The soldier nodded and then carefully tore open the letter in his hand. After sweeping his gaze across it, he began to recite it loudly.

    "The Stable Mountain Gate guardmander Yu Tianfeng was drunkst night and didn¡¯t notice the soldiers until they were right at the city gates. He had suicided in the military camp due to knowing that his crimes would not be forgiven. Even though the fifty thousand guards at the Stable Mountain Gate defended the powerful soldiers with their lives, the disparity in military strength between our army and the enemy as well as ack of leadership caused the loss of the Stable Mountain Gate..."

    "Lost?!"

    "What, how long did it take, it hasn¡¯t even been a day. The Stable Mountain Gate is already lost?!"

    "There are fifty thousand soldiers guarding the Stable Mountain Gate and the resources and rations are plentiful. Other than natural disasters, no matter how powerful the enemy troops are, these would definitely be sufficient to defend for at least half a month. How can it be lost so quickly?"

    "That¡¯s right, now that the four main settlements are all controlled by our Great Xia Dynasty, which direction can the soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range attack the Stable Mountain Gate from? How can there be a great disparity in strength when there isn¡¯t even any soldiers!"

    When the officials in the room heard the word ¡¯lost¡¯, they were truly shaken. Because, not even a full day had passed from the moment that the military report of the Stable Mountain Gate being surrounded was passed to the Yan Capital.

    It was too sudden!

    Nobody dared to believe it.

    In the hearts of the officials, it was indeed possible for the Southern Mountain Range to begin their assault at this moment. However, it was definitely impossible for them to attack the Stable Mountain Gate.

    After all, settlements such as the Yan Ya Settlement which were close to the Stable Mountain Gate were all under the control of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Then...

    Where did an army capable of taking down the Stable Mountain Gate appear from? Even if the guards of the Stable Mountain Gate was really drunk the previous night, it still wouldn¡¯t warrant a suicide at this moment, didn¡¯t he know that aplishments were able to make up for mistakes?

    There were too many suspicious points in this letter.

    Nobody could understand a single one of them. However, there was one point that everybody could be sure of. That was that the Stable Mountain Gate had been lost. This also meant that the gate between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Mountain Range had opened.

    And, most importantly, the Stable Mountain Gate was lost at this moment.

    What was happening at this moment?

    Thebat examination was deep in progress. Almost thirty great schrs of the Great Xia Dynasty were battling in the Southern Mountain Range. A hundred thousand soldiers were distributed among the four main settlements of the Southern Mountain Range. The current Crown Prince Lin Tianrong of the Eastern Pce was also in the Southern Mountain Range.

    The Stable Mountain Gate, the throat that connected the hundred thousand soldiers and the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The throat was slit!

    How could the hundred thousand soldiers, the Eastern Pce Crown Prince, and the almost thirty great schrs survive?

    "Your Majesty, at this moment, the three hundred thousand soldiers of the Eastern Liang are closest to the Stable Mountain Gate. Please give the order quickly, if there is any further dy, I fear that the lives of His Highness the Crown Prince and the hundred thousand soldiers will be at risk!"

    "That¡¯s right Your Majesty!"

    ¡¯I feel that General Wang¡¯s words aren¡¯t appropriate. The Stable Mountain Pass has beenpromised. If the Southern Mountain Range takes advantage of this and advances, even our Yan Capital will be in danger. If we were to move troops from the Eastern Liang at this moment, it would probably be toote. I suggest ordering the army of the Northern Desert to move East in order to protect the safety of the Eastern Capital, the Yan Capital, after which we willbine the forces from the Northern Desert and the Eastern Liang to battle with the enemy forces of the Southern Mountain Range!"

    "General Liu¡¯s words do make sense. We must ensure the safety of the Yan Capital!"

    "Yes, yes yes, first protect the Yan Capital, thenbine forces from the two sides. This is a better n!"

    "Coward! The traitorous officials of the Southern Mountain Range would never dare to attack the Yan Capital! Furthermore, we have a hundred thousand members of the Imperial Ranger Squad guarding our Yan Capital, how will we be in danger? Now, the most critical action to take would be to resolve the threat at the Stable Mountain Pass, else if we take too long, the hearts and loyalty of the people might change!"

    Very quickly, the officials began to discuss and put forward their suggestions one by one. Some wanted to send troops to the Stable Mountain Pass, and some wanted to gather troops at the Yan Capital for defence.

    As he listened to the spirited discussion below, Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hand with a tinge of annoyance.

    Hence, the entire Throne Room regained its calm.

    Each of the officials gazed at Emperor Lin Mubai, who sat on the Dragon Throne, with their eyes wide open as they awaited his decision.

    "The majority decides to send out troops?"

    "Yes!" The military generals quickly responded.

    "Is there any differing opinions?" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and continued to ask.

    "I have a different opinion!" After hearing Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s question, the Law Official, who had remained silent the entire time, finally stood out.

    "Speak."

    "Based on my opinion, the Great Xia and the Southern Mountain Range had generations of friendly neighbour rtions and strong, deep ties. There is definitely a reason behind the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s sudden attack on the Stable Mountain Pass this time. We the Great Xia have always valued diplomacy. Hence, I suggest for Your Majesty to send a messenger to the Southern Mountain Range to investigate whether it is due to inappropriate actions of the people of our Great Xia, or due to goading from certain races. If it is due to the inappropriate actions of our people, we will punish them ordingly. If it is due to incitation from other races, we need a clear and logical exnation to avoid harming the hundreds of years of friendly rtionships between our countries! Of course, if the Southern Mountain Range indeed harboured ill intentions, there would still be time for Your Majesty to send out military forces. This is also in line with the values of our Great Xia Dynasty, diplomacy before military action!"

    After finishing his speech, the Law Official bowed and slowly knelt onto the ground.

    "I agree!"

    "I agree as well!"

    Not too longter, another two officials stood out to express their support towards the Law Official.

    When the other military officials heard the words of the Law Officials, a spiteful expression appeared on their faces. However, civil officials indeed had the right to voice out, and, Emperor Lin Mubai had indeed asked for differing opinions.

    Hence, even though the military officials were all furious, they still held themselves back.

    However...

    Nobody believed that Emperor Lin Mubai would ept such a suggestion. Because, even though the Great Xia valued diplomacy, it was still a powerful country that had stocked up on its reserves.

    Now that resources were plentiful and military forces were well established, they didn¡¯t fear war at all.

    If they allowed a subordinate country like the Southern Mountain Range to unscrupulously invade their ownnd without fighting them head-on, could they still be considered the grand Great Xia Dynasty?

    "I feel that the Law Official¡¯s words do make sense. Then, I¡¯ll send the Law Official to personally enter the Southern Mountain Range and investigate this issue!" At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai finally nodded and gave his order.

    In the throne room, the military officials stared at Emperor Lin Mubai, who sat on the Dragon Throne, with an expression of disbelief. Because, none of them could understand why Emperor Lin Mubai would listen to the words of the Law Official.

    Don¡¯t tell me that he still believes the Southern Mountain Range is the same Southern Mountain Range as before?

    Could the Southern Mountain Range who dared to trespass their territory and upy the Stable Mountain Pass still be the same loyal vassal state that presented them with gifts each year?

    "Roger, I will definitely investigate this matter fully to return Your Majesty¡¯s grace!" The Law Official didn¡¯t pay the slightest bit of attention to the expressions of the surrounding militarymanders. After hearing Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s words, a smile broke out on his face.

    Understanding the Emperor¡¯s intent and carrying the Emperor¡¯s heart.

    That was the way of an official. If one wasn¡¯t even able to notice whether the Emperor wanted to fight, what was the point of being a part of the Six Council Officials? Why not just stay at home and continue farming!

    A bunch of simpletons!

    The Law Official swept his gaze contemptuously across the surrounding military officials and his gaze instinctivelynded onto thest member who wore a red official robe, Left Prime Minister You Yiping.

    Ever since the urgent military report, Left Prime Minister You Yiping hadn¡¯t uttered a single word nor opened his mouth. This caused him to feel somewhat confused.

    However, confusion was just confusion. This achievement had alreadynded into his pocket.

    The Law Official didn¡¯t continue thinking and respectfully bowed in gratitude. After which, he swiftly left the throne room and prepared to journey to the Southern Mountain Range.

    When Left Prime Minister You Yiping saw the Law Official¡¯s respectful bow, a faint glow shed across his eyes as his lips curved into a light smile.

    That was a form of pity.

    Or, it could also be described as a form of pity wedged between spite and contempt.

    Understanding the Emperor¡¯s intent and carrying the Emperor¡¯s heart.

    Left Prime Minister You Yiping nced at Emperor Lin Mubai, who was sitting on the Dragon Throne with a neutral expression and smiled coldly to himself. In this entire throne room, was there a second person other than himself who dared to im dominance in this area?

 Chapter 365: The True Plot

    Chapter 365: The True Plot

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Law Official left.

    On the surface, things seemed to have already settled down. The Emperor had expressed his opinion, even if a few military generals didn¡¯t approve of it, they couldn¡¯t continue to risk their lives arguing in front of the hundreds of officials.

    Of course, the most important reason was that now wasn¡¯t the time to risk their lives going against the Emperor¡¯s decision yet. A Stable Mountain Pass wasn¡¯t sufficient to cause significant threat to the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Left Prime Minister You Yiping, who usually concluded everything at the end, waspletely silent from the start to the end today. This caused the officials to feel somewhat ufortable. However, it was just difort.

    After all, there wasn¡¯t any further debate after the Emperor had given his order.

    The officials gradually withdrew, while Left Prime Minister You Yiping calmly walked out of the Throne Room. However, he didn¡¯t even manage to walk five steps before he was stopped by an elderly wearing a pce servant attire.

    "Prime Minister You, the Emperor wishes to meet you in the Imperial Study Room."

    "Oh, thank you Eunuch Pan!" Left Prime Minister You Yiping stopped in his tracks and nodded lightly. Then, he fished out a handful of silver from his pockets.

    The elderly dressed in pce servant attire instantly received it and stuffed it into his sleeves as he led the way with a bright smile on his face...

    In the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Lin Mubai sat on the Dragon Throne with a frown on his face as he flipped through a report continuously. However, his gaze didn¡¯t seem very focused.very focused.

    "Your Majesty, Left Prime Minister You is here." Right at this moment, Eunuch Pan¡¯s voice sounded out from outside the door.

    "Enter."

    The door opened. Left Prime Minister You Yiping, dressed in a red Imperial robe, entered respectfully and quickly made his way to the center of the Imperial study room. He bent his knees and prepared to kneel.

    "There is no need for these customaries. Yiping, this time¡¯s trip by the Crown Prince to the Southern Mountain Range, I believe that he wouldn¡¯t likely conceal things about the Southern Mountain Range from. Based on your opinions, do you think that my present this time is too generous?" Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hands towards Left Prime Minister You Yiping who was about to kneel and immediately asked.

    When Left Prime Minister You Yiping heard this, his expression changed slightly. The Crown Prince¡¯s rtionship with the Imperial officials was too close. This matter was considered somewhat taboo within the royal family.

    However, the Emperor had casually pointed it out.

    At this moment, if he acknowledged it, it was equivalent to admitting the rtionship between the Crown Prince and himself. But even if he didn¡¯t, how could the Emperor not notice with his astute observational abilities?

    It wasn¡¯t serious enough to be considered lying to the Emperor. However, it was sufficient to lose the Emperor¡¯s trust.

    "I believe that Your Majesty¡¯s decision was naturally one that was made after much thought and consideration, hence the value of the gift doesn¡¯t matter. Your Majesty understands and considers the entire decision, and my insights cannot bepared to that of Your Majesty¡¯s." Left Prime Minister You Yiping replied very seriously.

    "Ha ha... I am indeed somewhat worried when I heard today¡¯s report about the loss of the Stable Mountain Pass." When Emperor Lin Mubai heard Left Prime Minister You Yiping¡¯s words, the frown on his face seemed to have rxed a little.

    "Is Your Majesty worried about the fifty thousand soldiers of the Great Xia trapped at the Stable Mountain Gate?" When Left Prime Minister You Yiping saw Emperor Lin Mubai rxing slightly, he began to rx as well and guessed carefully.

    "Yes. I am indeed worried about this." Emperor Lin Mubai nced at Left Prime Minister You Yiping, but finally nodded in the end.

    "I believe that Your Majesty need not worry too much about this."

    "Oh? What do you mean?"

    "Just like what Your Majesty mentioned, Your Majesty¡¯s gift is for the Southern Mountain Range. Since it is meant for the Southern Mountain Range, then what is there to worry about?"

    "Ha ha ha... yes, you are very right. The culture of the Southern Mountain Range is simple and in, they would never engage in acts such as killings and massacres. Hence, I indeed need not worry. However..." When Emperor Lin Mubai heard this, his mood seemed to have been lifted significantly. However, when he reached the end of his sentence, a tinge of worry shed across his eyes.

    "Is Your Majesty worried about the Crown Prince?"

    "That¡¯s right, after all, the Crown Prince is young andck military experience and training, unlike the Duan King who had been in charge of the military department for many years. In addition to that, this is his first time out of the Yan Capital, I wonder if he had made any mistakes in carrying things out. I am still notpletely reassured." When Emperor Lin Mubai reached the end of his sentence, he sighed softly.

    In reality, even though training was indeed a reason for sending Crown Prince Lin Tianrong to the Southern Mountain Range to hold thebat examination, the true reason was to use the Crown Prince¡¯s status to resolve the suspicion of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Frankly speaking, the Crown Prince was a bait.

    If King Duan was used, the oue would definitely not be as good. Firstly, King Duan had controlled the military department for many years, hence the Southern Mountain Range would definitely be more cautious. Secondly, even though King Duan was of high status, it couldn¡¯t bepared to that of the Crown Prince.

    "Replying Your Majesty, even though the Crown Prince is young, he had grew up by Your Majesty¡¯s side since young. He learns from his surroundings, and in addition to that, he is smart and wise, even if there was really some inappropriate handling of the details of the situation on his part, I believe that it would be impossible for him to make any major mistakes that affects the grand scheme of things." Left Prime Minister You Yiping replied confidently.

    "I hope that is the case." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and didn¡¯t speak further. Instead, he gazed outside the window. There was another worry in his heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi had appeared in the Southern Mountain Range.

    Furthermore, in one sweep, he had taken down Chen Feiyu who had upied the Thunderous Lion Settlement, and then used Chen Feiyu¡¯s Thunderous Lion Settlement as a bait to eliminate Wu Feng.

    His achievement was incredible.

    However, it was because of this incredible results that caused Emperor Lin Mubai to worry.

    "Don¡¯t tell me this guy can really take down the Icy Monkey Settlement? Impossible! He would never take down the Icy Monkey Settlement!"

    ...

    Within the Sagely Mountain City, within the white jade pce where the Southern Mountain Range King stayed.

    A youth around thirty years of age sat on a huge leather chair. The youth wore an exquisite silver colored animal skin on his boy and the shoes he wore on his feet were threaded with golden silk. There were two five-colored feathers diagonally protruding from his hair. In the middle of the feathers, there was a bright blue gem.

    Shan Ling!

    The third son of the Southern Mountain Range King, and the current noblelite of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Shan Ling swept his gaze across the area below him. On his two sides, six middle-aged or elderly men dressed in various kinds of leather rattan armour stood with various different illustrations painted on them.

    Some of the illustrations looked like a huge lion, while others looked like a crow bathing in mes.

    These six people were the true settlement chiefs of the six settlements of the Southern Mountain Range.

    As for their names, they had followed the traditions of the six main settlements and followed that of the settlement.

    "Yan Ya, how many soldiers did you use to take down the Stable Mountain Pass?" After sweeping his gaze across the six people before him, Shan Ling¡¯s gaze finallynded on the body of a rather skinny middle-aged man.

    "Your Highness, following your orders, there were a total of eighty thousand soldiers hidden within the Yan Ya Settlement, and three thousand soldiers were used to take down the Stable Mountain Pass. It took four and a half hours." Yan Ya instantly stood up and respectfully replied Shan Ling.

    "Three thousand? Hmm... The defence of the Stable Mountain Pass is indeed stronger than what I had imagined. Even with our people hidden inside, we still had to sacrifice three thousand of our Southern Mountain Range warriors? However, sacrificing three thousand to capture fifty thousand soldiers of the Great Xia is indeed still worth it! Have these fifty thousand people been managed properly?" Shan Ling nodded and gestured Yan Ya to take a seat.

    "Based on Your Highness¡¯s orders, the fifty thousand troops were split into two groups. One is imprisoned within the Yan Ya Settlement, while the other is imprisoned with the Shi Zun Settlement in case of unforeseen circumstances!" Yan Ya continued after sitting down.

    "Alright, Shi Zun, how is the situation at the side of the Great Xia¡¯s Crown Prince?" Shan Ling nodded again and shifted his gaze from Yan Ya to a well-built muscr man standing by the side.

    That was a man whose skin was a slight shade of green, his body filled with fissure-like illustrations. It wasn¡¯t very discernible what the illustration was, however, his shiny bald head was still extremely obvious.

    "Don¡¯t worry noblelite, the Crown Prince of the Great Xia will never leave our palms. He is already currently trapped within the mountain valley and the sixty thousand soldiers in his hand are simply not able to be of any use." Shi Zun replied casually.

    "Excellent. Now, the only ones that are left are Nangong Hao and the one called Fang Zhengzhi in the Icy Monkey Settlement!" When Shan Ling heard Shi Zun¡¯s words, the edges of his mouth curved into a smile.

    "Noblelite, one Nangong Hao and one Fang Zhengzhi are simply no causes for concern. The eighty thousand soldiers hidden within my Thunderous Lion Settlement have already been mobilised to the Icy Monkey Settlement. Once the forces inside and outside the settlement are able to coborate, they will definitely destroy these two random kids!" A man with dense, thick hair stood up at this moment. The purple lion patterns on his body were mysteriously captivating.

    "Old Thunder, you should be careful with your words!" Another voice rang out at this moment. That was an elderly man whose hair was somewhat white and whose arms were extremely long. He seemed to be around fifty-over years of age.

    "What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m wrong?" When Thunderous Lion heard this voice, his expression changed slightly.

    "Nangong Hao has stayed in my Icy Monkey Settlement for almost two months. I understand a little how Nangong Hao¡¯s personality is like. I fear that he wouldn¡¯t be very easy to defeat. Furthermore, we can¡¯t underestimate that Fang Zhengzhi either. After all, both him and Nangong Hao are joint first in this Court Theory Examination. Furthermore, most importantly... what the hell, I don¡¯t know what kind of method he used, he actually managed to break my Icy Monkey Settlement¡¯s wind valley. It is really frustrating!" When the fifty-over year old elderly man finished his sentence, he swore loudly. His expression seemed somewhat inappropriate for his age.

    "No matter whether he is Nangong Hao or Fang Zhengzhi, I don¡¯t believe that thebination of a hundred and sixty thousand warriors of the Southern Mountain Range from both inside and outside wouldn¡¯t be able to take down the fifty thousand men under them!" When Shan Ling heard this, he waved his hand casually with a lofty expression on his face.

    "Noblelite is right, now that the Stable Mountain Pass is within our control, we have essentially entered the Great Xia¡¯s throat. They will bepletely unable to send reinforcements. The defeat of these hundred thousand soldiers is only a matter of time. Furthermore, even if something truly happened to our Icy Monkey Settlement, we still have Princess Shan Yu defending from the outside. Even both of thembined wouldn¡¯t be enough to escape our ambush!" At this moment, Yan Ya also stood out and spoke confidently.

    "Once the hundred thousand soldiers are captured, I really wish to see what expression the Great Xia¡¯s Emperor would show on his face, ha ha ha..." When Shan Ling thought of this, he finally broke out inughter.

    ...

    In the Southern Mountain Range, within the Icy Monkey Settlement and outside the wind valley.

    As the militarymanders charged into the chaotic battle as if injected with chicken blood, Fang Zhengzhi once again pulled the jade-green Sun Shooting Bow in his hands into a full crescent.

    Teng Shisheng had heard that Fang Zhengzhi used a certain kind of archery technique to fend off the great tiger general, General Tai of the Supernatural advanced state¡¯s killing blow in front of Princess Shan Yu.

    However, at that time, no matter whether it was Teng Shisheng or the other generals in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s camp, all of them felt that the technique only came about due to relying on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Fiery Rattan Bow.

    However, the scene in front of him as well as the arrow that was shot into the sky not too long ago caused Teng Shisheng to startle in shock. This Fang Zhengzhi in front of him, number one in the theory examination, not only had the extremely horrifying sword on him, but even had a jade-green bow didn¡¯t seem inferior to that of Princess Shan Yu¡¯s Fiery Rattan Bow.

    How did he get so many treasures?!

    Is he really Fang Zhengzhi? Why did I hear that Fang Zhengzhi from a poor mountain viger background. Why doesn¡¯t it really seem like that is the case?

    Teng Shisheng felt somewhat doubtful.

    However, what caused him even greater doubt was why Fang Zhengzhi would draw his bow over and over again at this moment. Is he trying to stop these schrs from continuing with their killing?

    Does he wish to take advantage of their fatigue and finish off these schrs?

    Teng Shisheng couldn¡¯t guess. Or, it could he said that even if he could, he didn¡¯t dare to confirm it. Because, the longer he stayed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side, the more he felt like he was unable to see through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    His style of doing things was too different from that of normal people.

    Whether Teng Shisheng could guess or not didn¡¯t matter. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow quickly left the bow, flying out of the Sun Shooting bow and soaring into the sky like a green meteor.

    Then...

    It drew a beautiful arc in the sky and shot towards a youth wearing an exquisite jade-green armour and holding a jade flute in his hand.

    It wasn¡¯t any other person but Wu Feng!

    As he stood among the crowd and waited for the surrounding soldiers to surrender, Wu Feng evidently hadn¡¯t imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would attack him. Furthermore, he attacked without any notice at all.

    This caused Wu Feng to feel somewhat angered.

    Because, if it was said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shot towards Chen Feiyu was to demonstrate his power as the chiefmander by using his actions when dealing with Chen Feiyu¡¯s massacre to alert to rest.

    Then, having already stopped fighting, there was simply no reason for Fang Zhengzhi to attack him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! What are you trying to do?!" Wu Feng bellowed in anger. He naturally couldn¡¯t block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration directly as Chen Feiyu did.

    Because...

    In his heart, that was a useless act that wasted his energy.

    A person who was as intelligent was Wu Feng would dodge to one side, using speed to his advantage to rapidly dodge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow.

    "Boom!"

    With a loud boom, the spot Wu Feng initially stood at exploded. Dust and debris flew into the air. At the same time, a bloodcurdling cry rang out among the sounds of explosion.

    "Ah!"

    Fresh blood spurted and a broken sword was tossed into the sky and thennded on the ground. A momentter, the dust settled and a corpse whose clothes werepletely torn apart and whose chest was filled with blood appeared.

 Chapter 366: What Kind of Vengeance

    Chapter 366: What Kind of Vengeance

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This scene instantly stopped everybody in their movements.

    Killing?

    This wasn¡¯t something that was extreme nor was it something strange for the people of this world. However, killing a schr from the Court Examination in front of the public for no reason at all.

    They were two different things altogether.

    From an emotional, logical or legal point of view, any one of these deemed that such a thing shouldn¡¯t happen. However, in terms of oue, there seemed to be some weird form of benefits.

    For example, when the soldiers who were still resisting saw such a scene, they unbelievably took a step back immediately and after which, nging sounds began to ring out.

    The weapons of almost a thousand soldiers fell to the ground one after another.

    The issue of surrendering seemed to have reached a conclusive oue.

    However, even though the soldiers surrendered, the schrs red up in anger, beginning to burn just like a spark falling into a pot of boiling hot oil.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you kill the innocent!" A schr red at Fang Zhengzhi with anger in his eyes. However, when he reached the word ¡¯you¡¯, he instinctively withdrew his head slightly.

    Because...

    After living in the Yan Capital for a period of time, he didn¡¯t feel that there was anything Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t dare to do. The most recent of which was that Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared during the announcement of the Court Examination results.

    "Bring down Fang Zhengzhi to take revenge for Young Mater Li!"

    "Killing the innocent will never be forgiven!"

    "We cannot group ourselves with such a shameless person. Soldiers of the Great Xia listen up, Fang Zhengzhi hadmitted reckless murder and already cannot escape his criminal charges. There is no need to consider the rules of thebat examination anymore. I plea that fellow young masters will lend me a hand. Today, we must take down this criminal and send him to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

    One stone incited a tsunami. Very quickly, the voices of a few schrs rang out from behind and at this moment, four schrs raised their swords and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    As the four schrs charged, they loudly counted out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s criminal charges. As they announced the charges one by one, they seemed to be filled with righteousness.

    When the other schrs witnessed this scene.

    They were slightly taken aback. After all, based on the rules of thebat examination, they were all eliminated. And, based on thews of the Great Xia, even if Fang Zhengzhi had reallymitted a crime.

    The punishment should be decided by the Law Council.

    Immediately wanting to capture Fang Zhengzhi like what was happening now was more or less unreasonable. However, when they recalled the scene during which Fang Zhengzhi was doing his field cooking while they were fighting with their lives.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had defeated the formation in the end, after being trapped within the formation for almost an hour, it was somewhat impossible for the schrs to bepletely void of indignation.

    Why not just directly take down Fang Zhengzhi and return the army to Wu Feng?

    When His Majesty questions, Fang Zhengzhi would be a criminal and the results of thisbat examination would naturally not be counted. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t have to depend on the results of Fang Zhengzhi anymore.

    In conclusion.

    It seems like the results of thebat examination are better than imagined!

    When they thought of this, the other schrs exchanged nces with one another and expressed their own feelings. Instantly, another three to four schrs followed up.

    There was a saying that went, a bystander isn¡¯t afraid of big events.

    When the other schrs saw that there were already seven to eight schrs who were about to fight Fang Zhengzhi with all their might, even if they didn¡¯t join in to help, there wouldn¡¯t be any harm in going over to watch themotion.

    Hence, one by one, the schrs started to move and ran head over heels towards Fang Zhengzhi, who stood at the entrance of the wind valley holding a jade-green Sun Shooting Bow in his hands.

    "Guard Fang, these people seem to wish to rebel?" Teng Shisheng couldn¡¯t really understand why Fang Zhengzhi would attack Wu Feng. However, he didn¡¯t bother about these.

    Because, he only listened to the order of the Cyan Stone Token.

    Fang Zhengzhi held the Cyan Stone Token in his hands, hence, he had to unconditionally ensure the safety of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "That¡¯s right, they indeed wish to rebel." As Fang Zhengzhi gazed towards the schrs charging towards him, and then looked at Teng Shisheng using his body to block in front of him, a smile appeared on his face.

    When the other militarymanders saw this scene, they were dumbfounded. They had all heard the words that the schrs shouted out, and naturally understood the meaning behind these words.

    However, what could they do about it?

    They were soldiers. They didn¡¯t know if their chiefmandermitted a crime of not. However, they knew very well the importance of orders. However, Fang Zhengzhi had indeed made the first killing move right in front of their eyes.

    What could they do?

    Hesitation and doubt. This was a pain that they had to go through in this short span of time.

    In reality, other than the hesitation and doubt of the militarymanders, there were another two people who were extremely confused. They were Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu.

    Under normal circumstances, Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng should be considered the victims of this situation. However, they didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of charging towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Chen Feiyu was of royal blood, and was the descendent of the Thirteen Constabries. He had his pride. He was naturally angry that Fang Zhengzhi shot an arrow towards him. However, after some careful consideration, he was indeed "making a mistake".

    Hence...

    It wasn¡¯t wrong for Fang Zhengzhi to shoot him.

    However, Wu Feng¡¯s question was different from that of Chen Feiyu. He faintly recalled that when Fang Zhengzhi was shooting at him, there wasn¡¯t anybody else behind him.

    However, when the arrownded, itnded on a schr!

    What was this all about?

    Actually, Wu Feng really wished that these schrs would take down Fang Zhengzhi, and hopefully instantly disqualify Fang Zhengzhi from the examination. However, he didn¡¯t participate in this movement.

    Instead, he instinctively gazed towards the corpse not too far away from him.

    Wu Feng wasn¡¯t very far away from the corpse. From his angle, he could clearly see that the other party had indeed been shot by the Million Sword Illustration. Because, the wounds on his chest seemed to have been sliced open by many sharp swords.

    However...

    He didn¡¯t seem to be dead!

    Wu Feng felt the other person¡¯s chest rise faintly as well as the weak breathing from his nose. His eyes instantly lit up.

    In a sh, he reached the schr¡¯s side.

    "Young Master Li, can you hear me?" Wu Feng gradually squatted down and reached one hand towards the schr¡¯s nose. The other hand was used to lightly shake the schr¡¯s body.

    "Young... Young Master Wu, save... save me..." The schr seemed to feel that his body was being shaken and an extremely weak voice came from his throat. His eyes opened gradually. However, it seemed extremely pained and achieved with great effort. It was only opened very narrowly.

    "Of course, I have some medication with me. You must not die." When Wu Feng heard this voice, he couldn¡¯t bothered with anything else. Instead, he instantly reached into his pocket and took out a jade-green bottle. He poured out two green pills, one which he directly fed into the schr¡¯s mouth and the other which he crushed into powder and spread it over the wound on the schr¡¯s body.

    Just as Wu Feng was healing the injured schr.

    The other schrs had already charged in front of Fang Zhengzhi. The four people who led the charge didn¡¯t even bother to speak a single word before directlyshing out towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Four swords glowed up with four different colours and shed towards Fang Zhengzhi from four different directions at the exact same time. The speed was zing fast and the sword techniques used were extremely powerful.

    When Teng Shisheng saw this, he roared out and advanced without any further hesitation.

    When the other Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops saw Teng Shisheng move, they simrly pounced up without the slightest intention of holding back.

    When the other militarymanders witnessed this, they werepletely stunned by the sudden change in situation. They had indeed considered that there might be a fight.

    However, they had never imagined that this battle would arrive as quickly. And, they didn¡¯t even bother tomunicate with Fang Zhengzhi. They were all examinees, even if they wished to kill, shouldn¡¯t they at least announce the crimes?

    The militarymanders were stunned.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was filled with calm, as if he had already predicted that such a thing would happen. He wasn¡¯t at all affected or taken aback by the other party¡¯s direct attack.

    Instead, he quietly drew back the Sun Shooting Bow in his hand into a full crescent.

    Then...

    Directly shot towards the person among the four schrs who made the first move.

    "Woosh!"

    This arrow was different from the two that were shot towards Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng. Those two arrows followed the path of an arc as they were shot. However, this arrow was a straight shot.

    Because, the distance was extremely near.

    A jade glow shed and instantly arrived in front of a schr, carrying along with it the sound of air being torn apart and a ck trail in its wake.

    "Boom!"

    A thunderous sound rang out once again.

    A tremendously powerful force expanded in all directions like water ripples, which caused even the militarymanders standing behind Fang Zhengzhi to instinctively take a step back.

    "They are really fighting?"

    "What is Fang Zhengzhi trying to do? Don¡¯t tell me he really wishes to murder these schrspletely?"

    "It is already extremely difficult to get off with killing one. But how would he do so if he killed all of them?

    "General Fang, Sword Envoy Fang, stop quickly. If there is anything, we can discuss, everyone is part of the same group!"

    The militarymanders really didn¡¯t wish to witness such murders. Because, it was really too meaningless. Now was the moment in which they were in front of the enemy fortress and the opposing army. Internal struggles were clearly a huge military sin.

    Naturally, the militarymanders chose to make peace.

    After all, in their eyes, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have the advantage no matter how they looked at the situation. Not only did he have the Sun Shooting Bow, he also had five hundred Silver Horned Wolves. How could a few schrs truly harm Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence...

    They didn¡¯t have to act immediately.

    This was what they thought. However, this thought was quickly changed by a scene that ured in reality. Because, when the Million Sword Illustration shed with the sword of a schr.

    An oue that nobody had ever imagined suddenly urred.

    The schr was clearly injured, and, his injury seemed extremely serious. However, he didn¡¯t retreat and instead, continued to raise his sword to sh towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    The other schrs also carried the same determination on their faces at this moment.

    Even with Teng Shisheng and a few Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops fending them off in front of Fang Zhengzhi, they continued to charge over without caring about anything else. It seemed as if that if they didn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi, they would never retreat.

    What kind of vengeance is this?!

    The person Fang Zhengzhi shot was Wu Feng!

    Are these people mad?

    The militarymanders initially thought that fighting would ur, but they would definitely not fight with their lives. After all, Fang Zhengzhi killing the schr was a crime. However, schrs killing Fang Zhengzhi was also a crime.

    This was the same logic.

    However, the current situation clearly didn¡¯t quite fulfill this logic.

    "Quick, stop!"

    "You are all examinees, even if one hasmitted a crime, it should still be dealt with by the Law Council, you cannot fight with your lives!"

    A few militarymanders instantly reminded these reckless schrs, attempting to stop them from fighting. However, it seemed to bepletely useless.

    The four schrs didn¡¯t falter the slightest bit in their movements.

    Instead, they seemed to speed up.

    Right at this moment, another two schrs charged out. However, what was different from the first four schrs was that the stances of these two schrs seemed somewhat different.

    They were actually trying to stop the fight!"

    "Young Master Tai, Young Master Wang, don¡¯t kill him, just make sure that Fang Zhengzhi surrenders."

    "That¡¯s right, Fang Zhengzhi, you have alreadymitted a great crime, you must not make your murder charges more serious. Everybody stop fighting, let¡¯s discuss and resolve this together."

    As the two schrs chased after the four schrs, they shouted out loudly.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignoredpletely the advice of these two people. He didn¡¯t even take another nce towards the two of them. Instead, he quietly pulled back his Sun Shooting Bow into another full crescent.

    "With me, Teng Shisheng, here, don¡¯t even dream of crossing!"

    "Kill!"

    Under the leadership of Teng Shisheng, a group of Silver Horned Wolves leapt out one by one and blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Instantly, they formed a three-row formation.

    However, the space within the wind valley was really quite limited.

    In addition to the broad bodies of the Silver Horned Wolves, the width that was usually sufficient to contain ten people was only able to contain six.

    It was naturally somewhat tough for six Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops to defend against four crazy schrs. Hence, under the relentless attacks of the four schrs, the six Silver Horned Wolves retreated step by step.

    As for the other Silver Horned Wolves standing behind, they could only wait for the Silver Horned Wolves in front of them to fall before advancing to fill up the spot in front.

    This was different from the battle in which they surrounded Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng in the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    This battle was a street fight!

    Hence, the Silver Horned Wolves¡¯ advantage in numbers to surround opponents naturally couldn¡¯t be employed as well as it was in the Thunderous Lion Settlement. They could only painstakingly endure.

    This seemed to be an internal battle.

    And, it was an extremely intense internal battle.

    The cause of it was, Fang Zhengzhi randomly shooting an arrow towards Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu respectively. The results were somewhat of a joke. Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng didn¡¯t attempt to take revenge on Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, the other schrs couldn¡¯t take it and directly wanted to fight Fang Zhengzhi with their lives.

    It was somewhat illogical.

    Yet, it was reality.

    "Indeed!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed towards the four seemingly crazy schrs and smirked. He drew back his bow once again.

    "Woosh!"

    A jade-green arrow rapidly soared into the sky and drew out another beautiful arc. The point where itnded towards was not the four schrs, but was instead towards Wu Feng again!

 Chapter 367: Rebirth Assasins

    Chapter 367: Rebirth Assasins

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If there was a certain provocation method in this world that caused the most hatred and vengeance, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to escapeparison with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current actions.

    You are filled with righteousness?

    You wish to fight for Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu?

    Then, let me shoot another arrow towards Wu Feng. Let me see how you remain as a "good man".

    That was the first thought that came to the minds of all the schrs and the militarymanders. It was also the first thought that came to Wu Feng, who was trying to heal the schr¡¯s injury.

    "Is there any end to this? You are shooting again?!" This time, Wu Feng was truly somewhat angered.

    If you only shoot at me once in a while, I can temporarily hold myself back. However, you are provoking me not once, but over and over again. Nobody would be able to hold back.

    Wu Feng instantly shot up and turned around. He looked towards the jade-green arrow that fell from the sky and instinctively lifted up the jade flute in his hand and ced it in his mouth, attempting to block off this arrow.

    However, right at this moment, an chilling feeling rose from his heart.

    This chill came from the depth of his heart. However, it originated from behind his back. That was a strange feeling, causing him deep difort.

    The speed of the jade-green arrow was naturally extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it arrived on top of Wu Feng¡¯s head, carrying with it a power sufficient to tear apart the fabric of space.

    Wu Feng knew very clearly how much power this thing contained.

    He definitely could block off this shot. However, it required him to expend all his strength and energy. At the very least, he mustn¡¯t be burdened with any other thoughts or distractions.

    However, under the current circumstances, could he achieve that state of rity?

    It was impossible!

    Hence, Wu Feng very decisively dismissed the idea of blocking. Instead, he shot towards his left in a sh. This action was indeed more or less rather selfish.

    However, in reality, Wu Feng had never considered himself as a great righteous youth.

    What should he do if he wasn¡¯t able to save Young Master Li?

    Then, he should just die.

    Wu Feng wasn¡¯t bothered about that.

    Hence...

    "Boom!"

    A resounding bang sounded out once again. Wu Feng had casually and quickly ran to one side. Hence, the person who truly suffered the force of this arrow was Young Master Li.

    This scene naturallynded once again in the eyes of all the schrs and militarymanders.

    "Alright, this time he is really dead!"

    This was the first thought that came to everybody¡¯s mind when they saw the jade green arrownd. The second thought was that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s criminal charges were now official.

    If the person didn¡¯t die.

    Then, there would still naturally be opportunities and reasons to drop the charges. However, once he was dead, there would be many things that Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t be able to exin and escape from. At the very least, this was what they thought.

    However...

    The turning point of a situation always happened when one least expected it.

    Even when it happened, it would still cause people to feel somewhat dumbfounded.

    At this moment, this was how Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the militarymanders thought. Because, right at the moment when the jade-green arrownded.

    An arm flew up.

    That was an arm filled with fresh blood. It naturally came from the injured Young Master Li. However, that wasn¡¯t the main point. The main point was that on that arm, there was still a dagger.

    A dagger that glowed with a faint blue glow.

    Blue represented many things within the Dao of All Creations. For example, the sea, the sky, flowers and so on. However, it had another meaning among the Dao of All Creation.

    That was...

    Poison!

    The poison of the Upas Tree!

    Why did the injured Young Master Li hold a poisonous dagger in his hand. This was something which nobody could understand within this short span of time.

    Wu Feng¡¯s initially somewhat furious expression instantly vanished, and instead appeared somewhat pale.

    At this moment, he actually felt his legs go weak. Because, even though he hadn¡¯tpletely understood what transpired, he knew somewhat faintly what had just urred.

    Chill!

    A chill was sent down his spine.

    At this instant, the gazes of Wu Feng and the militarymanders were all focused on that detached arm flying in the sky. However, this didn¡¯t mean that everybody did the same.

    For example, the four schrs who were attacking Fang Zhengzhi, as well as the other two schrs who were loudly urging for the fighting to stop as they sprinted towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the very least, these six people didn¡¯t look at that detached arm.

    Instead, they continued to execute what they felt that they should be doing.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, raise your hands and surrender!" A schr finally broke through the defences and forced himself between two Silver Horned Wolves.

    The glow of his sword magnified greatly at this moment, seemingpletely different from what it was like before. In an instant, the glow of the sword seemed to have expanded at least three feet.

    At the same time, the other three schrs also seemed to be changing.

    If it was said that the aura the four schrs gave off during their initial attack was somewhat normal, then, the current aura from their bodies were clearly different.

    Swift and fierce!

    Extremely swift and fierce!

    "Be careful!" Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression also changed slightly at this moment. A green glow instantly began to radiate from his dark skin.

    That was a glow that came from within. When that glow lit up, Teng Shisheng¡¯s skin turned somewhat dry, as if moisture was leaving his body.

    It was a very strange scene.

    However...

    The oue didn¡¯t seem too bad.

    "Dong!"

    An extremely dull thud sounded out. The magnified sword glow was actually forcefully deformed by Teng Shisheng¡¯s one punch. Or, it could also be said that when the sword glow cut towards Teng Shisheng¡¯s fist.

    It seemed to be nted!

    When Fang Zhengzhi witnessed this scene, it was rather impossible for him to im that he wasn¡¯t taken aback at all. Even though he didn¡¯t quite understand the training methods of the Southern Mountain Range.

    However, he could at least feel the change in the air.

    Teng Shisheng.

    The team leader of five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalries.

    In terms of raw power, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think that Teng Shisheng would be very strong. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi assumed that Teng Shisheng was only probably of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    At the very most...

    He would have attained the Heavenly Reflection Peak State.

    However, when he saw Teng Shisheng¡¯s punch, this thought was immediately rejected.

    In Princess Shan Yu¡¯s military camp, Fang Zhengzhi had fought with General Tai. Hence, he knew very clearly how powerful General Tai of the Supernatural Advanced State would be.

    Teng Shisheng¡¯s power might not be as ferocious as General Tai¡¯s.

    However, in terms of stability.

    There wasn¡¯t a single bit of difference.

    "Teng Shisheng is actually of the Supernatural State?!" Fang Zhengzhi very quickly confirmed this thought. However, when this thought arose, another thought entered his mind.

    If Teng Shisheng was really of the Supernatural State.

    Why did Teng Shisheng purposely conceal this in the previous battles?

    From the moment Teng Shisheng appeared by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side, the abilities he disyed were all extremely ordinary. Even when they surrounded Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng.

    Teng Shisheng¡¯s performance didn¡¯t appear too impressive.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have a definite answer to this. However, he could faintly sense that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence that Princess Shan Yu had sent Teng Shisheng to his side.

    Then, what was that Princess Shan Yu¡¯s intention?

    Giving him a Cyan Stone Token for no reason at all, and then giving him five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops, and also sending Teng Shisheng, who concealed his true powers, to his side.

    If it was said that Princess Shan Yu did this to ensure Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s safety, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t believe it even if he was beaten to death. Because, that girl didn¡¯t have such a good heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue pondering this issue.

    Because, now wasn¡¯t exactly the time to do so.

    As Teng Shisheng blocked off the expanding sword glow, the expressions of the other three schrs clearly changed as they looked towards Teng Shisheng with a faint shock in their eyes.

    However, it was just a faint shock.

    After exchanging a quick nce at one another, the three schrs didn¡¯t hesitate any further.

    They stepped forward at the same time.

    The actually forced themselves in the middle of the Silver Horned Wolves and used their external territory to force back the few Silver Horned Wolves.

    At this moment, other than Teng Shisheng, the expressions of the other Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops were a deathly shade of pale.

    The fundamental source of their power came from the Silver Horned Wolf. As for their individual powers, they naturally couldn¡¯t all have attained the Heavenly Reflection State.

    In reality, among the five hundred Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops, seven out of ten of them were only of the Star Conglomerate State.

    However, even so, it didn¡¯t stop them from bing the most elite forces of the Southern Mountain Range. Because, with the Silver Horned Wolves, they could easily match up to someone of the Heavenly Reflection Intermediate State.

    However...

    It was clearly somewhat futile to fight against four enraged schrs of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State and above.

    They were unable to surround the enemy and hence, the Silver Horned Wolves couldn¡¯t unleash their full power. As for the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops standing behind, other than watching, the most they could do was to cause some distractions.

    For example, shouting out loud - careful of your left, beware on top of you, or toss out a few ck spears glowing with an icy glow to prevent their teammate from being injured.

    However, this was futile in tackling the root of the problem.

    The four schrs had clearly considered this point. They simply didn¡¯t give the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops much opportunities. After forcefully pushing them back, the four swords in the hands of the schrs mysteriously met at one point.

    "Sword formation?!"

    When the militarymanders witnessed this scene, they finally regained their senses. Each of their eyes were filled with shock. However, more of it was filled with a form of disbelief.

    Because, in their hearts, the schrs in front of them were examinees participating in the Court Examination.

    Four examinees?

    How could they cooperate so well through a sword formation? Shouldn¡¯t they be fighting as individuals? Even if they really had some synergy, it was definitely impossible for things to be like this!

    They truly couldn¡¯t understand.

    As the militarymanders were lost in thought, the four schrs didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of exining themselves. At the instant their four swords met, the expressions of the four schrs instantly changed.

    In it, there seemed to be a certain pain.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen this expression before. That was during the time Yan Xiu employed his Asura Dao. However,pared to Yan Xiu, the pain of the faces of these four schrs didn¡¯t seem quite the same.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s was a form of endurance.

    However, these four schrs seemed to be suffering.

    A glow lit up in the middle of the four swords. It was a light simr to that of a star. The silver glow was soft as silk.

    It was very soft, yet mysteriously sent a sharp chill down people¡¯s spines.

    "This looks like..." Fang Zhengzhi rapidly recalled a scene. That was something that happened within The Vast World.

    In there, Fang Zhengzhi met with somebody from the Southern Mountain Range for the first time.

    His name was Shan Jia.

    And, standing beside Shan Jia, there was another person. Or, it could also be said that there was another demon. That was the first time Fang Zhengzhi saw a red Demon Eye, and the first time he felt the power of a demon named Bai Xing.

    The Domain Chief of the Demon Race Star Domain, Bai Xing!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why he felt the way he did now. However, he faintly felt that when these four swordsbined together, that silver glow seemed to bergely simr to the starry glow that Bai Xing gave off.

    Alright..

    I seem to have overestimated myself this time!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally saw through the identities of these people. Not only did he realise the identities of these four people, he also realized the identity of that "Young Master Li" standing behind Wu Feng.

    In reality, among these four schrs, there was initially one that was standing behind Chen Feiyu.

    However...

    Chen Feiyu seemed to be crazy!

    He actually forcefully blocked off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration, allowing that schr to continue concealing his identity.

    Hence, as Chen Feiyu leapt around and shouted for Fang Zhengzhi to shoot another arrow at him again.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually somewhat speechless.

    Other than expressing his despise towards Chen Feiyu¡¯s intelligence, there really wasn¡¯t another sentence that could describe his feelings. However, fortunately, Chen Feiyu had demonstrated a rather impressive power when he blocked off the arrow.

    At the very least, the schr who had already unsheathed his sword managed to sheath it back in time, revealing a rather exaggerated and shocked expression on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen it. However, he didn¡¯t wish to loudly expose it. Instead, what he thought was that since you don¡¯t wish to expose yourself, let me give you a surprise.

    That was the reason he shot another arrow towards Wu Feng.

    The oue was clearly evident.

    The results were very ideal, and rather impressive. Not only did he disable that "Young Master Li" who was about to attack Wu Feng, he even managed to enrage and trigger his four buddies.

    Until now, Fang Zhengzhi had given his own perfect n thirty two ¡¯likes¡¯.

    However...

    What he never thought of was that.

    Even with five hundred Silver Horned Wolves beside him and forty thousand soldiers behind him, the other party had actually suddenly managed to advance to his side and even seemed to be executing a technique almost simr to that of Bai Xing.

    Shouldn¡¯t I be possessing an absolute advantage in this, ying with them in any way I wish?

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi thought all along.

    However, in reality, he seemed to have miscalcted a tiny bit once again. The powers of the "four schrs" was actually not of the Heavenly Reflection Peak State.

    Instead, it was the Supernatural State!

    Most importantly, these four "schrs" of the Supernatural State seemed to be using a certain sword formation that enabled them to attack together. This actually enabled their sword techniques toe close to Bai Xing of the Rebirth State!

    "What the hell, Yun Qingwu, are you kidding me? No matter what, we were once in the same "boat" together, you actually sent four people of the Supernatural State to assassinate me?!"

 Chapter 368: Sword within the Sword

    Chapter 368: Sword within the Sword

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ever since he had met with Wu Yuer, Fang Zhengzhi had learnt from her that Yun Qingwu had another identity.

    The Young Demon Lord!

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat taken aback when he heard of this identity of Yun Qingwu, he knew that Wu Yuer had no reason to lie to him.

    Hence, in his heart, he inferred very easily that the incidents of the Southern Mountain Range were naturally rted in some way or another to this woman Yun Qingwu, especially the part about having ties with the demon race.

    The four schrs in front of him were evidently of the demon race.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t need to remove the skin masks on their faces on purpose. Because, when Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Nangong Hao¡¯s formation, one of the schrs had alreadyunched an attack on Chen Feiyu.

    What was Chen Feiyu¡¯s status?

    The younger brother of Imperial Concubine Hua Fei, the young brother-inw of the Emperor, the direct line of descent of the thirteen constabries.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that. Hence, it was impossible for the other schrs not to know this. Hence, would anybodyunch a sneak attack on somebody like Chen Feiyu?

    There was.

    For example, Fang Zhengzhi used a sneak attack against Chen Feiyu.

    However, that was in order to take down the Thunderous Lion Settlement. And now, Chen Feiyu had already been eliminated and lost all the value he had. At such a time,unching another sneak attack on Chen Feiyu...

    There could only be one reason.

    That was that the other party was of the demon race!

    Fang Zhengzhi inferred this point. However, he didn¡¯t infer the true strength of the other party. He initially felt that everything was within his control. However, in reality, he seemed to have been controlled by someone else all along.

    That didn¡¯t feel very good.

    However, he was still extremely helpless.

    When faced with four Supernatural State demons employing the technique ofbining four swords, causing their power to reach that of the Rebirth State, what Fang Zhengzhi needed to do was too simple.

    That was one word...

    Run!

    However, in reality, with a bunch of people standing behind him, running was actually not something very simple. However, this evidently didn¡¯t affect Fang Zhengzhi.

    Flipping into the air, he directly "fell down" from the horse.

    One must frequently maintain his appearance and image, however, he must not be hindered by his image. In certain special circumstances, falling down the horse wasn¡¯t actually something bad.

    The four demons disguised as schrs were evidently somewhat taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯decisiveness¡¯. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reputation outside was on the same level as that of Nangong Hao due to being joint first in the Court Theory Examination.

    Such a genius and talent.

    When being attacked, he didn¡¯t even think of fighting back and instead, immediately ran away. And, the way he escaped was so "smooth".

    If it was said that the four demons weren¡¯t taken aback at all, it was still rather impossible.

    However, they quickly recalled Bai Xing¡¯s opinion of Fang Zhengzhi. That was that this was a person full of surprises.

    Alright...

    He indeed was somebody full of surprises.

    After destroying the wind valley of the Icy Monkey Settlement, he defeated Nangong Hao¡¯s formation, and after that he was actually able to see through their disguises. Every single one of these incidents reflected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intelligence.

    However, when this extremely intelligent person met with danger, he was still able to hide under the horse¡¯s stomach without the slightest bit of hesitation and care for his own image.

    That was truly "full of surprises".

    "Kill!" The four demons gave up their pretence.

    Because, there was already no more need to do so. Their next objective was to kill as many schrs participating in this examination as possible, after which use this incident to incite and provoke conflict between the Great Xia and the Southern Mountain Range.

    After all, the schrs participating in this examination were too high in "status".

    Members of the royal family, descendents of the Thirteen Constabries, notable families and great ns. When these people perished away from their home country and in the foreignnd of the Southern Mountain Range, it would evidently be impossible for the Great Xia to maintain a rtionship with the Southern Mountain Range that was as close as before.

    However, apart from this task, there was another more important prerequisite task. That was that if they were able to kill off either Fang Zhengzhi or Nangong Hao, it was worth it to give up every other schr.

    The four demons didn¡¯t know why such an order would be given.

    However, this order was personally given by Bai Xing. Hence, all they had to do was to carry it out.

    Initially, their n was definitely to aim for Fang Zhengzhi. However, Fang Zhengzhi had been constantly surrounded five hundred Silver Horned Wolves, it was too difficult tounch an attack on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence...

    After seeing that the wind valley was defeated, they changed their n.

    They followed Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu and charged into the wind valley, nning to wait until Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu led the army tounch a sneak attack on Nangong Hao beforeunching their attack on Wu Feng and Nangong Hao at the same time.

    However, the oue of that was that they were trapped within Nangong Hao¡¯s formation.

    Just as they thought that they were in trouble, a fortunate incident happened once again. Fang Zhengzhi was actually able to defeat the formation, and furthermore, he created a situation filled chaos.

    This opportunity was simply one given by Heaven.

    Moreover, they indeed couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    After all, if they waited any further, Fang Zhengzhi would be able to leave the wind valley. When that time came, with five hundred Silver Horned Wolves beside him in addition to facing against Nangong Hao.

    They simply didn¡¯t have a chance anymore.

    Hence...

    The disguised demons naturally attacked very decisively.

    What happened afterwards was what everybody had seen. Even though Fang Zhengzhi saw through their identity, he didn¡¯t announce it righteously.

    Hence, this gave them an opportunity to kill in the name of someone else.

    Even though this reason sounded really somewhat exaggerated, the oue seemed to have achieved their objectives. The group of militarymanders didn¡¯tsh out immediately.

    That was enough.

    Within the wind valley, nobody could stop them.

    And now, once they broke through the protection of a few Silver Horned Wolves and arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi, they were filled with confidence that even if Fang Zhengzhi hid under the horse¡¯s stomach, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid this strike.

    After all, shing apart a person along with a horse wasn¡¯t something very difficult.

    And...

    Most importantly, with their abilities, after finishing their assassination, escaping safely was simrly not something too difficult either.

    "Die!"

    As the four demons roared out at the same time.

    A silver glow soared from the tips of their swords, directly cutting down towards Fang Zhengzhi. It moved with zing speed and gave off a chilling air.

    "Quick, protect Guard Fang!" When Teng Shisheng saw this glow, his expression clearly changed. His task was obviously not to protect Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he couldn¡¯t just let Fang Zhengzhi die now!

    At this moment, a few Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops stared with their eyes wide open. The silver glow in front of their eyes was extremely thin. However, the power within caused them to feel a sense of fear rising from within.

    The warriors of the Southern Mountain Range were human. They also had times of fear.

    However, they were able to transform this fear into a form of belief, a belief that was able to integrate them with the mountain rocks. This belief could ensure that in order toplete certain orders.

    They would be willing to sacrifice their lives.

    Hence, when Teng Shisheng finished his sentence, the few Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops standing behind Fang Zhengzhi soared into the sky and used their bodies to block in front of that silver glow.

    Due to the presence of the Silver Horned Wolves behind him, Fang Zhengzhi was initially unable to turn around and run. However, when those Silver Horned Wolves leapt up, this problem seemed to be gone.

    A few empty spots appeared behind him.

    These empty spots enabled him to easily run a few more steps back. Even though he didn¡¯t know if he was able to avoid this silver glow, the probabilities of him doing so would at least be higher.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t do that.

    It could even be said that when those spots appeared in front of his eyes, he didn¡¯t even consider once nor hesitate at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that shamelessness was a virtue.

    However, this didn¡¯t represent that he could casually hide being others and watch as other people used their bodies to defend against a silver glow that should initially be shing on his body.

    Even though these people were the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops that he had only briefly interacted with.

    In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi pressed his hand onto his chest. There was a silver Heart Protection Mirror. Within the Heart Protection Mirror, there was a sword.

    The sword¡¯s name was Traceless!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if the Traceless Sword could fend off this silver glow, however, this was indeed the only glimmer of hope he could think of.

    After all, this sword had previously defended against General Tai¡¯s fatal blow!

    "Dong!"

    Right at this moment, an extremely melodious tone suddenly rang out. It wasn¡¯t loud, however, it seemed to carry with it a terrifying prating force.

    "Boom!"

    A loud boom resounded.

    The silver glow seemed to have shed with somethinging from the side. It actually quavered. It didn¡¯t disappear, but its power was evidently reduced by a little.

    Right at the same time, Teng Shisheng¡¯s fist reached again.

    A green glow expanded from Teng Shisheng¡¯s skin. His fist once again mmed into that silver glow. This caused the silver glow to quaver once again.

    It was actually forcefully made to change its course slightly.

    Teng Shisheng knew that the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops behind him would protect Fang Zhengzhi. However, knowing was one thing. If it was said that he could bear seeing them do so, that was still rather impossible.

    Hence, he used his full strength in this punch.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t block it entirely, changing its course slightly was sufficient to protect lives.

    "Woosh!"

    The silver glow finallynded.

    Two screams rang out at the same time. One of them came from a horse Fang Zhengzhi initially rode on. It wasn¡¯t too noble, however it was still one of the top breeds among horses.

    However, at this moment, one of the horse¡¯s front legs was cut into two by the silver glow.

    The other sound obviously originated from a Silver Horned Wolf who had leapt into the air. Its front legs were injured as well. However, both of its legs were shed into two and sent flying into the air.

    Fresh blood...

    Spurted out like a fountain.

    This wasn¡¯t the end. After shing a horse and a beast, the silver glow didn¡¯t seem to bear any intention of stopping. It continued to fly forwards and cut downwards.

    This caused the few Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops initially standing behind Fang Zhengzhi to give off bloodcurdling cries.

    However, these cries ured after the previous two.

    One sh!

    After shing with the musical note and being mmed into by Teng Shisheng¡¯s full-powered punch, it was still sufficient to injure five to six Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry troops.

    From this, one could infer the power of that sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand remained pressed upon his chest. Because, he saw that this sword was diverted off course. Hence, he naturally didn¡¯t unshealth the Traceless Sword immediately.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure that the Traceless Sword was able to defend against this sh.

    "Stop them!"

    "They aren¡¯t humans, they are demons!"

    "Protect the schrs, we mustn¡¯t allow the demons to aplish anything!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to shout out that these people were demons, waves of shouting already rang out beside his ear.

    This caused him to feel somewhat confused.

    What was this about?

    Who had such a fast reaction?

    As he thought, he finally saw a figure standing not too far away.

    That was a youth wearing an intricately designed jade green armour. He held a jade flute to this mouth in one of his hands, while the other held on to a mask.

    Under his feet, "Young Master Li", who was down to hisst breath, revealed his true appearance. A glimmering demon eye could be seen on his forehead, glowing with light.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi recalled the melodious, yet containing immense prative power, sound. If he didn¡¯t predict wrongly, that sound should have originated from the jade flute in Wu Feng¡¯s hands.

    It seems that...

    The Dao of music could be so strong.

    When Fang Zhengzhi captured Wu Feng, he naturally didn¡¯t give him any opportunities to exercise his Dao of music. Moreover, he didn¡¯t even leave the jade flute for Wu Feng to use.

    Hence, even though he knew that Wu Feng was apparently quite strong.

    He had never truly seen Wu Feng use the Dao of music.

    This could be counted as the first time he had seen it.

    This caused him to be more or less startled. Even though the power from the Dao of music didn¡¯t appear to be extremely powerful, it seemed to possess a clear advantage.

    It had a zing fast speed!

    Furthermore, other than its extreme speed, the location it appeared was extremely mysterious. It was actually able to hit an extremely narrow silver glow using sound with such precision from such a long distance away.

    This element of surprise and uracy.

    Wasn¡¯t something an average Dao of All Creation couldpare to.

    Wu Feng!

    The schr ranked number three in the Rising Dragon Roll, the student of one of the four sages. His power was indeed rather incredible. I wonder if I will be able to defend against this attack of the Dao of music?

    Fang Zhengzhi pondered for a moment and felt that he had only a fifty percent chance of being able to do so.

    Hence, he quickly changed his train of thought. If he really had an opportunity to fight against Wu Feng, he would make sure to steal the jade flute from his hands first. Or, he would ensure that Wu Feng didn¡¯t have the opportunity to blow the flute.

    This way, his chances of winning would increase to eighty percent!

    A perfect n.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have to consider where that sound came from anymore. Because, when Wu Feng peeled off that "Young Master Li"¡¯s mask, the truth immediately rose to the surface.

    Moreover, that deadly attack from those four people had alreadypletely revealed their true intentions.

    "Quick, take them down!" At this moment, the militarymanders didn¡¯t even need Fang Zhengzhi to give any orders before acting immediately. Furthermore, at the same time, all the soldiers behind them drew back their bows.

    When the four demons saw this scene, the expressions on their faces appeared somewhat pained. After all, using the same technique as they just did had some rather serious consequences.

    "Seems that the four of you are from the demon race?! Don¡¯t even think of harming the citizens of our Great Xia. Today, I will fight you with my life!" Right at this moment, the two schrs following behind the demons gave off a terrified cry. Immediately after which, they moved sideways and actually leapt across the four demons and blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 369: At All Costs

    Chapter 369: At All Costs

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This sudden change in situation evidently caused the militarymanders to be somewhat taken aback. After all, the power disyed by the four demons were horrifying.

    In that case...

    Themanders didn¡¯t know if there was any mistake in their way of dealing with this issue.

    However, in reality, they all knew that the rtionship between Fang Zhengzhi and the schrs weren¡¯t as close as what they imagined. Hence, under such circumstances, it was naturally extremely unlikely that they would use their bodies to defend Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, at this moment, the two schrs clearly blocked in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, they did so without the slightest bit of hesitation.

    Hence, it was impossible to say that they weren¡¯t even the slightest bit shocked.

    Of course, this was all just guesswork. From certain points of view, it wasn¡¯tpletely impossible that the schrs were amazed and convinced by the talent Fang Zhengzhi had disyed and suddenly decided to see the big picture instead.

    It was precisely because of this probability that led to themanders not stopping the two schrs immediately in their moment of shock, and instead deciding to watch on silently.

    However, this slight hesitation also allowed them to see a scene that left them astounded.

    After the two schrs blocked in front of the four demons, they had also arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi. They held a sword in each of their hands.

    There wasn¡¯t any problem in this. However, the problem was that the swords in their hands didn¡¯t stab towards the four demons in front of them, instead, they turned around and stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    This also meant that as they were crying out to protect schrs and people of the Great Xia, the swords in their hands were carrying out apletely opposite action.

    "Pssh!"

    Fresh blood spurted out and sprayed into the air.

    An icy glint shed in the eyes of the two schrs as the edges of their lips instinctively curved up into a delighted smile. However, this smile didn¡¯tst for long.

    Very quickly, the two schrs lowered their head.

    In their eyes, there was an evident disbelief. Because, they realised that the blood that spurted out like a fountain actually originated from their chests.

    Shock.

    The two schrs were shocked. The four demons were just as shocked.

    The othermanders standing behind Fang Zhengzhi were also stunned, rooted to the ground. Because, this scene truly urred too quickly.

    "When... when did you rea... realise?!" The two schrs uttered softly, their eyes unmovingly fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi.

    They truly didn¡¯t quite understand.

    Why could Fang Zhengzhi easily see through their ns over and over again.

    "From the moment you followed behind the four of them, I have already known." A faint smile appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips.

    Making peace?

    Who, in this situation, would even bother to try to make peace at this moment?

    Fang Zhengzhi would never believe that the examinees in this Court Examination would have such childish hobbies. Of course, just based on this point alone, it wasn¡¯t possible to confirm this absolutely.

    The truth was inferred from one sentence.

    Ever since the ancient past, regardless of whether it was the past world or this world, there was one well-known saying.

    That was that spectators saw the game better than yers.

    Previously, everytime Fang Zhengzhi evaluated a problem, this was the kind of thinking he employed. However, when the two schrs stood out with righteousness filling their faces.

    He understood another word of wisdom...

    That was that under certain special circumstances, only the real yers in the game would be able to understand things best!

    Would these two schrs in front of him be selfless enough to do what was best in this situation? Others weren¡¯t too sure. However, Fang Zhengzhi was almost absolutely certain that it was impossible!

    "Within the sword, there is another hidden...¡¯sword¡¯!" When Fang Zhengzhi saw the two schrs make their way past the four demons, he was already certain about this situation.

    What was the meaning of a sneak attack?

    It was naturally one that was impossible to defend against!

    Fang Zhengzhi was an expert at sneak attacks. Hence, he knew very clearly what was impossible to defend against. The previous time he saw Bai Xing was within The Vast World.

    Right from that moment, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Bai Xing wasn¡¯t dumb.

    Of course...

    There was another person who was definitely not dumb either. That was Yun Qingwu.

    Due to that, having wasted time and energy on nning a sneak attack n, how could it only have one stage?

    There was a plot within the plot, a sneak attack within the sneak attack, a sword within the sword.

    That was a real deadly strike.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew all of these extremely well. Hence, all he could do was to helplessly look on with disdain as these people attempted to showcase their skills in front of the real expert, himself.

    Since you like to hide a sneak attack within this attack, then, I will fulfill your n.

    At the instant the two schrs jumped past the four demons, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had alreadyshed out.

    There was a very wise saying.

    Never leave your back facing the enemy.

    Because, that was an extremely... stupid action!

    "You knew ever since we ran over? W... Why?! We... we want to know the reason!" The expressions of the two schrs were clearly filled with disbelief as an emotional tone filled their voices.

    "Beware!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to reply the questions of these two schrs.

    A somewhat urgent voice rang out beside his ear. He was somewhat familiar with this voice. If his guess was correct, it was Teng Shisheng.

    However, what did ¡¯beware¡¯ mean?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to understand immediately. However, he instinctively took a step backwards. During this step backwards, he saw two swords.

    Two swords that stabbed towards his throat like a dragon.

    These two swords naturally came from the hands of the two schrs. However, due to the close distance between Fang Zhengzhi and the two schrs, he seemed to have neglected these two swords which were in his blind spot.

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely had cold sweat.

    However, this time, when he saw those two swords, his back was immediately soaked with cold sweat. He had seen through the real identities of the two schrs.

    However...

    He hadn¡¯t seen through their determination!

    This wasn¡¯t very rted to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s judgement. Instead, it was a form of thinking. Fang Zhengzhi was a person who was rather afraid of pain and death. Hence, when he thought about a problem, he would naturally leave this point out.

    On the other hand, the two "schrs" in front of him had taken advantage of this point.

    On purpose!

    Ever since the start, the other party¡¯s slightly "exaggerated" performance, that silly and logically wed act, was actually all nned out for this final attack.

    In other words, the other party wanted Fang Zhengzhi to understand, or, wanted Fang Zhengzhi to think he understood that everything was within his control.

    It was during such moments in which a person would let down his guard.

    In reality...

    These moments were when the other party would value the most. The real deadly blow of the other party was actually the most boring and normal stab with the sword in close distance after being stabbed!

    It was extremely dangerous. This danger that brought Fang Zhengzhi extremely close to the God of Death, despite the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was really soaked in cold sweat, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Teng Shisheng was just as close to Fang Zhengzhi, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Teng Shisheng gave the warning.

    He would really have delightfully felt that the other party was showcasing their skills in front of a real expert!

    The demon race!

    Yun Qingwu!

    Only at this moment did Fang Zhengzhi understand what the demon race was made of, what Yun Qingwu was made of. Only now did he truly understand how lucky he was to have seeded during his previous time in The Vast World.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Domain Chief Bai asked us to bring you this sentence. How can an antpete with huge beast that fills the sky? You are a smart man, you can naturally understand the meaning behind these words!" The attacks of the two schrs missed.

    This caused a glimmer of disappointment to sh across their eyes.

    However, after this glimmer of disappointment appeared, the two schrs didn¡¯t reveal any form of repent or misery. Instead, they stood silently on the spot.

    Calm. That was a form of calm that would never budge even if they stood among thousands of soldiers.

    Their assassination had failed.

    The two schrs didn¡¯t intend to continue their attacks any further. Because, they knew very clearly that opportunities when missed, were truly missed.

    "Leave!" The two schrs turned around and gazed towards the four demons.

    At the same time, the wounds on their chests slowly began to heal. Even though the blood that spurted out didn¡¯t stop flowing, they simply weren¡¯t bothered at all. They didn¡¯t even take a second nce towards it.

    "Roger!" When the four demons heard the words of the two schrs, they bowed slightly and leapt in four different directions towards the two walls of the wind valley.

    The two schrs didn¡¯t hesitate either. They immediately followed and leapt up, pressing down with one foot on the body of a Silver Horned Wolf, borrowing its strength and very quickly, reaching the two walls of the wind valley.

    They arrived quickly.

    And left just as quickly.

    Furthermore, the way they did it was with such uniqueness and without the slightest bit of care and hesitation.

    "Want to run? Stop them!"

    "Quickly, start shooting the arrows!"

    "Don¡¯t let them escape!"

    Themanders managed to regain their senses at this moment. Of course, if they still didn¡¯t understand up till now, then they were truly stupid.

    The demon race. Among twenty schrs, there was actually a total of seven hidden demons. Sixunched a sneak attack on Fang Zhengzhi, while one was killed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration.

    Such an incident was simply astounding to the ear.

    Furthermore, most important, if these seven schrs were demons in disguise, then, where were the seven schrs who participated in the Court Examination?

    Nobody knew.

    However, this didn¡¯t seem to affect the arrows of those soldiers who had already drawn back their bows. At the instant the order was given, hundreds of white-feathered arrows soared into the sky.

    Shooting towards the six demons on the two walls of the wind valley.

    At the same time, the melodious and high pitched sound of a flute sounded out again, drifting among those white-feathered arrows towards the six demons.

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously didn¡¯t give chase.

    It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to. Instead, it was because he knew very clearly that every single demon among them was of the Supernatural State. If his guess wasn¡¯t wrong, even that "Young Master Li" who had fallen on the ground was of the Supernatural State.

    However, in order for the n to seed smoothly and lead Fang Zhengzhi to think that everything was within his control, that "Young Master Li" actually took the blow of his Million Sword Illustration twice.

    After suffering fatal injuries to the organs, even someone of the Supernatural State would have to lie down for a while.

    Hence, the reason why Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t give chase was too simple. With his powers, how could he defend against the counterattacks of six people of the Supernatural State?

    Give chase?

    The oue could be predicted urately. The other party would definitely be willing to sacrifice one or two of themselves to kill off Fang Zhengzhi, then, use his head to report back with their orderspleted.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t quite understand why would the demon race sacrifice a strong person of the Supernatural State just for his head. However, in reality, that was exactly what they did.

    At the same time the white-feathered arrows were shot out, ck spears simrly flew out.

    However, they weren¡¯t of much use.

    The movements of the six demons were extremely fast. The walls of the wind valley was filled with white frost. However, when they stepped onto the frost, it was just like stepping on t ground.

    Dull blue light glowed under their feets, causing their speed to be zing fast. In only a short moment of time, they had reached the top of the two walls of the wind valley.

    "Looks like they are really going to escape?" Fang Zhengzhi had never felt that power was important. He felt that at many times, intelligence was more important than power.

    However, at this moment, in front of the six Supernatural State demons, he suddenly felt that he couldn¡¯t do anything despite all the power he had.

    He had five hundred Silver Horned Wolves around him and also forty over thousand soldiers of the Great Xia. This was initially supposed to be a time filled with honour and glory to make a clean sweep of the Southern Mountain Range.

    However, what actually happened was that he had to helplessly watch the demons run away after they attempted to assassinate him. Frankly, if it was said that he waspletely fine with that, it would be rather impossible.

    He didn¡¯t know whether it was because of this slight bit of unhappiness.

    Or because Fang Zhengzhi held a sword in his hand. Right at this moment, an evident purple glow shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi raised the sword in his hand.

    The name of the sword was Traceless!

    However, at the tip of the sword, there was an extremely abnormal purple mark that was as clear as blood, shing with an icy and mysterious glow and carrying with it a killing intent that was as vast as the sea.

    "Mountain... Waterfall Cascade!"

    Fang Zhengzhi shouted in a low voice and slowly raised his sword and brought it down slowly.

    In the sky, a bright silver moon appeared. That was a bright and clear shade of silver. However, for some reason, within that silver glow, there was a faint sense of purple.

    A waterfall fell from the silver moon.

    Then, with a terrifying speed, it became six silver rays. Each ray was like a thin string filled with a cold and chilling aura,nding towards the six demons that had climbed onto the wind valley.

    At this moment, the eyes of the six demons lit up with a glow.

    Their gazes turned towards the six silver rays that fell from the sky. At this moment, there seemed to be a slight change in their expressions. It was veryplicated, and also somewhat relieved.

    When they received the order from Bai Xing.

    Take Fang Zhengzhi or Nangong Hao¡¯s life at all costs, they had also asked themselves one question. Why would the order be to do so at all costs?

    However, now, they seemed to understand.

    When those six silver rays came down upon them, they somewhat understood.

    Indeed.

    It should be done at all costs!

 Chapter 370: We Finally Meet

    Chapter 370: We Finally Meet

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    To the members of the demon race, they didn¡¯t fear those who were powerful. Because, from the moment they were born, they had a sacred eye which enabled them tomunicate with Heaven and Earth.

    With the demon eye, their powers were immense and their ability to grasp knowledge was uncanny.

    To them, this was a form of pride. However, behind this pridey a slow transfer of knowledge.

    The demon race was extremely gifted. However, their reproduction abilities were extremely weak. Among ten humans, nine can give birth to a child. However, it wasn¡¯t the same for the demon race.

    Among ten demons, at the very most, only one could give birth.

    This caused the demon race to be unable to possess power in numbers like the human race did.

    However, despite that, using their gift and ability that greatly exceeded that of the human race, they upied an immensely important position in this world.

    A demon¡¯s pride originated from his natural talent.

    However, when a human possessing even greater natural talents stood in front of them, from certain points of view, it indeed went against thews of nature.

    They wouldn¡¯t even take a second nce towards a powerful human of the Supernatural State.

    However, when a human who was only of the Heavenly Reflection State had powers that almost exceeded that of the Supernatural State, that was apletely different concept altogether.

    A person who was only fifteen or sixteen years of age had defeated the wind valley of the Southern Mountain Range, one that hadn¡¯t been defeated for hundreds of years. His intellect and familiarity with stratagems and formations had already reached such a stage.

    How could they not feel any shock!

    At the instant six silver rays of light descended from the sky, the six demons raised the swords in their hands. There was a solemn look in their eyes. That was a look that represented their seriousness.

    "Boom boom boom..."

    Six resounding explosions rang out from the two walls of the wind valley as countless snow-white frost fell from above, causing the ground of the wind valley to shake slightly.

    Everybody¡¯s gazended on the six silver rays of light.

    The militarymanders, the forty thousand soldiers, the remaining schrs, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, the five hundred Silver Horned Wolves behind Teng Shi Sheng.

    Not a single one of them was staring elsewhere other than the six silver rays.

    At this moment, in their hearts, there was only one thought.

    Power!

    But, how can they be so strong?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities were of the Heavenly Reflection State. This was an undeniable fact. However, Fang Zhengzhi of the Heavenly Reflection State had forcefully held back the six demons of the Supernatural State.

    Even though they were only held back for a moment, it was already extremely impressive.

    The frost continued to fall. The figures of the six demons of the Supernatural State were finally revealed amidst the white frost. The clothes on their bodies were somewhat tattered and cuts and wounds were clearly visible on their bodies.

    The looks in their eyes appeared extremely stunned. This also represented that under a six-versus-one situation, they were injured by a silver ray that was split into six!

    "Fang Zhengzhi! I will remember this, I only wish that the next time we meet, you can remain alive!" A demon spoke and raised his hand. The skin mask on his face was removed, revealing a sparkling demon eye.

    This was a challenge.

    However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak. He didn¡¯t even reply a single word.

    Because...

    He saw a ray of light.

    Compared to the ray of light from his previous strike, this ray was red in colour. It was blood-red, translucent yet shiny. Itnded from the sky as thin as the wings of a cicada.

    If it was said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous sword contained a demonic killing intent, then, this ray of light contained a chilliness that seemed to have originated from hell.

    When Teng Shisheng and the five hundred Silver Horned Wolves saw this ray of light, there was an evident shock in their eyes. Because, this ray of light clearly didn¡¯t originate from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Instead, it shot towards the six demons!

    Who is it?!

    This was what Teng Shisheng and the rest thought. However, it wasn¡¯t what Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the rest of the schrs thought. Because, once that beam of light lit up, they all knew who had arrived!

    At this moment, the six demons had also noticed the red beam of light speeding towards them.

    They were already injured after receiving Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack. Initially, they thought that everything should have ended. However, in reality, it seemed that things had only just begun.

    "Psst!"

    There wasn¡¯t a resounding boom. Because, when the red beamnded on the bodies of the six demons, it didn¡¯t explode. Instead, it congregated together like a fissure without disappearing nor splitting apart.

    A few broken swords flew up. At the same time, there were two arms.

    More importantly, a few cracks were made on the walls of the wind valley. Those cracks seemed to be exactly under the areas on which the six demons stood.

    Hence...

    The six demons who had initially already climbed up the mountain walls fell back down. They fell among countless soldiers with their bows drawn and riding on Silver Horned Wolves.

    At the same time, a figure slowly appeared on top of the area where the six demons initially stood on the mountain wall.

    He wore a faint ck robe and slowly waved the paper fan in his hands which was filled with illustrations of the mountains and the rivers. During this time when it was approaching the season of winter, it seemed somewhat inappropriate.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually really tempted to ask.

    "Yan Xiu, are you cold?"

    However, in reality, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression clearly didn¡¯t look as if he would reply this question. That was an icy cold expression. However, within the coldness, there was a sense trace of arrogance.

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly knew what Yan Xiu was thinking. All he did was give him a present when they met, after which, ask for gratitude in return.

    It was just preventing the escape of a few demons, is this even necessary?

    Without his initial attack, could Yan Xiu take down these six demons as smoothly?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t voice these out. Because, in his heart, what he wanted to say the most was: "I knew that you will definitelye to the Icy Monkey Settlement to unite with me!"

    "Charge!"

    "Everybody charge, take down the demon race!"

    "We must not let them run!"

    When the militarymanders saw Yan Xiu, it was somewhat impossible if it was said that they weren¡¯t the slightest bit shocked. However, what they wanted to do more was to take down the six injured demons.

    After all, this was what they needed to do.

    As for...

    Rtionships and snuggling around, that was a form of fortune that only schrs could enjoy. To these people from military backgrounds, it was clearly not very suitable.

    "Yan Xiu!" Wu Feng gazed towards the figure on the mountain walls and gradually put down the jade flute in his hands. Bitterness and destion was evident in his eyes.

    During the theory examination, Yan Xiu had obtained third ce and stepped over his head.

    This was already somewhat that caused him to feel extremely bitter. Hence, during thebat examination, he paid very close attention to Yan Xiu¡¯s movements. The six thousand troops moved everywhere. They never settled.

    Wu Feng knew these. Hence, he had initially assumed that he would definitely surpass Yan Xiu in thebat examination. Because, during that time, he would have already upied two territories and possessed two armies of soldiers.

    However, in the blink of an eye.

    When they met again, he had already be an eliminated schr. Furthermore, he had almost been assassinated by the demon race in such an unbearable manner.

    And when he looked at Yan Xiu?

    He was standing on the cliff wall, waving his paper fan slowly. With one strike, he caused the six demons who were initially about to escape to fall onto the ground. How could Wu Feng be happy when met with that superior sense of coldness?

    Compared to Wu Feng¡¯s dissatisfaction, Chen Feiyu clearly took more initiative.

    Before this, he had never understood the reason behind why Fang Zhengzhi shot an arrow towards him. However, when Wu Feng tore off Young Master Li¡¯s skin mask, he waspletely enlightened.

    However...

    He wasn¡¯t Wu Feng. He didn¡¯t understand the Dao of music, hence, he naturally couldn¡¯t make himself useful.

    However, everything was different now. The six demons had been taken down by Yan Xiu. Hence, if he didn¡¯t take his revenge now, he would really not be Chen Feiyu anymore.

    Chen Feiyu pounced forwards.

    He felt that this was the true opportunity for him to rise to fame. He decided to fight the six of them at one go, then, demonstrate to everyone the power of his Supernatural State. This will make them deeply understand one thing...

    Chen Feiyu had reached the Supernatural State!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping Chen Feiyu. Instead, he slowly kept the sword in his hand back into his robe, then, waved his hands towards Yan Xiu, who was standing on the mountain wall.

    The fate of the six demons naturally didn¡¯t need any further boration.

    They were indeed of the Supernatural State. However, when they were forced out of the wind valley by thebined power of the schrs andnded in the middle of thebined assault of almost a thousand soldiers, they were clearly unable to escape as easily as before.

    Most important, Teng Shisheng and the rest also participated in this battle. Because, the warriors of the Southern Mountain Range had to take revenge for fellow Southern Mountain Range warriors.

    Chen Feiyu of the Supernatural State, in addition to Teng Shisheng of the Supernatural State, therge group of schrs, five hundred Silver Horned Wolves and over forty thousand soldiers. The oue of this battle was already predetermined.

    Without much further ado, the six demons were taken down. After taking one final stare towards Fang Zhengzhi, the six demons exchanged nces.

    They preserved theirst possible bit of pride.

    Suicide!

    Chen Feiyuughed. Because, he felt that his performance was rather impressive. However, he didn¡¯t hear the congrattory cries from the surrounding schrs.

    "What is it now?" Chen Feiyu was somewhat confused. He wanted to ask, is everybody here blind? Don¡¯t tell me that you didn¡¯t notice my powers are alreadypletely different from the past?

    However, in reality, there was really not a single person who praised him.

    Or, it could be said that nobody paid too much attention to him.

    The reason behind this was very simple. When a group of people surrounded six demons and fought with all their powers, who would be so free as to pay attention to what techniques others were using?

    There was only one thing on everybody¡¯s minds. That was, what technique I should use!

    ...

    The wind slowly began to blow.

    Because, after the bodies of the six demons were moved, the forty over thousand soldiers slowly exitted the wind valley and walked towards a huge fortress rooted to the ground.

    That was the Icy Monkey Settlement, one of the Southern Mountain Range¡¯s six main settlements.

    Gigantic, snow-white rocks filled the scenery, just like the frost on the two cliffs of the wind valley, epassing a chilliness that troubled people¡¯s hearts.

    A huge ck cloud slowly pressed down towards the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    In front of this ck cloud, there were two people. Two people who journeyed shoulder to shoulder. One was wearing a leopard skin robe, while the other wore a faint ck robe.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask Yan Xiu why he came. Because, he knew that once news of his intention to attack the Icy Monkey Settlement was spread, Yan Xiu would definitelye.

    Except, he had never imagined that Yan Xiu woulde at such a right time.

    Time flowed slowly.

    The ck cloud slowly began to stop.

    A dull sound finally came from the main gate of the Icy Monkey Settlement. The massive gate opened gradually. However, after the gate waspletely opened, there wasn¡¯t much soldiersing out of it.

    Or, it could also be said that...

    There simply wasn¡¯t any soldiers.

    Undoubtedly, this wasn¡¯t something very normal. Because, when faced with the force of an army, there were usually two methods. One was defense, while the other was offense.

    Why would a defender open the main gate? Since the main gate was opened, that meant that they wished to face the enemy. Hence, under such circumstances, how could there not be a single soldier?

    Was this the stratagem of the empty city?

    Wu Feng nced at thepletely empty gate, and then nced towards Fang Zhengzhi who was standing not too far away. Because, his memory of this scene was really too vivid.

    Faced with Nangong Hao¡¯s empty city stratagem, what would Fang Zhengzhi do?

    This was Wu Feng¡¯s instinctive thought. Because, he really wanted to know what would Fang Zhengzhi do when he met with a situation simr to that of his own.

    However, in reality, when Fang Zhengzhi saw the main gate of the Icy Monkey Settlement open, his expression didn¡¯t even change much. Instead, he quietly observed the main gate.

    Finally...

    The opening sound of the main gate stopped.

    Closely following which, a figure slowly appeared at the main gate.

    A youth dressed in a white schrly robe whose expression didn¡¯t look too cold. However, it didn¡¯t seem too casual either. It was a form of brightness, one that shone as bright as a halo.

    Obviously, the figure at the gate was Nangong Hao.

    However, when the schrs saw Nangong Hao, their expressions clearly froze for a moment. Because, today, Nangong Hao indeed appeared somewhat strange.

    This strangeness didn¡¯t originate from the expression on Nangong Hao¡¯s face. Instead, it was because there was no horse below Nangong Hao. Instead, he stood quietly on the ground.

    Then, Nangong Hao moved.

    Step by step, he walked over from the main gate of the Icy Monkey Settlement. His expression appeared extremely calm, as calm as a jade greenke.

    However, the expressions of the schrs couldn¡¯t remain calm.

    Because, they felt that if they were Nangong Hao, they would definitely not be as calm as he was now. At the very least, when faced with almost fifty thousand soldiers, they could never be as calm.

    There was obviously nobody behind Nangong Hao.

    Not a single person.

    However, behind Nangong Hao¡¯s back, there was a sword. A sword that was slung horizontally across his body. The hilt of the sword was white. It was a shade of white that was as white as the snow.

    The scabbard was also white.

    However,pared to the hilt of the sword, the white of the scabbard was even more crystalline. It was a shade of white that was like that of ice. It was an extremely transparent white, and was extremely dazzling.

    "We finally meet." Nangong Hao looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, who stood in front of the army, and then looked at Yan Xiu, who stood shoulder to shoulder beside Fang Zhengzhi, and greeted them calmly.

 Chapter 371: Dragon Combat Plan

    Chapter 371: Dragon Combat n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Nangong Hao¡¯s statement was directed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, when this statement rang out, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu and the other candidates were visibly more shocked than Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Nangong Hao came out alone?"

    "What is he trying to do?"

    All of the candidates looked at each other in disbelief.

    When they saw Nangong Hao walk out from the Icy Monkey Settlement, they thought that they were hallucinating. This was quite unfathomable

    Is Nangong Hao stupid?

    Of course not. So, what is he trying to do?

    Is he going to take on 10,000 men at once?

    There were more than 40,000 soldiers behind Fang Zhengzhi. Yan Xiu had another 6000. Theirbined strength was almost 50,000.

    How was Nangong Hao going to defeat them all alone.

    No one could understand what was going on. As for Fang Zhengzhi, he did not think about it at all.

    "Actually, we have yet to be acquainted." Fang Zhengzhi smirked, then turned to look at one of his deputies. "Are you familiar with him?"

    "Ah?" The deputy was slightly taken aback. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then back at Nangong Hao, unsure of what to reply.

    However, he grit his teeth when he remembered which side he was on.

    "Nope!"

    "It is said that there is no better way to be acquainted than to have a friendly duel. Since we are not familiar with each other, let¡¯sunch a few arrows to increase the familiarity." Fang Zhengzhi nodded satisfactorily.

    "Launch a few arrows?" The deputy was stunned.

    What kind of reason was this?

    He could not follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought. That being said, he still registered the order, albeit in a rather confused manner.

    What the hell?

    Was the fight about to break out?

    They did not even prepare. More importantly, Nangong Hao hade out from the Icy Monkey Settlement alone. Was Fang Zhengzhi not curious as to what Nangong Hao¡¯s motives were?

    He did not really understand.

    But he still obeyed the order!

    "Archers, ready!"

    "Fire!"

    His voice rang out in the air and hundreds of white feathered arrows wereunched skyward. They flew towards Nangong Hao.

    This scene stunned all of the deputies as well as the surrounding candidates.

    Who would do such a thing? This was tant bullying! Nangong Hao had greeted Fang Zhengzhi. Yet, Fang Zhengzhi started a fight with a single statement.

    Who fought that way?

    Furthermore, his opponent was Nangong Hao!

    Was Fang Zhengzhi not afraid?

    ...

    Was Fang Zhengzhi terrified?

    Naturally not.

    He did not even bother exining his ideas and thoughts to those around him. His actions were not easily understood by those around him.

    He had two other reasons for doing this. Firstly, he did not believe that Nangong Hao was alone.

    Fang Zhengzhi had tens of thousands of soldiers!

    If Nangong Hao did not realize that, firing a few arrows would allow him to realize it.

    That was the first reason. His second motive was to agitate Nangong Hao.

    Fang Zhengzhi was toozy to guess what Nangong Hao¡¯s motives were. He nned to agitate Nangong Hao into revealing his intentions.

    "Ding ding ding..."

    The arrows sailed through the sky and embedded themselves deep into the ground when theynded.

    Nangong Hao did not move during this entire exchange.

    He stood quietly and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. A faint white mist surrounded his body.

    When the arrows hit the white mist, their flight paths changed, almost as if they were pushed to the side by an invisible force...

    In fact... it looked like they were slipping off the mist.

    "Is the Nangong Family¡¯s Dragon Combat n based on the ice element?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself bitterly.

    When he had met Nangong Mu, others had told him that the two greatest arts of the Nangong Family were the Dragon Combat n and the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    Nangong Mu chose the Green and Blue Secret Art. Green represented wood, blue represented ice.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand the Dragon Combat n well. He had heard of it, but had never seen it in action. He could only guess.

    However, there was no way of confirming his guesses. After all, the Dragon Combat n was one of the two greatest arts of the Nangong Family. It could not be that simple.

    "The Dragon Combat n is notpletely ice." Yan Xiu muttered.

    "Notpletely ice? Then... what else is there?" Fang Zhengzhi thought that Yan Xiu would continue exining, but Yan Xiu said nothing.

    "There are two schools of thought. One says that the Dragon Combat n is nothing. The other one says that the Dragon Combat n is everything." Yan Xiu replied.

    "Nothing? Everything?" Fang Zhengzhi still could not understand.

    "To put it simply, the Dragon Combat n is not based in any specific element. It is an all epting art. It ispletely different from the Green and Blue Secret Art. The Green and Blue Secret Art uses two opposing forces to augment each other. However, the Dragon Combat n is nk. The limit is simply how much you can fit into it!" Yan Xiu exined.

    "nk? I see!" Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what Yan Xiu was getting at.

    Furthermore, he could guess why the Nangong Family disciples chose to learn the Dragon Combat n and not the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    If what Yan Xiu said was true and the Dragon Combat n was nk, then its ideas were simple.

    If everything in the universe was a word, the Dragon Combat n was the canvas for people to write the words on.

    Was it difficult to write on a nk canvas?

    Of course not!

    This was extremely simple whenpared to the Green and Blue Secret Art. It¡¯s simplicity gave it mass appeal.

    To put it simply, the biggest difference between the Dragon Combat n and the Green and Blue Secret Art was it¡¯s barrier to entry. The Dragon Combat n had a low barrier to entry, but it required a lot of effort before one could be proficient in it.

    On the other hand, the Green and Blue Secret Art had a high barrier to entry. However, once someone understood the principles of it, progress was quick.

    Ordinarily, these two arts would be simrly matched.

    However, for someone as talented as Nangong Hao, the difference was obvious.

    The Green and Blue Secret Art was powerful, but it was limited by its elements.

    The Dragon Combat n was easy to learn but difficult to master.

    However, it was a white canvas. It¡¯s potential was limitless. If the foundation was set well enough...

    It could amodate anything the artist wanted!

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought about this, he finally had some understanding of how powerful Nangong Hao was. He also understood why all the candidates had the same expression when Nangong Hao appeared.

    Even if Nangong Hao was alone!

    When Wu Feng heard what Yan Xiu said, he was even more taken aback than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Not only did Wu Feng know how powerful the Dragon Combat n was...

    He also knew that Nangong Hao had attained Natural Heart Dao!

    There was only one state that could make the Dragon Combat n even scarier than it already was. That was Natural Heart Dao!

    The Dragon Combat n could amodate everything in the world.

    The Natural Heart Dao allowed the wielder to meld everything around him into what he was doing. He could be killing, showing mercy, doing evil, or good.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s potential was limitless. He had the ability to learn any Dao and a skill that could amodate everything.

    Wu Feng was keenly aware of this. As such, even when he had over 20,000 soldiers at his peak, he did not dare go to the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    However...

    Just because Wu Feng knew this didn¡¯t mean that the others did.

    Chen Feiyu was one such example.

    Chen Feiyu knew how powerful Nangong Hao was. However, in Chen Feiyu¡¯s mind, no matter how powerful Nangong Hao was, he was still only a Heavenly Reflection cultivator.

    Could a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator defeat a Supernatural State cultivator?

    Of course.

    However, would it be easy? Definitely not. After all, Nangong Hao could not possibly suppress the Supernatural State cultivator.

    "This is a good opportunity!" Chen Feiyu did not think that he could defeat Nangong Hao, but he was going to give it a try.

    Especially with 50,000 soldiers as his witness.

    If he could give Nangong Hao a run for his money, his name would reverberate throughout the dynasty. He would also be respected by the masses.

    Chen Feiyu was not going to give up such a great opportunity.

    Even though he knew he was going to lose...

    He did not care.

    He did not believe that the people around him would still be blind to the fact that he had broken through into the Supernatural State after this battle.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Chen Feiyu hollered as he thought about this.

    "Young Master Chen... what do you have to say?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi was contemting ordering for another wave of arrows, he heard Chen Feiyu.

    "Nangong Hao appearing alone is a challenge to our army. I ask that you allow me to face him in battle!" Chen Feiyu replied confidently.

    He sounded just like a seasoned veteran.

    However, when the other candidates and deputies heard what Chen Feiyu had to say, they could not help but scratch their heads in confusion.

    "What is Chen Feiyu doing?"

    "He wants to challenge Nangong Hao! Is he tired of living?"

    "Does he think he can stand up to Nangong Hao?"

    Murmurs of disbelief spread through the ranks.

    Wu Feng was stunned when he heard this. He knew that Chen Feiyu was quite powerful, but he was nowhere near as powerful as Nangong Hao.

    To challenge Nangong Hao was equivalent to signing his own death warrant.

    This was the same thought that everyone had when they heard Chen Feiyu¡¯s challenge.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not think so.

    He was the only one who knew what Chen Feiyu was thinking. He knew for a fact that Chen Feiyu had already broken through into the Supernatural State. This was also the reason why he was not surprised that Chen Feiyu could catch his Million Sword Illustration.

    "This guy really wants to show off huh?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    After all, he was in the Supernatural State.

    It would be cruel if Fang Zhengzhi did not allow him to showcase his abilities.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to let Chen Feiyu have his way.

    "Okay then, since Young Master Chen is eager for battle, I shall let you go ahead. Just be careful!" Fang Zhengzhi tried to act concerned.

    After all, Chen Feiyu is the first person to challenge Nangong Hao.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips twitched, almost as if he was going to say something. However, after he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, he pursed his lips.

    He remained silent.

    Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s approval, Chen Feiyu smiled. This was a chance for him to showcase his talent. It was even more valuable than when he defeated Wu Feng.

    "Nangong Hao! I, Chen Feiyu, will let you see how powerful I am!" Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes glimmered as he drew his sword.

    He was ecstatic.

    It was a chance for him to challenge Nangong Hao. An opportunity to experience Nangong Hao¡¯s abilities and powers personally was rare. Who wouldn¡¯t be excited.

    Nangong Hao stood in his original position. Even after hearing Chen Feiyu¡¯s challenge, his eyes remained calm.

    "Okay then, Young Master Chen, please." Nangong Hao said courteously. He was not agitated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocation. Neither did he despise Chen Feiyu¡¯s challenge.

    It felt like he had predicted the entire sequence of events.

 Chapter 372: Invisible Blade

    Chapter 372: Invisible de

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    He was calm, almost as if he was one with his surroundings.

    Many a times, one could read another¡¯s character from his expression. A person who was arrogant would look at others with disdain.

    However, nothing could be read from Nangong Hao¡¯s expression.

    From the moment he stepped out of the Icy Monkey Settlement, he was calm, almost to the point of being humble. However, when seen in the face of a 50,000 strong army...

    All of the candidates felt that this was a show of force. He was like a war god, infallible.

    Of course, Nangong Hao had been defeated before. The only time he had been defeated was at the hands of Chi Guyan. However, could that be called a failure?

    Definitely not!

    Chi Guyan was the top of two of the Dragon Rolls. She was the Pride of Heaven and the one mentioned in the prophecy.

    As such...

    Even if Nangong Hao was defeated, he did not fail.

    "After four years out of the public¡¯s eye, how powerful is Nangong Hao now?"

    "Is he as powerful as he was four years ago?"

    "How much more ridiculous did his abilities get? He was already able to suppress all his peers four years ago... how much more powerful could he get?"

    Questions began to fly through the minds of the candidates as well as the 50,000 strong army.

    How powerful is Nangong Hao now?

    Chen Feiyu was also very interested to find out the answer to that question. The only difference was, he was going to try it out for himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi himself was curious as well. However, he did not need to fight this battle, Chen Feiyu had offered to do it for him.

    King of the hill style!

    This was the ssic tactic to wear down the outnumbered. Fang Zhengzhi was rarely able to use this tactic, but he had to admit he liked this feeling.

    "Nangong Hao, prepare to receive!" Chen Feiyu had no intention of dying any longer. He had waited too long for this moment.

    He drew his sword and it began to pour.

    Chen Feiyu put everything he had behind this de. He used the Torrential Pear Blossom Sword Technique, the secret technique of the Sun Constabry!

    This technique was characterized by its speed and lethality!

    In the moment he raised his sword, his body became one with the rain. He appeared in front of Nangong Hao in and instant.

    The speed at which he moved was unbelievable.

    Barely a second had passed from the moment he raised his sword.

    However, its power was notpromised despite its speed. He thrust his sword and the storm intensified. A snow white flower bloomed in the rain, its petals dancing in the air.

    "Good technique!"

    "How is he that powerful?! Chen Feiyu¡¯s Torrential Pear Blossom Sword Technique is so powerful now?"

    All of the candidates gasped in awe when they saw this. Before this, they were too absorbed with ensuring their own survival and defeating others.

    Right now, they were able to just sit back and watch the action.

    This made them realize how overpowered Chen Feiyu¡¯s sword technique was. When they saw it, they all got the feeling that it was unstoppable.

    Chen Feiyu felt his pride grow when he heard the cheers around him. However, this was not enough for him. He wanted to hear more praises.

    Chen Feiyu can match Nangong Hao for 100 rounds?!

    Chen Feiyu managed to fight Nangong Hao to a draw?!

    Chen Feiyu is in the Supernatural State!

    "Come on, say it all! I want to hear it all!" Chen Feiyu lusted for thesepliments. He chopped downwards.

    The petals immediately formed a sharp, glowing point as they rocketed towards Nangong Hao¡¯s head. They would bloom at the veryst moment.

    "Woosh!" The de fell, but the petals did not bloom.

    The rain was torrential, but the strike seemed calm. It felt as if the rain had stopped. In fact, it felt like time had stopped for a brief moment.

    However, this feeling did notst long.

    Everyone saw the strangest sight unfold before them.

    It had all happened too fast. It was so fast that everyone thought the two people had swapped ces in that moment.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s strike was not blocked.

    However, as his de travelled through the air, Nangong Hao was already behind him. More importantly, it seemed as though Nangong Hao had been there all along.

    "How fast!"

    "Even faster than Chen Feiyu!"

    All of the candidates looked at Nangong Hao and could not hold back their awe.

    Fang Zhengzhi had promised Nangong Mu that he would defeat Nangong Hao. This was a promise that he intended to keep.

    He believed that he could defeat Nangong Hao. However, that did not mean that he thought that Nangong Hao was weak.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confident but he was not arrogant.

    As such, he was keenly aware of the fact that Nangong Hao was very powerful. However, only now did he understand why Nangong Mu, as powerful as he was, would give up in the face of Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan...

    Were quite simr.

    The first time Fang Zhengzhi saw Chi Guyan¡¯s speed was on Cang Ling Mountain. At that time, he thought that he would be able to leave Chi Guyan far behind.

    However...

    Chi Guyan had no problem following him despite being unfamiliar with the area.

    That was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had witnessed such a queer way of moving. She moved without actually moving her body.

    Fang Zhengzhi had wondered if Chi Guyan was stepping on something. After all, such movement was illogical.

    However, after seeing how Nangong Hao dodge Chen Feiyu¡¯s strike, he knew that Chi Guyan did not have anything under her feet.

    How was this possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. However, he was certain that Nangong Hao¡¯s speed was no less than Chi Guyan¡¯s.

    In other words...

    He was still slower than Nangong Hao!

    Speed was paramount in the world of martial arts. He was already slower than Nangong Hao. How was he going to defeat someone faster than him?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not spend anymore time thinking about it. Nangong Hao had already drawn his de.

    All of the candidates and deputies pursed their lips. Their gazes were fixed on Nangong Hao.

    When Nangong Hao drew his de, Fang Zhengzhi had a strange feeling. This feeling was from the heart.

    For some inexplicable reason, when Nangong Hao drew his de, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Chen Feiyu was outmatched.

    This was despite the fact that Chen Feiyu was in the Supernatural State!

    Fang Zhengzhi had watched how masters in his previous world bullied those less skilled. They would not draw their des unless absolutely necessary.

    However, Nangong Hao drew his de!

    It was an incredibly shiny de.

    The hilt was snow white and the de itself was crystal clear. It was even clearer than its sheath. If one did not look closely, it would be impossible to notice.

    "This is Nangong Hao¡¯s sword?" Fang Zhengzhi had seen many swords in this world, including Nangong Mu¡¯s and Xing Qingsui¡¯s.

    Furthermore...

    The Traceless Sword was his.

    However, he had never seen a sword like Nangong Hao¡¯s! It was almost invisible. Could this be the Invisible Sword?

    It looked just like a block of ice!

    The moment Nangong Hao drew his sword, he thrust it at Chen Feiyu.

    There was nothing special about his strike!

    In the eyes of the candidates and the deputies, this strike was rather ordinary. Of course, if this was someone else, it would be quite extraordinary.

    It was too quick!

    Unfathomably quick!

    Was Nangong Hao¡¯s strike merely quick?

    This was the question in the minds of all the candidates. Nangong Hao represented the pinnacle of his age.

    At the very least, his strike should be quite gaudy!

    It should have the bloom of Chen Feiyu¡¯s strike. At the very least, there should be sounds of wind or thunder. Anything would be better than this silence.

    However, the fact was that Nangong Hao¡¯s strike was silent.

    Completely silent.

    It was as smooth and stable as his movement. It did not even look like he was moving, but he appeared behind Chen Feiyu.

    Chen Feiyu was not a rookie.

    When he saw Nangong Hao disappear, he did not panic. He had predicted that this would happen.

    Was it weird that Nangong Hao dodged his attack?

    Of course not! Since he wasn¡¯t surprised, why would he panic?

    He expected Nangong Hao to disappear from view.

    Normally, when one¡¯s opponent disappeared from view, he was mostly likely at the back. Chen Feiyu should thrust to his back next.

    However, he heard nothing from behind him.

    As such...

    His battle experience told him that if his opponent was not behind, then they could only be above or below.

    Of course, these were all guesses. Since he had no way of being sure, he was not going to try his luck.

    He decided to react in the best way possible.

    He would defend himself from all sides!

    A wall of blue water surrounded him like a huge bubble.

    This was the torrential rain from the Torrential Pear Blossom

    It was a way for him to defend himself before going on the offence.

    The water would form a bubble that would defend against the iing attack before going on the offensive. After the opponent¡¯s strike impacted the bubble, it would be millions of water droplets which would attack the opponent.

    It was the perfect technique for this situation.

    Chen Feiyu was proud of his adaptability. He did not think of defeating Nangong Hao in a single round. All he wanted to do was wear Nangong Hao down.

    Being calm andposed was important if he was going tost multiple rounds against Nangong Hao.

    However, his confidence did notst very long.

    When his technique began to take shape, he felt a weird feeling around him. His shield had been broken.

    The bubble had been pierced.

    This was something that should never have happened.

    If his bubble had really been pierced, he should have felt something. His torrential rain should also have been activated. But, it wasn¡¯t.

    Without the torrential rain, what was this technique of his?

    Bubble?

    Chen Feiyu was rather curious. He subconsciously turned around as he looked at what was behind him.

    He saw a sword.

    A sword that was right at his throat.

    This caused the initially calm andposed Chen Feiyu to lose hisposure.

    What the hell?

    Why was there a de at his throat? Where did ite from?

    Chen Feiyu saw the hilt, then looked at the hands holding the de. Finally, he looked up at Nangong Hao. Nangong Hao¡¯s expression was still calm.

    "Nangong... Hao?!" Chen Feiyu had expected to lose, but he did not expect to lose so quickly.

    He also did not expect himself to lose in such a weird way.

    What happened?

    Why didn¡¯t the torrential rain activate. Was it really time to change its name to bubble?

    Chen Feiyu could not understand it. He could not ept this defeat. Even up till now, he did not know how he lost.

    "You can control everything in this world, but so can I. You... have lost." Nangong Hao¡¯s lips moved as he sheathed his sword.

    "Lost?!" Chen Feiyu looked at Nangong Hao, then at the sheathed de. For the first time ever, he was lost.

    He can control everything in this world just like me?

    Chen Feiyu was confused. He kept thinking about what Nangong Hao had just said.

    All of the other candidates were equally confused. Not only were they thinking about what Nangong Hao said, they were thinking about how Nangong Hao had pierced Chen Feiyu¡¯s defences.

    That was not an ordinary strike.

    On the contrary...

    It was a peerless one!

    However, that was a strike that Chen Feiyu did not see until it was toote.

 Chapter 373: Three sins

    Chapter 373: Three sins

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chen Feiyu was so excited to face off against Nangong Hao with 50,000 soldiers as his witness. To be defeated in a single round was quite the tragedy.

    More importantly, he did not even see how he was defeated. To say it was a tragedy seemed to be an understatement.

    However...

    No matter how depressing it was, he was still defeated. The question that bugged all the candidates had also been answered.

    Four years ago, Nangong Hao was talented, the brightest star in the empire. Four yearster, he could only be described using a single word.

    Terrifying!

    He was sharp and domineering. He gave off the vibe that he was peerless.

    Nangong Hao had only attacked once. However, this strike had struck fear and awe into the hearts of the other candidates.

    All of them looked at each other in aghast. They were at a loss for words to describe what they had just seen.

    When Nangong Hao had attacked, all of them thought that it looked too ordinary despite its speed.

    However, when the de pierced through the wall of blue surrounding Chen Feiyu, all of them began to question their belief.

    In that instant...

    It felt as though time had stopped.

    The moment Nangong Hao¡¯s de came into contact with the shield, it seemed to disappear. To be more precise, it teleported.

    That being said, all of the candidates knew that no matter how powerful Nangong Hao was, he could not teleport.

    After all, in order to tear apart the very fabric of space was a huge exertion for even the strongest Rebirth State cultivators.

    There was no way Nangong Hao could have teleported.

    However, when Nangong Hao¡¯s de pierced through Chen Feiyu¡¯s shield, Nangong Hao seemed to disappear into thin air.

    The impossible happened.

    There could only be one possibility.

    It had fused with the shield.

    In the moment the de came into contact with the shield, it fused with it. In that moment, Nangong Hao and the shield were one.

    The fusing was wless. That was the only way to fool Chen Feiyu¡¯s Torrential Rain. The shield would never attack itself.

    "You can control everything, but so can I!"

    All of the candidates thought about what Nangong Hao had said. They understood exactly what it meant, even Chen Feiyu himself knew what had happened.

    However...

    They did not believe it. They refused to believe it!

    He fused with Dao!

    How ridiculous was that?!

    When one thought of stunning scenes, one would think of vast mountain ranges or raging rivers. However, what they just witnessed was far superior to all of that.

    The answer to the question in all their minds, "What is Nangong Hao like four yearster?" had been answered. The answer floored them all.

    "Did you get a clear look?" Yan Xiu finally spoke. He did not praise Nangong Hao¡¯s strengths or point out Nangong Hao¡¯s weaknesses. Neither did he ask Fang Zhengzhi what his next course of action was.

    He asked quite an ordinary question.

    Even so, Fang Zhengzhi understood what Yan Xiu meant instantly.

    "I still have many soldiers behind me and plenty of time. If I want to take a closer look, I have many ways of doing it." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head lightly.

    He knew what Yan Xiu was thinking, but he was not going to ept it.

    "If my guess is correct, you probably can¡¯t use the soldiers behind you. At the very least, you won¡¯t be able to use them to defeat Nangong Hao." Yan Xiu shook his head and asserted.

    "Why?" Fang Zhengzhi did not understand.

    "Because Nangong Hao exited the Icy Monkey Settlement alone!" Yan Xiu exined.

    This was not a clear exnation, but Fang Zhengzhi understood it immediately. Would such a talented individual do something if he didn¡¯t have the confidence he was going to seed?

    Clearly not.

    Nangong Hao had travelled far toe to the capital. His high profile participation was definitely not just to get a good ranking.

    The fact was he hade.

    The reason for his participation was to cleanse the Nangong Family of its shame.

    With this in mind, he still decided to walk out alone in the face of a vast army.

    This only meant one thing.

    Nangong Hao was very confident. He knew that he was going to win. That being said, he couldn¡¯t face 50,000 soldiers alone.

    One vs 50,000?

    That bordered on the impossible. All the legends about a single punch killing thousands were merely just that, legends.

    After all, even if 50,000 of them stood still for him to kill, he would take many nights to kill them all. Furthermore, these people knew how to run, jump, and fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yan Xiu was saying, but he had no idea how Nangong Hao nned to cause his army to defy him.

    A military order?

    Or the Emperor¡¯s personal order?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a sudden realization. He had known all along that thebat examinations was a cover for something greater. It was a cover for the army they were bringing.

    That being said, he had no idea how the soldiers would be deployed.

    However, just because he didn¡¯t know didn¡¯t mean that Nangong Hao was in the dark.

    It seemed like he was back where he started. To be more specific, everything that had happened was all part of an borate n.

    These were all Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s guesses. Yan Xiu shared the same sentiment. However, he wouldn¡¯t know unless he tried.

    "General Li, take 1000 men and surround Nangong Hao!" Fang Zhengzhi would not order his entire army forward. That would do no good.

    "Yes!" General Li answered immediately when he heard the order. It was almost as if he had received no other conflicting orders.

    Obedience.

    Such obedience from his deputies was strange. This caused Fang Zhengzhi to wonder if he and Yan Xiu were mistaken.

    The 1000 strong force was quickly assembled.

    300 shieldbearers, 300 spearmen, 300 swordsman and 100 archers.

    This was the most appropriate lineup. The shieldbearers would be in front, the spearmen in the middle, and the archers at the back. The swordsmen would guard the nks. They would surround Nangong Hao...

    "Kaboom!"

    1000 men stepped forward in unison. They marched towards Nangong Hao, an aura of death rising from their midst.

    The candidates all looked on, slightly confused.

    They all felt that the most honorable way was for both generals to fight it out. This was thebat examination, and it was a test for the generals.

    That being said, Nangong Hao was much more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi. For Fang Zhengzhi to use his vastly superior army was not surprising.

    They would have done the same.

    Chen Feiyu stood rooted to his spot. He had no idea if he should return to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s army or be a prisoner of war in the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Nangong Hao stood still. However, he was much more stable than Chen Feiyu. Not a single muscle of his moved during the entire time.

    The 1000 strong army moved quickly. Before long, they were right in front of Nangong Hao and began to surround him.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze was fixated on the gate of the Icy Monkey Settlement, almost as if he was waiting for someone to appear.

    "There are others in the Icy Monkey Settlement?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "I¡¯m not sure." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Mm, then we shall wait and see." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Maybe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were too urate, or maybe Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze was magical. Whatever it was, a figure did appear at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    It was a youth riding a huge green stallion. He wore armor, but it was different from those of the Great Xia Dynasty soldiers.

    On his breastte was a intricate pattern. There was a silver word in the middle.

    "Order!"

    This meant that this soldier was one of the messengers.

    For a messenger to reveal his identity so audaciously meant that the intended recipient was here.

    "This is an order from the Crown Prince!"

    A resounding voice echoed out. At the same time, the messenger retrieved a ck token with a silver dragon inscribed on it.

    The soldiers about to surround Nangong Hao stopped in their tracks.

    All of them looked to each other. General Li, who was in charge of the 1000 men, subconsciously looked to Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he dismounted and fell to on one knee.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and all 50,000 soldiers all knelt. They knew what the silver dragon represented.

    This was a military order!

    It had to be obeyed!

    All of the candidates all looked at each other, unsure if they had to obey the order as well. Regardless, they had to obey the silver dragon token.

    The silver dragon represented the Crown Prince.

    And the Crown Prince...

    Was the Chief Invigtor for this examination.

    In other words, in the absence of the Emperor¡¯s own orders, the orders of the Crown Prince were the highest there were. They were not to be questioned.

    All of the candidates fell to one knee respectfully.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he did not quite recognize the orders. However, from the reaction of those around him, he could guess what the token was for.

    However, he was rather disappointed.

    He had expected that Nangong Hao would have secret orders from the Emperor. However, he never expected that it would be the Crown Prince who would give the orders.

    Even though the Crown Prince was the Chief Invigtor, he could not meddle with the details and happenings within the examination. He had to go by the rules and could not strip Fang Zhengzhi of hismand.

    Unless...

    They were about to dere war on the Southern Mountain Range.

    Only under such extenuating circumstances was thebat examination to be stopped. It would resume in its current state after the battle was over.

    That was how they maintained fairness inside thebat examination.

    Were they about to fight a war?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, the messenger tugged on the reins and the stallion trotted forward. His gaze scanned across the entire army before finally resting on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "The Crown Prince¡¯s orders are as follows! Fang Zhengzhi had the audacity to be absent from the results announcement. That is his first sin! His second sin was not reporting to the Crown Prince upon entering the Southern Mountain Range. His third sin was not reporting the results in a timely manner. He haspromised the integrity of the examination. The Crown Prince has ordered for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s to be temporarily disqualified. He will be reinstated after an investigation has cleared him of guilt!"

    The messenger¡¯s voice was loud. All of the candidates, deputies, and the 500 silver horned wolves all heard it clearly.

    However, they were all stunned by what they heard.

    "Temporarily disqualified?!"

    "Did I hear that wrongly? Fang Zhengzhi is disqualified?!"

    "Are our losses wiped clean then?"

    All of the candidates looked on wide eyed. They were all stunned by what they heard. The first thought was, "If Fang Zhengzhi is disqualified..."

    Then, they were all back to square one.

    For Wu Feng and Chen Feiyu, they would be un-eliminated. Furthermore, they could get arge share of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s army.

    This was great news for them.

    Of course, amidst all the joy, they all looked at Fang Zhengzhi ¡¯regretfully¡¯. They were waiting for him to react to the news.

 Chapter 374: Hidden Person

    Chapter 374: Hidden Person

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi heard the orders loud and clear. However, he did not seemed shocked or depressed by the news.

    Was the right to participate important?

    It was very important to many people. However, to Fang Zhengzhi, it was something that he could do without.

    His motive for entering the Southern Mountain Range was to get Yan Xiu out.

    Right now, Yan Xiu was already by his side. His disqualification would only mean that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use an army to wear Nangong Hao down.

    That being said, he was still slightly affected by the loss of his army. However, he was not so affected by the loss of his army. The question on his mind was why the Crown Prince would take such a huge risk?

    The Crown Prince was trying topound the charges.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in disdain at the Crown Prince¡¯s actions. His absence from the results announcement was a chargeable offence. However, it would be insufficient to disqualify him. If it was, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take over the Thunderous Lion Settlement. The 40,000 soldiers would also not have obeyed his orders.

    As for the other charges, they were just misceneous, insignificant charges.

    To put it crudely.

    When Fang Zhengzhi first entered the Southern Mountain Range, he did not even know where the f*ck the Crown Prince¡¯s base was. Furthermore, he was captured by Princess Shan Yu. How could he have possibly reported to the Crown Prince?

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that the order would be to dere war on the Southern Mountain Range. He never expected it to be an order for his disqualification.

    Without even thinking about whether the Crown Prince had the right to do that...

    Even if he did, why would he specially send a messenger to the Icy Monkey Settlement just for this?

    If that was the only thing the Crown Prince wanted to do, he would have been better off sending the order straight to the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always known that thebat examinations were not as simple as they looked. The victories and losses were not important.

    At the very least, they were not important in the grand scheme of things.

    As such...

    What was the Crown Prince trying to do?

    Fang Zhengzhi and the Crown Prince had not met many times. The first time he had seen the Crown Prince was at Ping Yang¡¯s residence. The second time was in the throne room. As such, he did not understand the Crown Prince well.

    No matter what, the Crown Prince had already given the order. As such, the 40,000 soldiers would no longer listen to Fang Zhengzhi. It would be pointless to protest.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu also looked back at Fang Zhengzhi. Deep inside Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes was a deep seated fury. Its presence was very obvious.

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely saw this expression from Yan Xiu. However, it was clear that Yan Xiu was enraged.

    Just as he prepared to say something.

    Yan Xiu spoke up first.

    "The Crown Prince does not have the right to disqualify or suspend a candidate, and would never give such an order. Who are you?" Yan Xiu¡¯s tone was cold as he stared at the messenger.

    A red glow began to shine through his eyes.

    Dao of Asura.

    One of the six great Daos. Even those some distance away could feel the icy chill of hell.

    The messenger stiffened and subconsciously took a step back. He knew how powerful Yan Xiu was, and he kill feel the killing intent building.

    As a messenger...

    He was definitely more powerful than the average soldier. However, this did not mean that he could go against Yan Xiu. After all, Yan Xiu was in the Heavenly Reflection State and wielded the Dao of Asura.

    The messenger began to sweat profusely when he felt the wave of iciness. His hand began to tremble.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s actions were noticed by the candidates.

    All of the candidates knew that Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi were close. However, would Yan Xiu go against the Crown Prince just for Fang Zhengzhi?

    Probably not... or so they thought.

    It looked like Yan Xiu was about to prove them wrong...

    Yan Xiu did not look like he was joking. All of the candidates knew for a fact that Yan Xiu rarely jokes.

    "I... I am a messenger by the Crown Prince¡¯s side. Yan Xiu, this order came personally from the Crown Prince. This token is proof of that. Are you really going against the Crown prince?" Even though the messenger was not as powerful, he was still arrogant.

    After all, when he held the silver dragon token in his hand, he represented the Crown Prince. He had expected Fang Zhengzhi to resist. However, he did not expect that the first person to resist was Yan Xiu.

    Even so, he did not believe that Yan Xiu would be audacious enough to go against the Crown Prince.

    Even though the messenger was loud, his tone was filled with fear. When yan Xiu heard what the messenger had to say, his expression was icy, his body glowing red.

    "Is Yan Xiu really going up against the Crown Prince?"

    "No way! Yan Xiu has such great potential! It would be a waste to destroy it because of this!"

    "Yan Xiu, don¡¯t do anything rash! The Crown Prince is only suspending Fang Zhengzhi temporarily! If he goes to the Crown prince and exins himself, he may still have a chance!"

    All of the candidates began to try persuading Yan Xiu.

    To them, they did not care if Fang Zhengzhi was going to be suspended or disqualified. However, if they did Yan Xiu a favor now...

    They could cash it in at ater date.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what Yan Xiu was thinking. However, Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi had slightly different views on the suspension.

    Of course...

    If this was Yan Xiu being suspended, Fang Zhengzhi would have done the same thing.

    Just as Yan Xiu was about to speak, a figure walked out from amongst the soldiers. This was a soldier in ordinary armor.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    He was not alone. All of the other candidates were also equally confused.

    It was weird that an ordinary soldier would walk out from the ranks. Furthermore, the timing at which he walked out was questionable.

    Yet, out walked the soldier.

    He walked towards the messenger.

    "Stand still!" The messenger began to grow suspicious when he saw this. He felt increasingly unsettled.

    The soldier did not stop. He continued striding towards the messenger.

    This caused all of the candidates and soldiers to be even more puzzled.

    They all thought of something. The messenger still had the silver dragon token. What if this soldier...

    "Arrest him!" The messenger waved the silver dragon token and ordered the 1000 soldiers around Nangong Hao.

    "Yes!" The thousand strong army replied in unison as they surrounded that soldier.

    At this moment, the soldier took off his helmet then began taking off his armor.

    Very quickly, a ck color top could be seen.

    However, this was no ordinary outfit. There was a pir embroidered in gold on the chest and there was a word inscribed clearly on the pir.

    "Stabilization!"

    ...

    "It¡¯s the Stabilization Constabry!"

    "Xing Qingsui!"

    "What is he doing here?!"

    All of the candidates recognized that ¡¯soldier¡¯ immediately. However, this raised more questions than answers.

    Why would Xing Qingsui hide amongst the ranks?

    What is going on?

    All of the candidates turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi also looked at Xing Qingsui in confusion. He seemed to recall that...

    Xing Qingsui did not participate in thebat examinations?

    So, why would he be in the Southern Mountain Range? More importantly, why was he inside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s army?

    Most importantly...

    Why disguise himself? Wasn¡¯t disguise something only Fang Zhengzhi did?

    The army stopped in its tracks because they too saw the golden pir on Xing Qingsui¡¯s chest.

    That was the symbol of the pir of the Great Xia Dynasty!

    It was the symbol of the Stabilization Constabry, the leader of the 13 constabries.

    To the soldiers, the Stabilization Constabry represented the might of the Great Xia Dynasty. More importantly, Xing Qingsui had a token in his hand.

    It was a token made from pure gold. Instead of the Crown Prince¡¯s silver dragon, there was a gold dragon on the token. There was also a word on it.

    "Emperor!"

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen the token before. He had a token that looked just like it. That was the token the Emperor had given him to bring to the Ministry of Rites.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had never used the token he had.

    Xing Qingsui raised the token high up in the air. In the moment he raised up the token, the soldiers stopped in their tracks.

    "The token can be used this way?" Fang Zhengzhi was quite surprised. However, his surprise did notst very long.

    Thanks to Xing Qingsui, he now knew that the token could be used this way.

    But...

    So what?

    Was he going tomit the crime of falsifying the Emperor¡¯s orders?

    That didn¡¯t sound right.

    "I only have one question for you. When the Crown Prince gave the order, did he pen it down?!" Xing Qingsui was very stable. He walked over to the messenger, the golden token in his hand glowing in the sun. He stopped merely three steps away from the messenger.

    When the messenger saw the golden token in Xing Qingsui¡¯s hand as well as the golden pir on Xing Qingsui¡¯s chest, sweat began to pour from his forehead.

    Did he really just order for Xing Qingsui¡¯s capture?

    "Young... Young Master Xing, the Crown Prince gave a verbal order. He did not pen it down!" The messenger¡¯s voice quivered.

    "I understand. Arrest this person for falsifying an order from the Crown Prince!" Xing Qingsui nodded.

    "Falsifying an order from the Crown Prince?"

    "How is that possible?"

    "Is Xing Qingsui out of his mind? What is he trying to do?"

    All of the candidates were stunned when they heard what Xing Qingsui said. After all, no messenger would dare to falsify an order.

    That was impossible!

    Of course, the biggest reason why they were unwilling to ept the fact was that if the order was indeed falsified...

    Then they were back where they started.

    They had celebrated too early. They were not going to get a second chance.

    "Young Master Xing, what are you talking about? This is an order from the Crown Prince! I... I would not dare lie about this! I repeated everything just as he said it, not a word out of..."

    "Enough rubbish, arrest him!" Xing Qingsui interrupted the messenger and ordered for his arrest.

    "Yes!" 1000 soldiers replied in unison. Four of them walked out of the ranks and dragged the messenger off his horse.

    This was quite the dramatic scene.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s appearance, then the order for Xing Qingsui¡¯s arrest, all the way to the messengers arrest... it had all happened too quickly.

    Of course...

    This entire incident also proved one thing. The person with the more powerful token could nullify the orders from the lesser token.

    Xing Qingsui had done so in the most direct manner. He had made his decision without hesitation.

    However, the decision was questioned by all the candidates.

    Even though Xing Qingsui was the heir to the Stabilization Constabry, he would not go against the Crown Prince on purpose.

    As such, why would Xing Qingsui risk antagonizing the Crown Prince and do something so audacious? What was his motive?

    More importantly, why was Xing Qingsui hidden inside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s army? Why would he smuggle himself into the ranks?

    They could not understand.

    All of the candidates looked at each other in confusion.

    Of course, Nangong Hao was not confused. In fact, from the moment Xing Qingsui appeared, Nangong Hao did not say anything. He did not even make any sound when the messenger was taken away.

 Chapter 375: The cat is out of the bag!

    Chapter 375: The cat is out of the bag!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    There was a saying - if one isn¡¯t involved, don¡¯t get involved.

    Nangong Hao was doing just that. He looked like an observer, unwilling to participate or speak.

    In fact, all of the candidates knew that Nangong Hao was somehow connected to it all. However, other than Nangong Hao, there was one more person who was silent.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was calm andposed throughout the entire sequence of events.

    This stumped all of the candidates.

    Why was this so?

    If Fang Zhengzhi was suspended, it would be horrible for him. If he wasn¡¯t suspended, Nangong Hao would be the one at a disadvantage.

    So why were both of them acting like mere observers?

    "Why are they this calm?" These candidates could not understand what was happening.

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything because his participation in the examination did not matter much to him. However, the other candidates did not know this.

    As for Nangong Hao...

    It was because he understood what was happening.

    He knew that the key to the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s n was the Icy Monkey Settlement. He also knew that the Crown Prince would never allow Fang Zhengzhi to take it. At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi would not be allowed to take it before they had put their n into action.

    As such, what did he have to worry about?

    The Crown Prince did give those orders verbally. There was no doubt about it. No messenger would have the audacity to falsify something like that.

    However, just as Xing Qingsui asked, did the Crown Prince put it in writing?

    No!

    That was the key problem.

    The Crown Prince was the invigting on behalf of the Emperor. His role was to ensure that the rules were followed and no innocent lives were lost.

    Did he have the right to disqualify a candidate?

    Of course not! The Chief Invigtor was still the Emperor himself!

    The Crown Prince was supposed to report back to the Emperor. The Emperor would have the final say as to whether Fang Zhengzhi was disqualified or not.

    The Crown Prince, Nangong Hao, Xing Qingsui, and all the candidates all knew this. However, the candidates were happy to see Fang Zhengzhi suspended.

    As such, why would they question the messenger?

    They wanted to believe that it was true.

    Nangong Hao knew exactly what the other candidates were thinking. He also predicted how they would react. The Crown Prince¡¯s move was quite predictable.

    He would sacrifice the pawn for the king!

    Fang Zhengzhi was the sacrificialmb here. However, the Crown Prince would never do something without giving himself a way out.

    He only issued a verbal order. That was his escape ticket.

    If it came down to it, the Crown Prince would just deny giving such an order. The person at fault would be the messenger.

    He would simply use the messenger of being bought over by the Southern Mountain Range!

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s actions was just pinning the charges on the messenger a few days in advance.

    Would the Crown Prince take this to heart?

    Even if he did, would Xing Qingsui care? He was the heir to the Stabilization Constabry. As for the Crown Prince, would he go up against the leader of the 13 Constabries because of this?

    If he did, he could forget about being the Crown Prince.

    Nangong Hao had predicted all of this. He could also predict what Xing Qingsui would do after capturing the messenger.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected Xing Qingsui to appear in the Southern Mountain Range. He did think that Xing Yuanguo may make an appearance, but Xing Qingsui¡¯s attendance was unexpected. That being said, he could still understand the reasoning behind it.

    The entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    After Xing Qingsui gave the order for the messenger¡¯s capture, he subconsciously nced at Nangong Hao. Then, he began walking towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak immediately.

    He did not know the details of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s n. Of course, he did not want to know, and did not want to participate in it.

    His only aim had been to find Yan Xiu.

    He had brought along 500 silver horned wolves to conquer the Thunder Light Settlement. Then, he had snuck up on Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng and the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    He did this to build up his power.

    He knew Yan Xiu very well.

    If he had simply participated in thebat examinations, Yan Xiu would not join up with him. Yan Xiu would have treated him as an ¡¯opponent¡¯.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi attacked Nangong Hao, things would be different.

    Yan Xiu would definitely meet up with him.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n had been going smoothly all the way till this point. As for defeating Nangong Hao at the Icy Monkey Settlement...

    That was a different n altogether.

    In fact, it was his promise to Nangong Mu.

    His 40,000 strong army was already at the gates. He had to make a show of attacking.

    More importantly, if Fang Zhengzhi had called for a retreat after seeing Yan Xiu, what would Yan Xiu think?

    Defeating Nangong Hao was something Fang Zhengzhi had to do.

    However, he never expected that there would be this many twists and turns along the way. After all that happened, he seemed to be back where he started.

    But...

    Was it really the case?

    Xing Qingsui had smuggled his way into the ranks a long time ago. For him to choose to reveal himself now meant that he wanted to do something other than blocking this ¡¯fake¡¯ order.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, if I ask you to pull back, will you?" Xing Qingsui stopped at a point five steps away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Pull back?"

    "Xing Qingsui wants Fang Zhengzhi to pull back?!"

    "What is going on? Is the Stabilization Constabry interfering with the court examinations?"

    All of the other candidates did not understand why Xing Qingsui would ask such a question. They were all guessing why the Stabilization Constabry was in the Southern Mountain Range, but they could not figure out why Xing Qingsui would ask Fang Zhengzhi to retreat.

    "I won¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and answered honestly.

    He knew that Xing Qingsui had a reason for asking him for something like that. However, he did not want to turn back.

    "Mm... I guessed as much. What if I asked you to pull back with the Emperor¡¯s token?" Xing Qingsui nodded, unsurprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer.

    "Emperor¡¯s token?"

    "The Stabilization Constabry is interfering with the court examinations?!"

    "What is going on?"

    All of the candidates were stunned when they heard Xing Qingsui. This meant that Xing Qingsui was using the Emperor¡¯s token to interfere with thebat examination.

    Was he not afraid that the Emperor would charge him?

    Or...

    Was this the Emperor¡¯s idea?

    But why would the Emperor have such an idea?

    When Yan Xiu heard this, he frowned and looked like he was deep in thought. He stared at the golden token in Xing Qingsui¡¯s hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Xing Qingsui immediately. He knew all along that thebat examinations was an excuse for the Great Xia Dynasty to send an army into the Southern Mountain Range. However, he did not know how they nned to execute their n.

    However, the moment Xing Qingsui asked him to retreat, he understood almost immediately.

    The Great Xia Dynasty had gathered 100,000 soldiers to enter the Southern Mountain Range. 60,000 were in the hands of the candidates whilst the remaining 40,000 weremanded by the Crown Prince.

    However, should they be activated, the 100,000 could not possibly fight from their respective locations...

    The best tactic would be to strike as one, straight at the heart of the Southern Mountain Range!

    Where was the heart?

    The Sagely Mountain City!

    The Icy Monkey Settlement is the nearest to the Sagely Mountain Settlement. Nangong Hao had based himself there from the start of the examination, understanding itsyout and scouting the surroundings.

    This would only mean one thing. The Icy Monkey Settlement was the ¡¯frontline¡¯ for the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s n.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s guess was correct, they wanted thebat examinations to proceed as per normal. When the time was right, either Wu Feng or Chen Feiyu wouldmand the 60,000 strong army to the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Mm...

    They would be delivering the army to Nangong Hao.

    By that time, all Nangong Hao had to do was defeat Wu Feng or Chen Feiyu. The 60,000 strong army would then be his.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance hadplicated matters...

    He hade out of nowhere and defeated Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng. Then, he hade straight for Nangong Hao with his army.

    Everything would have still been ording to n, but right now, Fang Zhengzhi only had 40,000 soldiers. This was still some ways away from the 60,000.

    There were still candidates out there.

    The time had note for them to execute their n.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why the Crown Prince wanted to suspend him temporarily. He also understood why Xing Qingsui would stop him from attacking the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    "I understand." Fang Zhengzhi nced at the golden token in Xing Qingsui¡¯s hand. He finally understood why Xing Qingsui made such a request.

    "You agree to pull back?" Xing Qingsui was visibly relieved after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response.

    "Mm, I agree to pull back, but..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he looked at Nangong Hao.

    "But what?"

    "My army can pull back, but I will not."

    "You will not? Fang Zhengzhi, you... you¡¯re thinking of?" Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed as he thought of the implications.

    This stunned Xing Qingsui, his calm demeanor disappearing in an instant.

    "Since I¡¯m here already, why not fight it out?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled, almost as if this was something obvious.

    Xing Qingsui wanted to prevent him from attacking the Icy Monkey Settlement and ensure that the n could proceed.

    However, the truth was, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s goal was never the Icy Monkey Settlement. It was Nangong Hao. As such, why not just challenge Nangong Hao directly?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process was straightforward.

    However, all the candidates could not believe their ears.

    Because...

    They had just witnessed a show of Nangong Hao¡¯s power. The clean thrust of his de was still etched in their minds.

    He had defeated Chen Feiyu in a single round.

    What about Fang Zhengzhi?

    They still remembered that Chen Feiyu blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Million Sword Illustration. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had the element of surprise then.

    Even though they now knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrow was aimed at the demons and not Chen Feiyu...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hold back on that strike. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi could not even defeat Chen Feiyu in a single round, despite having the element of surprise.

    However, Nangong Hao had defeated Chen Feiyu handedly in a fair battle.

    The difference between the two of them was clear.

    If Fang Zhengzhi tried to suppress Nangong Hao using his 40,000 soldiers, he may still stand a chance. However, Fang Zhengzhi refused to pull back!

    He was challenging Nangong Hao!

    All of the candidates looked at each other in disbelief. Their disbelief was also mixed with expressions of mockery and disdain.

    "Is this guy dumb?"

    "Why is he trying to duel Nangong Hao alone. He has 40,000 soldiers!"

    "It¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t want to use them. He can¡¯t use them!"

    "Well, it¡¯s not that he can¡¯t use themter! Xing Qingsui may have stopped him now, but that doesn¡¯t mean that Xing Qingsui will stop him indefinitely. Fang Zhengzhi can pull back to his stronghold. With his settlements and army, he will still finish in first ce. Nangong Hao would be forced to attack him there. Isn¡¯t that better than a duel?"

    "That¡¯s true!"

    All of the candidates began murmuring amongst themselves. All of them thought that Fang Zhengzhi was crazy to do this.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was keenly aware of something else.

    The Southern Mountain Range had set up ambushes in all the other three settlements.

    Pull back to the Thunderous Lion Settlement?

    That would be dumb!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process was simple. Since he was here, he would just try. If he won, he won. If he lost, he would escape. Why waste time in this god forsaken ce?

 Chapter 376: Fair fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao

    Chapter 376: Fair fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    All of the candidates thought that Fang Zhengzhi was courting death. However, Fang Zhengzhi just wanted to give it a go.

    Xing Qingsui was silent.

    He also thought that Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao were not on the same level. At the very least, they did not seem to be on the same level.

    However, he was not too stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    This was the Fang Zhengzhi he knew. Someone who could understand the Xing Family¡¯s "Offence is the best defence" would never retreat!

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had created miracle after miracle.

    In the World of the Sage, who would have expected Fang Zhengzhi to emerge victorious? When the demon Ying Shan revealed that he was in the Supernatural State, who would have expected that Fang Zhengzhi would defeat him?

    Xing Qingsui nodded after a moment of silence.

    He did not stop Fang Zhengzhi. After all, he could not prevent this battle from happening.

    Yan Xiu looked to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "If you really want to fight, let me fight him first!" Yan Xiu opened up his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "No, this time, I want to go first." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "I lost to you in the preliminaries, so... I think I should go first." Yan Xiu shook his head, his eyes filled with determination.

    "What if you lose?" Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yan Xiu was trying to do. From the moment Chen Feiyu lost to Nangong Hao, Yan Xiu wanted to battle Nangong Hao first.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want this to happen.

    Lose?

    Yan Xiu frowned. If someone else had said this, it would be taken as an insult. However, Yan Xiu was not angry that Fang Zhengzhi said it.

    In fact, Yan Xiu never thought about the possibility of losing in previous battles.

    But this time, he did.

    After all, his opponent was Nangong Hao, the greatest talent of the Great Xia Dynasty, ranked number two on the Rising Dragon Roll. Furthermore, he just defeated Chen Feiyu in a single round.

    "If I lose... I should still be able toe in third with my theory examination results!" Yan Xiu spoke after a moment of silence.

    "Is that enough?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes glimmered. He had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi actually meant, but he realized something else.

    Third ce?

    Enough?!

    Before Yan Xiu had left for the capital, his grandfather had only said one thing to him, "Take home the third ce!"

    Third ce...

    It was not the highest rank possible. However, it was incredibly respectable.

    When he saw Nangong Hao¡¯s participation in the court examinations, when he lost to Fang Zhengzhi in the preliminaries, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao tie for first ce in the theory examinations.

    Who would have asked Yan Xiu this question?

    Is third ce enough?

    Yan Xiu was not someone who expressed himself well. However, if someone really asked him that question, he would definitely answer...

    No!

    "This is why I must defeat Nangong Hao first. Then, we can have a fair fight. Then, regardless of what happens, you will definitely rank above Nangong Hao!" Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Yan Xiu to reply. There was no reply required.

    "Rank above Nangong Hao?!"

    All of the candidates looked speechlessly at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. They all had the same expression of disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi is mad!

    This guy has a screw loose!

    What Fang Zhengzhi said was correct. If Fang Zhengzhi defeated Nangong Hao and eliminated him, then Yan Xiu would rank above Nangong Hao despite the theory examination results.

    However...

    Was that even possible?

    Could Fang Zhengzhi defeat Nangong Hao?!

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu teamed up, their chances of victory were virtually zero.

    Hang on!

    Why didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi team up with Yan Xiu?

    All of the candidates were stunned by this revtion. If this was any other candidate, they would have disregarded that possibility.

    However, this was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was notorious for being shameless.

    2v1?

    In the first round of the imperial examinations, he had eliminated the favorite, Su Donglin, in a 4v1.

    Fang Zhengzhi could guess what the other candidates were thinking.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips began to twitch. If both of them eliminated Nangong Hao, that would guarantee that they would rank higher than him.

    Team up against Nangong Hao?

    Yan Xiu did not like the idea, but he wasn¡¯t against it.

    "I would like to have a fair battle with Nangong Hao!" Fang Zhengzhi saw Yan Xiu¡¯s lips twitched and stopped him in his tracks.

    "Fair battle?!"

    All of the other candidates were stunned by what they just heard. There was nothing wrong with what was said, but, it hade from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth...

    They could not believe what they just heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not exin further. He dismounted and began walking towards Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao did not have a stallion, so Fang Zhengzhi dismounted.

    This was fairness.

    The reason was simple. Fang Zhengzhi promised Nangong Mu that he would defeat Nangong Hao. He had to do so fairly.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression had been calm all this while.

    From the time he exited from the Icy Monkey Settlement and faced an army by himself, to the time he epted Chen Feiyu¡¯s challenge...

    All the way to the arrest of the messenger...

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression did not change. He still looked on politely, his eyes glimmering. However, when Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair fight, his expression changed.

    He was shocked, and slightly scornful.

    Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao were quite simr. They were very smart, but they kept a low profile and were not arrogant.

    However, this did not mean that they weren¡¯t confident.

    On the contrary, they were very confident of themselves. They possessed far more confidence than the average person.

    As such...

    When something unexpected happened, their calm nature would be slightly disturbed.

    Clearly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were not predicted by Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao had expected that Fang Zhengzhi would team up with Yan Xiu. At the very least, he would let Yan Xiu go first. However, not only did Fang Zhengzhi want to go first, he proposed a fair fight.

    "Fair fight?" Nangong Hao murmured to himself, his eyes shining even brighter. It was almost as if there was a sun embedded in his eyes.

    In that instant, Nangong Hao stepped forward.

    He began walking towards Fang Zhengzhi. He was not fast, but he he was stable.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi strolled leisurely, humming a tune as he walked.

    Then, both of them stopped.

    The distance between them...

    10 steps!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I came to the court examinations to defeat you, but I wasn¡¯t looking forward to this battle. But now, I have changed my mind." Nangong Hao gripped the hilt of his sword lightly. His demeanor was different from when he battled Chen Feiyu.

    "Ok. So what if you¡¯ve changed your mind? Do you need to say it out loud?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips in disdain.

    There was no way he would be tricked into asking why.

    "Indeed, I don¡¯t." Nangong Hao was not affected or angered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply. He simply nodded solemnly.

    Then, Nangong Hao drew his de.

    He held the de in his right hand as his left hand supported the crystal clear de. Heid it t for all to see.

    "Since this is a fairpetition, let me introduce myself. I am the eldest son of the Nangong Family. I broke through to the Supernatural Statest month. I am probably at the pinnacle of the Supernatural State. My de is named ¡¯Standstill¡¯. It gets name from its ability to do anything. My understanding of Dao is that it should be natural and one should always follow one¡¯s heart. My cultivation technique is simr. My character and heart for Dao will not be extinguished!"

    Nangong Hao bowed lightly towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    After Fang Zhengzhi heard the self introduction, his expression stiffened. He felt that something was amiss.

    Standstill?

    Because there is nothing it can¡¯t do?

    Fang Zhnegzhi knew what this meant.

    Of course, Nangong Hao¡¯s emphasis was not on his de. He had emphasized the fact that he had broken through to the Supernatural State a month ago!

    Hang on!

    Supernatural state?

    And...

    His abilities are in the pinnacle of the Supernatural State?!

    What the hell?

    Isn¡¯t he a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator? Was it all a lie? Why would people lie about that?

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned to hear it.

    All of the other candidates were also equally stunned. In fact, they looked even more floored than Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Nangong Hao broke through!"

    "He managed to progress to the pinnacle of the Supernatural State in one month?!"

    "Wha... what is going on? Why didn¡¯t anyone from the Nangong Family say anything about this? How did he manage to progress so much in one month?"

    All of the candidates could not believe their ears.

    They were arguably even more stunned than when Nangong Hao defeated Chen Feiyu in a single round.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s eyes widened. He knew he had lost, but he did not understand why he lost.

    He had refused to ept the loss.

    Why would he, as a Supernatural State cultivator, lose to Nangong Hao in a single round. Nangong Hao was supposed to be a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!

    But now...

    He finally understood.

    Supernatural State!

    He was only in the nascent stages of the Supernatural State. For him to challenge the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao wasical.

    All Chen Feiyu wanted to do was dig a hole and hide.

    Wu Feng¡¯s expression was a little calmer. All this while, he had known that Nangong Hao was not someone he should antagonize.

    But now, he knew that Nangong Hao was absolutely unantagonizable.

    He broke through one month ago.

    One month to get to the pinnacle of the Supernatural State.

    Is he even human?

    Hang on, if Nangong Hao broke through and is now in the pinnacle Supernatural State...

    Ranked first on the Rising Dragon Roll?!

    This question flew into Wu Feng¡¯s mind. At the same time, all of the candidates pondered the implications. Everyone knew how important this was.

    Yan Xiu always believed in Fang Zhengzhi.

    He had believed in Fang Zhengzhi even when Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair battle. He believed in Fang Zhengzhi even when the twobatants were 10 steps apart.

    But now...

    He gripped his reins tightly.

    Nangong Hao broke through?!

    This was a piece of news that would shock the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Yet, Nangong Hao had kept this a secret all this while.

    He finally chose to reveal it here.

    This could only mean one thing. Nangong Hao felt that Fang Zhengzhi was an opponent deserving of his respect. Even though this news will spread like wildfire in the capital...

    All he wanted was...

    Fairness!

    Of course, that meant that Nangong Hao would not hold back.

    He was in the pinnacle Supernatural State. If he did not show mercy, one could only imagine how scary he would be.

    "I must stop this battle from happening!" Yan Xiu thought to himself. He had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi nned to fight this battle, but he knew he had to prevent the fight from happening.

    It was possible to fight someone one state higher than you.

    However, never in history did someone in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State defeat someone in the pinnacle Supernatural State.

    Even Chi Guyan may not be able to do it.

    Yan Xiu gripped the reins before dismounting. He straightened his back, his battle intent ignited.

    However, just at that moment...

    He saw a hand waving him off.

    "I said that this would be a fair battle. It will be a fair battle!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice reverberated through the air.

    His determination was clear for all to see.

    It was a determination that had never been seen before from Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 377: Friendship is fragile

    Chapter 377: Friendship is fragile

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Xiu¡¯s hands moved slightly. After dismounting, he stood rooted to the ground.

    He looked at Fang Zhengzhi silently. He knew what Fang Zhengzhi wanted. Since he knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was set, why bother saying anything else?

    All of the candidates froze. Then, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with mockery and disdain.

    All this while, they thought that Fang Zhengzhi only managed to achieve what he did through his thick skin and shamelessness.

    But now...

    With those out of the picture, what did Fang Zhengzhi have?

    Ability?

    Pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State ability?!

    What a joke!

    Nangong Hao was already in the pinnacle Supernatural State. In a fair fight, Fang Zhengzhi would be hard pressed to defeat Wu Feng, much less Nangong Hao.

    "Fair fight? He must be courting death!"

    "Why don¡¯t we bet on how many rounds Fang Zhengzhi willst?"

    "How many rounds?! What kind of joke is this? If Fang Zhengzhi is able tost one round, he can brag about it for half a year!"

    "Young Master Wang is right. After all, even Chen Feiyu could notst a single round! Hahaha..."

    "Comeee, I shall be the banker. Those who think that he willst only one round ce your bets on the left. Those who bet between two to five rounds, ce your bets on the right!" One of the candidates in white retrieved a huge white cloth with the word ¡¯bets¡¯. This man was clearly a gambler.

    "I bet on one round!"

    "I also bet on one round!"

    "..."

    "You all look down on Young Master Fang too much. Didn¡¯t he save us before? How about this, I will be the first to bet on two rounds." Just as all the candidates were getting excited, Wu Feng stepped forward and bet 1000 silvers.

    "Young Master Wu is generous!"

    "This is nothing. This is also my way of thanking him for his ¡¯arrows¡¯ just now!" Wu Feng waved them off.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi ignored what was happening, he still heard the chatter. It was as irritating as flies by his ear.

    "You bunch of idiots! What a joke! Why would I onlyst one round?!" Fang Zhengzhi turned around and arrogantly pointed his middle finger at the candidates.

    Just at this moment, Yan Xiu dismounted icily. Then, he walked through the crowd, holding his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan as he did so.

    This caused all the other candidates to quieten down.

    They were not scared of Fang Zhengzhi. However, when it came to Yan Xiu, they felt an icy chill down their spine. This was because of the Yan Family and Yan Xiu¡¯s Dao of Asura.

    Yan Xiu looked at the cloth on the floor as well as the money ced on both sides. He paused for a moment before speaking.

    "Where do I ce my bets for five rounds and above?"

    "What?" The candidate who was the banker was momentarily stunned.

    "I asked where to ce my bets for five rounds and above?" Yan Xiu asked irritably.

    "What? Five rounds and above? Erm... you can just put it in the middle, on top of the word ¡¯bets¡¯". The banker finally recovered from his shock.

    "Okay then, I will bet 50,000 taels on that!" Yan Xiu did not waffle about. He took out a stack of cash and ced it on the cloth.

    "50,000 taels?!"

    All of the candidates were stunned by Yan Xiu¡¯s actions. They thought that Yan Xiu was here to break it up. Little did they expect that Yan Xiu was here to ce a bet with virtually no chance of winning.

    Money...

    Did he have too much?

    This was the first thought in the minds of the other candidates. However, they immediately threw the thought out of their minds. The Yan Family was indeed filthy rich.

    ...

    Many people thought that this was Yan Xiu¡¯s way of encouraging Fang Zhengzhi. This ensured that the bets would not be too demeaning.

    However, there was another problem.

    Yan Xiu bet on the fact that Fang Zhengzhi wouldst five rounds or more, not...

    Win!

    The candidates did not think about this. In their minds, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to defeat Nangong Hao. Since that was the case, Yan Xiu¡¯s bet was already bold enough.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expressions changed.

    Where was the trust? Where was the friendship?

    Five rounds and above...

    What was the meaning of that?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not describe his feeling in words. If he had to describe it, all he could say was, "Friendship is a fragile thing!"

    Fang Zhengzhi ced his hand on his chest amidst the sadness.

    There was a Heart Protection Mirror there. Inside it was a sword, a sword that he did not take out unless he was in danger. That sword was named Traceless!

    Right now, Fang Zhengzhi would need everything he had if he was going to stand a chance in this battle!

    He shouted the name and a crisp hum rang out. Soon after, Fang Zhengzhi held a sword in his hand. It looked like an ordinary sword, but it was anything but.

    There were no patterns on the hilt, no intricate carvings or art.

    The hilt was pure ck, its de shiny. This de was pristine, all the way till the tip.

    At the tip of the sword was a purple colored mark. That was a strange shade of purple.

    "I am the only child of the Fang Family of the Northern Mountain Vige. I do not know when I broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State. I do not know how powerful I am now. My de is named ¡¯Traceless¡¯. It gets its name from its perfection and spotlessness. My understanding of Dao is... ah heck it. Every Dao is my Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed as he waved his sword.

    "Shallow!"

    "Crazy!"

    "Shameless!"

    All of the candidates began to chide Fang Zhengzhi. They started calling him names.

    However, Nangong Hao did not despise Fang Zhengzhi for what he said. Instead, he repeated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Of course, he edited them.

    "Every Dao is my Dao, mm... it does fit your character. However, it is extremely difficult to amodate all the Daos into your pocket dimension. As far as I know, there are no more than 10 cultivators who have managed to amodate more than 100 Daos. They are the best at their level, but none of them managed to be Sages! Young Master Fang, are you sure you want to continue on this dead end road?" Nangong Hao asked sincerely.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    All this while, he had been very proud of the fact that he had hundreds of Dao in his pocket dimension. The number of Daos he knew was also one of the reasons why he managed to ace all the previous exams.

    But now, Nangong Hao had just called it a dead end!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. He had gone through a lot since his Star Conglomerate and Heavenly Reflection days.

    The Imperial examinations, the battle on Cang Ling Mountain, and now the court examinations.

    Logically...

    He should be very powerful after learning so many Daos. He should also be on the verge of breaking through. However, he still did not feel like he was close.

    Nangong Hao was the heir to the Nangong Family. His view of cultivation was unmatched by the average individual. The route he chose was also one that was well paved and researched.

    As such...

    Hang on!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought about this, he remembered the time he spent with Chi Guyan back at the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Other than Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan was the only one who knew that he had hundreds of Dao in his pocket dimension.

    At that time, Chi Guyan had asked...

    "Do you want to defeat me?"

    Fang Zhengzhi could not say for sure why Chi Guyan would ask that question, but he knew what she was getting at.

    Dao could be grown.

    He had to develop them.

    This was the most pressing issue right now.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been doing this over the past few months. He kept trying to understand each Dao over and over again...

    Yet, Nangong Hao was criticizing his methods?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if Nangong Hao said it on purpose. However, he did know one thing.

    If he began to doubt himself because of something his opponent said, he would have lost the battle before it even began!

    A bead of sweat rolled across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. Fang Zhengzhi hadpeted with Nangong Hao once during the theory examination. That had resulted in a draw.

    However, this time, after a single statement by Nangong Hao...

    He was already at a disadvantage. Nangong Hao was confident about himself and had an intricate understanding of Dao.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had a lethal weakness.

    He had never been to an academy and had never been taught properly. As such, his cultivation had mostly been self taught.

    This was a weakness that everyone knew.

    However, only Nangong Hao knew how to attack this weakness.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had to find a way to regain the upper hand.

    He could not discuss Dao as this would involve him using his weakness to challenge Nangong Hao¡¯s strength.

    As such...

    Fang Zhengzhi had to abandon that n. He chose a different route.

    "I heard that the Nangong Family was well informed. Why is it that I fail to see that trait on you?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled condescendingly.

    The fact that the Nangong Family was well informed and connected was a fact. He had seen this in the World of the Sage.

    That was the first time Nangong Mu had seen Ying Shan.

    However, he was able to pinpoint Ying Shan¡¯s identity based on the method Ying Shan used in his sneak attack.

    This proved one that... the Nangong Family was extremely well informed!

    "What do you mean?" Nangong Hao smiled as well. This was a calm smile and he revealed no trace of anger.

    "You just said that there are no more than 10 cultivators who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos. Do you have proof?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yes."

    Nangong Hao did not even hesitate before speaking, "Year 13 of the Great Xia Dynasty, at Yuan Ye River. A man, aged 43, grasped 103 Daos. He was known as the most powerful Supernatural State cultivator. He died at 87 but did not break through to the Rebirth State. Year 57 of the Great Xia Dynasty..."

    Nangong Hao rattled off the names and achievements of all the people in history. The most powerful of whom were in the Rebirth State. The least powerful of which was in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, none of them managed to attain the level of sage.

    "Year 25 of the Great Xia Dynasty... this is the tenth person. He died at 93 in the Rebirth State, unable to breakthrough!"

    Nangong Hao paused after announcing the tenth person. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, "Does Young Master Fang agree with what I just said?"

    He had just rattled off 10 historical figures together with their birth year, death year, and their cultivation level. He did not even hesitate between names.

    This was proof of his knowledge.

    Even though Nangong Hao seemed to be looking to Fang Zhengzhi for approval, all of the other candidates were awed by his knowledge.

    They had all learnt such facts and historical nuggets.

    But, who ever remembered them?

    The candidates had all studied in academies, but none of them bothered to remember such insignificant nuggets of information. Would someone like Fang Zhengzhi remember?

    In fact, did he even read about this before?

    As such, even though Nangong Hao was looking to Fang Zhengzhi, none of the candidates thought that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to find fault with what Nangong Hao said.

    "You are right, but... you missed out one person!" Fang Zhengzhi did not bother looking at the expressions of the candidates around him. He waited patiently for Nangong Hao to finish before replying.

 Chapter 378: Tree full of Dao

    Chapter 378: Tree full of Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Missed our one person?!"

    All of the candidates were stunned when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. From what they knew, Fang Zhengzhi had never attended an academy.

    If he had never been to an academy, how can he have any understanding of history?

    This was equivalent to an illiterate iming that he could read the Law of Dao. This was virtually impossible.

    "How can information from the Nangong Family ever be wrong?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi said Nangong Hao missed out someone? How is that possible?"

    "Exactly! Even though I do not care about these people, I remember that someone told me that there are only 10 people in history who grasped more than 100 Daos! Nangong Hao mentioned 10 people just now, where is the missing individual?"

    "I think this fe is trying one of his shameless tactics again!"

    All of the candidates shook their head as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disdain. After all, it was not too difficult to make up a story when it came to history.

    All Fang Zhengzhi needed to do was make up a piece of history and say that it wasn¡¯t recorded in the official annals.

    Then...

    None of them could say that he was wrong.

    After all, those legends were unverifiable. Since they could not be verified, who could say for sure if they were fact or fiction?

    However, this was not something an academic would do.

    Since all of the candidates could think about this tactic, so could Nangong Hao. However, he was not angered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    "Young Master Fang says that I missed out one person, do you have proof?" Nangong Hao¡¯s voice was not loud, but his tone was solemn.

    "I can." Fang Zhengzhi nodded without hesitation.

    "Okay then, as long as Young Master Fang is able to prove that I missed out one person, I will admit that I am ignorant and apologize to you. However, if you cannot, then please apologize to me for thement!" Nangong Hao replied equally quickly.

    His eyes were shining, his expression calm. However, there was a deep seated confidence embedded within the calm.

    All of the candidates smiled and chuckled when they heard this,

    They did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to find evidence to prove his point. After all, it was a fact that the official records only recorded 10 people who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos.

    Fang Zhengzhi was smiling as well.

    It was a fact that the official records only recorded 10 people who grasped more than 100 Daos.

    But, that was the history books.

    To put it simply, it did not take into ount the present, or the future.

    "There are only 10 people who grasped more than 100 Daos?" This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had heard about this. If not for the fact that it was Nangong Hao who said it, he would not believe it.

    After all, he had hundreds of Daos in his pocket dimension.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi had always thought that having a hundred or even hundreds of Dao in one¡¯s pocket dimension was normal.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not know that his experience was unprecedented. No one before him had done it before, and it was highly unlikely that future generations would be able to replicate this feat.

    He figured out the Illustration of All Creation at age six and essed Dao.

    This was extremely rare in the Great Xia Dynasty. In the entire empire, there were no more than three people who were able to ess Dao before age seven.

    These talented individuals all had impable teaching and had countless resources at their disposal.

    For someone to do this without any knowledge?

    That would be even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was such a miracle. He essed Dao at age six, but understood nothing. Absolutely nothing.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not dumb.

    He had his own unique methods. He developed this method from the mathematics he learnt in primary school. One plus one equals two. Two plus one equals three.

    He used his general knowledge to solve his problems in cultivation. He began to gain some traction in cultivation.

    Ever since he essed Dao at age six, he did only one thing. He kept trying to grasp more and more Daos, ensuring each one was unique. After all, his primary school teacher had taught him one thing.

    Two is definitely better than one!

    Furthermore, when Fang Zhengzhi grasped his second Dao, the difference was stark. His abilities more than doubled.

    Time flew by as he continued to learn and grasp more and more Daos.

    Fang Zhengzhi never stopped trying. He spent every day of the year trying to grasp new Daos. After a few years, he managed to fill his pocket dimension¡¯s tree with many fruits.

    The fruits were multicolored, and they adorned the huge tree in his pocket dimension. He once thought that he was on top of the world.

    However, after exiting the Northern Mountain Vige, he finally understood that he had been a frog in the well.

    That being said...

    Was there a second person in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty capable of something like that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know that. All he knew was that he had many Daos in his pocket dimension. He knew that he had way more than 100 Daos.

    As such, when he heard what Nangong Hao said, he chuckled.

    Nangong Hao could see the smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. He could sense that there was confidence behind that radiant smile.

    However, he could not understand where Fang Zhengzhi was getting his blind confidence from?

    That was until...

    Nangong Hao saw Fang Zhengzhi raise his hand and point to himself. Then, Fang Zhengzhi said something that no one would have expected.

    "You left me out!" Fang Zhengzhi replied tly. He did not seem like he was acting. In fact, he looked like he was simply stating a fact.

    "You left me out!"

    "Left out..."

    "Me?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s statement was not loud but simple. However, everyone around them burst into exmations of disbelief when they heard this.

    All of the other candidates were in shock.

    "What did Fang Zhengzhi just say?"

    "I think he said Nangong Hao left him out!"

    "Left him out? What does he mean?"

    "I think he means Nangong Hao didn¡¯t mention his name?"

    "Duh! What I¡¯m asking is... what does it mean!"

    "No way, how is that possible? Fang Zhengzhi never attended an academy, but he said... could it be that he really grasped more than 100 Daos?"

    All of the other candidates could not hide their shock.

    Nangong Hao was right in saying that no one who grasped more than 100 Daos managed to attain the level of sage. That being said, how many people could be a sage anyways?

    Bing a sage.

    That was the dream. However, that was an unattainable dream for many.

    On the contrary, all those who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos were known as heroes. That was an attainable reality, and people had done it before.

    The candidates were all floored.

    It would be impossible for Nangong Hao not to be taken aback by this news. After all, this was not a route that the average person could take.

    In order to grasp and understand over 100 Daos required peerless talent. It was arguably even more difficult than mastering a single Dao.

    More importantly, it required immense determination.

    This person could probably have broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State in a year with his talent. However, he needed to suppress his cultivation at the Star Conglomerate level in order to grasp and understand more Daos.

    Four years ago, Nangong Hao rejected the invitation to the Heaven Dao Pavillion iming that his foundation was not stable enough. He returned to the Nangong Family for four years.

    At that time, he had considered doing this as well.

    However, he gave up. After all, this was much too difficult and required too much effort. More importantly, no one could guarantee results.

    All roads lead to Rome. Every cultivation technique was capable of producing great powers.

    That being said, there were clearly easier and more difficult routes to choose. It wasn¡¯t difficult to see which was the obvious choice.

    Nangong Hao chose to cultivate his heart, and achieved great things with this technique.

    As such, with the four years of training he had, he managed to reach the pinnacle Supernatural State within a month of breakthrough.

    His progress was terrifying.

    Nangong Hao had always thought that he had chosen the best path.

    However, when he found out that Fang Zhengzhi had chosen a path that he himself did not dare to choose, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.

    It was inexplicable.

    Jealousy? No! Nangong Hao firmly believed that the path he chose was the best!

    Curiosity? No! After all, history had proven that this was a road was a dead end!

    Nangong Hao could not describe this feeling. He felt slightly ufortable. This was the first time he had felt this ufortable after maturing in his heart cultivation.

    "You have grasped more than 100 Daos?" Nangong Hao did not doubt Fang Zhengzhi because he could see that Fang Zhengzhi was telling the truth.

    However, he asked it anyways. He wanted to know how far along this road Fang Zhengzhi was.

    "100 Daos? That is too little!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in scorn. He thought that Nangong Hao was looking down on him.

    100?

    Go f*ck yourself!

    Nangong Hao was stunned. He was very rarely affected by the words of others. However, when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response, his expression changed.

    All of the other candidates were shocked.

    100 is too little?

    Did this guy grasp 110 Daos? Or even 120 Daos?

    That didn¡¯t seem very possible.

    Throughout history, the maximum number of Daos anyone had ever grasped in their lives was 183. Furthermore, he only managed that number in his 90s.

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    Only 15!

    Yan Xiu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi. He head heard Fang Zhengzhi say that he had many Daos in his pocket dimension.

    However, he did not know exactly how many Daos Fang Zhengzhi had understood.

    "Could it be that Young Master Fang has grasped over 120 Daos?" Nangong Hao¡¯s recovered quickly.

    120 Daos was a very bold guess.

    However, when Nangong Hao said it, he did so calmly.

    This was a function of his confidence, his confidence that he was the best amongst his peers.

    "Too little." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again. Didn¡¯t he already say that 100 was too little.

    Even the dumbest person would know to add a little more. At the very least, he could double his guess?

    What was the point of adding 20?

    "Still too little?!"

    "The number exceeds 120?!"

    "How... how is this possible? Is he bragging?! I don¡¯t believe this!"

    All of the candidates could hear Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer clearly. However, they could not bring themselves to believe that the teenage Fang Zhengzhi could grasp more than 120 Daos!

    Fang Zhengzhi also noticed the look of shock on the faces of the other candidates. He did not understand why they were this shocked.

    Of course...

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi knew that the record for the most Daos grasped in history was 183, he would not be surprised.

    This did not mean that Fang Zhengzhi was necessarily more talented.

    The only thing that could be said was that he had a head start. This was akin to the difference in learning ability between a mature student and a child.

    If a child had been ced in different environments growing up, then he would be able to grasp manynguages.

    Furthermore, he would be fluent in all of them.

    However, if you ced a man in his thirties in different environments, he may not even be able to master a singlenguage.

    Since he was six, Fang Zhengzhi had been trying to understand the various Daos. As such, he had a huge head startpared to the historical figures.

 Chapter 379: Most powerful

    Chapter 379: Most powerful

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Learning had to start from a tender age.

    Fang Zhengzhi had memories from his previous world. However, when he was born, he was born into a baby¡¯s body. This was why he managed to memorize the Law of Dao so easily.

    A mature individual would not be able to memorize the entire page after reading it a couple of times, but a baby could.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know why the candidates were so stunned. Simrly, he did not understand Nangong Hao¡¯s expression.

    "120 is still too little?!" Nangong Hao was rarely this shaken, but never in his wildest dreams would he expect that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped over 120 Daos!

    Nangong Hao was a genius.

    He had always looked down on those around him. It was just like how a rank 2 official would not bother with the rank seven officials.

    Even so, Nangong Hao had specially put aside an entire week to read up on Fang Zhengzhi in an attempt to understand him better.

    The information packet included things that were public knowledge, as well as information that few knew.

    For example...

    The Nangong Family had sent someone to assimte into the Northern and Southern Mountain viges to gather information about Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s preparation for this battle wasplete and intensive.

    He would be able to predict Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moves after reading up on his experiences. Furthermore, Nangong Hao had the cultivation state advantage.

    His victory was virtually guaranteed.

    In fact, everything was within Nangong Hao¡¯s control. Even Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s queer disappearance at the Intellectual Hall and his subsequent appearance in the Southern Mountain Range.

    Nangong Hao had prepared for everything.

    Four years of confinement...

    Nangong Hao¡¯s appearance drew much attention. Furthermore, he managed to make use of the Nangong Family¡¯s intelligencework to hand in a script from the leader of the demons.

    Then, he managed to tie for first position during the theory examination.

    Everything was going ording to n. However, no one had ever mentioned the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped more than 100 Daos.

    "Could it be that this has been a secret all his time?" Nangong Hao felt that this was the only exnation.

    However, this seemed a little far fetched.

    After all...

    Fang Zhengzhi was not one to fly under the radar.

    He was so shameless and loved the spotlight. It would be impossible that a secret like that had stayed a secret for this length of time.

    Nangong Hao simply could not figure out what was going on.

    Of course, Nangong Hao never expected that Fang Zhengzhi, who tied with him for first, would be ¡¯ignorant¡¯ enough to not know what the implications meant.

    Fang Zhengzhi truly did not know the implications. During his time with Chi Guyan, he had mentioned the fact that he had nearly 300 Daos in his pocket dimension.

    However, other than pointing out his problem, Chi Guyan had not said that this was an extraordinary feat. She even made the ¡¯ve¡¯ deal with Fang Zhengzhi.

    He looked at Nangong Hao who was visibly stumped.

    Fang Zhengzhi was growing impatient. He had mentioned the fact that he had more than 100 Daos in his pocket dimension to rebuke Nangong Hao. At the same time, he would regain the upper hand.

    However, he never expected to y this guessing game with Nangong Hao.

    Seeing that Nangong Hao was not speaking, Fang Zhengzhi raised three fingers and waved them in front of Nangong Hao.

    "130?!" Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed when he saw the three fingers. His calm eyes began to shimmer.

    When Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair fight, Nangong Hao felt for the first time that Fang Zhengzhi deserved his respect. But now...

    This was the first time he took Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

    "He grasped 130 Daos?!"

    All of the surrounding candidates were floored by this realization. This was a number that no one would have predicted.

    However, even before the candidates could express their awe, a furious voice reverberated through the air.

    "Nangong Hao, are you really that much of an imbecile? Three fingers is 130?! 300, do you know what is 300?!"

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely questioned the intelligence of his opponents. But now, he was questioning the intelligence of one of the most talented individuals in the empire.

    That being said, he could not hold it in any longer.

    Was his hint not obvious enough?

    He already said that 100 was too little?

    Then Nangong Hao said 120.

    Fine, no problem. Since he wasn¡¯t getting anywhere near the number, Fang Zhengzhi decided to tell him. Surely he would understand three fingers?

    But yet...

    Nangong Hao guessed 130?!

    How could he take such humiliation?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care if others judged him as being short tempered. Even if he was going to scold the number one talent in the empire, he had to vent his anger.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice cut through the air like a knife.

    All of the candidates heard his words loud and clear.

    However, they could not react in time.

    There were two reasons for this. One, Fang Zhengzhi had just insulted Nangong Hao. That was obvious.

    Yet, he had not even bothered trying to soften the blow.

    This was almost as if an unknown carpenter ran up to a word renowned one and asked if he knew how to wield an axe?

    Or if an unknown soldier waved his sword in front of the top general of their generation iming that he can be the general¡¯s tutor!

    Who in their right mind would question Nangong Hao¡¯s intelligence?!

    Even the Emperor himself would not dare say something like that. In fact, there was no one else on the who would think that way.

    As for the second point...

    Fang Zhengzhi had said 300!

    300?

    What did he mean?

    Was he talking about silvers? Or gold? He can¡¯t possibly be talking about Dao?! 300?! What kind of joke was this?

    The most in recorded history was 183. Furthermore, it took the person more than 90 years! How old was Fang Zhengzhi? 15? 16?

    Who would believe it?

    The candidates refused to.

    Nangong Hao did not want to believe it either. However, Fang Zhengzhi had said it so clearly it was impossible not to understand.

    "You¡¯ve grasped... 300 Daos?!" Nangong Hao kept repeating this in his mind. His heart and mind were famed for their calmness.

    However, at this moment, he felt that calm being hit by a powerful charge.

    This was a virtually unstoppable hit!

    Other than Nangong Hao, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and even Xing Qingsui were all equally floored by this revtion.

    Even Yan Xiu, who had known all along that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped many Daos, could not believe his ears.

    He had heard Fang Zhengzhi mention this in passing before.

    However, he did not think too much about it. After all, there were many people in this world who grasped about 50 different Daos.

    Of course, when Fang Zhengzhi said that he had grasped over 100 Daos, Yan Xiu was slightly taken aback, but only slightly.

    He had always thought of Fang Zhengzhi as a genius.

    As such...

    He was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi could achieve more than most.

    However, when his feats were extraordinary even whenpared to the best in history, even Yan Xiu could not react.

    Nangong Hao was silent.

    The other candidates were silent.

    Yan Xiu, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and Xing Qingsui were all silent.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished berating Nangong Hao, he took a deep breath. Then, he realized that he had humiliated his opponent.

    After all, Nangong Hao had not scolded him.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never been very well mannered. He had always spoke his mind. If he wanted to scold somebody, he wouldn¡¯t think twice.

    However, it was not very nice to scold someone when others didn¡¯t even raise their voice.

    As such, when he saw Nangong Hao remain silent, he decided to try and lighten the atmosphere and relieve some of the embarrassment.

    Apologize?

    That would be too polite and unnecessary.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose his own unique way of lightening the atmosphere. He decided to tell Nangong Hao the whole truth in a show of sincerity.

    "Okay, to be honest, 300 is an estimate. If you want the exact number, I have 388 Daos in my pocket dimension!" Fang Zhengzhi revealed the exact number of Daos he had grasped. In that moment, he felt relieved.

    Honesty.

    This wasplete honesty!

    After all, cultivation was like one¡¯s technique. Everyone guarded it closely, who would reveal something like this to the opponent?

    Very few people would do such a thing.

    But yet, Fang Zhengzhi had done it. He had told Nangong Hao the exact number of Daos he had in his pocket dimension. This was equivalent to telling Nangong Hao how many techniques he knew.

    Of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi offered up the information so readily because he felt that Nangong Hao would not benefit much from knowing that information.

    After all, it was almost impossible to calcte the number of ways he could string together his techniques.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confident of that.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi revealed this truth, the result was one that shocked and confused him.

    "What¡¯s wrong with Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao, unable to understand what was happening. Nangong Hao stood in front of him like a wooden dummy.

    Oh?

    The top talent is stumped?

    Or is he just too touched by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s honesty?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not figure it out. He turned around and realized that the reactions of those behind him were even more exaggerated than Nangong Hao¡¯s.

    "Cling ng cling ng." Metallic noises rang out.

    That was the sound of weapons falling to the ground. Fang Zhengzhi also saw all the candidates with their mouth agape, their eyes popping out of their sockets.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no words to describe what he saw.

    If he really had to describe it, all he could say was that they all looked dumbfounded!

    "388?!"

    "He said that he had 388..."

    All of the candidates could not believe their ears.

    In actual fact, they were already stunned when Fang Zhengzhi berated Nangong Hao. However, after they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they werepletely floored.

    388 Daos?

    This was oppression!

    This was never before seen, and would probably never be seen again in the future.

    There was one person in history who managed to grasp 183 Daos in his life. He managed to breakthrough to the Rebirth State, bing the most powerful person in that state.

    Even though he did not manage to breakthrough to sage, his position as the most powerful person in that state made others revere him.

    People once wondered how powerful this person would be if he attained sage.

    That was a terrifying thought.

    No one dared to imagine it, but the thought still existed. How powerful would a sage who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos be?

    But...

    300!

    388 at that!

    What kind of ¡¯potential¡¯ does this person have?

    Top Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!

    In that moment, all of the candidates recovered from the shock. They remembered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits in the imperial examination. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi had just broken through a month ago.

    At that time, everyone had thought that Fang Zhengzhi was only in the nascent Heavenly Reflection State. They never thought of him as being in the same league as Su Donglin, Xing Qingsui and Nangong Mu.

    But the truth was?

    Fang Zhengzhi showed in the first round that he had the power to go up against Su Donglin. Then, he defeated Nangong Mu, who was proficient in the Green and Blue Secret Art, in the finals. Then, he managed to take down Yan Xiu who had a good grasp of the Dao of Asura.

    This was something that had stumped all of the candidates.

    They could not understand why someone as shameless as him who had just broken through would have such luck and abilities. After all, he did not learn any special techniques.

    But now, they understood.

    Fang Zhengzhi had more than 388 Daos in his pocket dimension. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi was the most powerful Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!

 Chapter 380

    <h4>Chapter 380: Not even one round?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Since the ancient days, people had always wanted topete to see who was better. However, some people had higher cultivation levels whilst others had better techniques.

    Then, how would they decide?

    The easiest method was to have a fair fight.

    However, after the candidates heard that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension, no one doubted his abilities anymore.

    After all, history had proven that those who managed to grasp more than 100 Daos were all heroes amongst their peers!

    ...

    Nangong Hao had been a bright star ever since his childhood days. He had been surrounded bypliments for the past 20 years.

    More and moreplimentary phrases had been piled on over the years.

    Mature, calm, stable, talented, the future of his generation. A plethora of differentpliments had been heaped upon him.

    Anyone in his position would be incredibly arrogant.

    However, Nangong Hao was not. He knew that the higher he went, the greater the fall would be. As such, he never stopped working hard to improve himself.

    For the court examinations, despite having every advantage, he still spent effort to read up on his opponent¡¯s character and techniques.

    He felt that as long as he did the necessary preparations and found Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s achilles heel, victory was certain.

    But now?

    Fang Zhengzhi had countered almost perfectly. Fang Zhengzhi had ruined his ns, unsettling him greatly.

    Nangong Hao recovered slowly.

    He raised his head as he looked into the blue sky. He felt the chilly spring wind and looked at the stunned candidates around him.

    He knew that right now, Fang Zhengzhi was just on the same level as him.

    However, if one saw it from the different perspective...

    His knowledge advantage, ability advantage, geographical advantage... virtually all his advantages had been neutralized by Fang Zhengzhi!

    Nangong Hao did not bother thinking any more. He did not try to rebut Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, he slowly raised his clear sword.

    ¡°In this battle, I will suppress my cultivation level to the Heavenly Reflection State.¡± Nangong Hao started rather shakily before calming down.

    All of the other candidates were taken aback by what they heard.

    ¡°Nangong Hao wants to suppress his own cultivation state?! He proposed this himself? What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Why would he do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°It is no wonder he is the top talent!¡±

    Some of the candidates could not understand what Nangong Hao was thinking. However, some of the faster ones understood almost immediately.

    The logic was not difficult to understand. However, few people would make the same decision if they were ced in that situation. Nangong Hao¡¯s action was admirable.

    That being said...

    If he didn¡¯t make that decision, he wouldn¡¯t be Nangong Hao.

    ...

    Nangong Hao¡¯s hand was steady, his eyes as bright as the sun, rays of light beaming out of his pupils.

    That look of confusion had disappearedpletely.

    Nangong Hao knew the risks involved in such a decision. However, only by making such a decision would he feel the rush he did.

    He couldn¡¯t remember thest time he had been this excited to battle someone.

    But now...

    He felt the rush!

    When he heard that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension, he had two choices. One, he could use his cultivation state superiority to oppress Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, if he did so, he would have lost the battle of the heart.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s pride refused to let that happen.

    This was especially after Fang Zhengzhi managed to neutralize all the posturing advantage Nangong Hao had.

    The strong could only remain strong if they were confident enough.

    Only these people would be willing to take risks and push themselves to the limits.

    Only people like that would be able to stand at the pinnacle and be true powers.

    Nangong Hao could choose the easier option.

    He could use his cultivation state to oppress Fang Zhengzhi. However, this would mean that he did not dare to take up the challenge and prove that his method was the right one.

    This battle could ruin his life!

    Nangong Hao hadplete faith in his choice. He was willing to pay the price for his choice. He was not afraid of losing, he was afraid of not daring to lose.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had to be capable enough to defeat him.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s calm slowly morphed into confidence and excitement. This was a rush he felt from discovering a worthy opponent.

    How powerful was someone with 388 Daos in the pocket dimension?

    Nangong Hao stared at Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to find out for himself if the numbers made a difference, or if the heart would be the determining factor.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi never thought that he would be gifted with such a golden opportunity.

    In actual fact, when he heard that Nangong Hao had broken through to the Supernatural State, he wanted to turn back and tell Nangong Hao that he would reschedule.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t do so.

    There was no need to exin his reasons. In the end, he had managed to neutralize the posturing advantage Nangong Hao had. Then, he received yet another piece of good news.

    Nangong Hao was going to suppress his own cultivation state!

    Hang on!

    So if Nangong Hao was defeated, would it be legitimate?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s excitement did notst long. He remembered that the purpose of battling Nangong Hao was to fulfill his promise to nangong Mu.

    If he defeated Nangong Hao whilst his cultivation state was suppressed, he would not have achieved what he set out to do.

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    Even so, to the candidates and the deputies, the fact that Nangong Hao was willing to suppress his cultivation state meant that he was extremely confident. This gave him the slight advantage.

    ¡°Who will win if they are both in the same cultivation state?¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao of course! After all, Nangong Hao was invited to join the Heaven Dao Pavillion when he was in the Heavenly Reflection State. Furthermore, Nangong Hao¡¯s heart is ridiculously strong.¡±

    ¡°Even so, Fang Zhengzhi has grasped over 300... no nearly 400 Daos! Logically speaking, no one in the same cultivation state is his match!¡±

    ¡°Exactly, this battle... will be difficult to predict!¡±

    All of the candidates began to discuss the possible results of this battle. After knowing the number of Daos in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pocket dimension, they began to think that this battle was less lopsided than they expected.

    However, just as these candidates were expecting the battle to begin, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°If you are not going to give this battle your all, then this battle is meaningless. When I say it¡¯ll be a fair fight, I mean it! I want you to try your very best! As such, please shove your pity aside and give it your all! Let me see if you are worth me drawing my sword!¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his sword in the air as he spoke.

    The entire crowd was silent.

    All of the candidates were awed by what they just heard. This time, they were awed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sck of fear.

    This was bravery in the face of a superpower.

    This was even more valuable than Nangong Hao¡¯s bravery.

    The sun shone down on the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. It caused the purple glow to be ever so bright.

    ...

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression of excitement froze.

    He never felt that he would start off a battle feeling this low. Even before the battle begun, he felt incredible pressure.

    This pressure did note from his opponent¡¯s ability or power!

    It was from the heart!

    Nangong Hao was very confident when it came to his heart and control. However, he had to admit that as of now, Fang Zhengzhi was schooling him in that area.

    He did not know what would happen if he continued like this. All he knew was that he could not sheath his sword now.

    ¡°A fair fight? Then I¡¯d like to see if you can evenst a single round!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes glimmered like a golden sun.

    When under such immense pressure.

    Few would choose to draw their des.

    However, Nangong Hao did not even hesitate. He knew that he was well trained in that area. He did not fear someone who was equally skilled.

    The Dragon Combat n was all amodating.

    With Nangong Hao¡¯s cultivation method, he could amodate almost everything. Kindness, evil, crazy... he could extract the best of everything.

    With such abilities, why would he be affected by a small setback?

    Nangong Hao drew his sword.

    Despite losing the advantage, he did not hesitate.

    His de looked extremely ordinary and it lived up to its name. It looked like any ordinary de, but there was nothing it was not capable of.

    The de rocketed through the air.

    This was quite simr to the strike Nangong Hao had used to defeat Chen Feiyu. All of the candidates knew that this ordinary looking strike was incredibly powerful.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was a little taken aback when he saw the strike.

    He had thought that after the exchange, Nangong Hao should have said something. For example, he could have stood his ground or tried to convince Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Nangong Hao did not do anything of that sort.

    He chose to draw his sword and strike. He did so without mercy or hesitation. He did not even say anything before striking.

    ¡°Sneak attack?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to use Nangong Hao of that, but he realized that it would not be appropriate.

    After all, Nangong Hao had struck from the front. Furthermore, he had asked for fairness.

    In other words, Fang Zhengzhi had already said that the battle had begun!

    It was understandable that Nangong Hao would strike.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this. Even though he found it quite strange, he reacted quickly, throwing out a bunch of nails with his left hand.

    The Dragon Combat n can amodate everything huh?

    Try amodating nails!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hope for much from this handful of nails. This was just a habit of his.

    As such, after he threw out the handful of nails, he swung Traceless with his right hand.

    The water of the Yellow River originates from heaven and flows straight towards the sea, never to return.¡± This was a poem from the previous world, but Fang Zhengzhi thought it was the most appropriate.

    The de swung and rays of light shone out from it.

    The light rays shone downard like a huge waterfall. They crashed towards Nangong Hao¡¯s de.

    In that instant, the silver light shed with the crystal sword.

    However...

    There was no loud crash or impact. It was silent, a silence that waspletely foreign to the spectators.

    This was a technique that Fang Zhengzhi had used many times.

    He had termed this technique Mountain Waterfall Cascade. When the Traceless de was used, even people in the Supernatural State did not dare to take it lightly.

    But this time, when his technique shed with Nangong Hao¡¯s de, he felt a queer feeling in his heart.

    If he had to use a single phrase to describe it, it would be...

    Wee from the same roots, why are we in a rush to kill each other?!

    ¡°God damn it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew this feeling originated from Nangong Hao¡¯s Dragon Combat n. He wanted to attack it.

    However, that unsettling feeling rushed towards his heart. His sword techniquecked any battle intent.

    Without battle intent, could it still be called a sword technique?

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Chen Feiyu would stand rooted to the ground, only reacting after Nangong Hao¡¯s de was at his throat.

    It wasn¡¯t that Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t want to fight.

    It was that Chen Feiyu¡¯s sword technique didn¡¯t want to fight!

    ¡°You can control everything in the universe but so can I!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s words to Chen Feiyu rang out in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    The sword technique was made up from Dao and Dao was everything in the universe.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s cultivation state was superior to Fang Zhengzhi. As such, he had better control over everything in the universe. With that in mind, he had better control over Dao...

    That meant that he could control the sword technique.

 Chapter 381: Last stand

    Chapter 381: Last stand

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had felt this way before. That was in the battle with Lu Yusheng at the Divine Constabry.

    At that time, Lu Yusheng had strangely broken through into the Heavenly Reflection State. He proceeded to ¡¯hunt down¡¯ Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi in the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    After, Fang Zhengzhi managed to breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection State, the two had onest battle inside the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi looked like he had the element of surprise, the fact was that he had a much better control over the Dao of all Creation. As such, he was able to control Lu Yusheng¡¯s Ice Territory.

    The roles were now reversed, but the concept was simr.

    Of course, in order to do such a thing, two conditions must be met. First, one¡¯s pocket dimension must have the same Dao. Two, one must have better control than the opponent.

    Nangong Hao was in the pinnacle Supernatural State. As such, his control over the Dao of All Creation was better than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. Furthermore, the Dragon Combat n¡¯s unique amodating nature meant that his sword technique couldbine with any Dao.

    As such, it was not difficult for Nangong Hao to do this.

    Nangong Hao may have an easy time, but that meant that Fang Zhengzhi was going to struggle.

    To Fang Zhengzhi, it felt like he had thrust his sword only to find out that it wasn¡¯t him. Instead, his opponent had stolen his sword and thrust it back at him. What¡¯s mine is his, what¡¯s his is still his. How was he going to fight?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Nangong Hao was powerful, but he never expected Nangong Hao to be this ridiculously powerful.

    Stealing the Dao of others?

    The thought shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He kept trying to think of a weakness in the Dragon Combat n. However, his most pressing issue was not to find a weakness...

    It was to dodge Nangong Hao¡¯s attack.

    No fancy show of force, no fanfare. However, it was as quick as a bolt of lightning.

    Nangong Hao thrusted straight at him. When his de contacted the waterfall from heaven, it went straight through and flew towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    This strike left Fang Zhengzhi with no choice but to give up his menacing technique and retreat.

    "ng!" A crisp sound rang out.

    There wasn¡¯t much reverberation as the des shed and parted. Yet, the crisp sound was clear for all to hear.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s de returned to its original position, the tip still pointed at Fang Zhengzhi. It glowed golden in the light.

    "Congrattions, you managed to block my strike!" Nangong Hao¡¯s tone was calm, just like how he was when he exited the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s shock upon hearing that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension had disappeared.

    This strike had restored hisposure.

    This was the beauty of his technique.

    "Fang Zhengzhi blocked Nangong Hao¡¯s strike?!"

    "This battle is even more interesting than I expected."

    "I wonder how many rounds Fang Zhengzhi canst considering that he¡¯s being outssed in cultivation state. If Nangong Hao really suppressed his own cultivation state, Fang Zhengzhi really had a good chance of winning!"

    "Mm, for a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator to block the attack of a pinnacle Supernatural State cultivator is impressive!"

    All of the candidates looked at Fang Zhengzhi with conflicted expressions. They had once disregarded him as a despicable viger. But now, he was a shining star.

    That being said...

    Nangong Hao was much too powerful.

    Nangong Hao was a full cultivation state above Fang Zhengzhi. No matter how hard Fang Zhengzhi tried, he could not possibly defeat Nangong Hao.

    The fact that he could block one attack...

    Could be considered a victory.

    All of the candidates thought the same way. However, Chen Feiyu was extremely depressed when he saw this. Despite being in the Supernatural State, he was unable to block Nangong Hao¡¯s strike...

    Yan Xiu was not too surprised. He had expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to block Nangong Hao¡¯s strike. However, he didn¡¯t expect that it would be this difficult.

    Yan Xiu noticed something that the others didn¡¯t. Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword wielding hand.

    And right now...

    That hand was trembling slightly.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought of many ways to block Nangong Hao¡¯s strike. He wanted to use more Daos to increase the difficulty for Nangong Hao to amodate them all.

    He also wanted to try using each Dao one by one.

    He did not believe that the Dragon Combat n would be able to amodate everything.

    But did Fang Zhengzhi have the chance to try it?

    Nope.

    As such, he was forced to use the most basic of techniques. He did not use Dao, choosing instead to use his own energy.

    That was what he used to block Nangong Hao¡¯s strike.

    However, just as what Yan Xiu guessed, without any Dao in the de, how could Fang Zhengzhi go up against Nangong Hao¡¯s Dragon Combat n buffed strike.

    In the moment the des shed, a powerful wave of force crashed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s de was the Traceless Sword...

    He would not have been able to match that attack.

    "The Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is a hero of the Great Xia Dynasty. His de had shed through the demon¡¯s Blood Shadow City. That mark is still there to this day. His de is stained with the blood of the demon lord Si Kong. The de in your hand is truly a good sword." Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes glowed even brighter as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword. His white robe pped in the wind.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what Nangong Hao was saying.

    He knew that Nangong Hao had already seen through the fact that he only managed to block the strike because of the quality of his de. He also knew that Nangong Hao¡¯s next strike would not be easy to block.

    Was the difference between cultivation states really that great?

    Dragon Combat n!

    How was he going to find a weakness in the Dragon Combat n?!

    A technique that could steal the Dao of others is impossible to break! He could steal everything you had. How would someone like that lose?

    But, Nangong Hao had lost before...

    He had lost to one person. That person was Chi Guyan.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this. However, what he didn¡¯t know was how Chi Guyan managed to defeat Nangong Hao¡¯s sword technique!

    Did she use the Million Sword Illustration?

    The only technique he had seen Chi Guyan use was the Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration. Right now, that seemed like his only hope.

    However, could it really defeat the Dragon Combat n?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that it was very likely.

    If it couldn¡¯t, then how did Chi Guyan manage to defeat Nangong Hao?

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall what was discussed during his time with Chi Guyan in the Northern Mountain Vige. Back then, Chi Guyan enlightened him about his weaknesses and made the deal with him.

    Chi Guyan wanted him to participate in the court examinations.

    That meant that Chi Guyan knew that this battle would take ce.

    If so, why didn¡¯t Chi Guyan mention anything about the Dragon Combat n? Did she think that he had no chance of defeating Nangong Hao? Or was it that she had said it but he didn¡¯t take notice?

    Fang Zhengzhi kept trying to recall the minute details from hisst meeting with Chi Guyan. However, he could not remember Chi Guyan dropping any hints.

    Okay then...

    Chi Guyan must have thought that he couldn¡¯t defeat Nangong Hao.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious when he thought about this. His initially trembling hand became firm as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

    What he didn¡¯t realize was that in the moment he gripped the hilt, the purple mark on the tip of the de changed.

    It began to flow.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think anymore. Based on his knowledge of Dao and cultivation, he could not think of any way to defeat the nature of the Dragon Combat n.

    If that was the case...

    His only option was simple.

    Just do it!

    Go at it mindlessly!

    Fang Zhengzhi moved. He did not wait for Nangong Hao to strike again, deciding to take the initiative this time. He couldn¡¯t let Nangong Hao have the first-move advantage all the time.

    It didn¡¯t matter if he couldn¡¯t win, he wasn¡¯t going to give up!

    Fang Zhengzhi went straight for Nangong Hao.

    All of the candidates were shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi take the initiative. Why wouldn¡¯t he take this time to set up his defence?

    Was he giving up?

    Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes moved. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi had struggled to block his previous attack. But yet, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reaction was to attack?

    "Not bad!" Nangong Hao swung his de.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was willing to lose but he was going to keep trying. In other words, this was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sst stand. He had effectively given up.

    Nangong Hao knew that his battle with Fang Zhengzhi would be short.

    Three rounds!

    That was the limit that he had set for himself.

    Initially, when he heard that Fang Zhengzhi had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension, he wanted to raise the limit. He wanted to suppress his abilities and see for himself how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had rejected his offer.

    As such, he would respect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision.

    He decided to finish this battle off quickly. As for his question about if the number of Daos was what made someone powerful, or if the heart was the determining factor...

    Nangong Hao never doubted his own choices.

    Thepetition did not matter much to him.

    Nangong Hao knew that another opportunity woulde. When Fang Zhengzhi was fortunate enough to breakthrough to the Supernatural State, he would be able to try it out for himself.

    Of course, the prerequisite was that Fang Zhengzhi must be able to breakthrough. The second condition was that he himself had not broken through to the Rebirth State.

    388 Daos!

    This was a double edged sword!

    Fang Zhengzhi would be the best in his current state. However, it would be many times more difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to breakthrough.

    The logic was simple. The more Daos one had, the less one could master each Dao. In the same time, someone who focused on one Dao would be able to advance much further.

    Nangong Hao did not want this battle to drag on any longer. He still had his own unique mission in the war between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Mountain Range.

    He struck in the same silent way.

    This time however, Nangong Hao¡¯s de multiplied into four.

    Four des, four people.

    When the de in his hand split into four, so did Nangong Hao. Each of their white robes pped in the wind.

    The four des came straight at Fang Zhengzhi from four different directions.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was not shocked that Nangong Hao managed to split into four. He knew many techniques which could do such a thing.

    They could be holograms or reflections.

    Some techniques reflected light to project three simr images. Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was not powerful enough to do it himself.

    Okay then...

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected that the difference between the two strikes would be this great.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s first attack was ordinary and silent. It was just quick. However, his second attack came from all four directions.

    How was Fang Zhengzhi going to block this?

    There was no way!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to breakout of this. However, what he was afraid of was that he would be defeated even before he could breakout. If he defeated one of the Nangong Haos...

    It could just be a reflection.

    Then, he would be dead...

    But Nangong Hao would still be alive.

    He could not use the Dao of All Creation to block Nangong Hao¡¯s attack. Not only did Nangong Hao stop him from using any Daos, Nangong Hao was attacking from all directions.

    How would he defend against four opponents?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was at the end of his road. Without being able to use the Dao of All Creation, he felt like an unarmed viger going up against a ferocious beast.

    He was helpless.

    But was he going to lose just like that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did entertain the possibility that he would be defeated. However, in all his battles, he had never fell in the second round.

    Just one round?

    That was utterly embarrassing!

    Fang Zhengzhi would never ept that! After all, if news of this spread to Ping Yang or Chi Guyan, how would he ever bring himself to face them in the future?

    No way!

    Even if he was going to lose, he was going tost a few more rounds. Or perhaps, he was going to force Nangong Hao to be on the defensive.

    Fang Zhengzhi was desperate. However, it was this desperation that caused his mind to open up almost instantly.

    In that moment, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The angelic light shone radiantly in front of him, so much so that he struggled to open his eyes.

 Chapter 382: Something out of nothing

    Chapter 382: Something out of nothing

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If I can¡¯t block your attack, then I¡¯ll make you block mine.

    Offence is the best defence. This was the mentality of the Stabilization Constabry and Fang Zhengzhi understood it extremely well.

    However, this would not be enough to defeat Nangong Hao.

    In order to maximise the effectiveness of this technique, he had to be able to attack. If he couldn¡¯t even use his techniques, how was he going to go on the offence?

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this very well.

    As such, he decided to modify this idea slightly.

    There was only one way that a weaker person could emerge victorious. He had to make his techniques messy and unpredictable.

    In a battle between two people in different leagues, the weaker one could have the best possible techniques and the stronger one could use simple techniques. However, the results would always be the same.

    The crowd would praise the expert for being able to make such an ordinary technique so powerful. Some of these experts would end up as ¡¯guru¡¯.

    Then, the expert would cate the hardworking probie. Then, he would deal the lethal blow...

    "No matter how good your technique, I can find its weaknesses. If you really want to be an expert, you have to move past these techniques."

    This was what the best in the business did.

    They would create something out of nothing!

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi could not possibly attain such a level instantly. Ever since he left the Northern Mountain Vige, he had never been lucky enough to attain greatness through a single battle.

    That was something virtually impossible.

    Think about it. If it was that easy to understand these concepts, then those who made battle a daily urrence in their lives...

    These concepts would be so overrated.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand it immediately, but he had a feeling. He felt that he could possibly manage something along those lines.

    Nangong Hao could defeat anything that he tried. Nangong Hao could render his techniques useless.

    In other words...

    He was now the probie going up against the expert.

    No matter how perfect or borate his techniques were, he would not be able to defeat his opponent¡¯s ordinary strikes.

    The Dragon Combat n would steal the technique!

    How domineering...

    On the surface, this looked like an impossible technique to defeat. However, upon closer inspection, there were certain rules that had to be followed.

    He had to see the technique for him to be able to break it down.

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Mountain Waterfall Cascade came crashing down, Nangong Hao¡¯s de would merge with the waterfall.

    That way, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack would be rendered useless.

    However, what if there wasn¡¯t a waterfall.

    This was quite the audacious and impossible idea. After all, if there was no waterfall, there was no Dao. With no Dao, where would the sword get its power?

    But...

    If one really drilled into the bedrock, one would find that it was notpletely impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waterfall in the Mountain Waterfall Cascade was formed through Dao. It used the shape to augment the de¡¯s offensive power.

    The Dao woulde from the heavens and congregate at a single point before charging towards its target. The power embedded within this technique was unfathomable.

    However, other than the Dao, the technique also drew upon something else.

    That was...

    The white mist inside his pocket dimension.

    Dao was shape, and the white mist was Qi. When two people had the same amount of Qi, technique was the differentiating factor. However, Qi could also augment one¡¯s technique.

    As such, when Fang Zhengzhi thought about no waterfall...

    What he meant was that he would give up his borate techniques. To put it inly, he was going to give up the power of Dao and rely purely on his ¡¯raw power¡¯.

    Ordinarily, this technique would not be sessful.

    This was akin to someone having to quench the thirst of 1000 refugees with only a bucket of water. They would have to ration in carefully.

    After all, they had to ensure that the refugees all received water.

    But...

    What if you had hundreds of acres of water?

    Would you still need to ration the water? By that time, all you hoped for was that they wouldn¡¯t kill themselves from water poisoning.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a ton of white mist in his pocket dimension. Not only did the white mist fill up the entire sky within his pocket dimension, it also filled up a vast ocean.

    In this world, the white mist was known as the origin of Dao.

    It was possible to channel the same amount of power into each strike without using Dao. However, the physical exertion would be many times greater. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi had to put everything he had behind each strike.

    By giving up the Dao and just using the raw ingredients, Fang Zhengzhi was tapping on the vast reserves of white mist in his pocket dimension.

    ...

    Those who grasped more than 100 Daos were the best in their cultivation state.

    That was something that had been proven all throughout history. However, few people knew why that was the case.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand either before this. But now, Chi Guyan¡¯s words kept repeating in his head.

    "What you need to do now is calm yourself down and nurture your Daos!"

    At that time, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Chi Guyan meant. But now, he seemed to understand what she was trying to say.

    His advantage was not that he had a tree filled with Daos.

    Those Daos had not yet taken on their final form. Before they had been properly nurtured and developed, they were just a blunt sword. But... his reserve of raw materials...

    That was terrifying.

    That was what he was counting on now.

    At the very least, it was his only hope for the near future. Once all of his Daos were fully developed, one could only guess the limits of his power.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao, who was attacking from all sides.

    This time however, he was not shocked. He was not prepared to sacrifice himself to breakout of this.

    He wanted the...

    To break first!

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao shed and the resulting shockwave sent earth flying skyward. This was different from the previous shes that the other candidates had witnessed.

    This sh.

    Was resoundingly loud and powerful.

    It was not as calm as the previous shes. This time, it felt like two humongous rocks had shed with each other, the shockwave crashing into the crowd.

    This caused all of the candidates to subconsciously retreat. They could not believe what they were seeing.

    To bepletely honest, they didn¡¯t even know what happened.

    They saw Nangong Hao strike in four different directions before they allbined into one. Then, the shockwave had crashed into them.

    "Did they sh?"

    "Is there a victor?!"

    All of the candidates admitted that Fang Zhengzhi was talented. However, being able to block one of Nangong Hao¡¯s attack was lucky enough. None of them thought that he would be able to withstand a second round.

    Yan Xiu stared at the center of the chaos, his knuckles white as he gripped the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    Chen Feiyu and Wu Feng were significantly more shocked by the results.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s shock was the most palpable. He was of the opinion that in the face of Nangong Hao, all the sword techniques were useless. So why was there such a powerful shockwave?

    Teng Shisheng looked at the eye of the storm equally anxiously. However, his anxiety was visibly different from Yan Xiu¡¯s.

    Then...

    The dust settled.

    Two figures could be seen. One was wearing a white academic robe, the other leopard print leather.

    Their outfits were caked in dust.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly as the Traceless Sword in his hand glowed purple. Then, just like before, he did not wait for Nangong Hao to attack.

    He lunged forward once again.

    The purple light shone radiantly, staining Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes purple as well.

    "He... lunged forward?!"

    "Does that mean that he managed to block Nangong Hao¡¯s attack? Not only did he block it, he has energy to charge?"

    "How is that possible?"

    All of the candidates had thought that Fang Zhengzhi had given up. But now, all they felt was awe and disbelief.

    This was a result that none of them would have predicted.

    Even Nangong Hao himself was shocked. Not only was he shocked that Fang Zhengzhi blocked his attack, he was shocked that Fang Zhengzhi...

    Was able to continue fighting?!

    He knew exactly how Fang Zhengzhi had blocked his attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not used any sword technique or element or Dao. All he did was channel all the energy in his pocket dimension.

    How powerful was the raw energy in one¡¯s pocket dimension?

    No one knew.

    But it was a fact that Fang Zhengzhi had blocked Nangong Hao¡¯s second attack.

    Then...

    The natural thing happened. Fang Zhengzhi swung his sword at Nangong Hao, a strange purple glow at its tip.

    It was the same shade of purple as the blood on the tip of the sword.

    Yet, the power behind this strike was so powerful that it tore through the fabric of the universe, leaving behind a ck crack. Previously, Fang Zhengzhi had only managed to create such a tear with the Sun Shooting Bow and the Million Sword Illustration.

    But this time, Fang Zhengzhi managed to do it.

    "I see!" Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes glowed golden. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi unleash all his power, he finally understood what was going on.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was not drawing on any Dao or technique. It was drawing on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s raw power.

    As a result...

    His Dragon Combat n was unable to control it. After all, he could not control the power inside Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao did want to end the battle early. But based on what was happening, it was not going to end anytime soon. It would not end until Fang Zhengzhi had depleted all his resources.

    "Boom!"

    The third sh.

    The purple stain shed with Nangong Hao¡¯s clear de once again. The shockwave reverberated through the crowd.

    Then, a fourth sh, a fifth sh, a sixth sh...

    Every sh was apanied by a powerful shockwave that sent columns of dust skyward. It enveloped the battlefield and obscured them from vision.

    "Is... that really Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "How is he that powerful? How did he manage to block so many of Nangong Hao¡¯s attacks?"

    "Is Nangong Hao suppressing his own cultivation state?"

    "What rubbish. Even without considering the fact that Nangong Hao wouldn¡¯t do it, does the battle raging in front of you look like it could be by two Heavenly Reflection State cultivators?"

    The jaws of all the candidates spectating the battle dropped, their eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    Disbelief.

    They could not bring themselves to believe what they were seeing.

    This was not just apetition. This was a fight for survival. However, it was going on for much too long!

    Yan Xiu¡¯s fists clenched even tighter, anxiety written all over his face. Furthermore, there traces of awe began to show. He had thought that his rate of improvement was very fast.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect that Fang Zhengzhi was even faster!

    In the two months since the preliminaries, Fang Zhengzhi was now powerful enough to battle Nangong Hao?!

    This was a shocker to him.

    All of the gazes were fixated on the two battling figures. They faded in and out of view, apanied by the loud shes.

    Everyone watching had their hearts in their mouths.

    "How powerful!"

    "They¡¯ve been going at it for at least seven rounds!"

    "I wonder how many more rounds this battle willst?"

    "Why is Fang Zhengzhi able to block Nangong Hao¡¯s attacks? Is he a monster?"

    All of the candidates looked on intently, silently counting the number of rounds. They were all wondering how long this battle wouldst.

    As for who would win...

    There was no need to guess.

 Chapter 383: Make you a sage

    Chapter 383: Make you a sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    In fact, everyone thought that the results of this battle was a foregone conclusion.

    Pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State against a pinnacle Supernatural State.

    Was there any doubt?

    This was what the candidates thought, and it was also what Nangong Hao thought. He was not arrogant. In fact, he had been extremely meticulous in preparing for his battle with Fang Zhengzhi.

    It would be impossible for Nangong Hao, who was in the pinnacle Supernatural State, to not be confident about defeating Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao had expected that he would battle with Fang Zhengzhi. He also expected that Fang Zhengzhi would not admit defeat. He expected Fang Zhengzhi to put up quite the struggle.

    However, he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be able tost this long!

    "What¡¯s going on? Has he not depleted his energy yet?" Nangong Hao was shocked after the eighth sh.

    He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi was doing, and he knew the consequences of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    Fighting for his life?

    Could hest long?

    Of course no. If he couldst long, then it wouldn¡¯t be ast-ditch attempt. This was akin to sprinting at the end of a marathon. Could someone sprint the entire marathon?

    But Fang Zhengzhi was doing just that...

    Every strike was filled with every ounce of force he could muster. Every charge tore a hole in the fabric of the universe. One could only imagine the exertion required to maintain such power.

    Nangong Hao knew exactly how tiring this was. As such, he was in no hurry.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi could notst long. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi was just trying to ensure that his defeat was not too humiliating.

    Nangong Hao could understand this. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had proposed a fair fight and rejected his offer to suppress his cultivation state to the Heavenly Reflection State.

    This was reason enough for him to take Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi was holding out for a ridiculously long time.

    Furthermore, it felt like Fang Zhengzhi still had more in him. He continued to charge and swing manically. It didn¡¯t look like he was fighting for his life. In fact, it looked like he was just venting his anger.

    "What the hell?" Nangong Hao could not understand what was going on. He had been in the Heavenly Reflection State before and knew how much resources were at his disposal. Even if Fang Zhengzhi had more than the average person, this was getting a little too ridiculous.

    That was what Nangong Hao was thinking.

    However, what he did not know was that Fang Zhengzhi was actually venting.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always been quite thrifty and conservative with his use of these resources. After all, he could not afford to waste it.

    But this time, he realized that he had something that he could use to refill his resources.

    That was a vast ocean.

    An ocean filled with raw energy.

    Every swing of the de would wipe out all of the raw energy in the sky inside his pocket dimension. It was such a great feeling.

    Every swing would wipe it out.

    Fang Zhengzhi could only use one word to describe it.

    Awesome!

    The vast ocean in his pocket dimension roared as it kept filling the sky with more of the white mist. Every time it was filled, it would be emptied, only to be refilled again.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how long it would take before the ocean would bepletely depleted. However, he had the feeling that it would take at least an hour.

    Even though he had no way of defeating Nangong Hao, to be able tost more than an hour in battle was admirable.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that they couldn¡¯t mock him for such a feat. He smirked subconsciously, a queer sight amidst all the dust and battle.

    What Fang Zhengzhi did not know was that whilst the ocean of mist was raging, the huge tree in his pocket dimension was also changing. Leaves began to sprout from the branches and the fruits began to morph.

    They were initially smooth and ordinary. But now, patterns began to appear on the surface. There were mountains, rivers, flora, grass, trees, snowkes...

    The fruit that changed the most was the purple colored one.

    That fruit already had patterns on it, but now, with the vaporization of white mist, that fruit began to glow.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was having the time of his life.

    Nangong Hao was shocked. He even had a feeling that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks were getting more and more powerful.

    Even though...

    The change was so minute that it was almost unnoticeable...

    He still managed to feel it.

    "If I had suppressed my cultivation state to the Heavenly Reflection State, could I have won?" Nangong Hao wondered to himself as he fought.

    All this while, Nangong Hao never doubted the path that he chose. After all, he had chosen this path after much consideration and research.

    This was the most direct path in the cultivation world.

    Initially, he had given up learning the Green and Blue Secret Art in favor of the Dragon Combat n. His reason for not choosing the Green and Blue Secret Art was not because he was scared of its difficulty.

    He chose it for the starting point.

    The Dragon Combat n provided a better starting point.

    He would learn the Dragon Combat n first, then proceed to the Green and Blue Secret Art. He had never revealed this n to anyone.

    Including Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Hao knew exactly why Nangong Mu chose the Green and Blue Secret Art. He had tried talking Nangong Mu out of it but to no avail. As such, he had no choice but to support his brother.

    As long as Nangong Mu participated in the exam, he would not participate. Furthermore, he would not fight with Nangong Mu for any honor.

    On many asions, Nangong Hao had promised in his heart that he would help Nangong Mu master the Green and Blue Secret Art after he had distilled all the essence of the Dragon Combat n. He would help make his brother a sage!

    This was Nangong Hao.

    He did not lust after reputation or benefits. All he wanted was to find the best cultivation techniques.

    But now, for the first time ever, he began to doubt the method he chose. This doubt originated from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s surprise was considered mild.

    All of the candidates werepletely floored by this time. They kept trying to guess how long this battle wouldst.

    Five rounds? Six rounds? Eight rounds?

    Five minutes?

    15 minutes!

    Okay then...

    More than 15 minutes had passed and the battle continued to rage on. Fang Zhengzhi never stopped charging towards Nangong Hao.

    What the hell was going on?!

    They couldn¡¯t figure it out. All they could do was watch on like wooden dummies, unable to believe what they were seeing.

    ...

    All of the soldiers and candidates were too engrossed in the battle, oblivious to the fact that there was a group of people on top of a cliff.

    That was where Yan Xiu had killed a few demons.

    Beneath their feet were the blood stains from the battle. These people were not bothered by it, choosing to step on the stains on purpose.

    The group was led by ady dressed in an ordinary white dress. Her face was covered by a veil.

    Even so, the aura of her body could not be masked.

    It was amanding, icy aura. When she stood on the snowy cliff, it was augmented, capable of sending chills down one¡¯s spine.

    The wind blew and lifted a corner of thedy¡¯s veil up. It revealed her exquisite features and dainty, bright red lips. One could see that...

    Thedy was shocked by what she was seeing.

    She was apanied by a group of men dressed in ck. However, the shock on those men¡¯s faces was clear for all to see.

    To her left was a figure in a ck cloak. This figure was thin, his eyes like stars, his eyebrows like swords.

    More importantly, he had a demonic eye in his forehead, and it was bright red.

    This was Bai Xing.

    The person next to him could only be the master of the demons, Yun Qingwu.

    "388 Daos? He actually has 388 Daos?! I would never expect that Fang Zhengzhi would be this powerful!"

    "As a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State individual, he is able tost more than 15 minutes against the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao. I¡¯m afraid there is no other person with such talent?"

    "Master, we cannot let this guy live!"

    Shock filled the eyes of all the ck-robed men. Their mouths were agape as they whimpered in awe. Nothing could mask their surprise at what they were seeing.

    Yun Qingwu watched in silence as her eyes glimmered. No one knew what she was thinking, and no one dared to defy her orders.

    Because...

    She was the favorite daughter of the demon lord. The young master of the demons.

    "Master, should I take Nangong Hao¡¯s life or Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life?" Bai Xiang¡¯s fingers moved as a star twirled around his finger.

    He was waiting for Yun Qingwu to make a decision.

    Of course, if things had gone ording to n, he did not have to wait. However, upon seeing the battle below them, the n had to be changed.

    "Up to you." Yun Qingwu finally spoke, her voice t. However, she hesitated for a moment immediately after.

    She quickly suppressed the hesitation.

    There was no reason given.

    She was the young master of the demons.

    "Thank you, Master!" Bai Xing nodded. He didn¡¯t reply as though he had just received an order, choosing instead to express gratitude.

    It didn¡¯t seem very fitting for the situation.

    However, that was how Bai Xing chose to reply. Neither Yun Qingwu nor the men behind her thought that it was inappropriate.

    Then...

    A bright ray of light shone into the sky.

    It was as thin as a star. It was not overly bright, but it was filled with a cold, icy killing intent.

    Bai Xing had gotten to his current position not through connections with the leadership. He had gotten here through raw ability.

    His ability originated from his calmness and loyalty. Furthermore, no one he set out to kill lived.

    Of course, the incident at The Vast World was an exception.

    His opponent then was Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry.

    That was a man who was wanted by virtually everyone outside the Great Xia Dynasty. However, he continued to live and battle.

    Bai Xing could not be med for that failure.

    However, this time was different.

    His opponent was not Xing Yuanguo. It was Nangong Zhao and Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, the two of them were engaged in an intense battle with each other.

    One was in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State, the other was in the pinnacle Supernatural State. They were the top talents of their age and held in high regard by their peers.

    However, could they stand up against the Rebirth State Bai Xing?

    If they could, then Bai Xing would not be called Bai Xing!

    The silver ray of light originated from Bai Xing¡¯s ginger and shot skyward. At that moment, Bai Xing disappeared from atop the cliff.

    It felt like he had never appeared on the cliff. To be more precise, it looked as if he was always that disappearing ray of light.

    ...

    All of the candidates and soldiers were too captivated by the battle between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu gripped his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan so tightly his knuckles turned white. He was anxious but also surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities.

    His emotions wereplicated.

    This wave of emotions caused him to miss seeing the ray of silver light from the heavens.

    Not only did Yan Xiu fail to notice it, Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and even Teng Shisheng failed to notice it.

    The silver ray of light disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.

    It didn¡¯t truly disappear. In fact, it had merged with the light around it. It was camouged so well that one would only see the sunlight when one looked up.

    They were both lights, but one was warm whilst the other was icy cold.

    The ray of light embedded within the sunlight crashed towards the earth,nding right in the middle of the battling Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 384: This is Asura

    Chapter 384: This is Asura

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi would rarely be this passionate about a battle which he had little chance of winning. However, the rush that he was feeling was too awesome to give up.

    More importantly, his opponent was Nangong Hao.

    Most people could not understand this feeling. However, put simply, would there be any satisfaction in defeating an unknown weakling?

    Perhaps a little, but not too much.

    However... if one defeated someone famous and powerful... it¡¯ll be a different story altogether.

    Nangong Hao made a name for himself four years ago, earning himself the title of the top talent in the Great Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, his cultivation state was a full level above Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yet, with 40,000 troops as witnesses, he could not easily defeat Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to sh with Nangong Hao a few more times.

    But...

    Just as he was having the time of his life, he felt a wave of iciness crash towards him from above.

    "Sneak attack?!" Fang Zhengzhi looked up instinctively. This was part of his reflexes, especially since he was so adept at the sneak attack tactic.

    However, he did not notice anything.

    To be more precise, all he saw was a ray of sunlight. It was rather bright and piercing.

    Then, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

    It felt like needles or a sword.

    In actual fact, what Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know was that when he raised his head, a silver ray of light had already reached his chest.

    Bai Xing would never let his victim know in advance that he was under attack.

    By the time his victim felt the icy chill, it was all over. The de was already on its way. As for the iciness...

    It was the suppression after he had released the de.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that a sneak attack wasing, but he had no way of dodging the sword. It was so fast that he didn¡¯t even have time to react to it.

    ...

    The cold icy killing intent rose and spread in all directions, causing all the dust in the air to freeze in that instant. It looked extremely queer.

    However, if one looked closely, one would see that every speck of dust was covered in ayer of white ice. This was not dust anymore. It was ice.

    Yun Qingwu watched quietly from the cliff. Her lips parted and pursed as she watched the dust turn into ice. She clenched her fingers tightly, almost as if she was saying something.

    However, even the guys closest to her could not hear anything.

    Of course, this was partially because of the fact that Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was too soft. However, it was more because they were too captivated by the icy ground they saw in front of them.

    From the freezing of the dust to the ice falling to the ground...

    Less than a second had passed. However, for Yun Qingwu, this was a slow, agonizing wait.

    In actual fact, the wait had begun from the moment Bai Xing disappeared.

    She waited anxiously for the sword to find its mark.

    And now...

    The de had struck, right between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi. To be more precise, the de had struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, just as she had guessed.

    Did that mean that it was all over?

    The ice fell to the ground like drops of rain, making pitter patter noises as it did so. It was light and almost soundless.

    The ragged breathing of the candidates was much louder inparison.

    They did not see the ray of lighting down from the heavens, but it would be impossible not to see the light strike Fang Zhengzhi.

    The iciness that enveloped thend also engulfed the hearts of the candidates.

    They did not know where the ray of light hade from or why it had struck. However, they knew that they were in enemy territory, and this ray of light was not a good sign.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    A voice rang out from within the crowd. This voice was icy, but traces of anxiety were clear for all to hear.

    When Yan Xiu saw the ray of light, he was not stunned like the others. The only thought in his mind was, how is Fang Zhengzhi?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Yan Xiu was thinking. If he did, he would definitely reply that he was not fine, and that he was furious.

    In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi always had a different outlook on life from the people in this world.

    If he could avoid getting hurt, he would. If he could avoid fighting, he would. As such, when he was going to fight and get hurt, there was no point in asking him if he was okay.

    The answer was obvious.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Bai Xing before. As such, when he saw the figure appear in front of him with a bright red demonic eye, the only thing he could do was...

    "Bai Xing, f*ck your mother!"

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely cursed this badly. Normally, he would chooseparatively more civilized terms.

    However, this time, he felt that only the crudest and most despicable swear words could describe the anger he felt.

    Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    The bright red stream of blood rocketed through the air andnded on the snow white ground some distance away. It looked like a red flower in the snow.

    In fact, Bai Xing felt the same way as Fang Zhengzhi. He too wanted to curse and swear. However, Bai Xing was a demon.

    To the humans, the demons were an evil race.

    However, to the demons, they were royalty. They were the rightful rulers of the world.

    As such, the demons rarely chose to scold others. Ordinarily, they would choose to kill before they chose to scold.

    But right now, Bai Xing really wanted to scold and curse.

    It wasn¡¯t just because Fang Zhengzhi had just defiled his mother with his words. More importantly, his strike had hit home, but Fang Zhengzhi did not die!

    Of course, Bai Xing¡¯s strike had hit its mark.

    Even though it had been more difficult than he expected... When his de was thrust towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, the de in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand mysteriously appeared in front of his sword.

    Then, there was a crystal clear sword that was aimed at his side causing him to feel like his de wasn¡¯t his.

    However, these were not enough to stop Bai Xing.

    His sword still found its mark.

    He swiped away Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s de and his sword took a hit from Nangong Hao¡¯s de. However, his sword did not stray from its intended path.

    However, just when his de hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest...

    He felt a hard object. This did not feel like human flesh. This was a metal, a metal that was strong enough to block his de.

    But Fang Zhengzhi was only wearing a leopard print leather suit...

    Where did the metale from?

    Unless Fang Zhengzhi was also wearing armor underneath, armor that had saved his life.

    Of course...

    No matter what the reason was, the fact was that Bai Xing had failed to assassinate Fang Zhengzhi. That was a truth that he could not deny.

    Nangong Hao turned to look at Bai Xing. He did not look at Bai Xing¡¯s appearance or the de in Bai Xing¡¯s hand. He merely looked at Bai Xing¡¯s red demonic eye.

    Then, he swung his sword.

    There was no hesitation.

    When he battled Fang Zhengzhi, his attacks were silent. However, this time, his de hummed as it sailed through the air.

    This was the sound of a dragon, the hum that resulted from prolonged suppression.

    All of the ice on the ground seemed to be summoned by this hum. They flew towards Nangong Hao¡¯s de and congregated there.

    Then, they formed an icy, hellish aura.

    "Hum!"

    ...

    Bai Xing knew all along that Nangong Hao was powerful. However, he was still shocked when he saw this strike.

    He could feel that even with his powers, he needed to defend against it with everything that he had.

    "Boom!"

    Bai Xing¡¯s body flew back more than 10 steps. He steadied himself and stared at Nangong Hao, then back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He had always thought that his sword was quick.

    Only now did he know that there was someone else below the Rebirth State that was just as quick as him. That person was Nangong Hao.

    If not for the fact that Nangong Hao had attacked his nk, Bai Xing was confident that he would have been able to prate whatever armor Fang Zhengzhi had.

    Of course, this was all history.

    Bai Xing had thought that his strike had no chance of failing. But yet, Fang Zhengzhi had blocked his de and Nangong Hao¡¯s sword had shed with his. In the end, he had been stopped by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s armor.

    He had to admit...

    This was quite a hit to Bai Xing¡¯s ego.

    Furthermore, Yun Qingwu and the elites of the demon race were all observing from above. This was not just a matter of being humiliated.

    He decided to make good his failure...

    He would kill Fang Zhengzhi AND Nangong Hao.

    ...

    Nangong Hao¡¯s sword was pointed at Bai Xing but he did not look in that direction. Instead, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    From the moment Bai Xing appeared, Nangong Hao knew that thebat examinations had been paused. If his guess was correct, the war of the Southern Mountain Range had begun.

    Naturally, his sword would not be pointed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Go first!" Nangong Hao¡¯s voice was not loud but it was determined. However, he was quite shocked to see a silver metallic glow where there was a tear in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s leather suit.

    He knew exactly how powerful Bai Xing¡¯s attack was. Even though he had struck Bai Xing¡¯s de, all he did was weaken it slightly.

    As for its uracy...

    It had been unchanged throughout.

    As such, the thing that managed to defend against Bai Xing¡¯s attack was that metallic, mirror-like object.

    "She really gave that thing... to him..."

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to leave as well, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t. He was Bai Xing¡¯s target.

    He felt much better after he finished berating Bai Xing.

    However, after being snuck up on, it would be impossible for all his anger to dissipate after a single curse.

    If not for the fact that Traceless Sword went against his will and turned back... If not for the fact that Nangong Hao had attacked Bai Xing¡¯s sword... If not for Chi Guyan¡¯s Heart Protection mirror...

    Most importantly, if Bai Xing had not aimed for his heart...

    He would have been dead.

    At the very least, he could not be able to retaliate.

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely fought battles he had no confidence in winning. He knew that Bai Xing was a Rebirth State Demon.

    However, for some queer reason, after he spat out the mouthful of blood, his heart burned with an unquenchable rage.

    It seemed to originate from his hand.

    More precisely, it seemed to originate from the Traceless Sword.

    However, what he did not notice was that the blood that he spat out was now being collected by his sword. It was being incorporated into that purple stain.

    The purple stain began to expand.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi much difort. However, his eyes began to turn purple, a weird glow swirling around in his pupils.

    Just at this moment...

    A red beam of light appeared in front of him. It was the shade of blood, and it was different from the iciness he felt from the silver beam of light.

    This cold felt like it came right out of hell. Furthermore, the stench of blood was strong.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned back instinctively.

    He saw a figure almost entirely enveloped in red light. Then, he saw two glowing, bloodshot eyes.

    "Yan Xiu?!" Fang Zhengzhi had seen Yan Xiu use the Dao of Asura, but he had never seen Yan Xiu use it in this way.

    It wasn¡¯t because Yan Xiu looked any different.

    But... his aura...

    This aura came from within his body. It did not feel like Yan Xiu was using the Dao of Asura. Instead, it felt like the Dao of Asura wasplementing Yan Xiu. In other words, Yan Xiu was the Dao of Asura!

    "Die!" Yan Xiu bellowed as his eyes turnedpletely red. The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand was covered by ayer of red crystals.

    It looked beautiful and translucent, but it was filled with killing intent.

 Chapter 385: I killed Fang Zhengzhi?

    Chapter 385: I killed Fang Zhengzhi?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Yan Xiu wield the Dao of Asura before. He still remembered the faint red and the sharp killing power.

    However, it was clearly different from how Yan Xiu was now.

    Nangong Hao had seen Yan Xiu¡¯s Dao of Asura before. He witnessed it together with Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and the other candidates during the release of the Theory Examination results.

    That time, Yan Xiu¡¯s actions had shocked all of the officials present.

    However...

    He was suppressed by the Emperor¡¯s words. But today, who could suppress Yan Xiu?

    All of the candidates wanted to stop Yan Xiu, but Yan Xiu was too fast. Furthermore, the aura that Yan Xiu was exuding struck fear in their hearts.

    Of course...

    Bai Xing did not know fear.

    That being said, it would be impossible if Bai Xing wasn¡¯t shocked when he saw the red glow enveloping Yan Xiu.

    After the battle on Cang Ling Mountain, he had spent most of his time in the Southern Mountain Range. His entire focus was put here, so he naturally ignored the intelligenceing from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Yan Xiu had shown the Dao of Asura at the preliminary court examinations.

    As such, Bai Xing had no idea.

    "The Dao... of Asura?!" Bai Xing was in the Rebirth State. Naturally, he knew what the Dao of Asura entailed.

    However, Bai Xing was not afraid of the Dao of Asura.

    However, for a 16-year-old teenager to be able to wield the Dao of Asura? 16?! That would mean that he already had one foot in the Rebirth State at 16. Such a talent would only appear once every few centuries.

    "But he seems a little unstable!" Bai Xing smirked as he looked at the red glow surrounding Yan Xiu and staining Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes.

    The Dao of Asura was a virtuous one.

    However, it was a unique one amongst the virtuous Daos. The Dao of Asura originated from anger and fury. Bai Xing did not know how long Yan Xiu had been training in the Dao of Asura.

    However, he knew that Yan Xiu¡¯s fury originated from...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    Bai Xing, who was the leader of all ten demonic domains, guessed this easily. He could see it in Yan Xiu¡¯s expression.

    He was determined to make Yan Xiu even angrier.

    It was not difficult for Bai Xing to do this. As someone who has spent more than a decade in the Rebirth State, he was much more powerful than Yan Xiu.

    A silver ray of light shot skyward and Bai Xing disappeared from where he stood, bing one with the silver ray of light.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen the battle between Bai Xing and Xing Yuanguo.

    At that time, the purple light had crossed with the silver one. He could not see if it was human or light, but he could see that the purple light had the advantage.

    He remembered it well, but he did not really understand how terrifying it was.

    However, when Bai Xing disappeared once again, Fang Zhengzhi felt it for himself.

    What else could unsettle one¡¯s opponent more than disappearing into a ray of light?

    "Watch out!" Fang Zhengzhi heard a sound from his side.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this came from Nangong Hao, but he didn¡¯t know if it was directed at him or Yan Xiu.

    Of course...

    He realized in a moment.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was in front of him in an instant, the red crystals glowing in all their ferocity.

    The stench of blood was thick in the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know why Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan would being towards him, but he knew he could not dodge.

    After all, he had been concentrating on Bai Xing. He never thought that he would need to defend against Yan Xiu.

    "Boom!"

    He felt a sharp pain that shot right through his brain. It was an icy, sharp pain, almost as if he had just been thrown into the depths of hell.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already been injured by the strike from Bai Xing. However, before he could recover, he was hit by yet another powerful attack.

    He cked out.

    A stream of blood spewed from his mouth as his legs turned to jelly.

    The bright red blood danced in the air and dropped onto the de of the Traceless Sword. The strange purple glow continued to expand as it became brighter and brighter.

    ...

    Silence, pin drop silence.

    All of the soldiers looked on in shock as they saw Fang Zhengzhi copsed.

    Bai Xing¡¯s appearance, Yan Xiu¡¯s attack, and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s subsequent copse had all happened too quickly.

    Bai Xing¡¯s ability and identity were a given.

    The red demonic eye on his forehead said it all.

    The soldiers were all shocked to see Bai Xing appear. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to block his attack was even more awe-inducing. After all, that was an attack from a Rebirth State cultivator.

    They all began to celebrate.

    At least Fang Zhengzhi was still alive. That was the best result they could have hoped for. However, who would expect tragedy to strike so quickly.

    Furthermore...

    It had happened so quickly and in the most unexpected way. None of the soldiers would expect that Fang Zhengzhi would fall to Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    Even Wu Feng, Chen Feiyu, and all the other candidates could not predict such an ending.

    Even Yan Xiu and Nangong Hao could not react in time. Nangong Hao had seen Bai Xing attack, but he could not stop it.

    The reason was simple.

    There were three people facing Bai Xing, himself, the injured Fang Zhengzhi, and the Dao of Asura wielding Yan Xiu.

    The choice was simple.

    He had to stop Bai Xing from attacking Fang Zhengzhi. However, he did not expect that Bai Xing would use Yan Xiu...

    As such, when Yan Xiu attacked Fang Zhengzhi with his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, Nangong Hao was unable to stop it.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed as a ray of golden light instantly enveloped himself and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was significantly more pained. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

    "I... I killed Fang Zhengzhi?!" Yan Xiu shut his eyes as he looked at the fallen Fang Zhengzhi. He knew how powerful that attack was.

    If he had hit home...

    Even he himself would be seriously injured and bedridden for a year and a half. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had already been seriously injured by Bai Xing¡¯s attack.

    Pain and rage consumed him in that instant.

    In fact, when he had seen Bai Xing attack Fang Zhengzhi, he was already furious.

    He was not angry with Bai Xing.

    He was angry with himself.

    He med himself for not insisting on fighting with Fang Zhengzhi. He med himself for spectating the battle and not expecting a sneak attack.

    Where were they?!

    The Southern Mountain Range!

    Danger was everywhere.

    Yet, under such circumstances, he had been engrossed by the battle between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi. He hadpletely ignored the possibility of a sneak attack.

    He had been toocent!

    The demons had hidden amongst the candidates, yet he had missed it out? He was furious.

    And now?

    Just as he was raging, his attack had hit the seriously injured Fang Zhengzhi.

    Blood...

    Bright red blood stained the ground and Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes. His eye waspletely red. One could not see the whites nor the pupils.

    Bai Xing appeared some distance away, his starry eyes looking at Yan Xiu, who waspletely consumed by red.

    "Not bad, what a beautiful strike!" Bai Xing pointed at Fang Zhengzhi and smirked.

    ...

    "It¡¯s the demons! Rebirth State demon! Charge, don¡¯t let him run!"

    "Kill!"

    "Send the order to surround him!"

    All of the generals sprang into action. When faced with demons, they only had one mission. Kill any demon that they saw.

    Ass to who will kill him?

    It wasn¡¯t for them to decide. Regardless, they would surround the demon first.

    Xing Qingsui nced at the fallen Fang Zhengzhi, then back at the smirking Bai Xing.

    "It is the leader of the 10 demonic domains, Bai Xing!" Xing Qingsui was not like the other generals. He knew what the n was.

    Furthermore, he knew for a fact that Bai Xing¡¯s appearance...

    Was no coincidence!

    Could it be that the demons hadid an ambush in the Icy Monkey Settlement?

    Xing Qingsui looked towards the Icy Monkey Settlement. Then, his gaze froze. He saw a group of soldiers in rattan standing on the walls of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    It wasn¡¯t just the soldiers on the wall, there were regiments marching out of the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    "The Southern Mountain Range... good on them! They actually ced so many soldiers here to ambush us?" Xing Qingsui gripped his fists.

    He could recognize that these were the soldiers from the Southern Mountain Range. He could also guess why they were here.

    Then, he heard simr noises from his back.

    "Not good, the soldiers from Feng Su are also wrapping around!"

    "There are soldiers from the Southern Mountain Range on both sides, we are surrounded!"

    "Silence!"

    All of the soldiers fell silent, the generals looking to Xing Qingsui for direction.

    Xing Qingsui was the sessor to the Stabilization Constabry. Furthermore, he had the Emperor¡¯s token in hand. They would follow him to hell and back.

    "Hold your ground!" Xing Qingsui ordered without much thought. He knew that every moment of hesitation could cost the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

    "Yes, sir!" The voices replied in unison.

    ...

    Yun Qingwu watched all of these unfold from the top of the cliff. However, her gaze never left Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Her lips parted and closed but never made any sound. She looked on quietly before she touched the veil covering her face, her expression conflicted.

    One could not discern if it was hurt, joy, reminiscence, or contemtion.

    Then, she retrieved a dark green Guqin.

    The men at the back were all slightly taken aback when they saw Yun Qingwu take out her Guqin. However, they reacted quickly.

    With the movement of his finger, one of the menmanded the rocks on the cliff. The rocks all came together to form a stool and a table.

    Yun Qingwu did not speak as she took her seat. Then, she ced the Guqin on the table and looked up at the clear blue sky.

    No one knew what Yun Qingwu was thinking.

    Then, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice became clearer. It sounded like a dialogue, but it was between Yun Qingwu and herself.

    "What would you like to listen to?"

    "Haha..."

    "Young Master Fang is a great person, but this piece, "Guang Ling Verse" has many parts. Which part would Young Master Fang like to listen to first?"

    Then, Yun Qingwu pursed her lips.

    The melodious sound of the Guqin rang out and reverberated through the mountains. It sounded as though it was recounting a memory whose existence was a mystery.

    ...

    "Why is there music?!"

    "It sounds like Guang Ling Verse? Who is ying such beautiful music?"

    "Look, there is someone on top of the cliff. My... my god, are my eyes ying tricks on me? Is... is that Yun Qingwu?!"

    All of the candidates looked at thedy in the white dress on top of the cliff. What the could not understand was...

    Why would Yun Qingwu show herself here?!

 Chapter 386: Useless Weakling

    Chapter 386: Useless Weakling

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ever since the ancient times, talents had been looking for love. They were not looking for action on the bed, but they were looking for true love.

    There were the hopeless romantics who searched high and low for love.

    There were many talents who dreamed that they would find their ideal match to live together and grow old with.

    Some of these dreams were bitter, some didn¡¯t end well, some ended single, whilst some ended well.

    Even though most of them did not end up as perfect as they dreamt it up to be, the candidates still flocked to it like moths to a me.

    Actually...

    It was not difficult to understand why.

    In this world, studying was the way towards sess. Many of them spent decades in their study rooms, watching as the world around them kept changing.

    All they were working for was sess. They wanted to be revered by their peers. They hoped that they would be able to lift that veil...

    How many girls were there in this world that had both the looks and the brains?

    That was the perfect girl.

    Males needed to know how to appreciate the arts and be skilled in writing. As fordies, they needed to have the looks and the talent.

    Without which, how would they be able tomunicate with each other?

    As such, the females constantly tried to improve their musical skills and the males learned to appreciate the performance.

    That was the beauty of romance.

    Every talent in the world tried to be well educated enough to appreciate the arts. Anyone who did not show any appreciation of the arts would not dare talk about romance.

    As for Yun Qingwu, she was the dream girl for many of the talents in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Yun Qingwu knew how to draw, perform,pose poetry, amongst other things. In fact, whatever they could do, she could do too, possibly even better.

    As such...

    How could the candidates not be attracted to such ady?

    "Why is Yun Qingwu in the Southern Regions?!"

    The first thought through the minds of the candidates was, "Has she been kidnapped?". Of course, this thought did notst long.

    They saw that the demons standing behind Yun Qingwu were stern, but they orded her immense respect.

    "Yun Qingwu is part of the demons?!"

    This thought raced through the minds of the candidates. They gripped their fists.

    Even though she was a demon, they still admired her.

    This was romance.

    At least, this was romance in the minds of the candidates.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s reaction was different from that of the other candidates when he saw Yun Qingwu on the cliff.

    "She didn¡¯t die?" Nangong Hao tightened the grip on his sword. He recalled the incident where he had destroyed the Sword Star Formation and stained his clothes.

    But he had always had doubts...

    Was thedy that he killed on the boat... really Yun Qingwu?

    "The young master of the demons, Yun Qingwu!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s gaze was icy as he unsheathed his sword.

    He pointed it straight at Yun Qingwu, his battle intent at its peak.

    "What? Yun Qingwu is the... young master of the demons?!"

    "Young Master Xing, are you sure about this?"

    "How can this be?"

    All of the candidates looked on in disbelief when they heard what Xing Qingsui said. It felt as though Xing Qingsui had just called a hawker the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. None of the candidates wanted to believe it was true.

    However, what they wanted to believe was secondary...

    It was a fact!

    Just as the music continued to resonate through the air, two of the men behind Yun Qingwu began to lift up their cloaks.

    Their red demonic eyes were clear for all to see.

    Even though the redness was still some ways off from Bai Xing¡¯s, their cultivation level was obvious.

    Rebirth, both of them!

    There was one other person besides these two Rebirth State Demons. His demonic eye was green, but it sent chills down everyone¡¯s spine.

    Pinnacle Supernatural State.

    The three deputies of the 10 demonic domains. Two in the Rebirth State, and one at the pinnacle of the Supernatural State.

    "There are two Rebirth State demons, one pinnacle Supernatural State one, and at least 50 Supernatural State elites. Furthermore... we are being surrounded on all sides by the Southern Region soldiers... how are we going to fight this battle?"

    "Over my dead body!"

    "No! I came here for the examination, not to die!"

    "Shut up. Death is no big deal! I will willingly give up my life for this battle. Yun Qingwu, my only wish is to die by your hand!" One of the candidates scorned the cowardly candidate before he screamed to thedy at the top of the cliff, tears in his eyes.

    Just as the candidate finished his sentence, a ray of purple light shot skywards from behind Yun Qingwu. Then, it crashed down.

    "Sh*t!"

    Blood spewed from the candidate¡¯s mouth.

    He looked at his chest in disbelief. There was a sword embedded deep in his chest.

    Blood flowed onto the de and dripped onto the ground.

    "You..." The candidate looked at the middle-aged man standing in front of him. He stared at the red demonic eye in disbelief.

    "Useless weakling!" The middle-aged man removed his sword and blood spewed from the wound. However, he did not even bother looking at that candidate. In fact, he didn¡¯t even give a reason for killing the candidate.

    He merely called the candidate a weakling.

    This candidate had spent decades studying for this examination. He was revered by his peers. Yet, thest thing he heard before his death...

    Useless weakling.

    Panic, disorientation, a sense of loss...

    At that moment, all of the candidates understood one thing. In the Great Xia Dynasty, they were the top talents of their generation.

    They could enjoy their lives and be revered by others. They could spend their timeposing poems and having fun.

    But, the moment they stepped out of the Great Xia Dynasty, out of the protective bubble, they were nothing

    Fang Zhengzhi was the prime example.

    He was a viger. No matter how talented he was, they never thought of him as a serious contender. How could a viger ever match up to them?

    They were so arrogant that they ignored everyone else.

    But now...

    In the battle between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Region, when being nked by the demons, they were helpless.

    Pinnacle Heavenly Reflection talent?

    In the face of a Rebirth State demon, he was a weakling.

    He could be killed easily.

    Chen Feiyu looked at the candidate bathing in his own blood. He was no more than two steps from the candidate. When the middle-aged man removed his sword, he could feel the warmth of the blood gushing out.

    Some of it sttered on his face.

    He saw the look of defiance on the face of the candidate. For the first time, he felt that death was imminent.

    As a disciple in one of the 13 constabries, he had seen his fair share of blood.

    However, he knew that the bloodshed was never lethal. After all, the 13 constabries ensured that no one was fatally injured.

    When he broke through to the Supernatural State...

    He only had one thought in his mind. He wanted to showcase his power. He wanted others to cheer for him and recognize him as a talent.

    But now?

    There was a Rebirth State demon just steps away from him. The demon held a sword stained with the blood of hisrade. The demon had just insulted thatrade...

    Yet, what was he doing?

    All this while, he had wanted to showcase his abilities.

    But now, when the opportunity arose, he only had one thought on his mind. He was going to wait. He didn¡¯t know if he was waiting for the sword to strike him down, or if he was waiting for his opponent to leave.

    Chen Feiyu did not look at the middle-aged man¡¯s expression, neither did he look at the terrifying red demonic eye. He lowered his head as he looked at the fallen candidate.

    The middle-aged man sheathed his sword.

    Then, he looked around at all the silent candidates, his eyes glowing with disdain and scorn.

    He did not draw his sword again after sheathing it. He walked past all the candidates rooted in their position. Then, he walked towards Bai Xing and Nangong Hao.

    "He is alone, as long as we stick together..." One of the candidates started to speak. However, he was not given a chance to finish.

    There was already a sword at his throat, a sword that had already been stained with blood.

    The candidate could not believe his eyes when he saw the sword. His eyes screamed defiance, but he did not look at the middle-aged man. All he did was look at the other candidates around him, the ones that he drank and made merry with...

    Right now, all of those candidates looked at him as well. However, they chose not to move. They did not even make a squeak.

    "Sh*t!"

    Blood spewed out like a geyser from his throat.

    The middle-aged man sheathed his sword once again. He did not even look at that fallen candidate, neither did he bother calling the candidate a weakling.

    Blood dripped from his hand.

    Then, without any change in expression, the middle-aged man walked to Bai Xing¡¯s side and remained silent.

    He did not draw his sword. He watched Bai Xing, Nangong Hao, Yan Xiu, and the fallen Fang Zhengzhi silently.

    The music continued to resonate through the air. Throughout the murder of the two candidates, the music never stopped.

    It was still as melodious and intoxicating as before.

    However...

    The candidates could no longer enjoy the music. All they could feel was blood, the bright red blood that had been spilled.

    "Young Master Xing, what do we do now?"

    "Yes, the Emperor gave you his token, he must have said something! Did he ce the Mountain Breaking Army here? If he did, now..."

    "Young Master Xing, we can¡¯t hold off all these soldiers ourselves! There are demons as well!"

    All of the generals began to voice their opinions as they looked to Xing Qingsui for orders.

    This was a dire situation for the Great Xia Dynasty.

    They were surrounded by the soldiers of the Southern Mountain Range as well as the demon elites. There was no way they would emerge victorious.

    Xing Qingsui, with the Emperor¡¯s token in hand, was their only hope.

    All of the other candidates looked to Xing Qingsui as well. Right now, Xing Qingsui was theirst hope.

    Xing Qingsui did not stand with the other candidates. He stood with the other generals, nearer to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He heard the generals and the other candidates.

    However, he did not reply immediately. He looked at Bai Xing, then at the regiments marching from the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    He hesitated.

    No one knew why Xing Qingsui hesitated. The only course of action now was to fight the Southern Region and the demons head-on.

    But, Xing Qingsui hesitated.

    Just at this moment, the music stopped. The hearts of all the candidates were heavy.

    It felt as though they were about to be sentenced.

    It was life or death for them!

    It was almost ironic. Thedy that every talent in the Great Xia Dynasty lusted for was now in control of their fate.

    What kind of decision would this immensely talented and beautifuldy make?

    Yun Qingwu put down the Guqin as she stood up from the stone bench. She looked down at all the candidates below.

 Chapter 387: Blood Red

    Chapter 387: Blood Red

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Previously, Yun Qingwu looked like a pristine individual, untouched by any dirt or evil that she came into contact with. But now, Yun Qingwu had an additionalyer of ss.

    She was powerful.

    However, Yun Qingwu could not be less interested in their fate. She did not even take a second look at them.

    She turned to look at the fallen Fang Zhengzhi, then pointed at the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. She did not even say anything.

    But Bai Xing knew what she wanted immediately.

    "Take Fang Zhengzhi and the sword over there!" Bai Xing nced at Fang Zhengzhi, his icy aura still strong as ever.

    "Okay." The middle-aged man nodded.

    His de was still sheathed as he walked towards Fang Zhengzhi. He did not even look at Nangong Hao or Yan Xiu.

    Just at that moment, a red glow appeared in front of this middle-aged man. He brought with him a hellish iciness.

    This was Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu was not Yan Xiu anymore.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes werepletely red, his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan covered in red crystal. More importantly, there was a red light ring around his waist.

    It kept swirling.

    This was quite the ridiculous sight. The middle-aged man did not even look at Yan Xiu. He walked calmly towards Fang Zhengzhi, then...

    Raised his sword.

    "Boom!"

    The red light swirled around Yan Xiu¡¯s waist like a spirit out of hell. It looked as though its teeth were chewing on something.

    An exmation of surprise rang out all of a sudden.

    Then, a figure retreated a couple of steps, the look of surprise and disbelief clear for all to see.

    The candidates were all stunned to see this because they never expected that the middle-aged man would be the one to retreat.

    "How is this possible?!"

    "How does a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator go up against a Rebirth State one?"

    "Even though Yan Xiu already has one foot inside the Rebirth State, he is up against a Rebirth State opponent. How is this possible?"

    All of the other candidates looked on in disbelief. They could not believe that Yan Xiu had managed to go up against a Rebirth State Demon.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes continued to glow red as he stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi, his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan covered in ayer of glowing red crystals.

    The middle-aged man did not turn to look at Yan Xiu immediately. Instead, he looked down at his sword.

    There was a red circle of light around the de of his sword as it flew towards his palm.

    "Open!" The middle-aged man¡¯s hand shuddered and the red circle of light disappeared. However, there was a mark on the de of his sword.

    "It is no wonder the Dao of Asura is the most lethal of the six. However, how long can you remain in this state?" The middle-aged man¡¯s expression became stern once again as he looked at the mark.

    For a Rebirth State demon to take someone seriously...

    That was quite unfathomable. Furthermore, his opponent was just a 16 year old at the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.

    Yan Xiu ignored the middle-aged man.

    He did not even bother answering the middle-aged man¡¯s remark. The middle-aged man had thought that the other candidates were not worth his time or saliva.

    But, who could be colder than Yan Xiu himself?

    He was naturally cold and icy, even in the face of a Rebirth State Demon.

    The middle-aged man didn¡¯t expect that his opponent would ignore himpletely. What the hell was this?

    Shouldn¡¯t a human be honored that a Rebirth State demon is addressing him directly?

    "Move to the side and you can still live another hour!" The middle-aged man¡¯s voice was cold.

    Yan Xiu continued to ignore the middle-aged man. It looked almost as though Yan Xiu was a general looking at a clown.

    "Go to hell!" The middle-aged man would rarely be angered by a Heavenly Reflection State human. But this time, he was furious.

    He moved, the sword in his hand covered by ayer of purple light.

    At the same time, he disappeared from his original person,bining with the purple light as he shot towards Yan Xiu at unfathomable speeds.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s grip on his de tightened, but a silver ray of light appeared right in front of his de.

    "Shouldn¡¯t you be trying to protect yourself?" Bai Xing looked at Nangong Hao, his finger pointing at the silver ray of light.

    "You can¡¯t kill me." Nangong Hao nced at the silver ray of light in Bai Xing¡¯s hand, his eyes glowing golden. He lowered his sword, Standstill, at Bai XIng.

    Ordinarily, it would beical that a pinnacle Supernatural State cultivator said something like that to an intermediate stage Rebirth State Demon.

    However, Bai Xing was notughing.

    Not only was Bai Xing notughing, even the middle-aged man and the other demons behind Yun Qingwu were notughing.

    They all knew that this was a fact.

    If Bai XIng could really kill Nangong Hao, why was Nangong Hao still alive. Furthermore, why would Bai Xing have to resort to a sneak attack?

    It seemed quite impossible that a Rebirth State demon had to resort to a sneak attack against a pinnacle Supernatural State human.

    However, Bai Xing did not say anything.

    The human was Nangong Hao.

    "You are right, but if I have some help, I am quite confident!" Bai Xing nodded solemnly before raising his head to look at the dozens of demons.

    Nangong Hao did not answer Bai XIng because the middle-aged man had already shed with Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. The power from the sh was explosive.

    "Ding Dong!" Just at this moment, a shrill sound from a flute rang out. It¡¯s prating power was keenly felt as it shed with the purple light.

    Then, a crisp exmation of "Sh*t!" rang out.

    Even before he could move the jade green flute away from his mouth, Wu Feng spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Overconfident!" The purple ray of light turned around as the middle-aged man showed himself. He turned to look at Wu Feng, who had fallen to his knees. Then, he turned back to look at Yan Xiu.

    "Sh*t!" Yan Xiu¡¯s face was flushed as he too spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been hit slightlyter than Wu Feng.

    The blood stained the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan, causing the fan to glow an even brighter shade of red.

    "How long more can youst?!" The middle-aged man asked again. However, this time, he was much more confident.

    "I willst till he wakes up." Yan Xiu looked at the middle-aged man, the redness in his eyes swirling around. It looked like it was blood filling up his eyes.

    "Wake up?" The middle-aged man was stunned. Then, he looked at the fallen Fang Zhengzhi, his expression changing.

    He did not know how Yan Xiu knew that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    However, he knew that one thing was certain. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was glowing a strange shade of purple.

    That shade of purple was different from his.

    It was bright, almost like it was blood.

    Right now, that strange purple stain was spreading across the de. In fact, it was beginning to stain the hilt and showed no signs of slowing down.

    For some reason...

    When the middle-aged man saw that purple, his heart shuddered.

    Even though it was very faint...

    It stunned the middle-aged man. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was just at the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.

    Even though he had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension. Even though he was a talent.

    He was just in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    This was an undeniable fact!

    So, why was a Rebirth State demon like himself shuddering at the sight of a Heavenly Reflection State human? Was it the sword or the strange purple stain?

    The middle-aged man did not know, but he knew that he could not let Fang Zhengzhi continue holding that sword. The sword unsettled him.

    He turned to look at Yan Xiu.

    He did not say anything this time. He prepared to deliver a lethal blow to Yan Xiu. That was the only way he could take the sword from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Only then...

    Would he feel more secure and safe?

    "Die!" The middle-aged man bellowed icily as he morphed into a purple ray of light once again. However, this time, the purple light began to multiply until it turned the entire sky purple.

    "Yan Xiu!" Wu Feng¡¯s voice rang out as he put the flute to his lips. Even though he knew that this was courting death...

    Even though he knew that it was useless...

    He did not hesitate to put the flute to his blood-stained lips. His blood-stained hands continued to dance along the flute as a melodious tune emerged.

    Xing Qingsui looked at the purple light shooting towards Yan Xiu. He knew what kind of power that was, but he had no way of stopping it.

    He had other responsibilities at hand.

    If he was notmanding 50,000 soldiers... if he was not carrying the weight of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s n on his shoulders... he would have done exactly what Wu Feng did.

    But now...

    He could not do so.

    He had to deal with the more immediate threat to the army. The Southern Region soldiers were closing in from the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    "Gather the troops and form them up in all four directions. General Zhao, take the left nk! General Wang, you will take the right nk! General Li, lead 5000 men and guard our rear! Everyone else, follow me!" Xing Qingsui waved the Emperor¡¯s token in the air.

    "Yes!"

    "Yes!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    All of the generals reacted immediately upon hearing Xing Qingsui¡¯s orders. They exuded an aura of blood.

    Alone, they were no match for the demons or even the candidates standing in front of them. However, if you gave them time to set up their formations...

    They could be an imprable wall!

    ...

    Yan Xiu looked at the countless rays of purple light shooting towards him. His lips trembled slightly as he fought against the pain.

    However, his feet were stable.

    It was almost as if they were spears driven deep into the ground.

    As the rays of purple light neared, the red ring of light around Yan Xiu¡¯s waist continued to rise. It was almost near his chest.

    Every cultivator knew that the chest was a vital part of the body.

    That was where the heart was.

    The heart was the fundamental of the human body and it was also where the pocket dimension was located. Once it was prated, it would cause either death or the destruction of the pocket dimension. The destruction of the pocket dimension could cause a deterioration in cultivation state or permanent disability.

    However, Yan Xiu did not bother about the fact that the red ring was inching closer to his chest and his pocket dimension.

    The purple light was almost in front of him.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s hand sprung into action. The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan beamed as rays of red light rushed towards the sky. In fact, they looked like streams of blood.

    "Heaven and Earth Reversal, Removal of Mountains and Rivers!" Yan Xiu uttered icily. He had memorized these words from a young age.

    However, he had only ever used the first phrase.

    As for the second one...

    He had never uttered it in his life.

    That was a memory that didn¡¯t belong to him. It belonged to the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    "Hum!"

    The entire area shuddered.

    The bright red light crashed down from the heavens, carving out a picture of a mountain range. However, the rocks, the sand, even the water were all of one color.

    That color was...

    Red!

    This redness brought with it abination of intense heat and extreme cold. Despite its monotony, one could clearly make out the rocks on the mountains and the water. The mountain and rocks were moving and the water made gushing noises.

    "Sh*t!" A bright red spray of blood stained the mountain range, causing the entire sky to turn red.

 Chapter 388: Trump card

    Chapter 388: Trump card

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The purple shed with this blood red mountain range.

    The Purple light was like a sword, tearing through the air as it shredded the red mountain range. It was clearly more powerful.

    But just at that moment...

    A ball of me appeared in the middle of the furball.

    It was as bright as the sun, the fire burning everything in its way. At that moment, the entire mountain range was ignited.

    The purple light continued to suppress the fire as it shot through it.

    It seemed like the purple light still had the upper hand. However, the tides began to turn slowly but surely. The purple light was being swallowed, bit by bit.

    It was not fast, but as the fire continued to burn brighter, the rate at which it was swallowed became faster.

    Finally, the mountain range had all but disappeared. However, the fire continued to digest the purple light.

    Flute music continued to reverberate through the air.

    In actual fact, the music did not stop ever since the ball of me appeared. The music was pained and icy, almost as if it was mourning the loss of what had been burnt.

    It was like the memory of the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    It was filled with depressing thoughts.

    Then, the purple light disappeared and so did the music. All that was left was a dwindling fireball.

    A light breeze blew past the battlefield...

    And the fire was extinguished.

    It looked as though nothing had happened. The air was still slightly chilly. However, everyone was stunned by what they saw.

    Especially Wu Feng.

    Even though blood was still trickling from his lips, he suppressed it, ensuring that he did not spit it out like the previous time.

    Because...

    He did not want it to affect his music.

    Wu Feng¡¯s eyes were filled with sorrow. It was impossible to determine if this was because he had felt the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan¡¯s memories or because he was pained by what Yan Xiu looked like now.

    His eyes were filled with tears as he stared at the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in Yan Xiu¡¯s hand. Of course, the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was no longer the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.

    There were no more pictures of mountains or rivers. The fan was white but stained with blood.

    The red crystal glow had all but disappeared.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were just as red as ever. There was a red ray of light on his chest.

    It blinked rhythmically, almost as if it was beating to Yan Xiu¡¯s heartbeat.

    "I never thought that the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan was this powerful? No wonder it is one of the five treasures of the Yan Family. However, why does Yan Xiu look so weird? Could it be..."

    "Oh no! The Dao of Asura is controlling Yan Xiu! I read that if one¡¯s foundation is not strong enough, forcing improvements in power would backfire!"

    "Backfire? Is Yan Xiu into the evil Asura state?"

    "If that is the case, all hell is about to break loose. Once it turns into evil Asura, he will lose all that is good within him. He will lose all sense of reason. The only way to save him is to destroy his cultivation."

    All of the other candidates were terrified when they saw the red beam of light at Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

    "Evil Asura?" The middle-aged man did not look well. He had suffered slight injuries from the hit.

    However, he smirked when he saw the beam of red light blinking on Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

    He no longer attacked Yan Xiu.

    Anyone who dropped into the realm of evil Asura was a dead man walking.

    The humans would mourn the loss of such a talent, but anyone who is controlled by evil Asura would have to be stopped. Of course, there was a more important reason as to why the man did not attack.

    It was that...

    Yan Xiu was the Dao of Asura.

    In simple terms, Yan Xiu was not an opponent he could deal with. Why would he go up against someone so powerful who posed little threat?

    After he saw the state of Yan Xiu, he began to walk around Yan Xiu and towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    He ignored the pair of red eyes that were locked onto him.

    He closed in...

    Just as he was about to reach Fang Zhengzhi, a ray of red light shot towards his side.

    It brought with it a hellish, icy killing intent.

    "Woosh!" The middle-aged man leapt into the air andnded some distance away. He looked at Yan Xiu in shock.

    Evil Asura!

    Once consumed by the evil Asura, Yan Xiu would lose all rationality. As such, he could possibly attack those around him for no reason.

    However, Yan Xiu was not doing that.

    Yan Xiu was still protecting Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Xiu was still protecting Fang Zhengzhi. This was not something that he needed his brain to decide. This protection came from the heart, and it sent shivers down the spine of the middle-aged man.

    This also meant that...

    He will not get to Fang Zhengzhi easily.

    "What a bother! It¡¯s a pity... you¡¯ll still be ruined!" The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes glowed purple as he shed with his sword.

    At that very moment, yet another ray of purple light rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Woosh woosh!" Two rays of red light shot out. One crashed into the sword whilst the other crashed against the purple light directed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    Two explosions rang out.

    ...

    On top of the cliff.

    Yun Qingwu watched as the middle-aged man shed with Yan Xiu. Her expression changed slightly.

    Then, her hands moved as she waved to the dozens of demon elites behind her. Her gaze was ice cold.

    All of the elites looked at each other as they saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s gesture. They could see the determination in each others¡¯ eyes.

    "Die!" All of the elites bellowed in unison. Then, they jumped off the cliff and into the battlefield.

    Almost likeets, they all shot towards Nangong Hao and the other candidates.

    Before long, only three people were left on top of the cliff. Yun Qingwu and her two bodyguards. One was a Rebirth State demon, the other a pinnacle Supernatural State Demon.

    Wehn Nangong Hao saw the demon elites rocketing towards him, his grip on his sword tightened.

    Cracking sounds could be heard from his hand.

    He looked like he was making a decision. However, even someone like Nangong Hao hesitated.

    The demon elites rushed into the crowd.

    They were not just demon elites, they were wolves amongst sheep. After they rushed into the crowd, they began to kill the candidates indiscriminately.

    "Archers, ready!"

    "Fire!"

    "Spearmen and shieldbearers to me!"

    "Fend them off and protect the candidates!"

    Orders reverberated throughout the battlefield as the arrows blocked out the sun. Shields and spears immediately fell into ce, guarding the candidates.

    However, they could not stop the attacks of the demons.

    After all...

    These were Supernatural State Demons.

    It was much too easy for a Supernatural State demon to massacre the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State candidates and ordinary soldiers.

    "Zoom!"

    Just at that moment, a ray of golden light shot towards the heavens. That light came from a crystal clear sword.

    Its name was Standstill, and its owner was Nangong Hao.

    Angong Hao looked at the demon elites rushing towards the candidates. He steeled himself, his choice made.

    He knew what he had to do.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed instantly when he saw the golden light shooting into the sky.

    However...

    He recovered quickly. He bit his lip as he looked at Nangong Hao, almost as though he had something to say.

    At that very moment, cracks began to appear below the walls of the Icy Monkey Settlement. The cracks became bigger and bigger as they revealed themselves as doors.

    All of the Southern Region soldiers charging out of the Icy Monkey Settlement were stunned by this sight. Even the demon elites were shocked by what they saw.

    After the gates opened, many figures began rushing to the surface like ants out of a nest.

    "Woosh woosh woosh..."

    They exited quickly but in an orderly manner.

    They were extremely quick. After they emerged on the surface, they rushed towards Nangong Hao and the demon elites like a ray of light.

    "Another ambush?"

    "No, this is the Great Xia Dynasty..."

    "Oh my god, it really is them!"

    All of the candidates were stunned to see who the reinforcements were. They never expected to see these men here.

    "Oh I see... they never entered the Icy Monkey Settlement, Nangong Hao... it¡¯s no wonder you are a talent!" Yun Qingwu looked on in admiration.

    She was not too shocked to see the figures rushing onto the battlefield. However, she did admire Nangong Hao¡¯s talent.

    The figures formed up in front of Nangong Hao.

    All of them wore glistening, tailor-made armor. Their armor was made up of a special material and adorned with golden lines, almost like intertwining dragons.

    "Young Master Nangong!" They replied in unison. They sounded much more confident than the average soldier.

    They were the elites, and they were proud of it.

    They had good reason to be proud. After all, they were the Dragon Protection Squad, the army of elites that belonged to the Emperor.

    There was a golden dragon imprinted on their chest te. It was a status symbol. It meant that they did not have to bow to the princes and did not have to dismount upon entering the pce. This was the privilege of being a part of the Dragon Protection Squad.

    Yet today, they had made an appearance here, in the Southern Region¡¯s Icy Monkey Settlement. Furthermore, they orded Nangong Hao every respect.

    Four middle-aged men walked out from the ranks of the Dragon Protection Squad and stood by Nangong Hao¡¯s side.

    "Young Master Nangong, this order is a deviation from our n." The middle-aged manmented. However, he did not question or berate Nangong Hao for this deviation.

    "I know." Nangong Hao nodded but did not exin.

    "Okay, I understand." The middle-aged man nodded. He did not need an exnation, he already knew what Nangong Hao was thinking.

    "Leave Bai Xing to me. Take care of the others. As for Fang Zhengzhi... leave him to Yan Xiu!" Nangong Hao decided quickly.

    However, he hesitated slightly when he looked at Yan Xiu.

    However, he had made up his mind.

    This was not a decision he wanted to make, but he had no other choice.

    Because...

    Right now, Yan Xiu would not listen to orders or advice.

    In other words, the demon may not be able to get close to Fang Zhengzhi, but neither could the Dragon Protection Squad. The best option was to leave him alone.

    "Evil Asura... Yan Xiu, you cannot be consumed by the Evil Asura..." Nangong Hao nced at Yan Xiu as he sighed to himself. Then, he pointed Standstill towards Bai Xing.

    Bai Xing was still smirking.

    It looked like he was not surprised by the appearance of the Dragon Protection Squad. In fact, he looked extremely excited, almost as if victory was almost in his reach.

    "What do you have left after you¡¯ve yed your trump card?" Bai Xing¡¯s fingers danced as he looked at the Dragon Protection Squad.

    "You can take a guess." Nangong Hao did not answer Bai Xing immediately. He looked up into the blue sky, almost as if he was talking to himself.

 Chapter 389: The Dragon has woken

    Chapter 389: The Dragon has woken

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Nangong Hao had been calm ever since he stepped out of the Icy Monkey Settlement. Even when Yun Qingwu and Bai Xing appeared, he wasposed.

    However, he began to look increasingly solemn after the Dragon Protection Squad appeared.

    No one knew what Nangong Hao was thinking. Perhaps Bai Xing was right. What was left after the trump card was yed? Perhaps Nangong Hao was right...

    You could guess...

    "Will the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement really decide the future between the Southern Region and the Great Xia Dynasty?" Bai Xing pressed.

    "You can try and find out." Nangong Hao looked Bai Xing in the eye, his eyes glowing golden as he lowered Standstill and charged.

    "If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t care about the fates of these people." Bai Xing squinted as he smirked, morphing into a ray of silver light.

    ...

    This was an incredibly intense battle.

    The 50,000 strong Great Xia Dynasty army held their position as they were attacked by more than 100,000 Southern Region soldiers and dozens of demon elites.

    However, when the Dragon Protection Squad appeared, the Southern Region soldiers had no choice but to retreat.

    This looked like a battle that was evening out.

    However, everyone knew that the battle had only evened out temporarily. After all, this was the Southern Region and not the Great Xia.

    If they could not win within the initial moments of the battle, it would be a matter of time before they were worn down.

    The Southern Region had set up an ambush in the Icy Monkey Settlement. Naturally, they had more ambushes set up outside. If the army was bogged down, they were as good as dead.

    Xing Qingsui and Wu Feng both knew this.

    However...

    Wu Feng was more concerned about Yan Xiu. Even though Yan Xiu had always been cold, Wu Feng had known Yan Xiu since young.

    Losing to Yan Xiu in the theory examination...

    Had hurt Wu Feng quite significantly.

    However, he did not hate Yan Xiu. After all, he had grown up with Yan Xiu. He had always treated Yan Xiu as a brother.

    Even though it was quite weird for the younger brother to surpass the older one...

    This did not mean that he wanted to see Yan Xiu consumed by evil Asura. He also did not want to see Yan Xiu killed by the demon.

    He gripped his jade flute tightly as he made a decision in his heart.

    Other than Wu Feng, Yun Qingwu also focused her attention on Yan Xiu.

    "I think he needs help." Yun Qingwu murmured to herself. However, this was akin to an order to her two deputies.

    "Should I go and help him?" The demon with the green demon eye asked.

    "Wu Ji will go." Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    "Me? Master, your safety..." The demon with the red demonic eye hesitated when he heard what Yun Qingwu had to say.

    "I¡¯ll be fine." Yun Qingwu replied tly.

    "I understand. I will be back soon." Wu Ji disappeared from his position without a second word.

    With the intense battle raging below, a ray of light crashing down from the cliff would not raise too many eyebrows.

    However, when the ray of light shot towards Yan Xiu, Wu Feng felt the immense killing intent almost immediately.

    "In your dreams!" Wu Feng bellowed as he shot towards the ray of light like aet.

    Wu Feng was skilled in music.

    Closebat was not his forte.

    He thrived in rangedbat. However, he did not hesitate to charge forward this time. As he did so, the jade green flute in his hand lit up.

    It looked like there was ayer of water covering it. When the light shone on Wu Feng¡¯s arm, a strange pattern emerged.

    Green cloud patterns began to adorn Wu Feng¡¯s arms. They travelled upwards, slowly making their way towards his chest.

    "Oh?" A soft exmation of surprise could be heard.

    Then, the light shed with the human.

    It was no surprise that Wu Feng was thrown back like a broken kite. He spat out mouthfuls of blood, his face pale.

    A middle-aged man with a red demonic eye stood at where they had shed. This was Wu Ji.

    Wu Ji¡¯s clothes were torn in a few ces and his arm was trembling slightly. He looked at the fallen Wu Feng with traces of admiration.

    "Don¡¯t struggle anymore, it is useless." Wu Ji looked at Wu Feng, who was struggling to get up.

    "If I don¡¯t fight, then I¡¯ll really be useless!" Wu Feng bit his lip, blood trickling from the corner. It was impossible to determine if this was blood from his lips or blood from his insides.

    "With your talent, you would beat me hands down in a decade." Wu Ji said reassuringly as he looked at the cloud patterns on Wu Feng¡¯s hand.

    "I know." Wu Feng replied assertively.

    "Mm, I can give you a chance and pretend that I didn¡¯t see you."

    "But I¡¯ve already seen you."

    "Okay then... if that¡¯s the case, go to hell!" Wu Ji nodded as he swung his sword. A thin ray of light shot out from the tip of the de.

    It looked like an ordinary ray of light.

    However, when Wu Feng saw that ray of light, his expression was ashen. He bit his lip and waited for it to hit home.

    "Boom!"

    Blood sttered everywhere.

    Wu Feng¡¯s head fell to the ground, the wound in his chest so deep one could see the bone. His eyes were shut, his face ashen. However, his jade flute was still pointed at Yan Xiu...

    "Wu Feng!"

    "Young Master Wu!"

    All of the candidates screamed as they looked at Wu Feng sympathetically. They knew that their end wasing as well.

    ...

    Yan Xiu still looked rather lifeless.

    He guarded Fang Zhengzhi silently, a red glow swirling in his eyes. One could not guess what he was seeing.

    He still gripped the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan tightly, the blood stains making it painful to look at.

    "Wu... Wu... Wu Feng..." A tiny voice could be hearding from Yan Xiu. As he uttered those words, the redness in his eyes began to clear up.

    It was now translucent.

    It looked like the dust in his eyes was settling. It was still red, but it was now bing more and more translucent.

    "Wu Feng!" All of a sudden, Yan Xiu shouted Wu Feng¡¯s name in an explosion of red light.

    The light was blinking previously. Now, it was glowing radiantly.

    "What the hell?" Wu Ji was confused as he looked at the red light on Yan Xiu¡¯s chest. Yan Xiu should have been consumed by evil Asura.

    Of course...

    Yan Xiu was still consumed by evil Asura. The brighter the red light at his chest, the deeper he was.

    So, why could Yan Xiu speak?

    Wu Ji could not understand.

    The middle-aged man engaged in battle with Yan Xiu also could not understand. How could someone escape the grasp of evil Asura?

    Both of these vice domain chiefs were extremely confused.

    However, their confusion quickly turned into surprise. They saw a figure who had one arm pressed on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder.

    That arm waspletely wrapped in purple light.

    That purple light originated from the sword in his hand. The entire sword, from hilt to de, glowed a strange shade of purple.

    "Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!" Wu Ji would rarely be shocked by a human. After all, he was a Rebirth State Demon. But now, for some inexplicable reason, he felt extremely ufortable.

    The middle-aged man who was next to Wu Ji was equally stunned. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi and stepped back.

    Even though it was just a small step, it was enough to express what he was thinking.

    "Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die!"

    "This... is this still Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "What is going on? Why am I... why do I feel terrified?!"

    All of the candidates noticed the figure standing behind Yan Xiu. He looked familiar but distant at the same time.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    Yun Qingwu recognized the figure behind Yan Xiu. All this while, Yun Qingwu felt that Fang Zhengzhi was someone who she couldn¡¯t describe in words.

    His aura was intimidating.

    But now...

    That aura was gone.

    Fang Zhengzhi was like a spirit wrapped up in purple light. The Traceless Sword was now a purple crystal sword.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm was enveloped in purple light.

    The purple ran in his bloodstream. Even Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were purple.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were understandably red because of the Dao of Asura. After all, that was a power that only a Rebirth State cultivator had.

    But...

    Was Fang Zhengzhi in the Rebirth State?

    Of course not. His advantage was in the fact that he had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension. However, at that very moment, only one Dao was flowing through his body.

    The Dao of Massacre.

    His killing intent was clear for all to see.

    The Dao of Asura¡¯s iciness originated from thebination between good and evil. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s icy aura originated from his bones.

    This was killing intent.

    Unsuppressed killing intent.

    "He woke up?" Yun Qingwu was stunned. It was rare that she would be taken by surprise.

    The vice domain chief with the green domain eye also squinted as he unsheathed his sword.

    ...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s body shuddered slightly.

    His reaction was small, but a wave of purple that originated from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand began to envelop Yan Xiu.

    For someone consumed by the evil Asura...

    This was something that should not have been possible. There was no way someone consumed by evil Asura would allow other energies into his body.

    However, Yan Xiu did not react. He stood silently in his spot, his body shuddering.

    Then...

    He closed his eyes and copsed.

    Just as everyone expected, Yan Xiu entered aatose state. However, none of them expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be the one to put Yan Xiu in that state!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of entertaining the looks of confusion. He patted Yan Xiu, then looked at Wu Feng, who was lying in a pool of blood.

    Then...

    He turned to look at Wu Ji and the middle-aged man beside Wu Ji.

    A purple ray of light rose from his feet and began to encircle his body like a dragon.

    Even Nangong Hao and Bai Xing paused their battle to witness this.

    Bai Xing was stunned. The smirk was instantly wiped from his face. He felt extremely ufortable looking at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao was equally surprised. This was different from the surprise he felt when Fang Zhengzhi revealed that he had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension. He was rather confused this time.

    Was this the power of 388 Daos?

    No.

    This was one dao, the Dao of Massacre!

    Why is there such a Dao?!

    The intense battle seemed to pause for a moment. All of a sudden, a ray of purple light shot to the heavens. That was a purple dragon.

    "Die!" A bone-chilling voice rang out from the dragon and Fang Zhengzhi disappeared from where he stood.

 Chapter 390: The Returning Dragon

    Chapter 390: The Returning Dragon

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if he was awake or not. All he remembered was that he had a very strange dream after being hit by Yan Xiu.

    In this dream, he was in his pocket dimension.

    However...

    His pocket dimension was clearly different. This time, the fruits on the huge tree were adorned with patterns. The sea of white mist was also glistening.

    Of course, the most attention-grabbing fruit on the tree was the purple one.

    A queer, crystal-like glow could be seen from the fruit. It became brighter and brighter, so much so that his entire pocket dimension was stained purple.

    The trees were now purple in color, the leaves and branches bathing in purple light. Even the vast ocean glistened purple.

    As the purple became more and more intense...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a deep-seated rage grow. He felt like he was losing control of himself and his actions became more involuntary.

    In the end...

    When he opened his eyes again, he saw an ancient city.

    This was a city made up of red rocks. From afar, it looked like a giant beast bathing in blood.

    There were two words emzoned in red atop the city walls.

    Blood Shadow.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what the Blood Shadow City was. However, he had no idea why he would dream of such a ce. After all, he had never been there before.

    How could he dream of it if he had never been there?

    Okay then...

    That was not the most important point. The most important point was that he saw a sword.

    This sword shot straight into the heavens and morphed into a humongous dragon. It roared, causing the ground to shake, as it enjoyed its freedom.

    Then, it turned back and tunneled back into the ground in a show of force.

    This was known as...

    The Returning Dragon!

    ...

    The purple dragon continued to circle in the sky before it finally morphed back into a ray of purple light which shot back down towards the middle-aged demon next to Wu Ji.

    "Die!"

    The purple dragon¡¯s roar sent chills down everyone¡¯s spine.

    The middle-aged man stared at that purple light. He knew that this hade from Fang Zhengzhi, and he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was merely in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.

    For someone like that to attack...

    He should not have felt threatened.

    However, when he saw the purple light tunneling towards him, he felt an intense wave of fear. He did not know if it was because the light had enough power to destroy everything in its path...

    Or because...

    Of the aura it was exuding.

    It had a lonely aura, almost as if it was alone at the very top. It felt as though this single attack could destroy an entire star.

    The middle-aged man tightened his grip on his sword instinctively.

    He did not know exactly how strong this attack was. However, he had a feeling that it was very powerful. It was so powerful that he wanted to escape.

    However, could he dodge?

    No!

    He was the stronger individual.

    This was the pride and arrogance that he had. After all, Yun Qingwu was behind him watching this fight.

    His de was already marked after his sh with Yan Xiu. However, he was not bothered by it.

    The reason was simple.

    He was in the Rebirth State. He was the more powerful one.

    He raised his sword and the de glowed purple. He charged forward like a bolt of lightning, straight towards the ray of purpleing towards him...

    "Boom!"

    An explosion rocked the entire area as the two rays of purple continued to sh and tear at each other. The roars of the purple dragon continued to resonate.

    Then, silence. Complete, utter silence.

    Only one sound could be heard, the cold crisp roar of the dragon. Other than that, there was no second sound to be heard.

    Everyone was captivated by the battle.

    The 50,000 strong Great Xia Dynasty army stopped fighting as they looked at the two rays of purple duking it out. All of the Southern Region soldiers also stopped fighting as they watched in awe.

    The candidates were all holding their breath...

    The demon elites were holding their breaths as well. They were all immensely powerful and could feel the energies contained within the two rays of purple.

    The Dragon Protection Squad continued to hold onto their des. They had been through rigorous and strict training, but even they could not resist looking at the two rays of purple.

    Nangong Hao, Bai Xing, Wu Ji, Yun Qingwu, Xing Qingsui... there was no one on the battlefield who wasn¡¯t looking at the two rays of purple.

    All of them only had one thought in their mind...

    How does a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator fight a Rebirth State cultivator? Furthermore, the duel seemed quite evenly matched.

    "Kaboom..."

    The roars faded but it was quickly reced by thunder and a downpour. The raindrops were asrge as beans and they brought with them a winter-like cold.

    The rain pummeled the ground and sent mud flying all over the ce. It began to wash away the blood on the ground, forming little streams all over the battlefield.

    The battle ceased temporarily.

    Both the Great Xia Dynasty army and the Southern Region army stood their ground, allowing the rain to slide off their armor.

    It was cold...

    But they didn¡¯t seem to be bothered.

    All of the candidates were also under the brutal assault of the rain. Normally, they would find a nice restaurant to hide out, or a nice bar to have a drink. At the very least, they would use their abilities to shut out the rain.

    But now...

    Nothing like that happened.

    All of the candidates stood rooted to the ground, the raindrops pummeling their faces and flowing down their necks.

    "How did this happen?"

    "How is that possible?"

    "Am I dreaming?"

    Whispers could be heard as candidates looked to one another. The roar of the dragon had all disappeared, and it was reced with the calmness of the rain.

    Then, the troops began to move.

    All of the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty raised their spears, their expressions filled with excitement.

    The expressions of the 100,000 Southern Region army froze. They still could not rid themselves of the shock and awe from what they just witnessed.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression wasplicated. However, there were traces of surprise, almost as if he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

    Nangong Hao gripped his de tightly. However, this imposing stance was not because of his opponent.

    It hade from his heart.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Bai Xing rarely called out someone else¡¯s name when in battle. However, this time, he yelled it out.

    His tone was icy beyond belief.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he was in a dream. He thought that the pocket dimension he saw was just a dream, and the purple stain was a dream as well.

    Furthermore, his visit to the Blood Shadow City confirmed in his mind that he was in a dream.

    Because he was in a dream, he did not feel much emotions except for the growing killing intent.

    But now...

    He felt as though the dream was bing a reality.

    He seemed to have returned to the battlefield. He saw Yan Xiu in front of him, his body glowing red.

    Other than Yan Xiu, he saw two middle-aged men staring at him. One of them was holding a de stained with blood.

    Of course, everything that he saw was through a purple lens. Even though he could tell that it was fresh red blood, he saw it as purple.

    The faces of the two middle-aged men were also purple.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask what was going on. Were they fighting?

    However, when he saw Yan Xiu spit out a mouthful of blood whilst enveloped by a red glow, he did not ask any questions. He was consumed by a rage and a thirst to kill.

    Yan Xiu was injured?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he was in a dream. However, he never expected Yan Xiu to be beaten to this state even in a dream.

    He ced his hand on yan Xiu¡¯s shoulders.

    He did not speak. He knew that he was transferring some of his killing intent into Yan Xiu¡¯s heart and he knew that Yan Xiu knew exactly what he meant.

    Of course, that was the truth as well.

    Yan Xiu closed his eyes and sat down.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the two middle-aged men once again. To be precise, he turned on the middle-aged men who had blood on his sword.

    "Die!" Fang Zhengzhi did not think too much.

    After all...

    This was just a dream.

    Then, he leapt into action. He did not think too much as too what technique he wanted to use. He only had one technique in his heart, the one he just witnessed.

    The technique that had split the Blood Shadow City into two. The one that still left its mark till this day.

    The purple dragon shot to the sky.

    It charged towards the heavens and morphed into a twisting ray of purple light.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that this was definitely a dream. He never expected that he would be able to use this technique. This technique¡¯s power was indescribable.

    The torrential rain started at that moment.

    Raindrops sttered on his face, causing a cooling effect. However, the purple showed no signs of dissipating. In fact, it intensified.

    The world waspletely purple. Even the rain was purple.

    Was this a dream?

    A purple dream?

    ...

    "ng!" The middle-aged man¡¯s sword dropped to the ground. By this time, it was no longer a sword. It was a hilt with no de.

    As a Rebirth State cultivator...

    His sword would not be destroyed even if it had been cracked. He would be able to use Dao to keep the de intact.

    But the fact was that his sword had broke, smashed to smithereens.

    There was only one possible exnation. His Rebirth State Dao was insufficient to protect his sword.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s gaze was lost as he looked on exasperatedly. He did not know what just happened, but he knew that the facts could not be changed.

    "Young Master!" The middle-aged man turned to look at Yun Qingwu, who was still on top the cliff.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s white dress was initially dancing in the torrential rain. However, as her dress collected more and more raindrops, it became too heavy for the wind to lift.

    Her veil was drenched and stuck to her face. Even though one still couldn¡¯t see her face, her exquisite features were obvious.

    The middle-aged man wanted to say something to Yun Qingwu.

    However, he realized that Yun Qingwu was not looking at him. Instead, she was looking at the youth in front of him.

    He suddenly understood what was happening. He could tell what Yun Qingwu was thinking. This feeling originated from the expression beneath the veil.

    He saw that Yun Qingwu was smiling.

    That¡¯s right...

    Smiling.

    The middle-aged man did not know why she was so joyous, but he had a feeling that her joy had something to do with this youth.

    Was it because the youth wasn¡¯t dead?

    Or was it because...

    Was the youth very powerful?

    The middle-aged man no longer looked at Yun Qingwu. He turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi. He felt like he had to do something.

    "Can you tell me the name of the technique you just used?" The middle-aged man stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, which werepletely stained purple.

    "Name?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why the people in his dreams would ask such strange questions. Since they were characters in his dream, they should know what he did.

    He didn¡¯t feel like responding.

    However, when he heard the middle-aged man¡¯s question, the technique shed in his mind and he felt an urge to say its name.

    Maybe...

    It was a memory.

    Maybe this memory wanted to let him know that it existed.

    Regardless of the reason, Fang Zhengzhi answered the question in a simple and straightforward manner.

    "This technique is known as... The Returning Dragon!"

 Chapter 391: Perform a striptease

    Chapter 391: Perform a striptease

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "The Returning Dragon?" The middle-aged man murmured to himself. The attack just now had exuded an aura so powerful he had never felt anything like it before.

    But...

    Why would such a powerful technique be named The Returning Dragon?

    Returning?

    Is it because it couldn¡¯t bear to leave? Or because it had unfinished business?

    The middle-aged man could not understand it, but he did not think much about it.

    Wu Ji, who was standing next to the middle-aged man, also could not understand it. Even the other candidates, the dozens of demon elites, the Dragon Protection Squad, and...

    Virtually no one there knew why this technique was known as The Returning Dragon.

    However, they did not spend too much time thinking about it. Their attention was drawn to a deep crack in the ground.

    This crevice was beneath the feet of the middle-aged man.

    As such, this could not have been the work of the middle-aged man. This was clearly done by Fang Zhengzhi. A single strike had caused a crevice over five yards long.

    How ridiculous was that?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was a Rebirth State Demon.

    "The Returning Dragon?!"

    All of the demon elites looked at each other in confusion. They had never heard of a technique known as The Returning Dragon.

    This technique allows a Heavenly Reflection State human to go up against a Rebirth State Demon!

    Is it the technique?

    Or...

    Is it the person?!

    No one had any idea what the answer was. If it was the former, what a powerful technique this was... if it was thetter...

    How could someone like that exist in this world?

    Could someone like that still be termed as a talent?

    No!

    This was ungodly!

    Nangong Hao stopped in his tracks as he raised his head, the rain pummeling his face. He did not think about why the technique was named The Returning Dragon. He was trying to recall what he saw.

    The silver light from Bai Xing¡¯s finger disappeared as well. He instinctively turned to look at Yun Qingwu, who was standing atop the cliff.

    He too saw the joy through Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil.

    Why was she happy?

    Bai Xing did not understand. However, he knew that if someone like that was allowed to live...

    Could the demons still survive in theing decades?

    This was a teenager who could go up against a Rebirth State Demon. Even though it was just a single round, this human could not be allowed to live.

    Furthermore, he had an unprecedented 388 Daos in his pocket dimension.

    "No matter the cost!" Bai Xing did not wait for Yun Qingwu¡¯s orders. It wasn¡¯t because he doubted Yun Qingwu¡¯s decision.

    However...

    Regardless of what Yun Qingwu wanted, he had to do this for the future of the demons.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression turned steely. He knew what Bai Xing wanted. In fact, he was thinking the same thing.

    "Ah!" A cry of pain reverberated through the air.

    Then, the entire ground shook. This was a terrifying wave of force, almost as though it had been suppressed for centuries just waiting to explode.

    Everyone recovered instantly when they heard the piercing scream and the intense vibrations. Everyone was awed by what they saw.

    "He... he is going to?!"

    "Demon... he is a Rebirth State demon!"

    All of the candidates could not believe their eyes. They knew what was happening. However, their disbelief stemmed from the fact that they knew what he was doing."

    "Shi Kou, how... how dare you!" Yun Qingwu shouted from the cliff. She rarely spoke to humans or demons.

    But this time, she shouted.

    Furthermore...

    Her tone was filled with fury.

    All of the demon elites, as well as Bai Xing and Wu Ji, were all filled with shock and admiration as they saw what the middle-aged man was doing.

    He bit his lip, his face contorting in pain. However, embedded deep within this pain was a sense of relieve.

    This was Shi Kou.

    The first Vice Domain Chief of the 10 demonic domains. He was a nascent Rebirth State Demon.

    He only lived by one rule. The sessful ruled, the ones who failed died.

    He did not know if he had truly failed. However, he knew that once his sword had been shattered by a teenage Heavenly Reflection State human, he could not return to the demons.

    This was a matter of pride.

    The only way to preserve his dignity was to kill this human single-handedly.

    Just as Bai Xing had said, no matter the cost.

    The pale red demonic eye, representing a Rebirth State demon, turned ck in that instant. It was like a ck hole, and that meant that his demonic eye had been emptied.

    At that moment, Shi Kou shot a ray of purple light that was stained with red into the sky.

    ...

    "Not good!" Nangong Hao reacted almost instantly. With his heart cultivation, there were few things in this world which could make him flustered.

    However, when he saw Shi Kou¡¯s demonic eye turn ck...

    He could predict what was about to happen.

    "Nangong Hao, you cannot interfere! This is a battle that concerns Shi Kou¡¯s pride!" Bai Xing¡¯s fingers lit up once again as a ray of silver light shot towards Nangong Hao.

    Wu Ji¡¯s de also sprung into action. He did not point it at Fang Zhengzhi, choosing to turn on the Dragon Protection Squad. From the moment. Shi Kou decided to drain his demonic eye, Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking.

    As such, he did not have to concern himself with Fang Zhengzhi.

    His only job now was to...

    Prevent anyone else from interfering in this battle.

    Xing Qingsui clenched his fists. He knew what Shi Kou had done, but he was too far from Fang Zhengzhi. Even if he rushed over, he could not stop it.

    The Dragon Protection Squad watched solemnly.

    They were the elite soldiers of the Emperor. They were well decorated and honored in many ways. However, when they heard of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits, they realized that all their honors and achievements could not even hold a candle to this man.

    He had conquered the Thunderous Lion Settlement with little fanfare.

    Then, hemanded a 50,000 strong army to attack this city.

    He had conquered most of thends in thebat examinations, then broke the deadlock with Nangong Hao. With 50,000 soldiers as witnesses, he fought more than a dozen rounds with Nangong Hao despite being a whole cultivation state lower.

    Most importantly...

    With ¡¯The Returning Dragon¡¯, he had shattered the sword of a Rebirth State Demon.

    This was not just an achievement. This was a miracle. This man was a miracle that would be recorded in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    How could they let someone like this die?

    "We must save Fang Zhengzhi, no matter the cost!" One of the members shouted.

    As the Dragon Protection Squad, they only obeyed the orders of the Emperor. Even on this expedition, they only obeyed Nangong Hao, who was given special instructions by the Emperor.

    In their entire history...

    They had never done something without direct orders.

    However, this time, even though Nangong Hao did not say anything, they had already made up their mind without hesitation.

    The Dragon Protection Squad was formed from the disciples of the 13 Constabries. They were all of noble blood and quite powerful. However, they were willing to sacrifice their lives to save this viger known as Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he was in a dream. However, he felt that the dream was bing increasingly realistic. Not only could he see the expressions of those around him...

    He could also hear their voices.

    More importantly...

    A Rebirth State demon had decided to y the "kamikaze" card.

    He had seen this before.

    In the World of the Sage, Ying Shan had been humiliated so badly that he lost control of his emotions and chose this destructive path...

    But, what was wrong with Shi Kou?

    Fang Zhengzhi had not said anything to agitate him. All he did was shatter his sword. Why would he resort to doing such a thing?

    Hang on!

    Why was it that his attack could shatter the de of a Rebirth State demon?

    Okay...

    This is a dream, a dream that he was in control of.

    In his dream, he could probably defeat a sage. If he wanted to, he could smash the swords and bodies of everyone in his way.

    Fang Zhengzhi rxed.

    After all, he was the most powerful in his dream.

    When he raised his head, he saw Yun Qingwu standing atop the cliff. He already knew that Yun Qingwu was the young master of the demons.

    As such, he was not surprised to see demons beside Yun Qingwu.

    However...

    He had already seen Yun Qingwu¡¯s face before. Why was she still in a veil inside his dream?

    Can¡¯t she be a little more liberal in his dream?

    Since he was dreaming, he could think of anything. He was still a little too innocent. If he was more dirty minded, Yun Qingwu would already be doing a striptease in front of the soldiers.

    "Hey, Yun Qingwu, perform a striptease for me!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted. After all, he thought that he was still in his own dream.

    What was there that he could not say?

    He pointed at Yun Qingwu, who still looked purple through his eyes. He wagged his finger and smirked.

    The rain intensified. It washed the dirt off the armor of the soldiers, causing them to shine. The rattan armor of the Southern Region soldiers became heavier as they absorbed the water.

    However...

    They were no longer paying attention to the rain.

    A single sentence echoed continuously in their minds.

    "Yun Qingwu, perform a striptease for me!"

    "Striptease?!"

    "He asked Yun Qingwu to perform a striptease?!"

    All of the soldiers could not believe their ears. They never expected that the first statement out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth would be ¡¯Die!¡¯. Then, for his second statement to be...

    "Perform a striptease?!"

    All of the demon elites were stunned.

    They had heard that Fang Zhengzhi was a maverick. However, no matter how unorthodox Fang Zhengzhi was, why would he say something like that?

    To the demons, Yun Qingwu was their master. She was above all humiliation, someone who could not be touched.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi, a human teenager...

    He had just mocked their master in front of thousands of Great Xia and Southern Region soldiers!

    It was pure, unadulterated humiliation!

    Who could tolerate something like that?

    "Kill him, kill him!"

    All of the demon elites replied in unison. They did not care how ungodly Fang Zhengzhi was. All they wanted to do was tear him apart.

    The Dragon Protection Squad stopped in their tracks.

    They looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Just a moment ago, they were willing toy down their lives to try and protect this teenager with unlimited potential.

    But now, that determination wavered.

    Even though the opponent was a demon, was someone who would say something so shameless really worth themying down their lives for?

    Yun Qingwu was stunned as well, her expression conflicted. However, she did not reply.

    Because...

    She really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, go to hell!" Shi Kou¡¯s face contorted even more. He hated himself for not striking faster.

    He hated himself for only thinking about sacrificing his own life to take Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s only after Fang Zhengzhi destroyed his sword.

    If he had made that decision from the moment he saw Fang Zhengzhi, then none of this would have happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    The audacious teen who dared to humiliate the master of the demons.

    There was only one fate for someone like him. Death. Regardless of the price he had to pay, Shi Kou would ensure that Fang Zhengzhi died.

    Shi Kou knew this very well.

    He was not the only demon who thought that way.

    As such, how could Fang Zhengzhi live through this?

    A single p...

    The purple light shone radiantly. This p was filled with rage and contained all the energy Shi Kou could muster. His only thought was to kill this audacious maverick with this attack!

 Chapter 392: Terror

    Chapter 392: Terror

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel the aura from Shi Kou keenly. He knew exactly how powerful Shi Kou¡¯s attack would be after he decided to kamikaze.

    If this was reality, Fang Zhengzhi would not hesitate to run.

    So what if he had this uncontroble and domineering killing intent in his heart?

    Anyone with a brain would not go up against this attack.

    But...

    This was a dream.

    Could he be scared off by another character in his dream?

    Fang Zhengzhi scorned the attack. He did not bother running away, choosing instead to charge towards the attack, the killing intent gathering at the tip of his de.

    "Boom!"

    The palm and the sword shed in the air once again.

    The intensity of the light looked quite simr to the previous sh. However, the result was vastly different.

    A powerful and domineering force instantly shattered the other purple light and crashed down towards the person below.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "What¡¯s going on? Why is there so much difference between this sh and the previous one?"

    "Did he use up all his energy?"

    All of the members of the Dragon Protection Squad looked at the paling Fang Zhengzhi. They did decide to fight for Fang Zhengzhi with their lives.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi had tost until they arrived.

    Wu Ji was standing in their way. In order to save Fang Zhengzhi, they had to go around Wu Ji, who was a Rebirth State Demon.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked like he had the upper hand in the previous sh with Shi Kou. Normally, even if Shi Kou fought with everything he had, Fang Zhengzhi should not fall immediately.

    He should be able tost at least five minutes?

    That was what the Dragon Protection Squad thought.

    However, what they saw shattered any dreams they had.

    The dozens of demon elites, the candidates, and all the soldiers on the battlefield...

    Even Shi Kou himself was stunned.

    The difference between the two attacks was a little toorge to believe.

    "What¡¯s going on? Why is he so weak?" Shi Kou was stunned. If this was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true power...

    Why did he have to sacrifice his life?

    "What¡¯s going on? Why is he so powerful?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned as well. He paled. He never expected that Shi Kou¡¯s attack would be this powerful.

    My dream...

    Why is he stronger than me in my dream?!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand it, but he had to face the fact. The fact was that the overpowering purple light was plummeting towards him.

    "F*ck me!" Fang Zhengzhi shrieked as he cked out again.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if it was because of Shi Kou¡¯s power, or because he was too intent on seeing Yun Qingwu dance...

    Regardless...

    The world in front of his eyes changed once again.

    This was a world that was impossible to describe with words. However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had been here before. This was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!

    The lush green grass and the dense forests, as well as the humongouske. The water was so clear he could see the bed, but there were no fishes.

    Field, forest,ke...

    This was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if this feeling was right, but when he first stepped into this ce from The Vast World, he had a strange feeling.

    This time, when he entered in his dreams, he had this feeling again.

    "The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? Why would Ie to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? That¡¯s impossible! Wasn¡¯t it destroyed with The Vast World?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    From the beginning, he never understood what was going on.

    As such...

    He decided to try again.

    Thest time, he had taken a bath in theke to escape from the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. That was what he remembered.

    He could not be sure, but he decided to give it a go.

    He stripped, revealing a silver-colored Heart Protection Mirror. If Nangong Hao saw this, he would confirm what he had guessed.

    Watertight Mirror!

    One of the seven treasures of the Divine Constabry!

    "I never thought that I would have another chance to bathe in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    However, his smile froze almost instantly.

    Because...

    He saw a woman. That woman was dancing on the surface of theke. She wore a white dress, and the figure was extremely familiar.

    "It¡¯s her?!" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    To see the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet in his dreams did not shock him. After all, this was a dream, but to see this woman...

    Why would she appear in his dreams?

    Isn¡¯t this thedy he saw in the Divine Constabry¡¯s Heavenly Treasure Hall?

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that he had seen thisdy in the humongouske. He did not know her name, but he felt a sense of familiarity.

    But that was theke inside the Heavenly Treasure Hall!

    What did that have to do with the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?

    He did not understand. By this point, he was utterly confused.

    Pearl...

    He had found a pearl at the bottom of thatke. That pearl was sitting snugly inside his Heart Protection Mirror. Did this have something to do with that pearl?

    Fang Zhengzhi began to look for it inside his Heart Protection Mirror instinctively.

    He had many things in the Heart Protection Mirror.

    Secret weapons, clothes, food, etcetera. However, he could not find that pearl. It was almost as if it vanished.

    Hang on!

    It seemed like something else was missing...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attention shifted because he felt as though something else had disappeared from his Heart Protection Mirror. It was a ck square stone.

    When he first saw that stone, it was shining brightly.

    "The pearl and stone are both gone? What¡¯s going on?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what was going on.

    Then...

    When he looked at the silent dancingdy on the surface of the water.

    "She looks so familiar, who is she?" Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself as he gave up on the idea of taking a bath. He simply couldn¡¯t bring himself to bathe in front of thisdy.

    ...

    At the entrance of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    It continued to pour, the intensity increasing by the minute. However, everyone stopped in their tracks.

    They were all looking at the figure bathing in purple light.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, when they saw Shi Kou attack and that mountainous wave of force crashing towards Fang Zhengzhi, they knew that it was over.

    With the differences in their ability clear for all to see, was there anything else that could happen?

    No one expected a miracle to happen.

    However, when the purple light crashed into Fang Zhengzhi, the strangest miracle happened.

    Everyone thought that the domineering purple light would smash Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body to smithereens. However, when the light hit Fang Zhengzhi...

    The result waspletely different.

    It was a strange sight.

    It felt as though the purple light entered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. To be more precise, it was as though Fang Zhengzhi absorbed all of it.

    How is that possible?!

    No one understood what had just happened. Just as they thought that Fang Zhengzhi was going to die, he absorbed the purple light attacking him?

    How did that happen?

    What...

    The f*ck?

    No one could figure out what they just saw, including Nangong Hao, Xing Qingsui, Yun Qingwu and even Bai Xing...

    This had never happened before. The purple light represented the intense energy from Shi Kou. How could a human body absorb all that energy?

    But those were the facts.

    It was an indisputable truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood in the middle of the purple light as he continued to absorb them into his body.

    Then, the purple light vanished.

    Silence!

    Pin drop silence!

    There was no other sound other than that of the rain hitting the ground. Countless pairs of eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi and the purple sword he held in his hand.

    The sword was Traceless!

    In fact...

    There was not a single trace on it other than purple!

    "Why aren¡¯t you attacking?!" Wu Ji¡¯s voice broke the silence. He did not know what Fang Zhengzhi just did, but he knew that Shi Kou had too attack now before it was toote.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, die! You must die!" Shi Kou¡¯s eyes were filled with rage and awe. He could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi managed to block his attack.

    But he had no other choice. He had no time to think because he was already running out of time.

    "Die!" Shi Kou raised his hands and he morphed into a ray of purple light. He shot towards Fang Zhengzhi. If Fang Zhengzhi could use such a weird method to block his energy...

    Then...

    He had to get in close!

    The entire space shuddered as ck cracks appeared behind Shi Kou. His body was literally tearing through space.

    "Bang!" A huge sound echoed out.

    The two bodies shed and parted in the blink of an eye.

    Wu Ji¡¯s eyes were filled with fear and shock. Being so close to the action, he could see that Shi Kou was the one who was forced back.

    "What¡¯s going on? What the hell is this? Could it be that the Heavenly Reflection State Fang Zhengzhi can go up against Shi Kou, who already drained his demonic eye?" Wu Ji could not believe his eyes.

    In fact, no one could believe what they were saying.

    "Worthless weakling!" An icy, arrogant voice rang out at this moment. This was the voice of a superior individual scorning a weaker one.

    Shi Kou had done something simr just moments ago.

    He had felt this same rush when he crashed down from the cliff. Furthermore, he had said those exact words.

    Worthless weakling!

    But now, he was not the one saying these words. Instead, Fang Zhengzhi was saying this to him.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes amidst the torrential rain. His eyes were stained a scary shade of purple.

    More importantly...

    There was a sword embedded inside.

    The sword was glowing inside his pupils.

    "Hum!" The vast killing intent rushed out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body like a tsunami, crashing towards Shi Kou.

    "Kaboom!"

    Purple bolts of lightning could be seen in the sky, almost as if there were many dragons roaming the clouds. The entire sky seemed to darken.

    "Sword in the eye!"

    Everyone was terrified when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. The sheer terror they felt was indescribable.

    There were two states when one attained the highest sword techniques.

    One was not having a sword in the hand, but having a sword in the heart. The other was not having a sword in either, but the entire person was the sword.

    This was known as "Sword Offering!"

    He was the sword.

    Shi Kou¡¯s body stiffened. As a Rebirth State demon, he knew what this was, but he could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could attain such a state.

    That being said...

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi managed to reach this state, he still had to fight to the bitter end.

    He was a demon waiting to die. What more did he have to think about?

    F*ck it! He didn¡¯t care if Fang Zhengzhi was in the Sword Offering state!

    Fang Zhengzhi had to die!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, go to hell!" Shi Kou¡¯s body turned into a ray of purple light as he charged at Fang Zhengzhi. This ray of light was even brighter than the previous one.

    "Die!" Fang Zhengzhi moved even before Shi Kou did. The sword in his eye glowed radiantly, almost as if it was a real sword.

    The strange purple shot to the heavens as it twisted in the air. Itbined with the thunder and the clouds, turning into a humongous tree that covered the entire area.

    "He¡¯s so powerful, why is he so powerful?!"

    "Is... is this still Fang Zhengzhi? Why can¡¯t I recognize him anymore?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi... impossible! Fang Zhengzhi cannot possibly be this powerful!"

    All of the candidates looked at the purple tree in the air that was made from the lightning and the clouds. They stepped back instinctively.

    The terror in their eyes said it all...

 Chapter 393: The battle begins

    Chapter 393: The battle begins

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Previously, everyone thought of Fang Zhengzhi as the most shameless individual they had ever met. But now, the only thing they felt from Fang Zhengzhi was iciness.

    It was beyond what they could tolerate. The iciness was augmented by a domineering killing aura which sent chills down everyone¡¯s spines.

    "Kacha!"

    The twisting purple lights and lightning bolts that formed the huge tree eventually crashed down towards the ground.

    This was The Returning Dragon, and it was peerlessly powerful.

    However...

    It was slightly different from the first one. This time, the power was augmented by an icy killing intent.

    "Boom!"

    The two rays of purple light intertwined, then separated.

    There was a spray of blood, almost as if a red flower bloomed in mid-air. This blood was washed to the ground by the rain, forming a red stream on the ground.

    There was a figure lying in the pool of blood. His eyes were wide, his face pale, his hair gradually turning silver.

    His skin was wrinkled beyond belief. It felt as though he had aged multiple times in that short period.

    "You... are not Fang Zhengzhi!" Shi Kou sputtered as the blood trickled from his lips. He could not believe what had happened, but he could not battle anymore.

    His arms werepletely shattered...

    He was a powerful Rebirth State demon who looked down on the candidates as worthless individuals. Yet, the person in front of him now was many times more powerful than him.

    Worthless!

    Shi Kou closed his eyes, unable to hang in there anymore. If he had not chosen to drain his demonic eye, he would have been able to recover from his shattered arms within a few months.

    However, he had already drained his demonic eye. That meant that he would be dead in 15 minutes if he could not kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not struggle as he waited for death to take him. However, he held on to one belief even up till hisst breath...

    The person he had faced was not Fang Zhengzhi.

    The arrogance and domineering power that Fang Zhengzhi had demonstrated was not possible for a Heavenly Reflection State human.

    ...

    It continued to pour, thunder roaring throughout the battlefield. The huge tree created by the purple lightning bolts eventually disappeared.

    There was a youth standing where the tree once was. He held a glowing purple sword in his hand as he surveyed his surroundings.

    Waves of killing intent emanated from his body. His aura could be keenly felt despite the torrential rain.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He... He actually defeated a Rebirth State demon!"

    Shock, awe, terror. The gazes of all the candidates froze as they looked at the sword embedded inside the pupils of the figure in the rain.

    Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the dozens of demon elites were also frozen in their ces. They too could not believe what they had just seen.

    "How is that possible?!"

    "Is he human? Why does such a human being even exist?!"

    "..."

    Yun Qingwu stood in the rain, her exquisite eyes looking at Fang Zhengzhi with conflicted emotions.

    She seemed, relieved and happy, yet, there were traces of awe, fear, and a clear desire to kill him.

    "Is that really him?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips parted as she murmured so softly it felt like she was talking to herself.

    No one answered the question. Of course, Yun Qingwu never really expected an answer.

    In the rain...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up at Yun Qingwu. At the moment, his body leapt into action, the strange purple glow swirling around his sword. It was almost as if there was a purple dragon circling his de.

    "Die!" The icy voice filled with killing intent rang out once again as his terrifying aura spread to the surroundings.

    "In your dreams!" Wu Ji sprang into action as well. He had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do, but he knew that he had to stop Fang Zhengzhi.

    The dozens of demon elites also sprang into action with Wu Ji.

    Naturally...

    The Dragon Protection Squad could not do nothing.

    Even though they had not figured out how Fang Zhengzhi defeated Shi Kou, it was not their concern. At the end of the day, that was a good thing for them.

    As such, they could throw it out of their minds for now.

    "Formation!"

    As the renowned Dragon Protection Squad, they had great chemistry with each other and formed up efficiently. Now that they didn¡¯t have to worry about Fang Zhengzhi, they could turn their attention on the enemy.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi and the Dragon Protection Squad sprang into action, the 100,000 Southern Region soldiers also moved.

    "Boom boom boom!"

    The rhythmic marching could be heard from miles away. They kicked up droplets of water as they charged towards the Great Xia army.

    This was a battle that was waiting to happen. The Great Xia Dynasty was outnumbered almost two to one.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "Die die die!"

    The soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty chanted in unison. They kept trying to raise the morale of their fellowrades as they waited for the enemy to crash into them.

    "Listen up, general of the Great Xia!" Just at this moment, a middle-aged man in thick armor walked out. He had a huge ck leather coat on his back.

    Xing Qingsui raised his hand and the chanting ceased.

    When the general of the Southern Region saw this, he put down the huge de in his hand. He stared down the Great Xia soldiers.

    "We have taken over the Stable Mountain Gate. We have taken over 50,000 soldiers prisoner, so you have lost your reinforcements. The Crown Prince is currently surrounded by 100,000 of our soldiers. You have lost this war. Put down your weapons and surrender! Our king will not take your lives. However, if you resist, all 130,000 of our men will show you no mercy!"

    The general of the Southern Regions pointed his sword at Xing Qingsui, his gaze filled with an animalistic rage.

    At this point, a cavalryman rode out from within the ranks. He held a tattered g in his hands. There were three words on the blood-stained g.

    Stable Mountain Gate!

    This was the g of the Stable Mountain Gate. The fact that they had the g meant that the gate had been broken!

    "Stable Mountain Gate has fallen?!"

    "How is that possible? The Stable Mountain Gate has fallen? What... what are we going to do now? If the Stable Mountain Gate has fallen, we can¡¯t go back!"

    "The Crown Prince is surrounded. Aren¡¯t we the only army left?"

    All of the soldiers began to panic when they heard the words of the Southern Region¡¯s general.

    The tides of the battle had changed.

    Before this, the soldiers were willing to fight to the death because they knew that the Great Xia Dynasty was more powerful than the Southern Regions.

    As such, with reinforcementsing, there was no way they could lose.

    Even if they were outnumbered two to one, they did not fear. After all, they had 40,000 soldiers under themand of the Crown Prince and the 50,000 soldiers at the Stable Mountain Gate. Furthermore, there were over a million more soldiers at the ready in the empire.

    But now...

    With the Stable Mountain Gate broken, how would their reinforcements arrive? The Crown Prince was also surrounded and had no way of saving them.

    Alone!

    They were alone and deep in enemy territory.

    Under such circumstances, they only had one fate awaiting them. Death in a foreignnd.

    All 50,000 soldiers looked to Xing Qingsui and the generals with desperation in their eyes.

    All of the generals paled when they saw the bloodstained g of the Stable Mountain Gate and heard the words of the Southern Region general.

    Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed too.

    He did not expect the Stable Mountain Gate to fall. Even he did not expect the Southern Region to be this powerful.

    "Is there no retreat?" Xing Qingsui mouthed to himself. He gripped his ck sword tightly. However, he was different from the soldiers.

    He would never retreat, and he would never surrender!

    As a disciple of the Stabilization Constabry, he never needed a path to retreat. If there was no way back, they would march forward. They would carve out a path with blood!

    "Soldiers of the Great Xia, listen up! Fang Zhengzhi can defeat a Rebirth State demon despite only being a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator. This is testament to the potential we have as humans. You now have two choices!"

    "The first choice is to put down your weapons and kneel in humiliation. You can beg for mercy and be a prisoner!"

    "Your second choice is to hold the spears in your hand and charge with me! We will take over the Icy Monkey Settlement and charge into the Sagely Mountain City. We will capture their king!"

    "Answer together!"

    Xing Qingsui raised the ck sword in his hand as he rallied his troops. He looked at the general, his eyes filled with battle intent.

    "Die!"

    "Capture their king!"

    "Capture their king!"

    "If Fang Zhengzhi can defeat a Rebirth State demon, we can conquer the Sagely Mountain City!"

    All of the soldiers were fired up. Under the leadership of their generals, they began to chant in unison.

    "Capture their king!"

    "Capture their king!"

    "Conquer Sagely Mountain City!"

    "..."

    The Southern Region general smirked when he heard the replies. "What a bunch of idiots! Today, I will show you the power of the Southern Region army! Kill!"

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "Die die die!"

    The Southern Region soldiers roared in unison, their voices causing the earth to shake. This was their home!

    ...

    Yun Qingwu looked at the two armies about to do battle, her eyes glittering. However, her attention was more on the group of people already embroiled in battle.

    Those people would decide the fate of this war.

    One strike!

    The strange purple light.

    It was like a venomous snake, the icy killing intent spreading through the air. If not for the fact that Wu Ji was doing battle with Fang Zhengzhi, there would be casualties amongst the ranks of the demon elite.

    Other than Fang Zhengzhi, Nangong Hao¡¯s battle with Bai Xing reignited. The silver glow continued to attack. However, Nangong Hao was not losing any ground despite only being in the pinnacle Supernatural State.

    The Dragon Protection Squad continued to battle the demon elites. They had the upper hand but did not let up.

    Because...

    They all knew that the advantage the numbers advantage they had was temporary. The demons and the Southern Region had the true numerical advantage.

    Over 100,000 Southern Region soldiers.

    These were brutal warriors who grew up in thesends. Each one was ferocious and had powerful abilities. Based on individual skill alone, each one would overpower the soldiers of the Great Xia.

    However, the Great Xia army had the tactical advantage.

    Even so, the numbers disadvantage was too great to ovee.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "Die die die!"

    The roars reverberated through the air. The rain continued to beat down on both sides, washing the dirt off their armor.

    "Charge!" The Southern Region general lifted his broadsword high up in the air. The gigantic beast which was his stallion also galloped forward.

    He charged straight for Xing Qingsui.

    The Southern Region...

    As the general of the army, he had to lead by example. This was the only way he couldmand the respect of his men.

    "Charge, kill!"

    "Die!"

    As the Southern Region general charged forward, the rest of the army sprang into action behind him, almost like wolves charging a herd.

    They red at the soldiers of the Great Xia. Their dark skin glistened in the rain as they ran forward without hesitation.

 Chapter 394: The true trump card

    Chapter 394: The true trump card

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Kaboom!" A thunderous explosion echoed out.

    The rain of arrowsbined with the downpour as they sliced through the air. The Southern Region soldiers tried to look at the arrows...

    However, they could not see in amongst the heavy downpour.

    Then...

    Screams of pain rang out as soldiers fell to the arrows only to be trampled by their chargingrades.

    However, they did not have any regrets. After all, they were soldiers.

    "Boom!" The charging horde finally crashed into the Great Xia soldiers. The bloodbath had begun.

    The sound of the horn rang out at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. It pierced through the air and rallied the troops of the Southern Region. All of them straightened their backs and fought with renewed vigor.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    All of the Great Xia soldiers thrust with their spears as they tried to hold the line. The archers continued to fire arrows into the horde of Southern Region soldiers...

    Bodies fell to the ground.

    Blood stained the earth and clumped up in pools.

    Xing Qingsui was on the frontlines, nked by dozens of soldiers. His ck sword continued to swing as he sunk the de into the body of a Southern Region soldier.

    "Have the nks advance and nk the enemy!" Xing Qingsui ordered as he drew his de from the chest of a Southern Region soldier.

    "Yes!" One of the bodyguards raised the g in his hands and passed on the order.

    Just at this moment, a beastlike roar echoed out.

    It was the general of the Southern Region.

    His eyes glowed green as he addressed Xing Qingsui with an icy re. The leather cloak on his back was prickly, almost like spines on his back.

    He raised his sword high up in the air and killed the two soldiers in his way. In a single bound, his beast appeared in front of Xing Qingsui.

    "Go to hell!" He roared, a domineering aura exploding from his body. This general was extremely powerful.

    He was probably in the advanced stages of the Supernatural State.

    How powerful was Xing Qingsui?

    Heavenly Reflection State... in the face of this general, his only option would have been to run.

    However, when Xing Qingsui saw the general charge up to him, he smiled. It was a smile of anticipation and relief.

    He did not retreat.

    In fact, he did not even move. He watched as the Southern Region general brought the de down on his head. He did not even blink.

    "Boom!"

    A thunderous sound echoed out.

    Then, a column of light shot skyward from behind Xing Qingsui. It was like a gigantic sword.

    At that moment, a head flew into the air.

    That was the head of the Southern Region general, his eyes wide in disbelief. He simply could not understand how he had been killed.

    Then, a figure leapt up from behind Xing Qingsui, grabbing the head of the general beforending on both feet.

    The rain continued to wash the blood into puddles.

    The ground was slick with blood, the grass trampled constantly. The moment one leg was lifted, another stamped down on them.

    "The general of the Southern Region is dead! Follow me and take over the Icy Monkey Settlement!" A crisp voice rang out as he raised the head of the fallen general.

    In that instant.

    The intense battle came to a standstill. All of them turned to look at the figure who held the head of the fallen general in his hands.

    That man had worn the armor of the ordinary soldier.

    However, when he raised the head high up in the air, his armor was sliced open by rays of light, revealing a purplish golden robe.

    Traces of calm were embedded within his expression of determination. It felt as though he had everything under control.

    "It¡¯s Xing Hou!"

    "Oh my god, Xing Hou is in the Southern Region!"

    "We have hope!"

    All of the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty were invigorated when they saw this man. Before this, they were fighting out of desperation. But now, they had a beacon of hope.

    Xing Hou, Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry.

    The pir of the Great Xia Dynasty and the leader of the 13 Constabries. His battle exploits were legendary.

    Even King Duan himself would not dare say that he was more influential than Xing Yuanguo.

    "Mountain Breaking Army!"

    "Here!"

    "Clear a path!"

    "Yes!"

    The voices replied in unison.

    Then, they shed their ordinary armor, revealing the bright, shining armor underneath. They charged behind Xing Yuanguo.

    If the Southern Region soldiers were wolves tearing into a flock of sheep.

    Then the Mountain Breaking Army was the tiger hidden amongst the sheep.

    They shot out like an arrow from a bow as they carved a path through the ranks of the stunned Southern Region soldiers.

    Too fast.

    It had all happened too quickly.

    It was so fast that the Southern Region soldiers did not even have a chance to react.

    They had the upper hand all this while. However, they never expected that their general would die in the heat of battle.

    Then...

    Xing Hou of the Great Xia¡¯s Stabilization Constabry led the Mountain Breaking Army through their ranks. The Mountain Breaking Army was notorious. All of them knew that this was the elite army of the Stabilization Constabry.

    What was going on?

    The soldiers of the Southern Region could not react in time.

    They were not the only ones who were stunned. Even the candidates who were fighting for their lives could not believe their eyes.

    "Xing Hou is here?!"

    "The Mountain Breaking Army is also here?!"

    "What is going on? Why is Xing Hou hidden in the ranks and why would the Mountain Breaking Army also be hidden in the ranks? When did they sneak in?"

    Questions began flying through the minds of the candidates.

    They did not know what exactly was going on, but they realized that this had all been nned for by the Emperor.

    Xing Yuanguo hiding inside the army may have been a coincidence. However, considering the fact that the Mountain Breaking Army also snuck themselves in, the only exnation was that this was nned for.

    The aim was to bait the Southern Region and the demons into action. Then, they would defeat them with the element of surprise.

    The tide of the battle was indeed turning.

    The Southern Region general had been too careless, causing him to lose his life to Xing Yuanguo. Then, the Mountain Breaking Army had smashed through the ranks of the Southern Region soldiers.

    The Mountain Breaking Army!

    Their forte was siege and battle on an open in.

    The entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement was an open in. This was the perfect terrain for the Mountain Breaking Army. The Southern Region soldiers struggled to react to the onught.

    Without the leadership of their general and the appearance of the Mountain Breaking Army, the soldiers began to panic a little.

    That being said, it was just a little.

    After all, this was their home and they were warriors. They would rather die than surrender. As long as they had weapons in their hand, they would fight to the bitter end.

    "Don¡¯t panic, stop them and avenge General Ke!"

    "Charge!"

    "People in the middle, defend with me!"

    All of the deputies began to bark out orders and organize their troops. Groups began to charge in the midst of the chaos.

    Some continued to press on whilst others tried to hold the line.

    Just at this moment, there were killing noises at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. Bodies began flying off the city walls, shrieking as they fell to the ground.

    The candidates were in shock when they saw this.

    Could it be...

    There was an ambush in the Icy Monkey Settlement?

    All of the candidates turned to look at Nangong Hao. Nangong Hao was also looking at the city walls, his expression calm.

    The candidates began to understand what was happening.

    From the beginning, only 1000 of Nangong Hao¡¯s soldiers had been seen. That was the 1000 soldiers guarding the entrance to Feng Su.

    What about the other 1000?

    No one had ever seen them.

    This was a detail that would have been easily missed. However, when they heard the killing sounds, all of the candidates understood what was happening.

    If the Emperor could insert the Mountain Breaking Army into the regr army, how could the Emperor have given Nangong Hao 2000 ordinary soldiers?

    1000 ordinary soldiers were ced in in sight to confuse the Southern Region. The true elite force was left to guard the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    In other words, Nangong Hao had already worked with the Stabilization Constabry on a n to take over the Icy Monkey Settlement. This was all part of the n.

    Trump card!

    This was the Emperor¡¯s trump card!

    "Kill! Kill our way into the Icy Monkey Settlement!"

    "Charge!"

    "That is our only way to survive!"

    All of the generals began yelling out orders. All of them knew that getting into the Icy Monkey Settlement was their only chance at survival.

    The soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty were reinvigorated.

    The 50,000 strong army got into formation efficiently and advanced towards the Southern Region soldiers. The followed behind the charging Mountain Breaking Army and closed in on the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    At the back, the soldiers continued to defend against the onught of soldiers from Feng Su as they retreated.

    The gates to the Icy Monkey Settlement were sealed shut. The Southern Region army was being massacred by the Mountain Breaking Army. Their general was dead and the deputies were not unified in their ideas.

    In the end...

    They broke.

    ...

    "So this is the true trump card of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    The young vice domain chief looked at Xing Yuanguo from atop the cliff, his eyes glittering with battle intent.

    However, this battle intent onlysted for a brief moment.

    "Mm, since the Great Xia had decided to attack the Southern Region, they need a real general. This general could not have been Nangong Hao. Xing Yuanguo... is more like it." Yun Qingwu looked at the retreating Southern Region soldiers as she answered the question of her vice domain chief.

    "Master, since you guessed that they will send amander, why don¡¯t we take this opportunity to destroy them all?"

    "What is our aim?" Yun Qingwu did not answer the question directly, choosing to ask a question of her own.

    "This... it is the Southern Region..." The young demon stiffened, unable to fully understand what Yun Qingwu was getting at.

    "Do you think that the Southern Region will listen to us even if the Great Xia army is decimated? The Icy Monkey Settlement is a strategic location, and we must destroy these people sooner orter. However, whether we take over the Southern Region or not will not be decided by this battle."

    "Young master, you mean..." The young demon seemed to understand.

    "If my guess is correct, the ruler of the Southern Region is just using us to control the Great Xia. This will allow him to free himself from their control and establish an empire."

    "Young Master already knew the intentions of the Southern Region Ruler. I understand."

    "Let¡¯s go."

    "Yes!" The young demon nodded when he heard this. Then, he turned to look at the figure bathing in purple light, "Young Master... should I help Wu Ji?"

    "No need, Bai Xing will take care of it." Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, wavering for a moment before she shook it off.

    "Your wish is mymand!"

    ...

    From the moment Bai Xing saw Xing Yuanguo, he knew the result of this battle. As such, he did not go fight Xing Yuanguo.

    He also did not order the demon elites to stop the advance of the Mountain Breaking Army.

    He knew that he had a more important mission. His mission was the purple figure entangled in a battle with Wu Ji.

    "We can lose this battle, but you... must die!" Bai Xing squinted as his eyes began to glitter, almost as if there were stars in his pupils.

 Chapter 395: Explosive youth

    Chapter 395: Explosive youth

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was a teen who could go up against a Rebirth State Demon. A teen who had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension.

    How could Bai Xing let someone like that live?

    "Bang!"

    A pnded squarely on Bai Xing¡¯s chest, causing it to glow radiantly. Then, his body sailed through the air like a broken kite.

    Blood trickled from Bai Xing¡¯s mouth.

    ...

    Nangong Hao was slightly stunned. He did not think that Bai Xing would fail to dodge this attack. However, the fact was that his attacknded squarely on Bai Xing.

    Something was wrong.

    Nangong Hao never believed in luck. Also, he did not believe that his opponent would make such a grave mistake during a duel.

    Bai Xing was the prime example.

    Not good!

    Nangong Hao was looking at Bai Xing, but Bai Xing was not looking at him, he was looking at the figure that was battling Wu Ji.

    Bai Xing did not seem to be in pain. In fact, Bai Xing was smiling, his eyes glittering like stars in the night sky.

    Mistake.

    The first one was to bait the opponent in...

    The second one was to take advantage of the opponent¡¯s aggression!

    Bai Xing¡¯s mistake was clearly thetter. He wanted to make use of Nangong Hao¡¯s attack to augment his sneak attack on the dueling Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nangong Hao guessed his motive when he saw Bai Xing sailing towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he was in no position to stop this attack. Bai Xing was quick, no slower than Nangong Hao.

    There were only two people who could stop Bai Xing.

    One was Nangong Hao, the other was Xing Yuanguo.

    If Nangong Hao could not block his attack, then Xing Yuanguo could not either. Xing Yuanguo was even further away, and his focus was onmanding the soldiers.

    Bai Xing took advantage of this.

    As such, he did not hesitate to take the hit from Nangong Hao. He wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi even before Xing Yuanguo had a chance to react.

    However... the heavens always have thestugh.

    Bai Xing had taken into ount all the people who could stop him to find the opportune moment to strike. However, he did not consider what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    In fact...

    No one expected that Fang Zhengzhi would do what he did. Even if they thought of it, no one believed that Fang Zhengzhi would dare to do it.

    Bai Xing thought that he would be able to end it after taking the hit from Nangong Hao. However, Fang Zhengzhi went around Wu Ji and rushed towards the cliff.

    The torrential rain continued to stter as it hit the puddles on the ground.

    A figure encased in purple light sliced through the rain like a sword. It had a boundless killing intent as it carved a bloody path through all the soldiers.

    None of the Great Xia soldiers could believe their eyes. Fang Zhengzhi was chasing down Yun Qingwu.

    That was akin to a death wish.

    Yun Qingwu had another vice domain chief as her bodyguard. Furthermore, as the young master of the demons, she definitely had some protective treasures.

    It would be legendary if he could kill the general in the face of the enemy soldiers. However, even when Xing Yuanguo did it, he had the element of surprise on his side.

    But Fang Zhengzhi was...

    Just charging straight at her?!

    Isn¡¯t that a little too ridiculous?

    They could not believe it.

    However, when the soldiers of the Great Xia saw the figure speeding towards them, they instinctively opened up a path. After all, they were on the same side. The more important reason was...

    The aura of death surrounding Fang Zhengzhi was too terrifying!

    It was so heavy that it sent chills down the spine of all the soldiers. It crested in waves, piercing through the torrential rain.

    Bai Xing shuddered in his spot.

    He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would get away from Wu Ji and rush towards Yun Qingwu. That was suicide.

    Even an idiot would not do that.

    It would be a different story if he hade from atop the cliff and Yun Qingwu was on the field. Right now, Fang Zhengzhi had to carve a path through the army and kill her through her bodyguard.

    Even Xing Yuanguo could not do it!

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was trying it. This slippery teenager was going to try something that was so audacious and idiotic it bordered on the legendary.

    ...

    Yun Qingwu turned back because she felt that domineering wave aura of death crashing towards her.

    She had been drenched by the rain, her hair resting on her shoulders. The wind wanted to blow her veil up, but it stuck to her face.

    "Go to hell! Young Master, go!" The young vice domain chief also noticed the purple figure crashing towards them. He smiled scornfully.

    "It¡¯s okay." Yun Qingwu shook her head, her emotions conflicted. Her feelings were inexplicable, and she did not know where these emotions wereing from.

    In fact, she had not felt anything from the first time she had seen Fang Zhengzhi till now.

    However...

    She could not forget that Fang Zhengzhi was the first human to brush her veil away. Not once, but twice...

    What if she wasn¡¯t the young master of the demons?

    Could he have been her confidante?

    This was a question which Yun Qingwu asked herself many times. The other question was, if Fang Zhengzhi was not talented enough to threaten the future of the demons, would she really kill him?

    Killing the talents of the human race was something that the demons had done for many years.

    However, when faced with a true, legendary talent, one would hesitate to take his life.

    This was truly conflicting.

    To make matters worse, after Yun Qingwu decided to kill Fang Zhengzhi, she realized that Fang Zhengzhi was also doing his best to kill her.

    "Do... you really want to kill me that badly?" Yun Qingwu murmured to herself as she looked at the figure encased in purple light.

    This was not a question which Yun Qingwu should have asked. After all, she was supposed to be in control of the situation.

    This question was stupid and naive.

    Even so...

    Yun Qingwu still asked herself.

    However, she replied her own question almost instantly, "Yes, since I want to kill you... it is only natural that you want to kill me!"

    A scene shed through her mind.

    At that time, she was alone with Fang Zhengzhi. She was ying music for him. Back then, she had enough ways to stop Fang Zhengzhi from leaving the boat, and Fang Zhengzhi had enough opportunities to kill her.

    However, neither of them had any ideas of killing each other. They were just two friends catching up.

    That was the first time in Yun Qingwu¡¯s time amongst the humans that she had no motive for meeting someone.

    Her only aim was to celebrate the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had topped the River of Trust province examinations.

    A few months had passed since that fateful day.

    They met again.

    They had not spoken, but they were now enemies. Yun Qingwu would try everything to kill Fang Zhengzhi, and Fang Zhengzhi would kill his way through an army to get to her.

    Humans and demons.

    That was their fate...

    ...

    "Stop him!"

    "Protect the young master!"

    "Dragon Protection Squad, clear a path for Fang Zhengzhi!"

    All of the demon elites and the Dragon Protection Squad joined the fray. The demons did everything they could to stop Fang Zhengzhi whilst the Dragon Protection Squad tried to keep the demon elites away.

    Wu Ji paled.

    Only when he started dueling Fang Zhengzhi could he feel the oppressive killing aura exuded by Fang Zhengzhi. It felt almost as if he was thrown into the depths of hell.

    He was suffocated and his limbs were restricted in their movements. This caused him to be at a disadvantage in the duel.

    "Killing aura, it¡¯s too strong! Why is the killing aura so strong?!" Wu Ji did not understand how a teenage human could have such a terrifying killing aura.

    Honed on the battlefield?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no such opportunity.

    Hatred and rage built up since young?

    That didn¡¯t seem likely either!

    Furthermore, intelligence had reported that Fang Zhengzhi grew up in a small vige and led a carefree life. He did not seem like someone who had would have a reason to hate the world.

    Wu Ji could not understand it.

    However, he knew that if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s aura was suffocating him, he would not be losing.

    But the fact was that he was losing.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had managed to go around him and head straight for Yun Qingwu.

    "Chase him down!" Bai Xing¡¯s voice rang out in Wu Ji¡¯s ears. This relieved much of the pressure on his chest.

    Wu Ji did not reply as he turned and sped towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    He didn¡¯t really want to experience that oppressive killing aura again. However, when it was headed straight for Yun Qingwu, he did not hesitate to charge forward.

    He was even willing to take the hit for Yun Qingwu!

    ...

    The rain intensified, causing visibility to be at an all-time low. One could barely make out the features of the person next to you.

    However, there was one figure who could be seen clearly through the rain.

    It was encased in a purple light.

    Thunder pped and purple lightning bolts shot through the air. Waves of killing aura spread through the air. He was extremely quick, almost like another bolt of lightning shooting through the air.

    "Stop him!"

    "Stop him quickly!"

    Panicked voices shrieked as they watched the figure shooting through the clouds. ck bodies threw themselves in front of the purple figure.

    "Die!" A voice rang out from inside the purple light.

    Then, the purple lightning flickered and a column of purple light shot to the heavens. Then, it turned back and crashed towards the ground, twisting as it made is way through the air. It exploded in the middle of these ck figures.

    The Returning Dragon!

    This was the powerful technique that channeled all of that killing aura.

    "Boom!"

    A huge crevice formed as clouds of blood sttered into the air. All of the obstacles in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s way were instantly blown apart.

    "How is it possible that he still has this incrediblebat power after fighting for so long? How much energy does he have?" One of the candidates asked in shock when he saw the crevice.

    All of the other candidates also recovered from their shock when they heard this.

    "That¡¯s true, why does it feel like he did not expend any energy at all?"

    "How is that possible? He is only in the Heavenly Reflection State. It is already incredible that he is able to fight a Rebirth State Demon. Yet, he can stillst this long?"

    Questions flew through the minds of all the candidates.

    They had all forgotten this momentarily when Fang Zhengzhi had entered aa. However, once someone reminded them of it, it struck them like a bolt of lightning.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been fighting for a long time.

    He had started off with a battle with Nangong Hao. Then, he had been attacked by Bai Xing and Yan Xiu. He then defeated Shi Kou and was embroiled in a duel with Wu Ji.

    All of his opponents were strong beyond belief.

    Fang Zhengzhi should have needed to expend all of his energy to fight any one of these people. But, after all that fighting...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look like he was getting any weaker.

    In fact, it felt as though his strikes were getting sharper and more powerful.

    Is he even human?

    Even if he was ungodly... this was getting a little ridiculous...

    All of the candidates continued to ponder about this. The demon elites grit their teeth as they felt the full force of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯The Returning Dragon¡¯.

    One of the demon elites was sliced into two.

    Even though he was in the Supernatural State, he could not revive.

    Three others were seriously injured. One of them lost a limb whilst the other two suffered internal injuries. All of these injuries would take an extended period of time to heal.

    A single strike! One dead, three wounded!

    How terrifying was this?!

    All of these demon elites were in the Supernatural State. In the human world, they would all be generals,manding tens of thousands of soldiers.

    Shock and awe...

    Just as all of the demon elites grit their teeth and prepared to fight to the death, the ray of purple light had already shot into the sky like a meteor.

    It was flying straight towards Yun Qingwu.

    "How is that possible?!"

    "This... him... that¡¯s impossible!"

    All of the demon elites could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi managed to transform himself into an arrow and fly towards the cliff.

    That was until...

    They saw a bow embedded in the crevice.

    The jade green bow was supported by the two walls of the crevice. The ck bowstring was still trembling from the release of that arrow.

 Chapter 396: Why is he so powerful?

    Chapter 396: Why is he so powerful?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "His body is the arrow?!"

    Not only were the demon elites stunned by what they saw, even Bai Xing and Wu Ji were shocked.

    Just as what they had thought...

    It would be impossible for an individual to kill his way to the top of the mountain. Even Xing Yuanguo, the most powerful of them all, would not think of doing such a thing.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to do it.

    He did it in the most unbelievable fashion. With everyone watching him, he managed to morph into a purple ray of light and shoot himself at Yun Qingwu.

    This was not a difficult technique.

    Bai Xing and Wu Ji could do it. Even any of the demon elites with a good grasp of bow techniques could do it.

    But they did not manage to think of it.

    It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t think of such a n ordinarily. However, none of them would be able to think of it in the heat of battle.

    Who in the world would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi would have used The Returning Dragon for the sole purpose of creating a crevice to hold the bow?

    Shock, awe, helplessness.

    This was exactly what Bai Xing and Wu Ji were feeling. They wanted to rush to the top and save Yun Qingwu, but they were unable to.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Sun Shooting Bow was still in the crevice.

    However, once one person used this technique, it would be much more difficult for a second person to repeat the feat.

    Even if they managed to get to the bow...

    What use was it now?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not as quick as Bai Xing, but when he was augmented by the Sun Shooting Bow, even Bai Xing could not stop him.

    ...

    A ray of purple light shot skyward through the torrential rain. Then, it shot back down towards Yun Qingwu like a sword.

    The young vice domain chief standing next to Yun Qingwu stiffened. The arrogant smirk was wiped off his face,pletely reced with shock.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had climbed up from below...

    He would have more than a hundred ways to defeat Fang Zhengzhi. He could probably kill Fang Zhengzhi. After all, he had the high ground.

    However, he suddenly realized that Fang Zhengzhi was on top of him. How could he still take such an opponent lightly?

    "Shing!" He unsheathed his de. It was a unique de with a forked tip. Furthermore, the de was even sharper than ordinary ones.

    This was his weapon.

    It was named ¡¯Spectre¡¯.

    If the zing Qilin Spear was one of the 10 greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, then Spectre was one of the five greatest treasures of the demons.

    For a young demon like him to be in possession of such a de...

    He was clearly of noble blood.

    However, this did not have much implication as to whether he could defend against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack. Despite his standing, he still stepped in front of Yun Qingwu when he saw Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yun Qingwu raised her head as she watched Fang Zhengzhi quietly. She felt the oppressive wave of killing aura crashing down towards her.

    "So he made it..." Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips parted slightly as she murmured to herself. It was almost as if she knew that this was going to happen all along.

    "Kacha!" Purple lightning shot through the dark clouds and a humongous tree formed from purple lightning bolts covered the entire area.

    The purple figure continued to weave through the clouds like a dragon as it emitted a powerful aura.

    "Die!" An icy voice echoed through the clouds.

    Then, a ray of purple light shot out from inside the clouds. There was a person encased in the light, shooting to the ground like a sword.

    The cold eyes locked on the figure in the in white dress, the oppressive killing aura crashing earthward.

    This was an aura that destroyed everything in its path.

    When coupled with the radiant lightsword, this was a sight that would strike terror into the bravest of hearts.

    "Why is he so powerful?!" The young vice domain chief raised his sword in the air. He gripped the scale-like pattern on the hilt of his sword tightly.

    Never in his life had he felt the emotions he felt now.

    That kind of bone-chilling cold coupled with the powerful killing aura made him understand the true meaning of fear.

    He finally understood why Shi Kou had failed.

    Shi Kou did not fail because of cultivation state.

    He failed because his aura was weaker!

    Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Within moments, his entire body was drenched in sweat.

    However, he still held the Spectre de high up in the air. He showed no signs of rxing. Despite his paling expression, his hand did not tremble.

    At that moment, the jade green demonic eye on his forehead shone radiantly.

    The young vice domain chief continued to stare at the sword in the sky. He concentrated on the dragon light ray of purple circling the de.

    "Boom!" A resounding sh echoed out, causing the entire Feng Su cliff to shake. Even the ground below began to tremble.

    The torrential rain continued to hinder visibility, but it did not prevent the spectators from being awed by what they saw.

    The soldiers of the Great Xia gripped the spears in their hands whilst the soldiers of the Southern Region grabbed their swords. The demon elites red and stopped in their tracks.

    The candidates, the Dragon Protection Squad, the 500 silver horned wolves, Xing Qingsui, Nangong Hao, Bai Xing, Wu Ji, even Xing Yuanguo stopped what they were doing as they looked at the sh atop the cliff.

    "Kacha!" A huge crack appeared on the cliff.

    A humongous rock was shaved off the cliff and began rolling down. With a loud boom, it crashed into the ground and shattered.

    The torrential rain pummeled the newly exposed rock race. The loose pieces were washed off, revealing the hard rock underneath.

    At this moment...

    There were three people standing next to where the rock broke off.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s white dress danced in the wind, revealing her slender snow white legs. There was arge crevice no more than a finger¡¯s length from where she stood.

    There was a kneeling figure in front of her.

    His cloak had been torn apart, revealing a handsome face, his green demonic eye glowing.

    He stared at the youth standing in front of him.

    He bit his lip, blood trickling from the edges of his mouth. His sleeves were also stained by blood.

    It stretched from his shoulder all the way to his palm.

    The rain continued to pummel the ground.

    The blood was washed to the ground, revealing a wound so deep one could see the bone. Other than the wound, there was also a metallic glow.

    "Ah, ah..." The young vice domain chief breathed heavily, thoroughly exhausted from the battle.

    This attack had brought him to his knees.

    The demons had always thought of themselves as a superior race. To be forced to his knees by his opponent after a single round was humiliating.

    "Why is he so powerful? Why... that¡¯s impossible... how can he be this powerful..." The young demon¡¯s breathing wasbored.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood quietly on the cliff. He ignored the young demon vice domain chief on his knees as he lowered his sword at Yun Qingwu.

    The Traceless Sword continued to glow purple, drops of blood washing of its de and onto the ground.

    "Hum!"

    The de hummed, almost like a dragon, yet almost as if it was expressing its excitement.

    The domineering killing aura continued to spread in waves.

    "Are you going to kill me?" Yun Qingwu spoke, her exquisite eyes looking at the purple de in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Her voice was calm, almost as if she was talking to a friend.

    Of course, there was a de at Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat. It was no more than three steps away.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Yun Qingwu¡¯s question.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu quietly, the bright sword in his eye bing clearer with each passing moment.

    ...

    On the in below.

    More than 100,000 pairs of eyes were staring at the three figures on the cliff. To be more precise, they were looking at the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    His next movement would decide Yun Qingwu¡¯s fate.

    Death!

    Or life!

    Fang Zhengzhi was in control of the situation.

    Other than Yun Qingwu, there was no one else who could block Fang Zhengzhi if he chose to attack. Even Bai Xing and Wu Ji were too far away.

    What else could they do other than wait?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s de was much too close to Yun Qingwu. At this distance, Fang Zhengzhi would be able to kill Yun Qingwu even before they managed to close any significant distance.

    "Kill!"

    "Why is he still hesitating?"

    "If you were in that position, could you possibly kill Yun Qingwu?"

    All of the candidates were equally conflicted. They all knew that the next few moments could change the entire battle.

    If the Southern Region lost the support of the demons, could they still go up against the Great Xia?

    More importantly, it would make Fang Zhengzhi famous and influential.

    That was Yun Qingwu.

    The incredibly talented Yun Qingwu. She was a talent, who was also the young master of the demons, and someone who did not care about the fate of the humans.

    Xing Qingsui looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his mouth agape. Then, he pursed his lips before his jaw dropped again. It felt like he had something to say.

    Xing Yuanguo had a simr expression.

    However, Xing Yuanguo only watched quietly. Even though he was themanding general of this battle, yet he did not speak at this point.

    No one knew what he was thinking.

    Nangong Hao sheathed his sword, an icy misting out from his body. He did not chase Bai XIng and did not try to stop Wu Ji.

    There was no need.

    ...

    As time passed, Fang Zhengzhi continued to point his sword at Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat. Yun Qingwu, on the other hand, seemed to be waiting for something.

    After a very long time, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out once again.

    "Since you¡¯ve already made up your mind, why don¡¯t you follow through? You spent all that effort to get up here. You can¡¯t possibly just let me off without a reason." Yun Qingwu stepped forward, her dress dancing in the wind.

    This time, her voice had an added tone of relief. It felt as though the locks on her heart were released.

    The rain continued to pummel her veil, making it more translucent with each passing moment. Her exquisite features were revealed to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She looked like a white lotus amongst the snow.

    Calm and arrogant. She stood at the highest point, quietly watching everyone below.

    "Kill... kill everyone who has harmed me. Kill them all, kill them all, kill... kill..." Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself.

    However, the voice was filled with terrifying iciness. It was not the voice that incited terror, it was the oppressive killing aura.

    "Kaboom!" A ray of purple lightning shot through the sky, tearing a crack through the air.

    At the same time, the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand lit up, the purple light flowing along the de like a pool of blood.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    Fang Zhengzhi kept murmuring to himself.

    The killing aura filled the air, circling around his feet, slowing rising to the sky like a whirlpool. It formed rings in the sky, temporarily blocking out the rain.

    The bright lightsword continued to glow in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes,bining with the deep purple. It was a strange sight to behold.

 Chapter 397: Great opportunity

    Chapter 397: Great opportunity

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The wind continued to assault the people on the cliff. Fang Zhengzhi was they eye of the storm, the origin of this chaos.

    The icy cold continued to intertwine with the rain, blowing Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress upwards.

    No one wanted to get close, not voluntarily at least. However, Yun Qingwu stepped forward once again.

    She was like a boat in the storm.

    Alone and insignificant, but bobbing in the rough waters. No matter how strong the winds or how choppy the waters, the boat showed no sign of sinking.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, if you want to kill Yun Qingwu, then you have to go through me, Si Ponan!" Just at this moment, another voice rang out. It was not loud, but everyone heard it.

    Then, a figure stood up shakily, standing between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    There were only three people on that cliff.

    The only person who could put himself between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu was the young, half kneeling vice domain chief.

    However, this time, he did not address Yun Qingwu by her title. He called her by name.

    Even so, Yun Qingwu did not seem to mind.

    In fact, even Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the dozens of demon elites were not stunned or shocked by this.

    Because...

    His name was Si Ponan!

    "Si Ponan? That young demon... is from the Si Family?!"

    "Is it that Si?"

    "If that really is his name, then it has to be that family. There is only one family with surname Si amongst all the demons! Only one family that dares to take on that surname!"

    When all of the candidates heard Si Ponan¡¯s voice, they stared right at him, their eyes filled with shock and awe.

    The world of the demons was different from those of the humans.

    The humans built an empire by handing the throne to their son. For the demons, their empire was supported by three major families.

    This had something to do with their reproduction. No one could say for sure if the current demon lord would have a son.

    Even if they did, they would not have many children, one or two at most. Furthermore, no one could guarantee that the children of the current Demon Lord could take on the responsibility of being the next Demon Lord.

    As such...

    Keeping this in mind, the demon race set up a ruling coalition with three families.

    If the sons of one family were not up to the task, they would pick the lord from the other two. The criteria included their cultivation state, aura, demeanor, and contributions.

    As such, after the death of a Demon Lord, the next Demon Lord may not share the same surname as the previous one, even if the previous one had children.

    The three families were the Yun Family, the Si Family, and the Yu Family.

    Si...

    The same family as that of the Demon Lord Si Kong!

    It was said that when Si Kong was in power, the demons were more powerful than they were at any time in history. The demon army even reached the gates of Yan Jing, almost snuffing out the human race.

    This battle was at the gates of Yan Jing, and the rivers flowed with blood.

    In the end, the Demon Lord Si Kong was killed in the Blood Shadow City. He was killed by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    And now...

    The sword continued to glow purple in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. The sword tip was lowered at Si Ponan¡¯s throat. Si Ponan¡¯s blood still stained the de.

    "Kaboom!"

    The purple lightning shot across the sky and illuminated Si Ponan¡¯s face. His face was pale and powerless, but he was determined.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I know that the demons and humans have not gotten along. I will not blink when you strike. We are the superior race!" Si Ponan¡¯s de continued to shake as he raised the de. Just standing up took all the power that he had.

    However, he still managed to stand up, letting the rain pummel his body.

    "Si Ponan?"

    "Si..."

    "Die!"

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself. His raised sword stopped in mid-air, the lightsword in his eyes twirling manically.

    It may have been a hallucination, but as the sword continued to swirl, the purple light around his de also seemed to move, rings of purple exploding outwards.

    "Hum!"

    "Hum!"

    "..."

    The ripple-like killing aura that surrounded his body also became a lot more chaotic. It was a sharp lightsword one moment, andpletely absorbed by the body the next.

    "Kaboom!"

    The thunderous boom echoed through the skies.

    The Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand began to shake, a crisp whine and hum echoing out as the purple light blinked manically.

    It felt like he was struggling...

    "What¡¯s wrong with Fang Zhengzhi? Why isn¡¯t he striking? This is a great opportunity! He can easily defeat Si Ponan!"

    "Could it be that he is afraid of the Si Family avenging Si Ponan? I doubt it. If he was scared, he should be more afraid of the Yun Family!"

    "Could it be that he wants to let Yun Qingwu off? That doesn¡¯t seem likely... if he really wanted to let Yun Qingwu off, why would he go and stop her? Who would have forced him to go up there?"

    "No no... Fang Zhengzhi doesn¡¯t look alright!"

    "Was he ever alright ever since he regained consciousness?"

    "It¡¯s not that, look... his aura is getting quiterge, it feels as though he can¡¯t control it."

    "Could it be that he can¡¯t control it because he¡¯s used up too much energy?"

    All of the candidates looked at the purple glow on the cliff. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body kept radiating killing auras.

    Xing Qingsui, Xing Yuanguo, Nangong Hao, Bai Xing, and Wu Ji were all confused by what they were seeing. The people from the Great Xia were anxious.

    The demons were surprised at this turn of events.

    They were just thrown a lifeline.

    The demons were ruled by the three families. Yun Qingwu was not the most powerful child, but she was the one whomanded the most respect.

    There was no one even close to her.

    If the current Demon Lord was the most powerful one, Yun QIngwu was the most charismatic and intelligent. Furthermore, no one would dare to contest that ranking.

    In actual fact, Yun Qingwu may have been born into a powerful family, but people rarely thought highly of her. Her gender was the first reason.

    The second reason was her cultivation talent.

    It was ordinary.

    Extremely ordinary. Even though she was not at the very bottom, but amongst the demons, especially those of the big three families, Yun Qingwu was not held in high regard.

    It didn¡¯t matter that her father was the current Demon Lord!

    No one thought that the Yun Qingwu, who had little talent for cultivation, would be able to seed the throne.

    Even her father thought the same way.

    The demons were different from the humans.

    The demons did not bother about the lineage or bloodline. Yun Qingwu¡¯s father began to concentrate more on the other Yun disciples.

    He wanted the Yun family to stay in power.

    Yun Qingwu was not too bothered about this. Being born into this family meant that she could still be a princess.

    Then, one day, she saw her father in the library. Her father was depressed, lost, even helpless.

    As the Demon Lord...

    Yun Qingwu had held her father in high regard. Her father was the Demon Lord, the leader of the demons, the most powerful demon there was.

    He should be powerful, domineering, and happy.

    But why?

    Why was her father...

    So depressed?

    Yun QIngwu did not understand it. However, the next day, she heard that one of the Yu Family disciples had broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State at the age of 12.

    Since that day, she did not see her father much.

    That child of the Yu Family moved to her ce, and she was sent to a residence miles away from the Blood Shadow City.

    At that time, she was five.

    Five yearster...

    Yun Qingwu returned to the Blood Shadow City. The disciples of all the three families, including that 12-year-old Heavenly Reflection State talent, gathered at the gates and weed her respectfully.

    From that moment on, Yun Qingwu was rarely called by name.

    Every demon called her...

    Young Master!

    Yun Qingwu was 10 that year.

    Another five years passed in a sh.

    Everyone knew that the demons had a mysterious young master, but they did not know she was Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu smuggled her way into the human world and became an artistic talent in an instant. All of the boys loved her.

    Yet, no one knew how she looked like.

    Yet, her talent captivated all of the talents in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    She went through all the cities and provinces of the Great Xia Dynasty, performing at all the hangouts for talents. If those ces were mud...

    Yun Qingwu was a white lotus flower who wasn¡¯t tainted by the mud around her.

    ...

    Si Ponan was a talent who had attained the pinnacle Supernatural State before the age of 20. He was probably one of the top three disciples of the three powerful families.

    Si Ponan was one of the contenders for the throne. However, he was willing to stand in front of Yun Qingwu without hesitation.

    This was...

    How powerful Yun Qingwu was.

    She could move the powers of the ten domains at will. Any disciple of the three biggest families would willingly give up their lives for hers.

    "Qingwu, this is your chance!" Si Ponan had no idea what was happening to Fang Zhengzhi, but he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was unstable.

    This was clear for all to see.

    As such, Si Ponan picked up on it quickly. Standing this close to Fang Zhengzhi meant that he was able to feel it even more keenly.

    If his arms could still move...

    He wouldn¡¯t hesitate to stab his Spectre Sword into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart. However, he could not move his arm. Even holding the de in his hand was taking all the energy he had in his body.

    But this did not matter.

    He may not be able to move, but Yun Qingwu could.

    At this distance...

    With him as her meatshield, Si Ponan was sure that Yun Qingwu would not miss.

    The rain continued to pour, flowing down Si Ponan¡¯s sleeves and onto his hand and sword.

    The forked de glimmered icily.

    Yun Qingwu was extremely close to Fang Zhengzhi. If not for Si Ponan, she may even be able to hear Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breathing.

    Many people thought that Yun Qingwu would have some protective treasures or a powerful demon protecting her from the shadows.

    But the truth was...

    She had neither.

    When she roamed the Great Xia, she only brought along 49 servants. They were all in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    However, they knew one sword formation, one created by Yun Qingwu.

    This was the formation that blocked the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao¡¯s attack.

    Since she didn¡¯t bring along any protective treasures in the Great Xia, why would she bring any here?

    As such, when Fang Zhengzhi had rushed to the top of the cliff and lowered his sword at her throat, the only thing she could do was take the hit.

    She couldn¡¯t do anything but wait for Fang Zhengzhi to sh.

    It may have seemed unbelievable that the young master of the demons would not have any protective treasures.

    Yun Qingwu had thought that way. Furthermore, she had already made the necessary preparations. No one knew what Yun Qingwu was thinking...

    Except herself.

    At that moment, she was very calm.

    "Why did you have to stop?" Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and asked. However, it was quickly clear that it was a rhetorical question.

    Her arm was already raised...

 Chapter 398: Breakthrough to the Supernatural State

    Chapter 398: Breakthrough to the Supernatural State

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Crush!" The de was driven into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest. It was a fine de, but it was extremely sharp and clean from the washing it got from the rain.

    This de was named Spectre.

    Si Ponan had no energy to raise the de. It wasn¡¯t Si Ponan who drove the de into Fang Zhengzhi, it was Yun Qingwu.

    Blood rushed out from the wound and onto the de. It was washed to the ground by the rain, staining the ground red.

    Si Ponan was stunned and surprised to see this. He knew that Yun Qingwu would attack, but he didn¡¯t expect Yun Qingwu to be so decisive.

    The reason wasn¡¯t very obvious.

    As the young master of the demons, Yun Qingwu would never show a human talent mercy.

    But...

    Si Ponan kept thinking about what Yun Qingwu had said, "Why did you have to stop?" He heard this clearly.

    Even though he had no idea why Yun Qingwu would ask a question like that, it did not matter. Yun Qingwu had attacked.

    Silence.

    Other than the sound of rain, the entire arena was quiet. No one spoke, their breathing light.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... failed?!"

    "Yun Qingwu actually managed to stab Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "How did this happen?"

    All of the candidates and soldiers could not find an answer to that question. No one could believe their eyes.

    Bai Xing unclenched his fists. He had no idea what just happened, but he was d that Yun Qingwu decided to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    That meant that...

    Fang Zhengzhi would not survive.

    "Stab!" The sound pierced through the rain.

    This was not the sound of the Spectre de being removed from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. This was the sound of Traceless falling to the ground.

    It stabbed the ground like a knife through butter.

    The strange purple light shot to the sky like a pir, intertwining with the purple lightning in the sky.

    Yun Qingwu gripped the hilt of Spectre tightly. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi, watching those eyes that were filled with killing intent.

    Then, the spinning swords in his eyes slowed down.

    To be more precise...

    They were disappearing, almost like a cloud of smoke. They cleared from his eyes, together with that strange shade of purple...

    ...

    Theke was filled with clear water.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused when he saw thedy in the white dress and theke. Why would he appear in the World of the Sage?

    This...

    Where was this?

    Was he even in a dream?

    All of these questions flew past in his mind, but there was no one to answer him. The only moving person was thedy in the white dress.

    "Why don¡¯t I capture and interrogate her?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked with lust momentarily.

    But it did notst very long.

    He remembered that he had the same thought before. However, when he jumped into the water, he could not find thedy in the white dress.

    He had already been fooled once.

    He was not going to be fooled again.

    So...

    If he could not get close and interrogate her, how was he going to find out the true identity of thedy? How was he going to escape this ce?

    Fang Zhengzhi began to think about the scene back at the Divine Constabry¡¯s Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    He remembered that when hest saw thisdy in the white dress, he had understood the essence of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    But this time...

    He did not feel anything.

    Hang on, he was feeling something. Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at his surroundings. There were trees, grass, and ake.

    This was a world without any wind. There were no ripples on the surface of theke. The surface was so calm it was almost like a mirror.

    It was very clean.

    Clean?

    "It¡¯s calm!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened. At that moment, he knew what the feeling was. It was calmness.

    Even though thedy in white was constantly moving, dancing on the surface of the water...

    It was precisely this movement that allowed Fang Zhengzhi to realize the calmness in this world.

    The surface of the water was calm, the surrounding woods were calm, the grass was calm, even he was calm.

    Seeing something move allows one to understand calm?

    Fang Zhengzhi never really tried to understand these theories. However, he recalled the incident back at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    He did not know why he managed to escape.

    But...

    Now, he understood.

    He had moved!

    He had disturbed the calm!

    That time, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he had disturbed the cleanliness by bathing in theke. In actual fact, he had disturbed the calm!

    By disturbing an otherwise calm world, he had broken the rules of the world. Without rules, the world would implode.

    To be more urate...

    The world would reject Fang Zhengzhi and expel him from it. Fang Zhengzhi had broken the calm, so he was kicked out.

    "Heaven Dao Sage Tablet... was I expelled by the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? Then... why am I back?" Fang Zhengzhi remembered that Chi Guyan and Ping Yang had told him something...

    Each Heaven Dao Sage Tablet embodied an extremely powerful Dao.

    Anyone who could understand it would be a Sage.

    Since he managed to figure out why he was expelled from this ce before, he could guess that this Heaven Dao Sage Tablet had something to do with "calm".

    Calm?

    Was it to do with the heart?

    Or was it that he had to be as calm as the water?!

    If that was the case, the water and theke in front of him could be exined. However, the trees and the grass...

    What could exin those?

    That was not it. If the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet represented a powerful Dao, the Dao could not be this simple. However, what could calm represent?

    Calm...

    If it was not as calm as water, what other calm could there be?

    Cleanliness?

    Fang Zhengzhi reverted to his original train of thought. When he thought about that, his eyes brightened.

    That was it!

    Calm. In the ancient times, calm and cleanliness meant the same thing. The word clean was made up of the words green and determination.

    Green represented life in its nascent stage. Determination meant that one would preserve what was important.

    Calm meant that one would preserve the initial purity and character.

    There was mention of this in the "Six Secret Teachings".

    And again in the "Book of Songs"...

    All of these passages regarding calm flooded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He began to think about them individually.

    Contemting...

    Fang Zhengzhi realized that he was bing calmer and calmer. He began to assimte into theke and the vegetation around him. His vision also began to clear.

    After some time, when he looked at thedy in white, he seemed to be able to make out her lips.

    Those exquisite, luscious lips.

    They were very familiar.

    Almost as if he had seen them somewhere before.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to get a closer look, but he realized that the appearance of thedy was blurry. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see what she looked like.

    Why was that?

    He wasn¡¯t very far away. Why can¡¯t he see her clearly?

    Why did she feel so familiar?

    Fang Zhengzhi kept thinking about these questions. However, he did not want to harp on the same question over and over again.

    He tried to put it out of his mind.

    However...

    Just as he found some sess, he saw the white dress and began thinking about it again.

    "I have seen her somewhere!" Fang Zhengzhi looked up and still saw that her face was blurry. This time, even her lips were blurry.

    Must he be calm in order to see thedy¡¯s appearance?

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen thisdy twice now.

    If...

    He did not even get a good look at her, was he still a man?

    With that goal in mind, he began to take steps in the appropriate direction. He calmed himself down, even kneeling on the ground to help himself calm down.

    Thedy continued to dance on theke.

    Hang on.

    He felt as though his vision was different from before. All of his cells were in a strange state. They felt calm and clean...

    Calm and clean.

    Cells!

    The Supernatural State!

    It was said that the Supernatural State urs when one¡¯s on the brink of death. The state was characterized by the vitality of the cells.

    No!

    It is not the vitality, it¡¯s the calmness and cleanliness!

    The cells are all calmer and cleaner than ever before. This allows the body to rid itself of illness and injuries and revert to its original state.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart jumped, then calm down. Then, it jumped again before calming down. He felt as though he was going in circles.

    When he first essed Dao, he had started from his body.

    At that time, he felt that he could control every cell, every drop of blood, every muscle in his body.

    And now...

    He was able to change his body and rid it of what was bad!

    Hang on, did he really manage to understand a powerful Dao? Or was he on the verge of it?

    Or had he already broken through to the Supernatural State?

    Should he cut himself and test it out? Did his power just increase manifold? Or, was he already a sage?

    "Hahaha... am I really a Sage now?" Fang Zhengzhi began to chuckle, shattering the calm and peace in this world.

    Then, the dancingdy in white stopped, almost as if she had heard Fang Zhengzhi chuckling. Then, she turned around...

    ...

    "Yun Qingwu?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze froze. The veiled face appeared in front of his eyes.

    It was pouring.

    Where was this?

    Was this a dream?

    It felt very familiar. There was a valley below him. He felt as though he had been here before, but why was the purple gone?

    Hang on...

    Thedy in white is Yun Qingwu?

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously extended his hand, then removed Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil in a swift motion.

    In that instant, he saw an exquisite face staring back at him. Her eyebrows were thin, her skin fair as snow, her luscious lips slightly open, revealing two rows of ivory white teeth.

    Yun Qingwu was like a white lotus in the middle of the torrential rain. To have her veil removed by Fang Zhengzhi... especially in the face of hundreds of thousands of soldiers...

    Was an insult.

    It was almost as if an angelic lotus flower was removed by a mere mortal.

    Yun Qingwu was shocked.

    Anyone would be equally shocked. No one would expect that after Fang Zhengzhi had been stabbed, his first reaction would be to remove her veil.

    Not only did Yun Qingwu not expect it.

    No one else in the valley expected it.

    All of the soldiers stared at Yun Qingwu in disbelief.

    All of the demons, including Bai Xing and Wu Ji, were furious at what they saw.

    "How dare this dead man walking insult Yun Qingwu!"

    "Audacious!"

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored it all. All he wondered was why thedy in white would be Yun Qingwu.

    Just as he was thinking about it, he felt his heart shudder, then he felt pain in his chest. It felt as though he had just been stabbed.

    That¡¯s impossible.

    Why would he feel pain in his dream?

    Why would the pain be so clear?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. He instinctively looked at his chest and saw a de driven deep into it.

    "Oh? Why is there a de in my chest?"

 Chapter 399: Travesty

    Chapter 399: Travesty

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    µÚÈý°Ù¾ÅÊ®¾ÅÕÂ×÷Äõ°¡ Travesty

    Imagine waking up and seeing a beauty next to you. At that point, you have one of two choices.

    You could rub your eyes and thedy would disappear in a cloud of smoke.

    Or, you could just go for it and sleep it off after that. Thedy would disappear in a cloud of smoke when you woke up anyways.

    The final result was the same.

    But any intelligent man knew which was the better choice to make.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a smart man, but it was not a beautifuldy in front of him, it was a de. A de that he could not just sleep off.

    As such...

    He decided to rub his eyes.

    "Why is the de... still there?!" Fang Zhengzhi realized that the de was still embedded in his chest.

    It hurt!

    A lot.

    It was an indescribable pain. Anyone who had been stabbed before would attest to it.

    Dream?

    Or reality!

    This was the second time Fang Zhengzhi asked this question since opening his eyes. He firmly believed that it was a dream. Only a fool would choose to believe that there was really a de in his chest.

    "This cannot be real!" Fang Zhengzhi could not believe his eyes.

    Could the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet appear in reality? No way! Furthermore, he had just been smacked by Yan Xiu, he should be resting on the ground below.

    Why would he be on the cliff? And why would he be stabbed?

    Sleepwalking?

    Rubbish, he never had a habit of doing that.

    Furthermore, no matter how he sleepwalked, there was no way he could have flown to the top of the hill through the hundreds of thousands of soldiers below.

    Who was Yun Qingwu?

    The young master of the demons!

    How could he have made it this close to her?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that it was possible. However, he was not stupid. He could feel the sharp pain coursing through his veins.

    This was too real and too deep.

    As such...

    All he could do was admit that everything that he was seeing was real.

    "Move away, don¡¯t block me!" Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth and kicked Si Ponan.

    Si Ponan was stunned by what he saw. He still thought that Fang Zhengzhi was the living embodiment of massacre.

    That cold, iciness gave him an aura that almost made him the God of Death.

    Did he charge all the way to the top of the cliff just to remove Yun Qingwu¡¯s veil? That did not seem very likely.

    What was happening?

    What was the auraing out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body just now? Where did that domineering killing aura disappear to?

    Questions flew through his mind but there were no answers. When Fang Zhengzhi kicked him, the only thing he could do was...

    Stare...

    He had no other choice. He waspletely drained of energy.

    Si Ponan had never felt this cowardly in his life before. He felt that he should be protecting Yun Qingwu.

    However, after he was kicked by Fang Zhengzhi, his body tumbled off the cliff uncontrobly.

    "Aiya!" He screamed as he rolled off.

    Even though he was a Supernatural State Demon, he had no other choice but to scream. Having been drained of his energy, he needed the soldiers below to catch him.

    After all, he really didn¡¯t want his life to end this way.

    He would have failed to save his master and fallen to his death.

    Everything had changed so quickly. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rampage, then Yun Qingwu¡¯s attack, followed by the removal of her veil, and Si Ponan¡¯s tumbling down the hill.

    Everything was so fast and real.

    Yet, no one could understand what in the world was going on.

    The stab? And then the removal of the veil? Was it linked? Yun Qingwu was the one who stabbed Fang Zhengzhi, but why did Fang Zhengzhi kick Si Ponan off?

    Si Ponan was rtively innocent!

    If these incidents were taken individually, it would have been less confusing. However, mashing them all together meant that it was impossible to grasp.

    And then...

    The impossible happened.

    After Fang Zhengzhi kicked Si Ponan off the cliff, he extended his hand and lifted Yun Qingwu¡¯s head with his hand.

    "Mm, eyebrows... eyes, dainty lips, oh my... you have not changed since thest time I saw you!" Fang Zhengzhi sized up Yun Qingwu¡¯s features. It was almost as if he was admiring an art piece.

    "Boom!" A ray of purple lightning lit up the dark sky. Yun Qingwu¡¯s face was also illuminated by this bolt of lightning.

    Shock.

    That was an understatement. There were no words to describe the emotions of all the soldiers watching from below.

    They were stunned beyond belief.

    At this moment, Bai Xing¡¯s eyes widened to their maximum and Wu Ji¡¯s jaw dropped so much he could stuff both his fists inside.

    All of the demon elites were stupefied.

    So much so that they forgot to catch the screaming Si Ponan.

    What kind of pain was this?

    It felt as though someone else was toying around with your most prized possession. Fang Zhengzhi was having his way, stroking Yun Qingwu¡¯s face wherever he liked.

    This should not have been witnessed by the soldiers.

    Even in the art houses, the talents would never treat the girls that way. This was an immense insult.

    They could have fun, but they would never insult.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions went against that very principle. If they could, they would throw Fang Zhengzhi into a pigsty, or drown him in a river.

    Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi had some difficulties that no one knew about?

    No!

    Even if he did, he should not have done something like that. The only logical thing for him to do was draw his sword and kill Yun Qingwu.

    Why would he...

    Toy with her like this!

    "It¡¯s a shame that we are with this man!"

    "Shameful! This man has no shame!"

    "Travesty!"

    All of the talents stared at Yun Qingwu. It was painful to watch their treasured Yun Qingwu being handled this way by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Erm..." Xing Yuanguo, dressed in his purplish golden robe, stared at the cliff in exasperation.

    Yun Qingwu was extremely intelligent. This was something that the entire demon race knew.

    However, she still did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. Even though her chin was just lifted by Fang Zhengzhi, even though she was so close to Fang Zhengzhi she could feel the heat from his breath...

    She still could not understand.

    Shameless?

    She knew that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shameless, but he had to have a limit? She had just stabbed him, shouldn¡¯t he be taking revenge?

    Why is he still trying to y around with me?

    More importantly, where was the ferocious man who had charged towards her? How could a person change so quickly?

    Oh yes!

    Where was the killing aura? Where had that gone to?

    Just as she was thinking about it, she felt someone touching her where she had never been touched before.

    It was electrifying.

    "Mm... it¡¯s smooth and soft, slightly warm to the touch. I can even feel her body temperature. No way? How is it that real?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi finished with one side, he moved to the other one. He smiled in satisfaction.

    This feeling was too real, so much so that his heart was fluttering.

    He knew for a fact that he had never touched Yun Qingwu¡¯s body before. If this was a dream, he should not be feeling this as clearly as he was!

    Hang on!

    "This... this... this is real?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile froze as his hands stopped moving around Yun Qingwu¡¯s breasts.

    "Kaboom!"

    The dark sky was illuminated by lightning once again. Everyone could see that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm was resting on Yun Qingwu¡¯s breasts.

    "ng ng ng..." Weapons dropped to the ground as all the soldiers looked on in disbelief.

    "Die die die..."

    "Kill him!"

    "We must smash his body to smithereens!"

    "I want to cut off his hands! How dare he contaminate my goddess!"

    Voices shouted from the valley before. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions had stunned them previously, but his actions now had brought them back to life.

    Because...

    Rage had consumed them.

    They were no longer in control of their bodies.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not control himself either. His body froze and he instinctively looked at Yun Qingwu.

    He saw that Yun Qingwu was blushing. After all, she had just been molested by Fang Zhengzhi. Anydy, even the cold and aloof Yun Qingwu, would react the same way.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin himself.

    After all, this was quite the embarrassing scene.

    Of course...

    The real exnation was that he really wasn¡¯t that kind of person. All he wanted to do was verify if he was in a dream.

    Even though he had done it in a very liberal and audacious fashion, it would not have been this frowned upon in his previous world.

    After all, he couldn¡¯t impregnate her just by touching.

    However...

    Would Yun Qingwu believe him?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no chance to exin himself. Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression had already changed from embarrassment to anger.

    Then, in the blink of an eye...

    He saw a ray of white light sh past his eyes. It was thin and looked like a de.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite certain that this light was the sword that was embedded in his chest moments ago.

    "Removing the de?! Ah..." Fang Zhengzhi felt the blood gushing out of the open wound and screamed in pain.

    At this moment, he was certain that everything was real. He had just been stabbed.

    The question was...

    Was he stabbed by the demon he just kicked? Or was he stabbed by Yun Qingwu?

    This question did not matter anymore. After all, Yun Qingwu had already removed the de.

    Are females the most savage?

    How could she remove the de after she stabbed him?

    Even if she did, she should have prepared antiseptic! Did she prepare for surgery?

    If his artery had been cut...

    "Damn it, my artery is spewing blood!" Fang Zhengzhi sprang into action when he saw the blood gushing out.

    His hands clutched his chest.

    Why? What happened? He was understanding a Dao in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. He had just understood the essence of the Supernatural State.

    Wasn¡¯t he supposed to turn into a sage?

    Why...

    Why was he back in reality?

    Furthermore, he had been stabbed, and Yun Qingwu had just plucked out the sword. This was the painful truth.

    Was he going to die?

    "No! Someone save me please, I have just been stabbed. The de has been removed and I¡¯m bleeding heavily! Someone give me a blood transfusion! My blood type is A+!"

 Chapter 400: Supernatural

    Chapter 400: Supernatural

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to scream out loud. He had been maligned. He was just doing what any man would do in a dream, but it had resulted in tragedy.

    Reality?

    Dream!

    He was just understanding a major Dao in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet a moment ago. And now, he had been stabbed?

    The change was too quick!

    Anyone else in the same position would not have been able to differentiate dream from reality.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were understandable.

    Who hadn¡¯t fantasized before?

    Any normal man would know to control himself in the real world. However, why would he continue to hold back in a dream?

    Fang Zhengzhi was a normal male, and he did something that any normal man would do. The only mistake he made was that the transition between a dream and reality...

    Was too quick.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that Yun Qingwu had appeared in his dream. In fact, it was all real.

    There was a very simple example to exin his situation.

    Imagine that you dreamt of a beautifuldy, then, just as you were about to confess to her, you were woken. The first person you saw was your male roommate.

    Then...

    You couldn¡¯t possibly be called a gay just because of that right?

    Of course, only you would know if you were gay. But, at the very least, when you were about to confess to thedy, you were not!

    Okay.

    That was not the point. The main issue here was that Fang Zhengzhi was still bleeding and there were over 100,000 people staring at him.

    No one was rushing to save him!

    He was bleeding!

    Was the world so cold?

    Weren¡¯t humans supposed to work together against the demons? Weren¡¯t they a team? Why are they all so shocked?

    Haven¡¯t they seen something like that before?!

    F*ck!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood that he could only truly depend on himself. Everyone below was useless.

    He had two choices. He could fight Yun Qingwu on the cliff and kill her after an intense battle. Then, he would probably die for his wounds.

    The humans would not react in time, and by that time, the demons would have responded.

    The dozens of demon elites, Bai Xing, and Wu Ji were all rushing to the top of the cliff.

    What did they want?

    There was no need to guess.

    His second option was to escape and dress his wounds. Then, he would capture a few people to test their blood or get some sort of pill to heal himself.

    There were so many people here anyway.

    As an ambitious youth, he decided to choose thetter. This wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi was afraid of dying.

    The real reason was that he respected thedies.

    Mm...

    After all, he had just molested thisdy in front of more than 150,000 soldiers. To raise his sword and kill thisdy right after would be vicious.

    He could not bring himself to do it.

    Even if thedy was the young master of the demons.

    What did that have to do with him?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to live a leisurely life. He had no interest in being involved in the battle between humans and demons, nor the battle between empires.

    The only reason why he came to the Southern Region was to save Yan Xiu. If he could do well and rank highly in the court examination, that was a bonus.

    Who wouldn¡¯t want to win a prize?

    That being said, he had no intention of sacrificing his life for that prize.

    The only thing Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do was live. He did not want to kill the young master of the demons in front of so many people...

    God knows how the demons in the Blood Shadow City would react!

    Was he going to beg for protection?

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen too much of this kind of situations in his previous world. The Emperor would be d that he killed Yun Qingwu. There would be a huge celebration and he would be promoted and rewarded with silvers. Then, he would be left to fend for himself.

    Protection? What kind of protection?!

    Fang Zhengzhi could probably spend the rest of his life hiding out in the capital.

    But what about the Northern Mountain Vige?

    His family was still there, and he had to think about his parents and the hundreds of vigers.

    After all, if he really killed the young master of the demons, he would not put anything past them.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to live his life in fear just for this moment of glory.

    He decided to leave this glory for someone else.

    At the very least, at his current power, he did not want to stick his hand into this ho¡¯s nest.

    The main problem now was how he was going to ensure a safe retreat.

    Turn and run? There were dozens of demon elites, as well as Bai Xing, chasing him down. Where was he going to run to? Fang Zhengzhi had to think of something easier.

    He had to find a hostage. To be exact, he would take the most powerful demon here as the hostage.

    "Tell them to stay where they are, all I will kill you where you stand!" Fang Zhengzhi growled ferociously.

    "Kill me?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips parted, her anger turning into mockery. Then, she raised the Spectre Sword in her hand.

    The rain beat down on that white light as the sword continued to exude an icy aura.

    The light flickered.

    The target...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze. He had thought that being this close to Yun Qingwu meant that he would be in a superior position to bargain.

    After all, Yun Qingwu was the young master of the demons. However, Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t even say much.

    Kill me again?

    No, is she courting death?

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what Yun Qingwu meant. She may not be scared of dying, but she still had weaknesses.

    For example.

    "If you dare to attack again, I will strip you!" Fang Zhengzhi dodged to the side, then made it behind Yun Qingwu. He ced one hand on her throat, his other hand on her chest.

    "Don¡¯t you dare!" Yun Qingwu tightened her grip on the Spectre de. However, she still stopped moving.

    If this was said by anyone else, she would never believe that they would go through with something so audacious.

    But...

    This was Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was a person who had just touched her breasts moments ago in front of more than 150,000 soldiers.

    She didn¡¯t dare to move!

    "Not only do I dare to do that, I dare to take it one step further!" Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of doing that, but he had to make a show of it. His hand slid down to Yun Qingwu¡¯s skirt.

    "Kaboom!"

    Lightning shot across the sky, apanied by thunder.

    When Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the other demon elites saw this, mes ignited in their eyes.

    "Bai Xing! If you dare take one more step, I will kill Yun Qingwu!"

    Just as the demons were about to quicken their pace, an icy voice pierced through the sky.

    mes continued to burn in Bai Xing¡¯s eyes.

    But, he stopped.

    ...

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress began to dance in the wind. Her face was pale, but she was smirking.

    She was determined not to back down.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you can forget about trying to humiliate me further!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was cold, almost as if she hade straight out of hell.

    "You want tomit suicide? Sure! But, even if you die, you will not be able to stop me from doing what I want to do. I will strip you naked, then, in front of all the soldiers, I will... hehe, you are the young master of the demons right? Aren¡¯t you afraid news of this will spread?" Fang Zhengzhi rarely saw such a look from ady.

    To be honest.

    When he saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression, he wanted to try and exin it all to her.

    He wanted to tell her that he was having a dream. He did not really want to touch her.

    But...

    Who would believe him?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi could feel Yun Qingwu¡¯s determination.

    As such, he had to let Yun Qingwu know that even death would not stop him from humiliating her!

    Fang Zhengzhi was betting.

    He was betting on the fact that Yun Qingwu would notmit suicide.

    If Yun Qingwu reallymitted suicide, he would definitely be hunted down by the demons. However, if he let Yun Qingwu off, he was bound to die.

    Bet...

    That was his only option.

    He had used this tactic on Ping Yang before. Back then, even Ping Yang had given in.

    However, Yun Qingwu...

    Was apletely different person. This was ady who wasn¡¯t afraid to die.

    "You... Fang Zhengzhi! You... even if I let you off today, do you really think that you will survive?" Yun Qingwu bit her lip as blood trickled from the corner.

    She hesitated. After all, she was a member of the Yun Family, the current ruling family of the Demons. She could die, but she could not let her family name be tainted.

    "From the moment you had Bai Xing attack me, did you want to let me live?" Fang Zhengzhi questioned.

    "I..." Yun Qingwu went silent. If everything was traced back to the origin, it had all started from the moment she ordered Bai Xing to strike.

    Furthermore, she knew why Bai Xing had failed.

    Because...

    She had failed too.

    She had stabbed off to the side and missed his heart. Logically, she should not have missed at such a distance, but she missed.

    Yun Qingwu had no idea what she was thinking. Perhaps her hand trembled, or maybe she knew that Fang Zhengzhi had a Heart Protection Mirror.

    No matter what, she had missed the heart. That was why the de hit home.

    "How about we make a deal? Swear that you will not let the Demons hunt me down and I will let you go. How about that? Furthermore, as the young master of the demons, you should have some healing pills! Give me a couple! After all, we did spend some time together before!" Fang Zhengzhiid out his terms.

    After all, time was not on his side.

    "Healing pills? Our time together?" Yun Qingwu had thought that she knew Fang Zhengzhi quite well. However, upon interacting with him again, she realized that it was impossible to follow his train of thought.

    He was just threatening her a moment ago. Yet now, he was ready to talk terms, even bringing up their time together.

    Most importantly, he was asking his enemy for healing pills?

    Pills...

    What were they?

    "Yes, look at the amount of blood flowing out of my wound. I must stop it now, or... oh?" Fang Zhengzhi removed his hand from his chest.

    Then, his gaze froze.

    There was no more blood flowing out from the wound. Furthermore, the huge gash was healing at a rapid pace.

 Chapter 401: The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    Chapter 401: The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    That feeling...

    It was warm, almost as if his body had be a puddle of water. His wounds began to heal under the constant washing of this water.

    The cells in his body were splitting and reassembling at a rapid pace. The dead cells were expelled and new ones took their ce.

    It was a strange butfortable feeling.

    "Super... Supernatural?"

    Fang Zhengzhi thought about this instantly. He had seen this before. He had seen this when he sessfully attacked Ying Shan in the World of the Sage.

    He had used the zing Qilin Spear to stab Ying Shan in the back.

    At that time, Ying Shan¡¯s wound had healed just as quickly. That was the gist of the Supernatural State.

    It was the ability to heal oneself.

    "I broke through?!" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. After realizing that what was happening now was real, he had thought that everything that he saw in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was just a dream.

    In that dream, he had felt the cleanliness and the calm of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. He felt as though he had been cleansed.

    But...

    That was just a dream.

    Did he really breakthrough in a dream?

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused and lost. Could it be that the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was not a dream? If it wasn¡¯t a dream, what was it?

    Was it a parallel dimension?

    Did he just teleport?

    Why would he enter that world? Where was that world? Was it inside his body? Or...

    Questions flew through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He felt that this was rather inexplicable, but he could be sure of one thing.

    He had broken through!

    He had managed to break through to the Supernatural State!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu instinctively. He wanted to say that since his wound had healed, he wanted to change the terms to include valuables instead.

    However, he could not bring himself to say it.

    Yun Qingwu was stunned by what she saw. This was an emotion that was rarely seen in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    After all, she was the young master of the Demons.

    As the young master of the Demons, she should be calm andposed at all times. However, this time, she was utterly floored.

    Yun Qingwu did not know what to think.

    "Su... Super... natural?! You, you..." Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips quivered in shock.

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    No more than 16 years old!

    And he was already in the Supernatural State! A 16 year old Supernatural State human?! How is that possible?

    Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and all of the demon elites were equally stunned by what they witnessed.

    Their gazes locked onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wound, which was closing up with each passing second. They knew what this meant.

    "Supernatural State!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi broke through to the Supernatural State?!"

    "How is this possible?"

    If there was one thing in this world that they could not bring themselves to believe, it was that Fang Zhengzhi had broken through to the Supernatural State.

    This was something that should never have happened.

    The entire Demon Race would be terrified by this news.

    A 16-year-old Supernatural State human was a cause for fear. More importantly, this human was Fang Zhengzhi.

    The unpredictable and shameless Fang Zhengzhi.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pocket dimension had limitless potential. He had the ability to take the world by storm.

    Bai Xing was rarely terrified of the possibility of a human surviving.

    Even Xing Yuanguo had never struck any fear in his heart. Letting Xing Yuanguo live was not a terrifying prospect.

    However, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wound healing, his hand began to tremble in fear.

    A human can be a talent and a freak, but...

    Ëû²»ÄÜÑýÄõµ½ÕâÖÖµØ²½°¡!

    This was absolutely ridiculous!

    ...

    As a Demon, Bai Xing¡¯s fear was understandable. However, even the 50,000 Great Xia soldiers were terrified.

    "Fang Zhengzhi broke through? He is in the Supernatural State!"

    "That¡¯s impossible!"

    "Didn¡¯t he say that he had 388 Daos in his pocket dimension? How could he breakthrough with these many Daos? Why is it so simple?"

    "How long has it been since he broke through to the Heavenly Reflection State?"

    All of the candidates were terrified as well. However, their terror wasced with depression and jealousy.

    It felt like they had been spending their entire lives researching something...

    They poured everything they had into it for over a decade. Yet, upon looking up, their 10-year-old younger brother was running to them with something simr. It was almost as if their younger brother was shouting, "Brother, look at what I made in two hours! Am I good?"

    At that time...

    Any normal person would reply the same way.

    F*ck you!

    My hard work and time have been wasted!

    All of the candidates felt that way. They were once proud of their achievements, believing that they were more powerful than everyone around them. However, when faced with Fang Zhengzhi and his unprecedented breakthrough to the Supernatural State, their achievements meant nothing.

    The pain was immense.

    Chen Feiyu felt it more than anyone else.

    Chen Feiyu¡¯s feelings were inexplicable. If he could do it all over again, he would not break through to the Supernatural State and embarrass himself.

    Xing Qingsui looked on with fear, surprise, and worry in his eyes.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression was simr to that of his son¡¯s.

    Xing Yuanguo looked as though he had just seen a star. He could not help but look at Fang Zhengzhi in admiration.

    However, this star was so bright that it was hard for them to keep their eyes open.

    "Did he breakthrough? He... broke through so quickly?" Xing Yuanguo was taken aback by what he saw.

    Because...

    There was no one else in the Great Xia Dynasty who could break through to the Supernatural State before the age of 16.

    Did that mean that Fang Zhengzhi was the top talent?

    Xing Yuanguo thought about the prophecy believed by everyone in the empire.

    Did the prophecy still hold?

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    "Supernatural State?! A Supernatural State cultivator with 388 Daos! Fang Zhengzhi... you have progressed faster than I expected!" Nangong Hao looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He sheathed his sword.

    However, his eyes continued to shine brightly. His battle intent was strong, a feeling that he rarely showed.

    It was just like the time he had stood in front of Chi Guyan.

    Nangong Hao had neverpared anyone to Chi Guyan, not even when Fang Zhengzhi managed to go toe to toe against him.

    But now...

    He was eager to duel Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    The rain continued to beat down on them.

    Lightning continued to shoot across the sky, drawing huge cracks in the air and lighting up the ground below.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands opened up.

    The Spectre de in her hand fell to the ground with a loud ng.

    Moments ago, she did not care about dying. Even if she was going to die here, it would not be overly painful.

    However, when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wound healpletely, that determination disappeared like a puff of smoke.

    The reason was that...

    She could not die just yet.

    Before this, she had thought that she had already done enough for the Demon Race. But now, she felt like she still had some unfinished business.

    "I can make a deal with you, but there must be an expiry. Furthermore, there must be another condition ced on this expiry date." Yun Qingwu began to speak, her tone clearly different.

    Did she agree?

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he would need to say something else to convince her. However, it was simpler than he thought.

    An expiry date was to be expected.

    The terms could be negotiated.

    Just as he was about to speak, he felt his body turning to jelly, almost as if he had just been electrified.

    It felt as though he had been drained of all his energy.

    What was going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi could guess that it had something to do with his Supernatural State. Afterall, he had heard that the healing required arge amount of energy.

    That was to be expected.

    It was extremely difficult for the cells to regenerate. In order to so, arge amount of energy must be used.

    But, he was different!

    He was different from others. Others may just have ake worth of energy, but he had an entire ocean!

    Speaking of which...

    Where was his ocean?

    Fang Zhengzhi entered his pocket dimension and realized something strange. The huge tree in his pocket dimension was visibly different.

    It was taller and lusher.

    More importantly, all of the fruits on the tree were glowing brightly, streams of light swirling on the skin.

    There were patterns of mountains, rivers, and clouds on the fruits...

    Improved?

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand the changes to his tree. After all, he had just broken through, it was natural that the fruits on his tree had changed.

    But...

    Why did the sea disappear?

    He couldn¡¯t even find a single drop of water. The white mist that was so abundant in the sky had also disappeared without a trace.

    He began to feel increasingly drowsy, so much so that he was struggling to open his eyes.

    What was happening?

    Why did his sea disappear?

    Who used his sea?!

    Hang on!

    Those fruits...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw a purple ray of light atst. That was the brightest light from his tree, and the fruit sat quietly at the top.

    More importantly, the fruit had a small opening, and there was purple light swirling inside it, almost as if something was about to break out of the shell.

    What was that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not manage to get a closer look. He exited from his pocket dimension, his legs turning to jelly.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a sudden urge to fall to the ground.

    "No, I haven¡¯t discussed the terms of the deal!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously in an attempt to wake himself up. However, he had lost all control of his body.

    Damn, is he going to faint?

    He can¡¯t faint!

    He had tost a little longer!

    Fang Zhengzhi bit hard on his lip, a trickle of blood appearing instantly. This allowed him to regain some consciousness.

    However, the drowsiness was too strong, so much so that he could not even stand up straight. His hand, which was on Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress, slipped downwards.

    "Mm..."

    Fang Zhengzhi felt something soft. This feeling made him even more drowsy. Fang Zhengzhi was so drowsy that he could not be bothered by anything else.

    "Yun Qingwu, I can¡¯t hold on!"

    He leaned forward and hugged Yun Qingwu, one of his hands on her chest, the other around her waist.

    This was an extremely humiliating pose, but he knew that he had to do this to guarantee his survival after he fainted.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression was cold. She did not move, allowing Fang Zhengzhi to continue touching her.

    She had already decided that she had to live.

    "Let¡¯s talk... terms..." Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of dragging this out. He was going to faint at any time.

    "I can order the demons not to hunt you down. But, it will only apply whilst you are still in the Southern Region. Furthermore, you cannot attack any demons during this time, else, the deal is forfeited..."

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Yun Qingwu to finish. In fact, he didn¡¯t even hear what Yun Qingwu said.

    Then, he face nted straight into the ground.

 Chapter 402: Abilities

    Chapter 402: Abilities

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When everyone saw Fang Zhengzhi face nt into the ground, there was only one thought running through their minds.

    "He fainted?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi... fainted?!"

    All of them could not understand what was going on. It felt as though they had ordered a hooker only to find out that the hooker was a guy!

    This was...

    Completely inexplicable.

    Wasn¡¯t he supposed to kill off the young master of the Demons? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to save them from destruction? Most importantly, he had just broken through to the Supernatural State!

    Limitless glory and fame were ripe for the picking. All he needed to do was reach out and take it.

    Everything would have been resolved.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi fainting had thrown a spanner in the works.

    Could he still live?

    When they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wound heal, almost everyone thought that his life was guaranteed. After all, if he could go up against a Rebirth State Demon as a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator...

    His powers as a Supernatural State cultivator were unimaginable.

    Without thinking about anything else...

    Staying alive!

    Should not have been a huge problem.

    But what now?

    Bai Xing¡¯s eyes were exploding with a bright starry light. He had been suppressing his rage and terror all this while.

    But, when he saw what happened to Fang Zhengzhi, he let it all out.

    He had never believed in luck. However, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi faint in such a mysterious manner, he had a feeling.

    Perhaps...

    He was a lucky demon after all.

    It wasn¡¯t just Bai Xing. Even Wu Ji and the dozens of demon elites had the same feeling. They saw a glimmer of hope.

    The person who had been humiliating their young master had just fainted to the ground!

    Most importantly, that human was a talent.

    Someone who was so ridiculously talented that he could break through to the Supernatural State at 16.

    "Kill!" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes were red with excitement and fury. If not for the fact that he was surrounded by so many others, he would have wept tears of joy.

    This was awesome!

    That b*stard fainted!

    Kill him quickly!

    This was what Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and all the other demon elites thought. All of them unsheathed their des and rushed towards the cliff.

    On the cliff, the rain continued to beat down on Yun Qingwu.

    Her chest and waist were still warm from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s touch. She was still blushing from the humiliation.

    Shameless, shameless, shameless!

    She kept repeating these words in her heart.

    But now, she did not need to continue thinking about this. Fang Zhengzhi had fainted. He was now at her mercy.

    Comically, thismb had just been holding on to her for support moments ago. He had also tried to ask for a deal and medicine.

    Now...

    How was she going to kill him?

    Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. The first thing she wanted to do was cut off his hands.

    These hands had taken off her veil more than once. Furthermore, he had done so in front of so many people!

    Then, she would gouge his eyes out!

    Those eyes had seen her too many times, she had to gouge them out.

    Those were the first thoughts in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind. However, another thought entered her mind just as quickly.

    No!

    She had already promised him that she would not kill him or hunt him down whilst he was still in the Southern Region. This was a matter of honor.

    Most importantly...

    He did not kill her!

    Yun Qingwu rarely hesitated, but she hesitated this time. On one hand, she felt that she had to take this opportunity to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she reminded herself that her life was once in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Fang Zhengzhi had not killed her then. If she were to take advantage of the situation and kill Fang Zhengzhi now...

    Then...

    She would me herself for the rest of her life.

    "I had sworn on this, I must keep my promise!"

    "But, I can¡¯t let him off... if I let him off now, I may not have such a good opportunity in the future. He is too dangerous. Furthermore, he has humiliated me, I can¡¯t let him live!"

    "What should I do?"

    Yun Qingwu clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly, her eyes glimmering. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi, her breathing intensifying.

    "Young master!"

    "Young master, are you alright?"

    "Young master, leave Fang Zhengzhi to us!"

    Just as Yun Qingwu hesitated, figures appeared next to her. Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the demon elites turned to Yun Qingwu.

    They were no longer anxious or terrified.

    All of the demons were excited and joyous. They had been thrown a lifeline.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... prepare to meet your maker!" Bai Xing raised his hand, a silver ray of light in his palm.

    "Hold it!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out at that moment.

    "Young master?" Bai Xing¡¯s hand stopped in mid-air, the silver ray of light preparing to hit Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Let him go." Yun Qingwu ordered.

    "Why? Young master!" Bai Xing¡¯s expression was filled with doubt. This was the first time he had questioned orders from Yun Qingwu.

    "I said let him go!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s tone was icy.

    "Young master, I have never questioned your orders, but this time... you must give me a reason!" Bai Xing¡¯s gaze froze.

    "Are you going against my orders?"

    "I do not dare. I know the consequences of insubordination. However, I am willing to give up my life to take his!" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes were filled with determination.

    "Young master, I am willing to do the same!"

    "Me too!"

    All of the demon elites fell to one knee, their green demonic eyes glowing in the rain.

    "How dare you! I had already made a deal with him not to chase him down whilst he is still in the Southern Regions! Do you want me to break my promises?" Yun Qingwu bellowed.

    "Young master!"

    "Young master, please think twice. Fang Zhengzhi cannot be allowed to live!"

    "Young master, please give the order to kill Fang Zhengzhi!"

    All of the demon elites looked at each other after hearing what Yun Qingwu said. Then, they replied in unison.

    "Young master, I will take responsibility for the dishonor. I made up my own mind and disobeyed your orders. However, I hope that young master can spare my family!" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes were filled with an icy aura as the silver light in his hand glowed radiantly.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed.

    She did not expect that Bai Xing would be this determined. She did not expect that he was prepared to disobey her orders.

    The silver light in Bai Xing¡¯s palm beamed.

    Yun Qingwu knew how powerful this strike was going to be. If it hit home, even the Supernatural State Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to survive.

    "Bai Xing, don¡¯t you dare!" Yun Qingwu stepped between Bai Xing and Fang Zhengzhi, her expression steely.

    "Young master!" Bai Xing¡¯s hand stopped in mid-air, his expression filled with anxiety and disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi was ripe for the picking.

    If he missed this opportunity, he may not have another one. This was an unprecedented chance.

    As such...

    How could he miss it?

    He had to kill Fang Zhengzhi!

    He had to destroy this potential threat to the Demons. This was something that he had to do. However, Yun Qingwu was in his way! How could he strike?

    "Capture Bai Xing!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was icy.

    "Young master, please let Domain Chief Bai off!"

    "Young master, please spare him!"

    All of the demon elites looked at Bai Xing and Yun Qingwu and began to plead on Bai Xing¡¯s behalf.

    "I have controlled the Star Domain for more than a decade. Since I have disobeyed the orders of the young master, my death is imminent. However, I must kill Fang Zhengzhi. Is there anyone else who is willing to die with me? Help me hold down the young master whilst I take care of Fang Zhengzhi!" Bai Xing bit his lip and drew blood.

    "Domain Chief Bai, I will die with you!"

    "Me too!"

    Two demon elites stood forward.

    "What is this rubbish! Whoever dares to disobey the young master is going up against the entire Demon Race. Do you think that your death will change anything?" Wu Ji¡¯s voice rang out, his sword lowered at the two demon elites who stepped forward.

    The expressions of the two demon elites changed.

    They were loyal to Yun Qingwu, but when they saw Fang Zhengzhi faint, their emotions got the better of them.

    They had the same idea as Bai Xing.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to die!

    They knew the consequences of insubordination...

    However, when Wu Ji had spelled it out...

    Their determination wavered.

    Death...

    Would not be enough to wash the te clean.

    Insubordination was akin to rebelling. A demon like this would go down in infamy. Generations of demons would shame and demean such a demon.

    Hesitation, terror.

    "Young master, my apologies!"

    "Please forgive us!"

    The two demons fell to their knees and kowtowed to Yun Qingwu.

    When Bai Xing saw this, he chuckled rather manically. He had expected this to happen.

    Yun Qingwu!

    She had be the young master of the demons at the age of 10. She was not particrly talented. To be more precise, her talents were not in cultivation.

    The Demons prized ability above all else.

    Ability and prowess gave you status amongst the Demons.

    However, Yun Qingwu had shown them another type of ability, an ability that was terrifying. This was an ability that made everyone willing to serve her.

    When she was five, Yun Qingwu was sent to a neighboring city many miles from the Blood Shadow City. That was a city which was extremely barren.

    Five yearster...

    Yun Qingwu had made that outpost a bustling city.

    The security around that outpost was not less than the Blood Shadow City. She was not particrly powerful, but her subordinates included countless powerful demons.

    Each of them masters in their own rights.

    However, all of these powerful demons were willing to serve a 10-year-old girl.

    No one in the Blood Shadow City knew how she had managed to aplish all of this.

    However, they knew that Yun Qingwu¡¯s return to the Blood Shadow City was not out of pity or talent...

    It was ability!

    After the defeat, the Demons had been trapped in the Blood Shadow City and embroiled in civil war.

    In five years, Yun Qingwu had managed to stop all the infighting and set up the Six Domain Demonic Army.

    When she returned to the Blood Shadow City...

    There were countless powerful demons standing behind her. All of them were loyal to her and her alone.

    Talents?

    The Demons had countless talents!

    But they only had one Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu did not use her talents in cultivation to re-enter the Blood Shadow City. She had used her ability to unite the Demons.

    That year, she was 10.

    The Demon Lord, the leaders of all the fourrgest families, all of the reputable demons, and all the talents stood at the entrance to the Blood Shadow City.

    They waited to receive their new young master!

    "Capture Bai Xing!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was icy, her aura enough to scare most demons into submission.

    "Young master... I have been with you since you were seven. I have never disobeyed any of your orders. But this time, I really cannot listen to you!" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes sparkled. It was almost as if the stars in the skies were captured by his eyes.

    At this moment, a ray of light shot down from the sky.

    A figure stepped forward.

 Chapter 403: Xuan Heavenly Dao Body

    Chapter 403: Xuan Heavenly Dao Body

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When that ray of light shot to the Earth, everyone rubbed their eyes in shock, including Yun Qingwu.

    At that moment, Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    She did not expect that Bai Xing would still go ahead with his n and attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she quickly realized...

    Something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    That starlight felt different. Every Dao had its own unique point. Even though Bai Xing¡¯s Dao manifested as starlight, it was filled with sharpness.

    But...

    This starlight was filled with grandeur. It felt as though a million constetions had gathered at a single point. If Bai Xing¡¯s Dao was a single star.

    This was the entire gxy.

    "Who is this?" Yun Qingwu turned to look at the figure. However, she did not move from her spot. As the young master of the Demons, she would never retreat.

    Wu Ji and the demon elites all looked at Bai Xing, but their attention was quickly drawn towards the approaching figure.

    It was a dainty figure.

    Nowhere near as tall as they expected. However, when she appeared on the cliff, she did not show any trace of fear.

    Her pink dress danced in the wind, her waterfall-esque hair resting on her shoulders.

    Thisdy¡¯s eyes were bright, almost as if they contained entire constetions. To be more precise, it felt as if her eyes were made of stars.

    Her legs were long, her skin fair and wless. Her lips were luscious and soft.

    Yun Qingwu was beautiful.

    But Yun Qingwu¡¯s beauty came from her inability to be affected by anything around her. Thisdy¡¯s beauty came from her starry bright eyes and her brightness.

    Her name was...

    Chi Guyan!

    "Chi Guyan?!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed. Her emotions were inexplicable, but she did not even feel this way when Fang Zhengzhi was humiliating her.

    She was not alone. Even Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the demon elites looked on in disbelief.

    All of the demon elites took a step back instinctively. They did not even notice it themselves.

    If Yun Qingwu was the most powerfuldy in their hearts.

    Then Chi Guyan was the brightest star amongst all the humans. This name was sufficient to strike fear in the bravest of hearts.

    "Chi Guyan!"

    "It¡¯s Chi Guyan!"

    "Chi Guyan is here!"

    All of the candidates looked at Chi Guyan. They did not ask why Chi Guyan hade to the Southern Region, neither did they think about how she got there.

    When it came to Chi Guyan, nothing was impossible.

    It continued to pour.

    Nangong Hao, who was carrying the Standstill Sword on his back, looked at Chi Guyan quietly.

    His expression was strange.

    Normally, when a guyid eyes on ady, there were only two emotions. Either he liked her or he did not. However, Nangong Hao¡¯s expression was neither.

    It felt like a mix of both.

    "She... also broke through!" Nangong Hao did not think about why Chi Guyan was here. All he did was say something that no one else would say.

    However, he did not notice that his voice was quivering when he said this. In fact, his lips were quivering as well.

    ...

    "Yo!"

    Just as everyone was focused on Chi Guyan, a crisp voice cut through the air. Then, a snow-white figure burst through the clouds. It was a humongous, winged beast.

    A pair of fiery red eyes looked down at the crowd on the cliff. The feathers were not just feathers, they were snow like scales. This beast looked like an eagle.

    However, there was one main difference. It had a long tail, almost like that of a phoenix, and it glimmered like crystals.

    Snow Wind Eagle.

    This was a rare beast. Even members of the royal family rarely got their hands on one.

    This was a beast that had the blood of the ancient phoenix running through it.

    Furthermore...

    It could fly through intense winds. It¡¯s stamina and speed also meant that it could cover unparalleled distances.

    Rare and ferocious.

    There was someone riding on its back. This figure was wearing a bright red armor. She pouted as she looked down.

    This was also ady.

    She was even younger than Chi Guyan, but she was immensely arrogant.

    Ping Yang!

    The favorite princess of the Emperor.

    Ping Yang looked down and saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s limp body. She smirked contentedly.

    "Shameless fe, I see you still need me toe and save you?" Ping Yang nagged but she had no intention of dismounting.

    This was a deal.

    A deal that she made so that she coulde to the Southern Region.

    This was a deal she made with Chi Guyan. Chi Guyan was the only person who Ping Yang would listen to.

    The torrential rain continued its assault.

    Chi Guyan stood quietly on the cliff as she looked around. Her gaze finally rested on the unconscious Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Leave Fang Zhengzhi here, you can all leave." Chi Guyan spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it was melodious.

    A human.

    A single human standing in the face of dozens of demon elites.

    Yet, the first thing she said was, "Leave Fang Zhengzhi here, you can all leave". In any other situation, this would beical, but Yun Qingwu was notughing.

    None of the demons wereughing.

    Because the person who said it was Chi Guyan.

    "You can all leave, leave Fang Zhengzhi here." Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was not loud, and she used the same words as Chi Guyan.

    The words were the same, but the meaning waspletely different.

    The rain continued to pummel them all.

    Neither Chi Guyan nor Yun Qingwu spoke. They knew that there was no need to speak anymore.

    A ray of light shot through the sky, then a second, third and fourth appeared...

    Within moments, the dark sky was illuminated. To be more precise, these rays of light had pierced through and covered the dark clouds.

    Silver rays of light shot towards the ground, intertwining with the raindrops, almost as though they were infusing the raindrops with light.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    However, when Wu Ji and the demon elites saw this, their expressions were filled with shock and disbelief.

    Within moments, lights shone from the bodies of the demons. They were of different colors, but it was their most powerful forces.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom boom..."

    Explosions rang out all over the sky. Every explosion was apanied by a terrifying tremor. Furthermore, the sounds were enough to send chills down everyone¡¯s spine.

    This feeling...

    It was almost as though the rain had be rays of light. In other words, the rain had be lightswords.

    The Million Sword Illustration!

    The secret art of the Divine Constabry.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen it once. At that time, he had understood Dao would give rise to one. One would be two, two bes three, and it would keep going on!

    This was the gist of the Million Sword Illustration.

    If he could open his eyes now, he would realize that this was the Million Sword Illustration, but it was Chi Guyan¡¯s version.

    Torrential rain!

    Could not be lightswords.

    However, lightswords could be torrential rain!

    The lightswords fused with the raindrops, the purple lightning in the clouds, the wind blowing across the cliff...

    "Xuan Heavenly Dao Body"

    "Is this the power of the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body?!"

    "No, this is not just the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body! With such power... she is definitely not in the Heavenly Reflection State!"

    "Protect the young master!"

    All of the demon elites paled. They knew how powerful Chi Guyan was in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    She was the top-ranked talent on the two Dragon Rolls. She was the one mentioned in the prophecy, the future general of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, this was all in the future.

    Right now...

    She should just be a talent in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, the lightswords said otherwise. She had broken through the barriers of the Heavenly Reflection State.

    "Supernatural State!"

    "Is Chi Guyan also in the Supernatural State?!"

 Chapter 404: I am still a Demon

    Chapter 404: I am still a Demon

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breakthrough had instilled fear and shock in the Demons, Chi Guyan¡¯s abilities instilled terror, unparalleled terror.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was a threat to the Demon race, so was Chi Guyan!

    Even though all of the Demons knew that Chi Guyan was a threat two years ago. However, when they saw how much she had progressed, their hearts still trembled in fear.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in the Supernatural State!

    Chi Guyan had also broken through to the Supernatural State!

    Did the Demon race still have a future?

    All of the demons had no other choice but to suppress these thoughts. The blood in their hearts was already boiling.

    Supernatural State demons were elites in their own rights. However, when they were facing Chi Guyan, they felt like they were nothing.

    "Sh*t!"

    "Ah..."

    Blood and screams filled the air.

    The lightswords prated their bodies and exploded inside their bodies. Then, the injuries were reopened by additional lightswords before they could heal.

    Wu Ji watched on ferociously.

    As a Rebirth State Demon, he had the abilities and ego of a Rebirth State cultivator. He wanted to capture Chi Guyan when he saw the ray of light shooting earthward.

    But, it was a fleeting thought.

    Because...

    After he found out that Chi Guyan had broken through to the Supernatural State, he was not confident of seeding. Even if he teamed up with Bai Xing...

    Their sess was not guaranteed.

    Generally, any probability above 50% was worth a shot, but he could not go for it this time. He had another important mission.

    Protect Yun Qingwu.

    Could the dozens of demon elites protect Yun Qingwu?

    Definitely!

    However, they were struggling to protect themselves. What if Yun Qingwu was still injured despite their best efforts?

    But if the two Rebirth State Demons joined the fray...

    Even Chi Guyan¡¯s powerful attack would not be able to harm Yun Qingwu.

    Chi Guyan knew this. As such, she used the Million Sword Illustration andbined it with the rain. This ensured that Wu Ji had to spend his effort protecting Yun Qingwu.

    As for Bai Xing...

    She had ced herself right in front of Bai Xing. Since she did not move, Bai Xing could not move.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression was icy.

    She knew that Chi Guyan would possibly appear here, but she did not expect that Chi Guyan would be in the Supernatural State. Neither did she expect that Fang Zhengzhi would breakthrough here.

    "Two Supernatural... Supernatural State talents?" Yun Qingwu looked at Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi as she heard the screams around her.

    A look of helplessness shed across her eyes.

    This should have never appeared. After all, she was the young master of the demons, someone who was immensely powerful and intelligent!

    When she was 10 years old...

    Yun Qingwu had led the armies of six of the demonic domains back to the Blood Shadow City, stunning the entire race.

    Six domains of soldiers.

    Loyal to the 10-year-old Yun Qingwu.

    How scary was that?!

    On the second day, her father had given hermand of the remaining four domain armies in front of the four most influential families.

    On that day, the Demon Lord had only one request.

    On that day, Yun Qingwu had sworn to the Demon ancestors that she would serve the Demons till herst breath!

    "Young master, leave Fang Zhengzhi to us! You should leave first!"

    "Protect her retreat!"

    "Ah... young master, please go!"

    Voices rang out from atop the cliff as blood mixed with the rain. The dozens of demon elites continued to struggle and scream...

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shivered.

    It wasn¡¯t because the Million Sword Illustration had injured her. In fact, she had been standing in the same spot throughout...

    But the lightswords could not hurt her.

    Because...

    She was being protected by the dozens of demon elites as well as Wu Ji.

    "Young master, don¡¯t hesitate any longer!"

    "Young master, please leave first!"

    "Young master, we will bring back Fang Zhengzhi, even if it costs us our lives!"

    Their voices were filled with anxiety and loyalty. They were willing toy down their lives for her.

    "Go?" Yun Qingwu raised her head and looked at the rays of silver light dropping from the heavens.

    How powerful!

    That thought shed past Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind. Even though she admired Chi Guyan¡¯s power...

    Xuan Heavenly Dao Body...

    Supernatural State!

    The top talent of the generation!

    Powerful, really very powerful!

    How powerful would a Supernatural State talent with 388 Daos be?!

    Yun Qingwu looked at the prone figure next to her. Fang Zhengzhi was there...

    No one was closer to him than Yun Qingwu.

    When Fang Zhengzhi fainted, he was still holding onto Yun Qingwu¡¯s leg...

    The lightswords continued to fall to the ground.

    Yun Qingwu was not hurt and neither was Fang Zhengzhi. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was right beside her.

    I am... a demon!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips twitched as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She saw that he was still unconscious and her eyes glimmered.

    I swore that I will not let the Demon Race kill you, but I never said that I would not do it myself!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out.

    At the same time, her feet moved.

    The movement was not big.

    However, it was enough to kick the unconscious Fang Zhengzhi...

    Off the cliff!

    There wasn¡¯t much sound, but there was already a figure tumbling down the side of the cliff.

    "Let the heavens decide your fate!"

    ...

    In the sky, the Snow Wind Eagle shrieked and shot down from the sky like aet.

    Ping Yang would not watch idly by as Fang Zhengzhi tumbled down the cliff.

    As such...

    She decided to show off her abilities as a princess.

    However, she underestimated the Demons behind Yun Qingwu. They were willing to die for her.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was tumbling down the cliff, two figures in ck jumped off the cliff along with his body to block Ping Yang.

    "No one can interfere with the young master¡¯s decision!"

    "Let me go!"

    The two ck figures did not follow Fang Zhengzhi. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fate was in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands.

    Since Yun Qingwu had made her decision, no one could be allowed to interfere.

    Two rays of light beamed.

    They unsheathed their des and charged towards the Snow Wind Eagle. They jumped right in front of the eagle.

    They were not slower than the Snow Wind Eagle.

    However, the Snow Wind Eagle had the upper ground.

    "Boom!"

    The ensuing crash was resounding.

    "Aroo!" The Snow Wind Eagle shrieked and spread its wings. After its sh with the demons, it flew back into the sky.

    Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped because she never thought that there would be demons prepared to block her advance.

    This moment ofpse...

    Meant that the opportunity hadpsed.

    The Snow Wind Eagle would not risk further injury to try and rescue Fang Zhengzhi. After all, its main mission was to ensure Ping Yang¡¯s safety.

    As such, after being blocked by two Supernatural State Demons, it chose to turn back and fly to the sky.

    Chi Guyan wanted to move.

    However, Bai Xing was standing in front of her. If Bai Xing didn¡¯t move, neither could she.

    "Save him!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out from the cliff. This time, her tone was filled with anxiety.

    She was truly anxious.

    The candidates heard Chi Guyan¡¯s voice but they could not save Fang Zhengzhi. They were too far away.

    Xing Qingsui wanted to save him too, but he wasmanding the 50,000 strong army towards the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. He could not appear on the cliff.

    Xing Yuanguo was fast, but even his speed was insufficient to punch through 100,000 soldiers and turn up next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Neither could Nangong Hao.

    Every member of the Great Xia army wanted to save him.

    But...

    The ones at the bottom of the cliff were not soldiers of the Great Xia.

    The Great Xia army had been surrounded from the start. That area was firmly in the hands of the Southern Region soldiers.

 Chapter 405: Wait and see

    Chapter 405: Wait and see

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Would the Southern Region soldiers save Fang Zhengzhi?

    Clearly not.

    They were ordered to cooperate with the Demons and surround the Great Xia army at the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement. As such, even though they may not follow the orders of the young master of the Demons, they would not go against it.

    However, the soldiers from Feng Su did not represent the all of the soldiers of the Southern Range.

    If there was a group that could go through both armies without being stopped...

    It would be Teng Shisheng¡¯s 500 Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry.

    The Great Xia soldiers have seen Fang Zhengzhimand this group in battle. As such, they would not strike at the cavalry.

    The Southern Region soldiers also knew better than to attack. The Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry were the elites of the Southern Region. They represented the authority of Princess Shan Yu.

    From the moment the Southern Region soldiers appeared, Teng Shisheng acted as though he was an outsider.

    No one would attack his group.

    Even though he was surrounded by Great Xia and Southern Region soldiers, he could confidently stay out of the fray.

    During this entire time, Teng Shisheng had only done one thing. He had shadowed Fang Zhengzhi.

    Like a wolf waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle with Nangong Hao¡¯s battle was risky, so Teng Shisheng did not interfere. When Fang Zhengzhi was pped by Yan Xiu, a golden opportunity was presented to him.

    However, Yan Xiu continued to guard Fang Zhengzhi afterward. This opportunity...psed.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Shi Kou and got embroiled in a duel with Wu Ji. Teng Shisheng was only in the Supernatural State, so he could not strike.

    Wait!

    He continued to wait.

    He waited for Fang Zhengzhi to charge up the cliff. He never gave up, patiently waiting for his opportunity. He made sure that he was not too far away throughout the entire sequence.

    When Fang Zhengzhi charged up the cliff, he chose to take up a position at the foot of the cliff. He could see Fang Zhengzhi if he raised his head.

    Was it difficult?

    It may have been difficult for others but it was no issue for the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry. All of the Southern Region soldiers opened up a path for them to pass through.

    In truth, this had something to do with their status, but it had more to do with their stallions.

    After all...

    No one wanted to be too close to a ferocious Silver Horned Wolf.

    As such, when the 500 Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry passed through, no one dared to step within a two-meter radius.

    Teng Shisheng had been waiting for a long time.

    Even though he was beginning to lose hope, he did not give up. After all, he was riding a Silver Horned Wolf and had its animalistic nature.

    He was never going to lose sight of his goals.

    "Aroo!" A loud roar rang out in the sky. At the same time, a huge figure leaped skyward as thousands watched on.

    That figure leaped high up into the sky. Everyone on the ground could see it clearly.

    Then...

    The figurended on the ground and began sprinting away without a moment¡¯s hesitation. It charged straight towards Feng Su, hundreds of equally hulking figures following behind.

    "Aroo!"

    "Aroo!"

    The beasts roared as they sped away, They were the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry.

    Stunned! Dumbfounded!

    At that moment, there was no other sound in the sky except for the roars of the beasts, the thunder, and the torrential rain.

    Everyone knew who was that figure who leaped into the sky.

    Teng Shisheng!

    The leader of the 500 Silber Horned Wolf Cavalry.

    The Southern Region soldiers always knew the cavalry as heroes and courageous soldiers. Why would they save Fang Zhengzhi?

    All of them wondered to themselves. Then, they began to ask themselves where Teng Shisheng was bringing Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why would the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry run towards the entrance of Feng Su?

    No one could answer their questions.

    Neither would Teng Shisheng. He began to screammands at the soldiers around him, "Move aside, quickly! All of you, move aside!"

    They could all hear that Teng Shisheng was in a rush.

    This was indeed the case. Even though he had managed to get his hands on Fang Zhengzhi, it did not mean that he would be able to escape.

    "Yo!" A crisp voice could be heard above Teng Shisheng as a huge shadow began circling overhead.

    "Put down the shameless fe!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice could be heard.

    "Don¡¯t bother about her, just run!" Teng Shisheng ordered his cavalry without hesitation. Capturing Fang Zhengzhi was their true mission.

    As for Ping Yang...

    They did not have to worry about her. Feng Su was a narrow ce and the Snow Wind Eagle would never be able to make its way in. The only thing it could do was circle overhead.

    "Yes, sir!" The 500 Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry replied in unison.

    All of the Southern Region soldiers opened up a path for them. They could not stop the Silver Horned Wolf Cavalry. They only listened to one person.

    That person was...

    Shan Yu!

    ...

    At the entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement, all of the soldiers continued to be rooted to the ground. That had all happened too quickly.

    They were unable to respond in time.

    The fact was Fang Zhengzhi had been saved by Teng Shisheng. They were speeding towards Feng Su at this very moment.

    "He is now in the hands of the Southern Region. Father, what do we do now?" Xing Qingsui looked at Xing Yuanguo worriedly.

    "It¡¯s still better than having him in the hands of the Demons. Take the Icy Monkey Settlement first. If we can win this battle, the Southern Region will no longer be the enemy," Xing Yuanguo¡¯s gaze turned icy. As themander, he had to maintain his calm andposure.

    "I understand!" Xing Qingsui nodded.

    He could see the determination to kill Fang Zhengzhi in the eyes of the Demons. Thus, Fang Zhengzhi still had value to the Southern Region.

    As such...

    Until he was no longer useful, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life should not be in much danger.

    "Kill!" Xing Yuanguo bellowed.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    "..."

    All of the Great Xia soldiers, Mountain Breaking Army, and the Dragon Protection Squad sprung into action. They threw themselves in the direction of the gates of the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    The Southern Region soldiers also began their defense.

    However, without their general, they could not put up a resistance in the face of such a well-oiled killing machine.

    ...

    On the cliff, Yun Qingwu looked at the figure on Teng Shisheng¡¯s back. She had been watching in from the beginning.

    All of the Demon elites, as well as Bai Xing and Wu Ji, turned to look at Yun Qingwu. They were waiting for her orders.

    However, Yun Qingwu did not give any.

    From the moment she kicked Fang Zhengzhi off the cliff, she had not uttered a single word.

    The torrential rain of lightswords also stopped.

    However, the rain itself did not stop. A white dress and a pink one danced in the wind, almost like two flowers in the rain.

    "Aren¡¯t you going to chase after them?" Yun Qingwu finally spoke, almost as though she was talking to herself. However, everyone knew that Yun Qingwu¡¯s emotions were not stable.

    "I do not want you to chase." Chi Guyan¡¯s gaze also flickered towards the figure speeding away from them, as well as the circling Snow Wind Eagle overhead.

    "I see. I understand." Yun Qingwu followed Chi Guyan¡¯s gaze and saw the Snow Wind Eagle in the sky.

    "Are you leaving?" Chi Guyan looked at Yun Qingwu.

    "Yes, what about you?"

    "Not right now."

    "If you don¡¯t leave now, it may not be convenient to leave next time."

    "We can only know what will happen in the future when it happens." Chi Guyan remained calm.

    "Then... we will wait and see." Yun Qingwu nodded lightly, then turned and walked down the cliff.

    "Wait and see." Chi Guyan nodded, showing no intention of staying.

    ...

    Having lost their general in the heat of battle, the Southern Region¡¯s formation was broken and the oue was all but determined.

    The soldiers of the Southern Region may not be afraid of death, but that did not mean that they wanted to die.

    When the deputies saw the general fall, all of the soldiers were in disarray. Finally, the gates to the Icy Monkey Settlement were breached by the Mountain Breaking Army.

    The 50,000 strong Great Xia army rushed into the Icy Monkey Settlement, locking the Southern Region soldiers outside.

    At this point, the Southern Region soldiers had two choices.

    They could continue guarding the entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement, or they could retreat through Feng Su.

    It did not take long for them to decide on the second option. After all, it was impossible for them to choose the first option.

    They were out of rations!

    That was the key factor.

    Those soldiers rushing out of the Icy Monkey Settlement would naturally not bring rations out with them!

    The soldiersing from Feng Su were also out of rations.

    They had only brought enough rations for the duration of the battle. After all, they wereing for an ambush and could not carry so many rations.

    Furthermore...

    The Icy Monkey Settlement had plenty of rations.

    Why would they bother bringing more?

    The Southern Region soldiers had no rations, whilst the Great Xia soldiers had rations tost them a couple of years. As such, retreat was the only logical option.

    "Retreat!"

    All of the deputies gave the order to retreat, bringing the battle to an end. This was an intense battle with huge losses.

    The soldiers began picking up the bodies of their fallenrades.

    Those bodies were disfigured beyond recognition and some were missing limbs. However, the Southern Region soldiers never left a body behind, even if it was just a limb.

    Because...

    This was the Southern Region.

    This was a ce that ferocious beasts roamed. A warrior could die on the battlefield, but they would never allow arade to be food.

    The Southern Regions were considered barbaric.

    They were brave, and they would never leave a fallenrade on the battlefield. Even though they had lost, even though they were shivering from the cold...

    They did not retreat quickly. On the contrary, their retreat was slow.

    After they finished retreating, the gates to the Icy Monkey Settlement opened once again and wooden carts were rolled out. Armored bodies began to fill the carts.

    However, other than bodies, the wooden carts were filled with armor and spears, which were scattered all over the battlefield.

    As an army fighting in a foreignnd...

    The Great Xia soldiers had to conserve their resources so that they had enough to continue fighting.

    As such, armor and spears were a necessity!

    This was war.

    The cold, cruel truth of war. War was brutal to both the victorious and the fallen.

    Night fell and the rain stopped.

    There were little streams forming in the ground as the smell of blood filled the air, lingering on despite the rain stopping.

    "Aroo!" A crisp howl could be heard.

    Balls of mes rose up from the Icy Monkey Settlement. That was the me that carried the souls of the fallen back home.

    "War, war, the brutal cruelties of war!" A voice rang out in the night, filled with anger and mourning.

    However, the voice came from the entrance of the Icy Monkey Settlement, not from inside. This seemed rather strange.

    "The official is here, the war is over." Another voice could be heard. This voice was rather confident and proud.

    "Mm, get the soldiers guarding the gates to open them!" A figure walked forward. He arrived at the entrance of the settlement and frowned as he saw the blood.

    "Yes!" Another figure also walked forward. That was a middle-aged man in bright armor. He squinted as he looked up at the gates, his face filled with arrogance.

 Chapter 406: Critical Situation

    Chapter 406: Critical Situation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    After the middle-aged man stopped moving, synchronized footsteps could be heard as hundreds of armored figures stood solemnly in the dark.

    They were clearly a squad of guards.

    Furthermore, their armor showed that they were from the Great Xia.

    "The Minister of Rites is here with a decree from the Emperor! Open the gates!" A voice pierced through the night sky.

    "Minister of Rites?! Why will the Minister of Ritese here?" A head popped out from the city walls and looked down at the squad doubtfully.

    "The Emperor¡¯s Decree is here! Open the gates!"

    "It really is an Emperor¡¯s Decree. Report to Xing Hou immediately!"

    ...

    Even though the soldiers of the Great Xia had managed to emerge victorious in the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement, they were still trapped.

    The Stable Mountain Gate had been breached and tens of thousands have been held prisoner. Furthermore, the Crown Prince was surrounded, leaving this army to fend for themselves.

    The Great Xia would be unable to reinforce them in the near future.

    As such...

    The surviving 40,000 soldiers only had two choices. They could either wait for reinforcements here, or they could follow the initial n and strike at the heart of the Southern Regions.

    Prima facie...

    The first option was not bad at all. They could prevent further losses and the rations in the Icy Monkey Settlement couldst a long time.

    However, no smart man would choose this option.

    What was the Icy monkey Settlement?

    This was one of the six great settlements apart from the Sagely Mountain City!

    This was foreign territory. To put it even more inly, threats to their lives were everywhere.

    Even though they had control over the Icy Monkey Settlement, that was about all they had. It would be virtually impossible for them to hold this position.

    The citizens here would never cooperate with the Great Xia. To make matters worse, they may even cause disruptions during the defence.

    Furthermore...

    Season and weather were a concern.

    Winter wasing, and the soldiers of the Great Xia weren¡¯t prepared for it. If the battle dragged on, they would all freeze to death.

    Rob?

    This was not a bad idea. However, if they really did that, Xing Yuanguo would immediately execute the culprits.

    They were effectively left with one choice.

    The would stab straight at the Sagely Mountain City.

    40,000 soldiers was not an extremely powerful force. However, with the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army, they had a decent chance.

    Of course...

    They needed the element of surprise.

    In other words, they had to be quick. They needed to strike before news of the Southern Region Defeat reached the Sagely Mountain City.

    They had to strike before defences could be set up.

    They would attack the city and seal the victory for the Great Xia Dynasty.

    In actual fact, this was the Emperor¡¯s n from the start. Of course, the number of soldiers was insufficient, but for the Great Xia to send millions of soldiers...

    That would be impossible.

    Without even considering the losses and the costs, the terrain itself was the biggest unknown. It would be like throwing thousands of lions into a forest.

    The sheer numbers who would get lost were enough.

    They were unfamiliar with the terrain. Coupled with the ferocious beasts that roamed the ground, this battle would likely be a long one.

    The Southern Regions could afford it.

    But the Great Xia couldn¡¯t. No matter how full the coffers were, they could not possibly spend it all on this one war.

    As such, this could never be a full-fledged war.

    ording to the original n, the final meeting point would be the Icy Monkey Settlement. The Crown Prince wouldmand the army here and a force 100,000 strong would gather at the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Whilst everyone¡¯s attention was focused on thebat examination in the Icy Monkey Settlement, they would strike at the Sagely Mountain City!

    No reinforcements?

    That was the n from the start!

    In order to ount for any surprises, the Emperor had given the elite Dragon Protection Squad to Nangong Hao and hidden the Mountain Breaking Army amongst the ranks. It was all for the final strike.

    However...

    It was not to be. Fang Zhengzhi hadmanded his 50,000 strong army to the Icy Monkey Settlement, breaking through Feng Su and Nangong Hao¡¯s preparations.

    In the end, Nangong Hao had to show himself...

    And the rest was history.

    A simple act like that seemed to have thrown a spanner in the works. However, it had also created a golden opportunity.

    To the Southern Region leadership, it was impossible for them to lose the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement. As such, if they set out during the night...

    They could strike the Sagely Mountain City before they even knew what had hit them!

    They would seal the victory!

    "No, we have already emerged victorious here. This is the perfect time to negotiate. We have been on good terms with the Southern Region for centuries. We cannot destroy it like that. We have to try diplomacy first. How can you not know this?" The Minister of Rites dismissed any idea of an attack.

    Then, in order not to embarrass Xing Yuanguo, the Minister added another sentence, "These are the Emperor¡¯s wishes. Xing Hou, you must respect them!"

    Silence.

    Other than the flickering mes inside the stone house, there was no other sound. No one expected the Minister of Rites to appear here.

    Least of all with a decree from the Emperor.

    "Minster, if the Southern Regions really wanted to negotiate, they would not have taken the Stable Mountain Gate and surrounded the Crown Prince. They even ambushed us..." Xing Qingsui spoke up.

    "Qingsui, you are still young. You cannot just take everything at face value. Even though the Southern Region has taken over the Stable Mountain Gate, they haven¡¯t killed a single soldier. Furthermore, they have surrounded the Crown Prince but have chosen not to attack."

    The Minister of Rites shook his head and continued, "I think that the Southern Region is sending us a message. By surrounding us and not attacking, they are asking for a sincere negotiation. After all, all they care about is benefits."

    "How does the Minister of Rites n to negotiate?" Xing Yuanguo frowned slightly and shook his head at Xing Qingsui.

    "The Southern Region is after freedom. We can try to agree to their terms and join forces to drive the Demons out. Then, we can improve our rtionship with them. There are many ways to do this. We can have a bond through marriage. We could marry a princess off to the Southern Region. This way, the rtionship will be more stable!" The Minister of Rites immediately expressed his opinion contentedly.

    "Father, this is a golden opportunity for us to strike. If we miss this, we may not have a simr opportunity in the future. Once the Southern Region has had time to set up their defences, we are bound to be defeated!" Xing Qingsui urged.

    "Qingsui, you are the heir to the Stabilization Constabry. It is natural that you have your own views, but, how can you be so sure that the Sagely Mountain City is defenceless? If you strike now and end up being ambushed, how would you emerge victorious?" The Minister of Rites interrupted.

    "Erm..." Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed. The Minister was right, no one could be sure that the Sagely Mountain City was defenceless.

    That being said, who could predict what would happen?

    In a war...

    Even a 50% chance was worth a shot. After all, the battlefield was constantly changing and one had to fight tooth and nail.

    "The Minister of Rites makes sense. However, in war, we prize timing and opportunity. We only listen to the general. Even though you have the Emperor¡¯s Decree, I am sure you have faced dys along the way. Things could have changed. I am sure you understand that the General has the final say in the field?" At this point, another voice rang out.

    This voice came from behind Nangong Hao, but it wasn¡¯t from Nangong Hao. It came from a middle-aged man behind Nangong Hao.

    He was the leader of the Dragon Protection Squad!

    His name, Yan Qing!

    Even though he followed the orders of the Emperor, he was arrogant in his own right. After all, he was a disciple of the 13 Constabries and had a keen eye for battle.

    The Minister of Rites¡¯s expression changed instantly. He looked at Yan Qing, the leader of the Dragon Protection Squad. Normally, he would not want to antagonize him, even as the Minister of Rites.

    But this time was different.

    He had been ordered by the Emperor to head to the Southern Region. He was tasked to save the citizens and end this pointless war.

    As such, even though Yan Qing was the leader of the Dragon Protection Squad, the Minister was not too bothered about antagonizing him.

    "Official Yan, even though you are the leader of the Dragon Protection Squad, are you prepared tomit a crime and defy the orders of the Emperor?" The Minister of Rites shed the Emperor¡¯s decree.

 Chapter 407: Congenital Arrogance

    Chapter 407: Congenital Arrogance

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The light brightened up the stone house, shining on the golden parchment in the hands of the Minister of Rites, causing the parchment to glow.

    The decree represented the wishes of the Emperor.

    Going against it meant going against the Emperor¡¯s orders.

    Yan Qing clenched his fists tightly. Even though he was the leader of the Dragon Protection Squad, he would not go against the will of the Emperor.

    After all, this had nothing to do with life or death. This had to do with his honor and the reputation of the 13 Constabries.

    But...

    He did not want to stand by and watch this golden opportunity to disappear. This concerned the lives of thousands of Great Xia Dynasty soldiers.

    "Minister, if this dy causes this opportunity to slip and kills the army where it stands, will you take responsibility?" Yan Qing¡¯s voice was icy

    "If we fail toe to an agreement, I will pay for it with my life!" The Minister had a steely determination.

    Then, without taking a breath, he continued. "Diplomacy should always take precedence

    "Without it?"

    "There would be no order, no value system. The leader of a country can use diplomacy to allow his country to prosper."

    "Only diplomats can ensure that the power stays with the throne."

    "War!"

    "War is definitely a way to resolve conflicts."

    "However, the best method to win is always to do so without any losses on either side. Diplomacy has to be tried first."

    "If we just use force without discretion, would we be any different from barbarians?"

    The Minister straightened his back as he finished. Even though he was aged, his eyes continued to glimmer with vitality.

    "Stubborn!" Yan Qing bellowed when he heard this. He felt a wave of rage well up in his chest as he did so.

    The Minister has his point.

    However, even though it was a well thought out argument...

    This was a battlefield... and the battlefield was unforgiving.

    As such, there were many things that could not be measured using theories. The Minister thought that the victory put them in a good position to negotiate.

    However, in the grand scheme of the war, victory here was insignificant. The Southern Region continued to hold the advantage.

    Where would they have the chips to negotiate?

    Furthermore, there were the Demons. The Demons would never allow the negotiation to happen!

    Stubborn!

    Yan Qing could not think of any other words to describe the glow in the Minister¡¯s eyes.

    They were two people with very different ideals.

    They each had their own points and ideas. At the end of the day, there was no absolute right or wrong. As a result, Yan Qing was exasperated.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter what you call me, I will continue to stand my ground. Furthermore, this is the will of the Emperor. Will Official Yan ignore the will of the Emperor?" The Minister ignored that outburst.

    The will of the Emperor?

    Xing Yuanguo squinted.

    Xing Yuanguo had spent most of his life interacting with the Emperor. The Emperor did have his weaknesses.

    He pampered Ping Yang too much and would sometimes use some questionable tactics.

    But...

    When it came to international rtions, the Emperor had never made a single mistake.

    That was how he managed to build the Great Xia Dynasty into the powerful empire it now was.

    Something was wrong!

    Xing Yuanguo frowned. Normally, there would be some dy for the situation here to reach the capital, but it could not have taken too long.

    A day or two at most.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions in the Thunderous Lion region would have reached the eyes and ears of the Emperor.

    As such...

    The Emperor would have definitely expected Fang Zhengzhi to strike at the Icy Monkey Settlement!

    Once that battle unfolded, the n would be spoilt.

    The Emperor would definitely have expected this.

    Furthermore, the falling of the Mountain Stabilizing Pass happened days before. Yet, the Emperor did not send people to retake the pass, choosing instead to send the Minister of Rites.

    What was the aim?

    "Minister, could you please let me take a look at the decree?" Xing Yuanguo spoke once again, his tone calm.

    "The Emperor¡¯s decree? Erm... if Xing Hou wants to take a look, by all means!" The Minister hesitated, then nodded and unfurled the decree.

    Xing Yuanguo.

    Themander of the Mountain Breaking Army, the leader of the 13 Constabries, the pir of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even the Emperor showed this man respect and valued his opinions.

    If not for that.

    The Minister would not have rushed all the way here to prevent the next attack.

    Xing Yuanguo did not say anything else. He nodded and began to examine the decree.

    Lines of words were written on the golden parchment.

    Right at the bottom was the Emperor¡¯s personal seal.

    The gist of it was that the Emperor wanted to talk terms with the Southern Region. He had the Minister lead those discussions in a show of sincerity.

    After reading it, Xing Yuanguo frowned again and read it from the beginning...

    Time passed slowly.

    The atmosphere inside the house was tense. The decree was short, but Xing Yuanguo read it repeatedly for an hour.

    The Minister¡¯s patience was wearing thin.

    However, he did not speak.

    After all...

    He was facing Xing Yuanguo, someone the Emperor treated as his own brother.

    Yan Qing did not speak either.

    Even though he knew that the battle would be more dangerous as time passed and their chances of a sneak attack would be lower, he did not speak.

    The reason was the same. The person in front of him was Xing Yuanguo.

    He could maintain his cool on a battlefield regardless of the situation. This was a man with an even fiercer reputation than King Duan.

    There was only one other person who was equally calm. That was Nangong Hao. He too was examining the words on the Emperor¡¯s decree.

    "I understand!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s voice rang out, breaking the silence in the room. At the same time, he rolled up the parchment and handed it back to the Minister respectfully.

    The Minister¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it. He was waiting for Xing Yuanguo¡¯s decision.

    "Minister, it must have been difficult for you. I I¡¯ll send 500 soldiers along with you to ensure your safety!" Xing Yuanguo added.

    "That means... Xing Hou... ns to..." The Minister was ecstatic, but he was careful.

    "Obey the order!"

    "Xing Hou is wise. I will head straight for the Sagely Mountain City right away and carry out the wishes of the Emperor!"

    "Qingsui, have 500 elite soldiers follow the Minister!" Xing Yuanguo turned to Xing Qingsui.

    "Father, this..." Xing Qingsui was unwilling to ept the oue.

    "This is an order!"

    "Yes, Father!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed as he grit his teeth and exited the house with the Minister.

    Watching the two of them leave...

    Yan Qing¡¯s expression changed as well. He bit his lip and clenched his fists but did not say anything.

    "When do we leave?" Nangong Hao stood up and pressed a hand on Yan Qing¡¯s shoulder, his expression calm.

    Xing Yuanguo did not speak. He looked out the window towards the broken cliff at the edge of the valley...

    The night was quiet and the wind continued to pummel the city, howling as it did so. It brought with it the stench of blood.

    There was a de that glowed, stuck to the top of the cliff.

    This was Traceless.

    The sword of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been kicked off the cliff by Yun Qingwu and did not have a chance to take his sword with him.

    Even though Yun Qingwu had Bai Xing and Wu Ji, Chu Guyan was on that cliff as well. As such, she could not get the de either.

    As for Chi Guyan...

    She did not even look at the sword when she left.

    This sword was hidden in Meng Tian¡¯s parallel dimension. It was a de that everyone wanted to own.

    When this de was removed from the World of the Sage, even the Crown Prince and King Duan tried to fight for it.

    But now, this de was stuck on the cliff, exposed to the elements. It looked down on the world from its vantage point. Yet, no one could take it away.

    It was determined not to leave.

    This was a power and arrogance it possessed.

    Power and arrogance it was born with.

    There was another possibility...

    It was waiting!

    ...

 Chapter 408: Pet

    Chapter 408: Pet

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The nights in the Southern Region were filled with the roars of beasts and a heavy mist. The moonlight shone weakly, giving the foliage a faint silver glow.

    But...

    It failed to shine through the canopy.

    Arge ck figure shot through the sky, blocking the moonlight and casting arge shadow on the ground.

    "They will be the death of me! These sneaky Southern Region b*stards! Sister Yan, where do we go now?" Ping Yang pouted unhappily. She had lost Fang Zhengzhi.

    This wasn¡¯t her fault either.

    What kind of ce was the Southern Region?

    It was filled with towering trees and forests. Even from above, one did not have a clear line of sight.

    That made pursuing and tracking highly ineffective.

    Furthermore, Ping Yang was not born and bred here.

    After the 500 silver horned wolves shot out of the valley, they went into the dense forest and split up into 10 groups.

    Ping Yang was stunned.

    She could not even figure out which one was the lead group, much less figure out which group Fang Zhengzhi was in. As such, she could only pout and turn back.

    "The Sagely Mountain City!" Chi Guyan stood up as she looked at the peak some distance away, her pink dress dancing in the wind.

    "Sounds good. I heard that that is the capital of the Southern Region. There must be many fun things to do! But if we want to go there, why didn¡¯t we go with Nangong Hao?" Ping Yang asked excitedly.

    "Do you want to be with Nangong Hao?"

    "Of course not. That fe might be powerful, but he is so boring. Furthermore, he did not listen to the Emperor! He rejected an official post! I do not want to be with someone like him."

    "Exactly."

    "So Sister Yan chose not to go with them because of me?"

    "I did not say that."

    "Hehe, anyways, I know that Sister Yan treats me the best. Oh yes, Sister Yan, you mentioned that both you and Nangong Hao are at the pinnacle Supernatural State. So who is more powerful?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered as she looked on in anticipation.

    "Who is more powerful?" Chi Guyan became silent as she looked up at the stars, deep in thought...

    ...

    The second day, the mist began to clear up slightly.

    In a forest between the Sagely Mountain City and the Icy Monkey Settlement, an army sat nestled in the trees.

    There was a humongous tent in the middle of the camp.

    There were all sorts of carvings on the tent and a few statues surrounded it, giving it an imposing look.

    Inside the tent, two rows of guards in tartan armor. They all looked at thedy seated above them with anticipation and worry.

    Thisdy sat atop a piece of golden leather and held a leather book in her hand. Her skin was radiant and Snow White leather covered her important areas.

    Her stomach was t and her legs were slender and long. There were two small dangers strapped to her thighs.

    A five colored feather was stuck to the top of her headdress.

    She looked ferocious.

    "Your highness, Teng Shisheng is back and he is waiting outside the tent!" Just at that moment, a soldier entered.

    "He¡¯s back? Good, let him in." Shan Yu straightened her back and looked up.

    "Yes, your highness!" The soldier took his leave.

    Before long, Teng Shisheng walked in, his skin glowing radiantly. Upon entering the tent, he fell to his knees.

    "Greetings, your highness!"

    "Mm, did you bring him back?" Princess Shan Yu did not raise her head immediately, choosing to read her book calmly.

    "I have!" Teng Shisheng replied.

    "Very well, have him enter."

    "Princess... Fang Zhengzhi had suffered serious injuries in the battle and is currentlyatose. I¡¯m afraid..."

    "Comatose? Serious injuries? Then... is his life in danger?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s hands trembled as she looked up.

    "I... don¡¯t think so!" Teng Shisheng thought about it before shaking his head.

    "Mm, that¡¯s good. Have Ling Mu take a look!" Princess Shan Yu heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this.

    "Commander Teng, did you bring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword back as well? Why aren¡¯t you presenting it?" Two generals spoke up at this point.

    "That sword... I... forgive me, your highness. The situation was tense and the de is on the cliff. I did not manage to bring it back!" Teng Shisheng¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    "It¡¯s on the cliff in Feng Su?" Princess Shan Yu frowned as she looked at Teng Shisheng.

    Teng Shisheng was a loyal soldier of hers. He had followed her for five years and she had no doubt Teng Shisheng was telling the truth.

    When Teng Shisheng saw the expression on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face, he immediately began recounting what happened at the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    "What?! You¡¯re saying that Fang Zhengzhi has 388 Daos in his pocket dimension?" One of the generals widened his eyes in disbelief when he heard this.

    "Yes! This was something Fang Zhengzhi said himself. I was shocked too, but I think that it is true!" Teng Shisheng reaffirmed.

    And then...

    Another voice of shock rang out.

    "He killed a Rebirth State Demon?! Him?! How is that possible?"

    "You said that he managed to kill his way to the top of the Feng Su cliff? And he nearly killed the young master of the Demons? That¡¯s impossible! How could he even get close? Did she not have anyone protecting her?"

    "Supernatural State!"

    "You¡¯re saying that Fang Zhengzhi broke through to the Supernatural State?!"

    "Leader Teng, this is not something to joke about. How old is that boy? A 16-year-old Supernatural State! This has never happened in the Southern Region history!"

    All of the generals were floored when they heard that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wound healed by itself after he was stabbed by Yun Qingwu.

    A 16 year old Supernatural State human?

    This was far more impressive than Fang Zhengzhi killing a Rebirth State Demon using the Traceless Sword. After all, there were many factors in a duel.

    Techniques and luck were just two of many other variables.

    But...

    Breakthrough was not something that had an element of luck. There was no recorded history of anyone breaking through to the Supernatural State at 16. Not in the Southern Region, not in the Great Xia, not even in amongst the Demons.

    This was true talent!

    However, when they thought of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions in their camp, they shook their heads.

    He was a talent.

    But he was shameless.

    Else...

    The generals could not finish their thoughts. That decision was not theirs to make.

    "Where is he?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes glimmered as she watched on.

    She was not happy about this.

    Who was she?

    She was the top talent of her generation. She would only ept a few people being more powerful than her. One of those was Chi Guyan...

    The other was Nangong Hao...

    But when she heard that it was Fang Zhengzhi...

    She could not ept it.

    How could someone so shameless overtake her?

    Princess Shan Yu felt a wave of angst when she thought about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s look of shamelessness.

    "Your highness, Fang Zhengzhi is currently being guarded by the Silver Horned Wolves." Teng Shisheng replied.

    "Mm... have Ling Mu take a look at him, then send him to my tent." Princess Shan Yu ordered.

    "Your highness, you must not!" One of the generals stepped forward worriedly.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Why not?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "Your highness, I do not mean any harm... what I mean is... If Fang Zhengzhi has broken through, he will be dangerous when he regains consciousness. Yun Qingwu had stabbed him and kicked him off a cliff. He would be out for revenge. What if he wakes up and takes you hostage... in an attempt to threaten the Demons..."

    "Yes, your highness! General Li makes sense. Please lock Fang Zhengzhi up!" Another general echoed the sentiments.

    "It¡¯s too dangerous!"

    All of the other generals began chiming in. They were a lot more liberal here.

    Even though it would be inappropriate for Princess Shan Yu to host Fang Zhengzhi in her tent...

    But if she really wanted it...

    Then they could not stop her.

    After all, with her status, it waspletely eptable for her to keep a man as herpanion.

 Chapter 409: The Demons Plan

    Chapter 409: The Demons¡¯ n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The Southern Region...

    A pure and unadulterated territory.

    Over here, the rtionships between males and females were seen as the release of their desires. The males fought courageously on the battlefield.

    And return, they had the love and adoration of thedies.

    Before they were married, ady would give her virginity to the male warrior to prove her courage and determination.

    She was willing to give it up for love.

    Simrly, if two males liked the samedy, they would duel constantly for her virginity. This was respected by the others.

    Of course...

    Thedy would still be able to choose who she wanted to be with.

    No one was ever forced to do anything they didn¡¯t want to in the Southern Region. This was a ce which valued freedom of choice above all else.

    Princess Shan Yu calmed down and looked at the worried expressions on her generals¡¯ faces. She smiled.

    "If you are afraid that he will harm me, then why not just tie him up tightly before sending him to my tent?"

    "Erm... yes, your highness!"

    All of the generals looked at each other before sighing to themselves.

    "Commander Teng, I have a thousand-year-old rattan ¡¯beast containment lock¡¯. Please use it to tie Fang Zhengzhi down!"

    "Thank you, General Lin!" Teng Shisheng was slightly exasperated when he took the lock from General Lin. However, he had to ensure Princess Shan Yu¡¯s safety...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not feel good when he regained consciousness.

    He felt like there was a mountain crushing him from above. Then, before he could release himself, he heard crashing sounds.

    Then...

    He felt like he was falling.

    That feeling caused him to panic. However, just before he hit the ground, he was caught by a rattan string.

    However, it was clearly unstable.

    He continued to bob up and down as well as sideways. This caused him to be increasingly nauseated.

    He swung for a long time before finallying to a stop.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought he had escaped it all, he felt himself being restrained once again.

    This restraint was incredibly strong.

    Snake?

    No!!!

    He did not want to be strangled by a snake and eaten.

    He struggled and struggled...

    In the end...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw a ray of light in front of him. It was bright, and it inspired hope. Then, he saw something that resembled a mountain peak.

    It was almost the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It tempted him towards it.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to touch it.

    However, he realized that he could not even move his fingers. It was almost as if he had been strangled by a python.

    "Ah, evil creature, let go of me!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed in frustration as he blinked to regain his sight.

    The view in front of his eyes began to clear up.

    Then...

    His jaw dropped.

    He realized that there was ady in white leather in front of him. As for the mountain peaks...

    That belonged to ady.

    Thisdy exuded an animalistic beauty and was firm in all the right ces.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this for a fact.

    It was shaking right in front of his eyes...

    ...

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression darkened.

    She was not happy about this.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been sent to her tent.

    Trussed up securely.

    Princess Shan Yu was happy about this. However, when Fang Zhengzhi began to struggle, she could not resist getting closer to see what happened.

    She was next to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she did not expect that his first words would be, "Ah, evil creature, let go of me!"

    "Evil Creature?!"

    Princess Shan Yu knew what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    The Southern Region residents lived side by side with the beasts. Even though it was dangerous, the residents treated the beasts like their neighbours.

    They were a part of each others¡¯ lives.

    To call one an evil creature...

    That was derogatory and showed apleteck of respect for such an ideal.

    "How dare you call me an evil creature? Are you tired of living?" Princess Shan Yu exploded as she grabbed a wooden pole by the bedside.

    "Bong!"

    A dull knock echoed out.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt the impact and the world in front of him turned ck once again. His head continued to throb.

    Princess Shan Yu watched on dazedly.

    "Oh? Did he faint again? Hey... shameless b*stard, wake up! I am ordering you to wake up immediately!" Princess Shan Yu roared.

    But...

    It was no use.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to remain in aa.

    After some time, a voice could be heard outside the tent.

    "Your highness, there is an order from the Sagely Mountain City! Please attend to it!"

    "Okay, I got it!" Princess Shan Yu nodded and turned to look at theatose Fang Zhengzhi.

    It¡¯s all your fault!

    If you had not called me an evil creature, I would not have knocked you out!

    You deserve it!

    ...

    The Sagely Mountain City.

    The capital of the Southern Region, and the highest point in the Southern Region. It was built out of stone and was meant to be a fortress.

    Shan Ling.

    The third son of the king and the heir to the throne.

    Normally, being the third son, he would not be able to be the heir to the throne.

    However, that position was his. Furthermore, he had little to nopetition. He had already made a name for himself in the Southern Region.

    This was also linked to his talent.

    He was decisive and courageous. He had everything that was respected and prized in themunity and was the ideal candidate.

    However...

    He had clearly lost his cool.

    "Boom!" A loud crash echoed out and the jade table was smashed into the ground, creating arge crater as it did so.

    "You want me to go past the point of no return?!" Shan Ling roared, his silver leather coat pping, the two five colored feathers on his head quivering.

    He was infuriated.

    However, the man in ck standing in front of him was unaffected. He did not even take a step back.

    "We do not understand. How is this a point of no return? This is how our race will take care of you." The man in ck replied calmly.

    "Take care of me? Take care of me! Hahaha... do you really think that I am dumb? You want me to kill the current king, my own father!" Shan Ling¡¯s eyes were red, his rage building. His emotions were unstable.

    "Just think about it, the throne would be yours!" The man in ck was unaffected by the aura around Shan Ling.

    "Who the f*ck cares? I will be killing my father!" Shan Ling clenched his fists tightly.

    He wanted to smash this man where he stood.

    But he could not.

    It wasn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t powerful enough. However, there were 50,000 Demons surrounding the Sagely Mountain City.

    They should not be here.

    Because...

    ording to the agreement, they were allies in this battle. The Southern Region would face the Great Xia with all that they had, whilst the Demons would send their elite forces to augment them.

    However, there were 50,000 Demons outside the Sagely Mountain City.

    Demons!

    They had begun cultivation from the day they were born. They would easily destroy 20,000 soldiers.

    And now, there were only 20,000 soldiers in the Sagely Mountain City.

    This wasn¡¯t a result of Shan Ling¡¯s carelessness.

    He did not have a choice.

    The Southern Region was vast but there were not many people. As such, they had to try and reduce their expenditure in this battle.

    In order to do so, Shan Ling had ced ambushes in all the four major settlements.

    This did not mean that he had left the capital unguarded.

    In fact...

    A 20,000 strong army...

    Under normal circumstances, Shan Ling had every confidence that he could hold back 100,000 Great Xia Dynasty soldiers.

    However, when faced with a backstabbing army of 50,000 Demons...

    He could no longer hold the city.

    He had not underestimated the Great Xia. He never expected that the Demons would turn their backs on him and attack the Sagely Mountain City.

 Chapter 410: The Throne

    Chapter 410: The Throne

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Your filial piety is admirable. However, you should know what your father thinks about this war. The war ising to an end and the defeat of the Great Xia Dynasty is inevitable. This is all your work. Do you really want to let your useless father rule for the next decade?" The man in ck clenched his fists as he smirked.

    "So what? He is my father, the one who took care of me!" Shan Ling¡¯s gaze was filled with determination.

    Even though he hadmitted multiple sins to be the Crown Prince...

    But...

    The battle for the throne was always a brutal one. As such, he was doing no wrong in fighting for it.

    Furthermore, he would never let his two elder brothers rule thisnd. They werecklustre and had no ambition.

    The Southern Region was a natural fortress.

    However, it was equally dangerous. It was only right that they tried to ensure the safety of the poption, but they had no idea how to prosper.

    Only when one was powerful could one best protect this treasurednd.

    Shan Ling fought for the position of heir for this ideal. The Southern Region also began to prosper under his leadership.

    That was how they managed to get here.

    But, killing his own father!

    That was something he could not bring himself to do.

    It would make him no better than a beast.

    Even his most loyal subordinates would not do this for him. The only way to do it was if he did it himself.

    However, if he was found out, he would never be able to show his face in the Southern Region ever again.

    "Haha... and now you¡¯re talking about kinship? What about the time you setup your eldest brother, Shan Jia? Where was the kinship then? What about the time you chased your second brother away?" The man in ck snickered.

    "What are you talking about? My eldest brothermitted a sin. He got what he deserved, what does that have to do with me? Furthermore, he escaped on his own, and took away..." Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

    "You want to say that he took away the prized jade flute of the Southern Region?" A jade green flute appeared in the hands of the ck-robed man.

    "This... you... how did you..." Shan Ling¡¯s eyes widened. He knew that this was Shan Jia¡¯s property.

    The Jade Bamboo Flute.

    One of the treasures of the Southern Region.

    This was an heirloom. It could rally beasts into an army. However, it had disappeared with Shan Jia over a decade ago.

    "10 years ago, you were not even 20 years old, yet you could think of such an ingenious n! That is admirable! What was the n? Oh, yes... you got Shan Jia drunk, that had him sleep with your father¡¯s favorite concubine. Then, you had your second brother catch them in the act. However, you knew that they were close, so your second brother would never rat him out. Shan Jia could never stay in the Southern Region after that incident. He left the region and your second brother lost the trust of your father. Are you not afraid that your father will strip you of your title if he found out?" The ck robed man recounted the incident, toying with the flute in his hand.

    "Impossible! All of the elders are loyal to me and he is a mere figurehead. My position is as stable as a mountain. Furthermore, I will let him be Emperor whilst I conquernds for him. He will be able to enjoy his old age! What... what else could he possibly want? Is ady worth more than all these?" Shan Ling¡¯s tone was agitated.

    "The throne? Do you really think that your father wants this position? If I am correct, your father is currently meeting with the Minister of Rites from the Great Xia! They are probably talking peace terms!" The ck robed man chuckled icily.

    Shan Ling¡¯s expression froze as he fell silent.

    In fact, he did not need the ck-robed man to remind him. He had known about this from the moment the Minister of Rites entered the city.

    But, what could he do?

    Peace!

    Without his approval, there would be no peace!

    "Crown Prince, my 50,000 strong Demon army is already at the gates of your city. Your 20,000 men will never hold them. Half of the city is already in my control. If you resist, your men will be torn apart. That would not be good for rtions." The ck robed man advised.

    "Rtions? The Demons went back on their word, and now you want to talk about rtions?" Shan Ling knew that he could not hold the city.

    "That¡¯s where you are wrong. The Demons have always kept their promises. However, my lord is notfortable with your father ruling. We... are just thinking on your behalf." The ck robed man continued.

    "Hahaha... you have a 50,000 strong army sieging my city and you im to be thinking for me?" Shan Ling chuckled.

    "We are just afraid that you will not agree to our terms. Actually, it is very simple. As long as you kill the king, we will leave immediately. You will be the king of the Southern Region, and we will be allies. What do you think?" The ck robed man added sincerely.

    "Bullsh*t! Do you really think that I am dumb? If I kill the king, I will always be threatened by the Demons. King... hahaha, even if I was king, I would just be a puppet!" Shan Ling burst outughing.

    "I do not understand what the Crown Prince means. What puppet? You will still have control over your army and we will not interfere. We already agreed to be allies for life. If you have no intention of taking advantage of us, why are you afraid of us?" The ck robed man shook his head.

    Shan Ling bit his lip.

    He wanted to take advantage of the Demons, but he could not say it.

    "Do you really think that your 50,000 soldiers will threaten me? You are not wrong, the six elders are all here. However, are you certain that I do not have a backup n?" Shan Ling raised his head after a full 15 minutes of thought.

    "The Southern Region is vast, but you have few people. You have about 450,000 soldiers in total. 30,000 of those are garrison forces. You have about another 80,000 soldiers in each of the four major settlements. That ounts for about 350,000 of your soldiers. There are 20,000 guarding the city right now for a total of 370,000. If I am not mistaken, you are referring to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s 80,000 elite soldiers to the east?" The ck-robed man¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    "You... I heard that the Young Master of the Demons could ount for all variables. I never expected that you already ounted for my trump card. So what? I have already given the order and the army ising to reinforce. As long as I can hold out for an hour and 15 minutes, they will arrive and pincer you in. Don¡¯t forget that this is the Southern Region. Even though the Great Xia controls the Icy Monkey Settlement, they will not hold it for long. When my 320,000 soldiers take it back and charge towards this city, how many of your soldiers will live then?"

    "Hahaha..." The ck robed man chuckled loudly when he heard this, almost as though he had just heard the greatest joke. "You know that our Young Master has ounted for all variables? Hahaha... since you know that, you should know that we know all your ns. Why are you so naive?"

    "Naive? You... what other schemes do you have!" Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed.

    "Crown Prince, if I were you, I would obediently go to the throne room and kill the Minister of Rites. Hang his head on the city wall, then kill your useless father. Finally, choose a prosperous date to take the throne. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see that that is the best option." The ck robed man sat back down and waited patiently.

    Shan Ling¡¯s expression was solemn, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Blood was trickling from his lips.

    He did not know...

    He didn¡¯t know what the Demons were up to this time.

    "Sister... sister, you are myst hope. Nothing can happen to you!" Shan Ling looked out the window and heard the sounds of death.

    Shan Ling.

    He was a person who would do anything for the throne.

    This time, he had ced all of his cards and faith into one person, his sister.

    Princess Shan Yu!

    One of the most talented people in the country. Someone who should have been the heir but could not because she was female.

 Chapter 411: We must not hesitate!

    Chapter 411: We must not hesitate!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tent was some distance away from her administrative tent. After all, her tent kept moving.

    This wasmon practice for any army.

    It was to ensure the safety of themander.

    When Princess Shan Yu heard the order from the Sagely Mountain City, she was slightly worried. However, she stopped herself in her tracks.

    Then, she looked at the pole in her hand.

    "Supernatural State... wooden pole?" Princess Shan Yu muttered to herself. Then, her eyes brightened as she entered her tent.

    Inside the tent.

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes andy on the bed unmoving. He looked like amb waiting to be killed.

    "Get someone in here!" Princess Shan Yu smirked.

    "Yes, your highness, what may I do for you?" One of the soldiers entered.

    "Bring this fe to the meeting."

    "Ah? Yes, your highness!"

    ...

    The administrative tent was already filled with two rows of generals. There were a few hundred soldiers guarding the tent.

    The order hade from the Sagely Mountain City.

    Even though they were not privy to the details, they knew that there were orders that awaited them.

    "Your highness!"

    "Your highness!"

    "..."

    Princess Shan Yu approached the tent. The chatter outside the tent had hints of admiration and surprise.

    Behind Princess Shan Yu were four soldiers. These four soldiers carried and unconscious Fang Zhengzhi on a leather stretcher.

    "Isn¡¯t that Fang Zhengzhi from the Great Xia?"

    "What is he doing here?"

    All of the soldiers could not understand what was happening.

    Until...

    Princess Shan Yu entered the tent.

    The four soldiers carrying Fang Zhengzhi followed closely behind.

    This stumped all of the soldiers. The looked at each other in confusion.

    Fang Zhengzhi was well known throughout the entire camp. After all, his battle with General Tai was extremely intense.

    News of that duel spread and Fang Zhengzhi became quite the celebrity.

    This was also a factor in their confusion.

    Who was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was a rank four official in the Great Xia.

    Where were they? They were at Princess Shan Yu¡¯s administrative tent! Previously, this may not have raised many eyebrows...

    But now... they were at war.

    More importantly, this meeting was to discuss the order from the Sagely Mountain City. How could an outsider be present at the meeting?

    When the generals inside the tent saw Fang Zhengzhi, they were stunned as well.

    The four soldiers carrying the stretcher sensed the suspicions of the generals. However, they continued to follow their orders and ced Fang Zhengzhi on the ground before taking their leave.

    "Princess, what... what is this?" One of the generals asked hesitantly.

    "He still hasn¡¯t woken up." Princess Shan Yu waved the generals off rather frustratedly before taking her seat at the head of the meeting.

    All of the generals looked at each other, unsure of what was happening.

    They knew exactly what the Princess meant, but they were not asking about the status of Fang Zhengzhi. Their pressing question had yet to be answered.

    But...

    It did help to ameliorate their worry.

    They did not want their tactics to be heard by Fang Zhengzhi. Since he was stitose, he would not be able to hear them.

    "The Demons have gone back on their word and surrounded the capital with 50,000 soldiers. Our 20,000 strong guard is being trapped. We have 80,000 elite soldiers here. However... it would still be a hard-fought battle. Princess, are we getting reinforcements?"

    One of the generals stepped forward and reported the current situation. After all, they couldn¡¯t afford any dy.

    "Our soldiers would have to pass through the Icy Monkey Settlement to reinforce us and that settlement is controlled by the Great Xia. They will not reach us in time. I think we should head straight to the capital and relieve the pressure on the Crown Prince!"

    "Yes, we have been stationed here to prevent a sneak attack from the Great Xia or the Demons!"

    "Even though this will be a Pyrrhic victory, if we can make our way into the capital, we can hold it for at least half a month!"

    "Yes, that will be enough time for the rest of our troops to retake the Icy Monkey Settlement ande to reinforce us!"

    All of the generals began to express their views. Time was the essence here, but they still had to wait for Princess Shan Yu¡¯s orders.

    Princess Shan Yu continued to remain silent as she listened to the opinions of her generals

    "Princess, you must not hesitate any longer! The guards will notst long! If we do not reinforce them soon, the Crown Prince and the King... will fall to the Demons. Then..."

    "Princess, please give the order!"

    "We are willing toy down our lives in the defense of the Sagely Mountain City!"

    All of the generals became increasingly anxious when they saw that Princess Shan Yu was not speaking.

    "Princess!"

    "Princess, this is urgent..."

    "Princess!"

    Voices echoed throughout the tent.

    Princess Shan Yu continued to remain silent. Her eyes glimmered. She knew that this was urgent.

    But...

    That was also why she had to remain calm andposed.

    These changes were rather suspicious.

    50,000 Demons marched through the night to siege the Sagely Mountain City. It was dawn now, eight hours since the attack.

    Eight hours...

    How did the army of 20,000 manage to hold the city?

    Intel reported that the Demons had only managed to conquer half the city. The other half was still in the Crown Prince¡¯s control.

    What was happening?

    This was one of the suspicious points.

    Princess Shan Yu also had another unsettling feeling.

    If the Demons had hidden 50,000 soldiers here...

    Their first target should have been her 80,000 elites.

    Not the Sagely Mountain City!

    The reason was simple.

    Her 80,000 elite soldiers were only hidden from the Great Xia. It was way too easy for the Demons to know about and pinpoint their location.

    Furthermore, the Sagely Mountain City was on top of the mountain and defended by nature. It was not easy to attack.

    However, that was not the most important point...

    They would definitely realize if the Sagely Mountain City was burning...

    This didn¡¯t seem right.

    The Demons would never reveal their motives before the war was over...

    Princess Shan Yu frowned as she bit her lip. She felt like there was more to this than met the eye.

    But what was the plot?

    She could not tell.

    But she was sure of one thing.

    The highly intelligent Yun Qingwu, Young Master of the Demons, would never make such a mistake.

    What was happening?

    "Princess, if you don¡¯t give the order now, it¡¯ll be toote!"

    "Princess! We have already lost half the city! If the Crown Prince and the King are captured, we will lose the initiative!"

    All of the generals couldn¡¯t help themselves as they pleaded with the Princess. They were all riled up and ready for battle.

    Princess Shan Yu frowned as a red aura circled her. Cloud writing also began to gather at her chest.

    This meant that she was in a bad mood.

    The Sagely Mountain City had been surrounded.

    How could she not be worried?

    Her beloved father was there, and so was her third brother. More importantly, they were the king and heir respectively.

    However, she could not take action before she knew exactly what was happening.

    The heir and the king were in the city.

    But she had 80,000 of the Southern Region elites. A singlemand would send them into battle. But if they fell...

    What was she going to do?

    "Do you all have any other opinions other than charging towards the city?" Princess Shan Yu spoke up.

    "Princess, the city is surrounded and we have been ordered to reinforce the Crown Prince. What cause for hesitation is there?" One of the generals was confused.

    "Yes, we cannot hesitate any longer!"

    "Princess, please give the order!"

    All of the other generals began to chime in, urging Princess Shan Yu to march on the Demons.

 Chapter 412: You must not marry him!

    Chapter 412: You must not marry him!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Princess Shan Yu bit her lip. She felt that something was amiss, but she did not have any other choice.

    The Sagely Mountain City was surrounded.

    The order had been given.

    She could not hesitate any longer! She had to make a decision now!

    "Give the order. The entire army..." Princess Shan Yu stopped herself as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, whose eyes were closed.

    All of the generals widened their eyes as they waited for the order to be given.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re awake?"

    "Bong!"

    One of the generals fell on his butt when he heard this.

    All of the other generals were equally stunned. They never expected that Princess Shan Yu would say something like that.

    What was that?

    Hang on!

    Fang Zhengzhi is awake?!

    Wouldn¡¯t that mean that he heard everything that was discussed?

    Die!

    All of the generals immediately thought of killing him. However, that thought was quickly suppressed by Princess Shan Yu¡¯s next sentence.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, stop acting! I know that you have been eavesdropping. If you express your opinion, I will consider letting you go. What do you say?"

    "Let him go?"

    "Princess, we cannot let him go?"

    "Princess! He is from the Great Xia! If we let him go, the Great Xia will find out that the Sagely Mountain City is surrounded! They could take this opportunity to retake the border fort and get ess to reinforcements! This war..."

    All of the generals expressed their concerns immediately.

    Princess Shan Yu did not speak. She squinted as she scanned the floor, her expression icy.

    All of the generals kept quiet when they saw this.

    The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move. It was almost as if he had not heard what Princess Shan Yu had said. If not for some light breathing, he was no different from a corpse.

    "Looks like he still hasn¡¯t woken?"

    "Princess, are you mistaken?"

    All of the generals were doubtful, but they did not dare to question the princess too much.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, open your damn eyes now. If you continue to y dead, I will kill you right now!" Princess Shan Yu raged.

    Silence.

    Pin drop silence.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move.

    All of the generals looked at each other doubtfully. Fang Zhengzhi was clearly still in aa, why did the Princess insist that he was awake?

    "Okay then, go to hell!" Princess Shan Yu red as she leapt from her seat andnded in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, she drew a dagger from the holder on her thigh and ced it at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    "Open your eyes or I will kill you!"

    Silence...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move.

    "Your highness, our capital is surrounded and the order has been given. Why do you need the advice of an outsider?" One of the generals could not hold himself back any longer.

    "Your highness! He is clearly still in aa. Even if he was awake, could his opinion be better than ours?" Another general chimed in.

    "If I gave any of you 500 Silver Horned Wolves, would you be able to take over the Thunderous Lion Settlement and imprison over 50,000 Great Xia soldiers?" Princess Shan Yu looked at the two generals, the dagger in her hand pressed against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat as she ced a foot on his chest.

    It was not a morous stance.

    But, none of the generals took notice of that.

    They were all floored by Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words. She was right. They had heard about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits, but that did not mean...

    That they were willing to ept him.

    "He is a candidate for the examinations! Furthermore, he used the power of our soldiers and your token, that¡¯s why..." One of the generals found a minute point to contest.

    "Candidate? Fine, what about Feng Su? That is a ce that hasn¡¯t been broken for centuries. What idea do you have?" Princess Shan Yu pressed.

    Silence.

    This time, there was noeback.

    This was a fact. Feng Su had been a natural barrier and fortress for the Southern Region for centuries. Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had found a way through.

    This was a feat that none of them could replicate.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, the capital of the Southern Region has been surrounded. I do not have time to waste. If you can give me a way out of this, I will... make you a general! What do you say?" Princess Shan Yu grit her teeth and offered.

    "General?!"

    "Princess... about that... he is so young!"

    All of the generals looked on in disbelief. That rank was extremely high! The equivalent in the Great Xia would be a rank two official!

    Silence.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move.

    "Okay! Fine fine fine... Fang Zhengzhi! Is that not enough for you? What about Deputy Commander-in-Chief! The Deputy Commander-in-Chief for the Southern Region! So long as you remain loyal to us, that position is yours!" Princess Shan Yu was getting agitated, her legs shaking.

    All of the generals felt their legs turn to jelly when they heard this.

    Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

    If this was true, it would shock everyone in the world.

    A 16-year-old Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

    Fang Zhengzhi would be peerless.

    But...

    It still didn¡¯t work.

    There was no other sound in the tent except for Princess Shan Yu¡¯s roars and heavy breathing.

    "Give the order! The army is to march on the Sagely Mountain City! Then... drag this one out and feed him to the wolves!" Princess Shan Yu could not take it any longer.

    "Yes, your highness!" All of the generals replied in unison.

    Just at that moment, azy voice could be heard from underneath Princess Shan Yu¡¯s foot. It cut right through the tense atmosphere.

    "Hang on, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to wake up. But your terms are unattractive, how do you expect me to wake up?"

    Silence.

    Everyone was stunned.

    All their eyes were trained on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Unattractive terms?"

    "Did he just say that those terms were unattractive?!"

    "Deputy Commander-in-Chief! Unattractive?! Does he want to be the Emperor?!"

    All of the generals were furious. Fang Zhengzhi had just insulted the dreams of everyone present.

    "Hang on... does he want to..." One of the generals looked to Princess Shan Yu, then blurted out, "No way! That cannot happen! Your highness, you must not marry him!"

    "Marry him?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression froze as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi in shock.

    This fe is so shameless...

    Why would I marry him?

    That being said... he is extremely fluent in the Law of Dao. If he remains loyal to the Southern Regions, then he will raise our understanding of the Law of Dao. Furthermore, he is skilled in the Art of War and is a 16-year-old Supernatural State cultivator.

    If he really is our Deputy Commander-in-Chief, he needs to be loyal to us. If not, he could cause more trouble in the future.

    Perhaps...

    "Ew, urgh! My wife must be someone who is gentle and doting. She must know how to raise our kids and take care of the house. I don¡¯t want this barbaric princess..." Fang Zhengzhi stopped halfway through his sentence.

    He felt the dagger pressing down on his throat, its sharp de forcing him to keep his mouth shut.

    All of the generals stared, wide-eyed.

    Only one thought ran through their minds. Fang Zhengzhi was going to die an ugly death.

    However, even after 15 minutes, Fang Zhengzhi was still alive. However, there was a wound on his throat...

    Yet, that wound was healing rapidly.

    "Supernatural!"

    "This fe is really in the Supernatural State?!"

    "A 16-year-old Supernatural State cultivator! It is true!"

    All of the generals had heard about this from Teng Shisheng, but that was merely a story.

    Seeing it for themselves was apletely different experience.

    Princess Shan Yu removed her dagger as she red at Fang Zhengzhi. She bit her lip so hard that a blood began to trickle down the sides.

    If she could see through Yun Qingwu¡¯s n and was not being forced into a corner... If not for her nation... she would not let Fang Zhengzhi blink another time.

    Hang on...

    Why is he blinking so much?

    Princess Shan Yu followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s line of sight. In that instant, she paled, then blushed.

 Chapter 413: The Demonsâ€™ Plan

    Chapter 413: The Demons¡¯ n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t actually to me.

    He didn¡¯t know what Princess Shan Yu was thinking. That being said, would anyone not open their eyes when a de was pressed to their neck?

    It was a reflex.

    One would look towards the aggressor.

    This would have been a very normal reaction. However, Princess Shan Yu had nted a leg on his chest.

    The angle...

    Was perfect.

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had wondered what the Southern Regiondies wore under their clothes.

    Now, his question had been answered.

    However, he could not say it out loud. The generals in the room were just waiting for a reason to take his head.

    Even though Princess Shan Yu was hot and beautiful, she was too barbaric. Nothing could make Fang Zhengzhi forget that.

    Having thedy on top...

    Was too restrictive.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. He did not want Princess Shan Yu or the surrounding generals to misunderstand.

    He really wanted to remind Princess Shan Yu of something...

    "You¡¯re not wearing anything underneath!"

    But, the de at his throat was too sharp. He could barely even breath, much less talk. Any movement would have killed him.

    Furthermore, he was surrounded by so many generals. If he had told the entire tent he saw the Princess¡¯ privates...

    It would be akin to courting his own death.

    As such, the only thing Fang Zhengzhi could do was blink. He kept blinking at Princess Shan Yu and looking down to hint at her...

    It was obvious.

    "You are not wearing anything underneath, change a position! This is not good!"

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. However, to Princess Shan Yu, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions...

    Only meant one thing...

    Fang Zhengzhi was turned on by what he saw...

    Having been raised in the Southern Region, Princess Shan Yu was much more liberal than her Great Xia counterparts. She was not ashamed to confess to the warriors she liked.

    She also didn¡¯t mind being intimate before marriage.

    However...

    That did not mean that she could remain stoic whilst a man looked at her privates.

    Furthermore, this was a man who had despised her for being barbaric, uncouth, and not gentle enough...

    How dare he look at my privates so audaciously?! How shameless!

    Princess Shan Yu wanted to dig Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes out and drink them in wine. However, she could not realize this wish.

    Because...

    She was faced with a difficult situation which she could not find a way out of. She needed a second opinion so that she can make an informed decision.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, if you cannote out with a satisfactory idea, you can forget about leaving this tent!" Princess Shan Yu grit her teeth and sheathed her de as she stood up.

    The pressure on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest was relieved.

    Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief but that was all that he could do. He was still wrapped up like a dumpling.

    He had fainted on the cliff in Feng Su.

    Why was he in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s administrative tent?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what happened, but he could guess. Teng Shisheng must have brought him here.

    Princess Shan Yu had given himmand of Teng Shisheng and his squad. That was the only way she could keep tabs on him. He had known this all along.

    Princess Shan Yu had given him the 500 Silver Horned Wolves to participate in the examinations so that she knew what was happening in the court examinations.

    That way, she would have all the intel she needed.

    As for the secondary motives and reasons...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother with them.

    He had bigger problems to deal with now. He had to find a way to get out of here alive.

    Inside the tent...

    All of the other generals looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Princess Shan Yu had made her point very clear. As such, they wanted to know what this bloody kid coulde up with that was better than their war-hardened brains coulde up with.

    All of them stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt the pressure on him increase. His throat began to itch, a sign that his wound was healing.

    "Can you release the string tying me down first?"

    "String?! This is the thousand-year-old "Beast Containment Lock". Even a Rebirth State cultivator could not break it!"

    The general who proposed using the lock was furious. His favorite treasure had just been dismissed as a string!!

    But, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    After all...

    There were dozens of generals around to protect the Princess. As such, there was no need for the lock.

    Fang Zhengzhi was released.

    "Even a Rebirth State cultivator would be trapped? How powerful!" Fang Zhengzhi took the lock in his hand and kept it.

    "That is mine!" The general¡¯s expression changed when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    "What? How is that possible? It was just restraining me moments ago!" Fang Zhengzhi exined innocently.

    "You... this was a gift from me to the Princess..."

    "Enough!" Princess Shan Yu interrupted the general and turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi. "Fang Zhengzhi, the lock has been broken, tell us your opinion!"

    "Aren¡¯t we going to agree on the terms first?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to know his incentives before he even said anything.

    Of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi was also buying time for himself.

    He had heard it all.

    He had heard everything clearly.

    "The Sagely Mountain City was besieged by 50,000 Demons. The Crown Prince of the Southern Region had given the order for Princess Shan Yu to rescue the city!"

    What else was there to say?

    She had to go!

    If Fang Zhengzhi was in her position, he would give the order without hesitation. "Brothers, it is time for us to protect our country, charge! Fight it out with the Demons!"

    But he could not say that.

    Firstly, he was not in her position. Secondly, this opinion had been raised by all of the generals present.

    How could he say something like that?

    Princess Shan Yu wanted a satisfactory answer. That meant that all the opinions that had been voiced were unsatisfactory.

    Okay then...

    The order was for you to reinforce the city. All of the generals have already shown a willingness to fight. Why the f*ck are you still hesitating?

    Fang Zhengzhi had tried so hard to feign being in aa because he had no better opinion.

    But, he couldn¡¯t admit to this either.

    How tedious!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like this at all. He had to think too much. His opinion was simple, just follow the order.

    But Princess Shan Yu did not want that.

    As such, he had to keep this opinion to himself and think of another one.

    Don¡¯t fight?

    Then run!

    If the Demons are attacking the Sagely Mountain City, then you can turn around and attack the Blood Shadow City! You could basically swap capitals!

    How perfect was that n?

    Hang on!

    Blood Shadow City?!

    A thought shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. It was a weird thought, but...

    He began to sweat profusely.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, this is an urgent matter! You still have the mood to discuss terms with me? Fine... tell me what you want!"

    Princess Shan Yu was furious when she heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. However, she had no choice. Fang Zhengzhi would continue to remain silent otherwise.

    Of course...

    As a princess...

    She had a million ways to satisfy Fang Zhengzhi. As long as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s terms were reasonable, she could grant them.

    Even if they were unreasonable...

    She could agree to them now...

    Then renege on her word after all was said and done.

    When dealing with a shameless person...

    One had to be even more shameless.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had to be able to see through the Demon¡¯s n. Furthermore, he had toe up with a n that would get them out of this situation.

    Princess Shan Yu made up her mind.

    However, it was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi had not heard what she said. He stood in his spot, sweat pouring from his forehead.

    "Come on, tell us what your terms are!" Princess Shan Yu pressed impatiently.

    "Oh no... oh no oh no... we are in deep trouble. The Southern Region is dead, no... it¡¯s not just the Southern Region. This is a war between the Demons and the Great Xia!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed, almost as if he never head what Princess Shan Yu said.

 Chapter 414: Master Plan

    Chapter 414: Master n

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "What? What¡¯s going on?!"

    "Yes, even though we have lost the initiative, as long as we stay together, the Demons will never take over the entire Southern Region!"

    "Why should we fear 50,000 Demons?"

    All of the generals frowned when they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. Defeat was never in their dictionary.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in the zone.

    Princess Shan Yu was extremely discontented when she heard this. She had waited so long for a doomsday prophecy?

    Just as she was about to scold him, Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.

    "You can¡¯t go to the Sagely Mountain City. Princess, you must not go there!" Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Princess Shan Yu¡¯s arm as he spoke.

    "What is he talking about?!"

    "We can¡¯t go to the Sagely Mountain City? Then what about the King and the Crown Prince?"

    "That¡¯s right! Your Highness, please do not listen to this rubbish! He must have been scared sh*tless by the Demons!"

    All of the generals channeled their rage, fury, and despise towards Fang Zhengzhi. After all, it was their King who was in danger.

    Not go to the Sagely Mountain City?!

    Then where would they go?

    They generals were angry, but Princess Shan Yu swallowed her words. This was partly because she was slightly nauseated by Fang Zhengzhi shaking her.

    The other reason was...

    Even though she did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying, it was a differing opinion.

    She decided to hear him out.

    But...

    After Fang Zhengzhi shook her arm, he frowned and seemed to re-enter the zone. He murmured to himself constantly.

    "No! That¡¯s not right... yes, this should be it, no... oh yes, this is definitely correct, hang on, no there¡¯s something wrong..."

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to analyze the intel he had.

    Princess Shan Yu waited anxiously by the side. She did not push Fang Zhengzhi away because she did not want to break his train of thought.

    After all, she knew that he would need some time to figure out what the Demons had nned. Even a genius couldn¡¯t figure it out instantly.

    Furthermore, the person who hade up with this n was Yun Qingwu.

    Someone who had a reputation almost equivalent to that of the Demon Lord himself.

    The generals were riled up at first, but seeing as Princess Shan Yu remained silent, they too stopped chiding Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were waiting as well.

    However, they were not waiting for a n, they were waiting for an exnation.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not realize that he was grabbing onto Princess Shan Yu¡¯s arm. He could guess what Yun Qingwu¡¯s target was and how she would proceed. However, he still hadn¡¯t figured out the exact method and time.

    As such...

    He needed more time to think.

    This depth of thought caused his fingers to make some involuntary movements. Every now and then, he would wipe the sweat and oil off his hands. When he got close, he would also pinch whatever was nearby.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know much about how the war was progressing. If not for the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement, he would not have known that the Stable Mountain Gate had fallen.

    He had limited intel.

    This made it all the more difficult for him to guess Yun Qingwu¡¯s n. This was also the reason why he wanted to suggest that they strike the demons at the Sagely Mountain City.

    Then...

    He thought about the Blood Shadow City.

    It was an idental thought,ing from someone who tried to remove himself from the situation. That being said, he squashed the thought as soon as it rose.

    Was it possible?

    Would the Southern Region be able to take the Blood Shadow City?

    How naive!

    Even the Great Xia Empire would not dare to attack the Blood Shadow City. It was not a shell city like the Sagely Mountain City.

    The Demon Army of the 10 Demonic Domains was stationed there.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know the exact numbers, but it would be at least 200,000.

    This was a very reasonable number.

    However, when he thought about this, he broke out in cold sweat.

    Since Yun Qingwu wanted to surround the Sagely Mountain City, why did she only use 50,000 soldiers?

    If she had used 100,000 soldiers, or even 200,000 soldiers, the Southern Region would have to face two enemies at once. The war would be over.

    Facing two enemies at once!

    That was it!

    The Great Xia Dynasty ces the Stable Mountain Gate as a barrier and epted the Southern Region as a vassal in order to prevent any sneak attacks from the Demons.

    The location of the Blood Shadow City was obvious.

    The Southern Regions were in between the Demons and the Great Xia Dynasty!

    Fang Zhengzhi had been wondering why the Demons would cooperate with the Southern Region.

    He surmised that the Southern Region wanted to leverage the Demons in order to gain independence. The Demons wanted to use this opportunity to infiltrate the Southern Region...

    Or... control the Southern Region.

    It seemed rather obvious, but the implications were terrifying. Were the Demons only after the Southern Region?

    Would they put in so much effort...

    Just for that?

    Was it enough?

    No!

    There was something wrong. The Southern Region and the Demons have already agreed to work together. The Demons were able to hide 50,000 of their soldiers inside the Sagely Mountain City.

    In other words...

    It would be extremely easy for the Demons to take over the Southern Region. Why did they have to wait till the Great Xia soldiers entered the Southern Region? Why did they have to wait till the examinations were almost over?

    That didn¡¯t seem very wise.

    This wouldplicate matters! Furthermore, the hidden de is always the most dangerous one. Since they can control the Southern Region so easily, why did they have to show their hand?

    There was only one possible reason...

    Their aim was not to control the Southern Region!

    Instead...

    They wanted to make the Southern Region their vassal. If possible, they wanted the Southern Region to be their sword!

    That must be it!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glittered when he figures it out. It was a terrifyingly ingenious n.

    But, he was not surprised that Yun Qingwu woulde up with such a masterful n.

    "Your Highness, please give the order for 80,000 soldiers to head for... what¡¯s the settlement nearest to the Demons?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped himself. He realized that he had forgotten the name of that faraway settlement.

    "Nan Ling. Hang on, what are you saying? U want me to send 80,000 soldiers to Nan Ling?! Are you... out of your mind?" Princess Shan YU never thought that she would hear such a ridiculous idea after putting up with that much nonsense.

    She couldn¡¯t take it anymore!

    Anyone in her position would have felt the same way.

    All of the generals were equally infuriated. The Sagely Mountain City was surrounded, why are should we send soldiers to Nan Ling?

    What would we do there?!

    Nothing!

    This is not war, this is causing chaos!

    "Why do I feel like he is a spy for the Demons?"

    "80,000 soldiers to Nan Ling? Does he want us to attack the Blood Shadow City? Attack their capital to save ours?"

    "What a joke! How can 80,000 soldiers conquer the Blood Shadow City?!"

    All of the generals mocked as they instinctively kept their distance.

    "You¡¯re wasting my time, let go of me!" Princess Shan Yu shook him off and prepared to storm off.

    "If you don¡¯t believe me, the Southern Region will die!" Fang Zhengzhi was calm as he looked at Princess Shan Yu and the generals.

    "How dare you! How dare you affect our morale! Even if you¡¯re in the Supernatural State, you will not exit this tent!" One of the generals could not hold back any longer.

    He drew his de.

    "Die!"

    "Whoever dares to affect our morale will die!"

    All of the generals bellowed in rage as they unsheathed their swords. A domineering aura loomed over Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Stop!" Princess Shan Yu stopped in her tracks and turned back. She red at Fang Zhengzhi, "Fang Zhengzhi, I think that you are a talent, but I will not allow you to spout nonsense. We are at a crossroads now and urgently need some advice. Yet, you continue to mess up our morale. If you do not give me an exnation for this, I will not let you off!"

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body began to emit rays of red light. The light danced on her body.

    "An exnation?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Princess Shan Yu and the surrounding generals. He walked over to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s seat and picked up a piece of fruit.

    "Why don¡¯t you exin how the Demons managed to sneak 50,000 soldiers into your territory without you realizing it?"

    Fang Zhengzhi chewed on the fruit.

    "That is because we had made an agreement with them! Else, do you think that will be able toe near the Sagely Mountain City?"

    "Exactly! Furthermore, if not for the fact that we have to fight off the Great Xia, the Demons would not have this chance either!"

    "He is just..."

    All of the generals began to answer. However, they stopped themselves before they revealed anything important.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Why don¡¯t you keep talking?" Fang Zhengzhi urged.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, these are military secrets. You are a member of the Great Xia, we would never discuss these with you!" One of the generals replied angrily.

    "Is that so? My guess is that you have concentrated all your forces in the four major settlements. You have left the rear of the Sagely Mountain Citypletely undefended, am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "You... how did you know that?" The expressions of all the generals changed instantly. This was their biggest secret.

    "Is that very difficult to guess? You do not have the power to battle both the Great Xia and the Demons at the same time. You have limited soldiers. In order to ensure victory with minimal losses, your best bet is to set up ambushes in all the four major settlements. Nan Ling and Iron Hill arepletely unguarded!" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "Rubbish, how can they be unguarded? Other than our standing army, all of our citizens are trained warriors! They will defend the territory!" One of the generals retorted.

    "You are right. All of the citizens are warriors capable of defending the settlement. But, are you sure that they can hold it. If the main Demon army marches on the settlement from the Blood Shadow City... what do you think will happen?" Fang Zhengzhi squashed the fruit in his hand for dramatic effect.

    "About that..."

    "How is that possible? Why would the Demons do that?!"

    "Your Highness, don¡¯t believe him! He is just trying to scare you!"

    All of the generals began to lose their cool when they heard this.

    "Is that right? The Demons would never do that? Then, did any of you expect the Demons to surround and attack the Sagely Mountain City?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crisp voice cut through the air and interrupted all the generals.

    All of the generals red at Fang Zhengzhi.

    They wanted to rebut and chide Fang Zhengzhi for being tantly disrespectful, but they couldn¡¯t.

    Because...

    If the Demons really did that.

    The Southern Region would be destroyed.

 Chapter 415: Ridiculous Terms

    Chapter 415: Ridiculous Terms

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed countless times in the short span of a few seconds.

    When Fang Zhengzhi had asked about the 50,000 Demons, she had been rather frustrated. However, when Fang Zhengzhi mentioned the Blood Shadow City...

    She was rendered speechless.

    As a Princess of the Southern Region and themander of 80,000 elite soldiers, she knew what it meant.

    It was a sword!

    A sword with the Southern Region¡¯s name on it.

    It was just waiting for the opportune moment to strike. For the longest time, the Southern Region had concentrated its soldiers in Nan Ling Settlement.

    It was to guard against this sword.

    However, ever since the Crown Prince had decided to ally himself with the Demons, the citizens becamecent and forgot about this threat.

    In the beginning, the Southern Region still kept their guard up. However, as time passed and their rtions became closer, the Demons gaverge amounts of aid to the Southern Region. They even sent some of their elites to train the soldiers of the Southern Region.

    Furthermore, they also provided raw materials to build weapons. The Southern Region soldiers were now better equipped than they ever were.

    This also caused them to let down their guard. Finally, they forgot about this looming threat that was waiting to take their head.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you say that the Demons will strike from the Blood Shadow City. Do you have any proof? Aren¡¯t they afraid that we will strike back?" One of the generals spoke up after much thought.

    These generals knew the result of such an attack. However, they refused to believe and ept that this would happen.

    "Strike back? Haha... you need time to be able to assemble your troops!" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "What do you mean?"

    "If I am correct, the Demons have already set off from the Blood Shadow City. On the other hand, your troops still have to pass through the Icy Monkey Settlement if they are to reinforce the Sagely Mountain City. The Icy Monkey Settlement is under the control of the Great Xia. You won¡¯t reach the capital in time!" Fang Zhengzhi scorned.

    "You..." The general¡¯s expression changed instantly. Even though he was furious, he had no retort.

    All of the other generals fell silent as they looked at each other worriedly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was right.

    They had no time to recall their troops even if they wanted to.

    This was why Yun Qingwu chose to attack the Sagely Mountain City now. This was the perfection of her n.

    Even if they figured out what was happening...

    It would be toote!

    They would be unable to stop it! That was the most terrifying part.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, if the Demons are already on their way, then my 80,000 soldiers would not do much. What... what other ideas do you have?" Princess Shan Yu grit her teeth and asked as she looked at her generals.

    "Of course I have other ideas." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Then say it!" Princess Shan Yu replied agitatedly. She was in no mood for any more dys.

    "Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi dragged his voice. He sat down at the head of the meeting and ced his legs on the table, "You aren¡¯t killing me?"

    "You! Fang Zhengzhi, do you not see what is happening? This is an urgent matter, out with the n! This doesn¡¯t only concern the Southern Region! If we fall, the Great Xia will fall as well!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression turned ugly when she saw Fang Zhengzhi defile her seat and table. However, she swallowed her anger.

    All of the other generals red at Fang Zhengzhi when they saw him sit on the golden leather. However, before Fang Zhengzhi told them the n, they had to tolerate it.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Princess Shan Yu and the generals, beaming as he did so.

    Every time he had entered this tent, Princess Shan Yu was the one in a position of power. She always seemed rather aloof.

    As a man...

    Someone who had ambitions... someone who did not even kneel to the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty... how could he be suppressed by a Princess of the Southern Region?

    This was a chance at redemption.

    This was a moment that he had dreamt about.

    Previously, he had not tried to wrestle back control because the time was not right. Now that the opportunity presented itself, he would be a fool not to take it.

    "Is that so? The Emperor of the Great Xia would have to worry about the fate of the empire. I am just a lowly rank four official. The affairs of the state have little to do with me. As for you... a princess... you will no longer be able to retain your position." Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "You... Fang Zhengzhi, you... I will kill..."

    "You want to kill me again? Come on, I promise I will not move. However, can you have someonee over and wash the blood off my neck first?" Fang Zhengzhi replied scornfully.

    "Urgh, urgh! You will be the death of me! Fang Zhengzhi, what the hell do you want?" Princess Shan Yu was furious. She was on the verge of going insane.

    "We haven¡¯t even made a deal yet." Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "A deal?" Princess Shan Yu finally realized what was going on. The Southern Region¡¯s survival had nothing to do with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shameless!

    How dare he take advantage of the situation?!

    Princess Shan Yu cursed in her heart.

    The other generals were equally infuriated. However, they had no other choice but to listen carefully to what Fang Zhengzhi had to say.

    "What do you want?" Princess Shan Yu suppressed her anger.

    "Gold!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "Gold? Hahaha..." Princess Shan Yu chuckled, "I was wondering what kind of terms you had in mind? You are just a greedy mercenary. No worries, we have vast resources and have nock of gold. How much do you want? 100 taels? 1000? Haha... why don¡¯t you just ask for 10,000. I can even give you 20,000!"

    "Haha... is that so? What if I want the gold mine?" Fang Zhnegzhi chuckled. He liked people like Princess Shan Yu, who had vast amounts of wealth.

    She was just making herself even bigger of a target for Fang Zhengzhi.

    In essence, she was just...

    Dumb!

    "Gold mine?! No way! The gold mines have always been controlled by the royal family! Even the leaders of the six major settlements have no part to y in the mining. How can we give one to you?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s smile froze as she paled.

    The Southern Region had plenty of resources.

    They also had quite a few gold mines.

    Even so, Princess Shan Yu would never give the mining rights to anyone outside of the royal family. That represented the control and power the royal family had.

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked when he saw Princess Shan Yu¡¯s determined look.

    He knew exactly what the gold mines meant to the people of this world. It was akin to a money printing machine. No country would ever give an outsider control of its treasury.

    But Fang Zhengzhi wanted that to happen.

    In fact, after he figured out Yun Qingwu¡¯s n, he knew that he could not solve this by rushing things.

    Not only could he not panic.

    He had to be stable andposed.

    In fact, in order to foil Yun Qingwu¡¯s n, everything had to work in perfect harmony. He had to eliminate all doubt for a chance at sess. Failure at any point would result in defeat.

    As such, he needed Princess Shan Yu to calm down.

    Furthermore...

    There was one other important factor.

    Princess Shan Yu had to haveplete faith in him. She must be willing to sacrifice everything to carry out every part of his n.

    This was why he wanted the gold mines.

    If a rich person bought 10 miracle pills, ate three of them and didn¡¯t notice any effect, he may decide to just take three more. If there still wasn¡¯t any effect, he would probably throw the remaining four away.

    But...

    What if he spent his entire fortune?

    He would definitely finish eating all 10. He wouldn¡¯t even leave a morsel behind.

    That was the difference between the two scenarios.

    "I am not done. I want 10 gold mines, the 10rgest gold mines!" Fang Zhengzhi added, almost as if he did not hear what Princess Shan Yu said.

    "10 gold mines?!"

    "Is he crazy? We won¡¯t even give him one and he is asking for 10?! And he wants the 10rgest ones? Doesn¡¯t he know that we only have 50 gold mines in the entire Southern Region?"

    "Daydreaming! He must be daydreaming!"

    All of the generals could not suppress their anger any longer. They pointed at Fang Zhengzhi and began berating him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, stop dreaming. I won¡¯t give you a single gold mine!" Princess Shan Yu fumed.

 Chapter 416: Nothing

    Chapter 416: Nothing

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I see, then you can keep your gold mines. I am going to take a nap." Fang Zhengzhi waved them off and leaned back.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Princess Shan Yu raged.

    "Is there anything else, Princess?"

    "Okay, I agree to your terms. Can you tell us the n now?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes glimmered.

    "Your Highness, you can¡¯t!"

    "You can¡¯t give the life source of the Southern Region to such a thief!"

    "Your highness!"

    All of the generals pleaded when they heard what Princess Shan Yu said.

    "Shut up!" Princess Shan Yu bellowed and beamed at Fang Zhengzhi. "Fang Zhengzhi, I promise to give you the 10 biggest gold mines. Are you happy now? Tell us your n!"

    "Okay then, let¡¯s sign the paperwork!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered when he heard this.

    "Get someone to draft the agreement for the gold mines." Princess Shan Yu turned and ordered one of the generals. "Any other issues?"

    "None!"

    "Then tell us the n?"

    "I will after we sign the deal."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t try to push your luck. I have already agreed to your terms. Do you really think that I won¡¯t honor my word?" Princess Shan Yu raged.

    "Do you dare to swear on your gods?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the princess with scorn and shook his head.

    Does this chick...

    Really think that I am stupid?

    "You, you... Fang Zhengzhi, ask me for anything else and I will definitely give it to you!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face was flushed.

    "Your Highness, did you forget what you just said? You just called me a greedy mercenary. I don¡¯t want anything other than the gold mines." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    He did not really think that he would be able to get those gold mines.

    After all, Princess Shan Yu did not rule the Southern Region.

    There was still the King and the Crown Prince. Even if Princess Shan Yu agreed to the terms, they may not be fulfilled.

    However, he needed Princess Shan Yu to make this decision. That was the only way the had any chance of sess.

    Of course...

    If they really became his...

    10 gold mines!

    What a windfall that would be.

    Even if they only gave him a single gold mine, he would be able to live in luxury for many lifetimes.

    Men need to be ambitious.

    Without ambitions...

    They would have nothing to work towards. Even if the ambition borders on the impossible...

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you not afraid that I will just kill you right now?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body glowed with red cloud patterns. It was clear that she was losing control over her emotions.

    "I am... but, are you not afraid?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "What?!" Princess Shan Yu bellowed, the red light enveloping her body like an inferno.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by this.

    All of the generals instinctively took a step back, horror and terror written all over their faces.

    The tension in the tent could be cut with a knife.

    The red light continued to swirl around Princess Shan Yu.

    "Fine, I agree to your terms!"

    After a whole 15 minutes, Princess Shan Yu finally spoke. However, this time, her tone was calm.

    After she said this, all of the light dissipated instantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not reply immediately. He pushed an exquisite leather parchment to Princess Shan Yu.

    This was the second time Princess Shan Yu had agreed to the terms. But this time, Fang Zhengzhi knew that she had made up her mind.

    Princess Shan Yu did not hesitate either. She walked to the table, bent over and signed the agreement.

    Then, she took out a green stamp and stamped the agreement. Finally, she bit her finger and dripped a drop of her blood onto the parchment.

    After she was done, she passed the agreement back to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked through the agreement. The names and locations of the gold mines were clearly written. Furthermore, the lease was...

    Freehold!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyelids twitched and he kept the agreement. Then, he waved Princess Shan Yu over.

    Princess Shan Yu frowned but decided to lean in.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel the inexplicable aura emanating from Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body. He felt as though he was in a furnace.

    His heart fluttered.

    But he quickly calmed himself down.

    He did not announce the n for fear of spies within the ranks. When facing the Demons, he had to take precautions. The n can only be heard by themander.

    "Actually, I was just kidding when I asked you to send 80,000 troops to Nan Ling..." Fang Zhengzhi whispered.

    "You..." Princess Shan Yu shuddered. She had no idea if this was because she was angered by what she heard or if it was a reaction to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breath at her ear.

    "I am quite sure that the Demons from the Blood Shadow City have already taken Nan Ling Settlement. As such, the best option now is to send a party of elite soldiers to set up an ambush between Nan Ling and Iron Hill. This will buy us some time. The rest of the army will reinforce the Iron Hill Settlement!"

    "Elite soldiers?"

    "Yes, the fastest ones! I think that there is no better candidate than your 3000 silver horned wolves!" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "You want me tomit my 3000 silver horned wolves and the 80,000 select soldiers? Then what about the Sagely Mountain City?" Princess Shan Yu whispered.

    "I will go!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.

    "You will go to the Sagely Mountain City?" Princess Shan Yu asked doubtfully.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He wasn¡¯t trying to be a hero, but he was keenly aware of something else.

    The Great Xia army would never stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement for long.

    They would go out!

    As quickly as possible!

    That was their only option.

    As such, the Great Xia army should have already begun marching towards the Sagely Mountain City. Furthermore, they would be fine as long as the Demons from the Blood Shadow City didn¡¯t reach the Sagely Mountain City.

    He could ensure his own safety and be a hero at the same time.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely proud of his n.

    "I don¡¯t like the idea of you going alone!" Princess Shan Yu shook her head instinctively. Then, she realized that what she just said could be easily misunderstood. She quickly added, "I don¡¯t like the idea of cing the fate of the Sagely Mountain City, the King, and my Third Brother in your hands!"

    "Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then looked at Princess Shan Yu...

    ...

    The night was ice cold.

    The day of fighting had caused the air around the Sagely Mountain City to be filled with the stench of blood.

    Bodiesy in piles outside the imperial pce. The blood formed streams and puddles around the bodies.

    Cries could be heard throughout the night. They were the cries of the elderly, the children, the wives... yet, there were no sounds of soldiers.

    The entire capital was deathly silent.

    Heavily armored soldiers guarded the walls of the imperial pce. Each of them carried a ck spear in their hands.

    They were the imperial guard, a group of elite soldiers loyal only to the royal family. Despite the stench of blood and the chilly air, they continued to stand tall.

    Their only mission...

    Guard the pce!

    They were to guard this sacred ground, the most importantnd in all the Southern Region.

    Two ck figures appeared under the moonlight. Then, they quickly disappeared into the darkness, almost as if they were never there to begin with.

    "Enter the city!"

    "No, no we can¡¯t!"

    Two voices whispered in the dark.

    One voice was from ady. Her tone was urgent. The second was male, and his tone was equally urgent.

    There was no doubt...

    The voices were from Princess Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Princess Shan Yu was worried about the King and her brother. She wanted to enter the city to check on them. However, Fang Zhengzhi was in no hurry to do that.

    He was panicking because...

    Damn it!

    Where is the Great Xia army?

    He had already stalled for time, choosing to scale the city walls after dark. Yet, he still did not see a single Great Xia soldier.

    There was no trace of them!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was simple. He was sure that the Great Xia would take this opportunity tounch an attack on the Sagely Mountain City.

    The n was simple.

    He would have Princess Shan Yu order the Southern Region soldiers to take over the empty Icy Monkey Settlement. Then, they would join forces with the Great Xia and devour the Demons.

    But what now?

    There wasn¡¯t any movement!

    The n...

    Seemed to be going wrong!

 Chapter 417: Reckless Charging

    Chapter 417: Reckless Charging

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi could not figure out where he had gone wrong. Themander was Xing Yuanguo, someone who had the foresight not to stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Furthermore...

    Xing Yuanguo would definitely have seen the chaos in the Sagely Mountain City. He would not let such a golden opportunity pass.

    Was there something that he had missed?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. However, he had to solve the immediate problem first/ He couldn¡¯t just stay outside the city walls.

    If the Great Xia army was still defending the Icy Monkey Settlement, then they will prevent the advance of the Southern Region army.

    The Sagely Mountain City was being surrounded by 50,000 Demons, but they were in no immediate danger. However, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s 80,000 troops could not hold out indefinitely.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was quite sure he guessed Yun Qingwu¡¯s n correctly, his counter would not be effective if the Great Xia continued to stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    After a few days, the Demon armies would meet and be an unstoppable force.

    Furthermore, the Southern Region Crown Prince can add a few hundred thousand soldiers to that force...

    With two armies bearing down on the Great Xia...

    The battle would be a hard fought one and any victory would be pyrrhic. If the Northern Barbarians took the opportunity to strike, the Great Xia would be in serious danger.

    What was he to do now?

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was not interested in state affairs, he did not want the country to be run over.

    He still cared for his family.

    If the Great Xia fell...

    The Northern Mountain Vige would be affected as well. He did not want to see it embroiled in battle, and this was something no citizen wanted either.

    As such, he had toe up with a n.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the fires and the patrolling Demon soldiers helplessly.

    They were 50,000 strong. Even if he tried his best, he would only be able to kill a few hundred. That was insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

    He was immensely outnumbered.

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall the military strategies of the past, where a significantly outnumbered army had managed to wrestle victory from the hands of the enemy.

    Xiang Yu¡¯s war against Liu Bang, Cao Cao¡¯s battle against Yuan Shao, or even Zhuge Liang¡¯s famous Empty City Strategy.

    But, they could not be applied to his current situation.

    Burn the rations?

    Good n!

    But where were the rations?

    The Empty City Strategy was a good n as well. However, it would be stupid to use that n here.

    He would bepletely smashed!

    What about kidnapping Yun Qingwu?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered. However, they darkened almost instantly. For starters, he did not even know where Yun Qingwu was. Furthermore, after the incident at Feng Su, the Demons were bound to step up their defences.

    A headache...

    Fang Zhengzhi already had enough to deal with. Just as he thought he couldn¡¯t get any worse, he realized he still had to deal with Princess Shan Yu.

    After hearing Fang Zhengzhi reject her proposal, Princess Shan Yu decided to go at it alone.

    Without waiting for an exnation, she went over the wall.

    "F*ck me!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to push Princess Shan Yu to the ground and sit on her.

    However, Princess Shan Yu was someone who was used to being in control. She would never allow Fang Zhengzhi to control her.

    Her wishes were orders to the Southern Region soldiers. This was how she was brought up. She wasn¡¯t going to wait for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s approval.

    By telling Fang Zhengzhi her n, she was already showing him some respect.

    Was he going to let the Princess go at it alone?

    Or should he follow her into the city and continue to think of a n after he was inside?

    This was the dilemma that Fang Zhengzhi was presented with.

    This wasn¡¯t a difficult decision to make at the moment. Since he did not have any concrete n at the moment, he decided to wing it.

    Of course, he was also afraid that Princess Shan Yu would just leave him behind.

    After all, this was her territory. The only reason why he could make it this far in without being spotted was Princess Shan Yu.

    Even though he may be powerful, he still had to stay close to Princess Shan Yu if he wanted to survive.

    "Wait for me!" Fang Zhengzhi followed behind Princess Shan Yu and entered the city.

    His only hope was to follow Princess Shan Yu and confirm that the King and the Crown Prince were safe. Then, he would evacuate them.

    The city was too dangerous.

    Hang on.

    Something was wrong. If he and Princess Shan Yu were able to enter without being stopped, why wouldn¡¯t the Royal family sneak out?

    Who would dare to stop them?

    Oh no, it¡¯s a trap!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly. The pce may have already been controlled by the Demons and everything outside was just a charade.

    Did he just walk into a trap?

    This did not bother Fang Zhengzhi for long. The moment he stepped onto the grounds of the pce, he was shocked by what he saw.

    He saw a squad of rattan armored guards staring at him and Princess Shan Yu. They were clearly patrolling the area.

    Dozens of eyes stared at the two of them in disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression darkened.

    He had always thought of himself as a specialist in sneak attacks. Yet, today, Princess Shan Yu had destroyed that reputation. She didn¡¯t even check before she jumped!

    She could have tried listening for footsteps! What if she had run into someone powerful? She was just in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State!

    Awkward...

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell that the sneak attack was a failure. The expression of the soldiers said it all.

    What was he going to do now?

    Fight, or run?

    Also, were these guards the real guards, or were they Demons? Fang Zhengzhi had no idea. Their armor made it difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to see their forehead.

    That meant that he could not see if they had a demonic eye.

    "What are you looking at? Continue patrolling the grounds!" A peerlessly arrogant voice cut through the air and a red light beamed from Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body.

    It was a cloud pattern, and it revealed Princess Shan Yu¡¯s identity.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew why Princess Shan Yu was doing this, but he was afraid that the guards were actually demons.

    Just as he was thinking about this, a miracle happened.

    The guards were stunned when they saw the cloud patterns on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body. They looked at each other, then continued patrolling the grounds, ignoring Princess Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi still could not figure out if they were the legitimate guards, or Demons in disguise.

    Both were still usible.

    If they were legitimate guards, they would recognize Princess Shan Yu and let them pass. If they were Demons, this could just be them staying in character.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not tell.

    He was slightly worried. However, Princess Shan Yu did not hesitate at all. She beamed radiantly.

    Then, she proceeded to do something strange.

    She seemed to be emboldened by what just happened. She dragged Fang Zhengzhi towards the pce.

    She even took the main road!

    Fang Zhengzhi was ufortable with this. He wanted to tell Princess Shan Yu off. He wanted to tell her to keep her identity hidden and keep a low profile.

    After all, she was only in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State!

    Of course...

    He did not say anything. Along the way, they ran into no less than a dozen squads of pce guards.

    They managed to pass through without any incidents.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still felt that they were being too conspicuous.

    Even though he enjoyed the spotlight...

    This was too high profile for him.

    Was the pce still in the Southern Region¡¯s control. Fang Zhengzhi continued to survey the pce guards, unsettled by the entire process.

    If he had a second chance...

    He would have knocked Princess Shan Yu out, found a ce to hide out, and tried to gather some intel.

    Barging into the pce like that...

    May just cost him his life...

 Chapter 418: Animalistic Movements

    Chapter 418: Animalistic Movements

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Stop!" After walking for 15 minutes, Fang Zhengzhi could not take it any longer.

    "What¡¯s wrong? I want to see the King and my third brother, why should we stop?" Princess Shan Yu frowned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in doubt.

    "I think that we should change our clothes." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Change? Why?"

    "Your highness... just think about it. We may not have faced any problems thus far... but, we have to stop everytime we meet a squad of guards. This is dying us, and also reveals your identity to the world. We could change and conceal ourselves..." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Mm, that makes sense!" Princess Shan Yu interrupted. Then, she surveyed the surroundings before rushing into a dark corner.

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    There was no one there. Why would Princess Shan Yu go there? Did she just ditch him? How was he going to get out?

    Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice.

    "You, and you, take off your clothes!"

    "Yes, your highness!"

    Before long, Princess Shan Yu came out of the shadows.

    She held two sets of rattan armor in her hands.

    "The clothes are here." Princess Shan Yu threw a set to Fang Zhengzhi, visibly proud of herself.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsettled by what he just saw. He knew exactly what had happened.

    The royal pce!

    Other than the patrolling guards, they had men hiding in the shadows as an ambush.

    Danger was everywhere.

    Hang on... if the locations of these ambushes had not changed, does it mean that... the royal city is still controlled by the Southern Region?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyelids twitched. He felt that there was a good chance this ce was not run over by the Demons just yet.

    But...

    If it really was in the Southern Region¡¯s control, why did the King and the Crown Prince not take this opportunity to escape? If they could enter so easily, it would not be difficult for the royal family to escape.

    Something was wrong.

    Something was definitely wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was something wrong, but he could not pinpoint what the problem was. He would just have to figure it out as he went along.

    He found a secluded spot and put on the rattan armor. Then he heaved a sigh of relief. With this armor, there would be fewer confrontations.

    Everything was simple from that point onwards.

    With Princess Shan Yu to guide him along, they managed to enter the pceplex without any incidents. Then, they made their way to a humongous door.

    This was a door adorned with gold and jewels. The gold and jewelsbined to create a beautiful work of art.

    They could hear the sounds of drums from inside.

    Six heavily armored guards stood at the door. Each one of them was hulking in size and had skin as dark as ink.

    The picture on the door was that of a beast.

    It looked like a lion, but it had a pair of wings. Furthermore, it also had a pair of horns on its head.

    There wereplicated patterns on each of the horns.

    Cloud Pattern!

    By now, Fang Zhengzhi had seen the cloud pattern umpteen times. He had seen it first on the wall in The Vast World...

    Then again on Wu Feng¡¯s Jade Flute...

    After that, he had seen it on Princess Shan Yu before seeing it on the horns of the beast. This piqued his curiosity.

    The Cloud Pattern...

    What was it?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask Princess Shan Yu about it. After all, she had it on her body. However, at that very moment, the sound of the drums stopped.

    Then, they heard the sounds of tables and chairs crashing. An angry voice could be heard from inside.

    "Rebel, stop what you¡¯re doing!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched.

    Rebel?

    From the exquisite decorations on the door, he was sure that the person inside was either the King or the Crown Prince.

    That meant that the ¡¯rebel¡¯ could only be one person.

    It seems like...

    There was trouble!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. Could the Crown Prince be taking this opportunity to rebel? This was something that had happened before in history.

    They would ally themselves with outsiders to im the throne.

    Could this be what was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to go and take a look, but he knew that he had to keep his cool, so he did not spring into action. He chose to wait for the six guards to charge in first.

    However...

    The guards did not even blink when they heard themotion. It was almost as if they didn¡¯t hear the noises inside.

    Something was wrong...

    If there was a rebel inside, the guards should be charging in to protect the King!

    Why weren¡¯t they moving?

    Could it be...

    These were the Crown Prince¡¯s men?!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was the only possibility. However, this had terrifying implications.

    If the guards were loyal to the Crown Prince...

    This rebellion was likely to seed.

    "Father!"

    Murphy¡¯s Law was at it once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi was deciding between siding with the King anding to his aid, or siding with the Crown Prince and going with the flow when Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice rang out.

    Red lights beamed from her body.

    The expression of the guards changed instantly as they looked at the Princess in shock.

    "Princess!"

    "It¡¯s the Princess!"

    "Greetings, your highness!"

    The guards looked at each other, then whispered. However, none of them knelt in respect.

    "Move aside!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.

    "Erm..."

    The guards¡¯ expressions were conflicted as they stood their ground.

    "I said, move aside!" Princess Shan Yu raged.

    "Forgive us, your highness. The Crown Prince has ordered us not to let anyone through!" One of the guards replied respectfully.

    "Third brother is in there! This is the King¡¯s court, why is he not in his own residence trying to formte a n? What is he doing here?" Princess Shan Yu frowned anxiously.

    "This... I do not know." The guards looked at each other and grit their teeth.

    "Rubbish, who else is in there?"

    "I do not know."

    "You don¡¯t know? Or you¡¯re not saying? Stand aside, I¡¯m going in!" Princess Shan Yu shook her head at the guards, her eyes glimmering icily.

    "Please forgive us." The guards grit their teeth.

    "How dare you! I would like to see how many of you dare to stop me!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body exploded with red light as she hollered.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Princess Shan Yu get angry before. He had even experienced it for himself.

    But this time...

    It felt different...

    Previously, her anger had stemmed from an inability to contain her anger. This time, she was showing her dominance.

    A dominance that came from her position as a Princess.

    As a princess of the Southern Region, she could ept that an outsider might challenge her authority, but she would never allow a guard to do the same.

    The red light enveloped her body as the dense cloud patterns showed on her skin.

    At the same time, a wave of heat could be felt. It was a unique aura.

    It was rhythmic...

    Almost like a heartbeat.

    Animalistic.

    That was the only word Fang Zhengzhi could use to describe it. Her eyes were fixed on the six guards in front of her, her legs slightly bent, ready to pounce.

    Coupled with the red light and cloud pattern...

    She looked like a leopard hunting for prey.

    The six guards paled when they saw this, their hands trembling.

    They looked like they were experiencing some sort of emotional struggle.

    "This is yourst chance, step aside!" Princess Shan Yu bellowed once again. This time, her voice seemed toe from deep within her body.

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled that General Tai had done something simr during his duel with Fang Zhengzhi.

    This time, Princess Shan Yu had the same animalistic growl.

    But...

    Unlike General Tai, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body did not change.

    Did the Cloud Pattern have a role to y in this?

 Chapter 419: Terrifying power

    Chapter 419: Terrifying power

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely curious about the Cloud Pattern. He would not miss out on an opportunity to examine it.

    He could have joined Princess Shan Yu and beat up the six guards.

    But that would have been too disrespectful towards Princess Shan Yu.

    After all, if she couldn¡¯t even take care of a few guards herself, how could she still maintain her standing in the army?

    Of course, there was another reason why he didn¡¯t attack.

    He would much prefer to sneak in whilst the battle was ongoing.

    By doing so, he thought that it would give them a better chance of victory.

    He was effectively killing three birds with one stone. He would be increasing their odds of victory, showing respect to Princess Shan Yu, and would be able to examine the Cloud Pattern.

    Princess Shan Yu hollered.

    The six guards tightened their grip on their ck spears. Their knuckles whitened as they prepared for the assault. They were all elite soldiers in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.

    One of them was already a Supernatural State cultivator. However, they did not dare to underestimate Princess Shan Yu.

    They did not speak.

    They knew that words were useless right now.

    They had to carry out their duties and obey their orders. The Crown Prince had made it clear that no one was to enter!

    "Woosh!"

    A red light shed.

    Princess Shan Yu sprang into action, drawing the daggers sheathed at her thighs. She lunged at the throat of one of the guards.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how sharp the de was.

    Furthermore, he knew that these daggers were not just sharp. They had a burning aura and were made from a unique material.

    "Ding!"

    A crisp sound rang out as the spear and the daggers shed. The guard was defending against Princess Shan Yu¡¯s attack.

    His muscles tensed.

    His skin could be seen through his armor. It was visibly difficult for him to defend against that strike.

    But he still managed to block it.

    At least, that was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    His thoughts were quickly disproved.

    After the sh, the daggers showed no signs of slowing down as they continued to press forward.

    "Kacha!"

    At that moment, the ck spear broke into two like a slice of cheese being cut by a knife. Soon after, blood spattered all over.

    That came from the chest wound caused by the dagger.

    Princess Shan Yu had aimed for the throat. Even though the guard had managed to block the strike, Fang Zhengzhi was sure that she would not miss her mark.

    But she did.

    The de went through his chest cleanly. Then, Princess Shan Yu spread her hands as though they were wings.

    Afterward...

    Something shocking happened.

    Princess Shan Yu twirled on the spot before she spun into the group of six like a whirlwind of death.

    She was outnumbered six to one, but she still charged into the middle of the fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that she had lost her mind.

    More importantly, the six guards were not weak. Even if Princess Shan Yu had superior weapons, she should not charge in that way.

    But...

    That was exactly what she did.

    The six guards were struggling to keep up. Their arms strained against the power of Princess Shan Yu.

    When they tried to attack, the strangest thing happened. It was almost as though their attacks were drawn to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s de.

    It was almost rhythmic.

    A very strange, inexplicable rhythm.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand what it was, or where it came from, but he was sure that Princess Shan Yu¡¯s de matched every move from the guards.

    In fact, it felt like she was controlling their every move.

    "Kacha, kacha!"

    The spears broke in half as blood spouted from wounds in their chests. The encounter was short, a path had been opened.

    They had not opened it themselves.

    Princess Shan Yu had cut one through them.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He had thought that Princess Shan Yu had lost her mind, but she had proved him wrong.

    He was still wondering how long this battle would take. After all, if they were guarding the pce...

    They would not be weak.

    However...

    This battle was over much faster than he had expected.

    Much, much faster.

    A spinning top technique?

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly quashed that idea.

    That whirlwind was not something that could be achieved with mere coordination. It was a special rhythm.

    A rhythm that Fang Zhengzhi had never encountered before.

    "How powerful!" Fang Zhengzhi murmured subconsciously. He had heard from the soldiers and Teng Shisheng that Princess Shan Yu had gotten to where she is not merely because she was of royal descent.

    She had the abilities to show for it.

    He did not understand this before.

    But he understood it now.

    Princess Shan Yu had already gone easy on the six guards. If not, their throats would all have been sliced open.

    In other words...

    Princess Shan Yu was capable of defeating all six guards in the blink of an eye.

    Was this her power?

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that Princess Shan Yu¡¯s power was linked to her fiery red and cloud pattern. What he had just seen disproved that.

    Nangong Hao was powerful.

    He was powerful because he understood Dao very well, and his heart was well cultivated.

    On the other hand...

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s power came from her battle experience. She had fought side by side with her soldiers and this had allowed her to grow stronger.

    Rhythm?

    Ady who could control rhythm that way, coupled with her insane reaction speeds, flexibility, and unique battle technique...

    Powerful...

    Terrifyingly powerful...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was already in the Supernatural State. Even so, he felt that if they were going to duel...

    He could not let her get close to him!

    She could slice open his throat, stab a dagger into his heart, gouge his eyes out...

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to keep a distance from Princess Shan Yu.

    Even if Princess Shan Yu wouldn¡¯t attack him now.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why all the generals kept their distance when Princess Shan Yu lost her cool back in the tent.

    "Boom!" A dull sound interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi felt a slightly chilly gust of wind at his back. It made a soft whooshing sound in his sleeves.

    The doors had been opened.

    Princess Shan Yu had kicked them open.

    Everything had happened in one fluid motion.

    It was shockingly quick.

    Fang Zhengzhi never struck... he wasn¡¯t even given a chance to attack.

    Seeing the doors kicked open, the six guards instinctively tried to step forward to block the entrance. But it was toote.

    Because...

    Princess Shan Yu was already inside.

    The guards paled. This was partially due to their loss of blood, but more because they were terrified.

    Blood continued to flow from their open wounds. However, they grit their teeth and tightened their grip on their broken spears, determined to stop Princess Shan Yu.

    This was their mission.

    However, they were set up to fail.

    Just as they were about to enter the hall, a figure pushed right through the middle of them.

    "I¡¯m sorry,ing through!" This was a very humble voice, but as it rang out, a huge wave of force crashed into them.

    This was a cultivation state suppression.

    It was just like there was a powerhouse controlling the space and preventing them from entering.

    Before the guards could react, they were forced out the door by the force.

    "Boom!" The door mmed shut behind them.

    The six guards looked at the closed doors in shock. Their jaws dropped, and they momentarily forgot the wounds to their chests.

 Chapter 420: The Answer is in the Edict

    Chapter 420: The Answer is in the Edict

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Embarrassed.

    The six defeated guards had expected to lose to Princess Shan Yu, but to be defeated by a fellow ¡¯guard¡¯...

    In such a domineering fashion...

    They simply could not ept it.

    More importantly, they could tell that this ¡¯guard¡¯ was still in his teens.

    Who was this?

    Who had entered the room with Princess Shan Yu?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer any of the questions, neither did he have the mood to entertain their questions.

    He had expected to see a heated battle upon entering the room. However, he was shocked to see what was happening...

    "Should I just leave quietly?"

    The Southern Region Throne Room was not like the Great Xia¡¯s. After all, the Great Xia¡¯s had been constantly improved and refurbished with valuable gems.

    However, it was still extremely grand and adorned with precious gems.

    Other than the gems, the pirs and walls were engraved with pictures of beasts and ancient scriptures.

    Most importantly, next to the pictures and the scriptures...

    There were skeletons of in beasts.

    The skeletons and thick pirs embodied the animalistic, ruthless, and powerful character of the Southern Region.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell from a nce that those beasts were incredibly powerful...

    As such...

    The beasts represented the achievements of the best in the region.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by the blood on the floor.

    It was a stain from someone crawling away. At the head of the trail was an old man whoid prone on the ground.

    He was in his 50s and was visibly terrified. He was pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The blood trail had originated from a wound in his chest.

    Blood continued to trickle from the open wound, forming a puddle in front of him.

    There was a group of scantily dresseddies holding instruments in their hands by the side.

    There were drummers, flutists,...

    Their instruments may have been different, but their expressions were all the same.

    Shock. The same shock that Fang Zhengzhi was feeling.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was shocked because of a different reason. He had spotted the Minister of Rites.

    Most importantly...

    The Minister had stretched a hand out towards him.

    "Save... save... save me..."

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to leave because of that. He would much rather act as if he had not heard the Minister¡¯s pleas.

    "Sister?!"

    A voice interrupted the pleas of the Minister of Rites. In fact, this person hadpletely ignored the Minister from the start.

    A man walked towards Princess Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi. He held a blood-stained de in his hand.

    He looked to be in his 30s and he wore an exquisite silver leather armor. His shoes were embroidered with gold thread and there were two five-colored feathers on his head.

    There was a bright sapphire in between the feathers.

    "Brother, what is going on?" Princess Shan Yu tightened her grip on her daggers as she nced towards the Minister of Law.

    Fang Zhengzhi could guess that this man was the Crown Prince, Shan Ling.

    "Haha... you shouldn¡¯t be asking me this question. You should be asking Father!" Shan Ling chuckled as he looked at Princess Shan Yu affectionately.

    "Father?" Princess Shan Yu looked at the elderly man seated on the throne.

    He was over two meters in height, well built but with silver hair. He wore purple leather.

    If not for his wrinkles, one would not be able to guess his age.

    The King of the Southern Region!

    Was this him?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the King. He could see the pain in the eyes of the King, a pain that only the elderly felt.

    "Rebel!" The King did not seem to want to exin. He directed his anger towards Shan Ling, but did not seem to want to save the Minister of Law.

    "Sister, you don¡¯t have to care about this. Since you are here, you should already have fought the Demons outside?" Shan Ling shook his head. He had no intention of debating with the King. He looked at Princess Shan Yu with anticipation.

    "Brother, what the hell is going on here?" Princess Shan Yu looked at the King and Shan Ling with a steely determination in her eyes.

    "What¡¯s going on? What else could be going on! Our soldiers haveid down their lives and spilled their blood on the battlefield! How many men did we lose at the Icy Monkey Settlement? Do you know? 8,000! 8,000! And what is Father doing? Negotiating for peace! He is negotiating with the Great Xia after 8,000 of our men lost their lives! Sister... what do you think I¡¯m doing?!"

    Shan Ling was fuming after being interrogated by Princess Shan Yu. He tried to suppress his anger, but his tone had changed significantly.

    "I don¡¯t care what father did. He is still our father, the one who raised us!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes glimmered and she clenched her fists.

    "Yes, he is our father, but he is also the father of his citizens! Are our soldiers not his children? Have you seen a father who would make merry and negotiate with the enemy right after losing 8,000 children?!"

    "Brother, are you still dreaming about being an Emperor? Do you not see what is happening?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    "Situation? Haha... let me tell you what is happening. This is happening!" Shan Ling retrieved an exquisite piece of leather with a fresh red stamp.

    Princess Shan Yu looked at it.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at it. However, the King and the Minister of Law did not even take a look at it.

    "Your Highness, the agreement you hold in your hand is just a ploy. They want to break up the Southern Region and the Great Xia. Even if you kill me, they will still conquer your capital and you will not have a chance to recover. We are now giving you the option of drawing back from the Stable Mountain Gate and releasing our soldiers in exchange for our support. We can join forces..." The Minister of Law knew what was written within that piece of leather.

    "Shut up!" Shan Ling¡¯s voice was icy. He kept the leather, "What do you know? The Demons may go back on their word, but they will not do so if they swore in the name of their gods. The agreement states that I will have three days if I kill you. We can break the Icy Monkey Settlement in three days! By that time, their 50,000 soldiers..."

    "It also says that if you kill me, the Demons will pull back from the Sagely Mountain City and help you to the throne. Isn¡¯t that even better for you?" The Southern Region King¡¯s voice interrupted the Crown Prince.

    "Father, do you not understand? I only have one aim, to buy us some time. Three days, three days is all I need! The Demons? I don¡¯t need them! Father, don¡¯t you want to be an Emperor? Do you want to be subservient to the Great Xia forever? What do they have? 400,000 of our soldiers would be able to go up against a million of theirs! Why should we obey them? Wake up, father!"

    "You need to wake up, brother!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body began to glow red.

    "Me? Haha... I am very much awake. I have never been this awake before. Sister, I am the one who pampers you the most. You have not let me down! With the 80,000 soldiers you brought, the Demons would not be able to take the city in three days even if they wanted to!" Shan Ling chuckled.

    "Brother, what if I told you I didn¡¯t bring a single soldier?" Princess Shan Yu continued.

    "This is not the time for jokes, sister! How could you not bring any soldiers? I gave you the best of the best. Furthermore, with the 3000 Silver Horned Wolves you have, they should have no problem getting past 50,000 Demons!" Shan Ling did not believe Princess Shan Yu.

    "Yes, it is not difficult for 3000 Silver Horned Wolves to cut a path through the Demon army, but I didn¡¯t bring any soldiers." Princess Shan Yu shook her head.

    "You... sister, this is really not the time for joking. If you didn¡¯t bring any soldiers, then what are you doing here?" Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed as he tried to keep his tone calm.

    "Negotiate!"

    "For peace? With who?! The Great Xia?! Sister... have you lost your mind? This is the best chance we¡¯ve had to be independent from the Great Xia! Why should we negotiate with them?" Shan Ling became agitated once again.

    "Brother, we cannot possibly take on both the Great Xia and the Demons at the same time!"

    "I know!" Shan Ling nodded. "But so what? Sister, do you think that I am an idiot? We don¡¯t have the ability to fight them both at the same time. But, the Great Xia still hasn¡¯tunched an attack! Even after we took the Stable Mountain Gate!"

    Shan Ling paused.

    "Taking the gate was just a test. The results have shown that the Great Xia doesn¡¯t dare to attack us! They will not let us die even if we are not their vassal!"

    "What is the Great Xia without us?"

    "They will just be a prime target for the Demons! Without the Southern Region in the way, the Great Xia would not be able to prosper! Neither will they be able to fight the barbarians in the North!"

    "Sister, tell me why the Southern Region cannot be independent! Tell me why we can¡¯t be an empire!"

    "Negotiate? Why should we negotiate?!"

    "We have to give them a fortune every year, and that isn¡¯t including the leather that we give them! What do they give us in return? Books! A few books! Books on architecture, policy, and economics! They tell us that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give a man a fish!"

    "Don¡¯t you see? The Great Xia treat us like fools! They send their Minister of Law and our King must receive him? We treat him with respect, entertain him, feed him, all whilst our men are dying on the battlefield!"

    "Today, I will make sure that this Minister of Law opens his eyes and sees how powerful we are!"

    Shan Ling looked at the Minister of Law with a posture that exuded confidence. The de in his hand hummed.

    Shan Ling was ready to kill.

    The King looked at Shan Ling, wanting to say something, but he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Fang Zhengzhi had wondered how he would feel when he met the King or the Crown Prince.

    He had expected a rebellion, embarrassment, anger...

    He had also prepared speeches for the various scenarios.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the Southern Region was in immediate trouble because of the threat to their capital.

    As such, it should not have been too difficult to convince them to ally themselves with the Great Xia.

    However...

    After listening to Shan Ling...

    He had a whole new outlook on the situation.

    Even though this was the most difficult moment for the Southern Region, the Great Xia did not dare to attack.

    In other words, not only was the Great Xia not going to attack, they were doing everything they could to help the Southern Region tide through this situation.

    Regardless of their attitude.

    The Great Xia could never let the Southern Region fall, even if they wanted to be independent and form an empire.

    As such...

    How were they going to negotiate?

    There was nothing to negotiate.

    The Great Xia had watched on as the Southern Region took the Stable Mountain Gate and imprisoned thousands of their soldiers. They would also have to tolerate the Crown Prince killing any missionary they sent!

    This was the situation the Great Xia was in.

    As long as the Demons continued to threaten the Great Xia, they could not take action against the Southern Region.

    His de shone.

    He raised it above the Minister of Law¡¯s head. He could take the Minister¡¯s head in the blink of an eye.

    Sweat poured from the Minister¡¯s forehead.

    He wanted to say something, but he had nothing left to say. After hearing what Shan Ling said, he knew that there was no chance for a negotiation.

    They had no bargaining chips.

    Shan Ling had rejected everything that they had to offer.

    As such, this negotiation could not continue, and he was destined to fail and die here.

    Hopelessness!

    The desperation could be seen in his eyes as the energy exited his body. The Emperor¡¯s edict that had given him strength before now felt heavy.

    "Dong!"

    The golden edict felt into the pool of blood, the words in for all to see.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the edict.

    With his current abilities, he could easily see the words written on the edict. He managed to understand it at a nce.

    The gist of it was that the soldiers had to obey the orders of the Minister of Law.

    It also contained Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s wish to make peace with the Southern Region.

    After reading the edict...

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why the Minister of Law would be here, and why the Great Xia soldiers would stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    If not for this edict, the soldiers of the Great Xia would have probably made it already!

    With the Icy Monkey Settlement emptied, hundreds of thousands of Southern Region soldiers could march on the Sagely Mountain City.

    Everything would have gone ording to n!

    But...

    F*cking Murphy¡¯s Law!

    Hang on, something is wrong!

    The Emperor would never be so stupid!

    The Emperor would know that he had no bargaining chips. He would not have destroyed his army¡¯s best chance at victory! What was wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he stared at the edict. For some reason, he had a feeling that...

    The answer...

    Must be in the edict!

 Chapter 421: A Turn of Events

    Chapter 421: A Turn of Events

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The edict bore just a few lines of words, but its message was surprisingly coherent. This made Fang Zhengzhi a little apprehensive.

    He believed the answer should lie within the edict, yet if he could not see it, then it had not served many purposes.

    Was it an acrostic poem?

    Fang Zhengzhi turned his eyes at the start of each line, and the end of each line, then diagonally through every line...

    But after he had tried every conceivable method, he still could not discover any other meaning.

    Was it really just an appeal for peace?

    This... should not be like this!

    Wait a second!

    In peace we shall live, in separation we shall perish.

    "In peace we shall live, in separation we shall perish!"

    In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi squinted slightly, and this sentence was not difficult to find. Yet it blended with the rest of the words in this edict.

    But, this sentence had a major problem.

    It had an incorrect word!

    "In peace we shall live, in separation we shall perish?" Shouldn¡¯t it be "united we stand, divided we fall?" Why would it contain a homophone?

    Was the sage careless and wrote a wrong word?

    Fang Zhengzhi believed this was of little possibility, almost impossible, so this phrase ¡¯in peace¡¯.

    No!

    It was not a homophone, but a word of a different meaning. Its actual meaning was not ¡¯peace¡¯ but ¡¯mix¡¯, like the mixing of many elements into homogeneity. Like water and flour, kneaded and pressed into a sticky lump of dough.

    (Trantor¡¯s Note: In Chinese, the words for ¡¯peace¡¯ and ¡¯mix¡¯ share the same character but are pronounced differently)

    Mixing...

    Now he understood!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes sparkled in epiphany. He finally understood the hidden meaning of this edict.

    Understood the meaning of this edict...

    Naturally, he knew why Li Mubai sent the Ministry of Rites official here.

    He was a worthy emperor indeed!

    Fang Zhengzhi found it a little hard to believe. Although the Great Xia Dynasty was in a precarious position, this sage still saw the rays of hope in an abyss.

    Mix and we shall live, in separation we shall perish.

    Li Mubai had already predicted that Demon Race would attack the Southern Region, thus in anticipation, he made such a decree, to mix the Southern Region and the Demon Race.

    Only when both are mixed, conflicts could then arise.

    Only then, Great Xia could have a chance.

    Indeed, it was a chance, though a painfully difficult one. If not for the threat from Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army, ording to his n, it would have been a great chance.

    However...

    If the Demonic Army from the Blood Shadow City was charging towards Sagely Mountain City like Fang Zhengzhi predicted, then this could no longer be called a chance.

    Even if you had mastered the most sophisticated techniques, in a duel against a very powerful individual, you could only raise your hands and cry in desperation for mercy.

    "Third brother!"

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice lit up once again. Her voice was not loud, but very firm.

    Shan Ling stopped his hand, his de in its icy gleam against the neck of the Ministry of Rites official, its sharpness leaving a bloody cut.

    The Ministry of Rites official shivered in fear, his face a pallor, yet he did not beg for mercy.

    Maybe...

    This is the Six Council Official¡¯sst remaining shred of dignity.

    Even if he would die, he would never beg for mercy!

    "Sister, must I repeat myself?" Shan Ling¡¯s hand had not moved, his eyes turned towards Princess Shan Yu.

    "Third brother, if I say that the Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army is charging towards Sagely Mountain this very moment, do you think you would still get your way as the emperor?" Princess Shan Yu clenched her teeth.

    Of course, she did not know whether Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army would rush out at full force.

    All of this...

    Were just Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s predictions.

    If the Demonic Army did not charge towards Sagely Mountain, ording to Shan Ling, it would be possible for the Southern Region to separate from Great Xia.

    Yet, if the Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army came, the idea of the Southern Region leaving Great Xia and Southern King being the Emperor would then be just a joke.

    Would a country controlled by another race still be honored as a real country? How, then, would the emperor differ from a mere foreigner?

    Princess Shan Yu was taking a gamble.

    She was gambling her trust in either Shan Ling or Fang Zhengzhi. And she chose to believe in Fang Zhengzhi, whom she had known for less than a month and seen only a few times.

    "What? Sister... Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army is heading towards Sagely Mountain? This... This cannot be true. If it is as what you¡¯ve said, why did they want to sign a pact with me, and even gave me three extra days?" Shan Ling still found it hard to believe.

    "This..." Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice trailed off. She fretted, equally puzzled.

    If the Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army was really charging towards Sagely Mountain, in normal circumstances, timing would be of utmost importance. They would never allow Sagely Mountain any time to prepare.

    In addition, with the Sagely Mountain already within in their control, the Demonic Army would have absolutely nothing to gain by doing this.

    But why did the Demonic Army sign this pact?

    "Sister, are you sure the Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Army has emerged? Have you seen it with your own eyes?" Shan Ling, in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s silence, started to grow a little impatient.

    "This..." Princess Shan Yu was tongue-tied once again. Of course, she did not see it, but she felt Fang Zhengzhi made sense. Well, that was just her opinion.

    Without a single bit of evidence to back that up.

    Lost for words, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s attention turned towards the youth who had hidden behind her and remained silent since they entered the pce.

    Written upon their expressions were only questions marks.

    "Initially I wasn¡¯t sure, but after seeing this pact, I¡¯m now sure!" Fang Zhengzhi blurted, his gaze met that of Princess Shan Yu awkwardly.

    He did not really wish to stand out at this juncture, not with the Ministry of Rites official still helpless on the floor.

    Whether to help him up was almost a philosophical inquiry.

    "Who are you?! You... are not a Castle Guard! You¡¯re from Great Xia! Tell me your name, and I can grant you a painless death!" Shan Ling turned to Fang Zhengzhi as he immediately saw through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impersonation.

    But this was not to say Shan Ling was previously careless.

    The matter of fact was...

    After Fang Zhengzhi followed Princess Shan Yu into the pce, he witnessed the Ministry of Rites official with his outstretched hands, begging Fang Zhengzhi to save him. To prevent revealing his identity, he hid behind Princess Shan Yu and lowered his head.

    This way, Shan Ling could not see at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    Well, Shan Ling did not seem to mind that. In any case, it was natural for Princess Shan Yu to be protected by a Castle Guard.

    However, when Princess Shan Yu turned towards Fang Zhengzhi, who then voiced aloud, this identity just could not be kept secret any further.

    "Your highness, surely you should be more concerned about the Demonic Army¡¯s attack rather than my name?" Fang Zhengzhi forced augh.

    Indeed, Fang Zhengzhi should have walked away quietly instead of being mired in this mess, but now with this situation at hand...

    It seemed he could not leave as he wished.

    The only thing he could do was to clench his teeth and soldier on.

    "Haha, you think you¡¯d convince me otherwise, you Great Xia lobbyist?" Shan Ling stared with a smirk.

    "It¡¯s up to you to believe, I only care about speaking the truth." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and a brief nce at Shan Ling. "If my guess is right, it hadn¡¯t been long since you signed the pact with the Demon Race. Let me guess, it was two hours ago?"

    "So what?" the Noblelite¡¯s expression changed slightly, his tone remained calm, yet the smirk did not fade.

    "With the Sagely Mountain City surrounded, the Demon Race has no reason to give up control of the Castle, not to even mention giving the Southern Region three days to prepare, unless..." Fang Zhengzhi words hit a block.

    "Unless what?" Princess Shan Yu seemed impatient.

    "Noblelite, you really don¡¯t know?" Fang Zhengzhi did not pay heed to the Princess and continued to stare at Shan Ling from his distance.

    "Say it!" Shan Ling scowled, his brows furrowed. He tightened his grip on his sword. When he saw the shivering official, he clenched his teeth and raised the de.

    With the sword lifted on the Ministry of Rites official, who heaved a sigh of relief, the bewildered Fang Zhengzhi felt an urge to say something.

    That was not what I meant!

    Whether or not you kill this official, I really do not care.

    I didn¡¯t say it just only to keep you in suspense!

    Alright.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew Shan Ling had misunderstood him. He thought Fang Zhengzhi threatened him so that he would spare the official. Well, at least this indirectly confirmed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s prediction.

    The pact was, in fact, signed an hour ago!

    "Demon Race and the South have something inmon: they bothck manpower, but it is worse for the Demon Race. Therefore, for the Demon Race to be so determined to give up the on Sagely Mountain City, there could only be one reason... They also need a little more time!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed his heartfelt opinion.

    "They also need a little more time?!"

    Upon hearing this, Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    This was the same for Shan Ling. The high and mighty characteristic of a Southern Region noblelite he formerly disyed vanished, reced with an expression of shock and terror.

 Chapter 422: A Favourable Turn of Events

    Chapter 422: A Favourable Turn of Events

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shan Ling aside, even the King of the Southern Realm and his humble female servants were horrified and stood rooted to the ground.

    This was because both Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu were smart.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi did not finish his speech, Shan Ling, Princess Shan Yu and the King of the Southern Realm had already captured the underlying message and discovered a serious problem.

    "Before I arrived with the princess, I have already ordered 80000 elite troops to stand guard at the Iron Hill Settlement, so as to defend against any sneak attacks from the Demonic Army of the Blood Shadow City. If I am right, the news of Princess Shan Yu sending down 80000 elite troops as a defensive force had already reached the ears of the Demon race, which is to say... There are spies in the army!"

    Fang Zhengzhi went straight to the point this time around, no longer keeping anything under covers.

    A frown immediately appeared on Shan Ling¡¯s face. The presence of a few Demon race spies within the Southern Realm Army was nothing too surprising. After all, it would be too simple for a few Demon race to sneak into a ten thousand strong troop.

    Furthermore, the ongoing mission was extremelyrge in scale. It would be impossible that the Demon race overlook this massive threat.

    However, while the Southern Realm Army was now infested with spies from the Demon race, the Demon race army had yet been infiltrated by any of their own. This was a huge mistake on Shan Ling¡¯s part, a mistake that might cause them the entire battle.

    Princess Shan Ling simr had a tight frown on her face. Although she knew it was inevitable for a few spies to be in the army, it still made her ufortable after listening to the confirmation.

    After all, she was revered as themander of this 80000 strong troop.

    Fang Zhengzhi then stared at Shan Ling, Princess Shan Yu, as well as the King of the Southern Realm who was sitting on his throne. He then finally cast his nce on the official from the Ministry of Rites.

    He then shook his head and sighed helplessly.

    The Ministry of Rites official could naturally guess Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s message from his expression. His face immediately turned a crimson red, clearly showing signs of anger.

    He was a dignified official of the Ministry of Rites, one of the prestigious Six Council Officials.

    However, he could only lie on the ground as he listened to a person with no experience in foreign affairs diplomacy unt his juvenile tactics. Most importantly, the King of the Southern Realm and even the usually obstinate Noblelite seemed to be giving him their full attention.

    How then, could he stay calm?

    How could he not be fuming with bitter rage?

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the clear signs of anger that the Ministry of Rites official disyed. Instead, he waved his hands at the female servants at the side and pointed at the chair which originally belonged to the official.

    The female servants then stared at Fang Zhengzhi before immediately turning to look at the King of the Southern Realm.

    Upon the King¡¯s approval, a few female servants brought the chair to the spot right behind Fang Zhengzhi and simultaneously brought over a te filled with chunks of luxurious, juicy fruits.

    Fang Zhengzhi disyed his satisfaction with the inferential ability of these female servants. He then picked up a fruit with his hand and popped it into his mouth before continuing.

    "The Demon race has extremely high quality soldiers who specialises in one-on-onebat. However, their numbers would often be small. Although the Demon race from Shadow Blood City have the absolute advantage in numbers and power, they will lose their geographical advantage. If our 80000 strong troop were to set-up ambushes and traps along the way and stand guard firmly at Iron Hill Settlement, it will be almost impossible for the Demon race to secure a fast victory. The only way they can aplish that is to attack with full force without consideration of the consequences!"

    "Hmm..."

    Upon hearing those words, Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu nodded their head in agreement. The greatest advantage of the Southern Mountain Range was their geographical position, coupled with the defence mechanisms and architecture the Six Settlements had painstakingly built up in the past hundreds of years.

    Even if the Demon race had absolute advantage in power and numbers...

    They would still be able to hold their ground.

    If the Demon race wanted to take over the Iron Hill settlement guarded by a 80000 strong Southern Realm Army, they would definitely suffer great losses.

    "As I have mentioned, the Demon race is running out of time. They will not want to waste any more time on the road. Charging ahead with full force is thus their only choice. However, they also cannot afford the incredible losses of doing so. Hence, they would have to temporarily give up on Sagely Mountain City, using the 50000 strong Demonic Army currently surrounding the City to conduct an attack on both ends on Iron Hill Settlement! In three days... signing the contract with the Southern Mountain Range would put the Noblelite at ease as well as dy time. Why not go for the best of both worlds?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped at this point.

    Because he knew that it was enough.

    There were many things that did not need to be spelled out too clearly. Doing that would even evoke sense of disgust from others, which was something Fang Zhengzhi would not want at the moment. He wanted to maintain a good impression in front of the King and Shan Ling.

    Shan Ling did not speak right away. In fact, the moment Fang Zhengzhi mentioned that the Demon race would need time as well, he had never nned to interrupt his speech.

    He had believed in his own judgement and always had utmost confidence in his ns.

    However, he too had utmost confidence in facts.

    From his perspective, this youngd from the Great Xia Dynasty was making ims without any concrete basis. Everything he said up till now were simply spections on his part. However, Shan Ling could not help but consider these baseless spections as well.

    This was because...

    The consequences of these spections were too heavy. Shan Ling would not be able to afford such losses.

    Princess Shan Yu simrly fell silent. She merely kept her gaze on Fang Zhengzhi, who was currently sitting leisurely on the chair while munching on amb leg. She had already gotten used to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gluttony habits and simply shook her head while she walked slowly towards the King sitting on his throne.

    From the moment she entered the pce, she had been standing still at the doorway. However, she had now moved and was walking towards the King with slow and steady steps.

    The King of the Southern Realm stared at Princess Shan Yu with a loving and benevolent expression. However, when his gaze inadvertentlynded on Fang Zhengzhi, the tender expression in his eyes turned into one of surprise and curiosity.

    Naturally, he could tell how young Fang Zhengzhi was.

    What tender age...

    And with Princess Shan Yu at his side.

    Might this youngd be...

    "Who are you exactly!" Shan Ling shouted and cast his nce back on Fang Zhengzhi after a moment of silence. He did not stop Princess Shan Yu from walking towards the King. He merely stood quietly as he carefully observed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s features. His eyebrows, eyes, nose, from top to bottom, again and again.

    "Hasn¡¯t the Noblelite guessed it after so long?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he said. He still had to give the Noblelite some respect as he still had not gotten to a vantage point.

    "Yes... I have indeed. The youngest Heavenly Reflection State in the Great Xia Dynasty after Chi Guyan. The Double Roll Champion and the only person who tied with the Nangong noble Hao as champions in the Court Theory Examinations. You are Fang Zhengzhi!" Shan Ling nodded his head as he said, his eyes shining with excitement.

    "Third Brother, you have stayed way too long in the capital. This guy is now a Supernatural State!" Although Princess Shan Yu did not want to admit, she still could not hold back her words after listening to Shan Ling¡¯s speech.

    After speaking, Princess Shan Yu then sat beside the King of the Southern Realm.

    "Supernatural State! You are saying that... he is already a 15, 16 year old Supernatural State?!" Shan Ling gasped as his expression changed to one of shock, one that resonated from within the very core of his body.

    The expression on the King¡¯s face had also undergone some changes. However, it was not from the shock like what Shan Ling had disyed. More specifically, the changes in his expression was due to his observations of Princess Shan Yu.

    From such close proximity, he could clearly se the changes in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression, and the hint of brilliance that was shing through her beautiful eyes.

    How could a father not understand his own daughter?

    Princess Shan Yu was a proud individual. This arrogance came from her own talent and her diligence. However, when Fang Zhengzhi was mentioned, the King had seen a different kind of arrogance on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face.

    How could such a discovery not be shocking?

    "Supernatural State!" Each and every of the female servants gasped in awe even though they had all gone through strict training in decorum.

    They still involuntarily nced at Fang Zhengzhi the moment they heard Princess Shan Yu¡¯s words.

    As for people from the same domain...

    They only worshipped one type of people, the Warriors.

    Powerful Warriors.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s prowess had undoubtedly won him the title of a Warrior in the hearts of these humble female servants.

    The King of the Southern Realm swept his gaze across the surroundings and saw the Ministry of Rites official lying on the ground. However, he quickly lost interest and shifted his gaze away.

    "I have heard that Lord Fang had already been conferred the title of a Fourth Rank Sword Envoy by the Great Xia Sacred Lord even before the results of the court examinations were out. It is really a glory that is unprecedented and extremely difficult to surpass. It is my honour to be able to meet such an outstanding youngd. Although I have reigned over the Southern Mountain Range for many years as the Ruler in ce of the Sacred Lord, I know that my knowledge in the art of war and strategy is still leaps and bound away from a true genius strategist. I am extremely emotional to have met such an individual today. May I then ask for Lord Fang¡¯s opinion on the battle of Iron Hill Settlement?"

    As the King gave his speech, he stood up from his throne and gave a slight bow. He actually bowed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s direction.

    Fang Zhengzhi could recognise this bow as well. It was the Bow of the Great Xia.

    From this alone, he could figure out the King¡¯s intentions. However, he still would not explicitly say that the King of the Southern Realm had the intention to normalise rtions with the Great Xia Dynasty.

    But at least...

    The King of the Southern Realm still referred to himself as the Ruler in ce of the Sacred Lord.

    After the King¡¯s speech, Shan Ling¡¯s body trembled ever so slightly. His hand that was grabbing the hilt of his sword seemed exceptionally pale. He also pursed his lips tightly, seemingly trying to keep his words to himself.

    But he still chose to keep silent the entire time.

    As for Princess Shan Yu, shey beside the King all this time while staring at Fang Zhengzhi with her beautiful ck eyes expectantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi then slowly put down themb leg and cleaned the grease off his hands with a napkin. He was actually not keen in giving his view on this matter.

    However, he knew that if he kept silent under such circumstances, he would once again push the optimistic situation back into a stalemate.

    "What if I say.... Your Majesty and Noblelite should give up on this 80000 strong army? What would Your Majesty think?" As Fang Zhengzhi said these words, he kept his gaze firmly on the King of the Southern Realm and the Noblelite.

 Chapter 423: The Growl of the God of Death

    Chapter 423: The Growl of the God of Death

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Abandon 80 000 elite soldiers?!"

    Shan Ling and the Prince of the Southern Region were both stunned as they never expected Fang Zhengzhi to give such a response.

    How many soldiers did the Southern Region have?

    They had barely 400 000 soldiers.

    Among the 80 000 soldiers, 3000 of them were Silver Horned Wolf Calvary. Such a loss was like amputating an entire arm.

    Not only did Shan Ling and the Prince of the Southern Region disagree, even Princess Shan Yu disagreed.

    "Impossible!" Shan Ling replied without even thinking.

    The Prince of the Southern Region¡¯ mouth twitched. However, before he could speak, he swallowed her words. Instead, he turned to look at Princess Shan Yu. His intentions were clear in his eyes.

    Princess Shan Yu naturally understood the intention in her father¡¯s eyes. However, she understood what Fang Zhengzhi was saying too.

    Hence, she kept silent.

    At least...

    She would not say anything right now.

    After Fang Zhengzhi heard Shan Ling¡¯s word, he lifted a ss that was full of wine from the Southern Region. Casually, he poured it into his mouth.

    What a huge mouth.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care so much because he drank the wine that Teng Shisheng had brought before. However, the moment this wine entered his mouth, he felt as if he could breathe fire.

    So spicy!

    It was like drinking pure alcohol.

    His face turned red and he quickly stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth to suppress the alcoholic taste in his mouth. Then, he exhaled, his breath reeking of alcohol.

    Fine...

    He could not act the part well.

    When the Prince of the Southern Region and Shan Ling saw this scene, they exchanged a gaze.

    "Mr. Fang has a good tolerance indeed. This wine is an exquisite product from the Southern Region. Normally, I only dare to take small sips of it. I never expect Mr. Fang¡¯s tolerance to be so good." The Prince of the Southern Region¡¯s words had no corrtion with what he had said just now, but his intentions were clear.

    He wanted to improve the atmosphere.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to retort, "What tolerance?" However, he forced himself to say, "Thank you for your praise, my lord!"

    After he said that, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention to drink any more wine. He adjusted his position to one which was morefortable.

    "If you do not wish to sacrifice 80 000 elite soldiers, it means that you have another n in mind, right?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at Shan Ling.

    "I have no n, but that¡¯s entirely my business!" Shan Ling tightened his grip. However, his tone was confident and self-assured.

    "Indeed, that¡¯s your business. The Demon Race has left the Sagely Mountain Cityst night and I believe that they¡¯ll reach the rump of the Iron Hill Settlement by noon tomorrow. Right now, the army of the Southern Region could not enter the Icy Monkey Settlement. I am curious, what n do you have, Your Highness?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

    Shan Ling¡¯s face changed. He knew the current predicament. However, just as what Fang Zhengzhi had said, it was hard enough to protect the Sagely Mountain City, so how could there be any soldiers that could render assistance?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, stop beating about the bus. If you have a n, say it!" While Shan Ling did not want to admit it, he was hapless at the moment.

    "I have no n other than what I just said. Right now, the only n is to abandon 80 000 elite soldiers, the Sagely Mountain City, and let the troops hide in the forests of the Southern Region. Only when the main army of the Southern Region could they n a counterattack!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head with a helpless expression on his face.

    "You... If we go down this path, why do I still need your advice?" When Shan Ling heard that, he was naturally incensed.

    "Indeed, why do you need to ask me anything? I¡¯ve already said that the only n is to abandon 80 000 soldiers. Oh right... Do you think I¡¯m joking? Do you honestly think it¡¯s possible to block the pincer movement of Demon Race with 80 000 soldiers? Or do you believe that the Demon Race would spare the elite soldiers after the Iron Hill Settlement falls, which is like stabbing themselves in the back?" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands.

    "You..." Shan Ling¡¯s face changed once again.

    He turned deathly pale because he knew what Fang Zhengzhi was true. The Demon Race would never spare those 80 000 soldiers, not a single man.

    When the Southern Region maidens around them heard these words, their faces all paled too. Among the 80 000 soldiers, some of them were their family members.

    "My lord, please save my younger brother. He is a warrior of the Southern Region and has contributed greatly to our realm since he was five years old. My lord, please don¡¯t abandon my younger brother!"

    "Your Highness, please show mercy! Please save the Iron Hill Settlement. My... my family lives there. My 70 years-old mother and father..."

    "My lord, Your Highness, Princess, please save the soldiers of the Iron Hill!"

    The maidens of the Southern Region finally knelt down prostrating themselves on the ground. They begged their lord, their noblelite, and their princess.

    The Prince of the Southern Region looked at the kneeling maidens and his face started to change as well.

    As the Prince of the Southern Region, how could he not understand the current situation? 80 000 soldiers. Could he really give up 80 000 soldiers?

    If he did that, he might as well abdicate.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face had an ugly expression on it too. She personally picked each of the 80 000 soldiers. They all contributed greatly to the Southern Region.

    How could she abandon them?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you have a n or not?" Shan Ling¡¯s tone turned icy-cold. The knife in his hand slowly came down. Once again, it was positioned on the throat of the Ministry of Rites official.

    His body froze over once more.

    He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who sat casually in a chair. He hated him. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was deliberately sabotaging and undermining him.

    However, what could he do?

    "Mr. Fang, even if you don¡¯t care much for me, can you at least spare a thought for the brave soldiers of the Southern Region? If you can, please... please help them!" The official gritted his teeth as he said that. He had an ugly expression on his face.

    "You are indeed a cunning person with many tricks up your sleeves, a true epitome of a crafty person. Instead of pleading for your life, you plead for the lives of the Southern Region soldiers. I respect this magnanimity and spirit of yours." When Fang Zhengzhi heard the words of the Ministry of Rites official, a smile crept across his face.

    The official¡¯s face turned ck.

    He wanted to argue but he quickly swallowed his words.

    He was not scared of offending Fang Zhengzhi. However, right after he said that the de pressed against his neck trembled slightly.

    Evidently...

    Shan Ling inferred that there was a history of enmity between the two of them.

    Hence, it was hrious to threaten Fang Zhengzhi with the Ministry of Rites official.

    The Ministry of Rites official recognized this problem. However, as one of the Six Council Officials, he was brazenly insulted by a Rank 4 official and called a cunning and crafty person. Yet, he could not even retort.

    This incensed him.

    "Pfft!" He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. In the end, the Ministry of Rites official fainted. It was not because he was exhausted. Instead, the humiliation was too much for him to bear.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Ministry of Rites official, whose eyes were closed. Then, he looked at Shan Ling, who gritted his teeth. Afterward, he looked at the silent Prince of the Southern Region and Princess Shan Yu, as well as the prostrating maidens. He thought for a while and then opened his mouth.

    "Looking at the current predicament, I have no n indeed. However, I believe my lord and Your Highness have no n too because this is a doomed scenario, created by the noblelite himself!" After he said, Fang Zhengzhi kept silent. He knew that Shan Ling understood what he meant.

    Shan Ling fell silent.

    He understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meaning.

    Two hours ago, he was describing his majestic n to the Prince of the Southern Region and Princess Shan Yu. He even swore to kill anyone who wanted appeasement.

    Yet...

    Two hourster, he had no choice but to consider ¡¯appeasement¡¯.

    Originally, he felt that the Great Xia Dynasty could not threaten him any more. He could easily infringe upon its bottom line. However, after he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he realized it was he who had no way to go.

    What a curious change of heart.

    And it stemmed from just a few words.

    Could it be the "silver tongue" mentioned in the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s "Law of Dao"? Without expending a single soldier, it could reim lost territories.

    Shan Ling never believed in it.

    Up to now, he still did not want to believe or ept it.

    However, there was no retreat for him.

    If this continued, he would lose 80 000 soldiers immediately. This was an undeniable fact. Hence, all he could do was to negotiate.

    The only way was to seek assistance from the Great Xia Dynasty to stop the Icy Monkey Settlement¡¯s resistance.

    All for some time.

    Three days!

    Wait!

    No!

    Even if they started negotiation right now and the Great Xia Dynasty abandoned the Icy Monkey Settlement, it would still take a day for the army to reach the Sagely Mountain City from the Icy Monkey Settlement. Then, it would take another day for the army to reach the Iron Hill Settlement...

    There was no time!

    An army of 300 000 could not reach the Iron Hill Settlement before 50 000 demons. Hence, what was the point of negotiation?

    "No time, no time... From the Icy Monkey Settlement to the Iron Hill Settlement, we would need at least 2-3 days... Fang Zhengzhi, you despicable man, I almost fell for your trick. Even if we negotiate a peace with the Great Xia Dynasty, there was no way to save the soldiers of the Iron Hill Settlement. You are lying to me and inciting a conflict between my father, my sister, and me. You want the Southern Region to sink into a civil war, so that Great Xia could benefit from it, right? My father and my sister almost believed you!"

    When he said thest line, Shan Ling¡¯s gaze turned icy cold. The knife in his hand brimmed with a deathly chill.

    "sh!"

    A cold light shed.

    A human head flew into the air. Then, it dropped down to the ground.

    Blood spurted everywhere.

    The scene took ce too quickly and nobody could have reacted to it. The maidens from the Southern Region stared nkly at the human head that just dropped next to him. Their eyes widened in shock as they shrieked in unison.

    "Ah!"

    The Prince of the Southern Region was shocked too. While he knew Shan Ling¡¯s personality well, he never expected him to really attack.

    Princess Shan Yu had seen blood before. However, what was this ce?

    The pce!

    The pce of the Southern Region!

    In the pce of the Southern Region, how could there be so much blood?

    "Third Brother, you..." Princess Shan Yu still did not fully understand what was going on. Just when things seemed to be getting better, how could this happen?

    Of course, no one was as shocked about as the Ministry of Rites official...

    He did not understand how could this have happened even after he had pretended to faint. He did not say a single word and yet, this was his fate.

    At least...

    Could you not tell me first before you cut my head off?

    His eyes opened slightly right before his headnded on the ground. However, all he saw was a de streaked with blood.

    "Is that my blood?"

    This was thest thought in his mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi heard a simr expression in his previous life. There were many forms of this expression, such as putting on a cute front upon disagreement, or driving away upon disagreement...

    What was it called now?

    Killing someone upon disagreement?

    "I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t prepare for this..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Ministry of Rites official, whose eyes had yet to close, and he exhaled.

    "Die, Fang Zhengzhi!" Shan Ling did not want to give Fang Zhengzhi any chance. Killing the Ministry of Rites official was akin to raising his hand.

    In other words, he did it casually.

    There was no aim. He just wanted to vent. He was infuriated at having been taken for a spin by Fang Zhengzhi. He also vowed to never fall for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick.

    A cold wind blew in the room.

    The de glinted.

    As a noblelite of the Southern Region, Shan Ling¡¯s power was not bad. Indeed, it could even be said to be high, as it benefitted from his innate talent.

    It was also because of his own hard work. How strong could someone who worked hard and was talented be?

    One could only imagine.

    In reality, as Shan Ling was too powerful, his two elder brothers appeared ¡¯ordinary¡¯ in his eyes.

    Before the de reached, the chill had already struck Fang Zhengzhi. Ayer of ice appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thick armor.

    Enlightenment State...

    Late rebirth stage!

    "What if I have a n to reach the Iron Hill Settlement before the demons?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he reached out to brush theyer of ice off his armor.

    Pa. Pa. Pa.

    As Fang Zhengzhi dusted the ice off, they dropped onto the ground like snowkes.

    The de that came for him stopped. It was only an inch away from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat. The faint vibration from the de was the growl of the god of death.

 Chapter 424: Faking the Emperors orders

    Chapter 424: Faking the Emperor¡¯s orders

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The sharp aura danced in the air.

    However, Shan Ling¡¯s de stopped in mid-air. He did not want to believe what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    But...

    He had to listen to it.

    He was the Crown Prince of the Southern Region.

    He could set up his brothers in pursuit of the throne, but, he could not risk the lives of the soldiers.

    "Speak! You only have one chance!" Shan Ling¡¯s voice was icy and aloof.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a talent.

    But he was just a talent. He would still die in the face of absolute power and ability.

    "I do not like people to point their des at me." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched in scorn as he nced at Shan Ling.

    "Hum!" The de whirred.

    Shan Ling¡¯s knuckles whitened as the tip began to shake. As a man, he felt that he should just keep his word and drive the sword into Fang Zhengzhi.

    But he could not.

    He was the Crown Prince, and he could not defile the honor of his ancestors.

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked at the ferocious Shan Ling. Then, he used his finger to tap the de.

    "ng!" A crisp sound rang out.

    The de was dropped.

    The King and Princess Shan Yu looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief. However, they did not understand something...

    The situation now was critical and tense...

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi still looked cool as a cucumber!

    Was he that confident?

    "Crown Prince, please answer this question. If the 3000 Silver Horned Wolves were here, can they reach the Iron Hill Settlement before the Demons?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Of course..." Shan Ling replied, then hesitated.

    He already understood where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this.

    The Demons may be powerful individually, but they could not match up against the elite soldiers of the Southern Region.

    Furthermore, the 3000 Silver Horned Wolves would beunching a surprise attack and could take the settlement before the Demons.

    The King and Princess Shan Yu also seemed to understand.

    However, they could not understand something else...

    The 3000 Silver Horned Wolves were not in the Sagely Mountain City, so this hypothetical had little meaning.

    "The Silver Horned Wolves are the elites of the Southern Region. For the Great Xia, they are the Mountain Breaking Army and the Dragon Protection Squad!" Fang Zhengzhi continued calmly as he looked around.

    At that moment...

    The expressions of Shan Ling, the King, and Princess Shan Yu changed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not stated it explicitly, but it was clear to them all. The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were here!

    "If you are all willing to negotiate with the Great Xia, the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army will get ahead of the Demon army. They will join up with the 80,000 soldiers already there and fight the Demons together. There is still time!" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    Shan Ling was silent.

    His gaze was conflicted. He looked like he was thinking deeply. Rays of iciness filled the room.

    "How do I know I can trust you?" Shan Ling finally responded after 15 minutes of silence.

    "You have no choice." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was calm.

    "What I am asking is, you¡¯re just a rank four Sword Envoy. How can you im to represent the Emperor¡¯s wishes!" Shan Ling¡¯s tone was icy.

    "What if I add this to the mix?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled lightly. He had anticipated this question way in advance.

    He took out a golden token.

    The token was not big, but it was made from pure gold. It was adorned with dragons and had one word carved into it.

    "Emperor!"

    This was the Emperor¡¯s token.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Xing Qingsui use this. Of course, his was not meant to give him control over the army.

    It was...

    For him to enter the Ministry of Rites.

    Seeing the token was akin to meeting the Emperor.

    This was a great token to use. Furthermore, the token would never state the intended use of the token, so his ruse would not be broken.

    However, there was a price to pay...

    If used ¡¯inappropriately¡¯, then he would be guilty of ¡¯misrepresenting the views of the Emperor¡¯. If he was found out, there was only one fate for him...

    Death!

    "This is... the Emperor¡¯s token?!" Shan Ling could not believe his eyes. He immediately withdrew the icy aura.

    "That¡¯s right." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. This was the effect he was aiming for.

    "Why do you have this?" Shan Ling could not understand what was happening.

    "Your Highness, do you really think that I am here only to participate in the examination? I entered the Southern Region and the Princess¡¯s camp. Do you really think that this is normal?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    Shan Ling was silent.

    He had his spies in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s camp. As such, he knew who Fang Zhengzhi was and had heard of his exploits.

    He also knew that...

    Princess Shan Yu had given Fang Zhengzhimand of 500 Silver Horned Wolves before.

    However, when he heard Fang Zhengzhi say this, he frowned. He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    As a result, he felt a chill down his spine.

    Initially...

    He had thought that he was in control of this war. But now, seeing the Emperor¡¯s token in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, he had a feeling...

    That he was just a puppet.

    To the Demons, he was someone to be taken advantage of. To the Great Xia, his every move had been calcted by the Emperor.

    Sweat poured from his forehead.

    "This is impossible, how can the Emperor guess that you will be negotiating with me? How could he have sent you in preemptively? Most importantly, how could he have known that the Princess will let you go and let you rejoin the examinations!" Shan Ling was in disbelief.

    "Is there a difference if the Princess did not let me go? Does my participation in the examination matter? Your Highness, please think about it, what is the most important thing here? It is that the Demons will definitely attack the Southern Region... as such, my presence is necessary!" Fang Zhengzhi replied as he kept the token.

    Silence.

    Shan Ling did not speak.

    The King and Princess Shan Yu did not speak either. However, the two of them knew that it was over.

    Since there was no other option...

    There was no need to hesitate.

    "Fang Zhengzhi... tell us what the Great Xia wants!" Shan Ling broke the silence. He was keenly aware of the situation now.

    There was no free lunch in this world.

    "Even though the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army are strong, they are not familiar with the terrain here. If we are to beat the Demons to the Iron Hill Settlement, we need your cooperation."

    "What kind of cooperation?"

    "The terrain, we need to know the terrain!"

    "You want a map of the Southern Region?!"

    "Yes."

    "No way! That is the advantage that we have. The map is owned only by the royal family. If we hand it to you, we will be showing the Great Xia everything we have."

    "Mm, you make sense. So, please give the order."

    "What kind of order?"

    "The order for your men toe with us? Since you are not going to give us the map, we will need a guide!" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "No need, I will be your guide!" Princess Shan Yu interrupted and walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    She did not seem to be asking for permission.

    Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu and the King. He bit his lip so hard that blood began to trickle down from the side.

    "And me... I will guide you too!" Shan Ling made a decision.

    "My son!"

    "Father, please take care of the city!"

    "Son... daughter, please be careful." The King nodded as he looked at Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu.

    Someone needed to defend the Sagely Mountain City.

    This was the core and root of the Southern Region. As long as it stood, the morale of the Southern Region soldiers would never be broken.

    "Long live the King, long live the Crown Prince, long live the Princess!" All of the servants hollered in unison.

    Princess Shan Yu looked at the servants, then back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She felt like there was something strange about this. Fang Zhengzhi would normally have taken advantage of such an opportunity to rob the Southern Region.

    But...

    He didn¡¯t ask for anything.

    The negotiation was far too easy and smooth.

    There was no draft, no signature, no document. They had simply made a verbal promise! That was it?

    Princess Shan Yu felt that something was wrong.

    But, that was how it went down.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did want to take advantage of the situation. However, the situation was critical and he didn¡¯t have time.

    As for the agreement Princess Shan Yu was thinking about.

    He would never sign it.

    Because...

    He wanted to forget it all. He never wanted anyone else to know that the deal with the Southern Region had anything to do with him.

    It wasn¡¯t because he was noble.

    It was because he did not want anyone to know that he had used his Emperor¡¯s Token inappropriately.

    He was much too young to die. This was despite the fact that it was likely that the Emperor would spare his life in this case.

    Even so, he wasn¡¯t willing to risk it.

    It was just a possibility.

    He would not dismiss the possibility that it would go wrong. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of rising through the ranks and bing a politician.

    As such, he would never take such a risk.

    Finally...

    And most importantly...

    He did not know if the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were here. This was just a guess.

    He also had no idea if they could really beat the Demons to the Iron Hill Settlement and buy enough time for the rest of the army.

    These were all questions.

    There were too many uncertainties.

    As such, all the terms, deals, and agreements would be meaningless.

    "Shall we go?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She didn¡¯t know what he was thinking about, but she knew that they had no time to lose.

    Shan Ling looked at Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    The Sagely Mountain City had 20,000 guards initially. However, the battle had already killed 30% of them, leaving only 14,000 behind.

    These men would remain to defend the city.

    They were here just in case the Demons doubled back and tried an attack on the capital.

    As such...

    Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu were only waiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s soldiers. To be more precise, they were waiting for the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army.

    "Okay, let¡¯s go!" Fang Zhengzhi stood up and nodded. Then, he wiped the water off of his body and walked out.

    Outside...

    The six wounded soldiers raised their broken spears when they saw Fang Zhengzhi exit.

    "Stop!" Shan Ling bellowed.

    The six spears froze in mid-air.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even take a second look at the guards. He simply walked through them.

    Because...

    His first order of business was to find the Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army.

    "Xing Hou... I believe in you. If I can see the hidden message in the order, I am sure you can too! Where are you all? Inside the city? Or at the foot of the hill? Could you... give me a hint?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sky.

    The night was calm.

    Stars filled the night sky and an icy wind assaulted his body. Winter wasing.

 Chapter 425: The link between a low cut and your neck

    Chapter 425: The link between a low cut and your neck

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    As the leader of the Thirteen Constabries, Xing Yuanguo could see through the hidden message embedded within the Emperor¡¯s orders.

    "In peace we shall live, in separation we shall perish."

    Furthermore, Xing Yuanguo¡¯s understanding of this statement was even deeper than Fang Zhengzhi. He also considered the diplomatic implications.

    A powerful empire would ept its smaller neighbours as vassals. This is something that was verymon throughout history.

    Sometimes, it was because the empire was in its nascent stages and had other pressing issues to settle. Other times, it was due to a stark difference in cultures, and the Empire wanted to ensure peace and rtive uniformity throughout its citizens.

    The rtionship between the Southern Region and the Great Xia belonged to thetter.

    Culture and beliefs.

    Even if the Great Xia could conquer the Southern Region, they would not do so. The Southern Region was far too different from the Great Xia.

    If the Great Xia tried to enforce their ideologies...

    This would result in chaos and rebellions. They would need a disproportionate amount of resources to maintain peace here.

    Both Emperor Lin Mubai and Xing Yuanguo were keenly aware of this fact.

    As for diplomatic rtions...

    Any rational Emperor would use a mixture of benevolence and dominance. That being said, one would always be used more than the other.

    He would not get into the details of their pros and cons right now.

    However, one thing was certain. The Great Xia did not want to conquer the Southern Region. The Great Xia was not looking at immediate returns, they were looking at long-term survival.

    Most people would have chosen to exert dominance.

    In fact, the Great Xia had been doing just that all these years.

    Even though the Southern Region dered war on the Great Xia and wanted to form an empire of their own, the Great Xia still chose the path of dominance.

    The reason was simple.

    Long-term survival.

    This was not an empty statement.

    The Southern Region was unique.

    Exert Dominance?

    How?

    Were they going to send an arrogant official? Or were they going to dispatch soldiers as a garrison? Both these solutions were of no use.

    The best way was to kill!

    They would kill so much that the Southern Region would submit.

    However, how many people were there in the Southern Region? Not many... if theymitted genocide, thisnd would be barren.

    As such, there was only one way the Great Xia could deal with the Southern Region. Benevolence...

    When it came to benevolence...

    The best method was not to bribe them with treasures, beauties, and rations. The best way was to give them aid when they needed it the most.

    When Xing Yuanguo had seen the statement, "in peace we shall live, in separation we shall perish", he had already understood why Emperor Lin Mubai had sent the Minister of Law.

    Wait!

    Wait for the right time to help the Southern Region.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance had caused the war between the Great Xia and the Southern Region to be brought forward. On the surface, it seemed like the Great Xia had lost the initiative.

    However...

    It had also made the Great Xia irrelevant in the eyes of the Southern Region and the Demons.

    With the Stable Mountain Gate broken, they would have no ess to reinforcements. Furthermore, the Crown Prince could not start moving to the Icy Monkey Settlement before the examinations were over.

    The Crown Prince would never have interfered with the battle between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi. That would have been akin to announcing to the Southern Region that they were plotting to attack the capital.

    As such, when Emperor Lin Mubai received news that the Stable Mountain Gate had been breached, he had already foreseen the direction of the war.

    The Crown Prince was surrounded, and any victory at the Icy Monkey Settlement would be pyrrhic. In the best case scenario, they would be able to take a lone city.

    A lone city that was bound to fall.

    Under such circumstances...

    Neither the Southern Region nor the Demons would see the Great Xia as a threat. As such, they would move on to the next steps of their ns.

    They would try to gain the upper hand.

    As a result, the Great Xia would be able to hide in the shadows.

    They would benefit from this conflict.

    Initially, the conflict seemed to be between the Great Xia and the Southern Region whilst the Demons watched from the side. However, in the blink of an eye, the Great Xia were now the bystanders.

    How was this a bad thing?

    When Xing Yuanguo saw the edict, he understood exactly what the Emperor meant. As such, he bided his time and waited for the right time to jump in and aid the Southern Region.

    From here on out...

    Things were simple.

    In order to observe, he could not stay in the Icy Monkey Settlement. There was no battle there to be observed. Neither could he bring his entire army. As such, Xing Yuanguo only brought the elite squads, the Mountain Breaking Army and the Dragon Protection Squad.

    As he predicted.

    The Sagely Mountain City was embroiled in battle.

    It was an intense battle.

    The Southern Region was being beaten back as predicted. However, Xing Yuanguo could not understand how the Southern Region was able to hold out this long despite being severely disadvantaged.

    Furthermore...

    He could not understand why there was a sudden ceasefire.

    Most importantly, the Demons actually decided to retreat despite having every advantage.

    Xing Yuanguo was stunned.

    He had thetest, most urate intel. As such, he knew that the Southern Region had set up an ambush of 80,000 soldiers just outside the Sagely Mountain City. However, based on the current situation, they would be insufficient.

    Even if they managed to emerge victorious, it would be pyrrhic.

    As such, his n was to wait for the reinforcements to arrive and for the battle to intensify. Just before the city was broken...

    He would swoop in and save the King and the Crown Prince.

    But in the end...

    The city wasn¡¯t broken!

    The 80,000 soldiers didn¡¯t show up!

    And the Demons retreated!

    It was no wonder Xing Yuanguo was stunned.

    Under such a situation, they could not enter the city to ¡¯rescue¡¯ the King and the Crown Prince. If they did so now, it would have been kidnap!

    Xing Yuanguo was not rash.

    In fact, he was extremely calm.

    He did not know what happened between the Demons and the Southern Region, but he knew that he had to be patient.

    The capital was not broken and the King and the Crown Prince were still in the city.

    He would wait.

    Wait for the Demons to double back. He would wait for the next opportunity.

    Of course, he also sent people to tail the Demons and find out where they were headed towards.

    Before long...

    He was rewarded with new intel.

    "Xing Hou, the Demons are headed towards the Iron Hill Settlement!"

    "Iron Hill Settlement?" Xing Yuanguo was shocked.

    At that moment, he began thinking about the possibilities. Why would the Demons rush over? Was there a battle there?

    That¡¯s impossible... there are no soldiers in the Iron Hill Settlement... hang on, could it be that the 80,000 soldiers went there instead of the Sagely Mountain City?

    Why would they go to the Iron Hill Settlement...

    "Oh no! I see now!"

    Xing Yuanguo was an experienced general and he could guess the direction of the battle. He also understood what would happen at the Iron Hill Settlement.

    He was now faced with two choices.

    His first option was to stay put here. His second option was to reinforce the Southern Region at the Iron Hill Settlement. The first option would prevent an excessive loss of lives.

    The second option would go against the Emperor¡¯s wishes and may also result inplete annihtion.

    "Qingsui, what do you think I should do?" Xing Yuanguo turned to Xing Qingsui.

    "Erm... I think that we should get to the Iron Hill Settlement!" Xing Qingsui¡¯s eyes glimmered. He hesitated initially but shrugged it off with steely determination.

    "What about Young Master Nangong?" Xing Yuanguo turned towards Nangong Hao.

    "I am just an academic. When ites to battle, I will follow your orders."

    "Okay then, pass the order, we will head for the Iron Hill Settlement!" Xing Yuanguo chose the second option without hesitation.

    This had nothing to do with arrogance or a want to be recognized.

    It was because...

    He was Xing Hou of the Stabilization Constabry!

    "Yes, sir!" The soldier responded.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had guessed that Xing Yuanguo would have brought the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army here. It was true that they hade.

    But...

    They had left.

    The result was no surprise.

    Fang Zhengzhi tried many ways to attract Xing Yuanguo¡¯s attention.

    For example, he chose to walk slowly through the capital, changing into his signature blue long sleeved shirt as he did so.

    In his mind...

    Since Xing Yuanguo hade to the Sagely Mountain City to wait, he would definitely send in some spies!

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s methods did not pay off.

    "So they are at the foot of the hill." Fang Zhengzhi felt like he had overestimated Xing Yuanguo.

    The most dangerous ce was also the safest!

    This was something that had been recorded in the annals of history!

    As the leader of the Stabilization Constabry, how can he choose to hide at the foot of the hill? He should be braver!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not approve of that decision.

    But, he could understand it.

    In order to draw attention to himself, Fang Zhengzhi tried to walk towards the more secluded areas, making funny noises as he did so.

    "Hahahaha..."

    "Hehehe!"

    "Hohoho... gagaga..."

    "..."

    He literally made every sound one could possibly think of. However, to his disappointment...

    Apart from drawing queer looks from Princess Shan Yu and Crown Prince Shan Ling.

    It was no use.

    It was just as quiet as before.

    "Crown Prince, Princess, what color do you like?" Fang Zhengzhi did not lose hope. He decided to announce hispanions.

    He was virtually shouting it out at this point.

    He was sure that Xing Yuanguo would definitely look out when he heard something like that.

    However...

    It was still silent.

    Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu were now at a loss.

    "Color?" Shan Ling nced at Fang Zhengzhi, toozy to answer such a stupid question. Why is he asking about color?

    Shouldn¡¯t he be linking up with the Great Xia army?

    They were almost at the foot of the Sagely Mountain, yet, they had yet to see any soldiers.

    Shan Ling was beginning to doubt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    How can someone sent by the Emperor have no way of contacting the soldiers?

    Was he faking it?

    Did they fall for another one of his tricks?

    Shan Ling wondered to himself.

    However, he decided to dismiss that suspicion. After all, Fang Zhengzhi had the Emperor¡¯s token in his hand.

    In Shan Ling¡¯s mind...

    No matter how audacious and shameless Fang Zhengzhi was, he would never give a fake order. This was a crime that was punishable by death!

    No one would dare to do it.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was a young rank four official with boundless potential. He was not going to risk it all in this way.

    Wait!

    Shan Ling decided to wait!

    Of course, if they reached the foot of the hill and Fang Zhengzhi had no way of contacting the two elite squads, then it would mean that he was lying all along.

    There was no Dragon Protection Squad or Mountain Breaking Army.

    The 80,000 soldiers at the Iron Hill Settlement were dead meat.

    As such...

    Was there any point in keeping him alive?

    Shan Ling clenched his fists as he watched Fang Zhengzhi swagger ahead. Then, he unclenched them slowly.

    Princess Shan Yu was slightly different.

    She did not doubt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    She was curious as to why Fang Zhengzhi would ask such a question? What was he trying to do?

    Or...

    Was he going to buy clothes for her?

    But why would a Princess need someone to buy clothes for her?

    "I like white clothes, pure white. I do not like having other colors on it. Furthermore, it must be low cut, so that my neck seems longer..." Princess Shan Yuid out all her conditions for clothes.

    "Are you stupid? With a low cut, who would be looking at your neck?" Even though Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why Princess Shan Yu would talk about clothes...

    He still felt a need to correct her idea.

 Chapter 426: Lost her mind

    Chapter 426: Lost her mind

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Where will they be looking then..." Princess Shan Yu asked hesitantly as she stroked her neck.

    However...

    When her hand extended downwards, her expression froze and she blushed.

    "Shameless!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why he should never bepletely honest when talking to girls. Else, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    How close was he to Princess Shan Yu?

    He was right next to her! Their shoulders were almost touching!

    How terrifying was Princess Shan Yu in closebat?

    Fang Zhengzhi could only imagine it before. However, now, he could feel it for himself! Two fingers jabbed him in the thigh with an immense amount of force.

    "Ow!!!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed.

    As to why he was hit...

    After saying what he did, Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was inappropriate and that he should exin himself.

    He was still thinking of the most appropriate exnation to use.

    For example, he nned to say that he did not mock her on purpose. He was just trying to lighten the mood and made an inappropriate joke.

    However, before he could say anything, he saw the attacking towards him.

    "Sneak attack?" Fang Zhengzhi never expected Princess Shan Yu to strike without warning.

    He had to admit that the sneak attack at a close distance was a great tactic. However, it was no use on Fang Zhengzhi.

    He ducked and it sailed over his head.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t expect that it would be a two-pronged attack. He had dodged the attack from the top, but he didn¡¯t notice the oneing from below. Just as he ducked, he felt a sharp pain at his thigh.

    He felt someone pinch his thigh really hard.

    Even the toughest men would scream in pain.

    "A feint! Good tactic!"

    Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself as he screamed. Princess Shan Yu was experienced and battle-hardened, especially in closebat.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what he was thinking.

    He decided to imitate the technique.

    He didn¡¯t think that the technique was tooplicated.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t going to get hit without retaliating.

    As such, whilst he was screaming in pain, his hands sprung into action. His right hand swung towards Princess Shan Yu¡¯s face at lightning quick speeds.

    His left hand copied Princess Shan Yu¡¯s technique and went to the inside of her thighs.

    Since Princess Shan Yu was so adept at closebat, she would definitely hear the attacking and duck.

    He would be able to retaliate the same way! An eye for an eye.

    However...

    It was not to be...

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had used such a technique. His inexperience caused him to neglect the fact that Princess Shan Yu was on his left.

    He failed to consider the distance.

    Since Princess Shan Yu was on his left, which attack would find its mark first?

    The question was quickly answered.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left hand hit home first. Furthermore, it had hit the bullseye. Princess Shan Yu¡¯s thighs were smooth, almost like silk.

    "How smooth!"

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi lost all concentration. This caused him to forget that his purpose was to attack.

    Perhaps...

    It was a natural reaction for a man.

    Princess Shan Yu had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. She felt someone touch her thighs. She waspletely stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacity.

    How dare he touch the insides of my thighs?!

    That was such a sensitive location. Princess Shan Yu shuddered instinctively.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had stabbed her with his fingers...

    She may not have been so riled up. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not attack, choosing to stroke it instead.

    This was a very different feeling. It felt as though there were electrical currents flowing through her body, numbing her senses. As a result, she failed to notice the other attacking for her face.

    At that moment, she only had one thought in her mind.

    How dare he do this?!

    How dare he?!

    She was a princess!

    However, her train of thought was quickly interrupted. She felt something sh against her face.

    It was, fast, heavy, and hot.

    "Smack!"

    A crisp sound broke the silence.

    Princess Shan Yu had taken the full brunt of the p. The pain caused her to see stars and caused her mind to nk out.

    For the first time ever, Princess Shan Yu...

    Was stumped.

    Fang Zhengzhi was equally stumped.

    His left hand was still on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s thigh whilst his right hand was still warm and numb from the p.

    What was going on?

    Why didn¡¯t she duck?

    Isn¡¯t she an expert in closebat? How could she fail to dodge a simple p? What is going on?

    Hang on...

    He... he just pped a Princess!

    Fang Zhengzhi was rarely stumped after a sessful attack. He would usually express his scorn and disdain.

    But this time...

    He was at a loss.

    He had absolutely no idea what to do.

    Even the war-hardened Crown Prince of the Southern Region was speechless.

    Was his sister pped?

    Right in front of him?

    What a powerful p!

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t know how to respond. He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to have the audacity to do such a thing! They were in the Southern Region!

    How dare he...

    Hit my sister?!

    He hit her right after he mocked her?!

    Who the hell does he think he is?!

    Shan Ling felt a wave of fury well up in his chest. At that moment, hepletely forgot about the 80,000 soldiers waiting for his help.

    All he thought about was...

    How he was going to kill this shameless and audacious b*stard!

    "Ah!! Fang Zhengzhi, I am going to kill you!" Shan Ling¡¯s de shone brightly, like a firefly in the night sky, its terrifying iciness gushing out in waves.

    Kacha, kacha.

    The leaves on the trees all froze over.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also enveloped by ayer of ice. He was only wearing his trademark blue long-sleeved shirt and had no leather jacket or armor to protect him.

    It was cold...

    Then, the second thought in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was...

    Run!

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to save the Great Xia and the 80,000 soldiers from this apocalypse. But now, he tossed that idea out of his mind.

    Right now...

    He needed to save himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected that things would turn out this way. He felt that he had already done his best to ensure that things progressed in a positive manner.

    He had used all his skills and smarts to convince the Crown Prince of the Southern Region to follow his n.

    He had also managed to negotiate for an alliance.

    Even though they did not sign an agreement...

    The idea and intention were good.

    By this time, he should have already found the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army. He would have brought along the Crown Prince and the Princess, gaining him the admiration of the soldiers.

    He would then share his n.

    This was the perfect n.

    Everything was supposed to fall into ce.

    However... everything seemed to be going wrong!

    Was he supposed to exin himself?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin himself, but Princess Shan Yu wouldn¡¯t bother to hear it, much less Shan Ling.

    He had pped the Princess!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what was going through Princess Shan Yu¡¯s mind.

    If he was the one who was pped, he would never give the other party a chance to exin. This concerned his pride and dignity.

    How can a princess be pped by an outsider?

    If they didn¡¯t retaliate, then they would be easy pickings for others.

    Fang Zhengzhi realized this, and Shan Ling¡¯s response proved it. As such, there was no need to hesitate.

    Running away was his only option.

    He had to escape...

    The faster the better!

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi summoned his greatest strength. After all, he had grown up in the mountains.

    Even though the terrain was unfamiliar, it didn¡¯t slow him down.

    How fast was he?

    The only way to describe it was...

    He was rolling and crawling at the same time!

    He was using his hands and feet to get away.

    He could not care about how he looked. After all, there was a deing for his neck.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stable and fast. As he ran, he turned back to take a look at Princess Shan Yu¡¯s reaction

    He was greeted by a shocking sight.

    If Princess Shan Yu was like a fireball before, right now, she looked like a red beast bathing in fire.

    "Aroo!"

    A guttural roar pierced through the air.

    It was filled with anger.

    An intense rage.

    Her rage shot through the night sky and into the dense forest.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    The red patterns on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s skin were clear for all to see. However, it was different from what he had seen before...

    Her skin!

    Previously, when the cloud patterns covered her skin, her skin did not change much. It still looked the same shade as before.

    But this time...

    It changed!

    Very drastically!

    Right now, her skin was as dark as ink. It was the same color throughout, from her face, all the way to her feet.

    It looked as though she had been stained with ck ink.

    Most importantly, her pupils turned into balls of fire, dancing in her eyes.

    "Monster!" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    He had known that the Southern Region cultivation techniques were different from the Great Xia. They cultivated their bloodlines.

    But, he was still stunned by this terrifying sight.

    Was she transforming?

    Why did she look like that?

    I wonder if...

    Can she still recognize me?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, he saw the two balls of me in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes lock onto him.

    "Ah! Fang Zhengzhi, I will have your head!" Princess Shan Yu unsheathed her daggers.

    At the same time, a ray of maroon light shot towards him.

    "She still hasn¡¯t lost her mind!" Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief.

    She had not turned into a beast.

    Hang on!

    No!

    She had already lost her mind!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a chill down his back as he sprinted forward, not looking back anymore.

    Forget the alliance and the lives of the 80,000 soldiers. Forget the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army...

    Fang Zhengzhi cursed as he ran.

    It had alle to nothing!

 Chapter 427: Battle, a good opportunity to contribute

    Chapter 427: Battle, a good opportunity to contribute

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly made the choice between saving himself and saving others.

    He really wanted to save others.

    But, he needed to save himself first!

    Guilt.

    Fang Zhengzhi did feel guilty. Even though he did not really mean to p Princess Shan Yu, it had already happened.

    Provide an exnation?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin himself, but this was not something that he could exin himself out of.

    He had pped a princess...

    Even if Princess Shan Yu believed that he did not mean to p her, it would not absolve him of me! If you were drunk and slept with someone¡¯s wife, you would still have to be responsible for it.

    Just because it was an ident didn¡¯t mean that you were off the hook!

    Even without considering the possibility of a baby, the woman¡¯s husband would never let you off!

    That was the situation Fang Zhengzhi was in.

    He had pped Princess Shan Yu in front of Shan Ling. As such, Shan Ling would never let him off.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, stop right there! I will have your head!"

    "Don¡¯t you dare run!"

    Their voices reverberated throughout the forest.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not going to stand there stupidly. He continued to sprint on all fours as he tried to put some distance between himself and the two furious royalties.

    Visibility was bad in the forests and this made it hard for Shan Yu and Shan Ling to track Fang Zhengzhi.

    After about 15 minutes...

    They lost him.

    "Phew..." Fang Zhengzhi caught his breath as he rested in between a couple ofrge rocks. That sprint drained him of much energy.

    But now, he had a huge problem on his hands.

    On the surface, it looked like Fang Zhengzhi was safe. However, without Shan Ling and Shan Yu to guide him, where was he going to go?

    Was he going to find the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army?

    Fang Zhengzhi had given up all hope of that. That 15 minutes of running meant that he had already left the Sagely Mountain City far behind him.

    Throughout the entire journey, he didn¡¯t see any trace of them.

    Where were they?

    Did they note to the Sagely Mountain City?

    That¡¯s impossible!

    The edict was clear! They were supposed to wait for an opportunity to y the savior! Where else was this opportunity supposed toe from?

    Could it be...

    That they were at the Iron Hill Settlement?

    The thought shed past Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Ordinarily, he would not think of something like that. However, the 50,000 Demon soldiers had already been ordered to the Iron Hill Settlement.

    As such, if the two elite squads had been setting up an ambush here, they would have caught wind of that.

    It wasn¡¯t a stretch to think that Xing Yuanguo would bring his troops there. An astute general like him would know how important that battle was.

    But, all of these were mere guesses.

    What if...

    Was he wrong?

    What if he ran off to the Iron Hill Settlement whilst Xing Yuanguo was still in the Icy Monkey Settlement? Won¡¯t he be jumping to his death?

    No way!

    The safest option would be to return to the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned towards the Icy Monkey Settlement but stopped himself in his tracks.

    If he really chose to run away...

    Then...

    What was going to happen to the Iron Hill Settlement?

    How was he going to settle the misunderstanding between Princess Shan Yu and him? He could run for now, but could he run forever?

    Furthermore, how was he going to settle the misunderstanding between Princess Shan Yu and him? He can run now, but he can¡¯t run forever.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked at the stars in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked at the stars.

    He was someone who was afraid of death, but he was still a responsible person. Since he had caused this...

    He had to be the one to solve it.

    He will have to risk it!

    Fang Zhengzhi bit his lip. He would rarely risk his life on something, but he had no choice this time.

    He would go to the Iron Hill Settlement.

    If Xing Yuanguo was really on his way there, then he would have a chance to meet the two elite squads on the way.

    Furthermore...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the only way he could redeem himself was to save the lives of the 80,000 soldiers.

    "I will go and have a look, mm... just a look!" Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists and ran in the direction of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    He did not know the exact location of the settlement.

    However, based on the map given to him by Wu Yuer, he had an idea of the direction he had to run towards.

    For an ordinary person, the dense forests may be difficult to navigate...

    But for Fang Zhengzhi, it was no problem.

    ...

    Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu gave chase for a mile before stopping. Speeding through the forest was not difficult for them.

    In fact, it was easy.

    However, after chasing for so long, Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu were beginning to regain theirposure.

    "That guy runs fast. Rest assured sister, as long as he is still here, no... even if he returns to the Great Xia, I will kill him!" Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu affectionately.

    Princess Shan Yu looked back at him, her posture rxing as her skin reverted to its original state and color.

    "Brother, what do we do now?" Princess Shan Yu asked as she looked into the dense forest.

    Shan Ling was silent.

    They were already a mile from the Sagely Mountain City and there was still no sight of the Dragon Protection Squad or the Mountain Breaking Army.

    That meant that...

    Fang Zhengzhi had lied to them.

    Urgh!

    He must have done it on purpose!

    He had used this ruse as a way to escape from the clutches of Shan Ling!

    How shameless!

    "I will go to the Iron Hill Settlement. You go back to the capital and take care of father! As long as the capital stands, we will be fine!" Shan Ling said decisively. "Rest assured! As long as I am there, our soldiers have hope. Even if I am to die there, I will dy them long enough for reinforcements to arrive. We... still have hope!"

    "Since you have decided to go to the Iron Hill Settlement, how can I go back to the Sagely Mountain City?" Princess Shan Yu had made up her mind too.

    "But sister, I only have one..."

    "Enough, do you not know my character?"

    "Okay then! We will head straight for the Iron Hill Settlement. I am sure father knows what to do!"

    "Mm!"

    ...

    The Iron Hill Settlement was not named as such because its defenses were sturdy.

    In fact...

    Its location was quite unstrategic.

    There were no cliffs, no raised ins, no natural defenses. The Iron Hill Settlement was one of the worst ces to defend.

    However, it was an extremely important settlement. In fact, it was arguably more important than the Icy Monkey Settlement, which bordered the Sagely Mountain City.

    The Iron Hill Settlement was built on an iron mine.

    In other words...

    This was the weapons factory.

    There were many cksmiths scattered throughout the settlement. The metalworks caused the Settlement to have a metallic glow.

    The walls of the settlement were some of the sturdiest around, but there were no natural barriers around the settlement.

    They had been surrounded.

    Furthermore...

    Their opponents outnumbered them greatly. It was all too easy for them to attack from all sides.

    The sun was at its zenith.

    "General, what do we do now? Teng Shisheng has reported that the Demon Army will arrive in about two hours." A messenger fell to his knees in front of a middle-aged man.

    This man had ck skin and carried two wolf tooth shaped weapons on his back. He was bald and wore heavy armor.

    This was the General Mu, the same general who had been by Princess Shan Yu¡¯s side during her archerypetition with Fang Zhengzhi.

    But now...

    General Tai had already been demoted.

    As such, General Mu became the deputy. In Princess Shan Yu¡¯s absence, he was now themander.

    "Split our army into four and have them guard the gates!" General Mu frowned.

    "Yes, general!" The messenger nodded and ran down the steps towards the other generals waiting at the base of the wall.

    The generals on the city wall all looked at General Mu with doubt.

    "Old wood, the Demons are alreadying. We can¡¯t be splitting our forces. Even if we concentrated on holding just one gate, we might not be able to do it!" A voice rang out.

    The voice hade from the recently demoted General Tai. His beard was prickly, but he was missing an arm.

    The arm that Fang Zhengzhi had taken.

    No other general would have dared to address General Mu as ¡¯old wood¡¯. However, General Mu wasn¡¯t angered by this.

    He sighed.

    "Tai... we have known each other for quite some time. We have been training together since we were five and we came to serve the princess together. Now, we are in trouble, and this is also an opportunity for you to do something great. Are you willing to help me?" General Mu looked to General Tai.

    "With what? An arm? Haha... you want my only remaining arm?" General Tai hesitated.

    He didn¡¯t seem to be convinced.

    However, he quickly suppressed it.

    "Are you willing to help?"

    "Hahaha... you know that I will help you. However, I am just a low ranking general now, how can I help you?"

    "I will hold the front gate myself. The nks are close by and I can take care of those as well. However, I am a little worried... about the back gate! If you are willing..."

    "Enough, I will get there immediately!"

    "Okay then, here are your orders. You are to take 20,000 soldiers and hold the back gate! You are not to let it fall! However, your rank does not change! These are orders from the Princess!" General Mu handed a tiger head token to General Tai.

    "Roger that!" General Tai nodded and took the token in his hand as he turned and left.

    General Mu looked at his disappearing silhouette, smiling as he did so, "You really haven¡¯t let me down!"

    ...

    Time flew.

    There was an ominous boom at the gate of the Iron Hill Settlement as dozens of soldiers pushed it open.

    "Aroo!"

    The chilling roar of beasts cut through the air.

    A squad of soldiers could be seen sprinting towards the settlement from afar. They were all well built and lightning quick.

    The Silver Horned Wolves.

    The best of the best.

    The Silver Horned Wolves streamed into the city. They were rather flustered, a stark contrast from their usual disciplined demeanor.

    After thest of them had entered the city, the gate was shut once again.

    The sun shone brightly on the ground, revealing fresh blood stains. No one knew if they were from the soldiers or the wolves.

    "General Mu, Teng Shisheng is back, but..."

    "But what?"

    "There are less than 1200 surviving Silver Horned Wolves. Of those 1200, 200 are severely injured, 300 have light injuries..."

    "What?!"

 Chapter 428: Yun Qingwu predicted everything

    Chapter 428: Yun Qingwu predicted everything

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    General Mu was not the most powerful in the army based on ability alone. Furthermore, his bald head gave off a barbaric aura.

    However, he had always been one of the most valued advisors to Princess Shan Yu. He was always able to maintain inposure.

    But now...

    Upon hearing that less than 1200 Silver Horned Wolves remained with 500 of those wounded, his expression changed drastically.

    This was something that had never happened in the history of the Southern Region.

    The Silver Horned Wolves...

    Individually, they were not much of a threat, but 3000 Silver Horned Wolves together was apletely different matter altogether.

    The ancestors had carried out experiments.

    They had gathered beasts of simr ability and power together. However, they realized that none of them could match the power of a pack of Silver Horned Wolves.

    If one pit 10 Heavenly Reflection State Purple Lightning Lions and 10 Heavenly Reflection State Silver Horned Wolves against each other, the difference would not be too great. But when that number became 100, or even 1000...

    The difference was obvious.

    The Silver Horned Wolves were agile, ferocious, and fast. Once theytched onto their enemy, they would not let go. Most importantly, they had an innate ability to cooperate.

    Thousands of them could work together just as effectively as a handful. If they were trained well, every wolf could even maximize its potential on the battlefield.

    This was a quality none of the other beasts had.

    As such, the ancestors of the Southern Region elected to feed and train the Silver Horned Wolves, eventually forming the Silver Horned Wolves Squad.

    But today...

    The pride of the Southern Region Army had just been dealt a harsh blow. Less than half of them survived the sh.

    What had happened?

    General Mu never expected that this would happen. Their orders were to make use of their agility and use gueri tactics to engage the enemy.

    How could they suffer such terrifying losses?

    "Could it be... that a huge battle had taken ce?" General Mu frowned. That was the only possibility General Mu could think of.

    General Mu knew Teng Shisheng¡¯s abilities well.

    As the leader of the Silver Horned Wolves Squad, he was no risk taker. On the contrary, he was extremely disciplined and had great patience.

    As such, he would never have overextended.

    So...

    The only possibility was that they were revealed and the Demon Army intercepted them. As a result, they had to fight their way out.

    General Mu clenched his fists.

    The losses had already been inflicted and there was nothing he could do about it.

    That being said, there should still be a silver lining.

    After such an intense battle with the Silver Horned Wolves, the Demons must have been slowed down significantly.

    "General, the Demons... they¡¯re here!" Just as General Mu was about to catch some rest, an anxious voice rang out at his side. This stunned General Mu.

    "So fast?!" General Mu missed a step and nearlynded on his butt.

    How could they be that fast?

    Didn¡¯t they just sh with the Silver Horned Wolves? They should have been dyed! The Demons were here moments after the Silver Horned Wolves entered the city. Teng Shisheng didn¡¯t even have the time to report the status...

    And the Demons were here?

    What the hell was going on?!

    General Mu was at a loss.

    ...

    "Kaboom!" An earth-shaking sound cut through the air as a sea of ck appeared on the horizon.

    This was a well organized and disciplined army.

    Their ck armor covered them from head to toe. The army was split into two formations.

    The one on the leftprised archers, each one carrying a ck metal bow on their back.

    The bows glistened under the sun.

    In their left hand were shields of various designs. Each shield was a meter and a half in height.

    They held arge de in their right hand.

    The formation on the right consisted of cavalry. Their armor extended to their beasts as well.

    They also carried bows on their backs but wielded spears in their arms.

    The Demon Army.

    They were the most powerful army in the region.

    General Mu paled. He had always known that the Demon Army was powerful, but he was not expecting this.

    A decade ago...

    General Mu was a low ranking general at a border city.

    He had shed with the Demons then. The Demons were able to wreak havoc in his ranks, but he still managed to emerge victorious.

    Back then...

    The Demons were powerful, but they were an arrogant race. They were not willing to follow orders.

    In a mad rush to show off their prowess on the battlefield, they failed to work as a team.

    As such... General Mu was able to wrestle victory from the hands of the Demons.

    But now... the Demon Army he saw sent a chill down his spine. Their rows were straight, their steps in sync...

    Furthermore...

    This was the Southern Region!

    And full of trees and rocks.

    General Mu saw some Demons hanging between two rocks or climbing on some just to maintain the straight line...

    This would have been impossible a decade ago.

    What kind of power was able to instill such discipline into the Demon Army?!

    That wasn¡¯t all...

    Most importantly, General Mu saw a squad dressed in ck cloaks at the front of the formation.

    This squad was 500 strong.

    The ck cloak covered their bodies, but could not hide the terrifying aura they exuded.

    General Mu finally understood why the Silver Horned Wolves Squad suffered such heavy losses.

    No matter how powerful they were, they could not beat this squad. No matter how fast they were, they could not be faster than this squad.

    A faint red light shone through their ck cloaks, revealing the cultivation state of these demons.

    The Domain Chiefs, Vice Domain Chiefs, elites...

    All of them were present!

    "Why?! What is happening?" General Mu thought that he knew the Demons well. As such... he could not believe what was happening.

    The Demons were different from humans.

    There were significantly fewer demons, which caused them to treasure lives a lot more. The powerful ones were especially important.

    As such...

    The Demons had always been rather risk averse.

    In their minds...

    They would rather keep the powerful demons protected and let the weaker ones battle it out. That was the only way they could grow.

    As such, the leaders would rarely appear on the frontlines.

    At the very least...

    They will not ALL be on the frontlines. This time, not a single domain chief or elite was at the back.

    General Mu trembled where he stood.

    He could only imagine what had happened when Teng Shisheng had shed with the squad of 500.

    It would have been a massacre.

    It was a miracle that Teng Shisheng could lead the Silver Horned Wolves out of such a situation. 1200 survivors was a miraculous number.

    "What is going on? What... happened to the Demons over the past decade?!" General Mu had never felt such fear.

    The orderly Demon Army and the aura they exuded forced him to take a step back.

    He was truly afraid.

    In fact, a simr sight had urred before over a decade ago. Back then, the terrified ones were the Demon Ancestors and elites.

    When they saw the formation standing silently behind Yun Qingwu, they could not help but shiver where they stood.

    "Kaboom!"

    A booming sound echoed out.

    The ck armored demons finally stopped, their spears lowered towards the Iron Hill Settlement.

    "Boom!" Their shields crashed into the ground with a thunderous sound.

    The sun shone brightly on thend, revealing their demonic eyes and the powerful aura that they brought with them.

    General Mu gripped the twin des on his back. This was the only way he could stop himself from trembling.

    "The Demons have really emptied their city for this attack!" General Mu sighed resignedly as he saw the gargantuan army.

    He remembered the scene back in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s administrative tent.

    If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t around...

    The 80,000 soldiers would have been in the Sagely Mountain City? General Mu trembled at that thought.

    The survival of the Southern Region was in the hands of an outsider?!

    It was hrious and exasperating at the same time.

    General Mu took a deep breath as a crisp sound cut through the air. The sound hade from arge carriage at the front of the formation.

    The body of the carriage was made from an unknown metal, and it was filled with engravings of variousplicated pictures and patterns.

    The door opened.

    The crisp sound hade from the door opening.

    A figure in white exited the carriage, her long hair extending to her waist. She wore a veil that covered her face. There was a white scarf around her waist which showed off her exquisite figure.

    She dressed very ordinarily.

    There were no jewelry or expensive items on her.

    She looked like a flower blooming in the sea of ck. When this figure exited, General Mu squinted his eyes.

    He knew who thisdy was.

    Yun Qingwu!

    The young master of the Demons.

    "She actually came?" General Mu was not too surprised that Yun Qingwu hade. Her presence was expected.

    But...

    He was curious.

    He was curious how Yun Qingwu had managed to do what she did. How did she manage to get through the defenses of the Southern Region?

    The Demons were strong.

    But so were the defenses of the Southern Region cities. Even though the Iron Hill Settlement did not have any natural defenses, it was not easily broken.

    General Mu was stunned by what he saw next.

    After Yun Qingwu dismounted, she showed no signs of stopping. Instead, she began walking towards the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    "What is she trying to do?!" General Mu simply could not understand what Yun Qingwu¡¯s motives were.

    Negotiation?

    General Mu knew that negotiation was impossible.

    Their army was here and they had already attacked the Sagely Mountain City before this. Not only would the Southern Region not agree to it, the Demons would not waste their time on something so meaningless.

    So...

    What the hell was she doing?

    General Mu¡¯s eyes widened even more, so much so that his eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. Yun Qingwu had stepped into the range of his archers.

    In other words, the moment General Mu gave themand, he could fill the sky with arrows and turn Yun Qingwu into a porcupine.

 Chapter 429: Heavenly Rebirth Dao

    Chapter 429: Heavenly Rebirth Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Kill Yun Qingwu!

    General Mu had no idea what Yun Qingwu wanted, but the thought of killing her shed past his mind as he watched her walk towards the gate.

    Enrage the demons?

    General Mu knew that the death of Yun Qingwu would cause the demons to go crazy, turning this into a massacre.

    But, he also knew that...

    If he could kill Yun Qingwu, it would be a huge loss to the demons.

    "Ready!" General Mu raised his arm.

    The war had begun. There was no use trying to butter up to the demons in an attempt to avoid the massacre that was about to follow.

    As a brave soldier of the Southern Region...

    General Mu was not afraid of death. None of the soldiers guarding the city were afraid to die. As such, there was only one thing left to do, take as many lives as they could before they fell.

    They would kill and kill until they couldn¡¯t kill any longer.

    Anyone who stepped forward...

    Would die!

    "Woosh woosh woosh..." All of the archers on the wall drew their bows when they saw General Mu¡¯s raised hand.

    The arrow glimmered icily under the sun.

    Yun Qingwu did not even skip a step. It was almost as if she didn¡¯t see it. She continued to walk towards the city, her dress dancing in the wind.

    "Die!" General Mu did not hesitate any longer. Yun Qingwu had already entered into the range of the archers.

    "Zoom!"

    "Zoom zoom zoom!"

    The sky was filled with arrows as the soared through the sky, homing down on Yun Qingwu¡¯s position.

    At that very moment, a ray of blue light shone radiantly from the contingent at the front.

    It hade from someone standing to the side of the ck carriage. He was covered by a ck cloak from head to toe, making it impossible for anyone to make out who he was.

    Even so... no one dared to underestimate the power of this ray of light.

    Because...

    After a brief moment, it seemed to have disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already above Yun Qingwu.

    Since the ancient days, people had believed that the sky was blue.

    There was no need to confirm if the ray of blue light had actually disappeared, or if it had blended into the blue sky as it sailed through the air.

    What was certain was that when it appeared on top of Yun Qingwu¡¯s head, it was sky blue.

    The arrow rain sailed towards the ground.

    Itnded on the blue light, passing through it cleanly before the arrows lodged themselves in the ground.

    "We hit our mark?!"

    The Southern Region soldiers rejoiced when they saw the arrows in the ground. However, their excitement was short lived.

    There was no blood on the tips of the arrows.

    Yun Qingwu stopped for a while and looked up at the blue light above her head. Then, she looked at the arrows around her.

    She continued to walk forward, taking care to step on the arrows, snapping them in half.

    "What is going on?" The Southern Region soldiers were confused. They had no idea what had just happened, but they knew it had to do with the blue light.

    General Mu¡¯s expression was pained as well.

    "Die! Fire again!"

    "Zoom zoom zoom..."

    The sky was once again filled with a hail of arrows.

    Just like before, the rain of arrows passed through the blue light and stabbed themselves into the ground.

    It seemed like they hit their mark, but Yun Qingwu was still unharmed.

    It was a strange sight.

    "What the hell is going on?!"

    "We definitely hit her, why is she unharmed?"

    "That is impossible!"

    All of the Southern Region soldiers could not understand what was happening. They saw the arrows pass through Yun Qingwu¡¯s body, but yet, she was unharmed.

    "This... could it be..." General Mu¡¯s expression changed as he thought of a terrifying possibility.

    "General, could it be..."

    The eyes of the other generals widened at this thought. Some of them were in shock whilst others paled.

    "It is!" General Mu¡¯s knuckles whitened as he clenched his fists. He could not ept that this was happening in front of his eyes. It was a terrifying thought.

    All of the other generals gasped in horror when General Mu confirmed their suspicions.

    Before this, they were simply stumped by what was happening. But now, knowing what the light was, they were terrified.

    Because...

    They finally understood what was happening.

    From their vantage point, it looked as though the arrows pierced Yun Qingwu¡¯s body. However, if one was on the ground, one would see that the arrows disappeared briefly upon hitting the blue light.

    In other words, the arrows were transported to a parallel dimension upon hitting the blue light. They went around Yun Qingwu beforending in the ground.

    Not many people knew how this could be aplished.

    It was just like how most could not attain the level of sage.

    Rebirthprised six Daos.

    Each of this was a powerful major Dao. Embedded within these major Daos were countless minor Daos. These minor Daosbined to give the major Daos, just like how countless streams will merge into the sea.

    This was how most people tried to understand Dao.

    They would first understand the minor Daos before moving on to the major Daos.

    Of course...

    There were exceptions.

    Yan Xiu was one such exception.

    Yan Xiu had understood the Dao of Asura. That being said, Natural Law also dictates that one cannot leapfrog to the top without the proper foundations.

    Even though Yan Xiu understood the Dao of Asura...

    He was not in the Rebirth State because he had not understood the thousands of other minor Daos.

    It was as though you opened a huge door but the road ahead was tattered and broken. Even though you were at the door, the road was narrow and unwalkable.

    As a result...

    You couldn¡¯t open the door fully!

    The moment you opened the door fully, the energy within wouldpletely destroy the small road in front of you.

    That was the situation Yan Xiu had found himself in.

    Of course, this was a situation that many would give their lives to be in.

    At the very least, Yan Xiu had already opened the door to the Dao of Asura. All that was left was for him to build on his foundation.

    By understanding the Dao of Asura, Yan Xiu had already set one foot into the Rebirth State.

    Simrly, in order to breakthrough to the Sage State...

    There was another roadblock.

    For countless years, many had managed to breakthrough to the Rebirth State but those who could attain Sage were few and far between.

    The reason was...

    Thest one of the six major Daos.

    "The Heavenly Dao! The Heavenly Rebirth Dao, the strongest of the six Daos!" The Southern Region soldiers finally understood what was happening.

    "Heaven!"

    "That is heaven!"

    All of the soldiers stared at the patch of blue in awe and terror.

    This meant that...

    Amongst the demons, there was one who wielded the Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    In other words, they were up against a demon with one foot into the Sage State. They were not just fighting a vast demon army anymore!

    How were they going to win?

    All of the Southern Region soldiers were at a loss.

    On the other hand, the demon army was infuriated. They had been forced to watch as waves of arrows were shot at their Yun Qingwu.

    Even though the arrows did not do any physical harm to Yun Qingwu, the demons were riled up.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "Die!!"

    The rage and fury exploded from the mouths of thousands of demons, causing the walls of the settlement to shake.

    A dense killing aura rushed out from the bodies of the demons.

    No demon could suppress their rage when they saw Yun Qingwu being threatened this way.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "..."

    Despite no orders being given, the demon army raised and crashed their shields in unison.

    This was a manifestation of their rage.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu stopped at the gate of the Iron Hill Settlement. A light breeze lifted the edges of her dress.

    General Mu¡¯s face was devoid of all color.

    He finally understood why Yun Qingwu would walk over.

    Everything...

    From the moment she had stepped out of that ck carriage, had been within her control.

    She had managed to rile up the entire army...

    Without uttering a single word.

    She used her body as a target!

    How vicious!

    Most importantly, not only did Yun Qingwu motivate those behind her, she demoralized those in front of her.

    The Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    Half sage!

    She had ensured that she had gained every advantage, all by walking calmly towards the city.

    "The Young Master of the Demons... is this her?!" General Mu trembled where he stood.

    General Mu had heard about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s encounter with Yun Qingwu back in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s administrative tent.

    At that time, he did not think much of it.

    But now...

    When he came face to face with Yun Qingwu, he only felt one thing in his heart.

    Fear! Pure, unadulterated fear.

    The ability to strike fear into the enemy even before the battle began was paralyzing. General Mu had no idea how to lead his army anymore.

    In a battle between two armies...

    Morale was paramount.

    But right now, he had no idea how to raise the morale of his men.

    The hundreds of thousands of demons had already started marching towards the city, their steps causing the ground beneath them to shake.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "..."

    ...

    In a huge valley in the Southern Region...

    Countless soldiers in ck armor wielded spears in their hands as they guarded the entrances to the valley.

    The Crown Prince, Lin Tianrong, was lying down inside an exquisitely designed tent. Even though his bed was lined with silk, he could not fall asleep.

    "Your Highness, there is an ambassador from the Southern Region requesting an audience with you!"

    "Ambassador? Let him through." Lin Tianrong seemed to be excited by this news, but his tone was calm.

    "Yes, your highness!" The soldier replied.

    Before long, the ps to the tent were pulled opened and a thin, tanned, middle-aged man was led inside by two soldiers.

    When Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw this man, he blinked in surprise.

    The people of the Southern Region tended to be well built and muscr. But this man was rather thin.

    That being said...

    Lin Tianrong felt a sense of danger from this man. It was almost as if this skinny man in front of him was hiding some immense power.

    "Greetings, your highness." The middle-aged man steadied himself, choosing to keep a distance from the Crown Prince.

    Lin Tianrong was slightly relieved by this fact.

    However, the two soldiers escorting the man grit their teeth in anger. How dare he not kneel when meeting the Crown Prince?!

    Even though they were at war...

    But...

    As soldiers of the Crown Prince¡¯s army, they had to protect the dignity of the Crown Prince and the Great Xia.

    "How dare you not kneel when meeting the Crown Prince?!" One of the soldiers kicked the shin of the middle-aged man.

    "Boom!"

    The skinny middle-aged man ignored the soldier and allowed the kick to hit home. However, his legs did not move at all.

    "Your Highness, this is a letter for you." The middle-aged man retrieved an exquisite piece of leather and handed it to the Crown Prince.

    "You and your people have always been like this. That being said, at the very least, you should still tell me who you are." The Crown Prince frowned.

    "Yan Ya, the Settlement Chief of the Yan Ya Settlement."

 Chapter 430: Changing the facts

    Chapter 430: Changing the facts

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Yan Ya?!"

    When the soldiers heard the name, their expressions changed drastically. They knew that the Settlement Chiefs took on the names of the settlements they led.

    This was a Southern Region tradition.

    However, Yan Ya was not just a name, it was a legacy.

    The names Yan Ya, Shi Zun, and Thunderous Lion all represented a mysterious force and power. The ones who took on the name were also ambassadors of this power.

    "I had no idea you were Settlement Chief Yan Ya. It is my mistake for not recognizing you. Please have a seat!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong felt beads of sweat roll down his forehead.

    However, he maintained a smile on his face.

    His life was now in Yan Ya¡¯s hands. At that distance, he wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to run.

    However, he had never expected that a Settlement Chief woulde to deliver a letter personally.

    What was he after?

    "No need, I am just here to deliver the letter. Once you give me your reply, I will take my leave." Yan Ya presented the leather parchment once again.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smiled.

    He did not speak as he shot a look towards the two soldiers.

    The two soldiers reacted instantly, taking the leather parchment from Yan Ya¡¯s hands and presenting it to the Crown Prince.

    The other soldier exited the tent hastily.

    Before long, there was amotion outside the tent. The sunlight revealed that there were many people standing outside.

    Yan Ya continued to stand motionlessly at the same spot, almost as if he had not seen anything. His expression was calm.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heaved a sigh of relief and took the parchment in his hand.

    However...

    As he read it, his expression froze and his eyes began to glimmer icily.

    "Call Official Su, and get those outside to fall out." Lin Tianrong looked at Yan Ya, hesitated, then gave the order to the soldier beside him.

    "Your highness... if you¡¯re alone..."

    "What are you nagging about? Did you not understand the order?"

    "I¡¯m sorry, your highness!" The soldier sprinted out of the tent.

    Just moments after the soldier exited the tent, the ps were opened and Su Qing walked in, dressed in ck.

    "Greetings your highness, greetings Settlement Chief Yan Ya. I am the Head of the Imperial Academy, Su Qing!" Su Qing bowed to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and introduced himself to Yan Ya, cing his fist on his chest as he bowed.

    Yan Ya was slightly stunned. He could see that Su Qing was greeting him using the Southern Region traditions, specifically, those used in the Yan Ya Settlement.

    "Official Su is too kind. Even though I am a Settlement Chief, the Southern Region is a vassal of the Great Xia and you do not have to greet me as a higher official." Yan Ya returned the bow.

    "Settlement Chief Yan Ya, you are too humble. Even though the Southern Region is a vassal state, everyone knows that we are more like brothers. We go through thick and thin together. As such, it is only right for me to ord you such respect."

    "Haha... Official Su is too polite!" Yan Ya nodded, standing still, not wanting to continue engaging in these pleasantries.

    "Official Su, please take a look at this letter." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nced at Su Qing and pointed to the letter on the table.

    "Yes, your highness!" Su Qing nodded and walked up to the table. He took the letter in his hand and read it twice before returning to his position.

    "What do you think?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked.

    "The Southern Region and the Great Xia are like fish and water. The fish cannot leave the water and the water cannot be without fish. As such, we should try and fulfill their requests." Su Qing replied.

    "Mm." Lin Tianrong nodded and looked at Yan Ya, "I agree to your terms."

    "Thank you, your highness, the 50,000 Great Xia soldiers in Yan Ya and Shi Zun will be returned to you by noon tomorrow." Yan Ya had expected such an oue.

    "No need for that. I will issue an order right now for you to pass to the deputy general. He will meet me at the Icy Monkey Settlement!"

    "Thank you for your assistance, your highness!" Yan Ya bowed when he heard this.

    ...

    After a brief moment.

    Yan Ya exited the tent with orders in hand, but Su Qing did not. The Crown Prince also had no intention of letting Su Qing leave.

    "What do you think?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked Su Qing.

    "From the letter, the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, together with Princess Shan Yu, is already on the way to meet Xing Hou and Nangong Hao. They should be arriving at the Iron Hill Settlement soon, which means that whatever was mentioned in the letter should be true. This means that... this negotiation... is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s effort, and he deserves the credit." Su Qing nodded.

    "You are right. But I don¡¯t understand something. Since they are only negotiating with us because of something Fang Zhengzhi did, why does he want Fang Zhengzhi to be punished by them?" The Crown Prince was confused.

    "To be honest, it isn¡¯t necessarily bad for us." Su Qing continued without directly answering the question.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Your Highness, have you forgot about the messenger you sent to the Icy Monkey Settlement?"

    "Mm, I have prepared myself for that."

    "Exactly, you did actually make preparations for that. Even when we get back, no one will dare to pin it on you, but Fang Zhengzhi is not just anybody."

    "Fang Zhengzhi... haha, would I be scared of a powerless rank four official?" Lin Tianrong smirked in disdain.

    "If Fang Zhengzhi was to return to the capital, would he still be a powerless rank four official?" Su Qing queried.

    "What do you mean?"

    "The letter mentioned that Fang Zhengzhi had the Emperor¡¯s token. If my guess is correct, the token should be real, but it was not meant to be used in the way he did. It should be linked to the Ministry of Rites. Now that the Minister is dead, and Fang Zhengzhi just did something great..."

    "How can a rank four official jump four levels and be a minister?" Lin Tianrong couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.

    "Based on his current situation, it is unlikely that he will be the next minister. However, he could get a promotion. Then, a yearter, the Emperor could find a reason to promote him to Minister."

    "So what?"

    "He won¡¯t be much of a threat to you as a minister, but what if he aligns himself with King Duan?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has always had conflicts with King Duan. Why would he align himself with my sixth brother?"

    "There is nothing impossible in this world. Situations are fluid and can change all the time. Fang Zhengzhi may be powerless now, but once he has power in his hands, who is to say what will happen? Furthermore, he is a mercenary person!"

    "Smack!"

    The jade cup was smashed into the ground with a crisp sound, shattering into smithereens.

    "I will never let something like that happen! I can execute him for misrepresenting the wishes of the Emperor using an Emperor¡¯s token!" The Crown Prince¡¯s knuckles whitened.

    "I doubt it..." Su Qing shook his head.

    "Why not?"

    "Even though Fang Zhengzhi didmit a crime, he did something great for the Great Xia. As such, his punishment will not be death!"

    "Are you trying to say that I won¡¯t be able to punish Fang Zhengzhi? Do I need to send people to kidnap Fang Zhengzhi and give him to the Southern Region?"

    "No, you don¡¯t have to. Few people know what happened in the throne room. In fact, we can¡¯t be sure that what we know is the truth."

    "The truth? What do you mean?"

    "After reading the letter from the Crown Prince, what if our thoughts are... the Minister of Rites had actually negotiated a deal when Fang Zhengzhi barged in. In an attempt to steal credit, he used the Emperor¡¯s Token falsely and had the Minister killed by the Southern Region Crown Prince. What do you think will happen then?"

    "Hahaha... Su Qing, Su Qing, it is a good thing that you are not aligned with King Duan. Else, I will really have to guard against your glib tongue!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    "Haha..." Su Qing shuddered, almost as if he thought about something. However, he calmed himself down quickly and smiled.

    "Okay then, we will do as you suggest! I don¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi did to offend the Southern Region¡¯s Crown Prince. But we can pin this crime on him and hand him over to the Southern Region. I am sure that the Emperor will be happy with the result. He may even praise me for showing mercy and not executing Fang Zhengzhi on the spot!"

    ...

    About a mile outside the Iron Hill Settlement...

    Figures in ck navigated through the forest, covering their tracks well despite their rapid speed.

    At the front of the squad was a man in heavy leather and rattan armor. Behind him were soldiers dressed in shiny armor.

    Shan Ling¡¯s gaze was fixed on the ck castle in the distance. He clenched his fists in anxiety.

    Princess Shan Yu frowned, her mouth opening and closing constantly, but no words could be heard.

    "Are you still thinking about the terms I offered the Great Xia?" Shan Ling motioned to the settlement chiefs around him before whispering.

    When they saw his sign, they split up and exuded an aura that separated them from the surroundings, almost like a giant shield.

    "Even though he was shameless, he is still an official of the Great Xia, and is the top candidate of the Imperial Exam and Court Theory Examination..."

    "The choice is not theirs. 50,000 of their soldiers for one man. Do you think that they will say no to such an offer?"

    "Well..."

    "Rest assured, they will agree to it. I will hand Fang Zhengzhi over to you. Even though he pped you, we can forgive him if he is willing to serve us. Else... you have to kill him and prevent him from returning to the Great Xia."

    "I have to kill him?"

    "Of course, Fang Zhengzhi is the youngest Supernatural State talent around. If he is with the Great Xia, we will never be able to build our empire... furthermore, I have spoken to Xing Yuanguo and he told me that they had no deal with Fang Zhengzhi. This means that Fang Zhengzhi guessed all of this himself. There is no one else with such intellect in our country!"

    "Brother, have you not given up on your ambitions to be an Emperor?" Princess Shan Yu shuddered in shock.

    "Sister, you don¡¯t have to worry about that right now. Our first order of business is to get out of this sticky situation. We can¡¯t be a vassal forever! I just gave the order for the release of 50,000 soldiers, but the gate is still under our control!" Shan Ling¡¯s eyes glimmered with determination.

    Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t reply. She clenched her fists tightly and frowned, visibly conflicted.

 Chapter 431: Just jump

    Chapter 431: Just jump

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The gates of the Iron Hill Settlement were now a bloody battlefield.

    Blood sprayed into the air,nding on the floor as red droplets of rain, staining the ck walls of the Iron hill Settlement red.

    Countless demon soldiers in ck armor gathered at the foot of the walls. Each one of them raised a huge shield to block the rain of arrows.

    Screams punctuated the air.

    Every so often, the scream would originate from the top of the wall. As the soldiers of the Southern Region were shooting at the Demons, they were being shot at as well.

    A hail of arrows rained down from the walls.

    But this was quickly answered by another hail of arrows shot from the bottom up. Every now and then, the two waves of arrows will sh, resulting in crisp rings of metal.

    War...

    Was brutal.

    Death was to be expected. In a siege, a life was lost in the blink of an eye.

    The demons lunged at the Iron Hill Settlement like a ferocious beast, carrying with them an intense killing aura. They crashed into the walls of the settlement.

    There was a spot of white in this sea of ck.

    Almost like a lotus flower in the chaos, or a rock standing amidst torrential rain... Yun Qingwu stood in the middle of it all.

    She stood at the entrance to the settlement, a pure blue light hovering above her head. No demon dared to step within a one-meter radius of her.

    She did not give any orders, neither did she move.

    However, General Mu¡¯s gaze never left Yun Qingwu for a moment. He knew exactly what Yun Qingwu was doing.

    As long as she was at the gate...

    Then...

    The morale of the demons will never falter. Countless demons willunch wave after wave of attacks against the settlement,ying down their lives to pave a road into the city.

    "General, the demons have been attacking for over two hours and we have suffered heavy losses. Would you consider drawing reinforcements from the other gates?" A voice rang out.

    "No, continue holding the gate!" General Mu replied without hesitation.

    "Yes, sir!" The voice disappeared.

    General Mu did not bother taking a second look at the messenger. He clenched his fists and his knuckles whitened. He was on the verge of stabbing himself with his fingernails.

    He knew that he could not hold out much longer, but what could he do? He had no other choice!

    Even though drawing reinforcements from the other gates seemed like a decent idea...

    He would just be dying the inevitable. Should the demons nk them, it may even result in the settlement falling even faster.

    The demons were attacking fanatically.

    However, they were only attacking with one formation. The other formation of soldiers had not even moved. In other words...

    The cavalry had yet to join the battle!

    General Mu was certain that if he drew reinforcements from the other gates, the cavalry would punish that decision instantly.

    The city would fall.

    He was caught between a rock and a hard ce.

    His mission here was to dy the demon army. As such, he could not make any risky decisions.

    He had to hold out for as long as he could!

    This way...

    General Mu had already yed right into Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands. By attacking only one gate, she would suffer fewer losses.

    She wanted to preserve as much of the strength of the army as possible.

    General Mu knew this, but he could not do anything to change the fact! He couldn¡¯t meet them out on the open ins! Neither could he transfer troops from the other gates to reinforce the defence here.

    He was at a loss...

    The only thing he could do was watch as he yed right into Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand, trying to hold out as long as possible.

    "General, we have lost about 3200 men, also..." Before long, another voice rang out by General Mu¡¯s side.

    "I understand, give the order for them to keep up the defence!" General Mu nodded and grit his teeth.

    "Yes, general!" The voice disappeared into the chaos below.

    In the short span of two hours...

    The 20,000 strong defence at this gate was shaved by more than 30%. This number didn¡¯t include the wounded!

    No way!

    If this went on, he would not be able to hold out for another two hours.

    General Mu knew that the defence would get harder as time went on. His soldiers would be gued by injuries and fatigue.

    Based on the way the demons were attacking...

    They would not stop until the city was broken.

    What was he to do?

    General Mu¡¯s mission was to guard the Iron Hill Settlement and dy the advance of the demon army. He was supposed to buy two days of time...

    But now, even six hours seemed like a stretch.

    Was he supposed to sacrifice all 80,000 soldiers in the defence of this city?

    General Mu did not want to see that happen, but he had no choice. Even though the lives of 80,000 soldiers was a hefty price to pay...

    It was worth it if it was in exchange for a chance for the Southern Region to survive.

    "Brave warriors of the Southern Region! I, Mu Xutie, do not have anything more to say. All I have to say is, we live for as long as the country lives. We die if it falls! This battle concerns the survival of the Southern Region! What do you say?" General Mu drew the des on his back.

    At the same time, he stepped on the wall and knocked off one of the demons. He was so fast his arms looked like a meteor.

    That demon didn¡¯t even have the chance to react. It screamed in pain as it fell to the ground.

    "Die!"

    "Guard the settlement with our lives!"

    "Over our dead bodies!"

    The Southern Region soldiers were all inspired after seeing General Mu leap onto the walls of the settlement. However, one of them was quickly felled by an arrow.

    "General, there... there are reinforce... reinforcements..." One of the Southern Region soldiers rushed over, panting.

    "Scram, don¡¯t bother me, I am going to fight it out of the demons today!" General Mu red as he waved his wolf toothed weapons, ignoring the messenger.

    "General, we... have reinforcements!"

    "Scram... Wait! What did you just say? Reinforcements? Where did theye from?"

    "It¡¯s the princess and Crown Prince Shan Ling. The settlement chiefs, including Shi Zun and Thunderous Lion, are with them... and... and people from the Great Xia..."

    "What?! The Princess is here?! And so is the Crown Prince? The Great Xia... could it be that they reached an agreement?" General Mu was stumped.

    "They should be reaching soon!"

    "Here? No, that cannot happen! They cannot be in the line of fire!" General Mu was just about to stop the messenger when he felt pain in his chest.

    There was an arrow sticking out of his chest.

    "General, general!"

    "The general has been hit!"

    "Protect the general!"

    All of the Southern Region soldiers in the vicinity rushed over to assist their wounded general.

    "Don¡¯t bother about me, guard the city! Guard the city!" General Mu red as he snapped the arrow in half, kicking one of his own soldiers away.

    "I willmand the defence of the city!" A voice rang out some distance away. Ady in a leather skirt appeared in front of the crowd.

    "Princess!"

    "It¡¯s the princess!"

    "The princess is here!"

    "The Crown Prince is here too!"

    "Greetings your highnesses!"

    All of the Southern Region soldiers and leaders were excited to see the arrival of these two royalties. There was light at the end of the tunnel.

    However, General Mu was still in pain.

    He knew what kind of situation they were faced with. To see Princess Shan Yu and the Crown Prince now was not a good thing.

    "Get someone to help General Mu to the medic!" Princess Shan Yu ignored the cheers and walked over to General Mu.

    "Princess, I can still defend this position!"

    "What rubbish are you talking? Just go!"

    "Yes... thank you, your highness!"

    ...

    Yun Qingwu locked eyes with a pair of ck eyes on the top of the settlement walls. She saw anger in those eyes.

    However...

    She was not affected by that fury. She did not feel any guilt for what she did.

    Princess Shan Yu looked back at Yun Qingwu.

    However, her eyes were focused on the patch of blue above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head.

    "The Heavenly Rebirth Dao?!" Princess Shan Yu squinted. She had wanted to ask General Mu what was happening.

    However, upon seeing the Heavenly Rebirth Dao and a calm Yun Qingwu, she finally understood what kind of enemy General Mu had been up against.

    "Crown Prince, Princess, what do we do now?" A middle-aged man whispered as he walked to their sides, spying the blue light above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head.

    "Half sage huh?" Shan Ling clenched his fists, his eyes glimmering icily, "I would like to see what he can do!"

    "I suggest that you don¡¯t..." Just as Shan Ling was preparing to issue a challenge, a figure in white appeared by his side.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s white academic attire danced lightly in the wind, the de on his back glowing.

    "Are you saying..." Shan Ling wanted to say something to rebut Nangong Hao, but he swallowed his words.

    Because...

    He felt a wave of confidence.

    This was an inexplicable confidence. Under such circumstances, he should not have such confidence, but Nangong Hao did.

    Just at that moment, Xing Yuanguo, dressed in a purplish golden robe, also walked to the wall. Xing Qingsui was by his side.

    "Heavenly Rebirth Dao?" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s gaze froze as he saw the blue light above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head.

    "My lord, what do you think?" Nangong Hao asked respectfully when he saw Xing Yuanguo walk over.

    "Haha... I think that we have the same idea." Xing Yuanguo smiled when he saw the look in Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes.

    He too was confident.

    It was almost as though he felt like the demons in front of him were weaklings. It was almost as though there was no half sage amongst them.

    This was an aura that they embodied.

    However, the settlement chiefs, Shan Ling, and Princess Shan Yu could not understand it.

    What were Nangong Hao and Xing Yuanguo so confident about?

    They had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and a half sage in their midst. Where were they getting their confidence from?

    Shan Ling couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    Neither could the settlement chiefs nor Princess Shan Yu. The soldiers fighting for their lives were equally confused.

    "If that is the case, I¡¯ll make my move first." Nangong Hao ignored the gazes from the Southern Region soldiers as he bowed to Xing Yuanguo.

    Then, he leapt off the wall...

    ...

    If there was anything that could shock Shan Ling, it would be Nangong Hao¡¯s actions.

    He had thought of many possibilities when he saw Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Haoe up to the wall. He had thought that Xing Yuanguo would negotiate for better terms...

    Or ask to be givenmand of the defence.

    Shan Ling had told himself that he would agree to all the terms that Xing Yuanguo proposed, but he never expected Xing Yuanguo to talk to Nangong Hao the moment he came up.

    More importantly, after their conversation, Nangong Hao just...

    Jumped down onto the battlefield?

    Shan Ling had no idea what Nangong Hao was thinking. He did not even know what Nangong Hao was doing.

    Jumping off the settlement wall? What the hell was going on? Did he not see the sea of ck that awaited him below?

 Chapter 432: Half Sage

    Chapter 432: Half Sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shan Ling wanted to ask Nangong Hao what he was doing, but he did not have the chance. Nangong Hao had already leapt off.

    He did not even say anything before jumping.

    Then, something even more shocking happened.

    After Nangong Hao jumped, another figure shed by his side and leapt off the wall.

    He didn¡¯t say anything either...

    "Xing Yuanguo?!" Shan Ling was stumped. He never expected that Xing Yuanguo would do something simr.

    And then...

    He waspletely floored.

    After Nangong Hao and Xing Yuanguo jumped down onto the battlefield, Xing Qingsui and the Dragon Protection Squad followed suit.

    Their eyes were filled with determination.

    Shan Ling could not believe his eyes when he saw the figures leaping onto the battlefield.

    "Your Highness, open the gates, the Mountain Breaking Army is prepared to fight!"

    "Please have faith in us!"

    "Open the gates!"

    Their voices reverberated in Shan Ling¡¯s ears. Princess Shan Yu and the other Southern Region soldiers could not believe their ears.

    Shan Ling¡¯s expression was stony.

    If anyone had asked him to open the gates before this, he would have executed them on the spot.

    But now...

    He couldn¡¯t.

    Not only could he not draw his de, he had to listen to them and open the gate.

    In fact, this wasn¡¯t a request, it was an order. It was an order from the Great Xia, an order that couldn¡¯t be refused.

    Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu and the surrounding soldiers.

    Princess Shan Yu and the other soldiers looked at Shan Ling, their expressions visibly different from before.

    Before this, the Southern Region soldiers¡¯ expressions were pained.

    But now...

    They looked insulted and shamed.

    This feeling of shame tranted into a energy that riled them up. They would do anything to salvage their dignity.

    On their home ground...

    The Great Xia soldiers were showing greater bravery and will to fight! How could they take it lying down?

    Jumping down...

    Was a very stupid thing to do...

    But it was this stupid act that invigorated the Southern Region warriors and gave them a new lease of life.

    "If the Great Xia dares to fight, why should we shy away?!"

    "Die!"

    "Your Highness, I, Shi Zun, have never been humiliated this way before! I can¡¯t wait any longer!" Shi Zun¡¯s voice rang out.

    He leapt down onto the battlefield.

    "Hahaha... wait for me! I am going to fight it out with the demons today!" Thunderous Lion followed suit, chuckling as he did so.

    The two major settlement chiefs had joined the battle!

    They followed the lead of Nangong Hao and Xing Yuanguo without hesitation. They did not even wait for approval from the Crown Prince.

    It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t respect him.

    It was because they knew that Shan Ling would definitely agree. If Shan Ling still didn¡¯t know what they were doing, he wasn¡¯t fit to be the Crown Prince.

    Shan Ling¡¯s eyes widened, his eyes swirling with iciness, almost like a tornado.

    "Open the gates!"

    "Yes, your highness!"

    ...

    The battle of the Iron Hill Settlement was destined to be a bloody one, much worse than anything Princess Shan Yu had expected.

    Princess Shan Yu knew exactly what Nangong Hao was doing.

    It was precisely because she knew, that¡¯s why she was so stunned.

    Raising morale!

    Morale was paramount in battle. Anyone who knew anything about war knew that the army with higher morale had the advantage.

    Yun Qingwu understood this very well.

    She used her body as a target and countered the onught using the abilities of those behind her.

    Everything that she did was for only one purpose. She would raise the morale of the demon army and make them fight harder than ever before. She wanted the army to know that she was fighting with them.

    This was one of the best strategies Princess Shan Yu had seen.

    It was exactly this strategy that caused General Mu to lose the initiative. From start to finish, he had been suppressed, suffering heavy losses in the defence of the city.

    However, there was always a counter to even the best strategies. That being said, this counter was particrly difficult to think of, and even harder to execute.

    Courage!

    That was the only way to counter Yun Qingwu¡¯s strategy.

    They couldn¡¯t beat her in numbers!

    They couldn¡¯t beat her in terms of abilities!

    So how could they defeat her?

    They had to best her in courage.

    Yun Qingwu had used her courage to raise the morale of her troops. If they were to have any chance of beating the demons, they needed to be even more courageous.

    The braver one would emerge victorious.

    They had to be even more vicious!

    "Die!"

    When the gates to the Iron Hill Settlement opened, the Mountain Breaking Army led the charge, like a de cutting through the demon army.

    Countless Southern Region soldiers raised their spears and rallied behind the Mountain Breaking Army.

    They threw their spears at the demon army. The spears mixed with the arrows, forming a lethal torrential rain of metal tips.

    "Kill! Defend the Southern Region!" Princess Shan Yu leapt onto the battlefield like a ck leopard ready to hunt.

    The red cloud patterns appeared on her skin and her skin turned ck. She held two daggers in her hands as she charged into the demon army.

    "Woosh woosh woosh!"

    Her hands spun like a blender as she cut through the demons, sending blood spraying into the sky and staining her hair.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression finally had some change.

    When she saw Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao leap onto the battlefield, she knew that the battle situation was about to change.

    However, she did not expect the change to be this great and quick.

    She had plenty of power behind her. The ten domain chiefs and hundreds of elites were all present.

    There was enough power to destroy a country.

    But...

    The Southern Region was not weak.

    The five settlement chiefs were all in the Rebirth State. Furthermore, Xing Yuanguo, Nangong Hao, and Shan Ling could not be underestimated.

    Thest three were particrly powerful.

    Shan Ling and Xing Yuanguo were definitely more powerful than any of the ten domain chiefs. As for Nangong Hao, he could easily go up against any of the ten.

    Furthermore, there was the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army...

    Yun Qingwu knew that she still had the upper hand. However, she also knew that it would be a pyrrhic victory.

    However, could she retreat?

    Definitely not.

    This had been in the works for so long. She couldn¡¯t give up when victory was in her sights.

    Fight, fight to the death!

    That was Yun Qingwu¡¯s decision.

    "Domain Chiefs, meet the challengers!" She waved her arm lightly. This was the first time she had spoken during the battle.

    "Understood!" The reply came in unison from hundreds of ck-cloaked demons. Their power was much more intimidating than the hundreds of thousands behind them.

    This was a messy battle.

    There were dozens of Rebirth State cultivators and hundreds of Supernatural State cultivators. This was a battle filled with waves of power and lightswords.

    There was no ordinary soldier who could step into this battle.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s attention was focused on this bloody killing field. She watched on as lightswords flew in her direction.

    However, she did not move. She allowed the lightswords to hit the blue light and disappear.

    The Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    So long as she stood inside it, she was in a different dimension. She could not be affected by what was happening around her.

    15 minutes passed.

    An hour...

    Two hours...

    Countless bodies fell on the ground. There were heavy losses on all sides, their blood staining the ground and collecting in little puddles.

    Fatigue gued all the soldiers.

    However...

    The battle showed no signs of stopping.

    For as long as the battle raged on, they would have no time to rest. They would have to fight tooth and nail to the bitter end.

    Shan Ling was being protected by the settlement chiefs, his body riddled with injuries and his face pale. However, he showed no intention of leaving the battlefield.

    "Report! Your highness... something... something bad happened! The back... back gate has been breached!" Just at that moment, a voice rang out.

    "What?! The back gate was breached? How is that possible? Is General Tai that inept?" Shan Ling¡¯s face paled.

    He hade from the Sagely Mountain City and entered from the back gate.

    As such, he knew that General Tai was the onemanding the defences there. He also knew that the 50,000 strong demon army from the Sagely Mountain City would be assaulting that gate.

    As such, he never asked soldiers from the back gate to reinforce the other gates.

    Even though he only had 5,000 soldiers left...

    He kept 20,000 soldiers at the back gate to guard against the attack of the 50,000 demon soldiersing from the Sagely Mountain City.

    Shan Ling could not understand it...

    Most importantly, he had given explicit orders to General Tai...

    He was not to attack... he was to hold that gate at all costs.

    "15 minutes ago, there was a small group of demons at the back gate. General Tai was influenced by the battle here and followed your lead. So... he gave the order to open the gates. In the end... in the end... that wasn¡¯t a small group but the entire army. He walked right into a trap..." The Southern Region soldier was flustered.

    "What small group?! I had already told him that there are 50,000 soldiersing for him! Where is Tai Ting?" Shan Ling was furious.

    "After being ambushed, he... he disappeared..."

    "Disappeared? I will find him at all costs... for now, give the order for the soldiers on both nks to defend against the demonsing from the back!" Shan Ling knew that this was not the time to assign me, but he could not ept that fact.

    They had sacrificed so much to hold the front gate.

    Yet...

    The back gate had been breached?

    If they were attacked from both sides, it would be devastating for morale.

    Having both nks reinforce the rear was his only strategy left. That being said, he was just dying the inevitable.

    "Time, why is time passing so slowly! Is... is the Southern Region really at its end?" Shan Ling looked at the setting sun, his heart turning to ice.

    ...

    Yun Qingwu was very near to Shan Ling. She had heard everything that had been said.

    "It would look like... the end is near. But, why is it that he isn¡¯t here yet?" Yun Qingwu muttered to herself.

    Behind Yun Qingwu was a figure in a ck cloak.

    That position was once filled by the 10 domain chiefs and hundreds of elites.

    But now...

    They had all joined the battle. Only one figure remained in that position, standing still as a shadow.

    Two hours of intense battle.

    The screams of the fallen filled the sky.

    However, there were no lightswords that flew in his direction. It felt as though everyone was avoiding him.

    Even Xing Yuanguo maintained his distance.

    Everyone knew how terrifyingly powerful the person in the ck cloak was. Of course, no one knew why he was here.

    Was he here to protect Yun Qingwu?

    No!

    If that was the only purpose, there were plenty of demons up to the task. It wasn¡¯t a show of dominance either.

    The demon army was sufficient for that.

    "The sun is about to set..."

 Chapter 433: Fang Zhengzhi coming to save the day

    Chapter 433: Fang Zhengzhiing to save the day

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A wrinkled face could be seen under the ck cloak. He raised his head and looked at the sky.

    The sun lit the sky up a calming red color. When it shone on this face, it gave it an inexplicable glow.

    Sunset.

    Arguably one of the most beautiful times of the day.

    Sunset also represented thest portion of a person¡¯s journey, the time before the curtain falls.

    Canyang.

    It was a strange name, and a name that had bad connotations. Savagery, death, hurt, ipleteness, viciousness, ferocity...

    There were many meanings, and most of them were unttering.

    Can was not his surname.

    Canyang was his name.

    He had been given this name since he was born. Canyang rarely told his surname to others, so few knew his surname.

    Of course, few bothered to ask why his name was Canyang.

    The answer was much too obvious.

    The sun began to set below the horizon and the sky began to darken ever so slightly. The red light continued to cause his face to glow.

    At the same time, they illuminated his eyes.

    His eyes embodied the meaning of his name - ack of hope and light.

    He was a demon who had never seen light since birth. He had been abandoned and mocked for hisck of abilities.

    Unlike most abandoned demons...

    Canyang never med the world for being unfair. He never had his eyes set on revenge. He took it all in his stride.

    After being abandoned, he learnt to be independent. He learnt to ignore the mockery. He just led his own simple life.

    Day after day, year after year.

    Eventually, everyone forgot Canyang¡¯s surname.

    Those who knew Canyang¡¯s surname had passed away. They didn¡¯t pass away by his hand, but died of natural causes.

    No one knew how old Canyang was, but it was certain that he was almost as old as the history of the demons.

    He was like an ancient tree.

    He was there for the glory days of the demons, and he survived through the worst.

    All these while, Canyang never joined the military and never contributed to the demon¡¯s development. All he did was wake up to watch the sunrise and watch the stars before he slept.

    Some may find this life boring.

    However, Canyang had no intention to change. In fact, he had firmly believed that this was the way life should be.

    All that changed one day...

    That was the day a five-year-old girl appeared in front of him.

    That was the day that this girl told Canyang that she was the daughter of the Demon Lord but she had been exiled to thisnd.

    Canyang smiled but never said anything after hearing her story.

    The girl did not ask for anything either. Before she left, she passed him a set of books. There were more than 100 books, each one containing a powerful set of demon techniques.

    Can Yang could still remember what the girl had said to him.

    "Uncle, these are for you to read!"

    Read?

    How was he going to read when he couldn¡¯t see?

    Canyang did not answer her and did not ask her why she left the books to a blind man. He simply ced them in a corner.

    A yearter...

    The name of the young girl surfaced once again.

    That year, there were more than 1000 demons following her. She had also built the vige into an orderly society.

    Canyang smiled when he heard this.

    He went back to his room and picked up the books in the corner. He recalled what the girl had said to him when she left.

    "Uncle, these are for you to read!"

    Read?

    How was a blind man going to read?

    Canyang chuckled to himself, but he felt no regret.

    He was numb to it all. He had been able to see through many things others couldn¡¯t. He knew how ruthless the world was, and he also knew what warmth was.

    "Youngdy... you¡¯re still young and naive..." Canyang had no idea why he flipped open the books in his hand.

    Maybe he really wanted to ¡¯read¡¯, or maybe he wanted to confirm the girl¡¯s ¡¯naivety¡¯.

    However...

    When he opened the book in his hand...

    His smile froze.

    He could tell from his keen sense of touch that these books were different. These were books that he could ¡¯read¡¯ using a sense of touch. Every word, every picture... was so clear.

    Canyang kept feeling the books, understanding everything that was written inside. Then, he picked up the second book, then a third...

    He only stopped after he ¡¯read¡¯ every single book.

    Then...

    Canyang did something that no demon ever thought of. He walked out of his house and went to the little girl¡¯s house.

    There were more than 1000 demons there.

    "Will you be willing to be my disciple?" Canyang¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the girl¡¯s residence. It was soft and calm, almost like water.

    This elicited muchughter from the demons around him.

    All of the demons could not believe what they had just heard. This skinny, disable demon wanted to be the girl¡¯s master?

    "Canyang, do you know who is in front of you?"

    "Canyang, are you crazy?!"

    "..."

    Countless voices berated him constantly, but Canyang just stood quietly in front of the girl, ¡¯looking¡¯ at her.

    He continued staring at her until she fell to her knees and kowtowed to him.

    "Master!"

    Canyang could still remember her beautiful voice. Her voice was the best thing he had heard

    Four yearster...

    The girl returned to the Blood Shadow City.

    There was a demon behind the girl. He was a blind demon, named Canyang, a name which sent fear into the hearts of demons and humans alike.

    He had no surname.

    He only had a name, Canyang!

    "The sun is setting?" Canyang raised his head, his wrinkled face facing the red sky.

    No one understood why Canyang would raise his head when he was blind, but simrly, few understood how to wield the Heavenly Rebirth Dao

    Even if that person was...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    ...

    There was a shadow overhead that passed over the battlefield. It was small and easily missed in the heat of battle.

    The figure shot through the clouds, almost like ady jumping out of a goldenke.

    This attracted the attention of many.

    Few would look away...

    Unless...

    Thedy was actually a young man in a blue long-sleeved shirt.

    Did Fang Zhengzhi know how to fly?

    He wanted to, but he was limited by his abilities. As such, his only option was to hijack a Heavenly Reflection State winged beast.

    One did not need to know how Fang Zhengzhi managed to hijack the beast and make the beast carry him around.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather confused.

    He did not understand why a blind man would ¡¯look¡¯ at the sunset. He couldn¡¯t see!

    Of course, this was not an important question.

    The more important question to answer was...

    Is Yun Qingwu crazy?!

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had respected Yun Qingwu for her intellect despite them being on opposite sides.

    The control she had over the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement and the current siege were testament to her intellect.

    Even though he had always thought that Yun Qingwu was not nearly as smart as him.

    But now...

    He was utterly disappointed.

    Most people learnt from their mistakes.

    She should not be making the same mistake twice.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that even the smartest people had to be constantly learning from their failures.

    If someone made the same mistake over and over again...

    Then the person really was just being stupid...

    Fang Zhengzhi had wondered if he could catch Yun Qingwu once again...

    For example, when the demons were on the verge of victory, he would swoop down and grab Yun Qingwu. He would shout, "If you want her to stay alive, go back to the Blood Shadow City!"

    It would be such a show of force.

    Fang Zhengzhi reminisced about the battle at the valley.

    It was a pity that he had fainted during that battle. That being said, he had been fed snippets of information about it.

    For one, he knew that the wound in his chest was inflicted by Yun Qingwu. And he also found out that it was Yun Qingwu who had kicked him off the cliff.

    It was a painful experience.

    He learnt the hard way not to show mercy...

    If he could do it all over again, Fang Zhengzhi would not be that nice to Yun Qingwu. He would definitely teach her a lesson.

    But...

    Some things would never happen again.

    For example, Yun Qingwu should be smart enough not to make the same mistake. That would mean that it would be impossible to grab her a second time.

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi had thought.

    But, this thought was rapidly changing.

    He could see clearly that there was no one near Yun Qingwu. She didn¡¯t have a bodyguard!!

    Of course, there was one...

    But, he was a blind and haggard looking demon!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not one to underestimate his opponents, but this time was different.

    He was confident that he could capture Yun Qingwu.

    Up till now, Yun Qingwu had not realized that there were a beast and a person hovering above her.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this was the perfect opportunity.

    He had arrived at just the right time.

    He would leave the difficult battles to the others. All he wanted to do was swoop in and save the day.

    Of course...

    That was what he thought.

    There were many factors that went into deciding the result of a battle.

    Time was one such factor. With the situation as it was, this was the best opportunity! The second factor was location. He had the high ground and was in an advantageous position. And then there were the people around.

    Her bodyguard was blind!

    As a Supernatural State cultivator, he did not fear a wrinkled and blind demon!

    If he passed up this opportunity to strike...

    He would havee all this way for nothing.

    Fang Zhengzhi jumped confidently, beaming radiantly as he did so. He felt as though he was in control.

    Furthermore, Xing Yuanguo, Nangong Hao, Xing Qingsui, Shan Ling... were all fighting for their lives.

    He was the only one who could save them all!

    Fang Zhengzhi would never go hunting for opportunities to save the world, but if an opportunity was presented to him, he would definitely take it.

    "Don¡¯t move,y down your weapons!" A voice pierced through the air as a figure shot down from the sky, his hand passing right through the blue light above Yun Qingwu!

 Chapter 434: The Power of the Heavenly Dao

    Chapter 434: The Power of the Heavenly Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Having had the high ground, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack was incredibly quick.

    By the time his voice was heard, he was already through the blue light above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head. He was like an arrow...

    As hended on the ground.

    "Plonk!"

    Columns of dust shot skyward.

    ...

    At that moment, the battlefield quietened down, almost as if gallons of water had been poured onto a raging fire.

    In that instant, the fire was doused.

    Everyone turned to look at the lone figure. Spears and des were stopped in mid-air as they all looked on.

    He looked embarrassed, his blue shirt stained with dust, almost like a lost teenager.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Princess Shan Yu could not believe her eyes. She had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would not appear here.

    Even if he did, he would not have appeared in such a fashion.

    She knew for a face that Fang Zhengzhi was not one to take on the most difficult challenge. But, he had just challenged Canyang.

    Canyang ah!

    The one who wields the Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    Did he go to challenge Canyang? Where... where did he get this courage from?

    Princess Shan Yu couldn¡¯t believe her eyes.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one. Shan Ling and the other settlement chiefs were all in disbelief that a nascent Supernatural State cultivator would dare to challenge Canyang¡¯s authority.

    Of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi had not attacked Canyang directly. However, he had attacked Yun Qingwu right in front of Canyang.

    This was equivalent to challenging Canyang!

    All of the Southern Region soldiers looked at Fang Zhengzhi with conflicted expressions.

    They admired his bravery, were terrified for him, and mocked his underestimation of his opponent.

    Xing Yuanguo and Xing Qingsui were also looking at Fang Zhengzhi. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was so loud and crisp that it was impossible for them not to have heard it.

    Their disbelief was slightly different.

    Xing Yuanguo and Xing Qingsui knew that Fang Zhengzhi was a maverick. As such, there was little that he could do to surprise them.

    But...

    Could he really go up against Canyang?

    Xing Yuanguo and Xing Qingsui looked at each other, their eyes filled with anxiety.

    Nangong Hao was not nervous, but he was shocked.

    He was shocked that Fang Zhengzhi had just done something that even he would not do without much consideration.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had expected that his actions would attract the attention of many. He also knew that the battle would be paused because of what he did.

    However... he did not expect it to be because he had failed so spectacrly.

    Where did he go wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not figure it out.

    However, he recovered quickly, spitting out the dust in his mouth and getting to his feet.

    "I missed?" Fang Zhengzhi never expected that he would miss. After all, he knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s abilities quite well.

    More importantly...

    His attack was right on target!

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall what had just happened. He remembered that his hand passed through a blue light above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head.

    At that moment, he added additional power to his attack.

    He attempted to smash that blue light to smithereens. However, when he contacted it, he felt no resistance.

    He had passed through easily.

    How exciting.

    After all, Yun Qingwu was just inches away! He could almost taste her.

    There was no reason to hesitate!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate, deciding to teach Yun Qingwu a lesson! He wasn¡¯t going to let Yun Qingwu speak this time!

    He would knock her out!

    That was his n.

    He was sure that if he could knock Yun Qingwu out, then the demon army would think twice about attacking.

    He would be able to force them back!

    This was a simple decision to make.

    However, he never expected that his attack would miss and hit the ground!

    What happened?

    Fang Zhengzhi turned and looked behind. He thought that Yun Qingwu must have used some sort of secret technique to dodge his attack.

    This was usible, considering that she was the Young Master of the demons.

    So...

    Why wasn¡¯t she running away?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu was looking right back at him, her eyes glimmering as she stared him down.

    "She¡¯s still giving me a chance?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s abilities well. Under most circumstances, she should be running away.

    But, she wasn¡¯t.

    What was happening?

    What was even stranger was that even the blind, frail, old demon behind her wasn¡¯t running either.

    More importantly...

    None of the demons were moving.

    In fact, all of them looked like statues, rooted to their spot. Not a single demon jumped to the aid of Yun Qingwu. Most of them even looked on in scorn.

    What were they thinking?

    Were they not worried?

    "Are you trying to kidnap me again?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts. Her voice was calm, like a breeze blowing over ake.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    He wanted to reply ¡¯yes!¡¯, but, under the current circumstances, he found it difficult to give such a straightforward reply.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been stabbed and subsequently kicked off a cliff by Yun Qingwu.

    Logically...

    He shouldn¡¯t feel any embarrassment in admitting that he was here to kidnap her.

    However, after she had dodged his attack and still didn¡¯t run...

    It was a little embarrassing for him to admit that fact.

    "Qingwu, is he Fang Zhengzhi?"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was contemting his reply to Yun Qingwu, an aged voice rang out next to him.

    The old man¡¯s voice was frail.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi had heard an anomaly.

    Qingwu?

    Shouldn¡¯t he be calling her Young Master?

    "Yes, master." Yun Qingwu replied without hesitation, answering Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question instantly.

    "Master?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu¡¯s calm eyes and the empty eyes of the wrinkled, aged face behind her.

    Then...

    He looked at the expressions of mockery from the demon soldiers around him, as well as the perplexed expressions of the Southern Region soldiers, the Dragon Protection Squad, and the Mountain Breaking Army.

    A thought shed by in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    "Never touch the old, weak, female, or young!"

    The only time Fang Zhengzhi had felt pressure like this was when he was faced with another frail, old man.

    That was King Liqin.

    And now...

    The old man in front of him exuded the same vibes.

    He was frail and blind.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t running. He also understood why the demons weren¡¯ting to her rescue.

    He also understood why Xing Yuanguo, Xing Qingsui, Princess Shan Yu, Shan Ling, and all the other soldiers were looking at him like that.

    Most importantly...

    He also understood why Yun Qingwu could stand in the middle of the battle but not be attacked by anyone.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his head.

    He wanted to mount his winged beast and fly away, but the beast was now long gone.

    He had to find a way to get out.

    But, what was he going to do?

    There was no way out.

    "Hi uncle, how do you do? I am sorry for disturbing you, I must have gone to the wrong ce... let me introduce myself. I am Fang Zhengzhi and I have always respected the elderly... if there is nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave..."

    Fang Zhengzhi could not even finish his sentence. He found himself rooted to the ground.

    He couldn¡¯t move from his spot!

    It was a strange feeling. It felt as though everything around him was different...

    Almost as if it was being controlled by a greater power. The power was bending it to suit his will.

    It was a strange feeling.

    And Fang Zhengzhi was being trapped in a space that he had no control over.

 Chapter 435: I was waiting for you

    Chapter 435: I was waiting for you

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    What was he going to do now that he was trapped?

    He only had two options, scream for help and pray, or try to wrestle his way out like a snake...

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t make a decision, so he chose to wait and die.

    The reason was simple. If the first method was any good, Xing Yuanguo and the others would be rushing to his aid.

    As for the second option... Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t do it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been interrupted.

    Canyang had no intention of replying. He stood quietly at his spot, almost like a statue.

    "It was you who saw through my n to attack the Southern Region using the soldiers in the Blood Shadow City right?" Yun Qingwu turned back to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi admitted.

    He knew that Yun Qingwu¡¯s intel was good. Since she asked, she must have confirmed it already.

    Furthermore, this was something that he was proud of!

    "The alliance between the Great Xia and the Southern Region was also brokered by you right?" Yun Qingwu pressed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not respond directly.

    He just nodded. He did not like where this was going, so he waited for Yun Qingwu to continue.

    Yun Qingwu had no intention of waiting for a verbal response. Seeing Fang Zhengzhi nod his head, she turned and surveyed her surroundings.

    Her lips twitched as she muttered, "It looks like you have the ability to change the tide of the battle. That is even though you guessed most of the things."

    "What do you mean guess? I made logical deductions! This ismon sense!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to spit in Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, but he controlled himself.

    "Logical deduction? I would have thought that you would have praised yourself for being smart or having foresight." Yun Qingwu did not seem angered by that response.

    "I wouldn¡¯t object to it if you choose to describe me as such." Fang Zhengzhi replied after some thought.

    "Haha... even in the face of death, you are as shameless as ever." Yun Qingwu smiled and chuckled lightly. She loved being in control.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand why Yun Qingwu was so happy.

    That being said, if Yun Qingwu was happy, that meant that he had a chance to live.

    He cleared his throat and decided to attempt to plead for his life after ttering Yun Qingwu.

    However, he was interrupted by Yun Qingwu even before he could start.

    "Why don¡¯t you guess why I had the 50,000 soldiers give up the siege on the Sagely Mountain City and attack the Iron Hill Settlement?"

    Yun Qingwu asked casually. It sounded as though she was just speaking to a friend, but Fang Zhengzhi could see an aura of confidence in her eyes.

    She was deeply confident.

    It felt as though she was in control of everything.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand what she was getting at. The question was simple... Fang Zhengzhi had exined it before in the throne room.

    It was precisely because of that...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Yun Qingwu would ask such a question at this time?

    What was her intention?

    "I know what you said in the throne room. You think that I chose to attack the Iron Hill Settlement in a hurry. As such, to minimize my losses, I had no choice but to get the 50,000 demon soldiers to attack as well, am I right?" Yun Qingwu pressed.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he wanted to say something, but he chose to remain silent.

    After all, Yun Qingwu had read his mind.

    "In fact, I have been in control of the Iron Hill Settlement all this while. General Tai had defected to our side a long time ago. Even without General Tai, I have other ways to secure this city. Do you still think I need the additional 50,000 soldiers?" Yun Qingwu asked.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed.

    He knew all along that Yun Qingwu was incredibly smart and he never underestimated her. On the contrary, he constantly tried to think from her point of view.

    But...

    Upon hearing Yun Qingwu¡¯s words, he realized that whilst he was trying to read Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind, she was reading his.

    To put it simply, even though he was getting closer to the truth each time, he had never seen through Yun Qingwu¡¯s final n.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not the only one who was stunned by Yun Qingwu¡¯s words. Xing Yuanguo, Xing Qingsui, even Nangong Hao were stunned. Of course, Shan Ling, Princess Shan Yu, and the settlement chiefs were the most taken aback.

    "General Tai defected?!"

    "She had other methods even without General Tai?"

    Shan Ling looked at the other settlement chiefs. He finally understood why the back gate had been breached... and he also understood that...

    Yun Qingwu meant it when she said she had other methods!

    This sent a shiver down his spine.

    He had just been schooled.

    "You were waiting for the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what Shan Ling and the others were thinking. His only aim was to figure out what Yun Qingwu¡¯s n was.

    "The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army? You could say so, but they are just part of it." Yun Qingwu nodded.

    "Part of it?"

    "Mm, do you think that if you stall us here, then you buy enough time for the 300,000 Southern Region soldiers to join with the Great Xia? Do you think you¡¯ll emerge victorious then?" Yun Qingwu asked.

    "Is that not the case?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "I started nning for this war when I was 10 years old. Do you think that you can win with guesses?" Yun Qingwu questioned.

    "You don¡¯t know if you don¡¯t try." Fang Zhengzhi was quite confident of his ns and was rarely affected by others¡¯ opinions.

    "Haha... I must say that you¡¯re quite smart. I wonder what would happen if we were on equal footing?" Yun Qingwu chuckled.

    "Equal footing?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu, an unsettling thought rising in his heart. He felt as though he had just been read like a book.

    "The biggest difference between you and I is that I have intel... and you don¡¯t!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s tone finally changed.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard the word ¡¯intel¡¯, his expression changed drastically.

    Yun Qingwu was correct.

    If you knew yourself and the enemy, then you would win every battle. However, Fang Zhengzhi had been kept in the dark all this while. He didn¡¯t know any of the ns of those involved.

    He had been guessing all this while.

    If he could guess the entire n, then the n was much too simple.

    "I recalled the 50,000 soldiers from the Sagely Mountain City because I know that Princess Shan Yu heeded your advice and sent 80,000 soldiers to the Iron Hill settlement. As such, the alliance between the Great Xia and the Southern Region was a matter of time."

    Yun Qingwu had no intention of waiting any longer. She simply rattled off...

    "Since I know that you will be teaming up, the Sagely Mountain City was no longer the battlefield of choice!"

    "The Sagely Mountain City has been the stronghold of the Southern Region for generations. I do not know how many hidden passages and traps there are. Furthermore, it is situated on a hill and it is easy to be surrounded and cut off from resources.

    "But the Iron Hill Settlement is a different story. Nan Ling Settlement is already under my control. If I take Iron Hill as well, I will have a through pass straight here!"

    "From this position, I can advance on the Sagely Mountain City. Or, I can retreat back to the Blood Shadow City. Furthermore, controlling the Iron Hill Settlement means I control the weapons factory of the Southern Region."

    "Do you think the joint forces still pose a threat to me?"

    Yun Qingwu nced at Fang Zhengzhi before turning her gaze to all the soldiers on the battlefield.

    Xing Yuanguo and Xing Qingsui¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    They weren¡¯t alone. Princess Shan Yu, Shan Ling, as well as all the settlement chiefs, were stunned by what they heard.

    Even Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes glimmered when he heard this.

    They knew that Yun Qingwu was speaking the truth. With hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers controlling the Iron Hill Settlement...

    Then...

    It would be equivalent to a stab straight into the heart of the Southern Region. It would be too difficult for a joint force of just over 400,000 to retake the city.

    Most importantly, winter wasing.

    The soldiers of the Great Xia were not prepared to face the winter. Furthermore, the Southern Region winter was the harshest. Snow cut off ess to roads and ferocious beasts roamed thend.

    This was the season when the beasts were most ravenous.

    If they weren¡¯t in a settlement by the time winter came, it would be impossible for them to hold off the beasts.

    Retreat...

    That was the only option.

    However, if they retreated, the Iron Hill Settlement and the Nan Ling Settlement may no longer belong to the Southern Region.

    More importantly...

    The Sagely Mountain City might not be in their control either.

    Shan Ling, Shan Yu, as well as Xing Yuanguo felt a chill down their spine. All of their eyes were fixed on the girl in the white dress under the blue light.

    As for Yun Qingwu, she watched Fang Zhengzhi quietly.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a chill down his spine too. Furthermore, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s words had made him feel extremely exposed.

    Initially, he had wanted to swoop down from the sky and be a hero. However, right now, it felt like he had jumped straight into a trap.

    He had gone from a hero, to a...

    Prisoner. What a tragedy...

    Everything had changed so quickly! An aged and frail old man was actually a master? What was this?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to cry and pray for this to be over quickly.

    But it was no use.

    Most importantly...

    The Iron Hill Settlement was destined to fall into the hands of the demons.

    The battle was over!

    "There was one other reason that I didn¡¯t mention before." Yun Qingwu broke the silence.

    "What is it?" Fang Zhengzhi did not want to engage her, but he had no choice. He was rooted to his spot and couldn¡¯t run!

    "I was waiting for you!" Yun Qingwu replied solemnly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned when he heard this.

    Waiting for me??

    She was looking for revenge!

    She was just waiting for the right opportunity before!

    Fang Zhengzhi was depressed, but he finally saw Yun Qingwu take action. Yun Qingwu actually removed her veil.

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned as he looked at that beautiful and familiar face in front of him.

    "I did that myself this time, didn¡¯t I?" Yun Qingwu smirked as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She was like a lotus flower under the light of the setting sun.

    A light breeze blew by.

    Her dress danced lightly in the breeze.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen Yun Qingwu this happy.

    Before this...

    Fang Zhengzhi would have admired her for her beauty, even reciting poems to express his admiration for her.

    But he couldn¡¯t do it this time.

    He knew why Yun Qingwu was so happy.

    Her happiness was built upon his capture.

    "Oh yes, why don¡¯t you make a guess as to why I haven¡¯t killed you?" Yun Qingwu was visibly different today.

    Gone were her aloof and icy ways. They were reced by a radiant smile.

    Yet...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was freezing.

 Chapter 436: Are you saving me or not?

    Chapter 436: Are you saving me or not?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Throughout history, there is no shortage of heroes who are not afraid of death...

    It must be admitted that...

    These were people revered by those who came after them.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of being a hero. He admired their mental fortitude, but he preferred to stay alive.

    Even if he had to die, he wanted to die with as much fanfare as possible. He wanted to die doing something great.

    This was no time to die.

    Was he going to fake some courage?

    Was he going to scold her and ask her to get it over quickly? Was he going to stretch out his neck and ask Yun Qingwu to chop him?

    Fang Zhengzhi would never do it.

    After hearing Yun Qingwu¡¯s words, the first thing he thought about was how he was going to reply.

    "Why didn¡¯t she kill him yet?"

    There were many possible responses to such a question.

    Some may think that she didn¡¯t want to kill him, but had no other choice. Others may have thought that she was keeping him around because he was still valuable.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not think so.

    If Yun Qingwu couldn¡¯t bear to kill him, she would not have Bai Xing attack him when he was least expecting it. She also wouldn¡¯t have stabbed him and kicked him off a cliff.

    So...

    He was certain that Yun Qingwu wanted him dead.

    If that was the case, the only reason why she hadn¡¯t done it must be because the time isn¡¯t ripe.

    If a fruit wasn¡¯t ripe, you had to wait agonizingly until it was before you could savour it. The moment it was ripe...

    You would pounce on it immediately!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want topare himself to a fruit, but he was like a fruit right now. He was Yun Qingwu¡¯s fruit.

    If Yun Qingwu wanted him dead, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    The difference if power was too great.

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he was very powerful as he was. Being in the Supernatural State at his age meant that he was virtually peerless!

    He didn¡¯t expect that his life would end even before it had truly started!

    What was he to do?

    He didn¡¯t know whether to plead or defect at this point.

    He had thought of doing either, but since Yun Qingwu and him were in different camps, doing either of those now would just shame himself.

    He couldn¡¯t act tough, neither could he humiliate himself in an attempt to survive.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no way of replying to this question.

    Yun Qingwu had no intention of cutting his agony short. From her expression, she was thoroughly enjoying it!

    "Did I cause her to be perverted?" Fang Zhengzhi thought back to the previous times he met Yun Qingwu and contrasted those against her currently.

    Previously, Yun Qingwu had seemed cold and aloof.

    But now...

    She was just like a contented little girl.

    What the hell was happening?

    As the Young Master of the Demons, she should be nning ahead and looking at the big picture! Why was she so focused on me?

    Am I really worth her attention?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to calm himself down, but he could not do it. He felt like he was being suffocated.

    "You think that I am still of value to you?" Fang Zhengzhi decided to hedge a guess.

    "You¡¯re right!" Yun Qingwu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a huge load off his shoulders. This was the best news for him. That meant that he could still negotiate.

    "Erm... what do you need me to do? I will do my best!" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "Nothing. You just have to wait here." Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    "Wait here?" Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart tighten. He was of value but she didn¡¯t want him to do anything?

    Did she want him to...

    Stand around and wait for death?

    "You are right, I want you to just wait here for your death!" Yun Qingwu smiled radiantly as she read Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    "Go f*ck yourself!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t hold it back any longer.

    He would rather die than be humiliated.

    If there was any hope for survival, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely do anything in his power to stay alive. However, Yun Qingwu had made it clear that she would not let him live.

    So...

    He might as well scold her and vent his frustrations.

    "... should being soon..." Yun Qingwu raised her head and muttered to herself.

    "Coming? Who..." Fang Zhengzhi swallowed his words almost immediately. He saw a huge ck figure in the sky.

    "Aroo!"

    A crisp sound broke through the air. A huge beast broke through the clouds and blocked out the sun.

    It¡¯s huge wings pped, creating strong gusts of wind.

    That was a beast with a huge pair of wings, and mes danced in its eyes. Snow white feathers covered its body. Those were no ordinary feathers, and they were shaped like scales. This beast shared some resemnce to an eagle.

    However, unlike an eagle, it had a long tail, almost like the legendary phoenix. Its tail glistened.

    The Snow Wind Eagle.

    It was a rare beast which was rumored to be from the phoenix¡¯s bloodline.

    At the moment, there were two figures on the Snow Wind Eagle¡¯s back. On the left was a figure in red armor. She smirked as she looked down at the battlefield below.

    She had an air of arrogance about her.

    She was Ping Yang, the most pampered princess in the Great Xia.

    The person next to her was Chi Guyan. Chi Guyan was the only person who could be this close to Ping Yang, and she was the only one who could get Ping Yang to be obedient.

    Her silky ck hair and pink flowy dress danced in the wind.

    Chi Guyan was easily one of the most beautiful people in the world. However, she was so outstanding that most people felt that they were not fit to even be close to her.

    Her eyes were especially unique.

    Her eyes looked like they were fashioned from stars. They were bright and clear.

    Fang Zhengzhi had thought that Yun Qingwu was waiting for the right opportunity. However, he didn¡¯t expect that she was waiting for Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.

    "Isn¡¯t Chi Guyan at the Heavenly Dao Pavillion? And Ping Yang... shouldn¡¯t she be back in the capital?" Fang Zhengzhi could not believe his eyes.

    He had no idea that Chi Guyan and Ping Yang were in the Southern Region.

    When they appeared at the Icy Monkey Settlement, he was already in aatose state. Furthermore, he had been dragged to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s camp right after.

    Being in a Southern Region camp...

    No one mentioned Chi Guyan and Ping Yang¡¯s arrival.

    In fact, unless it was absolutely necessary, no one from the Southern Region would mention the battle there.

    However, just because Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know didn¡¯t mean that Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t.

    Yun Qingwu knew that Chi Guyan and Ping Yang were in the Southern Region. As such, she knew that Chi Guyan would definitelye to the Iron Hill Settlement.

    "You came." Yun Qingwu stopped smiling, her expression reverting to her trademark iciness. She looked at Chi Guyan and greeted her casually.

    "Mm, I did." Chi Guyan¡¯s calm voice came from above.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather conflicted.

    When he saw something appear in the sky, he was ecstatic. He had hoped that someone woulde and save him from this sticky situation. However... he did not want that person to be Chi Guyan.

    It wasn¡¯t because he cared about what she would think...

    It was because...

    He knew that she would be in grave danger.

    In actual fact, he was biding his time and waiting for someone to save him. He even thought about betraying that person.

    But if the person saving him was Chi Guyan...

    Could he still bear to betray her?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Chi Guyan thought of him, but he was sure that he did not want Chi Guyan to die.

    This was why he was so conflicted.

    However, he was also anxious and depressed.

    Just as he was deciding between betraying Chi Guyan or fighting alongside her...

    Chi Guyan stopped in her tracks.

    The Snow Wind Eagle hovered in the air as Ping Yang looked down at the battlefield in scorn.

    Most importantly...

    Chi Guyan began talking to Yun Qingwu! Furthermore, it sounded as though they were old friends reminiscing!

    What the hell was this about?

    Shouldn¡¯t her first order of business to be to swoop down and save Fang Zhengzhi?

    Was she here to save him or not?!

 Chapter 437: Roll away, Giant Bird!

    Chapter 437: Roll away, Giant Bird!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but he swallowed his words before he shouted. His brain told him that Chi Guyan knew what she was doing.

    In his mind... Chi Guyan was still in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    The Heavenly Reflection State was such a weak state.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he could defeat Chi Guyan, but he was sure that he would not lose.

    Even if she was to defeat him, he would not lose too badly.

    "Even if you are the top talent of our generation, you¡¯re are only fit to be my servant!" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself. If he could not get out of this situation, Chi Guyan was unlikely to be able to either.

    So...

    Chi Guyan must be here to watch the show...

    Of course, the main difference between her and the rest of the joint forces was that she was able to spectate the situation from above.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never felt so humiliated in his life.

    He was now a hostage!

    A hostage who no one cared about!

    Usually, hostages were meant to be rescued!

    That was the whole point!

    Just as he was thinking about it, the Snow Wind Eagle sprang into action. It¡¯s huge wings blocked out the sun and a tornado flew towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "F*ck me... is it trying to kill me?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to dodge to the side, but he was rooted to his spot.

    Yun Qingwu looked at the tornado flying towards her.

    She knew for a fact that this attack was targeted at her.

    She did not dodge to the side.

    She simply stood at the same spot and let the tornado approach her. She was being assaulted by the wind, but she was still as calm as before.

    She simply stared at Chi Guyan and Ping Yang without speaking. She had already greeted them.

    That was enough...

    "Boom!"

    The tornado sent rocks and dust shooting skyward.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi was so close to Yun Qingwu, he wasn¡¯t spared. Furthermore, since he was trapped, he had no choice but to hang on for dear life.

    The tornado spun around his body.

    Logically, Fang Zhengzhi should be closing his eyes and praying for his life. However, he did not...

    Because... he saw something strange.

    He knew how powerful Yun Qingwu was.

    She was extremely weak!

    However, Yun Qingwu was standing in the middle of the tornado, her expression calm, her dress dancing in the wind. She seemedpletely unaffected by the tornado.

    What was strange was...

    If Yun Qingwu was in a separate dimension, why was the tornado able to affect her dress?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    What was even stranger was that the Snow Wind Eagle was now right in front of him.

    It was incredibly quick.

    "Chi Guyan... is she really here to save me?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the Snow Wind Eagle mere inches from him.

    He could see the fear in the Snow Wind Eagle¡¯s eyes.

    As a powerful beast, it had an extremely sensitive sixth sense. As such, it was keenly aware of the power of the demon underneath the ck cloak.

    Yet... it still charged down.

    The reason was simple.

    Chi Guyan willed it toe down. As such, it swooped down without any hesitation.

    This was how loyal the beast was.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at thedy on the Snow Wind Eagle, thedy in the pink dress, staring at him with her starry eyes.

    "Chi Guyan!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes locked onto the outstretched arm. He knew how smooth and tender that skin was.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Chi Guyan was quite a great girl. Even though she was slightly arrogant, he had to admit that she was pretty.

    She had a good figure, and herplexion was perfect. Furthermore, she was incredibly sexy.

    She was a really unique beauty...

    If he married her...

    Pui!

    Since time immemorial, the hostage would inevitably be attracted to his/her savior.

    That being said, when one¡¯s savior was Chi Guyan, one could not help but be attracted to her.

    When Chi Guyan extended her hand to him, his heart fluttered.

    But how could Fang Zhengzhi follow in the footsteps of the hostages in the movies! He couldn¡¯t be like them!

    Marry Chi Guyan?

    Could he still hold his head up high afterward?

    No!

    He could not make her his wife! With someone as arrogant and domineering as Chi Guyan, he had to make her his servant!

    "Shameless fe, what are you staring at? Hop on!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought. She looked slightly angry and frustrated as she pouted.

    "Jump? Go f*ck yourself!" Fang Zhengzhi replied rudely.

    He really wanted to jump, but he couldn¡¯t! If he could jump, he would have run away a long time ago!

    "Hmph!" Just at that moment, an aged voice rang out in discontent.

    It exuded an aura of dominance and power.

    It felt as though the Snow Wind Eagle had just been shocked. It pped its wings and soared back into the sky.

    But... it was toote.

    "Aroo!" A high pitched howl pierced through the air as the snow white feathers fell to the ground. The Snow Wind Eagle¡¯s head tilted to the side, almost as if it had just been pped.

    Then, it pped its wings vigorously but to no avail. Its huge body crashed into the ground like a cannonball, sending rocks and dust shooting skyward.

    It was all over in a sh.

    As it crashed into the ground, a tornado flew towards the figure in the ck cloak.

    An aged face was revealed.

    His silver hair was flowy and well maintained. His wrinkled skin was yellow, but it still glowed radiantly with health.

    The most unique part of him was his eyes.

    They were empty and lifeless, but they were pitch ck, almost like two ck holes, capable of swallowing anything in their path.

    There was something else strange about him.

    That was...

    He didn¡¯t have a demonic eye!

    All he had was a rune on his forehead. It was a simple rune, but it gave people a strange feeling.

    It was almost as though that rune epassed everything in the world.

    He was Canyang, someone who struck fear in the hearts of everyone.

    He was one of the most powerful lifeforms in the world.

    No one would have expected that this quiet, surname-less, and blind demon would have managed to wield the Heavenly Rebirth Dao and be a half sage.

    Canyang rarely showed himself, but every time he did, he would prove to everyone that he was the most powerful Rebirth State Demon.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the aged face as well as the howling Snow Wind Eagle.

    He was stunned by what he had just witnessed.

    He had no idea what kind of beast the Snow Wind Eagle actually was.

    However, he knew by its speed and agility that it was an extraordinary beast. Fang Zhengzhi himself did not even have every confidence that he could beat it in a duel.

    Yet...

    This blind old man hadpletely wrecked it.

    What kind of monster was he?!

    ...

    The wind stopped.

    The girl in the pink dressnded on the ground, stroking the Snow Wind Eagle as she did so. Her eyes were glimmering.

    To her side was a youngdy in fiery red armor.

    The girl¡¯s eyes were clear as water, but her eyes were filled with shock. She looked like a scared bunny.

    "Sister Yan, who is this blind man?" Ping Yang was visibly discontent, but she did not charge forward with her zing Qilin Spear.

    After all, the fate of the Snow Wind Eagle was clear for her to see.

    "Canyang." Chi Guyan replied calmly as she looked at the shivering Snow Wind Eagle and Ping Yang.

    "Canyang?! The half sage?" Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed to one of terror instantly.

    "Mm, that is correct." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "Sister Yan, then we should run. Father once told me that if I ever met some people outside, I should run! He is one of them!"

    "Okay, then make your way to Uncle Xing first!"

    "Then what about you?"

    "I have to save him!" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who stood rooted to his spot, her eyes glowing with determination.

    There was a gust of wind.

    Her pink dress danced in the wind.

 Chapter 438: If Heaven is obstructing me, I will break Heaven!

    Chapter 438: If Heaven is obstructing me, I will break Heaven!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The sky darkened as the sun set.

    There was a faint glow on the horizon, the first visible constetion of the night. It was the first source of light tonight.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan. He had heard what she just said.

    "I have to save him!"

    It was a simple sentence, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze. He knew exactly what she meant.

    Canyang!

    A demon half sage!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how powerful this man was, but he knew that there were no weak half sages in the world.

    Clearly...

    Chi Guyan knew Canyang¡¯s power, but she continued to advance. This was despite the fact that she had just been beaten back.

    Why?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand.

    He wanted to find the reason from Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes. However, he had a feeling that Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes were illuminated by a constetion.

    It looked like the same constetion in the sky.

    Was this a hallucination?

    Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes. When he reopened his eyes, he realized that the constetion had disappeared from her eyes. Her pink dress continued to dance in the light breeze.

    Ping Yang was also looking at Chi Guyan, her eyes filled with worry.

    "Save him? But you will be going up against a half sage! He is someone who can¡¯t die! I heard that he has been a half sage for more than a decade! I doubt you can defeat him either?" Ping Yang was confused.

    "Mm, I know." Chi Guyan nodded lightly. She raised her hand and ruffled Ping Yang¡¯s hair.

    "Then..."

    "But I have to save him. Don¡¯t you want me to save him?" Chi Guyan shook her head and smiled.

    She looked like a blossoming flower, filling the world with her beauty.

    Chi Guyan...

    The pride of the Divine Constabry, someone who even the Emperor showed respect to. She was the person who was supposed to fulfill the Heavenly Dao Prophecy.

    She had the looks and the ability.

    It wasn¡¯t a stretch to say that...

    No one would be able to match up to her in a decade¡¯s time.

    But now...

    This same girl was telling Canyang in the Southern Region that she was going to save someone from his grasp. Furthermore, she had done it in such a resolute manner.

    Ping Yang looked at Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi, her expression conflicted. After some hesitation, she nodded.

    "Yes, we must save him!"

    ...

    Chi Guyan smiled rather casually.

    It was almost as though she was a flower in full bloom, her beauty filling up the battlefield.

    The next moment, she sprang into action.

    She shot into the sky like a star, turning into a shooting star in the sky.

    Countless silver rays of light fell to the ground.

    Those were raindrops.

    But they were also lightswords.

    The night sky waspletely illuminated by the silver light. In an instant, Yun Qingwu and Canyang werepletely enveloped in it.

    However, Canyang did not move.

    He raised his head and ¡¯looked¡¯ at the silver lighting down on him. His eyes looked like two bottomless pits.

    The silver light crashed into the ground with a deafening boom, creating a crater beneath Canyang¡¯s feet.

    "The Xuan Heavenly Dao Body is indeed extraordinary!" Canyang¡¯s voice rang out. It was frail and aged, but it revealed traces of surprise.

    "I always knew that she woulde and save you, but I never thought that she would actuallye." Yun Qingwu¡¯s gaze was locked onto the stars in the sky as she murmured to himself.

    That was a self-contradictory statement.

    But Fang Zhengzhi had understood it perfectly. He finally understood why Yun Qingwu kept him alive.

    "I see, I was just a pawn..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart sank as he looked at the silver light.

    He wished that the silver light would engulf him as well.

    However, it was clear that...

    The silver light rays were avoiding him, almost as though they had eyes and knew where to go.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was Chi Guyan controlling the Million Sword Illustration. However, this also meant that she was unable to bring its full force to bear.

    "Not only am I a pawn, am I also a liability?" Fang Zhengzhi wished that he was more powerful.

    All this while, the only thing he wanted was a carefree and happy life.

    Fights?

    That was something that he frowned upon. Whenever possible, he would always try to outwit his opponent.

    But, when faced with absolute power...

    All of his intellect...

    Was absolutely meaningless. What he had prided himself on all this while was actually useless.

    Use his secret weapons?

    How could he do that when he couldn¡¯t even move?

    Schemes and traps?

    What use would that be when his opponent was Yun Qingwu?

    Did he really have no other choice?

    Could it be...

    That his only hope was Chi Guyan?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to clench his fists, but he couldn¡¯t even do that. It was almost as though he had been frozen.

    He had beenpletely immobilized.

    He was to wait for death to take him!

    Was that his only option?

    No, he wanted to live! He wanted to start a family!

    "Break!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed as blood rushed to his face. He put everything he had into trying to break this restraint.

    He was not going to die in this way!

    He was not afraid of death!

    But he was not willing to die in such fashion!

    "Break, I said break!" The only thing that Fang Zhengzhi could do was speak. Perhaps that was because Yun Qingwu wanted to hear him struggle.

    He couldn¡¯t clench his fists.

    He couldn¡¯t move his legs.

    All of his efforts were to no avail. Even though Fang Zhengzhi used all his strength, his body refused to move a single inch.

    This reminded Fang Zhengzhi of the "Journey to the West". At that time, Sun Wukong was also immobilized in a simr fashion.

    The only difference was that Sun Wukong could see the mountain which was immobilizing him, but Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t see his restraints!

    What kind of Dao was this?!

    "Break!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that Canyang was a half sage, but he didn¡¯t know that he wielded the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. As such, his only solution was to try and break it.

    "Boom!"

    A wave of force exploded outwards from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    That was the same force that he had used to fight Nangong Hao to a stalemate for over an hour.

    This time...

    He was going to use it to break out of the restraints.

    A huge boom rocked the battlefield as the power dissipated in all directions.

    The force caused Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress and Canyang¡¯s ck cloak to be blown backward.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi was still rooted to his spot.

    He still couldn¡¯t move.

    However, his actions had attracted the attention of those around him, especially the demons still engaging the enemy.

    "Is he trying to escape?"

    "Haha... how is he going to go up against Heaven as a human?!"

    "What is he thinking?! He has no other choice but to await death patiently. He is just wasting his energy."

    "I guess he¡¯s just unwilling to ept the facts. But what use is that? With his power, he is just grasping at straws! Let him struggle!"

    All of the demons began to mock Fang Zhengzhi as they watched him struggle. They knew what kind of situation Fang Zhengzhi was in.

    It was precisely because they knew...

    That they found his actions to be incrediblyical.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army also looked at Fang Zhengzhi helplessly.

    Xing Qingsui clenched his fists. He wanted to save Fang Zhengzhi but he knew that he was in no position to.

    Xing Yuanguo felt equally helpless. On top of that, he looked like he med himself for what happened.

    As for Nangong Hao...

    He was looking at the silver rain of light as his lips moved slowly, almost as if he was murmuring to himself. However, he could not be heard.

    "Third brother, Fang Zhengzhi came here to save the Southern Region, I want to save him!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with desperation.

    "Save? How do you n to save him?! Don¡¯t be silly. He is being held by Canyang and is no different from a dead man. Even Xing Yuanguo is standing on the sidelines! You would be courting death!" Shan Ling replied without hesitation.

    "But Chi Guyan... she¡¯s already... furthermore... we won¡¯t know if we don¡¯t try..."

    "Shut up sister, don¡¯t forget who you are!"

    "Brother!"

    "You don¡¯t have to say anything else. Asmander, I am ordering you to lead the defence within the Iron Hill Settlement! Stop the demons from nking us!"

    "Brother..."

    "Do not call me brother! I am now themander! Are you trying to defy a direct order?"

    "No, I would not dare!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed as she grit her teeth. However, she was a soldier, a soldier who followed orders.

    Even if those orders came from her brother.

    "Go, please don¡¯t me me. You should know where I¡¯ming from. Are you really willing to sacrifice thousands of our soldiers¡¯ lives just to try and save an outsider?" Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu.

    Princess Shan Yu did not speak as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she turned and walked back towards the Iron Hill Settlement.

    The settlement was currently in chaos.

    If she didn¡¯t go...

    Then how was she going to face the Southern Region soldiers fighting for their lives against the demons?

    She was the Princess...

    She had to do what a Princess should do.

    Even though she knew that the position was virtually indefensible, she could not give up.

    The Iron Hill Settlement was thest hope for the Southern Region.

    Even though...

    This was something that was virtually impossible.

    "Break, break, break..." Fang Zhengzhi was bordering on insanity. With each shout, waves of force gushed out of his body.

    The booms echoed throughout the battlefield.

    Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi through the silver rain, a little shocked by his actions.

    "Actually, if you want to live... I can let you live." Yun Qingwu recognized the insanity in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    "Let me live?"

    "Yes."

    "On the condition that you let me imprison your pocket dimension. That would mean that you can no longer cultivate. Furthermore, you will stay in the Blood Shadow City. Haven¡¯t you always wanted an ordinary life? I can give you food and lodging... if you want women, I will have ady marry you..."

    "Do you think I will agree to that?"

    "No, but you have no other choice. Struggling is meaningless. This is the Heavenly Dao, only those who understand it can break its restraints. Even her with her Xuan Heavenly Dao Body can¡¯t do it!"

    Yun Qingwu continued in a sincere and calm voice as she looked at the silver light.

    "Heavenly Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze.

    He knew exactly what the Heavenly Dao was, and that was the top Dao of the six Major ones.

    "Yes, the Heavenly Dao! Even amongst the demons, my master is the only one to understand it. If you had note here, you may have understood it one day... but now, that would be impossible!" Yun Qingwu added.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to register what Yun Qingwu just said to him, "The Heavenly Dao... only those who understand it can free themselves? I understand... I will break heaven!"

 Chapter 439: Am I going to die?

    Chapter 439: Am I going to die?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was not loud, almost as if he was murmuring to himself, but Yun Qingwu heard it clearly...

    "I will break heaven!"

    Break heaven?!

    Fang Zhengzhi had said it extremely calmly. Some may not have thought much of it just from his tone...

    But...

    What he was trying to do was extraordinary!

    Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, visibly surprised. She tried her best to suppress her surprise and shock...

    But it was to no avail.

    "He wants to break Heaven? Is that even possible? That can¡¯t be!" Yun Qingwu thought to herself.

    Chi Guyan was attacking Yun Qingwu and Canyang from above and heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words as well.

    However, she did not reply.

    She continued to press on with her attacks, almost as if she hadn¡¯t heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    Simrly, Canyang didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t even bother to ¡¯look¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi. He had a faint smile on his face.

    This was not a smile of scorn.

    This was his ¡¯encouragement¡¯ to someone younger.

    Fang Zhengzhi was like a three-year-old setting out to aplish great things. As a senior, all he could do was smile and encourage his junior.

    Canyang was encouraging Fang Zhengzhi right now.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was talented, but no amount of talent would allow him to break these restraints at his current stage.

    Heaven...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not own heaven!

    Just because Canyang smiled in ¡¯encouragement¡¯ didn¡¯t mean that the other demons felt the same way. In fact, the demons behind Yun Qingwu and Canyang couldn¡¯t believe their ears.

    "Break Heaven? Hahaha... am I mistaken?"

    "No, you¡¯re not!"

    "No matter how crazily arrogant someone is, he should have some form of self-awareness, no? Why is he so ignorant?!"

    "Because he wants to break heaven..."

    The demons mocked Fang Zhengzhi maniacally. After all, mockery and humiliation were all part and parcel of war.

    Furthermore...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were so unbelievable that no demon would have been able to hold back hisughter.

    Theughter could be heard throughout the battlefield.

    The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and the Southern Region soldiers all heard the mockery andughter.

    Fang Zhengzhi was human. As such, on some level, his words also represented what the humans were trying to do.

    All of the members of the joint forces wanted to say something in response, but they found no words.

    They couldn¡¯t possibly be shouting words of encouragement and telling Fang Zhengzhi that he could definitely break the Heavenly Dao!

    That was ridiculous.

    If they did so, they would just be embarrassing themselves.

    Keep their head down, ignore it, and press on.

    That was the only option avable to the joint forces. At this point, they had no choice but to tolerate the mockery. Many of them red at Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all...

    It was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness that had brought this mockery upon them.

    The mockery of the demons...

    The battle the joint forces were fighting... the happenings around him... Fang Zhengzhi ignored them all.

    After hearing what Yun Qingwu had said, he began to think about it.

    Concentration!

    That was a talent.

    That was also a talent which Fang Zhengzhi had, especially when he really wanted to achieve something.

    The Heavenly Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall everything he could about the Heavenly Dao. He was also trying to recall everything that he had experienced since his attack.

    Was his body stuck? Almost as if he had been frozen in space.

    What was happening? Was it because the space around him had been changed? Or was it because the space around him was just being bent?

    Furthermore...

    The blue light above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head had sessfully defended against his attack as well as Chi Guyan¡¯s current onught.

    His attack had clearly passed through the blue light, but why did his attack end up hitting dirt?

    Furthermore, if Yun Qingwu was in a separate dimension, why was her dress still dancing in the wind?

    Fang Zhengzhi kept thinking about these questions.

    Heavenly Dao!

    Was this the power of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao? If this was just a manifestation of it, how powerful was this Dao?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to understand it.

    However, he also knew that this was not going to be easy. He did not know what made it unique, neither did he know where to begin.

    How was he going to break it?

    "Ah!" Fang Zhengzhi let out a guttural roar as his body began to make sputtering noises.

    The Supernatural State allowed him to change the makeup of his body.

    After he entered the Supernatural State, Fang Zhengzhi hadplete control over his body. Previously, he was only able to control his muscles, but now, he could control his bones as well.

    "Break! Damn it, break!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed as rays of light shot out from his body. These were rays of light that were formed because of changes to his cells.

    At the same time, earth-shaking waves of force exploded outwards.

    If his body was stuck, maybe he could escape by changing his body! That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought...

    But...

    He was stopped by reality.

    No matter how hard he tried, no matter how he changed his muscles and bones, his body continued to be stuck in that position. He couldn¡¯t even move a finger.

    "It didn¡¯t work?" Xing Qingsui looked on disappointedly as he watched wave after wave of force emerge from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "There¡¯s no point. The Heavenly Dao... is too difficult!" Xing Yuanguo shook his head as he noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    As for Nangong Hao, his attention continued to be on the rain of silver light in the sky. He seemed to be contemting something, his expression changing many times during this time.

    As for the demon soldiers...

    They couldn¡¯t hold back theirughter.

    "Struggle! Keep struggling!"

    "The humans really have no self-awareness. They know that it¡¯s impossible, yet, they insist on trying! Breaking the heavens? I would like to see him try!"

    "Break it! We are all waiting to see you break it, hahaha..."

    The voices reverberated throughout the battlefield, striking at the hearts of the joint forces.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s shocked expression had all but disappeared. Now, she looked rather resigned as she shook her head. It seemed as though she wanted to say something, but decided not to.

    However...

    She was no longer looking at Fang Zhengzhi. She was looking at the rain of silver light.

    Just at that moment, a voice could be heard from within this light. It was a shrill and crisp voice.

    "Across all six worlds, the only constant is the rules of nature. Commoners look to the sky, but never understand why the sun rises or sets, or why there are four seasons. Just because they don¡¯t understand it doesn¡¯t mean that these are not governed by the rules of nature. That is the Heavenly Dao."

    "Heavenly Dao?!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the radiant silver light when he heard this voice.

    "The Heavenly Dao is not like any of the other Daos. In fact, it ispletely separate." The voice rang out once again.

    It was Chi Guyan.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this.

    So did Yun Qingwu and Canyang. However, they did not show any intention of stopping her.

    Because...

    Chi Guyan was merely reciting the descriptions found in the "Law of Dao". One still had to break it down.

    If people could understand the Heavenly Dao from these lines, then the whole world would be filled with more people who could wield it!

    To put it bluntly...

    Chi Guyan herself had not even reached that stage. How could she teach Fang Zhengzhi how to? She was merely adding on the hrity.

    "The top talent doesn¡¯t seem to be too clever after all."

    "It would seem... that we have overestimated Chi Guyan. Despite her Xuan Heavenly Dao Body, she is still too naive!"

    "Hahaha... exactly. Does she want to let Fang Zhengzhi understand the Heavenly Dao with just these words? Her naivety is hrious!"

    The demon soldiers burst out inughter when they heard this. They couldn¡¯t believe that Chi Guyan would believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Shameless fe, aren¡¯t you usually very powerful? Why are you failing at the crucial moment? You have to break this! It is said that the Heavenly Dao takes away some power from your strengths to strengthen your weaknesses. On the other hand, the other Daos simply have you strengthen what is already powerful!"

    Amidst theughter, yet another crisp voice sliced through the air. At that moment, a radiant red light shot skyward. This revealed Ping Yang¡¯s mood.

    Anxious, worried.

    Even though Ping Yang did not understand the "Law of Dao" as well as Fang Zhengzhi, she was able to say what she knew.

    "Anyone who doesn¡¯t understand the Heavenly Dao would easily be swayed."

    "With the Heavenly Dao, one will win every battle."

    "The Heavenly Dao dictates that we sow our seeds in the spring, harvest during autumn, and store it through winter. This is thew of nature."

    "The Heavenly Dao awaits at the end of the road."

    "..."

    Voices continued to pierce through the rain of silver light,pletely ignoring the mockery of the demons.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes continued to glimmer.

    Every time a voice rang out, his eyes became brighter, almost as if he was engaging in some sort of ritual.

    ...

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi did have an inexplicable feeling when he heard the voices.

    He felt extremely calm...

    Almost as if the voices had a special rhythm to them.

    They soothed his anxious and troubled heart whilst sending thoughts to his brain.

    "Heavenly Dao!"

    "Rules?"

    "Nature..."

    "All creation?!"

    "..."

    The voices continued to ring out by his ear as phrases and words shed by in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. It felt as though he was being transported into a calm world.

    "Heavenly Dao!"

    "Heavenly Dao!"

    Fang Zhengzhi kept repeating this to himself. His heart shuddered when he recalled what happened when he attacked Yun Qingwu, as well as his current situation.

    He finally thought of something.

    The Heavenly Dao was thew of nature, it was aw that all creation had to follow.

    In his previous world...

    This was known as thew of conservation of energy!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood it. However, just because he understood it didn¡¯t mean that he could do it. For example, everyone knew that the point of a business was profit...

    But was every business profitable?

    Definitely not.

    Different businesses had different profitabilities. It depended on the nature of the business as well as the people in the business.

    The Heavenly Dao...

    It was using one¡¯s body to understand thews of nature. Then, by replicating these rules, one could interact and change the constituents of nature...

    It was a simple concept...

    But it was virtually impossible to do.

    For example, if you could outrun the wind, then you would not be affected by it.

    But, could you possibly be faster than the wind?

    The Heavenly Dao...

    It was even more difficult than that. One had to merge andbine with the wind. One¡¯s bodily makeup would have to be the same as the wind.

    To put it inly, you had to be wind.

    Once one understood the Heavenly Dao, one could virtually be anything. One could also use one¡¯s body to change one¡¯s surroundings.

    "Am I really going to die?!" Fang Zhengzhi felt like the situation required him to do the impossible. Did it really need to be that difficult?

 Chapter 440: I am Heaven

    Chapter 440: I am Heaven

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone dreamt of going to heaven.

    Everyone dreamt that one day we would have wings on our back as we soared through the sky and breathed in the crisp, fresh air.

    But to be honest...

    If we had wings, then we would be birdmen.

    Understanding and execution...

    Those were two very different concepts.

    That was the problem that Fang Zhengzhi was facing. He understood the meaning and gist of the Heavenly Dao, but he could not wield it.

    The simplest example of this was, one may understand a dialect, but that didn¡¯t mean that one could speak it fluently. It also did not mean that one would be able to replicate the ent.

    That is something that requires practice and time.

    Mere understanding was insufficient. He needs to cultivate and experience it for himself. That was the only way he could achieve this.

    This didn¡¯t mean that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s understanding waspletely useless.

    It had given him a shortcut to the end. He could now avoid all of the detours along the way.

    Effectively... he had been given a straight road to the Heavenly Dao.

    But, in order to do it...

    He needed time... a lot of it.

    He didn¡¯t even know if he could make it to the end.

    And when he got there...

    It would be apletely different idea altogether.

    He had to understand the rules of wind, fire, earth, stone... then, he had to allow his body to adapt to these rules.

    Finally...

    He had to break and change some of the rules to give himself control over all creation.

    The Heavenly Dao...

    It was thew of nature.

    Previously, Fang Zhengzhi was able to use the Dao of All Creation. He was able to use a de to generate wind and speed it up. He was able to add fire to increase its power.

    This was him using the Dao of All Creation.

    However, people skilled in the Heavenly Dao did not merely use the Dao of All Creation. They hadplete control over it.

    For example, everyone knows that diamond is made out of carbon. However, given carbon, could you turn it into a diamond?

    You couldn¡¯t.

    If you could, then the world would be filled with genuine diamonds.

    But...

    Someone skilled in the Heavenly Dao could.

    He could change the rules of nature. He could change the way things interacted with each other. Ordinarily, a fire should not be able to burn stone or metal, but he could make it happen.

    This was him changing the rules of nature!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why his attack on Yun Qingwu had missed. In the moment that he passed through the blue light...

    Many rules had been changed...

    It could have been the concept of space...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what method Canyang had used. However, if he was skilled in the Heavenly Dao, then deflecting that attack would have been a piece of cake.

    "Only those who understand the Heavenly Dao can break its restraints!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he thought about this.

    Difficult?

    This wasn¡¯t difficult!

    This was impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Yun Qingwu had said that he couldn¡¯t do it. He also understood why the demons were mocking him.

    He also understood why, despite the length of time he had been trapped...

    Xing Yuanguo did note to save him.

    This had nothing to do with his talents. No matter how talented he was, he couldn¡¯t absorb decades of experience in mere moments.

    It was impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi was losing hope.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s words rang out in his mind. She wanted him to plead with her and live an ordinary life in the Blood Shadow City.

    He would be a prisoner...

    Oh yes...

    Yun Qingwu had mentioned that she would find him a wife. Was she referring to herself?

    That was too naive.

    Fang Zhengzhi dismissed that thought. No demon would ever approve of someone of Yun Qingwu¡¯s status marrying a prisoner like him.

    If his pocket dimension was sealed...

    He would be stripped of all his powers. Any soldier who didn¡¯t like him could kill him easily...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a chill down his spine.

    He began to think about how he was going to survive if he took up her offer. After all, once he stepped into the Blood Shadow City, he would be the odd one out.

    He couldn¡¯t antagonize Yun Qingwu...

    Furthermore, he could not make any enemies or exert influence over anyone. If not, someone would be waiting in the shadows to plunge a de into him.

    Having thought about it...

    He concluded that he would probably be married off to an unwanted demon and would have to be a servant for the rest of his life...

    Tears welled up in his eyes.

    "Was that the price of survival?" Fang Zhengzhi believed that there were certain sacrifices that needed to be made at times. However, this was below the belt.

    He would never go to the Blood Shadow City!

    Fang Zhengzhi screamed to himself. He had dreamt of surviving, but he couldn¡¯t even stand the courts in the Great Xia. epting this deal would be even more suffocating!

    He would have to stay in the Blood Shadow City for the rest of his life. He couldn¡¯t cultivate, be arrogant, or show off. This was torture!

    "Break, break, break!" Fang Zhengzhi growled. This was his final, desperate attempt.

    He did not want to die...

    But he didn¡¯t want to go to the Blood Shadow City either...

    What was he to do?

    He had to try and escape. But how was he going to do that? He was being restrained by the Heavenly Dao, the rules of nature...

    "Boom!"

    An immense wave of force gushed outwards, almost like a huge stone had been dropped into ake. However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move an inch.

    "What is going on?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t bring himself to ept it. He had just broken through to the Supernatural State, and he couldn¡¯t even enjoy it.

    If he had known that this would happen, he would not havee.

    Why did he send himself to be ughtered?

    "Hahaha... he¡¯s wasting his effort!"

    "I think he¡¯s about to give up. Does he want to break the Heavenly Dao? He must be daydreaming!"

    "I think his arrogance and confidence stems from ignorance."

    The demons began mocking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯valiant¡¯ efforts to break his restraints.

    Even though they had already expected this result...

    It was extremelyical and satisfying to watch Fang Zhengzhi struggle, especially after the events at the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Genius?

    No matter how talented you were, you couldn¡¯t possibly break it!

    That was simply an impossible task.

    Fang Zhengzhi bit his lip as he listened to the chatter around him. His mouth was the only thing that he could move.

    "The Heavenly Dao augments and shines light on everything."

    Just at that moment, a beautiful voice pierced through the air. It was calm and rhythmic, almost like the sounds of the ocean.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze.

    He subconsciously turned to look at the sky. The silver light was still as radiant.

    "Chi Guyan..." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the silver light in confusion. He didn¡¯t know why Chi Guyan would try to save him.

    Didn¡¯t she know that it was impossible to break the Heavenly Dao?

    What was she trying to prove?

    Was she trying to prove that she had tried? Or is she trying to make it up to him?

    Was there any meaning to that?

    He was a dead man, with no way of resisting.

    Canyang was too strong.

    Never in his wildest dreams did he think that Canyang would be this powerful.

    "The Heavenly Dao punishes evil and rewards good."

    "The Heavenly Dao is all-seeing, and acts like a god."

    "During spring, flowers blossom. During autumn, we harvest the crops. This is thew of nature."

    The voice never stopped and the words continued to flow into his mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask her to stop!

    But, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it.

    "Stop reciting these passages! He can¡¯t understand them, I have to save him!" Just at this moment, another determined, crisp voice rang out as a figure in red appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised to see this figure appear in front of him. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect...

    That Ping Yang woulde to save him?!

    Wasn¡¯t she extremely pampered? Why would she jump into the fray?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought about Ping Yang¡¯s spoilt and willful nature. He also thought about her unreasonableness. None of those were positives.

    But, in the World of the Sage, Ping Yang had taken a blow for him.

    That was an attack from Ying Shan.

    At that time, Ping Yang was only in the Star Conglomerate State. In fact, she was still in that state.

    Star Conglomerate...

    And yet she¡¯s jumped into the fray?

    The sh of red arrived quickly, but also retreated quickly. In the blink of an eye, Ping Yang was back at her original position, blood trickling from the edge of her mouth.

    The Red me Flower Armor.

    One of the best defensive treasures in the Great Xia. Yet, it could not even block an attack from Canyang.

    Canyang had done it so casually.

    He didn¡¯t even lift a finger. All he did was ¡¯look¡¯ at Ping Yang and she was sent flying back.

    How powerful!

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was also looking at Fang Zhengzhi. He could see scorn and condescension in her eyes.

    "F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t hold back.

    He remembered that he was always the one who scorned her. Since when did she have the right to scorn him?

    Ordinarily, Canyang¡¯s power should have caused Fang Zhengzhi to despair.

    He should have lost all hope.

    But, it did quite the opposite. Looking at Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi was reminded of himself.

    At that time, he had killed a Blue Fire Wolf on Cang Ling Mountain despite not having essed Dao.

    At that time, he was not given an official position, but he had left a gaping hole in the throne room.

    At that time, he had not even broken through to the Supernatural State, but he challenged Ying Shan in the World of the Sage.

    And now...

    He was trapped.

    Was he just going to give up?

    The Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    So what? Everything had rules that had to be followed. No matter how powerful it was, it wasn¡¯t invincible. He just had to figure it out.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sky once again.

    The silver rays of light continued to rain down on the ground. Even though they had no chance of touching Canyang or Yun Qingwu...

    Chi Guyan showed no intention of stopping.

    "Hang in there even if you can¡¯t see hope!" Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Chi Guyan was the top talent of the generation.

    Talent was part of it.

    But...

    Chi Guyan had extraordinary determination. When others would have quit, she would continue to hang in there. When others gave up, she trudged on.

    That was Chi Guyan.

    She was someone with immense talent and extraordinary drive.

    "I can¡¯t lose either!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glimmered as he thought about how to break the Heavenly Dao.

    It was too difficult, almost impossible!

    No way!

    There had to be a method to break this. Nothing was impossible! Maybe he just had to think out of the box... he just had to exhaust all possible options...

    Hang on!

    He had missed something.

    He got it!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened as he thought of a n. It was something that was by his side all this time, but he had ignored it.

    "Break heaven? Go to heaven? No, I am heaven!"

 Chapter 441: To hell with the Heavenly Rebirth Dao

    Chapter 441: To hell with the Heavenly Rebirth Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The light at the end of the tunnel. He had just been thrown a lifeline...

    At the very least, that¡¯s what Fang Zhengzhi felt like. His heart began to tremble at the thought.

    Heavenly Dao...

    It was difficult, impossibly difficult.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to understand it fully in such a short period of time.

    However...

    There was no rule that states that he had to understand it all. The Heavenly Dao includes everything in the universe. What did Fang Zhengzhi have to do now?

    Break out of his restraints!

    As such, he did not need to understand the rules that governed all creation. He only needed to understand the rules that governed the space around him. Canyang had changed the space around him.

    Using it to restrain him.

    Fang Zhengzhi needed to understand what Canyang had changed and changed his body to match it. That was how he was going to free himself.

    "Space, space, bending space..." Fang Zhengzhi repeated to himself. He had hundreds of Daos in his pocket dimension.

    He had Daos of constetions, the sun, nature, wind, water, fire, thunder, earth...

    Of course...

    It also contained the Dao of space.

    There were a lot of exnations of space. Space allowed things to exist.

    It was the fundamental property that allowed things to be ced in three dimensions.

    There were all kinds of spaces. Spaces that contained thoughts, stars, numbers, etc.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have to think about all those other spaces. He only had to consider what was around him.

    What was this space made of?

    Air.

    Air and space were not the same concept.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was being restrained by air, 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.94% Carbon Dioxide... and 0.032% Nitrogen Oxide.

    Okay then...

    This was not all. If he thought that the entire space was filled with air, then Fang Zhengzhi would have studied for nothing.

    In order for the space to bend and restrain him, Canyang had to change the thickness and add power, pressure, and otherplex qualities.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to first allow his body to understand the powers and the air around him. Then, he would have to let his body adapt to each quality.

    Even though it was difficult andplicated...

    It was much better than trying to brute force his way through.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate any longer. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to feel what was around him. In order to do this, he had to rx.

    He had to calm his heart.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s voice continued to ring out in his ears, calming his heart slowly but surely.

    Fang Zhengzhi also began to feel his cells jumping around as they tried to interact with the air around him.

    He felt like he was in ake...

    However, thiske was far from calm, with countless whirlpools trying to pull his body in all directions.

    But...

    Strangely, these whirlpools also created a sense of bnce.

    As the whirlpool on the right pulled him in that direction, the whirlpool on the left canceled it out. All of the whirlpools canceled each other out...

    Countless whirlpools were tugging at his body, keeping him in the same position.

    "I see... he isn¡¯t bending space. He is simply creating countless whirlpools which cancel each other out but their forces actually immobilize me. In order to do this, he needs to leverage wind and pressure to achieve equilibrium..."

    That¡¯s it!

    He had figured it out!

    By constantly feeling his surroundings, Fang Zhengzhi began to understand the rules governing the space around him.

    As such...

    He had confidence that he would be able to find a way to escape.

    ...

    As the sky darkened, the battle intensified. Under the leadership of Xing Yuanguo, the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army managed to hold their ground.

    The bodies were piling up.

    The stench of blood filled the air.

    As for Chi Guyan, she seemed to have merged with the silver rays of light as they continued to pummel the ground.

    "The Xuan Heavenly Dao Body is not easy to defeat..." Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ to the sky, his eyes devoid of light.

    He absorbed the silver rays of light as they crashed towards him and Yun Qingwu...

    Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t looking at Fang Zhengzhi either. She was looking at the rain of attacksing from above.

    She seemed to be very calm...

    However, her eyes glimmered with envy, almost as if something she dreamed about was happening to someone else.

    Yun Qingwu...

    She was an exiled demon.

    She definitely did not have Chi Guyan¡¯s talents. Her demeanor and power could not hide the fact that she was merely a Star Conglomerate State cultivator.

    To put it bluntly...

    She may not even be able to defeat the injured Ping Yang.

    Howical was that?

    Yun Qingwu was jealous of Chi Guyan¡¯s talent.

    The Xuan Heavenly Dao Body...

    Her talent was extraordinary.

    Chi Guyan was the reason why Yun Qingwu had lost out so much at the Icy Monkey Settlement. The Xuan Heavenly Dao Body was the reason why Chi Guyan was that powerful.

    The rays of light were getting more intense and dense, almost like a waterfall.

    A waterfall of attacksing from the sky.

    The demons looked at the domineering attacksing from the sky in awe and admiration. Then, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had closed his eyes, almost as if he was asleep.

    "He gave up?"

    "I¡¯m guessing that he ran out of energy! Hahaha..."

    "It is a pity that Chi Guyan¡¯s efforts are being wasted on someone like him. Does he have no shame?"

    The demons chattered amongst themselves, their gazes moving away from Fang Zhengzhi. Looking at him was a waste of time.

    He was a dead man walking.

    He did not deserve their attention.

    As night fell, there were only two sources of light, the silver waterfall of attacks from Chi Guyan, and the raging battle at the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    No one was looking at Fang Zhengzhi...

    Even if they were, they may not have noticed it.

    It was a very tiny movement. Fang Zhengzhi managed to raise his right thumb just a little.

    However, it¡¯s movement was quickly stopped.

    Then...

    Momentster, his index finger moved. It was raised ever so slightly that few would notice.

    The battle intensified.

    Screams and growls filled the air as soldiers shed and killed.

    Battle meant death, blood, and fire. Countless people had died in the many battles throughout history.

    However, battles were also training and opportunities to be orded great honors.

    In every battle, countless warriors will survive the trial by blood and fire and end up stronger because of it.

    "Die!"

    "We will die with the Southern Region if we have to!"

    "Our parents, brothers, and kids are all here! We must not let the demons in!"

    Their voices filled the air together with their arrows. These arrows fell to the earth, forming dense patches of spikes.

    Blood stained the ground as the fire lit up the ck walls.

    The sounds of killing grew louder by the second.

    It was clear that the defence within the Iron Hill Settlement was being forced back and towards the main gate.

    Shan Ling bit his lip, a fresh trail of blood dripping from the edge of his mouth. He knew exactly what the sounds meant.

    "Is the Southern Region really going to fall?" Shan Ling wasn¡¯t willing to ept this fact.

    "Your highness! You should leave! We can still rebuild the nation after this. You have to retreat to the woods where the demons cannot follow!" A voice rang out beside Shan Ling.

    "Shut up!" Shan Ling¡¯s eyes were bloodshot.

    He knew the situation they were in, but he couldn¡¯t retreat! He was the Crown Prince of the Southern Region.

    "Your highness!"

    "Charge with me! If I have to die, I will die here!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    Blood sprayed skyward, briefly staining the view of the stars red.

    Just at that moment, a pair of eyes opened slowly. No one on the battlefield noticed.

    However...

    That pair of eyes began to survey his surroundings.

    He watched the radiant silver light above him and heard the screams of the battle. He looked at the flickering stars in the sky.

    "Boom!"

    A domineering wave of force exploded outwards, dissipating into the surroundings.

    This attracted the attention of many.

    "He hasn¡¯t given up?"

    "He doesn¡¯t give up until the very end huh?"

    "It doesn¡¯t matter, let him struggle. It is useless anyway. Do you really think that he can break the secret of the Heavenly Dao?"

    "Hahaha... if he does, the sun will rise from the west."

    All of the demons shook their heads in scorn. They were all numb from his previous attempts and didn¡¯t think that he would be able to do anything different this time.

    Struggle...

    Struggling was pointless. His fate would not change.

    It was the Heavenly Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi would only be able to escape in his dreams.

    None of the demons believed that he could do it. Even the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army didn¡¯t believe that he could do it. It was an impossible task.

    The wave of power attracted the attention of many.

    However, the attention was brief. No one bothered to take a second look, convinced that it was just a fruitless attempt.

    The wave of force blew towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress.

    Her dress was blown backwards, but she did not look at Fang Zhengzhi. She continued to focus her attention on the silver waterfall.

    Canyang didn¡¯t care about the explosion of force either.

    As Yun Qingwu¡¯s master, he was one of the most respected demons around. Even the Demon Lord would wee him at the front gate of the Blood Shadow City.

    However, Canyang understood one thing.

    No matter how powerful or respected he was, he was still a demon, and Yun Qingwu was his master.

    He wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead.

    From the moment he saw Fang Zhengzhi, he had wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead. However, if Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t give the order...

    He couldn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    At least...

    Not yet!

    Canyang had oncemented hisck of sight. However, after many years, he realized that he may not be able to see the world, but he could feel it.

    He could keenly feel the existence of everything around him, as well as their appearance and changes.

    As a result, he was able to open the door to something countless others wanted to open.

    The Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    "Go f*ck yourself!" A booming voice cut through the air. It was filled with excitement, excitement from breaking finally breaking free.

    It was as though a dormant volcano had finally erupted. The heat from this explosion caused the space around all of them to bend ever so slightly.

    A breeze blew past...

    A blue long sleeved shirt danced in the wind, just like Yun Qingwu¡¯s white dress.

 Chapter 442: Unexpected result

    Chapter 442: Unexpected result

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The night was far from calm.

    It was filled with screams and shouts of the battle.

    But at the current moment, the entire area became calm, almost like the surface of a frozenke.

    There were nomands shouted, no killings, no screams.

    Time seemed to freeze as everyone turned to look at the epicenter of that powerful force.

    Because...

    A ray of light shed right by it.

    It was an incredibly quick ray of light, so fast that no one could make out the true identity of the light.

    However, that was not the most important point.

    Most importantly, that ray of light was headed straight for Canyang. In fact, it was right in front of him.

    Less than 50cm away!

    Shock, helplessness, terror...

    A plethora of emotions filled the faces of the Dragon Protection Squad, the Mountain Breaking Army, the Southern Region soldiers, as well as the demons. However, no one spoke.

    They were all stunned by what they saw.

    They watched wide-eyed as the blue figure morphed into a ray of light and flew towards Canyang.

    What was he trying to do? Why did he do it? Was he courting death? Or was he tired of living?

    They couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    All they could see was that the figure appeared right in front of Canyang and raised his hand.

    "Boom!"

    An earth-shaking sound echoed out, almost as if a bomb had been detonated. Everyone¡¯s ears rang from the impact.

    Clouds of dust were sent flying in all directions.

    No one knew if the dust cloud was a result of the explosive force, or the shockwave resulting from the subsequent attack.

    Canyang and the blue figure werepletely covered by the dust cloud.

    The night...

    Was calm and quiet.

    The wind blew across the battlefield, bringing with it the stench of blood and assaulting the soldiers.

    "ng!"

    Someone¡¯s weapon fell to the ground, right onto a broken spear, giving off a bright, crisp ring.

    It was not loud.

    If the battle had been as intense as before, the sound would have been lost amidst the sounds of the battle.

    But right now...

    It was like a rock being dropped into a stillke. It broke the silence and shook everyone from their trance.

    The expressions began to change as eyes widened and jaws dropped. Faces also began to pale...

    "He... he moved?!" A stammer could be heard some distance away.

    "This... this... the Heavenly Dao... he escaped?!"

    "That¡¯s impossible! How is that even possible?!"

    "The Heavenly Dao! How did he manage to free himself! That is impossible, it is the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. This cannot be happening..."

    Various voices began to join in the caucus.

    Everyone on the battlefield, humans, and demons alike, couldn¡¯t believe what they had just witnessed.

    The Heavenly Dao had been broken?

    And...

    Was it broken by a nascent Supernatural State cultivator?

    What could possibly be more ridiculous and unbelievable?

    Maybe if the sun was to rise from the west...

    No, even if the sun was to rise from the west, they would not be as surprised.

    The Heavenly Dao was known as thest obstacle before one could enter the Sage State. Countless people were willing to sacrifice everything for a chance to wield it.

    And Fang Zhengzhi cracked it so easily?

    That can¡¯t be!

    In order to crack it, he had to wield it!

    Is that even possible?!

    How?

    Countless eyes were fixated on the cloud of dust. They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe what they were seeing, but it was clear that...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original position.

    Was now...

    Empty!

    "He broke free, he really broke free!"

    "He broke free from the restraints of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao?!"

    Even though no one could bring themselves to believe it, they had to face the facts.

    The light and the blue figure...

    That was...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    Xing Qingsui waspletely floored by what he saw. He had wanted Fang Zhengzhi to escape from the restraints.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi actually escaped, he was in shock.

    "He is younger than me!"

    Xing Yuanguo was also equally surprised. He was the leader of the Stabilization Constabry and someone who could keep his cool in the heat of battle.

    But this time...

    His jaw dropped and eyes widened in disbelief... "He is so much younger than Qingsui!"

    The voices continued to echo throughout the battlefield.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s gaze had shifted from the silver light to the cloud of dust. It was partially due to the fact that the silver light had disappeared...

    But more importantly...

    Even he raised his hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously in disbelief.

    "He... he actually managed to do that?!" Nangong Hao was rarely shocked, and in the rare case that he was, he almost never revealed it.

    However, right now, even Nangong Hao could not suppress his disbelief.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glowed with disbelief, but she was also extremely excited.

    "Shameless fe, you didn¡¯t disappoint me! You managed to break free from the Heavenly Rebirth Dao?! Wait... damn it, he really did it?!"

    Ping Yang rarely cussed, but she did so this time, probably out of excitement as well as influence from her interaction with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shan Ling¡¯s de stopped right above the head of a demon, the wind blowing at the feathers on his hat.

    His face was drenched with sweat, and he felt a chill down his spine.

    The other settlement chiefs also felt the same chill. Their weapons may have been different, but their weapons were all shaking.

    The silver waterfall had all but disappeared.

    A figure appeared at the source, her starry eyes looking to the ground. Her pink dress danced in the wind as pride filled her face.

    She was incredibly beautiful.

    This was Chi Guyan. She was proud and extremely intelligent. She had peerless talent and skill, and outstanding determination.

    There was another beautiful face on the ground.

    However...

    This person was also filled with shock. This shock was a stark contrast from her usual cold and aloofness.

    Yun Qingwu was really shocked. Even though she was known to be able to predict many things, she never predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to break free.

    "Only those who wield the Heavenly Dao can break it!"

    This was something that she had said to Fang Zhengzhi moments ago. But now, Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared.

    He had disappeared without a trace.

    Almost like the invisible Heavenly Dao!

    "Master!" Yun Qingwu managed to recover from her shock before anyone else could. She looked at the cloud of dust behind her, her tone filled with anxiety and shock.

    As Yun Qingwu screamed...

    The hundreds of other demons and demon elites also responded.

    After breaking free from his restraints, Fang Zhengzhi had made a beeline for Canyang. In fact, at the veryst moment, he seemed to strike at Canyang.

    If the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to break free from his restraints was unbelievable, then the subsequent attack on Canyang was...

    Ridiculous and audacious!

    Where did he manage to get the courage to challenge Canyang! He would be sending himself to his death right after managing to escape its clutches.

    None of the domain chiefs could believe their eyes.

    All of the members of the joint forces finally managed to recover from their shock.

    All of them looked at each other...

    They had the same look in their eyes.

    That was one of...

    Surprise!

    Their minds were nk.

    Until now, they still could not figure out how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to break free from his restraints.

    Did he manage to wield the Heavenly Dao?

    That¡¯s impossible!

    So how did he do it?

    No one could figure it out. Then, Fang Zhengzhi had done something that could only be described as suicidal...

    ...

    The cloud of dust covered both figurespletely. However, they were revealed almost just as quickly.

    Countless pairs of eyes were fixated on the two figures.

    Normally, they should not be guessing what the result was, but they couldn¡¯t help themselves.

    However...

    When they saw what was in front of their eyes, their expressions froze over instantly.

    The blue long sleeved shirt continued to dance in the wind, the skinny man standing his ground, his face lightly coated with dust.

    However, he was smirking.

    In front of him was a figure in a ck cloak, his white hair resting on his shoulders. He was ¡¯looking¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi with dull, empty eyes.

    It was a strange sight.

    It caused everyone on the battlefield to reel in disbelief.

    "What happened?!"

    "That¡¯s impossible, this can¡¯t be true!"

    "He... he actually... actually..."

    "That¡¯s Canyang, the half sage!"

    Countless pairs of eyes looked at Canyang on one knee. They couldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack had hit home.

    What the hell?

    That was unfathomable!

    "Could it be that he really wields the Heavenly Dao?! The Heavenly Rebirth Dao... he... he is a half sage?!"

    "How is that possible? How could he possibly be in the Heavenly Rebirth State?!"

    "If not, how did he manage to escape his restraints. How did he manage to hit Canyang? Canyang is a half sage!"

    No one could understand what just happened. Countless thoughts flew through their minds, so much so that they forgot that they were still in a battle.

    All of them looked at Canyang and Fang Zhengzhi, trying to figure out what happened.

    Unbelievable?

    That was the understatement of the year.

    There were no words to describe this. This waspletely unfathomable.

    "Master!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out, her face paling as she screamed.

    Fang Zhengzhi escaping his restraints...

    That was not something that she had nned or expected.

    Over the past decade, there were few things that could surprise her. Even the events at the Icy Monkey Settlement were within her ns and expectations.

    But, she had not expected this.

    Soon after...

    Fang Zhengzhi had charged Canyang!

    She knew why Canyang had been hit by Fang Zhengzhi, what she couldn¡¯t understand was how this was all possible!

 Chapter 443: Venting Anger

    Chapter 443: Venting Anger

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s initial attack on Yun Qingwu stemmed from ignorance, then... his attack on Canyang despite knowing Canyang¡¯s powers...

    What was that?

    "How dare he?" Yun Qingwu looked at the figure in blue. She really wanted to ask him where he found the guts to do so, but she swallowed her words.

    She already had an answer.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    He seemed like someone who was ignorant and afraid to die, yet at times, he had terrifying courage.

    Was there anything that he didn¡¯t dare to do?

    Yun Qingwu looked at Canyang, who was on one knee. She knew better than anyone that Fang Zhengzhi had not gotten lucky.

    The distance.

    He was too close!

    Yun Qingwu and Canyang were not far apart to begin with. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was in between the two of them. He was closer to Canyang than anyone else.

    He had been restrained by the Heavenly Dao.

    This was supposed to mean that his death warrant had been signed.

    Initially, Canyang had raised his guard against Fang Zhengzhi. However, after seeing Fang Zhengzhi struggle to no avail, he had let down his guard.

    After all, Canyang had an even more important mission.

    That was...

    He had to protect Yun Qingwu!

    He had to protect Yun Qingwu from being struck by Chi Guyan¡¯s attacks.

    Of course, the more important reason was that Canyang was blind.

    That,pounded with the distance factor...

    Even if he was Canyang...

    He would not be able to block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strike.

    Shock, disbelief, and terror.

    Everyone looked at the figure in blue. They were not Yun Qingwu and did not know the same things that she did.

    A half sage!

    Fang Zhengzhi had actually managed to hit a half sage!

    A cold breeze blew past as the night continued to darken. The stars in the sky provided some source of light, but no warmth.

    "Half sage?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang and smiled confidently.

    He knew that Canyang was a half sage.

    But so what?

    If Ping Yang was willing to try her luck despite being in the Star Conglomerate State, he should definitely try it since he was in the Supernatural State.

    Furthermore...

    He had no other choice.

    Run?

    Fang Zhengzhi had toyed with that option, but where was he to go. He was faced with a demon army to his front and the gates to the Iron Hill Settlement at his back.

    He would be like amb walking into a pack of ravenous wolves if he stepped forward. If he turned back, he would be diving into a ughterhouse...

    A single misstep...

    And he wouldn¡¯t even know how he died.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid. More importantly, he knew that he would not be able to gain much distance.

    Even if he tried to run, he would not be able to run far.

    As such, instead of running away...

    Why not...

    Fight it out!

    When it came to sneak attacks, Fang Zhengzhi was an expert.

    For a blind man like Canyang, what was the sense that he relied on most? It would be his hearing of course! He would use his hearing to determine position.

    As such, in order for his attack to seed.

    He would have to confuse and muddle up Canyang¡¯s sense of hearing.

    Fang Zhengzhi did it by using an immense wave of force to cause Canyang to lower his guard before using the aftershock to give him the perfect opportunity to strike.

    Sess.

    Sometimes, it was just that simple.

    Fang Zhengzhi was enjoying the fruits of hisbour, but he was not consumed by it. He knew that his attack...

    Had barely even scratched Canyang.

    Kill Canyang?

    That was not something that he was even thinking about.

    One needed to know when to retreat and take the small wins.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this very well. As such, he merely smiled to Canyang before turning to look at Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu was his real target.

    The cold and aloof Young Master of the Demons was staring at him, wide-eyed. Her white dress entuated her great figure, making her look like a white lotus in the night.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu with fire in his eyes. He was a hunter who had spotted his prey.

    The pressure and restraints had nearly pushed him over the edge.

    But now...

    He had his chance. There was no more blue above Yun Qingwu¡¯s head.

    Since Canyang had been hit.

    The blue light disappeared as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi sprang into action before anyone else could react. He shot towards Yun Qingwu like a ray of light.

    "Come on, I will let you know what humiliation is!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed as he watched Yun Qingwu¡¯s jaw drop in shock.

    He could even feel the warmth exuded by her body.

    He was close!

    As long as he could control Yun Qingwu, then they had a chance at turning this around. He would also be able to turn around and tell the others.

    "I¡¯ll take my leave first!"

    That would be the perfect oue.

    Fang Zhengzhi chuckled, relieved to be finally free from his restraints. He was going to prove to everyone...

    That his decision to jump onto the battlefield...

    Was the right one!

    The wind screeched past his ear as he approached the speed of sound. His body became a ray of light and Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was in control of everything.

    However... his body was eventually stopped.

    He was stopped a mere inch away from Yun Qingwu, his arm already prepared to grab Yun Qingwu¡¯s waist.

    His initial intention was to grab Yun Qingwu by her waist, do a 360-degree flip before cing Yun Qingwu on the ground.

    Then...

    Okay.

    There was nothing after that.

    He was immobilized.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to turn around, but he couldn¡¯t move, almost as if his body had been imprisoned. His teeth couldn¡¯t even chatter.

    Damn it.

    That bloody Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not need to look to know that Canyang had already recovered. He also knew that he had fallen into a trap.

    "Aroo!"

    Just at that moment, a howl rang out through the air as a humongous figure charged.

    That figure blocked out the moonlight and the starlight.

    The snow-white wings pped and a powerful wave of force swept towards the person behind Fang Zhengzhi like a de.

    There was someone in red fiery armor on top of the beast, her eyes filled with determination.

    They even glowed golden.

    That was an animalistic glow, almost like a death god. She stabbed at Canyang with incredible speed.

    "Boom!"

    Columns of me shot skyward as the red light illuminated everything below. It even stained the night sky red.

    Ping Yang!

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at that small figure flying back and spitting out blood. This was the first time he admired her barbarism.

    This girl...

    She must be mad!

    Isn¡¯t she afraid of dying?!

    What was she thinking?

    Just as he was thinking about that, he saw a ray of silver light on the horizon, almost like a bolt of lightning, shoot towards the ground.

    "Boom!"

    A loud explosion rang out.

    This was vastly different from Ping Yang¡¯s attack. This time, a crater was formed in the ground as columns of dust and rock shot skyward.

    "Chi Guyan?!" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by what he saw. He realized that Ping Yang was not the only daredevil.

    Chi Guyan was one as well!

    They clearly spend too much time together...

    The question is, who was the one who had influenced the other?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not confirm anything, but he knew that he now had the opportunity to strike back.

    For his initial strike...

    Fang Zhengzhi had not chosen Yun Qingwu as a target because she still had that blue light above her head.

    As long as it was there, Yun Qingwu could not be hurt.

    But now...

    The blue light was gone.

    Fang Zhengzhi would be an idiot not to seize this opportunity.

    "Break!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed as light shot out from his body.

    Then...

    He moved.

    Yun Qingwu was stunned. Even before she could try and escape, a hand grabbed her by the waist.

    This hand was extremely warm.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not help but feel slightly aroused by this, but he was in no mood to entertain any of those thoughts now.

    He made up his mind.

    With a sudden burst of strength, he raised Yun Qingwu up.

    "You..." Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. She wanted to ask how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to break free.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly had no intention of answering her questions.

    Her feet were lifted off the ground and she was being held by her waist.

    This was not a good feeling. Even the usually calm Yun Qingwu struggled to break free. However, to her surprise, her body felt like it was being trapped by some form of force.

    "Heaven... Heavenly Dao! He... he really figured it out?!" Yun Qingwu was stunned. She knew exactly how the restraints were formed.

    She also knew what they represented. She really wanted to scream out loud, but she realized that she was being pushed to the ground. More importantly...

    She was heading for the ground, head first!

    "Bang!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes widened. Even before she could say anything, she felt her head impact the ground and her world went dark.

    She had fainted.

    "Heavenly Dao, he now wields the Heavenly Dao..." Yun Qingwu thought to herself as her eyes closed.

    ...

    It was quiet...

    Countless eyes stared at the pale andatose Yun Qingwu. None of them could figure out what had just happened.

    From Fang Zhengzhi escaping his restraints...

    To Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack on Canyang... and Ping Yang and Chi Guyan¡¯s subsequent attacks...

    All the way to...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack on Yun Qingwu.

    He had lifted Yun Qingwu off the ground. And then, to everyone¡¯s surprise...

    He had mmed her head first into the ground!

    "Young master!"

    "Ah, this fe, he... how dare he..."

    "Kill him, we must kill him!"

    All of the demon soldiers were infuriated. They could even have epted seeing Fang Zhengzhi cut a way through them after escaping his restraints.

    However...

    They could not stand seeing Fang Zhengzhi humiliate their Young Master.

    Head first?!

    What was he thinking?!

    Even if he wanted to take Yun Qingwu as a hostage, he should have kept her conscious! What was the meaning of knocking her out like that?

    No one could understand.

    "Rubbish!" Just at that moment, an aged voice rang out discontentedly. The tone was filled with anger and hurt.

    Canyang was finally triggered.

    For many years, Canyang had not felt such rage. Even after hearing about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions at Feng Su...

    He had not felt this enraged.

    Humiliation!

    This was unadulterated humiliation. He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would have managed to break free from his restraints, twice!

    The Heavenly Dao...

    The Dao that he had spent his entire life trying to understand. Had it just been broken by a human? A teenager?

    Canyang had never seen such a talent.

    If it was possible, he would write down everything that he had learnt and pass it to Fang Zhengzhi, even if Fang Zhengzhi was not a demon.

    He could ignore the feud between the demons and the humans. In fact, he did not want to kill unless it was absolutely necessary.

    If not...

    Ping Yang would have been dead by now...

    However, there was one thing he could not tolerate.

    That was Yun Qingwu being humiliated.

    His primary mission on this expedition was to protect Yun Qingwu. Yet, Yun Qingwu had just been knocked unconscious in the most humiliating fashion!

    "Kaboom!"

    A bolt of lightning shot through the sky, illuminating the night sky.

    Canyang clenched his fists and his ck cloak was blown back by the wind, revealing a blue robe. That blue... was the color of the sky.

 Chapter 444: Well go down together

    Chapter 444: We¡¯ll go down together

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The wind was strong and dark clouds covered the sky.

    A gargantuan wave of force rushed out from Canyang¡¯s body. If the st from Fang Zhengzhi was ake, Canyang¡¯s was a vast ocean.

    A raging ocean.

    It was so terrifying that even the demon soldiers standing behind Canyang took a step back, their bodies trembling.

    "Is this the rage of a half sage?"

    The joint forces could all feel the immense rage that Canyang was showing. They all felt a chill down their spines.

    The Heavenly Dao...

    What a scary existence!

    All of the joint forces could not help but feel shock and awe as they watched Canyang. Then, they turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Canyang¡¯s power could be keenly felt by everyone. However, the terror that Fang Zhengzhi instilled cut straight to their heart.

    None of them knew how he had done it.

    But the fact was that Fang Zhengzhi had escaped his restraints and sessfully knocked Yun Qingwu unconscious.

    In order to do this...

    The only exnation was that he had understood the Heavenly Dao.

    He was not even 16 years old...

    He was still so young.

    And yet, this young teenager had already done something that billions of his seniors couldn¡¯t! How talented was this person? How terrifyingly powerful could he be?

    No one knew how powerful Fang Zhengzhi would end up being... but they knew that he would not be weaker than Canyang.

    That meant...

    That there would be a half sage amongst the humans sooner orter.

    Furthermore, he would be a half sage with hundreds of Daos in his pocket dimension!

    Monster!

    In fact... that would be an understatement. There were no words to describe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent.

    They were all shocked by Canyang¡¯s power as well as their realization of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent.

    Nangong Hao looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    For the first time, Nangong Hao seemed under immense pressure. This was something that he had never felt before.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not look at the others around him. He looked at the raging Canyang innocently and wiped the dust off his clothes.

    "What do you want? A fight? Come on, hit me!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang in disdain as he plucked an arrow from the ground and brought it to Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck.

    Negotiation...

    With Yun Qingwu as a hostage...

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s goal.

    However, there was no need for Yun Qingwu to be awake. She did not need to be the one to give the order for them toy down their weapons.

    One needed to be a genius to think of this n.

    In fact, many kidnappers made the mistake of negotiating directly with their hostages. In the end, they died by the hand of their hostages.

    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fang Zhengzhi was not going to make the same mistake again.

    Furthermore, Yun Qingwu was an extremely intelligentdy and there was no guarantee she would give the order for them toy down their weapons.

    As long as Yun Qingwu was conscious...

    There was an unknown element.

    As such, he had to knock her out.

    That was the safest option.

    As long as he didn¡¯t kill Yun Qingwu, then he would still have the initiative. As long as he had control over Yun Qingwu, the demons would definitely follow the orders!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang as he resisted the pressure from Canyang¡¯s power, smirking as he did so.

    Was he really the savior of the world?

    Let the apuse and the cheers of victory begin!

    Fang Zhengzhi waited.

    But...

    The entire battlefield was silent, terrifyingly silent.

    Then, a figurended right next to Fang Zhengzhi, her pink dress dancing in the wind.

    But, something was wrong.

    Hang on...

    Why was she alone?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. He knew exactly what was happening.

    He looked to the side.

    He saw exactly what he had predicted. There was a figure in red armor levitating in the air. She gripped a fiery red spear in her hand.

    However...

    The spear had lost all of its domineering aura.

    "Hmph!" A snort cut through the air.

    Then, with a wave of his right hand, Canyang sent the Snow Wind Eagle tumbling out of the sky.

    It crashed into the ground, dead.

    "F*ck... me!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. He knew exactly what had happened, but he never expected that his actions had not paralyzed the demons.

    The old man still knew what to do!

    Fang Zhengzhi had knocked Yun Qingwu unconscious in that manner for a very special reason.

    He wanted to infuriate Canyang.

    In order to get to Yun Qingwu, Chi Guyan and Ping Yang had to sacrifice themselves.

    In that time, Canyang also had the opportunity to take control of Chi Guyan or Ping Yang.

    Amongst the two...

    Ping Yang was the likelier option.

    Ping Yang was much too weak.

    In order to distract Canyang from this, he had to make a decision to infuriate Canyang. He also issued a challenge.

    Like...

    Asking Canyang to fight him.

    This was the best thing that Fang Zhengzhi coulde up with. However, it did not seem to be of much use.

    Canyang was angry...

    But he had not lost his rationality. Instead, he immediately went for Ping Yang, levelling the ying field.

    How many people would be able to keep their cool in that fashion?

    "Princess!"

    "Your highness!"

    Many voices began to ring out from the ranks of the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army.

    Xing Yuanguo paled.

    Princess Ping Yang was captured?

    This was something that could threaten the Great Xia¡¯s existence.

    "Ah ah ah... I can¡¯t move! Shameless fe,e save me, I can¡¯t move! Didn¡¯t you figure out the Heavenly Dao? Help me get out of it! I saved you just now, you must return the favor!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out.

    It was clear that...

    Ping Yang was someone who treasured her life very much. She was not one to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

    Her words had just told Fang Zhengzhi that she would have his life if he didn¡¯t save her.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he looked at Ping Yang.

    He really wanted to save her, but, how was he going to?

    The Heavenly Dao...

    Fang Zhengzhi wished that he knew how to wield it, but he knew that he hadn¡¯t made it to that point. He could break free of the restraints because he had figured out the rules behind the whirlpools.

    In other words, he could save himself but not others.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi could help unravel the whirlpools around Ping Yang¡¯s body, what good would that do?

    How far could Ping Yang run?

    She was going to go up against a half sage who had been in that state for more than a decade...

    Fang Zhengzhi tried repeating some of the passages regarding the Heavenly Dao to Ping Yang.

    "Shameless fe, what are you muttering? Come and save me!" Ping Yang bellowed.

    "Your Highness, I believe in your talent. I am sure you can understand the Heavenly Dao!" Fang Zhengzhiplimented.

    "Scram!"

    "Okay, I¡¯ll be on my way."

    "Don¡¯t you dare!"

    "Your highness... what would you like me to do?"

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious? I want you to save me! I am still young and have my whole life ahead of me! I cannot die here!"

    "Then try to understand, try to understand the Heavenly Dao! I can teach you. First, you must calm down, and imagine that you are in a hugeke. There are many whirlpools around you..."

    "F*ck your whirlpools,e and save me!" Ping Yang interrupted.

    "Aish... you are unteachable." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in disappointment. He had told her what he knew, but she wasn¡¯t willing to ept it.

    He looked to Chi Guyan.

    He felt like it was her turn to think of a n.

    However, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t seem to have any n in mind. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her eyes glistening like the stars in the sky.

    "Why don¡¯t you save her? Repeat to her what you said to me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked to Chi Guyan with anticipation.

    "Lame." Chi Guyan nced at Fang Zhengzhi, unwilling to entertain his nonsense.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed.

    This was not something that would be easily resolved.

    What was he going to do now?

    He had Yun Qingwu but his opponent had Ping Yang. He only had two options. Exchange, or bluff.

    "Come on, we can hurt them both!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that he normally had two options. But in this case, he did not.

    Even if he had tried for an exchange, he may not be able to save Ping Yang and may even lose his life.

    He was heavily outnumbered.

    That was the current situation.

    "I will never make a deal with you. Release our princess now, or I will kill Yun QIngwu!" Fang Zhengzhi decided to make his position clear.

    "Is that so? Even though I am blind, but if I am correct, I have the legendary Princess Ping Yang in my control!" Canyang replied calmly.

    "The legendary Princess Ping Yang?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why he would describe Ping Yang in that manner.

    Was it because Ping Yang was the favorite princess?

    Or was it because of her reputation in the capital.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. Although these were possible, it did not seem very likely.

    His opponent was Canyang, a half sage. Why would a half sage bother with insignificant details like that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand it, but when he turned to look at Chi Guyan, he realized that her expression had changed.

    "What¡¯s happening?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi was at a loss, he realized that the expressions of Xing Yuanguo, Xing Qingsui, as well as the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army, had all changed.

    Most importantly...

    Even Shan Ling and the settlement chiefs paled when they heard the name "Princess Ping Yang".

    Was she really that famous and popr?

    "Blind man, since you know that I am Princess Ping Yang, you should let me go! You should know the consequences if I am hurt!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice was rid of terror and reced with arrogance.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea where Ping Yang was getting this confidence from.

    Hurt?

    She was beingpletely immobilized.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that Canyang would ignore Ping Yang.

    However, after hearing Ping Yang¡¯s words, he did not seem to make a mockery of it. Instead, he began to contemte the words he had just heard...

 Chapter 445: I want you dead

    Chapter 445: I want you dead

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi great confusion.

    Why would Ping Yang¡¯s name cause a half sage to hesitate?

    The night was cold and the moon was bright. After a long pause, Canyang nodded.

    "Mm, you are right. I know exactly what the consequences are, however... this consequence will not only be born by the Blood Shadow City. Your Highness, are you prepared to have the Great Xia bear this consequence as well?" Canyang replied raspily.

    "Humph, bloody blind man! I know what you are thinking. Do you think no one dares to say it? Let me warn you... let me go now, or I will not let you off when I mature!" Ping Yang¡¯s expression froze when she heard this.

    "Mature? Hmm... that¡¯s a different problem altogether. If you had matured, I would not dare to do anything to you. But now, you are only 14 years old. You are still two years away from maturity."

    Canyang shook his head and waved his right hand. Ping Yang was pulled right in front of him.

    "Maturity? Two years? Wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to her?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned when he heard the exchange. What was happening? What was so great about Ping Yang?

    A Star Conglomerate State cultivator...

    Able to instill fear in a half sage after maturity?

    Is this a joke?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not buy any of it. If it were true, then he would be the first one to die after what he did in her residence.

    Canyang must have made a mistake. Maybe he suffers from brain damage as well. If he was Canyang, he would have silenced PIng Yang.

    If not, Ping Yang¡¯s words...

    "Let me go, let me go, bloody blind man... ah ah, release me! Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless fe, I saved you! It¡¯s your turn to save me now!"

    Just as he expected, Ping Yang was not only cussing, she was embarrassing Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Make her shut up!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed to himself.

    However, Canyang did nothing. He looked on calmly as Ping Yang threw her tantrum.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he listened to Ping Yang.

    He was simply going to ignore her.

    There was nothing more to it.

    Mm...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was off. The more Ping Yang screamed, the greater the attention was on him.

    He was utterly embarrassed.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly.

    He wanted to ask them what they were looking at. He wanted to ask them to save Ping Yang if they had the courage to.

    But, he could not bring himself to say it.

    Fang Zhengzhi admitted that he was generally quite shameless. However, for him to ignore ady who had just tried to save him...

    That was something...

    That he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do.

    What was he to do now?

    Was he going to ignore the fact that she had tried to save him?

    "Fang Zhengzhi,e and save me. Haven¡¯t you figured out the Heavenly Dao? Come and fight him and beat him up for me!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out.

    The Dragon Protection Squad, the Mountain Breaking Army, as well as the Southern Region soldiers looked at each other.

    They really wanted to save her...

    But they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    Right now...

    Their only hope was Fang Zhengzhi.

    But why wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi taking any action?

    They were all looking at Fang Zhengzhi, waiting for this genius to take action.

    Ordinarily, they would never have faith in Fang Zhengzhi.

    But under such circumstances...

    They had to pin all their ¡¯hopes¡¯ on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Father, what do we do?" Xing Qingsui looked at Xing Yuanguo, his eyes filled with worry. He knew that Ping Yang must be safe.

    Xing Yuanguo looked at Canyang.

    He did not speak. He knew that this was not the opportune moment to strike. If he held back, there was a chance at negotiation, but if he struck...

    Things would take a turn for the worse...

    After all, the demons had the advantage now. If they continued the battle, more would die. If they could just drag it out a little longer...

    Perhaps, things may take a turn for the better!

    "Wait!" Xing Yuanguo blurted out.

    "But..." Xing Qingsui wanted to say something. However, seeing Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression caused him to swallow his words.

    ...

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard, are you really going to leave me alone? If I die now, I will haunt you forever!" Ping Yang was getting increasingly anxious.

    "Shut up!" Fang Zhengzhi could not take it any longer.

    What was she thinking? Right now, stalling for time was the best option. In fact, having the princess rattle off may not be a bad thing.

    "I won¡¯t shut up you ungrateful b*stard! I just risked my life to save you yet you are now watching from the sidelines? Did I help you for nothing? If you don¡¯t save me, I will curse you, curse you..."

    "Can you shut up!" Fang Zhengzhi finally raged as he turned to look at Canyang exasperatedly, "I can exchange the hostages with you, but, I have a request."

    "What is it." Canyang nodded, not surprised by this request.

    "Withdraw your troops."

    "Impossible."

    "Okay then, I will make some concessions, withdraw your troops from the Iron Hill Settlement." Fang Zhengzhi had expected this answer.

    "Also impossible." Canyang replied.

    "Then there is nothing left to discuss. I do not have any ambitions nor do I want to meddle in the affairs between the humans and the demons. My appearance here was an ident. I only want t live. If I swap the hostages, I would be signing my death warrant. I might as well kill Yun Qingwu then."

    Fang Zhengzhi waved Canyang off.

    Canyang wanted to force Fang Zhengzhi to save Ping Yang. That way, he would be able to take Fang Zhengzhi down.

    Not forgetting who his benefactor...

    But, Fang Zhengzhi was not about to sign his own death warrant.

    "Do you think that if we withdraw from the Iron Hill Settlement, you will be able to live?" Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes filled with icy, murderous intent.

    "At the very least, I will have a chance to live." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "What if I told you that I only want your life?" Canyang asked calmly.

    "Firstly, you must be able to take it." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He was not about to be outpostured.

    "Okay, I will agree to your terms, but you must be the one to carry out the swap!" Canyang nodded after some hesitation.

    "I have to stay behind?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at his surroundings before looking at Chi Guyan.

    After hearing the exchange, Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her mind working before she nodded towards him.

    "F*ck me! What does that mean? Are you going to stay?!" Fang Zhengzhi cussed in his heart.

    However, he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly why Canyang wanted him to be the person to execute the exchange.

    However...

    He didn¡¯t have a choice.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly ignore Ping Yang.

    If the demons withdrew from the Iron Hill Settlement...

    The Southern Region would have a chance of survival. That also meant that he had a way of ¡¯escaping¡¯.

    However... he had to be able to get to the escape route first.

    That being said, at least this choice left him some options.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Canyang would not dy this any longer. Getting the demons to withdraw from the Iron Hill Settlement temporarily was the best deal they were going to get.

    "Okay, I agree to your terms!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He did not have any other option. Ping Yang needed to be saved. He may have to use Ping Yang as a human shield after...

    Considering that she had the Red me Flower Armor...

    She should be able to take a few hits.

    "Give the order, have the army withdraw from the Iron Hill Settlement." Canyang showed no hesitation.

    He gave the order immediately.

    "Yes, sir!" The demon domain chiefs all nodded when they heard the order.

    After nodding, the demons looked at Fang Zhengzhi with dagger-like stares.

    Fang Zhengzhi was their number one enemy.

    This had to do with the fact that he was a talent.

    But more importantly...

    They had a problem with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    His actions on the Feng Su cliff as well as his recent attack on Yun Qingwu which rendered her unconscious was intolerable!

    The demons had their pride to defend.

    "Withdraw!"

    "Withdraw!"

    "Pass the order, withdraw our troops!"

    The voices of the demons rang out as they began their withdrawal in an orderly fashion.

    Shan Ling looked at the orderly, withdrawing demons in shock.

    He knew exactly how the demons were like years ago.

    Yun Qingwu!

    This reputable leader of the demons... what technique did she use to organize the demons into the state they are today?

    "Withdraw!"

    "Withdraw!"

    These voices reverberated through the settlement.

    Before long, all of the bloodthirsty demons at the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement had all withdrawn back to their camps.

    "Brother, what is going on?" Princess Shan Yu waspletely floored when she saw the demons withdraw.

    She was notfortable with it.

    "Don¡¯t ask any questions now. Just withdraw back to the settlement and strengthen our defences!" Shan Ling ordered.

    Princess Shan Yu was about to nod when she spotted a thin figure in blue.

    That was not the most important point. More importantly, there was ady in white lying down next to him.

    "Yun QIngwu?! How is that possible?" Princess Shan Yu was stunned.

    She could not figure out how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to escape the restraints of the Heavenly Dao! After all, she had been in the settlement coordinating the defences

    How did Yun Qingwu end up in aatose state?

    And...

    What the hell happened here?

    "Aren¡¯t you going to carry out your orders?" Shan Ling frowned.

    "But..." Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, as well as theatose Yun Qingwu and hesitated.

    "Aish, Fang Zhengzhi has essed the Heavenly Dao." Shan Ling looked at Princess Shan Yu and sighed, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

    "What?! He... he managed to wield it?!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    "Yes, we have no idea how he did it, but those are the facts. He freed himself from the restraints and knocked Yun Qingwu out." Shan Ling could understand the shock and confusion.

    Even he himself was stunned when he saw it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was only 16 years old!

    If he could ess and wield the Heavenly Dao at this age, what could he do in the future? If Shan Ling was to be an Emperor, Fang Zhengzhi must be disposed of.

    Of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death was a foregone conclusion.

    Shan Ling knew for a fact that since Canyang had ordered the withdrawal of the demons, he wasn¡¯t going to let Fang Zhengzhi escape.

    "Okay, we can begin the exchange now." Canyang¡¯s voice rang out.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the calm Chi Guyan, wondering why she wasn¡¯t leaving.

    "Are you going?"

    "No." Chi Guyan replied calmly.

    "Are you not afraid of dying?"

    "Nope, he wants your life, not mine." Chi Guyan replied calmly.

    "F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi had initially been moved by Chi Guyan¡¯s answer, but her subsequent response made him want to raise his middle finger to her.

    However, he quickly turned to look at Ping Yang.

    Now...

    What was he going to do?

 Chapter 446: What a man should do

    Chapter 446: What a man should do

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The demons had already withdrawn and he had Yun Qingwu as a hostage. If Fang Zhengzhi steeled himself and ignored Ping Yang...

    Then...

    He should be able to survive.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no way to bring himself to do something so despicable. He was shameless, but he was not that vicious.

    He had never truly considered leaving Ping Yang in the lurch.

    The hostages had to be exchanged and Ping Yang had to be saved.

    As for Yun Qingwu...

    Even though Yun Qingwu was his opponent, he did not actually have any personal feud with her.

    There was no clear right or wrong between the two of them.

    The hostage exchange would be simple, and he would have to deliver Yun Qingwu safely.

    Those were things that Canyang believed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that Canyang would hurt Ping Yang in the process, just like how Canyang expected that Fang Zhengzhi would save Ping Yang.

    The key here was not the hostage exchange.

    It was what came after.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. His current position meant that he was slightly nearer to the demons. If he tried to break for the Iron Hill Settlement...

    It was unlikely that he would be able to get very far.

    Even though he had not shed with Canyang, he was not that arrogant to think that Canyang would be slower than him.

    So what was he going to do if he couldn¡¯t beat Canyang in speed?

    Was he going to throw a bag of ashes at Canyang¡¯s eyes? Use some of his hidden weapons?

    These were some of the mostmon attacks that Fang Zhengzhi had used against his opponents. And then, there was his shbang...

    It was a pity that...

    None of these were effective against Canyang...

    Canyang was blind. Throwing ashes, using secret weapons, or even activating a shbang would only disadvantage himself.

    A sneak attack...

    Didn¡¯t seem very helpful here.

    Beads of sweat began to form on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. A sneak attack was his forte, but it was useless when going up against a blind man.

    If he couldn¡¯tunch a sneak attack...

    How was he going to find an opportunity to escape?

    Was he supposed to go up against Canyang head on?

    That would be impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even want to consider this option. Canyang was a half sage who knew the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. Going up against him would be akin to suicide.

    He couldn¡¯t sneak up on Canyang, neither could he face Canyang.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in an extremely sticky situation. He had wanted to use Ping Yang as a meat shield, but Chi Guyan had decided to stay behind.

    Ping Yang couldn¡¯t possibly block for both of them.

    More importantly, Chi Guyan would never let him use Ping Yang as a shield.

    Having Chi Guyan in the pictureplicated things greatly.

    What was he supposed to do now?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan and evaluated his position. He concluded that he would die after the hostages were exchanged.

    "Are you done? There is a limit to my patience." Canyang interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thoughts.

    "Why are you in such a hurry? My death is a foregone conclusion, but I would like to leave a will." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Okay." Canyang nodded.

    "I am about to tell you myst words,e closer to me. I do not want this guy to hear it." Fang Zhengzhi whispered to Chi Guyan.

    "It¡¯s no use. With Canyang¡¯s abilities, he would be able to hear you no matter how soft you are." Chi Guyan replied.

    "Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi responded.

    He had heard that the blind tend to have enhanced hearing. However, he did not expect Canyang¡¯s abilities to be augmented to such an extent.

    That being said, Chi Guyan would never lie to him about something like this.

    A will?

    Fang Zhengzhi would never bother about something like that.

    Actually, he wanted to discuss his n with Chi Guyan. He couldn¡¯t possibly do that if Canyang could hear them.

    That would be suicidal.

    Just as he was thinking about it, a white, smooth hand appeared in front of him. It looked like the world¡¯s most exquisite art piece.

    "You can¡¯t say, but you can write." Chi Guyan did not look at Fang Zhengzhi. Her expression was calm as she extended her hand.

    "Ahem..." Fang Zhengzhi cleared his throat.

    He had not thought of this method, but since Chi Guyan had proposed it, he could not turn her down.

    He was a man after all.

    He had to be decisive. Sometimes, he just had to suck it up and do what was right, even if it made him ufortable.

    Furthermore...

    In the face of the enemy, sometimes, ¡¯sacrifices¡¯ needed to be made.

    Fang Zhengzhi took Chi Guyan¡¯s hands in his and touched it, feeling its smoothness and warmth.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s body trembled slightly.

    However, she showed no intention of pulling her hand back. She looked extremely calm.

    She had been raised in a military family and grew up amongst soldiers. Even though she was ady, she carried herself like a soldier.

    ...

    On the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement...

    Countless pairs of eyes looked at the few figures at the gate. They were all looking at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    The eyes of the Dragon Protection Squad widened.

    The jaws of the Mountain Breaking Army dropped.

    The Southern Region soldiers wanted tounch their spears at them. None of them saw thising.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not spoken loudly, as such, they could not possibly hear them. Naturally, they didn¡¯t understand what was happening below.

    She was the pride of the country, Chi Guyan!

    She was so beautiful that even the brightest stars and prettiest flowers paled inparison. So why...

    Why would Chi Guyan let Fang Zhengzhi hold her hand?

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army knew that there was a special rtionship between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. However, the Southern Region soldiers did not.

    They only knew that Chi Guyan was thedy meant to fulfill the Heavenly Prophecy. She was above everyone...

    She may even make her way into the royal family in the future.

    "Am I going blind?"

    "I don¡¯t think so... I saw it too..."

    "Even though Fang Zhengzhi is immensely talented, Chi Guyan is special! Most importantly, they aren¡¯t even married yet!"

    All of the Southern Region soldiers were in disbelief.

    Princess Shan Yu clenched her fists and bit her lips. She seemed slightly shocked, but there were also traces of other emotions amidst the shock.

    Nangong Hao was also looking at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    He looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s hand which was being held by Fang Zhengzhi. His expression wasplicated, but he didn¡¯t seem very surprised.

    The night sky continued to darken.

    Not much time had passed since the battle stopped and the demons withdrew. However, the sun had yet to rise.

    Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, slightly confused.

    "Why haven¡¯t you written anything?"

    "Write? Oh... yes, I should write, but... what should I write?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as he began to think.

    "Shameless!" Chi Guyan knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character, but she could not help but berate him.

    Canyang heard the exchange.

    "Let¡¯s not waste any more time. Let¡¯s get on with the exchange." Even though Canyang could not see what was happening, he could tell based on the conversation he heard.

    "I haven¡¯t even written my will! Humans shouldn¡¯t break promises!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, showing his disapproval at a suggestion of breaking the deal.

    "Haha, I am a demon, not a human." Canyang smiled. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to stall for time.

    The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for the demons.

    "Give me two hours." Fang Zhengzhi offered.

    "I will count to 10. If we don¡¯t exchange the hostages by then, I will kill her." Canyang was in no mood to negotiate.

    "Okay okay okay, what the f*ck. Where are you rushing off to? An abortion?" Fang Zhengzhi replied in exasperation as he began ¡¯writing¡¯.

    "10..."

    "Nine..."

    "..."

    "One."

    "Just give me a moment, I¡¯m not done yet. Why don¡¯t you start over." Fang Zhengzhi replied anxiously.

    "Hmph!" Canyang snorted icily, having expected that Fang Zhengzhi would pull such a stunt.

    He...

    Moved his finger slightly.

    "Ah!" Ping Yang screamed in pain. She looked like she was being suffocated, "Fang Zhengzhi... you... you shameless fe, I... I am about... about to die... I will haunt... haunt you... forever!"

    "Wait, wait! If you want to exchange hostages, we should find a safer way to do it!" Fang Zhengzhi replied anxiously when he heard the screams.

    In fact...

    He had already made a decision.

    Since no attack would work out against Canyang, his only option was to stall...

    If he could stall until the reinforcements arrived, then he would have a chance of survival. The longer he stalled, the greater his chances. That being said, his chances were still slim.

    He made up his mind.

    He would reject Canyang¡¯s proposal, regardless of what it was.

    Then, he would propose an unreasonable method, like asking Canyang to release Ping Yang first.

    Who would agree to it?

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    However, Canyang had already seen through his n. He ignored Fang Zhengzhi as his finger moved once again.

    "Ah... I... I... I..." Ping Yang¡¯s face turned as red as a tomato as her lips turned purple. She was about to be strangled.

    "Okay, we will swap now!" Fang Zhengzhi was truly worried.

    "Mm." Canyang nodded and stopped.

    "Ahem... ahem... Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard. I will definitely let you try what this feels like when I get back." Ping Yang was furious.

    Fang Zhengzhi was bitter.

    He was willing to try out how it felt, but the issue was that after the hostage exchange was sessful, he would be killed.

    What was he to do now?

    He couldn¡¯t stall any longer.

    But, if he didn¡¯t stall, he couldn¡¯t possibly survive.

    He had to continue to stall.

    The hostage exchange must happen, but it can only happen after reinforcements arrive. Right now, Yun Qingwu could not be handed over to Canyang. She was his trump card.

    "Watch Yun Qingwu!" Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth as he looked at Chi Guyan. He let go of her hand and walked towards Canyang.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed slightly as she felt Fang Zhengzhi release his grip.

    "Shameless fe,e back. Canyang¡¯s target is you. I would be a better person to hand Yun Qingwu over!" Chi Guyan knew what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was too quick for her.

    She wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi, but Fang Zhengzhi was already walking over. She could not give chase.

    Because...

    She couldn¡¯t leave Yun Qingwu alone.

    "You? Haha... do you know the Heavenly Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi hesitated as he turned around and smirked scornfully.

    He knew that Canyang was targeting him.

    However, he could not possibly let Chi Guyan risk her life to save his.

    Furthermore, Ping Yang was only captured because she was trying to save him.

 Chapter 447: Is this a reenactment of Journey to the West?

    Chapter 447: Is this a reenactment of "Journey to the West"?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It¡¯s just one-half sage. At least it¡¯s not two, or three, or four... it¡¯s just one! The pressure... urgh..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he looked at Canyang. He regretted his decisions, but he couldn¡¯t back down now.

    "Kill him, kill him!"

    "Avenge our Young Master! Wipe clean the te!"

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    The demons began screaming the moment they saw Fang Zhengzhi walking over. Their voices shook the earth.

    On the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement...

    Everyone was watching Fang Zhengzhi as he walked towards Canyang. All of them had an illusion...

    They felt like he was extremely courageous and unafraid of death.

    The entire world seemed to quieten down and time seemed to stop. All that was left was the figure on the battlefield.

    Proud, calm, and unafraid of death.

    However, this kind of aura and demeanor didn¡¯t seem to fit Fang Zhengzhi very well. As a result, they were all stunned by it.

    They knew what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    However...

    When Fang Zhengzhi took the step out, they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to ept it.

    "Why would such a shameless man, so afraid of death, be so courageous at such a critical moment?" Princess Shan Yu couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe that the fate of the Southern Region would rest on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulders.

    She really wanted to ask Fang Zhengzhi her questions.

    Why would he sacrifice himself? To what end? Money? Power? To appeal to a beautiful woman? What would ite to if he lost his life?

    Courage,ck of fear, and pride.

    These were all attributes respected by the people of the Southern Region.

    However, she had not seen these attributes in a Southern Region soldier for many years. That was because she was strong, much stronger than most of the men around her.

    But right now, Princess Shan Yu felt such an auraing from that figure.

    It was a strange feeling.

    It made her want to tremble, and it also made her want to cry.

    Then...

    Princess Shan Yu ¡¯cried¡¯.

    "Shameless, shameless person!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice reverberated through the air, her tone filled with anger.

    Shan Ling, as well as the other settlement chiefs, smiled bitterly when they saw the scene unfolding before them.

    Because...

    Fang Zhengzhi made a break for it.

    After taking a few steps out, he immediately ¡¯reverted¡¯ to his original self and sprinted towards the Iron Hill Settlement like a terrified bunny.

    "Shameless!"

    "Utterly shameless!"

    "How does someone like this even exist in this world?!"

    The Southern Region soldiers looked at the fleeing Fang Zhengzhi with fury in their eyes. They raised their spears at him.

    Where did hee from?

    He had just assured them that he would take care of it!

    But now...

    He just left Chi Guyan behind.

    No matter how shameless a person was.

    There had to be limits.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless fe, how dare you leave me and Sister Yan in the lurch. I... I will never let you off!" Ping Yang was slightly touched when she saw Fang Zhengzhi step out, but he ran off soon after.

    He had made a break for it so decisively too.

    He had simply pushed Chi Guyan forward, ran around her, and headed straight for the settlement.

    Most importantly...

    He was screaming.

    "Open the gates!"

    "Open the gates!"

    "..."

    This could not be tolerated!

    Ping Yang wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Chi Guyan was also slightly stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief. However, she did not move.

    She still had Yun Qingwu in her hands.

    As such...

    She could not move.

    No matter what Fang Zhengzhi did, she had to stand her ground.

    "Scram!"

    "You coward!"

    "The Great Xia does not have a coward like you! You do not deserve to be a part of us!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army could not help but berate Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were utterly disappointed in Fang Zhengzhi.

    They felt like they had just been lied to.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was afraid of death, he should not have tried to capture Yun Qingwu and have Chi Guyan battle Canyang.

    He could have stalled for time in other ways.

    But now...

    What was with this attempted escape?

    Isn¡¯t he just leaving Chi Guyan in the lurch?

    And then there was Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was a princess, the most pampered one at that. Most importantly, she had just risked her life to save his.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were furious. They were all embarrassed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    How could they ever hold their heads up high if they associated with someone like that?

    "Father, the gates..." Xing Qingsui was also smiling bitterly. He turned to look at Xing Yuanguo as he watched Fang Zhengzhi close in.

    "Pass the order, open the gates!" Xing Yuanguo was focused on Fang Zhengzhi as he gave the order.

    "Why? My lord, why should we open the gates for a coward?!"

    "Exactly! We do not wish to be associated with him!"

    "Such a shameless coward should just be fed to the demons! He is a disgrace to the Great Xia!"

    The soldiers of the Great Xia were all extremely agitated when they heard Xing Yuanguo¡¯s orders. They were not about to ept a ¡¯deserter¡¯.

    "Shut up, open the gates!" Xing Yuanguo frowned and his tone changed.

    "Yes, sir!" Even though the soldiers of the Mountain Breaking Army were not happy about the orders, they shut up and followed them.

    "Open the gates now or it will be toote!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed anxiously as he neared.

    Hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s anxiety...

    The soldiers were not happy but they did not dare to defy an order from Xing Yuanguo.

    "Creek... creek!"

    An ominous sound rang out as the gates opened slowly.

    Canyang¡¯s expression was ugly. His expression had been that way from the moment Fang Zhengzhi turned and ran.

    His calm demeanor waspletely gone.

    He frowned as his sky blue robe danced in the wind. He seemed to be contemting something and he clenched his fists subconsciously.

    He finally sprang into action when he heard the heavy gates of the Iron Hill Settlement open.

    "Good, very good! Fang Zhengzhi, you are the greatest danger to the demons indeed!" Canyang¡¯s frail voice rang out. He had been forced into making a decision.

    As soon as his voice rang out...

    He disappeared from his spot, almost as if he had been sucked into the air.

    In the blink of an eye...

    He appeared right in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    He walked out of a pale blue light, wearing his long, sky blue robe. His silver hair flowed to his shoulders and his wrinkled face was clear for all to see.

    "How quick!"

    "Is this the power of a half sage?"

    "The Heavenly Rebirth Dao! Fang Zhengzhi can¡¯t escape!"

    "Indeed... but I don¡¯t understand. Why did Canyang call Fang Zhengzhi the greatest danger to the demons? He is a shameless coward, what danger could he possibly pose?"

    The soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were confused.

    "You will understand when you see Princess Ping Yang." Nangong Hao¡¯s voice rang out as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

    Xing Yuanguo did the same thing.

    However...

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s sword was at his waist.

    His purple robe danced in the wind as a purple glow was emitted from his body. That glow represented Xing Yuanguo¡¯s battle intent.

    The soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were stunned.

    They did not really understand what Nangong Hao meant initially. However, when they looked to Ping Yang, it all made sense.

    There was someone beside Ping Yang.

    This was a beautifuldy in a pink dress which danced in the wind and had starry eyes which red at the demon soldiers in front of her.

    "Sister Yan, you are the best! We can¡¯t rely on that shameless fe!" Ping Yang looked at Chi Guyan excitedly.

    "No, he was the one who allowed me toe and save you." Chi Guyan shook her head as she looked at the demon soldiers with their bows drawn.

    Just now...

    When Fang Zhengzhi had held her hand, she had not withdrawn it.

    The reason was simple.

    Fang Zhengzhi had written many things on her hand, one of them being...

    "I will lure Canyang away!"

    Initially, Chi Guyan did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant. However, when Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward, she understood immediately.

    When it came to acting skills.

    Chi Guyan was an amateur.

    As such, when she had eximed that she was the more appropriate candidate, it was not too convincing. However, she knew that Canyang would have no other choice.

    Because...

    He could never let Fang Zhengzhi run into the Iron Hill Settlement!

    ...

    "You can¡¯t escape." Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi, his wrinkled face containing a myriad of expressions. He knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    Just like how Chi Guyan had predicted it.

    He had no choice but to fall for it. He could not let Fang Zhengzhi leave, especially not after he knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    "That is true, but you have also lost your ace." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and raised his head.

    He did not have to turn back.

    He knew that Chi Guyan was by Ping Yang¡¯s side.

    "Have I? I do not think so." Canyang shook his head as he pointed towards Ping Yang, who was still trapped in the same position.

    "That would mean that you¡¯re blind. Oh, I¡¯m sorry... you are!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched in scorn.

    Canyang frowned but showed no signs of anger. He seemed to be deep in thought.

    However, his frown disappeared almost just as quickly.

    "I see. You have told her how to unravel the restraints of the Heavenly Dao. However, do you think that your words are sufficient?"

    "Of course, have you forgotten? She is Chi Guyan!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Yes... she is Chi Guyan! The most talented female in the entire empire. However, even Chi Guyan would need time. Do you think you can really buy her enough time?" Canyang nodded after a brief moment of thought.

    "We¡¯ll have to find out." Fang Zhengzhi waved.

    "Okay then, let¡¯s find out." Canyang nodded.

    As he nodded, the entire space around them began to twist and change. It felt as though they were being transported to another dimension.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if this was an illusion, but he could feel a wave of mountainous pressureing down from above.

    When he looked up, he was stunned.

    Because...

    There really was a mountain above his head. This was a mountain over 100 yards high,plete with flora and dense forests.

    The breeze rustled the canopy and caused the grass to bend.

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely stunned when he saw the mountain just above his head. He had a feeling that this mountain was real.

    "What the hell?" Fang Zhengzhi had never thought that there would be a mountain on top of his head.

    How ridiculous was that?!

    Is this the power of a half sage?

    Isn¡¯t this an excerpt from the "Journey to the West"?

 Chapter 448: Unprecedented Genius

    Chapter 448: Unprecedented Genius

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was truly stunned.

    He had always known that the Dao of All Creation drew from the energy of the surroundings. One could wield the power of mountains and use that to pressure one¡¯s opponents.

    One could also harness stars, or the sun, or moonlight, or even constetions.

    All of these were powers at a cultivator¡¯s disposal.

    However, these were powers that a cultivator tapped on.

    It waspletely unfathomable for someone to actually create a mountain! Furthermore, Canyang had created a mountain out of virtually nothing!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he should be running. However, just as he was preparing to run, his body was rooted.

    Because...

    The ground beneath his feet had turned into a swamp, and green vines were wrapped around his legs.

    The green vines were climbing up to his thighs slowly but surely. They were pulling him into the swamp.

    In that moment.

    Tears welled up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    He did expect a half sage to be powerful and he knew that he could notst many rounds. However, he didn¡¯t expect to lose within the first round.

    He had a mountain above him, a swamp below him, and vines pulling him down.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to escape.

    But how was he going to?

    Canyang was demonstrating absolute domination. It was almost like taking candy from a baby.

    From the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were stunned.

    "How powerful!"

    "Is this the power of a half sage?"

    "No, Canyang has spent more than a decade being a half sage. Right now, he should be nearing the abilities of a sage!"

    As they were gasping in awe at Canyang¡¯s power, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was being held in ce by the vines. They looked on with guilt in their expressions.

    At this point.

    They knew why Fang Zhengzhi had run.

    Shamelessness?

    No this wasn¡¯t cowardice or shamelessness. This was wit and intellect. Fang Zhengzhi had outthought them all.

    It was a pity that it wasn¡¯t sufficient to save his life.

    Shan Ling clenched his fists and his eyes glittered. He truly admired Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent.

    His admiration of Fang Zhengzhi...

    Caused his eyes began glowing brighter and brighter.

    He felt like he was watching the downfall of a true genius.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s knuckles also whitened as she witnessed the duel below. She was extremely anxious.

    The anger she felt before...

    Had all disappeared when Canyang appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    The mountain blocked out the starlight.

    There was now virtually no light. The spectators on the wall of the settlement looked down at Fang Zhengzhi.

    They knew that even a genius like Fang Zhengzhi could not defend against such a powerful attack.

    They expected Fang Zhengzhi to despair.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi did not.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised, he was clearly not despairing.

    "Could it be that he still has a trick up his sleeve?"

    That question floated through everyone¡¯s mind, but none of them could figure out what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was.

    Just as they were thinking about it.

    A ray of purple light shot skyward from the city walls.

    When that light sword appeared in the sky, it engulfed the entire area with a terrifying battle intent.

    It was awe-inspiring.

    "Boom!"

    The purple lightsword crashed straight into the mountain, creating a huge explosion which shook the earth.

    "Break!" A crisp voice reverberated through the air, carrying with it an intense air of confidence.

    And then...

    The mountain shuddered before shattering into a billion pieces.

    Then, a bright white light shot into the sky. It was significantly weaker than the purple light sword.

    However...

    No one questioned the power of this light sword.

    It was extremely icy and thin, but the light it carried could illuminate the entire Iron Hill Settlement.

    "Kacha!"

    The white light crashed to the ground.

    The vines began to break and the swamp began to freeze over.

    These two sudden rays of light shocked all of the soldiers on the wall.

    They looked at the figure in the purplish golden robe standing tall on the city walls.

    No one questioned his power or authority.

    He was the pir of the Great Xia, the leader of the 13 Constabries, Xing Yuanguo.

    The person next to Xing Yuanguo was someone dressed in a white academic robe.

    His drawn de emanated an icy aura.

    Nangong Hao.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army looked at Fang Zhengzhi after experiencing the power of the two strikes.

    They finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi was merely surprised.

    Could it be...

    That he had calcted it all?

    Just as the thought shed through their minds, they looked at each other with a sense of awe and respect.

    Forcing Canyang to abandon Princess Ping Yang...

    That gave Chi Guyan a chance to save Ping Yang.

    Then, he also calcted the time when Canyang would intercept him, and he made sure that he was within striking distance of Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao.

    Talent?

    No, this wasn¡¯t just mere talent.

    Fang Zhengzhi was up against a half sage.

    Ordinarily, when faced with a half sage, people would be too afraid to think of a n.

    But as for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He controlled every move the half sage made. He even managed to force the battle to take ce in the most advantageous position for him.

    This was an unprecedented genius!

    This was the only phrase that one could use to describe Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, they remembered the prophecy...

    The person who was supposed to fulfill the prophecy was thedy in pink...

    Chi Guyan!

    "We need to save him!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao, then back at Fang Zhengzhi before recovering from her shock.

    When the settlement chiefs standing behind Princess Shan Yu heard her shouts, they all reacted as well.

    If Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao could do it, they could do it too.

    That meant that Shan Ling could do it too. After all, the longer they could stall Canyang, the more advantageous the situation. However, just as they were about to leap into the action...

    They hesitated.

    The reason was simple. When they looked at Shan Ling, Shan Ling¡¯s eyes told them that the time was not right.

    As to the reason?

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t give any.

    However, as the Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region, they ced unconditional faith in their Crown Prince.

    "What¡¯s going on? Quick! If we join forces against Canyang, we would still stand a chance in this battle!" Princess Shan Yu urged the settlement chiefs.

    If she could do it, she would have struck without hesitation. However, she was still too weak.

    In order to strike Canyang from the city walls...

    One needed to be in the Rebirth State.

    Right now, she was only in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State.

    Princess Shan Yu was very confident in her abilities. However, this time, she desperately wished that she was more powerful.

    "Sister, enough! We can strike at Canyang, but that means that Canyang can strike back at us. Right now, we need to conserve our strength!" Shan Ling replied.

    "Conserve our strength? Brother, this isn¡¯t conserving strength, this is ignoring the plight of Fang Zhengzhi and the Southern Region!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    "Shut up, we have already lost enough this war. Do you want us all to die here?" Shan Ling¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "Brother! We are a nation of warriors, we should be united right now!"

    "Enough, I have made up my mind. I will strike when it is appropriate, not a moment before. If you say anything else, you may leave!" Shan Ling replied, clearly exasperated.

    Princess Shan Yu clenched her fists.

    Fire began to dance in her eyes as red cloud patterns began to form on her hands and extend to her arm.

    Shan Ling was shocked by this sight.

    "Shan Yu, what are you thinking?"

    "Hmph, when you told me to coordinate the defences inside the settlement, I had nothing to say. But now, I will not follow the orders! If you aren¡¯t going to save him, I will! You can¡¯t dictate everything in the Southern Region!"

    "You..." Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed.

    He had known about his sister¡¯s temper. When she wanted to do something, no one, not even the king, could stop her.

    This was what allowed her to gain the respect of the soldiers.

    Princess Shan Yu was right.

    Shan Ling was not a dictatorship.

    In the entire Southern Region, his sister¡¯s voice was almost as loud and powerful as his.

    "Send the order, the Silver Horned Wolves..."

    "Your Highness, please trust the Crown Prince!"

    "Yes, your highness. He must have his reasons for not striking. This is not the time for internal troubles."

    "Crown Prince, I believe that the Princess is reasonable. You are merely worried about our safety. We can just help subtly from the side. Furthermore, helping the Great Xia now is akin to helping the Southern Region!"

    All of the settlement chiefs tried to broker peace between the two siblings.

    "Okay then. You are all to help from the sidelines, but be careful not to get too close!" Shan Ling grit his teeth and nodded.

    "Yes, your highness!" The settlement chiefs replied in unison.

    "Brother, I¡¯m sorry, I was just..." Princess Shan Yu began to calm down, realizing that she had handled the situation rashly.

    "No need for that, it was my mistake. I was too firm and I should have exined my position." Shan Ling nodded.

    However, he subconsciously looked at Fang Zhengzhi and clenched his fists.

    "Brother, you are the Crown Prince and the future King, I will definitely listen to you!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi anxiously.

    "If we work together, neither the demons nor the Great Xia can bully us!" Shan Ling asserted.

    "The Crown Prince is wise!"

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    After receiving their orders, the settlement chiefs leapt into action as rays of light shot towards Canyang.

    At that very moment, Canyang reacted. His blue robe danced in the wind as he morphed into a ray of blue light that shot through the sky so quickly it was barely visible.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just managed to free himself. He was about to issue a challenge to Canyang when...

    He saw the blue light in front of him.

    "Oh? No more ¡¯techniques¡¯? Relying on power now?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked with confidence. He had been dueling with beasts from a tender age.

    Even though closebat was not his forte, he would not consider it a weakness.

    Furthermore, his opponent was a blind old man. Engaging in closebat was advantageous to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confident.

    He wanted to dodge the initial strike, get behind Canyang, grab him by the hair and smash him to the ground.

    Then, he felt something pressed against his chest.

    He looked down.

    And his eyes widened.

    It was a frail hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he should have been the one using this technique. He never expected Canyang to use it on him.

    Furthermore...

    He didn¡¯t even have a chance to react.

    "What the f*ck is this speed?!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in his heart as he felt a terrifying wave of force emanate from that hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rarely ¡¯terrified¡¯.

    But this time, he was...

    He was wetting himself...

    He had never felt anything as powerful as the wave of force crashing towards him.

    "Kacha!" A cracking sound echoed through the air as Fang Zhengzhi flew into the sky uncontrobly. He looked like a shooting star flying towards Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.

    There was a ray of blue light that was following right behind him...

 Chapter 449: Go f*ck yourself

    Chapter 449: Go f*ck yourself

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Canyang was too quick. In the blink of an eye, Fang Zhengzhi was sent flying.

    The settlement chiefs watched on in disbelief.

    They wanted to save Fang Zhengzhi.

    But they couldn¡¯t.

    Even Xing Yuanguo couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    Fang Zhengzhi could see nothing but the ray of blue light as well as the frail outstretched arm. He could not even see Canyang¡¯s expression.

    However, he could feel an unstoppable wave of force on his chest.

    It was extremely powerful.

    "Kacha!" A cracking noise cut through the air as Fang Zhengzhi paled. He knew what the sound was.

    It was the Heart Protection Mirror he ced on his heart.

    That was the gift from Chi Guyan. It was also this Heart Protection Mirror which had saved him from Bai Xing¡¯s attack at the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    Bai Xing¡¯s sword had been quick and sharp.

    However...

    It only left a scratch on the Heart Protection Mirror.

    However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the Heart Protection Mirror had shattered after just one attack from a barehanded Canyang.

    This was why he had used the phrase ¡¯terrifying¡¯ to describe Canyang¡¯s power.

    His attacks were the perfectbination of speed and power.

    A thought shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    That was...

    Death!

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi entered the capital, he hade up against many opponents who were more powerful than him.

    He had gone up against the Supernatural State Ying Shan as a Heavenly Reflection State cultivator in the World of the Sage.

    At that time, he could already sense the difference in speed. However, he could still vaguely make out Ying Shan¡¯s actions.

    It was as if he was watching a film in fast forward.

    He could not see it clearly but he could make out some frames.

    However...

    When he faced off against Canyang...

    Fang Zhengzhi could not even see what Canyang was doing. All he could see was a blur.

    He saw Canyang charging towards him and nothing more. He could not predict where Canyang was or what he was striking at.

    All he could do was guess...

    "Is everything to no avail?" Fang Zhengzhi had already done everything he could...

    He had already brought the battle to the most advantageous ce for him.

    He could not stand against Canyang alone.

    He leveraged Xing Yuanguo and co.

    In order to save Ping Yang, he lured Canyang away.

    He had nned for everything up till now. However, it was quickly unravelled by Canyang.

    Canyang was just too powerful.

    The best traps and schemes could trap many. Without knowing the secret of the trap, most could not escape. There was only one exception.

    When one could simply overpower the trap.

    In the face of absolute power, all the schemes were merely decorative. He could break anything in his path.

    If there was a mountain in his way, he would split it.

    He could simply charge through.

    What could you do to stop him?

    Canyang had fallen for it.

    Canyang had given up Ping Yang and followed Fang Zhengzhi to the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement. Everything was going ording to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    But that was no use.

    He could simply knock Fang Zhengzhi back to his original position. In fact, he could ce Fang Zhengzhi anywhere at will.

    He could control all the factors of the duel.

    Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew through the air.

    "Boom!"

    His body crashed into the ground, sending rock and sand flying skyward.

    But this was not all. The moment Fang Zhengzhi smashed into the ground, the blue light withdrew slightly before charging forward again.

    It was the same strike.

    "Boom!"

    The ground split open.

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi was lying t on the ground and had nowhere to retreat to. He could not cushion the impact by moving backwards. He had to take the brunt of the attack.

    "Kacha, kacha..." The Heart Protection Mirror began to crack under the pressure.

    Fang Zhengzhi was flustered.

    The heart.

    One of the vital organs.

    In this world, the heart also contained one¡¯s pocket dimension.

    Canyang¡¯s intentions were simple. He wanted to destroy Fang Zhengzhi and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pocket dimension. If he couldn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi, he would make sure Fang Zhengzhi could never cultivate ever again.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea which one Canyang was trying to aplish.

    But it was not important.

    He felt as though his heart was about to shatter into smithereens.

    "Bang!" Just at that moment, the Heart Protection Mirror shattered into smithereens, unable to withstand the pressure any longer.

    Everything stored inside the Heart Protection Mirror was also sent flying.

    Needles, nails, ashes, food, clothes...

    Countless objects were scattered all over the floor. This was proof that the Heart Protection Mirror had been shattered.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with worry and anxiety as she watched from atop the city walls.

    The red cloud patterns covered her entire body.

    Just as she was about to leap onto the battlefield, a powerful arm pressed her back down.

    "Sister, you can¡¯t!" Shan Ling urged.

    "Ah! Let me go, I must save him! He is only in this position because of the Southern Region, let me go..."

    "Smack!" A crisp p could be heard as Princess Shan Yu crumpled to the ground, the red cloud pattern disappearing slowly.

    "Bring her down and watch her!"

    "Yes, your highness!"

    ...

    Xing Yuanguo looked at the pale Fang Zhengzhi lying lifelessly some distance away. His knuckles whitened. He wanted to save Fang Zhengzhi, but he knew that if he tried...

    Then...

    The Demon Domain Chiefs and Vice Domain Chiefs would also join in the fray.

    When the battle was at the gates of the settlement, he would strike without hesitation since he could pass it off as defence. However, it would be a different story if he leapt onto the battlefield and chased after Canyang.

    ording to the deal...

    Fang Zhengzhi should be exchanging hostages with Canyang.

    Whatever transpired during this exchange was between Canyang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Sister Yan, the shameless fe is about to die! Go... go save him!" Ping Yang was not far from Fang Zhengzhi.

    She knew exactly how powerful the attack was.

    Even though she had a slight misunderstanding with Fang Zhengzhi...

    Ping Yang was willful, not stupid.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s body shuddered. She could feel the power in that attack too. However, she could not move.

    She couldn¡¯t even move an inch.

    However, she could stop Canyang from striking again.

    "Stop!" Chi Guyan brought her hand to Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat. In her hand was a silver-white lightsword.

    Canyang hesitated for a moment.

    However, the glow on his body never dissipated. The blue light continued to envelop his body, almost as if he was being wrapped by the sky.

    "Sh*t!" Fang Zhengzhi spat out yet another mouthful of blood.

    He spat it right at Canyang.

    However...

    When the blood came into contact with the blue light, it was almost as if it hade into contact with a piece of ss. It simply dropped to the ground.

    "Drip, drip..."

    The blood stained Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shirt as well as his secret weapons and personal items.

    Amongst those items...

    Was a rock, a ck rock...

    From every angle, the ck rock was extremely unassuming. However, when the blood dropped onto the surface, it was almost as if it was sucked into another dimension. It did not leave any trace or stain behind.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice that happening.

    Right now, he only had one feeling, and that was pain. His chest was in so much pain it felt like he had just been stabbed.

    Right through the heart.

    Canyang¡¯s hesitation...

    Was expected...

    Yun Qingwu was still in Chi Guyan¡¯s hands. As long as Yun Qingwu was there, his life would be in no immediate danger.

    That was the reason why Fang Zhengzhi was willing to step forward.

    But now...

    He realized that there was a fate worse than death. Right now... he wished that he was dead.

    "You... you want to destroy my pocket dimension?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stand up, but he was being immobilized by an overwhelming force.

    This was not the restraints of the Heavenly Dao.

    This was just Fang Zhengzhi being overpowered.

    "Mm, you are very smart! Ahem..." Canyang nodded and cleared his throat. Then, he paled and blood began to trickle from the edge of his mouth.

    "He¡¯s injured?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Canyang would be injured, but he could be sure that he had nothing to do with it.

    Was it Xing Yuanguo¡¯s attack? Or was it Nangong Hao¡¯s?

    Or could it be...

    The reflection from his Heart Protection Mirror.

    That wasn¡¯t important. Fang Zhengzhi knew that if Canyang attacked him again...

    He could be permanently disabled.

    "Let me go, or I will kill Yun Qingwu and we would both suffer!" Fang Zhengzhi was anxious. Canyang¡¯s hesitation was of littlefort.

    He saw that Canyang was still extremely calm, almost as calm as the surface of ake. This unsettled Fang Zhengzhi greatly.

    "Kill? How?" Canyang¡¯s frail voice rang out once again.

    One may be fooled into thinking that Canyang was weak because of his voice. However, Fang Zhengzhi found out the hard way that Canyang was terrifyingly powerful.

    "If I can¡¯t kill Yun Qingwu, she can!" Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth.

    "Is that so? It is a pity that the decision is out of your hands now. Furthermore, you should remember that she is not just Chi Guyan. She is also the heir to the Divine Constabry and the future general of the Great Xia." Canyang smirked.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the smile on Canyang¡¯s face.

    He did not speak, but his expression changed.

    Canyang was extremely blunt, but every word was fact. Fang Zhengzhi had no way of rebutting.

    Chi Guyan could not kill Yun Qingwu.

    She was Chi Guyan, the futuremander of the armies of the Great Xia. She had to think about the interests of the Great Xia and the Southern Region.

    "Qingwu... she should be waking up soon." Canyang turned to ¡¯look¡¯ at theatose Yun Qingwu some distance away.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze when he heard this.

    He finally understood why Canyang would stop after hearing Chi Guyan¡¯s words.

    Initially...

    He had thought that everything was going ording to his n.

    In actual fact, Canyang had been inplete control ever since the start.

    The only reason why he was still alive was...

    Canyang was waiting.

    Canyang was waiting for Yun Qingwu to regain consciousness. He wanted Yun Qingwu to witness it.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shuddered and her eyes opened slowly.

    From the look in her eyes...

    One could tell that she was still slightly lost.

    However, the glow quickly returned to her eyes and she noticed the lightsword at her throat. She turned to look at Chi Guyan.

    Then, she looked at Canyang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Can you let me stand up?" Yun Qingwu looked at Chi Guyan.

    "Mm." Chi Guyan nodded and kept her light sword.

    Yun Qingwu did not speak as she climbed to her feet. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her expressionplicated.

    "Can I ask you onest question?"

    "You can ask any question, but I won¡¯t guarantee an answer." Fang Zhengzhi did not think that Yun Qingwu would have any question to ask him after he had knocked her out.

    The question...

    Would just be to rub salt in his wound.

    She may make fun of the fact that he was now the one being smashed into the ground. How ironic was that?

    Fang Zhengzhi had also thought of his answer.

    He would simply reply with...

    "Go f*ck yourself!"

 Chapter 450: Dead or Alive

    Chapter 450: Dead or Alive

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then at the moon in the sky. She was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude.

    "Do you think that the moon is pretty tonight?"

    "Go f*... hmm? That¡¯s your question?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone changed midway.

    "Yes, that¡¯s my question." Yun Qingwu nodded.

    "The moon... it¡¯s beautiful!" Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously looked up at the night sky. If not for the fact that the air reeked of blood...

    He was in a good position to admire the moon.

    However...

    He never expected that that would be Yun Qingwu¡¯s question.

    "Mm, I think that it is quite beautiful as well." Yun Qingwu raised her head calmly.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not bring himself to be calm.

    He had no idea why Yun Qingwu would ask him about the moon, but he knew that after she asked the question, there was a palm at his hand.

    A frail-looking palm.

    "As a half sage, do you really need to resort to a sneak attack? If you dare, let me admire the moon for a little longer!" Fang Zhengzhi blurted out.

    He knew exactly how powerful that strike was going to be.

    He also knew...

    What would happen after...

    Canyang hesitated. No one knew if it was because of what Fang Zhengzhi said...

    But, he chose not to strike.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but he couldn¡¯t.

    He knew that respite was temporary. Canyang looked extremely calm, almost like the surface of ake.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what this meant.

    Confidence...

    And determination.

    He knew that Canyang had already made up his mind.

    "Am I really going to die?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the moon and the constetions in the sky. He knew that if the de was quick enough, there would be no pain. The only thing he didn¡¯t know was where he would appear after death.

    After his death in the previous world, he had been plunged into this one. After spending so many years here, he had developed a connection to it.

    It was a beautiful world.

    The flowers were pretty, the water was clear, the air was fresh...

    Fang Zhengzhi loved everything about it.

    Over here, there was no water or air pollution and the food was all organic.

    Fang Zhengzhi loved touring this world, he liked to admire the ancient architecture and immerse himself in the wilderness.

    More importantly...

    He had a family which cared about him here.

    "Father, Mother... if you found out I died... how sad would you be?" Images shed past in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    When the Southern Mountain Vige Elder came to visit with Mrs. Li, apanied by armored soldiers...

    That was the first time Fang Zhengzhi came into contact with power in this world.

    The day when everyone in the vige shed a tear as they surrounded the injured Fang Houde and the other hunters...

    That was the day Fang Zhengzhi used the powers in this world.

    The day when Fang Zhengzhi left the Southern Mountain Vige with Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian...

    That was the day he had fully exploited his powers.

    Then...

    All the times he hade home and stood by the door with his hunt of the day screaming, "Mom, I¡¯m home! Dad, I¡¯m home!"

    "Home... can I even go back?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the night sky and reminisced.

    "Zhengzhi isn¡¯t back yet?"

    "Zhengzhi, you are the pride of our vige!"

    "Zhengzhi is an official now! Our vige will do well! He even built a school... no, it¡¯s an academy. And he built roads too!"

    "Yes! He is the pride of all the viges in the region!"

    ...

    "Have you seen enough?" Canyang interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thoughts, forcefully dragging him back to reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t answer.

    He had already begun struggling.

    Even though he knew that the only thing that he could do in the face of Canyang¡¯s power was wait for his death...

    He began to struggle like an octopus.

    Hands, feet, teeth...

    Fang Zhengzhi used everything he could. He didn¡¯t care about technique, all he wanted to do was live!

    "Ah!" An incredible wave of force gushed out.

    This was the force that originated from his pocket dimension. Unlikest time, this explosion did note in waves.

    It was a continuous chain!

    It felt like a raging river crashing against a dam, never letting up.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of holding back. His only thought was to use everyst drop of energy he had.

    "Boom!" The force caused Canyang¡¯s robe and even causing the wrinkles on Canyang¡¯s skin to be blown backward.

    Canyang¡¯s body moved...

    Almost as if he was lifted off the ground by the force.

    However, he steadied himself quickly and pushed down on Fang Zhengzhi like a rock.

    "Sister Yan, Fang Zhengzhi is really going to die! You must save him!" Ping Yang urged on anxiously.

    She was truly anxious.

    That being said, she had no idea why she was that anxious...

    "Shameless fe!" Chi Guyan¡¯s paled. No one had ever seen her this way before.

    As her voice cut through the air.

    A ray of silver light crashed earthward.

    It was a silver light that concentrated the light from countless stars and constetions. It was almost as if all the stars were striking at Canyang.

    "Boom!" A loud explosion rang out.

    Canyang¡¯s body shuddered but he did not dodge. In fact, he didn¡¯t even try to dodge, allowing the light to hit him.

    His frail body was like an enormous mountain which could withstand the might of the stars.

    He raised his palm as he ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi with his dull, hollow eyes.

    "I think you¡¯ve seen enough." Canyang¡¯s lips parted calmly as he made up his mind.

    As Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pair of hollow eyes...

    He despaired. For the first time, all of his efforts hade to nothing.

    The manic wave of force had blown away everything near him, from secret weapons to food and drinks.

    But none of those even came into contact with Canyang.

    As soon as they hit his blue light, they fell to the ground.

    Chi Hou had used that to dodge his secret attacks in the Divine Constabry.

    But now...

    He was facing an even stronger opponent, the half sage, Canyang.

    "I haven¡¯t even gotten married yet!" Fang Zhengzhi had many regrets. Even in his previous life, he had not found a wife before he got married.

    In this world, he had limitless potential ahead of him, but he was also going to die alone.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t want to ept it.

    But there was nothing that he could do about it.

    His Heart Protection Mirror had been shattered. What else could defend against Canyang¡¯s attack?

    Armor!

    He had won an armor once!

    Fang Zhengzhi scrambled to find something beside him. He realized that the armor had been blown away as well.

    He was at a loss.

    He didn¡¯t even have any armor.

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand shuddered as he grabbed a rock, a ck rock.

    "This rock is..." Fang Zhengzhi realized that this was the rock that he found after he escaped from The Vast World.

    However, this rock had not done anything since he picked it up. He had just left it inside his Heart Protection Mirror.

    This rock...

    Remained despite all themotion?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what this rock was, or what it could do.

    He had no time to think about any of this.

    Canyang was already striking towards his chest with a mountainous force.

    He didn¡¯t give it any more thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi ced the rock on his chest. He didn¡¯t care what it could do...

    A rock was better than nothing.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi took the brunt of the hit.

    He could never dodge Canyang¡¯s strike. The palm hit home.

    Even though he had ced a rock in the way, the power of the strike was still keenly felt.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes widened. He felt as though he had just been struck by a gargantuan force.

    He knew exactly how powerful that strike was.

    He was sure that he would die.

    At the very least...

    His pocket dimension would be destroyed.

    "I wonder if you can live without a pocket dimension? If so, how long?" Fang Zhengzhi thought about it to himself.

    He was waiting...

    He was waiting for his pocket dimension to shatter.

    However, after a moment of hesitation, he realized that all he felt was pain.

    Did Canyang show mercy?

    He dismissed that thought. Canyang would never show mercy, not with that strike.

    So...

    Why wasn¡¯t he dead?

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely thought about such useless questions. He looked at Canyang.

    Canyang was ¡¯looking¡¯ back at him.

    His empty eyes were fixed on Fang Zhengzhi, the calm gone from his face.

    It felt as though Fang Zhengzhi had dropped a rock into a stillke.

    The rock!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the rock on his chest, a rock which was currently glowing.

    It was not dull and dark as before...

    Right now, it was glowing radiantly.

    The silver light merged with the stars in the sky, lighting up the night sky.

    "This rock is a treasure!" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    Even a dummy would know that the rock had just saved his life. He didn¡¯t know how it had transformed into a valuable treasure...

    But...

    He knew that it was better than having nothing.

    Furthermore, he had ced it in the Heart Protection Mirror. Perhaps he had foresight after all...

    Even though...

    He had treated it as trash...

    But disregarding that fact for a moment...

    The light from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest attracted the attention of everyone.

    All of those on the city walls were stunned by what they were witnessing.

    "What is that?"

    They thought to themselves.

    However, no one could answer that question.

    The demon army behind Yun Qingwu was also equally confused. All of the domain chiefs looked at the radiant light.

    They were all stunned...

    However...

    They were not asking questions, they were terrified...

    "Is that..."

    "That is... The Vast World!"

    "How is that possible?! Why does Fang Zhengzhi have The Vast World?!"

 Chapter 451: Im sorry, half-sage

    Chapter 451: I¡¯m sorry, half-sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    All of the Demon Domain Chiefs looked at the bright rock on Fang Zhengzhi. They knew what it was, and that knowledge caused their disbelief.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones in disbelief.

    Yun Qingwu was also in disbelief.

    "Fang Zhengzhi was the one who broke The Vast World?"

    She was the one who came up with the n on Cang Ling Mountain, but it had failed in spectacr fashion.

    Yun Qingwu had never known the reason why her n had failed. All she knew was that The Vast World had disappeared, along with a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Yun Qingwu had considered that Fang Zhengzhi may have been involved on Cang Ling Mountain.

    However, she dismissed that thought at that time.

    She did not think that Fang Zhengzhi was powerful enough to break The Vast World.

    Even though The Vast World that she had was not as powerful as it was initially, it wasn¡¯t something Fang Zhengzhi would be able to break.

    Even Xing Yuanguo would not have been able to break it.

    Furthermore, based on what she knew, Fang Zhengzhi was still in The Vast World at that time. Did that mean that Fang Zhengzhi had broken The Vast World from within?

    That was even more unfathomable.

    So...

    What happened?

    Yun Qingwu looked at the rock in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, her eyes filled with confusion. However, she did not spend another moment pondering that question.

    There was a more pressing issue.

    That was...

    The Vast World had been activated!

    Ordinarily, a Rebirth State cultivator and 10 Supernatural State cultivators were required to activate The Vast World. However, a single strike from Canyang contained enough power to activate it.

    "Coincidence? Or fate?!"

    ...

    "Sister Yan, is that the thing from thest time..." Ping Yang asked nervously when she saw the glowing rock.

    "Mm, The Vast World!"

    "Does that mean that it was the shameless fe who saved us on Cang Ling Mountain?"

    "Yup." Chi Guyan nodded. She had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi did it. However, for The Vast World to be in his possession...

    That could only mean that...

    Fang Zhengzhi had been the one who saved them all.

    On the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    Xing Yuanguo murmured to himself as he looked at the rock on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    "It was him... it was actually him... this is great. With The Vast World, we can definitely get out of this situation!" Xing Yuanguo was also slightly confused.

    However, as themander of the army.

    His main concern was how to win this war.

    The Vast World provided the perfect opportunity.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Hao¡¯s lips parted as he sheathed his sword.

    No one knew what Nangong Hao was thinking.

    However, it was certain that Nangong Hao had just heaved a sigh of relief.

    Fang Zhengzhi had participated in the battle on Cang Ling Mountain.

    He knew what the Demon Domain Chief was saying.

    The Vast World?

    Was this rock the legendary treasure?

    How powerful!

    This was the item that could consume entire worlds. With this item, he could definitely survive!

    There was only one problem...

    How do you use it?

    "Erm... do you know how to use The Vast World?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang and asked sincerely. Canyang¡¯s expression was changing by the moment.

    ...

    The wind blew Canyang¡¯s silver hair and blue robe backwards.

    Silence,plete silence.

    Canyang was not the only one who was silent. Every demon and soldier in the Iron Hill Settlement were silent.

    The demons looked at each other, smirking as they did so. They were truly happy to hear this.

    The joint forces smiled bitterly.

    They couldn¡¯t believe their ears.

    How do you use this?

    That was such a wonderful question!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips twitched. She wanted to burst outughing, but she suppressed herughter. It was not a good time tough.

    If sheughed now...

    It may prove to be too early of a celebration.

    Furthermore, she was not fond ofughing in front of a crowd.

    As for Ping Yang, she waspletely stunned.

    She really wanted to berate Fang Zhengzhi. Was he really that ignorant?

    However, she swallowed her words.

    Canyang sprang into action.

    He raised his hand without hesitation. He knew how dangerous The Vast World was.

    It was so dangerous that even he had to fear it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always thought of himself as the shameless one. As such, he didn¡¯t expect that the half sage would be this unreasonable.

    What was the meaning of attacking in this fashion?

    Even if he didn¡¯t know, he could have just said so!

    Okay then...

    What was the point of having a treasure if you didn¡¯t know how to use it?

    Fang Zhengzhi was exasperated. He felt as though he had justnded himself a hot chick but had no idea where the button on her shirt was.

    Most importantly, thedy was leaving in three minutes!

    The pressure was on.

    Fang Zhengzhi was panicking.

    Canyang¡¯s hand was already raised and Fang Zhengzhi knew how powerful and quick it was. He wanted to stall Canyang, but he couldn¡¯t.

    "Ping Yang and Chi Guyan must know how to use it! Can¡¯t they tell that I was actually asking them?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that they still had some coordination issues.

    In fact...

    He couldn¡¯t me Ping Yang and Chi Guyan.

    No one would possibly think of answering such amonsensical question. Furthermore, they wouldn¡¯t know how to answer Fang Zhengzhi in the most sinct manner.

    But most importantly, Canyang was too quick.

    Canyang had hesitated for a moment when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, but he reacted quickly.

    He didn¡¯t give Fang Zhengzhi any chance to react.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched on as Canyang struck. He grit his teeth as he saw the palm close in on him.

    Isn¡¯t this a treasure?

    He was getting desperate!

    He had no other choice. He panicked and threw the rock at Canyang.

    "Argh!"

    The silver light shot towards Canyang¡¯s face.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if he had thrown the rock in the right way, but he had to say that his uracy was on point.

    After all, he had been throwing items at his opponents for quite some time now.

    It didn¡¯t matter if they were secret weapons or treasures.

    The technique was the same!

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled confidently.

    However, the demons and the soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were stunned.

    They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe what they were seeing.

    What the hell was Fang Zhengzhi doing?

    "What is going on?"

    "Did he throw The Vast World?"

    "He really did that?!"

    All of the soldiers on the battlefield could not believe their eyes. Their jaws dropped.

    But there was no sound...

    Ping Yang¡¯s jaw dropped too, the gaprge enough to fit arge egg.

    She couldn¡¯t believe it.

    In fact...

    Even the usually calm Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu couldn¡¯t help but be stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    Two of the most beautiful women on the...

    Their jaws were wide open...

    Their exquisite, bright eyes were fixed on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Bang!" The light hit home and left a red mark on Canyang¡¯s wrinkled face.

    Canyang did not try and dodge.

    His hand stopped in mid-air. It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to kill Fang Zhengzhi... it was because he wanted to ask Fang Zhengzhi a question.

    "What the hell are you doing?"

    Since young, Canyang had longed to see light, to see the sun, the moon, the mountains...

    But right now...

    All he wanted to see was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. He wanted to know what the hell Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    This was a question that Yun Qingwu, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Xing Yuanguo, Xing Qingsui, Nangong Hao... literally everyone had in their minds.

    They all looked at Fang Zhengzhi...

    And then they looked at The Vast World which had just been smashed in Canyang¡¯s face.

    The silver light was just as radiant as before, linking up with the stars in the sky...

    It was a pity...

    It was no longer in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    He had no idea if throwing The Vast World had achieved the intended effect, but he knew that he had hit his target...

    And Canyang stopped...

    Was it effective?

    Was the key really to throw it?

    At that moment, he thought that he may have been overthinking it before. Sometimes the mostplex problems had the simplest solutions.

    Maybe that was true in this case.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    He guffawed.

    So what if Canyang was a half sage? He was hit by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rock!

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite proud of himself, but he didn¡¯t understand something...

    Usually...

    After the treasure had hit its target, it would shake the earth. However, nothing seemed to be happening.

    Just momentary immobilization?

    Shouldn¡¯t Canyang be spitting out mouthfuls of blood?

    Hang on...

    Something was wrong.

    The Vast World was like a parallel dimension. After it hit... the target should...

    Disappear?

    Or be sucked in?

    At the very least, Canyang should be screaming!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang and realized that Canyang was still asplete as before.

    What was happening?

    Could it be that he had thrown it wrongly? Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile froze and his eyes widened.

    Canyang sprang into action and leapt for The Vast World which was slipping from his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid.

    His reaction speed was not the fastest in the world, but he knew what was happening.

    Canyang¡¯s movements proved that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack had done little harm.

    As such...

    His first order of business was to stop Canyang.

    He had to prevent The Vast World from falling into Canyang¡¯s hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely anxious when he saw Canyang reach for The Vast World. He was not as fast as Canyang.

    What now?

    If Canyang had The Vast World...

    Would he still stand a chance?

    He hated himself for not knowing how to open it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious. He had thought that Canyang would disappear after he was hit by the rock.

    But that was a sham!

    No way...

    He had to fight it out, no matter what!

    "Feint!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed as he grit his teeth and lunged. One hand reached for The Vast World, the other...

    Went between Canyang¡¯s legs.

    Fang Zhengzhi would never have used this tactic on any man, especially not an old man.

    He always respected the elderly...

    However, desperate times called for desperate measures. He had no other choice now.

    He had to go for the balls.

    I¡¯m sorry...

    Half Sage!

 Chapter 452: Absorbing the world

    Chapter 452: Absorbing the world

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Research had shown...

    The younger thebatants, the more likely unorthodox fighting techniques would appear. They would bite ears, stomp on toes...

    It wasmon for a fight between two five-year-olds to involve hair pulling. However, you would not expect that in a fight between two men in their twenties.

    Their preferred method of fighting was a punch to the temples.

    When one was even older, they would only strike when the moment was right. They focused on technique and opportunities.

    Canyang...

    Being an old demon with eons of experience, he would never think that his opponent would resort to such despicable techniques.

    As such, he had not thought of defending some of the more sensitive areas.

    That being said, being Canyang, he had great hearing and superhuman reflexes.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack would not seed.

    But it was enough to make Canyang break a sweat.

    "Rubbish!" Canyang had never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be capable of attacking an old man¡¯s privates.

    The two of them were too close.

    At this distance, there was no guarantee that he could block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    Canyang was not going to risk it.

    He chose to dodge it. He bent over and leapt upwards.

    As he soared into the air...

    He realized that there was something wrong...

    He felt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression change, almost as if Fang Zhengzhi was smiling...

    In fact...

    Fang Zhengzhi was smiling. This attack was a feint. He had no intention of attacking Canyang¡¯s privates.

    He clenched his left hand...

    The Vast World was now back in his grasp.

    That was the true purpose of that attack.

    Stealing a treasure back from the hands of a half sage was something worthy of celebration.

    Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    He had a chance now.

    The demons, as well as the joint forces, couldn¡¯t help but chuckle too.

    Because...

    What they had seen was unbelievably strange.

    That exim of ¡¯rubbish!¡¯ had spread to their ears. More importantly, Canyang looked as though he had fallen for the trick.

    When he leapt into the air, he had left The Vast World behind.

    What the hell just happened?!

    "That shameless fe! How dare he..."

    All of the demon soldiers were furious. Their hero had just been humiliated by an attempted, despicable attack from their greatest enemy.

    The soldiers of the joint forces smiled bitterly. They looked at each other, knowing full well that Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice.

    That being said, that tactic was a despicable one...

    The only question was...

    Was Canyang hit?

    "Good move! Shameless fe, great move!" Everyone was speechless, except for one person. Ping Yang¡¯s voice cut through the air.

    Chi Guyan sighed as she saw Ping Yang¡¯s excited expression. She decided to limit Ping Yang¡¯s interaction with Fang Zhengzhi...

    Ping Yang was much too impressionable.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a bad influence.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s face was flushed as she looked at the interaction between Ping Yang and Chi Guyan. At that moment, many scenes shed past in her mind.

    Then...

    For some reason, she felt pain in her chest.

    "Despicable!" Yun Qingwu sputtered. Then, she immediately thought of something as she turned to Canyang, "Master, you..."

    She wanted to ask if Canyang was fine...

    However, she swallowed her words, realizing that her question would be inappropriate.

    "I¡¯m fine!" Canyang could tell that Yun Qingwu was concerned about him. He shook his head but regretted his answer instantly.

    That meant that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack...

    Had hit!

    Even Canyang blushed.

    He wanted to exin himself, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly announce to the world that Fang Zhengzhi had missed.

    That would be utterly...

    Embarrassing!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not possibly exin either.

    Whether that attack had hit was of no importance.

    The important thing was that he had The Vast World in his hand. Right now, he had to figure out how to use it.

    "The world in your heart will link with the vast world. It will consume the world!"

    Just at that moment, a voice resonated through the air. It was extremely moving, almost like a nightingale¡¯s song.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    He was utterly floored.

    He had never expected Chi Guyan¡¯s voice to be this beautiful. Her voice now was like that of an angel.

    Since when...

    Was she that refined?

    Was she using the power in her heart to activate The Vast World?

    Would she die if she had said it any other way?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why Chi Guyan had adopted that tone, but he did not hesitate.

    Canyang¡¯s expression changed.

    It changed the moment he heard Chi Guyan¡¯s voice.

    Canyang was not alone.

    Yun Qingwu and all the other demons were equally shocked.

    "Hum!"

    Just at that moment, a loud hum rang out and a column of silver light shot skyward.

    It shot to the heavens.

    In an instant, the entire night sky was lit up and the stars werepletely outshone by this column of light.

    The earth shook...

    Then, the column of light exploded, sending glimmering spots of light to the ground, almost like it was raining lights.

    Dust and sand were sent skyward, the dust storm quickly spreading to the surroundings.

    "Uh oh... it¡¯s The Vast World!"

    "He activated it!"

    "Run!"

    Many panicked voices began to ovep each other as the demons tried to make a break for it. But it was toote...

    Yun Qingwu bit her lip as she watched the lights in the sky, her eyes filled with shock and awe.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was not loud. She was quickly buried under the dust, but everyone could hear the resentment in her voice.

    Soon after...

    The ground which she was standing on cracked. The cracks began to spread towards the demon army behind her.

    All of the Demon Domain Chiefs and Vice Domain Chiefs turned their backs and tried to flee.

    However...

    They were all consumed by the sandstorm before they could get far.

    They screamed...

    The demons could no longer maintain their discipline.

    They began to run in all directions, but the sandstorm was too quick. There was no ce to run.

    "The Demons!"

    "We cannot be annihted here!"

    The demons had never felt such fear before. They had always thought of themselves as being invincible.

    But now...

    They were facing the Death God.

    There were hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers here, more than 90% of the Blood Shadow City¡¯s force. If anything were to happen to them...

    How were the demons going to continue to survive?

    Xing Yuanguo shuddered as he watched The Vast World devour the demon army.

    He was truly excited.

    The demon army was all concentrated in one spot. To have their entire force sucked in by The Vast World was a heavy blow.

    "Is the war finally about to end?" Xing Yuanguo felt a sense of relief as he looked at the sandstorm.

    He looked at the bright spot of light in the midst of the storm. He knew who that person was, and he knew that the person would be the pride of the Great Xia.

    Shan Ling was also visibly excited.

    He had hoped that Fang Zhengzhi would die ¡¯gloriously¡¯, but he also hoped to win the entire war.

    If the Southern Region won, then he would be able to negotiate with the Great Xia.

    Right now...

    Everything was in his favor.

    The demons had failed!

    In fact, right now he had over a hundred thousand soldiers in his territory...

    The world was his oyster!

    However, he quickly realized that something was amiss...

    After swallowing the demons and Yun Qingwu, the sandstorm showed no signs of stopping. Instead, it flew towards the Iron Hill Settlement.

    "Stop!" Shan Ling knew what was happening.

    He also knew what would happen after they were consumed by the storm.

    But it was toote...

    By the time they realized what was happening, the storm had already reached the Iron Hill Settlement.

    Shan Ling wanted to curse.

    He had never felt such rage in his life.

    Just when he thought that he had everything going for him, it all came crashing down. He could not even react in time.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Shan Ling hollered.

    He too could not ept what was happening.

    The other Settlement Chiefs, the Southern Region soldiers, as well as the soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army were equally shocked.

    "Ah!"

    "Run!"

    "It¡¯s toote, I..."

    Their voices reverberated through the air as they were drawn into the sandstorm by an overpowering force.

    At the same time, the Iron Hill Settlement¡¯s ck walls were reduced to dust.

    The entire sky darkened.

    The stars went dark.

    It felt like it was the beginning of a new world.

    However, the dust began to settle soon and the cracks started to disappear. The ground began to solidify and vegetation began to grow. The stars also re-appeared in the sky.

    The silver glow lit up the ground.

    Figures began to appear.

    They were the demon soldiers in their ck armor, shiny weapons, and heavy bows.

    However...

    They did not look good.

    The walls of the Iron hill Settlement began to form once again. Figures appeared atop the wall, their expressions the same as the demons.

    The breeze caressed them all.

    The demons, the Dragon Protection Squad, the Mountain Breaking Army, and the Southern Region soldiers were all in the same situation.

    None of them moved.

    They simply stood quietly in their spots.

    In between the settlement and the demons were four figures. One was an old man in a blue robe.

    Beside him were Yun Qingwu, Chi Guyan, and Ping Yang.

    But...

    There was no Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Hahaha... The world in your heart will link with the vast world. It will consume the world!" Just at that moment, a thunderous voice cut through the air.

    It bordered on maniacalughter.

    Then, there was a question...

    "Oh? Why is the Crown Prince here too?"

    "Yes! Why am I here? That is a great question!" Shan Ling raised his head and grit his teeth.

 Chapter 453: Black rain

    Chapter 453: ck rain

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    µÚËÄ°ÙÎåÊ®ÈýÕÂÒ»³¡ºÚÓê

    Shan Ling was furious.

    He really was... he was on the cusp of victory! What the hell happened? He was betrayed by Fang Zhengzhi!

    Hang on...

    Could it be...

    His expression changed when he thought about it... he seemed to have forgotten one thing.

    He had thought that he could protect the Southern Region and destroy Fang Zhengzhi in the process. But, he forgot to ount for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts.

    What if...

    Fang Zhengzhi had been thinking the same thing?

    Fear, unparalleled fear...

    Shan Ling looked at the settlement chiefs around him. He realized that he was in a situation in which he had no control over.

    He was just like amb being sent to the ughter!

    "Wait... why... is Xing Yuanguo here?" Shan Ling spotted a figure in purplish golden robes out of the corner of his eye.

    He was shocked.

    He could understand Fang Zhengzhi transporting the Southern Region soldiers into The Vast World, but why do that to Xing Yuanguo, the Dragon Protection Squad, and the Mountain Breaking Army?

    What is going on?

    Was he rebelling?

    Even if he wanted to rebel, this wasn¡¯t the way to do it!

    Shan Ling looked at Xing Yuanguo, his eyes filled with questions.

    Xing Yuanguo shook his head in exasperation. He knew that he was in The Vast World. However, he showed none of the anger Shan Ling did.

    He was just a little...

    Embarrassed.

    "I think... this guy¡¯s understanding of the statement is slightly problematic!" Xing Yuanguo was otherwise speechless.

    This was the second time he had been consumed by The Vast World. However, this time was different...

    Xing Yuanguo looked at the tall tree in the middle of the battlefield as well as the bloody field strewn with dead bodies.

    The situation was different...

    Ordinarily...

    The activation of The Vast World came with a choice.

    For example, on Cang Ling Mountain, the Demons chose to absorb the people and beasts on Cang Ling Mountain.

    However, Cang Ling Mountain still existed.

    The mountain, as well as its trees and rivers, were not absorbed.

    But this time was different, Fang Zhengzhi had absorbed the entire field, together with the Iron Hill Settlement.

    The biggest consequence was...

    The boundaries were limited.

    In other words, The Vast World would have been sufficient to contain the entire demon army... but now, he could not absorb the entire army...

    The result was obvious...

    Only about 100,000 Demons were contained in The Vast World.

    That being said, The Vast World still contained more than 100,000 soldiers. The joint forces were absorbed as well.

    But now...

    What were they going to do?

    Fight it out again here?

    Xing Yuanguo wanted to say something, but he was at a loss for words. He could exin the situation to the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army, but how was he going to deal with the Southern Region soldiers?

    Call it a misunderstanding?

    Who would believe him?

    "I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s a misunderstanding!" Just at that moment, a voice rang out in the sky. However, the apology was far from sincere...

    In fact...

    Fang Zhengzhi sounded excited.

    To be honest, he was really excited.

    He did not bother about the fact that only a portion of the demon army had been absorbed, neither did he bother about how he was going to get the others out.

    The only thought he had was...

    What¡¯s done is done...

    So they should just talk it out whilst they were inside here. A little saber-rattling could work too.

    Either way...

    They couldn¡¯t do anything to him!

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude right now.

    Shan Ling could hear the insincerity in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice. He wanted to curse and swear, but in the end, the words that came out were...

    "It¡¯s alright, since it is a misunderstanding, I will hear what your ns are, Official Fang!" Shan Ling didn¡¯t dare to cuss at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The settlement chiefs and the soldiers were initially stunned. They looked at each other in confusion, but they quickly realized what Shan Ling was doing.

    "We will do as you wish, Official Fang!" They replied in unison.

    Xing Yuanguo was slightly taken aback when he heard this. He simply smiled bitterly...

    "Official Fang? Crown Prince, are you alright? I remember that you wanted to kill me back at the Sagely Mountain City." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice boomed.

    "Misunderstanding haha... that was also a misunderstanding!" Shan Ling grit his teeth.

    "Oh I see, then I guess we are even now. We have both caused each other some misunderstanding, but that¡¯s water under the bridge now." Fang Zhengzhi replied magnanimously.

    "Thank you, Official Fang!" Shan Ling¡¯s knuckles whitened. He had initially wanted to thank Fang Zhengzhi for being so ¡¯magnanimous¡¯ but decided against it.

    "No need for that. Perhaps you could give me a few boxes of pearls and gems when I leave as a gesture of goodwill!" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "Definitely!" Shan Ling¡¯s eyes were bloodshot.

    He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. Fang Zhengzhi was the one who had put him in this position, yet he was the one apologizing now?! How shameless could a person possibly be?!

    And then there was the extortion!

    He was the Crown Prince of the Southern Region!

    Most frustratingly, he was in no position to reject Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s requests.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the entire space. It was heard by the demons as well as Yun Qingwu and Canyang.

    However, neither Yun Qingwu nor Canyang did anything.

    As such...

    The Demon Domain Chiefs and the demon soldiers had to hold their positions.

    They waited patiently for their orders. They knew what was about to happen, but their concern was what was happening now.

    They had no other choice but to wait.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, was losing her patience.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless fe, what are you waiting for? Save me! Did you forget that I risked my life for you? You unfaithful, mercenary..." Ping Yang fumed, her choice of words slightly crass.

    But it was not important.

    She could say whatever she wanted.

    "If you shut up, I will think about it." Fang Zhengzhi replied but did not do anything.

    "I will not! What are you going to do about it? How dare you be disrespectful towards me! You will suffer retribution! When I return, I will report you to the Emperor... he will strip you of any rewards. You will be a rank four official for the rest of your life!" Ping Yang threatened.

    "Is that so? Rank four sounds great! I love being a rank four official." Fang Zhengzhi replied with haughty derision.

    "Then I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re demoted to rank five, even rank six! You will be relegated to the borders!" Ping Yang continued threatening.

    "A border city? That¡¯s not bad either! I get to collect tolls." Fang Zhengzhi was not threatened in the least.

    "You... you shameless fe! Save me! Save me, or... or I will kill you!" Ping Yang was fuming.

    However, her tone had changed... she was no longer as arrogant as she was before.

    "Hang tight, why don¡¯t I read you a passage from the "Law of Dao"? Which one would you like to hear?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    Chi Guyan was equally calm.

    Even though she was also heaving slightly, she was much calmer than Ping Yang.

    The silver light hadpletely disappeared.

    Chi Guyan did not ask Fang Zhengzhi when he would save them. She looked at the sky and the stars, deep in thought.

    The stars flickered in the sky.

    Just at that moment, there seemed to be something forming in the air. The change was minute, almost like clouds floating by.

    But they were not clouds.

    It was a strange feeling, almost as if it was raining. However, the falling objects were not raindrops. The objects blocked out the starlight.

    There was a suppressive aura that filled the air.

    The ¡¯rain¡¯ fell to the ground.

    Its intensity was increasing by the moment.

    It was almost as if there were countless meteors in the sky, but these meteors were all ck in color.

    "It¡¯s finally here!" The Demon Domain Chiefs looked at the ¡¯ck rain¡¯ their demonic eyes glowing.

    They tightened their grips on their weapons.

    The shower neared.

    The nearer it got, the more intense it was.

    It was like a shadow, all of them wearing ck armor, exactly the same as those of the demons.

    Other than the armor, they had the same spears and bows.

    They were identical!

    The suppressive aura neared, almost suffocating everyone faced with it.

    "Die!" The demon army bellowed. They were overwhelmed by fear, but they showed none of it.

    They knew...

    There was no retreat.

    ...

    On the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    Xing Yuanguo watched on as the figures in ck descended on the demons. He had conflicted feelings.

    He had faced off against this army of shadows before...

    During that battle, thousands of soldiers from the Mountain Breaking Army and Red Pinion Squad lost their lives.

    Now...

    Something simr was happening.

    This time, however, the demons were the target.

    Shan Ling was focused on the army of shadows. The stories of The Vast World were no secret.

    To the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, this was general knowledge.

    It was precisely because he knew what it was, he could not rage at Fang Zhengzhi. He had to suppress his fury right now.

    The settlement chiefs were also suppressing their anger and fear. They too feared those shadows.

    As for Nangong Hao...

    He had closed his eyes, his snow-white academic robe dancing in the wind. He had closed his eyes from the moment he was absorbed into The Vast World.

    He never bothered to find the source of the wind...

    ...

    The ck figuresnded from the sky like raindrops.

    However, everyone knew that this was going to be a bloody battle. Their arrival also signified the start of the massacre.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "..."

    The ck figures had arrived.

    They blocked out all the light. They were like a thick ck cloud which hovered above the demon army.

    "Fire!"

    The air was filled with arrows soaring towards the ck figures.

    However, the arrows never hit their mark. They flew into the sky and through the ck figures before crashing into the ground.

    des shed together and screams filled the air.

    Yun Qingwu shuddered, her face paling. She had never felt such fear in her life, even when she had been captured by Fang Zhengzhi.

    But this time...

    Her face was devoid of all color.

    She could not hide the pain and sadness she felt. However, she did not speak, shivering in her spot...

    She was waiting...

 Chapter 454: New Life

    Chapter 454: New Life

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The battle had begun.

    However, Yun Qingwu did not give any orders for the battle. She looked like she was in pain, but she was not helpless.

    15 minutes passed, then an hour... the screams and sounds of killing continued to fill the air.

    The demon soldiers started to fall.

    Fear filled their faces, but they couldn¡¯t turn to anyone for help. There was no demon who screamed for help...

    Neither was there a demon who med Yun Qingwu for herck of orders.

    The ck figures charged through the ranks of the demons like death gods. Countless demons fell, their blood staining the ground.

    The Demon Domain Chiefs grit their teeth and tried to defend against the onught. Their demonic eyes glowed radiantly.

    The night was no longer as dark as before.

    There was a ray of light on the horizon.

    The night was slow and long. Many lives had been lost, but it was also quick. In the blink of an eye, they had all been transported to a different world.

    The walls of the Iron Hill Settlement were strangely silent.

    Countless eyes were fixated on the battle between the shadows and the demons. They waited patiently...

    There was a figure on the battlefield who was exactly like that.

    That was a figure in a white dress. She looked like a lotus in the night, standing out in the sea of ck.

    Just at that moment...

    A ray of light shone through beside her.

    That was a pure, sky blue light.

    A blue robe danced in the light. A wrinkled face looked into the sky and watched the daybreak.

    The figure¡¯s eyes were hollow and lifeless.

    Above that pair of lifeless eyes was a symbol. It had been etched into this man¡¯s forehead. It was a simple symbol, but it gave off a strange aura.

    It was almost as though the symbol represented all creation.

    Right now...

    The symbol was changing...

    Spots of light began to concentrate on the symbol and the symbol became more and moreplex.

    It was like a new life...

    Forming something out of nothing, making somethingplex out of something simple.

    The symbol became brighter with each passing moment.

    It was as if it represented all creation.

    The changes in the world.

    Or perhaps, it represented rebirth.

    As the symbol changed, the light became brighter... and brighter... and brighter...

    ...

    The silence atop the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement was finally broken.

    Everyone looked at the symbol and the light with awe.

    "Canyang!"

    "Could it be that Canyang..."

    "That¡¯s impossible!"

    The emotions that they felt were inexplicable. They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe what they were witnessing.

    "Hum!"

    At that moment, a loud hum rang through the air and the ground began to shake.

    At the same time...

    A ray of light shot skyward.

    It was a golden ray of light that pierced through the blue light. It illuminated the entire sky.

    "Master!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice pierced through the air.

    She said nothing when the army of shadows descended upon them. She said nothing when thousands of demon soldiers were massacred.

    However, when she saw the golden ray of light, she spoke.

    But...

    She only said one word.

    Master!

    When she said those words, two drops of tears rolled down her cheeks and sshed on the ground.

    Blood had already stained the floor.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s tears fell into a pool of blood and were buried under the sand and blood.

    It was rather unassuming...

    But Canyang turned around.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu with his hollow, lifeless eyes.

    However...

    Those eyes said plenty.

    Just like the symbol on his forehead.

    The simplest looks could have the mostplex meanings.

    The symbols kept changing, representing rebirth and a new lease of life. However, it also looked like it was reminiscing the old life...

    "Good disciple!" Canyang spoke in his frail voice.

    However, all of the demons turned to look at Canyang, even if it was just for a brief moment.

    Because...

    They all knew...

    Even though Yun Qingwu had always addressed Canyang as her master, Canyang had never called Yun Qingwu his disciple.

    Disciple...

    Ordinarily, that was a word that any master would have said umpteen times.

    But Canyang had never used that word.

    Even when Yun Qingwu had knelt in front of him, he never called Yun Qingwu his disciple, choosing instead to call her by her name.

    But now, Canyang called her his disciple.

    This was the first time Canyang had done so in more than a decade.

    His voice was not loud...

    But it pierced through all of the sounds of battle. It had made an impact on everyone on the field.

    At that moment, everyone forgot about the battle and the killing going on around them...

    Yun Qingwu did not speak, tears rolling down her cheeks.

    Ping Yang was initially furious and anxious.

    But at that moment, all of those emotions disappeared. All that was left was a look of shock and worry.

    She looked at Canyang as her lips parted and trembled. She was terrified.

    She had never been this terrified in her life.

    Chi Guyan had released her grip on Yun Qingwu.

    From the moment the golden light shot out from Canyang¡¯s forehead, she had released her grip on Yun Qingwu.

    It was not a wise move...

    But...

    She did it anyway.

    Canyang walked slowly towards Yun Qingwu.

    Every step he took was slow and deliberate.

    In fact, it looked like every step was draining him. He looked as though he could be blown away by the wind at any point as he shuffled across to Yun Qingwu.

    But...

    No one went to stop him, not even Chi Guyan.

    Not only did Chi Guyan not stop Canyang, she stepped back and stood beside Ping Yang, allowing Canyang to close in.

    It felt as though time had frozen.

    After what seemed like an eternity...

    Canyang arrived next to Yun Qingwu.

    He raised that frail hand of his to Yun Qingwu¡¯s head and brushed her hair aside. It was almost like a father tending to his daughter.

    The golden light continued to glow on Canyang¡¯s head.

    The blue light that had initially enveloped his body disappeared. His blue robe had also lost its shine, entuating the golden glow on his head.

    "Bring them back." Canyang whispered as he looked at Yun Qingwu with his hollow eyes, his gaze filled with pain and sorrow.

    Yun Qingwu looked back at Canyang, tears in her eyes. She bit her lips but did not speak, allowing the tears to flow freely.

    "If only I could see you... that¡¯ll be great..." Canyang¡¯s gaze was filled with loneliness, almost as if he knew the end was near.

    Yun Qingwu remained silent.

    However, she was trembling as she bit her lip. A trickle of blood could be seen from her lower lip...

    "Call me master one more time." Canyang requested as hebed Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair with his hand.

    "Mas... Master!" Yun Qingwu looked at the wrinkled face as she trembled and stammered.

    "Mm, good disciple! You¡¯re a good disciple indeed!" Canyang nodded.

    He murmured to himself. These were the words that he never dreamt that he would say. He stood up...

    And straightened his back...

    "Kacha, kacha!" That was the sound of his bones breaking... and also the sound of new bones forming...

    At the same time, that wrinkled face of his began to break apart. No one knew why that was happening...

    But...

    Pieces of white skin began to fall off his face.

    What was even stranger was that...

    There was no blood underneath that broken skin... it was anotheryer of skin, this one smooth and glowing.

    It was like the skin of a newborn.

    As that newyer of skin began to show on his face, Canyang¡¯s arms began to be buffer.

    Muscles began to appear...

    "Kacha kacha!" The breaking sounds continued to echo through the air.

    All eyes were on Canyang...

    On top of the Iron Hill Settlement...

    Xing Yuanguo and Xing Qingsui clenched their fists as they watched Canyang¡¯s body undergo such changes.

    Shan Ling and the other settlement chiefs were also looking at Canyang, their expressions filled with terror.

    As warriors of the Southern Region...

    They rarely feared anything.

    Even in the face of a disciplined demon army which outnumbered them... even when Canyang appeared... they did not retreat...

    But now...

    They were truly terrified.

    Nangong Hao opened his eyes.

    He had opened his eyes from the moment that golden light had appeared. His eyes showed no trace of fear, but were filled with respect.

    He respected Canyang...

    All of the demons looked at Canyang with his new youthful skin and his hollow, lifeless eyes.

    Finally...

    The sound disappeared.

    Together with the frail body.

    Right now, the person standing in front of Yun Qingwu was a youth, with tender skin and luscious lips.

    He was slightly thin, but his muscles were clear for all to see.

    It was a strange sight.

    What was even stranger was that this youth had silver hair.

    This youth was Canyang.

    A rebirthed Canyang.

    The symbol was still on his forehead. It was an extremelyplicated symbol which glowed golden.

    However, his eyes were still as lifeless as before.

    Those lifeless eyes ¡¯looked¡¯ at the horizon, his lips parting and closing constantly. The golden light on his forehead was glowing brighter by the moment.

    It was so radiant it could light up the sky.

    In the next moment...

    A column of light shot skyward...

    It had originated from Canyang¡¯s head.

    It was incredibly quick...

    It was so quick that some could not tell if it had originated from Canyang¡¯s forehead or the heavens.

    Then, the golden column of light exploded into a golden shower. This waspletely different from the ck rain they had experienced earlier.

    This was different because...

    It was formed entirely from golden light...

    The light glowed in the sky and blocked out the stars in the sky. It formed a goldenyer of light and descended.

    The shadows battling the demon army raised their heads.

    They looked at the golden screen of light. They stood rooted in their positions, almost as if they were mesmerized by it.

    Then... they melted...

    Almost like how ice melts in the presence of sunlight.

    However, this melting was significantly faster.

    As the golden screen descended, the ck figures became blurry, then transparent beforepletely disappearing.

    At that moment, Canyang disappeared as well as his body shot to the sky in a ray of golden light.

    He left behind a teary Yun Qingwu...

    "Master!"

    ...

 Chapter 455: F*ck my luck

    Chapter 455: F*ck my luck

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The night was silent once again. The sounds of killing had all gone.

    There was only a ray of golden light in the sky. His light had blocked out all the stars and the moon.

    At this moment, everyone was looking at the golden column of light. There were those who were shocked, happy, terrified, and sad...

    Of course, there was one other emotion.

    That was...

    "F*ck my luck!"

    This was extremely crass, but Fang Zhengzhi had no other phrase to describe his current emotions.

    What did he just see?

    What the f*ck was that?

    This was a strange world, and he had known this since the day he entered it. It was filled with unbelievable urrences and unknowns.

    However, this was a whole other thing altogether!

    An old man who was about to die managed to turn into a young man in his twenties? What the hell was that?

    A phoenix rising from the ashes? A butterfly popping out of its cocoon?

    More importantly...

    What the hell was that screen of golden light?

    It had changed everything within moments.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t believe that Canyang had managed to change the rules of the world he controlled.

    He waspletely...

    Embarrassed!

    Fang Zhengzhi was also furious.

    He had rarely been in such control over a situation. He still remembered the time he had held the Traceless Sword in the World of the Sage.

    He relished that feeling.

    He was in control then.

    It was almost as if he was standing at the top of the world, in control of everyone¡¯s lives. He had taken down the Supernatural State Ying Shan with a single strike.

    He had felt this way just now...

    He was extremely excited when he held The Vast World in his hand. He thought that he was in control...

    But...

    The excitement did notst long.

    Fang Zhengzhi intended to teach the Demons a lesson before taking a break and talking some terms with Shan Ling.

    He wanted to confirm the time and date on the delivery of those jewels.

    Else...

    He would have felt taken advantage of if he fought for them for nothing.

    His future was bright.

    However, even before he could confirm the deal, Canyang threw a spanner in the works.

    More importantly, he felt like he had been spotted.

    That¡¯s right...

    The moment Canyang shot to the heavens, he felt as though he had been spotted, almost as if he was out in the open for all to see.

    This made no sense.

    Ordinarily, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position should have never been revealed since he was the one controlling The Vast World.

    "Down!"

    ...

    "Down!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the sky, a purple ray of lightning shot towards the golden column of light.

    "Boom!" The purple electricity surrounded that golden column of light, enveloping it entirely.

    However, the column of light continued to stand strong.

    Pointed straight to the heavens...

    Everyone was watching in awe as the golden light continued to shoot towards the heavens.

    Sage!

    This was a state revered by humans and demons alike.

    Attaining the Sage State meant unfathomable abilities and powers. This was the pinnacle of power, and it represented an ability to break through anything.

    This was the dream of humans and demons alike.

    As for the benefits...

    One did not have to spell them out.

    One point was sufficient. A Sage was in the same league as the Emperor. Even the Emperor, with millions of soldiers at his disposal, or the Demon Lord himself, had to ord a Sage respect.

    One Pavilion, Four Sages, 13 Constabries.

    That was amon saying in the Great Xia Empire.

    The Pavilion referred to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. It controlled all creation and carried out the wishes of the heavens. The four sages were the most powerful men in the world.

    They were on the same level as the empire itself, ahead of the 13 Constabries.

    This was testament to their standing.

    Right now, that column of golden light shooting towards the heavens... that light had a name...

    Light of the Sage!

    No one knew why Canyang would breakthrough all of a sudden.

    But one thing was certain.

    When Canyang¡¯s forehead lit up, he was already a sage.

    "Father, Fang Zhengzhi..." Xing Qingsui clenched his fists in worry as he watched Canyang bathing in the Light of the Sage.

    "Aish, heaven¡¯s will..." Xing Yuanguo sighed as he looked at Canyang. He shared Xing Qingsui¡¯s worry, but he couldn¡¯t do anything.

    Antagonize a sage?

    Definitely not!

    As such, he could only wait and grit his teeth!

    "Heaven¡¯s will... indeed..." Shan Ling murmured to himself. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to ept this fact...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had a bad feeling when he saw Canyang charge upwards. Even though he had no idea what happened...

    He did know one thing...

    Canyang¡¯s abilities had increased.

    "No way? Another self-destruct?" Fang Zhengzhi sighed. This was not the first time he had encountered this.

    Ying Shan had self-destructed in the World of the Sage.

    His abilities had increased drastically for thest few moments of his life.

    At the entrance to the Icy Monkey Settlement, he encountered yet another demon who had drained his demonic eye.

    He never thought he would encounter this again... but he didn¡¯t expect Canyang to engage in such tactics.

    That being said...

    He found that something was amiss...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang and theplicated symbol on his forehead. He had his doubts...

    Canyang didn¡¯t look like he was about to self-destruct!

    Fang Zhengzhi had quite a bit of experience with these self-destructs. Canyang¡¯s current state didn¡¯t have any resemnce to the self-destructs he had experienced before...

    The power of the demons was concentrated in their demonic eyes. That was where they drew energy from.

    The moment they went into self-destruct mode...

    They drained the eye of its energy.

    There would be no energy left in the demonic eye. It would turn grey...

    But...

    What was happening to Canyang looked different.

    Canyang was ridiculously strong, and the bulk of his energy was concentrated in the symbol on his forehead. Fang Zhengzhi could sense the energy radiating from the symbol.

    "He didn¡¯t self-destruct?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused.

    He could have understood it if Canyang had self-destructed. But, if he didn¡¯t, how did Canyang be so powerful all of a sudden?

    The Vast World was like apletely different dimension.

    It was a space that had its own rules.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling...

    When Canyang was first absorbed into The Vast World, Fang Zhengzhi could feel his presence. However, after the symbol on his head changed...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like Canyang was no longer constrained by The Vast World.

    This was not a good feeling.

    This meant that Canyang could remove himself from The Vast World at any time.

    If he didn¡¯t self-destruct...

    And got stronger...

    That could only mean...

    One thing!

    Breakthrough!

    "Oh... so it¡¯s a breakthrough..." Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief, then realized something was wrong...

    Hang on...

    Canyang was a half sage...

    A half sage breaking through...

    What was that?

    "Did he be a Sage?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    The only way to describe his feelings now was...

    F*ck my luck!

    ...

    Canyang continued to rise through the Light of the Sage.

    At the same time, the entire ground began to shake as web-like cracks extended in all directions.

    As the ground split open, giant rocks were sent skywards.

    They flew upwards at incredible speeds.

    The rocks began to congregate at a single spot, almost as if a huge mountain was blocking Canyang. Those rocks also blocked out the weak starlight.

    "Boom!"

    Just like a sword, Canyang went right through the rocks without any sign of slowing down.

    The golden light was extremely radiant.

    The rocks didn¡¯t split or shatter. They simply melted, just like the ck figures before them. They simply melted and disappeared.

    Everyone on the ground was watching this happen.

    They were shocked, but they expected this. This was the power of the Sage. Nothing could stand in the way of a Sage.

    The mountain disappeared and the night was silent.

    Canyang finally stopped in mid-air. He looked at his surroundings, his forehead still glowing.

    "Break!" He said softly.

    The moment he said it, a huge crack formed in front of him.

    It was a ck crack...

    Almost as if space itself was breaking.

    The crack was not unexpected. Whenever something was too fast or too powerful for the space to handle, cracks like this would form.

    However...

    Something needed to be capable of that.

    The ability to form such a crack with a single word was rare. Furthermore, after the crack appeared, it showed no signs of disappearing.

    Instead, it began to grow, almost as if something was continuing to tear the space open.

    If the entire sky was seen as a sheet of ss...

    This sheet of ss had just been smashed by a rock. The rock was moving at such speeds that it was impossible for anyone to react.

    The dark sky...

    More cracks began to appear and spread. The cracks multiplied, swallowing the stars in the sky.

    Then the cracks began to join together, formingrger holes, threatening to swallow the entire sky.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to throw The Vast World in his hands to Ping Yang and say, "For you, I¡¯m out!"

    To be honest...

    When The Vast World had been activated...

    He had wondered if Canyang had any other secrets...

    He had thought that Canyang may have powerful treasures, or may drain his demonic eye to inflict grave losses.

    But he never expected that Canyang would breakthrough.

    Did he need to be that ridiculously powerful?

    A half sage was powerful enough!

    Damn that breakthrough!

    Sage!

    Fang Zhengzhi was on the verge of crumbling.

    He had no idea what to do anymore. If it was possible, he would hand The Vast World off to anyone else.

    But it was toote...

    He knew that it was toote when the cracks appeared.

    The sky had shattered.

    The earth was also breaking apart. Dust and rocks shot skywards as trees were split in half.

    This was a wreck...

    Everything was being destroyed.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what was going to happen next. He also knew that once The Vast World had been broken, he was a dead man...

    What was he going to do?

    What could he do?

    He could not let The Vast World break.

    Oh yes...

    The Vast World could swallow entire worlds...

    Not that...

    What came before that?

    Yes... he could link up his pocket dimension with it!

    "Link up his pocket dimension!"

    "Pocket..."

    Fang Zhengzhi repeated this to himself. Then, his eyes began to glow.

    "Link the pocket dimension with The Vast World!"

    A crisp voice rang out through the shattering sky. Everyone heard it clearly.

    There was a huge tremor in the ground...

    Then...

    A huge tree appeared. It was an extremely thick and tall tree,plete with branches, leaves, and fruits.

 Chapter 456: Crazy

    Chapter 456: Crazy

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The only way to describe this tree was...

    Thick and huge!

    As the tree began to take shape, countless branches also shot out from the ground and into the sky.

    This tree wasplete with countless branches...

    More importantly, there were manyrge, juicy fruits on the tree. Each fruit glowed in the light.

    There were red ones, green ones, blue ones, purple ones...

    Complex patterns flowed along the skin of these fruits.

    "Kaboom!"

    The earth shook, sending rocks flying in all directions.

    Everyone was focused on that tree, with its thick branches andrge fruits...

    "This, what is this?!"

    "Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi..."

    "It must be! This is the source of his pocket dimension!"

    All of them looked at the growing tree in shock...

    When they were outside the Icy Monkey Settlement...

    Fang Zhengzhi had said that he had hundreds of Daos in his pocket dimension. They were all in disbelief then...

    But now...

    When faced with the tree in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pocket dimension... they couldn¡¯t help but be in awe...

    ...

    Canyang stood in mid-air, his blue robe pping in the wind...

    However, the cracks around his body were beginning to disappear, almost as if there was a wave of force healing the cracks.

    He frowned...

    No one knew if it was because he sensed the towering tree in the field or if it was because he sensed the cracks disappearing. However, it was clear that Canyang was unhappy.

    Then, in the blink of an eye...

    The tree appeared in front of Canyang, its vines extending towards him.

    "Break!" Canyang hollered.

    At the same time, a golden ray of light shot out from his hand, forming a crescent shape as it sliced towards the vine.

    "Kacha!" The vine snapped in two...

    However, it didn¡¯t melt. Instead, it split into two and fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.

    Before long, a second vine shot towards Canyang.

    "Break!" He bellowed again.

    The vine broke...

    But then a third went his way, then a fourth, and a fifth...

    By the end, even branches and leaves were attacking Canyang.

    The branches and vines were like whips...

    The leaves turned into rays of light and shot towards Canyang. It looked as though Canyang was being pummeled by torrential rain.

    The golden light intersected with the green light.

    It was a crazy, awe-inspiring sight.

    "Crazy! This guy has lost his mind!"

    Everyone stared at this battle, floored by what they were witnessing. They had never seen something like that before.

    "Boom!" A loud explosion echoed through the sky.

    Countless rays of golden light morphed into sharp des and attacked the towering tree. The light rays split the branches and vines into two, causing the leaves to fall to the ground.

    Xing Yuanguo looked at the falling branches and leaves, his purplish golden robe dancing in the wind. His expression wasplicated - he didn¡¯t know what to think.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi! You... you... what do you want me to do?!" Xing Yuanguo grit his teeth, his lips quivering.

    Shan Ling was also looking at the tree but he did not speak. However, his fists were clenched tightly.

    The settlement chiefs looked at each other, recognizing the look in each others¡¯ eyes.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes were glowing too as he subconsciously reached for his sword. He gripped the hilt, then let go, then gripped the hilt again...

    He seemed to be making a difficult choice.

    Ping Yang stared at the battle with her clear eyes, her expression filled with excitement and worry.

    "Sister Yan, what is that guy doing..."

    "He had linked his pocket dimension to The Vast World. By doing so, The Vast World ispletely linked to him and he would be much stronger. Most importantly, the tree is not something that belongs to all creation!" Chi Guyan¡¯s lips quivered, her gaze conflicted.

    "Something that doesn¡¯t belong to all creation?"

    "Yes, this is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯Source of All Creation¡¯. As such, even though Canyang is a Sage, he cannot control Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯Source of All Creation¡¯!"

    "Does that mean that Fang Zhengzhi can win?"

    "No, but this is the only way he can fight a Sage... but..."

    "But what?"

    "Once The Vast World is broken, he, he will..." Chi Guyan clenched her fists. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to continue.

    "He will die!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out from behind.

    "Die?" Ping Yang froze, her eyes filled with fear and shock.

    Yun Qingwu nodded but didn¡¯t speak. She looked at the sky. No one knew if she was looking at Canyang or the gigantic tree.

    Chi Guyan did not speak either.

    She looked at the sky, but her hands continued to move. She seemed to be searching for something on Ping Yang...

    ...

    The battle in the sky continued...

    It was intensifying by the minute.

    The golden light weaved through the trees, cutting through the branches and leaves.

    "Sh*t!" Just at that moment, a voice echoed through the air.

    Then, a stream of blood shot through the sky. This was a stark contrast from the white sky.

    "Injured?"

    "So he can¡¯t stand up to Canyang..."

    Everyone looked at the trail of red as feelings of despair and helplessness welled up in their hearts...

    As humans...

    They wished that Fang Zhengzhi could win.

    However...

    They knew that even if Fang Zhengzhi linked his pocket dimension with The Vast World, he would not be able to go up against a Sage.

    Canyang was a Sage...

    The most powerful existence in the world.

    The sky whitened and the stars began to disappear. Rays of red appeared on the horizon.

    Dawn was breaking...

    However, there was a sage that stood in front of the rising sun. This was a power even an army couldn¡¯t go up against.

    "Boom!"

    Just at that moment, an explosion echoed throughout the field.

    At the same time, a gigantic wave of force came crashing in from afar.

    It was a tornado...

    It was a humongous green tornado, surrounded by countless green des.

    "F*ck! My! Life!"

    There was an explosion of light and an angry voice. This was a deep-seated anger.

    That voice was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    Only Fang Zhengzhi would be that crass.

    That being said, when they heard this exmation, no one thought of berating Fang Zhengzhi. Neither did they think that he was crass.

    Even...

    The demon soldiers...

    Not a single demon thought that Fang Zhengzhi was out of ce. If they were in his position, they would do the same thing...

    Even though it wasn¡¯t ssy.

    Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ at the branch falling to the ground, his chest heaving with rage.

    However, he recovered quickly.

    His expression was icy.

    In the next moment, he sprang into action. He was inside the tree in the blink of an eye.

    "Kacha!" A crisp sound rang out.

    Canyang held a red fruit in his hand. That fruit had various patterns glowing on its skin.

    "Boom!" An explosion echoed out.

    Columns of fire shot skyward, staining the sky red and burning the air around it.

    At the same time, Canyang¡¯s hand shuddered and the golden light on his forehead dimmed momentarily. However, it reverted to its glowing state quickly.

    Below...

    Everyone was looking at the columns of me.

    Everyone had different expressions. Some were in awe, others were in shock, or joy, or sorrow, or even anger.

    Everyone knew what Canyang was doing.

    They also knew why Canyang was doing this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will destroy you today!" Canyang¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the battlefield as his chest heaved.

    However, such small details did not catch the eye of anyone.

    The reason was that...

    He was Canyang, a Sage! The most powerful existence in the world!

    After he finished his sentence...

    His body turned into a ray of light as he appeared somece else with two fruits in the vicinity.

    Canyang¡¯s hand moved.

    He tried to grab the fruits.

    However, this time, there was no sound of the fruits being plucked. By the time his hands were in position, the fruits had disappeared.

    Canyang¡¯s expression froze.

    The others who saw the fruits disappear were also equally shocked. They knew that those were Fruits of Dao.

    They grew on the tree.

    Since they grew on the tree, how could they move?

    That was the question.

    Canyang was also confused.

    However, his question was answered within moments. There was someone in front of Canyang...

    That man was standing on a branch...

    He was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt.

    The night had past and dawn was breaking. The sunrise stained Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shirt with shades of red.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He actually... plucked his own Fruits of Dao?!"

    "What is he trying to do?!"

    No one could understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions...

    What was he trying to achieve?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what the others were thinking. Even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t answer them. Even he had no idea what the consequences of what he was about to do were.

    But that was his decision.

    "I will rather eat it then see it destroyed!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Canyang, his eyes filled with rage and mania.

    He opened his mouth...

    Then, he swallowed the fruit to the shock and amazement of all the spectators.

    At that moment...

    The entire world was silent.

    Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi and the fruit that he was chewing... They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    For one, they didn¡¯t know that the fruit could fit in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    But that wasn¡¯t important.

    More importantly...

    Fang Zhengzhi ate his Fruit of Dao?!

    Eating a Fruit of Dao!

    No one had ever done that before, and it was something that no one expected to happen!

    In order for something like that to happen, someone must be desperate enough to do it...

    They had to link their pocket dimensions with a parallel dimension like The Vast World, then have the courage to do such a thing.

    No one had done it before.

    It was crazy...

    Crazy was an understatement.

    What did he want to do?

    No one had the answer to this question. In fact, no one knew if Fang Zhengzhi had lost his mind.

    Then, just at that moment, a soft voice rang out. From the tone of it, the person seemed rather satisfied.

    "Oh? It¡¯s quite yummy."

 Chapter 457: A figure walking out of thin air

    Chapter 457: A figure walking out of thin air

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It¡¯s... quite yummy?!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the field, everyone froze...

    That thing is edible?!

    "Sister Yan, has he lost his mind? Is the Fruit of Dao... even edible?" PIng Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her face flushed and filled with shock.

    Chi Guyan did not speak.

    She stared at the figure in the blue long sleeved shirt. Even she had not tried something this crazy before.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t speak either, but she had lost her cool. Her expression was conflicted, almost as if she couldn¡¯t bear to watch, yet she had a steely determination to see it through.

    Behind her, the demon soldiers looked at each other, unable to understand what Fang Zhengzhi was driving at.

    But one question flew through their minds.

    "Is it... really yummy?"

    The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region soldiers were all at a loss for words.

    "Is heforting himself?"

    That was what they all thought...

    Even though they didn¡¯t know what the Fruit of Dao tasted like, they knew that if it was destroyed, or eaten...

    That meant that it was gone!

    All that work was destroyed!

    He must have lost his mind!

    Even if he wasn¡¯t crazy, he definitely wasn¡¯t thinking straight.

    Everyone thought that Fang Zhengzhi was simplyforting himself. They could only imagine the pain of losing a Fruit of Dao.

    However, they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to approve of his actions.

    Eating it...

    Would not solve any problems.

    If eating it could solve the problems, then, this world...

    Hang on!

    What was he doing?

    Just as they were contemting advising Fang Zhengzhi against it, Fang Zhengzhi shoved the second fruit into his mouth and swallowed.

    "Boom!"

    At that moment, everyone felt a bolt of lightning crash to the ground, stunning all of them.

    They could understand Fang Zhengzhi eating one fruit.

    But two?

    Okay then...

    Maybe he didn¡¯t want to waste it since he had already plucked it...

    They all found a reason to exin the inexplicable. Even though it sounded a little forced, they couldn¡¯t think of a better reason.

    Two should be enough right?

    Just as they were all thinking about that, a few more rays of light shot across the sky and four more Fruits of Dao fell off the tree andnded in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    "Yummy!" Fang Zhengzhi stuffed a third fruit into his mouth.

    Then, before anyone could react, he ate a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth...

    Within moments, he had eaten all four fruits in his hand. More importantly, there were more fruits flying into his hand.

    It was clear...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of stopping.

    At that moment, the entire field was silent as they watched Fang Zhengzhi stuff fruit after fruit into his mouth.

    They couldn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    Torturing himself?

    Or...

    Had he given up?!

    "Mad, this guy must have lost his mind!"

    No one knew what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. Even Canyang stopped doing anything as he ¡¯watched¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi, his jaw dropped.

    Destroy Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Fruits of Dao...

    That was what Canyang had decided on. Not only did he want to break The Vast World, he wanted to eliminate Fang Zhengzhi.

    But with things going as smoothly as they are...

    Even he was floored.

    Curious?

    Canyang was not so naive. All he wanted to do was see how many fruits Fang Zhengzhi could eat.

    That was his only thought.

    Canyang was not alone.

    Yun Qingwu and all of the Demon Domain Chiefs and demon soldiers had simr thoughts. All of them wanted to see how many fruits Fang Zhengzhi could bring himself to eat.

    The entire arena was silent.

    It was a strange sight.

    Everyone was focused on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    "He must have eaten 50 fruits by now?!"

    "Look, he¡¯s eating another one, his tally is up to 51!"

    "Wow, how quick!"

    They began murmuring amongst themselves, almost as if they were afraid of disturbing Fang Zhengzhi.

    In the sky...

    Fang Zhengzhi stuffed fruit after fruit into his mouth, his blue long sleeved shirt pping in the wind.

    He ignored the looks of those below.

    He only cared about eating his fruits.

    The Fruits of Dao continued to fly into his hand and he swallowed constantly. Every time he opened his mouth, a Fruit of Dao was swallowed.

    The tree continued to shake...

    Fruits of Dao fell from the tree and flew into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Fang Zhengzhi still showed no signs of stopping.

    A rough estimate...

    He had eaten almost 100 fruits.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped. He burped and looked like he had eaten his full.

    "He¡¯s done?"

    "Did anyone keep the count?"

    "I did, 108!"

    "108... oh my god... how is he still alive?"

    Everyone below burst into chatter when they heard the obscene number...

    "You¡¯re full?" Canyang¡¯s voice interrupted everyone. He ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi with his hollow eyes...

    "Far from it, I¡¯m only half done." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and patted his stomach.

    "Half done? Then... continue?" Canyang¡¯s expression froze. He didn¡¯t know whether to let Fang Zhengzhi continue or to stop Fang Zhengzhi.

    He eventually decided to wait patiently, his arm crossed behind his back.

    "Not yet, I¡¯ll like to move around for a bit. It aids digestion." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Aids digestion?" Canyang smirked. It looked very queer, but he didn¡¯t ask any other questions. He nodded, "Come on!"

    "Okay!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    The moment he nodded, he sprang into action. He was extremely quick, so quick that his body was a blur.

    In the blink of an eye...

    He appeared in front of Canyang.

    He punched!

    It was an ordinary punch, but it was extremely fast, almost as fast as Canyang¡¯s strike at the entrance to the Iron Hill Settlement.

    Canyang¡¯s expression changed.

    He was shocked.

    This was unexpected.

    His mile froze and he subconsciously took a step back. He covered his hands with his arms.

    "Boom!" A loud explosion reverberated throughout the entire area.

    It was a domineering wave of force, almost as though two mountains had crashed into each other. The entire space shuddered.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Why is he so fast?"

    "That¡¯s impossible!"

    Everyone below was stunned. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi hadbined with The Vast World, but Fang Zhengzhi was only in the nascent Supernatural State!

    Even if his powers were augmented by his link to The Vast World...

    He couldn¡¯t possibly be that quick!

    He was facing a Sage!

    Going even with a Sage? He could even push the Sage back! That was unbelievable!

    No one could understand what was happening...

    Right now, the sky waspletely golden. The golden light blocked out the stars, sun, and moon...

    It was a sea of gold...

    "Is he dead?"

    "Was that just a lucky strike?"

    All of the demons rejoiced when they saw the sea of gold. They knew that it was the Light of the Sage. That meant only one thing...

    Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man!

    The soldiers of the joint forces on the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement despaired.

    They knew that Fang Zhengzhi was no match for Canyang.

    However...

    When they saw that Fang Zhengzhi could match the speed of a half sage, they had held on to a glimmer of hope.

    Even if he couldn¡¯t win...

    He could hold out for some time! Even 15 minutes would be good!

    But their hope didn¡¯tst long.

    "Sister Yan, is he..." Ping Yang¡¯s chest heaved as she looked at the golden light in the sky.

    "The Vast World is still here!" Chi Guyan shook her head. She did not answer Ping Yang¡¯s question directly, but the answer could be inferred easily.

    "So he¡¯s not dead." Yun Qingwu murmured to herself as she continued to look at the sky. She did not even look at Chi Guyan.

    "Not dead?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is not dead?!"

    "This..."

    When the demons behind Yun Qingwu heard this, they wanted to deny it instinctively, but they could not bring themselves to do it.

    Because Yun Qingwu was the one who came to that conclusion.

    As such...

    It had to be true...

    "Not dead?"

    The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region soldiers were also in disbelief.

    However, Chi Guyan was right.

    The Vast World had not been destroyed!

    That meant that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    But if he wasn¡¯t dead... where was he hiding? The entire sky was covered with golden light! There was no ce for Fang Zhengzhi to hide...

    Unless...

    Everyone turned to look at the ancient tree in the middle of the field. That was the only possibility left...

    At that very moment, the tree began moving...

    Hundreds of vines began to dance, flying towards the golden Light of the Sage. The leaves also responded.

    The flew towards the light like moths to a me.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom boom!"

    There was an explosion everytime the vines and leaves came into contact with the light. They couldn¡¯t find a way through that shield.

    However, with each impact, the golden Light of the Sage also shuddered, almost as if it was being destabilized with each hit.

    Destabilizing the Light of the Sage?

    That was something that would stun anyone.

    More importantly, with each shudder, a figure could be seen floating in the Light of the Sage.

    This was definitely not Canyang.

    He was rather thin, but more importantly, his eyes were glowing.

    "It¡¯s... it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He¡¯s not hiding in the tree. He¡¯s bathing in the Light of the Sage!"

    "How is that possible? How... how is he not dead?"

    Countless pairs of eyes stared at that figure in awe and shock. This was something that no one thought was possible.

    Yet...

    It was clear for all to see.

    "Kacha!" There was a sound simr to that of breaking ss. The moment that sound rang out, a ck opening appeared in the middle of the golden light.

    It was not arge opening.

    But it wasrge enough for someone to walk through.

    Someone walked out from the light. This was someone who was covered with blood from head to toe.

    Since blood had been drawn...

    One could not see his clothes.

    His clothes had been shredded.

    The only thing on his body was blood, fresh blood.

    Everyone looked at the figure walking out from the ck opening.

    They weren¡¯t looking at the blood on the person¡¯s body.

    They were...

    Looking at his eyes.

    His eyes were filled with life and a steely determination. It was a gaze that showed his will to live and fight, but that was not the most important.

    Most importantly, his eyes were glowing with a myriad of colors.

    Red, green, purple, yellow, orange, blue...

    All these colors were swirling around in his eyes. It was a strange sight, a sight that sent chills down the spines of everyone watching.

 Chapter 458: The last Fruit of Dao

    Chapter 458: Thest Fruit of Dao

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Coming out of the Light of the Sage alive...

    This was something unfathomable, but Fang Zhengzhi had done it. He was standing on a huge branch, his body covered in blood.

    "How painful!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. He was being honest, the pain had cut deep to his bones.

    He felt like every inch of his body was burning.

    Other than pain...

    He also felt bloated. All of the energies in his body were swirling around and shing with each other. He felt as though his body was going to explode.

    He wondered if this was the after effects of what he had just done...

    "I see!" Canyang¡¯s voice echoed out as the golden light disappeared and morphed into a single figure.

    The golden symbol continued to glow on Canyang¡¯s head.

    His eyes were lifeless and he was pale. However, inparison to Fang Zhengzhi, he had fared much better.

    At least his blue robe was still intact.

    Below...

    Countless eyes were fixated on the human and demon in the sky. They were all trying to guess what Canyang meant.

    I see?

    Could it be...

    A thought shed past the minds of everyone present. When they looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, their gazes were conflicted.

    Gone was the shock...

    It was reced with a myriad of feelings, including respect, hurt, joy, amidst others...

    "Sister Yan, could it be..." Ping Yang¡¯s lips quivered as she looked at the bloody figure in the sky.

    "Yes, he did it!" Chi Guyan replied before Ping Yang could finish her sentence. She was also trembling...

    Yun Qingwu did not speak, but she gripped her dress tightly, so much so that her knuckles whitened.

    Her dress pped in the wind.

    It was a beautiful sight, but it was strangely tragic as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist.

    He did not want to die. That was why he resorted to this. He had no idea what the consequences were.

    But he knew one thing...

    If he didn¡¯t do this, there was only one fate that awaited him. Death.

    Canyang would never let him off.

    He would fight to the bitter end!

    The demons could drain their demonic eye of power to give themselves a boost of energy. Fang Zhengzhi was doing the same thing now.

    He did not have a demonic eye...

    But...

    He had Fruits of Dao.

    Each of the fruits on the tree contained a vast amount of energy. As such, he decided to eat them all!

    "You may die." Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi, his voice t and calm.

    "Yes, but like you said, it¡¯s only a possibility. Who knows how it would end?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Mm, you are correct." Canyang nodded after some hesitation.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak.

    Neither did he wait.

    He couldn¡¯t afford to wait.

    From the moment he had swallowed that first fruit, he knew that the clock was ticking.

    He clenched his fists.

    "Bang!"

    That was the sonic boom created by his fist flying through the air past the speed of sound.

    At the same time, a multitude of colors glowed on his body. The blood on his body clotted and the deep wounds began to heal at a rate that the naked eye could see.

    The next moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi had arrived in front of Canyang. He punched with all his might, his body bathing in the multi-colored light.

    This was an unstable light...

    It looked extremely radiant, but each ray of light was tugging at and crashing into each other.

    Canyang was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden attack. When Fang Zhengzhi raised his fist, Canyang used his right fist to match the attack. He had already calcted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed.

    "Boom!"

    The golden light was bright.

    A domineering wave of force crashed towards Fang Zhengzhi. This wasplete domination.

    The fists parted.

    Then, a figure came crashing down from the sky.

    Columns of dust and rock were sent flying skyward.

    At the same time, the tree began to shake as countless leaves fell to the ground, exploding as they hit the floor.

    "No, the difference in power is too great!"

    "No matter how many Fruits of Dao he eats to increase his power, he cannot possibly win."

    "Yes... his opponent is a Sage. This isn¡¯t even a fair fight to begin with!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region soldiers sighed as they watched the battle unfold.

    The difference...

    This was domination like they¡¯ve never seen before.

    It was something that Fang Zhengzhi could not possibly ovee.

    "He¡¯s definitely dead this time..."

    The demon soldiers looked at the crater in the ground as well as the trembling tree with joy.

    However...

    Before they could rejoice.

    The ground trembled...

    An arm could be seen from the ground. It was bloodied and covered with wounds that cut to the bone.

    "Ouch..." A voice could be heard.

    Then, his other arm grabbed a rock as he tried to pull himself up. His arm was trembling and it took an immense amount of willpower...

    But he did it...

    With the help of the rock, he managed to pull himself out of the crater. His eyes were still filled with a myriad of colors, but they were significantly dimmer.

    The light around his body had also disappeared.

    "He¡¯s not dead yet?!"

    The demon soldiers could not believe their eyes when they saw the bloodied figure crawling out. How did Fang Zhengzhi survive a hit like that?

    Canyang ¡¯looked¡¯ at Fang Zhengzhi with his lifeless eyes. He was also slightly surprised, but he recovered quickly.

    "I never expected his potential to be this great!" Canyang murmured to himself.

    As a demon...

    He understood what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    Under normal circumstances, neither humans nor demons could maximize their potential.

    However, by draining their source of energy, they could maximize their power for a limited period of time.

    The more energy stored in the demonic eye, the greater the boost.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not have a demonic eye, he had a pocket dimension and Fruits of Dao. The concept was simr.

    Right now...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities had already exceeded those of a normal demon who had drained his demonic eye.

    Even Canyang was stunned.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He did not care about any of this. All he knew was that the explosive power he felt before was disappearing.

    It was almost as if he had been emptied.

    "It¡¯s gone?" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if this was a good or bad thing, but when he looked at Canyang bathing in golden light...

    He knew...

    He had no other choice...

    He had to eat more!

    Fang Zhengzhi really liked the number 108. It was a number that represented an otherworldly power in his previous world. Even though the number didn¡¯t have any meaning in this world...

    He still subconsciously stopped eating at 108.

    However, it was clear that the number wasn¡¯t doing anything for him.

    F*ck the number!

    He¡¯ll eat as much as he could!

    Fruits began flying off the tree and into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    This was the only advantage he had by being in control of The Vast World.

    This was something Fang Zhengzhi tookfort in.

    Perhapsbining his pocket dimension with The Vast World wasn¡¯t such a bad idea after all.

    "Again?!"

    Everyone on the field was stunned when they saw Fang Zhengzhi swallow more fruits.

    They were not surprised...

    They knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do...

    However...

    They also knew what the consequences were...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew the consequences too, but he had no other choice. He was about to be killed!

    He had to eat for power!

    However, Canyang had no intention of letting Fang Zhengzhi eat any more fruits.

    His body turned into a ray of golden light as he shot down from the sky, the symbol on his forehead glowing radiantly.

    Canyang was fast...

    But there was another ray of light which arrived before him.

    This was a ray of light that shot out from the walls of the Iron Hill Settlement. It was not as fast as Canyang, but the person was much nearer.

    As such...

    It managed to block Canyang¡¯s attack.

    "Boom!"

    The radiant purple light crashed into the ground after the impact.

    However...

    The purple light recovered and shot skyward in the blink of an eye.

    "Canyang, even if you are a Sage, I must stop you!"

    He straightened his back. One of his hand was covered in blood and his purplish golden robe had been shredded. However, he still red at Canyang.

    He showed no signs of backing down.

    He was Xing Yuanguo.

    "My lord!"

    "Charge, save the lord!"

    "Buy time for Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Their voices rang out as soldiers began leaping onto the battlefield. These were soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breakin Army.

    Shan Ling clenched his fists.

    The settlement chiefs looked at Shan Ling, their faces flushed and their mouths agape.

    "Crown Prince, the people of the Great Xia have struck! How can we stand back?!"

    "Yes, even Fang Zhengzhi is fighting. Your Highness, please give the order!"

    "Your Highness, it is almost daybreak. For the survival of the Southern Region, we must buy time for Fang Zhengzhi!"

    The settlement chiefs could not hold back any longer.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi... go, go on! Buy Fang Zhengzhi time. He must be able to finish all the fruits!" Shan Ling grit his teeth.

    "Yes, your highness!" The settlement chiefs replied in unison.

    ...

    The soldiers charged out of the Iron Hill Settlement and towards Canyang. They were really like moths to a me.

    "Shameless humans, using their numbers against us! We..."

    The Demon Domain Chiefs wanted to respond to the charge, but when they looked at Yun Qingwu...

    They hesitated.

    However, this hesitation did notst very long...

    Because...

    They saw the figures in ck appear above them. They were descending from the heavens once again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" The Demon Domain Chiefs knew what these figures were.

    They wanted to curse and swear.

    But could they?

    Actually, they could...

    But that wouldn¡¯t solve anything. They would still have to fight the figures with everything they got! That was until Canyang came to their rescue.

    The golden light glowed radiantly.

    Countless golden spots of light flew towards the figures in ck.

    However, at the same time, the joint forces were also charging at Canyang. Leading the charge was a ray of purple light...

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "..."

    The sounds of killing reverberated through the air.

    It was an awe-inspiring sight.

    Below the battle was a person who was constantly shoving fruit after fruit into his mouth. With each fruit he swallowed, another color was added to the rainbow that enveloped him.

    "I¡¯ll eat!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed as he gobbled down the fruits.

    He knew that Xing Yuanguo and the others were no match for Canyang. They could not hold Canyang off for very long. He had to eat as fast as he could.

    He gobbled down the fruits constantly.

    s...

    He was stuck.

    The fruit in his hand was different... this fruit was at least 10 timesrger than the other fruits he had eaten...

 Chapter 459: Weird way to die

    Chapter 459: Weird way to die

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    There was purple light flowing across the skin of the fruit.

    It looked like a crystal...

    Most importantly, other than the patterns on its skin, the fruit looked like it contained something inside.

    That being said, none of this concerned Fang Zhengzhi.

    What he was most concerned about was how he was going to eat it!

    The previous fruits were the size of a fist, but this was 10 times that!

    His mouth wasn¡¯t wide enough.

    That was the biggest problem.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly cut it into 10.

    Even without considering whether he could split it open...

    Even if he could, he wouldn¡¯t dare.

    He still remembered what happened when Canyang destroyed two of his Fruits of Dao.

    The shattering of the fruit released all the energy inside. The Fruits of Dao could not be cut open.

    He realized that he did not have many Fruits of Dao left. He had consumed his fruits at a much faster rate this time.

    Chew?

    He couldn¡¯t possibly do that.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if his teeth would break if he chewed the fruit. He decided to swallow the others first.

    "Eat, I¡¯ll eat!"

    Fang Zhengzhi willed himself to finish all the fruits.

    The battle in the sky intensified as soldiers charged at Canyang only to be beaten back down.

    The bodies piled up...

    But no one stopped.

    They were like moths drawn to a me. Even they know death awaited them, they didn¡¯t think twice.

    The Southern Region was the homnd of warriors.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not a fan of war. He found it much too brutal...

    But war was the only constant in history.

    War between countries, states, races, people. So long as there were disagreements, battles were bound to erupt.

    The only way to solve it all...

    Was win.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to win. He knew that if he lost, then he would die...

    No one wanted to die.

    Least of all Fang Zhengzhi. He stood up and held thest fruit in his hand. That was the glowing purple fruit.

    He opened his mouth as wide as he could.

    What if he couldn¡¯t swallow?

    Then he would force it down!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how powerful Canyang was.

    Canyang would never give him any chance. He would split his lips if he had to! After all, he could heal his lips back since he was in the Supernatural State!

    Swallow!

    This needed courage...

    Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    He regretted it almost instantly.

    When he forced the purple fruit into his mouth, he truly understood the meaning of torturous...

    "Kacha!"

    His teeth shattered.

    His lips were torn open...

    It was a tragic sight.

    All of the Southern Region soldiers who were preparing to charge at Canyang were shocked by what they saw.

    The looked at the fruit and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s broken jaw.

    They couldn¡¯t believe what was happening.

    What was he doing?!

    They weren¡¯t the only ones who were stunned. The demon soldiers, as well as the Great Xia soldiers, were equally stunned.

    At that moment, they felt that their sacrifice was meaningless.

    Because...

    They had a feeling...

    That Fang Zhengzhi would choke to death!

    If that was true...

    Then what were they fighting so hard for? For Fang Zhengzhi to choke himself to death?

    What the f*ck?!

    At that moment, the battle stopped.

    It was a brief respite, but it was enough to emphasize the feelings of everyone present.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened and her face turned red as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. If she could move, she would definitely help Fang Zhengzhi.

    She would step on the fruit and give Fang Zhengzhi a quicker end.

    Chi Guyan smiled bitterly. She never thought that she would feel that meeting Fang Zhengzhi was a mistake, but she felt that it was now.

    Yun Qingwu was also slightly bitter.

    She wasn¡¯t looking at Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, she was looking at Canyang, who was bathing in the golden Light of the Sage.

    She had a feeling that...

    Canyang didn¡¯t have to do what he was doing...

    This fe would have died even without external intervention...

    This was a great example of it.

    The golden symbol on Canyang¡¯s forehead glowed as he stopped moving. Previously, he wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi from eating the fruits.

    But now...

    He didn¡¯t really care.

    He rarely saw someone choke to death.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face waspletely red. He looked like an apple, but the redness came from blood. All of the blood vessels in his face had burst.

    He was regretting his decision.

    What was he going to do?

    Spit it out?

    No...

    That was too embarrassing...

    If he were to spit it out now, all of his hard work would have gone to waste. Furthermore, when he stuffed the fruit in his mouth, he felt as though the energies in his body were in bnce.

    It was a strange feeling...

    It was almost as if a bickering herd of sheep had run into a ferocious, ravenous wolf.

    Without a leader, the ranks would be in disarray.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if the energy contained within this purple fruit was the answer, but he knew that the purple fruit was more powerful than any of the others.

    So...

    He had to give it a go!

    He was already past the point of no return.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to encourage himself, but he could not find the words to. His mouth was filled with the fruit.

    His face was red as he raised his fist.

    Punch!

    He punched the purple fruit.

    "Get in!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled to himself.

    Then...

    He felt the purple fruit enter his mouth a little more. The crack in his mouth widened.

    Pain!

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t find the words to describe the pain he was feeling.

    He was suffocating...

    Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

    He was crying...

    He rarely cried...

    But right now, he was crying. It was a result of the pain and sadness he was feeling.

    Countless eyes were on Fang Zhengzhi.

    They watched him suffocate and writhe on the ground. Everyone gulped down the saliva in their mouth.

    They could only imagine the suffering Fang Zhengzhi was going through.

    "Is he really going to choke?"

    At that moment, the same thought shed through the minds of everyone present. They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe it, but...

    It looked like that was exactly what was happening.

    Fang Zhengzhi was despairing. He wanted to kill himself. The pain was unbearable!

    The fruit was stuck... he could neither push it in nor spit it out...

    Only those who had experienced it...

    Could know how painful it was!

    There was a saying, never bite off more than you can chew...

    This was meant to teach people not to be too greedy. Right now, Fang Zhengzhi was feeling the literal consequence of biting off more than he could chew!

    It was hellish!

    But did he have any other choice?

    No!

    He had to hang in there!

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the looks of those around him as he held his breath. Then, he punched the fruit.

    "Bang bang bang..."

    The hits constantly echoed...

    With each impact, the purple fruit inched into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth...

    Finally...

    After almost 100 punches...

    The fruit was inside his mouth.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi was faced with a new problem. His throat was blocked... the fruit was stuck in his throat!

    It wasn¡¯t going down!

    What was he to do?

    There was no need to answer that question.

    Because...

    There was only one solution, force it down.

    He was past the point of no return.

    "Bang!"

    Fang Zhengzhi punched the fruit with all his strength.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his throat was exploding. It was almost as though his throat was on fire after swallowing a gallon of hot oil.

    "Urgh!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body began to spasm and writhe in pain...

    Then, his legs turned to jelly.

    He crumpled to the floor.

    "He... choked to death?"

    The demons thought to themselves as they watched the lifeless Fang Zhengzhi...

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s face turned purple...

    It wasn¡¯t because of his weakening glow or his injuries... It was that his heart...

    His heart just shattered.

    What did he charge out for?

    Why did he pin all his hopes on one person?

    His heart!!!

    He couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The hearts of all the joint forces soldiers shattered as well.

    They all looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief... how did this man go from battling Canyang to choking to death?!

    But...

    That was the reality...

    Reality was brutal!

    There were two figures on the wall of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    One of them was in a white academic robe whilst the other wore luxurious leather covered in blood.

    Nangong Hao and Shan Ling.

    Neither of them jumped onto the battlefield.

    "What are you waiting for?" Shan Ling smirked as he looked at the prone Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Nothing." Nangong Hao shook his head.

    "I never expected that even Nangong Hao would be afraid of death!" Shan Ling mocked.

    "Someone has to stay." Nangong Hao added.

    "Stay?" Shan Ling¡¯s expression froze as he turned to look at Nangong Hao. He tightened the grip on his hilt when he saw how calm Nangong Hao was.

    "I have a treaty in my hands. If there is no issue, sign it." Nangong Hao retrieved a golden parchment.

    He threw it at Shan Ling...

    "Treaty?!" Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed, his knuckles whitening, "So... you are the real ambassador!"

    "Yes." Nangong Hao nodded.

    "What if I don¡¯t sign it?" Shan Ling¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "Crown Prince, what do you think I¡¯m staying behind for?" Nangong Hao replied calmly.

    "Nangong Hao, I must admit that you are a talent. You have managed to attain powers equivalent to that of a Rebirth State cultivator. However, do you really think you can kill me?" Shan Ling pressed.

    "Why don¡¯t you try and find out?" Nangong Hao turned to look at Shan Ling, his grip tightening around his sword.

    Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed.

    He looked at Nangong Hao, then at the demon soldiers and the joint forces on the field.

    He grit his teeth.

    "Five years! We will be a vassal for five years!" Shan Ling was shaking in his spot.

    "10 years, that is the bottom line." Nangong Hao shook his head.

    "Okay, 10 years it shall be, but I have one condition..." Shan Ling hesitated as he watched Fang Zhengzhi lying lifelessly on the ground, "We only pay half the tithes!"

    "This is already inside the treaty, please sign." Nangong Hao nodded.

    "It¡¯s already written?!" Shan Ling was in disbelief.

    He picked up the parchment, his expression changing as he unfurled it.

    Nangong Hao was right...

    It was already included inside.

    Furthermore, the 10-year duration was also explicitly stated. Most importantly, there was a red seal at the bottom.

    This was the seal of the Emperor!

    "I never expected that... this had all been calcted by the Great Xia. Not bad, haha, not bad!" Shan Ling guffawed.

    Then, he bit his finger...

    And...

    ced his print on the parchment.

    Shan Ling did not speak as he gripped the parchment. After a moment of hesitation, he threw it back to Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao nodded but did not say anything. He kept the parchment and gripped his sword.

    In a swift motion.

    He leapt off the wall and shot towards the sky.

    Shan Ling bit his lip as he watched Nangong Hao disappear. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, his aura unstable.

    Fury...

    Deep-seated fury...

    However, his anger was quickly reced by shock.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something about the lifeless body on the ground...

    He saw...

    The body twitch...

 Chapter 460: How unsightly

    Chapter 460: How unsightly

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Am I hallucinating?" Shan Ling blinked as he took a second look at the person lying prone on the ground.

    Was he...

    Really dead?

    As Shan Ling was thinking about it, Nangong Hao¡¯s sword had already reached Canyang.

    It was a transparent sword.

    It was named Standstill.

    The tip of the de exuded an icy chill. A thick mist enveloped Nangong Hao, almost as if he was being wrapped by an icy wind.

    Everyone looked at Nangong Hao.

    Including Canyang.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t see, he was still calm as a mountain. He was the all-powerful Canyang. Nothing could beat him.

    The golden Light of the Sage glowed radiantly.

    Canyang¡¯s action was simple. It wasn¡¯t fancy but Nangong Hao¡¯s sword stopped in mid-air, almost as though it had been caught by the Light of the Sage.

    It wasn¡¯t anything unexpected...

    But Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed, almost as though a giant rock had been thrown into a calmke.

    A multitude of emotions could be seen on his face.

    The next moment, Standstill hummed...

    Then, Nangong Hao sprang into action...

    It was almost as if he forcefully extracted the sword from the Light of the Sage. To be precise, it felt as though the sword had done so independently.

    It was a strange feeling...

    But those were the facts, the transparent Standstill sword was removed from the Light of the Sage.

    A sword within a sword!

    What was even stranger was that Nangong Hao¡¯s Standstill Sword seemed to be dragging countless shadows with it.

    As he moved back, countless copies of the Standstill Sword appeared.

    Each one as transparent as the original.

    "Hum!" The de hummed.

    The swords began to twirl manically, almost like a tornado around Canyang. At the same time, Nangong Hao disappeared from sight.

    The de¡¯s humming intensified.

    The golden Light of the Sage exploded outwards at the tornado.

    Everyone tensed up. They knew how powerful the Light of the Sage was. They had witnessed it with their own eyes.

    However, the countless Standstill Swords all expanded with the Light of the Sage.

    Even though...

    Half were shattered by the light, the remaining half returned to their original state, twirling into a tornado.

    This was an even more intense tornado.

    The golden Light of the Sage receded.

    The tornado followed suit...

    This was a shocking sight. What was even more shocking was that when the tornado receded, there was an opening on Canyang¡¯s robe.

    It had been sliced open...

    The opening was small!

    But it was clear for all to see.

    "Wow!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were excited. After Canyang became a Sage, Nangong Hao was the first person to injure him...

    Or at the very least slice open his clothing!

    The fire in the soldiers of the joint forces was reignited.

    Shan Ling felt a chill down his spine as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

    He finally understood why Nangong Hao had dared to stay behind... he also understood what Nangong Hao meant when he challenged him.

    "Nangong Hao!"

    ...

    "Good, what a strike! Using Standstill to bend the rules!" Xing Yuanguo looked on approvingly.

    "Using Standstill to bend the rules?" The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army knew that Xing Yuanguo was describing Nangong Hao¡¯s technique...

    But they couldn¡¯t understand what that statement meant...

    That being said...

    This was clearly not the right time to ask...

    Chi Guyan was also looking at the sky. She seemed to be thinking of something as she watched the tornado of des.

    Few people knew how powerful Nangong Hao was.

    It was rare that someone could force Nangong Hao to use everything in his arsenal.

    Chi Guyan was one of them.

    When Chi Guyan had taken the top spot on the Double Dragon Honor Rolls, Nangong Hao had tried his best but failed.

    He had been defeated by Chi Guyan.

    "One achieves sess not by standing still, but by ying by the rules... even so, I do not have confidence!" Chi Guyan murmured to herself.

    "What is Sister Yan saying?" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Nothing much." Chi Guyan shook her head.

    ...

    In the sky...

    The sword continued to hum in the sky. The sound and waves in the air werepletely controlled by the tornado formed by the Standstill Swords.

    Canyang did not move. He stood quietly in his original spot.

    At that moment...

    A ray of light shot past...

    Opening another hole in Canyang¡¯s robe.

    The previous damage had been to his sleeve. But this time, the sword had sliced just below his chest, and it seemed to have drawn blood.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army rejoiced.

    "Nangong Hao!"

    "Nangong Hao!"

    "..."

    The demons reacted differently.

    The demon soldiers were all furious. They knew what tactic Nangong Hao was employing.

    Canyang was a sage...

    But he was still Canyang.

    He was different from other sages. He could only determine location based on sound and the waves from his surroundings. Right now, Nangong Hao was disrupting both.

    In other words...

    Nangong Hao had caused himself and his sword to disappear in front of Canyang¡¯s ¡¯eyes¡¯.

    What was even stranger was that the des could expand and contract with the Light of the Sage.

    Even though they didn¡¯t know how Nangong Hao was doing it, they weren¡¯t happy about it.

    "Despicable!"

    Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    They wanted to curse and swear, but they knew that Nangong Hao was fighting intelligently.

    The only thing that mattered in battle.

    Was the oue...

    Was the process important?

    No one bothered about the process.

    ...

    "Not bad, the disciple of the Nangong family doesn¡¯t disappoint..." Canyang¡¯s voice rang out as he retracted the Light of the Sage.

    The symbol on his forehead continued to glow.

    All of the demons were shocked to see this. Their jaws dropped, unable to understand why Canyang was doing this.

    Wasn¡¯t this equivalent to dropping his defences?

    He was blind...

    Why would he forgo the protection offered by the Light of the Sage?

    None of the demons could understand.

    Yun Qingwu clenched her fists anxiously as she watched Canyang hover in mid-air.

    Just at that moment...

    A figure appeared in the middle of the tornado.

    This was a figure who had meldedpletely into the tornado. He held a sword in his hand.

    It was a sword that was mere inches from Canyang¡¯s forehead.

    There were no disturbances in the air to announce its arrival.

    It was silent and deadly.

    It had one name...

    The Dragon Combat n!

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were locked on the sword. They wanted to shout, but they couldn¡¯t. The sword was too fast! They didn¡¯t even have the time to make a sound.

    "ng!" A soft sound echoed out.

    It seemed rather insignificant during the chaos of the battle, but after this sh, all of the humming stopped.

    Two hands...

    sped together...

    In between was a sword, a transparent, silent, deadly sword.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed.

    "Senior, you..." Nangong Hao was in disbelief. He had tried the attack twice and didn¡¯t fail.

    "Do you have any other choice other than to target my forehead?" Canyang¡¯s expression was calm as he held the de of the sword in his hand.

    "I see." Nangong Hao nodded.

    Everyone was silent.

    The demons smiled because their hope had been restored.

    The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region soldiers despaired. Their hopes had been quashed once again.

    Was it...

    All in vain?

    Was the war going to end here?

    "He may not have a choice, but I do!"

    A voice interrupted the silence. The voice had strangelye from the sky.

    There were only two figures in the sky.

    Canyang and Nangong Hao.

    There was no third person.

    Yet, the voice hade from the sky. To be precise, it hade from behind Canyang. It was sudden and unexpected.

    Canyang¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    He paled.

    Just as that voice rang out, he felt an unbearable pain below. He had never felt such pain in his life.

    "He doesn¡¯t have a choice, but I do!"

    The voice echoed in Canyang¡¯s mind.

    He was extremely bitter.

    He had always known that he had an Achilles heel. That was his forehead... and he would stop at nothing to protect him.

    That was his only weakness.

    But now...

    He realized that he had another weak spot.

    That was a spot that no one could possibly know about.

    Canyang rarely writhed in pain, but right now, his face was contorted.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Canyang bellowed in embarrassment and anger.

    As a Sage...

    He never thought that he would be injured in that area.

    But Fang Zhengzhi...

    Fang Zhengzhi had aimed for it twice now. More importantly, he had hit his mark this time.

    Rage and embarrassment!

    Canyang¡¯s body shot skyward before he crashed into the ground with a shudder.

    Silence...

    The silence previously was a result of joy and sorrow respectively...

    But this time, it was a result of shock an awe...

    Because...

    Everyone knew what had just happened.

    They saw a figure standing behind Canyang. That was a naked, bloodied figure.

    However, the figure¡¯s posture sent chills down everyone¡¯s spine.

    He held his hands together...

    It was simr to how Canyang had captured Nangong Hao¡¯s sword, but he had sped two fingers together.

    In a single move...

    He struck upwards...

    Fang Zhengzhi had used it once and wasn¡¯t going to hesitate to use it again. This time, he poured every ounce of energy he had into it.

    "Attack!"

    He knew that it was bound to work...

    Everyone was stunned as they stared at Fang Zhengzhi. They couldn¡¯t figure out how someone they had left for dead...

    Could reappear...

    How did he manage to pull that off?!

    "He¡¯s not dead!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is alive!"

    "He didn¡¯t die?"

    No one could believe their eyes... how did Fang Zhengzhi survive that?

    That was a gigantic Fruit of Dao.

    How did he manage to swallow it?

    They were even more shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacity andck of manners.

    That was a Sage!

    He actually used such despicable tactics against a sage - twice! How audacious could this man be?

    The soldiers of the joint forces concluded that only a man standing on the borders of death would dare to do such a thing.

    However, the demons did not think so.

    "Shameless!"

    "Immensely audacious!"

    "How dare he?!"

    The soldiers were furious! Their Sage, the most powerful and revered person in their hearts... had just been stabbed!

    In the privates!

    Most importantly, Canyang fell to the ground?

    He crashed!

    How embarrassing!

    This was unbearable!

    All of the demon soldiers pulled their bows taut. They decided to shoot Fang Zhengzhi off the face of the earth.

    However, they never released their arrows.

    Because...

    They saw a pair of eyes.

    It was a strange pair of eyes. One of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes was a deep purple. His other eye was filled with a myriad of colors.

    Red, yellow, blue, green...

    Never in their wildest imaginations did they think that someone¡¯s eyes could look like that.

 Chapter 461: Ouch ouch ouch

    Chapter 461: Ouch ouch ouch

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The demons looked at Fang Zhengzhi, their hands shaking. They couldn¡¯t even stabilize their hands to fire their arrows.

    "Is he even human?"

    The same thought shed through the minds of all the demons.

    There was also another question in their minds.

    Was that attack...

    Coincidence?

    Or power?!

    If that was power, then that would mean that Fang Zhengzhi was able to...

    No way!

    They all dismissed that thought instantly.

    It had to be a coincidence...

    But it was too much of a coincidence...

    Firstly, Nangong Hao had disrupted Canyang¡¯s senses using his sword. Then, he forced Canyang to retract the Light of the Sage at the crucial moment.

    This had baited Nangong Hao into striking. As such, Canyang had focusedpletely on the symbol on his head.

    That...

    Was when tragedy struck.

    "Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"

    The demons knew that this was opportunistic of Fang Zhengzhi. They hated to admit it, but how many people would be able to recognize such an opportunity?

    And of those people, how many would be capable of capitalizing?

    That was a Sage!

    In order to sneak up on a Sage and capitalize on such an opportunity... He had to time his advance with the Standstill Sword¡¯s strike...

    How terrifying!

    ...

    On the ground...

    Canyang knelt on the ground, his face pale. He bit his lip...

    He was in pain, indescribable pain.

    He wanted to stand up, but anyone who had experienced it before knew how difficult it was to stand amidst such pain.

    The only thing that he could do was make sure that his posture wasn¡¯t too unmorous.

    However, that only served to exacerbate the pain. Even as a Sage, he felt himself breaking out in cold sweat.

    "Master!" Yun Qingwu was shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi in his current state, but she turned her attention to Canyang...

    This was a man that she respected even more than her own father...

    And now...

    This man was in immense pain...

    Yun Qingwu did wonder to herself how good it would be if she could help Canyang bear the pain...

    However, the moment she thought about it...

    She shuddered.

    Even she did not want to experience that sort of pain.

    She felt rather guilty. As a disciple, she should want to bear the pain on behalf of her master, yet, she was unwilling to do so now.

    This was difficult to reconcile

    Canyang didn¡¯t respond to Yun Qingwu. He even turned away from Yun Qingwu.

    He did not want Yun Qingwu to see his expression.

    He clenched his fists.

    A vein on his arm throbbed.

    ...

    Two figures faced off in the sky.

    One of them was in a white academic robe, his sleeves pping in the wind.

    The other...

    Was a naked man who was bloodied from head to toe. A dense killing aura surrounded him, almost as if he was a death god sent from hell.

    Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere near as dabber as Nangong Hao.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had an animalistic, domineering aura about him.

    His eyes were the most important.

    His eyes werepletely different. To call it unbelievable would be an understatement.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He wasn¡¯t thinking of much...

    In fact, he was in a lot of difort. He felt like his body was on fire. This was a fire that burned from inside and spread to his skin.

    It was hot...

    So hot that he wanted to strip off all his clothes.

    That being said, he had no clothes right now. He was covered in blood. Right now, the world he saw was strange.

    It was red, blue, green, purple...

    Most importantly, he felt a strong wave of killing intent building up inside his heart.

    This killing intent seemed to cause him to lose his rationality, yet, apart from this killing intent, there was an odd calmness.

    There was rity...

    This seemed to bnce off the killing intent in his heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what state he was in right now, neither did he know how long he could keep this up.

    However, he did know one thing...

    He had to keep up the pressure.

    Rest on hisurels?

    That was something that he couldn¡¯t afford to do.

    He shot to the ground like an eagle swooping in on its prey. He lunged at thee half-kneeling Canyang.

    He wanted to take advantage of the situation.

    Fang Zhengzhi was fast. He stared at Canyang¡¯s lifeless eyes.

    A strange iciness in his eyes...

    His purple eye was especially strange.

    "Boom!"

    There was a loud explosion as Fang Zhengzhi crashed to the ground. He was so fast that his body was a blur.

    "How fast!"

    The demon soldiers watched columns of sand and dust shoot skyward as they eximed to themselves.

    Fang Zhengzhi must be courting death!

    Doesn¡¯t he know that his previous strike was a lucky one?

    Ordinarily...

    It was wise to strike while the iron was hot and take advantage of the situation. However, Canyang was a Sage.

    The all-powerful Sage!

    Without Nangong Hao to run interference, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strike would be futile.

    They waited for Canyang to incapacitate Fang Zhengzhi once again. This time, Fang Zhengzhi had no more Fruits of Dao. He would not be able to recover!

    Momentster...

    The dust dispersed...

    A bloodied figure could be seen...

    Not far away from him was a figure in a blue robe. His palms were on the ground and he looked rather haggard.

    "He dodged?!"

    The demon soldiers were in disbelief. They knew that Canyang was capable of dodging the attack, but they didn¡¯t expect him to dodge!

    Why should he dodge?

    Canyang was a Sage! Why would a Sage need to dodge away from an attack from a human?!

    The demon soldiers looked at Canyang, who was drenched from head to toe. They couldn¡¯t understand what they were seeing.

    Until...

    A spearhead appeared in Canyang¡¯s hand.

    It was a broken spearhead. The tip was bloodied and drops of blood dripped from the point.

    "ng!"

    The spearhead fell to the ground.

    Canyang¡¯s body seemed to turn to jelly at that moment as he crumpled to the ground, sweating profusely.

    "Spearhead? Where did thate from?"

    "Why does Canyang have a spearhead in his hand? And why is it broken?"

    "Why is the spearhead bloodied. Whose... whose blood is that?"

    A thought shed through the minds of all the demon soldiers. Their expressions were contorted...

    Of course...

    There was rage as well.

    They finally understood why Canyang couldn¡¯t stand, and they also understood why Canyang had no choice but to dodge.

    "This fe actually..."

    The demon soldiers looked at Canyang and the figure standing in front of them. They felt a chill at their privates.

    More than half of the demon soldiers reacted in the same way.

    How could...

    How could a person be that shameless?!

    How audacious must someone be to be capable of such despicable tactics?!

    Shouldn¡¯t he leave some dignity?

    The demon soldiers simply couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Yun Qingwu was stunned.

    She was utterly floored. Ever since the age of five, her mind had never stopped working, but right now, her mind was nk...

    "He... he... he actually used a spearhead?!"

    The demons were not the only ones who were stunned. The soldiers of the joint forces were equally floored when they realized what had happened.

    "Spearhead? He actually..."

    "That¡¯s... vicious!"

    "..."

    The soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region were rendered speechless.

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Xing Yuanguo, Xing Qingsui, even Nangong Hao couldn¡¯t find words to express their feelings.

    "Erm..."

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hear the discussions around him, but he could guess what they were thinking from the looks on their faces.

    In his mind, he was forced into it!

    What else was he to do?

    Just using his fingers alone would not be powerful enough!

    This opportunity...

    It was a rare one...

    This might be his only chance to get close to Canyang. He had thought of stabbing Canyang in the back.

    However, he didn¡¯t dare to try it.

    Canyang was a Sage.

    He didn¡¯t know how hard a Sage¡¯s body was since every attack of his had been blocked by the Light of the Sage.

    As such...

    He didn¡¯t want to take any risks.

    Most importantly, he didn¡¯t know if stabbing Canyang in the back would be of any use. He didn¡¯t have much of a choice.

    There were only a few ces he could strike and only one which was guaranteed to ¡¯incapacitate¡¯ Canyang for an extended period of time.

    The demons thought about it...

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack was not lethal, then the battle was decided.

    Canyang would eventually emerge victorious.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still had to give his best.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate as he lunged at Canyang once again. He wanted to take advantage of Canyang¡¯s injury.

    "Boom!"

    Yet another explosion echoed out.

    Canyang rolled to the side, his blue robe in shreds and his face pale. There were blood stains on the ground.

    "What are you waiting for? Charge!" Fang Zhengzhi red at Nangong Hao and the soldiers of the joint forces.

    He couldn¡¯t take it any longer.

    Time was of the essence.

    Yet, these people were still watching from the sidelines?

    Canyang was already injured! This was the time to attack! What were they waiting for?

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed.

    As a member of the Nangong Family, he had a set of morals that he guarded fiercely. Even though Canyang was the enemy, he still respected Canyang as a senior.

    That being said...

    He also knew that this wasn¡¯t the time to consider all those factors. This concerned the survival of the Southern Region and the Great Xia.

    His Standstill Sword whirred.

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t hesitate as he melted into the sea of swords, charging towards Canyang in a tornado.

    Just as Nangong Hao moved...

    A ray of purple light shot out. Xing Yuanguo had attacked too.

    Victory was paramount!

    In war, everything was fair game.

    Given the same opportunity, Xing Yuanguo may even make the same decision as Fang Zhengzhi, provided that...

    He could even think of it in the first ce!

    The swords hummed around Canyang, enveloping Canyangpletely.

    "Bend the rules!"

    There was a purple ray of light filled with battle intent. It shot towards Canyang¡¯s forehead.

    Apart from the light...

    There was one man...

    This was a man covered in blood from head to toe, his eyes unrelenting. One of his eyes was purple while the other was multi-colored.

    Time seemed to freeze.

    Everyone, demon and humans alike, stared at one point.

    That was the point where three figures converged on a half-kneeling youth.

    His silver hair danced in the wind, his eyes devoid of any life.

    Yet, he grit his teeth.

    He grit his teeth so hard that you could see the veins throbbing on his face.

 Chapter 462: Fight to the death

    Chapter 462: Fight to the death

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It was about to end...

    Everyone was tense. They knew that the result of the battle hinged on this sh.

    The three figures were extremely quick.

    They surrounded Canyang in the blink of an eye.

    However, Canyang didn¡¯t move. He simply stared ahead with those blind, lifeless eyes.

    Then, the three figures melded into one.

    A sword, a palm, and a fist.

    The de was aimed at Canyang¡¯s forehead but ended up hitting Canyang¡¯s shoulder, drawing blood.

    The palm...

    Came from the side.

    This was the attack of the battle-hardened Xing Yuanguo. He didn¡¯t aim for the back, thighs, or butt...

    He went straight for the jugr.

    However, he ended up hitting Canyang¡¯s chest. "Kacha," there was a dull sound of bones breaking.

    As for the punch...

    That was from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack was significantly less lethal, but it promised severe pain.

    Fang Zhengzhi targeted Canyang¡¯s face.

    This attack...

    Was meant to put Canyang in even more pain.

    Preferably, he wanted to knock out a few of Canyang¡¯s teeth too.

    However...

    His punch was blocked by Canyang¡¯s palm.

    Did it hit the mark?

    No...

    "This is targeted! He is targeting me!" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself when his attack was blocked.

    He was the fastest...

    Yet...

    His attack was the only one which had been blocked.

    More importantly, he saw that Canyang¡¯s other palm was headed for his privates at lightning speed.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart shuddered.

    Canyang was clearly out for revenge. He was willing to take the hits from Nangong Hao and Xing Yuanguo just to hurt Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was not a fight Fang Zhengzhi wanted.

    He snapped his legs shut.

    Fang Zhengzhi would never let Canyang¡¯s attack hit. He would rather die than be hit in that spot.

    Because...

    This was his move.

    "Watch out!"

    Just at that moment, Xing Yuanguo¡¯s voice rang out by his side. It was so loud that it caused Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears to ring.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Xing Yuanguo was warning him, but he had already seen Canyang¡¯s attack.

    He...

    Should be in the clear?

    At that very moment, a radiant ray of golden light shot out in front of him. It was like a sun ray...

    It was much brighter than the Light of the Sage from before. It stained the entire sky golden.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    A voice filled with rage echoed through the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was amiss. He hesitated and prepared to escape. After all, Canyang was targeting him.

    But it was toote...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt something pressing on his chest.

    The chest...

    Was to humans like the demonic eye was to the demons.

    He lowered his head and saw a palm at that position. He was shocked. This palm should not be there...

    Could it be that Canyang¡¯s attack...

    Was just a feint?!

    A bead of sweat rolled down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. He finally understood what Canyang kept dodging...

    Experience counts...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what the meant, but he never expected that a Sage had to resort to such tactics.

    Especially not a Sage who had been humiliated.

    How could a Sage possibly tolerate it?

    Fang Zhengzhi had underestimated Canyang¡¯s tolerance...

    Canyang...

    He had hidden in the shadows for countless years before Yun Qingwu found him. His tolerance was something that an ordinary person would never understand.

    "Boom!"

    A loud explosion rang out.

    A golden column of light shot skyward, shattering the tornado.

    "Sh*t!" Nangong Hao spat out a mouthful of blood. He continued to have a hold on his sword, but he had been thrown to the side.

    Everyone was blown away...

    Including Xing Yuanguo.

    He had retreated very quickly, but the golden light had still hit him in the chest. The sound of bones breaking caused him to pale.

    Canyang...

    A Sage...

    He had been able to keep his cool despite the humiliation! He had managed to find a way to take all the hits before finding a method to defeat them all.

    This was something that Fang Zhengzhi had not calcted.

    Xing Yuanguo was forced back...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to retreat as well...

    However, Canyang had a firm grasp on his fist, the lifeless eyes staring straight into his soul.

    At that moment...

    Countless thoughts shed through the mind of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Back when he had been restrained by Canyang, his life had shed before his eyes. He had one foot in the grave then.

    Now, his death warrant had been signed.

    "He wants to kill us both?!" Fang Zhengzhi felt a powerful force at his chest.

    He had no other choice.

    If he did not strike back now, he would be epting his death.

    He had to fight!

    He grit his teeth and ignored the palm at his chest. He raised his other fist and threw a punch at Canyang.

    There was only one thought going through his mind.

    Hit Canyang!

    "Bang!"

    The strike was solid and clean. Itnded on Canyang¡¯s chest, causing multiple bones to break, but Canyang did not move.

    He continued to stare at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He allowed Fang Zhengzhi to pummel him.

    The Light of the Sage was bright.

    It was almost as bright and hot as the sun at noon. It stained the sky golden...

    Fang Zhengzhi squinted.

    He could feel the golden Light of the Sage closing on him, almost as if it wanted to absorb him.

    The burning sensation around his body intensified. He felt like he was more powerful than ever before.

    But...

    At that moment, he felt a sense of danger...

    This was a danger that he had never experienced before.

    Sage.

    Is this the power of a Sage?

    Despite all the Fruits of Dao he had eaten, despite being in control of The Vast World... he couldn¡¯t defeat a Sage.

    He wasn¡¯t willing to ept this!

    No matter what the result was going to be...

    Fang Zhengzhi decided toy out all his chips. He had no more tricks up his sleeves. He had already used The Vast World and the Fruits of Dao.

    Right now, he was only moments from victory.

    He had to give it his all!

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists. He was ready for hisst stand. He would use up everyst ounce of his energy.

    "Ah! Go to hell!"

    He bellowed.

    Then, a strange ray of purple light shot to the sky. It could be seen clearly through the Light of the Sage. This column of purple light was surrounded by rays of light of other colors.

    Red, blue, green, yellow...

    "Kaboom!"

    At that moment, the ground split open as spider web-like cracks began to spread in all directions.

    The heavens also began to shudder.

    The cracks also began to spread in the sky, the darkness swallowing much of the light.

    "What¡¯s happening?!"

    "What is this?!"

    "Could it be..."

    The demons were all shocked by what was happening.

    Even the soldiers of the joint forces were stunned. Everything had happened too quickly.

    They didn¡¯t even have a chance to recover.

    What happened?

    What was the result?

    No one knew...

    They only saw the purple column of light inside the golden Light of the Sage.

    Right now...

    The ground had begun to shake as columns of dust and rock were sent flying into the sky. The trees, walls, and bodies began to rise...

    "Could it be..."

    "The Vast World has crumbled?!"

    "Not good!"

    When the soldiers of the joint forces realized what was happening, they turned to look at the two battling figures.

    However... the two figures had disappeared.

    To be more precise...

    They were surrounded by a cloud of dust.

    The golden Light of the Sage and that strange purple light had disappeared.

    A ray of silver light shone at where the two figures were standing. Then, there was an explosion of light.

    The tree became transparent...

    Then disappeared...

    This was followed by an earthquake...

    There was a tsunami made of sand at the epicenter of the silver light. It spread in all directions like a ravenous monster swallowing everything in its way...

 Chapter 463: Live or die

    Chapter 463: Live or die

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The sky darkened.

    There was no light in the sky. All that was left as sand and dust, spreading in all directions.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t move, allowing the dust to envelop her.

    Chi Guyan and Ping Yang did not move either.

    Xing Yuanguo was on the ground, his facepletely ashen. Xing Qingsui knelt next to him.

    "Father!" Xing Qingsui held Xing Yuanguo in his hand as he shielded his father with his body.

    Blood trickled from the edge of Nangong Hao¡¯s mouth, his sword stabbed into the ground for stability. However, his shaking body and ashen face were clear signs...

    He was injured...

    Seriously injured!

    Shan Ling watched quietly from the side as the dust crashed towards him. The Southern Region soldiers and settlement chiefs disappeared in front of his eyes.

    After a long time...

    The cracks in the ground also started to disappear and the trees began to grow. The sun also shone through the clouds.

    Figures began to appear...

    Demons, soldiers of the joint forces...

    The ck walls of the Iron Hill Settlement also rose from the ground. It was significantly more scarred than before.

    The humans and items were still the same...

    However, both humans and demons felt vastly different...

    "The Young Master is back!"

    "The Vast World has been broken!"

    "Thank the Demon Gods!"

    The demon soldiers whooped and cheered.

    However, Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression showed no joy. The soldiers who were in The Vast World and Yun Qingwu were all looking at the middle of the field.

    Over there...

    Were two figures...

    A light breeze blew past, blowing up a tattered blue robe and silver hair. It caressed the haggard but youthful face of Canyang.

    "Could it be..."

    The demon soldiers in the distance looked on in disbelief. Canyang¡¯s appearance said it all.

    Most importantly...

    There was someone else in front of Canyang.

    That was a man covered in blood from head to toe. He was naked and his hair was in a mess. There were no words to describe how forlorn he looked.

    Most importantly, his palm was on Canyang¡¯s face.

    To be exact...

    It was on Canyang¡¯s forehead!

    The golden symbol!

    "How is that possible?!"

    "How did he manage to..."

    The demons who were spared from The Vast World were shocked to witness this. They couldn¡¯t imagine what had happened in The Vast World.

    Even so, there was no one willing to answer their questions.

    Everyone who had escaped from The Vast World fell silent...

    They had seen it all, but they never imagined that it would end like this.

    Was Canyang dead? Or was Fang Zhengzhi dead?

    The Vast World had been broken!

    This would usually mean only one thing - Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death. However, the scene in front of them made them doubt their conclusions.

    Neither Canyang nor Fang Zhengzhi had any glow surrounding them.

    The golden Light of the Sage had disappeared...

    Along with the strange purple light...

    "Life or death? Who lived? Who died?"

    Ordinarily, they would have known the answer in a heartbeat, but the scene in front of them made it impossible to guess.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s face was devoid of color, but he continued to stare at Fang Zhengzhi and Canyang anxiously.

    Nangong Hao had sheathed his sword, but he did not close his eyes. He was also looking at the two figures.

    Shan Ling was significantly less anxious. He simply leaned on the city walls and waited patiently.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s white dress danced in the breeze.

    "Master..." Yun Qingwu murmured, her eyes filled with sorrow and despair.

    There were two figures standing beside her.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s pink dress was still as clean as ever, but she did not look well. She stared at the figure with his back to her.

    She knew what the destruction of The Vast World meant.

    "Shameless fe, you... you can¡¯t die..." Chi Guyan murmured to herself.

    "Ah! Let me go! Shameless fe, you better not..." Ping Yang¡¯s voice cut through the silence.

    However, she stopped shouting almost immediately...

    Because...

    She realized something was amiss...

    When she was struggling, she realized that she was able to move! The restraints had disappeared!

    Wasn¡¯t she being restrained by the Heavenly Dao?

    Was Canyang dead?

    This was the thought that shed through her mind. She was extremely excited. Ordinarily, she would be celebrating.

    However, for some inexplicable reason, she wasn¡¯t in the mood for celebration.

    "Oi, Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless fe! This is yourst chance! Come and protect me, your princess! Oi... did you hear me? Fang Zhengzhi!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out.

    It was rather aloof but also filled with anticipation.

    However...

    There was no answer.

    Silence.

    A strange silence...

    The only sound was that of the light breeze caressing their faces. It was daybreak, and the sun was gentle.

    After a long pause...

    The silence was broken again...

    It was a light cough. The sound was frail and raspy. The person sounded weak.

    "Ahem..."

    When the cough was heard...

    The expressions of all the demons changed! They were in disbelief, but they were also happy!

    Tears welled up in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    Two teardrops rolled down her cheeks like dewdrops on a flower...

    "Master, you..."

    "Ahem!" A cough rang out once again.

    A figure began to move, his tattered blue robe shaking unsteadily from side to side.

    "Not good, the blind old man isn¡¯t dead!" Ping Yang stared in shock.

    However...

    Other than shock, there was also a mixture of otherplicated emotions.

    Her emotions were inexplicable - even Ping Yang herself did not know what she was thinking. However, when she saw Canyang move...

    She charged out!

    No one knew what Ping Yang was thinking...

    Even she herself didn¡¯t know, but she still charged out anyways. She was not fast, but the zing Qilin Spear in her hand was rather eye-catching.

    Columns of me shot skyward.

    There was a flickering golden light at the tip of her spear.

    "No!"

    "Ping Yang!"

    Just as Ping Yang rushed out, two voices pierced through the air. These were the voices of Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan.

    Yun Qingwu was not fast...

    As such, she could not possibly stop Ping Yang.

    Chi Guyan was faster than Ping Yang and could stand in her way. However, when she saw Yun Qingwu charge out, she slowed down.

    "Ping Yang, don¡¯t go!" Chi Guyan put herself in front of Yun Qingwu, but her eyes were on Ping Yang.

    Yun Qingwu stopped.

    She looked at Canyang¡¯s body, tears rolling down her cheeks as she shuddered.

    As for Ping Yang...

    She showed no signs of stopping.

    She had always listened to Chi Guyan. No matter what Chi Guyan said, she would listen to her unconditionally.

    The reason was simple.

    She thought that Chi Guyan was right...

    But now, she didn¡¯t stop.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t know why. Perhaps it was because she had been trapped for so long she longed for this freedom...

    Perhaps she just wanted to vent her frustrations on Canyang...

    After all, as a princess of the Great Xia, she was quite pissed off about being trapped for that long.

    Of course...

    She also thought that she was doing the right thing.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t stop.

    She thrust her zing Qilin Spear, the flickering golden light headed straight for the shaking figure of Canyang...

    Columns of me shot skyward.

    Then...

    They disappeared...

    Even the flickering golden glow disappeared.

    Ping Yang¡¯s attack was fast and powerful, but the way her attack was stopped was even quicker...

    There wasn¡¯t muchmotion.

    She stopped in her tracks, her eyes staring at the tip of her spear.

    There was a hand which grabbed the tip of her spear.

    This hand had stopped the zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Dynasty, in its tracks.

 Chapter 464: A sage is still a sage

    Chapter 464: A sage is still a sage

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened. She was in disbelief... this was an expression that was rarely seen on Ping Yang...

    She was trying to stab Canyang.

    No matter how confident she was, she would never expect that her attack would hit.

    Even though Canyang was injured, Ping Yang was only in the Star Conglomerate State...

    However, Ping Yang was shocked...

    Her clear eyes were wide as coins, her jaw dropped so wide you could fit a fist in it...

    "You..." Ping Yang wanted to say something, but every time she opened her mouth, she couldn¡¯t find the words to express her shock.

    Ping Yang wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked.

    In fact, Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, even Xing Yuanguo and Nangong Hao were also stunned.

    The person who had grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear was not Canyang...

    It was...

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    His bloodied hand seemed unaffected by the most powerful offensive weapon in the Great Xia. He was able to hold it by the tip.

    "How is that possible?!"

    "He¡¯s not dead..."

    "Even if he¡¯s not dead, where is he getting the strength from? Hasn¡¯t his pocket dimension been crushed? He has no more Fruits of Dao, how is he able to..."

    All of the demon soldiers who were inside The Vast World couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. They had no idea what was going on...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die...

    That was shocking enough on its own. Not only did he survive, he had enough energy to stop an attack from the zing Qilin Spear!

    What the hell?

    Those soldiers were shocked...

    The soldiers of the joint forces were floored by what they were witnessing as well.

    "What is happening?"

    "Didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi link his pocket dimension with The Vast World? Now that The Vast World has been broken, how does he still possess such power?!"

    "What is happening?"

    All of the soldiers looked at each other for answers but found nothing but confusion...

    This was not bad for them...

    However...

    It defied all logic...

    A human¡¯s energy came from the pocket dimension. Fang Zhengzhi had linked his pocket dimension with The Vast World. Now that The Vast World has been destroyed...

    Fang Zhengzhi should have suffered serious injuries.

    His cultivation future was in question. No one expected him to be able to stop the zing Qilin Spear. Most importantly, he had eaten all his Fruits of Dao.

    What was happening?

    No one could understand.

    A light breeze blew past and Ping Yang¡¯s fiery armor flowed in the sun. It was a beautiful sight, but no one was looking at her.

    They were all looking at the bloodied figure standing in front of her.

    The figure moved.

    With a light tug...

    He took the zing Qilin Spear in his hands.

    Then, he brought the zing Qilin Spear to his chest. He stopped himself...

    His expression said it all...

    He hesitated before smiling bitterly.

    "I forgot..." Fang Zhengzhi said in exasperation. His eyes had reverted to their normal state.

    The purple glow had vanished.

    The multi-colored glow had also vanished.

    All that was left was ck and white.

    His pupils were dark as ink and the rest of his eye was white as snow.

    Ping Yang was stunned when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. Then, she remembered something...

    Hang on...

    This shameless fe was trying to...

    Take her zing Qilin Spear?

    Ping Yang knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. A wave of rage came over her...

    If not for the fact that the Heart Protection Mirror had been destroyed...

    The zing Qilin Spear would have been kept by Fang Zhengzhi...

    "How audacious! You dare to snatch my zing Qilin Spear?" Ping Yang was fuming. She wanted to snatch it back.

    However, when she looked at Canyang...

    She calmed down...

    The zing Qilin Spear would be more effective in the hands of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just as she was thinking about it, a fiery red glow shed past her eyes and she felt something in her palms.

    "Forget it, I¡¯ll return it to you." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed out.

    "Return it to me?" Ping Yang blinked, visibly stunned. She could not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would hand the spear back at this time...

    Shouldn¡¯t he be dealing with Canyang?

    Speaking of Canyang...

    Ping Yang looked at him subconsciously.

    She looked at those lifeless eyes and that youthful face. The golden symbol on his head had dimmed significantly.

    Even though it had dimmed, the golden symbol still remained and there was still a faint glow. That meant that Canyang...

    Was still a Sage!

    A Sage was still a powerful existence.

    What about Fang Zhengzhi?

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi, realizing that she may have jumped the gun. She was too close to Fang Zhengzhi and Canyang...

    Because...

    Their battle hadn¡¯t ended!

    Ping Yang wanted to run.

    But at that moment, Fang Zhengzhi spoke.

    "Oi, do you have a fresh set of clothes?"

    "Clothes?" Ping Yang was stunned. Then, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, blushing as she did so, "Shameless... erm... I have a dress..."

    "Dress? Then you can keep it for yourself." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he began searching around.

    Before long, he found something that caught his eye.

    He walked towards a demon corpse nearby.

    Ping Yang could tell that this was a high ranking demon. The demon¡¯s armor and helmet were clearly different from the others.

    It was brighter and tougher...

    But...

    That wasn¡¯t the point...

    Why did Fang Zhengzhi dare to walk to that corpse so openly?

    Was he not afraid that Canyang would catch him?

    Ping Yang felt the world crumbling around her. As Fang Zhengzhi walked towards the corpse, Canyang also moved.

    He began walking towards Ping Yang.

    "Stop right there! Don¡¯t think that I will let you do as you wish simply because you¡¯re a Sage!" Ping Yang bellowed.

    She knew that Canyang wouldn¡¯t bother with her...

    Her intention was not for Canyang to listen to her, she wanted to remind Fang Zhengzhi that she was in danger.

    However...

    What she didn¡¯t expect was that...

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored her cries. He simply walked over to the body and removed the armor. Then, he tried it on for himself.

    Sweat rolled down Ping Yang¡¯s forehead.

    She didn¡¯t want to die here. If she could, she would definitely haunt Fang Zhengzhi for the rest of his life.

    Canyang was closing in.

    Ping Yang couldn¡¯t take it any longer.

    She tightened her grip around the zing Qilin Spear, grit her teeth, and thrust it at Canyang¡¯s throat.

    "ng!"

    The zing Qilin Spear fell to the ground.

    It felt as though Ping Yang had not held the spear tightly. However, Ping Yang knew the truth... she had been forced to drop the spear by an overwhelming force.

    Canyang was next to Ping Yang.

    Their shoulders were almost touching.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t move.

    However, Canyang continued to walk forward. He brushed past Ping Yang, his silver hair dancing in the wind.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He continued to hum a little tune nearby, adjusting his armor, visibly satisfied.

    Ping Yang was furious.

    What the hell was this guy doing?

    Doesn¡¯t he know the consequences of ignoring me? How can he be so sure Canyang won¡¯t attack?

    More importantly...

    Where did he get all that power from? What happened between him and Canyang just now?

    Ping Yang had too many questions...

    In fact, these were the questions that were shing through the minds of all the soldiers. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang with confusion...

    They couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Even the demons couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Right now...

    Yun Qingwu was with Chi Guyan and Canyang had Ping Yang. Why wouldn¡¯t Canyang capture Ping Yang to trade for Yun Qingwu?

    All of the demons looked at Canyang with confusion in their eyes.

    At that moment, Canyang walked to Chi Guyan, his hollow eyes staring straight ahead, the golden symbol on his forehead dull...

    "Exchange hostages." Canyang¡¯s voice rang out.

    "..."

    The entire field was silent...

    Everyone had expected Canyang to say something different. This was thest thing everyone expected Canyang to say.

    "Exchange hostages?"

    "Is this the time to discuss the exchange of hostages?!"

 Chapter 465: Outstanding results

    Chapter 465: Outstanding results

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone was stunned when they heard what Canyang said.

    It was obvious...

    Neither Canyang nor Fang Zhengzhi was dead. Ordinarily, the two of them should continue fighting!

    What was happening?

    One went to try on armor from a corpse whilst the other is talking about exchanging hostages?

    All of the soldiers looked at each other and saw nothing but confusion in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The only exnation they coulde up with was...

    The two of them must be crazy...

    How else could you exin what was happening?

    No one could understand.

    Countless eyes stared at Canyang.

    They could only wait for the answer to be revealed.

    Perhaps the answer would lie in Canyang¡¯s next move or Chi Guyan¡¯s answer.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s hair and pink dress danced in the wind.

    "Okay." Chi Guyan nodded without hesitation. She proposed no terms of her own, almost as if she had already expected this.

    "Mm." Canyang nodded.

    There were no unnecessary words or emotions. Chi Guyan looked as calm as ever.

    All of the soldiers couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    "What is happening?"

    "It¡¯s done?!"

    "That¡¯s all?"

    Every soldier on the battlefield, regardless of demon or human, were utterly confused.

    This was unbelievable!

    If things were that simple, what was the point of the battle just now? Countless humans and demons had died for nothing!

    They couldn¡¯t understand it...

    Until...

    They heard a ruckus behind them.

    It was definitely from some distance away. It came from the direction of the Iron Hill Settlement, and the noises were approaching quickly.

    However, when the soldiers heard the noises, their expressions changed.

    The demons tensed up.

    The soldiers of the joint forces heaved a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.

    One could see joy and relief in their eyes. Victory was assured.

    After an entire day of grueling battle...

    The reinforcements had arrived.

    Even though this was only the vanguard, the arrival of these soldiers meant that the battle was over.

    At this point...

    Everyone finally understood why Canyang would propose the idea of exchanging hostages to Chi Guyan.

    They also understood why the exchange went so smoothly.

    Because...

    The battle was meaningless at this point.

    The result was clear.

    Any battle now would result in heavy losses on all sides. This was something that no one wanted to partake in.

    In a battle to the death between two powerhouses...

    There will be one who will emerge victorious.

    However, if one was not significantly stronger than the other, then any victory would be pyrrhic and would notst very long.

    In fact...

    It was rare for armies to fight battles that they knew would result in pyrrhic victories.

    One of the rare examples was the battle outside the Great Xia¡¯s capital.

    It was a brutal battle.

    A battle which neither the demons nor the humans wanted to think about. They didn¡¯t want history to repeat itself.

    "Master, you..." Yun Qingwu could hear the noises from afar, but she chose to ignore them. She didn¡¯t give the withdrawal order either.

    She looked at Canyang. There were no tears in her eyes, but she was slightly worried.

    Canyang didn¡¯t advice Yun Qingwu to give the order for withdrawal either. He extended his hand and ruffled Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair.

    The demons stayed in their positions.

    The soldiers of the joint forces gripped their weapons in anticipation.

    This was the final defence.

    They could not let down their guard until the reinforcements arrived.

    The tension in the air was thick...

    Shan Ling was extremely nervous. He could hear the reinforcementsing, but he didn¡¯t know if they were Southern Region soldiers or Great Xia soldiers!

    There was only one person who didn¡¯t seem nervous.

    That person was Fang Zhengzhi.

    After donning his armor, Fang Zhengzhi tidied his hair, wiggled his hips, then walked over to Ping Yang.

    "Let¡¯s go." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "Go? Where?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully.

    "Rubbish! I¡¯ve had a long night of fighting! I¡¯m famished, aren¡¯t you?" Fang Zhengzhi chided.

    Ping Yang stared nkly at Fang Zhengzhi. She knew that this fe had just eaten.

    "You... you¡¯re not full?" Ping Yang asked doubtfully.

    "Idiot!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be bothered to entertain her with an answer.

    "Idiot!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army knew some of the history between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi. As such, they weren¡¯t too surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone.

    However, the Southern Region soldiers werepletely floored.

    Disrespect...

    Disrespecting a Princess?

    Hang on...

    He disrespected Princess Shan Yu before as well!

    All of the Southern Region soldiers shook their heads disapprovingly.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the reactions of the soldiers. He turned to look at Chi Guyan.

    "Are you eating?" Fang Zhengzhi asked impatiently.

    "I will eat if you¡¯re cooking." Chi Guyan nodded after some thought.

    "Me? I don¡¯t even have the ingredients to cook." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, pointing to his chest as he did so.

    "I got some from thest time I was at your house." Chi Guyan produced a small, exquisite wooden box.

    There were more than 10partments inside, each one containing a different colored powder.

    All of the soldiers were stunned when they saw Chi Guyan take out that small wooden box.

    They weren¡¯t surprised by the box...

    They were stunned by her words.

    His house?

    What was she saying?

    Of course...

    That wasn¡¯t the main point. The current situation was still tense... why was Fang Zhengzhi talking about food?

    Why did he drag Chi Guyan into the conversation?

    They were still at war! How could the two of them talk about food whilst they were at war?

    Most importantly...

    Canyang didn¡¯t seem to be angered by it. It was almost as if he didn¡¯t hear the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    Did he forget what Fang Zhengzhi did to him in The Vast World? Even though he could heal very quickly as a Sage, could he really tolerate being humiliated in that way?

    Definitely not!

    What had happened at that moment? What happened in The Vast World?

    "Girls are so annoying..."

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the gazes of those around him. His eyes glittered when he saw Chi Guyan¡¯s box of spices, but he tried to y it off.

    "Then I want some too!" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t resist the temptation. Her eyes glowed in anticipation.

    "None for you." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Humph, why not? The ingredients are Sister Yan¡¯s and you are using her ingredients to cook! Half of it is hers, if I, as a princess..."

    "I told you before, don¡¯t use your rank with me. That belongs in the pce. When you speak to me, address yourself as ¡¯I¡¯." Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.

    "I want some!" Ping Yang replied.

    "Fine." Fang Zhengzhi waved her off, then began walking towards the gates of the Iron Hill Settlement.

    Chi Guyan and Ping Yang followed behind.

    The Southern Region soldiers couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. They never expected Canyang to let Fang Zhengzhi go.

    However...

    The fact was that Canyang had no intention of stopping Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Oi, shameless fe, why didn¡¯t that blind old mane over? Why isn¡¯t he trying to kill you? What secret did you two share?" Ping Yang kept watching Canyang as she walked to the Iron Hill Settlement, but Canyang didn¡¯t move.

    Ping Yang couldn¡¯t resist it any longer.

    "Idiot." Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain.

    "You scold me again? Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re a big shot just because you did something great! Aiya... to be honest, you did save us all this time. Even though you couldn¡¯t defeat Canyang, you managed to hold out until the reinforcements arrived. Your feat was witnessed by so many people. I think the Emperor wille to the city gates to wee you back this time. Do you believe me?"

    Ping Yang pouted initially, but when she recalled what Fang Zhengzhi did, she beamed radiantly.

    It was almost as if she had done it herself.

    "Wee me at the gates? What use is that? I would rather he give me some gems, oh, no, some treasures would be good. I lost so much blood..."

    "What do you know? Ordinarily, only the victoriousmander gets weed by the Emperor. That usually happens at the gates of the pce! To have him wee you at the gates to the city is a huge honor! How dare you ask for treasure?" Ping Yang replied scornfully.

    "Honor is meaningless, treasure is the way to go." Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "What about a promotion? If I am not wrong, you will definitely be promoted. Let me see... it wouldn¡¯t be too much to make you a rank one minister. However, since youck experience, rank one... may be too much. Rank two should be no problem though. You could be a nobleman, and a hereditary one at that!" Ping Yang said excitedly.

    "Hereditary nobility?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered.

    He didn¡¯t care much for the promotion, but hereditary nobility was a different story altogether.

    It was equivalent to bing a member of the noble elite.

    If he was a night, he could give his mother a position as well. His father... it was quite good.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t care how high those positions were.

    They would all be paid for their jobs.

    In other words, he would be handed a golden rice bowl. All they had to do was collect their sry every month, even if they did nothing.

    How wonderful!

    He salivated just thinking about it.

    If he returned to the vige with a hereditary nobility, all of the vigers would wet themselves.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled radiantly when he thought about this.

    When Ping Yang saw this.

    Her excitement turned into scorn.

    "What¡¯s the big deal about it? Isn¡¯t it just a knighthood?" Ping Yang retorted. Then, she added, "Oi, shameless fe, you haven¡¯t told me. What happened between you and Canyang? Why didn¡¯t he kill you?"

    "If I am correct, Canyang did what he did for Yun Qingwu." Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yun Qingwu? What has sparing Fang Zhengzhi got to do with Yun Qingwu?" Ping Yang was confused.

 Chapter 466: Altering Fate

    Chapter 466: Altering Fate

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It¡¯s better to teach a man to fish than to give a man to fish. Have you heard this expression before?" Chi Guyan asked Ping Yang.

    "Of course. Giving a man a fish may solve his immediate problem, but it¡¯s not asting solution. In order to feed him for life, it¡¯s better to teach him to fish. Am I right?" Ping Yang replied.

    "Yes." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "But... I still don¡¯t understand. What has this got to do with Canyang sparing Fang Zhengzhi?" Ping Yang blinked in confusion.

    "There is another meaning to that story, it is the story of a masterying the path for his disciple."

    "A path?"

    "Canyang is a great master. He is so good that he is willing to give up a chance for revenge for Yun Qingwu." Chi Guyan exined.

    "Give up a chance for revenge for Yun Qingwu? What you¡¯re saying is..."

    "Yes, Canyang is doing the groundwork for Yun Qingwu."

    "Groundwork?" Ping Yang was increasingly confused.

    "If I am right, Canyang probably has very little time left." Chi Guyan watched the two figures in the distance.

    One was dressed in blue, the other in white.

    The two figures stood quietly in the middle of the field. One looked extremely calm, whilst the other had an expression of care and unwillingness.

    "Sister Yan, you¡¯re saying that the blind man is about to die? That¡¯s not very possible, is it? He is a Sage! Shouldn¡¯t his lifespan be extended as a result?" Ping Yang queried.

    "Normally, that would be the case." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "Normally? Are you saying that he didn¡¯t truly enter the Sage State but instead forced a breakthrough?" Ping Yang was in shock.

    "There are six Daos in the Rebirth State. Once you grasp the Heavenly Dao, then you are a mere step away from attaining Sage. Canyang had wielded the Heavenly Dao for over a decade. There can be only one possibility why he didn¡¯t attain Sage earlier."

    "What is it?"

    "He only cultivated one Dao!"

    "Only one Dao? Erm... you mean he entered the Heavenly Rebirth State without going through the Star Conglomerate, Heavenly Reflection, and Supernatural States? How is that possible?" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t believe this even though it hade from Chi Guyan.

    "It is extremely difficult for humans, but it is not impossible for a demon. They have essed Dao from the moment of birth." Chi Guyan exined patiently.

    "That... that is unbelievable!"

    "Canyang was rtively unknown for most of his life. He only showcased his abilities over the past decade. Such great improvement may only be possible for someone like Canyang. Of course, this is just my guess." Chi Guyan continued.

    "Even the Emperor buys into your guesses and posttions. However, I still don¡¯t understand. Since he knew that he couldn¡¯t be a Sage, why would he waste his life and breakthrough forcefully?" Ping Yang pressed.

    "Maybe he didn¡¯t have much time left anyway."

    "Oh..." Ping Yang was silent. If what Chi Guyan said was true, then there may be a reason for the demons linking up with the Southern Region now.

    Canyang was out of time...

    Was that the driving force behind this n?

    If that was so, was Canyang breaking through to Sage also part of the n? Ping Yang¡¯s face was filled with shock.

    No wonder...

    Yun Qingwu was the Young Master of the demons.

    She was known for her ability to predict the future.

    However...

    She had failed to calcte Fang Zhengzhi into the equation. Even if she did, she didn¡¯t know that Fang Zhengzhi had The Vast World, nor could she have known that Fang Zhengzhi could face up against Canyang.

    This was Heaven¡¯s will.

    It had nothing to do with Yun Qingwu¡¯s n.

    "I understand now. Canyang was worried that this failure would affect Yun Qingwu¡¯s standing amongst the demons. Since he won¡¯t be able to be by Yun Qingwu¡¯s side for long, he decided to take this course of action." Ping Yang finally saw the light.

    "Mm." Chi Guyan nodded.

    By leaving behind a ¡¯threat¡¯ that only Yun Qingwu knew well, he could ensure that Yun Qingwu was still valued in the Demonmunity.

    However...

    .

    There had to be another reason why Canyang was willing to let Fang Zhengzhi live.

    In his mind, he was sure that Fang Zhengzhi could not harm the demons anymore.

    In other words, Fang Zhengzhi was...

    Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, her eyes glittering. Her mouth twitched, but no words came out.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan was thinking.

    However...

    Even he didn¡¯t have the answers.

    What was the aftermath of eating his Fruits of Dao?

    No one knew.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother thinking about it. There was no use anyways. All he knew was that when Canyang pressed on his chest, he had stared death in the face.

    However...

    Canyang didn¡¯t kill him.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if it was because of Yun Qingwu, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered. All he knew was that if Canyang didn¡¯t kill him then...

    He wouldn¡¯t kill him now.

    That was enough. The rest was up to him.

    "How about we talk about the hereditary nobility? After I get it, would I be getting anynd? Would I have my own guard?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke up as he walked towards the gates of the settlement.

    Marry someone?

    That was a must.

    Else, who will inherit the knighthood? Who was he going to marry? Chi Guyan was out of the question. Yun Qingwu? Pui, that was even worse...

    He would have to go on a blind date...

    With his qualities, he should be able tond a gooddy.

    Hang on, thosedies from noble families tend to be aloof and unable to work. He should find someone who is capable of doing chores.

    Yes!

    That was something important!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was busy nning his life...

    Ping Yang looked at him with disdain. She was concerned about his safety, but all he cared about wasnd and a squad of guards?

    "Can you show some appreciation? Why do you only think ofnd and a squad of guards?" Ping Yang pouted as she looked at Yun Qingwu and Canyang.

    Behind Yun Qingwu and Canyang...

    There were hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers, their armor glistening in the sun. This was a terrifying army to face off against.

    "Hahaha, what do you know? This is my reward for surviving that catastrophe." Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be bothered to debate with Ping Yang.

    Now was his time to celebrate.

    Everything else...

    Could be pushed to the side for now.

    Of course, there was one other thing he had to take care of. That was Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Chi Guyan and Ping Yang, "Do either of you know how Yan Xiu is?"

    "Yan Xiu? He went back to Western Liang." Ping Yang replied without hesitation.

    "He returned to Western Liang? Okay then..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He had heard from Teng Shisheng that Yan Xiu suffered serious injuries at the battle at the Icy Monkey Settlement.

    It was normal that he would return to Western Liang to recuperate.

    That being said, he would have to find time to visit Yan Xiu. The only problem was he may not live to see that day...

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and walked into the Iron Hill Settlement.

    When the Southern Region soldiers guarding the gate saw the three of them approach, they stepped aside.

    The three of them disappeared into the settlement.

    Nangong Hao also stood up as he looked at the pink figure. He clenched his fists.

    Then unclenched them almost as quickly.

    "My lord, I need to make a trip back."

    "Make a trip back?" Xing Yuanguo knew that Nangong Hao meant the Nangong Family¡¯s residence.

    "Yes, my brother is waiting for me at the gates. This is the treaty signed by the Southern Region. Please hand it to the Emperor for me. I will visit the Emperor in the capital in a month¡¯s time with my brother." Nangong Hao handed the treaty to Xing Yuanguo.

    "I understand." Xing Yuanguo nodded as he took the treaty in his hands.

    ...

    Time flew by.

    Before long, the vanguard of the reinforcements arrived. This was the Great Xia¡¯s army garrisoned at the Icy Monkey Settlement. Shan Ling was not happy to see this.

    Four hourster...

    The rest of the reinforcements arrived.

    Hundreds of thousands of soldiers marched into the settlement. Their morale and confidence were high

    Then...

    When they saw the demon army outside the city, all of their expressions changed.

    They simply couldn¡¯t imagine what had happened here...

    How did the army hold out in the face of such a domineering onught?

    "Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Great Xia is here!" One of the settlement chiefs whispered to Shan Ling.

    "Mm." Shan Ling nodded.

    At that very moment, Ling Tianrong, dressed in a silver robe, walked over with Xing Yuanguo.

    "I am the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, Shan Ling. Greetings, your highness!" Shan Ling was pale, but he still orded Lin Tianrong with the appropriate respect.

    "Crown Prince, you can do away with the formalities. The Demons are a troublesome bunch, waging war on Great Xiands. You must have been through a lot. When I return, I will request for a garrison to be permanently stationed here!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes were filled with concern as he looked at Shan Ling¡¯s wounds.

    Shan Ling squinted.

    The Great Xia¡¯snds?

    A garrison?!

    He knew what the Crown Prince was referring to. He also knew what Lin Tianrong had done since stepping foot in the Southern Region.

    However...

    He could not afford to antagonize Lin Tianrong.

    His chest heaved as he smiled. However, his attention had already turned to the demon army on the field.

    "Even though they cannot take the Iron Hill Settlement, they aren¡¯t withdrawing. What is their motive? Crown Prince, do you have any intention to withdraw?" Shan Ling spoke.

    "Haha..." Lin Tianrong chuckled. He did not show any signs of unhappiness at the question as he looked at the demon army.

    "There are two reasons why they are not withdrawing. The first is posturing! Even though they have lost the battle, they have not lost the momentum. If they withdraw immediately, they will lose morale. Furthermore, it takes time to prepare for such arge-scale withdrawal. Yun Qingwu is smart not to give the order immediately!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s voice rang out.

    "You are right. Since Yun Qingwu is merely posturing, Shan Ling, you need not worry. Just increase the defences a little just in case." Lin Tianrong nodded.

    When Shan Ling heard this, his eyes glittered but he maintained his smile.

    "Lord, you said that there were two reasons. What is the second?" Shan Ling asked sincerely.

    "Robbery! The demons must have used up many resources in this campaign. They had intended to take the capital. Now that the capital is off the table, they will definitely look for secondary rewards." Xing Yuanguo added.

    "Robbery?! Are they going to ransack Nan Ling?" Shan Ling¡¯s expression turned to shock.

    However, he did not ask for help.

    He knew that Lin Tianrong was waiting for him to do so.

    However, if he asked for help...

    The price that he would have to pay would definitely be greater than Nan Ling Settlement. More importantly, the demon army was a force to be reckoned with.

    Even if the Great Xia was willing to help, they would not risk their lives for some gold.

    As a result...

    Any request for help would be meaningless.

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t speak.

    After a moment of silence, Crown Prince Lin TIanrong chuckled, his eyes glittering.

    "Since the lord has spelled it all out, let¡¯s just guard the Iron Hill Settlement for three days. Is that okay?"

    "Yes, thank you for your assistance!"

    Shan Ling nodded and left the wall.

    "Your Highness, we will be taking our leave too!" The settlement chiefs followed Shan Ling¡¯s lead.

    "Okay, it has been tough on all of you. I will take over the defense." Lin Tianrong smiled and bowed.

    Shan Ling and the settlement chiefs returned to the settlement.

    Lin Tianrong turned back and looked at the sea of demon soldiers in ck, his gaze icy.

    ...

    Nightfall.

    Inside a huge stone house in the Iron Hill Settlement...

    The house¡¯s interior was beautiful. It was adorned with leather on the walls as well as leather carpets.

    Gems also hung from the ceiling, lighting up the entire room.

    Lin Tianrong wore a white robe and hey down on an exquisite piece of leather. He squinted, his eyes icy.

    Having arrived here...

    He had heard about the battle and the events in The Vast World.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! I never expected... that the battle here would shoot you to fame!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s chest heaved but he calmed himself down.

    "Your Highness, Official Su is here!"

    At that moment, the voice of one of his servants rang out.

    Then, Official Su, donning a ck robe, entered the room.

    "Official Su, what great timing." Lin Tianrong nced at Official Su. He didn¡¯t give Official Su the permission to sit.

    Su Qing wasn¡¯t surprised by this. He knew exactly how Lin Tianrong was feeling.

    Lin Tianrong wasn¡¯t alone in his shock.

    When he heard about the events here, he was stunned as well.

    "Your Highness, are you worried about Fang Zhengzhi?" Su Qing asked softly as he bowed.

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Haha... Official Su, I have known you to be a great reader, but I must disappoint you this time. No matter how much Fang Zhengzhi achieved here, he is of no threat to me. Furthermore, he has been rendered useless." Lin Tianrong replied disdainfully.

    "You are right, Fang Zhengzhi cannot threaten you, but..." Su Qing stopped himself.

    "But what? Spill it!"

    "Your Highness, did you forget about the messenger you sent to the Icy Monkey Settlement?"

    "I have already made arrangements and there is no evidence the order came from me. Even if Fang Zhengzhiined to the Emperor, it will not link back to me."

    "There is no evidence, but this doesn¡¯t mean that Fang Zhengzhi will not hate you for it." Su Qing nodded.

    "So what?" Lin Tianrong replied dismissively.

    "With his contributions this time, Fang Zhengzhi may be orded a title and his family may be promoted to noble status. Do you know that the Minister Of Rites is dead? If I am correct, the Emperor had tried to push Fang Zhengzhi to that ministry. Now, with his achievements, it is only a matter of time before he bes the minister." Su Qing added.

    "Continue." Lin Tianrong¡¯s interest had been piqued.

    Ministry of Rites!

    One of the six ministries, in charge of rites and diplomacy. It was one of the most important domestic ministries. He had control of the ministry in the past.

    Of course...

    That was not the most important point.

    Most importantly, Lin Tianrong knew that the Emperor had been meaning tobine the Imperial Academy and the Ministry of Rites. If that were to happen...

    The influence of the Ministry of Rites would be gargantuan.

    "Your Highness, I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t forgotten that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan have a wager that could result in their marriage. Previously, the possibility of this was close to none. But what if he is the Minister of Rites?" Su Qing smirked.

    "Are you talking about the Divine Constabry?" Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "That¡¯s right. Chi Hou has always been King Duan¡¯s strategist. Even though Fang Zhengzhi and King Duan have a bit of history, if Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi wed, what would his attitude be?"

    "Carry on."

    "If Fang Zhengzhi is the Minister of Rites and a son-inw to the Divine Constabry... taking into ount Xing Yuanguo¡¯s attitude towards him today... do you think the 13 constabries... will still remain silent?"

    "Impossible! The Stabilization Constabry has never taken part in the battle for the throne. This is something that will never happen!" Lin Tianrong replied assertively.

    "Theoretically, that is true, but what if it happens? If the 13 Constabries are linked to King Duan... together with the Yan Family of Western Liang... you may not be able to hold your position."

    "Smack!"

    A crack appeared in Lin Tianrong¡¯s bed.

    Lin Tianrong finally sat up, his eyes squinted and filled with iciness.

    "What is your n?"

    "I have a n that will help take care of all these concerns and will also give you all the credit here. If it works, no one will be able to contest your position!" Su Qing¡¯s eyes glittered.

    "It¡¯ll give me all the credit? Haha... you must be joking. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits here are clear for all to see, how can I take that away?" Lin Tianrong couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.

    "Stealing is the lowest of all methods. This n of mine will not steal anything, but it could change the course of events!" Su Qing shook his head.

    "Haha... you n to help me take all the credit without stealing? That is ridiculous. Why don¡¯t you tell me how confident you are of this n seeding?" Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    "10%!" Su Qing replied without any hesitation.

    10%? You must be joking." Lin Tianrong froze as he stared at Su Qing.

    "If it doesn¡¯t work, I am willing to die for my actions!" Su Qing fell to his knees.

    "Okay then, tell me what your n is!" Lin Tianrong stood up and walked over to Su Qing to help him up.

 Chapter 467: Making Babies

    Chapter 467: Making Babies

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Two figures say under the moonlight. It was dim, but the two figures glittered in the light.

    After eating and drinking his fill, Fang Zhengzhi changed into a fresh set of clothes. The only thing left to do was get a good night¡¯s rest.

    However...

    He still chose to sit down with Chi Guyan.

    There was no special reason. Perhaps it was because Chi Guyan was leaving at daybreak and Fang Zhengzhi wanted to repay her for saving him.

    There was no harm in listening to the roar of beasts whilst snacking on some nuts. They could enjoy watching the moon whilst being surrounded by an army of demons.

    The night was best for admiring the moon.

    He leaned against the backrest of the stone chair and ced his feet on the table. He held a handful of nuts in his hand.

    This was his reward after the battle.

    "What are your ns after you return to the capital?" Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t surprised to see Fang Zhengzhi so rxed.

    "I¡¯ll visit the Northern Mountain Vige first." Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan was wearing a blue dress and had a white flower pinned to her chest. A white belt around her waist entuated her great figure.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to admit that Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes were especially alluring, and she had an attractive aura about her.

    It was a pity that she was a little too arrogant.

    "And then what?" Chi Guyan pressed.

    "I¡¯ll build a big house."

    "And?"

    "Marry... erm, find 100 servants."

    "100?"

    "Yes."

    "Is 100 enough?"

    "Haha... yes it is, any more and the expenses would be too great."

    "Mm, that¡¯s true." Chi Guyan nodded but didn¡¯t say more.

    Fang Zhengzhi was silent as well. He continued eating the nuts in his hand, but he found that they weren¡¯t as tasty as before.

    The night was chilly.

    It was almost winter. Nights in the Southern Region were already cold, and the chill cooled the stone seats even further.

    After some time...

    Chi Guyan spoked once again.

    "Once you return to the capital, I think the Emperor would make you acting minister of the Ministry of Rites. What... do you think of that?"

    "Then I¡¯ll just take it up." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "The Heaven Dao Pavillion selections are in a month¡¯s time, will you be participating?" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was calm, but her eyes were filled with anticipation.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t speak.

    He knew why Chi Guyan hade to find him, and he also knew that he had promised her that he would go to the selections.

    The only problem was...

    Could he still do it?

    Time seemed to crawl...

    The night deepened.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and closed his eyes.

    Chi Guyan did not press further. She simply sat quietly, her eyes glittering like the stars in the sky.

    It was a calm night...

    Some distance away, there was another calm figure...

    This figure was d in ck leather, her beige skin glowing.

    She watched the two figures sitting under the moonlight.

    "Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the Settlement Chiefs are waiting for you." Someone whispered respectfully beside her.

    "I got it. Are there any movements from the demons?"

    "Not yet."

    "Okay, pass down my orders. The Silver Horned Wolves are to help reinforce the defences. There must be no points of weakness! Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with by court-martial!"

    "Yes, ma¡¯am!" The voice replied and took his leave.

    She continued to watch the two figures under the moonlight for a while. Her eyes glittered momentarily, then she took her leave.

    ...

    At daybreak, Chi Guyan left and brought a begrudging Ping Yang with her.

    The demon army was still camped outside the Iron Hill Settlement. They exercised and practiced formations, but neverunched an attack.

    When Fang Zhengzhi was free, he would go and sit on the settlement walls.

    There was always one figure standing at the front of the demon camp. That was a figure in a white dress.

    Three dayster, the demon army withdrew.

    The Southern Region war was finally over.

    As themander, Xing Yuanguo headed straight back to the capital after the war was over. Xing Qingsui, the Dragon Protection Squad, the Mountain Breaking Army and the 100,000 Great Xia soldiers returned with him.

    However...

    The Crown Prince did not return immediately.

    All of the candidates who had participated in the court examinations stayed behind with the Crown Prince to participate in the celebratory dinner.

    As the one with the greatest contribution to this victory...

    Fang Zhengzhi stayed behind as well. He followed the Southern Region soldiers back to the Sagely Mountain City and basked in the festivities.

    At that very moment, the capital of the Great Xia was also in a celebratory mood.

    News of the battle had already reached the capital. The events of the Southern Region sent everyone in the capital into a frenzy.

    "Did you hear? Fang Zhengzhi dueled a Sage!"

    "Of course I heard about it. I am sure he would be handsomely rewarded."

    "It is a pity that this is the end of the road for his cultivation."

    "So what? His contributions to the battle would definitely mean that the Emperor will reward him handsomely! His cultivation may have been ruined, but it was for the country! Even if he was crippled, it would be worth it!"

    Everyone was talking about the war, and everyone was talking about Fang Zhengzhi...

    ...

    In the throne room...

    The officials stood on both sides whilst Emperor Lin Mubai took his seat on the throne. He was smiling radiantly.

    This was a difficult battle.

    However...

    It had gone even better than he had expected. Even though they had suffered some losses, they managed to quell the unrest in the Southern Region. The Emperor was delighted.

    "Your Highness, the Crown Prince had been a key factor in our victory. Now, he is negotiating with the Southern Region on behalf of the Great Xia. In my modest opinion..."

    "When is Xing Hou expected to arrive?" Emperor Lin Mubai interrupted and waved the official off.

    "Your Highness, we have reports that he has left the Southern Region. He should be back within the next five days." Another official stepped forward, smirking at the other embarrassed official.

    The Crown Prince?

    That¡¯s jumping the gun.

    They had won the Southern Region war. As the chief invigtor of the court examination, he did have a part to y in the victory, but...

    Inparison to some others... his contributions were negligible.

    "Okay, my orders are as follows. Tell Xing Hou not to rush and to take care of himself. Have all the cities and provinces along the way prepare feasts as a reward for our army." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

    "Yes, your highness!"

    "Oh yes, Fang Zhengzhi is still in the Southern Regions, yes?" Emperor Lin Mubai seemed to remember something.

    "Your Highness, Fang Zhengzhi is participating in the celebratory feast in the Southern Region. He should be there for another week. He will return with the Crown Prince..." The official replied.

    All of the other officials looked at each other. They knew what wasing...

    Discussing Fang Zhengzhi right after Xing Hou...

    That meant that he was valued far more than just a rank four official.

    However, none of them raised any objections because they knew that there will be a youth in the courts very soon.

    A sixteen-year-old...

    This was a teenager who they had to listen to and value his opinions. This man was the main reason why they were victorious.

    A duel against Canyang in The Vast World.

    This would make him famous throughout all thends...

    Even if he was no longer a talent...

    "Okay, here are my orders. Fang Zhengzhi is to be made assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. He will temporarily be a rank three official. He will represent the ministry and assist in negotiations with the Southern Region." Emperor Lin Mubai ordered.

    "Yes, your highness!" All of the officials replied.

    No one dared to bring up the fact that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation had been ruined. Even Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping closed his eyes and remained calm.

    They all heard the word "temporarily".

    Rank three official? Temporarily?

    He had already received a double promotion despite not having returned to the capital. One could only imagine what rewards awaited him when he returned.

    ...

    The Sagely Mountain City was in a festive mood.

    From the foot of the hill all the way to the peak,dies in rattan lined the sides of the road, dancing to wee the victorious army. There were bonfires all along the path...

    Beasts roasted on each bonfire, the fragrance wafting into the noses of the soldiers.

    This was how the Southern Region weed their warriors. Each bonfire represented a settlement. Thedies danced to wee their warriors back.

    When the warriors passed by the bonfire of their settlement, they could stop and enjoy the food.

    Of course...

    If they wanted to, they could interact with thedies dancing by the bonfire. If thedies were willing, they could form even deeper connections.

    The Southern Region was and of warriors.

    It was also a very liberal ce.

    Countless warriors stopped in their tracks and joined in the festivities, eating and drinking their fill.

    At the peak of the Sagely Mountain City...

    The festivities were at their greatest inside the royal pce.

    A myriad of leather pieces hung from the walls of the pce. There were also pictures fashioned from dyed rattan and gems.

    Each picture represented something different.

    It was an honor.

    It was also a faith...

    A faith that belonged to the major settlements of the Southern Region.

    The bigger and more intricate the picture, the more space it took. The sixrgest pictures hung from the main door.

    There was a golden picture in the middle of the six.

    This belonged to the royal family.

    Inside the throne room, the King of the Southern Region, dressed in exquisite leather, sat next to the Crown Prince.

    Just below them were Shan Ling and Princess Shan Yu, as well as the settlement chiefs and Great Xia candidates.

    "Drink!" The King of the Southern Region raised his ss.

    "Drink!" The settlement chiefs echoed.

    The candidates from the Great Xia raised their sses as well. They were all flushed; the wine in the Southern Region was much stronger than they were used to.

    However, they weren¡¯t about to concede.

    As such...

    They raised their sses and gulped it down.

    With everyone high and tipsy, the poetryposition began.

    The brushes of the Great Xia candidates were stained ck with ink.

    The Southern Region settlement chiefs found friends amongst the generals and music began to fill the room.

    Fang Zhengzhi had little interest in all of this.

    However, there was too much attention on him. Even the King of the Southern Region and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong came over to toast him.

    Then, there were the settlement chiefs and generals...

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had been a bit of a recluse during such events. However, today, he was the center of attraction.

    No one tried to challenge him to poetry.

    After the candidates finished theirposition, they would turn to look at Fang Zhengzhi with excitement and anticipation.

    "Official Fang, please critique!"

    "Good!" Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    "Thank you, Official Fang!" The candidate would smile and bow before he turned to ask forments from the others.

    Watching this...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt rather exasperated.

    Being so popr isn¡¯t such a great thing after all. That being said... he could probably start taking bribes in the near future.

    After he received his titles andnd and servants... he couldn¡¯t possibly reject all the gifts offered to him...

    Right?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled to himself. After so many toasts, he was beginning to feel a little tipsy.

    After a few more rounds, he felt rather groggy.

    At that moment, the King of the Southern Region stood up, his face flushed as he surveyed the candidates below.

    "The people of the Great Xia are knowledgeable and cultured. I am truly in awe! It is a pity that age is catching up with me. I will have to leave the cultural exchange and learning to the next generation."

    "Your Highness, you are still young." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong stood up and smiled.

    "Hahaha... there is no point in denying that I am old. However, my age is of little concern. I am simply handing over the responsibilities to the next generation a little earlier." The King of the Southern Region chuckled.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted when he heard this. His eyes glittered icily as he looked at Shan Ling.

    However, they reverted to normal very quickly.

    "In my modest opinion, you still have more than a decade of ruling in you!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong added.

    "Ten years? Hahaha... you must be joking. I know my body well. I wouldn¡¯t evenst a year longer, much less ten. However, there¡¯s something that I¡¯ve been unable to put to rest." The Southern Region Kingmented.

    "What is it?"

    "This requires your help, Crown Prince." The King of the Southern Region added.

    "Your Highness, you are too kind. If I have the honor of assisting you, I will definitely do my best without any hesitation!" Lin Tianrong squinted.

    "Hahaha... that¡¯s great! Let me thank you on behalf of Princess Shan Yu in advance!" The King of the Southern Regionughed.

    "Princess?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was taken aback.

    "Yes, this daughter of mine has been pampered since young. She doesn¡¯t like any of our brave warriors. However, she has taken an interest in the candidates..." The King of the Southern Region looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly tipsy...

    However, this did not affect his judgment.

    He was shocked to see the King of the Southern Region look at him. "F*ck me, is he trying to get me to marry his daughter?"

    Then...

    Should he ept or reject?

    At that very moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt another pair of eyes looking at him. This figure was wearing a luxurious piece of leather.

    Her eyes were as ck as ink and glittered in the light.

    Her body exuded an animalistic aura that radiated all over her skin. She also had thin, pen-like legs.

    Princess Shan Yu.

    She was ady with many suitors.

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected that he would be the center of attraction today.

    Much less the subject of an arranged marriage.

    This request came from the King himself?

    Shouldn¡¯t this be requested by the guy?

    If this was the case...

    Could he save on the dowry?

    After all, Princess Shan Yu was a princess. He was at an advantage here! She was more influential than most girls he could find.

    More importantly, she was capable!

    So... should he marry this person and make babies with her? Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself as he looked at Shan Yu and the King.

 Chapter 468: Where is the trust between people?

    Chapter 468: Where is the trust between people?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was a serious question.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, the other candidates became increasingly excited.

    They knew what the King of the Southern Region meant.

    He was looking for a suitor!

    The question was, would he pick someone based on intellect orbat skill?

    All of the candidates looked at Princess Shan Yu, their eyes glittering. She was a beauty...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong also knew what the King of the Southern Region was getting at. He smiled, almost as if he knew this wasing.

    "Are you trying to use this event to find someone for your daughter?"

    "Indeed." The King of the Southern Region nodded as he looked away from Fang Zhengzhi and back at Lin Tianrong.

    "That¡¯s great! That¡¯s great indeed! How would you like to go about choosing?"

    "No, no I will not be the one choosing. I want my daughter to choose for herself." The King of the Southern Region looked at Princess Shan Yu.

    "Have the Princess choose for herself?" Lin Tianrong was taken aback.

    Generally, royal weddings were decided by the Emperors. This made Lin Tianrong think that this would be the case here as well.

    However, it would seem that...

    This was not the case.

    "We have our own customs, would you mind indulging us?" The King smiled.

    "I would love to." Lin Tianrong replied.

    "Have someone light a bonfire!" The King smiled when he saw Lin Tianrong nod.

    "Yes, your highness!" A few of the servants replied before taking their leave.

    Then, a few heavily armored soldiers entered and ced a pile of wood in the middle of the room.

    There was a live Blue Horned Lamb on it.

    All of the candidates were shocked. In their minds, they were expecting a stage.

    A pile of wood and amb...

    Were they nning to roast it?

    Just as they were thinking about it, Princess Shan Yu stood up and looked at the candidates, then at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She walked over to the bonfire.

    Then...

    Two daggers appeared in her hands.

    And then...

    The candidates were all stunned by what they saw.

    Princess Shan Yu began ughtering themb... her movements were so smooth it was as though she had been doing this her whole life.

    Themb was prepared within moments.

    Princess Shan Yu ced themb on the bonfire and sheathed her daggers.

    Every movement was smooth, clean, and animalistic.

    However, all of the candidates were still confused. They had no idea what wasing.

    "We have a tradition here in the Southern Region. All returning warriors can enjoy a sumptuous meal. They can choose which fire to go to, and thedies can choose whether to let the males eat from her bonfire!" The King chuckled as he exined.

    All of the candidates looked at each other when they heard this.

    They understood almost instantly.

    How simple was that?

    This was a great representation of Southern Region culture. There were little formalities and they emphasized freedom.

    The warriors showed their admiration and liking of a girl by eating at their bonfire. Thedies could choose which males they allowed to eat from their bonfire.

    This was all about freedom of choice.

    It was simple.

    No one would be forced to do something against their will. At the same time, they were spreading the culture of their food.

    In order to impress the warriors, the Southern Regiondies learnt to cook from a young age. That was how they supported the family.

    When he heard this...

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help but exim in his heart, "Great tradition!"

    ...

    Themb was ced on the fire and a few servants stood around it. At that moment, Princess Shan Yu moved.

    The red cloud patterns appeared on her body.

    They extended down her arms and her eyes also began to turn red, almost as if there were two balls of fire dancing in them.

    All of the candidates whooped and cheered.

    "All the best, your highness!"

    "How beautiful! I have never seen anything so red and bright in my 20 years of life!"

    "Indeed, she looks like a rising sun, her eyes are so beautiful..."

    All of the candidates couldn¡¯t hold back their praises as they tried to find words to express their feelings.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the candidates scornfully.

    Pretty?

    A sun?

    Is that even a fitting description?

    The first time he had seen Princess Shan Yu like that, he had almost mistaken her for a ghost.

    That being said, he had to admit that she did give off an attractive animalistic aura.

    The only question was...

    What are the cloud patterns?

    No one bothered to find out what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question was. No one nned on answering it either. They were all engrossed with what Princess Shan Yu was doing.

    Princess Shan Yu was dancing.

    Her slender long legs flew across the floor as she twirled, sparks dancing on her hands. As she twirled, the sparksnded on themb, giving off sizzling sounds.

    After a few rounds of twirling, Princess Shan Yu took out a few tubes. Each tube contained a certain spice.

    Grinding and spreading...

    Princess Shan Yu twirled around the me as she seasoned the meat with her spices. The fragrance wafted into the noses of everyone around.

    "You can roast meats this way?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. He had heard that you could roast meats using all kinds of herbs and spices.

    However, it was a very difficult method.

    Because...

    The ratios had to be perfect. If you used too many herbs and spices, the natural vor of the meat would be masked.

    If you used too little, then the blend would be suboptimal and both vor and texture may bepromised.

    One could only perfect the ratios through many rounds of trial and error.

    Of course, as the Princess of the Southern Region...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Princess Shan Yu¡¯s standards would not be low. In fact, when he smelt the fragrance...

    He knew that her standard was better than he had expected!

    There wasn¡¯t any overpowering herb smell!

    In fact, it was fresh and inviting.

    How did she do it?

    Could it be...

    That she used the meat¡¯s fragrance to mask that of the herbs?

    "Fantastic!" Fang Zhengzhi had always loved to eat. To him, eating was one of the greatest enjoyments in life.

    Gulp...

    Fang Zhengzhi swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

    This was heard by Princess Shan Yu. Her eyes brightened when she heard it as a red glow brightened her face.

    All of the other candidates were mesmerized when they smelt the aroma of the meat.

    Then, Princess Shan Yu stopped.

    A goldenmb sat atop the bonfire. There was no charring. The entiremb was a decadent golden color.

    All of the candidates gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

    Even Lin Tianrong was tempted...

    "The Princess¡¯s abilities... even I..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to say that he wanted to taste some, but he stopped himself.

    "Hahaha, I have to say that my daughter is probably the best around when ites to roastingmb!" The King chuckled.

    He knew what the Crown Prince was saying.

    As the Crown Prince of an empire, he could not request for a tasting. The King had to offer it.

    However...

    The King had no intention of letting the Crown Prince have a try. This was the Southern Region culture! Only someone sincere, whom thedy liked, had the right to taste it.

    Anything else...

    Would be an insult to their culture!

    Seeing that the King of the Southern Region didn¡¯t say anything else, Lin Tianrong cleared his throat. This told the candidates that they could begin.

    All of the candidates leapt at the opportunity.

    "Your Highness, could I please try a bite?" A youth in green stood up first. He had a gentlemanly demeanor.

    "Have you been promised to someone?" The Princess nced at the candidate.

    "Erm... yes I do, but if I could be with your highness..." The youth was stammered.

    "Scram!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.

    "Erm..." The youth wasn¡¯t expecting this...

    The King of the Southern Region had said that they could try the food if they were attracted to the Princess...

    Yet, things were not ying out that way.

    He didn¡¯t want to return to his position...

    However, a few heavily armored soldiers had already lowered their spears at his throat.

    "Hahaha... she can be quite wilful..." The King of the Southern Region chuckled.

    When the other candidates heard the words of the King, they seemed to understand...

    This was the tradition of the Southern Region...

    However, Shan Yu was a Princess.

    She wouldn¡¯t let any random person try her food.

    Her willfulness...

    Was reason enough.

    The youth in green decided to return to his spot, slightly depressed. However, he did not dare to say anything.

    At that moment, another candidate stepped forward.

    He was dressed in ck.

    He held a paper and pen.

    "Your Highness, I have a short poem that I wrote for you. Perhaps you could take a look at it?" The candidate prepared to present his work.

    "Scram!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Erm, your highness, I have not been promised..."

    "You are too ugly!"

    "..." The candidate withdrew, visibly embarrassed, tears in his eyes. His appearance was no fault of his... why couldn¡¯t she just look at his work?

    After two candidates had failed...

    The candidates realized that Princess Shan Yu was extremely willful. If she didn¡¯t like you, she would send you packing.

    However, the candidates weren¡¯t about to give up.

    So...

    They tried their luck!

    "Scram!"

    "Scram!:

    "..."

    "Your Highness, I want to challenge you to a duel!"

    After Princess Shan Yu had rejected a few candidates, a brave soul stood up and challenged her to a duel.

    In the end...

    He was defeated handily.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he saw the pool of blood. He sighed to himself, "Not everydy sumbs to the hard way!"

    "Scram!"

    "Scram!"

    "..."

    And then, many of the candidates were sent packing. Some of them eveny on the ground, bawling their eyes out.

    They could neither win her over nor defeat her!

    What were they supposed to do?

    Some were too short... others were too tall...

    She sent another guy packing simply because his eyes were too small...

    Somethings were out of their control!

    The candidates¡¯ hearts were all shattered by Princess Shan Yu...

    The tales were all lies...

    Weren¡¯t they supposed to be able to try as long as they were sincere?

    Where was the trust?

    "Princess, my princess!"

    All of the candidates screamed in their hearts.

    However, it was to no avail.

    Because...

    Princess Shan Yu had no intention of letting up.

    Themb continued to sizzle on the pile of wood, the fragrance causing everyone in the room to salivate...

    However, that was all they could do.

    Almost every candidate had been sent back.

    Except for one man...

    That man was Fang Zhengzhi!

 Chapter 469: Acting skills

    Chapter 469: Acting skills

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move.

    Why didn¡¯t he move?

    The reason was simple.

    The look on the face of the Southern Region King said it all. Princess Shan Yu¡¯s actions couldn¡¯t have made things clearer.

    They clearly wanted him to be a suitor.

    Did they really think that he was dumb?

    Fang Zhengzhi was sure that if he stepped forward, he would definitely be able to get a taste. Things would all fall into ce from that moment on...

    All Fang Zhengzhi could say was...

    "Naive!"

    How dumb did they think he was?

    Marry Princess Shan Yu?

    This was something that many people dreamed of. Those with neither name nor fortune all dreamed to be part of a royal family.

    But the truth was...

    Marrying a princess was not as glorious as people thought.

    If one really married a princess, one would know how tough life could get.

    If he married a Southern Region Princess, that difficulty would only increase.

    Princess Shan Yu would never return to the Great Xia with him. In other words, he would have to stay here.

    He wouldn¡¯t even have any control over the surname of his kids.

    Furthermore...

    The Southern Region was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s territory. Even though Fang Zhengzhi would never bully her, who was to say that she wouldn¡¯t bully him?

    There was something that he still remembered to this day.

    He had pped Princess Shan Yu at the foot of the Sagely Mountain City. He didn¡¯t do it on purpose...

    But did anyone hear his exnation?

    No...

    They just tried to kill him.

    Princess Shan Yu lost her mind and Shan Ling was volcanic.

    There was still a long way to go. Heaven knows what conflicts may arise in the future...

    Even though Princess Shan Yu seemed very attractive and cultured now, Fang Zhengzhi knew her ¡¯true colors¡¯.

    She had a bad temper.

    She was far from demure...

    She was capable...

    But...

    Perhaps she was overly capable.

    He had to reject her.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body didn¡¯t move, but his eyes kept darting towards the roastedmb.

    "Gulp!"

    He swallowed another mouthful of saliva. The temptation was overwhelming.

    He wondered how tasty themb would be. Would the skin be crispy? Themb must be really young. The meat must be extremely tender! Shan Yu¡¯s roast meat might even be better than his!

    Furthermore, the ingredients used were some of the best in the world.

    Could he just try it for free?

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask that question, but he stopped himself from doing so. He knew that the possibility of that was near to none.

    He must not give in to temptation!

    But...

    It was really good... why was it so good? What could he do that would allow him to taste it without taking responsibility?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not think of any possible methods. After all, there were so many people watching. If he stepped forward...

    He would be walking right into the trap!

    He grit his teeth and bit on the piece of meat at his table. It was okay, but it was a far cry from themb that was on offer.

    The more he ate the meat at his table, the more he listed for themb.

    If this was not the throne room but Princess Shan Yu¡¯s camp, then he would have many ways of tasting thatmb.

    "Ah... I can¡¯t do this!"

    I have to resist!

    He had to resist the temptation! If not, he would be signing on for decades of torture just for one moment of enjoyment...

    Hang on!

    Could he even live for another decade?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea. After all, there was no precedent in history. There was every chance that he could die tomorrow.

    Should he just live in the moment?

    No!

    It wouldn¡¯t be fair to Princess Shan Yu.

    If he died, Princess Shan Yu would be a widow! She would not be able to remarry!

    That would be most unfair!

    Hang on...

    Oh yes!

    If even he found it uneptable, what would the King of the Southern Region think? What about Shan Ling? They loved Shan Yu...

    Would they allow something like that to happen?

    "Genius! This n is genius!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glittered as he looked at the King of the Southern Region.

    He held a sk of wine in his hand as he stood up.

    The crowd was silent as they watched him...

    This was the respect that hemanded.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the jealous gazes of the candidates around him. He gulped down the entire sk.

    "Good!"

    "Official Fang can handle his alcohol!"

    "I never thought that Official Fang was so good! He is definitely no worse than our warriors! No, he is even better than our warriors!"

    "Hahaha... indeed!"

    The settlement chiefs and generals began to cheer as they watched Fang Zhengzhi down the sk of wine.

    All of the candidates turned to look at each other.

    So...

    This was how to get to Princess Shan Yu?

    Oh gosh, what a mistake!

    All of the candidates regretted their actions. They had thought of impressing Princess Shan Yu with their brains or brawns... but Fang Zhengzhi was way ahead of them.

    This simple act had already put him in the lead.

    The candidates were jealous, but they had to admire Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s methods.

    The King of the Southern Region beamed when he saw this.

    To the people of the Southern Region...

    Being able to handle one¡¯s alcohol was a skill!

    Furthermore, they were a culture which prided themselves on courage and showmanship. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were representative of both these qualities.

    Of course...

    Most importantly, the King of the Southern Region knew what Princess Shan Yu was thinking.

    "It¡¯s him!" The King of the Southern Region thought to himself as he looked at Princess Shan Yu. His eyes said it all.

    Don¡¯t be wilful any longer!

    Fang Zhengzhi saw the look on the King¡¯s face. He smiled, then began to hobble over tipsily. He shook from side to side as he walked towards Princess Shan Yu.

    "It is good wine... but I don¡¯t have any good meat toplement it!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he walked up.

    "Is he really going to try?"

    "I guess he is trying to use his drunkenness as an excuse to absolve himself from any responsibilityter..."

    "How shameless!"

    All of the candidates began to discuss amongst themselves.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes glittered as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She bit her lip, but it wasn¡¯t clear if it was out of surprise or hate.

    But one thing was for sure...

    She didn¡¯t ask him to scram...

    "This meat..." Fang Zhengzhi pointed to themb on the fire, licking the remnants of the wine at the edges of his lips. He squinted, almost as though he was drunk.

    "Do you think that this fe would im that he was drunk and not take responsibility for his actionster?" One of the candidates asked.

    "Oh? That¡¯s a real possibility!" Another candidate echoed.

    All of the candidates looked on in scorn.

    "Do you think that the Southern Region is stupid? If Fang Zhengzhi dared to do such a thing, he won¡¯t even be able to live past dawn!"

    "That¡¯s true!"

    "But... would he want to marry Princess Shan Yu?"

    All of the candidates thought to themselves...

    By this time, Fang Zhengzhi was within arm¡¯s reach of themb.

    The entire throne room was silent.

    Because...

    Princess Shan Yu had not spoken.

    In other words, Princess Shan Yu wasn¡¯t going to stop Fang Zhengzhi from eating... in other words... Fang Zhengzhi was moments away from bing Princess Shan Yu¡¯s husband...

    "Is Fang Zhengzhi really going to do it?"

    Everyone from the candidates to the King of the Southern Region held their breaths.

    Fang Zhengzhi was equally anxious. This had nothing to do with whether he could eat themb. He was nervous because the sess of this n...

    Depended on this moment.

    He looked at everyone. Then, he focused on one hulking, calm man sitting below the King.

    Crown Prince Shan Ling!

    "Why is he so calm?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly suspicious. The King may like him, but Shan Ling should be making things difficult for him.

    He had already ounted for it.

    But the fact was...

    Shan Ling never said anything.

    Come on!

    Come and make things difficult for me!

    Damn it, I already thought of a response, yet you aren¡¯t doing your part? Fang Zhengzhi had already tried to slow down, but...

    It was all to no avail. Shan Ling¡¯s silence was embarrassing him.

    It was a strange feeling. He had prepared himself for a great obstacle ahead only to realize that...

    The door was wide open for him!

    Okay then...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked away from Shan Ling. He extended his hand and took the leg...

    It was all going much too smoothly.

    "He got it!"

    "He actually got it?"

    "Who would have thought that he would be so lucky? Aish... she is out of my reach..."

    All of the candidates were shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi hold thatmb leg in his hand. However, after all that he had done, they could see why...

    Fang Zhengzhi had a leg ofmb...

    Princess Shan Yu had not said anything. She showed no intention of stopping Fang Zhengzhi. Even an idiot knew that this was her way of giving him permission to eat.

    That meant that...

    If Fang Zhengzhi bit down on this leg ofmb... he would have the spot firmly in his grasp.

    Would he eat it? That was the question in everyone¡¯s mind.

    The King of the Southern Region looked at Fang Zhengzhi and smiled encouragingly.

    Time seemed to freeze...

    Princess Shan Yu clenched her fists, blushing as she did so. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi...

    Almost as though she was making a tough decision.

    "Are you guys all... pigs? Eating this is so simple, yet none of you managed to do it? You need me to do this?!"

    A voice rang out.

    It shattered the silence in the throne room. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "What did he say?"

    "He was... scolding us?"

    "Just because he is on the verge of getting Shan Yu¡¯s hand in marriage doesn¡¯t give him the right to scold us!"

    All of the candidates reacted instantly. They knew that it was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, and they knew what he was insinuating.

    He was mocking them...

    in and simple.

    "Why? Are you all mad? Why bother with all the fanciful stuff? It¡¯s all of no use! What¡¯s the point of writing so much? Useless!" Fang Zhengzhi continued to ramble on.

    He waved the leg ofmb as he berated the candidates.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! Even though you were an important factor in our victory, that doesn¡¯t give you the right to humiliate us!"

    "Yes, you aren¡¯t even married to her yet! Maybe Princess Shan Yu just pities you. Maybe she just wants to reward you for your valiant efforts!"

    "Exactly! If she doesn¡¯t choose you, all you will have is a taste!"

    All of the candidates couldn¡¯t take it lying down any longer.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    He was ecstatic. He had been waiting for this moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s initial n was to act as though he was the victim after Shan Ling made things difficult for him.

    However, Shan Ling¡¯s silence had made things more difficult.

    He didn¡¯t want to get the leg ofmb so easily...

    Since Shan Ling wasn¡¯t going to act ording to the script...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to change the script!

 Chapter 470: Caught between a rock and a hard place

    Chapter 470: Caught between a rock and a hard ce

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The mocking wasn¡¯t the key here.

    What Fang Zhengzhi wanted to hear was, "Even if you eat the meat and she doesn¡¯t choose you, it¡¯ll all amount to nothing."

    That was the key.

    This was something that everyone knew in their hearts. However, saying it and knowing it was two different things altogether.

    "Do you think that the Princess won¡¯t choose me?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled at the crowd.

    "Everything is possible until she chooses!"

    "Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ve secured your ce just because you got a taste of the meat!"

    "Exactly!"

    The candidates replied without hesitation.

    "Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he turned to look at Princess Shan Yu.

    "Are you really so confident that I will like you?" Princess Shan Yu felt a wave of pride and wanted to rebut Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it.

    She recalled what Shan Ling said to her before the start of the banquet.

    "Sister, you are not young anymore. You will need to take some responsibility for matters concerning the Southern Region. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation may have been ruined, but he was the main factor in our victory. I also heard that you promised him ten gold mines. If we let him return, won¡¯t we be giving the gold mines to the Great Xia?"

    "But brother, that fe and Chi Guyan..."

    "As long as you agree, I will arrange everything. I know that this is unfair towards you, but we can¡¯t let him have the ten gold mines!"

    "Erm..."

    "Feelings can be developed over time. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi is proficient in the Law of Dao. If he stays here, it could be good for our development."

    "Brother, do you think that Fang Zhengzhi... will be willing to stay in the Southern Region for me?"

    "Didn¡¯t you spend some time with him in the camp? Do you know what he likes?"

    "He... likes to eat..."

    "Eat?"

    "Yes... he loves meat..."

    "Hahaha, then things are simple. Even the King loves the things that you cook. I will discuss it with father, then the rest is up to you."

    ...

    Princess Shan Yu recalled what Shan Ling had told her. She bit her lip and blushed as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The words were at the tip of her tongue but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say them.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to see Princess Shan Yu like that. Ordinarily, Princess Shan Yu would not tolerate this.

    Even though he was very confident of himself...

    But...

    It was quite impossible for Princess Shan Yu to fall for him.

    He felt that this was a n by the Southern Region King. Princess Shan Yu only agreed to go along with it because she didn¡¯t want to disappoint him.

    But it didn¡¯t matter...

    Once she agreed, everything else wouldn¡¯t matter.

    Ordinarily, as long as he gave Princess Shan Yu an out... she should have jumped on it. By antagonizing everyone...

    Princess Shan Yu could ¡¯reject¡¯ him and appease the crowd.

    That would be the perfect ending.

    Princess Shan Yu wouldn¡¯t have to marry him and he could enjoy the leg ofmb. They would both get what they wanted.

    But...

    She didn¡¯t say anything!

    Did she really want to marry Fang Zhengzhi?

    Fang Zhengzhi started to have doubts. He had interacted with Princess Shan Yu before, but none of those interactions would have resulted in her falling for him.

    There must be some other factors at y here.

    But what were they?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure, but he didn¡¯t think too much about it. He knew that there was one thing that the King of the Southern Region would never be able to tolerate.

    "Actually, it is only natural that you doubt the princess would choose me. After all, my body... haish... it¡¯s..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone changed instantly. His expression was pained...

    All of the infuriated candidates were confused.

    In their hearts, they knew that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless and loved agitating the crowd. They weren¡¯t surprised that he would mock them.

    But what was with the sudden change in tone?

    That waspletely unexpected...

    Could it be...

    That he realized that he made a mistake?

    No way!

    He wasn¡¯t someone who would change his attitude so easily! There could be only one possibility. There really was something wrong with his body...

    The candidates had not witnessed what happened in The Vast World. Everything they knew was made known to them through word of mouth.

    However, this did not dull their curiosity.

    They weren¡¯t alone. The settlement chiefs, generals, the King, and even the Crown Prince were equally curious.

    Swallowing Fruits of Dao!

    This was something that no one had ever done and would have never thought of doing. This was equivalent to suicide.

    No one would y around with something like that.

    But Fang Zhengzhi did...

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was still sitting here, eating and drinking like nothing was wrong.

    Even though...

    Everyone guessed that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation was ruined...

    It was just a guess. The scene after Fang Zhengzhi exited The Vast World and stopped Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear was still etched in the minds of all the settlement chiefs.

    This had thrown some doubts into their guesses.

    Was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation truly ruined?

    This was a question which everyone wanted to know the answer to.

    The throne room was silent.

    Everyone wanted to know how Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    Fang Zhengzhi surveyed his surroundings, smirking as he did so. He knew what they were all thinking and he had control of the room.

    Human nature was an interesting thing.

    Sometimes, minute changes to one¡¯s methods could elicit apletely different reaction.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had started off depressed and told everyone his condition, they may not have believed him.

    After all...

    This was his trump card.

    No one revealed their trump card unless it was absolutely necessary.

    The candidates did not ask Fang Zhengzhi privately because they had no confidence Fang Zhengzhi would tell the truth.

    Asking him would be meaningless...

    But now...

    After Fang Zhengzhi had mocked them so openly and gotten rebutted... the sadness he showed...

    Had a whole other meaning to it.

    A painter may have painted a horrible piece of work, but he would always be confident of his art and defend his work.

    Fang Zhengzhi had mocked them...

    They had retaliated...

    But their retaliation had hit a sore spot. Fang Zhengzhi was ¡¯deeply saddened¡¯ by it.

    That was all very natural.

    Most people would buy it.

    At the very least, the candidates had bought it. Once a group of them believed it, they would influence the others to believe it as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to act this out when Shan Ling made things difficult for him.

    But Shan Ling didn¡¯t y along...

    As such, he had to make use of the candidates to manufacture such a scenario. Even though the results weren¡¯t as good, he would have to make do.

    In fact, there were elements in this entire scene that made it seem a little forced. However, these would be overlooked when Fang Zhengzhi talked about his body.

    That was the reason why Fang Zhengzhi had brought it up.

    "Speaking of my body, aish... I¡¯ve felt as though there has been a hole in my body the past few days. It¡¯s almost as if something is missing..." Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going to keep them in suspense.

    "Hole?"

    "Something is missing?"

    "Is his cultivation ruined?"

    The candidates immediately got the ¡¯gist¡¯ of it. They looked at each other. Their expressions were like mirror images...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked like he was depressed.

    But in fact, he was quite satisfied with this result.

    Talent? He had loved the sound of it before the war. But now... his views about that term had changed...

    Bai Xing had targeted him...

    Canyang had also targeted him...

    This all served to prove one point.

    Being a talent was tough.

    Furthermore, he had antagonized the entire demon race during this war. If he continued to be that proud and aloof, there may be a second sageing for him.

    What was he going to do then?

    He would just reap the rewards from this war and live out the rest of his life peacefully.

    The other thing he valued was his freedom.

    He wanted to live a carefree life.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already gotten their attention. He also had control of the room. His words had given them much to think about.

    Just as they were all thinking about the implications of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words...

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the King.

    Would the King let his daughter marry an individual with no cultivation prospects?

    The result...

    Was clear...

    The King of the Southern Region seemed a little disappointed but had seen iting. He still had a faint smile on his face.

    "He¡¯s really going to tolerate it? But... there is one thing that he definitely can¡¯t take lying down." Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too surprised. He knew that the King would have considered this possibility before making a decision.

    Hearing the guesses of the candidates...

    Made Fang Zhengzhi rather depressed.

    The candidates¡¯ curiosity was piqued. Could there be anything worse than having one¡¯s cultivation future go up in smoke?

    Just as they were thinking about it.

    Fang Zhengzhi spoke up.

    "Other than the hole in my heart, I have had many dreams. Recently, my dreams have be increasingly weird. I feel like I¡¯m floating in the sky, and I always see a bridge... and there are words on that bridge..."

    "What words?" One of the candidates couldn¡¯t hold back any longer.

    "I can¡¯t really see the words clearly, but I believe it is "Naihe". Furthermore, there is a fire burning under the bridge!" Fang Zhengzhi recalled.

    "It¡¯s Naihe Bridge!"

    "My god... does Hell really exist?"

    "This... this..."

    All of the candidates were stunned when they heard this. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi awkwardly.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the candidates.

    His gaze never left the King of the Southern Region. The King¡¯s expression had changed from smiles to pain.

    "I guess he can¡¯t tolerate that!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled, then continued, "I don¡¯t know if this is true, and I couldn¡¯t see it clearly in my dreams. I vaguely recall an olddy waving towards me, telling me that time is almost up. She keeps asking me to hurry..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you serious?!" The King of the Southern Region stood up and red at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "How can one take dreams seriously?" Fang Zhengzhi replied respectfully as he bowed to the King.

    "Mm... Official Fang is right. Dreams cannot be believed." The King of the Southern Region reacted quickly. Realizing that he had lost hisposure before, he changed the way he addressed Fang Zhengzhi to the more appropriate "Official Fang".

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak.

    He knew that he had already done his job. There were believers and naysayers in every world.

    However...

    For a religious ce like the Southern Region, there were definitely many people who believed in heaven and hell.

    It was clear that the King of the Southern Region was one of them.

    Even though he had his doubts, it was enough...

    "I am tired, Shan Yu,e and help me!" The King of the Southern Region spoke up.

    "Yes!" Princess Shan Yu nodded.

    Then...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi had predicted, the King used the excuse that he was ¡¯tired¡¯ to pause the ceremony.

    As for themb...

    It was left behind.

    "Yum!" Fang Zhengzhi licked his lips and bit down on the leg ofmb. It melted in his mouth.

    Damn, it was good!

    Fang Zhengzhi loved eating such great food. He picked up a sk of wine and took a gulp. This was enjoyment at its finest.

    He was very satisfied with the result.

    All of the candidates were extremely jealous of what they were seeing. They too wanted to try themb, but they had been rejected by Princess Shan Yu.

    They couldn¡¯t possibly go up now.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the gazes of the candidates as he enjoyed hismb. He finished the leg in his hand and took another one.

    His mouth was filled with the taste of that deliciousmb.

    It was out of this world!

    Then, he began to feel dizzy, almost as if all the energy went out from his body.

    It was dark...

    Why was the room spinning?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was floating. Were all his liesing true? That didn¡¯t seem very possible...

    No!

    This meat...

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled that no one went to check the food that Princess Shan Yu had prepared. She had used all kinds of herbs and spices...

    For the banquet...

    Every dish was tested for poison. However, no one tested Princess Shan Yu¡¯smb. No one, bar Fang Zhengzhi, had even managed to go near it.

    "Damn it, it¡¯s a trap!" Fang Zhengzhi felt the world around him go dark.

    "Get someone to help! Official Fang is drunk! Help Official Fang to his room to rest!" Shan Ling¡¯s voice rang out as Fang Zhengzhi fell to the ground.

 Chapter 471: Pants are off

    Chapter 471: Pants are off

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had yed the King to a tee. Even though the King had said that he would let Princess Shan Yu choose her mate...

    But...

    No father would watch his daughter jump into a pit.

    He would never let his daughter marry Fang Zhengzhi knowing that Fang Zhengzhi could die at any time. As such, Fang Zhengzhi was in control the whole time.

    But...

    What was with the poison in themb?

    Drunk?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel like he was drunk. He could still hear what was going on around him and his brain was working fine.

    However, his head was heavy and he felt as though his body was floating. He had lost control of his body.

    It was almost as if his bones had turned to jelly.

    Damn, why would they poison themb?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know, but he could hear the sounds around him.

    "Be careful!"

    "Official Fang is really drunk!"

    "I guess that¡¯s normal after the amount of alcohol he had."

    "Official Fang, your room has been prepared. I am helping you to it right now."

    Voices rang out next to him. There were female and male ones. Then, Fang Zhengzhi was lifted up by someone.

    The touch was soft...

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell that it was probably twodies, one on each side. He could smell the fragrance...

    "This guy must be acting like he¡¯s drunk!"

    "How do you know that he¡¯s not actually drunk?"

    "Just look at where his hand is."

    "Wow! He lusts for servants as well. I have never seen someone this shameless before!"

    Fang Zhengzhi heard the voices of the candidates around him.

    "Acting drunk? F*ck you!" Fang Zhengzhi felt an urge to scream but he wasn¡¯t even in control of his body.

    Then, the voices became softer and softer.

    If he was right, he had already been carried out of the throne room and was heading towards his room to rest.

    Is it possible...

    That someone would kill him here?

    That was a little anticlimactic...

    If he had known this would happen...

    He would have just married Princess Shan Yu. If he had done that, he may still have a chance to live.

    The two servants were very stable.

    Before long, Fang Zhengzhi heard the sound of doors opening. He was at the entrance to the bedroom, but there was no assassination.

    What was happening?

    He was defenseless.

    Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be an assassin?

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi was lost. He thought that they had gone through all that trouble of poisoning themb just so that they could kill him whilst he was defenseless.

    However... there were no signs of any hard objects piercing his body from start to finish.

    What was happening?

    Was there no assassination?

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confused. Why would someone poison him just to let him rest? That didn¡¯t seem very likely.

    Did they use the wrong poison?

    Or...

    Did they target the wrong person? Did they abort the mission?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the possibility of that was close to none. Everything from start to finish was targeted at him.

    He had to be the target.

    But nothing was happening...

    Just as he was thinking to himself, something happened. A pair of hands belonging to ady...

    Seemed to be undressing him.

    Servant?

    Probably just taking off his coat...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think much of it. However, he quickly realized that something was amiss. After taking off his clothes, the hands showed no signs of stopping.

    Hang on!

    What were they trying to do?

    He didn¡¯t want to sleep naked!

    Stop!

    F*ck, why aren¡¯t they stopping?!

    This can¡¯t be! The servants couldn¡¯t possibly be lusting for him. Even though the people of the Southern Region were liberal, this waspletely ridiculous.

    No way!

    A servant would never dare to do something like that. They must have been ordered to do so by their master.

    Could it be...

    Was he about to sleep with a servant?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that in some of the Royal circles, people would sleep with the servants. This was sometimes seen as a reward.

    However...

    In this case... Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if he was extremely lucky or extremely unlucky.

    He was still a virgin!

    Was he really going to lose his virginity to a servant?

    At the very least, he should be able to see what she looks like! He should know if she had a good figure! But right now, he couldn¡¯t see anything!

    He didn¡¯t want to be raped!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to resist.

    He didn¡¯t hate the tradition of sleeping with servants, but one had to be willing! Raping was out of the question.

    No!

    It can¡¯t be that simple.

    There were definitely greater powers at y here!

    Could it be...

    Shan Ling must have been the one who poisoned the meat. His aim was to make Fang Zhengzhi look guilty.

    Then have a servant rape him?

    Let Princess Shan Yu witness it and break her heart?

    Possible!

    But that would make him a sacrificialmb! What was the meaning of that? Shan Ling could have simply objected!

    He didn¡¯t want to marry Princess Shan Yu anyways!

    Fang Zhengzhi scorned at such matters. Why did they have to resort to such underhand tactics?

    Is the innocence of the servant worth so little?

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious.

    However, his fury was quickly overwhelmed by a chill. All of his clothes had been stripped.

    The pair of hands moved quickly.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell that these were an old pair of hands.

    What the hell?

    At the very least, they could have given him someone younger and more beautiful.

    There is no way he was going to lose his virginity to an olddy! This was his virginity!

    No, no sex, please!

    No sex!

    AH...

    Not the pants as well!

    Fang Zhengzhi was embarrassed and furious. He never thought that he would be undressed by a servant.

    Then...

    Was she going to hop on?

    Just as he was thinking about it, he felt a soft feeling on his body.

    Okay...

    It¡¯s just a leather nket.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi heard footsteps approaching the door.

    Then, the doors closed.

    Now that the door was closed...

    The room was silent. There were no footsteps. There was no assassination. It felt as though nothing had happened. The nket and bed were both extremelyfortable.

    Is that it?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like something was wrong.

    He had thought that the servant had gone to close the door, but in fact, she had left! What was happening? She even took off his pants!

    What was this about?

    Damn it, this was confusing.

    Time passed slowly.

    15 minutes...

    One hour...

    Fang Zhengzhiy silently on the bed. There were no sounds around him. It was strange...

    The fact was...

    Nothing was happening.

    This was rather awkward... something was wrong. Why would they do nothing after poisoning him?

    How queer...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that ¡¯queer¡¯ was probably not an apt word to use, but that was how he felt.

    He stopped thinking about it anymore.

    After all, he had had too much alcohol and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to rest a little. He was quite tired.

    He began to dream...

    In his dream, he was back in the north, back home in the Northern Mountain Vige. It was now linked by huge roads and traffic was heavy.

    His academy was already up and running with many teachers roaming the grounds.

    "Learn well!"

    "Stop being sozy! Laziness will get you nowhere!"

    "Role model. You must learn from Fang Zhengzhi. He is your role model! Learn the Law of Dao and be as sessful as him!"

    "Yes, teacher!"

    The entire Northern Mountain Vige was extremely vibrant with the sounds of kids and teachers and traders.

    Zhang Yangping sat in the middle of the square, his face lit up by the sun. Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian, as well as other vigers were standing around him.

    "I heard that Zhengzhi did great work this time! I wonder when he will be back?"

    "Soon soon! I hear he is on his way!"

    "That¡¯s great! Our vige would prosper when he is back!"

    "Naturally so! Zhengzhi is a high ranking official now. I heard that the Emperor rewarded him with somend. I wonder if it is our Northern Mountain Vige?"

    "It¡¯ll be great if it is! Then we won¡¯t have to pay taxes!"

    "What are you saying? This vige is not enough! Zhengzhi did so much work this time! Maybe he¡¯ll be given the entire Huai An County!"

    "Won¡¯t he be a king then?"

    "Hahaha... Zhengzhi is doing well. It is great..."

    Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian nodded in satisfaction as they listened to the opinions of the vigers.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he saw the happiness on his parents¡¯ faces.

    At that very moment...

    A voice rang out next to him.

    "Greetings, Princess!"

    "Princess? What princess?" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to hear the sound of the door opening.

    Then, he heard footsteps.

    The footsteps were closing in on him.

    Hang on!

    Where did the Princesse from? Why was she walking towards him? Wasn¡¯t he in the Northern Mountain Vige?

    No!

    He was still in the Southern Region!

    Southern Region...

    Princess?!

    F*ck, could it be Shan Yu?

    What was sheing into his room for? Doesn¡¯t she know that he is sleeping? Most importantly...

    He was naked!

    What was she doing?

    No way...

    Could it be that she wanted to rape him?

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled that he had only lost control of his body after eating themb Princess Shan Yu cooked...

    The one who was most likely to poison him was Princess Shan Yu.

    But why would she do such a thing? What did she want?

    Hang on...

    Could it be that she knew that he had no intention of marrying her? Was this her way of forcing him to marry her?

    That¡¯ll be shameless!

    How could she think of such a despicable n?

    No, no...

    Even though Princess Shan Yu was capable and pretty, she was definitely not the one for him. She may just turn on him one day...

    Should he just do it and forget about it?

    What kind of position would Princess Shan Yu like?

    Thedy on top?

    Mm... that¡¯s very likely...

    But...

    That¡¯s not something Fang Zhengzhi liked. Fang Zhengzhi wanted his wife to be a demure person.

    Just as he was thinking about it, he heard noisesing from beside him as the footsteps neared.

    The noises sounded like... someone undressing!

    "No way! Is she really stripping?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s emotions were conflicted. He had known that they were liberal, but this was over the top.

    How could a princess poison and rape him?!

    What kind of ce was this?!

 Chapter 472: Something was wrong

    Chapter 472: Something was wrong

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    What was he going to do? What was he going to do now?

    Was he going to f*ck her? Or was he going to f*ck her...

    Fang Zhengzhi struggled internally as the footsteps came closer...

    Then, the footsteps stopped and the nket covering him was lifted. Then, he felt a shake...

    It was clear...

    Princess Shan Yu was on the bed!

    "She¡¯s gotten in! She¡¯s really gotten in bed!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in his mind. He felt like Princess Shan Yu was mad.

    At the very least, she should have said a fewforting words...

    At the very least, she could have assured him that she would be gentle...

    However, Princess Shan Yu had slid under the covers without a single word.

    "Is it beginning?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself nervously.

    He had no idea what Princess Shan Yu would do to him, or what position she would do it in. Most importantly...

    He had no idea when Princess Shan Yu was going to start.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to sit up and get out of there...

    However, his body was still jelly and he couldn¡¯t move. All he could do was wait and let Princess Shan Yu do as she pleased.

    Something was wrong...

    Wait!

    After a long pause, Fang Zhengzhi realized that Princess Shan Yu made no contact with him.

    In fact, it was almost as though she was...

    Sleeping?

    Oh? What is happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused. He expected Princess Shan Yu to pounce on him like a ravenous wolf.

    Why...

    Was she sleeping?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t open his eyes. He couldn¡¯t see the light in the room nor Princess Shan Yu. All he could do was wait.

    He was like amb waiting to be ughtered.

    However, he could hear the breathing next to him. Princess Shan Yu was sleeping soundly.

    Her unique fragrance was intoxicating.

    Fang Zhengzhi was familiar with this fragrance. He had smelt it many times from his interactions with Princess Shan Yu.

    But...

    If Princess Shan Yu wanted to bed him, what was she waiting for?

    Doesn¡¯t she know that you can only have a baby through sex? Was she that dumb? Did she think that merely sleeping together would get her pregnant?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to be raped.

    However, if that wasn¡¯t the point, then why was he stripped naked?!

    Just as he was thinking about it, he felt Princess Shan Yu roll over. Her leg was now resting on his body.

    It was a great feeling...

    It was almost as if he was being wrapped by a warm cushion.

    "Calm down, calm down... if you can resist the temptation and control yourself, she can¡¯t do anything about it!"

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to convince himself. At that very moment, a hand pressed on his chest.

    Then, a body leaned in...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body quite well. When the body pressed against his, he confirmed that this person was Princess Shan Yu!

    "Is she doing it now? What a despicable move!" Fang Zhengzhi fumed. He had thought that she just wanted to sleep peacefully...

    But he didn¡¯t expect that...

    She really wanted to rape him.

    What was he going to do now?

    What could he do?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought about it, the limb began to feel his body. It started at his chest, then slowly extended downwards...

    Then it stopped!

    It stopped for more than five minutes!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was about to explode. At that very moment, a scream pierced through the air.

    "Ah!!"

    The only way to describe this scream was ear-piercing.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears rang...

    He never expected that someone could scream that loudly. Most importantly, he didn¡¯t expect his rapist to scream.

    What was she screaming about?

    Why would Princess Shan Yu scream?

    Shouldn¡¯t he be the one screaming?

    This b*tch wanted to rape him, but still screamed for help? Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Hang on...

    Something was wrong...

    Didn¡¯t this b*tch want to make a baby? Why would she scream before it was done...

    Furthermore, based on her character, she wouldn¡¯t scream this way unless she was truly shocked...

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi had yet to figure out what was happening when the doors opened. Then, the voices of the servants rang out.

    "Protect the Princess!"

    "The Princess is in shock, catch the assassin!"

    "Quick, lockdown the pce!"

    The servants were extremely well trained. The people giving the orders were all servants.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like something was amiss...

    The voices of these servants were foreign to him. They were different from the people who had helped him in here.

    Why would there be two groups of people?

    Something was wrong!

    Ordinarily, servants did not change.

    Hang on...

    If the servants had changed, there were only two possibilities. The first one was that the servants who had helped him had been chased away.

    But the possibility of that was low.

    Because...

    Princess Shan Yu screamed.

    And she screamed very loudly.

    That meant that Princess Shan Yu wasn¡¯t afraid to let others know that she was about to rape him. As such, why would she chase those servants away?

    That was unnecessary!

    That left only the second possibility.

    That was...

    This room wasn¡¯t his!

    A chill radiated down his spine. Then, it rose all the way to his head, causing him to shudder.

    If this wasn¡¯t his room and Princess Shan Yu was inside here... the only possible exnation was that... this was Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room!

    F*ck!

    He was innocent!

    He was the one that was about to be raped... he was the victim here. How did he be the suspect?

    This...

    Was a setup!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t notice him. One of the reasons may have been the lighting...

    More importantly, Princess Shan Yu never thought that someone would be daring enough to barge into her room and sleep on her bed.

    This would exin why Princess Shan Yu fell asleep.

    However...

    This was not good for him!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood the plot against him. However, even he didn¡¯t predict just how vicious the perpetrators were.

    Not only did they kick him into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room, they sacrificed Princess Shan Yu¡¯s innocence as well.

    Who?

    Who was it?!

    Fang Zhengzhi initially thought that it could be the King. But that was impossible! Crown Prince Lin Tianrong? Possible... but unlikely!

    This was the Southern Region pce...

    Who could have him sent to Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room by servants... and not be found out by Princess Shan Yu¡¯s servants...

    There was only one man...

    That was...

    Shan Ling!

    "It¡¯s Shan Ling! But why would he do such a thing?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what Shan Ling¡¯s motives were, but he knew he was in trouble.

    He had slept with the Princess of the Southern Region!

    This was a huge sin!

    Even though he didn¡¯t move, it didn¡¯t mean that nothing had transpired. Furthermore, all the evidence was against him.

    And then...

    Everything seemed to y out ording to a script.

    He felt a light in front of his eyes. It was red, and it was closing in on him. A heat wave crashed towards him.

    He could only imagine the cloud patterns on Princess Shan Yu¡¯s body.

    However, the heat dissipated almost instantly. He heard a curious voice next to him.

    "Oh? Why is it..." Princess Shan Yu¡¯s tone was filled with surprise. She made no attempts to hide her shock.

    "Your Highness, it¡¯s Official Fang. Why... why..."

    "It¡¯s Official Fang! I heard that he got drunk at the banquet, why would he appear here?"

    "Who cares who he is? Anyone who dares to barge into the Princess¡¯s room and... and strip naked... deserves to die..."

    The voices of the servants rang out behind Princess Shan Yu. Their voices were filled with shock and surprise.

    "Shut up!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.

    Then, the room went silent as the light disappeared. Everything seemed to return to normal.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart was in turmoil.

    Would she...

    Really think that I barged in on my own?

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi felt a hand on his forehead and a finger at his nose checking for signs of breathing.

    Then, his eyelids were forced open.

    This gave Fang Zhengzhi a chance to see what was happening.

    All he saw was darkness.

    Other than the darkness, he saw a single figure, her silky ck hair resting on her shoulders. Her beige skin glowed dimly in the dark room. She was gorgeous.

    "It is Princess Shan Yu!" Fang Zhengzhi recognized the person in front of him instantly.

    Then, his world was plunged into darkness.

    His eyelids were closed.

    "He has been poisoned!" Princess Shan Yu affirmed as she released his eyelids.

    "Poisoned?"

    "Wasn¡¯t he drunk?"

    "Who poisoned Official Fang?"

    All of the servants began to question the diagnosis.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He was moved...

    It was almost as though he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He was d that Princess Shan Yu was a smart person.

    How clever.

    She knew that he had been poisoned.

    This girl was great!

    "Quick, close the doors and stop anyone froming in!" Princess Shan Yu ordered as she turned around.

    The moment the servants heard this, they rushed to help Princess Shan Yu dress.

    "Close the doors, don¡¯t let news of this get out!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to scream. However, he couldn¡¯t move his lips. Even though he wasn¡¯t a high ranking official, Shan Yu was a princess...

    If news of this got out...

    It would...

    Shock the Southern Region and possibly the Great Xia.

    They had to keep this under wraps!

    "Sister, what is wrong? Why were you screaming?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought about it to himself, a male voice could be heard outside the door.

    "Close the door!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.

    "Your Highness, the Princess is resting, please do not..." The servants rushed to stop Shan Ling when they heard the orders.

    "Scram!" Shan Ling bellowed.

    Then, two dull thuds rang out...

    It was clear...

    The servants blocking Shan Ling had been knocked unconscious.

    "Brother, why did you hurt my servants?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice was icy.

    "Sister, do not panic, I am in control of everything!" Shan Ling didn¡¯t reply. He simplymented reassuringly before turning around, "What are you looking at? Seal all the exits!"

    "Yes!" The response came...

    From the response, one could tell that there were hundreds of people outside...

 Chapter 473: Youre not fit!

    Chapter 473: You¡¯re not fit!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It was Shan Ling all along!" Fang Zhengzhi never believed in coincidences. There was no way Shan Ling rushed over on such short notice...

    Definitely not with hundreds of man in tow.

    The only exnation was that Shan Ling was nearby.

    However...

    That was quite the despicable method.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was in his position, he would definitely not have nned something like this. It was much too despicable and boring.

    It was equivalent to seducing someone with a prettydy before having a group catch them in the act and extort the man thereafter.

    Howme...

    But Fang Zhengzhi had fallen for it...

    Shan Ling had not seduced Fang Zhengzhi using Princess Shan Yu. Shan Ling exploited Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weakness - his love for good food...

    There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could have thought of it.

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected that Princess Shan Yu would poison him, much less poison themb that so many would want to taste.

    But now, he could be sure that Shan Ling had slipped in the poison into the spices when Princess Shan Yu wasn¡¯t looking...

    Okay then...

    There was only one way out of this...

    Ordinarily, the man being extorted would cave in to any requests in order to protect his reputation.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t afraid of that.

    Shan Ling could spread this everywhere!

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be bothered.

    However, this was a different scenario altogether. In this case, he could simply charge Fang Zhengzhi with a crime.

    Barging into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room!

    That was punishable by death!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Shan Ling was about to do.

    Shan Ling had already ordered the remaining servants and soldiers to wait outside.

    Then...

    He entered the room.

    Was he about to strike?

    If Shan Ling struck now, he could say that he lost control when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and killed him on the spot.

    Would the Great Xia pursue the matter?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know.

    But the fact was that the Great Xia would not go to war with the Southern Region because of this. His death would be meaningless...

    At the very most, they wouldpensate the Great Xia with some jewels and gold.

    "Sister, I made a mistake. I didn¡¯t expect that this shameless fe woulde here after failing to win you over at the banquet. I will now..."

    "Brother, are you trying to kill him?" Princess Shan Yu interrupted Shan Ling with icy words.

    "Should he not be killed?" Shan Ling asked, visibly shocked.

    "Brother, if you want to kill him, you will have to do so over my dead body!" Princess Shan Yu stood in Shan Ling¡¯s way.

    "Haha... I don¡¯t really understand what you mean." Shan Ling stopped in his tracks.

    Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief. It was a good thing Princess Shan Yu was smart.

    However...

    Even with her protection, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t confident that he could survive.

    Shan Ling was much more powerful than Princess Shan Yu.

    "You want to kill him to void the contract of the 10 gold mines, am I right? However, you are willing to sacrifice my innocence for those mines. Brother... you are vicious!" Princess Shan Yu also heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Shan Ling stop.

    "Sister, that is simply not true! You have misunderstood me!"

    "Hmph!"

    "Okay then, since you have been so blunt, I will be honest with you! We cannot give control of the gold mines to an outsider!" Shan Ling spoke up after some hesitation.

    "Is that so? Then let me make this clear to you. As long as I am here, no one can harm him!" Princess Shan Yu asserted.

    "Are you really going to be at odds with me over an outsider?" Shan Ling¡¯s tone was filled with fury.

    "You? You are not fit to be my brother!" Shan Yu¡¯s voice was filled with anger as well.

    "Aish... sister, you know that I have loved you since you were a little girl. You are my closest family member. You may not understand my actions now, but I am doing this all for the good of the Southern Region. With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reputation, we cannot possibly reim the 10 gold mines. Without those gold mines, how will we ever grow? Sister, what would you do if you were in my shoes?" Shan Ling sighed.

    "At least I won¡¯t do something so despicable! I can¡¯t believe you are willing to sacrifice me for those 10 gold mines!"

    "Despicable? Did you forget who signed that deal? It was you! The Princess of the Southern Region!"

    "You..." Princess Shan Yu could not find the words to express herself.

    "As your brother, I helped you to correct your errors and stem the bleeding. I am trying to build up the Southern Region! What have I done wrong?" Shan Ling added.

    "No matter what you say, you can forget about hurting him today!" Shan Yu asserted.

    "Are you really going to protect him with your life?"

    "Yes!"

    "Why?"

    "Because there would be no Southern Region without him!"

    "Okay then, I will kill all the soldiers at the door!"

    "Shan Ling, those are our citizens, what are you trying to do?"

    "Sister, you are a smart girl. You should know what I am doing? There is a stranger in your room at night. If news of this got out, how will we still maintain our standing?"

    "But this..."

    "Enough, now that things are at this stage, we either kill Fang Zhengzhi or the soldiers outside. There is no other choice!" Shan Ling repeated.

    Princess Shan Yu was silent.

    She knew what Shan Ling was saying. However, she had to choose between innocent citizens and Fang Zhengzhi.

    There was no good option here.

    But Shan Ling was right...

    It didn¡¯t matter how it happened. The fact was that it happened. The reputation of the royal family couldn¡¯t be sacrificed. She had to make a decision.

    "What if... he¡¯s not an outsider?" Princess Shan Yu bit her lips as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Are you really going to marry him? You should be able to tell that he doesn¡¯t like you! Furthermore, he is a dead man walking!" Shan Ling¡¯s tone was icy.

    "I don¡¯t mind. I am willing to marry him even if he can only live for a day!"

    "Just because of what he did in the war?"

    "No, because... because I like him!"

    "Sister, this is not the time for jokes! How can you possibly like this shameless fe?" Shan Ling couldn¡¯t believe his ears.

    "I also thought that I would never like him, but you know me well. If I didn¡¯t like him, then based on what happened today, he would be dead!" Princess Shan Yu said with determination.

    "Sister, you..." Shan Ling¡¯s expression changed.

    As someone who had watched Princess Shan Yu grow up, Shan Ling could tell that Princess Shan Yu was serious.

    With her character, she would never have let Fang Zhengzhi live if she didn¡¯t like him.

    And just now...

    When he tried to enter...

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s first reaction was to close the door.

    The only possible exnation was that Princess Shan Yu liked Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What do you have to say?"

    "This is a serious matter. If you are to marry him, then you will have to get the King¡¯s approval!" Shan Ling responded after some hesitation.

    "Okay then, we will let father decide!"

    "Carry Fang Zhengzhi to the throne room! The King will deal with him!"

    ...

    ...

    The throne room was lit up...

    The King, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, as well as the settlement chiefs, generals, and Great Xia candidates were gathered there.

    However, inparison to the banquet before...

    It was significantly more somber. There were no food or drinks, much less music. Two rows of soldiers lined the sides of the room.

    In the middle of the throne room...

    Fang Zhengzhiy atose¡¯.

    Shan Ling was quite barbaric in his handling of the situation. He didn¡¯t even dress Fang Zhengzhi...

    This was to ¡¯preserve the evidence¡¯.

    "Crown Prince, how do you think we should deal with this?" The King of the Southern Region asked solemnly.

    No one could me him.

    No father could smile andugh when his daughter¡¯s room had been broken into in the middle of the night.

    Furthermore, Princess Shan Yu was his favorite daughter.

    "Father..." Princess Shan Yu spoke up.

    "Sister, you can rest assured that father would make the right decision. Don¡¯t you think so?" Shan Ling interrupted.

    "You... Father!" Princess Shan Yu appealed.

    "Shan Yu, you can say your pieceter, but let¡¯s listen to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong first!" The King of the Southern Region waved Shan Yu off.

    Princess Shan Yu¡¯s mouth twitched but she didn¡¯t speak.

    All of the other candidates stared at theatose Fang Zhengzhi, their eyes about to pop out from their sockets.

    Who would be that audacious?

    How dare he barge into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room and get in her bed? How could someone be that shameless?

    That was ridiculous!

    I wonder...

    If he seeded?

    This was the question that flew through the minds of the candidates. The settlement chiefs and generals felt conflicted.

    They knew how important Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s contributions to the war were.

    If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi could die anytime, they would have epted him as a Prince even if his cultivation was ruined.

    But now...

    What was this?

    "Ahem... I never expected something like this to happen. Ordinarily, we would execute him and all his rtives, but..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was in a difficult position.

    The throne room was silent.

    Everyone looked at Lin Tianrong, waiting for him to continue.

    "However... Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s contributions to this war... even though they¡¯re undeniable, but..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong hesitated as he looked at the King.

    "I understand what you¡¯re saying. Without Fang Zhengzhi, I couldn¡¯t possibly be sitting here today. Since that is the case, let¡¯s forget it!" The King of the Southern Region hesitated before speaking.

    "Forget it?!"

    The candidates of the Great Xia looked at each other in shock when they heard this.

    All of the settlement chiefs and generals were in shock as well.

    However, there were also traces of exasperation and humiliation. It was almost as if they had been pped in the face.

    "The King is mistaken, that wasn¡¯t what I meant." Lin Tianrong exined.

    "Then what do you mean?" The King of the Southern Region asked.

    "By barging into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room, he hadmitted an unforgivable sin. However, I just received orders that he is now the assistant minister of the Minister of Rites. He is the acting Minister of Rites as well. As such, the punishment cannot be decided by me." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong exined.

    "Assistant minister?!"

    "Rank three official? Acting Minister of Rites?!"

    "My god... this has never happened before! How old is Fang Zhengzhi? He is already a rank three official! Furthermore... the Minister of Rites is a rank two post!

    All of the candidates were shocked to hear this.

    They knew that Fang Zhengzhi would be handsomely rewarded, but this bordered on the ridiculous.

    A promotion was definitely warranted.

    But Acting Minister of Rites was too big a jump.

    The Six Ministries!

    That was a powerful position!

    He had just been promoted from a rank four Sword Envoy to Minister of Rites. This had never happened in the history of the Great Xia.

    This only meant one thing. The Emperor valued Fang Zhengzhi greatly!

 Chapter 474: The blade falls

    Chapter 474: The de falls

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi heard what Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said.

    Rank three official? Acting Minister of Rites? Isn¡¯t that a little underwhelming? I thought I was going to be a rank two official?

    Perhaps Ping Yang¡¯s words were exaggerated.

    Would I still be givennd?

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask someone to give him an antidote! He didn¡¯t want to stay silent on this matter.

    However...

    No one could hear him.

    Shan Ling would never offer up the antidote because that would implicate him.

    He would never admit to his actions!

    Even though he hade clean back in Princess Shan Yu¡¯s room, he would never confess to them here.

    Most importantly, he did not want to let Fang Zhengzhi speak.

    When the settlement chiefs and generals heard Lin Tianrong, they finally understood how thorny this issue promised to be.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were known to everyone.

    If they executed Fang Zhengzhi now, they would be hard-pressed to exin it to the Great Xia and their citizens.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had just been promoted.

    This was a man who was highly valued by the Emperor. They could not sentence him to death so easily.

    As such...

    The only way was to let the Emperor handle it.

    But how would the Emperor handle it?

    The King of the Southern Region frowned. He had to bnce his options. Ordinarily, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to escape the death sentence.

    However, to be honest, he didn¡¯t want to kill Fang Zhengzhi...

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was a key factor in their victory. If he killed him just to preserve the royal family¡¯s reputation

    It would be slightly too vicious.

    But if he didn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi...

    How could the Shan Family hold their head up high?

    If Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking, then it wouldn¡¯t matter. But what if he wasn¡¯t? How was Princess Shan Yu going to find a mate in the future?

    Anyone who married her would have to live with this fact.

    As Fang Zhengzhi progressed up the ranks in the Great Xia, this would only be more and more embarrassing.

    To kill or not to kill?

    The King of the Southern Region frowned.

    "Father!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s voice interrupted his train of thought.

    "Shan Yu... speak your mind." The King shuddered as he looked at Princess Shan Yu, his eyes filled with guilt.

    As a father...

    As a King, he could not possibly let his daughter be humiliated in this manner and do nothing about it.

    "Sister, just let father..." Shan Ling wanted to interrupt.

    "Father, ording to Southern Region traditions, you held this banquet to find me a partner. Fang Zhengzhi had eaten the meat I prepared. Normally, that would mean that I can now make a choice, right?" Princess Shan Yu interrupted.

    "Erm..." The King¡¯s expression changed.

    He could tell where Princess Shan Yu was going with this. To bepletely honest, having Fang Zhengzhi marry Shan Yu...

    Was the best solution to all these...

    But...

    When he recalled that Fang Zhengzhi could die at any moment, he became extremely conflicted. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to be a widow.

    The King of the Southern Region hesitated.

    Shan Ling noticed the hesitation.

    "Father, since this issue concerns a rank three official of the Great Xia, the Great Xia court would have jurisdiction. Why don¡¯t we have the Crown Prince bring Fang Zhengzhi back and have the Emperor himself decide!" Shan Ling suggested.

    "Mm, what you say is reasonable, but..." The King of the Southern Region nodded. He still did not like this idea. He valued peace above all else.

    As such...

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi was about to die, he could still ept Princess Shan Yu¡¯s suggestion. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lifespan was still up in the air.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi could very well give him a grandchild before he passed on. That would not be a bad thing.

    "Father, rest assured. I will apany the Crown Prince to the Great Xia and I will ensure that your opinions are heard!" Shan Ling added.

    "You want to go to Yan Capital?" The King of the Southern Region was tempted.

    Shan Ling, the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, knew his influence and position well. The King also knew what Shan Ling meant.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi was a key factor in this victory...

    Without this incident, he would be fast-tracked through the courts of the Great Xia.

    If he were to be forced to stay in the Southern Region, his heart may not be in the right ce.

    However, if the Great Xia had given him a grave punishment...

    Then...

    They coulde in and provide a better offer. They could offer Fang Zhengzhi Shan Yu¡¯s hand in marriage. Fang Zhengzhi would be grateful for such an offer.

    "Yes, this concerns the reputation of the Shan Family. Now that we are in the midst of rebuilding after the war, you will be busy with domestic affairs. I think it is appropriate that I tag along." Shan Ling added.

    Princess Shan Yu pursed her lips. She wanted to speak, but she saw her father shake her head at her.

    "Okay then, it is great that you are willing to go to the Great Xia for this. Crown Prince, what do you think?" The King of the Southern Region nodded. He didn¡¯t know what Shan Yu was thinking, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t send her.

    Shan Ling was his best option.

    "No problem at all!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded.

    "Since that is the case, I will have to trouble you to take care of my son!" The King of the Southern Region replied.

    "You are too kind. The Crown Prince¡¯s abilities are clear for all to see. He would be the one taking care of me." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smiled.

    The atmosphere in the throne room rxed.

    Yet, it was also slightly awkward.

    The settlement chiefs and generals didn¡¯t speak. After the battle they had just been through, they were not willing to start another one anytime soon.

    The candidates of the Great Xia wanted to say something as well. However, when they felt the atmosphere in the room, they swallowed the words at the tip of their tongue.

    However...

    When they looked at the atose¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi, their eyes were filled with envy and jealousy.

    How could he possibly be sleeping so soundly after climbing into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s bed?!

    ...

    Before dawn...

    The convoy heading to the Great Xia set out. After something like that happened, there was no point in carrying on the celebrations.

    The candidates of the Great Xia were in the vanguard. They rode their horses and cleared a path with their Southern Region soldier guides.

    Crown Princes Lin Tianrong and Shan Ling were in the back.

    As Crown Princes of their respective regions, they had a squad of guards protecting them. The squad was eight strong.

    These were not soldiers, they were hangers-on.

    Hangers-on.

    This was amon thing amongst the noble households of the Great Xia. Every family would have a few hangers-on.

    Each of these people had special abilities. They had no official position, but they could do many things for the family.

    The courts had rules governing the hangers-on.

    Different families could have different numbers of hangers-on. However, even the most influential families did not have many hangers-on.

    Furthermore, each one had to be registered with the courts.

    The reason...

    Was security...

    The eight of them were in their fifties. These were the guards for the two Crown Princes. Furthermore, Shan Ling was already in the advanced Rebirth State.

    Su Qing followed behind Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    So long as they did not go up against the lord of the beasts, there should be nothing that could stand in their way.

    As such...

    Bringing along a atose¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi was no problem at all.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong closed his eyes throughout the entire journey,pletely rxed.

    Shan Ling seemed to be thinking about something.

    They traveled for hours before stopping for lunch. By sunset, they were already some distance from the Sagely Mountain City.

    The setting sun was a beautiful sight to behold.

    It went through the ps of the carriage and stained Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face red.

    At that moment, the convoy stopped. Shan Ling reined in his horse and Lin Tianrong followed suit.

    "Your Highness, do you still remember our deal?" Shan Ling asked.

    "Of course I do." Lin Tianrong nodded as he looked at the figure inside the carriage.

    "Okay then, we will hold to our agreement and maintain peace for 10 years. However, I have one condition!" Shan Ling continued.

    "How do you want to deal with Fang Zhengzhi?" Lin Tianrong smirked.

    "Kill him. I will not let my sister marry someone like that!" Shan Ling¡¯s voice was icy.

    "If so... please go ahead." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smiled. He had expected this to happen.

    "If I kill Fang Zhengzhi, how will you report to the Emperor?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi was unwilling to return to the capital because he knew he couldn¡¯t escape the death sentence. He kidnapped you so I had no choice but to agree to let him stay. Then, he took the chance to escape. However, because his cultivation was ruined, he was killed by beasts. By the time I got there, it was toote... what do you think?" Lin Tianrong replied.

    "That¡¯s great!" Shan Ling nodded.

    "If that is so, then it should ur in the bushes, not on the road, am I right?" Lin Tianrong looked at the forests by the side of the road.

    "That¡¯s right!" Shan Ling nodded.

    "Please." Lin Tianrong pointed to the forest.

    "Okay, let me clear a path for you." Shan Ling walked into the forest.

    Lin Tianrong and his eight hangers-on followed behind. Su Qing led the carriage carrying Fang Zhengzhi into the forest as well.

    The sun was setting.

    Darkness fell...

    The candidates were already some distance away. Seeing that night was approaching, they stopped and set up a camp, waiting for Lin Tianrong to join them.

    Safety...

    Was already taken care of.

    What they didn¡¯t know was that there were more than 10 figures and a carriage in the woods around them.

    The ps were opened.

    Fang Zhengzhi could be seen...

    He was dressed, his expression calm. However, his body was still paralyzed.

    "What a great move." Lin Tianrongmended.

    "You too!" Shan Ling nodded.

    "Are you not going to let him die a more honorable death?" Lin Tianrong smiled as he looked at theatose Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I never drag my feet when I work. Furthermore, the medicine that I gave him allows him to remain conscious despite his paralysis. He heard everything from the beginning." Shan Ling shook his head.

    "I see." Lin Tianrong stiffened.

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t say anything else.

    He walked forward and stepped onto the carriage. He unsheathed his sword.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you can only me yourself for being too greedy. When you asked for 10 gold mines, you should have seen thising!" Shan Ling pursed his lips.

    His voice was not loud and his arms were stable. His de radiated an icy aura as he red at Fang Zhengzhi like a ravenous predator.

    He raised his sword...

    Blood...

    Blood sttered all over the carriage in that instant...

 Chapter 475: Accident!

    Chapter 475: ident!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shan Ling looked at the blood and the de in his hand in disbelief.

    "Why?" Shan Ling looked behind him. He knew that this was a stupid question because the de that pierced his chest told him all he needed to know.

    But...

    He asked the question anyway.

    He simply couldn¡¯t understand why someone would do this! Furthermore, they had the audacity to attack him in the Southern Region!

    "Can¡¯t you figure out what¡¯s happening?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted as he looked at Shan Ling.

    He loved Shan Ling¡¯s expression.

    The greater the disbelief in his opponents face, the greater his satisfaction.

    Shan Ling looked at Lin Tianrong.

    Shan Ling had never felt such rage in his life. Not even when he felt threatened by Fang Zhengzhi in The Vast World.

    "Why? Could it be that you don¡¯t want him to die? That¡¯s impossible. I am very sure that you want him dead!" Shan Ling¡¯s face was flushed.

    He knew for a fact that Lin Tianrong wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead.

    There are no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. When their goals were the same, they could work together.

    That was why he believed Lin Tianrong.

    However...

    He never expected that Lin Tianrong would try and save Fang Zhengzhi by stabbing him in the back when he was trying to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    He needed a reason.

    "Crown Prince, you are right. I do want Fang Zhengzhi dead, but I also want you dead!" Lin Tianrong chuckled icily. His body was shaking with joy. He pulled his sword out.

    Blood sttered everywhere.

    The eight hangers-on rushed to Lin Tianrong¡¯s side. Their robes pped in the wind.

    "You want me dead?" Shan Ling shuddered, blood flowing from the open wound in his chest. He red at Lin TIanrong.

    "To be honest, there was a small detail that I left out from the story... when Fang Zhengzhi had kidnapped you, he killed you!" Lin Tianrong exined.

    "Haha, you expect that useless person to be able to kill me? Do you think the King will believe that story?" Shan Ling¡¯s eyes were icy, blood trickling from the edge of his mouth.

    "Does it matter? Fang Zhengzhi and yourself would both be dead by then. Whatever I say, goes." Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    Shan Ling remained silent.

    Lin Tianrong was right. Dead men couldn¡¯t speak. They would have no choice but to believe Lin Tianrong.

    Even if...

    The King didn¡¯t buy it... he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    Wage war with the Great Xia?

    Demand that the Great Xia hand over the Crown Prince to be tried for murder?

    Both of those options were impossible!

    "Give me a reason why you have to kill me!" Shan Ling didn¡¯t want to debate this issue. All he wanted was a reason.

    "If you don¡¯t die, there will be no peace!" Lin Tianrong added.

    "I see." Shan Ling stopped shuddering. He calmed down, realizing that death was about toe.

    He finally understood.

    He had told Fang Zhengzhi something just now.

    He had med Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fate on his...

    Greed!

    Right now, the Crown Prince was giving him a taste of his own medicine.

    His greed, his lust for the throne was the cause of his death!

    How ironic.

    He had thought that he was punishing others for their greed, never once realizing that he was even greedier.

    The irony was clear.

    That being said, he had to admit that Lin Tianrong was right. As long as he was alive, the Southern Region would always be a cause for worry for the Great Xia.

    Shan Ling had no other questions.

    He turned to look at Lin Tianrong and Su Qing, smirking as he did so.

    "I am sure Official Su had already predicted this when you came to find me that day. What a great n!" Shan Ling chuckled.

    He knew whose n this was.

    It was Su Qing¡¯s.

    By convincing Shan Ling, they had secured Shan Ling¡¯s attendance on this journey.

    "You are too kind!" Su Qing replied as he bowed to Shan Ling. He instinctively took a step backward.

    "Boom!"

    A crack appeared beneath Su Qing¡¯s feet, almost as if the ground had been sliced open.

    It was extremely sudden.

    But Su Qing managed to dodge away.

    "It is no wonder you are the Crown Prince. Your attacks are swift and powerful despite your injuries. I am in awe!" Su Qing retreated even further as he saw the crack.

    "Settle this within 15 minutes!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked at the crack, his gaze icy. He lowered his sword and ordered the eight hangers-on to strike.

    "Yes!" The eight hangers-on nodded.

    "I never expected that Official Su would be this powerful. Haha... the Great Xia is saturated with talents. Today, I will like to see how powerful the Crown Prince¡¯s hangers-on are!" Shan Ling chuckled as he radiated an icy aura.

    This was a piercing aura.

    The blood flowing out of Shan Ling¡¯s wound froze. It glistened like a ruby...

    "Die!"

    "Go to hell!"

    "..."

    The shouts echoed through the air.

    The eight hangers-on sprang into action like specters in the night. They were within striking distance in the blink of an eye.

    Shan Ling leapt into action.

    He swung his de as he charged the group of eight.

    His sword glistened.

    The icy aura enveloped the area and caused ayer of ice to form over the grass. The leaves also began to freeze over.

    Within moments, all eight hangers-on were injured. One of them even had a limb amputated. Blood spattered from the open wound, but their gazes were determined.

    Advanced Rebirth State...

    Despite his injuries, Shan Ling was still a force to be reckoned with.

    Shan Ling was the top cultivator amongst the Southern Region youths.

    However, this battle didn¡¯tst very long. The eight hangers-on seemed to have no regard for their lives. They were willing to die just to inflict damage!

    Broken branches and leaves mixed with the ice and blood. There were cracks all over the floor. This was a bloody battlefield.

    After 15 minutes...

    The battle was over.

    Shan Ling leaned on the carriage, his sword broken. He looked at the stars in the sky.

    He wasn¡¯t willing to ept this end. He had worked so hard to get the position of Crown Prince. His n to work with the demons, and then the Crown Prince was almost perfect.

    Yet, hisst two ns had failedpletely. He thought that he was the smart one but in truth...

    He wasn¡¯t.

    It might be Yun Qingwu, or even Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi. Now, there was one more contender - Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t want to die.

    However, he showed no trace of fear. He simply epted his fate. This was something that he couldn¡¯t fight.

    When the death god came to im him, he would not be scared. He would simply look into the sky and allow the blood to stain his feet...

    "Congrattions, your highness!" Su Qing spoke up after some pause. He fell to his knees.

    "Oh? What are you congratting me for?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nced at Shan Ling in scorn.

    As the Crown Prince of the Great Xia.

    He had been revered by many.

    However, since he entered the Southern Region, he had to tolerate Shan Ling¡¯s temper. He had always wanted to take his revenge.

    This was the perfect time to do so. He could eliminate a threat to the Great Xia whilst taking revenge.

    "Outsiders may think that Fang Zhengzhi killed Shan Ling. However, the Emperor would be smart enough to know that you did it to eliminate a threat to the Great Xia! Your efforts will be rewarded." Su Qing exined.

    "Rewarded? What do you think the Emperor would do?" Lin Tianrong asked.

    "Since Fang Zhengzhi is dead, the credit for the victory cannot go to him. Even though you killed Shan Ling, he cannot reward you explicitly for the assassination..."

    "So what?"

    "He will give you all the credit for the victory!"

    "Hahaha... well said, well said!" Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    When Su Qing had told him that he would secure all the credit for the victory, he did not believe it.

    But...

    After Su Qing exined the n to him, he bought into it.

    A dead man couldn¡¯t fight for credit.

    "Based on your position in the pce and the work you have done here, you would have secured your position on the throne! King Duan would cease to be a threat!" Su Qing smirked.

    "Cease to be a threat? I won¡¯t be so sure of that." Lin Tianrong squinted and shook his head.

    "Do you think that King Duan still has a chance to recover after all these?" Su Qing asked.

    "The capital is firmly in my control. Furthermore, I did quell the unrest here. It would be impossible for sixth brother to fight me in the courts. However, that is not where his strength lies!"

    "Are you referring to the Northern Five Constabries?" Su Qing seemed to understand.

    "Exactly, the Northern Five Constabries are controlled by the Divine Constabry. Chi Hou has been a close friend of King Duan for a long time now. Without the Divine Constabry¡¯s support, King Duan would never have had control over the army!"

    "What you¡¯re saying is..."

    "With your abilities and status, it would be a waste if you went to the Ministry of Rites!"

    "Your Highness, are you nning to have me go to the Divine Constabry?"

    "Divine Constabry? You won¡¯t be able to go there, but you can fight for the leadership of the Northern Five Constabries! What do you think?" Lin Tianrong looked at Su Qing.

    "Leader of the Northern Five Constabries?! That... would be an honor!" Su Qing shuddered as he smiled uncontrobly.

    "Haha... you shouldn¡¯t thank me so early. It is not easy to be the leader of the Northern Five Constabries. Why don¡¯t you consider heading up one of the constabries first?"

    "Your wish is mymand!" Su Qing nodded.

    ...

    The night was cold.

    Lin Tianrong looked at the carriage, ignoring Shan Ling, who was breathing raspily.

    There was one more loose end to tie.

    That was...

    The man inside the carriage.

    This man was a dead man walking.

    "If this n is sessful, your ce in the Great Xia would be impossible to challenge!" Shan Ling¡¯s voice rang out from behind Lin Tianrong.

    Lin Tianrong ignored Shan Ling. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with a defeated opponent.

    "Your Highness, should I take care of this?" Su Qing looked at Lin Tianrong. He wasn¡¯t trying to take credit...

    He simply wanted to vent his anger!

    "Okay." Lin Tianrong nodded.

    "Thank you, your highness!" Su Qing stood up and swept the dust off his pants. He walked towards the carriage.

    Each step was slow and deliberate.

    He was in control.

    As such...

    He wanted to savor every moment.

    He was close...

    When Su Qing neared the carriage, he smirked. He could hear his own breathing...

    "I will make sure you die a painful death!" Su Qing chuckled. His body shuddered as he opened the ps to the carriage.

    Then...

    His smile froze.

    "Actually, I didn¡¯t get to finish my sentence. Even the most perfect n isn¡¯t immune to hups! Am I right? Crown Prince? Official Su?" Shan Ling¡¯s voice rang out.

 Chapter 476: Die, he has to die

    Chapter 476: Die, he has to die

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The voice...

    Shan Ling was not loud. In fact, he was almost out of breath, but his voice sent a chill down Su Qing¡¯s breath.

    "Actually, I didn¡¯t get to finish my sentence. Even the most perfect n isn¡¯t immune to hups! Am I right? Crown Prince? Official Su?"

    His words echoed through Su Qing¡¯s mind.

    The smile on his face had all but disappeared. His hand froze in mid-air.

    He held the p open...

    But he didn¡¯t move.

    What was happening? How could this possibly happen?

    Su Qing was in disbelief. He refused to ept that this perfect n of his could go awry.

    In fact, the n seemed to be going even smoother than he had expected.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crime had been witnessed by everyone! This,pounded with his usual demeanor...

    For him to kill Shan Ling in a moment of panic...

    Was definitely possible!

    It wouldn¡¯t matter even if others didn¡¯t believe it.

    The dead couldn¡¯t speak. As long as he and Lin Tianrong continued to assert that this was the truth, then it would be so.

    But...

    What if Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die?!

    Su Qing¡¯s body was stiff. He turned slowly to look at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, who was nearby.

    As the Crown Prince of the Great Xia, Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t want to entertain his defeated adversary.

    However...

    When he heard what Shan Ling said, his expression changedpletely.

    He could tell from Su Qing¡¯s expression that something was wrong. Furthermore, he could see inside the carriage.

    All this while, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had been calm andposed. As the Crown Prince, he would never do anything unless he was absolutely certain that it would work.

    But this time, he had acted even though the odds weren¡¯t overwhelmingly in his favor.

    The temptation was too great!

    All the credit!

    By doing this, he could stabilize his position in the courts! His work here would secure the throne for himself.

    However...

    The key to this n was that Fang Zhengzhi had to die! His death was a necessity for this operation to seed!

    "You... you let him escape?!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s stammered. He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi could escape.

    He was poisoned andatose!

    Killing him would have been a piece of cake!

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had eight hangers-on to help him! Even that was quite the overkill. Even an ordinary soldier could have done the job.

    But now...

    The carriage was empty!

    There could only be one possibility! Shan Ling had let Fang Zhengzhi go. Only Shan Ling had the antidote.

    "Hahaha, what do you think?" Shan Ling chuckled maniacally. He was paralyzed, blood flowing from his open wound. However, he was extremely happy at the result of his actions.

    "Die!" Lin Tianrong lunged.

    The de in his hand morphed into a ray of light as it shot towards Shan Ling.

    Shan Ling didn¡¯t move.

    He watched the de pierce his throat, beaming radiantly even till his dying breath.

    Then, the world in front of him went dark.

    He was dead...

    Lin Tianrong red at Shan Ling, his heart filled with hatred. In all honesty, he could have waited for Shan Ling to kill Fang Zhengzhi before he killed Shan Ling...

    But he didn¡¯t wait.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a poisoned, paralyzed individual. What was there to worry about?

    He struck...

    But now...

    "Chase! Hunt Fang Zhengzhi down and end his life!" Lin Tianrong bellowed.

    "Yes, sir!" The eight hangers-on sprung into action the moment they heard the Crown Prince. They shot off in eight different directions.

    Nightfall...

    The blood was stained with white snow.

    "Woosh!"

    The de in Shan Ling¡¯s throat was removed and the blood dripped onto the snow. The night was chilly.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was dark and solemn.

    He would not allow for any room for error when it came to the fight for the throne.

    He also knew how difficult it was to track someone down in these dense forests.

    He looked into the dark, dense forests, then back at his bloodied de.

    "Woosh!"

    He struck again.

    Blood sttered everywhere!

    But this time, he was not striking at Shan Ling or Su Qing. He stabbed himself in the chest.

    "Your Highness!" Su Qing shuddered as he fell to his knees.

    "He didn¡¯t die? Hahaha... he didn¡¯t die! Good... very good! I would like to see if you still dare to show your face in the Great Xia!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "With such determination, the throne would definitely be yours. I am willing to die for your cause as well!" Su Qing understood what Lin Tianrong was doing.

    He may have taken advantage of the Princess of the Southern Region!

    But with his contributions in the war, he would not be executed. However, if he killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region and injured the Crown Prince of the Great Xia...

    He would not be able to escape death!

    ...

    ...

    In the morning, the Southern Region weed their first snowfall of this winter.

    The morning was cold and the snow added an icy silveryer on the ground.

    The Sagely Mountain City waspletely covered in snow.

    However, there was a squad in rattan armor amidst the snow. All of them rode two-meter tall beasts.

    These beasts were like wolves, and they had a single silver horn on their heads. Yet, they were at least two to three timesrger than conventional wolves.

    The Silver Horned Wolves Squad!

    The creme de creme of the Southern Region Army.

    Ordinarily, the Silver Horned Wolves were incredibly quick. They could run on snow almost as quickly as they could run on the ins.

    However, these Silver Horned Wolves were not particrly quick.

    They trudged through the snow, each step deliberate and pained. They left behind deep footprints.

    They were walking towards the throne room.

    It was snowing heavily.

    The sky was dark.

    The throne room was pristine and visible in the distance. However, none of the members of the Silver Horned Wolves were excited to see it.

    Their expressions were solemn.

    None of them spoke. All one could hear in the air were the footsteps and snorting of the Silver Horned Wolves.

    Finally...

    They stopped in front of the pce.

    No guards came forward to question them. Everyone watched the Silver Horned Wolves Squad patiently and quietly.

    Then the doors opened.

    "Creak, creak!"

    The doors were heavy from the snow and the hinges were frozen, but they still creaked open.

    "Aroo!"

    The moment the doors opened, the Silver Horned Wolves let out a howl. The sound echoed through the city.

    However, the Silver Horned Wolves didn¡¯t move.

    There was someone standing in the middle of the doors.

    This was a man in a snow white leather hat and a snow white leather robe. There was a thickyer of snow over his robe. He had been standing in the snow for some time.

    Behind this man...

    There was ady. She too wore a snow white leather robe which was caked in snow. She had beige skin, dark eyes, slender legs, and two daggers sheathed at her thighs.

    Princess Shan Yu!

    As such...

    The person in front of her was the King of the Southern Region.

    The Silver Horned Wolves Squad spotted the King, the Princess, as well as the settlement chiefs and generals standing behind them.

    However, they did not step forward to bow, nor did they fall to their knees. They remained silent and mounted.

    It was a strange sight.

    At that moment, the King of the Southern Region shuddered, then fell to his knees.

    "My son!"

    The King of the Southern Region howled, his hair dancing in the wind, tears rolling down his cheeks.

    This was an old man who had lived through many wars. He never cried, even when faced with terrifying enemies.

    But right now...

    Tears rolled freely from his cheeks.

    "Kaboom!"

    Princess Shan Yu, as well as the settlement chiefs and generals, fell to her knees. This caused the ground to shake, and snow to be sent flying in all directions.

    "Woooooooo!" A solemn ring could be heard from the walls.

    At that moment, the Silver Horned Wolvesy prone on the ground. However, the soldiers riding them didn¡¯t move.

    They remained still despite the wind and snow.

    Because...

    They carried arge ck nk of wood on their shoulders.

    This was a nk of wood cut down from an ancient tree. There were intricate carvings on the surface of the wood.

    It was identical to the pictures on the walls of the pce.

    The snow on the wood made it heavier by the second.

    Most importantly, there was someone lying on the nk of wood. This man was covered by a white sheet of leather, but the blood stain was clear for all to see.

    It was Shan Ling.

    The Crown Prince of the Southern Region, next in line to the throne. But now, he was dead.

    "Where is the Crown Prince of the Great Xia? Where is he?! Why didn¡¯t hee back? Is he afraid that I would kill him?!" The King of the Southern Region bellowed.

    "Your Highness, the Crown Prince was severely injured. He is nowatose and on the way to the Great Xia!" One of the members of the Silver Horned Wolves Squad replied.

    "Injured? Comatose? What injuries did he suffer? Why is heatose?" The King¡¯s expression changed.

    "He took a de to the chest! It missed his heart by just a single thumb width!" The Silver Horned Wolves Squad member replied.

    "A thumb width?! Hahaha... missed by the width of a thumb... hahaha..." The Kingughed. He wasughing out of anger. He clenched his fists and began to tremble.

    Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Sh*t!"

    The blood sttered all over the snow, staining it red.

    "Father!" Princess Shan Yu lunged forward and hugged the King. She was trembling as well, her eyes filled with hatred.

    She did not say anything after hugging her father.

    She knew what the situation was. She also knew that there were things that could be said, and things that were better left unsaid.

    "My daughter, your eldest brother and second brother are both gone. Now, even your third brother..." The King looked at Princess Shan Yu, his wrinkles getting deeper by the second.

    "Father, you still have a daughter!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s hands were covered by a thickyer of snow. No one could tell that she had balled her fists...

    "Yes... I still have a daughter, a daughter who is capable of ruling the Southern Region!" The King¡¯s eyes glittered as he stood up.

    His body radiated rays of red light and the snow on his body melted away. Steam could be seen rising from his body.

    "From today onwards, Princess Shan Yu will govern the Southern Region!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    "Father, I am still too young, and you..." Princess Shan Yu shuddered, her eyes widening.

    As a Princess of the Southern Region...

    She may be part of the Shan Family, but she never thought that she would have to govern the Southern Region. This was a job for the King.

    "Enough has been said. I have made my decision. Where is Fiery Crow?" The King shook his head as he ruffled Princess Shan Yu¡¯s hair.

    "Your Highness, I am here!" A skinny man walked out from the crowd.

    This was the settlement chief of the Fiery Crow Settlement.

    "Mm, you will make a trip to the capital on my behalf. Request a gift for Princess Shan Yu as she is about to take the throne. Ask for 80,000 tons of rations, 10,000 taels of gold, silver..." The King scribbled in the snow as he spoke.

    "Your Highness... we are a vassal state to the Great Xia. We have been paying them in exchange for some books. I think... they may give us the gold, but would they really give us the rations?" Fiery Crow was stunned by the numbers he saw.

    He knew exactly how scary those numbers were. They were enough to build an army.

    Fiery Crow was not alone. The settlement chiefs and generals behind them were equally shocked. This was unprecedented.

    "Yes, they will definitely give it to us!" The King asserted as he looked at the settlement chiefs and generals.

    "I understand!" Fiery Crow nodded.

    "Father, you¡¯re asking for a ton of resources from the Great Xia. Are you nning to..." Princess Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    "No! My daughter, this is my gift to you as you ascend the throne. You are ady taking the throne. You need to use these gifts to buy over the hearts of some people. The Emperor knows this, so he will definitely give these to you! However, you will still have control over how you wish to use these resources. You are the future ruler!"

    The King turned to look at the settlement chiefs and generals, his body glowing red.

    "We will serve Princess Shan Yu to ourst breath!" The settlement chiefs and generals fell to their knees.

    Princess Shan Yu shuddered. She did not kneel this time. She knew that she had a huge responsibility on her shoulders.

    She had to govern the Southern Region.

    She did not speak as she looked at the kneeling settlement chiefs and generals. Then, she turned to look into the distance.

    The ground was covered by a thickyer of snow. The trees were slightly bent due to the wind and the weight of the snow. She was looking in the direction of the Great Xia.

    Of course, there was something other than the Great Xia in that direction.

    There was a major settlement in that direction. That was the Icy Monkey Settlement. There was a sword...

    A sword that was embedded on the Feng Su Cliff...

    More than half of the sword had been driven into the ground. The snow fell on it and the wind blew around it.

    This was undoubtedly the coldest part of the Southern Region. There was ayer of ice around the de. Yet, there was still a strange purple glow flowing across the de...

 Chapter 477: The results of the Court Examination!

    Chapter 477: The results of the Court Examination!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Three weekster...

    Winter had arrived in the Great Xia.

    The snow covered the ancient city, leaving behind a silver, glisteningyer.

    The wind was strong.

    Countless citizens stood at the gates to the pce. They wore manyyers of thick clothing as they waited in anticipation.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stood at the front, the officials standing at the side. All of the candidates looked at them.

    Snow continued to fall from the sky,nding on their shoulders. However, they did not move.

    They were all waiting...

    They were waiting for the results of the court examinations!

    Ordinarily, only the results of the theory examinations carried such unknowns. After all, the results of thebat examination were clear for all to see.

    However...

    This was an exception.

    No one knew what the results of the court examinations were. No one knew who would take home the top spot.

    Then, the doors opened.

    A warm gust of air gushed out from inside as the officials and candidates tensed. They straightened their backs and lowered their heads. However, they all nced at the doors.

    There was no Minister of Rites nor a Chief Imperial Messenger. This would mean that the Emperor or the Left Prime Minister would announce the results.

    However, despite the doors opening, Emperor Lin Mubai was nowhere to be seen.

    At the very moment, eight soldiers in golden armor stood by the door.

    Each one of them had a solemn expression as they carried a huge tablet in their hands. This was the results tablet.

    "Are they just going to present the results?"

    The candidates and officials looked at each other without speaking. However, the same thought was going through their minds.

    The Imperial Decree Hall was where the Emperor¡¯s held their ceremonies when they ascended the throne.

    Simrly, it was the location for the announcement of the court examination results. After every announcement, there would be a tablet with the names of the candidates inscribed in gold.

    This was the emphasis ced on the court examinations.

    However...

    Usually, the court examination results would be announced before the tablet was revealed to the masses. However, this time seemed to be different.

    The tablet was being carried out.

    Neither the officials nor the candidates spoke. The icy wind sent a chill down all their spines.

    The eight guards¡¯ footsteps were steady as they trudged through the snow. The snow was thick, but they didn¡¯t wobble.

    They came to a halt.

    They stopped at the gates of the hall and ced the tablet on the ground.

    "Reveal!"

    A crisp voice rang out from inside the Imperial Decree Hall. It was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.

    The message was ryed all the way to the entrance.

    "Reveal!"

    "Reveal!"

    "..."

    The voices echoed all the way to the entrance of the pce. Then, the message was passed all the way to the walls.

    The city was bustling with activity.

    Everyone, from businessmen to soldiers, stopped what they were doing and looked towards the Imperial Decree Hall.

    The golden parchment was removed from the tablet.

    The golden names were revealed. There were only 10 names on the tablet.

    "I¡¯m on the tablet!" An excited voice rang out.

    "Me too!" Yet another candidate screamed. To be ranked on the tablet was a great honor.

    Then, there was a third voice, then a fourth...

    "Nangong Hao is first!"

    "Indeed. Nangong Hao did great work in the Southern Region, signing a peace treaty with the Southern Region for 10 years. It is only right that he is in first ce."

    "Yes, but... why is Yan Xiu third?"

    The candidates looked at the top few rows of the tablet. Nangong Hao¡¯s name was clearly inscribed at the top.

    "No, there are only nine names here!"

    "Nine?!"

    "Look, Nangong Hao¡¯s name is not in the center!"

    "Not in the center?!"

    "Yes, based on the position of his name, there is someone else to his right..."

    "You¡¯re saying that Fang Zhengzhi..."

    When the candidates noticed Yan Xiu¡¯s ranking, they also realized that there was something wrong with the tablet. However, when they spoke of Fang Zhengzhi, they all went quiet.

    "The results are out. The top three candidates have the opportunity to participate in the Heavenly Dao Pavillion selections seven days from now. Nangong Hao, will you be participating?" Another voice rang out. This voice ignored the discussions happening below.

    "I will!" A figure in white stood out from the crowd. His de glistened in the sun.

    "Mm, it is the Great Xia and Nangong Family¡¯s honor to have you represent us at the selection!" The figure replied approvingly.

    All of the other candidates were envious at such an opportunity. The Heavenly Dao Pavillion was the best ce to cultivate.

    "Young Master Nangong, you will definitely make it through!"

    "That is a given. You had the abilities to participate in the selections four years ago. It will be a piece of cake for you now."

    "Congrattions!"

    All of the candidates sent their well wishes to Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao bowed to them, then turned and returned to the crowd, just as calm as before.

    The person at the door of the Imperial Decree Hall looked out at the crowd, his gaze finally resting on an icy face.

    "Yan Xiu, will you be participating in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion selections?" The voice rang out.

    "Why isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi on the tablet?!" A figure walked out from the crowd, his face pale. He was clearly still recovering from severe injuries.

    However, his back was straight despite the chill and wind. His robe pped in the wind.

    His name...

    Yan Xiu!

    "Yan Xiu, he is asking you if you will be participating in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion selections! We can discuss any other matters after the selections are over!" One of the officials hollered.

    "I asked why Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name isn¡¯t on the tablet!" Yan Xiu ignored the official as he stared into the Imperial Decree Hall.

    His gaze had never left the Imperial Decree Hall.

    "Yan Xiu, this is the Imperial Decree Hall, behave yourself!" The Minister of Law¡¯s voice rang out. He was not going to tolerate such behavior here.

    "Why isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name on the tablet?!" Yan Xiu showed no intention of backing down.

    "Yan Xiu!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s voice cut through the air, his red official robes pping in the wind.

    "ording to the rules of the court examination, thebat examinations ended before the battle of the Southern Region. That is at the Icy Monkey Settlement. At that time, Fang Zhengzhi was inmand of nearly 50,000 soldiers. The only candidates left were Nangong Hao, Fang Zhengzhi, and I. Why is his name not on the tablet?!" Yan Xiu ignored Yu Yiping as he bellowed.

    "Does a traitor deserve to be on the roll?"

    "He vited the Princess of the Southern Region! That is an undeniable fact! How can he still be honored? Furthermore, he rebelled and killed Shan Ling and injured the Crown Prince. He is lucky that the Emperor hasn¡¯t executed his entire family. What else do you want?"

    "Yan Xiu, you are different from Fang Zhengzhi. Youe from a noble family. Now that you have a chance at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, you should focus on that, not stand up for a rebel!"

    All of the officials were fuming.

    "Innocent until proven guilty! I only have one question, why is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name not on the tablet?!" Yan Xiu clenched his fists.

    "Yan Xiu, you..." All of the officials couldn¡¯t find words to express their anger.

    All of the eyes of the candidates were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. They never expected that Yan Xiu would debate with all the officials.

    All because...

    Of Fang Zhengzhi...

    "Kacha!" At that moment, the scrunching sound of shoes trudging in snow rang out.

    The sound was soft.

    However, all of the candidates and officials fell to their knees.

    "Long live the Emperor!" They replied in unison.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at the only youth standing. His golden robe danced in the wind.

    "You asked me why Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name isn¡¯t on the tablet?" Emperor Lin Mubai was calm, but everyone knew that his tone was dangerously icy.

    His iciness was different from the snow and the wind. If the wind chilled one¡¯s bones, Lin Mubai sent shivers down one¡¯s spine and prated one¡¯s heart.

    "Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded, his voice equally cold.

    "Okay, let me tell you this. I have already left space on the tablet for him. As long as he can prove that he had nothing to do with the crimes he was being used of, then I will personally inscribe his name on the tablet. Is that a satisfactory answer?" Emperor Lin Mubai frowned.

    "Your Highness, please calm down!"

    The officials all kowtowed when they heard this.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t speak. He bit his lip as he looked at Emperor Lin Mubai and the empty space next to Nangong Hao¡¯s name.

    The snow was intensifying...

    "Yan Xiu, the Emperor has answered your question. It is time for you to answer ours. Will you be participating in the selection?" Eunuch Wei¡¯s voice rang out.

    As the Emperor¡¯s servant, he knew what to say and when to say it.

    "I will take part when the Emperor inscribes Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name on the tablet!" Yan Xiu fell to his knees.

    However, he stood up just as quickly. Then, he turned around and walked to the exit without hesitation.

    "This..."

    "This is ridiculous!"

    "Your Highness, should we..."

    All of the officials turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "Let him be!" Emperor Lin Mubai waved the officials off as he looked at the snow before returning to the Imperial Decree Hall.

    ...

    ...

    Spring, one yearter.

    In a quiet residence inside the Great Xia...

    Flowers were blooming and their fragrance filled the residence.

    There was ady on the swing in the yard, her white skin glistening in the sun. Her eyebrows were thin and sharp.

    In the middle of her forehead was a red mark, like a red spot in a sea of white. She was gorgeous.

    She kept looking at a clearke nearby as she swung on the swing.

    Theke was filled with fallen petals. There were a few tarps in the pond, making ripples as the swum around.

    "Why aren¡¯t they out yet? Could they be... stuck at the door?" Thedy¡¯s voice had traces of anger.

    At that moment...

    There was movement in theke. The movement became more vigorous by the moment, forming waves on the surface of theke. Then, a ck circr rock rose to the surface.

    "Oh? They¡¯re out!" Thedy¡¯s eyes glistened as the frustration on her face was reced with calm.

    A crack appeared on the ck rock. It looked as though a door was being opened from the inside.

    Thedy grabbed the rope on the swing and the swing came to a stop. She stared at the ck crack.

    The crack began to widen...

    Then...

    A figure walked out...

    This was a bearded, aged man. He was barefoot and wore a baggy white robe. He seemed calm and unassuming. The only unique feature about him was his long, silver beard. His beard extended all the way to his waist.

    "Master!" Thedy jumped off the swing when she saw him. Then, she looked behind the man.

    "Oh, you were waiting for me?" The old man smiled as he brushed his beard.

    "Where is he?" Thedy ignored the old man¡¯s question.

    "Who?" The old man asked, visibly confused.

    "That fe! Why isn¡¯t he out? Is he stuck at the door like the previous time?"

    Thedy smirked when she said it.

    She was thinking about a previous incident.

    "So you weren¡¯t waiting for me?" The old man seemed disappointed.

    "Of course I was, but where is that fe? Is he still inside?" Thedy asked.

    "Nope." The old man shook his head.

    "No? How could that be? Did he turn into a Fire Plume Chicken and fly away?" Thedy was shocked.

    "Indeed." The old man nodded solemnly.

    "Master, enough with the jokes. Without your guidance, he won¡¯t be able to walk out of this ¡¯Water Demon Realm¡¯." Thedy didn¡¯t buy it.

    "Yes, how did he exit the ¡¯Water Demon Realm¡¯?" The old man nodded in agreement.

    "Master, you... no way? That guy really made his way out by himself?"

    "Probably!"

    "Ah? Where did he go? He better not be going to the capital! I... I haven¡¯t even finished my preparations. If we go now..."

    "No, he didn¡¯t go to the capital."

    "He didn¡¯t? Then where did he go?"

    "He said that he was inside for too long. It was suffocating. He wanted to enjoy the scenery."

    "Enjoy the scenery? Where?"

    "He said he wanted to go to the Blood Shadow City!"

    "Blood Shadow City? Oh... as long as it is not Yan Capital... hang on... did you say Blood Shadow City?! Isn¡¯t that the Demon¡¯s capital?!" Thedy¡¯s expression changed.

 Chapter 478: Purple Demonic Eye

    Chapter 478: Purple Demonic Eye

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The Blood Shadow City was aptly named. It was given this name because of itsyout and infrastructure.

    Ordinarily, a city would have four gates, one in each direction. Each one would be linked by walls that allowed for better defense.

    However, the Blood Shadow City was an exception.

    This was a fortress. It should only be viewed from a distance. Anyone foreign and close to it would likely die.

    Yet...

    There was a youth standing on the walls of the Blood Shadow City. He seemed out of ce, looking around in his blue long sleeved shirt.

    He was clearly in awe.

    To be honest, anyone who could see such an ancient city would be in awe. This ancient fortress covered the entire mountain.

    Circr...

    A circr wall at the foot of the mountain was the firstyer of protection. It surrounded the entire city.

    One mile in was another circr wall. However, this wall was more than two meters higher than the one on the perimeter.

    The wall was as high as a tree.

    But that was not all...

    Layers of circr walls continued to surround the city, each one spaced one mile apart. Everyyer was two meters higher than the previous one.

    "Grand!" The youth looked at theyers of walls behind him and gasped in admiration.

    It was no wonder it was known as the Blood Shadow City.

    The youth looked at the red gs in the middle of the trees. He really felt like he was surrounded by a sea of red.

    Of course, the grandest thing was the ¡¯scar¡¯ that he was standing on...

    This was a scar that extended from the outermost wall all the way to the center.

    The youth was slightly confused as he looked at the scar.

    It had clearly been repaired, but...

    It seemed to have been done rather half-heartedly. It was not difficult to fully repair the cracks...

    Yet, the crack was still visible.

    It was extremely attention-grabbing.

    "I guess it¡¯s a warning to the younger generations..." The youth thought to himself. He could confirm a few things.

    First, the Blood Shadow City is built on a mountain. It was not a tall one, but it covered a great amount of space. There were four gates at the outermost wall.

    The secondyer also had four gates.

    However...

    They were not aligned with the gates at the first wall. This greatly increased the time required for people to walk into the city.

    It was extremely inconvenient.

    However, it made for great defense!

    There were only two ways this ce was defended. First, the people entering could be separated by race. Every race would face different rules when entering the city.

    Of course, they could also be separated by castes.

    The second possibility was that there were magical formations embedded within the walls.

    It could even be abination of the two.

    This would make entry extremely difficult. Not only did you have to follow the ¡¯rules¡¯, you had to get past all the guards.

    It was no wonder...

    The easiest way was to just split the entire city. It would take ages to gain entry via conventional methods.

    More importantly, one would find it even more difficult to get out than to get in.

    Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a voice behind him. This voice was filled with shock.

    "Freeze, turn around slowly!"

    The demon soldiers on guard duty at the perimeter walls werepletely shocked to see a youth standing on the wall, admiring the scenery.

    Which rural n was this person from? Is he here to visit?

    Doesn¡¯t he know the rules of the Blood Shadow City?

    The demon soldier gripped his spear tightly. He didn¡¯t strike immediately because this person seemed too rxed, almost as if he was at home here on the wall.

    This caused him to take extra precaution.

    At that moment, the youth turned around, his lips twitching in displeasure.

    The demon soldier loosened his grip on the spear.

    He saw that there was a glittering demonic eye on the youth¡¯s forehead. That meant that this youth was definitely a demon.

    However...

    His demonic eye was weird.

    Hang on...

    Purple... purple demonic eye?!

    The soldier was stunned. He had been stationed here for decades and seen many strange things.

    However, he never felt like vomiting blood as much as he did today.

    "Spy, spy! Catch... catch the intruder!" The demon soldier stammered. He didn¡¯t feel any satisfaction when he recognized this youth as an intruder.

    After all, there was no such thing as a purple demonic eye.

    As such, this intruder...

    Was in dumb!

    That was the first thought that shed through his mind. Then, he felt the world spinning, almost as if he had been knocked in the back of the head.

    He turned around and saw a figure standing behind him.

    This was a man in ck clothes. His jaw was sharp and he had a demonic eye on his forehead, a red one.

    Most importantly, he held a ck metal pole in his hand.

    "How dare this guy... impersonate a Rebirth State..." The demon soldier was furious, but he crumpled to the ground as the world around him turned ck.

    "Ah Jiu, what¡¯s the count?" The youth shook his head as he turned away from the demon soldier frothing at the mouth.

    "Master, he is the third one today. We are left with the Northern Gate, do you want to continue?" The servant replied.

    As a lowly servant...

    Su Jiu had enjoyed life the past two years. He had gone from Huai An County all the way to the River of Trust Province.

    Right now...

    He was following his master to enjoy the ¡¯scenery¡¯.

    He also painted a red demonic eye on his forehead to try to blend in.

    "I¡¯ve seen most of the things outside. It is time for us to go inside." The youth took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

    "Okay." Su Jiu nodded, unsurprised by the youth¡¯s words. His lips twitched, almost as though he wanted to say something.

    "What else is there?" The youth spotted this.

    "Master, are you going to continue sporting the purple demonic eye? As far as I know, there is no purple demonic eye amongst the demons..."

    "Do you think that the color is a problem?"

    "No... not at all!"

    "I didn¡¯t think so. Don¡¯t you think that this color is more noticeable than others?" The youth nodded.

    "Yes, indeed... it is attention-grabbing..." Su Jiu nodded as his mouth twitched. He didn¡¯t dare to finish his sentence.

    Attention-grabbing!

    Everywhere they went, they would be recognized as spies and intruders! This was the Blood Shadow City!

    Shouldn¡¯t they be keeping a low profile?!

    "Okay then, let¡¯s go inside and have a look." The youth began his descent, using a woodendder that was pre-positioned.

    "Yes, master!" Su Jiu followed behind the youth.

    ...

    ...

    Bai Xing didn¡¯t think that he would be able to lead a proper life after the war. However, there was nothing out of the ordinary ever since he returned.

    He was still the Domain Chief of the Star Domain.

    Furthermore, Yun Qingwu had given him a few more deputies tomand.

    Bai Xing was initially unsettled by this, but after a year, his position as Domain Chief was still secure.

    Yun Qingwu was still herself and Bai Xing was still himself.

    As one of the Domain Chiefs, his standing amongst the demons was naturally high. The demons had kept a rtively low profile after the war.

    Other than the usual military exercises, Bai Xing spent most of his time in his residence, enjoying music whilst practicing his techniques and researching formations.

    He was not rxed...

    But it was a stable and regr life.

    However, this routine had just been broken in the strangest of fashions.

    The person who broke this year-long routine was a youth.

    This was a youth in a blue long-sleeved shirt. Bai Xing was familiar with this shirt, and he even dreamt about it sometimes.

    However...

    He never expected that this youth would show up on his doorstep, especially not in broad daylight.

    How was this possible?

    Bai Xing couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    Was the Blood Shadow City breached?

    If it hadn¡¯t, how did this youth manage to walk into his residence in broad daylight?!

    His residence was located within the thirdyer of walls in the Blood Shadow City.

    The only reason why he was so far out was that he had to train with the demon soldiers frequently

    Even so...

    It should not be so easily essed by an outsider.

    Most importantly, this fe had a demonic eye on his forehead. This demonic eye was purple.

    What the hell?!

    Bai Xing thought that he was facing a ghost. He knew that this youth had been under the radar for the past year.

    It was almost as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.

    How could a youth who had disappeared for over a year appear in his residence all of a sudden? Furthermore, what was with the purple demonic eye?

    Bai Xing rubbed his eyes...

    When he opened them, he realized that the youth was still standing in the same position as before. To make things worse, the youth was smiling radiantly at him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Bai Xing was rarely shocker. However, he could not hide his shock when he saw this youth.

    "Mm, it¡¯s me." The youth nodded calmly.

    "You... why are you in the Blood Shadow City? And why are you in my residence?" Bai Xing knew that his questions were dumb...

    When a human entered his residence, he should have gathered his guards and captured this man.

    However...

    He didn¡¯t do so...

    He was still curious about what had happened to Fang Zhengzhi over the past year.

    Even though it was a dangerous choice...

    He decided to spare some time to talk to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Would you believe me if I said I came here to admire the scenery?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled as he found himself a seat.

    "Admire the scenery? Here at the Blood Shadow City?" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes glimmered but he forced himself to calm down.

    "I had wanted to make my way to the center of the Blood Shadow City. However, when I saw the sign reading "Bai Residence" on your doorstep, I couldn¡¯t help but stop. Could it be Domain Chief Bai? As such, I decided toe in and take a look. It is you!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "I see." Bai Xing nodded and squinted. He could tell that Fang Zhengzhi had entered through the main door.

    However...

    How did this fe do it? Were all his guards blind? Could they not see the purple demonic eye on his forehead?

 Chapter 479: Trick that was impossible to fall for

    Chapter 479: Trick that was impossible to fall for

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Bai Xing raised his fingers and rapped them on the table. He looked around solemnly.

    He didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s excuse of ¡¯admiring the scenery¡¯.

    No one would believe that Fang Zhengzhi had stumbled upon his residence and spontaneously decided to enter.

    Bai Xing didn¡¯t believe it, but he didn¡¯t bother asking additional questions.

    He simply hollered...

    "Serve tea!"

    Someone dressed as a servant entered holding a teapot and two exquisite teacups.

    Bai Xing frowned.

    He had called for tea not because he was a gracious host. He was in the Blood Shadow City, the capital of the Demons. He was in control here. The longer he dragged this out...

    The more advantageous it was for him...

    If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in a rush, why should he be?

    There was an even more important reason. He wanted to know if the demon soldiers in his residence were truly ¡¯blind¡¯.

    It would seem that the demon soldiers in his residence were blind beyond belief.

    The tea came too quickly.

    It was so quick that it felt like the tea had been prepared in advance. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had prepared two cups.

    "He came prepared?" Bai Xing wasn¡¯t too surprised by this. He didn¡¯t act immediately, choosing to wait for the man to bring the tea over.

    When dealing with Fang Zhengzhi...

    He couldn¡¯t possibly attack him from the get-go. However, he could definitely take action against someone who was trying to pose as one of his servants.

    He would kill this imposter in front of Fang Zhengzhi and scare Fang Zhengzhi off.

    He hid a ray of silver light in his palm.

    He was waiting. He wanted to wait till this man was closer.

    The servant carrying the pot of tea didn¡¯t seem to notice the killing intent Bai Xing emanated. He walked over steadily...

    He was getting close!

    Bai Xing¡¯s finger moved and his eyes glittered. Just as he was about to strike, he froze.

    Because...

    He saw a demonic eye. There was a red demonic eye pasted on the forehead of the servant. It was a stark contrast from the greenery in the yard.

    "Domain Chief, sir, please enjoy the tea!" The man looked at Bai Xing calmly as he bowed and poured Bai Xing a cup of tea.

    The fragrance of the tea filled the garden.

    Bai Xing looked at the man and the cup of tea in front of him. His lips twitched.

    This was ridiculous!

    Fang Zhengzhi had waltzed into his residence with a purple demonic eye! And now there was someone with a fake red demonic eye serving him!

    Bai Xing thought that he had managed to call their bluff...

    But in fact...

    They were simply mocking him. Purple demonic eye? Red demonic eye? Could this be any more ridiculous?

    Bai Xing subconsciously clenched his fists.

    "Bang!"

    This was the sound of the silver light exploding in his hands. It was also a manifestation of the anger he was feeling. However, Bai Xing was still Bai Xing. After some hesitation, he took the teacup in his hand and took a whiff. He smiled.

    "Great tea!" Bai Xing looked away from the man and back at the calm Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Domain Chief Bai is in for a treat. I feel obliged to tell you that the tea you hold in your hand is the best spring tea this year. I have personally brewed it with my recipe and techniques. If you say that it isn¡¯t good, then I¡¯ll have to fault you for not knowing your tea." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    Then, he waved to the man.

    The man turned around and walked over to Fang Zhengzhi. He poured a cup of tea for Fang Zhengzhi, left the teapot behind, then left.

    Bai Xing¡¯s lips twitched when he saw this.

    To be told that you were in for a treat in your own backyard felt like being pped in the face.

    However, Bai Xing tolerated it.

    "I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you, do you really think that by controlling the servants in my residence, you can exit the Blood Shadow City safely?" Bai Xing asked.

    "Domain Chief Bai, can we have some tea first?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Bai Xing¡¯s question as he raised his ss and took a sip, savoring it.

    "Hmph!" Bai Xing snorted in derision.

    He was curious about what happened to Fang Zhengzhi over the past year, but that was about it.

    He could suppress it for a moment...

    But he couldn¡¯t suppress it forever.

    As for drinking the tea...

    The tea was brought by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s man. He was not stupid enough to taste it.

    "Haha, I can see that you are running out of patience. This is some of the best tea around, are you really not going to taste it?" Fang Zhengzhi advised sincerely, ignoring the iciness on Bai Xing¡¯s face.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you really that stupid? Do you not know where you are?" Bai Xing squinted, a silver glow shing through his eyes.

    "Let me think... if I recall correctly, I should be in the Bai Residence inside the thirdyer of the Blood Shadow City¡¯s defenses. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi replied innocently.

    "So you do know that you are inside the Blood Shadow City!" Bai Xing felt a wave of rage. He smashed the teacup into the ground.

    The cup shattered.

    "It is a pity... that was a good cup. I hope Domain Chief Bai isn¡¯t trying to chase me away? I haven¡¯t even finished exploring the Blood Shadow City! Why don¡¯t you apany me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the cup with traces of regret in his eyes.

    "Apany you? Hahaha... sure, I will apany you!" Bai Xing chuckled out of rage.

    "Thank you in advance, and sorry for taking up your time." Fang Zhengzhi nodded enthusiastically.

    "No need to thank me. However, I think you should explore this ce a little differently!"

    "How so?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "We could tie you up first, then have the soldiers gather and stand in front of you! You could take your time to see them all!" Bai Xing chuckled icily.

    "Wouldn¡¯t that be too much of a disturbance?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Not at all!"

    "Really?"

    "I can swear on my ancestors that it is no trouble at all!"

    "Since you have sworn it, please go ahead." Fang Zhengzhi hesitated for a moment before nodding. Then, he extended his arms.

    "Hahaha, Fang... hmm?!" Bai Xing chuckled as he prepared to stand up. At that moment, his smile froze.

    His expression was filled with shock!

    "Domain Chief Bai, what are you waiting for? I am ready." Fang Zhengzhi urged.

    "You... what did you do to me?" Bai Xing¡¯s expression changed when he realized that he couldn¡¯t move.

    His legs felt like they had been nailed in ce.

    He waspletely immobilized.

    He was shocked when he realized this. He didn¡¯t know what happened to him.

    How is that possible?!

    How could Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s abilities have improved this much in a year?!

    No!

    That¡¯s impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation had been ruined after the war with the Southern Region. Even if he wasn¡¯t rendered useless, his abilities couldn¡¯t improve this much in a year.

    He had just stepped into the Supernatural State a year ago!

    When he dueled Cang Yang, he had relied on the power from The Vast World, not his own abilities.

    Impossible!

    This was unfathomable!

    Was it the tea?!

    Was there something wrong with the tea?

    But he didn¡¯t drink the tea! What could have possibly gone wrong?

    "What did you do to me?!" Bai Xing questioned agitatedly. He felt like he was in real danger.

    "Domain Chief Bai, why don¡¯t you make a guess." Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "You poisoned me?" Bai Xing queried.

    "Domain Chief Bai, you are indeed a smart man! I asked you to drink the tea and you didn¡¯t. Now you are in trouble! There is a saying... you should never waste food!" Fang Zhengzhi walked towards Bai Xing.

    "What do you mean?" Bai Xing¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "Do you remember the events a year ago? You were in a bad mood and didn¡¯t like everything around you. You had a few contractors renovate your ce. Do you remember that?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "You... knew about that? Those contractors..."

    "Yes, I sent them!"

    "But... I checked everything after the renovation waspleted. There was nothing out of ce. Furthermore, nothing has happened the past year. What did you do?" Bai Xing paid a great deal of attention to his renovation

    "Flowers!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Flowers? What flowers?"

    "A kind of flower that only blooms in spring."

    "A flower that only blooms in spring, what... what does that have to do with me now?" Bai Xing was confused.

    "Domain Chief Bai is knowledgeable. You should know that some poisons are transmitted through smell!" Fang Zhengzhi exined patiently.

    "You nted poisonous flowers in my garden? That¡¯s... that¡¯s impossible! I am not the only one who has been here and you didn¡¯t..."

    "Domain Chief Bai, I am sure you know that some scents are not poisonous on their own. However, they be poisonous after mixing with other fragrances." Fang Zhengzhi reminded.

    "Mixed with other fragrances... the tea!" Bai Xing had a revtion.

    If it was only poisonous after mixing with other fragrances...

    The only factor would be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pot of tea.

    "Yes, I reminded Domain Chief Bai that I had brewed this tea myself. I am sure you remember that." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "But you are here as well. You even drank the tea. Why are you okay?" Bai Xing couldn¡¯t understand where he had gone wrong.

    "Yes, I am in the garden, and I drank the tea. However, if I recall correctly, Domain Chief Bai... didn¡¯t drink the tea. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Didn¡¯t drink the tea? You... are you saying... the tea is the antidote?" Bai Xing felt a chill down his spine.

    If this was true...

    This was a method that he had never imagined was possible.

    The tea¡¯s fragrance would mix with that of the flower to form a poisonous substance. Yet, the tea was the antidote. Who would bother researching such a pointless poison?

    Furthermore...

    Who would be poisoned by such a ridiculous poison?

    Bai Xing wanted to ask why someone would research such a pointless poison, but he stopped himself.

    Because... he had been poisoned!

    "I did remind you to drink the tea... it is a pity that it is toote now. You have already smashed the cup." Fang Zhengzhi said regretfully.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you poison me?! Have you been researching such underhand tactics for the past year?" Bai Xing was frustrated.

    He never expected that a Domain Chief like him would be poisoned by such a pointless poison.

    Was it hubris?

    Or did Fang Zhengzhi read him like a book?!

    Bai Xing was furious.

    He didn¡¯t like the feeling of being read like a book. He felt like he was facing Yun Qingwu.

    That¡¯s right!

    Yun Qingwu!

    Why did he feel like he was facing Yun Qingwu when he faced Fang Zhengzhi?

    One year!

    It was a short time...

    Yet, this fe had already be an unpredictable, highly intelligent figure. Was it possible that he could now match up to the Young Master of the Demons?

 Chapter 480: Hes back!

    Chapter 480: He¡¯s back!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    He wasn¡¯t scared of talents.

    There were so many talents in the world. However, when a talent was also scheming, then that talent was truly terrifying.

    "I will not hide anything from you. I did spend quite a bit of time researching this over the past year. I think you¡¯re feeling the effects now. Do you feel like you¡¯re unable to move your legs?" Fang Zhengzhi asked caringly.

    "You..." Bai Xing wanted to scream for help. Even though it would be humiliating for him to scream for help in his own residence, he still opened his mouth.

    However...

    The moment he did, he felt something heavy knock against his head.

    When he turned around...

    Bai Xing saw a pole, a metal pole which had been bent out of shape.

    "What a tough head!" The man looked at Bai Xing and the metal pole in his hand, shocked at the result.

    "..." Bai Xing turned to look at the man and that glowing red demonic eye on his forehead. He didn¡¯t believe that someone would be able to sneak up behind him.

    How did it happen?

    Did Fang Zhengzhi distract him?

    Even so, as an Intermediate Rebirth State cultivator, he should have been able to sense it if someone was creeping up on him.

    Furthermore...

    Why was he knocked in the head with a metal pole?

    Did this man really think that he could be knocked out by a metal pole? How naive...

    Bai Xing found everything a little strange. What was even stranger was that he felt as though his head had been pricked my needles.

    It hurt so bad that he felt his world spinning.

    "Bong!" Bai Xing froze and crumpled to the ground. Just before he hit the ground, a thought shed through his mind.

    No!

    He wasn¡¯t poisoned... to be precise, he wasn¡¯t just poisoned...

    "Hahaha, this will be a story for the ages! I knocked out a Demon Domain Chief!" Su Jiu couldn¡¯t suppress his excitement as he looked at Bai Xing.

    "So,ing to the Blood Shadow City to enjoy the scenery was your idea right?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "Erm..." Su Jiu froze.

    ...

    An hourter...

    At the highest point of the Blood Shadow City, nine men in shining armor waited at the entrance to a ck pce.

    The pce was clearly aged.

    Ten ck pirs supported the entire pce. Each pir was surrounded by demon soldiers in different armor.

    Before long, a demon soldier walked out of the pce.

    "The Young Master invites you in!"

    "Okay!" The nine males nodded and entered the pce.

    Before long, the nine males were in a room inside the pce.

    There was ady in the middle of the room. She wore a snow white dress, her ck, silky hair falling to her waist, her eyes calm.

    Thedy didn¡¯t move. She looked out the window at the rising sun. She held a yellowish piece of paper in her hand.

    The paper was small.

    There were few words on it.

    It was just a single sentence.

    "Have you eaten?"

    There were no other words on that piece of paper. There was no indication as to who the author was.

    Thedy was Yun Qingwu.

    As the Young Master of the Demons, Yun Qingwu has many things to do during the day. Such a piece of paper should not have appeared in her hands.

    Yet, this was passed from soldier to soldier, all the way until it made its way to Yun Qingwu.

    The reason was simple...

    This was the only thing left behind in the Bai Residence.

    "Greetings, Young Master!" The nine men fell to one knee when they entered the room.

    "Mm, save the formalities, Domain Chiefs." Yun Qingwu nodded as she looked down at the piece of paper.

    "Young Master, about that..."

    "Young Master, what are your orders?"

    "There is no one in the Southern Region capable of sneaking into the Blood Shadow City and kidnapping Domain Chief Bai. Only those few people in the Great Xia..."

    The nine men waited for Yun Qingwu to make her decision.

    News that one of the 10 Domain Chiefs had been abducted from the Blood Shadow City had shocked the entire Demon World.

    Most importantly...

    The most terrifying part of it was...

    This person had done it in broad daylight and without triggering any rms! This was about sending a message! The Blood Shadow City was not as safe as they thought!

    "He¡¯s back after more than a year!" Yun Qingwu murmured to herself, ignoring the questions of the nine men.

    "Him? Young Master, who are you referring to?" One of the men asked, confused by Yun Qingwu¡¯s cryptic words.

    After all, they had all seen the note. There was no indication of who the author was.

    If not for the fact that it was the only clue left in the Bai Residence...

    They would have thrown it away without a second thought.

    "Someone who has disappeared for more than a year." Yun Qingwu replied calmly after some thought.

    "Disappeared for more than a year?!"

    The men looked at each other in confusion when they heard this.

    "Young Master, are you talking about Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "What a joke. How is that even possible? Fang Zhengzhi may have disappeared for more than a year, but he is a crippled man. Furthermore, both the Great Xia and the Southern Region are hunting for him! He may be dead for all we know!"

    "Mm, the Great Xia could have executed Fang Zhengzhi without announcement!"

    The nine men guessed as they looked at Yun Qingwu.

    However...

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t respond. She knew that even if she said it, no one would believe her.

    There was no point in saying it then.

    "Ying Feng."

    "Yes, Young Master!" A man stepped forward from the crowd. He was thin and unassuming.

    However, when this man stepped forward, those around him instinctively took a step back.

    Because...

    This was Ying Feng.

    He was the current Domain Chief of the Dark Domain. He was the younger brother of Ying Shan and was once promoted to Vice Domain Chief after just a single sentence from Yun Qingwu.

    Just a yearter, he took over as Domain Chief.

    However, that was not the most important point.

    Most importantly, the Dark Domain had already taken over the position of the Star Domain. It had gone from being the weakest domain to the most powerful one.

    No one knew how Ying Feng had done it.

    But the fact was...

    He had done so without being propped up by Yun Qingwu.

    "Mm, I want to make a trip to the Great Xia. Make the necessary arrangements." Yun Qingwu replied calmly.

    "Young Master, you want to go to the Great Xia?!"

    "No, that must not happen! Young Master, the Great Xia already knows who you are! How can you take such a risk?"

    "Yes, this matter is of great importance. Young Master, please do not act rashly. I think we should discuss this with the Demon Lord..."

    The men were shocked by Yun Qingwu¡¯s orders.

    "Do you all think that I, Ying Feng, am not powerful enough to ensure the Young Master¡¯s safety?" Ying Feng¡¯s voice rang out.

    At that moment...

    The expressions of the eight men changed.

    However, no one stepped forward to rebut him.

    "As long as I am alive, I swear that the Young Master will be safe. Young Master, when do we leave?"

    "Tomorrow."

    "Tomorrow? Okay, I will make the necessary arrangements now!"

    ...

    ...

    Five dayster... in the Southern Region¡¯s Icy Monkey Settlement...

    Even though a chilly breeze continued to caress Feng Su cliff, the stench of blood had been wiped clean after more than a year.

    Grass covered the ins outside the Icy Monkey Settlement as a myriad of flowers bloomed amongst the grass, their fragrance filling the air.

    Of course, to say that there were no traces of the battle left behind...

    Would be an exaggeration.

    Because...

    There was still a sword on the cliff. It was embedded deep in the ground and covered with ice.

    The sun beat down on the ice, but the ice didn¡¯t melt despite the heat.

    It was a strange sight.

    What was even stranger was that there was a figure standing next to the sword. His blue long sleeved shirt pped in the wind.

    To the people of the Southern Region...

    They had gotten used to seeing that de on the cliff.

    Over the past year, many courageous soldiers hade to the sword...

    They had tried to pluck it out of the ground...

    However...

    The sword refused to budge. It remained embedded deep in the ground, encased by a thickyer of snow and ice.

    It was almost as if the sword was saying, "I won¡¯t even let you touch!"

    Of course, the Southern Region warriors didn¡¯t think that way. They were just curious why the ice around the sword had yet to melt.

    Good sword!

    That was their only conclusion.

    Then, they began to forget about the sword. Over the past year, too many had tried and failed.

    But now...

    There was one man on the cliff.

    He was here for the sword. He extended his hand towards the hilt, which was encased by snow and ice.

    Then, a strange thing happened.

    The ice began to melt at a rate visible to the naked eye. It disappeared into a white mist.

    Then, his hand closed around the hilt.

    He lifted the sword out of the ground!

    The sword turned into a ray of purple light andnded in his hand.

    "It¡¯s been a long time." The figure whispered as he grabbed the hilt with one hand and stroked the de with his other hand.

    "Hum!" The de hummed.

    It felt like the de was truly happy to see this man. It was almost as though a hibernating dragon had woken up and seen the sun. Its excitement was palpable.

    "I will bring you to admire different sceneries. We will walk further and climb higher than before."

    "Hum!" The de hummed excitedly.

    ...

    The Southern Region. Sagely Mountain City. The Pce.

    Icy Monkey, the settlement chief of the Icy Monkey Settlement, passed byyers of guards and walked to the throne room.

    "Your Highness!" Icy Monkey fell to one knee respectfully as he entered the throne room.

    There was ady seated on the throne. She wore snow white leather and her beige skin glowed under the light.

    Her silky ck hair rested on her shoulders.

    She had a golden crown on her head. The crown was adorned with three feathers and three gems of different colors.

    She was Shan Yu.

    The Queen of the Southern Region!

    After hearing what Icy Monkey had to say, she unfurled the parchment in her hand and looked at him.

    "Uncle Monkey, what is the hurry?"

    "The sword, the sword is missing!" Icy Monkey replied anxiously, his voice shaking.

    "Sword? What sword?" Shan Yu was slightly confused.

    "The... the sword on Feng Su... it¡¯s... it¡¯s missing!" Icy Monkey¡¯s expression wasplicated.

    "What did you say? The sword on Feng Su cliff is missing?!" Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed as the parchment dropped to the floor.

    "Yes!" Icy Monkey nodded in confirmation.

    He knew exactly why Princess Shan Yu was so shocked. He also knew what the disappearance of that sword meant.

    Over the past year, countless Southern Region warriors had tried their luck but to no avail.

    The sword had be a badge of honor.

    Anyone who could get it out of the ground would be revered by his peers.

    However...

    The sword had disappeared.

    It had disappeared without a trace. No warrior had stepped forward and announced that he had seeded.

    This sword was no longer just a badge of honor. It signified something different altogether.

 Chapter 481: Things are different now

    Chapter 481: Things are different now

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Shan Yu¡¯s face was flushed.

    Her mind was nk. She didn¡¯t know if she should be excited or furious. She had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

    He was back...

    After more than a year, he had returned to the Southern Region to reim the sword he lost.

    But...

    Why didn¡¯t hee to see me?

    What happened here a year ago? Shouldn¡¯t hee and tell me the truth? Why didn¡¯t hee and find me? Is he afraid? Or does he not want to?

    "Your Highness, I have already sent people to lock down the exits to the Great Xia. Should we inform the Great Xia..." Icy Monkey advised.

    "No need!" Shan Yu replied without hesitation as her eyes glowed. "Uncle Monkey, do you trust me?"

    "Your Highness... of course I trust you!" Icy Monkey replied.

    "Then please give the order for all our soldiers at the border to stand down." Shan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with determination.

    "Stand down? Why? Your Highness, don¡¯t you want to know the truth about Shan Ling¡¯s death?" Icy Monkey didn¡¯t understand.

    "I do." Shan Yu replied.

    "Then why... I know that you trust Fang Zhengzhi. Even if he didn¡¯t do it, it must have been linked to him somehow! He still owes the Southern Region an exnation. We cannot let the Crown Prince..."

    "Uncle Monkey!"

    "Okay, your highness, what are your thoughts?"

    "Please have someone nt a simr sword on Feng Su cliff!" Shan Yu replied after some thought.

    "nt a simr sword?" Icy Monkey was shocked.

    "Yes!"

    "Your Highness, are you nning to cover this up for him? But since he chose to retrieve his sword, he probably ns on announcing it soon!" Icy Monkey didn¡¯t understand.

    "I don¡¯t know if he wants to hide it, but I don¡¯t want news of this to get out before I reach the Great Xia!" Shan Yu replied.

    "Your Highness, you¡¯re going to Yan Capital?"

    "Mm... do you think that we can capture him if we set up an ambush at the entrance?" Shan Yu queried.

    "Erm..." Icy Monkey¡¯s lips twitched but he didn¡¯t answer.

    "It¡¯s been more than a year since I took the throne. It is about time I made a trip there." Shan Yu continued.

    "Okay then, since your mind is made up, I will make the necessary arrangements. How would you like to travel?" Icy Monkey nodded.

    "The grander the better!"

    "Okay then, I will have someone send a message to the Great Xia announcing your visit!" Icy Monkey bowed.

    "Thank you for your help."

    ...

    At the foot of the Sagely Mountain City...

    A figure in blue stood at the foot of the mountain. He looked up at the clouds and the fog that surrounded the Sagely Mountain City.

    "Master, are you going to the Sagely Mountain City? If you are, I will make the necessary arrangements right away!" A voice rang out behind this man.

    "No need for that." The figure in blue shook his head.

    "Actually, the leader told me to pass a message. I was to pass this message to you if you ever stepped foot in the Southern Region.

    "Go ahead."

    "When you were set up to take the rap for killing the Crown Prince a year ago... the leader believes that the Queen doesn¡¯t believe the story the Great Xia provided!"

    "Mm, continue."

    "Furthermore, the leader had the eight hangers-on who participated in that assassination followed. However, they disappeared the moment they returned to the capital. The leader believes that the Crown Prince had them silenced, so..."

    "So the only person who can testify is Su Qing."

    "Yes, but Su Qing was one of the conspirators. Furthermore, he is favored by the Crown Prince. It would be impossible to have him testify against Lin Tianrong."

    "Mm."

    "The leader feels that if you can find someone in the Southern Region to testify for you... even if the testimony was false..."

    "I know."

    "So will you make a trip to the Sagely Mountain City?" The voice was filled with anticipation.

    "No, I won¡¯t."

    "Okay... okay then. Where will you be going, master?"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige."

    "The Northern Mountain Vige?! Erm... erm, that is just not possible! The Crown Prince has had people spying on it for the past year. You will be spotted the moment you enter. And then..." The voice was filled with fear.

    "What about it?"

    "The leader told me repeatedly that you can go anywhere but two ces!"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige and the Capital, am I right?"

    "Why do you insist on going to the Northern Mountain Vige then?"

    "Because I want to. Is that reason enough?"

    "Yes, it is!"

    "Will you send her a message in secret?" The figure in blue asked.

    "I... I wouldn¡¯t dare!"

    "Oh, why not?"

    "Even though I belong to the Shadow Sect, I only managed to get where I am today because of you. As such, I will never betray you..."

    "So you will betray Wu Yuer, am I right?"

    "Erm..."

    "You say you are loyal to me in front of me and you pledge loyalty to Wu Yuer in front of her. That¡¯s a good thing too. I will pass your message to her without changing a word."

    "..." The person was speechless.

    "Is there a problem?" The figure in blue smiled as she looked at the figure behind him.

    "No problem at all. Master, please tell the leader what I said, word for word!" The voice was about to break.

    "Since you have pleaded with me so sincerely, I will fulfill your request. Go on, use Wu Yuer¡¯s name to have the nine people wait for me in Huai An County."

    "Master, you want me to forge the orders of the leader?" The voice was trembling.

    "Is there a problem?"

    "Nope, no problem at all. The leader is used to it."

    "Then what are you waiting for?"

    "Yes, sir!"

    ...

    Five dayster...

    In a quiet residence inside the Great Xia, Wu Yuer sat in the middle of her garden, visibly affected by the letter she had in front of her.

    "Damn!" Wu Yuer raised her hand and shredded the letter in her hand. Her eyebrows were raised...

    "Oh? Who are you mad at, Yuer?" An old man appeared next to Wu Yuer, his white robe free from any traces of dirt.

    "Who else could it be?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Master, do you think that he is going overboard with this? He is just a member of the Shadow Sect. How can he summon our Shadow Sect... to Huai An County... isn¡¯t he afraid..." Wu Yuer¡¯s rage was clear.

    "Yes, how did he manage to get all the members of the Shadow Sect to gather at Huai An County?" The old man asked.

    "He didn¡¯t! He lied to them and fooled them all into going there! He must have used my name to get them to go!" Wu Yuer asserted.

    "Mm, you are correct. However, I do not understand one thing. Why do they all trust him so much? They didn¡¯t even double check with you, aish..." The old man replied.

    "Master, what do you mean?" Wu Yuer¡¯s eyelids twitched when she saw the old man¡¯s expression. She sensed something.

    "After a year, the Shadow Sect is no longer the same. Did you not realize that?" The old man hinted.

    "Master!" Wu Yuer didn¡¯t like being talked to this way. She looked at the shredded letter.

    "Go to hell!"

    Wu Yuer bit her lip and stood up from her chair. She walked towards the garden.

    The old man didn¡¯t say anything as he watched Wu Yuer disappear into the garden. He smirked, almost as if he was thinking of something.

    ...

    The River of Trust Province, Huai An County...

    Everyone was in a festive mood. They were all celebrating spring with music and poetry.

    It was rxed and fun.

    Of course, such enjoyment was for the poorer students.

    They didn¡¯t have enough silvers in their pockets but still wanted to enjoy themselves. As such, they simply hung around ake and yed music whilstposing poetry.

    Speaking of enjoyment...

    They didn¡¯t go to the Southern Mountains. Ferocious beasts roamed the mountains and anyone who hadn¡¯t essed Dao would never set foot in them.

    As such, the River of Trust was the best spot.

    It was nearby and quiet enough. Most importantly, many ships passed through it.

    Where there were yachts, there weredies.

    Where there weredies, there were talents.

    Especially...

    Show-offs!

    There was one such talent on the River of Trust. He wore a gold robe and had a jade green sword sheathed at his waist.

    He was the number one bully in Huai An County.

    Meng Yushu of the Meng Family.

    It was unfortunate that he met Fang Zhengzhi in the Dao Examinations. In the end, he was used of cheating in the Theory Examination and schooled in the Combat Examinations.

    He seemed to have hit rock-bottom.

    It was a good thing Meng Yushu was a determined individual.

    He wasn¡¯t going to let failure get to him!

    As long as he climbed back up, he was still the master of his own fate.

    In the recent Dao Examinations, he topped the Huai An Countybat examinations. It was one of the best times of his life.

    As such...

    He decided to rx a little and show-off his skills at the River of Trust.

    He was on a small but exquisitely designed boat. Golden threads adorned the boat¡¯s body. There was a huge ¡¯Meng¡¯ on the g of the boat. This was how others could identify him.

    With this small boat, Meng Yushu was confident that he could definitely board any of the passing yachts.

    Of course, he was someone of influence.

    No ordinary yacht could catch his eye.

    Furthermore, with his reputation now, his name would stun anyone in Huai An County.

    "This is the one!" Meng Yushu gripped the hilt of his sword as he looked up at the golden yacht steaming towards him.

    He leapt into the sky.

    Then, the small boat began to move forward with the wind. It was a gorgeous sight, and it attracted the attention of thedies and other talents on the shore.

    If the other yachts on the River of Trust were fish.

    Then this yacht was a dragon! A dragon making its way through a school of fish. Intricate carvings covered its entire body and its gs were multi-colored.

    Its gs danced in the wind.

    Countless talents watched the yacht steam towards that small boat. They were all waiting for Meng Yushu to board it.

    It was getting close...

    As the yacht approached, Meng Yushu bowed and squinted his eyes. His eyes were filled with confidence.

    "Huai An County, eldest son of the Meng Family, Meng Yushu! I request toe aboard your craft!" Meng Yushu had earned the right to be this confident.

    After all, there was no one in Huai An County who was more influential than him right now.

    Furthermore...

    The people on a yacht would not be a powerful cultivator waiting to strike.

    Generally, they would bedies or rich men.

    Either was good!

    Meng Yushu was confident.

    He was confident that they would know him since they were here in Huai An County. They would stop for him!

    Haha!

    Meng Yushu smirked as he thought to himself.

    However, he quickly realized that something was wrong. His smile froze...

    "Hey, stop, stop... stop!"

    "Bong!"

    With a crowd as witness, therge yacht crashed into Meng Yushu¡¯s boat. Then, Meng Yushu fell into the river with a ssh.

 Chapter 482: I am Fang Zhengzhi

    Chapter 482: I am Fang Zhengzhi

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It wasn¡¯t that Meng Yushu wasn¡¯t agile enough... however, when the huge yacht came crashing into his boat, there was no way he could maintain his bnce.

    Because...

    His craft was simply too small.

    The yacht crashed into his craft and split it in two. His craft was instantly swallowed by the water, almost like a watermelon smashed by a punch.

    All of thedies and talents watching in admiration were stunned. They simply couldn¡¯t react in time to Meng Yushu crashing into the water.

    "He capsized?"

    "Oh, no, it was a crash!"

    Even Meng Yushu couldn¡¯t react in time to this. Was this some act of piracy?!

    Meng Yushu wanted to tell the perpetrators to stop.

    After all, his boat was rather valuable despite its size. He wasn¡¯t going to let them go without gettingpensated. Then, a faint voice rang out.

    "Meng Yushu? This name is familiar... where have I heard it before?"

    Then...

    There was nothing else...

    The yacht showed no signs of stopping as it continued to steam ahead, almost as if the people on board didn¡¯t see Meng Yushu nor the boat they just crashed into.

    However, Meng Yushu knew that...

    He knew for a fact that they must have seen him! Else, they would not have found his name familiar.

    Hang on!

    That sounded like a male voice!

    There¡¯s a man on the yacht?

    "Stop right there! I am the eldest son of the Meng Family! How dare you crash into me and try to run! You can forget about leaving Huai An County!" Meng Yushu hollered. He could tolerate being rammed by ady, but definitely not by a man.

    Furthermore, he had been embarrassed in front of a group of people.

    During this time, Meng Yushu¡¯s abilities had improved greatly.

    When he participated in the Dao Examinations, he was merely in the Divine Seal State. But now, he was already in the Star Conglomerate State.

    Furthermore, he had topped the Huai An Countybat examinations.

    He could not walk on water, but he could manipte the wind to surf the waves.

    The yacht was quick, but it was not quicker than Meng Yushu.

    He jumped...

    Using a piece of his shattered boat as a tform, he leapt into the air. Then, he took a step in the air and grabbed onto the tail end of the yacht.

    Even though he didn¡¯t manage to jump onto the deck, simply being able to grab the end of the yacht was enough to elicit cheers and screams from thedies.

    "Wa, Young Master Meng is powerful!"

    "No wonder he topped the Huai An Countybat examinations!"

    "Is this the power of the Star Conglomerate State?"

    The screams of admiration from thedies were apanied by the jealousy of the candidates. However, none of them had the abilities or money that Meng Yushu had.

    At the stern...

    Meng Yushu held onto a nk of wood and grit his teeth.

    He was not in a good position. Even though he had managed to get a hold on a nk of wood, the yacht was travelling too fast. He ended up dangling in the air.

    However, he wanted to give the people on this boat a piece of his mind.

    He wasn¡¯t prepared to take this lying down. No matter how hard it would be, he would board this craft! If he fell into the water now, his reputation would be ruined!

    He bit his lip.

    "Up!" Meng Yushu bellowed as he pushed himself onto the deck with all the power he had in his arms.

    Everyone on the shore cheered.

    Meng Yushu was happy about this.

    However, his expression froze almost immediately after. He saw a sword... a sword which radiated an icy aura...

    The sword was lowered at his throat.

    Silent and deadly...

    He felt a chill down his spine.

    He knew for a fact that there was no sword at his throat even before he had boarded the ship.

    The only exnation was that at the moment he flipped onto the deck, the sword had been lowered at his throat. The uracy of his attacker was impable.

    As for the person wielding the sword...

    Meng Yushu didn¡¯t recognize that person, nor could he see the appearance of that person.

    That person wore a ck cloak and a ck veil. The veil extended to the person¡¯s neck.

    A veiled sword bearer?

    A female veiled sword bearer?

    Meng Yushu couldn¡¯t see his opponent clearly, but he could tell that this was ady by her ck dress. Thisdy had a pretty good figure too.

    "I am the eldest son of the Meng..." Meng Yushu was about to announce his identity when he felt pain at his throat. He shut up instantly.

    He could feel the sharp tip of the sword and the trickle of blood flowing down his neck.

    Was he going to be killed?

    This was Huai An County! There were countless witnesses. Who had the audacity to kill with so many eyes on them?

    Were these pirates?

    But this was a river! Why would there be pirates on a river?? That didn¡¯t make sense!

    "Do we have a problem?" Thedy¡¯s voice was bone-chilling.

    "No... no problem at all..." Meng Yushu wanted them topensate him. But right now, all he cared about was staying alive.

    This was not the time to talk about money.

    Naturally, he would say that there wasn¡¯t a problem.

    "Get off!" Thedy¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Ah? Off... okay, I¡¯ll go down now!" Meng Yushu was stunned, but he recovered quickly and leapt off the ship.

    Was it embarrassing?

    Definitely!

    However, it was a small price to pay in exchange for his life.

    Meng Yushu looked at the shore.

    Countless eyes were staring at him. They had all seen the confrontation on the boat.

    Everyone was stunned.

    However, they did understand the situation that Meng Yushu was in.

    Meng Yushu looked away from the shore and into the sky. He was looking forward to a fun day! He wanted to enjoy himself and bask in the atmosphere of spring.

    Yet...

    He was about to be sent into the water again...

    Meng Yushu was embarrassed. However, at that moment, a male voice rang out. It was not as calm as before. This voice seemed like he had just had a revtion.

    "I remember now, Meng Yushu! It¡¯s him!"

    Was there light at the end of the tunnel?

    Was he about to be saved?

    Meng Yushu¡¯s hopes were up!

    He froze as tears began to well up in his eyes! Did someone know him? The timing couldn¡¯t be better!

    Thepensation for his boat was irrelevant!

    His reputation!

    His reputation was on the line.

    Hepletely tossed the issue with the money to the back of his mind. Anyone who could get such a ship was definitely someone powerful.

    If he could stay on deck, that would be the best! He wanted to find a less embarrassing way to escape.

    Meng Yushu turned around to look at the veileddy.

    The unspoken question was obvious.

    Do I still need to jump?

    The answer was equally simple.

    Thedy didn¡¯t respond with any words. She didn¡¯t lower her sword, but her attitude seemed much more amicable.

    Furthermore, she stepped aside and opened a path for Meng Yushu...

    "Hahaha, I see that it was all just a misunderstanding. May I know which friend this is?" Meng Yushu chuckled loudly, loud enough for everyone else to hear.

    "Young Master Meng, it¡¯s been a long time." The male voice rang out once again as a figure walked out from the cabin. He wore a blue long-sleeved shirt.

    This man¡¯s attitude seemed sincere.

    He smiled widely at Meng Yushu.

    However...

    Meng Yushu froze. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He feltpletely paralyzed at that moment.

    In fact...

    It was almost as if...

    He had seen a ghost!

    Meng Yushu had thought of many possibilities as to who this man might be. It could have been an official or a scion of a noble family. He even thought of people he barely knew.

    However, he never expected this man to show up.

    This wasn¡¯t because hecked imagination... it was simply because this was thest person anyone would have expected to show up.

    In fact, this person shouldn¡¯t even be here!

    To be more precise, this person should not be showing himself in Huai An County! Most definitely not in broad daylight!

    He should at least disguise himself!

    Wear a hat?

    Or even a veil?

    Meng Yushu could have understood it if he had bothered to disguise himself even a little. However, he didn¡¯t do anything to hide! He was the most wanted person in the entire Great Xia!

    "Fang... Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!" Meng Yushu felt like he had just been struck by lightning. He stared at the youth in front of him in confusion.

    This guy...

    Why would he appear here?

    Meng Yushu was not the only one who couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing.

    All of the other talents anddies couldn¡¯t understand it either. Not all of them knew what Fang Zhengzhi looked like.

    However, when they heard Meng Yushu call his name, they all felt the same way.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "That guy is Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He... he is in Huai An County! Ah!!! Fang Zhengzhi is in Huai An County!"

    "How is that possible? Fang Zhengzhi is a wanted man!"

    All of the talents were stunned to hear this. They all stared at the youth in the blue long-sleeved shirt.

    Just like Meng Yushu...

    None of them could figure it out.

    Where did Fang Zhengzhi find the courage to appear in broad daylight on the River of Trust?!

    They could not shake their suspicions.

    However...

    Their instincts kicked in.

    As citizens of the Great Xia, they had a responsibility and a right to alert others when they saw a criminal.

    "Get the authorities!"

    "Go, quickly!"

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi! Fang Zhengzhi is in Huai An County!"

    "He is on that boat!"

    Their voices echoed through the air and figures began running to the city gates and the guards there.

    Meng Yushu heard these noises.

    His jaw dropped when he heard the shouts and soundsing from the shore. He felt a chill run down his spine.

    He realized that there was a problem.

    It was him!

    It was him who made Fang Zhengzhi walk out of the cabin!

    He was also the one who had recognized Fang Zhengzhi. Now, he was standing on the deck... there was no way he was going to live.

    "Oh, no, I... I was mistaken, hahaha... Fang... no, Young Master Li, hahaha... it¡¯s been a long time." Meng Yushu chuckled.

    He knew that the candidates on the shore would not believe him. If he had a chance to rewind time, he would never choose to board this ship. He would also not have tried to ask them forpensation.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    This was a man who was hunted by hundreds of thousands of demons in the Southern Region. He was the man who had dueled Canyang.

    Of course...

    That was not the most important point.

    This was a man who had vited the then Princess of the Southern Region, the current Queen of the Southern Region. He then killed Shan Ling and injured the Crown Prince.

    Even though he was rumored to have been crippled.

    It didn¡¯t matter...

    Meng Yushu looked at the veileddy as well as the sword she had in his hand. He regretted his decisions...

    He shouldn¡¯t have looked back.

    He should have jumped.

    Reputation?

    His reputation meant nothing!

    His life was the most important thing. Most importantly, he didn¡¯t want to be embroiled in this...

    Even the entire Meng Family couldn¡¯t afford to be embroiled in this!

    "Young Master Meng, you didn¡¯t make a mistake. I am Fang Zhengzhi!" The youth smirked, almost as if he didn¡¯t hear the noisesing from the shore.

 Chapter 483: Come get me if you can

    Chapter 483: Come get me if you can

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Young Master Meng, you didn¡¯t make a mistake! I am Fang Zhengzhi!" The youth smirked, ignoring the sounds on the shore.

    He was extremely calm.

    However...

    Meng Yushu was stunned to hear this.

    Did he admit to it?

    Furthermore, he had admitted it in front of countless other talents anddies! What was he trying to do? What was happening? Was he not afraid?

    Doesn¡¯t he know that he is a wanted man?

    Meng Yushu couldn¡¯t figure it out. He really wanted Fang Zhengzhi to be caught and executed. However, he could not say so.

    He had to keep calm and think.

    "Is he nning to silence me?!" Meng Yushu shuddered as he felt a chill down his spine.

    He was sure that there was no one who would dare to kill him in Huai An County, especially not in front of so many witnesses.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was an exception.

    This was a man who dared to kill the Crown Prince of the Southern Region and wound the Crown Prince of the Great Xia. His position as the eldest son of the Meng Family meant nothing.

    "Young Master Meng, you don¡¯t look too well. Do you want toe to the cabin for a cup of tea? We can catch up and reminisce. I do have very good tea on board." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Ah... no, no thanks, I... I still have something else I have to get to. Yes, I have an appointment, let¡¯s meet another day..." Meng Yushu took a step back.

    He didn¡¯t dare to move in any other direction.

    Stepping forward would be equivalent to signing his own death warrant.

    "Okay then, I wanted to reminisce our time together but it would seem that you don¡¯t want to. Bye then." Fang Zhengzhi waved.

    "Bye?" Meng Yushu was stunned.

    "Would you rather take a seat in the cabin?"

    "Haha... no need, I¡¯ll be on my way. Haha... bye bye!" Meng Yushu turned and jumped without hesitation.

    "Plonk!"

    There was a huge ssh.

    Countless people watched as Meng Yushu leapt into the river. However, they couldn¡¯t understand how Meng Yushu managed that.

    They let him jump into the river?

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the gazes from the banks as he watched Meng Yushu. He asked politely, "Young Master Meng, are you sure you don¡¯t want to wait till we dock to disembark?"

    "No need, no need. The water is very cooling, haha... I love such cooling water, hahaha..." Meng Yushu¡¯s expression changed as he began to swim towards the shore. He didn¡¯t even look back a single time.

    "Since that is the case, I won¡¯t see you off." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he walked back to the cabin.

    At the entrance to the cabin...

    Su Jiu paled.

    "Master, are we... are we still going to the Northern Mountain Vige?" Su Jiu asked cautiously.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "But themotion here would have alerted everyone to your arrival. Within the next couple of days, the entire Northern Region, even the entire Great Xia..." Su Jiu was hesitant.

    "Yes, so... are you all scared?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he looked at the veileddy and other figures in the shadows.

    "Nope!" They replied in unison.

    "Mm, Su Jiu, are you scared?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Su Jiu.

    "I would follow you through the depths of hell! I will do as you say, regardless of how dangerous it is. Why would I be afraid?" Su Jiu pounded his chest.

    "Since no one is scared, what is the problem?"

    "No problem at all!" Su Jiu shook his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled but didn¡¯t re-enter the cabin. He turned to look at Meng Yushu, who was swimming desperately towards the shore. Then, he looked at the fear in the eyes of those on the banks.

    He knew what they were thinking.

    None of them could understand why a wanted man would show himself in broad daylight.

    This was something that defied all logic.

    Even Su Jiu couldn¡¯t understand it.

    If Fang Zhengzhi wanted to return to the Northern Mountain Vige, he could have done so in many ways. He could have disguised himself as a businessman, a trader...

    There were many ways for him to return safely and inconspicuously.

    As long as he could avoid the eyes in the Northern Mountain Vige, everything would have been fine.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this.

    But did he want that?

    No!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process was simple. He wanted to return to his hometown. That was where he grew up.

    There was no meaning in returning home if he had to dress up and disguise himself just to avoid being recognized.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was his home!

    He wanted to go back.

    And he wanted to do so openly! He wanted the whole world to know that he had returned to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    "I am back, catch me if you can!"

    It wasn¡¯t that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t scared of dying, neither did he think that he could antagonize the Great Xia simply because he was being supported by the Shadow Sect.

    However...

    He would never ept having to return home in a disguise!

    Countless people started to run away as rows of soldiers came running towards the river.

    As the most wanted felon, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name attracted more attention than the royal family.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was pretty much a taboo over the past year...

    It did not diminish the impact or influence his name carried.

    The battle of the Southern Region...

    His exploits in the Dao examinations...

    When people talked about the war or the recent court examinations, they would be careful to avoid mentioning a name...

    However...

    Everyone knew that one person had a huge role in both those events.

    That person was Fang Zhengzhi!

    Without Fang Zhengzhi, they would not have been victorious in the Southern Region. Without Fang Zhengzhi, there would have been no historical tie for first in the court examinations!

    Every examination that he took...

    He had topped...

    Even though his name was missing from the court examination result tablet...

    Everyone knew that he would have been tied for first with Nangong Hao.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched the soldiers on the riverbank. He watched the crowd run in all directions. However, he showed no intention of retreating.

    "Come on! Let¡¯s see who can stop me!"

    ...

    The spring breeze was light and the first drops of rain fell on the River of Trust. They created little ripples in the water.

    "Master, it¡¯s raining!" Su Jiu frowned as he sheltered Fang Zhengzhi with an umbre.

    "Indeed." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he waved Su Jiu off and walked confidently to the bow of the ship.

    "Springtime clouds shroud the walls of the Imperial Garden. The darkening sky brings the blossoming to a halt."

    "Petals fall as the rain assaults the flowers whilst grass is tugged by the wind."

    Fang Zhengzhi paused as he turned to look at the soldiers and talents chasing behind. He smiled.

    All of the people on the riverbank were stunned to hear his voice.

    "He¡¯s reciting a poem?!"

    "He¡¯s in the mood to recite a poem?"

    "Doesn¡¯t he know that he can forget about leaving Huai An County?"

    No one could understand why a dead man walking could have the mood to recite poems.

    "Mighty imperial guards protect the pce whilst incense fills the Lotus Side Pce."

    "When will the meeting be held? With women drinking by their zithers..."

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the candidates as he continued reciting the poem.

    "Good poem! A really good poem!"

    One of the talents hollered.

    "Springtime clouds shroud the walls of the Imperial Garden. The darkening sky brings the blossoming to a halt."

    "Petals fall as the rain assaults the flowers whilst grass is tugged by the wind."

    "Mighty imperial guards protect the pce whilst incense fills the Lotus Side Pce."

    "When will the meeting be held? With women drinking by their zithers..."

    "It is a great poem indeed. I heard that Fang Zhengzhi never challenged people to poetry. I never expected that he couldpose such a great poem!" The person continued topliment Fang Zhengzhi.

    As that voice echoed through the air.

    The other candidates finally understood the gist of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s poem.

    "It is a great poem indeed!"

    "This is an exemry poem! This is the creme de creme of poems!"

    "Even though Fang Zhengzhi is a wanted felon, but his talent is undeniable! It is no wonder he tied for first ce in the court examinations!"

    "Yes, that is something that has never happened before!"

    All of the candidates continued to exim as they ran. However, they didn¡¯t realize that the distance between them and Fang Zhengzhi was widening.

    "Quick, follow closely behind! We must catch Fang Zhengzhi! We cannot let him get away!" One of the leaders of the soldiers ordered.

    He didn¡¯t care about the poem.

    Capturing Fang Zhengzhi would mean a great reward for him.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was rumored to be a crippled man. There was nothing to fear!

    He wasn¡¯t going to let this golden opportunity slip by!

    "Give the order to set up a blockade further down the river!"

    "Don¡¯t let him get out of the city!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    All of the leaders bellowed orders to their troops.

    On the yacht...

    Fang Zhengzhi stood at the front and looked up at the sky. He ignored the noises on the riverbank.

    "Master, if we manage to pass through the next stretch, we will be out of the city!" Su Jiu didn¡¯t manage to appreciate the full gist of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s poem.

    To him...

    Getting out of Huai An County safely was of utmost importance.

    "Mm, I haven¡¯t seen the Huai An County gates in a long time. I wonder if it has changed?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "The gate?" Su Jiu was stunned.

    "Master, are you saying that you want to exit the city on foot?" The veileddy spoke up.

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Dock!" The veileddy gave the order without hesitation.

    "Yes!" The workers nodded.

    Su Jiu was stumped.

    They were about to get out of the city. Why was Fang Zhengzhi choosing to exit on foot? He was just making life harder for himself! Su Jiu didn¡¯t understand it, but he didn¡¯t question it.

    Because... over the past year... Fang Zhengzhi had always gotten it right.

    ...

    The huge yacht began to approach the riverbank. Then, it stopped in full view of the soldiers and spectators.

    "What¡¯s happening?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s yacht stopped and docked?"

    "Am I hallucinating?"

    The soldiers were all stunned.

    Everyone else reacted in the same way. Meng Yushu, who had just made it onto drynd, couldn¡¯t understand what was happening either.

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi stop?

    Could it be...

    Does he want to stay in the city?

    Just as they were thinking about it, they saw someone disembarking. Then, they spotted a second figure, then a third... and a fourth...

    "They are disembarking?!"

    "Quick, capture Fang Zhengzhi!"

    The leaders of the soldiers quickly recovered from their shock. They didn¡¯t care about why Fang Zhengzhi was disembarking. All they cared about was capturing him.

    "Master, please go ahead. I can hold them off!" The veileddy looked at the charging soldiers, her eyes glittering icily.

    "Mm, I am returning home. I do not wish for anyone to be killed." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Master, rest assured. I know my limits." The veileddy turned around and walked towards the soldiers.

    Her de glowed.

    At that moment, the rain turned into snow and fell onto the legs of the soldiers. The River of Trust froze over.

    Everyone¡¯s jaw dropped. Meng Yushu¡¯s jaw was on the verge of falling to the ground.

    At that moment...

    All of them finally understood one thing.

    Outnumbering your opponent does not guarantee victory.

    When they have people whose abilities supersede those of the soldiers, then they can take whatever path they choose.

    This was a fact of life.

    "Master, is the city gate still the same?"

    "Mm, more or less."

 Chapter 484: Its all an illusion!

    Chapter 484: It¡¯s all an illusion!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the road leading out of Huai An County, a wave of emotionsing over him.

    After all, he had funded the construction of this road.

    "Let¡¯s go."

    "Yes, sir!"

    ...

    The Northern Mountain Vige had changed drastically over the past year. Even though Fang Zhengzhi was a wanted criminal, it had not affected the growth of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The Northern Mountain Vige had roads and an academy with 50 of the best teachers in the Northern Region.

    It was so good that even the noble families of the Northern Region sent their kids here. As such, the Northern Mountain Vige had moved away from hunting as their way of life.

    Just by size alone...

    The Northern Mountain Vige had more than doubled in size.

    Each house had been extensively renovated. The gardens were bigger and the houses were taller.

    However, one thing did not change.

    They continued to farm.

    It was in their nature to do so. They may be more affluent now, but they were still frugal.

    As such, there were still plenty of crops around, from vegetables to fruits.

    Spring was the time for harvesting.

    This was something that was never going to change.

    The vigers started bright and early, working in the fields despite the hot sun.

    They started before dawn and ended after sunset.

    The sun was about to set. The rays of light stained the ground a golden reddish color.

    The vigers began to pack up and got ready to return home for dinner.

    At that moment...

    Figures appeared on the road to the vige. It was a figure in a ck cloak. They could not make out his appearance because the veil underneath the hood blocked their vision.

    There were more than 10 people.

    It was clear that these people were special. They wore good quality clothes and they had weapons in their hands.

    Swords, knives, spears...

    Every weapon had an icy glow to it. Even those who didn¡¯t know their weapons could tell that these were high-quality weapons.

    These people had to be quite special.

    The vigers stopped what they were doing. Over the past year, many influential figures hade here. The noble families of Huai An County and the River of Trust Province had alle to visit.

    They had seen their fair share.

    However, they stopped what they were doing. For starters, this was not the first orst day of school. Secondly, they could see that...

    These people were not from any of those noble families.

    Because...

    All of them traveled on foot.

    None of them rode horses and they traveled light. There was no cart of luggage nor did they carry any bags. They looked clean and tidy, without any traces of dust on their clothes. They were not here to deliver things to the sons of those noble families studying here.

    The vigers stood in the field and stared.

    They wanted to figure out who these men were and what they were here for. However, based on what they saw, they couldn¡¯t figure anything out.

    Then, they were shocked by what they saw.

    Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    They saw a figure inside this group. This was a youth who was dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt.

    He was skinny, had fair skin, and smiled widely.

    "Uncle Li, Auntie Zhang, how are you?" The youth noticed the vigers and waved to them as he walked past.

    "Ah..." The couple who had been greeted watched in amazement as the youth walked past them. Their jaws dropped...

    The youth smiled, unsurprised by their reaction. He then greeted some of the other vigers.

    "Uncle Wang, you are still as young as ever. Auntie Liu, yourplexion is getting better, is Brother Zhao married yet? Haha... when you¡¯re free,e over to my house for a meal..."

    The youth greeted every viger heartedly as he walked by.

    However...

    All of the vigers reacted with dropped jaws and stunned looks. No one returned the greetings. They all felt like they had just seen a ghost.

    "F*ck me, did... did I just see a ghost?!"

    "Me too..."

    "You saw it too?"

    "Yes... yes..."

    "Don¡¯t tell me that you saw Zhengzhi as well?!"

    "Yes, I... I saw Zhengzhi... in fact, he even greeted me like he usually does. He does seem a little taller though!"

    "Ghost!"

    The vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige werew-abiding. Fang Zhengzhi was the most wanted criminal in the entire Great Xia.

    As such...

    They couldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would walk towards them and greet them in broad daylight.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of exining his actions to them.

    He took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh mountain air as he watched the sunset. He loved the calm and serenity of the mountains.

    The river at the entrance to the vige was clear. The fishes swam around in the clear water, creating little ripples wherever they went.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not walking particrly quickly.

    However, he arrived at the entrance very quickly. He looked at the new signboard and tablet at the entrance.

    The person who had done the inscription was quite a skilled man.

    This must have been a result of the increased traffic.

    With the academy, the culture in the vige had improved greatly and people showed a greater appreciation of calligraphy and the other arts.

    There were all sorts of art forms, from statues to wood carvings. Fang Zhengzhi guessed that these were the works of the teachers.

    Based on Vige Elder Zhang Yangping¡¯s skill levels, these things would have crumbled before they even took root.

    He entered the vige.

    It was bustling.

    All the vigers smiled and chatted amongst themselves. Many of the families had a signboard on their house.

    However, the entire vige quietened down quickly.

    All of them saw Fang Zhengzhi entering the city and heard the greetings from afar.

    They were all stunned.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had already left the Northern Mountain Vige for more than a year, he was still once the pride of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    They would never forget him.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi left for five or ten years, they will still be able to recognize him on sight.

    In fact...

    Everyone had wondered if Fang Zhengzhi would return to the vige one day.

    But it was just a thought.

    After all, the crimes Fang Zhengzhi was used of were too heinous. Killing the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, viting the current Queen of the Southern Region, and injuring the Crown Prince.

    Pardon?

    With such heinous crimes, a pardon was out of the question.

    Of course, they still entertained the thought that Fang Zhengzhi would return. However, they expected him to sneak in in the middle of the night.

    All of the vigers looked up at the sky.

    The sun was about to set, but enough light shone on that smiling face.

    "Zheng... Zhengzhi?!"

    A voice stammered.

    Then, all the vigers looked at each other with excitement, fear, and worry.

    As vigers, they knew everyone inside the vige.

    That meant that they knew that there were...

    "Zhengzhi, why did youe back?! Go!"

    "Where is my mom?"

    "Ah?!"

    "Is she at home? Uncle Chen, if you have time tonight,e and have a meal at my house!" Fang Zhengzhi waved to Uncle Chen.

    "Have... have a meal? Zhengzhi asked me to go have a meal... at his house?" Uncle Chen was stunned as he watched Fang Zhengzhi and the cloaked figures around him.

    ...

    In the Fang Family garden.

    Qin Xuelian was watering the nts. She already had traces of grey hair and there were wrinkles on her face.

    Even though Qin Xuelian was still very beautiful, she did seem to age a lot over the past year.

    On the balcony on the second floor of the stone house, they nted nuts in a small yard.

    Fang Houde stood there, tending to the nts.

    He had a teapot and teacup in front of him. Steam emanated from the teacup, spreading the fragrance of the tea contained within it.

    "Father of our child, if you¡¯re tired, you should rest." Qin Xuelian hollered as she saw sweat pouring down Fang Houde¡¯s face.

    Her expression darkened when she said this.

    She hadn¡¯t called him the father of their children for a long time. She usually cold him by name...

    Or by Old Fang...

    Yet, she would end up reverting to calling him that every now and then.

    "Mother... Xue Lian ah, you should rest as well. Let me cook dinner tonight." Fang Houde stopped himself.

    His expression was dark as well.

    However, he cheered up almost just as quickly as he brushed the dirt off his hands and raised his ss.

    He took a whiff.

    For some reason, a teardropnded inside this teacup, causing rippled.

    "Let me do it." Qin Xuelian shook her head, her body trembling. Her eyes became slightly watery. She had cried too many times over the past year.

    Spring, summer, autumn, winter.

    She sat in the garden, watching the passing figures. All she wanted was to see her son.

    But there was nothing!

    She wasn¡¯t disappointed. Not seeing him was a good thing!

    Then, drops of ¡¯water¡¯nded in her pail of water. There were more and more ripples by the second. She felt her energy rush out of her body and she grabbed the pail to stabilize herself.

    "My son, I... miss you!"

    Qin Xuelian screamed in her heart. She screamed it repeatedly, but never out loud.

    The pail was shaking.

    The water reflected a wrinkled and pale face.

    At that very moment, a figure appeared in the water. It was a figure standing at the door, wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt.

    "My son! It¡¯s Zhengzhi!"

    Qin Xuelian wanted to shout it out loud but she dismissed the thought. She had seen this figure too many times.

    She knew that this figure should not appear here.

    He should not be here!

    "Zhengzhi, my son..." Qin Xuelian looked at the reflection, staring quietly. She knew that the figure would disappear after some time.

    She wanted to stop time and savor the moment.

    But it was wishful thinking.

    Yet, this was the only thing that kept her going. This was the only way she could keep waiting for someone who was never going to return.

    "Mother!" At that moment, a voice rang out at the gate. It was so clear and familiar.

    Qin Xuelian shuddered.

    She looked at the pail in her hands. The figure¡¯s reflection was still there. It was almost real.

    "My son, Zhengzhi is back!"

    Qin Xuelian wanted to look at the gate. However, she knew that once she did that, she would lose sight of the reflection.

    She didn¡¯t know what to do...

    Her instincts took over and she turned back. She wanted to see who was at the gate.

    Time seemed to stop...

    Qin Xuelian¡¯s body froze as she looked at the gate. There was a familiar figure there smiling at her.

    "Mother!" The voice rang out once again.

    "Zheng... Zhengzhi, is... is that you?" Qin Xuelian felt a wave of emotions overwhelm her and she dropped the pail on the floor.

 Chapter 485: Coming

    Chapter 485: Coming

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Qin Xuelian had dreamt of this many times over the past year. However, she never believed that this day woulde.

    "Zheng, Zhengzhi..." Qin Xuelian murmured to herself as she stood rooted to the ground.

    On the second floor, Fang Houde couldn¡¯t believe his eyes either. His face was contorted.

    He too was rooted to his spot.

    This was impossible.

    "Zhengzhi is back?" Fang Houde clenched his fists instinctively, "No, you are not my son! My son does not look like this! Who are you? How dare you impersonate my son? Go, go away!"

    Fang Houde roared.

    Fang Zhengzhi watched Fang Houde quietly. His father had aged a lot over the past year.

    "Father!"

    "Go away!"

    "Yes, go away! You are not our son, our son would nevere back... please, just leave!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s body was shaking. Her legs turned to jelly and she crumpled to the ground.

    At that moment, a figure appeared in front of Qin Xuelian and helped her up. She couldn¡¯t hold back any longer.

    "Zhengzhi, my son!" Qin Xuelian hollered as she threw herself into that figure¡¯s embrace, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.

    "Where were you the past year? I missed you, I missed you so much..."

    "Have you been eating well? Have you been hunted?"

    "Zhengzhi, my son... you havee to visit me atst..."

    She couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. She hugged the figure tightly, not wanting to lose him ever again.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move, savoring every moment of that warmth. Tears welled up in his eyes. He had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

    "Xuelian, let go of Zhengzhi! He still has time to leave, or else... or else..." Fang Houde¡¯s tears rolled down his cheeks. However, he also knew that there were spies in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    "Father, mother, it¡¯s fine! Nothing is going to happen!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head. He knew what his father was thinking.

    "What do you mean? How can it be fine? You are a wanted criminal! Everyone is looking for you! There are wanted posters all over Huai An County..."

    "Dad, I know."

    "Then why aren¡¯t you leaving? Go now! Right away! I will hold them back! Uncle Yang Ping will help me hold them back as well!"

    "Father, I have already removed the eyes they ced here in the Northern Mountain Vige!"

    "What?! Even so... you can¡¯t stay! They would have sent a message to Huai An County! You can¡¯t stay here any longer! You have to go." Fang Houde ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to tell him that he had already shown himself in Huai An County. However, he knew that it would only cause Fang Houde to worry even more.

    It was difficult for him to exin everything to Fang Houde.

    "Mom, I¡¯m hungry." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Qin Xuelian.

    "Okay, I will make something for you." Qin Xuelian wiped the tears from her cheeks and prepared to lead Fang Zhengzhi inside.

    "Xuelian!"

    "Houde, I, I..."

    "Xuelian, you can¡¯t do this! You will only harm him!"

    "Can¡¯t we just have one meal together?" Qin Xuelian looked at Fang Houde, her eyes begging.

    "Aish..." Fang Houde sighed but didn¡¯t say anything.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi must have eliminated all of the spies in the vige. Else, they would have been here a long time ago.

    Just as he thought about that, over 10 figures appeared at their gate.

    They all wore ck coats and had veils to cover their faces. Most importantly, they held an array of weapons in their hands.

    "Uh oh! Son, go now!" Fang Houde¡¯s expression changed.

    "Father, these are my friends."

    "Friends?"

    "Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Fang!" The figure bowed to Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde in unison.

    "Erm..." Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian looked at each other. Then, they straightened their clothes. "Haha, since you are all Zhengzhi¡¯s friends, pleasee in and have a seat. We don¡¯t have much here but I hope it will be to your liking."

    "Uncle Fang, Auntie Fang, you are too kind. We will stand guard outside." Su Jiu stepped forward and replied respectfully.

    "Stand guard? No, we can¡¯t ept that! Our guests will not stand outside, this..." Qin Xuelian began rambling.

    "Eat with us." Fang Zhengzhi looked at Su Jiu. He was not an arrogant person, and he knew his parents¡¯ characters well.

    "Thank you, Master!" The reply came in unison.

    "Master?" Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde couldn¡¯t believe their ears as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Isn¡¯t he a wanted criminal?

    Wasn¡¯t he crippled?

    Why would he be their master?

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to exin it to his parents. It was a good thing they didn¡¯t ask any questions.

    News of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival spread like wildfire.

    Zhang Yangping entered the house, huffing and puffing, the moment Fang Zhengzhi stepped through the door. "Zhengzhi, run, run quickly..."

    There were countless other vigers who came in behind Zhang Yangping. Even the teachers and the students from the academy came over.

    The only thing Fang Zhengzhi could say was, there wasn¡¯t enough rice at home...

    ...

    The Northern Mountain Vige was bustling at night. Zhong Yangping has dozens of tables set up at the square.

    However, what piqued the curiosity of the vigers was that none of the strangers showed up today.

    It was a strange sight.

    However, they knew that their absence was temporary.

    They would be back.

    "Zhengzhi, I have some silvers here. Bring it with you!"

    "Yes Zhengzhi, we have some homegrown produce here. It¡¯s pretty good! You can bring some with you and share them with your friends."

    "I have some silvers too."

    "Me too!"

    All of the vigers came over to Zhengzhi after they finished their meal and offered him what they had.

    "Uncle Li, Auntie Zhang, I don¡¯t need them!"

    "What do you mean? Zhengzhi, things are different now. You can use these things outside. You can¡¯t juste back as and when you please. It is expensive to live outside! Just take it! Things are different now!" Zhang Yangping insisted.

    "Yes yes, please take it!" The vigers urged.

    "Uncle Yangping, I¡¯m not leaving just yet, and I am not short on money." Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly. He knew what they were thinking.

    But he was really not short on money.

    "You¡¯re not leaving? What do you mean? You should leave now whilst it¡¯s dark! You can leave via the road on Cang Ling Mountain! Don¡¯t go by the main road!"

    "I¡¯m really not leaving!"

    "Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be willful. I know that you are powerful, but the Great Xia soldiers are a formidable force!"

    "Exactly, Yangping is correct. We are all one family and we are not afraid to die. However, you have a lot of potential! You cannot just die like that!" The vigers advised.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    He knew that there was no way of exining the situation to them. To the vigers, the imperial courts were like heaven.

    There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could survive!

    "Go, go!"

    "I¡¯m not leaving!"

    "Don¡¯t be willful, go!"

    "I¡¯m not leaving!"

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi reiterated it multiple times. He didn¡¯t know when the vigers left, but by the end of it, all he wanted to do was sleep.

    Convincing the vigers was harder than fighting a war.

    Nightfall.

    The stars glittered in the sky.

    Qin Xuelian sat next to Fang Zhengzhi and adjusted his nket. Fang Houde stood behind her.

    "Xuelian, how about we tie him up?"

    "How dare you?! He is our son. If youy a finger on him, I will fight it out with you!" Qin Xuelian retorted.

    "But..."

    "I will ask him to leave tomorrow morning! I will personally convince him to go!" Tears welled up in Qin Xuelian¡¯s eyes.

    She had waited for this day for more than a year. She had dreamt of it multiple times.

    Her son was back. However, as a mother, she had no choice but to advise him to leave. No one could understand the pain she felt.

    ...

    The night quietened down in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, Huai An County, the Five Northern Constabries, and even Yan Capital were shocked by the news they received.

    News of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance in Huai An County had spread like wildfire.

    Inside the Crown Prince¡¯s residence, countless vases had been smashed. Then, countless hangers-on galloped out of the residence on their stallions.

    Other than the Crown Prince...

    King Duan, the Left Prime Minister, and the Stabilization Constabry, all received the news at the same time.

    "Fang Zhengzhi returned to Huai An County!"

    "He went back to the Northern Mountain Vige!"

    This was powerful and unbelievable news. However, the whole Huai An County had witnessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s return.

    There was no way this news could be falsified.

    "How dare he?!"

    "Catch him!"

    "We must not let him get away this time!"

    Voices echoed through the capital.

    Over the past year, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had been able to consolidate his power. No one even came close.

    Even King Duan had to step aside.

    After all, the victory in the Southern Region and the death of Shan Ling had quelled the unrest there.

    This credit,pounded by his position in court, ensured that countless officials dered their loyalty to him.

    Lin Tianrong was more than happy to see this happen.

    Everyone was certain that the Crown Prince was well on his way to bing the Emperor one day!

    ...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t leave the Northern Mountain Vige despite all the ruckus. Despite all the advice he got from his parents and the vigers, he continued to enjoy himself.

    He was at home here.

    "I will leave after lunch!"

    "Okay, I will leave after dinner. I promise."

    "It¡¯ste. I¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine..."

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that there was no point in exining. He would just procrastinate.

    Dawn, three dayster...

    Zhang Yangping appeared at the gates of the Fang Residence. However, he was in much more of a hurry this time.

    Fear and terror filled his face!

    "Oh no, Zhengzhi, run quickly! There are many people here! They are from the army! The army is here! Leave via Cang Ling Mountain!" Zhang Yangping yelled as he panted.

    The moment Zhang Yangping¡¯s voice cut through the air...

    A figure appeared in front of him. That was ady in a ck cloak and her body radiated an icy aura.

    "Master is resting." Thedy looked at Zhang Yangping, her voice icy.

    "I know, but... there are people hunting for him outside! I had people watching the area around the vige, and I just received news that they are less than three miles out!" Zhang Yangping wanted to go around thedy, but there was no way he could do so.

    "Mm, I got it." Thedy nodded.

    "Then why aren¡¯t you telling Zhengzhi to run?" Zhang Yangping was nervous.

    "Master is resting." Thedy replied tly.

    "..." Zhang Yangping was speechless. He rolled his eyes, realizing that no amount of exnation was going to do any good. He took a step back, "Zhengzhi, there is an armying for you! Run! Houde, Xuelian, wake him up! Do you want him to die?"

 Chapter 486: Chaos

    Chapter 486: Chaos

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "What?! The army ising to capture Zhengzhi?"

    "Look at what you did! Tell Zhengzhi to leave!"

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde¡¯s voices rang out in quick session. Then, there was the sound of someone getting dressed.

    A figure appeared in the yard.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    He wore a blue long-sleeved shirt and yawned as he walked out. His hair wasbed nicely, but it was clear that he had just woken up.

    "Good morning Uncle Yangping." Fang Zhengzhi greeted Zhang Yangping.

    "Morning? It¡¯s gettingte! The army is approaching! Follow me, I have people waiting at the road on Cang Ling Mountain. We have prepared everything for you, now..."

    "Uncle Yangping, I¡¯m not leaving!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head an interrupted Zhang Yangping.

    "You¡¯re not leaving?!" Zhang Yangping¡¯s expression changed.

    He had heard how anxious Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were.

    They had thought that Fang Zhengzhi refused to leave because he didn¡¯t want to leave their side.

    But...

    The army was closing in...

    Was he courting death?

    Or was he going to turn himself in?

    "No, my son, you are my only child. I will not let you go to jail! If anything were to happen to you..."

    "Mother!" Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Qin Xuelian¡¯s arm.

    He knew that there was no use in exining to the vigers. To them, he was a criminal.

    The best way was for them to witness it themselves.

    They had to see it.

    Fang Zhengzhi squinted as he looked at the veileddy in Zhang Yangping¡¯s way.

    "Qingyi, where are they?"

    "15 minutes out." The veileddy replied icily.

    "Mm, carry on as nned."

    "Yes!" The veileddy nodded and walked towards the entrance of the vige.

    Zhang Yangping, Qin Xuelian, and Fang Houde were all terrified when they heard this.

    "Zhengzhi, are you trying to fight the army?" Zhang Yangping guessed.

    It had happened before.

    "Zhengzhi, things are different now. Last time, you were a rank four official and the Princess and Chi Guyan were both here. Now... now you have nothing!" Qin Xuelian was worried.

    "Son, I would stand will stand with you, but the Northern Mountain Vige..."

    "Brother Houde, without Zhengzhi, there would be no Northern Mountain Vige. If Zhengzhi wants to fight, we will find the people to fight alongside him!" Zhang Yangping interrupted Fang Houde.

    "You don¡¯t need to, we are already here!"

    "We came over when we heard that the army wasing after Zhengzhi."

    "Just tell us what we need to do."

    A group of vigers wielding bows and spears came rushing out. It was almost as though they had prepared for this in advance.

    "Erm, I..."

    Fang Zhengzhi was touched to see this. However, the vigers¡¯ actions left him speechless.

    After all, there were not many people in the world who would show such loyalty.

    "Zhengzhi, you don¡¯t owe us anything at all. When you came here 10 years ago, you helped us get out of the crisis we had. Even though the surrounding viges suffered during the drought, we still had enough to eat and keep ourselves warm at night! We will always support you!"

    "Yes, I will fight them to the end! Even if I lose my life in the process!"

    "Fight them to the end!"

    "Since you are all ready to help Zhengzhi, let¡¯s go to the entrance and buy Zhengzhi some time!" Zhang Yangping had an idea.

    "Yes yes yes, let¡¯s go to the entrance!"

    All of the vigers waved their weapons in the air. They didn¡¯t even give Fang Zhengzhi a chance to respond.

    Then...

    All of them ran to the gate under Zhang Yangping¡¯s leadership.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s jaw dropped. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Were they really going to rebel just to try and buy him some time?

    Before he could stop them, Zhang Yangping and the vigers had already disappeared from sight.

    More importantly, Fang Houde rushed out of the house and took out a hunting knife that he had kept hidden under his bed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen this knife before.

    Fang Houde would bring it along with him every time he went hunting. However, since he hadn¡¯t gone hunting in the mountains for so many years, the de was left under his bed.

    However, it did not rust.

    Fang Houde would take time to polish it every day.

    "Father, why did you take out your knife?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyelids twitched when he saw Fang Houde rush out with the knife.

    "They are all rushing to the gate because of you! How can I let them go without me?! Don¡¯t try and stop me! Just do what you need to do!" Fang Houde bellowed.

    Then, he went around Fang Zhengzhi and sprinted towards the gate.

    He left Fang Zhengzhi and Qin Xuelian in the garden.

    "Mother, my dearest mother!"

    ...

    The water from the stream trickled outside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The veileddy stood at the entrance holding a sheathed sword in her hands. The sword sheath was adorned with cloud patterns.

    The vigers stood behind her.

    Qingyi didn¡¯t show any intention of stopping the vigers. She stood quietly in her spot like a statue.

    Then, the booming sounds announced the arrival of the army.

    The vigers tightened their grips around their weapons. They had never fought the soldiers of the Great Xia before.

    Plumes of dust were sent skyward as ck figures appeared on the horizon.

    They traveled quickly.

    These were calvary in shining army. They rode ck armored stallions!

    "The Snow Treading Dragon Stallion!"

    "It¡¯s... it¡¯s the Divine Constabry¡¯s Red Pinion Squad!"

    "There must be at least 2000 of them!"

    "2000 members of the Great Pinion Squad... oh no! Go... go warn Fang Zhengzhi. Tell him to escape now! The Red Pinion Squad ising for him!"

    The vigers instinctively took a step back when they saw the red triangle on the chests of the approaching soldiers.

    If these were just city guards or soldiers of the constabry, they would have gone forward to stop them.

    However...

    This was the Red Pinion Squad!

    They were the most elite squad in the entire Northern Region, maybe even one of the most elite squads in the entire Great Xia! How could the vigers possibly stand up to them?

    The vigers panicked.

    Their hands shook, but they did not break. They grit their teeth and held their ground.

    "Halt!" The leadermanded.

    The 2000 of them stopped. Each one of them towered over the vigers and the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions snorted and growled.

    The killing aura was palpable. Everyone could feel the thirst for blood in the eyes of the soldiers. They were terrified.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi?" The leader didn¡¯t waste any time when he saw the armed vigers.

    "In the vige," Qingyi replied without hesitation.

    "No, he¡¯s not, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t return!"

    "Yes, he didn¡¯te back at all! General, are you mistaken?"

    The vigers all jumped when they heard this. They immediately denied Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s presence in the vige.

    "Have hime out since he is in the vige." The squad leader ignored the vigers and looked at Qingyi. His eyes fell on her sword.

    "You can go in if you want to find him. However, only one of you can enter!" Qingyi shook her head and replied tly.

    The other vigers could no longer remain calm when they heard this.

    This was the Divine Constabry¡¯s Red Pinion Squad. Furthermore, there were over 2000 of them! Why did Qingyi dare to restrict their ess to only one person?"

    "How dare you?! Do you know who you are speaking with?" The leader¡¯s expression changed as he exuded a domineering aura.

    At that moment, the vigers felt a mountainous pressure crash down on their heads. They began to tremble and sweat profusely.

    "Uh oh, we have angered the Red Pinion Squad!"

    "This is the end of the Northern Mountain Vige."

    "I don¡¯t know if Zhengzhi managed to escape..."

    All of the vigers were terrified. Having spent all their time in the Northern Region, the Red Pinion Squad were like gods to them.

    They were untouchable.

    They would never even dream of talking to the Red Pinion Squad in the same tone Qingyi just did.

    "The leader of the Red Pinion Squad, Li Jingfeng." Qingyi ignored the opinions of the vigers behind her. She replied calmly as she nced at the leader.

    "Oh? Who are you?" Li Jingfeng¡¯s eyelids twitched.

    As the leader of the Red Pinion Squad, he wasn¡¯t surprised that thisdy knew him. However, he knew that there was something else about thisdy.

    She was powerful!

    Even Li Jingfeng couldn¡¯t suppress her.

    "Qingyi," Qingyi replied casually.

    "And where do youe from?"

    "I am Qingyi."

    "Mm... Qingyi, what if I have the squad force their way through?" Li Jingfeng nodded.

    "You can try." Qingyi didn¡¯t move.

    "Okay then, let me find out for myself!" Li Jingfeng lowered his spear at Qingyi. The tip of his spear glowed with a blue light.

    "Jingfeng, stand down."

    At that moment, a voice rang out from behind him.

    "Yes, my lord!" Li Jingfeng lowered his spear without any hesitation. Then, he stepped to the side.

    A middle-aged man stepped forward. He wore a dark purple official robe embroidered with a beast. There was a red triangle on the beast¡¯s forehead.

    The killing aura he exuded was palpable.

    "Lord?!"

    "Could it be..."

    All of the vigers thought of one man when they heard what Li Jingfeng said.

    The leader of the Northern Five Constabries.

    A truly legendary figure who they never expected to see. One of the leaders of the 13 Constabries, Chi Hou!

    "I am Zhang Yangping, the vige elder here. Greetings, my lord, please forgive us!"

    If the Red Pinion Squad had struck terror in the hearts of the vigers, seeing Chi Hou in person had taken the fight out of them.

    Everyone still remembered how Chi Hou and the Northern Five Constabries had repelled the barbarians.

    All of the vigers fell to their knees.

    "My vigers, please rise. I am only here to find Fang Zhengzhi." Chi Hou withdrew his killing aura when he saw the vigers.

    "My Lord, please let Zhengzhi off, he is being wrongly used!"

    "My Lord, please let him live!"

    All of the vigers paled when they saw Chi Hou. If Chi Hou hade personally, then Fang Zhengzhi had no chance of survival.

    "My dear vigers, the crimes Fang Zhengzhi are being used of are heinous. It is out of my hands now. Please trust the courts. If he is truly innocent, the courts will acquit him!"

    Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glowed when he saw the vigers plead with him. This proved that Fang Zhengzhi had deep ties here.

    However...

    Why did he send someone to stop them here? And why did he only want one person to enter the vige?

    Chi Hou was infuriated just about this.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am your elder! I have personallye to the Northern Mountain Vige to find you! How dare you note out and greet me?! Do you want me toe greet you?"

 Chapter 487: Only choice

    Chapter 487: Only choice

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Elder?!"

    "Come out and greet me?!"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were shocked to hear this. Chi Hou¡¯s tone was rather strange.

    Weren¡¯t they here to capture Fang Zhengzhi?

    To the vigers, the presence of the Red Pinion Squad meant that they were here to catch Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why would they ask the person they wanted to catch toe out and greet them?!

    What was happening?!

    Could it be...

    Was the Divine Constabry giving Fang Zhengzhi time to escape?

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers became increasingly hopeful. Even though they had no idea why Chi Hou would cut Fang Zhengzhi any ck, they were just happy that he was.

    Just as they were about to express their gratitude...

    They heard a voice from behind them.

    "My Lord, since you are visiting as an elder, why are you letting my rtives kneel before you?" The voice came from within the vige, but one could tell that it was getting nearer with each passing moment.

    "Rtives?" Chi Hou squinted, then turned to look at the kneeling vigers. He smiled...

    Zhang Yangping and the other vigers were stumped.

    They knew that the voice belonged to Fang Zhengzhi, but they could not understand what was happening. Chi Hou seemed prepared to let Fang Zhengzhi escape...

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi step forward?

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi call them rtives and call Chi Hou his elder?

    They were just vigers, how could they possibly bepared to the Divine Constabry¡¯s leader?

    Kneel?

    They were lucky that they weren¡¯t killed!

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were anxious. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi was very smart, but they couldn¡¯t help but feel that Fang Zhengzhi was acting stupidly!

    Just as they were thinking it, a voice rang out.

    "Since you are all Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rtives, you are my rtives as well. Please rise!" The voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for all to hear.

    "Rtives?"

    "Rise?"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers looked at each other in confusion. Nobody stood up. None of them knew what was happening.

    All of them were stunned.

    Did Chi Hou, the leader of the Divine Constabry, just call them his rtives?

    "Are all of you going to continue kneeling? Do you want me to kneel as well?" Chi Hou began to take a knee.

    "No, we would not dare. The Divine Constabry fought against the barbarians. We are just ordinary vigers, how can we bepared with you?"

    "Indeed indeed."

    "Everyone, rise."

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers panicked. They scrambled to their feet.

    Chi Hou nodded when he saw this. Then, he straightened his back and scanned the Northern Mountain Vige. His gaze rested on a wooden statue.

    "Rascal, aren¡¯t you going to wee me?" There was rage in Chi Hou¡¯s voice.

    At that moment, a figure walked out from behind the statue. This figure walked slowly and deliberately.

    Chi Hou looked at this figure as he walked towards the gate. He didn¡¯t speak, waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to approach.

    Qingyi tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. She was waiting as well, however, she wasn¡¯t waiting for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were anxious as well. They never expected this to happen. The Red Pinion Squad, the Divine Constabry...

    Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected this to happen.

    Most importantly, Chi Hou¡¯s attitude was a surprise. Elder? Rtives? What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped in front of Chi Hou.

    "Greetings, my lord!" The figure bowed towards Chi Hou.

    "That¡¯s better!" Chi Hou spoke after Fang Zhengzhi bowed. Then, he turned to look at the 2000 Red Pinion Squad soldiers, "Jingfeng!"

    "Here!"

    "Have the Red Pinion Squad wait outside the vige. If there is nothing important, do not enter and disturb us!" Chi Hou ordered.

    "Yes, sir!" Jingfeng nodded as he turned to face the Red Pinion Squad, "Red Pinion Squad, set up camp here!"

    "Yes, sir!" The soldiers dismounted and got to work.

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were all stunned when they saw this. The Divine Constabry really wasn¡¯t going to enter the vige?

    How was that possible?

    This was the Red Pinion Squad, the elite squad of the Northern Five Constabries! Yet, they were going to stay outside the vige?

    "Rascal, I came on your rules, shouldn¡¯t you be showing me some gesture of friendship?" Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What would you like to eat?"

    "I heard from Chi Guyan that the meat you grill is very nice. Since I am here today, I must eat my fill."

    "The meat I grill is expensive." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "Price is not a concern to me. I didn¡¯t bring any money with me."

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why people said Chi Hou was a difficult man to deal with. Chi Guyan was much easier to deal with.

    It was impossible that he left home without bringing some silvers with him?

    Unbelievable!

    ...

    The 2000 Red Pinion Squad soldiers were still camped outside the vige. The vigers couldn¡¯t possibly ignore the most elite squad in the Northern Region.

    The vigers began to cook for the soldiers.

    Li Jingfeng didn¡¯t stop them. He thanked them briefly, then shoved a few silvers into Zhang Yangping¡¯s hand.

    "No wine!" He remarked.

    "Okay, okay!" Zhang Yangping knew that the ¡¯no drinking whilst on duty¡¯ rule. He told the vigers to keep the alcohol.

    In the Fang Residence...

    Qin Xuelian was stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi had told her before he left that he would have someone home for dinner.

    However...

    Qin Xuelian never expected that the guest would be Chi Hou!

    Why would the leader of the Divine Constabry dine here?!

    She couldn¡¯t believe it, but she had no other choice. He was standing in front of her. Fang Houde was equally shocked.

    Fang Houde had seen Chi Hou at the gates of the vige. He also heard Chi Hou say that he wanted to eat the meat that Fang Zhengzhi grilled.

    For free!

    ...

    Since grilling the meat would take some time, they had some food to manage their hunger.

    There was an animal being roasted on a rack.

    Chi Hou and Fang Zhengzhi sat by the fire.

    "Thank you for looking after the Northern Mountain Vige over the past year." Fang Zhengzhi remarked.

    "That was something Chi Guyan wanted to do. It had nothing to do with me." Chi Hou shook his head.

    "I see, no thanks given then." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "No thanks? You rascal, even though taking care of the vige was Chi Guyan¡¯s idea, she has been in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion for the past year. Who do you think carried out her wishes?" Chi Hou squinted.

    "It wouldn¡¯t have been you either way."

    "..." Chi Hou was stunned. Then, he chuckled, "Okay then, you don¡¯t have to thank me for that, but you must thank me for what I¡¯m about to say next!"

    "I¡¯m guessing that your visit has nothing to do with Chi Guyan." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Hahaha, I see that you¡¯ve already seen through my motive foring. Since that is the case, I will not beat around the bush. I came on my own ord." Chi Hou chuckled.

    "Not King Duan?"

    "Oh? You have matured much in the past year!" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glittered as he nodded, "King Duan did send a letter to me!"

    "Spare me if I align myself with you, kill me if I say otherwise?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "Exactly!"

    "What if I choose not toply? Will you kill me now?"

    "Kill you? I never considered that. If you choose not to take this offer, then I will catch you and bring you back to stand trial!" Chi Hou shook his head.

    "So I should just count my lucky stars and ept your offer?"

    ¡¯"Yes, because you don¡¯t have a choice!" Chi Hou asserted.

    "Okay then, please arrest me."

    "You rascal, do you really want that to happen? Me, King Duan, and yourself know the truth about what happened in the Southern Region. However, what we know is of little importance. You should know what this is about!" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glittered.

    "The fight for the throne?"

    "That is just one side to it. There is also diplomacy! The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne! If our Crown Prince killed the Crown Prince of one of our vassals, it would cause an international incident! The Emperor would never let this happen, unless..."

    "The Crown Prince was disposed of." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Exactly. The Emperor would not touch this case until he decides to get rid of the Crown Prince. He would not investigate this incident either. As such, you will have to wait if you want to live." Chi Hou nodded.

    "Wait for the Crown Prince to be disposed of?"

    "Yes."

    "But I have already shown myself. How can I still live?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "The purpose of my trip is to give you a chance to escape. Once you escape, you will be given a new identity and appearance. King Duan and I will personally arrange for you to enter the courts!"

    "Enter the courts? Are you trying to send me to the ughter?"

    "Haha, of course not! Fang Zhengzhi, you should know that the Emperor is a smart man, much smarter than I ever thought." Chi Hou chuckled.

    "What you¡¯re saying is... the Emperor wouldn¡¯t kill me even if he knows who I am?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Exactly. If he wanted to kill you, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to live until now. The Emperor will spare you and will ce great value on you. You may even be a minister in the future!" Chi Hou asserted.

    "What makes you so sure?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Rascal, aren¡¯t you a smart person? I think you can tell!" Chi Hou raised his teacup.

    "Because I am the only one who can keep the Crown Prince in check?"

    "Exactly. The Crown Prince has allies in the courts and the constabries. The bnce in the courts has been broken over the past year. The Emperor isn¡¯t against a united front, but he does not want the Crown Prince to go unchecked!"

    "So the Emperor wants someone who is willing to go against the Crown Prince?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yes, as long as you appear in the courts, you will be a hindrance to the Crown Prince. He will not let you remain, so he will do everything in his power to get rid of you. That means that he will be distracted from consolidating his power..." Chi Hou nodded.

    "And I won¡¯t be hunted?"

    "Rest assured. I will personally apany you into the capital. With King Duan at the helm of the army, your safety is assured!"

    "Is your excuse to enter the capital to ask for forgiveness for your inability to capture me?"

    "Hahaha... you have really matured over the past year. Yes, I will go there to apologize for failing to capture you."

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid that this will cause you to lose power over the Northern Five Constabries? Aren¡¯t you afraid that Su Qing will capitalize and take over your territory?"

    "Do I look afraid to you?" Chi Hou asked.

    "Youe here to help me escape. Then, you n to go to the capital to apologize for the same reason. You are using that as an excuse to smuggle me into the capital just to destabilize the Crown Prince¡¯s hold on the courts. This is a good n. I wonder who is the mastermind?" Fang Zhengzhi was impressed.

    "Haha, that is not important. The important point here is that there is no downside here for you. Your cultivation has been wrecked and you cannot possibly go down that path anymore. The courts are your only choice now!" Chi Hou replied solemnly.

 Chapter 488: Chi Guyan as a bedwarmer?

    Chapter 488: Chi Guyan as a bedwarmer?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Do you really think that my cultivation has been ruined?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked at Chi Hou.

    "Am I... mistaken?" Chi Hou hesitated as he stared at Fang Zhengzhi, a faint glow in his eyes.

    He suddenly realized that no one had verified this information. After his duel with Canyang, the consensus was that his cultivation was likely to be ruined...

    But...

    Since no one had verified it, Fang Zhengzhi may still have his powers!

    He was stunned when he thought about this.

    Still had his cultivation?

    If he could duel Canyang over a year ago, how powerful would he be now if he could still cultivate?

    Terrifying!

    That was the only way Chi Hou could describe it. Of course, the even more terrifying thing was that Fang Zhengzhi was still below 18.

    He wasn¡¯t 18 yet...

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world!

    "Haha, I was just kidding. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t take me seriously!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled and began butchering the beast on the rack.

    He cut through it slowly because of the toughness of the hide. This seemed to require a lot of effort and he didn¡¯t use any powers to help him butcher the beast.

    Then, he ced the meat in pre-prepared bowls and handed one to Chi Hou.

    "Please try it."

    "Sure, I heard from Chi Guyan that your skills are excellent! I will not hold back now!" Chi Hou nodded and looked away from Fang Zhengzhi. He was extremely excited. However, in his excitement, his hands shuddered and a piece of meat fell out of his chopsticks...

    And onto the floor.

    At the same time, Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands moved.

    They moved the moment the meat fell to the ground. He thrust his knife at the piece of meat, his movements fluid.

    Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glimmered and he flicked his fingers.

    "ng!" The knife hit the meat, but it was almost as if it had shed with a resistive force.

    Then...

    The meat fell to the ground and became contaminated by dirt.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head when he saw the piece of meat on the ground. However, he didn¡¯t say anything. He simply passed Chi Hou another piece of meat.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t say anything when he received it. He held it with his chopsticks. He didn¡¯t drop it this time.

    He bit into it.

    His mouth was filled with that intense vor.

    "Hahaha... Chi Guyan was right! This meat is exquisite! It is one of the best I¡¯ve ever eaten!" Chi Hou chuckled.

    "It is a pity that we wasted one piece." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head lightly as he looked at the piece of meat on the floor.

    "Waste?" Chi Hou squinted as he looked at that piece of meat. Then, he smiled, "When I was fighting the barbarians, I ate everything, including tree bark! What is a little bit of dirt?"

    Chi Hou extended his hand.

    The piece of meat on the floor appeared between his chopsticks. He put it in his mouth without hesitation. He didn¡¯t even wipe the dirt off the meat.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t stop Chi Hou. All he cared about was cutting off another piece of meat for himself.

    "Actually, we can¡¯t finish so much meat either. Even if we drop one piece on the ground, it¡¯s not much of a waste." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "You rascal. Enough of your nonsense. When do we return to the capital?" Chi Hou didn¡¯t wait for Fang Zhengzhi to carve out another piece for him. He simply tore a chunk of meat away with his hands.

    "My lord, if you are in a hurry, you can leave first."

    "Leave first? You rascal... what do you mean by that?" Chi Hou hesitated.

    "I do not n on returning to the capital with you." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "You don¡¯t n on returning to the capital with me? ording to my intel, the Crown Prince¡¯s men are already on their way. Without me, you will not be able to get to the capital! The people around you are not enough!" Chi Hou asserted.

    "That might be the case, but I have no intention of pledging allegiance to King Duan. How can I have you escort me in that case?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "You... rascal! Other then the Crown Prince, King Duan is the only person you can pledge allegiance to. Are you really going to align yourself with the Crown Prince?" Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed.

    "Can I choose neither?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "No!"

    "Okay then... if that is the case, I have a condition of my own." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands when he saw Chi Hou¡¯s expression.

    "I knew that you would have some conditions. Tell me, what do you want? Money or treasure? I will give you whatever you need within my abilities." Chi Hou replied.

    If Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t take this opportunity to get something for himself, he wouldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi was going to be loyal to King Duan.

    "Let Chi Guyan be my bed warmer." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "What?! You rascal... that¡¯s impossible! I wouldn¡¯t even let her marry you, much less be a bed warmer! I can¡¯t make decisions for her! Ask me for something else!"

    Chi Hou nearly dropped the piece of meat in his hands when he heard this request.

    "I don¡¯t have any other conditions." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in disappointment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am a rank one official and general of the Great Xia! I marched for 48 hours straight to get here when I heard you returned. I have given you more than you deserve! Don¡¯t push your limits!" Chi Hou fumed.

    "Are you going to flip out on me?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to panic when he saw this.

    "Aish... even though we got off on the wrong foot when we first met in the Divine Constabry, I do not hate you. Furthermore, with all that you had done for the Great Xia in the war, I do not want you to die!" Chi Hou sighed and shook his head.

    "I chose the path myself, and I will keep walking it. Since you can¡¯t make Chi Guyan my bed warmer, I will have to do it myself." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "You are telling me that you can make Chi Guyan your bed warmer?" Chi Hou was stunned to hear this.

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "You rascal, don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew!" Chi Hou squinted as he exuded a domineering aura.

    "Three months. Three months from now, I will have her tell the whole world that she will be my bed warmer!" Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    "Are you for real?" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "Of course!"

    "And if you can¡¯t do it?"

    "Then I will do as you say and stay in the courts for three to five years. I will get back my rank three post." Fang Zhengzhi waved him off.

    "Okay, I will give you three months!"

    "And if I manage to do it?"

    "Hahaha... then I will follow you! I will listen to you and follow your orders!" Chi Hou chuckled scornfully.

    "Follow my orders? What if I asked you to rebel?"

    "Rubbish! How dare you speak of such things?!"

    "Haha... I was just kidding."

    "You rascal, if you can really make Chi Guyan your bed warmer, I will follow any of your orders as long as they don¡¯t involve rebellion!" Chi Hou replied.

    "It¡¯s a deal!"

    "Okay, I will give you three months. I will protect you in the meantime. If you try to y me, I will not show you any mercy."

    "Thank you, my lord." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Mm, since everything is out in the open, when do you n to return to the capital?"

    "Soon. I am just waiting for a friend."

    "A friend?"

    "Did you really think that I grilled such a huge beast for the two of us?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he looked at the roasted beast.

    "Oh? I heard that the leader of the Shadow Sect is a female. However... I¡¯ve never seen her in person. Maybe it¡¯s a good thing for me to meet her today." Chi Hou responded.

    "Haha..." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    At that moment, two figures appeared in the distance. They traveled quickly, and they exchanged blows as they ran over.

    The glow of the swords was clear for all to see...

    A wave of iciness shed with a pale blue glow. The duel sent plumes of dust skyward, almost like two ravenous wolves fighting it out.

    This was Qingyi and Li Jingfeng.

    Chi Hou frowned. He knew that Li Jingfeng would not fight with Qingyi unless he had a good reason to. Li Jingfeng was a soldier.

    A soldier follows orders.

    Even a verbal exchange could not cause Li Jingfeng to go against direct orders and enter the vige.

    There was only one possibility.

    There was something urgent that even Li Jingfeng didn¡¯t dare to handle himself.

    "What¡¯s happening?" Chi Hou waved his arm and a thin aura flew in between Li Jingfeng and Qingyi.

    The fighting stopped.

    "My lord, there is a squad of soldiers two miles away and heading towards the vige. Intel puts their numbers at about 3000. They are traveling quickly and in formation. They must be a trained force!"

    "An army? A trained one? Do we know who they are?" Chi Hou was stunned.

    This was the Northern Region! The only trained army here was his!

    "No, they are all wearing veils and their armor is being covered by ck cloaks! Furthermore, they are quite aggressive and feel powerful! However, we can¡¯t tell who they are by their appearance!"

    "Aggressive and powerful? Are they the barbarians?"

    "Probably not. Their aura is simr, but the barbarians cannot possibly be this well trained. Intel tells us that this squad is even faster than the Red Pinion Squad. They are also able to maintain formation throughout. My guess is that they are not weaker than the Red Pinion Squad!" Li Jingfeng shook his head.

    "Not weaker than the Red Pinion Squad?" Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed.

    He trusted Li Jingfeng¡¯s judgment. However, there were few squads that were on par with the Red Pinion Squad. The Mountain Breaking Army was one of them, as well as a couple of other elite squads in the constabries.

    Or maybe some of therger noble families.

    But...

    None of them should have been able toe up to the Northern Regions!

    Who is it? The Stabilization Constabry?

    Impossible.

    Chi Hou rejected that idea almost immediately. Even though the Stabilization Constabry had interacted with Fang Zhengzhi during the war...

    They wouldn¡¯te up here to find him.

    Xing Yuanguo was a principled man. If he nned to enter the Northern Regions, he would have sent a letter to Chi Hou.

    Even if time was of the essence...

    He would not bother to disguise himself and hide his identity. The Stabilization Constabry didn¡¯t need to mask themselves!

    This was definitely not the Stabilization Constabry!

    The fact that they were veiled meant that they didn¡¯t want to be recognized.

    Were they trying to hide their movements?

    Definitely not!

    The movements of 3000 soldiers traveling in formation were impossible to hide! The only reason must be that they wanted to conceal their identity!

    The Crown Prince?!

    How did they get here so quickly?

    Chi Hou turned to Fang Zhengzhi when he thought about this.

    Then, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change when he heard what Li Jingfeng said. In fact, there were traces of surprise on his face.

    Could it be...

    Chi Hou squinted, "I never thought that the Shadow Sect had grown to be such a formidable force in the past year! I have underestimated Wu Yuer!"

 Chapter 489: Yan Cloud Cavalry

    Chapter 489: Yan Cloud Cavalry

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "My Lord, Wu Yuer is not in the Northern Region." Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Hou had misunderstood. However, he was not surprised that Chi Hou thought that it was Wu Yuer.

    After all, if the leader of the Divine Constabry didn¡¯t know who the leader of the Shadow Sect was, then he wasn¡¯t fit to lead the Divine Constabry.

    "It¡¯s not Wu Yuer?" Chi Hou¡¯s heart fluttered. If it wasn¡¯t Wu Yuer, then it had to be the Crown Prince¡¯s men.

    3000 trained soldiers...

    The audacity of the Crown Prince...

    Was he really that confident?

    "Qingyi, help me tend to the fire. I will greet them myself." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further. He could hear the sounds in the distance.

    The squad was approaching.

    "Yes, master!" Qingyi nodded.

    "Haha, since that is the case, I will apany you." Chi Hou wiped his hands clean and stood up.

    "My Lord, this way please." Li Jingfeng prepared to lead the way.

    Fang Zhengzhi showed no intention of stopping him. This was the Northern Region, Chi Hou¡¯s territory.

    No one could stop him from going anywhere he pleased.

    ...

    The 2000 soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad mounted their rides and stood in formation, their spears pointing towards the approaching noises.

    Zhang Yangping and the other vigers looked on anxiously behind the Red Pinion Squad. The iing army was a powerful one.

    "Are they really going to fight?"

    "If they fight, it will be the end of the Northern Mountain Vige. Should we tell the teachers and students to take cover?"

    "I don¡¯t think they are really going to fight. Chi Hou is still in the vige. Who would dare to antagonize him here in the Northern Region?"

    "But what if they do fight?"

    The vigers began to discuss the possibilities amongst themselves. They generally hunted for a living and such situations were foreign to them.

    At that moment, Chi Hou and Fang Zhengzhi came out of the gates. They were apanied by Li Jingfeng.

    The three of them approached the Red Pinion Squad.

    "My Lord!" The vigers greeted.

    "Mm." Chi Hou nodded but didn¡¯t say anything else. He looked at the plumes of dust some distance away as he walked forward.

    The Red Pinion Squad opened a path for him.

    Their movements were disciplined and synchronized.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in awe. The Red Pinion Squad was one the most elite forces in the Great Xia. Training was rigorous.

    Chi Hou was a military genius to be able to train such a powerful army.

    The three people passed through the Red Pinion Squad and watched the approaching army. Just as Li Jingfeng had said...

    This was a squad of veiled soldiers.

    Each one of them wore a ck cloak which stuck to their bodies as they sprinted towards the vige. This also revealed that all 3000 of them wore the same armor.

    "Not bad!" Chi Hou eximed when he saw this. For a seasonedmander like himself, he could tell within moments that this was a well-trained army.

    They traveled quickly but were able to maintain their formation. Their formation was that of a spear.

    Behind them, there were ranks of soldiers five abreast.

    Anyone who knew their military tactics could tell that this was a charging formation. The fact that they could maintain this formation over such long distances...

    This was proof of their training and discipline.

    "Not bad indeed." Fang Zhengzhi expressed his agreement.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t say anything else. He frowned and stared at the approaching ¡¯spear¡¯.

    Chi Hou rarely looked like that.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t frown even when he was battling the 50,000 barbarian cavalries on the ins.

    Yet, when faced with this army of 3000 soldiers, he frowned.

    The reason was simple.

    He had a vige behind him, a vige which housed the Northern Region¡¯s most promising children.

    If these men were from the Crown Prince.

    Then this would be a capturing mission.

    Without the Red Pinion Squad.

    These men would simplye to capture Fang Zhengzhi. However, if the Red Pinion Squad intervened, then this would turn into a massacre. The Crown Prince would never let an asset like Fang Zhengzhi fall into the Divine Constabry¡¯s hands.

    They were closing in...

    "Ready!" Chi Hou raised his hand.

    "Woosh!" The soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad raised their spears and pointed them at the opposing force. A domineering aura filled the air.

    "Halt!"

    At that moment, the ¡¯spear¡¯ at the point position of the formation stopped in its tracks.

    The 3000 soldiers behind them halted as well.

    The formation was still intact!

    "I am the leader of the Red Pinion Squad, Li Jingfeng from the Divine Constabry! I have orders from Chi Hou to capture the criminal here! Who are you, and how dare you barge into the Northern Regions?!" Li Jingfeng bellowed.

    As someone who had been serving Chi Hou for more than a decade, he knew that he should not reveal Chi Hou¡¯s presence from the get-go.

    A light breeze brushed past.

    The fragrance of the flowers filled the air.

    The 3000 veiled soldiers stood in their spots. They didn¡¯t leave because of what Li Jingfeng said. In fact, it was almost as though they didn¡¯t hear what Li Jingfeng said.

    They were waiting.

    They were waiting for orders.

    At that moment, a blood red g was raised. There were neither patterns nor symbols on the g.

    However, when Li Jingfeng saw this g, his expression changed.

    The 3000 veiled soldiers moved when the g went up.

    "Woosh!" They moved in unison. When the sound had died down, each one of them had a metal bow in their hands.

    Theytched an arrow on the bows and pulled the string taut. They aimed at the Red Pinion Squad without hesitation.

    "How dare you?!" Li Jingfeng raised his spear.

    He was quite shocked to see this. They were in the Northern Region. He might not have told them that Chi Hou was present, but the Red Pinion Squad should have been enough to cause them to reconsider.

    The Divine Constabry was the most powerful force in the Northern Region!

    "Chi Hou, we want the young man next to you. If you are willing to hand him over, we will be on our way!" A voice rang out from within the ranks.

    "Oh? What if I refuse?" Chi Hou squinted.

    He knew why Li Jingfeng had not used his name from the get-go. He wanted to give this army a chance to turn back.

    However, they didn¡¯t seem to care. They called him out by name and asked him to hand over Fang Zhengzhi.

    Who was this?

    Who dared to dere war on the Divine Constabry in the Northern Region?!

    "If you refuse, then please ept our apologies in advance!" The voice rang out once again and the red g was raised.

    "Rubbish!" Chi Hou raged when he saw the red g being raised. He had given them an out even though they were trespassing.

    He was already showing them mercy and respect.

    That also had to do with the fact that he thought this army was rted to the Crown Prince. He did not want to go to war with the Crown Prince¡¯s men unless it was absolutely necessary.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that he was afraid of fighting.

    "Die!" The soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad hollered when they heard Chi Hou¡¯s rage. Their killing intent filled the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    What was happening?

    Didn¡¯t he make it clear from the start?

    He told Chi Hou that he was waiting for a friend. Why did both sides start fighting they moment they met outside the vige?

    They want me...

    Why don¡¯t you just let me go over?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he looked at Chi Hou. He knew the opposing force, but he couldn¡¯t tell Chi Hou in front of the Red Pinion Squad.

    After all...

    This was the Northern Region.

    "My Lord, you can just hand me over." Fang Zhengzhi whispered a reminder when he saw Chi Hou rage.

    "What nonsense?! Do you really think I will hand you over?" Chi Hou replied without hesitation.

    "My Lord, you should. In fact, I don¡¯t mind. Let me go with them." Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t about to give up.

    "You don¡¯t mind? But I do!" Chi Hou rejected the proposal.

    Hand over Fang Zhengzhi?

    Was that meant to be a joke?

    How dare they ask Chi Hou to hand someone over n the Northern Region! Chi Hou wouldn¡¯t hand Fang Zhengzhi over even if he was outnumbered 10 to one!

    "My Lord, I really am willing to go with them."

    "Shut up!"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was rendered speechless. He had already told Chi Hou that these were friendlies.

    He had wanted to wee them more subtly after they got closer.

    However, Li Jingfeng had announced himself.

    Then, the other force drew their bows.

    Before they even exchanged any formalities, things had escted to this point. Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even have a chance to interrupt.

    "Die!"

    "Die!"

    "..."

    The Red Pinion Squad¡¯s voices grew louder by the moment. They were ready to fight.

    The 3000 veiled soldiers were equally fearless. They simply pointed their arrows at the Red Pinion Squad, ready to fire at a moment¡¯s notice

    As for Zhang Yangping and the other vigers...

    Their jaws were virtually on the floor.

    "Zhengzhi, get back!"

    "If they fight, we will take cover in the mountains!"

    "Yes, Zhengzhi,e over quickly!"

    The vigers hollered at the top of their voices. The Red Pinion Squad stood between them and Zhengzhi, and Zhengzhi was in the middle of the two forces.

    It was too dangerous.

    Fang Zhengzhi really didn¡¯t mind finding a ce to hide but he knew he had to deal with this. He stepped forward.

    "Hang on, lower your weapons!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was so loud that every soldier on the field could hear him. However, the Red Pinion Squad didn¡¯t follow his orders.

    It was virtually useless.

    However, the 3000 veiled soldiers stopped in their tracks. Then, a yellow g was raised from within their ranks.

    "Woosh, woosh woosh!"

    Within moments...

    The bows returned to their holders on the backs of the soldiers.

    Li Jingfeng was stunned.

    The Red Pinion Squad stopped screaming for blood. They too didn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Why would they listen to Fang Zhengzhi?

    Chi Hou¡¯s jaw dropped in surprise. However, he quickly wiped the surprise off his face and squinted his eyes.

    He examined the 3000 veiled soldiers, the armor they wore under the ck cloaks and the bows in their hands.

    His eyes widened.

    Then, a green light appeared in his hands. This was a jade green glow. It flew towards the soldiers.

    At the same time, the expression of one of the vanguards of the veiled soldiers changed. His body was enveloped by green light.

    "Shhhhh!"

    His clothes were ripped apart.

    The ck cloak around him was shredded, almost as if there were countless knives around him.

    The ck, palm-sized shreds were blown away by the wind.

    As they fell to the ground, a radiant armor shone through. It was a silver armor adorned with all kinds of patterns.

    Most importantly, the armor was adorned with six clouds. These clouds were blood red in color. They formed a hexagon starting from the shoulder pads.

    Almost like a fan!

    "The Yan Cloud Cavalry!"

 Chapter 490: Formidable figure

    Chapter 490: Formidable figure

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It¡¯s the Yan Cloud Cavalry?!"

    When Li Jingfeng and the rest of the Red Pinion Squad saw the six clouds, their expressions changed.

    The Great Xia had many elite squads.

    The Dragon Protection Squad, the Mountain Breaking Army, the Red Pinion Squad...

    All of these were elite armies.

    However, if there was one army that would rank above them, then it would undoubtedly be the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    It wasn¡¯t because the soldiers of the Yan Cloud Cavalry were more skilled or powerful. It was because of where they trained.

    Western Liang!

    A barrennd.

    They were always under assault from the wind, sand, and dust. They drank blood and feasted on meat.

    The Yan Family was the leading family in Western Liang. Its history is even longer than that of the Great Xia¡¯s. They controlled Western Liang even before the Great Xia was founded.

    The 13 Constabries supported the Great Xia in its conquest of the world.

    However, every Emperor left the defense of Western Liang to the Yan Family. When the six blood clouds of the Yan Family rose up in those harsh conditions, the soldiers of the 13 Constabries would stop in the tracks.

    It was impossible to fight there!

    "Yan Cloud Cavalry!" Chi Hou clenched his fists. He never expected the Yan Cloud Cavalry to appear here.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in the Northern Region, Huai An County, the Northern Mountain Vige.

    When Chi Hou got the news, he had immediately given his orders and marched for two days straight.

    He didn¡¯t even stop for a break!

    Where was the Yan Cloud Cavalry located?

    In Western Liang!

    Thousands of miles away!

    Yet, they had arrived a mere four hours after the Red Pinion Squad. What kind of speed was that? Could it be...

    Chi Hou looked at the Yan Cloud Cavalry soldier. He looked down at the soldier¡¯s waist and understood everything instantly.

    There was a bloody, half-eaten piece of meat hanging on this soldier¡¯s waist.

    Raw!

    This was the most efficient way to travel! Furthermore, they could conserve their energy!

    They could travel as quickly as possible, stop at any time, and fight at a moment¡¯s notice.

    However, this was also the most primitive and barbaric method.

    "Good, very good! The Yan Cloud Cavalry lives up to its name!" Chi Hou clenched his fists in admiration.

    He also couldn¡¯t help but suppress some of his other emotions.

    He didn¡¯t like to lose.

    Li Jingfeng also noticed the piece of raw meat dangling from the waist of that soldier. He felt a chill down his spine.

    This was true aggression.

    An animalistic aggression.

    "The Yan Cloud Cavalry still train this way?" Li Jingfeng knew that the Yan Cloud Cavalry didn¡¯t just think of this method. They had been doing this for a long time!

    Raw meat was not good to eat!

    If they did not train their bodies to digest and handle the raw meat, they would all be rolling on the ground by now.

    The 2000 Red Pinion Squad soldiers could also feel that domineering aggression.

    They tightened their grip around their spears.

    At that moment, the soldier whose cloak had been ripped apart leapt into action. He drew a dagger and thrust it towards his throat.

    "ng!"

    The dagger fell to the ground.

    "I deserve to die!" The soldier¡¯s expression changed.

    "It is not your fault. We are up against Chi Hou. It was only a matter of time before our identity was revealed. Just remember this incident and do better in future battles!" A voice rang out from within the ranks.

    "Yes, sir!"

    ...

    The thirst for blood had subsided significantly. Fang Zhengzhi walked forward and Chi Hou didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping him.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked over to the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    "Greetings, Young Master Fang!" The 3000 strong Yan Cloud Cavalry bowed respectfully.

    Then, a figure walked out from within the ranks.

    He was also wearing a ck cloak and a veil. However, he took off the veil when he walked out of the ranks.

    He smiled icily. Despite the punishing journey, he did not seem tired at all. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with caring eyes.

    Yan Xiu.

    This was a man who had returned to Western Liang after the court examination results were released. He never stepped foot in the capital after that day.

    "How have you been over the past year?"

    "How have you been?"

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu greeted each other in front of both armies.

    After one year...

    The two of them still talked to each other the same way. It was as calm and ordinary as the water in the stream.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu chuckled.

    "I¡¯ve been well."

    Their voices echoed out in unison. It was almost as if they had forgotten about the two armies standing behind them.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi began introducing the surroundings to Yan Xiu.

    "Look, this is where I grew up. The Northern Mountain Vige is a beautiful ce. The water is clear and the air is fresh! You can even see the bottom of the river and the fish that swim inside it."

    "Mm."

    "Did you skip breakfast? Come and have some at my ce!"

    "Okay."

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walked towards the Red Pinion Squad and the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The Yan Cloud Cavalry didn¡¯t speak as they watched Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walk away. However, their eyes were filled with shock.

    "Is this the time to talk about meals?"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers looked at each other in confusion. They didn¡¯t know who this youth was. They didn¡¯t know the procedure here. But they knew...

    If that was the Yan Cloud Cavalry...

    They were probably...

    Trespassing.

    "Yan Xiu, the Yan Cloud Cavalry are under themand of the Yan Family. It is normal that you are leading them. However, since you are in the Northern Region, please show me the Emperor¡¯s orders that brought you here!" Chi Hou stepped forward.

    As the leader of the Northern Five Constabries.

    He would not tolerate trespassing, not even if it was the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    "I don¡¯t have them." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Junior, you bring the Yan Cloud Cavalry here without notifying me or getting orders from the Emperor. Isn¡¯t that inappropriate?" Chi Hou added.

    "It is." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Since you know that it is inappropriate, I think you owe me an exnation." Chi Hou nodded. He knew why Yan Xiu was here.

    In the grand scheme of things, Yan Xiu was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s friend. By extension, Yan Xiu was not his enemy.

    As such, he would not push Yan Xiu too hard. However, he still had to put on a show for the Red Pinion Squad.

    "I was lost." Yan Xiu thought about it, then answered.

    "Lost?!" Chi Hou had expected a myriad of other exnations. Perhaps he would im that he was chasing a felon, or had noticed some movements from the demons.

    These would have been false.

    However, Chi Hou could pretend to believe him and order the Red Pinion Squad and the Yan Cloud Cavalry to check it out. Then, they would simply return having found nothing.

    But being lost...

    What kind of reason was that?

    How could they have been lost for three days, eating raw meat and rushing over here from Western Liang? And they just happened to stumble across the Northern Mountain Vige?

    Who would believe that?

    Even Chi Hou couldn¡¯t buy that excuse.

    Li Jingfeng and the Red Pinion Squad could guess what Chi Hou¡¯s intentions were. However, Yan Xiu¡¯s reason was too casual.

    "Young Master Yan, were you trying to chase an escaped felon when you got lost? Was it because you aren¡¯t familiar with thend here?" Li Jingfeng tried to rify Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation.

    "No, I was lost." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Are you sure you are not joking with me?" Chi Hou couldn¡¯t take it any longer. He had already given Yan Xiu enough chances.

    Yet, Yan Xiu continued to push this unbelievable story.

    This concerned his reputation. As the head of the Divine Constabry, he could forgive Yan Xiu for being rash, but he couldn¡¯t tolerate Yan Xiu being rude to him.

    "Do you think that my grandson is someone who likes to joke?" Another voice rang out from within the ranks of the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    The voice as not loud and it was rather raspy. However, it was a powerful voice whichmanded respect.

    When that voice rang out.

    A strange thing happened. All of the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions backed away, almost as if they were frightened.

    Some of the Snow Treading Dragon Stallions even kicked off their riders.

    "Ah!"

    "Neigh, neigh..."

    The 2000 soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad were in disarray. Even Li Jingfeng couldn¡¯t react in time.

    However, Zhang Yangping and the vigers seemed unaffected.

    It was a strange sight.

    Li Jingfeng was about to give his orders when Chi Hou stopped him. Then, he saw Chi Hou¡¯s expression.

    He had never seen Chi Hou look like that in more than 10 years of service.

    Who was it?

    He called Yan Xiu his grandson.

    Could it be...

    Li Jingfeng¡¯s expression changed. Even as the leader of the Red Pinion Squad, he felt a chill down his spine when he thought of that name.

    "Yan Qianli"

    He was the leader of the Yan Family. He was legendary, so much so that even the Emperor had to respect him.

    He was formidable.

    Everyone feared and respected this man. As long as Yan Qianli was alive, The Yan Family would control Western Liang and no one would dare to try their luck.

    Yan Qianli was a domineering figure.

    Everyone knew that only someone like Yan Qianli could govern a ce like Western Liang well.

    Of course, that was not the main point.

    Yan Qianli had not stepped foot out of Western Liang in more than two decades! He didn¡¯t even take time to visit the capital.

    Yet, he had appeared here.

    He led 3000 of his Yan Cloud Cavalry to this small mountain vige.

    "I was the one who came up with that reason. My grandson is simply repeating my words. Do you think that that¡¯s an uneptable reason?" The voice echoed through the air.

    However, no one stepped out from the ranks. The voice echoed through but one couldn¡¯t pinpoint where he was.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed.

    He stared at the 3000 Yan Cloud Cavalry and the clouds on their armor.

    He clenched his fists, then released them, then clenched them again.

    He finally regained hisposure after some time, the glow disappearing from his eyes.

    "Master Yan, since you are lost, how about I personally guide you to the route back to Western Liang? What do you think?" Chi Hou asked calmly.

    "Hahaha... I wanted to stay in Western Liang and wait for my death, but my grandson wanted to make a trip to the capital. My time is limited and I don¡¯t have much time to look around. I thought of apanying my grandson to the capital and visit the Emperor. However, because of my age, I forgot the way to get there and got lost."

    "You are going to the capital?" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glittered.

    "Yes, is that convenient for you?"

    "Yes, I¡¯m heading there as well!"

    "That¡¯s a happy coincidence! If you don¡¯t find it too much of a hassle, we would appreciate it if you could guide us there. If we get lost again it would result in too many dys."

    "It would be my honor if Master Yan woulde to the capital with me. When would you like to leave?"

 Chapter 491: Empire

    Chapter 491: Empire

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I¡¯m not nning to micromanage everything on this trip. I just want to take in the sights. I¡¯ll leave the details to my grandson."

    "I understand." Chi Hou nodded.

    As the leader of the Northern Region, he could read between the lines. The fact that someone as respected as him was letting someone else take care of the details...

    That said a lot.

    As to why Yan Qianli had decided to go to the capital...

    It was to assert dominance.

    He wanted to help cement the position of the next leader of Western Liang.

    He couldn¡¯t do so if he was in Western Liang. He had to do it in the capital. Chi Hou was certain that the heir to that position would be confirmed after this trip.

    However...

    Only Yan Qianli had the answer to why he would follow Yan Xiu all the way to the Northern Mountain Vige before going to the capital.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t bother with any more guesses. However, he was certain that Yan Qianli¡¯s trip to the capital was not as simple as merely taking in the sights.

    Could it be that they were going to participate in the battle for the throne?

    Or was there something deeper?

    Regardless, he had to warn King Duan in advance. If they could have Yan Qianli¡¯s support in the fight for the throne, it would give them a huge boost.

    ...

    Over the next three days, Yan Xiu stayed in the Fang Residence and Fang Zhengzhi brought Yan Xiu around.

    Yan Qianli never showed himself.

    Chi Hou wanted to use these three days to interact with Yan Qianli and understand his thoughts. However, Yan Qianli remained inside the Yan Cloud Cavalry camp.

    Yan Qianli didn¡¯t even seem to want to meet Fang Zhengzhi.

    Three dayster, Fang Zhengzhi said his goodbyes and joined Yan Xiu on their journey to the capital. The Red Pinion Squad and Yan Cloud Cavalry followed behind.

    Zhang Yangping, Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian, and the other vigers all watched in awe as the convoy left the vige.

    However...

    As ordinary vigers, they couldn¡¯t possibly stop them.

    "Vige elder, do you think Zhengzhi will..."

    "No! Chi Hou said that he was here to help Fang Zhengzhi! He will definitely help Fang Zhengzhi get his acquittal!"

    "My son..."

    "Mother of my son, let¡¯s go back. Zhengzhi may be back soon!"

    "Nothing will happen to him right?"

    "Of course not, definitely not!"

    ...

    Spring was usually a joyous and vibrant time, but the atmosphere in the capital seemed suppressed and down.

    Inside the Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    Dozens of officials stood outside his study, each one of them visibly anxious.

    Inside the study, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong sat behind a desk. He was dressed in a silver robe and he looked at the officials solemnly.

    There was a stack of shredded papers on the table. That was an emergency letter that he just received.

    "Bloody Divine Constabry... how dare you go against me so openly?! What do you think I should do?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s hand swept across the table and his teacup shattered on the floor.

    The officials shook their heads when they saw this.

    "Your Highness, Chi Hou has always been King Duan¡¯s right-hand man. It is no surprise that he would bring Fang Zhengzhi to the capital." One of the officials spoke up.

    "Yes, the problem now isn¡¯t the Divine Constabry, it¡¯s the Yan Family of Western Liang..." Another official spoke up, his eyes glittering.

    "We never expected that the Yan King... Yan Qianli would leave Western Liang for this. This makes an ambush along the way quite impossible."

    "Yes, fighting 2000 soldiers of the Red Pinion Squad is difficult enough. If we want to go against that and an additional 3000 Yan Cloud Cavalry, we will need to tap on the army! However, King Duan still controls most of the army! It will be difficult to do anything without revealing ourselves!"

    "The Emperor may even wee Yan Qianli at the gates of the pce. If he does so, it¡¯ll make things even more difficult for us."

    "Do you think that Fang Zhengzhi would dare to tell his side of the story when he meets the Emperor?"

    "With his character, I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to say anything. If anything he says gets out, it could be detrimental to your cause."

    "We must not let him enter the city!"

    "Everyone, you are all thinking too much!" A voice rang out and the Minister of Law, Wan Chong, stood up. "Actually, we have already passed judgment on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case. We have also issued a warrant for his arrest. The Emperor cannot simply pardon him just because the Divine Constabry asked for it. Unless new evidencees to light, the case will remain solid. The Crown Prince need not worry!"

    "Official Wan is correct, we should remain calm and not act rashly!"

    "Indeed, indeed!"

    All of the officials expressed their agreement.

    At that very moment, a middle-aged man in Ministry of Rites robes stood up. He straightened his robe and bowed to the Crown Prince.

    "There is one other thing that I need to report. I have news that the Queen of the Southern Region is making a trip to the capital. I was wondering... if this had anything to do with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "..."

    Silence. The officials looked at each other and stopped their discussions. There were too many things happening at once.

    Starting with Fang Zhengzhi showing himself at Huai An County.

    Then, everything had happened so quickly from that moment on that they had no time to catch their breath.

    Was it a coincidence? Or had it been nned beforehand? No one could say for sure, but they all felt that everything was just a tad too coincidental.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping rapped his fingers against the armrest as he looked at the officials and a kneeling soldier.

    "Did our intel say what Yan Qianli did in the Northern Mountain Vige?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping queried.

    "Prime Minister, he did not show himself in the Northern Mountain Vige." The soldier reported.

    "He didn¡¯t show himself? Then how do you know that Yan Qianli ising to the capital with Fang Zhengzhi?" Yu Yiping frowned.

    "Even though he didn¡¯t show himself, he did speak with Chi Hou. Afterward, he never left his tent, so our scouts didn¡¯t see him."

    "You¡¯re telling me that Yan Qianli went to the vige but never entered it. He also cooped himself up in his tent and didn¡¯t meet with Chi Hou or Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Yes, sir!"

    "He stayed in his tent, he stayed in his tent... I see, I see!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes glittered.

    When the other officials heard what he said, they looked at each other in confusion.

    "Prime Minister, could you please enlighten us?" One of the officials asked when he saw Lin Tianrong look at him, approving his question.

    "Yan Qianli has been the lord of Western Liang. However, he is now an old man. He will not y his trump card unless he absolutely has to." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smiled confidently.

    "What do you mean?" The officials couldn¡¯t understand.

    "Yan Qianli might not help Fang Zhengzhi." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping asserted.

    "But Yan Qianli left Western Liang and went to the Northern Mountain Vige. Why do that if he doesn¡¯t n to help Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Because of Yan Xiu!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied.

    "Prime Minister, you are saying that Yan Qianli ising to the capital because of Yan Xiu and not Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Yes!"

    "We still don¡¯t understand it fully. Please enlighten us." The officials still seemed lost.

    "Yan Qianli is aging, so he needs to n for the future of Western Liang. I think he is going to hand the reins over to Yan Xiu." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping exined.

    "Hand over Western Liang to Yan Xiu? Prime Minister, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not something that he can decide. The reason why they lead the region is because of Yan Qianli. Without him, the Yan Family will still be considered foreigners. Even if the Emperor wants the Yan Family to continue governing, I¡¯m sure he will send one of the constabries over to keep tabs on them."

    The officials began to voice their opinions.

    "Exactly! That is where the problem is!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded.

    "Prime Minister, you mean..."

    "Yan Qianli has managed to govern Western Liang without any interference for many decades. Do you think he will allow any of the 13 Constabries to set up camp there?" Yu Yiping asked.

    "No." The officials replied without hesitation.

    "Exactly. Yan Qianli would never let this happen. As such, anyone who can help him achieve his goals will get his support in the contest for the throne!"

    "I get it now. Yan Qianli might have gone to the Northern Mountain Vige, but by not showing himself, he is telling the world that he has yet to make a choice. He is trying to see who can help him achieve his goals!" The officials were enlightened.

    "Prime Minister, you have great foresight!" The other officials nodded in amazement.

    "Even though Yan Qianli has yet to make his choice, he is still apanying Fang Zhengzhi into the capital. How do we deal with that?" Another official asked.

    "We can still turn things around as long as Yan Qianli hasn¡¯t made his choice!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping asserted.

    "We would love to hear your n!" The officials stood up and bowed to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "Tomorrow morning, you can propose during the morning sitting for the Emperor to hold a banquet to honor our seniors at the Ten Mile Lake!" Yu Yiping proposed.

    "A banquet? Why would we have it at the Ten Mile Lake and not the pce?" The officials were confused.

    "The Yan Family suffered the greatest casualties in their history at the battle of the Ten Mile Lake. If not for their valiant defense, the capital would not be what we know it to be. Most importantly, all five of Yan Qianli¡¯s brothers died in that battle. Their bodies were never recovered. He would never reject an invitation to the Ten Mile Lake!"

    The Left Prime Minister asserted.

    The other officials nodded in agreement.

    "The Left Prime Minister is wise. Crown Prince, if the banquet was held at the Ten Mile Lake, Yan Qianli would definitely attend and we would be at an advantage. Furthermore, outsiders would not be invited to attend."

    "Diverting his attention! Great n, great n!"

    "How do we move forward after that?"

    The officials turned to look at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping once again.

    "Kill!" Yu Yiping replied.

    "Kill? The Ten Mile Lake is just half a day away from the capital. Furthermore, Chi Hou would be protecting Fang Zhengzhi. How would we get to him?" The officials were shocked.

    "Official Wan had said this before. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case has been closed. We don¡¯t have to ask the Emperor for his opinion anymore." The Prime Minister looked at Wan Chong.

    "You want me to capture him before he reaches the city?" Law Minister Wan Chong asked.

    "No, you must catch him at the gates with witnesses around!"

    "At the city gates? With witnesses?"

    "Yes, that is the only way that Chi Hou can¡¯t stop you. You are just following thew. He can¡¯t go against thew even though he is a lord. Furthermore, by capturing Fang Zhengzhi in front of witnesses, he would be sure that you won¡¯t dare to do anything to Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "It makes sense. This is the best way to ensure that Fang Zhengzhi is captured. But what do we do after?" Minister Wan Chong nodded.

    "Don¡¯t you have your methods once he is in your ministry?"

    "But... if we arrested him in front of witnesses, then..."

    "You are afraid you would be med?"

    "I..."

    "Official Wan, do not worry. As long as Fang Zhengzhi is dead, Yan Qianli would not bother about Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s friendship. Yan Qianli would also back the Crown Prince. By doing so, you have done the Crown Prince a great favor and you will be rewarded in the future."

    "I understand. Since that is the case, I will go and make the arrangements now." Minister Wan Chong grit his teeth and took his leave.

    The other officials smiled respectfully at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "I¡¯m sure Fang Zhengzhi would never expect that we would arrest him at the gates."

    "Even I wasn¡¯t expecting that."

    "He is too naive! If he thinks that he can waltz in here in broad daylight just because he has the Divine Constabry and the Yan Family protecting him, he is terribly mistaken!"

    "Only the Left Prime Minister could have thought of such a great n!"

    "Exactly, and to think he formted this n based on the information that Yan Qianli didn¡¯t leave his tent! We still have a lot to learn!"

    The officials expressed their admiration.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smiled when he heard this. He knew what the Crown Prince was thinking.

    The Crown Prince would not be at ease so long as Fang Zhengzhi was alive.

    This was a mental problem, and Fang Zhengzhi had to be eliminated.

    He was more than willing to sacrifice the Law Minister in exchange for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life. In fact, the Crown Prince would have willingly sacrificed all six ministers if that¡¯s what it took.

    Once this was done, the world was his oyster!

 Chapter 492: No turning back

    Chapter 492: No turning back

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Winner takes all.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had ced all his bets on the Crown Prince. As such, he would never let someone who could harm the Crown Prince live.

    "I must calm the Crown Prince¡¯s heart. Wan Chong... please don¡¯t me me for being vicious!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes glowed icily as he looked at the closed doors.

    As the leader of the officials...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping knew what the Crown Prince and the Emperor thought. As such, he needed someone to take the rap.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t speak. He didn¡¯t care much for a Minister. As long as he could remain in power, he wouldn¡¯t mind recing the Minister repeatedly.

    There was only one person who could threaten his hold on the throne. That was Fang Zhengzhi.

    No!

    Fang Zhengzhi had to die!

    He had taken too many risks and hid in the shadows for way too long. He had worked so hard to get to his current position and he was not going to let it fall apart.

    ...

    Early morning the next day.

    The morning court session...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong proposed that the Emperor hold a banquet for the elders at the Ten Mile Lake.

    The officials concurred.

    Emperor Lin Mubai praised the Crown Prince foring up with such a brilliant proposal and put him in charge of forming the attendance list.

    King Duan was silent.

    After the session, the officials congratted Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and offered up names to be included in the attendance list.

    King Duan remained silent.

    Nightfall...

    King Duan¡¯s residence was still lit up.

    However, it was much less festive and boisterous aspared to the Crown Prince¡¯s residence. A lot had changed over the past year.

    King Duan sat behind the desk. He wore baggy pajamas and held a letter in his hand. However, this letter was intact. There were few creases on the paper.

    There were two other people in this spacious study.

    One was an aged man in a ck and white robe whilst the other was Mr. Hua sporting the academic robes.

    "Your Highness, did you call us over because of the Crown Prince¡¯s proposal?" Mr. Hua asked when after King Duan put down the letter.

    "Mm, but we have also received news from the Northern Region." King Duan nodded as he lit the sandalwood.

    "Chi Hou wrote to us?" Mr. Hua took a whiff, then looked at the letter on the table.

    "Yes, Chi Hou told us that Yan Qianli has left Western Liang and is heading to the capital with them. Fang Zhengzhi is also with them. Chi Hou wanted to meet with Yan Qianli but didn¡¯t have the chance." King Duan summarized the letter.

    "They didn¡¯t meet? That can only mean that Yan Qianli feels that the time isn¡¯t right." Mr. Hua guessed.

    "You are right, but we must get Yan Qianli on our side. Chi Hou wants me to wee Yan Qianli outside the city, well before the Crown Prince can get to him. However, I never expected that the Crown Prince woulde up with such a great n. He will now have the first crack at Yan Qianli."

    "Your Highness, your analysis is correct. Even if you receive Yan Qianli, the Emperor will still give overall control of this to the Crown Prince. After all, Yan Qianli is the VIP here. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to get close to him at this banquet."

    "Mr. Hua is correct. That is why I have disturbed you two thiste at night. I hope that I can pick your brains."

    "We have already lost the initiative here. It is virtually impossible to go against the Crown Prince in the courts now. All we can do is back off."

    "Back off?! I have already backed off for the past year! I can¡¯t back off anymore! All six ministers are loyal to the Crown Prince! More than half of the courts are loyal to him! And then there¡¯s the army! They used to be loyal to me, but now at least 30% are loyal to him! How much more can I pull back?"

    "You have no other choice right now." Mr. Hua shook his head.

    "The fight for the throne is a matter of life or death. Once I stepped forward, there is no way I can pull out. Please... help me!"

    "Your Highness... why are you in such a hurry? We still have a chance to make aeback!" Mr. Hua added.

    "Please enlighten me!"

    "Old Wen, what do you think?" Mr. Hua sighed when he saw King Duan¡¯s expression and turned to Mr.Wen.

    "Take a step back and all will be clear." Was the reply.

    "What do you mean by take a step back?" Mr. Hua was surprised that Mr. Wen would agree with him.

    "Somethings be clearer when we take a step back."

    King Duan¡¯s eyes glittered when he heard this. He knew that there was more to this statement, so we waited patiently.

    "Please borate." Mr. Hua added.

    "The banquet is just a cover. The Crown Prince does have some intelligent advisors. However, if you think about it, the Left Prime Minister is smarter than that. Why would he do something that is so time consuming but will yield such little results?"

    "What do you mean?" King Duan queried.

    "It is very important to have Yan Qianli align himself with us. However, Yan Qianli is a smart man. He spent the past two decades guarding Western Liang in order to avoid being embroiled in this fight. He will not choose until thest moment! It is virtually impossible to get him on your side in one try."

    "What you¡¯re saying is I should do nothing?"

    "That¡¯s not what I meant."

    "That¡¯s not what you meant?"

    "Yes, if you really took a step back, you would see something else."

    "See something else?" King Duan was confused, but Old Wen didn¡¯t borate. He simply turned to look at Mr. Hua.

    Mr. Hua closed his eyes.

    He had to calm himself down.

    The study room was silent. The only sound came from the breezeing through the open windows. The mes flickered.

    King Duan¡¯s eyes glittered after a long pause.

    "You¡¯re talking about Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Yes, finally!" Old Wen stood up and bowed to King Duan.

    "It is my mistake. I never thought very highly of this man, so I tend to ignore his existence... aish, Old Wen, please enlighten me!" King Duan¡¯s expression had traces of embarrassment.

    "Mm, I can understand how you feel. However, getting Fang Zhengzhi on our side is more important than getting Yan Qianli right now." Old Wen advised.

    "Do I really have to beg him?"

    "Yes."

    "Is there any other way? Maybe..."

    "There is no other way. Fang Zhengzhi is a thorn in the Crown Prince¡¯s side! He is your key to reiming your position!"

    "So... what should I do? Fang Zhengzhi is a felon on the run! Even if the Emperor doesn¡¯t kill him, I can¡¯t possibly wee him!" King Duan added.

    "If my guess is correct, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to enter the city so easily this time!" Old Wen added.

    "What do you mean?"

    "The Crown Prince¡¯s banquet is just to lure Yan Qianli away!"

    "Lure Yan Qianli away? From Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side? But the Ten Mile Lake is only half a day away from the capital. It would be difficult for him to set an ambush. Furthermore, Chi Hou is by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side." King Duan was confused.

    "Mm, that¡¯s what I thought too. What do you think, Mr. Hua?" Old Wen nodded and turned to look at Mr. Hua.

    "Haha..." Mr. Hua opened his eyes slowly, smirked, then shook his head.

    ...

    The capital was bing more vibrant as the flowers bloomed.

    News of the banquet had spread through the empire and many of the elders of noble families set out from their homes.

    Countless carriages headed straight for the capital.

    Apart from this, the Imperial Examinations were beginning and the flyers were pasted all over the city.

    Countless candidates were on their way to participate in the examinations after celebrating their achievements back home.

    The road to the capital was bustling with activity.

    "Grandfather, I heard that King Yan is the VIP for this banquet. It is to be held at the Ten Mile Lake. Were you in that battle? Do you know how King Yan looks like? Have you met him before?" Some young voices rang out from inside the carriages.

    "Haha... it¡¯s been decades since Ist saw King Yan. I was just a low ranking officer at that time. I never got to meet him." An aged voice replied.

    "I heard that he is very arrogant and that even the Emperor respects him."

    "Mm, that is true. The Yan Family was the key factor in our victory there! 30,000 Yan Cloud Cavalry reached the capital in less than seven days! If they didn¡¯t manage to do that, the capital would have fallen! There would be no Great Xia without the Yan Family!"

    "From Western Liang to the Capital? Seven days?! That¡¯s... that¡¯s... ridiculously fast! Normally, that trip would take at least half a month! Even if they marched through the night, it would take between 15 and 20 days! Seven days... is that an exaggeration?" The youth was in disbelief.

    "Yes, no one expected that the Yan Cloud Cavalry could arrive in seven days. Neither the Emperor nor the Demons predicted that. However, it was a bloody battle. 30,000 of them held off 150,000 demons for three days and three nights. They were virtually annihted and the current King Yan was the only survivor in the family. However, the Demon¡¯s advance was halted and their morale took a hit. Less than 50,000 made it back."

    "Grandfather, how long do you n to stay in the capital for?"

    "Haha... if you can make it to the honor rolls for this examination, I will return only after you¡¯vepleted your examination."

    "Really? Rest assured, I will definitely pass the examination! I also want to do our family and you proud in the court examinations!

    "Good. You have matured! You will make us proud!"

    ...

    There was one particr convoy that caught the eyes of everyone. Countless officials came out to wee this convoy.

    The armor of the soldiers glittered under the sun.

    3000 Yan Cloud Cavalry and 2000 soldiers from the Red Pinion Squad. It was a grand sight, much grander than an army of tens of thousands.

    These were elites, the creme de creme.

    Countless candidates and citizens lined the roads for a glimpse of the legendary Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    However, they were all disappointed.

    For some reason, this squad of elites traveled extremely slowly.

    They would stop at every point along the way.

    Then, they would even rest for an entire day before lumbering towards the capital. It felt as though they were on a tour.

    The citizens didn¡¯t really understand what was happening at first, but they seemed to understand with time.

    All of them saw one person. Someone who rode in the middle of the squad. They would chuckle every time they saw him.

    "I bet he just wants to prolong his life."

    "Exactly, if I were him, I would be in no rush to get to the capital either."

    "He should have thought twice before doing what he did! He must have known that this would happen the moment he showed himself in Huai An County!"

    "Forget it, he was a key factor in our victory in the Southern Region. Aish... it¡¯s a pity that his lust and courage got the better of him. How dare he vite the Princess of the Southern Region?! Then he killed their Crown Prince and injured ours! The nerve of some people!"

    "Shhh, speak softer! Things may get ugly if they hear you!"

 Chapter 493: Pushing you into a trap

    Chapter 493: Pushing you into a trap

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Spring was a calming andfortable time.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t rushing to the examinations. He was in no hurry. In fact, there was nothing pressing that he had to attend to currently.

    Fang Zhengzhi hummed a little tune as he rode along.

    In his previous world, spring was enjoyed by everyone! The weather was one reason. People also enjoyed the flowers, greenery, and burst of life.

    "How long more to the capital?"

    "Young Master Fang, we are still about 100 miles out. If we push the pace, we can arrive tomorrow. If we..." One of the members of the Yan Cloud Cavalry replied.

    "Mm, then we will find a ce to rest for a few days up ahead."

    "Ã÷°×!"

    "I understand!"

    ...

    In a quiet valley at night, there was a huge army camp. The Red Pinion Squad and Yan Cloud Cavalry stood guard around the perimeter in their shining armor.

    In one of the tents, there was a light on the table.

    Fang Zhengzhi leaned back in his seat and looked at the figure who had entered the tent.

    "My Lord, what is it?"

    "Mm, I received news from the capital that the Emperor is holding a banquet at the Ten Mile Lake. Yan Qianli is the VIP and he has epted the invitation. King Duan asked us to be careful when entering the city. I was thinking if we should enter the city after the banquet is over. We could wait till Yan Qianli rejoins us." Chi Hou replied.

    "Which option are you leaning towards?"

    "I think that the timing on this is too much of a coincidence. If we want to y it safe, then we should wait until the banquet is over."

    "If you wanted to y it safe, then you wouldn¡¯t havee to find me." Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    Chi Hou was a bloodthirsty general...

    Safety and insurance...

    They were not his favorite options.

    "Ahem... what I meant was that... ording to the rules, the Red Pinion Squad and the Yan Cloud Cavalry can only set up camp outside the city." Chi Hou was slightly embarrassed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had read him like a book. He had no intention of waiting outside the city. In fact, his initial n had not ounted for Yan Qianli.

    Why should he back off now?

    "And so?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "I am afraid that if it¡¯s just me, you, and Yan Xiu, something bad will happen. After all, you are a criminal. Even though I am bringing you in under the pretext that I have arrested you, certain precautions must be taken."

    "So I should spend some time in a cell?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Ahem, I would not let that happen if we can avoid it. However, rest assured that King Duan and I will make the necessary arrangements. After I have met with the Emperor, I will have King Duan trial you. The Emperor would not reject that proposal." Chi Hou cleared his throat.

    "You came here just to tell me this?"

    "Mm, the current situation still favors the Crown Prince. I think that we should still y it safe. If we went ording to my n..." Chi Hou added sincerely.

    "I don¡¯t recall promising that I would follow the orders of yourself and King Duan." Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.

    "You did not agree to it. However, I need to ensure your safety as we enter the city. I am sure you won¡¯t make things difficult for me, right?"

    "My Lord, rest assured that I will not make things difficult for you." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He knew what Chi Hou was thinking.

    Chi Hou was basically leading him into a trap.

    He came here on the pretext that he was helping Fang Zhengzhi. If Fang Zhengzhi yed along, he would realize along the way that...

    He was past the point of no return!

    "So you¡¯re saying that... you agree?" Chi Hou¡¯s excitement was palpable.

    "No, but I will keep a lower profile." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Keep a low profile?"

    "Yes."

    "How low?"

    "Very very very low!"

    "Erm... okay then. I do not have to worry then."

    ...

    During the evening three dayster, a group of more than 10 men walked towards the capital. There were two rows of spectators by the side of the road.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is entering the city!"

    "He is doing so without bothering to disguise himself?!"

    "He must have been forced by the Divine Constabry! Else, why would he do such a thing? He is a wanted criminal!"

    "Forced by the Divine Constabry? Does he look like he is being forced? More importantly, I heard that he showed himself in Huai An County on his own ord..."

    "I have no idea what he¡¯s thinking. Is he courting death?"

    The citizens watched Fang Zhengzhi from the side of the road. None of them could believe their eyes.

    They had never seen a wanted criminal enter the capital in such fashion before.

    Chi Hou turned to look at the citizens calmly. He had a feeling that something was about to happen.

    Fang Zhengzhi entering the capital...

    This was bound to create a buzz.

    Chi Hou had prepared for this. However, he never expected that there would be two rows of people standing by waiting for them at the city gates.

    What was happening?

    Chi Hou knew that something was amiss. He had already tried to avoid the peak hours!

    However, there were clearly more people here than there were entering the city at dawn.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t want to say anything more. He remembered telling Fang Zhengzhi his concerns three days ago. Fang Zhengzhi agreed to keep a low profile.

    Yet today, he was wearing his trademark blue long-sleeved shirt!

    He didn¡¯t even bother to change his dressing!

    At the very least, he could have worn a coat. Even though everyone knew his identity, he could have at least tried to hide it.

    Chi Hou was speechless.

    However, neither Fang Zhengzhi nor Yan Xiu seemed bothered by it. Yan Xiu walked beside Fang Zhengzhi silently.

    They were approaching the city gates.

    Chi Hou turned to look at the ck cloaked figures behind them and shot a look at Li Jingfeng.

    Li Jingfeng understood it immediately. He reined in his horse and slowed down to blend into the cloaked figures.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu didn¡¯t seem to notice this. They continued to walk forward amidst the chatter around them.

    Then, they passed through the gates. The guard at the gate looked at them, then let them through!

    "Hahaha, my lord, you have arrived! The journey must have been punishing!"

    At that moment, a figure appeared in front of Chi Hou and Fang Zhengzhi. He wore ck official robes and smiled widely.

    There were more than a hundred guards standing behind him. Their armor was uniform and they had a huge word emzoned on their chest te.

    "Arrest!"

    They were from the Ministry of Law.

    They were the people in charge of arrests!

    The person standing at the front was Wan Chong, the Minister of Law.

    Chi Hou looked at Wan Chong, who was in his way. He squinted. He knew who Wan Chong was.

    He had expected Wan Chong to show up.

    However...

    He didn¡¯t expect Wan Chong to show up so quickly. He didn¡¯t think that Wan Chong would wait for him at the gates. He expected Wan Chong to wait for him at the ministry!

    "Official Wan, were you waiting here for me?" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glowed icily and he exuded a powerful aura.

    "Haha... why not?" Wan Chong shuddered. He was ufortable, but he maintained his smile.

    "It seems like the Ministry of Law is quite free huh?" Chi Hou said tly as he looked at the crowd.

    The citizens looked at each other when they heard this. When they looked back at Wan Chong, their gazes were conflicted.

    In all the years Wan Chong had spent in the courts...

    He had seen his fair share of backstabbing and plotting. However, the courts valued peace, at least on the surface. As such, most of the dirty work was done behind the scenes.

    People rarely confronted each other so openly.

    At that moment, Wan Chong¡¯s expression changed. However, he recovered quickly and waved to the guards behind him.

    "Arrest that man!"

    "Yes!"

    The guards replied in unison and blocked the gates. They surrounded Chi Hou and the group.

    "Official Wan, are you thinking of arresting me?" Chi Hou chuckled scornfully when he saw the guards surround him.

    "Haha, you must be joking! I am simply following thew and arresting the person responsible for the death of the Southern Region Crown Prince, the assault on our Crown Prince, and the one who vited the Princess of the Southern Region!" Wan Chong chuckled.

    "Oh, I see... so... you n on stealing all the credit from me?" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes had an icy glow.

    "My lord, you have misunderstood. I would never dare to steal your credit. However, you must know that this is already the capital."

    "So what?"

    "ording to thew, once a criminal has entered the city, he should be handed to the Ministry of Law. Fang Zhengzhi is my responsibility now."

    "Official Wan is correct. Once I have reported to the Emperor, I will act pursuant to his wishes." Chi Hou added.

    "My Lord, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case has already been closed. The evidence is overwhelming. There is no need to report to the Emperor!"

    "How can you close the case when we haven¡¯t even captured the suspect?"

    "Even if you don¡¯t believe me, you have to believe this document." Wan Chong retrieved the records for this case.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed.

    He could see that this was the case brought against Fang Zhengzhi. At the very end...

    There was the word ¡¯closed¡¯.

    This meant that Wan Chong was right. ording to thew, once a case was closed, it could only be reopened if new evidence was brought to light or new charges were pressed...

    Else, the sentence would be met out ordingly.

    As for new evidence...

    There was none at the moment. Even if they had those on hand, they would have to hand Fang Zhengzhi over before reporting to the Emperor.

    "What if I refuse? What will you do about that?" Chi Hou grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

    "My Lord, you entered the city because you were bringing in a convict. Now that he is in the city, I am sure you will not make things difficult for me. What do you all think? I am sure the Lord of the Northern Regions will abide by thew!"

    Wan Chong chuckled and asked the crowd.

    "Yes, how can the leader of the Divine Constabry not abide by thew?" A voice echoed out.

    Then, the crowd looked at each other. Heated discussions began to take ce within moments.

    "He should be punished for his crimes!"

    "Since hemitted the crime, he should ept his punishment from the Ministry of Law!"

    "Even though he yed a huge role in the victory, this cannot negate the fact that he killed the Southern Region Crown Prince, injured ours, and vited the Princess of the Southern Region!"

    The crowd grew rowdier by the moment.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed.

    He finally understood why there were so many people at the gates. They were all nted here on purpose.

    They were here to help Wan Chong¡¯s case.

    In other words...

    This was a set-up. This was a carefully nned trapped that would force him to hand over Fang Zhengzhi the moment he stepped foot in the city.

    But why did the Ministry of Law want to sentence Fang Zhengzhi so quickly?

    Were they trying to harm Fang Zhengzhi?

    However, if they arrested Fang Zhengzhi in front of so many witnesses and something were to happen to Fang Zhengzhi, they would be implicated as well.

    What was Wan Chong up to?

 Chapter 494: Treating everyone as idiots

    Chapter 494: Treating everyone as idiots

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t know what Wan Chong was nning, but he knew that he wasn¡¯t just nning to arrest Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Hand over the criminal, hand over the criminal..."

    "Let him be punished for his sins!"

    "He has to face the music!"

    The voices of the crowd reverberated through the air. Their chants grew louder by the minute, causing more and more people to stop and see what the ruckus was all about.

    Chi Hou squinted and looked at the smiling Wan Chong. He was analyzing his current situation.

    Should he hand Fang Zhengzhi over? Or should he stick to his guns and oppose the Ministry?

    As the leader of the Divine Constabry, this crime would not result in much of a punishment. However, if word got out that he broke thew despite knowing it...

    It would be disadvantageous to him.

    Chi Hou clenched his fists and nodded to Fang Zhengzhi when he thought about their mission.

    The meaning was clear, Fang Zhengzhi would have to serve some time.

    Chi Hou knew that he did not need much time to get to the pce and meet with the Emperor. He could regain control of the situation once the Emperor gave his approval for him to preside over this case. He could then go to the Ministry of Law and get Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was what Chi Hou thought...

    However, he was shocked to see that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem nervous at all. In fact, he seemed rather detached from the situation.

    Chi Hou nodded to Minister of Law Wan Chong.

    Wan Chong heaved a sigh of relief. As long as Chi Hou didn¡¯t stop him from arresting Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi would never manage to escape.

    "Arrest him!" Wan Chong bellowed.

    "Woosh woosh woosh!" The guards drew their swords immediately. The des glowed icily in the evening sun.

    Yan Xiu moved.

    However, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a face with a wide smile.

    Then, he ced his hands back on the reins.

    At the same time, four figures surrounded Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. These were four cloaked and veiled figures.

    All of the citizens shouted and ran to the side when they saw this.

    "Oh no, they are about to fight!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is a rebel! He does not intend to ept his punishment!"

    "But this is the capital! Where can he run to? Is he going to make enemies with the entire court?"

    The citizens screamed at the top of their lungs. Everyone retreated to the side in fear and horror.

    Wan Chong chuckled happily.

    Everything was going ording to n. Fang Zhengzhi resisting was even more beneficial to him.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had simply given up, then he would be stripped of his title if anything untoward happened to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi resisted...

    Then he may not lose his position! If Fang Zhengzhi resisted, there would be a battle. When there was a battle, ¡¯idents¡¯ could happen.

    Most importantly...

    They didn¡¯t need to kill him on the spot!

    Wan Chong had at least 100 people to pin this ¡¯ident¡¯ on. Even if he had to take some responsibility, it would be minimal.

    "Show no mercy to anyone who resists!" Wan Chong ordered.

    At that moment, four of the guards attacked. They brought their shiny des down on the four veiled and cloaked figures.

    Show no mercy indeed!

    However...

    They never hit their mark.

    The simply stopped in mid-air, almost as if they were being blocked by something.

    "No!" Chi Hou¡¯s voice rang out. He remembered telling Fang Zhengzhi that they had to keep a low profile.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had ignored it all!

    He went against the Minister of Law at the gates of the capital and resisted arrest! How much more attention did he want to attract?

    He wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi, but it was toote.

    By the time his voice rang out, the four swords had fallen to the ground, together with the hands that held them.

    Blood spattered everywhere.

    They sttered on the ground, staining the road at the gates of the capital.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression was ugly.

    He was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would cause trouble upon entering the capital. He was even more afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would resist arrest and injure the guards.

    The severity of the crime...

    Was extremely great!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region, vited their Princess, and injured our Crown Prince. Now, you resist arrest and harm our guards! We will definitely prosecute you!" Wan Chong chuckled icily when he saw the hands fall to the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi attacked!

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was an audacious person, but he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be this audacious! Things would go even better than he expected.

    "Are you talking to me?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the air. He seemed lost.

    "Nonsense, who else is named Fang Zhengzhi here?" Wan Chong was stunned but he replied icily.

    "I don¡¯t know." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He turned to look at the crowd, "Are any of you named Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "..."

    "Is this guy stupid?"

    "Doesn¡¯t he know his own name?"

    The citizens looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion. They didn¡¯t understand where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this.

    Wan Chong was equally confused.

    As for Chi Hou...

    He grit his teeth in anger. He was in no mood to hear what Fang Zhengzhi had to say. He regretted believing Fang Zhengzhi in the first ce. If he knew this would happen, he would have tied Fang Zhengzhi up.

    He wouldn¡¯t have let Fang Zhengzhi do what he was doing.

    He was prepared to tie Fang Zhengzhi up now and prevent esction.

    His gaze was icy and he prepared to strike. At that moment, a voice echoed out beside him.

    "Official Wan, I just asked the crowd for you. There is no one named Fang Zhengzhi. Oh, yes, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Fang Zhengzheng. May I know why Official Wan is blocking my way?"

    "Fang Zhengzheng?!" Wan Chong was stunned. He simply couldn¡¯t react to what he had just heard.

    The crowd was equally stunned.

    "Fang Zhengzheng?"

    "What did he just say? His name is Fang Zhengzheng?"

    "Yup, that¡¯s what I heard..."

    "Is this guy stupid? Has he forgotten his own name? Does he really think that... this would work?"

    All of the vigers were shocked to hear this. None of them knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    Chi Hou was equally stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi had shown himself in broad daylight at Huai An County. Why would he choose to lie in front of such a big crowd in the capital?

    Fang Zhengzheng?

    Who would believe him?!

    If he wanted to change his name, he should have changed his dressing and put on some makeup. Chi Hou could have arranged for someone to change his appearance.

    Most importantly...

    He should have changed his name to something more believable. By choosing the name Fang Zhengzheng, he was effectively treating everyone else as an idiot.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t understand it either, but he recovered quickly. He chuckled, leaning backward and on the verge of rolling on the floor.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, are you dumb? In five years as Minister or Law, I have nevere across a criminal like you. You actually went to change your name, Fang Zhengzheng, hahaha... I may have bought it if you dressed up like a girl or disguised yourself. But this... do you think I am stupid?"

    "Official Wan, why do you want this honest citizen to admit that he is stupid?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you can forget about convincing me. Even if you wore a mustache and dressed as ady, I will still be able to recognize you!" Wan Chong chuckled, his expression icy.

    "So Official Wan doesn¡¯t believe me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wan Chong.

    "Do you think I will believe you?" Wan Chong smirked.

    "Since that is the case, can you prove that I am Fang Zhengzhi?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and replied calmly.

    "You want evidence?" Wan Chong¡¯s smile froze. He had no evidence to prove that Fang Zhengzhi was actually Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact...

    No one would have prepared such evidence!

    This was supposed to be a given! Everyone knew that this man was Fang Zhengzhi! There was no evidence needed!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, we had your portrait drawn up! There are posters everywhere and all the citizens here can be my witness! What evidence do I need?" Wan Chong replied.

    "Portrait? Official Wan, as the Minister of Law, I am sure that you are smarter than that. How can you arrest someone based on a portrait? There are too many people who look alike in this world." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    Wan Chong¡¯s expression changed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was right. He couldn¡¯t arrest him based on a portrait. He actually had to prove that this man was Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would havee up with this.

    Changing his name?

    This was the most ridiculous thing that he had heard of?!

    Was he trying to game the system?

    Wan Chong chuckled icily. He had to admit that he had never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to find this gap in the system. No one would have expected that Fang Zhengzhi, who had announced himself in Huai An County...

    Would say that his name was Fang Zhengzheng...

    Upon entering the capital!

    If Fang Zhengzhi had disguised himself from the start, then Wan Chong would have prepared ordingly. However, Fang Zhengzhi had kept a high profile in Huai An County! Wan Chong didn¡¯t even think that he would change his name or disguise himself.

    Wan Chong was slightly flustered.

    However...

    He would not let Fang Zhengzhi just get away so easily. He was still the Minister of Law.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, even if I can¡¯t prove your identity now, I can still arrest you under suspicion!" Wan Chong chuckled.

    "Are you saying that you can¡¯t prove that I am Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "So what if I can¡¯t prove it? When you are sitting in jail, I will have my ways to prove that you are Fang Zhengzhi!" Wan Chong knew he was still in control.

    He didn¡¯t need any evidence to arrest a suspect.

    "But... what if I can prove that I am Fang Zhengzheng?" Fang Zhengzhi was calm as well.

    "You can prove that you are Fang Zhengzheng?" Wan Chong was stunned.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and took out a document. He opened it up.

    The words "Fang Zhengzheng" were clear for all to see.

    More importantly...

    There was a red stamp at the bottom. The words "Huai An County Stamp" were clear for all to see.

    "Birth certificate?!" Wan Chong was in disbelief.

    Never before had a suspected criminal have a valid birth certificate proving that he was someone else.

    Wan Chong couldn¡¯t believe it.

    In fact, everyone else, from Chi Hou to the citizens, couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Fake!

    This must be a fake! That was the thought in everyone¡¯s minds.

    "Official Wan, this is my evidence." Fang Zhengzhi presented the birth certificate confidently.

    The crowd was stunned when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions and expressions.

    How could someone be that shameless?

    He could try and act dumb, but how can he treat us all as idiots? This is clearly a forgery! Who would believe him?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you think that a fake document will convince me? Do you think that I am as stupid as you?" Wan Chong was not going to fall for it.

    "Aish... it seems that Official Wan is still unconvinced. No worries, I don¡¯t just have physical evidence, I have a witness too." Fang Zhengzhi sighed, unsurprised by Wan Chong¡¯s reaction.

    "Witness?!" Wan Chong was stunned.

    He couldn¡¯t think of someone who would be willing to testify to something this ridiculous.

    Who would be stupid enough to do such a thing?

 Chapter 495: Lying through ones teeth

    Chapter 495: Lying through one¡¯s teeth

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Wan Chong shook his head as he looked at the crowd around him.

    Fang Zhengzhi could have bribed someone to be his witness...

    Wan Chong dismissed that thought almost immediately. A witness couldn¡¯t just be anyone.

    A witness needed to be trustworthy.

    That was one of the conditions of a witness.

    For example, a suspect couldn¡¯t have his wife or children be his witness. They would not be deemed trustworthy enough to be witnesses.

    No one would ept that.

    Simrly, if you had a few vigers to testify for you, the impact they would make would be too little. For such a high profile case, the witness needed to be someone powerful.

    Vigers could be witnesses for petty crimes. However, when it came to murder and robbery, their testimony meant little.

    For a case like Fang Zhengzhi, even a rich businessman or a scion from a noble family would not be sufficient.

    Wan Chong looked around Fang Zhengzhi.

    The four masked and veiled figures?

    No!

    They followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s orders and would not satisfy the criteria to be witnesses. The only person left was Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu was from the Yan Family and was likely to be the heir to Yan Qianli. He may one day govern Western Liang.

    As such...

    He would qualify in terms of power and reputation.

    However, everyone in the capital knew that he was friends with Fang Zhengzhi. There was no way he could still be a witness.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I know the rtionship between you and Young Master Yan. You should know that friends and family don¡¯t qualify as witnesses!" Wan Chong chuckled, wanting to take the initiative.

    "I know." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Oh? Then why don¡¯t you tell me who your witness is going to be?" Wan Chon began to doubt himself.

    Not Yan Xiu?

    Who else could possibly testify for him?

    Wan Chong couldn¡¯t think of anybody who would be that stupid.

    Chi Hou was equally confused. He frowned. When Fang Zhengzhi mentioned a witness, the first person he thought of was Yan Xiu.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi already hinted that it wasn¡¯t Yan Xiu.

    Not Yan Xiu?

    Could it be Princess Ping Yang?

    Possible!

    However, Princess Ping Yang had also interacted with Fang Zhengzhi before... furthermore...

    Chi Hou looked at the crowd and into the distance. He frowned when he didn¡¯t see any sign of Ping Yang.

    Who could the witness be?

    Who could possibly help hold up Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lie? Who would be stupid enough to lie through his teeth?

    Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi doubtfully.

    Yan Xiu was also looking at Fang Zhengzhi with a simr expression. However, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t ask. He waited for Fang Zhengzhi to speak.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He smiled and turned to look at Chi Hou.

    Chi Hou was shocked. He didn¡¯t know why Fang Zhengzhi would look at him. Shouldn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi be looking at his witness?

    Just as he was thinking about it, Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand and pointed at him.

    "My witness is Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry!"

    "My witness..."

    "Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry!"

    "..."

    This voice echoed through the air...

    Everyone was stunned.

    No one expected that the leader of the Divine Constabry would be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s witness! Why would he testify to something this ridiculous?

    Fang Zhengzheng!

    How is that possible?

    Would the leader of the Divine Constabry really give false testimony?

    "He said... that Chi Hou is his witness?"

    "Yes, Chi Hou?! Is that even possible?"

    "How is that possible? The Divine Constabry was the one to bring him here. Why would Chi Hou give false testimony on this? Why would he say that this man is Fang Zhengzheng?"

    The crowd look at each other, then stared at Chi Hou. They didn¡¯t believe that Chi Hou would do such a thing.

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t understand it either. Chi Hou was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s witness? He was the one who was going to testify that this man was Fang Zhengzheng?

    Erm...

    What was happening?

    Wan Chong realized that Chi Hou¡¯s expression darkened. He could tell that Chi Hou wasn¡¯t expecting this either.

    Chi Hou was furious!

    He wanted to curse and swear.

    He really wanted to go through every curse word that he knew. However, after thinking about it...

    He realized that it wouldn¡¯t help.

    He was a nobleman, whilst Fang Zhengzhi came from a peasant family.

    To bepletely honest...

    Chi Hou couldn¡¯t possibly bring himself to swear in front of so many people. It would be detrimental to his image.

    He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was looking back at him innocently. He finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    If he still couldn¡¯t guess what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, he wasn¡¯t fit to be the leader of the Divine Constabry.

    This was a trap! A set-up!

    Three days ago, when he went to find Fang Zhengzhi in his tent, he emphasized the need toy low when entering the city. He even hinted that King Duan would help them along.

    What he wanted was for Fang Zhengzhi to follow his n to the letter. As long as Fang Zhengzhi did so, at the end of it, Fang Zhengzhi would pledge his allegiance to King Duan.

    It was a perfect n.

    Chi Hou went over this n many times and couldn¡¯t find any problems with it.

    If Fang Zhengzhi were to enter the city like he did in Huai An County, he would not be able to live if Chi Hou and King Duan didn¡¯t support him.

    But now...

    His n had beenpletely wrecked. It was destroyed the moment Fang Zhengzhi named him as his witness.

    Right now, Chi Hou had two choices.

    The first was to testify for Fang Zhengzhi. The second was not to testify and remain a third party.

    There was no good way out of this!

    Chi Hou grit his teeth. He was about to say "not in a million years!" but he swallowed the words before he could say them.

    He noticed the four cloaked and veiled figures standing around Fang Zhengzhi. He also noticed the guards and the blood.

    If he didn¡¯t testify...

    He could predict what was going to happen next.

    Chi Hou knew that if this was anyone else, he would have been able to ameliorate the situation.

    But when it came to Fang Zhengzhi...

    He had to take a step back and analyze his position.

    Fang Zhengzhi could definitely continue to resist arrest.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t care if Fang Zhengzhi wanted to continue to make a scene. However, since he was the one who brought Fang Zhengzhi here, he would suffer some of the bacsh.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had the Shadow Sect backing him.

    Not many people knew this, but Chi Hou was one of those who knew. If the Shadow Sect decided to save Fang Zhengzhi...

    What would happen?

    The capital would be in chaos!

    Of course, there was one other thing that they had to consider. If Fang Zhengzhi caused a scene here, it would be advantageous to the Crown Prince.

    If the ¡¯criminal¡¯ that he had brought in continued to stay here but couldn¡¯t do anything, then...

    Could King Duan¡¯s n still seed?

    Without Fang Zhengzhi, there would be no thorn in the Crown Prince¡¯s side. There was no way anyone could fight the Crown Prince head-on with the Crown Prince¡¯s current hold on power!

    "This is too much!"

    Having been in power for so many years, Chi Hou never expected that he would ever have his hands tied in this fashion!

    Fang Zhengzhi was bullying him into submission.

    Chi Hou had brought Fang Zhengzhi to the capital with the intention of leading Fang Zhengzhi into a trap. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Fang Zhengzhi hadid a trap of his own!

    He had no choice but to walk into it.

    "I... I can testify that... that this man¡¯s name is Fang Zhengzheng!" Chi Hou forced himself to say those words.

    However, after saying those words, he felt as though a huge load was lifted off his shoulders.

    "His name is Fang Zhengzheng!"

    "Fang Zhengzheng!"

    "..."

    Chi Hou¡¯s voice echoed through the air.

    The crowd was stunned to hear this. They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe that the leader of the Divine Constabry would testify that this man¡¯s name was Fang Zhengzheng.

    All of them began to doubt themselves.

    Could it be...

    Could this person really be Fang Zhengzheng and not Fang Zhengzhi? If not, why would the leader of the Divine Constabry lie through his teeth?

    Was this lie really worth it?

    He was the leader of the Divine Constabry, one of the 13 constabries! He was the leader of the Northern Region! How could he possibly lie through his teeth?

    Wan Chong¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    Chi Hou...

    Did Chi Hou just testify?

    No one knew better than him what the punishment for a false testimony was.

    However, Chi Hou had done it anyways. He had given this testimony in front of a crowd of witnesses.

    Who could possibly believe what was happening?

    Wan Chong rubbed his eyes as his lips parted and closed repeatedly. He was at a loss for words.

    Was he going to use Chi Hou of making a false testimony?

    How was that possible? Will Chi Hou, the leader of the Divine Constabry, give false testimony?

    Wan Chong was someone who knew thew. Thew required evidence, and he had no evidence to prove that Chi Hou¡¯s testimony was false.

    How could he say anything?

    "My Lord... do you know what you just said?" Wan Chong heard it clearly, but he was still in disbelief.

    Was Chi Hou really willing to lie through his teeth in an attempt to save Fang Zhengzhi?

    "Of course I do. Official Wan, are you doubting my words?" Chi Hou grit his teeth. He could feel his heart bleeding with each word.

    However, he had to remain calm.

    He had already said it.

    There was no way to back. He had to insist that this man was Fang Zhengzheng. He had no other choice.

    "My Lord, you are really willing to be this man¡¯s witness? Are you saying that he is Fang Zhengzheng and not Fang Zhengzhi?" Wan Chong stared at Chi Hou and asked again.

    "Exactly!" Chi Hou nodded.

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t say anything else. He knew that nothing would change even if he pressed further. Chi Hou was willing to give false testimony for Fang Zhengzhi?

    He never expected that to happen.

    However...

    He knew that he had to resolve it no matter what. The Crown Prince wanted Fang Zhengzhi arrested so he had to get it done.

    He couldn¡¯t back off now.

    It was either him or Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I can¡¯t believe it even if you testify on his behalf! If you don¡¯t mind, please step aside. I am arresting this man!" Wan Chong grit his teeth.

    "Wan Chong, what do you think you are doing? I am a rank one general! Even if you are the Minister of Law, who are you to doubt my testimony?" Chi Hou raged.

    "My lord, this is the capital, not the Northern Region!"

    "So what?"

    "Thew overrules any rank. I am the Minister of Law and have the right to arrest suspects. If you take issue with it, you can bring it up in court tomorrow!"

    "I have already testified that he is not the suspect you are looking for."

    "But I believe my own eyes. If I wrongly arrested this man, I will gouge my eyes out to pay for my mistake!" Wan Chong replied angrily.

    "Wan Chong, you..." Chi Hou was stunned. He never expected that Wan Chong was so determined to capture Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was even willing to bet his eyes on it and go against Chi Hou in public! This was not something Chi Hou had anticipated.

    "Arrest him!"

    "Don¡¯t you dare!"

    "You there, take my seal and go to the Law Ministry to get some reinforcements. Have the city guards assist us as well! I would like to see who dares to stand in my way!" Wan Chong¡¯s gaze was icy and a ck official seal appeared in his hand.

    The crowd was shocked to see this.

    They had never seen a Minister go up against a rank one general so openly!

    Both Chi Hou and Wan Chong were powerful people.

    One was a rank one general and the other was a rank two minister! Even in the powerful capital, these were two heavy hitting powerhouses!

    But now...

    One was willing to make a false testimony whilst the other was using his official seal just because of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everyone could anticipate what the talk of the town would be tomorrow.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression darkened. In fact, his expression had been the same ever since he stepped foot through those gates. As the leader of the Northern Five Constabries.

    No one had ever doubted his words before!

    The Minister of Law?

    How dare a rank two minister challenge him?!

    Chi Hou clenched his fists. If they weren¡¯t in the capital, if there weren¡¯t so many witnesses around, Wan Chong would not be standing now.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s hand twitched because he could guess what was about to happen.

    At that moment, he felt a hand press down on his shoulder. At the same time, an exasperated voice rang out.

    "Official Wan, why do you need to do that?! Do you really want to arrest me? My Lord, please step to the side. Come on, I will stand here. If you can personally ce the lock over my head, I will go with you. What do you say?"

 Chapter 496: A red spot

    Chapter 496: A red spot

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone quietened down.

    Chi Hou, Wan Chong, the surrounding citizens, and even Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, stunned by what they just heard.

    It was initially a stalemate.

    Furthermore, it was a stalemate between Wan Chong and Chi Hou. Fang Zhengzhi had effectively gotten himself out of the picture.

    Chi Hou would never let Wan Chong capture Fang Zhengzhi.

    This had nothing to do with thew. This concerned the Divine Constabry¡¯s pride and reputation, and by extension, that of the 13 Constabries.

    If he backed off now...

    He would be taken advantage of in the future. As such, Chi Hou could not back off.

    As for the consequences...

    With his contributions to the Great Xia, all he had to do was admit his mistake to the Emperor and apologize. He would not be subject to any severe punishment.

    Furthermore, he had a daughter, a talented daughter who was in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. His daughter was the one destined to fulfill the Heavenly Prophecy and lead the army of the Great Xia in the future.

    Chi Hou was not going to let a Minister of Law stand in his way! He was a powerful, influential figure in the Great Xia.

    Chi Hou was conflicted.

    Fang Zhengzhi had effectively cornered him and he had prepared to face the music for his decisions. However, the strangest thing happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    Did he decide to back off?

    And he even put the target on his back!

    Should Chi Hou be thankful?

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t think so. However, he didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do, neither did he know where Fang Zhengzhi was getting his confidence from.

    Stand still?

    Why would he try to be so arrogant? Doesn¡¯t he know that he is a crippled man? Furthermore, even if he wasn¡¯t a crippled man, he couldn¡¯t block Wan Chong by standing still.

    Wan Chong was not weak.

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t understand.

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t really understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying. Was Fang Zhengzhi surrendering? But would someone as shameless as Fang Zhengzhi actually surrender?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you serious?" Wan Chong was in disbelief.

    "Official Wan, you have a horrible memory. I already told you that my name is Fang Zhengzheng and Chi Hou has already testified to it!" Fang Zhengzhi waved him off.

    "I don¡¯t care if your name is Fang Zhengzhi or Fang Zhengzheng. I only have one question for you. Are you really not going to resist?" Wan Chong tried to figure out what Fang Zhengzhi was nning.

    "Like I said before, I will stand still over here. Naturally, I won¡¯t resist. The question now is if you have the courage toe over."

    "Courage? Humph. I am the Minister of Law, why would I be afraid of a criminal like yourself?" Wan Chong replied assertively.

    "Since that is the case, please go ahead!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked at the four cloaked and veiled figures.

    The four of them bowed to Fang Zhengzhi and formed up behind him.

    Wan Chong frowned and squinted so much that he could be blindfolded with a string. He wanted to figure out what Fang Zhengzhi was nning, but he couldn¡¯t.

    Could it be...

    Was this guy really surrendering to fate?

    Wan Chong found that very hard to believe that Fang Zhengzhi would surrender now, especially not after his antics before.

    The crowd couldn¡¯t believe their eyes either.

    What is Fang Zhengzhi doing?"

    "I have no idea."

    "Is he really surrendering? Why do I think that that is impossible?"

    "Yes, I think that it is impossible too! But that was what he just said."

    All of the citizens couldn¡¯t bring themselves to believe it, but the facts wereid out in front of them. The people in ck surrounding Fang Zhengzhi had withdrawn.

    Even Chi Hou stepped aside.

    There was a direct path between Wan Chong and Fang Zhengzhi. It was not wide, but it was wide enough for Wan Chong to pass unhindered.

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t move immediately.

    He still didn¡¯t understand what was happening. He felt like there were too many unknowns for him to take into ount.

    "Official, how about we go first?" One of the leaders whispered to Wan Chong.

    "No need, I would like to see what he has in store for us!" Wan Chong waved him away. Fang Zhengzhi had made it clear that he had to do the arrest personally. He couldn¡¯t back down now.

    "I understand. Here is the lock and chain." The leader handed Wan Chong the items.

    "Mm." Wan Chong nodded and took the chain and lock in his hands. The items glistened in the evening sun.

    These were the items used to arrest a suspect. There was a hook on the chain. Once the hook was attached, it was almost impossible to escape.

    Chi Hou looked at the chain in Wan Chong¡¯s hand and then back at Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to see what Fang Zhengzhi was up to.

    At that moment...

    Wan Chong moved.

    One step, then another, and another!

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to stand still, staring at Wan Chong calmly. It was almost as though Wan Chong was of no threat to him.

    Wan Chong tightened his grip around the chain. He didn¡¯t walk quickly because he didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would stay still.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t moving. He even stuck his neck out, almost as though he was waiting for Wan Chong to lock him up.

    "This is ridiculous. Do you really think that I will be scared of you?" Wan Chong grit his teeth. He quickened his pace and prepared to rush at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was closing in...

    He stopped when he was one meter out. Fang Zhengzhi was just an arm¡¯s length away. He smirked.

    Did Fang Zhengzhi really give up?

    At that moment, a voice rang out from within the crowd.

    "Master, master! You have a letter!"

    "Letter? What letter?" Wan Chong stopped in his tracks. He could tell from the voice that this was the manager of his residence.

    "I didn¡¯t dare to open it myself. The courier said that you had to open it personally." The manager was still catching his breath.

    "Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m working? What letter couldn¡¯t wait till I came back?" Wan Chong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "The courier said that it was a matter of life and death. I... I didn¡¯t dare to wait... so..." the manager paled.

    Wan Chong was stunned. Then, he instinctively looked at Fang Zhengzhi. For some reason, he had a feeling that Fang Zhengzhi had something to do with this letter.

    "Bring it over." Wan Chong nodded after a moment of hesitation. He took the letter in his hand.

    It was a simple letter and there wasn¡¯t any name on the cover except for his.

    He opened the envelope.

    There was a thin piece of paper inside. It was not a letter, it was a picture, a sketch.

    From an artistic standpoint.

    This was a horrible picture. The lines were not smooth. In fact, they were shaky and roughly sketched. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t a picture of scenery.

    The only way to describe this picture was "graffiti".

    However, this picture caused Wan Chong¡¯s expression to change. His hands began to tremble.

    There was one simple phrase on the picture.

    "Map of the Wan Residence!"

    This was specially inscribed so that Wan Chong would know what this was.

    Of course...

    That wasn¡¯t the most important point. There was a red spot marked out with sand at the top right corner.

    It was this mark that caused Wan Chong to pale. He felt a chill go right down his spine to his feet.

    He knew what this red spot represented. This was the biggest secret in his residence and his life.

    He had been in the Great Xia courts for many years.

    The fight for power was known to everyone.

    As the Minister of Law, Wan Chong had some unspeakable secrets. He had managed to get into this position after much scheming.

    Money and treasure were just a part of the deal. There was something worse, a string of letters.

    Wan Chong spent his entire life catching and interrogating criminals as well as collecting evidence. No one would expect him to make the mistake of keeping those letters.

    However, sometimes, things were unpredictable.

    Wan Chong was someone who had worked his way into the courts after a ster showing at the Dao Examinations. He wanted to prove his worth in the courts.

    However, few people knew that Wan Chong wanted to be an academic.

    He had topped the theory examination, not thebat examination. This caused him to relinquish his cultivation dreams.

    From the very beginning, his dream was to enter the Imperial Academy and be amongst intellectuals.

    However, his dreams never became a reality.

    Wan Chong was posted to the Ministry of Law.

    Ministry of Law!

    Over here, he had to face criminals on a daily basis. He had seen every prison in the Empire, and in the process, met with too many criminals.

    This was not the life he wanted.

    When faced with a choice between his dreams and reality, Wan Chong wisely chose reality.

    However, he never let go of his dreams.

    Wan Chong¡¯s thirst for knowledge was unparalleled. As such, he had a habit that he continued to keep despite knowing that it could backfire on him one day.

    He kept all the letters.

    These were the letters that caused Wan Chong to put aside his dreams and begin the grind in the Ministry of Law.

    He went from being the head of a prison to assistant minister, before he finally...

    He eventually became the Minister of Law!

    When Wan Chong saw the official seal of the Minister in front of him, he knew that his dreams would nevere true.

    At that moment, he looked at the stack of letters in his study. He yed with the me in his hand but extinguished it time and again.

    In the end...

    He decided to bury the stack of letters. He buried it in a ce that no one would know. It had been five years since that fateful day. Even he had almost forgotten about the existence of those letters.

    But now, the red spot was staring him right in the face.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Wan Chong¡¯s face turned red as he grit his teeth. There was no indication of who the author was, but it was not difficult to deduce that.

    He had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi knew where he had buried those letters, but now, he knew what Fang Zhengzhi was nning.

    "Official Wan, I am Fang Zhengzheng." Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he reminded Wan Chong.

    "Do you think that this will stop me? You are too naive and rash. Do you think that it is this easy to search a Minister¡¯s residence?" Wan Chong¡¯s voice was only loud enough for Fang Zhengzhi to hear.

    He was furious but he wasn¡¯t panicking.

    Because...

    He knew that there was still a way out. All he had to do was arrest Fang Zhengzhi right away and go back to burn those letters. He could still be in control.

    "Is that so? It is indeed difficult to search your residence, but it is not impossible." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "What do you mean?" Wan Chong clenched his fists.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer the question immediately. He simply looked into the distance and watched a servant dressed in ck run towards them.

    At that moment, a voice echoed through the air.

    "Master, master, something bad has happened! Something bad has happened!"

    "What is it this time?!" Wan Chong¡¯s body shuddered as he watched a panicking figure sprint towards him.

 Chapter 497: Slightly bigger

    Chapter 497: Slightly bigger

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "The residence, the residence..." The servant was struggling to catch his breath. He was pale from all that sprinting.

    "What happened?!" Wan Chong was stunned when he heard this. He had a bad feeling about this.

    Even though he knew that it was unlikely, he felt that it may be rather major.

    That being said, he couldn¡¯t think of anything bad that could happen to his residence.

    This was the capital...

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed to one of shock.

    "Oh? Why is there smoke billowing out from over there... wow, is it a fire?" Fang Zhengzhi eximed in shock.

    The crowd turned to look in that direction.

    "There is smoke!"

    "Why is there that much smoke on such a clear day? Is it a fire?"

    "Oh god, look at the mes, look at the glow!"

    The crowd was initially in disbelief, but they began screaming when the saw the fiery glow from the inferno.

    At that moment, the servant caught his breath and reported.

    "Master, the residence... the residence... is on fire!"

    "What?! My residence is on fire?" Wan Chong was stunned. Then, his expression changed.

    He had a premonition that something bad was about to happen when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and heard the words he said.

    But...

    The feeling was different when he witnessed it himself.

    "Yes... master, I think you should get back. The residence has been surrounded by the Royal Guards. If you don¡¯t return now..." the servant added.

    "Royal Guards?! What are Royal Guards doing at my residence?" Wan Chong shuddered.

    "When the fire broke out, the deputy of the Royal Guards, Bai Qi, was walking past. So he had the Royal Guards help put out the fire, then..."

    "You¡¯re saying that Bai Qi had the Royal Guardse to help extinguish the fire? How many people did he get?"

    "About 500."

    "500?!" Wan Chong felt his legs turn to jelly as he sat on the ground. He finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi said that searching his residence was not impossible.

    It waspletely usible that there would be incidents of fire at the residence.

    However, none of them would be on this scale! Furthermore, it was spring, not summer, why would there be such a huge fire?

    Most importantly, that was the Minister of Law¡¯s residence.

    He had countless servants and helpers.

    They should have been able to contain the fire.

    It was clear that this was nned.

    The residence couldn¡¯t have possibly gone up in mes for no reason. Someone had set fire to it. As to why Bai Qi was passing by...

    That was yet another nt.

    Wan Chong trembled as he held the sketch of the map of his residence in his hands. He had no idea why Bai Qi would listen to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he was certain that Bai Qi and the 500 members of the Royal Guard had not been waiting long.

    The surrounding citizens looked at Wan Chong with pity.

    "Minister Wan, you need not worry too much! Since the Royal Guards are there, they will definitely be able to put out the fire!"

    "Yes, the 500 Royal Guards will extinguish the fire!"

    "You can still rebuild the residence after this! Your safety is of utmost importance."

    All of the vigersforted.

    "Rebuild it?" Wan Chong chuckled when he looked at the expressions of the surrounding citizens.

    He remembered how glorious it was to top the theory examinations. He also remembered the work he had to put in to get to where he was today. Heughed bitterly and manically.

    No one could understand his pain.

    If the residence had been burnt down, his life would be burnt down with it.

    He could imagine how everyone would be looking at him in a few days time.

    By that time...

    Will hey still he telling him that he can rebuild his residence?

    He looked into the distance.

    He could see a squad of golden armored soldiers running in his direction. Each of them held a gleaming spear in their hand.

    "Bai Qi, you move fast indeed!" Wan Chong dropped the chains he held in his hand when he saw the figure leading the charge.

    It was over.

    Wan Chong knew that he had lost.

    Whilst he was still the Minister of Law now, he knew that his title and position would be stripped the moment he ced the chains on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    Bai Qi was here.

    "Minister of Law Wan Chong, you are suspected of corruption, covering up, and collusion. You are under investigation right now. Pleasee with us."

    "Deputy Bai, you should be guarding the pce. Since when have you be a runner for the investigation bureau?" Wan Chong stood up.

    "I was passing by." Bai Qi replied calmly.

    "Haha... how nice of you." Wan Chong chuckled icily.

    "You tter me!"

    "I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t had time to bring the documents to the bureau?"

    "That¡¯s just a matter of time, please don¡¯t worry about it."

    "Since that is the case, I am still not a criminal yet. Could you please let me return to my residence to take care of a few things?" Wan Chong nodded.

    "No." Bai Qi rejected him unequivocally.

    "Bai Qi, I am the Minister of one of the Six Ministries. I am a rank two official! I haven¡¯t been convicted yet! Are you going to drag me with you by force?" Wan Chong¡¯s expression changed.

    "Please feel free to try me."

    "Bai Qi! Good... very good! I know the way there. I will go there by myself!"

    "Lock the Minister up!" Bai Qi ignored Wan Chong¡¯s words, looking at the chains at Wan Chong¡¯s feet.

    "Bai Qi, how dare you chain me?!"

    "Yes, Minister, is there something wrong?"

    "I will fight it out with you!"

    "Take him!"

    ...

    Everything happened much too quickly. The crowd and the wardens couldn¡¯t even react in time. Within moments, Wan Chong had been chained up.

    They simply couldn¡¯t understand why the Minister of Law would be a criminal in the blink of an eye. Why would he be arrested by the Royal Guard?

    Wasn¡¯t his residence in mes?

    What was happening?

    The wardens wanted to step forward and save Wan Chong. However, they stopped in their tracks when they saw Bai Qi¡¯s icy re.

    It wasn¡¯t that they were afraid of death. However, they knew that they were too insignificant to meddle in these affairs.

    "The Minister has been taken away?!"

    "Then... what about Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Deputy Bai, there is a wanted criminal here, are you not going to arrest him as well?"

    The crowd looked at the golden armored Royal Guard. Then, they recalled that Bai Qi was simply ¡¯passing by and ready to help¡¯ back at Wan Chong¡¯s residence. Perhaps he could do the same here.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi?" Bai Qi looked around in confusion.

    "Isn¡¯t he here?" The crowd pointed to Fang Zhengzhi, who was sittingzily on his horse.

    "Rubbish! This young man¡¯s name is Fang Zhengzheng! He even has a birth certificate to prove it and Chu Hou even testified on his behalf! Do you think I am stupid?" Bai Qi snorted.

    Then, he dragged Wan Chong away, leaving the crowd stunned by what just happened.

    "How did Deputy Bai know that he¡¯s called Fan Zhengzheng?"

    "Yes, he wasn¡¯t here just now..."

    "He wasn¡¯t here... when... when Chi Hou testified, was he? How did he know about that?!"

    The crowd was confused but they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Bai Qi had left and they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Bai Qi with scorn.

    Acting skills were very important in life.

    But this guy¡¯s acting skills were terrible! How did he be the deputy of the Royal Guards?! His skills were ridiculously bad!

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. He didn¡¯t know what the contents of the letter were. However, he had some ideas in his head.

    Wan Chong was arrested?

    By the Royal Guard?

    Wan Chong didn¡¯t im innocence?

    That was enough to prove many things. That being said, he was not privy to these things, which meant that...

    King Duan didn¡¯t know them either.

    This was not arranged by King Duan or himself.

    "I see... I have underestimated the Shadow Sect. I never knew that the Shadow Sect had ties in the capital!" Chi Hou¡¯s eyes glittered when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "My lord, that¡¯s a good joke. Bai Qi has nothing to do with the Shadow Sect." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "No link? Okay, let me ask you this. Since you already had a n to deal with Wan Chong, why did you need me to testify on your behalf!" Chi Hou chuckled. He didn¡¯t believe a word, but he decided not to press further.

    "You tried to drag me down with you three days ago. After some thought, I realized that I should drag you down with me instead." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Weren¡¯t you afraid that I wouldn¡¯t want to enter this water?"

    "The fact was that you jumped in."

    "Yes, I did, but I can kill you and get out of this!"

    "Haha... if you really wanted to kill me, you would have done so in the Northern Mountain Vige. Why wait till now? Furthermore, I don¡¯t believe that you will kill me, and I know that you can¡¯t."

    "I can¡¯t kill you?!" Chi Hou was stunned. He instinctively looked at the veiled and cloaked figures standing behind Fang Zhengzhi. "Do you really think that they are capable of stopping me?"

    "Haha..." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled but didn¡¯t say anything else. He turned to look at a stopped carriage.

    There weren¡¯t many people in the capital with carriages like this one. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had seen this one before.

    This carriage was adorned with carvings of mes.

    Both Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu saw this carriage.

    "I see." Yan Xiu nodded when he saw this carriage. He understood what had just happened.

    The crowd was stunned. Then, they parted to the side.

    The once crowded streets opened a path right down the middle as citizens tried to move to the side.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move.

    He sat quietly on his horse and waited for the carriage to approach.

    Then, the carriage stopped.

    A golden armored soldier who was standing by the side of the carriage jumped and knocked on the door.

    "We¡¯re here?" A crisp voice could be heard from inside the carriage.

    "Yes!" The soldier promptly replied.

    "Ka!" The door opened and a fiery red figure stepped out.

    She wore a fiery red dress which was soft and smooth to the touch. She had an hourss figure.

    Her fiery red dress was adorned with patterns of mes, almost as though her dress was on fire.

    Then, the dress began to straighten.

    Her clear eyes, soft lips, and that arrogance she had were in clear view.

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    She looked extremely different from how she did a year ago. She had grown up gracefully.

    "What do you think? Have I matured over the past year?" The crisp voice rang out. Thedy twirled and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with anticipation.

    "Matured?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at thedy¡¯s face, neck, and body. Then, he looked back at her, "mm, you¡¯ve grown bigger!"

 Chapter 498: Influence the Emperor

    Chapter 498: Influence the Emperor

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "A little bigger?" Thedy didn¡¯t manage to react to that. Then, she followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze and bellowed furiously, "You shameless fe, I will kill you!"

    "Mm, that¡¯s more like it. Why bother acting all matured?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded when he looked at her.

    This was Princess Ping Yang.

    Only Ping Yang could shock and silence a crowd like this. After all, her reputation as the number one bully was earned.

    "Greetings your highness, I am Chi Hong!" Chi Hou walked forward and bowed to Ping Yang.

    "Lord, please do away with the formalities." Ping Yang tried to act in a ¡¯mature¡¯ manner once again.

    "Greetings Princess!" The crowd fell to their knees.

    "Please rise." Ping Yang waved to the crowd then bounded towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. "How was that for a door gift? Shouldn¡¯t you be thanking me?"

    "Aren¡¯t you here to thank me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked in confusion.

    "Me? Thank you? How is that possible? I was the one who set fire to the residence! I was the one who told Bai Qi to go there. Would you be standing here if not for me?"

    "Would you have the chance to set fire to his residence if not for me?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Think about it. That is the residence of the Minister of Law. You couldn¡¯t possibly set it on fire by yourself even though you are a Princess. Furthermore, you will be given much credit in the part you yed for convicting Wan Chong. Shouldn¡¯t you be thanking me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "If you put it that way... I guess so!" Ping Yang nodded after some hesitation. Then, her eyes glittered. "That being said, you should still give me something as a meeting gift!"

    "How about I make you a hot pot meal?" Fang Zhengzhi said in exasperation.

    "Deal!" Ping Yang nodded immediately. She could feel the saliva building in her mouth as she thought about the hot pot.

    Chi Hou¡¯s expression was rather conflicted.

    Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi were probably the only two people in the world who would publicly admit to the role they yed in the arson.

    However...

    This would mean that Bai Qi had no rtion to the Shadow Sect. Was he thinking too much? Or was there something that he missed out.

    Would Fang Zhengzhi really have put all his eggs in the Ping Yang basket?

    If he was asked this question 15 minutes ago, he may have believed that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t capable of this much scheming. However, after seeing what just happened, he had to consider something else.

    What was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motive for returning to the capital?

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t notice the changes in Chi Hou¡¯s expression. After she secured her gift from Fang Zhengzhi, she turned to Yan Xiu.

    "Yan Xiu, did you bring anything for me this time?"

    "I did." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "What is it?"

    "Stallion."

    "Stallion? Is it the stallion of your Yan Cloud Cavalry?"

    "It¡¯s a Powerful Gale Red Cloud Stallion."

    "Powerful Gale Red Cloud Stallion?! Is that the legendary and rare Powerful Gale Red Cloud Stallion?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up.

    "Exactly."

    "Male or female?"

    "Male."

    "Hahaha, that¡¯s great! My Snow White will have a partner! Yan Xiu, you are way more generous than this stingy fe. To think that he only offered me a hot pot!" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi with scorn.

    "Isn¡¯t your Snow White already partnered with the Ninth Prince¡¯s Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "That can be changed!"

    "Mm..."

    ...

    News of Wan Chong¡¯s arrest spread like wildfire in the capital. Everyone in the city was discussing that incident.

    Of course, the other talk of the town was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s return to the capital and the manner in which he returned.

    "Fang Zhengzheng?"

    Before long, everyone was talking about the new name that Fang Zhengzhi had given himself.

    Inside the Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    More than a dozen officials sat down in two rows. This time, they were visibly more anxious.

    Minister Wan Chong¡¯s arrest had stunned them all.

    More importantly, the evidence that would convict Wan Chong was a mountainous pile of letters. They were all wondering the same thing...

    In those letters...

    Was there any mention of them?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping tapped his finger on the armrest. The atmosphere in the room was solemn.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong sat in his chair solemnly as he nced at the anxious officials.

    "What are you all so scared about? Do you really think that Fang Zhengzhi can tear through the entire court?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "Your Highness, we..." The officials looked at each other in fear. The road to this point had not been easy.

    Pledging allegiance to the Crown Prince...

    That was a decision they made to secure their positions and their lives. By doing so, they wanted to secure the future for their descendants as well. However, the incident with Wan Chong worried them.

    Everything from the fire to the arrest had happened much too quickly. They couldn¡¯t even react in time.

    One of the six ministers had been disposed of in the blink of an eye. However, the Crown Prince had not reacted to it.

    "Where is Fang Zhengzhi now?"

    "Your Highness, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu are at Ping Yang¡¯s residence. I heard that he is making her a hot pot." One of the officials replied.

    "Hotpot?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong frowned.

    "Have Wan Chong¡¯s letters been made public?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping queried.

    "Not yet, but Bai Qi has already handed them over to the Federal Supervisory Commission. Prime Minister, as you know, there were too many witnesses, so it is difficult..." One of the officials in the robes of the Federal Supervisory Commission stepped forward.

    "Mm, I know. Even though the case is with the Federal Supervisory Commission, we can still continue our ns using the Ministry of Law."

    "What do you mean?"

    "All we need to do is find a recement for Wan Chong. Then, this case will be isted to Wan Chong and no one here would be implicated." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping added.

    "Yes, yes. As long as we still control the Ministry of Law, we can still continue as nned."

    "Yes! Since Wan Chong is the Minister of Law, his case cannot be handed back to the Ministry. However, our dealings with Wan Chong..."

    "Prime Minister, do you have anyone in mind to take over that position?"

    The eyes of the anxious officials brightened up when they heard this. They saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

    "There¡¯s no need to worry about the position. With me and the Crown Prince, that would not be a problem." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping asserted.

    "That¡¯s right! With the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister, there¡¯s nothing to worry about!"

    "Yes yes yes! We are all much more assured now that the Crown Prince is in control."

    "This is great!"

    The officials felt much more assured.

    "Okay, it¡¯s gettingte, go back and get some rest." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping waved the other officials off.

    "Okay, we will take our leave!"

    "Your Highness, we will be taking our leave now!"

    The officials stood up and bowed to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. Then, they left.

    The study was quiet once again.

    "Smack!" A crisp sound broke the silence.

    "Damn, Ping Yang!"

    "Your Highness, Princess Ping Yang must have been put up to it by Fang Zhengzhi. She may be mischievous, but she is no arsonist."

    "Prime Minister, what do you think we should do?"

    "The first order of business is to assure the officials on our side. I may have made a mistake here. I wanted to exchange a Minister of Law for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life. But now, we have lost a Minister of Law. Thisplicates matters." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied.

    "What¡¯s soplicated about a Minister of Law?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said dismissively.

    "Ordinarily, this would be a small issue. However, you must not forget that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case is with the Ministry of Law!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping reminded.

    "What do you mean?"

    "If Fang Zhengzhi was dead, then it wouldn¡¯t matter if the case was with the Ministry. However, if he¡¯s alive and the position goes to a King Duan sympathizer, then..."

    "You¡¯re saying that he will use the Ministry of Law to dismiss the case?"

    "Mm."

    "How dare he?!"

    "The fight for the throne will always be bloody. Since King Duan wants to contest it, he will ignore the fact that the both of you are brothers. Your Highness, think about it. If you were King Duan, wouldn¡¯t you do the same thing?"

    "I understand. That being said, I can¡¯t watch idly by as Fang Zhengzhi walks around telling everyone he¡¯s Fang Zhengzheng!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was frustrated.

    "There¡¯s no need to watch idly by. However, we must wait for the right opportunity." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping shook his head.

    "What opportunity?"

    "The banquet is soon. The Emperor would be at the Ten Mile Lake. If we execute it cleanly, there would be no trouble."

    "Are you suggesting that we assassinate him at Ping Yang¡¯s residence?"

    "No, Ping Yang¡¯s residence is highly guarded. It may be even more heavily guarded than the pce."

    "So what should we do?"

    "Your Highness, rest assured. Fang Zhengzhi will not be staying in Ping Yang¡¯s residence for very long. I have my ways to lure him out." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes glowed icily.

    ...

    Inside King Duan¡¯s study...

    Chi Hou put his teacup down and smiled as he looked at Mr. Hua and Old Wen.

    "I never expected that you would be able to take out Wan Chong the moment you entered the city! I am in awe!" Mr. Hua smiled when he saw Chi Hou put down the teacup.

    "That had nothing to do with me." Chi Hou waved him off.

    "I never expected that the Crown Prince would have Wan Chong ambush you at the gates! What was even more unexpected was that Fang Zhengzhi managed to get rid of Wan Chong!" Old Wen¡¯s voice echoed through the room.

    "You were beside Fang Zhengzhi when it happened. Do you know what Wan Chong is being used of?" King Duan stood up and walked over to Chi Hou to help him refill his tea.

    Chi Hou stood up to reject but ended up having to ept the refill. Then he squinted, almost as if he was thinking about something. Then, he returned to his original calm look.

    "Your Highness, you¡¯re thinking of getting rid of all of those aligned with the Crown Prince, but the time is not right."

    "What do you mean?" King Duan asked respectfully.

    "In order to get our hands on the evidence, we need to have someone on our side as the Minister of Law. That is the only way we can drive this case." Chi Hou replied.

    "You are right. If we don¡¯t have someone on our side as the Minister of Law, we can¡¯t do anything about the others loyal to the Crown Prince." King Duan nodded.

    "Your Highness, do you have confidence that you can secure that position?"

    "Erm..." King Duan hesitated, then shook his head. "Right now, more than 80% of the officials are loyal to the Crown Prince. For us to secure the Minister of Law position..."

    "Your Highness, have you thought about securing it during a court session?"

    "Please advise!"

    "I think that it is time that you get up and move around." Chi Hou replied cryptically.

    "Where do you want me to walk to?"

    "There are no more than three people in the capital who can influence the Emperor. Your Highness, you can consider that." Chi Hou replied.

    "You¡¯re talking about someone who can influence the Emperor?" King Duan squinted, then his eyes brightened.

 Chapter 499: Just that wilful

    Chapter 499: Just that wilful

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Having been fighting with the Crown Prince for this long, King Duan had a good grasp on the affairs of the court. He knew what Chi Hou was saying.

    The Crown Prince had the upper hand in the courts.

    It was impossible to snatch the position of the Minister of Law from the Crown Prince in court. The only way was for the Emperor to appoint one himself.

    In order to influence the Emperor, Chi Hou wasn¡¯t suggesting that they nted names in his mind. He was suggesting that they choose someone the Emperor trusted.

    In that case...

    There were no more than three people in the capital who the Emperor trusted. To be exact, there were two and a half.

    The first one was Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry. As the leader of the 13 Constabries and the pir of the empire, the Emperor¡¯s trust in Xing Yuanguo was unequivocal.

    However, Xing Yuanguo had never meddled in these affairs. The main reason was because Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t need to.

    Regardless of who was on that throne, they would value the Stabilization Constabry equally. Furthermore, Xing Yuanguo was someone loyal only to the throne.

    However, that also meant that it was near impossible to get Xing Yuanguo¡¯s support for their bid for the throne.

    As for the remaining one and a half...

    The half was impossible to get as well. That half was Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. As the leader of the officials, he knew what the Emperor was thinking and the Emperor trusted his advise.

    However, due to Yu Yiping¡¯s experience in the courts and politics, the Emperor only trusted half of what he said.

    As for thest one...

    "Do you think that I will be in time if I move now?" King Duan asked as he thought about it.

    Having fought with the Crown Prince for so many years, King Duan knew his elder brother well. His brother would probably rmend someone for the position the next morning. His rmendation would also be supported by the majority of officials.

    "I don¡¯t know, but some movement is better than no movement." Chi Hou shook his head and sipped his tea.

    "I understand. I will make the necessary arrangements." King Duan looked at Mr. Hua and Old Wen. He made his decision quickly when he saw them nod.

    "Wise choice." Chi Hou continued to sip his tea, almost as though he didn¡¯t notice King Duan¡¯s actions.

    ...

    Early the next morning...

    The Crown Prince wore his official robes and arrived at the courts early. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the other officials had arrived early as well.

    They were having their own little discussions.

    King Duan and Chi Hou arrived one after the other. They saw this and understood what was happening immediately. However, their expressions didn¡¯t change.

    The officials immediately stopped their discussions and walked over to greet Chi Hou. Then, they extended various invites to him.

    Some invited him for a meal, others for a hunt, or a race, or tea...

    Time flew by...

    The court session was about tomence. Just as they stopped their discussions and waited for the session to start, Eunuch Wei entered the room.

    "The Emperor is not feeling well. The session has been canceled!" Eunuch Wei announced to the dismay of the officials.

    "Eunuch Wei, the Emperor was fine yesterday. What happened?" One of the officials stepped forward and whispered when he saw the cue from Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    Eunuch Wei nced at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and hesitated. "People can fall sick at any time. Isn¡¯t that right, Official Li?" was the reply.

    "Yes yes yes, Eunuch Wei is correct. However, we have something important to discuss with the Emperor. What is his condition like?"

    "The doctor estimates that he would be out for two to three days at least, five to six at most."

    "Oh, that¡¯s good to hear. Could we know where the Emperor is resting? If it is convenient, could you please help us pass..."

    "The Emperor is in the residence of Imperial Concubine Huafei. If you want to pass him anything, you can kneel and wait for him at the entrance." Eunuch Wei waved Official Li off.

    "Ahem, since the Emperor is there, we will not bother him. We will wait till he has made a full recovery."

    "The Emperor is still waiting for me to take care of him. I will take my leave now!"

    "Take care!"

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping frowned as he watched Eunuch Wei leave. He began to think to himself, "Huafei..."

    ...

    Since the session had been canceled, the appointment of a new Minister of Law would have to wait. Even Wan Chong¡¯s case was dyed as a result.

    Wan Chong was a Minister of Law. Despite the overwhelming evidence, he could not be sentenced without the Emperor¡¯s approval.

    The city seemed strangely calm but everyone knew that there were plenty of undercurrents beneath the surface.

    The officials connected to Wan Chong¡¯s case grew increasingly anxious with each passing day. They were in danger until a Minister of Law was appointed from their camp.

    Countless carriages passed through the streets of the capital. Every now and then, there would be minor idents and spats.

    "Move away! How dare you block the carriage of the Li Family! You must be tired of living!"

    "Li Family? Who are they? Why don¡¯t you open your eyes and see who is in this carriage? If you don¡¯t move aside, I will rip the wheels off your carriage!"

    "Oh wow, that¡¯s some big talk. Why don¡¯t youe and try me?!"

    "Okay, I will let you understand how powerful the Zhang Family is! What are you all waiting for? Rip the wheels off his carriage!"

    "You¡¯re arrogant for a small family! Charge!"

    "..."

    Countless carriages barged their way through the streets. However, there was one gate with a wide road but no one stopped in front of it for extended periods of time. No one fought at the gate either.

    There were three words engraved on a gold sign at the gate.

    Ping Yang Residence!

    The residence was just adjacent to the pce and was situated in the middle of the city. However, most officials were more than happy to take a detour around it.

    At that very moment, a medium sized carriage arrived from afar and stopped in front of this residence.

    Then, a youth hopped off the carriage, looked around, then smiled.

    "Hi brother, could you please announce my arrival? I am here to see Official Fang!" The youth walked over to the gate and asked one of the guards there.

    Then, the youth produced a few fingernail-sized silver ingots.

    "Official Fang, which Official Fang?" The golden armored guard ignored the silver in the youth¡¯s hands.

    "Of course it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi, Official Fang!" The youth replied.

    "I understand." The golden armored guard nodded and shot a look at another guard inside the residence. Then, there was a dull thud.

    Almost like an open dam, more than 20 armored soldiers came rushing out. The soldiers in golden armor pressed this youth to the ground without hesitation.

    This youth was stunned.

    However, when the punches started raining down, he reacted instantly, his eyes glowing brightly.

    "I was wrong, I am here to see Fang Zhengzheng! I am Wen Dabao!"

    "Oh, you are here to see Young Master Fang? You should have said so earlier!" The soldiers stopped when they heard this.

    Wen Dabao was extremely bitter but there was nothing he could do about it. He wiped away his tears and stood up.

    "Can you please announce my arrival?"

    "Of course. Please wait a moment, Young Master Wen." The soldier nodded and picked up the silvers on the ground, cing them in his pocket.

    "..." Wen Dabao¡¯s expression became increasingly bitter.

    The only constion he had was that the soldier didn¡¯t stand around after picking up his silvers. He immediately rushed into the residence to announce Wen Dabao¡¯s arrival.

    ...

    In a beautiful garden inside Ping Yang¡¯s Residence...

    Fang Zhengzhi, dressed in his trademark blue long-sleeved shirt,id down on a chair covered with ayer of luxury leather. He squinted as he looked into the sky.

    Ping Yang was sitting next to Fang Zhengzhi. She wore a red dress and supported her head with both hands, watching Fang Zhengzhi silently.

    As for Yan Xiu, he was seated behind a table nearby. He had a pen in his hand as he continued to scribble away on the paper in front of him.

    It was a very peaceful and calming time.

    At that moment, a golden-armored soldier appeared at the entrance to the garden. When the soldier saw this, he stopped outside.

    "Your Highness, Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, Wen Dabao is here."

    "..."

    Silence.

    Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi, and Yan Xiu remained silent, almost as if they didn¡¯t hear what the soldier said.

    They continued doing exactly what they were doing moments ago.

    The soldier waited patiently for 15 minutes...

    However, he was still ignored.

    "Ahem, your highness, Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, Wen Dabao is here." The soldier reminded, his voice slightly louder this time.

    "..."

    Silence.

    The soldier looked at the three figures in the garden. He realized that they were still doing the same things they were moments ago. There was absolutely no change...

    The soldier began to show traces of confusion.

    But it was nothing more than confusion.

    He didn¡¯t speak again.

    The soldier simply waited at the entrance like a statue.

    After 15 minutes, another guard in golden armor appeared at the gates. He said the same thing as the guard before him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu seemed to be in a world of their own. They ignored the soldier in the golden armor, almost as if they didn¡¯t hear what he said.

    The second guard also stood at the gate like a statue.

    Time flew by.

    An hour passed, then two...

    The number of ¡¯statues¡¯ at the gate grew in number. There were guards in golden armor, then servants and ves. Finally, even Ping Yang Residence¡¯s manager became a ¡¯statue¡¯.

    The sun was almost at its peak and it was getting hotter.

    Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi, and Yan Xiu didn¡¯t move. As such, none of them dared to move. They continued to wait at the gates.

    Finally, Ping Yang turned around and looked at one of the servants at the gate.

    She didn¡¯t speak, but she blinked. Then, she looked up at the hot sun.

    The servant saw the look and understood it immediately. Before long, she returned with a hot cup of tea.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes brightened when she saw this. She snatched the cup out of the hands of the servant and gulped the tea down.

    "You¡¯ve lost." Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyeszily and looked at Ping Yang.

    "I¡¯ve lost? Why did I lose? I didn¡¯t open my mouth at all!" Ping Yang was visibly unhappy about this.

    "You didn¡¯t?"

    "Of course not, did you hear me speak?"

    "I said that the first one who opened their mouth would lose, not the first one to speak. How did you drink if you didn¡¯t open your mouth." Fang Zhengzhi replied scornfully.

    "That counts?" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t believe her ears.

    "What do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Okay then, you win this time because you cheated. You can ask your question." Ping Yang pouted but conceded defeat grudgingly.

    "My question can wait. Wen Dabao must have been waiting outside for more than four hours." Fang Zhengzhi waved her off.

    "Yes, Wen Dabao has been outside for nearly four hours." The golden armored soldier replied respectfully.

    However...

    They were all extremely bitter.

    They knew that Princess Ping Yang was a willful person. They had prepared themselves for that. However, they never expected that they would have to serve two willful people one day.

    Furthermore, even the cultured and polite son of the Yan Family, Yan Xiu, was ying along!

 Chapter 500: Deal

    Chapter 500: Deal

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mm, let him in after he has stood outside for exactly four hours." Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his tummy and nodded.

    "Okay." The soldier in golden armor answered and took his leave.

    Then, the manager of the residence and the servants took turns to report their respective issues. These weren¡¯t issues regarding the residence, they were ¡¯tabloid¡¯ news from the capital.

    After Ping Yang heard the reports, the orderlies left and the three of them were left in the garden once again.

    "Ah!!! I can¡¯t take it any longer! Are you going to tell me where you¡¯ve been over the past year?" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t hold it back any longer.

    "You really want to know? Sure, but you must beat me first. Only the winner has the right to ask questions. The loser can only answer questions." Fang Zhengzhi said dismissively.

    "Humph! I can definitely defeat you!" Ping Yang pouted.

    "Now you can answer my question! Who does King Liqin like the most?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "You¡¯re asking about King Liqin? He likes me the best and Sister Yan is a close second. He also has a good rtionship with Xing Yuanguo and his dad." Ping Yang blinked.

    "Chi Guyan?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He couldn¡¯t believe everything that Ping Yang said. She only said that she was his favorite because she was narcissistic. King Liqin probably liked Chi Guyan best.

    About that...

    That was clearly evident during the incident over a year ago in the throne room.

    At that time, he had juste out of the World of the Sage. He held the Traceless de which the officials, the Crown Prince, and King Duan fought over. In the end, Chi Guyan had brought in King Liqin to resolve the issue.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have much information on King Liqin at that time. Naturally, he had not interacted with this man before.

    "Are you thinking of having Sister Yan plead your case to King Liqin and ask King Liqin to tell the Emperor to acquit you? You can forget about it. King Liqin never interferes with politics! Furthermore, Sister Yan has isted herself in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion!" Ping Yang said triumphantly!

    "How do you know that she has isted herself?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "Of course I know. If Sister Yan wasn¡¯t isting herself, why wouldn¡¯t she reply to my mails?" Ping Yang replied definitively.

    "Reply to you? Hmm... when was thest time youmunicated with her?"

    "Three months ago."

    "Oh, what were the contents of that letter?"

    "That has nothing to do with you! I¡¯m not telling you anything! However, Sister Yan did mention that she needed some time to cultivate because the deadline for a deal wasing up. She said that the person would not miss the date a second time. When I asked her about it, she didn¡¯t reply!"

    "A deal?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion selections should being soon. In thest selection, Nangong Hao had sessfully made it there.

    Fang Zhengzhi did a quick calction. The Imperial Examinations were about to begin. After that came the court examinations. Then, it would be the Heavenly Dao Pavilion selections!

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion!

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard this name a year ago, it was no more than just a name to him. However, it meant more now.

    One Pavillion, Four Sages, 13 Constabries.

    This was amon saying in the Great Xia. The Pavillion was ced above the Four Sages in the hierarchy.

    "Three months should be sufficient!"

    ...

    Whilst Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang discussed the Heavenly Dao Pavillion, Wen Dabao was bing redder by the moment.

    He had stood outside without food or water for almost four hours. This was a nightmare for someone as pampered as him.

    Lucky for him, it seemed like his nightmare was about to end.

    The guard who had taken his silvers was walking back towards the gate. Then, the guard came to stand beside him.

    However...

    The guard continued to remain silent for 15 minutes.

    Just as Wen Dabao was about to ask the guard if he could enter again, the guard turned around, looked at the sky, and then at the clock at the residence.

    "Okay, you may enter now."

    "I can enter?" Wen Dabao nearly jumped out of his skin. He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be this busy.

    However, he was not too affected by this. After all, he was lucky to be able to meet with Fang Zhengzhi. However, if he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had been suntanning for the past four hours...

    His reaction might have been different.

    Wen Jiabao was led to the entrance to the garden by the soldier. Then, the soldier went in to announce his arrival.

    "Young Master Wen, please."

    "Thank you!" Wen Dabao nodded and thanked the soldier. He licked his dry lips, swallowed his saliva, then walked in.

    The moment he entered, he was greeted by the fragrance of the flowers. This caused Wen Dabao to feel slightly intoxicated. His house was one of the more luxurious ones in the city.

    However, it was still a far cry from Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    "Your Highness, Young... Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan!" Wen Dabao learnt his lesson. He decided to not call Fang Zhengzhi by name.

    "Your dad asked you toe?" Fang Zhengzhi asked, skipping the formalities.

    "Mm..." Wen Dabao was stumped. His eyes glittered and he smiled at Fang Zhengzhi. At that moment, he felt slightly flustered.

    Over a year ago, Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang had made him treat them to many meals. However, today...

    He had a feeling that Fang Zhengzhi had changed drastically over the past year.

    A year ago...

    Fang Zhengzhi would have never asked such a question. Yet, merely a yearter, that was the first question Fang Zhengzhi had asked him.

    "Yes!" Wen Dabao nodded after some hesitation.

    "Mm, what about yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "I wanted toe here as well. When I heard that Fang... Young Master Fang was in the capital, I wanted to... but at that time..." Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t find the words to express his thoughts.

    He hade up with many reasons before this. However, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi, he realized that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say any of them.

    "It¡¯s the thought that counts." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem angered by the reaction. He simply pointed to a chair nearby.

    Wen Dabao got the hint and took his seat.

    "I don¡¯t know what my dad is thinking either. I thought he wanted the Princess, yourself, and Young Master Yan to... ahem, he just wanted me toe here to visit you." Wen Dabao seemed a lot more rxed after sitting down.

    "Whatever for?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "He didn¡¯t say anything. All he said was that I shoulde over and chat with you. I was to tell him what we talked about." Wen Dabao replied without hesitation.

    "Are you sure he wasn¡¯t asking you to look for Yan Xiu or Ping Yang?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "No, he specified you." Wen Dabao asserted.

    "I understand. You can go back now."

    "What?!"

    "Were you thinking of staying for lunch?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he asked.

    "Erm... no, no!" Wen Dabao was flustered.

    "Actually you can stay for lunch. Did you bring money today?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the waist pack on Wen Dabao.

    "No, no... actually, I did bring a little with me. Not much, not much, really not much... just 10,000... no, 20,000 silvers!" Wen Dabao wanted to hide some away but decided against it.

    He knew that any attempt to hide the money would be useless when Fang Zhengzhi was on the other side.

    "Mm, just enough for a meal." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "What?! 20,000 silvers for one meal?"

    "Were you nning on eating two?"

    "Haha... Young Master Fang, am I going to be one of King Duan¡¯s people after this meal?" Wen Dabao asked excitedly.

    "Did you dad have you ask this question?"

    "No, my dad didn¡¯t ask me to ask any questions. He simply asked me toe over for a chat."

    "You can go back after lunch. If you want toe back for lunch tomorrow, bring another 20,000 silvers." Fang Zhengzhi had no intention to continue the conversation with Wen Dabao.

    "Okay. How about we go to the Seven Stars Lane tonight? Ever since the fire at the Intellectual Loft a year ago, the Seven Stars Lane has be the new hot spot." Wen Dabao smirked when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    "You still have money?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and looked at Wen Dabao.

    "I do, of course I do! I have a small vault of gold!" Wen Dabao pounded his chest.

    "Yan Xiu, are youing?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to ask Yan Xiu without answering Wen Dabao.

    "I can go." Yan Xiu hesitated for a moment before replying.

    "Okay then, we will go to the Seven Stars Lane tonight." Fang Zhengzhi nodded after he heard Yan Xiu¡¯s reply.

    "Why didn¡¯t you ask me if I wanted to go?" Ping Yang was rather annoyed that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t invite her. They were in her house!

    How could they just ignore her in her own home?

    "I don¡¯t have to. I know you will definitelye." Fang Zhengzhi waved her off.

    "What if I don¡¯t go?"

    "That¡¯s even better."

    "You must be joking! I will definitely be going!"

    ...

    Wen Dabao arrived at noon the next day. However, he was in worse shape today than he was yesterday.

    His back was hunched and he was bruised in multiple ces. He couldn¡¯t even stand up straight.

    "Brother, I am here to see Young Master Fang. Please help me inform him." Wen Dabao limped over to the gate and spoke to the guard.

    "What happened to you, Young Master Wen?" The guard was shocked to see Wen Dabao in this state.

    He knew that Wen Dabao had gone to the Seven Stars Lane with Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, every noble family and official in the city knew about this.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi had a spotlight on him wherever he went. There weren¡¯t many questions asked when he stayed inside the walls of Ping Yang¡¯s Residence.

    However...

    When he appeared at the Seven Star Lane with three others, two of whom are high profile individuals...

    That was apletely different story.

    That was equivalent to courting death!

    However, what was even more shocking was that nothing had happened in the Seven Star Lane yesterday night.

    Since nothing had happened, why was Wen Dabao in this state?

    Was there something that happened in the Seven Star Lane that no one knew about?

    The guard looked at Wen Dabao doubtfully.

    When Wen Dabao heard the soldier¡¯s words, his face contorted in pain. He shuddered, almost as if he was reminded of something terrifying.

    He had been embarrassed and humiliated.

    Wen Dabao¡¯s lips twitched as tears began to well up in his eyes. He looked up at the guard.

    "Young Master Wen, were you beaten?" The guard asked again when he saw Wen Dabao trembling with tears forming in his eyes.

    "Mm." Wen Dabao nodded and a tear rolled down his cheek. This was a tear that resulted from a man¡¯s sadness after being struck when he was most vulnerable.

    The golden armored soldier was stunned to hear this. Did something really happen at the Seven Star Lane yesterday night?

 Chapter 501: Growing a little fast

    Chapter 501: Growing a little fast

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Wen Dabao had no intention of answering the unspoken question in the guard¡¯s mind. The guard didn¡¯t ask either.

    Then, the guard went to announce his arrival whilst Wen Dabao waited outside. This time, he didn¡¯t have to wait very long.

    Wen Dabao entered Ping Yang¡¯s residence soon after and was led to the garden. It was no different from yesterday.

    Fang Zhengzhi was sipping his tea when he saw Wen Dabao run in. He spat out the tea in his mouth.

    "Sh*t!"

    Wen Dabao didn¡¯t even have time to react before the tea sshed all over his face. He felt extremely humiliated...

    "What happened? Who beat you up?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "My dad!" Wen Dabao cried.

    "Your dad? Oh, why would your dad hit you? Tell us, entertain us." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand what had happened.

    "He said that I shouldn¡¯t have brought you to the Seven Star Lane." Wen Dabao wiped the tea off his face.

    "That was the only reason?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Yes."

    "As a man, you need to have some freedom."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I have a n that will stop your dad from hitting you. From now on, you can also go to the Seven Star Lane openly! What do you think?"

    "Are you for real?"

    "Of course."

    "Tell me."

    "Let¡¯s go again tonight. I want to see how many times your dad can hit you."

    "What?! Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief. Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the one who was going to be beaten up!

    However, Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t find the words to express his frustration. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, "do you have another n?"

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi rejected him equivocally.

    "..."

    ...

    Nighttime. The Seven Star Lane weed back four guests. However, this time, Wen Dabao was significantly less excited. In fact, he was extremely bitter.

    Wen Dabao walked out of the Seven Star Lane without incident. When he returned, there was a figure waiting for him at the gates.

    The figure held a metal pole in his hand.

    "Dad, don¡¯t hit me!"

    "You rascal, you deserve it!"

    "Erm... dad, please stop. Fang Zhengzhi... Fang Zhengzhi asked me to tell you something." Wen Dabao screamed after being hit the first time.

    "He asked you to tell me something? Okay, tell me what it is."

    "Fang Zhengzhi said that he would return to the Seven Star Lane tomorrow. He will go every day at the same time for the foreseeable future."

    "He really said that?" The figure¡¯s eyes glittered.

    "Yes, word for word."

    "I understand. You should probably tag along with him every day. I have already prepared the money for you. You can just ask for more if you need it." The figure nodded.

    "Dad, you¡¯re not going to hit me?"

    "Nope. Get some rest. Entertain Young Master Fang tomorrow at the Seven Star Lane."

    "No way?! That worked?!" Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when he saw his dad turn and leave. He knew that his dad was a strict person.

    But today...

    Why would he say something like that?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method worked! Not only wasn¡¯t he beaten by his dad, his dad had asked him to go to the Seven Star Lane! What just happened?!

    ...

    Inside the Left Prime Minister¡¯s residence...

    A servant dressed in ck knelt in the study. His head was lowered as he heard the knocking sounds next to him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi went to the Seven Star Lane again?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Yes, he went with Wen Dabao, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang. They went and left at about the same time as yesterday." The servant replied.

    "Has King Duan and Chi Hou visited Ping Yang¡¯s residence recently?"

    "No, King Duan has been in his own residence. As for Chi Hou, other than the first day he spent in King Duan¡¯s residence, he has been at the Stabilization Constabry."

    "I understand. You may leave now." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded.

    "Yes, sir!" The servant replied, bowed, and took his leave.

    Just as the servant left, a respectful voice could be heard from outside. "Prime Minister, Wen Chuan of the Ministry of Law has requested for an audience with you."

    "Wen Chuan?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping frowned. Then, his eyes glittered, "Mm, let him in."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Then, he heard light footsteps before the door to the study was opened. A middle-aged man in ck walked through the doors.

    He was a stern looking man with thick eyebrows. His eyes seemed closed half the time, and this only served to entuate the stern aura he exuded.

    "I am Wen Chuan from the Ministry of Law. Greetings, Prime Minister!" The middle-aged man bowed as he entered the room.

    "Official Wen, you may do away with the formalities. May I know why you¡¯re looking for me sote at night?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping walked over and helped him up.

    "Something small hase up." Wen Chuan nodded hesitantly.

    "Oh? Please tell me what it is. If I can, I will definitely do my best to help." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied.

    "Prime Minister, please save my son!" Wen Chuan fell to his knees.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping extended his hands to help Wen Chuan up once again. His eyes were filled with concern.

    "Official Wen, what is it? You have served in the courts for many years! Your son is like my son! Just tell me what it is!"

    "My son... he doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing. Over the past two days, he ran off to y with Fang Zhengzhi without informing me, I... I..."

    "Oh? You didn¡¯t know that he had gone to the Seven Star Lane with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "I only knew about itst night! I gave him a harsh beating after that! I even told him never to do it again! But kids at this age... aish... I pamper him too much usually. I never thought that he would go to the Seven Star Lane with Fang Zhengzhi again today. My... aish..." Wen Chuan sighed.

    "I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s a big deal. He is just yful. No harm done." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping waved him off.

    "Prime Minister, you are magnanimous! As for the Crown Prince..."

    "Official Wen, don¡¯t worry. I will personally exin things to the Crown Prince. He¡¯s just a kid. It is only normal that he goes out to y. This is no big deal." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping waved him off.

    "But..." Wen Chuan hesitated.

    "Is there anything else?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping asked.

    "It¡¯s like that. I heard from my son that Fang Zhengzhi threatened him and asked him to continue apanying them to the Seven Star Lane. As you know, my son wouldn¡¯t be afraid if it was just Fang Zhengzhi. But with Princess Ping Yang and Yan Xiu..."

    "Damn it! This Fang Zhengzhi is incredibly shameless! How dare he threaten a son of one of our Law Ministry officials?! Damn him!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping raged.

    "Yes... I¡¯m just worried that my son..." Wen Chuan said hesitantly.

    "How many days does Fang Zhengzhi want Wen Dabao to apany him for?"

    "He asked my son to apany him every day! The money is not the issue here. I am just afraid that the Crown Prince would misunderstand..."

    "Official Wen, please rest assured! I will exin everything to the Crown Prince!"

    "Thank you, Prime Minister!"

    "You¡¯re most wee. I will draft a letter to the Crown Prince right now."

    "Thank you Prime Minister! I... I¡¯ll take my leave now!" Wen Chuan bowed respectfully and left the room.

    "Take care!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded but he didn¡¯t help Wen Chuan up this time.

    After the study had quietened down once again, a figure walked into the study from a space behind the room. This figure sat down on a chair.

    "When do you n to strike?"

    "I am in no hurry." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at the figure and waved him off.

    "Do you really n on passing on such a golden opportunity?" The figure asked again.

    "Opportunity? Haha... Fang Zhengzhi is going to the Seven Star Lane every day. He is asking Wen Chuan to report to us because he wants to lure us out. If we strike now, we will be ying right into his hands." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping frowned.

    "Prime Minister, are you scared?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is apanied by Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, and Wen Dabao when he goes to the Seven Star Lane. Apart from Yan Xiu, there is no one there who can stop you."

    "You can just speak your mind. Don¡¯t beat around the bush."

    "Prime Minister, you missed two opportunities here! Do you really n on missing a third, a fourth, or even a fifth?

    "I have my ns! You don¡¯t have to worry!"

    "Okay then. I was just giving my two-cents worth. If there is nothing else, I¡¯ll be leaving. You should have an early rest, it has been a long day."

    "Go ahead!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping snorted.

    The figure smiled, stood up, and disappeared into the space where he hade from.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping frowned as he looked at that space.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will tolerate your actions for a few more days! When the Emperor goes to the Ten Mile Lake for the banquet, I would like to see if you have the confidence to have fun so openly in the city!"

    ...

    Time passed quickly...

    Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and Wen Dabao continued to go to the Seven Star Lane at the same time every day. The banquet was set to start on the fourth day.

    Emperor Lin Mubai left the city, nked by the Royal Guards. Countless citizens gathered on the streets to see him off!

    This was a grand event!

    Countless sons from the noble families stood at the gates to witness this. They were reminded of their ancestors¡¯ adventures and feats.

    Nightfall...

    The city was even more vibrant and bustling than usual.

    Maybe it was because most of the noblemen had left for the Ten Mile Lake... or maybe the atmosphere at the Ten Mile Lake had spilled over to the capital.

    It was a bustling night in the city. The lights were bright and countless people snuck out of their houses and onto the streets.

    Inside Ping Yang¡¯s residence...

    Wen Dabao was growing a little bit tired of waiting. He had already managed to get himself into one of the VIP rooms based on how much he had been spending.

    As long as he continued going there, he would get lucky.

    "Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go. We should get going." Wen Dabao urged. He thought about how nice it would be to have a girl heaving and panting next to him.

    "Is it time yet?" Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes and looked at the sky.

    "Who cares about the time? We can go earlier to have some fun! Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!" Wen Dabao was getting anxious.

    "Yan Xiu, what do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Wen Dabao and looked to Yan Xiu.

    "It¡¯s okay." Yan Xiu nodded after some thought.

    "That¡¯s great! Young Master Yan has agreed! Shall we go?" Wen Dabao never liked Yan Xiu more than he did now! That was music to his ears.

    "Okay, let¡¯s go." Fang Zhengzhi stood up from his chair and looked at Ping Yang. Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were closed.

    She wore a fiery red dress. Her dress looked like a ball of fire in the garden.

    "Are we leaving?" Ping Yang heard what Fang Zhengzhi said and opened her eyes. She stretched and adjusted her bra.

    Then, she realized that Fang Zhengzhi was looking at him. He was looking at a particr spot on her body.

    "Shameless!" Ping Yang chided.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled and looked down at Ping Yang¡¯s slim waist and perky butt.

    "People always say that women change a great deal when they mature. Why have you changed so much when you¡¯re not even 16?" Fang Zhengzhi felt as though Ping Yang had grown much quicker than he had expected.

    He wondered...

    How was Chi Guyan like now?

 Chapter 502: Pattern of the Seven Stars

    Chapter 502: Pattern of the Seven Stars

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was just half a year away from his 18th birthday. Chi Guyan was not much younger than him. She was almost 17.

    17-years-old...

    She was mature enough to be married.

    "Shameless fe, what are you thinking about? Aren¡¯t youing?" Ping Yan rushed Fang Zhengzhi when she saw that he was standing still.

    "Oh, let¡¯s go." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked at Ping Yang¡¯s body. "You¡¯re still young! Only 16!"

    ...

    Inside King Duan¡¯s residence...

    King Duan was apanied by Mr. Hua and Old Wen. They walked quickly to the gates. There were a few guards trailing behind them.

    "Have they left?" King Duan asked the squad leader behind him.

    "Yes. For some reason, they left earlier than usual. Previously, they would only leave one hour from now!" The squad leader replied.

    "He¡¯s really ying everyone!" King Duan cursed...

    King Duan had monitored Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu whenever they had gone to the Seven Star Lane. Even though he didn¡¯t want to, he sent soldiers to patrol the vicinity around the Seven Star Lane.

    Of course, it was a good thing that...

    Nothing had gone awry.

    That was indeed a cause for celebration.

    However, today was different.

    The banquet hosted by the Emperor at the Ten Mile Lake was today! Even though he had the Royal Guard to protect him, arge part of the city guards was mobilized as well.

    Most of the skilled guards in the city had been activated to protect the Emperor. After all, the Emperor¡¯s safety was of utmost importance.

    King Duan had no choice but to lead the squad himself.

    He was furious that Fang Zhengzhi and co. decided to leave early today.

    He didn¡¯t even have the time to eat.

    He couldn¡¯t believe that he was about to protect someone who merelyzed around all day. He had skipped dinner just to stand outside the Seven Star Lane for four to six hours just to protect Fang Zhengzhi?! He was furious!

    He didn¡¯t want to go.

    However, Mr. Hua and Old Wen convinced him otherwise. In the end, he grit his teeth and left the table of dishes untouched.

    "You guys should walk faster. Fang Zhengzhi andpany should be arriving soon." Old Wen said to the guards behind.

    This was also meant for King Duan. Old Wen just wanted to do it in a roundabout manner in order to avoid antagonizing King Duan.

    King Duan understood what Old Wen was getting at. The guards were following his pace. By asking them to speed up, Old Wen as effectively asking him to speed up.

    He wasn¡¯t happy about it.

    However, he still grit his teeth and quickened his pace.

    "Kacha!"

    The guards at the gate rushed to open the gates when they saw King Duan and the other guards rushing towards it.

    However, King Duan stopped the moment he took a step out of the gates. He didn¡¯t even manage to head in the direction of the Seven Star Lane.

    Because...

    There was a squad standing in front of him. Each soldier wore gleaming armor and they were led by a familiar figure.

    This person wore a silver robe adorned with silver dragons. He squinted and smirked when he saw King Duan.

    "Sixth Brother, where are you going?" He asked caringly.

    King Duan frowned when he saw the figure in front of him as well as the squad behind this figure.

    That person was Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    However...

    King Duan couldn¡¯t figure out why Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would appear here today. Most importantly, he couldn¡¯t understand why Lin Tianrong had a squad of soldiers standing behind him.

    "Third Brother, are you looking for me?" King Duan frowned and asked.

    "It¡¯s no big deal. I missed you, Sixth Brother. Since father is at the Ten Mile Lake, I decided toe over and visit you. Aren¡¯t you going to invite me in?" Lin Tianrong smiled.

    "Haha, thank you for your concern brother. However, your timing is slightly inconvenient. Since father is at the Ten Mile Lake, there is a shortage of guards in the city. I have no choice but to patrol the city myself. After all, if anything were to happen, I would be the first one to be med."

    "Brother, you are absolutely right! The Royal Guards and much of the city guards have been activated to standby at the Ten Mile Lake. It would be horrible if anything was to happen now."

    "Since you understand, you should also know why I can¡¯t apany you."

    "Haha, Sixth Brother, you are worrying too much. I know your concerns, so I brought some men over to help you. I borrowed them from the army." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong pointed to the soldiers behind him.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid that father would me you?" King Duan was slightly astonished.

    "I am, of course I am. However, for the safety of the capital and for your well-being, I am more than willing to be chided. Furthermore, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t report this to father." Lin Tianrong replied.

    "Hahaha, you must be kidding!"

    "Okay, now that I¡¯ve solved the manpower problem, why don¡¯t you have a few drinks with me?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes glistened.

    King Duan squinted when he heard this. He clenched his fists instinctively but released them almost just as quickly.

    "I am honored to have youe and visit me today! I will definitely apany you!"

    "Good, very good! I brought the best wine I have over here. Since father is not in the city, we will drink till we drop!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    "Third Brother, please!" King Duan stepped to the side and ushered Lin Tianrong into his residence. Then, he blinked at Mr. Hua and Old Wen.

    Both of them saw the look on King Duan¡¯s face and nodded. Then, they led the soldiers out of the residence.

    The soldiers who were previously following Crown Prince Lin Tianrong followed behind.

    "Mr. Hua, we havee to help on the orders of the Crown Prince. If you don¡¯t mind, we can be responsible for the Western Part of the city." One of the leaders stepped forward.

    "No need. We can take the Western Part of the City." Mr. Hua rejected the proposition.

    "Mr. Hua, you don¡¯t have to be so courteous. Even though we are from the army, we will still serve the city to the best of our abilities. If somethinges up, we will let you takemand!" The leader started to walk towards the west.

    The soldiers followed behind.

    Mr. Hua frowned when he saw this, his eyes glowing.

    "Something is going to happen tonight!" Old Wen spoke softly. However, he was loud enough for Mr. Hua to hear it.

    "Mm, they should be striking tonight." Mr. Hua nodded.

    "If we go up against them, we will be ying right into their hands. They may even take advantage of the situation to create chaos somewhere and draw the forces away." Old Wen added.

    "Exactly. The only thing we can do now is join forces with them. Only then can we ensure that they don¡¯t have the chance to mess things up." Mr. Hua nodded.

    "Indeed. However, when things actually happen, they will still be able to stymie and dy us. Things can still take a turn for the worse."

    "We have to y this by ear!"

    "Mm, let¡¯s go!"

    ...

    The Seven Star Lane had be the most popr spot in the city after the Intellectual Loft burnt down. It was even more popr now than the Intellectual Loft ever was.

    The Seven Star Lane had all the most poprdies in the city.

    The Seven Stars!

    This was why they named themselves the Seven Star Lane!

    The seven of them had gathered here over a month ago.

    No one knew how the boss of the Seven Star Lane had done it, but the fact was that he had seeded.

    The boss of the Seven Star Lane exploited the fame of the seven most popr girls he had acquired.

    One girl for each day.

    Every day, he would have a new girl as the main show. Most importantly, the guests didn¡¯t know who the main show was going to be.

    There was no specific order in which they appeared.

    As a result, everyone ended uping on a daily basis, waiting for the girl that they wanted to see. The crowd kept growing with each passing day.

    Many people initially thought that this business model would not take off.

    They couldn¡¯t be more mistaken...

    Over the years, the poprity of the Seven Star Lane kept on growing. Part of the reason was that the Seven Star Lane kept pushing out new programs.

    Most importantly, the sense of excitement and anticipation kept peopleing.

    Everyone was excited to find out who would headline the shows today. Sometimes, two of them would perform together. Other times, all seven would put up a joint performance.

    There were too many permutations.

    The countless permutations of performances left the audience wanting more. This trend caught on quickly.

    It also gave birth to a secondary business.

    That was...

    "Guess the headliner!"

    "ce your bets, ce your bets!"

    "Guess who will be the main act tonight! Those who manage to guess thedies performing in the main act will be paid 10 to one!"

    Voices rang out outside the Seven Star Lane. Before the main act started, the betting scene was bustling.

    "Young Master Li, who do you think will be the main act tonight?"

    "Lan Yi, it¡¯ll definitely be Lan Yi!"

    "Young Master Li is so sure that it will be Ms. Lan Yi?"

    "Ms. Lan Yi hasn¡¯t made an appearance in more than five days! She should be the first one out. After that... I think that there is an 80% chance it will be Yue Qing!"

    "Young Master Li¡¯s predictions sound correct! If Lan Yi opens tonight, the Yue Qing is likely to follow!"

    "That¡¯s right! Lan Yi¡¯s drums and Yue Qing¡¯s instrument are a match made in heaven! Those are my bets for tonight!"

    "Same for me!"

    A few youths stood by the betting table as they discussed their bets for the night. Then, they ced their bets.

    At that moment, four figures walked closer to the table.

    They were Fang Zhengzhi, Wen Dabao, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang. Their arrival caused a stir in the crowd.

    However, since Fang Zhengzhi had beening for the past few days, the youths weren¡¯t too surprised to see him.

    "Look, Fang Zhengzhi is back!"

    "Call him Fang Zhengzheng! Young Master Chen got beaten up over this the other day!"

    "Mm..."

    The youths continued to discuss Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival, but they did so softly and discreetly. After all, the capital¡¯s number one bully was with him.

    When Ping Yang decided to strike, nothing could stop her!

    No one dared to go up against Ping Yang or antagonize her. When she decided to go after you, there was no escape.

    The crowd parted to the side as Fang Zhengzhi andpany approached.

    Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes brightened. They were almost as bright as the sevennterns at the door of the Seven Star Lane.

    As the mascot for all the vices in the capital, he would never miss the chance to bet on something so exciting.

    Most importantly, he had quite a bit of cash on him. Furthermore, he could spend all these money without consequences.

    That being said...

    He had been losing the past few days, so he hesitated to ce a bet today. After all, these silvers were taken from his house¡¯s vaults.

    Even though he was someone who loved to drink and have fun, he wanted to win.

    "Young Master Fang, why are you able to win every time whilst I lose all the time? Is there really a pattern?" Wen Dabao murmured and whined.

    "A pattern? Of course." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "There is a pattern? That¡¯s impossible! I heard that the boss of the Seven Star Lane arranges these performances himself! There is no insider information! How can there possibly be a pattern?" Wen Dabao was in disbelief.

    "Haha, even if he ns them himself, there has to be a pattern!" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he replied triumphantly.

 Chapter 503: Unexpected bets

    Chapter 503: Unexpected bets

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "It will definitely follow a pattern? What pattern?" Wen Dabao was confused.

    "Thew of women of course." Fang Zhengzhi looked smirked and replied triumphantly when he saw Ping Yang¡¯s confused expression.

    "There¡¯s a pattern for women?" Wen Dabao was stumped.

    "Mm, don¡¯t you know that there are differences between the male and female body?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Young Master Fang, you are a man of my own heart! You must be referring to the chest and... am I right?" Wen Dabao smirked when he heard that.

    "F*ck no! What are you talking about?! I was referring to their menstruation cycle! Do you even know what that is?" Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he looked at Wen Dabao scornfully. Doesn¡¯t this man know anything other than breasts and *ss?

    "I... I don¡¯t..." Wen Dabao panicked.

    "That is whendies find it inconvenient to do stuff! This will happen for a few days every month! That is the difference!" Fang Zhengzhi exined in exasperation.

    "Shameless!" Ping Yang¡¯s face was flushed as she red at Fang Zhengzhi and bellowed.

    Yan Xiu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, his expression icy. However, his look was slightlyplicated, almost as though he didn¡¯t know what to think.

    As for Wen Dabao...

    After he recovered from his initial shock, his eyes brightened up.

    "Oh, I know, I know about this! I read about this before! But what does this have to do with the Seven Stars?" Wen Dabao asked.

    The people around them all looked at each other, faces flushed, when they heard this.

    No one had ever discussed menstruation periods in broad daylight! It was much too inappropriate!

    "This man is utterly shameless!"

    "What a disgrace! How can someone possibly be this shameless?!"

    "How can he discuss such things here? This... he is supposedly an intellectual man! Doesn¡¯t he know how to carry himself properly?"

    Fang Zhengzhi scorned thements of those around him. In his previous world, this was an eptable and serious topic to discuss.

    Furthermore, this was general knowledge! Why were they making such a big fuss about it?

    "If you want to know what this has to do with the betting, you have to learn to respect women first!" Fang Zhengzhi added without answering Wen Dabao¡¯s question directly.

    "How dare he talk about respecting women when he was the one who brought up this topic?"

    "Shameless!"

    The crowd around Fang Zhengzhi looked at him in disdain when they heard this.

    They weren¡¯t alone.

    Even Ping Yang looked at him with scorn. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current actions weren¡¯t respecting women at all.

    "Respecting women?" Wen Dabao was lost. This was not something he valued.

    After all, he had too many women serving in his household as servants. He would scold and hit them whenever he felt like it.

    Most importantly, women were seen as the weaker gender in this world.

    Of course...

    People like Chi Guyan were an exception. There was only one Chi Guyan in the world, so she wasn¡¯t representative of the popce.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue exining. He was familiar with this concept. In this world, many were chauvinistic men who saw women as the weaker sex.

    In some societies, women weren¡¯t even given a choice as to who they were to marry. Some of those in powerful families spent their whole lives in the house before being married off for political gain.

    Those who resisted...

    Were few and far between...

    There were countlessdies from reputable families who were married off before they even set eyes on their husband. If they were bullied after, they didn¡¯t dare toin to their parents either.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a man who had spent more than a decade here. However, he was also a feminist who believed in equal rights.

    "Any man who respects females will never let ady perform during those days. During that period, women will have to deal with cramps and mood swings amongst other diforts. Furthermore, they can¡¯t drink cold water or work too much..." Fang Zhengzhi began to rattle off the things to take note of during that period.

    His voice was not loud, but the crowd around him fell silent. All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Because...

    Most of them knew the things that Fang Zhengzhi had listed off. However, they never bothered about them nor did they think about those points.

    "This shameless fe actually..." Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. As ady, she knew that what Fang Zhengzhi said waspletely urate.

    There were some things that even she herself didn¡¯t know. For example, she didn¡¯t know that she should avoid spicy food and keep her tummy warm.

    It was extremely detailed, almost too detailed...

    Of course, most importantly, Ping Yang never thought that someone would notice these things. Even her beloved father never asked her anything about this.

    But now...

    These words were being said by Fang Zhengzhi, someone who she thought was shameless beyond belief! Someone who she chided for speaking about this in public!

    Silence,plete silence!

    Even thedies who were trying to attract customers to the Seven Star Lane stopped what they were doing and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Their eyes glowed brightly.

    "This is a man!"

    "This is a man who understands women!"

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know that his exnation would impress the crowd around him. He finally stopped after rattling off all the things he wanted to say.

    "Is... is there anything else?" Wen Dabao was the first one to recover from the shock.

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "So this is rted to the Seven Stars... oh! I understand it now! The seven of them are alldies, so they will not appear on the days that they¡¯re on their period!" Wen Dabao was flushed when he realized what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.

    "You finally got it." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Thank you for thepliment Young Master Fang... wait... hold up, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that I was dumb before?"

    "You follow!"

    "Erm..." Wen Dabao was speechless.

    However, he was extremely excited now that he knew the pattern behind their appearances. He ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sment and walked towards the betting table. However, the moment he stepped forward, he stopped. A new question popped into his head.

    "How do I know when they¡¯re on their period?"

    "That¡¯s why you need to ask." Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Ask? Ask who?"

    "The people who interact with them the most."

    "Interact with them the most? Ha... I know! Their servants! They take care of thedies every day and stay with them! They would know!"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "I¡¯ll be on my way!" Wen Dabao ignored Fang Zhengzhi and ran into the Seven Star Lane like a ravenous dog chasing after a delicious piece of meat.

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang looked at each other, shaking their heads when they saw this.

    "Shameless fe, why don¡¯t you tell me what else goes into making the prediction?" Ping Yang queried.

    "Logical deduction!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Deduction?"

    "Mm, first we eliminate thosedies on their period. Then, we will put together the remainingbinations to find out which grouping is the most attractive. Of course, the pairing for each day needs to be different." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "But Wen Dabao won¡¯t be smart enough to do that!" Ping Yang asserted, her eyes glittering.

    "Yes, there are some factors that he is bound to miss. For example, ady¡¯s period can change. I doubt he knows that. Furthermore, he has to consider the novelty of eachbination which will require an understanding of psychology."

    "So he will still lose?"

    "Probably, but at least he¡¯ll have a higher chance of winning once he knows this information." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Why do I get the feeling that the boss of the Seven Star Lane actually uses this method to arrange the acts. Are you the boss?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Do I look the part?"

    "Hahaha... you do! It¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t have as much silver as me so you could never be the boss of the Seven Star Lane."

    "Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    At that moment, a figure came running out of the Seven Star Lane. He looked like he just struck the jackpot.

    "Hahaha... I got it! I¡¯m going to make a fortune this time! Woohoo!" Wen Dabao was extremely excited.

    "Are you sure?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Of course! Who am I? Not only did I ask their servants, I even asked the runners inside the Seven Star Lane to double confirm!" Wen Dabao replied excitedly.

    "Not bad." Fang Zhengzhi nodded approvingly.

    "I have already decided on what to bet! This time, I am going to bet all the money in my little vault!"

    "Oh? That big?"

    "Of course! By my calctions, I need to bet on sixbinations to guarantee myself a win. Even though I¡¯m betting on sixbinations, I¡¯ll win 10 times the amount on one! Young Master Fang, are you going to be with me?" Wen Dabao rubbed his hands together.

    "I need to observe for a little longer." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He did approve of Wen Dabao¡¯s betting strategy. If it worked out, he could bet his entire life¡¯s savings...

    And still make money.

    Of course, this was high risk. However, given a sufficiently high confidence level, it was a legitimate strategy.

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll go and ce my bets first!" Wen Dabao ignored Fang Zhengzhi and ran towards the betting table.

    The crowd all looked at each other when they saw this. Then, they rushed up to the table to ce their bets.

    "Me too! I bet 1000 silvers!"

    "2000 for me! I am going to win a fortune this time! I had no idea there was a pattern to their appearances!"

    "Yes, even though that fe has no shame, I have to admit that what he says is very logical!"

    "As long as I can make a fortune!"

    The crowd rushed forward to ce their bets whilst looking back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The atmosphere was vibrant.

    A crowd began to gather around the betting table! They had heard what had happened before this, so even some of the more conservative ones came over to try and make a quick buck.

    With Wen Dabao leading the charge...

    The six bets he had ced became the favorites for the night. The cheques grew into a pile.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he saw this.

    "You¡¯re going to keep looking? If you don¡¯t bet now you may be toote." Ping Yang reminded as she watched the sky darken.

    "Mm, almost there." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and walked over to the table, a stack of cheques in his hand.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu followed behind.

    The crowd parted to the side unwillingly when they saw Ping Yang and Yan Xiu follow behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Wen Dabao was just bragging about how much he had spent in order to find out the pattern. When he saw Fang Zhengzhie over, he leapt off the betting table.

    "Hahaha, Young Master Fang, what are you betting on?"

    "Anyone would do." Fang Zhengzhi ced the stack of cheques on the table.

    "Smack!" Heid down almost 30,000 silvers on the table.

    Then...

    The entire crowd was stunned. They looked at that thick stack of cheques in disbelief.

    As some of the most influential in the city...

    They weren¡¯t stunned by the number. Even though 30,000 silvers was quite a fortune, they weren¡¯t particrly shocked by that.

    There were quite a number of people who spent upwards of 30,000 silvers a night. Some even spent 100,000 a night.

    However...

    When Fang Zhengzhi ced his bets in the middle of the table, the feeling waspletely different.

    Smack in the middle.

    On any other betting table, the middle was the ce with the most bets. However, at the Seven Star Lane, that was a spot most people avoided.

    The middle spot¡¯s bet was very special...

    "All seven!"

    "He ced his bet on all seven? Hahaha..."

    "Doesn¡¯t he know that this has only happened once in more than a year? Furthermore, that was half a year ago!"

    "What is this guy thinking? He was just telling everyone about the patterns and rules. Why is he throwing his money away?"

    "Is he crazy?"

    The crowd couldn¡¯t help but burst out inughter after they recovered from their initial shock from seeing that bet.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled radiantly.

    However...

    Hisughter was cut short.

    Two voices rang out behind him.

    "I will take that bet as well! 50,000 silvers!"

    "I will do the same. 50,00 for me too."

 Chapter 504: Birdhouse

    Chapter 504: Birdhouse

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Two more thick stacks of cheques were thrown onto the table. "Smack smack." The sounds were soft, but they were still heard by everyone around.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew who these two people were.

    However...

    He didn¡¯t understand why Ping Yang and Yan Xiu would ce bets! Something was wrong! He was the only one of the three to bet over the past few days.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the two other stacks of cheques at the "All Seven" spot. He was rendered speechless.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not alone. The entire crowd who had been mocking Fang Zhengzhi moments ago couldn¡¯t believe their eyes either. Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "They bet on... all seven?"

    "What is happening?"

    "50,000 silvers each! That¡¯s 100,000 in total!"

    "They¡¯re mad... they¡¯re insane!"

    No one understood what was happening. They could ept Fang Zhengzhi going crazy, but why would Ping Yang and Yan Xiu join in?

    Were they really influenced by Fang Zhengzhi after prolonged interaction with him?

    "Your Highness, Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, is... is that really what you¡¯re betting on? This has only happened once over the past year..." Wen Dabao stammered when he saw this.

    He realized that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was rather contorted and his body was shaking.

    Could it be...

    That he ced it on the wrong spot?

    "Yan Xiu, are you really going to bet on that?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Wen Dabao and turned to smile at Yan Xiu. However, his smile was rather unnatural.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu replied.

    "Why?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand.

    "We are friends. I believe you." Yan Xiu replied.

    "Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what to say when he saw Yan Xiu¡¯s expression. Then, he shook his head and turned to look at Ping Yang, "Princess, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t follow my silly decision to ce that bet right?"

    "I do have my own views, but we are friends as well. It¡¯s just 50,000 silvers. It¡¯s a small thing. I have plenty more to spend so this is a small amount! Don¡¯t worry about it!" Ping Yang replied arrogantly, smirking as she did so.

    "Actually, we don¡¯t know each other that well. You can ce a different bet." Fang Zhengzhi advised.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it!" Ping Yang said dismissively.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was quite speechless as he turned to look at the betting table. Then, his eyes brightened, "Then I¡¯ll change my bet!"

    "Sure sure, I¡¯ll change my bet too! Yan Xiu, are you going to change as well?" Ping Yang asked Yan Xiu.

    "I can change my bet too." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi red at Ping Yang, unable to find words to express his feelings. He grit his teeth, "Forget it then... I¡¯m toozy to change!"

    "So am I." Ping Yang replied.

    "Mm, then I won¡¯t be changing either." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "..."

    The crowd was speechless when they saw what had just transpired. This was ridiculously willful! Even if they were rich, they shouldn¡¯t be throwing away money like that.

    100,000 silvers!

    They bet that much on an impossible oue! They had to be crazy to do something so dumb!

    "It¡¯s about to start!"

    "I would like to see how Fang Zhengzhi will cry this time!"

    "Hahaha... exactly! All seven? Does he really think that he is the boss of the Seven Star Lane? Will whatever he sayse true? What a joke!"

    Everyone began walking into the Seven Star Lane as opening time drew closer. They ignored Fang Zhengzhi andpany.

    ...

    The Seven Star Lane has been renovated and refurbishedst year. It was posh and exquisite. It awed every guest that walked through those doors.

    There was a screen five meters in the sky which housed a huge tree. The tree had seven fruits on it that formed the Big Dipper Constetion.

    There were seven tforms suspended above this one. Seven rays of light shone down from the ceiling and went through a hole in the middle of each of this tforms. The lightnded squarely on each fruit. Each ray of light shone onto the screen.

    This was the most famous sight...

    "The Illumination of the Seven Stars!"

    Everyone was led to their seats by waitresses. However, the seat in the middle was left empty.

    Because...

    That was Ping Yang¡¯s favorite spot.

    No one was stupid enough to try and contest for that spot, especially after Ping Yang had set fire to the Minister of Law¡¯s house.

    That being said, there were still a few people who didn¡¯t know any better. Right now, there was a man dressed in white sitting there. He looked like he was from a well to do family.

    That being said, he was rather pasty. This waspounded by his white clothes. It made him look slightly weak.

    The people looked at this youth when they entered the Seven Star Lane. They were all shocked to see this man.

    "It¡¯s him?"

    "Why is he here?"

    The crowd was surprised to see this man here. However, none of them bothered to greet him or talk to him. They simply nced at him disdainfully, chuckled, then moved to the side.

    At that moment, a figure wearing a fiery red dress walked through the doors. She looked up and blinked as she surveyed the room. She had an aura of arrogance about her.

    Then, her gaze fell on the youth sitting at the table in the middle.

    "Ninth Brother? What are you doing here?" Ping Yang never expected that Ninth Prince Lin Yun would be here and sitting at her table.

    "Oh, you¡¯re here too?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun seemed slightly surprised to see Ping Yang.

    "Mm, I came with Yan Xiu and the shameless fe." Ping Yang nodded and pointed to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Naturally...

    Wen Dabao was ignored.

    Wen Dabao wasn¡¯t too bothered by it. He sighed under his breath. However, when he saw that it was the Ninth Prince, he didn¡¯t really seem to be particrly sad about it.

    Over the past year, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had been gaining traction in the courts. His strongest opponent, King Duan, was now no match for him.

    Most of the officials were now in the Crown Prince¡¯s camp.

    They were virtually all under one alliance.

    Over the past year, King Duan¡¯s residence had be colder and more isted. Ninth Prince Lin Yun had not been very popr before this, and his poprity had only decreased with the Crown Prince¡¯s grip on power.

    At the very least, King Duan still had some visitors. The only visitors Ninth Prince Lin Yun had were sparrows chirping at his gate.

    Over the past year, the number of sparrows had only increased. He would scatter seeds all over his yard every day to attract the birds.

    Legend had it that Emperor Lin Mubai happened to pass by the residence one day. Feeling thirsty, he decided to go inside for a drink.

    However...

    He was ¡¯chased out¡¯ by the flock of birds inside.

    He didn¡¯t even get to drink the tea.

    Since then, there was no one who stepped foot inside this ¡¯birdhouse¡¯. Other than Ping Yang, who discussed horse racing with him when she was bored, no one talked to him.

    "Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, how are you?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun stood up to say hello.

    The others shook their head when they saw this.

    "Why is he greeting them first? He is a prince!"

    "Haish... forget it. It¡¯s a good thing that he isn¡¯t contesting for the throne. He may still be able to be a Lord in the future."

    "That¡¯s true. He is of royal blood. He can justze around for the rest of his life."

    The crowd continued to discuss their views openly. They didn¡¯t even try to keep their volume down. After all, a Prince with no allies didn¡¯t concern them.

    Even if he was of royal blood!

    So what?

    There were more than a hundred people with royal blood.

    To put it bluntly, the Ninth Prince probably met with the Emperor less than a rank three or even rank four official.

    "Hello, Ninth Prince." Fang Zhengzhi smiled and ignored the opinions of those around him. After all, he had interacted with the Ninth Prince and even raced him before.

    "Hello." Yan Xiu nodded.

    Wen Dabao was a little stunned when Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu replied. However, he recovered quickly and greeted the Ninth Prince as well.

    Then, they took their seats.

    At that moment, music began to fill the air. Everyone turned their attention to the seven white jade floating tforms.

    This was what they were here for.

    The music continued to y as the lights in the Seven Star Lane were dimmed. Eventually, only the seven days of light shining on the tforms were left.

    "It¡¯s about to start!"

    There was fire in the eyes of the crowd as they waited excitedly for the show to start. They loved having this sense of mystery.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu also looked at the tforms and waited for people to appear.

    The music became clearer and crisper.

    Then, the ray of green light began to spread to the entire tform, staining the white jade a pale green.

    Then, a figure dressed in green floated down. Her eyebrows were picturesque and she held a pipa in her arms. Her dress danced lightly in the breeze.

    "Ding!"

    The sound of the pipa cut through the air and the music stopped.

    The air seemed to freeze as the sounds of the pipa reverberated through the room.

    "On the frontiers!"

    "Oh my! Bihua us performing ¡¯On the frontiers¡¯ tonight! What a great choice toe tonight!"

    "Yes! She is renowned for her rendition of ¡¯On the Frontiers¡¯! She rarely performs it... I never expected her to perform it tonight."

    "I bet that she would be performing today!"

    Many of the people in the crowd began to p and sing praises of thedy in green.

    At that moment, the sounds of the pipa began to die down and a second light became brighter, lighting up yet another tform. This was a blue light.

    "Youxue is going to perform!"

    "Bihua and Youxue rarely appear together. Bihua performed ¡¯On the frontiers¡¯. I wonder what Youxue would perform toplement that."

    "I can¡¯t wait!"

    The crowd looked on in anticipation at thedy in blue. They watched the Erhu she held in her hands excitedly.

    After thedy in the blue dressnded, she bowed to the crowd below and smiled sweetly.

    The crowd was electrified by her smile. All of them shuddered couldn¡¯t sit still in their seats.

    After Youxue smiled, she began to y the Erhu. The music was slow and calming and it filled the room within moments.

    "It¡¯s ¡¯Autumn Moon over the Han Pce¡¯!"

    "¡¯On the frontiers¡¯ is an emotional piece that elicits sadness in the audience. ¡¯Autumn Moon over the Han Pce¡¯ is a piece for emotional release! This is a greatbination!"

    "I made the right choice toe today!"

    All of them were intoxicated by the sadness in ¡¯On the frontiers¡¯. When they heard ¡¯Autumn Moon over the Han Pce¡¯, it was almost as though they found an outlet for release.

    The crowd was satisfied after the two performances.

    And then...

    The third ray of light lit up yet another tform. This was a pale purple light.

    "Wa! This is the first time I¡¯m seeing three of them!"

    "What a rare treat! Three in a night is something that only happens once every fortnight!"

    "Hahaha... I am bound to win my bet tonight! I bet that Youxue, Bihua, and Yuzi would be the main act tonight!"

 Chapter 505: Only possibility

    Chapter 505: Only possibility

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    When thedy in purple appeared on the tform, the atmosphere inside the Seven Star Lane reached a new high.

    Three girls in a night was a fortnightly treat!

    The crowd was extremely excited to have witnessed this.

    The music from the erhu died down and Yuzi, dressed in a pale purple dress, bowed to the crowd.

    Then, an egg-shaped instrument appeared in her hand.

    Xun!

    This was not amon instrument but it had a long history. This was made from y and was as big as a goose egg. The base was t and the sides had six holes.

    "Woo!"

    A very full and high-pitched sound filled the room. It blended it wonderfully with the atmosphere and gave everyone the feeling that they were floating amongst the clouds.

    The crowd fell silent when they heard this. They perked up their ears and closed their eyes to fully immerse themselves in the music.

    Even Ping Yang closed her eyes, her lips parting and pursing with the music. It was almost as though she was humming along.

    Yan Xiu was also nodding away with the rhythm.

    As for Wen Dabao, he had beenpletely mesmerized a long time ago. He even forgot that he wanted to take a girl home tonight. He salivated as he watched Yuzi...

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Ninth Prince Lin Yun. Lin Yun¡¯s eyes were open and he was wide awake.

    Does he not appreciate music?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think that was possible.

    After all, as a member of the Royal Family, he would have learnt to appreciate music. The only possible exnation was that something was on his mind.

    "Ninth Prince, is something bothering you?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "No... no there isn¡¯t!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun shook his head when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. He turned to look at the tforms, "I just think that the atmosphere today is slightly strange."

    "Strange? I think it¡¯s quite normal." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Is that so?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun was taken aback but he chuckled. "I heard that you make a mean hot pot. I wonder if I will have a chance to try it?"

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Then... is this a good time?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun was excited to hear this.

    "Now?"

    "Yes, if there is any problem with the ingredients or the equipment, we can go to Ping Yang¡¯s residence now." Ninth Prince Lin Yun replied excitedly.

    "Haha, no way. I ced a bet on all seven appearing today." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "All seven? This... is that even winnable? How much did you bet? If you didn¡¯t bet much, I can buy over your ticket."

    "30,000 silvers!"

    "That much?! Okay... okay then. Young Master Fang, you can hand me the ticket and I will have people send the silvers to Ping Yang¡¯s residence tomorrow!"

    "Thank you for the offer, but I am nning on winning some silvers with this ticket..." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled and rejected the offer.

    "You n to win that bet?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s mouth twitched when he heard that. He wanted to say something but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin any further, neither did he look at Ninth Prince Lin Yun again. He simply looked up and enjoyed the music.

    The tune from the Xun filled the air.

    After some time, the tune of the Xun died down. All of a sudden, there was a hugemotion! A fourth tform had lit up!

    This tform was different from the others. There was arge red drum on the tform.

    "It¡¯s Lanyi!"

    "I haven¡¯t seen Lanyi in five days! She¡¯s performing tonight!"

    "This... this is the fourth star..."

    "Yes, this is the fourth star! Four in one night is something that only happens once every two months! Those who didn¡¯te here tonight would beat themselves up over it!"

    The crowd was on its feet when everyone saw the figure descending on the tform. To have four stars perform for them in a single night was a treat not to be missed.

    More than a year ago, to see one star would take many days of wait. Even so, people were satisfied with that.

    When the Seven Star Lane was set up, the people were treated to at least one star every night. On some nights, there will be coborations between stars!

    Yet, it was rare for four of them to perform in one night.

    Even though this happened once every two months, most people could not afford toe here every day just to wait.

    After all...

    Every visit to the Seven Star Lane was very expensive.

    Those who could afford toe once every three to five days were considered some of the richest and most influential in the city.

    It was no wonder they were so excited.

    Seeing four stars in the main act was something that they could brag about. For those from out of town, this was an especially rare treat.

    This was a day that they would never forget.

    The boom of the drum echoed through the air.

    It was powerful and resonated through the room. During the quicker segments, it sounded like raindrops whilst during the slower segments, it resonated like thunder. Her talent was clear for all to see.

    The crowd was mesmerized.

    Then, their eyes widened and their jaws dropped. At this time, a fifth tform lit up.

    The drums had yet to stop but the light was already shining.

    At the same time, a shapely figure descended, holding an instrument asrge as the Guqin in her arms.

    Se!

    This was a duet between the drums and the se!

    The fifth star was Yueqing.

    This was something that no one in the crowd had expected. Yueqing¡¯s performance meant that there were already five stars tonight.

    "Five stars!"

    "Five in a night!"

    "My god, how is that possible? I managed to see five in one night?!"

    The crowd was extremely excited when the fourth tform lit up. However, when Yueqingnded on the white tform, everyone was in shock.

    This...

    This was an unexpected surprise.

    This surprise quickly changed into unbridled joy. Yueqing had begun ying and the music blended in perfectly with the rhythm of the drums.

    Even people who didn¡¯t know how to appreciate music were mesmerized by this.

    The crowd closed their eyes and savored every moment. Even Ping Yang waspletely mesmerized by the music. Her dress and sleeves danced along to the rhythm of the music.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were closed as he savored each moment.

    As for Wen Dabao, he had already begun to tremble. If not for the fact that he was afraid of disrupting the music, he would have been rolling on the floor to release the energy inside him.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    Right now, Lin Yun¡¯s expression was much calmer than before. He was squinting slightly. For someone who had been taught to appreciate music from a young age, no issue could bother him enough to make him ignore such an exquisite performance.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked around him, surveying every member of the crowd.

    Then, he looked away.

    Everyone waspletely intoxicated by the music. This was an intoxication that simply couldn¡¯t be faked.

    The music was just too good.

    However...

    Everyone¡¯s eyes shot open when a bell tone cut through the air. This didn¡¯t belong to any of the two instruments.

    It was the Bianzhong!

    This was an important instrument in the royal ensemble!

    It was a huge instrument with many different bells of various sizes. No one could carry it by themselves, so it had been ced on the stage prior to the performance.

    Those who hade here before knew that there were two different bianzhongs on that tform.

    "Six... six headliners!"

    "The sixth star!"

    "Six of them?!"

    The crowd looked at the tform and the beautiful body ying them in shock and awe.

    Having six stars perform in one night had happened before. However, it had only happened three times a year.

    Three times! Only three times a year!

    What were the chances?!

    The crowd was shocked that they had the great fortune of seeing six stars perform in the night. Also, they were stunned because...

    They would lose all of their bets!

    The crowd had ced their bets in many ces, but no one had bet on six stars appearing. The chances of that were too low.

    "This was something that no one could predict."

    "Yes, that¡¯s true. To be honest, even if we didn¡¯t win our bets, being able to enjoy the music of six stars is a great constion."

    "I think everyone lost today?"

    "No, there is one more possibility, that is..."

    The crowd shook their heads and sighed. Then they thought of one other possibility. No one bet on six stars appearing, but there were three people who bet on an even more unlikely oue...

    All seven!

    But will all seven really appear?

    If they did, it would be utterly unbelievable! This only happened once in the entire history of the Seven Star Lane.

    Were they really that urate?

    No one believed that this would happen, but they didn¡¯t have a good feeling about this.

    If Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang hadn¡¯t bet on it, then no one would have even thought that it was possible.

    However...

    Since the three of them had bet on it, everyone began to think of the seventh when the sixth one appeared.

    "Can this guy¡¯s luck get any better?"

    "It¡¯s impossible!"

    "If he manages to win this bet, I will strip naked right here!"

    "The chances of that happening are much too slim!"

    The crowd looked at thedy ying the bianzhong, then turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang.

    "Hey, shameless fe, do you really think that all seven will appear tonight?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glimmered as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "I think that six is about as many as we will see tonight. I think that something is wrong if all seven appear." Ping Yang smirked.

    "Why so?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as well.

    "Haha... just think about it. Ourbined bets for all seven stars is 130,000 silvers. If we strike, that¡¯s 1,300,000 silvers! The boss of the Seven Stars Lane must know this. I doubt he will be that generous." Ping Yang replied confidently.

    "Mm, you are right. Aiya, why did I forget about that? I told you not to bet with me! Maybe tonight was really the night for seven stars!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and red at Ping Yang.

    "You¡¯re ming me? I have 50,000 silvers on that bet!" Ping Yang rolled her eyes.

    "I didn¡¯t think of that either..." Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was icy, but it sounded as though he med himself.

    The crowd was initially stunned when they heard the conversation. Then, they chuckled.

    "Hahaha... all seven? How is that possible?"

    "Exactly, the boss of the Seven Stars Lane is no dummy! He will never let them win this bet! That¡¯s 1.3 million silvers!"

    "I guess everyone is set to lose tonight. However, being able to see six stars in one night is good enough for me!"

    Everyone smiled as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Even though they lost, they tookfort that Fang Zhengzhi had lost with them.

 Chapter 506: I can betray everyone in the world but one person

    Chapter 506: I can betray everyone in the world but one person

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Wen Dabao paled. He loved the fact that he had just seen six stars perform. However, he had lost his entire vault of savings in the process.

    His feelings right now were difficult to describe.

    As for all seven stars?

    He had thought about it, but Ping Yang was right. The boss of the Seven Star Lane was no dumb.

    The betting table had been set up just outside his ce. If he didn¡¯t know that there was 130,000 riding on all seven appearing, then he wasn¡¯t fit to be the boss.

    No matter what...

    There was no way all seven would appear today.

    The sound of the bianzhong died down. Then, thedy bowed to the crowd.

    At that moment, everyone rose to give a standing ovation!

    "That was ster!"

    "Yes! When is Shishi going to perform for us again?"

    "It is our good fortune to have been graced by the presence of six stars today!"

    As they stood up to p, they all looked at the seventh tform, smiling as they did so.

    The seventh tform didn¡¯t light up.

    "Only six!"

    "Hahaha, all seven? What a joke!"

    "Hahaha does he really think he is that lucky? Even if he is, he should bet on something more realistic!"

    The crowd began to chuckle when they saw that the seventh tform had yet to light up.

    The results were out...

    Actually, the results had been decided the moment there was 130,000 riding on that bet. It wasn¡¯t going to happen tonight.

    The boss of the Seven Star Lane was not stupid.

    That was what everyone thought. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly.

    Then...

    Their mockery turned into doubt and confusion. They saw that Fang Zhengzhi stood up and stared at the seventh tform.

    "Come down!"

    The words were simple and said calmly. However, the entire Seven Star Lane was quiet.

    All of the instruments stopped ying at that moment. No one made a single sound. Even the waitresses stopped what they were doing.

    This had shocked everyone there and they stared at the figure standing in the middle of the room.

    However, the silence was quickly broken. The crowdughed at the top of their lungs. They couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard.

    "Hahaha... what did I just hear? Did he saye down?!"

    "Yes,e down! Who does he think he is?"

    "This is the most hrious thing that I have heard sinceing here! Who points to the tform and demands a stare down? Hahaha... this is killing me!"

    "Does he really think that the boss of the Seven Star Lane will listen to him?"

    The crowdughed hysterically. They ignored the fact that Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were beside Fang Zhengzhi. This was too ridiculous.

    To them...

    This was a joke. It was the biggest joke they had ever witnessed.

    Ping Yang waspletely shocked as well. She had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    Yan Xiu was looking at Fang Zhengzhi as well. His icy expression gave away little, but one could see that he was deep in thought by the glow in his eyes.

    Wen Dabao wanted tough as well but he suppressed it. He knew what the consequences would be if heughed, so he did his best to suppress it.

    This caused his face to turnpletely red.

    However, within moments, all the blood drained from his face. This was from the shock and horror as a result of what he saw.

    Wen Dabao¡¯s eyes were actually really small. But now...

    They were about to pop out of their sockets.

    His eyes were filled with disbelief. He simply couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that this was really happening.

    Because...

    The seventh tform lit up.

    That was a pale yellow, almost golden light. It shone down from the ceiling and on the tform, staining it golden.

    "It... lit, lit, lit up?!" Wen Dabao¡¯s lips quivered as he looked at the golden light on the tform. He was utterly floored.

    He was not alone. Most of the crowd couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. When the golden light shone on that tform, the crowd fell silent...

    Theughter died down almost instantly and was reced by a pin-drop silence.

    It was so sudden that most people couldn¡¯t even react in time. Theo bodies were frozen and their minds were nk.

    No one could figure out what was happening. No one understood why the seventh tform would light up either.

    Then...

    A figurended on the tform.

    Thisdy was in a golden dress, her silky smooth hair falling to her waist. She had a maroon guqin in her hands.

    "It¡¯s... it¡¯s Luo... Luoqin!"

    "It really is Luoqin!"

    "Am... am I seeing things? Luoqin is performing?!"

    No one in the crowd could believe their eyes. All of them were filled with surprise and shock when they saw Luoqin.

    When Luoqinnded on her tform, this signifies that tonight was an extraordinary night.

    Seven stars...

    All seven stars!

    This was something that had happened only once in the past one and a half years. Yet, this was happening tonight!

    That was not the most important part. They simply couldn¡¯t believe that the seven stars would appear tonight.

    This was utterly unbelievable.

    "No way... why would Luoqin listen to him?!"

    "What is happening?"

    "You have to be kidding me. Is the boss of the Seven Star Lane mad? Why would he let Luoqine down? That¡¯s 1.3 million silvers!"

    "No way... I must be seeing things... I must be seeing things..."

    No one could believe their eyes when they saw Luoqin now to them. They were so stunned that they forgot to scream and p.

    Calling this a miracle would be a gross understatement. There were no words to describe the shock they had just experienced.

    "Ding!"

    The music from the Guqin filled the air.

    It sounded calm and smooth, almost like a light breeze caressing the surface of ake. Then, there was the feeling of a light drizzle causing little ripples on the surface.

    Everyone calmed down when they heard this music. It soothed the raging ocean of emotions in the room.

    A calming and rxing sensation came over everyone.

    Finally, the music stopped.

    Everyone looked away from Luoqin. They turned to look at the seated figure in the middle of the room.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    "He guessed it!"

    "How did he manage to guess that? Is he even human?"

    "Is he a monster? Even monsters aren¡¯t capable of being so urate in their predictions. Do you think he is rted to the Seven Star..."

    "No way! How powerful is the Seven Star Lane? He is a peasant by birth! Why would he be rted to them?"

    "Most importantly, this is the capital! There are so many people going in and out every day. He couldn¡¯t possibly have been hiding here for the past year!"

    "Yes, the only reason why he managed to enter the city this time was because Chi Hou and Yan Xiu were escorting him. Furthermore, he had assistance from Ping Yang. Else, he would not have been able to enter! How could he possibly have hid here over the past year?"

    The crowd had calmed down initially. However, when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi, a wave of emotions came over them and they began to be boisterous again.

    They couldn¡¯t understand...

    Why would Luoqin appear right after Fang Zhengzhi said e down!¡¯?

    Was it a coincidence?

    The crowd looked at each other and nodded. They couldn¡¯t think of any other possibilities

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s background was an open secret.

    He was a peasant.

    He only had one friend, Yan Xiu. Even though Yan Xiu was powerful and influential, his family would never meddle in the affairs of the Seven Star Lane.

    Without considering anything else...

    Yan Qianli wouldn¡¯t allow it!

    As for Ping Yang?

    That was impossible as well! Why would a princess open a ce like this in the capital? Ping Yang didn¡¯t need the money.

    So how did Fang Zhengzhi manage to get it right everytime?

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi knew the person who owned the Seven Star Lane, this night would cost the owner 1.3 million silvers!

    What rtionship was worth that much money?

    Even the tax collected by a single province barely reached one million silvers. Even though business was brisk, 1.3 million was not a small sum.

    As such...

    This should never have happened!

    The only possible reason was that this was a coincidence! But what was the boss thinking? Why would he not change the n knowing that he would lose 1.3 million silvers?

    Was he really that willful?

    No one in the crowd could understand it. At that moment, a figure fell to his knees, tears of regret rolling down his cheeks.

    Young Master Fang, I, Wen Dabao, am an idiot... I should never have doubted you. I should have followed your bets! Next time, I will bet on whatever you bet. Even if you bet on eight, nine, or even 10! I will never doubt you... since you won 300,000 silvers, please spare me some!"

    Wen Dabao lunged for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right leg as he bawled.

    At that very moment, there was a voice next to him.

    "Scram!"

    Then, he felt a wave of force crash into his face. He began tumbling backward.

    He crashed into the seat of another member of the crowd.

    "Plonk!"

    Before that man could react, Wen Dabao was sent crashing into him. He fell to the ground and broke a tooth.

    Just as he was about to swear, he saw a red figure stand up.

    Then...

    Both Wen Dabao and that member of the crowd shut up instantly.

    Usually, they would have the right to speak. However, when faced with Ping Yang, all their rights went out the window.

    "Not bad, this ce is pretty generous!" Ping Yang chuckled and smiled at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Actually...

    Anyone who had just won 450,000 silvers in one sitting would be smiling this radiantly, even if they didn¡¯t need the silvers.

    "I can let everyone but one person down!" Fang Zhengzhi smirked when he looked at Ping Yang. He knew what she was thinking.

    Sometimes, a decision may look dumb or stupid. No one may understand your decision and everyone may think that you¡¯ve lost your mind.

    But it didn¡¯t matter.

    That was a necessary cause of action.

    In his previous world, there was a saying. I would rather betray everyone in the world than to have one person betray me.

    To Fang Zhengzhi, he could betray everyone in the world but one person. That person had rushed to the Northern Mountain Vige from Western Liang in three days.

    That man¡¯s name...

    Yan Xiu!

    It was decided from the moment Yan Xiu bet on all seven stars appearing. He would not be disappointed tonight!

 Chapter 507: Yan Xiu a year later

    Chapter 507: Yan Xiu a yearter

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t regret his decision. Even if the others mocked him, he would still make the same decision again.

    However...

    When he thought about the one million silvers...

    His lips twitched and his heart ached. It felt as though his pockets had just been emptied.

    All that silver... that mountainous pile of silver...

    "You can betray everyone in the world except for one?" Ping Yang was stunned when she heard this. She never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would say such a thing. Then, she chuckled, her body shaking. "I never expected that someone as shameless as you would be grateful to me for what I did."

    "Grateful to you?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned to see Ping Yang chuckling so happily. His expression froze. Something was wrong.

    No way?!

    Did she misunderstand that? How overconfident is she?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he should exin himself, but he didn¡¯t see a need to. He couldn¡¯t say that he did that for Yan Xiu and not Ping Yang.

    For starters, he would hurt feelings. Furthermore, the consequences of such a statement were unimaginable!

    That was akin to confirming that he had a rtionship with the Seven Star Lane. Even though he didn¡¯t deny that he had a connection...

    The connection was not a strong one.

    That being said, he was rather surprised to see that Ping Yang would trust him and bet that much money on something he chose.

    It would seem that...

    Ping Yang did get smarter over the past year. Maybe she really was growing up.

    As for the silvers, he was prepared to forgo Yan Xiu¡¯s winnings. However, he had to find a way to recoup the silvers from Ping Yang!

    He had to do it!

    Wen Dabaoid on the floor. He was at a loss. He stared at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    He didn¡¯t understand what the link was between what Fang Zhengzhi said and what Ping Yang had said. More importantly, what was all that talk about being grateful?

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun squinted as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he looked at the smiling Ping Yang in confusion.

    Yan Xiu seemed rather calm, but his fingers trembled slightly when he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    It was a small movement that no one noticed.

    As for the rest of the audience...

    They were all lost and confused. They had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were saying.

    "What did he just say? Was it some famous saying?"

    "Nope. I¡¯ve never heard of it!"

    "Neither have I. Perhaps he is consumed by the happiness of winning all that silver."

    "Possibly... I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s never seen that much silver in his life."

    No one could understand what had just transpired, so they decided that Fang Zhengzhi was babbling nonsense.

    That being said, they were still in awe at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s luck.

    How could he possibly manage to guess that all seven stars would perform?

    That was unbelievable!

    Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu with awe and envy. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    The seven stars began to perform once again and the atmosphere inside the Seven Star Lane became livelier. In addition, there was a line of dancing and singingdies who appeared on stage.

    The attention of the crowd moved away from Fang Zhengzhi as people began to appreciate the music and the dances. A few continued to look at Fang Zhengzhi, but most decided to just enjoy themselves.

    After all, that was what they were here for.

    All through the night, the waitresses helped to refill drinks. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s table had quite a few rounds of drinks.

    Everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

    At that very moment, amotion could be heard outside the Seven Star Lane. Then, a few hulking figures entered.

    Each one of them wore thick rattan armor and had a piece of luxurious leather over their shoulder.

    "People from the Southern Region!"

    "What are they doing here? Has the Queen of the Southern Region arrived?"

    "I doubt it. The Emperor would never let the Queen visit on the same day that he is hosting the banquet. This is probably just a messenger!"

    "Mm, Young Master Li makes sense!"

    The crowd began to guess who these people were. After all, news that the Queen was visiting the capital had spread like wildfire.

    She was probably near the capital by now.

    The crowd didn¡¯t pay much attention to the messengers.

    It was normal for them toe to the Seven Star Lane to immerse in the Great Xia culture since they hade all this way.

    However...

    If these people were really messengers from the Southern Region, then Fang Zhengzhi was in trouble.

    Just as they were thinking about it, the messengers stopped in their tracks and surveyed the room. Their eyes stopped at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He¡¯s here?"

    The Southern Region messengers were in disbelief when they saw Fang Zhengzhi.

    The crowd saw the expressions on the faces of the messengers.

    They could understand the shock. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was notorious. He had killed their Crown Prince and vited their Queen...

    Right now...

    That man had appeared in broad daylight. He was enjoying himself in the Seven Star Lane. The Southern Region messengers were not alone.

    A few days ago, the crowd would not have believed this either.

    "You have got the wrong man. He is not Fang Zhengzhi. He is Fang Zhengzheng. Chi Hou himself testified to that. Furthermore..." Wen Dabao could tell that trouble was brewing and he tried to defuse the situation.

    "Rubbish! Do you think that we are blind? Fang Zhengzhi, we will recognize you even if you are a pile of ashes! You will pay in blood tonight!" The messenger interrupted Wen Dabao.

    All the others red and drew their weapons. No one believed Wen Dabao.

    "Is something about to happen?"

    "The Queen is about to arrive. If her messengers are harmed, this could be a huge incident!"

    "This fe was too arrogant. He knew that the Queen wasing, yet he chose this time to enter the city. The Southern Region doesn¡¯t care who testified for him."

    The crowd sighed in exasperation but no one stepped forward to help.

    They were willing to be ¡¯innocent spectators¡¯. Furthermore, this concerned the Southern Region and no one wanted to implicate themselves.

    "This is the capital! There isw and order here! Do you really want to kill him here? Aren¡¯t you afraid your Queen will me you?" Wen Dabao stood in their way.

    These were merely messengers?

    What was there to fear?!

    "What now? Do you need me to kill them for you?" Ping Yang looked at the furious messengers and her lips twitched in scorn.

    "Sure." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Since Ping Yang had just earned so much of his silvers, he was more than willing to let her do something for me.

    "Hahaha... you don¡¯t have to worry as long as I am around. Wen Dabao, step aside!" Ping Yang chuckled when she heard this. She waved her hand and the zing Qilin Spear appeared in her hands.

    Her red dress was dancing.

    She exuded a domineering aura and her stance did make her seem extremely powerful.

    "Yes, your highness!" Wen Dabao scrambled to the back when he heard this.

    "Sister, they are ambassadors of the Southern Region, we need to..." Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s expression changed. He tried to stop Ping Yang, but it was toote.

    Because...

    Ping Yang thrust her spear outwards.

    No hesitation...

    The mes filled the air like a tsunami, boiling everything in its path. It was much more powerful than it was a year ago.

    The Southern Region ambassadors watched on in horror.

    They never expected that they would be attacked before they could attack. However, they responded quickly.

    A ray of blue light cut through the wall of fire. It was cold and icy, and it split the fire into two. There was some white mist and the mes slowed down.

    Everyone was shocked to see this.

    A messenger actually managed to block Pin Yang¡¯s attack?! After all, Ping Yang was not weak.

    Ping Yang was equally shocked.

    She had been working hard over the past year and had made great progress. She had wanted to use this opportunity to show off...

    But she never expected that her attack would be blocked by a messenger!

    "What is happening? How can a messenger be as powerful as me? This is ridiculous!" Ping Yang prepared to strike again.

    Another voice rang out at that moment.

    "This is Yan Capital! Ignore everything else and take Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Two figures immediately sprinted past Ping Yang and lunged at Fang Zhengzhi. They were in front of him within moments.

    "Oh my god!"

    "Are all their messengers this powerful?"

    "Are they really just messengers?"

    The crowd was shocked to see the two figures go around Ping Yang. They could ept that one of the messengers was exceptionally powerful.

    However...

    It was a little ridiculous that the entire squad was that powerful.

    That was what they thought. However, they did not step in to help. Part of the reason was that they were not powerful enough.

    The messengers in front of them were more powerful than they expected. They were in the Supernatural State at the very least.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he saw the two figures charge at him.

    Southern Region messengers?

    That was a decent choice. Furthermore, they had done their research and put in the effort to disguise themselves appropriately.

    However, they couldn¡¯t hide their abilities.

    Fang Zhengzhi tapped his fingers on the table. He didn¡¯t have to move. The person next to him had already sprung into action.

    A ray of red light appeared on the ground. It was the color of blood and was filled with an icy aura.

    A shrill sound echoed through the air.

    It sounded like it hade from the ground.

    The music inside the Seven Star Lane stopped and the two charging messengers were rooted to their spot.

    It had all happened too quickly. It was almost as though the two of them had run straight into a wall. They couldn¡¯t move an inch.

    The two of them looked down at their feet and were ovee with shock and awe.

    Both of them were stepping on a whirlpool. It was a raging red whirlpool, almost as though a hand had risen from hell to grab their legs and root them to that spot.

    "I see!" The two messengers looked at each other, then turned to look at Yan Xiu solemnly.

    "The Dao of Audra!"

    "Yan Xiu¡¯s abilities have improved this much over the past year? He doesn¡¯t even look like he¡¯s in pain anymore!"

    "How powerful! Yan Xiu must be in the Supernatural State!"

    "That¡¯s very likely!"

    The crowd instinctively took a step back when they saw the red light. Each one of them was filled with terror.

    Yan Xiu had not stepped foot into the capital ever since he returned to Western Liang over a year ago.

    And now...

    He was already so terrifyingly powerful.

    Naturally, everyone was stunned. After all, one year was quite a short time. Such improvement was incredible!

    Just as they were thinking about it, the red light flickered and the two whirlpools holding the messengers in ce disappeared.

    Without a trace...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed.

    The blood drained from his face and he paled.

 Chapter 508: Cooling

    Chapter 508: Cooling

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    This was not from shock or terror. It was something from deep within Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Then, Yan Xiu¡¯s body began to shiver and red mist began to circle his body. It felt like he was on the verge of breaking down.

    "You..." Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze turned icy as he grit his teeth.

    "What¡¯s happening?"

    The crowd didn¡¯t understand what was happening when Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed. However, they understood it soon after.

    Because...

    Their expressions changed as well.

    They felt a chill shoot up their body from the base of their feet. It felt as though they were being frozen in a block of ice.

    It was too cold.

    It was so cold that they couldn¡¯t move. In fact, it felt as though their blood and muscles had frozen over too.

    "What¡¯s happening?"

    This turn of events had shocked them all. Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets as they red at the chuckling Southern Region messengers.

    They finally understood why Yan Xiu¡¯s powers would disappear in that instant. Just like Yan Xiu, they felt the energy being drained from their bodies.

    "Were we poisoned?!"

    "How dare they poison us?"

    "When did they..."

    None of them could figure out when or how they had been poisoned. However, the fact was that they had been poisoned.

    Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed as well, her eyes filled with rage as she bit her lip. "How dare you poison me in the capital?!"

    "Your Highness, there must be some misunderstanding. We would never dare to poison you!" One of the messengers smiled and shook his head when he heard Ping Yang.

    "Do you think I will believe you?" Ping Yang didn¡¯t believe a single word.

    "That¡¯s up to you. We do not owe you an exnation." The Southern Region messenger smiled and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. "Fang Zhengzhi, you will meet your maker tonight!"

    "Is that so? You already said something simr once before." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled scornfully and stood up.

    The Southern Region messengers tightened the grip on their swords when they saw Fang Zhengzhi stand up.

    Everyone wanted to know if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation had been ruined. Even though that was extremely likely, no one had confirmed it...

    In the event that his cultivation had not actually been ruined, he would be a force to be reckoned with now!

    "Ahhh!!! Save me! Help me!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice cut through the air just as the messengers were considering that possibility.

    "Plonk!"

    "Plonk!"

    "..."

    The Southern Region messengers looked on in surprise and amusement when they heard Fang Zhengzhi scream for help so unabashedly. The crowd fell to their knees when they heard it.

    "He still hasn¡¯t changed!"

    "He should still try to have some dignity even if he¡¯s really scared!"

    "He went from being so arrogant to screaming for help within moments?!"

    Everyone was speechless when they heard Fang Zhengzhi scream for help. This was such a drastic change!

    "There are Southern Region messengers here who poisoned the guests! They¡¯re nning to kill next!"

    "Guards!"

    "Help!"

    "..."

    "Why aren¡¯t you all going? Don¡¯t forget that this is the capital! There are definitely many guards patrolling the city!"

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the looks of disdain on the faces of the crowd. He continued to scream for help.

    "The capital... so what? Hahaha..." one of the Southern Region messengers couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    "Are you afraid now?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "Scared? Hahaha... we are so scared!" The messenger chuckled. Then, he turned to the people behind him. "Shut the door!"

    "Yes!" The other messengers ran to the back and locked the doors to the Seven Star Lane.

    "What are you all doing? This is the Seven Star Lane! You can¡¯t kill in here!" One of the waitresses tried to stop them from locking the door.

    "Scram!" The Southern Region messenger sent the waitress flying.

    All of the other waitresses shuddered at this sight and ran towards the middle of the room, screaming as they did so.

    This caused the crowd to frown.

    Furthermore...

    They felt that there was something not quite right with the actions of the messengers.

    After all, even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were slightly cowardly, it was probably the best course of action right now.

    This area was famous for its entertainment and fun.

    However, it was also the most heavily patrolled area in the capital. There were way too many altercations here. Fights could break out over women, money, even poems or words said!

    As such...

    It would be extremely weird if there weren¡¯t any guards patrolling the area.

    Yet, despite Fang Zhengzhi screaming for so long, there was no sign of any guards arriving. No one even came over to see what themotion was about.

    This was extremely suspicious!

    More importantly, the messenger had asked for the Seven Star Lane to be locked up. This was not something that they would usually do.

    They wouldn¡¯t have found it strange if the messengers had killed Fang Zhengzhi on sight. However, for them to lock the doors and try to kill Fang Zhengzhi after he had screamed for help was abnormal.

    Fang Zhengzhi was right, this was the capital!

    Where were they getting their courage and confidence from?

    "No one is here even though I¡¯ve been screaming for ages... I guess... there is no hope." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and sighed as he looked at the locked doors.

    "You can give up now! You will definitely die today!" The messenger replied icily.

    "That¡¯s impossible! The security in the capital has always been great! Why didn¡¯t anyonee to save me?" Fang Zhengzhi whined bitterly.

    "Haha, yes, the security in the capital is great, but it is a pity that this is the Seven Star Lane!" The messenger smirked.

    "Oh, so you do know that this is the Seven Star Lane?" The fear disappeared from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and it was reced by a smirk.

    "What do you mean?" The messenger was stunned to see Fang Zhengzhi smirking. He had a bad feeling about this.

    The fear that was on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face had disappearedpletely.

    On the contrary...

    He seemed very confident.

    Confident?

    Why would he be confident?

    The doors were locked and there were no guards outside! Yan Xiu was also immobilized! Shouldn¡¯t he be despairing?

    He must be acting! He can¡¯t possibly be that confident!

    Just as he was thinking about it, he felt a chill down his spine. It was a cold, sharp aura. It was almost like an icy spear.

    "Oh no!" The Southern Region messenger was in disbelief. He wanted to dodge to the side, but he realized that his legs were being held down.

    He looked down.

    His expression changed instantly.

    There was a red whirlpool beneath his feet that was keeping him rooted to his spot.

    "Dao of Asura!"

    The Southern Region messenger knew exactly what the red whirlpool represented. However, he couldn¡¯t figure out why he would be trapped by the Dao of Asura.

    Was Yan Xiu not poisoned?

    If he wasn¡¯t...

    What was with his expression just now?

    The Southern Region messenger really wanted to find out what was happening, but this was not the time for that. A ray of red light shot towards him.

    It was so quick that he couldn¡¯t respond in time.

    "Sh*t!"

    The de fell...

    His arm fell to the ground, blood spewing from the open wound and sshing on the ground.

    It wasn¡¯t over.

    There was a de that had pierced his chest. This was a de pushed through from the back and blood dripped from the de.

    "What... what¡¯s happening?" The Southern Region messenger stared at the pale Yan Xiu and the sword in his back.

    He never expected that this would happen.

    He was in control! What was happening? Why was Yan Xiu unaffected? Who had stabbed him in the back?

    Were all the other messengers dead?

    What happened?

    The Southern Region messenger turned to look behind him. His eyes widened. There was ady behind him.

    She was an ordinary lookingdy.

    Most importantly, he recognized thisdy. This was the person who he had sent flying moments ago. Yet, she was now standing behind him.

    She had a sword in her hand. A sword that she had used to stab him.

    "Weakling." Thedy said derisively. She was calm and cold, a far cry from the panickingdy she was moments ago.

    The expression of the Southern Region messenger changed.

    Even though he didn¡¯t live a life of luxury or riches, he had always been respected as a Rebirth State cultivator.

    Since when was he ever considered a weakling?

    Yet now, a waitress had just called him a weakling.

    The Southern Region messenger was bitter. There were waitresses standing behind all of the other messengers. These were thedies who were panicking and running for their lives moments ago.

    Seven Star Lane!

    It was impossible not to understand what was going on by now. However, he didn¡¯t understand why the Seven Star Lane would involve itself in this.

    "Hahaha... what do you think of my acting skills? Not bad huh?" Ping Yang¡¯s voice echoed through the room as she beamed.

    "You? Passable. I thought Yan Xiu¡¯s was better." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched.

    "Oh please, I was clearly the one who confused them." Ping Yang pouted.

    "I think that I acted better as well." Yan Xiu spoke up. His tone was calm and icy, almost as though he was an independent third party.

    "..." Ping Yang was stunned. Then, rage filled her face. "Yan Xiu, when did you be as shameless as him?!"

    "Yan Xiu is merely stating a fact. Didn¡¯t you think that his pale look was very convincing? They all bought it!" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "That¡¯s because they are dumb!" Ping Yang wasn¡¯t about to admit defeat.

    "You were... acting?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun wanted to stand up, but he had no energy to move.

    Poisoned?

    Not poisoned?

    What was happening? He had drunk the same wine and had the same food as Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. They were even seated at the same table!

    Why was he poisoned when they were unaffected?

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang ignored the rest as they continued to bicker. They didn¡¯t even care about the Southern Region messengers.

    Wen Dabao¡¯s jaws dropped in disbelief.

    He was not alone.

    No one in the crowd could understand what just happened? How did things change so quickly? Were they not poisoned?

    Hos is that possible?

    The crowd looked at each other in confusion. They were all paralyzed and had the energy drained from their body. Why was Yan Xiu unaffected?

    Furthermore...

    What did they mean by acting? Could it be that they knew these people woulde tonight and try to poison them?

    How is that possible?

    Confusion...

    Furthermore, why would they discuss acting skills in such a tense scenario?

    Most importantly, why would the Seven Star Lane interfere? Did Yan Xiu and Ping Yang set up an ambush here? Or did the Seven Star Lane want to prevent a scene here?

    Countless questions floated through the brains of the crowd.

    However, there was no one to answer them.

    The only sounds left in the Seven Star Lane were the voices of Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. The continued to bicker about whose acting skills were better. The expressions of the Southern Region messengers grew darker by the minute.

    "Are you guys done?!" The Southern Region messengers couldn¡¯t take it any longer. They had been ignored for the past 10 minutes! There was no way they would take that lying down.

 Chapter 509: Innocent spectators suffer as well

    Chapter 509: Innocent spectators suffer as well

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Killing! Couldn¡¯t they stab them in the front?

    The Southern Region messengers were furious.

    The Seven Star Lane fell silent as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned to look at the Southern Region messengers.

    "I¡¯m sorry. I forgot all about you lot. You should know, once a person is concentrating on one thing, they tend to ignore everything that is unimportant around them." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you..."

    "Odorless and tasteless. White Dew Frost."

    The Southern Region messengers were about to curse and swear. However, their expressions changed when they were interrupted by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at the messengers. He sat down and poured himself a ss of wine.

    "White Dew Frost. Even a Rebirth State cultivator would be paralyzed and lose all energy within 15 minutes. For people below the Rebirth State, this effect wouldst for about an hour. Most importantly, once the effects wear off, everything goes back to normal and there is no trace of it. I must say that it is a good choice for a poison."

    Fang Zhengzhi drank the wine and exined.

    "What did he say?"

    "White Dew Frost?"

    "I heard that it is extremely rare. It is sold by the drop on the ck market. I heard that it costs about one gold per drop, and even then, supply is limited! Have we been poisoned by White Dew Frost?"

    "But... how does he know all these?"

    The crowd was stunned when they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. They knew what Fang Zhengzhi meant, but they had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi knew all these.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had drunk the wine despite knowing that it had been spiked with White Dew Frost?

    What was he thinking?

    The crowd and the Southern Region messengers stared at Fang Zhengzhi, their eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets. They had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    "Mm, not bad. It is quite soothing." Fang Zhengzhi smiled after drinking the ss of spiked wine.

    "Soothing?"

    "Is he drinking it as though it¡¯s tea?"

    "What is he doing?"

    They looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief. How could someone possibly be that arrogant?

    The faces of the Southern Region messengers darkened.

    "Go to hell!"

    They were not willing to wait any longer. They didn¡¯t even care about why Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and Fang Zhengzhi were unaffected. The only thing on their minds...

    Kill Fang Zhengzhi!

    Rays of light shone through their bodies and the heavy rattan armor shuddered. They didn¡¯t underestimate their opponents.

    Their opponents were powerful.

    But they were still confident.

    Of the eight of them, one was a nascent Rebirth State cultivator whilst the other seven were pinnacle Supernatural State cultivators. What was there to fear?

    Furthermore, they didn¡¯t actually have to defeat Yan Xiu. All they had to do was distract him long enough so that they could grab Fang Zhengzhi.

    "So impatient?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly disappointed to see the rays of light. His lips twitched, "poison... really isn¡¯t your forte!"

    "Forte? What do you mean?" The messengers were stunned.

    Initially, they didn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant by forte, but they could guess soon enough.

    Because...

    Right after Fang Zhengzhi said that...

    A thick mist began to fill the Seven Star Lane. This was a grey mist that approached from all directions. The smell was extremely strong.

    It filled the room in moments.

    "I don¡¯t know why you all love to buy those expensive odorless and tasteless poison. Sometimes, the cheap ones are good too." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the room.

    The faces of the crowd inside the Seven Star Lane turned from pale to purple.

    Poison?

    Is he using poison in the Seven Star Lane? He is doing it so openly and without hesitation! He was poisoning an innocent crowd!

    The crowd was furious!

    They still couldn¡¯t move. That meant that there was no way they could cover their orifices. How could they possibly stand up to this poisonous mist?

    The only way was to hold their breath.

    But...

    How long could they hold it for?

    "No, I don¡¯t want to die!"

    "Quick, help me out! I don¡¯t want to die here."

    "Ah... what is that smell? Why does it reek so bad? Quick, somebody save me! I am still young! I have my whole life ahead of me!"

    The crowd began to scream and try to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. They tried to hold their breath, but they couldn¡¯t. They resorted to screaming.

    The more they screamed, the more grey mist entered their body. It was a vicious cycle.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun didn¡¯t scream. He held his breath.

    Then, an exquisite mask appeared in front of him.

    "Brother, wear this and you¡¯ll be fine." Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out. Then, she realized something, "Oh yes, you¡¯re paralyzed."

    As she spoke, she helped Ninth Prince Lin Yun put on the mask. Then, she blinked.

    "Sister, can¡¯t you give me the antidote for the White Dew Frost?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun asked.

    "I don¡¯t have it." Ping Yang blinked.

    "What do you mean?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun was confused.

    "We only had three doses. Wen Dabao didn¡¯t get one either. Look... he¡¯s still on the floor." Ping Yang pointed to Wen Dabao.

    Wen Dabao felt extremely humiliated and embarrassed.

    It wasn¡¯t because Ping Yang didn¡¯t give him the antidote. It was because Ping Yang didn¡¯t even offer him a mask.

    "Your Highness, mask... mask..." Wen Dabao didn¡¯t want to shout for fear that more of the grey mist would enter his body.

    However, he had no other choice.

    Because...

    Ping Yang looked like she wasn¡¯t prepared to give him a mask.

    "I don¡¯t have any more." Ping Yang waved Wen Dabao off and pointed to Ninth Prince Lin Yun. "We only had four. We prepared one for you, but... you understand right?"

    "I understand..." Wen Dabao looked at the mask on Lin Yun¡¯s face helplessly. Even though Ninth Prince Lin Yun was not powerful...

    He was still ranked higher than Wen Dabao.

    Furthermore, Ping Yang had already made her decision. He was in no position to ask for the mask on Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s face.

    Of course, even if he did ask for it, Ping Yang would not go and get it.

    As such...

    The only thing that he could do was suffer in silence. He kept inhaling the smoke until the world around him went dark and he lost consciousness.

    The rest of the crowd also began to slip off their seats and lost consciousness on the floor. They were bitter.

    But there was nothing they could do about it.

    Sometimes even the innocent spectators were not spared.

    After about 15 minutes, the smoke began to dissipate. Almost everyone was unconscious and on the floor.

    "That¡¯s not bad, but do you think that it is enough to defeat us?" The voice of the Southern Region messenger rang out.

    They all had a ck cloth over their mouth. They were smart enough to wet the cloth. No one knew where they had gotten the water from.

    "Oh? So you can defend against poison that way!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled mockingly as he looked at the messengers.

    "Go to hell!"

    "Hang on."

    "What else do you want to say?"

    "Look, everyone has fainted and there is no one else here. Why don¡¯t you tell me who you really are?" Fang Zhengzhi replied excitedly.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, do you think we are dumb?" The Southern Region messengers chuckled.

    "So you guys aren¡¯t stupid. However, it doesn¡¯t matter if you tell me or not." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he looked at the seven tforms. "We can begin."

    "Begin? What are you talking about?" The Southern Region messengers were stunned.

    When the seven stars on their tforms heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they took off their masks and bowed to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yes, master!"

    "Mas... master?!" The Southern Region messengers were stunned when they heard this. They finally understood what they had gotten themselves into.

    Their n was fine.

    Beforeing to the Seven Star Lane, they had bribed the servant in charge of the wine at the Seven Star Lane. In order to ensure the sess of the mission, they watched him pour the White Dew Frost into the wind.

    They even sent a few spies to ensure that Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and the others drank the wine before appearing.

    This was a perfect n.

    Poison them first, then make an appearance as Southern Region messengers. They would also have a reason to kill Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, they would have a crowd of witnesses.

    Most importantly, they could still get off scot-free.

    It was not easy to find out the identities of Southern Region messengers.

    The Great Xia would definitely consider the friendship between the two nations and the Southern Region would deny sending any messengers in the first ce.

    It was natural that there would be a few messengers loyal to thete Crown Prince who were out for revenge.

    Even if the Southern Region denied it all the way, everyone would think that they had done it. As long as they managed to leave the city tonight, they would be in the clear.

    However...

    They miscalcted one thing.

    The Seven Star Lane was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s territory.

    As such, their ns werepletely dismantled. They tried to poison the master of poisons. So what if a servant spiked the drinks with White Dew Frost?

    Once Fang Zhengzhi knew about this, he made the necessary preparations.

    Fang Zhengzhi had allowed them to spike the drinks and even drank it without hesitation.

    His aim was to bait them in!

    "ng!"

    A tune began to fill the air, interrupting the thoughts of the Southern Region messengers.

    Drums, Se, Qin...

    The seven stars yed their instruments concurrently. The musicyered over each other and filled the room.

    Even though the instruments were different...

    But...

    The tune they yed was the same.

    "Ambush!"

    This was a tune written for the pipa but could be apanied by other instruments. It was known as one of the ten most famous pieces of the ancient world. It was extremely wellposed.

    It was a piece with a domineering aura.

    "It¡¯s the Dao of Music!"

    "It¡¯s the Seven Tune Formation!"

    "Ambush... the irony!"

    The expressions of the Southern Region messengers changed when they heard this tune. They knew that this was no ordinary tune.

    They all felt as though they had been struck by lightning. It was almost as though gargantuan stones were smashing onto their heads and hearts.

    They had no choice but to fight for their lives.

    "So... the Seven Star Lane belongs to Fang Zhengzhi? Did he set up an ambush in advance? I guess... I didn¡¯t have toe today."

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun looked at the seven stars above him. He had the mask that prevented him from inhaling the poisonous smoke and losing consciousness.

    As such...

    He was rendered speechless.

    Dao of Music...

    Exploited on such a deep level.

    How could he not be stunned?

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun didn¡¯t ask any questions, neither did he say why he hade. He simply waited for the White Dew Frost to wear off.

    Then...

    He would leave quietly.

    The music¡¯s tempo became faster and faster, almost like a huge mountain crashing down on the Southern Region messengers. They were all pale and in pain.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun looked away from the seven stars and turned to stare at Fang Zhengzhi. Fang Zhengzhi was smiling at the Southern Region messengers.

    It had been a little more than one year...

    What did this man experience?

 Chapter 510: Kill them all

    Chapter 510: Kill them all

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    The battle inside the Seven Star Lane was not as intense as expected. When the ck-cloaked figures descended, the results of the battle were decided.

    The Southern Region messengers didn¡¯t expect that they would be outmuscled and outthought. They wanted to fight their way out of the Seven Star Lane.

    However, that was impossible because the gates had been locked. In fact, they had locked the gates themselves.

    "Now, will you tell me who you¡¯re working for?" Fang Zhengzhi asked the wounded Southern Region messengers.

    "Dream on!" Their faces were devoid of color but their tone was firm.

    "I guess we won¡¯t be able to extract any information from them. Kill them." Fang Zhengzhi nodded when he heard their reply.

    "Kill them?" Ping Yang was stunned.

    She wasn¡¯t alone. Even the Southern Region messengers were stunned to hear this. They thought that Fang Zhengzhi would want to take them alive.

    That being said...

    Right now, they preferred death to life.

    In fact, they had already decided tomit suicide if they couldn¡¯t escape. However, they were still shocked that Fang Zhengzhi would say something like that.

    "Hahaha... we don¡¯t need you to do it. We can kill ourselves! Brothers, we will avenge the Crown Prince in our next life!" One of the Southern Region messengers grit his teeth and chuckled after recovering from his initial shock.

    The other Southern Region messenger grit their teeth as well. They would die if they couldn¡¯t escape.

    "Stop them! Don¡¯t let them die!" Ping Yang panicked slightly when she saw that the Southern Region messengers were about tomit suicide.

    "No need. Let them die." Fang Zhengzhi ced a hand on Ping Yang¡¯s shoulder and nodded to the ck-cloaked figures.

    When they saw the look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, they sprang into action. Their swords had an icy glow to them.

    They went straight for the jugr at breakneck speeds.

    The Southern Region messengers didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi would actually kill them. However, the fact was that the swords showed no signs of slowing down.

    "Sh*t!"

    The swords pierced their hearts and sent blood spraying in all directions. All of a sudden, there were multiple puddles of blood on the floor.

    Death was a form of release.

    The Southern Region messengers had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi would not take them alive. However, they didn¡¯t resist when then knives pierced their body.

    "Boom!"

    The Southern Region messengers crumpled to the ground.

    Ninth Prince Lin Yun looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion. He didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    "Why did you kill them? How do we investigate dead people?" Ping Yang pouted. She couldn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know something that simple.

    "Do you really think we could investigate even if they were alive?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Erm..." Ping Yang was speechless. She could tell that these men were fiercely loyal and would never say anything to implicate others.

    However, she felt like there was a glimmer of hope if they were alive.

    "Sometimes dead men are more useful than live ones." Fang Zhengzhi added cryptically before waving to someone inside the Seven Star Lane.

    A few figures responded and they walked out dressed in ck. They arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Master!" The men replied.

    "Mm, change your clothes." Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the Southern Region messengers.

    "Yes, Master!" The males nodded and removed the heavy rattan armor from the dead bodies.

    Ping Yang suddenly realized what Fang Zhengzhi was nning.

    "You want them to impersonate these Southern Region messengers? I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s very possible. They look different! The people will definitely recognize them!" Ping Yang said doubtfully.

    "Have you heard of the art of disguise?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Disguise? Of course I have! However, it would take us many hours to create a simr human skin mask for them. Will we be in time?"

    "If my guess is correct, they are wearing masks already." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    At that moment, one of the figures in ck removed an exquisite human skin mask from the face of the Southern Region messenger and put it on.

    "They are really wearing masks? How did you know that?" Ping Yang was shocked and confused.

    "The people of the Southern Region have slightly darker skin color. It is not easy to find people powerful enough for this mission with that skin color. As such, the mask was the natural option." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "I see, what do we do next?" Ping Yang nodded. It was incredibly difficult to find powerful cultivators who looked like a Southern Region messenger.

    "We should deal with them ording to thew." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "ording to thew?" Ping Yang was slightly confused.

    "Byw, these people should be sent to the Ministry of Law. Then, the Ministry of Rites willmunicate with the Southern Region and the issue will be resolved when the queen arrives in the city." Ninth Prince Lin Yun replied.

    "I understand. You want to send them to the Ministry of Law and force their hand. Am I right?" Ping Yang seemed to understand.

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Would they buy it? I feel like it¡¯s a little too obvious." Ping Yang replied doubtfully.

    "It is a little too obvious." Ninth Prince Lin Yun nodded.

    It was not difficult to guess the true identity of these men from their appearance and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone.

    They were not actually Southern Region messengers.

    However, Ninth Prince Lin Yun also knew the mastermind. If these men were sent to the Ministry of Law...

    He could guess their fate.

    One of two things would happen the moment they stepped foot inside...

    First, they could possibly die a horrible death in jail. The second possibility was that they would disappear from the face of the earth without a trace.

    Either way, the issue would end here.

    As such...

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi do such a thing?

    "That¡¯s why I will need your help, Ninth Prince. I would like you to perform a little skit with me. Do you mind?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    "You need my help?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that Fang Zhengzhi would say something like that. After all, he was just an ¡¯outsider¡¯."

    However, since Fang Zhengzhi asked, he began to think about it.

    "What are you thinking of?"

    "Are you afraid of implicating yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "I am!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun hesitated, then grit his teeth, "but some things need to be done."

    "Haha, actually this won¡¯t cause you much trouble at all." Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he heard this.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter even if it puts me in trouble. After all, I¡¯m already..." Ninth Prince Lin Yun shook his head and looked at the fallen assassins.

    As a Prince, he knew the situation in the capital well. However, he was merely a spectator.

    This was a lonely ce to be, but it was also a form of release.

    Everyone wanted the throne. However, sometimes, the throne was so far from your reach that no amount of effort and work would get you there.

    Giving up was an option as well.

    "You can still have your freedom as a Lord!" Yan Xiu replied calmly and coldly.

    "Mm, that¡¯s right!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun nodded. Then, his eyes were filled with a steely determination. "Tell me what you need me to do."

    ...

    Inside the Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    A ck figure sprinted through the yard and entered the study. Then, he looked around and entered without knocking.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was pacing about in his study. His silver white robe pped behind him.

    There was one other person in the study...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "Your Highness, something bad has happened!" The ck figure fell to his knees and said whilst trying to catch his breath.

    "Speak!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed but he didn¡¯t waste any time.

    "Everything was going to n and the drinks had been spiked with White Dew Frost. Our people locked the Seven Star Lane and the soldiers guarded the outside. However..."

    "But what?!"

    "I don¡¯t know how, but our n failed!"

    "Failed?! Where are they? Where are they now?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong shuddered and walked over to the ck figure.

    "They are being sent to the Ministry of Law." The ck figure responded immediately.

    "Sent to the Ministry of Law?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned. Then, he smiled, "Is he stupid? If he sent them to the Ministry of Law, what are we waiting for? Send people to take care of it! Take my token and have our people in the Ministry take action immediately! We must have them out of jail by tonight!"

    "No!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied. He squinted as he looked at the ck figure, "Are you sure that these are the men we sent out?"

    "Yes, they look the same!" The ck figure replied.

    "Prime Minister, is something wrong?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong felt a wave of doubt when he heard this.

    "I can¡¯t be sure of anything." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping shook his head and looked at the ck figure, "Are those men dead or alive?"

    "Alive but unconscious. They seemed to have been drugged by some poisonous mist." The ck figure replied after some thought.

    "Unconscious? Poisoned?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes glowed.

    "Yes, they were not the only ones who were poisoned. Everyone else in the Seven Star Lane was poisoned as well. I think that Fang Zhengzhi was the one who poisoned them." The ck figure reported.

    "The entire Seven Star Lane was poisoned? Are you certain of that?"

    "Yes."

    "I never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would be so adept at poison after just one year... I was too careless!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping eximed.

    "Prime Minister, the Emperor is out of the city. If we wait till he¡¯s back from the Ten Mile Lake, it may be toote. Since they are already on the way to the Ministry of Law, why don¡¯t we..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the kneeling figure.

    "Your Highness, if you were in his shoes, would he send those men to the Ministry of Law?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping turned to look at the Crown Prince.

    "You¡¯re saying that... he is sending them on purpose?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong replied calmly.

    "I can¡¯t be certain of that." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping shook his head and turned to look at the kneeling figure. "This is important. Are you certain that Fang Zhengzhi wanted these men to be sent to the ministry?" He asked icily.

    "No, that was not Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention. It was the Ninth Prince¡¯s!" The ck figure replied without hesitation.

    "Ninth Prince?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was shocked.

    "Yes, the Ninth Prince happened to be in the Seven Star Lane. Fang Zhengzhi andpany wanted to bring them to Ping Yang¡¯s residence but the Ninth Prince objected to it. He had a huge argument with them outside the Seven Star Lane, scolding them for wanting to take matters into their own hands. In the end, our men had to step in." The ck figure reported.

    "You¡¯re saying that Ninth Prince Lin Yun stopped Fang Zhengzhi from taking our men to Ping Yang¡¯s residence and had the soldiers take them to the Ministry of Law?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s eyes brightened.

    "Yes!" The ck figure nodded.

    "Prime Minister, what do you think?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked.

    "I was too cautious. Please forgive me, your highness. Since that is the case, there shouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about. That being said, this is still quite risky. Let me arrange it personally!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bowed, visibly relieved.

    "Prime Minister, don¡¯t worry about it. I only managed to get to where I am today with your help. I am reassured now that you are taking control of things." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted, then smiled.

 Chapter 511: Confrontation

    Chapter 511: Confrontation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    It was going to be a sleepless night in the city.

    News of the seven star main show in the Seven Star Lane spread like wildfire. However, it didn¡¯t end there. Before the crowd could gather, there was even more explosive news.

    A few Southern Region messengers barged into the Seven Star Lane to try and kill Fang Zhengzhi and avenge their fallen Crown Prince.

    Then...

    The crowd inside the Seven Star Lane was poisoned with White Dew Frost. Before that could wear off, they were knocked unconscious by a poisonous cloud.

    How tragic...

    Something on this scale had not happened in many years.

    There was a huge crowd gathered outside the Seven Star Lane as they watched servants carry out their unconscious masters.

    No one knew if these people today should be considered extremely lucky or unlucky...

    ...

    Inside King Duan¡¯s residence...

    The food had already been kept away and the Crown Prince had already left. However, he had no intention to go out patrolling.

    In fact, he had guessed that something was going to happen in the Seven Star Lane even before Crown Prince Lin Tianrong even showed up at his door.

    Many thoughts had raced through his mind.

    He had thought of sending people to inform Chi Hou or even Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry. However, he ended up doing neither of those things.

    The reason was simple...

    He wanted to see why Fang Zhengzhi had the confidence to party so brazenly in the capital. He wanted to see if Fang Zhengzhi could survive without his protection!

    He did consider the risks.

    But he ignored them all.

    "How much could a peasant possibly achieve in a year?" King Duan¡¯s gaze was cold as he looked at the flickering stars in the sky.

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi showed himself in Huai An County, Chi Hou, Old Wen, and Mr. Hua had been advising him to gain the loyalty of Fang Zhengzhi.

    However...

    Words and actions werepletely different concepts.

    Most importantly, Chi Hou had told him that Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of submitting to him anytime soon.

    He was about to be the most wanted man in the whole empire! Yet, he wasn¡¯t going to pledge loyalty to King Duan! Even so, he wanted King Duan to protect him in the capital?

    What a joke!

    King Duan didn¡¯t reject the proposal of his advisors, but he had a n of his own. He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to suffer a little so that Fang Zhengzhi would know that it wasn¡¯t easy to survive in the capital.

    This was the perfect opportunity.

    "The Left Prime Minister would either torture or kill him." King Duan waited for the news from the Seven Star Lane. He waited for a severely injured Fang Zhengzhi to kneel before him.

    Then, he would be able to show his magnanimity and help Fang Zhengzhi to his feet.

    After that...

    Fang Zhengzhi would be his ve!

    He would be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s master!

    "Your Highness, Old Wen and Mr. Hua are back." A cautious voice rang out beside King Duan.

    He could tell that King Duan and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong were not very happy about the meal. They didn¡¯t even pick up their chopsticks.

    "Mm, let them in." King Duan nodded and stood up from his chair. He tried to look appreciative in preparation for the meeting.

    At that moment, two figures appeared in the yard.

    Old Wen was dressed in a ck and white robe whilst Mr. Hua wore academic robes. They quickened their pace and walked towards King Duan.

    "Your Highness!" Old Wen and Mr. Hua greeted King Duan in unison.

    "It¡¯s been hard on you both. I never expected to be stymied by the Crown Prince before we left. Aish... is Fang Zhengzhi okay? Is his life in danger?" King Duan asked hypocritically.

    "Erm..." Old Wen and Mr. Hua were both stunned to hear this.

    They thought that King Duan would have sent someone to find out what was happening at the Seven Star Lane even if he was busy with the Crown Prince.

    News of what happened should have spread to him by now.

    But now...

    It would seem that King Duan didn¡¯t know anything.

    King Duan didn¡¯t send anyone to protect Fang Zhengzhi?

    This was what both Old Wen and Mr. Hua were thinking but they couldn¡¯t possibly ask King Duan.

    King Duan smiled when he saw Old Wen¡¯s and Mr. Hua¡¯s expressions. "The Crown Prince is quite vicious indeed. Where is Fang Zhengzhi now? If he is unable to move, I will visit him personally. I don¡¯t care what the Crown Prince thinks about it! The throne is the most important!"

    "..." Old Wen and Mr. Hua looked at each other, unable to find the words to express themselves.

    However, Old Wen recovered quickly.

    "Your Highness, are you still in the dark about what happened at the Seven Star Lane today?"

    "The Crown Prince just left moments ago so I haven¡¯t gotten any news." King Duan easily found an excuse.

    "I see..." Old Wen nodded, then replied. "The Crown Prince¡¯s n failed. Fang Zhengzhi captured all of the assassins sent by the Crown Prince..."

    "What?! Fang Zhengzhi captured them all?" King Duan¡¯s expression froze as he eximed in disbelief.

    "Yes." Old Wen was sure that King Duan had no eyes on the Seven Star Lane tonight when he saw the expression on King Duan¡¯s face.

    "How is that possible? Isn¡¯t his cultivation ruined? The Crown Prince would have sent powerful cultivators. He only has Yan Xiu by his side. How did he manage to fend them off?" King Duan was in disbelief.

    "It happened like that..." Old Wen shook his head lightly and recounted the events of tonight.

    "Poison?"

    "The Crown Prince used White Dew Frost? And they were unaffected?"

    "What? Everyone in the Seven Star Lane was knocked unconscious by poisonous smoke? What? How is that possible?"

    "..."

    King Duan¡¯s eyes widened with each passing moment and his expression darkened.

    Mr. Hua stood by the side silently during this exchange.

    King Duan¡¯s expression was solemn and dark by the time Old Wen finished recounting the events of tonight.

    "Why do I feel like something is amiss? It feels as though he knew the Crown Prince¡¯s n from the start! But this n couldn¡¯t have possibly been leaked!" King Duan didn¡¯t understand what had happened.

    "Mm, it would have been kept secret, so, my guess is..." Old Wen nodded.

    "What do you think?"

    "I think that there is a 50% chance that the boss of the Seven Star Lane is Fang Zhengzhi!" Old Wen replied.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is the boss of the Seven Star Lane? How... how is that possible? He is a peasant! How could he possibly afford it? Furthermore, the Seven Star Lane is in the capital! How could he possibly have been here the whole time?" King Duan was in disbelief.

    "I think that it is unlikely too, so I ce the chance at 50%."

    "What about the other 50%?"

    "The Seven Star Lane was opened by the Shadow Sect. The Shadow Sect informed Fang Zhengzhi of the plot against him or told him that someone would poison the drinks." Old Wen replied.

    "The Shadow Sect?"

    "Your Highness, I¡¯m sure you remember that Chi Hou reminded us that Fang Zhengzhi may have dealings with the Shadow Sect. However, we don¡¯t know how involved Fang Zhengzhi is. All we know is that he had offered himself to the Shadow Sect." Old Wen exined.

    "Shadow Sect..."

    He knew what it meant to be an offering to the Shadow Sect. They would serve the Shadow Sect in exchange for protection and care.

    This was not too different from the mercenaries that King Duan had in his residence. As such, he didn¡¯t think much of it when Chi Hou mentioned it.

    Even though some of these offerings were slightly more respected than the mercenaries he had, the respect was not much more.

    This was a symbiotic rtionship where both parties benefited.

    As an offering, they would help the powers perform certain tasks whilst they were rewarded with money, women, or other things they wanted.

    They were sort of rted, but unrted at the same time.

    "Chi Hou said that Fang Zhengzhi had a few Shadow Sect elites following him when he appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige. Fang Zhengzhi must be holding quite a high rank in the Shadow Sect!" Old Wen added when he saw that King Duan remained silent.

    "High? How high? I think that Fang Zhengzhi probably did something for the Shadow Sect over the past year." King Duan replied in scorn.

    How high ranking could a crippled individual be?

    He felt that Fang Zhengzhi probably did something for the Shadow Sect in exchange for protection.

    Ordinarily...

    There was a limit to this protection.

    Once the Shadow Sect felt that they had repaid Fang Zhengzhi for his contributions, the protection would stop.

    "Yes, for the Shadow Sect to apany and protect him all the way from the Northern Mountain Vige and tip him off about tonight¡¯s attack, his contributions must have been quite major." Old Wen nodded.

    "Mm, let¡¯s not talk about this. Where are those men now? This is a great opportunity for us. If we can get to those men, we can implicate the Crown Prince!" King Duan¡¯s attention was focused on those assassins.

    "I estimate that they are nearing the jail now." Old Wen replied.

    "The jail? Fang Zhengzhi sent them to jail? Is... is he retarded?" King Duan was stunned.

    "No Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t do it. It was the Ninth Prince. There were soldiers around the Seven Star Lane so Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t do anything about it." Old Wen exined.

    "So it was Ninth Brother. That is consistent with his character." King Duan nodded and he squinted. "I think... the jail will be a messy ce tonight!"

    "What are you thinking?"

    "The Emperor is having a banquet at the Ten Mile Lake. Knowing the Crown Prince, he will never let these assassins live past tonight." King Duan asserted.

    "But we don¡¯t have anyone in the Ministry of Law."

    "We don¡¯t. But I have the city guards. We just need the city guards to surround the jail and the Crown Prince won¡¯t be able to kill the assassins. He will panic then!"

    "Aren¡¯t we effectively confronting the Crown Prince?" Old Wen reminded.

    "Yes!"

    "Your Highness, do you really think that this is the right time to do such a thing?"

    "We may not have another opportunity like this one if we miss it." King Duan clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

    "Okay, I¡¯ll go make the necessary arrangements."

    "No need for that. You two will not be able to do much there. Virtually the entire Ministry of Law is loyal to the Crown Prince. You will not be able to hold them. I have to make the trip personally!" King Duan¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "I understand." Old Wen nodded.

    Mr. Hua squinted when he saw this. Then, he bowed to King Duan. "Your Highness, since you are personally making the trip, I will take my leave first!"

    "Mm, you can go back and rest if you¡¯re tired." King Duan smiled.

    "Thank you, your highness!" Mr. Hua nodded, bowed, then brisked walked out of the yard.

    King Duan squinted as he watched Mr. Hua¡¯s silhouette disappear. However, he didn¡¯t say anything as he walked towards the gate.

    "Pass my orders on. Activate squads one and two and surround the Ministry of Law. Do not allow anyone to enter before I get there!"

    "Yes, sir!" One of the guards at the gate nodded and leapt onto the roof of one of the buildings before disappearing into the distance.

 Chapter 512: Flanked by soldiers

    Chapter 512: nked by soldiers

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Inside the Stabilization Constabry...

    Chi Hou was dressed in a blue robe. He toyed with a white chess piece as he looked at the chessboard. Then, he looked up at the stars and sighed.

    "Brother Yuanguo, let¡¯s stop here." Chi Hou prepared to stand up.

    "What¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s rare that you¡¯re in the city. Why don¡¯t you apany me and y a couple more rounds?" Xing Yuanguo, dressed in a purplish golden robe, chuckled and pressed Chi Hou back down.

    "Haha, Brother Yuanguo, what are you saying? Why would I be unwilling to y a couple more rounds? However, the moon is bright tonight and I want to take a walk." Chi Hou chuckled.

    "The city is not the safest of ces tonight. Brother Hong, are you sure you want to take a walk?" Xing Yuanguo advised.

    "No matter how bad it is, this is still the capital. Nothing bad can happen." Chi Hou replied.

    "That¡¯s true. The capital is generally quite safe. I will not stop you from taking a walk, but you must at least finish this round!" Xing Yuanguo nodded.

    "Mm... okay!" Chi Hou nodded and refocused on the chessboard.

    This was a game that should have been decided long ago. There was a clear winner - white had every advantage.

    However, Xing Yuanguo had no intention to concede.

    In fact, he took advantage of Chi Hou¡¯s carelessness to regain his footing in the game. Chi Hou had no choice but to focus.

    It waste at night...

    Xing Yuanguo frowned as he held the ck chess piece in his hand. He simply could not make up his mind. He paused for almost 10 minutes.

    Chi Hou looked away from the chess board and back at the dark sky and flickering stars.

    At that moment, a soldier in shining armor entered the yard and walked towards Xing Yuanguo and Chi Hong.

    "Greetings, Lords!"

    "Mm, summarize what happened in the capital tonight for us." Xing Yuanguo replied calmly as he looked at the soldier and Chi Hou.

    "Yes, sir!" The soldier nodded. "Fang Zhengzhi was attacked at the Seven Star Lane by Southern Region messengers. However, he was not injured. The assants were captured and sent to the Ministry of Law on the Ninth Prince¡¯s advice. They are in jail now."

    "I got it. You may leave now." Xing Yuanguo waved the soldier away.

    "Yes, sir!" The soldier bowed and took his leave.

    Chi Hou squinted and stood up. He seemed rather anxious as he looked at the soldier leave.

    "Brother Yuanguo, we can y anytime. Why don¡¯t we..."

    "Brother Hong! I will definitely let you go to the city once we¡¯re done. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t disappoint me!" Xing Yuanguo sounded displeased.

    "Erm... I¡¯m sorry! I will not disappoint you!" Chi Hou froze and grit his teeth. Then, he took his seat but the anxiety on his face was more obvious by the second.

    "Brother Hong, as part of the 13 Constabries, we have always been on the same side. I will not stop you from doing what you want to do. However, you mustn¡¯t forget that we are all working for one goal!"

    "Brother Yuanguo, I have always been loyal to the 13 Constabries..."

    "Enough, let¡¯s finish this game first. I will apany you to walk aroundter. I will also give you a reply as to your proposed candidate for Minister of Law."

    "Thank you, Brother." Chi Hou was slightly stunned to hear Xing Yuanguo mention the Minister of Law candidate. However, he smiled to cover up the anxiety he was feeling.

    ...

    The Ministry of Law was one of the six ministries and controlled the prisons. There were one minister and three assistant ministers. They were the Left, Center, and Right Assistant Minister.

    Ever since Minister Wan Chong had been locked up, many of the cases had been left hanging. Tonight, the Ministry of Law was not going to be quiet.

    The Left and Center Assistant Ministers waited anxiously at the gate.

    At that moment, a figure dressed in bright red official robes walked up to the gate.

    "Prime Minister!" The two assistant minister stood up from their chairs and walked over to wee the figure.

    "Mm, it¡¯s been tough on both of you. I am really sorry that I have to ask both of you to make the trip here at such ate time!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smiled.

    "Prime Minister, you are too kind. We are just doing our job." The two assistant ministers shook their heads and replied.

    "Good!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded as he looked at the corner. "Right Assistant Minister Wen Chuan didn¡¯te?"

    "Prime Minister, Wen Chuan¡¯s son, Wen Dabao, was at the Seven Star Lane today. I heard that he is still unconscious. Wen Chuan is probably still there." The two assistant minister replied truthfully.

    "He¡¯s still at the Seven Star Lane? That Wen Chuan... he pampers his child too much! To think that... aish, since he¡¯s not here, I will have to trouble the two of you!" Yu Yiping¡¯s gaze was cold.

    "We await your orders!" The two assistant ministers replied, a slight glow in their eyes.

    Wen Chuan¡¯s absence was a good thing for them.

    After all...

    The Minister of Law position was still unfilled. Wen Chuan¡¯s absence today would only serve to improve their chances of eventually getting that position.

    The Crown Prince was in charge and the Left Prime Minister was his second inmand,

    This was the perfect opportunity for them to prove themselves. If Wen Chuan was going to ignore his official duties, it would only serve to cost him.

    "Okay then, I shall not waste any time. Arrange for the people to be released from jail." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was straightforward.

    "Prime Minister, rest assured. We already have the people in ce inside the jail to retrieve our captives. However, the perimeter..." The Left Assistant Minister was hesitant.

    "The city guards have surrounded the Ministry of Law. Why don¡¯t we strike in the jail..." The Center Assistant Minister suggested.

    "No!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping shook his head. "I am slightly surprised that King Duan would surround the ministry. However, it would be inappropriate if they were to die in jail!"

    "The Prime Minister is right. Now that the ministry has been surrounded, any loss of life inside the ministry would only further King Duan¡¯s cause. Then, he may have an advantage in pushing his candidate for Minister of Law..."

    "Mm, all we can do is try to get them out of the Ministry of Law. Once that is done, we can get rid of them and also me King Duan for obstruction of justice!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s tone was icy.

    "The Prime Minister is wise. However, the ministry has been surrounded. How are we going to get them out?" The Left Assistant Minister asked.

    "I had someone carry a carriage over when I came. There are four sections in the carriage. If we ce all eight of them into the carriage, it is bound to raise suspicions. Are you two willing to take that risk?"

    "Erm..." the two assistant ministers understood what the Left Prime Minister was getting at.

    It wasmon for people to smuggle other people or goods in carriages. Sometimes, when concubines wanted to smuggle items in, they would use this method as well.

    It wasn¡¯t a very secure way to do it.

    But, it was the most convenient andmon method.

    "You two need not worry too much. I¡¯ll be around so even King Duan would not rip apart the carriage to check it!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could sense the hesitation.

    "Okay, since we have the Prime Minister here, I have no other worries."

    "Me neither!"

    The two assistant ministers looked at each other before gritting their teeth and agreeing to the n.

    "Mm, it¡¯s a pity Wen Chuan isn¡¯t here today. Of the eight men, I will hide two and you will each hide two more. As for thest two..."

    "Prime Minister, please rest assured. My wife is out tonight. I will get someone to call her over and man the fourthpartment!" The Left Assistant Minister offered.

    "Thank you for the help!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded.

    Even though the Left Assistant Minister put on a calm facade, he was celebrating inside. He was almost certain that he would have the Minister of Law position firmly in his hands after tonight.

    The Center Assistant Minister was rather frustrated.

    His moment of hesitation had been capitalized upon by the Left Assistant Minister.

    The Center Assistant Minister wanted to knock his head on the wall! He had missed such a golden opportunity!

    He was just mocking Wen Chuan for not recognizing the opportunity that presented itself tonight. Yet now, he was the one who had missed an opportunity.

    ...

    Outside the Ministry of Law¡¯s administrative office.

    Two rows of city guards in gleaming armor stood at the sides. They held a torch in their hands and lit up the gates.

    Outside the walls of the administrative office, there were groups of city guards patrolling the grounds, torches, and spears in hand.

    There were many spectators who lined the roads to see what this was about. However, no one dared to go near the gates.

    "What is happening?"

    "Who knows? All I heard was that they captured a few Southern Region messengers from the Seven Star Lane! They were trying to kill someone there!"

    "Kill someone? Who?"

    "Who else? Fang Zhengzhi of course! However, I think they failed and got caught instead. I heard that they are in jail. I wonder why the city guards have surrounded the ministry?"

    The crowd began to discuss what was happening under their breaths.

    At that moment, a squad came sprinting in from afar. The leader was dressed in a white robe and had a silver sword at his waist.

    It was King Duan.

    "Oh? King Duan is here!"

    "Is this something major?"

    "It would seem like the Ministry of Law is rather chaotic tonight."

    The crowd parted to the side and watched with wide eyes as King Duan and his squad approached.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Your Highness!"

    The city guards weed King Duan respectfully.

    "Mm, please rise. Did anyone enter?" King Duan waved the kneeling soldiers off and asked.

    "Your Highness, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping went in moments ago. We couldn¡¯t stop them. The Left Assistant Minister¡¯s wife is also inside. She was brought in by the Left Prime Minister." One of the guards replied.

    "Oh, he came here personally? They do find this very important!" King Duan frowned. He was just about to speak when the gates made a sound.

    Then, the red gates began to open.

    King Duan¡¯s gaze froze as he smiled icily, "Good for you Yu Yiping. You choose the main gate instead of the side gate!"

    King Duan was right...

    Yu Yiping exited the front gate in a convoy of four carriages. He simply tried to waltz right through.

    "Stop there!"

    The city guards lowered their spears to block Yu Yiping¡¯s convoy. Their spears glimmered icily in the night.

    "How dare you?!" A voice could be heard from within as the carriages stopped. Yu Yiping, dressed in bright red robes, stepped out.

    He red at the city guards icily.

    The city guards instinctively took a step back when they saw Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. They knew how influential and powerful this man was.

    "You are all city guards. Why aren¡¯t you ensuring the peace? What are you doing blocking my way? Who gave you the courage to do something so audacious?" Yu Yiping red at them and raised his voice.

    The city guards took two more steps back when they heard Yu Yiping¡¯s voice. They were speechless. They didn¡¯t have the answers to Yu Yiping¡¯s questions.

    "It is only natural that you would scold these city guards as the Prime Minister. However, they are under mymand. Before you berate them, shouldn¡¯t you say hello to me first?" King Duan spoke up when he saw this.

    "Greetings, King Duan, I deserve to die for that mistake. I didn¡¯t see you. However, I never expected that your highness would have the mood to be here... after all that has happened in the city." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was stunned but still managed to find a reply.

    However, everyone could hear that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s tone was provocative and mocking.

 Chapter 513: Forced through

    Chapter 513: Forced through

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "I can¡¯t possibly be more free than yourself Prime Minister. You choose not to stay in your residence and instead choose toe all the way here. Are you thinking of taking the Minister of Law position... before it is decided?"

    King Duan had sparred with Yu Yiping many times in the courts. He could hear the provocation in the tone so he decided to do away with the formalities.

    When everyone heard this...

    All of them looked at each other. In the courts, these barbs were usually traded in a more civil manner. Such outright confrontations were rare.

    After all, these were two high ranking and powerful men.

    One was the Left Prime Minister and the leader of the other officials. The other was King Duan, the sixth son of the Emperor and themander of the army and city guards.

    They were both powerful and respectable men.

    But now...

    These two men were trading barbs in front of countless spectators without bothering to hide their intentions under some niceties.

    "I am the leader of the officials. Now that there is no Minister of Law, it is only right for me toe and take a look at how things are, especially with all that has happened tonight." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping squinted. He knew that things were going to be ugly today.

    However, he had no other choice. He was hiding men in the back of his carriage. If he lost out now...

    The consequences would be disastrous.

    "There is nothing wrong with that. However... may I know what you asked whilst you were here?" King Duan nodded lightly.

    "I never expected King Duan to be so concerned with the affairs of the Ministry of Law. However, I think you should be more concerned with how something like that could have happened today? Were the city guards too rxed? Or are they just ipetent?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping didn¡¯t back down.

    "Haha... you don¡¯t have to bother about how I manage my soldiers. Why don¡¯t you mind your own business?"

    "Since that is the case, why are you meddling in mine?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s voice was icy. He waved to the carriages behind him, "Let¡¯s go!"

    "Hang on!" King Duan was not going to let Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping leave so easily. He stopped them even before they could move.

    At that moment, city guards rushed up and lowered their swords at the throats of the drivers.

    "King Duan, what is the meaning of this?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was solemn.

    As the leader of the officials, he wielded great power! He answered only to one man, but he still didn¡¯t have any control over the soldiers or the army.

    "Prime Minister, I cannot stop you from leaving, but I need to check the carriages first!" King Duan replied.

    "Your Highness, you want to search my carriages?"

    "Are you hiding something inside that you are afraid I will find?"

    "Hahaha... your highness, of course there is nothing of that sort inside. However, shouldn¡¯t you give me a reason why you want to search the carriages?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping chuckled.

    "Simply because I am themander of the city guards and want to ensure the safety of the city. Is that reason enough?" King Duan retorted.

    "Of course it is. However, can I interpret that as you suspect that I would do something to harm the city?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was icy.

    "It is just a routine check, why do you need to read so much into it? Men, open up the carriages and search them!" King Duan was not about to fall into the trap. He didn¡¯t want to continue arguing with Yu Yiping.

    "How dare you!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s red icily at the men.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Are you feeling guilty? What are you hiding inside these carriages? Or are you hiding felons that you just broke out of the prison?" King Duan squinted as he looked at the carriages.

    "King Duan, you have to be careful of what you say. What would you do if there is nothing in these carriages?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping clenched his fists.

    "If I can¡¯t find anything, I will apologize to you in front of everyone! Are there any more concerns?" King Duan had already made up his mind to search the carriages tonight.

    After all, he was almost certain that these carriages were where they hid those assassins. There was no way he was going to let them go.

    "Apologize to me in front of everyone? Okay then. You don¡¯t need your men to do it. You can even search the carriages yourself if you like!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping nodded and opened up the doors to the carriages.

    At that moment...

    Everyone¡¯s eyes looked inside the carriage.

    King Duan looked into the carriage as well. The carriage waspletely empty.

    King Duan was slightly confused.

    Were they not inside the carriage?

    But...

    Something was wrong! If they weren¡¯t in the carriage, why would Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping leave now? Had he already killed them in jail?

    King Duan dismissed that thought.

    If the criminals had died in the prison it would be a good thing for him. After all, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had been there at night.

    That would make him one of the suspects in the murder investigation.

    If he knew this, so did Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping!

    So...

    There was no way Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could have ordered their deaths inside the jail. He would try to get them out, perhaps even out of the city.

    What happened after that was up to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "How is it? Have you had a good look, your highness? Do I have anything hidden inside the carriages?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping closed the doors.

    It was a small movement, but King Duan noticed it immediately.

    To many people, opening and closing the doors was a small thing. However, King Duan was able to sense that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was hiding something.

    "I think that that look was insufficient! Men, tear open the carriages!" King Duan ordered, his gaze icy.

    "Stop! King Duan, even though I am only a Prime Minister and lower ranked than you, I believe that I should still be orded some respect. If you want to rip apart my carriage, you will have to do so over my dead body!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s expression was solemn.

    It was extremely humiliating for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to have his carriages ripped apart.

    The crowd nodded their agreement when they heard this.

    "Ripping open the carriages is too much!"

    "Even a king shouldn¡¯t do that to a Prime Minister!"

    "This concerns Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s honor and reputation. King Duan has already checked the carriages and there was nothing inside! He is just making things difficult for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    Even though the crowd kept their volume down, King Duan still heard everything they said.

    King Duan could choose to ignore the crowd.

    However, he did not dare to check Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s carriages if he had to do so over Yu Yiping¡¯s dead body.

    At least...

    Not right now...

    However, he did not want to let Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping leave like that. He could tell from Yu Yiping¡¯s expression...

    The assassins were in the carriages.

    What was he to do now?

    King Duan clenched his fists. He didn¡¯t want to let Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping off without searching the carriages but he knew that it was virtually impossible for him to search them thoroughly.

    It was a stalemate.

    The city guards blocked Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s way. No one dared to advance but they didn¡¯t retreat.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping raised his head and looked at the guards and the crowd. He squinted, his eyes glowing icily.

    "Your Highness, you¡¯ve already checked the carriages. Shouldn¡¯t you offer me an apology?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smirked.

    He shouldn¡¯t be antagonizing King Duan now, but he knew that King Duan wasn¡¯t going to let him go without a fight.

    So...

    He might as well fight it!

    The greater themotion, the better! He wanted the entire city to see how King Duan was bullying him!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at the servants behind him.

    When they saw the look on Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s face, they understood what they had to do immediately.

    "King Duan is a bully and is abusing his power!"

    "He stopped the Left Prime Minister at the gate and asked to search the carriage! When he found nothing, not only did he not apologize, he wants to rip apart the carriages! There is now and order here!"

    "Even a king cannot be that unreasonable!"

    The servants began to holler at the top of their lungs.

    The other servants also took the lead and began shouting at the top of their lungs.

    Not only were they screaming...

    Some even tried to run out!

    The scene was now quite chaotic as the city guards tried to rein in the escaping and shouting servants.

    King Duan¡¯s expression was extremely dark and solemn.

    He knew what these servants were doing. They were effectively trying to force his hand. If word got out that he tried to make life difficult for the Left Prime Minister and tried to rip open his carriages, the Emperor would definitelye down hard on him.

    What was he to do?

    Was he really going to let Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping leave just like that?

    King Duan was extremely bitter. He knew that the men were inside but he had no way of proving it.

    "King Duan, it¡¯s alright if you¡¯re still unwilling to offer me your apology. I will wait till the Emperor is back and take it up with him! Right now... we¡¯ll be leaving!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smirked and waved to his servants.

    At that moment, the servants felt a wave of relief.

    The other servants also heaved a sigh of relief and returned to their carriages.

    "Raise!" A voice echoed through the air.

    Then, the four carriages were raised and they charged towards the city guards without hesitation.

    The city guards turned to look at King Duan, waiting for him to give the order.

    King Duan wanted to speak, but he couldn¡¯t find any words. His lips twitched and his eyes glimmered icily.

    The four carriages came in front of King Duan.

    At that moment, the four carriages began to shake violently, almost as if the servants were unable to keep them still.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Are the servants drunk?"

    "Is there really something inside the carriages?"

    "Is there really something inside the carriages?"

    The crowd began to guess as they looked at the shaky carriages.

    When King Duan saw this, his eyes brightened and he drew his sword, "There are assassins hidden in the carriages! Force them out and protect the ministers!"

    "Yes, sir!" The city guards were initially stunned by themand but they reacted quickly.

    At that moment, the city guards sprang into action without any hesitation, surrounding all the carriages.

    "Stop them!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bellowed from inside the carriage.

    The servants around the carriages reacted instantly and drew their weapons. However, they were no match for the city guards.

    There were almost 1000 city guards.

    The city guards went around the servants and stabbed their spears at the carriages.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom..."

    The sounds rang out in session and the four carriages exploded like a blooming flower, the remnants spewing in all directions.

 Chapter 514: Fabrication

    Chapter 514: Fabrication

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Even though the ministers were rather humiliated and embarrassed, they did not panic.

    They leaped into the air andnded on the ground.

    However, the Left Assistant Minister¡¯s wife wasn¡¯t able to react in time. She was quite pretty and she was often pampered by her husband. She had never been attacked in a carriage before.

    She was thrown to the ground and her dress was cut by the flying pieces of wood. There were countless wounds on her body.

    The crowd and guards saw this.

    "Wow!"

    They all squinted and used their hands to cover their eyes in an attempt to show some respect.

    However, their gasps were heard soon after.

    Because...

    There were eight other figures lying on the ground who attracted even more attention than the wife of the Left Assistant Minister.

    These men wore heavy rattan armor and they looked extremely shocked when theynded on the floor.

    King Duan¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw them.

    He didn¡¯t even need to take a second look to know that these men were the Southern Region messengers captured on this night.

    The crowd was in disbelief when they saw the eight Southern Region messengers appear.

    "They were really hiding in the carriages?"

    "These criminals were being hidden in these carriages? They were being broken out?"

    "This... this is going to be interesting!"

    The crowd understood what was happening instantly. After all, news of tonight¡¯s events at the Seven Star Lane had spread like wildfire.

    The attempted assassination of Fang Zhengzhi and the subsequent incarceration of the perpetrators on advice from the Ninth Prince was known to everyone. They also knew that the Southern Region messengers had been escorted to the jail by soldiers.

    And now...

    The eight of them had appeared in the carriages of the two assistant ministers and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. Even an idiot would know what was happening!

    He was breaking them out!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was rather embarrassed, but that was not the most important thing right now. He paled when he saw the eight Southern Region messengers.

    He couldn¡¯t figure out why the eight of them would shake inside the carriages when they were about to leave. Their movements had given King Duan reason to attack.

    "What was happening?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was confused.

    He knew the identities of these eight men. It was precisely because he knew who they were that caused him to be this surprised. Even if they had been stabbed inside the carriages, they should be able to remain still.

    But that was all not important right now. These men had already jumped out of the carriage. He needed to solve the immediate problem.

    He needed to have a reason! He had to find something reasonable!

    Many reasons flew through the mind of Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    However, he rejected most of them without a second thought.

    Because...

    There was no way he could find an exnation for this.

    However, this did not cause Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to panic. As a Left Prime Minister, he had seen much in his decades in the court.

    He had to remain calm.

    "I never expected that you would attack me! Good, very good! I will definitely report this to the Emperor! You better prepare an exnation!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping raged.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Are you not nning to exin what is happening here?" King Duan¡¯s eyes glittered as he looked at the eight shocked Southern Region messengers.

    "Is there a need for an exnation? What¡¯s wrong with two assistant ministers removing these criminals for trial?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at the two ministers.

    When they heard this, they looked at each other, straightened their robes, then walked over.

    "Yes, after we found out what happened, we began to gather the facts and we are about to bring these suspects to the Seven Star Lane to gather evidence. This was a secret mission, thus we didn¡¯t report it to you. We hope that you will forgive us. However, could you please give us an exnation as to why you are obstructing us from collecting evidence?" The Left Assistant Minister chimed in.

    As the assistant minister, he knew the rules much better than Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and could find a reasonable excuse.

    "Minister, you do have a quick mind and a glib tongue. They were just sent to jail and you want to send them to the Seven Star Lane already?" King Duan tightened the grip on his sword.

    "King Duan, are you questioning our processes? If you are, you may bring it up to the Emperor!" The Left Assistant Minister couldn¡¯t back down now.

    Furthermore, he still had his ways of exining his actions to the Emperor.

    After all, they had their own ways of handling special cases. In times like this, sometimes a covert operation was required.

    He could then throw the ball into King Duan¡¯s court and me him for obstructing justice.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smirked when he heard this.

    The crowd looked at each other in confusion when they heard what was happening.

    It was back to a stalemate once again.

    However...

    At that very moment, one of the Southern Region messengers lunged at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and grabbed onto his thigh.

    "Prime Minister, save me! Our n for tonight has already been exposed! We don¡¯t want to die, please save us!" The Southern Region messenger pleaded.

    "Boom!"

    This change of events shocked everyone present.

    Even the two assistant ministers¡¯ eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets when they heard this. They never expected that the Southern Region messengers would say such a thing.

    The blood drained from Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s face.

    How was this possible?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping red at the Southern Region messenger hugging his thigh in disbelief.

    These men were mercenaries!

    Mercenaries?!

    These were people who would never reveal who they were working for under any circumstances! So what was this all about?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was in disbelief.

    Complete and utter disbelief.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was not alone. Even King Duan was surprised. Why would they find someone so inept?

    Did they betray their master?

    Furthermore, they had no reason to do so! They had the upper hand, but they decided to betray Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    What was happening?

    King Duan simply couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping grit his teeth in shock. Then, his body shuddered even whilst he tried to calm himself down.

    "What are you talking about? I don¡¯t know any of you!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bellowed as he red at the messenger.

    "Prime Minister, how can you leave us in the lurch? You told us to use killing Fang Zhengzhi as an excuse to kill Yan Xiu! You told us that nothing would go wrong! Now that something has gone wrong, you have to save us!" The Southern Region messenger pleaded, ignoring the re.

    "What... what nonsense are you spouting?!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping paled.

    He had lost control of the situation. This was a setup. He had walked right into a trap. He had never told them to kill Yan Xiu!

    What was happening?

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping couldn¡¯t understand why things would take a turn for the worse all of a sudden.

    He had cultivated these men for many years. They would never betray him!

    Left Prime Minister red at the Southern Region messengers.

    Then, he noticed a smirk on that messenger¡¯s face. This man was out to get him!

    He understood everything at that moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    That was the only exnation that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could think of. After all, these men were captured from the Seven Star Lane! He had suspected that it could be a trap.

    He had only dismissed that thought after he found out that the Ninth prince was the one who insisted that they were sent here. Furthermore, these men were escorted here by soldiers and not city guards.

    But now...

    He realized that this was a trap that he had walked into. Furthermore, this was a trap from which he couldn¡¯t escape.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping felt a chill down his back.

    He thought about what would have happened if the Crown Prince hade instead of him. Would they have said that the Crown Prince sent them to assassinate Yan Xiu?

    If this usation was assumed to be true...

    How would Yan Qianli react?

    "Fang Zhengzhi... good on you. What a vicious n!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had always thought that he was the one in the dark.

    He never realized that Fang Zhengzhi had been ying him all along.

    When did he do it?

    How could he swap the men without anyone noticing?

    Oh yes!

    When the doors were locked!

    It was a stroke of genius! If the doors to the Seven Star Lane weren¡¯t locked, he couldn¡¯t carry out his n! And Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s men had done it for him!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping felt a chill as he looked up into the sky. He had sacrificed much to get to the position he held today.

    But now...

    It was all about to be destroyed...

    He was bitter.

    He was extremely bitter!

    "No, I still have a chance ofing back from this. I have to capture them and interrogate them! I will definitely be able to tie this back to Fang Zhengzhi!" His eyes glittered with excitement, "How dare you malign a rank one official! Men, arrest these b*stards!"

    "Prime Minister... you... you betrayed us!" The Southern Region messenger rolled away from the Left Prime Minister.

    "Arrest them!"

    "Charge, arrest the eight of them!"

    The two assistant ministers reacted and gave themand to their guards.

    There was no reply.

    The guards had already charged.

    "Kill!"

    "Don¡¯t let them run!"

    The guards raised their weapons.

    The hate in the eyes of the eight Southern Region messengers was clear.

    "Prime Minister, you are vicious indeed!"

    "I never thought that you would betray us after so many years of loyal service. We will fight this out!"

    "Kill!"

    The eight Southern Region messengers began fighting their way out.

    One of the city guards standing beside King Duan turned to look at him for orders.

    "Your Highness, what do we do now?" The city guard asked softly.

    "There is an old strategy that was once adopted by the great Han Xin. It is known as "Confuse the enemy with your actions and hide your true motives". Do you know what I mean?" King Duan smirked icily.

    "Yes, sir!" The city guard¡¯s eyes glittered as he called the other guards over. "Protect the ministers and arrest the criminals!"

    "Yes!" The city guards responded in unison.

    The raised their weapons and began to fan out. They surrounded the ministers as well as their guards.

    They pushed the eight Southern Region messengers to the side.

    The expressions of the ministers changed when they saw this. As the Left Prime Minister, Yu Yiping was not weak.

    However...

    He couldn¡¯t possibly attack city guards.

    "Go away! I don¡¯t need your protection!"

    "Go away!" The two assistant ministers were equally flustered. They couldn¡¯t do anything as long as they were being surrounded by city guards!

 Chapter 515: Lethal Blow

    Chapter 515: Lethal Blow

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping bellowed at the city guards. He was extremely anxious. If the right Southern Region messengers escaped, he would not be able to absolve himself from me.

    As such, the city guards were not going to move away from the ministers.

    They continued to hold their ground under the pretext that they were protecting the ministers. They didn¡¯t move despite the constant screaming and bellowing.

    The eight Southern Region messengers looked at each other, then charged through the servants and guards and tried to make a break for it.

    "Stop them!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was on the verge of panicking.

    He didn¡¯t care if he was being surrounded by city guards. His body turned into a ray of light as he shot through them.

    He sent eight city guards rolling on the ground spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

    "Ah! The Prime Minister is killing us!"

    "Prime Minister... we are trying to protect you!"

    "Aiya!"

    The city guards began to scream and shout as they fell to the ground when Yu Yiping charged through them.

    The other city guards also shouted at the top of their lungs.

    "Mercy, Prime Minister, mercy!"

    King Duan drew his sword and lowered it in front of Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "Prime Minister, why did you attack the city guards?"

    "..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was bitter.

    He knew exactly what King Duan was thinking but there were certain things that he couldn¡¯t say. He had no choice but to charge through...

    He had to try and stop the Southern Region messengers from escaping.

    He grit his teeth and didn¡¯t respond. He morphed into a ray of light and went around King Duan. He shot towards the fleeing messengers.

    However...

    King Duan had bought enough time for the city guards to intercept Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping once again. They formed a wall in front of him.

    "Move aside!" A glow appeared in Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s palm. It was as bright as the moon.

    As this glow lit up, an icy wave swept across the city guards and pushed them to the side. There was ayer of frost on the ground.

    The surrounding citizens were all shocked to see what was happening.

    "Run, they¡¯re about to fight!"

    "What¡¯s going on? Why is the Left Prime Minister fighting the city guards?"

    "Oh gosh... lives are going to be lost."

    The crowd began to run away in all directions.

    Both the assistant ministers were speechless when they saw the chaos. They were incredibly bitter.

    However, there was nothing that they could do about it.

    They knew what Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was thinking, but they were in a dilemma as well.

    Ever since they were made assistant ministers, their minds had been focused on politics and wealth. They only used their mouth and were rarely required to take action.

    But this was the capital.

    The Left Prime Minister, a rank one official, had attacked the city guards! There was no way they could keep this under wraps.

    The two of them made their decision almost instantly.

    Since they couldn¡¯t do anything to make this go away, they had to do what was most beneficial for them. That meant capturing the eight Southern Region messengers.

    "The criminals are fleeing! Arrest them!"

    "Have all the guards in the Ministry of Law surround and arrest them!"

    "Arrest whoever dares to obstruct the course of justice!"

    The two assistant ministers threw caution out of the window. Since King Duan was determined to stop them, they had no choice but to try to break out of this.

    The guards and wardens of the Ministry of Law charged through the gates.

    "Catch the criminals!"

    "Move aside, we are trying to arrest criminals!"

    The drew their swords and one group charged at some of the city guards standing guard at the gates. The other group tried to go around the guards.

    Things were getting out of control.

    King Duan chuckled icily. His blockade had given the eight Southern Region messengers plenty of time to run away.

    As long as they managed to escape, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would never be able to absolve himself from me.

    King Duan could tell that these eight Southern Region messengers were ¡¯imposters¡¯ and not the original eight sent to carry out the n. It was a trap.

    A trap designed by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even though he didn¡¯t n to follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n all the way through, he was not about to pass up such a golden opportunity.

    This was a chance for him to inflict some serious damage on Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. If these men ran away and couldn¡¯t be brought to justice...

    It would cause some serious hurt to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    However...

    At that very moment, the eight Southern Region messengers stopped and looked around, almost as though they were choosing their escape path.

    "Split up and run, dumbasses! How can you not know something so simple?" King Duan cussed them out in his heart. He scorned Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice of people.

    Why would he find such idiots?

    Don¡¯t they know how to escape?

    The Shadow Sect...

    They weren¡¯t so great after all!

    Just as he was thinking about it, a few voices cut through the air.

    "Let¡¯s run to the Southern Gate! The Eastern Gate is heavily guarded, we will charge through the Southern Gate!"

    "Okay, we will all go there!"

    "Yes! Let¡¯s charge together! We will live as long as we manage to break the defences!"

    The Southern Region messengers screamed enthusiastically. Their voices could be heard by everyone on the streets.

    "..." King Duan¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. He really wanted to fall to the ground. He had never seen such idiotic criminals in his life.

    Not only did they not split up, they announced where they were running towards! They wanted to fight their way out? Where did they think they were?

    This was the capital!

    Why were they that stupid?!

    King Duan was furious and bitter. He hated the fact that these eight people were so useless. He hated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice of men.

    If they were caught, it was all over.

    This was great news for the ministers! Their eyes brightened almost instantly.

    "South Gate?"

    "Quickly, take the shortcut and cut them off!"

    "Cut them off at the South Gate!"

    The two assistant ministers gave the order almost immediately.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at a servant standing behind him and threw him a token.

    "Get soldiers to the South Gate!"

    "Yes, sir!" The servant retrieved the token and sprinted away.

    King Duan was furious. He knew that the Southern Region messengers could not possibly escape. He was extremely bitter.

    Victory was so close, yet so far.

    "Is it a bluff? They may have split up towards the East and North Gate." King Duan thought that there was a good possibility of that happening.

    However, Lady Luck was not on his side.

    Because...

    After the eight Southern Region messengers finished their discussion, they sprinted towards the Southern Gate, screaming as they did so.

    "Charge!"

    "Charge!!"

    "..." King Duan was speechless. He couldn¡¯t believe that it was possible for people to be that idiotic.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was equally confused.

    The Southern Region messengers sounded like they wanted him to pursue them. They were announcing where they were running towards!

    He felt like something was amiss.

    There was even more to it. These Southern Region messengers always kept within his sight. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had no choice but to give chase.

    "Move aside!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s body disappeared in a sh of light as he pursued the eight fleeing figures.

    ...

    Inside the courtyard of the Stabilization Constabry.

    Xing Yuanguo held a chess piece in his hand as he pondered.

    At that moment, a ck lifeform shot down from the sky andnded on Xing Yuanguo¡¯s shoulder.

    It was a messenger bird.

    This was widely used by the army.

    Chi Hou was rather shocked to see this. These birds were only used for urgent reports or orders.

    However, Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t seem surprised or anxious. He calmly removed the letter container from the bird¡¯s ws and took out the letter.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Chi Hou asked.

    "Nothing." Xing Yuanguo ced his piece on the board and smiled. "Brother, I¡¯ve lost!"

    Lost?

    Chi Hou was stunned. Xing Yuanguo was conceding? Shouldn¡¯t he have conceded a long time ago? Just as Chi Hou was about to speak, he realized that this meant the round was over.

    "Brother Yuanguo, are you saying that this round... is over?" Chi Hou whispered.

    "Mm, this round is over. I will apany you for a walk now as per our agreement." Xing Yuanguo nodded and stood up from his chair.

    "Brother Yuanguo, you can rest first if you¡¯re tired. I¡¯ll just go walk around myself." Chi Hou murmured after some hesitation.

    "No worries, I¡¯m not tired." Xing Yuanguo shook his head.

    Then, he pulled Chi Hou out of the yard by his hand. He was walking rather quickly.

    This made Chi Hou slightly suspicious.

    He could tell that Xing Yuanguo was trying to stall for time during the chess game. But if that was the case, why was he walking so fast now?

    Was it the note?

    He didn¡¯t think too much and Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t exin. Most importantly, Xing Yuanguo was almost sprinting out of the yard.

    He shot towards the gate.

    "My lord!"

    "My lord!"

    The soldiers guarding the Stabilization Constabry greeted them respectfully as they approached.

    Xing Yuanguo nodded lightly but didn¡¯t stop.

    Before long, they were out the gates.

    "Brother Yuanguo, where are we going?" Chi Hou was rather curious about why he was being dragged out. Most importantly, he had something on his mind.

    Something he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about.

    He knew for a fact that the capital was not peaceful tonight.

    "We are almost there. Brother Hong, you will know when we are there." Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t offer up any additional exnation. He continued sprinting away, a purple light flickering on his body.

    The wind brushed by their ears.

    Chu Hou¡¯s body glowed green. He knew exactly how fast Xing Yuanguo and he were traveling.

    However, he didn¡¯t know...

    Why they had to run so fast...

    Was something about to happen?

    Just as he was thinking about it, he saw some figures in the distance.

    The capital was usually bustling and there were many people roaming the streets. However, Chi Hou was rather shocked to see these figures.

    He recognized them.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?! Ping Yang! Yan Xiu... why are they here?" Chi Hou looked at Xing Yuanguo, trying to read his expression.

    However, Xing Yuanguo remained calm and expressionless.

    Was it a coincidence?

    No!

    Chi Hou dismissed that thought almost immediately. All the events over the past few moments couldn¡¯t possibly have been a coincidence.

    If it wasn¡¯t a coincidence...

    Then what was it?

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Yuanguo had conspired? Was Xing Yuanguo involved as well?

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t believe that. Even though Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Yuanguo had interacted on Cang Ling Mountain and in the Southern Region, Xing Yuanguo would never help Fang Zhengzhi with this.

    Xing Yuanguo represented the 13 Constabries.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s stand was the same was that of the 13 Constabries. If Xing Yuanguo interfered in this, it would also mean that he was interfering in the battle for the throne.

    Xing Yuanguo would never do that.

    As such, why would they meet Fang Zhengzhi andpany here? What were they doing here?

    What...

    What in the world happened in the capital?

 Chapter 516: Chaos

    Chapter 516: Chaos

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chi Hou didn¡¯t understand it. However, his eyes widened in shock. He realized that there were eight figures sprinting towards Fang Zhengzhi from the other direction.

    "Southern Region messengers?!" Chi Hou recognized them instantly and prepared to strike. Then, he saw another figure behind the eight messengers.

    This figure¡¯s speed...

    Was almost as fast as Xing Yuanguo and him.

    However, his red official robes were easily recognizable. He knew that this was Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "What¡¯s wrong?" Chi Hou saw how anxious Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was and felt a wave of suspicion.

    Even though he was not an official in the capital, he knew Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping quite well. Yu Yiping was rarely flustered.

    Furthermore, soon after Yu Yiping appeared in the distance, two other figures entered his field of vision.

    The Center and Left Assistant Ministers of the Ministry of Law.

    They were surrounded by wardens and guards in ck. King Duan and the city guards followed closely behind.

    This was quite the ridiculous sight.

    This was the capital.

    Chi Hou was extremely shocked. He knew that the capital would not be peaceful tonight, but even this was beyond his wildest imagination.

    Chi Hou turned to look at Xing Yuanguo.

    Xing Yuanguo was as calm as ever. He looked like an independent observer as he looked at the sprinting figures.

    "Brother Yuanguo, should we..." Chi Hou asked as he tried to figure out what was unfolding before his very eyes.

    "No need. We will just observe from here." Xing Yuanguo shook his head and settled down about 200m away from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s position.

    "Here?" Chi Hou wanted to say something when he saw the tree in front of him. However, he still nodded, "Sure, we will do as you say."

    At that moment, the eight Southern Region messengers went around Fang Zhengzhi and disappeared into a dark alley.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the two assistant ministers began to panic when they saw this. As they prepared to rush in after the messengers, they spotted Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, his eyes glittering as he smirked.

    "Prime Minister, you seem to be in a hurry... where are you headed?" Fang Zhengzhi waved and greeted Yu Yiping.

    "Move aside, I have official matters to attend to!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had no mood to entertain Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Official business? Are you talking about the escaped criminals?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the alley.

    "So what if it is?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had no intention of stopping.

    When the two assistant ministers and the guards saw Fang Zhengzhi, they raised their swords.

    They were ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice.

    "Move aside!"

    "Do you know the penalty for obstruction of justice?"

    Two of the guards bellowed when they saw Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Scram! How dare you raise your voice in front of me?" Ping Yang bellowed and stepped forward.

    "..." The two guards retreated almost instantly. They didn¡¯t dare to speak again and chose to hide behind the two assistant ministers.

    It was clear...

    They were scared of Ping Yang.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I am pursuing criminals right now! If you continue to stand in my way, I will not show you any mercy!" He knew how domineering Ping Yang was, but he had no other choice now.

    "Prime Minister, I think you¡¯re mistaken. I am Fang Zhengzheng." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re Fang Zhengzhi or Fang Zhengzheng! Step aside! Now!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s re was icy.

    He knew why Fang Zhengzhi was waiting for him here.

    "Left Prime Minister, there is no need to hurry! You are just trying to catch some escaped criminals. I can swear on my life that I will make sure that they are brought to justice. If I obstruct justice tonight, I will take all responsibility!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled lightly.

    "What do you mean?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was stunned.

    The guards and the assistant ministers standing behind Yu Yiping were equally confused. Even King Duan couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening.

    King Duan wasn¡¯t surprised that Fang Zhengzhi was here.

    This was a way to dy Yu Yiping.

    However, why would Fang Zhengzhi take responsibility for this dy? That was not wise!

    "What I mean is... since I happen to be in the area, I can¡¯t watch idly by as the criminals escape." Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "You can¡¯t watch idly by as they escape?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping red at Fang Zhengzhi solemnly.

    He knew that these men were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    So why would he stop them from escaping?

    Did he think that Yu Yiping was an idiot?!

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was not falling for that! There was no free lunch in this world!

    The two assistant ministers didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi either.

    King Duan was shocked when he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of exining himself. He turned into the alley and whistled.

    "Ah!"

    "We will never go to jail!"

    "Brothers, we will do better in our next lives!"

    After Fang Zhengzhi whistled, shouts echoed through the alley and a few figures walked out.

    These were members of the royal guard.

    The leader was the deputymander, Bai Qi.

    The royal guards held eight bodies in their arms. There was blood flowing from those bodies and it stained the ground red.

    "You... you killed them?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened.

    "How is that possible? Prime Minister, you heard it yourself! Theymitted suicide! We only surrounded them!" Bai Qi waved Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping off.

    "Mm, I can verify that!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "I, Princess Ping Yang, can too!" Ping Yang nodded.

    "Mm, these people clearlymitted suicide." Yan Xiu replied.

    "Committed suicide?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping believed that his mercenaries wouldmit suicide. However, these were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s men.

    Why would theymit suicide?

    Just as he was thinking about that, Bai Qi leaned over and felt the faces of one of the Southern Region messengers. Then, his eyes brightened.

    "Your Highness, I think that these men are wearing masks. If I am correct, they are imposters." Bai Qi asserted.

    "Imposters? Then why don¡¯t you remove the masks and let me take a look?" Ping Yang eximed in shock.

    "Take off the masks? I would like to... no!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was about to nod. Then, he realized what was happening and he felt a shiver down his spine.

    He finally understood what was happening.

    But...

    It was toote.

    Bai Qi was quick, and so were the other members of the royal guard. They removed the masks quickly and efficiently.

    Time seemed to freeze as the masks were ripped off.

    Everyone leaned in to take a look at the true identities of the eight assassins. When they saw these men, they felt a chill rise up from the base of their feet.

    King Duan also looked at the eight "Southern Region messengers". He too was shocked by what he saw.

    Then...

    He chuckled.

    However, his joy did notst long. He too felt a chill down his spine.

    Now that things were this way...

    He finally figured out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    It was a vicious n!

    It was even more vicious than he had ever expected!

    Initially, he had already thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was perfect and vicious. However, only now did he realize how vicious and thorough Fang Zhengzhi was.

    Prior to this, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping may have been in some trouble, but he still had a chance to recover.

    But now...

    His entire future was ruined.

    There was absolutely no way he would be able to recover from this. Fang Zhengzhi had used facts to pin the crime on Yu Yiping.

    There was no way to overturn this.

    The eight assassins were not Southern Region messengers. Three of them were mercenaries in Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s residence.

    The other five were leaders in the army.

    With the ¡¯testimony¡¯ of these men in front of the crowd and King Duan and the city guards as witness, coupled with their bodies as evidence...

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would be buried!

    "Hahaha... what a great n!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping¡¯s body shuddered as heughed. Tears formed in his eyes, "Good, very good, I am in awe!"

    At that moment, he knew exactly what had happened. In fact, he had understood this n from the moment Bai Qi wanted to remove the mask.

    Fang Zhengzhi had used eight men to impersonate the eight assassins Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping sent.

    Then, his men were to reveal the plot against Fang Zhengzhi that night, and even make up a story that the real target was Yan Xiu.

    Then, when Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping tried to chase them...

    They would disappear into an alley and they would present the prepared bodies.

    This was a solid case.

    The eight assassins were dead. The dead could not testify. The Emperor would have no choice but to believe the evidence in front of him.

    The two assistant ministers stared at the eight bodies. As ministers in the Ministry of Law, they knew that there was no chance to overturn a case like that.

    "That¡¯s it, that¡¯s it..." The two assistant ministers looked at each other. They knew what was about to happen.

    After Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was destroyed, they would have no chance to recover either.

    They were the ones who had helped Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping smuggle these men out of the jail. They were already implicated from the start.

    The countless guards and wardens were extremely bitter as well. They would be implicated too.

    The streets were silent.

    In the near distance, Chi Hou stared at the eight bodies from under a huge tree. He was in shock and awe.

    "Brother Hong, what do you think?" Xing Yuanguo asked.

    "I... I don¡¯t know." Chi Hou shook his head and looked away from Xing Yuanguo.

    "You do know. And based on your abilities, I am sure you can deduce what happened without knowing what happened at the Ministry of Law." Xing Yuanguo replied calmly.

    "Brother Yuanguo... yes I have to admit that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was perfect and vicious!" Chi Hou replied after some hesitation.

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world... I don¡¯t get it sometimes either. Could it be that there may still be changes?" Xing Yuanguo murmured as he looked at the stars.

    "Changes? What changes could there be? No matter how smart he is, he is still a crippled man! Brother Yuanguo, don¡¯t you have faith in your niece?" Chi Hou frowned.

    "Mm..." Xing Yuanguo nodded, then looked to the gates, "Brother Hong, why don¡¯t you guess how Yan Qianli would react when he hears that Yan Xiu was the target of an assassination?"

    "Yan Xiu? The target of an assassination? What do you mean?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi had his imposters say that the Left Prime Minister sent them to kill Yan Xiu under the guise of killing Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Ah?! Is... is Fang Zhengzhi crazy? Is he trying to cause chaos?!"

 Chapter 517: Prince Yan has arrived

    Chapter 517: Prince Yan has arrived

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Chaos?" Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t rebut Chi Hou. He knew how Yan Qianli was like.

    As the leader of Western Liang, Yan Qianli was renowned for being strict and tough with his sons and grandsons.

    The only thing that could be said...

    The quality of the sons of the Yan Family was testament to the sess of Yan Qianli¡¯s teaching methods.

    Yan Qianli was notorious for being domineering and strict.

    Yan Xiu was the target of an assassination? In the capital?! If Yan Qianli got wind of this, the consequences would be catastrophic.

    ...

    King Duan took advantage of the situation whilst Xing Yuanguo and Chi Hou thought about the ramifications of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    "Prime Minister, what do you have to say for yourself?" King Duan smirked as he looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    "I have nothing to say." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping shook his head.

    With things as they were, there was no way he could exin his way out of this situation. He had to find some way to maintain hisposure.

    The two assistant ministers lowered their heads when they heard this. All hope was lost the moment Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping gave up.

    "Arrest them!" King Duan ordered without hesitation.

    "Yes, sir!" the city guards replied in unison as they surrounded Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the two assistant ministers.

    Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping allowed the city guards to arrest him without resisting.

    The two assistant ministers didn¡¯t resist arrest either.

    King Duan looked at Fang Zhengzhi after he made sure that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the two assistant ministers had been arrested.

    After a moment of hesitation, he walked over.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you have contributed a lot to the arrest of these criminals. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to invite you..."

    "King Duan, your highness, are you speaking to me?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked as he looked at King Duan.

    "Of course." King Duan nodded.

    "Then, did you call me by the wrong name?" Fang Zhengzhi reminded.

    "Ahem... yes, I forgot. Fang Zhengzheng, you have contributed a lot to the arrest of these criminals. If you don¡¯t mind, my residence is nearby. You cane over for some rest..."

    "Your Highness, thank you for the invite, but... I¡¯m busy!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he looked at Yan Xiu. "Yan Xiu, are you free?"

    "I¡¯m not either." Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Since we are all not free, let¡¯s just go back and have hot pot." Fang Zhengzhi waved to King Duan apologetically after Yan Xiu replied.

    "Great! I love eating hot pot!" Ping Yang shouted in excitement even before Yan Xiu could speak.

    "None for you!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "Humph! I don¡¯t care! If you¡¯re making it, I want to eat it!" Ping Yang pouted, then leaned in, "You were right. Sometimes dead men are more useful than live ones."

    "Can we talk about the bet that you lost?"

    "What did I lose? It¡¯s just 450,000 silvers! It¡¯s no big deal! I am not someone who will go back on my word."

    "But you are!"

    "Am not!"

    "You are!"

    "Am not!"

    "..."

    King Duan watched Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang bicker, his face turning red and paling in quick session.

    He was a king! He just invited Fang Zhengzhi to rest in his residence! Yet, he had been rejected?

    Furthermore...

    The reason given was some.

    Most importantly, they were nning to eat hot pot back at their own residence! They were clearly free!

    King Duan clenched his fists, feeling the looks from the city guards and the wardens.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you humiliate me?!" King Duan wanted to flip out. However, he felt a chill down his spine when he thought about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n to defeat Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was nothing short of perfection. Furthermore, the viciousness unsettled him greatly.

    "He managed to send Wan Chong to jail and implicate Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and two other assistant ministers within 10 days of his arrival. As for the Ministry of War..."

    That was a pity... even though there were five members of the ministry who were assassins in this plot...

    It would be quite a long shot if they tried to tie this to the Minister of War.

    Based on what he knew of the Crown Prince, there would be someone else in the ministry who would take the fall for this.

    Hang on!

    No!

    King Duan turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi andpany, who had already begun walking away. He felt another chill down his spine.

    This chill was even more intense than the previous one. He realized that this involved someone else. That person was Prince Yan, Yan Qianli.

    When it came to Yan Qianli...

    Things...

    Would not end so easily.

    ...

    Ping Yang¡¯s residence...

    There were a few guards in golden armor standing by the gates. There was one man standing in the middle, Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    He was slightly shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang walk towards him. After some hesitation, he decided to walk forward to greet them.

    "Brother, stay and eat hot pot with us." Ping Yang greeted him enthusiastically.

    "Hotpot?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun nodded after recovering from the shock. Then, he seemed to recall something, "Didn¡¯t... didn¡¯t King Duan invite the all of you over to his ce?"

    "He did." Ping Yang replied.

    "Then... why aren¡¯t..."

    "This guy rejected his invite. He said that he wasn¡¯t free! Hahaha, it was hrious! You should have seen the look on King Duan¡¯s face!" Ping Yang pointed at Fang Zhengzhi and guffawed.

    "Rejected? Erm... Young Master Fang, I don¡¯t know if it is appropriate to say this." Ninth Prince Lin Yun was slightly hesitant.

    "Please speak." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Even though I do not participate in politics, I think you should choose King Duan especially since you¡¯ve already antagonized the Crown Prince."

    "Is he the best choice?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "He may be your only choice." the Ninth Prince replied.

    "Yes, he is my only choice, but, why does it matter?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and queried.

    "Young Master Fang, since you know that it is your only choice, why do you antagonize him? There was a great opportunity presented to you today." Ninth Prince Lin Yun was rather confused.

    "What if I told you that I never nned to choose between the Crown Prince and King Duan? Would you believe me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Ninth Prince.

    "Erm..." Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to say something but decided against it when he saw the look in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    "Would you like to eat hot pot?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Of course!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun shuddered before epting the invite.

    "Come on then."

    "I heard that the Emperor paid you when he ate your hot pot. I will get someone to bring over some silvers." Ninth Prince Lin Yun nodded.

    "No need for that. Tonight¡¯s meal is on me." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Free?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun was shocked. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s love for money was well known throughout the empire.

    "Brother, what are you waiting for? Come on in! He is rarely this generous! I am getting hungry already! I want to eat my fill tonight!" Ping Yang waved to Ninth Prince Lin Yun.

    "Okay..."

    ...

    It was going to be a long night. Both the Crown Prince¡¯s and King Duan¡¯s residence were well lit and packed with officials.

    The night dragged on for ages.

    Dawn, the next day.

    It was dark and breezy. The atmosphere was rather somber and it looked as though a storm was brewing overhead.

    There was a man in his 40s seated in the Ministry of War. He was the current Minister of War, Shen Ming.

    As one of the six ministers, he was known for hisposure and calm demeanor. This made him the prime choice for Minister of War.

    But now...

    Shen Ming seemed extremely anxious. He kept shifting around in his seat and he was visibly ufortable.

    In fact, the entire Ministry of War felt the same way. Every official simply couldn¡¯t keep still. They knew the storm that wasing for them.

    "He¡¯sing, he¡¯sing. Minister..." A figure appeared at the door and fell to his knees.

    "Who is here?!" Shen Ming paled as he looked at the kneeling figure. He stood up from his chair.

    "The Crown Prince... the Crown Prince is here." The kneeling figure replied.

    "Then what are you waiting for? Let hime in!" Shen Ming heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Yes, your honor!" The figure disappeared through the door.

    Before long, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong entered the room. He wore his trademark silver robe. He frowned as he looked at Shen Ming.

    "Your Highness!" Shen Ming walked up and fell to his knees.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong waved him off, signaling Shen Ming to stand. Then, he looked at the other officials.

    "Leave us alone." Shen Ming bellowed when he saw the look on Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s face.

    "Yes, your honor!" The officials immediately took their leave.

    Shen Ming and Lin Tianrong were left alone in the room.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded when he saw everyone leave. He went to sit on the Minister¡¯s chair.

    "Official Shen, why do you look so gloomy today?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked as he looked at the pale-faced Shen Ming.

    "Your Highness, please save me!" Shen Ming fell to his knees. He couldn¡¯t be bothered about anything else.

    "The responsibilities of the Ministry of Law are to select and qualify generals! You are also supposed to manage the logistics of the army. Even though you do not directly control the army, you have quite a heavy responsibility. Am I right?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong added.

    "Yes, you are absolutely right!" Shen Ming nodded.

    "It is inevitable that you are unable to oversee everything that happens here. Sometime, some of your generals in training might choose to interfere in politics."

    "Yes, but I did have apse in judgment."

    "You just have to admit to apse in judgment. You will also have to find the people in charge of those men. Official Shen, you have been in this position for seven years. I am sure you don¡¯t need me to teach you these things."

    "Of course, of course... I have already found them in the night. They are currently being dealt with by the Right Assistant Minister. However, I still have to take responsibility for what happened." Shen Ming nodded.

    "Yes, go on the record!"

    "I have already prepared my statement. Please take a look at it!" Shen Ming retrieved his statement.

    "No need for that. The Emperor might be at the Ten Mile Lake right now, but he should be returning soon. You should do this personally. Go kneel in front of the throne room!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong waved him off.

    "Kneel in front of the throne room?" Shen Ming was stunned.

    "Is there a problem?"

    "No, no problem at all! I¡¯ll be on my way right now!" Shen Ming stood up and was about to take his leave.

    Just as he walked out of the hall, he saw a figure rushing towards him. This figure crashed right into him.

    "What is so urgent?" Shen Ming¡¯s expression was filled with rage. He questioned the figure solemnly.

    "He¡¯s here... he¡¯s here..."

    "Who¡¯s here? This is the Ministry of War! Who dares..."

    "Prince Yan! It¡¯s Prince Yan!"

 Chapter 518: No one can stop the Yan Cloud Cavalry

    Chapter 518: No one can stop the Yan Cloud Cavalry

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Prince Yan? Yan Qianli!" Shen Ming¡¯s expression changed. He knew that Yan Qianli woulde, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon.

    Just as he was about to ask about Yan Qianli¡¯s current location, he heard the whinnying of horses.

    "Surround this ce!" An animalistic bellow could be heard from outside.

    Then, the officials began to stream in. They all looked to Minister of War Shen Ming with panic in their eyes.

    "Minister... things are not looking good. It¡¯s the Yan Cloud Cavalry, the Yan Cloud Cavalry... they have..." One of the officials started to stammer.

    Then he stopped. He saw the expression on Shen Ming¡¯s face.

    Shen Ming hadpletely paled. He knew that Yan Qianli was a domineering man, but this was the capital!

    The center of the Empire!

    The capital of the Great Xia!

    Who were the Yan Cloud Cavalry? They were soldiers of Western Liang! That meant that they were not soldiers of the capital! How could they be here!

    It was a heinous crime for other soldiers to barge into the capital! It almost bordered on a rebellion!

    Where were the city guards?

    Why did nobody stop the Yan Cloud Cavalry from entering the city?

    The city guards were supposed to protect the city! Yet, they allowed the Yan Cloud Cavalry to enter and surround the Ministry of War!

    "Is he mad? Is Yan Qianli crazy? How dare he bring soldiers into the capital!" Shen Ming nearly crumpled to the ground. He refused to believe what was happening.

    However, the facts were all there in front of him. Yan Qianli was here. Even the Emperor had to respect this ¡¯madman¡¯.

    Thew...

    That was the bedrock of the Great Xia Empire.

    However, there was one man who didn¡¯t care about thew. This was Yan Qianli, a man who had sacrificed all his brothers to save the Great Xia.

    He managed Western Liang single-handedly.

    He had secured the borders of the Great Xia! Nobody dared toe within a hundred mile radius of Western Liang.

    And now...

    He was in the capital! He even brought the Yan Cloud Cavalry along to surround the Ministry of War! How could Shen Ming keep hisposure?

    "Your Highness, this..."

    "Is Yan Qianli the only one who has returned from the banquet?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked the messenger.

    "Yes yes yes, what about the Emperor? Where is the Emperor?" Shen Ming replied, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

    "No, the Emperor is still at the Ten Mile Lake. I heard that he will only return after lunch." The figure replied.

    "Return after lunch?! Erm..." Shen Ming was shocked as he shuddered. He nearly crumpled to the ground.

    He knew what that meant...

    If Yan Qianli knew about the events ofst night, the Emperor would know them too. The Emperor had chosen to stay at the Ten Mile Lake whilst Yan Qianli returned to the capital...

    The meaning of that was obvious.

    What was he going to do?

    There was no one, bar the Emperor, who could hold Yan Qianli back.

    Shen Ming turned to look at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. Lin Tianrong was his only hope in this situation.

    However...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t seem like he was about to take any action. He simply stood in his position and looked like he was thinking about something.

    Shen Ming didn¡¯t dare to ask the Crown Prince what he was thinking about.

    The Crown Prince was actually thinking about why the Emperor would choose to stay at the Ten Mile Lake till after he had his lunch.

    However, the Yan Cloud Cavalry had no intention of giving him much time to think.

    "Neigh!" the horses whinnied.

    Then, the gates to the Ministry of War were smashed open as hundreds of soldiers in ck cloaks stormed in.

    Every soldier rode a war stallion. They looked like a domineering ck cloud that suffocated everyone in the Ministry of War.

    "Kaboom!"

    A bolt of lightning shot across the sky and the somber atmosphere was broken by torrential rain. The glistening armor under the ck cloaks began to show.

    Shen Ming¡¯s lips twitched as he tried to find words to express himself. At that moment, one of the squad leaders stepped forward and looked at the officials.

    Finally...

    His gaze rested on Shen Ming.

    "Arrest him!" The leadermanded icily.

    The Yan Cloud Cavalry sprang into action.

    "Woosh woosh woosh!" The Yan Cloud Cavalry drew their bows and pointed them at Shen Ming.

    Their arrows glistened in the rain.

    Shen Ming shuddered when he saw this. He began trembling in his spot. He never expected to be threatened like this in his own ministry.

    Furthermore, the Crown Prince was standing beside him! How dare they do this?

    "How dare you! This is the Ministry of War! The Yan Cloud Cavalry... should not be here!" Shen Ming grit his teeth and bellowed.

    The Ministry of War oversaw the armies.

    As such, they were also guarded by soldiers.

    When Shen Ming bellowed, almost 500 soldiers rushed out from within the Ministry of War and lowered their spears at the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    These soldiers were elites in their own right.

    However, the Yan Cloud Cavalry were the creme de creme. No one even came close.

    "Shen Ming is resisting arrest, kill him!" The leader¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change when he saw the soldiers run out. He still remained asposed as ever.

    "What?!" Shen Ming was stunned.

    He couldn¡¯t believe what was happening to him. The fact that he was being surrounded in his own ministry was unfathomable. However... he was floored when he heard the order to kill him.

    He was a minister!

    Even if his crime was deserving of death, he should be properly tried and sentenced! Right now, he was about to be shot to death without a trial.

    How is this possible?

    Most importantly, the Crown Prince was standing next to him!

    He simply couldn¡¯t believe that this was happening. However, an arrow had already been shot the moment the order was given.

    "Zoom!"

    The arrow pierced through the air and rain and looked to strike Shen Ming in the head.

    This was meant to be a lethal shot.

    At the moment the arrow was released, hundreds of others were too. They shot towards Shen Ming as well.

    Shen Ming¡¯s eyes widened.

    He never expected that the Yan Cloud Cavalry would really attack him. They were attacking him without any hesitation or consideration!

    "Madman, he really is a madman!" Shen Ming¡¯s limbs sprang into action when he saw this.

    He had some abilities too.

    However, it was not easy to dodge away from all these arrows at such a short distance. The was a screen of light in front of him as he rolled to the side.

    "Boom boom boom!"

    The arrows fell to the ground, piercing holes in the ground. Each one was embedded deep inside the earth.

    Crack lines began to form and widen...

    This one volley of arrows had virtually shredded the floor of the Ministry of War. This was how powerful the Yan Cloud Cavalry were.

    In the face of such power...

    The 500 soldiers werepletely wed.

    Ordinarily, they would have sprung into action by now. They had a responsibility to protect the ministry. However, none of them moved.

    They knew that anyone who could shoot at the Minister of War would not hesitate to kill them either.

    The soldiers had a duty...

    However, that didn¡¯t mean that they were willing to die in such a pointless manner.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked at Shen Ming, who had tumbled to the side. He was slightly shocked to see the arrows in the ground.

    Even though the arrows had gone around his body, they had brushed close enough to him to lift his robe as they passed.

    "Yan Cloud Cavalry! Is this the Yan Cloud Cavalry?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had seen them before. However, he had only seen them in exercises in Western Liang. He had not interacted with them up close.

    At that moment, he finally understood why the Emperor would choose to stay at the Ten Mile Lake. He also understood why none of the 13 Constabries were stationed in Western Liang.

    The army that stood in front of him was a true powerhouse.

    This was a powerful army that was virtually impossible to match.

    There was only one way to describe it.

    Western Liang wasn¡¯t conquered by the Great Xia. They were only able to consider Western Liang one of their territories because of the negotiating prowess of their ancestors. Most importantly, this powerful army had done their job.

    This powerful army was the only reason why the Great Xia had managed to survive. At the battle of the Ten Mile Lake, the Yan Cloud Cavalry had traveled over 1000 miles to arrive at the battlefield within the week. They then proceeded to fight for three days straight without any breaks.

    30,000 of them had held off an army of 150,000 demons.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s mouth twitched. He could stop this all but he had to make sure that it was worthwhile.

    Was it worthwhile to antagonize Yan Qianli over a Minister of War?

    He may have considered it before he saw the Yan Cloud Cavalry. He had already lost the Ministry of Law and Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping...

    He didn¡¯t want to lose the Minister of War either.

    However, when he saw the Yan Cloud Cavalry, he understood at that moment that he could not antagonize this army.

    Even if he was the Crown Prince...

    Even if he was to be the Emperor someday, he could not antagonize this army, not whilst Yan Qianli was alive.

    "Greetings Prince Yan, I am Lin Tianrong, third son of the Emperor!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong ignored Shen Ming and bowed to the Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    As a Crown Prince, he could not possibly greet Yan Qianli before he had shown himself or greeted him.

    This meant that he was using Yan Qianli of disrespect.

    As such, he didn¡¯t introduce himself as the Crown Prince. He merely introduced himself as the third son of the Emperor. In that position, he was of lower rank and it was eptable for him to greet Yan Qianli first.

    All of the pale-faced officials of the Ministry of War were slightly shocked to see this.

    However, no one asked any questions. The person on the other side was Yan Qianli. He was definitely worthy of the Crown Prince showing some humility.

    It continued to pour.

    The rain pummeled the bodies of the Yan Cloud Cavalry but they did not move. They looked at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong solemnly.

    No one spoke or moved.

    At that moment, a g was raised from within the ranks. It was a golden g embroidered with six blood-red clouds.

    There was a red "Yan" in the middle of the g! It was just quite the domineering symbol.

    This was a stark difference from the g they had carried to the Northern Mountain Vige when facing the Red Pinion Squad.

    This was the real g of the Yan Cloud Cavalry!

    All the soldiers of the Yan Cloud Cavalry parted to the side when the g appeared. They opened up a path through the middle.

    The path was only wide enough for one man to pass through. Right now, there was only one man there.

    This man¡¯s stallion was the same as everyone else¡¯s. Even his ck cloak and armor were the same as the others.

    He did not ride in a carriage or wear anything discernibly different. He too had a sword and a bow.

    The ck cloak covered most of his face.

    Usually, people would not be able to see that this man was different from the other members of the Yan Cloud Cavalry. However, when they saw this man in the middle of the path, only one name came to their minds.

    Yan Qianli!

 Chapter 519: Single guy and lady

    Chapter 519: Single guy anddy

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Yan Qianli never traveled in a carriage. Furthermore, the fact that he dressed and traveled in the same way as the other members of the Yan Cloud Cavalry was an open secret.

    However, even though he did not seem any different from the others, his reputation was enough to cause everyone to retreat subconsciously.

    Even Crown Prince Lin Tianrong shuffled his feet.

    There was no domineering aura or killing intent. His name alone was enough to send shivers down everyone¡¯s spine.

    This was Yan Qianli.

    "Your Highness, I see that you are here too." A raspy voice echoed through the air. Yet, despite its raspiness, it still sounded rather grand and powerful.

    There was no need for an exnation.

    To Yan Qianli, some things did not require an exnation. People could infer what he meant.

    He did not see Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    Even though hundreds of soldiers from the Yan Cloud Cavalry stood in front of the Crown Prince... even though they were less than five meters apart... no one dared to question the validity of that im.

    This was how powerful Yan Qianli was.

    Yan Qianli wasn¡¯t disrespectful or arrogant. Ever since he took over leadership of Western Liang, he had always paid the taxes on time. He never sent out any less than he was supposed to, even during times of crisis.

    Furthermore, he had never levied soldiers from elsewhere. The strength of his guards and Yan Cloud Cavalry had remained constant and he maintained them at the numbers agreed upon with the Great Xia.

    This was what made him famous through thends.

    He was almost untouchable, yet he remained fiercely loyal to the empire. He was givenplete autonomy, yet he never flexed his muscles and always kept his word.

    As such...

    He was given quite a bit of leeway.

    "Prince Yan, I was unable to greet you at the gates, I¡¯m..."

    "Your Highness, you need not apologize for that. I am aware of the hierarchy. Your Highness, are you here to plead on Shen Ming¡¯s behalf?" Yan Qianli interrupted the Crown Prince.

    It was a very simple question.

    However, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong felt a chill down his spine. His mouth opened and closed but he couldn¡¯t find any words to express himself.

    "Your Highness, if you don¡¯t have anything to say, I will take him with me." Yan Qianli had no intention of staying any longer.

    "Okay." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth. He had no idea what Yan Qianli would do to Shen Ming or where he would take him.

    He had already decided to give up on this Minister of War. Shen Ming¡¯s fate was now irrelevant.

    "Your Highness..." Minister of War Shen Ming instinctively looked to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. He had thought that the Crown Prince had stepped forward to save him.

    But...

    The Crown Prince had decided to leave him in the lurch.

    Shen Ming finally understood what was going on. The choice between him or Yan Qianli was not difficult to make.

    "Kaboom!"

    The lightning shed across the sky and thunder boomed.

    A red g was raised and the Yan Cloud Cavalry merged together.

    They went back to their initial formation.

    However, this time, no one questioned the army that was in front of them. No one even thought of stopping them.

    "Arrest him!" The leader bellowed.

    Four members of the Yan Cloud Cavalry stepped forward and surrounded Shen Ming.

    Shen Ming didn¡¯t resist it anymore. He knew that his fate had been sealed the moment Crown Prince Lin Tianrong replied with ¡¯okay¡¯.

    Politics was constantly evolving. One could be at the top now but no one knew when the fall woulde.

    He didn¡¯t me anyone.

    He knew the rules. Only the victorious survive.

    The four Yan Cloud Cavalry soldiers worked efficiently and chained Shen Ming up. Then, they hoisted him on the back of a horse.

    They proceeded to rejoin the formation.

    The rain continued to pummel the bodies of everyone present. The stallions whinnied as they stepped on puddles of rainwater.

    A ck g was raised.

    The Yan Cloud Cavalry turned in unison and trotted to the gates of the Ministry of War. They were gone in an instant.

    No one dared to stop them. The officials, guards, and soldiers merely watched on, rooted to their positions.

    They only recovered after the Yan Cloud Cavalry disappeared from sight.

    "Was that Prince Yan?" One of the officials heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the Yan Cloud Cavalry disappear.

    He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

    That being said, no one could believe what had just happened.

    When they thought about it, Yan Qianli had not done anything. He didn¡¯t dismount and his face waspletely covered by his cloak.

    He barged into the city, surrounded the Ministry of Law, arrested a rank two official, and did all of this in front of the Crown Prince. That was unbelievable!

    But the fact was that Shen Ming had been taken away.

    No one knew where he was being brought to.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked into the distance. He simply stared at the horizon. No one knew if he was waiting for the rain to stop or the sun to rise.

    ...

    The gate to King Duan¡¯s residence.

    Old Wen watched thoughtfully as a figure sprinted towards him in the rain.

    "Old Wen, Shen Ming has been arrested!" The figure reported.

    "Where has he been brought to?"

    "Prince Yan didn¡¯t say and the Crown Prince didn¡¯t ask. However, the Yan Cloud Cavalry were headed to the Ten Mile Lake." The figure replied.

    "Ten Mile Lake? Okay, I got it, you may leave now!" Old Wen nodded as he looked up into the sky. "The Left Prime Minister and two of the Assistant Ministers of Law have been arrested. Now, Shen Ming has been taken away too. This n is even bigger than I expected. If there is more to this n... I can¡¯t imagine the consequences!"

    Old Wen turned and walked into the residence, ignoring the rain that pummeled his body.

    ...

    Emperor Lin Mubai returned to the capital in the afternoon despite the rain.

    Yan Qianli didn¡¯t follow him back. The Yan Cloud Cavalry continued to stay at the Ten Mile Lake. However, there was one man kneeling on the banks.

    Minister of Law Shen Ming.

    There was a fiery red stone tablet in front of Shen Ming. There were many words inscribed in red on the tablet.

    This was the tablet that marked the battle here.

    It seemed rather in and unassuming. Every name was carved on the tablet and adorned with red clouds.

    It was difficult to imagine...

    But that was how things were. The person who had made this decision was Yan Qianli. He didn¡¯t want this ce to be renovated.

    The reason he gave was simple.

    "The Ten Mile Lake should not be touched. The blood there is still red and the fire is still burning!"

    "Prince Yan, are you here to partake in the battle for the throne?" Shen Ming didn¡¯t turn to look at the figure behind him. He knelt in front of the tablet and examined each name as the rain continued to assault him.

    "I am if you think I am. I am not if you think I am not." A raspy voice rang out behind him.

    "I am extremely bitter. I did send people to the Seven Star Lane. However, the target was Fang Zhengzhi, not Yan Xiu!" Shen Ming shuddered and replied when he heard this voice.

    "Mm, I know." The raspy voice rang out again.

    "You know about this?! Haha... I understand now. However, I never expected that you would allow yourself to be used like that!"

    "You might think that I am being used, but I prefer to think of it as a win-win situation. Since I am here, I will bring the Yan Cloud Cavalry into the capital. It is just a matter of time. Since you gave me such a great opportunity, I decided to take it."

    "It is no wonder you are Prince Yan. However, I am still the Minister of War. Even if I am guilty, I should be sentenced by the Emperor and tried by the Ministry of Law. Aren¡¯t you... overreaching a little here?"

    "I am not, and I do not n to try or sentence you. After you kneel for three days, I will hand you over to the proper authorities!"

    "Three days? Hahaha... three days! Yes, after three days, there is no way I could still be the Minister of War."

    "I don¡¯t care about such trivial matters."

    "..."

    ...

    Inside Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    Fang Zhengzhiy down on a chair inside an exquisitely designed room. Ping Yang grabbed his arm and refused to let go.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly.

    They were alone in the room and Ping Yang was tugging at his limbs. This was highly inappropriate and could cause misunderstandings easily.

    "Why don¡¯t you let go and give me some space? You are a princess, can you show some ss and elegance?" Fang Zhengzhi tried to be assertive.

    "No, I will not! Not unless you tell me what you have nned after this!" Ping Yang pouted and grabbed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm. She didn¡¯t seem to notice that she had pressed her chest against his arm.

    "What do you want to know?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather exasperated. He didn¡¯t mind Ping Yang grabbing his arm, but Ping Yang had already matured.

    It was rather inappropriate now.

    "Ministry of Law! Yes... the Ministry of Law! What are your ns there? And the Ministry of War! What do you have in mind?" Ping Yang replied.

    "I am not the Emperor. Does my opinion even matter?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched.

    "Erm... that¡¯s true as well! But I don¡¯t care! Just guess! Guess who the next Minister of Law and Minister of War would be!" Ping Yang added.

    "I don¡¯t have to guess. They will decide on the next Minister of Law tomorrow morning." Fang Zhengzhi wanted to push Ping Yang away but her grip was too tight.

    "Tomorrow morning?"

    "Yes."

    "But the Emperor hasn¡¯t attended court for many days now. Are you sure he will be there tomorrow morning?"

    "Of course. There are so many things to settle. He would have no other choice."

    "That¡¯s true, but you haven¡¯t answered my question!"

    "Haha... I am not stupid. If I really told you, you are likely to run to the pce and tell the Emperor that this was my n all along!"

    "How do you know? Okay then... I promise not to rat you out!"

    "Then let¡¯s talk about money. 100,000 silvers per question."

    "100,000? That¡¯s daylight robbery!"

    "You can choose not to ask!"

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll ask. Who is your choice for Minister of Law?"

    "Are you sure that¡¯s your question?"

    "Yes!"

    "That is such a silly question. There are only three assistant ministers there. Now that two of them have been disposed of, there is only one person left to take the position."

    "Wen Chuan! Right Assistant Minister Wen Chuan! Is it really him? Hang on, Wen Chuan is Wen Dabao¡¯s father! You... no, no... your nst night... you couldn¡¯t be sure that the Left Prime Minister would be there. You had no intention of taking down the Left Prime Minister and the Minister of War. They simply wandered into the fray. You merely wanted... to target the two assistant ministers. You did all of that so Wen Chuan could be the Minister of Law?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes brightened.

    "Oh? You suddenly became smarter?"

    "Hmph! I am extremely smart! I... I have another question."

    "200,000 silvers."

    "Okay, since you have no interest of participating in the battle for the throne, why would you go to such lengths to have Wen Chuan be the Minister of Law?"

    "To overturn my case." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Overturn your case?! You want to?! When??" Ping Yang released her grip on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand in shock.

    "Probably in 2-3 days."

 Chapter 520: No need to wait any longer

    Chapter 520: No need to wait any longer

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "2-3 days?! You must be crazy. Even though the Crown Prince has lost the Ministry of Law and War, he still has the support of the other four ministries! Why don¡¯t you just wait a little longer?" Ping Yang was confused.

    "Wait till when?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Of course you should wait till..." Ping Yang stopped talking at that moment. She wanted to say ¡¯till after the Crown Prince loses his position¡¯. However, the Crown Prince was still her brother and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it.

    "The Crown Prince is the Crown Prince. My case has nothing to do with him. If I wait till then, my case would be meaningless." Fang Zhengzhi knew what Ping Yang was trying to say.

    He could actually wait.

    He could wait until King Duan had the advantage. He could also wait till the Crown Prince lost his position. However, whether he overturned his case then would be meaningless.

    "Isn¡¯t it difficult to overturn your case now? Furthermore... do you have any evidence?" Ping Yang nodded hesitantly but she quickly thought of another question.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to overturn his case using the Minister of Law?

    It was too difficult!

    Furthermore, Wen Chuan hadn¡¯t even assumed that position. Even if he did, he may not have the respect of his subordinates.

    Most importantly, Wen Chuan had no evidence.

    It was quite difficult for him to overturn the case without any evidence on hand.

    The Emperor would never agree to that.

    "Evidence? Of course... I don¡¯t have any." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. The only people who knew what really happened were the Crown Prince, Su Qing, and the eight mercenaries.

    The eight mercenaries had already been disposed of.

    Su Qing was the only one who knew the truth and he was currently in the Northern Region overseeing the Northern Five Constabries. Most importantly, Su Qing would never testify against the Crown Prince.

    "How do you want the Emperor to quash your case without evidence?" Ping Yang asked.

    "We¡¯ll find out when we try." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t couldn¡¯t actually exin how it would work. To be honest, he didn¡¯t even know if he would be sessful.

    "Okay then, when do you n to try?"

    "She should be here in the next two to three days!"

    "Her? Are you talking about..."

    "Mm." Fang Zhengzhi looked out the window and watched the rain. It had been more than a year...

    ...

    The rain slowed to a drizzle through the night.

    Inside a serene residence in the capital.

    A figure sat inside a small pavilion, her smooth and soft hands ying the Guqin in front of her.

    The wind caused some of the rain to stter inside and wet her dress. Her dress had glowing spots under the moonlight.

    This was Yun Qingwu, the Young Master of the Demons.

    Yet, she was in the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty. This was quite the unfathomable truth.

    "Young Master!" A figurepletely hidden behind a ck cloak appeared in front of Yun Qingwu.

    "Mm." Yun Qingwu acknowledged this man¡¯s presence.

    "Young Master, I have news to report. Wu Yuer is currently on the way back to the capital and the Queen of the Southern Region should be here in two days!"

    "Two days. Wu Yuer, the Queen of the Southern Region, and Yan Qianli... Mm, I understand." Yun Qingwu nodded and lifted her hands off the Guqin. She looked into the sky. "Did you find out where Bai Xing is being held?"

    "No, but..." the man was about to make a deduction but he stopped himself. He knew that Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t like deductions.

    Yun Qingwu only valued facts as intel.

    "It¡¯s okay. Just send this letter to Ping Yang¡¯s residence."

    "Yes!"

    ...

    Dawn the next day...

    The rain stopped and the sunlight lit up the golden throne room. The roof of the throne room was stained a golden color by the sunlight.

    Hundreds of officials congratted a middle-aged man as they walked out of the throne room.

    That man was Wen Chuan.

    He was now the Minister of Law.

    No one could have predicted that the battle for the position would have ended this way. Two assistant ministers had been incarcerated.

    Wen Chuan was the only one left.

    Even though everyone knew that Wen Chuan was the only person left for that role, the process had still left them in shock.

    "Hahaha, Official Wen, congrattions on your promotion. Please don¡¯t forget us!"

    "I heard that your son is already of mature age and doesn¡¯t have any marital arrangements. My daughter is avable..."

    "Official Qin, your daughter is only 14-years-old right? Official Wen, why don¡¯t you consider my niece? She would be perfect for your son!"

    The officials continued to jostle for Wen Chuan¡¯s favor.

    The jump from assistant minister to full minister had always been arge one. Many had failed the jump. However, once you made the jump, you were set for life.

    Minister of one of the six ministries.

    Your name would be recorded in the annals of history.

    "My son is still young and immature. It is his honor to be held in such high regard by all of you. However... I still have to ask him for his opinion." Wen Chuan bowed and waved them off.

    "Yes, that is definitely necessary!"

    "Official Wen, it is no wonder you are our superior. You are impartial and fair. The Ministry of Law is in good hands!"

    "Indeed, Indeed!"

    The officials did not seem angered by Wen Chuan¡¯s refusal. Instead, they continued showering him withpliments.

    At that moment, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong appeared from the throne room, his silver robe glistening in the sun.

    "Ahem!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong cleared his throat and walked briskly over to Wen Chuan.

    All of the officials were slightly shocked to see Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. After all, this was the entrance to the throne room.

    There was a rule that the members of the royal family were not to interact with the officials.

    Was the jostling going to start now?

    All of the officials parted to the side when they saw the Crown Prince.

    "Official Wen!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong greeted.

    "Greetings, your highness." Wen Chuan bowed to the Crown Prince.

    "Mm, you need not be so formal. I heard that your son was once in the Mountain Breaking Army. There are few young men who have trained with such an elite squad. If you are free, do bring your son to the East Pce for a walk." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said calmly.

    All of the officials knew what was going on. The Crown Prince was starting to position himself to recruit Wen Chuan.

    Even though the Crown Prince seemed a little impatient...

    His impatience was understandable. The Left Prime Minister had been arrested and Wan Chong was in jail. Shen Ming was also kneeling at the Ten Mile Lake.

    It was impossible for the Crown Prince not to panic a little when faced with such a chain of events.

    "Thank you, your highness. I will definitely bring my son to meet you one day!" Wen Chuan nodded respectfully.

    "Very well." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded. He was about to say something when he saw another figure walk out of the Throne Room.

    King Duan was visibly happier than the Crown Prince.

    After all, the current situation was extremely favorable for him. It was no secret that Wen Chuan had not been valued despite his work in the ministry.

    Wen Chuan had never been truly valued by the Crown Prince.

    Now that Wen Chuan was the Minister of Law, this was something that King Duan could capitalize on.

    "Official Wen!" King Duan ignored Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and greeted Wen Chuan.

    "Your Highness!" Wen Chuan bowed respectfully.

    "I heard that Young Master Wen had trained and served with the Mountain Breaking Army. The army has an open position that I think he will be apt for. I wonder if you would be willing to let him take it up?" King Duan chuckled.

    "Haha... King Duan, you kid me. It would be his honor to train in the army. I would like to thank you on his behalf!" Wen Chuan replied.

    "Good. I think that tomorrow is a good time. If he is free, ask him toe to visit me!" King Duan nodded.

    "Brother, are you rushing things a little?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong frowned.

    "Am I? I think you¡¯re the one in a hurry!" King Duan replied.

    "Humph!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong snorted and turned to look at Wen Chuan, "Official Wen, I have to prepare for the arrival of the Southern Region. I¡¯ll see you soon!"

    "Crown Prince, take care!"

    "Crown Prince, safe travels!"

    Wen Chuan and the other officials bowed respectfully when they heard this.

    King Duan smirked when he saw Crown Prince Lin Tianrong leave. "The Queen of the Southern Region ising. I have to help with the preparations. I will be taking my leave now." He added quickly.

    "Safe travels, King Duan!"

    "Take care, King Duan!"

    Wen Chuan and the officials bowed again.

    The officials couldn¡¯t help but sigh when they saw Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan leave.

    Normally, the Minister of Law was not considered a hotmodity. There were more popr ministries to court. However, today, Wen Chuan was extremely popr now.

    Anyone in the position now would be hotmodity.

    It was rare that the Crown Prince and King Duan would jostle for position just outside the throne room.

    Too many things had changed over the past few days.

    All of this...

    Only one name surfaced in the minds of all the officials. This was a name that they had disregarded before.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    He had sent Minister of Law Wan Chong into jail the day he entered the city. Then, he implicated Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and Minister of War Shen Ming days after.

    Right now, Wen Chuan was the Minister of Law. No one could tell for sure where Wen Chuan¡¯s allegiancesy.

    After all, all of the cases against Wan Chong, Yu Yiping, and Shen Ming had to go through him.

    He was the gatekeeper.

    In other words, Wen Chuan could make or break the Crown Prince¡¯s hold on power! This would also directly impact King Duan.

    ...

    Noon, two dayster.

    Red silk adorned the eastern wall of the capital. There was a festive atmosphere in the air.

    Two rows of armed soldiers in glistening armor stood at attention.

    Countless citizens gathered at the gate.

    The Queen of the Southern Region wasing. This was a huge event for the people of the Great Xia. After all, the Southern Region was thergest vassal of the Great Xia.

    This was an important rtionship.

    Furthermore, this was the first delegation to visit the Great Xia since the war a year ago. Furthermore, the head of the delegation was the Queen herself.

    "I heard that the Queen is not even 20-years-old yet!"

    "Yes, I heard that she is very pretty! I would love to see her."

    "Shush! Don¡¯t let others hear that! You may be executed for that."

    The crowd whispered amongst themselves.

    At that very moment, there was a ck dot in the distance. This dot grew bigger and bigger. It was apanied by loud booming sounds.

    "Woo!"

    A long, droning horn echoed through the air.

    "The Queen of the Southern Region is here!"

    "Wow! This is such a grand entourage!"

    Their eyes brightened as they watched the delegation approach the city. Everyone could not help but gasp in awe.

    After all, this was a rare opportunity for them to witness the Queen of the Southern Region entering the capital.

 Chapter 521: Interruption during the festivities

    Chapter 521: Interruption during the festivities

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The approaching entourage was over 5000 strong. This was a squad that was made up of all sorts of beasts. Their roars echoed through the air.

    Each beast had a red silk tied around its body. These danced in the spring breeze.

    There was a huge beast over three yards high in the middle of the formation. It was protected by thick white scales and it had snow white fangs. This was the leader of the beasts.

    There was a silver carriage on top of it. Ady in a leather robe sat on it. She had beige skin, ck eyes, and smooth hair.

    A crown adorned with five gems and three seven-colored feathers sat on her head.

    This was Shan Yu, the Queen of the Southern Region!

    "The Queen of the Southern Region! She is so pretty!"

    "We are extremely lucky to witness her beauty!"

    "How do they manage to control these many beasts? Aren¡¯t they afraid that the beasts would run amok?"

    "What are you talking about? These are all domesticated and trained! Why would they rebel?"

    The crowd gasped in awe as they watched the approaching entourage.

    By the time the entourage reached the gates of the city, the eyes of the crowd were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    They could feel the powerful and domineering aura of the beasts.

    "Roar!"

    The thunderous roars echoed through the air.

    The crowd instinctively took a step back in fear. After all, this was the first time that many of them had seen such beasts.

    At that very moment, a middle-aged man in ck official robes walked up to the lead beast.

    "Wee, I am Qin Yuan, the Minister of Rites!" Qin Yuan bowed and waved to the soldiers behind him.

    At that moment, all of the soldiers walked forward.

    ording to Great Xia traditions, Emperor Lin Mubai would be waiting to wee her at the gates of the pce, apanied by the other officials. As such, the duty of weing her at the gates fell to Qin Yuan.

    "Wooo!" The sound of the horn pierced through the air.

    The entourage continued to move and entered through the eastern gates. With Qin Yuan leading the way, they began making their way towards the pce.

    ...

    At the gates of Ping Yang¡¯s residence...

    Wen Dabao was in good spirits today. He swayed from side to side as he sauntered about.

    In fact, from the moment he had stepped out of his house today, there were dozens of people waiting for him outside the gates. Some brought him flowers, others invited him for drinks, whilst others invited him to the Seven Star Lane...

    However...

    Wen Dabao rejected them all.

    The reason was simple. His dad had taught him that he will only be able to gain more by learning to reject.

    Wen Dabao didn¡¯t really understand it before. However, he was starting to understand it now. Over the past two days, the people trying to court him were bringing him more valuable items.

    They started bringing him antiques, works of art, even money...

    "Reject them! I will only be able to gain more if I learn to reject!" Wen Dabao resisted the temptation to ept these items.

    In the end, he was the one who was rejected.

    "Young Master Wen, I¡¯m sorry. The Princess has made it clear that there will be no visitors today." The guard at the gate stopped Wen Dabao before he could enter.

    "Brother Li, do you not recognize me? I am Dabao! Won¡¯t the Princess meet with me?" Wen Dabao had spent much time in Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    He had also ¡¯rewarded¡¯ the guard with silvers.

    As such, he was able to move in and out of Ping Yang¡¯s residence with little to no obstructions.

    "The Princess¡¯s orders are for no one to enter!"

    "Oh..." Wen Dabao sighed in exasperation. He knew that the guard was not going to budge on that position.

    Was this retribution? It was his turn to be rejected now...

    But...

    Why would Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi refuse to meet with him?

    Something was wrong!

    He was able to enter the residence when his father was an assistant minister. Why was he denied entry now that his father was the Minister of Law?

    Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t figure it out, but the glistening spear in the guard¡¯s hand stopped him from trying to barge in.

    Wen Dabao shook his head and began walking towards the pce.

    After all, the Queen of the Southern Region was arriving today.

    It would be a waste not to go and take a look and see what was happening.

    Ping Yang¡¯s residence was nearby the pce. Wen Dabao had wanted to find a good vantage point inside the residence.

    But now...

    He had no other choice but to squeeze with the crowd.

    Even though this was not his first choice, he still picked up his pace and walked briskly over to the pce.

    Before long, he was at the entrance to the pce. The crowd was huge! The royal guards formed two rows and opened a path for the entourage to pass through. Emperor Lin Mubai was waiting for the arrival of the entourage inside the pce. He was nked by all his officials.

    Wen Dabao quickly spotted Ping Yang, who was standing by Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s side. He was slightly shocked to see her there.

    "She was here so early?" Wen Dabao could understand why he had been rebuffed at the gates of her residence. However, he didn¡¯t understand why the guard would not tell him that Ping Yang was already at the pce.

    And...

    Where was Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu?

    "Woo!"

    At that moment, the sound of the horn pierced through the air and interrupted Wen Dabao¡¯s train of thought. The grand entourage appeared on the horizon.

    The roar of the beasts and the domineering aura they exuded caused the crowd to step backward instinctively.

    "Wow! White Jade Stone Elephant! That is the most powerful beast of all! And then there are the Silver Horned Wolves! The elite squad of the Southern Region!" Wen Dabao dismissed his doubts and craned his neck in excitement.

    The crowd began to part to the side as the entourage approached. There was plenty of space for the Southern Region delegation to pass.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked like he was in a good mood.

    His golden robe danced lightly in the wind. Four servants held up a golden umbre above him to protect him from the heat.

    The princes and princesses nked Emperor Lin Mubai. They were led by Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue.

    The Ninth Prince was also at the pce today. However, he stood far away.

    Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry and Chi Hong of the Divine Constabry led the delegation of ministers and officials. All of them smiled in a show of friendliness.

    "The Queen of the Southern Region has arrived!" Qin Yuan¡¯s voice pierced through the air. Everyone in the vicinity of the pce could hear him clearly.

    When his voice rang out, the convoy stopped in its tracks. All of the beasts let out a low rumble.

    "Music!"

    "Performance!"

    "..."

    The voices echoed through the air.

    Music filled the air as red silk danced in the sky. More than a hundreddies in red dresses dangled from red silk. Finally, theynded on the red carpet in front of the pce.

    Each one of them held a sword in their hands.

    "Woosh Woosh!"

    The swords cut through the air as thedies began to dance.

    The Great Xia Empire valued rites, tradition, loyalty, and benevolence.

    The sword dance was one of the traditions used by the Great Xia to wee important visitors. There was also poetry and art to apany this dance.

    Once that was over, the Queen of the Southern Region would be invited into the pce to dine with the officials. There would also be a cultural exchange.

    This was going to be a festive asion.

    However...

    The festivities didn¡¯tst long. Thedies stopped dancing all of a sudden. There was a youth standing in front of them.

    This youth had stepped out from the crowd.

    He did not walk very quickly. In fact, each step he took was slow and deliberate. However, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

    They were not alone. The Royal Guards were equally shocked to see that someone had managed to get around them.

    By the time they managed to react, the youth had already made his way to the sword-wieldingdies.

    He didn¡¯t look at Emperor Lin Mubai or the Crown Prince. He didn¡¯t even look at King Duan, Ping Yang, or the officials. He simply stared at the White Jade Stone Elephant and thedy sitting on top of it.

    The music stopped.

    Everyone looked at the youth with his blue long sleeved shirt dancing in the wind. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Most of their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "What is he trying to do?"

    "What is the Royal Guard doing? Why isn¡¯t anyone stopping him?!"

    "This is rubbish!"

    All of the officials were initially shocked to see this youth. This shock quickly turned to panic.

    "Roar!"

    The Silver Horned Wolves roared when they saw this figure. Every one of them red at this youth.

    They remembered who this youth was.

    Everyone stared at this youth in shock. They recognized him instantly.

    Their shock stemmed from the fact that they knew who he was.

    Because...

    He was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Most importantly, he was the one who had killed Shan Ling and vited Shan Yu.

    How could he possibly dare to show himself in front of thousands of Southern Region soldiers?!

    "Quick, arrest him!"

    "He is disrupting the festivities and affecting the course of diplomacy! Execute him!"

    "Royal Guards!"

    The officials recovered quickly and began bellowing orders to the Royal Guards.

    The Royal Guards immediately surrounded Fang Zhengzhi and lowered their spears at his throat.

    "Surrender!"

    "Young Master Fang, please don¡¯t make things difficult for us."

    Bai Qi stared at Fang Zhengzhi and frowned. He had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi would show himself here.

    However, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to escape the death penalty once he showed himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Bai Qipletely. He didn¡¯t even look in that direction. He simply stood his ground and allowed the spears to be lowered at his throat.

    He never looked away from thedy sitting atop the White Jade Stone Elephant.

    The current Queen of the Southern Region...

    Shan Yu!

    At that moment, another figure walked out from the crowd. He wore a white robe embroidered with lotuses. His expression was icy.

    He didn¡¯t go around the Royal Guards. He simply squeezed his way through and walked over to Fang Zhengzhi.

    His body was glowing red.

    Yan Xiu.

    "Young Master Yan, you..." Bai Qi¡¯s Spear trembled when he saw Yan Xiu approach.

    He was shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi. However, he couldn¡¯t believe that Yan Xiu was in on it as well.

    He knew that Yan Xiu knew exactly how important this event was. Yet, Yan Xiu chose to take Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    There was only one way that this was going to end...

    Something bad was going to happen!

    "Is the Queen of the Southern Region really going to do nothing now that your brother¡¯s murderer is standing in front of you?" A calm voice echoed through the air.

    The voice was not loud, but everyone in the vicinity could hear it clearly.

 Chapter 522: She has feelings for him?

    Chapter 522: She has feelings for him?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone in the crowd stared at Fang Zhengzhi. They were shocked to hear what Fang Zhengzhi just said.

    "Your brother¡¯s murderer? In front of you?"

    "What is he trying to do?"

    "Is he tired of living?"

    "Isn¡¯t he the murderer? Didn¡¯t he kill the Crown Prince of the Southern Region?"

    No one could understand what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions were. He had already gotten himself out of the situation by using the name Fang Zhengzheng. Why he would step out at such a time and raise this issue was a mystery.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened when he heard this. He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    However...

    He couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The arrival of the Queen of the Southern Region was a big deal! Why would Fang Zhengzhi raise this issue right now and in this manner?

    How could he be this audacious?!

    The expressions of the other officials were equally contorted and ugly. Fang Zhengzhi had already been deemed a guilty man.

    Now, Fang Zhengzhi was still alive and in the city. Why would he choose such a time to reopen this case?

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. They had a bad feeling when they saw Fang Zhengzhi step forward.

    It was a feeling...

    A feeling that eventually materialized. Fang Zhengzhi did bring up this issue! And he did so in front of the Queen of the Southern Region.

    What were they to do now?

    What was going to happen?

    Wen Dabao wanted to go forward and stop Fang Zhengzhi. However, he was not Yan Xiu and he knew that he was in no position to stop anything.

    Emperor Lin Mubai squinted when he saw Fang Zhengzhi appear. His golden robe danced in the breeze.

    He was the leader of the Empire...

    He was furious at the fact that his weing of the Queen of the Southern Region had been disrupted by one man. However, he contained his anger.

    The reason was simple. He was the leader of the empire.

    Every decision of his would be recorded in the annals of history. He had to wait, think, and consider his options...

    Xing Yuanguo, Chi Hong, Ping Yang, and many others were waiting as well. Their expressions were all different, but they didn¡¯t speak.

    King Duan and the Crown Prince were waiting as well.

    Silence. Pin-drop silence.

    The breeze caressed everyone in the crowd.

    Shan Yu didn¡¯t speak.

    Shan Yu remained silent throughout the entire time. It was almost as though she didn¡¯t even see Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she was clearly staring at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She had been looking at him from the moment he appeared. It was almost as if she wanted to see right through him.

    Time ticked away...

    Yet, no one made a sound. It was pin-drop silence.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smiled when he saw that Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t move. Fang Zhengzhi may be audacious, but Shan Yu was no idiot.

    The Southern Region...

    They were a vassal of the Great Xia...

    Without the support of external powers, the Southern Region would never have dared to betray the Great Xia Empire and antagonize him.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong didn¡¯t think that Princess Shan Yu would do something that idiotic.

    Princess Shan Yu had been smart toy low and maintain the peace over the past year. Furthermore, if the Southern Region wanted to overturn the case...

    They would not possibly pin their hopes on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong shot a look at one of the officials behind him.

    "Royal Guard, what are you waiting for? Arrest this audacious revel!" The official on the receiving end of the look understood the Crown Prince¡¯s intentions instantly.

    "I¡¯m sorry, Young Master Fang!" Bai Qi grit his teeth. Just as he was about to strike, he saw a figure appear in front of him.

    At the same time, a red light screen appeared from the ground.

    It was like a crystal wall, but it was icy and hellish, almost as if it was made up of the souls of the fallen.

    The Dao of Asura.

    "Young Master Yan, today is a big day for the Emperor and the Southern Region. Are you not afraid that Prince Yan would be implicated as well?" Bai Qi¡¯s arm trembled.

    He didn¡¯t dare to strike without the Emperor¡¯s orders.

    There were 3000 Yan Cloud Cavalry still camped out at the Ten Mile Lake with Yan Qianli.

    "The Royal Guards should act like the Royal Guards!" Yan Xiu¡¯s expression was just as icy as before.

    Bai Qi was stunned but recovered quickly.

    As the deputymander of the Royal Guards, he did not report to the officials. However, he did have a responsibility to ensure that today¡¯s event ran smoothly.

    As such...

    He stepped forward to stop Fang Zhengzhi.

    There was nothing wrong with that. However, Yan Xiu¡¯s words reminded him that neither the Emperor nor themander had given any orders.

    He released his grip on his spear.

    Even though his spear was still held at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat, Bai Qi did not speak anymore.

    "Deputy Commander Bai, what are you waiting for?" The official asked again.

    However, Bai Qi ignored the official. He closed his eyes and stood his ground like a statue.

    The crowd looked at each other in disbelief and confusion.

    Why didn¡¯t the Royal Guards arrest Fang Zhengzhi?

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi chuckled. He didn¡¯t hesitate any longer. He turned and looked at the Royal Guards around him.

    Then, he began to walk back into the crowd.

    The guards instinctively looked to Bai Qi for instructions. Bai Qi looked at the walls of the pce and the silent figure on the walls.

    That was an armored figure. However, that person¡¯s armor was clearly different from that of Bai Qi.

    Because...

    That was ady¡¯s armor.

    The onlydy¡¯s armor in the 50,000 strong Royal Guards.

    She was the onlydy, and she was also theirmander!

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes glittered as he shuffled forward. He was not going to let this opportunity slip past.

    "Father, are you really going to let him leave like that?" The Crown Prince prompted.

    "Yes, your highness, this man is incredibly audacious! We cannot let him off scot-free!"

    "Your Highness, please order his arrest!"

    "Your Highness, please give the order!"

    The officials followed the lead of the Crown Prince and fell to their knees.

    King Duan felt rather conflicted. He could tell that Chi Hou was looking at him. However, when he thought about how Fang Zhengzhi had rejected him days earlier...

    He decided not to step forward.

    Emperor Lin Mubai turned behind and looked at the kneeling officials. His eyes glittered and he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye.

    This was a figure who had stepped forward.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was slightly shocked to see this figure.

    However, his shock did notst very long. A figure in red lunged in front of him.

    "Father, I am hungry! We have been standing out here for so long. Just start the banquet already! I am sure the Queen of the Southern Region is hungry after traveling for this long." Ping Yang pouted.

    "Mm, Ping Yang is right. I am quite hungry as well." Emperor Lin Mubai ruffled Ping Yang¡¯s hair.

    When Eunuch Wei heard this, he immediately walked over to the kneeling officials.

    "The time hase. Start the banquet!" A shrill voice echoed through the air and thismand was repeated throughout the pce.

    "Start the banquet!"

    "Start the banquet!"

    "..."

    "Stop there!"

    Just as the orders to start the banquet rang out, a voice echoed out from the top of the White Jade Stone Elephant. The officials looked at each other.

    They heard this voice.

    Everyone was slightly stunned as they turned to look at the figure atop the White Jade Stone Elephant.

    At that moment...

    The figure stood up from the dais and stepped out of her carriage. She walked forward and onto the head of the White Jade Stone Elephant.

    The leather robe was wrapped tightly around her curvy body. Her beige skin glistened under the sun.

    Her eyes were as dark as ck gems.

    She was not talking to Eunuch Wei or the officials. She was staring at the youth who was about to re-enter the crowd.

    "Have you made preparations?" Shan Yu ignored the officials as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    When Shan Yu said this...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed as he looked at Princess Shan Yu with daggers in his eyes.

    All of the officials felt equally perplexed when they heard what Princess Shan Yu had said.

    They had all heard about what happened in the Southern Region.

    They were all extremely well informed. However, they simply chose not to reveal certain things.

    That being said, they were all shocked to hear Princess Shan Yu ask such a question.

    "Could there be unexpected developments?"

    "Why would Shan Yu ask Fang Zhengzhi if he has made the necessary preparations?"

    "What does he need to prepare for?"

    The officials turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi with anticipation and panic in their eyes.

    Their emotions were in turmoil.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped in his tracks, his blue long-sleeved shirt dancing in the wind. He shook his head lightly without turning back.

    "No."

    "If you haven¡¯t even made preparations, how dare you appear here and question me? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I would kill you?" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s chest heaved in anger.

    The Southern Region soldiers sprang into action when they heard this. They raised their spears and pointed them at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Die!"

    "Kill him!"

    Their roars filled the air.

    "Stand down!" Another voice rang out from within their ranks.

    Then, a skinny figure walked out from within the formation. He wore an exquisite red leather robe and he stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was Fiery Crow, the Settlement Chief of the Fiery Crow Settlement!

    The Southern Region soldiers calmed down when they heard Fiery Crow¡¯smand. They lowered their spears and stood at attention.

    It was a quick series of events.

    However, the crowd instinctively took a step back.

    The Southern Region...

    Home of the brave and the courageous!

    Even though the crowd was slightly frightened, they were excited to see what would happen. All of them stared at thedy atop the White Jade Stone Elephant.

    The Queen of the Southern Region, Shan Yu.

    Everyone knew that even though Fiery Crow had given the order to stand down, the person who was behind that order was Shan Yu.

    That being said, they couldn¡¯t understand why Fiery Crow would stop the soldiers when Princess Shan Yu was clearly angered. What did Fang Zhengzhi do to piss off the Queen of the Southern Region?

    Did she really have feelings for Fang Zhengzhi?

    No, that can¡¯t be!

    If Princess Shan Yu had feelings for Fang Zhengzhi, why would Fang Zhengzhi kill Crown Prince Shan Ling?

    Everyone was confused and lost.

    After all, the Crown Prince had reported that Fang Zhengzhi was being escorted back to the capital after he had vited Princess Shan Yu.

    He then killed Shan Ling in order to escape.

    If that was the case, why didn¡¯t Shan Yu just kill Fang Zhengzhi where he stood?

 Chapter 523: F*ck me! That works?!

    Chapter 523: F*ck me! That works?!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of answering the questions in everyone¡¯s mind. He felt a sense of dejavu when he saw the anger on Shan Yu¡¯s face. It reminded him of the time he identally pped her.

    After more than a year...

    Was her go to threat still death?

    "If you think that there is an issue, you can retake your seat." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the carriage behind her.

    "What?"

    "How dare he talk to the Queen of the Southern Region like that?"

    "Does he think that the Queen of the Southern Region is still the same princess he vited over a year ago?"

    The eyes of the crowd were about to pop out of their sockets. The person on the White Jade Stone Elephant was the Queen of the Southern Region!

    "How dare he?! This is ridiculous!" The officials were all enraged when they heard this.

    They felt that none of the Southern Region soldiers would be able to tolerate such rudeness.

    However, none of the soldiers raised their spears.

    They continued to stand in their positions silently, almost as if they didn¡¯t hear what Fang Zhengzhi had said.

    The expression of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong changed at that moment. He didn¡¯t want this conversation to continue. He knew the rtionship between Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    If not for Fang Zhengzhi rejecting her...

    Actually, if not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had imed that he did not have very long to live, he would have already been Shan Yu¡¯s husband by now.

    "Father, this is a disgrace to the Great Xia! He is ruining our reputation!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong pleaded.

    The officials prepared to fall to their knees once again.

    At that moment...

    Emperor Lin Mubai waved them off and rubbed his temples with his hands. He seemed rather tired.

    "The Emperor is tired, bring him a chair for him to rest." Eunuch Wei told the servants standing beside him.

    The servants disappeared to get the chair.

    Before long, a throne was carried over and ced behind Emperor Lin Mubai. Then, two servants ced a soft cushion on the throne.

    Emperor Lin Mubai took a step back and sat down. He closed his eyes and rested.

    The officials looked at each other in confusion when they saw this. They decided to keep their mouths shut.

    There was a light breeze.

    It caressed the face of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    He was rather pale, embarrassed, and helpless.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to step forward as he watched the Emperor. However, he could not say anything until the Emperor did so.

    All he could do was wait.

    King Duan smirked when he saw this. At that moment, he saw the look that Chi Hou was giving him.

    "This time?" King Duan shook his head slightly when he saw Emperor Lin Mubai resting.

    Ping Yang straightened her back when she saw Emperor Lin Mubai sit down. She felt a wave of confidence.

    She looked at Bai Qi, the deputymander of the Royal Guards, with crystal clear eyes.

    "What are you waiting for? Stand down!"

    Bai Qi shuddered when he heard this. He instinctively looked back at the figure on the walls of the pce. That figure nodded.

    "Yes, ma¡¯am!" Bai Qi replied and stood down.

    The crowd was confused to see this change of events. Why did the Royal Guard stand down after Fang Zhengzhi had been that rude to the Queen of the Southern Region?

    The courts...

    Politics wasplicated.

    Since Emperor Lin Mubai was taking a break, the attention of the crowd turned back to Shan Yu.

    No one bothered with the actions of the officials and the royal family.

    Shan Yu didn¡¯t reply to Fang Zhengzhi. It felt as though she had been muted by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Five minutes passed...

    15 minutes...

    Princess Shan Yu bit her lip, her ck eyes glittering in the sun. She seemed to have made her decision.

    "How confident are you?!"

    "Before you came, 30%." Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "And now?"

    "Still 30%."

    "Rubbish..." Princess Shan Yu clenched her fists as her chest heaved. She was about to berate Fang Zhengzhi when she realized something.

    She had not been this agitated over the past year.

    As the leader of the Southern Region, she had to remain calm andposed even under the most stressful of circumstances.

    However, for some reason...

    She couldn¡¯t keep calm when she saw Fang Zhengzhi. She nearly lost her temper twice in such a short period of time.

    She was slightly taken aback by this.

    This was not a good thing, but Shan Yu felt quite good about this. She enjoyed bickering with Fang Zhengzhi. She felt like that was a channel for her to vent her frustrations.

    What was happening?

    Princess Shan Yu didn¡¯t quite understand it, but she felt like there was something about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words that she hadn¡¯t quite figured out.

    30% before she came!

    And now...

    It was still 30%?

    "I see!" Princess Shan Yu¡¯s eyes brightened. She finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking and what she had to do.

    This was not the first time Fang Zhengzhi had told her about his confidence level in a n.

    She remembered her time in the Southern Region with Fang Zhengzhi. Back then, when she asked Fang Zhengzhi how confident he was about a certain battle, his answer would always be...

    100%!

    As such, she knew for a fact that Fang Zhengzhi would never do something in which he only had a 30% confidence level. That meant that this 30% was not firm.

    In other words...

    The other 70% was not up to him.

    She stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, Princess Shan Yu chuckled. Sheughed so hard that she trembled in her spot.

    "Hahaha... 30%?! You dare to step forward with only 30% confidence?" Shan Yu chuckled and leaped off the White Jade Stone Elephant.

    Shended lightly on her feet.

    The wind caused her leather robe to fly and this revealed her slender legs.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Don¡¯t you think that you are too naive?" Shan Yu¡¯s gaze was icy as an aura of fury circled her body.

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Humph, who do you think I am? I didn¡¯t kill you previously because I took into ount your contributions to the Southern Region. However, if you continue to spout rubbish, I will kill you on the spot!" Shan Yu bellowed.

    The crowd looked at each other when they heard this.

    "Shan Yu wants to kill him!"

    "It is true that he did contribute greatly to the victory in the Southern Region..."

    "Yes, it is understandable that the Queen of the Southern Region would spare his life after what he did."

    The crowd nodded.

    Over the past year, the stories of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exploits in the Southern Region had spread throughout the Empire. Even though no one mentioned his name...

    Everyone knew that...

    Fang Zhengzhi was the key reason for the victory!

    Fang Zhengzhi had convinced the Southern Region to cooperate with the Great Xia and he had single-handedly stalled till the reinforcements arrived.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had dueled the half-sage Canyang and repelled the demon army.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been the key to their victory.

    However, no one mentioned these exploits because of his actions thereafter. He had vited the Princess, killed Shan Ling, and injured Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    However...

    The facts remained the same.

    Furthermore, the Queen¡¯s words had reaffirmed their belief that Fang Zhengzhi was the main reason behind the victory in the Southern Region.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heard the discussions within the crowd. He didn¡¯t know if Shan Yu had mentioned Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s contributions on purpose.

    Either way, that was something that he didn¡¯t want to hear.

    "Nonsense? Did I say anything that was false? Is Shan Ling¡¯s murderer not standing in front of you?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "So what?" Shan Yu replied in a fit of anger.

    "Whoa!" The crowd couldn¡¯t believe their ears.

    Everyone knew that the Crown Prince¡¯s murderer was Fang Zhengzhi. However, they didn¡¯t understand why he would admit to it so readily!

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened. He knew exactly what Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu were getting at.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had not pointed it out...

    He was extremely ufortable with this. He felt as though he had just swallowed a fly.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu didn¡¯t seem to notice the Crown Prince¡¯s expression. She looked like she was ready to explode at any moment.

    "Did you just say ¡¯so what?¡¯" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yes, I did!" Shan Yu nodded.

    "Since you have admitted to saying that, let me ask you this. You are the Queen of the Southern Region, and of courageous warriors. How can you let the murderer of their Crown Prince go unpunished?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

    "He¡¯s already dead. There¡¯s nothing we can do to bring him back to life." Shan Yu fumed.

    "That is true, but how can you not avenge his death?" Fang Zhengzhi was not backing down.

    "You..." Shan Yu grit her teeth as balls of fire flickered in her eyes. The aura around her became increasingly unstable.

    "Is the Queen of the Southern Region really going to let this slide? Don¡¯t the warriors of the Southern Region deserve an answer?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to press her.

    "There is no fairness in this world." Shan Yu clenched her fists.

    "Yes, there is rarely any fairness in this world. However, heaven watches what we do and it is up to us to fight for justice. As the Queen of the Southern Region, how can you lead your people if you don¡¯t even have the courage to fight for justice?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain.

    "Are you trying to force me to kill you?" Shan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with rage.

    "If you really think that I am the murderer, you can kill me now!" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "Hahaha... do you think I won¡¯t do it? My brother died within the borders of the Southern Region. There were only three people there, yourself, the Crown Prince, and Official Su. Official Su is now in the Northern Region. If you didn¡¯t kill him, are you telling me that the Crown Prince did it?!" A column of me shot out from her body and the cloud patterns glowed faintly on her skin.

    There was a sizzling sound...

    The aftermath of the column of me.

    One could only imagine how furious Shan Yu was.

    However...

    The crowd was stunned to hear what Shan Yu said.

    "If you didn¡¯t kill him, are you telling me that the Crown Prince did it?!"

    At that moment, everyone turned to look at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. Lin Tianrong was pale and on his knees.

    All of the officials were equally shocked.

    They knew that Shan Yu was furious. Furthermore, they thought that Shan Yu had already decided to pin the murder of her brother on Fang Zhengzhi.

    They didn¡¯t expect her to turn her attention towards the Crown Prince.

    "Did Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu n this from the... no, they didn¡¯t even meet before this!"

    "What is happening?"

    "Is this a coincidence, or was this premeditated?"

    The officials could tell that things were taking a turn for the worse. However, they didn¡¯t know why this was happening.

    Furthermore, the most important thing was...

    It was toote.

    Shan Yu had already said those words.

    It may have been said on impulse, but it was also a form of doubt. She, on behalf of the Southern Region, doubted the Crown Prince and the Great Xia.

    Wen Dabao waspletely floored when he heard this. His eyes were on the verge of popping out of his sockets and his jaw dropped. He murmured to himself, "That works? F*ck me, how is this even working? F*ck me..."

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened and his knuckles whitened. When Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu began bickering...

    He could guess where the conversation was going...

    However, he couldn¡¯t stop them.

    He was only the Crown Prince, not the Emperor. More importantly, he would seem guilty if he stepped forward to stop them.

    As such...

    All he could do was swallow his pride and tolerate it.

    He couldn¡¯t do anything even though Shan Yu¡¯s finger was pointed at him...

 Chapter 524: This guy is mad

    Chapter 524: This guy is mad

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    The atmosphere in the pce felt extremely tense. It was difficult to tell if it was because of what Shan Yu said, or because of her rage.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t look at Lin Tianrong. He smiled at Shan Yu, "What if I told you it was?"

    "What?!"

    The crowd was in uproar.

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi say that? Even if he talked in hypotheticals, this was also equivalent to pushing the me to the Crown Prince.

    Such audacity...

    "Is he really trying to push this to the Crown Prince?"

    "He could be executed for this!"

    "Well... he would be executed anyways... right?"

    The crowd looked at each other, eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    The officials standing behind the Crown Prince were equally shocked. They were not shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacity...

    They were shocked that Fang Zhengzhi would say such a thing with no evidence on hand.

    However, they did not say anything. They simply looked at Shan Yu and waited for her reply.

    "You bloody b*stard, how dare you use the Crown Prince?" Shan Yu replied in fury.

    "This isn¡¯t a false usation. You will find out the truth if you investigate it but would you dare to?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "Why won¡¯t I?"

    "Okay then, what if you find out that the Crown Prince was guilty?"

    "If what you said is true, I will fight for justice till my veryst breath! But if you lie to me, I will kill you where you stand!" Shan Yu replied ferociously.

    "Good! We will do as you say!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and turned to look at the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, what do you say?"

    "Rubbish! Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you nder me? It is a heinous crime to sabotage rtions with our valuable allies!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong couldn¡¯t take it any longer.

    He bellowed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    He didn¡¯t even wait for the officials behind him to speak.

    "Your Highness, do you have a guilty conscience?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked and asked when he saw the Crown Prince lose his cool.

    "Your Highness..."

    "Your Highness, don¡¯t let him get to you!"

    "Yes, he is just spouting rubbish, why bother with him?"

    The officials were slightly anxious when they saw the Crown Prince confront Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Humph, I know that I am innocent. This case was closed over a year ago! You killed Shan Ling. Why would I falsely use you?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong peeked at Emperor Lin Mubai and he clenched his fists.

    "Your Highness, what evidence do you have?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Evidence?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned. The case had been closed over a year ago.

    Fang Zhengzhi should be the one to provide evidence to reopen the case. The burden of proof was not on him.

    However, he still grit his teeth.

    "Official Su was the only one who was there. Furthermore, I was stabbed by you! There is a witness and physical evidence. What more can you say for yourself?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong added.

    "I¡¯m afraid not. Your Highness, you are now a suspect as well. ording to thew, you cannot testify against me. What physical evidence do you have?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Are you trying to wiggle your way out of this?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was furious.

    "Thew clearly states that a judgment cannot be passed based solely on a human witness. Am I wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    The expressions of all the officials changed at that moment.

    They couldn¡¯t possibly stop the confrontation between Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was right. If Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was a suspect, there was only one witness to the crime.

    Under such circumstances...

    A judgment could not be passed.

    That being said, who would have suspected that the Crown Prince would kill Shan Ling?

    Things were changing much too quickly.

    The officials remained silent and the Crown Prince grit his teeth. He couldn¡¯t tolerate being questioned by a peasant.

    This was a direct challenge to his authority.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you im that the Crown Prince killed Shan Ling. What motive would he have? If he did not have a motive, why would he murder Shan Ling?" One of the officials stepped forward when he saw the look the Crown Prince shot at him.

    The other officials recovered quickly when they heard this. Their eyes brightened up instantly.

    "Exactly, why would the Crown Prince kill Shan Ling? That is a ridiculous usation!"

    "Official Li is right!"

    "He can¡¯t be a suspect if he doesn¡¯t have any reasonable motive. Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t try to fool us!"

    The officials began to step forward and berate Fang Zhengzhi.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heaved a sigh of relief. If not for the fact that the official had stepped forward, he would havepletely forgotten about this.

    Byw, he couldn¡¯t be a suspect if he didn¡¯t have anything to gain from the murder.

    "Well done, Fang Zhengzhi! You nearly made me fall into your trap!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smirked. He did have a motive for killing Shan Ling.

    However...

    No one would dare to say it.

    Shan Ling wanted to be an Emperor.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would never let him live. He would only cause more trouble if he took over the leadership of the Southern Region one day. The Crown Prince had decided to kill him the moment he met Shan Ling in the Iron Hill Settlement.

    However, this was a huge crime! He needed a valid reason or a good scapegoat.

    Fang Zhengzhi provided him with both.

    Viting the Princess!

    Then, having gained Shan Ling¡¯s trust, he would kill him and pin it on Fang Zhengzhi. He would gain so much in this one maneuver.

    However, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong never expected that Shan Ling would release Fang Zhengzhi before his death.

    This...

    Was what resulted in today¡¯s stalemate.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you are the one with the motive to kill Shan Ling!" The official who had stepped forward first spoke up once again.

    The crowd and the surrounding officials nodded their agreement.

    Fang Zhengzhi had vited the Princess.

    This gave him a reason to kill Shan Ling. Furthermore, Lin Tianrong had no reason to kill Shan Ling. Fang Zhengzhi was the clear suspect here.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what do you have to say for yourself?"

    "You imed to be Fang Zhengzheng at the city gates. Now, you are admitting to both the crime and your identity. You can¡¯t run anymore!"

    "Men! Arrest this criminal!"

    The officials began shouting when they saw that Fang Zhengzhi was silent.

    "Who dares?!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out, her red and golden dress dancing in the wind. She looked at all the officials.

    "Your Highness, this case is clear as day..."

    "Yes, why are you protecting him, your highness?"

    "Let thew do its thing."

    The officials knew that Ping Yang was domineering and that she was a bully. However, they were not prepared to let Fang Zhengzhi off.

    Over the past 10 days...

    Wan Chong had been incarcerated...

    Then, the trail of letters had sent many of them into panic. Afterward, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and two Assistant Ministers of Law had been arrested. Minister of War Shen Ming was also kneeling at the Ten Mile Lake.

    This told them one thing...

    Fang Zhengzhi had prepared for his return to the capital.

    No one knew who his next target was, but they knew that they would feel safer without him around.

    "Your Highness, please move aside. Young Master Yan... I am sure Prince Yan doesn¡¯t know about what you did today!" The officials closed in.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smirked.

    The courts.

    This was not a ce for the peasants. He had already solidified his position in the courts over the past year.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to topple him so easily.

    "Naive!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled. He could already foresee Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fate.

    Once Fang Zhengzhi was in jail, he had 101 ways to kill him.

    Even if the Minister of Law was Wen Chuan and not Wan Chong...

    He would still be able to make things happen.

    As long as he was still the Crown Prince, he would be able to ensure that Wan Chong and Yu Yiping would not be convicted.

    Princess Shan Yu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, her eyes filled with panic. She could guess what Fang Zhengzhi was nning.

    She had tried her best to follow his n.

    However, just as they were about to seed...

    This had happened. This was something that she did not expect and could not have predicted.

    "What do I do now?" Princess Shan Yu began to weigh her options. Could she call for his arrest?

    Yan Xiu¡¯s body was surrounded by a red aura.

    A red light began flickering at his fingertips. He could see the position Fang Zhengzhi was in. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had excluded him from this n.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even greet him when he walked out of the crowd.

    Yan Xiu had no way of knowing what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trump card was. He also had no idea if Fang Zhengzhi had a way to get himself out of this.

    "Yes, I did have a motive to and the Crown Prince didn¡¯t!" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the officials.

    "Since you admit to it, why aren¡¯t you surrendering?!"

    "Do you really want to see the Princess and Young Master Yanmit a crime because of you?"

    "This case is closed. There is nothing more that you can say."

    The officials smirked as they said this. Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking.

    At that moment, a figure stepped forward from the line of officials. His eyes were glittering.

    This was Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, everyone knows that you were a key factor in the victory in the Southern Region. You may have killed Shan Ling in a moment of impulse, but if you surrender now and ask for forgiveness, you may still live!" Chi Hou¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the pce.

    The crowd fell silent when they heard this. They all knew how important Fang Zhengzhi was in the battle.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi had killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region by ident, one couldn¡¯t ignore all of his contributions.

    Furthermore...

    Shan Yu had said so herself.

    She did not strike Fang Zhengzhi down where he stood because of what he did. Shan Yu did not n on executing Fang Zhengzhi.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes glowed icily when he heard this. Chi Hou sounded as though he was asking Fang Zhengzhi to stand down.

    However, he was effectively throwing Fang Zhengzhi a lifeline.

    "Yes, Fang Zhengzhi did contribute much to our victory in the Southern Region. However, thew is impartial! He will have to die for his crimes! He killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region! That is a heinous crime!" The Crown Prince had no intention of letting Fang Zhengzhi live.

    "The Crown Prince is right! The country must be governed byw and order! We will reward him for his contributions but he must be punished for his crimes! They cannot cancel each other out."

    "Yes, they must be treated separately!"

    "A murderer must die for his crimes. Even if the Queen of the Southern Region is merciful, we cannot let a murderer run free in ournds!"

    Countless officials stood forward to push the Crown Prince¡¯s arguments.

    Chi Hou frowned. Just as he was about to step forward and say something else, he noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was smiling radiantly.

    "Why is this guy smiling when he is staring death in the face?" Chi Hou couldn¡¯t understand it. Even though he wasn¡¯t close to Fang Zhengzhi, he did not want to see Fang Zhengzhi die this way.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Yes, the murderer should die for his crimes. A country must be anchored inw and order. This man should be executed even if the Queen of the Southern Region decides to be merciful!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    However...

    Chi Hou was stunned.

    "Has this guy lost his mind?"

 Chapter 525: The final piece of the puzzle

    Chapter 525: The final piece of the puzzle

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Chi Hou was not alone. Wen Dabao, Yan Xiu, and even Ping Yang and Shan Yu were equally stunned.

    At this time...

    Shouldn¡¯t he be asking for mercy?

    Executed!

    Was he trying to court death?

    Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion. He couldn¡¯t tell if Fang Zhengzhi had lost his mind or if he truly had a death wish.

    Or had he simply given up?

    The crowd also looked at each other in shock and confusion.

    "Is he crazy?"

    "I heard that people do stupid things when faced with overwhelming pressure!"

    "Mm, I¡¯ve heard of that happening too!"

    The crowd stared at the smiling Fang Zhengzhi. The only reason that they could think of was that he had lost his mind.

    The officials chuckled when they heard this.

    Even though they didn¡¯t know why Fang Zhengzhi had said such a thing, they knew that Fang Zhengzhi had sealed his own fate.

    As for Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s attitude...

    The officials couldn¡¯t figure it out but based on how Emperor Lin Mubai had reacted just now...

    It looked as though he wanted to spare Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life.

    However, with what had just been said, it would be difficult for Emperor Lin Mubai to save Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Very good, Fang Zhengzhi! You are a man for owning up to your actions! If you surrender now, I can consider showing you some mercy and keeping your body whole!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    He was about to put an end to something that had bothered him for over a year. Once Fang Zhengzhi was dead, there was nothing that could threaten his position.

    "Surrender? Why should I surrender?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Are you trying to resist? Haha... you¡¯re a crippled man. Even if you had your abilities one year ago, you would not be able to get out of the city!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled.

    "Your Highness, you make a good point. Since I am crippled, how could I possibly be a murderer?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "What are you saying?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted.

    "Yes, I had a reason and the motivation to kill Shan Ling, but I did not have the ability to. How can someone who doesn¡¯t have the ability to kill, kill?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "Humph, I knew that you would use this reason to defend yourself!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled icily. "Everyone on the battlefield that day can testify that you stopped Ping Yang¡¯s attack with your hand. Do you deny it?"

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    All of the officials smiled when they heard this. Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had furnished them with the necessary details and evidence.

    They already had a counter prepared for this reason.

    Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed.

    She had participated in the battle. Fang Zhengzhi had stopped her attack with his hand after his duel with Canyang.

    "I didn¡¯t use my full strength when I struck..."

    "Your Highness, you are right." Fang Zhengzhi knew what Ping Yang was about to say but he nodded before she could finish.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong beamed radiantly when he heard this. Ping Yang¡¯s reason would never hold. There were too many witnesses then.

    "Yes, this proves that you had the ability to kill Shan Ling back then. Even though your pocket dimension may have been destroyed, you still had some residual energy from the duel!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asserted.

    "Yes, the Crown Prince is right!"

    "You can forget about using that as an excuse."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you will not live past today! Thew is impartial and fair! You said so yourself!"

    The officials chimed in.

    "Did I say that I couldn¡¯t kill him because of my cultivation state?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with disdain.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Do you have any other reason?"

    "What is this guy trying to do?"

    None of the officials knew where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this.

    "What I meant was, I had absolutely no energy to even try and kill Shan Ling." Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "No energy? What do you mean?" The officials were all stunned.

    They looked at each other in confusion, unable to figure out where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this. After all, not many of them were in the Southern Region during the battle.

    Xing Yuanguo was one of them.

    The others were Princess Ping Yang, Chi Guyan, and the previous Minister of Rites.

    The former Minister of Rites had been ¡¯killed in action¡¯. Xing Yuanguo, Ping Yang, and Chi Guyan had returned to the capital immediately after the battle.

    In other words...

    The only people left in the Southern Region were Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, Fang Zhengzhi, and the other candidates. Nangong Hao was not there either.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s body jerked when he heard this. He could guess where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this.

    However, he managed to regain hisposure quickly.

    That was not an easy thing to prove.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you did have quite a bit to drink that day! Even though you were drunk, you still have to take responsibility for your actions!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong clenched his fists.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had prepared well for the poisoning. At the banquet, he had spoken highly of Fang Zhengzhi and asked the candidates and generals to toast him.

    Having drunk that much, it was only natural for Fang Zhengzhi to be drunk and lose his awareness...

    It was not too far-fetched that he would enter the wrong room and climb into Princess Shan Yu¡¯s bed.

    Then...

    All he had to do was have Shan Ling catch Fang Zhengzhi.

    That night, all of the generals and candidates present had witnessed how much Fang Zhengzhi drank. It was only normal that he had lost consciousness.

    As for the next morning...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong allowed the candidates to take point and prove themselves whilst he escorted Fang Zhengzhi at the rear of the convoy.

    That way, no one else would know if Fang Zhengzhi had ¡¯woken up¡¯ from his ¡¯drunken stupor¡¯.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong calmed down when he heard this.

    After all, not many people knew about the poisoning. Shan Ling, who had administered the poison, was dead whilst Su Qing was far away from the capital.

    "Your Highness, you im that I was drunk?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Yes!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded.

    "I remember that the Crown Prince had wanted to try the food made by the current Queen of the Southern Region. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and added.

    "So what if that is true?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s tone was icy. There were many witnesses that day so there was no point in denying it.

    Furthermore, he didn¡¯t think that this fact would help Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case.

    "I wonder if you would like to have a taste of it now?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the Crown Prince.

    "What do you mean?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed

    "Themb would be killed on the spot and would be killed with the same techniques using the same ingredients. Would you dare to try it?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Shan Yu.

    "You..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had a bad feeling about this. Just as he was about to say something, he swallowed his words at thest possible moment.

    The Southern Region soldiers stepped to the side.

    At the same time, four heavily armored Southern Region soldiers carried amb over.

    When he saw this...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong began to panic.

    He could guess what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. He was trying to reenact the scene! But how was that possible?

    Shan Ling had administered the poison.

    However, that happened more than a year ago. He had slipped that poison into the spices! How could that still be present in the meat?

    Then, his eyes widened in disbelief.

    Shan Yu, Queen of the Southern Region, reaches behind her and retrieved a leather pouch.

    "I still remember the Crown Prince¡¯s request a year ago. I kept all the ingredients I used back then. If you don¡¯t mind, I can cook themb again for you!" Shan Yu opened the bag, revealing the multicolored spices inside.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong paled.

    He had guessed what was about to happen when the Southern Region soldiers brought themb over.

    However, he never expected that they would have kept a portion of the ingredients from back then.

    "Your Highness, this is too valuable a gift. You have traveled far and long. I simply cannot ept!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes glimmered icily.

    "It¡¯s no bother. This is a gift I prepared specially for you!" mes danced in Shan Yu¡¯s eyes as she looked at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "You are in a different position than you were a year ago. I really cannot ept!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth.

    "No matter how different my position may be, I am still a citizen of the Great Xia. You do not need to be so formal and polite with me!" Shan Yu insisted.

    "Do you really want to do this?!"

    "Of course!"

    "What if I choose not to eat it?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "That would be an insult to me and the culture of the Southern Region. We would have no other choice but to return to the Southern Region immediately!" Shan Yu asserted.

    "Hahaha... what are you talking about? Why would I ever look down on your culinary skills? Please... continue!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s knuckles whitened.

    "Thank you!" Shan Yu¡¯s hands moved and the leather robe flew into the air andnded on the ground.

    At that moment, two daggers appeared in Shan Yu¡¯s had.

    At that moment, fiery red cloud patterns began to spread all over her body.

    This was an awe-inspiring sight.

    Members of the crowd couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    "Is this how the Queen of the Southern Region cultivates?"

    "I heard that they cultivate blood and bloodline. Is that her blood?"

    "No, that is definitely not as simple as blood!"

    The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves in awe and curiosity as they observed the cloud patterns on Shan Yu¡¯s skin.

    All of the officials were in shock.

    They were just talking about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case. How did it lead to a ¡¯gift¡¯ for the Crown Prince?

    Did thismb have something to do with the case?

    The crowd couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. They turned to look at some of the recently appointed officials.

    These officials, many of whom were in the court examinations and the war, were shaking their heads.

    After all, none of them had managed to try themb back then.

    ...

    Shan Yu¡¯s hands moved quickly. Before long, she had butchered themb.

    Then, the bonfire was started.

    It was just about noon and the sun was nearing its peak.

    The officials and citizens couldn¡¯t understand how things hade to this. However, they continued to watch in amazement as Shan Yu danced around the fire.

    With every step she took, the mes on her body became more intense. It was almost as though she was a fire elf.

    Elegant and animalistic. She was extremely attractive.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted as he watched Shan Yu. His gaze was icy.

    Fang Zhengzhi was watching as well. However, he seemed extremely rxed. He even described the meat to Yan Xiu.

    "Crispy skin! The meat is so tender it melts in your mouth. Most importantly, the spices are not overpowering. Her culinary skills are leaps and bounds ahead of mine!"

 Chapter 526: Ive waited for more than a year

    Chapter 526: I¡¯ve waited for more than a year

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "If it is that good, I want to have some too!" Ping Yang interrupted when she heard this.

    "Haha... this is a gift to the Crown Prince from the Queen of the Southern Region." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head when he saw the anticipation on Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    "Humph, don¡¯t you think I know that? But the Queen of the Southern Region is definitely more generous than you." Ping Yang pouted.

    The aroma of the roastedmb wafted through the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s description was apt. Even though Shan Yu used many spices, they were not overpowering. In fact, each additional spice only served to make the meat even more tempting.

    However, the Crown Prince¡¯s expression was darkening by the second.

    He didn¡¯t believe that Shan Yu would have kept the spices she used over a year ago. However, thismb smelled exactly the same as it was back then.

    "Impossible! It must be a scam, it has to be!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth and looked at Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shan Yu had finished with the roasting.

    The crowd swallowed the mouthfuls of saliva that had formed when they smelt that aroma. Some of them felt their stomachs rumbling.

    The roasted meats of the Southern Region were a delicacy. asionally, there would be merchants from the Southern Region who woulde and peddle the roasted meats.

    However, none of their culinary skills even came close to Princess Shan Yu.

    "I wish I could try a mouthful."

    "Yes, I can already tell that it¡¯s going to be delicious just by looking at it."

    "What I would give just to have a taste of it..."

    The crowd seemed to have forgotten about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case. Everyone was focused on that deliciousmb in the middle.

    The officials were confused when they saw this.

    They didn¡¯t know why the Queen of the Southern Region would roast amb right now, but they could tell that something was up from the Crown Prince¡¯s expression.

    "Could it be that thismb holds the key?" The officials began to guess in their hearts. However, no one said anything out loud.

    At that moment, Shan Yu sheathed her daggers. At the same time, a few Southern Region servants walked forward and ced the leather robe on Shan Yu¡¯s shoulders.

    "Your Highness, please!" Princess Shan Yu looked at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "Thank you!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded as he looked at themb. "It looks absolutely delicious! I must enjoy it in my own time! Men, pack this up and send it to my residence..."

    "Your Highness, slow down!" Shan Yu interrupted the Crown Prince even before he could finish his orders.

    The guards who were just about to step forward remained in their position.

    "Haha, does the Queen of the Southern Region have other gifts for me?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted but smiled.

    "No, I just think that as the future leader of our great empire, you don¡¯t seem to know much about good food." Shan Yu said scornfully.

    "What do you mean?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed. He looked at Emperor Lin Mubai. Seeing as he didn¡¯t react, Lin Tianrong had no choice but to swallow his pride.

    The other officials were slightly shocked to hear what she just said. Even though she was the Queen of the Southern Region, it was still a disrespectful thing to say.

    However, it was not appropriate for them to say anything.

    After all...

    This was a conversation between a Crown Prince and the Queen of the Southern Region. They had no ce in this conversation.

    Shan Yu could see the expressions on the faces of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and the other officials. However, she wasn¡¯t going to back down.

    Over the past year, Shan Yu had no idea if the poisoning was the Crown Prince¡¯s idea or Shan Ling¡¯s idea.

    However, when she heard that the Crown Prince wants to bring themb back to his residence, she could already guess what happened a year ago.

    The Crown Prince used Shan Ling to administer the poison.

    Then, he killed Shan Ling and pinned the murder on Fang Zhengzhi.

    After confirming this fact, Shan Yu was not going to back down now. As the Queen of the Southern Region, she would not be humiliated this way.

    Shan Yu clenched her fists and a ball of fire burst out in her palms.

    "I roasted themb in front of everyone. Even though it is a gift to you, you want to take it back to the East Pce. Don¡¯t you know how to share?" Shan Yu¡¯s voice was icy and her eyes began to glitter.

    "You..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened, the smile wiped off his face.

    He knew exactly what Shan Yu was getting at.

    He knew that he should share such a delicacy, but how could he possibly share thismb with everyone present?

    "Your Highness, did I say anything wrong? The food is right in front of them all, yet, you refuse to share it with them. I am disappointed by your selfishness!" Shan Yu pressed.

    "How dare you?! Shan Yu, you may be the Queen of the Southern Region, but..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    At that moment, Emperor Lin Mubai moved in his seat. Then, he took a deep breath.

    "Mm, that smells good!" Emperor Lin Mubai opened his eyes and looked at the freshly roastedmb.

    The officials fell to their knees.

    "Long live the Emperor!"

    "Mm, please rise." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and turned to look at Eunuch Wei, "Who made this?"

    "Your Highness, the Queen of the Southern Region roasted thismb for the Crown Prince." Eunuch Wei reported when he heard the Emperor¡¯s question.

    "Oh? That¡¯s nice of her. This is a truly special gift!" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and turned to look at Shan Yu.

    "However..." Eunuch Wei spoke up hesitantly.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked.

    "The Crown Prince wanted to bring this back to his residence. However, the Queen of the Southern Region wanted to share it with everyone else." Eunuch Wei found a different way to express their opinions.

    "Share it with the officials? Good, the Queen of the Southern Region is reasonable!" Emperor Lin Mubai spoke up and interrupted the Crown Prince. He looked at Lin Tianrong, "my son, you must be generous. Please remember what the Queen of the Southern Region said today!"

    "... yes, father! I will!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to say something but decided against it.

    "Okay then, since the Queen of the Southern Region is so willing to share, I will decide on behalf of the Crown Prince! Please give every official a slice!" Emperor Lin Mubai announced.

    All of the officials were extremely excited to hear this.

    It was almost noon and many of them were quite hungry. Furthermore, the goldenmb in front of them was much too tempting.

    However...

    Since this was a gift to the Crown Prince, they did not dare to ask for a slice. Furthermore, they had initially thought that something was amiss.

    That being said, they let down their guard when they remembered that they were in the capital.

    Shan Yu...

    Shan Yu couldn¡¯t possibly poison them at the gates of the pce!

    At that moment, the officials fell to their knees and thanked the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and Shan Yu.

    "Thank you, Your Highness!"

    "Thank you, Your Highness!"

    "Thank you, Your Highness!"

    Then, the officials licked their lips and swallowed their saliva. They were excited to finally be able to try thismb.

    The newly appointed officials, who were the candidates in the court examinations the previous year, were the most excited.

    "We finally get to try it!"

    "I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for more than a year!"

    Those officials salivated as they eyed themb on the rack.

    At that moment, a few servants in short skirts walked over and began to carve themb up.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth as he watched them carve up themb. His expression was dark and solemn.

    "I want some too!" Ping Yang replied excitedly.

    "To think that you are a Princess?! Can you let others go first? The Emperor already told you that you need to be generous and gracious!" Fang Zhengzhi replied in scorn.

    "Humph, did father say that?" Ping Yang was visibly unhappy.

    Eunuch Wei was about to take a te from the servants and hand it to Emperor Lin Mubai when he heard this. He turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, then added, "Mm I did say that! We should let the officials enjoy it first!"

    "Thank you, your highness!"

    The officials fell to their knees and thanked the Emperor.

    Then, the officials stepped forward and began getting their tes from the servants. They examined the slice ofmb on their tes.

    "What great skills! She is a culinary genius!"

    "Yes, this has all the marks of a great piece of meat. The skin is golden and crispy and the meat is juicy and tender. This is heaven on a te!"

    "Indeed, indeed!"

    As officials of the Great Xia, they had the courtesy to resist the temptation for a few moments to praise the food presented to them.

    Some of the officials decided to use this opportunity to show off their intellectual and artistic capabilities.

    "I heard that Official Li is a renowned food critic. Why don¡¯t youpose a poem for this delicacy?"

    "Official Wang, you are too kind. But since you requested for one, I have to oblige!"

    "We are excited to hear it!"

    The officials were all holding the meat and praising it excitedly.

    Once that was done, they began to carve up the meat with their small knives.

    The moment they ced it in their mouths...

    Their faces flushed.

    "Awesome! Absolutely fantastic!"

    "The first bite is heavenly!"

    "This is a true delicacy! I have been a food critic for many years, but this is the best thing I¡¯ve had in more than 50 years!"

    "Thank you, Shan Yu!"

    The officials began to sing praises of the meat. Many others began to thank Shan Yu for he generosity.

    Even those officials who were a little more cautious began to let down their guard and eat the meat.

    The meat melted in their mouths.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong paled when he saw this. He stared at all the officials.

    Ping Yang pouted as she watched the officials enjoy themselves. She licked her lips, visibly tempted.

    Yan Xiu was much calmer.

    Yan Xiu enjoyed his food as well.

    However...

    He knew how to carry himself. He maintained an icy expression and red light flickered on his body.

    Time passed quickly. More than half of the officials had finished the meat on their te. The rest were still enjoying the delicacy in their hands.

    The crowd licked their lips as they watched the officials enjoy this food. They could tell that it was delicious.

    Wen Dabao was equally tempted...

    Having starved for so long, he could only watch on as the officials enjoyed this delicacy. As for himself, he was still without food. He was extremely bitter.

    However, this bitterness didn¡¯tst long. He spotted his father in the crowd and realized that his father had yet to take a bite of the meat.

    "Is he saving it for me?" Wen Dabao rubbed his hands together excitedly as he eyed the meat in Wen Chuan¡¯s hands.

    At that very moment...

    A loud ¡¯dong¡¯ jolted him. ¡¯

 Chapter 527: The Crown Prince administered the poison?

    Chapter 527: The Crown Prince administered the poison?

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "What¡¯s happening?" Wen Dabao instinctively turned to see the source of the noise. His eyes widened when he saw what happened.

    Because...

    That sound came from someone fainting.

    Most importantly, the person who fainted was one of the six ministers, Minister Yue.

    As one of the six ministers, Yue Hu was one of the first to receive the slice of meat. As such, he was also one of the first to finish devouring it.

    However, he was now lying prone on the ground. His feet were spread out and the whites of his eyes were showing. There was a red mark on the side of his head.

    He looked extremely forlorn.

    "Official Yue has fainted!" One of the official¡¯s voice echoed through the air.

    "What happened to Official Yue? Is he suffering from heatstroke? But..." another official looked at the sun above them. He had never heard of anyone suffering from heatstroke in spring.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed when he saw Yue Hu faint. He began to shiver.

    Just as he was about to speak, another sound pierced through the air.

    "Dong!"

    Yet another official crumpled to the ground, unconscious. No matter how hard he was shaken by the others, he did not show any signs of regaining consciousness.

    "Official Li, Official Li, what happened to you?!" The officials were all stunned. This was also a rank two minister.

    Two in a row...

    Furthermore, these were both high ranking ministers! The officials started to panic.

    However, it was far from over.

    "Dong!"

    "Official Wang! What happened to you? Official Wang fainted?"

    "Dong!"

    "Official Zhang... aish... I feel like my body has been drained of energy."

    "Dong!"

    "..."

    The expressions of the other officials changed drastically when they saw more and more officials fainting. One thought shed through their minds.

    "Could it be... that the meat was poisoned?!"

    Just as they were thinking about it, more officials paled. Some officials even stuck their fingers down their throats in an attempt to make themselves vomit.

    However, it was toote. The meat had been ingested.

    "Dong, dong, dong..."

    More and more officials began to faint and crumple to the ground. It was almost as if the breeze had toppled them all.

    The officials who had eaten the meat all turned green when they saw the others fainting.

    They never expected that...

    Shan Yu would have poisoned the meat! Why would she do it on such an asion? What was she nning?

    Ping Yang was stunned as well.

    She stared at all the officials who fainted, her mouth agape.

    "Wow?! They¡¯re all dead?!" Ping Yang eximed. Then, she added, "Oh, they¡¯ve all fainted?!"

    "Dead?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Ping Yang. What¡¯s wrong with this woman? What is she even thinking? How could she probably be a princess?

    How could she be happy about these officials dying?

    Yan Xiu was also slightly perturbed by this. However, he recovered quickly and an iciness filled his face once again.

    Xing Yuanguo and Chi Hong didn¡¯t eat the roasted meat. As the leaders of the 13 Constabries, they had better discipline and awareness than the other officials.

    The 13 Constabries had helped to build this empire.

    Even though the Emperor had asked the officials to enjoy the delicacy first, they wouldn¡¯t actually try it before the Emperor.

    When the two of them saw the officials crumple to the ground, they frowned and looked at Shan Yu.

    The two of them clenched their fists and prepared to strike.

    The crowd was stunned.

    As citizens of the capital, they were used to seeing some scheming and plotting but this... this was on another level.

    Poisoning hundreds of officials in broad daylight?!

    "Poison?!"

    "Shan Yu poisoned the meat?!"

    "How is that possible?"

    "That is impossible! She is the Queen of the Southern Region!"

    Everyone refused to believe what they were saying. However, it was an irrefutable fact that the officials had fainted.

    Bai Qi¡¯s eyes widened. Poison? The Queen of the Southern Region poisoned the meat?

    He was a seasoned veteran who had been through countless incidents. However, even he was taken aback by this. He never imagined that this was possible.

    King Duan was equally shocked.

    He too didn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant when he said he was unable to kill. But now, King Duan was beginning to understand.

    He instinctively turned to look at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. He smirked when he saw the dark and solemn expression on the Crown Prince¡¯s face.

    At that moment...

    A shocked voice pierced through the air.

    "What¡¯s happening? How did this happen?" Shan Yu was shocked by what she saw.

    Panic and helplessness filled her eyes as her jaw dropped. She sounded like she was gasping for air.

    Everyone could see how shocked and panicked Shan Yu was.

    Fang Zhengzhi was initially shocked to see what happened. However, he quickly recovered and sighed to himself

    "They are all great actors!"

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that Shan Yu would have acted stunned.

    But now...

    It was obvious that she had chosen to take the panic route. If not for the fact that he knew this would happen, he would have been taken in as well.

    It would seem...

    Shan Yu had matured a lot over the past year. Her acting skills were significantly better now.

    When everyone saw that Shan Yu was panicking...

    Everyone began to doubt their initial hypothesis that Shan Yu was the one who had administered the poison.

    "Could it be that she wasn¡¯t the one who administered the poison?"

    "But... she was the one who had roasted themb!"

    "Even though she was the one who roasted themb, she may not be the one who poisoned the officials! Would she really poison half the court in front of the Emperor? You must be mad!"

    "That¡¯s true!"

    The crowd began to guess and discuss amongst themselves.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue. He began to grind his teeth as he red at Shan Yu.

    He knew exactly what Shan Yu was thinking...

    He had already thought of a n to turn things back into his favor.

    However, he never got the chance to implement his n. He didn¡¯t manage to strike before the episode...

    And whilst that was unfolding...

    Shan Yu had taken the initiative and made her stand clear.

    He couldn¡¯t speak now!

    "Why would this happen? Ah... who was the one who set me up?!" Shan Yu showed no signs of slowing down. "These are the exact ingredients I usedst year! I¡¯ve kept these by my side all this while! These couldn¡¯t have beenpromised!"

    "What happened?!"

    "How could this happen?"

    Shan Yu kept screaming at the top of her lungs.

    The officials who hadn¡¯t eaten the meat were busy trying to wake the unconscious officials. They frowned when they heard what Shan Yu said.

    They thought of a few possibilities.

    For example...

    The spices may have changed over the past year? Could someone have sabotaged orpromised the spices?

    However, they rejected all these reasons almost instantly.

    Ordinarily, spices could be stored for an extremely long time. Even half a decade was not a problem.

    Furthermore, the aroma the meat gave off when it was roasted was testament to the freshness of the spices.

    Secondly, it was unlikely that anyone would have sabotaged the spices. After all, no one could have predicted today¡¯s events.

    Most importantly, the officials who had lost consciousness were in stable condition. It was almost as though they were all drunk.

    ...

    Wait a minute!

    Drunk?!

    When the officials thought about this, they felt a chill down their spine. They all felt extremely ufortable at that moment.

    Then, a voice pierced through the air.

    "Shan Yu, you¡¯ve kept the spices in great condition!"

    "Great condition?!" Shan Yu turned around and looked at a figure close by. "Fang Zhengzhi, what are you talking about?!"

    "What I mean is, no one haspromised or changed the spices from a year ago." Fang Zhengzhi added as he pointed to the leftover spices.

    "No one sabotaged it?" The crowd looked at each other in shock and confusion.

    If the spices hadn¡¯t been sabotaged...

    That would mean that... Shan Yu was responsible for the poison!

    "You¡¯re saying that I poisoned the spices myself?" Shan Yu¡¯s eyes glittered icily.

    "Of course not." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then what are you saying?" Shan Yu seemed slightly angered.

    "Your Highness, there is no need to get angry. What I am saying is someone had already added the poison to the spices before the banquet a year ago!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled and exined.

    "The banquet a year ago? How do you know this?" Shan Yu¡¯s gaze was icy and mes began dancing on her body.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to admire thisdy¡¯s acting skills. She had matured greatly over the past year.

    However...

    He knew exactly where to go with this anger.

    "Of course I know! I was the victim of this same poison!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he pointed at the Crown Prince. "He was the one who administered the poison!"

    "The Crown Prince?!"

    "He administered the poison?"

    "What is happening?"

    The other officials stared at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion when they heard this.

    The crowd was in uproar when they heard this. Countless eyes stared at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong in disbelief.

    "Rubbish! Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you nder me?! The person who administered the poison was..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong never expected Fang Zhengzhi to turn the case on him now.

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi point the finger at him?

    That was ridiculous.

    He immediately hit back.

    However, when he said thest few words, he felt a chill down his spine and shut his mouth.

    It was so close...

    If he was just a tad more enraged or impulsive, that sentence alone would have given Fang Zhengzhi the victory.

    "Who was it?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "How would I know? I was wining and dining with the King of the Southern Region and never left the banquet. Everyone can testify! How would I know who administered the poison?" The Crown Prince replied calmly.

    "Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched.

    He had wanted to bait the Crown Prince into revealing the truth. However, the Crown Prince had saved himself in time. It was a pity, but it was not a deal breaker.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you know that it is a crime to nder the Crown Prince?" Lin Tianrong wiped the sweat off his forehead.

    "I was merely guessing. Since you denied it, then there is only one person who could have administered the poison!" Fang Zhengzhi added, virtually ignoring the Crown Prince¡¯s question.

    "Who?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s heart tightened. He had no idea where Fang Zhengzhi was going with this. He just wanted this nightmare to end.

 Chapter 528: Most shameless act ever

    Chapter 528: Most shameless act ever

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Su Qing!" Fang Zhengzhi asserted.

    "No way! There is no way Su Qing could have administered the poison. He does not have the clearance to be able to even attempt it." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi knew the truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Shan Ling was the one who administered the poison. The reason why Fang Zhengzhi would say that it was Su Qing...

    He wanted to drive a wedge between the Crown Prince and Su Qing.

    As such, he decided to recount the situation back then to prove that Su Qing could never have administered the poison.

    "Who else could it be if it wasn¡¯t Su Qing? He was the only one who wasn¡¯t at the banquet. Your Highness, you can¡¯t possibly think that Shan Ling was the one who added the poison, right?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    "Why not..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes glittered icily. He knew that if he said that the poison was administered by Shan Ling...

    Fang Zhengzhi would definitely ask for Shan Ling¡¯s motivation.

    Then...

    Things would begin to unravel.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong could not let this happen! As such, he couldn¡¯t say anything that would pin this on Shan Ling.

    "Your Highness, is your silence reflective of your indecision?" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I suggest that you refrain from guessing when you do not have evidence on hand. Else, you can be charged with ndering an official!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was not going to let Fang Zhengzhi continue with this line of questioning.

    Things were already out of his control.

    He did not have a good feeling about this. It felt like he had stepped right into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trap.

    This was a terrifying thought, one that sent shivers down his spine.

    Most importantly, he had no way of denying that there was poison in the spices. The fainting of countless officials had already made that an irrefutable fact.

    Any doctor worth their salt would be able to determine what poison it was. Then, the truth woulde to light.

    All he could do was try to calm himself down.

    The officials who had not eaten themb all nodded when they heard what the Crown Prince said. They began to shed doubt on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suspicions.

    Fang Zhengzhi chuckled lightly. "Your Highness, are you really nning on pushing this to thete Shan Ling?"

    "I do not know what happened then, so I will notment! I will not use anyone until I have evidence!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asserted.

    "It is actually a very easy problem to solve. All we have to do is bring Su Qing in for questioning." Fang Zhengzhi suggested.

    "Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi! You are quite naive! For starters, your usations are baseless and unbelievable! Furthermore, Su Qing is watching over the Northern Five Constabries! You are in no position to rmend that he be brought in for questioning!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled icily.

    "What if I have evidence?"

    "You have evidence?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was shocked.

    He knew that he had not left any evidence behind.

    He had already killed the eight mercenaries! Su Qing was also fiercely loyal to him! There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could have gotten hold of any evidence.

    However, could he reveal these facts?

    Of course not!

    "Of course I have evidence! Your Highness, do you think that I would really use an official without any evidence?" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    The eyes of the other officials were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    "Su Qing administered the poison?"

    "How is that possible?"

    "How else would Fang Zhengzhi have evidence?"

    The officials were all extremely confused. Things had changed much too quickly, so much so that even they couldn¡¯t keep up.

    The crowd was almost equally confused. They had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would try to run his mouth but no one expected that Fang Zhengzhi would actually have evidence.

    Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, when she saw the officials crumple to the ground, she finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi would ask the officials to eat the meat before the royal family.

    However...

    Did this shameless fe really have evidence on hand?

    Ping Yang refused to believe this but Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely calm. She had no other choice but to believe what he was saying.

    Xing Yuanguo and Chi Hong both looked on doubtfully.

    Evidence? How could Su Qing possibly be the one who administered the poison? They refused to believe that Fang Zhengzhi would have any evidence on hand.

    "What evidence... could you possibly have?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked on in disbelief.

    "Do you really want to hear it?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Of course!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded.

    The other officials perked up their ears and waited for Fang Zhengzhi to tell them the evidence he had on Su Qing.

    "Okay then... but even though you want to hear it, I can¡¯t say it." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in exasperation.

    "F*ck!"

    "Is he ying us?"

    "How does someone like that even exist?"

    The officials couldn¡¯t resist the urge to swear when they heard this. All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi with scorn.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression darkened.

    He was the Crown Prince! How dare someone y him like this in front of so many people?! He was infuriated.

    "Fang Zhengzhi! What do you mean?"

    "Nothing... Your Highness, you should know that some evidence is easily destroyed. I can¡¯t tell you the evidence just yet." Fang Zhengzhi exined calmly.

    "You say you have evidence, yet you refuse to tell us?"

    "I do have evidence but I can¡¯t reveal it right now. Is there a problem with that? Your Highness, why are you in a hurry to know?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "You..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong clenched his fists and felt a wave of fury. He had no choice but to suppress it. "When do you n to tell us?"

    "When the trial starts!" Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    "The trial?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned but recovered quickly. "This case is closed, why would we have a trial?"

    "Your Highness, did you not see that countless officials had been poisoned?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the unconscious officials.

    "So what?"

    "I already said that I was poisoned in the same way over a year ago. I couldn¡¯t have possibly killed Shan Ling."

    "Humph! Why should we believe you? How can you prove it?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth.

    "You need me to prove this?" Fang Zhengzhi queried.

    "Of course! Everyone knows that you¡¯re prone to spouting nonsense! How can we believe you without proof?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong pressed.

    This was honestly quite a ridiculous request.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already proven that Princess Shan Yu¡¯s spices had been tampered with and the officials were all poisoned.

    This had already shown everyone that Fang Zhengzhi had been poisoned.

    However...

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had to try this.

    He needed to pray that Emperor Lin Mubai was still on his side.

    He knew for a fact that Emperor Lin Mubai could never pin the murder of Shan Ling on him as long as he was still the Crown Prince.

    Even if he had killed Shan Ling, he had done it to quell the rebellion and bring peace to thend. It was a good deed.

    Emperor Lin Mubai needed a reason.

    It didn¡¯t matter even if the reason was a ridiculous one.

    He instinctively looked at Emperor Lin Mubai. He could tell that the Emperor was thinking.

    This had reaffirmed his belief.

    As the Crown Prince, Fang Zhengzhi would never be able to get any charges to stick as long as he kept denying involvement.

    "If that is the case, we will have to do an experiment to find out." Fang Zhengzhi nodded amodatingly.

    "What kind of experiment?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was icy.

    "If my guess is correct, the officials should have been drained on all energy. However, they are still conscious. That means that they can still hear us." Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "What can that prove?"

    "I experienced the same thing a year back. If I am right, this will prove that I was poisoned by the same toxin a year ago."

    "Okay! We will have the Ministry of Law interview them when they wake up!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong hesitated but nodded.

    This was one of the few experiments that he would agree to.

    When it came to the officials, he was absolutely certain that they would take his side.

    "No need for that. We can wake them up now." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Now?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted.

    "Mm, after I was poisoned by this a year ago, I began to search for the name of it. I brought along some of the antidotes just in case. Your Highness, you seem rather anxious. Are you afraid?" Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Afraid? What do I have to be afraid of?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth.

    "I will be impartial. Do you have any objections if I administer the antidote to Yue Hu?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "You¡¯re choosing Yue Hu?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi would choose one of the neutral officials. To think that Fang Zhengzhi would choose Yue Hu...

    How could he not be shocked by this choice?

    He was not alone. Ping Yang, King Duan, Xing Yuanguo, Chi Hong, and Wen Dabao were all equally shocked.

    Why would he choose Yue Hu for this experiment?

    Was he trying to court death?

    "Your Highness, do you think that he is an inappropriate choice? I can always choose someone else." Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "No need for that. Yue Hu has served five years as a minister and is known to be impartial! I have no objections!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi would choose Yue Hu.

    However, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had signed his own death warrant by choosing Yue Hu.

    "He is? Oh wow, I guess I picked the right candidate." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and walked over to Yue Hu.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled icily to himself when he saw Fang Zhengzhi walk over.

    He wanted to say one thing to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Don¡¯t you know that Yue Hu is in my camp?

    Chi Hong stared at Fang Zhengzhi and shook his head. Fang Zhengzhi was just one step away from sess.

    But he made such a choice at thest moment.

    His heart ached.

    Yue Hu was the Minister of Finance and has spent decades in the court. He had been loyal to the Crown Prince even before he was the Minister of Finance.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi seed by choosing Yue Hu?

    Emperor Lin Mubai watched as Fang Zhengzhi walked over and bent down to Yue Hu¡¯s ear. The Emperor saw a glimmer of iciness sh through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and waved to Eunuch Wei.

    Eunuch Wei saw that and brought over a cup of hot tea.

    Emperor Lin Mubai lifted the lid and took a whiff. Then, he took a sip and thought about the vors.

    At that moment...

    A resonating voice echoed through the air.

    "Yue Hu, your concubine "Liu Lan" is currently having sex with your second son Yue Tianxiao in room two of the Qingtian Motel. Did you hear me?!"

    "Sh*t!" Emperor Lin Mubai spat out the mouthful of tea immediately.

 Chapter 529: Everything Is Messed-Up

    Chapter 529: Everything Is Messed-Up

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the leader of an Empire, Emperor Lin Mubai rarely lost hisposure in such a manner. He had impable self-control, especially in front of the other officials.

    But this time...

    He spat out his tea.

    When he heard this, he couldn¡¯t believe his ears. The tea instantly stained his golden dragon robe.

    "This fe is really..." Emperor Lin Mubai shook his head speechlessly as he looked at Minister of Finance Yue Hu.

    He was not the only one who had been rendered speechless.

    All of the other officials were equally speechless. They stood in their positions, stunned by what they just heard.

    "Cheating?!"

    "The concubine and his son?"

    "Room two of the Qingtian Motel?"

    The officials eximed to themselves when they heard Fang Zhengzhi say this.

    "How could someone be this shameless?"

    "How dare he use a rank two official¡¯s concubine and son of having sexual rtions in broad daylight?"

    "Does he have any values? Does he even have any sense of shame?"

    The officials were all rendered speechless. They never thought that it was possible for someone to be this shameless.

    If they could...

    They would have beaten Fang Zhengzhi to death where he stood.

    They had to suppress the urge to give him the middle finger. He had just insulted one of their own.

    However, they couldn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi was in the middle of an experiment.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to say something like that, much less in front of so many people.

    These were unspeakable things!

    Most importantly, how dare he make such groundless usations? Did he have any respect for the courts?

    Silence...

    Everyone fell silent.

    The crowd watched on by the side as they watched Minister of Finance Yue Hu. They were all rendered speechless.

    Ping Yang¡¯s mouth was agape and her crystal clear eyes were filled with shock. Then, she blushed and lowered her head, muttering ¡¯shameless¡¯ as she did so.

    "This fe..." Chi Hong shook his head and turned to look at Xing Yuanguo. Xing Yuanguo¡¯s expression was equally strange.

    If there was one man who could remain calm throughout all this.

    It was Yan Xiu. Even though Yan Xiu blushed slightly, he did not lose hisposure like those around him.

    At that moment...

    Minister of Finance Yue Hu regained consciousness.

    After Fang Zhengzhi had said his piece, he had given Yue Hu a dose of the antidote. Yue Hu opened his eyes soon after.

    He did not seem lost and did not try to look around to get a feel of where he was.

    Minister of Finance Yue Hu¡¯s face waspletely flushed and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked slightly off bnce.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I, I..." Minister of Finance Yue Hu clenched his fists and his knuckles whitened as he red at Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to shred Fang Zhengzhi where he stood.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Official Yue, are you feeling alright? Did you hear anything whilst you were unconscious?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem shocked by Yue Hu¡¯s expression.

    "You... I didn¡¯t hear anything!" Minister of Finance Yue Hu knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    He was furious! He wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi right now but he couldn¡¯t. If he did so, the Crown Prince would be finished.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words...

    He had heard them loud and clear, but he couldn¡¯t possibly admit to that.

    "Did you really hear nothing?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "Of course!" Minister of Finance Yue Hu nodded solemnly. His only option was to suppress his anger. His face turned purple, then paled.

    "Oh wow, you do have quite a high tolerance." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    Everyone could tell what was happening. Yue Hu was trying to suppress his fury and embarrassment.

    Anyone with some semnce of intellect and sight could see that Yue Hu was extremely ufortable. He had clearly heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    However...

    Yue Hu chose to deny it.

    He grit his teeth and denied it.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t do anything about it. This experiment would have gone in the Crown Prince¡¯s favor.

    Shan Yu frowned. Even though she knew that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, she never expected him to say this. His words would have been quite effective.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi should never have chosen Minister of Finance Yue Hu. To be one of the six ministers, he had to have extraordinary tolerance.

    If he chose to grit his teeth and deny it.

    What could Fang Zhengzhi do?

    Everyone felt equally doubtful.

    "What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand!" Yue Hu was in pain, but he tried to keep a calm expression.

    "You really don¡¯t? How about I repeat it for you?" Fang Zhengzhi remarked.

    "You..." Yue Hu wanted to add ¡¯wouldn¡¯t dare¡¯ behind that. However, he swallowed the words as he felt a chill down his back.

    He had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi had chosen him.

    If he had a say in this matter...

    He would have never agreed to it.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the right to choose. Fang Zhengzhi had chosen him and the Crown Prince had given the go ahead. He had no choice but to swallow his pride.

    "Official Yue, if you don¡¯t object to it, I¡¯ll repeat it one more time." Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "You... carry on!" Minister of Finance Yue Hu stammered.

    "Actually, I have another question before I repeat myself."

    "What is it?!"

    "Official Yue, do you want to know if what I said was true?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked at Yue Hu.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Minister of Finance Yue Hu was stumped. He grit his teeth, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about and I have nothing more to say to you!"

    "Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and turned to look at the crowd. "The Qingtian Motel is just 15 minutes away. Do you all want to take a look at the second room there?"

    "Whoa!"

    Everyone burst into chatter.

    Commoners and officials alike looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief. They had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    Could it be...

    Did he just speak the truth?!

    Impossible!

    Something like this would never happen! It was unfathomable!

    But if it wasn¡¯t true...

    Why would Fang Zhengzhi know the name of Yue Hu¡¯s concubine? Why would he use Yue Hu¡¯s son so openly?

    He even invited the crowd to go and watch them in action!

    If this ended up being a farce, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely have to pay for it with his life!

    Everyone turned to look at Minister of Finance Yue Hu. His expression was darkening with each passing second.

    His concubine was cheating on him with his son?!

    What was happening?

    This was the capital! This was a society which emphasized loyalty and values. Such adulterous behavior...

    Was unfathomable!

    Yue Hu paled when he heard this. He didn¡¯t want to believe what Fang Zhengzhi said. But what if it was true?

    He was being put through an emotional roller coaster.

    "Impossible! This is impossible! He is definitely lying to me. Liu Lan and Tianxiao would never do this to me. Tianxiao... no!" Minister of Finance Yue Hu tried to convince himself but his body continued to tremble.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed.

    He could tell that Yue Hu was rather emotional right now. Anyone in his position would be too.

    The fact that he could remainposed even up till now...

    That was quite the extraordinary feat.

    "You have to keep calm! He is just trying to agitate you! Official Yue, don¡¯t fall for it!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong eximed in his heart.

    He could not say this out loud.

    Because...

    Emperor Lin Mubai was staring at him.

    He knew what that look meant. Right now, he had to pray that Yue Hu could stomach this.

    At that moment, the crowd began to grow restless. They couldn¡¯t suppress their curiosity any longer.

    More and more people began streaming over to the motel.

    Wen Dabao also began to move. He was not going to miss out on this!

    Furthermore, he needed to satisfy his curiosity.

    "Come on! I know exactly where this is! Come with me! Let¡¯s catch this adulterous pair! Don¡¯t let them escape!" Wen Dabao hollered.

    The crowd was reinvigorated when they heard this.

    The thought of catching the Minister of Finance¡¯s concubine with his son set fire to their veins.

    "Come..." Yue Hu wanted to shout at the crowd and gave theme back. However, he swallowed his words before he could say them.

    He red at the crowd rushing towards the motel. Right now, he had the urge tomit suicide.

    If what Fang Zhengzhi said was true...

    He would be embarrassed in front of such a huge crowd! How could he still face anyone ever again?

    There was a light breeze.

    It messed up Yue Hu¡¯s hair and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s confidence. It also ruffled the crowd outside the pce.

    It was quite chaotic...

    However, nothing could match the chaos...

    In their hearts!

    Time seemed to slow as all the officials waited anxiously for the results.

    It was a strange feeling.

    To be honest, they hoped that Fang Zhengzhi had made it all up, but they were still anxious to see the results.

    It was inexplicable.

    "Yan Xiu, do you think that the shameless fe was telling the truth?" Ping Yang raised her head and looked at Yan Xiu.

    "Mm, it¡¯s true." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "You trust him that much?" Ping Yang couldn¡¯t understand it. The possibility of something like that happening was unbelievably low.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded and didn¡¯t give any further reasons.

    This conversation was overheard by Lin Tianrong and Yue Hu. Both of them felt a shiver down their spines.

    The Crown Prince looked at Yue Hu and saw nothing but pain in his eyes. Yue Hu was pleading...

    He was begging the Crown Prince to think of a way to ameliorate the situation. If what Fang Zhengzhi said was true...

    This involved his concubine and his son!

    King Duan saw the interaction between Yue Hu and Lin Tianrong. Even though he didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi...

    He made his decision quickly.

    He turned and shot a look at a figure nearby. That figure nodded and shot off into the distance.

    Chi Hong seemed rather calm but he was looking at Fang Zhengzhi differently from before.

    He thought of something else.

    If...

    If Fang Zhengzhi was right...

    How did Fang Zhengzhi know about this? The fact that the concubine of the Minister of Finance was cheating on him was not something easy to find out.

    Most importantly, he had to know this even before he had this confrontation with the Crown Prince!

    This was getting more unbelievable by the second!

 Chapter 530: 17th on the Holy Rankings

    Chapter 530: 17th on the Holy Rankings

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "How can he possibly know this?" Chi Hong squinted as he thought about what happened a few days ago.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just entered the city.

    That was the day...

    That was the day Fang Zhengzhi confronted then Minister of Law Wan Chong and had him arrested for corruption.

    If these events were not coincidences, this would mean that Fang Zhengzhi knew the unspeakable secrets of many in the city.

    Chi Hou get a shiver down his spine. If this was true... the capital would be in for a ride.

    Fang Zhengzhi never did things through the conventional routes. He was a maverick, someone who acted without considering the consequences.

    Most importantly...

    He was an independent with no known allegiances.

    Just as he was thinking about this, he heard a loud sound in the distance. The crowd was streaming back to the pce.

    Chi Hong¡¯s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Disbelief and shock filled his face almost instantly.

    He was not alone.

    The rest of the officials, the Royal Guard, and the crowd who stayed behind were in shock and disbelief as well.

    They saw two figures dressed rather messily.

    One man and one woman.

    They were both in their twenties.

    Furthermore, the two of them kept struggling and screaming bitterly. They looked as though they feared for their lives.

    "It¡¯s true?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi... wasn¡¯t lying?!"

    "How could this happen? How did he know that they would be at the Qingtian Motel? How is this possible?"

    The officials couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. They stared at the two figures being dragged over by the crowd.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned. He recognized the two figures instantly and was equally in disbelief.

    He turned to look at Minister of Finance Yue Hu almost immediately.

    "Not good!" When he saw Minister of Finance Yue Hu¡¯s expression, the Crown Prince knew that things were about to take a turn for the worse.

    Yue Hu was extremely pale. His body was trembling and the aura around his body was highly unstable.

    "Sh*t!" He spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Then, his face turned purple and green as the veins on his forehead throbbed. He looked like he was going to explode at any moment.

    "No way! Xiaotian would never do this to me!"

    "This is impossible..."

    "Liu Lan! Liu Lan! I have treated you well! Why would you seduce my son?!"

    "No... why?!"

    Minister of Finance Yue Hu bellowed as his bones began to crack. His hair was extremely messy.

    His white hair was dancing in the wind.

    The officials knew that things were going to get messy. Yue Hu was quickly approaching his breaking point.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will kill you!"

    After he muttered to himself, Yue Hu¡¯s expression darkened and he snarled ferociously. A green ray of light shot out from his body.

    "No!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to stop it instinctively but it was toote. Yue Hu had attacked.

    "Are you going to attack me just because I told you the truth?" Fang Zhengzhi knew how flustered Yue Hu was. After all, Yue Hu was the Minister of Finance.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move. He simply smiled as he watched the ray of green light shoot towards him.

    At that moment...

    A red light lit up behind Fang Zhengzhi. It looked like a red crystal screen that extended from the ground. It flew to the front.

    Yan Xiu had struck.

    Yan Xiu reacted the moment Yue Hu attacked.

    "Boom!"

    The green light crashed into the red screen in a sh of white. Then, a huge wave of power dissipated through the air.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    The officials, the Royal Guard, and the crowd was equally stunned.

    Even the adulterous couple was stunned by what they saw.

    They never expected that things would end up this way. The Minister of Finance had attacked Fang Zhengzhi in front of other officials and the Emperor.

    This was...

    Punishable by death!

    Everyone watched the two days of light sh. They were shocked by the turn of events and shocked that Yan Xiu would try to block the attack.

    "Yue Hu is in the nascent Rebirth State!"

    "Yan Xiu... actually blocked it?"

    "He blocked an attack from a raging Yue Hu? How did he do it?"

    "Could it be... is Yan Xiu already..."

    All of the officials were in disbelief. After all, Yan Xiu was only 18-years-old. If he could go up against a Rebirth State cultivator...

    "No! He didn¡¯t!" One of the officials eximed in shock as his eyes widened.

    Everyone¡¯s jaw dropped when they heard this. After the wave of power dissipated, they saw the green light pierce through the red screen.

    However...

    It had drifted slightly!

    This ray of light was no longer trained on Fang Zhengzhi. It brushed past his neck and headed straight for the person behind him...

    "No! Crown Prince, your highness, watch out!"

    "Protect the Crown Prince!"

    "Block it! Block it!"

    All of the officials were panicking.

    However, the ray of green light was traveling too quickly! It was in front of the Crown Prince within moments.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    He never expected this to happen. Why would Yue Hu attack him? He didn¡¯t prepare for this.

    In fact, even if he did, he would not have managed to block this attack.

    Even though he was powerful as the Crown Prince, his cultivation state was mediocre. He was only in the Supernatural State. He would not be able to block this attack.

    Terror and shock.

    He didn¡¯t want to die but the ray of light was traveling too quickly.

    "Save me!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong screamed in desperation.

    At that moment, a ray of light shot out from the pce walls. This was a figure encased in gold light.

    It was fast.

    It was extremely fast.

    It was so fast that it left a ck crack behind her. She had ripped through the very fabric of reality.

    There was a simr crack left behind when Fang Zhengzhi used the Sun Shooting Bow to fire the Million Sword Illustration.

    She was as quick as an arrow!

    The world fell silent.

    All that was left was the green light and the golden figure.

    It was extremely quick!

    Everyone held their breath and stared.

    Finally.

    The figure arrived next to the Crown Prince when the green light reached the Crown Prince¡¯s throat. However, it was still toote.

    "Oh no!"

    That same thought shed through everyone¡¯s mind.

    Then, the strangest thing happened. The golden figure rose and fired off a punch.

    This was a fist encased by golden armor. However, it was not a callous orrge fist. On the contrary, it looked rather refined.

    However, when she threw the punch, it felt as though the entire area had been shook by a wave of force.

    "Boom!" A loud crash echoed out.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s body flew into the air before crashing back into the ground.

    "Boom!" A dull thud echoed out and the ground cracked.

    Everyone was silent.

    Everyone looked at the Crown Prince anxiously.

    "Sh*t!" At that moment, the Crown Prince shuddered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Your Highness!"

    "..."

    All of the officials rushed forward.

    A long figure walked out of the golden light. This was ady in golden armor.

    Her figure was entuated by the armor and essories.

    She had tied up her hair and had exquisite features. Her skin was snow white and it glimmered under the sun.

    She was the Commander of the Royal Guard.

    Ranked 17th on the Holy Rankings.

    The Hidden Dragon Roll were for people under 18. The Rising Dragon Roll were for talents under 28. There was one more roll, the Holy Rankings!

    That was the all epassing ranking system! There was no age limit here!

    Of course...

    There was a reason why it was named the Holy Rankings!

    The Sages were a part of these rankings!

    The fact that thisdy ranked 17th was a testament to her abilities. She was the 17th most powerful person in the empire.

    Her name was Chen Feihua.

    She had another identity that made everyone respect her even more. Even the Princes and Princesses knelt when they saw her.

    Consort Fei!

    Once upon a time, Chen Feihua¡¯s name was on everyone¡¯s tongue.

    Before Chi Guyan hade along and shocked the world, everyone thought that Chen Feihua was the most talenteddy.

    The pride of the 13 Constabries...

    It was only a matter of time before Chen Feihua entered the courts.

    In all honesty, there was no other choice for her. Before she entered the courts, Emperor Lin Mubai almost never attended court sessions.

    It was a difficult time for the empire.

    The barbarians in the North tried to invade, the demons were trying to test their luck, and the Divine Constabry and Stabilization Constabry were out to quell the unrest. It was chaos.

    At that moment, Chen Feihua entered the pce covered in blood from head to toe. Her armor had been shredded and her sword was broken but she hugged a three month old baby in her arms.

    When Emperor Lin Mubai rushed out from the pce, Chen Feihua fell to her knees and said only one thing.

    "Your Highness, I brought her back!"

    That was the day Chen Feihua became consort Fei.

    That was also the day Emperor Lin Mubai returned to the courts and gave his orders. He was carrying that baby.

    That was also the day the city learned to fear this name.

    That name...

    Ping Yang!

    Ping Yang¡¯s name represented peace as well as the light at the end of the tunnel!

    Three monthster, Chen Feihua became themander of the Royal Guards.

    The officials were initially confused by the appointment. However, they eventually understood it. Even though Chen Feiyu was the number one consort, she never bothered with the affairs of the other consorts.

    Even though there was no queen, she didn¡¯t try to take that position.

    "Auntie Hua!" A crisp voice rang out and Ping Yang, dressed in her golden red dress, hugged Chen Feiyu.

    Chen Feiyu didn¡¯t stop her. She smiled when she saw this. Her smile was radiant and her snow white hands ruffled Ping Yang¡¯s hair. It was almost as if Ping Yang was her own daughter.

    All the officials shook their head in exasperation.

    Ping Yang.

    The biggest bully in the capital! She could frustrate and annoy everyone. She was not only the Emperor¡¯s favorite princess.

    She was also Consort Fei¡¯s favorite princess.

    She had the Emperor and themander of the 50,000 strong Royal Guards backing her! Who would dare to antagonize her?

    "Consort Fei!" The officials greeted.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong also fell to one knee. He was pale and there was blood trickling down the edge of his mouth.

    Even so, he still bowed to Chen Feiyu.

    "Consort Fei, thank you for saving my life!"

    "Your Highness, you need not thank me." Chen Feiyu helped the Crown Prince up even as a golden light flickered in her palm.

    Then, she turned around and bowed to Emperor Lin Mubai. After which, she turned to look at all the officials.

    She scanned over the officials quickly before finally resting her eyes on Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    She frowned...

 Chapter 531: Your Majesty, I Was Wrongedâ€¦

    Chapter 531: Your Majesty, I Was Wronged...

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Ah, the Imperial Concubine Hua Fei of today, ranked 17th in the Imperial Roll,mander of the Imperial Army, Chen Fei Yu¡¯s elder sister, Chen Feihua!" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    If this were a year ago...

    He would have been shocked upon that sight. Well, it was an appalling scene indeed.

    And he would never have expected that themander of the Imperial Army would be Hua Fei.

    Not to mention the thought that Hua Fei would even be ranked in the Imperial Roll.

    Chen Feihua¡¯s gazeid on Fang Zhengzhi momentarily, then slowly shifted towards the Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu.

    "I deserve to die, I deserve to die..." A shivering Yue Hu dropped to a kneel. He was absolutely petrified.

    "Yue Hu, do you know your mistake?" Chen Fei Hua asked with a nod, her tone nd and emotionless.

    But virtually all the officials present shuddered. Chen Feihua had never once questioned the Imperial Government. Besides her duty of defending the pce, she had never said something like this to an imperial official.

    But now...

    She had said it.

    And this meant the Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu could never stand to free himself of this shame.

    He lowered himself, with his head on the ground and his body trembling. He did not fear death because death, to him, was ultimately a relief. It would set him free.

    But he was spiteful.

    He yearned to kill Fang Zhengzhi with his own hands.

    While everyone believed Yue Hu acted in a fit of rage, nobody knew that his mind had remained been calm andposed.

    Having served in the Imperial Government for decades, he had a wealth of experience under his belt.

    He had truly mastered the control of his emotions. Even when his second son had an affair with a servant, he never allowed his reason and rational thought to be engulfed by rage.

    Hate.

    Of course, he hated.

    Yet, what he did was not totally due to his hate; he knew that, at this juncture, if Fang Zhengzhi lived, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would be in imminent danger.

    For this, he was furious.

    Yue Hu acted in full control of his emotions.

    However, he did not expect Yan Xiu to block his enraged blow, and never did it cross his mind that he would identally hit Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    Of course, there was only one thing he knew...

    That he was now as good as dead.

    "I know my mistake!" Yue Hu did not raise his head. He clenched his fist. There was only one chance, and missing it meant death.

    If he could kill Fang Zhengzhi in a blow, maybe in a few years when Lin Tianrong ascended the throne, he could still have a glimmer of hope for survival.

    But now, all hade to naught.

    "Bai Qi." Chen Feihua turned towards an Imperial Soldier standing still a stone¡¯s throw away.

    "Present!"

    "Lock up official Yue."

    "Right away!" The Imperial Army¡¯s second-in-charge Bai Qi promptly nodded. Without hesitation, he walked toward Yue Hu.

    Yue Hu slowly stood up and looked at the couple rooted in their positions.

    He did not say a single word.

    But it was apparent to all that this Rank Two official¡¯s strength hadpletely left his body. He summoned every ounce of energy. Every step was excruciating.

    And this was how Yue Hu was brought away.

    The man and woman were brought away too. Yue Hu¡¯s crime was so serious that they were unfortunately implicated.

    Harming the Crown Prince in public.

    This was not a crime that could be forgiven in light of the contributions of a Rank Two official.

    As a matter of fact, the moment Chen Feihua intervened in that total chaos, no one dared to move a muscle.

    Even Wen Dabao, who wanted very much to scream aloud, stayed silent.

    Every single person turned their attention to Chen Feihua, waiting for the most prized Imperial Concubine to calm the situation and protect the Crown Prince.

    Yet, Chen Feihua did not do that.

    She did not check Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s wounds, but gave a quick salute towards Emperor Lin Mubai, who was on the throne, and then walked through the Pce entrance.

    Very quickly...

    Chen Feihua once again vanished into the Pce.

    All of this happened in the very same ce. But without that scene a few moments ago, no one would have realized Chen Feihua had been present.

    A cough broke the uncanny, deafening silence.

    Everyone turned towards this abrupt noise, where an imperial official stood awkwardly, his face red in embarrassment.

    H was innocent in every meaning of the word.

    The official was slightly ill and could not contain his cough. Never did he expect this tiny disturbance turned all eyes on him.

    He quivered.

    "I am guilty, I am guilty..." The imperial official hastily knelt, frantically kowtowing in a plead for forgiveness, his skull knocking audibly on the ground.

    Upon witnessing this sight, the other officials could not help but smile wryly.

    Actually, Chen Feihua only did so in her duty as themander of the Imperial Army and saved the Crown Prince.

    Yet, it is this act of professionalism...

    That utterly astounded the imperial officials, the surroundingmoners, and even transformed the atmosphere around the Pce entrance.

    Was this the power of her rank of 17th in the Imperial Roll?

    Or her influential impact as the current top imperial concubine!

    That imperial official continued to pound his head on the ground, but everyone¡¯s attention had shifted towards another man. A man dressed in a blue robe.

    In any case, what happened moments ago was too unsettling.

    The Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu did, in fact, initiate the attack, but as everyone knew, he would never in his wildest dreams think of hurting the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    Yet, it was an undeniable fact that he did so.

    Was it an ident, or a deliberate attack?

    If it was an ident, it seemed too coincidental. Yet, if it was thetter, who would do such a thing intentionally?

    Each imperial official at present had only questions upon the confusion, and it happened so quickly no one had observed clearly.

    "It¡¯s gettingte, let us start the feast!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang, rousing the imperial officials who were still processing what they had just witnessed earlier.

    Eunuch Wei stood up.

    "It¡¯s time for the feast!"

    "Feast! Feast!" echoed in the Pce.

    With that, a chatter resumed in the Pce. The same ordinary sounds that came through from there not long ago.

    The initially tense atmosphere loosened up. The officials seemed to have reached some conclusions, put their thoughts aside, conjured courteous smiles as they tidied their clothes as they prepared to enter the Pce.

    But at this moment...

    A figure walked towards Lin Mubai, his robe swaying lightly in the breeze. Behind him followed Yan Xiu.

    "Your Majesty, I have a grievance to raise!" Fang Zhengzhi bowed lightly, but he did not pay heed to hierarchical rules of speaking to the Emperor, using the word "I" informally to represent his identity.

    The officials halted in their tracks. Their smiles froze on their faces, their eyes fixed on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, they knew what Fang Zhengzhi was up to.

    But...

    How dared he intervene as the Emperor¡¯s order was carried out?

    The surroundingmoners stared at Fang Zhengzhi, stunned. At this very moment, they seem to know what Emperor Lin Mubai was thinking.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already revealed the truth to all, and the Ministry of Finance official could hear their conversation. Fang Zhengzhi was under the effect of this same poison a year ago.

    Yet, Emperor Lin Mubai could still initiate the feast.

    His attitude was obvious.

    "What is he trying to do?"

    "Is he really trying to overturn the case?"

    "Would the Emperor let him have his way?"

    Questions arose among themoners.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze turned towards Fang Zhengzhi as he stood from his throne.

    "Minister of Rites, must you voice this grievance now?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s was tone showed nothing besides tranquillity.

    But all the imperial officials andmoners instantly felt a wave of peculiarity.

    Because Emperor Lin Mubai called Fang Zhengzhi...

    The Minister of Rites!

    Everyone was clear that a year ago when the war with the Southern Region ended, the Emperor had promoted Fang Zhengzhi from a Rank Four Sword Envoy to the Minister of Rites.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not return to the Ministry of Rites, nor did he take over the Ministry of Rites Seal.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi killed a Southern Region Noblelite and injured the Crown Price.

    But now, Emperor Lin Mubai addressed Fang Zhengzhi as the Minister of Rites, wasn¡¯t this an unbelievable sight?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    His fiery eyes red at Fang Zhengzhi and Emperor Lin Mubai as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

    Rage and indignation filled every vessel in his heart.

    Yet he understood that when Emperor Lin Mubai addressed him this way, it meant Fang Zhengzhi was cleared of the grievances from what happened in the Southern Region.

    Chi Hou also froze.

    Today, when Fang Zhengzhi emerged from the crowds and blocked Southern Region Prince Shan Yu, he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would seed.

    At that moment, he only wished to save Fang Zhengzhi.

    But now...

    Fang Zhengzhi had indeed seeded.

    Even if did not attempt to overturn the case, he had already seeded. Seeded in clearing the grievances from the Southern Region, which was hitherto unfathomable.

    Not only did Emperor Lin Mubai not pursue Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fault, but recognized Fang Zhengzhi in another light and restored his position as an imperial official.

    This meant a silent acknowledgment of sorts.

    The Southern Region case would see tremendous progress in time toe.

    "Was Your Majesty talking to me?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice lit up again.

    "Do you think there would be a second Minister of Rites here, alive?" Emperor Lin Mubai then nced at the official on the floor.

    "Your Majesty was speaking to me indeed, but did Your Majesty address me incorrectly?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Incorrectly?!"

    "He actually said the Emperor addressed him incorrectly?"

    The officials could not believe the conversation.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t spout nonsense! How would Your Majesty address you incorrectly? Stop your behavior!" Chi Hou felt things would not end up well for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Certainly, he knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    But it was also important to weigh the urgency and importance of matters and the setting in which they were raised.

    In this day, the Southern Region King, Southern Region soldiers, countlessmoners and personnel of the Imperial Army had gathered in the Pce.

    In this situation...

    How would Emperor Lin Mubai make an immediate decision?

    Hanging the proverbial dirtyundry, especially with the reputation of the Crown Prince at stake, did not seem like a good idea.

    Now that Emperor Lin Mubai had publicly acknowledged Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity, overturning the Southern Region case would only be a matter of time.

    Chi Hou was clear on this point, hence he could not help but worry for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Official Fang, the feast is about to begin and could not be dyed. If you have any important matters, you should address themter." Eunuch Wei said sharply while disying an exaggerated respectfulness.

    With that, Emperor Lin Mubai did notment further.

    Slowly, he walked down from his throne, briefly looked at the Pce door and strode towards it.

    "Official Fang, the feast has begun, and a ce has been reserved for you." Eunuch Wei bowed at Fang Zhengzhi and promptly followed behind Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Among the crowd, Wen Dabao watched in envy.

    "Bravo! Just like that, he has be the Minister of Rites? Indeed, I have not followed the wrong person!" Wen Dabao lit up in joy as though he had be a Minister himself.

    And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi took a step forward.

    "Your Majesty,st year at the Southern Region celebratory dinner, I was plotted against and poisoned. In my delirium, I was brought into Southern Region King¡¯s room. While unconscious, I was used of killing the Southern Region Noblelite. But I was so weak, and I had no grudges with these people, how would I kill the Noblelite? I plead for Your Majesty to address this injustice of mine!"

 Chapter 532: Go Away

    Chapter 532: Go Away

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was not as loudpared to when he was defending the Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu, but its intensity was ten times as much.

    "He has spoken! He has really spoken!"

    "He actually blocked the Emperor!"

    "Doesn¡¯t he fear offending the Emperor at all?"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice reverberated in the officials¡¯ ears, distressed their hearts and turned their stomachs. His fearlessness was unbelievable.

    In any case, to these officials...

    Fang Zhengzhi need not do all of this.

    Initially, they could understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gamble, because it was for the public to acknowledge the matter, for the Emperor to see the truth.

    But now, with the truth revealed, why was there a need to shoulder such a risk?

    Nobody could understand.

    But deep in everyone¡¯s hearts, they knew that once the Emperor was angry, everything would have been as good as gone. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s efforts would be in vain.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, presently the Emperor is hosting the Princess of the Southern Region, how would he find the time to address your grievances! Stand down immediately!" Chi Hou was growing very impatient.

    But he did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi would really stop the Emperor.

    Emperor Lin Mubai halted momentarily and continued walking towards the Pce gate.

    "Your Majesty, I have a grievance!" Fang Zhengzhi cried again.

    "Ah!"

    The officials and surroundingmoners were now seething. Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s unwavering decision was obvious.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi kept pleading.

    How was this any different from protesting?

    "Does he really have a death wish?"

    "Since the Emperor ascended the throne, there has never been an incident like this!"

    "Exactly. The Emperor¡¯s dignity cannot be infringed, doesn¡¯t he understand this simple logic?"

    The officials muttered in their minds, but practically no one came forth to persuade Fang Zhengzhi otherwise, nor did any of them voiced their opinion.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, who was originally spiteful at the matter, revealed a smirk when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s many futile attempts to stop Emperor.

    No one shall stand in the mighty Emperor¡¯s way!

    Even the Crown Prince did not dare disobey the Emperor, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Please, Your Majesty, address Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injustice!" Yan Xiu, who had been following behind Fang Zhengzhi, finally spoke.

    His words were cold and emotionless, yet unshakably firm.

    "Even Yan Xiu has spoken?"

    "How would he?"

    "Although he is a friend of Fang Zhengzhi, surely he should persuade Fang Zhengzhi to stop now? Does he not know the consequences if they irritate the Emperor?"

    A wave of terror was once again felt by the officials. Their expressions could only convey their utter astonishment.

    Emperor Lin Mubai stopped in his tracks. Rooted at his position, he did not turn back.

    Chi Hou was in disbelief.

    With outstretched hands in the way of Fang Zhengzhi, he was prepared to discourage his pleas once again. At this moment, he saw Stabilization Constabry Xing Yuanguo who had been standing beside him shook his head at him.

    "Brother Yuanguo, this..."

    "Wait!" Xing Yuanguo said only this word.

    Chi Hou fretted slightly, but he had lost his resolve to speak and retreated into the crowd.

    Wait?

    What is there to wait for?

    Chi Hou did not understand. But Xing Yuanguo, who never interfered with the Imperial Government, had spoken, and that was unbelievable.

    A sad, still silence.

    Even Eunuch Wei was wide-eyed at the spectacle.

    He ventured an attempt to dissuade Fang Zhengzhi, but when he caught a figure in the corner of his eye, he withdrew the foot that stepped forward.

    That figure reached beside Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    It was the Princess of the Southern Region, Shan Yu.

    Her ck eyes glistened into the distance, her long, beautiful hair cascaded upon her shoulders. Her lightly tanned skin radiated charm among the soft sunrays.

    Her expression, too, showed adamantine resolve.

    "Your Majesty, my brother Shan Ling vowed to defend the Southern Region, and in the war, loyally fended off our enemies. His bravery was witnessed by every Southern Region warrior and Great Xia soldier. The murder of my brother has brought us much grief, and now that we have a new lead, I plead for Your Majesty to ensure justice is served!"

    Princess of the Southern Region Shan Yu ended with her tears welling in her eyes.

    The surrounded onlookers werepletely stunned.

    "Even the Princess of the Southern Region has spoken!"

    Although everybody would have predicted that Princess of the Southern Region might speak when she stood beside Fang Zhengzhi, it felt totally unusual.

    Protest!

    Indeed, this was a protest.

    Starting with Fang Zhengzhi, then Yan Xiu, and now the Princess of the Southern Region Shan Yu. Together they strode towards Emperor Lin Mubai, without a shred of doubt.

    The officials andmoners remained bbergasted.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong started having second thoughts. With the support of the Princess of the Southern Region, it could mean apletely different oue for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Only then did Emperor Lin Mubai begin to slowly turn towards them.

    From his expression, there wasn¡¯t much anger. But as everyone noticed that when he turned, there was an effervescent aura.

    The Emperor¡¯s aura.

    And his fists were tightly clenched.

    "The Emperor¡¯s dignity!"

    This appeared in virtually everyone¡¯s mind. They knew that the Emperor was raging inside, although his expression may seem otherwise.

    At this moment, few thousand Southern Region soldiers started to move.

    "Your Majesty, please ensure justice is served for the Southern Region!" said their voices in unison. Thousands of soldiers then knelt in their plea.

    Themoners were awestruck.

    The officials, too. With the Southern Region protesting at the pce gates, in the presence of the public, this movement would indubitably strain diplomatic rtions near their breaking point.

    From this moment on, any decision Emperor Lin Mubai could make seemed inappropriate.

    Because if Emperor Lin Mubai gave in, this would mean that the honor and dignity of the Great Xia Dynasty would be jeopardized. If other states had done so, what would be of the Emperor¡¯s rule?

    But if Emperor Lin Mubai did not give in...

    The rtionship between the Great Xia Dynasty and Southern Region would be strained once again.

    How should it be, then?

    Everyone turned their attention to Lin Mubai, waiting for the mighty Emperor to make his decision.

    Emperor Lin Mubai instead remained silent and stared ahead. Staring silently at Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Shan Yu. His nerves calm, his gaze fluid.

    This seemed like a stalemate.

    Then a figure emerged from behind the Emperor Lin Mubai. A youth who wore a white, luxurious gown. He disyed a marked calmnesspared to those around him.

    "Father!" The youth dropped to his knees and groveled.

    Emperor Lin Mubai faced the youth, furrowing his brows. His face shone with a fierce, icy gleam.

    "Who let you here? Get back." Emperor Li Mubai scowled.

    "Father!" The youth once again kowtowed to his father, his body shivered in fear, but he did not back down, insistent in his pleas.

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at groveling youth a little surprised. Then he turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and finally sighed.

    "Say it."

    "Yes, I have no skills or talents, but I stand for fairness, and I plead Father to ensure Southern Region¡¯s justice is served!" The youth cried.

    "Is that all you want to say?" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s knitted his brows once again.

    Begging in front of him was Ninth Prince Lin Yun. In fact, he had not paid much attention to Lin Yun. If he weren¡¯t his child, he could have even forgotten his name.

    The emperor of a dynasty.

    A father of hundreds of children.

    In a few decades of his reign, Emperor Lin Mubai already had over a hundred children.

    And within them were many mediocre and unambitious ones. There were those of low intellect, or emotionally unstable, or physically weak, or even those, like Lin Yun, who could not hold a proper job.

    Too many to supervise.

    So...

    All he could do was to not bother.

    Actually, ruling for a generation without dispute nor discord may not be a bad thing either. If they loved merrymaking, then let them be.

    Emperor Lin Mubai was never a stern nor old-fashioned father, but he only wished for his yful sons to not cause too much trouble.

    If they could appear less frequently in his presence, that would be a plus.

    And this was Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s wish for Lin Yun.

    Yet, Lin Yun appeared at this very moment, while all the other princes kept to their positions. This made him rather surprised.

    Emperor Lin Mubai felt a pang of doubt... had he misunderstood Lin Yun?

    But when Lin Yun finished his appeal, he felt that he had indeed not misunderstood Lin Yun. Because his words weren¡¯t what he wanted to hear.

    Certainly, this was not about the meaning of Lin Yun¡¯s words.

    As a matter of fact, when Lin Yun stood out, Emperor Lin Mubai had guessed that Lin Yun would plead for Southern Region¡¯s justice.

    But what he did not expect was...

    Lin Yun only said one sentence! To serve justice for Southern Region, that¡¯s all? Was that it?

    What were the reasons? The facts? The references and citations?

    He could have at least referenced a past example of an emperor¡¯s magnanimity, right? What did that mean to him?

    Emperor Lin Mubai could tolerate those who may have unknowingly infringed imperial codes forck of experience or knowledge, but as a prince, pleading to the Emperor in such a manner was utterly ridiculous.

    "Yes! I wish for Father to ensure Southern Region¡¯s justice is served!" The Ninth Prince Lin Yun seemed unperturbed by his father¡¯s reaction.

    "Go away!" Emperor Lin Mubai was finally fuming mad.

 Chapter 533: A Mirror

    Chapter 533: A Mirror

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    As the ruler of this dynasty, Emperor Lin Mubai could remain calm in the presence of the Southern Region Princess and Yan Xiu, but he could not tolerate the disgrace of this worthless "Prince".

    "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

    "Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

    Upon witnessing such a sight, the officials promptly got down on their knees.

    The surroundingmoners started panicking. Although they lived in Yan Capital city, seeing the Emperor this furious was rare.

    "Father!" A clear voice rang. A figure in a red dress with gold stitches floated in front of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Her presence seemed to calm Emperor Lin Mubai. His fury waned, and tranquillity was restored.

    "Ping Yang, do you have anything to add?" Emperor Lin Mubai lovingly caressed her hair.

    "Yes, I was about to scold Father!" Princess Ping Yang pouted her lips slightly, her arms akimbo, thrusting her youthful, swelling chest forward.

    "Oh? How would my dear princess wish to scold me?" Emperor Lin Mubai smiled. He was certainly happier seeing Pin Yang in this way.

    "Father is not a wise emperor!" Ping Yang said candidly.

    "Nonsense! How am I not a wise emperor!" Emperor Li Mubai¡¯s expression turned nk.

    The officials andmoners broke out in a cold sweat. Openly reprimanding the Emperor for hisck of wisdom? Indeed something like this could only be mentioned by Ping Yang.

    "Hm, I think you¡¯re not! As a wise emperor, it is not enough to only have powerful abilities and grand strategies." Ping Yang continued, curling her lips.

    "What else do I need?" Emperor Lin Mubai grinned. Well at least, Ping Yang praised him for his abilities and strategies.

    "A mirror!" Ping Yang said.

    "Mirror?" Emperor Li Mubai wondered.

    "That¡¯s right. It was recorded in ancient texts that Emperor Taizong¡¯s empire flourished by his Reign of Zhenguan, and much of that owed to the efforts of Chancellor Wei Zheng. Father, if it weren¡¯t for Emperor Taizong¡¯s wisdom and magnanimity, how would he gain Wei Zheng¡¯s loyalty and trustworthiness?" Ping Yang stated confidently.

    (Trantor¡¯s note: the Reign of Zhenguan refers to the sess and achievements of the Tang Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Taizong. Tang Dynasty flourished economically and militarily, and this era was regarded a golden age in Chinese history.)

    "Go on." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, though he couldn¡¯t believe his ears.

    "In his life, Wei Zheng authored more than 200 critiques examining governance, economics, culture, foreign affairs, and even Emperor Taizong¡¯s personal life. What he knew and discussed were virtually boundless, and sometimes even made Emperor Tai Zong feel ashamed!"

    Ping Yang paused for a second.

    "But he also helped Emperor Taizong establish the policy of shifting the focus from military activities to cultural education, consolidating his power during the early Tang Dynasty while developing the country. He helped Emperor Taizong understand that the people could support a regime or overturn it and that listening to both sides is always wise. These are key principles of governance. Father, although you have great abilities and strategies like those of Emperor Taizong, youck a mirror like that of Wei Zheng!"

    (Trantor¡¯s note: Emperor Taizong once wrote this of Wei Zheng "Using copper as a mirror allows one to keep his clothes neat. Using history as a mirror allows one to see the future trends. Using a person as a mirror allows one to see what is right and what is wrong. When Wei Zheng died, I lost a mirror.")

    Ping Yang then looked at Emperor Lin Mubai in hopeful anticipation.

    A mirror?

    Emperor Lin Mubai thought for a moment. His face mood changedpletely, his eyes sparkled, gazing lovingly at Ping Yang.

    "Great, my princess has really grown up!" The atmosphere lifted considerably.

    The officials exchanged looks and heaved a sigh of relief. Little did they expect the impish Princess of Yan Capital could articte her point so coherently and convincingly.

    "Oh, the princess understands governance?"

    "Of course! As part of the royal family, how can she not be interested in the affairs of the state?"

    "That¡¯s true... but she¡¯s Ping Yang!"

    The officials discussed softly.

    Chi Hou looked at Ping Yang in surprise. He knew that with Ping Yang¡¯s support, this matter may eventually turn out well.

    "Your Highness, Princess, you have really matured in the past year!" Chi Hou sighed to himself. He nced at Xing Yuanguo, realizing why Xing Yuanguo had previously stopped him.

    At this moment, another youth appeared behind Emperor Lin Mubai. His eyes gleamed a trace of sharpness.

    "Father, the Princess of the Southern Region was right. I think this case has more than meets the eye. Although today might not be a good time to settle this, it will be an honorable act for you as a wise emperor to serve justice for the Southern Region and give them a reasonable answer!" Prince Lin Xinjue finally voiced, as he dropped to a kneel.

    This matter had developed beyond his expectation.

    In any case, everyone was certain of Emperor Li Mubai¡¯s attitude.

    It was said that if an emperor had made a mistake, he should be punished like amoner. But since when had an emperor been interrogated by the court?

    In the same vein...

    Even if the crown prince had made a mistake, how would he, as the future sessor of the throne, be scrutinized in full view of the public?

    Lin Xinjue, raised in a royal family, could naturally empathize with this more than anyone else. This sentiment was shared by all the officials too.

    But now, it was different.

    Pressured by Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and the Princess of the Southern Region, and with the Ninth Prince Lin Yun¡¯s tantrum and Ping Yang¡¯s enlightenment, the situation waspletely different.

    Lin Xinjue seized this golden opportunity to say his opinion.

    "I also feel that there is something suspicious in this case. Your Majesty, please investigate further!" Chi Hou added as he stood out.

    Neither did Chi Hou waste this opportunity.

    Among the crowd, Wen Dabao watched as Prince Lin Xinjue and Divine Constabry Chi Hou kneeled, his eyes lit up with optimism.

    "There¡¯s a chance, now there¡¯s really a chance!" Wen Dabao was ted.

    But Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s look was extremely grave as he red bitterly.

    The officials exchanged looks as they noticed Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression. Some finally spoke up after a few moments of hesitation.

    "Your Majesty, that was only one side of the story with many unverified ims. If this case were overturned so simply, we would make a fool of ourselves. How about..."

    "Yes, Your Majesty, this is an issue with vast implications, please deliberate carefully!"

    "Your Majesty, it has already been a year since, yet there is insufficient evidence for the Southern Region case. May I suggest sending someone to verify the facts before making a decision!"

    These officials knelt as they spoke.

    "This matter requires swift judgment, yet you try to hinder its progress. With such indecisive officials, how would we ever achieve great sess?" Chi Hou red coldly at these kneeling officials as he shot back.

    In this situation...

    With the Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu brought away, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Manpower and the Minister of Works unconscious, how could these Rank 3 or 4 officials rally against the Divine Constabry¡¯s authority?

    These officials shivered andid low.

    The rest of the officials swiftly lowered their heads. Southern Region Princess Shan Yu¡¯s roastmb had poisoned arge portion of officials.

    More importantly...

    Most of these officials held Rank 1 or 2.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s influence in the Imperial Halls went down with most of the officials on the ground. Many of those left standing held merely Rank 3 or 4.

    To make matters worse, only a handful held Rank 3.

    How could theypare to Chi Hou?

    How could a few Rank 3 or 4 officials argue against a mighty Rank 1 Army Marquis? Naturally, they fell silent.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression was utterly grim.

    Although he was part of the case, he could not say his thoughts. Furthermore, his injury made speaking too difficult.

    But...

    He couldn¡¯t ept this.

    He simply couldn¡¯t. He had not expected nor prepared for what happened today. It was all too sudden, too unbelievable.

    Among all the officials, more than 80 percent has chosen their side.

    With that, would they still lose?

    If he hadn¡¯t witnessed this today, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would have never believed his advantage had entirely reversed.

    Usually, for all matters above the Imperial Halls, provided he did not resort to violence, even Emperor Lin Mubai let him have his way.

    But what happened today?

    How did it be like this?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong itched to rush up close. Yet he could not, for he was now the Crown Prince. He could not defend himself.

    And so, he could only clench his teeth and endure.

    At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai turned toward Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, then took a sweeping nce at the manymoners in shock and disbelief.

    Finally, he looked at all the officials.

    "Wen Chuan." Emperor Lin Mubai finally spoke.

    "At your service!" a figure scurried out from the crowd of officials and knelt on the floor. As the newly appointed Law Official, he was under the spotlight. He was Wen Dabao¡¯s father, Wen Chuan.

    Emperor Lin Mubai nced at Wen Chuan, then at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "You are the Law Official. What do you think is suspicious in this case?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked.

 Chapter 534: An Unbelievable Outcome

    Chapter 534: An Unbelievable Oue

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Upon hearing Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s question, the officials waited for Wen Chuan¡¯s response in anticipation. After all, he was the one of the most clear-headed among them.

    As the Law Official, a member of the distinguished Six Council Officials, it was only natural for Emperor Lin Mubai to ask of Wen Chuan¡¯s opinion.

    But...

    How would Wen Chuan answer the Emperor?

    After all, although the Crown Prince and Prince Lin Xinjue took a liking to his new role as the Law Official, Wen Chuan had only been on the job for a short period of time.

    But whose side would Wen Chuan be on was still a mystery.

    Upon hearing Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s question, Wen Chuan briefly froze. He mulled it over, with his head lowered, his expressions conveyed a trace of anxiety, as if he had not noticed Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze.

    And then he spoke.

    "Your Majesty, in my opinion, this case has numerous suspicious points, and Fang Zhengzhi has stated that he has evidence. Therefore, I think... it should be investigated!" With that, he kneeled, with his head kept low.

    Wen Chuan was apparently petrified. But the other officials were stupefied as they heard his response.

    Anyone could¡¯ve understood Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze at the Crown Prince, yet Wen Chuan hadpletely missed the point?

    Was he stupid?

    It was impossible!

    Though Wen Chuan had not held office as the Law Official for long, he had worked in the Law Council for over a decade. Had he not learned to observe the Emperor¡¯s expressions? Had he really failed to interpret Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze?

    In the end, Wen Chuan hadpletely ignored Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s hint and gave a clear response.

    Such a clear, direct response.

    "It should be investigated!"

    This could not happen in the Imperial Halls where one naturally put his safety before his principles. After all, every official should be adept at guessing the Emperor¡¯s sentiments, not to mention one who has recently taken office.

    Even if he could not guess the Emperor¡¯s sentiments immediately, Wen Chuan should have given an ambiguous response to protect himself. How could he straightforwardly reply that this case should be investigated?

    All the officials stared at a kneeling Wen Chuan in utter disbelief.

    Even Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and Emperor Lin Mubai could not believe this.

    In fact, when Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw Emperor Lin Mubai looking towards him, he felt a moment of relief. Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s message was evident.

    Even if Wen Chuan did not fully take Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s side, surely, he could not have opposed the Emperor in public?

    Well, he had indeed missed the hint, as if he had ignored Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai could not ept this oue!

    "What nonsense are you talking about? As the Law Official, how could you make such a hasty decision with no evidence at all!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was enraged.

    He had to be enraged.

    He was under immense pressure. There was no way out for him.

    The conclusion of this case was definitely a matter of life and death for Crown Prince Lin Tianrong. Though he knew he was supposed to remain silent, he spoke up nheless.

    "Your Highness, this is based on facts. Fang Zhengzhi had already proved that he did not have the ability to kill, and he has said that he has the evidence. ording to thews, this case should be investigated!" Wen Chuan said, kneeling, with his head kept low.

    He was shivering in fear.

    The officials were speechless. No one would have expected Wen Chuan to openly argue with the Crown Prince.

    "You..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong struggled to find words. How could he say anything after this Rank 2 official countered him with thews?

    He clenched his fists, his face a pallor while he gasped for breath.

    "rgh!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong could not contain it any longer. A mouthful of blood sttered on the floor.

    The officials and countlessmoners were absolutely stunned. Did Wen Chuan really argue against the Crown Prince?

    How did this happen?

    No one understood. But with the situation having developed this way, even Emperor Lin Mubai could not favor him even if he wished to.

    Under the watchful eyes of so manymoners, Emperor Lin Mubai could not be seen to inly do so. And thus, the case was approaching its conclusion.

    But...

    Not a single person couldprehend how did this seemingly impossible case progress so fast?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance disrupted the meeting between the Emperor and the Princess of the Southern Region.

    This was punishable by death!

    Yet Fang Zhengzhi did not die and even confronted the Princess of the Southern Region. Thereafter, the mended on the silent Crown Prince Lin Tianrong beside them.

    And in a fit of rage, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong disputed against Fang Zhengzhi.

    And then...

    The matter has developed irreversibly.

    It began with the Princess of the Southern Region presenting her gift, her roastmb, which poisoned many officials. Then, Fang Zhengzhi revealed that the Ministry of Finance official Yue Hu¡¯s son had an affair with a servant. Finally, he fearlessly interrupted the Emperor.

    Any of these could be punishable by death.

    But in the end?

    The newly appointed Law Official Wen Chuan surprisingly said: "it should be investigated!"

    How was this in any way conceivable? Although the matter was reaching its end, the officials andmoners were still lost in their thoughts.

    Emperor Lin Mubai, too, momentarily looked as though he was in a trance, visibly shaken.

    He was about to speak when he saw Ping Yang, who was by his side.

    A word raced through his mind.

    Mirror!

    Then he was lost deep in his thoughts. Was I not a wise emperor?

    Time seemed to stop at this moment.

    There were neither noise nor movements, besides the asional breeze.

    Everyone turned their attention to Emperor Lin Mubai, waiting for the esteemed emperor to make the final call on this issue.

    After some time, Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes lit up.

    "Since Official Wen believes this case has suspicious points, then we shall investigate!" said Emperor Lin Mubai, as he stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The officials were all bewildered, but none dared to voice their objections. After all, this was an irrevocable oue.

    "The case is really overturned?"

    "Wouldn¡¯t this implicate the Crown Prince?"

    "The Emperor actually called for a public investigation?"

    Although the officials had expected this oue, it felt totally different hearing it from the Emperor.

    Well, this matter had developed too peculiarly, too unbelievable.

    When Emperor Lin Mubai dered the re-examination of this case, the officials had only one thought. Fang Zhengzhi did it. He really did it.

    He had aplished an impossible task.

    Was this a coincidence, or was it deliberate? What if it was deliberate? How much wisdom would it take for such an borate n to fall into ce?

    It was truly shocking.

    Another thought arose among the officials. If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t handicapped, if he maintained the same standard as he did in the Southern Region...

    Was Chi Guyan really the Chosen One as foretold in the Heavenly Prophecy?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s was constantly evolving. From being the Capital Examinations double roll Champion, Prefectural Examinations double roll champion, Imperial Examinations double roll champion, and now the Court Examinations...

    He excelled consistently. Perhaps too good to be true.

    But, there was someone even better.

    Chi Guyan.

    Regardless of talent or origin, Fang Zhengzhi was dwarfed inparison to Chi Guyan. Strangely, everyone pondered about this.

    When Fang Zhengzhi became a handicapped man, they sobbed in their hearts and thought of this. A notion they would never have dared to think of.

    The surroundingmoners were roused.

    In addition to themoners, thousands of Southern Region soldiers behind Southern Region Princess Shan Yu cheered in their hearts.

    "It has been a year, and finally the case is overturned!"

    "Finally, justice can be served!"

    The Southern Region soldiers remained still in their position, but their faces beamed with excitement.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Southern Region Princess Shan Yu saluted Emperor Lin Mubai, though she knew for a fact that this was only a re-examination of the case, not its conclusion.

    But...

    To her, this was already an extraordinary feat.

    "Your Majesty, I have another request." Yan Xiu said, after saluting Emperor Lin Mubai.

    The astonished yet excited officials andmoners grew silent upon hearing Yan Xiu.

    Doubt and confusion were now in their minds.

    Since Emperor Lin Mubai has dered to re-examine the case, what else could Yan Xiu ask for?

    "What is your request, Yan Xiu?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Yan Xiu, his smile carrying a trace of doubt.

 Chapter 535: Re-announcing the Golden Roll, to Imperial Decree Hall!

    Chapter 535: Re-announcing the Golden Roll, to Imperial Decree Hall!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Your Majesty, do you remember what you said a year ago at the Imperial Decree Hall, during the announcement of the Imperial Examinations Golden Roll?" Yan Xiu asked directly, showing no signs of hesitation.

    "A year ago, the Imperial Decree Hall..." Emperor Lin Mubai squinted slightly at Yan Xiu, then nced at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I remember!" he replied.

    "Your Majesty, you once said that if Fang Zhengzhi stood before you and stated that he did not kill the Southern Region Noblelite, you would personally mention him in the Golden Roll. Or have I remembered incorrectly?" said Yan Xiu.

    "You didn¡¯t." Emperor Lin Mubai said as he shook his head.

    "In this case, your Majesty, please honor this promise!" Yan Xiu said with a straight face as he saluted the emperor once again.

    Hearing this, the officials dropped their jaws, exchanging looks.

    Of course, they had remembered clearly this incident a year ago at the Imperial Decree Hall.

    That day, when Yan Xiu nominated Fang Zhengzhi for the Golden Roll, not only did Emperor Lin Mubai refuse, he was furious.

    After that, Yan Xiu left Yan Capital and refused to participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    Since then, Yan Xiu has stayed in Western Liang for over a year and never stepped foot in Yan Capital. And today, he decided to bring up the past...

    How was this act any different from challenging the emperor?

    Moreover, it was nearly two years since that Imperial Examination. If the next Imperial Examination was imminent, then they could¡¯ve waited for it. What was the point of bringing up the previous Imperial Examination?

    For fairness!

    Indeed, this made sense. But Yan Xiu¡¯s mention of this matter seemed even more outrageous than the overturning of Crown Prince¡¯s case. Because this would implicate the emperor himself!

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expressions started to change, while his gaze swept across the encircling band of shocked officials and confusedmoners nearby.

    He had to think quickly.

    A year ago, he had personally announced the Golden Roll. If he were to change its mention, he would have to announce it all over again.

    It was like pping his own face.

    Indeed, Emperor Lin Mubai felt embarrassed, but it was also a fact that he had announced personally announced it in the presence of all the officials.

    But how could he go back on his word?

    After a moment of thought, heid his eyes on Fang Zhengzhi. With his eyes lit up, he cleared his throat.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what do you think?"

    "Since it is mine, why would I reject it? Of course, even if it is not mine, while others are willing to give, I won¡¯t mind keeping it." Fang Zhengzhi said candidly as he stepped beside Yan Xiu.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid that it would be too much?" Emperor Lin Mubai retorted. He took a good look at his surrounding and waved at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Why would it be too much?" Puzzled, Fang Zhengzhi stayed rooted in his position.

    "Official Fang, Your Majesty wants you to get closer!" Eunuch Wei pointed out as he saw Fang Zhengzhi remained motionless.

    "Get closer? Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi, too, surveyed the surroundings. With a dazed expression, he reached beside Emperor Lin Mubai, and then asked, "Your Majesty, how may I help you?"

    Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Fang Zhengzhi and shook his head in frustration. Although Fang Zhengzhi was superbly intelligent, he could also be a real annoyance.

    "Regarding the Golden Roll, you should give it more thought. Since you cannot train now, that ranking in the Imperial Examinations would be useless for you now, isn¡¯t it?" Emperor Lin Mubai said audibly. Yet his words were heard only by Fang Zhengzhi, as though an imaginary veil separated them and the rest of the world.

    "How is it useless? I think it¡¯s useful." Fang Zhengzhi replied immediately.

    "What use would it be? For honor? Or reputation? If you wanted these, here I could betterpensate you. If you don¡¯t enjoy being an official, how would you like some money?" Emperor Lin Mubai, too, said candidly. At this juncture, knowing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality, he didn¡¯t seem to mind anymore.

    "No, I have enough money!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "How much?" Emperor Lin Mubai said, a little startled. That felt strange, as though a greedy person said he had enough money.

    "Ten of Southern Region¡¯srgest gold mines." Fang Zhengzhi said as he pointed to Southern Region Princess Shan Yu, revealing a contract.

    "Oh..." Emperor Lin Mubai was surprised.

    Looking at the red seal and Shan Yu¡¯s signature on the contract, he finally understood why Fang Zhengzhi could not return to Yan Capital from the Southern Region.

    He had seized ten gold mines in the Southern Region.

    If it were anyone else, they would have killed him after the war.

    "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, please honor your promise." Fang Zhengzhi said while he kept the contract, as Emperor Lin Mubai fell silent.

    "Wait a minute. Can you tell me, why do you want so badly for me to mention you on the Golden Roll?" Emperor Lin Mubai said, roused and determined to know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motive.

    "It is for an agreement." Fang Zhengzhi replied after giving it some thought.

    "An agreement?"

    "Yes, an agreement established long ago."

    "Can you tell me what agreement it is?"

    "Sure."

    "Go on."

    "I will naturally say it after Your Majesty has mentioned me on Golden Roll."

    Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned. He finally understood how Crown Prince Lin Tianrong felt when he was fooled by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Can¡¯t you say it now?"

    "No!"

    "Alright, can you at least tell me when it was established?" Emperor Lin Mubai said. At this moment, a memory of one agreement shed in his mind.

    An agreement Fang Zhengzhi established at the Divine Constabry.

    During then...

    Fang Zhengzhi had just passed the Prefectural Examinations and attended the feast at the Divine Constabry. It was then when Chi Guyan publicly said he had some agreement with Fang Zhengzhi.

    That matter urred long ago, and no one expected had the agreement woulde to fruition. But times have changed, and Fang Zhengzhi now held apletely different status. If this was the agreement Fang Zhengzhi was talking about, then Emperor Lin Mubai had to give it some deep thought indeed.

    "When was it established? It was around... after the Imperial Examinations." Fang Zhengzhi recalled.

    "After the Imperial Examinations?" Emperor Lin Mubai, startled, started searching for answers in his mind. It was also after the Imperial Examinations when Fang Zhengzhi was appointed the Rank 4 Sword Envoy. In the period, hadn¡¯t he returned to Northern Mountain Vige to visit rtives? With this thought, Emperor Lin Mubai said: "Was it established at the Northern Mountain Vige?"

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Indeed, his agreement with Chi Guyan was established at the Northern Mountain Vige. So, he replied as such.

    "I see. It seems that you insist on me mentioning you in the Golden Roll?" Lin Mubai nodded. Considering Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s background as a in viger, it seemed natural for him to have reached some agreement with his parents or elders in the vige before attending the Court Examinations.

    "Of course." Fang Zhengzhi replied firmly.

    "Not at all negotiable?"

    "No!"

    "Alright. So, you want me to mention you in the Golden Roll at the Imperial Decree Hall, but do you wish to let my great officialsy on the ground forever?" Emperor Lin Mubai said as he scanned through the many officials sprawled on the ground.

    With the situation developed this way, if he hadn¡¯t guessed the rtion between Shan Yu¡¯s roastmb and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n, he wasn¡¯t fit to be the emperor.

    "Oh... there aren¡¯t many antidotes left, and it¡¯s pretty expensive." Fang Zhengzhi seemed embarrassed.

    "Don¡¯t bargain with me and wake them up now. Don¡¯t you own ten gold mines?" Emperor Lin Mubai retorted sternly.

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Prepare the carriage for the Imperial Decree Hall!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice filled Yan Capital.

    "Yes!" Eunuch Wei replied immediately. He raised his voice: "Prepare the carriage for the Imperial Decree Hall!"

    This cascaded through the pce in a series of echoes.

    But the officials couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Was the emperor really going to re-announce the Golden Roll? Wasn¡¯t this... quite unbelievable?

    While Emperor Lin Mubai slowly strode toward the Pce gate, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu distributed the antidote to the officials.

    When the other officials saw this, they exchanged looks as they hesitated to help them.

    But...

    From a short distance away, they noticed Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes held with the purest form of evil and hatred.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression as he hastily withdrew his antidote and passed some to Yan Xiu.

    "Yan Xiu, after my mention in the Golden Roll, let¡¯s participate in the uing Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. When that happens, I hope you won¡¯t be my burden!" Fang Zhengzhi said while he distributed the antidote.

    "Plonk!"

    The surrounding officials fell as they heard this.

    A handicapped person shamelessly telling the one with the boundless potential to not be his burden? How ridiculous.

    But hold on!

    He¡¯s participating in the uing Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?!

 Chapter 536: A surprise For All, And Su Qingâ€™s Motive

    Chapter 536: A surprise For All, And Su Qing¡¯s Motive

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "He¡¯s crazy!" thought all the officials. How could a handicapped man even think of participating in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?

    Did he really think he could pass Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test by luck too?

    Not a chance!

    The biennial Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test was hosted personally by the Heaven Dao Pavilion. With no exception even for the Great Xia Dynasty, only the top three in the Court Examinations could attain the right to participate. Merely the right to participate.

    Each Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test saw no less than 100 candidates.

    In other words, besides the Great Xia Dynasty, brilliant contestants from many countriespeted in this test. A congregation of the most distinguished elites.

    On that day, countless elites would appear.

    Every single one would be superbly talented. As a matter of fact, having attained candidature for the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, they had to possess exceptional mastery in their skills.

    But what about Fang Zhengzhi?

    As a person handicapped in his abilities, how could he even expect to survive?

    The officials were dumbfounded.

    Even Emperor Lin Mubai, who had reached the pce gate, stopped when he heard this.

    "This person wants to participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?" Emperor Lin Mubai turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was chatting with Yan Xiu. He, too, was astonished.

    But Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t. He simply replied: "I am powerful!"

    "That¡¯s great. When the timees, I¡¯ll just simply get the first ce, but I¡¯ll leave the second for you." Fang Zhengzhi nodded in a bright smile.

    "Oh!"

    "Must you really be this shameless?"

    "His face is indeed thicker than the city walls. What does he think the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test is? A game? Is it that simple to get first ce?"

    The officials were speechless.

    They had better notment, for Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s maddened expressions were obvious for all see.

    So...

    The biggest problem stilly with the Crown Prince.

    Had Fang Zhengzhi simply attained the first ce, the officials could onlyugh it off.

    "Official Fang, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t support you, but it¡¯s just that... Haha!" Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t help but giggle hysterically.

    Two hourster...

    The officials stood while they waited at the Imperial Decree Hall, their expressions totally differentpared to when Southern Region Princess had just arrived in Yan Capital.

    Especially so for the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Rites, and Ministry of Works officials.

    These few officials felt profound injustice that they were poisoned by a piece of roastmb. But that had already happened, what else could they do about it?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong looked awfully bitter. Though he had sustained serious injuries, with his face in a sickly pallor, he had not excused himself.

    The reason was simple...

    He wanted to see Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s proudest moments and etch them deeply in his mind.

    Compared to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression was much better. Overturning the Southern Region case brought him the greatest reward and opportunity.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, listen up!" Eunuch Wei¡¯s voice rang.

    "Yes." Nodded Fang Zhengzhi. He stepped toward the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall and saluted to Eunuch Wei and Emperor Li Mubai.

    Eunuch Wei did not like this.

    He did not appreciate Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s faults in formalities, but since Emperor Lin Mubai didn¡¯t seem to mind, he certainly could not reprimand Fang Zhengzhi.

    "This is the Emperor¡¯s decree. Fang Zhengzhi holds the first ce in the previous Court Examinations. He obtains the top results and shall be mentioned in the Golden Roll!" Eunuch Wei¡¯s sharp, piercing voice rose again.

    Emperor Lin Mubai slowly walked towards the golden rock erected outside near the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall. Upon motioning his fingers in a few swipes, a name appeared on the golden rock.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    Right beside Nan Gonghao¡¯s name.

    Seeing the name imprinted on the golden rock, the officials looked at one another with mixed expressions.

    He made it to the Golden Roll!

    Fang Zhengzhi, an average viger of Northern Mountain Vige, in the Law of Dao Examinations, started off from the Capital Examinations. He then made his way as the Capital Examinations double roll Champion, Prefectural Examinations double roll champion, Imperial Examinations double roll champion, Court Examinations double roll champion...

    This was a legend one that no one could surpass. Because no one could ever surpass him at his current position.

    The whole city celebrated his entry into the Golden Roll!

    Since the decree, the pce was filled with excitement.

    "Fang Zhengzhi ranked first in thebat examinations and tops the Court Examinations!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi ranked first in thebat examinations and tops the Court Examinations!"

    "..."

    As these voices emerged from the pce, Royal Guards who were guarding its entrance began to distribute the flyers.

    In Yan Capital, as countlessmoners read the flyers held upon their hands, all were shocked by the news.

    "What is going on?"

    "Hasn¡¯t the Court Examinations yet tomence?"

    "Today, at the pce gate, Fang Zhengzhi was absolved of his misunderstandings. The emperor re-announced his position as the first in the Golden Roll!

    "Really? The Southern Region case would implicate the Crown Prince!"

    "It is true, and this has spread all around Yan Capital. With the Southern Region case overturned, Fang Zhengzhi is re-announced as the first in the Golden Roll, no doubt with that!"

    To all themoners, this was unbelievable.

    Among this chatter, a few softly discussed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention of participating in the uing Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. But these voices were insignificant.

    Because everyoneughed it off.

    "Participating in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test? Haha... How is this possible? I believe he just mentioned that thoughtlessly. When the timees, he might just hide away with an excuse."

    "This makes sense. Fang Zhengzhi seems to be someone who would do something like that!"

    "Ha ha ha..."

    Although the people did not believe Fang Zhengzhi would actually participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, none of them held any doubts about him attaining the first ce in the Court Examinations.

    As a matter of fact, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance while fighting the war in the Southern Region had spread throughout the whole Yan Capital and Great Xia Dynasty.

    The golden imperial flyers hung on Yan Capital¡¯s four entrances, while the soldiers stationed at these gates spread the message to every state and residence of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Although this Golden Roll mention came a littlete, but...

    It had a much greater impactpared to the previous one. Because this mention came entangled with a big case, the Southern Region case.

    ...

    At Eastern Pce, the Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    "Clink!" A white jade cup was smashed on the ground to a million pieces.

    Two imperial doctors hastily dropped to their knees, petrified. Behind the imperial doctors, more than 10 officials dressed in court attire lowered their heads.

    "Get out!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong roared.

    "Yes, yes..." The two imperial doctors walked out of the room immediately as they wiped sweat dripping from their foreheads. They werepletely soaked.

    Upon seeing this, the officials exchanged looks. Then an official stood out and walked to the center of the study.

    "Your Highness, the only solution left is to push the me to Su Qing!"

    "Yes, Official Wang has a point. Didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi mention that he has Su Qing¡¯s murder evidence? Since he had said so, we should simply follow his ns, when the timees he won¡¯t have anything else toment." Another official said.

    "That¡¯s right. A man of great ambition does not bother about trifles, and every warrior has a weakness. Your Highness, there is no meaning in continuing to protect Su Qing."

    "It is great that the emperor still wishes to protect Your Highness. As long as the Southern Region case produces no concrete evidence, Your Highness remains the sessor of the Eastern Pce. In a few years¡¯ time, Your Highness would still ascend the throne!"

    "Your Highness should be patient for the time being. With Fang Zhengzhi now handicapped, he could only remain as an official. When Your Highness bes the emperor, how would seeking revenge be any difficult?"

    One by one, the officials cautiously advised the pale-faced Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "What are you waiting for? Arrange for someone to go to the Northern Lands immediately!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said with his fists and teeth in a tight clench.

    "Yes!" an official epted the order.

    "Your Highness, you can¡¯t do this!" another official stopped.

    "Why not? Shall we wait for Su Qing toe here for a confrontation?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong scowled, staring coldly at the official who stopped him.

    "Of course not. But Su Qing has trained for about a year in the Northern Lands. If we were to suddenly attack Su Qing, he would react adversely."

    "What do you suggest?"

    "I believe the best way is to lure Su Qing into Yan Capital, attacking him on his way here. Even if the assassination failed, it is still better for Su Qing to be in Yan Capital than the Northern Lands!"

    "How to lure him here? He is now the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries. With the news of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mention in the Golden Roll and overturning of the case spreading far and wide, how would he enter Yan Capital?"

    "This..." The official was lost for words.

    The rest of the officials shook their heads. It was too difficult to lure Su Qing into Yan Capital. With this situation, nothing could fully convince Su Qing for such a visit.

    "A bunch of idiots!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong berated, tightening his fists. Compared to Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, these officials significantlycked intelligence.

    This made him mad.

    "I want to meet the Left Prime Minister, go arrange a meeting!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said spitefully, grinding his teeth. Fang Zhengzhi, you cut off my arm, do you think I would let you off this easily?

    "This..." The officials hesitated.

    "Is there a problem?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong sulked. As the esteemed Crown Prince, the next emperor of Great Xia Dynasty, he was unable to meet someone he wanted. This certainly made him furious.

    "Your Highness, as you know, the Law Council is headed by Wen Chuan. As you have seen today, Wen Chuan is obviously working for King Duan!" The officials shook their head dejectedly.

    "So what? I cannot meet him?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong said coldly.

    The officials fell silent once again and lowered their heads. It was too difficult to meet Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. Especially in this situation, without the Law Council arranging this secretly, it was an impossible task.

    The Law Council!

    As though a fish bone had stuck in their throats, the officials were kept silent.

    At this moment, a thought arose within the officials: why was the Law Official Wan Chong the first target of Fang Zhengzhi once he entered the Capital?

    Could it be that...

    This was all in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n?

    If that was true, it was scary indeed.

    Silence ensued.

    Suddenly, two gentle knocks came from the door, and a voice from outside the study soon followed.

    "Your Highness, the Law Official has sent for me to deliver a letter!"

    "Wen Chuan?!"

    "Why would he write us a letter?"

    The officials could not believe this.

    "Come in!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong quickly said, though he also had doubts.

    All the officials stared at the study door.

    As the door creaked open, a servant dressed in ck walked into the study. In his hands carried a sealed envelope.

    The servant walked toward the center of the study, dropping to his knees, he presented the envelope.

    An official received the envelope, walked to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and passed it to him.

    He opened the envelope quickly, and suddenly his sullen expression changed.

    "Your Highness, what did Wen Chuan say?" an official asked cautiously.

    "Read it yourself." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong passed the letter to the official.

    His eyes scanned the letter, then stopped, staring straight at the letter while his jaw dropped.

    Seeing this, the other officials gathered closely.

    But...

    As they saw the letter, they had the same reason. As if they had just seen a ghost.

    Because its contents were so clear. Too simple.

    It was only a sentence!

    "Su Qing has entered the capital!"

    But more importantly, this was clearly not Wen Chuan¡¯s handwriting. Wen Chuan had served as an official for more than a decade, how could they not recognize his handwriting?

    But this was obviously not the main point.

    The main point was...

    Why would Su Qing enter the capital? Entering the capital at a time like this? Without notifying the Crown Prince beforehand?

 Chapter 537: The Suspicious Impersonation

    Chapter 537: The Suspicious Impersonation

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    It would require about 10 days to travel, without stopping, from the Northern Lands to Yan Capital. Yet, Su Qing arrived at Yan Capital at this moment.

    How would the officials not be shocked?

    Because it had also been about 10 days since Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival. In other words, when Fang Zhengzhi had stepped foot in Yan Capital, Su Qing had departed from the Northern Lands.

    No matter how one wrapped his head around this, it simply seemed impossible.

    Were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival in Yan Capital and Su Qing¡¯s departure from the Northern Lands a coincidence? Or was it a deliberate move?

    More importantly, as the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, his needed a reason to enter the capital. What was his reason then? What was his motive?

    None of these officials could make sense of it.

    "Your Highness, now that Su Qing has entered the pce, should we... make some preparations?" One of the officials asked after hesitating, though he wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was the right question to ask.

    Because no matter Su Qing¡¯s intention for his visit, granted the current circumstances, they could not let Su Qing live. They could not let him meet the emperor, nor step into the Law Council hall.

    "Yes, regardless of the reason of Su Qing¡¯s visit, Your Highness, please make a decision quickly!"

    "Your Highness, Su Qing cannot live!"

    "Su Qing¡¯s arrival in Yan Capital means he knew of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s overturning of the case. Your Highness, please do not hesitate any longer!"

    After a brief exchange of looks, the officials poured their suggestions.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grasped his fist. In the contest for the throne, a single misstep would cost him everything. Every decision had to be deliberated carefully because it might just change everything.

    He wanted very much to slowly think through the most appropriate course of action or to meet Su Qing and inquire the reason for his visit.

    But it seemed that he had not much time left.

    Because this letter was ordered to be delivered here by the Law Official. If everything had gone smoothly, at that moment when the Law Official sent this letter here, the action had already begun. How could he hesitate any further?

    Just as he wished to respond, another official stood out.

    "Your Highness, I think there is something suspicious about this..." he said, furrowing his brows in a worried expression.

    As the subordinates of the "real dragon", there was no chance of backing out for them. When this "real dragon" bes a "useless dragon", they wouldn¡¯t see better days ahead too.

    "How is it suspicious?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong asked intently.

    "In my opinion, Su Qing would not step into the capital at this moment. Even if he wanted to, he would¡¯ve notified Your Highness. To depart ten days ago, how is that possible..."

    "Are you saying this is a ruse?!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was shocked. Perturbed by this thought, he could not think straight.

    But when he had calmed down, he realized that this matter seemed suspicious too.

    Ten days ago, Fang Zhengzhi entered Yan Capital.

    Then, the Law Official Wan Chong, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the Ministry of Defence official had not been imprisoned. Even the overturning of the case had not been mentioned.

    How could Su Qing have predicted these and entered the capital in advance?

    "Yes, since Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival in the capital, we have been under his control. I think this is part of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n, to bait us into action so that he could have our murder evidence!" The official replied after some thought.

    "Official Wang has a point. Had he not raised this, we would¡¯ve yed into the hands of this shameless fellow!" Another agreed.

    "Exactly, that was close!"

    "In my view, we should immediately send a message to the Northern Lands. Once we have fully grasped the matter at hand, then it would be a better time to strike!" Official Wang added.

    "Wouldn¡¯t it be toote to send a message to the Northern Lands? What if it isn¡¯t a ruse, and Su Qing had indeed entered the capital..." another doubted.

    Sending a message to the Northern Lands and waiting for their response would take about two to three days. But with the situation at hand, someone named Su Qing had entered the capital!

    Was this really the case?

    No one had an answer!

    "Today we had lost the fight at the pce gate. If we strike suddenly and get caught red-handed by Fang Zhengzhi, we would really have nothing to say!" Official Wang debated.

    "It is ancient wisdom tobat change with consistency. We must remain calm when faced with challenges. Although this matter is urgent, we can still wait for two or three more days."

    "Yes. Even if the Law Council calls for an investigation, they will need time to prepare. And to investigate the Chief of Five Constabries, the emperor would have to approve of it. The Law Council could only lock him up as a suspect, they can¡¯t do much to him!"

    "That¡¯s right. I agree with Official Wang. For the time being, we shall not make any moves!"

    Upon hearing Official Wang¡¯s reasoning, the other officials nodded in agreement.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was in a dilemma. As the officials had discussed, no one could confirm whether the person who had entered was actually Su Qing.

    If they were to act rashly, there may be worse implications.

    Three days...

    "Send a letter to the Northern Lands now, check if Su Qing had indeed entered the capital!" After a moment of hesitation, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong ordered.

    The reason was simple. He had such a thought.

    The person who sent for the letter was the Law Official. In other words, Prince Lin Xinjue deliberate wanted him to know that Su Qing had arrived in the capital.

    With that, he also decided to wait for a few days.

    "Yes!" The officials nodded their heads in agreement.

    ...

    At Yan Capital, King Duan¡¯s residence.

    King Duan¡¯s residence seemed much livelier than before. Surrounding a feast, more than ten officials drank till their faces flushed pink.

    "Congrattions, Your Highness. With the crown prince mired in the Southern Region case, your dream of ascending the throne is one more step closer to reality!" An official raised his cup in a toast.

    King Duan, Lin Xinjue, smiled slightly.

    It wasn¡¯t a novel sight for Lin Xinjue¡¯s subordinates to curry his favor. In fact, a year ago, this was disyed even more frequently.

    At that time, in the Imperial Halls, more than half of the officials sided with the crown prince, but quite a significant portion of them secretly favored Lin Xinjue too.

    Yet, in a little more than a year, his residence had been considerably empty and deste. Until today, when it restored some of its former glory.

    Only some, though.

    "Official Li¡¯s words came a little too early. The Southern Region case hasn¡¯t concluded, and now everyone is pointing the me at Su Qing, seemingly unrted to the crown prince," Lin Xinjue replied.

    "Your Highness, you are just being humble. Even if the me is pointed at Su Qing, there are some things that are clearly obvious to us. And even if the Southern Region case fails to crush the crown prince, the emperor¡¯s trust in him would still be weakened. Is this not the best chance for Your Highness re-enter the Imperial Halls?" Official Li said, smiling in another bow.

    "Is that so?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s eyes shed a gleam.

    He did not immediately respond to the officials, because he knew that it was still too early for a celebration. But, he remained confident that his residence would grow even livelier in time toe.

    And that day wouldn¡¯t be too far away.

    "Your Highness!"

    At this moment, a golden-armored guard ran here from a far distance away, then kneeled in front of Lin Xinjue.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" Lin Xinjue fretted slightly.

    "Law Official Wen Chuan delivers a letter." The guard replied while reaching into his shirt for the letter sealed in an envelope.

    "Wen Chuan?" Lin Xinjue wondered. He seemed have reached a thought to which he smiled. "Hand it over."

    "Yes!" The guard presented him the letter.

    Upon seeing this, the officials exchanged looks and saw a hint of a smile in one another. Wen Chuan¡¯s letter meant something obvious.

    Today at the pce entrance, Wen Chuan publicly dered that the Southern Region case should be investigated. This showed his stance on this matter.

    And now, he has sent a letter.

    Naturally, it wasn¡¯t suspicious.

    With this line of thought, the officials began to calm down. As a matter of fact, they took a gamble by choosing their sides when the Southern Region case had not yet concluded.

    But it seems...

    This risk was very worthwhile. Because once Lin Xinjue had Wen Chuan¡¯s favor, it would be very advantageous for his situation.

    Lin Xinjue was also considerably excited.

    If Wen Chuan had really sided with him, it would effectively silence the crown prince. In time toe, the cases of the Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, the two Law Ministers, and the original Law Official Wan Chong would see the light of day.

    Especially the Law Official Wang Chong¡¯s case. Nearly half the entire Imperial Hall was involved in it. But once it has been investigated, each case would follow suit.

    When all the crown prince¡¯s officials had been punished, who would still dare to side the crown prince?

    With this thought, Lin Xinjue smiled brighter than ever. But as he opened the envelope, his smile froze.

    Because...

    The letter was not about forming alliances, instead, it only bore a single sentence. The words did not bear Wen Chuan¡¯s handwriting, its content clear and concise.

    "Su Qing has entered the capital!"

    Lin Xinjue immediately furrowed his brows. With this letter in his hand, the joyful smiles have been wiped off from his face.

    The officials wondered what had brought such a sudden change.

    "Your Highness, what does the letter say?" an official asked cautiously.

    "Su Qing has entered the capital!" Lin Xinjue nced at the official, then the rest of the officials. He inhaled deeply and gave his reply.

    "What?!"

    "Su Qing has entered the capital?!"

    "So fast? Shouldn¡¯t he be in the Northern Lands?"

    The officials were shocked after hearing the news.

    Mister Hua, sitting beside Lin Xinjue and dressed like a schr, also revealed a confused expression.

    "Your Highness, this is a ruse!" Mister Hua eximed after giving it some thought.

    "How do you see this, Mister Hua?" Upon hearing that, Lin Xinjue nodded slightly and turned to Mister Hua, seeking his opinion.

    "If I have guessed correctly, this is part of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n to bait the crown prince into action. He sent us this letter, so we could stop the crown prince!"

    "Stop the crown prince?"

    ¡¯Yes, there are two possibilities here. First, Fang Zhengzhi wants to use our power to catch the crown prince¡¯s current state, and second..." At this point, Mister Hua squinted slightly, was not sure if he should continue.

    "What is the second possibility?" Lin Xinjue asked intently.

    "If it were another person, this would not be too probable, but if it¡¯s indeed Fang Zhengzhi, then this possibility is high. And it is for a pretense to be true!"

    "For a pretense to be true? Mister Hua, what do you mean?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi wishes to convict the crown prince using a fake Su Qing. Then, once the crown prince¡¯s emotions are ruffled, he would make mistakes and thereby reach a verdict!"

    "Huhh!"

    All the officials gasped after hearing Mister Hua¡¯s predictions.

    Sending someone to act as Su Qing and setting up a trap for the Crown Prince.

    Something like this...

    No one could have even ventured such a thought!

    Because this would be equal to lying to the Imperial Court, a crime of lying to the emperor. But, if this was really nned by Fang Zhengzhi, then it could be possible after all.

    "But if the emperor sent a message to the Northern Lands, would Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n still seed?" One of the officials asked after pondering for a moment.

    "Before today, how could we even fathom Fang Zhengzhi could overturn the case?" Mister Hua asked while looking at the officials. His eyes gleamed and he continued: "We cannot underestimate Fang Zhengzhi, he isn¡¯t one who does things by conventional logic!"

    "Mister Hua as a point!"

    "What should we do now?"

    "Should we help him?"

    The officials looked at one another and nodded.

    "Help him, of course, we will help him!" Lin Xinjue smirked. "No matter what happens, the oue won¡¯t implicate us. Why should we not help?"

    "Your Highness¡¯ opinion is wise!"

    "Correct. If the n worked, it would be our credit. Otherwise, the me would all be shifted to Fang Zhengzhi. This matter would only bring us benefit and we would have nothing to lose!"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    The officials nodded in agreement once again.

    But at this moment, another guard hurriedly ran here. He seemed petrified.

    "Your Highness, Your Highness..."

    "What¡¯s the matter again?" Lin Xinjue stowed the letter, his eyes shot an icy gleam. For today¡¯s feast with the officials, he had ordered it not to be interrupted unless it was an urgent issue.

    "Your Highness, the Chief of the Five Constabries wishes to see you!"

    "Chief of the Five Constabries? Which Chief of the Five Constabries?"

    "The Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, Su Qing, is outside the residence and wishes to see you!"

    "Su Qing? At my residence?"

 Chapter 538: The Truth About Su Qingâ€™s Arrival in the Capital

    Chapter 538: The Truth About Su Qing¡¯s Arrival in the Capital

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    King Duan, Lin Xinjue could not believe this, because as Mister Hua and other officials guessed, this Su Qing character was nned by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why, then, would he arrive here at his residence?

    Could it be that...

    Shouldn¡¯t he be walking around Yan Capital to lure an attack from the crown prince? Or perhaps, while the crown prince hadn¡¯t the time to investigate the matter, go directly to Imperial Halls to submit the "evidence"?

    Why would hee to the Lin Xinjue¡¯s residence?

    Not only was Lin Xinjue puzzled, the officials were also momentarily shocked.

    "What exactly is Fang Zhengzhi doing?" Lin Xinjue shot an icy re. His face only showed confusion, and he felt very ufortable being unable to see through his ns.

    "Let¡¯s adapt to the situation. Your Highness, why don¡¯t you speak to this Su Qing to find out?" Mister Hua advised after thinking for a moment.

    "Hmm, Mister Hua has a point. Let him wait in my study." Lin Xinjue nodded upon hearing Mister Hua¡¯s suggestion.

    "Yes!" With that, the guard promptly left.

    The officials grew silent, unsure if they should leave or wait here for the news.

    "Everyone, please rest here for a while. I¡¯ll be with Mister Hua for a moment." Lin Xinjue saw through their sentiments and said.

    "Alright, Your Highness, as you please!"

    "I¡¯ll just wait for myself here."

    The officials understood Lin Xinjue¡¯s meaning and stood up.

    Lin Xinjue hesitated no longer. He cupped his hands in a farewell to the officials and walked toward the study. After all, like everyone in the room, he was immensely curious too.

    ...

    At Yan Capital, Ping Yang Residence.

    Chi Hou stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi in front of him, trying to see through his smile. After a few attempts, he eventually gave up.

    Because...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression hasn¡¯t changed much. With his slight smile, he seemed like a mere observer.

    But Chi Hou was very clear that Fang Zhengzhi was at the center of this matter.

    "I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Did you send someone to impersonate Su Qing?" Chi Hou asked with a stern face.

    Ping Yang Residence.

    To others, it was naturally a forbidden ce.

    But to Chi Hou, it wasn¡¯t, because he had a daughter, an extraordinarily beautiful daughter. More importantly, his daughter was the only one who could control Ping Yang.

    In that case, Ping Yang Residence wasn¡¯t an obstacle.

    Of course, a crucial reason why Chi Hou could ask Fang Zhengzhi this question so directly, was because Ping Yang wanted to know this answer too.

    Her soft, pink lips pouted slightly, her clear eyes were filled with anticipation.

    From her expression and attitude, for Chi Hou, Ping Yang gave the impression of a little girl brimming with curiosity.

    "Has my lorde to drink tea, or to interrogate a criminal?" Fang Zhengzhi steadily raised a cup and drank a sip. Then, he lifted the teapot and poured some for Yan Xiu, and some for himself.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I don¡¯t have time for your games. Just tell me if you had sent someone to impersonate Su Qing!" Chi Hou was getting impatient.

    Su Qing¡¯s arrival in the capital was such a big issue.

    And more importantly, as the Lord of the Northern Lands Divine Constabry, he knew of theseter than Fang Zhengzhi. How could he not be shocked?

    Unless...

    He had nned something before he left.

    In other words, if there was any activity from Su Qing, the people of Northern Lands would notify him immediately. But truth was, Su Qing had entered the capital, yet he didn¡¯t know!

    "What do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi continued smiling.

    "If you did that, I suggest you stop this immediately. Although the crown prince had lost today, he is not stupid. The people around him are not stupid too!"

    "And then?"

    "I know what you¡¯re trying to do, but can you shoulder the crime of deceiving the emperor? Even if you¡¯re not afraid, what about Wen Chuan? Can he shoulder this too? With the current situation in mind, we need to win consistently. When the emperor concludes Wan Chong¡¯s case, and then with another blow..."

    "Lord, actually, I don¡¯t really care about the Imperial Government." Fang Zhengzhi waved off Chi Hou¡¯s concerns.

    "You don¡¯t care about the Imperial Government? Didn¡¯t you get the original Law Official Wan Chong in prison? And the Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, the two Law Ministers, the Ministry of Defence official who was about to return to the capital, and the Ministry of Finance official who went crazy today, didn¡¯t you implicate all of them? At this juncture, you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t care about the Imperial Government?" Chi Hou was getting angry.

    It was like one devouring his meal but saying he wasn¡¯t hungry. Who would believe?

    "Yes, I did all of these. But I really don¡¯t care about the Imperial Government." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, answering with certainty.

    "..." Chi Hou moved his lips, but he realized it was meaningless to continue pursuing this question. "Alright, I shall ask you another question. You said you have the evidence of Su Qing killing the Southern Region Noblelite, what is this evidence? Can you tell me?"

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then what exactly can you tell me?" Chi Hou could not stand this any longer.

    "Hadn¡¯t I already told you what I could tell you?" Fang Zhengzhi casually raised his cup and took another sip.

    "What have you told me?" Chi Hou froze briefly.

    "Su Qing has entered the capital!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he repeated.

    "Just this?"

    "Yes."

    "What¡¯s the difference between telling me this and not telling me anything?" Chi Hou asked, slightly embarrassed.

    "Alright, let me reveal something. If I guessed correctly, Su Qing has already approached King Duan. If Lord wants to know if I had sent Su Qing, why not go to King Duan¡¯s residence for a look?" Fang Zhengzhi spread his hands in annoyance.

    "Su Qing is at King Duan¡¯s residence?! How... How is this possible?" Chi Hou expression hadpletely changed. He was utterly astonished.

    "If Lord doesn¡¯t believe me, there¡¯s nothing I can do." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll trust you once more. I¡¯m going to King Duan¡¯s residence now!" Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously, but he quickly stood up. As he moved his body, he transformed into a ray of green light and flew out of Ping Yang Residence.

    Ping Yang¡¯s mind shed back to reality.

    "Now that Chi Hou has left, can you tell me why you sent someone to impersonate Su Qing?" Ping Yang asked as she blinked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Did I say I send someone to impersonate Su Qing?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang in surprise.

    "Do you even need to say it? Even Chi Hou didn¡¯t know Su Qing arrived in the capital, yet you knew. And why would Su Qing enter the capital now? He is not stupid!" Ping Yang said matter-of-factly.

    "Yes, he isn¡¯t stupid. In fact, he¡¯s very clever!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded in agreement.

    "So, how would Su Qing enter the capital? Yan Xiu, am I right?" Ping Yang said, her expression revealing an air of confidence. She then looked at Yan Xiu who remained taciturn.

    Yan Xiu heard Ping Yang¡¯s question. He thought for a moment and resumed his indifferent expression.

    "Since Fang Zhengzhi said that Su Qing has entered the capital, then he has indeed entered the capital!" Yan Xiu said, raising his cup and drank a sip.

    "Do you really believe this?" Ping Yang could not imagine this.

    "Yes!"

    "Why?"

    "Because Fang Zhengzhi never lies."

    "This shameless person doesn¡¯t lie? Yan Xiu, I¡¯m really..." Ping Yang said in exasperation. Yan Xiu¡¯s joke was too awful for her.

    But, in a moment, her expressions froze as if she came to a realization.

    Fang Zhengzhi never lies...

    Suddenly, Ping Yang stared intensely at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You shameless person, is it true that you never lie in Yan Xiu¡¯s presence?"

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded frankly.

    "So... Su Qing really entered the capital? How is this possible? Why... would he enter the capital? And why has he arrived so quickly?" Ping Yang was bewildered.

    "I have said earlier. Su Qing is very clever!" Fang Zhengzhi simply replied.

    ...

    At the entrance of King Duan¡¯s Residence.

    Ten figures dressed in ck cloaks stood silently at the entrance of the residence. Taciturn, unmoving, like ten ck statues.

    "Your Excellency, His Highness invites you in." A guard emerged from King Duan¡¯s residence and greeted the forwardmost person.

    "Yes, thank you!" The figure nodded. Then he slowly nced at the nine other figures cloaked in ck behind him.

    The nine figures saw that and immediately retreated, then vanished into the night, as though they had never appeared at the entrance of King Duan¡¯s residence.

    The guard was shocked as they saw this.

    Nevertheless, they allowed this figure through the gates of the residence.

    With the guard¡¯s lead, the ck figure passed through the patio and shortly arrived outside the study.

    "I¡¯ll go in by myself." The ck figure said, looking at the study.

    "Al... alright." The guard who was about to report at the door heard this and hesitated, but eventually nodded in concession.

    The ck figure thanked the guard and slowly walked toward the door of the study, and in no time, he reached the door. This looked surprisingly normal, as though it was nothing special at all.

    "Crack!"

    A sound rang softly.

    The figure walked into in King Duan¡¯s study.

    His face was covered by his ck cloak, but his imperial shoes were very exquisite, revealing his supremely high status.

    "Su Qing pays his greetings to Your Highness and Mister Hua." The figure immediately greeted Lin Xinjue and Mister Hua upon stepping into the study.

    "Oh? As the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, you are too courteous to a mere foreign guest like me, I find it a little hard to ept!" Mister Hua looked at this figure coveredpletely by the ck cloak, his eyes gleamed as he sized up Su Qing.

    "When Mister Hua began serving here as a special guest, I was still a mere Rank 4 official. No matter my status, Mister Hua will always be an elder in my heart!"

    "Hehe, I don¡¯t deserve such a praise. Furthermore, we aren¡¯t that close, right?" Mister Hua revealed a wry smile.

    "It seems... Mister Hua thinks I am an impersonation?" Su Qing nodded as his eyes gleamed under the ck cloak.

    "I don¡¯t seem to understand what you are trying to say." Mister Hua replied. He fretted while looking coldly at Su Qing.

    Lin Xinjue in his higher seat was also staring at Su Qing. But since Su Qing walked into the room, he had never said a word.

    Su Qing didn¡¯t reply, instead, he slowly raised his hands and removed the cloak covering his head.

    In an instant, a fair and youthful face was unveiled among the ck cloak. Indeed, it was the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, Su Qing.

    With Su Qing having revealed his face, Lin Xinjue and Mister Hua stared intently at him with troubled expressions.

    "Your Highness, although I seemed to have followed the crown prince around in the past year, my purpose has always been to work for Your Highness. But because the crown prince is easily suspicious, to protect my identity, I could not visit you or send you letters. Does Your Highness really feel that I am an indecisive viin?" Su Qing¡¯s words conveyed a tinge of sadness.

    "Your Excellency, I do not understand your words!" Lin Xinjue¡¯s expression changed slightly, though he still shook his head.

    "Your Highness! Do you remember this jade ring? You gave it to me the first time we met. Three years ago, Your Highness arranged for me to serve in the Imperial Halls. If it weren¡¯t for Your Highness, how would I have today¡¯s achievements?" As Su Qing replied, he withdrew an exquisite jade ring and held it on his outstretched arms.

    "You... are really Su Qing?!" Lin Xinjue stared keenly at the jade ring. Then his expression finally changed.

    Of course, he recognized the gift that he gave to Su Qing. And more importantly, what Su Qing had described had happened three years ago.

    At that time...

    Fang Zhengzhi had yet to even participate in the Law of Dao examinations!

 Chapter 539: Getting Rid of the Crown Prince

    Chapter 539: Getting Rid of the Crown Prince

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Yes, Your Highness, I really am Su Qing!" Su Qing nodded certainly. Then, he dropped to his knees and eximed: "Your Highness, please save me!"

    "Save you?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s eyes shed a gleam at the kneeling Su Qing. Now he was sure the person in front of him was the real Su Qing.

    But if he was real...

    Why would he appear in Yan Capital?

    Furthermore, he coincidentally arrived in Yan Capital at this point in time? This seemed highly improbable.

    Mister Hua furrowed his brows when he saw the kneeling Su Qing. He stared at Su Qing¡¯s face in hopes of reading something beyond his words.

    But no sign of falseness was shown in Su Qing¡¯s urgent expression.

    Mister Hua could not fully understand the situation, but he felt a strong urge that Su Qing¡¯s arrival in Yan Capital was unlikely to be a coincidence.

    "Your Highness, Chi Hou wishes to meet you!" At this moment, a voice emerged from outside the study.

    "Chi Hou?" Lin Xinjue froze briefly. He nced at Su Qing, and hesitated a moment before asking: "Is it alright?"

    "It¡¯s alright, the Lord works for Your Highness too." Su Qing nodded.

    "Okay, please invite the Lord in!"

    "Yes!"

    ...

    Ping Yang¡¯s residence.

    Fang Zhengzhi lifted his teacup and sipped lightly from it, his lips curled into a smile. He looked at the bewildered Ping Yang and shook his head helplessly.

    Some things might seem veryplicated at first sight, but upon viewing them from another perspective, they could not be simpler.

    "Do you really want to know why Su Qing arrived in the capital?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yes... but wait, you wish to fool me again, right?" Ping Yang nodded, but she instantly saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s yful smile.

    "So, do you want to hear it?" Fang Zhengzhi asked nonchntly.

    "Yes!" Ping Yang bit her lip and eventually responded.

    "100,000 pieces of silver."

    "Sure!"

    "Okay, first imagine you are Su Qing. If you have heard that I am still alive, what would you think?" Fang Zhengzhi asked after he heard Ping Yang¡¯s agreement.

    "About killing you, of course!" Ping Yang answered without hesitation.

    "How would you kill me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "It would be ideal to convict you of some crime and openly kill you, but if that can¡¯t be done, then I would assassinate you." Ping Yang answered after some thought.

    "That¡¯s right. Now, do you think Su Qing would remain in the Northern Lands if he wants to kill me?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and continued questioning her.

    "You are saying... Su Qing actually left the Northern Lands a long time ago?!" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up brilliantly.

    "Yes, Su Qing is very clever. Since he wants to kill me, naturally, he couldn¡¯t just wait for things to happen at the Northern Lands, because there is aplete difference between controlling things from here and from the Northern Lands." Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

    "Therefore, Su Qing has always been in Yan Capital?"

    "Previously I wasn¡¯t sure, but now I am certain that Su Qing arrived in Yan Capital with me." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "But doesn¡¯t he fear the punishment of leaving his post?"

    "Do you think Su Qing has not done anything for the past year in the Northern Lands? With Chi Hou¡¯s departure from the Northern Lands, it¡¯s not difficult for Su Qing to do something under the table."

    "Hmm, that makes sense. But... why did he choose to reveal himself now?" Ping Yang nodded but queried once again.

    "Because he knows that the crown prince wants to kill him." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Third Brother wants to kill Su Qing? Hmm, that¡¯s true. But what does this have to do with Su Qing revealing himself now?"

    "If Su Qing hadn¡¯t revealed himself, there could only be two oues. First, the crown prince sends someone to the Northern Lands to kill him. Second, the crown prince allows him to enter the capital, and ambushes him on his way here! So, Su Qing doesn¡¯t have a choice." Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly.

    There had never been a retreat in a contest of the throne. Especially with Lin Tianrong¡¯s position as the crown prince, why would he risk himself for a mere official?

    To the crown prince, all the officials were his tools. Regardless of their rank, no official could defy such an order.

    "You mean Su Qing wishes to strike first and gain the upper hand? But how do you know that he is now at Sixth Brother¡¯s residence?" Ping Yang seemed to understand better, though she still had doubts.

    "Because in his mind, the only one who could protect him was King Duan!"

    "So, he would definitely visit Sixth Brother¡¯s residence first, right?"

    "Yes."

    "I understand now, but there is something I am still not sure. Even though you knew Su Qing has been in Yan Capital, how are you certain that he would choose to reveal himself today?" Ping Yang still had some questions in her heart.

    "100,000 pieces of silver!"

    "Again?" Ping Yang pouted.

    "So, are you giving me or not?" Fang Zhengzhi said, apathetically pouring himself another cup of tea, then added some for Yan Xiu.

    "I¡¯ll give. I¡¯ll crush you in silver!" Ping Yang eximed.

    "Haha, go ahead and crush me! It¡¯s simple, Su Qing said so himself!" Fang Zhengzhiughed nonchntly.

    "He said so himself?!"

    "Yes. Su Qing sent someone to notify Wen Chuan, then used Wen Chuan¡¯s name to send a letter to the crown prince and King Duan."

    "Why did he do that?"

    "It¡¯s a well-known strategy to muddle the genuine with trickery, but Su Qing is enhancing his deception with genuineness. To survive, he must fool the crown prince into thinking he is a fake. The best way to do this is to notify the crown prince of his arrival in the capital. Only then could the crown prince be suspicious and send someone to investigate in the Northern Lands, effectively buying him some time."

    "Su Qing is clever indeed! Then... what are you going to do?" Ping Yang praised him intuitively, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi in anticipation.

    "I¡¯ll go with the flow!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother keeping her in suspicion anymore and answered straightforwardly.

    ...

    At the study in King Duan¡¯s residence.

    Su Qing had stood up from his prior kneeling position, but he didn¡¯t take a seat. Instead, he stood respectfully in the study, facing Lin Xinjue, Mister Hua, and Chi Hou.

    Lin Xinjue and Mister Hua remained silent.

    Chi Hou sat on the chair, his finger knocking lightly its backrest. He frowned slightly, but his intense stare never shifted away from Su Qing¡¯s face.

    "My lord, do you have any more questions?" After a brief hesitation, Su Qing asked politely.

    "No." Chi Hou shook his head.

    In fact, after he stepped into the study, he was almost certain of Su Qing¡¯s identity. With Su Qing¡¯s boration of the events in the Northern Lands in the past year, Chi Hou had no more qualms on that.

    "It is heaven¡¯s blessing for me to work together with My Lord!"

    "Save the nonsense. I know best what you have done in the Northern Lands for the past year. But with only your side of the story, you wish to convict the crown prince as the real perpetrator of the Southern Region case, isn¡¯t that quite impossible?" Chi Hou spoke straightforwardly.

    "If I say that I can do it, will My Lord believe me?" Su Qing¡¯s into a smiled.

    "Of course not. The crown prince has strong backing in the Imperial Halls. Although the Left Prime Minister is jailed, and the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Defence officials are in danger, but he is still the crown prince, the sessor of Great Xia Dynasty. As long as the emperor favors him, his ascent to the throne remains steady!" Chi Hou said confidently.

    "My Lord is correct, but nothing in this world is set in stone. As you have said earlier, as long as the emperor favors him, his ascent to the throne remains steady, but what if the emperor doesn¡¯t favor him?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "I have a n to get rid of the crown prince immediately. In addition, it will allow Your Highness to then immediately gain control of the Imperial Halls and solidify your position!" Su Qing said with conviction.

    "Get rid of the crown prince? Immediately?" Chi Hou was bewildered.

    Although there were there many cases of removing the crown prince¡¯s position in previous generations of dynasties, doing so was a very big deal indeed.

    And...

    More importantly, from the emperor¡¯s behavior today...

    He still favored the crown prince. This meant that he had pinned high hopes upon the crown prince, so why would he immediately remove the crown prince?

    Chi Hou could not believe this.

    In fact, Lin Xinjue and Mister Hua could not believe this too.

    "Su Qing, you know I don¡¯t like listening to empty promises. And with the current situation, I do not wish to take any risks." Lin Xinjue said.

    "Your Highness, please rest assured. There would not be any risks involved in this n." Su Qing nodded and replied positively.

    "Can Your Excellency really remove the crown prince without taking any risks?" A baffled Mister Hua added.

    "Yes." Su Qing nodded once again.

    "Your Excellency, let¡¯s hear your n!" Mister Hua¡¯s brows furrowed. He had always thought highly of himself, but in the end, he was just a strategic adviser.

    Two years ago, Su Qing had already gained Lin Xinjue¡¯s trust, but his status was merely a Rank 4 official.

    At that time, Mister Hua didn¡¯t think much of Su Qing.

    But...

    A year ago, when Su Qing returned from the Southern Region, he had leaped from a Rank 4 official to a Border Governor, in charge of the Northern Lands Five Constabries.

    How could Mister Hua not be jealous?

    And now, Su Qing stepped into King Duan¡¯s residence, saying that he had a n to rid the crown prince immediately without taking any risks.

    How could he believe this?

 Chapter 540: Lady of the Shadows

    Chapter 540: Lady of the Shadows

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "Mister Hua, you need not worry. Just wait patiently for 3 days!" Su Qing shook his head.

    "Three days?!" Mister Hua squinted and nced at Lin Xinjue and Chi Hou. Gritting his teeth, he replied: "Okay, we shall wait three days. But what if you haven¡¯t fulfilled your promise within 3 days?"

    "I shall be at your disposal!" Su Qing smirked.

    ...

    The night sky was dotted with countless stars. A soft glow cascaded from a brilliant moon up above, lighting up the entrance of Ping Yang residence.

    "Young Master Fang, are you leaving the residence?"

    "Yes."

    "At this hour... Do you need a few bodyguards?" The guard keeping watch at the entrance of Ping Yang residence looked up at the night sky and asked in concern.

    "No."

    "Alright. Young Master, please take care."

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and exited through the residence gates.

    A few guards exchanged looks, yet none of them intended to inform Ping Yang, standing by the residence gates as usual.

    Because they were clear that these were matters instructed by Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi could enter and leave Ping Yang residence as he wished, without any supervision.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked slowly into the night and shortly he was out of Ping Yang residence¡¯s sight. At this moment, a ck figure leaped out from a roof of a house.

    "Greetings to Your Excellency!" The ck figure lifted his head slightly, revealing her alluring lips, though her body was shivering.

    Qing Yi, who once confronted Chi Hou at the Northern Mountain Vige.

    "Why have you called me here tonight?" Fang Zhengzhi asked after a nce at Qing Yi.

    "Master has arrived. She wishes to meet you."

    "Wu Yuer?" asked Fang Zhengzhi, surprised.

    "Yes!" Qing Yi nodded.

    "Didn¡¯t this girl say she won¡¯t ever enter Yan Capital? Would it really be appropriate for a rendezvous in the middle of the night?" Fang Zhengzhiined in annoyance.

    Qing Yi froze momentarily.

    If this was asked by any other person, she would have stabbed him in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

    Buting from Fang Zhengzhi, she wasn¡¯t at all surprised.

    "Your Excellency, please follow me!"

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and followed Qing Yi. They turned into an alley and shortly found themselves in front of an exquisite restaurant.

    Fang Zhengzhi had previously visited this restaurant.

    Fragrance Restaurant.

    As the oldest restaurant in Yan Capital with hundreds of years of history, it was the gathering ce for many elites from various origins. It was also one of Ping Yang¡¯s favorite restaurants.

    Of course, that was a matter of the past. Now as Fang Zhengzhi stepped in front of this restaurant, he felt something had changed.

    For example, when he visited in the past, he would be weed by a waiter. But now, it was the owner who had been expecting him for a long time.

    "Greetings to Your Excellency!" The restaurant owner saw Fang Zhengzhi and greeted him as respectfully as he could. If it weren¡¯t for Qing Yi by his side, the owner seemed as if he would kneel too.

    "Is Fragrance Restaurant this girl¡¯s enterprise too?" Fang Zhengzhi said, a little taken aback. Then he remarked softly: "Well, apparently she loves enjoying life, but judging from the amount of money she had spent acquiring Fragrance Restaurant, she¡¯s indeed a wastrel."

    "Cough!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, an angry cough emerged from above, followed by a falling vase.

    "Oh, what a sharp ear. Even that could be heard?" Fang Zhengzhi quickly sidestepped, avoiding a disaster. Then he looked suspiciously at the half-open window above.

    The owner was aghast. He nced above, and for fear of hesitating further, he led Fang Zhengzhi into the restaurant.

    "Your Excellency, please!"

    "Alright." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he followed the owner into the restaurant.

    Usually, nights in Yan Capital would be bustling with activity.

    But it was different for the restaurants.

    They would be very lively in the morning and afternoon and their businesses would dwindle by night. It was now Fragrance Restaurant¡¯s closing time, and naturally, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone else here.

    Qing Yi did not follow Fang Zhengzhi into the restaurant. Instead, she leaped away and vanished into the darkness of the night.

    The restaurant owner led Fang Zhengzhi to an elegant pavilion.

    "Your Excellency, we have reached." The owner bowed.

    "Okay, you may leave now." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and waved at the owner.

    "Yes!" The owner replied as he backed off.

    Fang Zhengzhi opened the door and walked in.

    In the pavilion, Fang Zhengzhi spotted thedy seated on a chair. She was dressed in a long, ck muslin dress, her skin bore a fair, radiantplexion. Her brows were perfect like those of paintings, with a dot of cinnabar sat between them. An alluring beauty indeed.

    The current Shadow Sect Leader, Wu Yuer!

    "Didn¡¯t you say you won¡¯t ever enter Yan Capital?" Fang Zhengzhi forgot what happened a moment ago, curling his lips in disdain as he asked.

    "I did. But didn¡¯t you say you wouldn¡¯t act rashly?" Wu Yuer smiled slightly. She didn¡¯t mind if Fang Zhengzhi had forgotten what happened a moment ago, instead, she showed a loving expression.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unfazed with Wu Yuer acting like this. Having spent a year with Wu Yuer, naturally, he would not be "puzzled" by her expressions.

    So what if he knew for a fact that Wu Yuer would never show such an expression to anyone else? It could never hide her "true nature".

    Wu Yuer could be described in such a sentence: her intelligence was vastly different from that of Chi Guyan or Yun Qingwu.

    Put simply, when Yun Qingwu was plotting something, he would deceive others with them thinking he was doing something open and honorable.

    But Wu Yuer would do this differently.

    Wu Yuer loved to sow discord. She enjoyed watching people argue and fight, then reaping the fruits ofbor with a peace of mind.

    To her, it was like this: When shepherds quarrel, the wolf has a winning game.

    Wasn¡¯t it interesting? Take the Southern Region war as an example. With the Demon Race, Southern Region, and Great Xia all in a messy battle, but eventually after the war, they still belong with one another.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious then, but it was in vain. Because she indeed left without a trace.

    Besides, thisdy hid within multiple hideouts. Even Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know how many sanctuaries she had.

    Take Fragrance Restaurant for instance.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Wu Yuer meeting him here today, he still wouldn¡¯t have known that Fragrance Restaurant was Shadow Sect¡¯s business.

    For ady like her who always concealed herself within the "shadows", how would Fang Zhengzhi naively believe her loving expressions?

    "Did I act rashly?" said Fang Zhengzhi. Maintaining a certain distance, he sat opposite her, then nonchntly throwing a snack in his mouth.

    "You didn¡¯t act rashly? Entering Yan Capital unprepared aside, do you know how dangerous the situation was today?" Wu Yuer nagged while she shifted beside Fang Zhengzhi. Then she picked up the teapot and poured Fang Zhengzhi a cup of tea. "Your favorite scented tea."

    "Dangerous? I don¡¯t think so." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and drank a sip. "Actually, Fragrance Restaurant¡¯s tea is pretty good too."

    "Better than mine?" Wu Yuer smiled.

    "Haha... Tell me, what brings you here?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled, skipping the question. He knew the restaurant owner would be in trouble if he answered "yes".

    "I¡¯m here to help you, of course." Wu Yuer smiled lovingly at Fang Zhengzhi once again as she leaned against him. A fragrant scent of wafted from her body.

    "How would you help?" Fang Zhengzhi sat cautiously still.

    "How would you like me to help?" Wu Yuer lightly lifted a side of her skirt, revealing her smooth, fair calves.

    "Besides gathering intelligence, Shadow Sect¡¯s other noteworthy skill could only be broadcasting. Law Official Wen Chuan has Su Qing¡¯s handwritten confession, can you circte this confession throughout Yan Capital by tomorrow morning?" Fang Zhengzhi said as lowered his head, ogling at Wu Yuer¡¯s calves.

    "Tomorrow morning?" Wu Yuer seemed a little disconcerted.

    As the Shadow Sect leader, she wasn¡¯t the spendthrift like Fang Zhengzhi had described her to be. On the contrary, under her leadership, Shadow Sect¡¯s businesses had been growing steadily.

    And most importantly...

    Wu Yuer knew her priorities very well.

    In other words, as far as work matters were concerned, she would never show hesitation nor ambiguity. Efficiency was her style.

    "Are there any difficulties?"

    "No. I¡¯ll get going." Wu Yuer stood up and walked toward the door.

    "Wait a second. Do you have any news of Nangong Mu?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he suddenly remembered this, staring at Wu Yuer who had reached the door.

    "If all goes ording to n, Nangong Mu will arrive at Yan Capital tomorrow and participate in the Imperial Examinations. As far as I know, his potential is still not on par with Nangong Hao. But for this matter, it is better if you do it yourself." Wu Yuer left as she finished her piece.

    "Do I need to?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked out the window. His eyes lit up brilliantly. Anyone would be shocked if they saw this.

    Because more than a year ago, someone¡¯s eyes shone just as brilliantly.

    And his name was...

    Chi Guyan!

 Chapter 541: A Man, A Woman, Ignite!

    Chapter 541: A Man, A Woman, Ignite!

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    A brilliant disy of stars.

    They were dazzling in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. The pattern of the stars quickly formed various pictures, from picturesque mountainousndscapes to towering ancient trees. Eventually, these pictures merged into an expansive gxy, within which flowed innumerable sparkling stars, twisting and turning freely.

    After an unknown period, Fang Zhengzhi finally ceased the glorious light show in his eyes. In an instant, the brilliant gxy of stars vanished. Now there was only pitch ckness.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the table in front of him. Beside the lukewarm tea sat a white jade bottle.

    The jade bottle bore no words, no patterns, but it was a top-quality suet jade bottle without any trace of impurities.

    "It is time already?" Fang Zhengzhi muttered. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t remark anything about her profligate expenditure. Instead, he opened the bottle and poured out a dark green pill.

    "Gulp!"

    He swallowed it with the lukewarm tea!

    "Boss." Fang Zhengzhi shouted toward the door.

    "Yes, Your Excellency!" The restaurant owner¡¯s voice emerged from outside the door, but he never stepped into the pavilion.

    "Bring me some of your signature dishes and a few pots of your best tea, I¡¯ll take away." Fang Zhengzhi ordered.

    "In a moment, Your Excellency!" The restaurant owner replied immediately.

    Shortly after, the restaurant owner personally brought a few exquisite delicacies and two pots of brewed tea, then left after a bow.

    Fang Zhengzhi stretched his hands and lightly loosened his blue gown.

    A silver Heart Protection Mirror was revealed. But this was different from the Heart Protection Mirror that Chi Guyan gave him. Although they were of the same material, this one had a stone etched on it. A square stone.

    This stone had a special name.

    The Vast World!

    Fang Zhengzhi caressed the stone while he immersed in deep thought. But in a moment, he snapped back to reality and kept the delicacies and tea.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood up and walked out of the pavilion.

    The abyss of the night.

    Most of Yan Capital¡¯s lights were out, except for the asional surveince street lights and anky figure.

    A solitary figure walking on the street.

    With a slow and steady speed.

    And finally stopped upon reaching its destination.

    As thergest state in Great Xia Dynasty, the Southern Region had set up a traveler¡¯s lodge in Yan Capital. It had a simple name, Southern Lodge.

    The design and d¨¦cor of Southern Lodge were simr to those of the Southern Region pce. If it wasn¡¯t for the differences in construction quality, it could be described as a scaled-down Southern Region pce.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing outside the Southern Lodge.

    Four Southern Region guards in rattan armor stationed at the entrance stared closely at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Has the Southern Region Princess slept?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "No!" The four Southern Region guards answered without hesitation.

    "Please inform her that I am here." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Young Master Fang, pleasee in, Her Highness has been waiting for you for a long while!" The four Southern Region guards exchanged looks, then respectfully stepped aside, revealing a path into the Lodge.

    "Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi thanked them and entered.

    To many people, the Southern Lodge was a forbidden ce. Without the emperor¡¯s approval, even the Minister of Rites, who oversaw the Southern Lodge, dared not venture a step in.

    But Fang Zhengzhi entered the Southern Lodge.

    As he passed the numerous guards in the main hall, none of them stopped him. Instead, they were very respectful.

    "Young Master Fang, here, please!"

    "Young Master Fang, please walk here!"

    "Young Master Fang, turn left in front!"

    "..."

    With the help of these guards, Fang Zhengzhi reached a door. But this door was different from the rest. Stationed at the door were four female guards in rattan armor!

    "Young Master Fang, please!" A female guard seemed to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she lightly opened the door, and respectfully motioned a Southern Region bow.

    Being treated like this...

    Fang Zhengzhi indeed felt a little uneasy. He intended to bring some delicacies to the Southern Lodge and have a morning tea with Shan Yu, but there was still some time till sunrise.

    But he had already reached the Southern Lodge.

    Then he asked that question.

    But little did he expect that Shan Yu was still awake, and even predicted that he would visit the Southern Lodge. This made him suspicious.

    Speaking of ns...

    Indeed, initially, he did not have such a n. But after meeting with Wu Yuer at Fragrance Restaurant, he thought Shan Yu hadn¡¯t tasted Fragrance Restaurant¡¯s delicacies, so he decided to bring some here.

    So, how did Shan Yu predict his arrival?

    Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the room. Behind a desk was Shan Yu with a luxurious animal hide draped upon her body.

    Bright lights illuminated her beautiful, smooth, tanned skin. On her hands was an ancient book.

    Titled Law of Dao.

    "You¡¯re here." Shan Yu closed the book and sat upright. Her ck eyes gazed at Fang Zhengzhi as he walked into the room.

    "I¡¯m here." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    But he felt a little awkward at this moment. In the dead of night, he had entered ady¡¯s room, and she was the Southern Region Princess.

    "Have a seat." Shan Yu pointed at a chair covered in animal hide.

    "Alright." Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    "Have youe to me for any matters?" Shan Yu asked while Fang Zhengzhi took his seat. She didn¡¯t address herself formally as the princess, but with a simple "me".

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Oh..." Shan Yu fell into a silence, then reached a thought and said: "Shall I get them to bring us some food?"

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    "Aren¡¯t you hungry?" Shan Yu wondered.

    "I brought some snacks." Fang Zhengzhi said as he brought out the delicacies and two pots of hot tea from within his gown.

    Shan Yu gazed at Fang Zhengzhi a little differently, this time surprised. Seeing the delicacies on the table, she reached out and took one.

    A snack in her mouth.

    "This is really delicious." Shan Yu praised softly, then raised the teapot and poured tea for Fang Zhengzhi and herself.

    She had a little sip.

    "The tea is even better!"

    Then she put the cup of tea back on the table.

    "Fragrance Restaurant¡¯s tea has a rich heritage. It may not be the best in Yan Capital, but it is definitely authentic." Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    "Yes, you have great taste as usual!" Shan Yu nodded and took another sip.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue butid back on the chair in a rxed slouch.

    But...

    At this moment, Shan Yu moved.

    An icy dagger charged towards Fang Zhengzhi, its tip pointed straight at him, so swift it blurred into a shadow.

    Yet, the dagger did not pierce Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    Because as the dagger as about to reach him, Shan Yu¡¯s body fell on Fang Zhengzhi, as though she had lost her bnce.

    And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi shifted his body to the side.

    "Plonk!"

    Shan Yu fell on the floor, kneeling on one leg. Her head hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thigh. She looked ridiculous, with her chair kicked aside.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Your Highness!"

    The voices of two female guards emerged from outside and the door was pushed open. Four female guards entered with pikes in their hands.

    Time seemed to stop.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Shan Yu, Shan Yu looked at the four female guards. The four female guards looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu, aghast.

    "I deserve to die!"

    "I deserve to die!"

    "..."

    The four female guards froze for a moment, then dropped to their knees.

    "Get out. Without my order, do not enter again." Shan Yu slowly stood up, massaged her knees and waved the guards away.

    "Yes!" The four female guards left immediately.

    Fang Zhengzhi shifted his body forward to reach the food, took a snack and ate it.

    "After more than a year, I thought you would¡¯ve be gentler." Shan Yu picked up her chair and sat on it.

    "I should be the one telling you this." Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips.

    In fact, he had almost believed Shan Yu¡¯s gentle appearance a moment ago. But some things just couldn¡¯t change.

    Especially a person¡¯s true nature.

    Just like Shan Yu.

    In the span of a year, a wilddy had transformed into a gentle, calmdy who only wanted to drink tea and chat.

    Was that possible?

    "You¡¯re still so shameless!" Shan Yu rebuked, then her expressions darkened: "Why did you return to the Southern Region a year ago to exin?"

    "Do I need to?" Fang Zhengzhi quipped.

    "Don¡¯t you need to?" Shan Yu asked again.

    "If you trusted me, I need not exin. If you don¡¯t trust me, no matter how well I can exin, you would still not ept it. Isn¡¯t it?" Fang Zhengzhi answered.

    Shan Yu fell silent. A momentter, she nodded and asked: "You took the sword of the Icy Monkey Settlement, right?"

    "That¡¯s mine, to begin with." Fang Zhengzhi did not deny that.

    "Why did you want to meet when you were at the Southern Region?"

    "If we had met, what happened at the pce gate would not be possible."

    "I¡¯ll leave Yan Capital by the end of one month. Is there... enough time?" Shan Yu didn¡¯t probe further and kept her dagger.

    "For the Southern Region case, there is no need for a month. It will be solved in three or four days." Fang Zhengzhi replied after some thought.

    "So fast?" Shan Yu was astonished.

    If it was anyone else who said a year-long grievance could be solved within three or four days, Shan Yu would never have believed.

    But since this was Fang Zhengzhi...

    Then she believed this.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Shan Yu did notment or ask further. Instead, she picked up a snack and stuffed it in her mouth, then drank a sip of hot tea. "Tasty snack, delicious tea!"

    "Then you should eat more!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ...

    Morning.

    The earliest rays of the sun shone through the windows of a room in the Southern Lodge. In this room, a man and a woman sat opposite each other, enjoying delicacies and a morning tea. A peaceful sight indeed.

    Yet, outside the lodge in Yan Capital, the atmosphere was tense.

    The news of Su Qing¡¯s arrival in the capital was only passed to King Duan and the crown prince in the evening the day before. In other words, most of the officials in Yan Capital had already returned to their residences.

    Besides the officials who were in the crown prince¡¯s residence and King Duan¡¯s residence, not many knew of Su Qing¡¯s visit.

    But...

    When everyone woke up in the morning, everything changed. They couldn¡¯t believe the news or think straight.

    "Su Qing has arrived in the capital!"

    "How is this possible? Why would he suddenly arrive at the capital?"

    "Furthermore, he even wrote a confession exining what happened in the Southern Region case. What is going on?"

    Countlessmoners were engrossed in discussions. They simply could not believe what happened. As a matter of fact, the sheer suddenness and strangeness of this were staggering.

    But they had to believe.

    Because the news had been spread throughout Yan Capital. In every street and alley, the same posters were hung for all to see. Su Qing¡¯s confession.

    With impassioned words, the confession described the entire process, including the intents and details, and even enumerated a few pieces of evidence. Quite immersive indeed.

    From that, Su Qing¡¯s writing skills were surprisingly outstanding.

    "Is it true?!"

    "Even if this confession was even more detailed, this can¡¯t be true, right?"

    "Well, how could we not believe? Even the Law Council has this confession pasted at the entrance. There¡¯s Su Qing¡¯s handwriting, his fingerprint, and the official stamp!"

    "Are you sure?"

    With the original confession hung on the entrance of the Law Council, the officials andmoners werepletely bewildered.

    In a night, Yan Capital was torched into a burning mess.

    If it could be said the people were still recovering from yesterday¡¯s unbelievable oue, then the arrival of such news was the spark to a pile of firewood.

    Burning into a fire that would engulf the capital!

 Chapter 542: A Changed Person

    Chapter 542: A Changed Person

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    Vox populi!

    It had always been a weapon of the greatest scale. Because it would spread like wildfire, from one to ten, ten to hundred, and so forth.

    And the rate at which it would spread was equally terrifying.

    Even more so if one had intentionally instigated it.

    In the short span of time from the first rays of dawn till noon, the news of Su Qing¡¯s entry into the capital and his confession had spread throughout the Great Xia Dynasty.

    It had be such a hot topic, enough to exert pressure on the Law of Dao Examinations.

    "So, it turns out that the mastermind behind the Southern Region case is actually the crown prince?!"

    "Yeah, if it wasn¡¯t for crown prince¡¯s indications, how would Su Qing dare to kill the most coveted hero of the Southern Region war? Furthermore, didn¡¯t you realize that Su Qing had been promoted to the Chief of Northern Lands Five Constabries upon his return to the capital?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi was wronged indeed!"

    As the news spread from mouth to mouth, more people believed in the story and it eventually became the "truth".

    Besides themoners, the officials who had just finished their morning ritual were also softly discussing the matter too, though markedly more cautious.

    "The crown prince¡¯s face looked terrible today. He was silent for the entire ritual, and seemed as though he hadpletely lost his glory..."

    "Of course, the news had spread throughout Yan Capital and the Great Xia Dynasty. Even though the emperor did not mention it this morning, everyone knew what was going on."

    "That¡¯s pretty ruthless of Su Qing. Who could¡¯ve known that he would enter the capital at this juncture and immediately expose the details of the Southern Region case? This determination is... admirable!"

    "That couldn¡¯t be helped. If Su Qing did not expose the crown prince, he wouldn¡¯t live for long either. Once the Southern region case is investigated, someone has to take the me."

    "Official Li is right. Now we can only watch the crown prince¡¯s next move!"

    As the officials discussed the matter, they began to guess the crown prince¡¯s next move.

    ...

    Eastern Pce, Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    The afternoon sun shone brilliantly while flowers bloomed in the residence courtyard, emanating a pleasant fragrance. Yet, even this couldn¡¯t mask the heavy smell of blood permeating through the air.

    Outside the study, three officials of the Crown Prince residencey in pools of blood. Their tes of food shattered on the floor. A short distance from them stood more than thirty imperial officials, all with blood under their shoes, and their solemn faces reflected the intensity of the atmosphere.

    An enraged emperor shakes the entire dynasty. How would the Eastern Pce be peaceful with an angry crown prince?

    Servants around the courtyard dropped to their knees, and none of them dared to raise their heads, while they sweated profusely in the blistering afternoon sun.

    Silent, yet tense.

    The study was unusually dark. Because with the structure of the study in mind, it required only an open window for it to bepletely illuminated, especially in afternoon.

    But all the windows were shut and covered with ck curtains.

    This made the interior of the study awfully gloomy.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong sat in his chair, his expressions scarily grim.

    It was a horrifying sight, but what made it worse was that there were no officials in the room. Except for a figurepletely concealed in a ck cloak.

    "Your Highness, do we still wait further?" The figure stepped in front of Lin Tianrong, with no intention to kneel or salute him.

    "Haha... do you think I would be associated with people like you?" Lin Tianrongughed mirthlessly, clenching his fists.

    "If Your Highness doesn¡¯t wish to be associated with us, why would I be here?" The figure spoke calmly, unperturbed by Lin Tianrong¡¯s words.

    "Now you can... get out!" Lin Tianrong hollered.

    "In this world, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends, only interests. Since we both have amon enemy, why shouldn¡¯t we work together?" The figure continued.

    "Didn¡¯t you know that I had once said this sentence to someone a year ago? In the end, this person died!" Lin Tianrongughed coldly.

    "It wasn¡¯t you who said this to the Southern Region Noblelite, but Su Qing, am I right?"

    "How did you know?"

    "I know even more. For instance, Your Highness¡¯s plot in the Northern Lands, and that Your Highness¡¯s sharepared to the Ministry of Rites official is nine to one, and Your Highness ranking the Nine Generals as the ¾üÃÅ with the help of the Ministry of Defence official, and Your Highness in Ministry of Manpower..."

    "Shut up! How do you know of these?" Lin Tianrong¡¯s expressions changed. The teacup in his hand shattered to pieces.

    "Whatever Su Qing knows, we know." The figure said inly.

    "What do you mean? Is Su Qing your..." Lin Tianrong was stunned.

    "Your Highness guessed correctly. Therefore, you would have known what Su Qing would do next. And he only does so to save himself."

    "Hmm, you wish to let Su Qing expose my plot in the Northern Lands. Do you really think that exposing me given his current status, anyone would believe so?"

    "No, but if it exposed by a different person, say, Northern Land Divine Constabry¡¯s Chi Hou. Your Highness, do you think anyone would not believe?"

    "You..."

    "Your Highness, let¡¯s talk about cooperating instead. If Your Highness is willing to, we would leave Su Qing without hesitation. In the end, the crown prince would remain in his position and Great Xia Dynasty would be unchanged. The ck figure stretched out a hand toward Lin Tianrong, showing that he need not be agitated.

    "How would I believe you?" Lin Tianrong took a few deep breaths, calmed his nerves and squinted at the figure.

    "Your Highness doesn¡¯t seem to have a choice."

    "No. I can kill you, then expose Su Qing¡¯s identity, then report to Father. Father will surely believe me!"

    "Then... what¡¯s stopping you?"

    "Do you think I don¡¯t dare?"

    "Of course, Your Highness dares. But I believe Your Highness would not do so. Because first, you may not be able to kill me. Second, by exposing Su Qing¡¯s real identity, you will lose His Majesty¡¯s trust. When that happens, how will you be as glorious as before? Will you give up the quest for the throne and enjoy your life as a carefree prince?" The figure said straightforwardly.

    "A carefree prince?" Lin Tianrong leaned a little closer. Of course, he could be a carefree prince. In fact, this would be an envious choice in the hearts of many.

    But...

    He was in a royal family!

    From birth, he had enjoyed wealth and riches and was appointed as the next sessor to the throne. How would be willing to return to his previous life as a carefree prince?

    Wealth and riches were the pursuits of the poor, not as a descendant of a royal family. Because already possessed these things from young.

    For the past ten, twenty years. Hence, they would never be his aim in life.

    The only thing that would fulfill him was that position. The position to control the world from a high and mighty ce, to decide the life and death of millions of troops and people.

    "Who are you to care if I be a carefree prince or not?" Lin Tianrong snapped back to reality, his fists clenched tightly once again.

    "Of course, but what about Fang Zhengzhi? Does Your Highness still wish for him to be alive?" The figure nodded, then reminded the crown prince.

    "Why would I fear him?"

    "Your Highness, do you really not fear him? Before Fang Zhengzhi entered the capital, you seemed to have said exactly this, right? But what happened in the end?"

    Lin Tianrong fell silent again.

    As the Eastern Pce crown prince, the next emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, it would seem ridiculous to say that he feared Fang Zhengzhi, who had humble origins.

    But it was a fact that it was exactly this person, who was born in the viges, that troubled him time and time again to the brink of death.

    He wasn¡¯t scared!

    But he didn¡¯t want Fang Zhengzhi to live.

    "Do you... have a way to kill Fang Zhengzhi?" Lin Tianrong looked at the figure and asked after a long period of silence.

    "Of course, Fang Zhengzhi will die. But not for now." The figure nodded, then shook his head.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Currently, Your Highness is still the crown prince. But when Your Highness controls the world, will you still be concerned that Fang Zhengzhi would not die?" The figure asked.

    "The world? Haha... The world has always belonged to me. I am the crown prince, the next emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, the future heir to the throne!"

    "Yes!" The figure nodded earnestly.

    "Do you think so?"

    "Of course."

    "Why so? Give me a reason!"

    "If you aren¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t be standing in front of you."

    "Haha, you¡¯re right. In two days, the Imperial Examinations willmence, and everyone will be focused on it."

    "Does that mean that Your Highness is willing to work with us?"

    "I won¡¯t reveal myself. Whether or not it would be a sess depends on you."

    "Haha, of course!" The figure nodded and slowly walked to a wall. His body magically morphed into the wall as he touched it. "Your Highness, please don¡¯t forget our agreement once this matter is settled!"

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi exited the Southern Lodge, the sun was already setting. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that he had important matters to handle at the Southern Lodge, but he had not slept for more than a day and he was tired.

    And then...

    He took a nap in the Southern Lodge.

    It was a very simple reason.

    Shan Yu watched quietly as Fang Zhengzhi slept. Even till Fang Zhengzhi woke up and left, she had not said or asked much.

    Fang Zhengzhi left the Southern Lodge full of energy.

    But the surroundingmoners were surprised.

    They watched as he openly walked out of the Southern Lodge, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

    "The Southern Lodge... Fang Zhengzhi actually walked out of the Southern Lodge?!"

    "It¡¯s where the Southern Region Princess is staying. How could he walk out from here?"

    Themoners could not believe what they had seen. But none could ask him about this.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi would not exin himself. Furthermore, how would he exin it? Saying that he took a nap in the Southern Lodge? How was that possible?

    But he couldn¡¯t get used to attracting attention everywhere he went.

    "It seems that Wu Yuer had done a good job circting the news!" Fang Zhengzhi said to himself as he smiled, watching the crowds discuss the matter.

    Powery in the voice of the people.

    Although it couldn¡¯t kill someone immediately like a sword, it could generate vast amounts of pressure where one would eventually crack under.

    Compared to a year ago, Fang Zhengzhi now knew and understood more, especially in the direction and goal of his training, and the dynamic rtionship between factions.

    And...

    Also, strategic intelligence.

    He had so much information gathered constantly from various sources, and this allowed him to know many things that others did not.

    Thus, he believed that it was not difficult to achieve the things he did.

    But Wu Yuer did not feel this way.

    She felt that Fang Zhengzhi did things differentlypared to other people and hence he would achieve different results with greater efficiency.

    "The Imperial Examinations aremencing again?" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head as he thought. The sunset painted the sky in a brilliant tone of red. It was a glorious sight.

    He recalled the previous Imperial Examinations.

    World of the Sage!

    It was then Fang Zhengzhi met the first person he could not openly defeat, Vice Domain Chief of the Ying Domain, Ying Shan, a warrior in Supernatural State. Besides him, there was also a sword.

    A sword which had always apanied him to this day.

    In the blink of an eye, two years had passed. The Imperial Examinations were about tomence, and many talented people would gather in Yan Capital and participate in the examinations that could change the fate of their lives.

    People seemed to have left.

    But rules remained the same.

    No!

    Speaking of people, it seemed that one had remained!

    "Nangong Mu!" Fang Zhengzhi shifted his gaze toward the front, at a calm, normal, unmoving figure.

    The setting sun shone upon the figure, projecting to his side.

    His attire was ordinary, just like two years ago, with a in shirt and a ribbon draping down upon his head.

    Especially those dull eyes without any hint of glimmer.

    Of course, there was some difference. His face had two more wounds, apparently very deep.

    But they were not caused by swords or knives.

    Instead, by beasts!

    The sharp ws of beasts had left these scars.

    "It¡¯s been a while." A faint voice emerged from his mouth. This should have been said with the joy of reunion, but it waspletely emotionless.

 Chapter 543: Burning the Eastern Palace

    Chapter 543: Burning the Eastern Pce

    Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions

    "You have be ugly." Fang Zhengzhi said seriously as he nodded and pointed at the scars on Nangong Mu¡¯s face.

    They had not met for almost two years.

    Yet Fang Zhengzhi first sentence was to remark that he became ugly.

    If another person had said this, he would¡¯ve been beaten to a pulp.

    But Nangong Mu didn¡¯t do that.

    He froze for a second, then revealed a dull smile on his otherwise expressionless face.

    "Indeed, it¡¯s the same old Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu didn¡¯t find fault with Fang Zhengzhi. After all, this was the Fang Zhengzhi he knew.

    And he didn¡¯t know why but he felt as if they had not separated for two years, though Fang Zhengzhi only said a sentence.

    Maybe...

    Only within true friends could one speak so freely and straightforwardly?

    "Have you eaten?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.

    "No."

    "If you¡¯re buying the meal, I could consider eating with you." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to give it some thought and said.

    "But I didn¡¯t bring any silver." Nangong Mu said earnestly.

    "Let¡¯s eat at Ping Yang Residence then. We don¡¯t have to pay there." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Of course, he knew Nangong Mu¡¯s status.

    The second young master of the Nangong Nobles!

    No one would have believed that he didn¡¯t bring any silver, but Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to hold any suspicions.

    "Alright." Nangong Mu agreed.

    They turned around and walked toward Ping Yang Residence, to the surprise of surroundingmoners.

    "Have they really not met in two years?!"

    ...

    With Nangong Mu¡¯s visit, Ping Yang Residence seemed a little livelier. But Nangong Mu had been silent, like Yan Xiu.

    Yet, they were different.

    Yan Xiu was apathetic, but Nangong Mu was bored.

    With one apathetic and one bored, naturally, the conversation was sparse. So, when Yan Xiu saw Nangong Mu, he greeted coldly and Nangong Mu responded tly.

    It seemed...

    Very awkward.

    But this did not affect the liveliness of Ping Yang Residence.

    Because in Ping Yang Residence, there was Ping Yang, a chattydy who couldn¡¯t stop talking. And Wen Dabao, who was thrown out from his home.

    Wen Dabao was pitiful.

    He said so himself.

    ording to him, the Law Council was especially busy at this period, with so much work to handle., and this made him an eyesore to his father, Wen Chuan.

    The reasoning was simple.

    The father was working to death, yet he had a useless son idling away around him. Anyone would have been sickened by this and gave him a scolding.

    When scolding wasn¡¯t enough, Wen Chuan threw him out.

    Out of sight, out of mind!

    Then Wen Dabao wailed pitifully at the entrance of Ping Yang Residence, acting as if he didn¡¯t have a home.

    And coincidentally, he met Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu. Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind this, neither did Ping Yang, so naturally, no one else did.

    When he met Nangong Mu, his response was markedly different from Yan Xiu.

    When Wen Dabao saw Nangong Mu, his expression was exaggerated, especially so as his eyes lit up when he saw the two scars on Nangong Mu¡¯s face.

    "What handsome ¡¯manly scars¡¯, they are so cool!" Wen Dabao fawned over Nangong Mu.

    At the same time, he used the words that Fang Zhengzhi often described himself.

    To him, ttery like this could be interpreted aspliments. In fact, these words were coined by Fang Zhengzhi, using them would only be a good choice.

    But when Nangong Mu heard this, he gave a in response.

    "Someone said they are ugly."

    "Who? Who dared to call Young Master Nangong ugly? Say it and I¡¯ll bash him to death right now!" Wen Dabao turned angry with his arms akimbo, as if he were about to seek revenge.

    "I said it." Fang Zhengzhi spoke.

    And then...

    Nothing happened.

    Because Wen Dabao had run to the corner at the far end of the room, his eyes locked on the food that the servant was bringing out. He was drooling, yet he did not dare take a step near it.

    In the courtyard, the fragrance of the flowers wafted in the air, among the crisp sound of flowing water.

    The dinner had been going on for more than two hours with no less than five pots of wine being drunk, but tacitly, no one mentioned the current state of imperial affairs.

    This was a gathering of friends, and it had to be so.

    Wen Dabao stared hungrily from afar, asionally pping himself for drooling so much.

    Ping Yang seemed a little excited as she had a bit too much to drink. Her cheeks flushed a light pink, her skin sparklingly smooth, her pink lips tender and alluring.

    "I¡¯m very happy today, let¡¯s have some fun!" Ping Yang said as she tilted to a side, waving her hands and fluttering her dress.

    "Great, shall we go to Seven Stars Lane?" Wen Dabao¡¯s voice immediately rang from a distance away, unable to contain his excitement.

    After the incident at Seven Stars Lane a few days ago, he hadn¡¯t visited there to enjoy music.

    This made him a little moody.

    Just like a person who was used to eating luxury delicacies suddenly could no longer enjoy such food and was only allowed to eat some wild vegetables. What a torture!

    "Who suggested going to Seven Stars Lane?" Ping Yang stared at him.

    "We¡¯re not going to Seven Stars Lane? How then are we going to have fun?" Wen Dabao was puzzled. Well, to him, seeking fun and seeking girls didn¡¯t have much of a difference.

    "What do you say, shameless fellow?" Ping Yang ignored Wen Dabao and turned her attention to Fang Zhengzhi, asking him in anticipation.

    "With regards to enjoying life... Besides merrymaking at brothels, feasting in Ping Yang Residence, what¡¯s left is having fun!" Fang Zhengzhi replied after some thought.

    "Yes, where shall we have fun?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up.

    "Shopping is one way to have fun, but shops are now closed for the night. Horse racing is another, but, again, now is not a good time for that. So..."

    "So, what?"

    "There¡¯s only one way left!"

    "What is it?"

    "Murder and arson, theft and robbery!"

    "Huh?!" Wen Dabao almost fell from a shock. To think ofmitting murder and arson in the dead of the night...

    If his father knew about this, he would be the one getting killed!

    But unlike Wen Dabao, Ping Yang wasn¡¯t horrified. Instead, she was very excited and eager to do it.

    "Great, what shall we burn?"

    "The most heavily guarded ce, of course." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t spend any time thinking.

    "The most heavily guarded? The pce is very heavily guarded, shall we set it on fire? But if I really burned the pce, Aunt Hua would..." Ping Yang seemed concerned.

    Wen Dabao heard this and rolled his eyes.

    To set the pce on fire...

    Only Ping Yang would dare to say such a thing!

    And most importantly, her concern wasn¡¯t about being beaten to death for setting the pce on fire, but if it would implicate Aunt Hua.

    A spoileddy indeed!

    Wen Dabao had no words for this, but he understood there was truth in Ping Yang¡¯s words. Perhaps if Ping yang really set the pce on fire, the emperor would only scold her, right?

    "If we can¡¯t set the pce on fire, we can try other ces." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, equally concerned about doing so.

    "Yes, yes, we should try other ces!" Wen Dabao sighed in relief.

    Ping Yang thought deeply once again.

    "Try other ces? Besides the pce, my residence is the second most heavily guarded ce. I can¡¯t possibly set my own residence on fire, right? No, that wouldn¡¯t be fun. But the next in line should be... the Eastern Pce!"

    "Eastern Pce?!"

    This time, Wen Dabao was so shocked he fell on the floor.

    "Your Highness, you can¡¯t go to the Eastern Pce. That¡¯s the crown prince¡¯s residence, you¡¯ll be beheaded if you burn it down!" Wen Dabao cried, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

    He was absolutely astonished by Ping Yang¡¯s audacious suggestions.

    If not the emperor¡¯s pce, then the Eastern Pce!

    Indeed, it seemed exciting, but this would endanger lives!

    "That¡¯s true too. If I really burned down Third Brother¡¯s residence, where would he stay?" Ping Yang realized this upon hearing Wen Dabao¡¯s words, but soon, her eyes lit up again. "Oh, I could burn only one or two of his houses, then there should be no problem!"

    "No problem?! How would there be no problem? Burning only one or two houses... Your Highness, that is the Eastern Pce! The crown prince¡¯s residence!" Wen Dabao could never understand what she meant by "no problem".

    Burning two houses of the Eastern Pce!

    No problem?!

    "Hey, shameless fellow, I have decided to burn houses in the Eastern Pce. Do you dare toe?" Ping Yang ignored Wen Dabao¡¯s cries, and instead, she challenged Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Hmm, the Eastern Pce... Is it easy to enter?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang with a doubtful expression.

    "Not easy... The Eastern Pce is not easy to enter. How about we change the ce again? The Minister of Rites Du Wannian¡¯s residence is easy to enter. Let¡¯s burn his stable, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem!" Wen Dabao gritted his teeth and suggested his former enemy instead.

    He would never have dared to set houses on fire.

    But...

    With Ping Yang taking the lead, his status as the young master of an official wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Furthermore, would Du Wannian spread the news of his stable being burnt down?

    This wouldn¡¯t kill Wen Dabao!

    "The Eastern Pce is easy to enter, of course. I¡¯ve been there a few times, it¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t tell you guys. I¡¯m smart, am I not?" Ping Yang looked proudly at Fang Zhengzhi, brimming with confidence, as though she had not heard Wen Dabao.

    "Your Highness, but it¡¯s you!" Wen Dabao could tell why she was able to enter the Eastern Pce for a few times. She was Ping Yang after all.

    Even if she was seen by the Eastern Pce guards, what could they do?

    But it would be different with Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and others. How would the Eastern Pce guards simply let a group of people in?

    "Shut up!" Ping Yang shouted with an icy stare. "I have already burnt the Law Official¡¯s residence, how could I burn a Minister¡¯s residence? Wen Dabao, if you are scared, then leave now, and don¡¯t evere back to my residence again. We don¡¯t wee you!"

    "Princess..." Wen Dabao felt aggrieved.

    Ping Yang once again turned toward Fang Zhengzhi. She reached for a bottle of wine and gulped a mouthful, provoking Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yan Xiu, what do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi did not respond to Ping Yang, instead, he turned to Yan Xiu for his opinion.

    "Go ahead." Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Nangong Mu, are youing?" Fang Zhengzhi returned the nod and turned to Nangong Mu.

    "If you guys are going, then I¡¯ll join in too." Nangong Mu answered after some thought.

    "Let¡¯s go." Upon Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu¡¯s agreement, he had also decided to give it a shot and promptly stood up.

    But...

    Wen Dabao couldn¡¯t stand up.

    Because his legs had turned to jelly.

    Going to the Eastern Pce?

    To burn it!

    Did they need to y at such a high stake? With the Law Council already working on a few high-profile cases, should they add an Eastern Pce arson case to the burden?

    "Yan Xiu, that is the Eastern Pce. The Eastern Pce!" Unwilling to give up, Wen Dabao stood up, ran to Yan Xiu and pleaded him.

    "Yes, I know." Yan Xiu nodded emotionlessly.

    "And yet you¡¯re going?" Wen Dabao asked.

    Yan Xiu did not reply. He stood up and walked beside Fang Zhengzhi, without any intention of retreating.

    Looking at Yan Xiu, Wen Dabao was at a loss for words.

    Then he pinned hisst hopes on Nangong Mu.

    "Your Excellency Nangong, it¡¯s the Eastern Pce, the crown prince¡¯s residence. If this matter had spread to the Nangong Nobles, it wouldn¡¯t be good for you, right?" Wen Dabao asked worriedly.

    "Not a problem, in the worst case, I¡¯ll just kneel on the grave for two more years!" Nangong Mu nodded, unperturbed by his concerns.

    "..." Wen Dabao moved his lips. He wanted to say something but was stopped by Ping Yang¡¯s re.

    But this did not stop him from screaming out in his mind.

    It¡¯s the Eastern Pce! The crown prince¡¯s residence!

    Did they really have to y at such a high stake? Burning the Eastern Pce in the middle of the night could kill someone!

 Chapter 544 Something More Exciting

    Wen Dabao wanted to stop them so badly, yet he couldn¡¯t. Because Ping Yang had made this decision. Fang Zhengzhi did not object, and neither did Yan Xiu nor Nangong Mu.

    So...

    He could only reluctantly follow behind them.

    Fortunately, Ping Yang did not brazenly enter the Eastern Pce. Instead, she changed into a ck suit and masked her face with a ck veil.

    To witness her petite figure under the tight ck suit was a small achievement indeed.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Nangong Mu changed into ck suits too. With their faces covered by veils, they were unrecognizable.

    Wen Dabao was thest to follow, and at this moment he had to be quick and agile in covering up his face and body. He even smeared ck coal on his face for better concealment.

    The team of five walked out of Ping Yang residence and dashed to the Eastern Pce.

    The Eastern Pce was near the emperor¡¯s pce. With Ping Yang residence so close to the emperor¡¯s pce, the Eastern Pce was in fact not far away from Ping Yang residence.

    In a moment...

    Under Ping Yang¡¯s leadership, the team of five followed a secret path into a remote corner of the Eastern Pce.

    With the aid of the moonlight, they leaped over a wall and silently made their way into a cluster of guesthouses in Eastern Pce.

    Everything went sessfully.

    Ping Yang wasn¡¯t boasting indeed. From choosing the best position for climbing over the wall to the urate grasp of time, everything seemed effortless to her.

    "How was it? Easy as I said, right?" Ping Yang blinked her sparkling eyes, showing off to Fang Zhengzhi behind her.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu exchanged looks but remained silent.

    But Wen Dabao had been sweating buckets. Although his expression was concealed, his eyes darted back and forth, assessing the area warily, while shivering in fear.

    "The Eastern Pce... I have really entered it..." Wen Dabao was petrified. Well, he could only be petrified. If his father knew of this, he would be beaten to death.

    "Which house shall we burn?" Ping Yang looked around. They were at a part of the Eastern Pce which was not very well-guarded.

    And not many people passed by here.

    These guesthouses were usually for esteemed visitors or guests of the crown prince¡¯s residence during their stay here. No one else stayed in these houses.

    "There is no one here, let¡¯s burn this ce. And it¡¯ll be easy to leave once we¡¯re done." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at an uninhabited two-story house a short distance away.

    "Alright, let¡¯s burn this ce and leave immediately!" Wen Dabao agreed.

    "Burn this ce? Wouldn¡¯t it be too easy?" Ping Yang was unsatisfied. "I made this effort to sneak here, to just burn this and leave? Not fun at all!"

    "Your Highness, burning anywhere would be the same. But most importantly, if we burn this ce, we could run away right after we are done and not get caught. This is the best ce!" Wen Dabao advised.

    "Would I be scared of getting caught?" Ping Yang said unhappily.

    "Your Highness, of course not. But... but..." Wen Dabao wanted so badly to say that he was scared, but the remained silent after seeing Ping Yang¡¯s death stare.

    "How about we burn a house between the guesthouses and middle houses?" The taciturn Nangong Mu suggested.

    "Okay, let¡¯s follow Nangong Mu¡¯s suggestion, we¡¯ll find a ce to burn after we leave these guesthouses!" Ping Yang was still unhappy but eventuallypromised.

    But...

    At this moment...

    A voice emerged from a hidden corner far away.

    "Who are you? How dare you..."

    The voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it was extremely stern.

    Wen Dabao jerked in shock. Obviously, they were noticed.

    The Eastern Pce!

    What a heavily guarded ce!

    Although it was just a cluster of guesthouses, there were many covert guards keeping watch. They were eventually discovered in the midst of a soft discussion.

    But this voice didn¡¯t finish its sentence.

    Because when it spoke, Nangong Mu dashed over in an instant.

    All that could be heard was a crack.

    And the voice immediately vanished.

    Nangong Mu was fast and efficient without any mboyant disy. Then, a body in the Eastern Pce guard¡¯s armor was dragged out.

    "It¡¯s alright now." Nangong Mu pointed at the unconscious guard, his voice nd and expressionless as if he never fought.

    Wen Dabao was bewildered.

    It¡¯s alright?!

    The five had just entered the cluster of guesthouses and they were noticed. Had they taken a few steps further, wouldn¡¯t they be beaten up?

    "Your Highness, we..." Wen Dabao was on the verge of tears.

    "Let¡¯s go." Ping Yang looked ahead and walked toward the exit of the cluster of guesthouses as though she hadn¡¯t heard Wen Dabao¡¯s cries.

    "Young Master Fang..." Wen Dabao begged Fang Zhengzhi instead.

    "Rx. I am here, everything will be fine." It was a rare instance of Fang Zhengzhi consoling Wen Dabao.

    But this made Wen Dabao more fearful. He wanted to say that it was exactly because Fang Zhengzhi was here that wouldplicate things. If a fight broke out, where would Fang Zhengzhi run?

    Wen Dabao clearly remembered, when they were leaping over the wall, Fang Zhengzhi was the slowest. To put in more urately, he "climbed" over the wall.

    Yet, he didn¡¯t dare say it.

    It was suffocating, yet utterly hopeless.

    Even more hopeless was the fact that, despite knowing these, he still had to follow behind Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi, and others. He had no way out.

    ...

    Eastern Pce, the crown prince¡¯s residence. In the ce where the crown prince lived.

    It was just a cluster of guesthouses, but it was big enough for the group of five to reach the gate after 15 minutes of walking in the dark.

    And in the process, Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu each killed two sentries in hidden corners.

    Both moved superbly fast.

    But Wen Dabao¡¯s face was still pale as ever. The ck coal he smeared on his face could never mask the fear in him. His shirt waspletely wet from sweating so much.

    Ping Yang was a little intoxicated and walked a little unstable, but Wen Dabao¡¯s gait was worse because his legs were weak from fear.

    Away from the guesthouses, it was better lit outside.

    asionally, Eastern Pce guards dressed in shining armor patrolled these interweaving alleys with torches in their hands.

    "This is really fun!" said Ping Yang as she looked at the teams of patrolling guards. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

    "Fun? Oh yes, this is fun indeed..." Wen Dabao said, absolutely depressed. She was having fun while his heart was in his mouth.

    "Hey, shameless fellow. Let¡¯s do something more exciting. Haven¡¯t you always said that I can¡¯t win you? This time, I¡¯ll show you what is true power. Do you dare to have apetition with me?" Ping Yang ignored Dabao and challenged Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You¡¯re still ying?!" Wen Dabao wailed as a stream of tears flowed down his cheek.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not object, instead, he simply asked a question.

    "What are wepeting?"

    "It¡¯s simple. Let¡¯s see who¡¯ll reach there first!" Ping Yang pointed to a pavilion engulfed in darkness far away.

    A house without any lights.

    Erected some distance yonder and surrounded by a few towering trees, it seemed significantly more mysteriouspared to the other houses.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu to realize that Ping Yang wanted to set that pavilion on fire.

    An unlit pavilion was the best target. As a matter of fact, burning a pavilion in the Eastern Pce didn¡¯t matter much to her.

    But she didn¡¯t have any intention to burn anyone alive.

    Although Ping Yang was willful, she was very particr in this matter.

    But Wen Dabao did not feel this way. He would rather find a lighted house to set on fire, because that pavilion was too far away, and this made him anxious.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll let you go first." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pavilion and simply nodded without much thought.

    "Haha... then I¡¯ll make my move first!" Ping Yang didn¡¯t bother being modest with Fang Zhengzhi. She rushed ahead and started following the grass by the side of the alley, moving in the direction of the pavilion.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw Ping Yang scuttling over there, but he made no effort to chase her. Instead, he turned to Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.

    "I believe that once the Eastern Pce is on fire, panic would ensue. So, we need a few people here to secure a path to our exit." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the cluster of guesthouses behind them.

    "Yes, we need a path to exit!" Wen Dabao agreed immediately.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu exchanged looks. From their expressions, it seemed that they wanted to follow Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yan Xiu, your Dao of Asura would attract too much attention. It would be better for me to follow Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu suggested before Yan Xiu could speak.

    "Okay." Yan Xiu nodded after some thought.

    "This shall be the n. Nangong Mu, you must protect Ping Yang from any harm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Rest assured. I fully understand." Nangong Mu agreed.

    "What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you the one who needs the most protection?" Wen Dabao did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would let Nangong Mu protect Ping Yang.

    And more importantly, from what Fang Zhengzhi had said...

    It seemed as if he would not be together with Ping Yang!

    What was he trying to do?

    While he was lost in his thoughts, Fang Zhengzhi moved. But he didn¡¯t move toward that pavilion. Instead, he was heading to somewhere more secluded.

    "Fang..."

    Just as Wen Dabao started to speak, he saw Yan Xiu¡¯s icy re, which stopped him immediately.

    "We¡¯ll stay here." Yan Xiu said coldly.

    "Okay." Wen Dabao nodded earnestly. When he wanted to look at Fang Zhengzhi, he had already disappeared.

    How did he suddenly disappear?

    Where did he go?

    Wen Dabao was puzzled.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu moved. With great agility, hey on the floor like a leopard and started charging in Ping Yang¡¯s direction.

    Wen Dabao suddenly had a different thought.

    "You guys are actually..."

    "Fang Zhengzhi never does something without reason. Especially something dangerous." Yan Xiu replied before Wen Dabao could finish his sentence.

    Dumbfounded, Wen Dabao did not continue. He looked at the teams of Eastern Pce guards with their torches, dazed.

    "Then... is it really okay for Young Master Fang to be alone?" After some time, Wen Dabao finally snapped back into reality.

    Yan Xiu did not answer Wen Dabao. He stood in his position silently, staring at a pce far away which was significantly more heavily guarded.

    And suddenly...

    A torch lit up in the night. Unlike the other torches held by the guards, this fire only grew bigger by the second.

    Red mes rose toward the skies.

    "Whoosh!"

    The whole Eastern Pce was lit up by this ball of fire, which cast a bright reddish glow on numerous pavilions and the faces of countless patrolling guards.

    A sunset is infinitely glorious, except for the impending dusk.

    This sentence is often used to describe a sunset. The beauty of a sunset lies in its reddish glow in the horizon. And currently, the Eastern Pce had such a ¡¯sunset¡¯.

    Because half the sky was cast in the same glorious reddish glow.

    Apanying this glow was a searing heat wave emanating from the fire.

    Countless guards watched the rising ¡¯sunset¡¯, so shocked they were stunned. Beside these guards were servants and maids working in the crown prince¡¯s residence.

    No one understood what had just unfolded. Everyone just stared at the zing inferno with their jaw dropped, absolutely astounded.

    Until a terrifying exmation rang from the crowd.

    "Fire!"

 Chapter 545 The Highest Level of Arson

    "There¡¯s a fire?"

    "It¡¯s burning!"

    These voices, initially full of doubt and disbelief, slipped into the realm between reality and imagination.

    After all, to them...

    What they had just witnessed was unbelievable.

    A fire broke out in the Eastern Pce! And it was such a big fire!

    Who could believe it?

    Though the Eastern Pce guards also couldn¡¯t believe what had happened, being highly professional guards, they grasped the situation at hand and reacted immediately.

    The guards rushed toward the burning pavilion.

    Meanwhile, the servants prepared the soil need to extinguish the fire. The scene was hectic, but not messy.

    "Put out the fire, quickly!"

    "Leader of Team 3, bring your team to the pavilion, salvage whatever that could be salvaged, now!"

    "Yes!"

    "Team 5, you¡¯ll evacuate the crowd! Team 6, seek our special guests for help!"

    "I¡¯ll report to His Highness immediately!"

    "Go ahead!"

    Under these instructions, the guards yed their parts, may it be putting out the fire, salvaging the goods, or notifying the crown prince.

    At this moment, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong fretted as themotion outside disturbed him.

    And of course...

    Most importantly, he could see the reddish glow through his window.

    "Fire broke out?" Lin Tianrong was under the weather. In fact, his mood was terrible from bottling up all that rage within him.

    If this had happened in the past, a fire breaking out might surprise him, but it wouldn¡¯t anger him.

    But today he was furious!

    The fire sparked his rage. Like a pot of oil poured into a fire, his fury was ignited.

    "Snap!"

    The study¡¯s door was kicked open.

    Lin Tianrong stepped out of his study and looked in the direction of the fire. With a nce, he froze momentarily.

    It wasn¡¯t due to the importance of the burning pavilion.

    But the substantial size of the fire.

    "Your Highness, fire... a fire broke out!" At this moment, a guard rushed toward Lin Tianrong, apparently petrified.

    "A bunch of idiots!" Lin Tianrong berated. He then kicked the guard¡¯s face, which sent him flying 6 or 7 meters away.

    He was bleeding profusely.

    Yet, he did notin.

    After that painful kick, he crawled on the floor as if he was fainting.

    Indeed, the guard had the smarts. Afterpleting his job of reporting to the crown prince and sensing something was wrong, he faked unconsciousness to avoid further trouble.

    But it seemed Lin Tianrong was angrier than usual.

    Seeing the guard unmoving on the ground, his fury intensified. With a flip of his hand, he was now wielding a sword.

    "Useless scum, you dare to feign death in front of me?" Lin Tianrong hollered as he walked toward the guard.

    The sword shone an icy gleam under the moonlight, then it appeared on the guard¡¯s throat, piercing through it from the back of his neck and emerging from the front.

    The guard¡¯s hands and legs jerked a little, his eyes full of disbelief.

    Usually, when Lin Tianrong was angry, these guards would avoid excessively provoking him, feigning death or hiding away, and their lives would be spared.

    But today, it was different.

    He wanted to speak, but the coldness in his throat didn¡¯t allow him any movement. It was at this moment that he realized something.

    When the guard reported here, his death was impending.

    Whether he feigned death or not, he had to die. Because Lin Tianrong never intended for any bearer of such news to live.

    "It pierced!"

    The sword was then withdrawn from his throat.

    Without even ncing at the guard, Lin Tianrong walked toward the burning pavilion, with his sword still dripping blood.

    This was the difference between those had power and those who didn¡¯t.

    Sometimes, there was no need for a reason to kill somebody.

    If there had to be one, it was simply because he was the crown prince. His controlled the lives of everyone in the Eastern Pce.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Your Highness!"

    "..."

    While the people around the crown prince greeted him, screams reverberated in the air.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s sword was cold.

    And stained by the blood of many in under it.

    The guards, servants, and maids stood rooted to the ground. One by one, they fell by the de of his sword. They could only beg, in their hearts, that Lin Tianrong would eventually stop.

    "It pierced!"

    "It pierced!"

    "..."

    After killing seven guards and servants, Lin Tianrong¡¯s shirt was stained by a few drops of blood, and this made him unhappy.

    As the mighty crown prince, he could kill people, but he hated his clothes stained with too much blood.

    "Dispose of them!" Lin Tianrong threw his sword away, before wiping the bloodstains on his shirt onto a in guard¡¯s armor.

    "Yes!" A few guards did as they were told and dragged the bodies away.

    At the same time, a few servants brought pails of water and washed away the blood on the floor. Another servant quickly brought a cape.

    Everything seemed so natural.

    And no one dared to say a single word.

    ...

    When Lin Tianrong reached the pavilion, the fire had already been put out. The smell of smoke and ashes of burnt wood wafted through the air.

    Countless guards and servants stood in front of the pavilion, shivering in fear.

    There were also a few middle-aged men who dressed very differently from the guards and servants. One of them, who wore an exquisite shirt, even showed a tinge of haughtiness.

    They were special guests of the crown prince¡¯s residence.

    If it were the guards¡¯ and servants¡¯ efforts alone, the fire could never be extinguished.

    After all...

    This fire was too big.

    The entire pavilion was aze, together with trees surrounding it. Even neighboring buildings a few meters away were affected.

    Imagine if the special guests hadn¡¯t lent a helping hand, the fire wouldn¡¯t have burned only this pavilion.

    "Who was responsible for guarding this ce?" Lin Tianrong said as he looked at the remains of the pavilion, his fury rose once again.

    A fire broke out in the Eastern Pce!

    How would have imagined this?

    For the royal family, this meant gross negligence and mismanagement, and their reputation would suffer for this. And to themoners, this incident would only be a subject of mockery.

    "It¡¯s... me... and this..." A guard rushed out from the crowd and kneeled in front of Lin Tianrong fearfully.

    "Drag him out!" Lin Tianrong sent him flying from a forceful kick without giving him the chance to continue. Then his gaze swept across the crowd. "Why did fire break out?"

    "This..."

    All the guards and servants looked at one another.

    They could tell that Lin Tianrong was extremely furious and they didn¡¯t wish to die. Yet, they knew that if they didn¡¯t give an exnation, they would all die.

    Together with their families.

    A guard stepped forward and was ready to speak, but a was overtaken by one of the special guests. He shook his head to the former.

    The guard was instantly relieved and promptly stepped back into the crowd.

    "Your Highness, this fire wasn¡¯t the fault of the guards. Someone deliberately burnt the pavilion!" The guest reported confidently.

    "Deliberately burnt the pavilion? Why do you say so?" Lin Tianrong nced at the guest, then the charred pavilion, squinting in doubt.

    "There were powerful incendiaries on the ground. It was obvious that someone had nned well for this."

    "What are you waiting for? Seal all exit routes in this pce. We must catch the arsonist!" Lin Tianrong ordered without hesitation, his voice cold and emotionless.

    "Yes!" The guards sprang into action and rushed to their positions.

    But...

    They hadn¡¯t run far when they suddenly stopped.

    Because at this moment, another ze emerged. As if the sun was called summoned back above the horizon after it has set.

    And suddenly, there was a mysterious, massive gust of wind.

    The night...

    Was silent!

    But this wind howled deafeningly.

    "Whoosh!"

    The gale blew across the skies, creating a fiery arc from the inferno. The fire spread to a few neighboring pavilions.

    Everyone froze their gaze upon such a sight.

    They were petrified, and even Lin Tianrong was dazed. Because no one had would¡¯ve imagined the arsonists hadn¡¯t escaped!

    Instead, they had set another building on fire!

    And most importantly, it was Lin Tianrong¡¯s study!

    The guards and servants were bewildered.

    This was the true meaning of adding fuel to fire. When Lin Tianrong was at the height of his rage, yet another pavilion was lit on fire.

    Such audacity, such arrogance.

    At this moment, everyone was terrified. They could feel Lin Tianrong¡¯s intense fury and his uncontroble urge to kill.

    The Eastern Pce¡¯s dignity had been utterly insulted.

    "If the arsonist is not caught, all of you will die!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice rang once again, though seemingly uncontroble.

    The mighty crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty...

    Was utterly ovee by rage.

    No one could swallow such an insult. Setting fire to the Eastern Pce in the dead of night, and instead of immediately escaping after doing it...

    They did it once more!

    A contemptuous act against the Eastern Pce.

    The few special guests exchanged looks in disbelief. But they did not stay on for long.

    As a matter of fact, they weren¡¯t sure if it was a deliberate act of arson in the first ce.

    After all...

    This was Yan Capital, home of the emperor, and the security of the Eastern Pce was only second to the emperor¡¯s pce and Ping Yang residence.

    Then, who would set this ce on fire?

    Hence, their first reaction would be to put out the fire instead of searching for the arsonist. But upon seeing the ashes on the ground, they were shocked.

    Shocked at this person¡¯s fearlessness.

    How bold would a person be to do such a thing to the Eastern Pce?

    But they were now beyond shocked. Because they hadn¡¯t escaped, even after drawing so much attention.

    And instead, they started another fire.

    Right at the center of the Eastern Pce!

    Acts like this couldn¡¯t be described by ¡¯fearless¡¯. It should be ¡¯willfully seeking death¡¯!

    Some transformed into rays of light and zoomed toward the crown prince¡¯s study.

    With such an impressive speed!

    By the lead of the few special guests, the guards started to move. Almost everyone rushed toward the study.

    Because the arsonist had to be there!

    They encircled the area, rushing in the direction of the study like a contracting ring.

    Moving toward the center of the fire.

    Of course, Lin Tianrong was in this too.

    His face was flushing red, perhaps due to the glow of the fire, or maybe the pressure of his rage.

    "If I don¡¯t kill you today, I don¡¯t deserve to be a human!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes gleamed viciously, his body emanating an aura of evil.

    "Get away!"

    A slower servant was kicked away by Lin Tianrong.

    Then a gap was among the wave of people, where no one dared toe close. Because that was precisely the path of Lin Tianrong.

    ...

    At the entrance of the cluster of guesthouses in the Eastern Pce.

    Ping Yang, dressed in a tight ck suit, spoke up. Her crystal-clear eyes were very alert, her alcohol-flushed cheeks had cleared up.

    "This shameless fellow actually... actually... set Third Brother¡¯s... study on fire?!" Ping Yang loved setting things on fire, as she had burnt no less than twenty houses in her life.

    From the Nobles¡¯ residences, Minister¡¯s residences, to the General¡¯s residence and Law Official Wan Chong¡¯s residence.

    But she had her principles. There were ces she would never burn, like the emperor¡¯s pce, her own residence, and few other ces.

    Including...

    The crown prince¡¯s study!

 Chapter 546 The Death Flame

    Like the scales beneath a dragon¡¯s throat, everyone has a sensitive, crucial, precious spot. And for Lin Tianrong, it was his study. Because it was the ce where he had meetings with guests and discussed politics.

    In other words...

    The study was the heart of the Eastern Pce.

    If a random building was burnt, Lin Tianrong would only lose some face. But with his study being burnt down, it was totally different. He felt as if someone had pped him in the face.

    Most importantly, the building¡¯s furniture and decoration could be bought again, but how would he purchase the books, the letters from different people, and the memorials previously in his study?

    Ping Yang understood this clearly.

    Hence, she did not torch his study. But never did she expect Fang Zhengzhi to target precisely that.

    Wen Dabao was also dazed.

    Indeed, he saw Fang Zhengzhi running off to a different direction, but never would have imagined he would burn Lin Tianrong¡¯s study.

    "The study is burning? The crown prince... should be insane by now, right?"

    "Definitely!" Nangong Mu nodded as he answered Wen Dabao. But he was full of doubt, too.

    Because with his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi, this was not as simple as it seemed.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s working style seemed willful indeed, but he would not do something without reason. And more importantly, Fang Zhengzhi did not like taking risks.

    But what kind of ce was the study?

    It was at the heart of the Eastern Pce, located right in its center. It was, without any trace of doubt, the most heavily guarded ce in the Eastern Pce.

    And for Fang Zhengzhi to strike at such a ce, it was the riskiest thing he could do.

    The study...

    Why would he burn the study?

    Nangong Mu ventured a guess, but he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Yan Xiu, on the other hand, seemed a little anxious. His guess was different from Ping Yang and Nangong Mu, but he also couldn¡¯t be certain of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention of burning the study.

    But it wasn¡¯t his concern.

    For him, since Fang Zhengzhi had burned Lin Tianrong¡¯s study, he had his own reasons, and that was enough.

    But now...

    With the first fire creating such a huge uproar, how would he escape after lighting the second?

    "I need to be there!" Yan Xiu moved as soon as he spoke.

    Another figure moved, appearing right before Yan Xiu, without showing any expression.

    "You cannot go." Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was as nd as it could be. He didn¡¯t bother exining, just this simple sentence.

    And Yan Xiu stopped.

    His clenched his fist and revealed a cold, arrogant expression. A ball of energy was moving through his body, emanating an aura of viciousness.

    Upon seeing this, Wen Dabao tensed up.

    At this juncture, if Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu fought due to differing opinions, who could stop them? They would likely attract the attention of the Eastern Pce guards.

    And how then would they escape?

    "Young Master Yan..." Wen Dabao was about to mediate the argument when he saw Yan Xiu return to his original position.

    No longer had any intention to move.

    This surprised Wen Dabao because he was very clear of the rtionship between Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu, yet Yan Xiu was stopped by a simple sentence from Nangong Mu.

    "We shall wait here!" Yan Xiu spoke.

    "Good." Said Nangong Mu.

    Both didn¡¯t say much and remained silent. The argument didn¡¯t happen, everything seemed peaceful.

    But Wen Dabao could tell...

    Yan Xiu was obviously not at peace.

    But he tolerated anyway.

    ...

    Four special guests of the Eastern Pce rushed into the study, then split up to four different corners.

    Then they saw a person.

    He wore a ck suit and his face was masked by a ck veil.

    Hisnky figure projected a shadow under the moonlight. In the breeze, his fitting ck suit didn¡¯t make any noise. He looked exceptionally cool.

    The four guests were astonished.

    They exchanged looks in disbelief. Not only did he not escape, he stood at the entrance of the study.

    It was...

    At the center of the inferno, the most conspicuous ce to be in.

    "Are you the one who set the study on fire?" One of them looked at the masked man and asked, though he was certain of his behavior.

    "Even a blind man could tell. Do you really have to ask such a question?" The masked man asked mockingly.

    "I understand. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to escape?" The guest nodded and asked again.

    "Why would I need to run?" The masked man shot back.

    "It seems you don¡¯t care about life and death anymore. The next step is surrender, shall we help you with that?" The guest nodded again as he seemed to understand the masked man.

    After all...

    To him, how could someone expect to live after burning the Eastern Pce?

    "What do you think?" The masked man smiled.

    "In that case, we shall not embarrass ourselves by asking for your identity!" The guest spoke after some thought.

    A man of sacrifice!

    Every generation of dynasties had such men.

    And it wasn¡¯t umon. After all, these men were the best choice to deploy in risky battles.

    In the eyes of the guests, this masked man was a man of sacrifice.

    Hence, there was no point asking further.

    He had been surrounded from four directions. As they did not want to kill him immediately, they waited...

    Waited for Lin Tianrong to interrogate him personally.

    The fire continued burning.

    Winds were blowing uncontrobly, lifting sparks which were lit on trees and wooden fences.

    Countless guards surrounded him.

    They didn¡¯t stand calmly in their position like the four guests. Instead, they started to put out the fire, though they were also shocked to see this.

    Lin Tianrong finally reached.

    He froze momentarily upon seeing the masked man, then his expression quickly transformed into one of extreme cruelty.

    As if a predator had spotted a dying prey.

    "I want him to be alive!" Lin Tianrong cut to the chase and didn¡¯t bother asking who had sent him, or if he wanted an intact dead body.

    Because at that moment he saw the masked man, he wanted to torture him and make his life worse than death, even if he begged for mercy.

    "Yes!" The four guests acknowledged.

    One of the guests steadily stepped forward. Suddenly, a blue ray of light shed in the corner of his eyes, and in an instant, a me appeared on his body.

    A dark blue me!

    This me was called the "Death me".

    Its name was derived from its properties. It was the fire of death. Besides the usual properties of fire, it could pierce through one¡¯s skin and reach into his bones. He would burn from inside, as though submerged inva.

    The Dao of all Creation was infinitelyplex.

    There was the Big Dao and Small Dao. Among countless Daos were a few special ones which were created by the fusion of two Daos.

    And the Death me here...

    Was one of them!

    As the guests of the Eastern Pce, how could they be merely ordinary people?

    The other three guests looked at him, without any intention to step forward. They had the airs of masters as they were.

    Though Lin Tianrong had given his orders.

    "This is thest time I¡¯ll say this. Surrender and I¡¯ll spare you the torture!" The guest said with a hint of haughtiness, a trait developed by many years of subduing his opponent with sheer power.

    "Oh, stop the nonsense." The masked man replied inly in a deep voice, his expression was calm like an underwater spring.

    The guest did not continue.

    Because actions didn¡¯t require speech. Furthermore, with the masked man¡¯s audacity, how could he grant any more mercy?

    The dark blue me intensified.

    The me charged at the masked man, pressing against him, while the guest transformed into a ray of light and fused with the dark blue me.

    Well, the use of force was not without brains too!

    The guest appeared haughty, but he never underestimated his opponent. He was prepared to attack and defend at the same time. If his opponent overpowered him, he still had an opportunity to retreat.

    But if his opponent was weaker than him...

    The mighty Death me would torture him endlessly.

    The me attacked quickly.

    In an instant, the me appeared in front of the masked man, then wrapped around his body, with neither idents nor resistance.

    The other three guests were surprised.

    Just like that?

    That¡¯s it?!

    Wasn¡¯t it a little too simple?

    "Don¡¯t! He¡¯s deliberately seeking death!" One of the guests finally snapped back to reality and stopped the guest from attacking him.

    "Don¡¯t worry!" The attacking guest nodded.

    In fact, he had realized this when the dark blue me touched the masked man. And of course, he wouldn¡¯t let himself be tricked by his opponent.

    Death!

    It wasn¡¯t so simple.

    And he didn¡¯t wish for death upon his opponent.

    The dark blue me around the masked man didn¡¯t withdraw immediately, instead, its intensity weakened. This meant torture, one that would make him wish for a quick, painless death.

    But it was a pity that...

    The envisioned screams and cries, or the begging for mercy, were nowhere to be seen. The masked man seemed calm, as though nothing had happened.

    After a few deep breaths...

    The guest seemed a little puzzled.

    He understood perfectly how painful it felt when one was burned by the Death Fire. Even the strongest man could not tolerate it so quietly. But this masked man didn¡¯t make a single noise.

    He didn¡¯t even move.

    He looked like...

    A statue.

    Or rather, a dead man!

    This made the guest suspicious. His body returned to its original position and withdrew the me from the masked man.

    Then...

    He saw a pair of eyes.

    The eyes were revealed through the masked man¡¯s veil, and they were calm as ever. He looked at the guest quietly, with a hint of mockery.

    "You... You¡¯re alright?" The guest looked at the masked man. He couldn¡¯t believe that actually happened.

    "Yeah." Replied the masked man inly.

    "How is this possible? It¡¯s the Death me, able to burn in your bones and cause insufferable pain!" The guest¡¯s body jerked as he waspletely bewildered.

    "Do you want to try again?" The masked man seemed to agree with him and suggested.

    "You... I¡¯ll kill you!" The guest was finally triggered. Never did he expect his mercy to be insulted.

    Now he really wanted to kill.

    The guest thought, if he identally killed the masked man in full force for his sheer arrogance, Lin Tianrong would pardon him, right?

    With this line of thought, the me rose again with thrice its prior intensity.

    Then, the me charged at the masked man once again, this time with a darker hue of blue.

    It was smaller but more concentrated.

    Pressing on the masked man, it wrapped around him once again. But this time, the guest would never show any shred of mercy.

    Suddenly...

    The masked man finally moved.

    He took a slow step forward as if he had just exited a room.

    And as the masked man moved, the me around his body weakened.

    He walked out from the me!

    Without a hint of injury, not even on his hair!

    "You... how is this possible?!" The guest stared at him, his face ashen in disbelief. What a peculiar sight. He was so shocked he couldn¡¯t think straight.

    And what followed was even stranger.

    After the masked man walked out of the fire, his eyes seemed to change. A blue spark lit up from within, slowly increasing in size, concentrating, and finally epassing his pupils.

    Then...

    "Whoosh!"

    A me appeared beside the masked man. It was the same dark blue me as the guest¡¯s, but this was much stronger and powerful.

 Chapter 547 Heaven Dao! He Is Fang Zhengzhi!

    The guest was stunned.

    Not only the attacking guest, but the rest of the guests standing aside, and the guards and servants trying to put out the fire, too.

    Even Lin Tianrong was shocked.

    "Death me?! He actually... mastered the Law of Death me?"

    "How is this possible? It¡¯s a special me, how... how could he master this?!"

    "What is going on?"

    No one understood the situation.

    As the guards and servants of the Eastern Pce, naturally, they knew what a rare Dao the Death me was because it was a special Dao.

    The attacking guest did not possess enormous power, only at the peak of Supernatural State, but he still held an important ce in the Eastern Pce.

    Thanks to the Dao of Death me.

    But now, there was also another person with the Dao of Death me, how could such a coincidence happen?

    The same Dao had collided.

    The exact special Dao.

    How would this not surprise everyone?

    "Who exactly are you?" asked the guest with the Death me. He could not resist anymore, because the Death me was the sign of his identity and reputation.

    Now, with someone who had also mastered the Death me before him, he could not help but ask for his identity.

    "Do you wish to know?" The masked man asked with a smirk.

    The guest froze. He wanted to say "yes", but then he came to a realization. Since this man was already masked, he would not actually reveal his identity.

    If he had revealed his identity...

    Then he would have insulted himself.

    "Go to hell!"

    "Wait!"

    Just as the guest was about to charge at the masked man, another guest spoke, his outstretched hand blocking the former.

    Stunned, he looked at the guest who spoke.

    The guest who spoke looked at Lin Tianrong behind him, and countless surprised guards and servants, then he said gravely: "Together!"

    With a single sentence, he had doubted the attacking guest¡¯s power.

    This made the attacking guest clench his fists tightly. He red at the masked man¡¯s Death me and pursed his lips.

    But he quickly rxed his fists.

    "Alright!" He nodded. He understood the meaning in the other guest¡¯s words. He had lost. In fact, he had already lost when his opponent walked out of his Death me¡¯s grasp.

    Without hesitation, the remaining two guards lit their mes of different colors, ready to strike any moment.

    Upon seeing this...

    The guards and servants heaved a sigh of relief.

    As the special guests of the crown prince¡¯s residence, their powers were not weak at all. Even for the guest with the lowest level among the four, his special Dao reached the peak of Supernatural State.

    And for the other three...

    It was the Rebirth State!

    Two with Rebirth beginning state, one with Rebirth intermediate state, and one with the Dao of Death me¡¯s peak of Supernatural State.

    If they attacked together in the Eastern Pce, how could the masked man escape? Besides, innumerable guards stood by behind the four guests.

    "Prepare the arrows!" Lin Tianrong finally spoke.

    Although he really wanted to capture the masked man alive, he could not risk him making an escape. Thus, he needed backup.

    If the masked man managed to escape from the four guests, the arrows could lend a support.

    Under Lin Tianrong¡¯s orders, hundreds of guards armed with bows and arrows stood out from the crowd, each of them held a bow in their hands.

    Then, razor-sharp arrows were mounted on the bows.

    In fact, these were not average arrows, but specially enhanced arrows, one of the dynasty¡¯s most powerful weapons. In the entire Yan Capital, only three ces had these arrows.

    The emperor¡¯s pce, Ping Yang residence, and the Eastern Pce.

    ...

    At the gates of the guesthouses in the Eastern Pce.

    Ping Yang looked in the direction of the study anxiously. The fire was raging, and the study waspletely charred. To make things worse, the fire seemed to spread outwards.

    What a peculiar sight.

    Ping Yang well aware of the Eastern Pce guards¡¯ capabilities. It wouldn¡¯t take too long for them extinguish the fire.

    But...

    The inferno that was engulfing the study had still not been extinguished.

    And besides, countless guards gathered within the study, but they did not seem to be searching for the arsonist.

    "Could the shameless fellow have been arrested?" Ping Yang had such a thought, but she dismissed it immediately.

    Impossible!

    This shameless fellow was so crafty, how could he be arrested this easily? He would¡¯ve have nned his exit route before burning the study and then escaped.

    It had to be like this!

    But... why wasn¡¯t anyone searching for him around the Eastern Pce? If he had escaped, knowing Third Brother¡¯s character, the Eastern Pce would have been sealed.

    Yet, why didn¡¯t it happen?

    Ping Yang¡¯s worrypounded by the second.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just Ping Yang; Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu had the same thoughts too because the activity at the study was simply too strange.

    The noise that they had expected could not be heard. Instead, it was peaceful, with so many people surrounding the study as if waiting for something to happen.

    But, shouldn¡¯t they be focusing on putting out the fire?

    Could it be...

    Something really happened to Fang Zhengzhi?

    ...

    At the entrance of the study.

    The four guests joined forces, attacking the masked man.

    Three rays of light simultaneously charged towards from the sides and back of the masked man. At his front, a giant dark blue me rose, ready to strike any moment.

    The masked man finally moved.

    He did not move as fast as the three rays of light, but he was retreating in the direction of the Death me. When the three rays of light approached him, he had moved beside the guest with the Death me.

    "Die!" The guest with the growing Death me roared. If the masked man hadn¡¯t moved, he would not have been attacked for all four guests at the same time.

    But he had done so.

    Thus...

    It wasn¡¯t the guest¡¯s fault.

    With a mighty fist engulfed in Death me, strengthened by the insults against him, he struck mercilessly toward the back of the masked man¡¯s head.

    Even if he didn¡¯t die, he had to be unconscious.

    And it was approaching!

    Though the punch had reached the back of his head, the masked man continued retreating toward the guest, as if he didn¡¯t notice at all.

    "Go to hell!" The guest with the Death me yelled.

    The fiery fist crashed on the back of the masked man¡¯s head.

    And then...

    Nothing.

    Because when the guest with the Death me was delivering his punch, he suddenly stopped, as if he was frozen in time.

    He waspletely shocked.

    He couldn¡¯t believe this. What had happened to his body? Why couldn¡¯t he move at all? He felt like he had been shackled.

    Completely unmovable.

    What was going on?

    Thoughts raced through his mind. A stoppage in energy? No. Even in the event of an energy stoppage, this wouldn¡¯t happen.

    Then it could only be...

    "Heaven..."

    A thought shed through his mind. A scary thought. Too scary for him to say it.

    And at this time, the masked man turned his head around and squinted at him.

    His nce...

    It was definitely an expression of mockery as if he was staring at a mentally challenged person.

    Then, the masked man disappeared.

    He swiftly moved behind the guest with the Death me without any hint of resistance.

    "No!" The guest with the Death me screamed in his mind.

    But it was toote. Because the three rays of light had charged into him.

    "Boom!"

    A terrifying st wave rose from the collision.

    The guest with the Death me stood still, unable to move. He could only let the three rays charge into him.

    He couldn¡¯t even fall back to cushion the impact.

    As if he was against an imaginary wall, he had to bear the full force without a chance of moving backward.

    "St!" Red blood was spilled from his mouth and into the air.

    The guest with the Death me could not believe this. But far greater than disbelief was the extent of his shock.

    At this moment, he had ascertained his guess.

    The masked man was more powerful than him.

    By a huge margin.

    "You are..." The guest with the Death me wanted to voice this out, but he could feel his energy drain rapidly.

    His chest!

    On his chest was a fist that had smashed his heart into pieces.

    He could only look at himself with incredulity.

    Was he dying?

    Many thoughts shed through his mind. He had been a genius since young and grown up in a respectable family.

    But his family was killed.

    Stomped out by the imperial army.

    And from then on, he became a fugitive wandering in the streets. Until he came to the Eastern Pce, became a special guest, and changed his name.

    Because he knew perfectly well who had killed his family.

    The current emperor¡¯s sixth son, Lin Xinjue.

    He did not have the ability to take a revenge, so he could only stand behind someone who was powerful enough, even if this person was equally as cruel.

    But he still stood by this person, because he was the crown prince. When he ascended the throne, then he could have a chance at revenge.

    But now...

    He was dying.

    Looking back at the things he had done in the Eastern Pce.

    Like a puppet, he followed all kinds of evil orders by the crown prince and assassinated many officials who were of no use to him. Of course, he was also rewarded well.

    For example, kidnapping an official¡¯s daughter, or when he had killed an official, he toyed with his concubine for three days and three nights before killing her.

    He was an obsessive gambler and squandered his money freely, but no one dared to stop him.

    Because he was supported by the crown prince.

    But now, it was alling to an end. He could never avenge his family, and his sins had caught up to him. His life reached an end.

    No one would erect his gravestone, and no one would pity him. No one would remember his birth name, because he was the just a guest, one who had changed his name and followed the crown prince around.

    "Idiots, a bunch of idiots!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice rang aloud. His sharp voice drained every remaining ounce of energy he had.

    Indeed...

    It had already been decided so when he could help the crown prince kill anymore, even though he had killed so many for him.

    Idiots!

    So that was his name right before his death?

    "Heaven Dao. You possess Heaven Dao, and you dare to set a fire in the Eastern Pce and burn the study. There is only one person who can do all of this, right?"

    The guest with the Death me really wanted to turn and look at the masked man behind him.

    But he could not.

    Yet...

    He was already satisfied.

    Because he had managed to guess the masked man¡¯s identity. A person whom everyone had forgotten and believed he was crippled.

    A disabled man and an idiot!

    What ludicrousness!

    His lips curled as he smiled mirthlessly. He didn¡¯t say the masked man¡¯s name because he no longer had any more energy to do so.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" The guest closed his eyes slowly. Never did he expect that his name would be thest thing on his mind as he left his world.

    But it was the only thing he could think of.

    "Useless idiots! Kill him now!" Lin Tianrong shouted. He did not know how the masked man did all of these.

    But he saw it very clearly.

    The masked man had used the guest with the Death me as a shield against the attack of the other three guests, who had reached Rebirth State. This made surprised him and angered him further.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice echoed in the night.

    All the guards and servants gaped at the falling guest and the ck figure behind him.

    While the three guests with Rebirth State stared closely at the masked man.

    They did not understand why the guest with the Death me did not grab him but allowed the masked man to move behind him. Furthermore, he did not dodge when the three of them attacked.

    "How did this happen? His movements weren¡¯t quick at all!" The three guests exchanged looks,pletely baffled.

 Chapter 548 Blood

    Besides doubt, there was only astonishment. Absolute astonishment.

    To the three Rebirth State guests, battles and murders were part of life, and they had learned the rtionship between killing and being killed.

    Therefore...

    They had never once underestimated their opponents.

    Even if they have realized early on that their opponents were not as powerful as them, they would not show any mercy orcency.

    And it was precisely due to this, that they were shocked at the strange sight that had unfolded.

    After all, they were well-aware of the capabilities of the guest with the Death me. Although he had not achieved their level of mastery, in terms of technique and potential, he was not much weaker than them.

    But now, the guest with the Death me had died.

    Without any warning, he had died in front of them. He was killed by them when they could not stop the attack in time.

    This made them extremely wary.

    Normally, they would have stopped and tested their opponent¡¯s abilities once more. After all, it was only a fine line between killing and being killed.

    But Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice reverberated in their ears with rising urgency.

    "What are the three of you waiting for? Do you want to die with that idiot? Kill him now, I want him dead now!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s rage shot through the roof.

    Even when they had attacked together, the masked man managed to kill the Death Fire guest with the attack of others. How humiliating! If he wasn¡¯t that weak, he would¡¯ve fought.

    The three Rebirth guests exchanged looks and immediately understood one another¡¯s thoughts.

    They did not feel any pity for the fallen guest.

    Because when they first stepped into the Eastern Pce, they were fated to be a weapon. A weapon used by Lin Tianrong ording to his whims and fancies.

    And now...

    They were still a weapon.

    But one used by another person.

    me? Hatred?

    They had neither. Because, like the guest with the Death me, they had a history that no one knew of. If it wasn¡¯t like this, with their Rebirth State abilities, why would they be a weapon so willingly?

    "Kill him!" one of the guests shouted.

    Without much nonsense or banter, this one phrase determined the path of their life, one which they could never turn back.

    They still had the advantage of strength with three people.

    Even if they had no advantage, or only one was left, they could not stop fighting. Because the result would be the same. It was either the masked man or them who had to die.

    The three Rebirth State guards moved again.

    But this time they did not attack from different directions, because they weren¡¯t exactly clear how the masked man used their attacks to kill the other guard.

    Since they weren¡¯t clear...

    It was an ambiguity.

    And once was enough.

    The trio stepped toward the masked man in the same direction. Rays of light emerged from their bodies in their respective colors: one red and the two green. Red signified mes.

    The mes weren¡¯t any special Dao, but they were a powerful, ferocious Dao. And when one had achieved the Rebirth State in the Dao of the mes, he could feel his opponent¡¯s realization and control of the mes.

    Green signified nature.

    Nature is all-epassing, with flowers, grass, vines, creepers...

    But most importantly, nature arose from earth. Hence, when the two green light rays emerged, streaks of green lines simultaneously surfaced from the ground.

    The green lines moved wildly, approaching the masked man¡¯s legs.

    With impressive speed.

    The masked man stood calmly at his position as if he didn¡¯t notice what was happening. In an instant, the green lines twisted around his legs, rooting him to the ground.

    And at this moment, a ball of red mes reached in front of the masked man like a hungry predator about the devour his prey.

    From the time the three guests moved to the ensnarement of the masked man, all happened in the blink of an eye, but it was in fact very visible.

    A fiery red tooth pierced deep in the masked man¡¯s throat, sizzling as it prated his skin.

    The surrounding guards and servants heaved a sigh a relief.

    "Is he dead?!"

    "With thebined force of the three Rebirth State guests, his fate was sealed even if he managed to defeat the ¡¯Dark Death¡¯ by luck."

    "Yes. It is impossible for a single person to survive this."

    The guards discussed softly as they carefully observed Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression. After all, if the masked man was defeated, Lin Tianrong would calm down a little.

    And the Dark Death they mentioned referred, of course, to the guest with the Death me.

    A pseudonym.

    No one knew his real name.

    Lin Tianrong stared intently at the three guests and the masked man. He saw witnessed the me piercing through the masked man¡¯s throat, but his rage did not quell.

    Setting the Eastern Pce and his study on fire.

    How could such a rage be quelled just by a simple death? He was full of hatred. He didn¡¯t want the masked man to die just like this.

    If it was possible, he preferred slowly slicing the masked man apart with a knife.

    But now...

    He couldn¡¯t care anymore.

    Death!

    He could still let him rot in public!

    Lin Tianrong had decided that he would expose his corpse in the public for seven days. He wanted to let everyone know that the royal dignity was not to be messed around.

    Those who infringed the royal dignity only had one end: death.

    The sizzling noise emerged from the masked man¡¯s body. It should have been a bloody sight, but strangely, it wasn¡¯t so.

    Because...

    There was no blood!

    When everyone saw the fiery tooth pierce his throat and heard the sizzle, they knew the masked man in front of them wasn¡¯t just a persistence of vision. He did not dodge, but why had he not died upon such a blow?

    This was their first thought.

    But when they hadn¡¯t the time to develop this thought, they noticed something peculiar: the masked man¡¯s throat had no trace of blood.

    They had seen it clearly: the fiery red tooth piercing deeply into his throat. By why was there no blood?

    What a strange sight.

    Everyone had the same doubts. Even Lin Tianrong was dazed. But there were no exnations for this.

    And the most puzzled among them was...

    Of course, the guest of the highest level of Rebirth State among the trio, the ming guest.

    "How is this possible?!" The ming guest stared gravely at the masked man. He could not believe his eyes.

    After all, he was certain that the fiery red really pierced his throat. He could feel it. Unmistakable.

    But why...

    Nothing happened?!

    He could notprehend.

    The other two guests did not understand too. This level of strangeness had exceeded their knowledge. Even if one had seen it personally, it was hard to believe.

    "Now, I want to see if you¡¯re a human or a ghost!" One of the guests couldn¡¯t resist anymore. With a motion of his hand, the green lines which previously entangled the masked man transformed into vines with the sharpness of knives. Then they pierced into his thighs.

    And then...

    Nothing happened.

    Although the vines had pierced into his thighs, there was also no blood, not even a drop.

    "What is going on?" The other guest who was holding the masked man down finally spoke. He could not make sense of this situation.

    And at this time, the masked man shook his body and adjusted his neck, then looked at the green vines on his legs.

    "So that was it?" The masked man said with a low voice. A rxed voice with a hint of disappointment.

    The guards and servants were utterly shocked.

    Because they were certain that the masked man was not dead, and in fact, living well.

    "What is happening?"

    "He was obviously hit, but nothing happened to him?"

    "What Dao is this? How have I never heard of such a Dao?"

    The guards and servants were puzzled, but they were clear of one point. Since the masked man was still alive, all of these had yet to end.

    They turned their attention to Lin Tianrong.

    Just a nce was enough to make them shiver. Because Lin Tianrong has reached the peak of his fury, an air of unstable energy circted around his body.

    His expression was sinister as if his face radiated evil.

    "Kill him, kill him! Shoot the arrows, now!" Lin Tianrongmanded without hesitation. He only had one single thought.

    To kill the masked man.

    To kill him regardless of anything.

    Nearly a hundred archers heard Lin Tianrong and froze momentarily. Naturally, they looked at the three guests standing very close to the masked man.

    But they eventually sprang into action.

    "Whoosh! Whoosh!"

    A series of arrows sprang out of their bows and into the air, gleaming brilliantly. Every arrow had a flowing light ray, and if one looked closely enough, he could see markings and symbols etched on it.

    The arrows rained on the masked man and the three guests. With such a short distance, the archers did not have to shoot upward into the sky, instead, straight at them.

    This also meant that the arrows¡¯ force could reach its maximum.

    The three guests were also shocked at Lin Tianrong¡¯s order, and the wave arrows raining upon them.

    But none of them spoke a word.

    Because they knew that when Lin Tianrong gave these orders, he had already lost patience in them.

    The trio gritted their teeth while the rays of light on their bodies transformed into shields, protecting them from the arrows.

    But it was not the end.

    And while the shields took shape, they charged at the masked man. They knew that the only thing that could stop these arrows was killing the masked man.

    Although they still did not understand why this man hadn¡¯t died, they had no time to think.

    "Kill him!"

    "Die!"

    "Go to hell!"

    The three guests shouted simultaneously, and in an instant, they have reached beside the masked man. One red fist and two green fists punched toward his heart.

    The masked man did not move.

    He was so close to them!

    But the three guests did not cken, because while their fists had not punched on the masked man, anything could happen.

    Their fists were tight and merciless.

    Finally, in the instant when their fists reached his chest, the masked man moved. He took a small step back.

    With that, the red fiery tooth and the green vines that had entangled him were instantly withdrawn from his body.

    "This..."

    The three guests were shocked.

    Although they had seen this happen to the guest with the Death me, now it happened to them.

    It was still as shocking.

    "Boom!"

    The three fists collided with the fiery red tooth and green lines, instantly annihting them while generating a powerful st wave.

    But the trio did not intend to stop.

    Charge on!

    And they chased toward the masked man.

    And at this moment, something peculiar happened again. When the three of them smashed the fiery red tooth and sharp green vines, more green lines emerged from the ground.

    And these lines were much thicker, as thick as fingers, and instantly, theypletely entangled the three guests.

    And now, the bright red me rose again, but instead of one, now there were three fiery red teeth.

    "You..."

    The guests were stunned. It was a little too bizarre.

    Perhaps it was not that surprising that the masked man mastered the Dao of the mes.

    But to refine the me into a bright red and transform it exactly into three fiery red teeth, it was certainly extreme.

    They really wanted to ask, how would this happen?

    But they didn¡¯t get a chance. The three teeth were already in front of them and zoomed right into their throats.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    Three defeating sts was apanied by a brilliant glow that lit up the whole sky, while a terrifying st wave radiated outwards.

 Chapter 549 Change

    At the epicenter of the st wave, arrows permeated through the air. The whole scene looked ridiculous.

    ...

    At the gates of the guesthouses in the Eastern Pce.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu and Wen Dabao stared at the brilliance in the distance. They could guess what was happening.

    "Young Master Fang seems to be... surrounded?!" Wen Dabao broke out in cold sweat. He did not know what happened in the study, but surely it wasn¡¯t something good.

    So much activity was taking ce.

    It had been fifteen minutes since the fire started, and in this period, there were rising infernos and deafening sts. It was impossible to not shake up Yan Capital.

    "It seems that he is surrounded." Nangong Mu spoke, he nodded as he looked at the glowing light from afar.

    "What now? Should we save Young Master Fang?" Wen Dabao asked in response.

    "If he had been spotted, we must not go." Nangong Mu shook his head. The situation had developed beyond his imagination.

    And most importantly, the person being caught was Fang Zhengzhi, and it was the crown prince¡¯s study which was burnt. How could he possibly save him?

    If it was Ping Yang who had been caught, and it wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s study being burnt, then it could possibly simply be viewed as her innocent yfulness and only reprimanded by the emperor.

    But now...

    How to save?

    "We¡¯re not saving him?! Then what shall we do?" Wen Dabao said, still dazed in bewilderment.

    "Let¡¯s get out first!" Ping Yang said. Her crystal-clear eyes suddenly calmed.

    As though she had not been drinking.

    "Get out?" Wen Dabao froze.

    "Yes, it is too happening. People may rush in, so we cannot stay here. Let¡¯s get out of here and slowly think of a solution. Yan Xiu, what do you think?" Ping Yang said, looking at Yan Xiu in anticipation.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded in agreement.

    Wen Dabao was surprised at Yan Xiu¡¯s nod. He had expected Yan Xiu to stop her, but Yan Xiu didn¡¯t disagree.

    Naturally, he could not persist further.

    "Let¡¯s go then." Wen Dabao looked at his surroundings guiltily. After all, he really did not wish to be apprehended. Burning the crown prince¡¯s study wasn¡¯t simply punishable by just a beating.

    If he was convicted as an aplice, his father would also be implicated due to the enormity of the crime.

    "Great!" Nangong Mu said as no one else had differing opinions. He led the team out of guesthouses, his cold expression seemed remarkably cautious.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Wen Dabao quickly followed.

    ...

    As Ping Yang had guessed, Yan Capital became aplete mess. Although it was deep in the night, the activity in the Eastern Pce had woke everyone from their sleep.

    Windows were opened as many stared at the inferno and the brilliant white light. Everyone was astonished.

    "The Eastern Pce is on fire?!"

    "How is this possible? And that ce seems to be..."

    "Oh my god, what is happening?"

    Discussions in Yan Capital ebbed and flowed. No one could believe their eyes. The Eastern Pce was on fire? And it was even at the position of the study. It was simply impossible.

    The imperial officials were startled too.

    "Get me to the Eastern Pce, now!"

    "Yes, my lord!"

    Almost every official in their respective residents said something like that. They rushed out of their residences, some on carriages, some on horses, while some walked. But all were headed for the Eastern Pce.

    But in King Duan¡¯s residence...

    A guard kneeled in front of Lin Xinjue, his hand held an opened letter. It had just a few words, but its contents...

    Even Lin Xinjue was shocked.

    "Third Brother¡¯s study was set on fire?! And this person had not left? Who dared to do such a thing? Are you sure of this?" Surprised, Lin Xinjue asked the guard.

    "Certainly. This person had first burnt a pavilion, then set the study on fire when the crown prince was away." The guard replied.

    "This is interesting. Prepare a horse, I¡¯m going to see Third Brother!" Lin Xinjue smiled.

    As a dignified crown prince, he had his study burnt. Such a rare opportunity to witness his expressions.

    "Yes!" The guard acknowledged.

    ...

    When the officials approached the crown prince¡¯s residence, the st wave had already died down. The arrows had also stopped.

    A huge depression appeared on the ground, and within it kneeled the three guests in their luxurious clothing.

    But...

    Now their clothes were shattered in a mess. Shreds of cloth hung on their arms as they were pierced by the arrows. Their hair was also messy, and their bodies had many wounds. On their hands, legs, and backs, ck charred skin mixed with their oozing red blood.

    It was a sorry sight.

    Their faces looked grave.

    Because near them stood a figure dressed in a tight ck suit, standing quietly with his hands behind him. His clothes hadn¡¯t the slightest mess.

    There was a deafening silence.

    Everyone had their eyes fixed on the masked man. No one moved, the guards did not pull on their bowstrings. Because it was obvious that the three guards had lost. Even though they had outnumbered their opponent by three to one, they were absolutely crushed.

    "How did this happen?!"

    "Who exactly is this man? How is he so powerful?"

    "Three of them were of the Rebirth State! And one of them is even at the intermediate Rebirth State! They were so utterly defeated even when they had joined forces, yet the masked man still didn¡¯t have a tear in his shirt."

    No one could believe this oue.

    It was truly unbelievable. In the Yan Capital, how many people could do this? And among them, who weren¡¯t of high status?

    Lin Tianrong was also dazed.

    When he ordered the guards to shoot the arrows, indeed he could tell that the three guests weren¡¯t the masked man¡¯s match. But he totally did not expect for them to be defeated by such a huge margin.

    Three guests with the Rebirth State had lost!

    Lin Tianrong clenched his fists so tightly it turned white. He stared at the masked man¡¯s veiled face. He could tell, from a slight show of skin, that the masked man wasn¡¯t old.

    A powerful man who could defeat three guests with Rebirth State?

    And yet wasn¡¯t old?

    The emperor counts as one, but would the emperor burn his study? Impossible. And then there was also King Liqin. But he was old, so he was out of the question.

    How about Xing Yuanguo?

    No.

    Xing Yuanguo was on the older side. Furthermore, considering his capabilities, although he could defeat the three Rebirth State guests, it would not have been this easy.

    And most importantly...

    The masked man¡¯s techniques were terrifyingly peculiar.

    Could it be Hua Fei?!

    Lin Tianrong thought of her. With Hua Wei¡¯s capabilities, she would have no problem defeating them.

    But why would Hua Fei do this to him? And besides, this person was a man. Could she have posed as a man? Unlikely.

    Who else?

    Chi Hou? Impossible too.

    Names shed in his mind. But one by one he dismissed them until one caught his attention.

    "Could it really be him?!" Lin Tianrong thought of this person. He was very young yet was mysteriously powerful. Most importantly, he was not from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    No!

    He wouldn¡¯t do this!

    Lin Tianrong dismissed once again.

    He wanted to continue thinking, but at this moment the masked man moved. With his hands behind him, he walked towards the three guests.

    "Who are you?"

    "With your status, why did youe to wreak havoc in the Eastern Pce?"

    "What are you trying to do?"

    The three guests stepped back as they saw the masked man approaching, their faces petrified.

    "What am I trying to do? Actually, I¡¯m not trying to do anything. I just wanted to see if His Highness was sleeping well." The masked man smiled as he said in a deep voice.

    "If he was sleeping well?" The three guests fretted, but they quickly snapped back.

    "Don¡¯te any closer!"

    "Even if I die here, I will not allow you to get any closer to His Highness!"

    "Don¡¯t think of going there, unless we have died!"

    The three guests looked at the approaching masked man. Their expressions changed. Biting their lips, they did not retreat further. Instead, they stood in front of him.

    Lin Tianrong was shocked.

    Since the beginning, he had only thought of killing the masked man, not whether the masked man would kill him.

    Because this was the Eastern Pce, the most heavily guarded residence in Yan Capital.

    This ce had the strongest guards, the best bows and arrows, the three Rebirth State guests and a guest with the peak of Supernatural State boosting its security.

    How would there be any danger?

    But now...

    Lin Tianrong took a step back. As he stared at the masked man, his first thought was: if the masked man were to attack him, how would he react?

    "Protect His Highness!"

    "Quick, block him, don¡¯t let hime any closer!"

    The guards behind Lin Tianrong snapped back into reality. All of them shouted as they moved in front of Lin Tianrong.

    But this angered Lin Tianrong.

    Because the guards had formed such a tight barrier that he couldn¡¯t see the masked man. Only innumerable sets of armors moving in front of him.

    And it felt awkward to be surrounded.

    As the crown prince in the Eastern Pce of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was surrounded by guards in his own residence. If such word had gotten out, he would lose every inch of his face.

    But even so, he did not stop the guards from surrounding him.

    "Your Highness, please leave now. I¡¯ll stop him at all costs!" A guard said with much loyalty, raising his arm against Lin Tianrong¡¯s face.

    But Lin Tianrong¡¯s face was darker than ever.

    He wanted so badly to give this guard a kick, but he did not do it. He only took note of this arm, the arm which was attached to this guard¡¯s body... for now.

    Helter-skelter.

    Since the masked man¡¯s response, the situation had changed. The crown prince was surrounded, and everyone was on high alert.

    Suddenly, a sharp voice rang from far away.

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    Then, its echoes got nearer and nearer.

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    "..."

    Lin Tianrong fretted again, then he looked to the back. It didn¡¯t take long for him to notice a crowd, among which, were officials in court attire of various colors, the generals in their shiny armor, and even the Royal Guards in their golden armor.

    And walking in front of them was none other than Emperor Lin Mubai.

    His golden imperial robe shone in the night. And his face had a sternness that would make one shudder in fear.

    Behind the emperor was a person dressed in a silver robe.

    King Duan, Lin Xinjue.

    But unlike Emperor Lin Mubai, Lin Xinjue had the hint of a smile, almost one of mockery.

    "Sixth Brother, you have indeede at the right time!" Lin Tianrong squinted a little as he shot an icy gleam toward Lin Xinjue.

    Of course, he knew that Lin Xinjue would arrive here.

    But now he didn¡¯t bother maintaining his grace as the crown prince as he let the guards push him to the back.

    Change

    At the epicenter of the st wave, arrows permeated through the air. The whole scene looked ridiculous.

    ...

    At the gates of the guesthouses in the Eastern Pce.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu and Wen Dabao stared at the brilliance in the distance. They could guess what was happening.

    "Young Master Fang seems to be... surrounded?!" Wen Dabao broke out in cold sweat. He did not know what happened in the study, but surely it wasn¡¯t something good.

    So much activity was taking ce.

    It had been fifteen minutes since the fire started, and in this period, there were rising infernos and deafening sts. It was impossible to not shake up Yan Capital.

    "It seems that he is surrounded." Nangong Mu spoke, he nodded as he looked at the glowing light from afar.

    "What now? Should we save Young Master Fang?" Wen Dabao asked in response.

    "If he had been spotted, we must not go." Nangong Mu shook his head. The situation had developed beyond his imagination.

    And most importantly, the person being caught was Fang Zhengzhi, and it was the crown prince¡¯s study which was burnt. How could he possibly save him?

    If it was Ping Yang who had been caught, and it wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s study being burnt, then it could possibly simply be viewed as her innocent yfulness and only reprimanded by the emperor.

    But now...

    How to save?

    "We¡¯re not saving him?! Then what shall we do?" Wen Dabao said, still dazed in bewilderment.

    "Let¡¯s get out first!" Ping Yang said. Her crystal-clear eyes suddenly calmed.

    As though she had not been drinking.

    "Get out?" Wen Dabao froze.

    "Yes, it is too happening. People may rush in, so we cannot stay here. Let¡¯s get out of here and slowly think of a solution. Yan Xiu, what do you think?" Ping Yang said, looking at Yan Xiu in anticipation.

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded in agreement.

    Wen Dabao was surprised at Yan Xiu¡¯s nod. He had expected Yan Xiu to stop her, but Yan Xiu didn¡¯t disagree.

    Naturally, he could not persist further.

    "Let¡¯s go then." Wen Dabao looked at his surroundings guiltily. After all, he really did not wish to be apprehended. Burning the crown prince¡¯s study wasn¡¯t simply punishable by just a beating.

    If he was convicted as an aplice, his father would also be implicated due to the enormity of the crime.

    "Great!" Nangong Mu said as no one else had differing opinions. He led the team out of guesthouses, his cold expression seemed remarkably cautious.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Wen Dabao quickly followed.

    ...

    As Ping Yang had guessed, Yan Capital became aplete mess. Although it was deep in the night, the activity in the Eastern Pce had woke everyone from their sleep.

    Windows were opened as many stared at the inferno and the brilliant white light. Everyone was astonished.

    "The Eastern Pce is on fire?!"

    "How is this possible? And that ce seems to be..."

    "Oh my god, what is happening?"

    Discussions in Yan Capital ebbed and flowed. No one could believe their eyes. The Eastern Pce was on fire? And it was even at the position of the study. It was simply impossible.

    The imperial officials were startled too.

    "Get me to the Eastern Pce, now!"

    "Yes, my lord!"

    Almost every official in their respective residents said something like that. They rushed out of their residences, some on carriages, some on horses, while some walked. But all were headed for the Eastern Pce.

    But in King Duan¡¯s residence...

    A guard kneeled in front of Lin Xinjue, his hand held an opened letter. It had just a few words, but its contents...

    Even Lin Xinjue was shocked.

    "Third Brother¡¯s study was set on fire?! And this person had not left? Who dared to do such a thing? Are you sure of this?" Surprised, Lin Xinjue asked the guard.

    "Certainly. This person had first burnt a pavilion, then set the study on fire when the crown prince was away." The guard replied.

    "This is interesting. Prepare a horse, I¡¯m going to see Third Brother!" Lin Xinjue smiled.

    As a dignified crown prince, he had his study burnt. Such a rare opportunity to witness his expressions.

    "Yes!" The guard acknowledged.

    ...

    When the officials approached the crown prince¡¯s residence, the st wave had already died down. The arrows had also stopped.

    A huge depression appeared on the ground, and within it kneeled the three guests in their luxurious clothing.

    But...

    Now their clothes were shattered in a mess. Shreds of cloth hung on their arms as they were pierced by the arrows. Their hair was also messy, and their bodies had many wounds. On their hands, legs, and backs, ck charred skin mixed with their oozing red blood.

    It was a sorry sight.

    Their faces looked grave.

    Because near them stood a figure dressed in a tight ck suit, standing quietly with his hands behind him. His clothes hadn¡¯t the slightest mess.

    There was a deafening silence.

    Everyone had their eyes fixed on the masked man. No one moved, the guards did not pull on their bowstrings. Because it was obvious that the three guards had lost. Even though they had outnumbered their opponent by three to one, they were absolutely crushed.

    "How did this happen?!"

    "Who exactly is this man? How is he so powerful?"

    "Three of them were of the Rebirth State! And one of them is even at the intermediate Rebirth State! They were so utterly defeated even when they had joined forces, yet the masked man still didn¡¯t have a tear in his shirt."

    No one could believe this oue.

    It was truly unbelievable. In the Yan Capital, how many people could do this? And among them, who weren¡¯t of high status?

    Lin Tianrong was also dazed.

    When he ordered the guards to shoot the arrows, indeed he could tell that the three guests weren¡¯t the masked man¡¯s match. But he totally did not expect for them to be defeated by such a huge margin.

    Three guests with the Rebirth State had lost!

    Lin Tianrong clenched his fists so tightly it turned white. He stared at the masked man¡¯s veiled face. He could tell, from a slight show of skin, that the masked man wasn¡¯t old.

    A powerful man who could defeat three guests with Rebirth State?

    And yet wasn¡¯t old?

    The emperor counts as one, but would the emperor burn his study? Impossible. And then there was also King Liqin. But he was old, so he was out of the question.

    How about Xing Yuanguo?

    No.

    Xing Yuanguo was on the older side. Furthermore, considering his capabilities, although he could defeat the three Rebirth State guests, it would not have been this easy.

    And most importantly...

    The masked man¡¯s techniques were terrifyingly peculiar.

    Could it be Hua Fei?!

    Lin Tianrong thought of her. With Hua Wei¡¯s capabilities, she would have no problem defeating them.

    But why would Hua Fei do this to him? And besides, this person was a man. Could she have posed as a man? Unlikely.

    Who else?

    Chi Hou? Impossible too.

    Names shed in his mind. But one by one he dismissed them until one caught his attention.

    "Could it really be him?!" Lin Tianrong thought of this person. He was very young yet was mysteriously powerful. Most importantly, he was not from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    No!

    He wouldn¡¯t do this!

    Lin Tianrong dismissed once again.

    He wanted to continue thinking, but at this moment the masked man moved. With his hands behind him, he walked towards the three guests.

    "Who are you?"

    "With your status, why did youe to wreak havoc in the Eastern Pce?"

    "What are you trying to do?"

    The three guests stepped back as they saw the masked man approaching, their faces petrified.

    "What am I trying to do? Actually, I¡¯m not trying to do anything. I just wanted to see if His Highness was sleeping well." The masked man smiled as he said in a deep voice.

    "If he was sleeping well?" The three guests fretted, but they quickly snapped back.

    "Don¡¯te any closer!"

    "Even if I die here, I will not allow you to get any closer to His Highness!"

    "Don¡¯t think of going there, unless we have died!"

    The three guests looked at the approaching masked man. Their expressions changed. Biting their lips, they did not retreat further. Instead, they stood in front of him.

    Lin Tianrong was shocked.

    Since the beginning, he had only thought of killing the masked man, not whether the masked man would kill him.

    Because this was the Eastern Pce, the most heavily guarded residence in Yan Capital.

    This ce had the strongest guards, the best bows and arrows, the three Rebirth State guests and a guest with the peak of Supernatural State boosting its security.

    How would there be any danger?

    But now...

    Lin Tianrong took a step back. As he stared at the masked man, his first thought was: if the masked man were to attack him, how would he react?

    "Protect His Highness!"

    "Quick, block him, don¡¯t let hime any closer!"

    The guards behind Lin Tianrong snapped back into reality. All of them shouted as they moved in front of Lin Tianrong.

    But this angered Lin Tianrong.

    Because the guards had formed such a tight barrier that he couldn¡¯t see the masked man. Only innumerable sets of armors moving in front of him.

    And it felt awkward to be surrounded.

    As the crown prince in the Eastern Pce of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was surrounded by guards in his own residence. If such word had gotten out, he would lose every inch of his face.

    But even so, he did not stop the guards from surrounding him.

    "Your Highness, please leave now. I¡¯ll stop him at all costs!" A guard said with much loyalty, raising his arm against Lin Tianrong¡¯s face.

    But Lin Tianrong¡¯s face was darker than ever.

    He wanted so badly to give this guard a kick, but he did not do it. He only took note of this arm, the arm which was attached to this guard¡¯s body... for now.

    Helter-skelter.

    Since the masked man¡¯s response, the situation had changed. The crown prince was surrounded, and everyone was on high alert.

    Suddenly, a sharp voice rang from far away.

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    Then, its echoes got nearer and nearer.

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    "The emperor has arrived!"

    "..."

    Lin Tianrong fretted again, then he looked to the back. It didn¡¯t take long for him to notice a crowd, among which, were officials in court attire of various colors, the generals in their shiny armor, and even the Royal Guards in their golden armor.

    And walking in front of them was none other than Emperor Lin Mubai.

    His golden imperial robe shone in the night. And his face had a sternness that would make one shudder in fear.

    Behind the emperor was a person dressed in a silver robe.

    King Duan, Lin Xinjue.

    But unlike Emperor Lin Mubai, Lin Xinjue had the hint of a smile, almost one of mockery.

    "Sixth Brother, you have indeede at the right time!" Lin Tianrong squinted a little as he shot an icy gleam toward Lin Xinjue.

    Of course, he knew that Lin Xinjue would arrive here.

    But now he didn¡¯t bother maintaining his grace as the crown prince as he let the guards push him to the back.

 Chapter 550 A Battle of Insults

    Hatred rose within Lin Tianrong.

    As the crown prince, not only his study was burnt, he still had to be protected from being killed right in his own residence. It was an utter humiliation to be witnessed by so many officials.

    In the future...

    How would he stand tall in the dynasty?

    The crowd of officials waspletely speechless upon seeing the crown prince surrounded by the guards for protection.

    Was there really danger?

    What had happened in the crown prince¡¯s residence?

    They stared at Lin Tianrong, observing his expression. They wanted to ask, but they did not. There were more urgent matters at hand.

    "Careful, there¡¯s an assassin in the crown prince¡¯s residence!"

    "Quick, arrest him!"

    "Protect His Majesty!"

    A few voices emerged suddenly, and the Royal Guards behind Emperor Lin Mubai reacted immediately, raising their gleaming pikes, ready to strike.

    Following that, a few generals stepped forward from behind Emperor Lin Mubai, wielding their weapons.

    "Your Majesty, we¡¯ll go save the crown prince!"

    "Hmm." Emperor Lin Mubai was solemnly nodded. It was just that when he saw the burning study behind Lin Tianrong, he was a little shocked.

    The generals understood the emperor, and without hesitation, dashed toward Lin Tianrong, their bodies emitting rays of all colors.

    And in an instant, they reached beside Lin Tianrong.

    "Your Highness, are you alright?" A general asked.

    "I am fine. The assassin is right behind, General Li, please see to it!" Lin Tianrong replied. With the situation at hand, he couldn¡¯t care less.

    "Alright, we¡¯ll take him down!" General Li didn¡¯t intend to attempt it himself. The assassin that could not be defeated by the Eastern Pce would not be an easy opponent.

    The other generals nodded.

    They quickly followed behind General Li and together they went around the formation of the guards protecting Lin Tianrong.

    But...

    Soon, they stopped.

    Because they had already seen the huge depression on the ground, where the three petrified guests stood pitifully.

    But there was no one in front of them. Not a single person.

    "Your Highness, where is the assassin?" General Li asked.

    "Isn¡¯t he behind?" Lin Tianrong started having doubts. He stopped running and looked backward.

    He saw the three guests dazed in their positions.

    But what about the masked man?

    He had already vanished.

    This shook Lin Tianrong.

    What was going on? Where was the masked man? Where had he gone to?

    As the crown prince, he had totally lost his face today. From fire breaking out in the Eastern Pce, to him being unable to fend for himself, all of these still couldn¡¯t match up to one thing.

    And that was...

    The criminal¡¯s escape!

    "Where is he?! Where did he go?" As Lin Tianrong was ushered to the back, he did not notice the masked man¡¯s movements. And now that the masked man is gone, how could not be anxious?

    "This..."

    The three guests finally snapped out of their daze. The exchanged looks but could only see the terror in each other¡¯s eyes.

    "I am asking you, where did he go?" Lin Tianrong asked again.

    "We deserve to die!" The three guests immediately dropped to their knees, looked at each other, then shook their heads and said: "We only saw him the jump into the study, and then, we..."

    "The study?!" Lin Tianrong looked at the study that was almost burnt to ashes. It was impossible for the masked man to jump in there.

    Suicide?

    Impossible!

    With his capabilities, he wouldn¡¯t be burnt to death by the fire.

    When the generals heard this, they fretted. To jump into the burning study, during all that mess, was just an illusion.

    After all, if he were able to control the mes, it was unlikely that he would be burnt. But the crucial question was...

    Why did no one chase after him?

    The surrounding guards looked at one another, puzzled. They did not even know when did the masked man jump into the fire, hence they were not of what happened a moment ago.

    "He... is missing?" The guards were surprised.

    This meant that the masked man had set the Eastern Pce on fire, then left unharmed after he was surrounded by so many people.

    How ridiculous!

    "Get away!" Lin Tianrong looked at the bewildered guards and screamed angrily. Then he pushed the guards who still surrounded him.

    What an insult!

    It was a total insult!

    To enter the Eastern Pce in the dead of night and set fire to a pavilion and a study, then kill a guest with the attack of others, and even scared Lin Tianrong to retreat fearfully...

    And in the end...

    He actually left safely?

    He left!

    Lin Tianrong could not stand an insult like this. Such an insult aggravated him more than killing him. In the fit of rage, he grabbed a guard¡¯s knife.

    Under the moonlight, the de shone in a sharp, merciless gleam.

    He needed to vent his hatred!

    "Your Highness, don¡¯t!"

    "Your Highness, please calm down!"

    "Your Highness, please calm down!"

    A few officials were stunned upon seeing this. After all, Emperor Lin Mubai stood before them.

    If Emperor Lin Mubai saw Lin Tianrong killing people for no reason, it would be a huge matter indeed.

    Lin Tianrong stopped.

    Because he heard the officials and even saw Lin Xinjue¡¯s look of anticipation. He was furious, but he could never let Lin Xinjue get his way.

    "You bastard, put down the knife!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice finally rose. His brows furrowed tightly while he stared sternly.

    As the emperor...

    He would rarely shout at someone in the presence of all the imperial officials.

    And, this person was the crown prince.

    But when he stepped into the crown prince¡¯s residence, he could only smell blood. Among the crimes of hurting someone intentionally and showing disregard for human life, which of these wasn¡¯t a major crime?

    Although these people were the guards and servants of the crown prince¡¯s residence, in the eyes of imperialws, their lives were lives too.

    "Ding!"

    The knife dropped on the floor as Lin Tianrong loosened his hand. His face was full of unhappiness and rage, and a resignation to sheer bad luck.

    These were two entirely different emotions.

    The former was because he knew the masked man had left; thetter was because his reckless act in a moment of rage was witnessed by Emperor Lin Mubai.

    As for remorse...

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have any.

    To him, a guard¡¯s life was nothing.

    "You¡¯re not going to kneel?" Emperor Lin Mubai could not help but say this. After dropping the knife, Lin Tianrong remained standing.

    "Father, I was only... ovee by rage, I didn¡¯t..."

    "Kneel!"

    "Father, the assassin had escaped, I..."

    "Kneel!"

    "Yes..." Lin Tianrong saw the Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s grave expression. He eventually gritted his teeth and kneeled on the ground, albeit very unwillingly.

    "As the crown prince, is this how you should behave?" Lin Mubai was disappointed.

    "Father, my study was burnt, yet these useless people couldn¡¯t even catch one person, and even allowed him to escape..."

    "Shut up!" Lin Mubai stopped Lin Tianrong, and at the same time, he nced at the study. "In such a short period of time, even though the assassin had escaped, he could not have left the crown prince¡¯s residence. Follow my orders, the Royal Guards and the Eastern Pce guards, all of you are to seal the exits of the residence and let no one through!"

    "Yes!"

    "Yes!"

    The Royal Guards and the guards of the crown prince residence acknowledged the order and rushed out in various directions.

    "Tell me, what exactly happened?" Lin Mubai fretted as he turned his full attention to Lin Tianrong.

    In the capital, in the crown prince¡¯s residence.

    For an arson to happen here, he was shocked too.

    "Father, it had been a peaceful night while I was reading, until a fire broke out in the residence, and..." Lin Tianrong quickly told him everything, and of course, omitting the bits where he killed the guards.

    After he retold the events, all the officials looked at one another, bbergasted.

    "How dare he do such a thing?"

    "He actually burnt two ces in the residence, yet he didn¡¯t escape?"

    "Who is he? Only a few masters in Yan Capital are powerful enough to defeat three people with the Rebirth State!"

    As they eximed in their hearts, they had their suspicions too. Names shed in their minds.

    The emperor, King Liqin, Xing Yuanguo? Chi Hou? Or Hua Fei?

    Who else could do such a thing? It couldn¡¯t possibly be the Owl Master Yan Qianli from Western Liang, right?

    Emperor Lin Mubai had the same doubts.

    In Yan Capital, only a few had such capabilities, and all of them held high positions, and anyone linked to them would be implicated.

    "You said this person is very young?" Emperor Lin Mubai asked again.

    "Yes, his age is... no more than thirty-five!" Lin Tianrong answered with certainty.

    "Third Brother, how are you so sure? You must be joking, right? In Yan Capital, for such a powerful person younger than thirty-five, only the Imperial Concubine Hua Fei fit the bill. Are you saying that the Imperial Concubine Hua Fei burnt your study?"

    Lin Xinjue¡¯s voice lit up, his eyes had a hint of mockery. Yet his words are very true.

    "I did not say that. Why has Sixth Brothere to create sow discord?" Lin Tianrong had already been containing his anger but triggered by Lin Xinjue¡¯s words, his rage rose once again.

    "Haha, you said it yourself, I didn¡¯t speak nonsense. Well, does Yan Capital have a master younger than thirty-five years old?"

    Of course, he could see Lin Tianrong¡¯s anger. But he didn¡¯t mind if he blew up in this rage.

    "Well said, Sixth Brother! Well, I am only speaking the truth. Although it isn¡¯t bright at night, I could see there weren¡¯t any wrinkles in the corner of his eyes. Why can I not say that he is under thirty-five years old?" Lin Tianrong clenched his fist while his body stiffened slightly, but he had it under control.

    "What if it was a disguise?" Lin Xinjue smiled again.

    "Disguise?!" Lin Tianrong was stunned. His expression changed as he recalled the masked man¡¯s low voice.

    When the officials heard the word ¡¯disguise¡¯, they exchanged nces, then nodded. After all, for a person to defeat three people with Rebirth State so easily while being less than thirty-five years old, it could only be Hua Fei.

    But if it was approached from another perspective...

    The masked man would have intentionally revealed such a clue. He could have changed his appearance before he came, to mislead everyone into thinking that he was less than thirty-five years old.

    It was very likely!

    After all, he must have nned this beforehand to aplish this huge task of the burning the crown prince¡¯s residence. How could he have done this recklessly?

    The officials looked at one another and nodded with certainty.

    As for...

    Any notion of Ping Yang being drunk and came to set fire to the Eastern Pce on a whim...

    No one would have guessed so.

    Well, everyone knew of Ping Yang¡¯s capabilities.

    Not to mention three people of the Rebirth State, even one would have knocked her t on the floor.

    "Princess Ping Yang has arrived!" A voice shouted from a distance. Then, a group of people arrived in front of the officials.

    The person in the center wore a long, red dress, her crystal-clear eyes sparkled, her soft pink lips smiled slightly, a little proudly.

    Ping Yang.

    And on her right was Yan Xiu with his cold, apathetic expression, dressed in a luxurious, painted gown which bore a few red clouds.

 Chapter 551 Unbearable Passion

    As for the figure on the left, it was Nangong Mu. He was wearing an ordinary shirt and had an expression as calm as the stillke water.

    "So Nangong Mu is already in the capital?" The courtiers were slightly surprised when they saw Nangong Mu. However, it was not something that was too shocking.

    After all, Nangong Mu intended to take part in this Court Examination to begin with.

    However...

    It was a surprise for Nangong Mu to appear together with Ping Yang and Yan Xiu.

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was not exactly in a good mood. It was the first time he was publicly reprimanded by the Majesty Lin Mubai after all.

    When he heard that Ping Yang had arrived, he subconsciously lifted his head to take a look. The moment he tried to speak, a cold presence shed through his eyes.

    This was because he saw Yan Xiu as well as Nangong Mu.

    However...

    He did not see Fang Zhengzhi!

    Was he asleep? That¡¯s why he was absent?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong naturally would not think so. After all, everyone knew that Fang Zhengzhi had stayed in Ping Yang Residence the entire time. Furthermore, judging from his personality, it was impossible for him to miss out on such a big asion at the Crown Prince Residence.

    "Yan Xiu had arrived but Fang Zhengzhi is nowhere to be seen. Don¡¯t tell me..." A thought shed across Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s mind. Something that he would not, and could not think of.

    Under thirty-five years old and...

    Able to fight against three Rebirth State personnel on equal footing.

    Furthermore, he was situated in me Capital City.

    It was difficult to find someone who fit these criteria in me Capital City. The Imperial Concubine Hua Fei was one of them. However, there was another person, who had always been left out of the picture.

    This person was not of noble descent. However, he had once had great exploits in the battle of the Southern Mountain Range. He was the biggest hero and key architect of the Southern Mountain Range victory in the battle.

    Most importantly,

    This person had once fought with the Demon n¡¯s half sage Can Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    A person whom everyone had long thought became a cripple.

    He would then naturally be ignored. In fact, he would not even appear in their thoughts. Who would have thought that a cripple like Fang Zhengzhi would enter the Crown Prince Residence, fight against three Rebirth State individuals and leave like nothing had happened?

    But what if...

    What If he was not a cripple?

    In an instant, Lin Tianrong felt a shiver down his spine. If this was indeed the truth, then the result would be so disastrous, it would be uneptable.

    In the battle of the Southern Mountain Range, Fang Zhengzhi did not be a cripple!

    Furthermore, in just over a year¡¯s time, he had grown strong enough to fight three powerful Rebirth State individuals. For a person who had just attained the Supernatural State to have grown strong enough to fight three Rebirth State individuals in a year was almost impossible.

    However, if this person was Fang Zhengzhi....

    It would be highly possible.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had once grown from the Star Conglomerate State to the Heavenly Reflection State, then to the Supernatural State in a few months¡¯ time. He had even fought against the half sage Can Yang.

    This was a terrifying potential and a horrifying sinister ability.

    All of these pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Apart from this, Fang Zhengzhi still had not reached eighteen years old. If this thing bes a reality, then it would point to another issue.

    The Double Roll Champion that would shock and bring peace to the world!

    Lin Tianrong felt his body tremble. This was a heavenly prophecy. Even if he was the Crown Prince, he had to respect this divine message. Even his father, the Majesty had to do so.

    Once Fang Zhengzhi was recognized as the Chosen One, the consequences were clear.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong thought about this first and foremost.

    The other Courtiers who were beside Your Majesty Lin Mubai had also thought of the same thing. This was because Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu were all present, with the exception of one person, Fang Zhengzhi!

    A person who should have been beside Ping Yang.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, is it possible that the person who will arrive at the Crown Prince Residence today is... Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "That is not possible, wasn¡¯t he already crippled in the battle of the Southern Mountain Range? Unless he didn¡¯t..."

    "If that is the case, I¡¯m afraid..."

    The Courtiers looked at one another and seemed to be thinking about the same thing. The moment this thought appeared in their minds, a sentence that Fang Zhengzhi said not long ago shed across their minds.

    "I am going to take part in the examination held in the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    At that time, all of the courtiers looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a condescending look. How could a cripple even think about entering the examination?

    Was it possible?

    No one thought that Fang Zhengzhi had a chance of passing the examination.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi was not crippled by the battle, then the odds would be totally different. He not only had a chance to pass it, there was a high chance that he would ace the examination!

    Just as the Crown Prince and the courtiers were horrified by their thoughts, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and the rest had arrived in front of Your Majesty Lin Mubai.

    "Your Majesty, what is happening?" Ping Yang stared at Lin Mubai with a curious expression. At the same time, he nced at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, who was currently kneeling on the ground.

    "Why are you here sote in the night? You drank as well... aren¡¯t you afraid that you will catch a cold?" The moment Lin Mubai saw Ping Yang, his expression became gentle and was filled with love andpassion.

    "I wouldn¡¯t!" Ping Yang said proudly.

    "Yea... where is Young Master Fang? He didn¡¯te together with you?" Lin Mubai¡¯s expression did not change, as though he had just asked a casual question.

    However, all the courtiers understood.

    Your Majesty Lin Mubai would never ask a question simply for casual purposes.

    This was because as a Majesty, when nothing peculiar was happening, there was no reason for him to ask about the whereabouts of a Third Rank official. The possibility that he would ask why Ping Yang did not arrive with Fang Zhengzhi was then even lower.

    But he did.

    This meant that Your Majesty Lin Mubai was having the exact same thoughts as the courtiers.

    "You mean that shameless guy? I, the princess was just about to..."

    "Your Majesty is looking for me?"

    Just as Ping Yang was talking, a voice sounded from afar. Following which, two figures walked towards them.

    The first person was d in a blue long coat and had a faint smile on his face.

    Behind him was a terrified young man. He looked timid and his eyes darted around the whole time.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi and Wen Dabao.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" The courtiers stared at the figure from afar and exchanged nces. All of them saw shock and terror from each other¡¯s eyes.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had also squinted his eyes to get a better look.

    A ded resolve shone through his eyes as he kept his gaze on Fang Zhengzhi, hoping to see something different or peculiar on his face.

    However, he was disappointed.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely fine and even seemed to be slightly tipsy. Clearly, he had some wine beforeing.

    He then thought about the drunken look on Ping Yang¡¯s face and a hint of doubt appeared in his heart.

    Unless...

    It¡¯s not him?

    Then who could it be?

    Lin Tianrong clenched his fist in secret. He would, of course, be happy if the person that appeared was not Fang Zhengzhi, however, if it truly wasn¡¯t him, it also meant that he had made another enemy.

    A person who could enter the Crown Prince Residence as he wished but still maintained his identity a secret!

    King Duan Lin Xinjue had also seen Fang Zhengzhi and a smile of condescension appeared on his face, "This person is still a cripple!"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked as though he had no clue of what the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, King Duan Lin Xinjue, and the courtiers were thinking. He headed straight towards the King Lin Mubai.

    Lin Mubai was then taken aback.

    He stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing right in front of him with sparkling eyes. However, he quickly regained hisposure and managed a faint smile on his face.

    "Young Master Fang did not leave with Ping Yang?"

    "Your Majesty, I, your lowlymoner, left together with The Highness. I simply walked a bit slower. Furthermore, Mister Wen felt a little bit ufortable in his abdomen area. Hence, we were slightlyte." Fang Zhengzhi said as he pointed to Wen Dabao behind him.

    The moment Wen Dabao heard this, his face changed for the worst.

    He looked helpless and horrified.

    "I see." Lin Mubai nodded and continued with a hint of disdain in his voice, "I have already restored Young Master Fang¡¯s rank, why are you still referring to yourself as a lowlymoner. Are you saying that you look down upon the Third Rank title that I conferred upon you?"

    "Indeed, just a little bit." Fang Zhengzhi nodded and continued, "However, the most important reason is that there is still no news about the trial regarding the case of the Southern Mountain Range. Hence, I still have no intention of doing anything for the court for the time being."

    "What rudeness! Who dares to look down upon the title the great emperor had conferred? Furthermore, you are not even 18 years old. To have already reached the rank of a Third Rank official at this age is already something that was almost unprecedented in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. Not only did you not appreciate this, you even question the Majesty regarding the trial of the Southern Mountain Range? You wouldn¡¯t do anything for the Great Xia court? What kind of crime are youmitting?"

    As Fang Zhengzhipleted his sentence, another courtier¡¯s voice rang through the room. He sounded extremely furious.

    "I agree, this is way too brazen!"

    "In my opinion, we should kick out this kind of people!"

    "If not for the Majesty¡¯s recognition of your ability in the battle of the Southern Mountain Range, why would he restore your official rank? You are already a cripple! Why aren¡¯t you satisfied?"

    As the first courtier voiced out his opinion, many others voiced their discontent as well.

    Lin Mubai did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to reply in this manner. He moved his lips but did not know what to say.

    In the end, he could only sigh.

    "Then we shall wait until the day the case of the Southern Mountain Range is resolved."

    "Your lowlymoner thank your Majesty." Fang Zhengzhi bowed respectfully before he cast his gaze on Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and the fire that was about to be extinguished from the study room, "Oh, there is a fire!"

    Everyone was dumbfounded upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    They knew that Fang Zhengzhi and the Crown Prince did not get along. However, the only person who dared to say such words in front of the Crown Prince himself was probably Fang Zhengzhi.

    Sarcasm!

    Pure Sarcasm!

    If the courtiers who entered the Crown Prince Residence did so out of concern, then Fang Zhengzhi was merely here just to watch a show.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what did you say?" Lin Tianrong was enraged. He could ept the reprimanding he got from the Majesty, however, he would not ept being criticised by a cripple.

    "I am referring to the Crown Prince¡¯s study. Why is it on fire? Are you telling me that I am not saying the truth? Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he sniggered.

    "You..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to say something to rebut this impudent fellow, however, he had nothing to say.

    This was because the Majesty was right in front of him. There were also many courtiers around and even King Duan, Lin Xinjue.

    "Alright, you are the Crown Prince. How can you get into an argument with a courtier?" The Majesty Lin Mubai shook his head. The reputation of the royal family had to be maintained, however, one should not be doing so by suppressing the courtiers.

    The other courtiers also shook their heads profusely.

    They were indeed shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. However, it had sort of became a normal urrence for Fang Zhengzhi to do this.

    The Crown Prince?

    He was an existence that was highly regarded by ordinary people.

    However, he seemed to have no respect even for the Emperor.

    Wen Dabao could not really wrap his head around what happened.

    This had nothing to do with the words Fang Zhengzhi just said. This was due to him witnessing the huge pit behind Crown Prince Lin Tianrong as well as the three guests and the study room that had beenpletely charred from the fire.

    In an instant, he stopped sweating from his back.

    This was because only he knew the mastermind behind this ploy!

    In fact, even Ping Yang was unable to react to this situation, when she saw Fang Zhengzhi, she was shocked.

    At that moment, she thought her eyes were ying tricks on her.

    That was until Fang Zhengzhi slowly walked towards her.

    It was only then when she finally realized the pit behind Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, the shattered stones, and the shocking scene.

    All these...

    They were pointing her towards one conclusion.

    "I am going to take part in the examination held in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion!"

    "I have a promise to fulfill, I must go!"

    Ping Yang¡¯s breathing started bing heavier and her chest heaved up and down visibly. Her clear blue eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi as her pink lips muttered inaudibly.

    Are you telling me this shameless person...

    Was not crippled!

    As this thought appeared in her head, another scene shed through her mind. Specifically, it was a letter, a letter that arrived from Heavenly Dao Pavilion a few months ago.

    Ping Yang, I have to study now. I might not be able to write to you in the near future.

    "Promise?!"

    "Study?"

    Ping Yang¡¯s face turned red. All these realizations were way too sudden and violent. She was unable to ept all these.

 Chapter 552 The Woman Who Alters Fate

    "How can it be? This person was not crippled?"

    Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi with erged eyes, looking at his dismissive expression and condescending smile.

    Before today, she would definitely have thought that Fang Zhengzhi was arrogant, bold and na?ve. To think that he would bargain right in front of her father!

    However, Ping Yang felt none of those at that moment.

    When a person was not strong enough, an arrogant expression would let others believe that he was overestimating himself. However, what if a person was strong enough?

    Would anyone think that he was insane and dismissive?

    That was a mistake!

    Everything was a mistake!

    Not only was she wrong, the entire room of courtiers, her third brother the Crown Prince, her sixth brother King Duan, as well as her almighty father, were all wrong.

    "This shameless person has the capacity to be arrogant. He has the capacity to bargain with her father. Third Ranking Official? He was worthy of being the Law Official! If what happened today was really nned by this person, then we have truly conferred upon him a title not befitting of his capabilities!"

    Ping Yang then subconsciously moved towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    She wanted to see the features of this shameless person clearly. She wanted to determine if he was indeed as strong as she envisioned him to be

    Her rosy cheeks were flushed as she continued forward. However, she seemed to not realize that she was moving a bit too close, her face was going to make contact with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s one anytime soon.

    This scene...

    Was naturally captured in the eyes of the courtiers.

    Everyone was shocked by the turn of events. They actually so Princess Ping Yang moving closer and closer towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    And even closer...

    "What a disgrace!"

    If the person who did this was not Ping Yang, but any other woman, they would definitely have shouted that sentence out loud.

    However, they didn¡¯t dare to!

    This was because the person was Ping Yang. She was the most doted daughter of the Majesty and most importantly, the emperor was right in front of them.

    "So this is the guy who made the Princess..."

    "No wonder he dared to bargain with the emperor and even showed disdain at his official rank. He did not even care about the Crown Prince! To think that he had something to fall back on!"

    "It seems like Fang Zhengzhi did not stop plotting while he was in Ping Yang Residence. To think that he did something of this sort to the Princess. This is way too shameless, the princess is not even married yet!"

    "I sincerely hope he did not get what he wants? Or else..."

    These thoughts immediately shed through the courtier¡¯s mind. The then looked at Fang Zhengzhi again with new impressions in their head.

    For example, things like a paedophilic beast! Or a shameless man who cheats on Ping Yang¡¯s innocent and pure feelings!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you dared to..." Lin Tianrong wanted to say out those words, but under the judging eyes of the courtiers, he swallowed them back.

    A pair of eyes squinted and looked at Ping Yang while clenching her fists.

    If...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang truly had that kind of rtionship.

    Then even he would not be able to do anything to Fang Zhengzhi. This was because the Majesty would never let Ping Yange to harm.

    As for widowhood?

    That would be even more impossible!

    The scene was awkwardly quiet.

    Lin Mubai also fell speechless. The expression on his face became strange upon seeing this scene as his eyes widened in shock.

    As a father!

    He had always strived to give Ping Yang the best life and utmost protection.

    However, he had never thought that Ping Yang would fall in love with Fang Zhengzhi. More specifically, he did not expect it to happen too fast.

    "You beast, my daughter is still young! I still want her by my side for a few more years, how dare you..." Lin Mubai thought of these things in his heart, though he could not say them out.

    This was because Ping Yang was the person clearly moving towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    In other words...

    His treasured daughter was the one who made the initiative. If he forcibly stops them now, it might have the opposite effect.

    Marriage amongst the royal family.

    This had always been aplicated thing.

    Sometimes, it would be used to gain the support from powerful courtiers. On other asions, it could also be used to achieve peaceful coexistence with the countries on the sidelines.

    Of course, Lin Mubai had never thought of using Ping Yang for any political purposes. However, this did not mean that he would be willing to let anyone marry her.

    Not to mention for her to make the initiative towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not think that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t good enough.

    It was just...

    Lin Mubai had never thought about this. Everything was too sudden, there just wasn¡¯t enough time for him to ept it. Should he really let Fang Zhengzhi be his son-inw?

    At that moment, Lin Mubai was seriously thinking about a problem that he had never once encountered.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally would not be able to guess the courtier¡¯s thoughts. However, he could feel a warm gush of air closing in towards him.

    The moment he turned his head, his eyes widened.

    This was because a pair of clear blue eyes was slowly approaching him, and under the pair of eyes, was a supple, pink lip.

    For a moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought processes became sluggish. He had never once thought that Ping Yang would make such a move.

    Until...

    He felt a warm soft sensation on his face.

    "What is going on!" Fang Zhengzhi woke up from his trance and immediately retreated a few steps. He had always regarded himself as a reseller of his knowledge and not his body. What did the intimacy even mean?

    Even if it was just the face!

    Most importantly...

    There were courtiers, the Crown Prince, King Duan and even Lin Mubai watching them. What did he just experience?

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously stared at Lin Mubai.

    He then saw the livid expression on his face.

    Well... that would probably be the expression of any father who saw his precious daughter being taken advantage of. It wasn¡¯t an expression of rage, but it definitely wasn¡¯t happy.

    "Shit, he is not going to suspect me of having an intimate rtionship with his daughter, right?" Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely maligned. He needed to exin himself.

    However, at that moment, Ping Yang had also recollected herself and took a look at Fang Zhengzhi who had retreated a few steps away. She did not react to what had just happened.

    However, it did not take long for her to scream.

    "Hm? Ah!"

    At the same time, one of her feet went flying towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was simply an ordinary kick in self-defense.

    There were no shy moves and no glow enveloping her legs. One could imagine that this was a kick out of embarrassment.

    "Ouch!" After a cry of pain, a figure flew across the room andnded on his butt. Following which, an enraged voice sounded, "Are you crazy!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious. After all, he suffered that kick for nothing. He should be awarded 500000 silver for that kick, no at least, 1000000 silver!"

    As Fang Zhengzhi was fuming mad, Ping Yang was stunned.

    Not only did Ping Yang freeze in her tracks, Wen Dabao was dumbfounded as well. Even Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu were slightly surprised. The four of them stared at Fang Zhengzhi and did not know how to react.

    Was he hit?

    How is that possible?

    If Ping Yang could guess what happened in the study of the Crown Prince, how could Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu not? They had all guessed the mastermind behind this ploy.

    However...

    If Fang Zhengzhi was not crippled, then how could he be hit by Ping Yang¡¯s kick. That kick waspletely unnned and unamazing.

    Did he do it on purpose?

    They would not think so.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was never someone who would deliberately make himself suffer. If he could escape the wrath of that kick, he would definitely have done so.

    Then, what was happening?

    Doubt loomed over the room.

    When the rest of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi sitting helplessly on the ground, they also exchanged nces with one another.

    Originally...

    Although they predicted that the person who came into the Crown Prince Residence would not be Fang Zhengzhi, they still harbored some suspicions.

    However, they had no more suspicions now.

    This was because Ping Yang merely gave an ordinary kick. If Fang Zhengzhi did not truly be a cripple, he would have instinctively dodged that attack. This was a reflex.

    But he didn¡¯t!

    "This person is apletely cripple!"

    A hint of disdain then shed across the courtier¡¯s eyes. From their perspective, Fang Zhengzhi was merely still here due to his rtionship with Ping Yang.

    As for his strength? A person who could not even dodge Ping Yang¡¯s kick definitely could not defeat three Rebirth State individuals.

    Lin Mubai also stared quizzically at Fang Zhengzhi, who was now getting up from his fall. From his actions, he seemed extremely clumsy.

    It can even be said to be weak.

    "Am I too paranoid?" Lin Mubai shook his head and frowned. He then looked at Ping Yang and stared into those clear blue eyes.

    A warm fuzzy feeling rose from his heart.

    "They look exactly the same. The nose, the lips, especially the eyes. Clean and clear, not tainted by a speck of dust...

    Lim Mubai then closed his eyes momentarily.

    In his mind, a figure appeared. That magnificent figure was dancing around in his mind, the long sleeves fluttered like a cloud of elegant smoke, swaying his heart

    "Our daughter has grown up, do you know? Why have you not visited her after all these years?"

    "It has been over ten years. Is there really no hope for us?"

    "No, I will not give up!"

    "There must be a chance, there must be. I have waited too long for this day..."

    "I have actually pleaded with uncle you know? I really did, but he did not agree..."

    "Look, our daughter has grown up, she has someone she likes."

    "What should I do? I want to keep her by my side forever. But I know that is impossible. She will have to marry someday."

    "But..."

    "Do you really bear to not show up on your daughter¡¯s wedding? Are you truly that heartless?"

    "Give me an answer, what should I do?"

    "Father, father, are you alright?"

    Ping Yang¡¯s voice sounded beside Lin Mubai, her arms shaking his one ever so gently. An expression of worry covered her face.

    Of course...

    An act of disturbing the emperor¡¯s thought processes.

    Ping Yang was probably the only person in the entire Great Xia Dynasty that dared to and was allowed to do so. If anyone else had done it, they would directly be given the capital punishment.

    "Hm?" Lin Mubai recollected himself and cast his gaze onto Ping Yang once again. He then reverted to his gentle expression and said, "Nothing much. Don¡¯t worry, Ping Yang, I am merely thinking of something."

    "Is father thinking of mother again?" Ping Yang said as she blinked her crystal clear eyes, looking at him expectantly.

    The courtiers broke out in cold sweat listening to Ping Yang¡¯s question.

    As what Ping Yang had said, the Great Xia Dynasty did have Empresses. There were even more than one of them. However, that was already a thing of more than ten years ago.

    As for the queen that Ping Yang mentioned, she should be thest queen the Great Xia Dynasty ever had. She was a woman who was directly named queen right after her first appearance.

    Before that woman appeared...

    The Great Xia Dynasty still had one queen, which was the mother of the Crown Prince.

    However, once that woman appeared, the previous queen was immediately robbed of her title, though this incident was not as dramatic as one would have imagined.

    Only because the person who suggested this was the previous queen.

    More importantly, when the previous queen made this suggestion, not one of the courtiers made any objections.

    No one had their suspicions or even doubt about this decision.

    The previous queen was willing to let go of her title and allowed the new queen to take over. Everything was done perfectly and efficiently, as though it should have been the case.

    It was also a period of prosperity and joy. At that time, the Great Xia Dynasty was not exactly strong in military, but they were feared by all.

    In that year, all of the neighboring countries came to pay a visit.

    All to see the new queen.

    s...

    The new queen did not stay in the Great Xia Dynasty for long.

    Ten years ago, she left the Great Xia Dynasty. She stepped out of the royal pce into the me Capital City and then out of it. Until now, she had neither returned, nor even stepped into the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty even once.

    After which, the Great Xia Dynasty was surrounded by enemies and ravaged by war.

 Chapter 553 Do You Need To Be So Fake!

    Until Hua Fei¡¯s arrival together with an infant Ping Yang, Lin Mubai was stillpletely devastated by the queen¡¯s sudden departure. Ping Yang then awakened him from his depression and gave him the optimism to rule again, bringing life back to the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The Dynasty prospered because of that queen.

    But it fell with her departure as well.

    Even their revival was due to her new-born child.

    She was a person who could control the fate of the Great Xia Dynasty. She also strikes fear into the hearts of every courtier.

    "Ping Yang has indeed grown up..." Lin Mubai did not answer Ping Yang¡¯s question. He merely said an abrupt sentence and changed the topic.

    "Of course!" Ping Yang stood up straight and put on an arrogant expression. Her clear blue eyes then shed with brilliance as she said, "Yes! Didn¡¯t father say that Ping Yang will be able to meet mother when I grow up? When can Ping Yang see her?"

    "Your mother?" Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned for a moment as a bitter smile emerged on his face. He then quickly turned that into a gentle smile and said, "Don¡¯t worry, you will be able to see her!"

    "But when will that be?" Ping Yang pouted expectantly.

    "Soon... very soon!" Lin Mubai caressed Ping Yang¡¯s soft and supple hair as his eyes gleamed with a decade-long regret.

    "Is that so? After seeing my mother, I will definitely challenge her in front of all the officials!" Ping Yang seemed extremely excited when she mentioned this point.

    "Challenge your mother? Why?" Lin Mubai was slightly shocked.

    "Didn¡¯t father said that mother is extremely powerful and no one can stop her? If Ping Yang can stop her, then I will be able to stop her from leaving the pce. Am I right?" Ping Yang said.

    "Stop her from leaving the pce? This... Ping Yang is right. As long as we can defeat her, she will not be able to leave..." Lin Mubai replied mechanically and nodded his head.

    The entire courtiers then exchanged nces after listening to Ping Yang¡¯s speech before shaking their heads in unison.

    Defeating that woman?

    As time passed, the royal guards and the guards from the Crown Prince Residence returned with the reports of their investigation. There was still no information regarding the Assassin that conducted the arson.

    Such a result would undoubtedly be surprising to the courtiers present.

    However, how far could that Assassin have gone in such a short time? One should know that the moment Lin Mubai was informed, the Crown Prince Residence was already surrounded by guards.

    But...

    The moment the courtiers remembered that the Assassin was someone strong enough to fight three Rebirth State individuals, they were able to ept the results better. After all, for a person of such caliber to escape the Crown Prince Residence under the eyes of the guards was not something too difficult.

    The remaining things were simple. They simply had to clean up the burnt study room and clean up the blood stains around the area. These menial chores naturally fell into the hands of the maids and guards in the residence.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to show interest in it, circling the study room and the area. This attracted Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu and Wen Dabao to circle the room as well.

    Lin Tianrong naturally witnessed such a situation.

    His face suddenly turned serious. It was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was using this action to poke fun at him.

    "Back to the pce!" Lin Mubai could care less for these tactics. He then stared at the sky then at the Crown Prince who had just gotten up from his kneeling position. Feeling helpless, he shook his head before saying, "The Emperor returns to the pce!"

    "The Emperor returns to the pce!"

    As the Majesty Lin Mubai spoke, many voices echoed his words.

    Seeing that the Emperor Lin Mubai and all the courtiers were leaving while Fang Zhengzhi was still hanging around the study room, the Crown Prince could not hold it in anymore.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you are still not leaving?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong sniggered.

    "Oh, I¡¯ll leave now!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. He seemed to not take offense at Lin Tianrong¡¯s tone.

    Lin Tianrong also heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.

    It would be impossible if the study room hadpletely no evidence. However, the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was extremely cautious in the way he did things.

    He could not have ced the most important things in the study room.

    In fact, he had hidden it in the secret chamber!

    The location of the secret chamber was right below the study room. In order words, even if the study room was burnt to a crisp, the secret chamber below would not suffer any damages.

    Furthermore, even his secret chamber contained no information regarding the battle of Southern Mountain Range.

    Why the hell would he keep that sort of thing?

    He had destroyed all forms of evidence and letters a long time ago.

    This was also the exact reason why he allowed Fang Zhengzhi to circle around the study room for such a long time.

    Of course, this was partly due to the fact that Fang Zhengzhi did not enter the study room, but merely circled its perimeter. As for what he was thinking, Lin Tianrong was well aware.

    He was finding clues regarding the battle of Southern Mountain Range!

    However...

    There was an ancient saying that goes, the innocent will stay innocent while the guilty will be guilty himself. This was the exact state Lin Tianrong was in. Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be bent on searching for clues in the study room.

    He would allow him to do so. IN fact, he had hoped he did it with more gusto.

    It would help to prove his innocence in front of all the courtiers as well.

    Just as he was having this thought, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have found a treasure in the ruins. He then screamed loudly.

    "Hey, there seemed to be a few letters that have not been fully burnt!"

    "Letters?" Lin Tianrong was startled and stared at Fang Zhengzhi in disgust before saying, "How can that be? It was such a huge fire, any letters would have been burnt by now. Furthermore, you are outside the study room, how can you find any letters?"

    He did not believe it.

    However, the moment Fang Zhengzhi held up a few half-burnt letters, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes widened immediately.

    "How can that be?" Lin Tianrong could not believe his eyes. Were these letters carried into the residence by the wind?

    He regained hisposure after having these thoughts.

    Even if there were a few letters that were carried here by the wind, it was no big deal. The letters in the study room were mostly ordinary letters, there should not be any secretive messages written on them.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was not worried at all.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had also walked forward, bringing Ping Yang and the others with him. He also held the charred letters in his hand.

    "Crown Prince, I have found a few letters for you. Shouldn¡¯t you thank me? You can reward me with 80000 silvers or something, I won¡¯t mind." Fang Zhengzhi spoke as he walked.

    "I will definitely thank Sir Fang properly for helping me to clean up this mess!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong answered with a gloomy face.

    "Hey, this letter seemed to be written by the Southern Region Noblelite?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped halfway and shouted quizzically.

    "What? A letter from the Southern Region Noblelite?"

    "Is it a letter from Shan Ling?"

    "How can such a thing appear in the Crown Prince Residence?"

    The courtiers who were already prepared to leave all froze in their tracks and looked at the charred letter in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, their faces overwhelmed with shock.

    The Crown Prince Residence had a letter from the Southern Region Noblelite Shan Ling? It was something that could never have happened.

    Not only the courtiers stopped in their tracks.

    Even the Emperor Lin Mubai, who had already traveled at least 300 feet, turned back to look at Fang Zhengzhi, specifically, the letters in his hand in shock.

    "A letter from the Southern Region Noblelite?" Lin Mubai frowned as he said.

    As for Crown Prince Lin Tianrong...

    He was slightly flustered.

    A letter from the Southern Region Noblelite? Shan Ling? How can such a thing appear in his study room? Those things should have already been destroyed when he was in the Southern Region.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you wrong me! When did I establish connections with the Southern Region Noblelite?" The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong replied without hesitation.

    He would never admit to something he did not have.

    Furthermore, letters with conversations between him and the Southern Region Noblelite Shan Ling was clearly a thing that did not belong in his study room.

    "Oh? The Crown Prince did not establish any contact with the Southern Region Noblelite? Then it seems like these letters do not belong to the Crown Prince then." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he heard Lin Tianrong¡¯s speech.

    Following which, he then tore open the letters in his hand and read them brazenly. He did not have any respect for the person¡¯s privacy.

    "What do you mean? Something that did not belong to me..." The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was horrified when he saw Fang Zhengzhi tearing the letter apart.

    In an instant, he seemed to have understood!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have the authority to tear open any letter within the Crown Prince Residence.

    In other words, even if Fang Zhengzhi had found a letter, he had to hand it over without doing anything to it. However, since the Crown Prince himself had denied any rtion to the letter, he had also indirectly imed that the letters do not belong to the residence.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions all made sense now.

    His intentions were disyed right in front of the Crown Prince.

    Fang Zhengzhi tore open the letter immediately.

    Furthermore, he did it in front of all the courtiers, the Emperor Lin Mubai, andstly the Crown Prince himself. He openly tore open the letter that found its way to the Crown Prince¡¯s study.

    "What is this person trying to do? If he is just trying to frame me, can he not make it so fake?" The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong still could not figure out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true intentions.

    Framing?

    On normal circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions truly render such suspicions.

    However, he simply circled the study room briefly and somehow managed to find an important "evidence". No matter how one looked at it, this framing technique was way too fake and immature.

    Who would believe him?

    All the courtiers? Or the Majesty Lin Mubai?

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong did not believe that the courtiers and his father would believe Fang Zhengzhi unconditionally. After all, this technique seemed way too retarded.

    He should havee up with something smarter.

    For example, he could try creating a deceitful act or to include his ploy into a conversation they were having. He could even use a decoy for his ns or use a yful little trick up his sleeves. Basically, anything else would be better than this.

 Chapter 554 Heavenly Rage

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was infuriated. However, he could not help but be fearful of what Fang Zhengzhi had in his hand. This was because the situation today was extremely unfavorable to him.

    After all, the Majesty had just reprimanded him.

    He did not wish to be entangled in furtherplications after that incident.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed bent on giving him trouble. After opening the letter, he gave an exceptionally surprised and horrified expression.

    "Wow, so this is what happened!"

    He then gave a series of astonished gasps to attract the courtiers¡¯ attention. All of them then stared at Fang Zhengzhi with unmoving gazes.

    "What exactly is written in the letter?"

    "Could it be the conversations between the Southern Region Noblelite and the Crown Prince?"

    "It should not be the case. The Southern Region Noblelite had already been dead for more than a year. How could the Crown Prince be in possession of this letter?"

    The courtiers were all curious, though none of them believed that the letter in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was a real copy.

    Talking about curiosity...

    Ping Yang¡¯s curiosity was definitely higher than anyone else.

    Hence, when Fang Zhengzhi released a sound of exmation, Ping Yang quickly grabbed the letter from his hand without any hesitation.

    "Hm?" Ping Yang swept her gaze across the letter as her usual rosy and yful demeanor was slowly drawn out from her face. Her pair of clear eyes seemed stuck to the letter as she disyed an incredulous expression.

    Clearly, Ping Yang was extremely shocked.

    This led the courtiers to feel horrified.

    If only Fang Zhengzhi disyed such an expression, they would all have thought that the problemy in the letters. However, if even Ping Yang had such an expression, then these letters might be pointing to some clues that they never discovered.

    As this thought shed through their minds...

    Ping Yang suddenly grabbed all the letters from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and smirked condescendingly at him.

    After which...

    Ping Yang then bolted towards the Emperor Lin Mubai.

    As the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong saw this scene, he became extremely anxious. To think that the letter was now in Ping Yang¡¯s hands. Furthermore, she was going to hand it over to the Emperor!

    How could he not be anxious!

    "What kind of letter is that? What evidence did this person create out of thin air?" The Crown Prince widened his eyes, hoping to get a glimpse of the content of the letter.

    But he was unable to.

    He regretted his previous actions. Why did he have to deny his connections to those letters? Why did he have to say they did not belong to him.

    If...

    If he had not said those words? Then these letters would never have been torn open, not would itnd into Ping Yang¡¯s hands and then in the hands of the Emperor.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, it is not so easy to frame me, the Crown Prince!" Lin Tianrong gritted his teeth and stared at Fang Zhengzhi usingly.

    After King Duan saw this scene, he also topped in his tracks and a hint of doubt shed through his eyes. Up till now, he had also thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were way too fake.

    Although the oue of his actions seemed to be satisfactory.

    However...

    Would such a childish technique work on the Emperor Lin Mubai?

    Even if those letters truly contained information regarding Lin Tianrong¡¯s connections with the Southern Region Noblelite, the Emperor Lin Mubai probably would not believe them.

    After all, it was a simple task to forge a letter. If one could mimic a person¡¯s handwriting, it was not a difficult thing to do.

    This was King Duan¡¯s opinion of the situation, and also the all the courtiers were having.

    As for the Emperor Lin Mubai...

    His face seemed to be expressionless as he watched Ping Yang running over with the letters. He then stared at the letters in her hand.

    In the end, he still took over the letters.

    He then slowly opened the letter in his hands.

    The courtiers watched intently as Lin Mubai took over the letters. They were carefully observing the minor changes in his facial expression

    "Hm?" At that moment, Lin Mubai¡¯s lips opened ever so slightly and emitted a soft hum. At that same time, his eyes glimmered in shock.

    He then looked up at Fang Zhengzhi. That gaze was akin to the one a hunter would cast on his ferocious prey before hemenced his kill.

    It was both shocking and inexplicable.

    Many a time, people thought that a hunter would be extremely ted to see a ferocious beast. However, when a hunter truly meets a ferocious beast that exceeded their imaginations, joy and happiness was a far cry from their actual feelings.

    It was a battle.

    A battle for life and death.

    The survival of the fittest!

    Lin Mubai¡¯s gaze was of such a nature. He wanted to detect something from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, and although he failed terribly, he still kept his gaze tightly on him.

    Time....

    Seemed to have stopped.

    Everyone looked at Lin Mubai expectantly while the Lin Mubai observed Fang Zhengzhi with interest.

    Apart from them, both Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu were also watching.

    Of course, Wen Dabao also stared intently, although the expression on his face was totally different. His expression was one of fear, a fear that made him tremble with unease.

    After god knows how long, Lin Mubai cast his nce away from Fang Zhengzhi and at the same time, folded the letter in his hands.

    "Tianrong!" Lin Mubai cast his nce towards the Crown Prince Tianrong.

    "You son is present!" Lin Tianrong was shocked as he stared into the eyes of Lin Mubai. Despite not knowing what happened, he subconsciously knelt down.

    "Do you know what sin you havemitted?" Lin Mubai had a cold expression on his face.

    The courtiers were all shocked at this result. This was because the Emperor would not question the Crown Prince with this tone without any basis.

    Sin?

    That would mean that he was guilty!

    But what crime did the Crown Princemit?

    Although Lin Mubai did not explicitly state his crime, the courtiers only had one possibility in their minds. Could it be that the Crown Prince indeed maintained connections with the Southern Region Noblelite?

    How could that be!

    No courtiers would believe in such a thing.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was even more perplexed at the situation. He couldn¡¯t have not known what was in his study room. How could he miss out on a letter from the Southern Region Noblelite if it was truly present?

    It is a fake!

    Everything is a fake!

    "Father, Fang Zhengzhi is wronging me. I have never sent any letters to the Southern Region Noblelite. Father has to believe me!" Lin Tianrong gave an expression which showed that he was being wronged.

    "Is that so?" Lin Mubai still maintained his stern tone.

    "Father, please think carefully. My study room has already been destroyed. The entire room was burned to a crisp. How can there still be any letters present in this situation? Besides, even if there are letters present, how can it be regarding the Southern Region Noblelite. How can father believe in this coincidence! Fang Zhengzhi is the one who had created this fake letter to frame me. Father, please make the correct decision!"

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was bitter. How could he, a prestigious Crown Prince, be framed in his own residence by such childish tactics. How could he not be bitter about this?

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    I, the Crown Prince, will kill you!

    "The entire study room was burnt? Destroyed? Are you sure?" The moment Lin Mubai heard this sentence, another cold presence enveloped the area. Everyone could feel immense pressureing from him.

    The sudden change in the situation left the courtiers with cold sweat breaking out from their forehead.

    However, they still could not understand...

    Why would Lin Mubai be so infuriated after reading the letter? Why would he not first check the validity of the letters?

    This should not be the case!

    Judging from Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s intelligence, he should not be acting too rashly, especially when this issue was rted to the Crown Prince.

    What exactly...

    Did the letters contain?

    "You son... Your son..." Lin Tianrong felt perspiration dripped down from his forehead. However, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Your son would never lie to Your Majesty!"

    "You bastard, how dare you deny the usations!" Lin Mubai finally released his fury as a golden glow lit up in his eyes.

    This was a blinding golden brilliance.

    It was exactly the same as the light emitted when Hua Fei saved Lin Tianrong.

    As this golden light shone across the room, a bright voice bellowed across the atmosphere. It was as though the dragon had offered his mighty roar.

    "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

    "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

    "Father, please calm down!"

    Voices rang consecutively across the room. Following which, all the figures knelt down in respect. Even King Duan Lin Xinjue also knelt down subconsciously.

    However, the golden brilliance surrounding Lin Mubai did not seem to be diminishing. IN fact, it was bing brighter every second, as though he was bathed in golden light.

    At the same time, a giant shadow seemed to be appearing behind him. It looked like an extremely huge creature.

    "I will ask you one more time. Do you know what sin you havemitted?"

    "Your son, Your son... do not know of any sins!" The Crown Prince had long kept his head stuck firmly to the ground. However, he gritted his teeth and stood his ground.

    Most importantly, he did not even know what crime he hadmitted, not to mention the content of the letter that Fang Zhengzhi gave Lin Mubai.

    How then, could he have admitted to anything?

    "Hmph, it looks like you are not going to admit it!" Lin Mubai then bellowed and swung his arms. IN an instant, a golden light was released from his body and rushed into the horizon.

    The night sky was instantly illuminated.

    The countless stars dazzling in the night sky seemed to lose their luster as well.

    Boom! A loud explosion rang from the horizon. Following which, a golden ray shot downwards as though a meteor had fallen from the sky, smashing onto the study room which was alreadypletely charred.

    Bang!

    Rubble and dust exploded in all directions.

    The golden light blew up all the ashes in the area. Countless ck kes danced around in the air and covered the horizon.

 Chapter 555 The Plan Begins

    There was silence.

    The courtiers, the royal guards and the servants all looked at the spot where the golden lightnded, despite the fact that dust was still obstructing their vision.

    "His Majesty is truly enraged!"

    "It is the Emperor¡¯s rage, the Emperor¡¯s rage..."

    "There is definitely a problem with that letter!"

    Thoughts shed through the courtier¡¯s mind. However, all of them were simple baseless conjectures. No one knew the true content o the letter.

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was trembling.

    He was the prestigious Crown Prince. However, under the immense pressure from the Emperor¡¯s rage, he would also feel a shiver down his spine. This was the power of the Majesty.

    Perhaps, one day, he could attain such power too.

    However...

    It was still too early for him!

    King Duan Lin Xinjue knelt down on the floor. On the surface, he seemed to be pleading for mercy for Lin Tianrong. However, anyone could see that he had a cold-blooded smile on the side of his lips.

    "Father is enraged! It has been years since he was so angry. Fang Zhengzhi, you are truly something! To be able to let father feel so indignant with just a few letters. Even I am starting to get curious, what exactly did you use to frame my Third Brother?"

    Lin Xinjue sniggered as he cast his nce onto the ce where the golden lightnded. Slowly, his eyes widened as the smile on his face became more obvious.

    So that was why!

    "It is a secret chamber!"

    "There is a secret chamber underneath the study room!"

    "How can it be?"

    As the dust settled, the courtiers had also discovered the secret chamber underneath the study room. This was supposed to be a well0hidden room. However, all the disguise were no match for the beam of golden light that shone through the horizon.

    Lin Tianrong also slowly moved his gaze towards the secret chamber. He stared straight into the entrance to the secret chamber which was sted open and the ck secret passage that was illuminated by the moonlight.

    In an instant, his body shivered and he became extremely pale. Even his legs became wobbly.

    It was the secret chamber!

    Did father know about the secret chamber?

    How could that be? Wasn¡¯t it about the Southern Region Noblelite? What has that got to do with the secret chamber? What was happening?

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong could not connect the rtionship between the two. How would a letter regarding the Southern Region Noblelite lead to the discovery of his secret chamber underneath his study room?

    They were twopletely different issues altogether...

    But now, they were so coincidentally connected together.

    "Might it be..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s mind whirled at a high speed and when he once again cast his gaze onto Fang Zhengzhi, he finally understood.

    It was deliberate!

    It was a deliberate act to say that the letter was from the Southern Region Noblelite!

    The aim was to make the Crown Prince deny the usations so as to give him the authority to tear open the letter in front of everyone else. He could then expose this to the public.

    At that moment, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong finally understood the entire ploy.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not looking for any letters to begin with when he circled the study room. He was merely checking the validity of the secret chamber he had heard about. He then used "childish" methods to lower his opponent¡¯s guard.

    "Damn it!" Li Tianrong felt bitter. As the prestigious Crown Prince, he was yed in the Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palms again and again. It felt extremely terrible.

    "Do you have anything else to say?" Lin Mubai¡¯s voice interrupted Lin Tianrong¡¯s thought and pulled him back into reality.

    "I havemitted a sin and I should not have lied to father. You son... indeed constructed a smaller study underneath my main study. But... your humble son do not know that father was referring to this issue!" Lin Tianrong kept his head firmly to the ground. He was very clear with the information the secret chamber contained.

    It contained all the conversations he had with the courtiers and the ploys he had so prided himself on aplishing. However, it was now all exposed by the Emperor, Lin Mubai.

    The moment these things were made known to public...

    He would die!

    So would the courtiers who had joined him in his hideous acts!

    "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although the Crown Prince had hidden some things from you, there must be a reason for it. Perhaps the Crown Prince really did not know what your Majesty was referring to!

    "Yes, your Majesty! It can be thought of as a type of protection as well, creating a secret chamber underneath the main study. After all, certain ancient books cannot be ced so flippantly in the main study. They have to be treated with care! Please forgive the Crown Prince for his ignorance!"

    "Please forgive the Crown Prince for his ignorance!"

    The courtiers looked at the exposed secret chamber and all knelt down simultaneously. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads even though they had no idea what the Crown Prince was hiding in the secret chamber.

    However...

    They knew that somewhere in that stash of secret documents, their names would appear.

    At this moment, saving the Crown Prince,

    Was akin to saving themselves.

    The Majesty Lin Mubai then stared at the kneeling courtiers and frowned while keeping silent. He then moved closer to the secret chamber a step at a time.

    "Father, your son will repent! I beg for your forgiveness!" As Lin Tianrong saw Lin Mubai walking closer to the secret chamber, he shuffled forward a few steps and hit his head hard on the ground. A blood stain could be seen on the ground where he continuously begged for forgiveness.

    "We beg for your forgiveness, your Majesty!"

    "The Crown Prince is indeed guilty. However, he is still the Crown Prince. May the Majesty believe in his will to repent and give him onest chance!"

    "Yes, may the Majesty forgive the Crown Prince!"

    When they saw Lin Mubai waling towards the secret chamber, all the courtiers exchanged nces and once again knelt down simultaneously to beg for forgiveness.

    "Father, I am truly repentant. Please give me onest chance. I will stay in the residence to reflect on my wrongdoings. Please forgive me!"

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had already guessed the content of the letter. He also knew that the moment Lin Mubai entered the secret chamber, he would be finished.

    He was now making a risky bet.

    He was betting on Lin Mubai¡¯sst shred of kindness and benevolence.

    "I have already given you a chance. However, you did not seem willing to take it that time. How can I then, give you another chance?" Lin Mubai said as he stared coldly at Lin Tianrong. The raging presence surrounding him did not seem to be diminishing.

    "Father!" Lin Tianrong was desperate and could care less about his reputation. He immediately knelt down right at Lin Mubai¡¯s feet as stared at him with a tear-stricken face.

    "Hmph!" Lin Mubai kicked him away and quickly walked towards the secret chamber. Lin Tianrong¡¯s pleading did not budge him at all.

    As King Duan Lin Xinjue observed this scene, an expectant look appeared on his face.

    Secret Chamber?

    The secret chamber underneath the study room!

    No one would believe it if the Crown Prince said that there was nothing inside. Once the information inside the secret chamber was exposed, he would definitely be ripped of his Crown Prince title.

    As he stared at Lin Mubai who was moving closer to the secret chamber, he felt agitated. This was because the moment Lin Mubai entered the study room, it would signify the end of the Crown Prince.

    "Father, can you still remember the queen. She as the queen for the Great Xia Dynasty as well as my mother. However, now that mother left on her own ord, I am the only one left. Although this Crown Prince Residence might seem prestigious, it is lonely. I have always remembered the look on mother¡¯s face when she left!"

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong quickly walked towards Lin Mubai and threw himself onto the ground. He then smashed his head repeatedly on a stone, causing blood flow profusely from his forehead.

    Lin Mubai finally stopped in his tracks as his whole body trembled.

    As the courtiers saw this scene, they seemed to see theirst saving grace and exchange nces. Following which, they also spoke.

    "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince had lost his mother since young. He might have made some mistakes here and there. May the Majesty forgive him and give him another chance!"

    "Yes, your Majesty. When Queen Yan was present, she had made many contributions to the Great Xia Dynasty. May your Majesty forgive the Crown prince on this ord!

    "Please have mercy, your Majesty, forgive the Crown Prince¡¯s sin of not being properly raised and restrained. May you put him under house arrest and let him reflect on his wrongdoings!"

    "Please have mercy, your Majesty!"

    "Please have mercy!"

    The pleading sounds of the courtiers overwhelmed the residence as more than half the courtiers knelt onto the ground. They were pleading for the sake of the Crown Prince.

    "Queen Yan?" Lin Mubai lifted his head ever so slightly and stared at the shimmering stars in the horizon. A figure then appeared in his head.

    Gentle, magnanimous, wise and meticulous.

    She was the most peaceful queen. She had once controlled the entire 3000 concubines huge imperial harem with grace and order. The Great Xia Dynasty had enjoyed peace within the imperial harem under her control.

    Until she willingly gave up her seat.

    Without any regrets.

    Following which, Ping Yang¡¯s mother left the pce and left an imperial harem with no leader.

    At that time, almost all the courtiers encouraged Queen Yan to once again take up the reins as the queen. However, Queen Yan did not so do.

    She merely said, "The position of the queen belongs to her! Even if she left, it will always be hers. NO one can ever rece her!"

    She then "left".

    She used her death to send a message. The message was that the queen of the Great Xia Dynasty could only be that woman. No one else was befitting enough for that role.

    No one understood Queen Yan¡¯s actions up till now.

    However, one thing was true.

    The day Queen Yan died, Lin Tianrong was immediately given the title of the Crown Prince!

    And since that day, the Great Xia Dynasty had never gained a new queen.

    That was until the appearance of Hua Fei. Even then, she was not conferred the title of a queen. No one ever brought up the issue of the queen or its sessor.

    "Father, please give your son onest chance!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong stared at his father¡¯s hesitant face and gritted his teeth before smashing his head onto the stone once again.

    Lin Mubai then slowly turned his body. As he stared at a bloodied Lin Tianrong, some minor changes could be observed on his face.

    "I do not want to see you in the next month. Stay in your residence and reflect. If this ever happens again. I will punish you together with this sin you havemitted!" Lin Mubai said after a long deliberation.

    "Thank you, father. I will definitely reflect and turn over a new leaf!" Lin Tianrong was ted upon hearing those words and immediately knelt down to thank the Majesty for his grace.

    He knew he had made the correct bet.

    All the courtiers also heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.

    As long as Lin Mubai did not enter the secret chamber, it meant that everything was still under control. The Crown Prince seat would also still remain in the hands of Lin Tianrong.

    This was both a misfortune and a blessing!

    At that moment, Lin Mubai then cast his nce on Fang Zhengzhi before ncing at Ping Yang, who was standing beside him. He then shook his head lightly and sighed.

    "Ping Yang, will you apany me for a walk?"

    "Alright!" Ping Yang immediately nodded upon hearing those words and bounced in front of Lin Mubai.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, Wen Dabao, will you guys apany me as well?" Lin Mubai nodded his head before casting his nce back at the rest.

    "As you wish!" Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, and Wen Dabao immediately replied with respect.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi pouted and stared at the rest before he helplessly nodded, "Your humblemoner will do as you wish..."

    "Back to the pce!"

    "The Emperor returns to the pce!"

    "The Emperor returns to the pce!"

    As voices rang consecutively throughout the residence, Lin Mubai headed towards the pce. Beside him were Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and the rest.

    As Lin Tianrong witnessed this scene, he bit his lips and said, "Fang Zhengzhi, I, the Crown Prince will never forgive you. I will never let this go!"

    King Duan then cast a nce at LIN Tianrong before shifting his nce over to the courtiers who had recovered from their kneeling position. A hint of disappointment could be seen from his eyes.

    However, he did not have the intention to stay. He merely greeted Lin Tianrong and quickly followed behind Lin Mubai.

    The courtiers then exchanged nces and waved at Lin Tianrong before quickly making themselves scarce. No one dared to mention anything about the secret chamber.

    At that moment, no one dared to bring up the arson case in the Crown Prince Residence despite the fact that the Assassin was still atrge.

    However, this did not mean that the arson case was closed. This was because the case had already been made known throughout me Capital City.

    ...

    In the night.

    In an elegant and secretive ord, a figure whose features waspletely concealed by a ck-colored cape stood silently.

    "Young Master, the investigation of the arson case in the Crown Prince Residence ispleted!" At that moment, another figure appeared behind him.

    "Speak." The ck hooded figure said.

    "There are two spots which caught fire. However, the most important spot was still the study room. The secret chamber underneath the study room was even exposed!"

    "The secret chamber?"

    "Yes, there is a secret chamber underneath the study room! It was the Majesty who personally sted open the door to the secret chamber. However, he did not enter the room, merely giving the Crown Prince a month of house arrest. Your humble servant believes that... we should probably push back our n."

    "Haha, the n stays. I believe... it is about time our Crown Prince unleash his full power!" The figureughed as he said. Following which, the figure lifted his head and stared into the moonlight, allowing the silver brilliance to grace his exquisite features.

    It was an elegant and delicate face.

    A pair of eyebrows so refined they look like ded edges of a sword. ck glimmering eyes and pale white skin. However, the pair of eyes seemed to be gleaming with too much resolve. It was emanating so much pressure that it would make any ordinary human feel ufortable. It was as though someone was looking at an eagle, an eagle staring at its prey from high above.

 Chapter 556 A Dramatic Change in Identity

    me Capital City, within a rustic and elegantpound.

    A white figure could be seen in the courtyard, filled with the fragrance of flowers. Under the illumination of the moonlight, a long shadow could be seen.

    "Young Master!" A figure walked towards the entrance of the courtyard and immediately knelt down.

    "Is it all prepared?" The white figure slowly turned around and stared at the figure who just entered the courtyard. The white veil on her face fluttered ever so slightly.

    "Young Master, everything is ready. However, there was a fire at the Crown Prince Residence tonight. Domain Chief Ying Feng is worried that it may affect our n. Hence, he sent me to ask for Young Master¡¯s opinion," The figure said.

    "Hm... it is normal that Domain Chief Ying Feng will have this worry. Has the issue been thoroughly investigated?" The white figure nodded before asking.

    "The security alert around the Crown Prince Residence is high. There are more guards than usual after the fire. Hence, despite ting spies in the Crown Prince Residence way beforehand, we have only found a few things. First, there were two spots that caught fire, with the majority of the damage being done to the study room. Secondly, the secret chamber that was revealed underneath the main study room was instigated by a few letters Fang Zhengzhi imed to have picked up. Lastly, no one knows about the specific details of the letter, although the Emperor was infuriated upon seeing the content."

    "Letter?"

    "Yes, from what I know, the content of the letter should have direct connections with the secret chamber underneath the study room. Fang Zhengzhi ims that he found those letters on the site. However, I believe that Fang Zhengzhi had prepared the letters way beforehand, and took the chance to present it to the Majesty. Although..."

    "Although what?"

    "Although the Majesty had found the secret chamber ording to the content of the letter. He did not enter the secret chamber and conduct an investigation. This was akin to not punishing the Crown Prince despite concrete evidence that he was in cahoots with some courtiers. He simply let him go scot free. Hence, from my perspective, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n must have failed!"

    "Failed?" The white figure started thinking after hearing those words. After which, the figure then shook her head and said, "Many a time, things that seemed to have failed on the surface might be very sessful. Perhaps there are still some things we have not realized. You mentioned that Fang Zhengzhi found more than one letter, am I right?"

    "Yes!"

    "A few letters... I understand now! You can stop the investigation into the case. How is the situation over at Ten Mile Lake? Is Yan Qianli still at Ten Mile Lake?" The white figure nodded and continued asking.

    "Yes, based on what I have investigated, Yan Qianli should be returning to the capital after staying at Ten Mile Lake for three days. However, no one knows why she had not returned to the capital." The other figure then answered.

    "It seems like an ident will happen for our n this time around," The white figure then closed her eyes and frowned slightly.

    "Then... should we still continue on our n?"

    "Yes. Do everything as per normal. No n can be perfect. There is bound to be some idents. I do not mind this one bit," The white figure shook her head and said.

    "Yes! Then I will report back to the Domain Chief!" The figure then nodded before leaving.

    The white figure then once again opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at the bright moon and glimmering stars, "Fang Zhengzhi, both of us have chosen the "sparrow" role this time around. However, who will be the true sparrow?"

    She sat down elegantly and strummed the Chinese instrument delicately, immersing herself in the melodious tune.

    It was not a long distance from the Crown Prince Residence to the pce. However, Fang Zhengzhi had been walking for a full 30 minutes and they had not reached their destination.

    The reason was simple...

    The Emperor Lin Mubai was walking very slowly.

    How then, can Fang Zhengzhi walk fast?

    Of course, Lin Mubai was not really walking. He was seatedfortably in a huge carriage. Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and the rest were also on this same carriage.

    It was extremely spacious and decorated with luxurious statues. Even with the six of them in it, there was still plenty of space.

    "Father, do you have something to say? Why did you call everyone in?" Ping Yang blinked her eyes and stared at Lin Mubai, who was keeping his eyes half-closed.

    "Of course!" Lin Mubai opened his eyes and stared at Ping Yang. Following which, he patted Ping Yang lightly on the head and cast his nce at Fang Zhengzhi, saying, "Fang Zhengzhi, speak. What do you want from me?"

    "A mansion hundred over square miles in area!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately said without any hesitation.

    "Hundred over square miles? Are you trying to build a pce?" Lin Mubai stared at Fang Zhengzhi in shock before gritting his teeth and said, "Alright, I¡¯ll allow it. However, me Capital City do not have such hugend space for you. You find your own ce and I¡¯ll send people over to build it for you!"

    "It would be for naught if I merely have the residence. I need servants who can clean and serve me in the residence," Fang Zhengzhi added.

    "Rest assured. Since I have already promised you a residence, I will definitely give you servants and a cook as well. Ites as a package!" Lin Mubai could feel his wealth slowly depleting.

    "I also want to abolish tax for the Northern Mountain Vige and the other eight viges within a ten-mile radius from it!"

    "I can understand that you would want to abolish tax for the Northern Mountain Vige. After all, that is where you were born and raised. But why the eight viges within a ten-mile radius as well?" Lin Mubai was perplexed at the request.

    "Because I can!" Fang Zhengzhi calmly replied.

    Lin Mubai was dumbfounded and gritted his teeth while he said, "Alright then, because you can. I will promise you all of that. Do you have anything else you want?"

    "Nothing else." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "No more? Are you sure? I have such a big secret in your hands. The notorious Fang Zhengzhi only wants a mansion and some tax-free shenanigans from me? I was already prepared to part with a huge proportion of my wealth. Are you sure you are going to let me go so easily?" Lin Mubai said in disbelief.

    "There is truly nothing else I want," Fang Zhengzhi once again shook his head.

    "Alright then, since you are done, I will promise you all this on one condition!" Lin Mubai smiled as his eyes gleamed.

    "I will not do anything too troublesome!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have predicted Lin Mubai would have a request. He did not seem surprised.

    The Emperor?

    All who were able to sit on the throne were considered a dragon amongst men. That meant that they were extremely shrewd and intelligent!

    Since he had already promised to part with a mansion more than hundred square miles in area, why would he not request something from Fang Zhengzhi as well?

    "It won¡¯t be troublesome at all," Lin Mubai gave a mysterious smile.

    "Then please speak."

    "It would be enough for you to know this fact. I am tired and wish to return to the pce now. I will send my instructions to Ping Yang Residence a few dayster. You guys may return as well." Lin Mubai did not intend to continue the conversation. He merely stared at Fang Zhengzhi then at Ping Yang.

    "Father, will third brother..." Ping Yang opened her mouth to speak as her pair of clear eyes sparkled with worry.

    "One can forgive a sinmitted by the heavens, but not onemitted by himself! I only hope that he learns his lesson from this incident!" Lin Mubai spoke as his face was overwhelmed with worry.

    "Then..." Ping Yang was slightly hesitant.

    "It iste. Let¡¯s all go back and rest," Lin Mubai said.

    "Then, we will be going!" Ping Yang nodded and stopped asking.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu did not say anything as well. In fact, they kept silent the moment they boarded the carriage.

    Simrly, Wen Dabao also fell silent the entire time. He had an incredulous look on his face. This was because he still had not figured out what exactly happened.

    Didn¡¯t the Emperor say to apany him for a walk?

    Was this all?

    Furthermore, why did the Emperor bestow Fang Zhengzhi with a mansion hundred square miles wide in area? He even abolished tax for the Northern Mountain Vige and many other viges. He even thought that these requests were too little?

    What was going on? Might it be due to the letters?

    Those letters...

    What exactly did they contain?

    Furthermore, what did Ping Yang¡¯s words meant? What did the Emperor mean as well? What did he mean by one could forgive a crimemitted by the heavens, but not onemitted by oneself?

    Wen Dabao stared at Ping Yang, then at Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.

    He waspletely confused.

    Two dayster.

    Law of Dao Imperial Examinations had officially begun.

    These two days could be said to be the busiest two days for me Capital City. There had been many interesting happenings that filled the teahouses and restaurants with unending discussion topics.

    However, on the official date of the Imperial Examinations, all the focus was still rightfully turned back onto the most prestigious examination in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Since early morning.

    The me Capital City was in a lively and busy state. Countless students nning to sit for the examinations stood waiting at the entrance of the Imperial Academy, waiting to enter the examination grounds.

    Nangong Mu, who was dressed inconspicuously, also stood within these candidates.

    He did not make any attention-grabbing actions. However, he still attracted lots of attention and became the topic of discussion the moment he appeared.

    "Thest time, Nangong Mu got the top three in the Theory Examination. However, he was unlucky in the Combat Examination as he met Fang Zhengzhi, resulting in his disappointing overall results. Nangong Mu should be able to clinch the top ce this time around!"

    "I don¡¯t think that would be a problem. I¡¯m just curious how much Nangong Mu had grown in two years?"

    "Two years ago, Nangong Mu had already reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State. Could he have reached the Supernatural State by now?"

    "I don¡¯t know... After all, it is too difficult to progress from the Heavenly Reflection State to the Supernatural State. s, he is Nangong Mu, the brother of the prodigy Nangong Hao. No one knows."

    "That¡¯s right. After all, he is Nangong Hao¡¯s brother!"

    The candidates discussed softly within themselves. However, no one dared to approach him, only observing him from afar.

    At that moment, three other figures also appeared from afar.

    They were Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang.

    The still looked the same. However, the situation this time was different from the Imperial Examinations two years ago. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance immediately caused the prospective candidates to make way for him.

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Why is he still here? Didn¡¯t he already pass the Imperial Examinations?"

    "Perhaps, he is only here to see Nangong Mu."

    All the candidates stood at two sides of the Imperial Academy and stared at the three of them with a hint of curiosity in their eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about the discussion going on within the candidates.

    He then walked towards Nangong Mu and stared at the closed front door of the Imperial Academy before pouting in dissatisfaction.

    "Open the door!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted at the guards on two sides of the entrance.

    "Open the door?"

    "He is telling the Imperial Academy guards to open the door?"

    "Are you kidding, who does he think he is?"

    Everyone was shocked upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. They then started looking at him with a condescending look on their faces.

    However, the moment the guards heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they exchanged nces before quickly opening the door of the Imperial Academy.

    "Lord Fang, please!" The guards shouted with respect after opening the door.

    The scene was clearly observed by all the candidates. They looked at the scene with widened eyes and dropped jaws, unable to react to the situation.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, did not hesitate and entered the Imperial Academy immediately.

    Everyone was dumbfounded.

    "He went in?"

    "Why can he enter? I thought the Imperial Examination had not yet started!"

    "What is going on?¡¯

    The candidates stared at one another with a perplexed expression.

    But the truth was that...

    Fang Zhengzhi had entered the Imperial Academy.

    Furthermore, he entered it through the front door righteously, together with Yan Xiu and Ping Yang at his side. He also experienced no obstructions at all.

    After a moment, the sound of a gong came from the inside of the Imperial Academy.

    All the candidates seemed to be rudely awakened from their thoughts as well. They stopped thinking about Fang Zhengzhi and started recollecting their thoughts.

    At that moment, the door of the Imperial Academy opened from the inside.

    Two lines of guards swiftly walked out from the Imperial Academy. Dozens of Imperial Academy Invigtors d in ck robes followed after.

    After which...

    Everyone was once again dumbfounded.

    Apart from the guards and the invigtors, there was one more person walking in the middle of this huge congregation. He was wearing a brand new ck Imperial robe with a dazzling "Li" word carved on the chest area.

    He was also holding a golden scroll on one hand.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He... might he be..."

    "How can this be!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi is the Chief Examiner for this Imperial Examination?"

    All the candidates stared at Fang Zhengzhi with widened eyes. They had never expected such a thing to happen.

 Chapter 557 Times Have Changed

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    The Chief Examiner?

    This was unbelievable no matter how you looked at it.

    The Imperial Examination was of utmost importance in the capital. The person who passed the Imperial Examination would be able to be an official in court. The Chief Examiner was the person who wielded the highest authority in this highly regarded examination.

    He could destroy a candidate¡¯s future with just a sentence or conversely, he could pave the way for another candidate if he wanted to. It was not an understatement to say that the Chief Examiner was the most important figure in this examination.

    "This is not possible, this is an illusion!"

    "How can Fang Zhengzhi be the Chief Examiner this time. He is not even 18 years old!"

    "How can this be? This must be the first time since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty that the Chief Examiner for the Imperial Examination is younger than 18 years old!"

    All of the candidates stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing in the middle of all the invigtors. After all. This was absurd.

    ¡¯Master Fang, can we begin?" Just as the candidates were having doubts, an invigtor walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and asked in a respectful manner.

    "Yes, you may begin," Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and handed the golden scroll in his hand over.

    "Yes!" The invigtor took over the golden scroll with both hands before slowly retreating back two steps. He then coughed softly before he opened the scroll, "By orders of His Majesty, Fang Zhengzhi has been bestowed the title of Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy. He is a Rank 2 Official and currently enjoys the royal endowment. He will also be the Chief Examiner for this Law od Dao Imperial Examination!"

    "Royal Rank 2 Official!"

    "Oh my dear lord, he is really the Chief Examiner for this Imperial Examination!"

    "A Chief Examiner younger than 18 years old. This must be the first since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, he has already been bestowed the title of a Rank 2 official and has the royal endowment! This is akin to the treatment received by the Six Council Officials!"

    As the candidates listened to the content of the royal message, they were all dumbfounded. This result was not something they had expected.

    This was because...

    Just a few days ago...

    When Fang Zhengzhi entered me Capital City together with Chi Hou and Yan Xiu from the Divine Constabry, he was still a criminal. However, he was now already the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, the Ministry of Rites Official, and enjoying the royal endowment.

    How preposterous was that?

    No one would believe it. However, the truth was right in front of their eyes.

    At that moment, all the candidates stared at Fang Zhengzhi, the youngest Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examinations in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty, the person who was in control of their fates.

    Thoughts then shed through their mind.

    Capital Examinations Double Roll Champion, Prefectural Examinations Double Roll Champion, Imperial Examination Double Roll Champion and Court Examination Double Roll Champion. This was the greatest achievement ever in the history of the Law od Dao Examination. Till date, no one had ever surpassed that amazing feat.

    Furthermore, he was also the main architect of the Southern Region Battle scheme and the guy who once fought with half- saint demon Can Yang. Just one of this achievement would be enough to impress anyone.

    However...

    When all of these des were concentrated on a single individual, he then had the power and capabilities to be the youngest Chief Examiner for the Imperial Examinations.

    The candidates exchanged nces and thought of the same thing. It was that Fang Zhengzhi had somehow be a mentor they must be grateful to if they passed this exam.

    This was because their rankings in this examination would be personally handled by Fang Zhengzhi. In that case, wouldn¡¯t he be the mentor that all the sessful candidates had to be grateful to?

    Just thinking about calling a person younger than them their mentor...

    The candidates felt dejected and worthless.

    "It is about time. Let¡¯s begin the examinations." Fang Zhengzhi stared at the crowd of silent candidates and waved his hands, seemingly uninterested.

    In fact, he had no interest in being the Chief Examiner whatsoever.

    However...

    This was the Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s request.

    He had already epted the gift of the hundred square miles mansion. Furthermore, the Majesty had personally sent the royal message down to Ping Yang Residence. He had no choice but to ept it.

    "Yes!" The invigtor nodded and immediately rang the second bell, signaling the candidates to enter the examination grounds.

    Gong!

    The sound of the giant cymbal reverberated through the academy.

    At that same time, all the candidates recollected their thoughts. When their gaze once again fell back onto Fang Zhengzhi who was in the middle of all the invigtors, no one else had any doubt in their hearts.

    That was because, despite their will, it was not something that they could change.

    Furthermore, casting aside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s background and character, he definitely had the capabilities and rights to be the Chief Examiner.

    The reason was simple. He was the first person in history to have everpleted all six Imperial Examinations in one sitting and attained a perfect score in all of them.

    This reason alone would suffice.

    If such a person could not be the Chief Examiner, then who could?

    Once the gong chimed, the Imperial Academy¡¯s door opened as the guards and the invigtors separated themselves into two neat lines.

    Fang Zhengzhi then stood in the center of the entrance. The proper decorum of the Law of Dao Examinations dictated that all candidates taking the examination would have to give a schr salute to the Chief Examiner before entering the examination grounds.

    The candidates queued up orderly and respectfully greeted Fang Zhengzhi and allowed themselves to be checked by the guards. Fang Zhengzhi was also unexpectedly serious, putting on a stern expression and keeping his back upright.

    "Hm..."

    "Very good!"

    "Good job! Work hard!"

    "Get a good grade!"

    Under the warm encouragement of Fang Zhengzhi, all the candidates entered the examination grounds with slightly more confidence.

    Nangong Mu seemed to have epted this as well. After getting checked by the guards, he walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and bowed respectfully just like the other students.

    Following which, he then waited patiently for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words of encouragement.

    He waited...

    Then a voice rang beside his ears.

    "Do you wish to be the champion? Just draw three circles on your exam paper!"

    Nangong Mu felt his legs go wobbly and almost fell to the ground. He then stared calmly at Fang Zhengzhi, who was currently smiling cheerily at him.

    What did this mean? The Chief Examiner was helping a specific candidate pass the examination? Three circles to be the champion? As he stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, Nangong Mu was fell speechless.

    s...

    This guy was truly shameless.

    How could he have said those words in a setting as serious as the Imperial Examination? Furthermore, he was the Chief Examiner and he said it right in front of all the candidates.

    "I want to prove myself using my own strength!" Nangong Mu said as he gritted his teeth.

    "Hmm,mendable. Alright then, don¡¯t me meter on if I don¡¯t recognize your script and decides to fail you," Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and said regretfully.

    Nangong Mu did not reply to that sentence and walked into the examination ground with a darkened face.

    As the candidates listened to the conversation between Nangong Mu and Fang Zhengzhi, their faces also darkened. Could they really get the champion if they drew three circles?

    No one could answer this question.

    However, this information was like the gue. It instantly spread throughout the entire Imperial Academy. As long as one drew three circles on the paper, they would be able to get champion on the Theory Examination.

    And the person who said this was none other than the Chief Examiner this time, Fang Zhengzhi, Master Fang!

    "Shameless! Why would the Emperor choose this person to be the Chief Examiner? This is... this is just an insult to this highly regarded procedure that has been running through the Great Xia Dynasty for the past decades!" One of the courtiers shouted in rage as he heard this news.

    This was especially so after the news of the three circles reached his ears. He felt a wave of rage and shame overwhelming him.

    The few other courtiers that sat beside him also shook their heads as they were deep in discussion. They naturally disapproved of this action as well.

    "However, while Fang Zhengzhi is really quite shameless, if we simply look at proficiency level in the Law of Dao, he is no doubt the most proficient in the entire Great Xia Dynasty," The other courtiers said after thinking for a moment.

    "Hmm indeed. If we look at the Law of Dao alone, I¡¯m afraid that even Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan might not surpass Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Yes, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s proficiency in the Law of Dao is at least a hundred times higher than me!"

    All the courtiers nodded their heads at this point.

    While he was shameless,

    Some things were true as well.

    Completing six Imperial Examination papers within four hours was a feat that was unprecedented and probably impossible to surpass. To say that he would take the top ce in the Great Xia Dynasty was not an overstatement.

    "But his proficiency in the Law od Dao does not make him a good Chief Examiner. The character, sternness, and reputation of the Chief Examiner are important as well," The enraged official was clearly displeased.

    "Times has changed. It might not be bad that the Emperor is trying new things. It has been long since the court had seen some new blood," The courtier patted his enraged friend on the shoulders as he said.

    "Yes, Fang Zhengzhi was given the title of a Rank 2 Official this time and was even given the royal endowment. This is akin to the treatment received by the Six Council Officials!"

    "I believe that Fang Zhengzhi is already not too far away from the Six Council Officials seat."

    "If that is the case, it would be terrifying. A member of the Six Council Officials, the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, the mentor of the schrs, privilege of choosing the people he wants and favorable treatment from both the Emperor and Princess Ping Yang. Who... who else could go against him in court?"

    "Should we get on his good side beforehand?"

    "I feel that..."

    "I¡¯m sorry, guys! I have something on at home, I will be going!"

    "I also remembered some urgent matters I have to settle, I will be going!"

    "I¡¯ll be going!"

    "I mean... no one wants to foot the bill?" The enraged courtier widened his eyes and watched as hisrades leave one after another. He then stared at the table filled with delicacies and caressed his money pouch before his face went pale.

    me Capital City, Royal Pce.

    When everyone was concerned with the Imperial Examinations and Fang Zhengzhi, the royal pce seemed incredibly peaceful and calm.

    Rows of royal guards d in shining golden armor roamed the pce in an orderly and stern manner. Their spears reflected the blinding sunlight, casting warm glows all around.

    The morning court session had ended even before the sun rose. Once the Imperial Examination began, the courtiers would also not enter the pce to request an audience with the Emperor.

    For the pce which was usually filled with people....

    It was truly a peaceful and calm day.

    "We can finally rest for a day!"

    "Yes, usually we would have to pick up courtiers after courtiers in and out of the pce. We cannot even stop to rest for a moment! My throat always feels like it is going to go hoarse any moment. It is finally time to rest!"

    "Yes, it is only during the day of the Imperial Examination. After today, checking the scripts and reporting the scripts would be another long day of work.

    The eunuchs who were in charge of sending messages in the pce yawned while they engaged in small conversations.

    The female servants also got a rare break and they found a ce with warm sunlight to rest. They stretched their tired bodies as they enjoyed the fragrance of the flowersing from the Imperial Garden.

    "Howfortable!"

    "The concubines are all concerned about the Imperial Examinations. This puts a lot of pressure off our backs. We don¡¯t have to serve them every moment of the day anymore."

    "At least we won¡¯t get beaten up today!"

    The servants showed an expression of bliss and rxation.

    While they were serving the concubines, they would often get a beating if the concubine got angry. However, today was different. All the concubines seemed to be wishing for good luck and would refrain from doing such actions.

    After all, although they were in the pce.

    Most of them were of noble backgrounds and would have one of their family members participating in the examinations. If they could pass the examination and be a member of the courtiers, it would be beneficial to the concubines themselves as well.

    The pce today was neither crowded nor sinister. One could not hear the desperate screams of the female servants when they were getting beaten, nor could they hear the shrill voices of the eunuchs as they shouted.

    Everything seemed exceptionally peaceful.

    And at the entrance of the royal pce, on top of the high castle walls was a figure with an expression starkly different from the eunuchs and the female servants.

    The golden armor enhanced her delicate and exquisite figure.

    She had that heroic presence and coupled with her refined eyebrows, would send chills down anyone¡¯s spine.

    She was themander of the Royal Guards, Chen Feihua.

    She was also Imperial Concubine Hua Fei, the Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s favorite concubine.

    "Reporting to themander, it is time for your break!" At that moment a royal guard swiftly moved towards Chen Feihua and whispered.

    By normal standards, Hua Fei was definitely of a higher rank than themander of the Royal Guards,

    However...

    As long as Chen Feihua was wearing the armor of the Commander of the Roya Guards, no one in the pce was allowed to call her Hua Fei. Even the Emperor Lin Mubai had to call her themander!

    Naturally, this rule would not apply to the courtiers.

    In Chen Feihua¡¯s words, she was only in charge of the pce. She then should not have authority over what the courtiers outside of the pce and the Emperor¡¯s children should call her.

    "Alright, I got it," Chen Feihua nodded and stared at the patrolling royal guards with an expressionless face.

 Chapter 558 Time and Night Descends

    A momentter, after Chen Feihua cast her nce through the entire pce, she retracted her gaze and swung her arms to release some tension before walking down the castle wall.

    "Inform Vice Domain Chief Bai that he will be on shift tonight!"

    ¡¯Yes!" The guard nodded and answered immediately after receiving themand. He then quickly ran to report the message.

    Chen Feihua then slowly walked deeper into the pce. After half an hour, she finally arrived at an elegant antique room.

    The moment the few guards standing near the room saw Chen Feihua, they stood up in respect and pushed the door open carefully.

    Chen Feihua then walked into the room.

    A few female servants closed the door and helped Chen Feihua remove the armor on her body. They then helped her change into a dress before cing a pot of freshly brewed tea and a scroll in front of her.

    "Is your Highness not on duty tonight?" The female servant lightly asked.

    "No." Chen Feihua shook her head.

    "Then do you want me to inform Eunuch Wei, to call the Emperor here tonight?" The female servant nodded before asking.

    "There is no need to. Please leave me. Without mymand, do not let anyone disturb me." Chen Feihua once again shook her head.

    "Yes!" The few female servants then immediately retreated out of the room.

    Chen Feihua¡¯s eyes had never left the scroll that was passed to her. She used her porcin-like fingers to gently flip the scroll.

    In the pce filled with deceit, bribery, and schemes, Chen Feihua strived to do her best and fulfill her responsibility, as though nothing else mattered.

    Within the Imperial Academy.

    The Imperial Examination had already started. Countless candidates stared at the paper in front of them and were burying their heads in their essays. This Imperial Examinations contained six parts, as usual, and were as difficult as its predecessors.

    All the candidates frowned upon seeing those questions.

    "It is too difficult!"

    "I¡¯ve heard that in the previous examination, Fang Zhengzhipleted all six parts in four hours. I have no idea how he could have done it!"

    "It is incredible!"

    After experiencing the difficulty of the paper first-hand, all the candidates had a newfound respect for the Chief Examiner Fang Zhengzhi.

    If their image of Fang Zhengzhi only came from rumors before this.

    For example, he was a shameless individual born in a peasant family in the wilderness. He paid no attention to decorum and had never received any formal education growing up.

    However...

    Staring at the six-part paper in front of them, they knew that it was this exact person that did what they could never do in their lifetime. This was the person that became the Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examination, the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy and the mentor of the schrs before he even turned 18 years old.

    Gong!

    The sound signaled that it was nearly time to hand in the papers.

    All the candidates were flustered. They stared at their halfpleted paper and felt despair and dejected.

    It was too difficult, they were not even close topleting the paper. The time given to them was merely four hours. It was too difficult toplete all the questions within the time limit.

    Not to mention checking their work or paying attention to the nuances of the questions.

    Were they really going to hand in their paper like this?

    A decade of studying beside the cold and lonely window frame, just for a moment of fame in the Imperial Examination.

    However, if they did not evenplete the paper, how could they possibly make it to the roll? How could they then, gain fame and power?

    "Three circles!"

    As though struck by an epiphany, all the candidates with empty spots on their papers thought of this line Fang Zhengzhi said. As long as one drew three circles on the paper, they would have a chance to be conferred the title of champion in the Imperial Examination.

    But, how should we draw these three circles?

    Where then, should we draw them?

    This was another difficult problem!

    "Let¡¯s go!"

    "I am considered to be an exceptional artist, three circles is by no means difficult! Did he think this will be difficult enough to stop me?"

    "I am going to draw the three most beautiful circles in this examination hall!"

    As all the candidates put down their pens, the circles on their papers started appearing on by one. Following which, the sound signaling the candidates to hand in their papers rang.

    Gong!

    The candidates heaved a sigh of relief and looked at the circles on their paper with satisfaction. They then stared at the time and realized that it was almost noon.

    Handing in a collecting the papers did not take too long.

    As the candidates handed in their papers and sealed it with their names, a thick stack of exam papers were collected by the invigtors and kept into a secure room.

    More than ten Imperial invigtors were already sitting in front of the table and looking at the thick stack of exam papers while rubbing their palms. It was time to showcase the results of their decades of study.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu then sat above them.

    Normally, the moment the Imperial Examination concluded, the busiest procedure of script checking would begin. After all, it would not be long before they had to release the results. They only had time until the following day to do so. This meant that by sunset tomorrow, they had to finish vetting all the hundred over scripts.

    Time could be said to be very tight.

    "Master Fang, shall we start vetting right away?" An invigtor stared at the collected scripts before asking Fang Zhengzhi.

    "There is no rush, let¡¯s eat first." Fang Zhengzhi had already sat down for long enough. He even felt an ache in his thighs and butt region. It would be impossible for him to begin the vetting procedure right away.

    "This... Master Fang, vetting of the exam scripts had been an important and rushed event in the past years. If we deliberately set aside time to eat, I¡¯m afraid time-wise..." The invigtor then stopped talking.

    In the past, the vetting procedure was extremely insane. Eating was the least of their worries, all the invigtors had merely four hours to sleep each day.

    To think that Fang Zhengzhi would suggest eating...

    This undoubtedly raised doubts and worry in the minds of the invigtors. After all, they were not Fang Zhengzhi and would not be able to withstand the wrath of the Emperor. If the vetting of the scripts were indeed dyed, they would be the one getting punished.

    "Rx, we have enough time," Fang Zhengzhi said as shook his head, seemingly unworried.

    "This..." The invigtors stared at each other as though they wanted to say something. However, once they cast their nce back at Fang Zhengzhi, they swallowed their words.

    As for Ping Yang...

    She looked like she was not able to stand it anymore as well.

    Her aim of apanying Fang Zhengzhi to the Imperial Academy was merely to experience what it was like to invigte an Imperial Examination. As for the vetting of scripts, she had no interest in that.

    "Yan Xiu, I am slightly hungry as well. Where are we headed to for lunch?" Ping Yang rubbed her stomach and stared at the nonchnt Yan Xiu.

    "Unravel Restaurant," Yan Xiu answered without any dy.

    "Unravel Restaurant? Hm, not bad, although that ce is slightly further away, their stewed pork appeals to my taste buds. Let¡¯s go to Unravel Restaurant for lunch then. I am treating!" Ping Yang nodded in satisfaction before waving to the invigtors cheerily.

    "Then let¡¯s go to the Unravel Restaurant for lunch. All of us." Fang Zhengzhi agreed with Ping Yang¡¯s decision and walked towards the entrance.

    All the invigtors stared at the three of them, dumbfounded. They were nning to go to the Unravel Restaurant which was so far away just to have a meal when the time was so tight?

    This was something that was unprecedented.

    However, the Chief Examiner had already spoken. They naturally could not go against his orders. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, that was to say, their boss.

    Therefore...

    All of them headed out of Imperial Academy.

    Under the horrified and perplexed gazes of the candidates who just left the academy, they head towards the Unravel Restaurant.

    "What is happening? The invigtors are not going to vet the scripts?"

    "They went out together?"

    "Are they actually going to eat?"

    "That cannot be. In the past, weren¡¯t the invigtors extremely busy? How can they have time to go out for a meal?"

    All the candidates had an incredulous expression on their face.

    After which, they saw a bunch of invigtors led by Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang walked a total of an hour before they stepped into a ce called Unravel Restaurant.

    "They are really going to eat!"

    All the candidates stared at the scene with widened eyes.

    At the same time, the candidates who were celebrating the end of their examinations in the Unravel Restaurant also stared at the scene with shock. They were staring at Fang Zhengzhi and the invigtors entering the restaurant.

    "Am I seeing things?"

    "I think I am too!"

    "The invigtors are actuallying to such a far ce just to eat. Shouldn¡¯t they be vetting the scripts in the academy?"

    No candidates believed what they saw. However, the truth was that the bunch of invigtors, Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang included just brazenly walked into a room on the second floor.

    Then...

    The me Capital City burst into a fanatical discussion once again!

    Almost all the courtiers received the same news. After the Imperial Examination, not only did Fang Zhengzhi not vet the scripts, he even went to a restaurant in the South of the city called the Unravel Restaurant to have lunch.

    "What is Fang Zhengzhi thinking? Isn¡¯t he afraid that he would not have enough time?"

    "The Majesty gave him such an important job but he is making a fool out of himself! Heading halfway across the city just to have lunch? I have to reprimand him for this!"

    "Forget it, he is now protected by the Emperor. Even the Crown Prince cannot do anything to him, you reprimanding him? Do you still want to live?"

    "Just what, I want to see if he truly can finish vetting all the scripts in the allocated time. If he doesn¡¯t, how is he going to exin to the Majesty?"

    The courtiers felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were unruly and disrespectful. However, under such circumstances, they could do nothing to change the situation.

    Therefore...

    They could only wait.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi took his time with the meal. After the main course, he even ordered a te of fruits and only finished his meal after two hours.

    The invigtors were already extremely anxious and some could not even sit still. By the time they exited the restaurant, the sun was already setting and the sky had begun to turn dark.

    "Master Fang, shall we vet the scripts now?"

    "There is no rush, let¡¯s take a nap and start vetting tomorrow," Fang Zhengzhi shook his head before burping and stretching his body. He seemed rxed.

    Waking up early in the morning then invigting.

    How troublesome.

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking at the moment. If possible, he truly did not want to be involved with something that requires so much effort but gives so little in return.

    "Master Fang, please spare us. We are merely invigtors! If we dy the vetting of the scripts, we may be beheaded!"

    "Yes, Master Fang, we better start vetting the scripts now!"

    "We have to release the results the following day, if we only have a day to vet tomorrow, it will be impossible to finish vetting all the scripts!"

    The courtiers almost knelt down to beg for Fang Zhengzhi to start vetting the scripts.

    The important of the Imperial Examinations knew no bounds.

    If they did notplete the vetting within the allocated time, no one knew what the consequences were. In fact, it had never happened.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, are you sure that you can finish vetting all the scripts within a day?" Ping Yang stared at the pained expression on the faces of all the courtiers before casting her nce at the rxed Fang Zhengzhi. She then grew slightly doubtful. After all, she had some understanding regarding the vetting of the Imperial Examination scripts.

    "One day?" Fang Zhengzhi pouted before saying, "I am thinking of vetting all the scripts in four hours. How tiring must it be to vet for a full day!"

    "Four hours?"

    "How can this be, there are a few hundred scripts waiting for us to vet! From the initial vetting to the second stage, every script has to pass through at least five invigtors. After which, we still have to..."

    "That is impossible!"

    The other invigtors also widened their eyes upon hearing this brazen deration.

    If there was an answer script, then it might be possible to finish vetting all the scripts in a day. However, the Imperial Examination required answers that were up to interpretation.

    In others words, many things require careful consideration and logical reasoning.

    Under such circumstances, it required a few invigtors to discuss and finally agree upon whether the candidate¡¯s interpretation was of first-ss or second-ss and so on.

    Furthermore, every script had to be vetted by more than five invigtors. When all give invigtors were done, they would then send it over for the second-round of vetting.

    Let¡¯s not say four hours...

    Time would be extremely tight even if they had two days.

    "Master Fang, this is not a joking matter. May Master Fang return to vet the scripts immediately. We are prepared to sacrifice out sleep and give it our all!" A courtier said with ambition and resolve.

    "Yes, please order for us to return and start vetting the scripts!" The other invigtors nodded in agreement and shouted.

    "You guys truly don¡¯t want to rest for the night and want to start immediately?" Fang Zhengzhi stared helplessly at this bunch of invigtors as he said.

    "Yes!" The invigtors nodded.

    "Alright then, let¡¯s start now!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the sky and finally agreed.

    "Thank you, my lord!" All the invigtors heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s agreement. They then hurried back to the Imperial Academy.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, followed behind curiously.

    As for Yan Xiu, he seemed exceptionally calm and not worried at all.

    It did not take long for the invigtors to return to the Imperial Academy. They ran back to their tables and stared at the huge stack of scripts as a worried expression inevitably appeared on their faces.

    "Start vetting!" Fang Zhengzhi gave themand.

    "Yes!" The invigtors nodded and started giving out the scripts.

    "Pick out the scripts that have circles on them. Then, discard all of them," Fang Zhengzhi said as he stared at the invigtors allocating the scripts.

    "What?"

    All the invigtors were dumbfounded at this request. They all stopped in their tracks and stared at Fang Zhengzhi with widened eyes, not able to react to the situation.

    All those who drew circles on their scripts would fail the test?

    What was going on?

    They had all heard Fang Zhengzhi mention that those who drew circles would have the chance at getting the champion spot! They were even prepared to pay extra notice to those who drew circles on their paper.

    Why did Fang Zhengzhi suddenly change his mind?

    "Master Fang, this... might not be very appropriate?"

    "Yes, will it be fair if we do this?"

    "Although this would ensure that we have enough time, but if we really go through with this..."

    The invigtors all voiced out their concerns. This method of script vetting was undoubtedly too flippant for an exam as prestigious as the Imperial Examination.

    Was this guy really just going to just fool around?

    At that moment, all the invigtors had this thought in their mind. They stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s flippant demeanor and helplessly sighed.

    "It seems like you people don¡¯t believe my judgment. Let¡¯s do this. Pick a few random scripts with circles on them and take a look. You will believe me then." Fang Zhengzhi could, of course, guess their thoughts upon seeing the expression on their faces. However, he was not eager to exin himself. He merely pointed to the stack of scripts in front of them.

    Although the invigtors had doubts about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speech, they still acted quickly.

    Following which...

    All of them started frowning.

    he scripts circted amongst the invigtors and were eventually cast aside.

    "What is this person writing?"

    "He dared to hand in a script with such a huge part unanswered?"

    "This... they are all..."

    After the invigtors were done with ten scripts, the expression on their faces changed. They stared at the scripts with circles on them and fell speechless.

    "Do I have to say it again?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and looked at the invigtors below.

    "No... you don¡¯t have to!"

    "Master Fang¡¯s insights is truly iparable!"

    "The scripts with circles are truly not worthy of consideration. Master Fang is right! There is no unfairness in this!"

    The invigtors then exchanged nces and nodded.

    "Then let¡¯s begin," Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Yes!" The invigtors immediately replied.

    Following which, the scripts with circles were singled out and cast aside. A few invigtors who were still not bought over briefly nced through these scripts as they were put aside.

    However, they all shook their head in disagreement.

    After the filtering, only around sixty scripts remained. All the scripts with circles were singled out and ced at one side.

    It was naturally much easier to vet sixty scripts than the hundred over that they were tasked to do originally.

    Four hourster.

    The list of names who passed the Imperial Examinations was finalized.

    "Alright then. We are almost done. You people finalize the list and send in the results to your Majesty!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the list and stretched before preparing to leave the area.

    The moment Ping Yang heard this sentence, she immediately opened her eyes. It was almost four hours since the vetting began, she had already be impatient. If not for her curiosity with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vetting methods, she would already have returned to Ping Yang Residence.

    "Can we leave already?"

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "We are done?" Ping Yang still could not believe her ears.

    "Yes, we are all done," Fang Zhengzhi nodded once again.

    "That cannot be! You reallypleted the vetting process in less than four hours. If this new reaches my father, god knows how he will react." Ping Yang said. She was truly surprised at his efficiency.

    "You will know when he gets the results." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands as he said.

    "Yes. I will definitely report this matter to my father personally," Ping Yang nodded her head as she listened, as though she had aplished this feat herself.

    This two people held a light-hearted conversation as they left, with Yan Xiu following quietly behind.

    When the three of them left the room...

    The invigtors all exchanged nces and could see the same perplexed yet impressed look on each other face.

    "Is this Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "The Chief Examiner who is younger than 18 years old, the new Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy!"

    "Your Majesty truly has an eye for talent... it is not something wemoners can do!"

    "Hepleted the vetting in less than four hours. If not for the fact that I witnessed it first hand, I would never have believed it!"

    If the invigtors had any qualms about Fang Zhengzhi being the Chief Examiner, they were allpletely eradicated at this moment. No one had any more objections.

    Within four hours...

    The results for the Imperial Examinations were out!

    This was an unprecedented happening in the Great Xia Dynasty since its founding.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, can you please tell me. How are you so sure that the scripts with circles are definitely the ones that failed? What if there are some hidden gems within the stack, wouldn¡¯t that be..." After walking out of the Imperial Academy, Ping Yang seemed to be more aware of the situation and asked.

    "A person who thought about cheating even in a Theory Examination would never be a true schr. Do you then think he would work for the pce conscientiously and with fervor?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang and answered.

    "Hm... now that you mention it, it seems to make sense. Even if we truly left out some hidden gems along the way, based on this act alone, we can determine his wed character and cast him aside!" Ping Yang was stunned for a moment and immediately regain her usual yful demeanor. She then said, "Shall we go back to the residence for a meal?"

    "The time is just about right!" Fang Zhengzhi did not reply to Ping Yang¡¯s question. He merely looked upwards and stared at the darkened sky.

    A star shined brightly in the horizon.

    It was extremely bright.

    However, what is signified was also the darkness of the sky.

    "Time? What do you mean it is about time? Are you actually saying...?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a perplexed expression. Following which, a brilliance shed through her pair of clear blue eyes.

 Chapter 559 That Which I Seek Is The World!

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "But, didn¡¯t father already..." Ping Yang knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to say. However, she still shook her head in disbelief.

    "What¡¯s meant toe wille," Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    "If we had already predicted it beforehand, why don¡¯t we want to stop it?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a perplexed expression.

    "How can you stop that which has not happened?"

    "But in that case..."

    "Some things cannot be prevented even if you know them in advance. That is because once he had that thought, there is no way he won¡¯t try to aplish it. It is only a matter of time.: Fang Zhengzhi exined once again.

    Yan Xiu nodded his head in agreement upon hearing this. However, he still chose to remain silent.

    "What about you? Do you have such thoughts?" Ping Yang cast her nce onto Fang Zhengzhi anxiously.

    "A long time ago..."

    "What about... what about now?"

    "Who would havepletely no desire for the throne? However, after giving it some thought, I feel that I might not be all that suitable for that seat." Fang Zhengzhi said in a rare serious tone.

    "Not suitable?"

    "Yes, I will have to wake up before the sun rises every morning to do the morning court session. I will have to stay at the same ce the whole time and also defend myself against people plotting against me. It is too tiring!"

    "Too tiring... is that even a reason?" Ping Yang blinked her eyes in confusion. She had grown up in the royal family since young and naturally knew the importance of the throne seat.

    s, she was born in the royal family.

    God knows how many of her blood brothers had fought over that seat their whole lives. Many even ended up dead or being banished due to their actions. However...

    Someone was telling her that the throne seat was too tiring.

    This reason was slightly incredulous.

    "Yes, that is my reason," Fang Zhengzhi nodded and repeated with conviction.

    "Yan Xiu, do you think that is even a reason?" Ping Yang gave up on Fang Zhengzhi and immediately turned to ask Yan Xiu, who was standing by her side.

    "Yes," Yan Xiu nodded without hesitation.

    "Why?" Ping Yang could not seem to understand as she asked.

    "That is because I feel it is tiring as well," Yan Xiu once again replied.

    "You also feel that it is tiring? Are you telling me... you are also aiming... no that is not right. If you truly want the throne seat, that means that King Yan also... that is not right as well! How can King Yan have such thoughts..."

    "The tiredness I¡¯m referring to is the Western Liang throne seat!" Yan Xiu stared at the confused Ping Yang and exined.

    "The Western Liang King Yan seat? How tiring can that be? You have the elite Yan cavalry and you get to rule over the entire area. Wait a minute, are you telling me... you don¡¯t wish to inherit the throne?"

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded once again.

    "How can you not? You are a son of Yan! Furthermore, King Yan will never agree to your decision!"

    "Yes, he will not."

    "Then can you go against King Yan¡¯s will? I clearly remember that you listen to your grandfather all the time!" Ping Yang was even more confused upon hearing those words.

    "I don¡¯t know," Yan Xiu shook his head.

    "Alright then, I will take it that that is a joke. Oh, Fang Zhengzhi, since you have already guessed... tell me, what should we do next?" Ping Yang pouted as she turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I have no idea," Fang Zhengzhi answered truthfully.

    "You have no idea?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened as they were filled with disbelief.

    "Of course I have no idea. How would I know how and what to do in this kind of scenario?" Fang Zhengzhi replied with a straight face.

    "How can you not know? If you do not know why didn¡¯t you stop this from happening!" Ping Yang immediately became anxious and her face turned slightly red.

    "I refuse to answer what I have already answered.\," Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang condescendingly.

    "You shameless person, don¡¯t y suspense with me, the princess! Alright then, how much silver would it take for you to tell me the n!

    "I truly have no ns," Fang Zhengzhiid out his hands helplessly as he said.

    "Really?"

    "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s very real."

    "Then what do we do? Are we really going to stand by and watch?"

    "That was what I was nning to do."

    Ping Yang¡¯s lips trembled for a few moments as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi with her pair of crystal clear eyes, as though trying to see through his thoughts. However, she gave up eventually and said, "No way, I cannot just sit by and do nothing!"

    "And what are you going to do?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang expectantly as he asked.

    "This..." Ping Yang was stunned as her face blushed. As Fang Zhengzhi had said, what could she do without a n?

    However...

    She would not want to just stand by and do nothing!

    "Do you truly wish to do something?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang¡¯s blushed face and sighed as he asked.

    "Of course!" Ping Yang said with a straight face.

    "Then try to think of a n with your witty brain."

    "Think? Think what?"

    "What would you have done if you were orchestrating this n?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "If I am orchestrating? This..." Ping Yang fell silent and started thinking. After a moment, she shook her head and said, "This is too difficult, it is almost impossible. Even if we take out father¡¯s own prowess, the royal guards themselves would be a problem!"

    "So, what would be the greatest problem?"

    "Naturally the royal guards!" Ping Yang did not hesitate to reply.

    "Mmm..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "What does mmm means? Are you saying... that¡¯s not possible. The royal guards have been in the hands of Aunt Hua all these years. How can they betray father!" Ping Yang said in disbelief.

    "Yes, if they will not betray the Majesty, then what should we do?"

    "This..." Ping Yang was once again startled. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words swirled around in her brain. If they would not betray the Emperor, then what was the next step?

    Time flew.

    At that moment...

    A brilliant light shone within the pce. That light was blinding and appeared out of nowhere into the horizon, illuminating the sky right above the pce.

    "Hmm?" A group of people passing by the Imperial Academy stared at the light emerging out from the pce with a surprised expression. "What is happening to the pce?"

    It was impossible to stay calm.

    This was because this was me Capital City, and that ce is none other than the pce!

    In actual fact, not only were they surprised, the entire me Capital City was shocked at the sudden appearance of that light.

    "There is a duel within the pce?"

    "Are you telling me... there are assassins?"

    "That cannot be! The royal guards are present, who will dare to infiltrate the pce?"

    "But that light just now... what is going on?"

    Everyone stared at the light in awe while feeling extremely puzzled.

    In me Capital City, when all the courtiers saw this light, they immediately frowned. Unlike themoners, they knew exactly where this light wasing from.

    Most importantly...

    They could see the significance and power of this light!

    "The pce!"

    "Who is it?"

    me Capital City, within the barracks stationed outside the East gate.

    This was the main base of the city guards. At that moment, all of them were also looking in the direction of the light.

    All of them were also equally astonished.

    They were the city guards!

    Their job was to protect the safety of me Capital City. However, their job scope had never included guarding the safety of the pce. This was because the pce had always been personally guarded by the royal guards.

    However, this did not mean that they would do nothing while they watch a battle happen in the pce where the Emperor, also known as the son of the heavens was living in.

    "Seal the gates!" Amander immediately ordered.

    The first thing to do when the pce was in trouble was to seal the city gates. This could prevent the assassins from escaping and also defend against further aggression.

    After all...

    No one could confirm that there would be no further backups from outside of me Capital City.

    "Halt!" A voice rang at this time. Following which, a figure appeared behind themander. He was d in a silver armor and a ferocious beast carving could be seen on his helmet.

    This was the hallmark of power, a trademark armor of King Duan.

    "Respect for King Duan!" Themander immediately turned and knelt down.

    "I have received information that someone will be assassinating the Majesty tonight. All the city guards stay alert!" King Duan Lin Xinjue waved his hands at themander before leaping into the middle of the city guards.

    All of the city guards had a shocked expression on their faces upon hearing Lin Xinjue¡¯s words. To think that there were people who wanted to assassinate the Emperor!

    How could this be?

    They were in me Capital City!

    There were countless city guards and even royal guards stationed within the pce. How could someone think about assassinating the Emperor under such imprable defense?

    "All the city guards at mymand!" King Duan Lin Xinjue did not feel the need to exin to the city guards. He simply shed the city guard token.

    "Yes!" All the city guards stared at the city guard token in King Duan Lin Xinjue¡¯s hand and recollected themselves. Their eyes shone with a firm resolve.

    Themand was absolute!

    This was their duty as soldiers and also something that they repeated every night.

    Anyone holding the city guard token would be the arbiter of their fate.

    Moreover, the person holding the token now was King Duan Lin Xinjue. They naturally obeyed without hesitation.

    "The first squad, surround the East gate and prevent the assassins from leaving!"

    "Yes!"

    "The second squad, head towards the South gate..."

    "Yes!"

    "Third squad..."

    "Yes!"

    "The rest, follow me into the pce to save the Emperor!" King Duan¡¯ gaze seemed exceptionally cold at that moment.

    "Yes!"

    Once all the city guards heard Lin Xinjue¡¯smand to seal off the four pce gates and charge into the pce, they headed straight out of their barracks and charged towards the pce.

    The sky was still darkening.

    A bright moon slowly rose.

    There were no signs of rain, although a light breeze graced me Capital City. The moonlight shone onto the ground and illuminated a dark figure on top of a building not far away from the pce.

    He wore his court attire neatly and a bright sapphire was engraved onto his headwear. A light brilliance shone within the crystal.

    Behind him, there were ten other ck-masked figures. They had their swords on their back and their eyes shone mercilessly with ded resolve.

    Su Qing!

    A man who rose from a Rank 4 Official to the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries in merely a year. He should be in prison now, but...

    He was standing on top of the building.

    "It has finally begun!" Su Qing cast his nce on the majestic castle walls as he said. He could not see what was happening within the pce. This was because thew of the Great Xia Dynasty dictated that the buildings around the pce must be of a lower height than the castle walls.

    However, he simply stood silently on top of the building and stared into the tall castle walls as a cold-blooded smirk appeared on his face.

    "My lord, King Duan had started his actions!" A figurended on top of the building like a dragonfly skidding through the water. He was incredibly silent with his movements.

    "I got it." Su Qing nodded.

    After the figure heard Su Qing¡¯s reply, he then quickly retreated, as though he had never appeared on the building.

    "Soon, just a whileter. Just a whileter and the results will be out!" Su Qing muttered softly.

    A whileter, he cast his gaze away from the castle wall and subconsciously stared at a huge building from afar.

    On the entrance of that building were three turquoise-colored, elegantly written characters.

    The Imperial Academy!

    "Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy? Chief Examiner, Rank 2 Official with royal endowment, all aplished under the age of 18. I¡¯m afraid such aplishments are unprecedented in the entire history of Great Xia Dynasty."

    "Very well!"

    "At the very least, you are qualified to be my opponent!"

    "However, that is only the beginning. How can a cricket block a battering ram? What you seek is merely official rankings. However, that which I seek is the world!"

    "How then... can you hope to defeat me?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, no matter how arrogant and intelligent you are, if you cannot control the world, how can you be my opponent?"

    "You will not stop me this time!"

    The side of Su Qing¡¯s lips lifted ever so slightly, revealing a cold-blooded sneer. At the same time, his eyes seemed to glow in a chilling brilliance, which appeared even more sinister under the illumination of the moonlight.

 Chapter 560 The Perfect and Unassailable Plan

    me Capital City, Within the pce.

    Over twenty masked ck figures were staring at a middle-aged man d in golden armor. Their gazes were cold and without mercy.

    Behind the middle-aged man were a few hundred royal guards. However, the royal guards were all lying on the ground and drenched in perspiration.

    This was a strange scene.

    This was the pce within the me Capital City!

    Normally, this area was controlled by the royal guards. However, the royal guards did not seem to have the advantage in this situation. Conversely, they seemed to be unable to move at all.

    "Bai Qi, is there any point in struggling?" A masked figure with sharp gaze walked forward as he cast his gaze on the middle-aged man d in golden armor.

    Beside the ck figure was another one of hisrades, though this figure had a more gentle and feminine gaze.

    The two of them looked slightly different from the rest. Their clothing seemed to be a lot more elegant. Clearly, it was made from a higher quality material.

    "You recognize me?" The golden armored man struggled to keep himself from fainting and supported himself with one hand on the ground. He perspired profusely though he still managed to stay upright.

    "Of course, why would I not recognize the vicemander of the royal guards?" The masked figure smiled gently though his expression remained stern.

    The feminine ck figure neither spoke nor utter even a sound.

    Same goes for the other masked figures.

    "Who exactly are you guys?" Bai Qi¡¯s mouth trembled as he spoke. He seemed extremely weak.

    "Aren¡¯t you supposed to be more concerned about what we have done to you?" The masked figure stared at the trembling Bai Qi and asked.

    "Hmph! I have no interest in these lowly tactics!" Bai Qi gritted his teeth and muttered.

    "Is that so? Then we shall not waste any more time." The masked figure nodded his head and walked towards Bai Qi one step at a time.

    "Tell me. How did you people do it? All the royal guards on shift today were all poisoned. How could you people have known who are the guards on duty?"

    "It seems like the vicemander is still slightly curious, am I right?" The masked figure walked as he sneered. A cold-blooded smile appeared on his face.

    On the other hand, Bai Qi gritted his teeth and kept silent.

    The masked figure stared at Bai Qi and finally stopped in his tracks. He then slowly bent forward and whispered into Bai Qi¡¯s ears.

    "What? You guys..." Bai Qi¡¯s eyes widened as his eyes widened in horror, "Good move, but I don¡¯t believe that you can bribe everyone in the kitchen as well as the people in charge of delegating the shifts in the royal guards!"

    "Bribe? Haha, that is too troublesome. It would be simpler if we have their family members as hostages!" The masked figure once again lifted his head andughed.

    "You guys... the families of the royal guards are protected by the kingdom. This information could not have been leaked. How did you get them?"

    "That is something you don¡¯t have to know!" The masked figure did not wish to continue the conversation any further and lifted his hand, "Vicemander Bai is truly loyal. Even after being poisoned by the lethargy powder, you are still standing in our way. I will send you off quickly!"

    "Hmph!" Bai Qi¡¯s eyes widened and stopped talking.

    At that moment, another figure appeared right in front of the masked man and blocked his hand which was just inches away from Bai Qi.

    The masked figure was startled and immediately looked to his side.

    It was the feminine figure that was standing beside him all these while.

    "It seems like... someone cannot bear to see this! Alright then, we will keep him alive!" The masked figure¡¯s eyes then glowed before his hand fell onto Bai Qi¡¯s neck.

    Smack!

    Bai Qi then fainted onto the ground.

    Two other ck masked figure then stepped forward and brought out a metal chain to secure Bai Qi to a wall, making sure that he would not be able to move even if he woke up.

    "Is this alright?" The masked figure then stared at the feminine figure beside him.

    The feminine figure did not answer. She merely walked further into the pce, around half of the remaining masked figures immediately followed her footsteps.

    The masked figure sniggered before nodding to his followers behind him to catch up with the group in front.

    Countless royal guards were down on the ground.

    Many of them struggled to lift themselves off the floor. However, fatigue overwhelmed their bodies and they were drenched in perspiration.

    The eunuchs and female servants were horrified to see the scene. However, there were also a few of them who were searching for water to give to the royal guards.

    At that moment...

    Over a thousand ck figure also appeared from afar. They moved forward in small groups of hundred and in unison steps. They were also incredibly fast.

    "The master orders to kill off all who dares to approach the royal guards!"

    "Yes!"

    A few ck figures sped through the area.

    The eunuchs and female servants who were feeding water to the royal guards lost their lives immediately. Their eyes were still wide opened in shock.

    But blood was already gushing out from their throats.

    "Ah! Murder!"

    "Run! There are assassins, fast... catch them quickly!"

    "Protect the Emperor!"

    A few eunuchs and female servants screamed hysterically as they ran in all directions. However, they could never be faster than the ck figures.

    All the eunuchs and female servants who even uttered a sound fell dead onto the ground.

    Until...

    None of the eunuchs and female servants dared to approach the royal guards or even utter a single word. All of them sped their mouth tightly with their hands with widened eyes and trembling bodies.

    At that moment, two masked figures walked forward from afar. One of them had eyes as sharp as an eagle, while another one had a feminine and gentle gaze. Behind this two ck figures, there were over twenty other ck figures.

    All the eunuchs and female servants stared at the new group of ck figures in horror as the bowed forward in fear. They kept their bodies on the ground the entire time.

    However, the two figures did not even bother with the eunuchs and female servants. They did not even look at the blood on the ground. They merely walked forward, deeper into the pce with every step.

    me Capital City, Entrance of the Imperial Academy.

    Ping Yang kept her gaze on the lighting from the pce as she opened her mouth slightly, looking extremely shocked.

    "Third brother, he truly... but how did he get past the royal guards?" Ping Yang seemed to have recollected herself after a while and asked.

    "The easiest way is to poison them. Spiking their meals!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang and casually mentioned.

    "Spiked?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened and seemed to have remembered something. "If third brother wants to spike the royal guards, it would be a simple task. But in that case, how would father protect himself? Without the royal guards... no, I have to save him!"

    Ping Yang said as she prepared to rush back to the pce. However, the moment she moved a step forward, she stopped in her tracks as her pair of clear crystal eyes widened once again.

    "City guards?" Ping Yang stared at the city guards who were congregating together from afar. Anyone would be surprised to see this scene.

    But quickly...

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up as well.

    That¡¯s right, there were the city guards as well! Sixth brother¡¯s city guards!

    Ping Yang had hesitated no more. She immediately rushed towards the city guards and ignored Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    "Stop right there!" Ping Yang hollered as she stood right in front of the city guards.

    "Princess Ping Yang? Your Highness... we have an urgent military mission. May the princess let us pass!" A guard stopped in his tracks as he saw Ping Yang in his way. He did not dare to charge his way through. After all, Ping Yang had quite the reputation in me Capital City.

    "Stop whatever urgent military matter you have. Return to the pce immediately to protect my father. If anyone disobeys me, they will suffer my wrath!"

    "This... Princess Ping Yang, our mission is to seal off the West gate of the pce. As for protecting the Majesty, King Duan and the other city guards are on their way!"

    "Hm? You say you are headed towards the West gate?"

    "That¡¯s right! Princess Ping Yang, rest assured the Majesty will be saved. With King Duan there, he will never let the Majestye to any harm. I will be going now!" The city guard then wasted no time and charged forward.

    The rest of his team also followed along, charging past Ping Yang.

    As for Ping Yang...

    She was already dumbfounded and could not react in time as she stared at the city guards rushing past her.

    "City guards sealing the west pce gate? Sixth brother is protecting father? This... how did sixth brother know that third brother will..." Ping Yang¡¯s lips muttered and could not wrap her head around it.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu reached Ping Yang at that moment. As he stared at the leaving city guards, Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    He knew who the city guards obeyed. There was only one person who could mobilize such a huge team of city guards to seal off the pce gates. That person was none other than King Duan Lin Xinjue.

    City guards...

    Pce!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes widened and sparkled. He seemed to have realized something.

    "I see! That is how it is!"

    "Have you figured out something? Quick, tell me! What is happening? Why would sixth brother send people to surround the pce and even go into the pce to protect father?" Ping Yang seemed to be awakened from her thoughts upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice and asked.

    "It seems like King Duan had also realized something will be going on tonight!" Yan Xiu¡¯s voice rang instead. At the same time, he frowned, as though he was deep in thought.

    "Sixth brother knew as well?" Ping Yang was once again surprised. After which, she shook her head violently and asked, "Why would sixth brother know?"

    "This is no longer important. The important thing is that... what is King Duan¡¯s motive for entering the pce?" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and interrupted Ping Yang.

    "Are you telling me is not to protect father?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a puzzled expression.

    "Don¡¯t you feel that everything is a set-up?" Fang Zhengzhi did not answer her question directly. Instead, he asked her a thought-provoking question.

    "A set-up? What do you mean?" Ping Yang seemed to be confused.

    "Think about it. If you could orchestrate this entire thing, would you allow the Crown Prince to usurp the throne while informing King Duan to protect the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi hinted.

    "This... of course not! Why would I do that? Wouldn¡¯t that mean I have achieved nothing?" Ping Yang replied without hesitation.

    "No! They aplished a lot. In fact, it is orchestrated in a much more sophisticated and unassable manner than we would have ever imagined. It could be said that it was a perfect n!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and said.

    "A perfect andplete n?" Ping Yang could not seem to understand. How would this be a perfect n? Where was the sophistication and how could it be unassable?

    "Yes, it is indeed perfect. No matter which side won, he will benefit from the result. However, this n... there must be something else to follow-up with!" Yan Xiu nodded in agreement as he said.

    "What are the both of you talking about? Why can¡¯t I understand? What winner? What follow-up?" Ping Yang blinked her eyes as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu with a perplexed expression.

    "I cannot exin. I have only understood a small part of the n up till now. I have not deciphered the details and intricacies of the n yet," Yan Xiu shook his head and stared at Fang Zhengzhi, asking, "Have you understood it?"

    "Not yet, but almost!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as well.

    "Why would both of you say that the n is unassable if you have not even understood it?" Ping Yang was dissatisfied at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Ping Yang¡¯s words.

    "There is something called reaping the benefits at other¡¯s expense, do you understand what that means?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Of course I do. It means to watch both parties conflict and only interrupt when they are already heavily injured to receive the greatest benefits!" Ping Yang replied immediately.

    "Hm, you are right, but just a bit off. This n can refer to more than two parties, and can even go up to four or five parties If needed..." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he replied.

    "Three to five parties?" Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened in shock.

    "Have you heard of a story in the Law of Dao? This was the exact n the Qin Dynasty used to unify all the countries. Before they attacked a country, they would first promise the other countries great benefits. Following which, they would destroy all the countries at once while they were suspicious and defensive against the others. This was what preceded the Great Qin Dynasty!"

    "Yes, of course, I have heard about this. But what has this got to do with what we are dealing with?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi quizzically.

    "It is the same n, except that the people and the situation now are slightly different. However, it is as perfectly executed as it was by the Qin Dynasty. Furthermore, it will never fail!" Fang Zhengzhi took a look at Ping Yang then at the stars on the horizon and continued, "Such a n would be impossible to foil if we do not understand the full procedure!"

    "Impossible to foil?" Ping Yang trembled upon hearing those words.

    "Yes, impossible to foil," Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he said.

 Chapter 561 Usurpation and Simply Passing By

    "What do we do then? Are we really going to just stand by and watch?" Deep down, Ping Yang wanted to trust Fang Zhengzhi. However, if he was nning to make her sit through all this without making a move, she would absolutely be unwilling to.

    This was because...

    The person in the pce was her father.

    The father who doted on her so much.

    When someone seemed to have missed out on some memories most people had, such as the warmth of a mother¡¯s love, the significance of the father was unbelievably huge. Their entire understanding of family probably only revolved around her father¡¯s love.

    Despite the fact that she was born in a royal family.

    "Actually, I was thinking..." Fang Zhengzhi was just about to say they should just stand by and watch when he looked towards Ping Yang. Upon seeing the anxious expression on her face, he swallowed his words and decided it was better for him to be sensitive.

    From Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s perspective...

    He had no intention of getting involved in this battle.

    It was normal for people to fight over the throne.

    All who managed to sit on the throne had deployed some sort of unscrupulous tactics and spent countless hours working their way towards that goal. This was true even for Emperor Tai Zong, the widely-respected emperor in the previous generation.

    He only managed to ascend the throne after the Xuanwu Gate incident.

    Those who seed be Kings, while those who fail be known as invaders and usurpers.

    If Emperor Tai Zong did not instigate the Xuanwu Gate incident, there might not be the glorious age of Control by Zheng Guan, when the country enjoyed swift economic progress, cultural advancements, and a corruption-free government. Who could then fault Emperor Tai Zong for his actions?

    "What do we do?" Ping Yang heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and once again cast her nce over at him, her eyes filled with anticipation.

    Fang Zhengzhi then lifted his head slightly and stared at the night sky before saying, "If we cannot be the one that reaps the benefits at the end, we only have one other role left to assume!"

    "What role is that?" Ping Yang was puzzled.

    "A Passer-by!"

    Pce, Throne room.

    This was the ce where the morning court sessions were conducted. Normally, Lin Mubai should not be sitting on his throne seat now. However, he was right there, on top of the luxurious seat with dragon carvings in the throne room.

    He wore his golden dragon robe neatly. Eunuch Wei stood beside him.

    Apart from the both of them, there were no other people in the throne room. The giant throne room looked slightly empty, too empty in fact. It gave off a ustrophobic pressure despite the spaciousness.

    Until...

    Two masked figures walked into the pce.

    "How insolent, who dares to barge into the throne room!" Eunuch Wei¡¯s voice rang the moment the two masked figures walked into the room.

    At the same time, he stepped forward. Not a hint of surprise or fear could be seen from his eyes.

    Following Eunuch Wei¡¯s holler, the two masked figure also stopped in their tracks. They did not intend to move closer towards Eunuch Wei or Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Emperor Lin Mubai then raised his hands.

    Eunuch Wei stopped speaking upon seeing the signal and retreated to his original position.

    "Since you have already arrived, do you n on keeping your mask on?" Lin Mubai stared at the two masked figures and said.

    The two masked figures then exchanged nces before they slowly took off their mask, revealing two young faces

    The person on the left had a gaze as sharp as an eagle and a face like porcin, while the person on the right had thin lips and long, nted eyes, looking slightly feminine.

    It was Crown Prince Lin Tianrong!

    "Didn¡¯t I order you to reflect within your residence? Why did youe?" Lin Mubai nodded and did not pay attention to the person on the left. He merely fixed his gaze upon Lin Tianrong.

    "Why would father ask when you yourself know best!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes darted around as he answered. He looked slightly flustered.

    "Get the hell out of here," Lin Mubai spoke without much fluctuations in his voice, although his words spoke for themselves.

    He tolerated no nonsense.

    He also did not wish to discuss this matter any further. He merely used a few non-elegant words to tell Lin Tianrong what he had to do.

    This was the Emperor.

    The prestigious Emperor revered by many.

    Despite the fact that he had no protectors around him and that all his royal guards were robbed of their fighting capabilities, his presence was still overwhelming.

    The voice echoed across the throne room.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression changed immediately and subconsciously took a step backward. He perspired profusely on his face as hesitation shed across his eyes.

    "The Great Xia Emperor is truly something!" The eagle-eyed figure suddenly spoke and stared at Ling Tianrong with a condescending look, "Crown Prince my lord, are we going to get the hell out?"

    "Shut up!" Lin Tianrong spoke coldly and took a step forward back to his original position. He then stared at his father with a chilling gaze and said, "Father, I have no intention of going back if I am already here."

    "Scram!" Lin Mubai once again shouted. His tone was obviously a lot more intense than the previous one. At the same time. A ray of golden light could also be seen enveloping his body.

    An immense pressure seemed to be gushing wildly from his body.

    Lin Tianrong was once again taken aback. He subconsciously wanted to take a step back but before his feetnded, he retracted his movements and stood his ground.

    "Father, there is no changing the results. As long as you willingly give up the throne, I will spare your life!" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong trembled as he said those words, though his gaze seemed exceptionally determined.

    This sentence...

    He had longed to say this sentence many times, though he always suppressed his desire to say them. This was because he was the Crown Prince, he could wait, until the day when he officially and rightfully ims his throne.

    When Lin Mubai finally decided to pass down his treasured seat.

    However, he could no longer wait.

    This was because his Crown Prince seat was in jeopardy. If not for his pathetic pleadings and taking advantage of his mother to seek forgiveness, he might already be stripped of his Crown Prince title.

    How then, could he continue to wait?

    "Crown Prince, please return to your residence immediately. The Emperor is magnanimous and will not punish you severely. You cannot go down this path!" Eunuch Wei could not help but remind Lin Tianrong upon hearing his words.

    "Haha... punish me severely?" Lin Tianrongughed and revealed an insane and insolent expression. "If I, the Crown Prince bes the Emperor, what kind of punishment will you be giving me?"

    "Crown Prince..." Eunuch Wei was about to persuade Lin Tianrong again when he saw Lin Mubai¡¯s expression and swallowed his words.

    "Father, the entire pce is under my control. The moment you die, the throne seat of the Great Xia Dynasty will be mine. I hope that father will consider my suggestion. If father will willingly give up your seat, I will definitely not hurt..."

    "Shut your goddamn mouth, do you know what crime you aremitting now?" Lin Mubai interrupted Lin Tianrong before he could finish and asked sternly.

    "What crime? This crime is slightly serious, isn¡¯t it? Contacting the neighboring states, usurping the throne, I believe the lightest punishment for that will simply be to dy my death sentence. Am I right?" Ling Tianrong answered seriously after thinking for a few moments.

    "It seems like you¡¯vee prepared!" Lin Mubai nodded as he heard those words. At the same time, the golden brilliance enveloping his body disappeared.

    Lin Tianrong sneered upon seeing this scene.

    It was as though he had already seen the dawn of victory. If Lin Mubai would give up his throne willingly, that would be for the best.

    After all...

    Not many people knew Lin Mubai¡¯s true strength.

    However, there was no doubt that if Lin Mubai were to fight with all his might, the throne room would be dyed a bloody-red. How then, would he be able to conduct the morning court session tomorrow as the new Emperor?

    Lin Tianrong did not want o wait any longer.

    He had already prepared the speech he would give tomorrow morning. Furthermore, he had already prepared everything beforehand, evening to the battlefield with his dragon robe.

    Hiss!

    A crisp sound rang throughout the throne room.

    Lin Tianrong tore off the ck suit he had been wearing and revealing a luxurious golden robe underneath. It was shining brilliantly and decorated with majestic dragons and soaring clouds.

    "Preparations? Of course, I am prepared. Father was killed by assassins from the neighboring countries. When your filial son reached the pce, a will was all I saw. Oh... that¡¯s right, there is one thing missing from the will, the royal seal. I will have to trouble Eunuch Wei to help me, the Crown Prince... wait a minute, that¡¯s not right. May I trouble Eunuch Wei to help me, the Emperor, stamp the seal of approval!"

    "Crown Prince you..." Eunuch Wei stared at the golden robe Lin Tianrong was wearing and the scroll he held in his hand with a horrified expression.

    Wearing the dragon robe and bringing a fake will into the throne room!

    These actions had demonstrated that Lin Tianrong was fully prepared for this day. At the same time, it also meant that there was no possibility of redemption.

    "Do not call me the Crown Prince anymore, call me Your Majesty!" Lin Tianrong said coldly as he brandished a long sword in his hand. The sword shone with a chilling gleam.

    As Lin Tianrong shed his weapon, twenty other masked figures also walked into the throne room. All of them wore a ck suit and held different kinds of weapons on their hands.

    However, the only difference about their weapons from Lin Tianrong¡¯s sword was that...

    Their weapons were already stained with blood. The blood dripped down onto the royal floors of the throne room, tainting the room with the stench of fresh blood.

    "Father, haven¡¯t you always loved that woman? Didn¡¯t you almost give up the throne seat just for her? Why don¡¯t you give it up for real this time? You can find her, as long as you give the seat to me. You can be released from this shackle and find her without a care for the world. Isn¡¯t this what you always wanted?"

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice was filled with hatred and menace, his facial expression twitching ever so often. This was a release of pent-up rage for the past few years, the outburst of a poisonous venom brewing for a long time.

    "Presumptuous!" A roar could be heard and at the same time, a golden light illuminated the entire throne room. This light was emanated by a golden dragon, a dragon formed from the concentration of golden light particles.

 Chapter 562 Eye of the Dragon

    The dragon leaped majestically as the clouds soared!

    When the golden light took the form of a dragon, pieces of white clouds started appearing in the throne room, engulfing the entire throne room in an instant.

    Roar!

    A deste roar could be heard.

    Two blood-red circles lit up amongst the golden light. They seemed arrogant and unfeeling. As the dragon soared around the throne room, the red light moved along as well.

    Boom!

    Sounds of thunder could be heard from the clouds, especially ces where the clouds were especially thick. The rumbling sounds of thunder could be heard from the throne room.

    Following which, a w emerged from the mist.

    The w was coated with a chilling metallic surface. It seemed otherworldly, something that could not have been formed by umting the natural energy of the earth. It seemed like a ferocious beast, a truly fearsome one.

    What a strange scene.

    When the twenty ck figures saw this scene, they subconsciously lowered their bodies under the immense pressure. Even their weapons seemed to be trembling ever so slightly in their hands.

    "What... is this?"

    "A real dragon?"

    From their perspective, the moment they stepped into the throne room, they were left with no choice. They had to continue on the path they chose no matter how difficult it was.

    However, they were stillpletely stunned when they saw the w emerging from the mist.

    s...

    The shock did notst long.

    They still moved in unison after a moment.

    All of them were enveloped in a brilliant glow. This was the hallmark of the Rebirth State. Lin Mubai was facing over twenty Rebirth State individuals himself.

    "Don¡¯t be afraid. This is merely father¡¯s protective artifact the Green Dragon Eye. Take note of the two golden light, do not make contact with the red light!" Lin Tianrong stared at the roaring golden dragon above him and retreated quickly behind the twenty ck figures.

    Green Dragon Eye.

    It was the most precious treasure in the Great Xia Dynasty. No one knew its exact power and strength. However, it¡¯s value was definitely way above the ten treasures.

    Furthermore, no one had ever seen the true form of the Green Dragon Eye. This was because the Emperor had never revealed its true form to anyone.

    The reason was simple...

    The Green Dragon Eye was a gift from Ping Yang¡¯s mother to the Emperor.

    Emperor Lin Mubai would never allow the courtiers and his children to see such a precious object, much less reveal its true power without a proper reason.

    "Green Dragon Eye?" The twenty ck figure exchanged nces as they dispersed themselves across the throne room. They pointed their weapons in unison towards Lin Mubai.

    "Kill!"

    "You unfilial son!" Lin Mubai stared at Lin Tianrong who had already retreated to the entrance of the throne room as his eyes glimmered with golden brilliance. He then stood up from his dragon throne.

    Every step he took, he walked closer towards Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    At that moment, the twenty ck figures also made their move. Twenty shimmering light charged towards Lin Mubai like shooting stars in the night sky.

    They were fast.

    However, the golden dragon circling above the throne room was faster.

    At the moment when the twenty ck figures attacked, the golden dragon also stuck out its w from the mist and blocked the spot right in front of the iing brilliance.

    Boom!

    Boom! Boom!

    Consecutive rumbling sounds echoed through the throne room.

    At the same time, two beams of red light rained down from the sky.

    Strangely...

    Underneath the blood red light, one could see chilling fangs simr to that of a real dragon. It looked sinister and terrifying.

    "Ah!"

    A ck figure screamed in pain.

    At the same time, a ball of blood-red me rose in the throne room. It was formed from thepletebustion of the ck figure¡¯s body.

    That ball of red me seemed to have risen from the ground, but also looked as if it was emitted from the ck figure¡¯s body naturally from the high-temperaturebustion.

    "Help, help me..." The ck figure muttered a few words as a ball of demonic red mes appeared from his mouth, until he could no longer speak.

    Thump!

    A light thud could be heard.

    A charred body then appeared on the floor of the throne room.

    The remaining ck figures then stopped in their tracks as they looked at theirrade with widened eyes. They were all in shock as they stared at the piece of charred flesh.

    He was a Rebirth State individual!

    Let¡¯s not even mention a Rebirth State...

    Even Supernatural State beings were known to possess extremely high self-rejuvenation capabilities. However, a Rebirth State individual was now instantly burnt into a piece of charred flesh.

    How could they not be horrified?

    "What exactly is the Green Dragon Eye?"

    "What was that demonic red me just now?"

    "Is this the true form of the Green Dragon Eye?"

    All the ck figures lifted their heads in unison and stared at the soaring dragon amongst the clouds. A tinge of hesitation rose in their hearts.

    This was because they had already faced off against the Green Dragon Eye.

    For just one round.

    But all their attacks were sessfully blocked. Furthermore, even one of theirrades died. One of them had failed to survive when theymenced a unison attack.

    Lin Mubai did not intend to stop walking.

    He still moved towards Lin Tianrong one step at a time. He did not seem to pay any attention to the ck figures in front of the Crown Prince.

    "Quick, stop him, even if he is the almighty father, he cannot possibly use the Green Dragon Eye forever. Attack him consecutively and we will eventually wear him out!" Lin Tianrong stared at Lin Mubai, who was closing in and retreated a few more steps. He only stopped after stepping onto the ledge of the throne room.

    He knew that the Green Dragon Eye was Lin Mubai¡¯s most treasured object.

    He also knew that it was the greatest treasure that belonged to the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However...

    He did not know the full extent of its power. To think that it would be able to kill off a Rebirth State individual while blocking off the attacks of another twenty figures with simr power.

    The greatest treasure.

    Who would inherit it?

    "As long as we kill father, this Green Dragon Eye will be mine!" Lin Tianrong stared at the dragon soaring above and said greedily.

    "Onward!" The eagle-eyed figure finally said something. He used his sharp gaze to stare at the soaring dragon as well, though he seemed a lot calmer andposed whenpared to the Crown Prince.

    He did not retreat.

    He did not even move his feet.

    He merely stood at his original position and waved to the twenty ck figures.

    "Go!" The twenty figures were filled with determination upon hearing his words. They then lifted their heads to look at the soaring dragon above as their eyes shone with a ded resolve.

    They did not have any more hesitation...

    No one retreated as well.

    The shimmering brilliance once again enveloped their body and illuminated the entire throne room.

    At that moment, they only had one thought in their minds.

    Only one party shall live!

    Roar!

    The dragon made its move again.

    This time, it came down straight from the clouds, tumbling its gigantic body around. The golden scales shimmered with molten fiery, as though ayer of molten gold was just poured over it.

    When the dragon appeared, a few purple lightning also struck from within the clouds, heading towards the ck figures who were shimmering with brilliance.

    Boom!

    Boom! Boom!

    A series of rumbling sounds could be heard once again.

    Rubble flew across the throne room as the jade engraved onto the pirs and walls fell onto the ground. The thick majestic ground was now filled with craters of varying depths and sizes.

    Thump! Thump!

    The sound of bodies falling to the ground happened almost instantaneously. Amongst this wreckage, two blood-red light could still be seen, staring silently at the entrance of the throne room.

    As the feet shuffling against the gravels echoed through the throne room, a figure bathed in a golden light emerged from the wreckage.

    The golden robe was overflowing with brilliance and above him, a dragon soared ever so majestically, it¡¯s pair of blood-red eyes shimmering coldly.

    "Unfilial son, do you know, how much I do not want to revoke your title!" Lin Mubai stared at Lin Tianrong and said with an indifferent tone.

    "Not revoking my title? Haha, if you do not wish to revoke my title, why would you reveal my secret chamber underneath my study room. If not for the fact that I mentioned mother, you would have already punished me for the crime of collusion!" Lin Tianrong leaned against the entrance to the throne room weakly, though he spoke with conviction and determination.

    "Collusion? If I have to punish you, I will punish you for colluding with neighboring countries in a conspiracy to usurp the throne!" Lin Mubai said as he flung something into the air.

    In an instant...

    A few lettersnded in front of Lin Tianrong.

    Lin Tianrong was shocked at this action as his eyes shed with uncertainty. He could recognize the letters in front of him. They were none other than the ones Fang Zhengzhi gave Lin Mubai a few days ago.

    This was the exact reason his secret chamber was discovered and was given the punishment of house arrest in front of all the courtiers.

    Now, those letters were right in front of him.

    He hesitated. However, he still reached out for the letters in the end and opened them. Following which, his eyes widened.

    Those letters were like the harbinger of hell.

    "How could this be? This is not possible!" Lin Tianrong immediately threw the first letter onto the ground and tore open the second one.

    Then the third and the fourth...

    It did not take long for the letters that were picked up by Lin Tianrong to once again end up on the ground. The only difference being that they were now torn open.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s expression had also totally changed.

    If he was disying a firm and determined expression previously,

    Then at that moment...

    He was fearful, extremely fearful of what he just read!

    "This cannot be...impossible. This is preposterous, you are lying to me! Yes, that¡¯s right you are a liar!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s voice echoed through the night sky, his face bing sickly pale.

 Chapter 563 Near-Life Gate

    For a long time, Lin Tianrong had always thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s letters to Lin Mubai were regarding the secret chamber he built underneath his study room.

    However, it was not until now...

    That he truly understood.

    Compared to the secret chamber, the true content hidden within these letters were simply inconceivable.

    The first letter was one between him and the Southern Region Noblelite. This letter should not have appeared in his study room, and neither should it appear in me Capital City. This should have been in the Southern Region, in the hands of the deceased Southern Region Noblelite.

    This was because it was a conversation that was carried out in secret between the two of them while the Crown Prince himself was in the Southern Region.

    Why would it appear here?

    There was only one possibility. It was that when the King of the Southern Region Shan Yu arrived at me Capital City, she brought this letter with her and it somehownded in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    The second letter was a conversation between the eagle-eyed man and himself. This letter simrly, should not have been discovered. It should be lying safely within the secret chamber in the Crown Prince Residence.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi had gotten a letter that was in the secret chamber?

    Lin Tianrong still could not fathom how he did it.

    As for the third and fourth letter...

    All of which had some sort of connection with the secret chamber in the Crown Prince Residence. However, each of them was extremely important letters that clearly state his heinous crimes. Anyone of them would be enough reason for Lin Mubai to strip him of his title.

    And these letters fell right into Lin Mubai¡¯s hands.

    St that moment, Lin Tianrong finally understood what exactly did Fang Zhengzhi give his father. He also understood why his father would reveal the secret chamber right in front of all the courtiers and ridicule him on the spot.

    It was a warning!

    However, what he did not understand was that, why would Lin Mubai still allow him to enjoy the Crown Prince title even after reading the letters, and merely let him off with a stern warning and house arrest?

    After all, these crimes...

    Were too serious!

    It was impossible that Lin Mubai would forgive him!

    "Do you know why your mother died?" Lin Mubai ignored Lin Tianrong¡¯s gasps of shock and horror. He merely stared into the chilling brilliance that shed across the night sky outside of the throne room.

    "Why?" Lin Tianrong asked subconsciously.

    This was a question he always had. However, he knew that this was a question he could never ask. This was because his mother hadmitted suicide. She had killed herself not long after that other woman left.

    However, that did not mean...

    He didn¡¯t want to know.

    "Your mother gave up everything and relinquished everything. She wants me topensate her for all that she had lost! Therefore, she wants me to feel guilty. She wants to use her death toy the path for you to be the Crown Prince. She gave you a Crown Prince title that no one can ever take away from you with her death!"

    Lin Mubai cast his nce back on Lin Tianrong as a rare sentimental expression appeared on his face.

    The Royal Pce was filled with endless power struggles and underhanded tactics. In order to survive, one had to learn to protect oneself and also ignore the unscrupulous things they saw. However, certain things were impossible to ignore even if one wanted to.

    For example, what Lin Tianrong¡¯s mother did.

    She died.

    At a time when Lin Mubai owed her countless emotional debts, she died without as much of a ruckus. How then, could Lin Mubai not give the Crown prince seat to Lin Tianrong?

    "Mother died... for my Crown prince title?" Lin Tianrong was dumbfounded and involuntarily trembled at that thought.

    He was born in the royal family.

    He had seen way too much power struggle for a person his age.

    Therefore, he understood what Lin Mubai meant perfectly well.

    His mother, after well knowing that she would not gain the Emperor¡¯s love, resolutely chose to end her life. In return, she would earn the Lin Mubai¡¯s grieve and guilt, paving the way for her son to be the Crown Prince.

    All these years, he had been...

    He had been fighting to keep his Crown Prince position, using unscrupulous tactics and sometimes outright aggression.

    How ridiculous!

    At that moment, he realized how sturdy his position as the Crown prince was. He also understood why Lin Mubai only gave him the punishment of house arrest even after reading these letters.

    Even when he had already stepped brazenly into the throne room, Lin Mubai merely told him to get the hell out.

    This was because behind this Crown Prince title was a deceased mother.

    It was a title the queen paid for using her life. He did not have to earn it himself. He merely had to sitfortably in that position until it was time for him to be the Emperor.

    However...

    It was toote. The moment he rushed into the pce with the eagle-eyed ck figure and brandished his sword in front of his father, there was no turning back.

    "If you turn back now, I can spare your life!" Lin Mubai walked forward one more step. The dragon above him followed.

    An immense pressure could be felt from Lin Mubai¡¯s body.

    "Spare my life? Spare my life..." Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at the dragon above Lin Mubai¡¯s head. His body leaned back subconsciously the more he did so.

    He hesitated...

    After understanding everything, he hesitated for the first time.

    He did not have any memories of his mother. By the time he started remembering things, his mother had already passed away. He was soon named the Crown Prince and the being that all the courtiers looked up to.

    However, he had always felt something wascking.

    Family!

    He received neither love from his mother or father.

    This was because his father had only doted on one person for as long as he could remember. That person was Ping Yang, the daughter that Lin Mubai and that other woman had together.

    This was what he had always thought.

    However, at this moment, this thought had changed.

    His father loved him all the same, even though this care and concern came at the expense of his mother¡¯s life. This still showed that his father treated him differently.

    "Green Dragon Eye you say, I want to give it a try!"

    Just as Lin Tianrong was hesitating, another voice rang across the throne room. Following which, a figure appeared beside Lin Tianrong.

    A fist then appeared out of nowhere.

    It seemed like an ordinary fist and there was nothing exceptional about it.

    This fist went straight towards Lin Mubai without the slightest hesitation. It was as fast as lightning.

    "Hm?" Lin Mubai simply focused his attention on the fist and the dragon above him immediately reacted.

    A dragon w emerged and positioned itself right in front of the fist. A golden hue enveloped the w as it shone with a metallic brilliance. The majestic golden scales could also be clearly seen.

    The fist then collided with the dragon w as it should have.

    However, the moment the fist made contact with the dragon w, the fist changed form as well. It changed into a w as six sets of extremelyplicated runes circled in the air. They were golden, red, blue, green, purple and silver respectively, glowing brilliantly in the air.

    A ray of light as thin as a silk thread then connected the six set of runes together.

    It seemed just like...

    A giant picture.

    A giant picture formed up of countless threads and runes.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had seen this scene, he would definitely have recognized it. The picture this scene formed was exceptionally simr to the Illustration of All Creation he saw when he was younger.

    Boom!

    The entire throne room shook at the collision.

    Rubble flew across the room as cracks appeared on the ground. Following which, a great explosion urred, threatening to blow up everything in its way.

    The sky above the throne room was rumbling and churning with thunder and lightning.

    With the collision point of the w and the fist as its center, the terrifying shockwaves rapidly spread across the area. The force was so huge that even the door of the throne room was forcefully ripped from its hinges.

    Within the throne room, the twenty ck figures immediately climbed up from the ground, the shimmering brilliance covering their bodies protecting them from the shockwaves. All of their faces seemed extremely serious and sunken.

    On the other hand, Lin Tianrong was thrown off the ground by this impact. From the expression on his face, one could tell that he was extremely frightened.

    However, he was notpletely flung from his original position.

    That was because...

    The moment his body left the ground, he could feel a hand pressing down on his shoulders, forcefully keeping him onto the ground.

    At the same time, a figure shielded him from the shockwaves, the ck suit worn by this figure danced around amongst the strong gale of wind. However, the figure did not seem to care.

    "As I have expected, it¡¯s not a real dragon. Oh, that¡¯s right, Crown Prince, I did not mean to hurt you!" The figure stood where he was and did not bother to look at Lin Tianrong at all., though his tone seemed to be apologetic.

    However, Lin Tianrong knew very well that...

    Such words were meant to ridicule and put him down!

    The golden brilliance took a step back as the dragon w retreated into the clouds. However, the sinister blood-red eyes glowed even brighter.

    "Descend!" A voice rang from the golden brilliance.

    The clouds above the throne room descended immediately upon hearing thismand. In an instant, it suppressed all the gravels and residual shockwaves in the area.

    Lin Mubai¡¯s figure once again appeared.

    He then stared at the figure beside Lin Tianrong. This time, he did not ignore him. Instead, he stared right into his eyes.

    The eyes as sharp as an eagle.

    "Pang Shengdao? you are a royal of the Northern Barbarians?" Lin Mubai squinted as he said.

    "Northern Barbarians? Ha... that is what the Great Xia calls us. We prefer to call ourselves the Holy Barbarian Empire. Furthermore, I do not like to call myself a royal or a noble. I prefer people to call me young master!" The eagle-eyed man smiled lightly as he said.

    "Hm, you are pretty strong!" Lin Mubai nodded as hemended him on his strength.

    "I merely got some advantages here and there. I thank the Emperor for his praises. It is such an honor!" The eagle-eyed figureughed and at the same time.

    "The third son of the Northern Barbarian Emperor, Qian Yu. You disappeared during the riots of the Northern Barbarian Pce and returned to the pce alone when you were ten. You represented the Emperor in visits to other countries at age 11 and became a general at the age of 12. Although you did not grow up together with the Emperor, you managed to impress him so much that he tried to pass his throne to you three times despite violent objections from the ground, only for them to be rejected by yourself. Am I right?" Lin Mubai seemed to know exactly who he was.

    "The Emperor seems to know me well. That¡¯s right, I am Qian Wu!" The eagle-eyed figure, Qian Wu nodded his head.

    "Why did you people choose Tianrong?" Lin Mubai then turned serious as he asked, staring at the Crown Prince behind Qian Wu.

    Lin Tianrong merely gritted his teeth and fell silent.

    "I will be happy to answer you, however, we seem to be running out of time," Qian Wu smiled as he pointed in the direction of the entrance to the pce.

    Just as Qian Wu lifted his hands...

    A ruckus could be hearding from that exact direction.

    "If that is the case, let¡¯s do it!" Lin Mubai nodded upon hearing Qian Wu¡¯s words. He immediately dismissed his intentions of probing further.

    "Alright!" Qian Wu answered as he lightly stepped forward.

    The moment his feetnded on the ground, the six sets of runes lit up once again and the threads moved on their own as though they were alive, connecting them into a huge picturesque scene.

    Boom!

    The throne room trembled once again.

    However, the trembling was of a different level than the one made previously. This was a lot more intense, as though the ground was about to split open, or if something terrifying was going to break through the ground.

    "Open!" Qian Wu¡¯s voice rang once again. At the same time, he also made his move. He punched his fist on the ground as a brilliance immediately enveloped him.

    At the same time...

    A huge crater appeared on the ground.

    A metallic shine could be detected from the crater. Momentster, a green color substance could be seen. It was a colorpletely different from the light emanating from it.

    The green substance became thicker and bigger as time passed.

    Eventually, the substance overflowed from the crater.

    Boom!

    The ground split open once again.

    Above the crater, a door could be seen. It was a door at least 15 feet tall. More urately, it was a 15 feet tall bronze door.

    Countless carvings could be seen on the door as a deste presence could be detected. The green that they saw just now was the color of rusted copper, the greenish-bronze color of rust.

    ng!

    The bronze door slowly opened, making a few creaking sounds along the way. It seemed extremely heavy and possibly connected to another independent and special dimension.

    As the huge bronze door slowly opened, a few rays of brilliance shot through the cracks.

    Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Gold, Silver...

    These lights glowed within the door, emitting a faint chill as the sparkled. They seemed just like the stars in the sky, though they assumed a much colder and sinister presence.

    "Near-Life gate, for the Emperor of the Northern Barbarians to give this thing to you, he truly recognizes you as the next Emperor!" Lin Mubai stared as the bronze door slowly opened. He could not help but squint his eyes in its glory. He seemed undisturbed by it, though the sinister light seemed to irritate him.

    When the dragon above his head saw the light emitted from the bronze door, it also thrashed about wildly. It coiled closer towards the clouds as it began emitting a deste presence.

    It seemed to be highly against the presence within the bronze door.

    "The Great Xia Emperor truly has an eye for good things. I will cut the nonsense then. Let us now see which is stronger. The greatest treasure of the Great Xia Dynasty, or the greatest treasure of our Holy Barbarian Empire!" Qian Wu was not surprised that Lin Mubai knew about the history of this bronze door. In fact, he was pretty thrilled by it.

 Chapter 564 The Grand Debut of the Passer By

    Following Qian Wu¡¯s words, the bronze gate was finally opened. A giant figure then appeared from within.

    Boom! A loud bang could be heard.

    A huge footprint immediately appeared on the ground of the throne room.

    The night was supposed to be peaceful.

    However, it was not a peaceful night. me Capital City was illuminated by lights as countless citizens stood watching on the streets.

    In addition, there were countless soldiers d in shining armor running towards the four different entrances of the pce, each of them holding a spear in their hands.

    "What exactly happened?"

    "Why are the city guards heading towards the pce?"

    "Did something really happen in the pce?"

    The citizens stared at the unsettling scene and descended into a flurry of discussion, their eyes flickered with suspicion and fear.

    Everything happened too suddenly. After a pir of light appeared from the pce, the atmosphere in me Capital City also became inexplicably tense.

    At the entrance of the pce, two rows of royals guards d in golden armor stared at the city guards infiltrating their grounds with cold gazes.

    "How dare you trespass into the pce!" The royal guards raised their spears in response to the city guard surrounding the pce gates.

    "This..." The city guards were startled upon seeing this scene. They all hesitated and none of them dared to step forward.

    After all, this was the pce.

    Even if they were acting on the orders of King Duan, they were still fearful of charging straight into the pce.

    At that moment, a figure appeared from afar. He dismounted from a tall, white, boisterous horse as his silver armor glistened under the moonlight. A ferocious beast was carved right in front of his chest.

    "It¡¯s King Duan!"

    "Your Highness is here!"

    The moment the city guards saw King Duan Lin Xinjue, they subconsciously retreated for a few steps, leaving a passage that was wide enough to fit three people.

    Quickly. King Duan passed through the city guards and arrived in front of the royal guards.

    The royal guards stared at King Duan as the expression on their faces changed ever so slightly. They clinched the spears in their hands tightly.

    "What is the meaning of this, King Duan? This is the pce..." A royal guard stepped out from the group and blocked King Duan¡¯s way.

    However, he did not manage toplete his sentence.

    This was because he saw a cold blinding sh in front of him the moment he started speaking.

    Following which, he felt a chilling sensation on his neck. He looked down and his eyes widened in shock. He saw a sword.

    A sword that was thrust right into his throat.

    "Ah... argh.." The royal guard¡¯s mouth was wide opened. He wished to speak but blood kept pouring out of his mouth, preventing him from finishing what he wanted to say.

    Thump!

    The royal guard then fell onto the floor with an expression of disbelief on his face.

    He would never understand why King Duan would dare to kill him. Furthermore, he did not seem to hesitate when doing so. There was not even as to a word of warning.

    It was all too sudden.

    It only took a short moment from the time King Duan made his move to the royal guard copsing onto the floor. The royal guards were unable to react to this situation.

    The city guards behind King Duan were also dumbfounded. They stared at the fallen royal guard with their mouth agape and an incredulous expression.

    "King Duan killed someone?"

    "And it¡¯s a royal guard!"

    "What is going on?"

    Not a single city guard understood the situation. Although they acted on orders, the scene right before them reeked of a revolution.

    Could it be...

    King Duan was leading his army of city guards for a revolt?

    Against the ten thousand strong royal guard army?

    How could this be?

    They could not believe their eyes. However, they could not voice out their concerns as well. They were merely ordinary city guards whose role was to listen to any and all military orders.

    How then, would they dare to ask such questions?

    "Kill them!" King Duan¡¯s voice rang echoed through the area. At the same time, he raised he blood-stained sword up in the air.

    Drops of blood rolled down from the de onto his silver armor, tainting the pristine armor with the wrath of fresh blood.

    The two rows of royal guards at the entrance of the pce also finally recollected themselves.

    This was clearly a war.

    A war that needed no exnations.

    The moment the city guards rushed into the pce and assumed their roles as infiltrators, they would have to assume their roles as the pce guards. There was no need for words.

    They only had to do one thing.

    That was to eradicate them all!

    "Kill!"

    War cries escaped the mouths of the city guards as they raised their spears in response. The nging sound of their armor reverberated through the area as they moved forward.

    One step at a time towards the royal guards standing in front of the pce.

    King Duan stared at the two rows of royal guards standing in front of the pce with cold eyes. This was because he had no time to waste around here.

    However...

    At that moment, a voice rang from behind him.

    "Oh my god, King Duan is murdering people! And... oh my, are those the royal guards! Might it be that King Duan is trying to start a revolution?"

    "Revolution?"

    The city guards stopped in their tracks upon hearing that word. Revolution, together with treason and other serious crimes, was heavily punished in the Great Xia Dynasty, one that was punishable with the death sentence of your entire family.

    Even if they were merely acting on orders.

    Therefore, this did not mean that people taking part in the revolution would always end up winning.

    The royal guards stared at the city guards who had stopped advancing and heaved a sigh of relief. However, they did not intend to put down the spears in their hands just yet.

    Stand guard and be ready for any surprise attacks was the only thought in their mind now.

    "Who dares to say that I am holding a revolution?" King Duan looked at his city guards and frowned. He then subconsciously looked behind him.

    He saw three figures.

    Three extremely familiar figures.

    However, the only difference was that the figure in the middle was wearing a brand-new court attire. There was even the word "imperial" sewn from golden threads in the middle of that attire.

    It was the attire specifically made for the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?" King Duan gritted his teeth as he stared at the court attire. He had the impulse to tear down that attire and even kill this person in the midst of all this chaos.

    However, he knew that he could not do that.

    This was because Ping Yang and Yan Xiu stood beside him. How then, could he order for Fang Zhengzhi to be killed?

    "King Duan, are you nning to revolt?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the fallen royal guard before looking at the blood-stained sword in his hands. He wore a horrified expression.

    When Ping Yang and Yan Xiu stared at the fallen royal guard, they simrly turned their nce towards King Duan, their expression filled with confusion and fear.

    "What nonsense, how can I be nning a revolt?" King Duan immediately answered without hesitation. Furthermore, he thought that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely childish for asking such a question.

    Revolution?

    Putting the truth of this incident aside, even if he had the intention to hold a revolution, how could he have admitted to it at that moment?

    "Then why did you kill the royal guards?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to not believe Lin Xinjue¡¯s words. He then pressed him further.

    "What has that got to do with you?" King Duan said in a chilling tone.

    "As an official courtier of the Great Xia Dynasty, I have the responsibility to advice King Duan against such actions, shouldn¡¯t I?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at his attire and said with a righteous expression on his face.

    "Sixth brother, why did you kill the royal guards? Are you even bringing the city guards into the pce? This is clearly an act of revolution!" Ping Yang shouted with a horrified expression on her face.

    "No, don¡¯t listen to the nonsense Fang Zhengzhi is spouting. The royal guards you see in front of you are fakes. Sixth brother made the city guards seal off the pce entrance in order to save father!" King Duan answered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question bitterly after listening to Ping Yang¡¯s words.

    "Fake?" Ping Yang was obviously startled.

    "King Duan is saying that the royal guards are fakes? I don¡¯t believe it, do you have proof?" Fang Zhengzhi asked quizzically.

    "I have no time for your nonsense. I am going to save father right now, the city guards are following mymand. Those who dare to stop me..."

    "King Duan is revolting! King Duan is revolting!"

    Before he could say the harsh words, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice once again echoed through the area, this time even louder than the previous one.

    King Duan Lin Xinjue then had no choice but to swallow his words.

    Although his eyes still glowed with a chilling presence.

    As he stared at Fang Zhengzhi who was still rattling away, he clenched his sword tightly. He could not wait to kill him off in a single stab.

    "How dare you use me of holding a revolution!" King Duan felt that he was totally misunderstood. However, he also could not find a way to stop Fang Zhengzhi from talking.

    "Are you saying I am wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the burning anger in King Duan¡¯s eyes while giving him an using look.

    King Duan felt like swearing.

    However, he still managed to control his anger as he stared at the two rows of royal guards at the pce entrance. His eyes glimmered with resolve yet again.

    He truly did not have time to waste around here.

    Tonight, was his chance to shine. A chance that he could not have given up no matter the circumstances. As long as he barged into the pce, his position in court would never be shaken ever again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I have already mentioned that these people are fakes!" King Duan sounded unusually infuriated.

    "How can you prove it?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked as he said.

    "I do not wish to waste my time on you. If you do not believe me, follow me into the pce!" King Duan did not wish to waste time exining to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Most importantly, he could not exin it.

    How did he know that these royal guards were fake? How did he then, knew that something was about to happen in the pce? All of these could not be exined in a short period of time.

    "Alright then, King Duan please proceed!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded upon hearing those words. Following which, he pointed at the two rows of royal guards in front of the pce entrance.

    The royals guards trembled in fear upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s using finger. Their facial expressions were unusual.

    "Proceed?" King Duan listened to Fang Zhengzhi and was stunned for a moment. This was indeed strange, and extremely peculiar.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s changed his attitude way too fast!

    Just a moment ago, he was using King Duan of holding a revolution. The next moment, he was telling King Duan to bring him into the pce, even giving him permission to massacre the royal guards.

    What was going on?

    King Duan felt that something was amiss. However, he had no time to think about such issues. He had to get into the pce as fast as possible.

    "Kill them all!" King Duan pointed at the royal guards with his sword.

    The city guards once again heard themand from King Duan. Although they still had doubts about his actions, no one dared to go against his wishes.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill them all!"

    War cries echoed through the area once again.

    Following which, the city guards made their move again, charging towards the royal guards in neat andpact formation. Their spears pointed mercilessly forward as they ran.

    "Onward!"

    As the royal guards looked at the city guards, they gritted their teeth and braced themselves for the impact.

    A bloody battle was about to begin.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu stood silently at the side and stared at the ongoing battle, just like passers-by that just happened to walk past.

    "The royal guard has strong individualbat abilities. However, they cannot fend off these many city guards. I am guessing this battle will end swiftly." Fang Zhengzhi seriouslymented on the result of this battle.

    "That¡¯s right, my exact sentiments." Ping Yang nodded upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, showing her approval of his views.

    "It should be done in 15 minutes." Yan Xiu nodded as he said.

    King Duan, who was riding his majestic white horse and holding his long sword listened intently to their conversation. His lips subconsciously twitched upon hearing those words.

    The city guards and royal guards were in an unusual heated battle.

    However, there were three "passers-by" who seemed to be keeping their distance from this incident, but getting somehow involved in it.

    Furthermore, they had a nonchnt expression on their faces. It made King Duan felt extremely ufortable.

    "This is not right! Why did Fang Zhengzhi appear? Is it coincidence? He simply saw the bright light in the pce and came here to watch a show. Or, could he have some other motives?" King Duan felt a shiver down his spine and stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was in a discussion with Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. A ded resolve shone through his eyes.

 Chapter 565 Seal, Unleashed!

    From King Duan¡¯s impression, Fang Zhengzhi indeed had the habit of watching a troublesome issue unfold. However, he did not like endangering himself in these situations. In other words, while Fang Zhengzhi liked some conflict, he did not wish to be inside them.

    However, what was happening in the pce now was...

    "There is something wrong!" King Duan quickly came to a conclusion that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s appearance was definitely not one of coincidence.

    Although...

    What was their purpose ofing?

    Apanying him into the pce? If it was only Fang Zhengzhi alone, this would be possible. However, Ping Yang could easily bring him into the pce. Entering the pce would not be a problem in the first ce.

    Why then would he want to deliberately follow him?

    King Duan could not understand his actions. Subconsciously, he heard a voice telling him that he should not allow Fang Zhengzhi to follow behind him.

    However, another voice was telling him that if Fang Zhengzhi truly wished to be involved in this situation, it would be better to keep an eye on him.

    This was a troublesome decision.

    One on hand, King Duan wanted to see what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do. On the other hand, he was afraid of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s special purpose of following him.

    Just when he was struggling with the two decisions, the battle at the pce entrance hade to an end.

    A huge group of royal guardsy in a pool of blood while the surviving guards had already retreated into the pce. The city guards had sessfully upied the entrance to the pce.

    "Charge!" King Duan did not hesitate upon seeing this scene. He immediately issued an order. As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He had too much to attend to right now.

    He would let Fang Zhengzhi follow him. Why would he be afraid?

    This was King Duan¡¯s exact thought.

    Following King Duan¡¯smand, the city guards charged into the pce, their war cries echoing through the pce.

    King Duan also entered the pce immediately.

    "We enter as well right?" Ping Yang blinked her eyes as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Alright, but you must first promise me a few things," Fang Zhengzhi stared at the city guards and Lin Xinjue as they stormed into the pce as he wore an unusually serious expression on his face.

    "Speak!" Ping Yang was stunned as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. She then bit her pink lips in apprehension.

    "Firstly, after entering the pce, you must stay by Yan Xiu and my side. You must be less than five steps away from us!" Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "Okay!" Ping Yang answered and nodded her head.

    "Secondly, you can only watch. Do not try to fight while you are inside!" Fang Zhengzhi then said.

    "But what if something is happening to father..."

    "If it is something the Emperor cannot solve, do you think you will be able to?" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted before Ping Yang couldplete her sentence.

    "I... I think I can do it!" Ping Yang bit her lip and said after a moment of hesitation. Her final answer was filled with conviction.

    "You can?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang quizzically.

    "Yes, I am strong!" Ping Yang nodded as she affirmed.

    "Who are you trying to fool... have you reached Heavenly Reflection State?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang¡¯s confident face and could not help butment.

    "No, but I am strong!" Ping Yang seemed extremely determined.

    "Alright then, but, without my permission, you cannot do anything." Fang Zhengzhi fell speechless. Following which, he then looked at the huge wave of city guards entering the pce and shook his head before saying, "Alright, I mean to tell me before you act rashly."

    "Alright!" Ping Yang nodded upon hearing those words.

    "Yan Xiu, let¡¯s go!" Fang Zhengzhi cast his nce at Yan Xiu, who kept silent all this time.

    "Alright," Yan Xiu nodded.

    The three of them quickly entered the pce.

    However...

    After just a few steps, they stopped. This was because King Duan Lin Xinjue and the guards had stopped as well.

    In front of the city guards were thousand over ck figures.

    Under the concealment of the night sky, thousand over ck figures blocked the way. Each of them held a shiny weapon in their hands, reflecting the moonlight and giving off a chilling presence.

    Beside those ck figures were royal guards d in golden armorying weak on the floor and drenched in perspiration.

    "It seems like... we will need to engage in one more battle. Let¡¯s find a safe ce to watch this show." Fang Zhengzhi pouted as he said to Ping Yang.

    "Alright then," Ping Yang agreed as well.

    This conversation was naturally heard by King Duan Lin Xinjue. In an instant, he subconsciously tightened his grip on his weapon.

    Outside the pce, on top of a building

    Su Qing stood on the rooftop d in a neat court attire. The ck figures behind him stood motionless as well.

    At that moment, a ck figure once againnded behind Su Qing.

    "Reporting my lord. King Duan has entered the pce. However, apart from King Duan..." The ck figure hesitated and stopped speaking.

    "What else is there?" Su Qing frowned as he said.

    The n was crucial. He did not wish for any idents to happen. Naturally, he did not like to hear something that he did not expect.

    "Apart from King Duan, Fang Zhengzhi had also entered the pce together." The ck figure quickly answered upon hearing Su Qing¡¯s words.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?" Su Qing was startled as he subconsciously clenched his fist. "You are saying Fang Zhengzhi and King Duan appeared at the entrance of the pce, and entered the pce together?"

    "No, Fang Zhengzhi appeared after King Duan. Fang Zhengzhi was apanied by Ping Yang and Yan Xiu as well.

    "Can you be sure that Fang Zhengzhi did not n this together with King Duan?" Su Qing asked while he pondered the consequences.

    He did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi and King Duan nned something beforehand.

    However...

    He was not going to take chances.

    After all, if Fang Zhengzhi was indeed an aplice of King Duan. His current n might be heavily disrupted.

    "I don¡¯t think so. From what I observed, Fang Zhengzhi even used King Duan of treason and revolt upon his arrival, shouting at the top of his lungs. In order to not attract attention, King Duan then allowed Fang Zhengzhi to apany him into the pce!" The ck figure recalled as he shook his head.

    "Alright, I understand. Continue to keep an eye on them. If anything happens, report immediately!" Su Qing nodded as he waved to the ck figure.

    "Yes!" The ck figure immediately left to fulfill his mission.

    A ck figure standing behind Su Qing then stepped forward. He then bowed respectfully to Su Qing before whispering, "My lord, do we have to report this situation to Young Master. After all, this wasn¡¯t part of our n!"

    "idents are bound to happen. Young Master will be able to take care of it!" Su Qing frowned as he replied the ck figure.

    "I understand," The ck figure nodded as he retreated to his original position.

    Su Qing then cast his nce back at the pce as he frowned. His eyes exuded a chilling presence as he thought, to think that you would choose to appear at this time... Fang Zhengzhi, what is your aim?

    Simply watching a show?

    That¡¯s not right!

    Su Qing shook his head as he thought. In his n, he expected Fang Zhengzhi to show up. However, he did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi would show up in this manner.

    There was no advantage to showing up at this moment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t you know that only people who can withstand pressure and hardship will achieve the final victory? I thought you have improved over the years, however... you are still as reckless as you were a year ago! You thought that you would know the entire n simply by following King Duan? How na?ve!"

    Su Qing snickered as he thought. However, he still felt that something was amiss. It seemed like a bad premonition.

    This was because he could not understand. If Fang Zhengzhi appeared with King Duan at the pce entrance...

    What could he aplish?

    "Even if you know that King Duan yed an important role in my n, what can the three of you do to an entire army of city guards? What ruckus can you wreck on my beautiful n?"

    Within the throne room.

    The bronze gate stood righteously within the throne room. It exuded a deste presence as a giant w slowly emerged from the gate.

    A green metallic scale covered the w.

    Roar!

    The sound of a giant beast echoed through the room.

    The gravels within the throne room began to move about from the shockwaves of the roar. Following which, another w emerged.

    A spiral-shaped horn then appeared from the gate.

    Lin Mubai immediately squinted his eyes at this moment. He stared at the huge figure emerging from the bronze gate. However, he did not show any signs of retreating.

    Finally...

    The beastpletely revealed itself.

    A beastpletely covered in green scales appeared in the throne room. It had a sharp spiral horn on its head and a thick mane. It looked simr to a green colored lion and was 25-foot-tall.

    It appeared out of nowhere from the bronze door.

    Clearly, this was a ferocious beast.

    However, this was not just any ferocious beast.

    "Beast, Green Scaled Suanni!" Eunuch Wei¡¯s voice rose at this moment. His eyes were glued to the humongous beast emerging from the gate.

    The Law of Dao had its records.

    The dragon had nine offsprings, each of them starkly different. The Suanni was one of the nine offsprings. Although the Suanni in front of their eyes was not a true Suanni, it possessed all the characteristics of it. It possessed at least 70% of the true Suanni bloodline.

    However, this was not the end. After the Suanni appeared, the bronze gate did not close. It continued to shine with a sinister brilliance.

    Quickly...

    The roar of another beast appeared from within the gate.

    A back figure then dashed out of the bronze gate, the heatwaves generated from its body engulfing the throne room. A pair of blinding red wings then appeared in the air.

    Screech!

    The piercing scream prated through dark skies into the horizon.

    A crimson me enveloped its body and vaporized a small part of the clouds floating on the ceiling of the throne room. It then looked downwards with its eyes constructed purely from mes.

    "Beast, ming Phoenix!" Eunuch Wei once again stared at the soaring beast in the air as beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead.

    However, this did not seem to be the end.

    After the appearance of the phoenix, the bronze gate once again shone with the familiar sinister brilliance. Huge ferocious beasts then emerged from it consecutively.

    In an instant...

    The spacious throne room was filled up.

    "Five of them!" Eunuch Wei stared at the five huge figures and the bronze gate, which had finally returned to its normal state, in awe. He felt a shiver down his spine.

    Roar! The ferocious beasts growled in unison.

    The Green Scaled Suanni was already impatient as it was the first one to emerge from the gate. It swung its ws around and immediately made a huge crack on a huge pir holding up the throne room.

    Creak! The cracks continued spreading through the pir.

    Boom!

    The entire pir was smashed to smithereens.

    The moment Lin Mubai saw this scene, he clenched his fist subconsciously. The throne room was passed and protected from generation to generation. Although the destruction of a single pir would not destroy the entire throne room...

    If the five beasts continued to have their way within the throne room, it would no longer exist after this fight.

    "Emperor of the Great Xia, pleasement on my control over the Near-Life Gate?" Qian Wu stared at Lin Mubai¡¯s clenched fist as he snickered coldly.

    "Worthy of someone being called the top prodigy of the Northern Barbarians. Your King has an eye for talent!" Lin Mubai said as he stared at the five beasts, igniting the golden brilliance that surrounded him yet again.

    The dragon above his head seemed to have felt his will as well. Its demonic eyes seemed to shine with an even more sinister blood-red glow.

    As for Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, he could merely stare at the scene with widened eyes.

    "Five ferocious beasts! Qian Wu can summon five beasts from the Near-Life gate at once! Is this his true power? How did he do it?" Lin Tianrong was slightly horrified.

    In fact, he had always known that Qian Wu was strong. However, he did not know that Qian Wu was this powerful.

    The Near-Life Dao one of the Six Daos of Rebirth.

    If the Heavenly Dao was said to be the bnce amongst the Six Daos, and the Dao of Asura the most offensive Dao, the Near-Life Dao was probably the one most suited for battle!

    This was because the Near-Life Dao was a rite of seals. The moment the Near-Life Dao wasbined with the Near-Life gate, it would strike fear even into the hearts of the bravest warriors.

 Chapter 566 Fated Reincarnation of Life and Death

    The pressure within the throne room was extremely intense, to the point of being terrifying.

    The screams of despair and slushing of des could also be heard from the throne room every so often. It was a stark reminder of what was happening.

    Eunuch Wei¡¯s back waspletely wet from perspiration. He stared tightly at the five ferocious beasts in front of him with incredible apprehension.

    "Your Majesty..."

    "It doesn¡¯t matter!" Lin Mubai waved his hands at Eunuch Wei before he slowly walked towards the beasts with a solemn expression.

    One step at a time.

    Roar!

    The five beasts stared at the advancing Lin Mubai and unleashed their ferocitypletely. They roared at Lin Mubai in unison.

    The next moment, the five beasts acted.

    They charged at Lin Mubai from both the ground and the air, each of their eyes shing with a chilling presence.

    "Beasts of Sin!" Lin Mubai hollered. At the same time, a strong golden brilliance emitted from his body. It was majestic and blinding.

    Lin Mubai was not retreating. Instead, he was charging straight towards the beasts as well.

    At the same time, the golden dragon hovering on top of him also took action.

    It plunged toward, aiming its huge draconic ws at the five beasts. It also made use of its giant tail and crack it on the head of the Green Scaled Suanni.

    The moment the Green Scaled Suanni saw Lin Mubai rushing over, it opened its gigantic jaw and tried to crunch down on Lin MuBai.

    However, just when it was about to seed,

    Lin Mubai mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

    The golden dragon tail then reached the Green Scaled Suanni, striking its forehead with lightning speed.

    Boom!

    The Green-Scaled Suanni lowered its head as its two front paws were smacked right down. It then knelt powerlessly onto the ground. At that moment, Emperor Lin Mubai appeared right above it.

    He was still bathed in a golden brilliance.

    He was holding a sword in his hand as well. A sword as innocently white as jade.

    "Die!"

    Emperor Lin Mubai had a cold resolve in his eyes. His stabbed his sword towards the head of the Suanni without hesitation. Just as his sword was about to strike the Suanni¡¯s head, something strange happened!

    The sword changed form into a giant de 600 feet in length. There was also a mist like presence circling the sword.

    Boom!

    The giant sword pierced right through the Green-Scaled Suanni¡¯s head, sending a loud sound which echoed through the throne room. Following which, the Green-Scaled Suanniy motionless on the ground.

    Blood sttered in all directions.

    It all happened too fast. It only took the blink of an eye from the moment Lin Mubai took action to the time when the Suanni fell. Lin Mubai had managed to take down a ferocious beast that had at least 70% of the pure Suanni bloodline!

    This was undoubtedly shocking.

    Lin Tianrong stared at the giant sword in his father¡¯s hands and the blood dripping down from its de with his mouth agape.

    He could hardly remember a time when Lin Mubai got engaged in a fight.

    However, this fight alone was more than enough to prove that his father, the Emperor of the Great Xia, was indeed a powerful figure who deserved to be feared and respected by all.

    Qian Wu was clearly taken aback by this as well. He stared at the defeated Green-Scaled Suanni with a cold gaze.

    "The Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty lives up to his name!" Qian Wu eximed. He had not expected Lin Mubai to be a weak opponent. However, he did not expect him to be this strong.

    Merely one hit?

    Qian Wu subconsciously clenched his fist. He did not rush forward with an attack immediately.

    That was because from the moment Lin Mubai killed the Green-Scaled Suanni in a single blow, the phoenix circling the air had already snuck up behind him.

    Caw!

    A high-pitched cry rang across the throne room.

    The phoenix struck mercilessly at Lin Mubai with its steel-like ws. It aimed specifically for the head, clearly with murderous intentions. One could expect Lin Mubai to at least be gravely injured if he was hit by that attack.

    Roar!

    The dragon bellowed as well when he heard the high-pitched phoenix cry. At the same time, it immediately stationed itself behind Lin Mubai to defend him from the fatal blow.

    ng!

    The steel-like ws grasped onto the dragon¡¯s body and tore off a few pieces of that golden scale. A huge block of golden brilliance also fell onto the ground.

    Roar!

    The dragon bellowed once again as itshed out its ferocious ws.

    Boom!

    The sound of the collision caused the entire throne room to tremble. The two giant beasts were blown away from each other due to the shockwaves from the collision.

    However, this was not all. Behind the phoenix, three other beasts lurked...

    "What a bunch of sinful beasts!" Lin Mubai muttered softly. At the same time, he threw a ferocious beast off its course with simply a forceful kick.

    s, the other two beasts had already opened their jaws, ready to devour Lin Mubai.

    "Open!" Lin Mubai hollered as the golden brilliance around him increased in intensity once again. It became two long golden spears which were thrown right into the jaws of those beasts.

    Argh!

    Two miserable cries of suffering sounded in unison.

    At the same time, they retreated for a few steps as blood flowed profusely from the wounds in their agape jaws. The blood scattered in all directions as they grimaced in pain, raining down onto the ground.

    Going against five powerful beasts with the strength of one man.

    This was the power of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    The golden brilliance encircled Lin Mubai ever so gloriously as he stared at Lin Tianrong, who was cowering at the entrance to the throne room.

    "Unfilial son, if you..."

    Before Lin Mubai couldplete his sentence, his facial expression changed.

    This was because he heard a piercing scream from underneath his feet. It was a giant tail that was green in color and filled with thick scales.

    Boom!

    Emperor Lin Mubai flew across the room all the way back to his throne seat like aet dashing through the sky. His face became extremely pale.

    He would never expect that the Green-Scaled Suanni which suffered a prative wound to the head was still alive.

    Was this the rumored extreme vitality of the ferocious beasts?

    "Your Majesty, your Majesty..." Eunuch Wei stared at the injured and airborne Lin Mubai and immediately walked forward in an attempt to cushion the impact.

    However, he was immediately blown away by the shockwaves.

    "Your Majesty, how are you feeling?" Eunuch Wei asked with a concerned expression on his face.

    A mouthful of blood then gushed out from Lin Mubai¡¯s mouth. At the same time, the golden brilliance around him seemed to have dimmed slightly.

    "Protect..."

    "Wait!" Lin Mubai immediately interrupted Eunuch Wei. Following which, he coughed violently for a few times before standing up with grace once again.

    "Your Majesty, why are you doing this?" Eunuch Wei stared at Lin Mubai with tears in his eyes. He could not bear to see the Emperor go through such pain.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter," Lin Mubai said as he waved his hands.

    "Very good. Emperor of the Great Xia, you did not disappoint me. This fight alone is worth my trip to the me Capital City. s, I cannot show mercy when the interests of our countries are at heart. Please forgive me!" Qian Wu looked at Lin Mubai¡¯s pale expression and said with respect.

    "Naturally," Lin Mubai nodded in reply. However, he kept his gaze on Lin Tianrong all this time.

    Eunuch Wei naturally noticed this tender expression and could no longer hold in his words.

    After a moment of hesitation, Eunuch Wei gritted his teeth and positioned himself right in front of Lin Mubai, protecting Lin Mubai with his body.

    "Crown Prince, are you still unwilling to repent even after seeing your father in this state? Are you really willing to see your father killed by someone from another country?" Eunuch Wei was almost pleading with Lin Tianrong to give up on his actions.

    Lin Tianrong was startled at this turn of events.

    He stared at his weak and pale looking father as he clenched and loosened his fist countless times. He looked extremely hesitant.

    Qian Wu also shifted his gaze back to Lin Tianrong at this moment.

    "What do you think? Are you going to spare your father¡¯s life? I assume that your Crown Prince position is already gone. However, your father might still give you a title simr to King Duan. You can still live out the rest of your life in peace andfort!" Qian Ru said condescendingly.

    "What rubbish! I am the Crown Prince, the Heavenly Son, the next Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. As long as my father is dead, I will own everything that ever belonged to the Great Xia. Kill him! Kill him right now!" Lin Tianrong gritted his teeth in determination as he said those words. His expression looked simr to that of a cultist that had gone insane.

    "Haha, great. Very good. I will fulfill your wishes and kill him for you!" Qian Wu grinned with satisfaction upon hearing Lin Tianrong¡¯s words.

    At the same time, he moved his hands slightly.

    The four other beasts seemed to be revitalized by some mysterious power and started hissing softly, their jaws glistening with a murderous intent.

    "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has already decided, we cannot let this go on!" Eunuch Wei stared at Lin Mubai, urging him to take action.

    "My Dear Queen Yan, I am extremely sorry. Tianrong has been blinded by the power and allure of the throne. I cannot fulfill my promise to you and hand the gloriousnds of the Great Xia into his hands!" Lin Mubai cried in despair as his face showed an expression of desperation upon hearing Eunuch Wei¡¯s words. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears.

    "Dragon Protection Squad, take action!" Eunuch Wei said while trembling as he heard Lin Mubai¡¯s words. However, he quickly recollected himself.

    "Yes!" Voices shouted in unison from the back of the throne room.

    Following which, countless soldiers d in shining armor emerged from the back of the throne seat, each of them holding a long sword in their hands.

    They were the Dragon Protection Squad!

    The most elite squad in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    They were a squad that served only the Emperor. For a long time, they represented the Emperor in all parts of the country, executing secret missions stealthily.

    However, they had appeared in the throne room.

    Furthermore, none of the members of the Dragon Protection Squad were absent. The ten Dragon Envoys of the squad stood in frontlines and held their gs in confidence. Ten bright red gs fluttered majestically within the throne room.

    "First Dragon Envoy, Yan Qing, present!" A middle-aged man d in shining armor stepped forward and knelt down in front of Lin Mubai.

    "Dragon Protection Squad? Yan Qing! Why... why are you people here?" Lin Tianrong was clearly shocked at the sudden appearance of the Dragon Protection Squad, especially at the appearance of the First Dragon Envoy Yan Qing. His lunatic expression turned into one of shock and horror.

    "Crown Prince, stop going down this path. Stop while you still can. The Emperor knew about your ns a long time ago. Did you really think he would not make preparations?" Yan Qing slowly stood up and turned his gaze to Lin Tianrong.

    Yes, father had seen the letters from Fang Zhengzhi. He knew that this was going to happen! Lin Tianrong clenched his fists as he thought.

    He remembered everything. It was Fang Zhengzhi again!

    Fang Zhengzhi handed his letters with Qian Wu to Lin Mubai¡¯s hands, giving Lin Mubai the time to prepare his defenses.

    He hated Fang Zhengzhi so much. He hated him for disrupting his ns again and again.

    He regretted not killing Fang Zhengzhi while he was in the Southern Region. He regretted killing the Noblelite Shan Ling first. He could no longer turn back time.

    How could he then, give up when the throne was just in sight?

    His eyes turned stone cold and stared at the twenty ck figures who were huddling in the corner.

    "What are you waiting for? Kill them all! No one opposing me leaves this ce alive!" Lin Tianrong bellowed like a ferocious beast.

    "Yes!" The twenty ck figures replied in unison. They quickly stood forward and came to the side of the four beasts.

    From their perspective, as long as they were not facing against Lin Mubai¡¯s Green Dragon Eye, they had no fear. This was because they were Rebirth State individuals.

    They had enough power topletely crush the Dragon Protection Squad in front of them.

    "Dragon Protection Squad, haha... Father, do you really think you can stop me simply with the Dragon Protection Squad?" Lin Tianrong stared at the twenty Rebirth State individuals and four beasts with confidence.

    He had good knowledge of the strength of the Dragon Protection Squad.

    The First Dragon Envoy Yan Qing was a Rebirth State individual. Some of the other Dragon Envoys had also reached the Rebirth State.

    However, this did not mean that they could defend Lin Mubai against the twenty ck figures.

    Furthermore, Lin Mubai was already injured.

    And on his side...

    He still had four ferocious beasts with him.

    Four beasts that could not only stand their ground against Lin Mubai but also possessed immense vitality.

    Most importantly, he still had Qian Wu with him, and also some backup forces outside of the throne room. Why then, would he be afraid of the Dragon Protection Squad?

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s brazenughter echoed across the throne room.

    At that moment, a brilliant light flew into the room and sped across Lin Tianrong¡¯s head. It was as though aet had graced the majestic throne room.

    In an instant, it reached the spot above the raging phoenix.

    The phoenix was obviously taken aback by this sudden encounter. It looked upwards with its ming eyes in shock and horror.

    It then saw a fist.

    A fist that was right in front of its eyes.

    Boom!

    The phoenix felt its body tremble violently before it fell straight towards the ground. It then caused a huge explosion and gravel scattered in all directions.

 Chapter 567 Golden Mis

    Creak...

    Cracks appeared on the ground and the dust that was buried for centuries under the ground of throne room instantly erupted across the room. In the blink of an eye. The enter throne room was covered in ayer of fine white dust.

    This scene undoubtedly came as a shock to both eh ck figures and Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    It happened too fast!

    So fast that they did not have the time to react.

    "Who is it?" The twenty ck figures had the same question in their minds. They then focused their gaze on a blurred figure amongst the dust.

    A few momentster, the dust settled.

    A giant crater also appeared on the ground of the throne room.

    Within the crater, the phoenixy t on the ground, quivering and convulsing in pain as it whimpered.

    There was also a figure standing on top of the ming Phoenix.

    She was d in a sky-blue battle dress decorated with intricate white lotus embroidery. Her ck hair extended all the way to her waist like morning dews on a leaf. There was also a flower hairpin keeping her hair in ce, giving her that elegant presence.

    "I wonder if it will be enough if I join in the fight?" A faint and gentle voice appeared from the dust. There was no arrogance to that voice.

    She simply stared at the ming Phoenix silently as she stood motionless with grace. She was barehanded and her hair was slightly damp.

    However, the sight of her was enough to make Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and the twenty ck figure retreat subconsciously.

    That was because...

    She was Chen Feihua.

    Themander of the royal guards of the Great Xia Dynasty, also known as Hua Fei, number 17th on the Holy Rankings.

    "Hua Fei!" Lin Tianrong immediately stopped his insaneughter as he stared at the ming Phoenix under Chen Feihua¡¯s feet. He then felt a shiver down his spine.

    Number 17th on the Holy Rankings.

    This was merely just a ranking board. However, the true meaning and de of this ranking was something one should never ignore.

    "I have long heard about the prowess of Chen Feihua, the number one concubine of the Great Xia Dynasty. She indeed lives up to her reputation!" Qian Wu¡¯s gaze was also glued onto the whimpering ming Phoenix that was under her feet.

    However, his gaze was different from that of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s gaze was one of awe, shock, and fear. However, Qian Yu¡¯s gaze was one of excitement and happiness. His eagle-like eyes were shing with brilliance.

    "Are you the one who injured the Emperor?" Chen Feihua said with an expressionless face. She then lifted her leg slowly before thrusting it down with full force.

    A snapping sound could be heard.

    The whimpering sounds from the ming Phoenix immediately stopped. Its giant head waspletely crushed, sttering blood and ashes all over the ground of the throne room.

    However, Chen Feihua¡¯s dress was stillpletely clean. She still looked as fresh as a lotus who managed to bloom from a patch of marsnd,pletely untainted by her tardy surroundings.

    "That¡¯s right. It was me!" Qian Wu said as he squinted his eyes.

    The ming Phoenix was not a beast that was exceptionally strong. However, it was extremely agile and could be considered a rare creature.

    However...

    It was destroyed by Chen Feihua in a single blow.

    It was impossible to staypletely calm after that. However, Qian Wu managed to keep his anger under control. He did not even take another look at the ming Phoenix.

    "I understand." Chen Feihua nodded her head. She then acted swiftly.

    She charged towards Qian Wu without any further fanciful disy of prowess. She was bathed in a golden brilliance whichplemented her blue dress. It was a gorgeous scene.

    "Don¡¯t you dare hurt the master!" The ck figures immediately released their powers upon seeing this scene, charging straight towards Chen Feihua.

    Boom!

    At that moment, the golden brilliance exploded.

    A golden aura then spread across the throne room. It seemed like ayer of golden mist,pletely enveloping the room.

    Chen Feihua, on the other hand, disappeared after that explosion.

    "Hm?" The twenty ck figures stared at the golden mist that suddenly appeared in the throne room. They then realized that Chen Feihua had disappeared without a trace, causing them to be stunned for a moment.

    However, they all reacted immediately.

    They increased the intensity of the brightness surrounding them and covered their entire body in their brilliance. They looked as if they were protected by that veil of light.

    Following which, a sound simr to that of ss breaking echoed through the room.

    The twenty ck figures then trembled slightly and looked in unison in the direction of the sound. Their eyes then widened at that sight.

    This was because just a few feet away, a golden figure had emerged.

    There was also a ck figure standing beside her with an expression of horror on his face. The brilliance that was originally surrounding him was already broken.

    The object that destroyed that brilliance was naturally a fist.

    Boom!

    After the fist destroyed the veil of light, it went straight for the heart of the ck figure, piercing right through the chest of the ck figure without hesitation. There was no fancy disy of prowess as usual.

    The ck figure¡¯s eyes widened in fear.

    He lowered his head as he stared at the woman in front of him. A long lock of elegant ck hair fluttered behind her back and expressionless face.

    She looked as calm as still water.

    There was no murderous intent in her eyes. However, her fist destroyed his protection veil immediately and even crushed his heart.

    "You... so strong..." The ck figure twitched uncontrobly as blood poured out from his mouth. He could not believe that this was how he would die.

    However, the moment his heart was destroyed, he knew that he was already dead. Furthermore, he died when he was incapable of offering resistance.

    Number 17th on the Holy Rankings!

    Was this the true strength of someone who was number 17th on the Holy Rankings?

    Why would there be such a huge difference in strength?

    The ck figure wanted to understand this difference in strength. However, he could no longer speak as he felt the fist that pierced straight into his heart being removed from his body.

    Following which, his body could no longer support his weight and he copsed powerlessly onto the floor.

    "This..." The twenty ck figures stared at Chen Feihua with unmoving eyes. They stared at the elegant figure d in a blue dress and the golden brilliance surrounding her.

    They were truly startled by what just happened.

    One blow!

    They were both Rebirth State Individuals. However, Chen Feihua merely needed one blow to defeat them. What¡¯s with this difference in strength?

    "Pinnacle of the Rebirth State!"

    "She is truly at the pinnacle of the Rebirth State!"

    "Number 17th on the Holy Rankings!"

    The twenty ck figures did not retreat. However, the expression on their faces became extremely serious as they observed Chen Feihua closely.

    That morous appearance and refined temperament.

    Managed to strike fear into the depths of their hearts nheless.

    "Incredible, you did not let me down!" Qian Wu stared at Chen Feihua, who was standing within the golden mist, with a grin on his face.

    "What should we do now?" Lin Tianrong said in desperation after listening to Qian Wu as he trembled in fear. He knew exactly how strong Chen Feihua was.

    One Chen Feihua could definitely go against at least ten other Rebirth State Individuals.

    However, Qian Wu was saying that she did not let him down?

    Was this a game?

    No!

    This was a fight for the throne, a sin that was rightfully called usurping the throne. If he failed, it would represent the loss of everything. Everything that he had done up till now would turn into nothingness.

    "Rx, it is just a woman!" Qian Wu did not even look at Lin Tianrong. He merely answered casually.

    "Woman? Don¡¯t you know..."

    "Leave it up to me!" Qian Wu interrupted Lin Tianrong with an impatient expression on his face, dismissing his opinions with a wave of his hand.

    Lin Tianrong¡¯s face immediately sunk.

    As the Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, heir to the throne and future Emperor, he did not like to be ignored, especially by a prince from the Northern Barbarian Empire.

    The Noblelite from the South had made such an expression in front of his face as well during the battle of the Southern Mountain Range.

    Following which, the Noblelite of the Southern Region was killed, right under the de of his sword. However, now that Qian Wu made such an expression, he was unable to do anything.

    This was because Qian Wu was not Shan Ling, the Noblelite of the Southern Region.

    "Hua er!" At that moment, Lin Mubai¡¯s voice echoed through the room. He stared at Chen Feihua, who was standing in the mist and shouted with apprehension.

    "Your Majesty, I amte!" Chen Feihua immediately walked towards Lin Mubai upon hearing his voice. Shepletely ignored the ck figures around her.

    She went straight towards Lin Mubai.

    She didn¡¯t walk very fast. However, none of the ck figures dared to stand in her way.

    She then reached Lin Mubai¡¯s side after a while.

    At the same time, the golden mist within the throne room dissipated, as though it had never appeared. It seemed bizarre.

    "Hua er, why did youe? Didn¡¯t I tell you to..." Lin Mubai stared at Chen Feihua, who had arrived right in front of his eyes and greeted her immediately.

    "I was just passing by and came in after hearing some noises from the throne room." Chen Feihua answered calmly.

    "So Hua er was just passing by." Lin Mubai nodded after hearing the reply and did not question her further.

    "Just passing by?" Lin Tianrong¡¯s lips moved ever so slightly.

    He was not an idiot. Chen Feihua could not have just passed by. However, this only meant one thing.

    That would mean Chen Feihua¡¯s appearance was not part of Lin Mubai¡¯s n.

    suggesting that Chen Feihua was alone. There would be no further backups from the royal guards behind her.

    "Yes, I have also brought a few people along." Chen Feihua added. She then turned her body and cast her nce back onto Qian Wu, Lin Tianrong as well as the twenty ck figures.

    "You brought people? Hua Fei, you..." Lin Tianrong stammered upon hearing Chen Feihua¡¯s words. He immediately turned pale.

    At the same time, unison footsteps sounds could be heard from the entrance to the throne room. After which, rows of soldiers d in golden armor rushed in.

    Each of them was holding a shining spear in their hands.

    The royal guards!

    Thousands of them!

    As Lin Tianrong stared at the royal guards who appeared out of nowhere, he subconsciously moved closer towards Qian Wu, his eyes filled with terror.

    The twenty ck figures also had a horrified expression on his face.

    Chen Feihua alone was not that terrifying. However, a thousand-strong army of royal guards was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

    Just passing by?

    Together with a thousand over royal guards?

    Furthermore, why would a thousand royal guards be stationed outside the throne room? Weren¡¯t all the royal guards on duty poisoned?

    Unless...

    All these royal guards were not on duty!

    "Crown Prince, please stand back." Qian Wu¡¯s voice rang across the throne room. He acted as though he did not see the royal guards at all. There was no anxiety in his voice.

    "What do you mean? Are you truly nning..." Lin Tianrong was just about to say something when he saw Qian Wu walking towards Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua.

    "Qian Wu of the Holy Barbarian Empire pays respect to Hua Fei of the Great Xia Dynasty!" Qian Wu stopped after five steps and greeted Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua respectfully.

    This action startled the Dragon Protection Squad and the royal guards who had just entered the throne room. This was because they could not understand what Qian Wu was thinking.

    Shouldn¡¯t he be escaping?

    Dragon Protection Squad, the royal guards, coupled with Hua Fei was more than enough to deal with the three beasts and twenty Rebirth State individuals he had. Victory was theirs to im.

    However, Qian Wu did not have the intention to leave. Conversely, he was issuing a challenge, to Hua Fei nheless! The person ranked number 17th on the Holy Rankings, Hua Fei.

    Chen Feihua did not react. She merely stared at Lin Mubai as though waiting for his approval.

    "What does Hua er wants to do?" Lin Mubai stared at Chen Feihua¡¯s eyes before staring at Qian Wu. A hint of hesitation flickered through his eyes.

    "The Great Xia Dynasty has always ruled with decorum and etiquette. Since Qian Wu has issued an official challenge, I request that your Majestymand me to take the required actions." Chen Feihua answered calmly.

    "If that is so, please be careful!" Lin Mubai nodded his head as he said.

    "At yourmand!" Chen Feihua bowed slightly before she turned to look at Qian Wu. She then bowed slightly to Qian Wu at her original position before saying, "Five blows. If you can survive five blows, you can leave!"

    "Alright!" Qian Wu nodded in agreement as he said.

    He was not surprised at Chen Feihua¡¯s confident words, nor was he insulted by her arrogance. He merely nodded his head like a student would.

    As though he had predicted these events prior to their happenings.

    At that moment, Chen Feihua acted. In fact, from the moment Qian Wu nodded, Chen Feihua already flew at breakneck speed towards him.

    Just a punch like the one from before, a punch without any fancy disy of prowess.

    A brilliance then appeared in Qian Wu¡¯s eyes. He stared at the fist right in front of his eyes, carefully observing the fist that crushed a Rebirth State individual¡¯s heart in a single blow.

    He did not retreat.

    In fact, he charged forward!

    He weed the fist with his own.

    At the same time, sixplicated runes appeared on his hands. The runes then glowed in six different colors and thin threads could be seen connecting them together.

 Chapter 568 The Plan Begins!

    Both of them did not attempt to dodge. This was a direct fight without any schemes or tactics as both fists unsurprisingly collided.

    The golden mist hovered around as brilliance shone through the cracks.

    Boom!

    A huge explosion sound could be heard.

    Heatwaves spread across the room.

    However, this was not all. Another gigantic explosion could be heard at the same time when Chen Feihua¡¯s and Qian Wu¡¯s attacks shed. The entire throne room trembled from the impact.

    Around the pce entrance.

    The city guards were fighting against the ck figures with their overwhelming numbers. It should almost a one-sided battle.

    However, that did not happen.

    It was a stalemate.

    The thousand-strong ck figure army was blocking the city guards with their lives. Although they were on the retreat, it was a methodical and strategical retreat, not one ofplete and utter defeat.

    King Duan had a sunken expression while standing behind the city guards. The ck figures in front of them were clearly not ordinary people.

    They were well-trained.

    They had perfect offensive and defensive formations when they fought.

    "Kill! What are you guys waiting for! We need to pave a way no matter the price!" King Duan¡¯s roared impatiently.

    However, the city guards were still progressing slowly.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu observed the battle on the sidelines with an expressionless face. On the other hand, Ping Yang was clearly impatient. One could see a hint of anxiety in her pair of clear eyes.

    "Hey, shameless fellow! Think of something!" Ping Yang said as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi, seemingly urging him to take action.

    "What? Think of something?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Find a way to defeat these ck figures!" Ping Yang eagerly said.

    "Why do we have to defeat them?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "What... what else is there? They are stopping the city guards. If we cannot get past them, we will not be able to save father!"

    "We do not need to defeat them to save the Emperor."

    "How do we save father without defeating them?"

    "We can simply leave a portion of the army to stall these ck figures while the rest go on forward." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang helplessly.

    "Hm... we can do that?" Ping Yang seemed to have reacted to the situation as she said.

    This conversation was naturally heard by King Duan Lin Xinjue, In an instant, he felt as though he was struck by an epiphany.

    Splitting the forces?

    Yes, why didn¡¯t he think of that!

    They were in the pce! The pce was extremely spacious. There was absolutely no need to waste time with the people here!

    King Duan Lin Xinjue felt that he was introduced to a whole new world of battle tactics. ording to the normal art of war, one should always clear the obstacles right in front of them before proceeding. This was because leaving a portion of the enemy forces alive would increase the risk of their mission.

    Even if they managed to infiltrate the area, the enemy forces might be able to perform an ambush or sneak attack on them in the future.

    However...

    The situation now was different.

    They were in me Capital City, thend of the Holy Emperor. As long as they could charge into the pce, they did not have to worry about further ambush attacks.

    Lin Xinjue seemed to have realized something upon this thought.

    However, he was ufortable that this epiphany was granted by Fang Zhengzhi. He was themander of the city guards, to think that he would need an outsider to provide him with battle tactics.

    This was undoubtedly a disgrace.

    On the other hand, the situation did not allow him to stand his ground. He had to swallow his shame and heed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suggestion as he needed to get to the throne room as quickly as possible.

    "Split the forces right now. General Wang and his troops will stay. The rest of you follow me into the throne room!" King Duan said as his face turned red.

    "Yes!"

    At the rooftop outside the pce.

    A ck figure quickly sped towards the rooftop from the entrance of the pce. He thennded behind Su Qing, his face filled with admiration and respect.

    "My lord, King Duan has already entered the inner pce!"

    "Oh? That is slightly faster than my expectations. How did he do it?" Su Qing was slightly surprised after hearing the news from her informant.

    "He split his forces!"

    "I see, it seems like he has improved in the art of war. Cooping himself up in his residence to study did him some good!" Su Qing nodded as he said.

    "This... this idea was raised by Fang Zhengzhi."

    "Fang Zhengzhi? I understand. Although this is a bit faster than our original n, it doesn¡¯t matter. We are almost done. Send out the message tomence the n!" Su Qing squinted his eyes as he said.

    "Yes!" The figure then disappeared without a trace.

    Su Qing then cast his nce back onto the castle walls of the pce. He turned around and walked down from the rooftop.

    A couple of ck figures standing behind him immediately followed behind.

    At the same time, a ferocious beast simr to a giant ck eagle flew into the horizon with breakneck speed, quickly flying out of sight.

    me Capital City, East gate.

    The city guards standing guard at the gate exchanged nces in apprehension. Although there was clearlymotioning from within the pce, their role was to guard the city gates.

    No one dared to let down their guard.

    At that moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere under the night sky. It was a figure thatpletely cloaked himself in the darkness. Their legs were wrapped in cloth and their spears were also wrapped in ck fabric.

    "Enemies... enemies!" A voice rang from the top of the castle walls. Even though the figures werepletely d in ck attire, they were still discovered when they were near the castle walls.

    This ce was the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The city guards guarding the castle walls had not seen this scene for a very long time. There was a huge group of ck figures nning to infiltrate the city.

    How preposterous!

    "General, there are enemies!"

    "What?" A husky voice sounded. Following which, a middle-aged man d in a shining armor came to the edge of the castle walls.

    Upon looking at the scene, his eyes widened.

    "How can this be? This is me Capital City, the center of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone attempt to infiltrate this ce? Why didn¡¯t you report immediately!" The middle0aged man stared at the huge number of ck figures dashing towards the castle walls with a horrified expression. He could not understand the situation.

    "General, the sky was dark. The enemies were camouged in the darkness. We cannot possibly tell the exact numbers of the enemies. Furthermore, almost 90% of the city guards had entered the pce together with King Duan. What should we do?" The soldier who was standing guard at the castle wall tower reported.

    "Quick, shut the city gates!"

    "Yes!"

    "All the city guards listen up! As a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty, we must protect me Capital City with our lives! Those who wished to be excluded will suffer death!"

    "Yes!"

    The armymands echoed across the city walls. However, this did not affect the ck figures from approaching. As they slowly appeared in the middle-aged man¡¯s field of vision, his expression changed.

    This was because looking down from the castle wall, he could see a huge army of ck figures with no gap in between. There also seemed to be no end in sight, their numbers extending far into the dark horizon.

    "How can this be? How did so many people get to the castle wall in such a short time?" The middle-aged man paled. He was now sure that this was a premeditated ambush.

    Or could this be...

    This was a war!

    "Quick, go to the pce and inform King Duan!"

    "Wait!" Just as the middle-aged man gave his orders, another voice rang. Following which, a figure walked out from the shadows.

    "Lord Su?" The middle-aged man looked at the young man on the castle wall. He was surprised to see him here.

    That was because the person was Su Qing.

    The Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries Su Qing!

    News of Su Qing entering me Capital City had long spread across the country. However, this did not mean that he should appear here of all times.

    "General Li!" Su Qing nodded as he walked towards the middle-aged man.

    Behind him stood a couple of ck figures. Each of them was masked by a ck scarf and emitted a chilling aura.

    "Lord Su, I have urgent matters to attend to. Could you..."

    "General Li need not worry. I know everything!" Su Qing interrupted General Li. Following which, he walked to the edge of the castle wall and cast his nce at the countless ck figures that extended into the horizon. He then frowned and said, "I didn¡¯t think that the Northern Barbarians would send a 100000-strong army into the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    "What? 100000!" General Li was startled upon hearing the numbers. He once again looked a the horde of infiltrators and could confirm that there were simply too many to be counted.

    However, 100000-strong army?

    This was an impossible task.

    After all, this was me Capital City, well within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone have hidden a 100000 strong army right under their eyes? How strange was that?

    General Li was doubtful of his words. However, Su Qing had already confirmed the identity of the infiltrators. They were the Northern Barbarians. He had to treat them with caution.

    "What is General Li waiting for? The Northern barbarians are known to be ferocious and merciless. Their army definitely came prepared. The army of me Capital City alone will not be able to defend against them. There are also Northern Barbarians creating a ruckus within the pce. General Li should light the pinnacle me and summon troops from all over the country to protect me Capital City!" Su Qing stared at General Li¡¯s horrified expression and calmly suggested.

    "Light the pinnacle me? This.. without the Emperor¡¯s or King Duan¡¯s orders, I don¡¯t think..." General Li perspired profusely upon hearing those words.

    Lighting the pinnacle me!

    This was an exceptionally important decision.

    How could he attempt such a thing without a royal decree?

    "What rubbish! Did I not make it clear enough? The Northern Barbarians had already disrupted the peace in the pce. How can the Emperor then make time to issue a royal decree? If General Li waste any more time, me Capital City will be infiltrated. How then can the citizens live in peace? Can you bear the responsibility of shaking the very foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty?" Su Qing¡¯s face sunk.

    "Of course I cannot. However, if the enemy doesn¡¯t truly have a 100000-strong army and is deliberately trying to..." General Li hesitated as he spoke.

    "Is General Li doubting my judgment?" Su Qing once again interrupted General Li, his eyes shining with a chilling presence.

    "No, of course not, but..." General Li immediately shook his head as he said.

    "Does General Li knows why I rushed to me Capital City all the way from Northern Lands?" Su Qing kept his gaze on General Li.

    "Isn¡¯t Lord Su here for the Crown Prince..."

    "Of course not! As the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries, I have gotten the secret message a long time ago that the Northern Barbarians are preparing for a war. I am here to report this urgent message. As for the issue regarding the Crown Prince, how could I have predicted that?" Su Qing said.

    "This..." General Li was slightly convinced upon hearing those words.

    He had only heard rumors about Su Qing entering the capital. Naturally, he had no clue about the intentions behind his actions. However, Su Qing mentioned that he could not have known about the Crown Prince issue beforehand.

    Just from this point alone, General Li was slightly persuaded by his speech.

    Did the Northern Barbarians truly hide 100000 soldiers within the Great Xia Dynasty under their watch? If that was the truth, it would be terrifying.

    If he made a single mistake handling this issue, his entire family would probably be executed.

    "It is a crisis. Is General Li going to waste any more time? The moment me Capital City is taken, the glory of the Great Xia Dynasty might go down in ruins!" Su Qing urged once again as he saw the hesitation on General Li¡¯s face.

    "Lord Su¡¯s words... are urate, however, without the Emperor¡¯s..." General Li bit his lips in apprehension. He was alreadypletely drenched in perspiration.

    The outer castle walls of me Capital City was flooded with enemy troops.

    The situation in the pce was unknown as well. This was indeed a crucial time when both internal and external security was being threatened. If he did anything right, he would be generously rewarded.

    On the other hand, a mistake would be extremely detrimental as well.

    How could he then make a decision lightly?

    He was extremely hesitant.

    However, at that moment, he saw a sh of light in his eyes. It was a chilling sh, a sh from the reflection of the moonlight off the de of a sword.

    It emitted a chilling presence in the night sky.

    Most importantly, that sh of light was extremely near. It was so close that he had no time to react nor dodge it. He also did not prepare any defenses beforehand.

    sh!

    The sword pierced through his throat as blood gushed out profusely.

    "It is a time of crisis. However, General Li has disyed ipetence and weakness at this crucial time. I have executed you on behalf of King Duan!" Su Qing¡¯s voice rang.

    At the same time, he removed the sword from General Li¡¯s throat.

    A blood fountain followed the trajectory of the sword as it was raised into the air. Fresh droplets of blood then rolled down the de of the sword.

    General Li¡¯s eyes widened in shock.

    He had never expected Su Qing to kill him. Furthermore, he did so in front of all the city guards under hismand.

    "Urgh!" He wanted to say something. However, he could no longer speak. He held his throat with his hands and he fell to the ground.

    "Light the pinnacle me. Summon all the troops back to protect me Capital City!" Su Qing walked forward and stepped onto General Li¡¯s head. He raised his sword high up in the air as the moonlight reflected off its merciless de.

 Chapter 569 A Fearless Figure

    At that moment, the city wall descended intoplete silence.

    Everyone standing on the city wall was dumbfounded by the scene in front of them. The stared at the warm fresh blood on the ground in shock as they tried processing the events that just happened in their minds.

    They were not afraid of people being killed.

    However, this was not something that simple.

    General Li was dead!

    He was killed in a single blow by the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries!

    The city guards exchanged nces as they were at a loss of what to do. Under normal circumstances, they were trained to retaliate the moment theirmander was killed.

    However, their opponent was Su Qing.

    He was the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries. Most importantly, they all heard Su Qing¡¯s words. The Northern Barbarians were nning to invade me Capital City. Furthermore, they were already right in front of their eyes.

    100 thousand strong army!

    There were only about a few thousand city guards left spread out amongst the four city gates. How could they ever defend against such a huge force?

    "Yes!"

    "Light the pinnacle me!"

    "Quick, summon all the troops back to protect me Capital City!"

    The city guards finally moved after a few moments of hesitation. Naturally, they could not make the decision during such a crucial time. After all, there was always someone who would take responsibility for these actions.

    Today, that person would be Su Qing.

    What else did they have to worry about?

    Even if the Emperor wanted someone to take the me for the incident, Su Qing would be the first one on the list. He was the one who gave themand while they were merely executing them.

    "Onmand, light the pinnacle me!"

    "Light it!"

    Voices rang throughout the east gate as they went into a scurry trying to light up the pinnacle me. Some of the soldiers were even holding the messaging g on their hands.

    Quickly, the pinnacle me was lit up.

    Thick ck smoke wafted towards the sky. It was exceptionally thick and dense, even the strong and chilling gale of the night was unable to dissipate the smoke easily.

    At the same time, a blinding light bolted through the horizon. It blended in elegantly with the horizon like a shooting star across the sky.

    Su Qing finally smiled in satisfaction upon seeing this sight.

    The pinnacle me was lit and the signal was released!

    The troops stationed all around the country would immediately rush back to me Capital City. This was undoubtedly the thing that would be given the top priority no matter what mission they were executing.

    "Lord Su, the Northern Barbarian army is already nearing the gate. Should we send someone to inform your Majesty about the situation?" Amander walked towards Su Qing as he said respectfully.

    "Naturally. However, we should first set up our defenses and be clear about their motives. If we act rashly, we will walk right into their trap!" Su Qing replied.

    "Trap?" Themander seemed confused.

    "Yes, although I knew about the movements of the Northern Barbarians a long time ago, no one could predict how they are going to attack. If the attack on the city gates was merely a decoy for the attack on the Majesty, wouldn¡¯t we be walking right into their trap by sending someone to inform your Majesty?" Su Qing exined.

    "Lord Su is right. However, if this is not a decoy, then wouldn¡¯t it be bad if we stalled..." Themander hesitated for a moment before saying his opinions with a trembling voice.

    "I will check if it is a decoy!" Su Qing said confidently.

    "How will Lord Su validate this?"

    "As a courtier of the Great Xia Dynasty, I will lead in times of crisis. I will not shirk from this responsibility. Open the city gates. I will personally attend to this matter."

    "This... Lord Su, I cannot allow that. The Northern Barbarians are extremely ferocious and merciless. If Lord Su..." Themander rejected this n the moment he heard it.

    Negotiating with the Northern Barbarian troops alone?

    That would be courting death!

    "Say no more, I have already decided!" Su Qing waved his hands before he turned and walked down the city wall.

    The couple of ck figures standing behind him followed behind.

    Themander stood at his position, clearly dumbfounded. He stared at Su Qing¡¯s back as a terrible premonition rose in his heart. However, he could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong about Su Qing¡¯s actions.

    Isn¡¯t Lord Su usually wise and cautious? Why would he use such a method? Themander clenched his fist as he frowned.

    He wanted to inquire more into Su Qing¡¯s actions.

    However, Su Qing had already made his way down the city walls.

    Most importantly, General Li was already dead. Su Qing would naturally assume the role of themander of the city guards. As soldiers, how could they resist hismands?

    "Open the gate!"

    "Lord Su is going to negotiate with the Northern Barbarians army. Open the gate!"

    Creak!

    As themands were passed down, the bulky city gate was pushed open. The chilling night breeze grazed their faces while it carried the sand on the ground out of the city gate.

    Countless ck figures were still rushing towards the city gate. They held a spear wrapped in ck cloth in their hands while being masked in a simrly dark-colored sash.

    Their chilling murderous intent could be felt from miles away.

    Su Qing squinted his eyes as he stared at the approaching ck figures. He then slowly moved forward and walked past the city gate.

    The several ck figures behind him all these while did not follow him out. Instead, they stood motionless at the city gate, staring at Su Qing as he left.

    Each of the city guards was horrified at Su Qing¡¯s brave actions.

    "Close the gate!"

    "Hold up!" A ck figure said in a cold tone. The ded resolve flickering in his eyes sent chills down the city guard¡¯s spine.

    No one questioned the ck figure when those words were spoken. However, the city guards had an incredulous expression on their faces.

    "No one is to close the city gate before Lord Su returns!" The ck figure said.

    "How... how is this possible? If we do not close the gates, the Northern Barbarian army will invade us!" A city guard immediately objected when he heard those words.

    However, just as he finished his sentence.

    He saw a glimmer of light in front of him.

    sh!

    A de mercilessly pierced through his throat.

    This attack naturally came from the ck figures. Blood poured out from the city guard¡¯s wound as the rest of the city guards stared at the scene in disbelief.

    "Why... why..."

    Thump!

    Before the city guard couldplete his sentence, he copsed onto the ground.

    The city guards who were tasked with guarding the city gate also subconsciously took a step backward. Their eyes were filled with fear and apprehension.

    Killing the soldier upon any disagreements.

    Such strict management was rare nowadays.

    "Are you guys afraid?" The ck figure said as he cleaned his blood-stained sword on the fallen city guard¡¯s armor. At the same time, he cast his merciless nce across all the city guards.

    "No!" The city guards replied immediately.

    "As a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty, you guys should have the resolve to die for your country. What do you guys think of this guard here, who wished to leave Lord Su to his own deserts when he is risking his life for the country?" The ck figure asked.

    "This.."

    "He deserves to die!"

    "Yes, he deserves it!"

    The city guards exchanged nces as they stared at the fresh blood on the ground before answering bitterly.

    "If the Northern Barbarians truly invade me Capital City, we will also defend it with all our might. You guys can just close the city gate when the timees. Do you understand?" The ck figure said coldly.

    "Understood!" The city guards nodded as they replied in unison.

    They had on choice but to understand that twisted logic. After all, they could either choose to agree and understand those words or face death like their fallenrade. The choice was clear.

    Furthermore, Su Qing had already stepped out of the city gate. The ck figures also promised that they would be the first line of defense against the Northern Barbarian army.

    They could only hope for this to be true.

    The night was not peaceful. The sand swirled on the ground as the chilling night breeze made its way across me Capital City, caressing the face of every city guard.

    Su Qing stood outside the city gate in his neat court attire. His fearless figure was the hope of all the city guards standing behind the city gate.

    He stood upright without any signs of withdrawal or fear.

    The ck figures outside were closing in. They crossed over the wide river protecting the city and got to the point where they were almost going to trample over Su Qing.

    "Archers, prepare!" Themanders ordered the soldiers to get into formation and stand in alert positions. Apart from the arrows, the oil was already boiled and ready.

    All these were preparations for the fierce battle ahead.

    Finally...

    The ck figures trampled over Su Qing¡¯s body and charged towards the city gate. They did not bother to stop, acting as though they did not see Su Qing at all.

    They were like a gluttonous cloud that devoured everything in sight at an insane speed.

    This scene was undoubtedly shocking for the city guards. They would never expect that the ck figures would ignore Su Qing.

    "Not good! Close the city gates!" Amander reacted to the situation had immediately shouted.

    However...

    No creaking sounds could be hearding from the city gate. Even the sound of the drawbridge being retracted could not be heard. It was as though the soldiers were unable to hear themands.

    "Damn it. Are you guys all deaf?" Themander¡¯s face sunk. He was just about to go down the city gate to take a look when a ck figure blocked his way.

    "What is going on?" The ck figure asked.

    "The Northern Barbarians has broken through Su Qing. We need to close the city gate immediately..."

    Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted. He felt a cold sensation on his neck. There was also a streak of blood flowing down his chest.

    It was a quick but fatal sh.

    Themander covered his gaping wound with his hands as blood spewed out. He stared at the ck figure in front of him and his blood-stained sword.

    However, the ck figure did not seem to bother with him. He merely walked slowly towards themander and ced a finger lightly on his forehead.

    Thump!

    Themander then fell onto the ground after a light push.

    The ck figure then once again brandished his sword in the air. It reflected a merciless brilliance under the moonlight. Within mere moments, anothermander had fallen under this blood-stained de.

    "My lord, what... what are you doing?" The city guards were unable to react to such a drastic turn of events.

    What was going on?

    Why would Su Qing¡¯s underlings attack themanders!

    Were they traitors?

    How could that be!

    Lord Su had already given up his life for the country. He was trampled under the feet of the Northern Barbarian army. It would be impossible to even find hisplete body for a burial.

    However, if they were not traitors...

    Why would they kill themanders?

    The city guards could not understand their actions. However, themanders were not the first few who were killed. From the moment General Li was killed without a valid reason, the pointless killing had been going on within the city gate.

    They wanted to ask questions, though they couldn¡¯t.

    They could clearly see the ck figures¡¯ actions.

    The ck figure was extremely quick and merciless. He was so merciless that the city guards were trembling in fear. They stood rooted on the ground as if frozen in time.

    More of theirrades fell, killed by the ck figure.

    Some of the city guards then reacted to this turn of events. No matter what the reason was, the ck figure should not be killing city guards one after another.

    "Stop it!"

    "What are you doing? Are you insane?"

    "Quick, take down this crazy guy!"

    The remaining city guards recollected themselves and finally started began their retaliation. However, the ck figure had ten other insanerades behind him. They were extremely fast as well.

    sh!

    The sound of swords cutting through raw flesh echoed through the city gates. The bodies of city guards kept pilling up as they were massacred indiscriminately by the ck figures. They widened their eyes in shock as they noticed a light chilling aura around the ck figures.

    "These are Rebirth State individuals!"

    "Why? Why will there be Rebirth State individuals behind Lord Su? What is going on?"

    "There are more than one!"

    The city guards could not understand what they just saw. Even if Su Qing was the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries, having one Rebirth State individual as a bodyguard would already be a privilege. To think that he had more than ten of them protecting him at once?

    This was something unimaginable.

    This was because there were less than 100 people in the Great Xia Dynasty who had attained this rank!

    The city guards had started their counter-attack.

    However, how could they defend against a massacre conducted by ten Rebirth State individuals?

    Every glimmer of a de would mean the loss of a life. Each reflection of the moonlight they saw would mean another fallenrade.

    Fresh blood danced amidst the chilling breeze.

    The blood-stained city gate had once again opened the wounds of the past. It had once again pushed this ancient city who had already undergone the baptism of a ferocious war to the edge of the de.

    Screams echoed through the air.

    At the same time, the ck figures outside of the city had broken into the city through the city gate and flooded the streets of me Capital City.

    The ck cloth covering their spears were taken off.

    Each of those spears shone brightly, emitting a chilling presence under the illumination of the moonlight. Quickly, those cold spears were enveloped by a peculiar warmth. The warmth of fresh blood.

    "This is amand! Finish the battle in 15 minutes!"

    "Yes!" A unison voice echoed into the horizon. Blood was slowly absorbed into their ck attire as they imed the lives of the citizens of me Capital City. The thick armor hiding underneath the ck fa?ade was then revealed.

 Chapter 570 The Demon King Debuts

    This was a massacre, though it was not a massacre without any resistance.

    The arrow rain from the city guards finallynded. Sharp arrows descended from the sky and pierced through the thick armor of the ck figures, causing them to copse onto the ground.

    They were the elites!

    Although they could notpare to the Mountain Breaking Army in Stabilisation Constabry or the Red Pinion Squad in the Divine Constabry, there were still considered elites. They were elites specializing in guarding the me Capital City.

    However, General Li was dead, under the merciless sword of Su Qing. They had lost allmand and King Duan had also mobilized too many city guards to surround the pce.

    This made them feel slightly powerless.

    However, they were still resisting the ck figures with full force. None of the city guards chose to escape. They faced the Rebirth State individuals and Northern Barbarian army with fervor. They raised their spears in pride and shot their arrows with confidence.

    "Kill them all!"

    Deafening shouts could be heard echoing throughout me Capital City.

    This awakened many courtiers and nobles from their deep sleep. They rushed out of their residences in shock as the courtiers picked up their rusted sword in preparation for battle.

    "Protect me Capital City!"

    "The gate is broken. Invaders are in. Kill them all!"

    "Quick, no one knows what is happening within the pce as well. Send someone to report the information to the Emperor!"

    "Yes!"

    Voices rang throughout the city. At the same time, countless figures were maneuvering themselves amongst the streets of me Capital City. Some were nobles carrying their small daggers while others were courtiers who were speeding towards the pce with a sword in their hands.

    The majestic lion in slumber, the Great Xia Dynasty, had awakened in an instant!

    At the city gate of me Capital City.

    This battle was at its end. There were simply too many ck figures. They had an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and strength, evident from the massacre done by the Rebirth State individuals. There was a limit to how much the city guards could do.

    However, this did not mean that they weren¡¯t strong enough.

    This was because fate, timing, location, and luck had forsaken them in this battle. Most importantly, they were soldiers whose job was to listen to their superiors unconditionally.

    If not for this reason, Su Qing¡¯s orders would definitely be questioned and he would likely be refuted on the spot. However, they were the elites. Naturally, their adherence to orders would be even stronger than that of a normal troop.

    Bodies were strewn all over the ground, tainting the city gate a bloody red.

    Amongst the ck figures, a shadow appeared from a distance. His neat court attire of the Great Xia Dynasty was exceptionally eye-catching.

    "Lord Su, you..." amander stuttered as he saw the iing Su Qing. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief even at death¡¯s door.

    Why?

    Why would a Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries betray the country?

    A sword then pierced through his chest.

    Su Qing held the sword in his hands as he stared coldly at the horrifiedmander. He then snickered, "Loyalty is your most fatal w!"

    "My lord, the east and south gate are already under our control. The west gate is almost done as well. The north gate is the only one still doing a futile struggle!" A ck figure then reported to Su Qing.

    "My lord, many nobles of me Capital City and citizens are charging straight at us!" Another ck figure then came forward to report another piece of information to Su Qing.

    "Hm, these are all within my predictions. Follow the n!" Su Qing was not surprised at these two pieces of information as he replied.

    "Yes!" The two ck figures replied respectfully.

    Following which, countless strangely shaped bronze parts appeared in the hands of the ck figures. These parts were then quickly attached to the city gate.

    The city gate was originally made from stones and minerals. However, after the bronze parts were attached, it quickly emitted a green glow. The intensity of the light then increased as time passed.

    In less than 15 minutes, the gate hadpletely changed. It had turned into a giant bronze door filled with a deste presence. An intense green light emanated from the bronze door.

    "What is that?"

    "Green bronze door!"

    "What happened to the city gate? Why did it change form?"

    The nobles who had just reached the scene stared at the remodeled city gate in shock.

    "We have to stop them no matter what they are nning to do!"

    "Yes, let¡¯s go!"

    The nobles and citizens were horrified. However, they continued forward and quickly drew their swords, charging straight towards the city gate.

    The ck figures were already lying in wait for them in neat formations.

    "Kill!" The ck figures stared at the approaching nobles and citizens as they shouted. None of them retreated and their eyes shone with a chilling aura.

    Another bloody battle began.

    Blood spurted across the streets as spears fell onto the ground together with their fallen owners. Sounds of pain and war had shaken this ancient city to its very core, tainting the night with a shade of red.

    "Kill them all!"

    Amongst the countless war cries, the bronze door transformation waspleted. It was shining with a brilliance simr to that of an emerald. The intensity of the color was so intense that it was almost sinister.

    Whoosh!

    Whoosh!

    After the fourth whooshing sound, four emerald pirs of light shot up into the horizon. It emerged from all four of the gates, namely the north, south, east, and west gate, before congregating in the air at the midpoint of me Capital City.

    Following which...

    A simrly colored emerald pir descended from the sky. It traveled at a speedparable to that of aet, dashing into the ground with an incredible force.

    Boom!

    An explosion sound could be heard.

    The light beamnded right in the middle of the pce, specifically the throne room!

    Within the throne room.

    The two figures were finally separated at the moment of the explosion. The golden figure flew back to Lin Mubai¡¯s side, as the ck figure retreated for a few steps.

    And the spot where they separated was a green bronze door.

    That was the Near-Life Gate!

    The Near-Life Gate that had already closed!

    However, the Near-Life Gate was glowing with an emerald brilliance. It was a blinding and sinister brilliance, one that was painful and searing to look at.

    Lin Mubai squinted his eyes at this sight.

    He naturally saw the emerald light pir that descended from the horizon. This was the exact beam of light that disrupted the battle between Chen Feihua and Qian Wu.

    "Your Majesty" Chen Feihua¡¯s gaze was fixated onto the Near-Life Gate. Her expressionless face showed a hint of shock, for the first time in this entire harrowing battle.

    "If it is meant to be, It will be!" Lin Mubai shook his head as he said. At the same time, he took a red pill from his pocket and swallowed it.

    It had been some time since Lin Mubai suffered injuries.

    However, he did not intend to take any medication. That was until he saw this emerald beam of lightnd into the throne room.

    "What is this?" Lin Tianrong stared at the sinister light emanating from the Near-Life Gate. He felt extremely ufortable being in such close proximity to it.

    He had a bad premonition.

    It was a premonition that should not be present and did not make sense. This premonition did not originate purely from the sinister light as well. It was also partly due to the three ferocious beasts who were kneeling on the ground.

    The three ferocious beasts kneeled on the ground with their eyes closed as their bodies trembled.

    This was a peculiar scene. This was because they had also emerged from the Near-Life Gate. However, they were now bowing to the Near-Life Gate, as though they were paying respect to a higher authority.

    "Rx, my Crown Prince. This is when the real show begins!" Qian Wu did not reply Lin Tianrong¡¯s question directly. Instead, he nced at him with a cold stare.

    At the same time, Qian Wu moved.

    Six brilliant runes appeared on his hand. Countless threads then connected those runes together before they started spinning, forming a wheel of blinding light.

    However, Qian Wu did not press the light wheel directly on the ground this time. He merely kept it at his abdomen level as his face turned red.

    Belch!

    Blood spurted out of Qian Wu¡¯s mouth.

    A buzzing sound could then be heard. It was as if that sound was generated from the resonance of the heavens, earth, and nature. It had the power to make everyone¡¯s mind go nk for a moment.

    "This is not right. Is he trying to..." Chen Feihua stared at this scene as an ominous foreboding arose within her. She wanted to stop this from happening, though she was already toote.

    This was because the instant blood spurted out of Qian Wu¡¯s mouth, that spinning wheel of light was also imprinted onto the Near-Life Gate.

    Creak!

    The sealed Near-Life Gate came back to life.

    However, there was something different. Previously, the gate was shining in a dull bronze-green brilliance, one that was simr to that of the Near-Life Gate¡¯s color. However, it was bright emerald this time.

    A sinister bright emerald color.

    The moment the Near-Life Gate opened, the emerald light was instantly absorbed into the gap, as though it was devouring the essence within this light.

    Lin Tianrong stared at this scene in horror.

    Eunuch Wei also widened his eyes as his face paled in fear. This was because an exceptionally devastating thought just shed through his mind.

    This applied not only to Eunuch Wei.

    This included the First Dragon Envoy Fang Qing, the rest of the Dragon Protection Squad and the royal guards. A thought shed through everyone¡¯s mind.

    Something of the legends passed down through folklore.

    Creak!

    The Near-Life Gate opened upon the creaking sound of the heavy door. The bronze gate had already lost all its emerald brilliance. The deste and ancient presence from its dull appearance filled the entire room.

    At that moment...

    A figure appeared from the Near-Life Gate.

    He did not have the murderous stare the beasts possessed when the appeared. There was also no deafening roar heralding his appearance. There was peaceful and suffocating silence.

    The figure flickered within the Near-Life Gate. It swayed from the left to right, disappearing and revealing himself again and again.

    Time seemed to have stopped at that moment. No one dared to speak as their eyes were fixated on the flickering shadow.

    Finally...

    That shadow stopped moving.

    It stopped right in the middle of the Near-Life Gate.

    That was a tiny shadow. Compared to the huge Near-Life Gate, this figure seemed tiny. If one were topare him to the size of the ferocious beasts which appeared from the same door, he would even be insignificant.

    However, despite this unassuming stature, Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua stared at the figure in the Near-Life Gate with apprehension. They clenched their fists tightly in response.

    A cool night breeze blew across the throne room.

    Sleeves of their loose court attire fluttered amongst the wind.

    At that moment, that figure moved once again. It slowly and casually walked out of the Near-Life Gate,nding on the dpidated ground.

    There was no rumbling sound of a heavyweight stepping onto the ground.

    There was also no giant sharp ws attached to him.

    It was a human foot, a foot that was wearing a clean white boot not tainted by any dust.

    As this foot stepped forward, the figure revealed himself from the Near-Life Gate.

    He was in the shape of a human.

    He had a slender body and wore a pair of pristine white boots. He looked exactly like a schr and had a beast-shaped jade hanging from his waist.

    He looked just like a studious and gentle schr.

    He had extremely fair skin and exquisite features. However, no one treated him as an ordinary schr.

    This was because his eyes looked extremely sinister, like that of the devil.

    The sinister emerald light once present on the Near-Life Gate seemed to flicker ever so often in his eyes. It seemed to give off an authority that one could not resist, making people involuntarily offer their respect. Most importantly, there seemed to be an "injury" on his forehead.

    More specifically, it looked like an eye.

    A closed eye that looked just like an injury.

    Apart from that, there was also two curved horns on his head, each of them engraved with countlessplicated and intricate patterns. A faint golden brilliance seemed to be surging within those carvings.

    It was extremely silent.

    Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua stared at the devilish-looking guy that appeared from the Near-Life Gate and subconsciously leaned closer to one another.

    The royal guards and Dragon Protection Squad also paled at this sight.

    They did not retreat in the face of this terrifying enemy. However, they did not advance as well!

    me Capital City.

    Within a giant residence.

    The decorations in this residence were clearly different than that of the other luxurious residences in me Capital City. It was still luxurious, nheless, though instead of the resplendent and shining theme that the rest of the city was obsessed with, this looked more like an otherworldly paradise.

    One could smell the fragrance of flowers, see deep and beautiful alleyways and even have a game at an ancient chess board or take walk in the intricate courtyard filled with docile Green Mountain Tigers. This giant residence was elegant and peculiar.

    An old guy sat in the middle of this residence. He was d in a long robe and his skinny stature made him look extremely frail.

    However...

    This was the person that garnered the respect of everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty. This was because he had witnessed the uprising of the Great Xia Dynasty. He was the living history of the country, the uncle of Lin Mubai.

    He was King Liqin!

    "Hm?" He suddenly emitted a faint voice. Following which, he opened his eyes immediately as the murkiness within them instantly disappeared, turning into a blinding brilliance.

    Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Violet...

    The seven colors intertwined beautifully within his eyes.

    At the same time, King Liqin stood up and slowly straightened his posture. He then stared into the horizon and the sky that had returned to its original dark hue.

    "The Great Xia Dynasty has enjoyed years of peace. Although we are prosperous, it has been too peaceful and undisturbed. The court is backward in thinking and the nobles are gaining too much power. Everyone is only thinking about self-preservation and not self-improvement. This is the result of our arrogance!"

 Chapter 571 The Demon Kingâ€™s Four Ancient Formations

    King Liqin¡¯s words sounded slightly patronizing but his expression remained, as though he had already predicted such a result from the start.

    At the same time, a ck crack appeared in front of him. It was as big as a door!

    King Liqin walked in extremely slowly. As he stepped into the crack, his body slowly became blurred.

    Truly mighty warriors would not be troubled by the past. Their only thought would be there¡¯s a problem ... and they should solve it!

    ...

    The Eastern Gate of the me Capital City.

    The city gate constructed with countless bronze parts still radiated with a dark green glow, exuding a strange and eerie quality in the darkness of the night.

    Those clothed in ck were still battling the nobles and the citizens as their battlecries sounded one after the other.

    At this moment, a group of people galloped over hastily from afar, their shimmering coats of armor reflecting faint glimmers of radiance under the moonlight.

    "It¡¯s the Mountain Breaking Army. Xing Hou has arrived!"

    "So has Chi Hou from the Divine Constabry!"

    "We¡¯re saved!"

    The faces of the nobles and the citizens void of hope instantly lit up when they turned towards the figures charging over in the distance.

    "Big Brother, it¡¯s the Northern Barbarians!" Chi Hou, who donned purple robes, immediately identified the assants dressed in ck after he noticed the armor d on their bodies.

    As the guardian of the Divine Constabry, one of the five constabries of the Northern Lands, Chi Hou naturally had a deeper understanding of the Holy Barbarian Empire to the north of the Great Xia Empire.

    "The Northern Barbarians?" Xing Hou frowned. Although he did not cross swords with the Holy Barbarian Empire on many asions, he still knew of their savage brutalities. "Could that be the Near-Life Gate of the Northern Barbarians?"

    "No, the Near-Life Gate is the greatest treasure owned by the Northern Barbarians, and that is not the Near-Life Gate. If my guess is correct, that should be the four formations created from the Near-Life Gate ... Wait a minute, four?! Could those be the Four Ancient Formations?!" Chi Hou gazed at the bronze city gate which radiated with dark green light, and his face turned pale.

    "The Four Ancient Formations! Aren¡¯t those the legendary ... This is bad! His Majesty is in danger!" Upon hearing this, Xing Hou¡¯s body jerked forcefully as his face was instantly washed white.

    "Big Brother, with the Four Ancient Formations protecting the city gate, it¡¯s impossible for the Red Pinion Squad of the Ten Mile Lake to invade the city. What should we do now?"

    "My worthy little brother, lead the Mountain Breaking Army to attack the enemy from within the castle. I¡¯ll go to the Imperial Pce to save His Majesty myself!"

    "No, the Mountain Breaking Army has always been led by Big Brother. Furthermore, we cannot grasp the situation inside the Imperial Pce at the moment. Big Brother is the leader of the Thirteen Constabries, and we can only prevail if Big Brother is around. I shall save His Majesty, and Big Brother shall stay here and attack!" Chi Hou immediately shook his head.

    "If I perish in battle, you shall lead the Thirteen Constabries, Little Brother ..."

    "Big Brother, my mind has been set. If not for Big Brother¡¯s reminders, I would have alreadymitted atrocious mistakes in our journey to the me Capital City. Only Big Brother is worthy of being the leader of the Thirteen Constabries. I¡¯ll be off, Big Brother!" With that, Chi Hou immediately yanked the reins of his horse and turned around, riding straight towards the Imperial Pce at top speed.

    Xing Hou gazed at Chi Hou¡¯s figure riding away into the distance, dazed. He wanted to say something else, but he swallowed his words in the end.

    "Mountain Breaking Army!"

    "Here!"

    "Line up, attack!"

    "Yes!"

    ...

    The Throne Room of the Imperial Pce.

    The worn-down yet quaint bronze Near-Life Gate still stood in the centre of the Throne Room, but its two heavy bronze doors have already been closed shut again. And in front of the Near-Life Gate, stood a man dressed in white like a schr. His eyes flickered with a demonic and strange green glow.

    "Ooo ..." Three menacing beasts creeped lowly before the ¡¯Demonic Man¡¯, their eyes closed shut as they let out soft moaning sounds.

    "Why aren¡¯t you bowing?" After hearing the moans of the three beasts, the Demonic Man finally looked at the Emperor Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua. His sound was crisp and clear, and his eyes shimmered with a dark green glow.

    "This is bad. Dragon Protection Squad, protect His Majesty and Lady Hua Fei!" Fang Qing subconsciously took a step forward as he met the Demonic Man¡¯s gaze.

    As the first Dragon Envoy of the Dragon Protection Squad, he was responsible for safeguarding the might and dignity of the Great Xia Empire and his Emperor. Who his opponents were, or how powerful they were, were not in his considerations.

    Following hismand, hundreds from the Dragon Protection Squad stepped out in unison, spreading themselves in front of the Emperor Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua. Even the Imperial Ranger Squad guarding the doorway of the Throne Room was activated, with each soldier raising their long spears, pointing straight at the Demonic Man.

    "Your Majesty? Oh, is this the Imperial Pce?" The Demonic Man scanned his surroundings, ncing past the various soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad and Imperial Ranger Squad. His eyes shed with a trace of astonishment.

    He then cracked a smile shortly after. It was a smile evoking surprise and curiosity, like a predatory hawk suddenly spotting a herd of sheep.

    "Hahaha ..." He chortled loudly and maniacally, thrusting his body forward and backward. As hisughter reverberated , the entire Throne Room shuddered violently.

    "Rumble!"

    Countless fragments of rubble cascaded down from the ceiling as multiple cracks extended swiftly throughout the floor.

    "Boom!"

    The few golden pirs holding up the Throne room seemed to have been destroyed by something, and copsed instantly as the ceiling crashed down.

    "The Throne Room is copsing!"

    "Quick, protect His Majesty!"

    "Your Majesty, please leave!"

    Voices rang out from the Dragon Protection Squad and the Imperial Ranger Squad.

    Then, a ray of green light dispersed outwards from the Demonic Man like a ripple spreading out in all directions.

    "sh!"

    The soldier from the Dragon Protection Squad standing at the front of the vanguard was immediately severed into two, not leaving any room for resistance.

    "Quick, block it!" Upon witnessing this sight, Eunuch Wei did not hesitate any longer and immediately screamed at the two squads.

    "sh! sh!"

    "..."

    Amidst the uproar, tens of soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad toppled over one after the other.

    They were the most elite force of the Great Xia Empire. Every single person in the squad possessed a level of strength minimally above the Supernatural State. But under the effects of the green light, their resistances werepletely nulled.

    A golden ray of light then shot up.

    Golden mist nketed the skies as a figure leapt up, delivering a swift punch into the green glow.

    "Boom!"

    The golden light was immediately blown backwards.

    And at the same time, another golden ray of light propelled upwards. Following that, clouds and mist rose into the air. A golden dragon bolted through the clouds as two demonic streams of crimson light shot down, colliding with the green glow.

    "Boom!"

    The dark green light vibrated, but still prated through the bodies of several soldiers in the Dragon Protection Squad, and they disappeared like dust into the darkness of the night.

    "Boom!"

    The ceiling of the Throne Room crashed down onto the ground, as the four walls quickly followed. An enormous crater appeared on the ground with the Demonic Man in the centre.

    The magnificent Throne Room, once the symbol of the Great Xia Empire¡¯s unrivalled might, has been reduced to dust!

    And this was all due to a single attack from the Demonic Man. How ridiculous is that?

    Shivers inevitably ran down the backs the remaining soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad and Imperial Ranger Squad guarding their emperor as they stared at the Demonic Man standing by the Near-Life Gate.

    "Blurt!" Lin Mubai¡¯s body jolted as he expectorated a mouthful of blood violently. He was already wounded, and his condition deteriorated after using the Green Dragon Eye.

    Chen Feihua, who was standing beside Lin Mubai as she witnessed this scene, instinctively support Lin Mubai¡¯s arm. But such an ordinary action caused dense sweat droplets to ooze from her forehead. Her chest rose up and down as her face flushed extremely red.

    "Blurt!" Chen Feihua also expelled a mouthful of blood.

    A single blow from the Demonic Man caused the Throne Room to copse, and dealt severe injuries on the Emperor Lin Mubai who possessed the Green Dragon Eye as well as his concubine Chen Fei Hua.

    "Your Majesty!"

    "Lady Hua Fei!"

    Several guards from the Dragon Protection Squad immediately stepped forward. Each of their gazes wavered in anxiety.

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong gazed at the crumbled remains of the Throne Room and the Demonic Man still standing beside the Near-Life Gate. He waspletely petrified.

    "A De ... Demon King?!" Lin Tianrong¡¯s eyes were wide open. Naturally, he knew that anyone capable of emerging from the Near-Life Gate could not possibly be human.

    However, his opponent was in the form of a human! That means ...

    He can only be a demon!

    He belonged to race that was rarely documented even in the Great Xia Empire¡¯s literature, a race that evolved from the beasts, a race that possessed intelligence that rivalled that of humans, and a race that wielded bodies capable of further training like humans.

    They concealed themselves amidst the mountains and rivers, feasting on the richness of nature and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. They were an existence that surpassed all types of beasts.

    And the Demonic Man standing before him was evidently no ordinary demon.

    He boasted absolute fluency in his linguistic abilities and was dressed in such an immacte manner, and a single blow from him could destroy the sturdy Throne Room.

    Such power ...

    "A Demon King!"

    After this thought shed through the Crown Prince¡¯s mind, he waspletely dazed. He did predict that Qian Wu would produce some sort of trick, but he definitely did not imagine Qian Wu summoning a Demon King from the Near-Life Gate.

    And a Demon King with a country under his rule, no less.

    How could Qian Wu possibly be sharing any benefits with him?

    A contract?

    Memories of him signing the contract with Qian Wu quickly surfaced in Lin Tianrong¡¯s mind, recalling the generosity that Qian Wu showed when distributing his loot.

    Back then, Lin Tianrong thought that Qian Wu did not know how to negotiate.

    But now ... he finally understood.

    It was not because Qian Wu was unsure on how to negotiate; he did not intend to negotiate at all. That was because he never wanted any of the conditions stated on the contract; he wanted the entire Great Xia Empire.

    "What¡¯s going on? How could the Throne Room ... What ... is that?!" A familiar voice sounded behind the dazed Crown Prince, his legs rooted to the ground.

 Chapter 572 With Trust Now Gone, A Passerby Enters The Scene

    "Sixth Brother? And the Pce Guards?!" The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong could clearly recognize the person eximing these questions, but as he heard the rumbling footsteps that followed afterwards, he still subconsciously turned back for a nce.

    He was evidently surprised at the appearance of King Duan, Lin Xinjue, and his army of Pce Guards he led in. He could still ept the appearance of the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards, but ... the Pce Guards?

    Why did Sixth Brother have the gall to charge into the pce with the Pce Guards? They are forbidden to enter the Imperial Pce, unless ...

    Sixth Brother already knew his n beforehand?

    When Lin Tianrong came across this thought and thought about Qian Wu again, his body shuddered with rage.

    All this while, he has been a fool that was exploited by others.

    He felt indignant, extremely indignant, but what could he do now? Voice his protestations now? That was impossible because he was already out of options.

    "What exactly is ..." Lin Xinjue did not spare Lin Tianrong a nce, instead staring closely at the Throne Room which had been reduced to a pile of rubble, as well as the giant bronze gate in the middle. He was simrly astonished.

    In fact, before he arrived, he already knew that a major battle would break out in the Imperial Pce, but he never would have guessed that he would be greeted by a mere pile of rubble.

    Where¡¯s the Throne Room? Was it destroyed?

    Furthermore ...

    Who¡¯s the Demonic Man standing in front of the enormous bronze door?

    "Could that be ... a demon?!" Lin Xinjue finally stopped in his tracks when this thought shed through his mind.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards were simrly surprised when Lin Xinjue and the tens of thousands of Pce Garrison Guards appeared in their line of sight. After all, the Pce Garrison Guards were technically barred from entering the Imperial Pce.

    But ...

    Lin Xinjue tantly brought the Pce Garrison Guards in like this. Is this a rebellion? Or a rescue mission?

    In the past, no one would think of the former, but the situation is different now. Under current circumstances, once Lin Xinjue does decide to lead a rebellion, the Great Xia Empire would very well descend into a crisis of unprecedented severity.

    "Father, I¡¯vee toote. I ..." Lin Xinjue blurted his words out quickly after a brief moment of astonishment, but he still swallowed his words when he saw the state of Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua.

    Injured?!

    Father has been injured! And so has the Imperial Concubine Hua Fei?!

    How is this possible? Hua Fei is ranked seventeenth on the Sacred Rankings. What ... exactly is going on here?

    "What are you here for?" Lin Mubai asked unhesitantly as he nced at the stunned Lin Xinjue, his eyes shing with a pinch of coldness.

    "I ... I heard the ruckus inside the Imperial Pce, and I ... I was worried that Father was met with an ident, so I specially brought the Pce Garrison Guards here to rescue you ..." LIn Xinjue stammered as he subconsciously gulped several times.

    "Rescue? You locked the four gates of the Imperial Pce, abandoned the me Capital City, and specially rushed all the way here just to rescue me?" LIn Mubai clenched his fist.

    "I ... I was afraid there might be traitors ..."

    "Traitors? Are you referring to your third eldest brother?"

    "Father, I ..." Lin Xinjue wanted to exin himself, but he could only swallow his words as he met Lin Mubai¡¯s piercingly cold gaze.

    "What does Your Highness have to fear?" Qian Wu¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. His eagle-like eyes gazed at Lin Xinjue who has already turned around to face him, his mouth cracking a patronizing sneer.

    "Who are you?" Lin Xinjue frowned and asked instinctively as he looked at Qian Wu standing a short distance away from the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    "Oh, I forgot that Your Highness still cannot recognize me, and can only recognize Su Qing. My apologies. But has Su Qing not informed Your Highness of the purpose of my visit to the Imperial Pce?" Qian Wu asked apologetically.

    "What ...What do you mean? LIn Xinjue¡¯s face turned slightly pale.

    "Haha, no need to be rmed, Your Highness. You¡¯ll just have to wait a little longer. Once the Great Xia Emperor dies, the throne would definitely belong to the Crown Prince, or perhaps, even Your Highness!" Qian Wu chuckled.

    "Qian Wu, you ... What exactly do you want?" Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong turned pale as his eyes became bloodshot.

    "Is Your Highness unaware of what I¡¯m trying to do?" Qian Wu turned around to face the Crown Prince.

    "Could it be that you¡¯re thinking of ..."

    "Of course!" Qian Wu interrupted him even before he couldplete his sentence. "Since ancient times, it was always survival of the fittest, and the strongest of all would be the king. Since both the Crown Prince and King Duan are eyeing the throne, you¡¯ll definitely have to battle it out. Isn¡¯t this very fair?"

    "Fair? You want to elect an obedient puppet to take the throne, don¡¯t you?" Lin Tianrong¡¯s tone turnde cold as the aura his body exuded became extremely unstable.

    "Does Your Highness have to be so direct?" Qian Wuughed.

    "You ..." Lin Tianrong¡¯s body surged with a violent gush of energy. He clenched his fists tighter than ever before as his eyes shed with a frightening radiance.

    At this point, he was naturally deduced Qian Wu¡¯s true intentions.

    The Great Xia Empire boasts thousands of years of rich history, with miles of fertile ins andrge poptions. It would be totally impossible for the Holy Barbarian Empire to immediately control and stabilize the kingdom given its current level of power. Hence, Qian Wu is selecting a decently obedient puppet between him and King Duan to ascend the throne.

    If things escte to such a stage, both him and King Duan would be well within the Holy Barbarian Empire¡¯s grasp, regardless of who ascends the throne.

    "Over my dead body! I¡¯ll never let you have your way!" The Crown Prince Lin Tinarong finally disced himself, charging directly towards Qian Wu with bloodshot eyes.

    "Oh? You don¡¯t want the throne?" Qian Wu sneered as he gazed at Lin Tianrong, and threw his fist towards his opponent.

    "Watch out, Your Highness!" A person in ck flew forward and blocked Qian Wu¡¯s attack, his body shining with a blinding radiance.

    "Boom!"

    With a thunderous crash, the person in ck was thrown backwards, colliding with Lin Tianrong. Both their bodies copsed to the ground.

    "Blurt!" Lin Tianrong expelled a mouthful of fresh blood.

    "Trash!" Qian Wu muttered as he quickly turned his attention to King Duan, Lin Xinjue. "Your Highness is an intellectual. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t follow in the footsteps of this trash, would you? Of course, if Your Highness isn¡¯t smart enough, I wouldn¡¯t mind finding someone smarter in therge pce!"

    Qian Wu looked extremely arrogant.

    Everyone in the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards clenched their fists tightly as they took in the sight before their eyes.

    Trash? That¡¯s still an insult!

    Although Lin Tianrong didunch a mutiny against the throne, he would still be the Crown Prince of the Great Xia Empire until Lin Mubai officially strips him of his title.

    "Your Highness, save His Majesty first!" One of the leaders of the Pce Garrison Guards seethed with rage as he looked at the Crown Prince sprawled on the ground and turned to Qian Wu standing in the distance.

    Lin Xinjue¡¯s body jerked. He certainly wanted to save the Emperor, but the situation unfolding before his eyes has evidently surpassed all his calctions. He subconsciously clenched his fists tighter as he looked at the Crown Prince lying on the floor.

    He witnessed the power of Qian Wu¡¯s strike very clearly.

    The man in ck¡¯s strength was minimally in the Rebirth State, but he was sent flying backwards by a single punch from Qian Wu. And furthermore ... Both Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua sustained grave injuries, while the ground was covered in countless corpses from the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards.

    Everything indicated that Qian Wu has clinched the absolute advantage in this battle.

    Worse still, there were only around ten thousand Pce Garrison Guards standing behind him, with the rest still outside the pce walls. What could he even do?

    The Imperial Pce!

    He did note to the Imperial Pce simply to steal their thunder; he wanted to exploit the ongoing chaos to seize the throne of the Great Xia Empire in one fell swoop.

    He has waited too long for the throne, and he did not want to wait any longer.

    He¡¯ll save the Emperor, y the Crown Prince and be conferred thetter¡¯s title. In that case, he¡¯ll still be the Crown Prince, and no one would know the changes that await him in the days toe.

    This was an opportunity to ascend straight to the throne.

    However, a throne seized himself and a throne conferred to him are two entirely different matters. Although he was fully confident of eradicating the Holy Barbarian Empire¡¯s influence after ascending the throne, his title would still be one that was conferred to him.

    What should he do? Should he fight?

    What if he can¡¯t outmatch them?

    It¡¯s just as Qian Wu said - the Great Xia Empire does not merely have the two princes. The Imperial Pce alone has too many worthy candidates for the throne. If he cannot outmatch Qian Wu, he would lose his final chance to ascend the throne.

    He was hesitating greatly.

    "Father!" Just as Lin Xinjue was struggling to make a decision, an unusually impatient voice rang through the crowd.

    Following that, a fiery-red figure charged out from behind Lin Xinjue, running straight towards Lin Mubai without a trace of hesitation.

    "Oh no, is that the Princess?!¡¯

    "It¡¯s dangerous!"

    Eunuch Wei and Yan Qing¡¯s voices rang out simultaneously from the crowd as both of them gazed at the iing figure, seeming evidently nervous.

    "Ping Yang, no!"

    "Quickly fall back!"

    Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua¡¯s voices sounded at the same time as they looked at Ping Yang running straight towards them. Both of them subconsciously prepared for her arrival.

    Suddenly, another figure appeared in front of Ping Yang. His brand-new ck uniform flowed gently in the night breeze, emitting a soft sound as he raised a hand to block Ping Yang¡¯s advance.

    "How troublesome. Didn¡¯t you agree to be a passer-by observing from the sidelines? Where did our mutual trust go?" The person curled his lips, revealing a face showing resignation.

 Chapter 573 I Can Become The Emperor?

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Why did hee together with her Highness?"

    "Shouldn¡¯t he be at the Imperial Academy?"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards gazed at the figure who appeared in front of Ping Yang, with each soldier being slightly astonished and suspicious, but this was evidently not the time to be muddling over these thoughts.

    As for Ping Yang ... she crashed straight into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s embrace.

    "Let me go, let me go ... Father is injured, I must save my father!" Ping Yang struggled with all her might, her delicate body wrestling and pounding against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    Before she arrived, she did imagine the numerous possibilities that could ur when she reached the Throne Room, but she would have never imagined that she would be greeted by a pile of rubble.

    Worse still, it was not just the Throne Room that was reduced to waste. There were fresh blood stains on the corners of Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua¡¯s lips. Both of their faces werepletely pale, and this sight has already surpassed all her expectations.

    In this situation, how could she keep her promise with Fang Zhengzhi?

    "Are you Fang Zhengzhi? I heard that you were the ringleader of the previous round of Court Examinations, the youngest Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, the current Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examinations, and our greatest benefactor in the battle of the Southern Regions!" Qian Wu did not pay much attention to Ping Yang, instead observing Fang Zhengzhi with much interest, his mouth cracking the faintest of smiles.

    "Is that so? I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve never heard of you before." Fang Zhengzhi turned around slowly and sized up Qian Wu, his eyes containing a glint of confusion.

    "Haha, let me introduce myself. I am Qian Wu of the Holy Barbarian Empire ..."

    "Actually, I¡¯m not that interested in you." Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand, impatiently interrupting Qian Wu.

    "No matter. I know what you¡¯re interested in. I can give you all the treasures and riches you desire. I can even give you the title of an Army General and a military strategist, and even give you the throne if you wish. And i promise not to restrict your freedom in any way. How do these sound?" Qian Wu was not angered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and instead continued rambling on.

    "Army General? Military strategist? The throne? What does this person want?"

    The Pce Garrison Guards and the Royal Guards could notpletely grasp what Qian Wu was saying. Was Fang Zhengzhi not a wastrel?

    Even though he was now helming the Imperial Academy, that was still a civilian title.

    And Qian Wu would simply bestow these military titles to him. This certainly baffled them.

    Most importantly, the Holy Barbarian Empire was in no way weaker than the Great Xia Empire, and judging from Fang Zhengzhi and Qian Wu¡¯s conversation, they were clearly meeting each other for the first time. So why would this happen?

    "Cough, cough ..." The Crown Prince vomited another mouthful of blood. He stared intensely at Qian Wu, his fists clenched so tight that they were turning white.

    He recalled the terms of his deal with Qian Wu. One of them was to kill Fang Zhengzhi, but now?

    After Qian Wu saw Fang Zhengzhi, he immediately nullified his promise to give the throne to Lin Tianrong. How could Lin Tianrong not hate him? And how could he not be overwhelmed with rage?

    Lin Mubai¡¯s face flushed red. Even though Qian Wu¡¯s words were directed at Fang Zhengzhi, they were clearly meant to deliver a p across Lin Mubai¡¯s face.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a Rank Three Official in the Great Xia Empire who enjoyed the treatment given to a Rank Two Official.

    But under the Holy Barbarian Empire? He would be an Army General, the National Military Strategist, and even be conferred the throne. Such a jarring difference in treatment would make anyone¡¯s heart waver.

    "Are all these Rank One Official titles?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face beamed with satisfaction after hearing Qian Wu¡¯s proposition.

    "Of course they are Rank One titles, and legitimate Rank One titles for that matter! Hence, you just need to hand Princess Ping Yang over to me and everything I promise you will be reality!" Qian Wu smirked once again at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s facial expression.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you dare betray your country?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, let Her Highness go at once!"

    "Release the princess now!"

    Upon hearing what Qian Wu said, the various Royal Guards immediately raised their long spears and pointed them at Fang Zhengzhi, each appearing extremely nervous. After all, they all knew the ce that Ping Yang has in Lin Mubai¡¯s heart.

    If Ping Yang doesnd in Qian Wu¡¯s grasp, no one would be able to imagine just what Lin Mubai would do in retaliation.

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned the various Royal Guards circling him and smirked. He could certainly tell that Qian Wu was attempting to sow discord.

    Qian Wu was intentionally using Ping Yang¡¯s safety as a bargaining chip, and he managed to arouse suspicions among the Royal Guards with just a few words.

    This n of his was indeed executed beautifully, to say the least.

    Even Lin Mubai appeared slightly unnerved, although he could see through Qian Wu¡¯s ploy given his intellect. But ...

    How could he rx if Ping Yang is involved?

    "That sounds amazing!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled and gently nodded his head before turning his gaze towards Lin Mubai. "Your Majesty, he offered me a Rank One post just like this. Why don¡¯t you promote me too?"

    "Promote you?"

    Lin Mubai was taken aback, but he quickly regained hisposure. Fang Zhengzhi was bargaining with him, and using the benefits offered by the Holy Barbarian Empire as a basis to bargain.

    The Royal Guards and the Pce Garrison Guards were also stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. Their eyes shed with rage.

    "Shameless!"

    "How dare this scoundrel use Her Highness¡¯ safety to threaten His Majesty?"

    "What audacity!"

    They were enraged but helpless, since Ping Yang was indeed in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. And most importantly, the Northern Barbarians did offer an enticing deal.

    "If I need to use promotions and riches to gain your loyalty towards me, I ..." After taking a deep breath, Lin Mubai suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence, seemingly having thought of something. With that, he stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an intense gaze. "Fine, I¡¯ll give you whatever you want!"

    "..."

    "Your Majesty, you ..."

    "This ..."

    After hearing what Lin Mubai¡¯s words, all the Royal Guards and the Pce Garrison Guards stared nkly with eyes widened. None of them could believe their ears.

    Lin Mubai actually agreed?

    Ever since Lin Mubai ascended the throne, he has never conceded to a single threat, but now, he has agreed to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request?

    To give him whatever he wants?

    Oh my god!

    Was Fang Zhengzhi really going to be the king?

    He¡¯s not even eighteen years old!

    "Thank you, Your Majesty!" After hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and turned his attention to Qian Wu. "I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to go over to your side, but these two offers are so simr that I don¡¯t know which one to choose. Why don¡¯t you add a little more?"

    "Add a little more?"

    "He already offered him the throne. What else can he add?"

    "Could it be that he does not want to be the Emperor?"

    The Royal Guards were dumbfounded by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request to Qian Wu.

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have dawned upon this point afterpleting his sentence, and his expression seemed evidently conflicted. "But since you¡¯ve already offered me the throne, you can¡¯t really top that offer with anything else. Why don¡¯t you let me be the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire for a few days just for fun. You did talk about your concubines, but I¡¯ve never actually ..."

    "Insolent!" Qian Wu¡¯s eyes turned cold, finally cutting off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rambling. In reality, his target has always been Ping Yang.

    But of course, if Fang Zhengzhi was willing to be his ve, he didn¡¯t mind keeping him to toy with his new pet. However, with Fang Zhengzhi clearly mocking him now, how could he allow Fang Zhengzhi to continue humiliating him?

    "You¡¯re already angry?" Fang Zhengzhi met Qian Wu¡¯s cold gaze in resignation. He then turned to the silent Lin Xinjue. "Why is Your Highness still in a daze? With the situation being so clear now, shouldn¡¯t Your Highness be scrambling to beg for pity like a dog?"

    "Shut up! I¡¯m not one who begs for pity!" Lin Xinjue was waiting for the most appropriate chance to act. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words undeniably stabbed right through his n, instantly engulfing his heart with an inexplicable rage, as if someone had stepped on his tail.

    "Is that so? Then what is Your Highess waiting for? Quickly get rid of him!" Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips, revealing a look of disdain.

    "Get rid of him?" Lin Xinjue shivered. He scanned the surrounding Royal Guards then looked at Lin Mubai, standing there in the distance.

    If he never opened his mouth, all the attention would naturally avert his direction.

    But ... Fang Zhengzhi lured him into speaking, and in such a direct manner. In this case, how could he continue hesitating and waiting for his ripe chance?

    "Scoundrel!" Lin Xinjue¡¯s eyes shed with hate, but he ultimately clenched his teeth. "Heed mymand, Pce Garrison Guards. Protect the Emperor!"

    "Yes!"

    Following Lin Xinjue¡¯smand, the Pce Garrison Guards, ten thousand strong, finally leapt into action again. Their shing spears pointed straight at Qian Wu and the Demonic Man.

    Qian Wu closed his eyes. He was naturally unfazed by Lin Xinjue¡¯s interference, but this was not within his original ns. ording to his previous calctions, Lin Xinjue would continue to wait for the right opportunity to strike.

    Or at least ... not strike so prematurely.

    But now, Lin Xinjue hasunched his attack, and worse still, with all his might.

    "Sowing discord!" This phrase shed through Qian Wu¡¯s mind.

    He used this method to deal with Fang Zhengzhi, but now, Fang Zhengzhi used the same method to deal with Lin Xinjue. And worse still, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method was far more direct and vicious.

    "Interesting!" Qian Wu scanned across the rowdy Pce Garrison Guards and smirked once again. At the same time, he turned his gaze towards the Demonic Man beside the Near-Life Gate.

 Chapter 574 We Got The Wrong Person

    The Demonic Man slowly shifted his gaze from Qian Wu to Fang Zhengzhi, then veered towards Ping Yang struggling profusely in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms.

    The ferocious beast crouching beside the Demonic Man also felt a disturbance and abruptly opened its eyes, its icy cold pupils shimmering with a frigid glimmer.

    "Roar!"

    Its gargantuan body shifted as it plunged its razor-sharp ws into the ground, tearing and shattering the rocks. It opened its gaping mouth and lunged straight at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang without any hesitation.

    "Your Highness, get out of here!" In the instant when the beast lunged towards Ping Yang, a figure leapt out at top speed and shieldedher. He was amander of the Royal Guards d in a coat of golden armor.

    "Crash!" The beast¡¯s razor-sharp ws swiped themander¡¯s chest armor, instantly blowing him backwards diagonally. He then plummeted to the ground and rolled over.

    A Royal Guardsmander has been killed with a single swipe.

    But the beast did not stop there. After swiping a Royal Guardsmander to death, it bounded into the air and pounced towards Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi in midair.

    "This is ..." Ping Yang finally stopped struggling. Her crystal-clear eyes gazed up at the unbelievably enormous figure looming over her head as her delicate little mouth opened up subconsciously.

    She certainly saw the three ferocious beasts crouching in front of the Demonic Man. It was a strange sight indeed.

    But in the spur of the moment, she could not ponder about this peculiar scene carefully. Only when the beast lunged towards her did she finally sense the menacing aura emanating from the beast and take in the sheer size of its body, capable of obscuring every bit of moonlight.

    Instinctively, Ping Yang began struggling against, attempting to break free of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grasp, but she then realized that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands had no intention of letting her go - and it wasn¡¯t just his hands.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of dodging the iing attack at all. He simply held onto Fang Zhengzhi in resignation, as though he could not hear the beast¡¯s roars thundering from behind him at all.

    "We¡¯re doomed. Her Highness is about to be killed by that shameless scoundrel!" Ping Yang grew hopeless as she stared at the pair of lethal ws right in front of her eyes.

    But suddenly, a hellish and murderous surge of bloodlust rose up from behind her, sending chills down her spine.

    And then ... a blood-red ray of light lit up behind her, instantly travelling in front of her. There was a human figure cloaked in the blood-red radiance, his ink-colored robes drifted softly in the night wind.

    He held a dagger-like ray of red light, sparkling and clear yet brittle like a cicada¡¯s wing, but surging with ferocity.

    "Stab!"

    As the blood-red light shed through the air, the giant beast became suspended in midair, its icy pupils in its eyes ring at the man cloaked in the red light. It was an expression of disbelief.

    Following that, a pitiful shriek reverberated through the air.

    "Ow ..."

    The giant beast¡¯s heat plummeted to the ground while its two severed ws remained suspended in midair. Two arrows of blood propelled out from the beast¡¯s legs, dripping to the ground. It was too quick.

    It took less than a blink of an eye from the time the beastunched its attack to the time the red light shed through the air. The result was tantly obvious - another beast has fallen.

    Silence!

    Unparalleled silence!

    The various Pce Guards gazed at the new participant on the battlefield and the shower of blood-red light cloaking him, as well as the giant beast sprawled on the ground.

    "It¡¯s Yan Xiu!"

    "He can actually ..."

    "Could Yan Xiu have already reached the Rebirth State?"

    bbergasted, they werepletely bbergasted, especially the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards. They had personally witnessed the sheer ferocity of these beasts, but now ...

    It lost both its ws with a single strike from Yan Xiu!

    Yan Xiu? Just which Enlightenment State was he in?

    "The Dao of Asura?" Qian Wu¡¯s gaze turned cold as he gazed at the hostile figure standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. "Are you Yan Xiu from the Western Liang?"

    Yan Xiu ignored Qian Wu, not even sparing him a nce. He merely took a step forward and stopped in front of the moaning beast.

    He clenched his right hand and the blood-red light began shing again.

    "Boom!"

    He pummeled right through the giant beast¡¯s skull. The already cracked ground could no longer withstand the tremendous impact of his fist, sending debris and dust flying in all directions.

    The beast¡¯s moans stopped. Fresh blood poured out from its mouth, staining the ground.

    Another beast has died!

    Qian Wu finally clenched his fist tightly. As the person who dominated the battlefield all this while, his presence has been consecutively disregarded by Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Furthermore, among the five beasts that emerged from the Near-Life Gate, three of them have died consecutively after Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua ughtered two more. And it took Qian Wu painstaking effort to locate these beasts.

    Yet, they perished one after the other right in front of his eyes.

    How could he endure it any longer?

    Just as he wanted to say something, he was interrupted by another voice.

    "What are all of you standing there for? You still don¡¯t want to attack? The Throne Room has been destroyed, and you still have the shame to spectate the action from the sidelines? Are all of you bystanders? Kill him!"

    "..."

    Upon hearing these screams, everyone in the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards shuddered. That was clearly Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice. And only Fang Zhengzhi would ¡¯insult¡¯ them with such ¡¯righteous rhetoric¡¯ without pulling any punches.

    And most importantly ... right after he finished yelling, he still remained in his original position without moving an inch. They could never match his level of shamelessness.

    Yet in spite of that, they still heeded hismand.

    As the squad responsible for ensuring the Emperor¡¯s safety, their top priority was clearly to protect the Emperor. But just as Fang Zhengzhi said, there wasn¡¯t a Throne Room anymore, so why would they continue standing there in a daze?

    Indeed! Their opponents are strong!

    They are faced with twenty elite warriors in the Rebirth State, along with two menacing beasts and a demon king. But so what?

    They are the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards - the elites among the elites of the Great Xia Empire¡¯s finest soldiers. Hence, fear is not an option.

    "Kill! Kill them!"

    Once Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice faded, the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards finally understood his intentions. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words may be uncouth but their underlying rationale was tantly clear: to protect the Emperor.

    They had to protect the Emperor.

    But now, their opponents were overwhelmingly formidable, to a point where they could not withstand the pressure at all. In that case, they could only sacrifice their lives to give the Emperor a chance of escaping.

    "Eunuch Wei, take the Emperor and the Royal Concubine with you and flee!" After the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s first Dragon Envoy Yan Qing yelled this, he charged towards Qian Wu and the Demonic Man with all his might.

    Behind him, a few hundred soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad also charged out at top speed. The Royal Guards also beganunching their attack.

    The soldiers instantly surrounded the people in ck as well as Qian Wu, thrusting their long spears towards Qian Wu with an eerie cold glow.

    "Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh ..."

    Sounds of arrows propelling through the air rang through the battlefield.

    Those were the Pce Guards. After the Royal Guards rushed out, the Pce Guards did not dy their attacks, drawing their huge bows and sending a torrential storm of arrows raining down on the twenty-plus people in ck.

    It was chaos.

    And the root cause of this chaos was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s righteous rhetoric.

    The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong¡¯s lips were stained with blood, and his heart was full of hate. He hated the fact that even though he clearly fell out with Qian Wu, the Pce Guards¡¯ arrows were still headed straight for him.

    "Your Highness, leave quickly!"

    "I¡¯m not going anywhere!" Lin Tianrong shrugged off a person in ck and turned his gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi who was standing leisurely at his original spot in the distance. Lin Tianrong clenched his teeth - he hated Fang Zhengzhi, but he hated someone else even more, and that person was the one whonded him in this sorry state. "Quick, kill Qian Wu!"

    "Yes!" The people in ck studied the expression on Lin Tianrong¡¯s face but still nodded obediently in the end.

    Following the Crown Prince¡¯s orders, the people in ck, over twenty strong, finally split up. One group headed straight for Qian Wu while the other started an internal struggle.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Qian Wu red at the smiling Fang Zhengzhi, then saw the shower of arrows pelting down over him and the numerous figures charging towards him in all directions. His eagle eyes shed with rage.

    This scoundrel is as shameless as the rumors say!

    He was not afraid of these ¡¯moths¡¯ that were pping towards him, but that did not mean that enjoyed interacting excessively with them.

    A single sentence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence, sank the originally predictable situation intoplete chaos. Yet, as the sole perpetrator, Fang Zhengzhi was simply spectating the drama from the sidelines.

    How could this not anger Qian Wu?

    "King Xieluo!" A six-colored talisman character quickly lit up in his hand as he bellowed at the Demonic Man standing beside the Near-Life Gate.

    "Understood." Upon hearing Qian Wu¡¯s voice, the Demonic Man twitched his lips and slowly lifted his right hand.

    "Om!"

    It sounded as though the entire world was being uprooted.

    Following that, a ray of dark-green light radiated from the Demonic Man¡¯s palm and instantly dispersed outwards like a ripple travelling in all directions.

    "sh! sh"

    "..."

    Soldiers of the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards originally charging towards the Demonic Man became petrified once they came in contact with the green light, and one by one, they were dissected into two halves.

    "Plop! Plop!"

    "..."

    Their bodies fell to the ground without any resistance.

    But the dark-green light did not stop there. It continued expanding to its surroundings like a scythe of a Grim Reaper, iming one life after another with such ease.

    "Crap, we got the wrong person. This guy is the real final boss!" After taking in this sight, the smile hanging brightly on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face tensed up slightly.

 Chapter 575 He Fled, Came Back and Switched Sides!

    There is an old saying: you must never misjudge your opponents, otherwise you wouldnd into trouble very easily!

    When Fang Zhengzhi arrived, the Throne Room had already been reduced to dust. Hence, he did not witness the sheer power of King Xieluo¡¯s initial attack. Furthermore, Qian Wu cottoned up to him immediately after he arrived. This led him to assume that all the problems would be solved as long as he ughtered Qian Wu.

    But after he saw King Xieluo¡¯s strength, he finally understood ... he was targeting the wrong person this whole time! And this bears severe consequences.

    This was as if you entered the bridal chamber after your marriage and have sex with your wife¡¯s younger sister instead of your wife, and when you raised your head, you see your wife standing at the door with a knife in her hand.

    Shocking!

    And after the shock, it was naturally time to run, since you have no way of exining yourself, and no time to exin.

    Fang Zhengzhi simrly made the wisest choice. He grabbed Ping Yang with one hand and Yan Xiu with the other, and dashed into the distance without any hesitation.

    The reason for his swift escape was definitely not the inability to exin why he had sex with his sister-inw, but because he misjudged his opponent¡¯s strength.

    With thebined forces of the Dragon Protection Squad, the Royal Guards and the Pce Guards, coupled with Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua¡¯s strength, how could such a formidable team be no match for these few ¡¯assassins¡¯?

    Who would believe this?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe this at first, but now he did. He realized why the Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards refused to budge. He also realized why the Throne Room could be reduced to a pile of rubble even with thebined strength of the three squads, the Emperor and his Royal Concubine.

    Because Qian Wu has a ¡¯monster¡¯ named King Xieluo on his side. He was too strong!

    Fang Zhengzhi fled without any emotional baggages because he witnessed these techniques before, and he knew very well the sheer level of strength required to execute these techniques.

    Anyone below the Rebirth State would be instantly ughtered.

    And Fang Zhengzhi would definitely punch any idiot who ims that King Xieluo was only in the Rebirth State to death.

    "Ah!"

    "Ah ..."

    "..."

    Waves of pitiful screams reverberated through the pce as the various Pce Guards and Royal Guards watched the speedily expanding green light, their faces flushing white.

    They wanted to flee but they couldn¡¯t, because they were soldiers.

    As soldiers, there was only one way they could die - to die in battle. Once they fled, they would definitely bebelled as a deserter and never be able to redeem themselves.

    But then ... they saw someone dragging two others away, fleeing away quickly past them as fast as they could.

    "..."

    The Pce Guards and Royal Guards could clearly see that it was Fang Zhengzhi leading the escape, dragging Ping Yang and Yan Xiu behind with him.

    Naturally, none of them would object to Ping Yang escaping, but ... Fang Zhengzhi? Escaping? That scoundrel is escaping!

    They could clearly remember Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s righteous and stern disposition just a moment ago, and his sentence "What are all of you standing there for? Kill him!"

    "Kill him!"

    "Kill him! What are all of you standing there for?"

    What a rousing and exhrating speech. But now ... Fang Zhengzhi was fleeing, and with such speed.

    "Continue your attacks, I¡¯ll protect Her Highness!" A voice travelled from the direction he was fleeing towards, and drifted into the ears of the Pce Guards.

    "..." The Pce Guards and Royal Guards were rendered speechless once again.

    Can someone really be this shameless?

    The Pce Guards and Royal Guards were enraged yet resigned to their fate. But worse still, Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua, who were both being forced back despite the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s defenses, did not express any sort of astonishment or objection after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you must protect Ping Yang!" Chen Feihua¡¯s voice drifted into the Pce Guards and Royal Guards, seemingly overwhelmed with gratitude.

    "..."

    The difference in treatment was simply too stark..

    The Pce Guards and Royal Guards understood this point, and all they could do was to defend their Emperor to the death. However, they werepletely helpless against the impending green light.

    "Get down!"

    "Get down quickly!"

    Without knowing who yelled this warning, the Pce Guards and Royal Guards finally reacted and all of them fell to the ground at top speed. However, those who could not dodge the green light in time released waves of pitiful screams as they copsed to the ground, shaking the souls of the survivors.

    Too strong!

    In an instant, many strong warriors in the Supernatural State were decapitated. The Demonic Man King Xieluo was certainly not an opponent that these ordinary soldiers could deal with, even if they werebelled as the most elite soldiers.

    Lin Xinjue also leapt to the ground, seeming quite pitiful. He wanted to flee too, but could he? Of course he couldn¡¯t, because he was King Duan.

    And more importantly, he was unwilling to forsake this chance.

    "That cruel Fang Zhengzhi, if not for him fanning the mes, would I be in such a pitiful state now?" Lin Xinjue gazed across the battlefield stained with the corpses of Pce Guards, then turned to see Fang Zhengzhi fleeing into the distance. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

    With that thought in his mind ...

    He then realized that Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned back.

    Eh? He¡¯sing back!

    He actually came back!

    As he watched in suspicion, Lin Xinjue realized that Yan Xiun and Ping Yang were returning along with Fang Zhengzhi, and behind them were thousands of people in ck.

    "F*ck!" As a prince who grew up in a royal family since young, he rarely cursed, but he could not control his urge to hurl a vulgarity in this moment.

    He obviously knew the identity of the men in ck.

    They were the same bunch as the people he met at the entrance of the Imperial Pce.

    Back then, he heeded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s advice and ordered the Pce Guards to break into two parties, allowing the people in ck to be hidden dangers.

    But now ... these dangers have exploded in full force! And worse still, at such a critical moment.

    At first, his greatest advantage was his strength in numbers, but once these people in ck enter the battlefield, his sole advantage was no longer existent. Yet, this was obviously not the worst part.

    The worst part was that, Fang Zhengzhi knew the situation they were in, and yet he still led the people in ck over? How was this any different from pouring a pot of oil into a raging fire?

    Hatred overwhelmed Lin Xinjue¡¯s heart.

    As he watched the thousands of people in ck approach them, he finally came up with an idea.

    "Switch sides!"

    Lin Xinjue clenched his fist. If he revolted now, defeating a few hundred soldiers in the Dragon Protection Squad and a few thousand Royal Guards would not be a problem with the force of his ten thousand Pce Guards coupled with the thousands of people in ck from the Northern Barbarian army.

    And most importantly, his Pce Guards still controlled the four gates of the Imperial Pce. Under such circumstances, no word of his mutiny would leak out to the world.

    Lin Xinjue¡¯s eyes shimmered radiantly. It was difficult to make this decision, but once he decided to switch sides, it meant that he would still be the Northern Barbarian¡¯s puppet to manipte the Great Xia Empire despite ascending the throne.

    Should he still fight?

    No, he can¡¯t fight anymore!

    How could he win the thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers in ck under such circumstances. They were elite soldiers that could not be defeated by his ten thousand Pce Guards. Coupled with the strength of Qian Wu and the Demonic Man King Xieluo, how could Lin Xinjue possibly win?

    What could he do? What exactly could he do?

    Was he really fated to be a mere puppet?

    Lin Xinjue was indignant. He held it in for too long, and finally found a splendid chance after much difficulty, only to be a puppeted emperor. How could he be satisfied?

    "No, there¡¯s definitely a way out once I take the throne!" Lin Xinjue bit his lips hard as images of the former emperors shed through his mind.

    How many emperors were manipted by their officials when they first ascended the throne? But what happened afterwards? Many of them executed those treacherous officials and severed the chains that bound their rule, finally bing eternal emperors respected by all.

    The throne. There will definitely be a way out once he ascends the throne.

    Without the throne, everything would just be empty talk. Everything would be toote once Qian Wu controls the situation and finds a recement emperor.

    "Hahaha ... Fang Zhengzhi, did you think you could really run away? Kill! Kill them all! The Dragon Protection Squad, Royal Guards and the Pce Guards, don¡¯t leave a single survivor!" Qian Wu¡¯sughter erupted as he turned towards Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and the thousands of people in ck behind them. He chuckled maniacally.

    "Wait, Qian Wu. Is your offer still valid?" Upon hearing what Qian Wu eximed, he blurted his question out, unable to hold back any longer.

    "Oh? Has Your Highness finally thought it over?" Qian Wu was slightly stunned as he sized up Lin Xinjue who just stood up, wearing an arrogant smile.

    "Yes!" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth.

    "Your Highness!"

    "No, Your Highness!"

    "The Northern Barbarians have immense greed, and will never fulfill their promise!"

    "Please reconsider, Your Highness!"

    One by one, the Pce Guards advised him without hesitation,pletely astounded by Lin Xinjue¡¯s words.

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards not far away were also extremely astonished.

    King Duan wanted to switch swides?!

    Even though they could understand where Lin Xinjue wasing from, merely holding the thought and actually executing a revolt were two entirely different matters.

    "Your Highness, are you sure you wish to be part of the Northern Barbarian Empire?" Qian Wu ignored the cacophony and the shocked res of the crowd, and continued probing with a smile.

    "Yes, I¡¯ve made my decision!" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth again and replied with conviction.

    "No, Your Highness, this is treason. We are ..." A Pce Guardmander stepped out but he could not finish his sentence - because a sword stabbed his throat.

    "Ow, ow ..." His hands held onto Lin Xinjue¡¯s suit of silver-white armor tightly. His eyes red boldly, and he wanted to say something, but he was no longer able to utter a word.

    "This is my order to the Pce Guards. Anyone who defies my order will be met with death!" Lin Xinjue raised one hand to issue the order as he pulled out the sword from themander¡¯s throat with the other hand.

    An arrow of blood poured out from his body, making him look unbelievably pitiful.

    After the ten thousand Pce Guards witnessed this sight, each of them nced at each other in hesitation.

    "Your Highness has treated us kindly all these years. I¡¯m willing to follow Your Highness!"

    "So am I!"

    "Be loyal to King Duan and heed the order!"

    "Anyone who defies the order shall be executed!"

    Voices erupted from the army. Shortly afterwards, a few Pce Guardmanders quickly knelt down and bowed to Lin Xinjue. Upon seeing theirmanders kneel, over 90% of the entire force knelt down in unison.

    The remaining Pce Guards were furious.

    "I¡¯ll only listen to His Majesty!"

    "Protect the Great Xia Empire to the death!"

    "I¡¯ll never betray my country!"

    These voices sted from their mouths, and as they pledged their allegiance to the empire, the Pce Guards who were kneeling down began to hesitate again.

    After a moment, a few Pce Guards rose up again.

    "Kill them!"

    "ughter these traitors!"

    "Ah! I¡¯ll take you on ..."

    "sh ..."

    After the cacophony died down, the entire battlefield descended into a ghastly silence. All the Pce Guards knelt before Lin Xinjue. Lin Mubai shivered as he witnessed this sight.

    "Traitor, traitor!"

    "Be calm, Your Majesty. His Highness may be in a state of delusion ..." Chen Feihua¡¯s lips were stained with blood but her hands grabbed onto Lin Mubai tightly.

    Qian Wu gazed at the approaching horde of people in ck as well as Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang in front. With that, he finally turned towards Lin Xinjue and the sea of kneeling Pce Guards.

    "Isn¡¯t it a littlete for Your Highness to be doing this? My Northern Barbarian army has arrived. What use does your few Pce Guards have?" Qian Wu sneered.

    "Such a small group of Pce Guards is indeed useless, but the four gates of the Imperial Pce are still under my Pce Guards¡¯ control. And don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m not just themander-in-chief of the Pce Guards, but also the Chief of the Great Xia Empire¡¯s military. If the me Capital City is attacked, the opponent¡¯s forces would definitely surround the city. How can you handle such an attack without me?" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth and exined after hearing Qian Wu¡¯s words.

    "That does make a little sense!" Qian Wu nodded as he cracked a friendly smile. "In that case, shall Your Highness kill your father along with me?"

    "Of course!" Lin Xinjue clenched his fist. He definitely knew the meaning behind Qian Wu¡¯s words, but at this stage, he had no other choice.

    With the way things are going, he could only endure the pain if he wanted to reinvigorate the Great Xia Empire again!

    After he ascends the throne and abolishes the control of the Northern Barbarian Empire, all these sacrifices would be worth it, even if it means bearing the sin of murdering his father with his own hands.

 Chapter 576 Better To Die In Glory Than To Live In Dishonor

    "Hahaha, in that case, what else is Your Highness waiting for?" After hearing Lin Xinjue¡¯s agreement, Qian Wu¡¯s wicked smile became even more sinister.

    He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling. Although he was not a hunter who was keen to y with his prey, why wouldn¡¯t he be ted to see an internal conflict erupting in the Great Xia Empire¡¯s royal family?

    "I¡¯m sorry, Father!" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth again, his eyes bing clouded and cold. "Listen up, Pce Guards. Whoever kills Lin Mubai shall be rewarded with generous amounts of wealth and property!"

    "Hula!"

    At Lin Xinjue¡¯smand, the kneeling Pce Guards all stood up and drew their long bows. Countless arrows flew straight for Lin Mubai, shimmering with an eerie cold glow under the moonlight.

    "Good, very good! Another traitor! I¡¯ve seen countless types of people during my rule, and although I admit that I¡¯ve not aplished anything significant, I still made some considerable contributions, but I still could not understand my own son!" Lin Mubai looked at the army of Pce Guards with bows fully drawn, looking slightly dejected.

    The Crown Princemitted treason!

    This was something he found out long ago, but King Duan¡¯s revolt was still unexpected, and another excruciating stab into his already wounded heart.

    No pain is greater in life than the betrayal of your rtives and children. Yet, Lin Mubai has been confronted with the consecutive betrayals of the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue. How could he be fine?

    "Hahaha ... I never expected Sixth Brother to obey the Northern Barbarians. I¡¯ve really underestimated him!" The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong became slightly maniacal after listening to their exchange of words.

    He may havemitted treason, but he would never be another person¡¯s puppet.

    But ... Lin Xinjue did just that. How could he not resent his brother?

    "Your Highness, do you really want to kill His Majesty?" The Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s first Dragon Envoy Yan Qing looked at Lin Xinjue standing in front of the Pce Guards, still in disbelief.

    "Fire!" Lin Xinjue ignored Lin Tianrong¡¯s words and Yang Qing¡¯s question, instead relying on his actual actions to convey his message to everyone.

    "Swoosh!"

    "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

    "..."

    A storm of arrows shot up into the sky, travelling across a graceful arch before raining down on Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua.

    "Protect the Emperor!"

    A few rays of light fired out from the Dragon Protection Squad, creating an enormous light screen in the air which blocked the cascading storm of arrows.

    "Roar!"

    "Roar!"

    Two beastly bellows sounded as two gigantic figures pounced towards Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua amidst the rain of arrows.

    "Leave here now, Your Majesty!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad did not retreat after seeing the advancing beasts, and instead charged towards their assants without anyone bearing any thought of escaping. However, they too knew that everything they were doing now was merely to buy time.

    And the effect?

    If everything goes ording to n, the dy would pay off.

    But now ... their efforts may very well end in vain, because the four gates of the Imperial Pce were already secured by the Pce Guards. Without any backup, what use would their efforts be regardless of how much time they bought?

    "Roar!"

    The beast¡¯s razor-sharp ws instantly sent a soldier from the Dragon Protection Squad flying backwards.

    At the same time, Qian Wu¡¯s gaze slowly turned towards the approaching Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. A sinister smile appeared on his face.

    "Kill Fang Zhengzhi and capture the other two alive!"

    "Yes!" A few people in ck in the Rebirth State instantly acknowledged Qian Wu¡¯s order. In a sh, they rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Eh? Both of you are about to be captured alive!" eximed Fang Zhengzhi after hearing Qian Wu¡¯s words.

    "That¡¯s still better than dying!" Ping Yang pouted indignantly.

    "Um." Yan Xiu nodded softly. No one knew whether he was replying Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question or conferring with Ping Yang¡¯s opinion.

    "I¡¯d rather die in glory than live in dishonor. Let¡¯s give everything we¡¯ve got for the sake of the Great Xia Empire!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled, appearing extremely courageous in the face of imminent death.

    Of course, his words drifted into the ears of the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad.

    There¡¯s an ancient saying: it¡¯s much easier for people¡¯s feelings to resonate with each other, even those at odds with one another. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was tragically heroic.

    "I¡¯d rather die in glory than live in dishonor?!"

    "For the Great Xia Empire!"

    "Well said!"

    The Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad knew that Fang Zhengzhi was usually very shameless, but their suppressed emotions were now roused up again after hearing his battle cry.

    After all, they were all in this state of mind.

    Fight! What else could they do besides fighting?

    "Charge! Take them all on!"

    "Let His Majesty escape!"

    The various Dragon Protection Squad soldiers and Royal Guards charged towards the approaching beasts with great vigor. A small group of them charged towards the Pce Guards instead.

    The battle was bing more chaotic than ever.

    "You¡¯re courting death!" A few people in ck looked at the Royal Guards and Dragon Protection Squad riled up by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, their eyes shining with a cold glow. They rushed towards them at breakneck speed.

    "Sh*t, such incredible speed. I can¡¯t overpower them, let us kill a few scapegoats first!" Fang Zhengzhi turned towards the approaching people in ck, slightly stunned. Then, he suddenly stopped, pulled Ping Yang and Yan Xiu, and ran towards the Northern Barbarian army behind him.

    "Eh? Stop them!" A few people in ck were taken aback as well.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s flippant allegiances were so unpredictable. One moment, he was sounding his war cry like a tragic hero, and the next moment, he was bolting away. These were the things that only people like Fang Zhengzhi were capable of doing.

    However, with the Northern Barbarian army getting closer and closer behind Fang Zhengzhi, they were naturally unfazed by the possibility of Fang Zhengzhi switching sides again.

    They quickened their steps and closed the distance.

    Closer, closer!

    Watching as Fang Zhengzhi led Ping Yang and Yan Xiu straight towards the Northern Barbarian army, a few people in ck were as overjoyed as wolves seeing sheep enter their pack.

    "Pass down Young Master¡¯s orders: Kill Fang Zhengzhi and capture Yan Xiu and Ping Yang alive!"

    "Yes!" Upon hearing this, thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers dressed in ck hollered a reply in unison, lifting their shing spears up high and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped in his tracks once again.

    Ping Yang also shed her weapon - a scarlet spear with a tint of golden light shing at its tip.

    The zing Qilin Spear, one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Empire.

    Yan Xiu stopped in his tracks as well, his body cloaked in a blood-red glow as an overpoweringly sinister aura emanated from his body.

    After the few people in ck took in this sight, their lips contorted into a smirk and speedily rushed behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Die!" They attacked.

    A lustrous radiance illuminated from their backs. As powerhouses in the Rebirth State, they had total confidence in theirbat abilities, especially with their advantage in numbers.

    But suddenly ...

    Fang Zhengzhi finally turned around.

    The people in ck saw the faint smile stered on his face, but more importantly, his eyes taunted them strongly.

    "Eh? Is he smiling?"

    "How can he smile at this time?"

    "This is bad!"

    In a moment of hesitation, the few people in ck subconsciously sensed impending danger. Then, they saw a devastating inferno enveloping the heavens and thends.

    It was the mes spitting out from the zing Qilin Spear.

    And within those mes was a blood-red ray of light containing a sinister bloodlust, slicing towards their throats.

    Such a turn of events certainly terrified the people in ck, as Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were evidently resisting their attacks with their lives without regard for self-defense, hurling their spears at the Northern Barbarian army without any considerations.

    Under such circumstances, they had only two options: either to take Yan Xiu and Ping Yang head-on in a deathmatch, or to avoid their attacks temporarily. Making a choice wouldn¡¯t take too much time as they would not possibly opt for a brutal deathmatch regardless of whatever considerations they have. Furthermore, Qian Wu ordered them to catch Yan Xiu and Ping Yang alive.

    In a sh, the few people in ck instantly dodged Yan Xiu and Ping Yang¡¯s attack, and following the inertia after their sprint, their bodies naturally avoided Fang Zhengzhi and rushed back into the Northern Barbarian army.

    Their shing spears immediately avoided the bodies of the few people in ck but at the same time, stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi without any reservations.

    "Did you think that you can take me down with you just by fighting with all your might? How naive!" They smirked again.

    "Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi turned towards them again, his lips still maintaining that faint smile with his gaze brimming with contempt.

    And at this moment, the spears pointing at Fang Zhengzhi all nted to one side even though the thousand Northern Barbarian soldiers did not halt their advance. The spears seemed to have taken lives of their own,pletely avoiding Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What?!" The few people in ck were visibly astonished when they witnessed this spectacle.

    The entire Northern Barbarian army avoided Fang Zhengzhipletely?

    How is this possible?

    Did they not hear their master¡¯s orders? Why would they not kill Fang Zhengzhi? What exactly is going on?

    As they mulled over this, the few people in ck shivered. They all felt a cold sinister aura.

    "This is bad!"

    "We¡¯ve been tricked!"

    In an instant, they regained their senses. Although they have not realized what was going on, the sense of foreboding danger made it clear that they had fallen into a trap.

    s ... it was toote.

    The cold bloodlust had already arrived in front of them.

    Two daggers as ck as ink sliced their throats at lightning speed, creating fountains of gushing blood.

    "Ah!"

    "How evil!"

    They quickly covered the wounds on their throats with their hands. Being in the Rebirth State, the healing abilities of their bodies were far greater than imagined.

    Except for the strange red light from the Green Dragon Eye, nothing else can possibly decimate them in a single blow.

    They immediately stopped the bleeding at their throats after pressing down on the wounds with their hands, but the wounds did not recover.

    "Something¡¯s wrong with the dagger!"

    A thought shed through all their minds at the same time. Following that, a frightening power ferociously crashed into them from the side. It was as though they were hit by a mountain.

    "It¡¯s a powerhouse in the Rebirth State!"

    Their hearts suffered a second jolt from shock. After being ambushed and having their throats sliced, they could only use one hand to stop the bleeding and naturally could not retaliate with full strength. Under such circumstances, it would be fine if their opponents were ordinary soldiers.

    But ... If they were simrly in the Rebirth State, it would be apletely different story.

    "Scram!" As they shed their palms out, they released a splendid radiance which swept across the surrounding Northern Barbarian soldiers.

    They needed a space where they would not be secretly attacked, but the Northern Barbarian army had no intentions to spare them such a space. As the light in their hands glowed, a few people rushed in front of them.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "..."

    Their opponents countered their attacks with the same technique.

    As their palms collided, lines of thick mud walls trapped the few people in ck, isting the sts of air produced from the collision.

    "There¡¯s more than one enemy in the Rebirth State!" Their bodies crashed into each other abruptly, and at the same time, they lost their grip over the wounds on the throats, causing fresh crimson blood to gush out of their wounds once again.

    "Sh*t!"

    "Why is this happening?"

    "Who exactly are you?!"

    The people in ck pressed down on their wounds again. At this point, they certainly realized that their secret assants were not the Northern Barbarian soldiers, because those soldiers would never ambush them and more importantly, the Northern Barbarians couldn¡¯t possibly be elite warriors in the Rebirth State.

    They were enraged, but their opponents had no intention of replying them.

    And at the same time, the cold bloodlust struck approached them menacingly from behind again. The people in back stepped back subconsciously, but the sinister chill was extremely close to their bodies.

    "Stab!"

    One of them finally stopped in their tracks. He wore an unfathomable expression, his eyes staring tightly at the dagger that pierced through his heart.

    The frigid chill numbed his body.

    "Who ... Who exactly are ... are you?!" He lifted his head to greet his opponent draped in ck clothes. The pupils in his attacker¡¯s eyes were pitch-ck.

    He felt indignant, extremely indignant.

    They were clearly holding the absolute advantage in this situation, an indisputable advantage. As long as he could survive this battle, he would be the one of the most aplished officials of the Northern Barbarian Empire, but now, he was about to die.

    To die ...

    How would he be willing to die like this?

 Chapter 577 Fang Zhengzhis True Identity

    s, the power swiftly draining from his body made the person in ck realize that everything has already been set in stone. It was a reality that was impossible to change.

    "Cough cough ... are you? Who ... are you?!" He coughed several times, feeling extremely indignant, making it look slightly pathetic.

    "Shan Yu!" The person¡¯s tone was unbelievably cold. At the same time, the ck cloak covering her head loosened in the wind, revealing silky ck long hair.

    Her wheat-colored skin gave off a strange yet wild sense of beauty under the moonlight, and the pitch-ck pupils in her eyes were like two restless balls of fire.

    "Shan Yu? Shan ... You ... You are the Princess of the Southern Region!" The person in ck wore a hideous expression. He was shocked, unbelievably shocked. He knew that he had fallen into a trap, and that the thousands of people in ck in front of him were not the Northern Barbarian army. But he would have never imagined that they would be the Southern Region Army, and that the woman standing before him now would be their Princess!

    How is this possible?

    Why is the Southern Region Army inside the Imperial Pce?

    Didn¡¯t King Duan mention that the four gates of the Imperial Pce were sealed off by the Pce Guards? How could the Southern Region Army have infiltrated the pce from the outside?

    He couldn¡¯t grasp the situation, but Shan Yu had no intention of letting him think about it further. She forcefully yanked the dagger out from his heart. Blood sshed everywhere like a fountain.

    Then, he saw three figures standing among the countless people in ck. The person in the middle still maintained his mocking smile.

    "Eh? Looks like you¡¯re about to die, so why don¡¯t you answer my final question? Was my stirring heroic performance acted convincingly?" Fang Zhengzhi probed him in curiosity.

    "Act ... Act ..." The person in ck¡¯s chest pumped up and down as blood gushed out uncontrobly. At the same time, a mouthful of fresh blood poured out from his mouth. His feet became weak, no longer able to support his weight.

    "Plop!"

    He fell to the ground.

    In the instant he copsed, he could see another person in ck falling to the ground not far away. He could see the same disbelief in hisrade¡¯s eyes.

    The Southern Region ... It was the Southern Region!

    Why are they in the Imperial Pce?!

    His eyes were bursting with vigor and rage but his body fell silent.

    Ping Yang subconsciously puffed up her mouth after watching the person in ck being literally angered to death by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Where are the Rebirth State warriors you promised? They¡¯re still weaker than me!" Ping Yang cast a look of disdain at the person in ck sprawled on the ground, then turned to Fang Zhengzhi and asked, "Did you act as well as I did?"

    "You?" Fang Zhengzhi responded with the same expression.

    "But honestly speaking, I nearly believed you when you eximed that you¡¯d rather die in glory than live in dishonor!" Ping Yang added after she thought about it.

    "This is called talent, and talent cannot be learnt." Fang Zhengzhi smirked and turned his attention to Shan Yu and the two pitch-ck daggers in her hands.

    After not seeing her for a year, this woman¡¯s improvements have been this drastic?

    Fang Zhengzhi only witnessed Shan Yu¡¯s abilities once a year ago outside the Emperor¡¯s chamber of the Southern Region. Her style can be summarized in three words: quick, precise, and brutal.

    But now ...

    Shan Yu has evidently improved a great dealpared to a year ago. Although Shan Yu relied on an ambush strike, her opponent was nheless in the Rebirth State, and such a drastic gap in their state levels was not something that can be ovee this easily.

    Judging by her closebat abilities alone, Shan Yu¡¯s level of attainment was indeed top-notch.

    As the two people in ck copsed, their remainingrades could not hold on any longer too.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by this at all, because the thousands of soldiers in front of him were the most elite troops of the Southern Region, and furthermore, there were a few great Settlement Chiefs in the Rebirth State hidden within the regr troops.

    But with her mastery level skyrocketing, coupled with her unexpected ambush attack, she did not require too much effort to swiftly dispatch these few people in ck in the Rebirth State.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped watching the battle between the people in ck and the Southern Region soldiers, instead turning around slowly and gazing at the neat files of Pce Guards in the distance as well as the Pce Guards in front of Lin Xinjue.

    "Your Sixth Brother seemed to havemitted treason ..." Fang Zhengzhi whispered.

    Ping Yang naturally noticed the changes in the Pce Guards but reserved her opinions, only gritting her teeth as her clear eyes reflected a tinge of dreariness.

    Although Lin Xinjue has a different mother, they ... share the same father. How could she possibly be happy watching her half-brother suddenly switch his allegiance halfway through the battle?

    Shan Yu arrived beside Fang Zhengzhi. Her ink-like pupils were not fixated on Fang Zhengzhi, instead focusing on Lin Tianrong not far away.

    She has already waited for this day ... for a very long time.

    A year ago, the Nobelite Shan Ling was murdered and died in the Southern Region. His corpse was ferried back to their empire by the Silver Horned Wolf Calvary, and he only left a single letter on his body. The letter contained only a single sentence.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is the murderer."

    That day, there was heavy snowfall which painted the entire Southern Regionndscape silver.

    That day, there were howling winds which sted through the dense forests of the Southern Region.

    Shan Yu could still remember the expressions stered on the faces of the Southern Region soldiers and the emotions in her father¡¯s eyes on that decisive day, and it was also that day when she became the new King of the Southern Region.

    "Lin Tianrong ..." Shan Yu¡¯s gritted her teeth but her eyes ultimately shifted away from Lin Tianrong and onto Lin Xinjue. "Attack!"

    "Attack!"

    Following Shan Yu¡¯smand, thousands of Southern Region soldiers brandished their spears in the air at the same time.

    "Attack!"

    "Attack!"

    At a secondmand, thousands of long spears lunged out menacingly.

    For the Southern Region soldiers, hurling long spears was naturally harder than hurling pikes, but the difference in familiarity was not a major issue.

    Thousands of long spears shot into the sky but did not fall towards Lin Tianrong, instead preparing tond unmistakably on the Pce Guard formation.

    "Ah!"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Enemies are attacking from behind?!"

    All the Pce Guards who were continuously drawing their bows had been focusing their attention on Lin Mubai all this time without paying much attention to the developments unfolding behind them. In fact, they would have never expected that the ¡¯Northern Barbarian Army¡¯ charging from behind would strike them down so suddenly, and with long-range spear projectiles no less.

    Amidst waves of pitiful screams, the neatly filed formation instantly descended into chaos.

    And that was not all. After the aerial strike of the spears, the Southern Region Army charged out, brandishing their knives and daggers while charging straight towards the ¡¯fragmented¡¯ Pce Guards formation broken up by the long spears.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    Battle cries reverberated through the air, followed by stampeding thunders of footsteps.

    This was a sudden turn of events. Too sudden.

    It was so quick that the two forces originally engaged in a violent battle werepletely taken aback. The Royal Guards, Dragon Protection Squad and the Pce Guards were all bbergasted.

    "The Northern Barbarian Army, how can it be?" The Dragon Protection Squad were left with eyes wide open.

    "They actually attacked the Pce Guards. Is this a mistake?" The Royal Guards were suspended in disbelief. After all, they could not see what went on in the distance amidst the chaos.

    "Qian Wu, what is going on?" Lin Xinjue was visibly jittery. The reason for his betrayal was obviously the thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers that suddenly appeared.

    But now ... the Northern Barbarian Army actually turned on his Pce Guards?

    How could he tolerate this any longer?

    "They are not the Northern Barbarian soldiers!" Qian Wu squinted, casting his gaze tightly at the people in ck charging towards them, clenching his fist.

    If these attackers were not Northern Barbarian soldiers, that would mean that the thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers he stationed in the Imperial Pce would have possibly been wiped out.

    How can this be?

    What exactly happened in the Imperial Pce?

    "Not the Northern Barbarian soldiers?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s heart jumped. He turned his attention to the approaching horde in ck and sure enough, his eyes opened wide as well. "That ... That¡¯s the Southern Region Army?!"

    When he noticed the attire worn beneath the ck cloaks of the approaching horde, a single name appeared in his mind that he would have never thought of otherwise.

    The Southern Region Army!

    They were definitely an existence neglected by everyone.

    Because, they were the protection squad that apanied the Princess of the Southern Region Shan Yu into the me Capital City, and most importantly, they were a force that was supposedly stationed in the south hall.

    So ... how could they possibly be in the Imperial Pce?!

    "Your Majesty, is this ... your doing?" Chen Feihua was highly suspicious as they shifted her gaze towards the thousands of approaching Southern Region soldiers.

    As the head Domain Chief of the Royal Guards, she did not arrange for the Southern Region Army to enter the Imperial Pce, so how could they possibly be appearing here?

    "No." Lin Mubai shook his head.

    "No? Then ... could it be?" Chen Feihua was stunned. Immediately, a single thought shed through her mind, the sole usible scenario in this situation.

    The Imperial Pce has four gates, but once the four gates are guarded, coupled with the surveince of the Royal Guards and the towering pce walls, it was possible for any army to infiltrate the pce from the outside, but there was one ce which led straight to the Imperial Pce.

    The Ping Yang Residence!

    It was not a w in the Imperial Pce¡¯s defence because the Ping Yang Residence¡¯s tight security was even stricter than many areas in the Imperial Pce itself.

    Hence in other words, it was harder to infiltrate the Ping Yang Residence than the four gates of the Imperial Pce. But ...

    If the main mastermind behind this was Ping Yang herself, it would be apletely different story.

    "The Ping Yang Residence and the Imperial Pce are only separated by a single city!" After listening to Chen Feihua¡¯sment, Lin Mubai nodded gently.

    "I understand." Chen Feihua nodded too.

    She did not need to say anything else because things have already progressed to this stage. The Crown Prince hasmitted treason, King Duan has switched his allegiance, and the Imperial Pce has been surrounded.

    It was already meaningless to fuss over the reason why the Southern Region Army entered the Imperial Pce through the Ping Yang Residence.

    ...

    The Southern Region Army¡¯s unexpected entrance finally upheaved the original imbnce of the battle. Nearly ten thousand Pce Guards were thrown into disarray by the sudden attack by the Southern Region Army from the rear. And the Royal Guards entered the battle, taking advantage of the chaos.

    After being mercilessly barraged with attacks from the front and back, the nearly ten thousand Pce Guards finally showed signs of impending defeat. They could no longer go on the offense and can only opt for defense.

    Lin Xinjue was extremely frantic, his heart surging with rage. At this point, he inevitably deduced the method the Southern Region Army used to enter the Imperial Pce.

    They entered via the Ping Yang Residence?

    No one would believe anybody who thinks that this was not Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s idea?

    However, Fang Zhengzhi evidently entered the Imperial Pce at the same time as him, and have never once mentioned anything regarding the Southern Region Army.

    Furthermore ...

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi intentionally staged an ¡¯ambush¡¯ when he first arrived. If he knew in advance that the approaching army was the Southern Region Army, why would he immediately switch his allegiance?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you trick me?" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth. He was furious, but he had no other options. Once he made this decision, there was no going back.

    Qian Wu¡¯s gaze became extremely sinister. Ever since Fang Zhengzhi appeared, all of his ns have been scrambled.

    If not for Fang Zhengzhi, Lin Mubai would have already been dead, and the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would be jostling with Lin Xinjue in a battle to the death.

    That was his n, his wless n. The harder the princes battled, the more he gained, and controlling the situation thereafter would have been much easier.

    But everything changed ever since Fang Zhengzhi entered the picture.

    Lin Xinjueunched his attack preemptively, causing the situation to go a little out of control. And after he painstakingly reinstated his puppet emperor, Fang Zhengzhi charged in with the Southern Region Army.

    Furious.

    Now, he was absolutely furious.

    "King Xieluo!" Qian Wu yelled again.

    The Demonic Man standing beside the Near-Life Gate, King Xieluo, gently lifted his hand again after hearing Qian Wu¡¯s voice. "I only agreed to deliver three attacks. This is thest time."

    "Okay, but I only want you to kill one person ¨C Fang Zhengzhi!" Qian Wu pointed straight at Fang Zhengzhi as he hollered at the Demonic Man.

    "Kill him? Haha, what an interesting request!" The Demonic Man gazed at Fang Zhengzhi, His visibly uninterested face cracked a smile once again.

    Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi heard Qian Wu¡¯s words, and looked at King Xieluo¡¯s dark-green eyes, the ¡¯scar¡¯ on his forehead had the two scimitars on his head.

    He was speechless.

    "Uh ... Did you get it wrong? I¡¯m just a passerby! Shouldn¡¯t your target be the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Lin Mubai who was being surrounded by the Dragon Protection Squad.

    Then, he saw Lin Mubai¡¯s face turn dark.

    But at such a time, he couldn¡¯t care less about anything else. If his predictions are correct, the Demonic Man standing before him should be the ¡¯Demon King¡¯ which that old duff mentionedst time.

    The Demon King!

    This was an endangered species, and most importantly, this species was very, very powerful.

    "King Xueluo, don¡¯t stare at me. Why are youing closer? He told you to kill Fang Zhengzhi, and actually, my name is Fang Zhengzhi. You can ask them if you don¡¯t believe me, they can testify!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the approaching King Xieluo and had no choice but to reveal his true identity without an ounce of sincerity.

 Chapter 578 Is This Considered A New Battle Strategy?

    "Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Testify?!"

    When the Pce Guards, Dragon Protection Squad and the Pce Guards heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they appearedpletely speechless.

    "Ugh, none of us can match the thickness of Lord Fang¡¯s skin!" A Royal Guard shook his head, expressing his resignation at the sheer extremity of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness.

    "Precisely, it¡¯s unmatchable!"

    "I would really have believed him if I didn¡¯t know the truth."

    And this statement instantly received a unanimous agreement from the rest of the Royal Guards. Even the Dragon Protection Squad standing beside Lin Mubai nodded.

    Previously when Fang Zhengzhi trumpeted his appearance and followed Chi Hou of the Divine Constabry into the me Capital City, he also mentioned that his name was Fang Zhengzhi, and even took out his alleged ¡¯proof¡¯.

    Did anyone believe him?

    Of course nobody did, and most importantly, when he confronted the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong at the Imperial Pce gate, Fang Zhengzhi even subverted this me¡¯ exnation himself.

    But now? He¡¯s reusing the same tactic!

    Who would believe him?

    Nobody thought that anyone would believe them. Furthermore, his opponent was a Demon King whose intelligence was in no way poorer than a human¡¯s. How could he possibly believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nonsense?

    But then, King Xieluo, who was walking towards Fang Zhengzhi, suddenly stopped and turned around slowly to ask Qian Wu, "He said his name is Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "..."

    Immediately, everyone was startled, regardless whether it was the Pce Guards, the Royal Guards, the Dragon Protection Squad, or even Lin Tianrong and Lin Xinjue.

    He believed it?!

    King Xieluo actually believed him!

    How could this be?

    He was a Demon King with an intelligence far exceeding that of ordinary humans. He actually believed such nonsense?

    "King Xieluo, you ..." Qian Wu¡¯s eyes were wide open, as his face revealed his disbelief. He had a deal with King Xieluo. Hence in other words ...

    If King Xieluo really used this ¡¯reason¡¯ to fulfil their pact, Qian Wu wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    "King Xieluo? Hahaha ..." Ping Yang chuckled after hearing what King Xieluo said. She turned to Fang Zhengzhi and chimed, "He must be an idiot! He actually believed your name is Fang Zheng ..."

    Ping Yang¡¯s tone was full of disdain but she did not manage to finish her sentence just yet.

    Just before she could finish her sentence, a figure appeared in front of her. His curved antlers radiated with a faint golden glow. He donned schrly white robes which drifted in the night wind, and his strange pair of eyes flickered with an odd dark green light.

    "Zheng ..." Ping Yang¡¯s final word was seemingly squeezed from her lips. She looked at King Xieluo inches away from her, her clear eyes wide open.

    He was too fast!

    She totally did not notice how King Xieluo reached her in such a short amount of time. He was even faster than Canyang during the Battle of the Southern Region.

    And most importantly ... did he not believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words?

    Why did he stille over?

    Ping Yang gulped subconsciously and tightened her grip on the zing Qilin Spear. She wanted to strike, but another hand held hers down.

    It was a slightly warm hand, which was evidently sweaty and shaky too, but that hand still held onto hers, refusing to let go.

    "That shameless scoundrel, why .... isn¡¯t he running?" Ping Yang looked at the hand which held hers down, then looked up at Fang Zhengzhi beside her.

    She could sense Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true intentions from the drops of sweat on his palm.

    If Fang Zhengzhi abandoned her now, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised. After all, they were faced with a formidable Demon King.

    "Are you having fun?" King Xieluo boomed, his shing green eyes ring at Fang Zhengzhi as his lips cracked a smirk.

    "Are you not having fun?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang just as King Xieluo finished his question. His lips also revealed a faint smile.

    "Haha, this is getting interesting!" King Xieluo eyed Fang Zhengzhi closely. Slowly, he took a step forward and his smile widened.

    "I feel so too." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He took a step out too, appearing very rxed.

    Too close!

    In this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and King Xieluo were less than one foot apart.

    This was a truly bizarre sight.

    Normally, Fang Zhengzhi would be fleeing now. One could only imagine the danger of confronting a Demon King up close, but what about Fang Zhengzhi now?

    He took a step forward!

    His decision baffled everyone.

    And when Ping Yang took in this sight, her palms became as sweaty as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. As haughty as Ping Yang was, she was still extremely nervous at this juncture.

    She certainly realized that King Xieluo was merely toying with them, just like how Fang Zhengzhi toyed with the people in ck previously.

    But what she did not undertand was, why isn¡¯t King Xieluo striking them down even after his opponents severely underestimated him and after he has arrived in front of them?

    Ping Yang was not the only one with this doubt. Lin Xinjue and Qian Wu were also puzzled.

    "Why hasn¡¯t he attacked?" Qian Wu clenched his fist even tighter. He didn¡¯t think that King Xieluo was someone who dyed his actions, and in fact, King Xieluo has always executed his tasks promptly.

    But now ... not only did King Xieluo not attack Fang Zhengzhi immediately, he even started ¡¯chatting¡¯ with Fang Zhengzhi out of the blue?

    "Are both of you together, or is it just you alone?" King Xieluo seemed to have ignored the gazes of the onlookers, and asked Fang Zhengzhi with a smile.

    "Together!"

    "Together!"

    "Together!"

    Three voices chimed simultaneously right as King Xieluo finished his sentence.

    One of them belonged to Yan Xiu. His expression was as cold as ever. He eyed King Xieluo closely as the blood-red glow around his arms swirled continuously.

    The second voice belonged to Ping Yang. Her palms were still a little sweaty but she clenched her fist tightly. Her crystal-clear eyes radiated with an extraordinarily tenacious glow.

    And the third voice belonged to ... Shan Yu.

    She too stood beside Fang Zhengzhi. She had already raised the pitch-ck dagger in her hand, and her hand was illuminated by streams of fiery red patterns.

    "Alone!" A fourth voice was heard.

    Naturally, it was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, but his words were not echoed by the other three, because ...

    Just as he voiced his opinion, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Shan Yu attacked - without any hesitation and without their usual confidence in Fang Zhengzhi, seeming as though they havepletely ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s existence.

    The glistening blood-red light shot towards King Xieluo while a figure appeared before him, her sinister bloodlust going straight for King Xieluo¡¯s throat.

    Yan Xiu and Shan Yu were too quick.

    Ping Yang subconsciously shielded Fang Zhengzhi, her crystal-clear eyes blinking at Fang Zhengzhi while her other hand held onto him tightly, her expression seemingly provoking him, implying, "You shameless scoundrel, did you see that? I protected you again!"

    "Boom!"

    A thunderous explosion rumbled.

    Shortly afterwards, two people flew up together while locking in an embrace, like the long spears hurled into the air by the Southern Region Army, arching gracefully across the sky.

    This baffled Ping Yang. She felt that she should have blocked Fang Zhengzhi from the attack, but she didn¡¯t know why she did not feel anyone strike her back. And yet ... she was flying again?

    What¡¯s going on?

    Could it be that the shameless bastard she was embracing figured out her n, and forcefully swapped ces with her in the instant the attacknded?

    That¡¯s not right either!

    He did not move a muscle.

    As she mulled over it, she discovered a new problem. The direction she was flying towards didn¡¯t seem right. If King Xieluo struck her from behind, shouldn¡¯t she be flying backwards? So why was she thrown forward instead?

    "Are you crazy? Why are you holding onto me?"

    Just as Ping Yang waspletely baffled, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang in her ears. It was a angry yet helpless scream.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed pretty helpless at this point of time.

    Who in the right mind would not pummel their enemies in a battle and instead hug theirrades so tightly instead? Was this some new battle strategy?

    A human shield? Fine!

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand Ping Yang¡¯s intentions, using her body to block a direct blow at Fang Zhengzhi because she knew that she was wearing the great treasure of the Xia Empire.

    But ... King Xieluo was no idiot!

    At such a close range, he could easily spin behind Fang Zhengzhi without a problem.

    And most importantly, did Ping Yang not hear Qian Wu¡¯s condition for King Xieluo to kill Fang Zhengzhi only? So why would King Xieluo possibly waste his time attacking Ping Yang?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt slightly indignant taking this attack. And not just that, the attack he took was considerably powerful. An immense force surged from behind him, barraging his insides.

    "Cough!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face flushed red as he expectorated a mouthful of blood straight onto Ping Yang¡¯s face, staining her astonished face with a blood-red flower.

    "Plop!" Both of them crashed into the ground, kicking up the gravel and dust.

    Silence.

    But it was a fleeting silence.

    Following that, Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes swelled.

    "Ah!" A hellish voice erupted from Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth. Then, a sinister aura surged violently from his feet, shrouding his entire body.

    "Kacha, kacha ..."

    Moires fissured through the ground speedily beneath his feet as the blood-red glow cloaking his body grew oddly clear and transparent like a crystal.

    At the same time, Shan Yu¡¯s skin turned as ck as ink.

    This was the result of being enveloped by countless red moires. Her ink-like eyes instead zed into mes, with the fiery embers dancing within her pupils, bizarre and sinister.

    "Ow!" A beastly voice burst from Shan Yu¡¯s throat.

    "Protect the Lord!"

    "Save Lord Fang!"

    "Block that monster!"

    The Southern Region Army was now tangled up with the Pce Guards, but they immediately turned around and gazed at Shan Yu dressedpletely in ck after noticing the development of the battle. They changed their direction seemingly subconsciously, and charged towards King Xieluo who was standing on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original spot.

    "Hahaha, how interesting, but what a pity. I don¡¯t have any obligation to kill you all!" King Xieluo¡¯s eyes scanned Yan Xiu, Shan Yu and the approaching Southern Region Army. His snow-white schrly robes drifted in the night wind and suddenly, his body vanished.

    And in the next instant ...

    King Xieluo¡¯s body appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi quietly with eyes shing with a dark green glow as his lips cracked a strange smile.

    "You should thank my sincerity because I¡¯ll only be killing you!"

    ...

    The night grew darker.

    Both the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad were astounded by the sight that unfolded before their eyes. All of them gasped.

    "That¡¯s the Demon King?"

    "He¡¯s too fast!"

    "It¡¯s impossible to win!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi became useless after the Battle of the Southern Region. He should already be dead after that blow right?"

    The Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad gazed at the lifeless body of Fang Zhengzhi sprawled on the ground. They felt some pity, but the results of life and death on the battlefield were already determined right from the start.

    Now, they were more concerned about Ping Yang¡¯s safety.

    Although King Xieluo did dere that he would only kill Fang Zhengzhi, and neither did King Xieluo and Qian Wu¡¯s deal mention anything about capturing Ping Yang, what if something out of the blue happened? And who could ensure that nothing unexpected would happen?

    "Ping Yang!" Lin Mubai clenched his fists and prepared to charge out, but he was held back firmly by Chen Feihua and the Dragon Protection Squad.

    "Your Majesty, leave the Princess¡¯ safety to us!"

    "Quick, save Her Highness!"

    "Yes!"

    Following a singlemand, tens of soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad rushed out from Lin Mubai¡¯s side without hesitation and charged towards Ping Yang.

    "Humph, how naive! Intercept them!" Qian Wu sneered as he gazed at the motionless Fang Zhengzhi.

    Regardless whether Fang Zhengzhi was alive or dead, the result of the battle was already determined when King Xieluo arrived in front of them. In other words, when Qian Wu made the deal with King Xieluo ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was already dead!

 Chapter 579 A Profound and Frightening Power

    Following Qian Wu¡¯smand, a few people in ck quickly blocked the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s advance. And at the same time, since the Southern Region Army suddenly charged towards King Xieluo, the Pce Guards could finally have enough space to breathe, and began drawing their longbows again.

    Lin Xinjue¡¯s eyes lit up. The Southern Region Army¡¯s interference has sent the Pce Guards into a chaotic frenzy again. He couldn¡¯t possibly let this opportunity slip.

    "Adopt the Two-Headed Formation, shields in front and bows behind!" Lin Xinjue yelled to the Pce Guards just as the Southern Region Army charged out.

    "Yes!" The Pce Guards immediately executed the order, and in an instant, the originally defensive formation immediately transformed into both an offensive and defensive formation.

    "Fire!"

    Anothermand sounded.

    The Pce Guards fired their arrows into the air but not in the same manner as they previously did. This time, besides aiming for Lin Mubai, they aimed for the Southern Region Army behind them.

    "Kill them!"

    "Kill them!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards swiftly shed with the Pce Guards again, startling the Southern Region Army.

    "Line up!"

    "Charge!"

    A few great Settlement Chiefs from the Southern Region Army yelled their orders, as they continued resisting the Pce Guards¡¯ assault while continuing to charge towards them.

    The battlefield descended into chaos once again.

    Yan Xiu and Shan Yu were evidently astonished when they saw King Xieluo disappear. Now, they were charging at him once again without a single ounce of hesitation.

    But ... the distance was much further this time.

    "Get up, you shameless scoundrel, quickly ..." Ping Yang was pinned down by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motionless body. She looked up at King Xieluo, her crystal-clear eyes reflecting unparalleled anxiety.

    She wanted to push Fang Zhengzhi away, but she realized that his body was incredibly heavy. His eyes were tightly shut, as though he had passed out. And furthermore ... his face was extremely pale without a single hint of pink, and his body waspletely soaked in sweat.

    Sh*t!

    He was indeed touting when he said he could protect himself!

    "He¡¯s this weak?" King Xieluo gazed upon the motionless Fang Zhengzhi in surprise, but he quickly lifted his right hand, causing a strange ball of dark green light to glow under the night sky. "Then die!"

    "Die?! No!" Although Ping Yang felt cheated, she still instinctively flipped over and pushed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body beneath her when she noticed King Xieluo raising his hand.

    She didn¡¯t know why she did this either.

    Fang Zhengzhi was already unconscious, so logically speaking, fleeing was her best option. And most importantly, King Xieluo¡¯s target was not her.

    But ... she still held onto Fang Zhengzhi only because she vaguely felt that Fang Zhengzhi was their sole key to end this war.

    "Eh? Looks like I really do have to kill another person!" King Xieluo looked at Ping Yang shielding Fang Zhengzhi with her body and was slightly taken aback, but then cracked a cold smirk.

    And with that, the light radiating from his hand grew brighter and brighter.

    "Don¡¯t hurt my Ping Yang!" Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t take it any longer, and immediately charged out from the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s defensive circle. At the same time, a dense golden light surged from his body and morphed into a bounding golden dragon in the air. Two mystifying red spots of light flickered in the golden dragon¡¯s eyes.

    The Green Dragon Eye.

    Then, just as Lin Mubai¡¯s Green Dragon Eye appeared ...

    Chen Feihua acted, churning up a cloud of dense gold mist under the dark night sky which instantly shrouded the entire area above her head.

    "Run, Ping Yang!" Chen Feihua screamed anxiously as her body melded into the golden mist.

    Making a move before Lin Mubai meant that her actions had be instinctive, triggered subconsciously by an innate instinct deep within her heart. However, King Xieluo ignored the golden mist that appeared on her head.

    In fact, he had no intentions of bothering about anyone else, because he only needed to do one thing - to kill Fang Zhengzhi, and anyone else who impeded his mission.

    It was very simple ... hence, he naturally ignored the golden mist and Lin Mubai. He just pped her palm down without any reservations on Ping Yang¡¯s back.

    "No!" Amidst the golden mist, a voice erupted. Shortly after, a golden silhouette charged out from the golden mist with eyes dyedpletely gold as well. And behind her dragged lines of ck fissures.

    Chen Feihua was admittedly much faster than Lin Mubai, swiftly expanding the range of her golden mist and forcefully boosting her powers to reach King Xieluo.

    Watching as King Xieluo was about to strike Ping Yang, Chen Feihua pummeled her fist into King Xieluo¡¯s side, her motion as fluid as water without any interruptions.

    "Eh? Overconfident." King Xieluo¡¯s palm was centimeters away from Ping Yang, and after he noticed her looming fist, he stopped his attack and cracked a cold sneer. At the same time, a dark green light fired out from his eyes and collided with Chen Feihua¡¯s fist.

    Chen Feihua was stopped in her tracks. It was as if she was imprisoned in midair. Her body shuddered. The golden mist which popted the air around her quickly dissolved away and then, she flew backwards.

    This all happened in the blink of an eye.

    From the time Chen Feihua arrived in front of King Xieluo, to the moment she flew backwards, everything happened so unbelievably quick.

    "Hm!" King Xieluo grunted, avoiding Chen Feihua and instead focusing his attention on Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi, raising his palm once again.

    But then, the golden dragon that charged out from Lin Mubai¡¯s body finally reached the airspace above King Xieluo¡¯s head.

    "Hua er!" Lin Mubai¡¯s hand reached out to grab Chen Feihua in midair while the airborne golden dragon charged down ferociously towards King Xieluo.

    Two strange rays of red light pounced towards King Xieluo like enraged spectres.

    "Go and die!" King Xieluo noticed the strange red light and the golden dragon charging down and flexed his palm. As a mighty Demon King, how could he not be angry when his attacks have been interrupted time and time again.

    Furthermore ... he wasn¡¯t just faced with Lin Mubai. Even Yan Xiu and Shan Yu have rushed over, making it three of them.

    One was the current Emperor of the Great Xia Empire, one was the direct descendant of the Yan Family and the chosen heir to inherit the Western Liang throne, and thest one was the current King of the Southern Region.

    In other words, all three of them held supreme control over their respective territories. And all three of them have gathered before King Xieluo,bining their forces against him.

    The clear blood-red light sliced at the back of King Xieluo¡¯s neck like a sabre, and following that came two waves of chills.

    "Scram!"

    Just as the golden dragon, blood-red light and the two waves of chills all congregated above King Xieluo, a sinister bellow sounded and shortly after, a pir of dark green light shot up to the sky and instantly illuminated the entire sky. It was a pir of light that sprouted from beneath the ground, reaching for the heavens at breakneck speed.

    And just as the pir of light charged out from the ground, the three of them seemed to be restrained by a certain binding spell. Shortly after, their bodies shivered and flew backwards like Chen Feihua.

    "Plop!"

    "Crash!"

    "...."

    Lin Mubai rolled on the ground with Chen Feihua in his arms while Yan Xiu and Shan Yu crashed into the Southern Region Army, creating a huge opening among the troops.

    "Your Highness! Are you alright?"

    "Master Yan!"

    "Quick, treat his wounds!"

    The Southern Region Army ignored the soldiers crushed to death by Yan Xiu and Shan Yu, and rushed up to heal them. A few Settlement Chiefs took out two elixirs and fed one to each of them.

    Not far away, the Dragon Protection Squad were rushing to Lin Mubai¡¯s side and impeded the advance of a few people in ck, once again forming a protective circle around Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua.

    "Quick, save His Majesty!"

    "Yes!"

    Waves of anxious voices rippled through the crowd.

    Although the Royal Guards were battling the Pce Guards, both sides were slightly petrified after witnessing this scene.

    The green pir of light has yet to dissipate.

    King Xieluo¡¯s body was right in the middle of the green pir of light. His eyes has turnedpletely green and the two scimitars on his head were radiating with a brilliant golden glow.

    "Demon King!"

    "Is this the true strength of a Demon King?"

    "He¡¯s too powerful, we have no chance of winning!"

    The Royal Guards gazed at King Xieluo standing in the middle of the green pir of light, and chills went down their spines. This was undoubtedly a battle of a different level.

    The difference was simply too stark!

    His speed and strength were bothpletely different realmspared to theirs.

    Both the Dao of Asura and Shan Yu¡¯s closebat techniques, or even Lin Mubai¡¯s Green Dragon Eye, were no match for King Xieluo. How could they win?

    "Scram, don¡¯t bother with me. Quickly save Ping Yang!" Lin Mubai pushed the Dragon Protection Squad soldiers beside him away and stood up again.

    But just he stood up, his body swayed. His already pale face began turning purple. And then ...

    "Blurt!" A mouthful of fresh blood spilled out from his mouth.

    "Your Majesty!"

    "Quickly, take His Majesty and Lady Hua Fei away!"

    "Quickly!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad looked at the swaying Lin Mubai and the motionless Chen Feihua, and quickly surrounded them again. They helped them up and prepared to retreat.

    "Did you think you could escape?" Qian Wu cracked an unbelievably sinister smirk when he saw Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua injured again.

    His deal with King Xieluo was for thetter to kill Fang Zhengzhi. But now?

    Not only did he fulfil their original condition, he added Ping Yang in as a bonus, forced the Southern Region Army back to save Shan Yu, and even injured Lin Mubai, Chen Feihua, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu.

    He killed four birds with one stone!

    Sess was right within reach. How could he possibly let Lin Mubai escape? As long as he killed Lin Mubai, victory would be his.

    The Great Xia Empire ... the empire bearing thousands of years of history, was finally falling into the hands of the Northern Barbarian Empire?

    Qian Wu¡¯s eyes flickered with excitement. He charged towards Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua without any reservations.

    The six-colored talisman in his hand lit up.

    At the same time, the two remaining beasts let out thunderous wild roars as though being beckoned by Qian Wu, and bounded for Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua at top speed.

    King Xieluo then raised his hand up again.

    No one could possibly interrupt him as he stood in the centre of the green pir of light. He had no intentions of wasting any more time either. Everything would end once he beat his palm down again.

    "Die ..." Before he could finish hisst word, King Xieluo¡¯s hand was suspended in mid-air. His sinister expression now turned into one of disbelief.

    Because ... the motionless Fang Zhengzhi sprawled on the ground had disappeared, and so has Ping Yang. Both of them had vanished into thin air.

    Of course, they did leave a few marks behind. For instance, there was a tiny sk sitting on the ground at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s original spot. It was a white jade sk without any stains.

    They¡¯ve escaped?!

    King Xieluo¡¯s expression waspletely stiff for three whole seconds before loosening up. He has been interrupted three times as a proud Demon King, but now ...

    The ¡¯prey¡¯ he secured just slipped away under his nose?

    How could he not be enraged?

    King Xieluo clenched his fist and scanned his surroundings. At the same time, a faint green light spread out in all directions swiftly, creating a mist-like glow.

    "Run? Where could you run ..." King Xieluo¡¯s face was evidently scribbled with anger, but strangely, he did not finish his sentence again. And not only that, his furious expression dulled and his body jerked backwards violently, as though sensing a grave danger.

    Then ... a ray of light appeared from King Xieluo¡¯s original spot. It was a ray of light originating from the green pir of light, and shortly after, that ray of light arched down onto the ground.

    "Crash!" A thunderous collision.

    At this moment, the surface of the ground, and even the entire Imperial Pce, began quaking. The brilliant moonlight in the night sky seemed to have beenpletely engulfed by darkness.

    A terrifying aura soared freely through the air, kicking up countless gravel and creating a spreading dust storm.

    And suddenly ... an enormous pit appeared in the ground. No one could tell the exact depth of this pitch-ck pit, like an abyss that extended deep into the ground.

 Chapter 580 All This Strength Was Not Wasted!

    This was an astounding and unbelievable sight, because everyone could see King Xieluo cloaked in the radiance of the green pir of light, but this ray of light still lit up within the green pir of light, and with such frightening power no less.

    Everyone looked at the green pir of light, and inside it, there was now a gigantic ck crack.

    "Who¡¯s that?" A single doubt shed through everyone¡¯s minds as they observed the ck crack very closely with shocked eyes. Even King Xieluo was no exception.

    And then, a figure also appeared from the ck crack.

    It was a frail-looking old man with clouded eyes. His bony fingers were covered in wrinkles, and he looked as though he could be blown to the ground by a mere gust of wind.

    But this old man walked out from the ck crack and stepped into the green pir of light. The night wind ruffled the old man¡¯s snow-white hair which danced freely in the air.

    "It¡¯s King Liqin!"

    "It¡¯s actually King Liqin?!"

    "King Liqin actually came?"

    Countless eyes turned towards King Liqin, revealing conflicted expressions. They were astonished by King Liqin¡¯s appearance, and were looking forward to his appearance, but they were still slightly worried because ...

    King Liqin was already old!

    Although everyone knew that King Liqin was the person who previously helmed the military forces, with countless achievements in battle under his belt, he has indeed grown old.

    An old man who was near his end, an old man who no longer bothered with national affairs, an old man who has shut himself in his quarters all this while to tend to his flowers and birds - why did he appear here now?

    And what could he even do?

    "King Liqin?! That old duff still possesses such incredible strength?" Qian Wu noticed the figure emerging from the ck crack.

    He definitely heard King Liqin¡¯s name before. He was a legend of the previous generation.

    However, that was all in the past. Why would he bother with an old man awaiting death?

    That was what Qian Wu assumed, as did everyone else. No one expected King Liqin to appear, and no one would have imagined that the attack moments ago wasunched by King Liqin himself.

    Even Lin Xinjue was shocked.

    "How can this be? That attack ... why is it this powerful?" Lin Xinjue¡¯s fist was clenched tighter than ever. He didn¡¯t wish for any other unexpected hups, especially not a hup such as this.

    King Xieluo eyed King Liqin closely, staring into thetter¡¯s clouded eyes, then revealing another smirk.

    But then ... it was not one of contempt, but of excitement.

    "King Liqin? This is finally bing fun!" King Xieluo clenched his fists. He didn¡¯t wait for King Liqin to reach the ground, because he was always an impatient Demon King.

    "Crack!"

    The ground fissured.

    King Xieluo has already arrived in front of King Liqin, his white robes drifting in the green light cloaking his body, his eyes growing more mystifying than before.

    Closebat.

    This was a battle strategy rarely employed by elites, but King Xieluo was using for a very simple reason. He was not underestimating King Liqin, and on the contrary, he held King Liqin in extremely high regard.

    In that case ... the best technique to use against a frail old man would be to pit their physical strength against each other,peting to see who had the faster reactions and stronger bursts of power under immense physical exhaustion.

    His fist, enveloped by dark-green light, pummeled straight for King Liqin without any hesitation or reservation.

    "This is bad!"

    "Watch out, Old Master!"

    "It¡¯s dangerous, Old Master!"

    Both the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad were riled with anxiety upon witnessing this nerve-wrecking scene. None of them expected King Xieluo to act so promptly and furthermore ... to engage in closebat.

    "Bang!"

    A bony palm pressed on top of the fist. The feeble-looking wrinkled hand looked as though it could not take a single blow, so everyone had the same thought when it pressed on the fist.

    Will it break?

    But the sound of cracking bones was never heard.

    On the contrary, the fist charging for King Liqin stopped, halting steadily before its target without moving a muscle.

    "Demon King, you should not be here!" King Liqin stared at King Xieluo. A magnificent might emanated from his frail body.

    "Is that so? I¡¯m standing right here, what can you do about it? Hahaha ..." A maniacalughter followed. King Xieluo then thrusted his fist forward again, and at the same time, ayer of vicious ck scales oozed from his fist, as though being melded from liquid metal.

    King Liqin¡¯s expression finally changed. His hand pressing on King Xieluo¡¯s fist shuddered slightly as a drop of sweat dripped from his forehead.

    "The greatest weakness of mankind is mortality!" King Xieluo eximed as he moved his other fist at the same time.

    "Crash!" A deafening sound.

    Both of them were finally separated.

    King Xieluo was still standing where he was, but King Liqin was retreating swiftly.

    "Crack!" When King Liqin copsed onto the ground, a few more fissures opened in the ground. King Liqin managed to stand up again after much difficulty.

    "Cough cough ... you¡¯re truly the Demon King!" King Liqin coughed gently and slowly straightened his body up. His expression was incredibly tense.

    And when the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad watched this scene, they all let out sighs one after another. The difference in strength was presented very clearly with just a single exchange,

    Ignoring the question of whether King Liqin¡¯s strength could truly match that of King Xieluo, the difference in age was an inevitable fact.

    "Uncle!" Lin Mubai screamed. He then expelled another mouthful of blood, "Don¡¯t bother about me. Take Ping Yang away, quick ..."

    "Ping Yang?!"

    "That¡¯s right, where¡¯s Ping Yang?"

    "And where did Fang Zhengzhi go?"

    Everyone finally realized that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had disappeared after hearing Lin Mubai.

    This was a peculiar sight indeed.

    No one noticed when Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang escaped, and most importantly, they were faced with a Demon King.

    How did Fang Zhengzhi escape?

    Didn¡¯t he be useless after the Battle of the Southern Region?

    Everyone had this doubt in their hearts because they all saw Ping Yang holding Fang Zhengzhi tightly in her embrace without any intentions of escaping.

    So naturally, it was impossible for Ping Yang to be escaping with Fang Zhengzhi in tow. Instead, it should be Fang Zhengzhi who led Ping Yang away. But this way, it sounded even more absurd.

    How could a powerless wastrel who took a direct blow from a Demon King possibly escape with Ping Yang?

    "Are you all looking for me?" Then, a voice sounded. It was not too loud, but it certainly shook everyone.

    "It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "He ... he actually fled!"

    "How is that possible, he took a direct blow from the Demon King. He didn¡¯t die?"

    Everyone looked in the direction of the distant voice with eyes wide open. No one could believe what they saw.

    But ... the truth was still the truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing there with Ping Yang beside him. Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were wide open in disbelief.

    "You ... How did you do that?!" Ping Yang red at Fang Zhengzhi, slightly spellbounded.

    Even so, she knew for sure that Fang Zhengzhi had rescued her from King Xieluo¡¯s grasp, but she could not figure out what exactly happened in that instant.

    It was too quick!

    At first, when she sensed the terrifying aura creeping up behind her, she was prepared for certain death, but Fang Zhengzhi suddenly opened his eyes. And in that moment, she felt an arm holding her.

    And after that ... there was nothing after that.

    Because, she was already at her present location, and Fang Zhengzhi was standing beside her again, albeit with a pretty pale face.

    "You¡¯re asking me? I took a direct hit, what were you doing hugging me so tightly?" Fang Zhengzhi blurted without hesitation upon hearing Ping Yang¡¯s question.

    What was the feeling of bitterness? This was!

    It was obviously impossible to confront King Xieluo directly, and he could only invent unorthodox ways of battle to score a victory. To this end, Fang Zhengzhi racked his brains and waited for King Xieluo to approach.

    And to his pleasant surprise, King Xieluo did approach him.

    In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi saw the light at the end of the tunnel and prepared to use his greatest ¡¯secret weapon¡¯. But then, tragedy unfolded.

    Although he dered that he should be the only one to face King Xieluo, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu also charged in without any prior notice.

    Fine ... Yan Xiu and Shan Yu ignored his pleas, but what was that girl Ping Yang thinking? She hugged him in the heat of the moment.

    In that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt like dying. And true enough, he took a direct blow from King Xieluo.

    After that, he was prepared to fake his death with much effort and wait for a chance tounch an sneak attack. But then, Ping Yang pressed his down without any hesitation.

    Although her petite body was not that heavy, her grip was as tight as an octopus¡¯, pinning him down to the ground.

    How could he execute his n? There was no way to do it!

    Watching as King Xieluo was about to strike him to death, he was relieved when Chen Feihua attacked King Xieluo in desperation. Lin Mubai, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu also attracted King Xieluo¡¯s attention.

    In that instant ... Fang Zhengzhi saw hope again.

    It was certainly a miraculous opportunity for a sneak attack. The enemy was above him, and as long as he couldnd a kick on King Xieluo¡¯s feet ... Just thinking about it felt so good!

    But just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared tounch his kick, a giant ck crack appeared above him. It was a crack that charged down speedily from the heavens, and most importantly, a ray of light leaked out from within that crack.

    Fang Zhengzhi was bbergasted. There was someone else in the ¡¯sneak attack business¡¯?

    In that moment, he was presented with two choices: either to work with his patriot¡¯ tond a sessful sneak attack, or to leave this chance to his patriot¡¯.

    There was nothing much to think about. Fang Zhengzhi immediately opted for the second choice and escaped with Ping Yang.

    Everything then flowed into ce. Hispatriot¡¯s sneak attack failed, and King Xieluo was still standing there unharmed.

    There was no other way around it. He couldn¡¯t possibly run up to King Xieluo and say, "Hello, let¡¯s talk about life, shall we? Come closer, just a little closer ..."

    King Xieluo would have dealt him a deathblow before he even attacked.

    Demon King!

    Was he of a simr existence to a Sage?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart shuddered just thinking about that old man¡¯s terrifying strength, He was not that idiotic to confront a Demon King with the strengthparable to a Sage directly.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was time to run.

    And this time, he was really prepared to run, never to turn back. He didn¡¯t care about iming the credit for ying the demon to save the Great Xia Empire from catastrophe. Furthermore, since King Liqin already arrived, how could Fang Zhengzhi be the person to im the credit?

    Just as he prepared to flee ... Ping Yang held him again, with both her hands grabbing his wrists in a deadlock. Her small face was red, and her crystal-clear eyes were flickering with excitement.

    "You haven¡¯t been wasted, right? You were totally fine after the Battle of the Southern Region, right? Your strength is still there, right? It must be, it must be. That¡¯s great, that¡¯s really great. Quick, quickly kill that Demon King. I believe you!" Ping Yang eximed as she shook Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms,pletely ignoring the fact that her breasts were rubbing against his arms non-stop ...

    The Royal Guards, Dragon Protection Squad, Pce Guards and the Southern Region Army heard Ping Yang¡¯s words and stared at Fang Zhengzhi in shock.

    "Fang Zhengzhi was not wasted?!"

    "How is that possible?"

    During the Battle of the Southern Region, didn¡¯t he consume all of his Dao Fruits? How can he still possess his strength?"

    "Surviving was already a miracle. It¡¯s impossible for him to still retain his mastery levels!"

    "But if his strength was really drained, how did he escape from King Xieluo¡¯s grasp just now?"

    "Could it be that he still possesses his strength?"

    "My god, if that¡¯s true, then ... what state is he in now?"

    Everyone stared at Fang Zhengzhi with eyes wide open because they knew that, if Fang Zhengzhi really did retain his strength ... it was an absolutely terrifying prospect.

    Ignoring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s future aplishments, someone who crossed swords the Demon Canyang a year ago would certainly be a force to be reckoned with in this battle.

 Chapter 581 Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s State

    Everyone had their eyes on Fang Zhengzhi.

    But Fang Zhengzhi did not concern himself with the discussion around him. Not with Ping Yang¡¯s breasts rubbing against his arm...

    What a soft feeling.

    She had grown up indeed!

    After being shaken by Ping Yang for some time, he was finally relieved. Forget it. The only reason why thisdy would hug him immediately was to protect him while his powers were wasted.

    As he was about to forgive her, Fang Zhengzhi snapped back to reality. Ping Yang didn¡¯t have the intention to apologize, and even asked him to fight the Demon King?

    And to believe in himself?

    "Believe my ass!" Fang Zhengzhi snapped. "Are you blind? It¡¯s the Demon King, can¡¯t you tell?"

    "I can tell. But your powers weren¡¯t wasted, right?" Ping Yang was taken aback, then replied as she blinked her eyes and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in anticipation.

    "My powers weren¡¯t wasted, but..."

    "Your powers really weren¡¯t wasted?! Hahaha, that¡¯s great, that¡¯s great..." Ping Yang was so excited she had cut him off mid-sentence.

    And perhaps due to her excitement, she fell in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s embrace, her pink, supple lips kissed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    In an instant...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt her tender, moist lips on his.

    And his eyes were wide in surprise.

    Even Ping Yang¡¯s eyes, too. She looked as if she had been struck by lightning.

    "F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi felt he was getting taken advantage of. Yet, what¡¯s worse was that Ping Yang had forced a kiss on him, and then pushed him away violently?

    What were you doing!

    It was you who initiated it!

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to scold her, as he was well aware who was around him: Emperor Lin Mubai, Consort Hua, and Prince Li of the First Rank.

    To scold Ping Yang in the view of so many people?

    How would Ping Yang marry in the future!

    But he wouldn¡¯t want to make himself marry Ping Yang, right? Well, Ping Yang wasn¡¯t bad, she had grown up and looks feminine...

    Yet, Ping Yang was far from his ideal gentle and virtuousdy.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lin Mubai from afar and noticed his dazed, pale face staring right at him.

    "Your Majesty, it was a misunderstanding! She initiated it!" Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to exin himself.

    But apparently, Emperor Lin Mubai did not bother listening to his exnation, his eyes staring straight at Fang Zhengzhi while his body shivered ceaselessly.

    "This brat¡¯s powers really weren¡¯t wasted? Not wasted? How could this happen? There was never one whose powers were not wasted after losing his Dao Fruit!"

    "Oh? The emperor is talking about my powers?" Fang Zhengzhi listened silently as Emperor Lin Mubai mumbled to himself.

    Then he looked at his surroundings once again.

    He realized everyone was astounded by that fact. And it seemed as if no one noticed what happened between Ping Yang and him a moment ago.

    "Fang Zhengzhi still has his powers? How is this possible?" Lin Xinjue was shocked. He had never expected this.

    Whether it was Lin Xinjue, the Dragon Protection Squad, the Royal Guards, or even the Southern Region Army, at that very moment, everyone only had one thing in mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi still had his powers!

    And he had already admitted it himself.

    "Blurgh!" Blood spewed out from Lin Tianrong¡¯s mouth. His clenched his teeth while his body trembled. "Fang Zhengzhi, indeed it was you who burned my study!"

    If Lin Tianrong had eliminated the possibility of Fang Zhengzhi being the arsonist due to his wasted powers, then now he could be certain that...

    The masked man in the Crown Prince¡¯s residence that day was, in fact, Fang Zhengzhi!

    "Your Excellency Fang, bring Ping Yang away!" Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s voice rang aloud, bringing everyone back to reality.

    "Alright!" Fang Zhengzhi agreed without thinking. He had already decided to escape, and now with Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s words, he had no reason to hesitate.

    "No, you kill that Demon King, then save Grandfather and Father!" Ping Yang¡¯s face was blushing but responded quickly upon hearing Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s words.

    "I¡¯m not going." Fang Zhengzhi rejected as he shook his head.

    "Why?" Ping Yang was confused.

    "Nonsense, because I can¡¯t defeat him!" Fang Zhengzhi really didn¡¯t want to say this, but he still said it simply because it was the hard truth.

    Couldn¡¯t defeat him...

    How then shall he fight?

    Did he really want to seek death?

    "You can¡¯t defeat him? But didn¡¯t you fight Canyang a year ago?" Ping Yang asked in suspicion.

    "I fought Canyang?" Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless.

    "Uh..." Ping Yang dazed momentarily and quickly snapped back. Indeed, Fang Zhengzhi had such a fight, but Fang Zhengzhi never defeated Canyang. But Ping Yang pouted her lips and reluctantly said: "But... it has been more than a year since?"

    "Yes, more than a year had passed." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "So, what is your state now? You have some breakthroughs, right? You¡¯re in the Rebirth State, right? Have you reached the peak of the Rebirth State like Aunt Hua? Or have you reached Half Sage? Yes, you must have reached Half Sage, right? Since you¡¯re Half Sage, what¡¯s there to fear? So what if he is Demon King, you have the power to fight!" Ping Yang showed her anticipation once again.

    "Did I say I have reached Half Sage?" Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips.

    "It¡¯s not Half Sage? Is it... you¡¯ve reached the Sagely State?!" Ping Yang¡¯s crystal-clear eyes glimmered with joy.

    "Sagely State!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi reached the Sagely State?!"

    "How is this possible? He isn¡¯t even eighteen years old. There had been no one like this in the entire history of Great Xia Dynasty, right?"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and the Royal Guards were absolutely stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Reached the Sagely State? He wondered if he would look as pitiful as he was now, had he really reached the Sagely State.

    "Do I look like I have reached the Sagely State?" Fang Zhengzhi asked instead of responding to her childish questions.

    "Not really..." Ping Yang gave a serious look at Fang Zhengzhi and realized she had thought too much. If he had really reached the Sagely State, he wouldn¡¯t have said he could not defeat King Xieluo. "But... even if you were just at Rebirth State, you could try!"

    "Are you so sure I¡¯m at Rebirth State?" Fang Zhengzhi opened his hands in helplessness. He seemed to understand why Emperor Lin Mubai and the others were so surprised when they heard his powers were not wasted.

    It seemed it wasn¡¯t just Ping Yang.

    Everyone thought he had a breakthrough.

    More than a year ago, when Fang Zhengzhi reached Heavenly Reflection State from Star Conglomerate State, the Great Xia Dynasty was astounded. Then, when he had attained the Supernatural State at the Southern Region...

    He still remembered everyone¡¯s expressions.

    How was it possible!

    How could he reach the Supernatural State!

    It was utter disbelief. No one could fathom how he could achieve continuous breakthroughs in such a short span of time.

    But now...

    It was the opposite. Everyone thought he had a breakthrough, yet, who said it was a rule to achieve a breakthrough after a year?

    "You¡¯re not at Rebirth State? Then what state have you reached?" Ping Yang froze briefly.

    "Supernatural State!" Fang Zhengzhi replied nonchntly.

    "Supernatural State?! How are you at Supernatural State!" Ping Yang was bbergasted. When she knew Fang Zhengzhi had not achieved a breakthrough, she was ted.

    But...

    What did Supernatural State mean?!

    His powers had not increased. Why was he still at Supernatural State after more than a year? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to achieve breakthrough after breakthrough?

    It was just Ping Yang who was surprised.

    When the Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards heard "Supernatural State" from Fang Zhengzhi, they were floored.

    "Supernatural State?"

    "How is Fang Zhengzhi still at Supernatural State?"

    "What is going on? Didn¡¯t he reach Supernatural State more than a year ago? Have his powers remained as it was since then?"

    "Oh, I get it. Fang Zhengzhi had lost his Dao Fruit. Though his powers were not wasted, he can never the increase his powers!"

    "I see. It seems Fang Zhengzhi is stuck at Supernatural State. What a pity!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards exchanged looks and finally understood the situation. But when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, they seemed a little odd.

    Because they knew clearly that, no matter how mighty a genius might be, when his powers could not advance, he would eventually be mediocre.

    "Hahaha..." Qian Wu¡¯sughter arose, apparently mocking him. "I thought he was some talented genius, but now his powers are unable to advance? Hahaha... such a waste of time. Never mind, I¡¯ll do you some good. I¡¯ll let you reincarnate and achieve your Rebirth State!"

    As he finished his sentence, a gold cylinder appeared on his hand.

    "Whoosh!"

    A ray of red light emerged from the gold cylinder, beaming into the sky.

    "Signal?!" The Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards were stunned upon seeing this. They wanted to stop it but it was toote.

    Because after the ray of red light beamed upwards, a dark green ray lit up in the sky. A fusion of four hues of green rays.

    "Bang!"

    The dark green ray cascaded from the heavens, transforming into a pir of light, crashing onto the giant Near-Life Gate erected on the ground.

    And at the same time, characters of six colors lit up on Qian Wu¡¯s hand, threads of light joined the characters together.

    "Near-Life Gate, open!" Qian Wu bellowed as he forced his palm on the ground.

    "Boom!"

    The ground was shaking. The Near-Life Gate which was previously shut started moving again. The giant bronze door slowly opened, revealing a pitch darkness inside.

    But shortly, rays of red, blue, green, and other colors of light shone in the darkness. They grew, they proliferated, until it was like a dazzling array of countless stars.

    Yet the rays of light seemedpletely mysterious. Strangely cold and threatening.

    "How is this possible? Qian Wu can reopen the Near-Life Gate!"

    "It¡¯s the Four Ancient Formations. As long as the Four Ancient Formations isn¡¯t broken, it can continue to amass power, and the Near-Life Gate can be opened again!"

    "Then, what will happen? Will there be another Demon King?"

    "No. Even if the Holy Barbarian Empire was filled with sages, there would never appear another Demon King. If I have guessed correctly, it is the Commander of the Beasts!"

    "Commander of the Beasts? No, we have to stop him!"

    "It¡¯s toote. The Near-Life Gate can only be controlled by the one who masters the Near-Life Path, and once it is open, it can no longer be closed!"

    But upon witnessing the reopening of the Near-Life Gate, everyone was stunned. The Dragon Protection Squad, the Royal Guards, and even the Pce Guards and the Southern Region Army stopped whatever they were doing.

    It was at this moment...

    They finally knew Qian Wu¡¯s true motives.

    They knew why Qian Wu had to enter the pce, and why he nned for Lin Xinjue to rush here for a rescue.

    One reason was the quest for the throne between the crown prince and Lin Xinjue. But more importantly, Qian Wu wanted the pce to be separated from the outside world. As long as he was in the pce and the Four Ancient Formations was not broken, this battle would never end.

    "In a moment, just a moment, the Near-Life Gate would open once again. Your Highness, King Duan, do you now regret your choice?" Qian Wu looked the bewildered Lin Xinjue from far away and asked, revealing a smirk.

    "I... I have never regretted it!" Lin Xinjue paled slightly, then clenched his teeth and answered.

    "Hahaha, that¡¯s great!" Qian Wu smiled again, then he turned towards Fang Zhengzhi. "Fang Zhengzhi, you dare to spoil my ns, today you must..."

    Qian Wu did not finish with "die".

    Because Fang Zhengzhi was gone. He had disappeared from his position. But more peculiarly, Ping Yang was still there.

    "He escaped?! Alone?" Qian Wu froze. Then he smirked once again: "Good, that¡¯s what that shameless person would do!"

    Qian Wu¡¯s eyes were filled with contempt. But soon enough, he noticed something was off. Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were fixed on something.

    And it wasn¡¯t just Ping Yang...

    Everyone was staring in a single direction.

    "What are they looking at?" Qian Wu thought to himself and looked in that direction. Then, just like everyone else, he waspletely puzzled.

    They were all looking at the Near-Life Gate.

    There was a figure standing at the Gate, one who was wearing a fresh new set of imperial attire.

    "Fang Zhengzhi hasn¡¯t escaped?" Qian Wu was baffled. Then he saw Fang Zhengzhi gesturing in front of the Near-Life Gate with both hands. "What is he trying to do? Blocking the Gate with his own body? Hahaha..."

    Qian Wuughed out loud upon seeing this.

    Of course, he was able to guess what Fang Zhengzhi was doing: trying to destroy the Near-Life Gate. But it was utterly foolish of him. Childish even.

    The Near-Life Gate!

    The most precious treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    How could it be destroyed so easily?

    Not to mention Fang Zhengzhi with his Supernatural State, even the Emperor himself could not leave a scratch on the Near-Life Gate.

    "Indeed, he¡¯s so silly and gull-" Qian Wu didn¡¯t manage to finish his remark, and his eyes stared so wide they could almost pop out, his mouth opened thergest it could stretch.

    It was shocking beyond words.

    Not only Qian Wu...

    At this very moment, everyone shared the same expression. Even Prince Li of the First Rank and King Xieluo.

    "Crack!" It was a deafening noise.

    The Near-Life Gate that was originally slowly opening rose up in the air. Or rather, it was lifted up in the air.

    Lifted!

    Someone lifted the Near-Life Gate?!

    How was this possible!

    Total silence.

    It was as though the world had stood still. The night breeze blew past countless wide eyes and stunned faces.

    "Dong!"

    "Dong, dong..."

    These were the sounds of the bronze that shook the hearts of everyone present, resounding through the night sky...

    "What a surprise, it¡¯s actually this light?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped after a few knocks, grumbling amusedly.

    "Roar!"

    At this moment, a giant beast roared loudly. Though it was shocked like the others, it didn¡¯t just stand still like Qian Wu.

    Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi knock on the Near-Life Gate, it responded as it could.

    And after that loud roar...

    The giant beast lunged toward Fang Zhengzhi, opening its mouth fiercely. It was not difficult to imagine it swallowing him whole.

    "Ah, you little one. Dare to sneak an attack on me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the beast charging towards him, his lips curled in a smile. Then he raised the Near-Life Gate and hurled it at the beast.

    The giant beast would never have expected Fang Zhengzhi to smash the Near-Life Gate at it. How could it ever dodge it during a mid-thrust in the air?

    "Boom!"

    The ground shook with the deafening crash.

    Without any resistance, the beast was hit by the Near-Life Gate. Its body sunk with its ws lying on the ground, its head smashed into bits.

    It did not even moan in pain. Utterly lifeless.

    "It¡¯s dead?!"

    Everyone looked at the bloody mess on the ground, the unmoving giant beast. Then they turned to Fang Zhengzhi who had lifted the Near-Life Gate above his height.

    Only a thought appeared in their minds.

    "This is the Supernatural State?!"

 Chapter 582 A Rising Wave

    Someone with only a Supernatural State had single-handedly raised the Near-Life Gate, then swiftly crushed a beast with it.

    Who would believe this?

    No one could believe their eyes.

    Yet, the beast reallyy dead on the floor. And Fang Zhengzhi was right in front of them, with a smirk on his face.

    "Supernatural State?"

    "This fellow is really only at the Supernatural State?!"

    "Are you kidding me?"

    Everyone stared at the one who had raised the Near-Life Gate in disbelief, with the urge to p themselves awake.

    A dream, this must be a dream!

    That was the Near-Life Gate...

    Wait a moment!

    Fang Zhengzhi lifted the Near-Life Gate?!

    When this thought floated in their minds, everyone was stunned. No, how could Fang Zhengzhi lift the Near-Life Gate?

    "How is this possible?"

    "To control the Near-Life Gate, one has to master the Near-Life Dao, right?"

    "Could it be that this Near-Life Gate is a fake?"

    "That¡¯s impossible. The beasts and the Demon King walked out from it, how can it be a fake?"

    Their ideas were dismissed quickly because the Near-Life Gate was obviously not a fake.

    But it was also due to this fact that made the scene even more unbelievable. Questions about the weight of the Near-Life Gate aside, the crux of the issue was: how did Fang Zhengzhi even move it?

    It was utterly shocking.

    No one could grasp the situation. Because Fang Zhengzhi was only of Supernatural State. How could he master the Near-Life Dao, one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, and raise the Near-Life Gate?

    But the matter of fact was Fang Zhengzhi had indeed raised it, and more importantly, the bronze door that was previously open was slowly closing.

    Closing!

    It really was closing!

    Everyone looked with much bewilderment as the Near-Life Gate shut with a boom.

    And Qian Wu¡¯s eyes were wide with shock. As the chief of the Holy Barbarian Empire, he always had a clear line of thought and calm judgment.

    But now...

    He really couldn¡¯t calm down.

    What kind of monster was this guy? With only Supernatural State, he could kill a beast so effortlessly, and he could even move the Near-Life Gate!

    "Gate... My Near-Life Gate!" Qian Wu didn¡¯t know how Fang Zhengzhi did it. But it wasn¡¯t about how he did it. The Gate was now in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, and it was shutting. "Return my Near-Life Gate!"

    "Return it to you? Why would I hand you my Near-Life Gate? Silly!" Fang Zhengzhiughed nonchntly while shaking the Near-Life Gate.

    In a trip to the pce, not only did he not attain the credit he wished for, but he had to suffer a strike for no reason. Now that he had chanced upon a Near-Life Gate, why would he return it?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid.

    "What are you talking about? Your Near-Life Gate?!" Qian Wu shot an icy re.

    "Of course it¡¯s mine. Who else could it belong to, you?" Fang Zhengzhi replied disdainfully. He felt Qian Wu¡¯s question was really na?ve, perhaps a little childish. How could Qian Wu not understand the simple logic that an item in one¡¯s hands belongs to him?

    "Ah... just return my Near-Life Gate!" Qian Wu finally realized Fang Zhengzhi wanted to snatch his Near-Life Gate.

    The Near-Life Gate¡¯s status as the most treasured possession of the Holy Barbarian Empire aside, how could its mighty emperor tolerate such an insult...

    It was snatched right from his hands!

    How could anyone tolerate this?

    Qian Wu clenched his fists, his body lit up in six colors. He took a big step forward, then suddenly, he stopped.

    Because he saw the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s icy stares and the First Dragon Envoy Yan Qing gloating over his misery.

    "No!" Countless thoughts shed through Qian Wu¡¯s mind.

    Of course, he could snatch his Near-Life Gate back from Fang Zhengzhi this very moment, but he was the leader, the highest inmand of the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    If he were to fail, even just by a small error...

    This campaign would be said to have failed.

    Anger!

    Qian Wu would never have thought he¡¯d experience anger at such intensity.

    Even on the day that he returned to the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    But he also understood that he had to remain calm because this was war, not just a simple quarrel between two people.

    Thus, he had to look at the bigger picture. Now was not the time to get injured, or lose, even if such risks were very minimal.

    Qian Wu ground his teeth in rage, his fists grew white from clenching them so tightly. The Near-Life Gate must be returned; it was key to the sess of the campaign.

    But...

    He couldn¡¯t fight for it.

    Qian Wu was trying his very best to control the urge to fight.

    No, if he were to go, Yan Qing and the Dragon Protection Squad would counter immediately. If that happened, not only could he not take back his Near-Life Gate, he could even be sent right through it.

    Qian Wu understood this perfectly. As themander, he must remain calm always, for he could not afford a single misstep.

    But at this moment, a figure appeared in front of him, his ck the imperial attire waving in the nightly breeze.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Qian Wu looked at the figure in front of him with disbelief. He could not believe that fact that Fang Zhengzhi was presenting him the Near-Life Gate although he had contained his urge to snatch it back.

    A person of Supernatural State would initiate an attack?

    "Look at my Near-Life Gate, I¡¯m smashing it!" Of course, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t guess what Qian Wu was thinking. Upon shing a smirk at Qian Wu, Fang Zhengzhi lifted the Near-Life Gate and immediately smashed it toward Qian Wu.

    "You¡¯re warning me?" Qian Wu said to himself coldly, silently mocking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. Most importantly, didn¡¯t this fellow know that the Near-Life Gate was Qian Wu¡¯s?

    And to smash Qian Wu with his Near-Life Gate?

    How ridiculous.

    As he prepared to shrink the Near-Life Gate for keeping, he noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. Smiling in anticipation.

    What was he smiling at?

    Qian Wu froze for a moment, then he realized a possibility. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

    "Boom!"

    With a loud crash, the Near-Life Gate was smashed to the ground as countless debris ricocheted among the columns of dust clouds.

    Qian Wu managed to take a few quick steps backward when the Gate was smashed. His forehead and back were dripping cold sweat.

    It wasn¡¯t because the speed of the smash was too fast. Conversely, Fang Zhengzhi hurled the Gate slowly.

    But it was exactly due to this...

    Which made Qian Wu broke out in cold sweat.

    What a close call.

    If he had not noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, then the Holy Barbarian Empire¡¯s most valuable treasure, the Near-Life Gate, would indeed have been in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Of course, he could shrink the Gate.

    Then, what would happen?

    It was without a shred of doubt that the Near-Life Gate wouldn¡¯t magically fly back into his hands, but it wouldnd in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. If that had happened, the Near-Life Gate would really have belonged to Fang Zhengzhi.

    But to intentionally rush here and warn him of it? And aplishing all of these while Qian Wu was at the peak of his fury. This careful strategic nning was scarily precise!

    "Oh? Weren¡¯t you hit? I¡¯ll have to smash again!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Qian Wu who had taken a few steps back, then nced disappointingly at the giant Near-Life Gate.

    Was that so predictable?

    How could it be!

    He lifted the Near-Life Gate once again.

    "I dare you!" Qian Wu stared sternly. Watching the most valuable treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire smashed repeatedly like a hammer made him miserable.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi responded to Qian Wu with his actions. Qian Wu had no choice but to take a few steps back, his fists cracked as he clenched tightly.

    "I¡¯ll smash again!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t believe Qian Wu could continue tolerating this. He would smash the Near-Life Gate until Qian Wu decided to shrink it.

    "Boom!"

    "I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t hit you with this!"

    "Boom!"

    "Once more!"

    "Boom!"

    "..."

    Massive dents appeared on the ground while the Near-Life Gate was repeatedly raised and smashed.

    Qian Wu¡¯s was heartbroken.

    But he had no other choice. He was sure that Fang Zhengzhi could control the Near-Life Gate, though he had no idea how. The Near-Life Gate could weigh no less than ten tons, yet it was light as a feather to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Despicable!" Qian Wu was shaking with rage.

    Fang Zhengzhi, with his actions, showed him a ¡¯truth¡¯: the Near-Life Gate was not only a treasure, it was also a powerful ¡¯weapon¡¯.

    But who would use a treasure as a weapon? And to even use it as a hammer! In the whole world, only Fang Zhengzhi could do this.

    The Dragon Protection Squad, the Royal Guards, the Pce Guards and the Southern Region Army were all stunned.

    "One could use the Near-Life Gate like this?"

    "Doesn¡¯t he fear of destroying the Near-Life Gate?"

    "I doubt so!"

    Everyone was speechless.

    A person of Supernatural State smashing the Near-Life Gate around someone who was at least at the advanced stages of Rebirth State, or perhaps even reached the peak of Rebirth State, ¡¯running¡¯ around the pce.

    If they had not witnessed it themselves, how would they ever believe such a thing happened?

    Supernatural State!

    Was this guy really at the Supernatural State?

    Everyone had the same question in their minds.

    Supernatural State? This shameless fellow was definitely fooling her. He obviously had the power of the Rebirth State. Could he be faking a low profile?

    That¡¯s impossible. With his arrogant personality, how would Fang Zhengzhi fake a low profile? As Ping Yang recalled the previous time she asked for his state, she grew more certain.

    Yes, Fang Zhengzhi should still be at the Supernatural State.

    This could be the only reason why Fang Zhengzhi was so reluctant in revealing his state. Because Yan Xiu was already very close to or had even reached the Rebirth State.

    How, then, could Fang Zhengzhi proudly dere that he¡¯s still at the Supernatural State after a year?

    "Hey shameless guy, smash him now! We¡¯ll be winners if you just smash him to bits!" Ping Yang shouted out loud without a care.

    From a distance away, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu stood up again. They saw the mess damage that Fang Zhengzhi had done.

    Both exchanged looks and nodded.

    Then, two figures broke through the Southern Army¡¯s protection and charged at Qian Wu. Yan Xiu¡¯s body emitted a bright red glow, while Shan Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with raging mes.

    Qian Wu¡¯s expression finally changed.

    Now he didn¡¯t have many cards in his hand. Among the twenty-plus Rebirth State warriors who were brought into the pce, nearly half of them belonged to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.

    A few Rebirth State masked figures were killed by Fang Zhengzhi, and some were knocked out by Lin Tianrong¡¯s men.

    Initially, with the Near-Life Gate in his possession, these weren¡¯t an issue to him. Because as long as the Near-Life Gate was in the pce, he could have any number of fighters.

    But now...

    Qian Wu was brimming with hatred. Since Fang Zhengzhi had appeared, every one of his ns was spoiled by him, and now, even the Near-Life Gate was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    The Near-Life Gate!

    Yes, the crux of this issue was the Near-Life Gate!

    If he could kill Fang Zhengzhi and seize back his Near-Life Gate, every problem could be easily solved.

    Suddenly, an idea popped up in Qian Wu¡¯s mind. He would need some time if he were to kill Fang Zhengzhi, but it would be very easy for King Xieluo.

    And killing Fang Zhengzhi was also their third agreement.

    At this moment, Qian Wu felt a little relieved. Luckily hisst agreement with King Xieluo was to kill Fang Zhengzhi, instead of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    "King Xieluo, as the Demon King, would you need a few hours to kill a person with Supernatural State?" Qian Wu stared at King Xieluo from a distance away.

    Of course, he also noticed Prince Li of the First Rank who was standing in front of King Xieluo, but he didn¡¯t think Prince Li, who was on the verge of death, could stop a Demon King.

    "Boom!"

    Immediately after Qian Wu finished his sentence, the ground beneath King Xieluo¡¯s feet sank while surrounding stones turned into powder.

    Then, a figure charged towards the sky at breakneck speed, and with a speed not much slower than teleportation, it descended towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    King Xieluo did not answer Qian Wu with words...

    But with action.

 Chapter 583 Letâ€™s Fight the Demon King Together!

    "That¡¯s really fast!" Everyone had the same thought. And at this time, Prince Li of the First Rank, who was standing in front of King Xieluo, moved too.

    His appeared much weakerpared to King Xieluo, but his speed wasn¡¯t slow at all. He reached behind King Xieluo an instant after he moved.

    But he didn¡¯t overtake King Xieluo.

    This made things a little awkward. Because someone who was truly powerful didn¡¯t need much time to attack. And Prince Li of the First Rank couldn¡¯t stop him in time.

    So...

    What¡¯s the point?

    Fang Zhengzhi saw them both charging towards him. And at this moment, he was impressed by Prince Li of the First Rank.

    He¡¯s old but still very powerful!

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid. Prince Li of the First Rank was initially in front of King Xieluo, and even if King Xieluo was any faster, Prince Li of the First Rank could hold him back if he tried hard enough.

    Just like that time when Chen Feihua saved Ping Yang.

    If one tried hard enough...

    Everything was possible!

    But apparently, Prince Li of the First Rank wasn¡¯t about to risk his life for this. He followed behind King Xieluo intentionally.

    "This old man wants me to be his ¡¯shield¡¯?" Fang Zhengzhi instantly recognized Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s ns. With Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s power, defeating a Demon King by himself would seem a little difficult.

    In that case, dragging Fang Zhengzhi into this would be the best way.

    For someone like Prince Li of the First Rank...

    He couldn¡¯t trust any personal rtionship. And most importantly, there wasn¡¯t much of a close rtionship between them, to begin with.

    They never dined, drank, or yed cards together. Not to even mention visiting brothels, fighting in battles, or suffering together like brothers in arms.

    They had only met once in the Throne Room.

    Prince Li of the First Rank obviously would not risk his life for Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, he would be concerned with the bigger picture and try to save the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Hence, he would use Fang Zhengzhi to block an attack, then in the heat of the fight, sneak a powerful attack on King Xieluo.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the approaching King Xieluo, and Prince Li of the First Rank who was following tightly behind him. He sighed to himself: this old man had such confidence in him!

    Prince Li of the First Rank didn¡¯t fear that King Xieluo would kill him in a strike. But upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi smashing repeatedly at a desperate Qian Wu, he had reason to trust Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a pity that...

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid.

    Neither did he had any noble ideas of sacrificing himself for the bigger picture.

    Without any further hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi turned and ran away. Obviously, he didn¡¯t just run in any random direction. He ran towards Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Crying for help while running.

    "Your Majesty, please save me!"

    "..."

    At this moment, everyone, including the Dragon Protection Squad, Royal Guards, Pce Guards and Southern Region Army, was shocked.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi ran at a speed no slower than the both of them.

    And more importantly, King Xieluo who was charging at him turned suddenly toward a different direction.

    "Don¡¯te here!"

    "Quick, run out of the pce!"

    With Fang Zhengzhi approaching the emperor, the Dragon Protection Squad began to panic. Emperor Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t even stand straight, and Imperial Concubine Hua Fei suffered injuries too.

    And now Fang Zhengzhi would lead the Demon King to them. Didn¡¯t he understand any idea of guarding the emperor? Hadn¡¯t he thought of sacrificing himself to protect the emperor?

    With a Demon King chasing behind him, he had decided to run toward the emperor.

    And to ask the emperor to save him?

    It was the Demon King!

    But how could the Dragon Protection Squad even sustain a devastating blow from the Demon King?

    "Run out of the pce?" Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips. King Xieluo was in the way of the pce gate. To run out of the pce was to seek an instant death.

    That didn¡¯t help.

    Fang Zhengzhi was determined to run toward Emperor Lin Mubai, as if he hadn¡¯t heard the Dragon Protection Squad¡¯s advice, screaming as he ran.

    "Save me! The Demon King ising!"

    "Oh no! Protect His and Her Majesty! Now!"

    The Dragon Protection Squad was shocked. Due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "panic" and his loss of ability to think clearly, they had no choice but to fight their death to resist the attack.

    They couldn¡¯t just kill Fang Zhengzhi like that, right?

    And even if they had such a thought, now was not the time to do so.

    The Royal Guards, who were attacking the Pce Guards, snapped back to reality but they were unable to help.

    After all...

    Regardless of King Xieluo or Prince Li of the First Rank, or even Fang Zhengzhi, these people were moving much faster than what the Royal Guards were capable of. They were unable to stop them.

    It all happened in an instant.

    And it so sudden that no one could stop Fang Zhengzhi from running toward Emperor Lin Mubai, not even Yan Xiu or Shan Yu.

    He¡¯s reaching!

    Everyone was watching closely as Fang Zhengzhi almost reached beside Emperor Lin Mubai when King Xieluo was only meters away from him.

    But if King Xieluo were to change his target at this moment...

    Then Emperor Lin Mubai would most likely lose his life. Well, it was clear that King Xieluo¡¯s was chasing Fang Zhengzhi, but what if that happened?

    When the Emperor¡¯s safety was hanging by a thread, no one would allow for such a possibility.

    Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue were also bbergasted. Even Qian Wu clenched his fists.

    "Don¡¯t..." Ping Yang screamed. She wanted to scream "don¡¯t hurt my father", but neither did she wish for Fang Zhengzhi to be hurt.

    It was a dilemma which stopped her words.

    "Don¡¯t hurt the Emperor!" At this moment, Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s voice thundered aloud. It resonated like a giant bell from the heavens, shaking the souls of everyone present.

    At the same time...

    The thin and frail Prince Li of the First Rank, who was following closely behind King Xieluo, closed on him with a sudden burst of speed.

    His bony fingers pressed on King Xieluo¡¯s shoulder and rays of light in rainbow colors glowed brilliantly.

    Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, indigo...

    As these rays lit up, King Xieluo was stopped mid-air, his demonic, ashen face look somewhat surprised.

    "Oh? It seemed I have underestimated you!" King Xieluo turned behind, looking at the rainbow rays wrapped around Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s skinny frame and the dark green rays flowing in his eyes.

    Prince Li of the First Rank looked extremely stern. While the dark green flow rays had disappeared, the rainbow rays now concentrated in his eyes.

    This scene was incredibly shocking to the surrounding onlookers.

    "Those rainbow rays were..."

    "That should be correct!"

    As they set their eyes on the rainbow rays surrounding Prince Li of the First Rank, they all thought of one thing. Something that everyone knew but only a handful had really witnessed it.

    It was rumored that there were thirty-six Sacred Rocks in the world, and upon each of them was an inscription of a divine Dao which allowed one to instantly reach the Sagely State.

    But only a few knew how exactly one reached the Sagely State or how the Sacred Rocks looked like.

    But everyone knew it was a fact that there was a Sage Land in the Great Xia Dynasty in which thirteen Sacred Rocks were hidden.

    A staggering number.

    Very staggering indeed, because even the Heavenly Dao Pavilion had only nine Sacred Rocks.

    For an empire like the Holy Barbarian Empire, which wasparable in power to the Great Xia Dynasty, its share of Sacred Rocks could be described as pitiful.

    In fact...

    The Holy Barbarian Empire only had one Sacred Rock!

    Of course, this was not to say that the Holy Barbarian Empire was not powerful enough. But because a very long time ago, the entire world only had one country: Great Xia.

    But as time passed, Great Xia was separated into many countries and the concept of a united Great Xia was lost.

    Until a few thousand years ago...

    The Great Xia Dynasty emerged once again. Five Sacred Rocks were exchanged for five hundred thousand troops, and together with thebined strength thirteen residences, they conquered the world and rebuilt the empire on this very piece ofnd, forming the Great Xia of today.

    It was another glorious period of the empire. Although it was notparable to the glory of ancient past, they still stood proudly on their originalnd. Only it was a pity that in a few thousand years, the number of Sacred Rocks declined, till the thirteen Rocks of today.

    What had caused this to happen? It¡¯s tooplicated to exin.

    But even so, the Great Xia Dynasty now had thirteen Sacred Rocks. But the Sage Land no longer existed.

    Then, where would the thirteen Sacred Rocks be?

    Of course, no one had the answer.

    Someone had guessed that the thirteen Sacred Rocks were hidden in the thirteen residences because each residence had a world of its own.

    For example, the Divine Constabry had the Heavenly Treasure Hall, the Stabilization Constabry had the Blue Jade Terrace. If the Sacred Rocks were hidden in these worlds, no one would be able to find them.

    It was a safe choice to do so.

    As for the uracy of this guess, no one dared to verify.

    It was a hidden secret, but when everyone saw the rainbow glow in Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s eyes, that was what they thought of.

    "So, the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Sacred Rocks were in Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s residence!" Qian Wu looked at Prince Li of the First Rank, his eyes lit up while he smiled coldly.

    Because he was also aware that it was only when one had mastered the inscription on the Sacred Rock, then he would shine with such brilliance.

    Prince Li of the First Rank, Sage Land, Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s residence, gardening, bird-keeping...

    Instantly Qian Wu understood why Prince Li of the First Rank always remained shut in his residence and the location of the thirteen Sacred Rocks.

    Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s residence.

    Yan Capital City, the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, the home of the emperor. In such an open ce with free flow of human activity, who would have thought to obtain them? Who would have even thought of it?

    "When I conquer Great Xia, the thirteen Sacred Rock will belong to my Holy Barbarian Empire!" Qian Wu thought excitedly. This made him impatient. "King Xieluo, kill them now!"

    "King Xieluo, as the Demon King, your actions have already crossed the line. Do you know the consequences if you dare to hurt the Emperor?" Prince Li of the First Rank asked, staring at King Xieluo as he pressed firmly on his shoulder.

    "Consequence? Hehe... Let¡¯s talk about this after you defeat me!" King Xieluoughed, then continued: "And talking about consequences, do you know the consequences of stopping me? Can¡¯t you tell that the one I¡¯m killing is Fang Zhengzhi?"

    Of course, Prince Li of the First Rank knew that King Xieluo was after Fang Zhengzhi. But as Fang Zhengzhi led him closer to Emperor Lin Mubai...

    How could he tolerate this?

    And more importantly, he wasn¡¯t certain that after killing Fang Zhengzhi, King Xieluo would keep his promise and return to the Near-Life Gate.

    Qian Wu¡¯s words and the Demon King¡¯s words...

    Were they trustable?

    With Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s age and experience, he wasn¡¯t so na?ve as to gamble a dynasty¡¯s fate on a single "promise".

    Now, the best solution wasn¡¯t for King Xieluo to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    But...

    Stopping him from continuing to kill.

    Initially, Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s n was for Fang Zhengzhi to take a blow from King Xieluo, and when King Xieluo was striking Fang Zhengzhi, he would sneak an attack of his true powers from behind when King Xieluo let his guard down.

    But he never expected Fang Zhengzhi to run, and even without any hesitation, toward Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Wait!

    Where¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Prince Li of the First Rank looked around for Fang Zhengzhi, but he was gone.

    Turning back, Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s rainbow rays flickered a little as he saw a ck figure dashing away in the distance.

    And without question...

    This figure was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Prince Li of the First Rank was stunned briefly.

    He wanted to call out to Fang Zhengzhi and say "Hey, let¡¯s fight the Demon King together!"

    But obviously, Fang Zhengzhi would never return. He ran so quickly, never once turning back. In the blink of an eye, there was only a tiny silhouette of him left.

    "He ran away while I held King Xieluo back? This brat... he did that intentionally!" King Xieluo suddenly came to this realization.

    "Move, move away, are you blind? Can¡¯t you see the Near-Life Gate in my hand? Let me pass or I¡¯ll smash this!" Fang Zhengzhi could be heard shouting from afar.

 Chapter 584 Destroying the Palace

    Prince Li¡¯s expression seemed a little stiff.

    But Qian Wu reached the peak of his fury as he clearly saw Fang Zhengzhi running away with his Near-Life Gate.

    Did he run away?

    Yes, indeed. Along with his Near-Life Gate.

    Did he do it intentionally? If he really wanted to save his own life, shouldn¡¯t he drop the Near-Life Gate?

    Qian Wu could not be certain. But he was sure of the consequences if Fang Zhengzhi brought it out of the pce.

    "Give my Near-Life Gate back!"

    "You¡¯re mistaken. This is my Near-Life Gate!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without even turning back, speeding toward the pce gate while carrying the giant Near-Life Gate.

    There was a saying that one¡¯s sess was dependent on his bravery.

    How would he return something that he had already seized?

    Would that be silly!

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t sacrifice his life for Prince Li of the First Rank who was only concerned with the Great Xia Dynasty and saving the Emperor and Ping Yang, but not him.

    But for him to return something that he had snatched was impossible.

    "Boom!"

    The Near-Life Gate was smashed on the ground, creating a path between the Pce Guards blocking the way.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi used the Near-Life Gate as a springboard, with a forceful push, he leaped past the contingent of Pce Guards, leaving with a giant vanishing silhouette.

    And watching Fang Zhengzhi leave...

    Qian Wu¡¯s was about to erupt. He wanted to get King Xieluo to chase after Fang Zhengzhi but seeing King Xieluo was so close to Emperor Lin Mubai, he hesitated.

    But King Xieluo didn¡¯t hesitate.

    With a jerk of his shoulder, a ripple of light rays lit up, and the hand that was previously holding down his shoulder was released. Then he rushed toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    With insane lightning speed.

    Prince Li of the First Rank took a step back in the direction of Emperor Lin Mubai, his expression intense and grave as he furrowed his brows. But he didn¡¯t chase after King Xieluo.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if King Xieluo would turn back.

    "Uncle, I can handle the situation here, please go to the pce gate now!" As Emperor Lin Mubai watched King Xieluo chasing after Fang Zhengzhi, he spoke after his a few heavy coughs, despite the appalling pallor on his face.

    When Prince Li of the First Rank heard Emperor Lin Mubai, his eyes gleamed as he watched King Xieluo run farther and farther away in the distance, and Qian Wu, and Lin Xinjue who was surrounded by the Pce Guards.

    Clenching his teeth, he hesitated no further.

    "I¡¯ll leave this ce to Your Majesty, then!" Finishing his sentence, Prince Li of the First Rank chased after them immediately.

    Everything was a matter of urgency. Fang Zhengzhi indeed ran away, but he also took with him the Near-Life Gate. This meant that he had saved the pce from some disaster.

    Although the emperor¡¯s security is of top priority, if the Near-Life Gatended in the wrong hands, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    The rainbow rays glowed again.

    And off went the Prince Li of the First Rank in the direction of Fang Zhengzhi and King Xieluo.

    Following closely behind King Xieluo were two figures: Yan Xiu and Shan Yu. Their speeds were as fast as him. When King Xieluo gave chase, both had followed along.

    "Grandfather bring me along!" Ping Yang eximed.

    Prince Li of the First Rank squinted his eyes in the distance. With a motion of his palm, the wave of rainbow rays wrapped Ping Yang and brought her beside him.

    To Emperor Lin Mubai, Ping Yang¡¯s presence in the pce would only bring harm instead of good.

    Prince Li was well aware of this and bringing Ping Yang along would ease Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s worries. It would make the situation in the pce more manageable.

    "They all ran away?" Qian Wu wondered as he watched Prince Li of the First Rank brought Ping Yang with him. He looked at Emperor Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua surrounded by the Dragon Protection Squad, then at the Pce Guards and Southern Army who were still fighting.

    He felt that he should continue to stay at the pce.

    But...

    What for?

    To kill Emperor Lin Mubai? Without King Xieluo, and with his Near-Life Gate taken away, it would be impossible to kill Emperor Lin Mubai.

    But he couldn¡¯t give up just like that.

    Fight till the end!

    Qian Wu shot an icy re and finally joined the battle.

    ...

    In the darkness of the night, a figure dressed in a purple robe leaped over the pce gates from a strange angle, entering the pce with lightning speed.

    Lord Chi Hong from the Divine Constabry.

    He rarely did such sneaky entrances for the past few decades, but he didn¡¯t wish to waste any time on the guards at the pce gates.

    Though he leaped and jumped and hurdled, his speed never decreased. Instead, he ran faster and faster.

    As he approached the Throne Room, he squinted intensely. Because the Throne Room as he had expected was gone.

    "Where¡¯s the Throne Room?" Chi Hong was stunned. Then a frightening thought emerged: "Was the Throne Room destroyed?!"

    He was petrified at this thought.

    "Who are you!" Even if it was Chi Hong, anyone would have been rattled when a shadow emerged from a distance, especially with such a huge shadow.

    A ridiculous shadow was cast under a moonlight. And more importantly, that shadow moved unbelievably fast.

    Was it a beast?

    With this thought, he took a closer look. Then his jaw dropped in a shock.

    It was even more shocking than the missing Throne Room!

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Chi Hong¡¯s mouth was wide agape, uttering a name he would never have expected.

    Weren¡¯t his powers wasted?

    How could he move so fast?

    And how heavy was the giant bronze gate he had raised on his hand?

    How could he even lift it?

    Wait a moment.

    This bronze gate seemed a little familiar...

    Chi Hong was absolutely bewildered as countless questions raced through his mind. No matter how he thought, he could never grasp what was happening here.

    And Fang Zhengzhi, who was running toward him, lit up when he saw Chi Hong.

    Had the heavens heard his prayers and provided a savior?

    "My Lord, please save me. Stop the demon behind me!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother with formalities and eximed without hesitation.

    "Demon? What demon? Weren¡¯t your powers wasted? How can you run so fast? Have you been deceiving me all this while?" Chi Hong shot him a barrage of questions.

    "It just a demon easy for you to defeat. But I can¡¯t defeat him. I¡¯ll exin thingster, please help me here!" Of course, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t exin matters like this, so he just stated his requests.

    "A small demon?" Chi Hong hesitated briefly. Then he remembered his purpose here ¨C to save the emperor. And any small demon must be killed immediately. As for the issue of Fang Zhengzhi hiding his powers from him, it could be discussedter. "Alright, leave it to me!"

    ¡¯Thank you, my Lord!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled, then ran past Chi Hong, toward the pce gates without stopping even for a moment.

    And Chi Hong continued his way toward the Throne Room¡¯s position.

    But...

    He didn¡¯t run very far.

    Because when Fang Zhengzhi ran past him, his vision suddenly expanded, and he spotted a flickering figure under the moonlight.

    The figure was dressed like a schr in a white robe, a jade pendant shaped like a beast hung at his waist. He had a paleplexion and handsome, exquisite features.

    But most importantly, his eyes seemed freaky, almost devilish.

    Dark green rays filled his eyes, and the "scar" on his forehead blinked slowly. His most obvious feature? Two curved horns at the top of his head.

    Under the moonlight, it shimmered in with a golden hue.

    "A person?!" Chi Hong stopped dead in his tracks. Once again, he was shocked as he watched the figure charge toward him in breakneck speed. "Fuck, how is this a small demon?"

    Chi Hong really felt like screaming at Fang Zhengzhi, even more so if he could pin him down and punch his face.

    He could tolerate Fang Zhengzhi deceiving him about his powers being wasted.

    But how could he say that that Demon King was just some small demon?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you stand right there!" Chi Hong shouted at Fang Zhengzhi. Within his mission of saving the emperor in mind, he couldn¡¯t just run away like Fang Zhengzhi.

    "My Lord, I believe in you, you can do it. It¡¯s just a mere Demon King!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without stopping.

    Chi Hong was speechless.

    Then his eyes turned toward the huge bronze gate Fang Zhengzhi was holding up. And in an instant, a name shed in his mind.

    The Near-Life Gate!

    Wait a minute, he was holding the Near-Life Gate?

    How was it possible!

    Of course, Chi Hong had seen the Near-Life Gate in the past. But he would never have expected that the Near-Life Gate would be lifted by Fang Zhengzhi, and with that, Fang Zhengzhi could run at such a speed?

    Could it be that this guy had mastered the Near-Life Dao? That¡¯s even more impossible. The Near-Life Dao was a secret technique of the Northern Barbarians royal family, how could Fang Zhengzhi have mastered it?

    The more he thought, the more confused he became.

    Then...

    He ran.

    He was helpless as the Demon King was approaching. As he ascertained what Fang Zhengzhi was holding was indeed the Near-Life Gate, naturally, he had some clues.

    If the Near-Life Gate was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, and he was chased by the Demon King, then he was sure that protecting the Near-Life Gate was more important.

    With this reasoning, Chi Hong was able to run quickly without any concern.

    "Hey, Fang Zhengzhi, you stand right there. Tell me, are you holding the Northern Barbarians¡¯ Near-Life Gate?" Chi Hong shouted as he ran toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Oh? My lord, you know your stuff well. But now, this Near-Life Gate is mine!" Fang Zhengzhi corrected Chi Hong.

    "Your Near-Life Gate? You¡¯re beyond shameless!" Chi Hong chided.

    But he was very surprised.

    Was it really the Near-Life Gate? What was going on? And what was happening in the pce?

    Fang Zhengzhi realized something was amiss because Chi Hong¡¯s voice was obviously not far away. Then he looked behind.

    "Shit. Go fight the small demon, why are you following me?"

    "Fuck your small demon. You think I¡¯m stupid? It¡¯s obviously the Demon King!" Chi Hong snapped back.

    "But you¡¯re the Divine Lord of the Northern Lands! Can¡¯t you defeat a mere Demon King?" Fang Zhengzhi continued to run as he replied.

    "I can¡¯t defeat him!" Chi Hong wasn¡¯t at all embarrassed to say that. Then he asked: "What¡¯s going on in the pce? How¡¯s His Majesty?"

    "Good question, my lord. I¡¯ll tell you for a hundred thousand pieces of silver!" Fang Zhengzhi grew hopeful with the pce gate in sight.

    "You still care about silver at this juncture? Don¡¯t you fear I¡¯ll go back on my word?"

    "Oh, I really don¡¯t. As the Divine Lord who is rushing to save the emperor in the pce but was scared away by the Demon King, do you think this will make an interesting story when people talk about it in the restaurants?"

    "How dare you threaten me!" Chi Hong¡¯s was shocked, then he clenched his teeth and replied anyway. "Alright, a hundred thousand pieces of silver it is!"

    "The Throne Room is destroyed; the emperor is still alive."

    "And?"

    "That¡¯s all."

    "..."

    Chi Hong felt as though he had poured a hundred thousand pieces of silver in the drain. But as least he knew Emperor Lin Mubai was safe, and that relieved him.

    "Hey, wait for me!"

    "My lord, you¡¯re silly. Don¡¯t you know that thest in line will the first to suffer?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother looking back as he charged with full speed toward the pce gate.

    "..." Chi Hong was speechless.

    And at this moment, the surprised pce guards rushed toward them and aimed their spears at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just like how Chi Hong felt when he saw Fang Zhengzhi. Millions of questions emerged in their minds. It was utter disbelief.

    But these questions didn¡¯t seem important anymore.

    Because the Near-Life Gate that Fang Zhengzhi was holding was about to fall.

    "Boom!" A deafening crash.

    Tiny stones flew out upon impact and a giant crevasse appeared on the ground, reaching the pce gates from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foot. The huge shockwave made forced the Pce Guards to retreat.

    At the moment when the Near-Life Gate was dropped, Fang Zhengzhi leaped insanely high, across the towering pce walls.

    "This brat..." Chi Hong was once again totally astounded.

 Chapter 585 The Last Attack, Breaking Through the Capital

    Chi Hong looked behind. His heart almost shrank. As the Lord of the Divine Constabry in charge of guarding the Northern Lands Five Constabries, this had immeasurable confidence and bravery.

    But...

    That did not mean he wasn¡¯t cautious.

    After all, there was a difference between confidence and arrogance. And more importantly, didn¡¯t this seem a tad too exaggerated?

    Something huge appeared from thin air and loomed above him. This figure was entirely covered in thick ck armor, and two massive, curved horns were erected on its head.

    Dark green rays of light flowed freely in its eyes.

    Under its gigantic, powerful body were four massive hooves covered in ck fur stepping toward Chi Hong.

    The sky was blocked by the enormity of this giant. The stars the and moon were gone. Its ck shadow engulfed the pce gates.

    Chi Hong finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant when he said thest in line would be the first to suffer.

    Apparently...

    The Demon King appeared when Fang Zhengzhi leaped over the pce gates. Its goal was simple: to close the distance with Fang Zhengzhi and kill him in mid-air.

    Chi Hong was in a dilemma.

    At this juncture, of course, he could run away. Because the Demon King¡¯s target was Fang Zhengzhi. But could he really do so?

    No.

    It did not matter if Fang Zhengzhi would survive if he escaped. Chi Hong couldn¡¯t abandon Fang Zhengzhi for the sake of the Near-Life Gate in his hands.

    "Little rascal, you owe me one!" Chi Hong squatted, then his body glowed brilliantly in emerald green rays.

    "Whoosh!"

    In an instant, Chi Hong leaped up forcefully, with his palms outstretched, ten bright green rays shot out from his fingers.

    "Boom!"

    The ten rays sted out from his fingers with lightning speed and instantly smashed on the giant Demon King¡¯s head.

    And the ten rays simultaneously exploded.

    "Pshh..."

    Countless emerald green rays interweaved in the air, forming a giant green, upon which the Demon King¡¯s giant head lunged against.

    "Snap!"

    The green was on the verge of breaking.

    Such a shockingly bizarre scene in the dead of night.

    The Pce Guards by the pce gates first saw Fang Zhengzhi leaping past the pce walls, then watched an enormous ck figure looming above them while it stepped forward. And finally, its head knocking hitting against the giant green.

    Truly astounding.

    "What creature is that?!"

    "So powerful!"

    "Quick, run, it¡¯sing!"

    All the Pce Guards gasped and started to disperse. To them, it was a battle they could never win.

    "Roar!"

    At this moment, the Demon King roared like a beast. The green was torn into pieces, then its giant figure suddenly shrank. In an instant, he had returned to his original size, dressed in white like a schr.

    "Oh my god!"

    "A demon in human form, could it be the Demon King?!"

    "It¡¯s the Demon King! What is going on? Save me now!"

    The scattered Pce Guards was bewildered upon this transformation as they searched for concealed ces to hide.

    "So you think you can stop me?" King Xieluo didn¡¯t care about the petrified Pce Guards but stared right at Chi Hong with his cold, strange, green eyes.

    Chi Hong¡¯s body fell painfully on the ground, a trace of blood streaked from his mouth, his face slightly pale.

    The Demon King.

    What a terrifying existence.

    Even the emperor might not defeat him in a fight, how could the Lord of the Divine Constabry expect to stop him?

    But Chi Hong had no regrets.

    Because he was one of the thirteen residences who fought alongside the emperor in battles. He was responsible for the defense of the pce and of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    He could resort to unscrupulous means in the quest for power, he could kill hundreds of people for the sake of the dynasty¡¯s progress, but he could not choose to save himself over the Great Xia Dynasty when it was on the brink of death.

    "I have stopped you!" Chi Hong stared back at King Xieluo¡¯s green eyes. Despite his pale face, his expression was unrelenting.

    "Good!" King Xieluo nodded, then he moved. But this time he did not charge at Chi Hong, instead, he continued his chase for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "You¡¯re not killing me?" Chi Hong looked at King Xieluo who began to run toward Fang Zhengzhi. He didn¡¯t get it. After all, he was already injured.

    And he did anger King Xieluo.

    Not killing...

    How did that make any sense?

    Chi Hong was puzzled.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he had gone to hell and back. Indeed, the Demon King was powerful. If it weren¡¯t for Chi Hong who stopped him, he would have been severely hurt, if not already dead.

    But why did King Xieluo not stop to fight Chi Hong?

    Fang Zhengzhi saw King Xieluo who, once again, started to charge at him. He was momentarily confused, but he finally understood when he spotted the three figures behind him.

    Yan Xiu, Shan Yu and Prince Li of the First Rank.

    Of course, King Xieluo had the chance to kill Chi Hou. But if he dyed any further, he would be stopped by them.

    What that happened, it would be one versus four.

    Though he could probably defeat them, it would waste some of his time.

    "Indeed, a clever Demon King!" As the one and only target of King Xieluo, he felt immense pressure.

    Didn¡¯t he just go to the pce for the "show"? Why did he need to chase so relentlessly? Well, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t offend him, and it was just a Near-Life Gate!

    No time to hesitate any further.

    Fang Zhengzhi could only run.

    ...

    It was such a happening night. The moonlight cascaded from the skies, wrapping tenderly around the historic Yan Capital like fineyers of silk.

    Countless people streamed about the streets and alleys of Yan Capital, for the noise in the pce and at its gates were too loud for them to sleep.

    Then...

    A figure appeared in their vision.

    He emerged from the pce and weaved around them, wearing in a new ck imperial dress bearing "Imperial" on its chest, a symbol of his identity.

    After all, this man was once of high status.

    The teacher of many geniuses, the youngest of the Chief Imperial Messenger of the Imperial Academy, and the Chief Examiner of this year¡¯s Imperial Examinations: His Excellency Fang Zhengzhi.

    Had someone in Yan Capital not heard of him, this person would be grossly ignorant.

    But with his glory as the Chief Examiner of the Imperial Examinations, why would he end up in such a sorry state?

    And what was he holding on his hand?

    In ancient texts, it was mentioned that powerful people could lift enormous weights.

    Could it have been that powerful people could lift... gates?

    And most importantly...

    How could His Excellency Fang, whose powers were wasted in the Southern Region war, run so insanely fast while lifting such a giant bronze gate?

    Everyone had so many questions.

    Of course, all questions consolidated into the most crucial one: His Excellency seemed as though he was running to escape something, but where was he running to?

    Confusion, shock, astonishment...

    Countless expressions appeared on their faces as they really wanted to stop him from "running away" and ask him: why?

    But when they saw King Xieluo chasing behind Fang Zhengzhi, these transformed into terror as they felt fear from deep within.

    "What demon is that? Why does he have two horns on his head!"

    "Demon King! He¡¯s the Demon King in human form!"

    "Huh? Demon King!"

    "Quick, run!"

    Themoners, who were about to ask and learn what was going on, immediately dispersed upon seeing King Xieluo.

    No one was in their way. Or rather, no one wished to stand in their way.

    Yan Capital was big.

    But when the two figures were running at such a mind-bending speed, Yan Capital didn¡¯t seem that big after all.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a difficult situation. But when he saw the mayhem at the Yan Capital gates, which was closing...

    He felt even worse.

    "Open the gates, let me out!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, filled with misery and helplessness, reverberated through the night.

    It didn¡¯t seem like it was shouted by an eighteen-year-old teenager, for it was too mncholic. As if there were a thousand sorrowful cuts upon his heart.

    It was a depressing atmosphere.

    Of course, there was a demon behind him. A Demon King.

    Existence was painful.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice but to keep running.

    When the soldiers and others at the capital gates heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s distressed cries, they instinctively looked behind him.

    Then they were astonished.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Su Qing eximed. He stood at a high position at the top of the capital gates, while his clothes pped incessantly in the winds.

    At the most important juncture of this campaign...

    He had to remain absolutely calm.

    He never forgot this even when he was facing Marquis Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabry, and when they were attacked by thousands of soldiers of the Mountain Breaking Army.

    But now...

    He really couldn¡¯t remain calm.

    Because witnessed so clearly that Fang Zhengzhi was holding up a bronze gate, and the most valuable treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire, the Near-Life Gate.

    At this moment, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

    Numb and a little dumb.

    How did the Near-Life Gate end up with Fang Zhengzhi? And it was even brought to the capital gates? How could he lift the Near-Life Gate? How could he run so fast...

    Like the countlessmoners who witnessed this sight, many questions emerged in Su Qing¡¯s mind. His intelligent, quick-witted mind suddenly halted.

    Because he was totally confused as to what was happening.

    And he wasn¡¯t the only one.

    The soldiers of the Holy Barbarian Empire around him couldn¡¯t understand too. Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was running toward them and the shiny Near-Life Gate glowing under the moonlight...

    They werepletely baffled.

    "Stop Fang Zhengzhi now!" Su Qingmanded the only order he could think of, his mind snapped back after it had frozen momentarily.

    He didn¡¯t know what had happened for such an unbelievable scene to happen, but he was certain that the pce gates should be shut and the Near-Life Gate must not remain in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    With his order, the Holy Barbarian soldiers moved into position, raising their pikes and ready to attack.

    "No, guard the pce gates, stop him from leaving the capital!"

    As amander in a battle, Su Qing was aware that changing his orders at thest minute was a fatal mistake. The soldiers may not be able to adapt, and they might lose trust in him.

    But...

    Su Qing ordered once again.

    If he was described as dazed a moment ago, he was now much calmer. At least he felt so.

    The reason was simple. He saw the white figure chasing behind Fang Zhengzhi and the Mountain Breaking Army charging toward the capital gates.

    If he had ordered them to attack...

    They would be destroyed.

    It could be said that Su Qing corrected his mistake at the appropriate time. But a mistake was still a mistake, just like how one could not simply apologize and walk away after he had reached in a girl¡¯s pants.

    Su Qing corrected his mistake quickly.

    Su Qing was still captured by Xing Yuanguo, because he had much experience in the battleground, and he understood that anything could happen in battle.

    Just like...

    Fang Zhengzhi lifting the Near-Life Gate, running toward him.

    He was shocked, but this kind of shock did not make him confused and dazed but presented to him an opportunity.

    And this was rted to his position.

    His goal was to break through the capital gates. And now that someone was running toward him, with the Near-Life Gate, how great of an opportunity would it be!

 Chapter 586 Fang Zhengzhi, Well Done!

    Xing Yuanguo made a surprising decision.

    It was surprising because it was something no one had expected or would have thought of. It wasn¡¯tplicated at all and could be expressed in two words.

    And that was...

    "Move away!"

    "Move away!"

    "Move..."

    The Mountain Breaking Army, who was charging toward the capital gates moved aside, taking a few steps towards the sides of the gates. A "wide path" leading toward the Northern Barbarians Army was opened.

    Of course, the one who was most surprised was Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What? It¡¯s really opening?!" Fang Zhengzhi had never once felt his words were so powerful. With one sentence, he had moved a few thousand soldiers of the Mountain Breaking Army.

    Were they that obedient?

    A moment ago, he screamed what he truly felt because he couldn¡¯t see the situation at the capital gates. He didn¡¯t know that there was an ongoing battle right there.

    But now...

    He could see it very clearly!

    The Northern Barbarians Army were blocking the capital gates, while Su Qing stood above them on top of the capital walls. Why, then, did Xing Yuanguo ordered them to move away?

    Shouldn¡¯t Xing Yuanguo order the Mountain Breaking Army to save him? Or would he be saving him by himself? He should have taken down Su Qing while he wasn¡¯t paying attention!

    Move away?

    No way!

    Obviously, Xing Yuanguo wanted Fang Zhengzhi to step within the formation of Northern Barbarians Army by himself.

    If there was a choice, Fang Zhengzhi would never allow himself to be such a situation. But he had no other option. He could already feel the aura behind him.

    King Xieluo was very close to him...

    Turn in a different direction?

    Impossible.

    Because a straight line would always be shorter than a crooked one.

    Without any other options, and without hesitation, raising his Near-Life Gate high above, he entered the tight formation of the Northern Barbarians Army.

    "My Lord, please convey my greetings to your sister!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted angrily, then he mmed the Near-Life Gate toward the Northern Barbarians Army.

    "Sure!" Xing Yuanguo looked at the Near-Life Gate, then curled his lips in a smile: "Using the Near-Life Gate to open a path? Not bad!"

    "Boom!"

    As Xing Yuanguo finished his sentence, a deafening sound rang in the night sky. One that was powerful enough to shake the earth.

    At the same time, a giant crack appeared on the ground.

    "Ah!"

    "Ah..."

    Countless painful groans filled the air.

    As the most valuable treasure of the Holy Barbarians Empire...

    The Near-Life Gate had been in existence for many, many years. And all these while, the Near-Life Gate was unmoved, like a gate which linked the heaven and earth.

    The reason was simple: no one could move it.

    Hence, we could imagine the sheer weight of the Near-Life Gate.

    This remained for a very long time until someone appeared and moved the Near-Life Gate. Not only moved but kept it for his own use.

    Until now...

    With the unification of the Holy Barbarians, a great Holy Barbarians Empire was built.

    It could be said that the Near-Life Gate yed a key role for the Holy Barbarians Empire of today, or that the Holy Barbarians Empire spread the name of the Near-Life Gate far and wide.

    So, how could the Northern Barbarians Army block it with their pikes? Well, they knew that the Near-Life Gate could never be damaged.

    But it was also because they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to use their pikes against their most divine treasure. Hence, they could only dodge it.

    And of course, there were some who didn¡¯t seed.

    So as the Near-Life Gate mmed on the ground, the soldiers with their thick armors were smashed too. They fell in the huge crack upon the Gate¡¯s impact and were moaning in excruciating pain.

    The Holy Barbarians had a "wolf" as a totem, and they addressed their most elite team of soldiers as lycanthropes.

    Fang Zhengzhi had run into a "pack of wolves" with the Near-Life Gate by himself.

    He should only have been a sheep.

    But he held the "alpha wolf¡¯s tooth", the most valuable treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire ¨C the Near-Life Gate. And this was quite surprising.

    And of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know anything about these.

    All he felt was it was very easy to enter, and the tight circr formation had magically broken after he had mmed the Near-Life Gate.

    He made a gap in the formation.

    And he was very excited.

    At this moment, he was beginning to feel hopeful. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

    Then he raised the Near-Life Gate again, nonchntly carrying it on his shoulder. It was as though he was carrying a "giant weapon".

    Awe and shock filled the air.

    The Northern Barbarians Army stared at Fang Zhengzhi. They feared not Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power, but the Near-Life Gate on in hands.

    And at this time, a purple ray of light appeared from behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    A human figured wrapped in purple light.

    It was crazy fast!

    Stepping on the heads of the Northern Barbarians soldiers, he charged up the capital walls like a meteor, while grabbing their pikes and shooting it out.

    "Whoosh!"

    "Whoosh!"

    The sounds of the pikes piercing the air.

    "Your Excellency Fang has done a great job. I¡¯ll convey your greetings to my sister!" said the purple ray, which had fused with the pikes in his collection.

    What¡¯s despicableness?

    What Xing Yuanguo had done was a great example!

    He made Fang Zhengzhi open the path, then seized this chance for his own credit.

    If he had known that Xing Yuanguo was such an opportunistic person, he wouldn¡¯t have given him any chance, and instead, smashed the Near-Life Gate on his purple head.

    To let him know what flowers could be green too.

    Specifically, the verdigris of patina.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother much about whatever credit. His most urgent concern was to escape, though Xing Yuanguo wanted to do the great task of capturing the leader of the opponent.

    Then, he could do the easy task of escaping the capital without much pressure.

    But he thought of Xing Yuanguo¡¯s age and felt a chill in his heart. "I¡¯ve changed my mind. My Lord, it¡¯s better to convey my greetings to your daughter!"

    Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t bother replying to him.

    Because he had reached in front of Su Qing. A long sword appeared on his hand, and with that, he pointed it at Su Qing¡¯s chest.

    It was mentioned in ancient texts that a valiant leader could capture the chief of his opponent among ten thousand troops. And Xing Yuanguo was indubitably one example.

    Su Qing was stunned pale.

    He knew he had made a small mistake, but he hadn¡¯t expected it would result in such serious consequences. And never would he think that Xing Yuanguo would immediately seize the window of opportunity to order for the Mountain Breaking Army to open a path for Fang Zhengzhi.

    But he had miscalcted everything.

    Whether in the Imperial Halls or in political arguments, he was always confident that he could manage the situation. But in a war, Xing Yuanguo was so much more decisive.

    When something had changed in battle, his first thought was to stop it, his second was to defend.

    But Xing Yuanguo?

    He could see through the nature of the battle and the hearts of the soldiers. He had used the Northern Barbarians Army¡¯s innate fear of the Near-Life Gate to open a path for Fang Zhengzhi, then used Fang Zhengzhi to break a gap in their formation.

    That was not all.

    In the instant the gap was opened, he could seize the opponentmander.

    His superb control and strategy on the battlefield and his decisive bravery opened Su Qing¡¯s eyes to his might as the leader of Thirteen Constabries, the pir of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Protect His Excellency!"

    "Back off!"

    A few masked warriors beside Su Qing moved. In the instant they saw Xing Yuanguo charged towards Su Qing, they had moved forward to shield Su Qing from the attack.

    Their swords were unsheathed and flew towards the pikes that Xing Yuanguo had shot out.

    "Cling, ng!"

    It was a battle between the swords and the pikes. It was only through such a fight where the winner could emerge.

    But...

    It was when their swords touched the pikes that they were shocked. It was sheer unrelenting, merciless force that inspired fear and panic in their souls.

    They stepped back involuntarily.

    "No!"

    These masked warriors had the same thought in their minds: they never expected the pikes that Xing Yuanguo simply threw out could possess such a terrifying force.

    They were shielding in front of Su Qing, but in the end, they were split up by the force of the pikes?

    They wanted to rush forward, but it was toote.

    Because Xing Yuanguo had reached.

    And Su Qing was standing before Xing Yuanguo in all his vulnerability.

    Under the moonlight, the sword gleamed with coldness.

    Su Qing did not dodge. He simply couldn¡¯t. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

    But the sword arrived anyway.

    And unmistakably pierced his chest.

    Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes lit up. He knew the importance of such an opportunity, and that if he had missed it, it was near impossible that he would encounter it again.

    So...

    His sword showed no mercy.

    Without hesitation or reservation.

    But when a "clink" sound rang in his ear, his expressions changed for the worst. The biggest reason why he did not deliver the sword into Su Qing¡¯s throat was that he guessed Su Qing had already reached the Supernatural State.

    If he had pierced Su Qing¡¯s throat...

    Su Qing had a fifty percent chance of surviving.

    But piercing his heart was different. His chance of survival would be less than ten percent, and Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t intend to let him live.

    So, his heart was the best choice.

    But anything still had a chance of an ident. And now it has happened.

    It was rare for Xing Yuanguo to regret his actions, but now he did. He should have guessed that...

    Su Qing wasn¡¯t someone of a powerful state.

    It was exactly opposite...

    In terms of his power, Su Qing wasn¡¯t someone distinguished. So, as an important figure in the outer regions, how would he not have something to protect himself?

    "Pshh!" Su Qing spurted a mouthful of blood.

    His body flew backward like aet and hit against a side of the thick capital walls with a loud boom. A crater was formed on the said wall.

    "Xing Yuanguo, you¡¯re finished!"

    "Don¡¯t let him escape!"

    "Charge!"

    The few masked warriors heard the noise and snapped back to reality. They didn¡¯t allow Xing Yuanguo a second chance.

    In a moment, they had surrounded Xing Yuanguo.

    And behind them, Su Qing was in a half-kneel, his face sickly pale.

    Although he was wearing a protective treasure, he could not withstand this blow from Xing Yuanguo, for it was way too forceful.

    "Cough, cough... Marquis Xing of the Stabilization Constabry, you live up to your powerful reputation as I have experienced it!" Su Qing said as he coughed up mouthfuls of blood. His forehead was sweating profusely. "But you are now surrounded, how will you escape this?"

    "Lord!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army, too, saw Xing Yuanguo surrounded by masked warriors, who seemed very nervous.

    They had witnessed clearly what happened a moment ago.

    Although Xing Yuanguo¡¯s forceful pikes made them step back, these masked warriors were not injured. And they could adapt to the situation so quickly.

    From this point alone, one could tell the state of their abilities.

    Rebirth State!

    They had, minimally, reached the intermediate stage of the Rebirth State!

    "Ah!"

    "No!"

    When everyone had their eyes on Xing Yuanguo, a few cries could be heard from the castle gates. This added tension to the scene.

    "Shit. Quick, stop Fang Zhengzhi now! Cough... Don¡¯t let him near the Four Appearances ... Ancient... Formation..." When Su Qing heard the screams from below, his body froze.

    He should have ordered as such long ago.

    But it was dyed by Xing Yuanguo¡¯s sudden strike.

    And now...

    It was obviously toote.

    Su Qing wanted so badly to stand up, but he was so seriously injured he didn¡¯t have the strength to do so. He could only half-kneel, raise his head and look at the figure who had suddenly appeared on top of the castle gates.

    Did he rush here with Xing Yuanguo?

    Or did he rush here while the Northern Barbarians Army was distracted by Xing Yuanguo?

    Su Qing couldn¡¯t be certain.

    But all of these were not important anymore.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi had reached the top of the Four Appearances Ancient Formation, with his ck imperial attire waving in the night breeze.

 Chapter 587 An Odd Pretense

    "If you answer correctly, I won¡¯t smash it!" Su Qing, who was shivering, said as he stared at Fang Zhengzhi atop the capital gates.

    Of course, he knew what Fang Zhengzhi was up to.

    But he was also aware of his situation. It felt as though he was a drunkdy pressed under a huge, burly man.

    With every inch of her body groped by him.

    Although resistance was futile, she would still struggle and scream "No! Stop! Save me! Please let me go..."

    It was useless.

    But if she didn¡¯t scream, what else could she do? Well, she couldn¡¯t just shut her mouth or shout "yes, yes, hug me tight, fuck me harder", right?

    Obviously, it was impossible.

    So, Su Qing could only shout. And he must shout something that he felt would allow his opponent to free him, though his chances are extremely minute.

    "One!"

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s said that, many thoughts shed by Su Qing¡¯s mind. Then he clenched his teeth and shouted: "You did it on purpose?"

    "Your answer is correct!" Fang Zhengzhi was pleased with Su Qing¡¯s response, then he smiled and said: "But the time¡¯s up!"

    What?

    Time¡¯s up?

    What an insult!

    It was truly an insult, an insult so in that one could not resist. Though Su Qing knew what would happen, it was difficult to contain the anger in his heart.

    "Blurgh..." A mouthful of blood spurted out of Su Qing¡¯s mouth. Then he watched Fang Zhengzhi drop the Near-Life Gate onto the Four Appearances Ancient Formation. "No!"

    At this moment, Su Qing was heartbroken.

    But no matter how heartbroken he was, he had to ept this fatal blow. As the Near-Life Gate dropped, it smashed onto the Four Appearances Ancient Formation.

    The bronze ornament that was once attached to the capital gates began to shake as green lines flowed around it. Then they flowed faster and faster...

    Until a deafening st was heard.

    "Boom!"

    A sh of light erupted, then countless pieces bronze ornaments burst out as they transformed into streaks of light, resonating with the cries of the injured, moving through the bodies of the Northern Barbarians Army and then in various directions.

    It was a shocking, yet depressing scene.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ll kill you!" Su Qing said with bloodshot eyes as he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. His burst out in a deafening growl that reverberated through the night.

    ...

    In the pce.

    The battle was absolutely heated, with the Pce Guards, Southern Region Army and Royal Guards all mashed into one.

    Qian Wu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He knew that he had lost control of this war, but he still had a glimmer of hope.

    Until...

    He heard a deafening st.

    The loud st that originated from the capital gates. It was so intense that he could hear it so clearly from within the pce. And it was as though the entire Yan Capital was shaking.

    "How is this possible?" Qian Wu stared the bright re that shot up toward the heavens. Of course, he would be able to guess its location, but he never expected matters to reach this stage.

    He had nned so meticulously for ages.

    Everything had been wless, from the arrangements within the pce to the four walls of the capital. Everything was carefully deliberated and thought through.

    And victory was in sight.

    Then, how could this happen?

    Qian Wu¡¯s gleamed of intense coldness, staring straight at Emperor Lin Mubai who was not too far away. Of course, he could choose to fight this war till the very end.

    But if he fought on, what would the result be?

    No one knows!

    ...

    In some obscure residence within Yan Capital.

    Moonlight cascaded from the heavens and shone upon ady who was standing by an arbor, her snowy white dress radiated a silvery glow.

    "Young Lord, Domain Chief Ying has sent me to deliver this!" A ck figure walked into the courtyard, kneeled in front of thedy and presented it to her.

    He was holding on to something that resembled a mirror. Aplicated symbol was carved on its side. It seemed very immacte.

    Butpared to a normal mirror, this mirror wasn¡¯t reflective at all. Or rather, it was darkness. Pitch darkness.

    "Hmm." Thedy nodded as she reached out to receive the mirror, her slender fingers lightly caressed the mirror of darkness.

    "Fnggg!"

    It made a tiny sound.

    The ck mirror suddenly lit up, like moonlight shining upon a darkke. A piece of scenic painting slowly took shape.

    Mountains, sea, lotus.

    Then the painting slowly turned to sand, drifting about in the air, forming an image of an ancient city at dusk.

    Then the sand transformed into a dense forest...

    And after some time, the pictures disappeared. The mirror returned to its initial darkness without a sliver of reflection.

    "There are only thirteen Heaven Dao Sage Tablets?" As thedy watched all these changes, she furrowed her brows and thought deeply.

    "Domain Chief Ying had searched the whole of Prince Li¡¯s residence. There are only thirteen of them." The ck figure replied respectfully.

    "Hmm, it seems that Xing Yuanguo hasn¡¯t found the one lost in Cang Ling Mountain!" She nodded.

    "Could it really be with Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "The capital gates have been prated?" Thedy didn¡¯t reply to his question, instead, she looked upward in the direction of the capital gates with her crystal clear eyes.

    "Yes, Domain Chief Ying said that Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s response was quicker than we had imagined. Now that the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet had been seized, he asks for Young Lord to leave quickly and that he will handle the rest!"

    "Let¡¯s go."

    "Sure!"

    ...

    At the eastern gates of Yan Capital.

    Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips, smiling nonchntly at Su Qing. He was well aware of how Su Qing was feeling now. But for him to rashly dere that he will kill Fang Zhengzhi...

    Wasn¡¯t he a little too na?ve?

    Of course, these weren¡¯t important now. The most crucial thing was that a man dressed in a schrly attire was standing before him.

    King Xieluo.

    "Not running anymore?" King Xieluo asked.

    "Of course I¡¯m running." Fang Zhengzhi said truthfully.

    "Where to?" King Xieluo nodded, then looked at the shattered capital gates beneath, and the broken pieces of bronze.

    "Outside of the capital." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "It seems you¡¯re ready to jump down. But are you sure you can?" King Xieluo smiled slightly, making his devilish face even creepier.

    "Well, let¡¯s try." Fang Zhengzhi smiled back.

    "Alright, we¡¯ll see." King Xieluo nodded again.

    "So, I¡¯m going to jump."

    "Okay."

    "I¡¯m really going to jump!"

    "Go ahead!"

    "I¡¯m jumping now!" As Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he turned around and ran toward the edge of the wall.

    And King Xieluo moved too.

    Like a ghost, he instantly reached behind Fang Zhengzhi, then with his hand, he pushed toward the back of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    And like King Xieluo had said...

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t jump down, because King Xieluo was too fast.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi dropped the Near-Life Gate from his hands. Or rather, it slipped out of his hands.

    And the giant Near-Life Gate blocked King Xieluo¡¯s push.

    "Hehe..." King Xieluo curled his lips. He wasn¡¯t surprised at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moves. To use his strength for his own benefit? How would he not expect this?

    Thus, he didn¡¯t run around either side, or leap above, or push at the Near-Life Gate with his palm. He just lowered his body and slid under the Near-Life Gate.

    Then his devilish body appeared right in front of Fang Zhengzhi, staring at Fang Zhengzhi with his strange eyes, while the curved horns on his head gleamed a golden glow.

    "So, what are you going to do now?" King Xieluo smiled. He raised his palm again, charging at Fang Zhengzhi, ready to push him.

    Closing on...

    When that he was about to strike him, King Xieluo squinted his eyes, because he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was not at all panicking or fearful.

    On the contrary, he was very calm.

    It was as though he hadn¡¯t noticed King Xieluo¡¯s palm.

    "Oh, so that¡¯s why!" King Xieluo¡¯s shed a glimmer, then retracted the palm that was about to strike Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!"

    A deafening crash.

    The entire capital wall was shaking, then a streak of red light shone behind King Xieluo. As red as blood, yet as hellishly threatening.

    A huge st wave spread outwards.

    The Northern Barbarian Army who was stationed on the capital walls were blown onto the walls.

    And Su Qing rolled from the sheer impact of the st.

    It was truly shocking.

    At this moment, everyone turned their attention to the figure standing behind King Xieluo. A very in figure.

    And at the capital beneath him were many such figures.

    The Four Appearances Ancient Formation had been destroyed.

    The blockade on the top of the capital walls was destroyed, too. With the capital gates open, they could see what was happening outside of the capital.

    Countless ck figures, on their horses, gathered outside the capital walls. All of them carried a bow on their backs and a dagger by their waists.

    The Yan Cloud Cavalry.

    This name unanimously appeared among the minds of the Northern Barbarians Army. It was easy to guess the identity of this person standing on the wall.

    He was dressed identically to the Yan Cloud Cavalry beneath.

    And as the Northern Barbarians Army lived in the northern region, they certainly knew who he was. Prince Yan Qianli, the Chief of Western Liang.

    "He dares to go against the Demon King?"

    "What is going on?"

    "Even if he was Yan Qianli, this is impossible!"

    The Northern Barbarians Army was astounded. The Mountain Breaking Army, too. They knew Yan Qianli was powerful, but it would be exaggerating if he was powerful enough to fight the Demon King.

    But the matter of fact was...

    Yan Qianli stood his ground, in front of King Xieluo, without even taking a step back.

    "Interesting. This has be more and more interesting. Alright, since you¡¯re here, let me enjoy this further." King Xieluo turned slowly toward Yan Qianli who was standing at the end of the wall.

    "Yes, it wasn¡¯t easy for me toe here. It would only be polite for me to have some fun here!" Yan Qianli said with his hoarse but mighty voice.

    "Old Mister Yan, you¡¯rete to the party!" At this moment, someone had arrived beside Fang Zhengzhi, hisrge gown pping in the wind.

    Then three more promptly reached the scene, too.

    Prince Li of the First Rank, Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, and Ping Yang.

    "Grandfather!" Yan Xiu noticed Fang Zhengzhi behind King Xieluo and heaved a sigh of relief, then greeted Yan Qianli.

    "Um." Yan Qianli nodded. Then he looked around, and said: "Sigh, it¡¯s just merely a junior Demon King, does the Yan Capital need to be in such a mess?"

    "A junior Demon King?!"

    "Yan Qianli said, ¡¯merely a junior demon king¡¯?"

    Even the Mountain Breaking Army, not to mention the Northern Barbarians Army, watched with surprise. Was there a difference in rank for a Demon King?

    And...

    It was indeed the Demon King!

    Even a sage might not defeat the Demon King, because demons were naturally stronger than humans.

    But Yan Qianli had said it.

    And even said it so casually in the presence of the Yan Cloud Cavalry, King Xieluo, the Northern Barbarians Army and the Mountain Breaking Army.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi froze momentarily. But he thought differently from the others. He felt that Yan Xiu¡¯s grandfather was...

    Faking it!

    But wasn¡¯t it a little odd?

    Shouldn¡¯t things like putting up a pretense be done by the younger generation like himself? Why would an old man fake something out of nowhere?

    "Old Mister Yan, we know you are the mighty Prince Li, but couldn¡¯t you be a little humbler? Can you wipe that arrogance of your face?" Prince Li of the First Rank was initially stunned, but he didn¡¯t give it much thought and shook his head in disappointment.

    "Being humble? That¡¯s what you enjoy, but I¡¯m not interested. If you want to be humble, you can watch from aside. Let me handle this little Demon King!" As Yan Qianli replied, he took a step toward King Xieluo while taking off his cloak.

    His long, silvery hair fell out from the cloaked and draped on his shoulders.

    Everyone had their full attention on Yan Qianli, because he hadn¡¯t stepped out of Western Liang for a long time, and never revealed his face.

    He was wearing a mask.

    It was a mask made of gold, with green fangs and a fierce face. It even featured six blood-red clouds.

    "A mask?!"

    "Yan Qianli has been wearing a mask?"

    "What is going on?"

    When everyone had their eyes on Yan Qianli¡¯s mask, they were totally baffled. Because they knew the purpose of his trip to the capital was to attend the grand feast at the Ten Mile Lake.

    This meant that he had seen the emperor.

    Had he been wearing the mask in the feast at the Ten Mile Lake?

    Why was he wearing a mask?

    Many questions rose in their minds.

    But when Prince Li of the First Rank saw this, he was stunned, while his eyes glimmered with rainbow colors.

    "Old Mister Yan, you..."

    "Ha ha ha..." Yan Qianliughed. He didn¡¯t immediately reply to Prince Li of the First Rank. Slowly, he pressed against his mask and took it off.

    And a young face was revealed. Sharp eyebrows, big eyes, and glistening, wless skin.

    A face no older than the age of thirty!

 Chapter 588 Turning Big and Small, How Interesting!

    Likewise, this was an extremely handsome face that bore a 70% resemnce to Yan Xiu. However, this face showed no coldness, just arrogance, and insanity.

    If not for his silvery-white hair, very few people would believe that this was the ferocious antihero who once dominated Western Liang, Prince Yan Qianli.

    "This is Prince Yan, Yan Qianli?"

    "How can this be? Why is he so young?"

    "Shouldn¡¯t he be at West Sunset Mountain?"

    At this moment, everyone¡¯s head appeared to have been cleaved open by a bolt of lightning. All of them opened their eyes in shock with their mouths agape.

    Human-skin mask?

    This thought shed past everyone¡¯s mind, but it was quickly disproved. This was because no one could wear a human-skin mask and a golden mask on top of it.

    Hence, the only possible exnation was that this was Yan Qianli¡¯s true face.

    However, if this was true, it was the equivalent of confirming a reality that would shock both the Great Xia Dynasty and the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    Sage.

    This was the state that everyone hoped to reach one day.

    However, this was too difficult.

    One may not even in ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or one million people.

    For example, the Great Xia Dynasty could count only four sages. One pavilion, four sages, thirteen residences. Of course, the numbers had to be updated.

    This was because Yan Qianli had be a sage. He was the fifth sage of the Great Xia Dynasty

    "Your grandfather is a sage?" Fang Zhengzhi asked, mildly surprised.

    "Yes," Yan Xiu said as he nodded his head.

    "You have always known?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "I only found out recently," Yan Xiu replied.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head non-stop and he did not ask any more question. Now, he took time to appreciate the exaggerated look of surprise and shock on the faces of Ping Yang and Shan Yu.

    "Old man Yan, you... you really are a sage?!" Prince Li of the First Rank was tongue-tied. Even the calm and normally collected Prince Li.

    "There¡¯s no need for pleasantries. It¡¯s more important to settle the issue at hand. Yan Xiu, bring Princess Ping Yang and the Prince of the Southern Region to one side. I¡¯ll take care of this!" Yan Qianli smiled as he waved his hands at Prince Li of the First Rank.

    "Yes, grandfather!" Yan Xiu nodded his head. At the same time, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. His expression was clear. We are together.

    After he heard Yan Qianli¡¯s words, Prince Li of the First Rank nodded his head as well. Of course he knew what Yan Qianli meant. Talk was talk. If they wanted to fight, two of them had to pair up.

    Fang Zhengzhi would naturally not reject Yan Xiu¡¯s proposal.

    It was a sacred and important task to protect the princess and the Prince of the Southern Region. Of course, he could do now too, and that was the liberation of Xing Yuanguo.

    However, he felt that he had more than enough reason to trust this lord.

    Just like how Xing Yuanguo trusted him.

    Mutual trust. This was the basis of any interaction between two people.

    For someone like King Xieluo, if he was not dealt with by Yan Qianli, then Yan Qianli would have wasted his trip from Western Liang.

    Of course, Yan Qianli must be willing to do this.

    Hence, as someone from theter generation, he had to give in when he possible.

    "It seems that you have the capital to be arrogant. This is a pleasant surprise. This trip is indeed worth the effort!" King Xieuluoughed. Hisughter was wild and unrestrained. He looked at Yan Qianli with his demonic gaze and his fists tightened. His entire body crackled.

    "Of course the trip is worth it. I haven¡¯t exercised in a long while. Hurry up, little Demon King!" Yan Qianli waggled his finger impatiently at King Xieluo.

    Little Demon King.

    The same words came from Yan Qianli¡¯s mouth again. However, at this moment, no one felt that it was inappropriate.

    He now had the ability to talk like this.

    "Alright!" King Xieluo was not angered by Yan Qianli¡¯s words. He still appeared calm. Furthermore, just as he spoke, he moved.

    However...

    He defied everyone¡¯s expectations by not charging at Yan Qianli.

    Instead, he turned and charged toward Fang Zhengzhi. In his demonic eyes, a bright light shed. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I still want you to die first!" King Xieluo smiled coldly. At the same time, his palm was covered entirely by an emerald light.

    This change happened so quickly that no one could react.

    No one expected that a Demon King, in the face of a sage, would turn around and attack Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, this was a sneak attack.

    Demon King, sneak attack?

    If it was used to describe a fight between a Demon King and a sage, then it was fine. However, King Xieluo decided to ambush Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was inconceivable to many.

    Fang Zhengzhi had nned to retreat to a corner with Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, and Ping Yang to watch the fight. Before he could move, King Xieluo was in front of him.

    "You want to ambush me? Here¡¯s a counterattack!" Fang Zhengzhi activated his secret weapon, which he had been preparing. However, instantly, an unpleasant thought shed past in his head.

    This was because he felt another form preparing tounch himself at him.

    Again?

    How could Fang Zhengzhi fall for the same trick twice? This was the importance of experience. Furthermore, it seemed like a waste for him to use his secret weapon with Yan Qianli present.

    Hence, he suppressed the impulsive desire in his heart. Then, he lifted his leg and kicked in the direction of the fire-red form next to him...

    ...

    Ping Yang naturally saw King Xieluo turning toward Fang Zhengzhi. However, she had no intention of rushing toward Fang Zhengzhi now. This was because King Xieluo was too fast.

    Even if she knew what to do, she would not have the time to do it.

    Of course, there was another reason. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cultivation was still there. Hence, with his cultivation, there was no difference whether King Xieluo hit her or hit him.

    An ancient saying summed it up well.

    If your skin is thick, you have no fear of being hit. How thick was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s skin? Ping Yang was not sure. However, she knew that it was thicker than hers.

    Even so...

    Why must she help him block this punch?

    This was her true thoughts. Hence, she consciously moved to the side to avoid King Xieluo. At the very least, she would not be coteral damage.

    However, before she could move, she felt a huge force on her buttocks. A hot, burning pain started to spread from it.

    "Boom!"

    Ping Yang took this blow. Even though she was wearing her Red me Flower Armor, this force still sent her flying.

    Then...

    In mid-air, she subconsciously looked around her.

    Then, she saw a leg.

    However, she could not understand why was there a leg next to her. Furthermore, why did the person next to her want to kick her?

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!" Ping Yang looked in shock at Fang Zhengzhi, who was next to her, as he kicked her. Countless thoughts shed through her mind.

    Was he trying to save her?

    Impossible, King Xieluo¡¯s target was him.

    So why did he kick me?

    Ping Yang could not understand what was going on initially. However, she quickly understood. After she felt the leg kicking her, it swiftly flew off. It was as if he bounced off using the force from this kick.

    Bouncing off!

    This shameless person used her buttocks as a springboard!

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ll kill you!"

    "Kill me?" Fang Zhengzhi did not really care. So many people said the same thing to him today. However, he was still alive.

    Too innocent.

    Wait!

    Why is this b*tch Ping Yang so angry? Why does she want to kill me?

    Did I kick the wrong ce?

    A bead of cold sweat dropped from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. He looked at Ping Yang, who was totally incensed, as well as Prince Li of the First Rank, who stood next to her wearing an expression of shock.

    He felt like he needed a logical exnation.

    After all, Prince Li seemed to adore Ping Yang.

    "King Xieluo tried to ambush her, we must protect the princess!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted defiantly. On his face, he wore an expression of absolute loyalty.

    "Protect the princess?" Prince Li was stunned. He too saw King Xieluo rushing toward Fang Zhengzhi. So how could he say that he was protecting the princess?

    Could it be because Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi were standing to close to each other and that Fang Zhengzhi was afraid that King Xieluo would attack her? Hence, he had no choice but to kick her.

    If that was the case...

    It seemed pretty reasonable.

    Prince Li did not think too much too. He had the same mentality. Regardless of who King Xieluo wanted to attack, he could not let him get too close to Ping Yang.

    He hesitated no more.

    Radiant, seven-colored light started to shine from his body. As he moved, he charged like aet toward King Xieluo.

    Yan Xiu moved too. In reality, when he saw King Xieluo turning toward Fang Zhengzhi, he had already begun to move.

    After Yan Xiu, Shan Yu moved too.

    Two daggers appeared in his hand. Right now, they were undeniably trying to make time for Fang Zhengzhi toe up with an escape n.

    As long as Fang Zhengzhi could dodge King Xieluo¡¯s attack, Yan Qianli would reach instantly and then, King Xieluo would have no more chance.

    However, would King Xieluo let Fang Zhengzhi escape?

    Of course not.

    He already saw that Yan Qianli had be a sage. It was because of this that made him realize that this was hisst chance to take Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life.

    "He dodged?" King Xieluo did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to be so fast. It seemed like he knew he was going to ambush him.

    A Supernatural State human.

    He was able to dodge the Demon King¡¯s attacks repeatedly. Had it been earlier, King Xieluo would never have believed it. However, Fang Zhengzhi had proven himself to be slippery indeed.

    This was not because Fang Zhengzhi was faster than him. However, he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely sensitive to ambushes.

    What was going on?

    How could Fang Zhengzhi know that he was about to ambush him?

    Could it be...

    An odd notion shed past King Xieluo¡¯s mind. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an odd expression on his face.

    This was because the only exnation was that Fang Zhengzhi had nned to ambush him.

    In other words, only when both sides wanted to ambush each other could either party react to an ambush instantly.

    However, could this be possible?

    A Supernatural State human actually wanted to ambush him?

    King Xieluo felt that this was almost impossible. At that moment, he did not give too much thought to it. While Fang Zhengzhi dodged his first attack, there were still many opportunities.

    Give up?

    Impossible.

    How could a Demon King give up on what he had promised earlier on?

    More importantly, he had to fulfill this condition before he could move on to the next step.

    Just as he was about to approach Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s retreating figure, two glowing daggers appeared before him. He naturally did not care for these things.

    However, he was fighting for an opening.

    If he used his body to block these daggers, his body would slow down momentarily. If he tried to dodge them, he would also be slowed.

    "Shrink!" King Xieluo cried out. At the same time, his body started to shrink. The daggers past him.

    "You can shrink?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the shrinking King Xieluo with wide eyes. This Demon King¡¯s body was useful indeed!

    Not only could it expand, it could shrink too?

    Just as this thought shed past his mind, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s jaw dropped. Speak of the devil, King Xieluo¡¯s body started to expand right after it had shrunk.

    "Aooww!" He roared like a beast.

    King Xieluo, who just became as small as a human, was now humongous. He was a humongous object and his entire body was covered with thick ck scales. Tworge and curved horns appeared on his head.

    Emerald light shed in his eyes.

    At this moment, the moon and stars in the sky were blocked. Fang Zhengzhi could not see any form of light. He was underneath this huge object.

    Four furry hooves shed with a cold light under the moonlight.

    Of course...

    None of these was important. What was important was the fact that he was underneath a huge hoof. Furthermore, this hoof came stomping down on his brain.

    "What is going on? It¡¯s no fun to die getting stomped on!" Fang Zhengzhi was caught in a rut. His body was suspended in mid-air. There was nowhere for him to run.

 Chapter 589 A Battle Between the Pros

    What if running was not an option? The only thing to do then was to fight.

    However, it was almost preposterous to resist a stomp from a Demon King. After all, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was not a ¡¯nail¡¯ who could pierce into the sole of the Demon King.

    A Demon King was more powerful than a Sage.

    It was impossible to run.

    Resistance was not an option too.

    What could he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that he was on the verge of death. At this moment, a human figure appeared before him. Blood-red light surrounded his body and his elegant robes danced in the night sky.

    "Yan Xiu?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart missed a beat. He looked at Yan Xiu, who was heading over rapidly and countless thoughts shed through his mind.

    The hoof above his head was approaching. However, Yan Xiu chose to rush out at this point. He definitely saw it. Hence, the only reason for his action was that he wanted to push Fang Zhengzhi out of the way.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop him.

    However, it was toote because Yan Xiu was already in front of him. His cold face had a look of resilience. There was a small smile by the corner of his mouth.

    He showed no hesitation as he swatted out at Fang Zhengzhi with his palm.

    "Boom!" Arge sound resounded.

    At the same time, King Xieluo¡¯s hoof finally came down. The resilient city walls could not withstand the pressure from his hoof as they started to crack apart.

    "Kaboom!"

    The city walls, which had seen millenniums of history, copsed. A huge hole emerged and countless specks of dust and pieces of rocks flew out in every direction.

    The Northern Barbarian soldiers who stood on the city walls escaped immediately. However, some unlucky ones could not escape in time as they were pelted by rocks. Some sank straight in.

    It was a horrific sight.

    From this horrific scene, a sound could be heard.

    "You impudent Demon King, you dare to hurt my grandson!"

    With that voice, everyone¡¯s gaze turned to a ck figure in the sky. A figure stood in front of King Xieluo.

    Yan Qianli.

    The ck cape that covered Yan Qianli¡¯s body hadpletely disappeared. A brightly-colored armor with six red clouds could be seen. The armor gave a blood-red light.

    The most important thing was...

    Yan Qianli¡¯s eyes turnedpletely red. On top of his head, a word zed. An impossiblyplicated word.

    At this moment, a cold aura enveloped the sky.

    Even though Yan Qianli was in the sky, everyone underneath him could feel an immense killing intent. This killing intent turned their hearts cold, and a crackling sound could be heard around Yan Qianli. The air appeared to have been frozen by this killing intent.

    "Sage, this is really a Sage?"

    "What kind of power is this?"

    "Is Yan Xiu dead? What happened to Fang Zhengzhi?"

    When they sensed Yan Qianli¡¯s anger, their hearts were all overwhelmed. At the same time, they could not help but think of the scene just now.

    Yan Xiu charged in at thest moment.

    What happened next?

    No one saw clearly, because the city walls copsed the thickyer of dust and rocks blocked their vision. They could not see what was going on.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, you shameless b*stards, are you dead?" Ping Yang did not care about Yan Qianli¡¯s transformation in the sky. Her gaze was focused on the copsed city walls.

    Shan Yu¡¯s attention, likewise, was focused on the rubbles. However, she did not cry out like Ping Yang. Instead, she rushed straight in.

    At the same time, Yan Qianli, who was in the sky, moved.

    He tightened his fists and charged toward King Xieluo. He was as fast as a bolt of lightning, akin to a redet that dashed through the sky.

    "Boom!" A deep sound could be heard.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s fistnded in between the two curved horns of King Xieluo. It was a simple punch, brimming with rage and red light.

    "Ow!" King Xieluo roared in fury. His body tilted to the side. His leg, which he had just lifted up, appeared slightly unstable.

    This made him open his emerald eyes wider in disbelief.

    A human Sage.

    With one punch, he can destabilize King Xieluo. This was unbelievable.

    "Such power!"

    "He dared to fight a Demon King head-on?!"

    "The Demon King almost fell?"

    No one believed it. No one believed that Yan Qianli would fight King Xieluo with his bare fist. This was undoubtedly using a weak hand to fight the Demon King¡¯s strong hand.

    However, Yan Qianli did it.

    Furthermore...

    After that punch, Yan Qianli had no intention of stopping. His fistsnded on King Xieluo like raindrops.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom boom..."

    Shocking explosions could be heard. Yan Qianli did not waste time on words. He attacked like an enraged lion.

    Punches after punches!

    King Xieluo opened his eyes wide as he roared with anger. His two curved, golden horns started to shake.

    Rays of golden light swirled on top of his horn. He appeared to be exceedingly enraged.

    However, Yan Qianli had no intention of retreating. Nor did he relent on his attacks. He appeared to have gone crazy as hepletely ignored the golden horns that wereing toward him.

    As the golden horns came closer, everyone¡¯s eyes opened in shock.

    However, at this moment, the golden horns stopped suddenly and without any reason. It was as if something was blocking them.

    At the same time, Yan Qianli¡¯s legnded on King Xieluo¡¯s head.

    This time, King Xieluo¡¯s body appeared incapable of withstanding such a huge force. He exhaled thickly from his nose as he fell down on to the ground.

    "Kaboom!" The already-copsed walls came under the pressure of his huge form. Now, there was an indent wracked with scars.

    It was enveloped in dust and mud.

    The person in the sky was still standing, covered with red light. His bright-red eyes were fixated on King Xieluo, whoy on the ground unmoving.

    "He¡¯s down!"

    "He knocked down a Demon King?!"

    "He¡¯s too powerful, is this a Sage? However, even if he¡¯s a Sage, he shouldn¡¯t be able to fight a Demon King in terms of physical strength? Yan Qianli, how... how did he do it?"

    Everyone, regardless whether they were soldiers from the Northern Barbarian Army or the Mountain Breaking Army, stared at the scene in shock.

    A battle of the pros.

    This was a true battle of the pros.

    A battle between a Sage and a Demon King. However, they fought in terms of physical. This method was inconceivable to many people, but still extremely shocking.

    Behind King Xieluo stood someone else.

    Golden light surrounded his body and his wide robes billowed in the night wind. His body, however, was extremely skinny and weak.

    However, everyone knew this skinny person stopped the golden horns.

    Prince Li of the First Rank.

    This lord from the West Sunset Mountain, while not a Sage like Yan Qianli, still possessed shocking strength.

    A Sage and someone who was only a step away from being a Half-Sage. This was a truly shocking battle, something that those on-scene may not witness ever again in their lives.

    "Old man Yan, don¡¯t be rash. This is a Demon King. You can¡¯t take him down alone!" Prince Li stared at Yan Qianli, who stood in the sky, with a nonchnt expression on his face.

    He too saw the scene like everyone else. Yan Xiu rushed underneath King Xieluo¡¯s feet at thest moment. He knew Yan Qianli¡¯s personality more than anyone else.

    Not only would he not reveal his weakness, he was also extremely aggressive.

    However, what stood before him was an actual Demon King. In the face of a nation-level catastrophe, losing one cool would bring about devastating consequences.

    "Rubbish, my grandson is dead. You brazen Demon King, return my grandson to me!" Yan Qianli ignored Prince Li of the First Rank. He rushed down once again, with his entire body glowing with red light.

    "Old man Yan, don¡¯t!" Prince Li of the First Rank looked at Yan Qianli as an expression of panic crept across his face.

    However, it was toote.

    The moment Yan Qianli rushed down, King Xieluo, who was lying on the ground, lifted his head. Two rays of light shone from his emerald eyes as they sted Yan Qianli.

    "Boom!"

    Red light and green light shed.

    The entire ground started to shake. Cracks started to appear and huge boulders flew from the ground. Then, they were shattered to fine dust by the energy around them.

    When the Northern Barbarian Army soldiers saw this scene, they scampered in retreat. Some, however, were caught by the energy and they were instantly vaporized.

    A battle between a Sage and a Demon King.

    Even those who stood on the ground could feel the tremors.

    "Take Mr. Su and leave!" A man in ck, who was next to Xing Yuanguo saw the iing energy wave and shouted.

    "Yes!" Some of the Northern Barbarian Army soldiers replied.

    "Since we¡¯re here, why not stay?" Xing Yuanguo looked at the few soldiers who were assisting Su Qing. Purple light shed in his eyes.

    "My lord, you should worry about yourself." The men in ck hesitated no more. Light shone from their bodies as they flew toward Xing Yuanguo.

    As the fight was bing more intense, bringing about the destruction of the city walls, it was impossible for the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry to arrive in a short time.

    Hence, it was the best time to kill Xing Yuanguo.

    "I want to see what can you do to me!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s body shone with purple light. He did not retreat but instead, he charged toward the nearest man in ck.

    "Kill!"

    "Go to h*ll!"

    A few human forms intersected and a new battlemenced on the city walls.

    Prince Li of the First Rank could not care less about what was happening on the city walls. His attention waspletely on Yan Qianli.

    "Old man Yan, are you dead?"

    "Dead? What a joke! What can a little Demon King do to me?" Yan Qianli¡¯s voice rang out. Then, a figure started to appear.

    Unlike before, his bright armor was now utterly ruined. However, the six red clouds on his breastte were still as scarlet as blood.

    "Kudos to you, old man Yan. Not only do you have a fierce temper, you¡¯re pretty strong as well!" Prince Li looked at Yan Qianli, who was unscathed and sighed.

    "What nonsense, not only are my bones hard, my boner is hard too!" Yan Qianli spat out. Then, he adjusted his long, flowing hair.

    "You self-depreciating old thing!" Prince Li of the First Rank was momentarily stunned. Then, he spat that line out. Following that, he turned his attention from Yan Qianli to King Xieluo.

    Underneath him, when the countless Mountain Breaking Army soldiers and the Northern Barbarian Army soldiers heard that one, they all looked at each other in shock.

    As for the Yan Cloud Calvary outside of the city, they remained emotionless.

    To them, Yan Qianli was their true source of ¡¯light¡¯. He led them forward. They knew his temper and how he was self-depreciating.

    This was too normal.

    How could a powerful army not have a powerfulmander?

    Yan Qianli had to be fierce enough for him to lead them. Only then could they retain their unbroken track record of victories in Western Liang.

    Arrogant without restraints. Intimidatingly fierce.

    This was Yan Qianli and the Yan Cloud Calvary.

    "Roar!" King Xieluo was finally incensed.

    This could be because of what Yan Qianli said, but it was also because of the fact that he had been beaten down, even though Prince Li had a part to y in that.

    However, this still humiliated him. Emerald light flowed out of his body, turning his ink-ck armor ghastly green.

    At this moment, King Xieluo¡¯s body looked like a piece of emerald. Shiny, reflective, and swirling with green light.

    Then, he moved.

    His huge form flew into the sky. He was no sluggard but instead, his speed appeared to have increased. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Yan Qianli.

    At the same time, a huge hoof came down on Yan Qianli¡¯s head.

    "Hmph!" Yan Qianli snorted. He dashed to the side and dodged his hoof. Then, he soon appeared above his head.

    In the meantime, blood-red light shone from his hands.

    The light was extremely clear and resembled the de of a sharp knife. In the next instant, the clear red light started to expand to form a huge, blood-red web.

    A web that could envelop the sky.

    "Kacha! Kacha!"

    The moment the webnded on King Xieluo, it started to make weird noises. It was trying to cut his body apart.

    As the blood-red web shrank, sparks started to fly from King Xieluo¡¯s armor, which was basked in an emerald light.

 Chapter 590 Stop Acting, Somethingâ€™s Amiss!

    "Roar!" King Xieluo roared in rage. He thrashed wildly with his four ck furry hooves as he kicked the blood-red apart.

    "Crackle, crackle." Noises emitted continually from it.

    Yan Qianli frowned and beads of sweat appeared. His arms moved in symphony with King Xieluo¡¯s actions.

    At this moment, a seven-colored ray of light shot into the sky. Instantly, it entered into a ck cloud.

    Then, the dark clouds started to shine.

    Night seemed to have turned into day.

    At this moment, seven light pirs of different colors descended from the sky. Red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, purple...

    At this moment, every single star and moon had disappeared, because the seven pirs of light were too bright. They were so bright to the point whereby one could not look straight at them.

    "Boom!"

    A red pir of light smashed down on King Xieluo¡¯s huge hoof. Blood spurted everywhere as it brought King Xieluo down onto the ground. When the red pir of light pierced until the ground, the ground was sted apart and sand and gravel flew everywhere.

    King Xieluo was visibly enraged. He raised his other huge hoof as he prepared to sweep it in the direction of the red light pir. Then, another light pir came down.

    Orange!

    When the orange light pir came down, King Xieluo¡¯s recently-raised hoof became streaked with blood once more. Then, it was ¡¯nailed¡¯ to the ground.

    This was not yetplete. After the red and orange light pirs came down, the yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and purple light pirs came crashing down too.

    "Oww!" King Xieluo roared in agony. His body then came crashing down onto the ground. His entire body was bleeding.

    This was an awe-inspiring scene.

    The Mountain Breaking Army, the Northern Barbarian Army, and the Yun Cloud Calvary all looked at this scene in awe, because what just happened was near miraculous.

    Seven different colored light pirs stood in front of them. Every single one of them shone brightly. Every single one of them pierced through King Xieluo¡¯s body. Some went through his hooves and others through different parts of his body.

    Looking at the scene, it was as if King Xieluo had been nailed by seven heavenly nails, connecting the dark clouds and the ground.

    "Such power!"

    "What power is this?"

    "Using the power of the clouds between the heaven and earth! This is unbelievable..."

    Countless eyes stared at the scene in front of them. They were all immensely shocked. They never expected Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s power to be as such.

    In other words...

    This was no longer Prince Li¡¯s own powers.

    To be precise, Prince Li borrowed the power of heaven and earth. He harnessed the power of countless clouds and directed them their energy into this one attack, creating such a destructive force.

    When they saw this scene, everyone felt as if a door had opened in their hearts.

    This door led to another world. They felt as if their hearts had been liberated.

    Borrowing the strength of all creations?

    One could actually borrow the strength of all creations!

    In the minds of everyone, they all had the same thought. This was something that they had never considered earlier. After they realized this, it was as if they had experienced an entirely new world.

    Prince Li, who stood in the sky, reddened. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Pfft!" Blood flew in the sky.

    However, his gaze remained resolute.

    "Old man Yan, I¡¯ve tried my best. King Xieluo is now immobilized. Take this chance to destroy his Demon Pearl!" After Prince Li spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale. His body, which had been upright, bent forward. He looked as if he was shaking.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll take care of the rest!" Yan Qianli did not say anything more to Prince Li. He retracted the giant blood-red web in his hands and countless specks of red light flew into his hands like fireflies.

    Then, they turned into a red, crystalline spear.

    A killing intent that seemed toe from hell spurted out from the tip of the spear. It was as if the air had been frozen by the killing intent.

    With that, Yan Qianli rushed down. The crystalline, red spear brimmed with a cold, dark aura. It was pointed straight at the center of the King Xieluo¡¯s head, between his two golden horns.

    "You want to kill me? Do you think it¡¯s so easy?" King Xieluoy on the ground. While he appeared bloody, he still stared arrogantly at Yan Qianli who was rushing straight toward him.

    Then, the horns on King Xieluo¡¯s head started to dazzle with a golden light. It waspletely unlike the emerald light of before.

    As the golden light shone, the earth started to tremble.

    "Kaboom, kaboom!"

    Countless rays of golden light flew rapidly out from the ground. They surrounded King Xieluo and the seven light pirs.

    "Crackle!" The red light pir was the first to crack. Afterward, countless cracks could be heard from the other light pirs.

    However, just as the cracks were heard, Yan Qianli was already above King Xieluo¡¯s head. An icy killing intent pulsed and blocked the golden light that tried to stop him.

    "Die!" Yan Qianli roared in rage while he stabbed down on the top of King Xieluo¡¯s head with his red, crystalline spear.

    "Pssht!" As if there was no resistance, the red, crystalline spear pierced through King Xieluo¡¯s head the moment it touched it.

    At that moment, time appeared to have stopped.

    When the red, crystalline spear entered King Xieluo¡¯s body, the blood-red light, which had been centered on the red spear, started to spread in all four directions.

    Quickly, the top of King Xieluo¡¯s head turned blood-red.

    "Did we win?"

    "Is King Xieluo dead?"

    "A spear through his head, he has to be dead, right?"

    The soldiers of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Calvary looked at King Xieluo, who stood immobile. They also noticed blood-red light flowing down King Xieluo¡¯s body.

    This battle was too shocking.

    Regardless whether it was Prince Li¡¯s attack or Yan Qianli¡¯s devastating spear, they all felt as if they had understood something new.

    Furthermore, it was too exhrating.

    One could only imagine what would have happened if King Xieluo was given a bit more time to undo Prince Li¡¯s seal. His demonic power was naturally enough to send chills down everyone¡¯s heart.

    "King Xieluo?!" Su Qing had already been sent elsewhere by a few soldiers. However, he too saw the scene and he could not believe what he had just seen.

    He never expected Yan Qianli to be a Sage.

    Furthermore, it was not only Yan Qianli, even Prince Li¡¯s powers shocked him. He could actually borrow the power of all creations as a Half-Sage.

    "Mr. Su, King Xieluo is dead. Should we..."

    "Yes, Mr. Su. The Yan Cloud Calvary surrounds the city. The Mountain Breaking Army is in the city. We are trapped. If we don¡¯t go, we¡¯ll..."

    A few soldiers of the Northern Barbarian Army looked at King Xieluo, who was covered with blood-red light. They wanted to say something but they stopped.

    "No, if we leave, what about young master?" Another Northern Barbarian soldier shook his head upon hearing hisrades¡¯ words.

    "Young master?! No, we can¡¯t abandon young master!"

    "Mr. Su, please give the order now and we¡¯ll do our best to save young master, even if we die!"

    When the few Northern Barbarian soldiers heard that, they thought about Qian Wu, who still had not appeared in the royal pce. Their expressions changed and they appeared much more resolute.

    "Charge into the pce?" Su Qing looked at the pce. Light shone in his eyes and he appeared worried.

    Ordering them to charge into the pce was something feasible.

    The issue was not whether they should charge inside or not. Even if they made it inside, what could they do? How could so many Northern Barbarian soldiers escape?

    Su Qing clenched his fists.

    He turned his gaze to his back and then, his eyes opened wide. This was because he saw King Xieluo, who had been still, suddenly moved.

    "Roar!" A deafening, bestial roar sounded. Following that, the blood-red light that had been slowly trickling downward stopped.

    "Crackle, crackle..."

    From the top of King Xieluo¡¯s head, a ck scale suddenly dropped, revealing a bloody mess of flesh and bone.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Is he molting?"

    "Oh no! King Xieluo is not dead!"

    When the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Calvary saw this scene, they were both momentarily shocked. However, they quickly reacted to it.

    This was because the moment the flesh and bone were revealed, emerald light soon covered them up again. As the emerald light appeared, ck scales started to grow once more.

    "What a powerful life force!"

    "Isn¡¯t this too insane?"

    "A Demon King, can this really be a Demon King?"

    When they saw the ck scales appearing non-stop, the Mountain Breaking Arm and the Yan Cloud Calvary were stunned.

    They were not alone. Even Yan Qianli, who stood in the sky, looked shocked. He naturally knew how strong a Demon King¡¯s life force was.

    To kill a Demon King, one must take his Demon Pearl.

    However...

    He did not know where his Demon Pearl was.

    Demon, a rarity in the world.

    Even for him, he had hardlye across one in his many years of life, much less a Demon King. This was his first time seeing one, and the first one that he fought.

    He didn¡¯t know.

    What now?

    For others, this was something puzzling. However, to Yan Qianli, this was not something difficult.

    It was like him in battle.

    If he did not know his enemy¡¯s motivation, the only thing he could do was to search, sense, and detect. He had to patiently discover it himself. Here, he ¡¯discovered¡¯ that it was his head.

    It was in his head, and he had to figure out where. The center between his two horns appeared to be somewhere fatal.

    Hence, he had aimed for King Xieluo¡¯s head from the very beginning. He never considered other ces. Now, it appeared that King Xieluo¡¯s head...

    Was not his fatal spot.

    "Where is his Demon Pearl? Can it be in his stomach? Can the essence of heaven and earth be in his stomach? Ehh... it¡¯s possible!" Yan Qianli mumbled to himself. Then, his gaze turned hard once more.

    This time, he aimed for King Xieluo¡¯s stomach.

    However, King Xieluo would not give him a second chance.

    "Rahh!" With a second roar, King Xieluo¡¯s body shot up from the ground. Golden light enveloped his body and the wounds on his body healed themselves at a pace visible to the naked eye.

    It was too fast.

    Not only did his wounds recover quickly, King Xieluo¡¯s speed increased exponentially too. He showed no sign of slowing as his huge form crashed straight into Yan Qianli¡¯s body.

    "Boom!" A huge sound could be heard.

    Yan Qianli had no time to dodge as he was smashed in the chest by King Xieluo. He fell from the sky. Then, he hit the city wall on the ground, punching a hole through it.

    There was more...

    King Xieluo roared once again and one could hear a symphony of other beasts crying out. They appeared to be getting closer and closer.

    "Oh no, he¡¯s assembling the beasts!"

    "A Demon King is indeed a Demon King. Fortunately, this is the me Capital City. Had it been anywhere else, countless beasts would already have swamped this ce!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army was fortunate. However, they knew that the longer they dragged, the more unfavorable the condition was for the humans. While this may be the me Capital City, there were stillkes, mountains, and rivers around.

    With mountains,kes, and rivers, there would surely be beasts!

    Furthermore, some may be hidden in the mountains and others may be hidden underground. There could also be beasts in the river andkes.

    Once the beasts came, the result would be unthinkable.

    "Grandfather!" At this moment, a voice came from the broken city walls. Then, a human figure crawled up with much difficulty.

    The Northern Barbarian Army turned to the source of the voice. Quickly, they identified the figure.

    His inky colored robes were tattered and blood flowed from his chest.

    They could clearly see that it was Yan Xiu. Furthermore, his injuries were not light. The sides of his mouth were blood-streaked and his face was pale-white.

    "Yan Xiu?!"

    "He¡¯s not dead?"

    "How can this be possible?"

    Not a single soldier from the Northern Barbarian Army believed this because they all clearly saw Yan Xiu rushing underneath King Xieluo¡¯s hoof.

    Why was he not dead?

    Just as the Northern Barbarian Army was flummoxed, someone else stood up from the rubbles of the city wall.

    Her wheat-colored skin shone with light in the night. Her purple robes entuated the curves in her body and her long legs were pencil-straight and supple.

    Prince of the Southern Region, Shan Yu.

    In Shan Yu¡¯s hand, there was a youth. His face was buried in her chest and one could not see his face. However, one could tell who he was from his tattered court robes.

    "Yan Xiu isn¡¯t dead, and neither should you be. Stop pretending!" Shan Yu looked at Yan Xiu who had stood up, and then looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was unconscious in her arms. Her face blushed but she had no intention of throwing him down.

    "Eh? Not dead?" King Xieluo, who stood in the sky, heard their voices. His gaze turned toward Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi, who was in her arms.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not move. His face was buried in Shan Yu¡¯s chest.

    However...

    King Xieluo moved.

    When he saw Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi, his gargantuan gold-covered body came plummeting straight down from the sky.

 Chapter 591 Open The Heavens, Split The Earth

    ....

    Fang Zhengzhi was struck with grief. Although he didn¡¯t die, that didn¡¯t mean that he wanted others to know that he was alive, especially when King Xieluo was still alive.

    In fact, when he noticed Yan Xiu rushing over, he had already figured out Yan Xiu¡¯s intentions, but he couldn¡¯t possibly let Yan Xiu sacrifice himself just to save him. And in that moment, stopping Yan Xiu was virtually impossible.

    Hence, the only solution was to strike at the same time as Yan Xiu. This way, they would still sustain grievous injuries after being thrown into the air, but it would still be better than dying.

    The result was clear - they survived. Then, the next step would be to y dead, right?

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought, but he never imagined that Yan Xiu would suddenly stand up after seeing Yan Qianli crash to the ground, yet that wasn¡¯t even the worst part ...

    Why is Shan Yu standing up?

    Fang Zhengzhi was still utterly speechless. He couldn¡¯t possibly continue his perfect n to fake his death, he couldn¡¯t even stay in Shan Yu¡¯s arms any longer because he could already sense King Xieluo¡¯s overpowering might.

    Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes, ncing at the rising and falling chest in front of him. It was so gentle, so soft, and so warm.

    Alright, that¡¯s not the point.

    The point was that Fang Zhengzhi no longer had any time to rx. With a single somersault, he grabbed Shan Yu forcefully and pinned her down onto the ground.

    "Bang!"

    The thunderous collision sounded from behind. The sturdy pce walls could not withstand the force of King Xieluo¡¯s gargantuan body, and instantly crumbled to the ground. And Fang Zhengzhi was hugging onto Shan Yu in desperation, rolling forward continuously.

    However, the enormous rocks rained down on his back mercilessly, and in the blink of an eye, both he and Shan Yu werepletely buried under a pile of gravel and dust.

    "Cough cough, you¡¯re killing me!" Fang Zhengzhi spat out a few mouthfuls of mud without any time to care about the debris pinning him down or the pain in his back. He knew that King Xieluo¡¯s second attack coulde very soon.

    One of his hands reached out around Shan Yu¡¯s thin waist while his other hand mmed forcefully onto the ground, charging out of the rubble with Shan Yu.

    "So you didn¡¯t die!" Shan Yu didn¡¯t seem to have heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, staring at him as he broke free from the piles of debris with her, her face beaming with joy.

    "Boom!"

    A hoof covered in ck hair stomped onto where Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu were originally at, crushing all the broken rocks in powder, kicking up dust all around it.

    Fang Zhengzhinded not far away from where the giant hoof stomped down. Being already injured, Shan Yu¡¯s face turned paler than before.

    "Wait, I still have onest thing to say!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Shan Yu and ced her down as he yelled at King Xieluo who was preparing to stomp his hoof down a second time.

    "Hm? What otherst words do you have?" King Xieluo stopped his hoof in midair as he red at Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu.

    "I want to say that, you are a dumb- .... ass!" After noticing that King Xieluo stopped his advance, Fang Zhengzhi immediately raised his hand and flicked out his middle finger towards King Xieluo, then fired a kick at Shan Yu¡¯s butt.

    Without any time to react, Shan Yu was sent flying, mming face-down onto the ground in the next instant.

    The Mountain Breaking Army, the Northern Barbarians and Yan Yunqi werepletely astonished by this sight.

    "This scoundrel actually called the Demon King a dumb- .... ass?"

    "Seemed to be the case!"

    "But why did he kick the King of the Southern Region?"

    Everyone stared at the stationary Fang Zhengzhi in bewilderment. And Fang Zhengzhi simply scanned the surrounding troops without any remorse.

    Audacious? Why would he reserve hisments since King Xieluo was about to kill him?

    If there was enough time, he would have dly sent his pleasantries to every generation of King Xieluo¡¯s ancestors. But at this range, another escape wouldn¡¯t be too possible. He could only distance himself from Shan Yu as much as possible.

    King Xieluo gazed at Fang Zhengzhi and then nced over at Shan Yu sprawled on the ground. After a short moment of daze, he finally reacted, his dark green eyes flickering with a sinister glow.

    "Roar!" A furious roar thundered through the me Capital.

    Having just prepared to squash Fang Zhengzhi to death in one stomp, a figure cloaked in crimson light blocked him from behind, taking aim at King Xieluo with his hellishly sinister bloodlust.

    "Little Demon King, I shall be your opponent!" Yan Qianli¡¯s mouth was stained with a little touch of blood, but he red menacingly at King Xieluo.

    "Grandfather, are you hurt?" Yan Xiu was evidently worried after noticing the bloodstains on Yan Qianli¡¯s lips. His body was now illuminated by rays of swirling blood-red light.

    "Rx, his injuries are worse than mine." Yan Qianli pointed at King Xieluo in front of him then looked back at Fang Zhengzhi. "Little brat, why couldn¡¯t you just y dead? Did you really have to stand up?"

    "Did you think I wanted to stand up?!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled indignantly.

    "Yan Xiu, protect Princess Ping Yang and the King of the Southern Region!" ordered Yan Qianli after cutting his conversation with Fang Zhengzhi short.

    "Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded with haste.

    Although he was still worried for Yan Qianli, he knew all too well that after all these years, Yan Qianli¡¯s decisions never needed anyone else¡¯s inputs.

    King Xieluo¡¯s eyes averted Yan Qianli, instead ring at Fang Zhengzhi standing behind Yan Qianli. Concentrated gases pumped out continuously from his nostrils.

    "Yan Qianli, it must have been hard for you to attain the Sagely State. If you move aside now, I¡¯ll spare your life. After I kill this brat, I¡¯ll leave at once and I¡¯ll never go back on my word. But if you choose to remain like this, I¡¯ll demolish the entire me Capital City!"

    "Haha, how dare an insignificant Demon King like you bargain with me? Do you have the right to do so?" Yan Qianli waspletely unmoved, brimming with arrogance.

    "Yan Qianli, you¡¯re courting death!" King Xieluo did not say anything else after noticing Yan Qianli¡¯s expression, stomping his hoof down mercilessly.

    "Boom!"

    Another pce wall came crumbling down.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally avoided imminent destruction swiftly while Yan Qianli took a few casual steps backwards. But after taking a few steps back, he charged forward again, conjuring a blood-red spear in his hand.

    A sinister bloodlust surged around the spear. However, King Xieluo had no intentions of allowing Yan Qianli near him. His body burst with a golden radiance like a sh of lightning.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom boom!"

    A series of deafening collisions rumbled through the air, creating countless terrifying sts of air which churned up the rubble on the ground, sending dust flying through the air. No one could see what was going on.

    And soon after, a figure shot out from the dust storm, plummeting to the ground with a thud.

    "Yan Qianli lost?!"

    "Indeed, even though he is a sage, he cannot possibly defeat a Demon King by himself!"

    "A demon¡¯s physical body was naturally far stronger than a human¡¯s, especially that of a Demon King. As long as he still possesses the Demon Pearl, he would be virtually immortal!"

    "What do you do? If King Xieluo really levels the entire me Capital City, everyone will be massacred!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army looked up at the gargantuan body, almost picturing the annihtion of the me Capital City if King Xieluo defeats Yan Qianli.

    And as the Northern Barbarian Army looked at Yan Qianli sprawled on the ground, their faces glistened with a tinge of hope. The retreating army began forming up once again.

    Yan Xiu was incredibly worried, but he still clenched his teeth and charged in front of Shan Yu with Ping Yang in tow, not moving an inch even with Yan Qianli lying on the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi was now closer than before, hence enduring a greater bulk of the damage. But surprisingly, he didn¡¯t take the chance to flee and instead, he stood where he was and observed King Xieluo silently.

    "Old Yan, are you alright?" Prince Li of the First Rank arrived in front of Yan Qianli, supporting Yan Qianli up with one hand.

    "Just wait at one side, I can handle this alone!" Yan Qianli shoved Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s hand away and jerked his body, chucking his battered coat of armor aside.

    "Old Yan, can you promise me one thing?" Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s eyes shifted towards King Xieluo as the former gently bit his lips.

    "What is it?"

    "Help me guard my pce!"

    "No way! Why would I have the time to linger around a crumbling pce. Give it up!" Yan Qianli rejected him without any hesitation.

    "Remember what you promised me!" Prince Li of the First Rank nodded, seemingly deaf to Yan Qianli¡¯s words. He stood up abruptly and red at King Xieluo. "Old Yan, you have as long as ten breaths!"

    "Ten breaths? Hey, don¡¯t do anything rash!" Upon hearing this, Yan Qianli¡¯s expression froze but it was toote. Prince Li of the First Rank had already charged out.

    In this moment, Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s gaze became incredibly resolute as he charged towards King Xieluo with his hands radiating with a rainbow-colored light.

    "Old Lin, you really are a difficult one. I never promised you anything!" Yan Qianli gazed at Prince Li of the First Rank, a tinge of anxiety finally sparking in his eyes. And Prince Li of the First Rank ignored Yan Qianli¡¯s words, rushing out at breakneck speed as the rainbow glow on his hands grew even brighter.

    "Eh?" King Xieluo¡¯s gaze shot towards Prince Li of the First Rank. As he watched Prince Li of the First Rank approach him, he actually felt an unfathomable sense of danger.

    Someone who hasn¡¯t attained the Sagely State actually made a Demon King feel fear?

    This was as unbelievable as it got.

    King Xieluo wanted to take a step back, but his pride as a Demon King still stopped him in his tracks. At the same time, the golden glow radiating from his body instantly boosted to twice the luminosity.

    "Open the heavens!" Then, Prince Li of the First Rank bellowed as he propelled the seven-colored light in his right hand up towards the skies.

    "Vroom!" The light surged towards the overcast sky.

    Another riveting scene unfolded before their eyes. The clouds were illuminated and then, seven light pirs of different colors cascaded down from the heavens.

    "Do you think you can bind me with the same technique?" King Xieluo sneered arrogantly, looking up at the seven pirs of light. The golden antlers on his head was as blinding as the sun.

    "Split the earth!" As King Xieluo focused all his attention towards the seven pirs of light crashing down from the skies, Prince Li of the First Rank yelled another incantation. At the same time, he pummeled his head straight into the ground with brute force.

    "Boom!"

    The ground shook. Lines of cracks snaked in all directions like ripples on the water surface.

    King Xieluo¡¯s eyes froze.

    He subconsciously looked down and in the next instant, his eyes were bulging wide open. His enormous body backed up without second thoughts.

    This time, he had no concern about his dignity as a Demon King, because the sense of danger overwhelmed him like a freezing wave.

    But ... it was already toote. The seven giant characters already lit up in seven different colors, presenting the formation of the Big Dipper Constetion. And with that, the seven pirs of light shooting down from the heavens seemed to have located their respectivending pads, and charged down at several times their original speed.

    "Crash!"

    A pir of light punctured through King Xieluo¡¯s body, "nailing" him to the ground. And after that, the second pir, then the third pir ...

    After the seventh pir crashed down, King Xieluo¡¯s body was lying on the ground. The seven pirs of light and the seven characters had melded together.

    "Old Yan, you persistent duff. What the f*ck are you waiting for?!" A figure emerged from the ground, his loose robes stained with blood, and his face waspletely pale.

    Prince Li of the First Rank.

    The usually courteous and mild-mannered Old Lord looked as menacing as ever, and more importantly, he unleashed his rage at Yan Qianli in such an uncivilized manner.

    No one knew why, but none of them could find fault with what he said, despite the vulgarities.

    "Old Lin, you lunatic!" Yan Qianli moved.

    His body morphed into a blood-red ray of flowing light and charged straight for King Xieluo. The crimson spear in his hand instantly transformed into two spears, and both were twice the length of the previous one.

    Lunatic?

    This was the nickname that outsiders had coined for Yan Qianli. But now, the supposed lunatic Yan Qianli was imposing this title on Prince Li of the First Rank.

    No one knew why either, but again, it was so strange that no one could rebutt him.

    Perhaps, at this moment, Prince Li of the First Rank was indeed a lunatic, one far crazier than Yan Qianli.

 Chapter 592 Let That Girl Go

    King Xieluo¡¯s eyes were bulging ferociously as he watched Yan Qianli approach him at top speed. He struggled violently, attempting to free himself from the seven pirs of light.

    The ground quaked and rumbled. And the pirs of light swayed about continuously, as though they would dissipate at any moment.

    But then, Yan Qianli arrived and raised his two crimson spears high in the air, his sinister bloodlust inundating his surroundings.

    "Stab!" A blood-red spear punctured King Xieluo¡¯s lower abdomen without any resistance, prating through King Xieluo¡¯s body in an instant.

    And that wasn¡¯t all. After the first spear stabbed right in, the second spear followed suit - the target being King Xieluo¡¯s heart.

    "Stab!" Another spear skewered his body.

    "Ouch!" King Xieluo finally let out a excruciating howl. His dark green irises were bulging in unbearable pain.

    "Rumble rumble ..."

    The quaking of the ground intensified as cracks of varying degrees appeared on the seven pirs of light, which quickly proliferated.

    Everyone focused their vision on the struggling King Xieluo.

    At his lower abdomen and heart where the two crimson spears punctured straight through his body, circles of blood-red light rippled outwards from his wounds.

    And in the blink of an eye, it enveloped two enormous areas. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight.

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi watched the iling King Xieluo and the rippling crimson light, their expressions as tense as ever.

    As long as King Xieluo dies, they would win this battle.

    With the Northern Barbarian Armypletely surrounded, and more importantly, with the Four Appearances Ancient Formation destroyed by Fang Zhengzhi, what else could they leverage on?

    As everyone pondered over this prospect, the seven pirs of light shattered abruptly, reducing into specks of light which dissipated into the air. And King Xieluo was bleeding a river, with crimson blood pouring from his numerous rounds. He looked as though he could not hang on to life for much longer.

    "Is he dying?"

    "It was his lower abdomen and his heart. He can¡¯t possibly survive that, right?"

    "That¡¯s right, he should be dead!" The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi spected.

    "Old Lin, are you alright?" Yan Qianli now focused his attention on King Liqin standing not far away. He seemed extremely concerned.

    "I ... I still have my final breaths ..." King Liqin stammered breathlessly. His body was sprawled on the ground, and he looked as though he had a lot more wrinkles on his face than before.

    "You just can¡¯t seem to die, can you?" Upon hearing this, Yan Qianli heaved a sigh of relief, but the light cloaking his body did not retract back into his body just yet.

    The Demon King was still right in front of him.

    Although the Demon King¡¯s body looked lifeless, countless years ofbat experience taught him not to lower his guard.

    "Remember what you promised me." King Liqin was evidently not in the same position as Yan Qianli. His body was so weak that he did not have a single ounce of strength left. The seven-colored light on his body was long gone.

    "What promises?" Yan Qianli was puzzled.

    "Cough cough ... Old Yan, are you still ignoring your debts?"

    "What debts have I ever owed you?"

    "You ..."

    "Watch out!" Just as Yan Qianli and King Liqin were bickering, a voice interjected them from above the pce walls.

    "What?!" Yan Qianli instinctively turned back to nce at the pce walls, and quickly realized that the source of that voice was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi?

    Watch out? That brat ...

    That¡¯s not right!

    All of a sudden, Yan Qianli sensed that someone was not right. He prepared to step back, but felt a presence behind him already.

    "Old Lin!" Yan Qianli¡¯s body jerked. He had heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s warning call, and even if he could not dodge the sneak attack, he was still not in imminent danger of death.

    But if King Liqin ...

    It was all over. He wanted to stop the attack, but it was toote. An immense force collided against his back.

    It was King Liqin who mmed against him, and caused his body to trigger a resistance reaction, gushing with crimson light - but only for an instant.

    Yan Qianli quickly reacted to the situation but it was already toote.

    The immense collision sent him and King Liqin flying in the air like two sandbags joined together, mming straight into the pce walls.

    "Boom!" With a deafening collision, Yan Qianli and King Liqin¡¯s bodies sted a gigantic hole in the pce wall.

    "Grandfather!" Ping Yang¡¯s voice reverberated through the night sky. She certainly watched everything unfold extremely clearly from her vantage point above the walls.

    The supposedly dead King Xieluo moved again.

    But this time, it wasn¡¯t his hoofs or his antlers. It was the giant swinging tail on his rear.

    His long tail swept towards Yan Qianli. It was too quick.

    Being on the pce walls, she had no way of stopping King Xieluo, but she saw the expression on King Liqin¡¯s face after he took the blow for Yan Qianli, as well as the crimson blood gushing out from his mouth afterwards. It was a river of blood.

    Without any second thoughts, Ping Yang rushed down and charged towards King Xieluo. She brandished her zing Qilin Spear which radiated with a blinding red glow. A speck of golden light faded in and out of view on the tip of the spear, carrying an unrivalled, overwhelming power.

    "Ping Yang, don¡¯t go there!" Yan Xiu wanted to stop Ping Yang, but it was already toote. He could only yell at her from afar.

    "Your Highness!" Shan Yu wanted to restrain her too, but Ping Yang did not hear anything that they said. In her heart, she had only one goal - to kill King Xieluo and avenge her grandfather.

    Crimson mes surged around her, cloaking her body.

    "Boom boom!"

    The ground shuddered violently and King Xieluo¡¯s eyes opened wide again. But now, his originally dark green eyes have turnedpletely golden - like the resplendent golden light of the sun.

    His ck scales dropped down like raindrops after being enveloped by the crimson light. As the scales fell to the ground, they produced waves of rumbles.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist was clenched extremely tightly.

    He never once thought that this battle against the Demon King had any connections with him, and in fact, he was never willing to be swept into this mess. Yet now, he was right in the centre of the action.

    However, despite that, he felt that he did all that he could. First, he led the Southern Region Army into the Imperial Pce, then seized the Near-Life Gate and resolved the conflict within the Imperial Pce, and finally used the Near-Life Gate to dispel the Four Appearances Ancient Formation and opened the pce gates.

    Is that not enough?

    For someone merely in the Supernatural State, is this still not enough?

    Furthermore, he even alerted the others about imminent danger. Even when King Xieluo was gunning for his head, he didn¡¯t flee and instead remained to warn the rest.

    How dare anyone say that he did not do enough?

    Demon King!

    Fang Zhengzhi can¡¯t even deal with that old duff, so how could he possibly defeat the Demon King?

    And most importantly, there was still Yan Qianli and King Liqin in front of him, and either of them were indisputably stronger than Fang Zhengzhi himself. Why would he need to fight?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that he was fated to defy the heavens; he wanted to avoid death and destruction. But ironically, he almost lost his life during the battle against Canyang.

    Even now ... this battle contained an overwhelming sinister threat lurking in the shadows.

    To help or not to help?

    It was supposed to be an easy decision to make, but now after Ping Yang charged out and he noticed King Xieluo¡¯s tail sweeping towards her, he was left with a single choice once again.

    "Dumbass, let that girl go!" Fang Zhengzhi rushed out just as King Xieluo¡¯s immense tail wrapped around Ping Yang. And he even deliberately strengthened his tone and volume.

    He was certainly no match for King Xieluo, but confronting his opponent was definitely a better option than watching Ping Yang get ughtered from the sidelines.

    "Hm?" King Xieluo shot a menacing re straight at Fang Zhengzhi. His golden eyes flickered coldly as he cracked a sneer at the edges of his lips. "You¡¯re toote. I initially nned to kill you alone, but now I¡¯ll massacre everyone. Not only will this little princess die, everyone in the me Capital City will be wiped out!"

    "What?!"

    "No, quickly save Her Highness!"

    "How dare you, Demon King! Don¡¯t even think about harming Her Highness!"

    Upon hearing King Xieluo¡¯s provocations, the entire Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi were enraged, but what could they possibly do to stop this formidable opponent?

    "No!" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to hear what King Xieluo announced, but Ping Yang was already right in front of King Xieluo.

    He could see a steely determination in her eyes ¨C a very stupid sense of determination. Even so, he could empathize with her intentions. He¡¯s just like her ¨C rushing out to battle while knowing very clearly that he was no match for King Xieluo.

    But such stupidity ... definitelyes with a price.

    "Boom!"

    King Xieluo¡¯s tail still managed to wrap itself around Ping Yang¡¯s body, causing the inferno cloaking Ping Yang to dissolve like snow. A mouthful of blood spewed out from Ping Yang¡¯s mouth as her Red me Flower Armor disintegrated.

    Following that ... Ping Yang¡¯s body copsed to the floor abruptly.

    Very evidently, King Xieluo had no intentions of discing Ping Yang. He intentionally left Ping Yang at his feet because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be lured over to him.

    "Thud!"

    Ping Yang¡¯s body hit the ground with a painful thud. Her face was as pale as ever, and blood continued spewing from her mouth, staining her soft pink lips in a gory red.

    However, her eyes were not shut, and neither were they in a daze.

    Her eyes were wide open, as clear as water. She grasped her zing Qilin Spear in her hand extremely tightly. This was a genuine undying persistence stemming from her heart.

    No one knew what was going through Ping Yang¡¯s head.

    King Xieluo clearly had no intentions of killing Ping Yang immediately as he wanted to use her as a hostage for bargaining. In such a situation, Ping Yang should be shutting her eyes.

    Or at least, not draw any attention from her captor.

    But she did not do so. Not only did she keep her eyes wide open, she quickly struggled to get up. The feat looked painfully effortful for her frail little body, as her slender legs and wrists shivered incessantly.

    "Ping Yang, run!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why Ping Yang stood up. He assumed that Ping Yang would have grown a little smarter in the past year.

    Could it be that she didn¡¯t know how to y dead?

    Alright, if that feat was way beyond her ability then forget it.

    But she should at least know how to run, right?

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped pondering about the reason Ping Yang stood up. He felt that he had to dy King Xieluo somehow in order for Ping Yang to escape.

    "Cough cough ..." Ping Yang let out a few sickly coughs, yet her pale face still wore an unbelievably determined expression. "No, I¡¯m not running. I¡¯m strong!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was astounded. This was not the first time he heard Ping Yang say something like this, but what weight does her audacious im have, especially for someone who has yet to achieve the Heavenly Reflection State?

    Strong ... strong my ass!

    "Run!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have time to continue this meaningless dispute with Ping Yang because he had already arrived in front of King Xieluo, and King Xieluo¡¯s tail was already above his head.

    "Die!" King Xieluo was very confident about this strike.

    Closer, closer.

    Watching as his tail was inches away from striking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, King Xieluo sneered. Was he finally going to kill this scoundrel?

    A strike!

    Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be able to kill a sage, but it was more than sufficient to dispatch a human in the Supernatural State.

    King Xieluo waited for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s skull to split open and blood to spew out profusely, but that sight never unfolded. He felt a little strange. His whip had already struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Eh?

    That¡¯s not right! This doesn¡¯t feel right!

    "An illusion!" King Xieluo¡¯s eyes were bulging viciously. He too could easily create an illusion in the air, but he didn¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi could do it too. Furthermore, creating an illusion capable of deceiving his eyes not only required speed, but also confidence in avoiding his attack.

    Is that brat really only in the Supernatural State?

    A doubt shed through King Xieluo¡¯s mind, but he didn¡¯t mull over it any further. He could already sense Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s presence.

    As a grand Demon King, he didn¡¯t simply rely on his vision to detect his opponents. Sensing the surrounding aura was his true method ofbat. Hence, even after Fang Zhengzhi avoided his attack, he could still locate Fang Zhengzhi very quickly.

    "Up there!" King Xieluo looked up andunched his tail in that direction again, locking onto the concentration of aura above him.

    But just as he shot his gaze up, his eyes bulged wide open.

    Above him, six different colored characters were shining radiantly, each carrying a resplendent glow. Threads of light prated the centre of the characters, weaving the six characters together into a pattern resembling a six-pointed constetion.

 Chapter 593 Mother

    The moonlight was bright and the night breeze was cool. The seven-colored light had fadedpletely, but the six-colored glow lit up once again. Although it wasn¡¯t as radiant as the seven-colored light, it still embodied a certain spellbinding strangeness.

    "The Near-Life Dao!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi actually knows the Near-Life Dao?!"

    "That¡¯s impossible!"

    Countless Northern Barbarian soldiers gazed up at this all too familiar sight. They all watched in awe as Fang Zhangzhi appeared with the Near-Life Gate, but they refused to believe that Fang Zhengzhi was actually capable of controlling the Near-Life Dao.

    The Near-Life Dao! The symbol of the Holy Barbarian Empire!

    Why can Fang Zhengzhiprehend the Near-Life Path¡¯s profundities?

    The Northern Barbarian Army were inplete denial.

    "Is that really the Near-Life Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?!"

    "Has Fang Zhengzhi reached the Rebirth State?"

    "No, didn¡¯t I hear that he¡¯s only in the Supernatural State?"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi were both astounded. They witnessed the scene where Fang Zhengzhi emerged with the Near-Life Gate very clearly, but when they saw him demonstrating the Near-Life Dao ...

    It just felt different somehow!

    "That brat, what kind of a monster is he? He even learnt the Near-Life Dao of the Holy Barbarian Empire?" Xing Yuanguo was already mentally prepared for this situation, but he still jumped when he witnessed the six-colored characters with his own eyes.

    He knew all along that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s learning abilities were superb. Fang Zhengzhi mastered everything from the battle style of the Stabilization Constabry to the secret Million Sword Illustration of the Divine Constabry. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to pick up new techniques or mimic those of others should not be too shocking.

    Even so ... the Near-Life Dao technique was different.

    It¡¯s one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. Mastering the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques is not easy, it requires the perfectbination of time, space, people, and various other elements, just like the Dao of Asura of the Yan Family.

    Ever since the ancestors of the Yan Family harnessed the Dao of Asura by chance, they immediately designated the area where this technique was mastered as a forbidden region, and nted heavy military defenses around it as a nursery to pass down the technique to younger generations. After countless years, the Yan people passed down the knowledge to subsequent generations, and each generation penned down their emotions and experiences fromprehending the technique, leaving them as records for their descendants to learn from.

    But even then, not every member of the Yan Family was given the chance to master the Dao of Asura.

    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that only the Yan people were allowed to learn the Dao of Asura. However, without any experience bestowed by predecessors, or a specially curated environment to nurture one¡¯s skills in, or any guidance from others, attempting to master the Dao of Asura relying on one¡¯s own strength was undoubtedly a frighteningly daunting task.

    To be blunt ... mastering the Dao of Asura would be a hundred times harder for someone without any external helppared to the first Yan ancestor who picked it up by chance.

    By the same line of reasoning, the Near-Life Dao technique was also passed down by generations of the Holy Barbarian Empire. So how could Fang Zhengzhi have possibly mastered the Near-Life Dao?

    It¡¯s unbelievable.

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi was the illegitimate child of the Northern Barbarian Emperor? Or perhaps, Fang Zhengzhi stole the secret technique of the Northern Barbarians and sneaked into their forbidden zone?

    Xing Yuanguo didn¡¯t understand.

    Even though he saw Fang Zhengzhi lift up the Near-Life Gate with his own eyes, he never imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would have mastered the Near-Life Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    But that was the fact ...

    The six-colored characters in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand were blindingly radiant and most importantly, the pattern containing the characters has already been pressed onto King Xieluo¡¯s head.

    "Boom!" Following a thunderous collision, a violent wave of energy sted in all directions with King Xieluo¡¯s head as its epicenter.

    And within the st, the six-colored characters swirled speedily, expanding in the air until finally, theypletely engulfed King Xieluo¡¯s body.

    "The hit actuallynded?!"

    "King Xieluo didn¡¯t dodge it?"

    Everyone including Xing Yuanguo stared at the sky. They wouldn¡¯t bear much hope for any other sort of attack, but ... the Near-Life Dao was different.

    It was the sealing technique of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques!

    "He actually mastered the Near-Life Dao? Looks like it wasn¡¯t just a coincidence that you could lift the Near-Life Gate up!" King Xieluo finally spoke.

    Following that, the swirling six-colored characters quickly vanished like the melting of the first snowkes.

    His gargantuan figure slowly faded into view amidst the stormy st. His golden pupils, his ck scales and the bloodstains on his body had been washed away by the golden light.

    "He¡¯s alright?!"

    "How is that possible?"

    "Isn¡¯t the Near-Life Dao technique a sealing technique?"

    Both the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi were astonished after seeing his giant body appear.

    "Hahaha ... did you think this amateur¡¯s Near-Life Dao was enough to seal me?" King Xieluo¡¯s maniacalughter answered everyone¡¯s doubts, and his eyes were unbelievably cold.

    He was definitely shocked when he first saw the Near-Life Gate in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. He was certainly a little curious about the rtionship between Fang Zhengzhi and the Near-Life Dao, but he wasn¡¯t too curious. Hence, this wasn¡¯t a very important problem.

    Of course .... most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was only in the Supernatural State.

    Even if someone in the Supernatural State could really manipte the Near-Life Dao, what could he do with it?

    There wasn¡¯t any doubt left, and neither was there another chance for Fang Zhengzhi.

    King Xieluo had already locked down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s aura. He strongly believed that Fang Zhengzhi lost every single chance of escaping his grasp.

    "Die!" With a mighty bellow, King Xieluo unleashed his full strength once again after reserving his punches previously due to the sudden entrance of the Near-Life Dao, and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in the best state at the moment. He was injured after his confrontation with Yan Xiu, and although he increased his speed with agonizing effort and created another chance to attack, he was still burdened by his wounds.

    Seeing King Xieluo¡¯s tail swing over, what else could he do?

    Could he sit down and rest? Of course not!

    He could only flee, but how could he avoid King Xieluo¡¯s lightning-like tail with the injuries he sustained?

    "p!"

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like a housefly, a housefly swatted by a whipping tail. Although he tried his best to flee ... he couldn¡¯t avoid the strikepletely.

    The tip of King Xieluo¡¯s tail still brushed against his back, causing him to reminisce a sad song from his past life: You said you want to flee but your feet are still nted here ... (Trantor¡¯s Note: A song by Phil Chang)

    Fang Zhengzhi did lift his feet up, but his body fell to the ground. His frail body was whipped up by King Xieluo¡¯s tail and the wind it caught, causing him to lose his bnce and plummet face-first towards the ground.

    Of course, there was still someone standing below him - an equally slender and frail person whose crystal-clear eyes radiated with a peculiar grit.

    Ping Yang? Why hasn¡¯t she fled?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang, and she returned her gaze at him.

    The two of them approached each other at top speed, or in other words, Fang Zhengzhi was falling towards Ping Yang¡¯s feet at a speed simr to that of flowing water.

    And then ... Fang Zhengzhi saw Ping Yang clench her teeth and open her arms, preparing to catch Fang Zhengzhi without any concern about the speed at which he was falling at.

    Fang Zhengzhi was certainly touched by Ping Yang¡¯s intentions, but could she have just a little bit ofmon sense? Shouldn¡¯t she jump up and gently cushion his fall by slowing him down?

    He didn¡¯t continue falling and instead, he stopped abruptly in midair, as though his body was being restrained by an unknown force.

    "Blurt!" A mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly crash himself onto Ping Yang¡¯s body. Even though he had to sustain even more injuries, he still forced himself to stop at thest moment as Ping Yang was already severely wounded as well.

    As he broke his fall in midair, he shifted his gaze slowly away from Ping Yang and turned towards King Xieluo, his lips still stained with blood.

    He ignored Ping Yang¡¯s expression - he was purely concerned about King Xieluo.

    "He didn¡¯t let me be his human cushion?" Ping Yang¡¯s arms were still raised high up in the air as she stared nkly at Fang Zhengzhi above her. Her face dimmed.

    Watching as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body abruptly halted and he expectorated a mouthful of blood, numerous emotions shed through her heart - despondence, guilt, self-condemnation, and a helplessness masked under her fortitude. She was worlds apart from her previous haughty self.

    Ping Yang was overwhelmed with grief.

    Naturally, she knew that whatever was unfolding before her eyes was all caused by her. If she hadn¡¯t rushed out so recklessly, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t have stood up given his shamelessness.

    "It was me ... it was me who caused that shameless bastard Fang Zhengzhi to get hurt! He came to save me .... But I couldn¡¯t do anything, I can¡¯t even be a human cushion .... Grandfather is dead! I can¡¯t avenge him ...."

    "Father was always busy when I was growing up, and so was Aunt Hua. Grandfather doted on me the most. Every time I was alone, Grandfather would fetch me to the Liqin Residence. But now, Grandfather is dead and I could only watch him die with my bare eyes. I couldn¡¯t stop it, nor could I avenge him."

    "Mother! Mother ... where are you?"

    "Father said that you¡¯re really strong, why didn¡¯t youe and help me? Why didn¡¯t youe?"

    "Father once said, you weren¡¯t dead. Father also said, you were always watching over me from afar. When I¡¯m injured, you¡¯ll definitely notice me. But aren¡¯t youing out to help me even now when I¡¯m almost dying?"

    "Mother ... Mother, do you know that Father is injured? Do you know that your daughter is dying? Where are you? Where exactly are you?"

    "Do you not care about your daughter anymore?"

    "Mother ... Don¡¯t you care that your daughter is dying?"

    "Mother!"

    "I¡¯m useless, I can¡¯t help Father or Aunt Hua, or even avenge Grandfather!"

    "Mother, I won¡¯t wait for you anymore .... I¡¯ve never seen you ever since I was small, and in the future ... I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll never get to see you. But that¡¯s okay, Mother, even if you don¡¯t find me, I still love you very much!"

    "Mother, I love you!"

    "Boom!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was racking his brains to process the situation and find a chance to save Ping Yang, a deafening sound erupted from beneath him. Shortly after, a fiery red figure rushed up from behind him.

    "Ping Yang?! What is this girl thinking?" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. It was toote for him to stop her, Ping Yang had already charged up with the zing Qilin Spear in her hand spitting out bursting mes.

    In the distance, Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, Xing Yuanguo, the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi stared at King Xieluo with bulging eyes.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Ping Yang, no!"

    "Your Highness, get out of there!"

    Yan Xiu, Shan Yu and Xing Yuanguo all yelled at Ping Yang simultaneously, but Ping Yang did not slow down one bit.

    No one knew what Ping Yang was doing, but everyone saw the expression stered on her face. It was one of grief, a grief that stemmed from within.

    Does the princess intend to give up her own life?!

    In an instant, this thought surfaced in the minds of everyone. It was something that they have never, and would have never thought about.

    Ping Yang, their most beloved princess, the haughtiest and most mischievous princess of the Great Xia Empire loved by all - why does she want to die?

    "Eh? You want to die? Let me grant your wish!" King Xieluo watched the approaching Ping Yang and his eyes shed with shock. Such a frail little human would dare to attack him three times?

    While Ping Yang had just an ounce of practical value previously, she was now an insignificant ant that could be squashed at anytime, especially since Fang Zhengzhi was injured and had no chance of escaping.

    King Xieluo¡¯s body jerked. His tail, d in thick ck scales, whipped towards Ping Yang at astonishing speed, like the sickle of the grim reaper hunting for lives in the dark night.

    "Mother ..." Ping Yang let out a brief murmur. She did not stop, or avoid King Xieluo¡¯s tail. She merely looked back at the frantic Fang Zhengzhi slowly.

    A string of tears dripped from the corner of her eyes, falling from the skies and radiating with a faint silver glow under the moonlight. In the next moment, she turned her head back quickly with tears still hanging from her eyes, but her expression hardened into an unparalleled determination.

    And just like that, she charged towards King Xieluo¡¯s tail, grasping her zing Qilin Spear tightly. She brandished her mes, which could not even harm a single hair on King Xieluo, like a moth plunging into a sea of raging fire ...

    She charged straight up!

 Chapter 594 Blaze On, Raging Fire!

    "Boom!" A deafening st.

    There was no miraculous escape, nor was there anyone who could stop it in time. It happened too quickly, with King Xieluo¡¯s tail striking Ping Yang¡¯s frail body with such incredible force without the protection of her Red me Flower Armor.

    In that moment, it seemed as though time came to a standstill.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued to Ping Yang¡¯s face. Her face showed grief, glistening tears, and a sense of liberation - a powerless liberation.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    Both the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi yelled out in unison upon witnessing this scene. They could clearly see how terrifying this strike was.

    Even if Ping Yang donned the Red me Flower Armor ... she wouldn¡¯t have possibly endured such an attack.

    "Princess!" Xing Yuanguo¡¯s eyes turned red as he clenched his fists tightly. His body shuddered incessantly as he knew too well how important Ping Yang was to Lin Mubai.

    Ping Yang, dead?!

    This happened right before his eyes. How could he convey this to Lin Mubai?

    "Mother ..." Ping Yang¡¯s body fell from the heavens as fresh blood spurted from her mouth, cascading down from the skies like raindrops. Her face was pale but her eyes were wide open.

    Her crystal clear eyes stared silently at the night sky, gazing up at the stars above until her body fell into the arms of another person.

    "Shameless bastard, I ... I think .... I saw Mo ... Mother .... Really .... I .... I really saw Mother .... Mother hase to fetch me ..."

    "But I feel a little cold. Are you cold?"

    "Drip!" A glistening tear slid down her cheek and dropped to the ground.

    Ping Yang¡¯s body was no longer falling as the person holding her has already reached the ground. She subconsciously grabbed onto him tighter.

    "Hahaha ... Fang Zhengzhi, seems like everyone is dying one by one in front of your eyes. How does it feel to be unable to save them?" King Xieluo chortled maniacally, "Mother? Haha, you weak humans are certainly amusing!"

    "Amusing?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Isn¡¯t it amusing?" King Xieluo mocked.

    "I don¡¯t find it amusing!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone exuded fortitude and grit.

    "You foolish ... Eh?!" Just as King Xieluo wanted to rebut, he stopped midway through his sentence because he realized that Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be munching on something. This took him by surprise.

    One could do many things before one¡¯s death - screaming for one¡¯s mother, leaving a fewst words ... but, eating? Isn¡¯t that a little too mundane?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply King Xieluo¡¯s question. He continued to chew his ¡¯food¡¯ slowly as he gazed up at the night sky.

    "Do you wish to live?" A figure appeared in his mind.

    "Of course!"

    "That¡¯ easy, just eat this and you¡¯ll survive, but you won¡¯t be able to keep your strength."

    "Is there something which allows me to keep my strength and survive at the same time?"

    "No!"

    "How could you call yourself one of the Four Sages when you don¡¯t even have anything useful? Helping oneself is always better than relying on others. I¡¯ll find another way out myself, bye!"

    "Wait!"

    "What else do you want, you lying old duff?"

    "Lying? You little brat, do you know how many people cry and beg just to meet me, and I still refuse them?"

    "So? Are you crying and begging to save me?"

    "... You insolent brat, do you really wish to keep the state of your mastery intact?"

    "You don¡¯t say."

    "Alright, I¡¯ll let you keep your strength, but I can¡¯t save your life."

    "Are you mocking me?"

    "Do I look like I¡¯m mocking you? I have an elixir that can protect your strength and save your life, but exactly how long can it keep you alive, that I do not know."

    "What¡¯s the minimum amount of time I can stay alive for?"

    "Two years!"

    "What¡¯s the maximum?"

    "Three years!"

    "Are you kidding me?"

    "It¡¯s up to you whether you want to eat this. If you don¡¯t, you won¡¯t have both your strength and life after one month!"

    "How can I ensure that I live for three years?"

    "Take this at regr intervals."

    "Take this at regr intervals?"

    "Yes, consume one elixir every month. I¡¯ll give the elixirs to Wu Yuer, and she¡¯ll give them to you at fixed intervals. You must never consume more than what you need. If you eat more than one in a month, your lifespan will shorten by one month!"

    "I¡¯m not stupid, why would I eat more than one?"

    "Who knows?"

    "What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Can I still reinvigorate my strength after eating this?"

    "Reinvigorate your strength? You certainly have wild thoughts. Does it matter? If you want to grow your strength, I have plenty of ... Cough cough, what I meant to say was, consuming this elixir will allow to double your strength in an hour!"

    "Double? It¡¯s this formidable? If my strength doubles when I consume one pill, will it jump four times if I consume two pills?"

    "Eh, it merely doubles your foundational strength. In other words, if you take ten at one go, your foundational strength will increase tenfold!"

    "Wow ... is this some divine elixir?"

    "Of course! This is the greatest masterpiece I¡¯ve ever crafted. Unlike all those immortality elixirs, no one can craft this except me!"

    "What is this elixir called?"

    "The Heaven Oasis Pill!"

    "Why does it have the same name as you?"

    "Of course, this elixir is named after me!"

    "I think it¡¯ll be better to name it the Zhengzhi Pill. After all, you¡¯re not consuming it and you¡¯re giving it all to me. Isn¡¯t that right?"

    "Yuer said that you¡¯re a shameless brat, but I think that using this adjective to describe you is an insult to the word itself!"

    "Eh? Well, which description do you think suits me better?"

    "You really have no moral standards at all!"

    "Thanks for thepliment, now let¡¯s save the bullsh*t forter. Bring the Zhengzhi Pill over!"

    ".... I already said before, I¡¯ll let Yuer give this to you at fixed intervals!"

    "Yuer is so busy, what if she forgets about this? Or what if her rtives visit her and she delivers the pillste and I die? How about this - let me keep three to five hundred pills with me just in case."

    "Three to five hundred? Are you treating these pills as rice?! I only have five pills with me now, and even if it¡¯s me, I can only craft a maximum of two or three new pills in a month. I¡¯ll let you keep one pill!"

    "Just one? Am I a beggar? I can¡¯t have less than five pills!"

    "At most, I¡¯ll give you two!"

    "Four!"

    "Three!"

    "Deal!"

    "Wait, why am I bargaining with you?"

    "As the great Heavenly Oasis Saint of the Four Sages and as Wu Yuer¡¯s master, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t go back on your word, would you?"

    "You brat, I¡¯ll give you three but you must not eat these Heavenly Oasis Pills unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary!"

    "I¡¯m not stupid, do you really think I¡¯ll just happily gobble down these deadly Zhengzhi Pills without restraint?"

    "...."

    "Gulp, gulp ...." After chewing the pills in his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi swallowed them down slowly. At the same time, he turned his gaze away from the night sky and looked at Ping Yang once again.

    King Xieluo then jerked violently without knowing why. He suddenly felt as though Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little different from before.

    He was still wearing the ck court uniform from before, his face was still as pale as before, but he just felt different.

    What was wrong?

    King Xieluo looked down at Fang Zhengzhi who was carrying Ping Yang in his arms and gazing back at him. He puffed from his nose as his suspicions rose.

    Then, he saw Fang Zhengzhi gentlyy Ping Yang on the ground, very delicately and slowly.

    Before this, King Xieluo would have lifted his hoof up without hesitation and stomp down on Fang Zhengzhi to turn him into minced meat, but he did not do so now.

    There wasn¡¯t a particr reason for his change of heart; he just had a feeling, a unique sense that belonged to a Demon King. And this sense told him that he had to wait, or at least, wait until he identified what exactly was different about Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi finallyid Ping Yang down on the ground, and following that ... he lifted his head up again.

    "Eh?" King Xieluo¡¯s body shivered. In the moment he exchanged nces with Fang Zhengzhi, he finally realized what was off about his opponent.

    His eyes!

    That¡¯s right, it was his eyes!

    He wore a pair of colorless eyes. There wasn¡¯t any ck or white, neither was there any red, yellow, blue, green, indigo or violet. They were transparent, as clear as water droplets. It was a strange sight indeed.

    Once someone¡¯s eyes be transparent, they would easily reveal whatever was hidden inside, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were different.

    Inside his eyes, King Xieluo could see many things, like his own reflection, the shattered pce walls, and the stars in the sky. It was like a mirror, except it wasn¡¯t one. Mirrors can only reflect a limited number of things, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes not only reflected whatever was in front of them, but also showed much more - mountains, rivers, oceans, forests, flowers ...

    "This brat ... just what is he?" King Xieluo looked into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and felt a highly strange sensation. It seemed to be engulfing him, but at the same time it felt otherwise.

    Then at this moment ... his eyes opened wide.

    A sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. It seemed like an ordinary sword but it was definitely no ordinary sword. The sole reason for this was ... a purple mark on the tip of the de.

    It looked like a bloodstain, but it seemed to have melded perfectly with the sword.

    And now, as the sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, the purple mark expanded swiftly and in an instant, it dyed the entire sword purple. It was a strange, cryptic shade of purple.

    At the same time, an overwhelming killing intent surged forth from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, radiating to his surroundings like a physical existence, creating swirls of energy akin to tornadoes.

    "It¡¯s the Traceless Sword!"

    "Isn¡¯t the Traceless Sword supposed to be in the Souther Region? Why does Fang Zhengzhi have it?"

    "Could he have visited the Southern Region?"

    When the Mountain Breaking Army saw the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s possession, they were taken aback. The sword¡¯s reputation was simply too great - it was once the sword of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, a sword that left no traces of its kills.

    "This is bad! Is this brat ... possessed by the sword?!" Xing Yuanguo was also astounded when he noticed the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grasp.

    The Battle of the Southern Region.

    At the Icy Monkey Settlement, Fang Zhengzhi wielded the Traceless Sword and massacred all the Demon powerhouses in the Rebirth State. That sight was still fresh in Xing Yuanguo¡¯s mind.

    That wasn¡¯t an issue of strength ... On the contrary, Fang Zhengzhi then was not Fang Zhengzhi at all. Hence, Xing Yuanguo could only describe him as ¡¯possessed¡¯.

    "No, his eyes did not turn purple, they¡¯re still clear ... Wait a second, they aren¡¯t just clear, they¡¯re ... transparent?!"

    Transparent! And strangely so.

    Xing Yuanguo has never seen someone¡¯s eyes turn into such an extraordinary color, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were definitely transparent. They were as transparent as glistening water droplets.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi finally moved. He carried that vortex of materialized killing intent on his body and charged towards King Xieluo.

    "Eh? You wish to seek death? Haha ..." King Xieluo was indeed thrown off by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strange eyes, but he wasn¡¯t afraid.

    He had already shed off all the blood-stained ck scales on his body. His new coat of ck scales glistened with a sinister glow under the cloak of golden light. His massive body propelled into the air and descended down at top speed, charging to intercept Fang Zhengzhi.

    But then ...

    Fang Zhengzhi vanished.

    Or to be more precise, he blended into the surrounding vortex of killing intent.

    "Die!" A chilling voice erupted from the vortex. Following that, the cyclone of killing intent morphed into a seemingly real dragon.

    As the dragon soared into the heavens, raindrops fell from the sky. One drop, two drops, growing heavier and heavier ...

    A torrential downpour.

    It washed away the fresh bloodstains on the ground as well as those on Ping Yang¡¯s chest. With the rumbling of thunder, the shes of lightning illuminated Ping Yang¡¯s pale face.

    Then, a tinge of light lit up on Ping Yang¡¯s chest.

    It was a pendant, a pendant shaped like a tear. It flowed with a faint glow, shining like a star in the stormy night. However, no one noticed the light as everyone¡¯s attention was drawn towards the dragon bounding in the sky.

    It pranced in the air, flying up and down, swirling through the skies. It exuded an almighty sense of loneliness and rage.

    Finally, the dragon dissolved into a winding ray of light, descending down from the heavens and charging towards King Xieluo who was now beneath him.

    The dragon, the arrogant yet lonely dragon ...

    Even though it rose from the ground, it would never allow anyone to stand above him.

 Chapter 595 Slice With A Single Sword!

    ...

    The storm has struck, flooding the me Capital City with a nket of rain and mist. Yet, no one on the streets propped up their umbres, all allowing the violent downpour to pelt on their heads, creating sshes and ripples.

    Inside the me Capital City, at a hidden and virtually forgotten old constabry gate, over ten people in ck wearing hats were standing under the rain. They each carried a long sword on their backs.

    The rain poured down from the skies, washing off every trace of dust from the intricately carved sword guards.

    Of course, not everyone was wearing a hat. There was ady standing in front of them who donned a gorgeous and delicate long dress. Her waterfall-like hair rested on her shoulders. The lightning streaking across the night sky illuminated thedy¡¯s snow-white skin, her otherworldly eyebrows and the cinnabar crystal in the centre of her forehead.

    The relentless raindrops buffeted her, drenching her dress, but she appeared even daintier and more beautiful than before.

    "Wu Yuer, the Shadow Sect Leader has arrived!" A voice called out from opposite her. At the same time, a frail-looking man ambled out slowly from the constabry gate. He had very ordinary features, but his forehead contained an ¡¯eye¡¯ as shiny as a ruby gem.

    An eerie glow flickered within the eye, making it extremely mysterious and bizarre.

    And behind him, over a hundred masked figures appeared wearing ck cloaks over their heads. Tinges of eerie light radiated from beneath their cloaks, seeming extremely unusual.

    With only over ten people in hats against over a hundred masked men, the odds seemed greatly skewed. However, with over ten hatted men guarding the gate, only a single man wearing ck emerged from the constabry.

    "Ying Feng, Domain Chief of the Dark Region, that¡¯s right ... Your brother Ying Shan was also from the Dark Region, am I right? But what a pity, he was only the Vice Domain Chief and he died at such a young age." Wu Yuer finally spoke as she watched the man step out of the constabry.

    "Yes!" Ying Feng nodded without any intentions of rebutting or exining himself. He seemed unfazed, as though answering a question that had no rtion to him whatsoever.

    "Brothers should still be united along the road to death, that way you¡¯ll have apanion." Wu Yuer chided again.

    "I heard that the Shadow Sect is engaging in business, that makes you a businesswoman. Can I buy a life for 10,000 taels of gold?"

    "Most certainly, but we¡¯ll have to double the price, and you¡¯ll have to leave behind everything you took!" Wu Yuer nodded.

    "What about 50,000 taels of gold, but we keep the things?"

    "When the Shadow Sect does business, we only offer prices, we don¡¯t bargain."

    "Understood, let me think about this!" Ying Feng nodded and took a few steps backwards slowly.

    "I¡¯ll give you the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn." Wu Yuer didn¡¯t stop him.

    Just then, another streak of lightning danced across the sky, but this streak was evidently different from the rest.

    It was a ray of light, a distorted ray of light.

    And soon after ... a thunderous roar of a dragon reverberated through the air and rumbled through the clouds.

    "Eh?" Wu Yuer¡¯s body jerked violently. She looked up instinctively and her calm expression suddenly changed drastically. "Is that ... Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    Without any hesitation, Wu Yuer¡¯s body vanished immediately and in the next moment, her figure appeared on the roof of a faraway building, appearing like a sh of lightning.

    "Domain Chief, it seems that Wu Yuer has ... left?!" A masked man standing inside the constabry yard was evidently shocked upon witnessing Wu Yuer¡¯s sudden disappearance.

    "Is this a trick to lure us out?" Another masked man whispered.

    "No, something has happened to Fang Zhengzhi!" Ying Feng gazed at Wu Yuer navigating through the storm, then looked at the light glowing in the horizon. A cold glint shed in his eyes. "This chance is hard toe by, let¡¯s go!"

    "Yes!" The hundreds of masked men replied in unison.

    And outside the constabry gates, over ten hatted people in ck stood there silently, without anyone following Wu Yuer.

    "Qing Yi, they¡¯re fleeing. What should we do?"

    "If you¡¯re the leader, what would you do?" A woman¡¯s voice rang down towards them.

    "Charge in!"

    "And if you were the Offering Lord?"

    "I ... I can¡¯t guess what the Offering Lord would do." The hatted man hesitated and finally shook his head.

    "Let¡¯s do what our leader would do. Charge in!"

    "Yes!"

    .....

    A downpour raged on at the city gates of the me Capital City.

    Countless soldiers stood at their positions, their eyes all focused on the distorted path of light. It illuminated the air with such dominance and solitude.

    "Boom!" A deafening st rang.

    The distorted ray of light finally struck King Xieluo. The massive collision of both forces tore at each other, releasing waves of shrill and formidable dragon roars.

    A breathtaking symphony, followed immediately by silence.

    At this moment, the barrage of the storm seemed to have faded, and so has themotion of the spectating crowd. All that remained was the roar of a dragon ¨C a shrill yet formidable roar.

    "Roar!"

    Then, an agonizing howl of a beast sounded as well.

    A crimson rain of blood poured down from the heavens, melding into the storm and dyeing the dark sky into a ghastly shade of red.

    The dragon¡¯s roar faded soon after, and a spiraling ck figure descended from the skies andnded on the ground with a thud.

    "What¡¯s going on?!"

    "Did Fang Zhengzhi lose?"

    "What was that ck shadow just now?"

    Countless pairs of eyes were focused on the ck shadow that justnded on the ground. Then, they opened as wide as they could when they finally ascertained the identity of the ck shadow.

    Everyone gasped in shock. It was just a front hoof, an unbelievably gigantic front hoof. However, only the front roof reached the ground. Crimson blood spewed out of the severed top of the limb, sttering all over the ground.

    "Roar!" Another howl of a beast reverberated through the skies.

    Everyone turned their attention towards the enormous figure suspended in mid-air. And that figure was missing arge front hoof.

    "How is this possible?!"

    "Is that scoundrel really in the Supernatural State?!"

    "He¡¯s so powerful, he ... actually wounded the Demon King?"

    The Mountain Breaking Army, Yan Yunqi, and even the Northern Barbarian soldiers were bbergasted by this jaw-dropping sight as they noticed King Xieluo¡¯s wounded state.

    A single sword!

    The Returning Dragon!

    He severed the Demon King¡¯s front hoof!

    Fang Zhengzhi, in the Supernatural State ....

    He actually wounded the Demon King, and not just that ... he managed to sever one of his front hoofs. This isn¡¯t just worthy of a simplepliment! This ispletely unfathomable!

    The Demon King! The Demon King with a physical body even sturdier than that of a Sage!

    No one could believe their eyes, neither was anyone willing to believe their eyes.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!!!" King Xieluo¡¯s voice thundered through the air. It was a howl of rage, agony and mostly, humiliation.

    As a grand Demon King, he was hoping mad from utter humiliation. Never once was there a time when he was this furious.

    And above him, a silhouette stood in the air, wielding a sword in one hand which radiated with a strange purple glow. His ck robes became peculiarly conspicuous after being washed down by the rain.

    He didn¡¯t say a word, much less utter a single sound. He merely gazed quietly at the frantic and exasperated King Xieluo. His pair of eyes, as clear as water droplets, flickered with various images - mountains, rivers, forests, flowers ...

    However, the corners of his lips were still stained with fresh blood which glistened with a peculiarly radiant glow under the shes of lightning.

    "He was injured after all?"

    "But he did manage to slice off one of the Demon King¡¯s front hoofs, that¡¯s already an incredible feat!"

    "Indeed so. But is that the only form of damage he can inflict?"

    Just as everyone¡¯s gaze was affixed on the bloodstains on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips, they all let out soft sighs one by one.

    The awe-inspiring sight of the single strike from his sword which severed the front hoof of the Demon King was still reying vividly in everyone¡¯s minds, but that did not mean that Fang Zhengzhi had secured a victory.

    After all, he was up against the Demon King - a Demon King who was far stronger than any sage.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯ve exhausted all your strength for this single strike, but I have not. Now die!" King Xieluo clearly noticed the bloodstains on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips.

    Even though his front hoof was sliced right off, he still charged towards Fang Zhengzhi at breakneck speed.

    And at the same time, a ray of red light rose up from beneath the city walls and propelled into the sky, releasing terrifying waves of air currents which radiated to the surroundings, sweeping up every ounce of debris.

    The crimson luminance inundated the sky, dyeing the dark night sky into a uniform blood red, a sinister and hellish blood red.

    A ck figure stood at the centre of the red light. His eyes had turned blood red as well, with drops of fresh blood sliding down his lips and falling onto the pale face of someone sprawled on the ground.

    "Re... remember what ... you .... you promised me ..." There was a weak voice trailing off. Then, the pale face slowly turned to one side and his eyes slowly closed shut.

    "Ah!!!" A piercing shriek erupted from the ck figure. It was a howl that came from deep within his heart, filled with rage, vengeance and grief ...

    "It¡¯s Yan Qianli!"

    "Could it be that Prince Li of the First Rank has ..."

    "My Lord!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi immediately turned their attention to Yan Qianli at the bottom of the pce walls upon hearing that excruciating howl. They clearly noticed Prince Li of the First Rank lying there with his eyes shut.

    "Boom!" The rumble of distant thunder.

    Both the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi bowed in respect. They didn¡¯t kneel as they were still in the heat of battle, but they still had to bow.

    Because ... the person who perished was Prince Li of the First Rank, a living legend of the Great Xia Empire. And in the final moments of his life, this legend used both his hands and released the most resplendent radiance in front of everyone¡¯s eyes - opening the heavens and burying the earth.

    He was a legend that would live in their hearts forever.

    "Don¡¯t worry, old man Lin. I, Yan Qianli, swear that I will avenge you!" Basking in the charging red light, Yan Qianli slowly looked up to the sky, reeling in the downpour cascading from the heavens and the two battling silhouettes crossing swords in the storm.

    Just like everyone had noticed ... Fang Zhengzhi was wounded.

    "Isn¡¯t this enough? I¡¯ve boosted by strength threefold, and it¡¯s still not enough?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was obviously not aiming for King Xieluo¡¯s front hoof, but his head.

    But ... his sword still missed its mark.

    "Boom!" The two shadows distanced themselves from each other. Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth subconsciously as another mouthful of fresh blood spewed forth, but his hand still grasped the handle of his sword as tightly as he could.

    One would be faced with numerous challenges in one¡¯s life. Some challenges may even seem insurmountable, impossible to ovee no matter how hard one tries, but still, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to try nheless.

    The reason was simple - he had no other options.

    He was not hoping to flee, but it was his heart that was preventing him from retreating away. He would never choose to retreat, regardless of how many chances of escape he may get.

    "Yan Xiu¡¯s only friend ... doesn¡¯t seem too bad after all!" Yan Qianli gazed up at the panting Fang Zhengzhi. His heart palpitated quickly for a moment but he calmed down soon after. At the same time, the pir of blood red light propelling into the heavens began to disperse again and in the next moment, Fang Zhengzhi had already arrived in front of King Xieluo.

    "Die!"

    "Roar!"

    Both sounded their battlecries.

    The blood red light intertwined with the golden radiance, repelling explosively upon impact.

    Following that, Yan Qianli arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi. As a leader with bountiful experience in battle, he was enraged, but he remained calmer than anyone else.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, can you still fight?" Yan Qianli ignored Ping Yang, not even sparing her a single nce. Things had already progressed to such a point that there was no purpose in pursuing the matter further.

    "Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded weakly.

    "Alright then, we ... your eyes?!" Yan Qianli was about to propose for both of them tobine forces, but after he noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crystal-clear dewdrop-like eyes, his expression changed drastically.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were simply too strange, so strange that it was spellbinding.

    "It¡¯s an after-effect of the Battle of the Southern Region." Fang Zhengzhi exined briefly but did not borate further. He simply raised his hand and wiped off the bloodstain on his lips.

    "This after-effect of yours doesn¡¯t look too bad!" Yan Qianli¡¯s lips twitched. He just gave a casual remark without probing the matter further.

    "I¡¯ll settle Ping Yang¡¯s feud for her!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed.

    "Certainly, and I¡¯ll avenge old Lin!" Yan Qianli replied in a heartbeat.

    "Would you like to kill him?"

    "Of course!"

    "But he can only die once."

    "As my junior, you should have some humility!" Yan Qianli chastised as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "As my senior, you should provide more opportunities for the younger generation!"

    "What if I refuse?"

    "We¡¯ll just have to rely on our individual strength."

    "Very well, let¡¯s see whether Yan Xiu¡¯s only friend can still conjure any more miracles!" Yan Qianli nodded.

    "Guard the rear, I¡¯ll charge in!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded back.

    "You¡¯ll charge in first? Are you sure?" Yan Qianli instinctively stepped out after seeing Fang Zhengzhi nod back, already preparing tounch himself forward, only reacting when he took his first step out.

    He was clearly astonished. Regardless of his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality, Yan Qianli should theoretically be the first one to strike when assessing the disparity between both their levels of strength.

    "I¡¯m sure!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision remained resolute.

    "Alright then, go. I¡¯ll cover you from behind!" Yan Qianli may not have understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentionspletely, but he still nodded in agreement in the end.

 Chapter 596 Evil Demon, He Is An Evil Demon

    Known for his stubborn character, Western Liang King would not treat his senior Supernatural State seriously. Even Chi Hou, who was from the Divine Constabry, had barely spoken anything to him.

    However, this time, he showed no intention of speaking rudely to Fang Zhengzhi. It was of equal status and authority.

    "ROAR!" King Xieluo bellowed in agony, cutting the conversation between the two of them. As a dignified Demon King, listening to them discussing how to kill him, was a disgrace, an act of ignorance.

    With a loud roar, thick rays of golden light surged wildy towards the broken forepaw. The blood immediately stopped gushing out of the wound, and a new forepaw started emerging out with great speed.

    "Let¡¯s see how are you going to kill me!" King Xieluo¡¯s eyes were filled with this gold and ferocious light, just like the water flowing down.

    "His limbs grew back?!"

    "That¡¯s a crazy speed of recovery!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army¡¯s and the Yan Cloud Cavalry¡¯s jaws dropped in surprise as they looked at how the fore paws grow back together.

    Of course, they did prepare themselves for what was going to happen.

    Especially since the opponent is Demon King.

    But they still could not believe their eyes when they looked at how the paws grew back almost instantly.

    On the other hand, Yan Qianli did not even bat his eyes for a second, and he still felt the anger rushing into him, but he had to calm down, because that is the only way to seek revenge for Prince Li of the First Rank.

    He stared closely at King Xieluo with his bloodshot eyes, slowly moving his eyes up and down, mainly on the three positions, the head, heart and the abdomen area, but they do not seem to have the Demon Pearl.

    Where was it hidden at?

    Yan Qianli had his doubts, he was well aware that if he cannot locate the Demon Pearl, all his efforts would have gone to waste.

    Besides, Fang Zhengzhi looked like he had no idea where the Demon Pearl was.

    "I¡¯m on it!" Fang Zhengzhi let out a soft cry, he began to spring into action, one step forward. A pair of crystal eyes could not even catch what he just did, but his body had already disappeared from the ground.

    As magnificent as it seemed, a dragon ascended to the sky at the same time.

    Only this time, the dragon did not swirl around in the air.

    It rushed directly up on the cloud, over the horizon.

    Disappearing into the thin air, it went totally silent.

    "BOOOMM!" The thunder rumbled across the sky as the lightning bolted.

    "Fang Zhengzhi,e down and let me see your real power!" King Xieluo looked across the sky, eyes darting from side to side with caution, as the blow that Fang Zhengzhi shed using his sword did traumatise him.

    He did not dare to belittle what Fang Zhengzhi meant earlier.

    ring at Fang Zhengzhi soaring up the sky, he chose to let him go and wait, waiting for him toe again.

    Yan Qianli also stayed in his spot, as Fang Zhengzhi has instructed that he will charge forward first, and Yan Qianli was perfectly clear on his role, that he would defend the rear.

    An opportunity.

    He would remain calm till they had started fighting and he would seize his opportunity.

    Time was ticking away...

    Both of them were still waiting, but Fang Zhengzhi, who flew up to the sky, was still nowhere to be seen, leaving them in a state of suspense.

    "Huh? Are you noting?" King Xieluo had been waiting for ages and he began thinking if Fang Zhengzhi woulde down again. Where was he? The sword? Really? No response?

    "Why is he noting down? Is he going to take so long toe down with the sword?" Yan Qianli peered at the heavy rainstorm, feeling bewildered.

    How could he rush up first and not have any response?

    What is going on?

    "Disappeared?!"

    "Hiding in the clouds? What is this move again?"

    "Did he run away?"

    Standing from afar, the Mountain Breaking Army, the Yan Cloud Cavalry and the Northern Barbarians Army were gazing at the dragon that disappeared into the clouds, puzzled about the situation.

    Rain continued to pour, the cold air brewed in.

    Finally, King Xieluo started feeling strange, a golden light flickered in his eyes, and an idea suddenly shed through his mind.

    Could it be possible that the punk really ran away? Escaping in the battlefield was something King Xieluo would never fathom about, if it was for the other warriors.

    But if it was Fang Zhengzhi....

    God knows if he would take this chance to run away for good.

    "He really escaped? This is too absurd, how can he just run away like this?" While the Mountain Breaking Army were reluctant to believe the situation, the cold hard truth remained in front of their eyes, that Fang Zhengzhi was gone.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" King Xieluo howled loudly, shaking the whole horizon, but the sky remained calm and still like a dead sea, with no response at all, "Damn it!"

    After yelling at the sky, he could not wait any longer, in a swift, he charged up into the sky.

    "Hmmm? Are you nning to go up there, it¡¯s not so easy!" Yan Qianli nced at King Xielo who rushed up to the horizon, the crimson red light in his heart began forming into a giant.

    He had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi would n on charging up and not return.

    I¡¯m going up first?

    Did the fellow mean that he will go up first?..

    If it is really that case, he had to admit that the Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were indeed unbelievable to the average person.

    No matter what, he could never let King Xieluo go up, thus he gathered his red light and transformed them into a gigantic, casting it over King Xieluo.

    "Kacha!"

    King Xieluo¡¯s body hit hard on the, but he did not have any intention of getting trapped in the, he let out a wild grunt, widened his mouth and bit on the huge surrounding his body.

    Momentarily, there was a loud and sharp frictional sound, and a streak of weak red light began lighting up in the middle of the dark stormy night. The also started to tighten up wildly, and looked like it might crack under the pressure of the bite anytime.

    The sky broke into a roll of thunder, apanied by a sh of lightning crashing down from the horizon.

    Meanwhile, King Xieluo was using his full force to rip the giant open.

    Paying no attention to the pouring rain and the loud crashing sound of the lightning that seemed almost abnormal, a thunder bolt struck on the roof of his head.

    "Boom!"

    The bright lightning came down almost immediately on King Xieluo¡¯s brain.

    Subsequently, a piercing high pitch screech resounded across the sky, leaving an echo in the air. Vibrant red blood began bursting out from King Xieluo¡¯s head, blending in with the rain pouring down.

    "Rawr....." King Xieluo was not slightly prepared at all, and all of a sudden his head was sliced open, with a cut so deep that the bone was almost visible . It was obvious from the wound... It was...

    Caused by a sword!

    Neither King Xieluo, nor Qian Yanli, the Mountain Breaking Army, the Yan Cloud Cavalry or the Northern Barbarians Army, could react in time for this.

    Until....

    The second bolt of lightning came crashing down from the horizon.

    "Rumble!"

    The bright lightning struck on King Xieluo¡¯s brain once again, and what was even stranger was that it had struck on exactly the same position as the first bolt.

    Not only did it worsen the initial wound, but it ruptured into small clots of flesh,bining with the rupturing blood, it decorated the bright red fog.

    "Ao Wu!" King Xielo¡¯s eyes obviously started to change, while he had a fast healing ability, but that did not mean he did not feel pain at all.

    His brain was struck twice.

    And even worse so, at the same ce.

    It would be impossible to say that he had no slight trace of pain at all.

    Just as he was about to let out another cry, the third bolt came again, the position of the attack exactly identical as the previous two.

    "No, it can¡¯t be a lightning, it must be a sword lightning, a distorted sword lightning!"

    "A distorted sword lightning? It couldn¡¯t be....."

    "The Returning Dragon, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Returning Dragon, but how does it look like a bolt lightning!"

    Standing from afar, the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry had seen how the third lightning bolt had struck down, they both reverted back into their senses, as they realised that it was not just a normal lightning, but a highly precise aim on the crown of King Xieluo¡¯s head.

    More importantly...

    Even if it¡¯s really just an urate strike, it should do no harm on King Xieluo.

    There was only one exnation, that would be the sword lightning, but why does the shape look simr to the lightning bolt?

    Wait!

    Could it be.....

    At that moment, an idea shed across their mind, because recently, an incident happened right in front of their faces.

    The Seven colour light alongside with the clouds formed into Seven light columns, sealing up the body of King Xieluo - this a tactic that made use of nature.

    This method brought a whole new experience to most of the onlookers.

    "Fang Zhengzhi borrowed the power of nature!"

    "Simr to King Liqin, he capitalised on using the clouds, no... wrong, not only the clouds, even the lightning!"

    "Using The Returning Dragon¡¯s sword, andbining them with the lightning produced within the clouds!"

    "Oh my God, this can¡¯t be real? We had seen the same ritual done by King Liqin, but we had only just touched the threshold and he could already used the power?!"

    "Evil Demon, He is the real Evil Demon!"

    Be it the Mountain Breaking Army or the Yan Cloud Cavalry, or even the Northern Barbarians Army, all three of them were startled after harbouring that thought, because who had the courage to attempt that in reality.....

    That was like seeing a tall mountain, a mountain that nobody can ever cross over.

    This strength was not just any practical strength, but one with heart, with awakening - a type of internal strength.

    "Bwong!"

    The third bolt that merged together with the sword lightning finally struck, and without a doubt,nded on the top of King Xieluo¡¯s head, splitting it open.

    But this time round....

    The open wound was not just pure blood and flesh, but there were visible bones, white and pale in colour.

    "Ow wu!" King Xieluo¡¯s golden light on his body rushed up to the top of his head once again, his massive body osciting vigorously, as if he was trying to hide from the fourth bolt of "lightning" from above.

    However, the giant had restricted his movements, making it impossible for him to dodge any lightning, he could only struggle in vain.

    "Boom!"

    The fourth lightning struck.

    Followed by, the fifth, sixth, seventh and the eighth...

    .....

    "Boom!"

    "Boom Boom......"

    One after another, the sounds echoed throughout the night sky. It had astounded everyone, and by this time, King Xielo¡¯s body no longer looked the same as before.

    From the top of his head, his body looked as if it was about to be separated into two halves from the slice of the sword.

    Even so, he continued resisting.....

    Countless rays of golden light gushed to the open wound, resulting in an overwhelmingly fast recovery press. What a bewildered sight indeed.

    Yan Qianli did not let go the, he held onto the red-coloured tightly with his fingers.

    A trail of blood dripped from King Xieluo¡¯s mouth. He was still struggling within the giant, especially even after the sword lightnings were wedged onto the. He was definitely injured.

    But....

    He pressed on.

    Because it was at that moment, that he finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant from his instructions "I charge up first, you defend the rear".

    Charging up first, obviously, was self-exnatory.

    As for defending the rear, it meant continuing suppressing King Xieluo.

    Yan Qianli will be responsible to restrain King Xieluo, while Fang Zhengzhi will attack from above. This was what Fang Zhengzhi meant by "I charge up first, you defend the rear".

    "Goodd, even if it means ending my old life, I will help you to hold him back!" Yan Qianli¡¯s face showed a rare glimpse of praise, as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performancetely had went beyond his expectation.

    And now...

    This only further bolstered his impression of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "That will be the eleventh consecutive strike!"

    "If this goes on, no matter who it is, even if it is the Demon King, shouldn¡¯t he perish into thin air?"

    "There¡¯s a chance, really a chance!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry could not help but let out their immense excitement. Despite the fact that they were one of the top from the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s elite soldiers, it was still the first time they had seen such an astounding spectacle.

    "Did King Xieluo really lose?" Even though the Northern Barbarians Army were in disbelief, they could not help but felt a tinge of worry and concern for what had happened earlier.

    Across the horizon, the lightning bolts relentlessly struck from above,nding hard on King Xieluo¡¯s body.

    s, King Xieluo let out a miserable cry, and the gold from his body disappeared. His enormous body split into half, his blood cascaded profusely across the horizon, and two halves continuously vibrated in the air.

    "Is it a win?!" `

    "The body split into half, even if it is the Demon King I don¡¯t think it will grow back again?"

    "At least it won¡¯t grow back out immediately, this is a great opportunity!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry saw this scene and shouted out in victory, for this was the first time they had seen such a glorious and spectacr win in battle.

    "You did great, Fang Zhengzhi!". At this moment Yan Qianli was able to move again, since King Xieluo¡¯s split body was unable to put up a strong resistance to his giant.

    He withdrew his hand from the.

    A pair of bright red spears suddenly each appeared on his two hands.

    In a blink of an eye, he rushed into the giant.

    "Die, King Xieluo!", Yan Qianli roared, and simultaneously, a chilling breath of terror emerged wildly from his body.

    The two spears from his hands did not stop, even for a moment.

    Piercing through the air, he swiftly charged towards the splitted halves. (To be Continued)

 Chapter 597 Demon Pearl, 3 Glistening Eyes

    Closer, closer.....

    As the blood red spears were about to reach King Xieluo¡¯s body, all of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry could not help but revealed nervous expressions.

    "sh!"

    The two spears prated into each half, and rays of crystal light shimmered around the spears, diffusing swiftly.

    King Xieluo suddenly stopped struggling, heidpletely still and silent, as the stormy rain continued to pour on his body, scattering among the light.

    "Dead?"

    "Is he really dead?"

    "I think he¡¯s dead."

    Everyone focused on the blood stained body halves, unsure of what is going to happen next.

    "POOM!" At this moment, a trail of blood showered from the sky.

    Then, a silhouette whizzed down from above, his ck outfit totally drenched from the rain shower, and his face looking all pale and pallid but his hand still holding onto the sword very tightly.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Yan Qianli recognised the shadow almost immediately, and he dashed forward to catch the body thatnded on his arms.

    Even so, he did not take his eyes away from King Xieluo, with his bloodshed eyes continuously fixating on King Xieluo, not letting him out of his sight.

    Till...

    The two halves of King Xieluo¡¯s body werepletely surrounded by the bright red crimosn light.

    "It¡¯spletely covered!"

    "He¡¯s really dead this time round!"

    The atmosphere was instantly filled with joyous celebration.

    "We won!"

    "Demon King is finally dead!"

    "King Yan, King Yan...."

    "Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi......"

    Everyone from the Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry also joined in the celebration, despite knowing that the Northern Barbarians Army were still within the premises, but once King Xieluo was dead, it meant the battle had its winner.

    Of course, this win was not easy, but was still a triumphal sess.

    Celebratory joys echoed throughout the night sky.

    It was at this moment that Yan Qianli slowly rxed his gaze, with the blood red colours in his eyes gradually fading away. Indeed, he was brimming with confidence.

    Once King Xieluo¡¯s body waspletely immersed in the blood light.

    Despite being a Demon King.

    It was impossible that he could still survive this.

    At this point, he decided not to continue focusing on King Xieluo, and turned his attention to Fang Zhengzhi. He could feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s numb limbs, void of energy, and he swifty whipped out a small bottle.

    "Swallow this!" Yan Qianli mumbled as he gingerly opened the small bottle. He poured out two red elixirs and popped them into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth.

    However.....

    Just as he popped the elixir into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, a gush of force assaulted him from behind, causing him to fly forward helplessly.

    "CRASSSSH!" A loud sound rumbled.

    Yan Qianli knocked against Fang Zhenzhi. Countless raging power started influxing profusely into his body.

    "How is that possible?!" Yan Qianli spun around frantically, and there stood a figure, to which he stared at in disbelief.

    Because, the person standing behind him was King Xieluo.

    Only this time round, it was no longer the gigantic version of King Xieluo, but a human-sized one, covered in white under the relentless rain.

    The golden horns on his head were even more eye-catching than ever, as they twinkled brightly.

    "HE¡¯S NOT DEAD?!"

    "King Xieluo is still alive?"

    "How is this even possible, his body was splitted into half..... Hold on, his body is still floating in the sky?!"

    The entire Mountain Break Army and Yan Cloud Cavalry saw the scene unfolding in front of their eyes. However, what led to their astonishment was that King Xieluo¡¯s body was still floating above in midair.

    Surrounded in bright red light.

    Why would this happen?

    How could there be two King Xieluos?

    Everyone was bewildered.

    So was Yan Qianli.

    Indeed, the Demon King was tough, but that merely referred to his swift healing ability. How is it possible that he had two clones?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unable toprehend the situation, and even more so now, especially after receiving a strong blow from Yan Qianli.

    How strong could a sage¡¯s body be?

    Nobody could exin this.

    Just like what Yan Qianli had mentioned earlier, King Xieluo was well built and had strong muscr bones, obviously resulting in Fang Zhengzhi being on the losing end. When he was being knocked down by Yan Qianli, he felt as if his bones were falling apart.

    "Poooo!" He coughed out the two elixirs that he was unable to swallow in time, creating a little blood mist in the air.

    The next moment.....

    Fang Zhengzhi witnessed King Xieluo moving behind Yan Qianli, only this time, he did not charge towards them, but dashed up, into the horizon.

    In just a moment, he vanished.

    "Oh no, King Xieluo is escaping!"

    "Escape?! No, he¡¯s not going to runaway......he......he looks like..."

    "This..... How is this possible?!"

    "Could it be, that he is also going to borrow power from the nature?!"

    The Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry watched anxiously as King Xieluo flew up among the clouds, because from previous attacks, he usually capitalised on his advantage and struck while the iron was hot.

    However, he didn¡¯t do it now. Rather, he looked as if he was escaping and rushed up to the sky.

    What a strange behaviour from King Xie Luo. HIs actions left a dread in everyone¡¯s minds.

    "Peng!" The bodies of Yan Qianli and Fang Zhengzhi camending on the ground.

    And at this crucial timing, Yan Qianli tried thrusting Fang Zhengzhi into an upright position, using his body as a padding for Fang Zhengzhi, even after suffering an attack from King Xieluo.

    "WAAAAAA..." Yan Qianli threw up a puddle of blood. He red intently at the sky, clenching his teeth. "I¡¯m going up first this time round, you¡¯ll defend after!"

    As soon as he finished talking, he charged up immediately.

    He shot up like a zing light, with the chilling atmosphere surrounding him. His face was as calm and firm as ever, and seemed as though he had suffered no injuries.

    "The elixir!" Fang Zhengzhi uttered as a wry smile appeared at the corner of his face.

    A small pill bottle dropped promptly from above andnded beside him.

    Fang Zhengzhi swiftly picked up the small bottle, and quickly gulped down the 10 balls of elixir.

    It had a bitter sweet taste, as he slowly munched on them, realising that it tasted satisfactory. While certainly not the usual watermelon vour, or lemon or banana, it definitely felt refreshing for the after taste.

    If he were to describe it, it would taste just like any other mint sweet, allowing one to feel fresh andfortable after eating it.

    Of course.....

    It is just a description.

    As he¡¯s not feeling thatfortable after all.

    The Demon King.

    He was definitely more powerful than what he had initially thought. Despite going against all odds to request for a power that was three times more than his usual, and even borrowing force from the nature, he still failed to end this tragedy.

    That was too mighty.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not regret upon his decisions. Regarding this battle, he did not expect to win, he was just trying his best to fight, giving his all...

    That was enough.

    After swallowing ten elixirs down his stomach, Fang Zhengzhi could feel a stream of newfound strength gushing into his body, and he lifted his eyes and gazed at the horizon once again.

    His crystal clear eyes stared right through the stormy rain, and the lightnings.

    "Chi Guyan, your man... is going to miss this chance!" Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the sword and hurried up, leaving a purple trial light behind him.

    ...

    Standing on the wall, Yan Xiu clenched his fist very tightly.

    As the wind blew strongly against his traditional chinese clothing, Shan Yu stood beside him biting on her lips nervously, leaving a small trail of blood at the edge of it.

    "I¡¯m going now, are you to stop me?" asked Shan Yu.

    "Let the old lord protect you!" Yan Xiu chose not to reply her.

    "I understand." Shan Yu nodded her head. She made a quick leap, just like a ck leopard jumping over the tall walls.

    Yan Xiu gazed at Shan Yu as she leaped over the walls.

    He didn¡¯t stop her.

    He made the same jump, following closely behind her.

    "Young Master!"

    "Prince of the Southern Region!"

    After seeing Yan Xiu and Shan Yu leaping over the walls, the Yan Cloud Cavalry and the Mountain Break Army started yelling at them, but they continued moving without paying much attention.

    The two shadows dashed into the storm, moving as fast as a lightning into the battle.

    As everything was happening, no one realised that there was another silhouette running in, making a mark amongst everything, the ck dress dancing in the rain.

    ...

    "Rumble!"

    A bright lightning shed across the whole horizon at almost the same moment. It was not of the regr lightning colour, but a brilliant golden shimmering colour.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s eyes widened even bigger this time round.

    He was intending to dodge, but the golden lightning came too sudden and it was too close that he had no space to escape at all.

    "BOOM!" The lightning bolt struck directly on Yan Qianli¡¯s palm and the strangest sight happened, his hand looked like it had been engulfed.

    It hadpletely disappeared.

    "AH, crap..." Yan Qianli¡¯s expression changed, mouthing out a miserable cry. He managed to thrust his body forward to escape.

    However, at this moment, a shadow came towering down from the above, body wrapped in golden light. Within a second, it appeared at Yan Qianli¡¯s side.

    "King Yan, beware!"

    "King Xieluo!"

    "What¡¯s that on his forehead....?!"

    Everyone was fixating on the person standing beside Yan Qianli, with their eyes wide open with bewilderment. King Xieluo¡¯s forehead seemed to have been splitted open into a shape of an eye.

    Just that...

    It was not a normal eye.

    It was a pearl, a golden pearl, crystal and transparent in nature. In there, there was also a lightning bolt moving inside, looking really dubious and scary.

    "Demon Pearl!"

    "Is it possible that it is King Xieluo¡¯s Demon Pearl?

    "That¡¯s absurd, if the pearl is really on King Xieluo¡¯s forehead, then isn¡¯t King Yan first attack supposed to be on the forehead instead?"

    Everyone was staring at the golden crystal ball, feeling rather puzzled.

    "Hahaha......If I were to reveal it to all of you, that the body that you spent so much effort and energy in killing was just a powerful and fierce beast that was owned by me, will you all believe me a little?" King Xieluo¡¯s voice bellowed in the starry night.

    "A beast?!" Yan Qianli¡¯s hand was still pressing onto his other broken palm, with his expressions hurt and painful. That body, a beast?!

    In that moment, everything seemed to piece together in his head, and his expression immediately changed as those ideas shed past.

    Not only Yan Qianli¡¯s expression changed.

    All the men in the Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry stared wide with intent.

    "This is not possible!"

    "If it was just a beast, how could it have such great power?"

    "No way, this type of rapid recovery skill is totally something that a beast can never handle, unless it¡¯s the demon king..."

    "Unless, King Xieluo has been helping the beast to recover when he¡¯s being attacked. There was always a golden light shining at its wound - the light must be from King Xieluo¡¯s power!"

    By now, the Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry had already figured out the situation, but none of them chose to ept the truth.

    After all these struggles, it was just a beast getting killed?!

    Who could believe this, and who was willing to believe it?

    "Looks like nobody wants to believe me!" King Xieluo grinned sheepishly, and he slowly drifted his gaze down to Fang Zhengzhi, who had stopped in mid air. "You little brat, I must say that move was really astounding, hmmm... You have earned your way to see my true self!"

    "True self?"

    "That was not true?"

    "Impossible!"

    An incredibly loud sound began ringing as a ray of golden light shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the dark horizon.

    And at the same time...

    A figure began emerging out from the golden light.

    No massive structure, no sharp teeth and no bloody jaws, it was just an average looking body.

    However, this figure created more pressure for everyone, as it looked more menacing in nature than the gigantic body.

    With a slender looking body and perfect masculine figure, its scales werepletely immersed in golden light, from head to tail.

    There were four ws in total, with five toes each.

    At the tip of its fingers, the fingernails were of crystal blue colour, resembling the pureness of the pastel blue sky.

    At the top of its head, its pair of golden horns shone brightly in the light. Its long white hair remained rested on its back, and with its tail end coloured in red, it resembled raging bright red fire.

    The golden shimmering eyes, looked as majestic and arrogant as ever.

    What was even more stunning was the gold crystal pearl in the middle of its two horns. It was transparent and crystal clear, just like the eyes.

    Strikes of lightning shed within the golden pearl.

 Chapter 598 The Explosion of a Secret Weapon

    Robust, demon-like - these twopletely opposite traits concentrated on the body of King Xieluo.

    Demon...

    This was the real demon!

    "Now, I will let you have a taste of my real power!" King Xieluo¡¯s mouth twitched a little as he showed his peculiar looking expression.

    Then he made his move.

    He dashed so quickly towards Yan Qianli.

    "BOOM!" A golden light emerged through.

    Sending Yan Qianli back rapidly, he went down to the ground uncontrobly. Atst, there was a loud "peng" sound on the ground.

    Too fast.

    It was too fast. Nobody could see what had happened clearly.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "How formidable can King Xieluo get? Yan Qianli is a sage, but yet he does not even have a fighting chance in front of the demon king?"

    Nobody wanted to believe.

    Nheless, that was a fact, an indisputable fact.

    Without any hesitation, King Xieluo decided to sneak on his next move, flying at an uncontrobly high speed towards Fang Zhengzhi, andnded in front him in just a blink of an eye.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi looked up at King Xieluo, eyes wide in shock.

    King Xieluo stared back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    At that instant, Fang Zhengzhi looked into his eyes and felt the aura, the confidence, theplete boldness in King Xieluo.

    "Die!" King Xieluo said out ruthlessly, his pointy bluews shing through the ck dress that Fang Zhengzhi was wearing, into his chest, forcing his way inside.

    Just imagine...

    The bluews could almost effortlessly pierce through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    But the reality was, it did not.

    A high pitched frictional sound echoed throughout the night. The Heart Protection Mirror slowly showed itself, and on the mirror, there was a squarish looking ck stone attached on it.

    This unpredictable misfortune caused King Xieluo to have a slight change in expression. It could actually survive my mighty w? What was that?

    There was a slight doubt on King Xieluo¡¯s face, but the helpless Fang Zhengzhi had already used the opportunity to spring away from the attacks. While the w had missed his heart, the blow was too intense for him to handle.

    "Hong!" a sharp pain pierced right through his chest area. Thereafter, Fang Zhengzhi felt a strange and immense strength injecting into his body. It rushed in as strong and fast like a wild horse racing.

    It made his body travel down uncontrobly in the speed of a lightning.

    However, just as his body was going to crash on the ground, Fang Zhengzhi managed to slow down to a halt, forcefully stopping his body in mid air.

    "Looks like this battle had depleted most of your power!" Fang Zhengzhi mouthed out as blood trickled down beside his lips. But, he tried to fight through it, pushing his lips to sh his best smile.

    "Oh, is that so?" King Xieluo¡¯s body suddenly blinked and appeared beside Fang Zhengzhi once again, extending his rear w towards the direction of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Boom!"

    This time round, it hadpletely caught him off guard. Fang Zhengzhi went crashing down to the ground level, sending cracks and flying stones everywhere, burying his whole body.

    That happened too quickly.

    From the reappearance of King Xieluo, to Yan Qianli and Fang Zhengzhi crashing down on the ground, seemed as though everything happened in a sh.

    Especially the double blow from King Xieluo to Fang Zhengzhi.

    From the outside, it almost seemed like these two attacks happened continuously, without a single pause in the middle.

    "How is it this time round?" King Xieluo grinned, waiting for an answer from Fang Zhengzhi, which obviously came to no avail as there was no reply from him.

    "Are you faking your death again?" King Xieluo budged, his back w began shing vigorously on the ground towards the direction where Fang Zhengzhi is lying on.

    "CRASSH!" A loud sound vibrated in the air.

    Next, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was carried away by King Xieluo, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes remained shut, with blood oozing out profusely from the edge of his mouth.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Just at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of King Xieluo.

    A cool air began swelling up in the atmosphere concurrently.

    "Hmmph, your old Lord could not even defeat me, what can a little one do to me?" King Xieluo peered at Yan Xiu who tried to rush in front of him, giving him a look of disdain.

    That demonic look indeed brought a sense of insecurity.

    "HONG!" Yan Xiu¡¯s body has been kicked out.

    As his body was kicked away, momentarily, another ck figurended in front of King Xieluo. A pair of cold daggers flew towards King Xieluo¡¯s throat.

    "Scram!" King Xieluo hissed, whipping his w towards the ck figure. A sound of bones splitting could be heard, followed by the figure crashing onto the ground.

    "Southern Region King!"

    "Young Master Yan Xiu!"

    The Mountain Broken Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry witnessed the whole situation, and they looked devastated. All these were just too strong, if the level of power that King Xieluo had previously was like that of a mountain.

    Then the power of King Xieluo now, would be that of an ocean, a depthless ocean.

    A human, could attempt to ovee the tall mountain, but he could never reached the deepest areas of the deep sea, because that was where hell was, a death hell.

    "HAHAHA..."King Xieluo¡¯s burst out withughter, of arrogance and hysteria, "Bring it on,e and receive your death, Fang Zhengzhi, I would like to see how many people are willing to die because of you?"

    "There¡¯s still me!" Yan Qianli replied immediately, and a ray of right light began shining in front of King Xieluo.

    Multiple bloody red sharp daggers began piercing towards King Xieluo¡¯s head.

    But...

    King Xieluo had predicted that move.

    "Ha Ha!" He leaped away just as Yan Qianli arrived, and he carried Fang Zhengzhi to mid air, giving him an eye, "I dont have the habit of taking people¡¯s stuff, I will treasure the opportunity to kill you!"

    No more hesitation.

    He sunk his blue nails into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, and a loud crashing sound echoed through the air again, creating a sharp frictional noise.

    "Huh? It¡¯s not broken yet?" King Xieluo was stunned for a moment. If the object didn¡¯t break at the first blow, it should be called an artifact, but if it still remained intact the second time, it should be considered as a treasure.

    He had no intention in dragging Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death any longer, much less letting go of him.

    Yet, he was still ncing at the Heart Protection Mirror from time to time, frowning as he continued to observe the squarish stone on it.

    There were many other ways to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although the most fatal move would be through the heart, bringing immediate death.

    As a Demon King, King Xieluo was aware of this important point, he did not think of letting Fang Zhengzhi survive this, therefore the only solution would still be using the most fatal move.

    Just as he was observing the Heart Protection Mirror, a strange feeling began rushing inside his heart, it felt as if countless thin wires were trying to bind him up, or maybe...

    It had already trapped his body, and he was being trapped in a space that he could not even move at all.

    "Huh?!" King Xieluo¡¯s expression had a drastic change. He tried to step back, but his body failed to act on hismand. Then, he saw a pair of eyes.

    A pair of crystal clear eyes.

    That pair of eyes slowly opened, quietly looking at himself.

    Then...

    A stinging white ray of light shone through it.

    Then, King Xieluo felt something in his eyes. It was like a tiny granr particle, but it made him suffer from excruciating pain.

    "AHHH!!!" King Xieluo roared, the bright golden light emerged from his body, diffusing at all directions.

    ...

    That was all too shocking.

    A scene nobody would have thought of.

    Everyone turned and looked at King Xieluo¡¯s body. It seemed like he got attacked, but how did he get attacked, and what did he suffer from.....

    No one seemed to understand the situation.

    Even so, there was something everyone was certain of, King Xieluo appeared to be in excruciating pain.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already slipped out of King Xieluo¡¯s grip and flew away, like a leaf blown by the strong wind, swaying in the air.

    Certainly...

    Everyone could tell that Fang Zhengzhi did not want to be blown away.

    That was because while he was flying around, he had already pulled out his Traceless Sword, travelling at lightning speed towards the golden pearl on King Xieluo¡¯s forehead.

    Unfortunately, before he could reach the pearl, Fang Zhengzhi and his sword had already been suppressed by the golden light, dangling and swaying around in the sky.

    "A sneak attack?!"

    "What¡¯s going on with the white light?"

    "I have heard about the white light, but the white light that Fang Zhengzhi had been using can pierce through the eye. Even the demon king cannot defend against it?"

    Due to the separated distance, the Mountain Broken Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry did not suffer from the strong white light, although they were still unsure about what happened just now.

    But there was something they were aware of.

    And that would be the sneak attack from Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi hated being humiliated by King Xieluo¡¯s punches, and those punches almost caused him to go into aa.

    It was almost sessful...

    But being pushed off just by a golden light?

    He was definitely not willing to ept that!

    Such a secret weapon, while not one with huge area destruction, was capable of massacring all living things, with just a blink of an eye.

    However, the thing that Fang Zhengzhi sprinkled on King Xieluo was not any usual stone powder, nor any loess that could be found anywhere.

    It was a true authentic treasure!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know the name for it, although he knew that it might look like a normal powder, colourless and odourless in nature. But even if a sage tried to mix it up with tea and drink, he would never recover until 35 yearster.

    Such a valuable asset, Fang Zhengzhi could never have conjured it, obviously.

    Hmmm.....

    To be exact, he stole that powder.

    Honestly, Tianxu Saint had boasted about that powder in front of him, iming that even a grain of that powder was worth thousands of gold. It was fatal too, thus it was a precious treasure, second to none.

    Fang Zhengzhi then tried to hide in Tianxu Saint¡¯s room for 3 months until his hard work finally paid off, when he managed to steal the powder.

    He hasn¡¯t been willing to use it.

    Until today, he generously distributed all the powder that he had, and did not even keep a single grain of powder.

    After that hit, he did not charge up the sky. Instead, with just a slight movement, he rushed towards King Xieluo, hand grabbing the Traceless Sword, and let out a strange and bright purplish light along the way, leaving a long trail in the air.

    "Standstill!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack seemed pretty slow in motion. But in fact, it was not slow at all, it was all in a swift motion.

    Indeed, it was like the Nangong Nobles¡¯ Dragon Combat n.

    Fang Zhengzhi was certainly using the Dragon Combat n, not because of how majestic and powerful it was, but inly because of how silent it was.

    Closer, closer....

    As he was about to approach King Xieluo, he couldn¡¯t help but feel excited. This excitement was overwhelming in his chest.

    He grabbed tightly on his sword, as he was certain that it would be thest chance. At least, he knew that he had given his best.

    "DING!" A loud crunch filled the air.

    At this moment, the whole earth paused and became silent, and there was only one scene happening in front of them. Fang Zhengzhi had stabbed into King Xieluo¡¯s forehead.

    Time, seemed to stop at that moment. Relentless storm, came crashing down from above.

    "Has he stabbed it?!"

    "Really stabbed it?!"

    Countless voices seemed to be lingering in their hearts, but no one spoke up. They merely gazed quietly in the horizon, staring at the shiny bright purple tip of the sword.

    "Bong!" Strong and vigorous waves beganing out from the tip of the sword.

    Golden shimmers came shooting out, like multiple swords aiming at all directions.

    "sh!"

    "sh!"

    The golden swords seemed to blend in with the storm, piercing through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm, thighs as blood began to spurt out, showcasing his brince in the sky.

    At this moment, he saw a figure, a figure fully covered with golden scales, its two golden horns shining as brightly as ever.

    More importantly...

    His eyes.

    The eyes were filled with rays of golden light, blood trickling down from the corners of his eyes, dripping out and down the golden scales.

    Ruthless aura were disseminating from the silhouette.

    "AHHHHH!!" An angry voice bellowed out, and two golden horns started charging towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat and heart, " Die... DIE!"

    "Am I going to die?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes stared at the golden hornsing towards him. He could feel the strong auraing out from the golden horns, "Looks like I really have to miss this meeting!"

    He did not shut his eyes, because before he died, he wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman who was shouting his mother¡¯s name.

    "Mother..."

    It had always been something he wanted to say in his heart, be it alive or dead.

    "Ping Yang, I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t avenge you....Huh? Where is that girl? Did someone take her body away?" Fang Zhengzhi looked down with sorrow but was shocked to find out that Ping Yang ¡¯s body had gone missing.

    Where did it go?

    His eyes began opening wide as he thought about it, as the two golden horns that was chasing him earlier came to a halt.

 Chapter 599 The Return of the King

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi fixated his eyes onto King Xieluo¡¯s body, unable to contain his surprise.

    He knew that King Xieluo would never let him go mercifully. And given the fact that Yan Qianli and Yan Xiu were both being attacked, they would never be able to rush over immediately.

    Or...

    Even if they were to rush over, it was impossible for them to suppress King Xieluo in his tracks. King Xieluo looked like he had been pulled back, and restrained from moving any further.

    As he was thinking about all these, there seemed to saw a shadow standing behind King Xieluo. Raindrops pelted on her body, and the helm of her ck dress danced in the sky.

    There was a ring of glow on her neck, the ray of light not bigger than a fist, but it was bright and shiny.

    That was a pendant.

    A tear shaped pendant.

    However, the pendant was cracked, little spots of light came shining out from it, circling around the pendant, forming a ring of light.

    "Ping......Ping Yang?!" Fang Zhengzhi could not believe that it was actually Ping Yang who restrained King Xieluo. Of course, he could not believe that Ping Yang was still alive.

    "It¡¯s the Princess, your highness!"

    "Princess is not dead yet?!"

    "She¡¯s still alive!"

    The Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry stood afar, staring with their eyes wide open. It was dark in the night, but the ring of light made them recognise the figure standing up there.

    The red dress was drenchedpletely in blood.

    Other than the long dress, blood was also flowing out from Ping Yang¡¯s mouth, dripping down slowly, trickling down from the end of her mouth, on the neck where the light was, and then, it disappeared.

    "Mother......Mother has always been by my side, she never left me!" Ping Yang nced at him, her crystal clear eyes had lost their brightness as they started to brim with the breath of death.

    She did not close her eyes, but watched King Xieluo and Fang Zhengzhi quietly, mumbling something under her breath.

    "Not dead?!" King Xieluo turned his head around, his eyes still bleeding profusely, expression filled with frustration, anger and pain.

    He turned and saw Ping Yang standing behind him.

    Then.....

    He opened his eyes forcefully.

    While this caused more blood to drip out from his eyes, he paid no attention to it, he focused intently on the light around Ping Yang¡¯s neck.

    "Mother, she¡¯s really here with me, she is looking at me. You shameless brat, mother did not leave me alone, she did not..." Ping Yang could not care less about the death stare from King Xieluo as she continued rambling, her pair of clear eyes still looking as soulless as ever.

    "Ping Yang, please leave!" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what was happening to Ping Yang, but he knew that Ping Yang had to escape since she was still alive.

    "You¡¯re shameless, I can see mother, I can really see her..." Ping Yang did not heed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s advice and continued rambling on.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words back before anything came out from his mouth.

    Because at this moment, King Xieluo already made his move, his blue nail ws started lunging towards Ping Yang.

    There was no warning at all.

    "NO!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop it.

    But King Xieluo was too swift, and given that Ping Yang had been standing behind him all along, he had no way to prevent King Xieluo from sneaking that attack.

    "Boom!" King Xieluo¡¯s pointy ws did notnd on Ping Yang¡¯s body. Instead, the ws shed with the light shimmering around her neck.

    Momentarily.....

    The strangest phenomena happened.

    Ping Yang was not blown off her feet by King Xieluo¡¯s w. In fact, her body did not budge at all, but King Xieluo seemed to have triggered something really horrific.

    He was quivering all over, and suddenly he was pushed back immediately. Multiple golden rays of light began shining, as he let out a painful cry.

    "This..."

    "How is that possible? What is that thing?!"

    "King Xieluo, being attacked?"

    Countless soldiers form the Northern Barbarians Army witnessed the scene in front of them. Their eyes were wide open, staring in disbelief.

    The Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry had the same thought, nobody was able toprehend the situation.

    Even Yan Qianli, who was rushing up,` stopped immediately.

    "Princess, your highness?" Yan Qianli looked closely at Ping Yang over the horizon, as well as the light ray hanging on her neck.

    Just at this moment...

    The ring light exploded, and the small spots that surrounded the ring dispersed around itself, creating small stars.

    "Mother!" Ping Yang shouted out urgently, her eyes looked panicky, while her hands attempted to catch on the light spots, desperately piecing the spots back.

    "Ping Yang!" Fang Zhengzhi charged forward, but before he could do that, he felt a terribly strong force hurling towards him.

    Then...

    His chest felt very heavy.

    He coughed out a whole mouth of blood, sending them sshing onto the light ray.

    Just then, the flying bright spots stopped suddenly. It seemed like time had stopped ticking in the air.

    Heavy rain poured down from above, passing through the lights, andnding on the ground. It started forming puddles of water on the ground, while the drops of blood on the floor began flowing like a small river.

    "Weng!" A loud sound shook the whole earth.

    The lights started moving again, only this time round, it did not continue to spread out. Instead, it gathered back again, surging back towards Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    The little spots of light shone on her body, her white crystal jade skin glowing, just like the stars shining brightly and elegantly.

    It had lit up the whole night sky.

    The lights gathered around Ping Yang, and she resembled a fairy from the sky, holy and noble.

    "What is that?"

    "What is happening to Princess¡¯s body?"

    "Why does the light seem so strange?"

    The Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry were discussing how the light covering on Ping Yang¡¯s body looked really spectacr, it almost seemed like there was a life attached to it.

    Not only that...

    The lights wrapping around Ping Yang¡¯s body were shining in a sequential order, and they orbited around her body in an extraordinary fashion.

    "Is it really true that Ping Yang has congenital blood?!" Shan Yu mumbled with blood around her mouth. She continued looking at the light around Ping Yang, mouth wide open.

    Congenital blood.

    That was how the Southern Region called it.

    Regarding congenital blood, Shan Yu could say that she knew about this more than anyone in the Southern region, for she herself had that in her blood system.

    There was certainly this saying in Great Xia Dynasty.

    And that would be...

    Xuan Heavenly Dao Body!

    Anyway, whether it was the congenital blood or the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body, they were merely just terms, with many differences from one another.

    For example, the blood in Shan Yu was powerful, as it allowed her to double up her inner power, bing a leader among all the others.

    But if were topare with Chi Guyan who contained the famous Xuan Heavenly Dao Body, Shan Yu¡¯s blood would have a few levels of difference in between.

    There was a reason as to why Chi Guyan was beingbelled the Pride of the Heavens by the Great Xia Dynasty, the Southern Region and the Demon Race. While she indeed had a close rtionship with the Thirteen Constabries, the most important factor was the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body in the body.

    Pride of the Heavens, doted on by the Heaven, a treasure in the Heaven.

    That was the difference between humans.

    But Shan Yu began shaking her head after speaking.

    "No... That¡¯s not possible, this congenital blood should exist once one was born. It was unheard of that someone was able to acquire that after birth!"

    Shan Yu pushed away all her thoughts at once.

    Just as its name had suggested, Congenital blood, it should be in the system immediately once one was born. How could one acquire it after birth?

    If this were to happen to a normal being, it was stillprehensible, as its ability might not be discovered till ater date. However, Ping Yang was born in a royal family, therefore this should never happen.

    Shan Yu locked her eyes on Ping Yang, she felt puzzled by Ping Yang¡¯s power. If it was not the congenital blood, what else did Ping Yang use to restrain King Xieluo?

    Fang Zhengzhi was also staring at Ping Yang.

    The difference was that he felt special, as the light formed around him, and it did not cover him up.

    But he felt as though he understood the lights.

    Besides, King Xieluo¡¯s injury, which was caused by the lights from Ping Yang, had already started recovering swiftly.

    Self recovery, Fang Zhengzhi could do that now.....

    Although at this stage, it was almost impossible, as at this level he could feel almost the same as King Xieluo¡¯s recovery from his broken limbs.

    "Weng!"

    The second sound shook the whole earth again, and this time round, all the lights went missing. They were all wrapped around Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    "Bolong!" Lightning shed across the night sky.

    Rain continued pelting on Ping Yang¡¯s body, and she was still looking as brilliant as ever in her bright red dress, even without the protection of Red me Flower Armor.

    "Who is your mother?!" King Xieluo red at Ping Yang and the lights around her body, ignoring the blood oozing out from his eyes.

    "Yu Er." Ping Yang looked back at King Xieluo with hercklustres eyes.

    "Yu Er?" King Xieluo¡¯s expression altered slightly, as he did not expect such an answer from Ping Yang.

    "Yes, that is what my father calls my mother."

    "Your mother? Are you saying that your mother is the queen of the Great Xia Dynasty?" King Xieluo sounded even more shocked and confused.

    "You¡¯re right."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes." Ping Yang nodded her head with confidence.

    "Alright, if that¡¯s the case, then you shall die!" King Xieluo didn¡¯t question any further after listening to that, and he charged towards Ping Yang immediately.

    Its four ws enhanced with blue light, golden scales shining brightly as the golden ball on his head continued spinning around.

    Just as King Xieluo was about to make his move....

    Ping Yang also sprung into action.

    No retreat, no escape, she went directly for King Xieluo, with her ck aura leaving a long water line under the stormy rain.

    The rays of light around Ping Yang spreaded out concurrently, shining vigorously towards King Xieluo.

    "YOU..." King Xieluo did not prepare for any of this, and he had no time to escape.

    The light was already in front of him.

    Multiple rays of light moved around, turning into strong waves like me, but the waves were not bright red in colour. They were silver white, like stars in the sky.

    The white light travelled like me towards King Xieluo,nding onto King Xieluo like a heavy bag, spreading fast and finally knocking on King Xieluo.

    "Boom!" a loud sound rumbled.

    A golden light spot spilled from the sky. Those were scales, golden scales, and along with the scales, came pouring down fresh red blood.

    "OW!" King Xieluo cried out, as its blue fingernails started shattering. His body flew away,nding on the broken walls.

    Rumble rumble...

    The already broken walls could not withstand the heavy weight of King Xieluo and crumbled down, creating a mountain of crushed stones and sand.

    "AH AH!" Several Northern Barbarians had little time to escape, and their bodies were punctured by the flying stones.

    Fresh blood, flowing on the floor.

    The Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry who were standing behind the wall stared with their eyes wide open. Each of them looked at the enormous hole on the wall, as well as King Xieluo who was lying t in the hole.

    That was impressive!

    This did not only shocked the Mountain Break Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry, but the Northern Barbarians Army as well as the Xing Yuanguo. Even the rescued soldiers from the faraway Su Qing were horrified.

    No one dared to believe the truth in front of him.

    King Xieluo in this battle....

    Defeated?!

    And the one who struck him down, was Ping Yang?!

    Ping Yang from the Star Conglomerate State!

    Was there anything more iprehensible than this?

    "This cannot be the congenital blood, this can never be that!" Shan Yu¡¯s eyes stared deeply at King Xieluo who was covered with blood, feeling very confident about her statement.

 Chapter 600 Are You All Satisfied?

    "Hmmm, this is definitely not the Congenital Blood, cough..." Yan Xiu began talking, his body still trembling while he coughed out blood.

    He certainly did not have the same kind of understanding as what Shan Yu had for the Congenital Blood, but he was aware of the basic knowledge of how the blood could increase the bond between humans and earth.

    In other words, the important part would still be on the body of the human carrying it.

    Although just by looking at the way Ping Yang had attacked, it almost seemed like the light wasing out from her body. While it was still under her control, the sheer amount of power did not seem like it was owned by her,

    However, everything did not seem as important anyway...

    More importantly, King Xieluo had been attacked and undoubtedly, now would be the best opportunity to strike.

    Yan Xiu had already rushed down from the wall, and his purpose was to rescue Fang Zhengzhi, but he knew that he could not afford to miss this chance again.

    Despite suffering from serious injuries.

    Shan Yu had the same thought as Yan Xiu. They made eye contacts with one other and went rushing towards King Xieluo and Fang Zhengzhi at almost the same instant.

    However, another figure was already a step ahead of them.

    Yan Qianli.

    He was also very intrigued by what had happened with Ping Yang, but given the current situation, there was no other reason to think about that.

    Everything was linked to one mission, ending King Xieluo¡¯s life.

    The three figures began rushing towards King Xieluo in a triangr formation, racing through the relentless storm, the heavy rain, leaving three crystal-like trails in their tracks.

    "Rawr!" King Xieluo bellowed, body still quivering as he realised that Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu were all approaching him.

    However, he did not care about the three of them, as he continued staring above, at the silhouette who was wearing a red dress.

    Her ck silky hair swayed under the heavy rain, while her red long dress wrapped tightly around her body, exhibiting the outline of her mature exquisite curves.

    The little spots of lights continued to surround her.

    The difference now would be that the light had slowly separated from her body, forming into a river of stars flowing around her.

    That was a strange phenomenon.

    "Ping Yang!" King Xieluo let out a few cries of unhappiness, revealing the anger and frustration that had umted in his heart.

    Following that, countless beasts¡¯ howling sounds filled the atmosphere, and a loud rumbling sound could be heard from afar.

    "It¡¯s the group of beasts!"

    "They¡¯re finally here!"

    "Stand straight!"

    The Yan Cloud Cavalry turned their backs around in unison when they heard the beasts approaching. Nobody one were afraid or tried to escape.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt confused, not because of how strong Ping Yang was, but because he felt that the light rays around Ping Yang had started decreasing tremendously.

    He had learnt and grew a lot more over the past year. While he might not understand some of the information, he knew enough to bebelled as "knowledgeable".

    Nheless, this situation still got him puzzled.

    "What is happening to Ping Yang¡¯s body?" Unlike what others were thinking, he was more concerned about Ping Yang¡¯s situation.

    For example, where did the light rayse from?

    From the pendant?

    If it was really because of the pendant, how could he have felt the light rays?

    Fang Zhengzhi was determined that the pendant on Ping Yang¡¯s neck had nothing connected to him, let alone havinge into contact with it.

    And, why was happening to her eyes? Why did they look so dull and soulless? Also, why did shee back alive suddenly?

    These questions continued popping up in his mind.

    Afterall, he was able to see the attack from King Xieluo clearly. It was very obvious that in a normal situation, given Ping Yang¡¯s strength, she could not have survived that.

    Why would it be like this?

    Could it be that the pendant was a type of treasure?

    No, it all seemed wrong.

    If that was the case, given Ping Yang¡¯s character, she would have used the power from the pendant before that, and not wait till after the vigorous attack.

    More importantly.....

    Ping Yang¡¯s words just now.

    "Mother!"

    She was talking about how her mother had always been by her side. That feeling, it was almost as if she had actually seen her mother.

    Was it just a hallucination?

    That would be what everyone had thought of.

    But Fang Zhengzhi did not think so.

    Because......

    Ping Yang said, it was real!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Ping Yang would never lie, and he was aware about how she would not speak lightly about her mother.

    "Boonng!"

    Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu had all arrived in front of King Xieluo. They assembled in a triangr formation and cornered King Xieluo, attacking him simultaneously.

    They could care less about the beasts arriving, since they were well aware that all problems would be solved, once they put an end to King Xieluo¡¯s life.

    "Roar Roar!"

    Countless beasts¡¯ bellows came from afar, and they all sounded indignant with frustration.

    King Xieluo¡¯s body was surrounded by golden light once again, and pieces of golden scales continued growing out rapidly, one at a time.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He was still paying attention to Ping Yang.

    "You shameless brat, I told you that I¡¯m a strong princess! Do you believe me now?" Ping Yang questioned, giving a satisfied smile.

    "Strong? Just because you can beat..." Fang Zhengzhi stopped halfway, voice dying down, as his body shivered vigorously, "Fine, you are strong!"

    Fang Zhengzhi sounded very confident when he said that, as he could see Ping Yang¡¯s soulless eyes ring at him when he was talking.

    While he was looking at that pair of eyes, he suddenly had a strange thought.

    Ping Yang...

    Did note back alive!

    Or so to say, if all these were to continue, Ping Yang would not live.

    It was indeed a weird feeling, because Ping Yang had already stood up once again, and was even strong enough to cause King Xieluo to suffer substantial injuries.

    But Fang Zhengzhi still harboured that feeling. It was the feeling he had when he saw the light emitting out from Ping Yang¡¯s body. It felt tragic and sorrowful.

    "HA HA HA... You brat, you finally admitted that I¡¯m strong!" Ping Yangughed out, as she turned her attention to Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu, who were battling King Xieluo. "Just a moment, it is now princess¡¯ time to show off. You brat, please observe carefully!"

    She rushed over immediately after, with the surrounding light rays following closely behind her, liting up the whole night sky.

    "Observe carefully....." Fang Zhengzhi mumbled, feeling slightly startled. "No, this moment, this moment......Is she trying to kill herself?!"

    All of a sudden, he came to realise that once the light rays were used up, Ping Yang would be unable to sustain her life.

    That felt odd.

    While without any evidence, Fang Zhengzhi was very confident that Ping Yang nned to use up all the "spotlights" that had sustained her life.

    "Bong!" A loud sound came crashing in.

    Shattered stones were flying around, and the wall began cracking into lines that resembled spider webs. The already cracked ground was overturned too.

    Following that, a body, which was wrapped in golden light, came crashing down hard on the ground.

    Shocking.

    Completely traumatising.

    The Mountain Breaking Army, the Yan Cloud Cavalry and the Northern Barbarians Army were all focused on the red dressed figure, eyes wide opened.

    If that blow earlier was just a coincidence.......

    Who could exin the situation now?

    Although Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu and Shan Yu had teamed up to attack King Xieluo, he still remained strong. It was only the blow from Ping Yang that sent him lying t on the ground.

    The bright light around Ping Yang continued to shine brightly, and the white outline of the light looked as bright as the sun, brightening up the night sky.

    Nobody seemed to understand how Ping Yang could defeat King Xieluo.

    However...

    After seeing King Xieluo coughing out a pool of blood, the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry starting cheering intensely and joyously.

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "..."

    That sounded like a victory cry at dawn, a cry of excitement. They were all from the bottom of their hearts.

    A particr satisfiedughter was also blending into the crowd cheers.

    "HAHAHA......Is the princess powerful or not? King Yan, are you happy? Same to you, Yan Xiu, Southern Region King, Uncle Xing, please answer me loudly, am I powerful? HAHAHA...." Ping Yangughed out, as her ck hair continued dancing along under the relentless storm.

    But as she wasughing, two drops of tears began trickling down her eyes. But nobody seemed to realise it due to the heavy rain.

    "AW" King Xieluo let out a low pitched growl. He attempted to stand up, but just as he was about to stand up, he fell back hard on the ground. "Who actually is your mother?"

    "Yu Er!" Ping Yang answered immediately.

    "No, I¡¯m not asking about her name, I¡¯m asking about her status. She can¡¯t be the queen of the Great Xia Dynasty, that is not possible!" King Xieluo¡¯s golden eyes continued bleeding profusely, his face looking pale and weak.

    "She is definitely the Great Dynasty¡¯s Queen, now she is, and forever she will be!" Ping Yang¡¯s expression looked confident and calm, as the light twinkled brightly around her.

    "Queen, Queen!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "..."

    The Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Cavalry¡¯s cheers rang continuously into the night.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi continued to tighten his grip on the sword. He knew the light rays surrounding Ping Yang had decreased by two fold after her strike on King Xieluo.

 Chapter 601 Instant Explosion, Deceitful People will Not Receive a Good Ending!

    This could not go on!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what was happening to Ping Yang¡¯s body. However, he was certain that those spots of light on her body were what allowed her to get back on her feet.

    He had to stop Ping Yang...

    But how would he do so?

    Ping Yang was currently surrounded by many of these light spots. Furthermore, she was insanely strong. Fang Zhengzhi had no way of getting close to her. How then, could he stop this fight?

    Shooting his mouth?

    If words truly mattered that much, there would be world peace a long time ago.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not so na?ve to think that Ping Yang would listen to him, especially at such crucial times when she had already made up her mind.

    What should he do?

    What exactly should he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi once again set his gaze on Ping Yang, who was charging straight at King Xieluo while clenching his sword tightly. Suddenly, a ck figure appeared in his field of vision. This was a figure running in the rain.

    The ck veiled long dress she was wearing fluttered in the rain as her luscious long hair trailed behind like a waterfall. A red cinnabar spot could be seen between her eyebrows.

    "Wu Yuer?" Fang Zhengzhi muttered. He did not think that Wu Yuer would appear here. This was because she should be at another ce.

    However, since Wu Yuer was here, he could guess what happened.

    Yun Qingwu.

    It seemed like she had won this time.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea where Yun Qingwu was, nor did he know her motives. However, he was certain that she would not give up on such a good opportunity.

    Originally, his n was to wait for the truth to surface.

    However, reality was often a smack in the face. In fact, the moment King Xieluo appeared, everything had already fallen apart.

    Wu Yuer lightly threaded the broken castle wall like a dancing butterfly. She then leaped into the sky with breakneck speed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised at her speed. After all, he knew the true power of thisdy.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you are a liar!" Wu Yuer¡¯s voice echoed through the night sky.

    This was naturally heard by the countless soldiers of the Mountain Breaking Army, Northern Barbarian Army, and Yan Cloud Cavalry. All of them turned their gaze towards her.

    It was a woman.

    Telling a guy that he was a liar!

    Usually, such a line would be followed by a depressing sob story, such as one that involved the man abandoning the family for his own personal interests.

    This was especially so when the woman was this beautiful. The moment oneid eyes on her, one could not help but feel a sense of responsibility and righteousness. It was normal to have these thoughts.

    However, this was clearly not a time to be debating what heinous crime had Fang Zhengzhimitted. Although what happened next left everyone speechless and dumbfounded.

    This was because when Fang Zhengzhi saw Wu Yuer, he was clearly agitated. He then charged towards Wu Yuer to everyone¡¯s surprise.

    "Give me!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he charged Wu Yuer.

    "No, you liar!" Wu Yuer rejected him immediately.

    "Give it to me now!"

    "I will not! Over my dead body!"

    "I don¡¯t have any more time!"

    "I don¡¯t care if you have time!"

    "Alright, you forced me to do this!"

    "What are you trying to do? Are you going to use force on me? Ah, let me go, so many people are watching. Don¡¯t touch... let go... I will not give it to you!"

    As they watched Fang Zhengzhi and Wu Yuer getting entangled together, the Mountain Breaking Army, Yan Cloud Calvary, and Northern Barbarian Army were bewildered.

    At that instant, they were thinking about the same thing.

    "Let go of that beautiful woman!"

    This scene happened quickly. Naturally, Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, and Yan Qianli also witnessed it. The expression on their faces also became somewhat strange.

    Yan Qianli then gave a helpless expression, as though he was disying understanding towards a fellow man.

    Shan Yu, on the other hand, stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s unruly hands intently as she took deep breaths.

    Yan Xiu was rtively calmer. After a nce, he turned his nce back towards King Xieluo as the red aura on his body became more intense.

    Boom! The thunder rumbled in the night sky and lightning shed.

    At the instant when the lightning shed across the sky, Ping Yang once again arrived in front of King Xieluo. She stared at him with her pair of eyes devoid of any spirit.

    She naturally noticed Wu Yuer as well.

    However, she neither reacted to it nor stopped whatever she was doing. She seemed as though she was cherishing herst moment to bloom and showcase her powers.

    Boom! King Xieluo crashed onto the ground once again from Ping Yang¡¯s punch. Countless light spots collided with his body, causing blood mist to erupt into the atmosphere.

    This also made King Xieluo increasingly enraged.

    As a Demon King, it had been a long time since he suffered such humiliation. How could he tolerate being trampled under someone else¡¯s feet when he was the revered Demon King?

    He was infuriated.

    However, he still possessed thest bit of reason.

    He had insane rejuvenation abilities, though this did not mean that his strength was infinite. He had used up too much strength in this fight alone.

    Should I Leave? This was the first time King Xieluo harbored such a thought. However, when he cast his nce upon the iing beast horde, he gave up on that thought.

    Die! Everyone must die!

    He had to use gallons of blood to restore his dignity as the Demon King.

    Roar! King Xieluo bellowed as his entire body cracked. Following which, his slender body became even smaller in size.

    As his stature grew smaller, the injuries that he suffered on his previous body waspletely healed. Even his bleeding eyes had returned to normal.

    At the same time, an explosive momentum was released from his body.

    King Xieluo moved instantly. Ping Yang felt a light sh through her eyes as King Xieluo dodged her attack. Following which, his body twisted in an exaggerated angle in the air.

    He then appeared behind Ping Yang instantly.

    "Be careful Princess!" Yan Qianli wanted to stop this from happening but it was toote. This was because King Xieluo had already ced his hands on Ping Yang¡¯s back.

    Boom! Ping Yang¡¯s body crashed into the ground as fresh blood poured from her mouth. It seemed extremely elegant in the pouring rain.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary shouted desperately.

    Fang Zhengzhi also halted his movements. At that moment, one of his hands was grabbing Wu Yuer¡¯s waist while his other hand was pressed tightly by Wu Yuer at the spot under her chest.

    As for Wu Yuer, her face was slightly red but determined. She ignored the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was grabbing her waist and looked bent on stopping Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Let me go!" Wu Yuer shouted consecutively.

    Following which...

    Fang Zhengzhi retracted both of his hands.

    This made Wu Yuer slightly surprised. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi eyes intently. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were sparkling and crystal clear, glimmering with hope for the future.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you..."

    "If you were me, would you be able to watch Ping Yang die like that?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped looking at Wu Yuer. Instead, he stared at Ping Yang, who was half kneeling on the ground. Ping Yang¡¯s blood still fluttered like a beautiful red dress in the rain.

    "Just one pill! That is the most I will give you!" Wu Yuer said as she gritted her teeth. She then stretched her hands into her side pocket, though she did this discreetly.

    "Five!" Fang Zhengzhi immediately said.

    "That is not possible. You know that I cannot bring too many Heaven Oasis pills with me whenever I go out. I have at most two pills with me each time. Master is not in me Capital City as well. Therefore, even if you desire..." Wu Yuer¡¯s expression changed slightly as her eyes darted around.

    "Alright, two will be enough!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Wu Yuer¡¯s suspicious expression as he was fixated on Ping Yang and King Xieluo. He was extremely anxious at the moment. He then stuck in hands into Wu Yuer¡¯s pocket and said, "Stop wasting time. Two pills will not kill me!"

    He then felt something soft and supple.

    Apart from that, he also felt a small warm jade bottle Wu Yuer was grabbing. He then ignored the stiffness in Wu Yuer¡¯s body and immediately snatched the bottle over.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi opened the bottle and poured all the Heaven Oasis pills into his mouth.

    Crunch!

    He munched on them quickly and a rich, minty taste filled his mouth. The cooling sensation then quickly spread to the rest of his body.

    At the same time, an unimaginable strength surged from his body.

    Boom! A strong shockwave appeared from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet, turning into a soaring dragon which circled around his body.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes emitted a blinding radiance, as though a huge vortex had appeared in the middle of ake, swiftly changing the circumstances.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist, causing an explosion to ur. His tattered ck court attire fluttered amidst the shockwaves.

    This was not considered a huge movement.

    However, it made King Xieluo stopped in his tracks. This was because he felt an incredibly unprecedented strong presence from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What is going on?" King Xieluo said with a confused expression on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi was startled as well. This was because he felt strong, extremely strong. He was overflowing with so much power that it was difficult for him to ept.

    As for Wu Yuer, her face had already turnedpletely pale. She stood motionless in her position as her usually seductive eyes widened in shock.

    "You... did you just... finish an entire bottle of Heaven Oasis pills?"

    "What do you mean?" Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously asked. Following which, he felt a shiver down his spine as he gasped, "Holy... Did you lie? There were more than two pills in that bottle!"

 Chapter 602 Dragon Slayer Slash

    "I... I don¡¯t know that you will..." Wu Yuer wanted to say more, though she knew that it was toote.

    There were obviously more than two pills inside the bottle. In fact, it was precisely because she brought more than two pills with her that she had to fool Fang Zhengzhi.

    Originally, she wanted to pour out two pills for Fang Zhengzhi. However, she did not expect him to simply grab the entire bottle.

    When Fang Zhengzhi made contact with her body, she lost her focus for a moment. In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi had already grabbed the bottle and opened it.

    It was toote to stop anything.

    "Just how many pills were there?" Fang Zhengzhi had no time to me Wu Yuer. He merely wished to know how long he had left to live.

    "Twelve!" Wu Yuer said in a trembling voice.

    "Holy cow! Why do you have so many of them!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Wu Yuer with his mouth agape. Twelve pills now was an astronomical figure to him.

    One year ago, The Heaven Oasis Saint told him that the Heaven Oasis pills could extend his life for a maximum of two to three years.

    Around one year had passed since then. That was to say he only had less than two years to live. Furthermore, he had just taken three pills.

    And now, another twelve of them?

    After some rough calction, Fang Zhengzhi merely have less than half a year left. This was also the most optimistic conclusion.

    What if the Heaven Oasis pills were not able to extend his lifespan by three years?

    He could very well die in the next month, or even the next day.

    Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Although two pills would not be significant, twelve pills were akin to suicide!

    But what could he say?

    He had already taken the pills. Furthermore, he was the one who snatched it from Wu Yuer in the first ce when she was trying to protect him. There was no point in ming Wu Yuer for deceiving him.

    Wu Yuer fell speechless as her eyes sparkled with tears. This leader of the Shadow Sect seemed to be sobbing a little.

    Fang Zhengzhi then sighed and turned his gaze away from Wu Yuer and towards King Xieluo. A murderous intent then arose from his body as he hollered, "You are the one who caused me to take the wrong medicine!"

    "Wrong medicine?"

    "What did he mean?"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary were confounded by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    King Xieluo was also startled.

    Why was he even getting the me for the wrong medication?

    He did not even aplish much since his debut. Furthermore, none of the damage was done to Fang Zhengzhi himself.

    He was just about to speak when a bad premonition arose in his heart. This was because he could feel imminent danger from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    If it were just half an hour ago, King Xieluo would be fearless. However, times had changed.

    After his energy was depleted by Ping Yang, this presence was powerful enough to be considered a threat. He subconsciously took a step back.

    Thunder rumbled and lightning shed across the sky.

    Following which, the sky seemed to rupture as countless lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, tearing the night sky apart.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what are you doing?" King Xieluo gasped as he shuddered. His eyes widened as he saw the lightning bolts congregating on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    More specifically, the lightning bolts were converging onto the sword in his hand.

    Boom!

    A purple brilliance increased drastically in power as the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand expanded its power. It was threatening to swallow the entire sky.

    At that moment, everyone¡¯s attention was on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "So powerful!"

    "How is he so strong?"

    "He is merely a Supernatural State. How can he attain such power?"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary shivered uncontrobly. This was because they had felt a presence from the heaven and earth.

    It was as though the heavens had integrated with the mortal world.

    To their horror, this presence came from none other than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. It came from the body of a Supernatural State Individual.

    How could they stay calm?

    Wu Yuer was startled as well as much as she knew the full effects of the Heaven Oasis pills. Seeing it in real-life was stillpletely different.

    Boom!

    After thest lightning boltnded on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, the purple radiance rose from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword and extended high up into the skies.

    It was a gigantic and tangible sword. Lightning bolts danced around the sword, disying its fearsomeness. The sinister purple hue from the sword had dyed the sky into the same color.

    "King Xieluo, die!" Fang Zhengzhi moved his body and rushed down from the skies. He was traveling at a terrifying speed previously thought unimaginable.

    The dragon borne from the shock waves continued to circle him and the lightning crackled menacingly on his sword.

    Time seemed to have stopped at that moment.

    The only thing in motion was the torrential rain.

    "No!" King Xieluo shouted. The expression on his face had finally changed. As powerful as he was, he had finally used up all his power. He had to flee.

    He then tried to escape quickly from the battlefield.

    Life and Death were only separated by a thought that shed through one¡¯s mind.

    Despite being the Demon King, he was still unable to maintain his dignity under such immense danger. Escaping became an instinct that he had to obey.

    However, the purple light had already arrived.

    The giant sword was perched right above his head.

    "Dragon!" Fang Zhengzhi muttered as he kept his gaze on King Xieluo. At that moment, he felt an inexplicable loneliness in his heart.

    He felt as though he hadpletely integrated with the Traceless Sword.

    He did not know if he was controlling the Traceless Sword, or had the power dynamics changed. He could only see a figure in his head.

    A figure that was raising up a gigantic sword.

    The loneliness and absolute power slowly overwhelmed Fang Zhengzhi. He was like a soaring dragon and a revered King, looking down upon the sentient beings.

    "yer!" The second words came out of his mouth.

    At the same time, the purple light on the horizon slowly descended. It looked as if the sky was about to be ruptured by the threatening brilliance.

    "sh!"

    The purple light fell with astounding speed and eventually disappeared. When Fang Zhengzhi shouted thest sybus, the light was nowhere in sight.

    This plunged the entire world into darkness once again.

    Rain poured from the heavens as the cooling night breeze caressed the tattered court attire on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    No one spoke. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

    Everyone could only hear the sound of their own thumping heartbeat as they stared at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    He had felled his sword.

    It had fallen beneath the feet of King Xieluo. The sinister purple light was disappearing.

    King Xieluo stood motionless in his original position as he stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a stone cold expression.

    After some time...

    A light purple light emerged from King Xieluo¡¯s head. Following which, this purple light extended downwards. It seemed as though a fine thread had severed King Xieluo¡¯s body from the top to bottom.

    The ground then started shaking.

    A purple radiance emerged from the ground. Simrly, it began as a faint light, extending far into the horizon.

    Boom! The sound of an explosion could be heard.

    This sound arose from the ground. As the sound grew more intense, countless gravels flew up into the sky and turned into fine dust.

    The ground then started trembling as the gravels on the ground continued disintegrating.

    Crack! A fissure opened up on the ground, starting from the point where the tip of the Traceless Sword made contact with the ground. It extended far into the horizon.

    Countless purple light pirs then shot out from those cracks, charging into the sky. It seemed as though they were countless dragons returning back to the heavens.

    It was a night dyed in purple.

    Every sentient beings present stood dead in their tracks as they witnessed history.

    The Mountain Breaking Army, Yan Cloud Calvary, Northern Barbarian Army and the civilians all stood dumbfounded. No one seemed to have pulled themselves out of this trance.

    The ground continued to rumble and the fissure extended further and further away as if there was no end...

    Finally, everything came to a stop.

    Even the rumbling of the ground halted.

    However, everyone was still staring at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand in silence. Some were staring at the fissure which extended to the horizon afar.

    There was a legend in the Great Xia Dynasty, one that everyone knew by heart. It was a story from a long time ago.

    The Sagely Battle God Meng Tian charged Blood Shadow City of the Demon race alone.

    He then used one blow to destroy the entire city, even defeating the Demon King, Si Kong.

    Not many people of the great Xia saw that blow. However, it was recorded in the history of the great Xia Dynasty as one of the most miraculous things that ever happened.

    And now...

    There was also a sword in front of them.

    This sword was transformed from the traceless Sword. The sinister purple light it emitted extended into the horizons. When this sword fell, there was also a fissure on the ground, one that had no boundaries.

    Dragon yer sh!

    A skill name that was not recorded in any historical books. No one knew how this name came about as well. However, at that moment, everyone seemed to have seen the replicated scene of Meng Tian standing in front of Blood Shadow City.

    That skill that destroyed the entire city in one blow.

    Now everyone knew.

    Its name was Dragon yer sh!

 Chapter 603 Bridge of the Heaven and Earth

    It was truly spectacr.

    Relief and joy then overcame everyone on the battlefield. There was no doubting it. The moment the swordnded on the ground, the results were set in stone.

    The torrential rain continued to fall.

    However, the beast horde that was charging straight towards me Capital City stopped in their tracks. They stared at the fissure on the ground, more specifically, the figure standing right beside the crack.

    King Xieluo stood there motionlessly with an expressionless face. The purple light that extended through his entire body started blossoming with increasing intensity.

    It became brighter as time passed.

    "You... are strong!" King Xieluo finally whispered. He sounded slightly unsatisfied with the results of the battle, though he was no longer infuriated.

    "Actually, you are stronger than me!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and hemended.

    "But you won."

    "That¡¯s true."

    There were no more words. King Xieluo merely lifted his head slowly and he stared at the torrential rain that graced the earth. Following which, a faint golden brilliance emerged from his body.

    Just like the gravel o the ground a few moments ago, it slowly rose up before disintegrating into nothingness, as if it had never existed.

    At the same time, a golden sphere emerged from his mouth.

    This was a golden spherepletely different from the one on his head. Itcked the brilliance and elegance whenpared to the one on the forehead. However, it was blessed with a deste and ancient presence.

    "Demon Pearl!"

    "This is the real Demon Pearl!"

    "To think that the Demon Pearl ha been in his mouth all this time, and not on his forehead!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary finally recollected themselves from the shock upon seeing the Demon Pearl.

    At that moment, they finally understood. The Demon Pearl was the source of the Demon King¡¯s power. How could such an important thing be exposed on his forehead?

    Though he still lost.

    The beast horde retreated slowly but surely, like the heaps of snow melting gently under the sunlight.

    We won!

    We finally won!

    Many years ago, the Sagely Battle God killed the Demon King So Kong in one blow. Countless dayster, Fang Zhengzhi also defeated King Xieluo in one blow right at the city gate of me Capital City

    The same de and the same aftermath.

    "We won. I, the princess... can finally help you for once... you shameless fellow..." Ping Yang broke out into a slight smile as she said.

    Her dull and unmoving eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi as she kept silent. Fresh blood poured from her mouth.

    Itnded briefly on the ground before it was washed out by the rain.

    The number of sparkling light spots around her had dwindled drastically. The remaining light spots circled her sparsely, emitting an urgent but malevolent grief.

    Without any support, she then fell onto the ground.

    However, right before her body touched the ground, an arm blocked her fall. This arm then brought her close to a human body, giving her much needed warmth.

    She did not struggle.

    She allowed this warmth to envelop herpletely.

    "Ping Yang..." Fang Zhengzhi embraced her petite and soft body. He knew exactly how Ping Yang was feeling right now. He could feel her emotions through the sparse light spots surrounding her.

    "Shameless fellow, I am strong... right?" Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi as her mouth smirked with her usual stubbornness, though her dull eyes were getting increasingly devoid of spirit.

    "Yes, you are strong!"

    "Hahaha..." Ping Yang smiled as blood poured from her mouth, staining her blouse. However, she continued to smile as she said, "I am finally not just a burdensome character. I can help as well..."

    "You have always been a great help!"

    "No, in the past... in the past, it wasn¡¯t possible. I do not want to hide behind your back forever, sister Yan¡¯s back as well. I keep saying that I am strong but... I cannot do anything. I know that I was just someone who cannot aplish anything..."

    "Ping Yang!"

    "Shameless fellow, it¡¯s fine. I have already seen my mother. She says that she wille and fetch me. I should... be able to see her soon..." Ping Yang stared into the horizon and watched the rain fall onto the ground as she smiled in satisfaction.

    "Your Highness!"

    "Princess Ping Yang!"

    "Princess!"

    Upon seeing this scene, the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary knelt down to pay respect to Ping Yang, though they had no idea what happened to her.

    They could tell that Ping Yang was in a bad shape. One that threatened to steal her life at any moment.

    They had won. King Xieluo was dead.

    However, no one was celebrating. This was because Prince Li of the First Rank was dead as well. Now, even Ping Yang, who had shined so brilliantly in this battle was also on herst breath.

    Ping Yang!

    The most doted Princess in the dynasty. She was only 16 years old this year.

    me Capital City, Pce.

    The fierce battle had finallye to an end. This was because everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to the pir of purple light that fell from the horizon.

    "My prince, King Xieluo¡¯s presence seemed to have disappeared!" A ck figure¡¯s voice rang in Qian Wu¡¯s ears. It was a voice of shock and horror.

    "No, how could this be!" Qian Wu said as he trembled. His body was stained with blood as well. Although he was in disbelief, what his underling said was true.

    King Xieluo¡¯s presence had disappeared.

    "My prince, let¡¯s retreat!"

    "Yes, my prince. If we don¡¯t do it now... it will be toote!"

    "My Prince!"

    No one wished to believe it nor did anyone in the pce knew what happened outside. However, everyone could feel that the terrifying presence that once haunted them was gone.

    "Who, who is it!" Qian Wu¡¯s enraged bellow echoed across the pce. He stared at Lin Mubai with his pair of eagle-sharp eyes bitterly.

    The torrential rain fell.

    On the city gate, Su Qing was running at full speed. He had no more intention of staying in me Capital City. This war was over.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still holding Ping Yang in his arms tightly.

    On the other hand, Ping Yang merely tilted her head slightly and allowed Fang Zhengzhi to embrace her. She also hugged him tightly around the waist with her weak arms.

    The rain had soaked her beautiful long hair and washed the bloodstained off her mouth. Her pink and supple lips were emitting a gush a warm air.

    Perhaps, that was thest bit of warmth left in her body.

    A small sparkle appeared on the horizon. It seemed extremely sinister amidst the sky filled with dark clouds and lightning. It did not seem to belong in this rough weather.

    Though it still appeared.

    It grew brighter until it illuminated the entire night sky, just like a ball of white light.

    Boom! A pir of light fell from the sky, connecting the heavens and earth.

    "What is that!"

    "What strong power!"

    "Are you telling me, there is another Demon King?"

    Shock and horror arose in the hearts of the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary. Their attention was drawn to the brilliance connecting the heavens and earth. That pir of lightnded at a spot not far away from Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    "This, is this..." Yan Qianli trembled at the sight of this light. As he stared at the blinding brilliance, an unprecedented expression of horror appeared on his face,

    "Grandfather!" Yan Xiu moved his body in preparation for battle as he said.

    "Don¡¯t go forward!" Yan Qianli knew exactly what Yan Xiu was thinking and said without hesitation. After that, he said, "Rx, this is not a Demon King!"

    "Yes," Yan Xiu stopped in his tracks, though he fixed his eyes on the pir of light as he clenched his fist subconsciously.

    Shan Yu also fell silent. She stayed alert and nced at the pir of light defensively with her pair of beautiful ck eyes.

    At that moment, a figure appeared from the pir of light. It was an average-sized human.

    One could make out her features as she slowly revealed herself.

    She was d in a purple long dress and had waist-length ck hair. She wore an unassuming bronze hairpin on her head. Although it was not elegant, it disyed a sense of unordinary simpleness.

    It was a woman.

    She did not seem old, probably around 30 years of age. Her eyebrows were thin andplemented well with her pair ofrge eyes. She was not exceptionally beautiful, though she definitely possessed a refreshing look.

    A woman had just walked out of a pir of light that descended from the heavens. This was both sinister and spectacr at the same time.

    The pir of light did not dissipate and the torrential rain continued to fall.

    However, the torrential rain did not seem to be affecting the woman¡¯s clothes, nor did the cooling night breeze seem to ruffle her hair. She merely stood there motionlessly like a piece of exquisite painting.

    This woman in the painting started surveying her surroundings with a sense of arrogance. She swept her nce over the Mountain Breaking Army and the Yan Cloud Calvary. She even ignored Yan Xiu and Shan Yu.

    She showcased a stature of absolute authority.

    Her gaze did not hover around anyone in the scene, nor did the expression on her face ever change. This continued until sheid her eyes on the Demon Pearl floating in the air.

    "Is he already dead?" The woman muttered. Following which, she turned towards Yan Qianli as she frowned and said, "Yan Qianli, where is Lin Mubai? Is he dead as well?"

    Lin Mubai, the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty and the revered Majesty.

    Yan Qianli, the Lord of the Western Liang and someone who had reached the level of a saint. He was the fifth person in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty to have reached that level.

    Who dared to refer to this two people by their full names?

    This woman just did, and she did so in a casual and even arrogant manner. She seemed to have purposely added the line "Is he dead as well?" just to be spiteful.

 Chapter 604 An Unexpected Resul

    If this happened in court, a courtier would have stood up on the spot to reprimand this woman for her brazenness. However, when the woman¡¯s voice rang, no one from the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary stepped forward.

    This was not an issue of military responsibility and discipline.

    This was because of a tattoo on her chest. An unassuming tattoo of a tower with two characters on top.

    Ling Yun!

    These were two simple characters. However, when everyone saw such a tattoo, no one dared to question her authority or arrogance.

    Yan Qianli frowned tightly as he finally took a step forward. He said, "The Emperor is in the pce right now!"

    "Oh, so he isn¡¯t dead?" The woman nodded. Following which, she then looked in the direction of the pce and said, "I¡¯ll wait here for him. I¡¯ll give him thirty minutes."

    Thirty minutes.

    This was what the woman said. However, she had no intention of letting someone inform Lin Mubai about her arrival, as though what she was expecting would happen naturally.

    "Are... are you mother?" Ping Yang¡¯s voice rose at that moment. Her breathing had be faint over the past few minutes as her face paled. However, she kept her gaze firmly on that woman.

    The woman then turned her gaze towards Ping Yang before she looked away. She did not utter a single word nor give any form of confirmation to Ping Yang¡¯s question.

    "I... I am Ping Yang. Mom said that she would fetch me. Are you... are you my mother? Or someone that she sent?" Ping Yang stared at the woman and asked once again.

    This woman did not turn her head. She merely stood at her original position as Ping Yang¡¯s words fell into nothingness.

    As the rain fell, the long red dress on Ping Yang¡¯s body looked extremely conspicuous.

    It was sinisterly quiet.

    Yan Qianli clenched his fist rightly though he remained silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Ping Yang with both his hands. He knew exactly how Ping Yang felt. That was also the reason why he allowed Ping Yang to ask the same question a second time.

    However, this woman¡¯s attitude and reply were unexpected.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that Ping Yang was lying. Ping Yang mentioned that she had seen her mother and she woulde and fetch her. Why then was this woman disying such an uncaring attitude?

    Did Ping Yang get the wrong person?

    That could not be.

    This was because this woman knew Yan Qianli and Lin Mubai by name. What in the world was happening?

    "I... I am Ping Yang..."

    "Ping Yang, stop asking. She is not your mother!" Fang Zhengzhi pressed his hands lightly on Ping Yang¡¯s shoulders and stopped her from asking.

    "But she..." Ping Yang bit her lips expectantly.

    "He is not wrong. I am not your mother. Also, one more thing. If you still want to see your father onest time. I suggest that you shut your mouth," The woman finally spoke, interrupting Ping Yang in the middle of her speech.

    "Seeing my father onest time... can I see my mother as well?"

    "You are almost dead. Why do you want to see your mother?" The woman said in a calm tone. Following which, she seemed to be reminded of something as she said, "If you are hoping for your mother to save you. I suggest that you give up on the thought. She would not."

    "No... I just want to see her. I do not need her to save my life..." Ping Yang¡¯s chest rose slightly as a mouthful of blood spurted from her mouth.

    "If you truly wish to see your mother, why did you give up on your life? You had the chance to see her, though it is all for naught now," The woman replied.

    "I... I..." Ping Yang felt like exining herself but her serious injuries caused her body to tremble involuntarily. Her pink and supple lips were starting to turn purple.

    "You have enjoyed wealth andfort your whole life. As a princess, you never had to worry about food or clothing. What more do you want? If you have already decided to stay ordinary your entire life, you should do so. Why do you have to follow in other¡¯s footsteps? It is preposterous how you use your own life to exchange for your mother¡¯s protection. It is not a crime to be weak. However, why will a weakling like you push yourself beyond your own limits?"

    After the woman was done, she cast her gaze back onto the pce.

    Fang Zhengzhi trembled as he stared at the woman usingly. What did she mean when she said that Ping Yang was a weakling? How could she say that when Ping Yang was putting her life on the line?

    "You arrived a long time ago?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he was suddenly reminded of something.

    "Yes," The woman merely nodded and stayed expressionless.

    "When did you arrive?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "When the stars lit up," The woman replied after thinking for a moment.

    "Stars? Do you mean the pendant on Ping Yang¡¯s neck?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang¡¯s neck as he said. The beautiful pendant she wore had shattered into smithereens.

    "Yes," The woman curtly nodded.

    "I understand. If I am not wrong, you are here to fetch Ping Yang?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "If Ping Yang did not use those stars to attack King Xieluo, she would not have to die. Am I right?" Fang Zhengzhi fell silent for a moment before asking.

    "Yes."

    "Why would you not stop her despite knowing all his? Unless your main motive is for her to die?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he said those words.

    "You are indeed a smart person," The woman finally turned around and stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crystal clear eyes. She smirked as she said, "It is such shame that both of you suffer the same fate. If I am not wrong, you have less than half a year left to live?"

    "Less than half a year?"

    "What is she talking about? Fang Zhengzhi has less than half a year to live?"

    "What is going on? "

    After the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary heard those words, they werepletely startled. They stared at Fang Zhengzhi and the woman with a confused expression.

    This applied to even Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, Yan Qianli and Xing Yuanguo.

    Less than half a year?

    How could Fang Zhengzhi only have less than half a year left?

    "Who said that Fang Zhengzhi only has half a year left?" At that moment, a crisp voice echoed across the area. Following which, a ck figurended beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was Wu Yuer. There was a golden pearl in her hands, a pearl that was originally floating in the air.

    It was a Demon Pearl.

    The Demon Pearl that belonged to King Xieluo.

    "Oh, a Demon Pearl, let me think about it..." The woman stared at Wu Yuer before she muttered, "Your Tree of Dao will no longer bear fruit. Your world is damaged and your bloodline tattered. It may be possible to simply lengthen your life using the power of the vast world. However, the source of your power will no longer recover. Your powers should have been gone."

    The woman then stopped at cast her nce at Fang Zhengzhi. She then continued, "Hm, you have used artificial pills to forcibly concentrate your power source. It is a decent attempt. However, the powers of the vast world do not belong to you. Furthermore, your vast world powerse from a Demon Pearl, which is the remnants of a Demon King. Three years, that is the time this pearl will buy you."

    "Although you still have a slight chance. If you can attain the level of a saint in three years and receive the baptism of the heaven and earth, your world might recover in the process."

    "Furthermore, you are quite the talented individual. It might be possible for you to go from the Supernatural State to the Saint state in three years. However, it will be impossible in half a year? Haha, it has been over a few thousand years since anyone attained the saint state from a Supernatural State in such a short time. Don¡¯t even think about it."

    The woman chuckled as she finished her speech. Herughter was painful to listen and sarcastic. It felt as though she was looking down on the low-life from above.

    As the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary heard those words, they fell silent. They did not like the woman¡¯s attitude, though they could not go against what she said as well.

    Attaining the level of a saint in less than half a year.

    This was an impossible task even with the Demon Pearl. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Tree of Dao was barren.

    He was talented.

    However, if reaching the level of a saint merely took talent to achieve, there would be countless saints walking amongst them. After all, one¡¯s lifespan would be extended indefinitely the moment they reached that stage.

    In other words, the lifespan of a saint was at least hundred times that of an ordinary human.

    However, there had only been five saints in the entire history of the Great Xia Dynasty. Apart from talent, luck and fate yed a huge role as well.

    For example, Yan Qianli had already reached the pinnacle of the Rebirth State many years ago and had only attained the level of a saint recently.

    Another example would be Prince Li of the First Rank. He was already the legend of the battlefield when the previous Emperor was present, a powerful individual reaching the pinnacle of the Rebirth State. However, what happened?

    Even with the best resources in the entire Great Xia Dynasty and countless hours of meditation, he was still only a half-saint.

    It was too difficult!

    Fang Zhengzhi was merely a Supernatural State. Even if he was in the Rebirth State, it would be impossible to reach the Saint State in half a year.

    "This is not funny at all!" Wu Yuer¡¯s voice rose as her ck dress fluttered in the cool night breeze. She still had that seductive look on her face, though her expression was extremely serious. She shouted, ¡¯Fang Zhengzhi, even if no one had aplished this in over a thousand years, I still believe in you! I believe that you can do it!"

    "I believe in you as well. Fang Zhengzhi, you can do anything if you set your mind on it!" Shan Yu echoed Wu Yuer with conviction.

 Chapter 605 It Doesnâ€™t Matter If You Are From Ling Yun

    Yan Xiu did not speak. Some words didn¡¯t need to be said. He believed that Fang Zhengzhi could do it as well, despite the fact that it was something almost impossible to achieve.

    "Unfounded trust. You are all just unsatisfied with this result," The woman spoke once again. Following which, she cast her gaze in the direction of the pce and said, "It has been half an hour, I should be going."

    "Wait a minute!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rose again, "You have not answered me. Why would you not stop Ping Yang despite knowing that she would die!"

    "Why should I?" The woman then retracted her steps and cast a menacingly nce at Ping Yang, "She should not be alive. She shouldn¡¯t even be born in the first ce."

    "Shouldn¡¯t be born?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he said.

    "That¡¯s right, her birth was a mistake. What I am doing is to merely correct the mistake made decades ago. It might not be a bad thing for her," The woman said.

    "Correcting a mistake? If I am not wrong, you are merely a messenger. You do not have the authority to make this decision!" Fang Zhengzhi hollered as he cast his gaze on the woman.

    "You are truly intelligent. However, even if I am just a messenger, I have my own way of doing things. For example, I could have arrivedte and Ping Yang is already dead," The woman smiled as she said.

    "Is that so? What if Ping Yang is not dead?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he said. A faint smile appeared on his face.

    "Not dead?" The woman shuddered for a moment as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. In an instant, a thought shed through her mind. She shouted, "Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t you dare!"

    It was toote to stop his actions.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had grabbed the Demon Pearl that Wu Yuer brought over and stuffed it into Ping Yang¡¯s mouth without any hesitation as he was speaking.

    Boom! The thunder rumbled.

    Lightning shed across the sky and illuminated Ping Yang¡¯s startled expression, as well as the horrified expression on the woman¡¯s face. The Yan Cloud Calvary, Mountain Breaking Army, and Northern Barbarian Army also watched in shock.

    All of their gazes were drawn to Fang Zhengzhi at that moment.

    "Fang Zhengzhi gave the Demon Pearl to Princess Ping Yang?"

    "A person like him would give the Demon Pearl to the Princess?"

    "Does he not want to live? He only has half a year left. Without the Demon Pearl, how could he be a saint?"

    They had heard the woman¡¯s words and thus had a good understanding of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s predicament. He only had half a year left and the Demon Pearl was hisst ray of hope.

    As she had mentioned, it was almost impossible to be a saint in three years.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was a guy who exceeded expectations at every corner. He had proved all these years that he could achieve the impossible.

    Hence, when Wu Yuer and Shan Yu imed that hey believed Fang Zhengzhi, everyone else kept silent.

    However, to think that Fang Zhengzhi would give his only hope to Ping Yang!

    They could not believe it.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what are you doing? This is yourst ray of hope, take the Demon Pearl out!" Wu Yuer reacted after a moment and reached out for Ping Yang¡¯s neck.

    She naturally knew what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    A Demon Pearl was the source of the Demon King¡¯s power. Even if one were to only carry it around with him, he would achieve a greater integration with the heavens and earth.

    The effect of consuming it could not even be imagined.

    The extreme use of a Demon Pearl was to consume it. It contained the powers of a Demon King, allowing one to obtain the rejuvenation abilities and vitality of a Demon King for a short period of time.

    However, no one would do that under normal circumstances.

    It was too wasteful! It was akin to using a thousand-year-old ginseng root to treat the small flu. Why would anyone do that?

    Though Fang Zhengzhi just did.

    Without any hesitation.

    Wu Yuer was fast. However, another person was even faster. It was the woman standing in front of the light pir. The moment she saw Fang Zhengzhi put the Demon Pearl into Ping Yang¡¯s mouth, she dashed forward and covered the distance between Fang Zhengzhi and her in a split second.

    She then drove her palm down towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang was shocked. However, she had also realized what was going on. A faint smile then appeared on her face as her lifeless eyes glimmered with a ray of joy.

    She had never imagined Fang Zhengzhi would do such a thing.

    But he did. He did so without hesitation or regret. That would be enough for her.

    Thank you, you shameless guy!

    Ping Yang felt a tear roll down her cheeks. She wanted to see her mother one time before she died. However, if this woulde at the expense of Fang Zhengzhi bing a saint, she could not bring herself to do it.

    She opened her mouth slightly and released the Demon Pearl from the warm embrace of her lips.

    The moment the Demon Pearl left her lips, Ping Yang felt a soft sensation on her mouth. The Demon Pearl then went back into the mouth.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at the face in front of her. She could feel a strong pressure covering her lips, preventing the Demon Pearl from escaping. It was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips!

    Her body tensed up for a moment before she quickly reacted. Following which, she started struggling.

    At the same time, she felt a weird sensation in her chest. It was as though she had been ambushed, sending a numbing sensation through her entire body.

    It was painful as well.

    Following which, she felt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips separate from hers. The face that was in such close proximity to her began to distance itself.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless guy. How dare you..." Ping Yang¡¯s chest heaved up and down in rage and embarrassment as she shouted.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions were too abrupt and sudden. If he were to east Ping Yang into the act, she might not have resisted it so violently.

    When a person is depressed and infuriated, he would experience a sudden surge of energy despite being heavily injured.

    That was exactly how Ping Yang felt.

    Sheshed out at Fang Zhengzhi without hesitation and with vigor.

    However, at the instant when she opened her mouth, she felt the Demon Pearl in her mouth slide down her throat without any obstructions.

    Boom! At the same time, a sound rang in her ears. It was the sound of Fang Zhengzhinding on the ground.

    Two other figures then appeared in her field of vision.

    Wu Yuer had a concerned expression on her face. However, she stopped her hand around an inch right in front of Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    Naturally, that might be due to another hand blocking her way.

    It was the other woman.

    Her pristine white hands grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s neck violently. Ping Yang did not have any energy to retaliate, though she did not feel a shred of fear.

    She was Ping Yang.

    The Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty. She would die with honor. She would never beg for other¡¯s forgiveness and abandon her dignity.

    "Spit it out! Spit it out now!" The woman¡¯s voice echoed in Ping Yang¡¯s ears.

    It was the first time Ping Yang sensed urgency in the woman¡¯s voice. To think that this woman would also reach this state.

    She should be sent by her mother. However, why does this woman want her dead? Was she really not meant to exist, like this woman had mentioned?

    That¡¯s right...

    If she had died earlier, the Demon Pearl would not have been wasted on her. Fang Zhengzhi would then have a chance at bing a saint.

    With his talent and the help of the Demon Pearl, he stood a chance at bing a saint in half a year.

    Ping Yang stared silently at the rain and felt the warm and soothing sensation from the center of her body.

    She knew it was toote.

    From the moment she swallowed the Demon Pearl, it was over.

    If she was not wrong, she forced a kiss on this shameless guy in the Crown Prince Residence. He was probably just taking revenge.

    Although he was simply way too abrupt and violent!

    Even if he wanted her to swallow the Demon Pearl, he probably could employ methods that require less skinship.

    For example, he could simply pinch her elbow.

    As long as he did so with enough force, Ping Yang would scream and swallow the Demon Pearl.

    In the end, Fang Zhengzhi was still so shameless. He was trying to take advantage of her all along, in the name of saving her.

    Boom!

    At that moment, a lightning fell from the sky. More specifically, it was not a pure bolt of lightning, it was the swing of a sword imbued with the power of lightning.

    The roar of a dragon could be heard. It boomed with authority and greatness.

    The torrential rain continued to fall from the skies.

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary widened their eyes upon this sight. This was because both of them saw the swing of the de.

    They were horrified.

    They were not horrified at how strong this strike was. They were bewildered at the target of this attack. It was aimed towards the woman in a dark purple dress right in front of Ping Yang, the woman with the two characters, Ling Yun, in front of her chest.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    Fang Zhengzhi was attacking the woman!

 Chapter 606 You Do Not Kill That Whom I Saved

    The ignorant could be fearless. However, there should be a limit to that. For example, the woman was clearly someone that even Yan Qianli and the Emperor feared.

    Even a fool would know the consequences of attacking this woman.

    Was Fang Zhengzhi a fool?

    No one would think so. However, he had taken action against the woman. Furthermore, he did so without any hesitation the moment hended.

    In everyone¡¯s eyes, Fang Zhengzhi had always been a person who was terrified of death. However, his actions were baffling at times.

    It would be erroneous to say that he was not afraid. He was always hiding at the back of the army during a war and would never volunteer for a dangerous mission.

    Though it would be wrong to say that he was aplete coward as well.

    In the battle of the Southern Region, Fang Zhengzhi had once fought half-saint Can Yang alone. Just a few moments ago, he even defeated Demon King Xieluo.

    Ping Yang once again smiled. She had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about, though she knew that this attack had saved her life.

    The woman had released her hands from Ping Yang¡¯s neck.

    That was because this attack was extremely fast.

    It reached the woman in an instant.

    As she stared at the iing lightning, she did not dodge. Instead, she stuck out two fingers of her left hand and flicked at the attack casually.

    Clink! A crisp sound echoed through the area.

    It sounded metallic, as though two metal objects had crashed into each other. This was unbelievable as the lightning bolt attack could not have been metallic in nature.

    However, the metallic ng was heard by everyone in the area.

    She dared to take Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack with just two of her fingers?

    This was a shocking scene.

    Everyone stared dumbfounded at the woman. They knew for sure that the woman was powerful. However, it still sent shivers down their spine when they saw her might with their own eyes.

    However, after this crisp sound. The woman frowned slightly. She seemed surprised and her right hand lifted ever so lightly.

    Her right hand merely made a small action before returning to its original position. Her left hand then continuously flicked at the attack as though she was ying a game.

    She flicked at the attack at an insane speed. As that happened, the woman took a step backward.

    Finally, the sound stopped and the attack lost its brilliance.

    "She really blocked it?"

    "She blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack with merely two fingers?"

    "How is this possible?"

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary stared at the disappearing brilliance and nced back at the woman. Their eyes were filled with horror and awe.

    It was shocking that someone could defend against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack in this manner.

    However...

    Something unexpected happened. Just when this attack was dispelled by the woman, the second attack by Fang Zhengzhi arrived.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you cannot!" Yan Qianli¡¯s voice rang. When Fang Zhengzhi released his first attack, he did not stop him from doing so.

    This was because he would have taken the initiative if Fang Zhengzhi had not.

    However, another attack?

    Yan Qianli had to stop Fang Zhengzhi. This was because this attack waspletely uncalled for and would result in unthinkable repercussions.

    The woman simrly did not expect a second attack toe from Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, it was clearly done without any hesitation and with more fervor.

    "How brazen of you!" The woman¡¯s arrogant voice echoed through the night sky. She had the presence of a God overlooking upon the mortals.

    However, she was still unable to stop the iing attack.

    The lightning imbued attack quickly charged towards the woman. It was stronger and faster than the first one, shining more radiantly and dangerously.

    The woman frowned and fixed her gaze upon the attack. She then lifted up her right hand in preparation.

    This time around, she opened both palms to wee the iing attack.

    Boom!

    A crack appeared on the ground beneath the woman¡¯s feet. With her as the center, fissures opened around the ground and spread across the area.

    Following which, she retreated for a few steps. Her purple long dress had already been torn from this attack, revealing a pair of slender legs.

    She seemedpletely different from the time when she was blocking the first attack. Although she had used both her hands this time around, she took a total of ten steps backward before she stabilized herself.

    s, the second attack was also dispelled.

    The woman had sessfully used her hands to defend against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s second attack, though she had suffered multiple cuts on her hands. Blood trickled down from her palms.

    It dripped onto the ground.

    This happened extremely fast.

    It merely took the blink of an eye from the time Fang Zhengzhi ced the Demon Pearl into Ping Yang¡¯s mouth to the time he unleashed two attacks.

    By the end of the intense moment, the woman had been separated from Ping Yang. Her luscious ck hair fluttered in the night breeze. It seemed to have gotten damp in the rain when she was blocking the second attack.

    It was quiet, sinisterly quiet.

    Everyone turned to look at the woman. She no longer had a calm expression on her face. Her chest heaved slightly.

    Everyone was waiting for her to speak.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi moved. He took his time and walked slowly towards Ping Yang.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless fellow..." Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi as he moved. She adored his determined expression.

    She suddenly felt a peculiar feeling. It was a feeling that could not be put into words. However, it felt extremely warm, so much so that she could forgive his previous brazen actions almost immediately.

    Fang Zhengzhi then slowly hugged Ping Yang. This time around, he was extremely careful, lifting her up gently from the ground.

    He then turned to look at the woman.

    "How dare you, kill that whom I saved?"

    Fang Zhengzhi spoke in a calm manner, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear it.

    "How dare you, kill that whom I saved?"

    What an arrogant statement. It was a form of arrogance and brazenness that came from the heart.

    Everyone was startled upon hearing those words as they repeated them in their heads. They turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi in shock. Fang Zhengzhi, the man whom they thought was a coward.

    "You are courting death!" The woman¡¯s gaze became stone cold at that moment. Her hair fluttered ferociously in the wind as her delicate features were covered in a thinyer of ice.

    Following which, the woman moved.

    The entire space seemed to distort when she made her move. The falling rain was vaporized instantly, turning into trails of white mist.

    Time seemed to have stopped.

    The woman stepped onto those trails of white mist lightly as she moved towards Fang Zhengzhi. A spot of light appeared on her hands.

    It was an unassuming spot of light. However, when everyone saw that spot of light, they felt as though their bodies were submerged into the depths of the chilling abyss.

    "No!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi be careful!"

    At that moment, two voices rose simultaneously. Following which, a crimson red figure appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    It was Yan Qianli.

    When Fang Zhengzhi unleashed the second attack, he had already taken action.

    Wu Yuer was the second person. She had been close to the both of them all this time, which allowed her to react quickly to the situation.

    "Courting death as well?" A cold glimmer shed across the woman¡¯s eyes as she stared at Wu Yuer and Yan Qianli. She did not intend to stop as she shouted, "I will fulfill your wishes!"

    "Cang Yue, stop!" At that moment, a voice could be heard from the castle wall. It was clearly a frail voice, though it was authoritative and prative.

    She then lifted her head to look at the castle wall.

    Lin Mubai, d in his golden dragon robe, was staring at the woman while supported by Chen Feihua. There were countless Dragon Protection Squad and Royal Guards behind him.

    "You have finally arrived. s, it is all toote!" She once again turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and the people blocking her way. The light spots in her hand split into two, before splitting into four, duplicating at an insane rate.

    In an instant, that unassuming light spot had be countless light spots circling around her hand.

    They looked like the stars!

    The same stars that emerged from Ping Yang¡¯s pendant.

    However, these stars were clearly different from those that Ping Yang had. This was because this woman could control these stars as she wished.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s expression paled, though he stood rooted to the ground. He then released a crimson aura that rose to the horizon.

    At the same time, his palms motioned quickly and generated a crimson cloud in front of him.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s expression changed as well. Her seductive eyes became extremely serious as her hair fluttered. Her ck dress danced maliciously in the wind.

    She was also staring at the woman like Yan Qianli. However, instead of casting a skill, her hands were pressed tightly against her waist.

 Chapter 607 A New Gate

    It happened in an instant.

    Lin Mubai paled when he witnessed the scene. He had no idea what happened, though he knew exactly how powerful Cang Yue was.

    Ping Yang?

    Lin Mubai quickly noticed Ping Yang, who was standing beside Fang Zhengzhi. There were not many injuries on her body, though she looked extremely pale.

    What exactly happened?

    Why would Cang Yue appear?

    Questions shed through Lin Mubai¡¯s mind though he had no time to consider them. This was because Cang Yue had already reached Yan Qianli.

    Boom! A rumbling sound could be heard.

    The next moment, the crimson brilliance exploded, engulfing everyone in the bloody red mist. However, there was a spot of light shimmering within.

    Following which, more of them appeared...

    In the end, they became the star of the show, forming a small milky way in the middle of the crimson mist. Countless stars flowed along the milky way, heading towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yan Qianli then vomited a mouthful of blood.

    He was already weak from the fight against King Xieluo. The blow he suffered from Cang Yue was simply too much for him to bear.

    His body flew backward involuntarily.

    Wu Yuer took action as well. She was just about to take her hands off her waist when the heavens were suddenly illuminated.

    Dawn seemed to have descended.

    It was the brilliance of a lightning bolt.

    Countless lightning then rained down from the skies,nding behind Wu Yuer. The sinister purple light rushed into the horizon as the thunder rumbled and danced to its own symphony.

    "Dragon!" A voice rose.

    It was a cold and harsh voice. As this voice rang, a murderous intent rose from the spot behind Wu Yuer.

    "yer!" The voice rang again soon after.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s body tensed up. She knew exactly who was speaking. In fact, everyone else knew as well.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    The Dragon yer sh!

    Just half an hour ago, the same voice and the same lightning had defeated the Demon King Xieluo, leaving only a Demon Pearl in his wake.

    The legendary voice had rung once again. This time around, the opponent was a woman, a woman who had the two characters Ling Yun on her chest.

    "sh!"

    The third voice quickly emerged as the purple light that rushed into the horizon fell steadily onto the ground, just like how the woman had maneuvered herself to daintily on the trail of mist. It looked extremely slow, though it was actually traveling at an insane speed. It collided with the milky way with a murderous intent.

    There was no deafening st this time around.

    This was because sound seemed to have disappeared from the earth. The sound of the torrential rain and rumbling thunder vanished in an instant.

    The only thing left was the two intertwining brilliance.

    A concentrated purple light and a milky way formed from countless glimmering stars.

    Crack! The ground cracked open as many gravels were pulverized into smithereens. The rain seemed to have stopped falling, hanging so precariously in the air.

    Wu Yuer then slowly turned her body around as she stared at the figure behind her, as well as his crystal-clear eyes.

    Ping Yang was also looking at the same pair of eyes.

    There were no emotions in his gaze. However, they could feel a peculiar presence from it, a presence that showcased the thoughts of a man.

    It could be termed as responsibility.

    Fang Zhengzhi then vomited a mouthful of blood into the center of the intertwining brilliance. His blood was immediately vaporized into a white mist.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of retreating. He cast his gaze on the milky way as he gritted his teeth. His hands did not show signs of trembling as he gripped his sword with confidence and vigor.

    Cang Yue¡¯s body gave a slight jerk before a trail of blood emerged from the side of her lips. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi in shock.

    This was her first time meeting Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, this was not the first time she heard of him. He had already made his name in the entire world, though it did not leave much of an impression on her.

    The prodigy from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion from the Imperial Examinations, Law od Dao Examinations and Prefectural Examinations as well as the architect behind the Battle of the Southern Region. s, all these achievements were not significant enough to leave an impression on her.

    But now...

    She would remember him.

    Fang Zhengzhi, a young teenager not older than 18 years old, had managed to injure her in a fight. Furthermore, these were internal injuries.

    Despite the fact that these injuries meant nothing to her, she would still remember him.

    It was a shame though. Fang Zhengzhi was doomed to disappear from the face of this earth. Even if he had not disyed his prowess, he would have to.

    Why then, should she conserve her powers?

    "Die!" Cang Yue hollered as countless stars surrounded her body once again. The stars the converged and merged with the milky way.

    The space in the area seemed to rumble.

    In that instant, the stars within the milky way flowed at a faster rate. If the milky way previously was merely a wide river, it had now turned into a boundless ocean.

    Countless stars charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "No!" Ping Yang shuddered. A brilliance shed across her eyes, illuminating her lifeless pupils.

    It was merely a small brilliance, though it shone exceptionally bright in the night.

    At the same time, she pouched towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Again?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched ufortably. He was starting to get used to Ping Yang¡¯s irrational actions.

    If not for the dangerous circumstances, he would have kicked her away without any hesitation. However, he had no time to do any superfluous actions.

    Of course...

    Ping Yang did not burden him this time around.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi could clearly feel the stars getting closer to him. He had no way of defending against them this time around.

    Cang Yue, Ling Yun!

    He had heard about the two words, Ling Yun, in the distant past. That¡¯ right, it was probably the new gate the old guy was talking about.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you know how the world outside of the Great Xia Dynasty looks like?"

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint had a thick beard. If not for his wise and godly appearance, Fang Zhengzhi might not have had the patience to sit down and listen to him.

    "Another Dynasty or Empire?" Fang Zhengzhi probed.

    "You are right!" The Heavenly Oasis Saint nodded in satisfaction.

    "Old guy, are you ill?"

    "What are you talking about. Why not you go around and ask about my reputation? Although I am not the strongest in terms of power, I am definitely the strongest in terms of alchemy amongst the four sages!"

    "Oh, is that what you want to tell me?"

    "This is only a part of it. Do you know what other empires lie outside of the Great Xia Dynasty?"

    "The Holy Barbarian Empire, Radiant Moon Empire, and the War Pinnacle Empire. That¡¯s all."

    "Hm, that is both correct and wrong. Let¡¯s skip this for now. Do you know which Empire the Shadow Sect belongs to?"

    "Neither."

    "Correct!"

    "Old guy, you called me here just to boast that you are the best in Alchemy among the four sages and that the power of the Shadow Sect has sessfully infiltrated all four empires. Am I right?"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    "Can I swear?"

    "Of course, but you¡¯d better do it behind my back. Make sure that I cannot hear you."

    "Damn you old guy, how are you so free!"

    "You brat, I am still considered to be half your savior. Not only would you not be my disciple and enter the Shadow Sect, you even dare to curse at me! You will lose all yourrades if you continue on like this."

    "Bye, I will be leaving."

    "Wait a minute, you brat. Although the Shadow Sect has powers over the four Empires, we are not the strongest power in the world. You still have to be careful when you go out."

    "Careful of what?"

    "You must have heard of Heavenly Dao Pavilion. You should know what it means if a person has the two characters, Tian Dao, in front of their chest. Apart from that, there are a few others you should remember."

    "What are they?"

    "Ling Yun, Yin Yang, Fu Yi, Jiu Ding!"

    "Okay!"

    "Hey, brat! Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to leave. You must remember them. The one you have to be most wary of is... Hey, I am not finished! This concerns the path you have in front of you, your new gate!"

    "New gate?" Fang Zhengzhi pouted as he said. He had already sat through too many of these brainwashing sessions.

    In fact, ever since he was brought to the Shadow Sect by Wu Yuer, the Heavenly Oasis Saint would find any reason to showcase his prowess.

    He would boast about the wealth and connections of the Shadow Sect and even bring a treasure trove of expensive artifacts to showcase to Fang Zhengzhi.

    His motive was clear.

    He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to join the Shadow Sect for real.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand this part. Ever since he entered the Shadow Sect, he had been helping them achieve their dreams of bing a business empire.

    But the old guy still seemed unsatisfied.

    More importantly, the old guy would never reveal whaty behind the new gate. It was as though he would be infringing on something beyond that.

    Although he would still nag incessantly every single day.

    "Join the Shadow Sect, my child. As long as you join us, the new gate will open for you. You will be exposed to a colorful and exhrating new world. You will be able to see fishes that fly and dogs that crawl on the seabed..."

 Chapter 608 You Are Not Worthy of Dignity

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what the Heavenly Oasis Saint was thinking about. He was using wealth and the dangers of the outside world to make Fang Zhengzhi sumb to him.

    This was amonly used psychological tactic.

    When a person was exposed to the dangers of the outside world, he would feel unsettled. If someone were to offer him a hand into the Shadow Sect who possessed great wealth and power at that exact moment...

    Would anyone reject the offer?

    That seemed impossible.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi rejected it. He had to do so every single day for an entire year and did so without any hesitation every time.

    The reason was simple. The conditions were not satisfactory.

    In exchange for the wealth and power, Fang Zhengzhi had to stay loyal to the Shadow Sect and deem its goals as his responsibilities, even to the point of dying for the organization.

    Naturally, the Shadow Sect could fulfill many of his wishes, such as anything rted to wealth and power. More importantly, Wu Yuer might agree to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s proposal.

    He would live afortable life.

    However, this was uneptable to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Wu Yuer might not even ept him. She would merely consider.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a man with pride. How could he allow himself to suffer the disgrace of marrying into a more wealthy family? He rejected it without a second thought.

    The result was clear.

    Fang Zhengzhi would help the Shadow Sect from the shadows and help them achieve the dream of a business empire. He would devise ns that would maximize the benefits on the end of the Shadow Sect.

    The Shadow Sect would then be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s greatest aide, providing him with information.

    This was also a type of equivalent exchange.

    However, whaty beyond the new gate? The Heavenly Oasis Saint would not reveal them no matter what. Furthermore, there was a limit to the amount of information the Shadow Sect could provide.

    Putting it simply, if Fang Zhengzhi wanted more money, he could get them. However, he must first show that he was capable of earning them. It was a new form of cooperation.

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, its called a mutually beneficial situation.

    He was satisfied with this result.

    However, the Heavenly Oasis Saint was not happy with this arrangement. This was especially so after Fang Zhengzhi had continuously shown his capabilities in raking in resources and benefits for the Shadow Sect, allowing him to gain more benefits along the way.

    But Fang Zhengzhi was not an easy target as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi had had many encounters with such "low-level" tactics in the past. How could he fall into such a trap?

    As what the Heavenly Oasis Saint had said, the Shadow Sect was not the strongest force.

    Since there was more to be desired, why would he want to join them?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi loved his current free and unbounded lifestyle. Why would he want to be tied down by the Shadow Sect and even swear his life to an organization?

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought in the past.

    However, those thoughts were slowly changing.

    A Dragon yer sh that had been powered up over ten times only managed to deal some minor internal injuries to this woman named Cang Yue. What is the deal with this Ling Yun?

    Boom! A rumble could be heard.

    The flowing milky way came to a stop and stopped right in front of Ping Yang. The stars glimmered while they stood still in their positions.

    Cang Yue¡¯s hand stopped.

    She was looking at Ping Yang. More specifically, it was the speckle of light in Ping Yang¡¯s eyes, the brilliance that shone through the darkness.

    As Cang Yue stared at the speck of light, it expanded in size, illuminating the darkness.

    "What is going on?"

    "It stopped?"

    "It finally stopped!"

    Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of the soldiers from the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary. The moment they saw Cang Yue attacking Fang Zhengzhi, they thought they were going to witness another tragedy in one night.

    However, Cang Yue stopped attacking. The expression on her face seemed extremely serious.

    Ping Yang¡¯s chest heaved as fear overwhelmed her. She bit her lips in apprehension, causing a drop of blood to fall from her lips.

    "Scram!" Cang Yue¡¯s voice was cold. However, she did not intend tounch another attack.

    No one knew why Cang Yue would suddenly stop her assault.

    Wasn¡¯t she here to kill Ping Yang?

    Then why would she stop right when Ping Yang was standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi? Wasn¡¯t that the perfect chance to kill her?

    "No!" Ping Yang muttered. She did not n to beg Cang Yue for forgiveness. She had a determined expression on her face.

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will kill you?" Cang Yue frowned as she said.

    "You can kill me, but I still will not budge!" Ping Yang spread her arms out and did not have any intention of moving.

    However, at that moment, Fang Zhengzhi ced his hands on Ping Yang¡¯s shoulders. He was afraid of death, he was very afraid. s, he still could not allow himself to stand behind Ping Yang.

    He took a step forward and pulled Ping Yang behind him.

    He had ced his sword down and the sinister purple light on the horizon had disappeared. He stared emotionlessly at Cang Yue, his crystal-clear eyes fixed on the milky way in front of him.

    Ping Yang wanted to resist. However, her body was held in ce by Fang Zhengzhi and she could not even budge.

    Wu Yuer was just about to say something when she swallowed her words. She merely stood quietly at her spot and stared at Fang Zhengzhi. Her hands were still sped tightly at her waist.

    Countless light spots in the milky way moved once again, charging straight towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest like a ferocious tsunami wave.

    "Cang Yue, even if you do not acknowledge me, I am still half your owner. If you dare to harm them, I will use all my powers to defeat you, even if it means destroying the country!" Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang. It was a frail but determined voice.

    "Just for him? A person that has less than six months left to live?" Cang Yue¡¯s hand once again stopped as she cast her nce upon the man in golden robes on the castle wall.

    "Yes!" Lin Mubai shouted.

    "Why?" Cang Yue asked.

    "Dignity!" Lin Mubai did not answer Cang Yue¡¯s question directly. He merely uttered a word that seemed unrted to the situation.

    "Dignity? Haha... how presumptuous! Alright then, I will not kill him. However, Lin Mubai please remember, I do not care about your pitiful dignity. The only reason I am not killing him is because he is still a dead man," Cang Yue sniggered before she continued, "Also, Lin Mubai, please do not mention that you are half my owner. You are not worthy of it!"

    "Not worthy!"

    Cang Yue¡¯s voice echoed through the night sky and reverberated through the city. Lin Mubai stayed silent and merely bit his lip.

    "Ping Yang, how are you feeling?" Chen Feihua broke the silence as a worried and anxious expression overwhelmed her face.

    "Aunt Hua, I am fine," Ping Yang said as she nodded at Chen Feihua.

    She was not covering up her injuries. She could feel the warmth in her body repairing the damaged parts of her body. Her blood was flowing with vigor once again and her bones were healing. Her organs seemed to be extremely active, as though she had just gotten a new body.

    However, Ping Yang knew that the price of her recovery was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life.

    Less than half a year.

    Without the help of the Demon Pearl, would it be possible to go from the Supernatural State all the way to the Saint State in such a short period of time?

    Fang Zhengzhi you shameless guy, why did you do that? I thought you were selfish! Didn¡¯t you want everything good to yourself?

    Why then, would you give me the Demon Pearl?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not speak. He did not even look into Ping Yang¡¯s eyes. He merely put away his sword before he stared at the torrential rain.

    Was he not dead?

    More precisely, he was on a temporary lifespan.

    He was still more suited to stay by the sidelines and watch as people fight over benefits. He would thene in at the end to reap the benefits.

    However, he still got himself directly involved in the end.

    If Wu Yuer had appeared, it meant that Yun Qingwu¡¯s n should bepleted. He had really gotten the short-end of the stick this time around.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed helplessly. This fight was at its end.

    "Come with me," Just as Fang Zhengzhi was keeping his sword, Cang Yue¡¯s voice rang once again. Of course, her words were meant for Ping Yang and not Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What? Where to?" Ping Yang froze in her tracks as she asked. She did not understand Cang Yue¡¯s words. However, a thought suddenly shed through her mind.

    "Cang Yue, Yu er... Is Yu er willing to..." Lin Mubai¡¯s voice sounded once again.

    "This does not concern you!" Cang Yue¡¯s gaze turned cold. She did not intend to give any more exnation. She turned and walked towards the pir of light that was connected to the horizon and said, "Come with me if you wish to see your mother."

    "I..." Ping Yang¡¯s lips moved slightly as her chest heaved with greater intensity. She seemed agitated, though she did not follow Cang Yue immediately. She turned her gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Are you noting?" Cang Yue stopped in front of the light pir. She neither turned to look behind her nor did she enter the light pir.

    "I... I am not leaving!" Ping Yang gritted her teeth and shouted after hesitating for a moment. She shook her head forcefully with a determined expression.

    "You are noting? Haha... do you really think you a princess and everyone has to curry favor from you? Let me tell you, although your mother is my master, you are nothing to me!" Cang Yue¡¯s body shuddered as she spoke. A peculiar expression seemed to cloud over her face. However, a momentter, she restored her usual stone-cold demeanor.

    She did not inquire about Ping Yang¡¯s reasons. She merely made her stand clear in one simple sentence.

    As Lin Mubai heard Cang Yue¡¯s words, he clenched his fist tightly. He applied so much force that his fingers had turned slightly white.

 Chapter 609 It Is Too Beautiful to Look A

    Lin Mubai did not speak. His lips trembled slightly though no words came out of his mouth. He also had no intention to stop Cang Yue.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    He had no idea what happened between Ping Yang¡¯s mother and Lin Mubai. However, he had gotten one important information. Ping Yang¡¯s mother seemed to be Cang Yue¡¯s master.

    Since she was Cang Yue¡¯s master, Cang Yue¡¯s attitude to Ping Yang was slightly over the top and unreasonable.

    Why would Cang Yue, the disciple, want to kill Ping Yang?

    Was it because Ping Yang¡¯s birth was a mistake? Or was it the legendary sob story of the unwanted bastard child? Both seemed to make sense, though they were far-fetched as well.

    Most importantly, Cang Yue clearly came to fetch Ping Yang back to the ce called Ling Yun. She was even here on Yu er¡¯s orders.

    There were too many loopholes in the current story.

    Cang Yue was here to fetch Ping Yang. Ping Yang¡¯s mother would definitely know about this. Cang Yue might very likely be acting on her orders. If so, no matter how much Cang Yue hated Ping Yang, she could not kill her. How then, was she doing this so brazenly.

    This did not make sense.

    However, from Cang Yue¡¯s expression and speech, she seemed to be unfazed by the fact that people know she wants to kill Ping Yang. She even agreed that she wanted Ping Yang dead in front of Fang Zhengzhi and everyone else.

    However, after agreeing to those statements, she imed to be the messenger to bring Ping Yang back to meet her mother!

    This was clearly incoherent.

    If Cang Yue had killed Ping Yang without hesitation previously and silenced her, this would have made sense. However, if she were to bring Ping Yang back alive, wouldn¡¯t Ping Yang report to her mother about Cang Yue¡¯s brazen acts?

    After all, if Ping Yang were to meet her mother, there was no way her actions would go unnoticed.

    Was she trying to kill Ping Yang along the way?

    That was impossible as well.

    There was a perfect chance to kill Ping Yang just now. Ping Yang had jumped right in front of Fang Zhengzhi. If Cang Yue had killed Ping Yang then, she could have dered it as an ident.

    What exactly was going on?

    This was exactly what Fang Zhengzhi thought. Ping Yang seemed to be thinking of the same thing as well.

    "Even if I mean nothing to you, I still have the right to not go with you!" Ping Yang shouted with determination. Her eyes glimmered once again with fervor and seemed even more alluring than before, untainted and clear.

    "You can reject me. However, I can also bring your corpse with me," Cang Yue snickered as she stared condescendingly at Ping Yang, as though she was an ant that could be destroyed anytime.

    It was truly shocking.

    Everyone present, including Yan Qianli, was horrified at Cang Yue¡¯s words.

    This was because Cang Yue had already revealed her identity.

    She was a disciple or a servant of Ping Yang¡¯s mother. If that was so, then Ping Yang would still be her young master. How could a servant ever view her young master as an insignificant ant?

    Wu Yuer was confused as well. She frowned as she stared at Cang Yue. There had been some instances when the servant was exceptionally rude to the young master.

    But there were some conditions attached to it.

    One example would be when the master did not actually have a high status in the family. Although this servant may seem to be working for the master on the surface, she was actually serving a higher authority.

    However, Cang Yue did not seem like she was from such a family.

    She represented Ling Yun.

    Others might not know much about Ling Yun, but Wu Yuer was educated. She knew that Ling Yun was apletely different concept from a normal family. Hence, there was no way Cang Yue could have been serving another master.

    This was because the servants in Ling Yun were not like themon servants you see in the pce. If Cang Yue had respect for Ping Yang¡¯s mother, it could only mean that Cang Yue was a disciple of Ping Yang¡¯s mother.

    Only a disciple, and more specifically, a blood disciple who had gone through the blood ritual, was allowed to call their teachers as masters, serving alongside them.

    In other words, this rtionship was self-initiated andpletely equal. It was aplished at the consent of both the disciple and the master. Therefore, there were no grounds and reasons for betrayal.

    A disciple that had the utmost respect and unwavering loyalty for her master was now treating the young master with a cold attitude. She had even threatened to kill her off.

    This was something incredible no matter how one looked at it.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists. Cang Yue was extremely strong, a lot stronger than what he imagined. She was even stronger than King Xieluo. This opponent was no longer someone he could take on.

    However, how could he allow Ping Yang to suffer such humiliation?

    "It seems like you want to go for another round?" Cang Yue seemed to have detected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s emotions. She stared at him and said, "If you truly wish to be dead, I do not mind helping you out. Even if Lin Mubai were to mobilize the entire country, I am not afraid!"

    "The things I do have no connection to the Great Xia Dynasty!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he stared coldly at Cang Yue. The Traceless Sword appeared in his hands once again as the sinister purple light lit up.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, no!" Lin Mubai¡¯s voice sounded once again. Following which, he pleaded, "Cang Yue, even if you go now acknowledge me, Ping Yang is still your young master, you..."

    "Shut Up!" Cang Yue interrupted Lin Mubai as she hissed, "What young master? I have never once believed that I had a young master. If not for your insatiable appetite for power and wealth then, would this have happened?"

    "I..." Lin Mubai paled as though he was reminded of a terrifying past. His chest heaved slightly and a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.

    "Your Majesty!" Chen Feihua stared at Lin Mubai with a worried expression as she went forward to support him. Following which, she stared at Cang Yue usingly while remaining silent.

    "Hahaha... Lin Mubai, you have to die. You can only redeem your mistakes with your life. Chen Feihua, why didn¡¯t you mention how you brought Ping Yang back from the Lin Yun Tower? The First Concubine of the Great Xia Dynasty, what a joke!" Cang Yue stared coldly at the blood on the ground. IN fact, she seemed ted.

    "It is truly my mistake..."

    "Hua er, you do not have to exin yourself. I understand that I was selfish. If not for the fact that I had neglected the empire and led it to ruins, you would not have gone to Ling Yun Tower in the first ce!" Lin Mubai interrupted Chen Feihua as he waved his hands.

    "That¡¯s right, you were selfish. Do you really think Chen Feihua would be enough to fetch Ping Yang from Ling Yun Tower? Master was wrong to have believed in such a selfish guy like you. You havepletely betrayed our trust! If not for master, would the Great Xia Dynasty achieve such sess? If master was not present, the Great Xia Dynasty might already have ceased to exist. Look at you now. You look as if you have eternal youth and possessed unlimited power. Lin Mubai, everything you possess now is the work of my master! But how did you treat her?"

    Cang Yue¡¯s voice was not loud. However, it echoed across the me Capital City. It was exceptionally chilling and piercing in the torrential rain.

    Selfish and entitled.

    These words would warrant a death sentence for anyone if they had said it in front of Lin Mubai.

    However, no one came forward after hearing those words. Even Xing Yuanguo chose to remain silent.

    This was not because Cang Yue was from Ling Yun Tower, but because it was the undeniable truth.

    "Yu er, I was selfish! I have disappointed you!" Lin Mubai knelt down on the floor as he hollered, casting his gaze into the horizon. The Emperor finally broke down, shedding tears in front of his army as he shuddered.

    "Your Majesty!"

    "Please take care of your health!"

    "Please think about the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    The Mountain Breaking Army shouted in unison upon seeing Lin Mubai¡¯s actions. Each of them had an anxious look on their faces.

    "Oh? Are you apologizing now? Do you think it will work? I am not here today because of this issue. You do not have to me yourself. Please do your job as an Emperor from now on and manage your empire well!" Cang Yue stared at the kneeling Lin Mubai with a nonchnt expression.

    "Cang Yue, where is Yu er now..."

    "It does not concern you!" Cang Yue interrupted Lin Mubai¡¯s words. Following which, she turned to Ping Yang and said, "You can either choose toe with me willingly, or be dragged to the Ling Yun Tower as a lifeless corpse!"

    "I will not let you take Ping Yang!" Fang Zhengzhi quickly rebutted. He was as determined as Ping Yang in his tone.

    "Just you alone?" Cang Yue snickered

    "I will not allow it as well!" A figure stood forward and came beside Fang Zhengzhi. Her ck eyes glimmered with resolve.

    "You?" Cang Yue fixed her gaze on the figure before she sneered, "Prince of the Southern Region, Shan Yu, that is a valuablerade, but it is still not enough, is it?"

    "There¡¯s me as well!" Another figure came forward as his attire fluttered elegantly in the wind. The expression on his face was as cold as the winter solstice.

    It was Yan Xiu.

    "I will not let you take Ping Yang away!" Yan Qianli had alsoe forward as the crimson aura danced around menacingly around his body.

    "Hm, this is getting interesting. Yan Qianli, if I am not wrong, you have just attained the Saint State and do not have an identity. Are you sure you want to make Ling Yun Tower your enemy?" Cang Yue cast her nce at Yan Qianli and Yan Xiu, though her face remained expressionless.

    "I do not have an identity. However, you cannot represent the entire Ling Yun Tower as well!" Yan Qianli clenched his fist and disyed his authority as a leader.

    Identity.

    This was something that both Cang Yue and Yan Qianli mentioned.

    Though it was something everyone could not understand. What did they mean when they said Yan Qianli did not have an identity. Was K Yan of Western Liang not a powerful identity in itself?

    However, Yan Qianli admitted to the usation. Much to everyone¡¯s surprise and confusion, he admitted that he did not have an identity. No one dared to question his statement.

    "This is interesting; however, do you think I will stand back simply from a Southern region leader and a Western Liang King? Do you take me as a joke?" Cang Yue said in arrogance. She did not seem to consider Shan Yu and Yan Qianli as worthy opponents.

    "What if I take part in it as well?" At that moment, Wu Yuer, who had kept her hand on her waist all this time spoke.

    "You?" Cang Yue frowned as she cast her gaze on Wu Yuer. After a moment of observation, she asked, "Who are you?"

    Wu Yuer did not answer Cang Yue. Instead, she released her hand from her waist, pulling out a belt made from silk.

    The belt did not have any fancy or eye-catching things. There was an embroidery on the back of the belt. It was a picture of a busy street, depicting many life-like humans going on with their bustling life. All of them held some form of currency in their hands, some holding bronze coins and silvers while others were holding golden ingots.

    However, all of these currencies were ck in color. There were not sewn with a different material which allowed them to blend in with the rest of the painting, as though they were hidden in the shadows.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what this belt was. It was something that Wu Yuer kept on her body all the time. In fact, he hade into contact with this belt before.

    s, he had never been able to take that belt off with his own hands. He was confused as to why Wu Yuer would remove that belt for no reason.

    Was Wu Yuer nning to attack with this belt?

    This was something Fang Zhengzhi thought of the instant he saw Wu Yuer¡¯s actions. However, he quickly suppressed his thoughts as the scene was too beautiful to imagine.

    On the other hand, Cang Yue¡¯s facial expression changed the moment Wu Yuer revealed the belt. She stared at the belt with a serious expression as her eyes glimmered with shock.

    "Yourst name is Wu?" Cang Yue spoke after thinking for a moment.

    "That¡¯s right," Wu Yuer nodded.

    "Under normal circumstances, I should be leaving right this moment. However, I cannot do that. I am under my master¡¯s orders to bring Ping Yang back regardless if she was dead or alive!" Cang Yue spoke after another moment of silence. As she mentioned thest few words, she sounded extremely determined.

    "Regardless if she was dead or alive? How could this be? Yu er, why would Yu er..." Lin Mubai muttered with a horrified expression on his face as he stared at Cang Yue in disbelief.

 Chapter 610 Going Against Fate

    Dead or alive.

    A mother requested that her disciple bring her daughter back. However, she mentioned the words dead or alive in her orders. How could this be true?

    There was a saying that goes, a tiger would never devour his own child. This was especially true for Ping Yang¡¯s mother, the respected and revered Queen of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    "Did mother... did she really say those words?" Ping Yang said in a trembling voice as her body shudder. She then bit her lips in apprehension.

    "How could I, Cang Yue, put words into my master¡¯s mouth! Have you made your decision?" Cang Yue stared at Ping Yang with a cold stare that could freeze a churning waterfall.

    "I have already told you. You are not taking Ping Yang!" Fang Zhengzhi ced his hands on Ping Yang¡¯s shoulders once again. The moment he made contact with her, he was reminded of the first time they met.

    That day, Ping Yang was wearing a purple cape. She was lifting her head arrogantly like an adolescent peacock as she handed the Snow Jade to him.

    "Take my horse to the stable and give it the best feed. Do you understand?"

    From then on, their fate seemed to intertwine in a most peculiar manner.

    Ping Yang¡¯s arrogance, stubbornness, and domineering demeanor had left an exceptionally deep impression.

    One could say that Ping Yang had many ws.

    However, this was also the person who apanied him every step of the way and even took on an attack from Ying Shan for him in the World of the Sage.

    Time and again, Ping Yang had caused troubles. Even the situation today had a lot to do with her.

    And so what?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea why he would stand in front of Ping Yang to defend her, but he did. If he had to give a reason, it might be that Ping Yang was not suitable for life in Ling Yun Tower.

    How could a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty who had enjoyed wealth andfort all her life survive in the harsh Ling Yun Tower? Cang Yue¡¯s attitude and the uncertainties led Fang Zhengzhi to this conclusion.

    "I will not let you take Ping Yang away!"

    "Me too!"

    "Cang Yue, even if you are powerful. You are alone for today!"

    Shan Yu, Yan Xiu, and Yan Qianli echoed Fang Zhengzhi in his words. Following which, Wu Yuer stood right in front of Ping Yang.

    "Cang Yue, I am indeed a disappointment to Yu er. However, I will not agree for you to forcefully bring Ping Yang back!" Lin Mubai hollered.

    As Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rose, the soldiers of the Mountain Braking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary became serious as well. They held their spears tightly in their hands.

    "We will not agree!"

    They shouted in unison.

    The royal guards and the Dragon Protection Squad had also arrived at the castle walls amidst the shouting. Each of them stared at Cang Yue and the pir that rose to the heavens.

    They had no idea what just happened.

    However, they knew that they were soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty. That was enough.

    "Oh? It is getting more interesting by the second!" Cang Yue stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s group before staring at the Yan Cloud Calvary and Mountain Breaking Army with a serious expression,

    Just as Yan Qianli had mentioned, she could not fight against the entire empire even if she was that powerful.

    "Cang Yue, leave and tell Yu er that I will never be able to redeem myself for what I did. However, I cannot allow you to bring Ping Yang back against her will!" Lin Mubai slowly rose from the ground as his eyes glimmered with a strong resolve.

    "What if I insist?" Cang Yue clenched her fist. At the same time, countless light spots surrounded her body like the stars in the milky way.

    She could not win against an entire empire. However, she was Cang Yue from the revered Ling Yun Tower. She would not admit defeat, especially in front of Lin Mubai.

    "You will not be able to!" Lin Mubai clenched his fist. At the same time, a golden dragon rose from his back, its eyes glimmering with a deadly crimson aura.

    "The Green Dragon Eye? Do you know what will happen if you do that?" Cang Yue squinted her eyes. She knew that Lin Mubai had the Green Dragon Eye with him. She even knew what it signified and hinted at.

    The Green Dragon Eye was known for its defensive capabilities. However, it¡¯s powers were not limited to merely defending. That was because the Green Dragon Eye was actually deemed as an offensive artifact.

    "I will die!" Lin Mubai replied without hesitation. At the same time, he stared at Ping Yang and her crystal-clear eyes before saying, "I will not have any regrets."

    "To think that a person as selfish as you would give up your life for a princess. That is something new. Alright then, I will fulfill your wish today! Let us die together!" Just as Cang Yue said those words, she took a step forward.

    Boom!

    Countless light spots flew into the sky and fell from the horizon, turning into a milky way that falls from the heavens. It illuminated the torrential rain in the night sky.

    "How powerful!"

    Everyone shuddered upon seeing the scene. Cang Yue¡¯s strength was way beyond their expectations.

    However, they did not retreat.

    "Kill her!"

    "For the sake of Princess Ping Yang!"

    "We will not give in!"

    War cries sounded across the area.

    Fang Zhengzhi held the Traceless sword tightly in his hands. He had no idea what Cang Yue meant when she told Lin Mubai to die together. However, he had to prevent Cang Yue from snatching Ping Yang away.

    Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli and the rest also had a serious expression on their faces. Their gaze was fixated on Cang Yue.

    "I wille with you!" At that moment, a voice rang amongst the heavy rain. A figure then managed to loosen herself from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grip and walked forward.

    The rain fell.

    Countless raindrops fell onto this figure, making her crimson gown exceptionally elegant. It stained the night sky radiantly red.

    "Princess Ping Yang..." Shan Yu stared at Ping Yang and wanted to go forward to block her way. However, after seeing the determination in her eyes, she swallowed her words.

    "Ping Yang, you cannot go with her! If Yu er did not say those words, I will definitely allow you to see her. However, now..." Lin Mubai stared at Ping Yang with a concerned expression.

    "Father, she is still my mother!" Ping Yang looked up into the horizon and the falling rain, allowing the rain to beat mercilessly on her face.

    "That was the past, but now..." Lin Mubai tried to convince her.

    "She still is and will be!" Ping Yang seemed slightly unfocused, though she sounded determined.

    "Ping Yang..." Lin Mubai was about to convince her further when he swallowed his words and sighed.

    "Ping Yang, have you decided?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang as he gripped his Traceless Sword tightly. He had no clue why Ping Yang came to this decision.

    However, he could kind of understand Ping Yang¡¯s decision.

    It was a peculiar feeling.

    "Yes," Ping Yang nodded as she said.

    "Lin Mubai, I am envious. It seems like your daughter¡¯s decision had saved your life!" Cang Yue finally stopped in her tracks after hearing those words. Following which, she turned towards Ping Yang and said, "Since you have decided, stop spouting nonsense ande with me!"

    "If Ie with you, will I be able to see mother?" Ping Yang drew her nce away from the horizon and clenched her fist as she said.

    "Yes," Cang Yue nodded.

    "Alright then, I will follow you," Ping Yang gritted her teeth as she said.

    "Haha, there is one thing I forgot to tell you. You might never be able to return after going on this trip," Cang Yue said.

    "Never be able to return?" Ping Yang shuddered at the thought as she muttered. She then cast her nce on Lin Mubai before resting her eyes on Fang Zhengzhi. She was hesitant.

    "What kind of ce do you think the Ling Yun Tower is? Do you think you cane and go as you please? Let me tell you, upon stepping foot in Ling Yun Tower, you will no longer be a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty. You will merely be an ordinary person. No one will give in to you, nor will anyone be concerned about your life and death. Are you still willing toe along?" Cang Yue snickered.

    "I... I will go!" Ping Yang bit her lips in apprehension. Inparison to her usual arrogant and haughty attitudes, she seemed extremely dejected. She still nodded in the end as she turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and said, "Shameless fellow, I won¡¯t be around anymore. You have to live on, and... Sister Yan, actually she has feelings..."

    "I will find you!" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Ping Yang as he shouted. This was the first time he felt powerless. This was not because he had to give in, nor was he afraid.

    It was because he knew that Ping Yang would still leave with Cang Yue even if he gave up his life. This was Ping Yang¡¯s decision.

    "Find me?" Ping Yang said in a surprised tone.

    "Yes, I will go to Ling Yun Tower and find you," Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "You will really find me? Didn¡¯t you say that I am arrogant and stubborn and unlikable?" Ping Yang¡¯s lips trembled as she muttered in disbelief.

    "You are unlikable, but I will still find you. You must wait for me," Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "I have to wait... alright, I will give you half a year. You must find me!" Ping Yang¡¯s face seemed to lit up at this thought, a glimmer of hope shed through her eyes.

    "Hm, take care of yourself. I might be there in a few days. When that timees, we can have a steamboat together," Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he said. A smile broke out on his face.

    "Alright!" Ping Yangughed. Following which, she quickly walked towards Cang Yue.

    "How na?ve!" Cang Yue stared at Ping Yang before casting her nce at Fang Zhengzhi, "A Supernatural State individual who only has half a year left to live is thinking ofing to Ling Yun Tower! Fang Zhengzhi, have you never heard about how a person should know his worth?"

    "I have, though I do not think you understood it well? Have you forgotten about your status as a disciple?" Fang Zhengzhi cast his nce towards Cang Yue as he hissed.

    "You have a sharp mouth, though you are still going to die soon. Half a year you say? That¡¯s right, there is no point in going beyond that time anyway," Cang Yue squinted her eyes. She did not seem enraged by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "If Ping Yang is hurt or did not manage to see her mother, I will definitely kill you! Even if you are hiding in the Ling Yun Tower, I will kill you!" Fang Zhengzhi said as he gave Cang Yue a cold stare.

    "Kill me? Haha, Fang Zhengzhi, I suggest that you take good care of yourself and enjoy the rest of your life. Do I have to remind you about your lifespan? Half a year is the maximum you can go. You understand that right?" Cang Yue chuckled as she said.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell silent.

    There was no point in saying anything further. Just like what Cang Yue mentioned, he had only half a year left. Was it possible to attain the Saint State in such a short amount of time?

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously stared at Yan Qianli.

    Saint State!

    It was a level where everyone dreamt they could achieve. However, even such an individual seemed to be insignificant in front of Cang Yue.

    Most importantly, there was also the mysterious Ling Yun Tower, Cang Yue¡¯s greatest pir of support.

    This was the gap between their powers.

    Many a time, Fang Zhengzhi felt that raw power was not the only way to resolve issues. For example, intelligence and luck could y a bigger role.

    However, this time around...

    He definitely felt the great power difference.

    Ling Yun Tower!

    Half a year?

    Would he be able to see Ping Yang again?

    "Shameless fellow, even if everyone does not believe that you wille, I do. I will wait for you! If you do note in half a year, I will extend it to a year, then two, three and so on..." Ping Yang¡¯s voice rose as her eyes became sparkling clear and a light spot glimmered within. It was small but conspicuous.

    "Ping Yang..." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang seriously for the first time in his life. He stared at the elegant crimson dress and the beautiful eyes.

    Boom! Lightning shed across the sky.

    Memories then shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. The promise he made with Ping Yang, the battle he had with Chi Guyan in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, his debt towards Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian, his brotherly love with Yan Xiu, the trust of Shan Yu, Wu Yuer¡¯s conditional support, and the thing he lost to Yun Qingwu.

    He had too many things to do.

    If he could not achieve a breakthrough in half a year, he would be dead.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist as he said, "If the heavens want me dead, I can only change my fate!"

 Chapter 611 Breakthrough, The Voice of Heaven and Earth

    The light pir that descended from the sky disappeared gradually together with the two figures. It was as though they never existed, yet they linger on, for all eternity.

    The sky was brightening up, though the rain continued to fall.

    The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Cloud Calvary started to clean up the battlefield in silence. No one spoke as they lifted the bodies off the grounds.

    They were victorious. The Northern Barbarians had retreated and King Xieluo had fallen.

    However, this was a victory that no one was happy about. That was because countless soldiers had fallen in the rain. Even Prince Li of the First Rank, a legendary figure to the Great Xia Dynasty had sacrificed himself in this war.

    Yan Qianli slowly walked towards Prince Li of the First Rank. Quickly, he arrived right in front of him before covering him in his own coat.

    Lin Mubai trembled slightly as he knelt down in front of Prince Li of the First Rank. He clenched his fist tightly upon seeing the closed eyes of his fellowrade.

    A deste grief rose from his heart. This war in the me Capital City had destroyed the castle walls and the city gate, all of which could be repaired.

    However...

    The death of Prince Li of the First Rank, the usurpation of the throne by the Crown Prince, the revolution led by King Duan andstly, the emotional grief in his heart were things that needed time to heal.

    Most importantly, Ping Yang was taken by Cang Yue. Lin Mubai felt a sense of loneliness from the depths of his heart.

    Although the throne was a seat ridden with loneliness to begin with, this did not mean that Emperors needed no emotionalforting.

    "Who do I ce my trust in from now on?" Lin Mubai looked up slightly and allowed the rain to wash over his face. He had lost all whom he trusted and those whom he loved.

    If he had to narrow down his choices, the only one left was Xing Yuanguo.

    However, Xing Yuanguo¡¯s talenty in the military. As the head of the Thirteen Constabries, Xing Yuanguo¡¯s undoubtedly had talent in the field. These talents usually would not participate in the political decision-making processes.

    Lin Mubai could not possibly hand the entire reins of the military to Xing Yuanguo despite his trust.

    How could he save this boat filled with holes?

    Lin Mubai felt his body go weak. This Emperor was restless and dejected. He could only stand with Chen Feihua¡¯s support.

    "Where is the First Dragon Envoy, Yan Qing?"

    "Here!" A figure quickly walked forward after hearing Lin Mubai¡¯s words. It was Yan Qing.

    "Apart from the Crown Prince and King Duan, where are the rest of my children?"

    "Your Majesty, from what I know, the Seventh Prince had led his guards in a fight at the West Pce gate. However, as the number of his guards were insufficient, he did not seed. The Eleventh Prince did not attack the pce, he stayed in the City to console the citizens. As for the Ninth Prince..."

    "What about him?" Lin Mubai sensed something amiss as he frowned.

    "Ninth Prince... has left the city. Just when the Northern Barbarian Army attacked, the Ninth Prince took the chance to leave!"

    "What? This useless brat, to think he would escape his responsibilities!" Lin Mubai trembled with rage as he hollered. How could he contain himself when his son had escaped when me Capital City needed him the most?

    "Your Majesty please take care of your health!" Yan Qing stared at Lin Mubai¡¯s face and immediately knelt onto the ground. As a member of the Dragon Protection Squad, his role was to protect the Emperor. Apart from that, they were tasked to keep an eye on all his children. One could say that they wield great power.

    However, that was also why they could not enter the political scene, or even appear in the morning court sessions. They were also forbidden to gossip about happenings in the pce and could only report the truth.

    "It¡¯s fine, let him go!" Lin Mubai stared at the kneeling Yan Qing and shook his head in disapproval. He was too tired to even feel anger.

    "Your Majesty, I¡¯m afraid this battle is not over!" At that moment, Xing Yuanguo appeared in front of Lin Mubai. He cast his gaze to a distant ce and frowned.

    "What do you mean?" Lin Mubai stared at Xing Yuanguo and felt slightly more reassured.

    "When I reached the city gate, I already saw smoke arising from all the Pinnacle torch. I predict that all our troops are heading towards me Capital City right this moment. I am not worried about the other areas, but the Northern Lands... The Divine Lord is now in the capital and Su Qing is the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabries. If I am not wrong, the Northern Barbarian Army might be..."

    "Yes, that is exactly the thing I was worried about. I am afraid the Northern Barbarian Army had already reached the Northern Lands by now. This war is truly not over!" Lin Mubai nodded as he sighed, looking into the Northern Lands in the distant.

    The torrential rain fell and washed away the blood spilled on the battlefield.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not in a good mood. However, when he saw Lin Mubai and Xing Yuanguo approached him, he still politely bowed.

    "Zhengzhi... I, the Emperor, have to thank you on behalf of the citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty!" Lin Mubai stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an inexplicable expression as he said.

    "Has Su Qing escaped?" Fang Zhengzhi cast his nce towards the Northern Lands instead of Lin Mubai as he said.

    "Yes."

    "I want to take a trip to the Northern Mountain Vige."

    "I understand. However, the Northern Lands is not safe at the moment. If you don¡¯t mind, you can go to the Northern Lands with Yuanguo as the advance party. I will appoint the Dragon Protection Squad to escort you. What do you say?"

    "Thank you, but Yan Xiu alone is enough," Fang Zhengzhi shook his head politely and declined.

    "Hm, that will do as well. Zhengzhi ah, I know you are..." Lin Mubai was just about to say something when a voice appeared behind him.

    "I have to meet the Emperor!"

    "Let me see the Emperor!"

    "What is going on?" Lin Mubai frowned as he turned to look behind him.

    A man with a small stature was struggling within the arms of several royal guards. He was holding a letter in his hand, waving it around fanatically.

    "Your Majesty, he is a servant of the Ninth Prince Residence. He ims that the Ninth Prince has a letter for you!" The royal guards quickly replied.

    "Ninth Prince, that useless brat left a letter? Drag him away, I do not want to read it!" Lin Mubai waved his hand and dismissed it immediately.

    "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince did not run away. He really didn¡¯t! Your Majesty only have to read this letter to understand the situation!" The servant became agitated after hearing Lin Mubai¡¯s words and shouted in denial.

    Lin Mubai did not speak immediately. He stared at the servant for several seconds before he said, "Give me the letter!"

    "Yes!" A few royal guards took the letter from the servant¡¯s hand and quickly delivered it to Lin Mubai.

    Fang Zhengzhi remained silent as he witnessed the scene.

    Yan Xiu and Shan Yu remained silent as well. They stood beside Fang Zhengzhi with a peculiar expression on their faces.

    As for Wu Yuer, she was looking at a distant spot in the opposite direction while deep in thought.

    The letter had reached Lin Mubai¡¯s hands.

    Lin Mubai did not hesitate to tear open the letter. He nced briefly through the contents as the frown on his face slowly disappeared.

    "Your Majesty, has the Ninth Prince went to the Northern Lands?" Xing Yuanguo stared at Lin Mubai and asked.

    "Yes, he went to Golden Scale City!" Lin Mubai nodded and replied after a moment of silence.

    "So that¡¯s how it is. He has made a great contribution then. Although Su Qing is the Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, the Ninth Prince is a member of the royal family. The moment he set foot in Golden Scale City, our troops would listen to his orders!"

    "Yes," Lin Mubai nodded his head in satisfaction.

    The letter was one of apology, seeking forgiveness for his sin of forging a fake royal decree. Clearly, the Ninth Prince wanted to seize the authority over the Northern Lands troops using this decree.

    This was a great sin.

    However, Lin Mubai knew that he could not me him for his actions. Not only would he not do that, he even realized that there was a useful person beside him all along.

    The battle of me Capital City happened extremely suddenly.

    Only under such circumstances could one¡¯s crisis management abilities be put to the test.

    Trying to barge into the pce to save the Emperor was a good move, consoling the citizens was amendable act as well. However, these acts were only temporary measures.

    A leader looks at the big picture.

    Amidst the chaos of the me Capital City, one would not be able to aplish much with a title as insignificant as the Ninth Prince.

    However, just as what Xing Yuanguo had mentioned, he was still a member of the royal family. While his influence was limited in the capital city, it would bepletely different in the Northern Lands.

    "Your Majesty!" At that moment, Yan Qianli walked towards Lin Mubai and stared at Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi before bowing respectfully.

    "King Yan, how are your injuries?" Lin Mubai stared at Yan Qianli and returned the greetings. His eyes glimmered with concern.

    "It¡¯s nothing serious," Yan Qianli shook his head. Following which, he cast his nce to the North and said, "I have already ced a troop of heavy armored knights along the borders between Western Liang and the Northern Lands. I have given orders for them to attack the Man Ling Guan of the Holy Barbarian Empire the moment they sensed something is amiss."

    "This... Prince Yan had saved the Great Xia Dynasty!" Lin Mubai was startled at this sudden turn of events. He was obviously pleased.

    "I seek forgiveness for deploying the troops on my own ord!"

    "Prince Yan, you are being way too humble. How could I not understand your actions!"

    "Hm, Your Majesty might have to walk the rest of the road on your own. I do not n to return to Western Liang after this," Yan Qianli said as he nodded.

    "Is Prince Yan going to..."

    "Yes."

    "I understand," A hint of sadness shed through Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes as he replied. However, he recollected himself after a while and knelt down to send off Yan Qianli.

    Yan Qianli did not stop Lin Mubai from doing so. He allowed him to finish his formalities before stretching out his hand to help him up.

    "Your Majesty, since Prince Yan had already nned beforehand and the Ninth Prince had already set off, please give your orders now!" Xing Yuanguo stared at the brightening sky and clenched his fist as he said.

    "Alright, Listen up!"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    "I appoint Xing Yuanguo as themander in chief. The Mountain Breaking Army and all other troops are to rush to Golden Scale City immediately to assist the Ninth Prince in his fight against the Northern Barbarians.

    As the torrential rain fell, a small group could be seen riding their war horses across the ins. The red cloud logo on their chest sparkled in the pouring rain.

    They were the Yan Cloud Calvary.

    Four horses led the way.

    They were Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Shan Yu and Wu Yuer.

    The raindrops fell on their heads as mud sshed each time the horse¡¯s hooves fell. The four of them kept their gaze to the front, leaving a trail of their inconspicuous hoofprints.

    There were over ten ck figures behind them as well. Each of them was equipped with a long sword which glimmered with a slight radiance.

    "Young Master, the escaped Northern Barbarian Army is still two miles away!"

    "Alright," Yan Xiu nodded his head as he replied. He then nced at Fang Zhengzhi from the corner of his eye. Somehow, he felt that Fang Zhengzhi had changed.

    Usually, Fang Zhengzhi would not ept Lin Mubai¡¯s proposal immediately. More specifically, even if he would ept it, it would be tied with some conditions.

    But this time around...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not propose any conditions.

    What would he do in half a year?

    Yan Xiu subconsciously tightened his grip on the reins and hollered, "Su Qing, you will not escape!"

    ...

    A huge battle had begun in a forest around 80 miles away from me Capital City. Over 3000 Yan Cloud Calvary rushed into the defensive fort of the Northern Barbarian Army andpletely destroyed them.

    The Northern Barbarian Armyy on the ground with their bloodstained armor as they stared at the Yan Cloud Calvary in front of them in disbelief.

    The traps that ced had no effect at all.

    How did they do it?

    They had no idea, but they knew that there was no turning back. The battle was over.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, even if you kill me, the Holy Barbarian Army had already stepped into the Northern Lands, we will not lose!" Su Qing shouted in a fanatical tone.

    "That¡¯s a shame. There is no turning back once I stepped into the Northern Lands," Fang Zhengzhi stared at Su Qing and remembered the time when they first met.

    At that time...

    Su Qing had a smirk over his face, a smile that seemed to suggest he had everything under control. However, that arrogance was now reced by a horrifying realization.

    Was this how power worked?

    Fang Zhengzhi stared into the horizon as he fell into a deep thought. Su Qing had been known for his intricate tactics and ns. In fact, he was a lot better at these schemes than Fang Zhengzhi was.

    But he was now cowering in fear in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Absolute power.

    Fang Zhengzhi had Wu Yuer, Yan Xiu, Shan Yu, the ck figures from the Shadow Sect and the Yan Cloud Calvary with him. This conclusion of this battle was clear.

    Ling Yun Tower?

    Perhaps he would be in the same state in front of Ling Yun Tower.

    "It seems like I have truly lost this time." Su Qing sighed.

    "Tell me, where is Qian Wu?"

    "Qian Wu? Haha, you will see him soon, you definitely will!" Su Qing was startled at first before he burst out into a fanatical fit.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, do you need me to help you?" Wu Yuer¡¯s voice rose at that moment. Her seductive eyes shone with a murderous intent.

    "There is no need to, I will do this myself," Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he said. Following which, a sinister purple light glowed from the Traceless Sword, emitting a humming sound.

    The purple light then slowly made its way into Su Qing¡¯s heart.

    A trail of fresh blood flowed from Su Qing¡¯s mouth as he grabbed the Traceless Sword tightly. His eyes shone with rage and bitterness as he did so, though he eventually sumbed to his fate.

    Silence!

    The rain stopped and golden sunrays shone through the horizon.

    ...

    Half a monthter, the stars shone brightly in the night sky.

    A golden temple sat atop a towering mountain that seemed to rise into the heavens. It stood quietly in its ce, emitting an inexplicable authority, as though it was looking down upon the lost souls of the earth.

    On top of the temple, the two words, Heavenly Dao, could be seen shining in the night sky.

    At that moment, a light rained down from the horizon. It was like a shooting star, though it seemed different. That was because it illuminated the skypletely.

    Most importantly, a voice seemed to whisper amongst the light. It was something like a low rumble which appeared deste and ancient.

    Boom! The heavens and earth rumbled.

    At the same time, a figure hastily appeared in the backyard of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. Her pink dress fluttered in the night sky and a white silk belt could be seen around her waist. Her beautiful hair draped along her shoulders. She was truly a stunning beauty.

    The figure was extremely fast.

    She reached the horizon in an instant.

    Following which, a peculiar thing happened. The figure collided with the star, though it did not seem like a terrible ident, but a heavenly and long-awaited reunion.

    It was as though they belonged together in the first ce.

    "Look, the sky!"

    "Could that be..."

    "Yes, it is our junior!"

    "This sounds like the voice of the heaven and earth, could junior have..."

    Everyone gazed into the sky and stared into the dissipating brilliance. Each of them had an expression of shock on their faces.

    At that moment, the brilliance in the horizon had disappeared and turned into specks of tiny light. They then congregated onto her forehead.

    Under the illumination of the light, a beautiful and exquisite face appeared. She had porcin-like skin and a pair of bright eyes.

    It was an arrogant beauty that allowed her to look down on mortals on the earth.

    How stunning!

    "Miss!" A young woman d in an emerald dress shouted from the backyard. She stared at the figure in the horizon in joy as she said, "Thedy is out!"

 Chapter 612 Divine Rain Pond

    "Is it a breakthrough?" A figure said as he looked up from the za of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. His white schr robes fluttered elegantly in the wind.

    It was Nangong Hao.

    "Junior Nangong, to think that she has also achieved a breakthrough less than a month after you. We seniors are truly an embarrassmentpared to the both of you, " A middle-aged man who had the two characters Heavenly Dao on his chest sighed.

    "Senior is too humble, "Nangong Hao merely shook his head and muttered. He gripped the translucent long sword in his hand tightly.

    "We are not being humble. Junior Nangong had received private lessons from the master since his first day in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. It is not something we can ever hope to match up to," The middle-aged man smiled and said nothing more.

    At that moment, the figure in the horizon fell gracefully into the backyard once again. Her pink long dress flowed gently as she descended.

    A small spot of light could be seen on her forehead, illuminating her gorgeous features.

    The figure slowly lifted her head and walked gracefully forward. She stood out even amongst the bed of flowers, making the other blossoming beauties pale inparison. This was because she was the Pride of the Heavens, Chi Guyan.

    "Miss, you have finally achieved a breakthrough. The Pavilion Leader had visited many times, he says if..." The woman in green dress, Yue er, walked forward in excitement upon seeing Chi Guyan.

    "Did anything happen in the Great Xia Dynasty?" Chi Guyan waved her hands slightly and interrupted Yue er.

    "Yes, something big happened!" Yue er nodded and immediately continued, "Lord Hou had sent several letters. From what I know, the Great Xia Dynasty just fought a war with the Holy Barbarian Empire!"

    "The Northern Barbarian Empire had been nning this all these years. This is not surprising," Chi Guyan nodded and replied calmly.

    "Miss is right," Yue er said before presenting the letters respectfully to Chi Guyan. She then said, "This war seems to be started by the Crown Prince when he tried to usurp the throne. In the beginning..."

    As Yue er continued with her story, Chi Guyan frowned.

    "The Northern Barbarian made use of this chance tounch a surprise attack. They even employed the help of a Demon King? Prince Liqin of the First Rank is dead as well..." Chi Guyan felt slightly depressed at this news and went into a daze.

    "Yes, the old lord is killed by the Demon King. However, this is still the fault of the Northern Barbarians!" Yue er clenched her fist in anger as she stared at Chi Guyan.

    "Continue on."

    "Yes!"

    "Qian Wu used the Near-Life Gate to summon the Demon King. At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi that shameless brat, oh... I mean, Young Master Fang appeared..."

    "You say that Ping Yang was taken by people from Ling Yun Tower?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes were sparkling with brilliance by the end of the story.

    "Yes, the person who took her away was Cang Yue from Ling Yun Tower. This has already been confirmed. Princess Ping Yang is in Ling Yun Tower right now. The credit for this information belongs to Young Master Nangong. He just achieved a breakthrough around a month ago. Upon hearing this news, he had helped me gather more information," Yue er said.

    "Nangong Hao also achieved a breakthrough as well?" Chi Guyan expression changed slightly as she cast her nce in the direction of the Great Xia Dynasty before continuing, "What is the situation now?"

    "It is already over. Prince Yan had ced heavy armored knights in ambush at Man Ling Guan. Upon receiving orders, they destroyed the capital city of the Northern Barbarian Empire, trapping the ten thousand strong army in the Northern Lands and depriving them of food and other resources. The King had no choice but to ask for a peace settlement from the Great Xia Dynasty and pay for all the damages caused by the war," Yue er spoke with a sense of pride, especially when she reached the end of the story.

    "Hm," Chi Guyan nodded and said nothing more. She then lifted her head slightly and stared into the horizon, saying, "That shameless fellow has less than half a year to live?"

    "Yes, I heard that Young Master Fang was seriously injured in the battle of the Southern Region. If he cannot attain the Saint state in half a year, he might not be able to live. Miss understands this as well, it is not easy to reach that state. Furthermore, he is still at the Supernatural State and had not progressed in a year or so, I¡¯m afraid half a year..."

    "Yue er, you said that the Pavilion Leader is looking for me?"

    "Yes, the Pavilion Leader asked for you to meet him at the Divine Rain Pond the moment you are out. Yue er heard amazing stories about the Divine Rain Pond. After Nangong Hao entered the pondst month, he became stronger than all of the seven seniors. Nangong Hao even left many letters that described his experience in the Pond of the Sage. Miss, please pardon me for saying this, but I feel that Nangong Hao is your... Hey, where are you going? The Pond of the Sage is to the right!"

    "I¡¯ll be going out for a while," Chi Guyan seemed as though she did not hear Yue er.

    "Oh, are you going to the Star-Gazing Peak?"

    "No, I am descending the mountain."

    "Descending? Miss, it is less than a month and a half¡¯s time to the biannual election of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. Are you going to pay respects to Prince Li of the First Rank of the Great Xia Dynasty?"

    "Old Lord!" Chi Guyan shuddered and hesitated for a while before she shook her head and said, "No, I have to make a trip to ck Moon Ind."

    "ck Moon Ind? Why is miss going to ck Moon Ind? That is the world of the Nine Pinnacle Mountain. I heard that the ck Moon Ind had extremely strong security as there is a Thousand Year Fire Herb on top of the mountain. It was rumored to have regenerative capabilities. Is Miss going to get that revered herb?"

    "I wille back in a month and a half¡¯s time."

    "Young miss, are you really going? The Pavilion Leader is still waiting for you at the Divine Rain Pond. Even if you have to go to ck Moon Ind, it will not be toote after your trip to the pond."

    "Time is running out!"

    "Time? Hm, usually, it takes ten days upon entering the Divine Rain Pond. A trip to the ck Moon Ind takes around two months. I think we have time! Young miss can first go to the Divine Rain Pond and make a trip to the ck Moon Ind after the election!"

    "He will arrive at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion in a month and a half¡¯s time!"

    "Him? Who?" Yue er stared at Chi Guyan in confusion. She did not understand the meaning of her words.

    Chi Guyan fell silent as she continued walking forward. A few momentster, her figure hadpletely disappeared into the night, leaving only traces of the night breeze.

    Yue er stood dumbfounded in her original position.

    Is time running out?

    Will he be arriving in a month and a half¡¯s time?

    Who could it be?

    Wait a minute!

    Could it be Fang Zhengzhi?

    Yue er¡¯s eyes widened upon that thought. Her face paled as a dangerous idea shed through her mind.

    ck Moon Ind, one and a half month, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrival!

    The Thousand Year Fire Herb!

    When these terms were connected by an idea, Yue er felt a shiver down her spine. This was because the joke that she had made earlier seemed to being true.

    Chi Guyan was really going to the ck Moon Ind for the Thousand Year Fire Herb!

    "Young miss... young miss is really going to get the Thousand Year Fire Herb for that shameless brat. This cannot be, how could she do such a thing? She is the Pride of the Heavens!" Yue er shuddered at the thought as perspiration dripped from her forehead. She muttered, "No, I have to inform the Pavilion Leader immediately. Young miss, I do not mean to betray you, but there are three sages on ck Moon Ind!"

    Great Xia Dynasty, Northern Lands, River of Trust Residence, Huai An County, Northern Mountain Vige.

    As a small vige close to the Cang Ling Mountain, the Northern Mountain Vige was not ravaged by air like the River of Trust Residence and Huai An County.

    The mountains were still filled with lush greenery and the water was clear and pristine.

    A winding stream could be seen from the vige entrance. A small fish iled about in the river, reflecting the glorious sun rays.

    "The Northern Mountain Vige sure is lucky!"

    "yes, the road from Huai An County to Northern Mountain Vige is simply too wide. I have heard that the Northern Barbarian Army had already reached the city gate of Huai An County when they were stopped forcefully.

    "What do you mean? Didn¡¯t the Yan Cloud Calvary arrive then?"

    A few farmers were discussing the events of the war while going about their daily chores.

    "Shut up!" At that moment, a figure appeared behind these farmers. The figure had wrinkles all over his face and looked extremely weathered, though his back was still unusually straight.

    "Chief!" The few farmers immediately shouted with respect. That was because this figure was the chief of the Northern Mountain Vige, Zhang Yangping.

    Ten years ago, Zhang Yangping brought Fang Zhengzhi and his family to the Northern Mountain Vige, which enabled it to flourish and prosper. The vigers were extremely grateful to him.

    "What do you mean by the Yan Cloud Calvary? There was none of those! The Yan Cloud Calvary did note to the Northern Barbarian Vige, do you understand!" Zhang Yangping shouted with his hands by his waist. He was clearly infuriated.

    "This..." The few farmers exchanged nces quizzically and asked, "Chief, why is this so? It was clear that the Yan Cloud Calvary..."

    "Are you guys trying to kill Fang Zhengzhi?" Zhang Yangping hollered.

    "Of course not..."

    "Then stop asking! Do you not know how important military matters are? Why would the Yan Cloud Calvary not rush to Golden Scales City immediately and made a detour to the Northern Mountain Vige during a war? We know that Fang Zhengzhi is helping us. But does the Emperor know? Deploying the military troops on his own ord and dying the pace of the battle is a serious crime!" Zhang Yangping became more agitated as he spoke, a the end, he even started choking on his words.

    "Chief, we understand now! Please calm down!"

    "Yes, we are clear after hearing your exnation. This is bad. The Emperor probably will not let him off easy."

    "I heard that Fang Zhengzhi is already a Rank 3 courtier. That is a very high-ranking. The Emperor would probably look at his previous contributions and give him a lighter sentence.

    The farmers had a look of worry on their faces after listening to Zhang Yangping.

    At that moment, the sound of horse hooves kicking the ground could be heard. A few hundred soldiers d in golden armor then appeared in their field of vision.

    "Not good, they are here!"

    "It looks like the royal guards. The Emperor is here to charge Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "This is all because of us. We cannot let the Emperor me Fang Zhengzhi for this. We must protect him with our lives!"

    Zhang Yangping stared at the golden armor as the expression on his face changed. If they were ordinary soldiers, he would not have been this worried.

    After all, ever since the Northern Barbarian Army infiltrated the area, they had seen too many of them.

    However...

    The soldiers standing in front of them were clearly of a special identity. The golden armor was the trademark of the royal guards from me Capital City. Their motive was obvious.

    Hundred over royal guards quickly arrived in front of Zhang Yangping and the farmers. They then stopped in their tracks as theirmander quickly scanned the area.

    "May I ask if you are vigers from Northern Mountain Vige?" The royal guard asked after a few moments.

    "Yes, I am the chief of Northern Mountain Vige. I didn¡¯t know that the royal guards were passing by. Please forgive me for my bad hospitality!" Zhang Pingyang replied and knelt down immediately.

    "Chief? Oh, please rise. Our motive this time around is to meet with Master Fang. Can I trouble the chief to bring us there?" Themander immediately dismounted from his horse and helped Zhang Yangping up.

    "Master Fang?" Zhang Yangping¡¯s eyes darted around. Following which, he smiled and said, "I think the royal guards are mistaken. There is no one called Master Fang in the Northern Mountain Vige."

    "The chief must be joking around. We are here to meet Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Oh, Zhengzhi? He... is not around!"

    "The chief is really a humorous guy. We are here upon a royal decree. I hope that the chief can lead us to him!"

    "Royal Decree? Then he is really not around!" Zhang Yangping immediately answered upon hearing those words.

    "Really not around?" Themander squinted his eyes upon hearing those words. After which, he mounted his horse and said, "Since the chief is not willing to lead us there, we will have to find Master Fang ourselves!"

    After amand, the hundred over royal guards continued on their journey and walked past Zhang Yangping, heading in the direction of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    On the other hand, Zhang Yangping stood dumbfounded in his original position. He did not expect the royal guards to barge into the vige to look for Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was merely an ordinary viger. How could he block the way of the royal guards?

    "Chief, what do we do now?" The few farmers rushed into the Northern Mountain Vige with a worried expression on their faces.

    "Wait a minute, I think we dug some traps at the entrance to our vige..." Zhang Yangping finally recollected himself after a while. He then remembered something.

    "Yes, we dug some!" The farmers nodded in agreement.

    At that moment, the sound of a horse whimpering in pain could be heard. The second cry then followed, then the third...

    Zhang Yangping was horrified.

    The farmers who were with him also turned pale immediately. Apart from them, Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing right at the entrance of the vige and holding half a meat bun in his hands was also startled by what he saw.

 Chapter 613 Level Up Again and Again

    "Ah, ah..."

    Screams of pain echoed across the Northern Mountain Vige. Gravels and mud flew in all directions and covered the entire area in a cloud of dust.

    It was an ident.

    The royal guards never expected to encounter so many traps at the entrance to the Northern Mountain Vige. Conversely, the vigers also had no idea that the royal guards would pay a visit to the vige.

    The charging horses fell right into those traps before the royal guards could put a stop to it. Some of them who were riding on the horses also became victims of this ident.

    The whimpering of the horses and cries of pain could be heard clearly at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige. It was a peculiar sight.

    Themander naturally would not die from just a simple trap. He quickly got out from the amateurish trap and saw a figure d in a humble cotton robe standing in front of him. It was Fang Zhengzhi who was holding half a bun in one hand and a dustpan in the other.

    At that moment, he was dumbfounded.

    "Master Fang?" The royal guard never expected to see Fang Zhengzhi in this state.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s predicament had already spread throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

    Only half a year left...

    Shouldn¡¯t he be using his time wisely? Why is he not putting in an effort to attain the Saint State?

    Why would he be standing at the vige entrance casually with a dustpan in his hand?

    Fang Zhengzhi still managed to swallow the rest of his bun amidst the shock. Following which, he carefully ced his dustpan onto the ground before he patted the dust off his body.

    He naturally recognized the attire of the royal guards, though he did not give it much attention. He merely lifted his head to look at the beautiful morning sun and muttered, "What beautiful weather."

    Themotion at the entrance of the vige naturally attracted the rest of the vigers.

    The vigers crowded around the area and watched as over hundred royal guards climbed out of the trap with their disheveled faces,

    "They are the royal guards right?"

    "Yes, I heard that the royal guards are the private protection squad of the Emperor. They are tasked to protect the pce. Why would they be here?"

    "The chief said that they might be here to charge Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Charge Fang Zhengzhi? But why? Zhengzhi is a Rank 3 Official now, why would they do that? Furthermore, Zhengzhi had made great contributions in the Southern Region!"

    "I heard it is because he deployed the soldiers on his own ord..."

    "How can this be? Zhengzhi finally returned to the Northern Mountain Vige after so long. We cannot let them have their way. We have to protect Zhengzhi with our lives!"

    Countless vigers stood in front of the royal guards as they became immersed in their discussions. Each of them had a wary expression on their faces.

    Zhang Yangping and the farmers had also reached the entrance at that moment. As they stared at the disheveled royal guards, they felt even more uneasy.

    They had the impression that the royal guards were here to capture Fang Zhengzhi. If they had treated them well in this period, they might also treat Fang Zhengzhi better. However...

    Look at what they have done!

    How do they salvage this situation?

    What if the royal guards vent their frustration on Fang Zhengzhi on their way back to the capital city?

    "Commander of the royal guards, we have no idea you guys wereing, the traps..." Zhang Yangping stared at the ground and fell silent.

    "There is no need to apologize. It is due to our negligence that we fall into these traps. This has nothing to do with the Northern Mountain Vige!" Themander immediately replied upon hearing Zhang Yangping¡¯s words. He then walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and said, "Master Fang, the Emperor has a royal decree for you!"

    "Royal decree?"

    "Oh royal guard, is the Emperor going to me Fang Zhengzhi for deploying the troops on his own ord?"

    "This is entirely the fault of the Northern Mountain Vige and has nothing to do with Fang Zhengzhi. Please put the me on us instead!"

    Zhang Yangping and the farmers paled upon hearing themander¡¯s words.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi walked forward. He then helped Zhang Yangping up from his kneeling position and cast his gaze on the royal guard before saying, "Speak!"

    "Speak?"

    The vigers stared at each other in shock. Shouldn¡¯t the usual protocol of receiving such decrees require Fang Zhengzhi to kneel down?

    Speak...

    What did he mean?

    Just when the vigers were about to reprimand Fang Zhengzhi for hisck of manners, themander of the royal guards took out a golden scroll. He seemed unfazed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    "Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Fang Zhengzhi, had made great contributions in the battle of me Capital City, protecting the dignity and safety of the nation. He will be conferred the title Commander of An Bei City, Protector of the Masses. He will also be conferred the Imperial History achievement and be elevated to a Rank 2 Official!"

    "Commander of An Bei City?"

    "Protector of the Masses?"

    "The Imperial History Achievement!"

    The vigers could not believe their ears when they first heard those words. They actually have no idea what all those titles meant.

    However, they understood the most important part.

    Rank 2 Official!

    Fang Zhengzhi was now a Rank 2 Official!

    That was equivalent to the rank of the Six Council Officials!

    Not only did the royal guards ignore Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mistake, they even gave him a higher rank in court! This was something that all the vigers did not expect.

    However, after a moment of silence, a crisp voice could be heard.

    "Chief of the Northern Mountain Vige, Zhang Yangping, thank the Emperor for this heavenly grace on behalf of Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "Thank you for the heavenly grace!"

    Cries of respect for the Emperor¡¯s benevolence echoed through the area. Each of the vigers had tears in their eyes as they bowed towards the East.

    "Rank 2 Official?" Fang Zhengzhi muttered as he stared at the kneeling vigers. He wanted to stop them from doing so, though he knew that his words would fall on deaf ears.

    It would be preposterous if he wanted them to receive a royal decree while standing like him. If he chose his words wrongly, he would even be reprimanded by Zhang Yangping afterward.

    There was no helping the situation.

    Though it waspletely understandable.

    At that moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard once again. Following which, another group of royal guards appeared in their field of vision.

    "Why are there more royal guards?"

    "Did the Emperor change his mind?"

    "It cannot be? Didn¡¯t they say the Emperor should not go back on his words?"

    "Could the Emperor be giving two separate royal decrees? I heard that the Emperor is a man of fairness. Fang Zhengzhi had contributed to the war, which entitled him to rewards. However, he would also be charged for his errs."

    The vigers stared at the iing royal guards as their expression of joy turned serious.

    Quickly, the second group of royal guards arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi and the vigers.

    "Master Fang, you have a royal decree!" The second group of royal guards stared at their disheveled counterparts with a confused expression on their faces.

    However, they did not probe further. They quickly stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi and took out a golden scroll.

    "Speak," Fang Zhengzhi muttered once again.

    This time around, the vigers had gotten used to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brazenness. However, they were extremely nervous when they saw the golden scroll.

    "Commander of An Bei City, Holder of the Imperial History Achievement, Fang Zhengzhi has quelled the chaos in the Northern Lands and protected countless lives. He will be conferred the title of Chief of An Bei, Protector of the masses, Honorary Imperial Protector, Sub-Rank 1 Official!"

    "Sub-Rank 1?"

    "With the Honorary Imperial Protector title?"

    "Chief of An Bei!"

    If the previous royal decree was enough to make them surprised and shocked, the content of this royal decree was simply unbelievable.

    Sub-Rank 1 Official!

    What else could be more prestigious than a Sub-Rank 1 Official!

    If there was a family that managed to produce a Sub-Rank 1 Official, it was an achievement that they could brag about for generations. How could anyone in such a small vige in the Northern Lands have dreamt of such glory?

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi had done it.

    Fang Zhengzhi, a person who was born into a poor family in the Northern Mountain Vige, had be a Sub-Rank 1 Official of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even if it was not a full Rank 1 Official yet, this still called for a huge celebration.

    "Thank Your Majesty for the heavenly grace!"

    "Zhengzhi ah, Zhengzhi... quick, thank the Emperor!"

    "Yes, Zhengzhi, don¡¯t¡¯ just stand there. Quick, this a such a good title. The Emperor had conferred upon you the title of the Chief of An Bei!"

    "The Northern Mountain Vige is truly blessed. We did not even have an official previously, but now, we have a Sub-Rank 1 Official!"

    The vigers were extremely excited, some of them even shedding tears of joy. Even though this glory belonged solely to Fang Zhengzhi, their bodies still trembled from the news.

    Fang Zhengzhi then stared at the agitated vigers as heid out his hands helplessly. Kneel? How long must he kneel for?

    "There is more!" Fang Zhengzhi said as he pointed to a spot far away.

    "More?" Zheng Yangping and the vigers immediately turned to look in the direction where Fang Zhengzhi was pointing. Following which, they saw another group of royal guards in golden armor.

    "The Emperor has ordered that due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s glorious performance, he would be named as the General of An Bei, Protector of the Masses, National Councillor, Imperial Protector and a full Rank 1 Official!"

    "National Councillor!"

    "Did I hear National Councillor?"

    "Full Rank 1 Official!"

    "A general has appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige! It is an important general at that!"

    Zheng Yangping¡¯s face went red from the excitement. He had never been so agitated in his life. Rank 1 Official, National Councillor and the General of An Bei.

    This was almost as high as rankings go in the Great Xia Dynasty!

    There were probably no other titles that could be better than this.

    How old was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was merely 18 years old and was already the National Councillor of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could anyone believe such a preposterous news?

    He knelt and muttered his thanks.

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers fell speechless. Only smiles remained on their faces, smiles as bright as the golden sunrays.

    However, it didn¡¯t take long...

    Before their smiles froze.

    That was because they saw another group of royal guardsing. Their golden armor reflected the blinding sun rays.

    "There¡¯s more?"

    "He is already the National Councillor, what else is there?"

    They merely felt nervous and afraid for the first three times. However, they did not know what to feel for this one.

    Was there a higher ranking than a Rank 1 Official?

    However...

    What else could there be? That was not possible. Rank 1 Officials already held the most power in court. Furthermore, he was already the General of An Bei.

    No one could fathom this sight.

    The royal guards once again appeared in front of them. The over hundred royal guards hadpletely filled the small Northern Mountain Vige. Themander of the most recent royal guards took some time to squeeze through the crowd before he arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Master Fang, you have a royal decree!"

    "Speak," Fang Zhengzhi fell speechless. He could tell that this was a deliberate act by Lin Mubai.

    He couldpletely understand the reasons behind them.

    Since the creation of the Great Xia Dynasty, ranking promotions were bound by a stringent set of rules. If Lin Mubai did not want too many objections to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s elevation, he would have to promote him through the ranks.

    He was merely a Rank 3 Official at the beginning.

    Lin Mubai had to slowly promote him first to a Rank 2 Official, then to a Sub-Rank 1 Official before he reached a Rank 1 Official.

    Step by step.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the ring sun in the skies. If he was merely a Rank 9 Official, how many promotions would it take before Lin Mubai would be satisfied?

    "General of An Bei, National Councillor Fang Zhengzhi had made great contributions to the nation. The Emperor has conferred upon you the title Lord of An Bei. Your mother Qin Xuelian will be conferred the title of Rank 1 Imperial Decreed Lady, and your father Fang Houde as Master of Ceremonies cum Imperial Tutor."

    "Lord? Fang Zhengzhi is now a Lord!"

    "Even sister Xuelian is conferred a Rank 1 Gao Ming title! Houde is also now a Tai Chang Schr. Oh, my lord, the Northern Mountain Vige is blessed!"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were already feeling thirsty from all the cheers and celebratory hollers. However, they still could not contain the excitement within themselves and continued to shout with their raspy voices.

    At that moment...

    Another group of royal guards appeared in their field of vision. Dust flew behind them as they charged forward, their golden armor shining brightly as usual.

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers froze in their tracks.

    At that moment, they naturally would not think that the Emperor was here to offer a punishment. That was because Fang Zhengzhi was already conferred the title of the Lord of An Bei.

    However, what other titles were there?

    "Lord of An Bei Fang Zhengzhi, please receive your royal decree!" Themander of the royal guards squeezed through the crowd and arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi after many struggles. He then took out a golden scroll from his armor soaked in his perspiration.

    "Are there any more of you?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at themander and quickly nced behind him. Unfortunately, his field of vision waspletely blocked by the horde of royal guards.

    "This... I do not know, my lord!" Themander seemed startled by the question and carefully shook his head as he replied.

    "Forget it, speak," Fang Zhengzhi sighed and merely looked in the direction of me Capital City and said, "Damn it, I have been doing this for over half an hour. The meat buns have already gone cold!"

 Chapter 614 Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s Decision

    "Lord of An Bei, Fang Zhengzhi, had made great contributions to the country. He is a role model for all officials. While I, the Emperor sat in the throne room, I have heard exceptional praises about Lord Fang. I now bestow the River of Trust Province, Huai An County, and Cang Ling Mountain areas to the Lord of An Bei, conferring him the title of Prince Cang, giving him authority over all activities in the Northern Lands Five Constabries. This will be a hereditary title!"

    "Prince Cang?"

    "Hereditary title!"

    "Huai An County to the Cang Ling Mountains! And everything within the Northern Lands Five Constabries?"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers stared at the royal guards in front of them in shock.

    A Prince with a differentst name!

    This was the first Prince with a differentst name that was younger than 18 years old. Furthermore, he was born in a poor and humble ce like the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    What exactly did he do in me Capital City?

    They could understand if Fang Zhengzhi was conferred the title of a Rank 1 Official and even the Lord of An Bei. However, it was simply preposterous that he had gotten the title of a Prince with a differentst name.

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige around a month ago as a refugee. However, after returning in just over a month...

    Was he already conferred the title of a Prince?

    How could anyone ever hope to fathom such an incredulous thing?

    "Zheng er is now a prince, he really is... Houde, our Zheng er is now a Prince with a differentst name. He is Prince Cang..." Amongst the people, Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice could be heard. She was tearing up from all the excitement she felt.

    Fang Houde, who was standing beside Qin Xuelian, allowed his wife to shake his arms as tears welled up in his eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel how agitated his parents truly were. He had the urge to tell them that it was merely a title and there was no need to make a ruckus out of it.

    Though he swallowed his words.

    He was afraid that he would be called an unfilial son.

    "Congrattions, Prince Cang!" The royal guardmander kept the royal decree and handed it over to Fang Zhengzhi. He was being exceptionally respectful.

    "I thank the Emperor for his heavenly grace!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he said, taking the royal decree into his hands. He then disyed it in front of the crowd.

    He had once asked for a huge residence more than 100 miles in radius from Lin Mubai.

    Naturally, this meant that he wantednd.

    Now that Lin Mubai had given him the area stretching from Huai An County all the way to the Cang Ling Mountains, he had fulfilled his promise.

    After disying the royal decree, Fang Zhengzhi cast his gaze into the horizon once again. A group of people appeared in his field of vision once more.

    Fang Zhengzhi froze in his tracks.

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers were simply awe-stricken.

    "There is more?"

    "He is already Prince Cang, what else is there?"

    "I don¡¯t think this has ever happened in the history of the Great Xia. Prince with a differentst name is already the highest position before the Emperor himself. It cannot be that the Emperor is giving him the throne, or is it?"

    No one could understand why there were more people arriving after Fang Zhengzhi was conferred the title of Prince Cang. Furthermore, this group was clearlyrger and more majestic than the previous ones.

    A crimson silk could be seen on the horses as over ten carriages trotted forward in two neat lines.

    "It is the prince!"

    "The person at the front is the prince!"

    Swiftly, Zhang Yangping and the vigers had recognized them. The person leading the way was clearly d in a court attire.

    "It seems like this is really thest one," Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ninth Prince Lin Yun as he approached the entrance to Northern Mountain Vige and heaved a sigh of relief.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by the arrival of Ninth Prince Lin Yun to congratte him on his title. However, the crimson silk ced on the horses was slightly surprising.

    It did not take long for Lin Yun to arrive in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Respect to Prince Cang!" Ninth Prince Lin Yun greeted Fang Zhengzhi before he could even speak, jumping down from the back of his horse swiftly.

    "Prince Xian is too humble. You are already Prince Xian of the First Rank now. There is no need for you to greet me when we meet," Fang Zhengzhi stared at Lin Yun and smiled.

    "Oh, he is the Ninth Prince who protected Golden Scale City."

    "Be quiet, he is already Prince Xian of the First Rank!"

    "Yes, that¡¯s right..."

    Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, the vigers looked at the youngd in front of them in a new light. After all, the news of Prince Xian Lin Yun of the First Rank leading a troop to defend Golden Scale City against the Northern Barbarian Army was already known through the entire Northern Lands.

    "Prince Cang has done much more than me. If not for Prince Cang, the Great Xia Dynasty would already cease to exist, nor would there be the presence of Prince Xian. Father had also mentioned to treat you with the same respect that I have for him. Naturally, I should be the one to greet Prince Cang!" Lin Yun did not straighten his body upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and kept his head low.

    "No matter the contributions, we are all simply officials of the court. This stays the same even after we are given the title of a prince!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and said before picking up the dustpan on the ground. He then continued, "However, this is my territory, the Northern Mountain Vige. If Prince Xian does not mind, we can do the court ritual right here!"

    "Alright!" Prince Xian quickly nodded and replied. Following which, he cast his gaze at the dumbfounded vigers before saying, "But I have to first pass the royal decree to you!"

    "There¡¯s more?"

    Zhang Yangping and the vigers exchanged nces in confusion. They already knew Lin Yun¡¯s identity, but what other royal decrees could there be?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched upon hearing this news.

    After the battle of the Southern Region, he was conferred the title of a Rank 3 Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites. However, after the battle of me Capital City, he had been elevated to the status of a Prince with a differentst name. This was already the greatest recognition. This much should already be enough.

    Even further up?

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Lin Yun and the royal guards behind him once again. His gaze was drawn to the crimson silk on the horse¡¯s back.

    In an instant, he seemed to have understood.

    Damn it!

    Fang Zhengzhi cursed in his heart. He had never predicted Lin Mubai to use this tactic. Was he trying to force him into an arranged marriage?

    Which noble or official¡¯s daughter did Lin Mubai trick?

    "Hm, can I not ept this royal decree?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the royal decree in Lin Yun¡¯s hands helplessly.

    "Not epting it? Why?" Lin Yun blinked his eyes and gave a perplexed expression.

    "For over ten years in the me Capital City, you have been putting up a fa?ade for the rest. You can take it off now that you are in Northern Mountain Vige," Fang Zhengzhi hissed at Lin Yun.

    Lin Yun coughed and stared at the confused expressions on the viger¡¯s faces andughed, "This is a secret royal decree from father. He says that he would not force you to ept this royal decree as well, though... would you really not consider this?"

    "Why would I have to?" Fang Zhengzhi pouted as he said.

    "The Thirteenth Princess!" Lin Yun whispered into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears, "You should have heard of her name. She is the most doted daughter of Lin Mubai now, second only to Ping Yang! Furthermore, she is extremely beautiful and is only one year older than you!"

    "That cannot be. The Emperor is betrothing the Thirteenth Princes to me?" Fang Zhengzhi had thought of the arranged marriage idea, though he never imagined that it would be the Thirteenth Princess.

    After all, he had heard some things about the Thirteenth Princess while he was in the me Capital City.

    The Thirteenth Princes was Lin Mubai¡¯s daughter that was born a year earlier than Ping Yang. She was the youngest Princess at that time, which exined the attention she got from Lin Mubai.

    However, after Ping Yang was born, Lin Mubai shifted his attention from her.

    Even so, the Thirteenth Princess still had a good reputation in the pce. Most importantly, she waspletely different from Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was arrogant and spoiled.

    While the Thirteenth Princess was elegant and graceful.

    Not only was she adept at ying instruments, chess, reading, and drawing, she could also sing and dance. She was the dream girl of every noble in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    After all, there was really not many who wanted to marry Ping Yang.

    "Hm, the Thirteenth Princess is now living in Huai An County. The moment you ept this royal decree, you can choose any day toplete the marriage. That should not be a problem, am I right?" The Ninth Prince urged Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Let me consider!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body stiffened as he said.

    He had a dream of marrying an elegant and gentle woman as his wife. This woman had to be talented and demure.

    Clearly...

    The Thirteenth Princess was a perfect candidate.

    Furthermore, she was already in Huai An County right now. He merely had to ept the royal decree to enjoy a night of pleasure anytime he wanted. Should he ept this offer?

    Fang Zhengzhi hesitated.

    "You are still considering?" Lin Yun was in disbelief as he gasped. He then leaned forward to whisper into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears, "You have to think about the Fang family even if not for yourself!"

    "For the Fang family?"

    "Yes! If you marry the Thirteenth Princess, who gets so much attention from father, your parents and children will enjoy riches andfort for generations toe!"

    "So that¡¯s how it is!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he replied.

    He could understand Lin Mubai¡¯s intentions now. By giving him the Thirteenth Princess, Fang Zhengzhi could better anchor his status as a hereditary noble.

    He had to apud Lin Mubai for his vision.

    However, something feels amiss.

    It was clear that Lin Mubai was hinting at something, He had less than half a year left to live and hence, he should take this chance to give birth to a child to ensure the continuity of his family line.

    That was what Lin Mubai was saying.

    "Prince Cang, do you understand father¡¯s intentions now?" Lin Yun stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nodding head as his eyes brightened. He then took a step backward.

    "I understand now," Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Alright then, Prince Cang, please receive your royal decree!" Lin Yun disyed the royal decree once again and immediately got to reading it.

    However, before words could escape his mouth, a figure appeared right in front of him. Her ck veiled dress fluttered amidst the cool breeze.

    Lin Yun stared at the woman in front of him in shock. His attention was drawn to the speck of sand on her forehead. He then stared at the Fang Zhengzhi, who was clearly dejected.

    At that instant, he finally realized what Fang Zhengzhi meant when he said he had to consider.

    "Prince Xuan, what kind of royal decree is Fang Zhengzhi receiving?" The woman squinted her eyes and stared menacingly at the decree in Lin Yun¡¯s hands.

    "That, actually... there is nothing of that sort!" Lin Yun¡¯s eyes darted around and quickly put away the royal decree into his armor.

    "Could the Majesty be arranging Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s marriage?"

    "No, definitely not!"

    "Then... why are there crimson silk draped over all the horse¡¯s back?"

    "It is a celebration!" Lin Yun said as cold sweat formed on his forehead. He scanned the surroundings before continuing, "This is to celebrate Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s new title as Prince Cang. We are afraid that the Northern Mountain Vige do not have enough crimson silk drapes!"

    "So that¡¯s why! It must be a tiring journey!" The woman nodded as she replied. Following which, she turned around and said, "Prince Xian, please stay in the Northern Mountain Vige for lunch."

    "Alright, I will be imposing on you today!" Lin Yun replied.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared silently at Wu Yuer¡¯s figure and sighed. He clearly understood Lin Mubai¡¯s intentions, but would Wu Yuer be able to?

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was never too concerned with other issues. His only concern was that Wu Yuer still seemed to be around.

    This would be a chaotic night in Northern Mountain Vige.

    Over hundred royal guards sat in the za and chatted casually with the vigers of Northern Mountain Vige. The fire crackled lively as the stars shone in the night sky. Laughter could be heard from miles away.

    In the middle of the za...

    Fang Zhengzhi and his parents as well as Wu Yuer, Prince Xian and the chief sat around a table. Compared to other tables, this table seemed a bit empty.

    The six of them carried smiles on their faces.

    No one discussed serious issues. As it was gettingte, Fang Houde returned home with Qin Xuelian¡¯s support. The chief also went back home to rest with the help of several vigers.

    After which...

    The za was significantly less crowded.

    There were still some royal guards and vigers drinking and ying games.

    Prince Xian then frowned and pulled down his fa?ade at that moment. He knew that Yan Xiu and Shan Yu were no longer in Northern Mountain Vige. However, he did not expect Wu Yuer to be present.

    He cast his gaze on Wu Yuer and swallowed his words.

    "Does Prince Xian has something to discuss with Fang Zhengzhi? If there is, please go ahead! I am not an outsider!" Wu Yuer stared at Lin Yun¡¯s expression and said nonchntly.

    She said that she was not an outsider...

    Who in the world says that about themselves?

    Lin Yun stared at Wu Yuer¡¯s sincere expression before turning to look at the silent Fang Zhengzhi. In an instant, he seemed to understand something.

    Shamelessness is contagious!

    "Prince Cang... are you really going to stay in northern Mountain Vige the entire time?" Lin Yun spoke after a long moment of silence and a shot of alcohol.

 Chapter 615 The True Meaning Behind the Heavenly Prophecy

    Fang Zhengzhi knew exactly what Lin Yun meant.

    However, he did not answer Lin Yun immediately. Instead, he stared into the night sky and asked, "How is the Crown Prince and King Duan doing?"

    "Third brother and Sixth brother are now imprisoned in the Heavenly Jail. There should be a verdict for their case soon. However, father has been in a bad mood recently..." Lin Yun stopped when he reached that part.

    He also understood why Fang Zhengzhi did not answer his question directly. However, he still could not help but disy a tinge of sadness when talking about the Crown Prince and King Duan.

    The royal family had been gued by the fight for the throne seat since ancient times. The rtionship between siblings in the royal family was thus a lot more fragile than normal families.

    However, they were still brothers.

    For two of his brothers to enter the Heavenly Jail in one day was a depressing news. Furthermore, they were likely to receive the death sentence. Lin Yun was bound to feel some emotions from this.

    Fang Zhengzhi lightly nodded his head upon hearing those words and did not probe further. As if the usurpation of the throne by the Crown Prince and the revolution led by King Duan was not bad enough, Ping Yang was also brought to Ling Yun Tower.

    These three issues were way top heavy for the Great Xia Dynasty to handle at one go. Both Lin Mubai and Lin Yun must not be feeling good.

    "Since Prince Xian is asking if I will continue to stay in northern Mountain Vige, I believe that you have one more royal decree with you?" Fang Zhengzhi asked after a moment of silence. He then lifted his cup and sipped a mouthful of alcohol.

    "Yes!" A sparkle of shock shed through Lin Yun¡¯s eyes before he recollected himself. He said, "The Heavenly Dao Pavilion is holding an examination in a month and a half¡¯s time. Father had told me to give this token to you. You will have the right to enter in the examination with this."

    "There should be anothermand from him apart from this token." Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "Yes, father mentioned that if Prince Cang does not want this token and decides to give up on the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination, the court would not interfere in the way Prince Cang manages the Northern Land Five Constabries within this half of the year. This includes the management of all officials and even finances!"

    "Haha, is the Emperor allowing such tant corruption to happen?" Fang Zhengzhiughed upon hearing those words.

    "I will be direct since there are no outsiders here. Prince Cang had saved countless lives and even the entire Great Xia. Father wants to repay Prince Cang with all his heart. After all, the heavenly grace and titles are merely temporary things. The only thing that really matters is the prosperity and development of the dynasty!" Lin Yun did not seem to refute Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s im, replying nonchntly.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell silent.

    He understood Lin Yun¡¯s words. Lin Mubai had left the management of the Northern Land Five Constabries to him. This alone was enough to show his intentions.

    Of course, his intentions were not that simple.

    This time, the Northern Barbarian Empire sent a thirty thousand strong army to infiltrate the Great Xia Empire. These troops had made their way through the Northern Land Five Constabries. Although this had a lot to do with Su Qing¡¯s betrayal and the Crown Prince¡¯s usurpation ns...

    It was impossible to deny theck of regtion within the Divine Constabry.

    Most importantly...

    When the incident happened, Chi Hong was also in me Capital City.

    Lin Mubai was not a gullible person. Chi Hong had made use of the excuse of escorting Fang Zhengzhi to sneak into me Capital City to help King Duan. This alone was clear enough.

    Although Chi Hong did not seem to be directly involved in King Duan¡¯s betrayal, who could be sure that Chi Hong had no knowledge of this?

    Handing the management of the officials in the Northern Lands Five Constabries to Fang Zhengzhi was part of Lin Mubai¡¯s recognition and reward. However, it also meant that he wanted Fang Zhengzhi to weed out the corrupted officials and regte the system.

    The Great Xia Dynasty was affluent. The finances of the Northern Lands Five Constabries was simply chump change.

    There was an ancient saying that went, the entire world beneath the heavens belonged to the Emperor. Why then, would it matter where the finances go? He could shuffle it around as much as he¡¯d like.

    Betrothing the Thirteenth Princess.

    As well as giving Fang Zhengzhi half a year to enjoy the riches of the Northern Lands while regting and expanding its prowess.

    If this went ording to n...

    Fang Zhengzhi would die in half a year¡¯s time. Following which, the authority that Fang Zhengzhi wielded would fall into the hands of the Thirteenth Princess. His children would still be considered a descendant of the royal family, making them at the very least a Prince or Princess of the First Rank.

    Furthermore, Yan Xiu was now Prince Yan, ruling over Western Liang.

    Northern Lands and Western Liang would then be safe under the control of people he trusted.

    A perfect trinity of grace, power-bnce, and politics.

    Lin Mubai had yed a good hand this time around. No wonder he did not hesitate to betroth the Thirteenth Princess. If it was any other daughter of a noble family, Fang Zhengzhi might not even consider it.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s predictions were right, Lin Mubai had already discussed the future ns of the Northern Lands Five Constabries at length with the Thirteenth Princess, including the management of officials and deployment issues.

    After all, everyone knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not put much effort into the management of the Northern Lands. It was only natural for the Thirteenth Princess to hold some of the power and initiative.

    Naturally, these things had nothing much to do with Fang Zhengzhi to a great extent.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi merely had half a year left to live. From his perspective, he was merely marrying an elegant and beautifuldy, having countless exciting nights, and enjoying the power and wealth he wielded as Prince Cang. He would even have a great reputation and make his name known for generations toe after he died.

    This was also what Fang Zhengzhi was aiming for all this time.

    Why would he refuse such an offer?

    "I will pass on the management of the Northern Lands Five Constabries, I prefer my freedom," Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he politely declined Lin Yun.

    "You will still have freedom even when you are managing the Northern Lands Five Constabries. The court will not interfere with how you manage it. In fact, if Prince Cang does not wish to be involved in the specific things, you can even..." Lin Yun stopped halfway before he sighed. Following which, he said, "I understand. Since Prince Cang has made up his mind, I will not say more. This is the token to enter the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination!"

    Lin Yun took out an intricately crafted wooden token as he spoke. The two characters Heavenly Dao could be seen carved on one side of the token.

    On the other side, there were countless intricate cloud patterns.

    "I will pass on this token as well," Fang Zhengzhi took over the token and fondled it for a while before pushing it back to Lin Yun.

    "You will pass?" Lin Yun eximed.

    The reason why he did not continue persuading Fang Zhengzhi previously was due to the determination he saw in his eyes.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was saying that he did not want the token!

    This was something he could not understand. Why would he not want both the Northern Lands Five Constabries management rights and the token?

    "Yes, I do not want it," Fang Zhengzhi said as he nodded his head.

    "Is Prince Cang not taking part in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination? If so, why is Prince Cang not willing to ept the royal decree? In fact, this thing..." Lin Yun seemed to be reminded of something as he cast his nce onto Wu Yuer sitting at the side. He then fell silent.

    "It has nothing to do with her," Fang Zhengzhi stared at Lin Yun¡¯s expression and knew exactly what he was thinking about.

    Wu Yuer merely lifted her head slightly in arrogance and gave a slight sound of displeasure before falling silent again.

    Lin Yun was even more confused at this scene.

    He knew what Wu Yuer¡¯s identity was. That was exactly why he thought Fang Zhengzhi would have some reservations about Wu Yuer. He had even thought of making both Wu Yuer and the Thirteenth Princess Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wife.

    This was something preposterous for a royal family.

    However, he had no choice but to make such a decision. Furthermore, he knew that Lin Mubai would not object to this suggestion.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi mentioned that it had nothing to do with Wu Yuer.

    Why was that so?

    "If this has nothing to do with the Shadow Sect Leader, then I have no clue," Lin Yun said. He truly had no idea this time around.

    "From Prince Xian perspective, what are the chances for me if I take part in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination this time around?" Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    "This... I do not know much regarding the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination. This is because I was never allowed to watch it. Only father, Third brother and Sixth brother had the authority to do such a thing in the past. Of course, from my perspective, although Prince Cang is merely a Supernatural State individual, you have at least a seventy percent chance of passing it!" Lin Yun said earnestly.

    "I don¡¯t feel that way," Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Is Prince Cang unconfident? Hasn¡¯t Prince Cang always..."

    "The Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination is different. They are extremely focused on the six virtues, six actions, and six arts. The question changes every single year as well. One could say that passing the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination requires insane luck and personal cultivation."

    "I feel that with Prince Cang¡¯s personality, it would be..."

    "That is also merely a part of the problem. I am not particrly worried about this. However, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion probably have gotten news about my lifespan. Does Prince Xian really believe that they would ept a person with less than half a year left to live?" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Lin Yun as he said.

    "This..."

    "Furthermore, even if I am really taken in, do you think the heavenly Dao Pavilion will provide me with resources? In other words, would the Heavenly Dao Pavilion believe that in half a year, no, make that four months, I would only have four months left after passing the examination. Do you think that Heavenly Dao Pavilion would bet on my reaching the Saint State after four months?"

    "This is..." Lin Yun fell silent.

    He could understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying. Although the Heavenly Dao Pavilion was known for its fairness and justice, treating all disciples equally regardless of their background...

    How couldplete fairness and justice exist in the world?

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion would not spend time and effort to ept a disciple that could die at any moment. Furthermore, as what Fang Zhengzhi said, even if he scored well int eh examination and forced his way into their ranks...

    What should he do after that?

    The best-case scenario was to be treated equally as other disciples, though most likely he would be treated as a trophy disciple until his death.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want either oue.

    "Then... how would Prince Cang do this? Are you nning to not take the examination?" Lin Yun finally asked after a few moments of silence.

    "No, I will take part."

    "Then why is Prince Cang so adamant on taking the examination?"

    "This is a promise!"

    "A promise? But, how are you going to take part without the token? Furthermore, Prince Cang had mentioned that the chances of you getting epted are extremely slim."

    "Under normal circumstances, that would be the case!"

    "I do not understand... how is Prince Cang going to enter the examination?"

    "This is still a question that I do not have an answer to," Fang Zhengzhiid his hands out helplessly. Following which, he stared into the horizon and said, "Isn¡¯t there a saying that goes a person¡¯s fate is controlled by his own two feet? Only by taking one step at a time can I figure out the road underneath my feet!"

    "A person¡¯s fate is controlled by his own two feet..." Lin Yun muttered this sentence repeatedly as his clouded and confused eyes slowly lit up. He then eximed, "I understand now! In that case, I think there is something Prince Cang should know."

    "Please speak, Prince Xian."

    "Is Prince Cang familiar with the Nangong family?"

    "You mean Nangong Hao?"

    "Yes, there is something Prince Cang might not know. Although the Nangong family resides within the Great Xia Dynasty boundaries, they are not bounded by the empire¡¯s rules and regtions!"

    "Not bounded by rules and regtions?" Fang Zhengzhi squinted his eyes. He had no idea that this was possible, more specifically, this thought had never crossed his mind.

    "Yes, the Nangong family had an extensive history that extends even further than the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, it is rumored that Nangong Hao had achieved a breakthrough a month ago. If Prince Cang is really going to Heavenly Dao Pavilion, it might be better for you to make friends with Nangong Hao rather than be his enemy."

    "Friends? Nangong Hao and I don¡¯t seem to be on bad terms to begin with."

    "That is merely on the surface. There has been a famous saying in the Great Xia that Prince Cang must have heard, The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    "Yes, of course."

    "Does Prince Cang know the true meaning behind this heavenly prophecy?"

    "The true meaning?"

    "Yes!"

    Fang Zhengzhi did not ask for an answer immediately. He merely tapped his hand lightly on the table. After some time, he said, "From what I know, this heavenly prophecy is only rted to Chi Guyan, are you telling me it has something to do with Nangong Hao as well?"

    "Yes!" Lin Yun nodded his head seriously as he replied.

 Chapter 616 Understanding the Heavenly Prophecy

    It was night time.

    Peace gradually returned to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Stars were shining brightly in the sky, and the beautiful silver moon brightened the night sky and the viges on the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi was lying on a chair on top of the roof. He gazed at the stars twinkling, lost in thought.

    Lin Yun had already went to rest.

    Wu Yuer wanted to continue pestering him, but she was rejected as Lin Yun¡¯s words were still echoing in his ears.

    "The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!"

    "That¡¯s the real meaning behind it!"

    "It must be rted to Nangong Hao!"

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion was not foreign to Fang Zhengzhi, as Chi Guyan¡¯s name had been the top one in the Hidden Dragon Roll as well as the Rising Dragon Roll in the previous years.

    Rumours had always been spreading in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Lin Mubai had said that he would wait till the Heavenly Prophecy made its proper appearance to announce that the Double Dragon Roll Champion belonged to Heaven Army General.

    No one could defy what he said!

    Fang Zhengzhi had came to know about this matter since many years ago.

    However, he did not understand much about the significance of this matter.

    Why would Lin Mubai be so confident in awarding the precious Heaven Army General position to a man who had not even turned 18 years old? Just by listening to a mysterious Heavenly Prophecy?

    Back then.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion on this matter had stopped at the level of "faith", just like the other Buddhism and Taoism.

    He believed because of this faith.

    Lin Mubai believed in the truth of the Heavenly Prophecy, hence the faith and him wanting to hand over this important role.

    But what Lin Yun had said earlier made him realise a whole new level of understanding in this matter.

    "King Cang, to be honest, it doesn¡¯t matter whether the Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world, it is all about peace!"

    "Peace?"

    "Yes, it is about peace!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyelids starting feeling heavy, and he moved his body slightly, resting his head on the back of the chair as the light shone on his face.

    Peace!

    There were certainly many kinds of interpretations to this.

    Calm, stable, safe,ck of threats, all these could be considered as peace. It could also mean a harmonious country, and a stable job.

    In addition, stability,fort and tranquility were also peace.

    Lin Yun had stated the gist of the Heavenly Prophecy.

    But he missed out on the meaning of "Peace", since he did not know much about it. Or so to say, nobody understood the real meaning behind it.

    Since that was a Heavenly Prophecy.

    Hence...

    There would only be wild guesses.

    The Great Xia Dynasty guessed that it would mean stability, thus Lin Mubai had decided to hand the Heaven Army General position to the Double Dragon Roll Champion. That should be able to stabilise the country.

    But that was just a guess.

    No one would know about the truth behind this.

    Although the Nangong Nobles and the Nangong Hao were clearer about what Lin Yun had said, they thought it was about "fate".

    The fate in the Nangong Nobles had all tied in together with the Heavenly Prophecy.

    To be more straightforward.

    The Nangong Nobles were the ones who understood the whole Heavenly Prophecy.

    These were all beyond his expectations, as he had always assumed that it should be exined by the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Why would it be the Nangong Nobles?

    It didn¡¯t make sense.

    More importantly, why did the Nangong Nobles have such high authoritative credibility about their exnation of the Heavenly Prophecy?

    There were other big Dynasties beside the Great Xia Dynasty, such as the Holy Barbarian Empire, the Mingyue Empire and the Wu Ji Empire. All these empires had such strong influences and territories, and the Great Xia Dynasty was of no contest to them.

    However...

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    This statement was indeed about the Double Dragon Roll Champion.

    In other words, since the Heavenly Prophecy was about the Double Dragon Roll from the Great Xia Dynasty, the Double Dragon Roll Champion muste from there!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt confused, but that didn¡¯tst long, as he had thought of a possibility.

    That is, the Heavenly Prophecy was only spreading within the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, Lin Yun had told Fang Zhengzhi about how the date reserved for the Heavenly Prophecy was on the day of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. The Pavilion Leader had verbally promised that once the "Chosen One" had been confirmed by the Heavenly Prophecy, he would take on the responsibility to teach what he had learnt before.

    That sounded a little exaggerated.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know much about the Heaven Dao Pavilion, but he understood the moment he looked at the moon from the Ling Yun Lou.

    The Ling Yun Lou and the Heavenly Dao Pavilion were both powerful influences in the Dynasty.

    Then...

    That led to the question.

    Given their strong influences, why would they believe in what the Nangong Nobles had interpreted? Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion Leader himself had some doubts.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fingers subconsciously tapped on the back of the chair, creating a soft rhythmic sound in the silent night.

    At this moment, "ding!" An ethereal sound suddenly rang in the air.

    It was the sound of fiddling strings of an instrument.

    Momentarily, pleasant music of strings ying filled the air, blending in with the sky, with the whole earth.

    When its speed was slow, it sounded like a small flowing river.

    Just like the small river at the front of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    When its speed was fast, it sounded like a magnificent mountain.

    Just like the Cang Ling Mountain behind the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The melodious sounds of the strings were very soothing.

    Finally, Fang Zhengzhi stopped looking at the sky and slided down slowly on the chair, while he looked at the stars shining brightly from afar.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was unlike the me Capital City.

    That was because nobody would know how to y the strings. Their expertise was with the cotton flowers.

    Of course.....

    The Northern Mountain Vige not only had its local citizens, but also the Royal Guards who rushed back from the me Capital City, but would they know how to y the strings?

    Possibly.

    But it was highly improbable.

    Besides them, there were also Wu Yuer and original Nh Prince, Lin Yun.

    Talking about Wu Yuer¡¯s strings skills.

    There could only be a way in describing her skills, and that would be terrible.

    As a leader in the Shadow Sect, her terrible skills were already indescribable. What was worse that instead of feeling ashamed, she felt proud of them.

    She said, "My goal is to get silver, silver, silver! When I have all these silver, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid to get people to y the strings for me."

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was a waste given that Wu Yuer had a slim and delicate hand, hence he suggested gathering all the musically talented people toe together.

    Until......

    The Seven Stars Lane was founded!

    It had be the most beautiful scenery in the me Capital City in just a short time span of one year. Wu Yuer had contributed quite a considerable effort to this.

    "Lin Yun, ying strings?"

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head when he thought about this. He had to admit that Lin Yun drank quite a bit today. He was also aware that while Lin Yun had great musical talent, his expertise was in horsemanship.

    Most importantly.......

    Lin Yun was staying at a ce near to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige.

    However, the sound of the strings came from afar. Judging from the distance, this sound shoulde from outside the vige and not from Northern Mountain Vige.

    It was neither the Royal Guards, nor Wu Yuer or Lin Yun.

    Who else could it be?

    Fang Zhengzhi squinted, he had always ced his attention on things that were more beneficial to him.

    But he had the same thinking as Wu Yuer on this matter.

    The strings?

    He had no understanding on all these!

    He could only admire and appreciate the way they y the strings, although his standard could not bepared to the other talents were able to interpret the story behind a song.

    Moreover, the sounds of the string seemed even further than expected.

    Which was even more difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to figure out who was ying it.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s certainly had his way of appreciating music. He might not know who was the one ying it, but he could easily tell that the skills were amazing.

    "Could it be a top talent in the world?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up as he thought about the few talented musicians in the past years.

    Often, when a highly skilled individual faced troubles, there would always be a extraterrestrial hero who appeared suddenly, pathing the way with its light.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was in such a situation now.

    Firstly, he was a highly skilled individual.

    Secondly, he was in danger and only had half a year to live.

    Thirdly, he felt confused now.

    Honestly, he couldn¡¯t help but felt confused. It would sound nice on the outside, but it wasn¡¯t easy to break through.

    If it was possible to break through...

    He wouldn¡¯t have stayed at the Supernatural State.

    Too difficult.

    To put it bluntly, the journey from the Northern Mountain Vige to the me Capital Vige, and from thetter to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, would take up close to a month¡¯s time, even if he were to rush.

    Half a year¡¯s time could easily pass by.

    Time had flew past so quickly for the past half a month, ever since he left the me Capital Vige. However till now, Fang Zhengzhi had not felt a single sign of breaking through.

    Rebirth?

    What should be done to be able to be reborn?

    How to attain a Sagely State?

    Fang Zhengzhi always had the intention of breaking through, and in fact because of that, he thought of many possibilities to help make it happen. For example, falling down from a cliff, for which he thought might kickstart his potential.

    Or, finding treasures under the cliff.

    In fact, he might even find some tomb room or cave that was left behind by an immortal. No matter where he went, he would receive a reply, "Its you, you, must be you! I had been waiting for you!"

    What a joyous break through!

    Fang Zhengzhi never thought that this method was old fashioned. Honestly, he did not care much about all these. He was willing to do anything just to let himself experience the feeling of breaking through.

    However...

    Where were the treasures and the cliffs? Where would the immortals and the caves be at? He had went around the Northern Mountain Vige for many days, but failed to find any.

    He was too familiar with the ce.

    He was raised up in the vige since young, hence he was familiar with the whole of Cang Ling Mountain, and not just the bottom of it. He would have been able to locate it 5 years ago, if such a ce were to really exist.

    Runaway?

    Should he head towards the north of the Northern Mountain Vige or towards the south?

    Or start from those deserted ce?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought about that before, just that he always believed that the possibility of seeing one would be very low. Although, this kind of situation had been verified by countless "predecessors" and "ancients".

    However, they both let him felt differently.

    He did not want to sit and wait around.

    Let alone asking him to roam around to find it.

    In addition, he would need to get moving soon, towards the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, toplete a promise he set to years ago.

    "Ding!" The melodious music stopped.

    Silence hung in the night air once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched, as he had not really expected any hero to appear suddenly to give him advice.

    But he couldn¡¯t help but felt a tinge of disappointment when the strings stopped.

    Was there really no bit of hope?

    "Ding!" Just as Fang Zhengzhi was feeling disappointed, the strings started ying again. What was different now, was that they sounded like rain drops, dripping and touching his soul at the same time.

    The rain was apanied by the blowing wind, gently scratching his face and blowing clothes.

    "Extraterrestrial hero?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth moved, as his eyes shimmered. "I don¡¯t care who you are. Even if you¡¯re a devil, show yourself!"

    "SHIEWW!"

    A sound creeped past him.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing on the second floor of the small courtyard, immediately disappeared in ce. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure appeared again on a roof not far away.

    Landing on his toe on top of the roof.

    "Shiew!"

    It was the slight sound again.

    The night breeze, blew against the sleeves of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s long garments. The bright moon, shining on his face, showed the glow on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quick and swift.

    From his house, to the outside of the Northern Mountain Vige, he did not waste too much of his time, before he set his feet on the external area of the vige.

    He quickly scanned his surrounding, attempting to listen carefully.

    Fang Zhengzhi started moving again.

    He slowed down this time round, as he had found out the direction towards the sound of the strings. It was near.

    "If it was really the extraterrestrial hero, what would my first words be? Should I act like a foolish individual, or an intellectual yboy?" Fang Zhengzhi began thinking about all those as he walked towards the direction of where the sound wasing out from. He felt nervous about what was going to happen.

    That was really difficult!

    He did not know about the taste, the gender, size and the age of this person. He knew nothing about this person.

    It was really hard to be "prescribed for remedy" in this situation!

 Chapter 617 A Relief, No Troubles

    It was near!

    As the sound became even clearer, Fang Zhengzhi could tell that he was close to the "talented person". The sound of the strings sounded nice and pleasing to the ear.

    That fitted the image of a "talented person".

    But...

    Why was there a sense of familiarity?

    As Fang Zhengzhi took another step closer to the direction of the sound, the sense of familiarity increased and it was stronger than before.

    Hold on!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body jerked, and he stopped moving forward.

    At his front, a looming figure slowly revealed itself as he approached it. He could now hear every detail of the sound of the strings, it was near.

    Fang Zhengzhi was certain that if he continued to take a few more steps forward, he was able to see the whole figure.

    However, he decided to not go any further.

    He turned back vigorously, and began rushing back to the Northern Mountain Vige without any hesitation.

    "Why are you in such a hurry, since you¡¯re already here?" A voice spoke up behind his back. That was a pleasant voice, and it sounded as smooth as the water flowing down, into his soul.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped again.

    He hesitated.

    The truth was, he had already figured out who was the one ying the strings, and that was hence the reason of his hesitation.

    Yun Qingwu.

    This woman had many suitors in the Great Xia Dynasty. While she had no feuds with Fang Zhengzhi, she was not within his circle of friends too.

    When he had seen Yun Qingwu for the first time, his heart was at ease.

    After mastering all the skills he could and leaving the Northern Mountain Vige, he bumped into a singer dancing elegantly at the Hundred Flower gathering.

    He felt equally relieved when he saw Yun Qingwu for the second time.

    While he was standing in Yun Qingwu¡¯s territory, but he had the confidence in him, and there was nothing impossible with this level of confidence.

    He challenged Yun Qingwu in their second meeting, during which he attempted to reach out to reveal her face behind her veil. He had also tried to show his tough personality by telling Yun Qingwu that he was not feeling panicky at all.

    As for the third time...

    He no longer felt at ease.

    Because there was a group of people standing behind her. They were the Supernatural State, the Rebirth State, and other multiple strong warriors, all of whom had the utmost respect for her.

    More importantly, there were countless devils waving their spears too.

    Fang Zhengzhi almost "exploded" during his fourth encounter with Yan Qingwu.

    That was because of a blind man named Canyang standing beside her. He could barely remember how he had survived that battle.

    In fact, during his past half month in the me Capital City, he encountered many opportunities to meet Yun Qingwu, but it all ended with a mere brush-by.

    Then...

    There was the fifth meeting.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have any intention to escape towards the Northern Mountain Vige, but he also did not want to have this fifth meeting.

    He had no idea who was standing beside Yun Qingwu this time round.

    But he was certainly aware of one thing.

    Yun Qingwu would never appear alone in the Northern Mountain Vige, as the 10 Devilish Domain in the Demon Blood Shadow City would forbid such a happening.

    "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s your intention of making your appearance in the Northern Mountain Vige, or whatever new n you have, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯ste in the night now? Fang Zhengzhi finally opened his mouth to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to be involved in any battles with the Demon Race, as he had few remaining time left.

    "Why would you think that I camete?" Yun Qingwu spoke again, her voice calm and peaceful.

    "Because I¡¯m dying soon, so if you were nning to use the Northern Mountain Vige to coerce me, you could have arrived a little earlier!" Fang Zhengzhi reasoned back.

    "Do you really think I need the Northern Mountain Vige just to attack you?" Yun Qingwu asked.

    She was always this peaceful, always of such high status. She did not care about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s misunderstanding at all.

    Still so pretentious!

    Fang Zhengzhi let out a sigh under his breath.

    Of course, it might just be her personality.

    Afterall, given her high status, she had no choice but to look calm andposed at times. Fang Zhengzhi did not detest this facade she had been putting on.

    In fact, he admired this character that she had been carrying.

    There were times when a woman had to fake her charm. If all the women in the world were less pretentious, and expressed their anxiety when encountered problems, where would all the romance and excitemente from?

    To put it simply, if a woman was able to put on a act forever, that would no longer bebelled as pretentious.

    That would mean that she had truly owned what was a part of her.

    Clearly, Yun Qingwu was one of those women.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched a little, grinning subconsciously. He had always been giving that expression since the first meeting with Yun Qingwu.

    Subjugation.

    Furthermore, it was an intense form of overpowerment.

    It had happened since the first encounter, when Fang Zhengzhi revealed her face under her veil, slowly destroying all her ns.

    It was amazing.

    Yun Qingwu was always ever so magnificent, radiating a strong unconventional vibe off from her body. That kind of elegance and angelic element were like the white snows that protruded from the summit of a snowy mountain.

    This woman, with her outstanding talents and intellect, as well as her uparable skills, be it in the field of music, chess, books or artistry.

    To be exact, this should be very well respected by people.

    However...

    Yun Qingwu was a waste!

    It did not mean that she¡¯s a useless person, but rather, it was her power had gone to waste.

    She had always been looking pure, dignified, and well-respected by the people around her. The kind of attraction could not be expressed in words.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not aware about how he felt, but he knew that he had always hoped to stop Yun Qingwu from putting up her act.

    There seemed to have a voice beside his ears all these time.

    Quickly free her from her pretentious act.

    Let her release her true self.

    Allow the bright sun to shine on her body, as the blue sky and white clouds surround her, looking as amazing as she already was.

    "So, the youngest king in the Great Xia Dynasty, Fang Zhengzhi, standing on his piece of territory, is afraid of a weak girl like me?" Yun Qingwu began speaking again after awhile.

    The sound of the strings began filling the air again. It was not loud this time round. She continued plucking the strings softly using her slim fingers.

    "Do you really think that I will fall for this obvious trick?" Fang Zhengzhi said disdainfully. He was not frightened, but he certainly knew that it would be a bad idea to walk to her now.

    This was from his past experience.

    The people around Yun Qingwu would just get stronger.

    It started off with the green dress woman on the drawing, then Bai Xing from all sorts of Demon Race, and thetest was the half sage Canyang.

    It would be impossible for Yun Qingwu to forget about the ferocious battle in the me Capital City.

    Moreover, besides her magnificent charm, information was equally as important to Yun Qingwu.

    Not only did she manage to hear about the happening in me Capital City.

    Did she even manage to find out about the names of the kings?

    Fang Zhengzhi had to admit that he felt a tad surprised when Yun Qingwu spoke about his different identity as a King.

    He still could not figure out Yun Qingwu¡¯s motive for stepping into the Northern Mountain Vige.

    And she looked really prepared for this.

    "You think I¡¯m provoking you?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice sounded light and soft as it blended together with the sound of the strings, just like a small flowing river.

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    "Hmmm, but if I tell you that there aren¡¯t any demons around me, just me alone, will you believe me?" Yun Qingwu defended back.

    "I will believe?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think that Yun Qingqu would lie to him, but this "truth" was a little difficult for him to believe.

    A Demon Young Lord.

    Skills....

    Gone to waste.

    She made a solo appearance in the Great Xia Dynasty and yed the stringste in the middle of the night, attempting to make herself look all mighty and powerful.

    This felt almost the same as how his predecessors yed games previously. Be lured and lose your head.

    "You don¡¯t believe? Then I have no choice but to swear by the name of the Demon God. I swear that there is only me, Yun Qingwu in the Northern Mountain Vige now. If there are other demons, they will all perish together with me." The strings stopped immediately once she finished speaking.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed.

    He knew that the Demon Race had faith in the Demon God, and under oath, they would not and never will lie about anything.

    Could it be for a fact that Yun Qingwu came alone?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up instantly, as he never would have figured out about Yun Qingwu¡¯s motive, but he was aware of one thing.

    If Yun Qingwu was really alone...

    Then he had an opportunity now.

    Kill Yun Qingwu? He would hand over her head to Lin Mubai, and thereafter be the hero in the Great Xie Dynasty, earning praises and respect from the vigers.

    All these did not seem to mean much to him.

    What more could he ask for after being the king?

    It is also highly unlikely for Lin Mubai to vacate his ce as king. And even if he were to really give up his ce, Fang Zhengzhi was also unwilling to rece him.

    Not kill Yun Qingwu?

    What should he do to her?

    Tie her up and sent her to the me Capital City?

    That sounded a little meaningless....

    Fang Zhengzhi began pondering for awhile. It was indeed a once in a blue moon opportunity for Yun Qingwu toe to the Northern Mountain Vige alone.

    But even with such an opportunity, he realised.....

    It all seemed a little useless now.

    That was awkward.

    "Coming alone to the Northern Mountain Vige, are you not afraid that I will end your life?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body turned slightly and looked at the looming figure.

    "Not afraid." Yun Qingwu replied calmly.

    No other exnations, and not even with a bit of anxiousness. Yun Qingwu merely used the two words to express that she was not frightened.

    That made Fang Zhengzhi felt a little frustrated.

    It should be him on the winning side and controlling Yun Qingwu¡¯s life, but why was she still so calm as ever?

    That unnerving character and strong charisma in her...

    Must she be so pretentious?

    "Hehe... Yun Qingwu is not afraid of dying. Do you still remember the time on the Southern Icy Monkey Settlement, the thing that I did to you?" Fang Zhengzhi let out a satisfied smile, that almost all men would understand the meaning. He started strolling in front of her.

    "Shameless!" Yun Qingwu suddenly had a change in her calmness.

    She only had a slight fluctuation in her mood once, and that once happened when she was at the Southern Icy Monkey Settlement.

    That time...

    Was too memorable to her.

    She felt both angry and shameful at that time.

    "The moon is so round today, if there really aren¡¯t anybody around here, nobody would find out about what I¡¯m about to do next right?" Fang Zhengzhi finally walked out from behind the tree that was blocking him, but as that happened, a strange feeling came upon him.

    No words could describe how that felt like.

    That was indescribable, special and fast. It existed briefly but disappeared almost immediately, and it made Fang Zhengzhi felt as if he had experienced a lot.....

    His vision was blurred, but came back clear in a swift.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look at the figure immediately. Instead, he looked around his surrounding. The Cang Ling Countain was still looking as thick and familiar as ever.

    That was certainly outside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Definitely!

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned around his surroundings, and fixated his eyes on the figure standing in front of him.

    It was nightfall, and the stars were shining brightly.

    The bright moon hung in the sky. Yun Qingwu was wearing a white elegant dress in front of him, sitting down on the floor, and there was an antique looking string instrument sitting on herp.

    Her hair resembled a waterfall on the grass patch.

    Her outfit looked different from her usual dressings.

    This time round, Yun Qingwu did not hide her face behind her veil, and the moonlight revealed her beautiful face.

    She looked up slightly, it was dark yet bright at the same time.

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed at her.

    Yun Qingwu stared back at the same time, and time seemed to stopped at the moment. There were no longer any sound strings, and no sound of waterfall. There was only moonlight shining at them, as their visions came into direct contact with one another.

 Chapter 618 A Memorable Night, Two Single Individuals

    Yun Qingwu appeared calm, and she did not look anxious at all. She was standing there looking beautifully at Fang Zhengzhi, not saying a single word.

    This made Fang Zhengzhi felt really awkward.

    Yun Qingwu remained silent and calm, and Fang Zhengzhi considered repeating his previous sentence. "The moon is so round today, if there really aren¡¯t anybody around here, nobody would find out about what I¡¯m going to do next right?"

    But it did not seem fitting right now.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should wait patiently, till Yun Qingwu looked frightened and scared, then he would edge his way closer to her slowly.

    But momentster.....

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to give up on that idea, as Yun Qingwu did not seem like she wanted to continue the conversation with him. She only stared at him silently.

    It felt as if she was waiting too.

    Both of them were waiting for one another, but one of them had topromise in the end.

    "You came to the Northern Mountain Vige to find me?" Fang Zhengzhi could not endure any longer, and he sat down on the grass patch in front of Yun Qingwu.

    "Yes." Yun Qianwu nodded her head, as she looked away. She pointed to a box of snacks and the pile of fruits beside it, "I harvested them from the mountains and have washed them already."

    "A Demon Young Lord, harvesting fruits from the mountains?" Fang Zhengzhi replied as he took a fruit and put it in his mouth. It was sweet and refreshing, he squinted abit and asked, "Why did youe looking for me?"

    "Of course, I¡¯m here to seek revenge for the Southern Region." Yun Qingwu replied almost immediately, her tone sounding extra calm and stable.

    "Hehe... So you¡¯re here to seek revenge, I supposed the thing beside is a knife and not snacks?" Fang Zhengzhi grinned at her, feeling rxed.

    What joke was she trying to pull? Yun Qingwu came alone to seek revenge by herself? How was that even possible?

    "I have heard that you do not have much time left." Yun Qingwu did not reply Fang Zhengzhi straightaway this time round. She, too, picked up a fruit and put it into her mouth.

    The way Yun Qingwu munched on the fruit looked elegant and perfect. Be it holding or chewing the fruit, she always managed to radiate a positive vibe.

    "Probably." Fang Zhengzhi did not deny what she had mentioned. In fact, the news must have spreaded since the battle in me Capital City.

    "You took half a year to enter the Sagely State. That sounds really difficult."

    "Indeed it was."

    "Do you want to listen to a song?"

    "Do you know how to y?"

    "No."

    "I¡¯ll have the song ¡¯Mountain Waterfall Cascade¡¯ then."

    "Sure."

    The sound of the strings started filling the night sky again, adding a touch of elegance to the silent wilderness, resembling just like a fairnd.

    That was a strange moment.

    Two acquaintances, or some would evenbel them as enemies, sitting facing each other.

    One asked if she was afraid of getting killed.

    While the other replied saying that she was here to seek revenge.

    They were supposed to be fighting one another, or at least stayed cautious. But one was ying the instrument as the other admired on while appreciating the night breeze apanied by the moonlight.

    The song ended.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes remained shut as he lied down on the grass patch, his hand holding his head. He then picked up some snacks and gobbled them down again.

    They tasted delicious and smelt heavenly.

    "Do you know how to y "The Swordsman?"

    "The Swordsman?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s looked softly at Fang Zhengzhi who waszing around on the ground.

    Awaiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not continue. Instead, he hummed softly.

    "Take the material world lightly, infatuated love is a tomfoolery, may as well to be chesty, this lifetime is still lengthy, but the heart is in peace already, for the rest of life I just want to be easy....."

    "This is called the Swordsman?"

    Yun Qingwu finally opened her mouth, after Fang Zhengzhi had finished humming the song, showing a sense ofplexity.

    "No, this song is called The Mundane World."

    "The Mundane World? Didn¡¯t you say that was the Swordsman?"

    "Oh, to be exact, the Swordsman is actually a story, and The Mundane World is an episode in this story. Actually, I know of a song that sounds pretty nice too."

    "What is it called?"

    "A Laughter From the Seas!"

    "A Laughter From the Seas? Hmmm, that sounds nice, can you sing it for me?"

    "That¡¯s only if you dance along with it!"

    "Sure!" Yun Qingwu agreed without much hesitation. She moved the string instrument aside.

    The song filled the air under the moonlight.

    Wearing a white dress, she danced gracefully, her snow white dress brushing lightly across the grass patch. Her legs paced slowly and gently on the ground.

    It was a beautiful scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes slowly, admiring Yun Qingwu dancing. At that moment, he felt as though he almost saw Chang¡¯er.

    "This girl....can certainly act well!"

    ...

    Time passed by, as the moon hung up high, and the stars shimmered as brightly as ever. The moonlight shone on the both of them, who were lying down on the grasspatch.

    "Can you tell me about the story of the Swordsman?"

    "Oh, I can¡¯t, it has its own copyright issue."

    "Copyright?"

    "Hmm yeah, in summary, it just means that nobody can speak of it, unless he has seeked for permission."

    "I see, then I shall share a story."

    "What story?"

    "It¡¯s the origin of the Demon Race."

    "Sure, but since I¡¯m curious, I will just ask a question. Do you call yourself a Demon?"

    "Are Demons not good?"

    "It doesn¡¯t sound that nice aspared to a sage or a god."

    "That is just what the human always thought of us. We don¡¯t think that Demons are bad. In fact, we think that Humans are worse."

    "I see, I guessed I just gained an advantage." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    "Advantage? Must you be so shameless?" Yun Qingwu hissed under her breath.

    "Errrrr..... I was just purely trying to express my thoughts." Fang Zhengzhi argued back, though his face seemed to blush a little. He felt like he had just been caught off guard, because from past experiences, others would only refer to his "knowledge".

    How could have Yun Qingwu guessed that he was talking about his advantage?

    Alright, this woman, was too intelligent.

    She knew that he would not have mentioned anything too serious, therefore, he could not have been talking about knowledge.

    "Actually, the origin of the Demon Race dated back before that of Humans..."

    "Every race will im that they were the first when discussing about about their origin." Fang Zhengzhi spoke casually, trying to deny what Yun Qianwu said.

    She did not try to rebuke, and continued her story, "There was only the Demon Race at first, but humans suddenly appeared..."

    "The humans looked small and disdainful in front of the strong demons. Therefore, they were controlled and extorted, bing the ves of the Demon Race..."

    "..."

    A faint white light rose in the sky, indicating that the night was about to pass.

    Yun Qingwu had long finished her story, but the both of them continued lying on the grass patch, eyes slightly opened. The light breeze blew on their clothes and hair.

    Gradually, the sun began showing up, its red crimson colour bleaching the whole sky. The lights of the stars disappeared, as the red light from the sun rose.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were finally wide opened.

    As he looked at the sun rising and the fog behind the Cang Ling Mountain, he could feel Yun Qingwu breathing gently beside him. There were countless thoughts and ideas in his mind.

    But quickly...

    He shook off all these ideas.

    "I have to leave now, you should return to your Demon Race Blood Shadow City. Stop hanging around the Northern Mountain Vige anymore. There are many Royal Guards and there is also Lin Yun!" Fang Zhengzhi sat up slowly, giving her beautiful face onest look.

    "Then you leave." Yun Qingwu eyes remained closed as she mumbled gently, letting out her pleasant voice.

    "If I¡¯m still not dead, I will find a chance to listen to you y the instrument." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, as he stood up immediately.

    He nced at the sun rising and took a deep breath of the air in the wildness. Then, he slowly let it out. That felt refreshing.

    Yun Qingwu did not speak again.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of waiting for her to answer, and he turned and walked towards the Northern Mountain Vige.

    He did not kill Yun Qingwu and she did noty her hands on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Both of them were supposed to be enemies, but instead they had spent a night lying down on the green grass patch. There were no actions at all, just casual chattings.

    Fang Zhengzhi would listen when Yun Qingwu was ying the strings.

    And Yun Qingwu would admire when he started singing.

    Fang Zhengzhi listened to Yun Qingwu¡¯s story about the Demon race.

    Everything seemed very natural and harmonious, just like two old friends, talking about their past stories.

    Fang Zhengzhi walked straight without turning his head.

    Yun Qingwu had no intention to send him off, and sheid on the grass patch, closing her eyes as the sun shone on the edge of her face.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi walked back to her.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu, lying down, the grass patch still looked as green as ever. The box of snacks were still there.

    "Crap!" The rxed and calm mood that Fang Zhengzhi had exhibited a while ago changed drastically as he cursed and swore.

    Yun Qingwu said nothing.

    She did not let out a sound, but when she heard Fang Zhengzhi cursing in front of her, she began grinning, showing a faint smile.

    As though...

    The cold snow lotus had bloomed creating this irresistible beauty.

    Fang Zhengzhi would have been able to admire her beauty a moment ago, but he did not have the mood to do so now.

    He had no ns to turn back when he had decided to leave. In fact, he did not even turn his body around. But somehow, he had returned to the same spot.

    What was the reason?

    It certainly was not because Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t bear to leave her.

    The only reason was that, he had seemed to fall into her "trap" the moment he crossed over that big tree to approach Yun Qingwu.

    "What is this tactic?" Fang Zhengzhi squinted his eyes as he looked at Yun Qingwu. He finally understood what it meant to be a woman.

    "You can make a guess." Yun Qingwu spoke slowly, not intending to reply to his question. But she did not deny him either.

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned around.

    Everything was still intact since yesterday night. He had been observing for the whole night, and the mountains as well as the waters were still there. Nothing had changed.

    There weren¡¯t any movement.

    Even the small stones under the tree also looked unchanged.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand his situation. If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t have fall into her trap.

    "Eight Diagrams? Not likely!"

    "Seven Stars? But there aren¡¯t any signs of it!"

    Fang Zhengzhi looked around cautiously again, and finally gave up.

    He could not figure out her tactics, and he knew that he would not get anything out from her just by asking. Moreover, Yun Qingwu wouldn¡¯t be so dumb to reveal her moves and secrets.

    Then...

    Here came the problem?

    How could he get out of the ce?

    Nobody would be able to answer this difficult question. However, he suddenly found a glimpse of hope in the midst of all these confusion. It was the Matrix Eye!!

    To break the Matrix spell, there would only be two ways. One would be to find the regr pattern and followed by breaking it.

    The other one...

    Would just be destroying the Matrix Eye!

    That would be the most straightforward and direct method, it was the most suitable method to pin down an opponent from afar, ending it once and for all.

    Fang Zhengzhi certainly had no clue on the location of the Matrix Eye.

    Afterall, he already had no idea what was the regr pattern in his surroundings, let alone find the Matrix Eye. At this moment, he could only have two ways.

    One of them would be to let out a strong force, breaking everything in his surroundings. He might be lucky enough to find the Matrix Eye. The other one would be...

    To grab onto Yun Qingwu!

    That was such an easy and brilliant way.

    The woman who understood the tactic and the location of the Matrix Eye was lying just in front of him.

    The method was be the easiest of all.

    Without much hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi began springing into action. He leaped towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s location.

    At the same time, he let out a smile which every guy would understand. "Yun Qingwu, the sun might be up, but don¡¯t you think I can still do something to you?"

 Chapter 619 Impulse is the Devil!

    Yun Qingwu opened her eyes. Her beautiful eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi who was charging towards her. The smile remained on her face, still as bright as ever.

    She did not move at all...

    Sheid down on the grass patch, allowing Fang Zhengzhi toe towards her.

    It felt almost as if she was inviting him over.

    Closer, closer!

    Fang Zhengzhi sensed the faint nice smelling out from Yun Qingwu. He could predict the consequences after his attack and the things that were going to happen.

    Since there were no Demons protecting her, he should take this chance forcefully?

    Striking the iron while it was hot?

    While Fang Zhengzhi felt a tinge of guilt, given his current circumstance, he couldn¡¯t think of a better way to settle this.

    Against a woman who was unafraid of death, was there any other method? It was impossible for her to continue waiting motionless.

    "Bam!" Fang Zhengzhi finallynded on Yun Qingwu¡¯s body, but it was not a soft touch that he had expected.

    Of course, he had felt something soft upon impact.

    Just that....

    The softness was not from Yun Qingwu, it was the green grass patch underneath him.

    Did he just miss her?

    Obviously this was defying thew of physics. He was aware of Yun Qingwu¡¯s power, but more importantly, he knew that she did not move at all.

    Then why would he miss herpletely?

    Fang Zhengzhi lifted up his head, as a touch of light darted in front of his eyes.

    Yun Qingwu was supposed to be pinned down by Fang Zhengzhi, but she was still lying down on the grass patch away from her. The pair of attractive eyes peered into his, as she smiled brightly.

    "That was a great Matrix spell!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed inside him. And he had to admit that Yun Qingwu¡¯s Matrix spell was really strange and powerful.

    He was already hovering on top of her, but just when he attempted tond on her, Yun Qingwu suddenly appeared three steps away from her.

    Did she move instantly?

    That was impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi pushed away that thought immediately, as he knew that Yun Qingwu did not change her position at all. The only thing that changed was the area he hadnded on.

    So it meant that.....

    When hended on the ground, the surrounding changed immediately.

    "I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t break this Matrix Spell this time round!" Yun Qingwu said faintly, as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi from her side. She calmly took up a piece of snack and munched on it gently.

    "I appreciate your confidence, but I would like to have a try." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head as he helped himself up by pushing his hands against the ground.

    "Are you nning to make another move on me again?" Yun Qingwu asked back.

    "No, I will do it slowly this time round!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he walked slowly towards Yun Qingwu. He stepped on each path cautiously.

    He was not being wary of Yun Qingwu. Rather, he was observing the surroundings carefully. When he hadnded earlier, he did not manage to catch a glimpse of what had happened.

    This time round.....

    He would observe carefully.

    He was closer, closer.

    He could sense the faint smelling out from Yun Qingwu¡¯s body once again. The faint warm and pleasant smell meant that the distance between them was closing.

    Both of them remained silent.

    Just at that instant, Fang Zhengzhi slowly lifted up his hand.

    Very slowly, bit by bit, he moved towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s chest.

    Attempting to grab it!

    Yun Qingwu looked at the distance between the hand and her chest and began giving off a strange look on her face. "There¡¯s actually someone this shameless!"

    "Thanks for thepliment!" Fang Zhengzhi did not hasten his actions.

    Because he was well aware of the fast changing nature of the surroundings. The faster his actions, the higher the rate of change of the surroundings would be, therefore moving slowly would be the best option now.

    It was really near.

    He could almost feel the softness of Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress.

    He grabbed onto it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate. He grabbed it!

    Then...

    There was no then.

    As Yun Qingwu was three steps away from him once again. The same distance, the same pair of eyes, the same lips with the same smile on her face.

    "Huh?" Fang Zhengzhi was not ready to resign to her. It felt as though the piece of meat on his mouth had been snatched away by another person. That made him really discontented.

    However, the motion was too quick, and that left him no time to react and observe the changes in the surroundings.

    He feltpletely bewildered, as the scenery in the surrounding remained unchanged, but not the distance between Yun Qingwu and him.

    A change in scenery...

    There should have been a change in the surroundings, but it did not feel like it.

    What was going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi could notprehend the situation, but he was determined to charge towards her again. It wouldn¡¯t take much time for him to cover up the three-steps distance between them.

    He chose to believe that he would be able to catch Yun Qingwu.

    "I grab!"

    It¡¯s useless!

    "I will grab again!"

    Futile once again!

    He attempted to grab her for 10 times, till his eyes became slightly red. Every single attempt he made came to no avail as he grabbed nothing.

    How did she do that?

    "Oh, you¡¯re going to stop? Not continuing?" Yun Qingwu asked, as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi who had seemed to have given up. The smile in her face seemed more prompt and brighter now.

    Her smile looked even more appealing now.

    It made her look provocative and arrogant.

    A pure and gracefuldy against a man who had extended his demonic ws. She stood up confidendently with her chest opened up, and shouted at him to try again.

    Intolerable!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not stand this any longer!

    But what else could he do? Continue trying and get nothing? That might feel thrilling, but it also made him felt depressed after a while.

    It seemed like he had to change his method.

    Fang Zhengzhi pondered for awhile. He stopped trying and went ahead to lie beside Yun Qingwu.

    "I will rest for a while." Fang Zhengzhi said as he reached out for the snacks box beside her, and put a piece of snack in his mouth.

    Up till now, Yun Qingwu had no intention to stop him.

    That confidence...

    Came from the bottom of her heart.

    Even when Fang Zhengzhi hadid beside her, Yun Qingwu closed her eyes calmly. She was not afraid that that Fang Zhengzhi would make a sneak attack on her.

    A sudden surge of emotions rushed inside Fang Zhengzhi.

    As he looked at Yun Qingwu closing her eyes, he thought of charging towards her and grabbing her forcefully again.

    But he chose to endure a little longer.

    As the old adage had mentioned, giving is the prerequisite of receiving.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that since Yun Qingwu dared to close her eyes, she must have known that she was able to keep herself safe. Hence he had to be patient and wait, temporarily.

    Bait Yun Qingwu into leting her guard down, and give her the idea that she had already won the battle.

    "Forget it, I admit defeat!" Fang Zhengzhi finally opened his mouth. "This Matrix Spell of yours, is really powerful, I can¡¯t break it!"

    "Ok." Yun Qingwu nodded her head as though she already knew what Fang Zhengzhi would have said.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt even more impulsive.

    But he remained persistent and asked, "These are just your acts right? You¡¯re not the only one with great acting skills, I think my skills are not bad too!"

    And then came the test of the acting skills.

    Fang Zhengzhi could never back down from it. He had to convince Yun Qingwu to believe that he had really lost. That would definitely ease her up and he could seize the opportunity from there.

    "You had specially came all the way to the Northern Mountain Vige, just to trap me here? If that¡¯s really the case, you have achieved it, I¡¯m really trapped in here!" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "I did want to trap you here, but my goal is not to trap you." Yun Qingwu said as she slowly opened her eyes.

    "Not to trap me? Then what is it?" Fang Zhengzhi felt strange.

    "Kill you!" Yun Qingwu answered casually.

    "Then why haven¡¯t you started?" Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    "You haven¡¯t made your move too?" Yun Qingwu reasoned.

    "So you are saying that, since I did not kill you yesterday, you¡¯re going to let me go now?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly understood what she was trying to say.

    "Hmmmm, yes, you can say that." Yun Qingwu nodded her head then shook her head again. "But that is just temporary."

    "You won¡¯t kill me for the time being?"

    "To be honest, my intention was to lure you in and kill you straight. Then I will snatch the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet from you, but I have changed my mind." Yun Qingwu exined.

    "Heaven Dao Sage Tablet..." As soon as he heard this, Fang Zhengzhi squinted abit, and grinned, "What do mean by the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, I havepletely no idea what you¡¯re talking about, and I have no such thing on me."

    "I don¡¯t need your acknowledgement."

    "So..... What do you have in mind now?"

    "I will spare your life."

    "Then?"

    "Nothing else."

    "You¡¯re not going to do anything else? Like torturing me? Or seeking revenge for the Southern Region?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke as he observed the surroundings at the same time.

    "Nothing at the moment." Yun Qingwu shook her head once again.

    "I will thank you then, but when are you nning to release me?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head a he shifted his body closer to Yun Qingwu.

    "I will trap you for as long as possible." Yun Qingwu replied without thinking much.

    "You...." Fang Zhengzhi stared angrily at her, as he stopped moving towards Yun Qingwu. He looked at her with disbelief, "ARE YOU PLANNING TO TRAP ME TILL I DIE?"

    "Yes!" Yun Qingwu shifted till her eyes met with Fang Zhengzhi, bringing him a smile, a bright and clear smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body froze.

    He knew that Yun Qingwu would harbour an ulterior motive against him, but he miscalcted and did not expect that she had actually nned to trap him till death.

    Trap for as long as possible?!

    That sounded so easy but yet so irresponsible!

    He could feel the bitterness in him as her words resounded in his ears.

    If this were to happen to a normal human being...

    To be trapped here forever with the Demon Lord Yun Qingwu, would be a blessing to them. But not to Fang Zhengzhi, since he had only left with six months to live.

    Six months of life.

    There were many things that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion selection test, the promise with Chi Guyan, Ping Yang who was waiting for him at the Ling Yun Settlement as well as his parents in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    He couldn¡¯t just disappear like this.

    Just because he listened to one song?

    That was indeed one expensive song.

    "I can¡¯t just wait here, I have to run a lot of errands!" Fang Zhengzhi began looking serious for the first time.

    "But, you can¡¯t leave here." Yun Qingyun replied in a serious tone.

    "If I had to leave?"

    "I said earlier, you can¡¯t get out!"

    "What¡¯s point of trapping me here?"

    "For the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, I¡¯m not going to kill you, but I need it from you. So when you¡¯re dead, I would be able to own it naturally!"

    "If I give you the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi fixed his eyes on Yun Qingwu as he clenched his fists.

    The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    To be honest, ever since the Heavenly Oasis Saint had ced the The Vast World in his Breastte, he knew that he had a piece of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet in his body.

    As to why the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet was given to him, he did not know the reason, but he knew the origin of it.

    It was the piece that Yun Qingwu had used to attract Xing Yuanguo and Chi Guyan on the Cang Ling Mountain.

    From a certain perspective...

    The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet should belong to the Demon Race.

    "Ever since you stepped into the Matrix Spell that I hadid out for you, the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet already belonged to me. Do you think I will ept the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet as your bargaining chip, when it is already mine?" Yun Qingwu finally spoke again.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not reply.

    He controlled his breathing steadily. Momentster, he closed his eyes, "Forget it, it will be great to have you here with me for these six months!"

    "Take the material world lightly, infatuated love is a tomfoolery, may as well to be chesty, this lifetime is still lengthy, but the heart is in peace already, for the rest of life I just want to be easy....." Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who did not say a word. She moved her lips lightly, humming the song lyrics.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes remained shut.

    He listened attentively to the Yun Qingwu¡¯s beautiful voice. Indeed her musical skills were superb, as she only needed to listen to a song once before she could memorise the lyrics and rhythm.

    As the emotions came in, it allowed Fang Zhengzhi to have a better way to listen into its meaning.

    Gradually...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breathing became more stable as he seemed mesmerised by the great voice. His hand moved slowly towards the direction of Yun Qingwu.

    Then he felt an exquisite and soft touch on his bands.

    That was the texture of her soft skin, smooth and nice.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi could feel his skin trembling a little, but eventually he kept hisposure calm.

    However, it moved away slightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breathing remained calm, letting out a soft snore from his nose. It seemed like he had fallen asleep, but his hand still moved subconsciously towards the soft touch.

    Quickly...

    The same soft texture came towards him again.

    There was a slight tremble.

    A pause.

    That felt like the longest wait for Fang Zhengzhi.

    The tremble stopped in the end, but the smooth touch did not leave. It allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold onto it, both in contact with one another.

    After a long time, a line brushed past him. That was the air caused by the strong wind, but the windnded on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead.

    At that instant...

    Fang Zhengzhi sprung into action.

    If one were to describe the speed that Fang Zhengzhi had exhibited, the word would be impressive and swift, as it had all happened in a sh.

    "Let¡¯s see if you can run away!" Fang Zhengzhi eximed as both his hands reached towards her head.

    He did not know what he grabbed, as he couldn¡¯t open his eyes in time. He knew that Yun Qingwu was faster at dodging him, therefore he had to act fast.

    Grab!

    He managed to grab it, and it felt soft and bouncy at the same time.

    That felt like.....

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes widely as he stared at the beautiful features on her face with her big eyes staring back into him.

    "WU!" Yun Qingwu let out a loud cry.

 Chapter 620 A Grand Marriage

    Just imagine Yun Qingwu¡¯s feelings. Previously at the Southern Region Icy Monkey Settlement, it had been Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first time touching her.

    So...

    This was the second time.

    Yun Qingwu attempted to struggle away from his grip. That was her immediate instincts.

    But why would Fang Zhengzhi allow that?

    He spent so much effort to make this happen, and since he had gotten this opportunity, he would never let Yun Qingwu slip away.

    Change of scenery?

    There was no way for you to runaway from my grip!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care about how inappropriate his hand¡¯s positions were at. Instead, he leaped and jumped up from the grass patch. In one swift motion, he pinned Yun Qingwu down on the ground.

    A guy and girl on the lush green field. The guy was on the top, and the girl was beneath him.

    Anybody who had seen this scene would have shouted out loudly, "HEY, let go of the girl!"

    "Let me out of here, or you wouldn¡¯t want to know what I will do to you!"

    "What do you want?" Yun Qingwu struggled again, her lush ck hair spreading on the grass patch, showing a strangely beautiful sight of her.

    "You can make a guess." Fang Zhengzhi grinned at her.

    Yun Qingwu paused for a second, as that sentence sounded familiar. In fact, that was the sentence that Fang Zhengzhi had directed at him not long ago.

    Just that...

    At that instant, this sentence was now used by Fang Zhengzhi on her.

    "Shameless!" Yun Qingwu barked at him.

    "I still can be a little more shameless!" Fang Zhengzhi widened the smile on his face.

    "Is that so?" Yun Qingwu looked calmly at Fang Zhengzhi, as she stopped struggling. At that instant, the initially anxious look on her face changed to a smile, "Try it then!¡¯

    "Hmmm?" Fang Zhengzhi made an eye contact with Yun Qingwu, as he felt an ominous feeling inside him.

    ording to his prediction of what had happened earlier, Yun Qingwu seemed to have set another Matrix Spell, and this Matrix Spell could change the space and the order of the whole scenery.

    In this situation, Fang Zhengzhi could not even touch any parts of Yun Qingwu¡¯s body.

    If his prediction was correct.

    Then while Fang Zhengzhi was controlling Yun Qingwul, he could easily break the order, since the only thing that would change was the surroundings and not the human.

    But...

    Why did Yun Qingwuugh?

    "Weng!" Just before he could answer his questions, a fluctuating sound rang beside his ear. At the next instant, he sensed a change on Yun Qingwu, who was supposed to be pinned down by him.

    That seemed like the environment had already blended in with everything else.

    "That wasn¡¯t the change of scenery!" Fang Zhengzhi attempted to stop, but to no avail, as Yun Qingwu had already disappeared from her position.

    A white figure suddenly appeared in front of him at the next moment.

    But this time round, she was five steps away.

    "Did you really think that I don¡¯t have other ways to escape after you have grabbed me?" Yun Qingwu have him a cold look, her face slightly rosy as she continued panting.

    "Hehe..." Fang Zhengzhi smiled sheepishly. He went back to lying down on the grass. He did not fight back nor take another move.

    Because he knew his judgment....

    Was wrong.

    Once he had made the wrong judgment, it meant losing the best opportunity he had. To find another simr chance to sneak an attack like just now, was almost impossible.

    It wasn¡¯t the change of surroundings.

    Yet she was able to control the space and the order of nature.

    Hold on!

    Since it was not about the Matrix Spell, it could be the Small Dimension!

    A thought came into his mind suddenly, as he had encountered a simr experience of being trapped before.

    That happened when he was preparing for the Court Examinations and Combat Examinations at the me Capital City.

    But he was jeopardised by Wu Yuer¡¯s n.

    Wu Yuer had trapped him in the Small Dimension and he could not escape no matter how hard he tried. He had no choice but to agree to Wu Yuer¡¯s conditions.

    It was the Small Dimension!

    No.

    If it really was about the Small Dimension, then there should be an entrance from somewhere. And the entrance must be supported by a "power".

    For example, he only managed to walk out from a huge stone door when he was trapped in the World of the Sage.

    As for the Small Deminseion that Wu Yuer trapped him in.

    Wu Yuer could only trap him when he was unconscious.

    Therefore, in this situation like this with Yun Qingwu...

    It shouldn¡¯t be possible.

    Yun Qingwu made use of the sound of the strings instrument to lure him in. Therefore, it was not possible that she could control the direction of him and the position that he came in from.

    A small entrance in the Small Dimension.

    Shouldn¡¯t be very big.

    While Yun Qingwu might be confident, but she would not be able to predict his exact path and therefore not able to guide him into the entrance.

    Furthermore she hade o the outside of the Northern Mountain Vige alone.

    From what Fang Zhengzhi knew about Yun Qingwu, she would make sure that everything was perfect before making her move. And once she had made her move, there wouldn¡¯t be any solution to resolve it.

    Hence that was why he had thought that Yun Qingwu hadid out the Matrix Spell.

    Only the Matrix Spell.....

    Was able to be disyed in a wide range.

    And that was the only way to trap any "enemy"ing in from all directions.

    But if it was really the Matrix Spell, then how could Yun Qingwu have escaped from his grip? Wasn¡¯t the Matrix Spell only supposed to change "things" and "objects"?

    It was just like two big armies in a battle, with one party disying a magnificent tactic.

    It could certainly increase the fighting strength of the soldiers, but allow the enemy to hallucinate, but it would be impossible to prevent their own soldiers from dying.

    A Matrix Spell could never change one¡¯s movements or actions.

    If there was such a Matrix Spell, Yun Qingwu would have used the Matrix Spell on the battle earlier, and not wait till the Northern Mountain Vige to trap him.

    Neither the Matrix Spell nor the Small Dimension?

    Then what else could it be?!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know where was he standing at. He couldn¡¯tprehend the situation now, be it inside the Matrix Spell or the Small Dimension.

    "I have told you earlier that you can¡¯t leave this ce!" Yun Qingwu started after Fang Zhengzhi remained quiet for awhile. She finally sat down again, both eyes closed, allowing the sunlight to shine on her face.

    A faint rosy colour began rising on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face.

    ...

    The sky was already lit up and the sun had already risen.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was cheerful and lively as usual, as the vigers had woken up already. Faint smokes filled the vige and delicious smells blended in the air.

    Recently, Wu Yuer had this habit of sleeping in tillte and this habit was influenced by Fang Zhengzhi. As the saying goes, "different environments provide different influence".

    Certainly...

    The reason behind all these was that, Fang Zhengzhi was feeling frustrated as he had been forced by Wu Yuer to wake up early every day in the month.

    "Can¡¯t I stay cool forever? This is called beauty sleep, beauty sleep, do you even know what is beauty sleep? You don¡¯t know? You don¡¯t know what is beauty? Fine, do you know what is beautiful? Why will sleeping help you be beautiful? It¡¯s all about the skin. A whiteplexion is powerful enough to hide seven faults. When you sleep more, you will get a fairer skin, and yourplexion will be better. A person will naturally look prettier with fairer skin!"

    Hence, Wu Yuer started having the habit of waking up only after the sun waspletely up. After that, he would take a nap in the day, just like what Fang Zhengzhi always did.

    "Yuer, it¡¯s time to eat!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice travelled from one of the viges. She was holding onto a bowl of hot snacks on her hand.

    "Huh.... Who dares to wake me up....." Wu Yuer mumbled sleepily. But she managed to open her eyes and stood up, "I¡¯ming aunty, hold on, Yuer ising to open the door for you!"

    "You¡¯re such an intelligent and politedy, and you¡¯re so pretty!" Qin Xuelian replied back from outside the house, shing a smile.

    Sleepte?

    Qin Xuelian did not have the habit of waking Fang Zhengzhi up everyday.

    In her mind, the ability to eat and sleep was already a blessing. To her, it was a simple way of living. Therefore, she would never be unhappy about Wu Yuer sleepingte in the morning.

    Of course, the main point was because Wu Yuer could look pretty.

    None of the women in the Ten Mile radius would look prettier than Wu Yuer.

    As ady who was born pretty and perfect, she would naturally look for a future daughter-inw with presentable features. Wu Yuer was just the perfect match to her expectation.

    Although, she was one or two years older than Fang Zhengzhi.

    But that was not a problem!

    A mature wife would bring joy to your life.

    "Quick,e in, Aunty!" Wu Yuer quickly opened the door, she took over the snacks from Qin Xuelian¡¯s hand and showed her into the house.

    The truth was that Wu Yuer did not have to do all these.

    But it was all about leaving good impressions.

    Wu Yuer would never let anybody enter her house. Moreover, to be able to show that she was "reserved", she went another mile to build a house just opposite Fang¡¯s family.

    That was a perfect n.

    However, Wu Yuer did not know that Qin Xuelian had another girl in her options. And that would be Chi Guyan, the daughter of the Divine Constabry.

    But Qin Xuelian knew how to control her expectation.

    Earlier, when Chi Guyan had visited their house, she would treat her politely since she knew that the status difference between both of them were too huge.

    Despite the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was currently the Cang King.

    But Chi Guyan was not only the daughter of the Divine Constabry, she was also the "Chosen One" for the Heavenly Prophecy.

    The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world!

    Everyone was aware about this saying.

    Qin Xuelian did not ce her hope on Chi Guyan, that exined why she would not let Wu Yuer slip out of her hands.

    "Yuer, I might not have mentioned this earlier, but Zheng¡¯er this kid, he has be the king already, and has the ability to raise a family. He¡¯s not young anymore, I think it¡¯s time for him to get a wife and live his life." Qin Xuelian said while stealing a few nces at Wu Yuer.

    "Well.....Actually, I also came from a well-known family....." Wu Yuer tried to exin to her, as she grinned. She managed to hold her excitement and lower her head down, giving a shy and embarrassed look.

    "I do know about the rules, I did receive some money from Zheng¡¯er this few years. I will organise a magnificent and grand celebration and ask all the vigers to attend." Qin Xuelian seemed to have understood what Wu Yuer was trying to say, and immediately disyed her generosity.

    "I will leave all the decisions to you, Aunty!" Wu Yuer nodded her head shyly.

    "Sure, that¡¯s good..." Qin Xuelian finally smiled when Wu Yuer agreed to her conditions. "Come, let¡¯s eat while the food is still warm!"

    "Thank you Aunty!" Wu Yuer replied obediently. She then ate the food in a demure and elegant manner.

    Qin Xuelian then sat beside her silently to observe Wu Yuer. Her face then down to her chest, and also looked at her waist, she was pretty pleased with all of them.

    Just then, an eager voice beganing from the outside of the house.

    "Oh dear, your son, Zheng......Zheng¡¯er is missing!" A tall figure quickly stepped into the house just as the voice died down.

    It was Qin Houde.

    "Rubbish, isn¡¯t Zheng¡¯er sleeping in the room?" Qin Xuelian stood up slowly, her tone sounding like she didn¡¯t believe what he had just said, but her face had already turned pale.

    "No, he¡¯s not!" Fang Houde replied, still panting. "Just now......After I finished my breakfast, I was preparing to go back, I wanted to bid my goodbye, but when I went into his room, he was not there. And his bed is cold!"

    "WHAT?! This..... This....." Qin Xuelian¡¯s body trembled and wobbled and she seemed a little unstable.

    "Aunty, Uncle, don¡¯t you worry, this guy, he¡¯s always everywhere. He might be chilling somewhere in the Cang Mountain, he did not have much time to resttely!" Wu Yuer clenched her fist slightly, but appeared calm on her face.

    "He went up to the mountain?" Qin Xuelian asked doubtfully.

    "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible, this kid is very understanding, if he were to go up the mountain, he would let us know. He wouldn¡¯t not inform us!" Fang Houde eximed while shaking his head.

    "Aunty, Uncle, please don¡¯t be anxious, why not, you two can go ahead to bid goodbye to the king. I will go out of the vige to search for him. Given Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power..... nobody would dare to do anything much to him around this area... Even if there¡¯s one, he would be able to escape if he can¡¯t beat them!" Wu Yuer began consoling them.

    "This..." Qin Xuelian hesitated for awhile.

    "Yuer has her point, let us just go ahead to send the king off!" Fang Houde agreed to what Wu Yuer said.

    "Okay then, sorry to trouble you, Yuer!" Qin Xuelian finally nodded her head to express her agreement.

    "Fine, I will get going now!" Wu Yuer did not waste any minute, and she immediately stood up and rushed out of the house.

    "Boom!"

    The wooden window door could not withstand Wu Yuer¡¯s strong force, and they dropped down on the floor. Small fragments from the wall also smashed on the ground.

    Wu Yuer wanted to appease Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    But to be honest, she had always known that Fang Zhengzhi was a sensible and filial kid. She totally understood Fang Houde¡¯s concerns.

    Fang Zhengzhi would never leave without informing his parents.

    Then...

    That would only be one possibility.

    Trouble!

    Wu Yuer rushed out in a fast speed, leaving a big hole on the window. She did not even leave by the door, and there she disappeared into action.

    Left with Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde looking at each other.

    "Our daughter-inw, is pretty impressive, right? Qin Xuelian¡¯s mouth opened wide as she looked at the figure disappearing.

    "Yes... What a fast speed, could that be faster than Blue Fire Wolf? Hold on, when did Wu Yuer be our daughter-inw?" Fang Houde came back to his senses after listening to what she had said.

 Chapter 621 An Unwinnable Death Match

    "Of course she is our daughter-inw. Do you think a singledy would deliberately build a house in front of ours, if she doesn¡¯t want to be our daughter-inw?" Qin Xuelian asked.

    "Now that you¡¯ve mentioned, it looks like it! Such a muddlehead!" Fang Houde understood after Qin Xuelian exined to him.

    "You¡¯re not blur, just a little less observant."

    "Yes yes yes, you¡¯re right!"

    "Aiya, Yuer has already left, are you still going to stay here? Not going over to Xian King?"

    "Oh, right!" Fang Houde reacted immediately and quickly held onto Qin Xuelian¡¯s hand as they rushed out of the house.

    Qin Xuelian continued staring at the direction where Wu Yuer had disappeared, as tears began swelling up in her eyes, "Zhenger, please be safe!"

    .......

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he needed to stay calm in this difficult situation.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s appearance in the Northern Mountain Vige had been nned for quite some time. Aspared to him, who had no prior preparation, he had to be more passive.

    But, the date for the Heavenly Dao Pavilion test was reaching in half a month.

    Furthermore, the distance between the Northern Mountain Vige and the Heavenly Dao Pavilion required close to a month¡¯s time to travel. Which also meant that he only had half a month left.

    Half a month...

    While it was not considered a lot of time, it was not insufficient either.

    If it was indeed the Matrix Spell that had trapped him here, Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not need too much time to break it. However, he was still confused if it was the Matrix Spell or the Small Dimension.

    How could he break the spell?

    Calm down, he needed to calm himself down first.

    There was still time, half a month¡¯s time.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept reminding himself in his heart, that his disappearance would make Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde worried, but he had no choice.

    Hold up!

    If he was unable to break the spell from within.

    How about from outside?

    He had walked past the tree earlier, therefore at least the tree part of the affected area. Could it be possible to break this whole spell from the tree?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened instantly, but he felt that he needed some patience in this matter.

    Because he knew that somebody will look for him eventually.

    As he was trying to figure all these out, a figure appeared in a distance, its ck long dress fluttering along with the blowing wind.

    A pair of beautiful eyes with a little glow in the middle of its pupils.

    "Wu Yuer!" Fang Zhengzhi had rarely anticipated to see Wu Yuer, but indeed he thought that she had arrived at just the right moment.

    He shouted immediately without hesitation.

    He even waved his hand vigorously, paying no attention to the look from Yun Qingwu.

    However.....

    Wu Yuer seemed like she did not hear anything.

    She continued to leap around, and looked as if she was about to circle around Fang Zhengzhi instead.

    "Is this girl blind?" Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless, as he was had obviously been screaming very loudly. "Wu Yuer, I¡¯m here....."

    Fang Zhengzhi continued again.

    However, Wu Yuer still seemed as though she did not hear anything, and sprinted away.

    What was happening?

    She did not hear anything?

    That was impossible!

    Could it be that the spell had the ability to separate sound as well?

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingyun stared at each other at the same time. Fang Zhengzhi could sense the peacefulness in her eyes.

    It was as still and calm as water.

    As though she did not hear anything.

    "It was really soundproof!" Fang Zhengzhi quickly understood what had happened, and it did not surprise him as he knew that separating sound in that area was an easy task.

    But the thing that happened after made him feel surprised.

    Wu Yuer had returned from afar not long after.

    That should have made him feel excited,

    However, Wu Yuer kept walking around the big tree and the strangest thing happened.

    Initially...

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that Yun Qingwu¡¯s "spell" would only be able to separate the sound and the scenery within the affected area, and not the "exit".

    But then he saw Wu Yuer walking openly past the tree, making big rounds and steps around himself.

    He suddenly understood the situation.

    This "spell" was different from the previous ones he had known!

    Wu Yuer walked away from him in the end.

    Looking depressed and nervous, she made her way up to where the Cang Ling Mountain was located at. She brushed past Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulders as she left.

    "Is this another parallel universe" Fang Zhengzhi waited till Wu Yuer finally disappeared from his sight, then moved his attention slowly to Yun Qingwu.

    "Parallel universe?" Yun Qingwu replied looking a bit doubtful, as she seemed like she was trying to figure out what Fang Zhengzhi had just mentioned.

    "Meaning, you constructed another universe in this universe? The new universe can still look at the old one, but it doesn¡¯t work the other way round?" Fang Zhengzhi tried to exin himself, while making it sound usible.

    "No." Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    "Did you understand what I have just said?" Fang Zhengzhi was unsure if Yun Qingwu could believe his exnation.

    "Hmmm, yes I could understand it, the parallel universe. It is simr to making a new space out of the space from before." Yun Qingwu nodded her hand calmly.

    Demon!

    Fang Zhengzhi gawked at her as this was his first time genuinely thinking about the limit of a person¡¯s intelligence. Even if it was in front of Chi Guyan, he had never thought of this matter before.

    Chi Guyan was brilliant.

    But other than being smart, Chi Guyan had terrific powers too.

    Yun Qingwu was different.

    She was smart, and only smart.

    Demon Young Lord.

    A demon who could not seem to withstand an attack, yet was treated with respect in the Demon Race. He had to admit that Yun Qingwu was really the top demon in the world.

    Thisdy¡¯s intelligence quotient.

    How much did she have?

    200, 300, or 400?

    "If it was not the parallel universe, what could it be?" This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his thinking capacity had been emptied.

    "You can make a guess." Yun Qingwu challenged.

    "Is this even fair?" Fang Zhengzhi could obviously understand what Yun Qingwu was trying to mean. But he had to control the discussion now as he did not want to let her manipte him around. He had to change the subject, so that he could at least find some clues to break the spell.

    "Why is it unfair?" Yun Qingwu reasoned back.

    "You made so much effort in setting this spell, but I had no idea what was going on. In this situation, even if you have already trapped me, it doesn¡¯t mean that you have won the battle?"

    "I don¡¯t really care about winning, my goal is to trap you in here, and wait till you slowly die. That will be enough for me." Yun Qingwu exined justifically.

    "Is this even meaningful? You wanted that Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, I can give it to you. Is there a need to trap me here?" Fang Zhengzhi was still trying to figure out Yun Qingwu¡¯s intention.

    "The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet always belonged to me." Yun Qingwu continued.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, as he knew that the conversation had been twisting round and round, eventually returning back to square one. It all seemed like a never ending cycle. "So may I know, what¡¯s your motive ining in to the Northern Mountain Vige?"

    "To kill you." Yun Qingwu replied.

    "Other than that?"

    "Nothing."

    "Is there any room for negotiation, like getting anything out of me? Or, requiring me to do anything for you.....yes?"

    "No."

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi went quiet again.

    Was this all? She came all the way from the Demon Race Blood Shadow City to the Northern Mountain Vige, just to kill him. But when the time came.

    She did not kill him.

    Changing from killing to trapping him? Trapping him alive till death!

    That sounded ridiculous!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand all that was happening. Yun Qingwu had heavy responsibilities, she was in charge of the Demon Race.

    She was the the Young Lord of the Demon Race!

    This demon, nning to spend six months here trapped with him in the Northern Mountain Vige? All these did not seem to be usible for him.

    But that was exactly what Yun Qingwu had done.

    And she looked more determined than ever to do it.

    Why?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt confused.

    "Do you still want to listen to any songs?" Yun Qingwu saw that Fang Zhengzhi had stopped talking. She sat down and ced the purple string instrument on herp.

    "Well, you could y the ¡¯House of Flying Daggers¡¯." Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    In fact, he was having that feeling of being trapped like Xiang Yu. He had a whole body of strength but all of them had gone to waste.

    "Sure." Yun Qingwu nodded her head as she shed a faint smile for a quick moment.

    The sound of strings began ying slowly.

    Leisurely yet graceful.

    It made one felt immersed in the moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi began sitting up, frowning, as the sound of the strings rang in his ears. But he still could not help but pondered about his situation.

    What was that?

    It was neither the Spell, nor the Small Dimension, but it looked simr to the "Spell". Yun Qingwu had also mentioned earlier that he could never break her spell.

    Ambushed from all sides, and trapped till his death?

    Why would Yun Qingwu, a mighty Demon Young Lord choose to trap him? Well, she wasn¡¯t Han Xin, and I was not Xiang Yu either.

    Wait!

    Other than trapping him here, it seemed like Yun Qingwu had harboured another n, and that was to snatch the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet from him.

    The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet...

    Fang Zhengzhi began scanning the surroundings ferociously, the Cang Ling Mountain from afar, the big lush green fields as well as the flowing rivers.

    Real, all these were too real.

    Perfect!

    Too perfect!

    But this perfect scenery could be changed with one¡¯s heart easily.

    Hallucinations!

    Impossible!

    There would be clues if it were hallucinations, but he could not find a single one of them. It felt like everything around him was real.

    Yun Qingwu wanted to trap him in this ce.

    For six months, just outside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Even as a Demon Young Lord, and with her high status and prestige within the Demon Race, she must have a reason for doing so.

    A good reason to convince the Demon Race.

    I got it!

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes widely. His queries seemed to piece together, and he finally understood where he was standing at.

    "It is the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, you used it to set the spell!" Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke as he stared at Yun Qingwu.

    The strings sound, pause momentarily.

    Yun Qingwu trembled slightly, as she moved her eyes slowly. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi, looking surprised, but the look quickly faded away.

    "I knew that you would be able to see through it, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be so fast. I was thinking of giving you three days to figure it all out." Yun Qingwu finally broke her silence.

    "Demon Lord Yun Qingwu, actually used the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet to trap me? That must have been quite a big stake. May I know how many pieces did you use to set this trap?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Thirteen pieces!"

    "Thirteen pieces?"

    "Yes, I took the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets from King Liqin¡¯s residence!"

    "I see!" Fang Zhengzhi had finally managed to understand all these.

    He always knew that Yun Qingwu had stayed over at the me Capital City for a while, and that she would definitely have taken something that she wanted.

    But he did not know that it was the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    In fact...

    When he had killed King Xieluo, and chased after Su Qing all the way to the Northern Lands, he did not know anything about the thirteen missing Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets.

    And even if Lin Mubai were to know about this matter, he would not have spread it publicly.

    Thirteen pieces of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet!

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately knew what Yun Qingwu would have told the Demon Race. She was going to use six months to hone her skills and figure out the secrets of the thirteen Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets.

    That excuse seemed almost unbelievable to the Demon Race, but none of them could refute her reason.

    Fang Zhengzhi had came to realise everything.

    But just as when he managed to understand the situation, he suddenly felt weak in his heart. It was about the thirteen pieces of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets spell.

    How could he break that?

    "This spell that I set is pretty easy. It is called the Thirteen Stars Formation, and is formed by the Eight Diagrams and the Seven Stars Array, together with the number thirteen of Tianji." Yun Qingwu began exining.

    Then, Yun Qingwu put down the purple strings instrument and stood up. She took a few steps in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "But, just as what you thought, you have to break the formation that is powered by the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets, all thirteen pieces. If you can break them, you can get out of here!"

 Chapter 622 Unmatchable Fight with the 3 Sages

    "Breaking all thirteen pieces of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet can get me out of this spell?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu, and let out a bitterugh.

    That was an easy and straightforward method.

    To break the spell, he had to destroy the tablets.

    It was neither the Calligraphy Tablet nor the Memorial Tablet, but the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet. Furthermore, it was thirteen of them.

    That was totally crazy!

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion test was starting in about half a month¡¯s time. How was it possible to break thirteen Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets within that time?

    Not only was it impossible, there wasn¡¯t a tinge of hope left for him.

    The difficulty of breaking the thirteen Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets was as difficult as entering the Sacred State. One must know that destroying one piece of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet was equivalent to taking one step into the state.

    Thirteen pieces?

    What was she thinking!

    If he had never tried it before, he would still have a bit of hope. But he had tried it before, in fact many times a year.

    Hence he knew that it would be difficult to destroy the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    Six years old.

    It was then when he destroyed the Illustration of All Creation. It was indeed an arduous path.

    The Illustration of All Creation could bepared to the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet from a certain level, but obviously the former was just one of the many in the world.

    The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet was not just a Tablet.

    In fact, Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet could be described as a Creation, one that is made from nature.

    To be exact...

    Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet would be made up of the mountains, rivers, the earth, flowers and many more. They all belonged to the nature.

    How to destroy it?

    There was no way to break it.

    One piece of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet was equivalent to one scenery. But it would be absurd to understand the whole nature just by looking at one part of the scenery.

    Moreover, it was not just one piece, there were thirteen pieces.

    "This spell is set by you, so I have another way, and that is to kill you!" Fang Zhengzhi thought that he must sound murderous. Hence when he looked at Yun Qingwu, his eyes portrayed a tinge of coldness.

    "Kill me?" Why don¡¯t you try it, you¡¯ll never know?" Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly, her tone still sounding as casual as ever. She was not afraid about life and death.

    Fang Zhengzhi remained silent.

    In fact, since the Battle of the Southern Region, Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was difficult to negotiate with Yun Qingwu, as she was never afraid about life and death.

    Certainly......

    It cannot be said that Yun Qingwu was not afraid of anything. Just like the way how she valued justice, if he had the chance to make her feel threatened, he would have a slither of opportunity to escape.

    But the problem was that Fang Zhengzhi had already used that method earlier, and Yun Qingwu managed to slip away from his grip.

    Which made everything awkward.

    He was unable to catch her, his threatening didn¡¯t work, and their negotiations failed. Must he really stay here to break all the 13 pieces of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets?

    "Are you sure you don¡¯t have other requests? How about a pretty guy? Like me, I can give you my body for seven days? You can step on it for 7 days, however you want to treat it! No? Ten days? How about ten days? Half a month, half a month is possible right!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu with anticipation.

    "Shameless!" Yun Qingwu barked at him after pausing for a second. Then she disappeared from the ground, vanished in the air.

    "Whatt....? She ran away?! Didn¡¯t you say we were supposed to be trapped in here together?" Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his future instantly went dark.

    He was about to try hisst resort, which was to disturb Yun Qingwu continuously until she could not endure any further, thereby releasing him.

    But, Yun Qingwu, actually ran away?

    How could this game continue?

    ...

    Half a month¡¯s time, flew past quickly.

    The news of the missing Fang Zhengzhi spreaded from the Northern Mountain Vige to Huai An County, andstly, the me Capital City. Everyone was aware of the disappearance of the Cang King.

    Huai An County¡¯s men had all been selected, and together with half of the River of Trust Province¡¯s men, they travelled from the Northern Mountain Vige to the Cang Ling Mountain...

    Looking everywhere to search for him.

    But there was no trail of him at all.

    In the Fang¡¯s household, Qin Xuelian felt as if time had slowed down. Each day felt like years. She had not seen Fang Zhengzhi much since Battle of the Southern Region.

    Now, Fang Zhengzhi had returned to the Northern Mountain Vige and was anointed as the Cang King.

    But suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi went missing again, how could Qin Xuelian endure this? She fell sick on the bed, bing skinnier and weaker day by day.

    Fang Houde had been using the time to lead the men in locating Fang Zhengzhi. He had also looked haggard from all the days when he had to return home and take care of Qin Xuelian.

    "Your Lord, still no signs..."

    "FIND! You have to find it, he can¡¯t just leave like this, he must be just nearby!" Wu Yuer rarely shouted at her subordinates, but she too couldn¡¯t control her emotions any longer.

    Half a month had passed by.

    Still no signs of Fang Zhengzhi, and he seemed like he just vanished into thin air. He was nowhere to be found. It was not just the Northern Mountain Vige that was searching for him, the entire Northern Lands and the River of Trust Province participated in the search too.

    But, there were still no news of him at all.

    Where could he be at?

    Wu Yuer had considered of the fact that Fang Zhengzhi might have concealed some information from her. But she knew that Fang Zhengzhi would never keep any secrets from Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    Something must be wrong.

    But who else could have hurt Fang Zhengzhi? Who could be so powerful to not leave Fang Zhengzhi a chance to escape? Not a single trail of him was left behind?

    Wu Yuer had a few possibilities in her mind, but she rejected all of them eventually.

    The Four Sages, certainly had the level of strength.

    But, the Four Sages would never attack Fang Zhengzhi. One of them was his master and it was equally improbable for the other three to do the same . Then, who else could it be?

    The Northern Barbarians?

    They had all retreated and given that the Demon King had been defeated by Fang Zhengzhi, it was impossible for the Northern Barbarians to attack at this moment.

    Then who else could it be?

    The Demon Race!

    That could be possible as Wu Yuer had already went to investigate on this. But the stronger one from the Demon Race who was powerful enough to take down Fang Zhengzhi had not even left the Blood Shadow City.

    Moreover, Wu Yuer knew that the Demon Race had gotten the thirteen pieces of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet from the Great Xia Dynasty. It would not be wise for them to risk the tablets and attack the Great XIa Dynasty.

    Wu Yuer felt as anxious as ever.

    Nightfall soon arrived and the moon rose up again. Day by day passed by really quickly, and all the men slowly returned from the searchings, shaking their heads in dismay.

    "Zheng¡¯er, my Zheng¡¯er... Cough..... Where have you been?" Qin Xuelian was looking pale as tears trickled down her wrinkly face, dripping on the ground.

    ...

    While the whole Great Xia Dynasty was searching for Fang Zhengzhi, the bright moon shone brightly on the bright blue ocean.

    A demon looking white figure flew across the sky, its wings spreading out along with the wind.

    Above the broad ocean, there were blocks of small inds, each made up from pile of ck sand. The moonlight shone on it, making it looked spooky.

    ck Moon Ind.

    It had its name originated from the block of stone located at the top of the volcano mountain. It shaped like a crescent moon, and stood upright at the tip of the entrance of the volcano, allowing countless spurts ofva to exit the volcano.

    It looked strange but it had a few thousand years of history.

    Just at that moment, a pink figure leapt off the top of the demon, slicing through the air like a knife as itnded gracefully on the edge of a cliff.

    It was light, and soundless.

    The pink dress shone brightly under the moonlight, and it looked as magnificent as ever. Contrasting the rows of ck stones, it resembled a bright rose, stunning everyone who had their sights on it.

    Her ck hair resting on her waist level, while a white cotton belt showcased her perfect body shape. Her sulent eyes looked calmly at the surroundings, spots of star light shining in her eyes.

    Nobody stood up to ask.

    However, just when she had justnded, the pitch dark ck Moon Ind ignited like a fire, creating a line of crushed stones in its path.

    On the sides of the pathway, there were lines of Tablets.

    One of the tablet wrote "ck Moon Ind" while the other had a drawing on it. It was a drawing of nine huge Three Legged ck Cauldron assembled together.

    Thedy made a bow in front of the drawing, then she walked away slowly, disappearing into the side of the cliff.

    A few momentster.

    A small stone house, which was made up of ck volcanic stones, erected in front of thedy. It was about five feet tall and had a few floral printed designs engraved on it.

    Nine bulbs of light decorated the front of the house, revealing three ck stone doors.

    "Kacha!"

    The ck stone door on the most right opened, and a youth exited. He was clothed in ck with two long spears at his back, and he walked towards thedy.

    "Master said that a special guest ising, may I know where did this special gueste from?" The youngd stood there and bowed.

    "The Great Xia." Thedy answered.

    "The Great Xia?" The youngd frowned his eyes. Once again he asked politely, "Master said that you are a special guest, and I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re not just as simple as the Great Xia. What are you looking for, special guest?"

    "Medicine."

    "May I know what kind of medicine are you looking for?"

    "Thousand Years Fire Herb."

    "Special guest asked for the Thousand Years Fire Herb?" The youngd¡¯s expression changed slightly after hearing that, as he scanned around thedy¡¯s body, "Do you know that it is a treasure in my ck Moon Ind?"

    "Hmmm, yes I know." Thedy nodded calmly.

    "And what do you have in exchange for this?" The youngd spoke again after remaining silent for a moment, his tone as formal as before.

    "A bottle of Snow Mountain Spirit." Thedy replied as she took out a crystal clear bottle, and there was blue lighting out from it.

    "Snow Mountain Spirit?" The youngd stared at the bottle on thedy¡¯s hand, as he frowned, "Since a special guest has requested, I shouldn¡¯t let her waste her trip. While a bottle of Snow Mountain Spirit has its value, we are only willing to trade it for an ounce of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, what do you think?"

    "I want a bundle of it."

    "A bundle?! You do know that there is only that bundle of Thousand Years Fire Herb left in the ck Moon Ind right? Even if you have ten bottles of Snow Mountain Spirit on your hand now, I wouldn¡¯t exchange that for it!" The youngd expression had a drastic change in his expression.

    "Then I¡¯ll do you a favour." Thedy spoke again.

    "A favour? What does the favour refer to??" The youngd¡¯s eyebrows looked as dark as ever.

    He had no idea of thisdy¡¯s identity.

    But he remembered his master¡¯s word, that it was rare to have special guests around here, hence he had decided to treat thedy politely.

    Although, it did not mean that he feared her.

    A bottle of Snow Mountain Spirit and a favour, in exchange for the ck Moon Ind¡¯s precious Thousand Years Fire Herb. If such news were to spread around, ck Moon Ind would never be a respectable region.

    "I can agree to one of your any condition, and I¡¯ll certainly fulfil this condition." Thedy continued talking.

    "Your age......I think you are not even eighteen years old yet right?" The youngd began looking at her doubtfully.

    "Seventeen." The young girl nodded her head.

    "Hehe..... The people in ck Moon Ind are always agreeable in all sorts of negotiations. But special guest, you don¡¯t seem to be making sense here. You¡¯re 17 years old, do you really think you can do something for us?" The youngd¡¯s tone changed and looked at her suspiciously.

    "Since that¡¯s the case, then make your move." Thedy did not continue any further, as she kept the bottle back in her clothes, and stared silently at the youngd.

    "Make a move?! Are you sure you want to fight?" The youngd froze for a second, as he was certainly frustrated by thedy¡¯s words, but he couldn¡¯t react in time when she said that she wanted to fight.

    A 17 years olddy came all the way to the ck Moon Ind, and asked him to fight? That sounded inconceivable.

    Did she not know about the ind had three personnel with strong Sacred States?

    Fighting three of them all by herself?

    No!

    It should be, fighting six of them all by herself?

    Because all three of them had a disciple each. Why would a lonedy be so daring to speak like this?

    And it all came from the mouth of a 17 years olddy.

    That was impossible.

    "Yes, I don¡¯t have much time, you can all attack at once." Thedy nodded calmly, as her expression still looking as stable as ever, just like the water in the river.

    The moon hung up high in the sky.

    The bright moonlight spilled on thedy, and she looked brilliant from the golden sparkle, her body resembling the shimmering stars in the sky...

 Chapter 623 Arrogant, Chi Guyanâ€™s Sword

    "Attack at once?!" The youngd¡¯s expression looked horrible. In fact, he had never looked so bad ever since he came to meet his master in the ck Moon Ind.

    His master had informed him earlier that he had to greet the special guest when it arrived.

    And he had followed whatever he was instructed to do, as he had treated her with utmost respect. He did not even reject the idea of exchanging the Snow Mountain Spirit with the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    He was indeed doing his best to be a good host.

    But...

    A bottle of Snow Mountain Spirit and a favour to be traded for a bundle of ck Moon Ind¡¯s Thousand Years Fire Herb, that sounded really ridiculous.

    More importantly, she actually resorted to using violence, once the negotiation was off?

    That was even more unbelievable.

    "Alright, special guest, are we really doing this?" The youngd tried to hide his anger while appearing polite in front of her.

    "Yes." The girl nodded her head, as her expression remained unchanged.

    "If it¡¯s that case, pardon Ah Bu for being rude, I will use this Dual de to defend your five strokes. If you cannot defeat me in just five strokes, can you leave here on your own?" Ah Bu heard that and pulled out the Dual de, one ck in colour and the other in white.

    Five strokes.

    That was how the youngd showed his way of hospitality.

    It obviously meant that if the woman in front of him could take him down within five strokes, it would mean that her power was on par with that of his master¡¯s.

    And for that, he would naturally retreat.

    On the other hand, it would also mean that thedy shouldn¡¯t have overestimate her power if she ended up being unable to defeat him. Leaving here would be the best solution for her.

    The youngd did not think much about whether thedy would choose to leave eventually.

    After all, it wasn¡¯t his business anymore.

    "Alright." Thedy¡¯s crystal clear eyes scanned up and down around the youngd before nodding to consent.

    "Ok then, special guest. You can make your move!" The youngd made a cross with the Dual de in front of his chest after as she agreed. There were two rays of ck and white light emitting from the de at the same time.

    Although thedy in front of him was only 17 years old.

    He did not look down on her at all. In fact, he treated her with caution.

    Afterall...

    The guestsing to ck Moon Ind were of no average status.

    Ah Bu¡¯s face was filled with dignity.

    His eyes opened widely with ferocity as the dark horizon suddenly brightened up.

    Or, it was not that the horizon had brightened up. Rather, it was the sight in front of him that had brightened up.

    Shimmering rays of brilliance surrounded the girl as she charged towards him instantly, not providing any hints before.

    It was a direct strike.

    But it was for this direct strike that caused Ah Bu to feel strange and different. It was not about the pressure of the strike, but it contained an indescribable feeling.

    It certainly couldn¡¯t be described purely by words.

    Ah Bu attempted to dodge even though he had prepared to defend the strike forcefully. But he thought otherwise when he saw the strike from her.

    But he had already been attacked.

    He was not sure if it was due to the fact that his body¡¯s motions had been locked, or that the strike was just too swift for him to leave him time to react and move away.

    In any case, the strike had alreadynded on his chest.

    It went around the Dual de in front of his chest, between the des and into his chest.

    Ah Bu felt a gust of horrific strength exiting her pale palms momentarily. The force entered his chest, and went straight into his internal pulses and veins.

    "Peng!" A sound began ringing beside Ah Bu¡¯s ears.

    Then, his bodily motionspletely went out of control as his feet was lifted off the ground. His body flew up backwards into the air.

    It wasn¡¯t far, as the distance was only about 10 feet.

    "Boom!"

    Ah Bu¡¯s legs softened immediately and he kneeled on the floor uncontrobly.

    Beats of sweat came trickling down from his forehead, and there was disbelief in his eyes. Because thedy did not seem to be as powerful as his master physically.

    But yet he could not handle the one strike from her.

    How could that happen?

    Ah Bu did not understand the weird situation that he was in just now. Why did he suddenly lose all his defensive awareness momentarily?

    It almost felt like a sudden sneak attack from behind, without any prior preparation.

    But he obviously did prepare himself for this, as he was as vignt as ever, and did not let his guard down even for a moment.

    But reality was that thedy had still struck him in the chest.

    "Ding Dang!" The ck and White Dual de dropped on the floor, emitting a light crisp sound.

    He was flung ck for a fairly short distance, and it was obvious that she did not use her full strength. In fact, it even seemed as though she was showing mercy.

    Showing mercy?

    Defeated in one stoke!

    Impossible.

    Even his master was incapable of this.

    How did that happen?

    Ah Bu¡¯s eyes were bright red with bulging veins. He fixated his vision on thedy, and her pink dress was indeed outstanding.

    "You.... You¡¯re the one from the Heaven Dao Pavilion..." A name shed across his mind. While this person rarely appeared in public, but in terms of fame, she definitely did not lose to any in the Sanctuary.

    This person became popr four years ago.

    She was only thirteen years old at that time, with average manners. It can even be said, from certain perspectives, that it was forbidden for her to step into the Sanctuary.

    But, she did, and she went into the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    She was even invited personally by the Pavilion Leader into the Pavilion.

    It was certainly against the rule in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, but nobody dared to rebuke to any of these. Furthermore, all the strong fighters in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion were summoned to gather for a celebration, whichsted three days.

    Since then, this name had spread around in the Sanctuary.

    "My name is Chi Guyan." She slowly withdrew her palm, her bright eyes looking at Ah Bu silently but her voice sounding calm and peaceful.

    Ah Bu¡¯s mouth moved as he attempted to say something. But nothing came out from it, as his eyelids felt extremely heavy, to an extent that he could not support them.

    The light in front of him gradually turned into darkness.

    Obviously this darkness was not referring to the darkness in the night sky.

    "Dong!" Ah Bu¡¯s body fell on the ground. Initially he was still looking as though he was unwilling to give up, but that expression had totally disappeared now.

    Because he had heard the words from thedy.

    "My name is Chi Guyan."

    Chi Guyan!

    A person who has never shown her face in the Sanctuary, but yet was called the "Pride of the Heavens" among the strong warriors. She was mysterious, arrogant and extraordinary.

    More importantly, she was also the first bloodline in the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body.

    "KACHA!" A soft sound could be heard.

    It was the sound of footsteps walking on the sand, and just at that moment, a figure appeared from behind the ck stone door on the right.

    His eyes were slightly raised, and his features were normal.

    His white long hair draped on his shoulders.

    A wide ck coat was wrapped around the figure, and he looked slim, and even a bit weak. But when a faint light began emitting from his forehead...

    It was evident that the man had already entered the Sagely State.

    "It has already grown so much in just a short 4 years of time? Old master, that is quite slow!" The old man looked at the ck youngd lying on the floor, and looked at Chi Guyan still standing on the same ce. The slightly closed eyes began opening up slowly.

    They were a pair of ck and white eyes.

    They looked dubious and strange at the same time, just like two ordinary material blending in together.

    "Chi Guyan, greetings to you, senior!" Chi Guyan saw the old man with his ck coat, and bowed politely.

    "One bottle of snow white mountain ice, in exchange for the five pounds of Thousand Years Fire Herb." The old man began speaking after Chi Guyan had finished her greetings.

    "Thank you Master, but I need a strain of it!" Chi Guyan corrected him.

    "Okay, even if you¡¯re Chi Guyan, but I have my own rules to serve in the ck Moon Ind. Five pounds is the limit and I did as a favour to your master!" The old man frowned as his tone changed.

    "I couldn¡¯t thank you enough, master, but I begged you to give me the amount I asked for. I will try to return this favour, whatever it costs me to!" Chi Guyan said in a determined voice.

    "Can you give me a reason then?" The old man asked coldly.

    "To save someone." Chi Guyan answered in a calm manner.

    "Save someone? If it¡¯s for saving someone, then a pound of the Thousand Years Fire Herb would be enough. Here I am, giving you a generous load five pounds of them to save someone!" The old man spoke while giving her a weird look.

    "No, that person need one sprint of it." Chi Guyan shook her head.

    "Is it a dead person?" The old man continued.

    "No." Chi Guyan denied again.

    "Is he your master?"

    "No."

    "Is this person important to you?"

    "Yes."

    "Are you sure that you¡¯ll be able to save him using a bunch of Thousand Years Fire Herb?"

    "Not sure."

    "You... You¡¯re not sure, and you came all the way to get those from me?" The old man had a change in his expression, as anger started to show out.

    "Yes, I would like to give it a try." Chi Guyan nodded her head.

    "Try? Hahaha, what a good try!" The old manughed out loud as he stared at Chi Guyan intently. He let out a loud sigh shortly after, "Looks like......This battle is inevitable today!"

    "Please guide me, master!" Chi Guyan replied almost instantly.

    "How pleasant of you to ask me to guide you!" The old man answered as soon as she finished speaking.

    At this moment, the two stoned doors at the back slowly creaked open. Two figures walked out of the doors, both with white long hair and wearing a simr coat.

    Of course they did not look the same as the old man.

    Three Sages of the ck Moon Ind.

    Approaching.

    "Chi Guyan, you¡¯re going to fight three of us at the same time, have you really considered this properly?" The old man in the middle, with a ck moon shape tattooed on his chest, slowly opened his mouth.

    "Hmm." Chi Guyan nodded her head, without much hesitation.

    "Brother, against our junior, are we really going together?" The old man standing on the right had a tinge of doubt.

    "Yes." The middle one nodded his head.

    "Understood." The one standing on the left stopped talking as he wiped away the doubtful look on his face.

    While the older brother did not give him any reasons for his answer, he understood that his brother never had made any wrong judgment before.

    Four years ago, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion held a grand celebration.

    He did not follow his brother to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion at that time, which also meant that he had never seen Chi Guyan in real life.

    But he knew that Chi Guyan had entered Heavenly Dao Pavilion four years ago.

    Four years...

    A short period of only four years?

    She was only in a Heavenly Reflection State mirror four years ago?

    The old man at the left observed Chi Guyan, scanning up and down as he paused at her forehead. There was no light in between her forehead.

    That made him felt relieved.

    But very quickly, he felt uptight again. As he knew that once the light around Chi Guyan brightened up around her, it would shimmer bright like stars.

    "So.... This is it!" The old man standing at the right seemed to have figured out everything that was happening, once the light began shining around Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan remained silent as she flipped her hand. At the same time, a sword appeared on her hand.

    It was a very average looking sword.

    The long sword looked nothing threatening from the outside. It was made out of red wood, but it was smooth with no scratches on it.

    The sword had a simple body, but its de was sharp.

    It can be seen that the de was sharp and sleek, but not merely that.

    The reality was that the sword looked no different from the average weapon sold in a street side shop. But as soon as the sword appeared on her hand, the three men had a drastic change on their faces.

    That was not because the sword had a story behind it, but because of the fact that it resembled an average looking weapon.

    Hence, it also signified that Chi Guyan had no intention on winning the battle through using a superior weapon.

    A junior.

    Fighting alone against three Sages.

    She actually pulled out an ordinary long sword that could be found in any stall. That could be seen as an insult, but the thought did not cross the minds of the three old men.

    As nobody would use their life as a bait to embarrass themselves.

    Then...

    The only exnation would be that Chi Guyan had not been using the sword, but she pulled out an ordinary sword today.

    The three old men gave each other a look as they exhibited their suspicion, making it seemed like they were over-reacting.

    But they were just being extra cautious.

    "Seniors, are you all prepared? Junior is attacking soon!" Chi Guyan stared at the three old men standing before her, as she slowly lifted up her sword, pointing it at the middle man.

 Chapter 624 The Madness of Chi Guyan

    "Hmmmm yeah, bring it on!" The old man in the middle stared at the de on Chi Guyan¡¯s hand and nodded his head gently.

    Begin a fight with the professionals byparing each other¡¯s imposing manners.

    But Chi Guyan was not used to this habit, and she started to manoeuvre the de on her hand as long as she saw the man nodding his head.

    The de was out.

    The dull and ordinary de suddenly emitted crystal rays of golden light, looking as if the stars had covered it. It was eye catching yet cold at the same time.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s de was swift and it was different from Nangong Hao¡¯s de. She had already reached in front of the old man the sword appeared.

    Her pink long coat swayed with the wind.

    Her crystal clear eyes were stunning.

    This stroke was simr to the previous attack that she made on Ah Bu. It had no foul moves, and it was a direct and swift stroke.

    But it was because of this stroke that made the old man change his expression. He only started to move after the de had reached his chest.

    Although he was already sweating profusely.

    Which made him seem as though he had just experienced a vicious battle.

    "Weng!" A loud sound shook the whole earth.

    A thick ck ray of light began flowing out from the middle of the old man. Or so to say, that was not a ray of ck light, it was justplete darkness.

    It looked like a ck hole swallowing everything around it.

    Chi Guyan stopped moving her de.

    The sharp de halted and shook vigorously in the dark, making a loud sharp noise. The light rays from the stars covering the de flickered continuously.

    Just at that moment, the two old men standing at both sides sprung into action. Both of them charged towards Chi Guyan, one left and the other right.

    "Chi Guyan, you might be powerful, but the difference between us will never be meant to cross over!" The old man from the right eximed as he attacked and punched her on her left shoulder.

    That stroke was not fast at all.

    But it was extremely heavy, and its strength did not feel like that just came out purely from his palm. It was as heavy as a gigantic mountain.

    The old man from the right certainly knew that the attack would take her down. As a team that fought together for countless years, he was aware that the man in the middle both had their own set of special moves thatpliment one another.

    The man in the middle would first stand back and defend while Chi Guyan made her first move. Then once the two men on the sides had attacked and cornered Chi Guyan from the sides, the old man from the middle would naturally take on the attacking role.

    By then, Chi Guyan would receive the blows from the three of them simultaneously.

    That would be an attack with much chemistry between the three of them.

    But the attack was unexpectedly right on point.

    "Hong!" That punch was strong and solid.

    Chi Guyan did not even attempt to dodge that punch, hence the punchnded on her shoulders.

    That resulted in the old man standing on the right to feel really confused.

    "Could it be that we have overestimated this youngdy?" The old man from the left did not reduce his strength of his punch, and he was using his normal strength to strike her.

    In theory, Chi Guyan¡¯s arm should not be able to handle that stroke, hence forcing her to loosen the grip of her de. Yet, the de on Chi Guyan¡¯s hand did not even move and fall on the floor.

    On the other hand...

    It moved an inch forward and closer.

    The de that was originally half an inch in front of his chest now moved an inch closer to him. What would then happen?

    "Boom!" The sharp end of the de stabbed straight into the chest of the old man in the middle.

    All of this happened in just an instant.

    Since the start when Chi Guyan made her first move, to when the old man in the middle defended it. To when the old man on the right struck her arm and finally to when the de was going into his chest.

    Too fast.

    It was too rapid to allow any reaction.

    The old man in the middle froze at that moment, and so did the two men at the sides. All of them had unbelievable expressions on their faces.

    "You..." The old man from the right opened his eyes widely as he witnessed the de poking into the old man¡¯s chest.

    He did not expect that Chi Guyan would actually made use of the strength from his punch, to break through the darkness defence of the old man in the middle.

    How was that even possible?

    Could it be that she had already anticipated the attack on her shoulder?

    That¡¯s why she did not dodge it?

    Impossible!

    How could that possibly happen.

    The old man on the right could not believe this.

    So did the old man on the left, who was now approaching them.

    "What an impressive youngdy!" The old man from the left cried out, but his pace did not slow down at all.

    "Hong!"

    This punch was as firm as the previous one.

    Chi Guyan still did not attempt to dodge again. However this time round she did not stabilise herself, and she used the strength to fly towards the old man on the right.

    "Wam!"

    The moment Chi Guyan flew out, a brilliant ray of light surrounded her body and the strangest sight happened.

    The man on the right froze just when the light brightened up.

    It all happened in an instant. Nobody would have noticed anything.

    But the de was already inside his chest. It was normal looking in nature, but it had already stabbed his chest.

    Columns of fresh blood.

    Red blood bursted out uncontrobly, creating a red rose in the night sky.

    "Chi Guyan..." The man on the right stared at the de sticking out his chest before looking at Chi Guyan.

    Astounded.

    Never before.

    Of course he knew what was happening.

    But all those were not important anymore. The crucial thing now was that despite the synergy of the three men, two of them were still injured by her in just a blink of an eye.

    They had been attacked by a junior who was of a lower status than them?

    Unbelievable.

    But that was the reality.

    At this moment, he seemed to figure out what Chi Guyan had meant by asking them toe to attack her together.

    She was trying to borrow strength!

    Moreover, it was their strength that she was trying to borrow.

    But who in the world would use this sort of crazy method to fight? It was a total tragedy, as she was using her life to to end another¡¯s.

    "Chi Guyan, are you asking for death?" The man on the left did not suffer from any injuries, but he couldn¡¯t help but tremble at the sight of both men getting hurt.

    Their main goal was to take down Chi Guyan.

    And make her retreat, but they had no intention of killing Chi Guyan. After all, they knew about how important Chi Guyan was to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Leader.

    But, it was obvious that Chi Guyan had been fighting for her life now.

    If the old men had not suppressed their power due to the difference in status, they would have been relentless in battle already. When the other party was exchanging her life for another, how could one be showing mercy?

    "Pu!" Chi Guyan spitted out a pool of blood from her mouth.

    The rosy and alluring face of Chi Guyan turned pale at once, as she had just concurrently suffered two blows from the two strong fighters who was already in the Sage State.

    She might have hurt two of them, but she wasn¡¯t in a very good condition either, given her injuries.

    But Chi Guyan¡¯s expression remained calm, but the blood stain was still outside her mouth. Her face was pale but her eyes were still as bright and brilliant as ever.

    "I beg you to give me one bundle of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, master!" Chi Guyan took a step back, but her expression looking as still as the frozen snow on theke.

    "Stop dreaming, Chi Guyan! Do you think that we can¡¯t do anything to you?"

    "Even if you¡¯re a part of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, we have the right to kill you, judging by your actions today!"

    "Chi Guyan, if you back down now, we will not look into this matter. But if you want to continue underestimating us, please don¡¯t me us for being rude to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion!"

    The three of them red at Chi Guyan, looking cold and scary. As the strongest people in the Sage Sate, they should not be angry at a junior this quickly.

    But it was also impossible for them to hand over the precious Thousand Years Fire Herb from the ck Moon Ind.

    "If that¡¯s the case, then don¡¯t me me for being like that!" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression remained the same. She raised the long spear up again and pointed directly at the old man in the middle.

    "Chi Guyan, you¡¯re asking for death!" The three of them made eye contacts with each other as they said coldly together.

    "Death?" Chi Guyan lifted up her head and gazed at the stars over the horizon.

    She had been the precious daughter who was under everyone¡¯s care since young. And she looked even more amazing and elegant after being the Pride of the Heavens of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Never encountered any adversity.

    Her life was always smooth and sessful.

    Everything would be given to her once she requested for something. As long as she thought of doing something, countless people would pave the way for her.

    In fact, countless people had appeared in front of her and even volunteered to guide her.

    Till...

    She met a person in her life, who was shameless and not afraid of death.

    But it was that person who did something that she would never do, which was single-handedly fighting the half sage Can Yang of the Demon Race.

    Then obstructed the invasion of the Northern Barbarians in the me Capital City.

    "If you can kill the Demon King, then I will definitely be able to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb!" Chi Guyan red angrily as her eyes suddenly sparkled.

    At the same time, a star started shimmering in the horizon.

    That star was bright, and it was bing bigger, bigger...

    Or so to say, it was not growing bigger, it was just falling down from the sky.

    It was falling down rapidly from the horizon, and Chi Guyan leaped at it at the same time, towards the fallen star.

    "This is? Brother......Be careful!"

    "Hong!"

    A loud sound came out from the ck Moon Ind, shaking the whole horizon. The entire ck Moon Ind seemed to tremble, with smashing winds and roaring waves.

    It was a rather terrifying scene.

    Nobody managed to understand the whole situation, but the area where the three men and Chi Guyan were initially standing at, had became a pile of debris.

    A huge ck pit appeared in the middle and its bottom could not be seen.

    The ck stone house toppled.

    More importantly, the volcanic mountain behind the ck stoned house began reacting abnormally, emitting puffs of hot boiling air from the mouth of the volcano.

    "Chi Guyan!" A voice bellowed out in the midst of the dusty atmosphere.

    The difference between the voice earlier was that, it sounded more agitated this time round, and it was of an uncontroble agitation.

    A figure began emerging out from the dusty area at the same time.

    That was a pink shadow, with beautiful features and bright eyes. Her mouth still had blood stains on it, as she continued biting her lips tightly.

    "Pew!"

    The figure moved in high speed.

    It charged towards the volcano aftering out from the dusty area.

    "Chi Guyan, you¡¯re not getting away from this!"

    "The thousand Years Fire Herd is not only a precious item in the ck Moon Ind, it can also be referred to as one of the Five Treasures of the Nine Pinnacle Mountain. The Nine Pinnacle Mountain will forever be against you if you were to take it!"

    "Stop right there!"

    The three anxious sounds echoed behind her, as they charged out from the dust almost immediately.

    Just that, aspared to earlier.

    The three of them were looking slightly pathetic.

    The ck robes that were originally clean and tidy had now been damaged, and there were countless deep and terrible wounds on their bodies.

    "Hong hong hong!" The huge volcano began shaking vigorously as the beasts on the ind were startled by it, emitting howls of panic.

    But Chi Guyan did not want to stop, and she tightened the grip on the sword, as she fixed her eyes on the volcano that might erupt any moment. She was looking calm and determined.

    Closer, closer.....

    Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes shimmered as she looked at the volcano mountain in front of her.

    The three men followed tightly behind her, feeling stressed and anxious, for they certainly knew that there was where the Thousand Years Fire Herbs were stored at.

    They were also certain that once Chi Guyan entered the mountain, they were unable to protect the Thousand Years Fire Herb already.

    "Brother!"

    "My younger brothers, support me!"

    "Okay!"

    The three men made eye contact with each other, as the middle one clenched his teeth and leaped forward. At the same time, darkness seemed to have engulfed the whole sky.

    Just as when darkness was engulfing the sky, the two men from both sides flew rapidly towards the middle man and gave him a punch each.

    "Hong!"

    Both palmsnded directly on the soles of his feet.

    The old man blended into a ray of light momentarily, which brightened up the night sky. There were no sounds and no signs of him, it was like he had disappeared.

    "WAM!" A loud crashing sound echoed.

    The birds and animals were making high pitched sounds in startle, and a blood fog burst out in the air. Then the pink figure dropped in the air.

    It fell towards and down into the entrance of the volcano, which was about to erupt.

 Chapter 625 Underestimating the First Bloodline

    "Is she dead?"

    "My brothers helped me in that punch and big brother even utilised all his strength. Even if Chi Guyan is not dead, I doubt that she can stand up!"

    "Second brother is right, but the Thousand Years Fire Herb is still in the mountain. I think we should still go in and check it, just in case. We can also drag Chi Guyan¡¯s body out at the same time!"

    "Your words make sense, brother!"

    The two old men witnessed the strike that had resulted Chi Guyan to fall down into the volcano. They looked confused and had no idea if such a situation was fortunate or not to them.

    But that ce was the ck Moon Ind and it was located in the Nine Pinnacle Mountain area.

    Chi Guyan might be from the Heavenly Dao Pavilion and also someone whom the Pavilion Leader very much respected. But they could still kill the person, once he or she broke into the ck Moon Ind to steal its treasures.

    "Big Brother!"

    "Brothers, follow me down!" He stood solemnly at the mouth of the volcano, where the mes continuously spurted out.

    "Okay!" The two brothers heard hismand and nodded their heads.

    The three of them did not hesitate in the air for long before they headed into the volcano mountain. The mountain was looking extremely stable and calm now.

    They could see the boiling magma, once they plunged into the volcano.

    The terrible heat created cracks and gaps in the inner wall of the volcano. Red crystal stones were embedded in those cracks, and their lights radiating faintly.

    Fire Volcano Crystal.

    One of the materials to make weapons.

    It was also considered to be a treasure in the ck Moon Ind.

    But its value was nothingpared to that of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    When the three of them had entered the mountain, their eyes immediately looked towards one of the cracks in the crater.

    It was a crack that could barely fit a person. From the outside, it was no different from the other cracks. However, there was a protruding rock that was raised like an umbre in that crack.

    And under the umbre-shaped rock, a red glow was looming.

    That looked like a lump of me.

    However, it was not exactly a me, because there was a nt which was enveloped by the red rays in the center of that me.

    It wasn¡¯t a massive one. It was just the size of a palm, and it was round in shape.

    Nheless, from the roots of the nts to the top of the round leaves, everything looked as clear as crystals. From the outside, there was a cluster of red air flowing, and each stem vein was clear and visible.

    "It¡¯s still here!" The three men saw the Thousand Years Fire Herb and heaved a sigh of relief. The Thousand Years Fire Herb was really a precious treasure.

    The existence of it involved a huge amount of time and luck.

    The me would gather in the crater, and asionally one or two stem of the herb would grow. While that might not be rare, the environment inside the crater was totally different from the outside.

    How could the weak herb survive if the volcano were to explode?

    Coincidentally, the Thousand Years Fire Herb grew from between the cracks, where the protruding stone was protecting it from the magma.

    More importantly, the umbre-shaped rock was able to retain the maximum amount of heat that would otherwise escape, allowing the fire herb to grow.

    That was how the stem of herb was able to grow at such a fast speed in this condition. It was being protected from being overwhelmed by the hot magma.

    And it had survived for a very long time.

    Nobody could imagine how precious it was.

    However.....

    Just as the three of them were feeling relieved, a pink figure shed past in front of their eyes.

    Charging towards the cracks in a swift.

    The next moment, a foot stepped on the umbre-shaped rock above the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    In the dark cracks, rays of red light sparkly softly. Her pink dress swayed along with the heat waves, and a me was burning on the rock under her long dress.

    That was the strangest scene.

    From one look, it looked like the old men had just seen a ghost.

    In reality, the three old men all had bbergasted expressions on their faces. Their eyes widened, as they red at Chi Guyan iprehensibly, who was standing at the area above the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    A hard and firm punch on her back.

    But she was still alive?!

    Whether it was the old men standing on both sides or the old man in the middle, nobody could believe the reality. After all, it was true that they did not show mercy during their strike just now.

    "Chi Guyan, please calm down, don¡¯t do that. We can understand how desperate you are about the Thousand Years Fire Herb, how about... We exchange 10 ounces of the herb with your one bottle of the Snow Mountain Ice. How about that?"

    "We don¡¯t need the Snow Mountain ice!"

    "15 ounces, we could give you the 15 ounces for free. You have seen how scarce the Thousand Years Fire Herb is.... 15 ounces, that¡¯s the limit, we have no idea how long will the next batch of the herbs grow up again after the 15 ounces!"

    The two men from the sides were really frantic now.

    With such a close distance, it was impossible for them to stop Chi Guyan. As long as she waved her hands slightly, that would be the end of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    "Chi Guyan, you are already injured badly....... Quit being so crazy, even if you really managed to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb, there¡¯s no way for you to bring them out!" The man in the middle spoke up.

    "Hong hong!"

    The volcano started vibrating again, and the rolling magma was boiling in the crater. The intense heat waves blew against the ck robes of the three old men.

    But the three of them did not move an inch.

    Because Chi Guyan was motionless as well.

    Chi Guyan resembled a carved statue, as she stood there quietly on the umbre-shaped rock where the Thousand Years Fire Herb was at.

    Her crystal clear eyes were fixated on the three men.

    She seemed to be considering about the negotiations.

    That was what the three men were thinking in their heads. But that idea was quickly erased, after they saw a slight ray of light shining on the forehead of Chi Guyan.

    The light seemed to be emerging out from her forehead.

    "This is?!"

    "You......Chi Guyan, are you..."

    "Chi Guyan!"

    Whether it was the old men at the sides or the old man in the middle, their faces turned pale with astonishment after seeing the bright light shining on Chi Guyan¡¯s forehead.

    That really terrified them.

    Silence.

    Because Chi Guyan did not reply the three of them, as she only raised her head slightly and stared at the stars shining into the volcano mountain.

    And more light began shining out from her forehead.

    Gradually it became brighter, brighter....

    "Weng!"

    All of a sudden, the power of nature seemed to have been activated, as the ripples of light revealed from Chi Guyan¡¯s body. It condensed behind her instead of spreading out.

    It continued to solidify around her.

    Very quickly, a faint shadow came to view.

    It was a ck silhouette hidden in the crack. It looked a bit blurry at first but it was clear that it was a human figure.

    And it was that of a female¡¯s.

    Long ck hair fell from top to bottom, blocking the bright lights in front of her chest. There was no expression in the eyes. But they were looking down coldly on the three old men in front of them.

    This figure was indeed of a high majestic status.

    The most special part was that there was a very prominent mark on her forehead.

    And it was made up of five colours of light rays which formed the mark.

    "Live, or die?" Chi Guyan¡¯s hand lifted up slightly as light rays began shining out from the de. Her face was looking as pale as ever and her mouth still had blood stains around it.

    Patches of bright red blood stained her long dress.

    Moreover, her body was still trembling all over, be it her foot on the stone or her right hand which was holding onto the long spear.

    Chi Guyan did not look like she was in a good condition...

    But given her current condition, she still offered the choices of either letting them live or die.

    More importantly.....

    After hearing the following from Chi Guyan, the three old men did not smile at all. Rather, they all seemed to be at a loss.

    The three sages actually felt threatened from the wordsing out of a trembling Chi Guyan?

    That was unbelievable.

    But that had truly happened in front of them.

    "That was what everyone meant by the first bloodline of the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body?"

    "Big brother, what do we do now?"

    "Chi Guyan......She didn¡¯t look like she wanted to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb straightaway. Was she thinking about fighting here with us?"

    The two old men hesitated for a while before turning their attention to the one in the middle. Their expressions were all lookingplexed.

    "We can¡¯t lose the Thousand Years Fire Herb!" The one in the middle made eye contact with the rest before looking at the figure behind Chi Guyan, as he tightened his grip.

    "Understood!"

    "We will all listen to you, big brother!"

    The two old men listened and nodded their heads.

    "Chi Guyan, embrace your death!"

    "KILL!"

    Along with the two voices, the two old men rushed towards Chi Guyan. At the same time, two rays of ck and white light shone out from them.

    It almost flooded the entire area of the volcano mountain.

    "Step back!" Chi Guyan shouted once again when they were one inch away from Chi Guyan.

    As soon as the voice died down.

    The figure behind Chi Guyan started moving. Her ck silky hair swayed in the air, as the multi rays of colours continued to swirl around on her forehead.

    Then, two fists stretched out from in between the cracks.

    "Bam!"

    A loud sound could be heard.

    The ck and white light resembled a broken mirror, instantly turning into countless light spots.

    As the two fists struck on the bodies of the two men.

    "Hong!"

    A loud sound came out again.

    The two men were directly pushed onto the inner walls of the volcano, causing the original rock crystals that had been embedded in the inner walls of the crater to fall.

    "Di da di da..."

    The crystal bits of rocks rained down and dropped into the me, forming little thick waves of liquid.

    "Pu!"

    "Pu!"

    The two men spitted out a pool of blood almost immediately, as they fixed their eyes on the figure that slowly retreated into the cracks.

    They were both traumatised.

    They had no other way of expressing their emotions, because a crack that looked like a turtle was spreading out rapidly.

    After all these years, the volcano rocks which had undergone countless years of showering from the me, were different from ordinary rocks outside. The rocks inside were strong and hard, and even the sharp des were unable to cut it open.

    But now...

    It was being splitted open immediately.

    How could that not scare them?

    "So powerful!"

    "Why was it so powerful?"

    "I can¡¯t believe that even though I have entered the Sage State, I can¡¯t even beat a young 17 years olddy. This first bloodline of the Xuan Heavenly Dao Body is really impressive!"

    "Big brother, we..."

    "No need to say anything more!" The old man standing in the air reached out and stopped the other two behind him. He did not pay attention to the two of them.

    In fact, since earlier...

    He had never let Chi Guyan leave his sight.

    And his eyes were extremely ck. They resembled two ck holes, and there was not a tad of white colour in them.

    "Rumble!"

    At that moment, the boiling magma exploded. Everyone was not sure if it was because of the two old men who crashed onto the inner walls, or it was just due to erupt.

    The hotva spouted from below, like a fire dragon vomiting breaths of red air.

    "Younger brothers, please leave first!" The old men standing in the air began moving, as darkness enveloped the entrance of the volcano mountain.

    His body vanished as soon as he finished his sentence.

    It was blending.

    It blended into the darkness.

    Chi Guyan had also started moving at the same time.

    "If you are able to do it, I can do it too!" Chi Guyan mumbled under her breath, as she carried the de with her and flew towards the Thousand Years Fire Herb. She was moving as swift as lightning.

    But just as the tip of the de was about to reach the Thousand Years Fire Herb...

    The de halted in its tracks.

    As there was a ball of darkness in front of the de. It was of the size of a palm.

    "Chi Guyan, dream on!" A voice boomed out from the darkness, as it filled the air in the volcano mountain.

    ...

    "Big brother!" The old men looked at the ball of darkness that had entered into the crack. They wanted to mouth out something. However, the magma below was already spewing onto the soles of their feet. This clenched their teeth forcefully and flew out of the crater.

    "Hong long long..."

    Hot magma spewed from the crater, and rushed into the sky. It exploded, turning into thick rock liquid, flowing down from the mouth of the volcano mountain.

    High pitch screeching sounds of the animals filled the sky.

    The waves crashed, under the light of the stars, and the mes rose up the sky as red light illuminated the dark ck Moon Ind. The ck moonstone above the crater was being dyed red.

 Chapter 626 The Tremble of the Heavenly Dao Sage Table

    It was a beautiful scene, but it was shocking at the same time.

    ck smoke spurted from the crater and rose towards the sky, forming arge ck cloud, covering all the light emitting from the stars, and there was not a single ray of light in ck Moon Ind.

    At the same time...

    A ray of light fired out from the crater and broke through the imprable wall of the volcano. It was extremely fast and slid across the sky.

    "Rumble..." Numerous gravels fell from the volcano and into the red magma beneath, creating flowers of me upon impact.

    "Big brother!" The two men rushed out from the light, clenching their fists, as they looked anxious and worried.

    ...

    Five dayster, early in the morning.

    The warm and soft sunlight fell from the sky, and the red feathered bird flew down from the horizon. It stopped on a lush tree branch, chirping cheerfully.

    Under the big tree, the green grass was stained with dew, and a faint cloud drifted across the sky. From time to time, a breeze blew through the leaves, and the branches shooked and rustled.

    It was at the bottom of the Cang Ling Mountain, a piece ofnd in the Northern Mountain Vige. Peaceful. It was ordinary just like the surrounding scenery, looking elegant and pleasing to the eye.

    And just at the moment, the peaceful ground trembled vigorously, resulting in the branches to shift down.

    "Chip!" The birds were frightened as they pped their wings and soared up into the sky.

    The silence had seemed to be broken, but after the tremor, everything was restored to its original state again, as though nothing had happened.

    But there was another whole new world apart from this whole serenity.

    The sound of the strings hung in the air. It was light and slow, flowing smoothly like a small river.

    It seemed like there was a spell that was calming the surroundings.

    The string instrument was ying a meditation song.

    The song was obviously a meditation song.

    The rhythm of the song, as well as the jade-like fingers on the purple guqin. A white snow dress slightly floated along with the blowing breeze, as her dark beautiful hairnded on the emerald green grass.

    The song sounded like a fairnd.

    It was coupled with the beautiful face of the woman, with crystal clear jade skin and bright ck eyes. That scenery was indeed extremely stunning.

    However, the youngd sitting opposite the woman did not seem to see the woman at all, as his eyes were not even opened.

    Both his eyes were slightly closed.

    It seemed like he was sleeping.

    However, he wasn¡¯t lying down, instead he was sitting on the floor. His hands wereid t on his knees, and it did not look like he was sleeping, in fact, it was like he was in his own state.

    The Buddhists have an exnation for this state, it is called: meditation.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t aware if he had already sunk into a meditating state, but he knew he was tired, extremely tired.

    He had fought and attempted to escape multiple times after he knew that he was being trapped by Yun Qingwu using the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    He was never so serious till now, where for half a month, he had only gotten an hour of sleep daily. When his eyes were open, he had been looking around.

    Observing every details.

    From the grains of sand on the ground, to the nts on the grass patch and the leaves on the trees. And finally to the mountains faraway, the rivers and the sky.....

    He did not miss out on any part.

    Look, observe, reflect.

    Throughout this half month¡¯s duration, he had emptied every part of his body.

    He had suffered for half a month.

    Until 5 days ago...

    Fang Zhengzhi could no longer tolerate his situation, and it was not because he could not endure his predicament anymore, but it was because he had insufficient time left.

    It was because the Heavenly Dao Pavilion test was only a month away from now.

    If he were not trapped, and such a situation did not happen, five days ago, he would have started setting off for the Northern Mountain Vige. Then he would have met up with Yan Xiu at the me Capital City before heading for the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    But, the situation now was all in a mess.

    He had not moved a bit, since the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets were still not unlocked. Hence, he had to stay trapped outside the Northern Mountain Vige. He had resorted to all sorts of methods, but Yun Qingwu still remained relentless.

    In fact even till recently, she even tried to not care, not listen and not answer to any negotiations.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious.

    "Let me out, you crazy woman. Even if you want me to solve the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, there¡¯s no need for you to trap me here right? Human rights, do you know what are human rights?"

    Fang Zhengzhi roared and threatened tomit suicide. As he had predicted that Yun Qingwu would never want him to die, and her goal was just for him to solve the Thirteen pieces of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets.

    Or maybe, that might be a win-win situation for both of them.

    Yun Qingwu would know about the secrets of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet, and he would be able to seed in entering the Sage State.

    But this method was really tough, since there was no space for negotiations at all and he was forced to do this. Is this really the best method?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯snts had attracted Yun Qingwu¡¯s attention.

    But her response was, "If a person really wants to die, nobody else could save him."

    Then...

    There was nothing after that.

    Fang Zhengzhi certainly wasn¡¯t thinking about suicide, so he came to thest resort which was to give up. He had used the self-harm method to force Yun Qingwu to let him out, which was not something he would usually do.

    His heart was beating really fast, as though it was about to explode anytime.

    After spending half a month trapped outside the Northern Mountain Vige, he turned from a carefree and cheerful bird into an anxious ant.

    His sudden disappearance had caused the people around to feel worried. Putting Wu Yuer aside, he could not help but think about Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    Moreover, Qin Xuelian¡¯s body condition had been deteriorating...

    And then there was the promise he had made with Chi Guyan.

    He was supposed to be at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion two years ago. But it had already been postponed for two years, was he supposed to dy it any longer?

    He had no idea if he would still have another two more years to live.

    And then there was Ping Yang...

    The Ping Yang who had been waiting for him at the Ling Yun Tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi had too many things to settle, and he could never be at ease to observe the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets and wait patiently for him to get lucky and be a sage.

    All these anxieties were pressing down on Fang Zhengzhi.

    Therefore, he needed to vent his anger and frustration.

    Yun Qingwu utilised all three "no" methods against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "words" and "strategies", but she did not ignore Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vents andints.

    On the other hand.......

    She gave Fang Zhengzhi ample opportunities to vent out his anger.

    Of course, such opportunities were not given by her out of nothing. It was only after cooking up a delicious array of food, that she had prepared few bottles of wines for him.

    Moreover, the most important thing was that Yun Qingwu even apanied him, as she had said out loudly, "Alright, not saying you don¡¯t have a chance, but if you have the ability, you can get me drunk and take your revenge?"

    Thereafter, Fang Zhengzhi drank the wine.

    He felt that there was some hidden meaning within Yun Qingwu¡¯s words, and it might even be a trap again. But he still drank it, because wanted to drink it.

    That mealsted for quite some while, and they drank for a very very long time.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t aware of how much wine he had drank that day. But the fact was that up till now, he had yet to turn sober.

    So was that even meditation?

    Naturally, it wasn¡¯t.

    To phrase it better, Fang Zhengzhi currently was still drink in unconsciousness, but his sitting stance was as firm as that of a meditation. As to why he would adopt such a stance to sleep, only Yun Qingwu would know the reason.

    Fang Zhengzhi was only aware of one thing, which is that many thoughts were floating around in his mind. A while ago he was up flying around the tall mountains, and the next moment he would plunge down into the river.

    As for why all these thoughts and imaginations were floating in his head, the main reason was that he had been chasing a particr girl in his mind the whole time.

    A girl wearing a long white dress.

    He had met this girl before, and they had met more than once.

    Their first encounter was when he was with Yan Xiu, when they were in the Heavenly Treasure Hall Divine Constabry. He saw this girl through its parallel dimension.

    That time, thedy appeared at thekeside, dancing elegantly, it was really beautiful. But he was not able to see her features clearly.

    And there was the time at the Southern Region too, but he did not know if it could be counted, because his world then was looking purplish, a sort of splendid purple.

    He had seen the samedy wearing the long white dress then too.

    She danced like a angel, beside the river of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    Fang Zhengzhi had came in contact with lots of secrets in these two years. Just like how he knew about the ck squarish stone real name, which was called The Vast World.

    And how there¡¯s a piece of "purend" within The Vast World.

    Theke was calm, and the green meadow, quiet and peaceful. It was pure and not contaminated with even a trace of dust. The "purend" was indeed called the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet.

    But he had never had another chance to meet the white long dressdy again.

    He even attempted to search around The Vast World, but failed to find any items or things rted to thedy.

    Initially, he thought it was something rted to the bead which he had picked up along thekeside in the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    But after...

    Fang Zhengzhi rejected the idea, since the bead was not in the boundaries of the The Vast World.

    Or so to say, when Fang Zhengzhi had been attacked by the half sage Can Yang of the Demon Race, the bead had been discarded along with many other useless items, and abandoned at the Southern Region.

    Why would there then still be the white long dressdy when there was no bead left?

    The most important point was that since he could control the whole Vast World, there was nothing that could escape his sight anymore.

    "What was that?" Fang Zhengzhi had asked that question repeatedly, but he didn¡¯t manage to solve the whole question since thedy had not appeared again.

    But now...

    Thedy had appeared once again.

    And she was just standing in front of him, he could not help but proceed to seek and find out the real identity and appearance of thedy.

    Only this time round, thedy wasn¡¯t dancing in front of him anymore.

    Instead, like a traveler, she brought him around as they stepped across a series of grasnds, past pools of clearkes, and crossed over a bunch of consecutive mountains.

    Started at sunrise and stopped at sunset.

    That felt strange as thedy seemed like she was admiring the whole scenery across the mountains and rivers, appreciating the picturesque surroundings.

    Fang Zhengzhi had also seen the scenery, but only so because he was following behind thedy. He felt like a tourist following a tour guide.

    He had tried to catch up to her, and even shouted and yelled at her.

    But thedy did not pay any attention to him, and the distance was always 20 feet away from each other. Even if he tried to hasten his steps, the distance between them remained the same.

    Just like that, both of them walked together for a very long time.

    Until thedy finally stopped in front of a piece of dried upnd. The trees were all withered up and there were countless cracks everywhere on the ground.

    The wind was caressing on her cheeks gently.

    It was certainly not a desert, but it looked barren and deserted. It had a dying atmosphere lingering in the air.

    Of course...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel ufortable from looking at the scenery, as thedy had brought him to a worse environment before.

    Such as dark caves, swamps filled with mud, as well as cold ciers and extremely hot subterranean. They even looked at the boiling magma up close.

    This ce was nothingpared to the other ces that he had been to. It was just a bit more deserted and scary.

    But thedy paused there and had no intention of moving forward.

    After all the following and pursuit, Fang Zhengzhi had given up trying to go up close to thedy. Hence, he intentionally stopped in his tracks too and waited patiently.

    This wait had turned out to be an hour long.

    But there was no movement made, and thedy continued standing on the same spot, resembling a statue clothed in a white long dress.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not endure any longer and took one step forward.

    ording to what had happened earlier, Fang Zhengzhi thought that if he were to step forward, thedy would also make a step forward.

    But reality was that...

    Thedy stayed in the same ce, motionless.

    Fang Zhengzhi feltplexed, and it brought out a little excitement in him. Since thedy did not move from her ce, it also meant that he was able to walk in front of her and catch a glimpse of how she looked like.

    Harbouring this hope, Fang Zhengzhi started walking again.

    Step by step towards her.

    And thedy continued staying in her position, as the wind blew onto her white dress, and her ck hair swaying freely. She did not seem to realise Fang Zhengzhi was approaching her.

    Closer, he was closer.

    As Fang Zhengzhi hastened his steps, the distance between thedy and him became closer. Quickly, Fang Zhengzhi reached the back of where thedy was standing at.

 Chapter 627 A Breakthrough, The Rebirth Of All Living Things

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes froze as he stood behind thedy,

    Naturally, he should have taken another two more steps in front so as to catch a glimpse of the woman in the white dress. But s he decided not to do that.

    Because his vision started turning green as soon as he stood behind thedy.

    The green seemed strange as they were surrounded by drynd, withered trees and piercing winds. How could there be green in such a lifeless ce?

    But the reality was that a tinge of green appeared in front of his sight.

    It was a bud emerging from the drynd.

    Emerald green leaves, delicate branches, and above all, there was a drop of crystal clear dew on the leaves of the bud.

    "Di da!" Dew drops slipped from the leaves and dripped onto the dried upnd, disappearing instantly.

    It was normal and expected as thend was too dried up, but among all these was a tinge of strangeness. Who could understand how there was still life in such an environment?

    Hold up!

    Alive?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body trembled vigorously.

    He fixated his eyes on the bud as a familiar strange feeling built up within him. It felt as if the bud was growing inside his heart.

    His heart?

    Could this ce be?

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned his surroundings abruptly, at the drynd, the strong winds as well as the withered trees.

    Wrong, this ce couldn¡¯t be...

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head quickly, as when he had seen the bud, he had an illusion. It was like he had seen his broken Small Dimension.

    But there weren¡¯t many big trees in his Small Dimension.

    It was not the same.

    But this ce still looked very familiar.

    The familiar bud, the familiar dews and the empty spaces.

    Just like the beginning of all living things, the bud was the source of everything. It was through the growth of the bud that allowed the revival of all living things.

    "Revival?" That idea shed past Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind immediately as he shook his head again. He thought that revival wasn¡¯t the most apt description of the sight in front of him.

    Destend.

    Dead silence, fierce piercing wind, dry barrennd, green buds....

    No, it can¡¯t be right.

    This was not the normal method of the beginning of all living things, nor was it a simple revival of life as well.

    Destruction!

    It was a form of destruction!

    A destruction that happened at the beginning of the revival.

    It was like a naturalw, except that thews in front of him were like two distinct and differentws.

    In a desertednd of death, he saw a fresh life. That was a scene that hadpletely vited the nature rules. However, there seemed to be some kind of reason behind all these.

    "What was the reason?" Fang Zhengzhi could not understand the situation temporarily.

    And that was when thedy slowly sat down, ignoring the dried up ground, as patches of soil stained her white dress.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to voice out something.

    Such as, your dress is too white. It is not too good to turn it into a ck dress, it might be better if you look for a few leaf pads. Or maybe, you can sit on myp? Or why not, you¡¯ll be at the top, I¡¯ll be at the bottom?

    But the words couldn¡¯te out of his mouth in the end.

    It was because of the fact that Fang Zhengzhi did not dare to say them, but he felt that something seemed off.

    A white dress transforming to a ck dress...

    It was simr to a betrayal of beauty and thew.

    If he were to change his perspective, such as, thedy might be wearing a ck dress since the beginning?

    Or thedy might think that the white dress was not suitable for her, so that it would be prettier when she sat down?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what was happening in his head, but he felt that an idea had began to start churning in his head.

    However, he did not manage to catch on to what was in his mind.

    The feeling was akin to when he was about to take off his shirt, but realised that the button was spoilt and couldn¡¯t be opened. This feeling was anxious, but the more urgent he was, the more difficult it would be for him to open it.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to open the thoughts in his mind.

    But he heard a voice ringing.

    "Sit."

    It was a simple sound, but it caused Fang Zhengzhi to have a sudden surge of shock. He wasn¡¯t feeling frightened, but rather, it was a type of feeling that made him wide awake.

    Extremely sober and clear-minded.

    The white dressdy actually spoke?

    This felt unbelievable to Fang Zhengzhi, but he pondered for a long time before sitting down.

    Just like thedy, Fang Zhengzhi sat down on the ground, beside ther.

    Then he turned his attention to the bud in front of him.

    "Eh?" In just a small glimpse, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes widened as the bud from earlier had disappeared.

    It changed to a small tree, which was half the height of a human.

    There were many leaves on the small tree, and the dews were crystal clear on each and everyone of them. Drops of dew slowly formed on the leaves.

    "Drip drop, drip drop..."

    As the dew dropped on the ground, the cracks on the ground began to gradually shrink. The dry ground was leached with faint traces of water, although it was able to keep the ground moist.

    "It¡¯s the Small Dimension, exactly....It must be the Small Dimension!" Fang Zhengzhi felt confident with a tinge of happiness inside him as he watched the dew drip down.

    Here...

    This ce was where he was in the Small Dimension.

    But why would he appear in this Small Dimension? Moreover, why would the white dressdy stop at such a ce suddenly?

    Multiple questions were bothering Fang Zhengzhi.

    But the white dressdy did not respond again. There was no sounding out from her, as she continued to sit down quietly.

    Fang Zhengzhi had the urge to ask what was going on.

    But he chose to be silent in the end.

    There weren¡¯t too many reasons and exnations, but he decided that people might just have different perspectives on things. Just like "there are so many potential lovers to choose from, but you only pick one from among those potential lovers."

    "Let¡¯s go." Just at that moment, the white dressdy spoke again, gingerly standing up and walked in front.

    She did not brush off the soil stains on her dress and walked forward as usual.

    As she continued to move forward, the little buds began emerging from the ground. There were green grass, bright flowers and thick tall trees.

    That was the strangest scene.

    The whitedy arrived at a ce that seemed deserted and scarce. The initially ck piece ofnd became turned green all of the sudden, as the fierce wind softened, emitting a smooth and breezing atmosphere.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood up too.

    He wanted to chase after the white dressdy, but he realised that the distance would just be extended once again.

    From ten feet, to fifteen feet, then twenty feet.

    As Fang Zhengzhi followed closely behind her, he looked down at the green patches that seemed to revert to its original state.

    Thedy walked in front while Fang Zhengzhi followed closely behind.

    But Fang Zhengzhi still felt that something was abnormal.

    "Wrong!" Fang Zhengzhi paused immediately as he stopped following the white dressdy. He stayed put on his position.

    Just as he stopped, the white dressdy also halted her tracks.

    The grass that was growing rapidly stopped growing, so did the fresh bright flowers, as well as the lush gigantic trees. The whole world had seemed to stop, it was like a frozen frame.

    "I see!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up instantly, as the little spot of light in his eyes sparkled like the stars in the night.

    At this point, he seemed to figure out why the white dressdy suddenly stopped moving. He also understood the reason as to why the trees and the bud were growing in the desertednd.

    Initially...

    He thought it was just destruction.

    It would begin with destruction then transform into the stage of revival.

    Starting off with just a bud, and into a big tree. A from a raindrop, to keeping the drynd moist. As time passed by, it would turn into a whole new world.

    All these seemed like a standard rule, one that dictate the beginning of living things.

    But very quickly, he found out that this rule seemed odd, and it was not what he had envisioned.

    The bud forming in a dry piece ofnd.

    That was certainly not revival.

    But creation.

    It happened after the white dressdy had entered the drynd. Or to put it into context, thedy had nted a "seed" into this piece of drynd.

    That exined why the white dressdy had stopped just now.

    A seed, nted into the drynd, with the raindrops moisturising the dry piece ofnd. Then more seeds were nted and they started growing.

    There wasn¡¯t much of a difference...

    But the hidden meaning in it was extremely different.

    "A seed... Yes, it¡¯s a seed!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had finally cracked open the difficult puzzle in his head.

    Ever since he was trapped by Yun Qingwu using the whole 13 pieces of Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet spell, he had been observing and brainstorming.

    But they were to no avail.

    Certainly...

    It was not to say that the thinking and observation had not benefited him, for it helped him umte knowledge. It was theption of every little bit of knowledge that allowed him to understand the whole situation.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his earlier observations, he wouldn¡¯t have cracked open the puzzle so quickly.

    The beginning of all living things, was a seed.

    The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet contained all sorts of natural elements such as mountains, waters, trees, flowers and grass...

    But none of all these couldpare with the source, which was the seed.

    In other words, the real way to solve the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablet was to find the first "seed" in every piece of it. The seed might a drop of water, or a tree, a flower, or even a grain of soil.

    All these could also bebelled as.....

    Rebirth!

    There was a rebirthing process in every trees, flowers,ke, sea and mountain. They all required the process of rebirth.

    "Rebirth, it was all about rebirthing!" Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist tightly, as he had never figured out how to enter the Rebirth State.

    Supernatural State allowed a body to get in touch with death, and draw the power from a body. From there, it would develop a supernatural effect when it had reached the limit of a human¡¯s body.

    But rebirth...

    Was to let the body grow again in its extreme state.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t aware of how he managed to step into the Rebirth State, neither did he know how to disrupt his current state.

    But he was aware of something.

    He was stronger than before.

    That was sufficient.

    Immediately, Fang Zhengzhi looked at the white dressdy in front of him, with a grin on his face.

    "20 feet distance? I can probably surpass that!" Fang Zhengzhi sprung into action as he slowly moved forward. There was a vibration as soon as his feetnded on the ground.

    "Rumble!"

    A tree began growing up from underneath, looking lush and green. It wasn¡¯t just a normal tree, but an enormously massive tall tree.

    Thedy¡¯s body was trembling from the shake, and the vibration seemed to have attracted her attention.

    Then she slowly turned around.

    Her long hair was still flying like a moist cloth.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened wide in shock. He initially wanted to catch up to the white dressdy, but little did he know that thedy would turn back.

    Turn back!

    Fang Zhengzhi fixed his eyes on the white dressdy¡¯s her.

    From the look of herplexion, he could tell that thedy¡¯s skin was very smooth. It was like the skin of a youngdy.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw a pair of eyes.

    It was a pair of bright eyes like the stars in the night. The beautiful features, her silky skin and the exquisite look on her face, these were all perfect qualities.

    "Bam!" Fang Zhengzhi felt an explosion in his head.

    Because he could never understand what had just happened before him. It was something that seemed almost impossible.

    "Chi......Chi Guyan!?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth opened wide as he let out an unbelievable sound.

    But, the reality was that.....

    The white dressdy in front of him was certainly Chi Guyan. Her sparkly eyes, her perfect features, exquisite vibes, they were all identical to Chi Guyan¡¯s.

    But all these were not exinable!

    There could only be one incident now that would lead to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current reaction.

    And that was certainly not King Xieluo¡¯s revival, nor half sage Can Yang¡¯s reincarnation. It was the fact that the white dressdy who had just turned around, was actually Chi Guyan.

    What on earth?!

    How could all that be possible, even just a little bit? All of a sudden, Chi Guyan just appeared in front of him, that was just intolerable!

 Chapter 628 Strange, The Activation Of The Rebirth Plate

    "That¡¯s not true, isn¡¯t Chi Guyan supposed to be at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion?" Fang Zhengzhi felt a sharp pain in his brain as the sound of a string instrument came into his ear.

    It sounded very gentle, like a small flowing river. Slowly, the white dressdy in front of him became blurry, and the whole earth started vibrating.

    ...

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s fingers were strumming gently on the Guqin. She was not ying at a fast speed, in fact, it was slow and firm.

    It looked elegant to be ying the string instrument.

    It wasn¡¯t too tiring.

    But Yun Qingwu spent a very long time to y this song. Ever since Fang Zhengzhi had slumbered into his "sleep", she had yet to stop. She did not sleep for five days and five nights continuously.

    That made her use up much of her energy. As such, while her fingers were still ying fervently, her eyes were slowly shutting down.

    However just at that moment...

    A strange fluctuation seemed to force her eyes open.

    It like something was about to protrude from the ground, and the earth had a slight tremble at the same time. It was a small one, but the "dimension" was no longer calm and peaceful anymore.

    "Eh?" Yun Qingwu switched her attention to where Fang Zhengzhi was standing at.

    She was clearly aware of the stability of the "dimension" created by 13 pieces of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets. It shouldn¡¯t be easily disrupted by the outside dimension.

    Unless....

    This disruption happened inside this "dimension".

    "Rumble!" The earth quivered again.

    Then, a giant tree branch emerged from the ground. The crystal clear leaves glowed under the brilliant sunlight, emitting a fresh green ambience.

    That wasn¡¯t the end.

    After the first branch, came the second and third branches...

    Very quickly, a fifty feet tall huge tree appeared in front of Yun Qingwu. And that huge tree was just directly behind of Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a strange sight.

    Yun Qingwu stopped ying immediately.

    The strumming of the strings paused.

    And just as the sound of the Guqin stopped, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened slowly. It was a pair of crystal clear eyes, yet it was dull and soulless.

    But a gigantic tree can be seen faintly in his eyes. It identical to the tree erected behind him.

    "Yun Qingwu?" Fang Zhengzhi voice sounded shaky, and the fact was that he was still feeling a little groggy. But he managed to recover fast.

    Returned?

    Or rather, has he awoken?

    A dream?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure. After all, if it was really a dream, this dream seemed too real to be one. It was definitely too genuine to be a dream.

    "You¡¯re awake?" Yun Qingwu attempted to sit up, but her legs felt numb. She fidgeted and let her body nt towards one side, with one hand pressing on the ground.

    Just as she pressed her hand on the ground, she felt a surge of warm feeling overwhelming her hand. Just then, a figure covered the sunlight above her.

    "That was so fast!" Yun Qingwu was taken aback, as she knew that that was Fang Zhengzhi grabbing her, but she did not expect it to be so fast.

    Yun Qingwu tried to dodge it, but she realised that his hand wasn¡¯t trying to grab onto anything else. He was slowly helping her up and supporting her.

    Then...

    Along with the strength from his hands, Yun Qingwu stood up.

    "Have you been sitting down for a very long time?" Fang Zhengzhi gave Yun Qingwu a look. He saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s exhausted look, which was a very rare sight.

    "Ummmm." Yun Qingwu nodded her head gently.

    Then, she seemed toe into her sense.

    In an instant, she retreated backwards, out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grip.

    "Hehe..." Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently, as he was not shocked from her actions. Instead, he looked at his hands doubtfully.

    He actually grabbed it?

    It seemed like he actually gave up on another "opportunity"?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how long he had slept, but he was aware that he had tried countless times doing so before his sleep.

    But he had never grabbed onto Yun Qingwu before, not even a gentle touch on the edge of her dress.

    "You.....solved it?" Yun Qingwu took five steps back and paused. She nced at Fang Zhengzhi, who had no intention to attack her again, looking surprised.

    She was aware that she had identally exposed her weakness earlier.

    After sitting quietly for five days continuously, she couldn¡¯t endure any longer. Coincidentally, that was when Fang Zhengzhi had just woken up, hence he was able to catch her weakness.

    But surprisingly...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not seize the opportunity to take advantage of her. In fact, it seemed like he had intended to let her "escape" peacefully. That had really taken her aback.

    "I don¡¯t know." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    The truth was, he wasn¡¯t sure if he had sessfully solved it or whether he had stepped into the Rebirth State from the Supernatural State. Because all these happened in his "dream".

    "Understood." Yun Qingwu did not ask any further, and she stood up and wiped away the grass sticking on her dress.

    That was a casual and normal reaction.

    But as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes caught that action, his eyes twitched a little. The image of a white figure seemed to sh past his mind.

    "A seed, a seed!" Fang Zhengzhi mumbled as his eyes sparkled instantly. "Seed is the start of everything. Beginning of everything and then rebirth!"

    "Seed?" Yun Qingwu asked curiously when she heard the wordsing out from Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, her curiosity quickly turned into a surprise.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand suddenly had a light shining out from it.

    But of course...

    That little bit of light wasn¡¯t enough to impress Yun Qingwu. What truly surprised her was how the light seemed to be "growing", just like how a seed would grow eventually.

    It was rapid, very very rapid.

    What¡¯s even more strange was that when the ray of light had grown into a big tree, rays and rays of light cascaded down from the tree.

    Just like dropping leaves.

    And following the cascading rays of light, a new tree appeared on his palm again. Or so to say, his hand no longer contained just trees.

    There were mountains, stones, flowers and grass and stars...

    All these things seemed to be created from the rays of light.

    "Weng!" Suddenly, all the big trees, rocks, flowers, and moon and stars have disappeared, leaving only a light that was swirling constantly.

    The light wheel was separated into six sections.

    Each section was round, with six round shapes, swirling in the middle of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm. It kept spinning in a circle.

    At that moment, Yun Qingwu had a strange feeling.

    She felt that whatever Fang Zhengzhi was holding did not seem to be a light wheel. In fact, it was like a world, a world that contained thousands of matter and things, but only that it has yet to be formed.

    Just a round shape.

    A round-shaped word.

    "What is that?" Yun Qingwu might have explored all the encyclopedia books since young, but she had never encountered such a scene. Then something strange happened again.

    The light wheel that was swirling earlier stopped immediately.

    Just then, the whole world shuddered again.

    "Rumble!"

    Yun Qingwu looked up instantly and saw a ray of light. It was a ray of blue light falling down from the horizon. It was as clear as the blue sky, pure and clean, without a tinge of dirt.

    "Boom!" The blue light fell onto the six light wheels that Fang Zhengzhi was holding onto.

    Then it disappeared at the next moment.

    But after the blue light had disappeared, one of the six light wheels surrounding it lit up, as if it was being activated by the blue light.

    It transformed from white to blue.

    Furthermore, there was also a veryplex golden character symbol lighting up slowly, emitting a dazzling light in the middle of the light wheel.

    "Could it be..." Yun Qingwu eyes were wide open as she looked at the golden words. A word shed past in her mind, a word that she had only seen once before.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s face turned pale immediately after the word surfaced in her mind.

    Overwhelmed.

    This was the first time that Yun Qingwu had felt so overwhelmed.

    What¡¯s more shocking was, when the blue light lit up, the trembling ground vibrated even more vigorously, as though it was about to break apart.

    Cracks started to appear on the ground, and the big tree swayed vigorously.

    "How could this happen?" Yun Qingwu observed the surrounding, as she looked at the unbelievably strange light way. The spell formed by 13 pieces of the Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets, was actually disturbed?

    She had never expected any of this to happen.

    Although it was the reality?

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth moved a little, attempting to say something. However before she managed to open her mouth, another light ray began crushing down from the horizon.

    "Rumble!"

    This time round, the light was green. It was emerald green and crystal clear, and it had a calming effect on the surroundings.

    The green light raynded on the light wheel on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Disappearing instantly.

    Then, a ray of green light lit up once again, and another one of the six light wheels seemed to be activated, turning green.

    Simrly....

    Another golden character symbol floated up in the green light again.

    "Crash!"

    Numerous gravels flew up from the cracked ground, and a huge crack quickly devoured the tall tree, as countless branches broke and scattered around on the ground.

    "It¡¯s......the Rebirth te!" Realising the trembling surroundings, Yun Qingwu¡¯s face expression changed instantly. She was still uncertain when she saw the 6 light wheels, but when she saw the second light ray lit up once again, she was fully certain that it was.

    The Rebirth te.

    It was an "imaginary" name.

    Yun Qingwu could remember vividly that she had read about it in the Demon Race¡¯s records. It was a set of very antique and old sentences and words.

    It was described in a simple way.

    In short, it was about rebirth, also known as the Six Rebirth Maps, or the Wheel of Life and Death.

    Indeed, the Rebirth te would never have the same concept as the Rebirth State.

    It was because that the Rebirth te was not a type of state. Rather, there were six different levels within it, and each level represented a Dao.

    Heavenly Dao, Dao of Asura, Human Dao, Near-Life Dao, Hell Dao, and Ghost Dao.

    Those were the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques in the Rebirth te.

    As long as one had sessfully possessed the powers of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, the strength from the Six Dao would gather and merge within the body, creating a light wheel around him.

    The light wheel represented the Six Dao Powers in him, and each light wheel contained a different character symbol.

    And this was for an expert that had mastered the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. It required a higher level of skill aspared to that of an average Rebirth expert.

    Then could it be possible that there was more than one light wheel?

    Or six light wheels!

    Because it would only be natural since there were Six Dao in the Rebirth State, and so would the light wheels.

    But all these were just purely hypothetical, and it was a hypothesis that never happened before. While it had yet to happen before, the report actually had a name for such a hypothesis.

    Rebirth te!

    Rebirth te?!

    The Rebirth te was actually activated, and it seemed to have lit up two light wheels.

    Two light wheels?!

    If all these were true.....

    Yun Qingwu did not think further, because the cracks had already reached the bottom of her feet, and she had no choice but to retreat by flying back rapidly.

    But just as she was about to make a step back, a figure appeared in front of her again. HIs blue long sleeves were blowed up, and his eyes were crystal clear.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I will never let you out of here, over my dead body!" Yun Qingwu was aware of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s plot, but he was too swift for her to react.

    It happened almost immediately, and her hands and waist were being grabbed by Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Really? Do you really want to lose your virginity here? But, to be honest... The environment is not bad at all. Pale sky, wilnd, perfect......Hmmm, if there were some additional red maple trees, and the falling of red maple leaves...." Fang Zhengzhi grinned as he tightened his grip around Yun Qingwu¡¯s arm.

    "Shameless!" Yun Qingwu cursed as she disappeared immediately. Then appearing five feet away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    But after being groped by Fang Zhengzhi, she looked a little lost, as she blushed and her cheeks turned red and rosy subconsciously.

    At the same instant, a figure appeared in front her. He was very close, so close that she could feel his breath.

    "Do you really think I will let you go so easily?" Fang Zhengzhi did not want to force his way, but he had no choice.

    As he had to leave this ce.

    Being trapped for half a month, this opportunity...

    This could be hisst resort.

 Chapter 629 Humiliate My Purity

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was well aware of Yun Qingwu¡¯s character.

    Negotiation?

    That was impossible.

    Yun Qingwu never negotiated any conditions, for once she had decided on something, nothing would be able to disrupt her. Her decisive character was a tad terrifying.

    So the only way was to use strength.

    But Yun Qingwu did not fear death, hence the usual way would no longer work on Yun Qingwu, and thus Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless.

    "You......You let go of me!" Yun Qingwu attempted to runaway from him but her arms were locked onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grip, and there was no way to free herself.

    And what made her panic even more was that when Fang Zhengzhi had held on her, her body felt entirely motionless, and it seemed as though she was trapped and imprisoned.

    Heavenly Dao!

    The familiar yet scary term shed past her mind instantly.

    She had been very familiar with Heavenly Dao since young. That was because of her master, Can Yang, who was an expert at controlling the Heavenly Dao. And he had solely used the Heavenly Dao to exist as a half sage.

    "Not letting go!" Fang Zhengzhi replied without much thinking.

    How could he let go?

    If he was to really let go of Yun Qingwu, who knows how long more he would be trapped there. Although his speed had gained an advantage now.

    But what if Yun Qingwu really escaped?

    Escape from the spell!

    Then what¡¯s the fun?

    Fang Zhengzhi certainly knew that Yun Qingwu was capable to escape from the spell, hence he did not let go of his grip.

    As for the Heavenly Dao...

    Truthfully, when the Rebirth te was being activated, he knew that the Heavenly Dao was already under his control. Not only that, he was als able to control the Near-Life Dao.

    And that exined the "seed".

    It started with a small "seed" growing.

    In the past, when Fang Zhengzhi took his first step into the Heavenly Dao, he could understand it, as well as the reason and exnation behind it, but when he had figured out about the way the "seed""grows".

    The experience was definitely different from earlier.

    And the same can be applied to the Near-Life Dao.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, no matter what you do to me today, I will not let you out of here. You can stop dreaming, as I, Yun Qingwu, will do as I have promised!" Yun Qingwu red at Fang Zhengzhi, who was approaching her. Her face looked pale, but her expression was still as determined as ever.

    "Then don¡¯t me me." Fang Zhengzhi pulled her, and Yun Qingwu¡¯s body flew towards him, as a feeling of warmth and smoothness pressed against his chest.

    There were heavy breathings at the side of the ears.

    It was obvious that Yun Qingwu was looking very nervous. Even though her expression was very calm and stable, but her body was not able to control any longer.

    "You dare, if... If you dare to do anything to me, defile me, I......I will kill myself!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s breathing became heavier as she felt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breath.

    "Kill yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped moving and fixed his eyes on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face. On her face, he could sense her stubborn determination within her.

    At that instant, he was suddenly wide awake.

    He could definitely use force on Yun Qingwu, as he even had half the confidence that he was able to make her surrender, and release him in the end.

    Because Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t any normal person. She had a huge Demon Race waiting for her leadership, and she had to spare a thought for them.

    And that would be Yun Qingwu¡¯s weakness.

    However, he was only half-certain of it. After all, the character of Yun Qingwu was just too stubborn and firm.

    Is it a must to use Yun Qingwu¡¯s purity, to gamble on this half-certain decision?

    Fang Zhengzhi might be shameless,

    But he was still aware of his bottom line. How could he neglect her feelings, when he had already guessed Yun Qingwu¡¯s motive behind his imprisonment?

    He loosened the grip on Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand and took a step back at the same time.

    "Two months, I only ask for two months. I will return in just two months!" Fang Zhengzhi was still unable to cross his bottom line in the end, even though he knew his actions might lead to him being trapped here "forever".

    "Siew!" Yun Qingwu disappeared immediately.

    She did not answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question and escaped directly out from the spell area, as she left without even turning her head back.

    "Crap.... Omg!" Fang Zhengzhi was a little taken aback.

    What happened to receiving good rewards after doing all the good deeds? There, didn¡¯t he just loosen his grip on her only? He was even trying to be sensitive, but he was neglected in the end?

    Escaped!

    What did that even mean?

    Indeed, one should never be the good guy.

    Fang Zhengzhi regretted, as he could have gambled thest opportunity. Because doing that would at least make him die peacefully, rather than staying here forever.

    "One day, I can only give you a maximum of one day to leave here." Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice echoed from afar, before appearing momentarily five feet away from him.

    Yun Qingwu looked more calm and peaceful aspared to earlier. Her face had recovered its colour and even her tone was as calm as water.

    "This girl, did she put all the cold temperament in her bones?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at her.

    However...

    What could he do in a day?

    Could he possibly travel to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion from the Northern Mountain Vige in just one day? Then have another round of "showdown" with Chi Guyan, before running back here?

    That was just crappy.

    Hold on.

    That sounded very strange.

    One day?

    He had already broken the spell by himself, why would he be so silly toe back again? Did Yun Qingwu¡¯s brain experience a short circuit?

    "You¡¯re really letting me go for one day?" Fang Zhengzhi still couldn¡¯t believe it.

    "Yes." Yun Qingwu nodded her head, and it seemed as though she had forgotten about the possibility that he might not return.

    "Good." Fang Zhengzhi reacted almost immediately.

    Momentarily, the surrounding ground stopped trembling. Everything seemed to have restored its original peace, and it was calm once again, like nothing had happened.

    "You may leave." Yun Qingwu turned her body slowly, as she did not even give Fang Zhengzhi a look, and just disappeared into the thin air.

    Fang Zhengzhi was certainly aware that Yun Qingwu would have returned back into the spell area, but he did not understand the reason why Yun Qingwu would let him go.

    Did his whole sensitive act really work?

    That was impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that his acting skills were good, but he was sure that Yun Qingwu¡¯s intelligence was of an even higher level.

    To trick Yun Qingwu?

    That would be the most absurd possibility.

    Unless...

    She was willing to!

    "This girl......was really willing to get tricked by me?" Fang Zhengzhi was confused, but he did not think much about it. He slowly turned and looked forward.

    Northern Mountain Vige, the familiar Northern Mountain Vige!

    ...

    ...

    Bright sunlight cascaded from the sky and shone right into the busy Northern Mountain Vige, as a faint golden light glowed around the vige.

    "Lord Fang? No......it¡¯s Cang King!"

    "Cang King is back!"

    "What? Cang King is back?!"

    As Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige, the anxious atmosphere in the vige turned lively, just like a pack of matchsticks being lit up.

    "Zhengzhi is back!"

    "How can you call him Zhengzhi? Address him as the Cang King!"

    "Oh yes yes, our Zhengzhi is now the mighty Cang King."

    The vigers were all crowding around, blocking the whole passageway of the Northern Mountain Vige, as everyone wanted to go in front to "touch" him.

    He could understand the warm excitement from the vigers.

    But his eyes were continuously looking for someone, as the person that he had been looking forward most to see, was not among the crowd.

    "Where¡¯s my mum and dad?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "This.....This...." One of the vigers heard his question, and the expression on his face instantly turned from joyous to sulky and dull.

    "It¡¯s our fault, we did not take good care of sister Xuelian, she......she....."

    "WHAT?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he scanned his surroundings, and he instantly let out a cold sweat.

    He made a small turn and leaped over the crowd. He charged towards the Fang family¡¯s house.

    "So fast?!"

    "What kind of speed is that?"

    "Oh my god, Zhengzhi..... is actually that amazing?"

    The vigers stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who leaped and disappeared instantly. They were all dumbfounded as Fang Zhengzhi had never showed his power in front of the vigers.

    Before that, when Fang Zhengzhi returned to the vige, he would behave like a normal human being, but with a lot more strength than the rest.

    However.....

    When they had seen what was happening, they finally realised how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was. They also figured out how Fang Zhengzhi would be the youngest King in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    ...

    "Pong!" The door in Fang¡¯s family flew open.

    A ck figure began running in front as soon as the door opened, her face filled with excitement and happiness.

    It was Wu Yuer wearing a long ck silky dress.

    She was also the first one to rush forward after knowing that Fang Zhengzhi had returned.

    "Fang Zheng..."

    "Wu Yuer, is my mum in trouble? Did you stop caring about my mother after I disappeared?" Fang Zhengzhi asked without waiting for her to finish her sentence.

    "I..." Wu Yuer¡¯s excitement disappeared immediately. She saw the expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, and swallowed the words that were about toe out from her mouth.

    As the leader of Shadow Sect, when was she ever interrogated by anyone?

    But when Fang Zhengzhi asked that question, her heart had skipped a beat, as though she were a criminal that had been caught.

    It made her felt strange on the inside.

    That didn¡¯t seem right? Thisd had gone missing for so long, she should be the one who was angry? Why did it seem like she was the one at fault?

    She was about to open her mouth.

    But all of a sudden, Wu Yuer realised the Fang Zhengzhi who was standing in front of her felt different.

    Clearly he looked the same as before.

    But it feltpletely different.

    "Could it be that thisd..." Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes brightened up as a possibility shed across her mind.

    Just at this moment, there was a sound of someone coughing inside the room. Then a voice spoke up.

    "Zheng¡¯er......Is Zheng......Is Zheng¡¯er back?" A weak sound came out. It sounded anxious and scared, yet worried at the same time.

    "Mother?!" Fang Zhengzhi froze, his dull expression instantly changed to joy, "Mother, you¡¯re not dead? Then is Father dead?"

    "You¡¯re the one that is dead!" The same weak sound came out again, but this time round a little more frustrated.

    At the same time, a figure wearing a coat appeared in front of the door. While his face looked a tad yellowish, his figure was still looking very well-built.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had misunderstood the situation.

    But, he reacted very quickly, as he realised that the vigers meant that both Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde had fallen sick. That exined their guilty and speechless expressions.

    That made Fang Zhengzhi realised something.

    His disappearance had seriously affected the health of Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    "Father!"

    "Ummmm.....d that you¡¯re back!" Fang Houde waved his hand, covering up the stains of the tears, and turned slightly away. "Next time remember to inform us when you¡¯re out."

    "Yes, father." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, and he did not exin about the part that he got captured by Yun Qingwu. Instead, he quickly went into the house.

    Very quickly, a figure hugged him.

    That warmth came out from inside the body.

    Obviously, Qin Xuelian was desperate to climb down from the bed, although her body was still feeling weak. Her weak hand grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi tightly, very very tightly...

    "Zhenger, you¡¯re finally back. Mother.....I was very scared, scared that you¡¯re in trouble....." Qin Xuelian¡¯s body trembled, as tears began swelling up and dropped down from the corner of her eyes.

    "Mother, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine."

    "Ohh ok..... mother won¡¯t worry, I will be okay. Don¡¯t you go and reprimand Wu Yuer, she had been taking care of us. She went out in the morning to search for you, then apanied me beside my bed at night. I wouldn¡¯t.... If it¡¯s not for her, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see you again....." Qin Xuelian said while rubbing away the tears.

    "Is she that good?" Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised.

    He did not think that Wu Yuer would have such a soft and attentive side of her. Every night talking to her beside her bed? Taking care of her attentively?

    Indeed, this girl had the best acting skills in the world.

    "Yes, Yuer is really nice to mother!" Qin Xuelian let loose of Fang Zhengzhi. Then she pulled him to sit beside the bed. "I¡¯ll be fine as long as you¡¯re back, but there¡¯s one thing..... That I can¡¯t stop letting go."

    "What is it?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Mother would like to have a grandchild!" Qin Xuelian said as she looked at Wu Yuer, who was standing by the door. At the same time, they nodded their heads, as though they knew what each other was thinking.

 Chapter 630 Forced Marriage And Consummation

    "Huh?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that the situation escted too quickly.

    Wasn¡¯t it a tearful scene of a long-awaited reunion previously? How did it suddenly turn into a grandson topic? Was it time for him to marry a wife and have children?

    No, it did not seem so?

    He was just 18 years old. Although it was not rare to be married at 18 years old, not doing so would not result in him being cast aside by his family?

    "You¡¯re already a Cang King now, Mother is aware, that you¡¯ve already be a king. Things are slowly piling up, and you won¡¯t know when will you be leaving again. Mother heard from Xian King that he wanted to let you marry the Thirteenth Princess? Then, you rejected her marriage?" Qin Xuelian looked at the bbergasted Fang Zhengzhi, as she exined patiently.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    He was not surprised that the Xian King Lin Yun had told Qin Xuelian above this happening. Because Lin Yun still had the thought of getting the Thirteenth Princess in their family, through Qin Xuelian.

    "Hmmm, it¡¯s good to reject her. Although I¡¯ve heard that the Thirteenth Princess is a smart and sensible girl, but if she is going to marry to our poor family, it might not be suitable for her. Mother thinks that Yuer is pretty good, why not you get the marriage settled soon?" Qin Xuelian nodded again and winked at Wu Yuer, who was standing against the door.

    "Ah?!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have figured out how all these had happened. It actually wasn¡¯t his own mother, but the scheming Wu Yuer who had hatched this n.

    "I¡¯m determined, just settle the matter this way!" Qin Xuelian said stubbornly, trying to force her way through, and not caring about what Fang Zhengzhi had in mind.

    "Mother......This can¡¯t be it? Are you really going to let me marry Wu Yuer? You really don¡¯t know much about Wu Yuer? She.....is......Hmmm, she is just someone who looks at money. Thisdy, I can¡¯t marry her!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Qin Xuelian, and tried to persuade her nicely.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re asking for death!" A frustrated sound came out, and thereafter a figure zoomed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Mother, look......Didn¡¯t I tell you that I can¡¯t marry her?" Fang Zhengzhi said calmly, with no intention of attacking back as he stood still on the ground.

    "You..." Wu Yuer stopped moving, as her expression changed immediately. Looking at the surprised Qin Xuelian, she had to force herself to smile and said, "Aunty, I was just ying with Fang Zhengzhi."

    "ying? I see......Oh right, dear Yuer, why not you y a song for us?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the forceful smile from Wu Yuer, as he grinned and shed a smile.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you.....Hehe, sure, you want to look at me y a song right? Sure, I shall go and prepare. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re satisfied." Wu Yuer sighed but still clenched her teeth and left.

    "Remember to stick a big red flower on your head." Fang Zhengzhi eximed as his smile get bigger.

    Want to rely on Qin Xuelian to force a marriage?

    Game on!

    "Zheng¡¯er!" Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice came out again.

    "Mother, you rest early, I..." Fang Zhengzhi knew his mother¡¯s character, so he had to escape before waiting for her to finish.

    "Zheng¡¯er, Mother is right, just take Yuer. No matter what, please just bring Yuer home for Mother. If not, don¡¯t think of calling my Mother!" Qin Xuelian said, with no intention of letting Fang Zhengzhi leave.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi paused and did not leave. The Fang family¡¯s house was just so small for him to run around.

    But this matter really did give him a headache.

    All this while,

    He had always known about the tradition in the Mountain Vige, which is that males and females would marry one another after getting older. He also knew about the matchmakingws and words thate along with marriage.

    But little did he know that...

    One fine day he would also be one of the sacrificed in this system.

    Forced to get married?!

    And just by looking at Qin Xuelian¡¯s attitude, there was almost no possibility of her changing her mind.

    No choice?

    Marrying this Wu Yuer?

    Fang Zhengzhi had definitely considered about this matter before, but it was merely just a small thought in his mind.

    But he didn¡¯t think that...

    Wu Yuer could make Qin Xuelian this determined in just a short span of half a month.

    What did this girl do?

    "The day after, let¡¯s just settle the marriage the day after tomorrow. Since the Xian King had brought quite a handful of stuff this time round, and that there are so many people in the vige, let¡¯s just do the celebration at the field in front of the vige." Qin Xuelian said as she gestured for Fang Houde toe over. "Hey, what are you still waiting for? Go and prepare the wedding gifts?"

    "Oh, wedding gifts! Okay, okay... I will go and prepare now." Fang Houde heard and left the house. He came back shortly after, with a huge wooden box.

    "Mother.....Are you being serious?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the wooden box and let out a bitter smile.

    Because he was certainly aware of the things inside.

    Other than five more treasures, it included a set of contract...

    The contract regarding the ten gold mines in the Southern Region.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "coteral".

    Throughout this one year in the Shadow Sect, his knowledge had already reached a wless leve. As such, his value was already different from the rest.

    For more than a year, he had been searching the Shadow Sect for things of important values. Finally, he kept five treasures that were definitely of high value.

    When he had returned to the Northern Mountain Vige earlier, Fang Zhengzhi had kept the treasures in the wooden box. Only Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde knew about this matter.

    Other than them...

    Nobody else knew about this matter.

    Precisely, Fang Zhengzhi did not tell them about the values of each treasure, as he only exined them that they were some antiques.

    That was so as not to let them think too much into the items.

    As for why he wanted to keep them at home, the reason was very simple. It was because Fang Zhengzhi had no confidence that he was able to stay alive in the me Capital City.

    "Of course I¡¯m serious, let¡¯s just give that five items together. Actually, with these five broken antiques, will Wu Yuer treasure them?" Qin Xuelian nodded her head with a generous look on her face.

    "Broken antiques? Mother, do you know what are these things?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that his effort and hard work had been humiliated.

    "What are they?"

    "I won¡¯t talk about the antiques, but you take a look at the contract? Oh, I forgot you don¡¯t recognise the characters in the Southern Region. These are gold mines, ten gold mines!" Fang Zhengzhi lowered down his volume, as he tried not to alert Wu Yuer about financial matters.

    "Gold mines?!" Qin Xuelian paused for a while andughed. "Zheng¡¯er, mother might not have much knowledge or education, but gold mines, I know, those are controlled by the King Dynasty, how could they have given you?"

    "Normally it would be that case, but they really are gold mines. Back when I was in the Southern Region, I signed this treaty with the current Princess, Shan Yu. They¡¯re ten gold mines, and the biggest of all in the Southern Region!" Fang Zhengzhi exined patiently.

    "You are saying.....that we have ten gold mines?!"

    "Yes, and other than these antiques..... Hmmm, let¡¯s see, they¡¯re priceless, which would mean that each antique has the value of a city!"

    "We still have five cities?!"

    "Not only that, I have some savings on my own, that would add on to be around two million. In addition, I still have the golds awarded to me, there should be two to three boxes of them."

    "Zheng¡¯er, where did you gotely? Did you injure your brain during this trip?" Qin Xuelian looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a worried expression.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ......

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care much about Qin Xuelian¡¯sck of trust in him. It was because, even if she were to trust himpletely, her extend of knowledge was limited as well.

    Just like how in the previous world, a 18 years oldd would work for two months, beforeing home and eximing that he had earned a few million.

    Who would actually believe that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not exin further, as he took out a stack of two million dors and ced them gently in front of Qin Xuelian.

    It was a huge pile of money, and stacked up to about an inch height. Sunlight shone on the in fainted white colour, and they looked outstanding even in the day.

    Qin Xuelian was shock.

    So was Fang Houde who was carrying the box.

    There was no point for them to count the money in detail.

    "Zheng¡¯er, I have not asked you before, and did not dare to ask you. But today, mother would like to ask you something, what happened..... when you went to the me Capital City with the Divine?"

    "Nothing much, just that we managed to stop an invasion from the Northern Barbarians."

    "Northern barbarians?!"

    "Yes, and also we killed a Demon King."

    "Demon......Demon King?! What.....What is that?" Qin Xuelian¡¯s mouth opened widely as there was also a tinge of suspicion as well as confusion.

    "It can be said to be some kind of beast." Fang Zhengzhi did not want to make Qin Xuelian worry so much, so he made it sound casual.

    "Hmmmmm....Even if you have exined it, I wouldn¡¯t have understood." Qin Xuelian nodded her head and became silent. Then she waved at Fang Houde again, "Since Zheng¡¯er have a few silvers here, but Yuer is really not bad, so we can¡¯t look down on her just because we have a couple of silvers. Why not, we leave the gold mines here, and we pick two out of the five treasures for Wu Yuer. Afterall we can¡¯t neglect her!"

    "Yes, yes we can¡¯t neglect Yuer, we can give her more silvers, since we won¡¯t be spending a lot of them." Fang Houde agreed.

    "Let¡¯s just give 80 thousands of them, for good luck." Qin Xuelian continued.

    "Sure." Fang Houde said without any objections.

    "Father, Mother... Did you understand what I have just said?" Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes widely, as his life¡¯s greatest achievement was about to be brushed off so casually. He felt speechless, but he really had to voice his opinions at this moment.

    "Understand, we both do. Mother know that you¡¯re a filial kid, and that you¡¯re afraid that we won¡¯t have enough to spend, but we really have nothing much to spend on, since we¡¯ll just be staying home for the rest of our lives."

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi felt bitter, "Mother, I don¡¯t want to get married so early."

    "But I want to have grandchildren."

    "But I......Actually, I¡¯m not prepared for all these."

    "No worries, I will help you to be prepared. Don¡¯t you worry about it, you don¡¯t have to meddle in anything, just wait till you two get in the room."

    "No rooms for negotiation?"

    "No!"

    "Mother, actually I really don¡¯t feel like marrying Wu Yuer, why not.....I go out and get one daughter-inw back for you?"

    "Sure, but you need to marry Wu Yuer first."

    "Why?"

    "Would I not know about what you¡¯re thinking? You¡¯re already the Cang King, there¡¯s no problem for you to marry two or three wives. But Mother likes Yuer, you might not like her, but still just marry Yuer first, then marry another one!"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi wanted to add on, you¡¯re really my biological mother. But he swallowed that down as soon as it reached his mouth.

    How?

    Is he really going to marry Wu Yuer?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his head aching in pain. It was notpletely due to the fact that he did not want to marry Wu Yuer, but the time he had to reach the Heavenly Dao Pavilion test was already reduced.

    If there were to be his wedding in the vige, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion test would have ended even before he left the vige.

    That was one reason.

    Secondly, while he might indeed be a little selfish at times, but regarding such an important milestone, he wanted to think more about himself.

    He knew that he only had a few more months to live. If he were to really marry Wu Yuer at this time, and consummate their wedding, he was able to leave grandchildren for them, and it sounded like a perfectly suitable move.

    But.....

    As for Wu Yuer?

    She might need to face a life of being a widow four monthster.

    If it were to be some other woman, Fang Zhengzhi might not care much about it. But to Wu Yuer, he could never do that. He would never marry Wu Yuer, not least before he knew if he was able to continue living or not.

    But Qin Xuelian had no idea about all these.

    Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t want Qin Xuelian to know that he had fewer than four months left to live. He could not bring himself to tell Qin Xuelian the truth.

    Escape when the night was dark?

    That would be the veryst resort, but not it was not what Fang Zhengzhi would want to do, as he did not want Qin Xuelian to worry once again, after seeing her weak facial features.

    He had to let Qin Xuelian remain happy, and only that could suppress the knot and the burden that had umted in her chest for the past half a month. He was afraid that another betrayal of her wishes would result in an untreatable illness.

    He cannot reject Qin Xuelian¡¯s "forced marriage".

    But he couldn¡¯t marry Wu Yuer either. Moreover, he had to leave the Northern Mountain Vige almost immediately, and yet still keep her happy while he left the vige.

    It was a seriously difficult question.

    What should he do?

 Chapter 631 Do Not Burn Oneâ€™s Bridges

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at his mother attentatively, who was seldom this persistent. Her face was tired, yet filled with anticipation.

    Finally...

    He sighed.

    "Zheng¡¯er, you.....You agree to it?" Qin Xuelian¡¯s pale face instantly had a tinge of excitement on it.

    "Mother, it doesn¡¯t matter if I agree to it, Wu Yuer did not give her consent on this." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head before shaking it immediately.

    "Don¡¯t you worry about this matter, I have talked to Wu Yuer about it, and she agreed!" Qin Xuelian answered as though she had predicted what Fang Zhengzhi had wanted to ask.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what had happened during the past 20 days when he was away.

    Agreed?

    Wu Yuer, that brat, actually agreed to it!

    That girl agreed even without knowing what were the betrothal gifts about? That did not seem to match the greedy character of Wu Yuer.

    This couldn¡¯t be right, there must be some motives behind it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that Wu Yuer would put herself in such a disadvantage. But then again, all these were not that important after all. The crucial part here was that he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to marry Wu Yuer.

    "Mother, I know you¡¯re dying to have a grandchild, but certain things......can¡¯t be rushed." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the door subconsciously and realised Wu Yuer hasn¡¯t yet to return. He couldn¡¯t help but felt strange.

    "Why aren¡¯t you rushing? Yu¡¯er has already agreed to it, and I have already settled the gits and marriage vows. Just a few things to settle before everything, I won¡¯t care about the mistresses you want to marry in the future." Qin Xuelian sounded very unwilling.

    "Mother, have you forgotten that I¡¯m already the Cang King now?"

    "What do you mean? You will no longer listen to mother now that you have be the King?" Qin Xuelian¡¯s expression sunk when she heard his words, as she started breathing harder.

    "I didn¡¯t mean that, mother. What I meant was......I need to send my regards to the Emperor in the me Capital City." Fang Zhengzhi had no intention in lying to Qin Xuelian, but he had only one solution now.

    "Send regards?" Qin Xuelian asked.

    "Yes, Mother, think carefully. I just rejected an arranged marriage from the heavens, wouldn¡¯t it be rude for me to marry Wu Yuer straightaway?"

    "This..." Qin Xuelian froze and remained silent.

    "But of course, I can understand how you feel about having a grandchild. How about this, I will get up early tomorrow, travel down to the me Capital City and exin all these to the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi tried asking.

    "Zheng¡¯er has his point, his status is different now, as he¡¯s already a King. It¡¯s only right to ask for permission about his marriage!" Fang Houde nodded his head immediately once he heard that.

    "You¡¯re saying that I know nothing about all these basic manners? Of course I know Zhenger¡¯s status is very different now, but..." Qin Xuelian hesitated.

    "Mother, I won¡¯t need that long to travel from the Northern Mountain Vige to the me Capital City. Just a couple months." Fang Zhengzhi finally saw a ray of hope shining after he heard Fang Houde "helping" at his side.

    "Fine, I will agree to you going to the me Capital City, but you have to promise me one thing. Marry Wu Yuer once you¡¯re back from there!" Qin Xuelian spoke after thinking for a long time.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi felt bitter but he knew that he had to agree now, in order to prevent her from worrying once he left. "Okay, I agree!"

    ...

    "Since you have agreed to this marriage, aren¡¯t you supposed to settle the dates before you go?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice died down, a figure holding on to a red silk began walking in.

    "Wu Yuer!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed as he saw Wu Yuer walking in.

    He did not need expect Wu Yuer to be eavesdropping outside. That was just too unexpected, and what did she mean by settling the marriage first?

    Did she not catch his hint of trying to "pacify" Qin Xuelian?

    "Yuer is right!" Fang Houde nodded quickly.

    "Hmmm,e here quickly, there are some things in this box,e and choose. See if there¡¯s anything that you like, I would like to give to you as your marriage gift." Qin Xuelian seemed a little surprised that Wu Yuer had suddenly appeared in front of them, but she shed a smile immediately.

    In her heart, she felt that the words Wu Yuer had said earlier meant that Yuer had "loyalty". She would alway remain loyal and married to Fang Zhengzhi as his wife, hence Qin Xuelian naturally felt very delighted to hear that.

    "Thank you aunty." Wu Yuer heard the words and leaped happily towards the wooden box. Her bright eyes looked into the wooden box as she shed a smile.

    But when Fang Zhenghi saw this, he felt even worse than before.

    He finally managed to get these five treasures out of Wu Yuer. While it did not amount to corruption, but he had put in a lot of effort for them.

    For every piece, Wu Yuer would suffer from insomnia for half a month.

    But now.....

    The five treasures were lying right in front of Wu Yuer.

    And Wu Yuer had been eavesdropping outside for a very long time. At this point, he knew that Wu Yuer would definitely choose the most precious pieces out of them.

    But s, he had underestimated Wu Yuer.

    "Aunty, Yuer love all these five antiques! Thank You Aunty!" Wu Yuer said while she tried to be "sensible" by thanking her.

    Fang Zhengzhi froze.

    Qin Xuelian had the same expression as well but smiled after that, "Good good, since Yuer likes all of these, then you may have all these as your gift, since Houde and I won¡¯t get to use them. Why not you take all of them, there is also a stack of money..."

    "Mother, I would want to have some time alone." Fang Zhengzhi could feel this bleeding heart. He knew that Wu Yuer had always been very "evil", but wasn¡¯t that just too much?

    He had spent one year to dig out the five treasures from the Shadow Sect, but all these were about to be taken away by Wu Yuer without any effort?

    What on earth!

    Indeed, thatdy was full of motives!

    "Go ahead." Qin Xuelian waved at Fang Zhenghi before pulling Wu Yuer towards her and said, "Yuer, you can stop calling me aunty from today onwards!"

    "Yes, mother!" Wu Yuer nodded her head "coyly".

    "Wu Yuer, don¡¯t burn one¡¯s bridges!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes seemed a little red.

    "Mother, he just bullied me!" Wu Yuer turned towards Qin Xuelian, as if she was "wronged".

    "Zhenger, don¡¯t you be so fierce to Yuer. You think you can be so arrogant now that you be the Cang King. I¡¯m the one who have chosen Yuer, if you do anything bad to her, don¡¯t expect me to be nice!" Qin Xuelian hugged Yuer immediately once she heard that.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi had a look at Qin Xuelian then at Wu Yuer, as well as the quiet Fang Houde. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out in the end.

    What happened to the mother-inw and wife quarrels?

    Why did it turn out to be like a war ganged up by them against the son instead?

    Hold on!

    Something seemed wrong.

    Wu Yuer was definitely not his wife.

    But...

    Crap, Wu Yuer took his five pieces of treasures and even stole his 80 thousand silvers.

    No way! I need to get them back!

    ...

    The night was cold as the moon hung up high.

    Although the spring night wasn¡¯t cold, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart felt cold inside, as if he were inside an igloo.

    "Are you going to pay the interest for the things you took?" Fang Zhengzhi gave Wu Yuer a ck face, who had just changed into a colored silk dress.

    Wu Yuer was looking very pretty. Especially with the little red dot on her forehead and her slim waist, as well as a pair of attractive eyes.

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi had always known that Wu Yuer was not so easy to deal with. She looked innocent but was skilled in stabbing people from behind.

    For example now, he still couldn¡¯t figure out why he had lost to her. Or rather, for the next round, how could he protect himself?

    It was impossible to do so!

    In just an instant, she had taken his coteral away from him.

    Taking advantage of Qin Xuelian by making her feel anxious about having a grandchild, that "stab" was just too superb.

    "What kind of interest do you want?" Wu Yuer touched her chin gently as she tilted her head, as her pair of eyes looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She blinking softly to catch his attention.

    "When I leave tomorrow, please act well for me." Fang Zhengzhi, saw her flirtatious moves and told himself that he would never fall into her trap.

    "Okay." Wu Yuer agreed almost immediately.

    "Then there¡¯s nothing else." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as he turned around. But before taking a step forward, he turned back around again, with a serious expression on his face.

    "Rest assured, I took back what I¡¯m supposed to, so naturally..."

    Wu Yuer stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s serious expression and tried to exin patiently. But she was stopped before she could finish her sentence.

    Because she felt something strange on her chest.

    She looked down and saw a hand pressing right on her chest. Furthermore, it seemed as though it was aggressively pinching her, causing her eyes to be opened wide in disbelief.

    Then.....

    She felt as though she was striked by lightning.

    The warmthing out from the hand was so prominent, just like a furnace burning in her heart, causing her body to tremble.

    It was an angry tremble.

    "This is the interest!"

    The initial serious face evoked a smile. And as the sound disappeared, so did the figure that was standing in front of Wu Yuer, leaving only the temperature remaining on her chest.

    ....

    Second day came, it was morning in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Driven by the realistic acting skills of Wu Yuer, the Northern Mountain Vige vigers¡¯ eyes turned watery instantly.

    It was supposed to be a happy and joyous asion to enter the capital to meet the emperor. Furthermore, the marriage was an even happier event that deserved celebration.

    Hence, it shouldn¡¯t be so depressing.

    However, Wu Yuer¡¯s reluctant expression and tears-filled eyes looked very sincere, as well as her heart-warming verses and poems.

    "..."

    "Passionate since ancient times. Parting, what a cold autumn festival!"

    "Where can I get drunk tonight? A bank with willow trees, beneath the waning moon and cruel breeze."

    "In the parting year, fine moments and beautiful scenes mean nothing to me."

    "Though I have a thousand amorous feelings to confide, no sympathetic ear can I find."

    Even though the vigers did not understand anything about the poem, everyone started crying when they looked at Wu Yuer crying as she recited the poem.

    As for Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde, they were already unable to recognise Wu Yuer.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stay any longer in front of the vige. Instead, he directed a middle finger towards Wu Yuer, "Sad parting? I almost believe her!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi paused for a while after stepping out of the Northern Mountain Vige. He stopped at a corner as he looked up in the sky.

    The sun rose up slowly.

    The golden light shone from the sky and on the spacious road.

    Half an hourter...

    A figure suddenly appeared at a tree facing towards the Cang Ling Mountain, it was the same as the one outside the Northern Mountain Vige, just that it was in an opposite direction.

    "I¡¯m here." Yun Qingwu walked out from behind the big tree, her ck hair fell to the waist, as her pair of eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Uh, yes I¡¯m here." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    "Why are you here?" Yun Qingwu asked.

    "Because, one day¡¯s time is up." Fang Zhengzhi answered.

    "I see." Yun Qingwu stood up and nodded gently as she stared at the sky. Then shook her head again and said, "I didn¡¯t think that you wille back."

    "I also didn¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be back." Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently.

    "Are you sure you won¡¯t regret staying here?"

    "Perhaps."

    "The Pavilion test in the Heavenly Sage Pavilion is going to start soon, and it will take up till a month to reach there. Can you make it on time?" Yun Qingwu questioned again.

    "I can save up about 3-4 days if I don¡¯t travel down to the me Capital City." Fang Zhengzhi answered casually.

    "3-4 days? You¡¯ll still bete even if you can save 5 days. Nobody is allowed to bete in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, and if I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, you have yet to collect the test token."

    "I have never mentioned about the fact that I¡¯ll be attending the Heavenly Dao Pavilion test." Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

    "You¡¯re not going to attend it?" Yun Qingwu stopped asking after that, but stared quietly in the sky, looking at the white clouds floating in the sky.

    Silence...

    It was very long.

    When Yun Qingwu finally withdrawn her gaze from the sky.

    "I¡¯m going to leave this box under your care temporarily."

    "Box? What¡¯s that?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ck box with golden edges on Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand, looking doubtful.

    "The Heavenly Dao Sage Tablets, all thirteen of them." Yun Qingwu finished saying and ced the ck box on the ground, as she turned and starting leaving.

    "Why did you pass me the Heavenly Dao Sage tablets?"

    "I said, it¡¯s just temporary, I wille back to retrieve them four monthster!"

    "Four monthster, before I¡¯m dead? That doesn¡¯t sound that bad, but do you really believe that I will return them to you?" Fang Zhengzhi grinned.

    "Previously I did not, but I do now."

    "Because I came back here?"

    "Probably."

    "Actually, I only came here to inform you that I¡¯m leaving and you don¡¯t have to wait any longer!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted at Yun Qingwu as she walked further away from him.

    "Pa da!" Yun Qingwu¡¯s legs bent as her body trembled, as though she had tripped on something, but that did not make her stop.

    She disappeared into the forest momentster.

    ....

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion was built on the Mountains, on top of the sword peak.

    The reason why it was referred to as the sword peak was not because of the fact that it had a sword on its peak, but because its cliff resembled a t and sharp sword.

    Other than that, there were countless beasts roaming around in the three-sided mountain forests.

    That was a dangerous location. More importantly, there was no path. Be it the three-sided mountain forest or the sword-like cliff, there was not a road in sight.

    Let alone the roads...

    There was not even a single wooden pir around.

    But today, being an important day in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion due to the biennial event, at the foot of the Mountains, there were naturally many figures, all of whom were dressed very confidently.

    Of course, there was a young man who looked the most confident, flying on the back of a soaring beast. His white robe swayed and danced in the air. The sun shone and revealed the Heavenly Dao wordings printed on his chest.

 Chapter 632 Forced, From The Start of The Stifling Rod

    Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    This status might not sound as noble in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, but if such a status were to be ced in the Great Xia Dynasty or in front of anybody else.

    It was sufficient to garner respect.

    The young man leaped from the back of the flying beast andnded on the ground smoothly. He held onto a stack of book. From a nce away, he was looking very confident.

    "There are quite a lot of people here." The young man scanned around, as he said in an arrogant tone.

    Following that, three young men, who were dressed in schrly robes, came down from above, with serious expressions on their faces.

    "Brother Kong Qing!" One of them addressed him politely.

    "Mmm, master had given us the responsibility to take over this Heaven Dao Pavilion test, thank you all for the hard work." Kong Qing said and looked away from them.

    "We will listen to yourmands!" The three of them bowed.

    Kong Qing did not continue the conversation with the trio, as he left and walked towards the crowded group of people. His eyes were shining brightly.

    The biennial Heaven Dao Pavilion test can be said as the only "big event" that contained interaction between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the outside world. To be able to take on this responsibility, proved Qing Dao¡¯s capabilities.

    Of course, other than his capabilities, there were also his qualifications.

    Kong Qing might be young, but it was already six years since he had entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion. From the time he had entered the Supernatural State till the time he had reached the peak of the Rebirth State.

    His path to the Heaven Dao Pavilion might not seem that outstanding.

    But he had improved tremendously.

    Taking on the responsibility wasn¡¯t as easy as it seemed. It involved exining the rules to the contestants and more importantly, observing the aptitude and potential in each one of them.

    Honestly, the purpose was to show them the difficulty of the Heaven Dao Pavilion test. And only in front of these difficulties, that one¡¯s problem solving skills and attitudes can be seen.

    Simrly, it was also a way of pointing out one¡¯s potential.

    As for encouragement...

    It was not needed at all.

    These three words "Heaven Dao Pavilion" would be the strongest encouragement to many generations of families, as countless young men would crack their brains trying to enter it. Even princes from different countries would flock over just to contest.

    Why would they require more words of encouragement?

    "Mmhmm!" Kong Qing coughed as he stopped five steps away from the crowd. His eyes were as bright as a torch, emitting an oppressive feeling.

    Over the years, those who could participate in the Heavenly Pavilion selection test were the elites and the talents from all countries. Therefore, the characters of these elites were predictable.

    Arrogant, confident.

    And Kong Qing¡¯s most important task here would be to let people lose their arrogance, as well as their confidence. To empty themselves and return everything to zero.

    ...

    There were not many facilities at the bottom of the Heaven Mountain.

    The luxuries were iparable to the Capital City as well as the capitals of the various dynasties. In fact, they were even worse than the average small viges. Because there were only five small wooden houses.

    Other than that, there were not even an egg in sight.

    However the exterior of the five wooden houses looked extravagant, as they were made out of white wood. They looked very clean and tidy.

    There was even a piece ofnd in front of the houses, and little white pebbles wereid out on the ground. They were of the simr sizes and shapes.

    But.......

    There was ack of space in between them. With hundreds of people crowding on the piece ofnd, it looked very packed and squeezy.

    The appearance of Kong Qing and three men had sessfully drawn the attention of everyone.

    It quietened the discussions of the crowd.

    However, it was only quiet. To make it soundless would be impossible as there would definitely be breathing sounds.

    Moreover, they were all elites, absolute top elites.

    Many people were of higher status and it could be differentiated from the patterns printed on their fur coats.

    "Why are there so many people here when only 32 tokens are received by the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" Kong Qing asked.

    "..." Nobody answered.

    There were only eye contacts between one another. Silence prevailed.

    "Scram!" Kong Qing said coldly.

    "Shaaa..."

    Instantly, hundreds of people scattered to the back, leaving behind 32 young men wearing their royal fur coats.

    Of course, other than the 32 men, the whole ce was filled with the crumbles of fruits and biscuits.

    "Great, the unnecessary people are gone, but....." Kong Qing nodded his head gently as he scanned the whole area, "Why are there still so many rubbish on the floor?"

    "..." Silence again.

    The 32 young men did not answer once again.

    However, dozens of people who had already ran away came running back again, and all of them quickly bent down to collect the rubbish.

    "Did I ask you guys to pick them up?" Kong Qing waved his hand as a white colour puff of air blew towards the group of people.

    "Pong!"

    "Pong, pong....."

    "Ahhhhhh..."

    A few crashings sounds could be heard, apanied by a few screams. Dozens of people who ran over earlier were all being pushed back.

    "I understand that the envoy was trying to showcase his authority, but might it be a little too harsh this time round?" At this moment, a voice came out instantly from the 32 young men. Then, a young man dressed in a light blue coat, which was embroidered with an eagle-like beast above his chest area, stood up.

    "Your Sixth Highness, please stand back quickly!" A faint sound could be heard just as the young men stepped up.

    It was a woman wearing a blue long dress, looking pure and innocent. However, her face was pale and her mouth had a blood trail at the side.

    Obviously...

    Thedy had just been attacked and was hurt terribly.

    The young man in blue coat trembled when he heard the woman¡¯s words. He clenched his fists tightly before releasing them.

    The young man decided to return back to the crowd.

    "What, why did not retreat? You can¡¯t even defend yourdy as a man?" Kong Qing gave a cold smile as he looked at the young man returning back to the crowd.

    The young man clenched his fists again as he grinded his teeth together loudly. His cold eyes scanned the surrounding, but he endured silently and did not open his mouth to refute.

    "I will give you a chance to defeat me then I will apologize to her!" Kong Qing had no intention in letting go of the young man, as he spoke and pointed at thedy.

    The young man remained quiet as his body continued to tremble.

    "You, can leave now!" Kong Qing waved his hand at the young man.

    "Why?" The young man finally spoke, his expression filled with disbelief, "just because I said that you gave them a heavy blow? If it was really that case, I can apologize!"

    "Fine, kneel and apologise to me!" Kong Qing nodded.

    "You..." The young man had a change in his expression. He did mention about apologising, but kneeling down to apologise was totally something different.

    "Pu Tong!" There was loud thud sound.

    The young man did not kneel. Instead, it was the blue long dressdy who had kneeled down. She moved rapidly towards Kong Qing and bowed in front of him.

    "Mister Envoy, I beg you, the Sixth Highness is a man with outstanding talents. He had already stepped into the Rebirth State. He was just being foolish earlier to havemitted that mistake, please let him go this once, on behalf of the talents of the Sixth Highness as well as the status of the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire." The blue dressdy said as she kowtowed on the ground.

    "Rebirth State?" Kong Qing grinned when he heard that. "Looks like that he was really gifted, I only managed to attain the Supernatural State when I first entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion."

    "I beg your forgiveness!" The blue dressdy heard it and her eyes gave out a slight ray of hope.

    "Fine then, I will give him another chance. Three strokes, if he can just handle these three strokes, I will not only let him stay, but I will even apologize to you. How¡¯s that?" Kong Qing was still smiling when he said that.

    "That¡¯s what you said!" The blue coat young man gave him a cold stare as a ray of blue light lighted up around his body.

    "Ummm, I said that." Kong Qing nodded his head.

    The three young men standing around him began taking a few steps back slowly as they gave the blue coat dress a helpless look.

    The blue coat young man did not continue any further.

    Instead, he had already sprung into action.

    In the next moment, there was a water curtain separating Kong Qing and him. It was one heavy downpour of water falling from the horizon, string by string, and as thin as silk.

    Then the blue coat young man also started moving.

    As fast as lighting, he leaped through the water curtain, and he transcended into a streak of light. He was surrounded with rolls of crystal bright light.

    It resembled water droplets.

    "The drops of water could pierce through stones. The Radiant Moon Empire¡¯s Waters Droplet Sword looked so beautiful!" Kong Qing smiled casually but he did not move an inch. He only stood there and waited for the blue coat young man to move towards him.

    Water Droplets Sword.

    Definitely cannot be without a sword.

    However, the sword was hiding in the countless droplets of water. It was a camouging tactic, yet powerful and vigorous. It was a strange way of attacking.

    "Ding!"

    The sword emerged out.

    It was a blue long crystal clear sword and it was only one inch away from Kong Qing¡¯s body. Then it pierced through the drips of water and towards Kong Qing¡¯s throat.

    The strangest thing happened just when the sword pierced through the water.

    Kong Qing remained motionless.

    But the sword that was flying towards Kong Qing¡¯s throat paused as a sharp scream came out. It felt like the atmosphere was being rubbed in friction and being oppressed.

    The expression on blue coat young man instantly changed.

    Because he felt like he had been pressed against so tightly. The force was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down against his chest, resulting in his difficulty to breathe.

    What just happened?

    Was it the Heavenly Dao?

    No!

    That wasn¡¯t the Heavenly Dao, but it was controlling the atmosphere.

    "It was indeed very impressive, but just a littlecking in strength." Kong Qing squinted as he raised one leg, while the other was down, before kicking the chest of the blue coat young man.

    The next moment...

    The blue coat young man flew directly back.

    That was not the end, and just as Kong Qing had finished that kick, his body disappeared. WHen it had re-appeared, it was already on top of the blue coat young man.

    "Pong!" It was a stifling sound.

    Then the whole earth began shaking vigorously.

    The blue coat young man crashed down heavily on the floor. While he did not shatter the white pebbles on the ground, a pool of blood was spurting out profusely from his mouth.

    "What a shame that you chose to defend all the way instead of going forward to attack. There might still have a chance for you to stay, but you failed to withstand the anger building in you." Kong Qingnded on the ground again and shook his head when he looked at the pale face young man.

    "The Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire, impatient and rashless. Out!"

    ...

    Nobody really understood what was going to happen in the Heaven Dao Pavilion test. Because after announcing the elimination of The Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire, Kong Qing turned around and entered one of the wooden houses.

    As for the rest of the young men, they stayed put and did not say anything.

    The afternoon sunlight was shining on the ground, and it was bright red beaming on the t ground.

    "Young Master, the Heaven Dao Pavilion test has already started, looks like Fang Zhengzhi won¡¯t be here." A soft voice came out from the crowd of 32 men.

    "No, he will be here." Qian Wu, wearing a dress of ck coat, scanned at the three young men standing before him. Then looked at a figure from afar.

    "Why are you so confident about this, Young Master?" The voice came up again.

    "That¡¯s because Yan Xiu is here." Qian Wu continued staring at the figure standing faraway, giving an unconcerned look.

    Yan Xiu was here!

    Then where was Fang Zhengzhi?

    These thoughts were floating in Qian Wu.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name wasn¡¯t in the list for the list, but he still appeared here, he had travelled a far distance from the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    His purpose was to get back his stolen "fame".

    As the next heir to the throne of the Hold Barbarian Empire, he had disdained the throne, but that did not mean that he could tolerate the criticism from people.

    The strongest, would never ept failures.

    Even if it was just once!

    The real survivor, would stand up again from where he had failed.

    Therefore, there was Qian Wu.

    But the current Qian Wu had yet to realise the situation happening inside the small wooden house now.

    The energetic Kong Qing was trembling constantly . He could not understand that under the foot of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and under the sight of his three brothers,

    Someone would actually dare to sneak up behind him and used the "Stifling Rod" method.

    "Bam!" Kong Qing fell on the floor, and his body went soft and strengthless. The moment he entered the house, he was already poisoned.

    A man dressed in blue coat also came out from the darkness at the same time, and he stared Kong Qing and said, "Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Your strength is only average!"

 Chapter 633 Shocking, And Depressing

    "Average strength?! YOU...." Kong Qing stared at the figure who appeared in front of him. He could not figure out how this person actually poisoned him and sneaked up onto him. Moreover, he was still looking so calm and peaceful after doing all these to him.

    That made him felt as though he had been defeated without much difficulty.

    How shameless could one be?

    Kong Qing was furious, because the person¡¯s words seemed to have insulted him, and at the same time bringing shame to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Nheless, he still made it a point to observe the figure standing before him. The person looked young, and he guessed that he was just around the age of 17-18 years old. But he was sure that the person was not one of the 32 participants in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    He appeared, even though he wasn¡¯t part of the selection test?

    Who was he?

    Was he one of the disciples in the other forces?

    Impossible!

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion had been established for many years. The other forces would never choose such an important day during the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test to settle their grudges.

    "What are you....." Kong Qing was aware that he would be killed straight away if he shouted out for help. Hence, he attempted to lower down his volume since he only wanted to know the reason for the personing here.

    The young man did not give him the chance toplete his sentence and struck him at the top of his head using the rod before he could even open his mouth to say anything.

    "Dong!"

    Then, Kong Qing, though full of willingness, lost consciousness.

    It was just like how he had chased the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire away earlier, as no matter how unwilling he was, ultimately he had to stumble away with his injuries-filled body.

    Little did he know that retribution woulde so fast.

    "I was expecting a vigorous resistance, but looks like I have overestimated you." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and kept the dented steel rod.

    He then applied ayer of crystal looking soft product on Kong Qing¡¯s face. He pat and rubbed it. His actions weren¡¯t gentle, yet they were meticulous.

    The skill of disguise.

    That was indeed an advanced knowledge.

    Over the years, Fang Zhengzhi had picked up a few useful techniques in the Shadow Sect. Some of them were poisoning, the skill of disguise, as well as tn the act of camouging.

    Of course, while poisoning an "expert" such as Kong Qing, a simple fragrance would not suffice. But that was not a problem for him at all, since the Heavenly Oasis Saint was a guru in the medical profession.

    And Fang Zhengzhi, who was constantly "active" around the Heavenly Oasis Saint, had naturally more or less "scooped up" some stocks for future use.

    There was a good saying.

    No matter how strong one was, one would still be afraid of a kitchen knife.

    To always be prepared, was never wrong. Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi already had "The Vast World" with him, so he needn¡¯t worry about not having enough storage space.

    After a few moments.

    Fang Zhengzhi had finished making the human skin mask, before stripping Kong Qing of his clothes. He then wrapped Kong Qing up into a big dumpling and threw him aside.

    Everything was a sess, as Fang Zhengzhi touched the coat that was worn by the disciples in Heaven Dao Pavilion. The long white coat was veryfortable and even had the words "Heavely Dao" printed on it. It seemed very majestic.

    "Hehe, Heaven Dao Pavilion, here Ie!" Fang Zhengzhi grinned as he looked at Kong Qing who was thrown at a corner.

    Fang Zhengzhi had suffered throughout these few days, when he was rushing for the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. Those were the days where he had been through the worst.

    But in the end he was stillte for it.

    The "Review and Registration" period was already over as soon as he had reached the foot of the Heaven Dao Pavilion Mountain. The selection test had already begun.

    In order not to rm anyone, he decided toe up with this n.

    Take a nap.

    Because, indeed, he had yet to close his eyes for a few days already.

    But he did not expect that the moment he entered the small wooden house, Kong Qing would rush inside. Furthermore, it seemed like he was trying to take a shower.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi, a proper seven-foot man, tolerate watching someone showering in front of him?

    Therefore, he sprung into action.

    Then...

    There was Kong Qing lying on the ground.

    In fact, it was not all Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fault, as he did not intend to attack Kong Qing.

    He was only thinking about knocking one of the participants unconscious.

    But there seemed to have a slight change in the situation, although Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help but feel satisfied with the end result.

    It was a selection test.

    Isn¡¯t being the "examiner" better than the "candidate"?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not regret his decision. He had yet to consider the consequences if the Heaven Dao Pavilion were to know about this matter.

    He had never thought about being a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. After all, they would never "favor" him judging his current situation.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion would never favor him?

    Then why would he crack his head just to squeeze into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Furthermore, he only had less than four months to live. That meant that it was the most appropriate period for him to take risks.

    As the saying goes, who would go to hell, if I don¡¯t?

    He was toozy to consider about the consequences of his actions. He could not even keep his own life, let alone think about offending others.

    He would even rob all the precious treasures in the Heaven Dao Pavilion if given a better opportunity. Although, the precondition was not to be killed on the spot.

    After the preparations, Fang Zhengzhi was preparing to leave for the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test as a disciple. But just as he lifted up his leg, a roll of scripture fell off andnded on the ground.

    "What is this?" Fang Zhengzhi casually picked up the roll of books and flipped its pages. Very quickly, he shed a bright smile.

    It seemed like Kong Qing had spent a great deal of effort preparing for his hosting of the uing selection test. He had collected the previous questions for the past Heavenly Dao selection tests on the book.

    Of course....

    There were only questions without answers.

    In other words, it was almost impossible to get any answers from the questions in the book.

    ...

    As Fang Zhengzhi was reading the scripture in the wooden house, there was a enormous beast flying above the Heaven Dao Pavilion across the sky, making a loud howl in the air.

    "The Crown Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire Sage has arrived!" A low deep voice came out from outside the door of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. A disciple wearing the Heaven Dao Pavilion coat took three steps towards the door.

    The door of the Heavenly Pavilion was certainly not any ordinary door, as it was a human-shaped statue carved from two white jades.

    The statue on the left had long white hair, and was clothed in a broad white long robe, with a green sword on its back.

    The statue on the right looked young. He had sharp eyes and an indifferent expression. With a sword tucked at his waist, he was clothed in a white long schrly robe and seemed extremely elegant.

    As the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion took three steps in front of the two statues, two figures leaped from the sky. One had a head full of white hair, dressed in a golden robe while the other figure looked middle-aged.

    "Your Highness and the Crown Prince, the Pavilion Leader had been waiting in the Heaven Academic Altar for a long time!"

    "Great, please lead the way." The middle-aged man nodded his head after listening to the disciple¡¯s words. He immediately realised something, "Oh right, has my sixth brother arrived at the Heaven Dao Pavilion? He is slightly more gifted than me, but just a little delicate..."

    "Crown Prince, are you asking about the Sixth Highness?" The disciple asked.

    "Exactly!"

    "I¡¯m so sorry, the Sixth Highness was a little too rash earlier and was already eliminated from the selection test. He was disqualified from participating in the test!"

    "This....I¡¯m.....No, my sixth brother has just attained the Rebirth State, his power has long met the conditions of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Moreover, the selection test hasn¡¯t even started?!"

    "Power is one condition for the eptance of being a disciple in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. But aptitude and potential are the better indicators of measure for this test. Moreover, the selection test had begun the moment one stepped into the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Now, Crown Prince, if you have no other questions, please allow me to leave for the Heaven Academic Altar!" The disciple finished his sentence and left, walking towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Ugh...." The Crown Prince and the Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire made eye contact with one another and heaved a loud sigh at the same time. However, they did not continue the conversation, and they walked quickly to catch up the young man who was already walking towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    At this moment, another disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion walked out from the two blocks of statue. He looked up, gazing at the ck figure above the horizon.

    "Your Highness and the Xian King of the Great Xia Dynasty have arrived!"

    "Greetings emissary!"

    "Your Highness, Xian King, the Pavilion Leader has been waiting at the Heaven Academic Altar, please follow me."

    "Sure, trouble you emissary to bring me there." Lin Mubai nodded his head as he nced at Lin Yun, who was behind him, then walked into the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    But Lin Yun turned around to look behind him.

    Feeling the cool air at the peak of the mountain, as the strong wind blew across at times. His brows were slightly wrinkled, but he quickly recovered and followed closely behind Lin Mubai to enter the Heavenly Pavilion.

    .......

    In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, inside the Heaven Academic Altar.

    There was a piece of crystal clear ck stone monument rooted in front of the gigantic white monument. Numerous dense golden characters shed on the ck stone monument, exuding a touch of brilliance.

    Surrounding the white stone monument, there were several Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples standing up straight. They were carrying their long swords, holding onto their scriptures. They kept quiet, looking solemn and cold.

    Under the stone chair, the square tables carved by four white jade stones were arranged side by side, and each side of the square table had three chairs carved of white jade.

    Lin Mubai and Lin Yun were sitting side by side around the square table. There were also a few other people sitting around the table.

    "Pavilion Leader, the Highness and Princes from the states have all arrived. The selection test had already begun, but..." One of the disciples walked down gingerly from the stone chairs and said.

    "Guyan is not back yet?"

    "Yes..."

    "No problem, tomorrow is the day of the arrival of the Heavenly Prophecy. I believe Guyan will be able to reach on time." The old man shook his head and signalled the Disciples to retreat.

    "Yes Your Highness." The Heavenly Dao Disciples bowed and moved back once they saw his hand sign.

    The old man stood up at the same time. He was barefoot, and wearing a long white dress. He scanned around the surroundings and shed a smile.

    "Mu Qingfeng, pardon me for the poor hospitality."

    "You¡¯re being polite, Pavilion Leader."

    "I believe that you all are aware of the changes from the previous Heaven Dao Pavilion. Please stay around after the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test."

    "May I check if you Pavilion Leader are talking about the arrival of the Heavenly Dao Prophecy?"

    "Yes."

    "Although the chosen one, Chi Guyan is a part of the Great Xia Dynasty, but since the Heavenly Dao Prophecy is a big matter for us, it involves the stability of the future of our countries. Therefore, how could we miss this great matter?"

    "Hmmmm, indeed it involves the matters of our countries....." Mu Qinfeng nodded and looked up at the horizon.

    ....

    Fang Zhengzhi had spent 30 minutes reading the whole scripture before walking out of the small wooden house.

    It was noon, and the sun was harsh and direct.

    Everyone had became more obedient after looking at what had happened to the Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire.

    None of them dared to interrogate "Fang Zhengzhi" as to why he had spent so much time inside the small wooden house.

    They only stood up quietly, waiting patiently.......

    "Brother Kong Qing!" The three Disciples in the Heaven Dao Pavilion greeted him politely, as Fang Zhengzhi walked out of the wooden house.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and waved casually. As a "senior", he should have an attitude of a senior.

    He did not continue any further, as he scanned around at the remaining 31 "elites". Very quickly, he realised that an indifferent Yan Xiu was standing among the crowd of people wearing the uniform.

    He was almost determined to go towards Yan Xiu.

    But he managed to swallow down the words before they came out from his mouth.

    What¡¯s the most important value between friends?

    Trust!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he could trust Yan Xiu, but he did not think that Yan Xiu would need his help to pass the Heavenly Pavilion Selection test. And that would be ack of trust, if he were to step in to help.

    Then.....

    What else could he do now?

    Fang Zhengzhi would choose to stay low if he were to disguise as a prince participating in the test. But now that he was of a different status, surely he cannot put on a simr act? At least he had to do something shocking or depressing.

    Such as, eliminating everyone?

    And left with Yan Xiu?

    Following this method, it cannot be said that he was trying to help Yan Xiu?

 Chapter 634 Being Eliminated Could Cause An Acciden

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that it was great idea to eliminate Yan Xiu¡¯s rivals, so as to reduce thepetition. At least until Yan Xiu was able to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Fine...

    I should just eliminate all theseds in a breath.

    No matter who they are, be it dukes or heirs, or even Princes. Kong Qing had already eliminated the Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire. Who else would he be afraid of?

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was able to protect him, if there were any trouble.

    Hold up!

    There was one more person.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly thought of this person. That person was almost unnoticeable even when he was standing under a tree.

    Not to mention, he was standing among the crowd?

    But Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was here.

    Nangong Mu.

    A person with ordinary looks, an ordinary figure, and one with average traits.

    He looked just like any ordinary person, but managed to be one of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s best friends. And he was standing among the crowd.

    Fang Zhengzhi would never miss out on Nangong Hao at the thought of Nangong Mu. Nangong Hao was one of the best talents in the Great Xia Dynasty to emerge top two, together with himself, in the Theory examinations two years ago.

    And now...

    Nangong Hao should be at the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up and stared at the sharp walls as he reminisced about the fateful night two years ago. They had yet toplete their finalpetition with one another.

    "Brother Kong Qing..." One of the disciples spoke up gently behind him.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded as the voice had seemed to remind him about the time. In fact, "he" had indeed spent a long time in the wooden house.

    Let¡¯s start the elimination.

    Fang Zhengzhi quietly scanned through the 31 young men standing around. They were basically all dressed in their coats and emitting arrogant vibes, due to the fact that they were all heirs of their families.

    Although it seemed normal just thinking about it.

    Moreover, being able to emerge from the crowd in such a big country they were not just any ordinary person, since they were given the opportunity to participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion Selection test.

    "You, stand out." Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t picky as well. He pointed at a young man dressed in an elegant coat.

    "I¡¯m Shi Weiyi from the War Pinnacle Empire, envoy please ask your questions!" The young man stood up confidently, and it seemed like he knew that it was the time to answer examination questions.

    "I didn¡¯t even mention anything about asking questions, and you asked me to do it? You¡¯re so full of yourself, out!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his head and gave a discerning look.

    "Out?!" The young man did not have time to react over the situation.

    At least half of the remaining contestants¡¯ eyes were wide open, staring at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Getting eliminated just like this?

    That was just too harsh!

    "I¡¯m not happy about this. The first round of Heavenly Dao Selection test was always about asking examination questions. I might be a little off from the criteria but this shouldn¡¯t get me eliminated!" The young man rebuked.

    "So you¡¯re saying, that was just a minor mistake?" Fang Zhengzhi shed a smile.

    "Yes!" The young man nodded his head, looking very determined.

    The rest of the contestants fixed their eyes at Fang Zhengzhi. "Fang Zhengzhi" did show his power by eliminating the Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire.

    Even so...

    It seemed pretty absurd to abuse one¡¯s power like this?

    Even if this were the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there had to be some degree of reason and principle. By eliminating someone without reason, what would be the difference between this and the bandits?

    "Do you guys think the same as him?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the remaining candidates.

    None of them spoke up. Everyone was standing with their chest out, and heads up, but nobody opened their mouth.

    "There is a saying, not sure if anyone of you can remember. When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread wille on them. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise. Therefore the sage knows these things of himself, but does not parade his knowledge; loves, but does not appear to set a value on, himself. And thus he puts thetter alternative away and makes choice of the former." Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the crowd after speaking.

    There was something different from earlier.....

    Upon hearing the sentence, everyone had a change in their expressions.

    They were all elites from the Great Xia Dynasty, naturally the understood the saying. It referred to the fact that if the citizens were not afraid of the ruling government, then terrible disasters would follow.

    Forcing people to live and work in peace is wrong, and so is preventing the citizens from making a living. Only by not oppressing the people would the citizens not hate their rulers.

    Therefore, a sage not only had to have self-knowledge, but also be expressive and self-love. He must not be arrogant, and must abandon his self-confidence, yet stay aware of his surroundings and preserve self-love.

    "Who else has any other opinion?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "No!" The silence earlier had disappeared when they all replied. The way they looked at Fang Zhengzhi had all changed too.

    That feeling...

    Was almost like observing the "High Enlightenment State".

    Exining such profound principles from such a small incident, if it was not the High Enlightenment State what would it be referred to as?

    Indeed, Heaven Dao Pavilion was the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Nobody dared to talk back to Fang Zhengzhi again. The three men standing behind Fang Zhengzhi also seemed to understand what he was trying to talk about.

    In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, everything was about logic.

    Fang Zhengzhi was obviously one who would reason with logic.

    The young man did not speak any further. His face turned red after Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, looking embarrassed and guilty.

    A momentter...

    He bowed in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I have learnt my lesson!" The young man said, then turned and made his leave. Very soon, he had disappeared into the crowd.

    "Good, next." Fang Zhengzhi casually pointed at the second young man.

    "I¡¯m Tian Fengyun from the War Pinnacle Empire!" The next young man was smarter this time round. He walked out gingerly, and he made every step carefully. Three steps, no more no less.

    "This young man cannot be taught!" Fang Zhengzhi waited till the young man made his three steps, then waved his hand impatiently at the young man.

    "Eliminated again?!"

    Half of the contestants heard what Fang Zhengzhi had just said and felt baffled. But they merely looked at the young man sympathetically.

    Their looks...

    Were just like saying to him, ¡¯brother, go peacefully!¡¯

    The young man was stunned motionless for a full minute. He cautiously recalled about his actions earlier.

    There was no problems at all?

    Three steps were definitely neither too many nor too few.

    And all he did was to report his name?

    Then he got eliminated?

    The young man could not figure out the whole situation, what did he do wrong? Although he knew the meaning of the sentence that Fang Zhengzhi had been talking about.

    But when used in this situation...

    What would be the meaning for that?

    "Envoy, please enlighten me?" The young man still decided to asked the question. Afterall, to even participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test was not an easy task at all.

    He had spent 10 years studying vigorously, and had endured numerous difficulties.

    Finally reaching this part of the test...

    But was eliminated in just one sentence? And he had only reported his name, he had no idea how to get over such a massive setback.

    "Remember about what Shi Weiyi had mentioned earlier before he got eliminated?" Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that it was a logical society, so he need to provide a reason for the elimination.

    "Which part are you talking about?" The young man asked softly.

    "Precisely, you have learnt nothing. He only managed to say four lines just now, anyone with a brain can understand what I¡¯m referring to. The first round of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test is always the ask and answer segment!" Fang Zhengzhi answered with disdain.

    The rest of the participants seemed to have realised his mistake after listening to the exnation. They looked at him and shook their heads in dismay. It was an example of not being observant, strict, hence a sign of not having the potential.

    "But, I..."

    "Nervous? I know you¡¯re nervous. But just like in a war, you can¡¯t possibly tell the other party that you¡¯re nervous, hoping that they let you go lightly? Moreover, he had already mentioned earlier, that the first round is the ask and answer segment. If you knew about this, why didn¡¯t you ask me to give you the questions?"

    "..." The young man remained silent.

    "Study is just like sailing against the current; either you keep forging ahead or you keep falling behind. It¡¯s the same as training, just leave!" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t care much about what the young man just said.

    "You¡¯re right, teacher. Father had always been correcting me to be cautious in my training. But I have yet to realise all these, till your words teacher. I will always remember your words and strive to break through my ownfort zone. I will focus more in my training!"

    "Bravo!"

    "He could look right through the problem in just one nce. Such skills, really impressive!"

    "If there¡¯s an opportunity to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I will definitely learn more from Brother Kong Qing!"

    Everyone was stunned upon listening to what the young man said before they managed to react over the situation.

    That was the first time Fang Zhengzhi made everyone felt impressed with his logic.

    And this one time.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s "great foresight" had made them felt so impressed. He was able to differentiate one¡¯s inability, with just one sentence and one nce.

    That was so appalling!

    Heaven Dao Pavilion was indeed the best holy ce for training.

    As for the strong elites, such challenges would often push them to greater heights. Therefore, while the two of them were eliminated, they did not choose to retreat.

    Faced with difficulties,

    Then solve them.

    That was how one can be a strong warrior!

    Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback by their determination.

    Huh?

    That was possible?!

    If it wasn¡¯t because he knew that he was going to eliminate these guys one by one, he would have almost believed that he was actually helping them.

    "Next."

    "Xun Fei from the Radiant Moon Empire, please ask the questions." A light blue coat young man walked out from the crowd, filled with confidence.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of "clear"?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and asked.

    The young man, as well as the crowd, heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that, as he had finally passed through the first round of test.

    "To be clear against injustice, to be elegant, upright, honest, uncorrupted, all these are to be considered as clear. To be distinct and sober among the corrupted and drunk..." Xun Fei swiftly answered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    "Eliminated!" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Xun Fei¡¯s answer.

    "AH?!" Xun Fei stuttered, as his mouth was wide open and he looked extremely dumbfounded.

    He was right?

    His answer was absolutely right!

    Xun Fei did not think that there was any problem with his answer. He borated from the word "clear" and those were all the right values.

    He sticked to the word "clear" throughout the whole exnation.

    That kind of exnation would be one of the most appropriate answers in any situation. But why would he be eliminated in this Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?

    Xun Fei was puzzled.

    The rest of the participants were also confused by it, as they did not find any ws in Xun Fei¡¯s answer.

    "Are you unhappy?" Fang Zhengzhiughed as he looked at Xun Fei.

    "Not at all, just that... I really don¡¯t understand where did I say wrong, please enlighten me!" Xun Fei shook his head and bowed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Firstly, do you really think my question is that easy?"

    "This..."

    "I wanted to ask if you know the meaning of clear, turbit, shallow and deep. But you went ahead to answer without waiting for me to finish the question. This overconfidence failed you even before you started."

    "..." Xun Fei went silent.

    "Furthermore, while you mentioned turbidity, but you did not borate on it, and merely discussed about ¡¯clear¡¯. You may look confident, but actually you had subcounsciously avoided some "mistakes". You¡¯re afraid of failure, and constantly seek perfection. But in this world, how can there be perfection?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "In this world, how can there be perfection?" Xun Fei mumbled softly as his eyes suddenly brightened up.

    After awhile, just like a big door opening, Xun Fei began leaping around crazily, as he continued to chant.

    "I think I might have achieved the state, the logic......No real perfection, I finally understood, I get it. Ha ha ha..." He burst intoughter, as a ray of light brightened up around Xun Fei¡¯s body.

    The ray of light was of a thick green colour.

    "Rumble!"

    Xun Fei¡¯s hair began flying, as the aura around him started changing.

    "No way?!"

    "He really broke through?!"

    "There were rumours about Xun Fei being stuck in the Supernatural State for 5 years, but he actually broke through when he¡¯s here? That was unbelievable!"

    The majority of them was bbergasted, as they watched the brilliant light burst out around Xun Fei¡¯s body. They would never have believed it, if they hadn¡¯t seen that before their eyes.

    Just one sentence...

    Could result in his breakthrough?!

 Chapter 635 The Sky Fell Down

    For the first incident, Fang Zhengzhi managed to convince one using his logic, exining the importance of "self-knowledge" and "humility". He also enlightened them as to how a sage should have viewed the two elements.

    For the second incident, Fang Zhengzhi was able to identify his "w" in just one nce, and fill him with his newfound wisdom. The participant was able to better understand how arduous the path would be, which was just like "sailing against the current; either you keep forging ahead or you keep falling behind."

    All these were already very surprising.

    But this time round...

    One who was trapped in the bottleneck for 5 years, at just one simple advice from "Fang Zhengzhi", suddenly broke through to the Rebirth State.

    How overwhelming?

    It could easily be just coincidence for the first and second incidents.

    However...

    The third time was definitely not coincidental. Because everyone had seen the truth in front of them, it was something so unbelievable yet real at the same time.

    "Thank you so much, teacher. You¡¯re my master. It¡¯s a waste that I can¡¯t enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, if not I Xun Fei, swear that I will follow you till death master!" Xun Fei finally came his to senses, and he flew in front of Fang Zhengzhi and kneeled on the ground.

    All the contestants turned their attention at once towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Senior Kong Qing was indeed impressive!

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched a little.

    He was speechless, breakthrough, just like this? Stepped into the Rebirth State from the Supernatural State? Why was it so difficult when he was trying to breakthrough?

    Crap!

    Looking at the sincere expression on Xun Fei¡¯s face, Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head and gazed at the piercing sun. As he sighed under his breath, ¡¯Indeed, it¡¯s different being educated, even through elimination can there be joys of tears?¡¯

    Xun Fei could sense that he was behaving inappropriately as Fang Zhengzhi kept quiet. He stood up immediately and bowed politely towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Gracious teacher, I can¡¯t express how grateful I am now, I will leave now!" Xun Fei finished talking and turned around.

    "Can¡¯t express how grateful you are?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Xun Fei leaving and mumbled to himself, "You can express your gratefulness! Why not just bring a few hundred thousands of silvers?"

    If it is not possible, I wouldn¡¯t mind 50 000 pieces of silver too.

    Hello...

    30 000 would be fine too.

    How about just 10 000 of them!

    Well, the reality was harsh.

    Xun Fei left.

    Not even one or two silvers, and not evening leaving a contact. At least to him, expressing through words was never enough to thank one for such a big favour.

    Foolish!

    Fang Zhengzhi pointed a middle finger at Xun Fei after folding his arms behind his back.

    The three disciples standing behind Fang Zhengzhi saw the actions and made eye contact with one another.

    Then they suddenly realised what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to hint and flew rapidly behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Kong Qing Senior!" The three disciples bowed politely and waited for his instructions.

    Although they were able to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, their presence were almost unknown. To them, while Kong Qing was of a higher status than them, he was only so because of his longer duration in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    But after witnessing everything earlier.....

    The disciples were deeply convinced by "Kong Qing", therefore the actions and words they said were all from the bottom of their hearts.

    They were even thinking about how to forge a closer rtionship with their senior when they were back at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Of course, these were just the thoughts of three disciples.

    Fang Zhengzhi hadpletely no idea of what they were thinking about.

    He was shocked upon hearing the voices of the three disciples. Huh? Why did they walk over?

    Had I exposed myself?

    That was impossible.

    He had put up such a great acting, hence there was no way that he could have exposed himself. Moreover, he had provided appropriate reasoning when eliminating the participants.

    Fang Zhengzhi feltplexed but he recovered quickly. As he was already their senior now, why should he be afraid of the young men?

    "Umm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. He paid no attention to the three disciples standing behind him, and only casually made a slight gesture.

    As for the meaning of the gesture.....

    He thought that the three disciples would not know about it.

    Because he also had no idea.

    Indeed...

    The three disciples looked at each other and felt confused. But they were not in the best position to ask about it.

    Fang Zhengzhi could care less about them. He wanted to make use of the opportunity to continue his elimination n.

    Eliminate four of them at once!

    "Okay, that¡¯s too harsh!"

    "I always knew that the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test was difficult, but I finally got to understand the real meaning behind it. The ask and answer segment is just the first round right?"

    "Yes, and the first round is already so tough, how can we survive the rest of the rounds?"

    "Up till now, none of them managed to pass the first round. I have waited and studied for years, but looks like I¡¯m still far from the criteria of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    The contestants eximed, as they did not think that Fang Zhengzhi was faulting them on purpose. Instead, they had treated this as a new challenge.

    Furthermore, they felt even more impressed and respectful towards Fang Zhengzhi as he continued to eliminate more people.

    "Useless!" That was the evaluation that Fang Zhengzhi had given them so far. At this moment, he stopped suddenly.

    There was a person dressed in a long ck coat, with a sharp pair of eyes.

    "Huh? Isn¡¯t that Qian Wu?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up instantly. Little did he know that Qian Wu would participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    He almost wanted to call Qian Wu out and embarrass and insult him publicly, before eliminating him.

    But just at that moment...

    He felt something poking at his back.

    As he turned around, he realised it was one of the disciple¡¯s fingers. Their faces were all pale.

    "Yes?" Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    "Senior Kong Qing, that was the eighth one...." The disciples stared at Fang Zhengzhi, looking as though they were about to tear up.

    As followers of "Kong Qing", they were only supposed to assist him in hosting this selection test, and questioning Kong Qing¡¯s actions were not part of their responsibilities.

    But it was only the first round.

    ording to the previous Heaven Dao Pavilion selection tests, eliminating two of them would be sufficient to scare the contestants.

    After all, the easy questions were not enough to differentiate the participants.

    However....

    Fang Zhengzhi had already eliminated eight of them at once.

    There were merely 32 contestants in total. And they had already lost one quarter of them before the selection test even started.

    Besides, it seemed like Fang Zhengzhi was still nning to eliminate more of them.

    This exined why they couldn¡¯t stand it any longer.

    Although they were just subordinates, but who stated that subordinates could not hold any responsibilities? Many a times, they were the ones who carried all the burden and took the mes.

    "Kong Qing" might have great reasonings and exnations. Even so, "Kong Qing" was just another high ranking senior who had entered the Pavilion.

    What would happen to the rest of the seniors who were stationed at the second and third segments, if the contestants were all being eliminated at the first round? The seniors had prepared for two years for this day.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw the three disciples¡¯ speechless expressions and understood them immediately. He moved his mouth and mumbled softly just enough to let the three disciples hear him. "Yes, your senior knows his limits, just one more to go."

    "You¡¯re going to continue eliminating?" The three of them had a change in their expressions.

    "Rx, I will bear responsbility if anything really happens!" Fang Zhengzhi hit his chest and said generously.

    As for who was going to really hold the fort...

    Only God will know who.

    "We will leave everything to you, senior!" The three disciples agreed in the end. At this point of time, eliminating just one more would not cause much difference.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped paying attention to the disciples and turned his back slowly. He scanned around the crowd and paused at Qian Wu.

    "You, what¡¯s your name?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed randomly at Qian Wu.

    "Young master!" A youth who was standing beside Qian Wu, upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, had a distinct change in his expression.

    Qian Wu shook his head gently as he tidied up his ck coat and bowed politely to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I, your subordinate, am Qian Wu, from the Holy Barbarian Empire. Please ask me the questions." Qian Wu sounded very humble yet portrayed a charismatic look at the same time. Most importantly, he stayed calm and peaceful despite all the problems.

    "Is he Qian Wu?"

    "Rumours said that he is the only contestant who managed to attain the peaks for two Rebirth States in this selection test!"

    "The peak of the Rebirth state? At such a young age?"

    When everyone had heard of Qian Wu¡¯s attainment of the highest peak of the Rebirth State, there was still a huge chattering out from the crowd, despite all being elites themselves.

    Even the disciples standing behind Fang Zhengzhi were also nodding their heads gently.

    They all had their own understanding about Qian Wu. He was the top elite in the Holy Barbarian Empire and also the default sessor of the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    Of course...

    All these were not important.

    Most importantly, Qian Wu was the controller of the Near-Life Dao, one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    Given his ability in attaining the peak of the Rebirth State, such an elite would always be invited by the major venues, such as the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Nine Pinnacle Mountain and the Yin Yang Hall.

    "Eliminated!"

    Just as everyone was fascinated by Qian Wu¡¯s appearance, an inappropriate voice sounded, momentarily hushing the surroundings.

    "Eliminated?!"

    When the eight candidates were being eliminated previously, everyone was merely shocked. However, to eliminate Qian Wu, especially in only the first round.....

    They were all bbergasted.

    "Senior Kong Qing, this Qian Wu cannot be eliminated!"

    "Have you forgotten about what master had mentioned earlier about Qian Wu..."

    "I beg you to think about it again, Kong Qing Senior!"

    The three disciples could no longer tolerate the situation, as they did not think that Fang Zhengzhi would use thest elimination ce on Qian Wu.

    Qian Wu was also a little taken aback by it. But he seemed a lot more calm and less furious aspared to the previous eight candidates. In fact, he even bowed politely in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Pardon me for asking about the reason of my elimination."

    "Faith!" Fang Zhengzhi could care less about the advice from the three disciples. What about the instructions from the master? He was holding the highest rank in this situation now.

    "Faith?" Qian Wu squinted his eyes as he began pondering.

    "Let me ask this, are you the Prince of the Holy Barbarian Empire?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yes." Qian Wu nodded.

    "Sincerity first, faith foremost. To treat others with sincerity, to have integrity is a gentleman¡¯s value. When you were introducing yourself just now, you referred to yourself as my subordinate. To conceal your identity, is to betray. Naturally, you should be eliminated!" Fang Zhengzhi said casually.

    "Integrity, the way of a gentleman!"

    "That does seem very right!"

    "But he is Qian Wu..."

    The candidates nodded their heads upon listening to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exnation. Integrity had always been the basic core value humans must have. And Fang Zhengzhi had made use of that reason to eliminate Qian Wu, surely there was no way to refute him.

    Although he still was Qian Wu.

    The master of the Near-Life Dao, one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. Furthermore, he was also the first contestant to have attained the peaks of two Rebirth States.

    If even he failed to pass the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    Who else could pass this?

    And this was just the first stage!

    "Master!" A young man wearing a ck coat stood forward at the same time, walking slowly towards Qian Wu.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" Qian Wu frowned.

    The ck coat young man did not answer Qian Wu immediately. But he leaned beside Qian Wu and whispered into his ears.

    "How confident are you?" Qian Wu gave him a look after listening to the young man¡¯s words.

    "Ny percent!" The young man answered instantly.

    "Fine, then let¡¯s give it a try." Qian Wu nodded as he took a step back.

    Everyone standing in the crowd looked at them strangely. Because even if Qian Wu were to feel that his elimination was unjustified, he should at least tried refuting it, and not "retreat" like this.

    What was the real reason behind the young man standing up? And what did the ck young coat man say to Qian Wu earlier?

    The candidates were not the only ones to not understand the situation.

    The three disciples also frowned their eyes, as they felt rather strange looking at the suspicious looking young man walking towards Qian Wu.

 Chapter 636 A Reputable Detective From A Different World

    "You¡¯re fake!" Just as everyone was looking very puzzled, a voice came out from the mouth of the ck coat young man. They were all startled.

    "Fake?!"

    "What is he trying to imply?"

    "What¡¯s fake?"

    Other than the contestants who were feeling very confused, Fang Zhengzhi and the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were also looking very lost in the situation.

    Fake?

    Was he trying to imply that "Kong Qing" was fake?

    Impossible.

    In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Kong Qing was in charge of the first segment of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, how could a fake one appear in this crucial time?

    "Yes, you¡¯re fake, you¡¯re certainly not Kong Qing!" The ck coated young man looked at all the puzzled faces around him, and spoke in a calm manner.

    "Absurd, I came down here together with Senior Kong Qing. What¡¯s your purpose of talking about this?" One of the disciples standing behind Fang Zhengzhi could not stand it and began talking.

    By having the malice to im that "Kong Qing" was a fake one, it also seemed like one was doubting the responsibility of the criteria of the selection test.

    That was intolerable.

    "For someone who¡¯s so disrespectful to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and rude to the seniors. We don¡¯t wee you, please leave now!" The other disciple also spoke out, sounding very unfriendly.

    "Hehe, behaving rudely in front of the seniors? I would naturally leave this ce if I was really impolite to the seniors, but what will happen if he really is fake?" The young man said confidently, as if he had guessed that response from them.

    "Do you have any proof?" Thest disciple finally spoke.

    The rest of the contestants fixed their eyes on the young man after listening to the disciple. It was indeed very unbelievable to suspect the real identity of Senior Kong Qing.

    As a matter of fact, Kong Qing was very strict.

    However, he did manage to use his actions to prove his "power", and was able to help someone ovee the Supernatural State, in just a speech of a sentence. It would be ridiculous to say that he was a fraud.

    "I certainly have the evidence!" The young man scanned the unfriendly faces, but his expression remained unchanged.

    "Evidence, you have the evidence?" The three disciples were not expecting this.

    "Yes!" The young man nodded his head.

    "Senior Kong Qing, should we get rid of this person?" The three disciples couldn¡¯t care less about the young man, and they turned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, waiting for his answer.

    "No rush, let¡¯s hear what he has to say." Fang Zhengzhi remained very calm.

    Of course that was just on the outside, Fang Zhengzhi had already been nning for his escape route.

    Although...

    He had yet to find the safest escape route from here.

    Therefore, dying would naturally be the best method.

    "Fine, then you show us your evidence!" The disciples nodded their heads, feeling more impressed with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Staying calm and steady, that was just the right way of being a senior.

    Dare to suspect the identity of a senior?

    It would be a must to make him feel defeated.

    The young man seemed to hesitate after listening to Fang Zhengzhi. There was no turning back for him at this point of time.

    He coughed lightly as he bowed in front of the three disciples.

    "I¡¯m Sima Feng from the Holy Barbarian Empire, I doubt many had heard about my name, but I bet some of you have heard about Sima Ke?" The young man paused as he mentioned the name, and looked at the three disciples.

    "Sima Ke?"

    "Is he talking about the assassin from the Holy Barbarian Empire?"

    "The world¡¯s best assassin in the whole family line, Sima Ke?"

    Everyone surrounding them was stunned after listening to Sima Feng¡¯¡¯s sentence.

    Just like what he had said, it was very rare to hear the name Sima Feng, but Sima Ke was indeed famous around the world.

    He was the first assassin in the world, and was famed since 10 years ago.

    He looked like a person around the age of mid twenties, how could he possibly be Sima Ke?

    Hold on.

    Did he just mention that his name was Sima Feng?

    "You guessed correctly, Sima Ke is my father, but he had long left us. And I¡¯m the sessor of the Sima family!"

    Sima Feng looked at the surrounding discussions, and looked more confident than usual. He did not wait till the end of their discussion, "I have learnt all the skills of disguising and camouging from my father since I was a child. Although I dare not im to be the first, it is very rare to see anyone master these skills in the Holy Barbarian Empire."

    Silence.

    The contestants remained silent. Because if Sima Feng were really the current heir of the Sima household, his im wouldn¡¯t be entirely ridiculous.

    The three disciples frowned after listening to him. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi but did not stop Sima Feng from continuing.

    Sima Feng continued to look very confident as he did not hear any more objections. He continued, "Although disguising and camouging were one of the expertise skills, it would be impossible for anyone to do those without any ws. I believe that all of you can understand this."

    "To be able to reduce the risk of being exposed, the experts would always follow the target and spend a lot of time observing and imitating him. This is allow the mimicked expressions and actions to remain the same."

    "But Senior Kong Qing standing before us seemed to have failed to retain all these skills!"

    "This might be my first time meeting the senior, but due to the habit of my work, I have been observing him since Senior Kong Qing had eliminated the Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire."

    "It was very strange since the moment Senior Kong Qing walked out from the wooden house. He might try very hard to imitate, but judging from his actions and expressions, they were all different from the usual Senior Kong Qing. The most obvious area would be the "eyes", as that is be the hardest part to hide, even if you are best at imitating someone."

    "Therefore, he¡¯s fake, and if I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, the real Senior Kong Qing would still be in the wooden house!"

    The ck coat young man finished his sentence and pointed at the wooden house in front of them. There was a faint glowing out from him, as he fixed his eyes on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Wew!"

    Everyone had a drastic change in their expressions upon hearing the exnation. He was really an impersonator of Kong Qing? If these were all true, it would be very terrible.

    They were all standing at the bottom of the Heaven Dao Pavilion now.

    Impersonating one of the disciples in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, was not be the smartest thing to do now. And most importantly, what would be the reason of imitating Kong Qing?

    "Hehe, I thought you had some hard evidence, so it is just by observing?" One of the disciples walked out, "Senior Kong Qing had long reached the peak of the Supernatural State, nobody would have the chance to defeat Kong Qing and impersonate him!"

    "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s impossible!"

    "We truly believe that this is the real Senior Kong Qing!"

    The other two disciples also nodded their heads in agreement.

    In reality, the three disciples had been trying their best to be close with "Kong Qing" ever since "Kong Qing"¡¯ had eliminated some of the contestants earlier, showcasing his power.

    Now...

    Naturally they would not immediately take the side of Sima Feng.

    "You may really be one of the Sima family, but I will not believe your exnation just from one speech!" One of the contestants rebuked at the same moment.

    Of course, he was trying to impress Kong Qing.

    "Exactly!"

    "We don¡¯t believe it!"

    The rest of the contestants heard that and began expressing their views.

    "Still choose not to believe?" Sima Feng stared at the pairs of angry eyes around him, and looked at Qian Wu standing behind him. With a face of determination, he said, "What if I am able to expose the real identity of this person here?"

    "Real identity?"

    "Even if he is an impersonator, how is it even possible to recognise the true identity of the person just by one look? That¡¯s totally ridiculous."

    Those who were still doubting the words of Sima Feng, finally couldn¡¯t tolerate any longer. That was totally unbelievable.

    "Nothing impossible, right? Fang Zhengzhi!" Sima Feng clenched his fist tightly, as he continued staring at his face.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?!"

    "The Fang Zhengzhi from the Great Xia Dynasty?"

    "I heard that Fang Zhengzhi was the shameless guy who, under coincidental and fortunate circumstances managed to contribute much to the Great Xi Dynasty, and finally crowned as the king!"

    The contestants heard the name Fang Zhengzhi and quickly recalled the recent rumours of this person from the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Upon hearing what Sima Feng had said, the cold and silent Yan Xiu had a change in his facial expression.

    "Fang Zhengzhi?" Yanxiu said silently under his breath, as he clenched his fist tightly, emitting a faint red light.

    Nangong Mu also had a change in his expression as he looked directly at Fang Zhengzhi. It was unable to tell if he was pleasantly surprised, or shocked.

    "Hahaha......Did you just said that Fang Zhengzhi is the impersonator of Senior Kong Qing? If you had mentioned others, I may have believed what you said. But I have heard of Fang Zhengzhi this name." One of the disciple in the Heaven Dao Pavilionughed.

    "Yes, senior Nangong has once casually mentioned about Fang Zhengzhi. Although we admit that he¡¯s a smart and intelligent being, but if I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, he¡¯s only in the Supernatural State?"

    "That¡¯s so ridiculous, Sima Feng. Are you trying to say that the real Senior Kong Qing was defeated by Fang Zhengzhi, who was only in the Supernatural State? And he was defeated so quietly in front of everyone?"

    "Just scram, we the Heaven Dao Pavilion do not wee you!"

    The two disciples sounded very cold, as they were very aware of Kong Qing¡¯s power. The other sages would never defeat Kong Zhi, let alone Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Please don¡¯t get angry. I did not mention anything about Kong Qing being defeated by Fang Zhengzhi, simr to you, I believe in the powers of Kong Qing, but there¡¯s no rule about being defeated by purely using their powers." Sima Feng grinned and continued, "I believe everyone would have heard of the shameless attitude of Fang Zhengzhi. Maybe he had some hidden plot? Or maybe he used poision!"

    "Poison?!"

    "Yes, he used poison. In fact, you all would have known about how deceitful Fang Zhengzhi is. He is very daring and would dare to do things that others won¡¯t. Therefore, I¡¯m 90% sure that the Senior Kong Qing standing before us is actually Fang Zhengzhi!" Sima Feng finished his sentence, looking very determined.

    "Let¡¯s just say that you¡¯re right, but why would he impersonate Senior Kong Qing!"

    "Because of Yan Xiu, he wanted to help Yan Xiu pass this Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. Thus he chose to imitate Senior Kong Qing, and eliminate all of us in the first round!" Sima Feng said as he took one step and looked straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Yan Xiu?"

    The three disciples and the contestants turned their attention towards Yan Xiu at this moment.

    While they were still afraid to confirm....

    But what if that was really the case?

    If everything was right from the beginning?

    Just like what Sima Feng had exined earlier about Kong Qing¡¯s actions, they were indeed not suitable for the selection test. Who would eliminate eight contestants just at the start of the test?

    Even though, everything that "Kong Qing" had mentioned earlier were very impressive.

    However, all these were just too strange.

    The three disciples all frowned as they were not certain about Sima Feng¡¯s words. But looking back at the things "Senior Kong Qing" had said, they were still not sure if all these were not real.

    Hesitation.

    Silence....

    None of them opened their mouth, but they were all staring at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, making a lot of guesses.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, what else do you want to say, just hand us the real Senior Kong Qing. Do you know where you are now? To tell you, this is the Heaven Dao Pavilion, not your Great Xia Dynasty. It¡¯s not a ce for you to misbehave!" Sima Feng looked at the crowd and was even more determined.

    To be exact, he was confident of his guess as Qian Wu had said something really important.

    Yan Xiu was here!

    Fang Zhengzhi would certainly be present too.

    But Fang Zhengzhi was not in the crowd, therefore it could only be that Fang Zhengzhi was impersonating as Kong Qing, since he would never impersonate any one of the contestants.

    That was a daring guess...

    But Sima Feng decided to gamble on this opportunity. It was worth it.

    Because if he had not took the risk, then Qian Wu would be eliminated by "Kong Qing". In such a situation, he had no choice but to take it.

 Chapter 637 Letâ€™s Fight, Whatâ€™s There to Fear

    "Have you finished saying?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the silenced crowd as his tone remained calm. However, he hated to admit that he felt impressed by Sima Feng.

    Could he be anymore magnificent?

    Indeed, the world wasn¡¯tcking of geniuses, especially the contestants in the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test. Almost all of them were the top elites of their countries.

    Fang Zhengzhi had indeed thought about the fact that he may be exposed.

    However, he did not expect that he would be exposed that quickly. He must have been too careless. Even though he had mastered the skill of disguising and camouging.

    But atst he had yet to reach the highest technical proficiency.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi certainly had no idea that Qian Wu would have such a great expert by his side, and he was even the head of the Si Ma family.

    That was just awkward...

    He would still have a chance to survive if he were to escape now. But that would also mean that he was unable to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    How?

    Fang Zhengzhi was pondering hard about his current situation and avable escape methods. But the real Kong Qing was still lying in the wooden house. It would be very hard to exin once anyone charged into the wooden house.

    "That¡¯s right, I have finished my piece, Fang Zhengzhi. Do you have anything to say now?" Sima Feng nodded his head, sounding very determined.

    "Seems like you¡¯re nning to check inside the wooden house?" Fang Zhengzhi grinned slightly.

    "Indeed!" Sima Feng answered.

    "Outrageous! This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. No matter the problem, it is not up to you to make any decision. The wooden house is for us disciples to rest and host our guests. Who are you to check inside the house?" While the three disciples were confused with the real identity of "Kong Qing", but they were not willing to allow Sima Feng enter the house casually.

    However, by saying that, it was almost the same as suspecting "Kong Qing"¡¯s real identity.

    They did not have a full grasp of the situation.

    Therefore the three disciples would naturally not do it. Even if "Kong Qing" was an impersonator, it would also be upon the responsibilities of the elders in the Heaven Dao Pavilion to settle the matter.

    And not deduced by them...

    Sima Feng began frowning, as he stared unhappily at the wooden house ahead of him, before finally suppressing the thought of rushing into it.

    After all, his strength was to camouge and disguise...

    And not to charge into something.

    How?

    Sima Feng was also thinking about this problem too. Even if he was 90% sure, in such a situation, it would be very difficult for him to attain hard evidence against Zhengzhi.

    Hold on.

    If that person was really Fang Zhengzhi...

    "That¡¯s it!" Sima Feng¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately as he took up a big step forward. "Fang Zhengzhi, you can choose not to admit, but I will use my power to reveal your true self!"

    "Using your power?!"

    "What is he trying to say, is he trying to challenge Senior "Kong Qing"?"

    "This Sima Feng, did he forget about the incident with the Sixth Highness from the Radiant Moon Empire?"

    After hearing Sima Feng¡¯s words, the contestants shook their heads lightly, as they felt that he was overestimating his power.

    The three disciples nced at one another. While Sima Feng¡¯s words were clear, they did not understand the meaning behind his words.

    "You¡¯re right, I¡¯m going to challenge you!" Sima Feng pointed at Fang Zhengzhi. "I may not be of the highest state, in fact I¡¯m only in the Rebirth State. But if I¡¯m against Fang Zhengzhi who is in the Supernatural State, I have the ability to defeat him. In other words, if you are really Kong Qing, you will naturally ept my challenge!"

    "ept your challenge?" Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback by the situation.

    He couldn¡¯t help but felt surprised by Sima Feng¡¯s suggestion.

    "Yes!" Sima Feng was determined.

    The surrounding crowd also managed to understand what he was trying to say. Sima Feng was forcing "Kong Qing" to fight with him. Although, this method wasn¡¯t the most brilliant one.

    But it was indeed the best method to find out if "Kong Qing" was an impersonator.

    After all, they were all aware of Fang Zhengzhi in the Supernatural State. At this point of time, no matter how genius or evil he was, he could never kill someone from the Rebirth State.

    Sima Feng was aware of his situation.

    He knew that he was not really a greatpetitor to Fang Zhengzhi, even if he was from the Rebirth State. Hence he used the self-defence tactic to give himself space for retreat.

    To be more exact, Sima Feng¡¯s attitude was very clear.

    He made use of his power from the Rebirth State to challenge Fang Zhengzhi from the Supernatural State, instead of resorting to attack first. This was to force Fang Zhengzhi to show some of his "special" moves, and reveal his ws during the process.

    That seemed like a brilliant method.

    "How? Fang Zhengzhi, are you up for the challenge?" Sima Feng said in a low bassy voice as he looked at "Kong Qing", who did not seem to have any intention to start the fight immediately.

    "Are you sure that you won¡¯t regret this?"

    "Of course!"

    "Alright then, I will fulfill your will!" Fang Zhengzhiughed, and he was smiling very happily.

    If it were a month ago, he would not haveughed so happily listening to Sima Feng. Because as Sima Feng had mentioned earlier.

    With just the power from the Supernatural State, he would not be able to defeat Sima Feng from the Rebirth State if he failed to show any special moves.

    Furthermore, Sima Feng would only defend and not attack.

    "Senior Kong Qing just agreed to him."

    "I knew that Kong Qing¡¯s real!"

    "Let¡¯s just wait and see."

    Some of the contestants weren¡¯t surprised when they heard "Kong Qing" agreeing. After all, "Kong Qing" would have just agreed to the suggestion, be it real or fake.

    Yan Xiu, who was standing among the crowd, changed his expression upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi agreeing to Sima Feng¡¯s request. He clenched his fist even more tightly.

    Rays of bright red light emerged from his fist, but at this moment, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

    Yan Xiu turned his attention towards the side as he looked at Nangong Mu. Following that, the light on his hand gradually disappeared.

    Nangong Mu withdrew his hand quickly.

    He seemed to have guessed Yan Xiu¡¯s intention, so he chose not to open his mouth, but used his action to stop it quickly.

    This small action did not raise any attention as everyone was focusing on Fang Zhengzhi and Sima Feng.

    But there was a pair of eyes staring at Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.

    It was a young man coated in a long emerald green coat. His skin was slightly tanned, and he looked like the age of someone around his twenties. But everyone unintentionally kept a distance from him.

    That made the young man looked like he was not suitable for this important asion.

    His eyes were fixed on Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu. But he did not speak up as he stared at them, resembling a ferocious beast.

    ...

    There were two sharp cliffs at the sides of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and two huge beasts were guarding at the sides. Two old men with white coats were standing there.

    "Third elder, fifth elder!" A Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple walked quickly to behind the two old men as he bowed politely and addressed them.

    "Yes, is the first segment of the selection test done?"

    "Not yet, but there was a news from the bottom of the mountain, that eight of them have been eliminated.

    "Eight of them? Hmm, okay I got it."

    "I will make me move now, master!" The disciple disappeared quickly.

    The two white coat old men made eye contact with one another, as they felt suspicious of the situation.

    "Kong Qing had been in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for six years, his performance had been great. He is a very stable and humble kid."

    "Ummm, this year¡¯s contestants should be of decent quality."

    "Yes, in theory, they should be better than the previous event."

    "Two years ago, the top elite Nangong Hao from the Great Xia Dynasty came. But this year the top elites from the Holy Barbarian Empire and the War Pinnacle Empire came. Also, the new Yan King form the Great Xia Western Liang, Yan Xiu was also here. Oh, in fact Nangong Hao¡¯s brother was here too. What is his name?"

    "Let me think.....Hmmm, he¡¯s Nangong Mu." The white coat old man flipped open his scripture and answered him.

    "Nangong Mu, haha. Looks like I¡¯m not the only person who forgot his name." The other white coat old manughed gently.

    "It¡¯s fine that I forget it, but it¡¯s not right for you to forget it. Nangong Hao can be considered one of your disciple? And you still cannot remember his brother¡¯s name, aren¡¯t you embarrassed?"

    "Indeed, I¡¯m embarrassed. Why not we go down together to observe?"

    "Yes, we should do it!"

    The two white coat old men finished their sentences and looked at each other again. Then they leapt onto the back of a beast each. The two beasts howled loudly as they flew rapidly downwards from the top of the mountain, disappearing into the thick clouds.

    ...

    At the Heaven Dao Pavilion, below the mountain, in front of the five wooden houses.

    The three disciples stepped back behind Fang Zhengzhi, while the rest of the contestants took five steps back, leaving a huge space in between Fang Zhengzhi and Sima Feng.

    That was a request from Sima Feng.

    He was brave enough to initiate the challenge, yet he requested to keep an appropriate distance between each other. Sima Feng was indeed a very precarious man.

    Of course, that was his habit due to his career.

    As a top elite among the assassins.

    He was always alone in many situations. They did not have many friends by their sides, and that made them learnt how to make way in times for emergencies.

    To forbear, to be cautious.

    Those were the survival skills as an assassin.

    Sima Feng was very serious, even though he knew that the opponent in front of him was of a lower state than him, but he was still extra careful.

    He was even more cautious than the usual mission he carried.

    As he was aware that Fang Zhengzhi, who was in the Supernatural state, did not lose to the sage Canyang from the Southern Region and the Demon race.

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi from the Supernatural State had once killed a Demon King.

    Although it was recorded that the Demon King was "lethargic", and being attacked by the Prince Li of the First Rank. And it was after the attacks from Yan Qian and Ping Yang, that Fang Zhengzhi managed to kill him.

    But...

    He was still the Demon King.

    A ray of thick ck light surrounded Sima Feng, causing his body to turn blurry. It was one of the hunting skills of assassins.

    There was a dull looking ck dagger on the right hand of Sima Feng. There was a deep line of blood trail on the de of the dagger, and its tip was sharp and dangerous.

    Dagger of an assassin.

    It was a famous dagger.

    However, it was rarely seen, because an assassin will only reveal the dagger hiding in his coat when dealing thest fatal blow.

    As a top elite among the assassins, Sima Feng would clearly understand it.

    But he had shed out the dagger.

    The contestants saw it and could naturally understand the determination in Sima Feng. It was obvious that Sima Feng was prepared to defend till the end.

    As if Sima Feng had any intention of attacking, he would not have revealed the dagger.

    "The sixth highness from the Radiant Moon Empire was also in the Rebirth State and he was very good in defence. But he was also defeated in just three moves by Kong Qing, how many moves can Sima Feng handle?"

    "Sima Feng may be of a higher state than the Sixth Highness of the Radiant Moon Empire, but afterall he is an assassin. Under the circumstance of only defending and not attacking, it would not be difficult to survive five strokes!"

    "But what if... I said what if, the one standing before Sima Feng is really Fang Zhengzhi?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi? A person who had once killed the Demon King, naturally have his own special abilities. Rumours had it that outside the me Capital City, there is a sword mark left behind, caused by the "Dragon yer sh". But I have heard that it required a lifelong of energy to execute the Dragon yer sh, and that is why Fang Zhengzhi ended up having only a few more months to live."

    "I¡¯ve also heard about this story, but he wouldn¡¯t dare to summon the Dragon y sh in this situation right?"

    "Indeed! Therefore, no matter how strong Fang Zhengzhi is, Sima Feng from the Rebirth State still ultimately have the upper hand. If he really chose to only defend and not attack, he could at least handle 20 strokes, still leading in the challenge!"

    "You guys still think so lowly of Fang Zhengzhi. He may only be in the Supernatural State, but he is still the youngest king in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. I think Fang Zhengzhi is able to defeat Sima Feng in just 15 strokes if he made use of all his strength!"

    "15 strokes?! Is he really that strong?"

    The contestants began making their guesses as the fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Sima Feng was about to begin.

    The three disciples were all "guarding" behind Fang Zhengzhi as they crowded together with the rest of the contestants around Fang Zhengzhi and Sima Feng.

 Chapter 638 Absolute Power

    The light breeze blew, and the raging sun was shining.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at Sima Feng who was standing 20 feet ahead of him. He grinned, and shed a gentle smile. He was impressed by Sima Feng¡¯s daring guesses and borate thoughts.

    However, Sima Feng had miscalcted one thing.

    And that would be...

    That two months that had passed since the battle in the me Capital City.

    Many things could have happened within that period. He could have simply attained the Rebirth State, or opened the Rebirth te.

    "Middle term of the Rebirth State?" Fang Zhengzhi asked, not paying attention to the positions of the three disciples. After all, he had not been putting them in his eyes.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, show whatever skills you have!" Sima Feng held onto his dagger tightly as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was standing at the same spot.

    "Are you ready?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled gently.

    "Of course!" Sima Feng said confidently.

    "Alright, then here Ie." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. Then he ced his hands behind his back, as he walked slowly towards Sima Feng.

    There weren¡¯t any bright rays of lights, or big earth-shaking movements. He was merely brisk walking, very slowly but casually.

    "Eh?"

    "What is going on?"

    "Is he not going to fight?"

    The contestants who were waiting for a big fight to happen, werepletely not used to the current situation. Fang Zhengzhi did not seem like he was going to start a big battle.

    It almost seemed like he was...

    Admiring the scenery.

    That¡¯s right, he was gazing at the leisurely view.

    Sima Feng tightened his grip again, as it was obvious that he was neglected. Moreover, it was in the situation when he had put in all his effort, yet he was still looked down with disdain.

    He was dumbfounded, and naturally anger started to build up inside him.

    Dare to look down on an assassin?

    That was practically an insult in his face.

    Because an assassin¡¯s expertise was his momentarily explosive power. On this aspect, Sima Feng was very confident of his power.

    A gush of adrenaline rushed in his heart.

    ce both of his hands behind his back?

    If he was within 10 steps, was he able to deal one fatal blow?

    Or 5 steps!

    5 steps was definitely fine!

    Sima Feng was filled with such a strong gush of feelings in his head. Subconsciously he had clenched his grip on the dagger a little too tightly, and his hand began turning pale.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi paid no attention to his anger. He continued closing up the gap between him and Sima Feng, his hands remained at the back.

    15 steps, 10 steps...

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to pace his steps as the distance between them became closer.

    Sima Feng had a cold look in his eyes.

    The thick ck rays of light covered the whole atmosphere, engulfing the 5 steps distance between them. He was able to clearly perceive any changes in the area, such as the heartbeat and the murderous opportunity.....

    That was the art of hunting!

    "Sima Feng!" A voice bellowed, it wasn¡¯t too loud, but it pierced right into his heart and rang beside his ears.

    That made his heart tremble and he temporarily desisted his thought of charging forward.

    Because, he knew that the sound wasing from Qian Wu, and Qian Wu was reminding him not to act rashly. Beads of sweat broke down from his forehead.

    "Did he just purposely reveal his w?" Sima Feng stared at Fang Zhengzhi walking towards him, as his feet felt cold.

    But he recovered very quickly.

    He managed to suppress the thought in his head, and fixed his eyes tightly on the nearing Fang Zhengzhi.

    8 steps, 7 steps..... 6 steps.....

    He was still walking?!

    5 steps!

    Finally, Fang Zhengzhi paused, he stopped 5 steps away from Sima Feng. Both his hands were still behind his back, as he scanned around in the ck thick rays of light around him.

    Silence, dead silence.

    Everyone fixed their eyes on Fang Zhengzhi and Sima Feng. None of them opened their mouths, and they even tried to minimise the sound of their breaths.

    "If I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, 5 steps distance is the best time for you to attack right?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Sima Feng, it almost sounded like he was mocking on him.

    Sima Feng did not reply, and he continued to hold his dagger very tightly. He was focusing very intently.

    "Looks like you are really nning to defend till the end?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Sima Feng as he smiled brightly.

    "Stop saying..." Before he could even finish his sentence, Si Ma Feng¡¯s eyes opened wide in disbelief. Because Fang Zhengzhi had already started moving.

    That was so fast!

    In just a moment, Sima Feng felt as though he had lost sight of Fang Zhengzhi, even when he had used all his energy to stay focused.

    Why was he so fast?

    How could that happen so quickly?

    Wasn¡¯t he still in the Supernatural State?!

    Sima Feng attempted to ask, but it was toote. Because Fang Zhengzhi had already appeared in front of him. It seemed like he had teleported from 5 steps away to right in front of him instantly.

    Sima Feng subconsciously made his move, as he struck his dagger towards the middle of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    At the same time, a ray of light formed in the dark atmosphere, covering the whole body,

    In such a situation where he could no longer monitor Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, his only method would be to strike into his heart, so as to defend himself.

    However...

    It was all toote.

    As Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist had alreadynded on his chest.

    "KACHA!"

    That was the first cracking sound in the ray of light, then Sima Feng felt a gush of strength rushing into his chest.

    "Boom!" A loud voice rang beside his ears.

    Sima Feng¡¯s eyes were wide open, as he stared motionlessly at the fist punching into his chest. He couldn¡¯t believe, or rather he refused to believe the whole situation.

    The energy emitting from the fist caused him to feel even more bbergasted.

    It was like there was something breaking in his heart.

    His energy was losing rapidly, and it seemed like it was disappearing forever. Just like the river, never ending.

    How was that even possible?

    How could he be so fast?!

    Sima Feng still couldn¡¯t figure out the logic behind all these.

    Not only were his actions swift, they were heavy too!

    If "Kong Qing" or "Fang Zhengzhi" was using special abilities, such as trapping him or wrapping him around.

    He was willing to admit defeat.

    However the current situation....

    Was that there weren¡¯t any special moves at all. They were swift and huge, striking him at his mostfortable distance of 5 feet away.

    That was a domination!

    A total domination!

    He had failed.....

    To even defend a single move from him.

    This guy, was he really Fang Zhengzhi? Or was it just a mistake since the start? There was no Fang Zhengzhi at all, it was just Kong Qing, the Kong Qing from the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Crash!" Sima Feng¡¯s legs gave way, as he came kneeling on the ground. His eyes were filled with resentment, as he still felt that his assumptions were right.

    Nheless, why would the ending be like this?

    "My apologies, I was a bit hard on you, I didn¡¯t expect you to be this weak..." Fang Zhengzhi withdrew his fist after looking at Sima Feng crashing onto the ground.

    Silence, dead silence.

    The contestants, including Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu, as well as Qian Wu and the young man staring at Yan Xiu, were focusing on Fang Zhengzhi.

    That happened too quickly!

    It was just in a blink of an eye.

    They were expecting the battle to have quite a few movements, since it was a confrontation between the Rebirth State. However, the battle in front of them was just too "calm".

    So calm that it was unable to locate any signs of the battle trails.

    Too dominating!

    Really too dominating!

    It was supposed to be a battle topete with each other¡¯s strength and speed. Through this whole process, Sima Feng could neither attack nor defend himself.

    "That was so strong!"

    "Is that the true powering from a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "They were from the same state, even if one is at the peak of the Rebirth State, while the other in the middle. But the difference between them was just too huge."

    The contestants all looked at each other as they still had yet to recover from the shock. They were unable to ept the situation before them.

    Just merely a strike?!

    One strike!

    While "Kong Qing" had previously showcased his "state" and impressed them, the strength exerted by the current "Kong Qing" would erase all traces of doubt in their hearts.

    Fang Zhengzhi?

    How could such a strong person possibly be Fang Zhengzhi!

    It was impossible for one from the Supernatural State to defeat someone in just one blow. Moreover it was just using pure pressure skills.

    Nobody else would question "Kong Qing¡¯s" identity.

    Even Qian Wu opened his eyes wide in disbelief. He was staring at the kneeling Sima Feng, before turning to "Kong Qing" who was standing before Sima Feng. His face looked very dull and worried.

    "What¡¯s wrong with Sima Feng? Didn¡¯t he say that he was 90% confident?" Qian Wu¡¯s expression did not seem that great. If it wasn¡¯t for Sima Feng, he could have chosen another better method to solve his problem of being eliminated.

    But due to Sima Feng¡¯s "assumptions", he was now caught in a difficult position.

    Moreover this may probably result in creating an "enemy" for him in the Heaven Dao Pavilion in the future. That was just the situation that he refused to witness.

    "Senior Kong Qing!" The three disciples flew in front of Fang Zhengzhi and said respectfully.

    "Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head as he gave Sima Feng a look. "You wouldn¡¯t me me for defeating you because of my carelessness at that moment?"

    "You......waa!" Sima Feng¡¯s face turned pale at once, as his body rocked tremendously. Then he sputtered a pool of blood from his mouth.

    "Boom!"

    Everything in Sima Feng¡¯s vision turned ck as he fell on the ground.

    "Serves you right!"

    "Senior Kong Qing, don¡¯t you worry. We witnessed everything, you did not use your power to bully the weaker ones. It was purely just because Sima Feng was too weak!"

    "That¡¯s right, we can all testify for you, Senior Kong Qing!"

    The contestants looked at the situation and they flew to the side of Fang Zhengzhi, as they were willing to testify for Fang Zhengzhi. Some even tried to spit on Sima Feng who had already fainted on the ground.

    "I see......Actually, I feel guilty for this. After all, he was from the Rebirth State, and just like this, he turned into a disabled person. Sigh..."Fang Zhengzhi said remorsefully.

    "Please don¡¯t say that Senior Kong Qing. Everyone will try their best to fight in a battle. There is no such thing as not getting hurt in a battle. It was Sima Feng who overestimated his strength, he was the one who initiate this challenge with senior Kong Qing!"

    "Yes, and he even tried to malign you. He is so detestable!"

    "For this kind of person, senior Kong Qing shouldn¡¯t even feel sorry for him. I wouldn¡¯t have spare his life if it was me!"

    "Senior Kong Qing still tried to spare his life. You are just too kind, I should learn that from you!"

    After seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s remorseful look, a few contestants felt even more respectful towards him.

    At this moment, two loud howling sounds reverberated throughout the sky.

    Then, two small ck dots began appearing from the horizon.

    It became bigger slowly.

    There were two humongous beasts flying down from the sky. They had a pair of huge wings, covering the piercing sun.

    These huge movements had drawn the attention of the contestants, as they raised their heads.

    The three disciples also saw the beasts and the two white robe figures on the beasts.

    "It¡¯s Third Elder and Fifth Elder!"

    "Could it be because of the dy from the first segment?"

    "This..."

    The three disciples had traces of worry and fear when they had seen who the two figures behind the beasts were.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also looking up at the elderly men, both of whom had almost the same dressings and were of simr age.

    Fine...

    They didn¡¯t look like anyone spectacr.

    Seemed like he was going to lose his power of being the senior here.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder?

    Both of them....

    Which was the Third and Fifth elder respectively?

    As Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, the two figures leapt from the beasts. The white robes danced lightly in the air, and just like cotton wool, theynded softly on the ground.

    Saint State!

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to figure out the two elderly¡¯s power and strength in just one nce. The space around them did not move at all when theynded on the ground.

    Although their actions were really slow.

    But that felt like they had blended everything together.

    "Greetings to you, Third Elder, and Fifth Elder!" The three disciples greeted them politely after they havended.

    "Right." The Third and Fifth Elder nodded their heads gently, as they began looking at Sima Feng lying on the floor in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 639 Just One Try

    "Greetings from Kong Qing to Third Elder and Fifth Elder!" Fang Zhengzhi reacted quickly and bowed together with the other three disciples.

    As for which was the Third and Fifth Elder, he would just pretend that he knew them all along.

    "Ummm, Kong Qing, what¡¯s going on here?" A slightly thinner looking elder pointed to Sima Feng on the ground and asked.

    "This...." Fang Zhengzhi hesitated.

    The reason why he paused before replying the elder was because he had to know their individual identity before addressing them.

    Was it, "to Third Elder", or "to Fifth Elder"?

    He had no idea.

    That was the time to test his acting skills.

    Not opening his mouth would definitely result in someone else speaking up for him.

    The three disciples made eye contacts with each other when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hesitation, before they stepped out.

    "To Third Elder, this person was being very disrespectful towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion and rude to our senior Kong Qing. He even tried to purposely stir things up, by using senior Kong Qing¡¯s true identity. He even initiated the challenge, Senior Kong Qing had no choice but to fight him!" One of the disciples replied.

    "That¡¯s true, the three of us can testify for senior Kong Qing!" The other two disciples began matching up after listening.

    "Senior Kong Qing was really forced to make his moves!"

    "We can stand up for Kong Qing senior!"

    "Senior Kong Qing was very strong and skillful indeed. It was really impressive, and given that Sima Feng was very weak, he couldn¡¯t even handle a single blow from senior. That¡¯s why he hadnded into this ce!"

    Some of the contestants saw the situation and stood out to testify for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Skillful? Defeated in just a blow?" The slim Third Elder finished listening to the rest of the contestants and asked in a suspicious tone, "Sima Feng? If I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, he was from the Holy Barbarian Empire Sima family line right?"

    "Yes Third Elder! Sima Feng was still in the mid term of the Rebirth State, but he made many mistakes when defending. Therefore senior Kong Qing managed to defeat him openly in just one move!" The three disciples replied almost immediately.

    "I see, is he dead yet?" The Third Elder nodded his head.

    "Senior Kong Qing was very kind to let him stay alive." The three disciples answered again.

    "Okay, throw him out." The Third Elder casually waved his hands.

    "Yes!" The three disciples began moving after hearing themand. They immediately lifted Sima Feng up and threw him at a distant ce.

    The rest of the contestants remained silent.

    Initially, upon seeing Third Elder¡¯s queries on the situation, they were guessing if Third Elder would interrogate senior Kong Qing about being too harsh on the contestant.

    But now it seemed like...

    Nothing was going to happen.

    Indeed, in front of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was useless mentioning about being the best assassin in the family line.

    Qian Wu turned pale, but it wasn¡¯t because of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s attitude towards Sima Feng. He was worried about the possibility that the Heaven Dao Pavilion may get angry at him due to Sima Feng¡¯ actions.

    Nevertheless, Third Elder did not pay attention to him. He turned to Fang Zhengzhi, looking very impressed.

    "Wow Kong Qing, thest time we trained with each other was about a year ago? Seems like you haven¡¯t been cking for this past year!" Third Elder was filled with excitement.

    Fang Zhengzhi bowed instantly and was about to thank Third Elder for hispliment.

    But he couldn¡¯t help but felt strange after looking at the smile on the Third Elder¡¯s face.

    He had noticed the nervousness and panic on the faces of the three disciples when they had seen the eldersing down from the sky.

    That just showed...

    How strictly distinguished each individual status was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    And that would also mean that something was not right, when the Third Elder smiled brightly and amicably at him. After all, he wasn¡¯t the son of the Third Elder.

    Furthermore, when the Third Elder and Fifth Elder came down from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was obvious that they weren¡¯t just passing by. Hence it could only mean that they had a purpose.

    Was that a test?

    About a year ago?

    That was a fact that most people would neglect on, and easier for one¡¯s true identity to be exposed.

    Despite that, Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if the Third Elder was stating the truth.

    If it was true, he might identally expose himself while exining. On the other hand, if it was fake, using the same logic, it was also possible to reveal his true self.

    How?

    He had no other solutions but to gamble.

    "Kong Qing is only of a mediocre quality, more importantly it was because of the guidance of Third Elder, just that..... pardon me for asking but have you remembered the wrong date of the spar with me?" Fang Zhengzhi had decided to ce his bet on the possibility that the Third Elder was testing him.

    After all, the Third and Fifth Elder had came down from the sky for some reason. Moreover, the three disciples had also mentioned about Sima Feng questioning his true identity.

    However, Third Elder had not followed up on that matter. Hence Fang Zhengzhi was 70% confident that the Third Elder was indeed suspicious of him.

    However...

    He hadpletely no idea as to when the Third Elder had taught Kong Qing. Hence, he had no choice but to throw the question back to Third Elder.

    "Remembered wrongly? Oh, right, you¡¯re right. Indeed, I have remembered wrongly, I did soar with you three months ago at the emptynd outside my study room." Third Elder paused for a while before responding.

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously pointed a middle finger at the Third Elder.

    Indeed, there were certainly some old and deceitful old foxes in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was very easy to fall into the trap.

    Hold on!

    It seemed like his reply contained a trap.

    The empty space outside his study room?

    Third Elder only needed to reply him with the correct date but he purposely mentioned the location.

    Suspicious!

    "To Third Elder, you¡¯re right that happened 3 months ago. But the location wasn¡¯t exactly outside your study room." Fang Zhengzhi reminded him softly.

    "Oh? I think I¡¯m really getting old, my memory is getting bad." Third Elder shook his head in confusion as he continued, "Right, have you ended the first round of test?"

    "Not yet." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Oh, you may continue, I will just go in and sit with Fifth Elder." Third Elder finished speaking and turned towards the wooden house.

    Fifth Elder shed a smile at Fang Zhengzhi and followed closely behind Third Elder.

    Wooden house?!

    Crap!

    Fang Zhengzhi had a change in his expression as his heart skipped a beat. He stepped aside subconsciously and prayed silently in his heart.

    Five wooden houses.

    Would he be that unlucky for them to chose that particr wooden house?

    Fang Zhengzhi was hoping for a lucky goddess watching over him or maybe, two rays of lightning striking onto the two elders.

    But the reality was there weren¡¯t any sort of lightning from the sky, and the elders were nearing that particr small wooden house. Very near, within a few steps of distance.

    "Kong Qing has limited skills and decisions and this is my first time assuming such an important responsibility. Can I request for you two elders to stay and give me some guidance!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted.

    He even bowed straight after he finished his sentence to show his sincerity.

    "Oh?" Third Elder paused and stared at Fang Zhengzhi, while he looked at the slightly plumped Fifth Elder, "What do you think, brother?"

    "Since our junior really wanted to ask for help, I will naturally not reject it." Fifth Elder smiled faintly after looking at Fang Zhengzhi bowing down.

    "Alright." Third Elder nodded his head and looked at the remaining twenty over contestants. "You will still be in charge of testing, while we stand at the side and listen. We will give our suggestions if there were any wrong points given!"

    "Thank you Third Elder, thank you Fifth Elder!" Fang Zhengzhi waited till they finally agreed and expressed his gratitude, while standing up at the same time.

    Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi was still very nervous and scared.

    But...

    He couldn¡¯t help but admit that the risky feeling was quite exhrating.

    If possible, he would even choose to knock one of the contestants unconscious and impersonate him, so as to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion easily.

    He was thankful for having a strong heart at times like this.

    Any other average person would have been tricked by the two "old foxes".

    What should he do now?

    Should he just be systematic and ask the questions or continued his elimination n?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he should at least try to abide by the rules first. But he was still cautious and felt that he might be exposed anytime.

    After all, he was at the bottom of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    What if he really had to go up?

    How many other disciples know Kong Qing in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi did not even know his own living area.

    What would happen if he was lost?

    Then he would identally enter a female disciple¡¯s room, and thereafter coincidentally see her showering. The steam surrounding her body as a red cloth covered her stomach.

    That would be very awkward.

    Of course, entering a female disciple¡¯s rooms would be a small matter. The scariest thing would be to identally entering a female elder¡¯s room....

    "ARGH!" Fang Zhengzhi shivered at the thought of it.

    Indeed, he had done something really recklessly.

    Of all people, he had impersonated a disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. And ended up being spotted by Third and Fifth Elders. There was really no way for him to escape.

    "I can¡¯t do this. I can¡¯t sit here and do nothing, I must strike first and keep the authority to myself." Fang Zhengzhi had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

    Then he made a surprising decision.

    To continue his elimination n!

    It had nothing to do about him being stubborn, as he was being forced to make this decision. In fact, if he were to follow the rules closely, it would just be a matter of time before he was exposed.

    Troubles would follow once he entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Therefore, he had decided to chose the other path.

    Such as eliminating half of the contestants at once and agitate the elders.

    Wait till the both of them were angry...

    Things would be easier.

    As disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, they would be punished for making such grave mistakes.

    There were all sorts of punishments.

    The first was to be trapped in an enclosed area and being forced to do some self-reflection. Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t afraid of being trapped, in fact he was excited for that as that meant that he would know of his "living area" already.

    The second type was the physical punishment, where he would be hit by boards or thick canes. Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t looking forward for this type of punishment, although he still had his way of dealing with it.

    And that would be to make a scene of it!

    Throwing a tantrum!

    Such as shouting his resentments loudly, "I refuse toply, what is this Heaven Dao Pavilion, I¡¯m not staying here!"

    And that would lead to the third punishment.

    Being kicked out of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and forced to relinquish his authority.

    That would be thest resort for Fang Zhengzhi. No matter what, he had no intention to be a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, so it would not matter much to him.

    At that point of time, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu would be able to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion. And he only had to shout loudly at the bottom of the hill, towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion, "Chi Guyan, show yourself!"

    He would then wait till Chi Guyan jump out and he would fight her, using his identity and status as the Great Xia Dynasty Cang King.

    Of course...

    He wasn¡¯t too willing to walk down thisst path.

    Since that would mean that he wouldn¡¯t have the chance to "observe" the interiors of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, such as the Heaven Academic Altar, the Treasure Pavilion, the Divine Rain Pond and the Heaven Dao Tablet.

    And that also meant that he had onlypleted half of his mission in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, even so, it was better than being beaten to death in the Heaven Dao Pavilion after his identity was exposed.

    As long as he stayed alive...

    There was no need to stay in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He could try to visit the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, as well as the Fuxi Valley and the Yin Yang Pavilion. It was just a try anyway, he would not turn pregnant!

    "Fine, let¡¯s just begin the rest of the elimination! Oh, wrong..... I mean the test!" Fang Zhengzhi recovered with a smile immediately as he stared at the contestants. They were just like innocentmbs waiting to be sacrificed.

    However, little did he know that the two Elders behind were looking at him too, akin to looking at a waiting sheep too.

 Chapter 640 Reincarnation of a Divine Being, Breakthrough its Bottleneck

    As the saying goes, how muchnd one possesses depends on the size of one¡¯s courage.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no other escape methods. Ever since the battle in the me Capital City, two months had passed. He was only left with four months time to live.

    In other words...

    He would not get to survive if he failed to step into the Saint State within these four months.

    So, what else was there for him to consider?

    Fang Zhengzhi coughed gently and scanned the contestants¡¯ face, beforending his attention onto Qian Wu standing before him.

    "Eliminate Qian Wu first?" Fang Zhengzhi had a thought in his mind, but he quickly rejected that thought, as he had recalled the words by the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    He would care less about the disciples standing around him, but with the Third Elder and Fifth Elder standing behind him.

    It was just too tough for him to eliminate Qian Wu publicly.

    Forget it.

    He had decided to pick a few guinea pigs, and test the "limit" of Third Elder and Fifth Elder. If he did not y his cards well, his n would fail ultimately.

    "Qian Wu!"

    "Qian Wu, the prince from the Holy Barbarian Empire, please ask me the questions!" Qian Wu had a change in his tone as he remembered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lecture on insincerity.

    "Please exin the origin of the Dao." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    "Yes!" Qian Wu heaved a sigh of relief as he pondered for awhile before replying, "Dao, the beginning of allnds and living things, these are Dao...."

    It did not take Qian Wu very long to finish exining the whole exnation of Dao. Although he had felt very nervous, as Third Elder and Fifth Elder was standing behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Ummm, very urate, you have passed this segment!" Just as Qian Wu was expecting himself to fail, Fang Zhengzhi replied him confidently.

    "Passed this segment?!"

    "Can¡¯t be, really passed it?"

    Everyone was astonished by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply as they felt incredibly disbelieved, since Qian Wu had been rude to Fang Zhengzhi earlier.

    Or so to say.....

    If Fang Zhengzhi was not generous enough, or he was keen on intentionally making it difficult for Qian Wu, then the possibility of Qian Wu passing this segment would be incredibly slim.

    "Indeed, such person like me would never understand Kong Qing¡¯s level of intelligence!"

    "He is definitely a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "How I wish to have a chance to get in too. I shall pick up my skills from senior Kong Qing!"

    Everyone was impressed by Fang Zhengzhi, as he seemed to abide by thew. To separate work and personal issues, was indeed the proper mindset of a trainer.

    "Alright, next in line!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands as he acted indifferently towards Qian Wu who was shocked by the current situation.

    He then bowed politely in front of Fang Zhengzhi before withdrawing to the crowd.

    The next person came before Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a young man clothed in a royal robe.

    Fang Zhengzhi was impatient this time round as he waited for the young man to announce his status. After the young man had carefully answered the questions, Fang Zhengzhi mumbled the word slowly.

    "Eliminated!"

    "..." The young man froze on the ground immediately as he thought that he had already answered the questions. Little did he know that he would be met with the same ending.

    The three disciples continued to stay rooted to the ground.

    "Eliminated again?!"

    "Didn¡¯t senior Kong Qing mention about eliminating just one more person?"

    "Right, Sima Feng had already been eliminated right? Then, what was the reason for him to eliminate another?"

    The three disciples were puzzled but they did not dare to suggest anything to Fang Zhengzhi. They merely looked at Third Elder and Fifth Elder cautiously.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder remained at their ce smiling when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, and they did not seem surprised by the situation.

    "Could it be that the elders had also agreed that Fang Zhengzhi should eliminate him? That¡¯s not right, his answer was so perfect, and he had already eliminated nine of them earlier. That would make it ten for eliminating this one again?" The three disciples were feeling very devastated internally.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared indifferently at the dazed young man.

    "Are you not aware of your mistake?"

    "Yes, please enlighten me, teacher!" The young man nodded his head. To be eliminated, before being enlightened, that seemed like the routine for this year¡¯s Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    "I asked you about the "four anchors" right?" Fang Zhengzhi asked calmly.

    "Yes." The young man nodded his head.

    "Yes, you did manage to answer the questions on the four anchors. And mentioned about the values of politeness, righteousness, integrity and humility. Without these qualities, a nation would be extinguished. This shows that you have a certain level of understanding towards the four anchors. Just that...." Fang Zhengzhi paused.

    "Please enlighten me, teacher!"

    "It wasn¡¯t wrong of you to mention about the destruction of a country without these four anchors, but you have seemed to emphasise too much on that point. Judging by your tone, it is almost like you were using your resentment to express your feelings for the country. If I¡¯m not wrong, I¡¯m guessing that your training level had reached its bottle neck, where you can no longer improve despite all the hard work. Correct me if I¡¯m wrong?" Fang Zhengzhi began exining.

    "Teacher, you... How do you know that?!" The young man was bbergasted.

    "Not only am I aware of your training has reached a bottleneck, but I am also confident that your training only consists of three types of Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth moved up as he shed a smile.

    "Please.... Please teach me all you have!" The young man kneeled down as soon as he had heard that, and his eyes were filled with tears, "To be very honest, teacher, I had only mastered two kinds of Dao, and I have been using them since young. I im to be the "highest among everyone", buttely, I have been thinking why...."

    "Are you very simr to the other strong elites around me, right?"

    "Yes, you¡¯re very right, that¡¯s why I have been feeling very perplexed. Teacher, are you thinking about myck of skills orck of knowledge on the two Dao?

    "No, you¡¯re very talented. But do you understand that even though the four anchors are righteous in nature, how many people in a country are actually humble, and actually incorrupt? There are always many ways in viewing something, if you only speak and emphasis from a certain point of view, won¡¯t that ruin other perspectives?"

    "Emphasising one side of it? Ruining the other? I don¡¯t quite understand your words, teacher..." The young man did not quite understand Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Self-training and ruling a country are simr. But if you were to ce all your efforts on just one big Dao, and neglect the others. Or focusing on the essence of only two of them, then you will never understand the meaning of the rest. Are you aware that everything is linked together? Great Dao and Small Dao all have a unique difference between them, you need the support from Small Dao to achieve the goal of a Big Dao. As the saying goes, the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up. The thing you need now is water!"

    "Water? Lack of water......I..... I think I have finally understood it. Understand, I am aware of how to breakthrough now. Thank you so much, teacher. I will put there everything I have in mind to search solely on the meaning of Dao!" The young man thought carefully before saying. He was clearly feeling very excited and overjoyed with tears.

    "Okay, you may leave!" Fang Zhengzhi made a hand gesture to signal him to leave.

    "Yes, I will leave right now!" The young man listened and bowed in front of Fang Zhengzhi before turning away and left quickly.

    "..."

    The contestants standing around were all making eye contacts with each other as they stared at the young man leaving happily.

    That was just too amazing?

    Just by answering the meaning of four anchors, he could figure out that the young man¡¯s training had met a bottleneck. Besides, he even knew about the young man¡¯s desire of only understanding the Great Dao?

    The most intriguing part was the proverb, "the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up."

    The proverb was obviously referring to the skills of the Emperor, but he used it to exin in this situation. It made their hearts felt deep with knowledge.

    "I have to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I want to be the same as senior Kong Qing!"

    "You¡¯re so naive, do you think that you can actually be as good as senior Kong Qing and the rest of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples? I only have one wish, and that would be to getting tips from senior Kong Qing."

    "Precisely, if there are more knowledge when we enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion. I might be able to have a breakthrough in my training!"

    The rest of the contestants were envious of Xun Fei breaking through, as well as the young man who had managed to find a purpose in chasing after the Dao. They were all feeling very excited.

    At this point of time, they felt that being eliminated was not of importance anymore. They were more interested in understanding Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s teaching, and hoped to break through their own training¡¯s bottleneck.

    The young man had left...

    Third elder and Fifth Elder did not speak about anything since the beginning. Not a single word of reprimanding, and they merely had eye contact with each other, as they had felt even more impressed.

    Since they had remained silent since the start, Fang Zhengzhi assumed that he was able to continue the test.

    So he continued....

    He managed to eliminate four more contestants.

    The most interesting phenomenon was that all the eliminated contestants leaving the ce felt aplished, as though they had found treasures on the ground.

    Till now, only Qian Wu of the 32 contestants managed to pass the first segment, and the eliminated numbers had already increased to 14.

    That was nearly half of the group.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder could no longer tolerate the situation anymore.

 Chapter 641 Run Away, The Lamb Who Had Counterattacked

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test was indeed famous for being very strict. However, it shouldn¡¯t be that strict till all the carefully selected elites from the four nations were eliminated.

    That was just the first segment....

    In other words, all these might not even be considered as a "segment".

    ording to the previous batches of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, they would only eliminate a few contestants so as to quash the arrogant vibes of the contestants. Or ask a few questions to identify the pretentious people.

    The most number of contestants they had eliminated was only three.

    However, this time round, miraculously, 14 contestants were eliminated in a go.

    And more contestants were being eliminated continuously.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder scanned around the remaining 17 contestants, and looked at the excited Fang Zhengzhi. They were having mixed feelings about the situation now.

    They had prepared themselves mentally beforeing down from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. But they did not expect these shocking incidents to happen!

    The eliminated contestants leaving the ce feeling extremely aplished...

    What was going on?

    Gratitude? Appreciative for being eliminated?

    They felt that all these were too unbelievable. None of them in the Heaven Dao Pavilion would believe if they had not witnessed all these with their bare eyes.

    But all these were the reality.

    More importantly, while the remaining 17 contestants seemed eager to be examined by Fang Zhengzhi, Third Elder and Fifth Elder had a very strange feeling.

    If they were to forcefully remove "Kong Qing¡¯s" responsibility of being the examiner, they might be criticised by the rest of them for bullying the younger one, or even forcefully snatching the credit away from him?

    How?

    Were they really going to allow "Kong Qing" to continue eliminating?

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder hesitated, as they were the ones who granted "Kong Qing" the authority to host this segment of the test. But they had not expected such an oue.

    Pinpointing?

    They had the intention to call out "Kong Qing" to pinpoint him, although the problem now was that "Kong Qing" had his own different perspectives. They had also failed to think of rebuttals, in fact they felt a little "enlightened" too.

    That would be extremely embarrassing.

    They wanted to make all these stop, but couldn¡¯t manage to find a reason to stop the situation. If such a situation were to continue, they predicted that there would only be left with three contestants at the end of this first segment.

    One must know, that the Heaven Dao Pavilion had many emperors and Sages from all four countries, waiting patiently for the results of the selection test.

    However....

    What if they were only three of them left?

    Where would they bury their faces in the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder were contemting over this matter. As they had initially thought that themb in front of them was able to be sacrificed and ughtered anytime they want. They had not expected for it to go out of control.

    "No, this can no longer continue!" Third Elder clenched his fist as a light shone out from his eyes.

    Just as he was prepared to lose hisposure and take the appropriate measure to stop the situation, he heard a voice speaking out.

    "Well said, that was really very well-said! From now onwards, you are one of the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "Disciple?!" The Third Elder¡¯s eyes opened widely, he knew that he had heard it from Fang Zhengzhi. But he did not understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meaning of saying the word "disciple".

    "Dong!"

    The two contestants who were expecting to hear the word "eliminated" were also trembling from shock upon hearing that.

    "Another one passing this segment?!"

    "Hold on, not just passing it, but he became a disciple straightaway?!"

    "So this segment is the final segment? No, how could Nangong Mu be a disciple when Qian Wu have to wait to enter the next segment?!"

    Nobody seemed to understand the situation.

    Even Nangong Mu was shocked as he stayed put on the ground, staring into Fang Zhengzhi.

    There was so little time for him to react over this.

    "Disciple? Does this mean that I¡¯m able to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" Nangong Mu was bewildered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, as he began recalling the procedures in his head, "Shouldn¡¯t there be three segments for this Heaven Dao Pavilion Selection Test?"

    "Senior Kong Qing, this is just the first round!" The three disciples stood there staring silently at Fang Zhengzhi and looked at Third Elder¡¯s and Fifth Elder¡¯s ck faces. They couldn¡¯t help but shouted a reminder to the Fang Zhengzhi.

    "First segment? Oh....right, that¡¯s just me. I couldn¡¯t control my excitement when I see good talented people around. Nangong Mu, don¡¯t you worry, judging by your skills, you will be able to pass the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test with no sweat at all. Trust me, our elders are very reasonable and generous, they will be understanding!" Fang Zhengzhi reacted as soon as he heard the reminder from the three disciples.

    "Eyes just like a bright mirror?"

    "Definitely not blind?"

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder made eye contact with each other before letting out a bitter smile. With their level of intelligence, how could they not understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meaning behind the words.

    Obviously...

    Being the "elders" of Fang Zhengzhi, if they were to reject Nangong Mu in the end, they would naturally be referred to as blinded and corrupt men!

    "Thisd, interesting!" Fifth Elder¡¯s chubby face vibrated a bit before he turned towards Third Elder and coughed.

    "Cough, Cough!" Third Elder also coughed at the same time.

    That seemed like.....

    Nothing was helping in the situation!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not seemed to hear their coughing sound, as he immediately pointed at the calm looking Yan Xiu.

    "Are you Yan Xiu?"

    "Yes." Yan Xiu nodded his head as he walked out of the crowd immediately and bowed at Fang Zhengzhi. "Yan Xiu from the Western Liang of the Great Xia Dynasty, please give me the questions."

    "There¡¯s no need for me to give you the questions. I have heard that you have a great character and are full of experience. You had even mastered one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, the Dao of Asura. You¡¯re a person with great talents, we people from the Heaven Dao Pavilion most wee these talented people like you!" Fang Zhengzhi waved his hands casually, as he turned towards the embarrassed Third Elder and said, "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, what are you views on this?"

    "Cough!" Third Elder obviously did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to rush the test so rapidly. But at that moment, he coughed and said, "Umm, yes, you¡¯re right!"

    "Great, Yan Xiu, you have passed this segment. Prepare for your next round!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head as he waved his hand at Yan Xiu. But he almost immediately realised something and asked, "Third Elder, do you have something in mind?"

    "Oh, I suddenly remembered that I have some important matters to deal with in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. I bet you are tired from trying to host this selection test. Why don¡¯t you join me as we go up together? Let¡¯s just leave the rest of the segment to the rest of them." Third Elder finished his sentence and pointed at the three disciples.

    "We will abide by yourmand, Third Elder. We will be fully responsible for this whole segment. Please do not worry, Third Elder and Fifth elder, as well as senior Kong Qing!" The three disciples froze for awhile before standing up quickly.

    Being the elites from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could they not figure out the meaning of Third Elder? They did not think much and nodded their heads instantly, without asking for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s permission.

    "Kong Qing senior is leaving too?!"

    "This......I wanted to hear more of his teachings!"

    "Such a pity."

    The rest of the contestants who were waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to enlighten them, felt disappointed when they heard that Fang Zhengzhi was leaving. Nevertheless, since this was the Heaven Dao Pavilion, they did not dare protest about senior Kong Qing leaving.

    After all, that was just the same as death.

    "Kong Qing, just follow me!" Third Elder scanned around the disappointed looks on the contestants¡¯ faces and let out a bitter smile. He had no intention of staying any longer as he shouted for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Go up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" Fang Zhengzhi hesitated.

    He had thought of going up the Heaven Dao Pavilion. But he certainly did not expect to enter it in this way. Normally, shouldn¡¯t Third Elder and Fifth Elder be enraged by him?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a tinge of exhration.

    Not only did he eliminate four to five contestants in a breath, he even tried to make Third and Fifth Elder look embarrassed.

    Why was there no anger?

    What happened to all the imprisoning and facing the wall to reflect? Where were all the fantasies of getting hit by a big board or whip, and being chased out of the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Where were they just so patient?

    And why did the old man Heavenly Oasis Saint had such a bad temper?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that everything was strange, although he had no idea as to where the problem lied at. Should he enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion or not?

    "Forget it. I¡¯ll enter it sooner orter!" Fang Zhengzhi paused for a bit before making that decision and he couldn¡¯t help but like how he was so decisive at that moment.

    He felt fortunate for being so decisive, as he had actually managed to let Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu off before Third Elder stopped all these.

    At least Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu had passed the first segment.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was praising himself for being so great...

    "Hong!" The beasts began howling in the horizon and interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process. Then the two ck gigantic beasts came flying down from the sky.

    The moment the two beastsnded on the ground, the wind blew strongly and wildly at them.

    "Our pleasure to send Third Elder, Fifth Elder and senior Kong Qing off!" The three disciples said politely as they saw the beastsnding down.

    "Okay." The elder nodded their heads as they climbed on the back of the beasts.

    And Fang Zhengzhi was left standing in his position.

    "Where is your Green me Beast, senior Kong Qing? Quick summon it toe down!" The three disciples reminded Fang Zhengzhi once again.

    "Right, where is my Green me Beast?" Fang Zhengzhi looked up into the empty and clear blue sky and thought of that question.

 Chapter 642 Grip Tight with Both Hands

    Who said that if one were to put on a face mask, the wild beast must recognise its owner? Nobody had said that before, hence it was a very awkward question, and a question that Fang Zhengzhi had never expected before.

    Green me Beast?

    Of course it was existent.

    Furthermore, it can be confirmed that the Green me Beast was waiting at some ce on the Sword Peak.

    However, the Green me Beast was owned by Kong Qing, and not Fang Zhengzhi. He was able to dupe human beings, but it was not easy to do so to beasts.

    So, how could he arouse the attention of the waiting Green me Beast?

    Not only did Fang Zhengzhi not know the method of calling for the Green me Beast. Even if he were to manage to call for the beast, it may not recognise the impersonator of its owner.

    Was he going to be exposed like this?

    Impossible.

    This small problem was not an issue for Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Hai..... I had thought that the first segment required quite some time, so I had allowed the Green me Beast to rest at some other ce. Brothers, why not you lend me yours to ride on?" Fang Zhengzhi coughed softly, before looking hopefully at the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    "Oh no wonder, Brother give me a while. I will call for it now!" One of the disciples heard him, and thereafter, whistled towards the horizon.

    "Indeed, intelligence is a good thing." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s praised his own quick-wittedness, before waiting patiently for the animal.

    A deafening howling sound echoed from the horizon.

    Only that....

    There were not one beast, but two of them.

    "Eh? Brother Kong Qing, your Green me Beast came too!" The other two disciples saw the two diving beasts, and seemed astonished.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi did not answer the two disciples¡¯ questions.

    Because, his current mood can only be described by unfortunate. How was it possible that the beast was called down too? Beasts have the same level of intelligence as human beings?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like ripping the Green me Beast to shreds. However, fortunately, the three disciples did not say much, and they merely felt surprised and astonished.

    As for Third and Fifth Elder, they did not notice the small incident, and they only looked at each other in the eye, before gently patting the two beasts respectively.

    "Hu!" The two beasts immediately flew towards the sky and then towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    While the Green me Beast and the other wild beast had justnded on the ground and kept their wings. Their red eyes were wide open as they looked at Fang Zhengzhi and the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    "Brother Kong Qing, take care." The disciples said to Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Ok." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, and had no intention of staying. He did not wait for the Green me Beast to stand firmly on the ground, and leapt onto it lightly,nding on its back.

    "Roar!" There was a tinge of fierceness in the eyes of the Green me Beast, following which it let out a beastly growl. With both wings pping once, it shot up onto the horizon momentarily.

    It was as swift as lightning.

    "Eh? What happened to the Green me Beast?" The three disciples saw that the beast had immediately rushed up the sky, and had a tinge of bewilderment in their eyes.

    Because, normally, the Green me Beast should have stood firmly on the ground before flying. But, it had seemed to have been behaving abnormally in front of them.

    However, the responsibility of hosting the selection test was of utmost importance to them. The three disciples did not think too much, and quickly retracted their gaze.

    Afterall.....

    They had be the "examiner" for the first segment.

    This was an honour that they have never expected to be able to receive, as they were merely new disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and had only been here for a short period of time. To be able to assume such an important responsibility, was considered to be a rare opportunity.

    "Alright, Brother Kong Qing has left, we will continue with the examination!" The three disciples looked at the contestants, straightened their faces, and put on a strict look.

    The remaining contestants, upon hearing them, showed symptoms of preparedness on their expressions.

    .....

    In the small wooden house.

    The real Kong Qing had awoken earlier.

    Being a disciple who was in the peak of the Rebirth State, naturally he would not have remained unconscious for that many hours. His brain was able to handle a hit to the head from the Stifling Rod.

    However, his mouth was gagged buy a thick and tough piece of cloth, and his body was tied tightly. More importantly, he did not have any energy left to exert, and felt as though his body was hollow in the inside.

    He was unable to even move, let alone free himself from the binding.

    However, his hearing capability was not affected.

    Upon waking up, he was able to hear Fang Zhengzhi asking the examination questions, as well as the sounds of the contestants being eliminated.

    He even heard Third and Fifth Elders¡¯"decision" of entering the small wooden house.

    In that instant, his heart was filled with excitement.

    It was just like he had seen the light of victory in the darkness, and he had thought that he had seen hope. However, reality was indeed harsh. The hope disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder ultimately stopped in front of the door of the small wooden house.

    At that moment, Kong Qing felt like biting the door into many pieces. However, he was unable to do so, as he was tied up. Moreover, he was thrown underneath the bed casually.

    It was very dark, without a tinge of light.

    What seemed to be darker was the fact that.....

    Fifth Elder and Third Elder seemed to have left?! They have called for their fierce beasts, and brought the so called "Kong Qing" impersonator up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Even his Green me Beast, was forcefully owned by the "Kong Qing" impersonator.

    "Ah!!!" Kong Qing was screaming hopelessly in his heart, as hopelessness and loneliness enveloped his interior. "What was it like this? Third Elder, Fifth Elder, why did you believe that guy¡¯s lies! Someone..... save me, let me out, I want to kill this shameless brat who poisoned me, and used the Stifling Rod on me!"

    .....

    As the wind blows against the cold water, a strong warrior will not return after leaving.

    Fang Zhengzhi was feeling mighty, and the Green me Beast seemed to have simr feelings as him, as it showcased its flying abilities.

    It tumbled in the air for a while, before diving down, and soared up high again.

    And it seemed very satisfied ying around in the air.

    "Small thing, just based on your strength, you dare to perform a somersault?" Fang Zhengzhi finally couldn¡¯t tolerate its stunts after waiting a while.

    Looking at the distant Third and Fifth Elder, he extended his palm backwards casually. Six different colours and symbols lighted up his palm. Next, rays and trials of light connected the six symbols together.

    To deal with the fierce beast.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to choose the most appropriate method, to use the Near-Life Dao.

    He did not try to waste it, and only used it when the time called for it. To be kind towards one¡¯s "enemy", is to be cruel against oneself. After the six symbols had formed a picture, Fang Zhengzhi directed his palm towards the head of the Green me Beast. Momentarily, it emitted a loud screeching sound .

    "Ao Wu!" The Green me Beast¡¯s body sank, as his red eyes turned from that of fierce and brutal to that of confused. After awhile, it brightened up once again.

    "Still dare to perform somersault?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    "Howl..... Wu Wu....." The Green me Beast seemed to have understood Fang Zhengzhi, and responded by emitting a few howling sounds. At the same time, its enormous head shook as intensely as the waves.

    "Right, you¡¯re obedient like that." Fang Zhengzhi patted the scales of the Green me Beast, before pointing to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. "Bring me to the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "Roar!" The Green me Beast let out a howl again, and extended its wings vigorously, before charging swiftly towards the horizon. It stopped performing its aerobic skills.

    "Indeed, even the most cultured and educated person, asionally requires a set of martial arts skills. Culture and martial arts, both skills must be grasped, and both must be stable." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head lightly as he gazed at the horizon with a bright smile on his face.

    .....

    The Green me Beast seemed to have been tamed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not require much time to reach the Heaven Dao Pavilion. With the hard work from the Green me Beast, they have reached the Sword Peak in front of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    And Third Elder and Fifth Elder were already waiting by the cliff side, smiling at Fang Zhengzhi who slowly leapt from the back of the Green me Beast.

    "Hong!" THe beast let out a low growling sound, as its head nudged softly against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thighs. It seemed to be pleasing Fang Zhengzhi.

    Next, it obediently crouched at the side.

    After observing the situation, Third Elder¡¯s and Fifth Elder¡¯s smile seemed to have solidified. They looked each other in the eye, feeling a little suspicious.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally noticed the two Elders¡¯ expression. As for the Green me Beast¡¯s abnormal actions, it was obvious that it was his intention.

    Near-Life Dao.

    The Dao Seal.

    Simrly it was a Dao that the wild beasts were afraid of. After applying his power, even if the Green me Beast were to feel wronged, it did not dare express its worries.

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, Kong Qing will leave first!" Fang Zhengzhi prepared to escape while they were still feeling bewildered over the scenario.

    "Wait!" Third Elder did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to leave, and immediately halted him.

    "Not sure what other instructions do Third Elder and Fifth Elder have?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart shuddered a bit, but his facial expression remained the same.

    "Instructions? Hehe..... Kong Qing, do you know why we called you back?" Fifth Elder saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression and smiled.

    "It¡¯s because Third and Fifth Elder felt that I was fatigued?" Fang Zhengzhi probed.

    "Absurd, Kong Qing. You don¡¯t know that you havemitted grave mistakes today?" Third Elder had a cold look in his eyes. At the same time, his body naturally radiated an imposing vibe.

    The white long robe blew against the cold wind at the top of the peak, emitting a soft sound.

    And Fifth Elder, who was standing beside Third Elder, upon hearing his words, immediately appeared at the edge of the cliff peak.

    One at the front while the other at the back.

    Surrounding Fang Zhengzhi who was in the middle.

 Chapter 643 The Similarity Between Diamonds and Mice

    "Did Imit a grave mistake?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Third Elder and Fifth Elder, slightly surprised yet not shocked.

    Indeed, are these two sly foxes¡¯ motives to fool him into entering the Heaven Dao Pavilion before making their moves? However, they changed their attitudes rather quickly, did he reveal any ws about himself?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think much, because if Third and Fifth Elder were to show him attitude, naturally he could only do the same back to them.

    Although this was not ording to the n, but fortunately, they were only at the Sword Peak, and have yet to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If they were to enter it, it would have been more troublesome.

    A thought flew past him, Fang Zhengzhi was prepared to attack first, such as taking the opportunity to kick Fifth Elder down, when he was still unsteady and unprepared.

    "Not sure what mistake did Third and Fifth Elder think that Kong Qing havemitted?" Fang Zhengzhi moved back two steps as he said it, widening the distance between Fifth Elder and him to three steps.

    "Kong Qing, it has been six years since you have came to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. You should understand the rules and regtions. While today you have indeed put in your effort, but you have vited the rules, you must ept the punishment!" Third Elder¡¯s face had a slight tinge of shock.

    After being deep in thought, the cold light in his eyes disappeared, as he shook his head lightly at Fang Zhengzhi, and let out a soft sigh.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart simrly gave out a sigh too, because he had a feeling that his identity was under suspicion of Third and Fifth Elder.

    But Third Elder had yet to voice out his suspicion.....

    This made him hesitate.

    Should he attack first?

    Or to wait for the two Elders to continue the game of cat catching mice? After pondering for a while, Fang Zhengzhi quickly made his decision.

    "Kong Qing understands his mistakes, Third and Fifth Elder please allow me to reflect on my mistakes!" Fang Zhengzhi sincerely apologised for his mistakes.

    The reason was very simple, as he did not have many choices of escape.

    He had spent so much effort, and could almost touch the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If he were to turn around now and head towards the Nine Pinnacle Mountain and Yin Yang Hall, he would have wasted one to two months of his time journeying.

    Moreover he did not have much time. Hence, why not gamble on this opportunity?

    He¡¯s a man, if he failed, he¡¯ll just fight to the end!

    "Reflect on his mistakes? The mistakes that you havemitted, do not just merely warrant your reflection." Third Elder shook his head in frustration.

    "So..... What are Third and Fifth Elder thinking?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "Expulsion from the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "Alright, then I¡¯ll pack my luggage now. Then, I¡¯ll bid farewell to my teachers and brothers!" Fang Zhengzhi epted the punishment upon hearing it, without protesting it.

    Obviously, it was the perfect punishment for him.

    As everyone¡¯s attention would be on the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, he would be able to return to his "room" to pack his items. How much "substance" were there in the pavilion?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know.

    But he was sure that if he were given a little time and freedom, he could do many things in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, such as removing everything from the Treasury, or even flip the Heaven Dao Pavilion around?

    "Wait!" Third Elder¡¯s expression was dazed for a moment, as he did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi would have agreed so casually.

    "Third Elder still have something for me?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Third Elder astonishingly.

    "Cough..... Although I am an Elder, but the punishment of being expelled of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, should be based on the decision of the Pavilion Leader." Third Elder¡¯s expression had a weird look on it.

    "So, Third Elder is reporting to the Pavilion Leader now?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "This.... Kong Qing, don¡¯t you treasure the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Or so to say, you can¡¯t wait to leave the pavilion prematurely? You weren¡¯t like this previously!" Third Elder¡¯s eyes squinted gently.

    And Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart wavered a bit.

    After hearing Third Elder, his reaction just now was indeed too casual. Realistically, a disciple who have entered the Pavilion for six years, would have felt hurt and depressed upon being expelled out of it.

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, actually..... Actually, I am unwilling to leave. Six years already, I have entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion for six years. In this six years, I have endured almost everything. All the grass and the branches, the flowers and the trees, I, I don¡¯t wish to leave....." Fang Zhengzhi started acting depressed.

    "Ok, since you¡¯re unwilling to leave, Fifth Elder and I have decided to give you a second chance!" Third Elder did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to finish "crying".

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi was shocked for a moment. He finally managed to squeeze half a drop of tear at the corner of his eye, but it has yet to drop down.

    What¡¯s the meaning of this?

    Their hearts turned soft so quickly?

    Wasn¡¯t the Heaven Dao Pavilion supposed to be a strict ce? Didn¡¯t they just mention that one cannot break the rules of the pavilion, why did they decide to give him a second chance in just a turn of an eye?

    Where¡¯s the trust among human beings?

    "Kong Qing, it has been quite some time since you¡¯re in the Pavilion. Although you did not make any major contributions, but you have indeed done quite a few things for us. Quickly use the selection test, to redeem your mistakes!" Third Elder continued.

    "Atone for my mistakes?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes.

    "Yes, you have alreadymitted the mistakes, you should be punished to appease the other disciples. I have a suggestion here, you can see if it is appropriate." Third Elder nodded his head.

    "Please say it, Third Elder?"

    "Firstly, I will remove your disciple status. Then, you¡¯ll make some contributions, and till then I will naturally ask the Pavilion Leader for forgiveness."

    "This simple?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Third Elder.

    "Yes, it¡¯s that simple!"

    "Third Elder, what kind of contribution?"

    "Help Fifth Elder and I to host the second and third segment of the test." Third Elder said.

    "Let me host the second and third segment?"

    "That¡¯s right, these two segments are hosted by us, so you¡¯ll help us. Moreover, I have two more requests."

    "What requests?"

    "Firstly, you¡¯re no longer a disciple, so naturally you cannot openly help us host the segments. So, you have to help behind the scenes, or so to say, you¡¯ll be the same as the contestants."

    "Third Elder wants me to participate in the selection test?"

    "Yes, and you must ensure that you can pass it. Even so, you have to be the first ce!"

    "First ce?"

    "Of course, you have been in the Pavilion for six years. If you lose to a neer, won¡¯t you be a disgrace to the Pavilion Leader, and theughing stock among the disciples?"

    "You¡¯re saying as if it makes logical sense!"

    "Absurd!" Fifth Elder¡¯s voice rang in the air, "Kong Qing, Third Elder is giving you a second chance because it has been tough for you for the past six years. Since you¡¯re expelled from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it is only natural that you participate in the selection test again!"

    "Oh so this is the reason, understood." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, before continuing, "May I know what is the second request?"

    "It¡¯s very simple, you cannot enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion now. I will pass down amand, that from now onwards you¡¯re no longer a disciple of the Pavilion, so you cannot enter it temporarily. You understand the rules, if you¡¯re not a disciple or a guest, you¡¯ll be executed if you enter the Pavilion!"

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything.

    "It seems like you have agreed." Third Elder saw the silent Fang Zhengzhi, and nodded his head gently.

    "Can I first ask what is the second segment?" Fang Zhengzhi asked casually?

    "You don¡¯t know what is the second segment?!"

    "Uh....." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart had a tinge of excitement, following which he smiled sheepishly, "I only cared about preparing for the first segment, so for the second and third segment....."

    "Forget it, afterall you were once a proper disciple, the second segment is too simple, you need not participate in it. Just wait here, after a while they¡¯ll be someone looking for you. You can register your name here, and form the queue!" Third Elder shook his head after saying.

    "Form the queue?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the cliff of the Sword Peak behind him. Suddenly, he realised what the second segment was.

    It¡¯s climbing up this mountain?

    Wrong!

    It can¡¯t be that easy.

    Although, the Sword Peak did not have any obvious path for one to climb. But if one were to borrow the Dao of All Creation, one can naturally alter the "exterior" of the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    Or rather, if one can borrow the natural power of the stones, one can "build" adder up the cliff. But, when he was riding the Green me Beast just now, he did not see anydder.

    Oh..... Understood!

    No need to use the Dao of All Creation, just use one¡¯s body strength to climb!

    Oh, with this condition, it seemed to have better suited the strict criteria of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll form my queue here!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head quickly.

    "Ok, you cannot make mistakes. Only the first nine will proceed, the rest will be eliminated. Understood?"

    "Understood."

    "Fifth Elder, we¡¯ll make a move!"

    "Okay!"

    .....

    Third and Fifth Elder walked away, together with the Green me Beast, leaving Fang Zhengzhi standing alone at the edge of the Sword Peak.

    "Seems like..... My identity has really been exposed!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at the fog eclipsing the valley.

    He was not stupid.

    Simrly, he knew that Third and Fifth Elder were not stupid either.

    Redeem his mistakes, remove his disciple status, and re-participate in the selection test? If anyone were to believe this, he would bebelled as stupid.

    Only that.....

    Were the two foxes trying to carve a diamond statue out of his body? Or were they treating him as a mouse to be yed around with?

 Chapter 644 A Hundred Years to Enter the Sage State

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think too much, because in his situation, there¡¯s already no need to continue thinking. He would just have to react to any problems ordingly, as for the path.....

    If there wasn¡¯t one.

    Then open one up!

    .....

    At the Heaven Dao Pavilion, on top of the valley of the Sword Peak.

    Fifth Elder looked towards Third Elder, before gazing at the Sword Peak, his expression filled with suspicion and worry.

    "Third Brother, there was a great opportunity just now, why didn¡¯t you take that punk down?" Fifth Elder did not quite understand, as that situation was perfect for a showdown.

    An arrow can be shot.

    But once it¡¯s shot, it cannot be withdrawn.

    However, the "arrow" that Third Elder had shot just now was able to be withdrawn. Moreover, he even left Fang Zhengzhi alone on top of the Sword Peak.

    "Aren¡¯t you curious?" Third Elder asked.

    "Curious? To say I¡¯m not curious at all would be fake, but even if I am, we can first nab this punk?" Fifth Elder still did not quite understand.

    "The Green me Beast still managed to follow hismand, what do you think is the reason?"

    "This.... Third Brother¡¯s meaning is?"

    "Near-Life Dao! In the air, to perfectly control the Green me Beast, other than the Near-Life Dao, I cannot think of a second possibility!" Third Elder was confident.

    "But, shouldn¡¯t Near-Life Dao belong to the Holy Barbarian Empire....."

    "Right, normally, only the royal family from the Holy Barbarian Empire would be able to control the Near-Life Dao. But, he injured Sima Feng heavily, do you think he¡¯s be from the Holy Barbarian Empire?"

    "No!"

    "Hm, this punk has more substance than what we have thought of him!" A smile appeared on Third Elder¡¯s mouth.

    "What does Third Brother n to do?"

    "There¡¯s no need to rush temporarily. I allowed him to participate in the third segment, so as to see what¡¯s his motive of helping us host this test?" Third Elder shook his head.

    "That¡¯s right too, since the punk had already reached the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there¡¯s little possibility that he would run away. Third Brother, what do you think is his identity?" Fifth Elder asked.

    "I¡¯m not sure, initially I had guessed that there was 70% chance that it was the Great Xia¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi, but now, I¡¯m confident that he¡¯s not!"

    "Third Brother made the same guess as me. While Fang Zhengzhi was famous for being a genius, he¡¯s only in the Supernatural State. But looking at this punk¡¯s capabilities, it¡¯s quite obvious that he¡¯s stepped into the Rebirth State. However, what¡¯s bothering me is that, if it is not Fang Zhengzhi, then why would we intentionally help Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu?" Fifth Elder nodded his head while voicing his uncertainty.

    "Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence, after all, this punk is very bright, he¡¯s able to look into a person¡¯s expression. Maybe he had guessed that we were unsatisfied with the situation, hence intentionally letting Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu off. But I did not expect that he managed to spot the two traps that I have set for him in my questions, and even skillfully answered them. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I knew Kong Qing¡¯s capabilities were not so high, I may have been duped by him!" Third Elder sighed.

    "Talking about capabilities, aren¡¯t this punk¡¯s understanding and feelings towards Dao simr to that of Nangong Hao?" Fifth Elder directed his gaze towards the Sword Peak.

    "Hm, with these capabilities, if he were from the Four Countries, he would have been famous already. If I¡¯m not guessing wrongly, there¡¯s a 90% chance that this punk is rted to the other sectors!" Third Elder had a cold look in his eyes.

    "If this punk was from the other sectors, no matter which sector, he must be punished to death, for daring to fooling around during the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test!"

    "Yes, even though it¡¯s a little pitiful, but this world is notcking in intelligence and talents, and since we¡¯re discussing about talent, who else can bepared to Chi Guyan?"

    "Hahaha... How can Third Brotherpare this punk to Chi Guyan? Chi Guyan is the Chosen One, who can bepared to her in this world?"

    "Actually, there¡¯s another reason for my inaction just now." Third Brother¡¯s expression be even more dignified after pausing for a while.

    "Is Third Brother referring to the punk taking two steps back away from me?"

    "Ng, if I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, he should be preparing to attack just now!" Third Elder nodded his head.

    "I felt it too, just that, I did not expect that in my Heaven Dao Pavilion, there would actually be someone who dare to attack me? Even so, it¡¯s just the thought!" Fifth Elder nodded his head too.

    "Let¡¯s not discuss if this punk has the capabilities to attack first. Just based on his arrogance, I can¡¯t help but alter the n, I will temporarily keep him!"

    "Third Brother¡¯s meant that.....?"

    "Yes, in that situation, I did not have the full assurance!"

    "Si!" Fifth Elder let out a breath of cold air, "Third Brother is saying that there¡¯s a possibility that the punk might have escaped in front of the both of us?"

    "Since he dared to follow us up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, this must be part of his battle n!"

    "Hmm....." Fifth Elder went silent, as he frowned his eyebrows. Thereafter, he continued saying, "If we weren¡¯t able to capture him, what would happen if this punk enter the Sage State?"

    "Sage State? That¡¯s not based on endowment, but luck!" Third Elder shook his head, and squinted his eyes. "But, just in case this punk managed to enter the Sage State luckily, there would be someone that can control him. If he were to live for another 100 years, then I¡¯m afraid that only Chi Guyan would be able to so!"

    "100 years? What if after 100 years, even Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t able to control him?"

    "Impossible!"

    "Hehe....Of course! Tomorrow is the arrival of the Heavenly Prophecy, not sure if Chi Guyan has arrived already?" Fifth Elder smiled as he looked at the horizon.

    "Chi Guyan this child always knows how to weigh the importance, she will definitelye tomorrow!" Third Elder was confident.

    "Ng, definitely!" Fifth Elder nodded his head and did not say anything else, as he looked at the two blurry figures who were hanging on the valley.

    .....

    As the Sword Peak did not have any trees, the environment seemed a bit harsh.

    However, to Fang Zhengzhi, this harshness did not mean much to him. He found afortable position, and he closed his eyes, bracing the cold wind.

    After half an hour, a soft rattling sound came from below the valley.

    "Arrived?" Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes slowly and nced across the valley. He spotted two crawling figures very quickly.

    It is needless to say that, without using the Dao of All Creation, one would had to rely entirely on one¡¯s bodily strength to crawl from the foot of the mountain, which was an arduous task.

    It can be said that it would be impossible to do so if one were not in the Supernatural State.

    "Eh? Isn¡¯t it Qian Wu?" Fang Zhengzhi had initially thought that there was an 80% possibility that Qian Wu would be the first to reach the top. Afterall, he had already reached the peak of the Rebirth State, this is an undeniable fact.

    But the reality was that, instead, it was a youth wearing a dark green robe.

    His tanned skin emitted a wild vibe under the sunlight. He was in his early twenties, but his expression seemed very sharp, resembling a wild beast.

    This led Fang Zhengzhi to feel a little shocked.

    What was even more shocking was that.....

    The person that was trailing closing behind the youth, was actually Nangong Mu!

    "Is Nangong Mu that capable?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled thepetition between them that had ured two years ago. The Nangong Mu then, was only in the Heavenly Reflection State.

    But, in just the short span of two years, he was able to overtake Qian Wu who was in the Rebirth State. This made him slightly surprised.

    Seems like, he wants to be first?

    Fang Zhengzhi grinned a little, and let out a nd smile. He scanned the surroundings, beforeying his attention of a pile of shattered stones.

    "Hm, it¡¯s time to increase the difficulty!" Fang Zhengzhi was a person who enjoys helping others, and when faced in a situation with a friend and a stranger, it was extremely easy to make a choice.

    He carried two big stones over quickly.

    Then.....

    They slipped out of his hands!

    "Gulu gulu!" The two stones identally fell down from his hands, sliding against the mountain cliff and towards the youth clothed in the dark green robe.

    The youth¡¯s gaze trembled vigorously as he saw the falling stones. Then, he quickly realised the Fang Zhengzhi who was standing beside the cliff.

    "No wonder!" The youth was not angered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack on him. Rather, he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was intentionally testing him.

    His tanned limbs seemed to be speaking with lines of bulging veins.

    "Hong!" A loud sound reverberated.

    The youth actually inserted one of his palms into the wall of the cliff. Next, he swung his body in the air, and using the strength from his palm, straightened his body vertically against the cliff.

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

    Looking at the youth¡¯s pure muscr strength to move himself, he can¡¯t help but think, if it were him that encountered such a situation, would he able to do it?

    The answer was obvious.

    He can¡¯t do it!

    And the most important reason was, he cannot bring himself to follow the actions of the youth, which was to be so heartless to his palm.

    As the saying goes, those who are willing to be firm to themselves, are the real ruthless ones.

    The two stones finally brushed past the youth¡¯s body.

    Then.....

    A loud screeching sound echoed from beneath the youth.

    "Aiya, who..... Threw the stones?!" The voice sounded angry, and muffled at the same time too. Clearly, he had been struck by the stones.

    Of course, most importantly, the voice sounded familiar.

    "Qian Wu? This..... Can I say that I¡¯m not on purpose?" Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, as he had clearly throw the stones towards the youth, yet they had struck Qian Wu. Was this called the legend¡¯s destiny?

 Chapter 645 A Ghost in Broad Dayligh

    .....

    Qian Wu felt depressed, and angry at the same time.

    Being at the peak of the Rebirth State, naturally he was not resigned to falling at the back. However, this segment was testing on the quality of one¡¯s bodily strength.

    To put it in another way, even he were to be in a higher state, but if his bodily strength wascking, there was still no way for him to be outstanding in this segment.

    But this does not mean that Qian Wu¡¯s bodily strength was not strong enough.

    The reality was that Qian Wu¡¯s strength was far higher than those of the same state. He was not brought up in the pce since young, hence he was not pampered during his childhood and did not have the typical arrogance that the others had.

    But he still lost to two contestants.

    One of whom was the youth clothed in the dark green robe, while the other was Nangong Mu.

    He did not care too much about the youth winning him in this segment, as he was clear of the youth¡¯s status and identity.

    He was simrly in the peak of the Rebirth State too, and more importantly, he was a "wild beast"!

    The War Pinnacle Empire.

    An empire which advocated the importance of fighting strength.

    It was different from the other three empires, while the War Pinnacle Empire valued the importance of academic study too, it was even more biased towards "martial arts".

    And the youth was a perfect representative of the War Pinnacle Empire.

    The top one genius from the War Pinnacle Empire.

    Yan Qing.

    A human being who was brought up by a pack of wild beasts since young. Simrly, he was reputable for possessing a gifted "inextinguishable" body.

    Topare one¡¯s bodily strength quality with Yan Qing?

    Qian Wu had never thought about that before, but never ever would he expect that it was not only Yan Qing who was ahead of him. There was still a Nangong Mu.

    How was this possible?

    So, Qian Wu was desperate.

    He focused all his attention and effort and climbed upwards vigorously. All of his energy was spent on the wall of the cliff, and all he thought about was to rush up ahead, almost entering the state of "reconciliation with nature".

    But, what was the meaning of the falling stones?

    As a being in the peak of the Rebirth State, how could Qian Wu be struck by the piece of rock? It was impossible, but Qian Wu did not pay attention as to what was above his head.

    He responded in time in the end.

    "Aiyo, who..... Threw the stones?!" Qian Wu moved after scolding. He used his hands to block the falling stone, then expertly flipped his body above it.

    Unfortunately.....

    There were two pieces of rock!

    Qian Wu was able to flip over the first one, but was unable to do so for the second one.

    "....." Qian Wu looked helplessly at the nearing stone. He was speechless.

    His face collided against the rock, or rather, the rock collided onto his face? In short, Qian Wu¡¯s inner being copsed. His nose turned sour, and tears were almost flowing out of his eyes.

    "Cheating, this is cheating!" Qian Wu screamed silently in his heart as he fell down the cliff.

    As the contestants looked at Qian Wu from a distance, they thought to themselves, "Indeed, the second segment wasn¡¯t that easy. Unexpectedly, they were stones?"

    .....

    Yan Qing dodged the two rocks that Fang Zhengzhi had thrown.

    However, it was because of them that he had stagnated. While he only stagnated for a second, Nangong Mu still overtook him in that moment.

    "I Yan Qing, since born, have never lowered my head before, let alone allow anyone overtake me!" Yan Qing nced at Nangong Mu who was above him, and bent his arm which was inserted into the cliff wall.

    Next, his body was arched into a shape of a bow.

    "Hong!" A loud sound erupted.

    Yan Qing¡¯s body shot out.

    Using merely his palm, he was able to hurl his body up. It was even situated on a vertical cliff wall.

    If one were to use a noun to describe the situation.

    It would be madness.

    "Ka Cha!" When Yan Qingnded against the cliff wall, he used both palms to create two gaps forcefully within the cliff wall.

    Shattered stones sshed down.

    Then, Yan Qing¡¯s body resembled that of a ck panther as he sprinted up against the cliff wall. He used all four of his limbs, and everytime each limbnded on the cliff wall, a crack appeared within the wall.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi initially thought of throwing two more rocks to further increase the difficulty, but it could be seen that there was insufficient time left.

    Because Yan Qing¡¯s speed was too swift.

    Within a few breaths, he had once again caught up with Nangong Mu.

    And Nangong Mu naturally noticed Yan Qing who had rushed up. His hollow eyes emitted a ray of cold and unbending light.

    Simrly he used all four limbs as he rushed up against the cliff wall vigorously.

    "You still have some fighting spirit!" Fang Zhengzhi naturally understood Nangong Mu¡¯s thought process.

    If Yan Qing were to be a wild beast who was radiating a fierce vibe, then Nangong Wu would then be a quiet "red carp" in the river.

    A span of two years?

    Red carp, finally turning into a dragon?

    "Good, you¡¯re both first ce!" Just when Yan Qing and Nangong Mu touched the tip of the cliff with both hands, Fang Zhengzhi announced the results.

    "First ce? Both?" Yan Qing shivered momentarily upon hearing the news. The wild beast atmosphere started disappearing from his body. Very quickly, he nodded his head and flipped over the cliff wall.

    "What¡¯s your name?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Yan Qing from the War Pinnacle Empire, here!" Yan Qing bowed his body lightly, as he hugged his tanned palms, and paid his respects towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Hm, not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, and looked at Nangong Mu, "Both of you have passed the second segment of the selection test!"

    "Thank you envoy!" Yan Qing and Nangong Mu voiced their appreciation in unison upon hearing that.

    After thanking Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Qing turned his eyes towards Nangong Mu, his tanned skin faintly radiating a ray of crystal light.

    "You¡¯re named Nangong Mu?"

    "That¡¯s right." Nangong Mu answered calmly.

    "There are only a few people who can ignite my fighting spirit. Hope to have the opportunity to exchange moves with you in the next segment!" Yan Qing¡¯s voice seemed to contain a little excitement.

    "Sure anytime!" Nangong Mu nodded his head indifferently.

    Yan Qing did not say anything else, as he walked aside and found a spot to sit down.

    And Nangong Mu nced around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body before quietly moving aside.

    Fang Zhengzhi noticed Nangong Mu¡¯s actions and grinned lightly. He knew that Nangong Mu was not stupid, yet he knew that Nangong Mu did not have the full confidence currently.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else as he looked down at the cliff once again.

    Very quickly.

    Yan Xiu sprung up.

    Simiarly he gave Fang Zhengzhi a silent look before walking to Nangong Mu¡¯s side. He stood at his original position, without uttering a word.

    "Third ce, Yan Xiu, Chief of Western Liang of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

    "Fourth ce....."

    "Fifth ce....."

    "....."

    "Ninth ce, Qian Wu of the Holy Barbarian Empire?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the gloomy Qian Wu, as his heart let out a silent sigh.

    He actually caught up?

    He had clearly seen Qian Wu falling off just now.

    Yet he was able to re-climb. Needless to say, it could be counted as a miracle. Even so, Qian Wu who had disced miraculous strength, ultimately only managed to attain the ninth ce.

    "Tenth ce, eliminated!"

    "Eliminated? Why, weren¡¯t there supposed to be twenty victorious contestants for the second segment?" One of the youths could not believe the situation after spending so much effort climbing.

    Because, when they were at the bottom of the mountain, the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples had stated very clearly.

    For the second segment, they would only allow the first ten contestants!

    "Only ten!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    "Then..... Why am I....."

    "Because, one of the spots belong to me!" Fang Zhengzhi grinned as he smiled indifferently.

    "Brother Kong Qing¡¯s spot?!"

    "What? Brother Kong Qing is participating in the third segment of the selection test?!"

    "Isn¡¯t Brother Kong Qing already a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Why is there a need to participate in the third segment? What... what is going on?"

    Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s announcement, the surrounding contestants did not know how to react. A disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion participating in the selection test?

    That was never heard of before!

    Also, most importantly, wasn¡¯t this obviously unjust?

    "How can we bepared to Brother Kong Qing?"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    "Competing with Brother Kong Qing? This..... I was still waiting to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion so as to learn from Brother Kong Qing then!"

    A majority of them could not understand the reason, as dozens of funny and weird reasons appeared in their minds.

    Insider?

    ckroom deal!

    But, to participate in the third segment together with the other contestants, what was the motive? If one were to say that he was an insider, won¡¯t this insider be hidden a little too deep!

    "Because, he¡¯s not even Kong Qing, he is an impersonator!" At this moment, a voice echoed from below the mountain cliff.

    "Impersonator?!"

    "Who is ndering Brother Kong Qing again?"

    "Didn¡¯t he prove just now that Brother Kong Qing was real?"

    Upon hearing the voice, the contestants looked down the mountain cliff. Nobody believed the voice, as such amotion had already happened once.

    Was there a second person who wanted to suffer the same ending as Si Mafeng?

    This was what everyone was thinking.

    However, a gigantic silhouette flew up the mountain cliff at this moment, and everyone stared at it, eyes wide in disbelief.

    Green me Beast!

    Of course, this was not the most important part. More importantly, there was a person standing on the Green me Beast. His hair seemed messy, and he was only wearing ayer of undergarments.

    As the cold wind blew, the holes in his tattered undergarment were even more pronounced.

    He looked slightly pathetic.

    However, when everyone had seen his appearance more clearly, they opened their mouths wide in unison, as if they had just seen a ghost.

 Chapter 646 Who Wins And Who Loses - 2 Kong Qings!

    "There are two Senior Kong Qings!"

    "No, I remember that Senior Kong Qing already followed Third Elder and Fifth Elder to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How can there possibly be a second Senior Kong Qing?"

    "Could they be twins?"

    Everyone participating in the test were astonished, but they quickly realized what was going on. After all, they remembered extremely clearly that Kong Qing had followed Third and Fifth Elder to the peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    In that case ...

    If one of them is an imposter, it should be the one who reached the peakter.

    After realizing this, virtually all the candidates instinctively took a step backwards, distancing themselves from the Kong Qing dressed in tattered clothes.

    "All of you ... I¡¯m the real Kong Qing. He¡¯s fake!" Kong Qing scanned the expressions of doubt and suspicion on all the candidates¡¯ faces in embarrassment and anger.

    He had been poisoned, and was now dealt with another staggering blow. Even his clothes were ripped to an uncanny state, This was already extremely humiliating, but having none of the candidates being able to recognize him was even more humiliating.

    And they acknowledged an imposter instead? How could he take this lying down?

    "You¡¯re still not giving up? You tried to deceive me at the foot of the Heaven Dao Pavilion a few days ago, but I exposed you and let you off with a warning. But now, it seems like my kindness has fuelled your desire for mischief and evil. How can I possibly let you off today?" Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke.

    "An imposter?"

    "I see. Senior Kong Qing is a kind man. How can we turn a blind eye to this?"

    "Senior Kong Qing is exhausted. Let us deal with the imposter!"

    Upon hearing this, a few of the test participants understood what was going on and immediately lunged towards Kong Qing without waiting for any further remarks from Fang Zhengzhi.

    "How dare you!" Kong Qing red at the candidates charging towards him, finally furious. A magnificent aura radiated from his body.

    "Dong!"

    His frontmost attacker immediately stopped in his tracks, as though he had collided into a wall. Upon witnessing this sight, the other candidates exchanged nces and brandished the daggers in their hands, charging towards Kong Qing.

    ....

    Kong Qing¡¯s strength was indeed at the peak of the Rebirth State.

    However, the candidates standing before him were no weaklings. Each of them were prodigies hailing from the four kingdoms. A warrior in the Rebirth State definitely could not take on five or six of them at once. Although their strength levels could not match those of Qian Wu or Yan Qing ... theirbined abilities cannot be underestimated.

    Especially with Kong Qing erasing the toxins so recently, his body was still numb and his senses were not as keen. This made Kong Qing seem even more pathetic and worn out, having no choice but to distance the Green me Beast at his feet from his assants.

    Despite his efforts, he still could not avoid their attackspletely.

    In just an instant, a few more streaks of blood scarred his body. Although the wounds were not fatal, and seemed to be no more than superficial scratches, he unwillingly ¡¯swallowed¡¯ all this humiliation.

    With the actual person standing face to face with his imposter, both seemed to have switched their identities. Kong Qing¡¯s chest rose and fell as he feebly spurt out a mouthful of blood.

    "He¡¯s really a liar. How dare you call yourself Senior Kong Qing when you¡¯re this weak? Quickly, this imposter is injured!"

    "Come on everyone, let¡¯s attack him together and seal his fate right now!"

    "How dare you pretend to be Senior Kong Qing ande to the Heaven Dao Pavilion? You really do wish to die!"

    After realizing the dents in Kong Qing¡¯s defenses, they were further convinced that the person standing before them was an imposter.

    And upon noticing that Kong Qing was wounded, those who were reluctant to join the attack previously now echoed the intentions of their peers. They were cautious at first, but seeing how weak Kong Qing had be, all their hesitations and worries were instantly erased.

    Who wouldn¡¯t want to seize this golden opportunity to stab their sword into a weakened foe? After a split second of exchanging nces, the hesitant individuals also charged forward in a mad rush to the front, especially those ranked ninth and below .... They were not pulling any punches!

    If they didn¡¯t take this chance to shine and seize their final sliver of opportunity, they would truly be idiots.

    "Ahh!! This is infuriating. You bunch of fools!" Kong Qing was usually a mild-mannered gentleman, but after being sessively humiliated repeatedly in the span of a single day, he would still have to vent his anger in some way or another.

    "How dare you call us fools? Kill him!"

    "How dare such a vulgar person pose as Senior Kong Qing!"

    "Liar!"

    Rays after rays of light shot towards Kong Qing like meteors, causing him to lose his bnce. In a moment of folly, his thigh was pierced by one of these rays of light. Soon afterwards, he staggered and copsed onto the Green me Beast.

    Then, two monstrous roars reverberated through the air. Following that, two enormous beasts pounced forth. "It¡¯s Third Elder and Fifth Elder!"

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, this man is the imposter posing as Senior Kong Qing!"

    Seeing as Kong Qing copsed to the ground, all the remaining candidates prepared tounch themselves forward. But after seeing Fifth Elder grab Kong Qing, they finally stopped their reckless assault.

    "Imposter?" Fifth Elder gazed upon Kong Qing battered in wounds and seething with rage, then nced across the participants brimming with righteousness and indignation. He finally realized what was going on.

    Were they all deceived by a fake? And in his own Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Fifth Elder was rendered slightly speechless. And Third Elder shot a menacing re at Kong Qing, letting out a long sigh. "Kong Qing, what have you been doing in these six years?"

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, I ...:" Kong Qing¡¯s face flushed red. He wanted to say that his opponents were too sly, but he knew that blurting this reason out would undoubtedly make him seem even more helpless.

    But could they me him?

    After holding everything in for so long, he rushed to the Heaven Dao Pavilion in a hurry without having time to even change his clothes. Was he in the wrong?

    No!

    In that case, when he arrived at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, could he retreat like a cowardly turtle after seeing his imposter standing right before his eyes? Could he only reveal the truth after waiting for Third Elder and Fifth Elder to arrive?

    He could not do it.

    He could only retrieve the dignity robbed from him with his own hands, only then could he truly realign the moralpass in his heart. Hence, he felt that he had to settle this feud himself.

    But he would have never imagined that ... his opponent would deal with this so calmly. Even in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, after being exposed on the spot, his opponent actually uttered without any trace of panic, "How can I possibly let you off today?"

    Did he wish to continue concealing his identity? Did he not know that he was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Did he assume that he had another chance to flee?

    Kong Qingpletely did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to struggle so vigorously. And he did not expect everyone around him to believe Fang Zhengzhi and attack him together.

    "Did I do anything wrong? But what did I do wrong?" Kong Qing was extremely indignant and furious, but he did not know where did he go wrong.

    "You were all tricked. This is the real Kong Qing, that¡¯s the imposter!" Fifth Elder shook his head and eximed.

    "What? Tricked?!"

    "How is that possible? Wasn¡¯t Senior Kong Qing with you elders at the Heaven Dao Pavilion? We saw it with our own eyes!"

    "That¡¯s right, what ... what¡¯s going on?"

    None of the participants knew what was happening. They all saw ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯ ascend the Heaven Dao Pavilion with their own eyes, so how could the Kong Qing that emerged afterwards be real?

    "I see. Then you¡¯re not totally at fault!" After hearing the candidates¡¯ exnation, Fifth Elder immediately grasped the situation.

    After Third Elder and Fifth Elder testifying ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯s¡¯ identity, the deceived candidates immediately chose to stand with the ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯ on the elders¡¯ side. This was a given.

    "We were really deceived?"

    "Then ... where¡¯s the imposter?"

    "What kind of senior is this? He¡¯s the real deal but why is he so useless? I actually wanted to learn from this Senior Kong Qing!"

    After hearing Fifth Elder¡¯s words, the candidates finally realized who the real Kong Qing was. But what they did not realize was, why did the imposter seem much stronger, and why was the real one so unforgivably ¡¯weak¡¯.

    "Blurt!" Kong Qing expectorated another mouthful of blood.

    After just purging the poison from his body, he was immediately dealt with several waves of devastating blows, and now, he was called ¡¯useless¡¯ to his face. Only those who have experienced this humiliation for themselves could empathize with the burdening heartache he was overwhelmed with.

    "I¡¯m going to kill him! Third Elder, Fifth Elder, please allow me to ughter that scoundrel who dared to wreak havoc in the Heaven Dao Pavilion myself!" Kong Qing¡¯s furious growl trembled through the air.

    Yet, upon hearing this, everyone else scorned.

    You?

    But now that they identified the true Kong Qing, they finally turned their attention to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi, who was originally standing there with a smile stered on his face, had vanished.

    "He¡¯s gone?"

    "He fled?!"

    "Did he escape when we were all attacking Senior Kong Qing?"

    All the candidates finally came to their senses. Fang Zhengzhi was instigating an internal conflict on purpose and using this chance to slip away.

    But ... where could he flee to after running into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was nked by mountains on three sides and a cliff on the fourth. To reach the mountains, he would had to traverse the entirety of the Heaven Dao Pavilion

    How could he escape?

    There¡¯s no way he can escape!

 Chapter 647 Atrocious Luck!

    "Chase him down!" One of the test participants finally eximed after recovering from the initial astonishment.

    "Wait!" Third Elder immediately stopped the candidates from pursuing their foe. "Let the Heaven Dao Pavilion handle this. Kong Qing, lead them to the Heaven Academic Altar first!"

    "I ... understand!" Kong Qing gritted his teeth, but he ultimately understood the severity of the matter. At a time like this, maintaining ¡¯order¡¯ was of utmost importance.

    "Get changed first" Fifth Elder shoved his hand and threw Kong Qing straight off the edge of the cliff. Soon afterwards, he walked inside the Heaven Dao Pavilion with Third Elder.

    Kong Qing nodded silently. His face was so dark that water could almost ooze out. As the disciple who hosted the first round of the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, he should have be revered. But now, he was attacked brutally by the entire horde of candidates, and all this was the fault of that damned imposter.

    "I¡¯ll definitely kill you with my own hands to regain my dignity!" Kong Qing¡¯s eyes shot towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion, seething with rage.

    Not only was Kong Qing enraged, Qian Wu also showed an equally dark expression.

    "That scoundrel was an imposter?! Then he .... How evil, not only did he harm Si Mafeng, he nearly cost me my cing with a few stones! I must see who that scoundrel really is!"

    Yan Xiu and Nan Gongmu exchanged nces, wanting toment but they ultimately remained silent. Yet, both of them seemed slightly anxious.

    As for Yan Qing, he was not really bothered by Fang Zhengzhi hurling stones at him. Instead, he stood at one side without uttering a word, but still cast his gaze subconsciously on Nan Gongmu.

    .....

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood the true meaning of calling someone an old fox.

    He really felt that he was exercising utmost caution and yet, he was still sniffed out by the two seasoned veterans Third Elder and Fifth Elder.

    Allowing him to participate in the third round of the selection test? In the end, it was just a tactic to buy time. Their purpose was solely to trick Fang Zhengzhi into assuming that they would report this transgression to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and strip Kong Qing of his discipleship - or to put it more bluntly, it was to force Fang Zhengzhi into staying there.

    What a great n!

    First, they pretended not to know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true identity and led him into the Heaven Dao Pavilion, then bought enough time to locate the real Kong Qing before finally dealing Fang Zhengzhi a fatal blow.

    He had to admit that Third Elder and Fifth Elder were indeed crafty people.

    The elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion truly live up to their reputation.

    At least the ck sheep Kong Qing was eager for revenge. Otherwise, Fang Zhengzhi would have followed the two elders up the Sword Peak, and by then, he would be in a real pinch. After all, anyone would have a difficult time slipping away from over ten test participants along with Third and Fifth Elder.

    Fang Zhengzhi was grateful for his own wit.

    As the saying goes, one who survives a great disaster would definitely be rewarded with good fortunes.

    The development of a cliched plot would now have Fang Zhengzhi stumbling upon some female disciple¡¯s boudoir, wouldn¡¯t it? Or perhaps, an unguarded treasure trove?

    "God help me that I don¡¯t stumble upon a female elder¡¯s room. I can¡¯t stand the smell!" Fang Zhengzhi prayed silently as he rushed forward quickly.

    Did he notice his surroundings? He didn¡¯t have much time on his hands, and after all, it was impossible for him to recognize anything no matter how hard he tried. He was truly a headless housefly in the Heaven Dao Pavilion - running everywhere without a clue.

    He was just hoping that his luck would increase exponentially and allow him to stumble upon a hidden treasure trove.

    And just as he mulled over this prospect, Fang Zhengzhi stopped. After he passed through an aisle lined with gorgeous scenery, his line of vision expanded significantly, but there was something more important than this.

    Most importantly, there were Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples standing in his field of vision dressed in white schrly robes. Each disciple had the two characters of ¡¯Heaven Dao¡¯ embroidered on their chest.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was also donning the identical white robes, but ... there seemed to a little too many Heaven Dao disciples standing in front of him.

    Normally, there would be at most two or three Heaven Dao disciples standing guard along the various paths. Why are there thousands of them here now?

    It was a sea of white - an entire horde of Heaven Dao disciples. And every single one of them was staring straight at Fang Zhengzhi. Their expressions were the same as those of vengeful wives seeing their lecherous husbands returning home.

    "Where¡¯s this ce?" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the centre of the crowd, and there, stood a giant stone tablet as ck as ink. The stone tablet was scribbled with cluttered lines of golden characters.

    And below the giant tablet sat a bare-footed old man dressed in long white robes. He had snow-white hair and a rosyplexion, and his eyes were shut gently.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t recognize this person, but he certainly recognized the two people sitting beneath the old man. They were the Great Xia Emperor Lin Mubai and the Xian King Lin Yun.

    So ... did he just stumble into the Heaven Academic Altar?!

    Where was his miraculous luck? Who said that one who survives a great disaster would definitely be rewarded with good fortunes? Where was his female disciple¡¯s boudoir? His hidden treasure trove? Alright, he could do without all of these.

    But, he could at least have entered a female elder¡¯s quarters, right?

    Fang Zhengzhi was having an internal meltdown. After exhausting so much effort to escape the Third and Fifth Elders¡¯ monstrous grasp, he stumbled straight into the Heaven Academic Altar?

    Great, that¡¯s a real surprise!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not continuementing his atrocious luck. He just turned around and left, without even stopping for one second.

    "Where are you going, Senior Kong Qing?"

    "The Pavilion Leader and the leaders of the fournds should have waited for long. The second round of the selection test should be done, right?"

    "Wait, Senior Kong Qing!"

    Very quickly, a few other disciples eximed the same thing. At the same time, a few shadows swiftly appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi, each of their faces carrying traces of doubt.

    A drop of cold sweat slid down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead.

    He could certainly ignore the persistent proving of the disciples standing behind him, but that would undoubtedly raise even more suspicions. But if he replied them ... F*ck, who has time for that?

    "Hahaha ... you scoundrel, he actually ran all the way here?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi wanted to hurl a few profanities, the sound ofughter rang from a distance.

    Shortly after, two elders in white robes walked towards him slowly. They were Third and Fifth Elder.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi remained mum. He just raised his head slowly to marvel at the azure blue sky and the blinding sun hanging there.

    Then, he quietly raised his two hands and pointed his middle finger at the two elders.

    "How dare you, Kong Qing!"

    "Senior Kong Qing, how can you disrespect Third and Fifth Elder?!"

    "Senior Kong Qing, what exactly is going on?"

    The disciples looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s audacious gesture in confusion. After all, Kong Qing was certainly no stranger in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and more importantly, has Kong Qing ever disrespected his elders?

    "Yes, how can I disrespect Third and Fifth Elder? What¡¯s wrong with me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked himself the same question.

    "Brat, you can¡¯t me us. You came to find us yourselves, didn¡¯t you?" Third Elder smirked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s despondent expression.

    "Right, you¡¯re absolutely right!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "Hehe, in that case, do you wish to surrender? Or do we have to step in?" Third Elder paid no heed to the surrounding disciples¡¯ puzzled faces and continued probing Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Is there a third option?" Fang Zhengzhi chimed casually.

    "I don¡¯t think so." Third Elder and Fifth Elder exchanged nces for a moment and shook their heads in unison.

    "Then can I take a break first, sip some water and have a meal?"

    "No as well."

    "I¡¯m still a guest after all. Isn¡¯t this below the usual hospitality standards of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "You¡¯re truly shameless. You dare talk about manners to us?" Upon hearing this, Fifth Elder was slightly stunned, but chuckled along. "Fine, let me exin this to you. You pretend to be Kong Qing, yet you talk about manners? You interrupt the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, yet you talk about manners?"

    "Pretend to be Kong Qing?!"

    "Interrupt the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?"

    "This brat is an imposter?"

    Upon hearing Fifth Elder¡¯s words, the Heaven Dao disciples behind Fang Zhengzhi finally realized what was going on and stared at Fang Zhengzhi in astonishment.

    Besides them, the other Heaven Dao disciples standing around the Heaven Academic Altar widened their eyes in utter disbelief.

    Someone actually dared to pose as a Heaven Dao disciple and disrupt the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?

    This was something that has never happened in the past thousand years!

    The Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng opened his eyes and gazed at Fang Zhengzhi from the Heaven Academic Altar. Although he remained silent, this clearly indicated that the incident unfolding before him has piqued his curiosity.

    "Surrender now, brat!"

    "How dare you do this in the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "Why are you still standing? Kneel!"

    After the initial wave of astonishment, a few Heaven Dao disciples quickly came to their senses.They were not as patient as Third Elder and Fifth Elder. Anyone who dares disrupt the order of the Heaven Dao Pavilion must be met with thunder and fury.

    Just as their voices trailed off ... a figure already arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi, not giving him any time to reply Fifth Elder¡¯s question. Hended a direct kick at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs.

    How dare an imposter pretending to be a Heaven Dao disciple still stand? If he wants to answer, he should speak while kneeling on the ground!

    His movements were quick and merciless. After all, regardless of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s status, the sin of posing as a Heaven Dao disciple and disrupting their selection test was worthy of the death penalty!

 Chapter 648 1 Vs. 1000, Who Is The True Powerhouse?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Heaven Dao disciples in front of him and cracked a little smile.

    Indeed, the nonsense in the Book of Past Life bbering about how he could trick these powerhouses with mere words was all false. Against these opponents, they would not give you any time for trash talk, even for a considerably refined ce like the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, he still had to verify who was the true powerhouse over here.

    "Kneel?" In the instant that the Heaven Dao discipleunched his foot out, Fang Zhengzhi also acted.

    If the Heaven Dao disciple was quick, then Fang Zhengzhi was even faster, immediately spinning behind his opponent when he only seemed to have moved his shadow.

    "Ka-cha!" A rattle. The Heaven Dao disciple¡¯s body had been immobilized.

    A hand was grasping his neck, and the force of the grip suffocated him so much that he ceased all movement. It was so difficult to breathe that he couldn¡¯t straighten his neck, and could only let his head lean to one side. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

    Indeed, an attack to his heart would result in instant death, but having his neck broken or having his brain suffocated from oxygen alive was not exactly an ideal situation either.

    "He¡¯s so fast!"

    "He¡¯s brutal!"

    The various Heaven Dao disciples stared at Fang Zhengzhi in awe, marvelling at the strength that he just revealed. After all, very few people possessed such incredible speed even among the prodigies of the Heaven Academic Altar.

    However, this sense of awe did not instill any sort of hesitation.

    "sh! sh sh sh!"

    "...."

    Countless swords and daggers left their sheaths and in an instant, all the Heaven Dao disciples had drawn their weapons, pointing the razor-sharp edges of all their swords straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Release my junior!"

    "If you dare harm my junior, I won¡¯t let you off!"

    Angry bellows sounded from the crowd, but Third Elder waved his hand and gestured for the disciples to stop their hollering.

    "Do you think that we can¡¯t do anything to do when you have a hostage?" Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi holding the disciple hostage, his eyes turning cold.

    "But I don¡¯t want a hostage." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "You don¡¯t?" Third Elder was slightly confounded. In fact, he sensed that something ominous was about to happen the moment he noticed his disciple lunge at Fang Zhengzhi, but it was toote.

    However, he did not believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s im that he did not want a hostage. After all, it waspletely different from what Fang Zhengzhi was doing now.

    "Um, I don¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Following that, he kicked the Heaven Dao disciple behind the knee.

    "Plop!" The disciple immediately buckled to the ground on his knees.

    This made the disciple humiliated beyond words. He certainly never expected that he would be so easily suppressed. His opponent was too quick, and didn¡¯t seem to even use the Dao of All Creation for this move, instead relying solely on his own speed to take him down.

    How was this possible? Yet, it was the truth.

    And even worse, his head was seemingly bashed with something the moment he kneeled down. The tremendous force caused his vision to ck out instantly and lose his consciousness.

    "Dong!" The Heaven Dao disciple¡¯s head fell to the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he retracted the ck metal bar which had morphed its appearance but reverted to its form. Then, he gave the Heaven Dao disciple sprawled unconscious on the ground a good kick, sending him flying.

    The other disciples evidently did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would simply release his hostage like this, but they fetched their unconsciousrade in a hurry.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder exchanged nces, both their eyes brimming with suspicion. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s move was certainly not the smartest.

    "You want to exchange his life for yours?" Fifth Elder nced at the unconscious Heaven Dao disciple, then looked back at Fang Zhengzhi and asked.

    "No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then what is the meaning of this?"

    "Nothing much. I just want to say, if the Heaven Dao Pavilion really wanted to retaliate, shouldn¡¯t you send a more respectable opponent for me?" Fang Zhengzhi raised the corners of his mouth to reveal a smirk.

    "Wah!"

    Almost all the Heaven Dao disciples were astounded, but exploded in anger in the next moment.

    "Let me teach this brat a lesson!"

    "How dare he provoke the Heaven Dao Pavilion?! Does he really think we¡¯re worthless?"

    "Move out of the way, let me educate this brat!"

    In an instant, eight Heaven Dao disciples emerged from the crowd, each of their faces seething with sinister fury and an intimidating aura.

    "Are they taking turns to attack me? Or do they intend toe at me all at once? It seems like the Heaven Dao Pavilion can only rely on their strength in numbers." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips and curled his finger at his assants without a care in the world.

    "How insolent!"

    "Does this brat actually think that he can trample all over the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "Who the heck is this scoundrel?"

    The Heaven Dao disciples at the forefront gazed at Fang Zhengzhi, not noticing a single trace of fear on this face. They were slightly astonished. After all, in all the years of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s existence, no one has ever dared to challenge them so recklessly.

    Yet, the eight disciples who stepped out halted their advance. Because, they were disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and they were once recognized as brilliant prodigies. They could not bring themselves to practice these arguably insulting tactics of attacking as a group.

    "You¡¯ve give up? Alright, let¡¯s continue with our discussion on manners." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the eight Heaven Dao disciples who have stopped in their tracks in disdain.

    Strength in numbers? Is that really all that impressive?

    A war of words would be futile against these Heaven Dao disciples, but things like morals, justice, manners and humility would be immensely effective.

    Taking turns to attack? Attacking in a group? Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t stupid, and would never give them such an opportunity.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder naturally saw through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions. Seeing Fang Zhengzhi disy suchposure in times of crisis certainly impressed them.

    From the looks of it ... Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous behavior was unbelievably audacious and maniacal, arguably inciting a mass frenzy. This seemed like an extremely unwise decision but in fact, he took a step back. And most importantly, not only was his presence equally imposing, he managed to suppress the crowd.

    Of course, this sess could be attributed to his decision to release his hostage. If Fang Zhengzhi had refused to give up his hostage, the conflict would have escted and caused the other disciples to resort to reckless underhand means.

    But Fang Zhengzhi chose to release his hostage voluntarily ...

    At first, this seemed like a foolish call, but on a whole, it was the smartest thing to do. It was equivalent to positioning himself on the side of moral justice. That way, the Heaven Dao disciples would not attack him with such an unfair advantage in numbers.

    "This brat is indeed a genius!" Fifth Elder shot a look at Third Elder and muffled, but the admiration in his eyes was extremely obvious.

    Being able to be so calm in such a predicament, not only with his arrogance, but also his ability to avoid certain death, was indeed a miracle in itself. Naturally, Third Elder understood what Fifth Elder was implying.

    However, as much as he admired Fang Zhengzhi for his actions, he had to abide by the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rules, especially in front of the sages of the fournds.

    "How can you speak of manners when you disguise yourself as a Heaven Dao disciple and disrupt my Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?"

    "May I ask how exactly did I disrupt your selection test?" Fang Zhengzhi answered casually.

    "You eliminated the candidates unreasonably during the first round. How is that not disrupting my selection test?"

    "Unreasonably? Well, did you not approve of the decisions that I made? In that case, why didn¡¯t Third Elder and Fifth Elder stop me back then?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "Well ..." Third Elder was speechless.

    "Or perhaps, does Third Elder and Fifth Elder feel that the people I eliminated would think that they were treated unfairly, and would spread malicious rumors of the Heaven Dao Pavilion across the fournds? Should we call them back? Should we ask each of them whether they harbor gratitude or hatred?" Fang Zhengzhi probed.

    "Do we even need to call them back? Of course the eliminated candidates would harbor hatred. They couldn¡¯t possibly be grateful to you, could they?"

    Upon hearing this, the Heaven Dao disciples understood this extremely tant logic.

    Third Elder¡¯s face sank. No one would believe his words, but he knew for certain that the eliminated candidates would still be immensely grateful.

    Fang Zhengzhi did it, and he did it in a virtually unfathomable way. If the Sages of the fournds were not attending the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, Third Elder could have even continued eliminating the participants to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s whims and fancy.

    "That¡¯s right, I forgot something. Kong Qing also eliminated someone - the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire. Why don¡¯t we call him back and ask him whether he bears gratitude or hatred? When a true disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion eliminates a candidate to his liking, it¡¯s not considered as messing with the system. I¡¯m helping you sieve out the truly remarkable talent out of my own good will, yet you say I¡¯m disrupting the test. What¡¯s the meaning of this?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "Alright you brat. I¡¯ll admit that you have a way with words, and I¡¯ll also admit that those who were eliminated did in fact leave graciously with gratitude! However, surely you have to admit that you disguised yourself as a Heaven Dao disciple!" Third Elder nodded.

    "Did they really leave with gratitude?"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    Upon hearing Third Elder admit this, the Heaven Dao disciples were baffled but no one dared to probe the matter further.

    "Why should I admit to this? I didn¡¯t do anything of that sort. Do you have proof that I disguised myself as a Heaven Dao disciple?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored themotion behind him and asked calmly.

    "Proof? Do you still need proof? You brat, you already admitted that the real Kong Qing eliminated the Radiant Moon Empire¡¯s Sixth Prince. Do you still want to distort the truth?" Third Elder didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry under his rage.

    The facts have already beenid on the table, and he still wants proof? What is this scoundrel¡¯s skin even made of? It¡¯s even thicker than a wall!

    "I¡¯m admitting that Kong Qing eliminated the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire, but I didn¡¯t admit that I disguised myself as a Heaven Dao disciple." Fang Zhengzhi snorted and pursed his lips at Third Elder.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this? Are you saying that you¡¯re a true Heaven Dao disciple?" Third Elder was astounded.

    "That¡¯s right!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    "You shameless brat, lying through your teeth. Aren¡¯t you afraid of divine judgement?" Third Elder finally replied after staring at Fang Zhengzhi with great certainty for a full ten seconds.

    "Not at all. Heaven is fair, I¡¯m a Heaven Dao disciple and that¡¯s the fact. My conscience is clear." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "...." Third Elder was speechless, and so was Fifth Elder.

    "This brat actually imed to be a Heaven Dao disciple? How is that possible?!"

    "Utterly shameless!"

    "I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person before!"

    Upon hearing this, the Heaven Dao disciples around them hurled their insults at Fang Zhengzhi. What¡¯s more shameless than lying through one¡¯s teeth with all the facts tantlyid out in front of them?"

    "You brat, I don¡¯t care what you¡¯re thinking. It¡¯s a fact that you posed as Kong Qing. That¡¯s irrefutable!" Third Elder eximed after a prolonged silence.

    "Actually, my name is Kong Qing," said Fang Zhengzhi with a very sincere expression.

    "...." Third Elder¡¯s jaw dropped, as though he had a mouthful of warm blood clogged in his throat,pletely dumbfounded. He could not understand how someone could be so utterly shameless.

    Your name is Kong Qing?

    Who¡¯s going to believe that?

    "You¡¯re definitely not Kong Qing, I am!" Just as everyone stared at Fang Zhengzhi in astonishment, a furious voice erupted in the distance.

 Chapter 649 Come At Me, Letâ€™s Harm Each Other

    As their voices died down, ten silhouettes rushed towards them at astonishing speeds, arriving promptly behind Third Elder and Fifth Elder.

    The person right at the front was naturally Kong Qing. And behind him, were nine candidates who passed the second round of the selection test and were preparing for the third round: Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, Yan Qing, Qian Wu and the rest.

    "It¡¯s Senior Kong Qing!"

    "So this scoundrel is really an imposter!"

    "He still dared to proim his name to be Kong Qing. I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person before!"

    Upon noticing Kong Qing and the nine candidates tailing him, the Heaven Dao disciples could feel the tant shamelessness of Fang Zhengzhi lying through his teeth even more.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu exchanged nces with each other. Both of them naturally noticed Fang Zhengzhi standing in front of them and appeared slightly anxious.

    Qian Wu, on the other hand, sneered. He was indeed surprised to see Fang Zhengzhi, but he quickly regained hisposure. Who could possibly deceive the entire Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    "You disgusting little brat, how dare you go around pretending to be me? Die!" Kong Qing¡¯s face turned horribly dark, worlds apart from his awkwardly pathetic expression just moments ago. Now, he was more valiant and determined than before. Having changed into a clean set of white schrly robes, he brandished a radiant long sword in his hand.

    However, upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi im that "Actually, my name is Kong Qing", he could suppress his rage no longer. Such a shameless bastard deserved to die.

    "Wait!" Third Elder restrained Kong Qing who was about to pounce on Fang Zhengzhi, ring at thetter with cold eyes. "Reveal your true identity and your purpose for trespassing here, or I can¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll walk out of here alive!"

    "Alright, my true identity is a Heaven Dao disciple, and my name is Kong Qing." Fang Zhengzhi nodded gently as he answered with utmost obedience.

    "How dare you still lie?!"

    "Precisely, Senior Kong Qing is already here, and that bastard is still spouting nonsense. I¡¯ve never met a more shameless scoundrel than him!"

    "He¡¯s just too much!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples couldn¡¯t resist hurling their own insults upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    Meanwhile inside the Heaven Academic Altar, standing below Mu Qingfeng, Lin Yun looked at Lin Mubai and asked, "Father, do you think there are really two people that are this shameless?"

    "I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s continuing watching them!" Lin Mubai nced at Lin Yun then gazed back at Fang Zhengzhi surrounded by an angry mob. He naturally understood what Lin Yun meant, but he wouldn¡¯t possibly borate much under such circumstances without first discerning the truth.

    "Yes, I understand." Lin Yun nodded without probing further.

    However, Third Elder and Fifth Elder have grown impatient.

    "Brat, isn¡¯t your futile attempts at defending yourself a little pointless? Even if I believe that your name is Kong Qing, isn¡¯t iming to be a Heaven Dao disciple slightly ridiculous?" Third Elder uttered calmly despite already being at his limit.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that continuing his denial was pointless, but he had no other choice. Yan Xiu was standing behind Kong Qing, so how could Fang Zhengzhi possibly reveal his true identity?

    If Yan Xiu discovered his true identity, the result would be catastrophic.

    Yan Xiu would definitely stand out and then, not only would Fang Zhengzhi be unable to help Yan Xiu enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he might even turn Yan Xiu in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s enemy.

    In fact, this was far from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original n. He did agree with Yan Xiu to meet each other in the me Capital City before travelling to the foothills of the Heaven Dao Pavilion earlier. If everything went ording to n, Fang Zhengzhi should have knocked one of the candidates unconscious and stolen his victim¡¯s identity to participate in the selection test alongside Yan Xiu. That way, he could help Yan Xiu secretly along the way. And once he infiltrates the Heaven Dao Pavilion sessfully, he would use his dual identity to enjoy the resources inside the pavilion.

    But things did not go ording to n.

    Fang Zhengzhi was trapped by Yun Qingwu, and naturally lost the chance to regroup with Yan Xiu. By the time he reached the foothills of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the selection test had already begun. Out of options, he could only target Kong Qing.

    Of course ... Yun Qingwu was not the sole reason for all this.

    In fact, if Yun Qingwu hadn¡¯t held him back, he could never have broken through and obtained the Rebirth te to achieve his current level of strength.

    Perhaps, all of this was fate. But having reached this stage, Fang Zhengzhi could only continue down this path without implicating Yan Xiu.

    "I can¡¯t let Yan Xiu suspect me!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed back at Third Elder after affirming his decision. "Third Elder, if you im that I¡¯m just throwing a meaningless fuss, does that mean that you¡¯ve forgotten what you told me on the cliff of Sword Peak?"

    "On the cliff of Sword Peak?" Third Elder was stunned.

    "That¡¯s right. You told me that you¡¯ll give me one chance to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion and participate in the third round of the selection test. Were you toying with me?" Fang Zhengzhi reminded.

    "What do you mean?" Third Elder¡¯s heart jumped. He naturally knew that Fang Zhengzhi was telling the truth, but he only intended to use it as a ploy to buy time without any other considerations.

    "I mean, Third Elder promised me this opportunity previously on the cliff of Sword Peak. You promised to give me the right to participate in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s selection test, and you said that I can be a Heaven Dao disciple once I pass the third round. I don¡¯t think the Third Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion would go back on his word, would he?" Fang Zhengzhi sneered.

    "What? Third Elder allowed this brat to participate in the selection test?"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "How can Third Elder possibly allow a sneaky imposter to participate in the selection test?

    Upon hearing what Fang Zhengzhi said, the Heaven Dao disciples evidently refused to believe his words, all of them concentrating their gaze on Third Elder and Fifth Elder. And after noticing the piercing eyes of the crowd, Third Elder¡¯s face turned dark.

    He naturally didn¡¯t mind the doubts rising amongst the Heaven Dao disciples, but they were not alone today. The Sages, Emperors, Crown Princes and Princes of the fournds were all present.

    In such a situation ... how could he possibly deny what he promised previously as the Third Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    "You brat, aren¡¯t you pushing this a little too far? Third Brother and I did in fact allow you to participate in the third round of the selection test, but it was just to stall you at Sword Peak!" Fifth Elder eximed after noticing that Third Elder was keeping mum.

    "So, do you deny the fact that you did in fact say this?"

    "Of course I wouldn¡¯t ..." Fifth Elder stopped his sentence halfway and nced at Fang Zhengzhi, then scanned his eyes across the emperors of the fournds inside the Heaven Academic Altar, before finally keeping his mouth shut.

    "Continue saying what you wanted to say, it¡¯s okay. Let the Emperors see how flippant and untrustworthy the elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion are!" Fang Zhengzhi chided without a care.

    "You¡¯re twisting logic!"

    "But I do have logic, don¡¯t I?"

    "You ...." Fifth Elder¡¯s face was flushed red. Even he could be rendered speechless by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless arguments.

    Third Elder then shook his head at Fifth Elder. It was just as Fang Zhengzhi said - they could not take back whatever they had promised previously, even if it was just a ploy to buy time.

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, this brat has twisted your words. Please don¡¯t fall into his trap!" Kong Qing grew anxious as he noticed Third Elder and Fifth Elder falling silent.

    If they really allowed Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the selection test, and if Fang Zhengzhi actually passed it, he would really gain the true identity of a Heaven Dao disciple. When that happens, even if he does receive punishment, he would definitely escape the death penalty.

    Third Elder and Fifth naturally knew what Kong Qing was thinking, but they could not find any other way to take back what they said previously.

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, even if what he says is true, he still stole my identity and knocked me unconscious. This is my personal feud against him. Please allow me to seek revenge in my own name!" Kong Qing finally clenched his teeth and yelled after Third Elder and Fifth Elder refused to speak.

    "Your own name?" There was a glitter in Third Elder and Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes. Even though it was slightly inappropriate for them to discuss personal feuds in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s selection test, this was indeed their only way out.

    If they actually allow Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the third round just like this ... Not only would they disagree with the decision, all the Heaven Dao disciples would voice their objections.

    "You disgusting brat, I challenge you under the name of Kong Qing. Do you dare to ept my challenge?" Kong Qing emerged from the crowd upon noticing Third Elder and Fifth Elder¡¯s hesitation.

    Competing against one another in the Heaven Dao Pavilion required one party to issue an official challenge. In other words, only if Fang Zhengzhi himself agrees to Kong Qing¡¯s challenge, this scuffle over their personal feud would be acknowledged and permitted.

    "Will that brat ept the challenge?" Fifth Elder looked over at Third Elder.

    "No." Third Elder shook his head.

    "You mean that, he still believes that he can participate in the third round of the selection test, so he wants to conserve his strength?" Fifth Elder quickly realized Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions.

    "If he¡¯s still harboring on the promise we made, it may very well be that way. We can only settle this matter after hepletes the selection test." Third Elder nodded slowly.

    "Is there really no other way?"

    "Not at the moment."

    "Aish ...." Fifth Elder let out a sigh and prepared to hold Kong Qing back.

    Then, a crisp and evidently ecstatic voice sounded.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll give you the chance to challenge me!"

 Chapter 650 Withheld Power

    "What? This brat actually ... agreed?!" Third Elder and Fifth Elder exchanged nces and saw the disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes.

    All the other Heaven Dao disciples were bbergasted. After all, they weren¡¯t stupid, and could naturally see that Fang Zhengzhi was exploiting the ¡¯promise¡¯ made to him by the elders. This way, on ount of the elders¡¯ dignity, they would have no choice but to allow Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the third round of the selection test despite their personal grievances.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi epted Kong Qing¡¯s challenge out of the blue! They couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions no matter how hard they thought about it.

    "Can he still participate in the third round after his battle against Senior Kong Qing?"

    "Is he stupid?"

    "I thought this brat was incredibly smart and witty with his words. I never thought he¡¯d make such a foolish blunder at this key juncture! But it¡¯s better this way - we¡¯ll just let Senior Kong Qing butcher this brat and save us the troubleter!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples couldn¡¯t believe their ears, but they were still ted about this decision. In fact, even Kong Qing was a little disoriented, as he never expected Fang Zhengzhi to ept his challenge without any qualms.

    "You ept?" Kong Qing red at Fang Zhengzhi with his eyes almost bulging out. He had originally prepared to goad Fang Zhengzhi into a match, perhaps giving Fang Zhengzhi three priority strikes or something along those lines. He didn¡¯t think that Fang Zhengzhi would agree to his little showdown so quickly.

    "Yes, I¡¯ve epted it. Not only that, I¡¯ll give you the first three moves!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded with certainty.

    "You¡¯ll give me the first three moves?!" Kong Qing was irate.

    "That¡¯s right. You¡¯re already so weak - if I don¡¯t give you the first three moves, it¡¯ll look as though I¡¯m just bullying you, won¡¯t it? If that¡¯s not enough, I can give you a few more moves. What about five? Or six, seven? Just choose whatever number you¡¯d like!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded decisively, appearing extremely generous.

    "You, you ...." Kong Qing¡¯s jaw dropped,pletely speechless.

    The Heaven Dao disciples surrounding them were simrly dumbfounded,pletely suspended in disbelief. They could notprehend what was going on at all.

    He¡¯s giving Senior Kong Qing the first three moves?!

    That bastard actually gave Senior Kong Qing the first three moves!

    The Heaven Dao disciples nced at each other. This was almost like seeing pancakes drop from the sky - no one could believe what was going on.

    And Fang Zhengzhi still wants to participate in the third round of the selection test afterwards.

    Unbelievable.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder looked at each other, then gazed back at Kong Qing and Fang Zhengzhi, unable toprehend the situation.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was stupid, then they wouldn¡¯t be this surprised. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance - from eliminating the respective candidates and ascending the cliff of Sword Peak, to the series of decisions and actions he made after arriving at the Heaven Academic Altar - told them one thing: Fang Zhengzhi was freakishly smart.

    Yet for someone so devilish smart, he has made such an unfathomable decision that would trap himself in an disadvantageous situation. The elders were baffled, yet precisely because they couldn¡¯tprehend Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision, they grew even more anxious, crossing their brows tightly.

    Nan Gongmu also looked at Yan Xiu with his mouth agape. He let out a meek little voice, "Is it him?"

    "I can¡¯t ascertain that." Yan Xiu shook his head, "I¡¯ve never seen him offer his opponent so many advantages in a battle before, and to an opponent at the peak of the Rebirth State no less."

    "Um, I think so too. If it really was him, he would have taken the cheap deal. He should be able to tell how eager Kong Qing is to challenge him." Upon hearing Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation, Nan Gongmu nodded slowly.

    Yan Xiu stopped here and continued observing from his current location, gluing his eyes to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, attempting to decipher something from his expression.

    "He¡¯s really ying with fire!" Qian Wu let out a cold cough.

    Yan Qing, on the other hand, kept mum as though nothing had happened. He just stood there quietly, as though preparing for something.

    As for Kong Qing ... he suddenly cracked augh. He broke into maniacalughter, cackling so hard that his body shuddered.

    "You disgusting little brat, do you really think I¡¯m such a pushover?! Let me warn you - I may not be the strongest disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, but I can still take a shameless ingrate like you in three moves!" After his outburst, his body radiated with a blue glow.

    It was a shade of blue between that of water and the sky. It wasn¡¯t as dark as the blue of water, but it wasn¡¯t as azure as the blue of the sky. It sat in between the two, seeming extremely strange yet emanating an overpowering aura.

    "That¡¯s enough nonsense. I said I¡¯ll give you three moves, so I will give you three moves!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Kong Qing, unfazed, and gestured at him flippantly without radiating any light from his body.

    "Ah!! You brat, die!" Kong Qing finally attacked.

    After all, very few people could endure such humiliation from Fang Zhengzhi. Even a mighty Heaven Dao disciple at the peak of the Rebirth State was still looked down upon by him.

    He thrusted the long sword in his hand straight out. The de was cloaked in a resplendent glow, revealing a chilling murderous intent.

    Just seconds ago, it still left a blurry shadow behind Kong Qing, but in the next instant, it was already right in front of Fang Zhengzhi aiming straight for his throat.

    "Is this even an attack?" Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he saw the razor-sharp tip of the sword in front of his face. Then, he simply leaned his head to one side and dodged Kong Qing¡¯s strike.

    "An attack?" Kong Qing¡¯s lips twitched subconsciously. He wanted to retort: How the f*ck is this a single attack? Which one of your eyes told you that I¡¯m finished? Yet, he was not that particr about these things.

    After noticing Fang Zhengzhi avoid his attack, a sinister glint flickered in Kong Qing¡¯s eyes. He twisted the hand wielding the sword and shed it downwards. At the same time, the blue light cloaking the de burst forth in full resplendence, morphing into numerous swirling petals.

    The Falling Flowers Sword Technique!

    Its name just meant that this sword technique could only unleash its full might when flower petals are falling.

    If Fang Zhengzhi avoided the attack earlier than he did, Kong Qing certainly wouldn¡¯t have summoned the flowers down so soon. But with Fang Zhengzhi jerking his neck so forcefully ... how could Kong Qing let this chance slip?

    Countless blue petals rained down on Fang Zhengzhi and at the same time, Kong Qing¡¯s sword became even more sinister, brimming with murderous intent.

    "Eh? So this is theplete move!" Fang Zhengzhi finally realized what was going on after noticing the fluttering blue petals.

    But ... his voice travelled from five steps away.

    "What¡¯s going on?!" The pupils in Kong Qing¡¯s eyes contracted,pletely astonished. After all, he was supremely confident of ying Fang Zhengzhi with a single sh at such close proximity. But in fact, Fang Zhengzhi managed to escape right as the petals came fluttering down? It was mind-boggling.

    "What speed!"

    "He didn¡¯t use the Dao of All Creation, did he? He actually avoided Senior Kong Qing¡¯s Falling Flowers Sword Technique so easily?!"

    "This brat may be shameless to the core, but he¡¯s definitely no weakling!"

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples naturally witnessed how Fang Zhengzhi already retreated backwards when Kong Qing struck his sword down, but it looked as though he had strangely teleported away.

    And what was even stranger was, in the instant that Fang Zhengzhi retreated, there was a temporary shadow still remaining at his original position. If Kong Qing was not directly in front of Fang Zhengzhi, he should have realized this much earlier, but Kong Qing still released the flower petals.

    It was very simple - it was a blind spot.

    Fang Zhengzhi used the shadow to impede Kong Qing¡¯s vision, tricking Kong Qing into believing that he simply twisted his neck while remaining at his spot.

    "Ah ... how weak! You still have two more chances, make use of them wisely!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Kong Qing five steps away, reminding him as he sighed and shook his head.

    "Ah!" Kong Qing let out a furious bellow.

    He clenched the handle of his sword tightly as blue light surged explosively from his body, as though his entire body was being wrapped in a giant ball of clouds.

    "If this brat didn¡¯t give Kong Qing the first three moves, Kong Qing might very well lose!" Fifth Elder let out a sigh after witnessing this scene.

    "Mm. Kong Qing is really agitated, unable to maintain hisposure. This way, he has already lost half the battle. If his opponent actually retaliated, Kong Qing would have been utterly defeated!" Third Elder nodded and gently flicked his finger, sending out a faint ray of white light.

    Instantly, the ray of white light prated the back of Kong Qing¡¯s skull and disappeared without a trace.

    Kong Qing¡¯s body jerked and the explosive blue light emanating from his body retracted abruptly, as though the clouds were all absorbed into his body.

    In the next moment, his body stopped shivering.

    "Brat, do you know what¡¯s the Heaven Dao?" After pausing for a brief moment, Kong Qing raised his head up slowly, gradually lifting his sword up and pointing it straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

    The glow on his body had faded, but his eyes were still flickering with a sparkling blue radiance like two blue crystals.

    "Senior Kong Qing has finally calmed down!"

    "Now this is Senior Kong Qing¡¯s true potential!"

    "Senior Kong Qing, let this shameless traitor taste the true strength of a Heaven Dao disciple!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples buzzed with sheer excitement upon noticing the blue glint in Kong Qing¡¯s eyes. This indicated that Kong Qing was now at the peak of his strength.

    He was withholding his power!

 Chapter 651 The Strange Explosion, The True Meaning of the Heaven Dao

    "If you want to fight then let¡¯s cut the crap!" Fang Zhengzhipletely ignored Kong Qing¡¯s words and replied without a care as usual.

    Kong Qing clenched his fist again, but this time, he wasn¡¯t as agitated as before.

    "Show me your weapon!" Kong Qing nced at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s empty hands. He was purely bent on ughtering Fang Zhengzhi a moment ago, but now, he wanted to retrieve his dignity as well.

    "Against you? There¡¯s no need for a weapon." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "You¡¯ll regret this, brat!" Kong Qing stopped his bickering just as Fang Zhengzhi had said - speak with actions and not words. He wanted to use his strength to force out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weapon.

    Shuffling his feet to another side, Kong Qing decided to strike again. But this time, he was a lot slower than before despite still maintaining an adequate level of speed. In an instant, he arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi again, shortening their distance of five steps immediately to one.

    He swung his in-looking sword out. It looked nothing out of the ordinary, yet it vibrated with a faint piercing sound as dots of light flickered from the tip of the de. He then thrusted it straight for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    However ... just as Kong Qing thrusted his sword out, the entire space quaked, as though the surrounding air was all being engulfed and absorbed by this sword."

    "Reusing the same tactic again, is that going to work?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to notice the changes in the surrounding air, and still continued leaning his head to one side.

    The long sword brushed right across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck.

    The scene didn¡¯t look too different from their previous confrontation. Both Kong Qing¡¯s attack and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s dodging motion looked around the same as before. However, just as the sword brushed right past him in the instant that Fang Zhengzhi tilted his neck to one side, the expression he madepletely changed.

    "What¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t move!" Fang Zhengzhi gasped frantically. His body waspletely immobolized.

    "You can¡¯t move? Hahaha .... I just warned you, didn¡¯t I? Now, I¡¯ll let you die with the knowledge that my Dao has almost achieved the Heaven Dao¡¯s existence!" Kong Qing finally chuckled after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s desperate gasps.

    From the humiliation he faced below the Heaven Dao Pavilion, to the shame he felt on the Sword Peak cliff, and finally to the rage he endured after being chided and mocked by countless people in the Heaven Academic Altar - he finally released all his pent up frustrations.

    He wasn¡¯t hasty to strike, because he knew that the moment the tip of the sword brushed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat, he had won the match.

    The Falling Flowers Sword Technique was a move that relied on an instantaneous explosion - weak before the moment of discharge, but extremely formidable at the point when the energy is released.

    For an attack, it wasn¡¯t considered an overly extravagant or overwhelming move, but Kong Qing still chose this sword technique without any second thoughts, simply because this technique could best capitalize on the strength of his Dao of All Creation.

    What was the most important thing of an instantaneous explosion?

    Chance!

    But then again, how could he rely so much on chance in a battle between two true powerhouses? If he couldn¡¯t gain the upper hand early in the battle, how could he then force his opponents to reveal gaps in their defenses?

    This was the w of the Falling Flowers Sword Technique, but this did not affect Kong Qing at all. His Dao of All Creation has virtually attained the level of the Heaven Dao, and hence could create countless chances to strike by relying on his masterful maniption of air and Qi.

    "He won! That¡¯s Senior Kong Qing for you!"

    "That¡¯s right, that brat underestimated Senior Kong Qing. If he distanced himself further from Senior Kong Qing, he wouldn¡¯t have been immobilized so quickly!"

    "No matter how fast he is, he¡¯s dead meat once he¡¯s immobilized!"

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples began to smile. They naturally knew very well that the immobilized Fang Zhengzhi was not a conjured shadow. In other words ... he has really been immobilized by Kong Qing, unable to escape.

    Then, how can possibly evade the Falling Flowers Sword Technique¡¯s instantaneous explosion?

    "Die!" Kong Qing didn¡¯t wait for his opponent¡¯sst words. He has done everything in his power to make Fang Zhengzhi aware of the reason for his imminent demise.

    He twisted the sword with his hand and swung it across. Boundless amounts of resplendent blue light burst forth from the de, morphing into countless swirling blue petals glowing gorgeously under the sunlight.

    It was a breathtaking sight, yet it was a chilling scene surging with sinister murderous intent, turning the surrounding air cold.

    "Kong Qing, spare his life!" Third Elder and Fifth Elder finally came to their senses after noticing the countless blue petals aiming straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

    They knew that the battle would turn ugly after Kong Qing regained hisposure, but they did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to lose the battle ... or his life so quickly.

    Sparing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life was definitely not because they felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crime was unworthy of death. They just needed to rify Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true motive for entering the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Third Elder and Fifth Elder yelled, but it seemed like they were toote. Kong Qing¡¯s sword was so quick and merciless as the pent-up rage suppressed in his chest exploded all at once, and the number of falling petals increased instead.

    "Boom!" A thunderous st.

    All the blue petals finally morphed into spots of light, dissipating into the air and enveloping the sky in a peculiar shade of blue, forming a blue vortex-like air current.

    There was silence. A temporary silence.

    And after the silence, came an eruption of cheers!

    "He won! Senior Kong Qing won!"

    "That shameless bastard is finally defeated!"

    "He still died in the end, didn¡¯t he?"

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples cheered as they gazed upon the man sprawled on the ground beside Kong Qing who was still standing.

    "Thank you, thank you all, my fellow disciples. I knew he was too weak. Do you believe me now?" Kong Qing¡¯s voice rang above themotion.

    Then, he kicked the person on the ground twice.

    "Cough!" A mouthful of blood spurted out from the victim¡¯s mouth, staining his pale face with blotches of blood. He looked incredibly pathetic, but he wasn¡¯t dead.

    "You, you ..." The person lying on the ground shuddered with his eyes bulging out furiously. His body was stained with countless streaks of blood of varying sizes, lookingpletely ghastly and unrecognizable.

    "Third Elder, Fifth Elder, I followed your orders and spared his life. Shall you two Elders now honor your promise?" Kong Qing cast his eyes on Third Elder and Fifth Elder not far away, cracking a bright smile.

    "Promise? What promise?"

    "Hold on, what isn¡¯t Senior Kong Qing ... holding a sword?!"

    "Where¡¯s Senior Kong Qing¡¯s sword? Why is it in that shameless bastard¡¯s hands?"

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    Upon hearing Kong Qing¡¯s words, the crowd¡¯s cheers died down as the disciples gazed at the figure standing in the distance.

    Very soon, they noticed something wrong. The sword in Kong Qing¡¯s hand was gone! And the person lying on the ground covered in blood ... has a sword in his hand, and it¡¯s the same sword that Kong Qing was wielding.

    "Brat, you ..." Fifth Elder looked at the blood-covered individual sprawled on the ground, then gazed up at ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯ beaming brightly from ear to ear. He could not believe his eyes.

    Third Elder also refused to believe what just happened. Even the emperors and princes sitting in the Heaven Academic Altar stood up one after the other, with everyone focusing their attention on ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯ at the centre of the battlefield.

    "Father, could that be ...?" Lin Yun asked Lin Mubai.

    "Um, no doubt about it!" Lin Mubai nodded slowly. He knew what Lin Yun was asking, and he also knew what the emperors from the other three kingdoms were thinking.

    "Who exactly is this brat?"

    "There¡¯s nobody like him in the Radiant Moon Empire!"

    "Not in the War Pinnacle Empire either!"

    The emperors of the other three empires exchanged nces and shook their heads. Finally, they turned their gaze to Lin Mubai.

    "He shouldn¡¯t be from the Great Xia Empire either." Lin Mubai shook his head and replied after noticing the curious looks from his peers.

    All of the emperors shook their heads. They then looked back at the old man donning long white robes sitting behind them on the stone chair sculpted from white jade - Mu Qingfeng, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Mu Qingfeng opened his eyes slowly after sensing the gazes directed at him by the four emperors, and nced over at ¡¯Kong Qing¡¯.

    "Hm, that is indeed the Heaven Dao." Mu Qingfeng spoke slowly, seemingly mumbling to himself yet also answering the emperors¡¯ queries.

    "The Heaven Dao?!"

    "Senior Kong Qing has already achieved the Heaven Dao? It can¡¯t be ... unless, unless Master is saying that ...."

    "It¡¯s that shameless bastard! He ... actually achieved the Heaven Dao?!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples were bbergasted after hearing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s answer. The Heaven Dao? That shameless bastard has mastered the Heaven Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?

    Then ... who¡¯s the person lying on the ground?

    Kong Qing!

    But, why is that the case?

    That scoundrel didn¡¯t even move. Kong Qing already immobilized him and unleashed the Falling Flowers Sword Technique.

    Even if he did master the Heaven Dao and was able to escape from Kong Qing¡¯s grasp, it still doesn¡¯t exin why the Falling Flowers Sword Technique would attack Kong Qing instead and leave that bastard unscathed.

    "Right, I forgot to answer your previous question. Of course I have mastered the Heaven Dao!" Fang Zhengzhi nced down at Kong Qing lying on the ground after recalling the question.

 Chapter 652 Everyone Ought To Have Some Limits

    Kong Qing¡¯s eyes were bulging furiously. He grasped the sword tightly in one hand as he pressed his other hand forcefully on the ground, attempting to help himself up. But he could not do it ....

    The Falling Flowers Sword Technique was a move that he practiced in the Heaven Dao Pavilion himself, but now the tables have turned and he was hit with his own attack. He couldn¡¯t understand how that happened until he heard Fang Zhengzhi exim, "Of course I have mastered the Heaven Dao!"

    "The Heaven Dao?! You, you just used the ..." Kong Qing¡¯s throat wobbled. He wanted to utter something out, but a mouthful of blood spurted out instead, rendering him unable to finish his sentence.

    If Kong Qing had one term that was used the most frequently on him, it would undoubtedly be the ¡¯Heaven Dao¡¯. All this while, Kong Qing¡¯s target has always been to achieve the Sagely State through mastering the Heaven Dao, but reality is cruel - the Heavenly Rebirth Dao State, the top of the Six Dao States, was an insurmountable challenge.

    But even so, Kong Qing still used his own methods to close the gap between his own Dao and the Heaven Dao, even achieving the title of having the Dao closest to the Heaven Dao as mentioned by the Heaven Dao Pavilion elders. When he first heard the elders say this, he rejoiced for three full days.

    But now ... standing before him was a scoundrel hebelled as a shameless brat, yet the scoundrel has grasped everything that he has ever wanted, and even used the Heaven Dao to defeat him.

    Why? Why can such an utterly shameless bastard master the Heaven Dao, and yet I, who have slogged so hard, can¡¯t even do it?!

    Kong Qing felt indignant, extremely indignant.

    But reality was as cruel as ever. He has lost at the hands of Fang Zhengzhi, at the Heaven Dao which he yearned for so much. This fact was already set in stone.

    "Oh right, I forgot to ask you something. Do you know how to use the Heaven Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the pathetic-looking Kong Qing at his feet and smirked.

    "I, I ... Blurt!" He expelled another mouthful of blood. He wanted to retort Fang Zhengzhi - Of course I know! - but he had no energy left to utter it. The person standing in front of him was a true master of the Heaven Dao, so how could he even say such a thing?

    "Ah ... how weak!" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and sighed.

    "I, I only used two attacks, you ... didn¡¯t you say you would give me three chances?" Kong Qing still couldn¡¯t let go of the lingering grudge despite having already been defeated.

    Fang Zhengzhi did say that he would give Kong Qing the first three moves. Although he was unwilling to admit that he was weaker than Fang Zhengzhi, he would have definitely realized that Fang Zhengzhi has mastered the Heavenly Dao if Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t retaliate after his second attack. That way, even though he may have still lost eventually, he wouldn¡¯t have suffered such a miserable defeat, or at the very least, he would have injured Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Three moves? Did you really believe me? I didn¡¯t expect Senior Kong Qing is still so naive at such an age!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Kong Qing, with his expression saying one thing: you can be naive, but not to such a stage.

    "You, you ... wah ...." Kong Qing couldn¡¯t endure the agony any longer. His body copsed on the ground with a thud as he expelled another mouthful of blood. His vision cked out and he passed out.

    "Senior Kong Qing!"

    "That scoundrel, he ... he made Senior Kong Qing faint from anger?!"

    "The Heaven Dao. That brat has really mastered the Heaven Dao!"

    Upon noticing the unconscious Kong Qing, all the Heaven Dao disciples had only two words floating in their minds - "Heaven Dao". The pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, and the Dao closest to the Saint State.

    "Is it him? The Heaven Dao, it seems like he ..." Nan Gongmu nced over at Yan Xiu again. This was already the second time he posed this question today.

    "No!" Yan Xiu shook his head.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s answer was much firmer this time round, without any of the hesitation he showed before.

    "It¡¯s not? But as far as I know, when he was at the Southern Region ..." Nan Gongmu was slightly taken aback by Yan Xiu¡¯s resolute answer.

    "As he was leaving the me Capital City, he told me that his mastery of the Heaven Dao has reached a bottleneck and he could achieve true sess. The most he could do would be to restrain his opponent temporarily, and it would be virtually impossible for him to swap positions instantaneously like this with the ¡¯Shifting Forms¡¯ technique. And most importantly, he was only in the Supernatural State, but this is clearly a level of strength only achievable by those in the Rebirth State!" exined Yan Xiu.

    "I see!" Nan Gongmu nodded after hearing Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation.

    He naturally knew that Yan Xiu was probably telling the truth. In these past two years, Fang Zhengzhi has not shown any progress in his mastery of the Heaven Dao, the pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. So how could he possibly improve this much in just two months?

    Most importantly, the level of strength disyed here was of an entirely different State. Fang Zhengzhi was only at the Supernatural State but the person before them was clearly in the Rebirth State.

    Hence, with these two huge disparities virtually impossible to be reconciled at the same time, Yan Xiu firmly dismissed the possibility that the person in front of him was Fang Zhengzhi.

    ....

    "A master of the Heaven Dao, that brat ...." Fifth Elder gazed at Fang Zhengzhi standing in the distance, then looked back at the unconscious Kong Qing. He agonized over this dilemma with his mouth agape.

    "Hm, and he even used the ¡¯Shifting Forms¡¯ technique. If my hunch is correct, he used the Heaven Dao to freeze the explosion of the Falling Flowers Sword Technique instantaneously. Following that, he swapped positions with Kong Qing at the highest speed possible. Because he was in such close proximity to Kong Qing, and because he was dressed just like Kong Qing, it made it so difficult for onlookers to realize this ..." Third Elder¡¯s lips twitched.

    "But didn¡¯t this brat master the Near-Life Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques? How could he possibly master the Heaven Dao?!" Fifth Elder pondered over this problem.

    "The Near-Life Dao was just a hunch that we had. We have never witnessed him tame the Green me Beast with our own eyes before. But if he really has mastered the Heaven Dao, then taming the Green me Beast wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all!" Third Elder shook his head and exined after hearing Fifth Elder¡¯s question.

    "Hm, that makes sense. The Heaven Dao ... Doesn¡¯t that make this brat a Half Sage?!" Fifth Elder nodded and shot a nce straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "We can¡¯t be sure about that yet. Maybe he¡¯s only just mastered the Heaven Dao. After all, during his battle against Kong Qing, he didn¡¯t really unleash his full strength, but instead exploited Kong Qing¡¯s blind trust in his promise to clinch a surprise victory!" Upon hearing this, Third Elder shook his head again.

    "You¡¯re right, Third Elder. From this brat¡¯s tone, it seems like he¡¯s not even 25 years old. Such a young Half Sage was practically unheard of in the entire Holy Region, not just the four empires!"

    "This brat¡¯s talent is far greater than we¡¯ve ever imagined, and he¡¯s so utterly shameless. He can¡¯t possibly hail from the four empires, but if he¡¯s really from another sect, then ... what¡¯s his true motive?"

    "Regardless of what his motive is, if he¡¯s really from another allegiance besides the four empires, we definitely cannot allow him into the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous!"

    "Yes, this is the only way!" Third Elder nodded and looked back at Fang Zhengzhi. A cold glint flickered in his eyes as he subconsciously tightened his fist.

    While the five sects also belong to the Holy Region, they each upy a separate area. Although there hasn¡¯t been overwhelmingly violent scuffles between them for hundreds of years, hidden conflicts are nheless amon urrence. This was attributed to the differences in each of their ¡¯ideologies¡¯.

    For instance, the Heaven Dao Pavilion believes in following Heaven¡¯s will and self-cultivation, while the Nine Pinnacle Mountain worships the Nine Pinnacles, believing that the Nine Pinnacles were formed for the bnce of the heavens andnds. On the other hand, the Yin Yang Hall believe that all forms of existence hail from Yin and Yang, and everything was created for the bnce of Yin and Yang.

    Different ideologies naturally set the five sects on different training methods. Although they begin from the same foundations, the final result of their training would definitely differ.

    Besides this, they were bestowed with different resources.

    The Holy Region was wide, and consisted mainly of great mountains and deepkes. Besides the existence of countless formidable beasts and hidden demons, there were also boundless natural wealth and treasures.

    Although each of the five sects have demarcated their respective territories very clearly after countless wars, it was virtually impossible for any party to respect these boundaries when precious treasures surface!

    Third Elder knew very well that there was ongoing conflict brewing among the five sects, and he naturally knew the various tactics employed by the opposing parties.

    Using spies is an age-old strategy which was immensely beneficial and most importantly, the cost involved was minimal. Not only were spies ¡¯fed¡¯ by the enemy forces, they could deliver crucial information at pivotal junctures.

    Third Elder took a step out and walked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test has always been held personally by the emperors of the four empires. Not only was every rmended participant a prodigy, their background had to be ¡¯clean¡¯. This was the silent agreement between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the emperors of the four empires.

    "Reveal your true identity, you brat. Otherwise, I won¡¯t hesitate to attack you myself!" Third Elder stopped five steps in front of Fang Zhengzhi. His broad white sleeves fluttered in the breeze.

    The emperors of the four empires and the spectating Heaven Dao disciples all understood Third Elder¡¯s decision.

    Identity! A clean identity!

    If Fang Zhengzhi simply disyed incredible talent during his battle against Kong Qing, Third Elder would have naturally considered honoring his previous promise and allowed Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the third round of the test.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance was evidently overwhelming. For someone who has mastered the Heaven Dao, it was no longer a question of talent. Mastering the Heaven Dao, the pinnacle of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, was already equivalent to having half a foot in the Sagely State.

    Then, how could Third Elder possibly ignore Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true identity?

    "It seems like ... Third Elder doesn¡¯t intend to honor his promise?" Fang Zhengzhi did not retreat, instead taking a quick sweeping nce at Yan Xiu and Nan Gongmu. He slowly cracked a smile.

    Yan Xiu was the reason why he agreed to Kong Qing¡¯s challenge without hesitation and intentionally revealed his mastery of the Heaven Dao - because Yan Xiu had previously asked him about the Heaven Dao. And most importantly, he knew Yan Xiu¡¯s personality very well. If he purposely concealed the Heaven Dao and employed other moves instead, he would definitely arouse Yan Xiu¡¯s suspicions.

    But if ... he shed his Heaven Dao out right from the start, Yan Xiu would instead believe that he was not intentionally hiding something. This way, this might possibly cause Yan Xiu to confirm that the person right there was not Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Reveal your identity and I¡¯ll honor my promise!" Third Elder seemed to have predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would harbor on the promise as a convenient excuse. He was unfazed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sment.

    "Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Kong Qing!" Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    "Nonsense!" Third Elder¡¯s tone turned hostile.

    "Disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Kong Qing!" Fang Zhengzhi repeated.

    "You brat, you¡¯re forcing me to attack you!" Third Elder took another step forward as his eyes flickered with spots of white light.

    "Are you bullying the weak?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.

    "So what if I am? The Heaven Dao Pavilion has been around for thousands of years. How can we allow an unidentifiable scoundrel like you to run amuck and spout nonsense? Haha .... Even with the emperors of the four empires here today, I¡¯m willing to forsake the dignity of my old face but I¡¯ll definitely tear off that fake mask of yours!"

    Third Elder took another step forward, surging with strength as a spot of white light shed repeatedly on his forehead.

    "It seems that no amount of reason is enough for the unreasonable." Fang Zhengzhi expressed his disappointment as he watched Third Elder close in.

    "You brat, there¡¯s no point of continuing this nonsense. I¡¯ll give you one final chance. Reveal your identity and I¡¯ll honor my promise. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for hurting you too severely!" As he spoke, the white glow on Third Elder¡¯s forehead grew brighter and brighter until a word could be seen fading in and out of view.

    "Ten moves! Why don¡¯t you let me have the first ten moves? You¡¯re so old and I¡¯m still so young. You¡¯re bullying the weak here. Giving me the first ten moves shouldn¡¯t be too much to ask for right?" Fang Zhengzhi hastily eximed as he noticed the concentrating white light on Third Elder¡¯s forehead.

    "You brat ..." Third Elder was evidently astounded by thisment. He had seen shameless people before, but none as shameless as this.

    Ten moves?

    Putting the motive and usefulness of this proposal aside, he was clearly not seeking a fair match, was he?

    "No? Fine, then make it nine moves. Nine moves should be fine right? You¡¯re at least sixty years older than me, right? I¡¯ll exchange nine moves for the age gap of sixty years. I¡¯ll ignore the fact that you¡¯re bullying the weak, but if you don¡¯t even let me have the first nine moves, wouldn¡¯t this a little immoral?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "Immoral?!" Third Elder clenched his fist tightly.

    As a respectful elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how humiliating is it for his morality to be questioned in front of all the Heaven Dao disciples and the emperors of the four empires?

    Yet .... It was just as Fang Zhengzhi asserted. He was really bullying the weak!

    "Eight moves, how about that? I¡¯ll take it that I stepped on a pile of shit. You¡¯re a powerhouse in the Sagely State bullying a small little fry like me. Where have your morals gone? Shouldn¡¯t everyone have some limits?" Fang Zhengzhi seemingly did not notice the expression on Third Elder¡¯s face as he continued.

 Chapter 653 A Decisive Crack, An Indescribable Agony

    "Brat, are you trying to provoke me?" Third Elder obviously knew that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. In terms of emotional stability, he was undoubtedly far superior to Kong Qing, but that didn¡¯t mean that he could not be angered.

    As the revered elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was virtually impossible for him to remainpletely unfazed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s relentless ¡¯verbal provocations¡¯.

    "Make it seven then. Or six would be fine too. Since you¡¯re okay with abandoning your dignity as the respectful elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, bullying an inexperienced junior like this, sigh ...."

    "Shut up!" Third Elder¡¯s expression finally changed.

    "Are you angry now? Why are you furious when I¡¯m stating the truth? Where¡¯s the logic in this? Let me have the first five moves then. At least five would be fine, right? This is already my limit!" It was impossible to frighten Fang Zhengzhi, and shutting him up would be beyond belief. No one could stop him from rattling on and on.

    It was just like how Third Elder was itching was attack. If Fang Zhengzhi asked him to halt his attack, would he even heed that request?

    "You want to die, don¡¯t you!" Third Elder clenched his fist even tighter as the white speck of light on his forehead materialized instantly into an extremelyplicated white character.

    Then, he took another step forward. An immense surge of energy flowed from within his body, like a damn about to burst, causing the surrounding space to tremor.

    The distance of two steps was definitely not long, and could be considered extremely close. Fang Zhengzhi could clearly feel this formidable energy deeply. Even the white schrly robes he donned was fluttering under the force. But he did not retreat.

    Or at least ... he could not retreat now.

    "Third Elder." Suddenly, a voice rang from within the Heaven Academic Altar. It wasn¡¯t particrly loud, but it was enough to send shivers down everyone in the crowd.

    "Master!" Upon hearing this voice, all the Heaven Dao disciples bowed down in unison towards the centre of the Heaven Academic Altar.

    Mu Qingfeng, who was originally seated on the white jade stone chair, stood up. He nced over at the four emperors slowly, then scanned his eyes across the countless Heaven Dao disciples, finallynding his gaze on Fang Zhengzhi and Third Elder.

    "Pavilion Leader!" Third Elder looked towards Mu Qingfeng. His face was flushed red, revealing a tinge of displeasure, but he still halted his attack. Fang Zhengzhi then heaved a sigh of relief.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t intending on provoking Third Elder for real. He just wanted Third Elder to reveal his ws in battle. After all, that possibility was really low.

    That being said, he knew that the Heaven Dao Pavilion was a ce that valued morals, courtesy, fairness and justice. Furthermore, the emperors of the four empires were in the spectator stands. That way, even if Third Elder could forsake his dignity and shame, there would always be someone else who had to safeguard the dignity of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, for example, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng.

    Indeed, the greatest w of a Sage was the limits of his morals.

    This way, he should be able to participate in the third round of the selection test, right?

    "Third Elder, I think what he said does make some sense. Give him the first five moves to make it fair." Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice reverberated through the pavilion.

    "Thank you, Pavilion Leader ... Eh?!" Fang Zhengzhi had already prepared to thank the Pavilion Leader, but before he could finish his sentence, his eyes bulged out immediately.

    Five moves? For fairness? What¡¯s the meaning of this?

    Could it be that, the standard script wasn¡¯t for Mu Qingfeng to prevent the Heaven Dao Pavilion from bullying the weak and allow Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the third round?

    The advancement of the plot ... seemed wrong!

    Didn¡¯t all Sages have their moral standings? Wouldn¡¯t they not bully the weak? Why did all these rules go straight out of the window when applied on himself?

    "The Pavilion Leader¡¯s generosity is simply extraordinary!"

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was dumbfounded by this sudden decision, Lin Mubai turned to Mu Qingfeng and expressed his approval for thetter¡¯s call. The emperors and princes from the other three empires also stood up andmended Mu Qingfeng¡¯s remarkable level of tolerance.

    "Generosity? How is this considered being generous? Extraordinary ...?" Fang Zhengzhi was astounded. He stared at the emperors of the four empires then turned to Mu Qingfeng, slightly disoriented.

    Could it be ... Is this the ¡¯background¡¯ that the novels speak of?

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled a famous literary masterpiece he came across in his past life, telling the tale of numerous demons of all kinds and a monkey hailed as the demon king. The ending was obvious - all the demons without any background plot written by the author would be killed with a single low from the monkey¡¯s staff, while the demons with various extensive character histories would all be led away in defeat, and would even exim pompously, "This is disastrous!"

    Upon remembering this, Fang Zhengzhi realized what was going on. After he concealed his identity perfectly, he naturally became a ¡¯demon¡¯ without any background to his character. So what if the emperors of the four empires were watching him? Who would offend the Heaven Dao Pavilion over an unknown stranger?

    This was a real problem, and worse still, Fang Zhengzhi was about to battle Third Elder for real.

    "You brat, since the Pavilion Leader has spoken, I¡¯ll heed your request. I¡¯ll give you five moves!" Upon hearing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s orders, Third Elder was slightly astonished, but a smile soon appeared on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart crumpled after noticing Third Elder¡¯s expression.

    A single sentence. Mu Qingfeng merely uttered a single sentence. Thispletely quelled Third Elder¡¯s rage and even turned his anger into tion. This way, his strategy of provocation haspletely gone down the drain.

    The Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng ...

    This old duff is the real sly fox of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was time for him to run, but with nearly a thousand Heaven Dao disciples surrounding him, and with Fifth Elder blocking his escape route along with nine other participants, where could he flee?

    And more importantly ... Third Elder was extremely close, only two steps away.

    Without a doubt, if he makes any attempt to flee, Third Elder would attack immediately and may even ignore the agreement to award Fang Zhengzhi the first five moves.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly regretted his decision. He felt that he should coerce Third Elder to give him the first ten moves, no matter how tough that would be. No, at least twenty, or thirty. Every move counts!

    "Come on, you brat. I won¡¯t retaliate within the first five moves. You¡¯re free to attack!" Third Elder naturally guessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions after noticing his wavering gaze, and his smile grew brighter.

    The onlooking crowd of Heaven Dao disciples also cracked mocking smiles on their faces.

    "Did this scoundrel actually believe that he could trample over the Heaven Dao Pavilion with just his mouth?"

    "I want to see how this scoundrel can win Third Elder in this ¡¯fair¡¯ match. Five moves? Haha ... don¡¯t even mention five. I don¡¯t even think fifty moves are enough!"

    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing whether this brat still has other tricks up his sleeve. The Heavenly Rebirth Dao? Hahaha, does he not know what sort of ce this is?"

    As the Heaven Dao disciples broke intoughter, they turned their attention towards Fang Zhengzhi, as though they were looking at a dead man.

    "Third Elder, I really do wish to begin the battle, but my level of strength is simply too low. Why don¡¯t you give me the first ten moves instead?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the gazes of the surrounding disciples and probed Third Elder.

    "You truly are utterly shameless. Five moves is the maximum I¡¯ll go. If you don¡¯t start attacking, don¡¯t me me for ... You insolent brat!" Third Elder suddenly hollered without finishing his sentence.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already attacked without waiting for Third Elder toplete his sentence.

    For Fang Zhengzhi, the distance of two steps voided every possibility of escape, but for Third Elder, it was the closest he could go.

    Fang Zhengzhi was incredibly fast, and his speed increased even further after unleashing the Heaven Dao.

    A ray of light as azure as the sky illuminated between him and Third Elder.

    It was the Heaven Dao.

    In the next moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body traversed the azure ray of light and appeared right behind Third Elder. Following that, a resonant sound erupted.

    "A sneak attack below the belt, but you¡¯re not allowed to retaliate!"

    After Third Elder barked at Fang Zhengzhi, he could clearly see what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do. Facing a sneak attack below the belt like this at such a short distance, he could only defend himself against this strike.

    He instinctively prepared to repel Fang Zhengzhi behind him, which would be the easiest and most useful method to deal with a sneak attack. But under such circumstances, he suddenly heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice ringing in his ear, "You¡¯re not allowed to retaliate!"

    Third Elder¡¯s body shivered very conspicuously.

    Repelling him? Is that considered as a form of retaliation? It should be. After all, repelling an opponent would possibly injure him.

    In a moment of hesitation, Third Elder finally realized that he had no chance to avoid the attack, and could only take Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strike head-on.

    A sneak attack below the belt? Does this brat really want to use a sneak attack below the belt?

    Third Elder boasted a wealth ofbat experience, and naturally knew that this was a false cry of distraction. No one would foolishly exim that he was using a sneak attack during an actual sneak attack.

    Where were the fatal points behind him? The back of his head!

    He quickly realized that this brat was luring him to guard his groin before proceeding to strike the back of his head. Based on how shameless this brat was, he would definitely do this. But ... he couldn¡¯t leave his groin unguarded.

    After all, he had his testicles there!

    What if that brat isn¡¯t faking it and actually strikes his groin in the most unlikely scenario? What should he do then?

    Third Elder felt chills down his spine.

    If this was happening in a secluded ce without any spectators, he could just kill Fang Zhengzhi with a single strike without anyone knowing. But now .. there were close to a thousand Heaven Dao disciples watching him, along with the emperors of the four empires and the Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng.

    He could not take this risk.

    Third Elder suddenly regretted his decision to close the distance between him and Fang Zhengzhi. This gave Fang Zhengzhi the perfect opportunity to perform a sneak attack.

    Achieving the Heavenly Rebirth Dao State was almost equivalent to having half a foot in the Sagely State. Although a person at this level was not an official Sage, he was still incredibly dangerous, especially up-close. But then, how could he possibly consider all these factors when he was approaching Fang Zhengzhi?

    "I can only block him from above and below!" Third Elder gritted his teeth and quickly covered his crotch with one hand while his other hand snaked behind his back and shielded his head.

    And then ... Third Elder felt an excruciating pain in his abdomen.

    At the same time, an ecstatic voice rang in his ear. It was so loud and crisp that the entire Heaven Dao Pavilion could hear it extremely clearly.

    "A Thousand Years of Pain!"

    "...."

    Third Elder¡¯s expression changed drastically, his face turning from red to white, then from green to purple - purplish red like a pig¡¯s liver.

    It was an unbelievably acute and piercing pain, as though a torrential stream of water surged straight up his anus, into his spine and prating his brain.

    At this moment, Third Elder¡¯s brain waspletely nk. Besides the pain .... there was nothing else in his head.

    If there was a single word to describe Third Elder¡¯s desire in this exact moment, it would be to ¡¯soar¡¯. He wanted to soar to a ce where no one could recognize him.

    And sure enough, he actually flew up. Both his feet swiftly lifted off the ground, flying towards the sky at the speed of a meteorite. However, there were no clouds beneath his feet, and he had no wings on his back. Hence, he still fell down eventually.

    "Plop!" Third Elder crashed into the ground, distorting the features on his face.

    He never imagined that there woulde a day where he would be in such a predicament. Neither has he ever imagined that Fang Zhengzhi would strike his anus after announcing that he would aim for his testicles!

    He shielded his groin but not his anus?

    A teardrop slid down the edge of Third Elder¡¯s eye. It was an genuine sense of agony brought about by excruciating pain.

    The entire Heaven Dao Pavilion fell into a deathly silence.

    Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes were bulging out, almost about to drop out of his eye sockets.

    The nine candidates standing behind him: Yan Xiu, Nan Gongmu, Yan Qing, Qian Wu ... were also bbergasted, staring nkly at this highly unexpected scene.

    All the Heaven Dao disciples¡¯ mouths were wide open as they gazed upon Third Elder sprawled on the ground and Fang Zhengzhi still maintaining an extremely awkward stance.

    Chills ran down their spines in a frenzy. Their jaws all dropped, but not a single one of them uttered a word. They were all rendered speechless.

    Not only were the Heaven Dao disciples speechless, so were the emperors of the four empires. Even though they were all regal rulers, they could not utter a sound in this situation.

    The four emperors froze, maintaining their awkward half-standing poses.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just the four emperors ....

    Upon witnessing such a scene, even the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion - the usually refined, unfazed, calm and wise Mu Qingfeng - could not maintain his usual demeanour.

 Chapter 654 Heavenly Descent, Becoming a Half Sage

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression was definitely not as exaggerated as the Heaven Dao disciples, but a drop of cold sweat unknowingly trickled down his forehead. As he gazed at Third Elder sprawled on the ground in agony, he did not know what to say - because he was the one who suggested for Third Elder to give Fang Zhengzhi the first five moves.

    Heaven pities and protects us all.

    He never expected that Fang Zhengzhi would dare to strike Third Elder¡¯s anus so mercilessly, and even pull off a sessful sneak attack!

    "...." Mu Qingfeng¡¯s jaws dropped. He wanted to say something tofort Third Elder, but he still swallowed his words eventually, because he knew Third Elder¡¯s temper very well.

    In situations like these, he could only pretend to have gone blind and not witnessed this embarrassing scene, or to have his memories suddenly fragment and pretend to have not remembered anything at all.

    There was a strange eerie silence.

    Mu Qingfeng was wary of Third Elder¡¯s temper, and the Heaven Dao disciples werepletely dumbfounded. After the initial wave of unbelievable shock, all the Heaven Dao disciples subconsciously lowered their heads.

    "I didn¡¯t see anything, I didn¡¯t see anything ..."

    "I didn¡¯t see anything at all!"

    "Wow, the sun¡¯s rays are so blinding ..."

    The Heaven Dao disciples lowered their heads one after another, muttering in their hearts and resisting the urge to do anything rash, too afraid to make a sound.

    Yan Qing, Qian Wu and the other candidates looked at each other, noticing the astonishment and bewilderment in each other¡¯s eyes.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi ... he had no time to hesitate.

    Afternding a sessful strike after much effort, he wouldn¡¯t possibly give Third Elder any chances to recover. As the saying goes, any mercy shown to the enemy is cruelty to yourself. Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t interested in self-harm, hence could only let Third Elder bear the brunt of the pain.

    Having dealt Third Elder with the unimaginable Thousand Years of Pain, he naturally knew that Third Elder was now in a world of excruciating agony. And as the saying goes, I¡¯ll kill you when you¡¯re still down!

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to strike again before Third Elder could recover.

    He didn¡¯t have time to ponder over more intricate issues like whether he would offend Third Elder and the Heaven Dao Pavilion. After all, he had to protect his own life first. Nothing else else mattered.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion wouldn¡¯t be concerned about their moral principles for some unimportant background character, neither would they show any mercy. In such a situation, they would only care about saving themselves.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s second strike came just as fast. Even though Third Elder flew about five or six steps away, it didn¡¯t affect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack. The azure ray of light continued radiating in the air.

    The Shifting Forms technique.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body traversed through the blinding light. He previously observed this technique being used by the Half Sage Can Yang of the Demon Race, hence had to proceed with caution.

    In the blink of an eye, he already arrived behind Third Elder.

    There were no extravagant movements, or any announcements made like the previous sneak attack. This time, Fang Zhengzhi acted almost silently.

    An attack like the Thousands Years of Pain .... He certainly couldn¡¯t use it again. After all, Third Elder was already sprawled on the ground. With this incorrect posture, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly execute a simr attack.

    Hended a kick straight on Third Elder¡¯s neck and head.

    "Bang!" A deep thunderous sound ruptured through the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Following that, Third Elder¡¯s body propelled into the air once again, flying into the distance at a terrifying speed before finally crashing straight into a white jade railing at the edge of the Heaven Academic Altar.

    "Crack!" The white jade railing shattered instantly, and Third Elder¡¯s body rolled a full eight steps away after the collision before finally stopping. His body was covered in debris.

    "You insolent brat, how dare you ...." Fifth Elder¡¯s voice finally rang. He clenched his fist so tight until it made cracking sounds. A shimmer of light flickered on his forehead. He didn¡¯tplete his sentence, but anyone could tell that he was not only enraged, but extremely furious!

    However, he didn¡¯t take a step forward to help his senior even though his body was already shuddering incessantly from the immense rage.

    "Shameless, utterly shameless!"

    "He even attacked Third Elder while Third Elder was still down!"

    "This guy is ... really cruel!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples began hurling insults at Fang Zhengzhi, but strangely enough, none of them moved forward to help Third Elder up. Even the expressions on their faces did not seem particrly tense.

    "Was I not brutal enough? I already channelled 80% of my strength for that kick just now." Fang Zhengzhi was not bothered by the chiding from the crowd.

    He was more concerned about ... stabbing Third Elder another time while he was still sprawled on the ground.

    He had a tinge of hesitation, but ultimately did not waver for long. Fang Zhengzhi began his third attack. He clenched both his fists as his eyes glowed with a resplendent azure light as blue as the sky.

    Shortly after, the same azure light also appeared above Third Elder¡¯s head, with the exact same shade as the glint in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    Thenn, the strangest thing happened. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body vanished abruptly, leaving a ck shadow at his original location, strangely enough.

    In the next moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist emerged from the azure radiance above Third Elder¡¯s head, followed by his head and body ...

    "It¡¯s the Heavenly Descent!"

    "It¡¯s recorded in the ancient books that only a true master of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao can use such a technique!"

    "How old is that shameless bastard? Judging from his voice, he shouldn¡¯t be any older than 25 years old, right? How can he be a Half Sage?!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples gazed upon this puzzling sight, dumbfounded by this realization.

    Initially, even though they knew that Fang Zhengzhi has mastered the Heavenly Rebirth Dao, the disciples all believed that he was just a novice in the Dao and could only demonstrate a few simple tricks. But once Fang Zhengzhi used the ¡¯Heavenly Descent¡¯, they knew that Fang Zhengzhi was a true master of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    To cut to the chase ... Fang Zhengzhi was already a Half Sage!

    "He even mastered the ¡¯Heavenly Descent¡¯. If he was in my empire, I would have already given him a title equivalent to a prince!"

    "From what I know, only Can Yang of the Demonic Race was able to master the Heavenly Rebirth Daopletely. Besides him, there isn¡¯t anyone else!"

    "That¡¯s right, I never expected that there would be someone else! And we don¡¯t even know which sect does he belong to!"

    The emperors and princes of the four empires marvelled at this sight in awe.

    "That brat is no amateur in the Heavenly Rebirth Dao!" Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes closed shut. Even for him, he didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi could actually use the ¡¯Heavenly Descent¡¯.

    "The fake Senior Kong Qing ... is indeed much stronger than the real one!"

    "The Heavenly Descent, how remarkable!"

    "I wish this fake Senior Kong Qing was real. Not only would I then have the chance to consult Senior Kong Qing, I would even be exposed to the Heaven Dao. Sigh, what a pity that he¡¯s ultimately a fake ..."

    Upon witnessing this sight, the few candidates standing behind Fifth Elder revealed expressions of sheer awe and adtion, with a slight hint of pity.

    As for Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, Yan Qing and Qian Wu, the four of them eyed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body basking under the azure radiance very closely, not uttering a word.

    "Boom!" A thunderous sound reverberated through the arena.

    Countless white stone fragments were sent flying in the air. Even the white jade floor was strewn with countless cracks and fissures. A cloud of white dust inundated the air and in the next moment, it fell to the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was suspended in midair. Only the tips of his feet was cloaked by the azure light, seeming extremely peculiar.

    "Cough, cough ..." Two coughs came from under the pile of shattered white jade. Then, a figure rose up from the ground very slowly, as though he was carrying a 1000 kg crucible. In fact, he was indeed lifting a person up.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    Third Elder¡¯s expression was evidently one of extraordinary pain. The pain caused both his legs to shiver unwillingly. He retracted his butt, sping it tightly with both his legs.

    It was an extremely awkward and ungraceful pose, but he still did it.

    He couldn¡¯t say a word. Only those who have personally experienced such excruciating pain would truly empathize with Third Elder¡¯s feelings.

    As a powerhouse in the Sagely State and a revered elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Third Elder has rarely felt such traumatizing thrills in the depths of his soul like he did today. And all of this could be attributed to the person standing above him right now.

    "The Heavenly Descent. I haven¡¯t seen this move for a very long time. Should I feel honored?" Third Elder red at Fang Zhengzhi, straightening his arms out in front of him and gritting his teeth furiously.

    "No need to feel that way, Third Elder. You stood up so quickly, are you sure you¡¯re not hurting?" Fang Zhengzhi asked with a concerned face.

    "You brat, I¡¯ll kill you!" Third Elder¡¯s face distorted freakishly, seeming as dark as the overcast clouds before a storm.

    "Third Elder, please don¡¯t be rash. You already took three strikes from me. You won¡¯t possibly go against your promise now, would you?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body slowly retracted the azure radiance and looked at Third Elder with caring eyes.

    "Stop your nonsense, you only have two more moves left!" Third Elder bit his lips hard. He naturally knew what Fang Zhengzhi was referring to.

    Five moves!

    When Third Elder first ept Mu Qingfeng¡¯s decision to honor Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request, he even chuckled to himself in gratitude, seeming relieved and satisfied.

    But now ... if Heaven would give him a second chance, he would definitely tell Mu Qingfeng, "F*ck your five moves. If you have the balls, why don¡¯t you give him five moves to attack you instead!"

 Chapter 655 The Qian Kun Eight Wastelands

    Third Elder was terribly aggrieved, and the excruciating pain overwhelmed him like a flood, surging all over him from his bottom in waves after waves. Yet, he had to endure it.

    There were still two more moves. As long as he could withstand two more moves, everything would end.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what Third Elder was thinking. Of course, he also knew that he wouldn¡¯t have an easy time if he allowed Third Elder to tide through his two subsequent blows.

    Even though Third Elder seemed to be at a considerable disadvantage after being dealt with his two sneak attacks, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Third Elder¡¯s true strength wouldn¡¯t pale inparison to Cang Yue of Ling Yun Tower as an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly remembered the simple exchange between Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu¡¯s grandfather, and Cang Yue back at the me City Capital after the battle against King Xieluo. Their conversation allowed him to gauge the strength of those in the Sagely State.

    For instance, Yan Qianli would be considered to have just entered the Sagely State not long ago, and have not truly attained the full strength of the State - supposedly a novice in the beginning stage.

    By that logic ... conservatively, Third Elder would be in the middle stage, or even the advanced stage of the Sagely State.

    "No, I must wound him severely with my remaining two free moves!" Fang Zhengzhi quickly affirmed his objective, but how he would achieve that was another problem altogether. After all, Third Elder was not dimwitted, and was definitely a sly old fox.

    How could Third Elder not anticipate the tricks that Fang Zhengzhi nned? For his remaining two moves, Fang Zhengzhi already foresaw the limited possibility of closing in on his opponent.

    What could he do if he couldn¡¯t get close to Third Elder? Should he continue using the Heavenly Descent?

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly dismissed that idea. As great as the Heavenly Descent was, he couldn¡¯t bite off more than he could chew. Most importantly, the Heavenly Descent was not the move with the greatest offensive potential.

    In fact, its greatest strength was ... the safety it granted the user.

    To be blunt, the user could retreat afterunching the attack.

    "Shoom!" With Third Elder¡¯s arduous effort, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s entire body finally entered the radiance of the azure light. In the next moment, he bizarrely reappeared at his previous location, his shadow conjuring under the sun¡¯s rays.

    Third Elder then heaved a sigh of relief. He was half-kneeling on the ground, sping his bottom as tightly as possible. He supported himself off the ground gruellingly with both his palms, his forehead dripping with sweat.

    Painful, really painful!

    "You brat,e at me with whatever shameless underhand strategies you have left!" Third Elder finally managed to stand up after several effortful breaths, but his legs still wobbled unwillingly.

    The Thousand Years of Pain of the Rebirth State was no joke.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he couldn¡¯t drag this on any longer. The longer he waited, the more Third Elder would recover. Someone in the Supernatural State could recover his own injuries, so someone in the Sagely State would definitely be able to do so.

    Even though his strike haspletely split Third Elder¡¯s anus apart, his opponent would recoverpletely in no time. What should he do?

    At such a considerable distance, the Heavenly Descent he used previously would be the quickest attack for him, but it was already blocked by Third Elder. What other ideas does he still have now?

    Countless long-range attacks shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind ... but he quickly dismissed them one after another. This way, his two moves would be useless.

    If he attacked from afar, the impact would definitely be weaker that of a close-range distance. Even if Third Elder has raised his guard, Fang Zhengzhi would still have to create opportunities to close in on his opponent.

    No chances? Then create them!

    With his mind set, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wait any longer. He skidded towards Third Elder, as though meeting an old friend in a long time.

    "Third Elder, we actually don¡¯t bear any personal grudges against each other. Can we shake hands? After that, I¡¯ll forsake my two moves and you¡¯ll let me enter the third round of the selection test, how about it?" Fang Zhengzhi proposed as he walked towards Third Elder.

    "You disgusting brat, do you think you still have a chance now?" Third Elder¡¯s face looked extremely ghastly. Upon noticing Fang Zhengzhi closing in quickly, he instinctively shifted his hand down to guard his rear.

    How could he possibly not read Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind?

    Fang Zhengzhi was obviously using some casual banter to provoke him or catch him off guard, exploiting the chance to close in and create the opportunity for another sneak attack. How naive!

    Third Elder didn¡¯t retreat immediately. After all, his pride as an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion prevented him from backing down from opposing pressure, but he had no intentions of allowing Fang Zhengzhi to approach him so easily like this.

    A resplendent white light lit up on Third Elder¡¯s forehead. Theplicated white character on his forehead slowly morphed, as though gaining a life of its own. In the blink of an eye ... it evolved into another character.

    Furthermore, not only did the character experience changes, even its color and the surrounding glow changed into a uniform earthy yellow.

    "I ... F*ck?!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were wide open. He stared at the evolving character on Third Elder¡¯s forehead and the surrounding yellow radiance, and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    That thing can change?

    Fang Zhengzhi has met Sages before, and not just one Sage. He met the Heavenly Oasis Saint, Yan Qianli and Cang Yue before, but all three of them have never demonstrated this move. What¡¯s more, Fang Zhengzhi and the Heavenly Oasis Saint spent a full year and more together, but that old duff has never even mentioned this technique to him before.

    What the heck?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi appeared slightly dazed, a wave-like yellow radiance dispersed from Third Elder¡¯s forehead. At the same time, the entire space began shuddering, as though something was about to charge out.

    Following that ... something really charged out.

    Rays of ck cracks danced across the sky, with each fissure surging with overflowing yellow light. They were specks of faint yellow sand.

    "Yellow sand? Yellow sand just appeared out of thin air?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sprehension of the Dao of All Creation was far deeper than before, and he was very familiar with the Dao¡¯s characteristics.

    Changes. Fundamental changes, or in other words, maniption.

    If you¡¯re capable of altering a physical entity, you could effectively control all bodies with the same material, and allow this entity to be a weapon in your arsenal.

    Take the simplest Water Dao for instance. In the beginning, one could manipte water for both offensive and defensive techniques, and afterwards, one could then alter its state and turn it into either mist or ice. Ice could be used as a sword, while mist could be used to confuse opponents.

    Everything was rooted to a single word - existence.

    Nothing in this world can changepletely from a state of non-existence to a state of existence. No one can conjure gems and treasures from thin air.

    Furthermore, existence came in different forms. For example, existence in the Small Dimension was considered as such. Projecting the water from the Small Dimension into the real world and channeling the Origin Energy could allow the water to have a temporary existence in the real world.

    This was an offensive technique of the Dao of All Creation.

    For every entity that is projected from the Small Dimension into the real world after both realms be connected, the Origin Energy is used as a pir to support their ephemeral existence outside and bnce out their strengths and weaknesses.

    But right before his eyes ... Third Elder was about to dispel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s previous conceptions.

    "Creating yellow sand from the cracks? Where did all this yellow sande from? Did Third Elder prepare them beforehand, or did he shift it from somewhere else?" These questions ran through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled Prince Li of the First Rank using the clouds of the natural world to strengthen his attacks during the battle of the me Capital City. Third Elder¡¯s move seemed to stem from the same principles, but they differed from Prince Li¡¯s attack in terms of technique and skill.

    The world is truly a fascinating ce!

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed in awe. Shortly after, he prepared to strike as well. After all, no matter what Third Elder¡¯s technique was, he wasn¡¯t bothered too much since Third Elder could not retaliate for the next two moves.

    He sprinted forward. However ... just as Fang Zhengzhi took a single step into the falling yellow sand, his body sank. He seemed to be stepping on air.

    "The Qian Kun Eight Wastnds!" Third Elder¡¯s voice boomed.

    Following that, a massive suction force generated beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet. The falling yellow sand swirled incessantly, creating a vortex almost akin to quicksand.

    And that was not all.

    Just as the vortex formed, mountains of sand dunes piled up, along with cracked sand walls weathered and battered with the merciless winds.

    A wastnd. An area void of life. No man¡¯snd.

    Yet, a forbidden area such as this has appeared around Third Elder, within the Heaven Academic Altar constructed from white jade.

    A drop of cold sweat trickled down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. He looked down at the swirling vortex of yellow sand, hesitating to spew out "Your mom¡¯s a bitch!".

    Did he push it too far?

    How could he close in like this?!

    "Old man, aren¡¯t you flouting the rules?! Didn¡¯t you promise not to retaliate for the first five moves?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t care less about showing due respect to his elders.

    He had to let Third Elder know that going against his word was not an option!

    One can be shameless, but not to this extent, Furthermore, there were the emperors of the four empires and all the Heaven Dao disciples watching him.

    This was his speciality after all.

    "Cut the crap. I did not break the rules!" Third Elder looked at the immobilized Fang Zhengzhi, cracking a sly smile on his face drenched with sweat. But very quickly, his expression was overwritten by one of excruciating pain, causing his face to distort frighteningly.

 Chapter 656 Moon From The Seabed, Destruction to Both Sides

    "You are not breaking the rules? Are you sure?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the swirling vortexes of sand on the ground as he said. If not for the fact that hended on one of them, he would have believed it.

    "Of course, I mentioned that I will give you five chances to attack. However, I did not say that I would be an unmoving target. The Qian Kun Eight Wastnds is only one of my defensive techniques. If you stand outside the area of the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, you naturally would not be affected by it and can attack as you wish!" The Third Elder gritted his teeth as he was assaulted by the pain searing through his body. He attempted to portray a rxed demeanor.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse at his words.

    He had reasons to do so. By casting a Qian Kun Eight Wastnd around him, the Third Elder had sealed off all possibilities of anyoneing into close proximity to him.

    He was indeed a veteran...

    And he was obviously not giving any chances.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood right outside the boundaries of the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds as he stared at the swirling sands. He then cast his nce back at the Third Elder, who was around ten steps away and fell into a deep thought.

    "It seems like this guy is out of options!"

    "How could he have any other options? However, he should be proud that the Third Elder has to use the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds against him!"

    "Yes, he already looks slightly intimidated. I¡¯m afraid he has no idea about the true strength of the Third Elder. Attaining the Saint State with both his Dao is not something a normal Saint State individual canpare to!"

    The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion stared at the unmoving Fang Zhengzhi with a smirk on their faces.

    The other candidates standing behind the Third Elder then exchanged nces. They were clearly surprised.

    "So the Third Elder has actually attained the Saint State in both Daos?"

    "It is no wonder he is an elder of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. I wonder if this fake Kong Qing senior has any more tricks up his sleeves?"

    "If one cannot get close, it might be extremely difficult to hit the Third Elder. After all, there is a huge difference between the Supernatural State and the Saint State!"

    The candidates all shook their heads.

    Qian Wu also stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a cold gaze as he smirked. He

    If not for the fact that he was in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion and needed to conserve his energy for the third stage of the examination, he would have attacked Fang Zhengzhi straight away.

    As for Yan Qing, he seemed interested in seeing how the conflict would unfold, especially how Fang Zhengzhi was going to get around the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds of the Third Elder.

    "Yan Xiu, although I know that it isn¡¯t him, he looks strangely familiar!" Nangong Mu whispered after staring at Fang Zhengzhi for a long time. He then continued, "I remember seeing the exact same back view when he is fighting against the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Army, Ying Shan!"

    "Hm, I feel that it is simr as well!" Yan Xiu nodded his head lightly.

    "A person can change his appearance and presence easily. However, it is difficult to change the way he looks from the back!" Nangong Mu said in confidence.

    "But... Heavenly Dao? Rebirth State? This..." A faint crimson light appeared in Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes as he said. At the same time, he subconsciously clenched his fist.

    "This is not possible. How could there be such a huge improvement after merely two months?" Nangong Mu shook his head after hearing Yan Xiu¡¯s words.

    Yan Xiu stopped speaking as the faint crimson light in his eyes grew brighter, eventually shining like two brilliant ruby crystals.

    Quickly, 15 minutes have passed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still staring at the Qian Kun Eight Wastnd while he stood in silence.

    The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion then stared at him mockingly. They had assumed that Fang Zhengzhi waspletely out of options.

    Even the four Majesties of the different countries also shook their heads.

    "This guy is indeed talented. However, he still has not attained the state required to aplish this feat. I¡¯m afraid he needs more time before he can shine!"

    "It is alreadymendable to force the Third Elder to use this skill. s, if he could practice or a few more years, he might be a powerful individual. It is a waste that he is going to lose his life today."

    "There is no helping it. The world has nock of talents..."

    They sighed regretfully after speaking those words. That was because they knew very well that the Heavenly Dao Pavilion would not let Fang Zhengzhi leave the ce.

    He might not even live.

    After all, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion would not ignore the blow the Third Elder received just for a talent with good potential.

    The only way Fang Zhengzhi could live was to defeat the Third Elder.

    However, how could one get past this difference in power?

    Two moves?

    It was preposterous to even think about defeating the Third Elder with just two moves at such a distance.

    The moment thest two moves were used up, one could imagine just how ferocious the Third Elder would be. On the premise that Fang Zhengzhi had nowhere to escape to, the battle was set in stone.

    The mountain breeze blew.

    The pristine white schrly robes on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body fluttered amongst the wind.

    After another 15 minutes, when everyone already lost hope in Fang Zhengzhi, he slowly opened his eyes.

    Following which, he stepped into the vicinity of the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds.

    "He walked inside?"

    "Is he mad?"

    "Is he trying to test out just how strong the Third Elder¡¯s Qian Kun Eight Wastnds is?"

    "If that is indeed the case, this guy is really too na?ve. Doesn¡¯t he know that the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds is the materialization of when one reached the epitome of Dao?"

    All the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples widened their eyes at this sight. They had never expected Fang Zhengzhi to walk into the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds directly.

    Apart from the disciples of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, the Fifth Elder, the candidates, the four Majesties and Mu Qingfeng also did not expect this.

    Even the Third Elder was also startled at this action.

    However, a smile quickly appeared on the Third Elder¡¯s face. That was because Fang Zhengzhi had already started sinking into the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds.

    Furthermore, he was sinking in extremely fast.

    The glowing yellow sand started churning the moment Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the area. They churned violently, quickly turning into a ferocious vortex.

    The centrifugal force from the vortex was drawing Fang Zhengzhi in rapidly.

    It took only a few blinks of the eye for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lower body to be consumed by the churning sand. The yellow sand was now at his waist area.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not give up.

    He seemed to be muttering something rapidly under his breath as he struggled. His hands iled around as he sunk deeper into the sand, as though trying to push himself out from the churning sand.

    Though his efforts seemed to be futile.

    As Fang Zhengzhi continued to struggle, he sunk deeper into the sand. It merely took a few seconds before only his head and neck was left above the ground.

    "You brat, you cannot me me for this," The Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was about to be consumed by the sand as he smirked, "Show your true identity and I might let you die a painless death!"

    "How na?ve!" Fang Zhengzhi stuck one of his hands out from the sand and pointed a middle finger at the Third Elder as his response to his statement.

    "You are a stubborn one!" The Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s determined expression and let down his guard. However, the pain from his previous injury made him aware of the situation once again.

    It was an indescribable pain.

    A pain that Fang Zhengzhi had dealt.

    The Third Elder bit his lips and eventually came to a decision. The moment Fang Zhengzhi waspletely consumed by the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, he would be in control of his fate.

    "You broke the rules! If not for that, there was no way that I would have lost!" Fang Zhengzhi was clearly upset, though it merely took seconds before he was unable to speak anymore.

    He hadpletely sunk into the sand.

    The yellow sand continued to churn in the ferocious vortex, pivoting at the point where Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared.

    "Is he dead?"

    "I don¡¯t think so, however, I¡¯m certain that the fake Kong Qing senior will not be able to move anymore!"

    "Reaching the Saint State in both Daos is truly something!"

    The candidates stared at the spot where Fang Zhengzhi disappeared as they discussed how the battle would unfold.

    On the other hand, the surrounding Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples startedughing.

    If one was trapped in the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, even a Saint State individual would not be able to escape, much less a person who was merely of the Rebirth State.

    Was he dead?

    What difference does it make?

    "Yan Xiu, what should we do?" Nangong Mu said in apprehension. He stared at the spot where Fang Zhengzhi disappeared with a worried expression.

    "I have to save him!" Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes sparkled with a crimson brilliance as he said.

    "If you act now, it will be akin to losing your chance at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Examination, you might even... what if he isn¡¯t..."

    "What do you think the chances are?"

    "Only 10 percent, apart from the back view, everything else..."

    Swoosh!

    Just when Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu was talking, a shadow sprung out from within the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds. It was extremely fast and strategically appeared right behind the Third Elder.

    "He escaped from the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds?"

    "How could this be?"

    "That is the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, a defensive spellid out by the Third Elder. How did he do it?"

    The Heavenly Pavilion disciples were powerful individuals as well. They naturally noticed the person that sprung out from the churning sands immediately and most of them could not believe their eyes.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    A face that was exactly the same as Kong Qing as his pristine white schr robe was now tainted with fine yellow sand. His eyes glimmered with a sapphire brilliance.

    "So that is how it is!" The Third Elder seemed only slightly surprised before recollecting himself.

    He naturally did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would allow himself to be consumed by the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds just like that.

    He confirmed his suspicions when Fang Zhengzhi tried to disy his helplessness. He merely wanted to see what Fang Zhengzhi was nning.

    So he made use of the Heaven Dao to force his way through the surging sands of the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds?

    That is some tactics!

    The Third Elder knew very well that this battle style would bring destruction to both parties.

    He allowed himself to first be consumed into the surging sand stream to lower his opponent¡¯s guard. Following which, he made use of the Heaven Dao to maneuver himself within the sand to conduct an ambush attack.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi would be trapped within the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, he could still adeptly use his Heaven Dao to move within that area.

    As long as his ambush was sessful...

    The Qian Kun Eight Wastnds would be dispelled.

    It was undeniable that this was a risky n. However, it was a good one at that. Fang Zhengzhi managed to make full use of the Heaven Da within the Six Daos to aplish this feat.

    However...

    Could the same tactics seed twice?

    "Moon From The Seabed!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rose behind the Third Elder and shook the entire Heavenly Dao Pavilion and the hearts of the disciples.

    "Moon From The Seabed?"

    "Is this any different from monkey stealing peaches?"

    "Thisd is truly shameless. He intends to use the same skill twice? Is he trying to make me feel more pain?"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples shuddered in fear upon hearing those words.

    The Third Elder, on the other hand, seemed to be reminded of a painful past and his face immediately sunk.

    "Once more?" The Third Elder had the urge to push Fang Zhengzhi back into the surging sands with one attack, though he managed to contain himself in the end.

    Two moves. He merely had to hold his anger in for two more moves before he could attack.

    He did not use his hands to defend against this attack likest time. This was because he could not be sure which part of his body was Fang Zhengzhi aiming at this time around.

    The Third Elder moved. The moment Fang Zhengzhi charged forward, he also charged forward without hesitation, his trembling legs barely supporting his body.

    The Third Elder seemed unaffected by the surging sands at all. He skidded lightly on top of the surging sand as though he was stepping on the t ground.

    At the same time, the Third Elder turned around and shot a yful nce at Fang Zhengzhi before sneering, "Youngd, you have used your fourth move, you have onest one left!"

    "You shall not escape!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression seemed to be frozen in time as well. It seemed as though the Third Elder escaping was something out of his expectation. He probably thought that the Third Elder would retaliate instead.

    Following which, another sapphire light lit up.

    The next moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi once again appeared in front of the Third Elder as the sapphire brilliance surged within his eyes. He seemed extremely anxious.

    "Youngd, think carefully! This is yourst chance!" The Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was charging at him at breakneck speed, as he said. He continued to retreat as he reminded him of his precarious position.

 Chapter 657 The Legendary Sixth Move Makes an Appearance

    "Thest chance?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped in his tracks upon hearing those words. His palms stopped right in the middle of his attack.

    "Haha..." The Third Elderughed.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi stopped, The Third Elder chuckled. Despite the fact that he was feeling extreme pain, he could not contain the satisfaction he felt.

    "How cunning!" Fang Zhengzhi finally reacted to the situation. However, he was toote. The Third Elder had already taken this chance to retreat another five steps.

    The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion also chuckled at this scene.

    They naturally noticed that the Third Elder was merely saying those words to create chances for his escape. He could not have been reminding Fang Zhengzhi about his chances at this crucial moment.

    This way...

    The chance that Fang Zhengzhi painstakingly created was now down the drain. Furthermore, he seemed to be more helpless than ever.

    This was because the Third Elder had already figured out Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    Apart from that, Fang Zhengzhi had even got himself trapped in the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds. Even though he could move freely around within the area, he could not escape from it entirely.

    "Youngd, what are you going to do for thest move?" The Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was gradually getting consumed by the surging sands as he smirked.

    As an elder of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, he could not lose hisposure in a battle like this. However, when he noticed the look of anxiousness on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, he could not help but feel extreme satisfaction.

    A simr smirk appeared on the face of the Fifth Elder as he watched from afar. He knew that the battle was already over.

    A distance five steps away with Fang Zhengzhi trapped within the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds. Even Fang Zhengzhi was of the Saint State, it would be difficult to turn the tables around.

    "Make preparations. The third stage of the examination will be held in the Heaven Academic Altar!" The Fifth Elder then turned to look at the candidates as he said.

    "Yes!" The candidates replied in unison upon hearing the Fifth Elder¡¯s words. They then looked at Fang Zhengzhi once again with a hint of pity.

    They had to give Fang Zhengzhi credit.

    However, this was the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    How could someone without any background and identity, despite his talent, create any waves in this revered institution?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was facing against the Third Elder, a person who had achieved the Saint State in both his Daos. The battle was decided even before it began.

    No one thought that Fang Zhengzhi had a chance to win this battle anymore.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still made his move. Despite knowing that the chances were slim, he radiated immense brilliance and glory.

    Nine pirs of azure blue light appeared above the Third Elder. It was a crystal clear brilliance, untainted by even a speck of dust.

    The Third Elder lifted his head slightly and stared at the nine pirs of light above him. His face then turned serious.

    Apart from the Third Elder, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples also widened their eyes in shock.

    They naturally knew what the nine pirs of blue light stood for. However, they had never expected Fang Zhengzhi to be this powerful.

    "Is this the Heavenly Descent? The Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent?"

    "I didn¡¯t think that this guy can control the Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent. Just how much power source does he possess?"

    "If he is not someone from the other four factions, perhaps..."

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples stared at the pirs of light above the Third Elder. They would be lying to say that they were no in awe.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi made his move.

    He disappeared from his original position and appeared within a pir of light the next moment.

    "Youngd, I will test and see how strong you truly are!" The Third Elder stared at the figure above him and said in excitement.

    He did not attempt to retreat this time around. Instead, he threw a punch right towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! A loud explosion sound could be heard.

    It was the sound of the two fists colliding. At the same time, the surging yellow sand rose from the ground, turning into a giant whirlwind, covering the Third Elder¡¯s body entirely.

    "One more time!" The Third Elder¡¯s voice rose amongst the whirling sand.

    Following which, a second collision sound could be heard. The ground trembled as a huge shockwave spread through the entire area.

    "So powerful!"

    "Although this guy is shameless, he is indeed stronger than Kong Qing senior!"

    "Yes, apart from the elders and the grandmaster, I¡¯m afraid there are less than twenty people in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion that can defeat him! He can be said to possess immense talent!"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples watched the battle with anticipation and fervor. After all, battles of this intensity were rare even within the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    Boom! The third collision sound could be heard.

    Following which, the fourth, fifth and sixth sound could be heard.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Each collision caused the ground to tremble violently as more sand was flung into the air. The entire Heaven Academic Altar was clouded by a veil of sand, and one could only see the faint glow of an azure blue light amidst the visual obstructions.

    Yan Xiu clenched his fist tightly as his eyes glowed with a crimson brilliance. It was cold and shone with a murderous intent.

    "Wait a minute, Yan Xiu!" Nangong Mu seemed to have noticed the changes in Yan Xiu¡¯s emotions and immediately ced his hands on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulders.

    "Hm," Yan Xiu nodded slightly. However, the crimson brilliance in his eyes did not seem to be diminishing. In fact, it shone with greater intensity as time passed.

    Boom! When the ninth collision sound was heard...

    The center of the Heaven Academic Altar waspletely covered in yellow sand. There was also a five-yard tall sand tornado in the middle spinning at top speed.

    The sand had blocked out most of the sunlight, making the lighting within the Heaven Academic Altar dim.

    However, no one dared to make any noise. Everyone had their gazes glued onto the giant tornado, watching it dissipate slowly.

    The wind gradually came to a stop as a ray of sunlight gleamed through the thick veil of sand, making them glisten like tiny crystals in the air.

    Finally...

    It came to aplete stop.

    The Heaven Academic Altar was illuminated once again and the ground stopped trembling.

    Two figures appeared.

    A white robbed seemed to be tattered. One could also see several wounds beneath the torn fabric. It was clear that the Third Elder was not in a good shape.

    However, he still had a smile on his face.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi, who was five steps away from him, was in a worse shape. He waspletely pale and had a disheveled look. He was also panting profusely and looked as if he had used everyst bit of his energy.

    "Youngd, do you still have anyst words?" The Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was sinking deeper into the swirling sands. His tone was extremely calm.

    "Can you let me down the mountain?" Fang Zhengzhi asked without hesitation.

    "You are being too optimistic, though I will still promise you that. However, you will not be descending the mountain alive!" The moment he said those words, he also took action.

    It was like a sh of light.

    A yellow light.

    More specifically, it seemed like a sword, a sword that was formed from an attack with breakneck speed. The tip of the sword was formed from two fingers sped tightly together.

    A finger sword attack!

    It was nothing too fancy. This was merely an amalgamation of speed and power. Furthermore, it was an attack that aimed straight at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    Fang Zhengzhi wished to escape, though he could no longer do so.

    That was because he had no more energy to use the Heaven Dao. Furthermore, his legs were already trapped within the swirling sands. How then, could he escape?

    Without any surprises, the finger sword attack pierced into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest. Only the Third Elder¡¯s arm could be seen outside of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "I finally won!"

    Cheers quickly rang across the Heaven Academic Altar. This was because all the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples knew that the battle was over. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart was punctured directly by the finger sword attack. There was no way he could have survived that.

    The four Majesties also fell silent.

    Were they depressed? Not exactly. However, there were also not exceptionally impressed or ted. After all, this battle should have ended a long time ago given the strength of the Third Elder.

    The yellow brilliance swiftly returned back to its original position, resuming the form of the Third Elder. He still had a faint smile on his face.

    However, this smile did notst long.

    This was because no blood could be seen spouting out of the wound he had just dealt. Furthermore, he did not feel the sensation of raw flesh when he pierced Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "Something¡¯s not right!" At that moment, a voice rang. It was Mu Qingfeng, who had stayed silent while sitting on his white hade chair the entire time.

    At the moment when Mu Qingfeng spoke...

    The Third Elder seemed to have reacted to the situation as well. However, he could not fathom why his attack did not damage Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "Could it be..." The Third Elder¡¯s face sunk. His instinct was telling him to move away from his original position immediately. However, just when he took his first step backward...

    He tripped!

    It was as though he had stepped into nothingness.

    Following which, a strong suction force appeared from the ground. Countless sand particles swirled around him. It was as though the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds was devouring him.

    This was something the Third Elder had never expected.

    After all, he was the owner of the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds. How could it then turn its back against him? This was something that defied logic.

    However, he had truly lost his bnce. Furthermore, just after he lost his bnce, he felt sharp pain seared through his other leg. He could not help but lift it ever so slightly.

    "Third brother, behind you!" At that moment, the Fifth Elder¡¯s voice rang. He sounded extremely concerned and anxious.

    "What?" The Third Elder shuddered upon hearing those words. Following which, an inexplicable chill shot through his entire body.

 Chapter 658 Crippled

    The Third Elder tried to dodge the attack subconsciously. However, it was toote.

    A sharp pain shot through his entire body following that chill he felt. It was a familiar feeling, though it was a lot more intense than the previous one that he felt.

    Crack! Something seemed to be broken.

    The Third Elder had no idea which part of his body was damaged. He merely felt that he no longer had control over his own body.

    It was an extreme pain, to the point where numbness was all he felt.

    However, the psychological impact and shame that he felt could not be anaesthetized. Two lines of tears flowed down along his pale wrinkled cheeks and dripped into the surging sands.

    It was already a tragedy to experience such pain once in a lifetime. When the second attack with more force was dealt to the same sensitive area, anyone would crumble immediately.

    The Third Elder was close to a breakdown. He had never imagined that he would experience such pain again for the second time.

    Furthermore...

    It was merely a bit over half an hour after the previous impact.

    The old wounds had yet to heal.

    Boom! A loud explosion sound could be heard.

    The Third Elder¡¯s body flew into the air uncontrobly under the huge impact. He reached a height of about three feet.

    At that instant, the Third Elder¡¯s mind waspletely nk. He had already lost his cognitive abilities and could only stare at the ground with a pair of soulless eyes.

    A dark world.

    He saw countless dumbfounded expressions. These included the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples, the four Majesties, the candidates, the Fifth Elder, and the Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng...

    Boom! The Third Elder smashed right onto the ground. Given his prowess, he would not lose consciousness simply from one attack. However, he had lost all will to fight.

    He allowed his body to il helplessly on the ground.

    That was because he could not ept this turn of events.

    How could he?

    No one could possess that much willpower. This was no longer a question about raw power, but one of shame and dignity.

    He could simply say that he was letting his guard down when he was dealt the first blow. He could have been ambushed or looking down on his opponent. There were many excuses.

    But what about the second time?

    What excuse can he make?

    Why did this happen?

    The Third Elder could not understand. He had survived the five blows and calcted everything precisely. This should not have happened, but it did.

    Most importantly...

    Why did he have to go through such humiliation and pain again?

    The Third Elder had had a normal life. His life was not particrly smooth sailing, nor was it filled with vicissitudes every step of the way. He had experienced times of glory and also learned to be humble in times when he failed.

    However, what happened today was something he cannot bring himself to ept.

    This was because he no longer wished to live. When one lost thest bit of dignity that one had, it would be pointless to carry on with life.

    As a revered elder of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, he had been done in by the same technique twice in a row...

    How could he still stand up righteously and curse murderously at Fang Zhengzhi?

    He could not do it.

    Silence. There wasplete silence.

    All the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples witnessed this scene, though they could not fathom how it happened.

    The Third Elder had clearly stabbed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    However, why would Fang Zhengzhi be unscathed? Instead, he emerged from the surging sands the moment the Third Elder attacked. Was it an illusion?

    No!

    It was not an illusion!

    It was a Heavenly Descent!

    The Tenth Heavenly Descent. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fifth move was not simply Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent, but a terrifying ten.

    "How can this be? How did he do this?"

    "It is already terrifying enough to use Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent at once, how about ten? Just how much power source does this youngd possess?"

    "Ten Pirs of Heavenly Descent. He even ced one five feet away in anticipation. Did he really calcte all this right from the start?"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples were in shock at this scene. They were even more surprised that Fang Zhengzhi could disy such prowess right in front of them.

    However, there was one thing they could not understand...

    Why would the Third Elder be interrupted by the surging sands? If he was not distracted by the sand and lost his bnce, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack would not have seeded.

    Just how did Fang Zhengzhi control the sand? That was the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, a field set up especially by the Third Elder. How could he control it?

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples could not understand it.

    However, they had no time to consider this problem. That was because Fang Zhengzhi had already moved. The moment the Third Eldernded on the ground, he followed up with another attack.

    He was like a shooting star, stepping on the swirling sands as though he was on t, solid ground, cruising through its violent waves.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was pointing his two fingers forward as well.

    Sword gesture!

    It was the exact same technique as the one the Third Elder used. However, Fang Zhengzhi had made use of the Heaven Dao instead. His speed wasparable to that of the Third Elder.

    "No, Third Elder, be careful!"

    "Third Elder!"

    "Youngd, stop right there!"

    The previous time, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples were not worried when the Third Elder fell onto the ground. However, they could not help but worry this time around.

    That was because...

    The Third Elder¡¯s face deathly pale. There was not as much of a fluctuation of energy around his body. He had given up.

    "I will take you when you are down!" Fang Zhengzhi could have cared less about the Third Elder¡¯s current state. He knew that if he did not act now, he would suffer a horrible death.

    After all, the Third Elder did not leave him any chances when he supposedly pierced his heart.

    He had to cripple him!

    Fang Zhengzhi would not allow the Third Elder to get back on his feet. At the very least, he had to make sure he was crippled for half a month to ensure his own safety.

    He was getting close!

    Fang Zhengzhi carried on forward at full speed, taking aim at the area right above the Third Elder¡¯s chest. This could seal off the power within the small dimension of the Third Elder.

    However, just when his attack was around an inch away from the Third Elder¡¯s chest, his body came to a halt.

    This naturally was not a conscious effort on his part.

    This was because his legs were dragged down by a powerful force. He looked down and noticed a giant thorn vine entangled around his legs.

    "Hm?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Third Elder, who was right in front of him, and noticed that he was still pale and dejected.

    Was third elder not the one?

    That means...

    Not good!

    Fang Zhengzhi was just about to dodge, though he was toote. A powerful force had already arrived behind him, surging with malicious intent.

    "An ambush?" Fang Zhengzhi finally reacted to the situation, though it was all toote. After all, this force was too powerful and fast.

    He had no choice!

    Fang Zhengzhi then unleashed all his power and forced himself forward. He was able to move an inch even under the constriction of the thorn vines.

    The finger sword pierced through the Third Elder¡¯s heart.

    However, the terrifying force had also arrived. It crashed onto him like a tsunami wave, crushing his innards with its tremendous pressure.

    Boom! A dull sound reverberated through the area.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was pressed down by a giant mountain. He could hear the crisp sound of his bones breaking.

    Crack!

    Spurt!

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi and the Third Elder spurted a mouthful of blood into the air. Following which, their bodies flew across the Heaven Academic Altar.

    Fang Zhengzhi collided with a white jade pir in the middle of the Heaven Academic Altar. The impact was so great that the pir was smashed to smithereens immediately.

    The Third Elder¡¯s body hung in mid-air as a few crystal clear vines held his body in ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt an uneasy force in his chest and spit another mouthful of blood uncontrobly. His face also paled in difort.

    All of a sudden, the entire Heavenly Dao Pavilion was enveloped in silence once again.

    However, this silence was different from the one previously. This silence was not borne from awe. Instead, it was due to the shock they received from witnessing this scene.

    All of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples cast their gaze to a spot in the middle of the Heaven Academic Altar. It was the area where Fang Zhengzhi and the Third Elder were at before they were blown away.

    At that spot...

    A figure stood.

    His pristine white robe fluttered amongst the swirling yellow sand.

    On his forehead, an emerald character was radiating a brilliant glow. It was an extremelyplicated character surrounded by thorn vines.

    "It is the Fifth Elder!"

    "Did the Fifth Elder just conduct a sneak attack?"

    "This... the Fifth Elder..."

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples were still reeling in from the shock of the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the Third Elder when they witnessed yet another preposterous scene.

    They werepletely dumbfounded.

    They naturally noticed the dire situation previously and understood the danger the Third Eder was in. However, when the Fifth Elder made his move, a sneak attack at that, they were still in disbelief.

    Not only were the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples in shock...

    The candidates who were standing behind the Fifth Elder also could not believe their eyes. Even though this was the Heavenly Dao Pavilion and the Third Elder¡¯s life was at stake...

    They could not react in time to the Fifth Elder¡¯s actions.

    "This is an extremely weighted attack!" The four Majesties widened their eyes as they stared at the Fifth Elder. They then exchanged nces.

    No one dared to speak in this situation. However, they all shook their heads lightly in this scene.

 Chapter 659 The Survival of The Fittes

    "Fifth Elder, you..." The Third Elder was obviously in pain as he said those words. His facial features were contorted as he tried to struggle out of the vines holding him in ce.

    He then dropped onto the ground with a loud thud.

    "Third brother, I know what you want to say. However, I can no longer watch as you get humiliated by this brat. Even if it costs my title, I will make sure he dies!" The Fifth Elder stared at the fallen Third Elder as he said.

    After speaking, he cast his gaze at the Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng, who was sitting on directly beneath the stone tablet within the Heaven Academic Altar. He then knelt down on one knee.

    A series of sighs echoed through the room.

    Mu Qingfeng swept his nce across the four Majesties and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples before fixing his gaze upon the Fifth Elder.

    "Fifth Elder, are you really do this?"

    "Please ept my decision!" The Fifth Elder nodded as he said.

    "Alright then. From now, you will be stripped of your status as the Fifth Elder and rendered as an ordinary disciple. You will guard the Heaven Dao tablet for ten years as punishment!" Mu Qingfeng said after staring hard into the eyes of the Fifth Elder.

    "I thank the Pavilion Leader for his graciousness. I, Li Lingyu, will follow your orders!" The Fifth Elder bowed slightly towards Mu Qingfeng before he stood up.

    The surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the four Majesties also cast their nce at the Fifth Elder as no one spoke.

    A sneak attack.

    No one had any qualms about Mu Qingfeng¡¯s decision. After all, being stripped of the title and ten years of guarding the Heaven Dao tablet was a fitting punishment.

    When the Fifth Elder stood up. His gaze once again fell onto Fang Zhengzhi. His white robe fluttered menacingly even without the aid of the wind as he eyes shone with a ded resolve.

    "Youngd, you should feel honored that I am giving up my title in exchange for your life!" The Fifth Elder slowly walked towards Fang Zhengzhi after he said those words.

    "Honored?" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the iing Fifth Elder and naturally understood his intentions.

    Just how important and precious was the title of a Heaven Dao Pavilion Elder?

    The Fifth Elder simply made a sneak attack. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was someone of no importance and background.

    To be demoted to an ordinary disciple after such a small mistake was truly a testament to the strict discipline elders in the Heaven Dao Pavilion had to follow.

    Should Fang Zhengzhi then really feel honored?

    All of a sudden, Fang Zhengzhi startedughing. He nced around him and stared into the countless indignant gazes from the disciples. He also stared into the calm faces of Mu Qingfeng and the four Majesties.

    The survival of the fittest?

    It seemed like the Sage Realm yed by the same rules as the Empires.

    It was survival of the fittest through and through.

    However, the empire ced more emphasis on identity, background, and factions, while within the Sage Realm, more emphasis was ced on individual worth. One could have a strong identity in the Sage Realm, though your potential and prowess often yed a more important role.

    "It seems like I will not be walking out of the Heavenly Pavilion today?" Fang Zhengzhi slowly rose from the ground and wiped the blood at the sides of his mouth, revealing a radiant smile.

    "That¡¯s right!" The Fifth Elder nodded his head and cast his nce on Fang Zhengzhi while the character on his forehead glowed brighter.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else, nor did he care about the gazes around him. Nothing mattered now.

    "Die!" The Fifth Elder moved as he said.

    The emerald brilliance flowed from his body and turned into countless thorn vines. It went straight towards Fang Zhengzhi with lightning speed.

    However, the moment Fifth Elderunched his attack...

    A crimson brilliance appeared behind him. It had a cold and chilling presence that reminded one of the abysses. Even the air became exceptionally cold.

    "Hm?" The Fifth Elder stopped in his tracks as a hint of surprise shed through his eyes. However, he reacted quickly and send his palm flying in that direction immediately.

    Boom! A loud explosion could be heard.

    Following which, a figure flew backward. Countless crimson crystal-like objects shattered in the air, raining down in the Heaven Academic Altar.

    "Yan Xiu?"

    "Why would he attack the Fifth Elder?"

    "What is going on?"

    If the Fifth Elder had attacked Fang Zhengzhi, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could understand Yan Xiu¡¯s actions. However, Yan Xiu seemed to be attacking the Fifth Elder without any reason. This was preposterous.

    The reason?

    Why was Yan Xiu doing this?

    Not only could the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples not understand this, even the candidates, who took part in this examination together with him, was confounded. They stared at Yan Xiu, who had taken five steps backward in disbelief.

    "Yan Xiu, what are you doing?" Lin Mubai swiftly stood up as he said. Apart from being surprised, he was also perplexed.

    As the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    He knew that Yan Xiu was not a rash person. If one were to say Yan Xiu acted on grounds of justice and fairness, it would be a stretch, After all, this ce is the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    And Yan Xiu was currently taking part in its examination.

    "Yan Xiu?" The Fifth Elder also turned to stare at the figure behind him as he frowned and suppressed his urge to deal another blow. He then said, "Stand aside, this has nothing to do with you!"

    "I have to save him!" Yan Xiu¡¯s face disyed no emotions, though he seemed extremely determined. After stabilizing himself, he once again walked towards the Fifth Elder.

    "Save him?" The Fifth Elder frowned as he subconsciously stared at Fang Zhengzhi. Following which, he stared at Yan Xiu and said, "You know his true identity?"

    "I do not," Yan Xiu shook his head as he said.

    "You are protecting him even though you don¡¯t know who he is?" The Fifth Elder was startled at Yan Xiu¡¯s reply. He could not fathom his actions.

    "That¡¯s right," Yan Xiu nodded.

    "Give me a good reason," The Fifth Elder stared at Yan Xiu with a cold gaze.

    "He is very simr to a friend I have."

    Simr? How simr?"

    "His back view."

    "Simply the back view? Yan Xiu, you are now the revered Prince Yan of the Great Xia Dynasty, the ruler of an area. You should learn how to weigh the pros and cons of a situation. There are many people with simr back views in this world. Are you going to give up your chance at being a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple based on this alone?" The Fifth Elder said in an intrigued tone.

    "Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded once again.

    "Yan Xiu, you have to consider this properly. If you stand back now, I can still overlook your previous actions and allow you to enter the third stage of the examination!"

    "I have already made my decision. Even if the possibility is one in a million, I have to save him. That is because he is the most important friend I have in my life!" Yan Xiu stood still with his eyes glowing crimson red.

    Crimson ripples could be seen rising from the ground beneath his feet, enveloping his entire body in a bloody brilliance.

    "It¡¯s the Asura Dao!"

    "It seems like Yan Xiu is close to a breakthrough. He is just one step away!"

    "Although he has yet to achieve a breakthrough, his strength isparable to that of a Rebirth State individual in the middle stages of his development. He is only 18 years old this year!"

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion stared at this scene in awe. However, they still could not understand why Yan Xiu would go against the Fifth Elder simply based on a baseless assumption.

    Furthermore, he went as far as attacking the Fifth Elder.

    Was the one in a million possibility really more important than his chance of entering the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    A friend? Does such a friend really exist in the world?

    "Yan Xiu, do not act rashly. He is not Fang Zhengzhi. I have received news that Fang Zhengzhi was still in Northern Mountain Vige half a month ago. He could not have reached here on time. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi is only at the Supernatural State. You know that it is impossible to reach the Rebirth State and master the Heaven Dao in a span of only two months!" Lin Mubai said anxiously. He naturally knew the identity of this friend Yan Xiu was talking about.

    That was exactly why he would not allow Yan Xiu to make the Heaven Dao Pavilion his enemy for a person who could not be Fang Zhengzhi. This was so even if the Fifth Elder no longer held the elder position.

    This was because he was the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. He knew exactly how politics and power structure worked. Stripping of titles was always temporary.

    "He is right, I am not your friend. I do not recognize you at all, scram!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted as well.

    "I don¡¯t care who you are. My decision will not change!" Yan Xiu did not seem affected by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s denial. He acted as if he did not hear Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    "Are you mentally sound?" Fang Zhengzhi shouted quizzically.

    "I simply do not want to leave any regrets. He is my first friend and will be the most important friend in my entire life," Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi while deep in thought. He then continued, "My grandfather had once told me to make as many friends as possible. However, I feel that it would be sufficient to just have him in my life!"

    "One friend?"

    "One friend for a lifetime? What kind of reasoning is that?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples exchanged nces upon hearing those words. Their eyes were filled with confusion.

    Yan Xiupletely ignored themotion that he caused in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He continued, "He is the friend I am referring to. In fact, the both of you are quite simr. You are not big on details and would often deceive others. You are both stubborn and like to cause trouble for others."

    "But he has never deceived me, not even once. Even when I told him I am loaded on our first meeting!"

    "He loves money, but when we were at the Seven Stars Lane, I followed his bets and ced 50000 silver ingots on the seven stars. I know that if I have not ced my bets, the seven stars would not havee together!"

    "That time, I won."

    "I believed that he would lead me to victory. This time, I would also bet on his identity. Even if the chances are one in a million, I have to do so!"

    "Quoting my friend, I can let down anyone in the world but him!"

 Chapter 660 Explosion, Purple Light That Rise into the Horizon

    "I will let down anyone in the world but him!"

    Yan Xiu¡¯s voice echoed throughout the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    The disciples all fell silent upon hearing those words. They naturally knew what that sentence meant.

    But does such a friend truly exist?

    You would rather let down the entire world than that one person alone.

    Although they could not understand the type of friendship Yan Xiu spoke of, none of them spoke. They could see the determination in Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes.

    "Yan Xiu, you... why are you doing this?" Lin Mubai stared at Yan Xiu¡¯s determined face as he bit his lips in apprehension. He was extremely anxious yet helpless.

    "Your Majesty do not have to persuade me in any way. I have already made a decision. I will bet my life and future on this one in a million possibility. I will have to save him even if it costs me my life!" Yan Xiu spoke as his eyes sparkled even more brightly.

    At the same time, he brought out a silver fan lined with bloody red lines. Thework of red lines on the fan was extensive, making it look like a beautiful painting of nature.

    The fan was trembling ever so lightly.

    "Yan Xiu, are you sure about this?" The Fifth Elder cast his nce upon Yan Xiu¡¯s Silver Blood Fan as he frowned. He then clenched his fists tightly.

    "I have no regrets!" Yan Xiu shouted before he charged forward.

    He used his actions to tell everyone that his decision was final.

    He then swung his Silver Blood Fan.

    Nearly hundred bloody-red lines rose from the fan, forming a picturesque scene of nature in the air. Each of this red line was connected to the crimson brilliance around Yan Xiu.

    Boom!

    The beautiful scene then crashed down onto the ground, enveloping the Fifth Elder and Qian Kun Eight Wastnds within its field.

    The next moment, Yan Xiu arrived right in front of the Fifth Elder and plunged the Silver Blood Fan straight towards the Fifth Elder without hesitation.

    "How brazen of you!" The Fifth Elder¡¯s gaze became stone cold as he said. He naturally knew Yan Xiu¡¯s identity and tank in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    But that did not mean anything.

    Prince Yan of the Great Xia Dynasty was not a title that would strike fear into an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. In fact, it would not even catch his attention.

    Boom!

    Countless thorn vines emerged from the ground. Each of them had the width of a human¡¯s thigh. In an instant, the area within a five-foot radius around the Fifth Elder waspletely covered in thorny vines.

    The bloody-red line that was enveloping the Fifth Elder was started churning violently. The rivers and seas crashed as the mountains trembled, looking as if they would crumble anytime.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze remained determined.

    The crimson brilliance around him grew more intense, strengthening the threads connecting himself and the bloody-red lines.

    He was also using the Silver Blood Fan in his hands to sever the thorn vines in his way, swiftly narrowing the distance between the Fifth Elder and himself to merely a foot long.

    "The Asura Dao is truly an offensive one!" The Fifth Elder stared at Yan Xiu, who was using brute force to pave his way andmended. Following which, the character on his forehead glowed with a blinding brilliance as he said, "Enlightenment of Nature!"

    Boom!

    As the Fifth Elder¡¯s voice rose, an emerald brilliance surged from his body. When the light made contact with the broken thorn vines, the vines wriggled as though they just received a breath of life. They regenerated swiftly and entangled Yan Xiu within their grasp.

    The thorn vines pierced straight into Yan Xiu¡¯s body, causing his face to turn paler by the second.

    "Yan Xiu!" A voice shouted. Following which, a sapphire light emerged behind the Fifth Elder.

    "Two of you at once? That¡¯s exactly what I wanted!" The Fifth Elder was not surprised at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions. More thorn vines then appeared and charged straight towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, just when the thorn vines were heading for Fang Zhengzhi...

    A huge suction force appeared from beneath the Fifth Elder¡¯s feet. The dormant sand vortex had begun moving once again, swirling violently.

    The Fifth Elder then gave a serious and concerned expression.

    The same goes for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. They were dumbfounded and stared at the sight with their mouths agape.

    "Qian Kun Eight Wastnds, to think that..."

    "How could the Third Elder do this to the Fifth Elder?"

    "What is going on? Are you telling me that he..."

    All of them could not understand the situation. The Qian Kun Eight Wastnds was supposed to be controlled by the Third Elder. Why would it turn its back against the Fifth Elder now?

    However, it was definitely not the time to be concerned about this. This was because, at the moment when the Fifth Elder lost his bnce, Fang Zhengzhi had arrived behind him.

    "Hm! You have really mastered the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds I see!" The Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes turned emerald as he treated the battle more seriously. He had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi managed to control the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds.

    However, he had witnessed it firsthand when Fang Zhengzhi was fighting against the Third Elder.

    That was exactly why...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sneak attack on the Third Elder was a sess.

    How then, could the Fifth Elder not make any preparations for this? The moment he lost his bnce, a terrifying shockwave spread from his body, distorting the air around him.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi suffered the full blow of this powerful shockwave and waspletely blown away.

    On the other hand, Yan Xiu was held in ce by the thorn vines and suffered even greater damage from the attack. His face turned paler and vomited a mouthful of blood.

    Though he did not seem to care.

    Just like what he said, even if he only had a one in a million chance, he was willing to bet on it. He would naturally have no regrets.

    "Ah!" Yan Xiu gave a scream of despair. Following which, his body glowed in a crimson light and started ferociouslyshing at the thorn vines constricting his movements.

    ng! Sounds of crystals breaking echoed in the area, causing cracks to appear on the emerald vines.

    After a few moments, the vines finally shattered into countless emerald smithereens.

    "Yan Xiu! You are hopeless!" The Fifth Elder stared at the fanatical Yan Xiu as his white robes fluttered menacingly.

    He knew that there was no need for words at this point. It would not be possible for Yan Xiu would change his mind.

    "I will let down the entire world but him!" Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes glowed ferociously as a deste presence rose from his feet. It was as though ws from the abyss were reaching out to him, blessing him with their destructive powers.

    In just a few breathes, Yan Xiu¡¯s skin became bright red. Blood oozed out from the pores on his skin and integrated themselves together with the crimson brilliance.

    At the same time, an extremely painful expression appeared on his face. It was as though he was going through a tough torture session.

    "Yan Xiu, you are concerned about your friend Fang Zhengzhi. How do you think he will feel if he knew that you died in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Do you really want him to take revenge for you?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rose once again.

    "Taking revenge on Heaven Dao Pavilion, for me?" Yan Xiu¡¯s body shuddered as blood stopped oozing out from his body. He seemed to be hesitating.

    "That¡¯s right, why are you not willing to wait? The Emperor had made a good point. Fang Zhengzhi was still in the Northern Mountain Vige half a month ago. How could he have rushed here in time? For all you know, he could already be at the foot of this mountain!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at Yan Xiu¡¯s hesitant expression as he said.

    "Wait, the foot of the mountain?" Yan Xiu muttered those words as the crimson brilliance in his eyes wavered. His emotions seemed extremely unstable.

    "Yes, if you do not believe me, you can go and take a look. If Fang Zhengzhi knew that you have died here without a valid reason, how do you think he will feel? He only has a few months left in this world. Do you want him to spend the remaining time taking revenge for you?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "Taking revenge for me? No, he has many things to do. I cannot allow him to waste his time. I have to wait...no, you are wrong. He will definitelye to Heaven Dao Pavilion, he has made a promise. Furthermore, how do you know that he only has a few months left? You..." Yan Xiu¡¯s mind was in a whirl as the pain assaulting his body intensified. The crimson glow under his feet trembled violently.

    "Since you are so stubborn, die!" The Fifth Elder cast a cold nce at Yan Xiu before he charged forward. He was traveling at the speed of light.

    He naturally noticed that Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had the intention to coborate in this battle. One of them mastered the Asura Dao while the other had mastered the Heaven Dao. Even if he was the Fifth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it would be a challenge to face two such geniuses at once.

    This was especially so for Fang Zhengzhi, who was as cunning as a demon. He struck fear and uneasiness into this heart.

    When the Third Elder stepped forward, who would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi would win?

    This was impossible!

    But the Third Elder indeed lost. Furthermore, he lost shamefully, losing all his dignity in the process. The Fifth Elder was thus constantly on guard from Fang Zhengzhi. Who knew what other shameless tactics he would have up his sleeves?

    In that case...

    He had to first eliminate one of them.

    To prevent any idents from happening.

    Boom! His palmnded on Yan Xiu¡¯s body. This was already the most gentle strike the Fifth Elder could deliver. Even then, Yan Xiu¡¯s body shuddered violently upon impact.

    The brilliant crimson light enveloping his body seemed to have found an opening and rushed straight back into Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Yan Xiu then vomited another mouthful of blood. Together with the strands of red lines still hanging in the air, it looked exactly like a blood rain.

    "Yan Xiu!" A painful scream of despair echoed. Following which, a purple light rushed into the horizon. It was demonic and sinister at the same time.

 Chapter 661 Green Thorn Burial

    If the coldness one felt in the Heaven Academic Altar was borne of murderous intent, the atmosphere could be said to be extremely intense. It was almost tangible.

    The purple light rose to the horizon with wrathful murderous intent.

    A longsword seemed to be hiding within the purple pir of light. It waspletely enveloped as the purple light swirled around its de.

    The sword name was...

    Traceless!

    "It¡¯s the Traceless Sword?" Lin Mubai shuddered upon seeing that sword. He looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

    This did not only apply to Lin Mubai.

    Prince Xian Lin Yun and the other three Majesties also stood up immediately as they stared at the sword.

    They naturally knew about the legendary sword of the Great Xia Dynasty. The sword that belonged to the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, drawn from the World of the Sages by Fang Zhengzhi. The Traceless Sword!

    "Is this the Traceless Sword?"

    "It ispletely purple in color and extremely sharp. It is indeed the Traceless Sword!"

    "However, what¡¯s with this murderous intent? From what I understand, the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is not a person who is fond of killing. He is an extremely peaceful person. Why then, would this sword be filled with so much wrath?"

    The three other Majesties exchanged nces and recognized the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Their words were naturally heard by the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples. They then cast their gazes in unison towards the Traceless Sword.

    "Traceless Sword? Is that the sword¡¯s name? Then wouldn¡¯t it mean..."

    "Yes, he is Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "What? He really is Fang Zhengzhi? Are you telling me Yan Xiu was right all along?"

    "It cannot be wrong. I have heard that after Fang Zhengzhi wielded the Traceless Sword, no one else was able to bring forth its power!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi? Are you telling me he is the youngest Prince with a differentst name in the Great Xia Dynasty? Shouldn¡¯t he only be at the Rebirth State?"

    All the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples were clearly shocked.

    Qian Wu, who was looking from afar, suddenly clenched his fist as his face sunk. He muttered, ¡¯Traceless Sword? Fang Zhengzhi! It really is you!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi... it really is him. Yan Xiu... he was right!" Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as he gasped.

    "Has he already reached the Rebirth State? That is indeed fast..." A person with simr features as Nangong Mu muttered after staring at the Traceless Sword.

    "You are Fang Zhengzhi?" The Fifth Elder stared at the figure within the pir of purple light in disbelief as he said.

    Swish!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer the Fifth Elder. However, an emerald light emerged from his body as started shredding the pristine white robe on his body into pieces.

    His face mask was also shredded together with his robe.

    A young and clean face was then revealed. However, it bore no resemnce to the usual smile Fang Zhengzhi carried, only a murderous expression was left.

    "It¡¯s true!" The Fifth Elder¡¯s expression changed. When Fang Zhengzhi revealed his face, his suspicions were already confirmed.

    Fang Zhengzhi, the youngest Prince with a differentst name in the Great Xia Dynasty. He was borne in the rural area of the North into an ordinary family. However, he had made a name for himself through the Law of Dao Examinations held in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Capital Examinations, Imperial Examinations, Court Examinations, and Prefectural Examinations Double Roll Champions.

    Furthermore, he had even prevented the war between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Demon race, engaging in the battle of the century against Half Sage Can Yang of the Demon Race when he was only a Supernatural State individual.

    Eventually, he became the person the most in the Battle of the Southern Region.

    That was not all. In the internal political strife that followed, Fang Zhengzhi disyed his ability at strategizing and nning as well, foiling the ns of the Crown Prince and King Duan to usurp the throne.

    This also resulted in the emergence of Prince Xian Lin Yun, sitting atop and viewing the battle at this current moment.

    Most importantly,

    Fang Zhengzhi also killed a Demon King.

    An entity that even a sage would have problems dealing with.

    A super genius.

    That was the Heavenly Dao Pavilion¡¯s evaluation of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability. If not for the fact that he only had a few months left to live, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion would have extended an invitation to such a genius.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion even called for a meeting chaired by Mu Qingfeng to gather opinions on this matter.

    However, some things were not meant to be.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion still decided to give up on this chance.

    Who would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi would end up in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion in the end? Furthermore, he even assumed the identity of Kong Qing to do so.

    What was more surprising was that this super genius had once again disyed his prowess and radiance, attaining the impossible. He sessfully reached the Rebirth State in two months and mastered the Heaven Dao, defeating Kong Qing easily. He even defeated the Third Elder in front of everyone.

    "Pavilion Leader!" Lin Mubai gasped after seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true identity. He turned towards Mu Qingfeng and said, "Fang Zhengzhi is the new Prince Cang of the Great Xia Dynasty, he has no connections to the other four factions. This is a misunderstanding!"

    "Hm..." Mu Qingfeng squinted his eyes and stared at Fang Zhengzhi before casting his nce back at Lin Mubai. He then nodded his head and said, "Just like what your Majesty had said, this is a misunderstanding!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi, please put your sword away. There is still turning back!" Lin Mubai eximed upon seeing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s approval. He immediately persuaded Fang Zhengzhi to rethink his actions.

    "Prince Cang, Yan Xiu was merely injured. His life is not in danger! You cannot act rashly!" Prince Xian Lin Yun was clearly anxious as he muttered those words.

    "Kill!" A ferocious bellow could be heard.

    Following which, a figure rose into the sky and integrated himself with the purple light. At the same time, the horizon seemed to instantly darken, as though torrential rain would fall anytime.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, no!" Lin Mubai stared at this scene and naturally guessed what would happen next. He wanted to prevent it from happening, though it was all toote.

    That was because the purple light had fallen.

    "What a brazen technique!"

    "Not only that, the murderous intent from this attack is almost tangible!"

    "Borrowing the powers of the heavens and earth. Is this the technique that killed the Demon King?"

    Even the usually arrogant and haughty Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples could not help but exim in shock when they saw the falling purple light.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, no matter if you have connections with the other four factions, you have to die today for insulting my third brother!" The Fifth Elder stared at the falling purple light as all the hesitation he felt previously instantly dissipated.

    Heavenly Dao Pavilion, one of the five factions within the Sage Realm.

    How could they condone an insignificant Prince Cang of a Great Xia Dynasty creating a ruckus on their grounds? It did not matter if you were a super genius. After all, you merely had four months left to live.

    The Fifth Elder had a cold gaze as pirs of emerald light encircled him. If Fang Zhengzhi was not a person that would soon meet his demise, he might really have to consider his actions now.

    One year ago, Fang Zhengzhi had just attained the Supernatural State. One yearter, he had already achieved a breakthrough and attained the Rebirth State. He even mastered the Heaven Dao.

    Eighteen years old!

    To be able to freely control the Heaven Dao and even attain the Rebirth State at 18 years old was simply amazing. Even the Fifth Elder could not imagine what Fang Zhengzhi could achieve in the future.

    However, this was fate!

    Attaining the Rebirth State was s, different from attaining the Saint State. Even if Fang Zhengzhi could be termed as a half-sage now, it was still a long distance before he could reach the level of a sage.

    The Fifth Elder moved.

    He ced both his hands in front of him. At the same time, an intense emerald brilliance emerged from his body, turning into two giant hands formed from countless thorn vines.

    "You only have four months left anyway. I will hasten your death!" The Fifth Elder sped his hands together as the character on his forehead glowed radiantly. He shouted, "Green Thorn Burial!"

    Boom!

    The two giant hands also sped tightly together, trapping the purple light in its tight grasp.

    A piercing screech of the two techniques grazing against each other echoed throughout the area. The purple light grew even brighter as it fought to release itself from the grasp of the giant vine hands.

    The entire Heaven Academic Altar seemed to be trembling from the collision of these two techniques.

    This piercing sound forced many weaker disciples to sp their ears in pain as their face paled.

    "This guy is this strong?"

    "Even the Fifth Elder seems to be struggling with his Green Thorn Burial. He is only a Rebirth State, right? The Green Thorn Burial is one of the strongest techniques in the Dao of Nature!"

    "The thorn vines are said to have the highest tenacity amongst the Daos. Judging from defensive capabilities alone, the Fifth Elder¡¯s technique is even stronger than the Qian Kun Eight Wastnds. To think that it cannot destroy the purple light in one blow!"

    As the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples stared at the colliding techniques, they were dumbfounded.

    All of their gazes were drawn towards the exciting sh of the purple and emerald light.

    The Fifth Elder was clearly giving his all as he stared at Fang Zhengzhi with a cold stare.

    However...

    Just when everyone was waiting for the conclusion to this collision, a green and a blue light appeared behind the Fifth Elder.

    The moment the two light source appeared, they fused together in a peculiar manner and turned into a uniform shade.

    "Green Blue Double sh!" A fierce but soft voice rang.

    Following which, the light formed a cross and collided with the Fifth Elder. It was targeted strategically at his left and right arm.

    This was a sudden scene. No one could have expected this to happen. Furthermore, they traveled extremely fast. There was no way one could have dodged that at such a short distance.

    Blood spurted everywhere.

    As the Fifth Elder was caughtpletely off guard, the light immediately sliced through his flesh. An impact simr to that of a powerful punch seems to spread through his entire body.

    He then vomited a mouthful of blood.

    That blow was so powerful that he staggered a few steps forward and he had to use all his strength to keep himself from falling.

    "What?"

    "A sneak attack?"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples stared at the Fifth Elder subconsciously upon hearing the sound of impact. The Fifth Elder then looked behind him in shock.

    He simply could not understand...

    Who wouldunch an attack on him at this crucial moment?

    However, there was indeed a figure standing behind him. He was wearing an ordinary short-sleeved shirt and had an unimpressive demeanor.

    He did not have much of a presence.

    However, the Fifth Elder recognized this person. He was the younger brother of Nangong Hao, though he could never remember his name.

    Even though he constantly reminded himself to remember this person¡¯s name, it always seemed to slip his mind.

    After all, he only needed to know him as the younger brother of Nangong Hao.

    However, it was exactly this unimpressive person that was standing behind him. He was even carrying two swords in his hand, one green in color and the other, blue in color.

    "You..." The Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He would never have expected that the person whounched a sneak attack on him would be Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples could not believe it as well.

    Naturally, almost all of them did not know who this person was. This was because he simply looked too ordinary for one to usually take notice of him.

    "Who is this guy?"

    "He should be... Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother, I think? I am not sure."

    "Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother?"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples subconsciously wanted to turn their gaze towards the new character in this battle. However, the sinister purple light at the corner of their eyes caught their attention once again.

    The purple light that shot through the horizon had fallen.

    While everyone¡¯s attention was on Nangong Mu, the purple light managed to break through the constraints of the Green Thorn Burial and traveled at a speed that generated visible ripples in the air...

    It charged straight towards the Fifth Elder!

    Shock and horrified.

    The Fifth Elder was extremely pale. After taking a blow from Nangong Mu, he knew that he had lost the battle. However, he did not expect his end toe so soon.

    This was because based on his calctions, even after he had lost connection with the Green Thorn Burial technique, it should be able to restrain the purple light for another five breaths.

    However, it only took the time of two breaths for the purple light to fall after he was injured.

    "This is impossible!" The Fifth Elder stared at the purple light in front of him as he gasped bitterly.

    He knew that there was only one exnation as to why the purple light could breakthrough his Green Thorn Burial in two breaths. The purple light was simply stronger.

    However, how could he admit to this hard truth?

    Boom! A terrifying explosion sound rang.

    Whether or not the Fifth Elder was willing to ept the conclusion of this battle, the purple light fell.

    The entire Heavenly Dao Pavilion seemed to tremble at that moment. Following which, it felt as though the ce was going to explode. Countless gravels and dust flew in all directions.

    A fissure then opened up on the ground and slowly extended further away.

 Chapter 662 Near-Life Lock of Hell

    That was the scar of a de. A scar that tore open the Heaven Academic Altar. The altar made from white jade was split open in the middle as a cold and murderous presence filled the air.

    A veil of dust enveloped the area.

    Even though they were in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, such an attack was also sufficiently powerful toe as a shock to everyone present.

    "What a powerful technique!"

    "It is arrogant and powerful! It gave form to murderous intentions!"

    "How can it be so strong? Even though he has mastered the Heaven Dao, he shouldn¡¯t be able to use such a powerful attack!"

    As the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were reeling in from the shock, they also grabbed their swords tightly as they stared apprehensively into the dissipating dust.

    A scream of pain rang at that moment. Following which, a jet of crimson red blood could be seen.

    "What happened? Is the Fifth Elder injured?"

    Upon hearing this scream, all the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples face turned serious. It was the voice of the Fifth Elder.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" The dust settled as a stern andmanding voice could be heard. The Fifth Elder¡¯s figure slowly revealed itself. He was extremely pale as blood dripped from the side of his mouth.

    Most importantly, the pristine white robe was now stained with blood. Patches of unsightly stains could be seen.

    One of his arms was also missing.

    Starting from the elbow, blood poured profusely. It looks extremely disastrous.

    Severing the arm in a single blow!

    Upon seeing this scene, the disciples, four Majesties and the candidates all gasped in shock. To think that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack seeded and even managed to sever the Fifth Elder¡¯s arm!

    No one believed it.

    The Fifth Elder was a person who had attained the saint state. How could anyone believe that a Rebirth State individual could sever his arm?

    Even the four Majesties and the candidates were in disbelief. After they took a deep breath, they cast their gaze towards the blue figure standing opposite the Fifth Elder.

    The white robes that he donned were already shredded to pieces.

    Instead, his blue robe and hair fluttered in the wind. Together with his purple Traceless Sword, he looked magnificent.

    What a sight to behold.

    Fang Zhengzhi, he had seeded.

    "Pavilion leader, this..." Lin Mubai reacted quickly after seeing this scene with a pale expression.

    In fact, when Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacknded, he knew that there was no saving the situation. He had witnessed the power of this attack before, despite only once.

    He could still remember it clearly in his head.

    Now that this technique had made its appearance, how could the Fifth Elder escape unscathed?

    Lin Mubai¡¯s voice seemed to have awakened the Heaven Dao pavilion disciples form their shock. They then cast their nce towards Mu Qingfeng. Some of them had already unsheathed their sword.

    Mu Qingfeng stayed silent. However, one could see a sh of uncertainty in his eyes. He naturally knew the reason why Lin Mubai and his disciples were looking at him.

    He moved his body slightly though he never stood up from his seat. He merely stayed silent and closed his eyes gently.

    Complete silence.

    This scene was slightly surprising to the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. They then fell silent and stoppedmenting.

    Some of them even put their swords back into the sheath.

    This was because they had already understood Mu Qingfeng¡¯s decision. This was a shocking decision, though it was not difficult to understand the rationale behind it.

    It was simple...

    This was something the Fifth Elder himself wanted to do.

    When the Fifth Elderunched an attack on Fang Zhengzhi and volunteered to be stripped of his title, it had already be a battle only between the both of them.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion would not interfere.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity was also an issue.

    If Fang Zhengzhi truly was a spy from the other four factions, even if the Heaven Dao Pavilion should not interfere in this battle, Mu Qingfeng would not allow Fang Zhengzhi to get away scot-free.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not harbor such intentions.

    Furthermore, he was also the youngest Prince with a different surname of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Although a Prince with a different surname would not matter much to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it proved a crucial point in this misunderstanding. The Third Elder and the Fifth Elder had made the wrong judgment from the very beginning.

    It was a disgrace to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    The Fifth Elder¡¯s decision was an even greater blow to the reputation of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. To thin that he wouldunch a sneak attack on a mere Rebirth State individual in front of all the disciples and the four Majesties.

    If not for the Fifth Elder¡¯s unwavering belief that Fang Zhengzhi was a spy, the Heaven Dao pavilion would never allow such things to happen.

    But now, the truth was out.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion could no longer ignore the values of fairness and justice they held dear and risk ruining their reputation any further to protect an elder that was already stripped of his title.

    "Kill!" Fang Zhengzhi had no idea what the Heaven Dao Pavilion was thinking. In fact, he did not care. He was merely trying to bring as many people down together with him before he died.

    His only focus was to kill the Fifth Elder as of now.

    The moment he shouted, Fang Zhengzhi started moving. His sword turned into the form of a dragon as he charged forward with breakneck speed, leaving an illusion of him behind.

    "How dare you Fang Zhengzhi create such a ruckus in the Heaven Dao Pavilion!" A stern voice hollered. Following which, a ck figure swiftly moved towards Fang Zhengzhi. He had a sword in his hands as well. This sword was ck in color and gave off the luster of fine jade.

    Boom!

    They collided and sent shockwaves across the room.

    Following which, both of them were sent flying in opposite directions.

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to make a stablending. However, the figure had to stagger for a total of three steps before he could stabilize himself. There was also a look of disbelief on his face.

    "Qian Wu?"

    "Why did he move forward?"

    "This truly is..."

    After the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples recognized the ck figure, their eyes shed with doubts and confusion. After all, there were simply too many people getting involved in this battle.

    "Scram or die!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was stone-cold. A purple light danced around in his eyes as he pointed the Traceless Sword towards Qian Wu¡¯s neck.

    Qian Wu¡¯s expression clearly changed.

    Before he rushed forward, he thought that this was a rare and god-sent opportunity. He could take advantage of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lethargy to firstly, take revenge for what happened in me Capital City and redeem himself and secondly, save the Fifth Elder and make a name for himself in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    It was killing two birds with one stone.

    However, he regretted after just one attack.

    How was he still so strong?

    Qian Wu felt that he had already done ample preparations for the past two months. However, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have leaped across the heavens and earth in that same amount of time.

    Rebirth State?

    He was this strong even when he had just entered the Rebirth State?

    Did he not use all his energy in his previous attack?

    This was not possible.

    Qian Wu was not a reckless person. In fact, he was known to be meticulous. From his observations, Fang Zhengzhi should be in a state of extreme fatigue.

    He remembered clearly that Fang Zhengzhi had used the Ten Pirs of Heavenly Descent when fighting against the Third Elder. Following which, when he was attacked by the Fifth Elder, he used something called the Dragon yer sh.

    He still had energy left inside him?

    What is he made of?

    Qian Wu wanted to go back to his original position. However, his hatred for Fang Zhengzhi managed to give him the courage to stay.

    He must be pushing himself. It would be impossible to continue performing well after fighting for such a long duration, no matter how strong a person was.

    He probably had at most two more moves left.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, this is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. It is already a deadly sin to impersonate as one of their disciples. It is an even greater sin to disrupt the proceedings of the Heaven Dao Pavilion examinations. What do you have to say for yourself? Although I have yet to officially enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I have the responsibility to protect the dignity and justice within thispound!" Qian Wu dered righteously. Even though he was clearly taking advantage of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fatigue, he sounded confident and convincing.

    After the Fifth Elder heard Qian Wu¡¯s words, he stared at him for a moment as the expression in his eyes changed. However, he quickly ced his hands on his wound.

    An intense emerald brilliance then emerged from his body until the bleeding stopped. Following which, a thick thorn vched itself onto his shoulders and instantly turned into an arm.

    It would be difficult topletely regenerate an arm even for a Saint State individual. He clearly did not have the time to do that.

    "Qian Wu, stand back for now!" The Fifth Elder naturally could tell what Qian Wu was nning. He also understood Mu Qingfeng¡¯s decision.

    As an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and a powerful sage.

    He would not hesitate tounch a sneak attack on Fang Zhengzhi. However, he could not do things that would make him lose his dignity in front of all his disciples. Since this battle belonged solely to Fang Zhengzhi and himself...

    He would not allow others toe to his aid.

    Even if Nangong Muunched a surprise attack on him and might even coborate with Fang Zhengzhi for the remaining part of the battle, he would not request for any help. Only because he was a sage!

    That was the Fifth Elder¡¯s opinion.

    However, Qian Wu did not wish to stand back. Although the Fifth Elder was temporarily disadvantaged, a saying goes, a skinny camel is stillrger than a horse.

    Although the Fifth Elder had made it clear that he did not need help, he would still owe Qian Wu a favor if Qian Wu ever saved him. IN fact, Qian Wu had already defended the Fifth Elder against a lethal move.

    "Fifth Elder, I am still not a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple. Furthermore, I have a personal hatred towards Fang Zhengzhi. If the Fifth Elder feels it is unfair, you can always challenge him again after I am done!" Qian Wu had clearly nned this out. His sentences were beautifully crafted, ying ording to the Heaven Dao Pavilion rules and saving the Fifth Elder¡¯s dignity at the same time. Furthermore, this would give the Fifth Elder time to recuperate.

    Upon hearing Qian Wu¡¯s words, the other disciples nodded their heads in agreement. After all, they were still standing on the side of their Fifth Elder.

    Be it from the perspective of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s reputation or their own, no one wished that the Fifth Elder would lose to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for the Fifth Elder to give an answer. There was no need to.

    If there was someone in front of him...

    He would merely eliminate them.

    It was simple. He was not a person who was fond of killing.

    However, the person in front of him was Qian Wu. The person who summoned a Demon King in me Capital City which indirectly killed Prince LI of the first rank and caused Ping Yang to be brought to Ling Yun Tower.

    There was no need to hesitate.

    "Since you do not n to stand back, die!" Fang Zhengzhi moved without hesitation. The purple light took the form of a crescent and charged towards Qian Wu and the Fifth Elder.

    Qian Wu focused his gaze and stared at the ferocious attack. He naturally would not face this attack headlong and instinctively dodged to the side.

    "Hmph!" The emerald character on the Fifth Elder¡¯s forehead seemed to have undergone changes. Instead of being covered in a dense overgrowth of vines, it was now lined with fewer, but clearer and longer vines.

    At the same time, a thorn appeared in his hands. More specifically, it was a sword that was shaped just like a thorn.

    An emerald brilliance flowed throughout the thorn as the countless characters on it glowed menacingly. It had a deste presence.

    For a Saint State individual to use his weapon in a fight against a person of the Rebirth State was truly humiliating.

    Though the Fifth Elder could not have cared less.

    He had to be the final victor in this battle.

    He would continue fighting instead of giving up!

    The Fifth Elder and his thorn sword became a jet of light that charged headlong into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s purple crescent attack.

    Boom! The collision generated arge explosion sound.

    Just when the explosion urred, a figure swiftly charged towards Fang Zhengzhi from the sides.

    "Die!" Qian Wu¡¯s gaze was stone-cold. Six characters each glowing in a different color appeared on the tip of his sword. Fine threads then connected these six characters together, creating an extremely pressurizing atmosphere. It felt as though the entire space was sealed, making it suffocating.

    "It¡¯s the Near-Life Dao!"

    "The only Dao that involves seal in the Six Daos. It is also the most effective one against ferocious beasts and demons. I heard that when one masters this Dao, they can summon the Near-Life Lock of Hell!"

    "Although Qian Wu has yet to reach that level, he should not be too far off from Fang Zhengzhi in terms of strength. After all, he has reached the pinnacle of the Rebirth State!"

    "Yes, most importantly, one of them is already fatigued, while the other is in his top form. If this was a one-on-one battle, the results might be unclear. However, now that the Fifth Elder is also closing in on Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m afraid..."

    "Wait a minute, what is that?"

    Just when the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were discussing, a crimson chain emerged from the ground, more then followed...

 Chapter 663 Sins, Monster, Battle of Life and Death

    The colors of the six chains corresponded to the six characters on Qian Wu¡¯s de. Red, green, blue...

    When the six chains emerged from the ground, all the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples widened their eyes in shock.

    "Could this be?"

    "How is this possible?"

    "This is impossible. This... this is the Near-Life Dao. Furthermore, it seems as if..."

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were dumbfounded. Not only were the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in shock, the four Majesties sitting atop were also taken aback.

    This was especially so for the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire. His face paled immediately as he grabbed the white jade table with his bare hands, squeezing it so tightly that he would break it anytime.

    "Near-Life Lock of Hell? He... to think that he..." The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Emperor stared at the scene with bloodshot eyes.

    If there were still things in this world that he could never have imagined, that would be for the Near-Life Lock of Hell to be summoned by someone who was not of the Royal Holy Barbarian bloodline.

    Furthermore...

    It was used against the Crown Prince of the Holy Barbarian Empire, Qian Wu!

    In fact, when Qian Wu came forward, he felt relieved and proud. That was because he always thought highly of his son.

    Although Mu Qingfeng did not attempt to stop this battle, this did not mean that he had no opinions about it.

    It was impossible for him to bepletely neutral, to begin with.

    Putting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lifespan aside, the fact that the Fifth Elder could attain the title of an elder meant that he had built a personal rapport with Mu Qingfeng.

    After all, not all individuals who had achieved the Saint State could be an elder in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    There were too many other factors such as reputation, achievements and so on.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi was dead, the Fifth Elder¡¯s sin would no longer be viewed in a negative light. After his punishment of guarding the stone tablet for ten years or even a shorter duration, he might very well regain his status as a Fifth Elder.

    However, the scene in front of him struck fear into his heart for the first time ever since Qian Wi stood forward.

    Favors? Achievements?

    These were extremely important things in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, if one were to lose his life over such trivial things, what good would it do?

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you..." Qian Wu was in an even greater shock than everyone else. His feelings were a lot more tangible and heartfelt.

    The terrifying presence of the six chains overwhelmed him, threatening to suffocate him anytime. It was as though he was immobilized in front of this magnificent power.

    As the wielder of the Near-Life Dao of the Six Daos.

    He naturally understood what the six different colored chains in front of him signified. It was the Near-Life Lock of Hell, the state that he wanted to achieve even in his dreams.

    His dreams were bing reality.

    s, it was turned against him.

    Why did this happen?

    In the battle of me Capital City, Fang Zhengzhi had once stolen the Near-Life Gate of the Holy Barbarian Empire right from the bottom of his nose. At that time, he felt that his dignity and pride was damaged.

    For the past two months, he could not fathom how Fang Zhengzhi cold have done that.

    However, he could now understand what happened. Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Near-Life Dao as well. In fact, he was more adept in it, reaching a state he could only dream of.

    Boom! The red chain pierced through the arm that was wielding the ck sword. It was as though the death scythe of the reaper had cut through his flesh.

    Qian Wu¡¯s face became extremely pale.

    He had finally experienced how helpless one felt against the overwhelming presence, and how the beasts felt when he used the Near-Life Dao to seal them within the gate.

    Stressful, helpless and fearful.

    "No!" Qian Wu shouted bitterly.

    However, that did not seem to do anything.

    Despite his screams of despair, he could not stop the second chain from piercing through his body.

    Boom! The green chain pierced his thighs, causing blood to spurt out from the point of impact. At the same time, Qian Wu knelt onto the ground uncontrobly.

    This was not all. The third chain had arrived. The overwhelming presence gave Qian Wupletely no chance to retaliate.

    The only sealing Dao within the Six Daos.

    Boom! The third chain pierced through Qian Wu¡¯s other hand without hesitation, pinning Qian Wupletely on the ground.

    He simplyy helplessly as he awaited death.

    The fourth one arrived.

    It encircled itself around his throat, contorting his facial features and repressing him further into the solid ground. Qian Wu¡¯s body trembled uncontrobly as his face turned a bright red before turning purple.

    He was clearly eager to say something, though he could not seem to speak, not even whimpering sounds could be heard.

    That was because the Near-Life Lock of Hell hadpletely sealed off his powers.

    The fifth...

    And the sixth...

    Qian Wu¡¯s eyes widened as bitterness and hatred shed through his eyes. However, he could only offer a death stare as hey helplessly on the ground.

    In his eyes, Fang Zhengzhi had never thought of him as an opponent. He felt neglected and looked down upon, as though he meant nothing.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a stone-cold stare as a purple light could be seen shing in his eyes. The Traceless Sword in his hands shed violently with the Fifth Elder¡¯s Thorn Sword.

    One against two!

    When such a preposterous scene was presented in front of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, they had already lost all sense of reason. Never in their wildest dreams would they imagine that such a thing was possible.

    Near-Life Lock of Hell!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s had reached the epitome of the Near-Life Dao?

    That¡¯s not right!

    He had also mastered the Heaven Dao, as evident from his use of the Ten Pirs of Heavenly Descent.

    A person who had mastered both the Heaven Dao and Near-Life Dao?

    How is this possible?

    Under normal circumstances, it was already a feat to master a single Dao in a lifetime. How could someone master both at once?

    More importantly...

    He seemed to have reached the epitome of both!

    Is he a monster?

    How could the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples believe their eyes? They were all once proud and extremely talented individuals. They were once revered by all.

    However, when standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi, they felt as though they were simply ordinary people, even to the point of being useless.

    It was not a sin to be talented. However, to be this talented...

    Is simply unreasonable!

    "Senior Kong Qing, no... Fang Zhengzhi, he... we..."

    "Cannotpare, we truly cannot hold a candle to him!"

    "After I knew that he was Fang Zhengzhi, I felt that my previous impressions of him were misguided. However, I have to admit that he truly wields power we can never hope to achieve!"

    The candidates muttered under their breath as they struggled to keep their mouths closed from the shock.

    At that moment...

    A figure swiftly shed past their eyes. It was an extremely fast shadow wielding a green and blue sword in each of his hands.

    Nangong Mu.

    "Hm?" The Fifth Elder caught something in the corner of his eyes. He could not take his attention off Fang Zhengzhi to notice Nangong Mu¡¯s actions. However, he could clearly feel the slight breeze behind his back.

    As a Saint State individual and an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there was no way he could have let his guard down during a battle. The only reason why he was damaged by Nangong Mu¡¯s attack was that it was an ambush.

    After all, he was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Who would dare to sneak on him under the watchful eyes of so many powerful individuals?

    This was something he had never thought possible. However, after his first experience, he would not allow it to happen again.

    "Courting death!" The Fifth Elder hollered as he swung his vine-constructed arm to his back. Over ten vines instantly turned into towering thorns, each of them glimmering dangerously.

    This was both an offensive and defensive technique.

    There was no way the Fifth Elder would hold back. This was a battle of life and death for him. How could he allow a person who would sneak up on him anytime live?

    Even if the person was the younger brother of Nangong Hao.

    At the moment when the Fifth Elder made his move, a figure rushed forward from the group of Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples who were watching the intense battle. His pristine white robe fluttered in the wind and he carried a white longsword on his back.

    He had already unsheathed his sword. The crystal-like hilt and the almost transparent de sparkled under the illumination of the sunlight.

    "Nangong Hao!"

    "Junior Nangong!"

    "Is that guy really his younger brother?"

    As the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stared at the colliding figures of the Fifth Elder and Nangong Mu, they gasped in shock.

    If one were to single out a person who generated the most buzz amongst the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in this two years, who would it be?

    It would not be the person who was known as the strongest disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. It would be the new disciple that had just entered the premise.

    Nangong Hao.

    He was the person most debated about in these two years in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. In the previous Heaven Dao Pavilion Examination, Nangong Hao defeated all the powerful Rebirth State individuals with his Supernatural State status. In fact, he was dominating the entire examination.

    He took the first ce of the entire examinations as a Supernatural State.

    This was exactly why everyone was impressed when he became a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Following which, many peculiar events centering Nangong Hao also happened.

    In the casualpetitions held regrly amongst the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, Nangong Hao¡¯s prowess was seen and acknowledged by all.

    That was not all...

    Two months ago, Nangong Hao had achieved a breakthrough!

    He then weed the first meaningful battle of his journey in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He approached the Seventh Senior and requested a formal battle.

    The Seventh Senior was a Saint State individual!

    No one knew how Nangong Hao managed to achieve victory. However, the truth was that he did, by just a narrow margin.

    Following which, he entered the Divine Rain Pond.

    This was merely one version of the story. Another version imed that Nangong Hao first approached the Pavilion Leader, Mu Qingfeng to request entry into the Divine Rain Pond before challenging the Seventh Senior.

    There was not much of a difference apart from the order of things.

    After all, not many people would believe that Nangong Hao, who had just attained the Rebirth State, would be able to defeat the Seventh Senior, who had already reached the Saint State.

    Despite him winning only by a narrow margin.

    The Seventh Senior and Nangong Hao also kept their mouths sealed about the events of that day.

    Ask?

    Who would dare to ask about such things?

    In essence, after Nangong Hao defeated the Seventh Senior, or after he had emerged from the Divine Rain Pond, he had yet to challenge anyone. Apart from Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng, even the seven elders had yet to see Nangong Hao¡¯s true power.

    Nangong Hao was extremely fast, so much as that his shadow was a blur. However, a figure was even faster than him, arriving in front of Nangong Mu in a split second.

    It was a dark-skinned figure. Despite his elegant emerald robes, it could not conceal the ferocious presence hiding beneath that fa?ade.

    He was a true monster.

    Naturally, he possessed eyes that shone fiercely like a beast.

    He is Yan Qing.

    The number one prodigy of the Extreme Combat Empire.

    A human who was raised by a pack of ferocious beasts. Simrly, he was revered as the monster with the "unbreakable" body.

    He made no fancy moves. He merely grabbed onto the two giant thorns heading towards Nangong Mu with his arms and snapped them easily into two.

    "He is mine!" A ferocious bellow echoed through the Heavenly Academic Altar. It made the shattered ground tremble precariously.

 Chapter 664 Leave or Die

    This happened in an instant.

    It was an extremely important turning point in the battle.

    The snapped thorn vines turned into countless emerald spots in Yan Qing¡¯s hands. His thick body muscles seemed constrained beneath the elegant emerald robe.

    After he was done with the two thorn vines, he took a step forward and grabbed all the other vines in his arms.

    The peculiar scene, the beastly presence, violent techniques and ferocious howl made everyone stop in their tracks.

    Although they quickly regained theirposure.

    "Does this person not know pain?"

    "Pain? If I am not wrong, he is the one people termed as a monster, the number one prodigy in the Extreme Combat Empire. However, I heard that this guy has a peculiar character and is difficult to get along with."

    "That¡¯s normal. Who would be friends with a monster like this anyway?"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples shuddered as they discussed the issue. Even though they have all heard about the terrifying strength of the monster in the Extreme Combat Empire, it was still shocking for them to see such raw brute strength with their own eyes.

    Yan Qing acted as though he did not hear those words. Not a hint of pain could be seen from his face. It was as though the thorns on the vines and the blood dripping from the multiple wounds on his body meant nothing to him at all.

    Roar! He bellowed.

    All the thorn vines were torn apart. This was pure brute strength, using his raw power and body weight to annihte the thorn vines in his embrace.

    Nangong Hao stopped in his tracks. He was around an inch away from Yan Qing¡¯s body as his white robe fluttered amidst the shockwaves from the collision of the Fifth Elder¡¯s and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    He cast his nce at Yan Qing.

    At the same time, Yan Qing cast his nce on Nangong Hao. The emerald robe he wore had already been torn and stained with blood. However, he had a calm expression, as though the sword in front of him posed no threat.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi and the Fifth Elder was finally separated from one another.

    A murderous intent filled the atmosphere and a purple light rose to the horizon.

    Fang Zhengzhi took five steps back as he looked forward with a deathly cold stare.

    The Fifth Elder also dodged to the side as he panted heavily. It could be either due to the aftershocks of the collision or simply the finishing pose of his attack.

    Naturally, it could also be due to Yan Qing¡¯s sudden appearance which disrupted his original n, making him extremely infuriated.

    However, all of this did not matter...

    Most importantly, the situation was now blowing out of proportions. More unexpected people were getting embroiled in this fight.

    "Why did Yan Qing rush down to save Nangong Mu?"

    "I don¡¯t know, he was saying something about he is mine! Who is this "he"?"

    "Is it the Fifth Elder, or Nangong Mu?"

    The Heavenly Dao pavilion disciples stared at Yan Qing who was standing in the middle of the Heavenly Academic Altar and Nangong Mu, who was standing behind him. They could not fathom Yan Qing¡¯s sudden appearance.

    Isn¡¯t this situation just a tad too chaotic?

    It originally started with a simple fight between Fang Zhengzhi and the Fifth Elder. However, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu and Qian Wu somehow got involved in it.

    Following which, even Nangong Hao and Yan Qing joined in.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples stared apprehensively at the figures in the battle. They had no clue how this battle would end.

    At that moment, Nangong Hao cast his gaze away from Yan Qing and turned to look at Nangong Mu.

    "Have you decided?"

    "Yes!" Nangong Mu nodded his head.

    "Do you remember the mission that you were tasked to do?" Nangong Hao did not seem surprised at Nangong Mu¡¯s answer and spoke after a moment of silence.

    "You alone will be enough," Nangong Mu said calmly.

    "Alright," Nangong Hao seemed to have understood something. He then turned his body and walked back toward the crowd of onlookers as he said, "Do what you like."

    Nangong Mu stopped talking. He stared at Nangong Hao¡¯s back view as he clenched his fist tightly. A blue and green light appeared in each of his eyes.

    "Shall we?" Nangong Mu turned his gaze back at Yan Qing after watching Nangong Hao disappear into the crowd.

    "Please," Yan Qing nodded as he removed the emerald robe covering his body, revealing his tanned and defined muscles.

    This scene was witnessed by all the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples. It struck fear into the deepest part of their hearts, as though they were alone in a field during a heavy storm.

    "Why is Nangong Junior back?"

    "What did he mean when he said battle? What battle?"

    "Are you telling me they are going to fight? But isn¡¯t Yan Qing trying to save Nangong Mu? What is going on?"

    They were all extremely confused.

    However, Yan Qing and Nangong Mu clearly did not feel like exining themselves. When Yan Qing nodded, Nangong Mu already started moving, he swung his sword mercilessly towards Yan Qing.

    It was chaos.

    The situation was obviously out of the control of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples. Nangong Hao had retreated, though Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Nangong Mu, Qian Wu and Yan Qing...

    They were all still immersed within it.

    Apart from them, even the Fifth Elder and Third Elder were not released from that situation.

    If the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples merely thought that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance was a small disruption to the examination, the situation now was a far cry from what they expected. The examination proceedings were nowpletely interrupted.

    Was it even possible to hold the third round of examination in this state?

    No one could answer this question.

    That was because the third round of examination was clearly of less importance than what was happening.

    Most importantly, after Mu Qingfeng closed his eyes, he had yet to open them. Even when Fang Zhengzhi used Near-Life Dao, he kept it closed.

    Silence.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s silence represented the silence of the entire Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    However, there was one person who could not stay calm no matter what. That person was the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire, Qian Wu¡¯s father.

    This was not due to his character or nature. He knew very well what the situation was. However, Qian Wu¡¯s expression was telling him that...

    He was in pain, in such extreme pain that he would rather be dead.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, let go of my Qian Wu!" The Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor stared at the situation as he hollered. He then leaped from his spot into the battlefield.

    He was extremely fast.

    As the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire, he was still fully capable of battle.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi heard those words, he acted even faster. The moment when he saw the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor leap forward, he charged towards Qian Wu.

    "Not good!"

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples understood what was going to happen as they gasped in horror. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword was aimed right at Qian Wu¡¯s chest.

    Killing a candidate?

    This would not be sufficient for the Heavenly Dao Pavilion to be enraged. However, if this person was the well-known sessor to the throne of the Holy Barbarian Empire, it would not seem like a wise decision.

    "No! Fang Zhengzhi, stop!"

    The Holy Barbarian Empire shouted desperately. He could ept and withstand most things. However, Qian Wu¡¯s death was definitely not one of them.

    This was so despite Qian Wu always attempting to keep a distance between them and that he would always reject the Crown Prince seat,

    However, no matter how he shouted, he could not stop Fang Zhengzhi from plunging down his sword.

    The Traceless Sword pierced through Qian Wu¡¯s back and straight through his heart. There was no hesitation in that attack.

    Crimson red blood stained Qian Wu¡¯s back.

    The Traceless Sword then emitted and light humming sound.

    Qian Wu¡¯s mouth opened as he tried to speak. However, he was unable to. The Near-Life Lock of Hell suppressed the strength of his entire body, he was unable to even open his eyes fully.

    Apart from the overwhelming pressure that he felt, he also felt energy swiftly escaping his body.

    If one were to use a word to describe Qian Wu¡¯s feelings,

    It could only be bitterness.

    He was extremely bitter.

    He left the capital at a young age and did not experience a life of wealth andfort like most royals. This might not seem like a good thing, though it taught him how to be independent.

    From the moment he stepped into the capital, his life changed. It became filled with wars, battles schemes, and betrayals.

    But he still managed to secure his footing in the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    Not only did he secure his position, he even overwhelmed the presence of the other Crown Princes. He was themander of the Holy Barbarian Empire Army and was also an official in court.

    Even his defeat in the battle against the Great Xia Dynasty was not enough to shake his position. That was because he was the hope of the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    He was the only one who had mastered the Near-Life Dao at such a young age. He was also the only one who could manage the power bnce between the nobles and handle politics with grace.

    However, he was about to die.

    Furthermore, he would die while he was chained by the Near-Life Lock of Hell.

    How could he not feel bitter?

    "Why, why can he master the Near-Life Dao? Why can he summon the Near-Life Lock of Hell? What is happening?" Qian Wu was extremely bitter. He felt like screaming in despair to release the anger built up within him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not give him much time.

    He drew the Traceless Sword out from his back which caused blood to spray from the wound. It was quick work. Qian Wu¡¯s eyes then slowly closed.

    Following which...

    The de enveloped itself in a sinister purple light once again and charged straight towards the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor. Qian Wu¡¯s blood did not drip from the de of the sword. Instead, it seemed to be absorbed into the sword as energy.

    "Leave, or die!"

 Chapter 665 Extremely Cruel

    "You..." The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire had a contorted expression on his face. What was more insulting than having a person shouting scram at you right after seeing your own son killed in front of your eyes?

    As he stared at the Traceless Sword stained with blood in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, he had the impulse to simply rush forward to exact revenge. He wanted Fang Zhengzhi as an offering for his deceased son.

    However, at that moment, an anxious voice could be heard.

    "Father, you cannot do this!"

    "I cannot?" The Emperor knew that this voice belonged to his other son who apanied him here. He also understood why he had to restrain himself.

    However, he could not take this anymore.

    As an Emperor, how could he condone a person who had killed his son and still had the cheek to stand righteously in front of himself?

    A powerful aura enveloped his body. It churned like a powerful and terrifying sea wave, striking fear into the hearts of everyone present.

    However, he did not take another step forward. This was because he knew he was not in the Holy Barbarian Empire, but the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    "The Great Xia Dynasty would not mind fighting another war for Fang Zhengzhi. Yun er, do you mind?" Lin Mubai¡¯s voice could be heard as he spoke directly to the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    "I do not mind it at all!" Pince Xian Lin Yun shouted without hesitation.

    The Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples felt a chill down their spine as they heard this simple and calm conversation between Lin Mubai and Prince Xian.

    A war all for the sake of one person.

    Furthermore, this person would lose his life in around four months¡¯ time.

    One had to say that Lin Mubai and Lin Yun had aplished it. They used the simplest action to tell Fang Zhengzhi that they would support him under all circumstances.

    "Argh!" The Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor roared in anger. He was extremely bitter, though he still had to consider the fate of his citizens.

    Most importantly, he had already lost once. He could not lose again.

    "Return me the body of my son!" The Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor shouted after recollecting himself slightly. Despite this, his fists were already pale from excessive clenching.

    Qian Wu¡¯s body then rolled to the side of his feet.

    Fang Zhengzhi said nothing.

    His target was not the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor. Furthermore, he could care less about the traditions of killing everyone rted to Qian Wu for revenge. He was only concerned about Qian Wu himself.

    This was for the deceased Prince LI of the First Rank and Ping Yang, who was waiting for him in Ling Yun Tower. It was also for his recent brazen actions of stepping forward.

    Of course, even if the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor wanted a fight.

    He would dly take it.

    There was nothing to fear. As the people around him have mentioned, he already has one of his foot in the gates of hell. There could be no other considerations.

    The Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor clenched his fists once again as his nails cut deep into his flesh. He waited no longer as he grabbed Qian Wu¡¯s body and walked out of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    He stayed no further in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    That was because his favorite son was dead.

    The hope for the Holy Barbarian Empire was destroyed. The only thing he could do now was to quell the internal revolution and protect his country to the best of his abilities as he awaits the merciless invasion of the neighboring empires.

    He looked lonely and depressed. s, this was the harsh reality of a cruel world.

    Fang Zhengzhi slowly rose and paid no attention to the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor. Amidst the purple eyes, the reflection of a figure could be seen. This figure was none other than the Fifth Elder, who stood right in front of him.

    "Youngd, you are merciless enough!" The Fifth Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi as he eximed. He was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    If it was him, he would have done the same.

    Just like how he attacked Nangong Mu, he could not allow a person who wouldunch a sneak attack on him anytime to live. This was notpassion, but stupidity.

    Survival of the fittest.

    That was thew governing the world.

    Especially so in the Saint Realm.

    The Fifth Elder was also abiding by this same rule. Only by killing Fang Zhengzhi would he be able to regain his reputation in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion and salvage his dignity.

    Boom! A loud sound could be heard behind him.

    The Fifth Elder did not pay the sound much attention. He knew that this was the collision sound from the battle between Nangong Mu and Yan Qing. He had no time to be bothered with those.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi was simply out of his imagination.

    Mastering the Heavenly Dao?

    On top of the Near-Life Dao?

    Furthermore, he had battled for an extended period and suffered an attack from him. To think that he is showing no signs of fatigue! What kind of monster is this?

    "Die!" The Fifth Elder charged forward without hesitation.

    As a powerful Saint State individual and the elder of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, he had his dignity. Even if he was feeling the stretch, he could not rest.

    His Thorn Sword glowed with an intense emerald brilliance and charged forward at breakneck speed.

    "Kill!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted coldly as the Traceless Sword in his hands hummed with a clear high pitch. The sinister purple light seemed to glow even brighter.

    But just when he was about to move forward.

    A sharp pain could be felt from his chest. It felt as if his heart was beating at an insanely fast rate, causing him to feel a cold numbing pain in his chest area and losing his focus.

    His mind became nk for a moment.

    However, the intense pressureing from the Fifth Elder was right in front of his eyes.

    He subconsciously swung his sword and felt a strong force collide into his attack.

    Boom! A loud explosion urred.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body flew forward like a shooting star, destroying a white jade pir in the process. This intensified the pain in his chest.

    "Argh..." A mouthful of blood spurted out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. He could hear the frantic beating of his heart, as though someone was thumping the drums with full force right beside his ears.

    "What is going on?"

    "Is this guy out of fuel?"

    "It seems like he has reached his limit!"

    Looking at this scene, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples could not help but gasp in surprise. Judging from what happened previously, Fang Zhengzhi should not have been defeated so easily.

    At least not in this way.

    Was he deliberately revealing his weakness to the Fifth Elder?

    This was what the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples were thinking about. However, they quickly dismissed this thought. That was because Fang Zhengzhi truly looked out of it.

    His face was extremely pale and the purple light surrounding him quivered ever so slightly. It was as though the brilliance would devour him alive.

    It was a sinister sight.

    The Fifth Elder was taken aback as well. He did not feel that Fang Zhengzhi was getting weaker in the previous sh, even when he was outnumbered two against one.

    However, it was clear in the most recent attack that Fang Zhengzhi had gotten a lot weaker, to the point where he was powerless.

    What is going on?

    Did he experience a power loss all of a sudden?

    The Fifth Elder thought that the possibility of such a peculiar event was low. After all, the power difference between two consecutive attacks should not be sorge. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power should have been depleted bit by bit instead.

    Could it be a side effect that he did not know?

    The Fifth Elder suddenly remembered something. Fang Zhengzhi was a person with less than four months left to live. It would then be normal to have certain symptoms leading to his death.

    "Youngd, die!" The Fifth Elder disyed no hesitation.

    He knew how easy it would be to win when the opponent was not in his best shape. He could not let his opportunity go despite being a Saint State individual.

    He once again charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse so bad.

    That was because he suddenly remembered something. He had forgotten to take his medication, though he could not be med for it. After all, it had been less than a month since he left Northern Mountain Vige.

    Under normal circumstances...

    He did not need to take his medication.

    However, the sharp pain from his heart was clearly telling him that he needed them now.

    What was going on?

    Was it due to his excessive use of his energy? Or was it due to his previous overdosing incident which reduced the effectiveness of the medication?

    Both possibilities were valid.

    After all, one incident of overdose was enough to make the body more resistant to the medication.

    It was a simple thing to understand.

    After the battle at me Capital City, Fang Zhengzhi returned to Northern Mountain Vige. During that period, his medication routine was disrupted. He did not take careful notice of the time he took his next medication in Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, the most important thing now was that he had no medication on him.

    That was because, after that harrowing incident, Wu Yuer had learned her lesson and vowed never to leave any medication with him.

    This included even the backup ones he had for emergencies.

    He had to apud Wu Yuer for her intellect. In order to prevent Fang Zhengzhi to act on impulse again, she directly cut off his ess to the medication.

    However, this would result in another problem.

    Fang Zhengzhi needed to take his medication. However, it was now in the possession of Wu Yuer. She would take around three to four days to arrive.

    What should he do?

    Could he reach a consensus with the Fifth Elder for a temporary truce and continue to fight after Wu Yuer arrives with his medication?

    Was that even possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the Fifth Elder must be an idiot to agree to such terms.

    It¡¯s over.

    He was going to lose this.

    As Fang Zhengzhi felt the iing presence, he knew that his end was near.

    This was because he could no longer control his powers of origin in the Vast World. It was now in conflict with his physical body.

    The intense pain made him drenched in perspiration. Although he was able to maintain some form of consciousness, he felt the world spinning and his vision blurred.

    Was he about to die?

    Chi Guyan would not me him for not fulfilling his promise, right? Even if she does, there was no helping it. He had arrived in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, under the watchful eyes of many powerful individuals. On the other hand, she had kept herself hidden.

    He would not take the me for this.

    As for Ping Yang...

    He would really have to go back on his promise. He then wondered if Ping Yang was doing well, before snickering to himself as he thought back on Cang Yue¡¯s haughty attitude.

    Waiting for me at Ling Yun Tower?

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled the scene when Cang Yue took Ping Yang away and the sh of determination in Ping Yang¡¯s eyes. He did not know if it was his emotions or the sh of powers within himself, but the pain only intensified even further.

    As the Fifth Elder closed in, Fang Zhengzhi had no time to think about all these.

    The only thing he could do was an attempt to dodge the attack.

    Boom!

    A blue light shed across the area and Fang Zhengzhi appeared two feet away from his original position. The ce where he was in was now reced by a huge crater.

    The Fifth Elder was in the middle of the crater, staring at Fang Zhengzhi with a murderous intent.

    He dodged it.

    He was fortunate.

    However, the Fifth Elder would rush forward once again. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s difort only grew stronger as the thumping sound rang ever so hauntingly in his ears. The scenes that he recalled yed constantly in his mind. There was no way he could use another Heavenly Dao technique to dodge this attack.

    The Traceless Sword then emitted a high-pitched hum as the purple light surrounding it glimmered with a trace of bitterness.

    The same bitterness Fang Zhengzhi was feeling.

    However, there were things that could not be solved even if one was feeling bitter. Qian Wu died harboring such thoughts, so did the Holy Barbarian Empire Emperor, who left without saying a word.

    The world is harsh.

    LI Mubai and Prince Xian Lin Yun had an anxious expression on their faces. They stared at Fang Zhengzhi in concern.

    But what could they do?

    They could start a war with the Holy Barbarian Empire for Fang Zhengzhi. However, they could not simply act on their own ord in this situation. This was because even the Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng chose to stay silent on the matter.

    How could they then interfere?

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu¡¯s voice rang across the area. However, he could not free himself from the battle he was ensued in. Yan Qing¡¯s fist had once again arrived in front of him.

    Yan Qing adopted a simple battle style. He employed no techniques and used all his strength in every move. This violent and aggressive style had kept Nangong Mu upied the entire time.

    Boom! Fissures appeared on the ground.

    Nangong Mu leaped to one side. Due to the temporary shift in his focus, he had suffered injuries from Yan Qing¡¯s attack.

    "Youngd, give up! No one will be able to save you!" The Fifth Elder moved and arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi. He then plunged the Thorn Sword right into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    "It¡¯s true, I should have taken my medicine..." Fang Zhengzhi stared at the Thorn Sword, which was closing in on his chest, as he sighed helplessly. He then slowly closed his eyes.

    He was waiting for the sword to pierce through his chest.

    It was painful.

    To the point where he could not tell if the sword had fulfilled its mission.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure. After all, he was already overwhelmed by the sharp pain from his chest, though something seemed to be amiss.

    His chest possessed the Heart Protection Mirror made from the powers of the Vast World.

    Under normal circumstances...

    One would need to first remove the Heart Protection Mirror to damage him. At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi should hear the crisp collision sound between the two forces.

 Chapter 666 The Source of Dao

    There was no sound of collision or the feeling of a sword piercing through his body. The only thing Fang Zhengzhi heard was the sound of a heart beating, and he couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes again.

    Then, he found a sword that stopped half an inch away from his chest.

    There was a jade-green glow on the sword and the gloomy cold light chilled the surroundings a little. However, that sword seemed to have stoppedpletely.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blurred vision prevented him from seeing clearly, but he could vaguely feel a mighty strength restraining the sword before him.

    Silk-like threads of light had coiled around the sword and evenpletely entwined the arm holding it.

    "It¡¯s Yan Xiu!? Has he recovered?"

    "He didn¡¯t die after all. But, what¡¯s with that light on his body?"

    "Something seems off, it appears that..."

    The astonished discussions from the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion were heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi was startled to hear them. "Yan Xiu," he thought. At the thought of that, a harsher pain struck him and he couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows.

    However, he eventually saw an indistinctive figure behind the Fifth Elder.

    Multiple blood-red halos revolved around the figure as if it was surrounded byyers of ripples.

    The thing was...there was a dark aura amidst the blood-red halos that felt extremely evil.

    More importantly, the eyes of the figure stood out. One of them was red, the other ck.

    It was red as fresh blood and ck as the abyss.

    Its ckness was like that of a bottomless pit without a trace of light, pulling people towards its depth.

    "Yan Xiu!" Fan Zhengzhi struggled to lift himself up with his hand against the ground, but the intense pain at his heart trembled his arm.

    At this moment, a cold voice was heard.

    "Die!"

    Rays of crimson light, infused with a dark aura, shot out from the ground like ws from hell.

    In a brief moment, almost a hundred rays appeared.

    "Yan Xiu, you..." the Fifth Elder sounded surprised, but he was quick to react. Countless beams of jade-green light covered his body, forming a spherical shield.

    "Boom!" a deafening bang was heard.

    The jade-green shield flew up as if it was struck by multiple impacts. It rose into the air, beforending heavily on the ground.

    Meanwhile, a gigantic painting formed in the sky.

    There were mountains, streams, and trees.

    It was the Bloody Landscape.

    However, unlike the previous Bloody Landscape, the current one had a fathomless darkness in it, apart from the bright-red blood.

    A terrifying suction force was unleashed from the Bloody Landscape. With an incessant buzzing, countless strands of light shot out at high speed.

    "Crack!"

    The strands of light struck on the Fifth Elder¡¯s jade-green spherical light shield.

    The light shield was soon pulled over and into the Bloody Landscape painting at a faster speed.

    It was definitely a shocking scene.

    All the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion, as well as the three emperors sitting on the Heaven Academic Altar, and even Mu Qingfeng who had his eyes closed all these while, opened his eyes at this moment.

    "What¡¯s going on? How is he so powerful all of a sudden?"

    "Did he break through? Did Yan Xiu enter the Rebirth State as well?"

    "It should be! Look at the light that gathered around him instead of copsing, that¡¯s a symbol of the Rebirth State!"

    "But, even if he has reached the Rebirth State, there¡¯s no way he could be that powerful. Even the Fifth Elder seemed defenseless against that suction force!"

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion were taken aback and could hardly react to this sudden change. After all, even they could vividly sense that terrifying power.

    However, they were certain that Yan Xiu had broken through and entered the Rebirth State.

    "He broke through?" The Fifth Elder¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    Although his body was shrouded by the jade-green light, he had never expected to be forcefully pulled back.

    Most importantly, even the light shield on his body had cracked after the attack just now and it seemed to be at its limits.

    Moreover, he clearly sensed that the dark aura on Yan Xiu was getting denser.

    Coils of dark aura circled up Yan Xiu¡¯s legs and fused with the crimson aura, giving off an air of extreme evil.

    "Boom!"

    The Fifth Elder collided with the Bloody Landscape and the impact shook his body.

    At the instance when he collided with Bloody Landscape, the crimson lights and dark aura violently crashed into him, each feeling like a sharp w.

    "Crack! Crack!" the jade-green light on his body started to shatter, and the crimson lights that were infused with the dark aura went through the cracks and headed toward him.

    "Begone!" a dark-green shock wave that was more intense than the jade-green light burst out of his body.

    With the shock wave, he broke free of Bloody Landscape¡¯s control and fell to the ground nearby.

    However, it was a hardnding.

    "Powerful!"

    "How is he so powerful?!"

    "Didn¡¯t he just break through to the Rebirth State?"

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion eximed with disbelief.

    Mu Qingfeng suddenly stood up from his white-jade chair, as his white robe danced to the wind, an unconceble astonishment could be seen in his eyes.

    "Dao of Asura? Is it really that strong?"

    "Although the Dao of Asura is always known to be the strongest of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, this is too..."

    "Yan Xiu..."

    The three emperors stood up as well with their gaze fixated on Yan Xiu, apart from shock, there was a strong suspicion on their expressions.

    "No, this isn¡¯t the Dao of Asura, it¡¯s the Fallen Asura!" Many horrifying cuts appeared on the Fifth Elder¡¯s body after he had fallen and blood was dripping off his body. He was sweating profusely and he looked traumatized.

    "Fallen Asura?!"

    "What? Fallen Asura...could that dark aura be the legendary Hell Killing Aura?"

    "Oh crap, this would not end well if that¡¯s really it..."

    The disciples¡¯ face changed when they heard the Fifth Elder. As disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion, they naturally knew the meaning of that phrase.

    Dao of Asura - One of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques

    It was also the only Dao Technique that incorporated both good and evil, boasting the most fearsome power. At the same time, it¡¯s also the most dangerous Dao Technique.

    This was because one needed to kill to ess the Dao of Asura. As recorded in the "Law of Dao", one must equip himself with killing desire and sense the will of Asura whilstmitting murder, in order to ess the Dao of Asura.

    However, that would easily waver the person¡¯s conscience.

    After all, it was almost impossible to maintain one¡¯s goodness in the process of endless ughter. This resulted in many people who tried to master the Dao of Asura eventually falling into the depths of the Asura Hell, bing a puppet of the will of Asura that knew nothing but killing.

    ¡¯Fallen Asura¡¯ was the name given to such puppets.

    "Fallen Asura?! Yan Xiu..." Fang Zhengzhi was equally shocked when he heard the Fifth Elder and the disciples.

    He too knew the meaning of that phrase. In fact, he knew clearly about the severe consequences of falling into the depths of the Hell of Asura.

    A human controlling the Asura, and the Asura controlling a human, werepletely different.

    This was a simple logic. When a person controlled the Asura, he¡¯s channeling his own Origin Energy to activate the Asura¡¯s power. However, once he¡¯s controlled by the Asura, that wouldn¡¯t be needed anymore, because he himself became the Asura.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop this. He had purposely asked the Heavenly Oasis Saint before about the Dao of Asura, so he knew that the dark aura on Yan Xiu¡¯s legs was the evil aura of Hell of Asura. Once the Asura¡¯s evil aurapletely assimted the blood-red lights, Yan Xiu¡¯s mind would bepletely under the control of the will of the Asura. There would be no chance of separation then.

    "Pfft!" Fang Zhengzhi spat out another mouthful of blood as the eagerness increased the pain at his heart.

    His vision was getting blurrier and the sound of a heart-pounding at his ears was getting heavier. His sweat was pouring out like the rain.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi as well.

    His ck and red eyes seemed to be startled, following which, an extreme pain could be seen from his eyes.

    "Ah!!!" Yan Xiu let out a painful cry, the red eye seemed to be polluted by the dark aura at this moment.

    "Yan Xiu, don¡¯t be rash!" As Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice was heard, a tremendous golden light lit up on his body.

    Without much hesitation, he shot out a beam of light from his hand, towards the center of Yan Xiu¡¯s brows.

    But Yan Xiu suddenly moved at this instance, he waved the silver blood fan in his hands, and the Bloody Landscape in the sky came to protect his entire body.

    "Boom!" the golden light was blocked by Bloody Landscape.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu approached the Fifth Elder with an extreme speed, appearing before him in an instant.

    "Die!"

    A beam of red light infused with the dark aura emerged from beneath the ground and broke through the white-jade pavement and entwined the Fifth Elder¡¯s right leg.

    Asura Hell.

    It attacked from the beneath the ground, as opposed to the patterns of all other Dao Techniques, making evasion incredibly difficult. Not to mention it brought about an enormous suction force that felt like it could drag someone to hell.

    However, the Fifth Elder was a Sage State cultivator after all.

    Even in such a scenario, he was quick to react and pped the light that was coiling around his right leg without hesitation.

    "Boom!" The red light which was infused with the dark aura trembled and loosened.

    The Fifth Elder and shot up into the sky in the meantime.

    However, as his legs left the ground, two more beams of light came out and coiled around his legs like lightning.

    As he was in the air, he couldn¡¯t attack the light again, with the addition of the terrifying suction force, his movement stopped.

    "Boom!¡¯ he crashed onto the ground.

    "Fifth Elder!"

    "Is this Fallen Asura?! Powerful! It¡¯s almost like he¡¯s someone else!"

    "He had just entered the Rebirth State!"

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion couldn¡¯t help but tremble at the sight of such a scene. Facing the fearsome power Yan Xiu disyed, and the evil aura on him that was getting stronger, the disciples felt a chill up their spines even though they were far away from the battlefield.

    Yan Xiu moved again. He closed the Silver Blood Fan and brandished it like a sword to stab at the Fifth Elder¡¯s throat.

    "Yan Xiu!" The Fifth Elder sounded angry. At the same time, his right hand pressed against his waist and instantly pulled out a shade of rich green color.

    It was a real thorn-vine.

    The vine was thick as a finger and jade-green in color. Countless thorns were scattered across the vine, each shiny like a jade.

    ¡¯That¡¯s the Fifth Elder¡¯s Source of Dao!"

    "It¡¯s the Heavenly Vine, Great Barren Heavenly Vine!"

    "For all these years that I¡¯ve spent in Heaven Dao Pavilion, I¡¯d never seen the Fifth Elder using his Great Barren Heavenly Vine in any fight before!"

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion all gaped at the vine in the Fifth Elder¡¯s hand.

    Source of Dao ¨C something that almost everyone who reached the Sage State would possess, and it¡¯s also the most important thing to them.

    It¡¯s the foundation for bing a master of the Sage State.

    Buzz! An intense aura flowed from the Great Barren Heavenly Vine to the Fifth Elder¡¯s arm as soon as it appeared, following which, a terrifying aura burst out of his body.

    Coils after coils of rich green aura dispersed from his heart,pletely washing away the red light that entwined his legs.

    His arm that was cut off by Fang Zhengzhi earlier, was now growing at a visible rate as if he was regenerating.

    Even his jade-green runes that grew dim suddenly became eye-blinding, almost twice as bright as it was at the start.

 Chapter 667 Destruction, Purple Dragon Flies in the Air

    The powerful energy made Fifth Elder¡¯s eyes as green as jade.

    However, when all the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, they all knew the price that he was paying.

    This was because as the runes on Fifth Elder¡¯s forehead shone brightly, other forms of runes could also be seen around it. Even his body appeared to bend over.

    The source of the Dao, this was the reason why powerful Sages could understand the Holy Dao. They could unleash the final bit of potential in their body. The price was obvious...

    Life, aging.

    If they were not forced into this corner, which cultivator in the Sage State would wish to sacrifice these two points?

    Even though Fifth Elder¡¯s arm had been cut off by Fang Zhengzhi just now, he did not take out the Great Barren Heavenly Vine because his arm could recuperate.

    When he took out the Great Barren Heavenly Vine, it meant that it could no longer be reversed.

    Fifth Elder moved. As the runes shone on his forehead, he rushed toward Yan Xiu. He did not retreat but attacked instead. A jet of green light shot out from the Great Barren Heavenly Vine in his hands.

    Every jet of light that was shot out turned into a crystalline jade-like thorn.

    In just an instant, hundreds of thorns congregated only one point. Together, they formed a sharp sword that wasprised exclusively of these thorns. Then, they pierced toward Yan Xiu¡¯s heart.

    "Boom!" An explosion sounded.

    Hundreds of thorns exploded instantly.

    The figures of the two of them touched and then flew apart. Then, Yan Xiu, who had been flying toward Fifth Elder, retreated back rapidly. Blood-red light and ck energy crisscrossed all over his body.

    "Kaboom!" With that, Yan Xiu¡¯s body hit the ground. The white jade split open and a deep trench that was about the size of a human appeared.

    "Did we win?!"

    "Fifth Elder used his Source of Dao. Even though Yan Xiu is a Fallen Asura, he could not have resisted it, right?"

    "No, he¡¯s standing up!"

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion all sighed in relief when they saw Yan Xiu crashnding on the ground. Quickly, however, they realized he stood up once more.

    It was extremely fast as if the blow just now did not even impact him.

    However, everyone could see that Yan Xiu¡¯s body was filled with horrifying wounds. He seemed to be pierced by hundreds of thorns.

    However, the wounds were healing mysteriously. As the wounds healed, the ck energy around Yan Xiu¡¯s body became thicker.

    "Yan Qing, our battle should be postponed!" Nangong Mu said to Yan Qing, who was rushing toward him. His expression was unusual.

    "Is it for a friend?" Yan Qing¡¯s fist stopped.

    "Yes!" Nangong Mu replied firmly.

    "However, you should know that once the battlemences, there¡¯s no possibility of stopping it. It¡¯s only when one side wins and the other loses!" Yan Qing stared intently at Nangong Mu. It was as if he did not even notice Yan Xiu¡¯s transformation.

    This was a form of concentration.

    Like a predator hunting its prey.

    Nangong Mu said nothing. However, his grip on his Green and Blue Dual de tightened.

    "You can beat me and save or friend. Or, you can let me defeat you. Then, I¡¯ll help you save your friend!" As Yan Qing said that, he started to advance toward Nangong Mu once more.

    "Then, you can go and lie down!" Nangong Mu nodded his head. He abandoned all notion of stopping the fight. His grip tightened, and he pulled the Green and Blue Dual de apart once more.

    When they were together, it meant defense.

    When they were apart, it meant offense.

    Nangong Mu wielded his Green and Blue Dual de once more and charged forward. He was like an eagle with its wings outstretched as he shed down at Yan Qing.

    "Dual Combo!"

    With Nangong Mu¡¯s cry, two rays of green and blue light appeared in the sky. Furthermore, between the two rays of light, there were two streams of light which intersected.

    They were sword light.

    They came down from the heavens. One blue and one green.

    "Kill!"

    Nangong Mu¡¯s sword shed straight down on Yan Qing¡¯s fist. Blood spurted out. Even Yan Qing¡¯s fist, struck by Dual Combo Cuts, split open.

    Blood flew everywhere. Bones were broken.

    One could tell that Nangong Mu¡¯s sword was exceptionally sharp.

    However, the moment Nangong Mu¡¯s Dual Combo Cutsnded on Yan Qing¡¯s fist, Yan Qing¡¯s other fist started to move too. It seemed to bepletely uninjured as itnded squarely on Nangong Mu¡¯s stomach.

    "Thud!" A deep sound could be heard.

    Then, Nangong Mu¡¯s bodynded heavily on the ground too.

    Yan Qing retreated back quickly by five full steps before he could steady himself. However, as he retreated, his fist, which had been cut open by Nangong Mu¡¯s sword, was making odd cracking noises.

    Blood flowed out. Flesh and blood were all in a horrendous mess

    However...

    The broken bones inside healedpletely.

    "Invincible.... So this is invincible!" Nangong Mu stared intently at Yan Qing¡¯s freshly-healed fist as if he could not believe it.

    "It was a powerful move, but it was useless against me." Yan Qing clenched the fist that had just been cut open. Pieces of flesh and streaks of blood were still on it. Then, he opened his mouth and said, "Do you know? I don¡¯t have friends too. Furthermore, I don¡¯t believe that I need friends!"

    "I thought so too in the past!" Nangong Mu¡¯s gaze was deep. "However, after I meet Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, I realize that one can have friends!"

    "Can have friends? Hahaha..." Yan Qing suddenlyughed. Sunlight fell on his dark skin, giving it an extra shiny glow. "What uses do friends have? Even rtives are useless, what more can friends do?"

    "Without rtives, how can there be you?" Nangong Mu retorted.

    "So I should be thrown away the moment I was born?" A beastly light shone in Yan Qing¡¯s eyes. "When I was one, my rtives abandoned me after they found out that my body simply could not store Origin Energy. Furthermore, they abandoned me in the darkest part of a jungle!"

    "Could not store Origin Energy?" When Nangong Mu heard this, his gaze faltered. Until now, he just realized that Yan Qing had not used any of his Origin Energy at all.

    Pure physical power.

    There was no disturbance to Origin Energy.

    Yan Qing did not exin this problem. Instead, he lowered his head and continued as if he was talking to himself, "For a human to coexist with beasts, there are two conditions. Firstly, you must be strong enough. Secondly, you must know thenguages of the beasts. For me, when I was one year old, I saw them. However, at that age, Icked both conditions!"

    "How did you survive?" When Nangong Mu heard this, he started to be skeptical.

    "Actually, I didn¡¯t ¡¯survive¡¯. To be urate, I was once swallowed by a ¡¯Night Atonement Panther¡¯!" When Yan Qing heard Nangong Mu¡¯s words, a cruel smile crept across his face. He appeared exceptionally cold.

    "Swallowed into its stomach?!" Nangong Mu¡¯s expression was one of shock. This was because even he could imagine that scene when he heard this piece of news.

    "Indeed, into the stomach. Then, I sliced its stomach open from inside and crawled out. This was how I became one of them." Yan Qing nodded his head.

    "..." Nangong Mu said nothing.

    All this while, he knew that Yan Qing was raised by beasts. However, he did not know that he was raised under these conditions.

    In other words, only Yan Qing, who was the top talent of the Extreme Empire who also had the appetion of the ¡¯Invincible Freak¡¯, could live under this condition.

    "When I returned from the jungle, they all called me ¡¯wild man¡¯ until I beat them all one-by-one, with these fists!" At this point, as Yan Qing spoke, the bones in his body cracked.

    "You¡¯re very lonely!" Nangong Mu said suddenly.

    "No, you¡¯re wrong, I¡¯m not lonely. I live for a purpose, which is to be stronger. I want to tell everyone that even without Origin Energy, you can still be very strong. You did well, but you¡¯re not my opponent!" When Yan Qing said that, his body moved once more as he walked toward Nangong Mu step-by-step.

    Nangong Mu too stood up from the ground. He gripped his Green and Blue Dual des tightly. His eyes shone with two colors, green and blue.

    They matched the scar on his face.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu¡¯s expression appeared slightly savage.

    "We won¡¯t ever know if I¡¯m your opponent until I try!" As Nangong Mu spoke, his body moved once more. A brilliant light shone from his Green and Blue Dual des. "Your talent is ¡¯invincibility¡¯, but my "Green Blue Secret Art" point to one path, and it¡¯s called ¡¯destruction¡¯!"

    "¡¯Destruction¡¯? Excellent!" When Yan Qing heard Nangong Mu¡¯s words, he paused momentarily. Then, he shone excitedly with light.

    ...

    At the same time, Yan Xiu pounced toward Fifth Elder once more.

    The red light on his body started to turn darker and darker. It was almostpletely ck. Even the shing red light in his eyes turned inky-ck.

    An unbelievably evil aura could be felt from Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    His speed was impossibly fast.

    "Fallen Asura, just like the legends!" Fifth Elder stared at Yan Xiu, who was already in front of him, as he stabbed forth with his Great Barren Heavenly Vine once more.

    However, this time, at the very moment heshed out with his Great Barren Heavenly Vine, a ck stream of gas shot out from underneath the ground. Instantly, it wrapped itself around the arm in which he held the vine.

    This caused Fifth Elder¡¯s stab to move to the side by just a little bit.

    However, this was enough to let Yan Xiu dodge this blow. Then, he swatted Fifth Elder¡¯s chest with his Silver Blood Fan.

    "Slick!"

    A bloody wound could be seen on Fifth Elder¡¯s chest. It was so deep until the bones underneath could be seen. Bright-red blood flowed out from the wound. Furthermore, in the wound, one could even see ck streams of qi moving.

    A tiny sizzle could be heard from the wound.

    Fifth Elder¡¯s face turned pale. He tried to retreat, but Yan Xiu¡¯s body had already mysteriously disappeared.

    Instantly, he burrowed underneath the ground.

    It was a curious scene.

    It was as if he had returned to Asura Hell.

    Then, Fifth Elder could feel a terrifying energying from behind him. Someone struck him with his palm from behind. An invasive and torrential energy could be felt.

    "Pu!" Fifth Elder¡¯s body lunged forward. At the same time, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood sttered on the white-jade floor, staining it bright-red.

    "So strong!"

    "Fallen Asura. As an Asura, such power!"

    "If this continues, there¡¯s no way Fifth Elder can control him!"

    As the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion watched this scene, a cold sensation crept across their heart. They naturally saw the weird scene just now.

    Fall of Darkness.

    No one had heard or seen such a mysterious attack before.

    "Master!" Every single disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion now looked at the Mu Qingfeng, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Other than panic, their eyes betrayed a look of imploring.

    When Mu Qingfeng heard the pleas of his disciples, he clenched his fists subconsciously and spoke nothing. However, he did not shake his head anymore.

    "No, we have to stop Yan Xiu!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion Disciples saw that Mu Qingfeng did not reply them, they could all guess what he was thinking.

    If the fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Fifth Elder just now was a private matter...

    What about now?

    When Yan Xiu became a Fallen Asura, this was no longer a private matter anymore. Hence, even if Mu Qingfeng said nothing, they should know what to do.

    This was because if Yan Xiu lost all rationality, the entire Heaven Academic Altar would be Asura Hell. Blood would flow like a river.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples dyed no more. They charged forth at a neck-breaking speed and attacked Yan Xiu from all four directions. They all pointed their swords right at him.

    When Mu Qingfeng saw this scene, he remained silent.

    He did not stop them.

    "Quick, subdue Yan Xiu. We can¡¯t let him be a Fallen Asura!"

    "If we can¡¯t subdue him, let¡¯s kill him!"

    "This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How can we let a puppet who had lost his mindmit mass murder here?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples surrounded Yan Xiu and shouted. As they shouted, they took up four different positions.

    North, south, east, west.

    They drew their swords and attacked Yan Xiu from all four directions simultaneously.

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a terrible condition. His gaze was blurry and the sounds next to his ear were as loud as thunder, preventing him from concentrating.

    However, he could feel the energy from the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Ah!" Fang Zhengzhi cried out in pain. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood rained down on the Traceless Sword.

    A demonic purple light shone once more.

    "Roar!" A deafening dragon roar sounded. Then, a ray of purple light shot into the sky. It was a Purple Dragon that traversed the sky. Two dark red light shone in his eyes.

    Torrential rain came down.

    However, it was not actually a rain. Instead, countless rays of purple light descended from the sky. Every single ray of purple light was actually a sword light

 Chapter 668 Dragon Dances Eight Realms

    It was a rain of sword that came from the sky. Demonic purple light shone in the horizon, blocking the intense sun. The entire Heaven Dao Pavilion was cloaked with coldness.

    Every disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion turned to stare at the scene with their eyes wide open.

    They looked at the realistic Purple Dragon dancing in the sky, as well as the rain of sword in the air, and the only thought in their head was...

    "This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "Does this mean that Fang Zhengzhi wants to go against the entire Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    If the fight between Yan Xiu and Elder Wu shocked them, this scene right now, as they sensed the sharpness from the sword light in the sky, filled them with fear.

    Dodge.

    But how could they dodge?"

    "No!" At this moment, a frenzied voice cried out. Following that, a powerful pressure surged forth from the Heaven Academic Altar.

    Golden light that enveloped the entire heaven and sky could be seen.

    Amidst the golden light, there was another realistic dragon. However, this was a golden dragon, with two blood-red eyes glowing menacingly.

    "Green Dragon Eye?!"

    When he saw the golden dragon, the two other rulers, who stood next to the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty Lin Mubai, subconsciously took five steps back.

    "Roar!" A beastly roar reverberated in the air.

    A golden light shone over the heads of the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. The golden dragon rushed toward the Purple Dragon, which was still flying in the sky.

    "Boom!" The purple sword light in the sky descended andnded on a patch of golden light. A sharp and huge noise could be heard.

    Then, more and more rays of purple sword light came down...

    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

    Countless rays of purple sword light bombarded the golden light, causing it to tremble non-stop.

    Quickly, the patch of golden light was prated.

    Countless rays of purple sword light pierced through the golden light and descended down onto the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "We can¡¯t dodge them!"

    "We have to block them!"

    "Let¡¯s direct our energy into the Green Dragon Eyes of the Great Xia Emperor!"

    As the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at this scene, they all gritted their teeth. A brilliant radiance shone from their bodies. At the same time, the light quickly converged with the golden light in the sky.

    Explosions sounded off non-stop.

    Some of the weaker disciples started to spit mouthfuls of blood. They sat down on the ground. Even the more powerful Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, who were in the Rebirth State, were sweating profusely.

    Some Rebirth State disciples also had blood trickling down the sides of their mouths.

    "Shua!"

    "Shua! Shua! Shua!"

    More and more Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples became injured. Atst, a few rays of light shot up and went straight into the sky like lightning.

    Those were dozens of human figures.

    Complicated runes shed on their foreheads.

    Powerful Sage State cultivators.

    "Roar!" The Purple Dragon in the sky shed with the Golden Dragon. Their dragon ws gleamed coldly with light.

    At this moment, something was happening on the forehead of the Purple Dragon.

    Someone stood there. His entire body was cloaked with purple light. Demonic light swirled in his eyes. The Scarless Sword in his hands shone with a blood-colored light.

    "Scarless Sword?" Mu Qingfeng stared quietly at Fang Zhengzhi, who stood on top of the Purple Dragon. He spoke in a deep voice.

    "Pu!" Someone spat blood out again.

    The knees of Lin Mubai trembled. He was evidently injured. However, he persisted. Furthermore, he looked as if he was about to fight until the end.

    This was because...

    He could not let Fang Zhengzhi strike.

    No matter what happened, he could not let Fang Zhengzhi strike.

    "Boom!" Another explosion sounded off in the sky.

    This was the first sh between a Sage State disciple and the Purple Dragon. He shed out with his sword, which was sharp enough to cut through the air.

    Even so, with that sh...

    When itnded on the Purple Dragon, all it did was to make it tremble slightly. Drops of purple light fell from the ce where the sword struck the dragon.

    "Such power! Is this guy really in the Rebirth State?!" When the disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, he was visibly stunned.

    At this moment...

    He realized how powerful Fang Zhengzhi, the one who fought with Third Elder and Fifth Elder, was.

    "Roar!" Another dragon roar.

    The Purple Dragon did a barrel-roll in the air and dodged the Golden Dragon. A humongous dragon tailshed out to strike the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who attacked first.

    "Bang!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple¡¯s body twisted. The snow-like light on his body melted away and blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth.

    Disbelief shed in his eyes.

    Even though he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was powerful, he could not believe that he was this powerful. It was unbelievable.

    "It¡¯s the sword in his hands!"

    "That sword is weird!"

    "I must take the sword from him!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all exchanged looks. Then, they all stared squarely at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Then, they moved...

    They no longer tried to fight the Purple Dragon but instead, they sought to approach Fang Zhengzhi.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples underneath, as well as the rulers of the two countries who stood next to Mu Qingfeng, all looked at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand when they saw this scene.

    They all reacted to this new piece of information.

    Earlier, Fang Zhengzhi lost his battling abilities because of some special reason. He could not even dodge Fifth Elder¡¯s attack.

    Hence, how could he make a full recovery?

    And even became stronger in the process.

    This did not make sense and hence, the only reason was the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. The sword, known as the Scarless Sword, once belonged to the Sagely Battle God.

    Legend stated that the Sagely Battle God wielded this sword to the demonic capital of Blood Shadow City. Then, with this sword, he was able to rip the Blood Shadow City apart and kill the Demonic Emperor Si Kong.

    This was a legend.

    However...

    This did not happen in the past one hundred years.

    The Sagely Battle God did belong to the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, this story did not happen in the Great Xia Dynasty now. Instead, it happened a very long time ago. At that time, the world was unified under the rule of a single country, the Great Xia Dynasty.

    This sword...

    Could it really be the sword that the Sagely Battle God wielded?

    No one knew why but this thought shed past in the minds of all of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. It had no basis, but it was enough to arouse their suspicions.

    However, right now, there was no way to test this theory.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had started to move. Just as dozens of Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples rushed toward him, his ck hair billowed in the wind and his blue robes fluttered from its hem.

    The sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand shone with a bloody light.

    Among all the demonic purple light, the blood-red light appeared exceedingly obvious. Furthermore, the killing aura of the blood-red light suffocated everyone.

    "Dragon!" Fang Zhengzhi spoke in a cold voice.

    Then, the Purple Dragon and Fang Zhengzhi charged ahead together. They flew into the sky and prated ayer of clouds. It was as if the dragon had returned to the sea.

    However, a second word then came from theyer of clouds.

    "Dances!"

    Then, there was a third word and a fourth...

    "Eight!"

    "Realms!"

    When the fourth word was emitted, the purple sword light that came from the heaven became totally silent. It was as if time had stopped.

    However, this not permanent.

    Itsted for only a breath, or maybe for the blink of an eye, or maybe even shorter...

    However, one could be sure that when the purple sword light moved once more, they no longer headed down but instead, they congregated together. It was as if ten thousand swords were gathering together.

    Countless sword light gathered in the clouds. They dyed the clouds purple, a purple tainted with a blood-red streak.

    In the next instant, purple light, streaked with blood-red light, dashed forth.

    Eight sword-like figures.

    Every sword-light figure was as clear as jade. Every single sword figure shone with purple light. Every single sword figure brimmed with a powerful killing intent.

    "Oh no!"

    "Dodge!"

    "Split!"

    When the dozens of Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the eight sword-like figures, they did not even hesitate as they all headed in different directions.

    They were super quick.

    However, the eight sword-like figures were even faster.

    Every single of them appeared capable of cutting space open. The moment the dozens of disciples split apart, they were already behind them.

    "Fight!" When the eight Sage State disciples felt the cold killing intent behind them, they all gritted their teeth. They turned around and shed down on the sword figure.

    "Boom!"

    Eight explosions sounded off together like eight ps of thunder in the sky.

    It was not yet over...

    When the eight Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples shed at the eight sword-like figures, eight shadows appeared from behind their backs.

    Eight humanoid shadows.

    Every single one of their eyes shone red with a bloody light.

    Every single of them held a sword in their hands. They all raised their swords and purple light swirled all over their swords. A draconic aura swirled on top of them.

    "Dragon!"

    "yer!"

    "sh!"

    The eight humanoid figures uttered these words together. Following that, the swords in their hands came shing down on the heads of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, who were still recovering from the impact of the sh just now.

    "What?!" The disciples could all feel the sword lighting down from above their heads. Frustration and shock stered all over their faces.

    They could not dodge.

    This was because they eight humanoid figures appeared too quickly. There was no way they could dodge. More importantly, the eight humanoid figures appeared right after the eight sword-like figures.

    How could they block or dodge?

    When they sensed the bone-piercingly sharp killing intent, they were all extremely unwilling. The moment they entered the Sage State, it was as if they had entered another realm of existence.

    However, they were all about to die here...

    Furthermore, they were going to die at the hands of a Rebirth State Fang Zhengzhi...

    "No!" Eight unwilling voices cried out.

    Just as they cried out, the swords above their heads stopped. The eight humanoid figures stopped too.

    It was a curious scene.

    However, when this scene appeared, the dozens of Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in the air, as well as those on the ground, did not appear too shocked.

    Instead...

    All of them looked ashamed.

    "Master!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all stood up together as they bowed their heads in the direction of Mu Qingfeng, who stood at the top of the Heaven Academic Altar. However, Mu Qingfeng was no longer there anymore.

    "Bang!" Another sound that reverberated the heaven and earth could be heard.

    Following that, the purple light that formed clouds in the sky cleared up. The clouds cleared together with a corporeal Purple Dragon.

    "Pavilion Leader!" The two rulers said respectfully.

    Lin Mubai did not say anything. He tensed up as he stared intently at the two figures that were appearing amidst the clouds.

    Over there...

    There were two people.

    Mu Qingfeng, who wore long white robes, stood in the air. His snowy-white hair billowed in the wind. In his hand, he was carrying someone.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were shut. The purple light on his body waspletely gone and even the Scarless Sword in his hands were not there anymore.

    Even so, he clenched his teeth. He appeared enraged. In his rage, there was agony too.

    "Pavilion Leader, please spare Fang Zhengzhi! The Great Xia Dynasty takes full responsibility for today¡¯s incident. If that won¡¯t do... I¡¯m willing to trade my life for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s!" Lin Mubai said immediately when he saw this scene.

    "Emperor of Great Xia, there¡¯s no need for that," replied Mu Qingfeng when he heard Lin Mubai¡¯s words. He looked surprised. However, he still shook his head.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is only his state today because of the Great Xia Dynasty. Without his contributions to the Battle of the Southern Region and the Battle of the me Capital City, there will be no Great Xia Dynasty today. Please allow it, Pavilion Leader!" When Lin Mubai saw Mu Qingfeng shake his head, his expression tightened but he repeated his request once more.

    At this moment...

    A cry of pain resounded in the Heaven Academic Altar.

    Following that, a figure dashed forward like an arrow. Blood dripped from his body. He waspletely soaked in blood.

    "Fifth Elder!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally reacted. However, it was toote. Fifth Elder fell squarely on the ground.

    At the same time, a horrifying ck aura emerged from the ground. Yan Xiu, who was like a demon who escaped from hell, appeared.

    "Ahh!" Yan Xiu cried out in pain. His blood-red eyes were almostpletely filled with ck energy.

    "Eh?" Mu Qingfeng turned to look at Yan Xiu. As the noticed that the red light on Yan Xiu¡¯s body was turning almostpletely ck, he frowned.

 Chapter 669 Seal, Absolute Elegance

    The disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion noticed the changes in Yan Xiu¡¯s body. After all, the evil aura was too ferocious.

    "Oh no, Yan Xiu has beenpletely controlled by the Hell Killing Aura!"

    "We can¡¯t let a Fallen Asura stay alive!"

    "If we can¡¯t control it, we can only kill it!"

    "Kill!"

    Before Mu Qingfeng could give the order, dozens of disciples moved. The swords in their hands shone with an unparalleled brightness.

    Fallen Asura.

    A puppet of the Hell Asura.

    How could they let him stay alive?

    At this moment, Yan Xiu turned to look at the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. Compared to his usual cold self, his eyes brimmed with an unholy iciness.

    It was a look of extreme evil.

    He was like a demon, standing far above the mortals as he stared down at them. Cold, bloodthirsty, but also immensely proud.

    Asura!

    A proud and lonely Asura!

    Then, Yan Xiu¡¯s body turned ck. He now resembled a ck shadow. He fused with the ck qi around him.

    "Asura Hell!" Yan Xiu cried out coldly.

    The moment he said that the earth started to tremble violently. Following that, ink-ck streams of gas shot out from the ground.

    "Boom!"

    "Crack!" The first Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who rushed forth was trapped by the ck gas. At the same time, the cringe-worthy sound of a bone cracking could be heard.

    Then...

    The second stream, third stream, and fourth stream...

    "Kaboom!"

    The entire Heaven Academic Altar waspletely turned upside-down. Countless streams of ck gas shot out from the ground. Every single one of them was like a razor-sharp w as they grabbed the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    "Ah!" A cry of agony. One of the disciples¡¯ elbow was seized. Then, he was dragged underground.

    This was hell.

    True Asura Hell.

    "Quick, kill Yan Xiu! We can¡¯t show mercy anymore!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the ck streams of gas, sweat covered their faces. None of them held back anymore as they attack fiercely.

    Somewhere far away.

    Nangong Hao, d in white schr robes, stood where he was. His clear, white sword was held behind his back and his fists were clenched tight.

    He did not look at Yan Xiu at all.

    Instead, he stared at Nangong Mu. As he watched Yan Qing and Nangong Mu battled furiously, a light shone in his eyes.

    "Younger brother, my younger brother..." Nangong Hao¡¯s lips opened slightly. He appeared in pain. "Father, since you already have me, why did you let brother be involved too? Why? You know brother likes strength. You know how much I love him and yet, you... you want to force me. However, you don¡¯t have to, because I¡¯ve already vowed that I¡¯ll carry on the mission of the Nangong family. However, I won¡¯t let my brother be involved!"

    "Boom!" The ground started to shake.

    Nangong Hao clenched his fists.

    "Yow!"

    At this moment, one could hear the clear cry of a beast in the sky. It came from far away, but it brimmed with a powerful prative ability.

    Quickly, a huge shadow blocked the sun.

    It was an eagle-like beast whose body was covered with countless, snow-white scales. Its wings were huge and as it pped, it was able to summon cyclone-like wind.

    On its back...

    There was a figure. The bottom of her pink dresses fluttered in the wind. However, there was still a drop of blood near her mouth.

    One could tell, from the noise it made and the speed at which it reached the Heaven Academic Altar, that it was extremely fast. It all took ce in seconds.

    "Here! Atst!" Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes brightened. He looked at the huge beast above his head, as well as the figure on the beast. He sighed in relief and said, "Brother, wait a while more, just a while. I can soon finish the mission!"

    He was not the only one to notice the beast above the Heaven Academic Altar and the pink figure. The other Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples who were trapped in Asura Hell too lifted their heads.

    The moment they lifted their heads, the pink figure leaped down.

    Dress billowed in the wind.

    Her beauty was stunning. At that moment, the edges of her mouth were still blood-streaked. Furthermore, she looked slightly pale.

    However, she emitted an impossibly beautiful air, which made the expression of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples ze over. It was as if they had seen a ravishing portrait.

    She was Chi Guyan.

    She was the youngest disciple in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, everyone adored her, because she was easily one of the prettiest people in the world. Furthermore, her aura could make anyone submit to her.

    More importantly...

    She was personally invited into the Heaven Dao Pavilion by Mu Qingfeng. She resided alone in a corner of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, elegant and quiet. She was like an immortal who did not want to be bothered with worldly affairs.

    Furthermore, she had a mission.

    Double Dragon Roll Champion, a prodigy who shocked the whole world. Whoever had her could dominate the world.

    She was the Chosen One recognized by the leaders of the five sects and four countries!

    "Elder sister?!"

    "Sister Chiyan is back!"

    When the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw who was on the beast, their hearts all leaped with joy and happiness.

    However, Chi Guyan did not look at any one of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. Instead, she stared at one person, who waspletely surrounded by ck qi.

    That person was Yan Xiu.

    She jumped off the back of her beast. She did not move quickly, but her eyes were exceptionally bright like the stars.

    ck hair billowed behind her back.

    Quickly, she arrived on top of Yan Xiu¡¯s head.

    Yan Xiu looked up. His eyes brimmed with the solitude and arrogance of an Asura. His ck streams of gas, which took the shape of sharp, hellish ws danced.

    "Be careful, elder sister!"

    "Yan Xiu has turned into a Fallen Asura!"

    "Dodge, elder sister!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all noticed the killing intent that spilled forth from Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes. They also noticed Chi Guyan, who was approaching Yan Xiu, and a sense of panic gripped them.

    Yan Xiu moved at this moment.

    The Silver Blood Fan in his hands turned into a razor-sharp sword light. ck streams of gas surrounded the sword light as he stabbed at Chi Guyan with it.

    Very fast.

    Regardless whether it was the speed of Yan Xiu¡¯s attack or the ray of sword light, both were rapid.

    Coupled with the fact that Chi Guyan was suspended in mid-air, there was no way she could have dodged it normally. All she could do was to try and parry it.

    However, an odd scene appeared at this moment.

    When the sword light stabbed out, a huge shadow appeared behind Chi Guyan¡¯s back. It was a human¡¯s shadow. Furthermore, one could see that it was a woman.

    A woman with long ck hair that fell on her shoulders.

    One could tell that the shadow of the woman too had bright eyes. However, her eyes were calm and yet, it stared proudly into the sky.

    It was odd because calmness and pride should not be mixed together. However, it weirdly manifested in her two eyes.

    Silence, unbelievably silent.

    All of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, as well as the three emperors, all held their breaths. Everyone was still.

    Not only were they still, even the sword light Yan Xiu which tried to stab Chi Guyan with became still. The powerful sword light was razor-sharp.

    However, it mysteriously stopped before her.

    Then...

    Chi Guyan¡¯s hand moved. She reached out with her right hand and to touch Yan Xiu¡¯s forehead, slowly. Her movement was so slow until it was like swimming in ake.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s body froze and did not move. His eyes stared intently at the right hand that was approaching his head. He appeared enraged.

    Until the moment Chi Guyan¡¯s finger touched Yan Xiu¡¯s forehead.

    Starlight shone.

    Two fingers mped onto a starlight. Alternatively, one could say that they were pointed forward like a sword gesture. At this moment, they pointed at the dead center of his forehead.

    Starlight started to shine.

    Then, it dimmed.

    It was as if it had entered Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Following that, the ck streams of gas that surrounded Yan Xiu¡¯s body started to tremble violently and furiously. Evil aura started to spread in all four directions.

    The earth shook once more.

    Countless streams of ck gas shot out.

    However, none of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples moved. This was because they were all staring intently at Chi Guyan¡¯s fingers.

    "Seal!" Chi Guyan said softly. Her voice was like ark¡¯s. Her red lips trembled slightly.

    An astoundingly beautiful scene.

    However, in this beauty, there was an eye-catching redness. It was the blood that seeped from her mouth. One¡¯s heart trembled at how red it was.

    "Boom!" The heaven and earth shook.

    A powerful aura that came from above pressed down. The impossibly brilliant light started to shine, like the brightest stars in the sky.

    Bright starlight.

    The ck streams of gas started to retreat.

    They burrowed underground and into Yan Xiu¡¯s body. At longst, all of the ck streams of gas were gone. Only Yan Xiu¡¯s body, which had no light, was left.

    "Plop!"

    Yan Xiu¡¯s body turned soft as he dropped onto the ground.

    At the same time, Chi Guyan¡¯s body trembled. The flow of blood from her mouth was uncontroble. She spat blood out, which looked like an exquisite flower.

    "Elder sister!"

    "Sister Chi Guyan!"

    When the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, they all reacted to it quickly. Quickly, they all flew toward Chi Guyan.

    The shadow behind her had disappeared. At this moment, her face was extremely pale. However, oddly, when she dropped onto the ground, the ground behind her had a huge tear in it as if it had been cut by a sword.

    It was as if a sword had shed it.

    "Guyan." Mu Qingfeng moved at this moment. His body shed and he quickly appeared next to her from the sky above.

    His long white robes pped as he lifted her body up.

    Naturally...

    At this moment, someone else stood in front of Chi Guyan. Someone who did not lift a single finger. White schr robes fluttered around him.

    Nangong Hao.

    The moment Chi Guyan spat out a mouthful of blood, he moved. However, Mu Qingfeng was faster. All he could do was to stand quietly behind him.

    "Master." Chi Guyan nodded her head. Then, she prepared to greet him. However, when she greeted him, she noticed Fang Zhengzhi, who was in his grasp, but she did not even look at Nangong Hao, who was behind her.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s lips trembled as if he wanted to say something.

    However, he said nothing. All he did was to stand there quietly and blocked the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples that were crowding around them.

    "No need for formalities, you came at the right time. Thanks to your talent, we are able to seal the will of Asura inside Yan Xiu." Mu Qingfeng returned the greeting as he helped her up.

    "Yan Xiu is his friend, and naturally mine." Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was not loud and she appeared weak. The blood near her lips was bright.

    The other disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion did not appear to catch what she was saying. However, they understood Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words.

    "Had elder sister returned a bitter, many more disciples would have died in Yan Xiu¡¯s hands!"

    "That¡¯s right, she came back just in time!"

    "Under these conditions, elder sister can still seal the will of Asura inside Yan Xiu¡¯s body. She¡¯s a role model for all of us!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all discussed intently.

    When she heard what they were saying, she shook her head. Then, she slowly turned around and looked at the sky behind her.

    "Master, I¡¯ve caused trouble for the Heaven Dao Pavilion."

    "Trouble?" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression faltered and a light shed in his eyes.

    As the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and Chi Guyan¡¯s master, he clearly knew that ever since she joined the pavilion, the word ¡¯trouble¡¯ had never been raised.

    Today...

    Chi Guyan called it ¡¯trouble¡¯.

    Hence, one could foresee that it was real trouble.

    "Trouble? What problem did elder sister create?"

    "That¡¯s impossible."

    "Didn¡¯t we solve the trouble already?"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard her words, they were all in shock and disbelief. After all, they really did not know what was more troubling than what had just happened.

    They did not believe...

    However, they still looked at Chi Guyan and Mu Qingfeng. Then, their eyes widened.

    This was because, in the sky, a ck cloud flew toward them. The cloud was formed from countless ck beasts. On the beasts, there were many figures d in tight, ck robes.

 Chapter 670 Tian Xing

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were not surprised that others woulde to the pavilion because today was a special day. It was already proven to be no longer surprising to some.

    However...

    There seemed to be many of them?!

    As they stared at the moving ck cloud, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples exchanged looks. They stared at each other as they saw the same thought in each other¡¯s eyes.

    "They¡¯re from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!"

    "There are at least 300 of them!"

    "While there are more disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, why will they send 300 of them all at once?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the ck shadow on the beasts, as well the insignia of the Nine Pinnacle on the riders¡¯ chest. They naturally guessed their identity.

    However, they did now know what their aim was.

    Trouble?

    At that moment, this word shed in everyone¡¯s mind.

    Then, all of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at Chi Guyan, but just for a short moment.

    At that moment, sword light shed.

    A few hundred disciples already got into position to unleash their sword formation.

    None of them asked how did Chi Guyan offend the Nine Pinnacles Mountain because there was no need. All they needed to know was that Chi Guyan was one of them and the favorite disciple of Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng. She earned all of their respect. That was all that they needed to know.

    "Roar..."

    The roar of these beasts got closer and closer, reverberating in the sky above the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, they did note down. Instead, they continued to circle in the sky above.

    "Eh? What¡¯s wrong with the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" A voice of surprise came from the sky. Then, a figure appeared before the sword formation.

    It was a middle-aged man d in big, ck robes. His long hair hung loosely over his shoulders. However, nine exquisite braids of hair could be seen on his head. Every single braid of hair was adorned with a golden ornament.

    He had slightly thick brows, big eyes, and a tall nose. His lips were thick and he did not appear too special.

    Furthermore,pared to Mu Qingfeng, this middle-aged man was much younger.

    However, when the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this man, they gripped their swords even tighter. This was because this man exuded a horrifying suppression from his body.

    It was like a tall mountain, and just as heavy.

    At that moment, there was no anger on the man¡¯s face. Instead, he seemed to be smiling. The heavy suppressive aura continued to press down on all of them.

    Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Tian Xing.

    "Leader Tian, why did youe to the Heaven Dao Pavilion with so many of your guys?" One of the disciples who stood at the front of the sword formation stepped with some difficulty as he ¡¯greeted¡¯ him.

    "It¡¯s a small matter. I heard that Chi Guyan was injured in the territory of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and hence, I feel apologetic. I came here to apologize to Pavilion Leader Mu, as well as to bring Chi Guyan back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for rest and recuperation, in case others say that I don¡¯t treat my guest well," Tian Xing smiled slightly and replied.

    "Bring sister back to Nine Pinnacles Mountain to rest?" When the disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion heard this, he appeared surprised. After all, this entourage did not seem like one who was here to apologize.

    Furthermore, if we took 10 000 steps back...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain never had a good rtionship. Why would a disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion who got injured at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain be invited back to rest by the leader himself?

    However, he could not ask any more questions.

    This was because his rank was too low.

    Hence...

    He could only take a step back and looked at Mu Qingfeng, who stood behind the sword formation.

    "Ask Leader Tian toe over," Mu Qingfeng said. However, as he said that, he could not help but frown.

    He naturally knew the reason why Tian Xing was here.

    Among everyone in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he and Yuer were the only ones who knew where did Chi Guyan went and what she did.

    However, none of this was important anymore.

    Importantly, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was here.

    Furthermore, they came in such a formation. At the moment, while Tian Xing was all smiles, the ¡¯cloud¡¯ had yet to descend.

    ...

    The sword formation formed by the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples quickly made a path.

    Tian Xing did not find it strange. He slowly stepped forward and through the sword formation. His long ck robes billowed in the wind gently.

    Soon, Tian Xing stood in front of Mu Qingfeng.

    Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was still in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s arms. However, his gaze swept past him as he looked intently at Chi Guyan.

    "I¡¯m truly apologetic for letting your beloved disciple get injured in my territory. It¡¯s a mistake on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s part!" Tian Xing bowed and said. Then, he continued, "However, please don¡¯t worry. Wee today with sincerity. I have already sent someone to tell the ck Moon Ind to the three Sages there to pluck the Thousand Years Fire Herb and turn it into a pill. Once you head toward the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, your injuries will healpletely!"

    "Thousand Years Fire Herb?!"

    "The Thousand Years Fire Herb of the ck Moon Ind?"

    "How... how can this be possible?"

    "Leader Tian actually wants to use the Thousand Years Fire Herb of the ck Moon Ind to atone for his sins? Did I hear wrongly? That¡¯s one of the supreme treasures of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!"

    When the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion heard this, they were all shocked.

    They could all tell Tian Xing¡¯s journey here today was not done in goodwill. However, if he did note with good intentions, why did he pluck the Thousand Years Fire Herb?

    Was this a joke?

    No one thought that.

    This was because it was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and among the five sects, Tian Xing had a good name...

    For the sincerity of his words.

    It was obvious. If Tian Xing said all these, it would all happen. Furthermore, Tian Xing said all these in front of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Leader Tian, there¡¯s no need to be so generous. Guyan¡¯s injuries are not serious and it¡¯ll recover in a few days if she rests in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. There¡¯s no need for all these troubles!" Mu Qingfeng did not look at the shocked disciples. All he did was to reply while shaking his head.

    "That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Pavilion Leader Mu. ¡¯The five sects stem from the same root.¡¯ This was something you said. Hence, why do we need set the distinctions between us so clearly? I will honor my words. Since I said that I will use the Thousand Years Fire Herb to heal her, I won¡¯t be stingy with it. Please don¡¯t worry and hand her over to me for care. In one month, you can collect your disciple from me at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. If she¡¯s injured in any way, you can take my life as punishment!" Tian Xing smiled and persisted.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard this, they all furrowed their brows. They did not know what he had in mind.

    Taking 300 disciples all the way to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Just to atone for a wrongdoing?

    Furthermore, he promised once more to use his Thousand Years Fire Herb to heal Chi Guyan. Why did this whole thing appear fishy?

    Where in the world would something this good take ce?

    One had to know that the Thousand Years Fire herb was an unparalleled healing treasure. It had a great amount of heaven and earth essence. Even a small bite would benefit one greatly.

    Shock, suspicion.

    This was what all of them were thinking.

    However, to Mu Qingfeng, Tian Xing¡¯s words were like thorns in his heart. He opened his mouth but he was unable to speak.

    Just like what Tian Xing said...

    He said the phrase, ¡¯The five sects same root¡¯.

    As for the Thousand Years Fire Herb...

    He naturally knew that Chi Guyan had it. If she did not have it, Tian Xing would not take 300 of his disciples here. Furthermore, he would not dare proim that he would use it to heal her wounds.

    Hence, because he knew all these, he could not open his mouth.

    Mu Qingfeng did not fear the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. However, he said to consider the notion of ¡¯five sects from the same root¡¯.

    If Tian Xing came so that he could force Chi Guyan to surrender the Thousand Years Fire Herb or mention the issue of her stealing the herb, the issue would be easier to resolve.

    He could providepensation, or they could fight.

    However, Tian Xing decided not to use this method to ¡¯spare¡¯ the Heaven Dao Pavilion, or to resolve this issue. His objective was scarier than what Mu Qingfeng had imagined. He used the words ¡¯five sects same root.¡¯

    In other words...

    Mu Qingfeng had no way of admitting that he knew Chi Guyan went to the ck Moon Ind to steal the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    If he admitted it, it would be tantamount to discarding the notion of ¡¯five sects same root¡¯. People would no longer trust him. Likewise, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain could use this matter to rally the other four sects to crush the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, if he did not admit it...

    How could he reject Tian Xing¡¯s goodwill?

    There was no way to do so.

    Mu Qingfeng was silent. Just like what Chi Guyan said, she brought trouble for him. Furthermore, this was more problematic than what he had imagined.

    "Roar!"

    At that moment, one could hear a beastly roar in the distance.

    It came from the north and was extremely clear and loud. Compared to the beasts of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain that the disciples were riding, it appeared even wilder.

    Mu Qingfeng slowly raised his head and looked northward. In the northern sky, three ck dots were slowly expanding in size.

    "Tian Xing, you..." Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changed. This was an expression that rarely crossed his face. Even when Fang Zhengzhi used Dragon Dances Eight Realms, he did not betray this expression.

    "I found some witnesses too. I fear that Pavilion Leader Mu may worry. I believe that with the Yin Yang Pavilion, the Fu Xi Valley, the Ling Yun Tower, as witnesses, Pavilion Leader Mu would finally let me bring Chi Guyan back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for treatment, right?" As Tian Xing looked at Mu Qingfeng, his smile became even wider.

    Everyone knew Chi Guyan¡¯s position in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    No one knew why would Mu Qingfeng instruct Chi Guyan to do such a thing. Of course, if Chi Guyan was not a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and a disciple of the Nine Pinnacles Mountains instead, Tian Xing did not know what steps he would take to protect her.

    Would he take 300 disciples and bash his way into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Would he wage a bloody war here?

    Tian Xing never thought about all these.

    This was because ever since the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was established, it had never faced such a challenge whereby someone would kill their way to its door.

    Following that, three Sage State cultivators were then injured, and the Thousand Years Fire Herb, which they had been guarding for countless years, was stolen. On top of all these, half of the ck Moon Ind sank!

    No one could endure the pain of losing so much carefully-nned territory...

    How was this different from a stab to the heart?

    Tian Xing came today because he wanted to return the ¡¯gift¡¯ to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. You sank my ind, so I would demand a piece of your flesh, particrly a piece from your heart.

    "Roar!"

    The beastly roars got nearer.

    Three shadows dropped down from the sky.

    Two men and one woman.

    One was old, one was middle-aged, and one was young.

    The one in the middle was old. He had a white beard and his grayish-white robes had the ancient words ¡¯Fu Xi¡¯ stitched on it.

    To his right was a middle-aged man, who wore a white robe inside and a ck robe over his white robe. On his ck robe, there was a Yin-Yang Diagram.

    To the left of the old man was a young woman.

    She wore purple robes around her and her long ck hair came all the way to her waist. On her head, a flower made from green bronze adorned her hair. It did not appear extravagant but simple.

    When the mountain wind blew, it did not ruffle her hair. She stood there quietly like a painting. However, she exuded a regal look.

    If Fang Zhengzhi were conscious, he would recognize the woman as the one who brought Ping Yang away in the me Capital City...

    Ling Yun Tower, Cang Yue.

    The three of themnded and stood not too far away from Tian Xing.

    The moment theynded, they all greeted Mu Qingfeng and Tian Xing. Then, two of them looked in surprise at the chaotic state of the Heaven Academic Altar.

    One of them cast her gaze...

    Squarely on Mu Qingfeng.

    To be precise, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was still in his arms.

    Naturally, Cang Yue was the one who looked at him. Her expression did not change. However, a light shed in her eyes.

    However, it passed quickly and she looked elsewhere.

    "Pavilion Leader Mu, I heard that your beloved disciple was injured in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Leader Tian was deeply regretful and hence, he plucked his Thousand Years Fire Herb to heal her. He invited ¡¯Gu Yuan¡¯ all the way over here to be his witness. Is this true?" The old man in the center said after he surveyed his surroundings.

    "Elder Gu spent much effort toe all the way here to the Heaven Dao Pavilion," said Mu Qingfeng. He did not reply to Gu Yuan directly.

    "It¡¯s a small matter. While the five sects reside in separate corners of the world, we alle from the same roots. Leader Tian sets a good example today. I¡¯m deeply impressed!" When Gu Yuan heard his words, a wide smile crossed his face.

 Chapter 671 A Moment of Gentleness

    "I¡¯m very impressed as well!" Mu Qingfeng nodded.

    If he was still unable to figure out the purpose of Gu Yuan¡¯s trip and his stance, he would have destroyed the name of Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    But...

    How could he resolve this?

    Mu Qingfeng furrowed his eyebrows as he pondered the issue. He never thought that Tian Xing would resort to such means - Tian Xing was obviously forcing him to go against the harmony between the ¡¯five sects originating from the same root¡¯ and be at odds with the other four sects, which would form a joint resistance.

    "With Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall ¡¯Wan Lei¡¯ and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s Cang Yue as witnesses, can Pavillion Leader Mu be assured and leave your beloved disciple to my care?" A faint glint passed through Tian Xing¡¯s eyes as he gazed at the look on Mu Qingfeng¡¯s face.

    "No way!" Mu Qingfeng replied directly.

    He knew exactly what Tian Xing was nning - on the surface, he was iming simply to want to take Chi Guyan back to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, but his true intention was to force Mu Qingfeng to push Heaven Dao Pavilion into istion.

    Certainly, as Tian Xing had said, even if Chi Guyan really was brought back to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, Tian Xing would not do anything to her, and after a month, Mu Qingfeng could go to the mountain with something of equal value as the Thousand Years Fire Herb in exchange for her.

    However, Chi Guyan was already injured.

    At such a time, how could he let Tian Xing take Chi Guyan away?

    "Oh? I don¡¯t understand, I came here with good intentions. Why are you rejecting someone who travelled so far to apologise?" Instead of being angry however, Tian Xing smiled and continued, "Could it be that Pavillion Leader Mu is unwilling to see the friendship of the five sects stemming from the same root thrive? Or that he thinks the ten-thousand-year treasure of the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, the Thousand Years Fire Herb, has been stolen?!"

    When Tian Xing spoke thest line, his tone became obviously aggravated and his imposing manner caused all the surrounding disciples of Heaven Dao Pavillion to step back involuntarily.

    "Five sects stemming from the same root, evesting friendship?"

    "The Thousand Years Fire Herb had been stolen? How could that be possible, given how tightly the ck Moon Ind is guarded? In fact, three sages are guarding it, how could anyone steal it?"

    "What in the world is Tian Xing trying to do?"

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion all felt the weight of Tian Xing¡¯s imposing manner, and were very confused - something just felt weird.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, and he unconsciously clenched his fists, before quickly unclenching them.

    "No matter what Leader Tian says, I¡¯d never let you take Guyan away..."

    "Master, I¡¯m willing to travel to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain with Leader Tian to recuperate." Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was rather weak, but she still managed to interrupted Mu Qingfeng.

    Chi Guyan then slowly took a step out.

    A wisp of mountain wind blew past.

    It blew past Chi Guyan¡¯s beautiful ck hair and long pink dress, entuating her pale beauty.

    The moment Chi Guyan stepped out, Nangong Hao unconsciously reached behind him, but he did not say a word.

    As for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, they exchanged nces with each other upon seeing what was happening. They did not know the motive behind Tian Xing¡¯s insistence on asking Chi Guyan to recuperate at the Nine Pinnacle Mountain.

    But they could see that...

    it wasn¡¯t anything good.

    Even if Tian Xing did fulfill his promise, and used the Thousand Years Fire Herb to cure Chi Guyan.

    "Sister, you can¡¯t leave with him!"

    "That¡¯s right sister, you¡¯re heavily injured now, how could you travel on the road now?"

    "Exactly, if you want to recuperate, there¡¯s no shortage of elixirs in Heaven Dao Pavilion. So what if they have the Thousand Years Fire Herb? We don¡¯t care about that, sister, please stay in Heaven Dao Pavilion, don¡¯t leave!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples quickly reacted, trying to dissuade Chi Guyan.

    "Guyan, about this..."

    "How could I reject Leader Tian¡¯s gesture of goodwill?" Chi Guyan spoke again, not waiting for Mu Qingfeng to finish his sentence.

    "Ha ha ha... The disciple is clearly more reasonable and knows the true importance of the harmony between the five sects from the same root. Come with me then!" Tian Xingughed, hearing the conversation.

    He was very clear about how important Chi Guyan was to Mu Qingfeng. As long as Chi Guyan went to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, no matter how extreme the conditions were, Heaven Dao Pavilion was sure to agree to them.

    "Alright, Leader Tian, please give me a moment." Chi Guyan said nothing much else, simply nodding her head lightly and turning her gaze towards Mu Qingfeng who was by her side. "Master, leave Fang Zhengzhi to me. I¡¯d take care of him."

    "Guyan, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of..." Mu Qingfeng looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes and at Fang Zhengzhi in his hands, suddenly thinking of something.

    When Chi Guyan was leaving Heaven Dao Pavilion, Yuer looked for him and told him that Chi Guyan was going to ck Moon Ind to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    However, as to the reason why Chi Guyan wanted the Thousand Years Fire Herb...

    Yuer did not borate.

    That was the act of a servant-girl¡¯s loyalty towards her mistress. Mu Qingfeng obviously knew what Yuer was thinking. After all, Yuer simply wanted him to save Chi Guyan, and wasn¡¯t telling him about it with the intention of betraying Chi Guyan.

    Mu Qingfeng did not ask further.

    But now, hearing Chi Guyan¡¯s words, he could not help but ponder the answer to that question.

    "Master, please don¡¯t worry." Chi Guyan spoke again, with an unusually determined expression on her breathtakingly beautiful face. She seemed to know what Mu Qingfeng wanted to say,

    But...

    How could Mu Qingfeng not worry?

    Still, he let the matter go and quietly put Fang Zhengzhi down, while gazing at Yan Qing and Nangong Mu, who were still sparring in the distance, and shook his head.

    As to why Mu Qingfeng shook his head...

    no one knew.

    However, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw a shocking scene.

    When Mu Qingfeng was preparing to lower Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan carried Fang Zhengzhi almost immediately, and at the same time, pressed one hand onto his chest.

    In this moment, to the disciples¡¯ surprise, they saw a sh of anxiety on Chi Guyan¡¯s face. In fact, besides anxiety, they also saw gentleness.

    Gentleness?!

    Despite her years at the Heaven Dao Pavilion and her interaction with various disciples, the Chosen One Chi Guyan had never had any bodily contact with any disciple.

    Yet, now...

    Here she was, hugging a man, showing such gentleness on her face, even if it was only for a moment, it was enough to drop every Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple¡¯s jaw.

    "Sister... she... she..."

    "That rumor, it can¡¯t be true!?"

    "What rumor?"

    "Word has it that sister and this guy are... are engaged..."

    "What?! Surely that¡¯s impossible?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stared, with wide-open eyes, at the bizarre scene in front of them.

    As for Nangong Hao, his face turned rather pale, but it did notst long. He soon recovered, but the hand behind his back grew into a tightly clenched fist.

    Two others had their fists likewise tightly clenched.

    Great Xia Dynasty Emperor Lin Mubai and Xian King Lin Yun had their fists clenched too, after seeing Chi Guyan hugging Fang Zhengzhi. Their faces betrayed obvious signs of tension.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan paid no heed to the surrounding noise. After pressing her hand on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest a few times, her brows furrowed slightly.

    "Leader Tian, I¡¯d leave with you for the Nine Pinnacle Mountain right after taking him to rest and changing my clothes!" Chi Guyan prepared to leave as she finished speaking.

    "Wait!" Tian Xing did not know what kind of rtionship Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi shared, but he certainly couldn¡¯t let her leave just like that. "You don¡¯t need to change your clothes, there are plenty of clothes for you to choose from at Nine Pinnacle Mountain!"

    "The clothes at the Nine Pinnacle Mountain won¡¯t fit me." Chi Guyan slowed her footsteps and slowly turned to look at Tian Xing, with a hint of nonchnce in her bright eyes.

    "As soon as you, beloved disciple, reach the Nine Pinnacle Mountain, I¡¯d arrange for your measurements to be taken..."

    "Since Leader Tian is here to apologize, then he should at least try to look the part. Besides, as an honored guest and disciple of the Heavenly Dao, I shouldn¡¯t be dressed shabbily. Leader Tian need not worry about me taking too long, I¡¯d be back very soon!" Chi Guyan cut Tian Xing off.

    "Virtuous Niece..."

    "Is there anything else, Leader Tian? Do you not trust that I will follow you to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain?"

    "How could I not believe you, it¡¯s just..."

    "Actually, Leader Tian, you have nothing to worry about. Fu Xi Valley, Yin Yang Hall and Ling Yun Tower are all here bearing witness. No matter how suspicious you may be, it can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t even trust them, am I right? Besides, Leader Tian believes that the five sects stem from the same root. Since they stem from the same root, then they also naturally need to trust each other." Chi Guyan didn¡¯t wait for Tian Xing to speak again, and turned to leave as soon as she finished speaking.

    Witnessing this, the Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan and the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall ¡¯Wan Lei¡¯ moved the corners of their mouths at the same time.

    Naturally, they knew the real motive behind the Nine Pinnacle Mountain Leader Tian Xing¡¯s visit to Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Precisely because they knew...

    It took them awhile to react.

    Leave?

    How could she be so skilled?!

    Only after understanding the significance of what had just happened, watching Chi Guyuan leave hurriedly, did an apparent change appear in Gu Yuan and Wan Lei¡¯s expressions.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s Cang Yue was likewise looking at Chi Guyuan at this moment, with a glint in his eyes, despite being previously unmoved.

    As for Tian Xing, his face hadpletely changed. His smile was wiped from his face, and reced with a cold expression.

    He had never expected that Chi Guyan would suddenly use changing as an excuse.

    Such a simple excuse.

    It was so simple that it wasn¡¯t something that someone wise would think of, but such a deceptively simple excuse had used his words back on him.

    Five sects stemming from the same root, with three sects as witness.

    Passive, very passive.

    This passivity should have been undertaken by the Heaven Dao Pavilion, but now, it had been thrown back onto him by Chi Guyan, who had used such a simple method.

    Tian Xing obviously could not let Chi Guyan leave.

    The reason was simple - the Thousand Years Fire Herb was on her.

    Once she leaves...

    Would anyone still know where the Thousand Years Fire Herb is?

    "Chi Guyan, you... wait!" Tian Xing didn¡¯t hesitate at all, grabbing Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder in one swift movement.

    At this moment, a figure wearing a white long robe, with snow white shoulder-length hair appeared in front of him.

    "Leader Tian, what are you trying to do?" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s body was right in front of Tian Xing¡¯s, and he red at Tian Xing with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

    "Get out of my way!" Tian Xing was no longer polite and circumvented Mu Qingfeng. However, because Chi Guyan was moving very quickly, even though she was carrying Fang Zhengzhi in her arms, she still disappeared into the distance in an instant.

    "Are you intending to start a fight in Heaven Dao Pavilion, Leader Tian? Although I did say that the five sects stem from the same root, but, Leader Tian is here today as well, aren¡¯t you" Mu Qingfeng appeared in front of Tian Xing once again.

    "Scram!" Tian Xing pped his palm onto Mu Qingfeng¡¯s chest.

    That was an ordinary p, and there wasn¡¯t even any glow emitting from Tian Xing¡¯s palm, but when the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the p, they had an illusion.

    Like andslide, they felt like arge mountain was crumbling.

    "It appears that Leader Tian really doesn¡¯t care about the harmony between the five sects from the same root anymore?" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voiced rang softly. At the same time, he pped Tian Xing.

    Only, his hand did not hit Tian Xing directly.

    Instead, it was twisted at a very odd angle, and he grabbed at Tian Xing¡¯s arm from the side. For a moment, Tian Xing¡¯s arm also stopped moving.

    A tumble without airwaves.

    Whether it was Tian Xing¡¯s strike or Mu Qingfeng grabbing Tian Xing¡¯s arm, they all happened in a moment, so quickly that no one was able to react.

    Harmony between the five sects from the same root? Mu Qingfeng, just stop pretending! Chi Guyan came to our ck Moon Ind and stole the Thousand Years Fire Herb, injuring the three sages of the ck Moon ind and even sunk my ind. How dare you say this wasn¡¯t your instructions?" Tian Xing¡¯s palm reached forward once more, and his body leaned forward with it.

    "It wasn¡¯t me." Mu Qingfeng said, stepping back along with Tian Xing¡¯s actions at the same time, keeping one hand firmly gripped onto Tian Xing¡¯s palm.

    "You think I would believe that?" Tian Xing¡¯s gaze turned cold again, and he let out a thick whistle.

    "Howl!"

    "Howl howl..."

    Numerous beasts started to howl, and at the same time, many ck figures jumped down the backs of ferocious beasts, in the direction of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Tian Xing had very obviously turned hostile.

    Everything had happened so quickly, from Chi Guyan agreeing to follow Tian Xing to the Nine Pinnacle Mountain to recuperate, to Tian Xing turning hostile. It was just like a movie, and the disciples had yet to take in everything that had happened.

    However, they all heard...

    "Chi Guyan came to our ck Moon Ind and stole the Thousand Years Fire Herb, injuring the three sages of the ck Moon ind and even sunk my ind. How dare you say this wasn¡¯t your instructions?"

    Tian Xing had directed that to Mu Qingfeng...

    But those words boomed in the disciples¡¯ hearts like ps of thunder.

 Chapter 672 Black Jade Stone Statue, The Best in the World

    "Sister Guyan¡¯s trip was to the ck Moon Ind?!"

    "It seems so... but, isn¡¯t the ck Moon Ind protected by three sages? I heard that the three sages are rather strong, and share a great sense of camaraderie!"

    "But Tian Xing said that sister..."

    The disciples nced at each other, and saw a look of deep ast

    onishment from each other¡¯s eyes.

    It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t trust Chi Guyan, rather, it was almost impossible to aplish what she had allegedly done.

    Yet it seemed like that was the truth.

    Just one person?

    Breaking into ck Moon Ind alone, stealing Nine Pinnacle Mountain¡¯s ten-thousand-year treasure, the Thousand Years Fire Herb, seriously injuring the three sages and even sinking the entire ck Moon ind...

    had Chi Guyan sister be that strong?

    Even up till this moment, it was hard for them to believe.

    Yet, they also started to understand why Tian Xing had brought three hundred Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples here, and what he had meant earlier.

    Using the Thousand Years Fire Herb to heal Chi Guyan¡¯s injuries was just an excuse.

    Even if Tian Xing really did that, after a month, if Heaven Dao Pavilion were to get her, they would definitely pay a heavy price.

    "Srrrrr..."

    The three hundred odd Nine Pinnacle disciples had alreadynded.

    In fact, a group of twenty mennded right in front of Chi Guyan, blocking her path as she tried to leave. These twenty disciples had fury in their eyes as they had overheard Tian Xing, Chi Guyan and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s conversation.

    She had gone too far!

    She who had stolen the supreme treasure, hurt people, sunk the ind, and still had the audacity to get Tian Xing to yield. As a Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciple, how could they let this rest?

    "Kill!" They yelled coldly.

    More than twenty Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples started attacking Chi Guyan as Tian Xing had already ordered them to strike. Their anger was already stoked.

    The other Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples also started taking action.

    Like enraged cocks, they beat their arms and headed straight for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples with no hesitation.

    "Kill!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples also started to react, forming sword formations by the hundreds, and their swords beamed as they ran straight towards the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples.

    Too far?

    There was no such thing as too far.

    Chi Guyan was a member of the Heaven Dao Pavilion - that meant that she had her reasons for doing what she did, period.

    This was a showdown between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacle Mountain.

    As for Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan and First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall Wan Lei who hade to bear witness, they gave each other a look and smiled lightly.

    Bear witness?

    No one would travel such a distance simply to be present as witnesses.

    They hade to witness, not just anything simple, but to witness the oue of this battle. As for whether the oue of the battle would be a persecution of the Heaven Dao Pavilion by the other four sects based on moral grounds or a huge loss for both the Nine Pinnacle Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it didn¡¯t matter.

    What mattered was...

    That they fought!

    Cang Yue directed her gaze to Chi Guyan, and at Fang Zhengzhi who was in her arms, and did not speak a word, but simply observed quietly.

    The twenty odd Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples were disying apparent fury now.

    Even though they knew that Chi Guyan was heavily injured, they did not hold back, and each move was meant to kill.

    Yet, how could the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples let the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples get their way?

    Almost exactly at the moment that more than twenty Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples striked, an equal number of Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples appeared to fight them off, and beams of cold sword light blocked the attacks on Chi Guyan.

    It was a mess.

    However, not everyone was tangled in the fight.

    For instance, there were at least ten people from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain who weren¡¯t participating, and those Sage State disciples who previously rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi also weren¡¯t moving.

    It was also as if they had a sense of camaraderie...

    Even Nangong Mu didn¡¯t pick up his sword, and was only fixing his gaze on Chi Guyan, with a glint in his eye.

    "Tian Xing, this is the Heaven Dao Pavilion, you can¡¯t win!" Mu Qingfeng had stopped using honorifics for Tian Xing, and instead addressed him directly by name.

    "Hand Chi Guyan over, or else I¡¯d continue fighting even if it means huge losses on both sides!" Tian Xing had a look of unusual coldness, and edged closer and closer to Chi Guyuan.

    "You should know that that¡¯s impossible!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s footsteps slowed with Tian Xing¡¯s, but his body was between Tian Xing and Chi Guyan.

    "If that¡¯s so, then we have nothing to talk about!"

    "Then let¡¯s not talk!"

    "Sure, Old Man Mu, you forced me to do this!" as Tian Xing spoke, an enormous ck shadow appeared on his hand.

    It was a statue.

    A statue made entirely of huge ck stones.

    It was wearing heavy armor that was pping in the wind, but weirdly, the statue looked exactly like Tian Xing.

    "Tian Xing, you..." Mu Qingfeng¡¯s face changed as he saw the statue, and he subconsciously let go of Tian Xing¡¯s palm and ran as fast as he could towards Chi Guyan.

    However, it was toote.

    The moment the statue appeared, Tian Xing¡¯s body disappeared and the statue came to life, charging towards Mu Qingfeng who was rushing to Chi Guyan.

    "Since you don¡¯t want to hand her over, I¡¯d get her myself!" Chi Guyan heard a sound behind her and a shadow slowly creeped up on her.

    It was Tian Xing.

    His ck robe fluttered lightly.

    In the moment that Tian Xing appeared, his one palm was already on Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder. His speed was so fast that one could barely make out his actions.

    Spots of light started appearing on Tian Xing¡¯s head. They were from the nine gold ornaments in his hair, each shining brightly.

    "Tian Xing, don¡¯t you dare!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s tone was urgent.

    However, he did not move forward, because the ck statue had blocked his path, and fist was in his face.

    "A ¡¯ck Jade Stone Statue¡¯ from the Sage State for an opportunity to catch Chi Guyan, the Heaven Dao Pavilion sure is generous!" The First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall Wan Lei eximed as he watched the ck statue with its fist aimed at Mu Qingfeng.

    "As long as Chi Guyuan is caught, the Thousand Years Fire Herb will return to Leader Tian. As for the loss of this Sage State ck Jade Stone Statue, with Chi Guyan in his hands, even if Leader Tian asked for two statues, I¡¯m afraid Pavilion Leader Mu would have little choice but to hand them over!" Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan smiled lightly as he listened to Wan Lei¡¯s words.

    "Yes, Chi Guyan is the key to this battle!" Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Wan Lei also smiled. In fact, while smiling, a faint white light concentrated on his hands. "Leader Tian, I¡¯de help you!"

    As Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Wan Lei¡¯s voice was heard...

    People moved as well.

    In that instant, he passed through the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples around him, and passed through the crowd like a sh, making a beeline for Chi Guyan.

    "Hurhur... he¡¯s still young!" Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan remarked as he watched Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Wan Lei bolt towards Chi Guyan, and his smile grew wider and wider.

    "Boom!"

    In this moment, a loud boom was heard, and then a meteor-like radiance also emerged from the debris.

    Ten thousand stars shined brightly.

    Under the bright sun, they only shone more brightly.

    Only, this radiance did notst for long,sting only for an instant. A figure slowly emerged, her long pink dress dancing with the wind.

    It was a beautiful sight, only, a trace of red could be seen blossoming.

    That was fresh blood flowing from the shoulder.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s condition was obviously not ideal now. Her extremely pale face seemed rather tired, and blood was still flowing slowly from the corner of her mouth, but she was biting her lips tightly, seemingly having no intention of letting go of Fang Zhengzhi, who was still in her arms.

    In this instant...

    A shadow rushed towards her once more.

    Of course, Tian Xing didn¡¯t expect to take Chi Guyan down with just one blow although she was heavily injured. After all, she had ruined his entire ind alone, thus he would never underestimate her.

    "Was she only slightly injured? Even while carrying someone, she was still able to use her powers to dodgy them. She really is the Chosen One!" Tian Xing gazed at the blood stains on his hand, slightly dazed.

    However, he had no intention of stopping.

    Shifting shape, Tian Xing charged towards Chi Guyan once again. He had to seize this opportunity - once he had Chi Guyan, he would be in control again.

    "Leader Tian, Wan Lei is here to help you!" At this instant, a sound came from behind Tian Xing. Clearly, Wan Lei was not far away.

    Tian Xing said nothing.

    He knew only too well what Wan Lei was thinking.

    At a time like this, if he ordered Wan Lei to fall back, or turned to greet Wan Lei, he would be wasting his breath. Since Wan Lei had already took action, he was sure to have a reason to not fall back.

    The five sects had fought, both openly and in secret, for so many years...

    As a member of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei would never let this battle between the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Heaven Dao Pavilion end so quickly. Wan Lei was joining the battle as a distraction, to buy Mu Qingfeng more time to escape, giving Mu Qingfeng another chance to continue fighting with Tian Xing. Tian Xing was very clear about Wan Lei¡¯s ns.

    Thus, he did not care about Wan Lei, and stretched his arms towards Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulders instead.

    In this moment, a white figure appeared behind Tian Xing. The snow-white schr¡¯s robe fluttered in the air, and in the figure¡¯s hand was a sword, a sword that gleamed like white snow.

    Nangong Hao.

    No one knew when he came to Chi Guyan and Tian Hang¡¯s side.

    That is because, his appearance did not incur any sound or movement, such that even his sword was translucent; almost transparent.

    He pulled his sword out without making a sound.

    This was Nangong Hao¡¯s "standstill" technique.

    Do nothing and everything is done. Complying with nature and all things, he could be one with the wind, with the rain, and naturally, with the air as well.

    He brought his sword down in a swift motion.

    However, it did not chop right into Tian Xing, but instead, only rubbed against the side of Tian Xing¡¯s body, missing him by just the slightest bit, cutting a hole in his clothes instead.

    Such a result seemed rather surprising.

    Or perhaps it wasn¡¯t so surprising after all.

    After all, Nangong Hao was trying to attack Tian Xing, the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region. Besides Mu Qingfeng, who could really stop Tian Xing?

    Tian Xing was extremely fast.

    His gaze was fixed on Chi Guyan throughout, and he was seemingly unfazed by the sword. Even when it ripped his clothes apart, he did not move his gaze.

    Close, very close.

    Chi Guyan was very pale, but her eyes still shone as brightly as a glittering night sky, with starlight flickering in her eyes. She bit her lips tightly, with unparalleled determination on her beautiful face.

    No more retreating.

    This opponent was Tian Xing, after all.

    An opponent who could fight with Mu Qingfeng as an equal, Tian Xing.

    "Coagte!" a soft cry came from Chi Guyan, followed by a faint shadow appearing behind her. It was a woman, a woman with long, jet-ck hair.

    Like Chi Guyan, the woman¡¯s eyes were very bright.

    With exquisite facial features and a terrifying aura, she exuded a godly presence, as if she were the most regal being in existence, so regal that one was unable to generate any remotely dirty thoughts about her.

    In the moment that the woman appeared, Tian Xing¡¯s body seemed to have dropped into a huge quagmire, and his actions became extremely slow.

    "No doubt, you are the world¡¯s number one bloodline. Chi Guyan, you are the Chosen One. Even though you took my Thousand Years Fire Herb and sunk my ck Moon Ind, I don¡¯t want to kill you. You just need to cooperate with me and stop resisting, I assure you that I will treat you like a distinguished guest. Your blood yet to fully awaken; you are not my opponent. Just leave with me, ten years from now, if you want revenge, just look for me!" Tian Xing¡¯s tone was cold, and as he spoke, he also took a step forward.

    "Ka, ka, ka!"

    The sound of something being torn could be heard around Tian Xing, and Tian Xing continued stepping forward.

    "Coagte!" Chi Guyan cried again, causing a fresh blood to gush from the side of her mouth.

    Her pale face was now turning bluish-purple, and her tightly bit lips couldn¡¯t stop trembling, to the extent that even the shadow behind her threatened to dissipate.

    "Chi Guyan, it¡¯s useless, given your current capabilities, trying to stop me forcibly is just asking for it!" Tian Xing¡¯s body moved again, and the "ka, ka, ka" sounds were heard once again.

    Only, this time, his body wasn¡¯t as unaffected. Instead, it continued to move at a very slow ce, as if he were crawling in mud.

    This caused Tian Xing¡¯s face to change ever so slightly.

    "Chi Guyan, are you courting death, linking the Small Dimension to your blood?" Tian Xing could not understand why Chi Guyan was sacrificing so much just to dy such a little bit of time.

    That is, until...

    he saw a glittering, dancing sh of light, vibrant red light that made one¡¯s heart tremble; even the bright sun hanging in the sky could notpete with that sh of red.

 Chapter 673 Overpowered by My Girl

    An immense heat rushed out of the sh and in that instant, the temperature of the entire Heaven Academic Altar was at least doubled.

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb!

    It is one of the supreme treasures of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, of course Tian Xing recognized it immediately.

    "Chi Guyan, are you trying to threaten me?!" Tian Xing¡¯s tone became rather sarcastic, as his thick eyebrows furrowed even more.

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb, a top level healing treasure in the Holy Region.

    However, due to therge amount of heavenly essence the treasure contained, it could not be consumed directly.

    Thus, Tian Xing never thought that Chi Guyan would want to use the Thousand Years Fire Herb to heal her injuries and preserve her life, because that would be equivalent to courting death.

    In that case...

    There was only one possibility.

    Threat.

    She was destroying the Thousand Years Fire Herb as a way to threaten.

    "It really is the Thousand Years Fire Herb!" A voice rang out behind Tian Xing, and a figure emerged from the distorted rays at the same time.

    It was The First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei.

    After seeing clearly that it was indeed the Thousand Years Fire Herb that Chi Guyan had whipped out, his gaze showed a strong desire for it for an instant, although this desire was quickly suppressed.

    One often dreams about certain things, but when one gets the said item in reality, one realises that reality differs entirely from one¡¯s expectations.

    Notwithstanding the very slim possibility that the Thousand Years Fire Herb could be consumed directly, surely, Wan Lei wouldn¡¯t be so stupid to be coveting the Thousand Years Fire Herb now.

    The change caused by the Herb naturally attracted the attention of Mu Qingfeng and the disciples of both Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain. After all, that immense heat was boring down on everyone.

    "Is this the Thousand Years Fire Herb?"

    "Wow, Sister Chi Guyan really did get the Thousand Years Fire Herb!"

    "That means she defeated the three sages and sunk the ck Moon Ind. She really is worthy of her title as the Chosen One!"

    Although the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples knew that the Thousands Years Fire Herb might have been in Chi Guyan¡¯s hands, knowing and seeing were still two very different things.

    As for the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, they felt nothing but anger and fury.

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb was the supreme treasure of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, with three sages guarding it daily. Only when something of utmost importance happened, would the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain use the Thousand Years Fire Herb, and only then, he would only use a little of it.

    The most he would take is a small piece of it, to heal a wound.

    To pluck the entire Herb like today...

    In all the years that the Herb had been passed on from generation to generation in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, no one had ever thought of doing such a thing.

    But what about now?

    It had been plucked, forcefully, by Chi Guyan from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and from now onwards,, would never grow again. Even if it was returned in entirety, it was a huge loss.

    More importantly, Chi Guyan still had the audacity to take it out, and use its destruction as leverage against Tian Xing. How could this not anger them?

    "Wicked!"

    "Even if Chi Guyan really is the Chosen One, we Nine Pinnacles Mountain will not tolerate her stealing our supreme treasure and destroying our ind!"

    "That¡¯s right, today, the Heaven Dao Pavilion has to give us some form of reparation today!"

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples each grabbed their weapons tighter in their hands, appearing furious beyond measure.

    However, Chi Guyan still had yet to answer Tian Xing¡¯s question, and simply bit her lip tightly, letting the blood flow freely from the corner of her mouth.

    Her beautiful face was pale and turning purple; her long pink dress was dancing freely in the wind.

    She did not look at Tian Xing again; nor did she nce at Wan Lei who was behind Tian Xing. Instead, she lowered her head slightly, looking at the pale Fang Zhengzhi in her arms, whose eyes were still tightly shut.

    "You really dide in the end..." Chi Guyan opened her mouth, her voice extremely weak.

    She then raised her hands slowly, trembling as they brushed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead, brushing the fine beads of sweat off.

    It has to be said that Chi Guyan¡¯s words were rather odd. In fact, they were so odd that Tian Xing, Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Wan Lei and all the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain were puzzled.

    Chi Guyan paid no heed to them. Her eyes were only for Fang Zhengzhi as she gazed quietly at that not-quite-handsome face in her arms, appearing to be reminiscing something.

    However, she got out of her reverie quickly, and at the same time, a furious cry escaped from her mouth.

    "Shameless thief!"

    When she let out this cry, Chi Guyan¡¯s paleplexion seemed to grow warmer, exhibiting an invible aura of regality.

    "Chi Guyan, don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re using the Thousand Years Fire Herb to threaten me, I really wouldn¡¯t dare to take any action. If you dare to destroy the Thousand Years Fire Herb, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain will definitely oppose the Heaven Dao Pavilion!" Tian Xing nced at Chi Guyan who was muttering something under her breath, and seemed to lose his patience. However, he was also afraid to forcefully remove the restrictions that had been put on him.

    After all, the Thousand Years Fire Herb was with Chi Guyan.

    All she needed to do was give a gentle squeeze.

    With that, the Thousand Years Fire Herb would immediately turn to ash. The Nine Pinnacles Mountain would never wish for such a thing to happen, thus, even though he was their leader, and owned numerous heavenly treasures, the Thousand Years Fire Herb was in a ss of its own and there was only one in the world.

    "Leader Tian, please don¡¯t worry, Chi Guyan spent so much effort to retrieve the Thousand Years Fire Herb, so how could she be willing to destroy it? Why don¡¯t you work with me, I¡¯d help you from the side!" Wan Lei¡¯s eyes gleamed, and a hint of a smile appeared around the corners of his mouth.

    Following which, he started taking action.

    Moving as fast as a bolt of lightning, he dashed straight towards Chi Guyan.

    However, at the moment that he moved, the weak shadow that was originally behind Chi Guyan also nced over. That intimidating gaze and imposing presence made even Wan Lei break out in sweat.

    After which, a sound was heard.

    "Coagte!"

    And then...

    Wan Lei¡¯s speed reduced drastically, and his actions became as slow as a tortoise, taking one slow step after another as he crawled towards Chi Guyan.

    Yet, Wan Lei didn¡¯t seem too surprised.

    "Chi Guyan, surely, you don¡¯t think you can fend us off alone?" Wan Lei didn¡¯t appear to be too anxious, and even his gaze was very calm.

    However, Chi Guyan clearly had no intention of giving Wan Lei any attention.

    As Wan Lei had said, having to fend off both Tian Xing and Wan Lei at the same time was much more difficult than dealing with Tian Xing alone.

    "Shameless thief... cough!" Chi Guyan started coughing out fresh blood, but she did not stop speaking. "Actually... I intended toe back earlier, but, I¡¯m toote... the Thousand Years Fire Herb, can¡¯t be made into a pill, I... I¡¯m not absolutely sure anymore..."

    "What do you mean? Chi Guyan, what exactly are you trying to do? And who is this guy?" Upon hearing Chi Guyan, Tian Xing finally directed his gaze towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Aren¡¯t you always... always able to create the impossible? Then you should try... just give it a try... cough..." Chi Guyan coughed another mouthful of blood, and her body flopped forward into a half-kneel on the floor, and seemed unable to hold it together.

    "Give it a try? Give what a try? Chi Guyan, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of..." Hearing this, Tian Xing¡¯s expression experienced an apparent change.

    Then, his eyes widened.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s had already raised her hand, but this time, she was raising the hand that held the Thousand Years Fire Herb, very slowly, trembling, but retaining a tight grip on the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    "Let¡¯s try it together... I... I really don¡¯t want you to die!" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes grew darker at this moment, like stars that had lost their glow, or gems that had lost their shine.

    However, her hand still pried open Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth quickly, and she proceeded to insert the entire Thousand Years Fire Herb into his mouth.

    And in the moment that she inserted the Thousand Years Fire Herb...

    Fang Zhengzhi, whose eyes had been tightly shut the whole time, suddenly opened his eyes, which were dark and ck, without purple light. They were calm.

    However, that calm quickly turned into astonishment.

    "Ughhh..." Fang Zhengzhi sounded like he was about to be choked to death, and both his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body convulsing.

    "Chi Guyan, you¡¯re courting death!" Tian Xing was obviously really angry this time. When he heard Chi Guyan mumbling about trying something, he already had a ominous premonition.

    However, premonitions were just premonitions.

    He never expected that Chi Guyan would really attempt such a thing.

    Destroying it!

    So she would rather destroy it than return it to me?!

    "Chi Guyan, you are recklessly wasting a heavenly object!" Wan Lei of Ying Yang Hall was likewise shaken. His one arm was still outstretched, trying to retrieve the Thousand Years Fire Herb that Fang Zhengzhi had yet to swallow. "Quick, get the Thousand Years Fire Herb out, if you do this, you¡¯re just going to destroy his life!"

    ...

    "The Thousand Years Fire Herb? Destroy my life?" Fang Zhengzhi was feeling out of sorts. Truth be told, if anyone had had a ming-hot stone stuffed down his throat upon opening his eyes, they would be feeling the same as he did.

    What the heck?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that his memory was slightly fragmented.

    He only vaguely remembered the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples wanting to kill Yan Xiu, and then a towering rage caused him to nearly lose his mind.

    However, before he fainted, he could faintly remember seeing someone.

    Mu Qingfeng.

    The Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Then, the Traceless Sword was seemingly taken away by Mu Qingfeng.

    And then...

    Mu Qingfeng seemed to have stuffed something into his mouth, which slowed his initial thumping heart rate.

    Did Mu Qingfeng save me? Fang Zhengzhi wondered.

    What about Chi Guyan, who was in front of him now? How did he end up in this girl¡¯s embrace? Besides, why does Chi Guyan look like she¡¯s about to die?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt very confused.

    What was even more confusing was the voices around him.

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb!

    "This fiery hot stone in my mouth is the Thousand Years Fire Herb?!" Fang Zhengzhi unconsciously swallowed his saliva, and then he felt the stone in his mouth slide down a little.

    It got stuck right at the opening of his throat.

    This immediately caused him to feel breathless.

    What in the world is the Thousand Years Fire Herb? It sounds like a high-end, good quality product, but then again, shouldn¡¯t such things melt in the mouth, into a "clear liquid"?

    Why did it feel like a stone in his mouth...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he had been cheated, in his previous life he had read in novels that heavenly treasures were melt-in-the-mouth, now it seemed like they were all lies.

    This thing was so hard and so hot, how could it be eaten?

    Just when he was thinking about that, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly saw Chi Guyan¡¯s head suddenly drop, and her eyes which were bright seemed rather dull, while fresh blood still stained her lips.

    "What is going on?!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to scream, but he couldn¡¯t with the Thousand Years Fire Herb stuck in his throat. In fact, now his body was so weak that he could barely move.

    Struggle.

    Faced with such a situation, he could only think of that word.

    Yet, it wasn¡¯t much use in the end.

    Even though he tried to kick her away with while rolling his eyes at her, Chi Guyan¡¯s head still came down toward him and her bloodied lips printed a stain on his.

    At this moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a wave of mild gore, and yet in this gore, there was an addictive softness, moistness that was simply alluring.

    "Have I been overpowered again? And by Chi Guyan again!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t quite like the feeling of being overpowered like that, actually, he preferred to take the initiative.

    But Chi Guyan clearly had no such awareness.

    This was a kiss.

    In the moment that Chi Guyan kissed him, Fang Zhengzhi felt that something soft and moist had slipped into his mouth, with a hint of bloodiness and fragrance, forcefully hitting the roof of his mouth.

    And it was such a push...

    That pushed that stuck piece of the Thousand Years Fire Herb down his throat, and he finally swallowed it.

    "So, this kiss was actually to feed me the Thousand Years Fire Herb?" Fang Zhengzhi thought about that and suddenly felt a little lost.

    Actually, Chi Guyan should have stopped this kiss already.

    But in reality...

    She didn¡¯t.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s lips were still printed on his, and even that gentle moist tongue hadn¡¯t been retracted, and was still exploring his mouth.

    "Has this girl got addicted to kissing me?" Fang Zhengzhi was just about to ask Chi Guyan, "Are you now ready to simply admit defeat and obediently be my girl after you¡¯ve been injured?"

    However, before he could ask the question, a surge of intense and terrifying heat exploded fom his body.

    Hot...

    That was all that Fang Zhengzhi felt at that moment.

    It was like his entire body was burning up, from his stomach, spreading to his organs, that me was spreading uncontrobly to all corners of his body.

    "Sob sob sob..." Fang Zhengzhi wanted to scream, but his lips were tightly interlocked with Chi Guyan¡¯s, such that he could only make muffled sounds.

    He wanted to struggle.

    However, Chi Guyan¡¯s arms and body were tightly pressed against him. With that kind of soft strength pressing against his chest, his body was unable to move.

    Finally, another word that he had heard surfaced in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Destroy my life!

    "Chi Guyan, were you trying to kill me!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed internally, as the burning hot air caused his skin to turn bright red in seconds, and his entire body emitted white steam.

    That is mist that appears when the body¡¯s water is evaporated...

    When all the water in a person¡¯s body evaporates, can he still live?

 Chapter 674 How Many More Times?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew science. In his previous life, he was a youth who had received a good education.

    When water evaporates, even the gods could not intervene.

    Furthermore, this was a horrible way to die.

    When the water content in a body ispletely gone, the bones and muscles willpletely lose their functionality. The person will turn into a dry corpse.

    Very ugly.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that if he had to die, he wanted to die in a cooler fashion. For example, he wouldn¡¯t mind dying from the beauty of his own appearance. However, dying in such a way whereby one wouldn¡¯t even have a proper corpse was not something he wanted.

    However, what could he do?

    The heat in his body was not something he could resist or control. The energy was too intense and too wild and it seemed to be increasing.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was caused by the medicinal properties of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    Would he really die like this?

    Depressing.

    His life had already been saved by Mu Qingfeng. Now, he would die at the hands of Chi Guyan. Furthermore, he would die because of a stalk of Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    Could there be anything more tragic?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to stop resisting and allow Chi Guyan to kiss him to death, the intense heat in his body suddenly surged forth.

    This sensation was akin to a huge volume of water suddenly discovering an exit.

    When the energy surged forth in his body like floodwater and exited through his organs, they were immediately lured by a powerful attractive force and they reached his mouth.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes wide in shock.

    This was because he saw the face of Chi Guyan, who was pressing down on him with all her life, slowly turning red. She was bing as red as fire.

    The intense energy in his body slowly stabilized too.

    "Chi Guyan was able to suck away all this heat energy?" Fang Zhengzhi made a sudden realization. However, he quickly discovered that something was amiss.

    If that was the case, wouldn¡¯t she die?

    Fang Zhengzhi never expected this. Normally, Chi Guyan was an arrogant and uncaring person. However, at crucial moments like this, she would abandon her life to save his?

    At this moment, he was extremely touched by her action. Heat in his body rushed to his brains, making him slightly dizzy.

    This could also be because he lost too much water from his body. Suddenly, he felt sleepy. This drowsiness caused countless images to sh through his mind.

    ...

    A clear river.

    A plump little body stared with big ck eyes as he happily barbequed a fragrant Fire Plume Chicken.

    At this moment, a girl who was about five years old jumped out from behind him.

    Her face looked like a porcin doll. However, with her haughty demeanor, she looked like the maindy of the house. No matter how one looked at her, she appearedical.

    "You chicken-stealer!" The little girl hollered at the little boy indignantly as she ced her hands on her waist.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw this, heughed in his heart. It was a rxedughter from the heart.

    This was because he knew the girl would soon be kicked into the river.

    "Plop!"

    Indeed, the girl fell head-first into the water.

    "Thief, my chicken!"

    "You¡¯re thinking too much, it¡¯s my chicken!"

    ...

    He never expected the deepest memory of his youth would be the first time he met Chi Guyan. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head was in a blur.

    At this moment...

    The image changed once more. Now, it went to the time when he met her at the Divine Constabry.

    "Without trust, a man cannot stand straight upright. If you break a promise, you lose trust. No matter what, since Young Master Fang raises this issue, I¡¯ll live up to my promise. I¡¯ll wait for him for two more years! In these years, I won¡¯t discuss marriage with anyone. Please permit me this, Father Lord!"

    Promise?

    What nonsense!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew clearly that this was a reason Chi Guyan used to stop others from seeking her hand in marriage.

    However, because of this promise, he was linked inextricably with her...

    ...

    "I¡¯ll wait for you at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If you can defeat me there, I¡¯ll be the woman who warms your bed."

    In the Northern Mountain Vige, on the rooftop of a small farm, a couple stared at the moon in the sky. They made a promise to each other.

    ...

    "Chi Guyan, don¡¯t die!" Fang Zhengzhi did not know what he was thinking. However, he could not let her die just like this.

    Perhaps, sometimes it was better to be selfish, especially when lives were involved.

    However, he realized that he could not selfish here.

    He knew that if he pushed Chi Guyan away now, he may be saved. However, if he did so, his life would be worse than torture.

    Shameless?

    Yes, Fang Zhengzhi was shameless many times. He could use unscrupulous methods to win, but this did not mean that he was a selfish monster.

    He hesitated no more.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand moved. He naturally ced it on Chi Guyan¡¯s waist and pressed her close to his own body. He hugged her tight.

    At that moment, he felt Chi Guyan¡¯s body tremble.

    Without knowing if it was because of the heat, or because of difort, Chi Guyan furrowed her brows. Her bright eyes shone with a me-like energy.

    Her skin was as red as blood. Fog steamed off her body.

    However, one had to admit...

    When he ced his hands on her waist, it was extremelyfortable. Even though a pink dress blocked him from touching her skin, he could still feel how smooth her skin was.

    Extract.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to always be the passive one. Hence, he started to actively extract as he probed the warmth and wetness in her mouth.

    He took in a deep breath.

    "Boom!"

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had sucked the unbearable heat back. Then, it went straight for his organs like a sh flood.

    "Motherf*cking b*lls!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse because it was such an ufortable feeling. It was so ufortable until he felt like exploding.

    ...

    The kiss between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan did notst very long. However, they were still entangled. Furthermore, from their positions, it felt slightly weird.

    Chi Guyan was half-kneeling on the ground as she embraced Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi too grabbed Gu Chiyan¡¯s waist. It was an intimate move, but it seemed abnormal.

    This was because...

    Normally, the guy should be on top and the girl below, right?

    Of course, this was not too important. What was important was the fact that there were many people around them. They were kissing in full view of everyone.

    This went against public morality.

    "Sister Chi Guyan... she and this shameless guy, oh my god! Am I seeing things? How can this be possible?"

    "Can their marriage vow be real?"

    "Elder sister... no! This cannot be! She was tricked by this guy. That¡¯s right, she fell for his tricks!"

    None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples wanted to believe this, because the truth hurt them deeply.

    They were not the only ones who were shocked.

    The disciples of the Nine Pinnacle Mountains opened their eyes wide in shock too. They looked at each other. They did not know what was going on.

    Nangong Hao bit down hard on his lips. As he clutched his Wuwei Sword, it shook in its scabbard. He did it subconsciously.

    "Fusion of Yin and Yang?" Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Pavilion stared at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. He was no shocked like the rest. Instead, he frowned.

    As the First Disciple of the Yin Yang pavilion, he naturally knew that men and women were separated by Yin and Yang. At the same time, this was the cornerstone of the Yin Yang Pavilion.

    However, as he looked at the fusion of Yin and Yang...

    This surpassed everything that he was taught.

    "Do they want to use the power of the Fusion of Yin and Yang to guide the medicinal properties of the Thousand Years Fire Herb? No, no, Yin-Yang Fusion can be used for moderation, but it cannot erode the energy of the Thousand Years Fire Herb. 20 people can¡¯t do this, much less two!" Wan Lei was sure of his thinking.

    Two people. If they want to moderate a stalk of Thousand Years Fire Herb, it was nearly impossible.

    However, if...

    It could not be for this reason, right? Why would Chi Guyan do this? What was her objective? Did she really want to die with him?

    Wan Lei did not know.

    Even the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Tian Xing, was frowning. He naturally saw what the two of them were doing.

    However, just like Wan Lei, he thought that it was near-impossible for just the two of them to moderate the medicinal properties of this power stalk of Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    Yin-Yang Fusion could help in moderation.

    However, it was not invincible.

    Tian Xing was suspicious too until he saw Chi Guyan slowly lift the hand she used to hug Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she tapped Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stomach at lightning speed.

    A bright light shone.

    Then, it dissipated, as if it had been absorbed by his body.

    Then, her fingers moved once more. She moved up by an inch and poked once more. Another ray of light started to shine but it disappeared quickly too.

    "Using the body as a crucible!" Tian Xing cried out. Even as the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he was shocked when he saw this scene.

    Genius.

    Even he had to admire Chi Guyan¡¯s genius-like thinking. However, this idea may not work.

    However, only a genius could think of something like this.

    When the two of them kissed, Yin and Yang fused. This helped to alleviate the pain one of them felt from the herb. Then, using a body as a crucible, one could turn the herb into a pill.

    It was a scary thought, but it was not impossible.

    When the disciples from the Nine Pinnacle Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion heard the voice that came from Tian Xing¡¯s mouth, looks of shock crossed their faces.

    "Crucible?!"

    "She¡¯s using his body to cultivate the Thousand Years Fire Herb?"

    "This... this is too ludicrous? Will it work?"

    No one was sure if this would work, as it had never happened before in recorded history.

    Of course, it was because no one wanted to try it.

    "Kaboom!" At this moment, a huge explosion could be heard. Then, countless ck granite and shrapnel flew into the air.

    Then, a human figure appeared before Tian Xing and Wan Lei.

    Long white robes billowed in the wind. Long white hair cascaded down until his shoulders. His gaze was calm but anger, shocked but in admiration.

    "Guyan, eh... with me here, do what you must!" When Mu Qingfeng noticed Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, who were locked in an embrace, he sighed. However, he quickly turned to look at Tian Xing and Wan Lei with a resolute expression.

    "The Sage State ck Jade Stone Statue is destroyed?!"

    "How long did it take? That was a Sage State... It was equivalent to a Sage State cultivator!"

    "Mu Qingfeng is indeed as powerful as our master!"

    When the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples looked at Mu Qingfeng, who stood in front of Tian Xing and Wan Lei, and then at the shattered chunks of rocks, they were all shocked.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked too.

    However, he was not shocked that Mu Qingfeng destroyed some Sage State ck Jade Stone Statue. Instead, he was shocked that Chi Guyan used his body to cultivate pills.

    "So, I¡¯m just a test subject?" Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he should be touched or angry.

    It was an odd feeling.

    While Chi Guyan saved him, it was no different from harming him.

    Experiment...

    It was called an ¡¯experiment¡¯ because it brimmed with countless possibilities. No one knew what could happen.

    "Whoo!" The heat in his body was sucked away by Chi Guyan once more, which made her face as red as me.

    Her entire body was like a piece of heated metal.

    Fang Zhengzhi could sense that she was ufortable. This was because her hands had stopped, and they were trembling non-stop.

    For someone with actual experience, he knew the pain of inhaling the heat a second time. It was much worse than the first.

    Of course, the third would be even scarier.

    So...

    Did he want a third time?

    As Fang Zhengzhi pondered this serious problem, a famous quote appeared in his mind. All guys like to hear a woman say, "I want."

    However, the phrase they feared even more was...

    "I want more!"

    "For f*ck¡¯s sake, how many times before it¡¯s over?!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at the eyes in front of him, which started to shine with light.

    It was extremely bright, like the stars in the sky.

 Chapter 675 The Two Extremities of Yin and Yang

    Beautiful.

    One had to admit that Chi Guyan was really beautiful. Her facial features were exquisite and her body brimmed with elegance, beauty, and a regal aura.

    Right now, this beautiful girl was enduring the intense heat of the mes for herself. Her entire body was drenched with sweat and she frowned.

    One could tell that she was in real pain.

    However, this pain did not stop Chi Guyan from expelling the heat from her body. Instead, she endured the pain with her shaking frame.

    This determination and endurance were terrifying.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan wanted to give him time to rest and recover. This was why she let the heat stay longer in her body.

    However, he was a man...

    Sometimes, he had to bear the burden.

    There was an ancient saying, "When heaven presents one with opportunity, one must strengthen one¡¯s will, move one¡¯s bones into action, not fear starvation from work, and care less about one¡¯s material self. Steady your heart and don¡¯t be easily distracted, only then can you achieve your task."

    "Don¡¯t you want a few more times?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, which was around her waist, tightened as he embraced her tightly.

    Then, he started to extract from her once more.

    This movement naturally surprised Chi Guyan. Quickly, the look of surprise faded away. Instead, it was now reced with a snow-melting warmth.

    Then, Chi Guyan¡¯s hand around Fang Zhengzhi tightened.

    "Boom!" Heat surged into his body once more. He wanted to grit his teeth and he felt like dying.

    Indeed...

    It was not easy to be a man.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how long could he bear it anymore, because the third impact almost made him lose consciousness. His entire body became incredibly heavy.

    Indeed, was he about to be defeated?

    Starlight surged from Chi Guyan¡¯s fingers into his body. It was slightly cool. However, this amount of coolness, in the face of such an immense heat, amounted to nothing.

    The world before him was turning dark...

    He was losing consciousness.

    His arm around Chi Guyan started to rx. It was not because he did not want to hold on anymore but instead, it was because the pain this time was too intense. It was more intense than what he had imagined.

    At this moment, another absorptive force came from her. It sucked the heat away from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    At this body, he felt Chi Guyan, who was in his arms, trembling violently. Her skin turned as red as fire.

    "Oh no, Sister Chi Guyan can take it no more!"

    "If this continues, she¡¯ll die with him!"

    "No! We can¡¯t let that happen."

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this scene, they were all frantic.

    Mu Qingfeng noticed the change on Chi Guyan¡¯s body too. He saw her face of pain as well as the energy that steamed from her body. He clenched his fist tightly.

    He wanted to help Chi Guyan, but he understood that Tian Xing and Wan Lei, who were in front of him, would not give him this chance.

    What could he do?

    Even Mu Qingfeng was at his wits¡¯ end.

    "Pavilion Leader, I mustmend Chi Guyan¡¯s thinking. Using that guy¡¯s body as a crucible, she can cultivate the Thousand Years Fire Herb into a pill. However, how can a human bodypare to a real crucible? Furthermore, she doesn¡¯t seem so apt at pill-cultivation, right?" At this moment, someone said this.

    It was Wan Lei from the Yin Yang Pavilion.

    Mu Qingfeng said nothing. Instead, he frowned even more.

    Wan Lei¡¯s words were unpleasant, but they were the truth. A human body and his mind both had limits. Once it exceeded what was normally tolerable, the body would just overload and perish.

    "Leader Tian wants his Thousand Years Fire Herb. However, looking at the situation now, if Chi Guyan continues, failure is certain. Once she fails, the energy from the Thousand Years Fire Herb will be gone. You won¡¯t get anything back!" When Wan Lei noticed that Mu Qingfeng said nothing, he turned to look at Tian Xing. A light shed in his eyes.

    "What do you want?" Tian Xing looked at Wan Lei and his eyes narrowed.

    "I have a n, will Pavilion Leader Mu and Leader Tian want to hear me out?" A hint of a smile crossed Wan Lei¡¯s face.

    "Speak!" Tian Xing said.

    "With Chi Guyan¡¯s power, if she wants to turn the Thousand Years Fire Herb into medicine with his body, she will need at least 7 to 8 days, like more than 10 days. Even if she just wants to create the embryonic form of a medicine, she will need 10 to 12 hours. Am I wrong, Pavilion Leader Mu and Leader Tian?" Wan Lei said with confidence.

    "Continue," said Tian Xing.

    The Five Sects of the Holy Region each specialized in something. The Heaven Dao Pavilion specialized in the Dao and trained with the sword. The Yin Yang Pavilion cultivated the natural Yin and Yang of heaven and earth. Their abilities at alchemy were supreme.

    As the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Pavilion, Wan Lei naturally believed that he was right.

    "The simplest method is for us to help Chi Guyan. Once the Ten Thousand Years Fire Herb takes its embryonic form, we shall extract it from the guy¡¯s body. Do the two of you agree?" When Wan Lei said thest bit, he turned to look at Mu Qingfeng.

    "Cultivate the embryonic form of the pill together?" Tian Xing¡¯s eyes narrowed once more. He appeared to be thinking of something.

    "This is the only n I have to save Chi Guyan and retrieve the Thousand Years Fire Herb!" When Wan Lei noticed Tian Xing¡¯s pause, he added that quickly.

    "Okay, we shall listen to you. Old man Mu, you want to protect Chi Guyan. I don¡¯t want to hurt her. All I want is to retrieve my Thousand Years Fire Herb. Doing so will benefit both of us!" When Tian Xing heard this, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

    "Don¡¯t do it, Pavilion Leader!" Before Mu Qingfeng could open his mouth, Emperor Lin Mubai had already shouted, "If we forcibly extract the pill, Fang Zhengzhi will die!"

    "Oh? Fang Zhengzhi? Is he powerful?" When Wan Lei heard Lin Mubai¡¯s words, a cold smile crossed his face. "From his clothes, he doesn¡¯t seem to be someone from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, right?"

    "Old man Mu, I¡¯ve already taken a step back. Will you really want to be my enemy, just for someone who has yet to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" At this moment, Tian Xing¡¯s gaze was chilly.

    "Crack!" Mu Qingfeng clenched his fist and said nothing.

    However, he stared intently at Chi Guyan¡¯s body. He looked at her pained expression, as well as her burning-hot skin.

    Silence.

    This was not a hard choice.

    Just like what Wan Lei and Tian Xing had said, Fang Zhengzhi was someone who had yet to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Normally, how could he be enemies with the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for an outsider?

    Furthermore, the situation was so urgent.

    From Chi Gyuan¡¯s expression, it was obvious that she would not abandon Fang Zhengzhi. If this went on, Chi Guyan may pay for it with her life.

    "Master!"

    "Please save elder sister, master!"

    "Elder sister Chi Guyan can take it no more!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples noticed Mu Qingfeng¡¯s silence, looks of panic crossed all their faces.

    He said nothing but clenched his fists tightly. However, he slowly moved to the side and made way for a path.

    When Tian Xing saw this, he hesitated no more. He rushed before Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was in front of him, and a cold look crossed the corner of his mouth.

    "B*stard, don¡¯t me me, me yourself for eating something you should not have!" After he said that, he mmed his palm into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    A powerful energy surged into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    While he knew that Mu Qingfeng consented, he had to cripple Fang Zhengzhi and crush his Small Dimension. This was a precaution he had to take.

    He did not want Fang Zhengzhi to swallow the pill and run off.

    Furthermore, he wanted Fang Zhengzhi to be crippled. Only if he was a cripple would Mu Qingfeng not regret his decision. After all, Mu Qingfeng would not be a foe of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for a cripple.

    "F*ck you!" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to swear but his mouth was sealed by Chi Guyan. There was no way he could say anything.

    However, he did not expect Tian Xing to give add fuel to the me at this moment. One must concede that those in the Sage State were more Machiavellian than he thought.

    At this moment, Wan Lei was behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    He hit down with his palm once more.

    However, he hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waist. At the same time, a powerful energy rushed towards his waist.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi sensed that the stalk of Thousand Years Fire Herb, which continually emitted heat, in his body was slowly being enveloped by a stream of qi.

    One had to concede that Wan Lei¡¯s alchemy skills were better than Chi Guyan¡¯s.

    However, he did not know why did Wan Lei allow Tian Xing to allow Chi Guyan to cultivate the Thousand Years Fire Herb in his body into medicine.

    Was it like what he said? To extract a pill?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think so.

    He was not dumb.

    Furthermore, even an idiot could tell that Wan Lei¡¯s true objective was to hurt both the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion, instead of getting the two sides to agree to peace.

    So, why would Wan Lei convince Tian Xing and Mu Qingfeng?

    When he thought about that, Fang Zhengzhi sensed the qi in his body swirling rapidly.

    As it swirled, it started to change.

    It felt as if it was splitting into two pr opposites.

    Yin and Yang?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not be sure. However, he could sense that the qi was splitting into two. After it turned into Yin and Yang, heat from the Thousand Years Fire Herb was being absorbed.

    However, it did not wreak havoc in his body anymore. Instead, it was being extracted.

    Like taking silk from a silkworm, it was being extracted strand by strand.

    Faced with the energy being extracted, Fang Zhengzhi could sense Wan Lei¡¯s palm, which was at his waist, was starting to heat up.

    "Does he want to take advantage of the situation?" Fang Zhengzhi reacted quickly to this. At this moment, if he still did not know what Wan Lei was thinking, then he would be a true fool.

    Helping to cultivate it into medicine was nothing more than an excuse.

    Wan Lei¡¯s true objective was to use Fang Zhengzhi, the ¡¯crucible¡¯, to form a pill. In other words, Wan Lei wanted to take this chance to absorb part of the Thousand Years Fire Herb into his own body.

    What a ¡¯noble¡¯ n.

    What a ¡¯kind¡¯ action.

    As Fang Zhengzhi bore the pain of the heat, Wan Lei had to do nothing and could just wait for the pill to be cultivated. Soon, he would strike Fang Zhengzhi.

    After he killed Fang Zhengzhi, no one would know of what he did.

    Furthermore, no one knew how much medicine the Thousand Years Fire Herb in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body would produce.

    It was a perfect crime.

    Importantly, Fang Zhengzhi could not speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi now felt that everyone in the Sage State was like a wolf. They all moved to the top of a pyramid. The higher you went, the more difficult it was.

    You could n each step, or you could rush straight to the top.

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to bear with the pain.

    "The two extremities of Yin and Yang, Yin... Yang... flow of qi..." As he sensed the qi around the Thousand Years Fire Herb, Fang Zhengzhi pondered the problem in his mind.

    He looked at Chi Guyan, who was looking at him quietly.

    In her eyes, he could see a simr expression.

    Endure.

    ...

    The heat surged into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, and then Chi Guyan¡¯s.

    Cycle, a non-stop cycle.

    In this cycle, Chi Gyuan¡¯s expression became more and more pained. However, her eyes became brighter and brighter. They shone like stars.

    The disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had stopped fighting.

    Everyone was waiting for the embryonic form of the pill from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Tian Xing and Wan Lei both helped Chi Guyan cultivate the pill. Mu Qingfeng¡¯s hand was cloaked with blue light. The blue light enveloped her body and reduced the heat she felt.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He had no right to expect such treatment.

    Disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion asionally poured water onto his body. Some of them released their energy to freeze the water into ice.

    His insides were like a furnace, his skin felt like ice.

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi was feeling right. Ice and fire.

    Wait a moment.

    Fire, ice?

    Yin, Yang?

    Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up too. His blurry consciousness suddenly cleared up, like a seed which had just sprouted.

 Chapter 676 Everywhere It Passes, Nothing Can Grow

    Specks of dust can umte to be stones, drops of water can umte to be an ocean.

    Likewise, once a seed has sprouted, it can grow into a tree so tall that it touches the sky or even arge forest.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this well, and precisely because of that, he could trulyprehend the Heaven Dao and the Near-Life Dao, which is why he could use the Rebirth te.

    But now...

    Now, he had a simr sentiment regarding Yin Yang.

    In his previous life, he had had some theoretical understanding of Yin Yang. Simply put, Yin Yang is the foundation for all changes in nature.

    The raw force behind all things, from conception, development, maturity and decline till death.

    To summarize, it involves four rtionships: The interaction between Yin and Yang, the genesis of Yin and Yang, the antagonism between Yin and Yang and that both Yin and Yang stem from the same root.

    Its beginnings can be traced to the prities that are prevalent in nature, but yet also closely rted, such as the sky andnd, the sun and the moon, day and night, cold and heat, man and woman, up and below, ice and fire, etcetera.

    "Opposing, but stemming from the same root! Through control of the flow and rotation of one¡¯s breath, one can divide one¡¯s breath into two, forming Yin and Yang."

    Fang Zhengzhi was hit with this realization suddenly.

    This was an important reason why Wan Lei was able to absorb the breath of the Thousand Years Fire Herb that was inside his body.

    Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi felt like a huge door had opened in his heart.

    "Yin Yang, that¡¯s it!" Fang Zhengzhi had a strong urge tough, but his mouth was sealed tightly, and he was could notugh.

    However, he wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed being taken advantage of.

    Previously, he had endured it,rgely because he was unable to control the medicinal power of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, and he also did not have the ability to retrieve something that was lost.

    But now...

    Things were different.

    Subconsciously, he also prepared to re-absorb the medicinal power of the Thousand Years Fire Herb that Wan Lei had absorbed into his body, but right at the moment when he was about to act, he stopped.

    "That won¡¯t do, if I use the same technique as Wan Lei, it is likely that we would be closely matched in terms of strength..." Fang Zhengzhi mentally shook his head.

    At this moment, he could use Wan Lei¡¯s technique and create another Yin Yang cyclone around the Thousand Years Fire Herb, forming a system of mutual absorption with Wan Lei.

    However, Wan Lei wasn¡¯t Qian Wu.

    Qian Wu only had the power of the Rebirth State Peak, and his progress on the Near-Life Dao wasn¡¯t great either. However, as the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Pavilion, Wan Lei¡¯s level of power was hugely different from Qian Wu. Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even need to guess - he knew that Wan Lei had at least attained the power of the Sage State, and even among people in the Sage State he might not be considered too weak.

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly could not afford topete with Wan Lei on the same Yin Yang Dao now.

    Even if, in theory...

    Fang Zhengzhi was able to win by a fluke.

    What then?

    If he were to so much as move, Wan Lei would certainly react immediately. When that happens, if Wan Lei retracted his hands or sneaked an attack from behind...

    Thinking about it this way, this obviously wouldn¡¯t be a smart move.

    At this moment, Wan Lei had let down his guard, and clearly feeling pleased with himself. He was beingcent, which meant that this was the perfect moment to attack quickly. To miss this opportunity would be a huge waste.

    What to do?

    If one man can¡¯t defeat him, then...

    Surely a group of people can!

    This was a very simple idea. In his previous life, even elementary school students would know to get a couple of friends toe along if he couldn¡¯t win a fight alone.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up again.

    Of course, he had his friends too, like Yan Xiu, who was lying on the ground, and Nangong Mu, who was battling fiercely against Yan Qing.

    These two really knew how to fight.

    They were unperturbed by anything happening around them, keeping to themselves, not even needing a judge. Just like that, they continued their fight to death.

    Very focused.

    But clearly, most people weren¡¯t the slightest bit interested in their fight.

    In fact, any fight would attract more attention than a fight between these two.

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously could not expect Nangong Mu toe over to help him after he was done fighting, after all, the probability of that happening was too low. Most importantly, Nangong Mu was male, as he was.

    How could two same genders generate Yin Yang?

    This was simply nonsense.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like nonsense.

    Thus, his attention naturally shifted to Chi Guyan.

    The male Yang must beplemented by the female Yin.

    This is the right way.

    Besides, most importantly, once he and Chi Guyan formed a Yin Yang connection, even the searing heat that he and Chi Guyan were taking turns to transfer from each others¡¯ bodies could be used to strengthen the connection.

    That searing heat in their bodies could be divided into two extremities, Yin and Yang.

    He would use the searing hit in their bodies, divide them into Yin and Yang and form a huge Yin Yang cycle between himself and Chi Guyan...

    Thinking about it made him a little excited.

    Of course, doing this would cause part of the medicinal power of the Thousand Years Fire Herb to enter Chi Guyan¡¯s body, and to be absorbed by her.

    This would inevitably make it more difficult for him to make Chi Guyan his b*tch.

    But everything has advantages and disadvantages.

    If he had to make a choice between Wan Lei and Chi Guyan, he knew who he would choose.

    One cannot be too selfish.

    Besides, in the first ce the Thousand Years Fire Herb was initially obtained by Chi Guyan, and that chick¡¯s actions really did touch him just now.

    "What a good b*tch!" Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was about time to promote Chi Guyan, to, say, Leader of the B*tches or something.

    Without further ado, Fang Zhengzhi decided to follow his heart and started to attempt to use his breath and the strength of the transfers to control that searing heat.

    However, thinking and doing were twopletely different things.

    That wave of heat that surged right into Fang Zhengzhi was just too strong, to the extent that he simply could not use strength to suppress it, and could not control its direction.

    Fortunately...

    Chi Guyan had also formed a loop with him.

    And this loop had to pass through Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s mouths.

    That was the crux of it all.

    Since the heat had to pass through Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s mouths, then, learning how to form a Yin Yang vortex between their mouths to direct the heat would be crucial.

    Regarding this, Fang Zhengzhi had an idea.

    It was simple.

    All it required was a flexible use of tongue.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too sure what Chi Guyan was thinking at this moment, but one thing he knew for sure was that, when he put his thoughts into action, Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed significantly.

    Not just her expression...

    Even Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes had changed, and there seemed to be a raging fire in her eyes.

    Sparks shone in her eyes like stars, as if expressing Chi Guyan¡¯s feelings. One did not even need to guess to know that she was definitely scolding Fang Zhengzhi for being a shameless thief.

    And it was true - Chi Guyan was doing just that.

    She couldn¡¯t understand - even at such a critical moment, Fang Zhengzhi showed no sign of being anything but his usual shameless self, and had taken advantage of the situation to do this to her.

    Didn¡¯t this shameless thief know that, once the pill that Wan Lei and Tian Xing were trying to form from the Thousand Years Fire Herb in his body takes shape, they would start attacking him?

    A leopard never changes its spots.

    Chi Guyan really was rather furious, but she held it down. She let Fang Zhengzhi do it without much resistance, only asionally dodging him.

    But at this moment...

    She realised that something was wrong.

    Initially, the heat she extracted from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was always uncontroble,ing from multiple directions, but this time there was an apparent change.

    Although it was stilling from many directions, but...

    There seemed to be a faint sense of direction, a kind of loop forming. In fact, it also felt like the heat was splitting into two in this loop - into two extremes.

    She wasn¡¯t very certain.

    But, when the heat change changed as such, the pain that came with absorbing it wasn¡¯t as intense as before, and was significantly alleviated.

    Just as Chi Guyan was feeling confused, Fang Zhengzhi began to absorb the heat again.

    "So quickly?" Doubts further clouded Chi Guyan¡¯s heart. All this time, in order to save Fang Zhengzhi some pain, she had always let the heat stay in her body for a longer time.

    Fang Zhengzhi had also being doing the same.

    It could be said that, through each loop, both of them had developed a sense of camaraderie - you¡¯d endure it to your limit, and then I¡¯d do the same, repeating the cycle.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weird actions had undoubtedly destroyed this camaraderie.

    Doubt.

    But Chi Guyan still chose to cooperate.

    She pushed the heat out of her body.

    Just as she sent the heat into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, she began to feel his tongue moving restlessly again.

    "..." Chi Guyan really wanted to scream at him for being a shameless thief once again, but as before, she was unable to do so because her mouth could barely make a sound.

    At this moment, the change happened again.

    Fang Zhengzhi sent the heat back as quickly as he had sucked it away, and when he sent it back, his tongue started moving again.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t exactly the most important thing at that moment.

    What was most important was that, the heat that Chi Guyan absorbed into her body this time was obviously different, and she could feel the change.

    The heat was split into two - two extremes!

    Yin, Yang!

    Chi Guyan, being as intelligent as she was, now understood what Fang Zhengzhi was doing, although she still had no idea what the point in doing that was.

    However, she knew that Fang Zhengzhi was doing this on purpose.

    If so...

    Then he naturally had to have his reasons.

    "Does this shameless thief want me to do the same action as him?" This idea didn¡¯t linger for too long in Chi Guyan¡¯s mind.

    Although she was born into wealth and nobility, since she was young, she was exposed to sergeants, generals, battlefields, and blood.

    This meant that, she had "military blood".

    She started to imitate Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was truly shocked this time.

    His original n was to do this with sheer force of will and shamelessness, betting on Chi Guyan being cooperative and not pushing him aside midway.

    What he didn¡¯t expect was that, not only did Chi Guyan not push him aside, but she even started working with him and taking the initiative.

    Now this was rather unbearable for him.

    As a man, how could he lose in this aspect?

    Harder!

    More strength!

    Harder!!

    More, more strength!

    What Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know was that, when he was preupied with paring" himself with Chi Guyan, there had been a huge change to that loop of heat between him and Chi Guyan.

    Now, it wasn¡¯t just split into two.

    It had be two absolute extremes.

    To put it more straightforwardly, a distinct point of convergence had formed between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s mouths. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s breath was Yang, and Chi Guyan¡¯s breath was Yin.

    Gone was the situation where the heat stayed in one of their bodies.

    Both of them had heat flowing in their bodies, but once the heat reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, it became Yang. When it reached Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth, it turned Yin.

    This was a loop that had formed between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan - a Yin Yang loop.

    Once this Yin Yang loop had been formed, the initial pain disappearedpletely. In fact, their internal organs began to slowly recover, as if reborn.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Chi Guyan by her waist, and gently wrote four words on her waist, with his fingers.

    When he was done, Chi Guyan¡¯s body quivered, a faint hint of surprise in her eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no way to exin it to Chi Guyan.

    But he knew he could do it.

    "Yin Yang reverse!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled in his heart, and then, the original loop suddenly stopped and went into reverse rapidly.

    "Buzz!" In a split second, the entire space had copsed.

    Darkness.

    Darkness with no light.

    And, naturally, at the opposite end, there was brightness. Blinding, hot brightness just like the sun.

    This was an enormous Yin Yang Illustration.

    And it had been formed in seconds.

    It had been so sudden that no one besides Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan could react in time, and certainly no one had anticipated it.

    Yet, this huge Yin Yang Illustration had in fact appeared, and was swirling crazily above Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    "Yin Yang Illustration?!" Wan Lei¡¯s feelings were hard to describe in words.

    As the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, he found it hard to believe his eyes. Wasn¡¯t the Yin Yang Illustration exclusive to the Yin Yang Hall?

    Why would it appear on Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan?

    This was his first reaction.

    Of course, this thought didn¡¯t linger for long in his mind, not because he found out why, but because he didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to continue thinking.

    Because, a huge, terrifying force rushed into his body at that moment, with savage strength. It hadpletely destroyed the medicinal powers that he had painstakingly extracted from the Thousand Years Fire Herb in seconds.

    It also sucked away the source of the medicinal power that he had extracted in a huff. Like a typhoon, everywhere it passes, nothing can grow.

 Chapter 677 Plot Against You? Thatâ€™s Too Easy

    Could any words possibly describe what Wan Lei was feeling at this moment?

    No!

    There simply weren¡¯t any words that could possibly describe Wan Lei¡¯s feelings now. If one had to describe it, it would be along the lines of f*ck my luck.

    "What is this?!" Wan Lei screamed internally. Obviously, he could see that what was appearing on Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s bodies was a Yin Yang Illustration, but he had never seen one so incredible. Thus it begged the question...

    What the hell was going on?

    Why would there be such a strong sucking force?

    Wan Lei was really quite frightened, because he would never have guessed that the loop force of Yin Yang Illustration on Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s bodies drew its strength from the medicinal powers of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    He couldn¡¯t understand, but also didn¡¯t have time to ponder on it...

    Because, after that terrifying and savage sucking force had wiped the energy source of his internal functions clean, like a killer on a killing spree, it rushed into his Small Dimension.

    This happened in literal seconds.

    It was too fast.

    It was so fast that he really couldn¡¯t react in time.

    Initially, Wan Lei wasfortable, even enjoying it. It was as if there was a beautiful woman lying in his arms, contorting her body, pleasuring him so much that he could barely hold in the urge to burst out.

    However, all this had changed in the blink of an eye.

    The woman was still there.

    But she had changed into a demon - a demon that was mining Yang to supplement Yin.

    "Boom!" All Wan Lei felt was the heat being sucked out of his Small Dimension at such a high intensity that his body felt like it was being hollowed out.

    This sensation was very strong - it was so strong that he started convulsing a little.

    "How dare you!" Wan Lei boomed, immediately raising his hand, palm facing the back of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head as he hit down hard.

    ...

    Of course, there was someone else who was feeling simr to Wan Lei - Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing.

    Inparison to Wan Lei, Tian Xing really was rather innocent.

    At least his method of obtaining the Thousand Years Fire Herb was, arguably, fair and honest.

    For instance, in order to ensure that Mu Qingfeng would not go back on his word, he had hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, shattering the Small Dimension. Also, when he wanted to obtain the pill, he had also made his intentions very clear.

    In any case, although Tian Xing was overbearing, he always did so on the basis of openness and ability.

    However, to Fang Zhengzhi...

    This wasn¡¯t a point of consideration.

    He only need to consider two points: firstly, if the other party was a friend, or someone who couldn¡¯t be an enemy; secondly, if the other party was within sucking range, and was defenceless.

    Fang Zhengzhi reached a conclusion quickly.

    Tian Xing fulfilled the criteria.

    In that case, what was he waiting for?

    "Dao would give rise to one. One would be two, two bes three, and it would keep going on!", Chi Guyan had told Fang Zhengzhi about this principle at the Northern Mountain Vige.

    This principle could also be applied to the Dao of Yin Yang. "Yin Yang gives rise to the Supreme Ultimate, the Supreme Ultimate produces two forms, the two forms birth four phenomena, the four phenomena produce eight trigrams."

    It was quite a mouthful, but easy to understand.

    The so-called reversal of the Yin Yang is actually the reversal of these two sentences. Equally simple is the Great Dao, as it is all-epassing. All creations are one.

    Dao can be all things, and all things can be Dao.

    The terrifying suction force went from the Yin Yang Illustration above Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan into Tian Xing and Wan Lei¡¯s bodies within seconds, forcefully gaining full control of their bodies like a bandit.

    This happened all too quickly.

    Even Tian Xing did not react until the force had sucked away a good 30% of his Origin Energy.

    And his first reaction was to p Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead, hard.

    "Boom!" There was a loud, dull thud.

    Next, a shadow flew out and blood spout out of his mouth.

    WIth a loud rumble, another deep pit appeared on the already cracked ground.

    Everything had happened very quickly.

    The appearance of the Yin Yang Illustration, Tian Xing¡¯s p and the flying shadow - these had all happened in moments.

    This also meant that the surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples simply could not react.

    All of them were thoroughly stunned.

    "What is going on?"

    "Could it be that the pill had been made?!"

    "Then... who was the figure that had flew out?"

    One by one, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples subconsciously trailed towards the deep pit, to see who had fallen in it. Their jaws dropped when they saw who it was.

    He had already raised his head.

    Sluggish, pale.

    This was the expression on the person¡¯s face.

    "Wan Lei?!"

    "Wan Lei from the Yin Yang Hall?"

    "The guy who flew out was actually Wan Lei?"

    No one could understand what was going on. How could that have happened to Wan Lei? Who would¡¯ve sent the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei, flying?

    This was the question that was bothering everyone.

    It was also this question that naturally led the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples to shift their gaze to where most of the action had taken ce - where the Yin Yang Illustration had suddenly appeared.

    However, the Yin Yang Illustration had disappeared.

    In its ce, was a smudge of blue. It looked like the sky.

    "The Heaven Dao!"

    "What is going on?!"

    "Could it be Fang Zhengzhi who did this?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples unconsciously arrived at the quick conclusion that it was Fang Zhengzhi who did it, because, in that position, only Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Heaven Dao.

    However, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were confounded.

    They did not know that Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Heaven Dao - many had never even heard of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "The Heaven Dao?! Who could it be?!" Such thoughts ran through the minds of many Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    Shock, doubt.

    Yet, if one truly wanted to talk about shock, at this moment, there was no one feeling it more than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, Tian Xing.

    Obviously, Tian Xing knew that it was Fang Zhengzhi who had used the Heaven Dao Teleportation technique.

    Precisely because he knew this, he was extremely shocked.

    "How could it be? I crippled him!" Tian Xing simply could notprehend how something so bizzare could have happened.

    Could it be the Yin Yang Illustration that had appeared?

    As the leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Tian Xing obviously knew what the Yin Yang Illustration was, so naturally, he also knew that the Yin Yang Illustration could not have had such an effect.

    If it wasn¡¯t the Yin Yang Diagram...

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb could heal wounds, cause an increase in cultivation, but repair Small Dimensions? Impossible!

    If it wasn¡¯t the Thousand Years Fire Herb either, then what is going on?

    Tian Xing was truly baffled.

    Even though he was the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, faced with such a bizarre happening, he was utterly perplexed. After all, he was the one who had personally crippled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Small Dimension.

    ...

    "Cough, cough..." Wan Lei¡¯s face was rather pale, as he coughed out two mouthfuls of blood. He had wanted to attack Fang Zhengzhi, and he had never expected that he would¡¯ve gotten a p from Tian Xing instead.

    As the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, he found it hard to ept Tian Xing¡¯s angry p.

    Especially when his body was being hollowed out.

    How could that have happened?

    Wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi crippled? How could he have dodged Tian Xing¡¯s p? Also, the Heaven Dao, how could he have mastered the Heaven Dao?

    Could it be that it was Chi Guyan?

    Countless questions surfaced in Wan Lei¡¯s mind.

    This led him to shift his gaze to the smudge of blue light that was fast disappearing. Not far from the blue light were two figures.

    A man and a woman.

    Side by side, hand in hand.

    The woman was Chi Guyan, whose long, pink dress was pping gently in the wind, and her jet ck hair flowed to her waist like a waterfall.

    Compared to her fatigue and paleness just moments before,

    Chi Guyan looked like apletely different person, with red cheeks, shining skin, her beauty as ring as the brightest star in the sky, making it almost painful to look at her.

    Standing beside her was Fang Zhengzhi, who had also looked like he was about to die, but now...

    His long, blue shirt moved with the wind, and a hint of a smile lingered about the corners of his mouth. Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were as blue as the sky.

    "The Heaven Dao, how could it be?! This guy has mastered the Heaven Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Technique!" At this point, Wan Lei¡¯s expression changed.

    It hadn¡¯t been Chi Guyan¡¯s Heaven Dao.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi!

    No matter how much thought he gave to the matter, he couldn¡¯t find a reason.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally wouldn¡¯t deliberately exin it, but he had already lost his Small Dimension two years ago. What he was left with was called The Vast World.

    Thus, crippled or not, to him, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference.

    Of course, this was extremely fortunate. If not for the fact that his body was now rather special, Tian Xing¡¯s slept would really have crippled him.

    "Such a pity that I didn¡¯t suck the both of them dry, there¡¯s still some left." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head, slightly disappointed.

    However, he was still rather satisfied.

    At least 30% of Tian Xing¡¯s Origin Source had been sucked away, and as for Wan Lei, since he was the main target, Fang Zhengzhi had taken special care to suck away at least 70% of his Origin Source, on top of the medicinal powers of the Thousand Years Fire Herb that Wan Lei had absorbed.

    He had more or less gotten back all the Origin Source that he had expended earlier.

    In fact, there was even some leftover.

    "Shameless thief. The leopard cannot change its spots!" Chi Guyan scolded, but she didn¡¯t look too angry. In fact, she didn¡¯t even pull back her hand, which Fang Zhengzhi was holding.

    "Guyan, are you alright?" Mu Qingfeng looked at her hand, which was being held by Fang Zhengzhi, and looked at her face, which betrayed a hint of nervousness.

    Other Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples simrly showed an unusual amount of concern.

    "Master, I¡¯m fine." Chi Guyan shook her head.

    "Alright, that¡¯s good to hear. What about him..." Upon hearing that Chi Guyan was fine, Mu Qingfeng let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, his gaze shifted to Fang Zhengzhi. He seemed like he was about to speak, but then faltered and changed his mind.

    "Of course you guys are fine!" Wan Lei¡¯s voice boomed, as he stood up from the deep pit with some difficulty. "Chi Guyan, I saved you out of goodwill today, and this is how you repay me? Plotting against me together with this guy? Is this how the Heaven Dao Pavilion treats its allies?"

    "Plotting?"

    "What plot?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi and senior plotted against Wan Lei together?"

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were initially doubtful about what had happened earlier. Now, hearing Wan Lei¡¯s remark, they were growing curious.

    "Hurhur, Chi Guyan, the Chosen One. First, you stole the Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s Thousand Fire Herb from the ck Moon Ind, then you conspired with an outsider against the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall Wan Lei. Impressive!" Hearing this, Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan stood up, smiling.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s Cang Yue, who was by his side, remained silent. She let her gaze fall on Fang Zhengzhi, staring at him, furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

    As for Tian Xing, his expression was dark and terrifying.

    As the leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had been defeated by someone who hadn¡¯t even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion, who had sucked away 30% of his Origin Source. This was definitely a huge insult.

    Only...

    He couldn¡¯t speak like Wan Lei.

    After all, for him, the leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, to personally admit that he had been outsmarted - that was unspeakable.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng stood up, and his gaze swept past both Wan Lei and Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, and then stopped at Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi.

    "What did the Valley Elder mean by this? It was Tian Xing who hurt Wan Lei, what does this have to do with Guyan?" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression turned rather icy as he said this.

    "Pavilion Leader Mu, you really know how to make excuses for your beloved disciple! If not for Chi Guyan¡¯s help, how could this rascal, with such a low level of cultivation plot against me? What a joke!" Wan Lei wiped the bloodstains on the corner of his mouth, looking arrogant.

    Actually...

    As Yin Yang Hall¡¯s First Disciple.

    Wan Lei did in fact have every reason to be arrogant. After all, whether in terms of alchemy skills or cultivation, he was superior to to his peers.

    Then, how could he believe that the Yin Yang Illustration was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s doing?

    Chi Guyan.

    It had to be Chi Guyan.

    Although he had no idea how Chi Guyan was able to feel the Dao of Yin Yang, he was sure that only Chi Guyan could do that.

    However, as he stopped speaking, a smudge of sky blue light appeared on top of his head, as clear as the sky.

    "Huh?" Wan Lei¡¯s expression changed. Although 70% of his Origin Source had been sucked away, and he had taken a p from Tian Xing, he still had a keen intuition for danger.

    The moment he saw the blue light appear above his head, he took two steps back swiftly, and revealed a cold smile. "Rascal, you really think that you can plot against me with your half-hearted Heavenly Rebirth Dao? You¡¯re just courting death!"

    Wan Lei was very fast.

    Even though he was injured, he moved forward so quickly as if he was a shadow.

    "Plot against you? That¡¯s too easy, I¡¯d like to take you head-on this time!" As Wan Lei stepped back, a figure appeared in the blue light above his head.

 Chapter 678 Life and Death State, Death Lotus

    His long, blue shirt moved with the wind, and his ck hair danced lightly in the wind. This was both a sudden and shocking scene for all who had witnessed it.

    "I thought this guy didn¡¯t enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "Even if he¡¯s mastered the Heaven Dao, the highest cultivation he could have reached should be the Rebirth State, right?"

    "How dare he provoke Wan Lei?!"

    Madness, arrogance, courting death. These were the thoughts running through the minds of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    However, this thought never so much as surfaced in the minds of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. After all, they knew better.

    Fang Zhengzhi was someone who had dared to pretend to be a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple to mess with the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, and thenunched a surprise attack on Third Elder and Fifth Elder, so why would he be afraid of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s First Disciple?

    At this moment, Wan Lei stopped in his tracks. Sensing that he was in danger, he subconsciously took two steps back, but he never expected the source of danger would actually be Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Take me head-on? Hmph, with your capabilities, that¡¯s simply..." Wan Lei snorted, preparing to continue to remark on how Fang Zhengzhi had overestimated his ability when he suddenly saw a pair of eyes.

    It was a pair of extremely bizarre eyes that were crystal clear.

    Most importantly, in the pair of clear eyes were one ck and one white air whirls, swirling around.

    Two Yin Yang Illustrations!

    How could that be possible?!

    Wan Lei¡¯s expression changed. He simply could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Dao of Yin Yang. Could it be that the one who had mastered the Dao of Yin Yang wasn¡¯t Chi Guyan after all?

    He didn¡¯t believe it.

    But this was the truth, Fang Zhengzhi hade, he had brazenly, openly made his way to Wan Lei, with the Yin Yang illustration spinning in his eyes.

    A punch. It had been a very direct punch.

    No frills, no tricks, no technique.

    This brazen madness naturally shocked Wan Lei, but it also angered him.

    As the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, he had a strong Sage State. It was unthinkable that someone of his stature could have been challenged by an outsider who hadn¡¯t even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and in such a way? How could he tolerate it?

    He didn¡¯t hesitate for long.

    Despite being injured, Wan Lei didn¡¯t dodge, giving a punch in response.

    "Boom!" A loud sound was heard.

    Countless pieces of gravel flew, causing dust to cover the ce, as a figure swiftly took five steps back.

    "Bleh!" Wan Lei spit out a mouthful of blood. He was in disbelief ¨C he really could not believe that he, the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, had been forced to retreat.

    This was despite the fact that he was injured, and had only 30-40% of his power left.

    But the opponent here was someone who had only attained the Rebirth State; someone who had not even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How could he have such a terrifying amount of power?

    That punch...

    How could it have been so strong?

    Wan Lei didn¡¯t understand any of this.

    But Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t intending on giving him any time to think about this. In the time that Wan Lei had taken to step back, Fang Zhengzhi had re-appeared in front of Wan Lei.

    "I said if you want to take me head-on, take me head-on!" A smile appeared, stretching from corner to corner of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. Without waiting for Wan Lei to respond, Fang Zhengzhi gave Wan Lei another strong punch.

    "Boom!"

    Wan Lei took five steps backward again.

    With his face as pale as snow, and a body dyed red with blood, Wan Lei stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was charging towards him once again, in utter disbelief.

    "Impossible! I, Wan Lei, losing to a nobody like you!" Wan Lei¡¯s arrogance meant that he didn¡¯t want to retreat, but he had already been beaten twice.

    How could he bear to lose a third time?

    Is it because he sucked away my Origin Source? That¡¯s why he became so strong? Wan Lei thought furiously about this and quickly reached a conclusion.

    Everything in the world had their strengths and weaknesses.

    For instance, Yan Qing was an anomaly, who had an absolute advantage in terms of physical strength.

    Wan Lei was furious, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. On the converse, he remained very calm. Even in a bad situation, he was could still quickly analyze the advantages and disadvantages of his opponent and himself.

    If he couldn¡¯t win Fang Zhengzhi in terms of strength, then he¡¯d use experience and the Dao of All Creation.

    In moments, he had changed his strategy.

    He dodged Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s third punch, and a me appeared on his forehead. It was a ck me, split into six, like six flower petals.

    "Rascal, do you know what the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang looks like?" As he spoke, a ck me rose from his hands.

    It was condensed like a real me, split into six, like a lotus that has not yet bloomed.

    "Isn¡¯t it life and death?" Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips, a look of disdain on his face.

    "What?!" Wan Lei looked like he had been struck by lightning, his face stiff as a board. The feeling of someone else urately guessing what one¡¯s next words are simply wasn¡¯t pleasant.

    "Yin Yang produces the two prities, which produce life and death." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t spend too long exining the concept to Wan Lei as he moved his palm, causing a simr ck me to rise from his palms.

    "..." Wan Lei stared in shock.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one - even the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were staring in shock, expressions of disbelief on their faces.

    "Is he a demon?"

    "How is this possible?!"

    "It¡¯s the same Life-Death Dao of Yin Yang as Wan Lei!"

    No one couldprehend how such a strange thing had happened.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in particr, who had seen Fang Zhengzhi unleash his Heaven Dao and Near-Life Dao, were shell-shocked.

    And now...

    The Dao of Yin Yang had entered the realm of life and death.

    "How could he master all three of the Great Daos? How could such a demon exist in this world?!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples found this all very hard to ept.

    After all, they were the cream of the crop from variousnds and nations. Their pride had beenpletely shattered by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples who were shocked.

    Mu Qingfeng, the Heaven Dao Pavilion Sage State disciples, even Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, who was standing nearby, were unable to hide their shocked expressions.

    As for the one who was the most shocked...

    It was Tian Xing.

    "Exactly what kind of demon is this rascal? His Small Dimension had been destroyed, and he can still use the Heaven Dao? He has even mastered the Yin Yang Life-Death State? Why is he like this? Could it be that this guy¡¯s heart is on the right?" Tian Xing clenched his fists tightly, a cold stare in his eyes.

    "Rascal, what exactly are you?" Wan Lei really didn¡¯t want to ask this question, because he had always felt that Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking, what good was there in asking a dead man questions?

    But now...

    He really wanted to know the answer to this question.

    "I answered your question just now, shouldn¡¯t you answer my question now?" Fang Zhengzhi clearly had no interest in exining his identity to Wan Lei.

    "What do you mean?" Wan Lei asked subconsciously.

    "If the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang is the Yin Yang Life-Death State, then do you know what the epitome of the Near-Life Dao is?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "The Near-Life Dao?" Wan Lei showed a hint of surprise, as he did not know why Fang Zhengzhi was asking this question. However, as Fang Zhengzhi had said, Fang Zhengzhi had answered his previous question on the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang, so he naturally could not be seen to be weaker. "Are you trying to test me? The epitome of the Near-Life Dao is, naturally, the Hell Near-Life Chains, which can lock the six senses!"

    "Alright, then do it." Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head ever so slightly.

    "Do? Do what?" Wan Lei looked lost.

    "Obviously, I mean to use it, like how I used the Yin Yang Life-Death State." The corners of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth curled, and he stared at Wan Lei like a fool.

    "Use it? Rascal, don¡¯t you know that the Near-Life Dao is one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, and one of the Great Daos like the Dao of Yin Yang? From what I know, no one in this world can master both of these Daos at the same time!"

    "What if someone could?"

    "Rascal, I¡¯m not stupid!" Wan Leiughed mockingly.

    Hearing this, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples¡¯ expressions turned very weird. They stared at Wan Lei, seemingly trying to tell him that he was being extremely foolish.

    This naturally caused Wan Lei a great deal of difort.

    "What do you mean, you can do that?!" Wan Lei felt ominous after receiving the strange stares from those around him.

    "No, I can¡¯t." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Well then, what do you mean by that..." Wan Lei was cut off by a freezing cold breeze that rose behind him.

    In the next moment, he felt a piercing pain from his feet, as if he had lost control of his right leg.

    Then, a sh of red light appeared before his eyes.

    That was a chain, a blood red chain, that had rushed out from the ground, which had pierced through his feet, which was on the ground.

    And then...

    A second chain appeared, then a third, a fourth...

    Wan Lei was stunned.

    Not only was he stunned, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples and Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, even Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing all stood with wide eyes.

    "This is... the Hell Near-Life Chains?!"

    "He, he actually masted the Near-Life Dao?"

    "How could this be?!"

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples simply could not believe it.

    As for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, they were rendered speechless. Yes, they had once refused to believe it as well, but now, they could not do that anymore.

    The Fang Zhengzhi before their eyes truly was a demon who had mastered three of the Great Daos: the Heaven Dao, the Near-Life Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang.

    No one else in the Holy Region could do this!

    "Crack!" Wan Lei¡¯s arm was once against pierced by a green chain, causing his entire body to twist, and he almost fell to the ground.

    "No, this is impossible!" Wan Lei¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief, but the cruel truth was right before his eyes. The feeling of being pierced was crystal clear as it cut into his bone, and he simply had to believe.

    The Near-Life Dao!

    This guy really mastered the Near-Life Dao?!

    Idiot...

    I really am an idiot!

    Wan Lei didn¡¯t hesitate any longer, because the third chain had already made its way to his other arm, if this arm was pierced, he would truly be in a dire situation.

    "Life and death state, death lotus, open!" As Wan Lei called out, the ck me on his hand that had yet to blossom now burned brightly.

    The six petal-like mes swirled quickly, creating a vibration that shook of the third Hell Near-Life Chain, while the other two chains which had already pierced his body were cut.

    "Poof!" A huge vibration, as Wan Lei spit another mouthful of blood, but he didn¡¯t dare to stay where he was, and he retreated very quickly.

    "Life and death state, death lotus, open!" At this moment, a voice almost identical to Wan Lei was heard, and another Death Lotus appeared in front of Wan Lei.

    "What?!" Wan Lei wanted to retreat further, but it was already toote.

    This Deah Lotus had grown out of a smudge of blue light, and he who was controlling this Death Lotus was smiling.

    At this moment, Wan Lei finally started to understand what Fang Zhengzhi had meant when he said, "plot against you? That¡¯s too easy, I want to take you head-on!".

    Of course...

    If he had not been injured.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the three Great Daos, Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang, he would not be afraid, but the reality was that he was injured.

    "Boom!"

    ck mes flew everywhere, and a huge ck me tornado wrapped itself around Wan Lei, burning his clothes, and then his hair and skin.

    "Sizzle!" sounds could be heard from his body.

    Wan Lei now looked rather hideous and savage, but he also seemed to be sneering, sneering from his bones.

    That¡¯s right.

    Wan Lei was sneering.

    He was sneering very loudly.

    "Reverse the flow of Yin and Yang!" Wan Lei bellowed lightly, and then a strange scene appeared, as the ck me that was burning his body entered Wan Lei¡¯s body, as if by some strangemand, and disappeared.

    He was the great First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

    How could he lose to Fang Zhengzhi?

    He had been waiting.

    Waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables.

    In fact, when the Death Lotus had risen in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, he had already nned all of this, and now, it had gone ording to n.

    "Die!" Wan Lei¡¯s expression was ice cold, as he forcefully absorbed the Death Lotus into his body, which would result in a loss on both sides.

    However, he no longer cared.

    Even if he were to sustain huge injuries, and not be able to use any Origin Source in two years, he had to make Fang Zhengzhi pay for what he had done today.

    "Boom!" ck mes rose to the sky, violently swirling around, turning the white jade gravel below Wan Lei¡¯s feet into powder.

    How could the First Disciple of Yin Yang hall be so weak?

    He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to die because only if he was dead could Wan Lei regain his dignity, and all the me could be shifted onto Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was what Wan Lei thought.

    However, this thought did not stay for long, because a sword appeared in his line of vision. It was a mediocre sword, not impressive or grand in any way.

    "Shiii!" The sword pierced through the chest, as blood spurted everywhere.

    "If you want to die, then I shall kill you!" Wan Lei heard a voice as clear as a nightingale near his ear. It was a lovely voice, but a very cold one at the same time, as cold as the sword that had pierced through his chest.

 Chapter 679 If Shamelessness Were A Dao

    If Wan Lei¡¯s expression had frozen at this moment, one would see that his wide-open eyes were extremely bloodshot, staring at Chi Guyan, who was standing in front of him with her pink dress stained with blood.

    Those bright eyes, perfect, exquisite features, that loft and pride which would have ruined nations. Oh, how bright she was, like the brightest stars in the universe.

    It was very real.

    However, he could not believe that it had been her, the Chosen One Chi Guyan, who had pierced his heart with her sword. Why? Why would she dare to kill me?!

    "If you want to die, then I shall be the one to kill you!"

    You shall be the one to kill me?!

    Wan Lei couldn¡¯t understand, he simply could not understand.

    How could she not know that she represented the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Did she not know that he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall? How dare she?!

    "You... cough cough..." Wan Lei¡¯s body softened as he kneeled on the ground, but his eyes remained on Chi Guyan. "Are you not afraid...afraid that the Yin Yang Hall looks...looks for you..."

    "You don¡¯t deserve it!" Chi Guyan gazed quietly at Wan Lei, her expression as calm as a frozenke, without a single ripple.

    "Don¡¯t... don¡¯t deserve it?!" Wan Lei¡¯s eyes widened, he could not reconcile himself to it, he really could not. He hade today to the Heaven Dao Pavilion to watch a fight, not to participate in one himself.

    How many months, how much work had gone into this, such that he could have achieved what he had - entering the Sage State with just a single move and bing the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

    He had a bright future ahead of him...

    But now, he was going to die, die under the sword of Chi Guyan, and all because he attacked a guy who had not even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    How could he reconcile this with himself?

    "Ciiii!" He pulled the sword out.

    Red blood gushed out from Wan Lei¡¯s heart, dripping onto the ground, dying the powdered white jade a crimson red.

    Chi Guyan turned around, not even looking twice at Wan Lei. This was due to the arrogance and disdain in her heart, as she saw him as nothing more than an ant.

    However, this "ant" was a strong figure in the Sage State. He was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

    "You..." Wan Lei spit out another mouthful of blood as he looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s back view. He seemed like he had more to say, but the blood gushing out of his heart caused him to give in. He couldn¡¯t take it any longer.

    "Dong!"

    Wan Lei¡¯s fell to the ground, his face unwilling and shocked. He didn¡¯t want to die, he really didn¡¯t want to, but it was a fact that he had died.

    Even if he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, and a strong figure in the Sage State, a sword pierce through the heart could only mean death.

    "Shh!" All the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples drew in their breaths.

    Each of them stared at Chi Guyan, and as they saw the arrogance on her face, they felt a chill run down their spines.

    She actually killed Wan Lei?!

    No one had expected this. After all, as Wan Lei had said, Chi Guyan was a representative of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and Wan Lei was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Why would Chi Guyan do that?

    No one knew.

    But the truth was that Chi Guyan had taken action, and had shown no mercy, killing him with a single pierce of the sword, not even giving a proper exnation.

    Shock, silence.

    None of this seemed to have any effect on Chi Guyan. All she did was slowly keep the sword, and then slowly made her way to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side.

    She looked at Fang Zhengzhi and then quietly stood still as if nothing had happened. Calm and lofty.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he seemed rather speechless.

    Didn¡¯t she just kill-steal him? The guy had already been crippled by him, and at a vital moment, she had appeared to kill him with a single sword stroke. Was this anything to be proud of?

    "Erm... I think you just stole my kill?" Fang Zhengzhi felt the need to remind Chi Guyan that this wasn¡¯t a very good habit.

    "Yeah." Chi Guyan nodded her head.

    "So, shouldn¡¯t you say something?"

    "What do you want me to say?"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi was once again rendered speechless.

    At this moment,ughter rang out, and then Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, who had been standing far away, walked away from the crowd and slowly made his way towards Tian Xing, his expression gloomy.

    "Hahaha... Leader Tian, Chi Guyan is trying to warn others. It seems like it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb from this guy¡¯s body!" Gu Yuan stopped near Tian Xing.

    He didn¡¯t move any nearer but had a wide smile on his face.

    The Chosen One Chi Guyan naturally wouldn¡¯t do something without reason, especially something like killing the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei.

    If she had to do it...

    There can only be one reason.

    He had to be killed!

    Tian Xing didn¡¯t speak, but his expression was terrifyingly dark.

    Even Gu Yuan could see Chi Guyan¡¯s intention, so how could he not see it? It was obvious - Chi Guyan had killed Wan Lei to show her stance.

    This was a very simple logic, if she had to choose between him and Wan Lei, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult.

    "She killed him to warn others? Ah, so that was what she intended!"

    "Sister Chi Guyan, did she use Wan Lei¡¯s death to tell Tian Xing that she¡¯s already made up her mind?"

    "That¡¯s right, if we have to fight today, killing Wan Lei was obviously a good choice!"

    Hearing this, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples quickly understood what was happening.

    Although Chi Guyan never said much throughout, at this moment, everyone could feel the strength of her resolve.

    If even Wan Lei could be killed, then what about the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    Tian Xing¡¯s fists were tightly clenched. He had an agreement with Mu Qingfeng regarding the extraction of the pill; this matter had been concluded.

    But now, Chi Guyan¡¯s stance was extremely clear.

    Tian Xing wasn¡¯t as worried about Chi Guyan as he was about Mu Qingfeng since this affected the delicate rtionship that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion shared.

    Being Mu Qingfeng¡¯s proudest, most beloved disciple, if Chi Guyan was really in danger because of Fang Zhengzhi, would Mu Qingfeng continue to honor the pill-extracting agreement? Who knows?

    Give up?

    Tian Xing obviously could not give up.

    But he also could not continue to fight, because, in that short fight, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had already lost almost ten disciples, and dozens were seriously injured.

    Of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion also suffered casualties.

    Butpared to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Heaven Dao Pavilion had suffered much fewer casualties. This was due to two reasons, one, the Heaven Dao Pavilion specialized in swordsmanship, and was better atbat than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain; two, they were at the Heaven Dao Pavilion itself - the Heaven Dao Pavilion had an advantage since they were on home ground, and had a greater number of disciples.

    Most importantly...

    Tian Xing was slightly injured.

    Fang Zhengzhi absorbed 30% of his Origin Energy. Right now, there was no way for him to fight to the death against Mu Qingfeng. Hence, how could he continue fighting?

    "Ten moves. If the two of you can block ten of my moves, I¡¯ll leave! If not... the Heaven Dao Pavilion will bathe in blood today!" Tian Xing said coldly as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, upon hearing this, looked at each other. Worry and contemtion filled their faces.

    Tian Xing?

    He was someone who was as powerful as Mu Qingfeng, and one of the most powerful cultivator in the entire Holy Region. Ten moves? While it sounded simple, it was nearly impossible to achieve.

    Hence, most importantly, this promise concerned the Thousand Years Fire Herb. Naturally, Tian Xing would use all his strength and show no mercy.

    When Mu Qingfeng heard Tian Xing¡¯s words, he frowned.

    No one knew the extent of Tian Xing¡¯s strength better than he did. Even he was not confident of beating Tian Xing, much less Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ten moves?

    It was too difficult.

    "I disagree!" Fang Zhengzhi said.

    He was not dumb. Ten moves? It would kill him. While he had never fought Tian Xing head-on, he remembered how Mu Qingfeng was able to take his Traceless Sword.

    Tian Xing was just as powerful as Mu Qingfeng.

    He who recognized the situation was the true hero. Fang Zhengzhi knew the situation he was in really well. After all, he was now at an advantage, so why would he risk it all?

    It was not worth it. Furthermore, he had no motivation to do so.

    "Rascal, this is not up to you. If you don¡¯t abide by my conditions, the Heaven Dao Pavilion will run red with blood!" Tian Xing was visibly enraged.

    As the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had already taken many steps back. By proposing the condition of ten moves, it was nearing the end of his limits.

    "Are you sure?" Fang Zhengzhi appeared to be thinking.

    "I¡¯m sure!" Tian Xing nodded his head.

    "How can I believe you?"

    "What a joke! I never go back on my words, never!"

    "Alright, you can fight. After all, I¡¯m not a member of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. You two can fight. I¡¯ll leave," said Fang Zhengzhi when he heard that. He turned and prepared to walk away.

    "..." Tian Xing¡¯s lips twitched. Even though he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he did not know how to react to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless words.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them were speechless too.

    What was this?

    He was the reason for the conflict, but he behaved as if hepletely did not care about this matter and nned to leave.

    It was akin to saying, "Have fun fighting you lot, I¡¯ll make a move first."

    How could he say something so shameless?

    "Wait a minute!" Tian Xing looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was about to leave and calmed the fire in his heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that the bones were cracking.

    "What other matters do you have, Leader Tian? In fact, if I were you, I¡¯ll start fighting now. You said that you will never renegade on your words, don¡¯t forget!" Fang Zhengzhi said with a face filled with suspicion.

    "You..." Tian Xing suppressed his rage, which rose in his heart once more. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who seemed uncaring, and he really wanted to punch him. However, when he looked at Chi Guyan, who was next to him, he forced himself to calm down and said, "Rascal, are you afraid?"

    "No, but I think that the conditions can be changed."

    "Conditions? What conditions?"

    "Just now you said that if we can survive ten moves, you will leave. However, for me, I won¡¯t get anything out of this," said Fang Zhengzhi as his mouth curled.

    "Get nothing out of this? Rascal, don¡¯t push it. The Thousand Years Fire Herb in your body is the supreme treasure of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. How can you say that you won¡¯t benefit from it?" Tian Xing stared at him coldly.

    "You said it yourself. The Thousand Years Fire Herb is inside me. What¡¯s the point of using it as a reward?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Rascal, you.... Fine, what are your terms?"

    "How about we reduce the number of moves from ten to one?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard Tian Xing¡¯s words, he asked this question hopefully.

    "One move..." Tian Xing spoke halfway before it seemed as if he had choked on something. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

    Originally, he thought Fang Zhengzhi would ask for a treasure as the reward of this wager. However, he never expected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s condition to mean this.

    Going from ten moves to just one?

    "How does this guy¡¯s brain work? Does he have any sort of limit? No matter how much confidence Tian Xing had, he would not agree to this condition."

    "Pfft!" Chi Guyan could not help but burst outughing. Her normally regal and calm look fadedpletely and her face cracked intoughter like a flower blooming.

    If shamelessness were a Dao...

    She believed that Fang Zhengzhi would have been in the Sage State ten years ago.

    Right now, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them looked at each other. Their faces all turned red.

    "How shameless can this guy get?"

    "Changing the number of moves from ten to one, how can he say this with a straight face?"

    "Does he think that we are idiots?"

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples because they had never seen someone who could be so brazen. There was no limit to his shamelessness.

    They were not alone. When Mu Qingfeng heard this, his head turned to the side and he cursed underneath his breath, "Rascal, there¡¯s no limit to how shameless you can be!"

    Of course...

    He would never say it.

    The reason was simple. While he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, he hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could obtain a favorable condition from Tian Xing¡¯s mouth.

    After all, the chances of surviving ten moves were minimal.

    "As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, are you so unconfident of yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi said to Tian Xing. The side of his mouth curled disrespectfully.

    "Rascal, don¡¯t try to provoke me like this!" Tian Xing gritted his teeth. "When I said ten moves, I mean it. Of course, if anyone of you dares to fight me alone, I¡¯ll lower it to five!"

    "I am not dumb. It¡¯s more likely for two people to survive ten moves than it is for one person to survive five moves. If you think one move is impossible, how about two moves?"

    "Impossible!"

    "Three moves!"

    "Still impossible!"

    "What about if it¡¯s just one person?"

    "Eh no... wait a minute, a person? You say that you can take three of my moves alone?" Tian Xing prepared to shake his head but soon, he reacted to it. He could not believe what he was hearing. Soon, heughed too, "When you said ¡¯alone¡¯, you mean Gu Chiyan and not you, right?"

 Chapter 680 Wrath of the Heaven, The Strongest Battle

    "When he says ¡¯alone¡¯, he means Senior Chi Guyan? Does this shameless person want Senior Chi Guyan to fight Tian Xing alone?"

    "This must be the case!"

    "Can he be more shameless?"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they were stunned. However, after Tian Xing had exined it to them, they all became visibly enraged.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were not alone. Even the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were in disbelief.

    As for Chi Guyan...

    Her expression did not change much. The smile from her face evaporated as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was next to her. Then, she quietly took a step back.

    "Be careful," said Chi Guyan. Her voice was not loud. However, the disciples from both sects around her could hear her.

    "Careful?"

    "What does this mean?"

    "Does it mean that this guy will be up next?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples all had faces of doubt after they heard her words. After all, they all knew how shameless he was.

    How could such a shameless person be willing to something so dangerous?

    However, Fang Zhengzhi just nodded his head slightly. Then, he slowly walked toward Tian Xing. While his pace was not fast, it was deliberate.

    "He wants to fight Tian Xing alone?!"

    "Impossible!"

    When they saw this scene, the disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and even the other two emperors on the Heaven Academic Altar, were shocked.

    "Oh? Did I guess wrong?" Tian Xing¡¯s expression turned severe once more. As he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was walking toward him, a light glinted in his eyes.

    "Three moves. If I can survive three of your moves, bring your men back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!" Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Tian Xing¡¯s question but instead, he just said this.

    "Hahaha... you have a sharp tongue indeed. However, are you sure that you can block three of my moves?" When Tian Xing heard this, he startedughing.

    After all, the reason why he proposed ten moves was because he nned for Chi Guyan and not Fang Zhengzhi.

    If Chi Guyan really decided to fight him, he would give it a lot more thought. However, if Fang Zhengzhi fought him alone...

    He could do so without any hesitation.

    "Yes, I¡¯m sure," replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Good, very good! I admit that I have judged you wrongly. While you¡¯re shameless, you have the spirit of a man. Let¡¯s do what you say. Three moves. If you can survive three moves, I¡¯ll leave and I promise I¡¯ll never bother the Heaven Dao Pavilion ever again!" Tian Xing looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously and nodded his head.

    "He¡¯s really challenging Tian Xing?"

    "It seems real enough. However, with his strength, how can he live three moves? He¡¯s asking for death!"

    "While it¡¯s a suicide mission, he¡¯s brave indeed."

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard this, they all looked at Fang Zhengzhi differently.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally disregarded the discussion going on around him.

    After he heard Tian Xing¡¯s response, he slowly turned to look at Mu Qingfeng and said, "Pavilion Leader Mu, today, I offer myself to save the Heaven Dao Pavilion from turning into a sea of blood and carnage. Shouldn¡¯t you do something in acknowledgment?"

    "How would you like me to acknowledge you?" After Mu Qingfeng heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, he nodded his head seriously too.

    While the fight between the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion was inextricably linked to Fang Zhengzhi, he could also be said to uninvolved in it.

    Hence, it was not unreasonable for Fang Zhengzhi to make requests.

    Furthermore, Mu Qingfeng did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could survive three moves from Tian Xing. Even so, he could treat Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request like hisst requests.

    "If I can block three of Tian Xing¡¯s moves, I want you to let Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu be your disciples. Furthermore, you must instruct them personally!" Fang Zhengzhi said this without even thinking.

    "Take in Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu?" Mu Qingfeng never expected Fang Zhengzhi to make such a request. He looked at Yan Xiu, who was unconscious, subconsciously and then at Nangong Mu, who was still fighting Yan Qing. "Alright, I ept your request. Furthermore, if you can live, I¡¯ll even promise to bend the rules and take you in as a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion."

    "Master wants to let this guy into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "He¡¯s so shameless, how can master ept him?"

    "Hurhur, he has no chance of surviving. Master¡¯s promise is just a gesture of kindness. It won¡¯t happen!"

    "Hmm, that¡¯s right!"

    After the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words, they could not quite believe it too. However, when they heard that the pre-condition was for Fang Zhengzhi to survive three moves, they rxed instantly.

    "There¡¯s no need to take me in as a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Thank you for your kind intention, Pavilion Leader Mu, but I don¡¯t want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion," replied Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at Mu Qingfeng and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples before smiling.

    "He doesn¡¯t want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion?!"

    "Master is so kind and magnanimous. This guy doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for him!"

    Some of the disciples who were worried at first, upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rejection, turned visibly angry.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly. He naturally knew what they were thinking.

    When Mu Qingfeng proposed making him his disciple, he knew that it was a gesture of kindness. It was akin to a millionaire showingpassion to a beggar. If he rejected the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s invitation, it was akin to disregarding his circumstances.

    Fang Zhengzhi never viewed himself as a beggar.

    Hence, why would he take up Mu Qingfeng¡¯s act of kindness andpassion?

    Perhaps, if he joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he would obtain many benefits. For example, he would obtain a position of respect in the Holy Region. He could learn more about cultivation and even obtain more resources.

    However...

    The world was fair.

    If you wanted rewards, you must be willing to sacrifice.

    He was sure that as long as he joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he would have to obey its rules and regtions. He had to be an obedient disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Promoting the Heaven Dao Pavilion would be his job. The interests of the pavilion woulde before his own pride.

    Fang Zhengzhi valued freedom. He hated such rules.

    Of course, this was not important. What was important was his suspicion on why Mu Qingfeng wanted to take him in as his disciple.

    Undoubtedly, it was because of his rtionship with Chi Guyan. Secondly, he demonstrated his talent and abilities just now. Thirdly, it was to honor the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi also had a good memory.

    When Tian Xing proposed taking the Thousand Years Fire Herb from inside Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng did not stop him. Even now, when he stood up and volunteered to take three moves from Tian Xing, Mu Qingfeng also did not stop him.

    In other words...

    Mu Qingfeng did not really want to take him in as a disciple, but he had no choice. To be precise, the Heaven Dao Pavilion did more mind an extra disciple.

    It was clear from how Mu Qingfeng proposed taking him in as a disciple only if he could survive three moves.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi expected this result the moment he was at the Northern Mountain Vige. Even if he was at in the Supernatural State, the Heaven Dao Pavilion would not reject him, much less when he was now in the Rebirth State.

    However, there was a difference between not rejecting him and wanting him.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no time.

    He had no n of using his sacrifices to get resources. Furthermore, he did not want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion when everyone did not like him.

    Of course, he had to admit that Mu Qingfeng seemed like a good teacher. Even though he had injured Third Elder and Fifth Elder, he still expressed his willingness to ept him into the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, the Heaven Dao Pavilion was not just run by Mu Qingfeng.

    "Pavilion Leader Mu, could you return me my Traceless Sword?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped thinking because after he had seen Tian Xing, Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Hall, and Elder Gu Yuan of the Fu Xi Valley, he had a new understanding of the Holy Region.

    This was a ce where the true elites fought for dominance, both honorably and through trickery. Everywhere was filled with ¡¯hungry wolves¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s main goal now was to live.

    Furthermore, he did not just want to live, but he also wanted to live excitedly and without restraint. He wanted to use his own method to change his fate.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, I won¡¯t force you into joining the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, I don¡¯t think this sword is fit for you," said Mu Qingfeng as he shook his head. He appeared worried.

    "I think it¡¯s fit for me."

    "Alright, since you insist, I¡¯ll return the Traceless Sword to you!" Mu Qingfeng did not continue arguing with Fang Zhengzhi. He waved his hand and from the sleeve of his white robes, a purple ray of light flew out.

    In fact, very few people knew the other important reason why Mu Qingfeng wanted to take Fang Zhengzhi in. It was because of the Traceless Sword. In other words, when Fang Zhengzhi beat back many Sage State disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion with his Traceless Sword, he had already made up his mind to take Fang Zhengzhi in. If not for that, he would not have let Fang Zhengzhi consume one of his precious pills.

    Of course, when Fang Zhengzhi expressed his unwillingness to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he could not, as the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, forcibly keep Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword.

    "Roar!"

    The sword roared like a dragon.

    Fang Zhengzhi reached out with his hand and grabbed the Traceless Sword. Instantly, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and a suppressed killing intent.

    Not fit?

    Why was it not fit?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words. However, Mu Qingfeng did not offer any exnation. He stopped thinking and the moment the Traceless Sword was in his hand, a faint dragon roar could be heard from it.

    Tian Xing¡¯s gaze fell upon Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword. A look of surprise shed past his eyes.

    "This is a good sword," said Tian Xing. His voice was not loud.

    However, all of the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked. This was because Tian Xing was the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Most importantly, Tian Xing¡¯s skills at forging weapons were the best among all five sects of the Holy Region.

    The Yin Yang Hall made pills!

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain made weapons!

    If a sword could make Tian Xing exim in appreciation, it had to be extraordinary. What kind of sword was it?

    At this moment, everyone looked admiringly at the Traceless Sword. When they saw the pale purple light glowing from the Traceless Sword, they were all confused.

    However, at this moment, the Traceless Sword moved.

    To be precise, Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    He unsheathed the sword and the purple qi, which was like a dragon, started to fill the sky with a rumbling sound. The purple light shone brightly and a humongous killing intent surged from it.

    No one expected Fang Zhengzhi to forgo his defenses and just attack.

    However, this was just what he did.

    The purple light shot into the sky and turned into a coiling dragon that flew skyward. Then, thunder boomed and a sword light, which twisted and turned like a bolt of lightning, dropped down.

    Dragon yer sh.

    "Oh?" Tian Xing¡¯s expression changed slightly. "This is the power of someone in the Rebirth State, but this power of this sword easily rivals of one in the Sage State. Too bad..."

    He did not get to finish.

    This was because the sword light was already in front of him.

    This made all surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples hold their breath as they stared in anticipation.

    After all, they all saw this move before.

    Fifth Elder¡¯s arm was chopped off by this very move.

    Right now, Tian Xing was its target.

    What would happen?

    The sword roared deafeningly like a dragon.

    Tian Xing finally moved. However, he did not block the sword like what everyone predicted but instead, hepletely disregarded it.

    "No matter how strong it is, it¡¯s useless if it can¡¯t hurt me!" Tian Xing¡¯s voice rang out. At the same time, his body mysteriously disappeared.

    Then, he re-appeared in mid-air.

    Less than an inch from him was the tail of Dragon yer sh. Here, purple light shone more intensely than anywhere else.

    "Hit!" Tian Xing bellowed. With that, he punched the tail of the sword light, where it was the most purple.

    "Boom!" A huge explosion rang out.

    It was a dull sound, like a fist hitting another fist.

    The moment that happened, the clear sword sound and the dragon roar stopped. The purple light faded and Fang Zhengzhi, who was d in a blue robe, appeared.

    One his hand wielded a sword while the other clenched a fist.

    However, evidently, Fang Zhengzhi was tired. This was because while his fist hit Tian Xing¡¯s, he did not actually punch out fully.

    In other words...

    He did not straighten his arm.

    He struck out at thest moment.

    "Not bad, quick reflexes!" Tian Xing sounded slightly impressed. However, he did not retract his fist but instead, extended it and roared, "Wrath of the Heaven!"

 Chapter 681 Growth, End of the Line

    "Kaboom!" The moment Tian Xing¡¯s voice rang out, a bolt of lightning shed through the sky.

    The sky, which was bright at first, dimmed instantly. The sun was gone and the stars started to shine. It was as if day had turned into night.

    At the same time, a huge shadow appeared on Tian Xing¡¯s body.

    It was a red-haired hunk d in ck armor. On his ck armor, one could see golden dots of light shing. He had thick brows and bronze-like eyes and his face was almostpletely covered by his thick, ck beard.

    It was real, very real.

    The moment the red-haired hunk appeared, Tian Xing disappeared. It seemed as if he had merged with this red-haired hunk.

    A terrifying pressure could be felt from Tian Xing. When Tian Xing roared, it was as if the very heaven roared with him. It was a heavenly kind of anger.

    This scene seemed greatly exaggerated.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples underneath were both shocked when they saw this. Their faces were awestruck and terrified.

    "Wrath of the Heaven! Is this Tian Xing¡¯s lineage?!"

    "He uses his lineage straightaway. He¡¯s not giving Fang Zhengzhi any chance at all!"

    "He truly lives up to his title as one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this scene, they were all petrified. In their hearts, they knew that this battle did not need more than three moves.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned too. He knew that Tian Xing was strong and he was mentally prepared too. However, could he really be so strong until he did not know when to show mercy?

    What kind of nonsense was this?

    Was this the plete change¡¯?

    Before he had any more time to think, Fang Zhengzhi felt a terrifying power from his fist. It was as heavy as a mountain and brimmed with a vast energy. Waves of it smashed against his body ceaselessly. It was able to suppress himpletely.

    There was no way he could block it.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body fell from the heaven immediately. He was like aet that streaked across the night sky as he fell to the ground at full speed.

    "Kaboom!"

    Another hole appeared in the ground, which had already been ruined, instantly. One could not see how deep it was. Even Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure could not be seen.

    Silence. It was extremely silent.

    Every single Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked into the hole. They stared at the canyon-like hole and they all sighed in their hearts.

    The disparity in strength was far too wide.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi was a genius, even if his sword strokes were capable of matching the strength of a Sage State being, he now faced one of the most powerful beings in the entire Holy Region, Tian Xing.

    How could he win?

    Excluding the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was only in the Rebirth State, even a normal Sage State cultivator could notst more than three moves when fighting against Tian Xing.

    "No mercy indeed!" Mu Qingfeng looked into the distance as he stared at the godly red-haired hunk. He shook his head slightly.

    He naturally knew the full extent of Tian Xing¡¯s strength.

    Hence, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chances ofsting more than three moves against him were close to zero.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" The voice of the Xian King, Lin Yun, sounded. It broke the silence around them. He naturally saw the look of worry on Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s face and he understood that this was a fight that he could no stop. However, he still looked subconsciously at Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s face was slightly pale. This time, this Pride of the Heavens looked worried.

    However, the look of worry faded.

    She bit her lips tightly and the starlight in her eyes shone brighter and brighter. However, Chi Guyan did not move. She did not even say a single word.

    "Motherf*cker! F*ck!" At this moment, a sound emanated from the ck hole. It was weak but also infuriated.

    The disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked. Countless looks were shot in the direction of the ck hole.

    Even Nangong Hao, who had been standing in the crowd without moving or saying anything, looked in the direction of the hole. He was shocked too.

    At this very moment, a figure slowly crawled out from the ck hole. One could see that this figure was trembling. Evidently, he was in a bad state.

    However, this person was extremely resolute. His resolution was indescribable, but it existed and was very, very real.

    "He is still alive?!"

    "This is a miracle. Tian Xing struck him with the power of his lineage!"

    "However, he has just one breath left. With his state now, he can¡¯t survive the second blow, much less the third."

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all shocked. However, other than being shocked, they clearly knew that after taking this blow, Fang Zhengzhi was the end of the line. There was no chance of survival for him anymore.

    Chi Guyan bit down on her lips tighter.

    She clenched her fists even tighter and her entire body appeared to be shaking slightly. However, she did not move. Instead, she just watched the figure climb out of the hole quietly.

    "Cough!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body trembled as he coughed repeatedly and loudly. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. He was on the verge of copse.

    However, he continued to stare intently at the huge figure in the distance. He looked at the red-haired hunk d in ck armor.

    This was...

    Was it the legendary Xuan Heavenly Dao Body, otherwise known as his lineage or bloodline? Tian Xing had one? It should be simr to the shadow that floated behind Chi Guyan¡¯s back too right?

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to guess what it was. However, he could clearly see that the shadow behind Tian Xing,pared to the flickering one behind Chi Guyan, was much more ¡¯real¡¯.

    "Is this how strong he is?"

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this time, he grossly underestimated Tian Xing¡¯s strength. When he fought Mu Qingfeng, he did not use his full strength.

    Recently, Fang Zhengzhi had been fighting with many powerful Sage State cultivators.

    For example, when he was in the me Capital City, he fought with King Xieluo, the Demon King. Earlier, he fought with Third Elder and Fifth Elder in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Just now, he fought with Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Hall.

    After these three battles, it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi not to grow at all.

    Of course, now that he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi realized how na?ve he was.

    There was somethingmon among all these fights. King Xieluo was severely drained and had been severely injured by Ping Yang. This was why he had his chance.

    When he fought against Third Elder and Fifth Elder, he was able to y tricks on them and it was a very lucky win for him.

    In his battle against Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Pavilion, more than 70% of Wan Lei¡¯s Origin Energy had been depleted at the start of the fight. Furthermore, he fought him together with Chi Guyan.

    "Are you ready?" At this moment, the shadow on Tian Xing¡¯s body disappeared. His ck robes billowed in the wind but he did not descend from the sky. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if he was looking at a dead man.

    "Yes!" The moment Fang Zhengzhi said that he moved and a streak of blue light shed past. Soon, he was standing in front of Tian Xing.

    His Traceless Sword in his hands shone with an eye-catching purple light.

    The sword started to roar and a dragon roar could be heard.

    "This guy still dares to... go against him?!"

    "Is he courting death?"

    "Something is wrong. With his shamelessness, shouldn¡¯t he say something like ¡¯I haven¡¯t rested enough¡¯? Why did he not request for a break but instead, deliver himself up like this?"

    The disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked beyond words to see Fang Zhengzhi rush up once more.

    They were not the only ones...

    A look of confusion shed in Tian Xing¡¯s eyes.

    He naturally could see that Fang Zhengzhi was at the end of the line. Even so, the only way he could live was by concentrating all his energy on defending himself.

    In other words, this was the only way he could survive the three blows?

    Attack?

    What did it mean?

    Tian Xing did not understand what was going on, but Fang Zhengzhi was already in front of him. He almost subconsciously attacked, but at this moment, a thought shed past his mind.

    "Oh no, this b*stard wants to trick me!" Tian Xing¡¯s eyes shone brightly with light. Then, he moved too. However, he did not move toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    Instead...

    He rushed at light-speed toward the ck hole in the ground.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Why doesn¡¯t he kill Fang Zhengzhi straightaway? Why is he charging toward the hole?"

    "Wait a minute, can that be..."

    When the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain saw this scene, looks of suspicion crossed their faces. Quickly, they all came to the same conclusion.

    "This is Heavenly Descent!"

    "This guy is truly shameless!"

    "What a pity that his opponent is Tian Xing! Had it been anyone else, who may not know that he has mastered the Heavenly Dao, he may be able to sessfully trick them!"

    After they realized what was going on, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s time was up.

    "Boom!" Tian Xing¡¯s body charged into the ck hole at this moment. At the same time, a thick, almost solid, ball of light started to shine.

    This made the huge ck hole blow up instantly. Countless pieces of rock and granite flew everywhere. However, as they flew, they were instantly into powder.

    This move was terrifying. It would surely lead to death.

    "Is he dead?" Everyone stared tightly at the ground, which had been covered with ck light. They were all nervous.

 Chapter 682 Beaten to Death

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples did not want Fang Zhengzhi to die. However, they knew that there was no chance of him surviving.

    Tian Xing¡¯s strength was crazy.

    He was one of the most powerful cultivators of the Holy Region. Furthermore, he used his lineage for his attack. For his second move, he would surely show no mercy.

    "Hmph! He dares to y tricks on master!"

    "So childish! How can master for his tricks?"

    "This b*stard is so na?ve!"

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples hated Fang Zhengzhi with a vengeance. Of course, this was in part due to Chi Guyan. After all, there was nothing they could do to Chi Guyan.

    Naturally, they transferred their unhappiness onto Fang Zhengzhi.

    They wanted him to die.

    This would help them recover the Thousand Years Fire Herb. Doing so would reduce the loss of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. They had to get something back.

    While they may not gain anything, this would help reduce their fury.

    "Kaboom!" At this moment, Tian Xing¡¯s body finally emerged from the ck hole. The ck light disappeared instantly.

    However, his ck robes were streaked with dirt.

    Furthermore...

    The moment Tian Xing emerged, the disciples from both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain both opened their eyes in shock. They could not believe their eyes.

    This was because Tian Xing did not emerge ¡¯carrying a corpse¡¯, which was what they had expected. Instead, he emerged empty-handed.

    What was going on?

    Both Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples both filled with suspicion.

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive?

    How could this be possible?

    If he was dead, why did Tian Xing not carry his corpse out? In his body, there was a stalk of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    Questions surfaced in everyone¡¯s mind.

    However, Tian Xing did not exin the situation to his disciples. In fact, he seemed to be in a bad mood, an extremely foul mood.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you b*stard. Good job!" Tian Xing looked into the distance. He looked into the distance and stared at a figure, which was in a sorrier state than him. His eyes brimmed with a cold light.

    This action by Tian Xing stunned the disciples from both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    However, they did not remain stunned for long.

    Quickly...

    They all became shocked. Not only were they shocked, they were also incredulous. These sentiments could clearly be felt among all of them.

    "Could it be that he really managed to rush up?!"

    "Impossible, how did he do it?"

    "Was it a coincidence?"

    No one could believe it.

    "It was the end of the line for me, but I found a way to live!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted his reply to Tian Xing. At the same time, he answered the doubts that the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples had.

    However, as he said that, he looked subconsciously down at the figure d in a long, pink dress.

    Chi Guyan.

    Fate had brought Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan together many times.

    For example, when he was just six years old, he and Chi Guyan had a fight at the little stream outside the Southern Mountain Vige. Afterward, when he was 15 years old, he met Chi Guyan, who wore the white robes of a schr, at the same stream.

    However, if one wished to talk about the first proper time they met...

    It was in the Divine Constabry.

    That time, Chi Guyan¡¯s beauty astounded all of the officials of the Northern Lands Five Constabries. It was then when he and Chi Guyan were forced into a marriage pact under strange circumstances.

    When that happened, Fang Zhengzhi dered, "It was the end of the line for me, but I found a way to live."

    The first thing Fang Zhengzhi saw when he crawled out of the ck hole was Chi Guyan. This made him think of this n.

    It was very risky...

    However, its results satisfied him.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had thought about what he could do if the n failed. The answer was notplicated. Since he could not survive three moves, why not fight?

    "You¡¯re at the end of the line, but you found a way to leave?" When Tian Xing heard this, he quietly repeated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words under his breath. Then, he started tough, "Hahaha! Not bad! You should be proud of yourself for having tricked me!"

    "Three moves, you have one left!" Fang Zhengzhi looked down. Victory and defeat rested with thest move. He naturally could not help but be careful.

    "That¡¯s right... onest move. Guess I¡¯ll use my full strength!" Tian Xing nodded his head to show that his agreement with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples exchanged looks. They wore different expressions on their faces. Some of them were shocked, others appeared to be anticipating something.

    After all, if there was just one move left like what Fang Zhengzhi and Tian Xing had said...

    What would the results be?

    Had it been just now, they would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi was dead meat. However, right now, they started to consider other possibilities.

    One move left. What would Tian Xing do?

    How would Fang Zhengzhi defend against thest move?

    No one could guess the results.

    Emperor Lin Mubai and the Xian King Lin Yun were both anxious. They naturally hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could live. There was still hope for him to survive thest move.

    The two other emperors next to them were making their own guesses too.

    "Can he win?"

    "I don¡¯t know. Fang Zhengzhi is visibly injured. He can¡¯t resist another one of Tian Xing¡¯s attack. However, there is a possibility of a miracle!"

    "Yes, I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯m hoping for a miracle."

    The two emperors discussed this earnestly. However, they soon fell silent too. This was because Tian Xing had started to move. He did not rush forward but instead, he dusted the dirt off his clothes.

    "In all honesty, I¡¯m suddenly curious about you. So, before you die, I want to ask you some questions," said Tian Xing.

    "You can ask me, but I may not answer you," said Fang Zhengzhi, twitching his mouth. He did not know what objective did Tian Xing have in mind.

    Perhaps he was curious, or perhaps he was testing him...

    This was not important. The most important thing was that Fang Zhengzhi did not have enough energy to speak because drops of blood were welling up like rainwater in his chest. They were slowly ascending into his mouth.

    "Eh, it¡¯s your choice whether you want to answer me or not. I just want to ask you, did you master the Life and Death State of the Dao of Yin Ying before you came to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, or was it during your battle with Wan Lei?" Tian Xing asked. He did not care about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude.

    "If I answer your question, what benefits will I get?" Fang Zhengzhi shot back.

    "Hurhur. Of course, you¡¯ll bepensated. If your answer satisfies me, I¡¯ll use only 90% of my strength for myst attack," replied Tian Xing. It was as if he had anticipated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response.

    "How many questions do you have?"

    "Two."

    "This means that if I answer both your questions satisfactorily. You¡¯ll only use 80% of your strength?"

    "Yes, this is what I meant."

    "Before I answer your questions, can I ask you something first?"

    "Oh? You want to ask me something? Sure, go ahead!" Tian Xing was slightly confused, but he nodded his head lightly in the end.

    "¡¯Shut up and fight¡¯, do you know this principle?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Tian Xing as he spoke these words calmly.

    "..."

    At this moment, time appeared to havee to a still. The sun was still obscured while starlight twinkled in the sky.

    However, every single Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple looked as if they had all swallowed a fly. If not for Tian Xing, they would have rushed up and beaten Fang Zhengzhi to death.

    "What is he thinking?"

    "Who the f*ck knows? He¡¯s rude indeed!"

    "Despicable! I¡¯m so pissed off!"

    The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were all enraged.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were speechless. They all wore weird expressions on their faces. They did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    "Hahaha. Interesting, very interesting!" Tian Xing was stunned for a moment. Then, he burst outughing. However, hisughter this time was cold.

    He did not ask any more questions. He did not pause anymore.

    He attacked straightaway.

    However, unlike what everyone was expecting, Tian Xing did not charge forward straightaway. Instead, he stood where he was and a solid ck light shone from his body like water from a fountain.

    However, this light did not spread but instead, it solidified as it came into contact with his body. Instantly, it turned into a ck armor.

    From the looks of it, this armor was simr to the one the red-haired hunk used. The only difference was...

    On this armor, there were countlessplicated patterns. These patterns were all tiny, but there were many,plicated runes on them.

    "It appears that we can tell her that there¡¯s no use waiting." Cang Yue from the Ling Yun Tower, who had been watching all this while quietly from the crowd, spoke as a light glinted in her eyes.

    When Mu Qingfeng saw Tian Xing¡¯s armor, his expression changed too. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words.

    "Shameless thief, use all your powers! Tian Xing has unleashed his Blood Source!" Chi Guyan, who had been biting down on her lips to keep silent, suddenly opened her mouth and spoke.

    Her bright eyes shone like stars in the night sky. In it, one could see many multi-colored lights shining. However, the light disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared.

    "Blood Source?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze. He did not understand the significance of these two words. However, he knew that if it forced Chi Guyan to open her mouth to speak, it must be pretty powerful.

    All his powers?

 Chapter 683 An Insane Explosion, His Trump Card

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan who was below him. He felt slightly awkward and he did not why Chi Guyan has so much faith in him.

    Motherf*cker...

    "This b*tch¡¯s eyes are so bright, but can¡¯t she see that I¡¯m already using my full strength?"

    "What does she mean by ¡¯all my powers¡¯? I¡¯ve been using all my powers!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was not dumb. When fighting against someone like Tian Xing, he could not afford to hold back or wait for a chance to strike.

    One only held back if one fought against a rookie.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to retort but he did not know what to say. He quietly looked at Chi Guyan for a while and suddenly, he felt as if he had not used his full strength.

    Of course, this was different from what he previously thought.

    This was because his full strength here referred to a treasure.

    "Let¡¯s do it!" Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. After all, this was thest move. If he managed to resist it, he would live. If not, he would die. Nothing else really mattered.

    Instantly, a powerful fighting intent rose into his mouth as if someone had given him an adrenaline shot. All of the pain he felt disappeared from his body.

    It was very encouraging.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi moved too.

    Heshed out quickly with his hands. Then, as his hands moved about crazily, ¡¯treasures¡¯ fell from the heaven like rain.

    Instantly, the light from these ¡¯treasures¡¯ illuminated the dark sky. This light was truly able to light everything up as it fell like rain down onto the earth.

    "What is that?"

    "It must be some powerful treasure!"

    "I never thought that this person will have such a powerful treasure!"

    The disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Treasure looked at the rain of light falling from the sky. They were all shocked.

    Quickly, their shock was reced by incredulity.

    This was because, as the light fell, they discovered the truth behind the light. However, they could not ept it.

    "They appear to be... nails?!"

    "Other than nails, there are also many flying needles..."

    "Senior, I think I saw a beast trap. Oh wait, two beast traps!"

    "..."

    Instantly, the air turned solid.

    What could be more humiliating than attacking the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the five sects of the Holy Region, Tian Xing, with needles, nails and beast traps?

    Nothing!

    Absolutely nothing!

    In fact, there seemed to be no end to the nails, needles, beast traps, knives, daggers, and other things that Fang Zhengzhi was throwing out.

    "Ding ding ding!" A clear noise sounded next to Tian Xing. This was the noise of metal hitting against metal. It was pleasing to hear, but it did not match the current atmosphere.

    "This b*stard..." Tian Xing was dazed. He looked at the dots of light that were falling down around him. Instantly, he was speechless too.

    He was not the only one...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all speechless too. They were stunned into silence by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡¯bravery¡¯.

    They were not alone. On the Heaven Academic Altar, Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, and the other two emperors and princes, as well as Mu Qingfeng who was normally very calm, were all stunned.

    "They really are nails?!"

    "Why does he have all these things on him?"

    "What does he want to do?"

    No one knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, and no one knew what he wanted to do. All they knew was that he was throwing them out very quickly. He showed no sign of stopping.

    "Kaboom!"

    "Kaboom!"

    "..."

    Just when everyone was speechless, a huge explosion boomed next to Tian Xing. It was the sound of the earth being split apart.

    "Such sharp needles!"

    "No, these aren¡¯t normal needles!"

    "They definitely cannot be. They were forged specially. In terms of sharpness or material used, they are definitely exceptional. They are like high-quality weapons!"

    "But they¡¯re still just nails..."

    "Yes..."

    The explosions that rang out naturally made the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain realized that these nails were not ordinary. However, were they useful?

    No. Not at all.

    "Are theypletely useless?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ¡¯treasures¡¯ that bounced off Tian Xing without hurting him and he was speechless too.

    His treasures did note about easily.

    These nails, in particr, were of a very high quality. He spent a lot of effort obtaining them. He stole them from the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s treasure vault and then, he forged them with much difficulty into nails.

    As for the others...

    His razor-sharp hidden weapons were able to kill someone in the Heavenly Reflection State and Supernatural State without any problem at all.

    However, Tian Xing lived up to his name!

    "I can¡¯t hurt him, but I can wear him down!" Fang Zhengzhi did not give up. After one whole year, he had many treasures on him.

    He continued to throw treasures rapidly with his hands. Countless nails rained down. Among them, there was a ck, technologically-advanced ¡¯bun¡¯.

    "Kaboom!" When the ck ¡¯bun¡¯nded, it truly shocked the disciples from the two sects.

    This was because it gave off a blindingly-white light, which inflicted a prickly pain on their eyes.

    "What is that?"

    "My eyes!"

    "Cough cough cough! What¡¯s that smell?!"

    After the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had their eyes pierced by this blinding light, they felt an unbearably thick smoke assaulting their nostrils.

    Instantly, light shone everywhere and smoke rose.

    "It seems that advanced technology has its uses!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Heaven Academic Altar, which was nowpletely shrouded by smoke and light, and felt a sense of satisfaction.

    He continued chucking.

    He took this chance when everyone¡¯s eyes were closed and the entire Heaven Academic Altar was shrouded in smoke, to continue throwing objects!

    "What other stuff does this shameless guy have?"

    "It can¡¯t be! He still has so many objects after throwing so many already? He really likes ¡¯trash¡¯!"

    "Eh? What¡¯s that?"

    A light started to shine on the bodies of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples. This forced the thick smoke away from them. One of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked as shocked as if he had discovered a new continent.

    This action naturally made the other disciples raise their heads. Quickly, they saw a huge ck shadow falling from the sky.

    It was big and it dropped quickly.

    "Kaboom!"

    The huge ck shadownded on Tian Xing¡¯s head. Then, it rolled to one corner.

    However, as the huge ck shadow rolled, the entire ground started to tremble before cracking apart. Splits appeared in the ground like the patterns on a turtle shell.

    It was a shocking scene.

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples who had just been mocking Fang Zhengzhi for throwing his ¡¯trash¡¯ opened their mouths wide in shock. They looked in disbelief at the ck figure, which was tilted to the side.

    It was a huge bronze-green door.

    "Is that the Near... Near-Life Gate?!"

    "Impossible! He threw a Near-Life Gate?!"

    "Why does he have a Near-Life Gate?"

    Everyone looked instantly at the Near-Life Gate, which gave off an ancient aura. They could not believe what they were seeing.

    "Eh? Near-Life Gate?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt awkward. He looked at the door that he threw out identally, which bounced off Tian Xing¡¯s head and was now lying on its side. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

    Oh right...

    This was embarrassing.

    After the Battle of the me Capital City, Fang Zhengzhi personally told Emperor Lin Mubai that the Near-Life Gate was stolen by Qian Wu as thetter retreated. He did not manage to retrieve it.

    What he really did was to hide the Near-Life Gate in the Vast World.

    "Will the emperor me me?" Fang Zhengzhi could not help but look at the Heaven Academic Altar, where Emperor Lin Mubai and the Xian King Lin Yun stood dumbfounded.

    They did not seem to be scolding me.

    It seemed that the emperor really had the magnanimity of an emperor.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think anymore. After all, it was no time for exnation. This was because he suddenly thought of a n as he looked at the Near-Life Gate.

    This n made his eyes shine.

    "Oh right, I still have a Near-Life Gate. This is a supreme treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire!" Fang Zhengzhi naturally would not use the Near-Life Gate like a hammer, which was what he had done in the me Capital City. Now, he had mastered the Near-Life Dao and hence, he knew the uses of this supreme treasure.

    He stopped hesitating.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand shone with a six-colored light. Then, he cried out, "Near-Life Gate, open!"

    Then, as he shouted, the tilted Near-Life Gate started to shine with an ancient green light. The originally-closed Near-Life Gate started to open.

    "Clonk, clonk!"

    "Ah wu...."

    "Boom!"

    Dots of faint light started to shine from inside the Near-Life Gate. At the same time, he could hear the roars of beastsing from it.

    "It actually opened?" Fang Zhengzhi was delighted. If he could summon eight to ten Demon Kings from it, it would be excellent.

    "Oh no, he opened the Near-Life Gate!"

    "This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "He can¡¯t open the Near-Life Gate here!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the Near-Life Gate light up, and when they heard the roars of beasts from inside, their faces turned.

    At this moment...

    A figure rushed forth. His long white robes were very eye-catching in the thick smoke. His snow-white hair and beard looked like those of an immortal.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was no immortal, but the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng.

    However, he did not know what he was doing.

    Just as he was pondering this question, he saw Mu Qingfeng standing in front of the Near-Life Gate. His snow-white robes billowed in the wind.

    He mmed down with his palm.

    "Boom!" A dull sound rang out.

    It was as if it came from a primordial clock. The sky and the very dimension shook. It was a powerful palm.

    What was even more shocking was that the Near-Life Gate, after being struck by this palm, started to shine with a six-colored ball of light. Something appeared to be expelled from the Near-Life Gate.

    Then...

    "Crackle crackle!" A sound could be heard.

    The half-opened Near-Life Gate was forced shut. The light disappeared and the roars of beasts were gone too.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth.

    He wanted to curse, "Old man Mu! Are you helping the enemy?" However, when the words reached his tongue, he swallowed it once more.

    Shutting the Near-Life Gate with just one palm?

    Indeed, Elder Mu had been concealing his strength.

    He was in the Sage State too. However, this disparity in strength was far too wide.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. However, this did notst long. Firstly, he knew that Mu Qingfeng did not want the Heaven Dao Pavilion to experience another cmity. Hence, he could not permit it.

    Secondly, he knew that while he was someone who could easily kill someone who had just entered the Rebirth State, Mu Qingfeng was the leader of one of the five sects of the Holy Region, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He was definitely no pushover.

    Thirdly, he did not have much time to consider this problem anymore. This was because Tian Xing hadpleted his preparations.

    "You little b*stard, I¡¯ll kill you!" Tian Xing¡¯s voice boomed. His face was very ck, like a thundercloud.

    To be fair, this was not his fault.

    How would the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain feel if one attacked him with nails, needles, knives, daggers, beast traps and other assorted objects?

    How would the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain feel if someone threw a Near-Life Gate on his head?

    He felt humiliated!

    This crossed his bottom line.

    Tian Xing did not say it, but the rage in his heart burned like an intense ball of fire. His head was so hot that it was almost smoking.

    As for the shbang that Fang Zhengzhi threw out, it only made him angrier...

    However, no one knew.

    What everyone could be sure of now was that Tian Xing was fuming.

    "Kaboom!" Tian Xing¡¯s body sank suddenly and an explosion rang out from underneath his feet. The gravel under his feet was shattered instantly and turned into powder.

    Then, his clenched fists started to make the air crackle.

    The solidifying ck armor on him had finally solidified. Golden runes shone on top of it, giving off rays of metallic light.

    At this moment, Tian Xing¡¯s tiger-like eyes were incredibly ck. A terrifying aura could be felt from his body, which rushed straight into the sky. He seemed to be the only one in this world.

 Chapter 684 Baptism by the Holy Words, An Unexpected Change

    "Oh, so this is what they meant by ¡¯go big or go home¡¯?" Fang Zhengzhi felt the immense aura from underneath him as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He felt as if his very body was about to be burned.

    Evidently, the only effect of using ¡¯all his powers¡¯ was to further enrage Tian Xing.

    "Wait a minute!" Fang Zhengzhi blurted out.

    "B*stard, what do you want to say? This is yourst chance!" Just when Tian Xing was about to rush toward him, he stopped. However, his aura did not change.

    "Pavilion Leader Mu, you stopped me from opening my Near-Life Door, which is tantamount to helping Tian Xing. If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t you help me once? This will be much fairer." Fang Zhengzhi did not say these to Tian Xing but instead, he spoke to Mu Qingfeng, who mmed his Near-Life Gate shut.

    "Help him once? This guy threw his rubbish everywhere and messed up our Heaven Dao Pavilion. If we don¡¯t go after him, it¡¯s already a form of kindness. Now, he wants master to help him?"

    "Heaven know what will happen to the Heaven Dao Pavilion should the Near-Life Gates be opened!"

    "Shameless indeed!"

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, their faces changed as they criticized him non-stop.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s face turned ck too. He looked at the Near-Life Gate, which was closed, as he fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were no doubt shameless.

    However, they were not unreasonable. Yet, this was the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How could Mu Qingfeng allow Fang Zhengzhi to open the Near-Life Gate here?

    As for helping Fang Zhengzhi secretly...

    Impossible!

    "If you can live, I¡¯ll grant you one thing!" Mu Qingfeng waved his robes and finally gave Fang Zhengzhi an answer.

    "So we¡¯ll do it like this? Fine!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    He naturally knew that Mu Qingfeng would not allow the Near-Life Gate to open in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, he could not be med for this. Naturally, they still had to talk terms.

    Whether he could live or not would now depend on his fate.

    "B*stard, do you have anything else to say? Myst move will kill you quickly!" Tian Xing was getting impatient.

    "What muste... will eventuallye!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed. He felt that at this point, his life was difficult indeed. He could not run and he could not fight...

    Since there was nothing he could do, he had to fight with all his might. Other than that, he had no other option.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. He clenched his fists and he pointed his Traceless Sword at Tian Xing. If they were to fight, he could not lose to Tian Xing in terms of aura.

    So what if he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region? To beat a dog... Wait a minute, he was no dog, and he had no master.

    All he could say was a barefooted person was not afraid of someone who wore shoes.

    "Bring it on! Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be f*cking scared of you just because you have a crappy helmet. Let me tell you, I have yet to use my full strength!" As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he looked at Tian Xing disrespectfully.

    "Crappy helmet?!"

    "He dares to call the armor Tian Xing made with his Blood Source a ¡¯crappy helmet¡¯?"

    "He¡¯s unbelievably arrogant and shameless!"

    "Wait a minute, he said that he has yet to use his full strength. Can it be real?"

    "Can we trust his words?"

    When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, their look of disgust turned into anger as they cursed and swore at him.

    Insulting Tian Xing was worse than insulting them.

    "Master, kill this arrogant b*stard!" The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain cried out.

    "Motherf*cker! Even if I lose, I can¡¯t appear scared!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He looked arrogantly at the incensed Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    Then...

    He moved too!

    "You snooze, you lose!" Fang Zhengzhi thought. Before Tian Xing could attack, Fang Zhengzhi unleashed his attack with all his might. Instantly, a purple dragon coiled around his body.

    The sword roared. The dragon roared.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi descended, his body started to swirl rapidly and he fused with the purple dragon. He was now a purple draconic streak.

    "He attacked first!"

    "Is he ying some trick?"

    "It must be!"

    When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples saw the descending purple dragon, they were all terribly shocked.

    Tian Xing¡¯s eyes opened wide too.

    He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to attack him first. In his mind, he thought that Fang Zhengzhi would try and buy time for himself.

    However, now that Fang Zhengzhi came at him, he stopped hesitating and attacked straight away.

    Instantly, Tian Xing disappeared from where he was. He was so fast that the naked eye could not see him.

    "Die!" He roared in anger.

    "Bring it on!" Fang Zhengzhi roared back furiously. At the same time, a cerulean light appeared at the tip of his sword.

    However, the moment the cerulean light appeared, he suddenly felt as if something humongous had charged into the space in front of him.

    The force of impact seemed capable of tearing the space apart.

    Then...

    There was no ¡¯then¡¯.

    This was because Tian Xing was already in front of him.

    He appeared between the cerulean light and him. The suppressive power of his ck armor was akin to a mountain.

    In particr, much of it came from the golden runes on his armor.

    Complex and ancient. However, they seemed to epass all creations.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body remained where he was. Purple light continued to shine on his de. However, he could not stab with it.

    He felt disorientated. When he looked at the golden runes, he felt as if they could not be vited. It was akin to a mortal man meeting a god.

    Cloud patterns?

    Golden runes?

    Before he took the ¡¯Heaven Sage Dao Tablet¡¯ from the top of Cang Ling Mountain, he saw cloud patterns and golden runes engraved onto the walls of the huge pce.

    After he took the tablet, he saw them again.

    For example, he saw it on Wu Feng¡¯s emerald-green flute. He also saw it on Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s carriage. When Wu Yuer transformed, he saw the cloud patterns too.

    However, he had seen someone who could make cloud patterns and golden runes appear on his armor like Tian Xing, who hadbined his Origin Energy and bloodline.

    Of course, he should have spoken more with the Heavenly Oasis Saint about the Holy Region and the Sage State.

    Sadly, the Heavenly Oasis Saint was too utilitarian. He would only tell Fang Zhengzhi more about the Sage State and the Holy Land if he joined the Shadow Sect.

    At that time, he was only in the Supernatural State.

    He thought that the Holy Region and the Sage State were distant objects in the future. There was no use concerning himself with them then. Hence, he was rather reluctant.

    He could not stab him

    What the h*ll!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted someone to tell him if he should continue stabbing or run. This was a very cruel but very real problem.

    However, this problem did not bother him too much.

    In other words, he did not want to think about it anymore.

    This was because Tian Xing¡¯s fist had started to move. It was just a simple fist andpletely uplicated. Furthermore, it was not fast.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead was wet with sweat.

    For the first time, he felt the terrifying disparity in strength. He felt like a one-year-old boy facing a mountain-like beast.

    The disparity in strength was far too wide. He could not even block a single blow.

    "Hell Near-Life Chains!" Fang Zhengzhi could sense how puny he was in front of Fang Zhengzhi. However, no matter how puny he was, he had to try.

    There was no other reason for it.

    This was for survival!

    "Kacha! Kacha!" The moment Fang Zhengzhi said that, chains appeared in the air and dropped them.

    They were red, blue, green...

    Very fast!

    Instantly, they wrapped themselves around Tian Xing.

    This made Tian Xing¡¯s fist stop for just a short while. However, the moment that happened, the golden runes on Tian Xing¡¯s armor started to move and the Hell Near-Life Chains started to shatter.

    They turned into dots of starlight.

    "Isn¡¯t this way too strong?!" At this moment, there was nothing Fang Zhengzhi could do. His Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao, and Traceless Sword all could not hurt Tian Xing.

    Of course, he could still try his Dao of Yin Yang.

    However, Tian Xing did not give him the time to do so. A thick ck light started to shine. Then, Tian Xing¡¯s fist became extremely fast.

    It went from slow to fast.

    This process seemed very natural. It was like the process of birth to death for all creations. One could not find anything wrong it at all.

    "Slick!"

    His punch was like a sword.

    It was not as impactful as a mountain. However, Tian Xing¡¯s fist was like a sword which pierced the water surface as it went straight into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    One punch.

    It entered from the front of his chest and exited from the back.

    This punch brimmed with power. Every single bit of energy he had was concentrated in this one punch, which was focused on the tip of his fist. This exined how it elerated.

    Fresh blood flowed forth.

    It rained down from the sky andnded on everyone¡¯s head.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang out.

    "Prince Cang!" Lin Yun, the Xian King, shouted. His face was contorted with agony.

    "It appears that no miracle happened!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the blood that rained down from the sky. They knew that everything was set. No miracle would take ce.

    "Excellent! He¡¯s finally dead!" The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all joyous. When they saw the punch enter Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, they knew that it was the end for him.

    Silence. A very short silence.

    After a short silence, Tian Xing¡¯s eyes regained their calm. It went from ck to bing as clear as water.

    "If I guessed correctly, your heart is on the right, right?" Tian Xing looked at his fist, which waspletely in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, and said confidently.

    "You noticed even this. No wonder you are the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, cough..." Fang Zhengzhi coughed and spoke.

    However, he was slightly confused too.

    This was because he did not know why Tian Xing¡¯s fist would enter the right side of his chest. This waspletely unlike what Tian Xing had said about killing him.

    Right?

    Could it kill me?

    These questions surfaced in his mind.

    Now, however, when he heard Tian Xing¡¯s words, he finally recognized that in this world, miracles could happen when they seemed the most improbable.

    "I have to admit that you¡¯re a genius indeed. Furthermore, your body is unique. Your heart is actually on your right. Even I almost fell for your trick. However, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. The Thousand Years Fire Herb does not belong to you. Hence, I¡¯ll take your life!" When Tian Xing saw Fang Zhengzhi admitting it, a smile crept across his face.

    At the same time, his ck armor slowly dissolved into a thick ck light as it re-entered his body.

    He used his Blood Source!

    Even Tian Xing would need some time to prepare. Doing this was extremely draining. If he had a choice, he would not do so. Tian Xing would only use this move as ast resort.

    Furthermore, 30% of his Origin Energy had been drained by Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. This made him slightly tired.

    However, he could not show that now.

    This was because...

    He was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Other than taking back the Thousand Years Fire Herb from Fang Zhengzhi, he also had to bring his 300 disciples back. How could he continue to let himself being drained?

    What about Fang Zhengzhi?

    His punch pierced a hole in his right heart. How could he still strike back? Even if he were to ambush him, Tian Xing would not need to use his Blood Source.

    "Kaboom!"

    At this moment, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Unlike ordinary bolts of lighting, this was golden.

    "Zap!"

    The dark and starry night sky was split apart by this golden bolt of lightning. It was as if a huge curtain had been pulled back to reveal an opening.

    This scene caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    "A golden bolt of lightning?!"

    "Can it be..."

    "This is the Heavenly Prophecy! The prophecy is here!"

    "Indeed, the Heavenly Prophecynds in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. It seems that the target of this prophecy is going to be Senior Chi Guyan!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the sky, which had been split open. Then, they looked at the bright light that shone from it. Their eyes brimmed with anticipation.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    No one really paid attention to him. After all, to them, he was a dead man. Who would care about a dead man?

    "Congrattions, senior!"

    "You can finally receive the blessing of heaven!"

    "The Chosen One, Senior Chi Guyan, is about to experience a Baptism by the Holy Words!"

    Everyone stared at Chi Guyan. When they looked at her, their eyes brimmed with divine reverence.

 Chapter 685 Insane Rebirth Plate

    A light fell and the ck night was ripped apart.

    This scene naturally made Tian Xing look subconsciously at Chi Guyan.

    Her long pink dress was extremely bright and eye-catching under the light. Her beauty came from within, alone and solitary.

    However, from her expression, Tian Xing could see that she was not joyous. In fact, she was very calm. There seemed to be no happiness at all.

    Most importantly...

    Chi Guyan did not look at the sky. Instead, she looked at herself. To be precise, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was in front of her.

    "Could it be that she hasn¡¯t given up yet?" Tian Xing was slightly shocked. He did not know what was the rtionship between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    However, he knew that if she was able to stuff the Thousand Years Fire Herb into his chest, their rtionship must be special.

    Right now...

    The Heavenly Prophecy was about to descend.

    It was about tond on the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Heaven Academic Altar. From a certain perspective, it confirmed Chi Guyan as the Chosen One.

    No!

    "I can¡¯t waste any more time!"

    Tian Xing made up his mind. He did not know what would happen after the Heavenly Prophecynded. However, he had to make his preparations to guard against the massive increase in strength Chi Guyan would experience after the Baptism by the Holy Words.

    Right now, much of his energy had been drained.

    At this moment...

    It was not a smart decision to be in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. After all, no one knew if Chi Guyan would seek revenge for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Take the pill!

    Take the pill instantly!

    When he thought about this, Tian Xing stopped hesitating. He turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi once again. At the same time, his other hand formed a w as he prepared to reach into his chest to grab the pill.

    However...

    The moment he turned his head.

    His bulged and turned as round as a circle.

    As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Tian Xing was usually extremely calm and stable. His calm was superhuman. However, at this moment, he could not stay calm anymore.

    "Mmm!" A powerful energy, as vast as the ocean, sounded. It was very close to Tian Xing and seemed to take ce right in front of him.

    This was something he could not have expected.

    "How can this be possible?" Tian Xing could not believe it. He dared not believe it. He no longer thought that Fang Zhengzhi was capable of ambushing him.

    With a hole in his right heart, how could he control the aura of heaven and earth?

    Was he a demon?

    Even if he was a demon, he should follow the natural order. Tian Xing was dumbstruck, but this was not the reason why.

    In fact, the scene in front of him shocked him more.

    A wheel of light spun non-stop and was split into six parts. Every single part was round and there were six round shapes. They were centered around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand and they spun non-stop, forming a huge wheel of light.

    Most importantly...

    On top of the wheel of light, there were two balls of light which were illuminated.

    One was blue and the other one was green. The blue one was as blue as the sky. It was almost cerulean in color. The green one was emerald-green and crystal-clear.

    At this moment, Tian Xing felt disorientated. He felt as if the wheel of light in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was not ordinary. It was a world, a world which contained millions of beings.

    "I have been putting up with you for way too f*cking long!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out next to Tian Xing¡¯s ears. He sounded infuriated and determined.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was enraged.

    Was it not just one stalk of the Thousand Years Fire Herb?

    Motherf*cker! He did not want to eat it. Instead, Chi Guyan forcibly stuffed it into his mouth. He almost choked to death on it.

    Treasure?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care if it was a treasure or not. He suffered so much and endured so much pain. He already ate it. If he wanted him to spit it out, he would.

    Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    I want to hit the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!

    "Boom!" A deafening explosion rang out in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, which shook the entire heaven. An enraged fist struck out with it.

    Fang Zhengzhi attacked.

    Tian Xing opened his eyes wide in shock. He stood dazedly where he was. Just as he stood there in disbelief, a fist, wrapped by the Rebirth te,nded on his face.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt an immense sense of satisfaction. He did not care if he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain or whether he was one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region.

    One punch. One rage-filled punch where he used all his strength.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not believe that this one punch could knock Tian Xing down. However, even if he lived, it would surely make him bleed.

    "Slick!" This was the sound of a fist exiting a body. It sounded exactly the same as when a fist entered it.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt an intense pain. While Tian Xing¡¯s punch, which pierced through his body, was not enough to kill him, the agony was real.

    Blood flew everywhere.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi smiled gleefully. This was because the blood did not just belong to him. It was mixed with Tian Xing¡¯s blood, which he spat out from his mouth.

    "Kaboom!"

    Tian Xing¡¯s bodynded heavily on the ground. His huge ck robes were ripped apart and his nine little crucible-shaped hairpins fell all over the ground.

    This scene took ce very quickly.

    From the moment the bolt of lightning cut across the sky to the moment when Fang Zhengzhi knocked Tian Xing back with his punch, it took only two breaths.

    Silence. A deathly silence.

    No one knew what had happened. However, they could all see the huge hole in the ground made from Tian Xing¡¯s falling figure.

    This was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain...

    Hey in the middle of the hole. The corners of his mouth were blood-streaked and his eyes bulged. He wore a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

    "Master!"

    "What happened?!"

    "How can this be possible?!"

    The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were all shocked by this scene. After all, the person whoy in the hole was Tian Xing, their leader and one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region.

    Who could hurt Tian Xing?

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples could not believe it.

    They were not alone. Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, and Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, and the two other emperors and their sons could not believe it.

    "Tian Xing was knocked down!?"

    The moment the golden bolt of lightning appeared, their hearts brimmed with anticipation and respect. When Tian Xing was struck down, all they felt was disbelief.

    When they looked at the sky once more, they saw a figure whose mouth was stained with blood and whose right chest was bloody. This shock turned into horror.

    "What is that?"

    "Six circles formed a wheel of light?! Pure cerulean and emerald-green..."

    "What Dao is this?"

    Many eyes bulged and many mouths were wide open. Everyone gazed at the spinning wheel of light.

    Horror, suspicion, shock...

    "What is that item? It knocked master down?!"

    "How can this be possible?!"

    "Isn¡¯t that guy dead? How can he be so powerful?!"

    The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain could not believe it. However, this was the truth. Tian Xingy in the hole in the ground. Fang Zhengzhi floated in mid-air.

    "Re...Rebirth te, this is the Rebirth te!" Tian Xing¡¯s mouth continued to bleed but he ignored it.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s round te of light shocked him utterly. His heart turned cold and his back was drenched with sweat.

    "What¡¯s a Rebirth te?!"

    "What... is it?!"

    "I¡¯ve never heard of it!"

    "I... I think I saw records of it. It says that the Rebirth te is an assumption or a hypothesis. It can¡¯t be something real?"

    "Assumption?! Assumption! It..."

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples heard Tian Xing¡¯s words, their shock was indescribable with mere words.

    "Rebirth te! This b*stard... I should have guessed it. He has mastered the Heaven Dao and the Near-Life Dao. I should have guessed it long ago..." Mu Qingfeng mumbled to himself in shock.

    He was extremely worked-up. As the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he could not help but feel his body trembling.

    "Shameless thief..." Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes shone colorfully. Dots of starlight congregated together. Her voice was not loud, but one could see that her face was redder than usual and her chest heaved up and down.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the many shocked expressions blow him.

    While he heard the disciples from the two sects, as well as what Tian Xing had said, he felt that their focus...

    Their focus was wrong.

    "Don¡¯t they care about me defeating Tian Xing at all? Or, in other words, I managed to survive three blows from him."

    Of course, luck yed a part.

    However, from a certain perspective, luck was tantamount to strength.

    Why did all these people care only about his Rebirth te? Was this item so shocking? In fact, it had no use whatsoever.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not trying to be modest.

    He personally tried it before. He tried to assess the difference between one hand with the Rebirth te and one hand without it by shattering rocks.

    His result was...

    Of course, it made him more powerful, but not significantly so.

    This was why he never used his Rebirth te before. After all, it took up a lot of energy and it did not increase his strength by that much. It was rather pointless.

    Of course, the situation just now was different.

    Fang Zhengzhi had one chance.

    Furthermore, it was his only chance.

    At that moment, even if he used his Heaven Dao or Near-Life Dao, they did not give him the satisfaction of punching Tian Xing in the face.

    It was effective.

    Hence, even though the Rebirth te did not make him significantly more powerful, Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate to use it. After all, after he punched Tian Xing, he could not strike back, right?

    He used up all three moves.

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    However, there was a small ¡¯problem¡¯.

    "Kaboom!" The sound of the ground shattering could be heard. Then, a ck figure rose from the ground and charged toward Fang Zhengzhi rapidly.

    Tian Xing.

    No one expected Tian Xing to strike once more. After all, he made a promise to attack only thrice.

    However, he did charge toward Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, his body brimmed with a powerful killing intent. His eyes, which were normally calm, turned dark and murderous.

    A change.

    An instantaneous change.

    "Die!" Tian Xing roared coldly. His messy hair danced in the wind and his torn robes started to shine with light once more.

    He did not know if Fang Zhengzhi could use his Origin Energy. He also did not know how did Fang Zhengzhi end up with the Rebirth te.

    He had doubts over many things.

    However, these were no longer important.

    This was because he knew the significance of the Rebirth te, as well as what it meant for Fang Zhengzhi to live past today.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, but his body brimmed with a powerful aura. These all told him that if he lived, he would be a huge threat which must be eliminated right away.

    "Tian Xing, stop! Fang Zhengzhi only had four months left to live!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice rang out the moment Tian Xing dashed into the air.

    He wanted to stop him but it was way toote. He was too far away from Fang Zhengzhipared to Tian Xing.

    Hence, he could only reveal the ¡¯truth¡¯, hoping that it would stop Tian Xing.

    In fact, he never expected that the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the five sects of the Holy Region, Tian Xing, would break his promise in front of more than 1000 disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    However, he knew what he was thinking.

    This was because, if the roles swapped and he did not know that Fang Zhengzhi only had four months to live, he may make the same decision.

    After all, someone who controlled the Rebirth te had immense potential. When this person matured, how terrifying would he be?

    No one knew.

    Tian Xing and Fang Zhengzhi were now nemeses. Hence, he could not expect Tian Xing to cast this hatred away so easily. He knew that Tian Xing would rather have his name besmirched than to let Fang Zhengzhi live.

    "Zap!" Another bolt of lightning dashed across the sky. The dark sky was now splitpletely open. A golden light shone down.

 Chapter 686 Divine Prophecy, the Complete Awakening!

    It was a golden glow shimmering in the darkness; glorious, full of warmth as if dusk has turned to dawn.

    But Tian Xing wouldn¡¯t care for such a thing.

    Of course, he had heard Mu Qingfeng, but he couldn¡¯t be sure of its truth. And furthermore, he had already done it - how could he possibly stop?

    "You have less than four months to live? Who cares? You¡¯ll die now even if you only had one day left!" Tian Xing¡¯s re grew colder by the second, reaching peak intensity in no time.

    "The Holy Region... is so cool indeed!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze inched towards Tian Xing before he suddenly revealed a smirk.

    What have we learned from centuries of bloodshed?

    The world had no shortage of crafty, wicked people. But in times of chaos, that wasn¡¯t so important; what truly mattered was if one was strong or weak.

    It was survival of the fittest.

    In the chaotic Holy Region, the five sects reigned in each of their parts.

    He knew the cruelty of the situation in the Holy Region, and that they obeyed the strong and powerful. But he still felt he had underestimated the Holy Region.

    Tian Xing went against his word.

    It was even without any hesitation, although hemanded the respect of the five sects and his words held enormous power.

    But when his survival was threatened and he saw impending disaster, his decisiveness was terrifying.

    This was the hallmark of a formidable hero.

    One that ruled his own piece of the Holy Region.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not feel that Tian Xing¡¯s actions were wrong, because it was part of survival in a chaotic world, like the Holy Region.

    A mighty punch was delivered to his right chest.

    A normal person wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand this blow. However, not only did Fang Zhengzhi tolerate it, he charged toward Tian Xing.

    Blood was gushing out of his body.

    The Rebirth te was spinning on his fist as blue and green rays interweaved. It shimmered and transformed into a giant, all-epassing circle.

    "Charge!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed before immediately dashing toward Tian Xing. He didn¡¯t bother faking an attack, for he no longer had the energy to.

    This punch was simple and direct, neither fancy nor elegant. But it was packed with all the strength Fang Zhengzhi could muster.

    "Boom!" It was a deafening st. Then came the sounds of bones cracking. Faint, but crisp as ever.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    And so were all the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fists.

    The very fists that...

    Once againnded on Tian Xing¡¯s face.

    This felt very real... At least Fang Zhengzhi could feel the force of his fist shattering Tian Xing¡¯s cheekbones. Yet, he didn¡¯t understand...

    How could he sessfully deliver this blow on Tian Xing?

    Was it luck? But how would luck be any factor against an opponent of absolute superiority in power? Could it be that his own powers had suddenly increased? That¡¯s impossible. He was seriously injured. How would he have any boost in power?

    Fang Zhengzhi was baffled. And so were the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    But all of them came to a realization very quickly. Tian Xing had not retaliated.

    Not only that, his hands were tucked behind him as if he was tied up.

    What a strange sight.

    What was even more peculiar was that Tian Xing didn¡¯t reveal any painful or surprised expression.

    He slowly turned behind and looked at his hands.

    "Have youpletely awakened finally?" Tian Xing was bleeding at the edge of his lips and his re was grave as ever. It was apparent that he wasn¡¯t surprised, but extremely enraged.

    And yet, these words had taken aback the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Well, not merely taken aback, but deeply astounded.

    They finally saw a faint glow circling Tian Xing¡¯s hands. It was thin but very long.

    From his arms down to his palms, it grew substantially thicker.

    Most importantly, the faint glow had armored scales. Pink armored scales, good as new, it wasn¡¯t too obvious but definitely visible.

    "Completely awakened? What the hell are you talking about?" Fang Zhengzhi, too, was shocked as he saw the glow of armored scales enveloping Chi Guyan. Or rather, more specifically, it was around the body of thedy with long, ck hair behind Chi Guyan.

    This was indeed a peculiar scene.

    Thisdy... had a tail.

    "Senior Chi Guyan¡¯s pulse hadpletely awakened!"

    "Indeed, is this the work of fate? Or was she baptized by the Divine Message?"

    "No, the Divine Message hasn¡¯t yet arrived. It must be the work of the Thousand Years Fire Herb thatpletely awakened her pulse!"

    "Or maybe she had felt the aura of the Divine Message!"

    Unlike Fang Zhengzhi, when the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples saw the glow linking with the apparition behind Chi Guyan, they were thrilled with joy.

    But the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were different.

    They weren¡¯t excited at all. On the contrary, they were filled with fear, their expressions awkward and strange.

    "Indeed, it wasn¡¯t an ident!" Cang Yue was initially surprised. Well, no one could remain calm upon seeing the Rebirth te on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. But at this moment, she wasposed as ever, with her eyes locked on Chi Guyan. "Chosen One, she is the Chosen One! With her pulsepletely awakened at seventeen years old, so what if the Rebirth te was activated? Still, only four more months to live!"

    Cang Yue then turned to Fang Zhengzhi. Upon seeing his bleeding chest, she smirked.

    Then, a ray of light of shimmering stars emerged from Cang Yue¡¯s body.

    It shot up toward the sky.

    It happened suddenly but didn¡¯tst for long. In a moment, it had vanished.

    Cang Yue had disappeared together with the glow.

    "She left?" Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan felt a little weird. After all, Cang Yue had arrived together with him and Wan Lei of Ying Yang Hall.

    But now, Wan Lei had died and Cang Yue had left.

    This made him shake his head in disappointment: "The young are impulsive indeed!"

    ...

    Cang Yue¡¯s disappearance did not attract much attention; after all, everyone had their eyes locked on Chi Guyan.

    Her long, pink skirt emitted a faint glow.

    And then, Chi Guyan suddenly moved.

    Without a saying a word, nor any effort in criticizing Tian Xing¡¯s behavior, she charged from beneath, her bright eyes gleamed with vibrant colors.

    In her morous glory and aura of arrogancey a sense of unfettered, pristine elegance.

    It was especially so for the giant apparition behind her. Long, silky hair cascaded like a waterfall; amanding presence emanated from within.

    "Guyan, be careful!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice seemed worried. He shot up and transformed into a ray of light in an attempt to stop her.

    But it was toote.

    Because Chi Guyan was equally as fast.

    "Chi Guyan, so what if your pulse has been awakened? You can never stop me!" Tian Xing¡¯s expression grew graver with Chi Guyan¡¯s approach as he stretched his tied-up hands.

    "Snap!" The glow of the armored scales which previously entangled Tian Xing¡¯s arms were forcefully broken, then retracted behind Chi Guyan.

    It was as if they were bitten by a snake.

    Wait a second.

    A snake?!

    Fang Zhengzhi was astonished once again. He had always felt suspicious about the long, slender glow, but suddenly a name came to his mind.

    "Snake¡¯s tail?! Ady... or ady¡¯s body with a snake¡¯s tail?" It was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi not to be shocked. "What¡¯s that? Chi Guyan¡¯s pulse? A snake demon?! No, she¡¯s Medusa? Hmm, she seems different though. After all, Medusa had poison snakes as her hair, right? Then... what is this?"

    When Fang Zhengzhi was still lost in his thoughts...

    Tian Xing reached again.

    Without turning to face Chi Guyan, who was charging toward him, Tian Xing focused on Fang Zhengzhi. Right from the start, his target had been Fang Zhengzhi. However, Chi Guyan stopped him from behind.

    "Why do you hate me so much?" If Fang Zhengzhi could live past today, he would certainly treat Tian Xing to a feast if he had the chance to.

    Fifty pounds of buns and drinking is not allowed, I¡¯ll choke you to death!

    There wasn¡¯t much to think about.

    Because he couldn¡¯t escape anymore.

    Tian Xing was too close. With a punch within reach, how far could he run?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t need to think much. He knew that his only chance at survival was to ept Tian Xing¡¯s blow, but he couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    So...

    When Tian Xing was hurling that punch...

    Fang Zhengzhi activated all his remaining strength.

    "Heavenly Descent!"

    At this moment, six blue rays of light shone brightly in the sky, and Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing in front of Tian Xing, began to vanish.

    "You can¡¯t run!" Tian Xing¡¯s eyes stared at him with cold intensity. Then an apparition appeared behind him and swiftly wrapped Fang Zhengzhi up.

    A warrior with ck armor and red hair.

    It was the first technique Tian Xing used against Fang Zhengzhi, Wrath of the Heaven!

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    And after two deafening explosions...

    The third didn¡¯te through. Because Tian Xing¡¯s punch had already destroyed all rays of blue light, and it wasing for Fang Zhengzhi.

    That¡¯s the difference in both their powers.

    And with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries, he had no chance of ever dodging this.

    He could only watch the giant fist reaching in front of him, then smashing against his body. This time, it would be his left chest.

    "ng!" A dull metallic sh rang.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was sent right up to the heavens as he spurted a mouthful of blood on the way whichnded on Tian Xing¡¯s face, dyeing his ck gown in red.

    It was almost like raining blood.

    But Tian Xing¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    "Heart Protection Mirror?!" Tian Xing obviously didn¡¯t care for the blood. On his mind was the metallic sensation when he punched Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left chest just now.

    As a matter of fact, he had pped against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left chest once.

    But...

    He didn¡¯t intend to kill Fang Zhengzhi with that blow; he just wanted to shake up Fang Zhengzhi.

    So, there wasn¡¯t any real contact.

    But this time it was different. His tight, powerful punch smashed right on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, so naturally, he could feel the hardness on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    He wanted to punch him once more.

    But it was toote. Chi Guyan had arrived, wielding an icy, gleaming sword, which was headed right for his chest.

    And quickly, Tian Xing¡¯s face started to change.

    "Chi Guyan, I¡¯ve said this before. You can¡¯t defeat me now, not even if your pulse ispletely awakened!" Tian Xing didn¡¯t show any mercy. He couldn¡¯t show any mercy.

    He hurled a punch toward the sword that wasing for him.

    But at this instant, the sword changed its direction, and a dark shadow appeared in the sky.

    An infinitely giant shadow.

    It was a sudden change, as quickly as the golden shes of lightning in the heavens. Yet, it happened so naturally, so smoothly.

    But Tian Xing was still Tian Xing.

    The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. A powerhouse in the Holy Region.

    There was no hesitation.

    When the dark shadow appeared in the sky, Tian Xing¡¯s other fist was headed for it, of course, without any mercy.

    "You¡¯ve been tricked!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice lit up.

    Tian Xing felt a human figure reach his head where the dark shadow appeared. And the shadow was now beneath him.

    "Origin Swap? Tian Xing froze. But his punch was already in motion, and it was smashed on Chi Guyan¡¯s back.

    He didn¡¯t understand why Chi Guyan would use Origin Swap at this moment. He was even more confused as to what Chi Guyan meant when she said he had been tricked.

    Until he saw Chi Guyan spurting a mouthful of blood and her body sent flying toward the sky.

    At this moment...

    He finally understood what Chi Guyan meant.

    "Even after I injured you, you still choose to move across me to take the hit for Fang Zhengzhi?!" It was the first time Tian Xing felt envious of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shameless, short-lived, yet he had a Chosen One who would risk her life to save him. Even if he had died, what was there to regret?

    And that was what Tian Xing felt.

    But quickly, Tian Xing¡¯s eyes widened.

    Because when Chi Guyan raced even faster toward Fang Zhengzhi, a golden ray of light suddenly shone on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    This was something different from the one previously which lit up in the darkness. This was the Divine Message, one that had countless esoteric symbols floating with it.

 Chapter 687 Baptism, the Vast Galaxy

    Tian Xing was astounded.

    And what was more shocking was the ray of gold light fell from the heavens and on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, but it had no sign of stopping. It passed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, wrapping around Chi Guyan too.

    "Boom!"

    Heaven and Earth were linked.

    The golden ray fell from the heavens and passed through Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan before it went right into the ground, as if it was a bridge between Heaven and Earth.

    A bridge linking Heaven and Earth.

    The sky lit up gloriously, and dulcet tunes could be heard by all.

    At this moment, it was as though time had stopped, and all movements had ceased, except for this golden ray, its music of grandeur, and countless golden characters around by it.

    It was the arrival of the Heavenly Prophecy and appearance of the Chosen One.

    "How could this happen?! Impossible, this is definitely impossible..." Tian Xing looked upon the golden ray that was a stone¡¯s throw away from him, though he refused to believe all of these were real.

    And it wasn¡¯t only him. Everyone couldn¡¯t believe it too.

    It didn¡¯t matter if they were the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples or the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, everyone had their eyes widened and mouths agape upon witnessing this shocking scene.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s body suspended in the air, stopping about ten steps away from Tian Xing. His long, white gown draped silently, and in his eyes were a mix of astonishment, peculiarity, excitement, joy, suspense, and countless other emotions.

    He was shocked, but bewildered by its conclusion. He was excited and joyful because Chi Guyan was within the Heavenly Prophecy and being baptized by the Divine Message.

    But he was also curious. Why was Fang Zhengzhi also in this golden ray?

    Was this a coincidence?

    Or was it a work of fate?

    And if even Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t know, how would the rest of them standing at the Heaven Academic Altar know anything?

    Whether it was the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, or the emperors and princes of the other two countries, everyone had their eyes locked towards the sky at the both of them enveloped within the golden ray.

    But none of them uttered a single word.

    So, even though everyone was shocked beyondprehension, as they stood in front of the Heavenly Prophecy, all they could do was to admire in awe.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was as confused as the rest in the crowd.

    Initially, he did not notice the golden ray shining from above him. What he knew was he was punched up into the air and rose toward the sky.

    But as he flew up...

    He saw Chi Guyan flying toward him.

    He saw her blood-stained pink dress and her crystal-clear eyes before reached for her in an embrace.

    Then, he felt as though he was wrapped in an aura of warmth.

    In his arms, Chi Guyan started to emanate a glow of countless esoteric characters as golden rays of revolved around her body.

    "What¡¯s going on?" Fang Zhengzhi had a little trouble grasping the situation. He had too many questions on his mind, but too little time to process them all.

    In fact, when he felt that warm sensation and saw the golden rays and characters around Chi Guyan¡¯s body, he had another strange feeling.

    It was as though every movement in the world had ceased.

    Then, everything before his eyes vanished.

    There weren¡¯t any golden characters or golden rays remaining. Even Chi Guyan had disappeared. It was a realm of silent nothingness.

    "Where am I?" Fang Zhengzhi had simr experiences in the past, such as when he entered The Vast World, and when he saw the mysterious white-dresseddy when he had mastered the Rebirth te.

    However, this was obviously not The Vast World or the world with the mysterious white-dresseddy. Instead, it was a boundless gxy.

    There were countless stars glimmering around him.

    Besides the stars, there was a belt of meteorite floating around. Fang Zhengzhi could even see every crater on these meteorites.

    Was it the gxy?

    If this was really the gxy, then what was that?

    Fang Zhengzhi possessed scientific knowedge - of course he knew that the gxy was the space beyond earth. However, he didn¡¯t know that there were chains within the gxy.

    In addition, there were infinitely many of them.

    They were non-reflective, and dull and ck like ink. Many giant chains were linked up together, crisscrossing between the stars.

    They resembled a giant,plex formation.

    Most surprisingly, there was a huge, ck rock above those giant ck chains.

    No.

    There wasn¡¯t only one rock.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure how many rocks there were. However, he spotted another ck rock above the chains as he looked in the distance.

    Its had a very simr shape to this rock above him.

    Slightly further away, he could vaguely see another one at the intersection of these chains.

    These ck rocks gave off a terrifying aura and emitted an ancient smell.

    "Crack!" And at this time, a tiny sound reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ear, which made him shudder.

    He didn¡¯t know why there was sound in space.

    Yet he could sense it, real as ever, that the sound came from the ck rock above him. He immediately turn to it.

    Then, he spotted a crack in that rock.

    There wasn¡¯t just one crack.

    There was a total of seven cracks.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if there were more cracks on the top of this rock, but he felt that it could split any moment.

    "Boom!" Everything was shaking.

    Everything vanished again. The belt of meteorites, stars, chains and ck rocks were all gone.

    Fang Zhengzhi could see the golden ray, but the countless esoteric characters had disappeared.

    In his embrace, Chi Guyan began to open her eyes.

    Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi had a hallucination. He could see the gxy in Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes, like the one he witnessed just now.

    However, this gxy in her eyes was glowing in different colors.

    "A hallucination?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be sure, but he was certain that the apparition previously behind Chi Guyan had be stronger.

    This was especially true for her long snake¡¯s tail. The pink scales covering it began to shine with a different texture.

    What happened at the gxy just now?

    And, what exactly was the apparition behind Chi Guyan all about?

    A human with a snake¡¯s tail... but it¡¯s neither a snake demon nor Medusa? It couldn¡¯t possibly be the legendary creator of humans, Lady N¨¹wa, right?!

    Fang Zhengzhi shuddered at this thought. Of course, he knew of Lady N¨¹wa, but he had never thought of this possibility.

    It was because that was a myth from his past life.

    At the beginning of time, there was nothingness. The mythical Lady N¨¹wa was indeed a woman with a snake¡¯s tail. And it was this very powerful Lady N¨¹wa who created humans.

    Legends and myths were passed down generations of people...

    The story of Five-Colored Heavenly Gemstones and Lady N¨¹wa¡¯s creation of mankind.

    But shouldn¡¯t this be merely a myth? Why would a myth from the past world be experienced in this world?

    If Chi Guyan were really Lady N¨¹wa, then what would he be? Pan Gu? Or the King of Man? Or a servant who pours tea for Lady N¨¹wa?

    This couldn¡¯t be true!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not a gullible person.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t entertain such far-fetched thinking any longer. After all, be it Lady N¨¹wa or Pan Gu, they were mythical characters highly respected by many.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t bear to think of them in any possibly offensive ways.

    So, no, Chi Guyan could not possibly be Lady N¨¹wa...

    But if she really wasn¡¯t Lady N¨¹wa, why would her Talent Bloodline create an apparition like Lady N¨¹wa - a woman¡¯s body with a snake¡¯s tail carrying such amanding aura?

    Bloodline... He finally understood it!

    Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t Lady N¨¹wa, but she had the same bloodline as Lady N¨¹wa.

    Lady N¨¹wa¡¯s bloodline!

    The gxy, chains, and the cracked ck rock...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why, but he felt a strong intuition that these events had to be linked, and this mystery was about to be revealed.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the time to ponder further about this now.

    It was because someone was charging straight at him right now. It was a white figure charging at lightning speed.

    White?

    To Fang Zhengzhi, it would most likely be Tian Xing who would charge at him now. But no, Tian Xing was dressed in ck.

    Could it be Mu Qingfeng?

    Nope.

    Because this person had long, ck hair. He was very young, and most importantly, he was wielding a sword by his hand. It was a long sword that was clear as ice.

    Nangong Hao!

    ...

    Beyond the Great Wall, the grievous wind blew and ice had already formed in Jiaohe.

    The Northern Sea raged with waves and the Yin Mountain was covered in snow.

    These two sentences described a chilly winter scenery, and in Great Xia Dynasty, there was indeed such a ce.

    In a mausoleum about five kilometers wide, gravestones were erected. And upon these gravestones by the snow, detailed inscriptions were etched on them.

    This ce was perpetually cold. The river had frozen in the chilly climate, and snow had piled on masses of celestine.

    This was the Nangong Mausoleum, the hideaway of Nangong Nobles, the most famous family in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Nobody knew why the Nangong Nobles chose this ce with winter all-year-round with very few people around as their hideaway. Just as nobody knew how long exactly the Nangong Nobles had been in existence.

    But the matter of fact was...

    This was the hideaway of the Nangong Nobles, and they seemed to have cut off all contact with the outside world. It was only during the biennial Law of Dao Examinations when others would spot the presence of a few disciples of the Nangong Nobles.

    And more importantly, of all the disciples of Nangong Nobles who attended the Law of Dao Examinations, none of them were ever appointed as an official.

    For a family like this, they could very well have gone unnoticed.

    But Nangong Nobles had always been named as one of the greatest family in the Great Xia Dynasty,parable to the status of the Thirteen Constabries and Yan Family of West Liang.

    Yet, they were not part of the government, had never been officials, had never paid tributes to the Emperor and were not ruled under the Dynasty.

    The Nangong Nobles had lived peacefully in this icy barrennd, keeping watch of this five-kilometer-wide mausoleum. A sanctuary away from the chaotic world outside.

    And at this moment, in this five-kilometer-wide mausoleum, a middle-aged man who was slightly overweight stood in front of the Nangong Nobles. His thin shirt was pping loudly in the chilly wind. If it weren¡¯t for his fur scarf, only a handful would believe he was dressed like this in a cold winter.

    "Master!" A figure appeared from behind the mausoleum, and like a snowke, drifted behind the middle-aged man, then dropped to a half-kneel position.

    "Yes!" The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes slowly opened. His eyes were red with fatigue, but one couldn¡¯t tell many of his facial expressions. It was calm, like a piece of celestine in the snowy wind.

    "Master, the Divine Message has arrived, it¡¯s time!" The figure said.

    "Oh, it¡¯s finally time?" The slightly overweight middle-aged man replied. He slowly raised his gaze toward the sky. There was nothing besides the dance of the snowkes as they cascaded from the sky.

    Yet, the middle-aged man stared intently at the sky. In his reddish eyes, there was a faint gleam, as though he was appreciating a highly exquisite piece of art.

    "Yes, the elders have asked for Master to y host. The gifts have already been prepared." The figure spoke softly after a while.

    "Got it. You may leave now." The middle-aged man nodded.

    "Yes!" The figure nodded, then disappeared as quickly as he came. Just like a freefalling snowke, he would only stay for a moment.

    Then, the middle-aged man turned to another direction and looked yonder: "How many years has it been, it¡¯s too many to count... It has been so long, and this mausoleum is getting bigger by the years..."

    Then he didn¡¯t say anything more.

    He took a step forward, then a crack could be heard. It was the cracking of ice, and with this sound, there were two green footsteps on the ground.

    The colors of celestine.

    It was very noticeable in a white, snowy world like this.

    Nobody knew how long the middle-aged man had stood there in the snowy wind. But it was certain that when he lifted both legs, the ice had already hardened beneath.

    As the wind raged on, the green footsteps were quickly covered up by snow, blending into this white, barrennd. And everything was a world of white. White and pure as snow.

 Chapter 688 Youâ€™ll Be Dead When Lightning Strikes

    ...

    The celestine mausoleum was well hidden in the snow.

    The door of the Nangong Mausoleum opened from the inside, and the slightly overweight middle-aged man strode in. Torches lit up many paintings upon the celestine walls.

    Ancient ink made these paintingse alive.

    They were paintings of battles, quite literally the art of war, outlined by ancient ink in three main colors: green, blue and red. They weren¡¯t statues but exuded a simr archaic, ancient sophistication.

    The middle-aged man didn¡¯t pay much attention to the paintings. Instead, he paced quickly forward along the hallway of the mausoleum and entered an expansive stone hall.

    The Nangong Mausoleum was beneath the five-kilometer-mausoleum.

    Yet, the hall seemed oddly towering: it was at least thirty meters in height and ufortably spacious.

    "Master!" said voices in unison.

    The slightly overweight middle-aged man acknowledged with a slight nod while looking at a giant doorway, in the center of the hall, constructed entirely of green rocks.

    It was a stone doorway without a door.

    Like a big arch in the middle of a cathedral, except it had a rectangr shape.

    It was obviously made from a material that is different from the celestine of the Nangong Mausoleum because the doorway¡¯s rocks were significantly denser and more ancient.

    It bore many cracks, a sign of its history, and at its sides sat two huge humanlike statues.

    And in the middle was a giant beast showing its sharp teeth, its eyes were two crystal-clear gemstones, sparkling with bright green light.

    As the middle-aged man reached this doorway, the eight elderly men wearing animal skin, who previously sat around it, slowly stood up.

    "Let¡¯s begin!" The middle-aged man said to the eight elderly men in a bow, then walked to the front of the doorway and stood right in the middle.

    "Yes!" They hastily nodded upon hearing his words, then undressed their long robes of animal skin.

    While they were taking the robes off, ancient paintings appeared on their bodies, like those on the walls.

    But...

    On these ancient paintings, there were several esoteric golden characters. As the eight elderly men sat down, these characters started to shine and flow around.

    ...

    Blood Shadow City was located at the heart of Ten Demonic Realms.

    The Blood Shadow City of today was very different from that of the past. Above the Demonic Hall at the center of Blood Shadow City draped many strips of ck silk bearing numerous golden characters.

    Countless soldiers of the Demonic Army guarded the perimeter of the Demonic Hall in their ck armor. All of them had stern looks as if they were waiting for something.

    A momentter, a white figure appeared at the steps in front of the Demonic Hall. He was dressed in a white gown, had ck hair, a handsome face with exquisite features.

    "Young Lord!" Upon seeing the white figure, the Demonic Army immediately dropped to their knees and greeted with reverence.

    As the Demon Young Lord...

    It was perfectly normal to see Yun Qingwu in the Ten Demonic Realms.

    But now, Yun Qingwu seemed a little worried. His eyes seemed a little dull, something that was rare of Yun Qingwu¡¯s appearance.

    Well, it was a fact for the Yun Qingwu now.

    He did not respond to the Demonic Army. Instead, Yun Qingwu slowly ascended the steps and walked toward the center of the Demonic Hall.

    At the entrance of the Demonic Hall, besides countless soldiers of the Demonic Army, also stood ten figures masked in ck cloaks.

    "Yun Qingwu pays respects to the elders of the Ten Realms." Yun Qingwu bowed to the ten masked men upon reaching the entrance of the Demonic Hall.

    "Save for the formalities, Young Lord!" The figure in the middle reached his hand out in response. Then he looked toward the sky: "With the Heavenly Prophecy, the Chosen One has appeared. Nangong Tian is going to act soon. And for us, this is an opportunity not to be missed!"

    "I understand." Yun Qingwu nodded.

    "Your father is already waiting in the Hall. Follow me." Then, the figure slowly turned and walked toward the Demonic Hall.

    "Yes." Yun Qingwu nodded again and promptly followed behind.

    The other nine masked men, too, turned and walked behind Yun Qingwu and into the Demonic Hall.

    And very quickly, under the masked man¡¯s lead, Yu Qingwu reached and stood before a ck airtight door, which was also guarded by eight old men in ck cloaks.

    "Greetings to the Ten Domains Elders and to Young Lord!" The eight old men greeted respectfully.

    "Open the door!" The figure said.

    "Yes!" The eight old men promptly turned toward the door, each of them revealed a key and plugged it into the holes on therge, stone door.

    "Crack!" The door began to open.

    A ssh of brightness poured out from within. When the door was fully open, the Ten Domains Elders and Yun Qingwu slowly walked in.

    It was a chamber

    A chamber inside the Demonic Hall.

    It was about 30 meters high, expansive beyond imagination. And at its center stood a middle-aged man wearing arge ck gown with golden sides, with a ck crown on his head.

    From his looks, he bore some simrity to Yun Qingwu. He had sharp eyebrows and mysterious, deep ck eyes that resembled the gxy, but his face showed more indifference.

    And behind this man stood a giant, ck, stone door. Just like the one in Nangong Mausoleum.

    The only difference was...

    This door was wholly ck, as though it was submerged in ck ink. It was constructedpletely with ck rock, and there was a pair of bloodshot, beastly eyes at the top of the door.

    "Yun Di!" The Ten Domains Elders bowed in a greeting upon seeing the middle-aged man and then took off their cloaks.

    "Father." Yun Qingwu lightly took a few steps forward, then greeted the middle-aged man, though his expression revealed much worry.

    "Yes, everyone is present. Let¡¯s begin then!" The middle-aged man named Yun Di nodded. As his gaze fell on Yun Qingwu, his cold, indifferent face instantly revealed a loving expression.

    As the Demon Lord of the Ten Demonic Realms...

    Yun Di had already, for the most part, shunned the public eye. Within the Demon Race, the name "Yun Di" was nothing more than a name. Because there was already a Young Lord in charge.

    So...

    In the Demon Race, how could there be two rulers?

    "Father, are we really going to do this?" Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it has interrupted the Ten Domains Elders¡¯ pace.

    "Why not?" Yun Di¡¯s facial expression had not changed significantly, as though he wasn¡¯t at all surprised by Yun Qingwu¡¯s question.

    "The Demon Race is currently very cohesive. As long as we develop steadily, we¡¯ll dominate one day. We need not do this." Yun Qingwu softly bit his lip but said his opinion anyway.

    "Qingwu, I understand how you feel. But we have waited for too long, haven¡¯t we?" Yun Di replied after a sigh.

    "Father, actually, I... I already arranged..." Yun Qingwu said after hesitating for a moment.

    "Arranged? What?" Yun Di¡¯s eyes showed a shred of confusion.

    "I¡¯ve nted a seed."

    "A seed? Where did you nt it?"

    "On a person."

    "Who?"

    "Fang Zhengzhi."

    "That¡¯s a human?"

    "Yes."

    "You¡¯ve nted a seed on a human... how confident are you?" Yun Di appeared a little surprised, then quickly returned to a state of calmness.

    "Fifty percent!" Yun Qingwu said softly.

    ...

    At the Sword Peak in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the space above the Heaven Academic Altar.

    A curtain of golden ray draped from the heavens and swayed gently, radiating its glorious magnificence above the Heaven Academic Altar, illuminating the clouds upon the azure sky

    What an impressive sight indeed.

    And under the golden ray, a white figure dashed towards it, wielding a white, crystalline sword pointed straight ahead.

    Fang Zhengzhi had once considered the possibility that someone might seize this opportunity to pull a sword against him while he was severely injured. But never did he expect this person to be Nangong Hao.

    And Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the only one who didn¡¯t see thising...

    None of the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion or the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had expected this. Everyone had their eyes locked on this white figure who was charging at lightning speed.

    They were awed by the glorious disy and the fact that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were within the golden ray together.

    But now, without even the slightest bit of time to express this wonder, they were utterly shocked by what followed.

    "What on earth is happening?"

    "What is Junior Nangong Hao trying to do?!"

    "Why did he attack?"

    None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could figure this out. But Nangong Hao had indeed attacked, while everyone was still in a state of amazement.

    But this obviously didn¡¯t scare Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi was caught off guard of Nangong Hao¡¯s sudden attack, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was afraid of it. Of course, this was not to say that Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t powerful.

    It¡¯s just that...

    Nangong Hao was not powerful enough!

    "What can he do?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked nonchntly as he thought to himself. Even if Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t beside him, he would not fear Nangong Hao.

    And that was a fact.

    Chi Guyan raised her sword the moment she spotted Nangong Hao, her eyes gleamed with coldness.

    No one knew what Chi Guyan was thinking.

    Just as nobody knew why Nangong Hao would attack.

    And most importantly...

    There were many times when one seemed to have an absolute advantage, then circumstances would change suddenly. And these changes could be life-threatening.

    "I¡¯ll block him, you¡¯ll block the first lightning!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears, while the sword in her hand moved.

    A sword like a moon.

    It had the arc of a crescent moon and shimmered like it was surrounded by thousands of stars. It moved towards Nangong Hao and struck a blow without any hesitation or mercy.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was still a little confused.

    "Lightning? What lightning?" Fang Zhengzhi was about to ask when his eyes went wide open. He finally realized it.

    If his current feeling could be described in a phrase, it would be...

    Shit, how could I be so careless?!

    Up above, a sh of lightning cascaded like a golden dragon, while the whole sky was filled in a golden light. And most importantly, it was such a thick ray of lightning.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask Chi Guyan for a swap. But in the end, he didn¡¯t manage to.

    The lightning had already struck.

    And Chi Guyan dodged it in time.

    Well, an awkward moment.

    "Boom!" The golden sh of lightning unmistakablynded right on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, ran through from his hair to the soles of his feet.

    And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt a euphoric feeling, as though he had be a deity or experienced Dao itself.

    It felt like a million golden snakes had zoomed through every inch of his body, from the hairs and pores on his skin to the organs within. It was as though he was cleansed by a bath of golden snakes.

    It felt wonderful!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why, but he imagined being a bolt of lightning and striking at people.

    Well...

    It wasn¡¯t anything to resist anyway.

    "Blurgh!" Fang Zhengzhi spurted a mouthful of blood, whichnded right on Chi Guyan¡¯s back. Her pink dress, which was already stained with blood, had a new addition.

    At this moment, he seemed to know why Nangong Hao chose to attack at this time.

    And of course, he was well aware that Nangong Hao¡¯s strategies weren¡¯t anycklusterpared to his, and in many facets, they outshined his.

    It was apparent that these were all part of a n.

    But why did Nangong Hao choose to attack at this time? The Nangong Hao he knew wasn¡¯t one who would take advantage of others¡¯ difficulties.

    Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled.

    But he didn¡¯t give it further thought. Well, it was a fact that Nangong Hao had indeed attacked, and thinking deeper about it wouldn¡¯t change that.

    "Nangong Hao, are you out of your mind? Challenge me openly if you have the guts!" Fang Zhengzhi spoke with whatever gusto he had left.

    "Don¡¯t walk out of the golden ray!" Chi Guyan warned as he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Huh? I can¡¯t walk out of it?" Fang Zhengzhi had just taken a step out, which he promptly retracted.

    "Yes. If you step out of the golden ray, you¡¯ll be dead when the lightning strikes!" Chi Guyan nodded and replied firmly.

    "Wow, so powerful? I got it!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t fully understand the details, but still made a surprised expression.

    "I¡¯ll block his attack again, you¡¯ll block the second lightning!"

 Chapter 689 Rebirth

    As a man, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should take up some responsibilities. However, he couldn¡¯t be always doing that.

    Especially when he was severely injured.

    He had taken up the first strike. Now the second?

    You¡¯re kidding me!

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to protest, or at least made his differing opinion known. But it wasn¡¯t something that he had the final say. The reason was simple: he was standing behind Chi Guyan.

    In other words...

    If Chi Guyan stepped away, he would be struck by lightning.

    "Isn¡¯t this a little too much?" Fang Zhengzhi looked upward, and instantly his eyes were once again wide in shock. This was more difficult than he imagined.

    The second bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.

    It was as though it could reply to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s internal screams: could they possibly be anyrger?

    You bet it could!

    The second bolt of lightning was at least twice asrge as the first.

    "Boom!" As Chi Guyan dodged the strike, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was afloat among the clouds, drifting weightlessly in the air.

    He couldn¡¯t feel anything else.

    Everything was reduced to numbness.

    Except for this body, which was floating in the air, like a small boat in a vast ocean, swayed by winds and storms...

    And on the other hand, of course, the battle between Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao continued to rage.

    When Chi Guyan struck her first blow, Nangong Hao didn¡¯t just strangely evaded it, but also advanced a step while his Wuwei Sword pierced ahead.

    But when Chi Guyanid her second strike with her sword, Nangong Hao didn¡¯t manage to evade, but suffered a sh and fell to one side.

    However, this didn¡¯t affect Nangong Hao¡¯s resolve.

    At this moment, it was as though Nangong Hao couldn¡¯t hear anything, nor feel any apprehension upon the looks of the crowd. He had only one target: Fang Zhengzhi.

    And while Mu Qingfeng and Tian Xing watched this unfold, they had differing opinions.

    Mu Qingfeng was surprised at Nangong Hao¡¯s aim of attacking at this juncture.

    After all, Nangong Hao hadn¡¯t been at the Heaven Dao Pavilion for a very long time. But in his past two years here, he had shown excellence in both his skills and character.

    For such a talented genius...

    To act in such a way...

    There must be a reason for this, right?

    Like Mu Qingfeng, Tian Xing was also astounded by Nangong Hao¡¯s attack, but he was more surprised at how he managed to dodge Chi Guyan¡¯s strike.

    Not only did he dodge her first strike, he didn¡¯t cken at her second strike.

    To put things in perspective, Chi Guyan now had her Nuwa pulsepletely awakened. After a period of time, when her powers are truly realized, no one, not even himself, could confidently say he could defeat her.

    But Nangong Hao did it, and he did it without revealing any skills in his pulse.

    "Wow, not bad!" Tian Xing smirked, and this smirk grew upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi struck by the second bolt of lightning.

    Without hesitating further...

    Tian Xing rushed ahead.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered why the Heavenly Prophecy would descend upon two people, but he knew that the more Fang Zhengzhi grew in power, the less he could sleep in peace.

    Fang Zhengzhi must be killed!

    Tian Xing charged toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    But someone did the same, too.

    Mu Qingfeng.

    "Tian Xing, do you really wish to act against Heaven?" As the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, although Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t fully understand why Nangong Hao chose this time to attack Fang Zhengzhi, he felt that it was strange.

    Since it seemed strange, he had to stop it. At least to understand his rationale before reaching a decision.

    And the person he had to stop would not be Nangong Hao, but Tian Xing. Because Tian Xing was obviously more powerful than Nangong Hao.

    "Act against Heaven? Haha, old man, do you really think that this brat is the Chosen One? He merely basked in Chi Guyan¡¯s glory, it was just a coincidence!" Tian Xing replied inly.

    Without any sign of slowing down or turning behind, he continued to charge toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    "A coincidence?"

    "How could this be a coincidence? It¡¯s impossible!"

    "But if it weren¡¯t a coincidence, then there will be two Chosen Ones?"

    As the disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Heaven Dao Pavilion heard Tian Xing¡¯s words, they exchanged confused looks.

    In fact, all of them had simr concerns.

    Regarding this matter, they could ept that Chi Guyan was the Chosen One. After all, the Heavenly Prophecy did indeed descend upon her as forecasted.

    But it was particrly unexpected for Fang Zhengzhi, who just happened to be above Chi Guyan, to be cast within the glow of the Heavenly Prophecy too.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also the Chosen One?

    There were two Chosen Ones?

    Coincidence, or part of fate?

    Countless thoughts shed past their minds, but none of them could be validated because there was simply no way to confirm.

    Of course, even though Tian Xing imed that this was merely a coincidence, no one could be certain of its truth.

    After all, this seemed too peculiar.

    "Boom!" A deafening st came from above, interrupting the thoughts of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, drawing their attention to the person, dressed in white, in the sky.

    Nangong Hao.

    "Brother, don¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi!" At this moment, an urgent voice emerged from a distance, then a figure leaped into presence.

    And this figure was closely followed by another.

    Nangong Mu and Yan Qing.

    Both had been totally immersed in fighting among themselves, and now they seemed a little tired, with bloody cuts all over their bodies.

    But at this instant, Nangong Mu abandoned their fight, which had been raging on for quite a while, and rushed toward Nangong Hao,pletely ignoring Yan Qing who followed closely behind.

    As for Yan Qing...

    He chased behind Nangong Mu. He was as fast as a meteorite.

    "Is this person Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother?"

    "I think he is!"

    "He said Nangong Hao was going to kill Fang Zhengzhi? There were issues between them?"

    "Possibly!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples watched as the two figures leaped upward. What a strange sight. If Nangong Mu hadn¡¯t appeared, they would have already forgotten about their duel.

    "What? Two more joining in?" Tian Xing felt the presence of two figures joining the scene, though he didn¡¯t really have the time to bother too much.

    Because Mu Qingfeng was very close behind.

    He had to kill Fang Zhengzhi in one blow before Mu Qingfeng could reach him.

    It was a messy scene, with Nangong Mu suddenly attacking Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan protecting him with her life.

    And Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t just do nothing, as he suffered two consecutive golden lightning strikes.

    Then as Tian Xing charged toward Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng rushed to stop him. And Nangong Mu and Yan Qing joined in the chaos.

    "..."

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain watched as these characters coalesced, speechless as they didn¡¯t have a clue what was happening.

    But of course, on the topic of ¡¯speechlessness¡¯...

    Fang Zhengzhi was much more ¡¯speechless¡¯.

    Never in his life had he thought he would experience being struck by lightning... twice.

    But now, he knew how it felt.

    It was truly a godlike feeling, and if anyone doubted it, he could try flying a piece of iron as a kite on a stormy day.

    Fang Zhengzhi was "speechless" to the helplessness he felt. Now he had two choices. The first was to ask Chi Guyan if there was a third bolt of lightning and if there was, who would be taking it?

    And the second was to swap positions with Chi Guyan, to be the one who could dodge or fight as he wished.

    Fang Zhengzhi really the second choice.

    But now that he saw Tian Xing charging toward him, he made an even better decision. If there was really no way out, he¡¯d just be struck another time.

    After all, he had already been struck twice, how bad could one more be?

    But as with many things in life, sometimes they would take an unexpected turn.

    Like...

    Now.

    The third bolt of lightning emerged from the heavens, and it was bigger than the second bolt. At least three timesrger than the second!

    "Why are both choices... equally bad?!" For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi could not make a choice. Because he was very certain of one thing.

    If this bolt of lightning were tond on him, he would be dead.

    For sure!

    And of course, if he were to swap ces with Chi Guyan and fight against the Tian Xing and Nangong Hao, he would die too.

    What a terrible situation.

    There was no way out. Both paths lead to dead-ends.

    "Chi Guyan, after I die, please take care of my parents!" Fang Zhengzhi was about to pull her behind him.

    Since he had to die, he would die in both ways. At least the other could survive.

    "You won¡¯t die!" Chi Guyan didn¡¯t turn back. Her body didn¡¯t budge, standing still like a statue.

    Her pink dress was stained with stters of blood, her hair swayed in the wind. At this moment, Chi Guyan¡¯s aura was one of intense resolution.

    "Boom!" The third lightning bolt had struck right on Chi Guyan. This time, she did not dodge.

    Of course...

    This meant that Fang Zhengzhi was struck too.

    Because one of his hands was on Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know how exactly to describe what he was feeling now, because what happened was exceptionally stupid.

    In an instant, he felt countless frenzied electric snakes slithering from Chi Guyan¡¯s body to his.

    If the first and second lightning strikes made him feel weightless as though he was floating in the air...

    Then the third wasn¡¯t weightless and euphoric anymore. It felt like a rebirth after being soaked in a fire.

    Of course, he was indeed on fire.

    Because he could clearly smell his flesh burning as lightning flowed through him.

    Was he about to die?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not willing to ept this. Not that he wasn¡¯t prepared to be struck to death by lightning, but he saw Tian Xing and Nangong Hao approaching right in front of them.

    Yet Chi Guyan stood unmoved.

    "Do I really have to die together with Chi Guyan? No, I can¡¯t die. I have already lived till now. How could I die?" Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really wish to die, because he was very scared of death, and this forced him to think of a solution. "Yes, the Dao of Yin Yang, the cycle.... Now I am again in a cycle with Chi Guyan!"

    With this thought, he didn¡¯t really care if it will work anymore. He only knew that he could be dead at any moment, so why not fight till the end?

    This situation was desperate for enough for him to try anything he could think of!

    He quickly moved around the Origin Energy in The Vast World, and using the Dao of Yin Yang, he formed a cycle with Chi Guyan.

    Of course, this time his cycle wasn¡¯t sparked by the power of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, but the electric snakes of flowing within Chi Guyan¡¯s and his body.

    "Boom!" As the cycle of the Dao of Yin Yang was activated, Fang Zhengzhi instantly felt as though his body was eaten alive by the countless electric snakes.

    Hissing sounds could be continuously heard from the surface of his body.

    So...

    Did this Yin Yang cycle channel all the electric snakes from Chi Guyan¡¯s body into his own?

    Fang Zhengzhiughed coldly inside. Sometimes he would be rather noble, especially toward his friends, like this helpful girl in front of him.

    "But this bed-warmer hasn¡¯t really warmed my bed before." Fang Zhengzhi quickly raised his other hand and pointed his middle finger towards the Heaven.

    Wait a minute.

    How did he manage to raise his hand?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a moment of doubt, then realized his charred, burnt skin had been shed now.

    What was left was apletely new, glistening skin.

    And most importantly, on this new skin, he could faintly see golden characters flowing about.

 Chapter 690 The Door Opensâ€¦ A Peculiar Circular Formation

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were wide open.

    He found these characters familiar, but it was because he had seen them somewhere. He did not know what they represented.

    Nheless, not only was were the characters glimmering on his skin, he could also feel them flowing through all channels in his body, as if they were in his blood.

    And most importantly, these characters were not only golden. They appeared in silver, red, blue, green, cyan, purple...

    He was enveloped in a bubble of warmth.

    In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi felt much lighter than before. It was a magical feeling, as though he had be a different person.

    Meanwhile, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were shocked speechless as they watched.

    And of course, it was not only Fang Zhengzhi whose body was filled with glowing characters. Chi Guyan¡¯s body, too, had these characters of various colors.

    But the number of characters on Chi Guyan¡¯s body paled inparison to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    And the characters on her body were all concentrated and shining brilliantly above her chest.

    "It¡¯s the Baptism by the Holy Words!"

    "But how is it possible that Fang Zhengzhi also received the Baptism by the Holy Words? Even if he was just trying his luck, how could he be this lucky?"

    "Why are there so many characters on his body?"

    "It has been recorded that once a person has received the Baptism by the Holy Words, the Dao that he has mastered would resonate with the Divine Message. But why is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s resonance flowing through his whole body?!"

    "These characters... they must be hundreds of them! Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi has mastered hundreds of Dao? How is this possible?"

    "Is he a demon?!"

    Naturally, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples understood the meaning of these characters. In fact, these characters represent the state of Dao in his body.

    Like Dao Fruits in the Small Dimension.

    Each Dao Fruit had its own unique set of lines, which will be a character when the Dao Fruit had ripened.

    Of course, this was for the normal state of events.

    But it would be different for the Baptism by the Holy Words. Once a person has been gone through this process, the Dao Fruits will be its characters no matter their states.

    Hence this was the advantage of the Baptism by the Holy Words.

    But Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case was rather extreme. Firstly, the Dao in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body did not concentrate in the Small Dimension like those of Chi Guyan¡¯s, instead, they are scattered throughout his body. Moreover, it was fused within his blood, circting around his body.

    And secondly...

    Wasn¡¯t the number of characters too much?

    The number of characters on his body indeed seemed so much it was terrifying. They were practically uncountable, certainly numbering above a thousand.

    "He has mastered more than a thousand Dao?!"

    "Is there such a person in this world?"

    "How is this even possible?"

    None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were willing to believe this. But it was an undeniable fact that there were a thousand different characters flowing around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    "So, these are Dao?" Fang Zhengzhi finally realized what they represented upon hearing their discussion.

    They were the states of Dao!

    In this line of thought, Fang Zhengzhi could understand something.

    For instance, etching the final state of Dao on a weapon would greatly increase its power, and for those who have Congenital Blood like Wu Yuer...

    It would be the same concept. Having such a bloodline would mean that one possessed certain types of Dao, and therefore his power would be intensified.

    And then for Tian Xing, when he unleashed his Blood Source, the golden characters would also be concentrated on his ck armor.

    A higher number andplexity of golden characters...

    Would mean that one¡¯s bloodline was purer, and hence more powerful.

    So this was it!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly understood this fact, and his mind bore greater rity and knowledge regarding these characters.

    But as for why his body¡¯s Dao would resonate with the Divine Message...

    The reason would be closely rted to his efforts in the past two years. If one had been trying to improve himself for the past two years but had no breakthroughs, what could he even aplish?

    Fang Zhengzhi answered everyone¡¯s question with his actions.

    This was Dao Enlightenment.

    He sought Enlightenment in Dao.

    With the chance given by Shadow Sect, he read ancient texts voraciously and researched whatever he couldy his hands on. He devoted himself to the appreciation of all things and all kinds of Dao.

    And indeed, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s efforts in the past two years had paid off. With the aid of texts, his enlightenment was as joyful and easy as chewing gum.

    On good days, he could understand three of four Dao.

    Yet, on extremely bad days, he could still do at least one in two days.

    This allowed an explosive growth in the number of Dao he had umted in his body, and in two years, he had understood at least eight hundred Dao.

    But as for the exact number, he didn¡¯t know.

    Because it was impossible for him to count. What mattered was that he had managed to grasp the various Dao, which did not bear any Dao Fruits. So, until now, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be sure of the precise number of Dao he had understood.

    He only knew that he had mastered all the techniques that everyone else had and even those that others had not.

    And it was a good thing that his powers had increased.

    So he didn¡¯t give it much thought.

    After the Baptism by the Holy Words, Fang Zhengzhi could feel waves of heat raging within his abdomen.

    And this heat...

    Could it be the Thousand Years Fire Herb?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why this would happen, but he could feel that the Thousand Years Fire Herb was now calmer and much less vtile than before. These energetic pulsations were also moving toward his right chest.

    As the fiery heat gathered, his right chest, which suffered a heavy blow from Tian Xing, started to heal rapidly.

    "Is the Thousand Years Fire Herb being refined under the Baptism by the Holy Words?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be sure, but this was not impossible.

    After all, with the bolts of lightning flowing through his body, this could be possible.

    But of course, this wasn¡¯t the time to think about these, because Nangong Hao and Tian Xing had arrived.

    Naturally, Nangong Hao had reached first.

    His speed was unbelievable.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t recoveredpletely, he made a decision when he saw Nangong Hao charge over.

    He dashed in front of Chi Guyan.

    This surprised the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, because to them, Fang Zhengzhi should hide behind Chi Guyan to focus on healing himself.

    Even Nangong Hao was slightly taken aback, especially when he saw the golden characters flowing around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    And then his eyes lit up.

    Naturally, he had greater knowledge about these characterspared to the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. After all, he had learned from his experience in the battle at the Southern Region.

    But never did he expect that...

    In two short years, the Dao that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped was more than thricepared to the battle at the Southern Region.

    To be Enlightened by a thousand Dao and Baptized by the Holy Words!

    Nangong Hao had moved his sword, for he did not hesitate further. The Wuwei Sword shone its icy glimmer.

    "From nothinges the form, from the formes nothing!" Nangong Hao bellowed, then zoomed a few paces forward.

    What a strange move.

    It was as though someone¡¯s sword was about ten paces away, then in the blink of an eye, it was suddenly above your head.

    This was exactly how Fang Zhengzhi was feeling now.

    Because describing this as ¡¯fast¡¯ couldn¡¯t do it justice. It was like teleportation.

    "You could do this with a sword?" Fang Zhengzhi had known that Nangong Hao was a talented individual, so he was somewhat prepared. But it was not until he actually faced Nangong Hao when Fang Zhengzhi felt he had underestimated his power.

    At this juncture, he knew he could use dodge the sword attack with Heaven Dao, but this would mean that Chi Guyan, who was behind him, would take the blow.

    Was Nangong Hao so eager to go through with this attack?

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi really did not wish to fight against Nangong Hao, for he would rather cast him aside and save his energy to battle Tian Xing.

    But the sword was right above him.

    He had no other choice.

    "Bring in on!" Fang Zhengzhi could feel Nangong Hao¡¯s forceful mercilessness in this strike.

    Hence, why should he show any mercy?

    A dazzling purple sh radiated from the Traceless Sword, and then came a dragon¡¯s roar.

    Dragonlike Sword!

    And with this, he resisted Nangong Hao¡¯s violent sh.

    "Boom!" A deafening st from the shing of the swords. Purple and white shes of light emanated from the point of impact, and it was as though time had stopped momentarily.

    Fang Zhengzhi took a step backward.

    And he knocked on Chi Guyan¡¯s body. Chi Guyan¡¯s hand pressed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waist, and he was supported by a soft, tender force.

    And Nangong Hao...

    He was thrown back from the st.

    He spurted a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale rapidly. Surprisingly, he was injured.

    "He actually injured Junior Nangong Hao in one move?!"

    "Isn¡¯t he already injured?"

    "I didn¡¯t expect his powers could be boosted to such a level after the Baptism by the Holy Words. Are these characters really the Dao that he had mastered?"

    "Isn¡¯t this too ridiculous? Could he actually be a demon?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples watched the figure stumble backward with disbelief. After all, they were well aware of Nangong Hao¡¯s power.

    It could even challenge the existence of the Seven Seniors of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    And to be hurt in one strike by Fang Zhengzhi? How could they believe this?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have time to be concerned about Nangong Hao¡¯s injuries, because now he had a stronger enemy.

    And at the instant, Nangong Hao was flung backward from impact ...

    Tian Xing finally appeared!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if Nangong Hao¡¯s strike was intentional, but from its oue, two people from very different parties, who had in fact never spoken to each other, had effectively synergized under Nangong Hao¡¯s careful nning.

    There was no choice.

    He had to continue fighting.

    Because he had only one viable strategy now, which was to drag on until Mu Qingfeng arrives and ensnares Tian Xing. Otherwise, there was no way out.

    And Tian Xing was fast approaching!

    Atop his burly frame was a head full of red hair, the essence of his giant, terrifying presence.

    As he reached, he immediately charged at Fang Zhengzhi with his fist, upon which glowed several golden characters.

    And at this instant, Chi Guyan¡¯s voice can be heard from behind, and then an imprable force field emerged outward from her body.

    The Nuwa behind her flickered, changing its color between red and blue every few moments.

    "Chi Guyan, you can¡¯t stop me!" Tian Xing screamed as he thrust his fist ahead.

    "Crack!"

    Several ck cracks could be seen in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    And Tian Xing¡¯s fist punched through these cracks. Then, almost instantaneously, he had reached in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    "Fuck!" Fang Zhengzhi had no way to retreat. Although he understood that Tian Xing was way more powerful than he was, he had to grit his teeth and soldier on.

    He, too, responded with a punch.

    And it collided with Tian Xing¡¯s.

    Fang Zhengzhi gave all he could. A fight to the death.

    And when he delivered this punch, Fang Zhengzhi felt the golden characters flowing within his body concentrate upon his fist, as if they had found a vent for a massive eruption.

    Then...

    Something odd happened. An armor appeared on his fist, one that was whollyposed of those characters.

    "Huh?" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to understand what was happening, but this punch still collided with Tian Xing¡¯s.

    And at the point of collision...

    A bolt of lightning descended from the sky.

    "Bang!" It was a brilliant disy of red lightning shes, and as they appeared, a huge, circr formation took shape up above.

    Gold, silver, white, blue, red, green...

    Rays of eight colors in shone from the huge, circr formation, and in its center, a closed door was slowly opening...

 Chapter 691 Blood Offering

    It was a door made of green rock, with its streaks of big cracks marking its age. nking both sides of the door were giant human-like statues.

    At its center, there was the head of a beast showing its fierce teeth, its eyes were two crystal clear gemstones reflecting brilliant green light.

    What a sudden, peculiar turn of events.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples werepletely astounded as they saw the appearance of a giant circr formation.

    "What is going on?!"

    "Is this part of the Baptism by the Holy Words too?"

    "Such an intense amount of energy!"

    None of them knew what was happening, because they had never seen something like this before.

    Fang Zhengzhi, too, was bewildered.

    But he knew that such a change wasn¡¯t rted to him. Because when his fist met with Tian Xing¡¯s, an immense amount of pressure was rapidly released.

    So, even after the Baptism by the Holy Words...

    He still couldn¡¯t match Tian Xing¡¯s level?

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t naively expect that he would immediately be able to crush all his enemies right after his Baptism. After all, the difference between Tian Xing¡¯s and his power was too huge.

    He didn¡¯t know how the red shes of lightning appeared, or how the huge circr formation took shape, but he could feel a hefty amount of force upon his chest.

    And his body involuntarily took a few steps back, knocking onto Chi Guyan.

    And at that instant, he felt a tender feeling, then two hands wrapped around his waist. These hands wielded immense power.

    This cushioned Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s backward thrust to a safe stop.

    But the pressure on his chest gradually intensified, especially when he between the impact of two forces.

    And at this moment...

    Chi Guyan moved. A snake¡¯s tail, which glowed faintly, emerged from behind and whipped at Tian Xing at lightning speed.

    "Boom!" came a loud noise.

    These actions, from the collision of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Tian Xing¡¯s punches, to the snake¡¯s tailshing at Tian Xing, seemed almost instantaneous.

    But Tian Xing was still Tian Xing.

    One of the strongest warriors in the Holy region, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Even if he was injured, he would never back down.

    Not only that...

    He could still advance a step, though it was only one step.

    And of course, this wasn¡¯t because Tian Xing had a change of heart, was willing to bury the hatchet and patch things up, then have tea together and talk about life.

    But it was because he saw the red shes of lightning and the huge, round formation above him, especially the green rock door that was opening slowly.

    "Huh?" Tian Xing¡¯s nced above without changing his stance, as he continued to pressure ahead. His face, though, revealed some degree of surprise.

    And at this moment...

    Something strange happened again.

    Nangong Hao, who was injured by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword, suddenly charged forward at an unfathomable speed, to the extent that there was a blur behind him.

    "That¡¯s really fast!" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. Never did he expect Nangong Hao to recover so quickly and seize this situation to his advantage.

    There was no way to run.

    Because the pressure from Tian Xing¡¯s fists was forcing upon his chest and he was being supported by Chi Guyan at his back.

    How could he dodge this sword?

    "Pshh!" Blood was spilled in the air.

    That was the sound of Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword piercing through flesh. Blood spilled in the air but, oddly, did not fall.

    Instead, it flew upward rapidly, as though it was sucked by a massive gravitational force, toward the giant round formation.

    This happened in the blink of an eye.

    And the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples watched with their eyes wide open.

    Especially the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples...

    They were so astonished as though their eyes were about to pop out. Their bloodshot eyes were not a result of fatigue, but utter shock and anger.

    And of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples weren¡¯t the only ones who were shocked.

    Tian Xing, too.

    His eyes stared at the crystal-clear tip of the sword, which pierced through the body from the back, then at the droplets of blood that was rapidly flying upward.

    "Nangong Hao?!" Tian Xing slowly turned his head and looked at the hand which wielded the Wuwei Sword, then at the person who was dressed in schrly attire behind him.

    As the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, one of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region...

    It had been long since Tian Xing was stabbed in the back with a sword. This had to somewhat rted to his powers, but it was also attributed to his sense of caution.

    The Holy Region was a dangerous ce.

    And Tian Xing wasn¡¯t one to trust others easily. In contrast, after all these years, he did everything cautiously.

    This, however, didn¡¯t mean that he did not guard against the "less powerful individuals".

    He knew that, even if these "less powerful individuals" were given the opportunities, they would not have the ability to do him any substantial harm anyway.

    And for Nangong Hao...

    Tian Xing had once evaluated his abilities.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s wasn¡¯t weak, perhaps he could even be considered strong. But of course, that was within the scope of the Rebirth State, or maybe even the Sage State.

    Well, that was only the Sage State.

    But most importantly, Nangong Hao initiated the attack toward Fang Zhengzhi before him, even at the most crucial juncture when Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were being Baptized by the Holy Words.

    Tian Xing did not understand, why would Nangong Hao¡¯s sword pierce right through him.

    Was this all a ruse?

    No!

    This couldn¡¯t possibly a ruse. When Nangong Hao unleashed his attack on Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at that crucial period, he used all his might, as though he willed them to perish at that very moment.

    If this was a ruse, wouldn¡¯t it be too big of a risk?

    Furthermore, it was impossible for Nangong Hao to predict that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan would be Baptized. Even Mu Qingfeng and himself did not see thising.

    So, this was not a ruse.

    But Nangong Hao¡¯s sword has indeed stabbed on him.

    Tian Xing could never wrap his head around this.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have much time to ponder any further. As his blood flew up toward the giant circr formation...

    He felt enveloped by a terrifying wave of gravitational force.

    It was as though all the blood in his body, or perhaps even his whole body, was being sucked into the giant round formation.

    "Blood Offering! You actually used Blood Offering!!" For the first time, fear was revealed in Tian Xing¡¯s eyes, as he panicked deep inside.

    Because the gravitational force above him was too intense.

    Although he didn¡¯t know how Nangong Hao managed to do it, he could tell that the Blood Offering Illustration above him was very unusual.

    Eight rays of light...

    And they were all bright the sun and moon. He was fairly certain that there was some kind of forbidden technique involved, and most importantly, eight people were sacrificed for this.

    "Blood Offering?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself after hearing what Tian Xing said. Nheless, he couldn¡¯t care less about what the Blood Offering meant.

    And of course, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with why Nangong Hao¡¯s sword would suddenly change direction and stab into Tian Xing¡¯s chest instead of himself.

    He only cared that now Tian Xing...

    Was starting to panic!

    Since Tian Xing was panicking, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t show any fear. Not only that, he must also seize this extremely rare opportunity.

    The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, eh?

    One of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region, eh?

    You¡¯re so powerful...

    But have you seen a fist as big as this?!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask these aloud, because he was a man of action.

    A punch!

    He delivered this punch while suppressing the force on his chest.

    And itnded directly on Tian Xing¡¯s face!

    "Boom!" A deafening thud.

    This punch was hit with such an explosive force that Tian Xing was flung backward, bumping against Nangong Hao who was behind him.

    And it was this punch that made Nangong Hao¡¯s sword pierce fully through Tian Xing¡¯s body.

    "Pshh!" Blood once again spewed out and rained upward into the giant circr formation above.

    This made the eight rays on giant circr formation glow more intensely, and suddenly the green rock door opened a little more.

    Bright red rays shone from inside the green rock door, painting the sky in red, while an aura of evil emanated from the red rays.

    "Blurgh!" Tian Xing spewed a mouthful of blood.

    And this pool of blood, too, rose above into the formation.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng had a change in expression.

    Previously, he was very worried for Chi Guyan, but now it turned to shock. He saw the giant circr formation in the sky and Nangong Hao behind Tian Xing...

    He could never have expected that things would turn out this way.

    "Blood Offering?! It¡¯s really Blood Offering!" Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t shout at Nangong Hao for him to stop, as he realized it would just be a waste of time.

    And most importantly, he knew that once the Blood Offering was activated...

    There was no way to stop it.

    "Brother... actually stabbed Tian Xing?!" Nangong Mu was absolutely shocked as he stared at the Wuwei Sword that had fully pierced through Tian Xing¡¯s body.

    But a brief momentter, he returned to his normal expression, then rushed at full speed toward Nangong Hao and Tian Xing.

    And Yan Qing continued to follow closely behind Nangong Mu.

    "Master!"

    "Leader!"

    All of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, as well as the few Nine Pinnacles Mountain Sage State warriors, suddenly felt something was wrong.

    Because judging from Tian Xing¡¯s abilities...

    He would not be so easily punched by Fang Zhengzhi like this.

    But not only did the punch smashed on his face, he did not retaliate after that.

    This seemed quite odd.

    Suddenly, many figures rose from the ground and rushed toward Tian Xing at lightning speed.

    And a sight like this...

    Naturally made the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples charge forward.

    "Attack!" A loud crymanded. A few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples raised their swords and ran toward the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples.

    "Stop!" ordered the Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, previously calm andposed but now started to seem anxious.

    But it was toote.

    A few hundred swords shed on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    "Pshh!"

    "Ah!"

    Blood was spilled and screams of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples filled the air. The Heaven Dao Pavilion returned to a state of chaos.

    And peculiarly, the blood that was purged from the bodies of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, too, did not fall to the ground. Instead, it flew up toward the sky.

    Blood was raining upward.

    "What?" Mu Qingfeng, who was rushing toward Tian Xing, noticed blood flying upward and turned extremely anxious. "Stop!" He yelled.

    He tried to stop them.

    But it was toote.

    While the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples tried to save their leader, a few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stabbed them from the back. How would the collective power of a few hundred Sword Radiance be any less?

    The air was filled with pools and droplets of blood flowing upward.

    They fused into the giant circr formation in the sky, and the eight colored rays grew in brightness with the amount of blood sucked in the formation until they shone like eight more suns in the sky.

    Gold, silver, white, blue, red, green...

    And in the center of the eight rays was a reddish glow which permeated the air with its evil aura. The green rock door was nowpletely open.

 Chapter 692 Choices, The Red Waterfall

    "Ah, my body, why can¡¯t I control it?" The first Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple to spit out a mouthful of blood cried out in horror.

    At the same time, his body flew like aet toward the huge formation in the center of the sky.

    Following that, another Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple flew into the air, then another, then another...

    As a torrential rain of blood fell into the huge round formation, dozens of injured Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples felt a terrifying attractive energying from the formation.

    "Ah!"

    "What¡¯s going on?!"

    "Save me!"

    Voices of panic rose in the air. However, the attractive force was too terrifying. With their powers, there was no way they could resist it.

    "What exactly is this?"

    "Blood Offering? I¡¯ve never seen such a blood offering before!"

    "Junior Nangong Hao, please stop!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally realized that something was amiss as saw more and more Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples flying into the huge formation.

    However, they were the one who unsheathed their swords to stop the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    However, this did not mean that they wanted to kill every single Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple there. They definitely did not want to see them die like this.

    "Nangong Hao! Do you think you can stop me, Tian Xing, with this Blood Offering Illustration?" Tian Xing¡¯s body started to shake as rage red up in his heart.

    As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, his knowledge was naturally wider. He definitely knew the consequences of being pulled into this Blood Offering Illustration.

    Hence, how could he stand idly by as he watched his disciples get pulled into the Blood Offering Illustration?

    He really wanted to kill Nangong Hao.

    However, the Green Rock Door of the Blood Offering Illustration waspletely open. The terrifying attractive force tugged at his body like thousands of chains.

    Even though he was one of the more powerful ones of the Holy Region, he did not have an easy time fighting this Blood Offering Illustration, formed from the secret techniques of these eight other powerful people.

    Furthermore, more than half of his Origin Energy was already drained.

    On top of that, he looked at the rain of blood from his own disciples.

    This was adding fuel to the fire.

    Of course, while his tone toward Nangong Hao remained strong, he realized that his own situation was bing increasingly precarious.

    "Shriieek!" Nangong Hao did not reply to Tian Xing. Instead, he took the Wuwei Sword from Tian Xing. His facial emotions were as calm as ake which had frozen over. There was no change at all.

    This made the blood spurt from Tian Xing¡¯s chest like a fountain.

    An odd scene appeared at this very moment...

    Originally, the Wuwei Sword was as clear and clean as snow. At this moment, it started to shine red, as if it had been charged by his blood.

    Then...

    Nangong Hao struck decisively.

    The Wuwei Sword moved as he stabbed Tian Xing with it once more. The moment he stabbed out, it triggered the red light from the Green Rock Door too. The red light fell from the sky like a rain of blood.

    It was an impactful scene.

    Tian Xing gritted his teeth and his body shook violently. The image of a red-haired hunk from his body flickered. Evidently, he was in a bad shape.

    "Boom!" The moment Nangong Hao stabbed Tian Xing, he was like a kite which had been cut loose. He did not fall forward, but instead, he flew into the air toward the Blood Offering Illustration.

    It felt as if he had been cut free.

    "Pavilion Leader Mu, please kill Nangong Hao quickly!" The Fu Xi Valley Elder, Gu Yuan, started to panic upon seeing this scene. He no longer pretended as if he was not involved in this entire matter.

    "Kill Junior Nangong Hao?!"

    "What nonsense are you saying?"

    "Junior Nangong Hao is just confused..."

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Gu Yuan¡¯s words, they were instantly enraged.

    "What do you lot know? If you don¡¯t kill Nangong Hao now, it¡¯ll be toote once hepletes his Blood Offering!" Gu Yuan, the Fu Xi Valley Elder, shouted without thinking.

    "Once hepletes his Blood Offering?" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples trembled. While they did not know what it meant, they could sense that Gu Yuan was not joking.

    Mu Qingfeng now looked at Nangong Hao. He stared at the scarlet Wuwei Sword in his hands and Tian Xing, who was flying rapidly toward the Blood Offering Illustration. His snow-white robes started to p furiously.

    He did not hesitate any more.

    Mu Qingfeng charged toward Nangong Hao.

    "Ah!" Tian Xing¡¯s voice rang out at this very moment. At the same time, a thick ck aura started to spew out from his body crazily.

    It enveloped his body instantly and turned into an imprable ck armor.

    This was Tian Xing¡¯s Blood Source.

    However, this time, the golden runes on his ck armor were visibly fewer. Furthermore, there were cracks all over his helmet.

    Even so...

    Tian Xing, who had been flying toward the Blood Offering Illustration, stopped once more.

    Nangong Hao moved once again.

    The Wuwei Sword glowed blood-red. The Blood Offering Illustration in the sky started to spin rapidly. The terrifying attractive force instantly increased in intensity.

    Of course, this attractive force did not act on Fang Zhengzhi.

    To him, the Blood Offering Illustration above his head was just an ornament. It had no impact on him whatsoever. Despite its power, the only thing that made him slightly ufortable was its severe killing intent.

    However, Tian Xing¡¯s reaction was much more intense.

    The moment the Blood Offering Illustration started to spin, his body trembled once more. His ck armor creaked and cracked as if he was no longer able to control it.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao was in front of him.

    He attacked Tian Xing once more with his sword.

    "Die!" Tian Xing did not dodge because the strong attractive force from the Blood Offering Illustration made it impossible for him to move freely. Hence, all he could do was to try and resist Nangong Hao¡¯s sword.

    His fist, covered with his ck armor,nded on Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword.

    "Boom!" An explosion rang out.

    Under the humongous impact of the sh, Tian Xing¡¯s body flew toward the Blood Offering Illustration once more.

    However, Nangong Hao¡¯s body trembled violently. His chest heaved and his face turned pale. However, he bit down on his lips tightly.

    He swallowed a mouthful of blood.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng was next to him. With one w-like hand, he grabbed the shoulder of the arm which Nangong Hao used to wield the Wuwei Sword.

    "Nangong Hao, stop. Your target is wrong. Even if your Blood Offering is sessful, you¡¯ll incur bad karma from it!" An icy-cold light shed in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes.

    "Master, I¡¯ve disappointed you, but my choice is not wrong!" Nangong Hao seemed moved. However, quickly, he struck at Mu Qingfeng with his palm too.

    "Boom!"

    The two palms shed.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s body was sent flying. His face blushed red and he was no longer able to keep his mouthful of blood down. Immediately, he spat out his mouthful of blood.

    Blood fell from the sky like rain.

    The rain of blood, however, flew toward the Blood Offering Illustration in the sky. It waspletely absorbed by it too. An eye-catching light shone once more.

    With it, Nangong Hao¡¯s body trembled violently.

    He felt as if a huge shapeless hand had grabbed him, pulling him in the direction of the Blood Offering Illustration.

    "Brother!" Nangong Mu¡¯s voice rang out. He wore a look of panic on his face and his Green and Blue Dual de in his hands shone brightly with light as he tried to sh Tian Xing.

    "Don¡¯t do anything!" When Nangong Hao saw the light from his brother¡¯s Green and Blue Dual de, a look of panic appeared in his eyes.

    However, it was toote.

    Two rays of light, one blue and one green, intersected with each other quickly. Instantly, they formed a dual-colored radiance, which shed toward Tian Xing like a ferocious beast with gaping jaws.

    "Nangong Hao, it seems that your family shall have no more descendant after today!" As Tian Xing looked at the dual-colored sword light that was flying toward him rapidly, an icy-cold look shed in his eyes.

    "No!" When Nangong Hao saw the two-colored attack, his body shone with a blood light. Blood also flowed into his eyes.

    Then, his body moved strangely. He took two steps in mid-air as he positioned himself right above the dual-colored sword light.

    "Boom!" Another huge explosion rang out.

    The dual-colored sword light struck Nangong Hao¡¯s body directly. Then, he flew backward into the air, which happened to be the exact location where Tian Xing stood.

    "How deep are your fraternal ties?" Tian Xing¡¯s gaze turned dark as he looked at Nangong Hao, who was hurtling toward him. His expression seemed weird too, but he did not hesitate.

    He clenched his fist and punched.

    However, at this moment, he saw a pair of pure blood-red eyes. Furthermore, what was important was that there was an illustration in this pair of blood-red eyes.

    It seemed to be a blood-red waterfall.

    An endless amount of blood descended down.

    "Eh?" Tian Xing realized that something was wrong. He tried to use hisst bit of energy to root himself firmly in mid-air. However, it was toote.

    This was because a red light hadpletely enveloped him.

    This red light came from the Green Rock Door and it cascaded down like a bloody waterfall. Instantly, his body was enveloped by it.

    "Open!" Tian Xing roared in rage. Thick, ck light started to spread in all four directions like a sharp sword from his body. This made a small opening amidst the red light.

    However, Nangong Hao had arrived.

    He grabbed onto Tian Xing and his hand shone with red light. Then, he forced the small opening to close.

    "I said that I won¡¯t change my choice!" Nangong Hao looked at Tian Xing with blood-red eyes. However, his expression remained calm.

    "Nangong Hao, how dare you! Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain will exterminate your entire family?!" Tian Xing¡¯s expression changed and for the first time, a look of terror crossed his face.

 Chapter 693 With My Blood, Iâ€™ll Open the Gates of Heaven

    As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and one of the most powerful people in the Holy Region, Tian Xing never expected his visit to the Heaven Dao Pavilion would end up like this.

    300 disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain went with him.

    Furthermore, ten of them were in the Sage State.

    Thisposition was enough to fight the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, right now, he had no choice but to make verbal threats. This meant that Tian Xing was in a really desperate state.

    He was not the only one.

    Dozens of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were in simr states. With their strength, there was no way they could resist the attractive force of the Blood Offering Illustration.

    "Ah! No!"

    "Master!"

    "Save me..."

    Their voices rang out in Tian Xing¡¯s ears. Figures whizzed past him as they flew into the Blood Offering Illustration in the sky.

    It was a shocking scene.

    Nangong Hao said nothing. He did not reply to Tian Xing¡¯s words. It was as if he had not even heard his threat.

    He grabbed Tian Xing tightly as he flew into the Blood Offering Illustration with him.

    This scene shocked the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. Not only were they shocked, they also felt a strange sense of suspicion.

    They did not know why he was doing this.

    The moment Nangong Hao spat blood out from his mouth, they thought that this could stop because Nangong Hao, like everyone else, was controlled by the Blood Offering Illustration.

    However, the truth was that...

    Nangong Hao had no intention of stopping. Not only did he not stop, he continued to fight with his life. It was as if he wanted to personally drag Tian Xing into the Blood Offering Illustration.

    A suicide mission?

    What was the point of this suicide mission?

    No one knew.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know too. After all, after Nangong Hao stabbed Tian Xing for no apparent reason, everything turned strange.

    He subtly felt that this situation was not as simple as it seemed, because with Nangong Hao¡¯s cunning, he could not possibly make such a mistake.

    So was this a suicide mission?

    Impossible!

    With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s understanding of Nangong Hao, he knew that he did everything carefully. Hence, he should have a n for when he became injured.

    So if this was not a suicide mission...

    Why was he so intent on dragging Tian Xing into the Blood Offering Illustration? If he really entered it, what method would he use to escape from it?

    If Nangong Hao could escape from it, Tian Xing could too!

    There were too many questions.

    The most important point was why Nangong Hao wanted to drag Tian Xing into the Blood Offering Illustration even if it meant that he would get devoured by the Blood Offering Illustration too. What secret was inside it?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know.

    However, he could see the panic in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes, as well as his look of agony.

    "Brother, no!" Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was not only panicky, but he was also pained. It was a pain that came from the heart.

    At this moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a figureshing out from behind him. It was a snake tail that shone faintly with light. Itshed out extremely quickly toward Nangong Hao and Tian Xing.

    The snake tail coiled around them.

    "Kacha!" The snake tail coiled itself around Nangong Hao and Tian Xing who were hurtling toward the Blood Offering Illustration. Instantly, Tian Xing and Nangong Hao both stopped.

    "Chi Guyan..." Nangong Hao¡¯s body trembled. His snow-white schr robes danced in the air as he finally spoke that name faintly.

    "Nangong Hao, stop! It¡¯s not toote!" Beads of sweat dripped from Chi Guyan¡¯s face. It was clear that she was having a hard time.

    "I know, but I can¡¯t because this... this is my destiny..." As Nangong Hao spoke, he grabbed the snake tail that was coiled around him as he tried to push it off him.

    "Brother, father did not say that you should sacrifice your life. The destiny of the Nangong Family can bepleted by me too. Brother... go!" Nangong Mu shouted the moment he heard Nangong Hao¡¯s voice.

    "Go? It¡¯s toote... brother, I¡¯m sorry! I know that you¡¯re very strong and I know that you want to beat me, even if it¡¯s just once. However, I can¡¯t be defeated by you, not even once. Brother, you are a true genius. No one was able to cultivate our family¡¯s ¡¯Green and Blue Secret Art¡¯ for a few hundred years, but you did!"

    Nangong Hao shook his head slightly. Then, he looked skyward and continued, "Actually, on that day, I was really happy for you... father was too. He even said that he wanted to raise you specially, in case something happened. However, I stopped father. I told him that nothing would happen. I made him give all his resources to me because only I can realize the Nangong Family¡¯s destiny!"

    "When you wrote your reflections for the ¡¯Green and Blue Secret Art¡¯ and handed it joyfully to father, I was there too!" When Nangong Hao said this, a crystal-clear light shone in his eyes. "I told father that the future of the Nangong Family can only depend on me, and me only!"

    "Brother, do you know? It¡¯s not that father did not want to see your reflections for the ¡¯Green and Blue Secret Art¡¯, and it¡¯s not that he did not want to use it to teach other members of our family. However, he knew that I would not like it!" At this moment, Nangong Hao¡¯s voice turned sad. Quickly, he recovered and said, "Actually, winning all the time isn¡¯t a happy thing!"

    When Nangong Hao said that, he broke free from the snake tail. He looked at Nangong Mu and two tears of blood trickled down his face.

    However, his expression remained resolute.

    "Brother, brother, I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t want to hear all these! I can defeat you! I¡¯ll defeat you now! Don¡¯t go! Stay!" Nangong Mu¡¯s body started to tremble violently. A blood-red light started to appear in his eyes too.

    "Brother, I believe you. I believe that you can beat me!" After Nangong Hao said that, he flew with Tian Xing straight into the Blood Offering Illustration.

    "Nangong Hao!" Chi Guyan cried out.

    "Master!"

    "Leader!"

    "..."

    The voices of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples rang out.

    "No!" At this moment, Tian Xing was shrieking.

    Nangong Hao, however, was looking down quietly. He looked at Mu Qingfeng, who had rushed up and was no more than five steps away from him, and at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, who were in the distance.

    "With my blood, I¡¯ll open the gates of heaven!" Nangong Hao¡¯s voice rang out once more. This time, it boomed and resonated throughout the entire Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    The moment his voice rang out, all the light on the Blood Offering Illustration shrank, regardless whether it was the red light from the Green Rock Door or the surrounding eight-colored light.

    At this moment, it withdrew to the front of the Green Rock Door.

    The moment that happened, the Green Rock Door turned from red to ck. It was as ck as ink.

    "Boom!" Thunder boomed in the distance.

    Rays of blood-red light fell from the sky like lightning. Dusk was approaching, turning the light even redder than expected. It was as red as blood.

    "Disappeared?!"

    "Master has disappeared, Nangong Hao has disappeared too!"

    "What door... was that?"

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples looked at the Green Rock Door. Their eyeballs bulged and they all looked shocked and dumbfounded.

    "Blood Offering? Is that a blood Offering?"

    "Junior Nangong Hao said that he¡¯ll ¡¯open the gates of heaven¡¯. What does this mean?"

    "Does it mean that it¡¯s all for this one door?"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were shocked too. However, they were also curious. They did not expect this ending.

    Shock and suspicion.

    In the sky, the Green Rock Door stood there as blood-red bolts of lightning zapped around it.

    Down below...

    Countless pairs of eye stared intently at the Green Rock Door. They were all curious, suspicious, and anticipating something. However, they did not wait long. This was because the Green Rock Door started to shine with light.

    Dots of starlight appeared.

    "Open the gates of heaven, opens the gates of heaven..." Mu Qingfeng stared intently at the light from the Green Rock Door. He mumbled those words non-stop. Suddenly, his eyes bulged as he said, "Oh no, can the Green Rock Door be the Heaven-Receiving Door?"

    "The Heaven-Receiving Door?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He naturally did not know what was this ¡¯Heaven-Receiving Door¡¯ that Mu Qingfeng spoke of. What exactly was it?

    Quickly, his eyes opened wide and light shone from his pupils.

    This was because...

    Inside the Heaven-Receiving Door above his head, under the glow of starlight, humongous ck chains started to appear.

    They were dense and thick, akin to a spider web.

    However, more importantly, on these ck chains, one could see a huge piece of ck rock. Cracks were creeping all over the ck rock.

    Fang Zhengzhi was truly shocked.

    This was because this scene before him was exactly the same as the one he saw in his mind when he received the Heavenly Prophecy. Not only was this the same, he felt the same intense emotion.

    The starry sky behind the Green Rock Door....

    It was the same one which he had seen.

    In fact, when he saw the starry sky upon receiving the Heavenly Prophecy, Fang Zhengzhi had already harbored some suspicions. He sensed that his questions about the starry sky would soon be answered. However, he did not expect it toe so quickly.

    Importantly, this starry sky actually appeared inside the Green Rock Door.

    Blood Offering...

    Starry sky!

    What was going on? Nangong Hao used all his energy to drag Tian Xing into the Blood Offering Illustration. Was it so that he could use the Green Rock Door to connect to this starry sky?

 Chapter 694 Motherf*cker!

    Could it be that the starry sky was not an illusion, but that it actually existed?

    That was impossible! Why would there be chains in the starry sky? Furthermore, why would there be chunks of huge ck rocks on each chain? This was not scientific at all!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if the concept of science existed in this world. However, with his knowledge from his past life, he knew that this should not be possible.

    Wait a moment, could it be that...

    Instantly, a legend shed past in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. It had something to do with N¨¹wa. (Trantor¡¯s Note: N¨¹wa is one of the creator deities of the Chinese pantheon)

    The legend mentioned one incident in particr, where N¨¹wa tried to fix the heaven. In that legend, the fire god Zhurong had a massive fight with the water god Gonggong.

    Then, Gonggong smashed Mount Buzhou in rage, causing the very heaven to copse and the water from the heaven to pour into the mortal realm.

    N¨¹wa could not bear to see such scenes of utter destruction and hence, she made five-colored stones to mend the heavens. Also, she used a divine turtle to stabilize the four corners of the world. She subdued the floodwater and killed the savage beasts that came along with it, bringing peace back into the world.

    Fang Zhengzhi also knew that this legend had many different versions. The earlier versions did not mention the existence of Zhurong and Gonggong.

    The ¡¯Huainanzi¡¯ (an ancient Chinese religious text) stated, "In the distant past, the four corners of the world were ruined, the nine states were split apart, the heaven was turned upside-down, and the earth could not bear fruits. Inextinguishable fires raged and torrential water swept the earth."

    Ferocious beasts preyed on the strong while bird-like monsters preyed on the old and the weak. Hence, N¨¹wa made the five-colored stones to mend the heaven, broke off the legs of a divine turtle to stabilize the four corners of the world, killed the ck dragon to save Jizhou (one of the nine constituent states of Ancient China), and used the ashes from burningmon reed to stop the floodwater.

    The version where the fire god Zhurong and the water god Gonggong first appeared emerged during the Eastern Han Dynasty on his previous life. Wang Chong, in his book ¡¯Lunheng¡¯, exined the copse of heaven by attributing it to Gonggong¡¯s smashing of Mount Buzhou. Hence, N¨¹wa and Gonggong became a story where a savior rescued mankind.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi preferred the version without Zhurong and Gonggong.

    Of course, these were all myths. Perhaps there were simr myths in this world too. He himself was not sure how this myth came to be.

    However, if someone was a true descendant of N¨¹wa...

    Then, ording to the situation in this world, when the Heavenly Prophecy descended on Chi Guyan and him, it could mean that Chi Guyan was descended from N¨¹wa.

    Could it be possible that this legend was real?

    Hence, if this legend was real, could the starry sky that appeared behind the Green Rock Door be the one that N¨¹wa had fixed?

    The ck chains and the huge rocks bound together by them...

    Nangong Hao was able to reveal this starry sky with his Blood Offering.

    By connecting all these things together, Fang Zhengzhi was able to make a bold guess. Of course, this was just a guess.

    However, if this guess turned out to be real, then Nangong Hao¡¯s action of revealing his starry sea was truly astounding.

    Could it be that there was some secret hidden in this once-broken starry sky?

    Fang Zhengzhi ceased to think because he could see that one of the big ck rock, which was closest to the Green Rock Door, started to crack open.

    "Kacha!" Clear light shone from the ck rock. It exuded a vast and terrifying aura, making it hard for those around it to breathe.

    It was just a sh of light, so why was it so pressurizing?

    What was inside the big, ck rock?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know. However, Mu Qingfeng, who stood in the sky above, saw it and his face turned indescribably ugly.

    He appeared petrified.

    Then, Mu Qingfeng started to act too. With his snow-white robes billowing in the air, he rushed without hesitation into the Green Rock Door.

    "Master!"

    When the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, they all started to worry, even though they did not know what was in the starry sky behind the Green Rock Door.

    However, from the aura that came from the Green Rock Door, they all knew that it was something terrible.

    "Boom!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s palmsnded on the Green Rock Door, which made it tremble visibly.

    However, the door just trembled.

    On the other hand, Mu Qingfeng was forced to take three steps back.

    Furthermore, Mu Qingfeng paled visibly. Evidently, the recoil from his palm-strike injured him slightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth opened slightly.

    He remembered clearly that not long ago, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s palm was able to close his Near-Life Gate, which he had opened with much difficulty.

    This Green Rock Door...

    Was it a treasure?!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what secrets were hidden in the starry sky behind the Green Rock Door. However, he was sure that the Green Rock Door was a one-of-a-kind treasure.

    "Can I take it?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was allowed to have this thought in his mind. However, for now, it should remain as nothing more than a thought.

    After all, this was no time to snatch treasures. Importantly, even if he wanted to do so, he waspletely out-ssed.

    If Mu Qingfeng could not even close the Green Rock Door, how could he control it?

    "Use the Near-Life Dao!" Just when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, Chi Guyan appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Her bright eyes shone with starlight.

    "Eh? The Near-Life Dao is effective against this Green Rock Door?" Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan was talking to him. After all, she did not know how to do it.

    "I don¡¯t know, but there¡¯s no harm in trying!" Chi Guyan shook her head. Her pink dress appeared even be radiant under the shine from the setting sun.

    Then...

    Chi Guyan moved.

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could reply, she rushed forward with a resolute expression on her face.

    For a brief moment, Fang Zhengzhi was disorientated. Chi Guyan, while powerful, was also beautiful enough to make his heart shake.

    ssy, solitary, and ethereally beautiful.

    "Seal!" Chi Guyan cried out. A dot of starlight appeared on her fingernail. It streaked across the sky like a rainbow.

    It thennded on the Green Rock Door.

    "Boom!" The Green Rock Door started to tremble violently once more. The Green Rock Door, which appeared to be opening, now seemed to be closing. In terms of effect, her finger was more effective than Mu Qingfeng¡¯s palm.

    "How can this be? Can it close so easily?" Fang Zhengzhi was stunned too. He did not wonder how could Chi Guyan¡¯s finger be more powerful than Mu Qingfeng¡¯s palm.

    He knew that it had something to do with her lineage.

    However...

    He did not understand how could this door, which Nangong Hao had summoned with such a huge price, be closed so easily.

    That was impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this was extremely strange.

    However, at this moment, another figure rushed in front of the Green Rock Door. He was extremely fast and his hands shone with light. This was the Elder of the Fu Xi Valley, Gu Yuan.

    "Boom!" He mmed his palm onto the Green Rock Door.

    However, after that palm-strike, Gu Yuan¡¯s entire body bounced back as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    However, what shocked Fang Zhengzhi was...

    The Green Rock Door closed a bit once more...

    "Can it really be closed?" No matter how Fang Zhengzhi thought about it, this seemed like an impossible undertaking. However, reality proved him wrong.

    It could really be closed!

    Impossible.

    This had to be impossible!

    Nangong Hao sacrificed his own life to drag Tian Xing into the Green Rock Door to reveal this starry sky. Hence, if it could be closed just like this...

    What was the point?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this was not as simple as it seemed. Otherwise, his suspicions about the Green Rock Door was wrong.

    He stopped thinking.

    This was because regardless of whether he was right or wrong, the crucial issue was the thing that was hidden inside. They should attempt to close this door.

    By closing this door, they could regain a temporary peace.

    "Boom!" Mu Qingfeng¡¯s second palmnded on the Green Rock Door once more. This made him even paler as a trickle of blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth.

    One could imagine that the recoil one experienced from the Green Rock Door was proportional to the amount of strength used.

    Wait a minute!

    The amount of strength one used?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened wide instantly.

    At this moment, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain both started to move.

    When they saw this scene, they all made up their mind and without any hesitation, they leaped into the air and rushed toward the Green Rock Door.

    It was a majestic sight.

    It was as if thousands of stars were gathering together.

    Multi-colored lights started to shine on the bodies of the disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion. They were all fearless.

    As for Nangong Mu, he looked grief-stricken. He stared intently at the Green Rock Door as he stood without moving in mid-air.

    Yan Qing, who was behind him, did not take this chance to attack Nangong Mu. Instead, he stood quietly there too like a statue.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom! Boom!"

    Dozens of Sage State disciples charged in front of the Green Rock Door. They used their palms to strike it repeatedly. With each palm, the Green Rock Door would close by a tiny bit.

    However, they all paid a heavy price for their actions.

    Their faces were pale. Furthermore, blood trickled down the corners of their mouths. One could see that they were in agony.

    "It was indeed better to work together!" Fang Zhengzhi thought. He noticed that the Green Rock Door was on the verge of closing and realized that it was time for him to act too.

    One had to seize whatever opportunities one could get.

    Fang Zhengzhi always viewed himself as someone who was well-prepared To be a well-prepared person, one had to be discerning.

    It was like when a treasure dropped from the heaven.

    When this happened, many people¡¯s first reaction would be to snatch the treasure. However, the first few to snatch it would often perish.

    While they were fighting over treasures here, it was simr in nature.

    If he was the first one to act, he would be like many of the people in front of him. He probably would spit out a great deal of blood but he would not receive anything.

    He stopped hesitating.

    Fang Zhengzhi rushed forward with determination.

    "Everyone, move aside! Let me try!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that at moments like this, he must project a certain aura. Hence, he spoke these words so loudly as if he was shouting them out.

    Of course, his expression was still cunning.

    Naturally, he knew that in these situations, he should appear righteous and brave. This would help assert his dominance.

    Thus...

    Fang Zhengzhi charged forward.

    The disciples surrounding the Green Rock Door were shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. They all made way for him.

    "Does this guy want to die?"

    "The recoil from the Green Rock Door is immense, is he not afraid of death?"

    "I never expect that while this guy appears shameless normally, he can be so righteous at crucial moments..."

    "Can he really be the Chosen One?"

    The disciples all made way for him. When they saw his righteous expression, they were all shocked.

    Mu Qingfeng saw this scene too. His expression betrayed shock as if he had just thought of something. Then, he stepped aside.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked too.

    He was not shocked that they all made way for him, but instead, he could not fathom why did they not smack it a bit more? The Green Rock Door was on the verge of closing.

    However, there was still an opening.

    "Was I too hasty?" Fang Zhengzhi never expected that he could make everyone stop just by shouting. He expected them to smack it a bit more.

    This made the situation awkward.

    He could not just ask them to smack it around a bit more for him, right?

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped right in front of the Green Rock Door. Before him was a pitch-ck sky. Starlight shed in it.

    He could even see that the chunk of rock closest to him was already filled with countless cracks, which were as dense as thick as a spider web.

    It was on the verge of blowing up.

    Of course...

    Most importantly, he had to ensure that everyone looked at him without blinking. No one moved and no one spoked.

    Even Chi Guyan had the expression which said, "If you can do it, go!"

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he felt the look of ¡¯anticipation¡¯ all around him. He suddenly understood that it was not because he was too domineering.

    These guys around him did it deliberately. In other words, they were all very ¡¯discerning¡¯.

    Fine...

    It seemed that he was the ¡¯praying mantis¡¯.

    An entire flock of ¡¯sparrows¡¯ stood behind him.

    (Trantor¡¯s Note: Thisparison stemmed from a Chinese saying implying the predatory rtionship between a mantis and a sparrow.)

    He did not even want to im credit for ¡¯closing¡¯ the door. All he wanted to do right now was to keep his dignity. How could he close the door by just a bit more?

    "Hell Near-Life Chains!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand moved and six chains of different colors flew out from his palm. They coiled themselves around Green Rock Door.

    Of course, just like what he had expected, there would be no recoil if he did not smack it. How could these people here only smack the door without trying to pull it shut?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched and a smile crept across his face. Just when he was about to pull, a panicky voice rang out next to him.

    "Don¡¯t enter the starry sky behind the Green Rock Door. Quick... recall the Hell Near-Life Chains!" The speaker was none other than Mu Qingfeng.

    "What?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart missed a beat. Just when he was about to withdraw the Hell Near-Life Chains which he had thrown into the Green Rock Door, he felt a terrifying attractive power rushing toward him.

    "F*ck me! Why the f*ck is it like this? I¡¯m standing outside the door and all I did was to throw the Hell Near-Life Chains inside. Is this considered entering the Green Rock Door¡¯s starry sky too?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. What made him even more speechless was that as the attractive force came toward him, he also saw the ck rock blowing up.

    "Boom!" An explosion rang out.

    Then, the starry sky behind the Green Rock Gate trembled.

    A cosmic tempest now raged in the once-calm sky. Powerful winds started to blow and the meteors in the starry sky, which had just been floating around, were buffeted by it.

    This was akin to confirming a famous saying, "My respect for you is like the ever-churning river water. My desire for you is as unstoppable as floods from the Yellow River."

    "..." What could Fang Zhengzhi say? There was nothing for him to say. If he had to say something, he just wanted to ask, "Should I say ¡¯motherf*cker¡¯? It seems like the perfect asion."

 Chapter 695 Our Friendship Is Over!

    Creating trouble for oneself was a fatal mistake!

    Fang Zhengzhi sensed the truth in this statement, but he still could not understand how was his attempt at delivering the ¡¯final blow¡¯ was tantamount to creating trouble.

    Of course, there was no medicine to cure regret, not even in this world.

    Fang Zhengzhi realized that even if he wanted to run, he had no chance of doing so. The attractive force was muchrger than what he had expected.

    At this moment, he finally understood why did Tian Xing not dodge when he punched his face.

    The attractive force was pulling at him like a huge hand. Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to drop his pretenses as he wrapped his foot around a human-shaped sculpture to the right of the Green Rock Door.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out. She acted quickly and a huge shadow shed past as a snake tail coiled around Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the same time...

    She tapped the Green Rock Door with her finger.

    "Boom!" A huge explosion rang out. The Green Rock Door trembled as if it had been dealt a terrible blow.

    "Quick, close the Green Rock Door!" As Mu Qingfeng spoke, he struck it with his palm again.

    The disciples around him reacted instantly. Right now, they had to save Fang Zhengzhi and the only way to do so was to close the Green Rock Door.

    Fang Zhengzhi was touched.

    It turned out that there were people in this world who did not want him dead. Of course, while he was touched, he was also slightly depressed.

    He was not depressed because he was about to be sucked in.

    Instead, a meteor, caught in the cosmic tempest, was flying straight for him. Furthermore, it seemed to be elerating. Its target was his handsome face.

    "Never hit someone on his face, don¡¯t you know that?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that no matter what difficulty he faced, he could not allow a rock to hit his face.

    However, he could not move.

    Other than his leg, which was wrapped firmly around the human-shaped statue, his entire boy was immobile.

    There was nothing he could do.

    He could only retreat and pray for luck.

    As the meteor approached him, Fang Zhengzhi bit down on his teeth. He lowered his head as he prepared to head-butt it.

    "Boom!"

    Instantly, stars flew in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Every single star spun in front of him non-stop. They seemed to be dancing in joy.

    Then, he felt his world dim.

    The moment it turned ck, Fang Zhengzhi saw a figure. The figure stood inside the Green Rock Door and was floating in the middle of the starry sky.

    Of course, there was a pair of eyes.

    A pair of golden eyes.

    "Kaboom!" Just as Fang Zhengzhi stared at the pair of golden eyes, he suddenly felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his soul.

    Then...

    Everything went ck. He felt as if someone was hugging one warmly. He smelt a faint, delightful fragrance.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was dreaming.

    It was a very long dream. In the dream, he saw a huge crack in the sky. Countless stars fell out from the crack, turning into meteors as they bombarded the earth.

    There were many odd beasts, most of which had colorful armors and terrifying faces. Their eyes were blood-red and their teeth were razor-sharp.

    Blood, fire, water...

    They all swept the earth.

    It was a catastrophe, a true catastrophe. Intense mes scorched the earth, burning away trees and ckening the tops of mountains. Countless demonic beings appeared from the fire, killing mankind.

    Just when mankind was approaching extinction, a figure appeared in the air. Her hair was like a waterfall and she wore snow-white robes. She descended as if she was the sovereign of all creations.

    It was a woman.

    Her bottom-half was not that of a snake. Instead, she was bare-footed.

    Behind the woman, there were countless figures. They enveloped the sky and the earth. Multicolored light shone from their bodies.

    Under the leadership of the woman, these people rushed into the huge tear in the sky. All of them had resolute expressions on their faces...

    ...

    He woke up and in front of Fang Zhengzhi, there stood another woman too. The woman¡¯s back was facing him. She stood near the window and her pink robes brushed against the clean, wooden floor.

    Warm sunlight streamed in through the window, casting long shadows of the two purple flowers on the windowsill and of the woman.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    At the very least, Fang Zhengzhi felt his spirit soar. However, his head still throbbed in pain. That was the only problem right now.

    "Are you awake?" The woman turned around slowly. Her eyebrows were elegant and her eyes were bright. Her lips were as tender as the petals of a flower.

    She no longer exuded a cold, untouchable aura. Right now, Chi Guyan was extremely calm. She was like the surface of an emerald-greenke.

    "Yes, where is this ce?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. He took in his surroundings. He realized that he was in a wooden house. It was very quiet and simple.

    Other than a table and two chairs, and the many flowers and nts that were outside the house, one could not find anything else in it.

    "Heaven Dao Pavilion, where I live," replied Chi Guyan as she walked in front of the table. Then, she lifted the tea kettle and poured water into a wooden cup. She slowly walked to the bed where Fang Zhengzhiy and passed the cup of water to him, saying, "Flower tea, I brewed it myself."

    "You live here?" Fang Zhengzhi took the cup of flower tea from Fang Zhengzhi. He took a look and realized that the flowers in the tea were slowly opening up. They were extremely bright and gave off a slight fragrance.

    He brought it to his mouth and drank it slowly. As he drank, he felt as refreshed as he would be if he stepped into a river. A faint fragrance started to spread all over his tongue.

    "Yes," replied Chi Guyan as she nodded her head.

    "How¡¯s Yan Xiu?" Just when Fang Zhengzhi was about to stand up from the bed, he realized that he was naked. Helplessly, he retreated back into the nkets.

    "He woke up ten days ago. Master wanted to take him in as a disciple, but he refused." Chi Guyan seemed to have anticipated this question as she replied straight away.

    "Refused? Why... Wait a minute, you said ten days ago?!" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused. Quickly, he reacted to this shocking news. He leaped off the bed immediately.

    Ten days....

    "Have I been unconscious for ten days?!"

    Just when he was about to ask another question, he realized that there was something amiss with Chi Guyan¡¯s gaze. While she was still calm, her face blushed visibly.

    She was as red as a rising sun.

    "..."

    "Wait a minute, I¡¯m not wearing anything!"

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed ill-prepared to ept this fact. He had been unconscious in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for half a month.

    Of course, this was not something which made him happy.

    He slept for half a month.

    This meant that he still had three and a half months to live. Furthermore, this was assuming that nothing extraordinary would happen.

    However, no one knew if he could live until thest day of these three and a half months.

    "I must go, where¡¯s Mu Qingfeng? He promised me something. Before I go, I want to meet him!" Fang Zhengzhi said.

    "Master is slightly injured. It¡¯ll be at least half a month more before he exits seclusion," said Chi Guyan. Here, she paused for a while before she continued, "However, I¡¯ve raised your request to him. You can spend one month in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. In this one month, you¡¯ll have the rights of an elder. You can enter anywhere an elder can enter, including the Repository and the Divine Rain Pond. Furthermore, you are granted one bottle of ¡¯Heaven Soul Pills¡¯, a token of a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, a Wind-Breaking Armor, a Snow Wind Eagle, and also..."

    "Are you betraying the Heaven Dao Pavilion?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan. He suddenly felt that if she wanted to be shameless, she could be more shameless than him.

    Let¡¯s not even talk about the rights of an elder, which was a massive privilege, the rights to enter the Divine Rain Pond, the Wind-Breaking Armor, a Snow Wind Eagle, a bottle of Heaven Soul Pills were already incredible.

    For some of these items, he did not even know their names. Most importantly, Chi Guyan helped him obtain a token of a Heaven Soul Pavilion disciple.

    Of course, one could maximize one¡¯s request when negotiating with a crafty old fox like Mu Qingfeng if one had a ¡¯spy¡¯ like Chi Guyan.

    "You have already used up half of this one month. In the remaining half, you can visit the Repository. After half a month, when master exits seclusion, you can visit the Divine Rain Pond with me," Chi Guyan did not answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question but instead continued speaking.

    "Divine Rain Pond?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    "Yes, every single disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, upon reaching the Rebirth State, will have a chance to enter the Divine Rain Pond. The so-called ¡¯divine rain¡¯ is a type of dew forged from 999 different types of precious nts and herbs. When you enter the Divine Rain Pond, you can drink the dew water and bathe in it. Then, you will see the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration," exined Chi Guyan.

    "The Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    Of course, he had to blink. If he ended up asking what was the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration, it would be slightly shameful.

    "That¡¯s right. Each illustration represents a heaven. In the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, 49 people were able to reach the Seventh Heaven, seven people were able to reach the Eighth Heaven, and only one person was able to reach the Ninth Heaven," exined Chi Guyan once more.

    "Do you know... which heaven did Nangong Hao reach?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. Suddenly, a figure entered his mind.

    "The Eighth Heaven," replied Chi Guyan without even thinking.

    "In the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, only seven people reached the Eighth Heaven, and Nangong Hao was one of them?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart trembled. Then, a powerful emotion rose in his heart.

    Of course, the Green Rock Door was closed. Furthermore, it had been personally sealed by a formation illustration cast by Gu Yuan, the Elder of the Fu Xi Valley, personally. However, when he heard that Nangong Hao was able to reach the Eighth Heaven, an odd feeling rose in his heart.

    Nangong Hao...

    He may not be dead!

    "Nangong Mu had left the Heaven Dao Pavilion," said Chi Guyan. When she noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was silent, she slowly walked back to the windowsill.

    "Okay," replied Fang Zhengzhi with a nod.

    He guessed that Nangong Mu had left. After all, after the incident with Nangong Hao, there was no way Nangong Mu could remain in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Before he left, he said something," said Chi Guyan once again.

    "Oh? Did he say where he¡¯s going?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan. He guessed that Nangong Mu probably left an address for him.

    "No, these words are meant for Yan Qing," said Chi Guyan as she shook her head.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi was curious.

    "Nangong Mu said that you once defeated him. He told Yan Qing that he was not your opponent," said Chi Guyan. As she finished, starlight shed in her bright eyes.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. At this moment, he did not know what to say.

    He felt that in this world, there was no true good fellow. "We¡¯re friends! What about friendship? Does this mean our friendship is over?"

    "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. Yan Qing had been waiting for you underneath the big tree in the yard. He waited for more than half a month." As Chi Guyan said this, her mouth twitched as a smile crept across her face. It was like a flower that had finally blossomed.

 Chapter 696 Promise, Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations

    "Since we¡¯ve already made him wait for half a month, let¡¯s just let him wait a little longer." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips and said nonchntly as he nced briefly at the faint smile on Chi Guyan¡¯s face.

    In fact, he wasn¡¯t afraid of Yan Qing. It¡¯s just that, even though as the saying goes, one who survives great disaster would be rewarded with bountiful fortunes, not only has he not received any remuneration, he was left with a troublesome matter to solve.

    Whenever he recalled the match where Yan Qing clinged onto Nan Gongmu, a drop of cold sweat could trickle down from his head. Isn¡¯t he also pestered by this brat too?

    "Do you still remember the promise between us?" Chi Guyan turned around slowly and stared at Fang Zhengzhi quietly with her bright eyes.

    "I do remember, but are you trying to take advantage of my current predicament?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips jerked. He naturally knew which promise Chi Guyan was referring to.

    If Chi Guyan had asked this question half a month ago, Fang Zhengzhi would promptly agree without even batting an eyelid. But now, he would have to give this prospect serious thought. After all, his promise was a double-edged sword - if he won, Chi Guyan would be his slut for a month, but if he lost ...

    Ugh! Fang Zhengzhi felt chills down his spine immediately after thinking about it.

    Her personal valet for a month? And he¡¯s only allowed to stand and not sit?

    If he idently lost the match by a whisker, he would have to spend one whole month of his remaining three months being Chi Guyan¡¯s servant. Then what¡¯s the difference between this and just killing him immediately?

    "I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll wait for you to recover and we¡¯ll have a fair showdown half a monthter!" Chi Guyan shook her head, her expression clearly telling Fang Zhengzhi that she would not bully him.

    "Fighting ... is not actually a good thing. As the adage goes, a gentleman uses his words and not his fists for battle. Furthermore, the true aim of all this training is actually to attain the Great Dao. If we engage in such meaningless brutal scuffles, we may lose the point of all this training ..." Upon hearing Chi Guyan¡¯s reply, Fang Zhengzhi exined in lengths, brimming with justice.

    "Yes, you¡¯re right." Chi Guyan nodded and walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bedside, sitting down slowly. "Why don¡¯t wepete in another way?"

    "I¡¯m highly proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and art. If wepete in these areas, you might just be overwhelmed andin that I¡¯m bullying you ...." Fang Zhengzhi continued firmly.

    "Sneeze!" Chi Guyan couldn¡¯t hold back her chuckle, with her smile as radiant as the most beautiful blossoms. But very quickly, Chi Guyan retracted her smile. "You shameless thief, your skin is really thick, isn¡¯t it? Then let¡¯s see who can rise higher in the Divine Rain Pond, how about that?"

    "What if we both ascend to the Ninth Heaven?" Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    "As I said just now, there¡¯s only one person in the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion who has reached the Ninth Heaven, and that person is the first Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the one who once sat at the top of the Holy Region, Du Gujian!" Chi Guyan gazed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    "So what?"

    "Alright, if we both ascend to the Ninth Heaven, then we¡¯llpete to see who can grasp the Ninth Sagely Illustration the fastest." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "What if we both master it at the same time?" asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

    "Then of course, it¡¯ll be counted as your loss."

    "Why?"

    "Because I¡¯m a woman, and I¡¯m younger than you by a year." Chi Guyan eximed righteously.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. For a brief moment, he was speechless.

    Yes, that chick Chi Guyan is indeed younger than him by a year, but she cannot deny the fact that she grew up in the Divine Constabry, and boasted more experience than Fang Zhengzhi by nearly a thousand times, and most importantly, followed a cursed bloodline.

    Could they evenpare these?

    Yes, they certainly could. After all, Fang Zhengzhi had one additional lifetime¡¯s worth of memories.

    .....

    Fang Zhengzhi already had his fill after walking out of Chi Guyan¡¯s little yard.

    Against the setting sun, there were no returning crows roosting on the branches. There was just a figure dressed in dark green robes standing beneath the tree, ring at Fang Zhengzhi striding out of the gates with his beastly eyes.

    "Oh, what a coincidence." Fang Zhengzhi greeted Yan Qing very proactively before speeding up his steps, preparing to take off.

    "I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯ve been waiting for you." Yan Qing nodded and in a sh, he blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s advance immediately without any hesitation.

    "Waiting for me? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m a little busy at the moment ...."

    "Brother Fang, I want to challenge you to a battle!"

    "Yan Qing, I¡¯m still recuperating from the grievous injuries I sustained. Even if you really wish to challenge me, could you at least wait for me to healpletely?" Fang Zhengzhi proposed earnestly.

    "This .... Brother Fang is right. I was out of line." Upon hearing this, Yan Qing frowned and continued, "Then I¡¯ll return tomorrow."

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Yan Qing walking into the distance, slightly speechless. He was certainly not afraid of losing, but he knew Yan Qing¡¯s personality inside out. Yan Qing held an unwavering determination, and would never give up before he got what he wanted.

    To put in more bluntly, even if Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Yan Qing today, Yan Qing would return again tomorrow, and the day after. Once this starts, there would be no end to this.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t want to be continuously bogged down by Yan Qing, and more importantly, he would just waste his energy battling Yan Qing without any benefit whatsoever.

    He was pressed for time. He only had half a month left, and he could not afford to be dyed at all. Hence, he has already decided to focus solely on exploiting his privileges he received from the elders to ransack the Heaven Dao Pavilion in this period of time without any hesitations.

    Fang Zhengzhi went straight towards the Repository.

    "Eh? That scoundrel¡¯s awake?"

    "It really is Fang Zhengzhi!"

    "He¡¯s awake ..."

    After taking approximately a hundred steps out of the yard, Fang Zhengzhi was noticed by a few loitering Heaven Dao disciples, instantly spoiling the silence.

    "Hey,e over here!" Fang Zhengzhi gestured to the Heaven Dao disciple nearest to him.

    "What? Let me tell you, don¡¯t you try anything stupid. This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Master may have epted you, but if you dare do anything to me ... Ouch, ouch, ouch ... Brother Fang, a true gentleman uses words and not his fists ... Say it out if you have something to tell me, we may even be disciples in the same sect in the future!"

    "How do I get to the Repository?" Fang Zhengzhi asked the Heaven Dao disciple who bepletely subservient after being punched in the face.

    "That¡¯s your only question? Hold on, Brother Fang. Let me draw you a map. I¡¯m not touting my own horn but, before I entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I was already a famous ink painter in the Radiant Moon Empire."

    "If you don¡¯t finish drawing the map by the time I finishing counting down from five, hehe ..."

    "What? Brother Fang, I assure you that ...."

    "Five!"

    "...."

    "Three!"

    "...."

    .....

    After arriving at the Repository, Fang Zhengzhi naturally became the focal point of attention. Both the disciples preparing to enter the Repository and the disciples leaving the Repository all focused their eyes on Fang Zhengzhi, appearing extremely cautious in his presence.

    As for the situation he was in ... Fang Zhengzhi was certainly prepared for it. After all, his appearance has been deeply engraved in the hearts of every Heaven Dao Pavilion after the battle at the Heaven Academic Altar.

    As he stepped into the Repository, the disciples guarding the Repository gates were noticeably shocked, but nobody stopped him from entering. And neither did Fang Zhengzhi confront any of the disciples reading in the Repository with any hostility.

    Because, he waspletely overwhelmed by the collection of the ancient books resting on the white jade shelves inside the Repository.

    In fact ... after arriving in this world, this was the first time Fang Zhengzhi truly entered such a ce. When he was little, his books were gathered from all over the ce. And after he entered the Shadow Sect, he heard Wu Yu¡¯er and the Heavenly Oasis Saint boast about how formidably powerful and impressive the Shadow Sect was.

    "There really is quite a lot of books!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and he strode towards the staircase leading up to the second floor. He wasn¡¯t stopped either.

    Up to the third floor, the fourth floor, the fifth floor, the sixth floor ...

    When he reached the entrance of the seventh floor, a hand reached out and blocked his path.

    "I¡¯m sorry, only the Pavilion Leader is authorized to enter the seventh floor!" The person impeding his advance was an old man dressed exactly like a Heaven Dao disciple, but he seemed to be at least ten years old.

    "Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    It was virtually impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to finish reading all the books in the Heaven Dao Pavilion Repository within half a month, and neither did Fang Zhengzhi possess the to read a thousand lines with a single nce.

    Hence, he wisely chose to begin reading from the highest floor which his elder privileges allowed him to enter, before proceeding down the floors from there.

    And in fact, it was proven that ... his decision was the right one.

    Because the books on the sixth floor were evidently much fewer than the books on the first floor. At a nce, there were only about fifty books.

    "It seems like a few secrets of the Holy Region would be ... hidden here, wouldn¡¯t it?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked and began browsing through the books.

    There¡¯s even sword techniques in here?

    Hmm ... this has to be copied down.

    Eh? There¡¯s alchemy, weapon-making, and formation-breaking techniques too? Hm, these must be copied down too!

    Why aren¡¯t there any guides introducing the geography of the Holy Region? Oh, there isn¡¯t an geography guide, but there¡¯s a map of the Holy Region¡¯s forbidden areas, and ..

    "Oh? So much treasure!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Very quickly, he managed to locate an exnatory map detailing the various forbidden areas of the Holy Region and the respective treasures they contained.

    The Thousand Years Fire Herb, guarded by the Three Sages of ck Moon Ind and one of the treasures of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    But what a pity ... it¡¯s been crossed out.

    However, why is there a special note on the page that it¡¯s been eaten by someone named Fang Zhengzhi?

    It certainly refreshes its information very quickly.

    Hold on.

    If the Heaven Dao Pavilion Repository has updated their catalogue with this new piece of information, does that mean that the remaining four sects of the Holy Region know about this as well?

 Chapter 697 Canâ€™t You Notice Such Blatant Cheating?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly had a feeling that perhaps, his journey in the Holy Region this time would be a little harder than he had imagined. Without thinking about it too much, Fang Zhengzhi continued browsing through the books.

    After ploughing through all the books on the sixth floor, he proceeded to the five floor but did not flip through each book with the same amount of detail. He merely perused the synopsis and content page of each book briefly.

    Time sped past, and when the moon rose slowly above the horizon and the stars began to shine, Fang Zhengzhi has reached the first floor. Within these four hours, he never actuallypleted any single book.

    Instead, he was synthesizing everything that he browsed through. In his mind, he synthesized and categorized everything he read from the first floor to the sixth floor before sieving out the important bits.

    It was a very intricate process. Hence, Fang Zhengzhi did notplete this in a hurry. After all, he had to be well-prepared toplete any task to the best of his ability. This was the conclusion he derived from two lifetimes¡¯ worth of experience.

    Before he left the Repository, Fang Zhengzhi picked out a book from a shelf on the first floor. It was a very ordinary-looking book, and very few people have borrowed it before.

    "I¡¯ll borrow this." Fang Zhengzhi presented the book to the two Heaven Dao disciples guarding the entrance.

    "This one?" Upon noticing the book which Fang Zhengzhi picked, the two guards were clearly in disbelief.

    Following this, the news that Fang Zhengzhi only borrowed a single book after spinning about for four hours in the Repository, had spread through the Heaven Dao Pavilion within an hour.

    "Did that scoundrel really just borrow a single magazine?"

    "After spending four hours in there, from the sixth floor to the first, did he not know that there are profound sword formation illustrations on the sixth floor? What exactly is he thinking?¡¯

    "I don¡¯t know, but it seems that Senior Chi Guyan¡¯s painstaking efforts have definitely been wasted!"

    As the various corners of the Heaven Dao Pavilion broke out into gossip, another explosive piece of news rippled through the area, and this piece of news was evidently much juicier than the fact that Fang Zhengzhi merely borrowed a single book from the Repository.

    "Senior Chi Guyan actually met a bet with that scoundrel?!"

    "They¡¯repeting to see who would reach a higher level in the Divine Rain Pond?"

    "And the loser would have to be the winner¡¯s personal ve?! Oh my god, did they have to ce such great bets?"

    Virtually all the Heaven Dao disciples felt as though their hearts had been pierced by a thunderbolt after hearing this piece of news.

    "Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly be trying to exploit his potential status as Senior Chi Guyan¡¯s ve to stay in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, could he?!" The disciples derived their own deduction after the message was passed through the pavilion countless times - Fang Zhengzhi was not willing to leave.

    After all, how could someone who happily borrowed a single book after spending four hours in the Repository possiblypete against Chi Guyan in terms of their understanding of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations?

    Isn¡¯t this just a joke?

    "A joke?" Fang Zhengzhi was naturally unfazed by themotion around him. He observed the weather, and knew that Yan Xiu would be returning very soon.

    Ever since Yan Xiu declined entering the Heaven Dao Pavilion and left Sword Peak, he has resided in a little wooden cottage beneath Sword Peak alone.

    Of course, this was not to imply that the Heaven Dao Pavilion would forbid an outsider from entering into their ranks. It was Yan Xiu¡¯s own decision. However, Fang Zhengzhi was still puzzled as he clearly remembered Yan Xiu mentioning his desire to train under the Heaven Dao Pavilion, so why did he suddenly reject the offer?

    ....

    Half a month shed by.

    Fang Zhengzhi spent over 80% of his time huddled inside the Repository, and spent the remaining amount of time chatting with Chi Guyan or drinking and ying chess with Yan Xiu at the foot of Sword Peak ...

    On a whole, he spent his time very leisurely.

    As for the reason for rejecting the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s offer, Yan Xiu merely answered, "These three months will fly by very quickly."

    Upon hearing that, Fang Zhengzhi did not probe him any further, because he already knew what Yan Xiu was talking about. The span of three months was indeed really short. For instance, it has already been a full month from the time they entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion until now. And in the span of this one month, Fang Zhengzhi actually used half the time pretty efficiently despite sleeping the other half away.

    For instance, none of the Heaven Dao disciples are discussing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocations against the elders anymore, instead shifting the topic of their gossip to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sloppy reading habits.

    After all, no one could finish an entire storey¡¯s worth of books in two days like Fang Zhengzhi did. Is it even possible to finish all the books on the sixth floor in two days? And even if it was possible, what aboutpleting all the books on the fifth floor in two days? Orpleting all the books on the fourth floor, third floor, second floor and first floor, each in two days ...

    The lower the floor, the more books there were. However, Fang Zhengzhi only spent two days on each floor. And the most ridiculous thing was, Fang Zhengzhi spent the final two days re-reading all the books from the first floor to the sixth floor, taking three floors in a day!

    Isn¡¯t he just scanning through the books without delving into any detail? What a waste!

    The Heaven Dao disciples were enraged. Fang Zhengzhi was given such an amazing opportunity, but instead of selecting a few books from the collection on the sixth floor, he just skimmed through each floor.

    Of course, different people had different aspirations. They were furious at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions, but beyond their anger, they could only tell themselves that this brat was hopeless.

    ....

    It was early in the morning. The sun¡¯s rays have illuminated thends.

    The weather in the Holy Region was already gradually getting warmer. Although the sun had just peeked over the horizon, the resplendence radiating from its rays were certainly blinding, but the heat evidently could not mask the sheer passion of the Heaven Dao disciples.

    Early in the morning, the Heaven Dao disciples have already gathered outside the Divine Rain Pond, casting their eyes upon the shimmering water surface in anticipation. And among them, the thirty over disciples standing right in front of the Divine Rain Pond were evidently more excited than their peers.

    There was a rule in the Heaven Dao Pavilion: once a disciples attains the Rebirth State, they would be granted a single chance to enter the Divine Rain Pond.

    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that a disciple had to enter the Divine Rain Pond had to exercise this privilege immediately after attaining the Rebirth State. The choice lied with the disciple himself, but the number of disciples choosing to enter the Divine Rain Pond now was evidently greater than average. The reasons for this were evidently tied to the fact that Chi Guyan was entering it now.

    It was very simple. Firstly, they could potentially leverage upon the skills of another disciple possessing formidable strength and talent and consequently gain a better chance at reaching a higher level in the Divine Rain Pond. And secondly ...

    They wanted to witness the dreadful expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face after being defeated by Chi Guyan for themselves, even though they clearly knew that Fang Zhengzhi was just dying his departure from the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    "Has Master emerged yet?"

    "No, but I heard Second Elder say that Master would be returning within these two days!"

    "Quick, look there, Senior Chi Guyan has arrived!" Amidst themotion, a Heaven Dao disciple pointed out three figures approaching them in the distance.

    "And it¡¯s that scoundrel!"

    "Eh? Why is Yan Qing tailing behind Senior Chi Guyan and that scoundrel? Could it be that, he¡¯s preparing to enter the Divine Rain Pond today too?"

    The Heaven Dao disciples crowding around the Divine Rain Pond stared at the three approaching figures in astonishment and slight confoundment.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s outfit was evidently different from her usual get-up. There was a snow-white ribbonced around her long pink dress, and her luscious long ck hair usually fanned out over her shoulders was now tied up neatly. Besides her usual otherworldly alluring charm, Chi Guyan also emanated a natural valiant quality.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi ... he was naturally in his usual blue robes. Standing behind him, Yan Qing was also in his usual dark-green robes.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually not mentally prepared for Yan Qing¡¯spany. The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples were still clouded in doubt. The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples too suspected that even Fang Zhengzhi himself could not discern Yan Qing¡¯s intent for following behind him. After all, he already told Yan Qing that he was entering the Divine Rain Pond today and could not possibly have a duel with him.

    Of course, Yan Qing did not utter a word. And Fang Zhengzhi could not restrict Yan Qing¡¯s ¡¯free will¡¯ in any way.

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples cleared to open a path for the approaching trio.

    "Senior Chi Guyan!"

    "Senior!"

    The crowd of disciples greeted Chi Guyan one after the other.

    Chi Guyan nodded her head softly in response, but she did not slow down. In an instant, she already strode past the disciples crowding on the outer rim.

    When the thirty over disciples waiting by the Divine Rain Pond noticed her arrival, their anticipation grew visibly.

    "Senior!" The thirty over disciples greeted Chi Guyan in unison.

    "Yes." Chi Guyan nodded before walking up to an old man dressed in broad white robes standing by the Divine Rain Pond, and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Sixth Elder!"

    "No need for formalities, Guyan. I heard that you made a bet with Fang Zhengzhi for this asion?" Sixth Elder smirked and asked.

    "I did make a bet." Chi Guyan nodded.

    "Haha, alright, I understand. Go in then!" Third Elder smiled.

    "Thank you, Sixth Elder." With that, Chi Guyan turned and nced at Fang Zhengzhi before taking a gentle leap into the air.

    And with a ssh, she plunged right into the pond.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth was agape. He stared as Chi Guyan disappeared under the water, slightly stunned for a moment.

    Hold on?

    This isn¡¯t right! Isn¡¯t this a fair match? Why didn¡¯t they hold hands and jump into the Divine Rain Pond together?

    What is the meaning of jumping in first?

    "Is she ... cheating?!"

 Chapter 698 An Unexpected Dramatic Change in the Divine Rain Pond

    Furthermore, this was such a tant, unapologetic move. Did none of these people notice this act of cheating?

    Fang Zhengzhi nced over at Sixth Elder and the crowding Heaven Dao disciples. They looked back at Fang Zhengzhi, appearingpletely calm as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi finally understood what home advantage meant.

    Should he protest? It would just be a waste of time.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t that stupid to dwell on such meaningless things. Since Chi Guyan already left, he had to seize every second he had.

    Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi took a leap, imitating Chi Guyan¡¯s posture and sshed into the Divine Rain Pond. Just as Fang Zhengzhi plunged into the water, the spectating Heaven Dao disciples stared at him with eyes wide open, especially the thirty over disciples right by the water.

    "...."

    "That scoundrel jumped into the blue pond water. That¡¯s the Valley of Mysteries, isn¡¯t it?!"

    "Ye .. Yes. Could it be that he doesn¡¯t know that the Divine Rain Pond is split into five streams? He should have jumped into the red Nine Heavens if he wanted to view the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations immediately."

    "He indeed entered the blue pond water belonging to the Valley of Mysteries, but isn¡¯t something not right? Didn¡¯t Senior Guyan inform him of the Divine Rain Pond¡¯s five streams?"

    Amidst their astonishment, the Heaven Dao disciples seemed to have remembered something, and turned their attention instinctively towards Sixth Elder standing by the water¡¯s edge.

    "Cough cough, regarding the changing pond water, as an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could I possibly ..." Sixth Elder forced out two heavy coughs. His face turned slightly red but after a brief pause, he waved his hand.

    "The Pavilion Leader¡¯s orders were to allow this brat to enter the Divine Rain Pond. Although he identally ... Yes, that¡¯s right, although he identally jumped into the Valley of Mysteries, he wouldn¡¯t face any imminent life-threatening dangers. That¡¯s just a training ground for disciples in the Rebirth State. He can still reach the Nine Heavens after passing the tribtions in the Valley of Mysteries. In fact, traversing the Valley of Mysteries first would be more beneficial to him. Numerous challenges and tests await him in the Valley of Mysteries which would greatly aid his training, so this can be viewed as a blessing in disguise!"

    Sixth Elder very evidently emphasized the words ¡¯identally¡¯ and ¡¯blessing in disguise¡¯.

    Upon hearing this, the Heaven Dao disciples instantly realized what was going on. Just as Sixth Elder mentioned, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s orders were merely to allow Fang Zhengzhi entry into the Divine Rain Pond. As for the choice of either allowing him to ascend straight to the Nine Heavens or to first ovee one challenge in the Valley of Mysteries, Mu Qingfeng did not specify anything.

    "To think that this scoundrel would be blessed with such amazing luck!"

    "That¡¯s right! Letting him enter the Valley of Mysteries is already such an outrageous privilege!"

    "Agreed. Usually, we would have to make some significant contributions before we have the chance to train in the Valley of Mysteries. This scoundrel is so lucky - he even chanced upon the Valley of Mysteries by ident!"

    Just as the Heaven Dao disciples were praising Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fortune, they exchanged nces and saw the smirks in each other¡¯s eyes.

    After hearing the banter of the surrounding Heaven Dao disciples, Sixth Elder lifted his head slowly. "You terrible brat, you can¡¯t me me for this. How dare you beat up Third Elder and Fifth Elder like this? If I don¡¯t teach you a little lesson now, you¡¯ll really believe that the Heaven Dao Pavilion is your home!"

    "Sixth Elder, we¡¯re going in!" The Heaven Dao disciples eximed in unison.

    "Alright, go in then. Observe the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations carefully and remember, remain calm andposed!" Sixth Elder smiled and nodded at the disciples waiting by the water¡¯s edge.

    "We¡¯ll remember Sixth Elder¡¯s advice well!" The Heaven Dao disciples replied simultaneously.

    Following that, thirty over Heaven Dao disciples jumped in one after another, each plunging into the red pond water of the Divine Rain Pond.

    "Yan Qing, do you want to go in too?" Sixth Elder looked at Yan Qing, his eyes flickering with a faint glow.

    He still has high hopes for Yan Qing. This selection test this time round could be considered an unexpected development. Originally, the Heaven Dao Pavilion elders assumed that they could attract at least three talents without fail this time round. But in the end, Qian Wu died; Yan Xiu refused their invitation; and the only one now was Yan Qing.

    Although Yan Qing was slightly more introverted, he still possessed undying talent whichpensated any personality ws adequately.

    "Yes!" Yan Qing nodded.

    "Alright, you have already reached the peak of the Rebirth State. ording to the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rules, you can ascend straight to the Nine Heavens to observe the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations. What do you think?"

    "I¡¯ll heed Elder¡¯s advice." Yan Qing nodded again.

    "Haha, very well. Jump into the red pond water then!" Upon hearing this, Sixth Elder beamed in satisfaction.

    "Understood!" With that, Yan Qing plunged in with a ssh, jumping right into the blue pond water.

    All the Heaven Dao disciples observing from a distance were evidently astounded by this scene.

    "Why did Yan Qing jump into the blue pond water? Isn¡¯t that the Jungle of Mysteries?"

    "Didn¡¯t Sixth Elder exin this very clearly?"

    "How is this possible? I heard Sixth Elder¡¯s instructions and they were absolutely clear ... he couldn¡¯t be color-blind, could he?"

    The Heaven Dao disciples nced at each other in bewilderment.

    Sixth Elder¡¯s smile also crumpled in shock. He stared at the rippling blue pond water, his face flushed red.

    ....

    The Divine Rain Pond¡¯s First Heaven.

    It was bright and sunny, without any sign of gloomy weather. However, the skies drizzled with spare droplets, falling upon a verdant pasture.

    Chi Guyan stood in the middle of the field in her long pink robes, gazing up at the heavens with her sparkling eyes, lifting her hand up to catch the rising faint mist amidst the shower.

    She was like a deity,pletely pure and untainted, yet emanating a certain sense of aloofness and superiority.

    And standing behind her were thirty over Heaven Dao disciples donning white schrly robes standing on the grass. All of them opened their mouths wide to catch the falling droplets of water, clearly enjoying this moment.

    Not only did this dew rain possess health benefits for one¡¯s physical wellbeing, its most important quality was its ability to freshen up one¡¯s mind and improve one¡¯s concentration. This was the most pivotal reason for their seniors exhausting so much effort to create this rain in the Divine Rain Pond.

    And just as Chi Guyan was waiting and the other Heaven Dao disciples were enjoying themselves, a shadow slowly appeared in the horizon. In an instant, an ancient-looking scroll faded into view.

    "It has appeared!"

    "The first of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations!"

    This scene undoubtedly made all the Heaven Dao disciples¡¯ eyes light up instantly, each beaming with excitement and anticipation.

    The scroll opened and it radiated with a faint glow. A stroke of ink appeared slowly and lengthened continuously ... until the end of the scroll. It was only a single stroke from the beginning to the end.

    Like a dagger, a sword, a hammer, a lightning bolt, a scar ... It was a very arbitrary stroke, yet it possessed an unbelievable sharpness, and it was in fact the first painting of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations.

    ....

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly lift his head and be greeted by the first painting of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations like Chi Guyan and the other Heaven Dao disciples.

    In fact, he did lift his head, but ... all he saw was a thick cloud of fog. It was so dense that it made his blood boil, as though seeing an obnoxious couple unting their love in public.

    "What¡¯s with this f*cking smog?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked in confusion,pletely puzzled as to why he suddenly appeared in this ce.

    Where were the Nine Heavens he was promised? Where is it?

    And where did that chick Chi Guyan go? Or the Heaven Dao disciples that came together with her? Why have they all disappeared?

    "Did I go the wrong way?" Fang Zhengzhi tried to open his mouth to catch the falling drizzle. It was slightly sweet, and he felt a refreshing surge of energy flow through his body. The effect evidently matched Chi Guyan¡¯s description of the dew brewed from 999 types of herbs.

    There¡¯s rain ... and it¡¯s dew.

    This should be correct, right?

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly puzzled. This was almost undoubtedly the Divine Rain Pond. After all, he did jump into the Divine Rain Pond and not anywhere else, and there¡¯s the dew rain as proof.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly be wrong, but why is this still different from what he had imagined?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was mulling over this mystery, the thick smog before his eyes darkened gradually, as though it was hiding a gigantic shadow.

    "Eh? Is the illustration here?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, his dejection quickly changing to excitement and anticipation.

    He didn¡¯t know what form this Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration would take.

    Is it a scroll of characters? Or an ink painting? Or a sword, or a spear that has been snapped into half?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s imagination certainly knew no bounds, and on the contrary, his imagination now was still very bold. After all, he was someone with boundless experience - like how the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was not a tablet, but every form of existence in the world.

    By that logic, the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations may not be an illustration. It could be a weapon, or even a tree.

    "Roar!" Then, a ferocious beastly roar reverberated through the fog, and the ground began to shake.

    Boom!

    A gargantuan ox-like beast burst out from the fog.

    It was three meters tall, almost like a small mountain. Its entire body was d in thick ck scales. It boasted two razor-sharp horns sprouting horizontally over the top of its head, and its pair of eerily blue eyes danced with blue mes.

    "So the first illustration of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations is a beast?!" Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the gigantic beast bounding towards him, slightly overwhelmed.

 Chapter 699 Plotting Behind The Scenes, Rewriting Fate

    Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi felt his imagination weakening, unable to picture the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration as a lively gigantic beast.

    Hold on, is the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration really a beast?

    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!

    Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t be that naive, but he still decided to test that possibility, for instance, beating the beast before his eyes into a pulp and see whether it might drop some ¡¯clues¡¯.

    Of course, the main reason for conjuring such ideas was that the beast had already charged up to him and was baring its ferocious fangs.

    "Even a little cow like this would dare bully me? Why can¡¯t I just view the illustration in peace?!" Without any second thoughts, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into air and clenched his fists, sending a formidable punch straight into the beast¡¯s head.

    "Boom!" A deafening st. The gargantuan beast as tall as a hill was instantly sent flying backwards, its four pir-like limbs iling in the air as its body spun five rounds in midair. And then ...

    With a thunderous crash, it rolled on the ground.

    It was astounded, absolutely astounded.

    As a beast ruling over a certain territory in the Jungle of Mysteries, this Silver Horned Wild Ox had its dignity, even though it knew that its primary purpose was to train the Heaven Dao disciples.

    But given its role as a trainer, shouldn¡¯t it be the one pushing the Heaven Dao disciples around? So what¡¯s up with this brat in front of him? Why would they throw such a formidable bastard into the Jungle of Mysteries to train? Aren¡¯t all the Heaven Dao disciples entering this area only in the Supernatural State or the Beginning Rebirth State?

    The Silver Horned WIld Ox felt extremely indignant. It thought that the punch it just took must definitely have been just a hallucination, hence, despite having its brains sted like this, it still wanted a second try.

    "Roar!" The Silver Horned Wild Ox bellowed ferociously.

    The ck scales covering its body were instantly enveloped by ayer of eerie blue mes. Following that, it began charging towards Fang Zhengzhi a second time. And right at this moment ...

    The Silver Horned Wild Ox noticed someone falling towards it from above. The person pierced through the dense fog, with dark green robes bound tightly to his body and swarthy skin as dark as its own armor of scales.

    "Eh? There¡¯s another one?" Before the Silver Horned Wild Ox had any time to react, it felt another punch ramming straight into his skull. And afterwards ... there wasn¡¯t an afterwards.

    The Silver Horned Wild Ox¡¯s vision went pitch-ck, its head plummeting straight into the ground. Just as it lost consciousness, there was only one thing in its mind: Do you really need to bully an ox like this?

    ....

    Fang Zhengzhi blinked and gazed at the unconscious Silver Horned Wild Ox as well as Yan Qing standing calmly beside his prey. He was speechless.

    Of course, he felt slightly relieved after seeing Yan Qing. At least Yan Qing¡¯s appearance could prove that Fang Zhengzhi was in the right ce. But could this be considered an ¡¯upstage¡¯? What if the ox in front of him was really the first illustration of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations, or a clue? If that¡¯s the case, Yan Qing would have snatched it right out of his hands.

    "What about the clue? What is it?" asked Fang Zhengzhi promptly.

    "Eh?" Yan Qing didn¡¯t seem to understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    "You knocked his bull out. Didn¡¯t you receive any informative clues?" Fang Zhengzhi was not someone that would be easily fooled.

    "Nope." Yan Qing still shook his head despite not understanding the question.

    "That¡¯s impossible. Or would you have to defeat a few more beasts?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that if this was the case, attempting to retrieve the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations would be an unbelievably torturous process. Even though the beast in front of him was merely of average strength at best, probably on par with the beasts that Qian Wu summoned at the me Capital City, defeating a row of them in session would be a little mundane.

    "Hm, that¡¯s probably it!" Yan Qing finally nodded. They would naturally need toplete their training in the Jungle of Mysteries and defeat a couple more beasts in order to leave this ce and enter the Nine Heavens.

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue.

    He never expected that observing the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations would be so troublesome. They would have to defeat numerous beasts while seeking clues inside each of their defeated opponents.

    Why can¡¯t this be easier? Why don¡¯t they just sh the illustration and have everyone sit down together and chat joyfully while sipping on the rain dew?

    A process like this is ...pletely pointless!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was mulling over this issue, he suddenly noticed a bright ray of light shing across the horizon. Then, a stern voice boomed towards him.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan has entered ..."

    "...."

    Fang Zhengzhi froze as he stared at the fading light and the thickyer of fog which nketed the skies once again. In his astonishment, he quietly erected his middle finger in the air. "What ... the f*ck!"

    What¡¯s the meaning of this?

    Chi Guyan only entered the Divine Rain Pond a few seconds earlier than him! How could she advance to such a stage so quickly while he hasn¡¯t even found a single clue?!

    Could Chi Guyan have already started massacring her opponents?

    That¡¯s not fair!

    There must be some inner workings behind the scenes!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt as though he hadmitted an atrocious mistake - underestimating the overwhelming power of a home advantage.

    What can he do?

    Hold on, something¡¯s not right.

    If there are inner workings behind the scenes, would Yan Qing have been intentionally ced here at the elders¡¯ orders? They clearly knew how clingy Yan Qing was and yet they made him appear right beside Fang Zhengzhi - was this to dy him?

    Isn¡¯t this too despicable?

    "Yan Qing, don¡¯t tell me you wish to challenge me now? You should know that I made a bet with Chi Guyan, so I¡¯m in a hurry!" Fang Zhengzhi believed that he should counter Yan Qing¡¯s advances with reason and logic if Yan Qing was indeed ced there by the elders.

    "Challenge? No, I don¡¯t wish to challenge you here. We should get out of the Jungle of Mysteries as soon as possible in order to enter the Nine Heavens and observe the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration." Yan Qing shook his head.

    "We do think alike ... Wait a minute, did you say this is the Jungle of Mysteries?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to praise Yan Qing, he suddenly pinpointed the crux of the issue.

    "That¡¯s right. When you jumped into the Divine Rain Pond, you jumped into the wrong area and entered the blue pond water, so you¡¯re currently in the Jungle of Mysteries and not the Nine Heavens." Yan Qing exined.

    ".... I jumped into the blue pond water?" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched in disbelief. He clearly remembered how he was being extra cautious to prevent any mishaps, and purposely chose the position where Chi Guyan entered the pond to jump in behind her.

    Blue? It wasn¡¯t red?

    "That¡¯s right, you did jump into the blue pond water. Of course, it isn¡¯t your fault. Sixth Elder¡¯s to me." Yan Qing nodded and replied.

    "Sixth Elder?" The old duff who was referred to as Sixth Elder by Chi Guyan and the Heavenly Dao disciples suddenly floated into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Now, he finally understood why Chi Guyan announced her bet with Fang Zhengzhi publicly given her wit.

    Was it confidence? It¡¯s certainly a factor, but it was more of aplete grasp over the situation.

    Very evidently, Chi Guyan was exploiting her home advantage. She wouldn¡¯t do the dirty work herself, but she used this bet to rally support on her side. The world of the Divine Rain Pond was naturally controlled by the Heaven Dao elders on the other side, and these elders couldn¡¯t possibly stand by and watch as Chi Guyan suffers a devastating defeat and bes Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s concubine.

    No wonder Sixth Elder asked Chi Guyan whether she really did make such a bet with him! It was to confirm this rumor!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless, not realizing that the bet between them had already begun on the day they first made this pact. Of course, as helpless and indignant as he felt, he was not angry.

    Fairness? This world was never absolutely fair. Forget about intelligence, even luck can be considered a major strength in numerous asions. But still ... this is too much! This was over a hundred times worse than he had expected!

    Sixth Elder actually threw him into the Jungle of Mysteries. Is there anything more unfair than this? This was absolutely despicable.

    "Looks like ... Chi Guyan wants to extend her time in the Heaven Dao Pavilion by another month." Despite only having brief interactions with Chi Guyan, he already knew her for a substantial amount of time, and he knew Chi Guyan¡¯s personality inside out.

    Although Chi Guyan would demonstrate a more gentler side under special circumstances, an innate quality of arrogance flows through her bones. Hence, considering her personality, she would never request for a longer stay here directly no matter how much she wanted it. She would just have to get what she wants using her own methods.

    Now, Fang Zhengzhi also realized that Chi Guyan had anticipated and preempted everything from the time he woke up and proposed to leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion. And this bet ... was actually Chi Guyan¡¯s attempt to extend her stay.

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand Chi Guyan¡¯s selfish intentions, and he could even ascertain that Chi Guyan would definitely embark on another expedition to seek out items like the Thousand Years Fire Herb after her stay.

    But can Fang Zhengzhi do this?

    No!

    If a man¡¯s life had to be maintained by something that a woman painstakingly ¡¯robs¡¯ from the outside world, what¡¯s the purpose of living any longer?

    "Chi Guyan, I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t ept this. As unfair as this is, I must still defeat you, because I¡¯ll use both my hands to rewrite my fate!"

 Chapter 700 An Explosion, The Life of a Chea

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan was thinking. From her point of view, it was not because she did not trust Fang Zhengzhi. It¡¯s just that, Fang Zhengzhi just recently entered the Holy Region, and under such circumstances, even ensuring his own safety was a problem, much less stealing treasures and resources in those ¡¯forbiddennds¡¯. Judging by how dangerous the Holy Region was, any wrong step might possibly result in him being ughtered immediately.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had his limits too. He didn¡¯t believe that he was some morally righteous saint, nor a gentleman unfazed by the fear of death, but he simply could not live under a woman¡¯s care.

    Of course ... mulling over this was not helpful whatsoever.

    Once he loses the bet, he could only swallow his pride and endure the humiliation to be Chi Guyan¡¯s ve for a month, no matter how much he did not want to.

    "No, I must find a way out!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind quickly scanned the ¡¯painful¡¯ circumstances he was stuck in and all the possible resources he had.

    Chi Guyan has already unlocked the first of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations, and she only took around 15 minutes. That was just ridiculously fast!

    Even in a fair contest, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t be totally confident of securing a victory against such an opponent. And what¡¯s worse, their starting lines now were miles apart.

    And where was he now? Deep in the Jungle of Mysteries, surrounded by prowling beasts, without anything with him - not even a map, or an introductory note to the Jungle of Mysteries, except a pesky Yan Qing in tow.

    "This is too unfair!" Despite having maintained a positive attitude all this while, even his hands were tied in the face of such an insurmountable challenge. What could he do?

    "Are we not going?" Yan Qing asked after noticing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s despondent expression, then scanning the thick fog around them.

    "Do you know where to go?" Fang Zhengzhi piped back.

    "No idea." Yan Qing shook his head.

    "I remember, didn¡¯t you grow up in a jungle?"

    "Yes, but this isn¡¯t the jungle that I grew up in."

    "...." Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t probe further, and just gazed around at his surroundings - the thick fog, the trees, the light drizzle, and the grass. There wasn¡¯t anything else in sight.

    This made Fang Zhengzhi furrow his eyebrows. To put it bluntly, he was no different from a headless fly now. Forget about navigating out of the Jungle of Mysteries, he didn¡¯t know where was North, South, East or West.

    Hold on! North, South, East, and West?

    Come to think about it, the Divine Rain Pond¡¯s water has five distinct colors which should be linked to five different areas. Red brings you to the Nine Heavens; blue brings you to the Jungle of Mysteries ...

    The five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Red represents ... fire?

    Then blue would be water?

    But he was now in a ce called the Jungle of Mysteries. If it¡¯s a jungle, then ¡¯wood¡¯ would be a better fit, right? No, no ... the Jungle of Mysteries ... the Mysterious ... Mysterious Fog! Fog is water!

    The Jungle of Mysteries represents water! He¡¯s now in the region of water!

    And Chi Guyan was in the Nine Heavens, so the heavens ... is the fire region.

    ording to the arrangement of the five elements, fire would be above, which coincides perfectly with the symbolism of the Nine Heavens. Wood and earth are on the left and right respectively, while water and metal would be below.

    North, South, East and West.

    He should be in the Southwest position now, and since fire is up North, then he should be moving in the Northeast direction!

    "Sh*t, I¡¯m so smart!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up instantly andplemented himself instinctively. And then ... he heard a voice ring in his ears again.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Third Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan has entered ..."

    "...."

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as if he was struck by a jolt of lightning. He wanted to exim: you can be quick, but can you not be this quick?

    ....

    In the Nine Heavens of the Divine Rain Pond, over thirty Heaven Dao disciples nced at each other, all noticing the admiration and helplessness in each other¡¯s eyes. All of them clearly observed the first of the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations at the same time, but Chi Guyan has already unlocked two illustrations and has propelled straight to the Third Heaven, while they were all still staring at the first illustration hanging high above the horizon with frowns on their faces.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this illustration?" They yanked their hair as they mulled over this puzzle while bathing in the dew rain.

    Meanwhile ... outside the Divine Rain Pond in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the spectating disciples opened their eyes wide in awe, clearly astonished by the ringing voice in their ears.

    "Senior Chi Guyan has actually entered the Third Heaven!"

    "That¡¯s so quick!"

    "She truly is our Senior Chi Guyan!"

    The disciples were astounded and ecstatic. After all, Chi Guyan¡¯s tremendous talent was widely recognized in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Sixth Elder¡¯s face was also all smiles.

    "Sixth Elder, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing seemed to have found their bearings in the Jungle of Mysteries, and are now proceeding in the direction of the Nine Heavens!" A disciple tasked with observing the happenings in the Divine Rain Pond walked up to Sixth Elder and softly reported this to him.

    "Oh? Already?" Upon hearing this, Sixth Elder was clearly stunned, but he quicklyforted himself. "I truly did underestimate that brat, but even if he has found his bearings, bashing through the Jungle of Mysteries into the Nine Heavens would take at least two hours!"

    "Yes. Even though the beasts in the Jungle of Mysteries aren¡¯t that strong, their numbers aren¡¯t small!" The disciple nodded in agreement.

    "Alright, you may take your leave." Sixth Elder gestured to him.

    "Yes!" The disciple excused himself immediately.

    Gazing at the disciple leaving in the distance, Sixth Elder¡¯s smile grew even brighter. "Based on Guyan¡¯s speed, she should have reached the Fifth, or even Sixth Heaven by the time Fang Zhengzhi enters the Nine Heavens. There wouldn¡¯t be any hope for him no matter how devillish his talents are!"

    ....

    Although Fang Zhengzhi did not grow up in a jungle like Yan Qing did, he still had an excellent sense of direction, having hunted in the Cang Ling Mountain in his youth. The surrounding thickyer of fog was nheless not a problem for him.

    However, he was still perturbed by the sporadic beastly roars rumbling around him. There was simply a tad too many beasts in this jungle.

    "Can you speak theirnguage?" The usually silent Yan Qing following quietly behind him suddenly blurted this out just as Fang Zhengzhi was sprinting maniacally through the foliage.

    "Speak with the beasts? Nope." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "Then how could you avoid the beasts¡¯ territory?" Yan Qing continued asking.

    "I can¡¯t speak with beasts, but I¡¯ve hunted in the mountains ever since I was little, so I know how to differentiate the various sounds that beasts make." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "I see." Yan Qing halted his questions, but his eyes grew visibly brighter as he gazed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    ....

    "Guo Tiannu has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "...."

    "Li Wuji has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "Tang ...."

    "...."

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was advancing tirelessly towards the Nine Heavens, the voices ringing in his ears grew more persistent. From time to time, there would be announcements of Heaven Dao disciples sessfully deciphering the first illustration.

    "That¡¯s the thirteenth one already." Fang Zhengzhi counted silently.

    Of course, these disciples couldn¡¯t possibly be that weak in their strength or talent, having already made it into the Heaven Dao Pavilion. They clearly wouldn¡¯t be defeated right at the first puzzle.

    "Xing Li¡¯an has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "...."

    "Na Shanding has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "...."

    "That¡¯s the 27th one already!" Fang Zhengzhi recalled that there were roughly 32 Heaven Dao disciples who were prepared to enter the Divine Rain Pond.

    With 27 of them already in the Second Heaven ... that¡¯s indeed a very impressive number.

    Although it would get harder towards the end, he could still foresee that these thirty over Heaven Dao disciples would not end their journey at the Second Heaven.

    Just as he was pondering over this, another voice rang in his ears.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Fourth Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan has entered ..."

    "...."

    "She¡¯s already reached the Fourth Heaven?! What was that about the challenge bing harder towards the end? Why is that chick Chi Guyan advancing upwards so smoothly, as though she has unlocked a cheat in the game?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was already feeling hopeless. Chi Guyan¡¯s talent was already slightly ridiculous to begin with, and now she has unlocked a cheating plug-in. It¡¯s driving him insane.

    "No, I must gain speed!" Fang Zhengzhi shot a nce back at Yan Qing, "The Nine Heavens is in the Northeast direction. Shall wepete to see who can reach there faster?"

    "Eh?" Yan Qing was slightly stunned, clearly surprised at the suggestion, but the look in his eyes became extremely sharp very quickly. "Alright, if I lose, I¡¯ll be your ve for month just like Chi Guyan. But if you lose, you¡¯ll have to promise me one condition!"

    "Eh? Isn¡¯t this just a casual contest?" Fang Zhengzhi did not expect Yan Qing to suggest a bet like this.

    "Don¡¯t worry, Senior Fang. I¡¯ll never go back on my words!"

    "What¡¯s your condition?"

    "I¡¯ll tell you when I win you, Senior Fang. But if my condition is too troublesome or unachievable for you, I¡¯ll take it back without anyints!" Yan Qing continued.

    "Alright, let¡¯s start!" Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything else. After all, he wouldn¡¯t think too much about agreeing to such an inconsequential bet.

    "Boom!"

    In the instant that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice trailed off, a thunderous st sounded. It was clearly the sound of a foot cracking the ground beneath it. In the next moment, a dark green shadow charged forward, vanishing immediately into the thick fog like an arrow that just left the bow.

 Chapter 701 Take Flight, Iâ€™ll Scare You With My Speed

    It was so sudden, and he didn¡¯t even bid Fang Zhengzhi farewell.

    Indeed, having grown up in the jungles, Yan Qing did not have an exactly ¡¯proper¡¯ understanding of fairness in a battle either.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly astounded after watching Yan Qing dash straight into the thick fog, but a smile quickly formed on his face.

    "Dude, don¡¯t be so fast!" Fang Zhengzhi bellowed into the distance, and an azure shade of light glowed in front of him.

    "Boom!" A mellow burst rumbled through the Jungle of Mysteries. Very evidently, someone charged forward too quickly and hastily that he rammed his head straight into a tree, hence producing this low thud.

    As for why he collided into a tree ... it was definitely not due to the thick fog obstructing his vision, nor due to his excessive speed, but because the tree sprouted out from thin air.

    "Ka-cha!" The tree snapped. Another bloody scar streaked across Yan Qing¡¯s head, but he did not seem particrly shocked or angry about this.

    Having grown up in the jungle, he has personally experienced thews of nature, sneak attacks, joint attacks, and ambushes in such a perilous environment with danger lurking in every corner, and everything has always abided by a single rule - either you live, or you die!

    Hence, objectively speaking, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision to employ his own counterattacks after Yan Qing clinched a head-start was simply rational ordinarypetition. And since this was a bet, both sides would certainly not pull their punches.

    Yan Qing did not stop. After colliding head-first into a huge tree, he grabbed the fallen log with his bare hands and used it to propel him back into the air.

    "Swish!" He stopped his fall and bounded back up like a monkey, moving with such frightening agility.

    "Am Ipeting in something I shouldn¡¯t havepeted in?" With his mouth agape, Fang Zhengzhi gazed at the shadow¡¯s unstopping advance, truly feeling that something went wrong.

    Since Yan Qing grew up in the jungles among the beasts ... why did he still choose topete with Yan Qing over speed, and worse, inside a jungle? Isn¡¯t he just shooting himself in the foot?

    He didn¡¯t agonize over this for long. For any match, once it starts, there¡¯s only one way to move forward - either you win, or you lose.

    The blue light flickered incessantly as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body traversed the jungle swiftly. He exploited his advantage of mastering the Heaven Dao coupled with the experiences of hunting in the mountains in his youth, hence Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed was naturally not slower than Yan Qing¡¯s at all.

    The two shadows sped towards the same direction, one in front and one behind. And with their movements causing such a ruckus, it was virtually impossible for them to go unnoticed by the wandering beasts. However, their speed was simply too astonishing that even the beasts lying in their way could not react in time.

    "Plop!" One of them copsed to the ground. Its dark green eyes were evidently in shock and disbelief, after all, it only saw a shadow and could not even identify what the shadow looked like. Where was the disciple training that they were promised?

    As it was mulling over this, a blue ray of light arrived in front of it. It was as pure as the sky.

    "...." The beast opened its mouth, gazing at the pristine azure shade of blue before its eyes, unable to describe its feelings with any sort of roars.

    And then, a foot stomped right on its head. And in the next instant ... Just as it began to lift its head up again, the beast copsed to the ground with a heavy thud, and a single sinister-looking fang was deeply etched into a piece of rock.

    "Ka-cha!" Its tooth had broken off.

    ....

    Outside the Divine Rain Pond in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Sixth Elder felt as though an immense weight has been lifted off his shoulders. After all, Chi Guyan has already reached the Fourth Heaven with such ease. With things going so smoothly, what could possibly go wrong?

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples were also beaming with joy. The news of Chi Guyan¡¯s bet with Fang Zhengzhi had spread through the entire Heaven Dao Pavilion half a month ago, so why would the Heaven Dao disciples be unaware of the significance of this showdown?

    Although they all believed Fang Zhengzhi was intentionally finding an excuse to lengthen his stay in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for another month, it would be virtually impossible for them to witness Chi Guyan lose this bet ...

    After all, the loser would have to be the winner¡¯s personal ve. Could they bare to watch Chi Guyan serve Fang Zhengzhi tea, wash his clothes, cook his meals, entertain him and perform for him everyday?

    "Senior Chi Guyan, you have to win this round!"

    "Of course!"

    "I¡¯m guessing that brat is still spinning around in circles in the Jungle of Mysteries. I wonder how many ferocious beasts are surrounding him now."

    "Hahaha ... I really do want to see his pathetic state now, but what a pity, I¡¯m not in-charge of observing the Divine Rain Pond¡¯s activity!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples discussed and chuckled together.

    And at this very moment, someone rushed towards them in shock and panic. It was the Heaven Dao disciple with the surname Wang who was responsible for observing the activity in the Divine Rain Pond.

    "Senior Wang, what¡¯s the situation in the Divine Rain Pond?"

    "That¡¯s right, tell us about that scoundrel, Senior Wang, the one who fell into the Jungle of Mysteries. Make us feel better for a bit!"

    The spectating disciples around the Divine Rain Pond chortled and asked as they watched him approach them.

    "Make you feel better?" The Heaven Dao disciple with the surname Wang wore a conflicted expression on his face. Without answering the questions thrown at him, he quickly made a detour and headed towards Sixth Elder.

    "Eh? Why are you in a hurry, what happened?" Sixth Elder asked slowly when he noticed the expression on the disciple¡¯s face.

    "Sixth Elder, Fang ... Fang Zhengzhi has, already ..."

    "Died? That¡¯s impossible! That disgusting brat is no weakling. Even if he got surrounded by the beasts of the Jungle of Mysteries, he should have only sustained a few minor injuries without any fatal wounds, right?" Sixth Elder frowned. He couldn¡¯t help but ponder over this possibility after noticing the disciple¡¯s frantic expression.

    Even though he did bear any good feelings for Fang Zhengzhi, he did not particrly wish for his death in the Jungle of Mysteries either. And objectively speaking ... Sixth Elder was the person hosting this event in the Divine Rain Pond, and he was the reason why Fang Zhengzhi fell into the Jungle of Mysteries. If something unfortunate actually happened, he would have to bear the responsibility.

    "No, Fang Zhengzhi did ... didn¡¯t die ..." The disciple immediately shook his head and gulped heavily. "Not only did he survive, he has already reached the Jungle of Mysteries¡¯ e ... exit, and he¡¯s about to enter the Nine Heavens!"

    "What?!" Sixth Elder was bbergasted, clearly refusing to believe what he was hearing. "How long has it been? An hour hasn¡¯t even passed. Are you sure he¡¯s already reaching the exit?"

    "No ... he¡¯s not reaching the exit. He¡¯s already at the exit. When I arrived, Yan Qing and him were already there, and now ... I think they¡¯ve already entered the Nine Heavens!" The disciple hastily exined again after hearing Sixth Elder¡¯s question.

    "How is this possible?!" Sixth Elder¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    Fang Zhengzhi had traversed the entire Jungle of Mysteries in less than an hour. This would already be a stretch for someone who was familiar with the geography of the region. But Fang Zhengzhi? It was his first time in the Jungle of Mysteries. He actually managed to navigate out of the jungle in less than an hour? How is this normal?!

    Not only was Sixth Elderpletely dumbfounded, the Heaven Dao disciples circling the Divine Rain Pond who were previously beaming with joy now froze in shock. Their smiles numbed and crumpled.

    "Fang Zhengzhi is already out of the Jungle of Mysteries?! How ... How is this possible?"

    "It hasn¡¯t even been an hour, not even an hour ... and he¡¯s already out of the Jungle of Mysteries? I took five days and five nights to find my way out of therest year!"

    "Isn¡¯t this ridiculous? Is that bastard actually a demon?"

    The Heaven Dao disciples were overwhelmed with disbelief, but they knew that Senior Wang wouldn¡¯t lie under such circumstances. And just as everyone was still reeling in shock, another person ran towards them from a distance, noticeably faster than Senior Wang was.

    This time, since the Divine Rain Pond event also involved Chi Guyan¡¯s bet with Fang Zhengzhi, the Heaven Dao Pavilion would be paying serious attention to whatever was going on inside the Divine Rain Pond, and hence arranged several disciples to observe the activity of the participants. And this person running towards them was another disciple with the surname Lu.

    "Why is Senior Lu here too?"

    As the Heaven Dao disciples watched in bewilderment, the disciple with the surname Lu bounded towards Sixth Elder like a frightened rabbit.

    "Sixth ... Sixth Elder ... Fang ... Fang Zhengzhi has already deciphered the ... first Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration, and has ... entered the Second ... Second Heaven already!" The disciple stammered in fear as he broke into cold sweat, as though his soul had left his body.

    "What?! What did you say?!" Sixth Elder¡¯s face of astonishment began to contort. And the equally confounded disciples around him werepletely astounded. Their eyes and mouth were wide open, paralyzed in shock as though they had been jolted by a bolt of lightning.

    "I¡¯m saying .... Fang Zhengzhi has already ... entered the Second Heaven!" Beads of perspiration dripped down from the disciple¡¯s face to the ground after noticing Sixth Elder¡¯s distorted expression.

    As the disciple responsible for observing the activity in the Divine Rain Pond, he should be maintaining hisposure to the best of his ability, but he simply could not keep his cool after witnessing such an unbelievable sight.

    A haggard-looking Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Nine Heavens, stepping on the verdant meadows with both his feet. It was already an awe-inspiring sight, but what was even more awe-inspiring ...

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi stepped foot into the Nine Heavens, he instinctively lifted his head and nced at the first Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration hanging across the sky.

    One nce.

    It only took his one nce.

    A voice reverberated through the Divine Rain Pond. "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Second Heaven!"

 Chapter 702 Did We Really Have To Be Dealt With Another Blow?

    The Heaven Dao disciple with the surname Lu was nearing a total emotional meltdown. Fang Zhengzhi already dealt them a severe blow by navigating out of the Jungle of Mysteries in less than an hour, a truly awe-inspiring feat. But now ...

    He deciphered the first Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration. Could anyone believe this? Of course not, but this exact moment unfolded before their very eyes. How could they deny it now?

    In this instant, the disciples felt the chills as though they just saw a ghost in broad daylight. Even now, they have yet to recover from their shock. Sixth Elder and the disciples around him were alsopletely bbergasted.

    How long has it been? How long did Fang Zhengzhi take to enter the Nine Heavens?

    Why was he this fast? How could he possibly be this fast?

    ...

    Inside the Nine Heavens of the Divine Rain Pond, the scroll in front of Fang Zhengzhi suddenly disappeared from view. For a moment, he did not know how to react. What¡¯s going on? Did I decipher it?

    Just as he was pondering over this, the scenery in front of him changed, and in the next instant, he appeared on another verdant meadow with nearly thirty Heaven Dao disciples staring him down right in front of him. Everyone wore a ghastly expression on their faces.

    Indeed, who wouldn¡¯t be shocked if something like this happened to them?

    These disciples stared at Fang Zhengzhi while the echo of the booming announcement was still ringing in their eyes. They were totally astounded.

    "How did Fang Zhengzhi get into the Nine Heavens?"

    "No, how did he get into the Second Heaven of the Nine Heavens?

    "When did he leave the Jungle of Mysteries?"

    "Is he really human?"

    Countless doubts floated in the disciples¡¯ minds like streaks of lightning bolts shing incessantly across their heads.

    Of course,pared to the nearly thirty Heaven Dao disciples standing in the Second Heaven, the remaining four disciples in the First Heaven were clearly dumbfounded. As disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, they had their pride, and were hailed as geniuses in their field, adted and respected by countless people. But now ...

    They have fallen behind, behind the vast majority of Heaven Dao disciples. Over thirty of them entered the Nine Heavens at the same time to view the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations, but now, they¡¯re the only ones who have not deciphered the first illustration yet. This already dealt a severe blow to their pride.

    And yet now, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s achievement indisputably plunged a burning stake into their crushing wounds, making it hellishly unbearable for them.

    The four disciples looked at each other, with the sight of Fang Zhengzhi deciphering the illustration with a single nce still reying in their minds. Their eyes turned cold, as though they had nothing left to live for.

    "...."

    "What just happened?"

    "He ... he just deciphered the Nine ... Nine Heavens Sagely Illustration?!"

    The four disciples gazed at the scroll hanging above their heads and the thick brush stroke painted across the scroll. They could not endure the shame any longer. Their legs gave way and they suddenly sank to the ground.

    Yan Qing¡¯s expression was also strange. He did not lose, but he certainly did not win either, because both Fang Zhengzhi and him stepped into the Nine Heavens realm at roughly the same time. But of course ... this was not the crux of the matter.

    What¡¯s important was, Fang Zhengzhi, who stepped into the Nine Heavens at the same time as he did, has already ascended to the Second Heaven of the Nine Heavens while he was still standing in the First Heaven.

    "Is this illustration really that simple?" Yan Qing lifted his head and gazed at the scroll above him, observing that thick brush stroke.

    In an instant, he seemed to have entered an entirely different world. There was nothing in this world - no mountains, no rivers, no trees, no flowers and no grass. It was just nk,pletely nk. Where is this?

    An overwhelming oppressive force attacked Yan Qing, causing him to swing his fists about instinctively. One punch, two punches, three punches ... He hurled his fists outwards tirelessly, retaliating without stopping. But the nk world still remained as nk as ever. Nothing changed.

    No! I should be in the Nine Heavens realm. I should be observing the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations. That¡¯s right, that stroke, it was that stroke, the single stroke across the white scroll.

    Yan Qing¡¯s fists subconsciously traced out the stroke, from above to below, but it became extremely exhausting for him.

    "Boom!" A mellow rumble. In an instant, this nk white world had been dispelled by his fist.

    The white disappeared. The trees and the green pastures reappeared. The scroll vanished, and a booming voice rang in his ears.

    "Yan Qing has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "...." The remaining four Heaven Dao disciples in the First Heaven sitting on the grass watched as Yan Qing vanished before their eyes. Their lips twitched as tears rolled down their faces amidst the light rain.

    Did they really have to be dealt with another blow?!

    ......

    "Did we really have to be dealt with another blow?!"

    The nearly thirty Heaven Dao disciples in the Second Heaven echoed the same sentiments as their four peers in the First Heaven, because that booming voice reverberated across the horizon once again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Third Heaven!"

    "... the Third Heaven!"

    "...."

    Was there anything worse than suddenly being overtaken by someone whom you clearly had a head start with at the startline after running for almost an hour?

    Yes! Being overtaken at just the Second Heaven!

    "...." The disciples were speechless, unable to fathom how freakish someone had to be in order to decipher the second Nine Heaven Sagely Illustration in less than a second.

    It was bewildering. And in their bewilderment, another voice rang in their ears. "Yan Qing has entered the Second Heaven!"

    "...." The nearly thirty disciples subconsciously turned their eyes towards Yan Qing who just appeared in front of them. Their faces flushed red.

    This was really a world inhabited by demons!

    As seniors with a few years of experience in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, they have just allowed a newly inducted junior to catch up to them right after being overtaken by a demonic opponent. How could their hearts endure such a devastating blow?

    They were shamed, utterly shamed.

    Yan Qing clearly did not notice the expressions on his seniors¡¯ faces. In fact, he did not even spare them a single nce ever since he stepped into the Second Heaven, because he also heard the booming announcement that Fang Zhengzhi ... has already entered the Third Heaven.

    Even though the bet between him and Fang Zhengzhi had already ended, how could a contest without a proper winner be consideredplete in Yan Qing¡¯s mind?

    Hence, he still wanted topete with Fang Zhengzhi. And this time, he was clearlypeting to see who could reach the highest Heaven.

    "You¡¯re fast, really fast! But I¡¯ll ... definitely overtake you!" Just as he hardened his will, Yan Qing gazed up at the second illustration hanging over the horizon.

    Compared to the first illustration, the second illustration clearly had more strokes, but the increase was quite incremental.

    It was an unusually sloppily scribbled scroll. It looked as though it was sttered on by someonepletely clueless about calligraphy, yet such a carefree scribble did contain a very natural quality.

    Nothing could be identified from the scroll. Of course, if it had to be likened to something, it would be fog, thick fog. Or perhaps, wind, sttered onto the scroll without any care.

    "What¡¯s the meaning of this?" Unlike the first illustration which instantly transported Yan Qing into another world, he was clearly baffled by this puzzle.

    ...

    "The single stroke on the first illustration was evidently the simplification of every form of existence in the world, and the second illustration clearly represented nature. Aren¡¯t these Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations a little too simple?" Fang Zhengzhi looked out into the endless ins before him and gazed up at the third illustration hanging above him, twitching his lips casually.

    Suddenly, he felt a strange emptiness in his heart, as though he was standing on the summit of a mountain without any opponent in sight, unmatched by all. Yet at this moment, the booming voice rang in his ears again.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Fifth Heaven!"

    "... the Fifth Heaven!"

    "....."

    "F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi unknowingly erected his middle finger straight at the sky. He thought that he just needed to ascend to the next Heaven to give Chi Guyan a big surprise of his own. But now, it seems like he was going ahead of himself.

    She was indeed really fast. Fang Zhengzhi just reached the Third Heaven and Chi Guyan has already entered the Fifth Heaven. A gap of two Heavens was certainly not small! On the contrary, it was a huge distance.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew very well that the difficulty of deciphering the scrolls would grow more the higher they went. For instance, he immediately associated the second illustration with nature in the instant he nced at it, but merely thinking about the puzzle and deciphering the puzzle were twopletely different matters. He had to be fast!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly looked up at the scroll above him. It was an ink painting, with heavy and broad brush strokes starting from the top left corner of the scroll before bing fader as they move towards the bottom right corner, then trailing offpletely at the end. Sporadic ink blots of varying sizes were dotted seemingly indiscriminately across the scroll, yet it followed a certain fixed pattern.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his eyebrows. This scroll was evidently much moreplicated than the previous two scrolls. He was actually unsure of what the painting meant after his initial nce.

    A ssh-ink painting?

    What does that ... even represent?

 Chapter 703 A Truly Demonic Obstacle

    ....

    As Fang Zhengzhi was mulling over his interpretation of the ssh-ink painting in the Third Heaven, Sixth Elder and the other Heaven Dao disciples outside the Divine Rain Pond were going insane.

    News of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Third Heaven had spread like wildfire.

    "The Third Heaven?!"

    "This scoundrel is that fast?"

    "He¡¯s a demon!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples were evidently speechless. In the beginning, everyone assumed that there wouldn¡¯t be any doubt about Chi Guyan¡¯s eventual victory over Fang Zhengzhi in this challenge. But now?

    Fang Zhengzhi has demonstrated demonic levels of talent again and again - navigating out of the Jungle of Mysteries in less than an hour, deciphering the first Sagely Illustration with a single nce, then deciphering the second one in about half a minute, and has now ascended to the Third Heaven.

    No one would believe his sheer speed if they hadn¡¯t witnessed it for themselves.

    "Sixth Elder!" Suddenly, someone ran towards them from afar at top speed, swiftly arriving in front of Sixth Elder.

    "Speak!" Sixth Elder¡¯s heart jumped.

    "Senior Chi Guyan has already reached the Fifth Heaven!" The disciple spouted hastily.

    "That¡¯s great, really great!" Upon hearing this, Sixth Elder looked as though he just slipped out of a tiger¡¯s jaws and regained his smile.

    The Heaven Dao disciples crowding around him also heaved a sigh of relief. Although they had to admit what a freak Fang Zhengzhi was, his opponent this time round was Chi Guyan, who also possessed equally freakish abilities. And more importantly ...

    Chi Guyan had a head start over Fang Zhengzhi.

    Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi was even stronger than they imagined, to a point where nobody could predict who would clinch the ultimate victory if bothpetitors entered the Nine Heavens at the same time. But under such circumstances, Chi Guyan couldn¡¯t possibly lose.

    "One more thing, Yan Qing has also entered the Second Heaven!" The disciple blurted out after noticing Sixth Elder¡¯s temporary sense of relief.

    "Eh? Yan Qing has entered the Second Heaven?" After hearing this, a faint tint of astonishment evidently shed through Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes. But after a few seconds, he regained hisposure. "Hm, very well. Looks like Yan Qing¡¯s potential is even greater than I¡¯ve imagined!"

    With that, Sixth Elder¡¯s mind began devising a possible n to take Yan Qing under his wing, since thetter has just recently entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion without officially acknowledging a master yet. After all, Yan Qing¡¯s reputation would grow by leaps and bounds after his time in the Divine Rain Pond.

    The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples were evidently stunned after hearing the news of Yan Qing reaching the Second Heaven. To them, being mercilessly overtaken by a junior that just joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion a month ago was nothing to be ¡¯proud¡¯ of.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s robes were nowhere near pristine. To be fair, nobody¡¯s clothes would possibly be clean after running for their lives through a jungle for such a long distance. Although calling him ¡¯haggard¡¯ would be exaggerating, describing him as simply ¡¯sloppy¡¯ would be too kind.

    There were numerous holes dotted across his blue robes, looking considerably tattered especially around his chest, as well arge tear ripped apart by a tree branch. This caused the Heart Protection Mirror to fade in and out of view.

    At this moment, a ray of light shed incessantly from the Heart Protection Mirror, looking as though there was something about to charge out of the surface.

    It was truly a bizarre sight, but Fang Zhengzhi did not notice it in the slightest, concentrating solely on the scroll above his head, gazing at the ssh-ink painting, agonizing over how to interpret and decipher the puzzle.

    Time passed slowly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression became less tense. He was not frantic - he knew that at times like this, the more frantic he was, the easier it would be for him to make a mistake.

    In fact, in the past half a month ... Fang Zhengzhi has perused the entire collection of books in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Repository, and his theoretical knowledge was far greater than before, which was also the true reason why he could decipher the first Sagely Illustration with a single nce.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was unaware of this fact himself. Hence, he was indeed a little shocked when he heard the announcement of him advancing to the Second Heaven.

    Of course, he has begun to understand what¡¯s going on now. In terms of theoretical knowledge, he was not weaker than any of hispetitors. With a previous lifetime¡¯s worth of experience under his belt,bined with his hard work in this lifetime, and then ¡¯meditating¡¯ for a half a month in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Repository, his wealth of knowledge would definitely be formidable.

    Ink ... Could it be water?

    Drops of water can form an ocean. A sprout can grow into a huge tree. If the sshes of ink ... represent water, then the third illustration should represent the source of all life!

    "Source!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, and information rted to the source of life began shing speedily through his mind. One piece, two pieces, three pieces ... countless pieces of information flickered in his mind.

    And then, an incredibly imposing voice suddenly boomed from the horizon.

    "Yan Qing has entered the Third Heaven!"

    "Yan Qing has entered ..."

    "....."

    "Oh?" Fang Zhengzhi instinctively averted his gaze behind him. Very quickly, a figure appeared about five steps behind him. He wore dark green robes which also looked slightly tattered.

    It was Yan Qing.

    "I¡¯ve finally caught up with you at the Third Heaven!" Yan Qing immediately noticed Fang Zhengzhi standing in front of him the moment he appeared the Third Heaven. Yan Qing was noticeably a little thrilled, his eyes glistened with light and his tan face flushed slightly red.

    But then, another voice boomed, and another figure appeared to the left of Yan Qing.

    Very evidently ... although Heaven Dao disciples may not be able to decipher the Nine Heavens Sagely Illustrations at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s insane speed, they were still prodigies of their own.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re not bad! You actually reached the Third Heaven earlier than me, you should be proud!" The disciple who arrived in the Third Heaven nced at Yan Qing, then turned his gaze back towards Fang Zhengzhi. His lips intuitively curled up into a smile, and he asked, "But although you beat me to the Third Heaven, I¡¯ll still reach the Fourth Heaven earlier than you!"

    "Is this a challenge?" Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi pursed his lips.

    The Heaven Dao disciples lovedpetition, and Fang Zhengzhi was well aware of that. It¡¯s a very normal thing. After all, a true genius would definitely seek to surpass others. And this disciple in front of Fang Zhengzhi managed to inch his way above all his peers, a strong testament to his formidable strength and wealth of knowledge. Aiming to defeat Fang Zhengzhi was definitely a rational next step for him.

    "Of course!" The disciple nodded.

    "Since it¡¯s a challenge, we shouldy down our bets, shouldn¡¯t we?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "Hm, you¡¯re right. What do you want to bet?" Upon hearing this, the disciple knew what Fang Zhengzhi was implying.

    "Anything is fine. I¡¯m in a hurry." Fang Zhengzhi gestured.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll ce my bottle of ¡¯Star Water¡¯ down as my bet. This bottle of ¡¯Star Water¡¯ is used when crafting elixirs, and can increase the purity of the final product!" The disciple did not beat around the bush, and immediately extracted a ss bottle with silver liquid from his waist

    "Alright, for the sake of fairness, you should let Yan Qing hold the Star Water!" Fang Zhengzhi nced at the bottle briefly before pointing at Yan Qing behind him.

    "Fine!" The disciple nodded and passed the Star Water to Yan Qing, then turned his attention back to Fang Zhengzhi. "What about you? What¡¯s your bet?"

    "No need for that." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    "What do you mean?" The disciple was confused.

    "Because you¡¯ve already lost." Fang Zhengzhi saved the trouble of exining any further. He has already figured out the true meaning behind the third illustration when he was negotiating their wagers with the Heaven Dao disciple.

    The source. It wasn¡¯t simply the origin of life; it represented the beginning and end of all life. It needed both the beginning and the end of life to create the full cycle. Birth, ageing, illness, death, were the mostmon sources - death is both the end and beginning of all life. It¡¯s the source.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Fourth Heaven!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered ..."

    "..."

    The Heaven Dao disciple was astounded. After hearing the booming voice echo in his ears and gazing at Fang Zhengzhi who had vanished without a trace, chills ran up from his feet to the back of his head.

    Demonic! That bastard is truly demonic!

    If he still had a tinge of fighting spirit when he was first saw Fang Zhengzhi, he was nowpletely drained of the will to continue after witnessing this scene, no matter how much he wanted to surpass Fang Zhengzhi!

    Yan Qing on the other hand was simrly speechless. As the top prodigy of his empire, he had not met a true ¡¯opponent¡¯ ever since he left the jungles.

    Unlike many others who enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Yan Qing¡¯s true motive foring here was not to train, nor to find a pir of support in the Holy Region. He only wanted to find a purpose in his life.

    He needed more ¡¯obstacles¡¯ in his path, as only these ¡¯obstacles¡¯ can give him the reason to continue living.

    But now ... this was the first time he was met with this long-awaited ¡¯obstacle¡¯. And this ¡¯obstacle¡¯ in front of him ... clearly exceeded his expectations. It was like a towering mountain that could not be scaled, so intimidating that he was slightly lost, unsure of what to do.

    "Fang Zhengzhi!!!" Yan Qing clenched both his fists with great force. Every joint in his body suddenly began cracking continuously.

 Chapter 704 Dao Hun

    ...

    Outside the Divine Rain Pond, Sixth Elder couldn¡¯t maintain his smile for much longer, because the news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Fourth Heaven has spread.

    "The Fourth Heaven?! How did that brat do it?" Sixth Elder wanted to add that Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly catch up to Chi Guyan despite having made it to the Fourth Heaven, but he could not blurt it out.

    There was an unexinable sense of panic writhing in his heart, which was forcing him to reassure himself over and over again that this brat couldn¡¯t possibly win Chi Guyan. Never!

    Of course, the Heaven Dao disciples crowding around the Divine Rain Pond bore the same sentiments as Sixth Elder. The news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Fourth Heaven was equally astonishing to them.

    "He really entered the Fourth Heaven?"

    "He¡¯s just one Heaven away from her!"

    "Senior Chi Guyan is now at the Fifth Heaven ..."

    The various disciples exchanged nces, all noticing the same trepidation and disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes.

    They were astounded and nervous, yet time was not passing slowly at all.

    As time passed, the announcements from within the Divine Rain Pond increased as the Heaven Dao disciples entered the Third Heaven one by one. After hearing these announcements, the disciples spectating outside the Divine Rain Pond naturally felt proud of their seniors who sessfully ascended to the Third Heaven.

    But amidst their pride ... everyone was silently waiting.

    .....

    Just as countless Heaven Dao disciples were waiting for news of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in the Divine Rain Pond anxiously, the Holy Region has long lost its former peace and tranquility.

    Although the Holy Region has never achieved total peace before, the five sects had always maintained an untouchable baseline. And this baseline was broken ... because the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing had been devoured by the Blood Offering Illustration in the Divine Rain Pond and entered the Heaven-Receiving Door, with no one knowing whether he was still alive.

    With their sect leader in trouble, and worse still, inside the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could the Nine Pinnacles Mountain end this matter without a sound?

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain was a magnificent peak towering over the southwestern area of the Holy Region, and was also a giant active volcano. Due to the drastic temperature differences between the summit and the foot of the mountain, it is shrouded by a thickyer of fog all year round. Yet this active volcano also boasted a natural barrier - gigantic boulders aligned ording to the nineary positions, resting on nine enormous three-legged ck crucibles. Nobody knew how old these crucibles were, but to the people of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, these nine ck crucibles were born from the earth. And below these cruciblesy a natural teau with a few hundred irregrly sized stone cottages built from ck volcanic rocks.

    This was the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    And now, outside the five-meter tall stone cottage in the centre of the teau, there were over a thousand Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples dressed in ck robes. And inside the stone cottage, nine elders wearing identical ck robes sat around a huge stone table, each wearing a stern expression.

    "We don¡¯t know whether our leader is dead or alive, but we must take the Heaven-Receiving Gate back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain no matter what!" A voice eximed.

    "How? Just snatch it?" Another replied.

    "So what if we do? Are we afraid of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "Please calm down, fellow elders!" A white-haired old man sitting at the head of the stone table suddenly chimed in, "Snatching ... is not the best option!"

    "What do you think, Great Elder?" After hearing the white-haired elder speak, the other elders turned their attention to him respectfully.

    In the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Sect Leader Tian Xing was naturally regarded with the highest respect, and the next person below him would be the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Great Elder sitting at the head of the table.

    "With our leader Tian Xing¡¯s safety still a mystery, this battle at the Heaven Dao Pavilion can be considered the greatest crisis in a hundred years for us!" Great Elder said slowly.

    "We understand everything you say, Great Elder, but we can¡¯t sit here and do nothing, can we?"

    "Precisely, if we don¡¯t act, the other sects would definitely think that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain is helpless, and we might be faced with an even greater crisister!"

    "Third Elder makes sense. Although we are in an extremely vulnerable position now, swallowing this humiliation is definitely not the best way out either. Furthermore, how can we answer to the disciples standing outside this door? How can we answer to ourrades who have died at the hands of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    The other elders chimed in one after another.

    After a month, the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples have returned from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and news of Tian Xing¡¯s disappearance has long spread through the mountain.

    Great Elder frowned. He naturally knew what the other elders were driving at. Tian Xing¡¯s whereabouts were unknown; they have yet to retrieve their Thousand Years Fire Herb; over ten of their own disciples perished tragically - they owed the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples an exnation for everything. But ... how?

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was not weaker than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain in any way, and with Tian Xing in trouble, realistically speaking, they wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee a victory with their current state even if they activate their entire sect. Furthermore, with the other three sects watching them very closely, if the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion sustain great losses in battle, the coexistence of the five sects in the Holy Region woulde to an end.

    "Indeed, we have to answer for this, but we don¡¯t have to barge up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion!" Great Elder finally spoke after thinking long and hard.

    "Not the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"

    "Does Great Elder want to find Chi Guyan? Or Fang Zhengzhi?"

    Upon hearing this, the other elders began to understand his perspective. They knew that they couldn¡¯t possibly challenge the Heaven Dao Pavilion in their current state.

    "With our current situation, who do all of you think we should find?" Great Elder did not give a direct reply, and instead posed a question back.

    "We ..." The other elders swallowed their words and frowned helplessly. In their hearts, they were naturally more keen to look for Chi Guyan; after all, everything that happened was due to Chi Guyan robbing them of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    But they also knew that involving Chi Guyan in this matter would inevitably pit them against the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and since Chi Guyan was now in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, courting trouble with Chi Guyan would be even harder.

    "Our leader wouldn¡¯t have been ambushed sessfully by Nangong Hao if he didn¡¯t intend to purge the Nine Pinnacles Mountain of future disasters, hence I believe that the cursed root of all these problems is still Fang Zhengzhi. Of course, besides Fan Zhengzhi, there¡¯s also the Nangong Nobles and Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother, Nangong Mu!" Great Elder said very explicitly after noticing the other elders hesitating to speak.

    "Yes, Great Elder is right. Killing Fang Zhengzhi would fulfil our leader¡¯s wishes. As for the Nangong Nobles and Nangong Mu, they can¡¯t run away either!"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    "If we kill Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu, and exterminate the Nangong Nobles, then there wouldn¡¯t be any more doubts in the hearts of the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples. I agree with this decision!"

    The other elders nodded in agreement.

    As the elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, how could they not notice the current situation that they were in? For them now, umting strength and reinstating their leader should be their ultimate priority. But now, they couldn¡¯t leave this matter unsettled either.

    Hence, tracking down Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu, the two people directly involved in this matter who have yet to attain the Sage State, was naturally the best option avable.

    "Great Elder, I agree with your decision, but ... I¡¯m worried about one thing!" Someone uttered in a hesitant voice.

    "Is Fifth Elder worried about the Heaven Prophecy?" Great Elder asked.

    "Yes, the Heaven Prophecy fell upon both Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at the same time. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if it was just a mere coincidence, but what if it isn¡¯t?" Fifth Elder nodded.

    "Fifth Elder makes sense. The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world ... Is the prophecy referring to these two?" Another elder expressed his doubt.

    Great Elder frowned again, and did not retort immediately.

    The other elders fell silent. After all, anything that involved the Heaven Prophecy and the Chosen One should be dealt with utmost seriousness.

    "Chi Guyan bears the cursed bloodline; I¡¯m sure everyone is aware of this. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength may be formidable, but he has not shown any signs of having a gifted bloodline, and I heard he has contracted an illness and has less than three months left to live. I personally believe that there¡¯s minimally a 70% chance that this is all a coincidence!"

    "Even if it really is a coincidence, Chi Guyan and Fan Zhengzhi seem to have a pretty close rtionship. If she learns that Fang Zhengzhi is killed by us, she would definitely cause us much trouble in the future. This concerns the future of our Nine Pinnacles Mountain. We have to consider this more thoroughly ..." Fifth Elder added.

    "Hm, I understand what you mean!" Great Elder finally spoke again. "I¡¯ve pondered over this before as well. Hence, we can¡¯t act alone!"

    "What do you mean, Great Elder?"

    "Actually, after receiving this piece of news from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I¡¯ve already sent someone to pass the message to the Yin Yang Hall. I¡¯ve discussed this matter with the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun."

    "And what was Dao Hun¡¯s reply?"

    "Wan Lei was Dao Hun¡¯s most prized disciple. He was merely sent as an ambassador to spectate the match in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, yet met his tragic demise at the hands of Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi. How could Dao Hun not exact his revenge?"

    "Does Great Elder mean that the Yin Yang Hall is willing tobine forces with us?"

    "No, they¡¯ve already acted on their own. Dao Hun has already sent two disciples in the Sage State to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If my predictions are correct, both their envoy and ours should have reached the foot of Sword Peak!" Great Elder nodded slowly.

    "Our people went as well?" Upon hearing this, the other elders expressed their shock.

    "Yes, I¡¯ve sent the three sages of ck Moon Ind. They¡¯ll be redeeming themselves this time! With the three of thembining forces with the two disciples from the Yin Yang Hall, having five powerhouses in the Sage State ambush a lone Fang Zhengzhi who has not reached the Sage State should be a surefire win!" Great Elder nodded again.

    "Great Elder has arranged everything very well. Sending the three sages of ck Moon Ind to settle this is most appropriate. If anything happens and Chi Guyan charges up to us for trouble, we can im that it was their own idea and had nothing to do with us!" The other elders began to understand Great Elder¡¯s intentions.

    ...

    At the foot of Sword Peak at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there were five wooden cottages lined up in a straight line. The ce looked like a snow-covered otherworldly region high up in the mountains.

    Yan Xiu, donning gorgeously inked robes, walked out of one of the cottages slowly and lifted his head up, gazing at the unforgiving cliffs in the clouds. His eyes were filled with anticipation.

    "Today¡¯s the day he¡¯s entering the Divine Rain Pond. I wonder which Heaven has he and Chi Guyan reached already?" Yan Xiu mumbled softly to himself and proceeded to walk into the forests by the cottage as usual.

 Chapter 705 An Unexpected Appearance

    THe Heaven Dao Pavilion was built on top of Sword Peak, surroundedpletely by a dense jungle which serves as the perfect natural barrier. At the same time, it boasted majestic sights and picturesque scenery.

    After emerging from his wooden cottage, Yan Xiu strolled slowly towards the forests. After a brief moment, he reached a smallke. The water was a clear green, so clear that one could see all the way to the bottom of theke. As a gentle breeze brushed through the trees, the surface of theke was dotted with ripples.

    Yan Xiu did not speak or utter a sound. He merely found a rock by theke and sat down, then slowly took out a book from his chest pockets.

    There were three huge characters written on its old cover. It looked like any ordinary book, but Yan Xiu flipped it open slowly with utmost care and concentration, studying each word as he mouthed the lines.

    Time passed slowly ...

    Yan Xiu still focused every ounce of his attention on the book. His expression was as calm as water; his body didn¡¯t even budge. He looked like a statue sitting on the rock.

    It was an incredibly tranquil sight, especially with the lush mountains and the crystal greenke as a backdrop, giving off a genuine sense of ¡¯peace¡¯ and ¡¯ease¡¯, just like the calm surface of theke.

    Of course ... with the seasons turning to summer, theke would still see some disturbances no matter how calm it was - just like a shaded figure standing silently in the distance in this near perfect painting, standing in the shadow of a tree obscured from the sun, not moving a muscle.

    ...

    In the Fourth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why he could continuously close the gap between him and Chi Guyan.

    The Fourth Heaven waspletely different from the Third Heaven. In other words, there were like two drastically different worlds. If the Third Heaven could be described as a poetic picturesque scene under a light drizzle, then the Fourth Heaven would be ... a battlefield.

    Just like the continuously evolving scroll above his head, there were no beautiful green pastures beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet, just a barren rednd dotted with potholes.

    The drizzle still showered down onto the red soil, forming trickling streams that were as crimson as blood, encapsting the bloodlust and devastation of war.

    The scroll above his head was the same. It was not a silent still painting, and was instead a continuously changing battlefield filled with the estranged cries of warhorses and overwhelming killing intent.

    At one nce, Fang Zhengzhi also recalled how Chi Guyan¡¯s speed seemed to slow down after reaching the Fourth Heaven.

    The Fourth Heaven?

    Fang Zhengzhi had heard Chi Guyan exin this briefly to him before: The Nine Heavens can actually be separated into the top three Heavens, middle three Heavens and the bottom three Heavens. And based on what he was witnessing, the Fourth Heaven should mark the beginning of the middle three Heavens.

    The bottom three Heavens represent the theories of Dao ... so what do the middle three Heavens represent?

    Actual battle experience?

    Fang Zhengzhi gazed up at the tumultuous scroll of war and furrowed his eyebrows, carefully analyzing the meaning behind the scroll.

    A battlefield ... Does it represent a certain Dao technique? Or perhaps, a Dao formation?

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly uncertain, but as he gazed at the ever-changing scroll, he had a faint feeling that this was where he could truly ¡¯reap his rewards¡¯.

    Time flew by, and as Fang Zhengzhi immersed his mindpletely into the scroll above him, the Heart Protection Mirror in his chest began lighting up again, growing brighter and brighter.

    But then ... amanding voice boomed again.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Sixth Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan has entered ..."

    "....."

    "What? She¡¯s this fast?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips jerked, finally feeling uneasy as he heard the announcement echo in his ears.

    He has always felt that he was faster than Chi Guyan on a level ying field. As long as he could decipher this battlefield scroll before his eyes, he would have the chance to meet Chi Guyan ... He even came up with the exact script for his anticipated encounter.

    But now, reality has told him that the gap between him and Chi Guyan has been stretched out again, from one Heaven to two.

    He forced a despondent smile on his face. Indeed, that chick Chi Guyan was far tougher to deal with than he had imagined.

    ...

    While Fang Zhengzhi was agonizing over the scroll in the Fourth Heaven, the Heaven Dao disciple with the surname Wang responsible for observing the happenings in the Divine Rain Pond ran towards Sixth Elder again, but this time ...

    His face was flushed red, and his eyes shimmered with an irrepressible sense of excitement.

    "Sixth Elder!" The disciple¡¯s tone was no longer as frantic, and was much more rxed than before.

    "Yes?" Sixth Elder tensed up after noticing the approaching disciple. He knew that there was only one reason for the disciple¡¯s visit - either Chi Guyan or Fang Zhengzhi had progressed to the next Heaven.

    "Senior Chi Guyan has entered the Sixth Heaven!" The disciple eximed.

    "Oh? Are you sure!"

    "Yes!"

    "That¡¯s great, really great, really great!" Upon hearing this, the trepidation on his face vanishedpletely, reced with a genuine smile. The surrounding Heaven Dao disciples were slightly astounded by this piece of news, but then celebrated with glee.

    "The Sixth Heaven!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi hasn¡¯t progressed yet, has he?"

    "Indeed, there isn¡¯t any suspense to this at all. Perhaps, even if Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t fallen into the Jungle of Mysteries and entered the Nine Heavens right at the beginning instead, he still can¡¯t win!"

    "That¡¯s for sure. His opponent is Senior Chi Guyan!"

    The Heaven Dao disciples heaved a genuine sigh of relief. After all, the key factors determining the ultimate victory between the two were always the middle three and top three Heavens.

    The higher they progressed, the harder it would get. And towards the end, they would be tested on their knowledge and understanding to a greater degree.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had demonstrated extraordinary levels of talent and skill in the first three Heavens, it did not mean that he would have a smooth-sailing journey through the middle three and top three Heavens.

    Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and true powerhouses would be able to maintain an unwavering level of skill no matter what situations they are faced with. And very evidently ... Chi Guyan was such an example.

    In both the bottom three and middle three Heavens, Chi Guyan has maintained extremely stable standards of skill, unfazed by any obstacles in her way.

    "Just one more Heaven and she would reach the Seventh Heaven. That¡¯s the top three Heavens!"

    "Yes! There¡¯s less than a hundred people in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s history who have managed to reach the top three Heavens, right?"

    "With Senior Chi Guyan¡¯s talent, there was never a doubt that she couldn¡¯t reach the top three Heavens. I think ... she might even reach the Eighth Heaven!"

    "That¡¯s right!"

    As the Heaven Dao disciples buzzed with visible excitement, they felt as though they had ascended to the Sixth Heaven themselves, jubnt beyond words.

    ...

    In the Third Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond, more and more Heaven Dao disciples appeared beside Yan Qing. And now, there were about five disciples who have progressed from the Second to the Third Heaven.

    "Senior Chi Guyan is simply amazing!"

    "That¡¯s right, she would never disappoint us!"

    "The one who gets thestugh is the true winner!"

    "I actually believed that that scoundrel was pretty impressive himself. To be honest, he did give a shock, but now, he just seems to be spouting empty talk in the bottom three Heavens. We might even get the chance to overtake him!"

    "Well said, Senior Li!"

    The five Heaven Dao disciples were clearly ecstatic, which eased the nervousness in their hearts.

    Upon hearing their banter, Yan Qing frowned. Yet, he did not say anything, still focusing on the scroll hanging above his head, his gaze bing calmer.

    "Ssh-ink, tranquility ... water? I¡¯ve got it!" Yan Qing¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, like the calm surface of ake suddenly catching a stray strand of hay.

    Following that, a booming voice rang through the air.

    "Yan Qing has entered the Fourth Heaven!"

    "Yan Qing has entered ..."

    "...."

    "Eh? Yan Qing has also reached the Fourth Heaven!" The five disciples were astonsihed. After all, they arrived in the Third Heaven at around the same time as Yan Qing.

    "To think that Yan Qing would have such a profound understanding of Dao being a member of the War Pinnacle Empire who grew up in the jungles."

    "This must be because of his undying gifted bloodline!"

    "Hm, how enviable it must be to have a gifted bloodline!"

    Amidst their admiration, the five Heaven Dao disciples collected themselves and continued studying the scroll.

    "I¡¯ve got it, I¡¯ve got it ... I think I¡¯ve got it!" One of the disciples suddenly eximed. His face instantly flushed red. It wasn¡¯t any other disciple; it was the one who betted against Fang Zhengzhi and lost.

    "He Congming has entered the Fourth Heaven!"

    "...."

    "Senior He has entered the Fourth Heaven?! Hahaha, that¡¯s really impressive. We should strive hard as well and follow in Senior He¡¯s footsteps, and chase up ... no, overtake that bastard!" After hearing the booming announcement echoing from the horizon and watching He Congming vanish before their eyes, they were jolted with a sudden surge of overwhelming confidence.

    Meanwhile, in the Fourth Heaven, He Congming immediately noticed the figure standing in front of him, his tattered blue robes swaying with the rain.

    "Eh? Isn¡¯t this the unbeatable Master Fang, Fang Zhengzhi, who flew from the First Heaven up to the Fourth Heaven without any trouble? What¡¯s wrong, is Master Fang waiting for me? Or is one bottle of Star Water not enough? Do you want a few more?" He Congming beamed with glee.

 Chapter 706 Lifeâ€™s Destination

    Of course, to be so terribly happy and to tease Fang Zhengzhi so daringly and unscrupulously, He Congming must have a bit of basis to do so.

    Afterall, Fang Zhengzhi was just standing right in front of him.

    More importantly, he was very sure that Fang Zhengzhi was definitely not waiting just for a bottle of Star Water.

    The reason was very simple, that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had a gamble between them, and it was an important one.

    So, how could Fang Zhengzhi throw away such a big opportunity, deliberately dying his time in the Fourth Heaven, just for the tiny bottle of Star Water?

    Hence, the conclusion was obvious, that Fang Zhengzhi was unable to solve the riddle in the Fourth Heaven!

    This let He Congming to harbour hope once again, although he did not have the full confidence that he would win Fang Zhengzhi in the Fourth Heaven.

    He Congming waited for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer.....

    But Fang Zhengzhi had obviously not heard He Congming¡¯s question, as he was concentrating on the Battle Illustration in front of him. He did not even bother to give He Congming a look.

    He Congming had a change in his expression.

    "You....." He Congming saw the silent Fang Zhengzhi, and a gust of frustration boiled inside him. The feeling of being looked down upon was indeed difficult to tolerate.

    He felt like adding a few more sentences, such as, if you have the skill let¡¯spete another round, I have more treasures and valuables, other than the Star Water.

    But, just when he moved half a step forward, a sound rang beside his ears.

    "Shut up!" It was very direct, and carried a wild sense of madness, without a tinge of politeness at all.

    The person who said the sentence, was not Fang Zhengzhi naturally, but Yan Qing.

    "Yan Qing, what did you say, I am your Senior, you....." He Congming could notplete his sentence, as Yan Qing had already reached in front of him.

    Very quickly.

    He Congming had not time to react.

    The fierce vibe, coupled with a pair of beastly and ferocious eyes, sent a cold shiver down He Congming¡¯s spine. He inadvertently took a step back.

    A very small step.

    But his face was blushed red.

    As a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple with certain qualities, to be afraid of a Junior who had just entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion a month ago?

    How could his heart ept it?

    As he was preparing to open his mouth, a fisted punch approached his front. Such a situation was very sudden, and he felt a little bewildered.

    "Attack me? Yan Qing this fellow dare to attack me?!" He Congming could notprehend why Yan Qing dared to attack his Senior.

    Furthermore, his punch was so resolute and determined.

    Bewilderment, shock.

    But He Congming¡¯s skills were not weak afterall. Seeing the clenched punch, his body retreated three steps back swiftly, and a streak of white ice marks appeared below his feet.

    zed Frost Technique.

    This technique enabled He Congming to make use of the frost to dodge attacks swiftly, and could be considered to be one of his more valuable techniques. Even so, the corner of his shirt shattered due to the shock waves from Yan Qing¡¯s punch.

    This undoubtedly led He Congming to feel even more shocked.

    "Without any borrowed strength, this is pure power!" He Congming looked the at the shattered corner of his shirt, eyes wide in disbelief.

    While he was in the Rebirth State, he was merely in the initial stage of the Rebirth State, and paled inparison to Yan Qing, the top one elite of the War Pinnacle Empire, who was at the peak of the Rebirth State.

    He was definitely much weaker.

    Even though he had already entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion for four years.

    Yan Qing did not open his mouth, and did not continue to attack He Congming. He did not even bother to give He Congming another look.

    After one clenched punch.

    Yan Qing returned to his initial position, and he gradually shifted his attention to the Battle Illustration. He seemed as though he had never moved.

    He Congming moved his mouth slightly, as a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. His self-esteem seemed to be telling him, as an older disciple, that he should be treated with respect appropriately.

    But.....

    In front of this violent and impolite beast, he felt that he could temporarily suppress this sense of respect and dignity.

    "Hmph, I am the older disciple, so naturally I won¡¯t fuss around with you!" He Congming mumbled to himself before looking ahead of him.

    After the short noisy hustle, peace seemed to be restored in the Fourth Heaven.

    However, the peace did notst too long. After a while, a majestic voice resounded in the air again.

    "Chi Guyan, has entered the Seventh Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan has entered......"

    ....."

    "The Seventh Heaven? Hahaha, Senior Chi Guyan enters the Seventh Heaven!" He Congming¡¯s body palpitated vigorously upon hearing the voice. He could not contain his excitement as he yelled uncontrobly.

    "Eh?" Yan Qing¡¯s vision turned towards He Congming.

    "....." He Congming¡¯s lips moved again, as he felt like mocking Fang Zhengzhi with a few sentences. Afterall, such an opportunity was indeed rare.

    However, upon seeing Yan Qing¡¯s cold heartless eyes, he swallowed his words back down.

    It was needless to say that it was unbearable for He Congming to continue holding back.

    And at this moment, another voice resounded in the air.

    "Li Xuejin has entered the Fourth Heaven!"

    "....."

    Next, a silhouette appeared beside He Congming. He was d in a white schr gown, lightly blowing in the wind.

    "Eh? Brother He, why is your shirt tattered?" Li Xuejin¡¯s vision fell on He Congming¡¯s sleeve as soon as he had reached the Fourth Heaven.

    "....." He Congming¡¯s face was blushed in red.

    Why could he say?

    That it was from Yan Qing¡¯s one punch?

    He could not do so, as afterall he was still an older disciple. Hence, he could only tolerate it silently. His face turned purple, resembling a pig¡¯s liver.

    .....

    In contrast to the atmosphere in the Fourth Heaven, it was not as tensed as it was in the Divine Rain Pond. It seemed truly liberating.

    Cheering and chirping sounds reverberated throughout the Divine Rain Pond.

    Sixth Elder¡¯s face was rosy and fresh red in colour. He found a ce to sit down, and called for someone to bring him a pot of tea.

    It could be said that he was as rxed as ever.

    Behind him, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were simrly as excited.

    "Senior Chi Guyan is really too powerful!"

    "She managed to reach the Seventh Heaven! Such speed and efficiency had never been witnessed before in the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!"

    "Yes, based on such swiftness, it is only be a matter of time for her to enter the Eighth Heaven!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were exhrated. If Sixth Elder and the disciples were said to be initially worried about the situation, they had no feelings of that anymore, upon hearing that news.

    How could a person who was unable to even pass the Fourth Heaven.....

    Be a threat to Chi Guyan, who had already reached the Seventh Heaven?

    Unless, a miracle appeared!

    No.....

    Even if there were to be a miracle, it was impossible!

    "You guys feel, is it possible for Senior Chi Guyan to enter the Ninth Heaven?"

    "Ninth Heaven? This..... In the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there was only one person to ever do so. I think this possibility is still....."

    "True, to enter the Ninth Heaven is too difficult already!"

    As thispetition¡¯s victor became increasingly clear, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, naturally, hoped for even more miracles to happen.

    However, just like what they had said, the Ninth Heaven was indeed to difficult!

    Of course, as to whether Chi Guyan was really able to enter the Ninth Heaven, they were just merely discussing that issue among themselves.

    Time gradually passed by once again.

    Not long after, a piece of news from the Divine Rain Pond could be heard.

    Yan Qing has entered the Fifth Heaven!

    "Actually passed this stage?"

    "This Yan Qing, how powerful!"

    "Indeed, his status of being the top one elite of the War Pinnacle Empire is well deserved!"

    The news about Yan Qing was a bit of a shock to Sixth Elder and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. Because in theory, even if Fang Zhengzhi were to really encounter a problem in the Fourth Heaven.

    He should still be able to reach the Fifth Heaven before Yan Qing has done so.

    But the result was that Yan Qing had overtaken Fang Zhengzhi, being a step ahead of him.

    "This Yan Qing, not bad!" As Six Elder wasplimenting Yan Qing, he began considering how he could ept Yan Qing as his disciple.

    And the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, at this moment, began discussing and chatting among themselves.

    Not long after, the news of Li Xuejin entering the Fifth Heaven was also heard. He was one step ahead of He Congming, who had initially entered the Fourth Heaven before him.

    "This is so unexpected!"

    "No one would have thought that Li Xuejin was able to surpass He Congming!"

    "Yeah, before reaching the Ninth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond, I guess nobody can guess the victors and the losers?"

    After a period of time.....

    He Congming finally reached the Fifth Heaven.

    As news of the various disciples entering the Fourth Heaven began passing around, the spectators no longer considered if there was a possibility that Fang Zhengzhi would win Chi Guyan in this battle.

    "This Fang Zhengzhi had been waiting at the Fourth Heaven for almost an hour already?"

    "Around there, it looks like the Fourth Heaven is the destination of his life, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s unable to pass it!"

    "Hahaha, but for the first three Heaven, he was really very quick. He had given me a shock, I almost thought he was able to win!"

    "Who hadn¡¯t? I even let out a body of cold sweat."

    Upon hearing the news of the various disciples entering the Fourth and Fifth Heaven, and thinking about Fang Zhengzhi who was still stuck at the Fourth Heaven, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could not help but chuckle among themselves.

 Chapter 707 Solving, Another Dimension

    .....

    In the Divine Rain Pond, amidst the Fourth Heaven.

    Around seven to eight Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were looking at the Battle Illustration above their foreheads respectively. In contrast to their bewilderment and uncertainty as before, it seemed as though they had not noticed Fang Zhengzhi.

    Afterall, Fang Zhengzhi had been waiting at the Fourth Heaven for quite a period of time, resulting in them losing their excitement and interest in the challenge.

    Obviously Fang Zhengzhi did not pay any attention to the surrounding disciples.

    His vision was fixated on the ever changing Battle Illustration, and it felt as though he had sunk into another dimension.

    In reality, there was only one dimension in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    And that was a battlefield, a bloody battlefield.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen bloodbath during a war before. There was the sea of red during his time in the Cang Ling Mountain, the intense battle in the me Capital City, and especially at the Southern Region.

    The sight of countless troops from the Demonic Army, the Southern Region Army and the Great Xia Army shing with one another. In that battle, the soil was stained red in blood. Hundreds and thousands of lives were lost.

    It was a ruthless sight.

    However, be it any one of those battles, they paled inparison to the much more brutal battle in front of him.

    Or so to say.....

    The battle in front of him cannot be described by just the words brutal.

    Because, mountains of corpses piled up against each other, oneyer over the next. The zing fire engulfed the bodies, emitting a bloody smell in the air.

    And in the middle of the battlefield.

    There were still countless figures shing and attacking one another. Every silhouette carried a pair of blood red eyes, and it seemed like they had fallen into insanity.

    Madness from the massacre.

    "AH!!" Miserable screaming sounds reverberated throughout the air, as the blood red eyes turned their attention towards Fang Zhengzhi, and it seemed as though they had discovered a new prey.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi wanted to shout, but he realised that he was unable to even open his mouth. There was no sound emitting from his throat.

    Just at this moment.....

    The figures rushed towards him.

    Up close, Fang Zhengzhi could clearly see that the cold steels of their weapons were stained in fresh blood.

    "Kil!" Shouts could be heard.

    Shaking the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to extend his hands to p those things dead.

    However, he did not know why he was unable to raise his hands up. His body felt as though there was no energy left to move.

    What was happening?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a change in his expression, and he prepared to make his escape.

    But simrly it was merely manifested in the pure feeling of hope, as his feet felt as though they were nailed to the ground. He was unable to dodge, let alone run.

    "Ci La!" The figure who had first reached Fang Zhengzhi raised his spear up, sending the blood stained spear piercing through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Very painful!

    Excruciatingly painful!

    "I....." Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask him a sentence, such as, your attack was so vicious, does your sister know about this? However, looking at his facial expression, Fang Zhengzhi immediately kept his question.

    Because, its facial features were too hideous looking. It was distorted in nature, coupled with the thick ck hair and scale-like skin, as well as the protruding tip at his forehead.

    Obviously.....

    This was not a species that Fang Zhengzhi had seemed to recognise.

    Hence, it was not too appropriate for him to ask about his sister. Afterall, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s taste should not stoop to the level of a monster.

    "How painful..... No, I should be at the Fourth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond! Why am I here suddenly? Where is this ce? Inside the picture?" Fang Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously.

    He tried to tell himself that it was all part of his hallucination.

    But the excruciating pain felt too realistic. His energy was even affected by it, and it felt as though the spear had really pierced into his body.

    How could this be?

    The Fourth Heaven.....

    Could it be that everyone was seeing the same image as me?

    "Ci La!" Before Fang Zhengzhi could continue pondering about the situation, a second spear had already pierced into his body.

    Excruciating pain could be felt once again.

    At this moment, a murderous intent started boiling inside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart, resembling that of a burning bundle of dry wood.

    Furthermore, what was even weirder was that.....

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the murderous intent belonged to him, or rather, the murderous intent had always been hidden inside his body.

    "Kill, kill all these things!"

    "No, these are just hallucinations. I cannot kill, once I kill I will fall into the trap!"

    Two different voices floated in his mind simultaneously. These two different desires were fighting with one another within himself.

    At this moment, a third spear pierced towards him.

    "Ci La!" The excruciating pain, resembled the tumultuous sea waves. His murderous intent was even more intense than ever, and it felt as though it was about to devour his entire body.

    The Fourth Heaven.....

    The Fourth Heaven!

    What exactly was it?!

    .....

    After enduring piercings after piercings, his body started quivering uncontrobly, and his facial expression was one of ferocity.

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body contained a murderous intent, which was unbeknownst to him.

    This had also resulted the surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples to feel a little bewildered, as all their eyesid vision on Fang Zhengzhi.

    "Eh? What happened to his fellow?"

    "Did he give up, just because he cannot pass the Fourth Heaven?"

    "Maybe! I have heard that other than the Battle Illustration, the Fourth Heaven also tests one¡¯s innate desires and resolute character. While this fellow is gifted, but he is still young, andcking in experience. Furthermore, he was brought up in a vige, so his perseverance must not be strong!"

    "Makes sense, his heart is unsteady. This type of urrence ismon to those who have attained their skills too quickly!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s situation, and murmured among themselves softly. Thereafter, they did not bother him any longer.

    Afterall, they all knew that.....

    Although the middle three Heavens were testing one¡¯s character, but with the Heavenly Descent Dew, there should not be any big obstacle.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body stopped palpitating.

    Next, his ferocious expression gradually calmed down, just like the spring bamboo shoots after the rain.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head slowly raised up, with his mouth slightly opened, allowing the dew from the horizon to drop into his mouth.

    "Di gu!" He swallowed the dew in one mouth.

    Next, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s revealed a smile on his face, and he felt like the seedlings which had finally experienced rain after a long drought.

    Very splendid, very satisfied.

    At the same time, golden symbols started lighting up around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. More symbols started to appear.....

    "What was happening?!"

    "This fellow, what happened?"

    "Is this Baptism by the Holy Words?"

    "How can it be?! Wasn¡¯t he already baptized by the Holy Words before?"

    As the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the situation in front of them, their vision shifted away from the Battle Illustration, and towards Fang Zhengzhi. They were all shocked.

    While Fang Zhengzhi seemed as though he did not hear thements from the surrounding disciples.

    He merely smiled as he raised his head, looking at the still ever changing Battle Illustration. His eyes at this point of time had becamepletely transparent.

    Weirdly transparent.

    What was even weirder was, in his pair of eyes, there was a picture which was exactly identical to the Battle Illustration that was above his forehead.

    Even the changing transitions were identical.

    "Oh so it¡¯s like that, I understand, I finally understand!" Following the fluctuations in his eyes, Fang Zhengzhi could not help but let out a scream of excitement.

    And this sound, upon falling on the ears of the disciples, caused them to feel even more bewildered and astonished.

    "This fellow really understood it?"

    "Impossible? He did not understand after staring at it for so long. Only after such a short duration did he manage to understand it? I don¡¯t believe!"

    "You don¡¯t have to believe it. Even if he had really understood it, is there a need to be this excited? Afterall, Senior Chi Guyan had already reached the Seventh Heaven! This fellow still has to catch up to her?"

    "Brother Xia your words seem to make sense! Furthermore, after understanding it, he still needs time to solve it!"

    After looking at Fang Zhengzhi, the disciples once again gave out a disdainful look. Next, they continued on their unfinished business, which was to look at the Battle Illustration.

    Just at this moment.....

    The majestic voice resounded through the horizon again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Fifth Heaven!"

    Fang Zhengzhi has entered......"

    "....."

    Silence, shock.

    The disciples, who were originally supposed to observe their own pictures, seemed as though they were just struck by lightning.

    Their expressions all turned sluggish.

    "Cannot be? So fast? Did he not just say that he had understood it?" The disciples could not react in time upon hearing the news.

    Because, everyone seemed to have understood that understanding and solving were twopletely different concepts. Afterall, everything required these two processes.

    How could it be so quick!

    What have this fellow done?!

    The disciples looked at one another. They felt like catching up with him to ask him, how he could have been so quick.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body had already disappeared, how could he answer their questions?

 Chapter 708 Flying, Unable To Stop

    .....

    The news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Fifth Heaven naturally reached Sixth Elder and the spectacting disciples who were waiting outside the Divine Rain Pond.

    "Eh? This fellow finally had some movements?"

    "Such a pity, it¡¯s toote!"

    "Yeah, he stayed at the Fourth Heaven for around an hour, the Fifth Heaven is more challenging than the Fourth. Minimally he requires around two hours?"

    Upon hearing the news, each of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could not help it but reveal a smile on their faces.

    And the Sixth Elder merely nodded his head lightly, before acknowledging the news, and continued drinking his tea. His expression seemed carefree, and there was not much changes.

    Afterall, in theory, since Fang Zhengzhi had spent around one hour in the Fourth Heaven, it was only natural that he was able to enter the Fifth Heaven after this duration. There was nothing astonishing about this.

    .....

    Meanwhile in the Fifth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond.

    He Congming and three other disciples were looking at the picture above them, when at the same time they heard the majestic voiceing from the sky.

    Then, very quickly, they saw Fang Zhengzhi appearing.

    The three disciples stared nkly at Fang Zhengzhi for a while before reacting, as Fang Zhengzhi had indeed passed the Fourth Heaven after so long.

    "Eh? Isn¡¯t this Young Master Fang? Finally you came!" He Congming giggled before continuing. "But, is Young Master Fang not a littlete? Yan Qing had just reached the Sixth Heaven, if Young Master Fang wants to catch up onto Yan Qing, you need to work hard!"

    "What are you rambling about, Young Master Fang¡¯s aim is not to catch up to Yan Qing, but Senior Chi Guyan?" Li Xuejin, who was standing beside He Congming,ughed at thetter.

    "Eh, if Brother Li had not reminded me, I might have really forgotten about it. But, Senior Chi Guyan had already reached the Seventh Heaven, how is Young Master Fang nning to catch up?" He Congmingughed out once again.

    "Hahaha..... Who knows!" Li Xuejin simrly chuckled out loud.

    However, very quickly, Li Xuejin¡¯s expression changed, as his eyes widened momentarily, as if he had just seen an inconceivable situation.

    "No problems, slowly then. As long as you work hard, there¡¯s still hope. Isn¡¯t there an old saying, where there is a will there¡¯s a way. I think Young Master Fang..... Eh? Brother Li what¡¯s up?" He Congming was just about to continue his sentences, when he suddenly felt his shirt was being pulled by Li Xuejin who was standing beside him.

    "Something weird!" Li Xuejin¡¯s voice was not loud, but it could be clearly heard by He Congming.

    "Weird? What weir....." Just when He Congming wanted to ask the question, his body shuddered for a moment. He had indeed realised that Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little different, after Li Xuejin¡¯s reminder.

    Because, on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, there were numerous golden symbols and characters twinkling and shimmering.

    What was even weirder was that.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes!

    That was a pair ofpletely transparent eyes. They were as crystal as water, and more importantly, within the eyes, there was a picture which was ever changing and fluctuating.

    Furthermore, the picture was the same picture that was suspending above their foreheads.

    "What..... What is happening?!" He Congming was shocked, as the scene in front of him, was indeed weirdly incredible.

    As to the meaning of the golden symbols, He Congming understood. He did not, however, understand how the picture in the sky had managed to reach the eyes of Fang Zhengzhi.

    "I have a feeling, that Fang Zhengzhi may have undergone the Baptism by the Holy Words, but it shouldn¡¯t be? How can such a thing happen?" Li Xuejin frowned his eyes, looking doubtful.

    "You said Baptism by the Holy Words? How can this be!"

    "I also think that it is impossible! But....."

    "Brother Li, do you say it¡¯s possible that this fellow is intentionally ying tricks on us, making us think that....." He Congming did notplete his sentence.

    Because, at that moment, the majestic voice resounded across the horizon again.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Sixth Heaven!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered......"

    "....."

    He Congming¡¯s mouth opened wide in disbelief, and he did notplete his sentence, as he swallowed the words back down. He felt as though he had difficulty breathing.

    Held back.

    He really tried to hold back his feelings.

    Other than He Congming, Li Xuejin and another disciple standing beside them also opened their mouths wide in shock.

    "Sixth..... Sixth heaven?!"

    "How long..... How long has he been here....."

    "Ghost, there¡¯s really a ghost!"

    After being stupefied on the spot for a full half minute, He Congming, Li Xuejin and the other disciple finally reacted.

    They merely looked at one another, and the same phrase came out from their mouths simultaneously.

    "How weird!!!"

    .....

    To He Congming, Li Xuejin and the other disciple, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed a real monster.

    Because, other than this exnation.....

    They could not think of a second possibility.

    He had stayed at the Fourth Heaven for a full hour, but for the Fifth Heaven, he had managed toplete it within less than a minute.

    He merely looked up and gave the picture a few looks, before solving it?

    What other phenomenon was more iprehensible than this? More importantly, it had just happened right in front of them, and it was only a few steps away from them.

    "Demon?" During thest moment before Fang Zhengzhi left the Fifth Heaven, he gave them a disdainful look.

    He was indeed looking down on them.

    He was toozy to even bother to respond to He Congming¡¯s request for apetition. Afterall, it was not worth it for him to spend so much effort and energy on entertaining the three muddle-headed birds.

    "The Seventh Heaven? Chi Guyan, you wait, I¡¯ming now! You didn¡¯t tell me the truth in the middle three Heavens, resulting in me wasting so much time being trapped in the Fourth Heaven. What a liar!" Fang Zhengzhi felt a little depressed.

    Because, he was confident that Chi Guyan must have known about the secret. She could have revealed a slight hint to him, so he would not have been trapped for such a long time.

    Furthermore, more importantly.....

    How painful!

    Fang Zhengzhi had already decided, that the pain he had suffered in the Fourth Heaven, must be inflicted on Chi Guyan¡¯s body. Even if he had to bite her body, he would do it.

    .....

    In the Sixth Heaven.

    Yan Qing was converging his energy, cing his state of mind on the every changing picture that was above his forehead. He resembled a ck stoned statue.

    However, when the majestic voice made the announcement regarding Fang Zhengzhi, the ck stoned statue could be seen moving a bit.

    After a while, Yan Qing nced towards his back.

    "You....." It was seldom that Yan Qing revealed his surprised expression, but looking at the emerging Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes were wide round in disbelief.

    "Don¡¯t¡¯ have to be too surprised, I am just a passer by!" Fang Zhengzhi grinned from ear to ear upon seeing Yan Qing¡¯s wide eyes.

    He did not know why.

    As to Yan Qing who was in front of him, he seemed to not despise him that much anymore, aspared to previously. At least, he had some extraordinary skills.

    Such as in the Jungle of Mysteries.

    The attitude that Yan Qing had showcased, as well as the tenacity of his body, coupled with hisck of fear of death, had indeed given Fang Zhengzhi a shock.

    What was the feeling of using one¡¯s head to knock and break an icicle?

    Fang Zhengzhi had never tried that before.

    But, Yan Qing had!

    No matter which measure Fang Zhengzhi used to block and defend, Yan Qing only used one move, which was to use his head to attack, and he always did it so without any hesitation.

    This undoubtedly let Fang Zhengzhi to realise, that actually this world consisted of people who were unafraid of bleeding and having their bones broken.

    And in the Ninth Heaven.....

    Yan Qing had demonstrated his talents.

    He used the results to let others know that he was able to use his head not only for attacking and destroying things barbarically, but also to ponder and contemte about issues.

    "Passer by?" Naturally Yan Qing did not know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought process. He did not quite understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence.

    Of course, it was not that he did not understand the literal meaning of his words.

    But, what was the meaning behind them?

    However, his uncertainty did not remain for long, as his attention was quickly captured by the golden symbols on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Next.....

    Simrly he saw the pair of weird eyes.

    As crystal as water.

    Furthermore, more importantly, within the pair of crystal eyes, there was a constantly fluctuating picture, and it was always in sync with picture that was above their foreheads.

    "Eh? Baptism by the Holy Words?" Although Yan Qing had previously fought with Nangong Mu, he had seen the delivery of the Holy Words too.

    As such, this thought appeared in his mind.

    However, he immediately suppressed such a thought not long after, because they were in the Divine Rain Pond. Naturally it was impossible for any event regarding the Baptism by the Holy Words to exist.

    But if it was not Baptism by the Holy Words.....

    Then what was it?

    It was not often that Yan Qing would consider about his opponent¡¯s situation when he was participating in apetition. However, in such a peculiar situation, he was unable to stop himself from doing so.

    And at this moment, a voice could be heard in his ears.

    "Okay, I will go first, you take your time to look at it!" The voice naturally came from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. It was followed by another voice.

    The majestic voiceing from the horizon!

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Seventh Heaven!"

    Fang Zhengzhi has entered......"

    "....."

 Chapter 709 The Realisation of a Servan

    "Seventh Heaven!" The majestic voice continued to reverberate around Yan Qing¡¯s ears, and his eyes were round in disbelief once again, as he was no longer calm.

    Passing by?

    The Seventh Heaven.....

    At this moment, if Yan Qing were to still not understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meaning, he really deserved to knock his head against the wall.

    However, understanding was just one part of it. In light of the iprehensible situation, he hesitated to ept such a situation.

    Momentarily after, Yan Qing¡¯s expression restored back to normal.

    His vision shifted gradually to the fluctuating picture, as his mouth involuntarily murmured a voice, "How did he manage to do it?"

    .....

    The atmosphere outside the Divine Rain Pond was a joyous one.

    However, in the midst of the joyous asion, an unfitting figure, who was sweating profusely, came running from afar.

    "Sixth Elder.....Sixth Elder, it¡¯s not good this time....." Only the people from the Observance Chamber would be able to understand Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple Wang¡¯s current feelings.

    Initially, his face contained joy too.

    However, upon seeing the situation in front of him, he was unable to continue staying happy. Due to his shock, he had inadvertently forgotten to state the word "reporting".

    "What happened?" Sixth Elder waved his hands and motioned for the disciple Wang to calm down, before calmly drinking from his cup of tea.

    "Fang....Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Sixth Heaven!" The disciple Wang wanted to remain calm, but he was unable to do so.

    "Pu!" Sixth Elder immediately spurted out the tea that was in his mouth, sshing onto the face of the disciple Wang. Next, he began coughing vigorously, as it was obvious that the smile on his face was reced with shock. "Cough, cough..... You.....what did you say?!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has already entered the Sixth Heaven, and this is true, he.....he only spent less than a minute, then.....then he passed the Fifth Heaven!" The disciple Wang did not bother to wipe the tea off from his face, and proceeded to report to Sixth Elder.

    "Sixth Heaven? Only used less than half a minute.....How is this possible?" Sixth Elder rambled to himself, as he did not believe the news.

    So did the surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    However, they had clearly understood what the disciple Wang had said, and they knew that he would never ever crack such a joke.

    "The Sixth Heaven?! Isn¡¯t that only one Heaven away from Senior Chi Guyan?"

    "How did that happen? When he was in the Fourth Heaven, he took around an hour to solve it? As for the Fifth Heaven how is it possible....."

    "I don¡¯t believe, how can such a thing happen!"

    All the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were in shock, as afterall, nobody else would be able to ept such news.

    How can such a peculiar situation happen?

    Just when everyone was expressing their disbeliefs at the situation, a figure came running from afar. He was disciple Liu, who had simrly been at the Observance Chamber.

    "Sixth Elder, Sixth Elder!" Disciple Liu was as anxious as disciples Wang, but the former seemed to have difficulty walking steadily.

    Before reaching Sixth Elder¡¯s side, he staggered around before copsing on the ground, "Pu tong!" However, this did not affect hismand.

    Upon copsing, he crawled up again. When he was limping and staggering towards Sixth Elder, his body was alreadypleted drenched.

    "What has happened now?!" Sixth Elder was still in the state of shock, but looking at disciple Liu¡¯s pathetic situation, he reacted quickly over it.

    "Reply..... Replying Sixth Elder, it¡¯s.....it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi, he.....he has entered the Seventh Heaven!" After disciple Liu had finished hisst word, everyone seemed to have copsed on the ground.

    The entire Divine Rain Pond quietened down instantly.

    A weird kind of quietness.

    It seemed as though time had momentarily stopped for a while, as everyone¡¯s expression were as stiff and sluggish as ever.

    How long ago was the news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Sixth Heaven?

    Merely a few sentences worth of time.

    Seventh Heaven?

    How was such a phenomenon possible.....

    "Pa!" The sound of a cup shattering on the floor rang in the air. It was not loud, but amidst the eerie quietness, it sounded sharp and deafening.

    "What did you say?! Repeat it!" Sixth Elder¡¯s body started palpitating. Without bothering the shattered cup on the floor, he grabbed disciple Liu in front of him.

    "It¡¯s.....it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi who has entered the Seventh Heaven, it¡¯s definitely true!" Disciple Liu¡¯s face was blushed red.

    "This, this....." Sixth Elder¡¯s lips moved slightly, as his body continued trembling, and it seemed as though he would copse any time soon.

    And the surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were staring at one another, with each one of them understanding the other¡¯s expression.

    bbergasted.

    .....

    It was a simr situation outside the Divine Rain Pond.

    As well as in the Fifth Heaven, in the Fourth Heaven and in the Third Heaven.

    Nobody wished to believe the piece of news.

    However, the majestic voice in the air informed everyone that it was in fact the reality, that Fang Zhengzhi had wholly entered the Seventh Heaven, and was in the same Heaven as Chi Guyan.

    "Seventh Heaven?! Seventh Heaven....." He Congming¡¯s looked towards Li Xuejin, as his body copsed on the floor.

    "How did this happen? Why!" Li Xuejin¡¯s throat moved, and his face was simrly pale in color.

    As the fine rain droplets dripped down onto the shirts of the disciples, the wind blew against the corner of their outerwear. The rain was not heavy, but it felt incredibly cold.

    A chilling cold in their hearts.

    In the Seventh Heaven.

    Simrly there was fine rain pouring down from the horizon,nding on the white jade stones.

    It was different from the middle three Heavens, as there were no wars nor battles, or blood. It was different from the first three Heavens too, as there were no grass or trees.

    The white jade stones were the main element here.

    Pirs made up of white jade stones were erected in the middle. There were seven of them, and each one of them had lively engravings of animals and birds carved on them.

    And in front of the seven white jade stone pirs, there was a solo figure. She added a tint of stunning pink color amidst the white.

    She was different from the rest of the disciples, as her expression did not reveal much shock. She merely turned her head slowly, as her bright eyes gazed towards another approaching figure.

    It was a blue figure, a figure clothed in a blue gown which had seemed to be tattered from the branches of the trees.

    Such a figure would normally be described as pathetic. However, there were numerous golden symbols shimmering on its body, covering the ws on its outerwear.

    Not only did it not seem pathetic, it even felt glorious.

    However, the sense of glory did notst very long. Very quickly, the golden symbols started disappearing, just like a passing flying star in the horizon, which disappeared in an instant.

    "As a leader of the servants in charge of warming the beds, shouldn¡¯t you have a simr realisation?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang in the air.

    "Leader of the servants in charge of warming the beds?" Chi Guyan¡¯s expression finally had some sort of movements, however small they may be. The corner of her mouth revealed a smile, just like a blossoming flower amidst the snow. "Then, may I ask this servant of lowly status, as a leader of the servants, what kind of realisation should I have?"

    "Seems like you have yet to give up?" Fang Zhengzhi shuddered a bit upon hearing it, but he felt that since they were already exchanging words, he should try to be more imposing.

    "Why would I want to give up?" Chi Guyan asked him back.

    "You should know that since young, I¡¯m better than you at solving the Illustration of All Creation!" Fang Zhengzhi gave the suspending picture a look, before revealing a smile on his face.

    By this time, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have naturally understood the secret of the middle three Heavens.

    Battle Illustration?

    That was just a mere facade. The suspending pictures from the Fourth Heaven to the Sixth Heaven were no Battle Illustrations, but the Illustration of All Creation!

    Of course, the Illustration of All Creation here, in contrast to the one he had seen in the Southern Mountain Vige as a child, cannot bepared.

    Indeed Fang Zhengzhi had yet to think about this point since the start. All he thought about was how to prevent himself from being distracted, how to ovee the murderous intent in his heart, so as to find the hidden meaning inside the picture.

    After a while, he realised he was wrong.....

    The picture by itself was useless. It all depended on the person looking at the picture, or so to say, it was a reflection of the onlookers¡¯ heart.

    Such a concept.....

    Seemed to be veryplex, but to simplify it, when Fang Zhengzhi was looking at it as a child, it had already imnted the Heart Dao inside of him.

    After understanding such a point, he decided to look at the Battle Illustration in the Fourth Heaven again. It was a familiar feeling, and a very strong one.

    The Illustration of All Creation was derived from the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    This was something that Fang Zhengzhi had known since young.

    However, the Illustration of All Creation circting in the Great Xia Dynasty was just a mere replica of the original. Rather, it was only a picture which was carved onto the Stone Tablet.

 Chapter 710 A Miraculous Counterattack

    Previously Fang Zhengzhi had not been able to understand the phenomenon. Since the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was neither a rock nor a physical item, was it then a permanently evolving matter?

    How was such an item.....

    Carved into the Illustration of All Creation?

    This question had bothered him for several years. Even after he had obtained the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, he still had yet to answer the question.

    However, now, he understood it.

    The genuine Illustration of All Creation and the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet were both always constantly evolving and changing, depending on the surrounding viewers¡¯ internal thoughts and intentions.

    And naturally it was impossible for such fluctuations to be recorded on the Stone Tablet.

    As such, mankind, being an intelligent species, devised an idea to use the Illustration of All Creation to express those concepts through the pictures.

    It was a simple concept. The different species and animals were stored as one point, and so were the different other types of patterns and shapes, such as circles, triangles, rectangles, etc. A line was then used to highlight that evolution.

    Next, the points and paintings were recorded in sequential order on a ck Stone Tablet, so as to let onlookers view them.

    This was how the Illustration of All Creation was formed.

    Of course, the pictures from the Fourth Heaven to the Sixth Heaven naturally were not replicas, but the authentic Illustration of All Creation from the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Upon understanding this concept, Fang Zhengzhi was able to do so for many other problems quickly.

    To solve the Illustration of All Creation?

    He was an expert at doing that!

    He just had to think slightly out of the box, and rearrange the fluctuating pictures in his mind to form a different image. The pictures were then no longerplicated.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n. However, after solving the authentic Illustration of All Creation, he discovered an idental surprise.

    The evolution of the Illustration of All Creation, was the meaning of Dao!

    Every evolution referred to a form of Dao, and in the Illustration of All Creation contained several forms of Dao.

    "....." In that instant, Fang Zhengzhi almost pped himself relentlessly in the face. Because he had suddenly discovered that he was in fact a wealthyndlord, one who did not how to capitalise on his fortunes and treasures.

    While he did not have the Illustration of All Creation, he had the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!

    And he had 14 of them!

    At Cang Ling Mountain, he had manage to obtain one. Thereafter, Yun Qingwu gave him 13 more.

    In the entire world, there were only a total of 36 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, and he owned 14 of them himself. Refraining from sounding too arrogant, who had more Heaven Dao Sage Tablet than him?

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to throw them away into The Vast World, but he thought that since they were still treasures, they should not be thrown away.

    But now.....

    Upon closer consideration, if he were to use the concept of the Illustration of All Creation on the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, then, the evolving tablets would then be able to be morphed into pictures.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was able to fly.

    Of course, he could indeed fly, as he flew from the Fourth Heaven to the Seventh Heaven. In just a moment, he had reached the front of Chi Guyan.

    As such, he had decided to first question Chi Guyan why she did not provide him with such valuable information.

    However, he was very clear of Chi Guyan¡¯s character, and that she would not admit it. The only method was to destroy her internal line of defense.

    For example, the sentence "You should know that since young, I¡¯m better than you at solving the Illustration of All Creation!", as well as the nickname "leader of the servants in charge of warming the beds", were to directly inform Chi Guyan that she had lost, and that it would be better for her to ept her fate now.

    In fact.....

    It seemed like Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s method was effective.

    When Chi Guyan heard them, her face had a change in expression, and she looked as if she had received a shock to her heart.

    Looking at Chi Guyan¡¯s face, Fang Zhengzhi felt a little surprised. He felt that their fight should have been more intense and exciting.

    Such as, a few vigorous and intensive skirmishes, or even ckmailing and uncovering each other¡¯s weaknesses.....

    But Chi Guyan did not do any of these.

    She did not even refute Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocating words immediately, and seemed to be considering if she would ept her loss.

    "Could it be that this girl¡¯s line of defense really crumbled just from my words?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s silent expressions. While he did not believe it, the reality seemed to be telling him that Chi Guyan was indeed seriously contemting on his words.

    Furthermore, she did not even open her mouth.

    Next, Fang Zhengzhi saw that her vision slowly shifted to the suspending picture in the sky, and her bright eyes started alternating, with various golden symbols seemed to be shimmering within.

    "Eh? Golden symbols? This girl..... What is she doing?" Fang Zhengzhi was a little curious, but just then, the majestic voice suddenly resounded in the air.

    "Chi Guyan has entered the Eighth Heaven!"

    Chi Guyan has entered....."

    "....."

    Fang Zhengzhi, who had been patiently waiting for Chi Guyan to give up and admit her fate, found his body trembling as the smile on his face instantly disappeared.

    Entered the Eighth Heaven?!

    What.....does this mean?!

    The plot doesn¡¯t seem right?

    Normally, after Chi Guyan¡¯s line of defense had been broken down, she would have kneeled down on the floor, and begged for her forgiveness with a face full of tears.

    Or even, she should have struggled for a bit, before mocking him: you finally uncovered the secret?

    Just like this she flew up to the Eighth Heaven.....

    What did this mean?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the wind in the Seventh Heaven felt a little cold. It blewed against his back, and he felt a slight chill in his heart.

    "Wow.....crap! Did I not just help Chi Guyan?!" After a slight cough, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have woken up from his thought process.

    Suddenly, he seemed to have understood everything.

    He finally understood why Chi Guyan did not refute his words when she heard his sentences, but chose to stay silent.

    This girl Chi Guyan.....

    Actually did not know the pictures in the nine Heavens were merely just forms of the Illustration of All Creation?

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his understanding of the whole world had changedpletely. He had always thought that Chi Guyan¡¯s knowledge was as deep as the ocean.

    To describe her, it would be that there was nothing that she did not know, and nothing that she could notprehend.

    As such, he thought that since he had already understood the concept, Chi Guyan would have then done so too before reaching the Ninth Heaven.

    Naturally he did not proceed to discuss the concept with Chi Guyan.

    However, never would he ever expect that Chi Guyan actually did not know that it was in fact the Illustration of All Creation, and that he had unintentionally told her about it.

    Where was the logic?!

    Furthermore, more importantly, the girl Chi Guyan, upon realising the situation, had actually put up an act in front of him.

    Then.....

    Then she just flew up to the Eighth Heaven?

    Leaving him in the Seventh Heaven to enjoy the view.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like asking Chi Guyan where her moral values were. Was the trust between mankind worth less than one Illustration of All Creation?

    They could no longer have fun with one another in the future!

    Of course, there was no way for him to ask the question, as Chi Guyan had already left, and went up to the Eighth Heaven. More importantly, he was the one who told her about the Illustration of All Creation.

    This was awkward.

    "Not good, Chi Guyan is already in the Eighth Heaven!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly realised the grave importance of the issue in front of him.

    Telling her about the Illustration of All Creation was not the key factor. The key factor was the possibility that Chi Guyan may use his method to solve the pictures, and that would be troubling for him.

    Having such a thought, Fang Zhengzhi realised that time was of utmost importance.

    He did not continue to think about that issue.

    Calm, he must be calm in such a situation.

    And look at the picture properly!

    Then, he would catch up to her in the Eighth Heaven, and properly give her a beating before covering her eyes, so that she would be unable to see anything.

    At such a key moment, he had no choice but to use this extreme tactic.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mind exerting a little violence, especially when he recalled that Chi Guyan had referred to him as a servant of lowly status.

    How was he able to tolerate it?

    As he raised his head, he looked at the picture suspending above his forehead.

    Then.....

    Fang Zhengzhi froze on the spot.

    "Eh? Why is this picture......different from that in the middle three Heavens?!" Fang Zhengzhi had yet to look at the picture after reaching the Seventh Heaven.

    The reason was simple, because he had full confidence in winning.

    He had felt as though he was an assassin, one that had never lost, standing on the peak of a mountain, looking at the tiny endless valleys and hills below him.

    Loneliness, with a tinge of arrogance.

    Then, he would not have bothered about the tiny valleys and hills in front of him, because in just a move of his hands, he would be able to tten everything.

    Furthermore, more importantly.....

    It was obvious that Chi Guyan had managed to understand the logic in the Seventh Heaven only after being reminded by him.

    What was the problem?

    There could not have been any problem!

    But, why was the picture in the Seventh Heaven different from the Sixth Heaven?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was extremely stiff. There was no smiles or frowns on his face, and it was just a nkless expression. To use a word to describe his feelings.....

    It would be foolish.

    "So, now having dugged a well for others to drink, in the end, not only did I not receive any water, I was in fact poisoned?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the suspending picture, feeling bitter.

 Chapter 711 Fly Away, Donâ€™t Twist Your Back!

    Of course, no matter how bitter his heart was, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had to face the reality. He had to be the first to enter the Ninth Heaven, so as to win.

    Was it really possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly remembered that Chi Guyan had once told them that there was only one person to ever enter the Ninth Heaven.

    Was he able to be the second one to do so?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that such a possibility was indeed ridiculous. However, he did not have a second choice, and there was only one road in front of him.

    How could he tolerate being a lowly servant, he had to be the master!

    He did not think for much longer.

    Only calmness.

    Fang Zhengzhi tried his best to calm himself down, as he looked at the suspending picture once again. However, he was unable to maintain such a status for long.

    Because he was unable to calm himself down.

    "What is the meaning of this?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the gigantic picture, feeling bewildered.

    Afterall, he was able to recognise the drawing, as it was a living thing which everyone could recognise.

    A dragon!

    A dragon which was tumbling around in the horizon!

    With its golden scales, its fiery eyes, sharp ws, as well as its long beard and ruthless fangs, it seemed as though the entire picture was moving.

    Needless to say, it was a spectacr sight.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not understand why the picture in the Seventh Heaven contained a dragon.

    To have a dragon here.....

    What was the meaning?

    Should it not be a fish instead? Or even an immobile salted fish?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like asking out loud, where was the Illustration of All Creation? Where were the different Daos? To have a dragon here, what exactly was the meaning?

    He seemed to have finally understood the phrase "the greatest truths are the simplest".

    The simpler something was, the more difficult it would be for him to understand it. Of course, he understood why Chi Guyan had spent such a long time in the Seventh Heaven.

    It was because such a picture of a dragon was far toomon, since it could be seen in any of the Empire¡¯s pces.

    It was because of its prevalence that let him to not understand the situation.

    .....

    While Fang Zhengzhi was pondering about the golden dragon on the drawing, the atmosphere outside the Divine Rain Pond changed once again.

    "The Eighth Heaven?!"

    "Senior Chi Guyan has entered the Eighth Heaven!"

    "She is one step ahead of Fang Zhengzhi, that¡¯s good. Atst she won!"

    "Yeah, she finally managed to be one step ahead!"

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all euphoric, as afterall, in their hearts, entering the Eighth Heaven was the equivalent of winning thepetition.

    As for the Ninth Heaven.....

    That was just merely a thought.

    In the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there was only one person who managed to do so. As such, how could there be another miracle?

    Even if it was Chi Guyan, the possibility of entering the Ninth Heaven was extremely small.

    Hence, how was Fang Zhengzhi able to do it then?

    As long as Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were stuck in the Eighth Heaven, the victor would then be the one who had first entered the Eighth Heaven, which was Chi Guyan.

    Cheers erupted outside the Divine Rain Pond, reverberating across the horizon.

    And the Sixth Elder let out a sigh of relief at this moment, as the shock and anxiety on his face slowly disappeared upon the arrival of the news.

    "Not easy, it was so close!" Sixth Elder gazed at the horizon, feeling a little awkward.

    At this moment, he felt a little fortunate.

    If he had not made some tweaks.....

    The oue may have been different.

    Sixth Elder wiped the sweat off his forehead, "This punk Fang Zhengzhi is indeed a monster. What a pity, he does not have a long life. If not, with his talents, he could have been a terrifying existence....."

    .....

    At the Heaven Dao Pavilion, in the forest beneath the Sword Peak.

    Yan Xiu was still sitting beside the river, his hands slowly flipping the old journal. He seemed to be very concentrated. A small breeze blew against his costume.

    At this moment, something flew past in the air. It was notrge, and it was verymon.

    However, just when it flew past a ck figure, the ck figure disappeared from sight.

    Next, the ck figure reappeared on a tree branch, and the bird could no longer be seen in the air. Instead, a small bamboo pole was left in the hand of the ck figure.

    It opened, revealing a set of yellow paper sheets.

    There were a set of words written in ck ink: Chi Guyan has entered the Eighth Heaven, thepetition is about the end, please get ready.

    Next, with just a slight snap of the ck figure¡¯s fingers, the yellow paper strip morphed into powder form, dissipating into the wind.

    Next, the ck figure looked towards the riverside, where Yan Xiu was at. He continued to remain in his position.

    .....

    Inside the vast and endless Holy Region, there was a ce which resembled a fantasy wondend. It was springtime throughout the whole period of the year, and the flowers were always blossoming.

    In the colourful wilderness, a clear river stream flowed down from the top of the mountain, morphing into arge dragon-like waterfall.

    Underneath the waterfall was ake, which seemed to be bottomless.

    Along thekeside, there were dozens of damsels clothed in long colourful dresses, each of whom looked delicate and pretty.

    In the middle of the wilderness, they were like angels who had just descended from heaven.

    And among them, there was a particrdy, dressed in bright red colour, as the corner of her skirt floated on the water, leaving residues on top of it.

    It could be seen that theke water was indeed abnormal.

    However, thedy bared her foot as she stood by thekeside, and her actions did not seem to be inappropriate. She did not emit any noise.

    She merely raised her head, looking up at the floating clouds in the horizon. Her eyes were crystal clear, and they seemed to be filled with hope.

    "Ping Yang, have you finished your duties today?" Anotherdy asked her from behind.

    This led thedy to shudder slightly, and her face turned pale.

    However, she did not respond, and she merely bit her pink lips as she shook her head lightly.

    "Since you are already here, you should learn to bear hardships. Don¡¯t say that I did not remind you, you should know what kind of ce this is. If it was ording to my temperament, I....." As thedy spoke, she frowned her eyebrows, as if she had thought of something. She continued momentarily after, "So what if you¡¯re capable? If you refuse toplete your duties resulting in the dy of ours, don¡¯t think of eating dinner tonight!"

    "I¡¯m doing them now!" Upon hearing these words, Ping Yang did not wait for thedy toplete her sentence, as she leapt up and jumped into the bottomless chillingke.

    The cold water sshed up.

    Andnded on thedy¡¯s body. She involuntarily let out a loud shriek.

    "Aiyo, it¡¯s freezing me!" She shouted as she tried to avoid the water. Next she stared at the ripples on theke, "Hmph, you didn¡¯t even greet us, you think every one of us is the same as you? Capable.....so what if you¡¯re capable? You only know how to harvest the ¡¯Ice Frost Crystal¡¯ from the coldke. Those that don¡¯t know you, will really think that you¡¯re a princess!"

    After scolding out loud, thedy moved aside and found a ce to sit down, as she begun sorting the harvested fruits in her basket.

    After a few moments, movements appeared on the surface of the coldke again.

    Next, a figure, who was covered in frost, leapt out from the coldke. Her face seemed a little pale.

    "Came out already? Why did you harvest only one ¡¯Ice Frost Crystal¡¯? You have to harvest five of them today!" Thedy saw that Ping Yang was holding only one ice crystal, and she was a little unsatisfied.

    "Ok.....I understand." Ping Yang¡¯s lips trembled slightly, as it started turning from the colour of pink into shades of green and purple. She was trying her best not to let her voice quiver.

    "Good that you know, you have to harvest five Ice Frost Crystals before sunset. This is Lady Cang Yue¡¯s order, nobody can defy!"

    "If I manage to harvest five of them, can I be the one to deliver the Ice Frost Crystal to the Ling Yun Tower?"

    "No, anybody can deliver them. But, only you are not allowed to step into the Ling Yun Tower. This is Lady Cang Yue¡¯s order too, nobody can defy!"

    "But....."

    "There are no buts, these are rules! Since you¡¯re here, do not think about anything else already. You should know what this ce is? Aftermitting mistakes, you should ept the punishment!"

    "I won¡¯t leave this ce, at least for now. I still have three more months. After three months.....he will definitelye and find me. I cannot leave this ce!" Ping Yang shook her head, as she looked at the horizon once again.

    The soaked dress wrapped around her body, outlining Ping Yang¡¯s exquisite body. Drops of frost dripped down from her body, emitting subtle sounds uponnding on the ground.

    "You are starting to daydream again.....I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking about for the whole day? Leaving? Even if you wish to leave this ce it is impossible for you? Everyday you¡¯re mumbling things about someoneing here to pick you up.....don¡¯t you know that this is Ling Yun Tower¡¯s ¡¯Ice Prison¡¯?" Thedy¡¯s vision turned towards Ping Yang¡¯s naked feet, and the silver chains around her ankles.

    And at this moment.....

    A purple figurended from the horizon. Just like a falling leave, itnded by thekeside quietly without making any noise.

    "Lady Cang Yue!" Thedy and the surrounding figures immediately kneeled on the ground upon the sight of the purple figure.

    "Alright, you guys can back down." Cang Yue waved her hands towards thedy and the kneeling personnel.

    "Yes!" They started backing down, and as they were doing so, thedy looked at Ping Yang once again.

    As for Ping Yang.....

    She stood by thekeside without moving, her crystal eyes not revealing any surprise or astonishment. It was as if she had yet to see Cang Yue.

    Cang Yue¡¯s expression did not change much, as she quietly waited for thedies to back away before slowly finding a ce to sit down.

    "Are you really going to continue waiting?" After a few moments, Cang Yue finally opened her mouth.

    "Yes." Ping Yang nodded her head without any hesitation.

    "If he is dead?" Cang Yue seemed to ignore Ping Yang¡¯s response, and proceeded to ask her question.

    "Impossible!" Ping Yang¡¯s expression change suddenly, but her eyes were still as stubborn as ever.

    "You think I¡¯m lying to you?" Cang Yue continued.

    Ping Yang did not reply, and she merely stood at her original position. She bit her lips tightly without making any sound, as the frost on her dress continued to drip down on the ground.

    "I can give you another choice!" Cang Yue opened her mouth once again after waiting for a moment. "One, you can continue waiting in this Ice Prison, or two, you can follow my orders and make a death vow, that from now onwards you will forget your previous identity. You will forget about your rtionship with my Ling Yun Tower, and even if you¡¯re dead, there will be no existence of Ping Yang this person. You will change your name, and I will bring you into the Ling Yun Tower!"

    "I want to continue waiting!" Ping Yang shook her head.

    "Ping Yang, even if Fang Zhengzhi is not dead, do you really think that he can bring you out of this Ice Prison? Stop dreaming, only I can bring you out of here!" Cang Yue¡¯s vision suddenly turned sharp.

    "He is not dead, I believe he is definitely not dead. And I believe he definitely can bring me out of the Ice Prison. I want to use Ping Yang¡¯s identity to enter the Ling Yun Tower, and not using another name!" Ping Yang looked towards Cang Yue, as her crystal eyes revealed a sense of unbending stubbornness.

    "Hehe....." A smile appeared on Cang Yue¡¯s lips. Next, she shook her head lightly, "Don¡¯t mind me telling you this. Even though he¡¯s indeed still alive, but he has offended the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Yin Yang Hall. He is a dead person. Furthermore, he has already lost the blessing of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Is it worth to wait for such a person?"

    "Worth!" Ping Yang answered once again.

    "Why must you use Ping Yang¡¯s identity to enter the Ling Yun Tower? To be honest, previously I wanted you dead. But now you¡¯repletely different, just one Demon Pill have changed your fate. This is something that I have never expected. You can change your name and receive a new identity, and live your previous life, why is that not good?" Cang Yue did not seem to understand.

    "After I change my name and my identity, can he still recognise me?" Ping Yang refuted.

    "Of course not, even if he were to recognise you, you definitely cannot admit to him, because you have already made the death vow, that you¡¯re no longer Ping Yang from today onwards!" Cang Yue shook her head.

    "But, I still wish to continue to be Ping Yang." She gazed at the horizon, and merely looked at the clouds in the horizon, as if she was thinking about something.

    "Since you wish to do so, why not let¡¯s make a bet?" Upon hearing this, Cang Yue¡¯s expression had a slight change in her tone.

    "Continue." Ping Yang looked at Cang Yue once again.

    "Let¡¯s bet, if within three months, Fang Zhengzhi is still not able to save you from the Ice Prison, then you¡¯ll lose. You have to follow my orders to make the death vow, and change your name and identity, and I¡¯ll bring you into the Ling Yun Tower. But from then onwards, there is no longer Ping Yang this person¡¯s existence!" Cang Yue replied.

    "If you lose?" Ping Yang refuted again.

    "Hmph, it is impossible that I lose, because if he really dared toe over, I will kill him the moment he stepped into the Ling Yun Tower!" Cang Yue let out a coldugh before continuing. "Of course, if I were to really lose this bet, you are free to do whatever you want!"

    "Okay, I want you to carry a set of thorns on your back, and kneel in front of the me Capital City for three days and three nights. This is to redeem yourself for what you have said towards my father and the people of the me Capital City that day!" Ping Yang smiled with confidence.

    "You¡¯re clearly daydreaming. If you win me, I am willing to kneel for 10 days and 10 nights!" Upon finishing her sentence, Cang Yue morphed into a ray of light and rushed up into the horizon, instantly disappearing in the air.

    And Ping Yang quietly looked at the disappearing Cang Yue, as her confident expression continued to remain unbending. Her crystal eyes continued to shimmer lustrously.

    "Pu Tong!" A sound could be heard.

    Pin Yang¡¯s body leapt into the coldke once again, resembling a red fish, causing ripples along the way.

    ....

    At this moment, in the Seventh Heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi stared intently at the suspending picture above him, as he looked at the golden dragon, with his eyebrows frowning tightly.

    He still could not figure it out.

    One dragon.....

    In the picture of the Seventh Heaven, what did this mean? This did not make sense at all. Could it be that this ce was different from what he had envisioned?

    The Illustration of All Creation should be a fluctuating picture right? But one dragon? What was happening? This was the upper three Heavens of the Nine Heavens, should there not be problems and questionnaires of the respective concepts?

    What is this joke?

    Could it be that his reasoning was wrong?

    But, no it wasn¡¯t!

    Chi Guyan was able to solve the picture in the Seventh Heaven after hearing his reminder. If Chi Guyan was able to solve it, why wasn¡¯t he able to solve it, since he was the one who reminded her?

    Dragon.....

    What exactly did it mean?

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at the golden dragon intently, observing its every action and movement. To say that he was not anxious at all would bepletely wrong.

    Afterall, Chi Guyan had already entered the Eighth Heaven.

    Once Chi Guyan was able to enter the next Heaven, he would then really be a servant of lowly status.

 Chapter 712 Stop Your Act, Be More Sincere

    "What is happening? There are no rules at all!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the golden dragon, and tried to analyse its movements and trajectory. However, after staring at it for a full minute, he did not manage to point out any patterns or extract any rules from it. ???

    This led him to feel even more anxious.

    The Seventh Heaven.....

    He was unable to even pass the Seventh Heaven, how was he able to overtake Chi Guyan, and to enter the Ninth Heaven?

    Was he really going to be Chi Guyan¡¯s lowly servant? He was unsure how Chi Guyan would torture him. If his duties merely included the pouring of tea or water, it would still be bearable for him.

    What if it involved wax y or the whipping of his body?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this possibility was very small, but there was nothing definite in this world. Who would be able to guarantee that such an event would never ur?

    Even if Chi Guyan had no such hobbies herself, but if she really wanted to try them out, as a lowly servant, he would not be able to resist.

    No!

    He definitely could not allow such things to happen!

    But, how could he solve it? It was just a dragon, one which did not have any patterns or rules on it. No matter from which perspective, he was unable to see how this was rted to any "Dao"?

    Rules.....

    No rules?

    If there were no rules, was this then rted to the dragon itself?

    No, no!

    He had informed Chi Guyan about the Illustration of All Creation, and it was because of his reminder that Chi Guyan had managed to solve the Seventh Heaven.

    This was a very important point!

    What was the Illustration of All Creation? It was the evolution, the evolution of the different pictures!

    Dragon.....

    Evolution!

    "Could it be....." Suddenly, a daring idea appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, and it became increasingly clear to him.

    Actually he had a certain level of understanding towards dragons.

    As the legend goes, dragons were always mythical existences, and nobody had actually seen one. Of course, that was in the previous universe. In this current universe, Fang Zhengzhi did not dare to affirm such a belief.

    But, ording to the book records, the physical shape of dragons was actually an example of evolution.

    As recorded, "The dragon is the king of reptiles. There are 81 scales on its back, and its sound is like the beating of gongs. It has a beard near its mouth, and a pearl on its chin. It can produce water, and it can also generate fire."

    In the romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao had also mentioned about the specialties of the dragon, "A dragon can be big or small, and can rise up or hide itself. When erged it can emit fog, and can make itself invisible whenpressed."

    These were all the special capabilities of a dragon. Besides all these, the physical shape of the dragon was also an evidence of evolution. There was amon expression which could be split into ninemonalities: horns like that of a deer, head like that of a cattle, eyes like that of a prawn, mouth like that of a mule, abdomen like that of a snake, scales like that of a carp, ws like that of a hawk, beard like that of a human, and ears like that of an elephant.

    As such, it could be said that dragons themselves were a form of evolution, or rather, abination of all living species, as they epassed all the special traits.

    "Understood, understood!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, as numerous golden symbols shimmered in his eyes.

    It was the same sight as when Chi Guyan had solved the Seventh Heaven.

    And just when the golden symbols had lit up, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the dragon in front of him had became increasingly clearer to him, and it was as if the dragon was living inside his body.

    "So it¡¯s like that.....are these the nine Heavens?" Upon reaching this point, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood the hidden meaning in these nine Heavens.

    As for the bottom three Heavens, the hidden meaning was the characteristic of Dao.

    And as for the middle three Heavens, they focused on the importance of evolution and the multiple evolutions of Dao.

    As for the upper three Heavens.....

    It was the importance of fusion, and the fusion of the different Daos, as well as how evolution had led to fusion.

    It was possible for everything to fuse into one.

    "Yan Qing has entered the Seventh Heaven!"

    "Yan Qing has entered....."

    "...."

    At this moment, the majestic voice rang in the air again. Next, Yang Qing¡¯s figure appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi instantly.

    "Fang Zhengzhi, you have yet to solve the Seventh Heaven....." Yan Qing looked towards Fang Zhengzhi immediately upon arrival.

    However, he was unable toplete his sentence because the majestic voice in the air had interrupted him.

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Eighth Heaven!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi has entered...."

    "....."

    After the voice rang in the air, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body disappeared from its original position.

    "....." Yan Qing¡¯s mouth moved, but after realising that the Seventh Heaven was empty except for the seven round pirs, he did not know what else to say.

    But at this moment, he heard a voice.

    "A thousand processes of evolution, fused into one!"

    "A thousand processes of evolution.....fused into one?" Yan Qing was able to recognise that the voice originated from Fang Zhengzhi, but he did not understand the meaning behind his sentence.

    However, his visionnded on the suspending picture above his forehead.

    "Dragon?!" After Yan Qing saw the picture, he seemed as anxious as Fang Zhengzhi when thetter had initially seen the picture. In fact, his expression was even more exaggerated, "Why is there a dragon? This dragon.....what does it mean?"

    .....

    When the news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Eighth Heaven had reached outside the Divine Rain Pond, it naturally brought shock to Sixth Elder and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    Afterall, in the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there were only a few who had managed to enter the Eighth Heaven. In fact, the numbers were extremely extremely small.

    Only seven of them.

    And now, this number was sessfully altered, from the initial seven to the current nine, and it was altered on the same day.

    How could one not feel astounded?

    However, the selection test in the Divine Rain Pond had already ended. The Eighth Heaven was then everyone¡¯s final destination.

    "This fellow really did it? Entered the Eighth Heaven! How did he manage to do it?"

    "I¡¯m not sure, but I am sure that this fellow is indeed a rare prodigy. He is very strong, really very strong!"

    "Yeah, one who is able to enter the Eighth Heaven.....must be capable?"

    While the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were feeling shocked, each one of them slowly looked at the Divine Rain Pond, feeling a little more respectful towards him.

    Even Sixth Elder, upon hearing the news, felt astounded too, as he sighed softly under his breath, "Such a capable sessor! What a pity, what a pity indeed....."

    "Regarding that, Yan Qing had also entered the Seventh Heaven, not sure if there¡¯s any possibility that he would reach the Eighth Heaven. Afterall, there is still some an hour left before the Divine Rain Pond closes!"

    "If Yan Qing were to really enter the Eighth Heaven, it would be a real miracle!"

    "Hahaha.....yes true. To have three person entering the Eighth Heaven within a single day, I do not even dare to envision such a scenario!"

    The disciples looked up at the sky, as they turned their attention towards another person, which would then be Yan Qing who had entered Seventh Heaven.

    Afterall, in their hearts, Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi had already reached the limit.

    It was impossible for them to continue!

    .....

    In the Eighth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond.

    Upon entering, Fang Zhengzhi saw that there were white pirs which were identical to that in the Seventh Heaven. Chi Guyan was standing in front of the pirs.

    A pink dress fluttering lightly in the air.

    It was a beautiful scenario, but Fang Zhengzhi did not spend too much effort admiring it, because it was obvious that Chi Guyan was starting attentively at the suspending picture.

    She did not bother to greet Fang Zhengzhi, unlike what had happened previously in the Seventh Heaven.

    "Oh? You¡¯re looking at the picture, if you have any knowledge you can share them with me. Who knows, you may even receive my guidance, just like what had happened in the Seventh Heaven. You must understand, that you owe it to me that you manage to enter the Eighth Heaven, yes?" Fang Zhengzhi said as he strode towards Chi Guyan.

    Of course, while he was walking over, he looked up towards the suspending picture.

    He gave it a look.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s footsteps halted immediately.

    Because, the suspending picture did not contain any ink or drawings. It was an empty piece of paper.

    Empty paper?!

    Fang Zhengzhi had a sudden feeling, that this world was void of any existence of trust and love. To have a dragon appear in front of him the Seventh Heaven was already frustrating enough for him.

    And in the Eighth Heaven, there was an empty white paper?

    How?

    It was as if he had waited confidently for the examiner to question him, but the examiner did not even utter a single word, and merely threw him a piece of empty paper.

    Without any questions.....

    How would he answer it?

    The range of questions were far too broad, and he could only rely on his luck to guess what the examiner was thinking.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not even know who the examiner of this question was. So, how could he guess the examiner¡¯s thought process?

    Chi Guyan, upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, retracted her vision, before slowly turning towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    "My thinking is that everything started from nothing and evolved into something, before disappearing into nothing again. All things came from nothing and will disappear into nothing. You? Do you have a different thinking?" Chi Guyan opened her mouth after turning her body around. She did not seem to hesitate at all.

    "All things came from nothing and will disappear into nothing?" Fang Zhengzhi shuddered slightly, as he could not help but repeat Chi Guyan¡¯s words.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s words undoubtedly caused him to be slightly shocked, as afterall, he did not expect her to share her ideas so generously.

    It was obvious that she seemed different from her behaviour in the Seventh Heaven.

    "If you do not have any ideas for now, you can first take a look at it." Chi Guyan found a ce to sit down, and did not bother to look at the suspending picture.

    "Why must you express your ideas?" Fang Zhengzhi felt even more bewildered after seeing Chi Guyan sitting down.

    Initially, he had prepared to use words to provocate Chi Guyan with his reasonings and principles in an imposing manner, so as to disturb her thought process.

    He did not intend to show any mercy, until Chi Guyan has fallen to the ground.

    But.....

    Chi Guyan was just sitting on the ground currently, and Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he had just punched onto cotton. He felt devoid of energy and strength.

    "Didn¡¯t you just say it? Thanks to your reminder, I can then enter the Eighth Heaven. So now, of course I will express my ideas and thoughts." Chi Guayn said naturally.

    "I almost believe you." Fang Zhengzhi gave her a disdainful look, as he was not willing to believe Chi Guyan¡¯s words.

    He understood Chi Guyan very well.

    ording to her disposition, she would never admit defeat. Furthermore, she had spent so much effort nning this game of chess.

    If Chi Guyan really wanted him to win, she would not have announced the gamble between them, which resulted in Sixth Elder expelling him into the Jungle of Mysteries.

    A trap!

    It was very obvious that it was a trap!

    Fang Zhengzhi would not fall into it. However, as for Chi Guyan¡¯s words just now, he did not manage to find any problems with it.

    Because, just like what Chi Guyan had said.....

    The empty paper in front of them could possibly meant what she had just said, that all things came from nothing and would disappear into nothing.

    But if that were to really be the answer, why would Chi Guyan reveal such information, and more importantly, why was she still waiting in the Eighth Heaven.

    A problem.

    There must be a problem.

    But, where was the crux of the problem?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not quite understand. He observed the suspending picture a few more times, and momentster, he reached a conclusion.

    It was really a piece of empty paper.

    And it was a verymon piece of paper. There were no traces of marks or inkings.

    Did he have to look at the piece of empty paper for an hour?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Chi Guyan who was closing her eyes to recharge her energy. He immediately sat down beside her.

    A light breeze blew past, against Chi Guyan¡¯s long dress.

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi could smell the perfume dissipating from Chi Guyan¡¯s body, coupled with her breath and her body temperature.

    "I have a question to ask you." Fang Zhengzhiid down as he looked up at the sky above him.

    "Ask then." Chi Guyan did not open her eyes but merely nodded her head lightly.

    "Would you say, if I suddenly attack you now, resulting in your unconsciousness, I would then win this match?" Fang Zhengzhi adjusted his body slightly into a morefortable position.

    "No, not counted." Chi Guyan¡¯s answer was very crisp and direct.

    "It¡¯s not counted if I beat you into unconsciousness?"

    "Of course not, we areparing as to who can reach a higher Heaven in a shorter time, and I had reached the Eighth Heaven one step ahead of you. If you do not manage to reach the Ninth Heaven, then I would have won this gamble." Chi Guyan answered.

    "But that was because I had helped you!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little unsatisfied.

    "But the fact is that I was faster than you, no?" Chi Guyan followed Fang Zhengzhi and slowlyid her body on the ground.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything, because what Chi Guyan had said were all facts, that they werepeting as to who could reach a higher Heaven in a shorter time.

    Upon thinking till this point, Fang Zhengzhi felt the temperature surrounding him to be warmer than usual. Next, he felt a weight resting on his shoulder.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi looked around instantly, before realising that Chi Guyan¡¯s head was actually resting on his shoulder.

    Cannot be?

    Chi Guyan started developing feelings for me?

    His charisma had suddenly became so overwhelming? In such a scenario, should he make use of the opportunity to gain an advantage?

    But, during the time when he was staying in Chi Guyan¡¯s small wooden house, they had always kept an appropriate distance between each other.

    There¡¯s a trap!

    Chi Guyan¡¯s actions seemed abnormal. First, she expressed her ideas generously, next she actually used this tactic to fool around with him.

    Wait.....

    Was this girl trying to dy the time?

    After such a thought shed past Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, he woke up instantly. Next, a drop of cold sweat slid down from his forehead.

    Obviously, Chi Guyan was deliberately trying to dy the time.

    First, she pretended to be magnanimous, expressing her ideas. Next, to let his guard down, she sat on the ground and closed her eyes, as if she had pretended to give up on the Eighth Heaven.

    Indeed, an actress!

    More importantly, if Chi Guyan was able to solve the Eighth Heaven, she would not have waited for Fang Zhengzhi toe up before entering the Ninth Heaven herself.

    "I¡¯m going to see the picture!" Fang Zhengzhi moved his shoulders before standing up. Next, he looked up at the suspending nk paper.

    "Ok, actually I have an insight, do you want to hear?" Chi Guyan¡¯s body sat up as a smile revealed across her face.

    "It¡¯s better if you stop your act now, be more sincere!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed his middle finger at Chi Guyan before giving her a scornful look.

    "Hehe...." Upon hearing that, Chi Guyan could not help but startedughing out loud. She resembled a beautiful flower, which had finally fully blossomed.

    It was the sort of beauty that would instantly cause even the brightest stars to lose their glow. It was stunning and magnificent.

 Chapter 713 The Proper Opening of the Ninth Heaven

    But Fang Zhengzhi did not have the mood to appreciate Chi Guyan¡¯s beauty. Afterall, he only had less than an hour left to solve the difficult problem at hand.

    An empty piece of paper.....

    What did it refer to?

    Following Chi Guyan¡¯s concept, all things came from nothing and would disappear into nothing. Such a logic was not difficult to understand.

    However, was this really the case?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure of that, and he had no way of confirming it, because if that was true, he would have been in the Ninth Heaven by now.

    There was a problem, definitely a problem, but what was it? Was Chi Guyan¡¯s concept notplete, or were there other meanings to it?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the suspending nk piece of paper again.

    It was needless to say that the paper was indeed very white, and there was nothing special to it. If it had not been in the Eighth Heaven, he would not have given it a second look.

    "So difficult indeed!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart gave out a sigh internally.

    Actually, when he had first seen the piece of nk paper in the Eighth Heaven, he immediately understood that it was definitely not a random urrence that only one person managed to enter the Ninth Heaven in the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    A piece of nk paper, that was too difficult. He had nothing to start with.....

    Wait!

    Start?

    Suddenly, an inexplicable yet daring idea shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Or rather, it was an idea that no one had thought of before, and would not think of.

    And that was.....

    To draw on the painting.

    Of course, it was not difficult to think of such an idea. However, the Divine Rain Pond was considered to be a sacred ce of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    As a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, who would dare to draw on it?

    If Fang Zhengzhi had already joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion, or if he did not have such a gamble with Chi Guyan, even if he were to think of this idea, he would not dare to do it.

    Because, if he were to fail, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    It could be said that Fang Zhengzhi was the first "outsider" to ever enter the Divine Rain Pond.

    Upon having such a thought, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, and it felt as though he had seen a ray of light in the dark.

    "Give it a try? I have already reached here anyway, and I won¡¯t be pregnant even if I give it a try. If I were to really spoil it.....then I¡¯ll run!" Fang Zhengzhi felt no pressure at all.

    Since he was definitely leaving this ce, he had to give it a try before leaving. Of course, the more important reason was that he felt that the Nine Heavens could not have been designed so poorly, having existed for such a long time.

    The picture would be ruined just from his drawings?

    It should not happen!

    Fang Zhengzhi had always been a rash person, and he seldom hesitated for long before acting. As for the brush.....as a schr himself, naturally he would bring one along with him at all times.

    The Four Treasures of the Study appeared before him.

    "Stopughing, prepare the ink for me!" Fang Zhengzhi envisioned that he was about to enter the Ninth Heaven soon, thus he ordered Chi Guyan around and treated her like his servant.

    "Ink?" Chi Guyan stopped herughter as her bright eyes looked towards the Four Treasures of the Study in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Next, she looked at the suspending empty piece of paper and seemed to have instantly figured it out, "Are you thinking of drawing on the paper?"

    "Can¡¯t I?" Fang Zhengzhi asked her back.

    "You can give it a try." Chi Guyan nodded her head after a short period of silence, before sitting beside Fang Zhengzhi and preparing the ink for him.

    Such an action.

    Undoubtedly led Fang Zhengzhi to feel a little astonished, because he did not expect Chi Guyan to approve of his actions so casually.

    Did this girl not have any intention of protecting the "public property"?

    Of course, all these were not important anymore, since Chi Guyan had already agreed to it. Next, it was time to think of what to draw.

    Draw a dragon?

    Or maybe, a phoenix, or even a red grouper. How about a grouper leaping over a dragon gate, so as to demonstrate his spectacr brush skills.

    Hmm, tooplex....

    Just give it a try then, just like the First Heaven. A stroke was sufficient to demonstrate the differentplex logics.

    He saw the ink pouring out from the inkstone and he picked up his brush and dipped it inside.

    Next, he leapt up.

    It could be said that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stance was very elegant, as his shoulders were extended and his eyes filled with energy. He resembled a swan goose flying in the sky.

    Of course, it would be perfect if not for his tattered blue gown.

    Chi Guyan did not make any moves upon seeing that, and she merely looked at Fang Zhengzhi quietly. A smile could be seen hidden in her face.

    Closer, closer.....

    In just a breath of stroke, he wielded his brush across the paper.

    The ink from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brush left a sword-like mark on the nk white paper.

    "Not bad, my stroke is powerful, very imposing indeed!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the mark on the paper, and seemed satisfied.

    Then.....

    Nothing happened.

    A stroke of ink indeed appeared on the picture, but there was no majestic sound, and Fang Zhengzhi was still in the Eighth Heaven.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes uponnding on the ground. "Is one stroke not enough, do I need to draw a few more strokes? Or do I really need to draw a grouper leaping over the dragon gate?"

    While he was thinking about all these, the picture suddenly started emitting rays of light, just like that of a crystal white jade.

    "Eh?" Chi Guyan seemed a little shocked upon seeing what had happened, as she stared intently at the picture.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was filled with joyous expression too.

    "There¡¯s movement, I¡¯m indeed a genius!" Fang Zhengzhi gave himself 32 praises. Afterall, nobody would have thought of such an abnormal idea. "Seems like.....it¡¯s time for me to be basked in glory in the Ninth Heaven!"

    Waiting.

    Fang Zhengzhi was waiting for the majestic voice to ring in the air.

    But the fact was that the majestic voice never appeared, and that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stroke on the picture slowly disappeared.

    It seemed as though the white paper had absorbed it.

    "Disappeared? From something into nothing? Should be this!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the picture which had once again turned white, as he felt even more confident.

    And at this moment, a loud howling sound reverberated across the quiet horizon.

    It was the sound of a thunder.

    Next, a purple ray of lightning struck across the horizon, as it approached Fang Zhengzhi swiftly.

    "Eh? Is this the proper method of entering the Ninth Heaven?" Fang Zhengzhi was a little bewildered, as the lightning struck onto his body.

    "Hong!" The ground vibrated.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt immortalised for a moment, as the lightning wrapped around his body, causing him to feel numb all over.

    And, more importantly.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was very ck.

    Of course, any other person would have their face turned ck too, after being struck by lightning.

    Then.....

    Nothing happened again.

    The horizon restored its light, and the wind was still as refreshing as ever. The eight white pirs were still erected in front of him, and the suspending picture was still as white as ever.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned ck, and he seemed confused. "So, that¡¯s all? I thought one stroke was sufficient? Will I not fly up to the Ninth Heaven?"

    "Hahaha....." Chi Guyanughed loudly, and she did not even bother to conceal her unscrupulousughter. Even her body was palpitating.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, and felt extremely depressed. He was never as depressed as he was currently before.

    All along, he had always felt that his ideas were superior to others.

    Take this incident as an example.....

    Such a daring yet creative idea, who would be able to think of that? Even if others were able to think of such ideas, who would dare to do it?

    No one!

    Impossible for anyone to do it!

    Fang Zhengzhi was very sure that his ideas and methods were extremely unique, but unfortunately, the reality was ruthless.

    Not only did he not manage to enter the Ninth Heaven, he was still struck by lightning?

    What was this meaning!

    Wait!

    It would be wrong to say that he did not receive anything from that experience. At least he was struck by lightning, that was a fact for sure?

    "Very funny?" Fang Zhengzhi turned around to look at Chi Guyan.

    "Is it not funny?" Chi Guyan asked him back. Her eyes were filled with joy, and theughter was genuine anding from her heart.

    "At least, there were movements, no?" Fang Zhengzhi refuted.

    "Since that¡¯s what you say, it seems..... Ok, maybe that¡¯s really one method!" Chi Guyan stoppedughing as her face seemed to turn serious once again, as if she was considering about the issue.

    Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips, as he mumbled in his heart, "One method? Why don¡¯t you try this method then!"

    Chi Guyan walked to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side as she looked up at the picture contemting the issue.

    "Maybe.....there¡¯s a problem with your drawing." Chi Guyan did not look at Fang Zhengzhi as she said that, and it seemed as though she was talking to herself.

    "What problem?" Fang Zhengzhi refuted.

    "Recall the situation carefully, from the First Heaven to the Seventh Heaven, did it not turnplex along the way, before fusing into one?" Chi Guyan proceeded to reply him.

    "Hmm?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little bewildered, as his mind recalled the drawings from the First Heaven to the Seventh.

    It was indeed what Chi Guyan had said.

    From the First Heaven to the Third, there was only one stroke, and it did not seem to fluctuate much.

    From the Fourth Heaven onwards, there were more fluctuations, with even more numerous changes. The fluctuations had reached its peak at the Sixth Heaven.

    Finally, at the Seventh Heaven.....

    They had fused into "one".

    Of course, this "one" was not the numerical number "one", but after countless evolution processes, everything fused into one body.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, as he realised that everything seemed like a cycle, where everything originated from nothing, before disappearing into nothing.

    "I think we can try again!" Chi Guyan opened her mouth again, as her voice was filled with an unusual form of stubbornness.

    "How do you want to try?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    "I have observed it carefully just now. After you drew that one stroke on the picture, there was no immediate reaction. It was only after a while that it started emitting light." Chi Guyan analysed out loud.

    "So, your meaning is?"

    "Maybe.....it was waiting for you to draw another stroke!"

    "Draw another stroke? Impossible, so that I¡¯ll invite two more lightning bolts?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    "Maybe!" Chi Guyan nodded her head.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was almost definite that such a scenario would happen, and that his body would only be used as a shield. "Why not, you give it a try?"

    "Alright!" Chi Guyan nodded her head again without hesitation.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a little shocked.

    Really?

    Would Chi Guyan really believe that one stroke was insufficient, and that two strokes would suffice? This type of foolishness did not seem to coincide with Chi Guyan¡¯s intelligence.

    Should he more generous, and allow her to give it a try?

    No!

    What if the girl really flew up to the Ninth Heaven because she drew on the picture? Even if he followed suit, there was no use then.

    As long as Chi Guyan reached the Ninth Heaven before him, then it would mean the end of thepetition, as there was no way for him to overtake her again.

    He must not let her try!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop her, but he paused for a while as he felt that somewhere was wrong. Could Chi Guyan be deliberately making use of his fear of losing, as to induce him to continue trying to draw on the picture?

    And she would then stay at the back andugh at him?

    This possibility was very high, as Chi Guyan was never the naive and foolish person that she was currently.

    How?

    Should he let Chi Guyan give it a try, or should be give it another try?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not make up his mind, as if he were to allow Chi Guyan to try, he might lose the bet. But if he were to try it himself, he may suffer another two lightning bolts.....

    "I will go and draw now." Just when Fang Zhengzhi was contemting, Chi Guyan took out her own brush, and dipped it inside the inkstone.

    "Wait a while!" Fang Zhengzhi saw that Chi Guyan was about to leap up, and did not contemte any longer. He immediately stopped Chi Guyan¡¯s "rash" actions, "I am a man, I should do this type of things!"

    "You¡¯re sure?" Chi Guyan gave him a weird look.

    "Of course I am sure!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    Naturally he had already guessed that it might be a trick, but, what could he do? Should he then stand aside helplessly as Chi Guyan went up to try?

    Better to be safe than sorry, what if Chi Guyan really seeded?

    To be a lowly servant for a month, aspared to being struck by two lightning bolts, Fang Zhengzhi preferred to choose thetter.

    To take a thousand steps back.....

    Why would a real man be afraid of one or two lightning bolts?

    He must be able to do it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Chi Guyan¡¯s reply, and he immediately leapt up towards the suspending picture once again.

    And Chi Guyan smiled from ear to ear upon such a sight, as a ray of light shed through her eyes.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi could not reverse his decision.

    He stared intently at the nk piece of paper, as he wielded the brush in his hands, and two strokes of ink appeared on the paper once again.

    The ink markings revealed a domineering vibe.

    It was needless to say that Fang Zhengzhi had put in his effort this time round, as the two ink strokes incorporated his Dragon yer sh within.

    "I don¡¯t believe that I still can¡¯t seed this time round!" Fang Zhengzhinded on the ground softly, as hope filled his eyes.

    At this moment, the two strokes on the white painting disappeared once again, just like what had happened previously.

    Next.....

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was not right.

    He lifted up his head, and his eyes opened wide in disbelief, because the two lightning bolts struck down from the horizon once again.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi no longer naively believed that this was the symbol for the Ninth Heaven opening up, and he stepped aside to avoid the bolts without hesitation.

    However, just when he moved aside to dodge the bolts, they seemed to possess some sort of intelligence and followed suit to his new position.

    "Hong!" A loud sound rang in the air.

    The hairs on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body stood up immediately, and he felt extremely sour. He could not tolerate the feeling any longer, "Damn, there¡¯s really two lightning bolts!"

 Chapter 714 The Truth of the Ninth Heaven

    To be struck by lightning, not once but twice, resulted in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s originally pathetic outlook to seem even more miserable.

    Some tattered parts of his blue gown had already turned ck, and the hair on his head had been struck upright. He looked as if he had just came out of an explosion.

    Of course, it was not easy to get rid of the light headed feeling.

    "Hahaha....." Chi Guyan could not help but burst outughing. She palpitated back and forth, resembling a quivering stem of flower.

    "Happy?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed dissatisfied.

    "I think two strokes are insufficient, maybe three strokes are needed!" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes shimmered with rays of light, and she looked like a military advisor.

    Fang Zhengzhi gave Chi Guyan a scornful look. Three strokes? Think I¡¯m foolish? A person canmit one or two foolish mistakes, but cannot make three foolish mistakes consecutively.

    Three strokes!

    That would then be three lightning bolts.

    Even a fool would be able to predict that. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had always prided on his own wits, how would he believe Chi Guyan¡¯s words again?

    "Three strokes? You go then!" Fang Zhengzhi responded without hesitation.

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll be going up down. Don¡¯t you regret, if I¡¯m able to solve the Eighth Heaven, you do not have any opportunity left." Chi Guyan nodded her head casually.

    "Wait!" Fang Zhengzhi stopped Chi Guyan once again.

    He did not know why, but he had always felt that Chi Guyan seemed a little weird. Although he was certain that Chi Guyan was using him.

    But, there was certainly more than what had met the eye.

    Because, there was a motive behind Chi Guyan¡¯s actions.

    To see him suffering from being struck by the lightning bolts? There was a slight possibility, but it was not high.

    Afterall, with Chi Guyan¡¯s character, she would not resort to such behavior just for her satisfaction. Furthermore, they were in the Divine Rain Pond, and they had the same purpose, which was to enter the Ninth Heaven.

    What was the reason then?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan and her alluringplex, as he could not help but feel a little suspicious of her actions.

    Chi Guyan seemed to have noticed his stares, and predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would stop her soon, "How? Do you want to try?"

    "Of course, I am a man. I can¡¯t let ady get in front of me. Right?" Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    "Alright then, you can give it another try!" Chi Guyan nodded her head, and her expressions did not have any changes at all.

    Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi felt even more bewildered.

    Something¡¯s wrong!

    Very wrong!

    The more calm Chi Guyan seemed to be, the weirder he felt about the whole situation. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi knew that she did not want to lose.

    Then why did she give the opportunity to himself?

    Furthermore, since she continued to allow Fang Zhengzhi to attempt the problem, it must be because Chi Guyan knew that her attempts would not yield any fruitful oues.

    Having thought about that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. If Chi Guyan was sure that her attempts would be futile.....

    Did it not mean that she already had an answer in her heart?!

    Fang Zhengzhi started recalling what had happened previously. Then, he looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s behavior, and he was even more sure of that.

    First she pretended to be kind, advising him to draw two strokes instead of one.

    And even pretended to be enthusiastic about wanting to try.

    And now she¡¯s saying that two strokes are insufficient, three strokes are required.....

    It was obvious that she was trying to induce him to have the wrong thoughts.

    More importantly, since the beginning, Chi Guyan had never expressed her ambitions of reaching the Ninth Heaven. In fact, it had felt that she was trying to intentionally dying the time.

    This was too iprehensible.

    Because, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan was not onlypetitive, but proud and arrogant.

    This pride was something Chi Guyan would never abandon.

    To be more direct, anybody would have intentionally dyed the time if they wanted to win the gamble, but Chi Guyan would never do that.

    Because, being a prideful being, she would never choose to give up when faced with the obstacle in the Eighth Heaven.

    Chi Guyan wanted to enter the Ninth Heaven too.

    Furthermore, her desire to do so was no lower than that of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. But Chi Guyan deliberately suppressed such a desire, and did not express it out.....

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to enter the Ninth Heaven even more badly.

    Indeed.....

    Chi Guyan was not only capable with her skills, but her intelligence was incredibly high too, and could be said to be the Demon of all demons.

    Unfortunately, this Demon was his opponent, and he had to triumph this opponent no matter what.

    How?

    Fang Zhengzhi was left with a few choices. The first was to continue to give it a few more attempts, and maybe one of them would be the answer.

    Of course, he might not be able to guess the correct answer, and would eventually be struck motionless by the lightning bolts. It was very possible that Chi Guyan would then attack him from behind, resulting in him being unconscious.

    The probability of this happening was very high.

    Chi Guyan was willing to allow him to continue trying because she wanted to drain his energy, so as to ascertain her victory.

    The second choice was to allow Chi Guyan to try, but even if he were to enter the Ninth Heaven, he would be behind Chi Guyam.

    Then, he would have lost the bet.

    Of course, there was the third choice, which was for him to suddenly have an epiphany, and to suddenly discover the key to the Eighth Heaven, so as to enter the Ninth Heaven.

    However, he had yet to gain any insights.

    Furthermore, his mind had seemed to be entrapped by Chi Guyan, and all he could think about was three strokes, four strokes, five strokes, six strokes.....

    Wait.

    Talking about the numerous strokes, would there be a possibility.....

    That it was not a matter of how many strokes there were, but that one must draw out all the principles from the First Heaven to the Seventh Heaven?

    Draw all of them?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up again, as he felt that this situation was very usible. However, he felt that it was almost impossible to fulfil such a scenario.

    Even for the most brilliant and skillful painters, it would be impossible for them to duplicate the drawings from the First Heaven to the Seventh Heaven.

    Afterall, it was too difficult.

    The difficulty was not within the drawings themselves, but the fluctuations and changes, especially those in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens. How was it possible to illustrate those fluctuations?

    Downright impossible.

    But what else could it be?

    The First Heaven, the Second Heaven, the Third Heaven.....the Seventh Heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi started recalling his past memories in the previous Heavens, as the images of the drawings shed through his mind.

    Theplex philosophies, the different cycles.....

    Wait!

    Was there a possibility.....

    Understood, understood!

    In an instant, an idea shed through his mind. It became increasingly clear to him, and he immediately picked up his brush.

    "How? Still not going to give it another try? If three strokes are insufficient, you can try four strokes, or even five or six strokes....." At this moment, Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang in the air again.

    "Hm, alright!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, as he wielded the brush tightly and prepared to follow Chi Guyan¡¯s suggestions. However, he stopped almost immediately.

    Wrong!

    If Chi Guyan had thought of that idea too, how would Chi Guyan stand aside helplessly and allow him to solve the Eighth Heaven?

    There must be a problem.

    If he were to really follow her suggestions and draw a few strokes on the paper, it was only natural that she would not stop him. In fact, she would be even more delighted for that to happen.

    But once his actions were perceived to be able to solve the Eighth Heaven? Would the girl, at the most important point of time, attack him from behind?

    Probably, most probably!

    In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood why Chi Guyan did not want to attempt even though she knew the answer.

    The reason was because she was afraid that if Fang Zhengzhi were to know what she was doing, he would attack her from behind too!

    In that case.....

    He understood everything else already.

    Chi Guyan had indeed thought of a method as to how she was going to solve the Eighth Heaven, but she was afraid to say, and she could not do it. Because, he was just behind her.

    And currently, he was facing the same problem.

    Even if he were to think of the solution, he had no way of executing it too, because Chi Guyan was just behind him, and once he made his move, Chi Guyan would definitely attack him from behind.

    High intellect?

    Fang Zhengzhi had never felt so ingenious before, and he knew that Chi Guyan would definitely not wait for him to win her.

    This was a little awkward.

    Both of them did not dare to make their moves first, because the person who first made the move would then be the loser of the gamble.

    How?

    "If you still don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll proceed to try then?" Chi Guyan looked at the motionless Fang Zhengzhi, and could not help but urge him once again.

    Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi was sure of his idea.

    Chi Guyan desired to enter the Ninth Heaven too, but there was less than half an hour of time left.

    "Okay, I¡¯m going!" Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate any longer.

    He leapt up and wielded his brush across the paper, and started drawing on it.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up instantly.

    However, the light in her eyes disappeared not long after, as Fang Zhengzhi had alreadynded on the ground, and there were three ink strokes on the picture.

    In the end.....

    Needless to say.

    After the three strokes had disappeared, the horizon started to change once again. Simultaneously, three purple lightning bolts struck down from the sky.

    "Chi Guyan, I hate you!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed dumbfounded, as he tried to duck behind Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    But there was not much use.

    Three three lightning bolts seemed to have eyes themselves, as they avoided Chi Guyan beforending on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    "Hong!" A loud sound rang in the air again.

    And smoke started emitting from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, as his eyes turn dull instantly. Next, a "Pu Tong" sound could be heard as he slumped on the ground.

    What a astonishing scene.

    Afterall, to be struck by three lightning bolts simultaneously was indeed very amplifying. The entire Eighth Heaven started trembling.

    "I, I.....am.....not giving up...." Fang Zhengzhi mumbled a few inaudible sounds, as his body started convulsing.

    The power from the three lightning bolts were indeed too strong, and it was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was unable to tolerate the suffering. Even though he seemed unwilling to, he quickly lost unconsciousness and fainted on the ground.

    "Shameless thief, are you okay?" Chi Guyan seemed a little anxious, and she no longerughed upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s condition.

    She quickly bent her body over.

    Her jade-like hands pressed onto his chest, before cing her ears against his body. She seemed extremely concerned.

    "Shameless thief, wake up quickly!" Chi Guyan shook Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body as she screamed out loud, "We still need to enter the Ninth Heaven, wake up....."

    "Wake up shameless thief, don¡¯t faint!"

    "Endure it for a while longer!"

    "....."

    Her anxious sounds continued to ring in the air, but after shaking his body for a full half-minute, Fang Zhengzhi did not seem as though he would wake up any time soon.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s expression seemed dull, and her soul seemed to have left her body.

    "Shameless thief, I¡¯m in the wrong, I did not think about it quickly. But now I have, let¡¯s try it for onest time. Quickly wake up, we can seed this time round!"

    Chi Guyan continued to mumble, "It¡¯s my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have let you try. Actually, upon further thinking, we should use the beginning and the end to simte a cycle. The First Heaven is the beginning, so there¡¯s only one stroke, and the Seventh Heaven is the end, where the entire evolution fused into one, so we¡¯ll use one stroke....."

    Upon saying that, Chi Guyan paused for a while, and it could be seen that her eyes had already turned watery. She sat beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    Time started to pass by quickly.

    But Chi Guyan continued to sit motionlessly by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side. From her expression, it seemed as though she had no intention of drawing on the picture.

    There was only two minutes left till the closing of the Divine Rain Pond, and Chi Guyan let out a heavy sigh once again.

    "Sigh....." Chi Guyan stood up slowly.

    Next, she looked towards the suspending white drawing, and momentarily after, her eyes lit up, resembling that of the brightest stars in the universe. There was even a bit of colours floating within.

    Then.....

    Chi Guyan started moving.

    Just like a beautiful butterfly, she flew up onto the horizon, as her pink dress shimmered brilliantly against the light.

    She wielded her brush.

    Ink started appearing on the drawing, and the brush seemed to be one that was able to give life onto the things that it had drawn.

    Next, the dot that Chi Guyan had created on the drawing started dispersing, creating lines of ink markings, and eventually morphing into recognisable objects and beings.

    It must be important to note that.....

    Chi Guyan¡¯s actions were not fast. In fact, they were very slow, and her actions seemed very strenuous.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi, who was initially unconscious, had some slight movements, and his tightly closed eyes fully opened.

    It was a transparent pair of eyes.

    As crystalised as water.

    He started looking around his surroundings.

    "What a great actress, if I had not known your n, I might have believed your miserable cries just now! Too bad, you¡¯re facing an even better actor!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled. "Do you know how the hero Cao Cao lose at the Red Cliff? It was not because he was not cautious enough, but it was because he fell into the trap!"

    Without opening his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi started moving.

    It was not a time to dable around, and without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi rushed towards Chi Guyan, intending to give her a punch to her back.

    Sneak attack.

    Was always one of his strongest skills.

    As such, he was very clear about not crossing the line. That one punch would not be fatal for Chi Guyan, but she would surely faint upon impact.

    He knew that if he did not make that punch, his previous sufferings would have all gone to waste.

    Fang Zhengzhi was joyous.

    Because, after all the suffering, he could finally vent them all out, and capitalising on Chi Guyan¡¯s n, counterattack and defeat the Demon of all demons.

    Upon thinking about this oue, that Chi Guyan would finally be his servant, he could not help but feel a sense of euphoria take over him. His smile was as splendid as ever.

 Chapter 715 One Dragon Stroke, Bite

    Closer, very close!

    As he saw that he was getting closer to Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi felt a little nervous. Of course, this would not affect him.

    To seed, one must always have a firm mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was not the type of man who was extremely benevolent and magnanimous, but there was one thing that he was sure, that he would never quiver when he was giving others a sneak attack.

    "Down you go!" Fang Zhengzhi screamed in his heart, as his punch reached out towards Chi Guyan¡¯s back.

    Needless to say, the punch was very swift!

    However, Chi Guyan did not turn her head at all, and it seemed as though she did not feel anything, as there was no resistance from her at all.

    But.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s punch stopped in mid air, just an inch before reaching Chi Guyan, and it did not continue moving forward.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched a bit. It was not because he had a change of heart, but he was still unable to move his body.

    It was an unexinable feeling.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi had experienced a simr feeling before, such as the moment where he was facing against the Half-Sage Can Yang of the Demon Race, and he was trapped motionless, unable to move.

    However, his entrapment in this situation was clearly different.

    The entrapment was caused from within his body, and not from the power from any Dao, or the stopping of any blood cirction. He felt extremely numb all over his body.

    "Freeze!"

    A crisp and pleasant voice was heard by Fang Zhengzhi. Next, he saw a beautiful and morous face.

    It was a shadow.

    Luscious ck hair and splendidly white dress, it was clear that Chi Guyan had made her counterattack.

    Of course, it was not a proper one.

    Because, when Chi Guyan and emitted that sound, her hand did not leave the brush, and she did not even turn her head.

    She continued to focus intently on the white drawing, as the ink on the paper started dissipating into a life-like dragon.

    "Indeed she was drawing a dragon!" Fang Zhengzhi knew instantly that Chi Guyan had an idea in mind as to how to solve the Eighth Heaven.

    And it was exactly the same idea as him.

    The First Heaven represented the beginning, so it was the first one. As for the Seventh Heaven, it represented the thousands of evolution processes, before everything would eventually fuse into one. Hence, the idea was to use one stroke to fuse "one" and "dragon" together.

    It could encapste the entire cycle that happening between the First Heaven and the Seventh Heaven.

    Of course, this concept might not be correct, but based on the probability of sess, Fang Zhengzhi saw this as one of the highest out of all the ideas.

    But the situation in front of him.....

    Seemed a little awkward.

    His sneak attack was exposed, and he was even entrapped by Chi Guyan. This was not something to be happy about.

    More importantly, Chi Guyan did not stop at all.

    And continued to draw on the picture.

    This showed that Chi Guyan had already anticipated all these.

    "Indeed, Chi Guyan¡¯s thinking is really scary!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was not because of his subpar acting skills, but it was Chi Guyan¡¯s habit to always beware of her surroundings.

    How?

    There was nothing he could do!

    But to fight against his entrapment. Because, Fang Zhengzhi was running out of time, and Chi Guyan only needed a while more toplete the drawing.

    And at that point, he could only admit his loss.

    But it was really difficult to ovee Chi Guyan¡¯s prodigal talents.

    Fang Zhengzhi had previously seen Chi Guyan using the word "Freeze".

    She was able to stop the movements of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing.

    And now, the word "Freeze" was used on his own body, and he had felt it personally.

    The muscles on his body, became stiff instantly.

    Unable to move at all.

    How did it happen?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not quite understand, as every action in the world required a logic. Afterall, to have his entire body motionless was a little exaggerating.

    What was the logic behind it?

    Was it control?

    No, if it was control, his body would not have been stiff.

    Stiff.....

    Wait, if his body was stiff, how did the blood in his body continue its cirction. This was not quite ording to the scientific logic.

    But the fact was that, his body was indeed stiff.

    There was a problem!

    Was it an illusion?

    Yes, illusion! It should most likely be an illusion on the surface of his mental capacity. His mind had mistaken that his body was stiff, or rather, something had temporarily suppressed his mental capacity, resulting in this loss of control over his bodily actions.

    "Understood!" Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the female shadow behind Chi Guyan, and felt her domineering and arrogant presence. He immediately understood the situation.

    His mental capacity was being suppressed.

    Resulting in his mind emitting wrong signals, and him thinking that his body was stiff and that he was unable to move.

    Fang Zhengzhi had such a realisation.

    But understanding was one thing.

    Breaking the spell was another. It was not easy to alleviate his mind from that pressure, as afterall, the female shadow¡¯s strength was too domineering.

    It seemed as though she was able to step on anything in the world. Her presence was too imposing.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had not know that it was Chi Guyan¡¯s prodigal talents acting on him, he may have give up to the illusion.

    "Chi Guyan may be downright powerful, but I can¡¯t lose to her!" Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth, as he forced himself to believe that everything was merely an illusion. "Illusion, everything is just an illusion. Actually I¡¯m able to move, I¡¯m not entrapped, I¡¯m free, yes I¡¯m swimming.....I¡¯ swimming, swimming....."

    Fang Zhengzhi mumbled to himself repeatedly.

    Just then, he could feel as if his stiff body was swimming in water.

    Then.....

    His hand was able to reach Chi Guyan¡¯s skin.

    Everything had happened in an instant, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s realisation to his "swimming" thoughts, and finally to himing in contact with Chi Guyan¡¯s skin. All these did not take long.

    In fact, it was almost instantaneous.

    Her skin felt exquisite.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi could clearly feel that Chi Guyan had quivered a bit the moment he had touched her.

    "Shameless thief, I was kind enough to let you try first, but you feigned unconscious just to attack me from behind!" Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang in the air.

    "Kind? Had you not started drawing this stroke of "Beginning to End", I may have really believed that your intentions were kind-hearted!" Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan would have started "panicking" by now. From a certain perspective, he knew that he was controlling the situation now.

    "So you knew about the "Beginning to End" stroke too." Chi Guyan seemed a little doubtful.

    "Haha, of course, if I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, you had already known about it when I was trying it for the first time?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "No, I only knew after the second try." Chi Guyan denied it.

    "You think I¡¯ll believe you?"

    "FIne, indeed I knew it after the first try."

    "Finally you admitted!"

    "Yes, I have admitted, so you pretended to not know about it all along, before feigning unconscious and tricking me?" Chi Guyan refuted.

    "Same same, did you not intend to do it too?" A smile was revealed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    "Yeah, I miscalcted, and fell into your trap.....but, even if you had managed to knock me unconscious from behind, I would not have served you faithfully, because you did not win convincingly." Chi Guyan continued.

    "What? You want to withdraw?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed shocked, as he did not expect that Chi Guyan would refuse to honor the deal.

    "No, I¡¯m not withdrawing, I only have one request, that if you were to knock me unconscious, it would be from my front!" Chi Guyan exined.

    "Your front?" Fang Zhengzhi squinted his eyes.

    Of course he understood her words, but he could not believe that Chi Guyan actually used the word "faithfully?.

    Was it possible?

    He was not foolish!

    What faithfully? In this world, who would really serve another faithfully after losing a bet?

    It would merely be a walkthrough.

    "Yes, front, as long as you¡¯re in front of me, and manage to hit me unconscious, I will naturally listen to you as I have lost the bet!" Chi Guyan nodded her head lightly.

    "Ok then, I promise you.....not!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head casually, before lifting his palm, and hurling it towards her back.

    Only a fool would go from the front!

    As the saying goes, a stolen melon would not be sweet. Any clever person would know, that it was imperative for one to get the melon first, before deciding if it was sweet or not.

    Against Chi Guyan such a dangerous demon.

    If he were to consider about her requests, and follow them, his mind would have really been crushed t by a door.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request was not too unreasonable.

    To get the melon in hand.

    As for whether Chi Guyan would serve him faithfully, or burst out crying, all these were unimportant to him.

    "Thief, shameless!" Chi Guyan felt a gust of wind hitting her back, and she finally moved.

    While her hand was still clutching on to the brush, her body already turned behind towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Furthermore, a crystal ball of light formed on her other hand, and she hurled it towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest mercilessly.

    .....

    Chi Guyan suddenly counterattacked, resulting in her back moving half an inch to her side.

    And this movement caused Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s punch to miss her back, hitting her shoulder instead.

    Next.....

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a tremendous charge boiling in his chest.

    "How ruthless!" Fang Zhengzhi was clear that this body was almost hurled back. However, his sheer unwillingness prevented him from flying back.

    As such, he grabbed Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder upon impact, clenching onto it tightly, so as to prevent himself from flying back.

    As a result, Chi Guyan¡¯s body wastched onto his.

    Her body was hurled into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s embrace involuntarily.

    Instantaneously, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was hugging a piece of warm precious jade.

    Exquisite, smooth, and it was even slightly warm. His body felt a little undting.

    In the current situation.....

    He had to focus on taking Chi Guyan down.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew the importance of that, hence he could not be merciless.

    He lifted his palm once again, and prepared to make use of the golden opportunity to attack Chi Guyan¡¯s back once again, so as to make her unconscious.

    But just when he lifted his hand up, he felt a tingling feeling on his limb. He looked around, and saw a tail of a snake.

    Its scales were shimmering in bright light.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time, and his hand was entangled by it. He lifted his other hand up.

    But.....

    Just when he did so, he suddenly felt a tight feeling around his crotch. It was a leg, hooking onto the area underneath his groin.

    "....." Fang Zhengzhi did not expect that Chi Guyan would resort to such "vicious" tactics.

    He did not know why, but his mind started reying a song that used to be popr in the previous universe.

    You are really vicious, you are vicious you are so vicious. Oh~~~~

    The more you say the more outrageous.

    The more you listen, the more confused you are.

    The more vicious you are, the more vicious you are. Oh~~~

    You don¡¯t want to admit defeat and still pretend not to care.

    .....

    Just then, he felt as though his entire body was about to copse, and that it was entangled by something.

    The snake tail, which was initially entangling one of his limbs, managed to entrap both of his limbs as well as his legs.

    Not only that.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s hooked leg still continued to press up against his crotch, and it felt as though his entire body was wrapped around by Chi Guyan¡¯s snake tail.

    "Is this the legendary ¡¯Coiling Golden Snake Hand¡¯?" Fang Zhengzhi did not know whether tough or cry, but all these seemed unimportant to him currently.

    More importantly, Chi Guyan was still able to continue wielding the brush in her hand, and thick ink markings continued to dissipate around the paper.

    She actually extended her body into a dragon with four ws.

    "Endure a bit longer, it¡¯ll end soon, servant!" Chi Guyan¡¯s started smiling, and her expression no longer seemed "pitiful" anymore.

    It felt as though she had already attained sess, as her face seemed to blushing radiantly.

    It was obvious that she was euphoric.

    "Disgusting, don¡¯t you only have that prodigal talent? If you have the skills let¡¯s not use our talents, and fight fairly!" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s both hands and legs were entangled as tightly as ever.

    His body was in an awkward position, and he had no ability to harm Chi Guyan currently.

    "You have a prodigal talent?" Chi Guayn asked casually as she continued to draw.

    "Of course I have! If you don¡¯t believe you can let me go, I can show you!" Fang Zhengzhi replied "honestly".

    "Hehe.....shameless thief, you think I¡¯ll believe you? I think you should give up, and think about how you want to treat this master after being a servant!" Chi Guyan could not help but giggle to herself.

    "Still want me to serve you? You use such disgusting tactics against me. I¡¯m not convinced, even if you win, I¡¯m not going to serve you faithfully!" Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    "It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind." Chi Guyan smiled even more brightly.

    "Let me go!"

    "No I won¡¯t."

    "Let me go quickly!"

    "I just won¡¯t do it."

    "You¡¯re really not going to let go?"

    "Of course not."

    "I¡¯m going to bite you!" Fang Zhengzhi decided to resort to his killer tactic. What else could he do without his arms and legs? He still had his teeth left.

    "If you dare.....eh? Shameless thief, you dare!" Chi Guyan felt that something was wrong.

    But it was toote.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to execute his move.

    As her leg was hooked onto him, Fang Zhengzhi easily moved towards her front, and her lips brushed past her face, before pressing onto her lips.

    "Wu....." The smile on Chi Guyan¡¯s face disappeared immediately. Next, she tried to struggle, but it was futile.

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to realise that Chi Guyan was unable to avoid Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips. In fact, through her struggles, Fang Zhengzhi was able to pry her lips open.

    "Wuuu....shameless thief, you¡¯re too.....too naive, this tactic.....is useless.....against me....." Chi Guyan seemed to choose to follow suit after her futile struggles.

    She allowed Fang Zhengzhi to continue.

    Furthermore, she still managed to continue drawing on the picture, and the ink markings were about to form a dragon tail soon.

    This let Fang Zhengzhi to feel a burning sensation on his face.

    "What? Such a move is useless on Chi Guyan¡¯s body?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was possible for a person to have very few weaknesses, or even to have only one weakness.

    However, to havepletely no weaknesses at all?

    Weaknesses.....

    She must have a weakness!

    If it was not on her character, or on her strength, then it was on her body.

    Body?!

    Correct, her body!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, and he did not care about his shameless actions, as he immediately bit onto Chi Guyan¡¯s other body parts.

    Cheers?

    No, no reaction at all!

    Neck?

    No movements either!

    Let¡¯s try her ear lobes.....

    "Wu....." Just then, Chi Guyan¡¯s body jerked slightly, and it was obvious that she was trying to control herself.

    But, Fang Zhengzhi knew that his opportunity had arrived.

    Because, the moment Chi Guyan quivered slightly, her tail¡¯s grip on his limb loosened, albeit being a small gap.

    However, it was the small gap that enabled his limb to free itself instantly.

    Next, Fang Zhengzhi grabbed her right hand, before pulling it down.

    Her grip on the brush loosened!

    Time seemed to stop at this moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan stared at the white paper intently, as their eyes were filled with panic and hope at the same time.

    Then, a weird scene appeared.

    The ink drawings did not disappear. Instead, they seemed to turn alive slowly.

 Chapter 716 Entering the Ninth Heaven

    As the ink flowed around, the ink outline on the white canvas became clearer and clearer. The dragon¡¯s head, its body, its ws, and its tail, together with the rest of its body, started materializing.

    "Did ite alive?"

    "Drawing a dragon with a single stroke?"

    There was no way that Fang Zhengzhi waspletely unastonished. After all, something like this was mysterious and unnatural.

    Most importantly, the painting on the canvas did not disappear this time unlike previously!

    While Fang Zhengzhi was feeling curious about this urrence, a loud and clear roar of a dragon was heard. It came from the ink dragon swimming on the canvas.

    "Roar!" the dragon suddenly opened its eyes and nced at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. Its eyes were bursting with a golden radiance.

    Just then, something eerie happened.

    The ink dragon which was swimming on the canvas suddenly bolted out of the canvas and headed straight into the sky.

    In the next moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt countless images appearing in the sky. There were mountains, water, flowers, rocks, oceans, forests,kes, hurricanes, mes...

    Countless images lit up in the sky like a mirage, but they did not exist for long. Soon, the images disappeared, restoring the peace in the sky.

    "..."

    "..."

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan both looked at each other with a puzzled expression.

    "Is it over?"

    While Fang Zhengzhi was still trying to figure things out, he suddenly realized that the rain was getting heavier, from a drizzle to a downpour. It eventually became a violent storm. For a moment, he felt like his entire body was soaked by the storm, and the raindrops seemed to have entered his body, bringing himfort. However, thisfort did notst long, as a bolt of lightning suddenly struck from above.

    "Boom!" It was followed by a deafening thunder.

    "Again?" Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened wide subconsciously because the bolt of lightning was pitch ck. Just as he had expected, the pitch-ck bolt of lightning came straight for him as if it could tell where he was.

    "..." Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to exim that he was the one who finished painting thest stroke, and he even did it by grabbing Chi Guyan¡¯s hand.

    ¡¯Does it really have to go this way?¡¯

    ¡¯Wait! The lightning ising for Chi Guyan!"

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, he wanted to move away, but Chi Guyan was obviously not letting him go. Although his hand had broken free, his body was still under Chi Guyan¡¯s tight restraint, and he couldn¡¯t even budge.

    "Boom!"

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his soul trembling, even Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up brightly for an instant while she was tightly bonded to him.

    "So...Is this what it meant to be struck by lightning together?"

    While Fang Zhengzhi was sighing over the fact that he was sabotaged by Chi Guyan into enduring the bolt of lightning, a majestic voice was heard.

    "Fang Zhengzhi shall enter the Ninth Heaven!"

    "Fang Zhengzhi shall enter..."

    "..."

    "What? I have made it to the Ninth Heaven?!" Fang Zhengzhi was startled, but it was soon overtaken by joy. He felt that life was truly full of plot twists, and happiness had descended upon him without warning. Even though he was still uncertain about the situation, the voice from the sky did say that he would be entering the Ninth Heaven.

    That meant that he had won the bet, and Chi Guyan would have to be the leader of his bed warmer team.

    Life was really full of surprises!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was charred, but his smile was dazzling. However, his joyous emotion was soon interrupted by the voice from the sky.

    "Chi Guyan shall enter the Ninth Heaven!"

    "Chi Guyan shall enter..."

    "..."

    The majestic voice echoed in his ears for a long while.

    "Are we entering the Ninth Heaven together?" As Fang Zhengzhi looked toward Chi Guyan and her smirk, he felt like his feelings had been trampled by 100,000 raging beasts.

    "If we enter at the same time, it¡¯s considered my win! From now on, you¡¯ll be my lowly servant!" He heard Chi Guyan¡¯s voice at this moment.

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the Holy Reservoir in Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    A figure approached rapidly from far and soon came before the Sixth Elder, huffing and puffing.

    "Sister...Sister Chi Guyan and Fang...Fang Zhengzhi have...Have entered the Ninth Heaven together!" The figure copsed onto the ground right after he delivered the message.

    "What...What!?" The teacup in the Sixth Elder¡¯s hand fell to the ground again, followed by the swords in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples¡¯ hands, nging loudly.

    For a moment, time seemed to have frozen around the Holy Reservoir. There was a dead silence.

    Be it the Sixth Elder, or the disciples, everyone were staring dazedly at the copsed disciple Wang.

    They held their breath, for they were either in shock, or struck dumb by the news.

    "The Ninth Heaven?" The Heavenly Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples stared at each other with disbelief. The shocking factor of this piece of news had far exceeded that of the bet. None of them was thinking about the winner anymore, because it no longer mattered.

    What was important, was that the Ninth Heaven in the Holy Reservoir had finally been reopened after thousands of years. Furthermore, two people were granted entry simultaneously.

    ...

    While everyone outside of the Holy Reservoir was awestruck, Fang Zhengzhi, who was currently in the Ninth Heaven, was feeling pretty annoyed. Although Chi Guyan was right that the bet stated that if the two of them entered the Ninth Heaven simultaneously, it would be counted as her victory, but he obviously didn¡¯t ept that they were granted entry at the same time. After all, his name was announced before hers, so logically speaking, he should be the winner.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi felt the need to discuss this matter with her thoroughly.

    Of course, Chi Guyan was obviously not in the mood to discuss about the oue that had already been decided.

    "Is this...The Ninth Heaven?" Chi Guyan looked surprised after scanning the surroundings.

    "Hmph?" Fang Zhengzhi was up for a debate, but he subconsciously looked at their surroundings after hearing Chi Gu Yan. "What? How does the Ninth Heaven not contain nine pirs?" The Ninth Heaven obviously did not have to contain nine pirs, but since the Seventh and Eighth Heaven contained seven and eight pirs respectively, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the Ninth Heaven ought to have nine pirs.

    However, in reality...The Ninth Heaven that appeared before them didn¡¯t contain a single pir, moreover, it actually looked dested. That was right, it looked dested.

    However, its destion was different from the vibe of the bloody ruins in the Fourth to the Sixth Heavens. It was literally dested.

    There was nothing as far as their eyes could see, and they were astonished by the vastness of this ce.

    Every where was covered in sand, and there were no trees orkes, only white pebbles that were barely visible in the sand.

    This waspletely different from what Fang Zhengzhi had envisioned the Ninth Heaven to be.

    "Does the Ninth Heaven really look like this?" Fang Zhengzhi felt puzzled. In his opinion, even if there were no pirs, there had to be something like a clue. For example, a few paintings for him toprehend, or at least a card or something.

    However, there was nothing but sand...Could it possibly mean that he had to y in the sand?

    "Do you get a feeling that there¡¯s something weird about this ce?" Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up as she spoke.

    "What¡¯s weird about it?" Fang Zhengzhi answered with a question.

    "The rain...Has stopped." Chi Guyan pointed to the ground and looked toward the sky.

    "Hmph? It really stopped. Didn¡¯t you say that the blessed rain existed throughout the Holy Reservoir?" Fang Zhengzhi instantly understood her.

    "That¡¯ right. Under normal circumstances, even the Ninth Heaven should be a part of the Holy Reservoir, so the rain shouldn¡¯t have stopped. Unless..." Chi Guyan stopped mid-sentence and fell into a deep thought.

    "Unless what?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    "Unless, this ce is not within the Holy Reservoir, in other words, it has left the Holy Reservoir. However, this couldn¡¯t be possible, the Ninth Heaven can¡¯t possibly be out of the Holy Reservoir!" Chi Guyan squatted down as she spoke and grabbed a handful of sand with a frown.

    "In the Holy Reservoir...Not within the Holy Reservoir?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wrap his head around her words, but he still roughly understood what she meant.

    However, just as what she had said, since the Ninth Heaven was within the Holy Reservoir, it was literally impossible for it to be out of the Holy Reservoir.

    It wasn¡¯t out of the Holy Reservoir...But the blessed rain didn¡¯t exist here, meaning that this ce was not controlled or affected by the Holy Reservoir.

    ¡¯What the hell is this ce?¡¯

    ¡¯Normally, shouldn¡¯t this ce contain more enlightenment for one¡¯s understanding of Dao? Why am I not feeling anything?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was pondering these questions, his chest started shining again, and the light that wasing from beneath his tattered clothes seemed to be getting brighter and brighter.

 Chapter 717 I Found a Tablet by the Road

    "Shameless, could this possibly be another independent world?" Chi Guyan was so focused on scanning the surrounding that she didn¡¯t notice the change on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body."

    "Another independent world?" Fang Zhengzhi obviously understood what she meant. In other words, this was an isted space in the Divine Rain Pond.

    The thing was...Why was there another independent space in the Divine Rain Pond? Furthermore, why did it happen to be located at the Ninth Heaven?

    This was a big question.

    Moreover, under normal circumstances, this should be the secret to the Ninth Heaven.

    "Do I have to break this world apart and learn something in the process?"

    "Why does this scene feel familiar?"

    "Another world...It¡¯s in the Divine Rain Pond, but not under Divine Rain Pond¡¯s control or coverage. It¡¯s apletely independent world."

    At this thought, Fang Zhengzhi unintentionally noticed the silvery white light on his chest.

    It looked like a distant star in the sky, and it felt cold.

    "Eh?" Fang Zhengzhi reached towards his chest and pulled his tattered clothes apart, revealing his recrafted Breastte, because that was where the light wasing from.

    "What¡¯s this?"

    Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled by the light, because he wasn¡¯t controlling anything inside his Breastte with his mind. He sank his consciousness into The Vast World that was embedded onto his Breastte, which became the recement for his Small Dimension, expanding it by countless times.

    However, the only downside was that...The Vast World couldn¡¯t be used normally anymore.

    Of course, this was a price that he was willing to pay. It was a simple logic, the choice between a treasure and his life wasn¡¯t a difficult one.

    "It¡¯s this thing?" Fang Zhengzhi soon discovered where the light wasing from. It was the pitch-ck metal box.

    He wasn¡¯t too sure about the material or the name of this box, but he knew what it contained.

    Heaven Dao Sage Tablets. There were 14 Heaven Dao inside the box, including the 13 that Yun Qingwu gave him, and the 1 that he already had.

    "Why did the box containing Heaven Dao Sage Tablets suddenly lit up? Furthermore, it happened in the Ninth Heaven. What was going on?"

    "Wait a minute!"

    "Yun Qingwu..."

    That was right, this scene was simr to the time when Yun Qingwu locked him up with the 13 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, putting him into an independent world!

    Moreover, Chi Guyan was saying that the Ninth Heaven might be another world that existed within the Divine Rain Pond. If that was the case, could this world be a...Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?!

    "That can¡¯t be right, could I really be so lucky?" Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t so certain. After all, even a fool knew that something as precious as the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets wasn¡¯t a grocery that could be found on the streets. How could he find one so easily?

    Most importantly, whether this sandy world was a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was just an idea he had.

    However, everyone must have a dream. How would a person without dreams be different from a dead body? Maybe, just maybe, it might turn out to be a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Since there was no harm trying, he decided to try it out. There might even be a pleasant surprise waiting for him.

    The box was easy and convenient to use.

    Fang Zhengzhi tried using it a few times after receiving the box. All he had to do was shout ¡¯keep¡¯ at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets.

    It was just as easy to take the Tablets out of the box. He only had to say ¡¯out¡¯ to the box, and the Tablets woulde out automatically.

    This box was truly an essentialmodity.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, he took the ck metal box out of The Vast World. As he did that, the box started shining even more brightly, just like the dazzling stars.

    Its radiance finally caught Chi Guyan¡¯s attention.

    "Hmm?" Chi Guyan turned to look at the ck metal box in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands, and she was clearly startled to see it.

    After that, her eyes lit up with extreme astonishment. This was an emotion she hardly ever disyed, even when she was fighting Tian Xing, she didn¡¯t put on such an expression.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in the mood to exin it to her.

    He was going to try it first!

    "Keep!" Without hesitation, he opened the box and shouted at the endless world of sand in front of him.

    The entire world started trembling instantly, and the endless amount of sand gushed toward the ck metal box crazily.

    ...

    Demon Race, Blood Shadow City.

    The grand ck pce stood in the centre of Blood Shadow City like a crouching ck beast, giving off an air of mightiness.

    At the gate of the Demon Pce, Yun Qingwu, wearing a long white dress, nced toward the sky. Her beautiful face was shadowed by a slight sign of sadness and worry.

    She sighed softly and retracted her gaze, before slowly turning and walking toward the Demon Pce. She wasn¡¯t walking too quickly, in fact, she was hesitating.

    Despite her snail-like pace, she eventually passed through the front gate of the Demon Pce and arrived before a room at the centre of the pce.

    "Young Master!" the Demon soldiers guarding the room immediately paid their respects to Yun Qingwu when they saw her and opened the door softly.

    Yun Qingwu nodded her head softly and entered the room.

    "You guys can leave." A voice was heard when Yun Qingwu entered the room.

    "Yes!" the servants in the room all bowed and left the room.

    Yun Qingwu looked up toward the middle-aged man sitting in the room. He had sharp brows, starry eyes, and he was wearing a ck crown and a loose ck robe with golden rims.

    "Father." Yun Qingwu paid her respect to the man.

    "Ok, have a seat. Qingwu, do you still remember the time when you opposed mine and the elders¡¯ idea?" Emperor Yun looked toward Yun Qingwu lovingly.

    "Qingwu remembers." She nodded gently.

    "It¡¯s been a month since then, do you still think that he could do it?" Emperor Yun took a sip from his teacup.

    "I do." She nodded again.

    "Qingwu, there¡¯s still a chance if we change the n now, or else, once..."

    "Father, with our Demon Race¡¯s current strength, there¡¯s no way we could go against the five sects of the Holy Region. If we make our move now, they would definitely fight back. If that happens, even if we expend all our resources, the Demon Race would take at least 100 years to recover!" Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t wait for Emperor Yun to finish speaking.

    "Father understands the things you are talking about, and it¡¯s because of that that I agreed with your decision back then. However, aren¡¯t you putting too much at stake? 13 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets...And the top treasure of our Demon Race, were all given to that kid. If this goes south, we¡¯d lose everything!" Emperor Yun clearly sounded worried.

    "Father, although the 13 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets are important, but we can take them back even if we lose them. However, there¡¯s only a single opportunity for us to seize the item in the Ninth Heaven!"

    "Are you really certain that he could get to the Ninth Heaven?" Emperor Yun replied with another question.

    "If he can¡¯t get to the Ninth Heaven, I¡¯m afraid that no one in this world could do it either. If that¡¯s really the case, it just means that this isn¡¯t the right time for us!" Yun Qingwu replied.

    "Do you really trust him that much?"

    "Yes, he¡¯s the only one that could get to the Ninth Heaven, and he¡¯s the only one...That could obtain that item. All I did is helping him to break the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms on the Ninth Heaven." Yun Qingwu replied after a short silence.

    "Ok, Father gets your point. I¡¯ll try my best to assist your n, but the Holy Region is too dangerous, so could you not go there personally?" Emperor Yun finally nodded his head.

    "Father, Qingwu has to go there personally for this!"

    "Qingwu ah, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, but your strength is..."

    "Father, please trust me!"

    "This...ai, fine, but you¡¯ve to be extremely cautious. Even if we can¡¯t seed this time, we can still wait for another 100 years. You have to understand, you are the Demon Race¡¯s real hope!"

    "Father, please be assured, Qingwu will definitely be cautious." Yun Qingwu nodded and slowly exited the room.

    Divine Rain Pond, the Ninth Heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were wide open as he stared at the sand that were gushing into the ck metal box in his hand. He couldn¡¯t help but be stunned.

    "I could...Actually keep it?"

    "Could this sandy world really be a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? That can¡¯t be it, right? When was I ever this lucky?"

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t believe that this was happening. Although he had guessed that this world was a Sage Tablet, but when happiness descended upon him, he couldn¡¯t help but sing internally, "I found a Tablet by the road..."

 Chapter 718 - I Feel Helpless Too

    <h4>Chapter 718: I Feel Helpless Too</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t actually find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet because he was lucky. After all, he was at the Ninth Heaven in the Divine Rain Pond.

    Since the establishment of Heaven Dao Pavilion till now, only one person had made it into the Ninth Heaven.

    It was extremely difficult to get into the Ninth Heaven!

    Even Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan didn¡¯t make it here alone, they had to ¡®work together¡¯.

    Without Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reminder, Chi Guyan couldn¡¯t have solved the Seventh Heaven¡¯s secret so quickly. Simrly, without Chi Guyan¡¯s example, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t have made it through the Seventh and Eighth Heaven so quickly as well.

    This seemed to be fate.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously felt that this was too coincidental, especially the fact that he had the ck metal box.

    Somehow, he happened to make it into the Ninth Heaven, and the Ninth Heaven happened to contain Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, then he happened to have the ck metal box.

    Was this really a coincidence?

    Could this be a conspiracy?

    Fang Zhengzhi had yet to figure out why Yun Qingwu purposely came to Northern Mountain Vige and set a trap to lock him up, and even gifted him the 13 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets and the ck metal box that she spent so much effort to obtain.

    It felt unbelievable.

    Could the friendly-rivalry between them turned hate to love, and caused her to empathize with him?

    This might actually happen in real life.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t such a person. After all, she¡¯s the young master of the Demon Race, and she shouldered its fate.

    Even if she really did empathize with him a little, that wouldn¡¯t have been the reason for giving him the ck metal box and 13 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets.

    Was it possible that Yun Qingwu had already predicted that he could get into the Ninth Heaven, so she purposely gave him the ck metal box and the Tablets?

    If it were someone else...Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t have thought about this, after all, a normal person couldn¡¯t possibly be so ridiculously calctive and foresighted.

    However, if that person was Yun Qingwu, Fang Zhengzhi had no doubt that she could do this.

    Although it might seem to be a coincidence that he had entered the Ninth Heaven, but by connecting his personality, the current situation, and the current state of Heaven Dao Pavilion, it wasn¡¯t difficult to deduce that he would get into the Ninth Heaven.

    However, if this was Yun Qingwu¡¯s ¡®conspiracy¡¯, what was her purpose for doing this? Was she getting him to collect more Heaven Dao Sage Tablets for her?

    That shouldn¡¯t be possible.

    After all, Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t so na?ve that she would trust Fang Zhengzhi to return the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets.

    At this thought, Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously looked toward Chi Guyan, who was obviously surprised.

    However, for some reason...she kept quiet, even after the sandy world waspletely swallowed by the ck metal box.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d have questions for me.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to ask.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head and stared at the ck metal box again, before retracting her gaze.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was curious, because he could tell from her eyes that she recognized the box in his hands.

    However, what puzzled him was that Chi Guyan didn¡¯t ask a single question, even after he offered her the chance.

    What the hell?

    Did she not realize that the sandy world was a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? That was impossible, since he could guess it, how couldn¡¯t she?

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, the sandy world finally disappearedpletely.

    What appeared before him was...A giant swamp.

    Thick and weird vegetations, and an endless amount of jade puddles, extended all the way from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet to the edge of the sky.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes at the weird phenomenon, before looking toward the rainless sky, asking, ¡°Is this real? Is there another Tablet?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, we¡¯re facing the ¡®Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms¡¯.¡± Chi Guyan looked at the swamp and murmured to herself.

    ¡°Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at her and asked.

    ¡°The so-called Nine Cataclysms refer to the nine harshest environments or conditions to survive in, such as the desert, swamp, extreme cold, extreme heat, poison mist...And so on and so forth. Hence, it¡¯s incredibly difficult to break the formation under normal circumstances!¡± Chi Guyan exined.

    ¡°I see.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded, but he still felt weird about this.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t the formation that gave him this feeling. He was puzzled that Chi Guyan had obviously realized that the worlds that appeared before them were Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, but she was exining the ¡®Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms¡¯ to him instead of talking about the Tablets.

    However, since she wasn¡¯t going to bring it up...Fang Zhengzhi would not mention it either. After all, he didn¡¯t know how to exin how he obtained the ck metal box.

    Wait a minute!

    The Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms...

    Nine?!

    Was she actually hinting to him that there were nine worlds, which meant that there were nine Tablets?

    Fang Zhengzhi vaguely recalled that there was a total of 36 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, which all belonged to the ancient Great Xia Dynasty.

    After that, the Great Xia Dynasty went into hibernation after it was destroyed, and it was rebuilt many yearster.

    Back then, the Lins, the royal family of Great Xia Dynasty, exchanged the 36 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets for military power and established the new Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, because of that, the Tablets had been split up among the various countries and forces.

    Heaven Dao Pavilion was the owner to nine of the Tablets.

    Did Heaven Dao Pavilion hide the nine Tablets in the Ninth Heaven all these while, and used the Tablets to create the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms?

    This was likely the case! In fact, this was highly possible!

    The question was, why were the nine Tablets used to create the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms? What was the reason for deploying the formation in the Ninth Heaven?

    It was obvious that the Ninth Heaven that Fang Zhengzhi was looking at wasn¡¯t the real Ninth Heaven. In other words, the real Ninth Heaven was hidden in the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms all along.

    However, ording to the legends, only a single person had entered the Ninth Heaven after the establishment of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Did the first person who entered the Ninth Heaven, ¡®Dugu Jian¡¯, create the formation, or was it deployed by the first master of Heaven Dao Pavilion, when it was established over thousands of years ago?

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting a strong feeling that this was a huge conspiracy.

    Nangong Hao suddenly attacked Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing...Then the Blood Offer Illustration appeared.

    Although the Blood Offer Illustration had already disappeared, and the Heaven-Receiving Door was closed, Fang Zhengzhi still couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind these incidents.

    Did Nangong Hao really die?

    What was the starry sky that was connected to the Heaven-Receiving Door?

    There were too many mysteries.

    Now, he brought the ck metal box into the Ninth Heaven, and the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms that appeared before him happened to be countered by the box.

    A series of events took ce one after another...On the surface, these incidents didn¡¯t seem to be connected, but there seemed to be a missing piece of puzzle that connected everything together.

    Was this a coincidence?

    Or was everything part of a meticulous n?

    Fang Zhengzhi was keen to believe thetter, but since he had no concrete evidence, this was nothing but his spection.

    He couldn¡¯t figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking about it!

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s way of doing things. If these incidents were part of a n, then the n would continue to unveil itself.

    The only thing that he needed to do was to create his own path amidst this unfathomable and cunning n.

    His path was...Treasures before anything else!

    He didn¡¯t have to care about anything except treasures. If he found a treasure that could keep him alive, he would keep it, if he couldn¡¯t find one, he would go looking for it.

    This was very simple!

    If he couldn¡¯t even live for much longer, why did he have to care?

    He couldn¡¯t leave these Heaven Dao Sage Tablets alone just because he was worried about nothing.

    That was what a fool would do.

    To put it bluntly, even if he pretended to be righteous and left the Tablets untouched, someday, someone woulde to get them.

    If that was the case, he¡¯d rather keep the Tablets than let someone else get them.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped thinking.

    ¡°Keep!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted and held the ck metal box up, toward the giant swamp.

    Then...Just as he had expected, the giant swamp started trembling like the sandy world just now.

    After that, countless nts flew toward the ck metal box as if they were attracted to it.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan, who was standing beside Fang Zhengzhi, chose to remain silent again, as if she didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    ...

    Heaven Dao Pavilion, in the forest below the Sword Peak.

    Theke water was calm as ever, just like Yan Xiu who was sitting beside theke. He was reading while the cool breeze stroked his body.

    At this moment...The person who was hiding in the shades strode toward Yan Xiu. He wasn¡¯t walking too quickly, and each step was firm and silent.

    However, after five steps, a bird suddenly descended from the sky. It was extremely fast, brushing past the man¡¯s head in an instant.

    The man raised his head at this moment, revealing a pair of broody eyes that lit up with a hint of surprise.

    However, he eventually leaped up, at the exact moment that the bird flew past him, beforending on the tree again. After which, a piece of yellowed paper appeared in his hands.

    ¡°Fang ZhengZhi and Chi Guyan have entered the Ninth Heaven!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The man was clearly startled by the message. His hand trembled and made a faint noise with the paper.

    The noise was insignificant aspared to the surroundings. The noiseing from the grasses and leaves were much louder, but the man¡¯s expression still changed.

    He turned toward Yan Xiu, only to be relieved when he saw that Yan Xiu was still sitting beside theke and reading his book like before.

    In the next instance, the piece of paper in his hand disappeared, as if it had never existed.

    However, the man stopped moving toward Yan Xiu and hid into the shades again.

    ...

    If there was something in this world that made people happy, it would undoubtedly have something to do with treasures.

    If there had to be a ranking, ¡®finding¡¯ something would directly bring people the most joy and surprise.

    For example, if you were walking on the street and found a box of gold bars that were inscribed with your name, and everyone was sure that the gold bars belonged to you, how would you feel? You would feel helpless too!

    Let¡¯s imagine that you entered a room to find a peerless beauty who was gentle, virtuous, pretty, sexy, selfless...

    Most importantly, she would only marry you. If you weren¡¯t going to marry her, she wouldmit suicide. Everyone else also felt that you guys were a pair made in heaven.

    How would you feel? You would despair too!

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi was feeling right now, despair and helplessness. There was a constant voice in his mind reminding him that he must be diligent, and he shouldn¡¯t ept such a windfall so easily.

    Of course, he felt that even if the treasures were meant for him, there should have been a tougher challenge. He¡¯d feel more aplished that way.

    However, the treasure was forcing itself onto him, giving him no chance to resist.

    What else could he have done?

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma, he couldn¡¯t possibly leave the nine Heaven Dao Sage Tabletsying around.

    Hence, the only thing he could do was to keep the Tablets in his ck metal box first, and show them off when he had the chance, ¡°Look, I identally found a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, oh...That¡¯s wrong, I found nine Heaven Dao Sage Tablets!¡±

 Chapter 719 - Spiritual Jade

    <h4>Chapter 719: Spiritual Jade</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Keep!¡±

    ¡°Keep again!¡±

    ¡°KEEP!¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi shouted helplessly again and again, all the nine worlds in the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms finally entered the ck metal box.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that everything had happened too quickly for him to be ready.

    When the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms was finally broken, the real Ninth Heaven appeared so quickly before him that he went ck-jawed.

    The blessed rain fell from the sky and sshed onto the ground paved with white rocks, where nine white pirs stood erected.

    Most importantly...there was an altar-like tform at the center of the nine pirs. A flight of stairs extended from the tform to his feet.

    ¡°Is this the real Ninth Heaven?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up and enjoyed the refreshing rain, as if he had finally seen the sun after experiencing endless darkness.

    Chi Guyan didn¡¯t say a thing, she only stared intently at the center of the altar.

    ¡°Is there another treasure?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attention was attracted by the radiance on the altar, and he walked up the stairs subconsciously.

    Instead of stopping Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan followed him up the stairs.

    Fang Zhengzhi soon found out where the light wasing from.

    It was a circr stone table with a carving of a meticulous painting of a woman wearing a long dress.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too interested in the carving, he was focusing on a ¡®weird¡¯ jewel that was ced at the center of the stone table.

    The jewel was ¡®weird¡¯, because it didn¡¯t look like an ordinary jewel. Instead of being round or squarish, it was shaped like a drop of water.

    Moreover, it was suspended in the air.

    However, this drop of water was certainly a jewel, because there was a golden glow on its surface. There even seemed to be something flowing inside the drop of water. It appeared to be a painting, but it was too blurry to be seen clearly.

    There was a simple solution to this problem...¡±Take it home to study it properly, and I might make a fortune out of it.¡±

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s idea, in fact, he was already going to do that. However, he felt that he needed to be more cautious before attempting to take the jewel.

    He had read enough stories to know treasures were normally guarded by powerful beasts, but given the current situation, that wasn¡¯t possible.

    In that case, there should be trapsying around.

    Hence, he believed that he should discuss this with Chi Guyan before doing anything. After all, she had always been more knowledgeable than him.

    Furthermore, finders keepers.

    ¡°Do you want it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Do you?¡± Chi Guyan replied with a question.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched. Gazing at her pretty face, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind drifted off to somewhere else.

    On top of a big bed, a guy asked, ¡°Do you want it?¡±, and the girl replied, ¡°Do you?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and quickly discarded such unhealthy thoughts. Putting on a serious expression, he said, ¡°I think that this jewel is the reward for reaching the Ninth Heaven. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Chi Guyan didn¡¯t nod or shake her head, and she obviously wasn¡¯t going to move. She just stood beside Fang Zhengzhi quietly.

    ¡°Should I take it first?¡± I¡¯ll try to split it into two after we get out of the Divine Rain Pond, and we¡¯ll split it evenly?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suggested.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. You can have it.¡± Chi Guyan clearly wasn¡¯t going to fight him over the jewel.

    ¡°Finders keepers, we¡¯ll each take half!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke his mind.

    He might be shameless, but he only did that to his enemies. Fang Zhengzhi never liked to take advantage of his friends.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much time left before the Divine Rain Pond closes. I want to ask you a few questions before that happens!¡± Chi Guyan didn¡¯t continue arguing with Fang Zhengzhi about the jewel. She raised her head slightly and looked as she was deep in her thoughts.

    ¡°Oh? Go ahead!¡± Fang Zhengzhi agreed generously.

    ¡°Between you and I, who do you think have won the bet?¡± Chi Guyan said while staring at him seriously.

    ¡°Well...My name was announced first, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t expect her to ask about this.

    As generous as he was, he still had to stand by his principles. Since his name was announced first, he was obviously the winner. This was scientifically proven.

    ¡°Do you really want to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡¯ Chi Guyan seemed to have expected his answer. Instead of arguing about who the winner was, she changed the topic and asked another question.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what she was trying to say, but he had thought about this question carefully, so he answered without any hesitation.

    ¡°Where are you going after leaving Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± She asked again.

    ¡°The Holy Region is so big, so I want to travel around before making my decision.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Holy Region is very big. Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Wan Lei died at our hands, Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing¡¯s disappearance also had something to do with us. Although there are no grudges between us and Fu Xi Valley, Gu Yuan must have spread your story to the entire Fu Xi Valley. As for Ling Yun Tower...¡± Chi Guyan stopped speaking at this moment.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to offend all the five sects of Holy Region right after I got here. If I knew it, I¡¯d have kept a low profile. Now I really don¡¯t have anywhere to go to, haha...¡± Just as Chi Guyan said, given the current situation, there was no ce in the Holy Region for him.

    ¡°Shameless thief, we¡¯ve known each other for 10 years already, right?¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s tone changed.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been 10 years.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. 10 years had passed since he kicked Chi Guyan into the river during their first encounter.

    ¡°To be honest, if you have more time to spare, even if it¡¯s just another year, I wouldn¡¯t stop you from leaving Heaven Dao Pavilion, and I wouldn¡¯t havepeted against you in the Ninth Heaven.¡± Chi Guyan continued.

    ¡°I know that.¡±

    Just as she said, it had been 10 years, so they knew well about each other. If she had another choice, she wouldn¡¯t have swallowed her pride.

    Given her pride, she¡¯d never have set him up even before they entered the Divine Rain Pond! The arrogant Chi Guyan would never mislead Fang Zhengzhi on the Eighth Heaven and even attempt to strike him with a sneak attack!

    However...Chi Guyan did all of that!

    The only exnation was that she was determined to win the bet even if she had to swallow her pride.

    ¡°You have less than three months left. There might even be peopleing after you if you leave Heaven Dao Pavilion. Have you really made up your mind?¡¯ Chi Guyan asked again after a brief silence.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve made up my mind!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was determined.

    ¡°Is it simply because of your pride as a man? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m willing to concede defeat and be your bed warmer. I¡¯ll do my duty as your servant and go out to look for the resources you need. All you need to do is train peacefully in Heaven Dao Pavilion. That...¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t because of my pride. I have always made the same choice between my life and my pride. If I couldn¡¯t win a fight, I¡¯d definitely run away. However, this time, it¡¯s different!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s different about it?¡±

    ¡°You, because the one risking her life is you. I can be shameless when ites to others, but I¡¯m not shameless enough to watch you risk your life for me, while I hide in Heaven Dao Pavilion like a coward!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Guyan gone silent. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi quietly with an unknown expression.

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯ve benefitted greatly from my time at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. I also remembered the positions of some of the best treasures in the Holy Region. Furthermore, I¡¯ve discovered new ways to improve my strength after experiencing the Nine Heavens. There¡¯s still hope for me to break through in three months!¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°I got it. Shameless thief, you¡¯ve actually won the bet by breaking the Great Formation of Nine Cataclysms, because it meant that you¡¯ve passed the Ninth Heaven. Leave the rest to me and leave!¡± Chi Guyan finally nodded.

    ¡°The rest?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked puzzled.

    ¡°Do you really think you can take the nine Heaven Dao Sage Tablets and the ¡®Spiritual Jade¡¯ away so easily? After leaving the Divine Rain Pond, I¡¯d inform my master right away that you threatened me with the bet so that I can¡¯t attack you, and you took the nine Heaven Dao Sage Tablets away while I wasn¡¯t watching. I¡¯m thinking...Since you aren¡¯t returning to Heaven Dao Pavilion anymore, it¡¯s ok if theye after you, right?¡± As Chi Guyan ended her sentence, she was no longer looking worried like before. She blinked at Fang Zhengzhi as her lips curled into a smug smile.

 Chapter 720 - Others Can Die, But I Canâ€™t

    <h4>Chapter 720: Others Can Die, But I Can¡¯t</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°It¡¯s ok? Does she really think that it¡¯s ok for Heaven Dao Pavilion toe after me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was enraged, but for an unknown reason, when he saw the smile on Chi Guyan¡¯s face, he feltforted and assured.

    However, he soon realized that something was wrong.

    Wait a minute.

    Did she call the jewel ¡®Spiritual Jade¡¯?

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to the core. Spiritual Jade wasn¡¯t aplicated name, in fact, it was fairlymon.

    However, ording to the legendary myth in his previous life, Spiritual Jade definitely stood for something significant.

    In the legends, N¨¹wa refined 36,501 stones when she mended the hole in the sky, but she only used 36,500 of them in the end. Thest stone that remained...Its name was ¡®Spiritual Jade¡¯.

    This stone was eventer mentioned in a famous novel in his previous life called ¡®Dream of the Red Chamber¡¯. In the story, the stone became a spirit, and it wanted to experience the mortal life. This lead to the story of Jia Baoyu being born with the Spiritual Jade in his mouth.

    ¡°Could this be that Spiritual Jade?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too sure, because logically speaking, the legends in his previous life shouldn¡¯t appear in this world.

    However, the fact that an actual descendent of N¨¹wa was standing in front of him, made him question himself.

    If this Spiritual Jade was really the stone that was left behind by N¨¹wa...It definitely was an extraordinary treasure!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi wondered if he should ask Chi Guyan about the Spiritual Jade, the sky suddenly darkened.

    ¡°The Divine Rain Pond is closing soon!¡± said Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Closing?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi was surprised by her words, and he grabbed the Spiritual Jade immediately, not daring to waste another second.

    The jewel felt smooth andforting to the touch, as if there was a warm stream of air flowing inside it.

    Rumble!

    The entire Ninth Heaven suddenly started shaking. However, it was different from the tremor before, because this time, it felt like the Ninth Heaven was copsing.

    ¡°There¡¯s a trap after all!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Spiritual Jade in his hand and then looked toward the cracking ground. He knew that he needed to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion even if he didn¡¯t want to.

    ...

    Heaven Dao Pavilion, outside the Divine Rain Pond.

    The calm Divine Rain Pond suddenly started seething. The five-colored pond started bubbling and spinning uncontrobly.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s going?!¡±

    ¡°The Divine Rain Pond...What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°The wall of the pond seems to be cracking!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? How could that happen?¡±

    The disciples who were previously in shock were now staring at the Divine Rain Pond, their eyes wide open with disbelief. They all took a step back subconsciously.

    After all, something like this had never happened before!

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Sixth Elder also noticed the strange behavior of the Divine Rain Pond at this moment. Aspared to the disciples, he was even more dumbfounded.

    This was because, the Divine Rain Pond should be normally under his control.

    But now...

    He obviously wasn¡¯t the one behind the pond¡¯s strange behavior. More importantly, water had started to leak out of the wall that surrounded the Divine Rain Pond.

    He couldn¡¯t help but be nervous about this.

    This was because he knew well about the importance of Divine Rain Pond to Heaven Dao Pavilion. To put it simply, Divine Rain Pond was the heart and soul of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    The trials that disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion undertook, the breakthrough in their understanding of Dao, all had something to do with the Divine Rain Pond.

    Since that was the case, how could he allow anything to happen to it?

    ¡°Look! The pond water...Seems to be surging out!¡± While the disciples backed away, they didn¡¯t let the Divine Rain Pond leave their sight.

    At this moment, the five-colored pond water was spinning and seething more intensely than before, as if something was about toe out.

    Then...A person actually charged out of the pond.

    He was wearing blue, looking beaten-up with his tattered clothes. His face was slightly charred, and his hair even seemed to be burnt.

    This happened out of nowhere, but the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion still recognized this person right away, because even if that face was reduced to ashes, they could certainly still recognize it.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Why is he the first one out? What happened to sister Chi Guyan!¡±

    ¡°What happened inside?¡±

    All the disciples were confused, but Fang Zhengzhi obviously wasn¡¯t in the mood for an exnation.

    In fact, he wasn¡¯t even in the mood to stay in Heaven Dao Pavilion anymore.

    ¡°Crap, crap, I¡¯ve really screwed up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept mumbling in his mind, while he dashed toward the Sword Peak without any hesitation.

    ¡°Eh? Where¡¯s this guy going?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what happened to the Divine Rain Pond?¡±

    ¡°Why did he start running right after he came out?¡±

    The disciples were almost left speechless when they saw Fang Zhengzhi running away, because under normal circumstances, he should be showing off right now.

    After all...He entered the Ninth Heaven!

    ¡°Nothing, nothing has happened inside the Divine Rain Pond!¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi, as he continued running away.

    ¡°Nothing?¡±

    ¡°How can you call this ¡®nothing¡¯?¡±

    The disciples stared at each other before looking at the seething pond water, their faces ck.

    ¡°Does he think that we are fools?¡±

    While the disciples were confused, the Sixth Elder suddenly squinted. Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to leave his sight, his eyes lit up.

    ¡°Catch Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t let him leave Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Oh no!¡± The disciples didn¡¯t know why the Sixth Elder said that, but they quickly reacted to his words.

    ¡°Stop him!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s heading toward the Sword Peak, so he¡¯s probably trying to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Inform our brothers who are guarding the Sword Peak that they have to stop Fang Zhengzhi immediately. We cannot let him get past the Sword Peak!¡±

    Although they didn¡¯t know what was going on, the disciples had a strong feeling that Fang Zhengzhi must have had caused the disturbance in the Divine Rain Pond.

    Every one of them bolted toward Fang Zhengzhi, moving at an extreme speed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was upset to see this, because he originally nned to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion before anyone knew about what happened inside Divine Rain Pond.

    However, it now seemed that...He had already been exposed!

    ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was thinking hard and fast as he looked at the Sword Peak, which was still at a distance away, and the dense forests which were in another direction.

    Given the current situation, once he got to the Sword Peak, the disciples that were on-guard would definitelye at him immediately.

    If that happened, he would be a sandwiched by the disciples, bing a cornered cat.

    ¡°Should I take another path?¡±

    ¡°Should I change my direction and leave through the dense forest?¡±

    This was a decent idea, because Fang Zhengzhi was definitely capable of shaking them off in the forest.

    But, what about Yan Xiu?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu was waiting for him at the forest below the Sword Peak. If he took another path, it would take him longer to get out. At the meantime, if word got out that he was the one who spoiled the Divine Rain Pond, even Yan Xiu might be dragged into this mess. By then, how could hee back for Yan Xiu?

    Furthermore, even if he wanted to escape through the forest, he still had to get through Heaven Dao Pavilion first, meaning that he must turn around.

    However, could he really do that?

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the massive crowd behind him, and he quickly shot down this impractical idea. Getting through Heaven Dao Pavilion was no different from digging his own grave.

    There was no way back.

    The only way for him was forward. Moreover, he had to get out through the Sword Peak.

    That was the only way he could bring Yan Xiu along, or else, they might really be in deep trouble.

    ¡°Stop him!¡±

    ¡°Brother Li, stop him now!¡±

    While Fang Zhengzhi was ready to charge straight ahead, the disciples behind him started shouting again.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± A passer-by who was holding a long sword and wearing a long white robe, clearly a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion, was startled to hear the shoutinging from behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then at the massive group of disciples behind him, and he was quickly stunned.

    After all, this was such a spectacr sight to behold.

    However, how could a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion be caught off guard so easily? Although he was actually shocked, he still blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s way instantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fear came true, he was truly afraid that someone would stop him. Fortunately, the disciples were asking that guy to stop him, not kill him.

    Most importantly, they didn¡¯t even mention his name.

    ¡°Stop him now, don¡¯t let Nangong Mu get away! He wants to destroy the Heaven-Receiving Door while the trial at the Divine Rain Pond is taking ce. Brother Li, hurry up, he¡¯s on your right!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted anxiously as he pointed toward his right.

    As our wise ancestors once said, ¡°Others can die, but I can¡¯t!¡±

    Moreover...Since Nangong Mu wasn¡¯t at Heaven Dao Pavilion anymore, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate to sell him out.

 Chapter 721 - No Way Out Alive

    <h4>Chapter 721: No Way Out Alive</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples was dumb. It was clear as day that they were chasing after Fang Zhengzhi.

    In that case, how could the disciple known as ¡®Brother Li¡¯ be deceived by Fang Zhengzhi?

    Brother Li didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi at first, but he was still taken aback when he heard ¡®Nangong Mu¡¯ and ¡®Heaven-Receiving Door¡¯.

    After all, the Heaven-Receiving Door was too important. Furthermore, what happened that day was still etched into his mind, sending a chill down his spine.

    Hence, although he didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi, he still subconsciously looked toward his right.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing?!¡± Brother Li unsheathed his sword immediately when he realized that he was deceived, but it was toote.

    This was because a fist was already nearing his face.

    ¡°Boom!¡± There was a muffled bang.

    Brother Li felt a sharp pain in his nose, causing him to take a step back. However, as a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could he concede defeat so easily?

    Moreover, he was boiling with rage after he was deceived, so he endured the tremendous impact and pain, and stopped himself from stepping back.

    However, just as he regained his footing, a sharp pain that made him despair came from his crotch. The pain was intense enough to make him copse.

    ¡°...¡± Brother Li¡¯s eyes opened wide as he stared at the heel that attacked hisher region, before he copsed onto the ground unwillingly.

    ...

    The disciples who were chasing after Fang Zhengzhi all empathized deeply with Brother Li¡¯s misfortunate experience.

    He was so miserable!

    Of course, they were also enraged by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless and cunning tactic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Li, we¡¯ll avenge you!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t think that you can get away with this!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape the Heaven Dao Pavilion, just give up!¡±

    As the disciplesforted Brother Li, they didn¡¯t forget to give Fang Zhengzhi a stern warning.

    Of course...Fang Zhengzhi was not going to listen to them.

    To be honest, he had no other choice. He used Nangong Mu and Heaven-Receiving Door as a diversion so that he couldunch a sneak attack.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi had the opportunity, how could he go easy on him?

    That was impossible!

    If he showed any mercy, god knows what awaited him if Brother Li was able to stop him from escaping.

    ¡°Run!¡¯

    ¡°I have to run away!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the Divine Rain Pond, the five-colored pond water had spilled everywhere. The pond itself, which was built from white-jade, was nowpletely broken.

    The Sixth Elder was dumbfounded.

    He didn¡¯t know how to react as he stared at the Divine Rain Pond. In fact, he was still unable toprehend the situation.

    ¡°What the hell happened in the Divine Rain Pond?¡± He was hoping that someone could tell him what was going on. He hoped that another person coulde out of the pond.

    While he was thinking about that, the pond water started seething again.

    One after another, people came out of the Divine Rain Pond. Everyone looked emotional that they got out alive.

    That was right, the Ninth Heaven was destroyed, and along with it, the entire Divine Rain Pond.

    No one knew what happened, they only knew that the inner world of Divine Rain Pond hadpletely copsed, if the exit hadn¡¯t opened in time, they might have died inside.

    ¡°The Divine Rain Pond is ruined!¡±

    ¡°Who did this?¡±

    ¡°What in the world is going on?¡±

    The disciples that got out stared at each other, trying to figure out what had happened in the Divine Rain Pond.

    The Sixth Elder frowned to see this, and he had to stop himself from asking the same question. He could tell that these disciples were equally clueless as him.

    However...he heard what they said.

    ¡°The Divine Rain Pond is ruined!¡±

    ¡°Who?! Who ruined the Divine Rain Pond!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!¡± A calm and angelic voice was heard, as a figure wearing a pink long dress appeared before the Sixth Elder and said, ¡°Chi Guyan pays her respect to the Sixth Elder!¡±

    ¡°Quick, tell me what has happened?¡± The Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi and I entered the Ninth Heaven together, which was supposed to be great news. However, he was eyeing the treasure in the Ninth Heaven, so he attacked me without any warning. I didn¡¯t notice his intentions beforehand, and it was toote when I did. Afterward, he was afraid that his crime would be exposed, so he forcefully destroyed the Divine Rain Pond. If the exit didn¡¯t open in time, I might have died inside!¡± Chi Guyan sounded deste, and there was a hint of sadness in her expression.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    ¡°That bastard is truly shameless!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Sister Chi Guyan was so nice to him, even begging the Master to let him enter the Divine Rain Pond. How could he be so ungrateful!¡±

    The disciples started fuming with rage before Chi Guyan could even get into the details.

    ¡°I was the one who begged Master to let him enter the Divine Rain Pond. Now that it¡¯s ruined...¡±

    ¡°Guyan, you don¡¯t have to say another word. This has nothing to do with you!¡± The Sixth Elder was simrly enraged and interrupted Chi Guyan before she could finish speaking. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is now escaping toward the Sword Peak. Guyan, you should get some rest since you¡¯re injured. Everyone else will follow me to catch Fang Zhengzhi!¡± said the Sixth Elder with a sh in his eyes.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The disciples replied in unison.

    ¡°We swear that we¡¯ll catch this bastard and avenge Sister Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Catch him!¡±

    ¡°Tear him to pieces!¡±

    Their angry roars echoed around the Divine Rain Pond.

    ...

    On the way toward the Sword Peak, Fang Zhengzhi was running as fast as he could, not daring to stop for a single moment. The disciples on his tail were relentless as well.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was already mentally prepared that Chi Guyan would sell him out. However, when he heard the Sixth Elder¡¯s deafening roar, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious about what Chi Guyan had told the Sixth Elder Elder.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is here and he wants to destroy the Heaven-Receiving Door. Stop him now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously sold Nangong Mu out again when he saw the six disciples who were standing between him and the Sword Peak.

    However...It obviously didn¡¯t work again.

    This was because the disciples chasing after him already reminded them as soon as possible, ¡°There¡¯s no Nangong Mu at all. Hurry up and catch Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Fang Zhengzhi get away!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, stop him now!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless when he heard them. He wanted to curse and say, ¡°Is this really necessary? Do you guys hate me so much? Why do you have to be so merciless?¡±

    Of course, he didn¡¯t actually ask them about it. Instead, he unsheathed his sword with a purple radiance.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not holding back. Since he was already a few steps away from the edge of the Sword Peak, he had to force his way through.

    ¡°How dare he draw his sword?¡±

    ¡°Does he really think he can go against six of them?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so full of himself!¡±

    The six disciples guarding the Sword Peak also drew their swords when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword, but they were showering him with condescending looks.

    After all, the fact that they were tasked with guarding Heaven Dao Pavilion while the Divine Rain Pond was opened, meant that they weren¡¯t weak.

    All of them were at Rebirth State.

    Nevertheless, they were aware that none of them could defeat Fang Zhengzhi individually.

    However, they were ganging up on him, not to mention that there were hundreds of disciples chasing after him.

    To put it bluntly, they didn¡¯t have to do much. All they needed to do was to either stop his attack or slow him down.

    If Fang Zhengzhi could still escape from their hands given the current circumstances, they would give up on their status as the elite disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Get into the formation!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    The six disciples who were standing in a horizontal line moved instantly at themand, changing their positions after a sh of dazzling light.

    Three of them stood in the front while the other three were at the back.

    Additionally, the swords in their hands were all pointed at Fang Zhengzhi, seemingly connected by a stream of light.

    From far, it looked like a gigantic.

    ¡°The six of them are all at Rebirth State, and they still had the audacity to get into a formation?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi almost fell to the ground.

    How could they bully him like this?

    More importantly, they got into a defensive formation.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt bitter. Although he wasn¡¯t sure what the formation was, he could tell that apart from the ¡¯, the formation seemed to be a defensive formation that forced him into fighting three people simultaneously and continuously.

    To put it simply...If they fought against Fang Zhengzhi, only the three people at the front would engage in the battle, while the other three would take over them when they became exhausted.

    In other words, this was the perfect defensive formation that would take him at least five minutes to break through.

    Was there really no way out alive?

 Chapter 722 - Step On His Face

    <h4>Chapter 722: Step On His Face</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi had no time to think. Since he had already reached the Sword Peak, how could he give up so easily?

    Regardless, he had to try if there was a way out.

    The only pity was that he had used up all his shbangs and smoke grenades when he was fighting Tian Xing.

    Since he couldn¡¯t distract them, he had to fight them head-on.

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    A purple dragon soared into the sky and roared loudly.

    ¡°yer!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    His sword descended from above with a mighty and invincible sword radiance, shing at the three disciples in front.

    ¡°Watch out, this move is extremely powerful!¡± The disciple standing at the back reminded those in front nervously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± The three disciples in front gritted their teeth and confronted the attack head-on.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    With a loud bang, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack left a mark on the Sword Peak and sent the three disciples flying.

    With one move...He had managed to injure all three of them.

    ¡°How is he so powerful?!¡±

    ¡°No wonder both the Third and Fifth Elder had lost to him. You¡¯ll only know powerful he is if you faced him head on!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, we have to stop him from leaving even at the cost of our lives. Get close to him and force him into close-quarterbat so that he can¡¯t use his sword!¡±

    The three other disciples immediately joined the fight and bolted toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Close-quarterbat?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, before he aired his grievance, ¡°Brothers, please don¡¯t get close to me. I suck at close-quarterbat!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your brother!

    ¡°Shameless!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be deceived by his words and get too close to him. We need to fight passively. Our goal isn¡¯t to injure him, but to stop him from running away!¡±

    Having realized Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true power, the trio didn¡¯t face him head-on. Although they rushed toward him, they maintained a safe distance so that they could retreat at any time.

    ¡°Really? Are they not falling for it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have time to think of a better tactic, so the only thing he could do was expose his ¡®weakness¡¯.

    Despite so, his opponents didn¡¯t take the bait!

    Worse still, they took turns attacking him. When one of them was fighting him, the other two wouldn¡¯t move a finger until the first person was done.

    After a round of exchanging blows, Fang Zhengzhi finally realized how annoying they were. They were the role models of being cautious and careful.

    He would even go so far as to reward them for fighting so dirtily.

    In the past, Fang Zhengzhi always felt that his tactics were dirty and shameless. His number one principle was to run away if he couldn¡¯t beat his opponent.

    ¡°Is this karma?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to charge forward and beat them up, but they would retreat immediately if he tried to attack. They weren¡¯t going to face him head-on.

    As the saying goes, ¡®What goes aroundes around¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi was really out of ideas, he had to ¡®catch¡¯ them as soon as possible, or he couldn¡¯t possibly escape.

    As he moved his left hand, six rays of different colored lights shot out of the ground and turned into six chains.

    Hell Near-Life Chains!

    This was the only thing that Fang Zhengzhi could think of that had a chance of restraining his opponents.

    ¡°ck!¡±

    One of the disciples sensed the chainsing, and he wanted to back off, but he didn¡¯t make it in time. One of the chains impaled his leg and brought him to the ground.

    ¡°Good opportunity!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stepped on that disciple¡¯s face and leaped into the air.

    ¡°Brother, we¡¯reing!¡±

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi thought that he could get away, the three disciples that he injured earlier charged toward him again.

    They were pale as a sheet, but they looked extraordinarily determined.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡°Do you guys really have to try so hard?¡±

    ¡°Since you are all geniuses, why don¡¯t you guys have the resolve of a genius?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to stay alive!¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you guys act like you¡¯re injured in order to stay alive?¡±

    ¡°Will the Heaven Dao Pavilion reward you for trying so hard?¡±

    ¡°The Sixth Elder mentioned that everyone will be given another chance to enter the Divine Rain Pond if we can stop Fang Zhengzhi from running away!¡± Someone eximed.

    ¡°Another chance to enter the Divine Rain Pond? That¡¯s bullshit! I¡¯ve already destroyed the Divine Rain Pond, so how could...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was already halfway through his sentence when he realized something was wrong.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°I fell for it!¡±

    He had basically admitted that he was the one who destroyed the Divine Rain Pond, ruining any chances of proving his innocence.

    ¡°That was treacherous, are they trying to hold me ountable already?¡±

    Only now did Fang Zhengzhi realize that the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion weren¡¯t dumb at all. In fact, they were very smart.

    The six disciples fighting Fang Zhengzhi were shocked to their core by what he said.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones who were shocked, all the disciples who were chasing after Fang Zhengzhi opened their eyes wide with disbelief.

    ¡°This bastard had actually ruined the Divine Rain Pond!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a capital crime!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, now that he had personally admitted to destroying the Divine Rain Pond, even Sister Chi Guyan can¡¯t save him anymore. Don¡¯t hold back, if you can¡¯t catch him alive, it¡¯s fine to kill him!¡± A few disciples eximed.

    ¡°Die!¡± The six disciples who originally intended to stop Fang Zhengzhi started charging toward him as if they had gone mad.

    Every sword was aimed at his vital spots.

    Most importantly, a gigantic flying beast appeared in the sky at this moment.

    There was a man with snow-white beard standing atop the beast. He was wearing a white robe and holding a sword that was surrounded by green and white light.

    ¡°The Sixth Elder is finally here!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi can¡¯t possibly escape now!¡±

    The disciples were relieved to see the Sixth Elder, since Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful.

    The six disciples who were blocking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s way looked extremely proud, as if they had achieved an impossible feat.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± The Sixth Elder was clearly enraged.

    ¡°Old Six, don¡¯t kill him. Leave him to the Master!¡± Two more figures appeared in the sky.

    ¡°The Second Elder and the Fourth Elder!¡± The disciples felt more reassured.

    If the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Elder were all here...How could Fang Zhengzhi escape?

    This was what all the disciples were thinking, the six disciples in front of Fang Zhengzhi were also secretly relieved.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...He genuinelyughed. Since a long time ago, there was a type of teammates that were called ¡®burdens¡¯. Clearly, the three Elders were burdens.

    They already announced their presence before they were actually here.

    He had to give it to them, because this was a cool way of showing up.

    Furthermore, it made them seem imposing.

    However, no matter how imposing they were, it was pointless if they weren¡¯t here physically. After all, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going to surrender just because they were imposing.

    Most importantly, don¡¯t they know that the cooler they seemed, the more they diverted the attention of the disciples?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the six disciples before him who had stopped moving, and he wanted to say, ¡°If I don¡¯t make use of such a great opportunity, I will be letting these Elders down!¡±

    Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi charged towards the loudest disciple, brandishing his Traceless Sword.

    ¡°Oh no! Fang Zhengzhi is trying to run away!¡± That disciple reacted immediately when he saw Fang Zhengzhi charging towards him.

    However, it was already toote, because he heard a voice beside his ear.

    ¡°Heavenly Descent!¡±

    As he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, Fang Zhengzhi had already disappeared, only to be reced by six rays of sky-blue light.

    The simultaneous attack of Six Pirs of Heavenly Descent was too much for the six disciples to handle, because they couldn¡¯t work together like before.

    The disciple who was restrained by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Hell Nearlife Chains and took a foot to his face, suffered the worst fate.

    He had yet to even stand up.

    ¡°...¡± As he watched the sky-blue light that appeared above his head, he wanted to say, ¡°No!¡±. However, he couldn¡¯t manage to say it.

    That was because a foot hadnded solidly on his face before he could even utter a word.

    ¡°Prepare to die!¡± The Sixth Elder¡¯s face turned ck when he saw the disciple copsing onto the ground without making a sound. He descended from the sky like a meteor without any hesitation.

    At the same time, he attacked with his sword, which was surrounded by green and white light, shing toward the cliff.

 Chapter 723 - Yan Xiuâ€™s Friend

    <h4>Chapter 723: Yan Xiu¡¯s Friend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    This was a sword radiance that was formed by both green and white light. It was extremely quick, nearing the cliff right as The Sixth Elder¡¯s sword came down.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Following a loud bang, a light screen appeared on the cliff. The green and white lightbined to form a solid wall.

    ¡°Did that stop him?¡±

    ¡°I suppose so.¡±

    The disciples couldn¡¯t help but be nervous as they looked toward the wall.

    However...They were meant to be disappointed.

    This was because they heard a disdainful voice right as the wall appeared, ¡°Why did you act cool?¡±

    ¡°Act cool...¡±

    The disdainful voice echoed in the air.

    The Sixth Elder¡¯s and the disciples¡¯ expressions changed. They were enraged by the humiliation.

    There were several hundred disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, coupled with six disciples guarding the Sword Peak and three Elders, yet, with such a big army, they couldn¡¯t even stop Fang Zhengzhi, who was only at Rebirth State.

    If this got out, the the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s reputation in the Holy Region might be ruined.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± The Sixth Elder¡¯s face was bright red with embarrassment. He jumped down the cliff right after hended.

    The gigantic beast also dashed down like a stream of light.

    ¡°Give chase!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t let him get away no matter what!¡±

    ¡°Go down the cliff!¡±

    All the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion followed the Sixth Elder and jumped down the cliff, blowing their whistles at the same time.

    ¡°Roar...¡±

    ¡°Roar!!¡±

    The roars of countless beasts came from the forest, below the cliff, and within the Heaven Dao Pavilion, following which, many massive figures appeared in the sky.

    ¡°This bastard is really hard to deal with!¡± The Second Elder said with a sigh as he looked at the Fourth Elder.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but we can¡¯t forgive him for destroying the Divine Rain Pond!¡± The Fourth Elder nodded his head and said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s chase after him, he can¡¯t get away!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡±

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was in too much of a rush.

    He had never thought that he would be leaving the Heaven Dao Pavilion like this. In his original n, he was supposed to be carrying a bunch of treasures, riding on a Snow Wind Eagle, and soaring into the sky while tens of thousands of people watched as he left. He was supposed to wave goodbye without anyone sending him off.

    It was a pity that reality was nothing like he had expected.

    He did obtain the treasures beforehand, but hecked a Snow Wind Eagle, or rather, even if he did have one, he couldn¡¯t summon it now.

    However, the most embarrassing thing for him was the fact that hundreds of people came to send him off even after he waved goodbye.

    Furthermore, these people were fuming with the intent to kill him. Life was truly full of plot twists, and they always struck when it was the least expected.

    Run...That was the only thing Fang Zhengzhi could do at the moment, and it was also his only choice. If he got caught, he would definitely be killed.

    In that case, he didn¡¯t have to hesitate.

    After jumping down the cliff, he continued running toward the bottom of the mountain at the fastest speed he could manage. He didn¡¯t dare to slow down even a little.

    Despite so, his pursuers were getting closer, especially the Sixth Elder, who was now less than 20 steps away from him, thanks to the speed of his beast. He was still speeding up towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sixth Elder, it isn¡¯t gentlemanly to backstab someone!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted nervously as he headed towards the bottom of the cliff.

    ¡°Hmph! Do you think that I will fall for your trick? There¡¯s no way in hell that I would attack you so that you could run away faster by borrowing the momentum of my attack!¡± The Sixth Elder snorted.

    ¡°Damn it...All of them are cunning old bastards!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was just trying his luck, because he himself didn¡¯t believe that the Sixth Elder would fall for it. However, he would be lying if he said that he didn¡¯t have any tricks left.

    Although he didn¡¯t have time to make more shbangs and smoke grenades, he picked up all the nails and concealed weapons that he used against Tian Xing during their battle.

    It was not time for them to make aeback again.

    With a wave of his hand, countless nails and concealed weapons shot towards the Sixth Elder like fireworks in the sky.

    ¡°You shameless bastard!¡± The Six Elder was clearly pissed off by these concealed weapons, but there was nothing he could do.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly ask Fang Zhengzhi not to throw the nails at him.

    The Sixth Elder had no choice but to evade the nails. Although they couldn¡¯t harm him, but he would definitely slow down if he blocked the nails with his sword.

    He was dodging the nails and concealed weapons easily, but the disciples behind him weren¡¯t as skilled or as lucky as him, especially their beasts.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Aiya, what¡¯s that?!¡±

    ¡°Watch out for the concealed weapons!¡±

    ¡°Roar!!!¡±

    The disciples and their beasts sang a beautiful symphony. The downward path was full of ups and downs, just like their lives.

    ¡°It¡¯s working well!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was pleased to see them getting further away, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to throw out more of his concealed weapons.

    As he recalled Wu Yuer¡¯s condescending looks when he was making these nails, he could only me her for being too young and too short-sighted.

    Just as what Wu Yuer and the others had said, these nailed were useless against people who were too powerful, such as Tian Xing. They were only good for dying the time.

    However, during special asions, like when he was escaping, these nails and concealed weapons could literally save his life.

    A phrase to describe these items was ¡®Better to be safe than sorry¡¯!

    ...

    Thanks to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nails, the Sixth Elder couldn¡¯t get any closer. He could only follow closely behind him.

    The disciples behind him...They were worse off. Most of them were struck by the concealed weapons, and a few weaker disciples were even knocked out.

    Of course, the beasts suffered the most. Since they were huge, they couldn¡¯t evade these fast-moving nails effectively.

    All of the beasts were bleeding profusely.

    ¡°Damn it, you¡¯re shameless!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I swear that I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°Aiyo...¡±

    The disciples were either shouting angrily or screaming in pain, but all of them were definitely agitated.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t bother about them, because in all honesty, he was punishable by death.

    In that case, he didn¡¯t mindmitting more offenses.

    As he sped down the cliff, the rain of nails and concealed weapons didn¡¯t stop.

    Finally, a snow-white region appeared in his sight, along with five tiny spots. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement, because he knew that it was the empty field below the cliff, and the five tiny wooden houses.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, run!¡± Under normal circumstances, Yan Xiu would be reading by theke, but Fang Zhengzhi wanted to be sure.

    After all, there was always a chance that something might go wrong.

    If Yan Xiu was sleeping in the wooden house instead of following his normal routine...They would be in trouble!

    Hence, he shouted out loud as soon as possible.

    However, there was no reaction in the tiny wooden houses, which made Fang Zhengzhi slightly relieved.

    If Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t in the wooden house, he must be reading beside theke. That would make escaping slightly easier.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi really wasn¡¯t willing to leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion like this, because Yan Xiu¡¯s condition was a little special.

    To put it bluntly, Yan Xiu was no different from a normal person currently.

    Of course, although he was physically stronger, but his Origin Energy in his Small Dimension was sealed.

    ording to Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu had entered a critical stage back then. He was unconscious, and one could even say that he became a true Fallen Asura. Normally, there wasn¡¯t a way to save him, and the only option was to kill him. Even Chi Guyan couldn¡¯tpletely remove the Fallen Asura that had consumed him.

    The only way was to seal him temporarily.

    By sealing the Fallen Asura and the Origin Energy in his Small Dimension, Yan Xiu could slowly remove the harm done to his body. This could take anywhere between three months and half a year.

    Fang Zhengzhi was willing to ept this oue.

    After all, it would only take up to half a year for him to recover. However, Yan Xiu was anxious about this, so he had been reading beside theke every day, sometimes for the entire day.

    As Yan Xiu once said, ¡°Three months is actually a short time!¡±

    These three months were thest three months left in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life. Simrly, it was a goal that Yan Xiu had set, which was to recover in three months.

    ...

    While he was 20 steps away from the ground, Fang Zhengzhi moved. He stepped onto the cliff with all his strength and converted the direction of his momentum, from going downward, to going forward.

    When the Sixth Elder saw this, he gritted his teeth and did the same.

    However...Before he could change his direction, dozens of glittering nails were alreadying for his face.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± The Sixth Elder was in the middle of changing his direction, so he couldn¡¯t dodge the nails effectively. Running out of options, he could only block the nails with his sword.

    ¡°Boom boom boom...¡±

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had already entered the forest, and a giant tree somehow appeared on the path that lead into the forest.

    ¡°His speed...¡± The Sixth Elder was amazed, because he thought that Fang Zhengzhi would slow down afternding on the ground.

    However, the fact was that...He became even faster!

    Only now did he understand how Fang Zhengzhi walked out of the Jungle of Mysteries within an hour.

    He was seething with anger.

    However, to his pleasant surprise, instead of staying quiet after entering the forest, Fang Zhengzhi was shouting at the top of his lungs, ¡°Yan Xiu....Yan Xiu, run, Yan Xiu...¡± Thanks to his shouting, it would be hard for the Sixth Elder to not pinpoint his location.

    ¡°Hmph, how could he think about escaping with Yan Xiu when he¡¯s going to die soon? He¡¯s asking for it!¡± The Sixth Elder snorted and struck with his sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    With a loud bang, the tree that was blocking his way was split into two.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t worried about the tree at the moment, he was scattering the nails all over the ground as he bolted towards theke.

    Meanwhile, beside theke...Yan Xiu turned and looked behind him when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, but he didn¡¯t respond immediately.

    This was because there was a ck-robed man standing in front of him, with his was covered by the hood of the robe.

    ¡°So you¡¯re finally showing yourself.¡± Yan Xiu said tly.

    ¡°Haha, Yan Xiu, you¡¯re just a normal person now, so why do you have to pretend that you¡¯ve discovered me?¡± The figure chuckled at Yan Xiu¡¯s words.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s lip twitches, but his expression was as calm as theke behind him.

    ¡°Well...I don¡¯t have to kill you. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s friend.¡±

    ¡°Are you taking me hostage?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve heard that you guys are very close friends. What was that sentence...Oh, I got it, ¡®I can let down anyone in the world but him¡¯, right? I¡¯m going to see for myself today, whether he will choose to save you, or to save himself.¡± The figure nodded softly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you have had any friends in your life.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°If you have a true friend, you¡¯d know that I won¡¯t let him make that choice!¡± As Yan Xiu said that, he raised his right hand and struck at his own head.

 Chapter 724 - Going Berserk and the Blood Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 724: Going Berserk and the Blood Sacrifice</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt puzzled as he stared at the glitteringke water at a distance away. Normally, Yan Xiu would have already came to him.

    However, the reality was that Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even respond to him, not to mentioning over.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something going on!¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t possibly ignore me, unless...Something has happened to him!?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was thinking hard and fast, but he didn¡¯t slow down at all. This was because the people from the Heaven Dao Pavilion was on his tail. Furthermore, if something bad had really happened to Yan Xiu, he must help him.

    ¡°Closer, I¡¯m getting closer!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi became growingly anxious as he neared theke.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, where are you?¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was almost close enough to find out what was going on, he felt a slight movement.

    It was a faint noise, and Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t have caught it if he hadn¡¯t grown up hunting in the woods, which made him extremely sensitive to the forests¡¯ noises.

    Just as he heard that noise, a man in ck dashed out from the bushes on his left, and he was extremely fast.

    ¡°There is really an ambush?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was only guessing that there was an ambush, but when he saw the man in ck, he realized that he might be caught in a tougher spot than he had expected.

    Without any hesitation, he threw a handful of nails at the man.

    ¡°Hmph?¡± The man was surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reaction, and he subconsciously evaded the pile of silvery objects that wereing for him.

    ¡°Pop pop pop...¡±

    The man in ck turned around, only to discover that those were nothing more than nails. He was clearly startled by his discovery.

    After all, this type of ¡®lousy¡¯ concealed weapons was very rare in the Holy Region.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± The man¡¯s face turned red before he chased towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not in the mood to bother with him.

    He was only thinking about Yan Xiu¡¯s safety. After the sneak attack from the man in ck, he became more worried.

    After all, Yan Xiu was in a special condition now.

    However...The sneak attack wasn¡¯t that simple.

    After Fang Zhengzhi evaded the first attack, two men rushed out from the bushes on his left and right.

    At the same time, he felt a chilling from above his head. He didn¡¯t have to look to know that there was someone on the tree as well.

    ¡°There are four of them?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was taken aback, because he could sense that the man who attacked him wasn¡¯t weak. On the contrary, he was very strong.

    If he wasn¡¯t mentally prepared because Yan Xiu didn¡¯t respond to him, and there weren¡¯t any nails in his hand, he couldn¡¯t have dodged that attack even if he caught the movement.

    In that case, he couldn¡¯t dodge the three simultaneous attacks.

    This had nothing to do with his mental preparation. It was his strength. He was too weak to escape unscathed from their attacks.

    That was because they were too fast.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    With a muffled bang, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body left the ground. He avoided the sword on top of his head, but he couldn¡¯t avoid the two palms that came from the front.

    The massive power hit his chest, sending him flying backward uncontrobly. At this moment, an incredible force struck his back. It was another palm, which obviously came from the man who failed his sneak attack.

    ¡°Pfftt!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouthful of blood after being attacked from both the front and the back.

    He would have copsed onto the ground if he hadn¡¯t known that he must pull through.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that the four of us needed to work together against a kid at Rebirth State. This is very surprising!¡± One of the men in ck eximed.

    ¡°The fact that he hasn¡¯t copsed is the biggest surprise!¡± Another man in ck eximed.

    ¡°Kid at Rebirth State...Four of us needed to work together...They are Sages?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi soon deduced their strength when he heard them talking.

    Only an expert in the Sage State wouldment on a Rebirth State in such a superior tone.

    Four Sages...Appeared below the Heaven Dao Pavilion at the same time?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help but be astonished.

    During his time at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he had more or less figured out the strength of the five sects in the Holy Region. In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there was one Pavilion Master and seven Elders, and about a dozen disciples who had reached Sage State as well.

    In other words, there were only about 20 Sages in the entire the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    From that, he guessed that the other four sects had around 20 Sages each.

    After some calctions, he concluded that there were only about 100 Sages in the five sects of the Holy Region.

    There weren¡¯t too many or too few of them.

    After all, once a person entered Sage State, his life expectancy would go beyond 100 years, so it wasn¡¯t too surprising that there were around 100 Sages in the entire Holy Region.

    However, one question remained unanswered.

    Fang Zhengzhi had heard of the ¡®one pavilion, four sages, thirteen constabries¡¯. ording to their ranking, it wasn¡¯t unreasonable that the the Heaven Dao Pavilion was ranked above the four sages, since it was more powerful.

    However, since there was the the Heaven Dao Pavilion, why were there four other sages?

    And why didn¡¯t any of the four sages interfere with the battle at the Southern Region? If sages weren¡¯t allowed to interfere with the wars between the countries, why could Yan Qianli do it?

    This was a conflicting matter.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had asked Heavenly Oasis Saint about this through Wu Yuer.

    However, Heavenly Oasis Saint didn¡¯t answer his question directly, and instead told him that he would know everything once he entered the Holy Region.

    But now...Fang Zhengzhi had entered the Holy Region for an entire month, and he even read through the books in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Repository, but he still failed to find the answer.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t the time for him to be thinking about that.

    There were four sages around him, and they were definitely here to kill him. This was an overkill.

    Did the Heaven Dao Pavilion n the ambush?

    That was unlikely.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quick to shoot the idea down, because even he himself wouldn¡¯t know what could happen in the Divine Rain Pond. If so, how could the Heaven Dao Pavilion set this up beforehand?

    If that was the case...There was only one possible exnation.

    Just as Chi Guyan had suspected, the people of Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Yin Yang Hall would likelye after him once he exited the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Are they from Nine Pinnacles Mountain or Yin Yang Hall?¡±

    ¡°Did both sects send their men?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped guessing, because he had roughly figured out their identities. However, this meant that he was in a never-before-seen tough spot.

    Behind him, were the people of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    In front of him, stood the people of Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Yin Yang Hall.

    Under normal circumstances, he had no way out of this alive.

    ¡°Is this fate?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had wondered if he would be less ill-fated if he didn¡¯t act so rashly in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Just a day ago, he wasn¡¯t so sure about this, but now, he was entirely convinced that everything was fated to be.

    Even if he had chosen to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion normally, he couldn¡¯t have watched as the people from Nine Pinnacles Mountain went after Chi Guyan. In that case, the war in the Heaven Dao Pavilion would have broken out anyway. Even if he did not create any trouble, Nangong Hao would have sparked the war with his own methods.

    The only difference between the two was the process, but the oue was identical.

    Since he couldn¡¯t avoid his fate, he had to fight against it.

    However, the problem was that he couldn¡¯t fight against his fate, because there were four sages around him, and three elders and hundreds of disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion chasing after him...

    How was he going to fight against anything?

    ¡°Sixth Elder, Second Elder, Fourth Elder, I¡¯ve discovered the enemies hiding below the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Hurry up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The four men in ck were startled by his words, but they soon sneered and said, ¡°Kid, are you trying to trick us? How could the elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion...What?!¡±

    Before they could finish the sentence, they heard a massive group of people approaching, following which, the Sixth Elder, along with hundreds of disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, appeared in their sight.

    Apart from them, there were two men in the sky. They were the Second and Fourth Elders, who were standing atop their beasts.

    This massive army was obviously enough to leave them shocked and dumbfounded.

    Three elders and hundreds of disciples moving at the same time...

    Were they reallying them?

    The four men in ck were puzzled. After all, if the people of the Heaven Dao Pavilion happened to be passing by, how could there be so many of them?

    Meanwhile, the elders and disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion were equally surprised to see the four men in ck.

    They weren¡¯t surprised by what Fang Zhengzhi said, they were surprised that there were actually ¡®enemies¡¯ hiding beneath the the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Who are you guys?¡± The Sixth Elder asked, as their faces were covered by their hoods.

    The four men looked at each other, following which, one of them slowly took a step forward.

    ¡°I pay my respects to the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Sixth Elder. We are but nobodies who held some personal grudges against Fang Zhengzhi. To the best of our knowledge, Fang Zhengzhi isn¡¯t the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple, and we aren¡¯t enemies of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s enemies either. Is this a misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°Misunderstanding? I don¡¯t care about the grudges between you guys. We must bring Fang Zhengzhi back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and I¡¯d like you guys toe with us for an exnation!¡± The Sixth Elder wasn¡¯t courteous with his words, since they were in the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s territory. Moreover, they were right below the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    To put it bluntly, how could the overbearing Heaven Dao Pavilion allow others to create troubles in their territory. Quoting our ancient ancestors, ¡°How could I let someone else sleep on my bed!¡±

    The man in ck who stepped out noticeably stiffened up when he heard the Sixth Elder.

    ¡°Bring Fang Zhengzhi back?¡±

    ¡°Come with us for an exnation?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t agree to either of the conditions. They had originally expected their n to be wless, after all, given theirbined strength, they could easily take Fang Zhengzhi away even if they were at the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s doorsteps.

    However, they never dreamt that...So many people came to ¡®rescue¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi. The appearance of three elders and hundreds of disciples was thest thing that they expected.

    What should they do?

    Fight the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    That wasn¡¯t possible. However, they weren¡¯t going to sit back and let the Heaven Dao Pavilion take Fang Zhengzhi either, because they were on a do-or-die mission.

    They hesitated, but Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t. He made the choice for them before they could even think of a solution.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi charged towards one of the men in ck and attacked with the glowing Traceless Sword.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The man didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to take the initiative, but he still reacted quickly and dodged his blow, after which, a red radiance shot out of his hand.

    This was a move that consisted of both defense and offense.

    However, the man was clearly wary of something, so this was a very normal move that didn¡¯t contain much power.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lip curled into a smile at this moment.

    This was what he had been waiting for.

    As a red radiance shot towards him, his hands started ¡®panicking¡¯. Although he eventually avoided the attack, it almost scraped past his hand.

    Following which...An ident happened.

    After Fang Zhengzhi evaded the red radiance, it somehow shot towards the Sixth Elder ¡®urately¡¯, and even exploded when it got close to him.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both the Sixth Elder and the man in ck were dumbfounded when the red radiance blew up.

    ¡°How did that happen, I was...¡± The man in ck knew that he controlled his strength precisely, so under normal circumstances, his attack would never have gone for the Sixth Elder, much less explode in front of him.

    The Sixth Elder also didn¡¯t expect that man¡¯s attack to be directed at him. He was engulfed by the exploded red radiance since he couldn¡¯t react in time.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± A chilling light shed across his eyes as he raised his sword high, summoning a white and green light barrier from the ground.

    Nevertheless...His cloth was torn, his face covered in dirt, looking battered.

    ¡°How dare he attack the Sixth Elder without warning!¡±

    ¡°Form the sword formation!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    The hundreds of disciples were furious to see this. They were already mad about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nails while they were pursuing him. As their anger built up, how could they possibly tolerate the act of striking the Sixth Elder with a sneak attack? Furthermore, he did that in the face of all of them, while they were at the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s doorstep.

    The disciples drew their swords one after another, and each of their bodies shone brightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up at this moment.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly wait for the two groups of people to fight each other, because he knew that that wasn¡¯t going to happen. After all, both the Sixth Elder and the four men in front of him weren¡¯t stupid.

    In other words, the misunderstanding that Fang Zhengzhi created, was just a catalyst. However, if he wanted them to ¡®explode¡¯ on the spot, a catalyst alone wasn¡¯t enough.

    They needed a motivation, and that motivation, was Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was a simple logic. Since everyone was targeting him, even if they were to start fighting, they had to be sure that Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t escape.

    Hence, an ordinary mess wasn¡¯t enough.

    He needed to create a huge mess!

    The prerequisite for that was for him to escape!

    ¡°Heavenly Descent!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate to use Heavenly Descent because it was the best way for him to break through their encirclement and escape. He even used Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent at once.

    Nine sky-blue rays of light appeared in the air.

    They were pure, pure as the sky, but the three elders¡¯ and four men in ck¡¯s expressions changed.

    They could obviously tell that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to create friction between them.

    However, even if they knew that, what could they do?

    The Nine Pirs of Heavenly Descent had already appeared and Fang Zhengzhi was getting away. No matter how much they wanted to stay calm, they couldn¡¯t idle around and let him escape.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him get away!¡± The Sixth Elder eximed.

    ¡°How did he master Heaven Dao?! But...Don¡¯t think that you can escape so easily!¡± Although they were caught by surprise, the four men in ck didn¡¯t hesitate to attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    Four streams of light lit up and formed a light screen whichpletely surrounded the nine blue light pirs in an instant.

    However, at this moment...The Second and Fourth Elder attacked as well.

    Their sword radiances descended from the sky andbined into one as if they were attracted to each other, forming a gigantic, transparent gold sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The giant sword pieced through the light screen with a loud bang and continued stabbing towards one of the blue light pirs.

    ¡°sh!¡± A stream of blood spurted out of the blue light pir, but at the same time, another pir appeared at the opening on the light screen that was created by the giant sword.

    In the next moment...a person crashed onto the ground nearby, but he bounced up as soon as he hit the ground and bolted towards theke.

    He was none other than Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Follow him!¡± The four men in ck disregarded the Heaven Dao Pavilion and headed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    The three elders also looked at each other at this moment, and they also chased Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t escape. If you follow us back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion obediently and ept the Master¡¯s punishment, your life might be spared. If you continue to be unrepentant, you¡¯ll die today!¡± Shouted the Second Elder as he chased after Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Follow you back? So that I can wait for my death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t so na?ve.

    Of course, the Second Elder wasn¡¯t just spouting nonsense. Under normal circumstances, if he actually followed them back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he could live for while more, and his life might even be spared.

    However, now that he had destroyed the Divine Rain Pond, it was impossible for him to leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion unscathed. Even if his life was spared, he wouldn¡¯t be far away from dying.

    In that case, he would still be dead three monthster.

    He had to fight for his life!

    He had escape alive!

    Fang Zhengzhi was injured, but he had no time to think about it. He gritted his teeth and ran towards theke without stopping.

    He was getting close...

    He could see it!

    He was finally at theke.

    But, what about Yan Xiu? Where was he?

    ¡°Yan..Yan Xiu?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze, because he found Yan Xiu beside the giant teal stone near theke.

    However, Yan Xiu was covered in blood. The ink paintings on his cloth were stained by big patches of blood.

    Most importantly, Yan Xiu was kneeling on the ground, more specifically, he was kneeling in a pool of blood. His arms were hanging at his sides lifelessly, and his cold face was now pale as a sheet.

 Chapter 725 - Back Off Because I am About to Start Killing

    <h4>Chapter 725: Back Off Because I am About to Start Killing</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you could get here even after we ambushed you. It seemed like my decision to take Yan Xiu hostage was right!¡± At this moment, another man in ck walked out from behind the teal stone, with his hood covering his face.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply, or rather, he wasn¡¯t listening to him at all, because he was only focused on Yan Xiu, looking at his pale expression. Be it in his previous life, or the current one, Fang Zhengzhi was never a merciless killer. Yet now, for the first time, he was feeling a strong desire to kill someone.

    ¡°Crack!¡± He clenched his fist tightly. Instead of running forward, he was standing on the spot quietly, not caring a single bit about the hundreds of people who wereing for him.

    ¡°You seem to be very angry?¡± The man behind Yan Xiu smirked when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reaction. From his expression, the man knew that he had made the right choice.

    Just as rumored...Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were very close friends. Of course, to the man in ck, such a friendship was a joke for an expert who was trying to survive in the Holy Region.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The man was about to say something, but he saw something that kept his mouth shut.

    This was because, there was such a hugemotion that he couldn¡¯t help but notice it.

    At the meantime, hundreds of people appeared before him. More importantly, he saw a few familiar faces.

    Three Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elders?

    This was enough to take him by surprise.

    Just as the man in ck was shocked, so were the elders and the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    They were shocked that Fang Zhengzhi had stopped running, because wasn¡¯t this the perfect opportunity for him to escape?

    However, their question was soon answered, because they all saw Yan Xiu, who was kneeling beside the teal rock.

    ¡°Yan Xiu? There are...Five of you?!¡± The Second and Fourth Elder looked toward each other, both sharing the same expression.

    The Sixth Elder stopped moving as well.

    They had to deal with Fang Zhengzhi for destroying the Divine Rain Pond, but he couldn¡¯t ignore the five men who showed up here.

    After all, if five sages showed up below Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Sword Peak at the same time, something serious must be going on.

    ¡°Who the hell are you guys? Why did you have to attack Yan Xiu? He is just a normal person now!¡± The Sixth Elder eximed angrily.

    He was already stunned that four sages had ganged up on Fang Zhengzhi, but now, they even held Yan Xiu hostage.

    Normally, an expert would never do something like this, unless they had received a do-or-die mission, a mission that they mustplete.

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Two of the men behind Fang Zhengzhi bowed towards the person beside the teal rock shamefully.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± The man behind Yan Xiu waved his hand, turned towards Yan Xiu, and said with a smirk, ¡°Yan Xiu, I didn¡¯t lie to you, did I? If you died too soon, how could you know if your friend would abandon you?¡±

    ¡°Ahh!!!!!¡± Yan Xiu roared. His expression became ferocious, sweat dripped down his forehead, and he slowly stood up.

    The man behind turned pped Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder cruelly when he saw that.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The sound of bones breaking was heard, but Yan Xiu never knelt downpletely. Even against the attack of a sage, even though his legs were almost distorted, he still gritted his teeth and kept quiet as he bled profusely. He didn¡¯t ask for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s help, not once.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, don¡¯t move! Trust me...Trust me!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned red as he knew what Yan Xiu was trying to do.

    If he was in the same position, he would seek death as well. That was right, Yan Xiu was seeking death.

    However, how could he let Yan Xiu die?

    He knew well that he wasn¡¯t the one in the worst pain, it was Yan Xiu, who had be a hostage.

    To someone like Yan Xiu, who would rather die than to be threatened, the mental torture was much worse than the physical pain he suffered.

    ¡°Trust...¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s body trembled at this moment. He looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, his face still pale, but when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bloodshot eyes, he eventually nodded his head softly.

    ¡°Who the hell are you guys? Why do you have to set Yan Xiu up below Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Sword Peak? Do you guys not care about your reputation at all?¡± The Sixth Elder clenched his fist as well, obviously disgusted by the fact that they were holding Yan Xiu hostage.

    ¡°Reputation? That¡¯s right...How could I forfeit my reputation?¡± The man raised his head slightly and continued, ¡°I was a reputable man, but it¡¯s a pity that Heaven Dao Pavilion ruined my reputation!¡±

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion ruined his reputation?¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion looked at each other, all looking confused.

    Meanwhile, the man became somewhat emotional as he continued, ¡°It seems like...We can¡¯t continue to hide our identities anymore!¡±

    ¡°Big brother!¡± The other two men sounded dested as well.

    ¡°Second brother, Third brother, since our reputation had been ruined already, we can¡¯t care about it anymore, or else, this bastard might set us up against each other and be the ultimate victor!¡± The man paused at this moment and looked at his brothers, and they all nodded at the same time.

    Just as he had said, if Fang Zhengzhi had not set them up against each other, there was no way he could have escaped from the four of them.

    ¡°Yuan Rong, representing the Three Brothers of ck Moon Ind, pays his respect to the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Elder of Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡± As he said that, the man removed his hood, revealing his aged appearance.

    The other two men also removed their hoods and revealed their identities at this moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s you guys! The three sages of the ck Moon Ind!¡± The Sixth Elder finally understood what Yuan Rong meant earlier.

    ¡°So, they are the three sages of the ck Moon Ind...¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s them...¡±

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion also quickly realized what was going on.

    Just as the leader of the three sages of ck Moon Ind, Yuan Rong, had said, their reputations were indeed destroyed, and the culprit was obviously Chi Guyan.

    The Second and Fourth Elder looked at each other again. Given their prowess in logical deduction, they naturally figured out why the three sages had to fight dirty, and even hold Yan Xiu hostage, in order to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just as they had suspected, this was a do-or-die mission given to them by Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and it was likely theirst chance.

    The only thing left was...Who were the other two men?

    Before the Second and Fourth Elder could ask that question, they already removed their hoods and revealed their faces. It was an old man and a middle-aged man.

    ¡°Shi Fan?!¡± The Second Elder¡¯s expression changed. Instead of looking at the old man, he fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man.

    ¡°His surface is Shi...Shi Fan?!¡±

    ¡°Could he be the one from the Yin Yang Hall...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Shi Fan...There¡¯s no doubt about it, he¡¯s Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Ninth Elder!¡±

    All the disciples stared at the middle-aged man when they heard the Second Elder.

    If the appearance of the three sages of ck Moon Ind was within their expectations, then Shi Fan¡¯s appearance was definitely something that they didn¡¯t expect. This wasn¡¯t entirely due to his identity, but also due to his strength.

    ¡°Shi Fan, as an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, how could you...¡±

    ¡°First, I¡¯ve to rify that I¡¯m more than an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, I¡¯m also Wan Lei¡¯s first master when he joined the Yin Yang Hall!¡± Shi Fan waved his hand and interrupted the Sixth Elder, before continuing, ¡°Since Wan Lei died in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, don¡¯t you guys owe us a reasonable exnation?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± The Sixth Elder¡¯s expression changed, for he didn¡¯t know about Wan Lei and Shi Fan¡¯s rtionship.

    The Second and Fourth Elder also creased their brows. They weren¡¯t too worried about the three sages of the ck Moon Ind, but they had to be wary of the Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Shi Fan.

    To put it simply, since Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing died in Heaven Dao Pavilion, the grudge between the two sects couldn¡¯t possibly be resolved. There could only be a stalemate.

    However, if Yin Yang Hall became part of the conflict, the situation would changepletely. After all, the misunderstanding between Heaven Dao Pavilion and Yin Yang Hall was resolvable.

    The infighting between the five sects of the Holy Region had always existed. Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion couldn¡¯t make too many enemies at once.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve revealed our identities, I¡¯ll make it short and simple. I¡¯m here to avenge Wan Lei, so Fang Zhengzhi has to die. Whether Heaven Dao Pavilion wants peace or war, is up to you!¡± Shi Fan looked at the Sixth Elder and said.

    ¡°What about the Yin Yang Hall? Do you guys want peace or war?¡± The Second Elder¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Haha...can¡¯t the Second Elder tell what¡¯s going on? If we wanted a war, how would we hide our identities? Let me put it this way, if the Heaven Dao Pavilion doesn¡¯t interfere with this, we¡¯ll bury the hatchet. Trading Fang Zhengzhi, who isn¡¯t even the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple, for our Yin Yang Hall¡¯s top disciples, is as sincere as we could be!¡± Shi Fan smiled.

    ¡°We need to discuss about this!¡± The Second Elder nodded, but he didn¡¯t give a reply right away.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Is 15 minutes enough?¡± Shi Fan didn¡¯t push it too far, because he knew that once they revealed their identities, Heaven Dao Pavilion would make the easy choice.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± The Second Elder nodded andnded on the ground with the Fourth Elder, before joining up with the Sixth Elder.

    ¡°Old Six, you¡¯re the one who looked after the Divine Rain Pond, why don¡¯t you tell us what has happened?¡±

    ¡°Ok, the Divine Rain Pond is destroyed...¡± The Sixth Elder briefly updated them about the incident at the Divine Rain Pond.

    ¡°I see...¡± The Second Elder nodded seriously after he heard the news.

    ¡°Second brother, since Fang Zhengzhi would be killed anyway if we bring him back to Heaven Dao Pavilion, why don¡¯t we...Go with the flow?¡± The Fourth Elder expressed his opinion.

    ¡°Old Six, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°We have to defend Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s reputation! Although Fang Zhengzhi would die anyway, but if we allow them to kill him at our doorstep...¡±

    ¡°I got it, I¡¯ll handle this!¡± The Second Elder nodded again.

    ¡°Ok!¡± The Sixth and Fourth Elder agreed.

    The Second Elder slowly turned around, looked at Yan Xiu and Yuan Rong, then he turned towards Shi Fan.

    ¡°We¡¯ve discussed about it, you guys can do whatever you want with Fang Zhengzhi, but we have to bring his corpse back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Additionally, you can¡¯t harm Yan Xiu, and you have to treat his wounds. After this, the three sages of the ck Moon Ind will follow us back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and exin to our Master about this!¡± The Second Elder eximed.

    Hearing him, Shi Fan looked towards Yuan Rong. After Yuan Rong nodded, he smirked and said, ¡°Well, we¡¯ll do as the Second Elder said. In that case, could the people of the Heaven Dao Pavilion back off, because I¡¯m about to start killing!¡±

 Chapter 726 - Fusing the Bloodline, Destroying a Sage with a Single Punch

    <h4>Chapter 726: Fusing the Bloodline, Destroying a Sage with a Single Punch</h4>

    ¡°I want to kill!¡±

    ¡°... kill!¡±

    Shi Fan¡¯s voice was not loud. In contrast, it was rather rxed and carefree. However, everyone present heard it.

    After Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and Sixth Elder heard his words, the three of them exchanged a look and instantly waved their hands at the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    ¡°Listen up, Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. 36 of you shall form one team. You willy down the sword formation in eight different positions, in case an ident happens!¡± Sixth Senior instructed quickly.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples epted the order and quickly, they split up. Instantly, in all eight positions, theyy eight sword formations.

    When Shi Fan saw this, he naturally knew what the Heaven Dao Pavilion was doing. Both sides had to be med for this ident. Doing this would prevent Fang Zhengzhi from running, and it would prevent them from going back on their words.

    Of course, to him, this was not an issue.

    This was because his main target this time was Fang Zhengzhi. If Fang Zhengzhi died, then all his problems would be resolved.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you now know where you have gone wrong? If you can show remorse now, I¡¯ll give you a quick death and I¡¯ll guarantee you an intact body!¡± Shi Fan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who said nothing yet, as if he was staring at a dead man.

    Of course, he was not alone. Everyone else all looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if he was a dead man.

    He was surrounded by three elders of the ck Moon Ind, a Sage State cultivator from the Yin Yang Hall, three elders and a few hundred disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Under this situation...

    How could he live?

    ¡°Wrong? Hurhur... what have I done wrong?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally opened his mouth. His eyes did not betray any look of panic or desperation. Instead, he was smiling.

    In fact, the moment he saw Yan Xiu, he knew that the situation could not be changed. Running off again? That was almost impossible.

    ¡°Tian Xing, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, died because of you. My disciple, Wan Lei, died because of you too. A life for a life, how can you say that you have done nothing wrong?¡± Shi Fan appeared to be enjoying the sensation of passing judgment. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man. To kill a dead man, he had to be in a morally superior position.

    After all, his trip here was not glorious.

    Of course, none of these was important. Strength was what was important. After all, he was a powerful cultivator and a winner. Hence, he could determine the life and death of those weaker than him.

    ¡°So dying because of me puts me in the wrong? So, what about you bunch of hypocritical ¡®false sages¡¯? I am only in the Rebirth State but to catch me, four Sage State cultivators ambushed me and even took hostages. Is this a job well done?¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed. Heughed very loudly. ¡°Furthermore, Second Elder and Fourth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, don¡¯t you want to capture me and bring me back for trial in front of Mu Qingfeng? Why aren¡¯t you catching me now?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Second Elder and Fourth Elder. Then, he turned to Sixth Elder, who was next to them, and he said, ¡°Sixth Elder, I think you know very clearly why did I not make it to the Ninth Heaven after I entered the Divine Rain Pond, but instead, I appeared in the Jungle of Mysteries.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Sixth Elder choked on his words. He naturally knew what Fang Zhengzhi was talking about.

    When Second Senior and Fourth Elder heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they looked at Sixth Elder together. They both had ugly expressions on their faces.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Chi Guyan can¡¯t lose, but I can. Right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Sixth Elder nodded his head and said, ¡°Chi Guyan is the Chosen One. How can she marry someone like you, who¡¯s going to die? Stop dreaming!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... Hence, you think that you can decide whether I live or die here. You can watch as the blood drains from Yan Xiu¡¯s body and you can ignore all their wrongdoings in the territory of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, right? You read so many books on the virtues of the Dao, but you do not behave as if you have learned them. How can you call yourself a Sage?!¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s chest heaved and his face turned red.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, destroying the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Divine Rain Pond carries with it the penalty of death. All we¡¯re doing now is to hand you over to them, where¡¯s the difference?¡± Fourth Elder opened his mouth and spoke.

    ¡°If I kill your entire family, will you still be willing to hand me over to them for execution?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°You... foul-mouthed rascal. How dare you speak rubbish!¡± Fourth Elder was so angry that he stuttered as he spoke.

    ¡°Hurhur... for Tian Xing, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he tried to kill me. So why can¡¯t I kill him in my defense? For Wan Lei, he tried to backstab me when I was not aware as he tried to steal my body¡¯s medicinal power with his Dao of Yin Yang. So how can he not die because of me? If we want to discuss guilt, aren¡¯t you just using me as a scapegoat? Judge me? You are not worthy!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared withughter.

    In fact, since his birth, he knew about the ¡®rules¡¯ of this world. When he was in the Southern Mountain Vige, Li Huer had a father who was the vice-squad leader of the hunting squad. This was how he earned the right to join the Hall of Dao.

    In the Hall of Dao examinations, he became the Double Roll Champion, but what was the result?

    He was borne into a poor family.

    This meant that he had no power and no background. For someone like him to have it easy in life, the best way was for him to depend on someone powerful and abandoned his identity and disavowed his own parents...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not do so. Hence, his path was more arduous than others.

    In the words of other people, this was ¡®staying guarded against others¡¯ and ¡®ying the game of thrones¡¯. If one could not use a particr talent for himself, the best thing to do would be to kill him!

    It was a simple rule.

    In the Holy Region, the rules were even crueler.

    The five sects of the Holy Region ruled this ce. Fang Zhengzhi did not make enemies out of any one particr faction. However, he was embroiled in their conflict. Hence, the fate that awaited him was death.

    The reason was simple. He did not join any of the five sects and hence, he had no background. His birth was modest and he had no powerful backer behind him.

    Hence, even though Tian Xing¡¯s death had nothing to do with him, and even though Wan Lei brought his own death upon himself, the end result was still his fault.

    Just like the scene that took ce earlier.

    In less than two hours of deliberation, they could determine the life and death of a person.

    Shi Fan had the right to discuss because behind him stood the Yin Yang Hall. Even the three elders of the ck Moon Ind had the support of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    What did Fang Zhengzhi have?

    He had nothing. He did not join the Heaven Dao Pavilion and he did not keep a low profile while abiding by the rules. He wanted to change his destiny in the Holy Region...

    ¡°So na?ve!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up into the sky as he watched the clouds floated past him. At this moment, he felt that he was like a cloud which was floating across the Holy Region.

    His n was to find rare treasures in the Holy Region. He wanted to do his best and he wanted to search for treasure here without any restraint.

    However, it seemed like his thinking was really na?ve.

    This was because as long as he entered the Holy Region, he would be inescapably dragged into its conflicts. How could he not face restraints?

    What if his lifespan was not limited?

    Then, what would be the result of him impersonating as a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    What if he did not choose to leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    What would be his fate after he destroyed the Divine Rain Pond?

    Yes!

    There was no ¡®if¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi no longer cared for all these. He picked this path himself. Hence, even if it led to a dead-end, he would continue on it.

    For himself, and for Yan Xiu.

    Personally...

    He had to rescue Yan Xiu from Yuan Rong.

    Personally...

    Kill Yuan Rong!

    Even if the result was death!

    ¡°So are you guysing up at one-by-one, or together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Shi Fan and the rest to reply. He had already lifted the sword in his hands up.

    Shi Fan¡¯s mouth started to move. He seemed as if he wanted to debate Fang Zhengzhi, but when he saw him lift his sword, he guffawed.

    ¡°Hahaha... not bad. Too bad you can¡¯t hold a candle to my radiance! So what if you are a scapegoat? You are too showy but you have no background. Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion couldn¡¯t stand you. So... how can you not be a scapegoat? Who else can be one?¡± After Shi Fan said these, he smiled gleefully.

    When the three elders of the ck Moon Ind heard this, they gritted their teeth because they knew that Fang Zhengzhi was telling them the truth. They were indeed using him as a scapegoat.

    This was because they could not exact revenge on Chi Guyan.

    Hence...

    They could only have Fang Zhengzhi.

    Simrly, this was the current situation of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. There was no way they could fight the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, they had to find a way to regain their lost dignity.

    ¡°Elder Shi, there¡¯s no need to debate with this rascal. The situation is already as such, kill him straight away!¡± An old man who stood next to Shi Fan said.

    ¡°Yes. Since you are unwilling to admit your guilt, let me send you on your final voyage!¡± When Shi Fan heard the old man¡¯s words, he nodded his head gently too.

    ¡°Elder Shi, he¡¯s only in his Rebirth State. If you kill him personally, it¡¯ll sully your name. Let me do it,¡± said the old man once more.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but please be careful. He¡¯s... not weak!¡± When Shi Fan heard this, he fell silent for a while before nodding his head.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Elder Shi. We struck him with our palms twice just now. He¡¯s putting on a final show of bravado. In three moves, I¡¯ll end this!¡± The old man smiled coldly. Then, he took five steps forward and stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi, before saying, ¡°Rascal, my name is Yin Sen. I entered the Sage State three years ago. When you¡¯re on the other side, remember this name. Of course, with your age, you should refer to me as ¡®Elder Sen¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Swoosh!¡±

    Right after Yin Sen said that, a figure was already in front of him. A look of surprise shed across his eyes.

    More shockingly, he saw a pair of eyes.

    This was a pair of bright but transparent eyes. In this pair of eyes, countless images swirled. More importantly, in that diagram, golden symbols shed.

    ¡°So fast!¡± When Second Senior, Fourth Senior, and even Sixth Senior, saw this scene, they could not help but exim.

    They knew how fast Fang Zhengzhi could be.

    However, when theyst saw him on the Heaven Academic Altar, his speed was iparable to now.

    How could he be so fast?

    Could it be because of the Divine Rain Pond...

    Just when they were marveling at his speed, another shocking scene took ce. This was because they saw a shadow on Fang Zhengzhi.

    An incorporeal shadow.

    However, without knowing why, they felt that this shadow was familiar. They felt as if they had seen it before.

    Of course, this was unimportant.

    Importantly, why was there a shadow on Fang Zhengzhi?

    Could Fang Zhengzhi possess a Gifted Bloodline? Impossible. This was because if he did have one, why did he not use it during the battle at the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    They did not understand.

    However, the shadow behind Fang Zhengzhi was real. Furthermore, countless golden symbols flowed in the shadow.

    As the golden symbols flowed, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands started to shine with a faint ck light. To be precise, this did not seem to be just a ck light but instead, a ck armor.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    At this moment, a huge sound could be heard. Then, a figure flew into the air instantly afterward. Blood spewed from his mouth.

    ¡°F*ck you, old man Sen!¡± An enraged voice roared out.

    Then, the flying figurended with a ¡®thump¡¯ onto the ground. Its face was pale and it wore a look of utter disbelief.

    Silence.

    The original ruckuspletely died down.

    All of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the kneeling figure. They looked at the blood trickling out of his mouth, and the bloody hole in his shoulders. They did not know what to say.

    One punch!

    Just one punch!

    It was actually enough to severely injure Yin Sen, who was in the Sage State.

    ¡°Cough cough... this rascal actually has a Gifted Bloodline?¡± Yin Sen spat out two mouthfuls of blood as his eyes bulged.

    After all, he was very clear about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength.

    While he had never fought him before, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi possessed both the Heavenly Rebirth Dao and the Near-Life Dao. He was a stunning genius.

    Even though he was only in his Rebirth State, he did not dare to underestimate him.

    However, his intelligence did not tell him that Fang Zhengzhi had a Gifted Bloodline. Hence, when he saw the shadow float out from behind Fang Zhengzhi, he was surprised.

    This tiny moment of surprise...

    Almost cost him his life.

    That punch came too quickly and was way too vicious. It struck his heart. If not for the fact that he forced his body to sink down, the punch would not have pierced his shoulder but his heart instead.

 Chapter 727 - The Full Extent of my Dominance, Whoever Blocks Me Shall Die!

    <h4>Chapter 727: The Full Extent of my Dominance, Whoever Blocks Me Shall Die!</h4>

    Too fast!

    How could Fang Zhengzhi, who was in the Rebirth State, be so fast?

    Yin Sen could not believe it. However, right now, he was in no state to ponder this problem, because Fang Zhengzhi was in front of him once again.

    ¡°Rascal, do you think that I, who am in the Sage State, can¡¯t beat you?!¡± Yin Sen narrowed his eyes. As a powerful cultivator in the Sage State, he naturally possessed the dignity of a Sage.

    Even though he only attained the Sage State less than three years ago.

    However, even though he became a Sage only three years ago, a Sage was still a Sage. In terms of strength, it was fundamentally different from someone in the Rebirth State.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A powerful aura surged from Yin Sen¡¯s body. At the same time, aplicated red symbol appeared on his forehead.

    It was like a ball of mes.

    The moment the symbol lit up, the aura from his body turned zing hot. The aura turned zing hot and golden.

    He fully unleashed his absolute strength.

    This was Yin Sen¡¯s choice. At the same time, this was the best option a Sage State cultivator could use against a Rebirth State cultivator because the difference between the twoy in terms of strength.

    If you could not get near me, how could you fight me?

    However, the moment Yin Sen unleashed his intense heat, he saw a sword, which appeared to be coated in purple blood.

    Furthermore, on the blood, there was ayer of ck light.

    The sword reached!

    The zing fire burst open!

    ¡°How can this be possible?!¡± Yin Sen could not believe it, because this went against all logic. How could the strength of someone in his Rebirth State defeat someone in the Sage State?

    However, regardless of whether he believed it or not, the sword was already in front of him. It made its way toward his throat and it was so fast until there was no chance of him dodging it at all.

    ¡°Pwist!¡± His throat tore open like a piece of paper.

    When the Traceless Sword entered Yin Sen¡¯s throat without any resistance, it hummed softly as if it was delighted and excited when it drew blood.

    Blood flew everywhere and some drops of itnded on the Traceless Sword.

    However, it disappeared instantly as well, as if the Traceless Sword had absorbed it. At the same time, the blood from it turned even more demonic.

    ¡°This sword... is odd!¡± Shi Fan did not worry about it at first. After all, even if a Sage State cultivator had his throat pierced, it would not be fatal.

    However, when he saw the Traceless Sword absorb Yin Sen¡¯s blood, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. This was because even for a Sage, there was no chance of living after all his blood had been drained.

    ¡°Ooo...¡± Yin Sen¡¯s mouth was open and he seemed as if he wanted to say something. However, his throat had been pierced and every drop of blood in his body appeared to be surging toward the sword which was in his throat. How could he make any sound?

    ¡°Attack!¡± Shi Fan could not just watch Yin Sen die like this. Hence, instantly, he ordered the other two of the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind to strike.

    However, it was toote.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had already lifted up his sword. At the same time, a bloodied head flew into the air. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword came down once more as he pierced Yin Sen¡¯s heart.

    Quick and decisive.

    He did not drag it out.

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi killed extremely quickly, because this was the first time he wanted to kill so badly. He wanted to kill everyone who had harmed Yan Xiu, and their aplices. He wanted to kill them all!

    He kicked Yin Sen¡¯s corpse aside.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yin Sen once more. An iparably demonic purple light shone from his body. It swirled like a purple dragon as it rose from underneath his feet before slowly reaching the top of his head.

    At the same time, the ck armor on his body appeared to have gotten heavier and heavier. From his elbows, it stretched all the way to his arm.

    ¡°He killed Yin Sen?!¡±

    ¡°How... how is this possible? He was in the Sage State!!¡±

    ¡°A Rebirth State individual killed a Sage State cultivator? Furthermore, from start to end, he only used one punch and two strokes of the sword?!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all stunned. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi was exceptionally talented and they knew that he was exceedingly strong. However, they never knew that someone in the Rebirth State could be this powerful.

    Was he really still in the Rebirth State?

    ¡°It¡¯s the bloodline of the Heaven God, this armor... it¡¯s master¡¯s Heaven God¡¯s bloodline!¡± The Third Elder from the ck Moon Ind who wanted to rush forward paused in shock before he eximed in surprise.

    ¡°What? Bloodline of the Heaven God?¡± When the Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind heard it, he too stared intently at the ck armor that covered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s entire body. He knew that his junior would not lie, because before his junior became a Sage he had been Tian Xing¡¯s disciple.

    ¡°Bloodline of the Heaven God?!¡±

    ¡°How is hits possible, isn¡¯t that Tian Xing¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi had the... bloodline of the Heaven God?!¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard the words of the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, they almost copsed. Fang Zhengzhi possessed the bloodline of the Heaven God. How could they believe it?

    However, when the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind said it, they all looked intently at Fang Zhengzhi and the thick ck armor he was wearing...

    A chill rose from behind his back.

    It really was the Heaven God¡¯s bloodline.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, he...,¡± Second Elder and Fourth Elder exchanged a look. Their minds were both tumultuous. After all, before today, they ascertained that it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to possess a Gifted Bloodline. However, this fact proved all arguments wrong.

    ¡°No... it¡¯s not the bloodline of the Heaven God. It¡¯s different, it¡¯s not the Heaven God¡¯s bloodline!¡± The Third Elder of the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, who was previously unsure, suddenly shook his head once more.

    ¡°It¡¯s not?! Third brother, are you sure? I think it resembles Tian Xing¡¯s...¡± The Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind asked in shock when he heard what his third brother had said.

    ¡°It¡¯s different, it¡¯s slightly different... Master¡¯s Heaven God¡¯s bloodline exuded dominance and solemnity, but his exuded a powerful killing intent, and it¡¯s razor-sharp too, just like his sword!¡±

    ¡°Razor-sharp like his sword?!¡± When the Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind heard this, he suddenly thought about the moment when Fang Zhengzhi attacked.

    With one punch, he pierced Yin Sen¡¯s shoulder.

    Then...

    With one sh, he broke through Yin Sen¡¯s defenses and then killed him straight away. It all happened very quickly, but just like what Third Elder had said, it was like a sword. An unsheathed sword!

    ¡°Next!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice interrupted the discussion among the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind. This time, when he raised his sword once again, the shadow behind him became even clearer.

    Gifted Bloodline?

    He naturally did not possess it!

    However, just because he did not possess it did not mean that he could not use it, because his body had more than 1000 different types of Dao. After the Baptism by the Divine Message, they all turned into countless golden symbols.

    It was just like when he witnessed the dragon in the Divine Rain Pond¡¯s Seventh Heaven. The dragon was the end result and all transformations and types were concentrated onto a single form.

    For Gifted Bloodlines, the result was the same.

    Fang Zhengzhi had not seen many types of Gifted Bloodlines, and he did not fight with many of them. They included Shan Yu, Tian Xing, and Chi Guyan.

    If he were to choose...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that Shan Yu¡¯s Gifted Bloodline, if it appeared behind him, would be too dark. He did not like it. As for Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline, he felt that it was too feminine.

    A woman standing behind him?

    This was slightly overboard.

    Of course, the most important reason was that his current Gifted Bloodline was fake. To be precise, Fang Zhengzhi forcibly imitated it.

    Such a Gifted Bloodline was terrifying.

    However, in terms of actual effects, it was still notpletely like a real Gifted Bloodline. For example, Chi Guyan¡¯s special spiritual pressure and control was something he could not do.

    However, this did not mean that it was useless.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not copy the uniqueness of Gifted Bloodlines, but he could fuse what he wanted from them, like right now.

    He wanted sharpness.

    A sharpness that could pierce a Sage.

    Hence, hebined the sharpest Dao of All Creation into this Gifted Bloodline and broke through Yin Sen¡¯s defenses with one move. With this, he killed him straight away.

    In fact, there were other factors involved too. For example, Yin Sen never expected Fang Zhengzhi to be so fast, and he never expected him to breach his defenses.

    This created the perfect opportunity for Fang Zhengzhi.

    If not for that...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he would need at least three moves!

    ¡°Elder Shi, I think that the two of us should attack him together. I want to see how strong this rascal¡¯s Gifted Bloodline is!¡± Second Elder from the ck Moon Ind looked at the sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and slowly took a step forward. His eyes glinted with a ck light.

    ¡°No need, let me do it!¡± Shi Fan waved his hand slightly and instantly, his expression turned dark and murderous.

    As an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, he naturally had his mission. While this mission was a death mission, it was not considered difficult.

    Five Sages...

    Trapping and killing a newbie who was only in his Rebirth State?

    If not for Wan Lei, Shi Fan would not havee.

    However, no one could change the fact that he was here.

    The result was that another Sage of the Yin Yang Hall died anyway. Furthermore, he died right in front of him, and without an intact corpse! How could he be absolved of responsibility?

    ¡°Shi Fan wanted to kill him personally?!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the Ninth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall, and I heard that he¡¯s also the most powerful one!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, while Shi Fan entered the Sage State only around ten years ago, I heard that he was only 30 years old. Furthermore, he¡¯s widely known as the top genius of the Yin Yang Hall!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion looked at Shi Fan, who was walking toward Fang Zhengzhi, and held their breaths. After all, Shi Fan was unlike Yin Sen. While they were both in the Sage State, the difference in their strength was enormous.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi...¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s lips twitched as he looked at Shi Fan, who was walking step-by-step toward Fang Zhengzhi. His face was pale and blood flowed non-stop from his body. His two hands could not move, but he gritted his teeth so tightly as if he wanted to shatter them.

 Chapter 728 - Hell on Earth, Entering the Sage State with One of the Six Daos

    <h4>Chapter 728: Hell on Earth, Entering the Sage State with One of the Six Daos</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could naturally sense Yan Xiu¡¯s pain right now. Hence, because he could sense it, he knew what he should do.

    He could not just watch as Yan Xiu in front of him. At the same time, he knew that Yan Xiu did not want to die in front of him.

    Escape?

    There was no way he could escape!

    Hence, all he could do was to fight. He did not think; he did not need to think. All he could do was to kill without thinking. He would kill whoever dared to block him!

    Shi Fan saw the expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. However, what he did not expect was that even after he stepped out, Fang Zhengzhi continued to look at Yan Xiu.

    Was he being ignored?

    This was the first time Shi Fan felt something like this. However, he did not give it much thought. After all, he would make the one who ignored him pay the price.

    For example, Fang Zhengzhi who stood in front of him.

    ¡°I heard that you possess both the Heavenly Rebirth Dao and the Near-Life Dao. Furthermore, you can also use the Hell Near-Life Chains. Honestly, when I first heard this, I was surprised. So, do you know what Hell is like?¡± Shi Fan stopped when he was five steps away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the same time, a sword appeared in his hands. The sword waspletely ck and without a single glimmer of light. It did not look like a weapon but instead, a shadow.

    ¡°Is this Shi Fan¡¯s weapon?¡±

    ¡°He is using his sword at the start. It seems... he¡¯s going to use his full strength!¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw Shi Fan unveil his weapon, they looked at each other. They knew a huge fight was at hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi retracted his gaze. However, he did not reply to Shi Fan. Instead, he quietly looked at Shi Fan, as if he was looking at a fool.

    ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t have...¡±

    Before Shi Fan could finish, Fang Zhengzhi moved and instantly, he appeared in front of him as he stabbed at Shi Fan¡¯s chest with his Traceless Sword.

    From the beginning to the end, Fang Zhengzhi said nothing.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s action told Shi Fan of a principle.

    Attack and don¡¯t waste time bbering!

    He stabbed forward with his sword and the purple light shone intensely. The dragon roar that came from it was ceaseless. Fang Zhengzhi did not use any fancy move and he did not hesitate because right now, all he wanted to do was to kill!

    ¡°Humm!¡± The sword hummed.

    A demonic purple light shed and the Traceless Sword pierced into Shi Fan¡¯s chest like a bolt of lightning. Instantly, it pierced through his body.

    ¡°So fast!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really too fast!¡±

    ¡°Impossible? Has it ended?¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw Fang Zhengzhi pierce Shi Fan¡¯s chest, looks of disbelief stered across their faces.

    After all, they knew in their hearts that Shi Fan was known as the top genius of the Yin Yang Hall. One could notpare Yin Sen¡¯s strength with his.

    ¡°It seems that you really want a quick death, so let me fulfill your wish, die!¡± Just when everyone was looking on in disbelief, a voice rose from behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    As the voice spoke, Shi Fan, who had been standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi, disappeared like a fleeting snowke without a trace.

    ¡°It¡¯s a faint shadow!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples realized what was going on.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was fast, then, Shi Fan was even faster. Swiftly, he appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± A noise cut through the air.

    Then, a ck sword radiance which looked like a crescent moon shone from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back. Shi Fan, like Fang Zhengzhi, did not hesitate as he attacked Fang Zhengzhi from behind.

    Two rays of blue light shone at this moment.

    One shone at where Fang Zhengzhi originally stood and the other one appeared above his head. At the same time, the tip of the Traceless Sword on top of Shi Fan¡¯s head.

    It was a zingly-fast way to attack.

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi struck, to the moment when Shi Fan appeared behind him, to the moment where Fang Zhengzhi appeared above Shi Fan¡¯s head, the time in between was way too little.

    It was so fast until most people could not even see what had happened clearly.

    However, a smile curled on Shi Fan¡¯s lips. When he saw the tip of the sword appear above his head, his body disappeared from where it had stood.

    Then...

    An odd scene appeared.

    The ground appeared to be hit by a heavy force. It actually split open instantly.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge sound.

    The originally t ground sank by one entire inch. At the same time, cracks appeared on the surface of the ground. It seemed to form some special diagram.

    It was a very sudden scene.

    It was so sudden to the point whereby Fang Zhengzhi did not even manage to rush out from the blue light.

    However, the moment the diagram appeared on the ground, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body fell down with a loud and heavy ¡®thud¡¯. He felt as if some force had dragged him down.

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s hell on earth?¡± Shi Fan¡¯s figure slowly started to appear once again in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    When he appeared, eight balls of fire started to burn on top of the huge diagram. These eight balls of fire were not red, but peculiarly ck.

    ¡°What is this?!¡±

    ¡°So strong!¡±

    ¡°He actually dragged Fang Zhengzhi down from the sky?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at this scene in utter shock. They could not even speak. After all, it all happened too quickly.

    ¡°The Hell Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques!¡± Second Elder suddenly spoke. As he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, he inspected the huge diagram on the ground carefully.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Eight Winters Hell! It seems that Shi Fan entered the Sage State via the Hell Dao!¡± The Fourth Elder nodded his head lightly as he spoke.

    ¡°Hell Dao?¡±

    ¡°So this is the Hell Dao?¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard the words of Second Elder and Fourth Elder, they all looked at the scene before them. They were all shocked.

    The Six Rebirth Daos were originally the most supreme of the Great Daos.

    Anyone who possessed one of the Six Rebirth Daos would be known as an absolute genius. However, to enter the Sage State with one of the Six Rebirth Daos was extremely rare, even in the entire Holy Region.

    Shi Fan was one of the few people who made it.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, to be honest, you should feel happy that you can die in my Eight Winters Hell as a Rebirth State cultivator. It¡¯s really an honor!¡± When Shi Fan looked at Fang Zhengzhi once more, the murderous cold look in his eyes became more intense.

    ¡°An honor indeed...¡± Fang Zhengzhi slowly stood up. His body trembled because the powerful attractive force from the ground continually pulled him down.

    ¡°Oh? It seems that you have finally realized it?¡± Shi Fan appeared shocked because this was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had answered him. Furthermore, from his tone, he did sound proud.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve realized it,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he nodded his head lightly. He looked up to see the eight ck balls of fire burning above his head and his crystal-clear eyes started to glow with light.

    ¡°Hahaha... too bad it¡¯s toote. I won¡¯t let you die so quickly. I¡¯ll let you experience how Hell is like!¡± Shi Fanughed extremely happily.

    As someone who wielded the Hell Dao, he loved this feeling of passing judgment.

    Like one of the judges of Hell from legends, in his heart, he felt that he was a judge in the mortal world. He controlled life and death and could determine who was evil and who was wrong.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard the exchange between Fang Zhengzhi and Shi Fan, they all fell silent. They knew that it was all over.

    No matter how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was, no matter whether he wielded the Heavenly Rebirth Dao or the Near-Life Dao.

    In front of him was someone who wielded one of the Six Rebirth Daos and used it to reach the Sage State. This disparity was obvious.

    Many disciples slowly closed their eyes. They did not like Fang Zhengzhi, but they would still feel empty if they watched him die.

    This was because of what Fang Zhengzhi had said earlier...

    The real reason he died was that he was just a scapegoat.

    It was a tragedy, which had happened many times in the Holy Region. However, it was also a fact, a fact that they could not change.

    ¡°Receive your judgment!¡± Shi Fan¡¯s voice interrupted the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples¡¯ thoughts. As his voice rang out, a ball of ck fire descended.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡±

    As expected, the ck ball of firended on Fang Zhengzhi. Instantly, it ignited him.

    As the fire burned, it sizzled and crackled. A look of extreme agony crossed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. His body started to twitch and convulse.

    Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

    Then, he was engulfed by another ball of ck fire. This time, steam did not even appear. This ck ball of fire stuck itself to his body. From inside out, it ignited Fang Zhengzhi. No matter how he tried to hit it, it was impossible to extinguish.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use in struggling. This is Hell¡¯s freeze burn! There are eight types of freeze burns and each of them represented a different type of pain. From your skin to your muscles, bones, meridians, blood, organs.... And this is just the beginning!¡± Shi Fan looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was trying to pat out the fire on him, and his smile grew even wider.

    ¡°Eight types?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved. A ball of ck fire slowly appeared in his bright eyes. However, it was tinypared to the ck fire that burned around him. Naturally, no one noticed it.

    Then, he started to roll around on the ground. As he rolled, he swatted the mes as he screamed in agony. He seemed to be in unbearable pain.

    ¡°Is your endurance this bad?¡± When Shi Fan saw how Fang Zhengzhi was suffering, he was slightly shocked. He did not expect this. He still wanted to y for a bit, but when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi now, it was clear that he could not hold out for long.

 Chapter 729 - Something Strange, Eight Fires Burning the Body

    <h4>Chapter 729: Something Strange, Eight Fires Burning the Body</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°It¡¯s so cruel!¡± When Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind saw this scene, he could not help but exim as he smiled coldly.

    ¡°It¡¯s cruel indeed, butpared to the pain the three of us suffered, I think it is still iparable,¡± said Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind as he smiled coldly as well.

    Compared to Second Elder and Third Elder, the leader of the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, Yuan Rong, was much calmer. All he did was to look coldly at Fang Zhengzhi, who was rolling about on the ground, as he clenched his fists tightly.

    As someone from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, it was slightly humiliating for him to ept the Yin Yang Pavilion¡¯s help inpleting this task.

    However, no matter how great the humiliation was, he still had to endure it. This was because if the Nine Pinnacles Mountain wanted to maintain its position in the Holy Region, it must ally with the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s body started to shake. A blood-red light started to sh in his eyes and he appeared to be visibly in pain.

    Quickly, his trembling stopped because he noticed that Fang Zhengzhi had just winked at him. His pale face looked shocked.

    Then, Yan Xiu fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, started to shout even more intensely. His shouts reverberated in the forests as if he was about to die.

    ¡°Hmph, it hasn¡¯t ended!¡± A cold radiance shed in Shi Fan¡¯s eyes. Thanks to a momentarypse, Fang Zhengzhi killed a Sage. How could he let Fang Zhengzhi die so easily?

    The sword in his hand moved.

    The second ball of ck fire descended.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Fang Zhengzhi cried out in pain once again. His hands tore at his clothes and beads of sweat trickled out non-stop before evaporating before his eyes. It went on non-stop...

    However, Shi Fan had no intention of sparing him. He waved his sword in hand once more and two more balls of fire descended.

    Quickly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s entire body was enveloped by ck mes. His skin was set alight and his cries of agony rang continually.

    However, what was odd was that...

    He did not die!

    Fang Zhengzhi was indeed struggling and he was screaming agonizingly. No matter how one looked at it, Fang Zhengzhi seemed incapable of sustaining it any longer.

    However, no one knew why but he seemed to be hanging onto hisst thread of life. No matter how agonizingly he screamed, he refused to die.

    Shi Fan felt that this was odd.

    ording to his predictions, Fang Zhengzhi should not have been able to survive the second ball of fire. However, why had he not died even after the third and fourth balls of fire?

    Shi Fan felt that something was amiss.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and elders shared his thought. After all, under normal circumstances, he should have died if it really did make him scream like this.

    ¡°It seems that he¡¯s unwilling to die, but if you can survive just because you¡¯re unwilling to die, then the Hell Dao does not deserve its name!¡± Shi Fan mumbled to himself. Then, his hands moved once more and the fifth ball of fire descended. This time, the ck fire went straight for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    This fire burned his internal organs!

    It was definitely not something that an ordinary person could endure!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not endure it too. The moment it prated his chest, his body flipped and he curled up into a ball. He seemed to be on hisst breath.

    Of course, he was still alive.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Fan¡¯s lips twitched and he wanted to say something, but he did not know what to say. However, his face instantly turned cold.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw how cruel he was, they all turned their heads to the side. They could not bear to watch it anymore.

    After all, after they personally witnessed such tortures, they felt that it was unnecessarily cruel too.

    ¡°Elder Shi, that¡¯s enough!¡± Sixth Elder finally spoke. While he did not like Fang Zhengzhi, he could not bear to see him being tortured like this.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough? The one who died is not from your Heaven Dao Pavilion, of course it¡¯s enough for you!¡± When Shi Fan heard Sixth Elder¡¯s words, his tone turned icy-cold and murderous.

    ¡°Shi Fan, you...,¡± said Sixth Elder as his face turned slightly red.

    He wanted to say, ¡°Does the crime of destroying the Divine Rain Pond exceed that of killing one of your disciples?¡± However, he swallowed his words.

    This was because it was not wise to spread the word that Fang Zhengzhi had destroyed the Divine Rain Pond.

    ¡°Alright, since you can endure this pain, let¡¯s see what¡¯s your limit!¡± Shi Fan ignored Sixth Elder as his sword moved once more. The sixth ball of fire descended once more.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡±

    This time, the entire ground was set alight. The intense mes made the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples frown. Beads of sweat fell from their foreheads.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cries became even more intense and pained. He wed with his hands at the ground and was able to make two deep marks. Evidently, this was his final struggle.

    However, he was still not dead.

    ¡°Rascal, I don¡¯t believe you can bear the pain of an Incineration by the Seven Fires!¡± Shi Fan was finally enraged. He had no need to wait as the sword in his hand started to move. The seventh ball of fire descended straightaway.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Fang Zhengzhi screamed out in agony. His whole body convulsed vigorously and he was evidently dying.

    ¡°Hurhur, you evidently can¡¯t take an Incineration by the Seven Fires,¡± said Shi Fans as a smile crept across his face.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this scene, they all shook their heads slowly.

    ¡°Has it finally ended?¡±

    ¡°He can endure an Incineration by the Seven Fires. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s will is strong indeed!¡±

    ¡°Yes, such a shame...¡±

    As the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples shook their heads, theymented too. None of them looked happy.

    Waiting.

    Shi Fan did not do anything else because he did not want to waste any more energy. Hence, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and elders could only wait at the side.

    Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, 15 minutes had passed.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi...

    He was still convulsing.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive?!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s this possible?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally spoke. They could not believe it. After all, the pain of an Incineration by the Seven Fires was something that was normally unbearable.

    However, the reality was that...

    Fang Zhengzhi convulsed for 15 minutes but he was still not dead.

    Even though he really was convulsing, and he was convulsing as hey straight on the ground and was evidently on the brink of death. Oddly enough, he was not yet dead.

    ¡°Rascal, I want to see if you¡¯ll really die!¡± Shi Fan¡¯s eyes started to bulge. At the same time, the eighth ball of fire, which had been hanging in the air all this while, finally descended.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± ck mes rushed into the air and its dark sound echoed in the air. It was like the sharpest sound from Hell as it sent chills down everyone¡¯s back.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body finally stopped convulsing. Hey on the ground straight and did not move. He looked as if he was really dead.

    ¡°Finally dead!¡±

    ¡°He survived until the eight fire?¡±

    ¡°How strong is his will?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was no longer moving, and then at each other. They all felt slightly helpless.

    When he saw that Fang Zhengzhi was no longer moving, Second Elder took a step forward.

    ¡°Yuan Rong, the matter has been settled. Will you three Sages of the ck Moon Ind follow me to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and settle this matter with our Pavilion Leader?¡± Second Elder asked.

    ¡°Alright, but we can¡¯t hand Yan Xiu over to you just yet,¡± said Yuan Rong as he nodded his head.

    ¡°What do you mean? Do you think that the Heaven Dao Pavilion won¡¯t keep our words?¡± Second Elder¡¯s face changed as he said that. He was visibly enraged.

    ¡°This matter concerns the life and death of us three brothers. I feel that we should be more careful. After we have settled the matter and exited the territory controlled by the Heaven Dao Pavilion, we¡¯ll naturally return Yan Xiu to you,¡± said Yuan Rong without any attempt at hiding his intentions.

    ¡°You want to threaten us?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t dare to threaten you but we want to keep ourselves alive. The Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rtionship with the Great Xia Dynasty is strong and if I remember correctly, this rascal is also known as Prince Yan. Oh right, I hear that he knows Chi Guyan so I think... you guys wouldn¡¯t just stand idly by, right?¡±

    ¡°Yuan Rong, you...¡±

    ¡°Second Elder, the three of us have agreed to go to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and we are willing to settle this matter with you. Do you think we¡¯ll kill Yan Xiu?¡± Yuan Rong said with a cold smile.

    ¡°Second brother, Yan Xiu¡¯s injuries are serious. I think we should return to the Heaven Dao Pavilion before we do anything else!¡± Fourth Elder said timidly after he heard Yuan Rong had said.

    When Second Elder heard this, he looked at Yan Xiu, who was half-kneeling on the ground, and his pool of bright-red blood. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t need to hand Yan Xiu over to us now, but if anything happens to him, you three brothers will never leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Hurhur, don¡¯t worry, Second Elder, we¡¯re doing this just to stay alive. We don¡¯t want to be the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s enemies!¡± When Yuan Rong heard this, he nodded his head. At the same time, he quickly took out a small bottle of medicines as he ced one inside Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Please!¡± After Second Elder saw Yuan Rong feed Yan Xiu, he immediately waved at the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples who took up sword formations. ¡°Stand down from the sword positions and return to the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples replied instantly.

    ¡°Bring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s corpse back too!¡± Fourth Elder looked at Fang Zhengzhi before instructing the disciples.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Two Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples ran toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Wait a moment! Third brother, go and sh him two more times with your sword, I want to be sure that this rascal is dead!¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s voice rang out once more. At the same time, he looked at Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind.

 Chapter 730 - Rebirth Plate, Opening the Hell Dao

    <h4>Chapter 730: Rebirth te, Opening the Hell Dao</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°sh him twice more?¡± Third Elder of the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind was stunned when he heard it. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who waspletely immobile on the ground and as dead as he could be.

    ¡°Incinerated by the Eight Fires, how can he not die?¡±

    This was what Third Elder thought. However, quickly, he still nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Then, he walked toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Third brother, please be careful!¡± Yuan Rong was still worried as he said that.

    ¡°Okay,¡± said Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind as he nodded his head again.

    When Shi Fan heard that, and when he looked at Third Elder walking toward Fang Zhengzhi, a cold glint appeared in his eyes once more. His expression was murderous.

    ¡°Wait! Yuan Rong, the three of you are just disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t you believe that I, Shi Fan, have killed this rascal?¡± Shi Fan¡¯s tone was unpleasant. After all, as an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, he hated to be questioned.

    ¡°Elder Shi, please don¡¯t be angry. The three of us respect you immensely and naturally, we don¡¯t dare to suspect you. All we¡¯re doing right now is to give ourselves some form of reassurance, in case the unthinkable happens,¡± exined Yuan Rong. When he heard what Shi Fan said, he naturally knew what he was thinking.

    ¡°How can the unthinkable happen? Do you think that Fang Zhengzhi can really endure an Incineration by the Eight Fires? Do you think I want to spare him?¡± said Shi Fan coldly.

    ¡°How can this be possible? Elder Shi¡¯s presence today is a great honor for us. I think you have misunderstood us, Elder Shi. All I want is a peace of mind. After all, the mission is of utmost importance.... I believe that if Hallmaster Dao Hun is here, he¡¯ll support my decision...¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to coerce me with Hallmaster?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that. All I want is to...¡±

    ¡°Enough, there¡¯s nothing else to be said. I¡¯ll inspect him personally. You won¡¯t have anything to say to that, right?¡± Shi Fan waved his hands and interrupted Yuan Rong.

    ¡°Hurhur... of course, if Elder Shi inspects him personally, the three of us won¡¯t have anything to say to that,¡± said Yuan Rong as he frowned, but he quickly wiped the frown from his face and smiled.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Shi Fan did not wait for Yuan Rong to say anything else and he took a few steps forward. He arrived next to Fang Zhengzhi and looked at the extinguished ck mes on him.

    When Second Elder, Fourth Elder, Sixth Elder, and the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, they all stopped what they were doing.

    Inspecting a corpse, to a confident and powerful cultivator, was a disdainful task. However, despite Yuan Rong knowing this, he still took the risk of offending Shi Fan by insisting that he did it.

    From a certain perspective, it meant that...

    Yuan Rong really wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead.

    The other side of this matter was that the new potential Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was in a bit of a rut.

    Of course, this was all expected.

    After all, Tian Xing died too suddenly. No one had expected Tian Xing to meet with such an ident.

    At this moment, Shi Fan lifted his leg up.

    ¡°Thump!¡± He kicked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and instantly sent him flying three steps away.

    After he kicked him, Shi Fan did not even look at Fang Zhengzhi as he turned around. He swept Yuan Rong with his gaze and said coldly, ¡°He¡¯s dead!¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s lips twitched. He wanted to say something but after he saw Shi Fan¡¯s dark look on his face, he decided to swallow his words.

    After all, he knew that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was no longer the same without Tian Xing. Without a supremely powerful cultivator, it would naturally be treated very differently.

    Of course, as long as the Nine Pinnacles Mountain could be united, it would still be a force to reckon with. To ensure the unity of his sect, Fang Zhengzhi must be dead.

    He did not say anything else. Yuan Rong pressed down on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder and prepared to lift the half-kneeling Yan Xiu up. Afterward, he had to settle the matter back at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, the moment he touched Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder, a shadow shed across in the corner of his eyes. This made his eyes bulge.

    ¡°Shi Fan, be careful!¡± In shock, Yuan Rong did not even bother to address him as ¡®Elder Shi¡¯. He called him immediately by his name.

    However, it was toote.

    This was because the shadow was already behind Shi Fan. More importantly, in the eyes of the shadow, eight balls of fire burned. Eight ck balls of fire.

    If a single sentence could describe Yuan Rong¡¯s feeling, it would be...

    He would rather see a ghost than to see that pair of eyes!

    ¡°What?¡± Shi Fan was proud because he had every right to be. However, for him to survive so long in the Holy Region, how could he not be careful?

    However, he was wary of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and its disciples, who had formed their sword formations, as well as the three elders.

    He paid no heed to Fang Zhengzhi, whom he thought was dead without a doubt. Hence, only when a murderously cold killing intent appeared behind him did he realize...

    He should have been careful of one more person.

    ¡°Pffslick!¡± An icy-cold sword stabbed him from behind and then pierced through his body like a bolt of lightning. The tip of this sword shone with a demonic purple light.

    It all happened very quickly.

    Other than Yuan Rong, no one else really saw what had happened. However, the fact was that Shi Fan now had a sword sticking out of his chest.

    Blood spurted everywhere.

    The demonic purple light made everyone¡¯s heart tremble.

    Silence.

    The three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and the three elders all looked at the shadow which had appeared behind Shi Fan.

    Its pair of crystal-clear eyes were so peculiar.

    Even more peculiarly, its eyes seemed to project an image that was slowly taking shape. Eight balls of ck fire burned in that image.

    It was Shi Fan¡¯s Eight Winters Hell!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Shi Fan roared in anger. At the same time, ck mes which reached the sky rose from his body andpletely enveloped it.

    This was the first time Shi Fan was so angry. This was because the sword that had pierced his chest had hurt his heart. If not for him taking a few steps forward, the sword would not have merely injured his heart; it would have pierced right through it.

    He did not wail in agony because at this moment, he was more enraged than pained.

    However, the shadow behind Shi Fan had no intention of stopping just because he was enraged. After it stabbed him, the shadow struck Shi Fan¡¯s back with its palm.

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± Shi Fan spat bright-red blood out from his mouth. This blood mixed from the blood from his chest as he flew into the air and tumbled down some distance away.

    ¡°Not dead?!¡±

    ¡°How is he not dead!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible? How can something like this happen?!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the shadow far away, whose eyes danced with ck balls of fire. They finally reacted to it.

    However, they still could not ept what was going on.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still alive...

    In the Hell Dao, he endured an Incineration by the Eight Fires, and he did not die? Furthermore, he still managed to stand up as if nothing had happened and even stabbed Shi Fan with his sword. How could anyone ept something like this?

    Was he a ghost?!¡±

    If he really were a ghost, this would still be impossible!

    This was something iprehensible to the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. Of course, they knew that to the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, this turn of events petrified them.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is not dead!¡±

    ¡°How can he be not dead?!¡±

    ¡°He clearly...¡±

    Even Yuan Rong, who was cautious and had insisted on shing him twice more, waspletely stunned when he saw Fang Zhengzhi stand up.

    ¡°His eyes...¡± Fourth Elder started to mumble. He did not look at Shi Fan but instead, he focused his gaze intently on the ck balls of fire dancing in Fang ZHengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Can it be that this rascal...¡± When Second Elder heard Fourth Elder¡¯s voice, an impossible notion shed across his mind.

    However, the moment this notion appeared, a huge round wheel of light before his eyes. To be precise, it appeared on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    The huge wheel of light started to spin slowly. Its cerulean and emerald-green light shed.

    The Rebirth te!

    Second Elder naturally knew what it was, but because of this fact, he had this unpleasant feeling in his heart. Furthermore, it seemed toe true.

    The moment the Rebirth te appeared above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, the sky turned dark. Thunder boomed and rattled the sky.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A ck light pir came down like a ck bolt of lightning. Yet, it was alsopletely straight and resembled a pir that led into the heaven.

    The ck light pir uratelynded on the Rebirth te. Then, inside the Rebirth te, opposite the cerulean light, the other lightless corner started to shine with a faint radiance. Finally, it turned into a ck ball of fire.

    ¡°Mmm!¡± The qi of heaven and earth appeared to be triggered. At this moment, the Rebirth te started to turn furiously. Blue, green, and ck lights intersected.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ck armor took shape once more. The shadow behind his back appeared again. This time, on his ck armor and shadow, ayer of ck fire burned.

 Chapter 731 - Kill, An Absolute Prodigy!

    <h4>Chapter 731: Kill, An Absolute Prodigy!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Kill!¡± Fang Zhengzhi bellowed deafeningly. At the same time, an intense killing aura, which was as vast as the ocean, shot out from his body.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill...¡±

    At this moment, the killing aura reverberated in the air like a tidal wave. It spread in all four directions like waves and pulsated on the ground.

    This terrifying scene stunned the disciples and elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Even the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind were shocked by this scene. Some of the weaker disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion involuntarily took a few steps back.

    This step weakened the eight sword formations that they had formed.

    In the next moment, with Fang Zhengzhi in the center, the ground sank once more. Then, a humongous diagram appeared on the sinking ground.

    ¡°The Hell Dao!¡±

    ¡°It really is the Hell Dao!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... he mastered the Hell Dao!¡±

    ¡°Oh my god! How can this be possible? He is able to master the Hell Dao just by fighting Shi Fan. Is... is he still human?!¡±

    The faces of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all pale-white. This time, they were all truly terrified. This terror reminded them of the battle which took ce in the Heaven Academic Altar one month ago.

    In that battle, Fang Zhengzhi mastered the Dao of Yin Yang. This was the main reason why Fang Zhengzhi was able to turn the tides of battle against the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei, and beat him.

    However...

    At that time, everyone thought that Fang Zhengzhi had already been researching the Dao of Yin Yang. Hence, even though they were shocked, they were not terrified.

    This time, the same thing happened before them again.

    This forced the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion to confront a ludicrous possibility. However, if it came true, then Fang Zhengzhi, who stood before them, was a true prodigy.

    ¡°He can master a Dao just by fighting it! It¡¯s real!¡± Second Elder did not want to believe it as his rational mind told him that this was simply impossible.

    However, reality showed to him that other than this possibility, there was no other way for him to justify what was happening before his very eyes.

    ¡°Master a Dao in a fight?!¡± Sixth Elder looked at Fourth Elder, who was silent, and he could not help but suppress the look of shock in his eyes.

    At this moment, he suddenly recalled Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behavior in the Ninth Heaven.

    The Ninth Heaven!

    He did not depend on luck but absolute capability! Sixth Elder¡¯s face turned red. He only understood that such a person really existed in this world at this moment. Nothing seemed ¡®impossible¡¯ anymore.

    Shock.

    Silence.

    Time appeared to have stopped.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi moved too.

    His body was like a bolt of lightning as he charged toward Shi Fan with a heaven-engulfing killing aura and ck mes. The purple light from his Traceless Sword shone intensely, and it also formed a faint purple shadow.

    ¡°Die!¡± A murderous and cold voice that seemed to havee from Hell rang out, turning the air around it solid with fear.

    ¡°So fast!¡±

    ¡°He was even faster than before!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could barely see Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shi Fan opened his eyes wide too. His injuries were not fatal, but at this moment, it was impossible for him to make a proper decision.

    ¡°Hell Dao?! He... he actually mastered the Hell Dao?!¡± Shi Fan could not believe the reality that was taking ce in front of him because only he knew the difficulty of mastering the Hell Dao. It was a process which he did not want to recall. However, right now, Fang Zhengzhi was challenging him to a fight after he had fully mastered the Hell Dao. Furthermore, he could even use the Eight Winters Hell. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    Shi Fan was evidently unwilling to ept it!

    However, the ck mes all around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body were real. The huge symbol of the ground was real too. Even the powerful attractive force was real and rattled him deeply.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Shi Fan hated him. He had never felt this much hate in his life. He did not hate the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive but instead, he hated the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had mastered his Hell Dao, which he took immense pride in.

    This was utterly humiliating.

    Close!

    The Traceless Sword got closer and closer!

    Shi Fan¡¯s sense of injustice made his mouth turn sweet. He spat out another mouthful of blood. At this moment, his mind appeared to be rattled.

    ¡°Elder Shi!¡± Just when the Traceless Sword was less than one inch from his throat, a ck shadow stood in front of Shi Fan, blocking him.

    At the same time, ayer of lightpletely enveloped the ck shadow and Shi Fan. The bright radiance illuminated the dimmed sky.

    ¡°Third brother!¡±

    ¡°Third brother!¡±

    Yuan Rong and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind were shocked when they saw the ck shadow which blocked Fang Zhengzhi. Then, they both cried out urgently.

    However, it was toote, because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had reached.

    ¡°All those who block me shall die!¡± Another murderous voice rang out and a ray of purple light shed the light screen that covered Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind and Shi Fan.

    ¡°Crraack!¡± The light screen trembled and instantly turned into many dots of light.

    It did not even resist the sh.

    ¡°How is this possible?! I¡¯m a Sage!¡± Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind looked at the disappearing light screen and he could not believe his own eyes.

    After all, in his heart, he knew that while Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Hell Dao, he was still in his Rebirth State.

    How could someone in the Rebirth State break through his defenses?

    In other words, how could someone in the Rebirth State break through his defenses so easily?

    He could not believe it.

    However, the purple radiance not only broke through his defenses but it had also swiftly arrived in front of him. Furthermore, the dense killing aura it exuded made him shake.

    ¡°Pffsck!¡± Blood flew everywhere.

    Before Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind could react, he felt an intense pain from his shoulder. Then, blood spurted everywhere.

    At the same time, he saw an arm flying, an arm which wore the sleeve of a ck robe. Blood spurted everywhere like a fountain.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A cry of pain rang from the Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind¡¯s mouth. Even though he was a Sage, the pain of losing his arm still made his body convulse.

    However, it was evidently not over yet.

    This was because the moment his arm was cut off, Fang Zhengzhi appeared before him. Then, he threw a punch at him.

    The fist was d in ck armor and burned with ck mes. Furthermore, it brought with it a razor-sharp, sword-like aura.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind roared in fury. His mind told him to retreat, but he could not retreat anymore.

    This was because this punch came too quickly.

    If he retreated now, this punch would follow him and then, pierce his heart.

    Hence, all he could do was to grit his teeth tightly and clenched his other fist before hitting out with it.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion shook everyone¡¯s heart.

    The moment Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind felt his fist hit Fang Zhengzhi, he felt as if an energy which seemed capable of pushing a mountain over surged toward him. It came at him ceaselessly and was as vast and powerful as the ocean.

    More importantly, the sharp energy it exuded was too powerful. It seemed capable of piercing through his fist in one strike.

    ¡°No!¡± Third Elder could not understand why he, as a Sage, would lose to someone in the Rebirth State.

    Demon!

    This guy was a demon!

    Third Elder suddenly felt his whole world crashing down around him. After all, this was the second time he was losing to someone in the Rebirth State.

    The first was when the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind fought against Chi Guyan. Then, he too was fighting a Rebirth State cultivator.

    However, he epted his loss then willingly.

    This was because Chi Guyan descended from the number one bloodline of the Holy Region, the bloodline of N¨¹wa. Hence, even though she was just in her Rebirth State, he lost to her willingly.

    However, this time...

    He lost once more.

    Furthermore, he lost in terms of absolute strength.

    While this energy defeated him with its sheer sharpness, the result did not change. He still lost. Something like this should not be happening.

    After all, in terms of the disparity in strength between the states, even Chi Guyan, who was known as the Chosen One, could not defeat a Sage in terms of absolute power.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    Not only did he seed, after his blow, he struck out once more. His attacks seemed infinite. Swinging his hand like a sword, he struck out at him once again.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another explosion.

    This time, the sound came directly from his shoulder. This one punch was able to almostpletely shatter his shoulder.

    An intense pain hit him.

    It was not finished because the moment the second punchnded, Fang Zhengzhi punched a third time. Furthermore, he aimed this punch right at his chest.

    ¡°Puuutsk!¡± The eyes of Third Elder rolled. They were filled with blood and had turned entirely red.

    His world turned red and in this red world, he saw a fist, a fist which prated his chest. On this fist, ck mes burned.

    The ck mes started to spread rapidly toward his heart, burning. It even incinerated his Small Dimension.

    ¡°I will actually die... die by his... hands...¡± Third Elder looked at the fist that was approaching him. While he expected to die one day, he never expected to die at the hands of someone in the Rebirth State.

    Furthermore, without even putting up a fight, his heart was pierced by his opponent. Furthermore, it was incinerated beyond saving by the Hell Dao.

    He was unwilling.

    However, he could not be unwilling to face death. His rapidly-draining energy told him that this time, he was truly defeated. He had no chance of fighting back.

    A demon?

    That was not right. Someone like him should not even exist!

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± Third Elder spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his ck robes red. At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword in front of him glowed in an even more demonic shade of purple.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stop.

    After he punched a hole right through Third Elder, he aimed his Traceless Sword at Shi Fan, who was just before him. His eyes, which shone like crystals, had eight balls of fire dancing inside.

    ¡°Another Sage is... dead?!¡±

    ¡°He killed one of the Three Sages of the ck Moon Ind, he¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°How can this be possible?!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at Third Elder from the ck Moon Ind, whose eyes were closed. Their eyes betrayed confusion and horror because to them, this was impossible.

    Surrounded by five Sages, three elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and hundreds of disciples should guarantee death.

    Why...

    Why was the result like this?!

    When Fang Zhengzhi killed Yin Sen, it could be due to his luck and Yin Sen¡¯s carelessness. This time, when Fang Zhengzhi killed Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind, it was based on pure strength. This strength was horrifying indeed.

    So fast!

    From the moment Fang Zhengzhi attacked to the moment when Third Elder died, all it took was a few blinks of the eye. Furthermore, he only used one sword move and three punches.

    ¡°A prodigy, this guy is a prodigy!¡± Fourth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke. The shock in his voice was genuine and in it, there was an inexplicable terror.

    That was right. He created this whole set-up with Second Elder.

    However...

    He never expected the result before him. When he made this decision, he only had a fleeting doubt about this.

    Right now, his emotions were entirely different.

    Worry!

    This was the first time he started to worry for his own decision because Fang Zhengzhi, who stood before him, grown to a level he could not predict.

    Three months...

    If Fang Zhengzhi did not die after three months but instead, achieve the Sage State, what would be the results of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s decision today?

    Fourth Elder had never thought about this before.

    However, he did right now. Furthermore, this thought filled each corner of his mind. He clenched his fists tightly.

    ¡°Fourth brother, I don¡¯t think we can afford to let him live!¡± Second Elder¡¯s voice entered Fourth Elder¡¯s ears. It was not loud but clear enough.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we...¡± Fourth Elder¡¯s lips moved and he wanted to say something. However, no voice came from his mouth.

    ¡°To prevent this trouble from guing us in the future, we have to do the unthinkable. This is no longer up to us. Like what they say, if we make one mistake, there will be no end to the number of mistakes!¡± Second Elder did not ask what Fourth Elder had wanted to say because, at that moment, he thought the same thing as him.

 Chapter 732 - Truly a Despicable Figure

    <h4>Chapter 732: Truly a Despicable Figure</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The Holy Region had resources which far surpassed those of other regions. However, thepetition within the Holy Region was also crueler and fiercer. Many times, a single error would lead to death.

    Although the Heaven Dao Pavilion had yet to actually attack Fang Zhengzhi, Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion never expected today¡¯s matter to be resolved just like this.

    Resolving their past misunderstandings?

    They had to stop immediately and find a way to save Yan Xiu. Then, they had to send Fang Zhengzhi out grandly.

    Looking at his rtionship with Chi Guyan, this was possible.

    However, if they did this, what would be of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s destruction of the Divine Rain Pond? How could they answer to the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion? What about their face?

    Even if they took ten thousand steps back, disregarding their own dignity and the unhappiness of their disciples, how much misunderstanding could truly be forgiven?

    No one could be sure.

    This was because no one knew how Fang Zhengzhi would be like if he continued to grow. When that moment came, they were in control of even fewer things. By then, Fang Zhengzhi would possess the initiative in everything. Even their lives would be in his hands.

    By progressing this far, Second Senior naturally did not believe na?vely that forgiveness would erase all past wrongs.

    Since he had already made mistake, he had to cover it up with more mistakes!

    ¡°Shi Fan, die!¡± Just when Second Senior had made up his mind in his heart, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once more. Then, the Traceless Sword in his hand moved.

    The sword pierced forward like a dragon and it was aimed straight at Shi Fan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Shi Fan finally reacted. When he looked at Third Elder of the ck Moon Ind, his once-dazed eyes became even colder and more murderous.

    As an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, Shi Fan was calmer than most people. However, the impact of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mastery of the Hell Dao was too great...

    This distracted him temporarily.

    However, he got over it and instantly, Shi Fan¡¯s body became enveloped by ayer of ck mes. At the same time, he grabbed the corpse of Third Elder and jabbed at Fang Zhengzhi with his sword.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s voice rang out. He stared intently at Shi Fan¡¯s corpse and his heart felt like bleeding.

    While the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind were not real brothers, they had spent many years guarding the ind together and they had been living together all this while. They were indeed as close as brothers.

    However, right now...

    Yuan Rong¡¯s third brother was dead. He died trying to save Shi Fan. This pained him immensely. How could he bear to see his third brother¡¯s corpse being used as a shield?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword stopped.

    He did not do so because he heard Yuan Rong¡¯s voice but instead, it was because he saw Yuan Rong¡¯s hand wrapped around Yan Xiu¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped but Shi Fan did not. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword stopped right in front of him, he kicked at him.

    ¡°Boom!¡± His leg, which also zed with ck mes, connected with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was sent flying back before he crashed onto the ground.

    Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, who was just about to strike, fell silent. He already knew what was going to happen next.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, can you watch as Yan Xiu die?¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s voice rang out. At the same time, he pressed down on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder with his other hand.

    ¡°Crrack!¡± Something cracked.

    One could see that Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed instantly. He appeared to be in extreme pain. However, he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

    This made Fourth Elder shake his head slightly as he sighed and said, ¡°Yan Xiu... he¡¯s indeed a descendant of the Yan Family of Western Liang. This amount of endurance is indeed worthy of a soldier!¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± said Second Elder. He knew what Fourth Elder was thinking but the situation at hand forced him to keep silent. While he knew that this method was less than ideal, he had no choice but to admit that it was his best bet.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples around all frowned. To them, while they did not like Fang Zhengzhi, they did not want to see this scene too.

    This method was too immoral.

    Five Sages ganging up on a Rebirth State cultivator was already unfair. In the end, the five Sages had to threaten their enemy with a hostage. How could they like it?

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°Shameful!¡±

    ¡°What kind of Sage is he? What a despicable person!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all criticized him but none of them dared to intervene. After all, Second Elder and Fourth Elder remained quiet.

    More importantly, they knew that they were in the Holy Region.

    ¡°Shut up! Fang Zhengzhi, today, only one of you will make it out alive. Choose!¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s voice was extremely cold. As a Sage, how could he not know how despicable this act was?

    However, the situation right not was that among the five Sages present, two of them were dead. Even Shi Fan was injured. Furthermore, they were surrounded by a bunch of hungry-looking Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    How could he care about all these now?

    Taking revenge personally for his third brother?

    Of course, he wanted to do it!

    However, Shi Fan was not a trustworthy person. If he allowed his second brother to kill Fang Zhengzhi with Shi Fan, heaven knew what would Shi Fan do when the situation turned dangerous?

    However, if he attacked with his second brother and Shi Fan, he would have lost control over Yan Xiu. By then, no knew what would be the result of that.

    He had no choice and in this situation, he could only make this choice.

    ¡°Fourth brother... do you think we should...,¡± said Second Elder before stopping. He wanted to speak but he did not know to continue.

    ¡°Second brother, I understand. If we can¡¯t endure this little humiliation, it¡¯ll be disastrous for us in the long run. If we can get Yuan Rong to kill Fang Zhengzhi, it¡¯s a good thing for us,¡± said Fourth Elder. He knew what Second Elder wanted to remind him of.

    ¡°Sixth brother?¡±

    ¡°Aye... I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Second Brother, I know what to do...¡± When Sixth Elder heard Second Elder¡¯s voice, he sighed and turned his head to the side.

    ¡°Okay,¡± said Second Elder as he nodded his head slightly. He did not say anything else.

    As they spoke, Shi Fan stood up once more. He was walking, step-by-step, to where Fang Zhengzhi was.

    He did not speak.

    When he arrived next to Fang Zhengzhi, he kicked him, sending him flying into the air.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge sound.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body hit a tree, instantly splitting the tree in half. Then, he was engulfed by ck mes.

    ¡°Ke...ke...¡± Fang Zhengzhi coughed twice. At the same time, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. However, like Yan Xiu, he did not say a single word.

    ¡°I want to see how much pain can he take!¡± Shi Fan¡¯s eyes turned even colder. He brimmed with hate and he could not ept it. However, because of these two exact reasons, he became even crueler.

    He wanted to avenge his humiliation at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to know that even though he had mastered the Hell Dao, he would still die!

    ¡°Shi Fan, kill him now, stop ying with fire!¡± Yuan Rong looked at Shi Fan, who raised his leg once more, and his heart brimmed with hatred. However, his hatred was different from Shi Fan¡¯s.

    He hated Shi Fan¡¯s arrogance. Under the present situation, he was still controlled by hatred and anger and had not killed Fang Zhengzhi straightaway.

    ¡°Do you think a mere disciple like you is fit to call me by my name?¡± Shi Fan¡¯s leg was suspended in mid-air. He looked at Yuan Rong and his faced turned murderously cold.

    ¡°You...¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s expression changed and his face turned visibly red. However, he endured this humiliation and said, ¡°I was in a rush, Elder Shi. What I really wanted was...¡±

    ¡°No need to exin, just do your thing!¡± Shi Fan waved his hand at Yuan Rong and then, he kicked Fang Zhengzhi with his raised leg.

    ¡°Thud!¡± A dull sound.

    Shi Fan¡¯s leg hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. However, Fang Zhengzhi unexpectedly did not fly into the air like before. Instead, he curled his entire body up and he hugged Shi Fan¡¯s right leg tightly with his arms. His entire body curled around Shi Fan¡¯s leg.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Shi Fan was shocked. He did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to resist. Of course, this action was less like resisting and more like self-preservation.

    Shi Fan was evidently displeased.

    As an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, he was definitely not as ¡®childish¡¯ as what Yuan Rong had thought. He did not need to gain satisfaction from torturing Fang Zhengzhi.

    What he had to do was to solidify the alliance between the Yin Yang Hall and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Right now, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was allied with the Yin Yang Hall.

    However, this was an equal alliance. To be precise, it was a temporary one borne out of necessity. It was not something the Yin Yang Hall wanted.

    The Yin Yang Hall wanted a tributary. However, how could the Nine Pinnacles Mountain be willing to submit to its authority?

    Indeed, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was in difficulty.

    Tian Xing¡¯s death dealt a huge blow to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. However, the nine elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were still alive, along with its disciples.

    If the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was given some time to resolve their internal conflict over who would be its next leader, it would soon reim its former glory.

    When that happened...

    The alliance between the Yin Yang Hall and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was just a temporary resort by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to protect itself. It had no significant meaning.

    If the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was dealt a blow it could not recover from...

    It would be a separate matter.

    The longer the Nine Pinnacles Mountain stayed weak, the longer it would have to remain dominated by the Yin Yang Hall. After a while, thends controlled by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain would slowly be controlled by the Yin Yang Hall.

    Shi Fan understood this.

    Hence, what he needed to do was to torture Fang Zhengzhi and then cripple him permanently. Afterward, he would kill Yan Xiu in front of Fang Zhengzhi before letting him die in regret.

    After he killed Yan Xiu, Yuan Rong and the rest would...

    That would be their problem!

    If possible, Shi Fan would like to help the Heaven Dao Pavilion kill Yuan Rong and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind, this would deepen the enmity between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Shi Fan had to pretend to be angry as he continued to torture him. He did not want to see Fang Zhengzhi grabbing his leg as if he was on a swing and hence, when that happened, his ¡®anger¡¯ intensified.

    However, no matter what Shi Fan did, Fang Zhengzhi continued to hold onto his leg tightly. He refused to let go.

    Furthermore, as Fang Zhengzhi grabbed his leg, the ck armor on his back turned solid and the ck mes continued to burn. This forced Shi Fan to use a portion of his Origin Energy to quell the mes of hell on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Elder Shi, quickly kill him!¡± When Yuan Rong saw this scene, his heart burned with hatred and panic. However, with his status, how could he order Shi Fan around?

    ¡°Shut up, do your own thing!¡± Shi Fan did not even look at Yuan Rong as he struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back with a punch.

    When Yuan Rong saw this, he gritted his teeth even tighter. He could not help but look at Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind.

    When Second Elder saw Yuan Rong¡¯s gaze, he quickly understood what he wanted. He nodded his head and slowly walked toward Shi Fan and Fang Zhengzhi.

    His movements were light.

    However, when he was five steps away from Shi Fan and Fang Zhengzhi, Shi Fan turned around and looked at him coldly before saying, ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°Elder Shi, I want to help you get him off...¡± Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind exined.

    ¡°I said, scram!¡± Shi Fan shouted.

    ¡°Shi Fan, don¡¯t take it too far. Even though you are an elder of the Yin Yang Hall, you could not have aplished this without the three of us. Even though the Yin Yang Hall had suffered one loss, my third brother too is... eh?!¡± Yuan Rong could not bear it anymore as he berated Shi Fan.

    However, he did not get to finish his sentence because just when the bulk of his attention was focused on Fang Zhengzhi and Shi Fan, he felt a chilling from his back.

    Furthermore, importantly...

    This chill was fewer than two footsteps away.

    An ambush?!

    Who would dare to ambush!

    For someone to creep so close to him, the ambusher must be strong. However, other than Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s other friend was Chi Guyan, who remained in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. So who could it be?

 Chapter 733 - A Last Minute Reversal

    <h4>Chapter 733: A Last Minute Reversal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Could it be the three elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Impossible!

    Barring the fact that they were right in front of them, the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s stance was a tacit acknowledgment of the tactic of using Yan Xiu as a hostage. Naturally, they would not ambush him.

    So what if it was not the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Who else could it be?

    Yuan Rong had no idea at all because he never expected anyone to ambush him. Although he was not mentally prepared for it, the moment he felt the chill, he reacted to it appropriate. Straightaway, he made a ck light screen appear behind him.

    After all, under his present situation, he could not just let Yan Xiu go. Hence, the most important thing for him to do was to block the ambush.

    The ck screen of light rose like a barrier.

    The moment it appeared, a huge sound resounded. Then, Yuan Rong felt a powerful force hitting the light screen.

    There really was an ambush?!

    When Yuan Rong felt this powerful energy, he turned to look behind them. Then, he saw a pair of eyes, a pair of very sharp eyes.

    Evidently, it was a youth.

    His elegant robes, which were inky-green, were slightly torn. His skin was dark and he had powerful muscles. He looked like a wild beast from the jungles.

    ¡°Where did this guye from?!¡± Yuan Rong was shocked. After all, the person who appeared in front of him was totally unlike what he had imagined.

    He was not ethereal like a normal Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple. In contrast, he brimmed with a wild aura.

    Who was it!

    Who was this rascal!

    Yuan Rong was infuriated.

    Of course, Yuan Rong¡¯s anger provoked a hugemotion. The Heaven Dao Pavilion elders and disciples all noticed him.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yan Qing!¡±

    ¡°He ambushed Yuan Rong?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples did not fully understand. After all, Yan Qing was supposedly a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple just like them.

    Hence, they did not pay too much attention to him.

    However, it was evident that Yan Qing¡¯s behavior was not ordered by the elders. His actions went against their orders.

    ¡°Yan Qing! You...¡± Sixth Elder clearly saw Yan Qing ambushing Yuan Rong. He was just about to say something when something made his eyes bulge.

    This was because after Yan Qing¡¯s fistnded on the ck screen, he did not stop.

    A figure rushed out from the calmke. The figure gripped a long spear tightly in his hands, which seemed to be formed entirely from blood-red light.

    A Sage!

    This was Sixth Elder¡¯s first reaction. His second reaction was to question why did a Sage appear? After all, he attacked Yuan Rong together with Yan Qing.

    Most importantly, the blood-red spear was...

    The Dao of Asura!

    ¡°It¡¯s Yan Qianli!¡± Fourth Elder blurted out even though he had not yet seen his face.

    For someone who became a Sage via the Dao of Asura and could attack Yuan Rong at this moment, there was no one else other than Yan Qianli who was capable.

    ¡°Big brother, be careful!¡± Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind noticed the figure which leaped out from theke. An intense look of panic appeared in his eyes.

    However, it was far toote.

    This was because the blood-red spear had already pierced the ck screen. Furthermore, it prated it with a powerful force and instantly made a hole.

    ¡°Pssst!¡± The blood-red spear pierced into Yuan Rong¡¯s shoulder. Then, Yuan Rong¡¯s body was lifted up into the sky.

    ¡°You dare to hurt my grandson! I¡¯ll f*cking kill you!¡± The Sage cursed in an un-sagely way.

    Then, countless red rays of light, which were raindrops, surged from the guy¡¯s figure as they attacked Yuan Rong.

    It was a fluid and fast motion.

    Yuan Rong¡¯s face turned pale. It was not because of his shoulder injury. However, the moment he was lifted up into the air, Yan Xiu fell into Yan Qing¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yuan Rong was unwilling to ept it.

    He could not ept the fact that just as the mission was about to bepleted, it was interrupted once more by another unforeseen event.

    However, he really did not expect two ambushers. Furthermore, one came from behind and one came from in front at such a close proximity. There was no way he could escape.

    He roared in fury and frustration. His body started to exude a thick ck light, which received the blood-red rays of light shooting flying toward him.

    ¡°Boom boom boom...¡± Explosions rang out non-stop at this moment.

    ¡°Yuan Rong, get Yan Xiu back! You and you, go and help him! I¡¯ll...¡± When Shi Fan saw this scene and noticed that Yuan Rong was being forced into a retreat, he finally panicked.

    This was because if he really lost a valuable hostage like Yan Xiu, both his mission and his n could not be sessfullypleted.

    Shi Fan was seriously panicking.

    However, he did not finish his sentence because suddenly, he realized something. His most important task right now was not getting Yan Xiu back...

    Instead, he should try and escape his dangerous predicament.

    This was because after Yan Xiu had been rescued, the truly dangerous person was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Shi Fan thought about it but it was way toote. His reaction was still too slow because Fang Zhengzhi, who had been lying on the ground, lifted his head.

    At this moment, Shi Fan could see a pair of crystalline eyes staring right back at him. These eyes were cold, colder than permafrost. A chill went down his back.

    Fang Zhengzhi said nothing.

    Perhaps there was no need to speak.

    However, the moment Fang Zhengzhi lifted his head, Shi Fan felt an intense pain. Then, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was no longer grabbing onto his leg.

    Bright-red blood flew everywhere.

    At the same time, a leg was sent flying too.

    At this moment, Shi Fan finally realized why Fang Zhengzhi clutched so tightly to his leg. No matter how he kicked him, he did not let go.

    However, what he could not understand was...

    How did Fang Zhengzhi predict the ambush? It waspletely impossible to do so as no one could have known that there were peopleing to rescue Yan Xiu.

    Unless Fang Zhengzhi had pre-nned all of it. However, how did he do it? What was his method?

    Shi Fan did not understand, but the intense pain drove him mad.

    ¡°Ah... Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Shi Fan¡¯s body tilted to the side. However, his extreme rage allowed him to stab, with his ck sword which he clutched in his hands, at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest at a lightning-fast speed before he fell down.

    ¡°Ding!¡± A clear sound rang out.

    It was slightly pleasing to the ear.

    However, when Shi Fan heard this sound, his face turned ugly. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead like rain.

    ¡°Kill!¡± A murderous cold voice reached his ears and a powerful killing aura, which was as vast as the ocean, surged toward him.

    Then, Shi Fan felt a sword-like energy surge toward his chest. This razor-sharp force tore painfully at his face.

    At this moment, Shi Fan finally understood. Someone who possessed the Heavenly Rebirth Dao, the Near-Life Dao, the Hell Dao, and who possessed the bloodline of the Heaven God like Leader Tian Xing...

    Was an absolute demon!

    ¡°Boom!¡± An intense pain ripped through his body and Shi Fan¡¯s body was sent flying. Then, hended heavily on the ground.

    At the same time...

    Fang Zhengzhi quickened his pace. He rushed toward where Shi Fan hadnded and streams of light swirled around his Traceless Sword. Then, he stabbed Shi Fan¡¯s chest.

    All this while, Fang Zhengzhi had been practicing a stratagem. ¡°If the enemy doesn¡¯t move, I won¡¯t move. If the enemy moves, I¡¯ll go berserk...¡±

    This stratagem could be summarised in one sentence.

    He would not give his enemy any chance!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not give Shi Fan any chance. He had no interest in ying with him. Sometimes, an opportunity would only present itself for a fleeting moment. Hence, he could not let it go.

    However, just when his sword was less than two inches away from Shi Fan¡¯s chest, a radiant golden light illuminated the sky.

    Then, a golden radiance which took the shape of a huge crystalline sword dropped from the sky. It was positioned right in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge sound.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not help but take a few steps back. He looked at two figure who stood next to each other in the distance.

    Second Elder and Fourth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was their sword move. Earlier, he was only able to escape it by running away.

    Right now, this sword blocked him from the front. Furthermore, it prevented him fromnding his killing blow on Shi Fan.

    ¡°ept your fate, Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Second Elder looked at Fang Zhengzhi and his eyes shone with a faint light.

    ¡°After I kill them, I can consider providing an answer to Mu Qingfeng back at the Heaven Dao Pavilion,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi after a momentary pause.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. When I say ¡®ept your fate¡¯, it does not mean answering your actions in front of Pavilion Leader. Instead, I want you to die right here and right now for destroying the Divine Rain Pond!¡± Second Elder shook his head slightly. Then, he looked at Yan Qianli and Yan Qing, who held Yan Xiu in his arms, and said, ¡°Yan Qianli! The Heaven Dao Pavilion helped you to save Yan Xiu. If you have no other matters, please leave! Yan Qing, return Yan Xiu to Yan Qianli!¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. I did not save Yan Xiu for the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Only Fang Zhengzhi gets to decide whom I can return Yan Xiu to. Do you want to order me around? You are not worthy!¡± Yan Qing looked at Second Elder and replied bluntly.

 Chapter 734 - Showdown!

    <h4>Chapter 734: Showdown!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    He did not speak very loudly and in the current situation, Yan Qing¡¯s voice could be said to be very clear. However, it was shocking.

    ¡°Not worthy!¡±

    ¡°Not... worthy!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at each other and could see the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. After all, Yan Qing¡¯s words were the epitome of disrespect.

    ¡°Yan Qing, are you brain-damaged? Apologize to Second Elder immediately!¡± Fourth Elder was tremendously shocked and naturally saw Second Elder¡¯s change in expression. He could not help but reprimand him.

    ¡°Apologize? Hurhur... I forgot to mention it. You aren¡¯t worthy too!¡± Yan Qing shook his head at Fourth Elder. Then, he turned to look at Sixth Elder and pointed at him and said, ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s Sixth Elder too. You pretentious hypocrite who goes on about the virtues of justice and propriety. You are a false Sage. Do you even have a bottom line?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sixth Elder was shocked. He never expected Yan Qing to say something like this. Furthermore, most importantly, he even thought of taking Yan Qing in before thetter had emerged from the Divine Rain Pond. However, quickly, his face turned dark as he said, ¡°Yan Qing, do you know what you¡¯re talking about?!¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. What¡¯s the problem? If I¡¯m not clear enough, let me repeat myself. The three of you are not fit to be Sages!¡± Yan Qing nodded his head and replied immediately.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± When Second Elder heard that, he was truly infuriated. A powerful aura rose from his body and his hand moved. A sword, which shone goldenly, appeared in his hands.

    This was the first time a weapon appeared in Second Elder¡¯s hand since he first appeared. The moment the golden sword appeared, Second Elder leaped up into the air.

    Then, a sword radiance which was as fast as lightning came straight down from the sky. An unbelievably sharp aura sliced toward Yan Qing.

    ¡°Hahaha... is the dog biting back in panic? What fine results, young man. I like!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s voice rang out. At the same time, his blood-red spear shot out from his hand and met the golden sword radiance in mid-air.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Different auras rolled in the air and the golden light intersected with the blood-red light non-stop. Finally, the two of them died down.

    ¡°They¡¯re of even strength?!¡±

    ¡°While Second Elder did not use his full strength, I heard that... Yan Qianli only reached the Sage State a short while back, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and I heard that it¡¯s because of his cultivation of the Dao of Asura. I heard that the Dao of Asura¡¯s offensive powers are the strongest among the Six Rebirth Daos. It¡¯s powerful indeed!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the two radiances, which were dying down, and many of them sighed in admiration. After all, Second Elder was one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region.

    When Second Elder saw his sword being blocked, his face turned angrier as he cursed, ¡°Yan Qianli, you have yet to join any one of the five sects of the Holy Region, right? Do you want to be an enemy of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Hurhur, you misunderstood me, Second Elder. While I, Yan Qianli, am brazen, I don¡¯t dare to take the Heaven Dao Pavilion alone. Blocking your sword was just to save my grandson,¡± said Yan Qianli as he pointed to Yan Xiu, whom Yan Qing was helping to carry.

    Second Elder frowned and he looked at Yan Qianli. While Yan Qianli¡¯s words were difficult to ept, there was nothing wrong with them.

    After all, Yan Xiu was indeed in Yan Qing¡¯s hands. Hence, it was right for Yan Qianli to block his attack, which was aimed at Yan Qing.

    ¡°Alright, Yan Qianli, the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s ties with Great Xia have always been good. On your ount, I won¡¯t pursue this matter anymore. Now that Yan Xiu has been saved, you may leave if you have no further business,¡± said Second Elder as he nodded his head.

    ¡°Thank you, Second Elder. However, it¡¯s not possible for me to leave alone, right? It has been an arduous journey and I feel that I should bring more people back with me!¡± When Yan Qianli heard that, he immediately thanked Second Elder.

    ¡°Bring more people back?¡± Second Elder frowned and he looked at Yan Qing, who stood behind Yan Qianli. He naturally understood what Yan Qianli had meant and he said, ¡°Impossible. Yan Qing is a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Since he has joined our sect, he has to obey its rules and face its punishments!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a small infraction. I hope Second Elder can be magnanimous and forgive your junior for this mistake!¡± Yan Qianli smiled and insisted.

    ¡°Yan Qianli, this is an internal matter of the Heaven Dao Pavilion,¡± Second Elder¡¯s voice was dark.

    ¡°I understand, I understand...¡± Yan Qianli nodded his head.

    ¡°So why are you still here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that it has been an arduous journey. Do you understand me, Second Elder?¡±

    ¡°Yan Qianli, do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°Second brother, Yan Qianli was once Prince Yan. Furthermore, he mastered the Dao of Asura...¡± Just when Second Elder was about to attack, Fourth Elder¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°So what if he has mastered the Dao of Asura? Do you think I¡¯m scared...¡± Second Elder spoke half-way and then stopped. This was because he noticed that Fourth Elder was looking elsewhere. Furthermore, he was deliberately looking at him in a particr way.

    This made a strand of doubt rise in Second Elder¡¯s heart. He naturally knew that Fourth Elder would not stop him for no reason. Subconsciously, he looked into the distance.

    Then, his face changed slightly.

    This was because, at that moment, someone d in blue robes and wielding the Traceless Sword stood at where Fourth Elder was looking.

    Fang Zhengzhi?

    The Dao of Asura...

    Suddenly, Second Elder understood what Fourth Elder meant. Instantly, his expression turned stiff.

    Although he did not want to admit it, Fourth Elder was right. Yan Qianli¡¯s presence here was not a good thing.

    ¡°Yan Qianli, the Heaven Dao Pavilion is not unreasonable. Since Yan Qing disrespected his elders, I¡¯ll punish him on behalf of the Pavilion Leader. He¡¯s henceforth expelled from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Take him with you!¡± Fourth Elder noticed that Second Elder was not saying anything and he realized that Second Elder had understood what he meant. Thus, he turned and spoke to Yan Qianli instead.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yan Qianli thanked him once again. Then, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°However, I want to bring one more person back. How about that?¡±

    ¡°One more person?¡± Second Elder looked at Yan Qianli and his rage, which he had tried his best to suppress earlier on, finally burst forth. ¡°Do you want to bring Fang Zhengzhi back?!¡±

    ¡°Yes! He¡¯s my grandson¡¯s friend. Hence, I naturally...¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Yan Qianli, don¡¯t be too brazen! Do you think we¡¯re in Great Xia? Let me tell you, this is the Heaven Dao Pavilion, this is the Holy Region!¡± Second Elder did not wait for Yan Qianli to finish before he cursed at him straight away.

    ¡°So, is there no room for discussion?¡± Yan Qianli had expected this result. It was not a surprise to him.

    ¡°Hahaha... Yan Qianli, do you think that as someone who had just entered the Sage State, you are fit to negotiate with me?¡± When Second Elder heard this, he was so enraged that he started tough.

    ¡°There¡¯s also me!¡± At this moment, another figure appeared from the forest next to theke. He wore a long white robe and his snowy-white beard covered his whole face.

    It was an old man with bare feet. He looked like an immortal and his body smelt of fragrant herbs.

    ¡°And me!¡± Another figure walked out from the forest. She wore a light ck dress and had a red dot on her forehead. She looked like a beauty.

    ¡°Old man Heavenly Oasis?¡± When Sixth Elder saw this figure walking out of the forest, his facial expression changed visibly.

    Sixth Elder was not alone. Fourth Elder had an ugly look on his face too.

    This was because while this old man did not belong to one of the five sects of the Holy Region, he could be said to be their neighbor. They were definitely familiar with him.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint!

    Hence, it was a foregone conclusion that the other person who appeared with him was Wu Yuer, the current Shadow Sect Leader.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you rascal, I rushed over the moment I heard that something was amiss. I did not even get to eat. Aiyoh, I see that you really are in deep trouble now. I see... the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and the Yin Yang Hall. All three sects are here? Eh, with my old frame, how can I survive?¡±

    When the Heavenly Oasis Saint appeared, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi immediately and he was evidently displeased with the trouble he had caused.

    ¡°So, why are you here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He naturally knew the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s personality and waszy to waste words on him.

    ¡°Eh... I¡¯m here for a show. Furthermore, if I help you, you¡¯ll give me something, right? I bet the future prospects of my Shadow Sect on this. You see, if I help you today, it¡¯s tantamount to offending the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and the Yin Yang Hall. Am I right? The Shadow Sect is small and I can¡¯t hope to match the five sects of the Holy Region. You should know that. Furthermore, I have to fight against three of them!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint batted his eyes and a look of pain crossed his face.

    ¡°Master, Zhengzhi had promised to marry me in the Southern Mountain Vige, hurry up and help him!¡± When Wu Yuer heard the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s words, she prodded him urgently. At the same time, she batted her eyes at Fang Zhengzhi. It was clear that she was saying, ¡°Help me out here, I¡¯m trying to save you!¡±

    When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard this, he did not quite believe it too. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a look of inquiry on his face.

    ¡°Eh? Is this true? Why don¡¯t I know?¡±

    ¡°This is utter bullsh*t. When the f*ck did I promise to marry her? Heavenly Oasis old man, cut the crap. If you just want to save me, there¡¯s nothing for us to discuss. I can escape by myself. However, if you can dy this bunch of false Sages for as long as it takes for one joss stick to burn out, I¡¯ll join your Shadow Sect. Choose!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not dumb. No matter how well the two of them acted, he would not fall for their tricks.

    ¡°One joss stick?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint frowned and then, he looked at Second Elder, Fourth Elder, Sixth Elder, and the hundreds of disciples. He was in doubt. ¡°Rascal, I came here in a rush. I don¡¯t have these many men with me. How about half a joss stick?¡±

    ¡°Half a joss stick? That¡¯s enough!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yuan Rong, who was bleeding from his shoulder, and Shi Fan, who was lying on the ground, gritted his teeth and nodded his head.

    ¡°Alright, then I shall gamble with the dignity of the Shadow Sect and buy you half a joss stick¡¯s worth of time!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard this, he sighed in relief. Then, a highly-concentrated light shone in his eyes and a fly-whisk which was made out of silvery-white metal appeared.

    Then, the Heavenly Oasis Saint waved his fly-whisk at Second Elder and Fourth Elder. From his mouth, he issued an order in a clear voice.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Boom boom boom!¡± With his voice, the entire forest started to make an unbelievably loud sound. Intense tremors could be felt, sending ripples throughout the surface of theke.

    At the same time, shadows leaped out from the forest. The face of every single shadow was covered with a mask made of ck cloth.

    Instantly, the sky turned dark.

    The ck shadows which almostpletely obscured the sky were like a ck cloud. This ¡®cloud¡¯ was densely-packed and there were at least 2000 to 3000 people.

 Chapter 735 - Yin Yang Mirror, Revolution of Heaven and Earth

    <h4>Chapter 735: Yin Yang Mirror, Revolution of Heaven and Earth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    This scene was shocking indeed. Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion, which was one of the five sects of the Holy Region, had only around a thousand disciples.

    In front of them now stood two to three thousand people!

    ¡°Bloody old man, you¡¯re lying to me again! Do you f*cking call this ¡®leaving in a rush¡¯? I want one joss stick¡¯s worth of time and not a second less!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw the huge group of shadows rushing forward, he was momentarily stunned too. Then, he started to curse.

    ¡°A man must honor his words. You said half a joss stick¡¯s worth of time, so how can you change? If I change to one joss stick¡¯s worth of time, I¡¯ll incur heavier losses!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s face fell. However, he would not fall for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick. Changing the conditions of a deal after they had negotiated it was truly dumb.

    ¡°What do you know about this? A man must be able tost long. I want one joss stick¡¯s worth!¡±

    ¡°Go to hell with your sting long¡¯. I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi and the Heavenly Oasis Saint were exchanging insults, the huge group of people was already in formation.

    They drew their swords, which gleamed with a cold light.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Their voices harmonized with each other, shaking the very heaven itself.

    When Shi Fan, who had just managed to stand up, Yuan Rong, and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind saw this scene, their faces changed visibly.

    They were not alone. When Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and Sixth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, their faces darkened visibly too.

    ¡°Shadow Sect... Since when did they get so many members?!¡± Fourth Elder looked at the ominous ck cloud and a look of shock crossed his face.

    ¡°Impossible, the Shadow Sect does not have these many people!¡± Sixth Elder could not believe it too. He was resolute in his belief.

    ¡°So what if they have so many people? A bunch of misfits trying to take on the Heaven Dao Pavilion, their efforts will be in vain!¡± Second Elder finally spoke.

    ¡°Second brother is right!¡± When Fourth Elder heard this, he nodded his head too.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Sixth Elder regained his calm.

    ¡°Listen up, Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples! Get into position for the sword formation and prepare to fight our foe! Today, Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Qianli, and this bunch of misfits shan¡¯t leave this ce alive!¡± Second Elder¡¯s face turned cold.

    As the Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he naturally had the right to take on an aggressive stance. After all, this was their territory and importantly, there was a great disparity in strength.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion had many years of experience under its belt. Their weakest disciple was in his Supernatural State. They would not even fear an army of twenty to thirty thousand, much less a group of two to three thousand.

    Including the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli, there were just two Sages.

    What was there to fear?

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    Two ¡®kills¡¯ rang out in the air. The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally started to move. Instantly, they shed together.

    It was a shocking scene.

    It was also a bloody scene.

    Rays of light started to shine on the bodies of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, indicating that there were at least 100 of them in the Rebirth State.

    What would a wolf feel when it entered a herd of sheep?

    It would kill whatever sheep it saw!

    This was what the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples thought. However, quickly, their mentality changed. This was because their enemies, which numbered two to three thousand, started to glow with light too.

    Furthermore, in terms of number...

    There were at least two to three hundred people of them!

    ¡°Kill!¡± As light shone over the two to three hundred of them, the masked ¡®misfits¡¯ charged into the group of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    Their sword light shed like dragons. Their cries resonated in the air.

    This scene shocked the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, who were expecting to ughter their foes like sheep. At that moment, they did not know who were the wolves, and who were the sheep.

    Two to three hundred Rebirth State cultivators?

    Were they the ¡®misfits¡¯ Second Elder spoke of?

    ¡°How is this possible!¡±

    ¡°Why are they so strong!¡±

    ¡°In their group of two to three thousand, around two to three hundred of them are in the Rebirth State!¡±

    ¡°Not only are these people in the Rebirth State, the others are in their Supernatural State. Compared to us, they are not much weaker!¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally came into contact with them, they finally realized how strong this bunch of ¡®misfits¡¯ were.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Second Elder looked at his disciples, who were dropping like flies, and a look that bordered on terror appeared in his eyes.

    Two to three thousand elites with two to three hundred Rebirth State cultivators. This force was not much weakerpared to the full strength of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Right now, the Heaven Dao Pavilion only sent a few hundreds of them.

    How could they win?!

    Second Elder did not believe it. Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder could not believe it too. Even Shi Fan and Yuan Rong who were not too far away did not want to entertain this thought.

    However, the fact was as such and they could no longer afford to disbelieve it. The two to three thousand Shadow Sect disciples in front of them were indeed a powerful force to reckon with.

    ¡°Old man Yan, why aren¡¯t you bringing your grandson back? Do you want to die?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint looked at the battle without any sign of shock. As he watched his Shadow Sect disciples forcing the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples with their sheer advantage in strength, he smiled and waved at Yan Qianli.

    ¡°Bloody old man, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s afraid of death. Don¡¯t drag me down with you! I, Yan Qianli, am not one who fears death. Since I¡¯m here today, why not have a good one!¡± Yan Qianlipletely disregarded the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s kindness.

    ¡°Aiyoh, are you calling me a coward? I¡¯m conserving my strength, do you understand? Without my hard work all these years, how can we have our glory today? We would have been killed by them a long time ago!¡±

    ¡°Go away, I¡¯ll takemand here. Watch from the side!¡± Yan Qianli did not want to waste words with the Heavenly Oasis Saint. He immediately took out of golden g from his robes and then looked at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°One joss stick¡¯s worth of time. If you can¡¯t kill them and avenge my grandson, you can forget about joining my Shadow Sect!¡±

    ¡°Eh... what do you mean by ¡®my Shadow Sect¡¯? Didn¡¯t we agree that the Leader of the Shadow Sect has to be my disciple? Neither of us can lead it!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard this, he started to panic.

    ¡°Master, can you stop arguing with Grandpa Yan? The two of you have been arguing for decades. Even if you two are not sick of it, I¡¯m sick of it...¡± Wu Yuer shook her head at this moment.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Yan Qianli, it¡¯s Yan Qianli!¡± Second Elder finally reacted. Instantly, his face turned ugly.

    ¡°Yan Qianli? Second brother, do you mean to say that Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis have been...¡± When Fourth Elder heard this, his face turned too.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we left them out, we really did forget about them! I should have thought of this a long time ago. Ever since the Great Xia Dynasty was established, Western Liang had been a special territory. While Western Liang belongs to Great Xia, it was never controlled by it and Great Xia never interfered with Western Liang¡¯s development. I had my doubts a long time ago because even when Great Xia was its peak, it was unable to use the cavalry of its thirteen constabries to subdue it. However, why did Western Liang surrender just like this after Great Xia sent someone over?¡± Second Elder¡¯s face was dark.

    ¡°They were biding their time!¡± Sixth Elder finally understood too.

    ¡°What ¡®biding their time¡¯? We just signed an agreement. Our Yan Family never wants to establish our own dynasty because even if we do so, we¡¯ll still be controlled by the five sects of the Holy Region. Members of our Yan Family are proud and solitary. We¡¯ll either refuse to join the Holy Region or if we do join, we¡¯ll join when we¡¯re prepared!¡± When Yan Qianli heard Fourth Elder¡¯s words, he could not help but to interrupt.

    ¡°What a thought! However, it should be impossible for the Yan Family, with its territory in Western Liang, to raise so many elites, right?¡± Second Elder¡¯s tone was icy.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I say that half of the effort is mine!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint spoke once more. ¡°Without my dedication to alchemy, as well as treasure-hunting, how can old man Yan here raise such a force?¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case!¡± With Second Elder¡¯s intelligence, he finally understood what had happened after Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s words.

    While Western Liang was barren, it was very fit for training troops. With help from pills and medicines, it was not impossible to raise a group of true elites in the territory of Western Liang.

    ording to his guess, even after the Great Xia Dynasty was established, they knew of the powerful force which resided inside Western Liang. Hence, even with the cavalry of the thirteen constabries and their military superiority, they did not dare to venture into Western Liang.

    The Yan Family guarded their secret to prevent the Holy Region from knowing of their force. Hence, they had to submit to the authority of Great Xia.

    Thus, this agreement was borne. Negotiations between the two sides resolved the issue of Western Liang and it also established an absolutely fair agreement. Thends of Western Liang would be bequeathed to the Yan Family for generations toe.

    As for the Yan Cloud Cavalry, they would wear their traditional masks every time they fought. This was probably to conceal the strength of the Yan Family.

    ¡°What an borate set-up!¡± Fourth Elder finally reacted too. However, it was toote because the Shadow Sect was now evidently capable of self-preservation.

    Fang Zhengzhi struck at this moment.

    He knew a bit about the Shadow Sect but in fact, his knowledge was limited. For example, he knew that it hunted for silver everywhere and then used it to buy herbs and treasures.

    However, he did not know what became of the pills made from these herbs. Although the Shadow Sect¡¯s business side was diverse, including inns, pawnshops, teahouses, brothels, and even banks, he did not know what they were doing with this money.

    They just did not have a medicine shop.

    In other words, all of the pills the Shadow Sect made had disappeared. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not pay much attention to that.

    After all, there were very few medicine shops in the Great Xia Dynasty. In the Great Xia Dynasty, pills were extremely valuable.

    Hence, it was logical for the Shadow Sect to not be involved in the trade of pills.

    Now, as Fang Zhengzhi gave it more thought, he realized that something was wrong. The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s alchemy skills were top-notch. If he opened a medicine shop, he would make a lot of money.

    However, none of these was important anymore. More importantly, the Shadow Sect could dy the Heaven Dao Pavilion. What was there for him to think about?

    ¡°Half a joss stick is enough! If I can¡¯t kill them, I won¡¯t join the Shadow Sect!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not keep a low profile. He charged forward like a ray of light toward Yuan Rong. This was because he wanted to kill Yuan Rong more than Shi Fan of the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Half a joss stick? Won¡¯t join the Shadow Sect? Eh... don¡¯t cheat us, rascal. We¡¯ll give you two joss sticks¡¯ worth of time. There¡¯s no need to rush. Do what you must. We can hold them off!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, his face changed and he shouted at him.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Fang Zhengzhi naturally ignored him. He leaped into the air and shed Yuan Rong with his sword.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be brazen!¡± When Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind saw this scene, he did not hesitate as he leaped into the air and blocked him.

    ¡°Second brother, be careful!¡± Yuan Rong moved too. His entire body fused with a ck light, which also enveloped Second Elder. It felt as if the two of them had been devoured by the night.

    ¡°Rascal, this is the Shadow Evasion Dao, can you deal with it? If you can¡¯t, tell me!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint looked at Yuan Rong and Second Elder and said.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not answer him. Instead, he shouted coldly and at the same time, a powerful aura surged from his body.

    Then, the ground underneath his feet sank. A huge diagram appeared and at the same time, eight balls of fire rose in the air.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge sound.

    The ck light in mid-air was sucked back onto the ground.

    ¡°Oh? The Hell Dao? If you continue training for two more years, your strength will be astronomical!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw this scene, his eyes lit up.

    It was not yet over. Just when the ck light was sucked onto the ground, a huge diagram appeared in the air. It resembled the one on the ground exactly.

    More importantly...

    The moment it appeared, another eight balls of fire lit up on the ground. These balls of fire resembled the ones in the sky exactly.

    ¡°F*ck me, the Yin Yang Mirror, you actually use the Yin Yang Mirror to open up the heaven and earth revolution inside the Hell Dao?! Wait a minute, when did you master the Dao of Yin Yang?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s bright eyes were now filled with terror.

 Chapter 736 - Fusion of the Three Daos

    <h4>Chapter 736: Fusion of the Three Daos</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi could not be bothered to answer the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s question. As he watched Yuan Rong get sucked by the ck light, he sliced at it with his Traceless Sword.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    A dragon roar resounded.

    A purple light shone intensely and in the purple light, there were ck balls of fire burning. It was like a purple dragon bathed in mes.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion sounded.

    The ck light split apart as if it had been cut into halves by the sword. It then turned into two balls of ck light.

    At the same time, two figures emerged from the ck light andnded on the ground with a thud.

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± Yuan Rong spat a mouthful of blood out from his mouth and fell onto the diagram on the ground. His face turned pale as he said, ¡°How can this be possible?! This rascal is only in his Rebirth State. How can he destroy my Shadow Evasion Dao with just one slice of his sword!¡±

    ¡°Big brother, are you alright?¡± Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind was pale too. However, he seemed to be in a better shape than Yuan Rong.

    After all, Yuan Rong protected him with his Shadow Evasion Dao. Hence, his injuries were not as serious. When hended on the ground, he immediately lunged toward Yuan Rong.

    ¡°Breaking the shadow with just one sh!? This rascal¡¯s progress is really too fast!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint was shocked. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponents were two Sages.

    To the Shadow Sect, intelligence gathering was of utmost importance. However, the Shadow Sect¡¯s intelligencework could not prate the Heaven Dao Pavilion of the Holy Region.

    Hence, the Heavenly Oasis Saint did not know much about the fight which took ce one month ago at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He only knew bits and pieces. As for the details, it was a mystery to him.

    After all, this was a secret in the Holy Region, a secret which no one dared to mention.

    Of course, these were all not important. In the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s mind, the most important thing was not the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had mastered Hell Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang, it was the fact that he could fuse both Daos together.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this ridiculous scene, they were all shocked. After all, to them, this was the first time they had seen someone use the Hell Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang like this.

    ¡°He could injure two Sages alone?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, is he really so strong?¡±

    ¡°Even though Yuan Rong is injured, this is still unbelievable, right?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all shocked. However, they could not care about Yuan Rong andpany because they had to deal with the Shadow Sect disciples, who were surging toward them like a tidal wave.

    ¡°He used the Yin Yang Mirror to break the heaven and earth revolution, which doubled the strength of the Hell Dao. Prodigy, this rascal is a true prodigy!¡± When Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, terror and shock were stered all over his face. ¡°We can¡¯t let him leave, we definitely can¡¯t let him leave! Fourth brother, sixth brother, attack!¡±

    The moment Second Elder said that he raised his golden sword high up in the air. Then, he rushed toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes! Second brother!¡±

    When Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder saw this scene, they shared the same mentality as Second Elder. The fusion of two Daos was an act only a prodigy could pull off.

    They could not let him live.

    Hence, the moment Second Elder said that the two of them nodded their heads in response. Then, they followed tightly behind Second Elder to attack.

    ¡°Protect Yan Xiu!¡± Yan Qianli seemed prepared. When he saw Second Elder and Fourth Elder moving, he rushed forward too.

    His body moved as fast as a bolt of lightning. At the same time, two blood-red spears materialized in his left and right hands. Then, he jabbed at Second Elder and Fourth Elder with them.

    ¡°Fighting two of us at the same time? Yan Qianli, you really don¡¯t know your own strength! Fourth brother, sixth brother, there¡¯s no need to care about him, I¡¯ll take care of him!¡± When Second Elder looked at Yan Qianli, who was blocking him, he smiled coldly and the golden sword in his hand instantly doubled in size. It turned into a huge sword which dazzled with golden light.

    He shed with this sword!

    Space shattered!

    The sharp sword radiance was apanied with a shrilling sword noise, blocking both of Yan Qianli¡¯s blood-red spears.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder exchanged a look. They knew what each other was thinking and did not even bother to fight with Yan Qianli. Instead, they rushed straight for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Block them!¡± Yan Qianli shouted immediately.

    The moment he said that 50 disciples of the Shadow Sect rushed out from the group of two to three thousand. They stood in front of Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder.

    ¡°Kill!¡± They roared together. These 50 disciples rushed forward without a care in the world. They were all resolutely fearless.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder¡¯s gazes turned cold. Swords appeared in their hands as they rushed into the formationid by these 50 disciples.

    Blood flew everywhere and cries of agony could be heard.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis old man!¡± When Yan Qianli saw this tragic scene, he felt a pain in his heart. After all, he spent a lot of effort training these disciples.

    Furthermore, his time as a Sage was short. While he could hold off Second Elder with his Dao of Asura, there was still a disparity in strength between the two of them.

    ¡°Eh... I thought I¡¯m supposed to just watch the show? In the end, it¡¯s still up to me!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint sighed and did not hesitate as he rushed forward.

    At the same time, his swung his fly-whisk upward. Silvery threads filled the sky, which then rushed toward Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder. Every single strand of these silvery threads shone with a cold, metallic light.

    It was clear.

    This was a messy fight.

    In the core of this messy fight, Fang Zhengzhi fought with Yuan Rong and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind. All other Sages were trying to rush toward this position.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very clear about the situation.

    After all, while the Shadow Sect disciples had a numerical advantage, his side was still disadvantaged when it came to strong cultivators.

    How could it be easy to bog three Sages of the Heaven Dao Pavilion down?

    Without hesitating any more, he rushed straight toward Yuan Rong. As he did so, five chains of different colors appeared rapidly from the ground.

    This was the Hell Near-Life Chains!

    The moment the Hell Near-Life Chains appeared, they wrapped themselves around Yuan Rong and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind as quickly as a bolt of lightning.

    ¡°Putssk!¡± The moment Yuan Rong stood up, his right leg was pierced by the Hell Near-Life Chains. He fell back on the ground once again.

    This utterly terrified him.

    At this moment, he finally understood how powerful could a person, who had the Hell Dao, the Dao of Yin Yang, and the Near-Life Dao, be.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right! This rascal also knew the Heaven Dao!¡± A chill ran down Yuan Rong¡¯s back. Suddenly, he felt an immense sense of dangering toward him.

    He wanted to dodge but his right leg was pierced by the Hell Near-Life Chains. He waspletely immobile. Hence, all he could do was to block the move that came from behind.

    However, could he really block it?

    ¡°Dragon Dances Eight Realms!¡±

    When that murderous voice sounded, Yuan Rong saw a ck shadow appearing behind him. The ck shadow wielded a sword, which glowed with a devilish purple light.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    From eight different directions came eight different shadows wielding eight swords which glowed purple. They shed at Yuan Rong and Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind.

    It was a shocking scene.

    This was because the moment the eight shadows drew their swords, space appeared to have copsed. Then, eight dragon roars could be heard and eight purple dragons rushed out.

    ¡°Second brother, go!¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t abandon you, big brother!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    With a wail of agony, one ck shadow rushed into the air to escape. However, the moment he shot into the air, he felt a terrifying pressure dragging him down.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge explosion.

    The ck shadow, which had just been airborne, was dragged down once more as itnded on the ground heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of the shadow¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Second brother, you...¡± Yuan Rong looked at Second Elder, who had fallen right back next to him. His expression indicated that he was unwilling to ept this fact.

    ¡°Big brother, we can¡¯t escape. From the start to the end, this rascal never nned on letting us escape...¡± Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind looked at the huge diagram in the air as his chest rose and fell.

    It was just like what he had said.

    When Fang Zhengzhi used the Yin Yang Mirror to break the revolution of heaven and earth, he never thought of giving them a chance to escape.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never been someone who delighted in killing.

    However, this time, he had no intention of letting Yuan Rong and Second Elder escape. This was because he knew how dangerous an unscrupulous person could be.

    Today...

    The three Sages of the ck Moon Ind used Yan Xiu as a hostage.

    What would they do tomorrow?

    How could he be sure that the three Sages would not threaten him with the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige? Or even his own parents?

    This was not something Fang Zhengzhi could ept.

    Total extermination may sound like a cruel concept. However, if someone was toopassionate and kind, especially when it came to dealing with someone who had absolutely no scruple, this ¡®kindness¡¯ was no longer kind. This was disregarding the safety of one¡¯s loved ones.

    Hence, the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind must die!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, even if I die, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain would not spare you!¡± Yuan Rong¡¯s eyes were filled with venom. He hated how heaven was unjust to him. More importantly, he hated Shi Fan. If he had not wasted the most opportune moment, he would not be in this situation right now.

    However, his hatred was futile.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was already in front of him. At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword stabbed into the depth of his heart. Its devilish purple light glowed.

    This stab came very quickly. The sword was already in front of him the moment Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind flew into the sky and then dropped back down.

    He did not try to dodge it because he knew he could not do so. It was not because of the sword¡¯s speed but instead, it was because his body was bogged down by the Hell Near-Life Chains. His arms and legs were immobile.

    ¡°I...¡± Yuan Rong looked up and saw Fang Zhengzhi standing in front of him. When he looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crystal-clear eyes, he seemed as if he wanted to say something. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not give him the chance to do so. He had already pulled his Traceless Sword out from Yuan Rong¡¯s heart. Then, he stabbed it straight into his throat.

    ¡°Shwoosh!¡± A human head flew into the air andnded in front of Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind. The eyes of this human head still looked unwilling to concede defeat.

    Silence!

    The entire battlefield was silent!

    It was so strange!

    The elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and the many disciples, all had the same thought in mind when they saw this head.

    ¡°This is the third one!¡±

    ¡°Three Sages died in the same day! Furthermore, they all died at the hands of the same person, who was still in his Rebirth State!¡±

    Shock. This was something that had never happened in the Holy Region for hundreds of years. After all, there were only about 100 Sages in the Holy Region.

    Three dying in one day?

    This was something that could only happen during a fight among the five sects of the Holy Region. However, today, there was no such fight. There was only Fang Zhengzhi, who had been encircled by countless people.

    How could they not be shocked?

    After their shock...

    A wail of extreme agony rang out.

    ¡°Big brother! Ah!¡± Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind had a feral look on his face. The ck symbol on his forehead started to shine brightly.

    Then, the ck symbol started to spread all over his face, and then his neck, chest, and even his arms. They all glowed.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, be careful! This one here has been concealing his strength. He has a Gifted Bloodline, which is reversing its flow!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw this transformation, his fly-whisk shook and he was visibly worried.

    However, the moment he said that, the huge symbol in mid-air started to move. Quickly, it pressed down on Second Elder¡¯s head.

    ¡°Thump!¡± Second Elder¡¯s face changed visibly. He came into contact with a terrifying pressure, which forced to kneel on the ground.

    At the same time, a shadow appeared before him, wielding a sword. A purple ray of light pierced into his heart.

    Then, the purple light moved and another human head flew into the air. Then, the shadow slowly turned around to look at the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis old man, what were you saying?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s mouth moved. He was terribly ufortable as if he had just swallowed a fly. He seemed incapable of speaking.

 Chapter 737 - To Be Vicious to Your Enemy, You Have to Be Vicious to Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 737: To Be Vicious to Your Enemy, You Have to Be Vicious to Yourself</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    What was awkward?

    When you reminded someone to be careful but he took care of the matter cleanly and without any problem, this was greatly awkward.

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint could deeply sense this form of awkwardness. Furthermore, he also felt that he was turning old and his mind could no longer keep up with the younger generation.

    Of course, he was not alone. When the head of Second Elder of the ck Moon Indnded on the ground, the mouths of everyone and the Heavenly Oasis Saint fell open in shock.

    However, they could not say anything. They felt as if something was stuck in their throat and that they were fighting to keep it down. It was so tedious that their faces turned slightly red.

    Too fast!

    This battle ended too quickly!

    Even though Yuan Rong was hurt earlier, this was still a two-on-one battle. Furthermore, two Sages were fighting against someone in his Rebirth State.

    Under normal circumstances, shouldn¡¯t it be two Sages killing a Rebirth State cultivator?

    Even if the situation was exceptional, it should be a stalemate at most? Right now, however, the battle ended in less than half a joss stick¡¯s worth of time. What did this mean?

    No one understood but this was the reality.

    Four!

    In one day, four Sages perished. Furthermore, they all died at the hands of the same person and they did not even put up much of a fight.

    Was he that strong?

    How strong could he really be?

    ¡°Rebirth te? Is this the Rebirth te?¡± Second Elder gripped the sword in his hand tightly. For once, he felt the true terror of these four words.

    Furthermore, more importantly, Fang Zhengzhi only activated three types of the Six Rebirth Daos. What would happen once he activated all six of them?

    Second Elder did not think about that. He did not dare to.

    This was because he knew that once that happened, the situation in the entire Holy Region would change.

    No!

    Such a thing must not happen!

    Before the Shadow Sect revealed its strength, Second Elder¡¯s main thought in his mind was the elimination of this threat to his future development. Right now, however, he worried more for the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    If Fang Zhengzhi could be a Sage in three months and take care of his lifespan problem, it was the equivalent of a new power rising in the Holy Region.

    Furthermore, this new power could potentially unify the Holy Region.

    At that time, all of the wrongs they inflicted on Fang Zhengzhi would be returned back to them ten times, or even a hundred times, more.

    ¡°No! I won¡¯t permit it!¡± Second Elder bellowed in rage. Then, his entire body turned into a shadow as he charged toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Trying to kill Fang Zhengzhi? You have to get past me first!¡± Yan Qianli naturally noticed Second Elder¡¯s actions. Hence, he rushed forward as he tried to block Second Elder from reaching Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, the moment he tried to block the shadow, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. This was because the shadow disappeared almost instantly.

    It seemed to have disappeared into space.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s an illusion!¡± Yan Qianli reacted quickly to it. However, it was toote for him to dodge. This was because a sharp force was already behind him.

    At the final moment, Yan Qianli gritted his teeth and behind him, a blood-red barrier of light appeared. However, that force was far too strong.

    In other words, it was a sword!

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion rang out and Yan Qianli instantly felt the light screen behind his back being torn apart. Then, a huge forcended on his back, pushing his body forward. At the same time, his face paled and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± Blood flew everywhere.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s voice rang out at this moment. Then, he lunged without a second thought toward Yan Qianli.

    Quickly, however, a huge hand pulled him back. It was Yan Qing, who stood in front of Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, don¡¯t go!¡± Yan Qing did not understand this sentiment well. However, he could sense that Yan Xiu felt very strongly about Yan Qianli.

    Was this familial love?

    Yan Qing¡¯s brain was momentarily stunned because ever since he was borne, he had never felt the emotions which weremon for most people.

    At this moment, a ck shadow shed past his eyes. This shadow was extremely fast, which made everyone¡¯s heart shiver.

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Yan Qing¡¯s heart missed a beat. He subconsciously punched out at the ck shadow. However, the moment his punch flew forward, he felt a huge forceing from the arm with which he had grabbed Yan Xiu.

    Then, that arm zed with a ball of ck fire. At the same time, he felt a huge force on his chest.

    ¡°Thud!¡± A dull sound rang out.

    Yan Qing¡¯s eyes turned round. At this moment, he clearly saw the shadow which was rushing toward him. It was Shi Fan, who had been lying on the ground.

    Right now, Shi Fan appeared to have recovered from his wounds. His leg, which had previously been cut off, was now covered with ck mes.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Shi Fan had no intention of fighting Yan Qing. His target was Yan Xiu as he reached out to grab his shoulder.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Xiu screamed in agony. His pale-white face turned greenish-purple and an intense pain made his very body tremble violently.

    It was not because Shi Fan had touched his wounds. In fact, Shi Fan had not even grabbed him.

    Instead, it was because Yan Xiu finally felt how utterly useless he was.

    Not only could he not help Fang Zhengzhi or his grandpa, but he also made them take risks time and again for him. Right now, as Shi Fan¡¯s hands came toward him, he realized that it was almost impossible to dodge.

    Closer and closer!

    As he watched Yan Xiu drawing closer to him, Shi Fan¡¯s mouth curled into a cold smile because he knew that the moment he grabbed Yan Xiu, the fate of the entire battle would be in his hands.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what can you do after Yan Xiu falls into my hands?¡± Shi Fanughed. He wanted to seize control of the battle once again by using Yan Xiu.

    However, at this moment, a shadow appeared like a specter in front of Shi Fan. It was d entirely in ck armor, which also zed with ck mes.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, the moment Shi Fan moved toward Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi acted too. After he had killed Second Elder of the ck Moon Ind, he turned his attention toward Shi Fan.

    However, as Shi Fan was closer to Yan Xiu, this made him appear slightly slower. In fact, he was only slower by a single step.

    He thrust with his sword.

    His Traceless Sword glowed with purple light as he aimed it straight for Shi Fan¡¯s throat.

    This was an extremely crucial moment but Fang Zhengzhi was absolutely confident that as long as Shi Fan continued reaching forward with his hand, there was no way he could dodge his attack.

    ¡°How can he be so fast?¡± Shi Fan naturally saw this sword. This made his originally cold smile freeze. He never expected Fang Zhengzhi toe so quickly.

    Retreat, all he could do was to retreat!

    However, he did not want to retreat as he was unwilling to do so. Most importantly, he knew that if he retreated now, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s next attack woulde even faster.

    Fight!

    All he could do was to fight!

    He gritted his teeth and used his arm to block his throat. He would sacrifice one arm for this excellent opportunity.

    This was Shi Fan¡¯s decision.

    It offered him a slim chance of hope because the moment he blocked his throat with his arm, another shadow appeared before them.

    This person wore white flowing robes which rippled in the wind.

    He wielded a shining golden sword and an unbelievably sharp sword radiance appeared before them. The sword radiance was directly above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    ¡°Heaven is helping me!¡± When Shi Fan saw Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion appearing before him, it was impossible for him not to feel slightly touched.

    After all, with Second Elder¡¯s sword, it was impossible for even the gods to save Yan Xiu.

    However, just when Shi Fan felt that Fang Zhengzhi would dodge Second Elder¡¯s sword, which would allow him to seize control of the situation, reality proved him wrong.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi did not even dodge it at all.

    He twisted his head to the side and his body did not move. He did not slow down as he thrust forward with his sword but instead, he actually moved even faster.

    ¡°Crrack!¡± A clear, crisp sound

    Blood flew everywhere at this moment, forming a flower in mid-air.

    Second Elder¡¯s swordnded on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder, which caused his ck armor to split apart. It prated his flesh by an inch, causing his bones to crack.

    Blood spewed everywhere.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs sank downward as he stepped down hard on the ground. He sank by an entire inch. After all, it was not easy to resist Second Elder¡¯s attack.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword stabbed out nheless. However, it was not aimed at Shi Fan¡¯s arm, which guarded his throat, but his chest instead, where his heart was.

    Shi Fan¡¯s eyes widened in shock.

    He could not believe that this move, which was clearly aimed at his throat, changed its target and went for its chest. This was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions had not changed at all.

    ¡°Is this Second Elder¡¯s sword?! Fang Zhengzhi, you... you are... vicious indeed...¡± Shi Fan looked deep into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. As he looked at the Traceless Sword which had prated his chest, he finally understood.

    Fang Zhengzhi never nned on dodging Second Elder¡¯s sword. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi had long predicted that Second Elder would be here.

    Everything was within his control.

    From the moment he rushed over, he had calcted everything. He used Second Elder¡¯s sword to make his body sink.

    In fact, the reason why Shi Fan did not notice Fang Zhengzhi was because of Second Elder¡¯s sword.

    Horror.

    This was a horrific calctive ability.

    Furthermore, it was vicious, not only to his enemy but to himself too.

    To kill a foe, he would not mind getting stabbed!

    Shi Fan was unwilling to ept this fact but he could not afford to be so for long. He knew that he would be the fifth Sage to die by the Traceless Sword.

    Furthermore, he was also an elder of the Yin Yang Hall.

    He could almost foresee that when news of this battle spread, the name ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯ would rattle the Holy Region to its core.

    And this was all thanks to...

    Their efforts.

    These five Sages traveled thousands of miles from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Yin Yang Hall to the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion toy an ambush in anticipation of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then...

    They sent themselves to die!

    With their lives, they helped Fang Zhengzhi pen his miracle of defeating five Sages at once, making him famous throughout the Holy Region.

    Shi Fan¡¯s hand gripped Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder but it was useless. This was because the moment he grabbed Yan Xiu, he saw Second Elder looking at him.

    His gaze was cold.

    That was right!

    Second Elder was the true victor here.

    His sword ended his life and would end Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. He had no need to coborate with him and to take a hostage.

    Second Elder just had to wait for him to die before pulling out his sword and killing Fang Zhengzhi. Like this, the matter would have been resolved.

    Shi Fan knew what Second Elder was thinking.

    He was a gift for Second Elder, who could report his ¡®sess¡¯ to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and boost his own prestige.

    Fang Zhengzhi killed five of them, and Second Elder would kill Fang Zhengzhi...

    The result was clear.

    Shi Fan slowly shut his eyes as he felt the energy draining from his body. He waited for death toe. It should be a fast process but for some reason, he felt that time was passing very slowly. In his mind, various images of his life shed past.

    He was a genius, an unrivaled genius.

    Before he had even set foot in the Holy Region, his name was feared by those who spoke it. It was even more so the case after he entered the Holy Region.

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Shi Fan cried out in his mind. He continued to be defiant, but he could not stop the outflow of energy. He had no choice but to die.

    Even so...

    At this time, he felt a powerful energy spurting out from his palms. It was evil and brimmed with a killing intent.

    It was very strong!

    Furthermore, it seemed as if it wanted to rush out. However, for some strange reason, this powerful energy was suppressed by another energy.

    ¡°A seal?!¡± Shi Fan opened his eyes wide. Then, he looked at Yan Xiu, whose shoulder he was grabbing, and then looked at the look of agony on Yan Xiu¡¯s face. He suddenly understood why Yan Xiu was unable to resist. He suddenly understood why Yan Xiu was unable to resist and why did he be an ordinary person. ¡°So that¡¯s why!¡±

 Chapter 738 - Explosion, A Punch to the Face

    <h4>Chapter 738: Explosion, A Punch to the Face</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    When some people die, they would want to take others down with them. Shi Fan was unable to drag Fang Zhengzhi down with him but he could thest bit of energy he had to release the seal on Yan Xiu.

    This was because he felt that the evil energying from Yan Xiu did not even belong to this world.

    If they could not die together, he should at least try to injure both of them!

    ¡°Open!¡± Shi Fan shouted onest time. At the same time, an extremelyplicated diagram appeared on his palm. It was a diagram of Hell.

    At this moment, Shi Fan¡¯s eyes were filled with blood. It was as if he used all his energy and channeled them onto this diagram.

    As this diagram appeared, a huge attractive force surged forth from his palm, drawing all of Yan Xiu¡¯s internal energy out.

    ¡°What?!¡± Second Elder sensed that something was amiss but he was evidently toote. This was because a huge energy had already rushed out.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    A vast and evil energy surged out from Yan Xiu¡¯s body like a tsunami. Then, the sound of something shattering could be heard.

    At the same time, a powerful force hit Shi Fan¡¯s arm,pletely shattering his palm. This made his body fly away into the distance.

    Shi Fan was not the only victim. Second Elder and Fang Zhengzhi, who stood next to Yan Xiu, could not dodge this force too. They too were sent flying.

    ¡°Thud!¡± With that sound, Shi Fan¡¯s bodynded heavily in the distance. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his withered body curled up on the ground.

    However, Shi Fan was delirious with joy. Heughed because he was overjoyed. He had already seen the energy that came from Yan Xiu¡¯s body. ¡°Fallen Asura? Hahaha... so it¡¯s a Fallen Asura!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± The ground around Yan Xiu started to crack down. An aura which was like a razor-sharp ck w surged forth crazily.

    It was an aura from Hell.

    Powerful and evil.

    At the same time, Yan Xiu slowly started to stand up. His eyes turned ck,pletely jet-ck. There were no red or white in his eyes, which now resembled a canyon from Hell.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Xiu roared. At the same time, the bones in his body cracked non-stop.

    ¡°Crack, crack....¡±

    This scene was utterly terrifying. Furthermore, as ck energy continued to surge forth from his body, a huge suppressive energy could be felt.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi never expected Yan Xiu to unleash his seal at this time. After all, the battle had more or less ended.

    No, that was wrong!

    It was not Yan Xiu!

    It was Shi Fan!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Shi Fan, who returned his gaze. On Shi Fan¡¯s face, Fang Zhengzhi saw a cruel smile.

    ¡°Keke... Fang Zhengzhi, what are you going to do now?!¡± Shi Fan¡¯s voice brimmed with a pre-death happiness. This was because he knew that after Yan Xiu¡¯s seal had been unleashed, he would turn into a Fallen Asura, a killing machine with no restraint.

    ¡°Die, Shi Fan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved once more. A powerful killing aura surged from his body. Even though his shoulder bled, his anger made him as fast as a bolt of lightning. He shed Shi Fan with his Traceless Sword.

    Purple light shone from the sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Shi Fan¡¯s body was instantly cut in two. However, on Shi Fan¡¯s face, a cruel smile lingered.

    The moment Shi Fan died, Yan Xiu started to slowly lift his two arms. Then, he clenched his once-limp hand tightly and formed a fist.

    Complete recovery!

    ¡°Kill!¡± He bellowed.

    Countless rays of ck aura gathered around Yan Xiu. They were akin to ck ws as they surrounded his body.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± When Yan Qianli saw this scene, his face changed instantly. He knew the significance of a Fallen Asura. It was exactly because he knew what it entailed which made him so panicky.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s current form was irreversible.

    Yan Xiu, who had cursed his own helplessness, craved power way too much. This desire made him lose his control over the Fallen Asura inside him.

    ¡°Boom!¡± ck clouds rose from underneath Yan Xiu¡¯s feet. The entire sky dimmed as if it had been shrouded by a dark cloud.

    Then, he moved.

    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, he rushed straight for Second Elder. A silvery blood-red fan appeared in his hands and the ck energy which surrounded his body brimmed with a murderous and evil aura.

    This made Second Elder¡¯s face change. Evidently, Second Elder never expected things to go this way.

    More importantly, Yan Xiu had be a true Fallen Asura. It was moreplete than his transformation one month ago at the Heaven Academic Altar.

    Under this situation...

    Even if Chi Guyan was present, it was impossible for him to continue suppressing it because Yan Xiu had turnedpletely into a Fallen Asura.

    He could only kill!

    ¡°Since he had already be a true Fallen Asura, we can¡¯t keep him!¡± Second Elder gripped his sword tightly. His body shone with a bright golden light. At the same time, a shadow, which looked like a huge golden bell, appeared on his body. On the huge golden bell, there were nine other golden swords.

    ¡°Rise, swords!¡± Second Elder said.

    The nine swords on the golden bell appeared toe alive. They flew out from the top of the golden bell and they circled around him.

    As the Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and an absolute powerhouse in the Holy Region, Second Elder¡¯s true strength surpassed Yuan Rong¡¯spletely.

    When the nine golden swords flew out, a powerful aura rose around Second Elder. The entire space trembled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of hurting my grandson!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s face was ashen. He had not yet recovered from that blow just now but he rushed toward Second Elder as fast as he could.

    A blood-red light enveloped him.

    ¡°Yan Qianli, don¡¯t be stubborn. Yan Xiu had turned from a Fallen Asura to an Evil Asura, no one can save him!¡± When Second Elder saw Yan Qianli rushing over, he naturally did not hesitate. He rushed forward to intercept him. He pointed at him with the golden sword in his hand and nine other golden swords flew toward Yan Xiu. ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Boom boom boom...¡± A series of explosions rang out.

    As the nine golden swords sliced and diced, dust rose from the ground. The cracked ground split openpletely and ck aura started to rise. In the ck aura, nine golden swords continued to dance about.

    One could see that the nine golden swords possessed an absolute advantage.

    However, the ck aura was notpletely suppressed. In contrast, it turned even thicker as more and more of it rose from the ground.

    Second Elder started to sweat.

    Fallen Asura was a puppetpletely controlled by an Evil Asura. Its power and level could not be described directly because he represented an Asura.

    Golden light shed and ck aura spread.

    At this moment, Yan Qianli appeared in front of Second Elder. Naturally, he could not just watch as he killed Yan Xiu, even if he had be a Fallen Asura.

    After all, that was his grandson!

    Without any hesitation, Yan Qianli clenched his fist tightly and punched out. A blood-red light enveloped his fist and turned it into a spike.

    ¡°No matter how strong you are, if you aren¡¯t fast enough, it¡¯s useless!¡± Second Elder was not surprised by Yan Qianli¡¯s arrival. He body moved to the side and he reached out with his hand, grabbing onto Yan Qianli¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°Bell Descent!¡±

    With his bellow, the golden bell around his body started to move. Itpletely enveloped Yan Qianli inside.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge sound rang out and Yan Qianli¡¯s body fell heavily on the ground. He was covered by a huge golden bell and there was no way he could escape.

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this scene, they could not help but exim emotionally.

    ¡°Second Elder is powerful indeed!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Second Elder¡¯s ancient bell is legendary. It can attack and defend. Even 50 Yan Qianlis can¡¯t do anything to him!¡±

    ¡°Kill! For Second Elder! For the dignity of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, who had been forced back by the Shadow Sect disciples, became excited as if they had taken stimnts. This was because the true determinant of this battle was the strength of the powerful cultivators.

    As long as Second Elder could suppress Yan Qianli and Fang Zhengzhi, they would not be at a disadvantage for long. The Heaven Dao Pavilion would eventually still triumph.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± The sound of a sword entering a body. A Shadow Sect disciple fell onto the ground. Underneath his feet, blood was everywhere.

    The strength of Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder could not be matched by just a few dozen Shadow Sect disciples. As time passed, more and more Shadow Sect disciples fell onto the ground.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t hold out anymore!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint was panicky. His original n was to dy them for half a joss stick to one joss stick¡¯s worth of time.

    However, what happened right now?

    The time had long since passed.

    Yuan Rong and the rest died at hands of Fang Zhengzhi. However, Yan Xiu¡¯s sudden transformation prevented him from escaping right away.

    Could he still escape?

    If he could not, this battle would turn vicious.

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint knew that even though the Shadow Sect had be more powerful, they would incur heavy casualties if they continued to fight with the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Importantly, this was the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s territory.

    No one knew if thismotion would attract the attention of the other disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If a few more elders came, there was no way they could escape anymore.

    ¡°Take Yan Xiu away!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint knew that the longer the battle went on, the more disadvantageous it would be for the Shadow Sect. Hence, all he could do was to escape as fast as possible.

    However, this was hardly the case in real life.

    How could Yan Xiu, in his current state, be taken away so easily?

    Yan Qianli knew what the Heavenly Oasis Saint was thinking. In fact, he wanted to bring Yan Xiu away too, but how?

    He was already trapped.

    Even if he was not trapped, the only way to bring Yan Xiu back after he had lost his rationality was to defeat him.

    ¡°Sixth brother, I¡¯ll hand this over to you. I¡¯m going to help second brother!¡± Fourth Elder noticed that the Heavenly Oasis Saint was contemting escape. He exited the battle and flew over to where Second Elder was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of escaping!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint panicked as he tried to block him.

    However, Sixth Elder stood in front of him. His sword shone with a cold light and his face was cold.

    ¡°Your opponent is me!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s voice was calm. However, today¡¯s battle could not be reversed, the only thing he could do was to keep fighting.

    ¡°Fourth brother, I¡¯ll take care of Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli, you take care of Fang Zhengzhi!¡± When Second Elder saw Fourth Eldering over, he knew that the oue of the battle was set.

    This was because when Fourth Elder joined the fray, neither Fang Zhengzhi nor Yan Qianli could escape. The reason was simple: they could not bring Yan Xiu away.

    As long as Yan Xiu remained here, none of them could escape.

    ¡°Okay!¡± When Fourth Elder heard Second Elder¡¯s words, he understood what he wanted. He turned around and rushed toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, at this moment, razor-sharp ck ws emerged from underneath Fourth Elder¡¯s leg, grabbing him instantly.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Fourth Eldernded heavily on the ground. At the same time, another ck w reached out and made its way toward his throat.

    ¡°What a Fallen Asura!¡± When Second Elder saw Fourth Elder, who was trapped, it was impossible for him not to be surprised.

    After all, he hadpletely suppressed Yan Xiu.

    Even so, Yan Xiu could still block Fourth Elder. This was something inconceivable to reason.

    It seemed to be a subconscious gesture.

    ¡°Friend? So this is what ¡®friend¡¯ means?¡± A voice rang out at his moment. Then, an ink-green shadow appeared in front of Fourth Elder. His sharp gaze looked at the ck w on the ground. His expression seemed resolute.

    ¡°Yan Qing, what are you doing? Scram!¡± When Fourth Elder looked at Yan Qing, who had appeared in front of him, his eyes shone brightly.

    Then, before he even finished his sentence, Yan Qing¡¯s fist was already before him. He punched out so quickly and without any hesitation.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    His fistnded on Fourth Elder¡¯s face. At the same time, a voice rang out next to him, ¡°I want friends too!¡±

 Chapter 739 - Punching Someone in the Face Completely

    <h4>Chapter 739: Punching Someone in the Face Completely</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ...

    Fourth Elder¡¯s face seethed with pain. It did note from Yan Qing¡¯s punch as this punch could not do much harm to him.

    However, only someone who had been punched in the face could understand what a humiliating experience it was.

    Furthermore...

    His assant was a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple.

    Silence.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples around them looked on in shock because they had never expected Yan Qing to ¡®sucker punch¡¯ Fourth Elder like this.

    More importantly, he was so resolute when he did it.

    ¡°Is Yan Qing crazy?!¡±

    ¡°What ¡®friend¡¯? What is this guy thinking?¡±

    ¡°Is he not afraid of death?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could notprehend what was going on. After all, under the present situation, even a fool knew who had the upper hand.

    ¡°Fourth brother...¡± Second Elder was speechless too. He knew Fourth Elder¡¯s personality well. While he was not aggressive, he was prideful.

    A punch to his face?

    Furthermore, he was punched in front of so many Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. How could he take such a humiliation?

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion rang out at this moment. Then, the ck ws which were grabbing Fourth Elder werepletely blown part.

    Just like what Second Elder thought...

    Fourth Elder was utterly infuriated!

    A light shot into the sky and surged from Fourth Elder¡¯s body like seawater. Then, it was rapidly sucked back into his body.

    At the same time, Fourth Elder¡¯s face shone with a crystalline glow. A bright light shed on his skin.

    Then, he moved.

    His sword split into two, one blue and one red. The red one was like fire and the blue one was like water. One zed with heat and the other one was icy-cold. Two entirely different auras surged forth from the two swords.

    ¡°Is this Fourth Elder¡¯s Two Swords of Ice and Fire?¡±

    ¡°I have yet to see him use these two swords in a very long time!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... I¡¯m afraid Fourth Elder is truly enraged!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples knew the significance of these two swords. One was ice and the other one was fire. The two swords came from a zingly-hot ce and an icy-cold ce.

    This was also representative of Fourth Elder¡¯s life.

    He cultivated in an extremely wintry ce and trained in a zingly-hot ce before he mastered the two Daos of water and fire. Then, he was able tobine these two Daos from the Dao of the Five Elements into one.

    All of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples felt that Fourth Elder would soon transform into his terrifying Water and Fire Saint, a shadow suddenly flew out from behind Yan Qing.

    Evidently, the opponent was using Yan Qing¡¯srge frame and his body to form an optical illusion.

    Of course, none of this was important anymore.

    More importantly, the moment the shadow flew out from behind Yan Qing, he kicked out with his feet at the enraged Fourth Elder.

    Very fast!

    From the moment it appeared to the moment the kicknded, time appeared to have passed in the blink of an eye.

    Then, a dull sound could be heard.

    ¡°Thud!¡±

    Then, Fourth Elder¡¯s body staggered back by five steps. Then, hended on the ground head first.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were truly shocked at this moment. No one could have expected Fang Zhengzhi to be able to stand up again. Furthermore, just when Fourth Elder was seething in rage, he took this chance to kick him again?

    More importantly...

    His feetnded on Fourth Elder¡¯s face again.

    As they looked at the figure which stood at where Fourth Elder once stood, whose body was caked with blood and d in torn blue robes, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were utterly silent.

    ¡°Showing off? I¡¯m not f*cking scared of you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out. He was not particrly loud but every single Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple could clearly hear his voice.

    At this moment, the entire world turned silent. It was as if time had stopped. Everyone froze where they were.

    Then...

    An enraged roar could be heard.

    ¡°Ah!!! Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ll kill you!!¡± Fourth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, whose dignified positionmanded respect, could also descend into rage at this moment. One could imagine how angry he was at this moment.

    ¡°Boom boom boom!¡± The ground started to tremble violently.

    Fourth Elder¡¯s hair started to dance in the air too. It was no longer tied up nicely in a bun. He looked as if he was only half a step away from madness.

    ¡°Fourth brother, calm down!¡± When Second Elder saw this scene, a feeling of dread rose in his heart. This was because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi kicked him intentionally.

    However, Fourth Elder appeared to not have heard Second Elder¡¯s words. Getting kicked time and again on the face made him lose control of his emotions.

    ¡°Eh? This old man has gone crazy! Are you afraid, Yan Qing?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi looked at the frenzied expression on Fourth Elder¡¯s face, an odd smile crossed his face.

    ¡°No, not at all!¡± Yan Qing shook his head and clenched his fist. At the same time, a beastly light shone in his eyes.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take him together, shall we?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked once more.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yan Qing nodded his head.

    ¡°Ai... it has been a long time since Ist bullied someone with numerical superiority...¡± Fang Zhengzhi lifted his head and recalled the only time he fought when he had more people on his side.

    At that time, he was taking part in the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Imperial Examinations. In that fight, he, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu took on many people at the same time.

    After that fight...

    He never had such an experience ever again.

    Of course, this joyous opportunity btedly presented itself to him once more. However, his opponent right now was Fourth Elder, who waspletely enraged.

    A ray of light!

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing were exchanging words, Fourth Elder struck. He stabbed toward Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing with his two swords.

    One red and one blue ray of light arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi at a terrifying speed. It was so fast that the sonic boom it created rang out in the air. Furthermore, behind these two rays of light, the space where they passed by were torn apart.

    It was evident that Fourth Elder was extremely fast.

    The moment the two rays of light reached, Yan Qing struck. His movement was exaggerated. He reached out to grab Fourth Elder¡¯s sword with his bare hands.

    Of course, he only grabbed one of them, which was the red one which zed with a fiery light. The moment he grabbed it, a ball of fire shot into the sky.

    Instantly, it started to spread up Yan Qing¡¯s arm.

    However, Yan Qing¡¯s face did not change. It was as if he could not feel that pain of being burned by the mes. The moment his arm caught fire, he kicked Fourth Elder with his leg and this time, he aimed for his groin.

    ¡°...¡± Even though Fang Zhengzhi knew about Yan Qing¡¯s battling style, he was still awed by this vicious spectacle before him.

    This style was so Yan Qing!

    It was insanely wild!

    However, since he said that they would take Fourth Elder on together, he could not cken.

    In fact, after Yan Qing grabbed Fourth Elder¡¯s fiery-red sword with his hand, Fang Zhengzhi started to move too. If not, there was no way Yan Qing could have kicked.

    Just when Yan Qing grabbed the fiery-red sword, Fang Zhengzhi stabbed at Fourth Elder¡¯s throat with his sword in hand.

    As for Fourth Elder¡¯s other iing sword...

    He did not even try to block it.

    Only the brave could win.

    This did not mean that Fang Zhengzhi did not fear death. However, in a two-on-one fight, it was not hard for him to dodge iing dangers.

    However, it was much harder for Fourth Elder to do so.

    Hence, he naturally would not dodge. The reason was simple. If he dodged, Fourth Elder would have grabbed Yan Qing.

    This was a form of mutual trust.

    Since they said that they would take him together, they had to coordinate their attacks. Yan Qing did not doge and hence, he could not dodge too.

    It was vicious.

    Both Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi exuded viciousness. Faced with Fourth Elder¡¯s enraged attack, they chose to...

    Face it head-on!

    This result of this was evident.

    How could Fourth Elder, enraged as he was, retreat? Faced with both Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi, he was still confident of victory.

    However, Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi coordinated with each other seamlessly. Furthermore, they both hit him hardly and shocked him ferociously. As he looked at Yan Qing¡¯s iing leg and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword, he shimmered to the side oddly.

    With his zingly-fast speed, he was able to dodge both Yan Qing¡¯s kick and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword. He positioned himself between them.

    Then...

    A truly shocking scene happened.

    Yan Qing¡¯s wild battling style, at a close distance, was absolutely horrifying. He had no fixed way of fighting. As he saw Fourth Elder¡¯s side next to him, he did not hesitate as he straightaway head-butted Fourth Elder¡¯s head.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The sound of the impact was clear.

    The moment the two heads hit each other, ¡®sparks¡¯ flew. Of course, actual sparks were impossible but instead, two streams of blood spurted into the air.

    Instantly, blood gushed from Fourth Elder and Yan Qing¡¯s heads.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned too. He knew that Yan Qing was wild and feral. However, he still underestimated how determinedly fierce he was.

    As he looked at Fourth Elder¡¯s body flying back...

    Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth as he head-butted the back of Fourth Elder¡¯s head.

    ¡°Thud!¡± His head probably was not hard enough and hence, the noise it made was not as clear as Yan Qing¡¯s. Instead, it sounded rather dull.

    However, head-butting the back of someone¡¯s head with the front of your head.

    This advantage was clear.

    After Fang Zhengzhi head-butted him, he felt slightly dizzy. However, Fourth Elder, after getting head-butted twice (once in the front and once in the back), appeared to lose his capability for rational thought.

    Clearly, one could sense that he was enraged.

    It was because of his rage which ced him in this predicament. Even though he was powerful, even though he could dodge both Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing¡¯s attack...

    The reality was that...

    He suffered a huge disadvantage because of this attack!

    In particr, after Yan Qing¡¯s attack, Fourth Elder used his greatest weakness to fight Yan Qing¡¯s greatest strength. After all, Yan Qing¡¯s advantagey in his closebat skills.

    Fresh blood trickled from Fourth Elder¡¯s head, blurring his eyes. This made his face turn red and his eyes appeared slightly dazed.

    However, Yan Qing was not dazed.

    In contrast, he was very aware. Even blood trickled down his head too, it could not stop Yan Qing from continuing his attack.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another huge explosion.

    Yan Qing¡¯s head smashed against Fourth Elder¡¯s once more. This time,pared to before, it was even more ferocious.

    Two balls of blood flew everywhere again.

    In mid-air, two bright flowers of blood appeared.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes bulged in shock. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want to head-butt him anymore. However, as he looked at Fourth Elder¡¯s body, which was rapidly approaching him, he had no other choice.

    This was a long-established principle...

    Advance and retreat together!

    ¡°Yan Qing, what the f*ck!¡± Fang Zhengzhi cursed in his heart. He could not help but grit his teeth as he rammed the back of Fourth Elder¡¯s head once more.

    ¡°Thud!¡± Another dull sound.

    It was very, very dull...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Fourth Elder was feeling but he was sure that his own head was spinning. He could differentiate between north, south, east, and west.

    All he could see in front of him were stars.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fourth Elder!¡±

    ¡°What is going on?!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples¡¯ mouths fell agape. They never expected this to happen in a fight between a Sage and two Rebirth State cultivators.

    After all, all these happened too quickly. They seemed to take ce in the blink of an eye, from the moment Fourth Elder was enraged to the moment where Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi head-butted twice.

    Only two breaths¡¯ worth of time appeared to have passed.

    However, in these two breaths, Fourth Elder seemed to be greatly weakened. His body staggered about as if he was about to fall onto the ground any moment.

    This made everyone speechless.

    Fourth Elder¡¯s greatest strengthy in thebination of the Daos of fire and water.

    He did not even use them.

    As Fang Zhengzhi looked at the stars spinning in front of him, one thought ran in his mind, ¡°Some people really have a hard head. They could ram a tree with it!¡±

    Thus, if they used their heads to head-butt...

    That would not be a problem at all!

 Chapter 740 - Clear Fire

    <h4>Chapter 740: Clear Fire</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    However, this did not mean that everyone¡¯s heads could ram against a tree. In terms of hardness of the head, Fang Zhengzhi knew clearly that both he and Fourth Elder were not that strong.

    This made it awkward.

    There was no way to coborate.

    More awkwardly, he could not fault Yan Qing or ask him to ept his battling style. The reason was simple: Yan Qing would not agree to it.

    Yes, Yan Qing was someone with an astounding bloodline. The quality of his body was horrifying and yet, he had yet to master the Dao of All Creation.

    Naturally, such a freak like him could y an important role at times.

    For example, in this battle against Fourth Elder.

    Superficially, this seemed like a coincidence. One felt that Fourth Elder made a strategic mistake, which allowed Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi to seize this chance.

    However, this was not the case.

    As Fourth Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he had much battling experience and hence, how could he make such a strategic mistake? Even if he had lost all reason due to rage, he should still be able to keep a bit of his rationality.

    In other words, even if Fourth Elder was not incensed and fought while keeping his calm, the end result of this fight would not change.

    The reason was simple...

    Fourth Elder¡¯s judgment wasmon sense.

    When he charged toward Yan Qing and Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Qing blocked his sword by paying the price of having his arm burned. Furthermore, he also tried to kick Fourth Elder¡¯s groin. Fang Zhengzhi, taking advantage of this two-on-one fight, dodged and also chose to ¡®go down with him¡¯.

    Evidently, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing worked well together.

    This teamwork made Fourth Elder make that strategic decision. He forced himself between Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing as he tried to split the two of them apart.

    If he could keep them both apart...

    He would be able to ovee both of them simultaneously.

    This wasmon sense.

    However, he never expected Yan Qing to head-butt him before he could even unsheathe his sword. This was a true ident.

    After all, Yan Qing¡¯s battling style depended highly on his own instincts. It felt as if he did not even spend any time to think.

    However, in the Holy Region, who would f*cking use their head to smash a target?

    Hence, no matter whether Fourth Elder kept his calm or not, this result was inevitable. The peculiarity of Yan Qing did not lie in the quality of his body or the viciousness at which he fought at close range. Instead, his peculiarityy in how he fought without any style.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another huge explosion.

    Fourth Elder, who had been staggering about, could take it no more. He was utterly nauseous and his head was severely injured. This made his body tilt to the side and fall onto the ground.

    From the moment Fourth Elder unsheathed his Two Swords of Ice and Fire until the moment he copsed on the ground, the time between them wasically short.

    However, the fact remained that...

    Even a Sage¡¯s body faced physical limitations, particrly when fighting against a freak like Yan Qing. No matter how hard your head was, these many hits would naturally injure it.

    Fourth Elder fell.

    It was very sudden.

    However, as Fourth Elder fell, the situation of the entire battle changed once more. The Heaven Dao Pavilion, which had a superiority in terms of powerhouses, only had two Sages left.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side was different.

    Even though Yan Qianli was temporarily trapped, and the Heavenly Oasis Saint was bogged down by Sixth Elder, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Qing were still capable of fighting. Furthermore, they also had Yan Xiu, who had turned into a Fallen Asura and lost all sentience. They were enough to give both Second Elder and Sixth Elder a headache.

    In fact, Second Elder¡¯s head throbbed.

    He never expected Fourth Elder to lose so quickly. Furthermore, he was defeated in such a peculiar manner. How could an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion lose at the hands of Fang Zhengzhi, who was severely injured, and Yan Qing, who was in his Rebirth State?

    ¡°Rascal,e and help me! I can¡¯t hold him off for long!¡± Just when Second Elder was pondering this problem, the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°He¡¯s also a Sage. You still have dozens of disciples. Do you really need me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head throbbed in pain. His head was in a state of true pain to the point where he could feel it spinning. Hence, when he heard the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s words, he looked back at him disrespectfully.

    ¡°My specialty is alchemy, not fighting!¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So you should help me!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m injured!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint was speechless. He felt wronged too because the reason he was in this state was that he had tried to help Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, the true reason why he was upset was not because Fang Zhengzhi imed to be injured and did not want to help him. Instead, it was because while Fang Zhengzhi said that he was injured, he had already dashed over to Second Elder¡¯s position. His speed was fast and furthermore, he brought Yan Qing along with him.

    ¡°Bloody rascal, I¡¯ve trained you for two years for nothing!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw Fang Zhengzhi rush over to Second Elder without even looking at him, he could not help but curse.

    ¡°As a Sage, even if you¡¯re not good at fighting, you should continue to fight with dignity. Only then can you live up to your stage. Furthermore, even if you¡¯re not good at fighting, you have your medicines with you. With so many supplements, you can take some at any time. Maybe they will make you stronger.¡± As Fang Zhengzhi shed Second Elder with his sword, he snapped back at the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Of all time for you to be strong, you have to choose this moment!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint cursed once more. However, he looked at Sixth Elder killing another disciple of the Shadow Sect, gritted his teeth, and took out a small green jade bottle from his chest. Then, he swallowed all of the pills inside.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡±

    After he ate these pills, the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s body sank vigorously. Two footprints appeared on the ground underneath his feet.

    At the same time, a violently explosive aura came out from his nose and mouth. The aura was green and was filled with a murderous aura.

    ¡°Clear Fire Pill?!¡± When Sixth Elder saw the green aura from the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s mouth and nose, his face turned.

    ¡°Wrong! It¡¯s the Heavenly Oasis Clear Fire Pill!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint corrected.

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡±

    ¡°Of course, the name is different!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s mouth twitched and he wanted to shoot a dirty look at the Heavenly Oasis Saint. However, he decided to use his sword to teach him an important lesson: one must be honest!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Just when Sixth Elder wanted to sh him, a huge explosion came from Second Elder¡¯s side. It felt as if a huge golden bell had been struck.

    In fact...

    The bell had been struck.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi attacked Second Elder with his sword, Yan Qing crashed into the huge golden bell which trapped Yan Qianli.

    This sensation was akin to a blindfolded wild horse. It could not see what was around it.

    A huge sound reverberated in the air.

    The huge golden bell started to shine with golden light after Yan Qing hit it. In the light, one could countlessplicated runes shing and shining.

    One could, therefore, see that while the golden bell was rattled, it was definitely not going to break or shatter. It was as stable and firm as a huge mountain.

    Of course, Yan Qing would not give up so easily.

    After he realized that he had gotten no reaction after he smashed into the golden bell, he took three steps back as his body crackled.

    Evidently, Yan Qing was prepared to smash it a second time.

    Furthermore, from Yan Qing¡¯s expression, one could tell that he was extremely determined. If he could not seed after one try, he would try it two times. If that failed, he would hit it three, four, five, six times. If he could not shatter it today, he would hit it all the way until tomorrow. Even if he had to hit it for half a year, it was fine. As long as he had a chance to smash it, he woulde up with a n.

    This was the extent of his determination.

    However, Yan Qianli shuddered at this thought. Any normal person knew that when someone was trapped inside a huge bell, one should not try to free him by crashing into the bell.

    The reason was simple...

    No one could take it.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s eyes turned red because of the first impact. More importantly, his ears could not hear anything that was going on outside.

    All he could hear was dull thuds.

    Naturally, Yan Qing¡¯s thinking was characteristic of him. Not only could it lead to astounding sesses, but it could also make others give up all love for life.

    Evidently, Yan Qianli was thetter.

    As Yan Qing nned to smash it again, Yan Qianli¡¯s thoughts were indescribable. He wanted to say, ¡°Rascal, if you have the courage to do so, let us switch ces!¡±

    Of course, it was extremely difficult for the former Prince Yan, once the lord of Western Liang, to say such a thing.

    Hence...

    As Yan Qianli watched Yan Qing take three steps back as he prepared to crash into him once more, all he could was to wave at him vigorously. Then, he said in a raspy voice, ¡°My friend, my life is worth nothing. Please think about the bigger picture and help Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Alright, take care of yourself, elder!¡± Yan Qing was slightly stunned. His sharp, beastly gaze was momentarily reced with a look of respect. Then, he nodded his head and turned to smash Second Elder.

    ...

    As the Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, his strength was not weak. Coupled with his supreme treasure, the ancient bell, he would not be at a disadvantage even if he fought four to five Sages.

    In fact, Second Elder could do that.

    Yan Qianli had just be a Sage. However, he became a Sage via the Dao of Asura of the Six Rebirth Daos. Hence, he was much stronger than normal Sages.

    Even so, he was still trapped firmly underneath the golden bell without any chance of escape.

    As for Yan Xiu...

    While he was only in the Rebirth State, the moment he had been controlled by the power of Asura and turned into a Fallen Asura, his strength could rival a Sage.

    Normally, Second Elder would not find it hard to fight in a two-on-one fight. He trapped one of them and suppressed the other one. It was the style of an extraordinary fighter.

    However, he ultimately still only had two arms and two legs.

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s extremely sharp sword came shing down, it was no longer so easy for him anymore. When he looked at Yan Qing charging toward him, he found it even more difficult.

    This was because he could not retreat!

    If he retreated, the result of today¡¯s battle would be clear.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion could not afford such a defeat. Neither could he. After all, if he retreated while the Heaven Dao Pavilion possessed such an advantage, the name and glory of the Heaven Dao Pavilion would be ruined.

    Hence, he could only press on.

    However, no matter how hard he fought, defeat was certain. While Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm was severely injured, that injury was not fatal. Fang Zhengzhi was already in his Rebirth State and could use his vast Origin Energy to heal himself.

    On the other side, the Heavenly Oasis Saint was like apletely different person. His fly-whisk rose and fell non-stop as he used his ¡®big moves¡¯, all of which required a huge amount of Origin Energy.

    It was just like what Fang Zhengzhi had said. So what if he could not win? As long he ate a bit of medicine, he would be stronger.

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint did indeed be stronger.

    Green aura emerged from his nose and mouth. He used his ¡®big moves¡¯ continuously and furthermore, the green aura started to spread. It formed a green space around him.

    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t the Clear Fire Pill!¡± As an elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Sixth Elder was naturally a better fighter than the Heavenly Oasis Saint. If not for the ¡®big moves¡¯ the Heavenly Oasis Saint used non-stop, the battle would have long been over.

    However, after this stalemate, he realized that something was amiss. This was because he knew that the Clear Fire Pill took its name from ¡®clear¡¯ and ¡®fire¡¯. A clear aura would make one suppler while the ¡®fire¡¯ would unleash one¡¯s potential.

    However, the Heavenly Oasis Saint felt that something was amiss. The energy from his body would not go away. Instead, they congregated onto each other and became thicker and thicker.

    ¡°Of course, my pill is the Heavenly Oasis Clear Fire Pill!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint said gleefully.

    ¡°But you just said that the only thing different about it is its name!¡± When Sixth Elder heard this, he became sullen. After all, taking such a long time to deal with an alchemist undermined his reputation.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a small difference which I forgot to mention,¡± said the Heavenly Oasis Saint as he flicked his fly-whisk. He was trying to remember something.

 Chapter 741 - A Strange Change, The Door Opens

    <h4>Chapter 741: A Strange Change, The Door Opens</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Sixth Elder asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s... scarier! Aren¡¯t you scared of my Heavenly Oasis Clear Fire Pill? Hahaha...¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saintughed happily.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis old man, after so many years, you have really be more and more sly. Hmph, do you think I¡¯ll believe you?¡± Sixth Elder naturally did not believe him.

    The older one was, the craftier one would be. The Heavenly Oasis Saint, who stood before him, had evidently spent much time in the mortal realm and hence, was the epitome of a crafty old man.

    Naturally, Sixth Elder would not fall for his trick so easily. The more the Heavenly Oasis Saint yed down the ability of his pills, the more careful he would approach him.

    When the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw how careful Sixth Elder was, he sighed in relief in his heart. He could not help but recall a scene one year ago.

    On that day, he was trying to cultivate Clear Fire Pills. Coincidentally, as he walked into his alchemy room and was about to retrieve the pills, he saw Fang Zhengzhi pacing up and down before his crucible.

    Without guessing, the Heavenly Oasis Saint knew that Fang Zhengzhi was here to steal his pills.

    Like what they said, it was easy to guard against robbers but hard to protect oneself from a thief which came from within.

    Fang Zhengzhi was this kind of thief. More importantly, if he caught him now, Fang Zhengzhi could just say that he had walked into the wrong door.

    Hence, the Heavenly Oasis Saint naturally shot a look of anger at Fang Zhengzhi and instantly ordered him to scram.

    Then, an innocent face appeared.

    However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi did not use his ¡®get-out-of-jail-free card¡¯ by saying that he had walked into the wrong room. Instead, he ¡®humbly¡¯ asked him to teach him how to use this crucible.

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint did not want to waste time exining to him but Fang Zhengzhi pestered him non-stop. Furthermore, it was time to open the crucible and hence, he exined to Fang Zhengzhi as he opened the crucible.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi replied to him disrespectfully.

    ¡°Get rid of the air which you exhale? What a waste! Why not add a few more ingredients which will allow the aura around you to solidify. This will make it more terrifying. Furthermore, the pill will be bigger and hence, you can sell it for more money!¡±

    ¡°Scaring others? What use does that have? You rascal only know how to do all these tricks! Scram, don¡¯t interfere with my pill retrieval!¡±

    ¡°I only know that? You are the one who¡¯s ignorant... For a miser like you, the only people who can make you eat a Clear Fire Pill is someone who is a lot stronger than you. Why not scare him? Can you really live just with the effects of these Clear Fire Pills? Forget it, I¡¯mzy to exin this to you. Give me a piece and I¡¯ll tinker with it and help you improve it.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint naturally did not do as Fang Zhengzhi had asked. He stopped him from grabbing these Clear Fire Pills. However, he treated his words seriously. When he next cultivated pills, he could not help but to explore ways of making his Clear Fire Pill more terrifying.

    Right now, reality proved that a casual statement made by Fang Zhengzhi allowed him to continue battling against Sixth Elder.

    ...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion, on top of the Sword Peak, in the center of the Heaven Academic Altar.

    A huge green door stood in the center of the Heaven Academic Altar. On its left and right sides, there were stone carvings of beast heads. An ancient and barren aura could be felt from it.

    The Heaven-Receiving Door!

    One month ago, when Nangong Mu did his Blood Illustration Sacrifice, this green rock door appeared on top of the Heaven Academic Altar. However, this door was now shut andpletely sealed.

    Furthermore, Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples took turns to guard it.

    At this moment, eight Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in white, schrly robes stood in eight different positions. They all wielded swords as they prevented anyone froming close.

    Of course, even though they were in the Heaven Academic Altar, they could hear themotioning from below as well as detect the change in the sky.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on underneath the mountain?¡±

    ¡°How can chasing Fang Zhengzhi cause such a hugemotion?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think something big is happening. However, our job is to guard the Heaven-Receiving Door. Stay perky, everyone, in case someone tries to steal it!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After a short conversation among the eight disciples, they shut their mouths. They scanned their surroundings and they behaved extremely carefully.

    However, their attention was all ced on their surroundings. No one looked at the Heaven-Receiving Door. After all, the door had stood there for an entire month without anything happening.

    However, at this moment...

    One of the beast heads on the Heaven-Receiving Door moved slightly. It did not make any noise but instead, its mouth opened visibly.

    Then, a single dot of starlight emerged from the beast¡¯s mouth and flew into the sky.

    ¡°Hum!¡± The moment the starlight appeared, the seal surrounding the Heaven-Receiving Door started to tremble and started to hum.

    The noise was not loud. After all, the vibration of the seal was not intense.

    However, the disciples around reacted instantly. Eight swords were drawn at once.

    ¡°ng!¡± Eight swords were unsheathed. All of them shone coldly.

    ¡°There¡¯s a noise!¡±

    ¡°Is someoneing?¡±

    ¡°No, but the seal appeared to have been touched!¡±

    The eight Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at each other and their faces were all serious and severe. Eight gazes swept their surroundings and examined the seal on the door behind them.

    However, the seal turned calm once more.

    They felt as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°Are we hearing things?¡±

    ¡°Impossible. All eight of us heard it. Something is wrong. Master told us that we must report to him as soon as possible if anything happens to the Heaven-Receiving Door. Junior Wang, report to master now!¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s doing closed-door cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Even so, you have to tell him immediately. This is what he had instructed us to do!¡±

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll go now!¡± When one of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard this, he immediately ran toward where Mu Qingfeng was.

    As he ran, the starlight from the beast head on the Heaven-Receiving Door started to descend slowly from the sky. Under the shine from the sun, this tiny bit of starlight was not very eye-catching.

    However, if one looked at it carefully, the starlight looked as if it had been hurt by the seal. It lost its momentum and was slowly drifting over to the cliff of the Sword Peak...

    ...

    The forest in the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued fighting with Second Elder and the rest. However,pared to the previous battle, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side now possessed a clear advantage.

    Finally, the eight formations of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples started to cken. This caused more and more Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples to be injured.

    As for the fight between the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Sixth Elder...

    Compared to the fight between the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Shadow Sect disciples, this was much more intense. However, while it was more intense, it was still a stalemate.

    Sixth Elder could not beat the Heavenly Oasis Saint and the Heavenly Oasis Saint could not beat Sixth Elder. The two of them exchanged blows non-stop.

    As for Second Elder, he was really in a pickle.

    Yan Qing¡¯s battling stylepletely messed up Second Elder¡¯s rhythm. Yan Qing seized the initiative and waspletely thrashing him.

    Yan Xiu fought differently from Yan Qing.

    Right now, Yan Xiu fought based on his instincts alone. In other words, Yan Xiu could no longer differentiate between friend and foe right now.

    All he wanted to do was to kill.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s killing intent always avoided Fang Zhengzhi. It would only target Second Elder and Yan Qing.

    Second Elder did not know if this was a coincidence, but he could not do anything about it. Every single one of Yan Xiu¡¯s moves passed by Fang Zhengzhi,pletely sparing him.

    This allowed Fang Zhengzhi to possess an absolute advantage in this chaotic fight.

    If Yan Qing and Yan Xiu were two extremely unstable elements in this fight, Fang Zhengzhi could be said to be the shameless person who threw arrows from afar.

    Furthermore, each of his shes was horrifying.

    Coupled with the powerful attractive force of the Hell Dao, as well as the Hell Near-Life Chains which would appear randomly, Second Elder spent most of his time on the defensive.

    After he watched Fang Zhengzhi and Yuan Rong fought, Second Elder naturally did not dare to underestimate Fang Zhengzhi, especially his Hell Near-Life Chains.

    After all, if they pierced him...

    It was tantamount to death.

    ¡°Am I going to lose?¡± Second Elder was unwilling to ept this fact because he did not know what would happen to him if he really lost.

    However, no matter how unwilling he was, he could not sustain this fight for long, especially the fight between the Shadow Sect disciples and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples.

    If this continued...

    He could imagine the casualty figures afterward.

    What could he do?

    This moment of carelessness by Second Elder caused him to suffer a wound on his arm. He was evidently scratched. The only one who could attack him like this was Yan Qing.

    Naturally, the moment Yan Qing scratched him, a sword wound appeared on his arm too. He was cut by the nine flying swords.

    The wound was so deep until his bones could be seen.

    However, Yan Qing did not seem to care.

    Yan Qing¡¯s sleeves were blood-red. However, his flesh recovered so quickly that even the naked eye could see the process.

    Second Elder naturally knew that Yan Qing descended from the Indestructible Gifted Bloodline. However, this knowledge was useless if he could not find a way to deal him a mortal blow.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not allow him to do so.

    ¡°Am I really going to lose?¡± Second Elder did not know how many times had he asked himself that. If not for the importance of this battle, he would have ordered a retreat a long time ago.

    However, he could not do that! No way!

    ¡°Even if I die, I must preserve the glory of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. I can¡¯t lose. Fang Zhengzhi must die!¡± Second Elder¡¯s body was soaked with blood. However, he forced himself to inhale and a golden light which was about 25 centimeters long shot out from the golden sword in his hand.

    Then, Second Elder leaped into the air and bypassed Yan Qing. He shed down at Fang Zhengzhi, who stood behind Yan Qing.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± When Yan Qing saw Second Elder leap, he squatted down and then, he leaped toward Second Elder like a frog.

    The moment his legs left the ground, a few more cracks could be seen.

    Evidently, Yan Qing¡¯s mastery of his strength was still inadequate. However, this did not affect his speed.

    The moment Second Elder shed with his sword, Yan Qing grabbed Second Elder¡¯s right leg with his two arms. Then, he tugged down intensely.

    This action...

    For a truly powerful cultivator, it was almost impossible. However, Yan Qing did it without any problem.

    By doing this, Second Elder¡¯s body tilted to one side and his golden sword light went off its mark by one centimeter.

    ¡°Good chance!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He had been waiting for this moment. In a battle between powerful cultivators, the one who was more anxious would reveal his weakness earlier.

    Evidently, Second Elder was panicking.

    He gripped his Traceless Sword tightly and a purple light, which shot into the sky, started to shine. As Second Elder was in mid-air, he was confident that if he shed right now, Second Elder would at least be severely injured.

    He did not hesitate anymore.

    What concerns could he have?

    Absolutely none. Now that situation was as such, even if he spared Second Elder, the next time they met he was sure that Second Elder would not spare him.

    This was how vendettas formed...

    He did not mind making one more enemy.

    He raised his sword!

    A dragon roar could be heard!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure disappeared. In the next instant, eight shadows appeared around Second Elder. Each of them wielded a long sword which glowed purple.

    ¡°Dragon Dances Eight Realms!¡± This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s most offensive attack. Hence, how could he be stingy when such an opportunity presented itself?

    Eight shadows cornered Second Elder.

    At the same time, eight swords were raised into the air. Purple light illuminated the sky and then, eight dragon roars could be heard. Eight twisted sword radiances shed Second Elder.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Purple light shone in the sky like a purple lotus. Then, blood spurted into the air and floated in the sky.

    This scene was shocking. At the same time, this made the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stiffen.

 Chapter 742 - Nine Swords Returning Into One, Starlight

    <h4>Chapter 742: Nine Swords Returning Into One, Starlight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were bright. His crystalline eyes shone with a purple light. As he shed with his sword, he could clearly sense that Second Elder had been injured.

    However, this was not enough to kill him. At the final moment, Fang Zhengzhi could sense that something had blocked him.

    Just as he thought about that...

    A golden ray of light lit up, broke through the purple light, and rushed out. It was vast and ancient and one could hear an ancient bell chiming in the background.

    ¡°Dong!¡± One could hear the sound of a bell.

    The purple light, which had been released, waspletely suppressed. Gradually, a golden bell started to shine. Compared to the shadow just now, it was very different. This time, the golden bell was smaller but it was solid. Second Elder held the tiny ancient bell in his hands as he slowly twirled it around.

    On the ancient bell, one could see intricate and exquisite patterns. The nine small golden swords were carved on it and on top of it, one could see the head of a beast, which appeared to be a jin chan (Trantor¡¯s Note: It¡¯s also known as a ¡®money frog¡¯. Imagine a golden frog with a coin in its mouth.)

    ¡°This is Second Elder¡¯s Source of Dao, the ¡®Golden Beast Sword Bell¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Second Elder¡¯s arm is injured?!¡±

    ¡°He actually forced Second Elder to use this... is this guy really just in his Rebirth State?!¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the tiny golden bell in Second Elder¡¯s hand, as well as his bleeding arm, they were no longer just shocked.

    They were depressed.

    Had he not used his Source of Dao, the Golden Beast Sword Bell, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples would still have a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

    This meant that he was truly in a life-and-death situation.

    ¡°Will he really lose? The Heaven Dao Pavilion, one of the five sects of the Holy Region, will actually lose to the Shadow Sect in its own territory?¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could not ept this result. However, this cruel oue was about to happen.

    Of course, Second Elder did not give up.

    Although it was a sign of desperation for him to use his Source of Dao, its appearance also meant that Second Elder¡¯s strength was raised to the next level.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, even if I die today, I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡± Second Elder roared. He was utterly enraged because of that attack just now.

    A wild energy surged from the Golden Beast Sword Bell in his hand and he was bathed in golden light. It was as if he had been cloaked in an armor of gold.

    At the same time, the nine swords carved on his Golden Beast Sword Bell flew out instantly. They congregated toward the golden sword Second Elder wielded.

    ¡°Ding!¡± A light sound.

    The nine tiny swords disappeared instantly and the golden sword in Second Elder¡¯s hand started to transform. The light on top of it became even more intense and one could see shadows flitting past on the de of the sword. An unbelievably sharp aura could be felt from it.

    ¡°Nine swords returning into one? Are you going to use your full strength?!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi noticed the transformation of the sword Second Elder wielded, he too was stunned.

    After all, his opponent was the Second Elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. In terms of pure strength, he was many times more powerful than he was. When someone like him wanted to use his full strength, it was no joke!

    As he watched the huge and powerful auraing over, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to try and resist it once more. However, he knew that this aura was too strong andpletely unlike Fourth Elder¡¯s.

    Then, before Fang Zhengzhi even had the time to ponder and make his decision, Second Elder had already transformed into a golden ray of light and appeared before him.

    It was really...

    Blindingly-fast!

    Even Fang Zhengzhi was stunned by Second Elder¡¯s speed. This was because Yan Qing, who stood in front of him, did not even react as Second Elder rushed over.

    Evidently, one could tell how fast Second Elder was.

    ¡°This is ridiculous?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi instantly felt the level of suppression he had experienced when he fought against Tian Xing, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    At this moment, a ray of golden light shed past his eyes.

    It was very bright and the very air appeared to have been torn apart.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi heard a sound that resembled metals nging against each other. It was as if ten thousand swords shed against each other.

    It was deafening.

    At the same time, it made him anxious.

    He shook his head vigorously. Fang Zhengzhi felt that at this time, he must stay calm. However, before he could calm down, a shocking scene appeared once more. The golden light in front of him transformed into nine different rays of light. Each of them was a single sword and each sword shone with a golden sword.

    Oh no!

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw this scene, he knew that he was in deep trouble.

    This was because Second Elder¡¯s speed was seriously too fast. Furthermore, the nine golden swordspletely sealed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s retreat. From top to bottom, he waspletely encircled.

    There was no way for him to escape.

    He could only resist it forcefully.

    A ck armor appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and then, ck fire burned on his ck armor. Right now, a few more rays of purple light started to shine on the ck fire.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strongest defense.

    Of course, as he defended himself, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword moved too. He sliced upward at the first golden sword that came for his throat.

    However, at this very moment, a figure appeared like a ghost in front of Fang Zhengzhi. The figure had lightless ck eyes, which looked like the depths of Hell.

    Yan Xiu!

    Yan Xiu, right now, was no longer targeted by both Second Elder and Fang Zhengzhi. However, they did not forget about him.

    After all, he had been attacking all this while.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, move!¡± Fang Zhengzhi never expected Yan Xiu to appear in front of him at this moment. Normally, by right, Yan Xiu would have lost his reason.

    Without reason, how could they coordinate?

    Fang Zhengzhi never prepared for this. However, when Yan Xiu appeared, nine golden swords stabbed down at the same time. Their speed was astoundingly fast.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Yan Xiu did not appear to have heard what Fang Zhengzhi said. He said in a shrill voice and then, a ck w appeared from the ground and shed the golden swords.

    At this moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was amiss.

    When Yan Xiu looked at him, he thought he saw something in Yan Xiu¡¯s ck, lightless eyes. Something was on the verge of rushing out.

    It was an extremely tragic sensation.

    It passed instantly.

    Then, the nine golden swords came down.

    One of the golden swords pierced Yan Xiu¡¯s right chest. Then, it did not stop. After it had prated his right chest and pierced right through his body, it stabbed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right chest too.

    ¡°Ah! Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi cried out in pain. At the same time, his Traceless Sword, which just blocked another golden sword, turned into a purple dragon as it shed Second Elder.

    ¡°Crrrack!¡± Sounds could be heard from the purple light.

    A bloody streak appeared on Second Elder¡¯s chest. It was so deep until his bones could be seen. The force of the impact sent Second Elder flying.

    While Fang Zhengzhi sent Second Elder back with one sh of his sword, the golden swords which attacked Yan Xiu and him did not retreat. They continued to stab him.

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fresh blood stained the skies. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blood, Yan Xiu¡¯s blood, and even Second Elder¡¯s blood were all inside.

    Evidently, when Second Elder used that move, he did not give himself any opportunity to retreat. After he attacked, he did not even have the energy to block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword.

    He used all his strength in one blow.

    Like what he said, if Second Elder were to die, he would drag Fang Zhengzhi down with him.

    From the moment Second Elder attacked to the moment when Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Second Elder were all heavily injured, only a few seconds had passed.

    ¡°Second Elder!¡± When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw Second Elder copsing on the ground, they reacted to it.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge sound could be heard.

    As Second Elder fell onto the ground, the huge golden bell covering Yan Qianli disappeared. One could see that Second Elder had no strength left.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± When Yan Qianli emerged from the golden bell, he looked at Yan Xiu immediately. His eyes were bright red.

    Tiny capiries could be seen in Yan Qing¡¯s eyes too. He blocked Fang Zhengzhi from the front but he never expected that Second Elder would be this fast.

    He actually bypassed him.

    To him, this was a huge blow. He knew that Second Elder could do that but still, it was a huge blow to him.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Yan Qing roared like a beast. Then, he charged toward Second Elder.

    ¡°Yan Qing, don¡¯t even think of hurting Second Elder!¡± When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw Yan Qing rushing toward Second Elder, they emerged from their sword formations to confront him.

    ¡°Save.... Save us first?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could understand Yan Qing¡¯s desire for revenge. However, he felt that he and Yan Xiu should be saved first.

    Of course, he and Yan Xiu had been stabbed many times. However, these wounds were not fatal. He managed to block the attacks which could have proven to be truly fatal.

    However, he was definitely injured.

    Yan Xiu was in the greatest danger. He had lost a lot of blood earlier on and his body was weak. Furthermore, he had descended into an Evil Asura. Right now, he had also been stabbed many times, one of which went through his right chest.

    Hence, he fainted straight away.

    ¡°Old man Yan, bring Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi with your young friend and go! We can¡¯t afford any dy!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Sage saw Yan Qianli emerging from the golden bell, he shouted at him instantly.

    After all, the Heaven Dao Pavilion still had a Great Elder and Pavilion Leader Mu Qingfeng. These two were the true powerhouses of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, which allowed themselves to make a name in the Holy Region and be one of the five sects of the Holy Region.

    ¡°Young friend, let¡¯s go!¡± Yan Qianli knew what the Heavenly Oasis Saint was thinking. Yan Xiu was unconscious now. This was the best time to escape.

    However, right when he said that...

    The entire sky turned dark.

    He felt as if the light in the sky had been blocked. Everyone could not help but to raise their heads and looked at the sky above.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s emotions were hard to describe.

    As he was injured, his bodyy underneath Yan Xiu, squashed. This allowed him to look at the phenomenon that was taking ce.

    However, this scene was so odd that he did not know how to describe it.

    Instantly, he saw a light appearing in the sky. This light appeared to havee from the stars. However, it was odd for starlight to appear in the daytime.

    Of course...

    The starlight in the daytime was not the strangest thing.

    The starlight seemed to be descending at an even pace.

    In fact, when Fang Zhengzhi saw the starlight, he thought that he was seeing things. After all, he had been severely injured and it was normal for him to hallucinate.

    Right now, he dismissed this notion.

    This was because as the starlight came down, a truly odd scene appeared. The light started to expand massively.

    The starlight turned ck.

    It was apletely ck rock. Or rather, it was not just one rock but an entire mountain. It was a mountain which could block the sky.

    For such a change to happen...

    Fang Zhengzhi just wanted to say, ¡°What the actual f*ck?!¡±

    He was truly unlucky. Right when he was severely injured, a humongous mountain actually came crashing down from the sky.

    Was this not f*cking bullying?

    Very few people shared Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought because none of them saw the starlighting down.

    Instead, they just noticed the sky turning dark.

    Then, they lifted their heads to see a huge ck mountain descending rapidly. It descended so quickly and forced them to scatter in all four directions.

    ¡°Where did the mountaine from?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all confused. However, their first reaction was to run to somewhere outside of the shadow. After all, if a mountain actually dide down, it would kill them all.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to run too.

    However, he had been stabbed numerous times and Yan Xiu was currently on top of him. How could he run?

 Chapter 743 - Rebirth Plate, Opening the Fourth Dao!

    <h4>Chapter 743: Rebirth te, Opening the Fourth Dao!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Would he really be crushed to death?

    Right when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about that, two figures appeared swiftly in front of him. Then, they lifted Yan Xiu and him up.

    Coarsely but extremely quickly.

    They were Yan Qing and Yan Qianli.

    The moment the mountain came crashing down, Yan Qing, who carried Fang Zhengzhi, somersaulted in the air and left the area of the huge shadow. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body touched the ground once more.

    It was agonizing.

    However, this was no time for such consideration because the huge mountain had alreadye crashing down. It hit the ground in a hugely-exaggerated fashion.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge sound rang out and dust and debris flew everywhere.

    It was a wild scene. The moment the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Shadow Sect disciples escaped from thending site of the mountain, they turned to look at it.

    The dust settled.

    After the dust settled, thepletely-ck mountain slowly started to appear before the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Shadow Sect disciples.

    Underneath the huge mountain, the ground on which it hadnded had beenpletely cracked open. When they looked at it, they noticed that it was almost 20 to 30 meters high. It was not too big and its bottom was made entirely from ck rock. However, its top seemed slightly ridiculous.

    This was because, on top of the mountain, there were four broken pirs. In the center of the pirs, there was a half-opened stone door. Images of beasts could be seen carved onto the door.

    It exuded an ancient and timeless aura.

    ¡°What is this?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a mountain, but a pce?!¡±

    ¡°A ruined pce? How can a pcee crashing down? Furthermore, this is a pce made entirely from ck rocks?!¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Shadow Sect disciples were totally shocked. After all, this was both peculiar and ridiculous.

    This was ultimately the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Even without the countless disciples who monitored thend from within the pavilion, there was no way this pce made out of ck rock could have appeared on top of the Sword Peak. This was because the buildings of the Heaven Dao Pavilion were normally made from white jade. There was no building made from ck rock.

    However, if this ruined ck pce did note from the Sword Peak, where could ite from? It could not actually have fallen from the sky, right?

    As they thought about this matter, they all felt that it was incredulous.

    The Heaven Dao pavilion disciples did not understand what was going on. Sixth Elder was clueless too. If it were just an ordinary mountain, they could stillprehend. However, the presence of the ck pce stumped them.

    ¡°This pce... is ancient. Where did ite from?¡± Yan Qianli frowned and asked. He carried Yan Xiu close to his chest.

    ¡°Pce? A ruined pce?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned too because he had personally seen how did this ruined ck rock pcee.

    A ray of starlight which turned into a pce of ck rock?

    What the hell!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had been trying to absorb the knowledge of the world in this past one month. However, he still had no exnation for this.

    However, the fact remained that this pce appeared out of thin air and then came crashing down onto them. It stood there mysteriously in front of them and was so real that no one disbelieved its existence.

    As for Wu Yuer, who was across theke, she opened her eyes wide in shock too. Her beautiful eyes revealed a look of surprise too.

    To Wu Yuer, this battle was so inappropriate...

    Hence, she had been standing opposite theke without even approaching the battle. Not only did she not approach the battle, but she also did not even say anything.

    ¡°Old man Yan, stop caring this ruined old pce! Let¡¯s go!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Sage was finally able to extricate himself from his fight with Sixth Elder when the pce came crashing down. Naturally, he was the most anxious to leave.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis, you hurt my disciples. Do you think you can just go like this?¡± At this moment, a sound came from the sky. It seemed to havee from afar but in fact, it was rapidly approaching.

    When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard this voice, his anxious face changed instantly. At the same time, he looked at the sky above his head.

    He was not alone.

    All of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples lifted their heads. However, unlike the Heavenly Oasis Saint, a rare look of hope crossed their faces.

    ¡°Young friend, let¡¯s go!¡± When Yan Qianli heard this sound, he was even more determined to leavepared to the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    He did not even lift his head as he turned and prepared to leave.

    ¡°Prince Yan Qianli traveled thousands of miles to my Heaven Dao Pavilion as a guest. Are you going to leave without even saying ¡®hi¡¯?¡± The voice rang out once more. At the same time, the ground started to crack open. A ray of pure white light shot out from the ground and blocked Yan Qianli.

    When they saw this white light screen, Yan Qianli smiled bitterly. He naturally knew who was the speaker.

    Since he knew who it was...

    He knew that he had no chance of escape.

    Even as the former lord of Western Liang, his position was naturally lower than Mu Qingfeng, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    A white figure descended from the sky. Snow-white robes fluttered in the wind. However, this figure did notnd on the ground directly.

    Instead, the figurended on top of one of the stone pirs of the ck rock pce.

    Hended very gently and soundlessly. Of course, behind him stood a ferocious beast. On the beast, there was a woman.

    She wore a pink dress and was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were like the stars in the night sky. She was regally elegant.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Senior Chi Guyan!¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw Mu Qingfeng and Chi Guyan, they were no longer as depressed as before. They instantly regained their confidence.

    Fang Zhengzhi was strong!

    However, was he stronger than Chi Guyan?

    As for Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint, they were of even less concern. Ten Yan Qianlis and Heavenly Oasis Saint could not match Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at scene beneath him and at the ck rock pce he stepped on. Then, when he saw the corpses nearby, he could not help but frown.

    Among the corpses, there was a familiar face: Shi Fan of the Yin Yang Hall. Furthermore, other than him, there were a few heads next to him too, some of which belonged to the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind.

    Who killed so many Sages right underneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Could it be the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Mu Qingfeng naturally did not think that it was possible. This was because even if there was a conflict between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Yin Yang Hall, they would not be so vicious.

    If it was not the Heaven Dao Pavilion, could it be the Shadow Sect?

    However, with just the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli, could they really kill so many Sages? Alright, if that was possible, what about Shi Fan?

    With Shi Fan¡¯s power, how could Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint kill him?

    More importantly, Fourth Eldery unconscious on the ground and Second Elder¡¯s face was pale. He also had a huge bloody wound on his chest.

    What happened to them?

    Mu Qingfeng could not even begin to imagine because from the moment he left his closed-door cultivation to his arrival at the Heaven Academic Altar and to his descent from the pavilion, it only took a very short while.

    Hence, he naturally did not know what had happened. However, this scene was bloodier than what he had expected.

    Were they not pursuing Fang Zhengzhi?

    Was this necessary?

    Mu Qingfeng knew why Second Elder and Fourth Elder chased him. He destroyed the Divine Rain Pond. However, the scene right now did not seem to have been caused just by chasing Fang Zhengzhi.

    Could it be that...

    It was because of this ck pce?

    Mu Qingfeng looked at the ck pce underneath his feet as well as the half-opened door. It was utterly dark inside. He furrowed his brows intensely.

    Of course, these were all Mu Qingfeng¡¯s guesses.

    Sixth Elder flew in front of him and quickly exined to him what had happened. After Mu Qingfeng heard that, his face changedpletely.

    ¡°He killed five Sages? Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± What Mu Qingfeng was feeling right now as the epitome of the word ¡®incredulous¡¯. Even after Sixth Elder told him this personally, he still could not believe it because it was this impossible.

    He was not alone.

    After Chi Guyan heard Sixth Elder¡¯s words, her eyes revealed a look of shock as she said, ¡°Shameless thief, did you master the Hell Dao too?¡±

    Silence.

    After a while, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples all walked forward. They gripped their swords tightly and they all wore looks of humiliation on their faces.

    ¡°Master,¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice rang out. Her beautiful face did not betray many emotions but when she said that one word, her voice revealed a faint worry.

    ¡°Ayy....¡± Mu Qingfeng sighed. He looked at the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples underneath him as well as Second Elder, who was supported by the disciples.

    ¡°Pavilion Leader, Keke... I¡¯m responsible for today¡¯s event and I¡¯m willing to ept any punishment. However...¡± Second Elder took in two deep breaths as he was anxious to show his determination. However, after he saw Mu Qingfeng¡¯s hand gesture, he quickly swallowed his words.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, let me ask you a few questions!¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi. His eyes glittered as if he could stare into his soul.

    ¡°Rascal, answer him properly!¡± After the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard Mu Qinfeng¡¯s words, he instructed Fang Zhengzhi seriously. He was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would do something careless at this moment.

    ¡°As for that.... before I answer you, can you heal Yan Xiu and me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Mu Qingfeng and then at Yan Xiu, who was in Yan Qianli¡¯s arms.

    Mu Qingfeng was stunned. He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to raise such a request. After all, he had just fought fiercely against the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Then, he straightaway asked the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion for treatment. Very few people were like him in this world.

    However, after a momentary pause, Mu Qingfeng did not reveal any sign of shock or anger. The reason was simple: he was used to it.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible,¡± replied Mu Qingfeng simply.

    ¡°Then... ask ahead,¡± Fang Zhengzhi said. He wanted to add a few more lines but when he saw the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s frantic expression, he ultimately nodded his head.

    ¡°Did you destroy the Divine Rain Pond of my Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked after he saw Fang Zhengzhi nod.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi with a nod.

    After all, this was undeniable. Even though Chi Guyan pushed all her responsibility for its destruction to him, he was still the main culprit.

    ¡°Alright. Did you kill Shi Fan of the Yin Yang Hall, Yuan Rong, and the rest by yourself?¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression did not change by much as he continued questioning him.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi straightway.

    ¡°Did you injure Fourth Elder and Second Elder?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Very good. Since you have admitted to all these, I¡¯ll retract my order to treat you like a disciple of a Heaven Dao Pavilion. Furthermore, I¡¯ll issue a bounty for you in the Holy Region. Do you have any objection?¡± Mu Qingfeng said inly.

    ¡°Bounty?¡± When Sixth Elder heard this, he was evidently shocked. This was because Fang Zhengzhi stood in front of them, so why did he need to issue a bounty for him?

    Unless...

    ¡°Pavilion Leader, don¡¯t... let him go. Today, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fang Zhengzhi are sworn enemies. If we let him go now, I fear that...¡± Second Elder was visibly anxious.

    ¡°Bring Second Elder somewhere to rest,¡± interrupted Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples instantly obeyed his order.

    Then, Mu Qingfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, not only did you destroy my Divine Rain Pond, but you also injured two elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. I have every right to kill you right now!¡±

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you kill me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not killing you today in light of your former friendship with Chi Guyan. She pleaded for mercy for you. Of course, since I¡¯m not killing you today, I have one request!¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at Chi Guyan, who was on top of a beast. At the same time, hemented to himself, ¡°Double Dragon Roll Champion, what a prodigy...¡±

    ¡°Guyan, I thought you were asking for mercy for him. However, his potential is really limitless!¡±

    ¡°Killing five Sages alone?!¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng shook his head and did not continue thinking. After all, he had already made his decision. There was no point in second-guessing himself.

    ¡°What request do you have?¡± Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not know what Mu Qingfeng was thinking. However, if he was going to let him go, he would not refuse it.

    ¡°I want you to vow that you will never seek revenge against anyone from the Heaven Dao Pavilion because of today¡¯s incident. Also, without my permission, you¡¯re not allowed to step into our territory!¡±

    ¡°What if a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciplees after me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°You can kill him!¡±

    ¡°After I make this vow, you¡¯ll let me go?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°What about them?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli, as well as Yan Xiu who was in Yan Qianli¡¯s arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m already willing to let you go. Naturally, I won¡¯t keep them!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I promise you. However, I have a request too!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he gritted his teeth and replied.

    ¡°What request?¡±

    ¡°Save Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t save him.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I really can¡¯t save him. Yan Xiu has fallen into an Evil Asura. He had lost his original personality. Coupled with his severe injuries, he had beenpletely dominated by the power of Asura. Right now, he is someone who must die!¡± Mu Qingfeng said as he nodded his head.

    ¡°Someone who must die... someone who must die!?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly. He stared intently at Mu Qingfeng as if he could not believe what he had heard.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you should be clear that Yan Xiu¡¯s death has nothing to do with the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Even if Second Elder did not hurt him, the result will be the same,¡± added Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°No.... it¡¯s not the same! If something happens to Yan Xiu, even if I die today, I must make Second Elder pay!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists. At the same time, a vast killing intent surged from his body. The golden swords which had skewered him were sent flying by this killing intent.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± The entire ground sank. A vast killing aura pulsated in all directions like a tidal wave.

    ¡°So powerful... is this guy a demon? How can he be so strong?!¡±

    ¡°Such a heavy killing intent, is this guy crazy? Master has already freed him. Do... do you really want to kill Second Elder?¡±

    ¡°How can it be possible? With just him alone?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were all shocked. Naturally, they did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could kill Second Elder in front of Mu Qingfeng to avenge Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Rascal, Pavilion Leader decides to free you today because of your friendship with Chi Guyan. This is magnanimity. If you continue like this and refuse to leave, don¡¯t me me for showing no mercy to you!¡± When Sixth Elder saw this scene, he was stunned too. A murderous look shed across his eyes.

    ¡°Magnanimity? Hahaha....¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he started tough. Then, he looked at Yan Xiu, whose eyes were closed. His body started to shake. ¡°I did not protect you... if not for me, Shi Fan could not have released your seal. Yan Xiu, wait for me. I¡¯ll avenge you. I¡¯ll kill everyone who has anything to do with this fight. I¡¯ll kill Second Elder, then the Yin Yang Hall, and then the Nine Pinnacles Mountain... I¡¯ll kill them all!¡±

    ¡°The Dao of Asura!!¡±

    ¡°Is this the Dao of Asura of the Six Rebirth Daos!¡±

    ¡°This guy... has mastered the Dao of Asura?!¡±

    None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples believed that Fang Zhengzhi was still capable of fighting. However, when a blood-red light rushed out from his body, they finally realized that...

    They were wrong!

 Chapter 744 - Resonance of the Four Daos, A Final Hope

    <h4>Chapter 744: Resonance of the Four Daos, A Final Hope</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone, including the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, the Shadow Sect disciples, the Heavenly Oasis Saint, and Yan Qianli, was stunned when they saw the blood-red lighting from Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Rascal, this is too... godly?!¡± After searching for the right word for some time, the only thing the Heavenly Oasis Saint could say was ¡®godly¡¯.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s face was frozen.

    Even though he hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could be stronger, he still felt uneasy at the notion that his strongest weapon could be mastered by someone else so quickly.

    Of course, Sixth Elder was the most shocked.

    At this moment, Sixth Elder opened his mouth wide. His angry eyes bulged and the look of shock on his face made his face slightly pale.

    He actually saw Fang Zhengzhi master the Hell Dao in his fight against Shi Fan. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not fight right now!

    He could master a Dao just like that?!

    Furthermore, he mastered the most offensive Dao among the Six Rebirth Daos, the Dao of Asura?

    Could he be any more terrifying?

    ¡°There¡¯s one type of Dao that has been in my heart for a long time but I have never tried to master it. This is because it belongs to you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out at this moment. At the same time, his crystalline eyes shone with a blood-red light.

    ¡°In his heart for a long time?¡±

    ¡°Never tried to master...¡±

    ¡°Belongs to you?¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, they did not understand what he was saying.

    However, when the Sixth Elder heard it, his body frozen. His pale face revealed an expression of shock. He finally understood how did Fang Zhengzhi master the Dao of Asura without having to fight.

    However, the more he understood, the more shocked he was.

    In his heart for a long time...

    In his heart for a long time!

    ¡°This guy is a true prodigy!¡± Sixth Elder did not dare to believe this but realitypelled him to do so anyway.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not spend any time discussing with the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He did not look at Sixth Elder but instead, he looked at Yan Xiu, whose eyes were closed. As he looked at his cold and pale face, which seemed oblivious to everything around him, he mumbled to himself.

    ¡°The first time I saw you... you told me that you have a lot of silver and you even treated me to a meal. At that time, I was just a humble viger from the mountain while you were a scion of the Yan n of Western Liang!¡±

    ¡°How can two people in such different circumstances be such good friends? Hurhur, to be honest, I don¡¯t even believe it at times...¡±

    ¡°However, you truly treated me as a friend. When we sparred, you told me about certain moves. Only then did I know that fighting could be so interesting.¡±

    ¡°We rode the Snow Treading Dragon Stallion together from the Northern Lands to the me Capital City. I trusted you and you trusted me. What a wonderful feeling that was!¡±

    ¡°In the battle of the Southern Region, I did not find you because I know you¡¯lle and look for me, which you did. We fought together, side-by-side, and did not abandon each other...¡±

    ¡°Then, to help me obtain the title of ¡®champion¡¯ of the Court Examinations, you stood up against the emperor. You resolutely refused to participate in the previous selection for the Heaven Dao Pavilion and instead, went back to Western Liang!¡±

    ¡°When I re-appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige, you rushed over as fast as you could from Western Liang. Then, you went with me to the me Capital City and burned down the Crown Prince Residence together.¡±

    ¡°One month ago, we entered the Holy Region together, but you are going to die? How can you die like this? How can you die in front of me...¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiu... I don¡¯t want you to die!¡±

    ¡°I want to explore the Holy Region with you. We promised to take care of each other and travel through the Holy Region. Then, we¡¯re supposed to get strong together and be Sages together!¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiu, to have a friend like you, I shall die without any regret!¡±

    ¡°Right now...¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiu, lend me your Dao of Asura because I want to use your Dao of Asura to kill everyone who had harmed you. I want to avenge you!¡±

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A huge explosion.

    At the same time, the sky turned dark.

    Then, above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, the Rebirth te activated. On the Rebirth te, a dot of blood-red light started to shine.

    A ray of thunder light, which was as red as blood, fell.

    A light pir appeared between the Rebirth te and the sky. It was like adder that led all the way into the sky and a word appeared on the Rebirth State, an unbelievablyplicated word which brimmed with a strong murderous intent.

    The Dao of Asura, activate!

    The moment the Dao of Asura activated, a murderous chillness, which resembled that of Hell, started to rise from the bottom of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet. Round red light started to circle his body.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The earth shook once more.

    A huge shadow appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back. At the same time, a ck armor d his entire body. However, unlike before, his ck armor now had blood-red patterns all over it. It looked exceedingly murderous.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± ck mes burned on the ck armor, which was streaked with blood-red patterns. At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword lit up with a blood-red light.

    The originally purple Traceless Sword was now purple and red. The two colors each upied half of the de. It was murderous and demonic.

    ¡°Kill!¡± An angry roar.

    ¡°Gifted bloodline? No... that¡¯s not right! He obtained his Gifted Bloodline bybining the Daos!¡± When Mu Qingfeng saw this scene, his face changed too.

    Just now, after he heard Sixth Elder¡¯s exnation, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi killed five Sages at once. This was shocking as he did not know how he did it.

    Right now...

    He finally understood!

    However, because of his newfound knowledge, it was a lot harder for him to calm down. Fang Zhengzhi, who had possessed three Daos, could kill five Sages. What could he do with four Daos?

    This was the first question which popped up in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mind. However, he did not want to know the answer to this question because the price of its answer was immense.

    However, it was toote. Fang Zhengzhi had started to move. He rushed toward Second Elder immediately.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, this is the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡± Sixth Elder naturally did not want to see Fang Zhengzhi kill Second Elder. Hence, the moment Fang Zhengzhi rushed forth, he rushed forth oo.

    His green and white swords dazzled with light. At the same time, a green and white light screen appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi, blocking him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhipletely ignored the light screen. He charged toward it without a moment¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge sound.

    Before many shocked faces, Sixth Elder¡¯s green and white light screen was broken through like a piece of paper.

    It was a shocking scene.

    More shockingly, a sword radiance appeared in front of Sixth Elder after Fang Zhengzhi had broken through the green and white light screen. It was dual-colored sword radiance which was both red and purple.

    It came extremely quickly.

    Even Sixth Elder could not dodge it. Hence, he could only grit his teeth and receive it with his green and white sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion rang out.

    At the same time, one could hear a crack. Then, a broken de flew into the air.

    It was green and white but it had lost its luster.

    A sword!

    The sword broke!

    Sixth Elder was stunned as he looked at his green and white sword, which had been snapped into two. His eyes bulged.

    However, this was not the end.

    The sword radiance, which had cut his sword in half, had no intention of stopping. It sliced toward his chest.

    At this moment, Sixth Elder¡¯s face was extremely pale.

    He could not imagine but what kind of sword was this. He found it even harder to imagine what else Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword could do if it could break his weapon in half. As for the momentum of this attack...

    It was still there!

    Among the Six Rebirth Daos, the Dao of Asura was the strongest. Right now, Sixth Elder finally understood how strong it was.

    A palm appeared in front of Sixth Elder. When this palm appeared, Sixth Elder was not shocked. However, he felt utterly humiliated.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The palm hit the sword radiance.

    The sword radiance which wasing toward Sixth Elder trembled. Then, it went straight past his clothes and flew behind him before making a huge explosion.

    However, it was not yet over!

    This was because two cerulean blue lights had appeared above Mu Qingfeng and Sixth Elder¡¯s heads. At the same time, two figures emerged from the cerulean-blue lights.

    Heavenly Descent!

    In just one second, Fang Zhengzhi broke Sixth Elder¡¯s green and white light pir and also cut his sword into halves. Then, he used Heavenly Descent.

    It was way too fast.

    It was so fast until the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples did not even have time to react.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another huge explosion.

    Sixth Elder knelt down. His pale-white face was incredulous but the fact remained that Fang Zhengzhi had used Heavenly Descent...

    He could not take it anymore!

    Fang Zhengzhi had already dealt him a blow and now, with this Heavenly Descent, he could not help but feel his mouth turn sweet. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    Blood flew everywhere.

    ¡°Fusion of four Daos... is it this strong?!¡± When Mu Qingfeng saw the shadow that was above his head, he was utterly shocked.

    Of course, his main problem was not how strong Fang Zhengzhi was. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true target had never been Sixth Elder or him.

    This was because after Fang Zhengzhi broke through the green and white light screen, while he attacked Sixth Elder and also used Heavenly descent, he had never once stopped running toward Second Elder¡¯s position.

    This was something he could not imagine.

    After all, normally, with him there, how could Fang Zhengzhi approach Second Elder? However, he had to admit, if not for the fact that he was several times more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi and at the peak of his Sage State, Fang Zhengzhi could actually kill someone in front of him!

    ¡°Give up, Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice rang out at this moment. He disappeared from where he was. At the same time, a ck shadow rushed out from the top of his head and a punch pummelled the air.

    Almost concurrently, Mu Qingfeng appeared in front of Second Elder. His white-robes billowed in the air.

    ¡°All who block me shall die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned murderous. He naturally knew how powerful Mu Qingfeng was but he could no longer live so shamefully.

    He did not care how did the power of Asura infiltrate Yan Xiu¡¯s heart. All he knew was that Second Elder made him this way and hence, he must pay for it with his life.

    ¡°Shameless thief, don¡¯t!¡± At this moment, a figure descended from the sky. Like a pink dash across the sky, it cut through the air like a straight line.

    It appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi instantly. Absolutely beautiful and stunning, but with a lonely face which was visibly anxious, this was Chi Guyan.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped but he gripped his Traceless Sword tightly. Clear sword roars could be heard from it.

    ¡°You want to block me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were blood-red.

    ¡°No, if Yan Xiu really is dead, I won¡¯t block you. However, he¡¯s not dead yet!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s body shook. As she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, he could see the sadness in her eyes.

    ¡°Not dead yet?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips quivered. However, quickly, his gaze turned murderous again. He raised his Traceless Sword and said, ¡°He must die, so what¡¯s the difference!¡±

    ¡°As long as Yan Xiu is still alive, there¡¯s hope, right? Like you, everyone thought that you are going to die but Yan Xiu and I still have hope for you, am I right? Yan Xiu is not dead yet, so why have you given up?¡± Chi Guyan asked.

    ¡°Ayy...¡± When Mu Qingfeng heard this, he sighed heavily and said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if you want to save Yan Xiu, there¡¯s still a bit of hope.¡±

    ¡°What hope?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked fiercely at Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult.... Really difficult! While there¡¯s a bit of hope left, this is nearly impossible for you because, in the entire Holy Region, the only one who can save Yan Xiu is the one known as the top alchemist of the Holy Region. He is also the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun. However, do you dare to go... to the Yin Yang Hall?¡± When Mu Qingfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his eyes brimmed with helplessness.

 Chapter 745 - Hundreds of Monsters

    <h4>Chapter 745: Hundreds of Monsters</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    While all five sects were established in the Holy Region, they each dominated a particr corner of it. Also, they each had their take on the Great Dao.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion relied on swordsmanship, the Yin Yang Hall taught alchemy, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain researched formations...

    The name ¡®Dao Hun¡¯ was not only the name of the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall. It was synonymous with the pinnacle of alchemy.

    However, to Fang Zhengzhi, the Yin Yang Hall was a no-go zone for him. Mu Qingfeng did not have to wait for Fang Zhengzhi to reply as he had known the answer.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi, against all odds, dared to go and did not die from this journey, why would Dao Hun save Yan Xiu?

    Wan Lei, the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, died at the hands of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. Now, Shi Fan, the Ninth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall, died at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands too.

    Under these circumstances, how could Dao Hun be willing to save Yan Xiu...

    If he did so, the Yin Yang Hall would no longer call itself the Yin Yang Hall.

    By threat?

    Even more impossible!

    This was because Dao Hun was even more powerful than Tian Xing. Hence, this method was nearly impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. He clenched his fists and his body trembled.

    However, when the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw this scene, he quickly spoke, ¡°Actually, Dao Hun¡¯s alchemy skills are only slightly better than mine. I¡¯m not bragging. If Dao Hun can do it, so can I!¡±

    ¡°Only slightly better?¡±

    ¡°You can do it too?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s really boastful?¡±

    When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s words, they were stunned speechless. For an independent cultivator who practiced alchemy to im that he was only slightly worse than the top alchemist of the Holy Region, he was extremely shameless. The rest were stunned speechless.

    Not only were the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples speechless, but even Mu Qingfeng also shot a look at the Heavenly Oasis Saint after he heard his words.

    Of course, Mu Qingfeng knew what the Heavenly Oasis Saint was thinking.

    He wanted to trick Fang Zhengzhi into leaving first and avert this crisis. This would preserve the strength of the Shadow Sect. On this note, the two of them had the same objective.

    Hence, after giving it some thought, Mu Qingfeng slowly nodded his head.

    ¡°Yes, Heavenly Oasis¡¯ alchemy skills are excellent indeed. You can give it a try. After all, I¡¯m only assessing Yan Xiu¡¯s wounds based on a superficial analysis. I have not taken a closer look. It may not bepletely impossible to save him!¡± After Mu Qingfeng said this, he looked at Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan naturally knew what Mu Qingfeng was thinking. However, she too knew that with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s strength, he could tell whether someone was going to live or die. Why would he need to take a closer look?

    She was between a rock and a hard ce.

    Chi Guyan could not lie to Fang Zhengzhi. However, she knew the situation she was in. There was no way he could be allowed to continue his killing streak.

    If Second Elder really died today at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands...

    No matter how much Mu Qingfeng wanted to spare Fang Zhengzhi, there was no way he could convince the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. The result would be unimaginable.

    ¡°30 days. Yan Xiu still has 30 days of life!¡± After a moment of silence, Chi Guyan finally spoke directly to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Enough, trust me, I¡¯m definitely right! In 30 days, I¡¯lle up with a pill that can save Yan Xiu¡¯s life. Even if it¡¯s impossible, we can always think of other methods, right?¡± After the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard Chi Guyan¡¯s words, he quickly spoke to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi said nothing. He stood where he was and the powerful killing intent on his body continued to pulsate. He was highly unstable.

    When the Heavenly Oasis Saint saw this, he became more panicky. He knew that it was too difficult to trick Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, he shot a helpless look at Yan Qianli.

    ¡°Life and death are determined by the Heaven. If Fate favors Yan Xiu, he¡¯ll make it through this. If not... We can only me him for being too unstable during his cultivation, allowing the evil power of Asura to enter him. We can¡¯t me anyone else!¡± Yan Qianli said as he clenched his fists tightly. He only said that after he looked around him.

    ¡°If you¡¯re scared of encountering problems on your way back or of wasting time, I can give you a room in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Fang Zhengzhi, you can live in the Heaven Dao Pavilion for a month too. The condition is that you cannot cause any more trouble up there for us,¡± said Mu Qingfeng once more.

    ¡°Go up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint was stunned.

    He never expected Mu Qingfeng to be so ¡®generous¡¯. Evidently, this was abnormal.

    What did Chi Guyan say to Mu Qingfeng?

    Furthermore, what did Mu Qingfeng want from Fang Zhengzhi?

    ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke. After he spoke, he did not even look at Second Elder but instead, he turned and walked toward Yan Qianli.

    He took Yan Xiu over from Yan Qianli and did not walk. He carried Yan Xiu, circled past theke, and walked into the distance...

    Mu Qingfeng did not try to stop him.

    This was because he knew that he had done what he could. What he could now was to listen to the will of the Heaven. More importantly, he had another pressing matter.

    ¡°A ruined pce made out of ck rocks?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at the pce and frowned.

    ...

    Seven dayster, in a hidden valley in the Holy Region.

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint walked out from the foliage. He looked at the darkening sky and sighed heavily.

    He had already made his wild im.

    Hence, he had to bear the consequences. Although to be fair, he believed that his alchemy skills were highly-ranked in the Holy Region.

    However, like what Mu Qingfeng had said, the evil power of Asura had already entered Yan Xiu¡¯s blood. The only one who could save him in this world was really just Dao Hun.

    ¡°Master, pack up!¡± At this moment, a voice rang out next to the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s ears. Then, a figure wearing ck, smoky robes appeared in front of him.

    ¡°What happened?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint found this to be strange. After all, Wu Yuer was not someone who would panic easily, unless the matter was big.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared!¡± Wu Yuer said in a panicky voice.

    ¡°Disappeared?! Could... he... have... Wait, where¡¯s Yan Xiu? Is Yan Xiu still around?¡±

    ¡°He had disappeared too!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, Fang Zhengzhi brought him to the Yin Yang Hall!¡± When the Heavenly Oasis Saint heard this, he finally understood why Wu Yuer had told him to pack up quickly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we have to stop him!¡± Wu Yuer naturally knew this.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote. This rascal is already much more powerful than before. If he really made up his mind, neither you or I can stop him!¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t watch him die just like this!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but with our strength, even if all of us head over, we¡¯re helpless in front of the Yin Yang Hall...¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll try and get to the Yin Yang Hall overnight!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint gritted his teeth. Then, he walked toward another wooden house and said, ¡°Old man Yan, Fang Zhengzhi took your grandson away!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    The wooden house in the distance shattered. Then, a figure appeared in front of the Heavenly Oasis Saint. A pair of eyes turned blood-red.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first. Come after me after you are done packing up!¡± After Yan Qianli said that, he leaped into the air and flew into the distance.

    ...

    Half a monthter. Night. Stars glittered in the sky.

    In the vast Holy Region, there were countless mountains and thick jungles. There were beasts of every possible type. It was a dangerous and rewarding ce.

    However, very few people dared to approach the center of the Holy Region.

    There was a huge swamp there. At the same time, it was popted with many ferocious beasts. Thick smoke enveloped this ce and white bones could be seen littered all over the ground. Shadows and figures would appear asionally in the gray fog.

    The roars of beasts could be heard. They were startling to behold.

    At the same time, one could see a group of human figures standing in front of the great swamp. Their wide, ck hoodspletely covered their figures.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A terrifying beastly roar rang out, shaking the entire swamp. Then, a figure which was as big as a small mountain walked out from the fog of the swamp.

    It was a ferocious beast with a pair of bull horns. Its body was d with ck scales and its eyes shone with an inky-green spectral light. Four balls of fire burned around its legs.

    The moment it appeared, it charged toward the group. It was extremely fast as its four hooves stomped on the ground, making the earth shake.

    At this moment, a figure emerged from the group. In his hands, he wielded a knife, which was stained red with blood.

    He sliced with the knife.

    The knife glinted like fangs at night. It was vicious, cold, and there was no way to dodge it. Fearlessly, this knife sliced the hard head of the beast.

    ¡°Ka!¡± A huge tear appeared on the ferocious beast¡¯s head. Its inky-green eyes revealed an expression of shock. Then, its two front hooves copsed on the ground.

    Afterward, fog, which looked ck shadows, seeped out from the beast¡¯s head. It gently descended and then took a solid shape in front of the beast.

    After a while, a solid-looking shadow slowly stood up.

    This was a human shadow, but it had a single horn on its forehead. Furthermore, this ¡®human¡¯ had a pair of abnormally icy blue eyes.

    Under the moonlight, one could see that this figure wore ck robes. Underneath his robes, one could see the faint blue glow of his scales.

    A monster!

    If one could see his shadow, one was sure that this was a demon, a demon which could take a human form.

    ¡°Before you die, you can state your name, or you can choose to keep silent!¡± The demon spoke. His voice was sharp and his icy-cold eyes looked at the ck shadow wielding the knife.

    ¡°Domain Chief of the 10 Devilish Domains, Ying Dao!¡± The ck shadow said after he heard the demon spoke. Then, he slowly took off his hood to reveal a in face.

    Of course, on his forehead, he had an eye which was blood-red.

    ¡°Domain Chief of the 10 Devilish Domains? Hurhur... so what? Anyone who dares enter the Great Swamp shall die. Furthermore, you killed my steed!¡± The monster looked at the red eye on Ying Dao¡¯s forehead and smiled coldly and sardonically.

    ¡°Does the Monster Race want to hide in the Great Swamp forever?¡± Ying Dao was not surprised by the monster¡¯s attitude. Likewise, he did not answer his question but asked.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± The monster¡¯s gaze turned icy.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get to determine if I die or not. Lead the way, we want to see Emperor Bai!¡± Ying Dao did not waste any words as he said that straightaway.

    ¡°Who do you think you are? You are a mere Domain Chief of the 10 Devilish Domains. Even if the elders of the 10 Devilish Domains, or even Emperor Yun,e, it¡¯ll still be a joke!¡± The monster looked at Ying Dao once more. Of course, ten more figures stood behind Ying Dao. If not for them, Ying Dao would have long been dead.

    ¡°A mere door-monster like you dares to insult the Emperor of the Demons?¡± Ying Dao said coldly.

    ¡°Hurhur... if not for the fact that you¡¯re a demon, do you think I¡¯ll let you talk so much? Right now, I¡¯ll give you ten seconds to get out of my sight. If not, all of you will die!¡± The moment the monster said that, pairs of eyes appeared in the gray fog. Some were red, some were white, some were green. They were of different colors but they were all icy-cold.

    ¡°How dare you! Do you know that by asking me to get out of your sight, I can kill you!¡±

    ¡°You have five more seconds!¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    ¡°Ying Dao, step down!¡± At this moment, a woman¡¯s voice rang out from behind Ying Dao. Then, a hooded figure walked out from the group.

    ¡°Two seconds!¡± The monster continued without even looking at the woman.

    ¡°My surname is Yun,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°Hurhur... your surname is Yun? I just said that even if Emperor Yun himselfe, it¡¯s useless. Now, your time is up. Don¡¯t me us for being merciless!¡± The monster paused momentarily before he started tough evilly.

    At the same time, huge shadows appeared around them. Beasts, which were as big as mountains, appeared. On each beast, one could see a human figure.

    Numbers-wise, there were a few hundreds of them.

    Monsters!

    They were the rarest race in the world. However, in this Great Swamp, there were hundreds of them. It was a shocking scene.

    ¡°I¡¯m 20 years old,¡± said the woman without even looking at the hundreds of monsters. She looked at the Great Swamp as if she was talking to herself.

    ¡°A 20 years old demon? You¡¯re really young for a demon... but you will still die!¡± The monster¡¯s face was murderous. However, his face changed suddenly. ¡°Wait a minute, you said that your surname is Yun? You¡¯re 20 years old now?!¡±

 Chapter 746 - Yun Qingwuâ€™s True Identity

    <h4>Chapter 746: Yun Qingwu¡¯s True Identity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Yes,¡± said the woman as she nodded her head.

    ¡°What¡¯s... what¡¯s your name?¡± The monster¡¯s voice became more and more anxious. It waspletely unlike his previous icy tone.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu,¡± replied the woman.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!¡± The monster looked intently at her as he tried to make out her face underneath her hood. He gulped and said, ¡°How can I believe you?¡±

    The woman did not reply to the monster. Instead, she slowly lifted her hand and took off her hood, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

    Her brows were elegant and her lips were thin. Her eyes were as calm as water. She stood quietly in front of the monster, ignoring the hundreds of other monsters around them.

    ¡°No Demon Eye!¡± The monster opened his eyes wide in shock as he looked at Yun Qingwu¡¯s snow-white forehead. His entire body trembled. Then, a look of shock crossed his face. Afterward, he looked as if he remembered something as he said, ¡°King Xieluo? Why did King Xieluo not follow you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± said Yun Qingwu inly.

    ¡°Impossible! King Xieluo is a Demon King. His job is to quietly protect you. As long as he doesn¡¯t step into the Holy Region, or take part in a conflict between the empires, how can he die?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s really dead. He died in a fight between the Holy Barbarian Empire and the Great Xia Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°King Xieluo would not have taken part in this conflict on his own ord. He knew the rules. Unless it¡¯s by your orders?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she nodded her head.

    ¡°Do you know that King Xieluo is my brother?¡± The monster¡¯s voice was shaking.

    Yun Qingwu did not speak. However, her phoenix-like eyes shone with light. After a while, the light disappeared and her face turned calm once more.

    ¡°Can you tell me the reason?¡±

    ¡°The 13 Heaven Dao Tablets of the Great Xia Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°The Heaven Dao Tablets.... I understand. My brother¡¯s death was not in vain.¡± When the monster heard this, he nodded his head. Then, he knelt in front of her and said, ¡°Xieyi, Sentry-General of the Monster Race, offers his respect to the Young Empress. Please punish me with death, Young Empress, for insulting you!¡±

    After Xieyi said that, he spat a ghostly-blue pearl out from his mouth. The pearl floated in mid-air and then drifted in front of Yun Qinngwu. It shone with a faint light.

    It was a Demon Pearl.

    Furthermore, it was almost a King-Level Demon Pearl.

    However, the other Monsters did not stop Xieyi as he spat out this Demon Pearl. Furthermore, they viewed his action as normal.

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    They started knelt on the ground.

    The hundreds of monsters on top of the ferocious beasts prostrated themselves on the ground immediately. Not a single one of them dared to raise their heads. Importantly, as the hundreds of monstersy on the ground, hundreds of Demon Pearls started to float in mid-air.

    It was a shocking scene.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be med if you have no knowledge prior to this. Bring me to see my mother,¡± said Yun Qingwu. Her hood slipped off her, revealing her snowy-white dress underneath.

    ¡°Wait a moment, Young Empress!¡± Xieyi¡¯s body shook. Then, he slowly took a few steps back and he then disappeared into the grey fog.

    However, the many Demon Pearls continued to float in mid-air.

    After a while, two tiny boats appeared in front of Yun Qingwu. One of the boats was empty while the other one had a seat. A silvery-white covery on the seat.

    Then, Xieyi knelt on the ground once more, offering his body as a step.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take back your Demon Pearl?¡± Yun Qingwu did not enter the boat straight away. Instead, she looked at the Demon Pearls and asked.

    ¡°Insulting the Young Empress is a capital crime!¡± Xieyi replied.

    ¡°If I step on your head to board the boat, will you live?¡± When Yun Qingwu heard this, she nodded her head. She was not surprised by his response.

    ¡°I have a 50% chance of survival!¡± Xieyi replied.

    ¡°I understand,¡± said Yun Qingwu. She took a few steps back and retreated next to Ying Dao. She then reached out her hand.

    Ying Dao understood her intention immediately. He passed her his knife respectfully.

    After Yun Qingwu took Ying Dao¡¯s knife, she walked in front of Xieyi. Then, with her knife, she stabbed Xieyi¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Spleugh!¡± Xieyi¡¯s palm was nailed to the ground by the knife.

    Xieyi frowned. However, he said nothing and did nothing.

    After Yun Qingwu stabbed him, she slowly lifted her leg and stepped on Xieyi¡¯s head. Then, she climbed onto the boat with the seat and sat down.

    ¡°I¡¯ve punished you on behalf of my mother. You can now lead the way!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice rang out. It was soft, but all the monsters heard it.

    Xieyi¡¯s body shook violently and his ghostly-blue eyes revealed an expression of disbelief. However, he turned around and his palm was shed open by the knife.

    ¡°Thank you for your punishment, Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Xieyi nodded his head. Then, he swallowed his Demon Pearl and then, looked at the group of ck figures. At the same time, he pointed to another small boat and said, ¡°Please!¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ying Dao nodded his head and then, he retreated back into the group of ck shadows.

    When the other ck figures saw Ying Dao stepping back, they nodded their heads at Xieyi. Then, they quickly rushed over to the other boat.

    ¡°Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains?¡± When Xieyi saw this scene, his expression did not change. Instead, he looked with his ghostly-blue eyes at the ck shadows stepping onto the boat.

    ¡°9,¡± replied an ancient voice.

    ¡°I understand,¡± said Xieyi. He asked no further question but instead, he quickly got into Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat. He tapped the bottom of the boat lightly with his feet and it quickly went into the gray fog.

    If one looked at it carefully, one could see that behind Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat, there was a small ck chain, which tied it to Ying Dao¡¯s boat.

    The boat did not move quickly.

    However, it quickly disappeared in the gray fog. Next to the two boats, there were ten huge figures, as tall as mountains. They slowly walked next to it.

    As for the hundreds of monsters which appeared just now, they had long since disappeared into the fog. However, one could asionally hear the roars of beasts.

    ...

    The Great Swamp was an important piece ofnd for the monsters.

    In the center of the Great Swamp, there was a small ind. No fog surrounded the ind. This ind was like an oasis in the Great Swamp. However, instead of trees, all one could see were stone tablets. Each stone tablet had stone carvings on them but no one could see what they mean.

    A path made from stones appeared among the stone tablets, leading straight into an immense ck pce.

    Yun Qingwu jumped off from the small boat.

    Xieyi quickly walked forward and led the way. After a while, under Xieyi¡¯s guidance, Yun Qingwu and the dozens of ck shadows arrived in front of the ck pce.

    The pce was ancient and not well-decorated. However, directly above the pce, one could see a huge white jadeid in the center of the ck pce of stone. The jade was carved in the shape of a beast.

    It was a white fox, a Nine-Tailed White Fox.

    Xieyi knelt down once more and kowtowed thrice to the Nine-Tailed White Fox. Then, he slowly stood up, bowed to Yun Qingwu and said, ¡°Please go ahead, Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she nodded her head. Then, she walked toward the ck rock pce. The dozens of ck figures stopped and guarded outside the door of the ck pce quietly.

    She walked into the ck pce.

    Two stone sculptures appeared next to Yun Qingwu, one on her left and the other on her right. There were nine in total. Each of them took a different pose but they all brimmed with a demonic aura.

    She walked through the nine stone sculptures and arrived outside the main hall of the ck stone pce.

    ¡°Greetings, Young Empress!¡± The two monsters who guarded the entrance to the main hall bowed when they saw Yun Qingwu. Then, they quickly opened the doors.

    Yun Qingwu nodded her head and stepped into the main hall.

    It was a bright hall andpared to the Great Swamp outside, this hall was better illuminated. On the rock walls of the hall, many precious metals were iid. They all glowed faintly.

    Near the top of the main hall, a chair made out of white jade stood. On the chair, there was a woman. She wore a dress made from white fur and her long hair fell onto her shoulders.

    Appearance-wise, the woman was no older than 20. Her facial features were sharp and her eyes were ck. Her brows were delicate and her skin was snowy-white.

    She was prettier than most women in the world. Elegant, ssy, and exotic. She exuded an otherworldly aura.

    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± spoke the woman. Her voice brimmed with a monstrous power. These two words alone were enough to touch one¡¯s soul.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she nodded her head.

    ¡°Is he okay?¡±

    ¡°Father is fine.¡±

    ¡°Out of the ten elders of the 10 Devilish Domains, nine are here. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re here just to see me, right?¡± The woman asked. Her ck eyes glittered.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I hope that mother can fulfill her promise of the alliance.¡± Yun Qingwu appeared to mind the woman in front of her very much. After all, she was her actual mother.

    ¡°Alliance? Hurhur... it was a useless treaty for mutual benefits. You should know that. At best, you¡¯re a failed product of a failed marriage,¡± said the woman with a smile.

    ¡°However, the blood of the Monster Race still flows in my veins.¡±

    ¡°Only half!¡± The woman¡¯s voice was agitated.

    ¡°Even if there¡¯s only half of it, it¡¯s the better half!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s tone changed. She became extremely resolute.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the better half, but it¡¯s also the failed half. You don¡¯t have the Demon Eyes, a characteristic trait of the Demon Race. Furthermore, you don¡¯t have a Monster Body, a typical characteristic of the Monster Race. You¡¯re a garbage formed from the union of the Emperor of the Demons and the Empress of the Monsters. What a joke! If I guess correctly, the Demon Race rejected you too, right?¡± The woman said dismissively.

    ¡°King Xieluo did not pass my message to you?¡±

    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t. After you were chased out of the Blood Shadow City, I decreed that we shall take no more news from him. What? From your tone, it seems that you have returned to the Blood Shadow City?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Hurhur... so what if you managed to return to the Blood Shadow City? The Demon Race emphasizes strength and respects the strong. Even if you managed to return to the Blood Shadow City, you¡¯re just a tool your father uses to maintain the Monster-Demon alliance,¡± said the woman disrespectfully.

    ¡°I¡¯m already the Demon Young Lord,¡± said Yun Qingwu inly.

    ¡°Young Lord? Hurhur... interesting, did you receive the title right before you came?¡±

    ¡°No, I got it when I was five years old. Since then, I have been the Demon Young Lord,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she shook her head.

    ¡°Five years old?¡± The woman¡¯s expression finally changed. Her ck eyes stared intently at Yun Qingwu as if she had seen something on her face. However, all Yun Qingwu revealed was an expression of calm. ¡°Interesting. The Demon Race actually made a five-years-old child their Young Lord. Tell me about it!¡±

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t have a Demon Eye, I have inherited the characteristic calm of the Demon Race. Simrly, while I don¡¯t have a Monster Body, I have inherited the intelligence of the Nine-Tailed White Fox. Is that not enough?¡± Yun Qingwu countered.

    ¡°Is that so? What did you do?¡± The woman asked.

    ¡°I did one thing. I rallied the Six Domain Demonic Army outside the Blood Shadow City and then, I invaded it!¡± Yun Qingwu said inly.

    ¡°Hahaha, you invaded the Blood Shadow City? By yourself? Are you telling me that when the Demon Race acknowledged you as their Young Lord when you were five years old, it was because of this feat?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I invaded the Blood Shadow City with the armies of the Six Domains. I encircled the armies of the Four Domains with them and then, I even made my way to the doors of the pce of the Demon Race.¡±

    ¡°You really did that when you were five?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she nodded her head.

    ¡°Five years old...¡± When the woman heard this, she fell silent. After a while, her eyes shone with light as she said, ¡°Tell me, what do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Firstly, I want you to acknowledge me as the Young Empress.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my only daughter and naturally, you¡¯re the Young Empress. Even if I don¡¯t want to admit it, I have to,¡± said the woman casually.

    ¡°I don¡¯t just want the title. I want the right tomand the Monster Race.¡±

    ¡°How many do you want tomand?¡±

    ¡°All, including you, mother!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... you¡¯re only 20 years old, right? You are greedy indeed. Fine, I¡¯ll give you this chance. However, you have to do something first.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The five sects of the Holy Region encircled us monsters for many years. Pick one sect and destroy it. I think it should be easy for you, right?¡±

    ¡°Alright, but I want five Monster Kings,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she nodded her head. She did not find the woman¡¯s request strange. She remained as calm as water.

    ¡°Five? Hurhur, you want to destroy one of the five sects with just five Monster Kings? Don¡¯t you know that while they are often involved in civil strife, they will still band together in times of danger? How about this, I¡¯ll give you ten. Treat this aspensation for me not visiting you in the past 20 years!¡±

    ¡°No, I just want five.¡±

    ¡°Eh?! If you can really destroy a sect with just five Monster Kings in one year, I, Baizhi, shall listen to your orders!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a year. Three months are enough,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she turned to leave, walking out of the great door of the main hall.

    Empress Baizhi of the Monsters looked quietly at the disappearing white figure. Her delicate face revealed a faint warmth. However, it quickly disappeared as she regained her normal, emotionless demeanor.

    ¡°Arrange for the Young Empress to rest in the eastern hall!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± A respectful voice rang out from outside.

    ...

    At the same time Yun Qingwu stepped into the Great Swamp, a huge beast flew in the air above the mountains in the west of the Holy Region.

    The beast moved extremely quickly. As it flew past the mountains, its huge wings formed gusts in the air, blowing apart the white clouds.

    Slowly, and, shrouded in clouds, appeared.

    Clearly, it was a huge patch of herbs in the mountains. There were many types of herbs there. Some were red, some were green, some were purple, some were blue...

    At this moment, a figure leaped off the back of the beast. Under the bright moonlight, one could see that he was carrying someone else in his arms.

    A gust of wind blew and his blue robes fluttered in the air.

 Chapter 747 - A Polite Robbery, Bashing into the Yin Yang Hall

    <h4>Chapter 747: A Polite Robbery, Bashing into the Yin Yang Hall</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The white fog in the air was blown apart, but the white fog around the herb farm was still very thick. It covered every single stalk of herb and a faint light swirled around them. It seemed ethereal.

    The mountains brimmed with vital spirit. When the Yin Yang Hall chose to nt their herbs here, these herbs were evidently priceless.

    However...

    The moment the figure descended, he stepped on an herb which gave off a soothing aroma. Instantly, one could hear a snap as the herb snapped into halves.

    ¡°Who dares to intrude into the herb farm of the Yin Yang Hall?¡± A voice rang out at this moment. Then, a figure swiftly rushed out into the herb farm. He wielded a sword and he was visibly enraged.

    After all, the herb farm was an important ce for the Yin Yang Hall. This fellownded in the middle of the herb farm. From this point alone, one could deduce that he was not a guest of the Yin Yang Hall.

    He was right.

    This person was Fang Zhengzhi. Naturally, he was not here by invitation. However, he did not mean tond onto and destroy the herb farm.

    This was because while he knew that the Yin Yang Hall was near the western part of the Holy Region, he did not know where exactly.

    Hence, he circled the mountains for almost two days before discovering this patch of herbs in the clouds. How could he descend to take a closer look?

    ¡°This is the Yin Yang Hall indeed. May I ask where¡¯s the main hall?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he walked toward the Yin Yang Hall disciple. Of course, as he was carrying Yan Xiu, he could not see what was underneath him. While he tried to be careful, he inadvertently destroyed a few more stalks of herbs.

    ¡°Stay where you are!¡± When the disciple saw the crushed herbs on the ground, he became extremely angry. Furthermore, it was clear that this neer was a foe and not a friend. For his own personal safety, and the safety of the herb farms, he could not let him take a step closer.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he nodded his head. He stopped where he was. However, when he stopped, he also looked at Yan Xiu, whose eyes were closed, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make Dao Hun save you!¡±

    When he saw this scene, the Yin Yang Hall disciple was momentarily puzzled. However, a cold smile appeared on his face.

    A respectful attitude.

    This meant that he was weaker!

    After taking a closer look at Fang Zhengzhi, the Yin Yang Hall disciple noticed that he was quite young. At most, he was probably 17 to 18 years old. He also carried an unconscious youth in his arm, who was about the same age.

    He could make an easy decision based on this judgment alone. Since he was someone who did not even know where the Yin Yang Hall was, he could not be a member of the five sects of the Holy Region.

    Hence, he should be an independent cultivator who had just entered the Holy Region. He was met with danger and hispanion was injured. Then, he blundered his way into the herb farm of the Yin Yang Hall.

    With this analysis, he knew what to do.

    The Yin Yang Hall disciple was naturally unkind toward a ¡®rookie¡¯ like him, who had just entered the Holy Region. Furthermore, he had destroyed a few stalks of herb too.

    Seize him first, interrogate him, then make a decision!

    With this n, the Yin Yang Hall disciple prepared to strike. However, before he knew how powerful his opponent was, he did not dare to be too brazen. He cried out, ¡°Yo!¡±

    The moment he shouted, three figures appeared in the white fog. Evidently, that disciple was calling for back-up.

    Three people appeared instantly. They did not ask what was going on as his cry told them everything they needed to know. Hence, the moment they rushed out, they surrounded Fang Zhengzhi from all four directions. Three swords from the Yin Yang Hall disciples were pointed at Fang Zhengzhi and a cold light gleamed off these swords.

    ¡°Are you a disciple of one of the five sects of the Holy Region?¡± To be safe, the first Yin Yang Hall disciple decided to ask this question first.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he shook his head.

    When they saw that, the four disciples of the Yin Yang Hall exchanged a look. Quickly, they came to the same decision.

    ¡°Since you are not a member of the five sects, do you know that you havemitted a crime by intruding into the Yin Yang Hall and destroying our herb farm? Give yourself up immediately. Then, we shall bring you to Senior Li to be punished. If not, you¡¯ll die!¡± The first Yin Yang Hall disciple said.

    ¡°What happens after I see Senior Li?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked as he nodded his head.

    ¡°He¡¯ll make the call. You must firstpensate us for destroying the herb farm and then, we¡¯ll kick you out of the Yin Yang Hall,¡± said the disciples with a cold chuckle.

    ¡°Can I see Dao Hun?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°How... how dare you! How dare you call master by his name?!¡± The Yin Yang Hall disciples were shocked. Then, they bellowed in rage.

    ¡°So I can¡¯t see him? I guess I have to follow my normal procedures... which are more troublesome.¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard their words, he understood.

    They treated him as a ¡®rookie¡¯ who had just entered the Holy Region.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was indeed a ¡®rookie¡¯ who had entered the Holy Region not too long ago. However, if they proceeded as if he really was a rookie, he would waste a lot of time going around in circles. He may not even get to see Dao Hun himself.

    ¡°What normal procedures? Kneel down quickly. Do you want to see master? Who do you think you are?¡± One of the Yin Yang Hall disciples had a particrly short fuse. After he heard Fang Zhengzhi mumbling to himself, he shot a look at the other disciples around him. Then, he approached Fang Zhengzhi by stepping through the gaps in the herb farm.

    After all, this was not his first time dealing with ¡®lost sheep¡¯ in the Holy Region. For ¡®sheep¡¯ like these, they had no fear simply because they were ignorant. In other words, they needed a good beating to wake up their ideas about the Holy Region.

    Evidently, this ¡®rookie¡¯ had no intention of getting restrained. Hence, they could only beat him into submission, demonstrating the strength of the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°I am Fang Zhengzhi. Bring me to Dao Hun!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu, who was in his chest, and saw how pale his face was. He knew that time was short and that he could no longer waste time on these disciples.

    Since they did not recognize him, he had to announce his name.

    Fang Zhengzhi rarely did something like this because normally, he would tell others via his actions who he really was.

    However, in the present situation, he made this uncharacteristic move. He felt that it would be faster. He no longer had to see ¡®Senior Li¡¯ but instead, he may get to meet one of the elders of the Yin Yang Hall straightaway.

    ¡°Crrack!¡± Another stalk of herb was broken.

    Of course, this time, Fang Zhengzhi was not responsible. A stalk of herby crushed underneath the feet of the bad-tempered disciple.

    However, he did not even look at the stalk of herb underneath his feet because his face had turned pale.

    He was not alone. The other three disciples trembled and their eyes bulged.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    The four disciples looked at each other and they saw the same expression of fear in each other¡¯s eyes. They were shocked to the core.

    After all, they were not unfamiliar with the name ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯...

    They really were not unfamiliar with it.

    In fact, they were not alone. In the past half a month, every single disciple of the Holy Region knew the name ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯. To them, he was a shocking existence.

    He was the only one in the Holy Region who mastered four of the Six Rebirth Daos. Furthermore, half a month ago, he killed five Sages by himself.

    This event shocked the entire Holy Region.

    More importantly, among the five Sages, two came from the Yin Yang Hall. One of them was the Ninth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall, Shi Fan.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi! You¡¯re... you¡¯re Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± When the four Yin Yang Hall disciples spoke to Fang Zhengzhi again, their voices shook.

    A man¡¯s name had power.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was not a Sage, he was already much scarier than an ordinary Sage.

    Furthermore, he obtained his fame by killing.

    In other words, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fame was built on bloodshed. Furthermore, he killed five Sages consecutively in a single day. Someone like this could only be described as ¡®horrifying¡¯.

    ¡°Yes, can I go see Dao Hun now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head lightly. Then, he lifted his leg and started walking out of the herb farm.

    Of course, he could not see where his feet step and hence, he tried to be as careful as he could. Even so, some stalks of herbs were crushed.

    However...

    The four Yin Yang Hall disciples no longer cared about Fang Zhengzhi stepping on precious herbs anymore. Right now, their faces were pale.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is here for revenge!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s really.... here!¡±

    ¡°Oh my heavens, alone! He dares to intrude into the Yin Yang hall alone?! Quickly... inform Senior Li! No, no! Tell an elder straightaway!¡±

    The four Yin Yang Hall disciples disappeared as quickly as they hade. In the blink of an eye, they all disappeared. All Fang Zhengzhi could hear was the sound of them escaping.

    After all, they were the lowest-ranked disciples in the Yin Yang Hall. Their normal routine was to take care of the herb farm. As for other matters, they had no say over them.

    Of course, they were glorious once. To them, joining the Yin Yang Hall was akin to forgoing their riches and glories in their respective empires.

    Hence, they naturally had strong wills. For people like these, they would be able to endure anything. If they could not defeat an opponent, they would run instead of waiting to die.

    ¡°Eh? You haven¡¯t told me where¡¯s the hall? If not, you can bring me to Dao Hun straight!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted at the disciples but he received no answer.

    He suddenly felt helpless.

    He thought they would be like the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, who would put up a fight even if they knew they would lose.

    They actually ran away?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the white fog around the herb farm. He suddenly remembered a line from a poem in his past life, ¡°Why can¡¯t I tell the true shape of Mount Lu? Because I myself am in the mountain.¡±

    This mountain was bigger than Mount Lu. There were also more white clouds.

    How could he find it?

    He had no n. All he could do was to run about aimlessly. However, the herbs here were decent. They were green and fragrant. Since he was here, he should not waste the time.

    As he was rushing for time, Fang Zhengzhi did not spend time picking. He pulled up every single herb in the herb farm and ced them inside his Vast World.

    Fortunately, he had a lot of space inside.

    He did not have to worry that he could not fit them all inside.

    After he took in more than ten acres of farnd, Fang Zhengzhi noticed that the white fog had be thinner. In front of him, the outline of a pce could be seen.

    ¡°I found it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. He appeared to have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Decent, but he did not know where the door was.

    He waszy to find the main door.

    Since he had found his target, anything was fine. However, when he chose a target, he could not be too careless.

    His choice was simple.

    He had to find a well-decorated location. Normally, a big room was used for meetings. For him, these ces were useless. However, well-decorated locations or rooms were where important people lived.

    For example, the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun.

    As for alchemy...

    It had to be somewhere quiet, preferably secret too.

    Fang Zhengzhi paid attention to these details. After all, the Heavenly Oasis Saint followed the same pattern. He lived somewhere where he could not be easily disturbed.

    He did not continue picking herbs.

    Fang Zhengzhi plucked these herbs because he wanted additional bargaining chips. He wanted to have the capital to negotiate with Dao Hun.

    Would he be killed for doing so?

    He did not consider this point because even if he did not pluck these herbs, Dao Hun would still kill him. Hence, what was there to consider?

    He wanted to use ten acres of herb farm to save Yan Xiu¡¯s life!

    While this robbery seemed slightly ironic, he felt that the more bargaining chips he had the better his position was. He knew this clearly.

    He gradually approached...

    As he ran, he noticed figures congregating rapidly to where he once was.

    It appeared that the four Yin Yang Hall disciples had spread the word.

    However, he was already in the Yin Yang Hall and the disciples were less than halfway there. They really were inefficient.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi could guess that those disciples were of a lower rank. Hence, it would take some time for the news to reach the elders.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the quiet and elegant block that was a bit further away than the other buildings of the Yin Yang Hall. Then, he noticed that the block had a signboard with the word ¡®Dao¡¯ in it. In his heart, he knew that he had made the right decision.

    Since he had found Dao Hun¡¯s domicile, he naturally did not want to fight with those in the herb farm.

    Firstly, that was a waste of time. Secondly, he could not defeat so many of them.

    Door...

    It looked decent!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the wooden door which was made from the wood of an ancient tree. He was right about to kick it open and shout, ¡°I¡¯m here. Fight me if you have the balls, Dao Hun!¡± but he decided against it.

    How could he beat the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall?

    He remembered his fight against Tian Xing that day. This made a chill run down his back even though he had be much stronger.

    However, he was still not Tian Xing¡¯s match.

    No!

    He had to take it by another mean!

    He thought for a while and smile crept across his face. At the same time, he carefully lowered Yan Xiu onto the ground. Then, he said in a low voice, ¡°Master, Fang Zhengzhi had entered the herb farm. Third Elder told me to ask you how should I take care of him?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was not loud because he knew how respectful disciples of the five sects of the Holy Region were toward their masters. Hence, he said it respectfully.

    The moment he said that he heard footsteps approaching rapidly.

    No curses?

    Running out as soon as possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi moved quickly and hid behind a door to the side. He used his intellect and it worked.

    The reason was simple. He just had to wait for Dao Hun to step out and then hit him over the head with a big stick. Then, he could tie him and settle the problem quickly.

 Chapter 748 - Ravishing You Completely

    <h4>Chapter 748: Ravishing You Completely</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Creak!¡± The wooden door opened from inside out. Then, a figure slowly stepped out from the door. She was half a step in front of where Fang Zhengzhi was.

    From location and angle, she was in the position for an ambush.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi saw who stepped out, his mind changedpletely and he waspletely thunderstruck.

    This was because a woman stepped out. Furthermore, it was an extremely attractive woman. Three white flowers were embroidered on her inky-green dress, which covered her petite figure. Her long hair came all the way down to her waist.

    Her curvy eyebrows and her dark eyes made her extremely attractive in terms of appearance. More importantly, this woman exuded a particr aura.

    It may be because of the aromatic smell of medicine she gave off but Fang Zhengzhi felt as if this woman was like a heavenly spirit who hade down to the mortal ne.

    She was terrifyingly pure!

    Dao Hun...

    Dao Hun was a woman?!

    This notion shed past in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Could the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall and one of the most powerful people in the Holy Region actually be a woman? And such a young one too?

    Right when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, the woman turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with her ck eyes, which revealed a in and elegant look.

    Of course...

    The woman looked at the metal bar which Fang Zhengzhi raised high above his head. Then, her elegance and calm disappeared. Instead, a look of shock crossed her face.

    ¡°Thud!¡± A dull sound.

    The woman blinked her eyes and then, her body shook. Afterward, with a ¡®thud¡¯, she copsed on the ground.

    ¡°Is it done?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the woman on the ground and he felt strange. This was way too simple.

    It was akin to saving money for a few years so that you could buy a nice estate in the city. After you had saved the required amount, you realized that one of the estates was being sold at a huge discount. An estate which required 1000 taels of silver now only needed 100.

    Surprised?

    A delightful surprise.

    However, you would surely question whether the feng shui of this estate was good. If not, could it be that something had happened there? Did someone hang himself in this house?

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    He was prepared to fight viciously but instead, he solved this problem with a single whack from his metal stick. This made him doubt the girl¡¯s identity.

    Could he have made a mistake?

    Was this not where Dao Hun lived?

    However, the signboard with the word ¡®Dao¡¯ and its quiet location indicated that this was no ce for an ordinary disciple to stay.

    Wait a moment.

    Could she be a servant?

    ¡°Oh no, oh no... I did not expect that servant woulde out.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not know what to do. It was all too normal for the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall to have servants.

    While this girl did not seem to be an ordinary servant, it was no surprise for the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall to possess a female servant of this caliber.

    In fact, since he first came to this world, Fang Zhengzhi had always dreamt of being served by a hundred beautiful female servants. However, until now, he did not even have a single one.

    Of course, he won his bet with Chi Guyan. However, as the ¡®captain¡¯ of his team of female servants, she had never served him once.

    Hence, in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, he would asionally neglect certain details, such as the fact that prominent figures would have female servants opening their doors for them.

    ¡°Have I been exposed?¡± Under normal circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi knew that his cover would have been blown. After all, while that whack was not loud, it did cause amotion.

    Hence, if Dao Hun were inside, he would havee out with guns zing.

    This was what he had thought. After he knocked the girl unconscious, he prepared for battle and waited for Dao Hun to rush out before administering another whack.

    However...

    Not a single sound could be heard from the block.

    ¡°Could it be that Dao Hun is not at home?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes. It was ratherte, so where could he be if he were not at home?

    Of course, this was not something that he should be concerned about. Without wasting any time, he dragged the woman into the room and realized that in the entire building, there was not a single soul.

    With such a beautiful woman lying unconscious in front of him...

    Should he not do what all men would do?

    A smile crept across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face but he quickly suppressed this thought. After all, this was not a good time. If Dao Hun rushed back now, he would be screwed.

    He walked out of the wooden door once more and carefully brought Yan Xiu inside. Then, he closed the door and sighed in relief.

    He was not yet exposed!

    While he had sessfully made his way to Dao Hun¡¯s house, and got hold of a beautiful hostage, his first step was sessful.

    The next thing he had to do was to get her to talk. He hoped he could obtain useful information from her, such as when Dao Hun normally came home and what was his daily routine.

    Know yourself and know your enemies and you shan¡¯t fear a hundred battles.

    Importantly, he had to subdue this woman first. Hence, he did not tie her with any ordinary ropes. Before he came to the Yin Yang Hall, Fang Zhengzhi had already made his preparations.

    Silvery-white chains appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. These items were very ideal for tying people up. Normally, even a Sage could not break free from them.

    Without wasting any word, he tied the girl up and walked through the courtyard of this pavilion. As he walked to the main room of the pavilion, he could smelt medicinal aromas.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi saw a purplish-golden cauldron in the center of the main room. A fire burned underneath the cauldron. Evidently, someone was cultivating pills.

    ¡°What a... powerful cauldron!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the giant cauldron made from purple gold. On it, eight beast heads were carved into it. Without even looking, he was sure that the quality of this cauldron was supreme. Compared to the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s ck gold cauldron, it was way superior.

    Furthermore, from the aroma of the medicines in the cauldron, he estimated the quality of the medicines inside was good too. They were much better than the ones the Heavenly Oasis Saint made.

    A quiet pavilion and an independent living space. A top-quality cauldron with top-quality pills inside...

    If you said this was not where Dao Hun lived, no one would believe you!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that his guess was correct. However, after he walked through the main room on the first floor and climbed onto the second floor, he realized that something was amiss.

    This was because the second room was decorated in pink and purple.

    Could Dao Hun have unique tastes?

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought about this, an idea popped into his mind, making him deeply ufortable, Of course, this was just a mere guess. He did not even know if it were true.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still had his doubts. On the second floor, there was a room with a single bed inside.

    Where did the female servant live?

    Could it be that the unconscious female servant shared Dao Hun¡¯s bed?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt as if he had stumbled across a great secret. He felt like he had gotten hold of Dao Hun¡¯s Achilles¡¯ Heel. Of course, these were all guesses.

    The true secret....

    He had to wake the girl up first.

    ...

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi was doing as he pleased in the pavilion, the herb farm not too far away shone with a ming light. Rage filled the atmosphere.

    ¡°Sixth Elder, Seventh Elder, spare us! We would never dare to steal the herbs in the herb farm. Fang Zhengzhi came! He stole the herbs!¡± The four Yin Yang Hall disciples knelt down in the barren herb farm and kowtowed non-stop.

    ¡°Ten acres of farnd... he actually did it!¡± One of the elders, whose hair was white, looked at the dissipated white fog and gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Decades of hard work and he destroyed it all in a single night!¡± Another old man, whose hair was cker, was infuriated too. His eyes shone with a cold light.

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°We must catch him!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll shatter his body to avenge Ninth Elder and take back ournd!¡±

    The two Yin Yang Hall disciples behind the two elders gritted their teeth too. They could not wait to kill Fang Zhengzhi to release their anger.

    ¡°Revenge, yes. We must take revenge. However, the Yin Yang Hall is located inside the mountains. How can we find him after he stole our herbs?¡± Another Yin Yang Hall disciple asked helplessly.

    ¡°I fear that now that he knows where our herb farm is, we can¡¯t predict when he wille next. If he¡¯s bent on destroying our herb farm, how can we protect the remaining dozens of acres?¡± Another Yin Yang Hall disciple said anxiously.

    ¡°Guard it tightly! We¡¯ll get 200 disciples and get them to work on shifts. We can¡¯t let Fang Zhengzhi destroy our herb farm!¡± The elder with white hair said.

    ¡°Yes, Sixth Elder! I¡¯ll arrange it!¡± One of the Yin Yang Hall disciples stood up.

    ¡°No need!¡± At this moment, a voice came from afar. Then, a figure appeared in front of Sixth Elder.

    From the moment the voice sounded until its appearance in front of Sixth Elder...

    It only took the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Greetings master!¡± When the two Yin Yang Hall disciples behind the two elders heard this voice, they bowed immediately.

    ¡°Hallmaster!¡± The two elders turned around and bowed too.

    ¡°While the cost of thend is not cheap, I don¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi is after our herb farm. Tell me, what did Fang Zhengzhi say when he first appeared?¡± The figure pointed at the four kneeling disciples.

    ¡°Yes... he started by asking... where¡¯s the main door? Yes, that¡¯s what he asked. Then, he said he wanted us to bring him to see master. However, how can we do that? Then, we ran... no, we reported to our superiors straightaway!¡± One of the disciples replied, his voice quavering.

    ¡°Main door? See me?¡± When the figure heard that, he thought for a bit. Then, he nodded his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to guard the herb farm. Continue as if nothing has happened.¡±

    ¡°Hallmaster... should we lower our guard?¡± When one of the elders heard that, he looked at the disciples¡¯ confused faces and asked in a tiny voice.

    ¡°Yes, Fang Zhengzhi is crafty. Since he¡¯s here, he¡¯s prepared. If I am right, he¡¯s here for me!¡±

    ¡°Here for Hallmaster?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he can¡¯t destroy the Yin Yang Hall alone. Hence, he wants to decapitate our sect first,¡± replied the human shadow.

    ¡°Should wey a trap for him?¡±

    ¡°No need, let him find me. Spread my order. Get everyone to talk about where I live. He¡¯ll naturallye for me like this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± When the Yin Yang Hall disciples heard this, they immediately understood.

    To catch the thieves, one must catch their leader first.

    This principle was simple. However, if one could not catch the leader, then it was akin to sending oneself to a sure death. Fang Zhengzhi was evidently on a path to death.

    ...

    Yin Yang Hall. The solitary pavilion.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not wait in the main room downstairs. Instead, he chose the room on the second floor. Like this, he could monitor what was going on outside.

    More importantly, there was a bed there. Yan Xiu could lie on it to rest. He did not have to lie on the cold hard ground.

    ¡°Are you awake?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the woman who was slowly opening her eyes. He took a pill, ced it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed.

    ¡°Mmm mmm...¡± The woman¡¯s mouth was stuffed with cloth and naturally, she could not shout. All she could do was to struggle helplessly as she looked around her.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use struggling. You can¡¯t break open these chains. If you want to live, answer my questions. If not, I don¡¯t mind killing you,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he chewed his pills.

    However, as he said that, he noticed the look in her eyes. He could clearly see that she did not show much emotion when he said the word ¡®kill¡¯. Instead, she looked at him calmly.

    It seemed like...

    She was a truly loyal servant!

    A smile crept across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face as he said, ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t fear death, we can talk in another way. How about I ravish youpletely first?¡±

 Chapter 749 - A Supremely Powerful Killing Intent, Avenging Yan Xiu

    <h4>Chapter 749: A Supremely Powerful Killing Intent, Avenging Yan Xiu</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi sensed the woman¡¯s expression change. This change of emotions came from the depths of her heart, even though it juststed for a single second.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still discovered it.

    Evidently...

    All women in the world valued their purity.

    For example, Yun Qingwu was a ssic example. Both good cop and bad cop methods did not work on her. To get anything from her, one had to resort to this method.

    The woman in front of him was the same. She did not value her life but she valued her purity greatly. However, if that was the case, she could not be Dao Hun¡¯s concubine right?

    This made him suspicious.

    Fang Zhengzhi suspected the true identity of this woman. However, he did not really care. All he needed to do was to obtain information about Dao Hun from her. That would suffice.

    ¡°You just need to answer a few questions of mine and I promise I won¡¯t hurt you. How about it?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi asked her, he continued to stuff pills into his mouth.

    The pills were crispy and tasty!

    In this pavilion, everything wascking except tasty pills. Fang Zhengzhi had been on the road for the past few days and hence, he really wanted to eat something tasty. He knew that the Yin Yang Hall would not miss a few pills and hence, he decided to eat them like candies.

    ¡°If you agree, nod your head. However, if you dare to shout, I¡¯ll kill you. Then, I¡¯ll strip your corpse naked and hang it upside-down on the door!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at the girl, who was gradually calming down.

    She fell silent.

    She looked around her and saw Yan Xiu lying on the bed. Then, she looked straight at Fang Zhengzhi and finally nodded her head lightly.

    ¡°Tell me, when is Dao Huning back?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he reached out with his hand and removed the gag in her mouth as he asked.

    ¡°...¡± Her lips quivered and she wanted to say something. However, a look of suspicion crossed her eyes and then, she slowly lowered her head.

    ¡°Not going to say anything, eh? Then, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi started to move.

    ¡°Before master left, he told me that he would be discussing important matters with Third Elder and Fourth Elder of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Hence, he won¡¯t be back here for quite some time,¡± said the woman atst as Fang Zhengzhi reached out to grab her with his hands.

    Her voice was clear and delightful to the ears. She sounded ethereal like a fairy. This simple sentence was enough to surprise Fang Zhengzhi deeply.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands stopped in front of the girl as he quickly analyzed her words. Discussing important matters with Third and Fourth Elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    Was this real or fake?

    She did not quaver as she spoke, so it had to be real. However, if that was true, why did she not say so earlier?

    This was weird!

    ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved and he pointed his Traceless Sword at the woman¡¯s throat. A demonic purple light swirled on top of the de.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯m not lying...¡± The woman¡¯s expression changed as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword. She could not help but move backward in fear.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°My name is... Xin Mu...¡± The girl¡¯s voice turned soft. She seemed to be trembling.

    ¡°Xin Mu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly. The change in this woman¡¯s performance was too quick.

    Such an acting style...

    She was evidently a novice.

    Furthermore, the more the woman pretended, the more he suspected her identity. ¡°Do you really expect me to believe that you¡¯re an ordinary female servant? If I¡¯m right, I guess that Xin Mu is not your real name. This pavilion is not where Dao Hun lives. Am I right?¡±

    As the Fang Zhengzhi said that, he stared intently at the woman. When he finished hisst sentence, the look of panic in her eyes had disappeared.

    This change was simr to a stormy sea turning calm instantly. Odd and scary.

    Then, the woman straightened her body and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a disrespectful smile and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Master doesn¡¯t live here. As for my name, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s important to you. Am I right, Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    The moment she said that, she moved her body forward as she ced her throat on the de of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword.

    This made his hand withdraw as he pulled his Traceless Sword back.

    Did she have a death wish?

    It was not that easy!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not want to kill her. If she did not want to give her name, he would naturally not ask her for it.

    This was because she had already answered one of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s questions when she said ¡®master¡¯.

    She was a disciple of the Yin Yang Hall!

    Furthermore, she was no ordinary disciple. At the very least, if she could own such an independent living space, she should be one of the higher-ranking disciples or even an elder.

    For a woman like this to fall into his hands...

    To Fang Zhengzhi, she was undoubtedly an important bargaining chip. He had to make sure she did not kill herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s not good for a woman to be too smart,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he toyed with her. Then, he continued to eat pills as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°I never expect you to actuallye. Actually, everyone thought that you¡¯re here for revenge. However... it¡¯s evidently not true!¡± The woman did not mind Fang Zhengzhi eating the pills. She did not try to kill herself too. Instead, she straightened her body and sat on her knees.

    ¡°So why do you think I¡¯m here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°To save someone. Your true objective is to get master to save Yan Xiu!¡± The woman replied as she looked at Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Hurhur, why not you tell me directly what I can get from you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not deny it but he did not acknowledge it. Evidently, the woman in front of him was smart.

    Hence, when talking to smart people, there was no need to go around in circles. He could be direct.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you will be disappointed. There¡¯s nothing you can get. Furthermore, master won¡¯t save Yan Xiu,¡± said the woman with a cold chuckle.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re worthless to me? I can y with you for a few days and then kill you. Is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled too.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± The woman cursed. However, she fell silent. After a while, she lifted her head to look at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°I can tell you where master lives. As for the exact location of his room, and his resting hours, you have to find that out yourself.¡±

    ¡°How can I trust you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi countered.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice but to trust me. Yan Xiu doesn¡¯t have much time left. To save him, you will need at least seven days¡¯ worth of time to make the pills.¡±

    ¡°From the sound of it, I have three days to waste, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised. This woman actually could tell how much time Yan Xiu had left. Taking into ount the fact that he was in the Yin Yang Hall, and the ce where the woman lived, it was a natural deduction.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The woman nodded her head.

    ¡°So, can you stand three days¡¯ worth of torture?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I hear that after someone copses mentally, they will be extremely weak and submissive. So, I¡¯m wondering if I should torture you for three days before asking you any more questions. At that time, your attitude will be different, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled at her like a pervert.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The woman¡¯s expression changed visibly.

    ¡°Hurhur, do you think I won¡¯t dare to do that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shifted his body forward.

    ¡°You...¡± The woman was just about to say something but she stopped. Then, she gritted her teeth tightly and said, ¡°What do you want from me? Be direct!¡±

    ¡°Tell me, how can I get Dao Hun to save Yan Xiu?¡±

    ¡°Impossible! It was a wrong choice from the very start for you toe to the Yin Yang Hall. No matter what you do, master will not save Yan Xiu. Furthermore, in your current state, you should make the most out of these few months and cultivate. Perhaps you will have a chance of bing a Sage. At that time...¡±

    ¡°Yes, but what will be of Yan Xiu after I be a Sage?¡± Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.

    The woman said nothing. She did not object to what he had said. Instead, she stared at Yan Xiu as if she was thinking of something.

    ¡°There is no perpetual enemy in the world, only perpetual interests. Am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as the woman kept silent.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but the precondition for that is trust. The Yin Yang Hall can¡¯t trust you and you can¡¯t trust the Yin Yang Hall. Hence, there¡¯s no reason to work together.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we may actually have amon ground, for example, what if Dao Hun has no choice but to save Yan Xiu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head slightly and then shook it.

    ¡°Dream on, what kind of reason will that be?¡± said the woman disrespectfully.

    ¡°Exchanging your life for the life of Yan Xiu, how about that?¡±

    ¡°Na?ve. Master will never agree. My life is not worth that much to the Yin Yang Hall!¡± said the woman with a cold chuckle.

    ¡°What about ten acres of your herb farm?¡±

    ¡°If you dare to destroy our herb farm, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Too bad, I¡¯ve already done it!¡±

    ¡°Shameless man. If you want to use my life to exchange for his, I won¡¯t let you do it. Furthermore, even if you do it, Yan Xiu will still die!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that master will live up to his promise after the exchange? In other words, he may revive Yan Xiu, but won¡¯t we from the Yin Yang Hall do something to him?¡±

    ¡°If you lot don¡¯t keep your side of the bargain, I¡¯ll massacre everyone in the Yin Yang Hall!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned cold and a powerful killing aura could be felt from his body.

    ¡°You must be able to do that first!¡± The woman was not scared at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists. He knew what the woman said was true. Dao Hun could perfectly well pretend to save Yan Xiu and then kill him.

    If that happened...

    There was no point at all.

    To get Dao Hun to save Yan Xiu, the former had to do it willingly. Like what the woman said, this was nearly impossible.

    Bargaining chips, threats, exchanges...

    All of these methods were useless.

    Slowly, everything was going back to Square 1. When Fang Zhengzhi came, he took ten acres ofnd from the herb farm and a female disciple of the Yin Yang Hall whose rank was not low.

    At first, he thought these all meant something to him, that he was moving forward in the right direction. However, looking at it now, these were all useless.

    This was because the only way to save Yan Xiu was to make sure Dao Hun would do it willingly.

    However, this was impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi hated how useless he was.

    In fact, before he came to the Yin Yang Hall, he knew that this trip was in vain. However, he had toe. He could not watch as Yan Xiu died just like this.

    ¡°Mmm!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turnedpletely red. Rays of red light appeared underneath his feet, giving off a murderous, hellish aura.

    The Dao of Asura!

    This was the most offensive Dao of the Six Rebirth Daos. It was also the one which made Yan Xiu end up in his current state.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists tightly. The five-colored chains on the ground trembled and balls of ck fire burned on his body. This was the Hell Dao.

    On his forehead, a cerulean-blue light shed. Normally, this light was as clear as the sky. However, at this moment, it gave off a wintry aura.

    At this moment, a murderous aura permeated the entire room, turning the room as cold as winter.

    When she saw this scene, the woman¡¯s eyes narrowed. She looked at the red rays of light circling Fang Zhengzhi, then at the ck balls of fire, as well as the light shing from his eyes and said, ¡°You indeed mastered four of the Sixth Rebirth Daos. What a strong killing intent!¡±

    ¡°So, if you can¡¯t save Yan Xiu, what will you do next?¡± The woman asked. In this icy-cold room, the calm of her voice was terrifying.

    ¡°Kill! Everyone who has hurt Yan Xiu, everyone who has taken part in the ambush underneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion, must die! The Yin Yang Hall, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, they must all die for what they did to Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the woman. His eyes were crystal-clear. In his eyes, a light swirled.

    This was the Rebirth te.

    Four different lights shone on it.

    Blue, green, red, and ck!

    Most importantly, as they swirled outside the Rebirth te, two extreme auras intersected with each other.

    The Yin Yang Illustration!

    This extremely peculiar scene appeared before the woman. It was very close to her, allowing her to see everything in his eyes.

 Chapter 750 - Yin Yang Eye, Strange Scenes

    <h4>Chapter 750: Yin Yang Eye, Strange Scenes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    For the first time, the woman¡¯s heart trembled. While this was her first time meeting Fang Zhengzhi, something stirred in her heart...

    The man opposite her was a highly unstable element in the Holy Region.

    Most importantly, the Yin Yang Hall was now his enemy. Even if he had nothing to do with Wan Lei¡¯s death, he was surely responsible for Shi Fan¡¯s demise.

    To form an alliance?

    Or to kill?

    This was an extremely difficult choice because, with the current position of the Yin Yang Hall, there was no way it would submit to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hence, with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brazen attitude, how could the Yin Yang Hall make an alliance with him? Furthermore, how could they convince their disciples to ept it?

    It was extremely difficult!

    However, if they chose to kill him...

    With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current strength, only a few elders working together could fight him. Furthermore, they would only have a 50% chance of victory.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi killed five Sages consecutively earlier on.

    Hence, killing Fang Zhengzhi would not be easy too.

    For an unstable element like him, allying with him was difficult, killing him was even more difficult. What would the presence of someone like him mean for the Holy Region?

    She rarely worried about any particr matter. However, this time, she was truly worried.

    Of course, after spending some time thinking about it, she opened her mouth to speak again. This time, her words were simple and direct. ¡°Walk east from this pavilion and you will see a stone pavilion called the ¡®Thousand Herb Hall¡¯. Every seven days, master will choose to cultivate pills during the ¡®opportune moment¡¯. Right now, it is close to his cultivation period.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already the seventh day?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes into slits. He wanted to find out what the woman was really thinking but her expression was calm. It was so calm until he could not see anything wrong with it. He had no choice but to believe her.

    ¡°Yes, after tonight, it¡¯ll be time for master to cultivate his pills,¡± said the woman as she nodded her head. Her face was serious and she seemed as if she was making an important decision.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Because this is yourst chance to defeat master. Afterward, you can bring him away from the Yin Yang Hall and find someone who is well-versed in alchemy too, such as the Heavenly Oasis Saint from the Shadow Sect. Under his supervision, you can force master to save Yan Xiu!¡± The woman said calmly.

    ¡°Get Heavenly Oasis to monitor him?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood. Indeed, like what the woman had said, this was his only way of saving Yan Xiu.

    However, if he wanted to defeat Dao Hun...

    It was akin to fighting the entire Yin Yang Hall alone.

    Could he do it?

    ¡°No onees to my pavilion other than master. You can put Yan Xiu here temporarily. Then, you can go there alone,¡± the woman continued.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell silent. He did not reply to the woman and he did not ask any more question. All he did was to look at the sky outside the pavilion quietly.

    Millions of stars twinkled and the moon was out in her full glory.

    It was a beautiful scene, particrly in the mountains. As he looked, it was as if a huge hand had ced the moon in the sky.

    ¡°It seems like... you don¡¯t dare to go?¡± The woman looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was silent, and said disrespectfully to him after a while.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked away from the night sky and then, he looked at the woman. A smile crept across his face.

    ¡°So beautiful!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi said that, his eyes became calm once more. The pavilion turned icy-cold once more.

    ¡°What¡¯s so beautiful?!¡± The woman looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile and her heart quivered. She did not know if he was talking about the night sky or about her.

    Of course, none of this was important. Most importantly, she saw the metal stick appear in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands again. He lifted it high up into the air.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    A loud thud answered her.

    Then, the woman felt the world around her spin. Everything turned dark but of course, she could still see a man smiling at her.

    The woman did not know what was going to happen next. However, she knew that the man who stood opposite her was definitely shameless.

    Furthermore, he was a shameless person who did not care about anything!

    She could not guess what he would do. At the same time, she did not want to guess.

    Silence.

    When the woman copsed on the ground once more, the pavilion became silent. Fang Zhengzhi looked at the moon hanging in the sky.

    ¡°Tonight is so beautiful!¡±

    As he said that, Fang Zhengzhi carried the woman up from the ground. Then, he slowly walked over to the bed in the room.

    He carefully ced her next to Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze moved from her to Yan Xiu. On Yan Xiu¡¯s face, he could see a paleness that came from his bones.

    Even though Yan Xiu¡¯s face had a cold look on it.

    However, this was a weak cold look. He was like a de of grass as winter approached. Shriveled and coated with frost, it did not know if he would get to see spring next year, or if it would make it through.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists at this moment. His smile disappeared and look of seriousness reced it. It was a resolute and serious look.

    He said nothing.

    In front of Yan Xiu, he knew that there was nothing he needed to say. Yan Xiu would know what decision he was going to make.

    Hopeless?

    Fighting the entire Yin Yang Hall alone?

    Yes, for someone who was a tad more intelligent, he would know what to do. However, so what? Fang Zhengzhi did not need intelligence now.

    He just needed to know...

    For some matters, he would surely do them.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned around and the nket on the bed flew up. Then, it spread and covered Yan Xiu and the woman underneath it.

    ...

    The Great Xia Dynasty, the Wintry Land.

    This was where the Nangong n lived. It was perpetually frozen all year round and snow-covered stone steles were erected in the snowy ground.

    At this moment, among some steles, two corpsesy on the ground.

    These two corpses were notpletely frozen over. They wore wide ck robes, had white hair but looked young.

    These were two Sages.

    However, these were two dead Sages.

    In front of these two dead Sages, a slightly plump middle-aged man stood. He wore a thinyer of clothes and a fur coat. As the snow fell, he stood there quietly.

    The current head of the Nangong Family, Nangong Tian!

    ¡°The Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Nangong Tian looked at the two corpses on the ground and looked into the distance. It was very quiet. If not for the broken steles and hot gusts of wind which blew apart the snow, no one could have noticed that this was the site of a major battle.

    After a long while, Nangong Tian did not retract his gaze. In the snowy sky, a peculiar starlight shone.

    The starlight appeared to be rapidly approaching.

    Instantly, it fell from the sky and with a loud boom, itnded on the ground. Cracks started to appear in the snowy ground of the Wintry Land.

    Nangong Tian finally retracted his gaze from the sky and looked at where the star had fallen. Over there, he noticed that a seedling was sprouting.

    It was a very small seed but it made a huge hole in the snowy ground.

    On top of that, when the seednded on the ground, a verdant green, like that of springtime, started to glow. Roots started to grow from the seed, nting themselves in the ground.

    ¡°Crrack, crack...¡± The voice was not loud as the roots entered the ground and broke through the ice and snow. A huge tree rushed out from the snowy ground, growing so fast that the naked eye could see its progress.

    It was so strange.

    Three feet, five feet, ten feet...

    The giant tree continued to grow as if it wanted to reach into the sky.

    As the giant tree continued to grow, white flowers started to blossom on it too. Each flower had snow-covered flower petals and a faint silver light shone on them.

    It was a very strange scene.

    However, Nangong Tian did not look shocked. Instead, his face betrayed a faint excitement.

    ¡°Finally, is it here?¡± Nangong Tian wanted to say something but instead, he just mumbled to himself. He seemed to have waited for this moment for a thousand years.

    ...

    As this odd scene took ce in the Nangong Family¡¯s residence, many odd things started to take ce around the Holy Region, particrly next to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Mu Qingfeng, in his usual white robes, stood before the doors of the ruined ck stone pce on top of Sword Peak. He frowned. The doors of the pce were open but it was dark inside.

    Of course, this was not important.

    Importantly, 100 meters in front of Mu Qingfeng, there was a beast the size of a small mountain crouching on the ground. It roared non-stop.

    As for the Holy Region...

    It was no strange to see a beast like this because, in the Holy Region, there were many of these beasts.

    However, this beast was not considered ferocious or strong by the standards of the Holy Region.

    The reason was simple. Mu Qingfeng knew what beast this was. He saw it underneath the Sword Peak. It was an Iron-Armed Stone Ape whose left arm had a scar.

    This beast wasmon. If not for its scar on its arm, Mu Qingfeng would not have been able to recognize it.

    However, while its wound was still present, it had expanded to ten times its original size. Its iron arm now shone with a golden light.

    ¡°Master, five kilometers away, we found a ck-Striped Silver Panther, but... it¡¯s now a ck-Striped Gold Panther and it¡¯s even bigger than this Iron-Armed Stone Ape!¡± A Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple leaped down from the sky andnded in the ruined pce.

    ¡°Understood,¡± said Mu Qingfeng as he nodded his head. He did not say anything else. Instead, he slowly raised his finger and pointed at the Iron-Armed Stone Ape.

    ¡°Aooo!¡± The Iron-Armed Stone Ape roared in pain. Its mountain-sized body trembled before it fell forward andnded heavily on the ground.

    ¡°Bring this Iron-Armed Stone Ape back to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and hand it over to Third Elder,¡± said Mu Qingfeng. Then, he turned and walked into the ruined ck pce.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples replied instantly.

    ...

    The western mountains of the Holy Region, the Yin Yang Hall.

    The light of the moon and the shine of the stars dimmed. This night did not pass that quickly, but it did not pass slowly too. The disciples of the Yin Yang Hall worked for the entire night. Only when the sky started to light up did they slowly fall asleep.

    Of course, many of them were patrolling.

    This as a rule that that has always existed in the Yin Yang Hall. Tonight, the rule remained the same. However, the Yin Yang Hall disciples were chattier.

    ¡°The Thousand Herb Hall is in front!¡±

    ¡°I wonder what master is making today?¡±

    ¡°Weck ¡®Frosty Dews¡¯ recently so I guess he¡¯s making them today. Let¡¯s take a look in the Thousand Herb Hall!¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t want to see? However, master lives in the Thousand Herb Hall and we are but lowly disciples. We don¡¯t have the right to take a look.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We have to continue working hard and one day, we may be able to learn under master. If that happens, it¡¯ll be great!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue patrolling!¡±

    As the Yin Yang Hall disciples discussed, they looked around them distractedly. Some of them even yawned.

    Not far from them, on top of a tree in the Yin Yang Hall, a figure stood. He waspletely hidden among the trees.

    ¡°Thousand Herb Hall?¡± The figure looked at the stone pavilion and the wooden signboard, made from ancient, aromatic timber, on top of it. On it, the words ¡®Thousand Herb Hall¡¯ could be seen. ¡°After ten acres ofnd has been stolen, your security is still sox. This trap is really too obvious!¡±

    The figure smiled and then looked at the brightening sky. Then, he moved and under the cover of the surrounding trees and bushes, it slowly approached the Thousand Herb Hall.

    After a while, he arrived next to it.

    It was not an borate stone pavilion. However, the stones it was made from seemed different. They were a lot more ancient.

    Other than that, on top of the signboard, there was a ck and white Yin Yang Diagram. Of course, it was no ordinary ck and white paint. Instead, they were made from one ck and one white gem.

    Like two human eyes!

 Chapter 751 - Dao Hun is a Scum

    <h4>Chapter 751: Dao Hun is a Scum</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    It was a weird sensation. The ck and the white jewel weren¡¯t dazzling, but Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was surveilled after he looked at the two jewels.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m really walking right into a trap this time.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original n was to sneak into the 1000 Herb Hall and look for a chance to sneak up on Dao Hun. However, after he made his way here and discovered the 1000 Herb Hall, he had a strong feeling that this was all part of Dao Hun¡¯s n.

    Of course, he could walk away, but would he be allowed to leave? Or rather, could he really do that? He clearly couldn¡¯t!

    In that case, he had no other choice.

    Even if he knew that Dao Hun was waiting for him in the 1000 Herb Hall, he had to go in, because this was his only chance.

    Fang Zhengzhi moved swiftly under the dusky moonlight and he came before the 1000 Herb Hall in the blink of an eye. He then leapt into the air andnded on que inscribed with the hall¡¯s name. It felt good to step on the 1000 Herb Hall¡¯s que, but that wasn¡¯t why Fang Zhengzhi did that. He was actually after the two jewels. Since he spotted the jewels, he wasn¡¯t going to leave without them. The jewels must be valuable, or they wouldn¡¯t be ced at Dao Hun¡¯s residence.

    ¡°Crack, crack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi removed the two jewels and checked their quality against using the moonlight.

    ¡°Shiny and clear, these jewels are great!¡¯ Fang Zhengzhiplimented the ck and the white jewel and kept them inside The Vast World.

    ...

    There was a spacious bedroom in 1000 Herb Hall. The man sitting cross-legged on the bed suddenly trembled and opened his eyes as if he was pped on the face.

    ¡°Damn bastard, how dare you steal my jewels!¡± The man scolded Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously, but he tidied up his clothes and closed his eyes shortly.

    He was inviting Fang Zhengzhi into his trap, so that he had no chance of escaping. If he tried to catch the shameless thief now, the chance of sess was 80%, which was high. However, that wasn¡¯t enough for him. He wanted it to be 100%.

    If he could wait for Fang Zhengzhi to enter the 1000 Herb Hall... The chance of sess would increase to 100%. Therefore, he was waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to step into the 1000 Herb Hall and sneak up from his back. Since Fang Zhengzhi was already about to enter the hall, he had to give him more time.

    While the man was engrossed in his thoughts, he heard an inappropriate voiceing from outside the hall.

    ¡°Dao Hun, you scum,e out and fight me if you dare!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The man¡¯s lips moved, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. However, he calmed himself down quickly and said, ¡°This kid is pretty smart. He knows that this is a trap, so he chose to give up. This saves me the trouble anyway.¡±

    He decided to stop waiting. Since Fang Zhengzhi had announced his arrival, he wouldn¡¯t enter the 1000 Herb Hall. Hence, the man exited the bedroom and walked toward the entrance of the hall.

    The stone gate of the hall was already opened from the outside. The man wasn¡¯t surprised to see this, because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was already here.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, since you¡¯re here for revenge, then... Eh?¡± The man nced around the surrounding area, but Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere to be seen.

    He was caught off guard, but that soon turned into speechlessness.

    This was because he heard a sharp snap on his feet.

    ¡°Bear trap?¡± The man stared at the shiny trap on his right foot, and he couldn¡¯t help but be speechless.

    The mighty Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun... Was actually ¡®ambushed¡¯ by a bear trap. This was definitely an insult. After all, it was such a stupid n. This was asughable as a person trying to kill an elephant with a half-inch nail.

    Yet, this was happening to Dao Yun at the moment.

    However, as a mighty ruler in the Holy Region, Dao Hun didn¡¯t not burst intoughter. He knew that it might cost him his life if he underestimated an enemy in the Holy Region.

    This ambush couldn¡¯t be as simple as it appeared to be.

    Hence, Dao Yun looked up as soon as he saw the bear trap on his right foot and discovered a sky-blue ray of light above his head.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud bang was heard throughout Yin Yang Hall, alerting all the disciples on patrol.

    ¡°He fell for the trap!¡± The disciples of Yin Yang Hall obviously knew where the noise came from. They nced at each other after hearing the bang and started rushing towards 1000 Herb Hall.

    The patrolling disciples weren¡¯t the only ones heading towards 1000 Herb Hall. Many other people from all over Yin Yang Hall were zooming toward the hall as well. They were going to surround Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although the night was passing slowly, and all the disciples of Yin Yang Hall couldn¡¯t fall asleep, everyone opened their eyes when they heard the noise.

    ¡°Hurry up, don¡¯t let that guy escape!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve to catch him this time!¡±

    ¡°We need to avenge the Ninth Elder and make him pay for the 10 acres of herbs!¡±

    All the disciples were extremely energetic. They bolted across the night sky like a bunch of shooting stars.

    It didn¡¯t take long before almost 1,000 disciples of Yin Yang Hall gathered in front of 1000 Herb Hall. Apart from them, the eight elders were here as well.

    Of course, there were two external guests here as well. They were the third and fourth elder of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, dressed in long ck robes.

    The two elders immediately noticed the man standing in front of the 1000 Herb Hall. He was wearing a baggy ck and white robe that was swaying with the wind.

    His hair was ck and white just like the robe, ck on the left side and white on the right. The two hair colours were separated at the middle of his head andbed neatly and secured by a golden crown cap with engraved patterns. It felt like a symbolisation of the union of Yin and Yang.

    The most special feature about him was his mask. It was both ck and white too, but the two colours were not separated in the middle. Instead, they spiralled together in an unusual manner. The mask was fearsome and respect-worthy at the same time.

    This person was the Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun!

    He was a mysterious yet respected expert that rarely showed his true appearance, and he was also known as the best alchemist in the Holy Region.

    ¡°Our greetings to you, Hallmaster!¡± The third and fourth elder of Nine Pinnacles Mountain also paid their respects to Dao Hun even though they were bewildered by what they saw.

    All the disciples and elders of Yin Yang Hall were simrly bewildered.

    This was simply because Dao Hun was the only person standing in front of 1000 Herb Hall, and Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡±

    ¡°Where did Fang Zhengzhi go?¡±

    ¡°I definitely heard the noise!¡±

    These were the inner voices of the disciples, but none of them dared to ask the question. Everyone simply stood at where they were with a puzzled look at their faces.

    ¡°Find him!¡± Dao Hun¡¯s voice was heard at this moment. It was a simplemand, but it shocked the disciples and elders to their core. It basically meant that Fang Zhengzhi sneaked up on Dao Hun, and he seemed to have gotten away. How was it possible that he escaped from Dao Hun?

    No one believed that could happen, but Dao Hun¡¯s words proved them wrong.

    Although the disciples were stunned, they replied simultaneously, ¡°Understood!¡±. They dispersed and started searching every dark corner one could hide in. At the same time, they lit up so many torches that the entire Yin Yang Hall was bright as day.

    However, everyone was still confused. ¡°Did Fang Zhengzhi escape? How did he get away?¡±

    No one knew why or how, because Dao Hun did not say a word about it.

    ...

    The light from the torches lit up the darkness and painted the sky red.

    However, amidst the red radiance, there was a faint dash of purple which came from the eastern horizon. It was so faint and barely noticeable.

    However, as soon as the dash of purple had appeared, Dao Hun¡¯s eyes lit up with a purple sh as well. Following which, he turned around and went back into 1000 Herb Hall.

    The entire 1000 Herb Hall was built from a gigantic rock. No one knew about the origin of the rock, but everyone knew that since the Yin Yang Hall was founded, only the Hallmasters were allowed to live in the hall. Dao Hun walked past the lobby quickly and arrived before a stone room.

    There were two lifelike animal heads beside the door, but they were actually a part security mechanism. Furthermore, the mechanism was ever-changing. There were less than three people in Yin Yang Hall who knew the order of the changes.

    This was simply because this room was Dao Hun¡¯s alchemy room. Dao Hun glimpsed at the two hanging animals and pressed onto the left eye of the animal on the right with his right hand.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The stone door opened up with a faint noise.

    Dao Yun nced at the surroundings and then entered the stone room. Normally speaking, alchemy rooms weren¡¯t too hot. However, Dao Hun¡¯s alchemy room felt obviously different.

    It was neither hot nor cold, and it even seemed to be slightly chilly even though it was almost summer time. However, there was no wind at all.

    There was a huge purple-gold alchemy crucible burning fiercely at the centre of the room. There were 8 animal heads ced on 8 different sides of the crucible.

    This was a top-notch crucible, but what was weird, was that it was almost identical to the crucible Fang Zhengzhi discovered in the attic that he had broken into. The only difference was the jewel embedded on the top of the crucible.

    This crucible was embedded with a ck jewel, while the one in the attic was embedded with a white jewel.

    After Dao Hun entered the room, the stone door closed immediately. At the same time, rays of dazzling radiance lit up on the stone wall of the room. These lights came from the round beads embedded on the wall and lit up the entire room brightly.

    Dao Hun, however, was just standing around quietly instead of moving toward the crucible. He seemed to be waiting for something.

    ¡°Dao, the source of heaven and earth, the reason for the transformations of all existences, and the secret of the spirits. Virtue, the way of living, the principle to managing rtionships, and the key to unlocking longevity!¡± Dao Hun murmured. He then raised his head slightly, and his ck and white mask started shining.

    ¡°Extinguish!¡± With that, the burning crucible trembled, following which, the fire disappeared without a trace.

    Dao Hun walked toward the crucible and put his hand on one of the animal heads and lifted it gently.

    He lifted the cover of the crucible which was formed by the 8 animal heads and hung it on a ck metal chain ced at the top of the stone room.

    At the same time, an intense medicinal fragrance started spreading from the crucible, where five jade-green pillsy quietly.

    Dao Hun glimpsed at the pills, but his expression remained indifferent. He casually removed the pills and tossed them into a jade box. Afterwards, 7 undeveloped pills appeared in his hand. They were pure as snow, butcked the intense medicinal fragrance.

 Chapter 752 - Crucible Failure and the Perfect Sneak Attack

    <h4>Chapter 752: Crucible Failure and the Perfect Sneak Attack</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Alchemy wasn¡¯t a skill that could be mastered in a short time, because both the portion of herbs used, and the temperature control, required lots of experience.

    Furthermore, the better the grade of the pills, the more the details mattered.

    A single tiny error made in the meticulous process could result in failure or low-quality pills, or even the legendary ¡®crucible failure¡¯.

    Of course, Dao Hun would never make such mistakes.

    The 7 undeveloped pills in Dao Hun¡¯s hand were pure as snow, meaning that he had purified them as much as possible before he was going to put them into the crucible.

    All that he had to do now was to control the temperature well.

    As the best alchemist in the Holy Region, Dao Hun was familiar with the recipe and temperature requirement for any high-grade pills. He was also capable of maximising their quality.

    After he carefully ced the 7 undeveloped pills into the crucible, Dao Hun closed his eye and started moving his hands around in front of his chest. He seemed to be performing a simple ritual.

    After all, even the best alchemist couldn¡¯t ensure that every pill made would be of high-quality. Hence, many alchemists would perform rituals to improve their luck, including Dao Hun.

    He finished the ritual within a few moments.

    Dao Hun¡¯s eyes opened slowly, and a faint purple sh appeared in his eyes, only to disappear almost instantly.

    Dao Hun then carefully removed the crucible¡¯s cover from the metal chain and covered the crucible again.

    ¡°Rise!¡±

    With that, the crucible started burning fiercely again. Everything was going smoothly.

    Although Dao Hun had done this thousands of times before, he still looked satisfied with his work. Then, he was ready to leave the room.

    He believed that the shameless fellow who dared to ambush him with a bear trap would be outside the 1000 Herb Hall and waiting for his punishment now.

    However, just as he turned around, he felt a sense of crisis. This was an expert¡¯s intuitions towards approaching dangers.

    ¡°Sneak attack?¡±

    That was the first thought that crossed Dao Hun¡¯s mind, following which, he heard a deafening bang.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    With that, he felt a burning sensation as if he was in a volcano. The entire room seemed to be engulfed by me.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a sneak attack! It¡¯s crucible failure?!¡± As the best alchemist in the Holy Region, Dao Hun could never believe that crucible failure would happen to him, but the intense heating toward him told him otherwise.

    Given the structure and prohibitions set up in this room, the only possible exnation for such an intense heat was if the fire burst out of the crucible after a crucible failure.

    As the best alchemist in the Holy Region, how could he experience crucible failure from making a few high-grade Frosty Dew?

    Dao Hun couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this, but he still took a few steps forward in order to exit the fire¡¯s range.

    However... Before he could take the third step, he felt a sharp paining from his right foot.

    Most importantly, he felt that he lost control over his right foot in an instant.

    ¡°Rumble, rumble...¡±

    Five chains of different colours appeared before his eyes. These chains came from underground, and one of them had even prated his right foot.

    ¡°Hell Near-life Chains?!¡± Dao Hun was truly speechless. He couldn¡¯t understand how the Hell Near-life Chains had appeared in his stone room.

    After all, there was hardly anyone who knew how to enter this room.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t crucible failure, it¡¯s a sneak attack!¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sneak attack!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s off.¡±

    ¡°Did Fang Zhengzhi sneak up on me when the crucible failed?¡±

    These thoughts crossed Dao Hun¡¯s mind multiple times, but Dao Hun denied them repeatedly. From the first moment when Dao Hun realised something was wrong and thought that it was a sneak attack, to the moment when he denied that possibility and deduced that it was a crucible failure, till finally when he confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi took advantage of the crucible failure and snuck up on him, very little time had passed.

    However, this caused Dao Hun to make a wrong judgement against a sneak attack for the first time.

    Of course, the most important reason was that he had never expected Fang Zhengzhi to know about his habit of making pills when the first sh of purple light appeared in the sky.

    Furthermore, not only did Fang Zhengzhi find out about his habit, but he also entered the stone room before him, nned an ambush, and took advantage of the exact moment of crucible failure to sneak up on him.

    Dao Hun did not see thising, because there were too many impossibilities involved.

    Even by now... Dao Hun still could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi managed to set all these up, enter his stone room, and even foresaw that the crucible would fail.

    However, this was not the time for him to think about these questions. Although Dao Hun was puzzled, he immediately defended himself when he saw the Hell Near-life Chains.

    He twisted his body sideways and punched behind him.

    However, his enemy seemed to have seen iting. Dao Hun¡¯s punch didn¡¯t hit a thing.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Dao Hun was startled. After a series of misjudgements, he could already foresee what was going to happen.

    Just as he had expected, Fang Zhengzhi had never stood up. He wasying on the floor since the beginning and he crawled toward Dao Hun¡¯s feet like a lizard.

    At this moment, Dao Hun felt an excruciating paining from his other foot as well.

    A Hell Near-life Chain had prated his other foot, and the other chains wereing for his arms and throat.

    Dao Hun couldn¡¯t help but feel that this was a perfect sneak attack!

    Even though he still had yet to figure out how Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the room, he had topliment his sneak attack, which was iparable to the bear trap at the doorstep.

    ¡°Did he put the bear trap at the doorstep on purpose?¡±

    Dao Hun thought to himself.

    In fact, he was right. Fang Zhengzhi did that on purpose.

    Was a bear trap enough to trap the mighty Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t that na?ve. He did that to find out if Dao Hun was better at handling a sneak attack from above, or from below.

    Fang Zhengzhi used a bear trap and Heavenly Descent simultaneously so that he could find out about Dao Hun¡¯s weakness.

    Dao Hun stepped into the bear trap, but he sessfully blocked his Heavenly Descent.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi decided to attack Dao Hun from below.

    This was how his Hell Near-life Chains prated Dao Hun¡¯s right foot.

    It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the stone room either. The woman in the pavilion told Fang Zhengzhi everything, including Dao Hun¡¯s favourite time to craft a pill, theyout of 1000 Herb Hall, and obviously the location of this stone room, as well as the method to unlock it.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why that woman knew about all these, but he did discover the gigantic purple gold crucible after doing what she had told him.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that the woman didn¡¯t lie to him as soon he saw the crucible.

    He just needed to n his sneak attack after that.

    It was obviously extremely difficult to sneak up on Dao Hun, the Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought of attacking Dao Hun when he opened the crucible, but he knew that Dao Hun could kill him as soon as he made a move.

    No one had ever said that an alchemist couldn¡¯t move while he was crafting pills.

    Someone like Dao Hun wouldn¡¯t care about a batch of pills at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood that that was the reason why the woman was willing to be ¡®honest¡¯ with him and told him everything about the stone room.

    She was sure that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n to sneak up on Dao Hun while he was crafting pills would fail.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what she was thinking.

    However, he had to follow what she said, so he immediately hid below the crucible once he entered the stone room.

    Luckily, the room was cool enough that Fang Zhengzhi could even remain below the crucible.

    However, there was a small change of ns. After Dao Hun ced the undeveloped pills into the crucible, he closed his eyes and started ¡®praying¡¯!

    Fang Zhengzhi was almost overtaken by his impulse at that moment!

    It felt like 10,000 ants were crawling on his body, and he couldn¡¯t wait to storm out and p Dao Hun¡¯s face or even end his life.

    However, if he killed Dao Hun, who¡¯d save Yan Xiu?

    Fang Zhengzhi was impetuous, but his reason told him that he had to suppress his urges. It was then that an idea came across his mind.

    Crucible failure!

    The best alchemist in the Holy Region couldn¡¯t possibly make such a lowly mistake, but Fang Zhengzhi could.

    He could think of 100 ways to blow up the crucible.

    This was so easy to achieve because he had 10 acres worth of herbs and jugs full of pills that he had stolen from the pavilion.

    If he dumped all of them into the crucible, even deities wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the crucible from failing.

    After he did that, the crucible blew up.

    That marked themencement of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sneak attack.

    However, why did he crawl?

    This was easy to understand. Since he was hiding beneath the crucible all this while, it was hard for him to stand up.

    Luck... It was predetermined asionally.

    Instead of standing up, Fang Zhengzhi sessfully approached Dao Hun by crawling.

    After that, he didn¡¯t show any mercy.

    Now that Dao Hun¡¯s feet were bounded by Hell Near-life Chains, Fang Zhengzhi executed his daring n ¨C kidnapping Dao Hun.

    However, before that could actually happen, he needed to wear Dao Hun down. It was like sending your kid to school. If your kid didn¡¯t want to go to school, what should you do?

    The first way was to reason with him nicely, ¡°Since you must go to school, learn to enjoy it!¡±

    However, Fang Zhengzhi obviously couldn¡¯t persuade Dao Hun verbally, so he had to choose the second way, which was violence.

    Violence from bottom to above?

    There wasn¡¯t much of a choice.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted toe up with something as well, but from this position and this angle, he couldn¡¯t think of a deadlier attack.

    While 3 Hell Near-life Chains shot towards Dao Hun¡¯s arms and throat, Fang Zhengzhi held his hands together.

    Following which, he stabbed upwards with his hands with all his might!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like his fingers were going to break as if he hit a metal te.

    What the hell?

    Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be weaker against a sneak attack from below?

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious because the only possibility of stopping his attack was if Dao Hun gave up on his defence against the 3 Hell Near-life Chains.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up, and he was surprised by what he saw.

    Just as he had expected, Dao Hun gave up on his upper defence, but he was only struck by 1 of the chains.

    Two Hell Near-life Chain brushed past his body, and the other one prated his left arm.

    Dao Hun¡¯s right arm... Well, it shielded his crotch. Although it was an ugly position, Dao Hun did manage to protect his crotch.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled for a second. He couldn¡¯t see Dao Hun¡¯s expression because of the mask. However, he could sense Dao Hun¡¯s madness from his eyes, which contained a purple stream.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you could stop me again!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi shouted that, his fingers stabbed towards Dao Hun¡¯sher region again.

    Dao Hun was clearly enraged, but he had to protect his crotch with his right arm.

    At this moment... He saw a ball of white powder flying towards his eyes like a bloomed flower.

 Chapter 753 - Killing Everything in His Way â€“ Fang Zhengzhi Goes Berserk!

    <h4>Chapter 753: Killing Everything in His Way ¨C Fang Zhengzhi Goes Berserk!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    There was a saying that went ¡®Even if there seemed to be no way out, there¡¯s always an exit.¡¯ By applying this concept to martial arts, it meant to feint an attack in one direction to create a diversion, before striking your opponent at another spot.

    Fang Zhengzhi was doing that right now.

    Since Dao Hun had sessfully shielded his crotch, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going to waste any more effort on that area.

    He just had to attack Dao Hun¡¯s upper body then.

    This was the same as mankind creating its own pathways around the world. As long as a person was willing to venture around, he would be able to find a new path.

    After Fang Zhengzhi forced Dao Hun into protecting his crotch with a shameless attack, the lime powder flew towards his eyes without any obstructions.

    After all, Dao Hun was guarding his crotch with one hand while his other hand was restrained by the Hell Near-life Chain. He didn¡¯t have a third arm to stop the lime powder.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Dao Hun shouted angrily. Although he had closed his eyes on reflex, a good portion of lime powder still made it into his eyes.

    More importantly, he was wearing a mask, so the lime powder easily went through the eyeholes on the mask and sealed the holes shut.

    Dao Hun couldn¡¯t open his eyes.

    He couldn¡¯t take back his hand which was shielding his crotch to dust off the lime powder on his mask either. He was more worried about Fang Zhengzhi attacking his crotch than the lime powder in his eyes.

    However, this was a godsend to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He coiled around Dao Hun like a snake after his lime powder attack worked and pulled out a silver chain.

    This was the same chain that he used on the woman in the pavilion. Under normal circumstances, even an expert in the Sage State couldn¡¯t break free from it.

    ¡°Clink, clink...¡± The chain locked up Dao Hun¡¯s legs, abdomen, and his hand that was guarding his crotch.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was about to restrain Dao Hun¡¯s upper body, he unleashed a terrifying shock wave.

    With that, the air in the entire stone room seemed to have burst into mes, releasing an intolerable heat wave into the surrounding area.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!!¡± Dao Hun¡¯s voice echoed in the stone room and shook the entire 1000 Herb Hall. His horrifying aura was going wild.

    The shock wave sent Fang Zhengzhi flying. He then crashed into the failed crucible.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    It hurt!

    It was also extremely hot!

    However, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t care less about that now. The only thing he wanted to do was to subdue Dao Hun.

    He was so, so close.

    Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth the moment he crashed into the crucible as he wanted to charge towards Dao Hun again. However, the shock wave from his body was too powerful, and it seemed to be breaking up andbining continuously, creating an intolerable heat wave.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give up!¡±

    ¡°But, I can¡¯t get close to him. What should I do?¡±

    ¡°Poof!¡± At this instance, the Hell Near-life Chain that prated Dao Hun¡¯s arm was broken by the shock wave.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi heard many approaching footsteps, which were followed by numerous anxious voices.

    ¡°Hallmaster, what¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Master...¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t open the stone door!¡±

    These people were obviously the elders and disciples of Yin Yang Hall. They rushed here as soon as they heard Dao Hun¡¯s angry roar.

    ¡°The left eye of the beast on the right!¡± Instead of protecting his dignity, Dao Hun told them the method to open the stone door.

    This left Fang Zhengzhi surprised.

    Normally speaking, shouldn¡¯t the master of a sect be more domineering and would rather die than show his weakness to the disciples?

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi surprise didn¡¯t matter.

    He didn¡¯t know what Dao Hun was thinking of, but the fact that he asked for help, made Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart sink.

    The stone room only had a single door.

    In that case... Where could he escape to?

    ¡°Crack!¡± With that, the stone door opened. One could already foresee a huge group of Sagesing in to rescue Dao Hun and then beat up Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What should I do? What the hell should I do?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like a cornered animal, as he could neither get near Dao Hun nor escape.

    ¡°Is it impossible after all?¡±

    Kidnapping Dao Hun in front of all the elders and disciples of Yin Yang Hall was close to impossible.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t willing to concede defeat.

    ¡°I¡¯m so close!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t give up. I can never give up!¡±

    ¡°The only way out is through!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that he had to give it all he had because there was no way back.

    Countless ¡®trash¡¯ appeared in his hand with his thought, and he threw all of them at Dao Hun without thinking.

    ¡°Boom boom boom...¡± That was the sound of the items being forced back by the shock wave.

    However, a blinding white light lit up the entire stone room at this moment.

    shbang!

    Its ability wasn¡¯t affected by the shockwave. After bouncing off the wall, it lit up the entire room with a dazzling radiance.

    ¡°Ah, my eyes!¡± The first disciple to enter the room screamed angrily and covered his eyes right away.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one. The other elders were blinded by the shbang as well.

    This was because they were in a hurry to find out what was going on in the stone room, so none of them was prepared against the countless shbangs.

    ¡°Run!¡± That was the first thought to cross Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind when he saw the disciples and elders of Yin Yang Hall falling victim to the shbangs. He was rushing towards the stone door at the same time.

    However, while he was halfway there, a sudden realization suddenly hit him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t run!¡±

    If he ran away now, he would lose his best shot at kidnapping Dao Hun, because he would never allow him to sneak up on him again.

    He had to take Dao Hun away.

    ¡°But what should I do if I can¡¯t get close to him?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t go near him, but I can render him unconscious!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered that he obtained a treasure from Heavenly Treasure Hall when he was attending the banquet at Divine Constabry.

    The treasure¡¯s name was... Hypnotic Eye!

    This was an ordinary treasure that hardly anyone wanted because the enemies must stare at it for 3 seconds for it to work.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had used to hypnotize the entire audience of a fighting ring before.

    From there on, Fang Zhengzhi rarely had a chance to use it in battle. He couldn¡¯t even use his shbangs regrly.

    After all, as he faced stronger opponents, they were also better at guarding their eyes and more cautious of sneak attacks.

    However, the current situation was different...

    Dao Hun¡¯s eyes were already blinded by lime powder. Therefore, there would be a process of opening his eyes and regaining his eyesight. This process could very wellst 3 seconds.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to take a gamble!

    ¡°Dao Hun you piece of shit. You¡¯d have to catch me if you want to kill me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi scolded Dao Hun as he charged towards him again.

    ¡°Shameless bastard, you¡¯re not getting away!¡± Although Dao Hun¡¯s eyes were shut, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to escape after he heard what he had said.

    However, how could he allow Fang Zhengzhi to get away?

    With much at stake, Dao Hun forced his eyes open and discovered a spot of blue light moving towards the door.

    ¡°Heaven Dao?¡±

    ¡°Is he using Heaven Dao to get away?¡±

    Dao Hun would never allow that to happen. Although his vision was blurry and his legs were still restrained by the Hell Near-life Chains, he still overpowered the chains and bolted towards the blue light.

    However, as he got closer, he realized that something was wrong. The blue light seemed to be a jewel instead of Heaven Dao.

    There were many halos circling around the blue jewel...

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Dao Hun didn¡¯t react in time. After all, this kind of trashy treasures was very rare in the Holy Region.

    However, he very quickly sensed that something was off.

    This was because he became dizzier from staring at the blue jewel.

    ¡°Something... Something¡¯s not right!¡± Dao Hun wanted to close his eyes, but it was toote. He copsed onto the ground like a statue.

    Dao Hun wasn¡¯t the only victim; the entire stone room was in chaos.

    The elders and disciples that rushed into the room were also looking towards Fang Zhengzhi, and their eyes were equally blinded by the shbangs.

    ¡°Thud, thud, thud...¡± One after another, the elders and disciples copsed onto the ground.

    ¡°It actually worked?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t believe it himself. However, the reality was that Dao Hun had copsed, along with several other disciples and elders.

    ¡°There¡¯s an exit after all!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was excited. In the meantime, he stopped hesitating and dashed towards the stone door while carrying Dao Hun.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯d happened inside, the seventh elder...¡±

    ¡°Who is that? Who got out!¡±

    The disciples and elders that had yet to enter the stone room also realized something was wrong after they saw the elders and disciples in front of them copsing onto the ground.

    However, that didn¡¯t matter anymore.

    The only thing that mattered was the person who came through the door. Furthermore, this person was carrying a fainted man on his shoulder.

    ¡°Ma... Master?!¡±

    ¡°Hallmaster!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi! The person who got out is Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? How did he knock master out?!¡±

    The elders and disciples of Yin Yang Hall felt like they were struck by lightning because they couldn¡¯t believe what they saw.

    Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi, who was engulfed by a ck me, had gotten out.

    ¡°Screw off!¡± Without showing any mercy, Fang Zhengzhi brandished the Traceless Sword and attacked the disciples and elders blocking his way.

    Did he be addicted to ughter?

    That was obviously not true. However, given the current circumstances, he couldn¡¯t care about that. He only had a single thought in mind.

    ¡°I¡¯d kill anyone that gets in my way!¡±

    A purple and red sword radiance appeared in the air. Fang Zhengzhi had strengthened the Traceless Sword with the Dao of Asura. This attack was definitely ferocious.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The entire 1000 Herb Hall trembled. Countless limbs flew into the air, apanied by streams of fresh blood. Fang Zhengzhi had killed 2 people and injured 10 with a single attack.

    However, what was creepy... Was that his attack didn¡¯t manage to split the 1000 Herb Hall¡¯s floor. It only left behind a white marking, as if it was shedding skin.

    ¡°Ah!...¡±

    ¡°Ah!...¡±

    Heart-rending screams came from the disciples.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was the one that felt a chill up his spine. This wasn¡¯t because of the screaming, but because of how tough the 1000 Herb Hall was.

    No wonder the woman told him where the 1000 Herb Hall was and even taught him how to open the pill crafting room.

    She was nning to trap him inside the hall!

    Fang Zhengzhi was now certain that if his sneak attack didn¡¯t work, he would never be able to leave the 1000 Herb Hall!

    Women were the most wicked after all.

    It was a pity that the woman could never possibly envision that Fang Zhengzhi had actually taken Dao Hun by surprise and knock him out.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t seeded yet.

    He needed to escape Yin Yang Hall and bring Yan Xiu away from the pavilion.

    ¡°I¡¯d kill anyone who gets in my way!¡± A tsunami-like killing desire surged out of Fang Zhengzhi and spread into the surrounding area. He was covered by a thickyer of ck armor which was engulfed by a ck me, looking like a God of Death.

 Chapter 754 - One Sword is 10,000 Swords

    <h4>Chapter 754: One Sword is 10,000 Swords</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The disciples were shocked by what they saw.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s killing desire was so intense that it almost materialized into sea waves.

    Furthermore, he had killed 2 disciples and severely injured 10 more with a single strike.

    The smell and sight of blood mixed together with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s killing desire, turned the 1000 Herb Hall, which always smelled like herbs, into a living hell.

    ¡°This fellow... Is so strong! Is he really only at Rebirth State?¡±

    ¡°How did he knock master out?¡±

    ¡°Stop him! We can¡¯t let him leave!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall subconsciously stepped back after sensing the vast killing desire, but it was only a single step.

    Even if they were shocked by what they saw, even if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s killing desire was so intense, they couldn¡¯t just watch him take Dao Hun away.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to get out.

    However, he didn¡¯t have a choice.

    Now that he had already subdued Dao Hun, how could he give up? The only choice he had was to put his life on the line and fight his way out.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi moved towards the disciples of Yin Yang Hall, they charged towards him instead of retreating again.

    Countless sword radiances lit up the 1000 Herb Hall and came straight for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Should I take them head-on?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was arrogant, but he wasn¡¯t that dumb. Facing them head-on was the stupidest decision one could make.

    Moreover, he was carrying Dao Hun.

    As soon as the sword radiances shot towards him, a sky-blue light appeared before Fang Zhengzhi. It was Heaven Dao.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    Chaos ensued. There were the sounds of sword radiances shing the floor, sounds of bones breaking, and also heart-rending cries.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi dodged the attacks with Heaven Dao, the disciples standing around him became sacrificialmbs.

    This was a chaotic battle...

    However, at the center of the chaos, there was only Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°sh!¡± A purple and red sword radiance suddenly appeared before the countless disciples. They were also attacked by a ck me at the same time.

    It was a horrifying scene.

    Blood gushed into the air as many disciples copsed into the pool of blood, screaming in pain. Their eyes were wide open from shock, because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack was too fast and too ruthless.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept evading and counterattacking. He was creating a pool of blood with every sword.

    On the other hand, the disciples of Yin Yang Hall had to look out for his sudden appearance while carefully avoiding injuring their fellow disciples.

    There was too little space in 1000 Herb Hall.

    It was so small that the disciples couldn¡¯t dodge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack even if they saw iting. They had nowhere to go.

    Several elders stared at Fang Zhengzhi angrily, but they were helpless.

    This was because they couldn¡¯t unleash any powerful attacks.

    After all... There were too many people in 1000 Herb Hall!

    Apart from Fang Zhengzhi, the rest were all disciples of Yin Yang Hall.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi mastered the Heaven Dao, so it was almost impossible to take him down with a single move.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing this on purpose!¡±

    ¡°His shamelessness knows no boundaries!¡±

    ¡°How could he use us as for protection!¡±

    After Fang Zhengzhinded three attacks continuously, the disciples finally discovered, to their horror, that there more people dropping onto the ground. However, more disciples were entering 1000 Herb Hall.

    This was indeed unfair fight since they outnumbered Fang Zhengzhipletely. However, since they were in 1000 Herb Hall, their advantage in numbers seemed to have turned into a disadvantage.

    The reason for that... Was because Fang Zhengzhi mastered the Heaven Dao!

    ¡°Heavenly Descent!¡± Nine sky-blue beams appeared on the ceiling.

    ¡°Rumble!¡±

    ¡°Rumble!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The noise was restless.

    Shock waves and sword Qi seethed around the entire 1000 Herb Hall. With every scream, more blood sshed into the air.

    This was a one-sided ughter although Fang Zhengzhi was fighting all of them by himself.

    The disciples and elders of Yin Yang Hall couldn¡¯t believe what was happening, but the truth was that they couldn¡¯t even touch Fang Zhengzhi, but he could kill them easily.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even have to look before he swung his sword, he could kill a bunch of disciples regardless. This was because there was no room in 1000 Herb Hall for the disciples to dodge his attacks.

    ¡°Move! Get out of 1000 Herb Hall!¡± An elder finally spoke. It was a tough decision, because it meant that Fang Zhengzhi could walk out of 1000 Herb Hall.

    However, he had to bite the bullet.

    ¡°Retreat to the entrance!¡± Another elder spoke up as well. He also knew that they shouldn¡¯t continue the battle in 1000 Herb Hall.

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°Stoping in!¡±

    The disciples hastily reacted to the elders¡¯mands. They started falling back towards the entrance of 1000 Herb Hall.

    ¡°Retreat?¡± Traceless Sword was vibrating softly in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, he wouldn¡¯t let them leave the hall.

    Once that happened, he would be entrapped in 1000 Herb Hall. There would be countless disciples and elders of Yin Yang Hall waiting for him outside.

    Therefore, he needed to get out of the hall before they could.

    That... Was his only chance of survival.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A purple dragon roared and turned into a twisted sword radiance in the air. It wasing for the disciples.

    ¡°Hurry up and get out of the way!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    The disciples were extremely frightened by the sword radiance, because they knew how powerful it was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    A person appeared before the sword radiance.

    He was a white-haired old man who wore a ck and white long robe. A ck and white sword shone chillingly in his hand.

    His ck and white sword collided against the twisted purple sword radiance without any hesitation.

    ¡°10,000 Phenomenon!¡± With that, many spots of light appeared on the ck and white sword. The light spots soon expanded and turned into different forms. There were flowers, grass, river, mountains, and even different types of beasts.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The purple sword radiance shed against the countless different light spots. After which, a shock wave was unleashed into the surrounding area.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah....¡±

    There were many pitiful cries, because there were many tiny twisted purple radiances hidden in the shock wave. This was ¡®Million Sword Illustration¡¯, the ultimate martial arts technique of Divine Lord Constabry that was only taught to its heirs.

    ¡®Dao would give rise to one. One would be two, two bes three, and it would keep going on!¡¯

    During thest 15 days, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he woulde to Yin Yang Hall eventually, so apart from healing, he was also thinking.

    Since different Daos could bebined, could sword techniques bebined as well?

    Fang Zhengzhi went ahead with this idea, because he always did whatever he wanted to do.

    He didn¡¯t let anything hold him back.

    Although this was a ludicrous idea, but the current Dragon yer sh was actually nothing like before.

    A single sword turned into 10,000 swords!

    ¡°Crack!¡± The ck and white sword flew into the air, it was obviously broken.

    The old man was even sent crashing into a bunch of disciples, spurting out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Pfftttt!¡± His blood sshed out.

    The disciples were stunned by what they just saw. When they looked towards the person wearing a blue long robe again, a shiver ran up their spines.

    They all knew that Fang Zhengzhi had killed 5 Sages beneath Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain, including Yin Yang Hall¡¯s ninth elder, Shi Fan.

    However, hearing about it was different from actually seeing it.

    ¡°The eighth elder...¡±

    ¡°How did he break the eighth elder¡¯s sword with a single strike?!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    ¡°Is he a demon?¡±

    The disciples couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. However, that was the harsh reality. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength had far exceeded their expectations.

    While they were stunned, a person bolted towards the entrance of 1000 Herb Hall. He was fast as lightning.

    He was so fast that more than half of the disciples didn¡¯t react in time.

    Only now did they understand why Fang Zhengzhi could be so famous after the battle at the foot of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain, but they couldn¡¯t!

    Shameless?

    That was true. Fang Zhengzhi was shameless as he took advantage of the tiny space in 1000 Herb Hall and the disciples¡¯ fear of hurting each other.

    However, putting his shamelessness aside... He was powerful. In fact, he was extremely overpowering.

    They finally understood the terror of a man who was so frightening powerful, yet without any moral boundaries.

    ¡°Follow him!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡±

    ¡°Stop him!¡±

    A few elders and stronger disciples managed to react before Fang Zhengzhi went out of the hall.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill anyone who gets in my way!¡± Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t care less anymore. Since he was already near the entrance, he couldn¡¯t possibly get back into the hall.

    His sword came down.

    The two disciples standing at the entrance went down without a sound.

    Fang Zhengzhi then stepped on one of the disciples¡¯ head and flew out of the 1000 Herb Hall.

    The sun had already risen.

    It wasn¡¯t too hot, but the sunlight was dazzling.

    Well, apart from the sun, he also saw a massive group of people. Countless disciples of Yin Yang Hall were crowding outside 1000 Herb Hall.

    Fang Zhengzhi trembled when he realized that there were several hundred disciples in front of him.

    ¡°Why are there so many people?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t afraid, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly go against the entire Yin Yang Hall alone.

    ¡°He came out?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... our master?!¡±

    ¡°Did he knock our master out? Did he even manage to get out of 1000 Herb Hall while carrying our master?¡±

    The disciples outside 1000 Herb Hall knew about the ruckus inside the hall, but they were still shocked to see Fang Zhengzhi rushing out of the hall with Dao Hun¡¯s on his shoulder. After all, this was beyond their wildest thoughts.

    ¡°Get out of my way!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you aren¡¯t going anywhere!¡±

    Two people charged out of the hall as well and attacked Fang Zhengzhi right away.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The ground cracked.

    However, there was a trace of a sky-blue light left on the ground. A momentter, the light appeared amidst the crowd.

    ¡°Is that Heaven Dao, one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?!¡±

    ¡°How did he manage to evade both the fifth and sixth elders¡¯ attacks?¡±

    ¡°This fellow is only at Rebirth State... If... If he really bes a Sage, how powerful would he be? Is anyone capable of beating him at that point in time?¡±

    The disciples felt a chill up their spines.

    A man who was only at Rebirth State, had managed to sneak into Yin Yang Hall, knocked the Hallmaster out in 1000 Herb Hall, and even sessfully got out of 1000 Herb Hall despite being surrounded by countless disciples.

    This battle alone was enough to change Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reputation! Even if he was about to die, no one dared to underestimate him!

    Even if he was going to die, his aplishments would never be surpassed by anyone in the Holy Region. The feats that he achieved hadpletely shattered everyone¡¯s perception of normality.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t escape! You¡¯re inside Yin Yang Hall, so even if you can get out of 1000 Herb Hall, you can¡¯t leave Yin Yang Hall! Surrender now!¡± The fifth elder¡¯s emotion wasplicated. There was hatred, anger, but there was also fear, which rose from the bottom of his heart.

 Chapter 755 - Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s All-out Attack

    <h4>Chapter 755: Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s All-out Attack</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone else at the entrance of 100 Herb Hall felt fear just like the fifth elder, because Fang Zhengzhi was much stronger than they imagined.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up towards the rising sun. The blue sky contained a red tint, just like how Yin Yang Hall was about to be painted red by bloodshed.

    Traceless Sword was buzzing softly as if it was excited. Rays of purple light flowed around the sword. It was horrifyingly demonic.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t about to surrender to them, because he needed Dao Hun to save Yan Xiu. In order to do that, he needed to bring Dao Hun out of Yin Yang Hall.

    It was extremely difficult, but he wanted to give it a shot.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile after he adjusted Dao Hun¡¯s body. His smile was out of ce, because he shouldn¡¯t be smiling under such circumstances. However, Fang Zhengzhi was smiling brightly.

    ¡°Come at me. I wonder how Yin Yang Hall is going to stop me!¡± With a determined expression, Fang Zhengzhi pointed Traceless Sword towards the crowd.

    ¡°Hiss!¡± Almost everyone gasped when they heard him because what he said was too cocky.

    ¡°How are we going to stop him?¡±

    ¡°This guy is too full of himself!¡±

    ¡°Is he still thinking of getting away? Does he really think that he could go against the entire Yin Yang Hall by himself? Is that possible?¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall stared at Fang Zhengzhi with disbelief. Given the current circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly escape no matter how strong he was.

    However, they didn¡¯t sense any fear from Fang Zhengzhi. In fact, he seemed rxed.

    Everyone looked at each other, but no one moved.

    Then... An elder wearing a loose ck and white robe stepped out of the crowd and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re hell-bent on courting your own death, I¡¯ll be your opponent!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the fourth elder!¡±

    ¡°The fourth elder hasn¡¯t fought in a long time!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I think the fourth elder is powerful enough to take him down!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall were relieved to see the elder. However, they also felt weird.

    They were doubtful.

    However, they were quick to deny their doubts. After all, it was an elder of Yin Yang Hall!

    ¡°Old Four, wait a minute!¡± The person who spoke was a skinny elder with a scar on his face. Even the wind seemed to be able to blow him away.

    However, he feltposed like a unmovable mountain.

    All the disciples shut their mouths when they heard this elder, not daring to make a sound.

    This was because he was Yin Yang Hall¡¯s great elder, Mo Yu.

    His strength and authority in Yin Yang Hall were only second to Dao Hun. It could even be said that his opinion mattered more than Dao Hun¡¯s when it came to important matters.

    ¡°Big brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The fourth elder also looked towards Mo Yu with a puzzled expression.

    ¡°You can never be too careful. Old Three, you¡¯d join Old Four!¡± Instead of answering the fourth elder¡¯s question, Mo Yu looked towards another elder.

    That elder was the third elder of Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Okay!¡± The third elder walked towards the fourth elder without any hesitation.

    ¡°Third brother, fourth brother, this kid managed to hurt eighth brother with a single strike. You two take him seriously. In my opinion, Old Six and I should join...¡± The fifth elder sounded out.

    ¡°Why do we have to take a kid at Rebirth State so seriously? Fifth brother, you shouldn¡¯t feed his ego anymore. I think that I can do it alone!¡± The fourth elder interrupted the fifth elder.

    ¡°Old Four, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. This kid is so cunning that even the Hallmaster fell victim to his tricks. We¡¯d listen to big brother and take him on together!¡± Said the third elder.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it together!¡± Two blue sabres appeared in the fourth elder¡¯s hand after he said that.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Fang Zhengzhi also chimed in at this moment.

    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s toote to surrender now. Hurry up and say yourst words!¡± The fourth elder smiled coldly.

    ¡°Surrender?¡± Fang Zhengzhi put on a condescending smile and continued, ¡°I actually wanted to ask, are you two of you enough to handle me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so full of yourself!¡± The fourth elder charged towards Fang Zhengzhi .

    The third elder also rushed towards him with a teal sword in his hand.

    Yin Yang Hall had never needed to send two elders against a single enemy, not to mention an enemy at Rebirth State.

    However, not a disciple said a word this time, because they knew well that one elder might not suffice against Fang Zhengzhi.

    The two elders moved swiftly.

    In almost a blink of an eye, they were already beside Fang Zhengzhi. Two sabres and a sword attacked him from both sides simultaneously, showing their perfect coordination.

    Most importantly, they intended to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    The weapons were alling for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vital spots, such as his throat and his chest.

    Then... there was nothing.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi ran away. As soon as the elders rushed towards him, he turned around and ran into the crowd of disciples.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The two elders and all the disciples were startled to see that.

    If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t so cocky just now, or if he appeared to be frightened, they would be able to ept what they just saw.

    However, he was so full of himself... But he suddenly ran away.

    What the hell was he doing?

    No one knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about, and no one could evenprehend how shameless he must be in order to do that.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did charge into the crowd of disciples and unleashed his Traceless Sword upon them.

    The purple sword radiance fused with the crimson light, and a dragon¡¯s roar shook the heaven.

    ¡°Boom!¡± His sword came down.

    He created an opening in the crowd, leaving two disciplesying in a pool of blood. However, they didn¡¯t die because there was more space here than the inside of 1000 Herb Hall. Nevertheless, they were severely injured.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡± The fourth elder finally reacted and bolted towards the opening that Fang Zhengzhi had created.

    ¡°Old Four, watch out!¡± Mo Yu remainder was toote, because the fourth elder was already standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile at this instance.

    ¡°Rumble!¡± As soon as the fourth elder stood in front of him, the ground went down by half an inch.

    Then, eight balls of ck me appeared in the air.

    This wasn¡¯t the end of it. A giant picture also appeared in the air and covered the fourth elder¡¯s entire body.

    ¡°Hmph? Hell Dao!¡± The fourth elder recognised the picture in the sky, but he had never seen it appearing in the air before.

    However, that didn¡¯t matter anymore, because a horrifying suction force wasing from both below and above him.

    It felt like there were countless invisible forces pulling his body in both directions, as if he was crushed by a mountain.

    The fourth elder¡¯s expression changed instantly.

    In the next instance, his pupils shrank, because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was already in his face. Unlike how miserable he was just now, Fang Zhengzhi was now covered by a burning ck armour. There was even a crimson light flowing around the armour.

    Most importantly, his eyes looked different.

    His eyes were clear and translucent, but there was a circr, spinning wheel. There were 4 different coloured lights glowing on the wheel.

    This was a creepy sight to behold.

    However, the fourth elder sensed a deadly threat from his eyes, which sent a chill down his spine.

    ¡°No!¡± The fourth elder shouted angrily and protected his chest with the two swords.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was faster than he had imagined. The sword had neared him as soon as he spotted it.

    ¡°sh!¡± Blood sttered into the air, along with an arm that was connected to half a shoulder.

    ¡°Ah!!!!¡± The fourth elder let out a heart-rending cry. His face turned pale as a sheet.

    ¡°Old Four!¡± The third elder was already behind Fang Zhengzhi by now, so he naturally saw the blood sshing into the air.

    It was a harrowing and tragic scene.

    Even though he witnessed it with his own eyes, he still couldn¡¯t believe that the fourth elder was defeated with a single strike.

    He was shocked.

    However, the third elder wasn¡¯t anxious about it. On the contrary, he was able to remain calm and collected despite the crisis.

    Although the fourth elder was injured, he wasn¡¯t going to die so quickly.

    Since they were so lucky, he had to take down Fang Zhengzhi, especially since he was already behind his back.

    His sword stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    It was fast!

    He didn¡¯t want to spare Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life, and he was also confident that Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly turn around to block his attack after he cut off the fourth elder¡¯s arm.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi actually didn¡¯t turn around to block his attack.

    Rather... Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to notice the third elder at all. However, Dao Hun suddenly slipped off his shoulder.

    It seemed like Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hold him properly.

    Unfortunately, Dao Hun¡¯s happened to end up between the third elder¡¯s sword and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    ¡°What?!¡± Staggered, the third elder stopped his sword immediately. However, that messed up his internal Qi and blood.

    After all, it was easy to follow through with his attack, but stopping it was difficult.

    At the meantime, Fang Zhengzhi turned his head around. The third elder then saw his eyes, which were clear and translucent, but glowing with 4 different colours.

    Only now... Did he understand why Fang Zhengzhi was carrying Dao Hun on his shoulder. He wanted to scold him for being so shameless.

    However, he didn¡¯t say a word in the end.

    He wanted to scold Fang Zhengzhi, but as someone who came from a military background, he knew that military tactics were all about deceiving your opponents. In a war, the only thing that mattered was the oue.

    ¡®The winner gets everything while the loser gets nothing.¡¯

    Now, the third elder was the loser.

    For that, he paid the price of losing his legs. He couldn¡¯t stop the sword that was glowing with a purple and crimson light.

    The sword was terrifyingly fast.

    ¡°sh!¡± His blood was like a blooming flower.

    The third elder was sent flying by the enormous force. He crashed onto the ground and couldn¡¯t stand up again.

    This was because he had lost his legs.

    While his bodynded, he heard a voice before he could spurt out the blood in his mouth.

    ¡°Next! I¡¯ve already told you guys that two aren¡¯t enough!¡±

 Chapter 756 - The Great Elderâ€™s Endless Sea Domain

    <h4>Chapter 756: The Great Elder¡¯s Endless Sea Domain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Two... Two aren¡¯t... Enough? Pftt!¡± The third elder spurted out a mouthful of blood and painted the ground red. A dead silence ensued.

    There was a creepy silence.

    Everyone was ck-jawed, their eyes wide-open from shock. No one understood why this had happened. In fact, many didn¡¯t even see it clearly.

    However, the oue was clear as day.

    Half of the fourth elder¡¯s shoulder, including his entire arm, was chopped off, just like the third elder¡¯s legs. This was a frightening sight to behold.

    This took ce right before their eyes, and itsted only a mere moment. It was so fast that the disciples couldn¡¯t even react to it.

    The invisible pressure was so immense that the disciples were running out of breath. The scent of blood sent a chill down their spines.

    ¡°Is this Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°The Fang Zhengzhi at Rebirth State... The one that killed 5 Sages below Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain!¡±

    ¡°How is he so powerful?!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall were left dumbfounded. For the first time, they feared a person at Rebirth State from the bottom of their hearts.

    ¡°Fourth brother, third brother!¡± An angry voice was heard, following which, a person dashed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was the fifth elder, who was followed by the sixth elder.

    The two of them bolted towards Fang Zhengzhi rapidly, both holding a sword.

    Two elders wereing for Fang Zhengzhi again.

    However, that wasn¡¯t the end, because another person rushed out of the crowd at the same time.

    ¡°The second elder?!¡±

    ¡°What? The second elder is teaming up with the fifth and sixth elder!¡±

    ¡°Three elders are teaming up against one Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    The disciples couldn¡¯t believe what they saw. They had never seen three elders fighting together, not to mention against an enemy at merely Rebirth State.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± They felt a powerful shockwave. It was an enormous force that could shake space itself.

    As soon as the shock wave appeared, the giant picture above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head trembled, and it started falling apart.

    ¡°Crack, crack!¡±

    It felt like space itself was ripped apart. At the meantime, a deep-blue light lit up the entire area in front of the 1000 Herb Hall.

    Time seemed to have stopped.

    The deep-blue light seethed and shed against itself, forming streams of white light.

    This was an ocean!

    An ocean that came out of nowhere!

    The vast blue seawater and the white froth was rmingly realistic. The disciples felt like they had entered an endless sea domain.

    A person walked out of the crowd at this moment. He was skinny man with a scary scar on his face, but it seemed like even the wind could blow him away.

    However, when he stepped into the ocean, he felt as calm and collected as a giant coral.

    The great elder of Yin Yang Hall, Mo Yu, had joined the battle!

    He moved together with the second, fifth, and sixth elder. He was walking towards Fang Zhengzhi through the sea.

    The disciples started sweating due to the immense pressure in the air. It was as ufortable as if they were at the bottom of the sea.

    ¡°Four of you at once? Come at me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi held the Traceless Sword high. He looked like a drifting leaf in the centre of the sea, but his eyes were glowing brightly with 4 different coloured lights.

    He obviously knew how tough this battle would be.

    However, he didn¡¯t care about that, because he was already mentally prepared. He had to win this battle and bring Dao Hun out of Yin Yang Hall, even if he had to go against the entire Yin Yang Hall.

    Fang Zhengzhi roared, and the ck me on his armour burned more fiercely, turning the sea water around him into white steam.

    His endless killing desire surged out and turned into a vortex beneath his feet. Circles of crimson light appeared from the vortex continuously and coiled around his body.

    ¡°So... So powerful!¡±

    ¡°This guy is insane. He could actually face the great elder¡¯s Endless Sea Domain head-on!¡±

    ¡°Is he really human? Is that the power of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall stared at the white steam and Fang Zhengzhi with their eyes wide-open.

    They could already feel the immense pressure of the Endless Sea Domain although they were only standing at its edge. However, Fang Zhengzhi could remain standing even though he was at the centre of the Endless Sea Domain. Furthermore, he could even dispel the waves of the Endless Sea Domain. His strength was truly frightening.

    ¡°Prepare to die, you cocky and shameless bastard!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯ll die today!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The fifth, sixth, and second elder leapt into the air almost simultaneously. They were each supported by a pir seawater, which boosted their speed tremendously.

    More importantly, they were each protected by a shiny blue armour that was made of seawater.

    ¡°Screw off!¡± Fang Zhengzhi brandished the Traceless Sword. However, as soon as he did that, he was attacked by the sea waves. The waves restrained his legs and his sword-wielding arm tightly, stopping his movement.

    This momentary pause was enough for the three elders to get close to him. Two swords were aiming for his back, while a palm attack came from the front. The attacks were extremely fast.

    ¡°Dragon Dances Eight Realms!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body suddenly disappeared when the elders¡¯ swords were about to hit him.

    At the same time, two shadows appeared behind all four elders, each holding a purple and red sword.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Boom boom!¡±

    There was a series of shes. The waves of Endless Sea Domain tumbled and frothed.

    ¡°How did he dodge that?!¡±

    ¡°How could he counter-attack the three elders?!¡±

    ¡°Insane, he¡¯s insane!¡±

    The disciples sweated nervously. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was attacked by 3 elders simultaneously, who were also supported by Mo Yu¡¯s Endless Sea Domain.

    Yet, he managed to dodge their attacks.

    ¡°No, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t dodge it!¡± Someone eximed.

    Everyone focused their attention on the centre of the 3 elders again. Although there was no one there, a figure,pletely covered by the seawater, was just two steps away.

    It was an eerie scene.

    However, all the disciples knew that it was Fang Zhengzhi, because he was stepping on Mo Yu¡¯s Endless Sea Domain.

    White steam started fuming, as if to escape the seawater¡¯s control.

    However, the 3 elders couldn¡¯t allow Fang Zhengzhi to escape again. They attacked him as soon as he got out of the seawater.

    ¡°Cling!¡± The fifth elder¡¯s sword struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, but all he heard was a solid ng.

    The fifth elder¡¯s expression changed, and he pointed his sword upwards and stabbed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck.

    However, while his sword was moving, Fang Zhengzhi reacted. He grabbed the sword with his hand.

    This was a frightening sight that made the disciples gasp because they knew that one¡¯s vision would bepletely obstructed by the Endless Sea Domain.

    Under such circumstances... Fang Zhengzhi was depending solely on his instinct to stop the fifth elder¡¯s sword.

    Nevertheless, this could only happen once, because the sixth elder¡¯s sword prated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right chest when he stopped the fifth elder¡¯s sword.

    The second elder¡¯s palm attack alsonded.

    ¡°Boom!¡± His palmnded on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead like a meteorite.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head flew backwards, followed by his body, which seemed to have been separated from the seawater by the palm attack.

    ¡°Rumble!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi crashed into 1000 Herb Hall with a loud bang, but the stone wall of the hall didn¡¯t crack at all.

    ¡°Puff!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouthful of blood and painted the seawater and his ck armour red.

    However, Dao Hun had freakily disappeared, but not for long.

    He appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder again very quickly. Fang Zhengzhi was carrying him with his arm like just now.

    ¡°This guy has a treasure with him!¡± The sixth elder stated.

    ¡°It¡¯s a breastte!¡± The fifth elder nodded. If it wasn¡¯t for the breastte, Fang Zhengzhi would have been killed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s remove his breastte first!¡± The second elder looked towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left chest as he said that.

    He could see a silvery white light behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s torn clothing.

    ¡°Am I not strong enough after all?¡± Fang Zhengzhi leaned against the wall of 1000 Herb Hall and thought to himself. Blood was dripping off his nose and into the sea wave.

    Meanwhile, the 3 elders were closing in on him, and the great elder, Mo Yu, was also walking towards him.

    Fang Zhengzhi had been caught in desperate situations many times before, and he managed to find a solution every single time. However, for some unknown reasons, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t be able to get out alive this time.

    The great elder, Mo Yu, was too strong.

    The 3 elders¡¯ speed increased tremendously in the Endless Sea Domain, while Fang Zhengzhi was slowed down rapidly. In this situation, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t even defeat a single elder, much less 3 of them.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t understand. If you are so shameless, why aren¡¯t you threatening us with the Hallmaster¡¯s life?¡± Mo Yu spoke softly.

    With that, the entire ce fell into dead silence. Only the waves could be heard, and the 3 elders stopped moving.

    However, instead of looking at Mo Yu, they looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with a calm expression.

    It seemed like they weren¡¯t bothered by the great elder¡¯s ¡®reminder¡¯ for Fang Zhengzhi.

    When Fang Zhengzhi heard that, he suddenly put on a dazzling smile.

    ¡°Keke...¡± Blood flowed out through his lips again when he coughed.

    It was obvious that he sustained severe injuries, but his expression was that of despise and contempt.

    They heard a cocky and nonchnt voice at this moment.

    ¡°Threatening you with a hostage? Hahaha... That seems to be Yin Yang Hall¡¯s expertise?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the entire mountain range.

    ¡°How dare you say that!¡± The fifth elder sounded cold.

    ¡°Am I wrong? Oh... I seemed to have forgotten that all the people that you guys and Nine Pinnacles Mountain had sent to kill me, are dead.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded like he had just remembered that.

 Chapter 757 - Hundred Dragonsâ€™ Slash

    <h4>Chapter 757: Hundred Dragons¡¯ sh</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Shut up, that was because you fought dirty and shamelessly. Otherwise, how could you be strong enough to kill 5 Sages!¡± The fifth elder shouted angrily.

    ¡°Am I the shameless one for fighting against 5 opponents? So, the 4 of you are ganging up on me because I¡¯m shameless?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the crowd disdainfully.

    However, he knew that the logic of ¡®winner takes it all¡¯. If he lost the battle today, it didn¡¯t matter who was shameless.

    This was because history was always written by the victors.

    Dao Hun¡¯s body wasn¡¯t too heavy. On the contrary, it was light enough that it wouldn¡¯t affect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fighting ability.

    Actually, the reason Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t keep him in The Vast World was not that he wanted to use him as a shield. It was because The Vast World had be the recement of his Small Dimension.

    In some sense, The Vast World wasn¡¯t different from before. At the very least, it had no trouble with storage. However, since it was no longer an independent world, itcked an importantponent ¨C air.

    Since there wasn¡¯t any air in The Vast World, Fang Zhengzhi could only keep Dao Hun¡¯s body inside for a short while. Long-term storage was impossible.

    As for threatening his opponents with Dao Hun¡¯s life... Fang Zhengzhi did think of that at one point.

    However, for some reason, he didn¡¯t want to do that. Perhaps it was because the idea reminded him of the time when Yuan Rong, one of the three Sages of ck Moon Ind, caught Yan Xiu.

    Pain, that reminded him of true, heartfelt pain.

    Of course, the main reason was that he knew he wasn¡¯t capable of doing that. In fact, when he saw the Endless Sea Domain, he already knew that even if he were to hold Dao Hun hostage, it wouldn¡¯t help him in any way.

    That was because he couldn¡¯t possibly be faster than the three men he was facing. Furthermore, although Mo Yu had unleashed the Endless Sea Domain, he hadn¡¯t actually attack Fang Zhengzhi directly so far.

    It felt weird.

    It was like an unwritten rule between Fang Zhengzhi and Mo Yu. As long as he didn¡¯t threaten to kill Dao Hun, then Mo Yu would only y a supportive role in this battle.

    This didn¡¯t actually feel good.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like a caged beast. No matter how ferocious he was, he couldn¡¯t break free of the impregnable cage.

    The great elder, Mo Yu, was the impregnable cage.

    Despite that, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t have a second option. He could as fight back as much as he could for a chance to break free.

    The fifth elder wanted to say something at this moment.

    However, Mo Yu shook his head at the fifth elder and spoke to Fang Zhengzhi, ¡°You knew your n was impossible, yet you carried on with it. I don¡¯t think you came to Yin Yang Hall for revenge!¡±

    ¡°Does that even matter anymore?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi replied with a question.

    ¡°Hmm, it doesn¡¯t matter indeed. You¡¯ve killed Shi Fan, knocked out our Hallmaster, and even severely injured 3 of our elders just now. The only solution is to kill you!¡± Mo Yu nodded his head.

    ¡°In that case, make your move.¡± Fang Zhengzhi held the Traceless Sword tight and stood up again. His killing desire surged, but he seemed like a tiny boat in the ocean that could capsize at any moment.

    However, he looked determined. The Rebirth te rotated slowly in his eyes, glowing with 4 different colours.

    ¡°Die!¡± The 3 elders charged towards Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.

    Instead of surrounding him from 3 directions, they attacked his head-on because they knew that he wasn¡¯t capable of stopping their blows anymore.

    The deep-blue seawater started seething.

    It turned into a vortex beneath Fang Zhengzhi, applying a massive suction force on his body.

    Despite that, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even glimpse at the seawater at his feet. All of his attention was on the 3 elders. At this moment, his sword moved.

    He held his sword high, pointing its tip towards the sky.

    The sunshine reflected off the tip of Traceless Sword, giving it a golden red radiance.

    Then, Traceless Sword stabbed into the ground instead of the 3 elders.

    In the next moment... As soon as his sword went into the ground and pierced through the rolling waves, the entire ground shook. After that, countless rays of light shot out of the waves.

    Those lights were swords.

    Each and every one of them was a chilling sword.

    Every sword was both purple and red, and as dazzling as a dragon. Countless dragon-like swords shot up from the waves and stabbed towards the 3 elders.

    ¡°Hundred Dragons¡¯ sh!¡± Fang Zhengzhi whispered that softly as if he was talking to himself. However, the Traceless Sword in his hand appeared to be overly excited. Its demonic purple radiance grew brighter and brighter as if it wanted to devour the sky.

    ¡°What!¡± The fifth and sixth elder¡¯s expressions changed. They truly didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhenzhi to still be able to attack them.

    They were amazed that because Fang Zhengzhi should have already exhausted his Origin Energy.

    However, what they sensed on Fang Zhengzhi, was an endless amount of Origin Energy, just like the Endless Sea Domain.

    The 3 elders instinctively tried to dodge his attacks.

    However, there were so many swordsing out of the waves that they couldn¡¯t possibly dodge them. Instead, they were covered by a barrier of light.

    They were protected by the light barrier, as well as the armours made of the seawater.

    Their defence was extraordinarily powerful.

    Nevertheless, they felt like their barriers were useless against the swords as soon as they collided.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The sixth elder¡¯s barrier was the first to be broken. The sword continued to stab into the seawater armour on his body.

    ¡°Crack!¡± It made a crack on the armour.

    That wasn¡¯t the end. The second sword was fast as lightning, and it stabbed into the armour again.

    ¡°Old Six!¡± The fifth elder wanted to save the sixth elder, but he couldn¡¯t even protect himself. The swords were terrifyingly sharp, and his own armour was broken as well.

    How could he lend a hand to the sixth elder?

    ¡°Damn it!¡± The second elder shouted angrily. His chest started emitting a green light.

    The light was faint, but it acted like a quagmire and slowed down all the swords in its vicinity.

    This was a thrilling and shocking scene.

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall were speechless. They had never expected Fang Zhengzhi to keep fighting.

    Moreover... He even forced the second elder to employ one of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s best treasures ¨C¡±A Strand of Cold Fragrance¡±.

    Cold Fragrance was rumoured to be produced at the deepest corner of a snow mountain. It was a type of Thousand Year Mountain Spirit, but it gave off a cold fragrance, hence the name.

    This was an exceptionally precious treasure that could freeze everything in an instant, but it could only be used once. This was why it was called ¡®A Strand of Cold Fragrance¡¯.

    Since the swords had stopped moving, they obviously lost their power.

    The fifth and sixth elders were visibly relieved.

    However, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi bolted towards the two elders.

    ¡°He moved!¡±

    ¡°This guy wants to initiate an attack at this point in time!¡±

    ¡°Has he gone mad!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall couldn¡¯t believe what they saw, but it actually happened. He dragged his Traceless Sword through the seawater, drawing a thin line of froth.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t moving too quickly because the waves were opposing his movement. There was a ripple with every step he took.

    The disciples were shocked to their cores by this scene.

    Simrly, the great elder, Mo Yu, turned grim for the first time. Normally, he only looked like that when he faced the few strongest experts in the Holy Region. However, this time, he turned grim while facing Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I have to save Yan Xiu, I¡¯m so close... I must save Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked straight ahead while he murmured to himself. Although those around him couldn¡¯t hear a single word, he could hear it clearly.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s roar shook the heaven. He pulled out his Traceless Sword from the sea and brandished it towards the centre of the 3 elders.

    At this moment, all the swords that were stopped started moving again. Tens of thousands of light spots gathered towards the Traceless Sword, making it more than 10 times bigger.

    His sword descended.

    ¡°Bastard, you¡¯re courting your own death!¡± The fifth elder was about to take the Traceless Sword head-on.

    However, he heard a voice at this instance.

    ¡°Old Five, don¡¯t fight it. Dodge it!¡± It was the second elder. He was running away as he spoke.

    The sixth elder was also moving to the side. He was ready to dodge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blow as soon as he saw iting.

    ¡°Dodge it!¡± The fifth elder didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to do that. There were 3 of them fighting against Fang Zhengzhi at the same time, and the great elder was even helping them with his Endless Sea Domain.

    With their advantage... How could they dodge his attack!

    The fifth elder couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. It wasn¡¯t about his strength anymore, rather, it was the dignity he had as a Sage.

    The fifth elder eventually decided to take the Traceless Sword head-on, with an all-out attack as well.

    His sword lit up with a dazzling radiance like a star in the night, attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Star Destroyer!¡± The fifth elder turned into a stream of light as he flew upwards. There was a ck radiance glowing on his de, and it looked like it could go off at any second.

    However, that never happened.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had descended. It was a simple attack, but its vigour rivalled that of a mountain.

    The radiance on fifth elder¡¯s sword wanted to unleash its power, but it was suppressed by a terrifying force. The radiance could only cower around the de until eventually, the de shattered.

    ¡°Crack!¡¯ The sword broke.

    The fifth elder¡¯s eyes opened wide. He had never imagined his sword to break before he could even unleash his attack.

    However, that was the harsh reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was still descending, but his sword was already broken.

    ¡°No!¡± The fifth elder screamed in agony. At this moment, he finally realised how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was.

    He also understood why the second and sixth elder would give up their dignity as a Sage and dodge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack without even trying to block it.

    However, it was already toote.

    He couldn¡¯t back away anymore. He helplessly watched the Traceless Sword cutting into his arm.

    The crystal-clear armour made of seawater couldn¡¯t stop Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword at all, just like his own sword.

    His blood... Spewed into the air.

    That wasn¡¯t the end of it. The sword continued crashing towards him with a seemingly endless power.

    At this instance, the fifth elder saw a pair of eyes. The eyes were clear and translucent, but there were 4 colours spinning slowly on a te.

    It was creepy, but the fifth elder sensed death.

 Chapter 758 - The Price of Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s Growth.

    <h4>Chapter 758: The Price of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Growth.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Boom!¡± The Traceless Sword finallynded and split the entire Endless Sea Domain into two.

    Blood turned the seawater red. The stunning scene left the entire Yin Yang Hall dead silent.

    The fifth elder was pale as a sheet. He looked at the Endless Sea Domain which was split into two, and then at the great elder, Mo Yu, who was standing beside him. His lips couldn¡¯t help trembling.

    He knew that if Mo Yu didn¡¯te to his rescue at thest minute, he would have been split into two just like the Endless Sea Domain.

    ¡°This fellow is really... Powerful!¡± The fifth elder didn¡¯t say that loudly, but all the disciples heard him clearly.

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡¯ Mo Yu nodded.

    ¡°Great elder, we can¡¯t hesitate anymore!¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± The great elder nodded again. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a firm expression and said, ¡°Since it hase to this, we can¡¯t spare his life!¡±

    ¡°Please kill him, great elder!¡±

    ¡°Yes, please do it!¡±

    ¡°Kill him and restore Yin Yang Hall¡¯s reputation!¡±

    The three others elders spoke in unison.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall chimed in after they regained theirposure.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how Yin Yang Hall restores its reputation!¡± A voice came from the sky, and a crimson sh descended before Fang Zhengzhi and continued, ¡°Mo Yu, the great elder of Yin Yang Hall, a renowned master for over 100 years. At the peak of Sage State, you still have tobine forces with three elders to fight a junior at Rebirth State. I have never heard of such a method to restore one¡¯s reputation!¡±

    ¡°How dare you! Do you think you can sneak into Yin Yang Hall as you wish?¡± The sixth elder yelled at the person who suddenly appeared before Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sneak? No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m announcing my entrance!¡± The person then turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re here for my grandson, how can I, Yan Qianli, be absent?¡±

    ¡°Yan Qianli?¡±

    ¡°He is Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s previous Prince Yan!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve heard that he has recently entered the Sage State. He was also part of the battle at Heaven Dao Pavilion previously. He¡¯s part of Shadow Sect!¡±

    The disciples realized who the person was after hearing what he said.

    ¡°Yan Qianli? The previous Prince Yan, haha... Prince Yan, are you here because you think that you can save Fang Zhengzhi by yourself?¡± The sixth elder scoffed at him.

    ¡°How would I know without trying?¡¯ Yan Qianli scoffed back.

    ¡°Oh? Very well, I shall test your strength!¡± The sixth elder nced at the two injured elders and then stepped out.

    ¡°If you want to test Old Yan¡¯s strength, don¡¯t forget about me!¡± Another person descended from the sky. It was a white-haired man wearing a in long robe and holding a fly-whisk.

    He was none other than Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis?¡¯ The sixth elder frowned and looked up at the sky. He furrowed his brows even more and a cold sh zoomed past his eyes as he said, ¡°It seems like... The rumour about the battle at Heaven Dao Pavilion is true!¡±

    ¡°The battle at Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Rumour?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true?¡±

    The disciples were confused by the sixth elder¡¯s words, but they looked towards the sky instinctively as well.

    Then... they were stunned by what they saw.

    At this moment, there was a massive clouding towards them. The cloud was formed by countless beasts, each with a person standing on top of its back.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis, do you want to challenge Yin Yang Hall right after you¡¯ve angered Heaven Dao Pavilion? Aren¡¯t you afraid that Shadow Sect will be destroyed?¡± The sixth elder spoke again, but his voice was obviously trembling.

    The battle between the 3000 disciples of Shadow Sect and those of Heaven Dao Pavilion had already been known throughout the entire Holy Region. In that case, he didn¡¯t think that Shadow Sect hade here to fight a losing fight.

    ¡°I am!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint responded immediately.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid? Then why don¡¯t you screw off!¡±

    ¡°Old Six!¡± Mo Yu interrupted the sixth elder. He looked at Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli and asked, ¡°Heavenly Oasis, Prince Yan, is the battle between Shadow Sect and Yin Yang Hall really unavoidable?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yan Qianli nodded directly.

    ¡°Well...¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint wanted to say something, but he shook his head after hearing Yan Qianli. ¡°It is obviously unavoidable. Since I¡¯vee all the way here, I can¡¯t return empty-handed, right? You can either let Fang Zhengzhi go or fight against us!¡±

    ¡°Very well, a battle it is!¡± Mo Yu nodded too. He rushed towards Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli without saying another word.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint blinked his eyes, surprised that the Mo Yu was already nearing him.

    ¡°Damn it... Are you going to fight us now? My people aren¡¯t here yet, can¡¯t you wait for them!¡±

    ¡°Save your nonsense forter, let¡¯s go!¡± A crimson spear appeared in Yan Qianli¡¯s hands as he said that. He brandished the spear towards Mo Yu.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint also gritted his teeth at this moment and swept towards Mo Yu with his fly-whisk.

    Just then, Mo Yu¡¯s body suddenly disappeared.

    In the next moment, the entire Endless Sea Domain started seething. The seawater that was split into two by Fang Zhengzhi joined up again, and many vortexes appeared in the waves.

    Many streams of blue light shot out of the Endless Sea Domain. Those were sea snakes created by the sea water. Their blue fangs red coldly under the sun.

    ¡°Sea Domain Burial Ground!¡± At Mo Yu¡¯smand, countless sea snakes bolted towards Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    Both their expressions changed.

    They both knew that Mo Yu was as powerful as the sect leaders of the five sects in the Holy Region. He was one of the strongest experts in the Holy Region.

    However, it felt different when they actually faced him in a fight.

    He was too powerful!

    Their strengths weren¡¯t on the same level at all!

    Heavenly Oasis Saint retracted his fly-whisk to defend himself, but he couldn¡¯t get rid of all the sea snakes that came for him.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A sea snake bit into his arm, turning his face purple. His body couldn¡¯t help but trembled. ¡°It¡¯s venomous... No, this is a spiritual attack!¡±

    ¡°I know that!¡± Yan Qianli replied and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Hurry up and leave?! We can¡¯t hold on for much longer!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say a word, but he tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword. He obviously knew why Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint were here.

    ¡°Should I leave Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint behind, and take Dao Hun away?¡±

    As long as he had Dao Hun in his hands, Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint wouldn¡¯t be killed. However, could Fang Zhengzhi really do that?

    He couldn¡¯t do that!

    How could he leave Heavenly Oasis Saint behind?

    If he left Heavenly Oasis Saint in Yin Yang Hall, there would be no one left to make sure that Dao Hun couldn¡¯t pull any dirty tricks while trying to save Yan Xiu.

    Simrly, he couldn¡¯t leave Yan Qianli behind.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly tell Yan Xiu that he had left his grandfather in Yin Yang Hall.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t run away.

    ¡°Die!¡± The disciples of Shadow Sect finally descended from the sky. The wind blew their hats away, and their swords shone chillingly in the sunlight.

    ¡°Die!¡± The disciples of Yin Yang Hall also joined the battle. All kinds of radiances lit up on their bodies as they weed their opponents with their swords.

    This seemed to be a chaotic war.

    However, there was a one-sided battle going on in one corner. The sixth elder of Yin Yang Hall was there, so were the injured fifth elder, and the two elders from Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    There were also a dozen Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples. Manyplicated symbols glittered on their foreheads.

    All of them were Sages.

    As one of the five sects in Holy Region, Yin Yang Hall had umted its power for thousands of years. It was iparable to a rising power like Shadow Sect.

    The scent of blood filled the air.

    Although Shadow Sect had outnumbered Yin Yang Hallpletely, the oue was determined at the moment the disciples at Sage State joined the battle.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi you bastard, I¡¯ve risked everything for you. If you don¡¯t run away now, you¡¯ll never be able to!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was pissed that Fang Zhengzhi hadn¡¯t moved an inch.

    ¡°Why did you guyse?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally said something.

    ¡°If we didn¡¯te, can you get out alive?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint replied with a question.

    ¡°Even if you came, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get out alive!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. We have to try. Isn¡¯t that what you have always said?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s body shook violently as he said that. He could barely stand.

    However, for some reason, he didn¡¯t back away, and he didn¡¯t evenin. He just gritted his teeth and kept holding on.

    ¡°We have to try... That¡¯s what I¡¯ve always said...¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip again, and his nails turned white from the pressure. Blood dripped off his nails and fell into the sea.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint right, he had said that many times before. He said it at Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Dao Exam, in the Throne Room, on the battlefield in the Southern Region, and also in me Capital City...

    Fang Zhengzhi treated it as the motto of his life. He tried courageously even if the task before him seemed impossible.

    However, for some reason, he was doubting himself now.

    ¡°Can I really try to do everything?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up. He saw the disciples of Shadow Sect copsing one after another. Their blood painted the ground red, but none of them took a step back.

    They swung their swords relentlessly.

    However, all their efforts were fruitless because they faced a dozen Sages. They dropped to the ground, continuously.

    One after another, Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples turned into corpses.

    ¡°Am I wrong? Was it a mistake toe here?¡± For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if he made the right choice.

    In Great Xia Dynasty, he did whatever he wanted to, and he survived every single time. He even managed to do his country a great service in the end.

    That made him over-confident.

    He thought that it would be the same in the Holy Region too...

    He thought that he could act on his impulse and wander around freely. Most importantly, since he didn¡¯t have much time left, he felt that this was the only way he could stay alive.

    He did things in his own way.

    Therefore, during the entrance exam at Heaven Dao Pavilion, he willfully acted as Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple because he thought that he was helping Yan Xiu.

    However, what had actually happened, was that Yan Xiu was almost controlled by the Fallen Asura during that battle. If Chi Guyan didn¡¯t make it in time, he probably would have turned into a Fallen Asura already.

    That was the result of his wilfulness.

    If not for him, Yan Xiu¡¯s Origin Energy wouldn¡¯t be sealed away, and he wouldn¡¯t have been held hostage by the three Sages of ck Moon Ind.

    Yet now, in order to save Yan Xiu, he came to Yin Yang Hall alone, thinking that he was capable of kidnapping Dao Hun by himself. However, he dragged the entire Shadow Sect into this mess as a result.

    There was blood was far as he could see.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be dead in two months...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the sky. The sun was beautiful, but it was tainted by the scent of blood. ¡°Yan Xiu, tell me, am I really wrong... The Holy Region is nothing like Great Xia Dynasty. I was too self-righteous, and my wilfulness caused you to end up like this. I thought that I had to be different from the rest if I wanted to change my fate. However, I didn¡¯t consider your feelings. You can¡¯t allow me to suffer alone. Yan Xiu, I¡¯m sorry, I am truly wrong. However, I really want to save you now, I really... Really...¡±

 Chapter 759 - Ruler of All

    <h4>Chapter 759: Ruler of All</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Stupid brat, what the hell are you doing?!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint put on a stern expression, which he seldom did, when he sensed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s emotional change.

    ¡°Old man, I shouldn¡¯t havee to Yin Yang Hall. I was wrong. I dragged all of you into this mess, including Yan Xiu. It¡¯s me, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely depressed.

    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? There¡¯s no point in talking about who¡¯s right or who¡¯s wrong. Stupid brat, you either fight or screw off!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was enraged.

    ¡°Either fight or screw off!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples that had copsed in a pool of blood. His heart was aching.

    How could he continue to fight in this situation?

    The great elder, Mo Yu, was too powerful for him and Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli. Furthermore, Yin Yang Hall had a dozen more Sages.

    This was a massacre, a one-sided massacre at that!

    ¡°Stupid brat, just tell me if you want to save Yan Xiu.¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint asked Fang Zhengzhi again after he remained quiet for a long while.

    ¡°Yes, I do. I want to save him badly!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Then you should fight. There¡¯re no right or wrong in this word, only winning or losing. You either be someone¡¯s else stepping stone, or you can step over their corpses and be the ruler of all!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint suddenly sounded very serious even though he could hardly stand straight.

    ¡°Ruler of all!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled because it was the first time he heard Heavenly Oasis Saint using such a phrase. Furthermore, it was his first time seeing him acting so seriously.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, since we¡¯re already here, we didn¡¯t think of leaving. Furthermore, since we¡¯re here, it means that we agree with what you are doing. Even if you didn¡¯te, we would definitely be here as well!¡± Yan Qianli added.

    ¡°Even if I didn¡¯te, you guys would?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°You either be someone¡¯s else stepping stone, or you can step over their corpses and be the ruler of all!¡± Fang Zhengzhi softly repeated what Heavenly Oasis Saint had said. A radiance appeared in his dull eyes, and it was getting brighter and brighter.

    ¡°I¡¯m wrong!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m wrong indeed!¡±

    ¡°However, since I¡¯vee so far, there is no going back. There is no way back at all.¡±

    ¡°3000 Shadow Sect¡¯s disciple have entrusted their lives to me. Even Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli are putting their lives on the line for me.¡±

    ¡°In that case, how can I back off?¡±

    ¡°Rather, how can I back off now?¡±

    ¡°Regardless of the oue, I have to try, even if Yin Yang Hall¡¯s great elder, Mo Yu, is standing in front of me. I have to try, even if this is a one-sided war.¡±

    ¡°Ah!!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared loudly. His killing desire surged out of his body and turned into a life-like shadow.

    At the same time, his ck armour also changed its form. Sharp spikes that looked like fangs started appearing on his armour one after another. These spikes were red as blood and glittered with a chilly light. A fierce ck me also soared into the air.

    With Fang Zhengzhi at the centre, the ground around him sank by an entire inch. A massive picture appeared in the sky and eight balls of ck me came out of nowhere.

    ¡°What?!¡± The disciples of Yin Yang Hall were shocked to see this.

    ¡°How is he still so powerful?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    ¡°Is he really a demon?¡±

    They couldn¡¯t believe what saw, because they thought that Fang Zhengzhi had expended all his energy, and he shouldn¡¯t be capable of fighting anymore.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi stood up again, and his aura was even stronger than before. His vast killing desire circled around his body and turned the surrounding seawater into steam.

    ¡°Stupid brat, what are you doing?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was visibly startled by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s changes.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make up for my mistake!¡± Fang Zhengzhi answered the question directly.

    ¡°How are you going to do that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight till the end!¡±

    ¡°Nicely said, stupid brat. This old man will join you in your fight today!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint sounded courageous.

    ¡°Old man, you¡¯ve finally toughened up!¡± Yan Qianli nced at Heavenly Oasis Saint and Fang Zhengzhi. His fighting desire was also aroused.

    ¡°You can fight me together!¡± Mo Yu chimed in at this moment, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, since the four of us had ganged up on you, I¡¯ll now give you a chance to do the same!¡±

    ¡°1 against 4!¡±

    ¡°1 against 4!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall started shouting after they heard the great elder. This was Yin Yang Hall¡¯s true power.

    ¡°1 against 4? How could we miss out on that!¡± At this moment, they heard a clear voiceing from the sky, following which, a few people descended from above.

    They were incredibly fast.

    A person quickly appeared before Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    It was a man between about 40 to 50 years old who was wearing a grey long robe. He had round eyes and thick brows, and his hair was at his shoulders.

    ¡°Old man Yangkun?!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was surprised by his appearance, but he was also delighted.

    2 more people descended at this moment.

    One of them was ady dressed in a light-green dress. She looked like she was about 30 years old, but she had a few strands of white hair.

    The other person was dressed like a schr, wearing a light-gold schr¡¯s robe. He was slim and tall, and his brows were sharp. There were two golden swords on his back too.

    ¡°Old hag Clear Water and Old man Baiya are here too?!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint became more delighted.

    ¡°Old man Heavenly Oasis, you¡¯re still as annoying asst time!¡± Thedy that was called ¡®Old hag Clear Water¡¯ nced at Heavenly Oasis Saint and told him off.

    The middle-aged man dressed like a schr, who was called ¡®Old man Baiya¡¯, seemed to be used to Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s rude remarks. He simply drew his swords and seemed ready to fight.

    ¡°Yo, that¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi, right? I¡¯ve heard about him already, but seeing is believing. His killing desire is really intense!¡± Old man Yangkun was amazed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯ vigour.

    ¡°Old man Yangkun, do you want to join us in the 4 against 1 battle?¡± Yan Qianli asked.

    ¡°Me? Haha, I can¡¯t do that.¡± Yangkun Saint shook his head and pointed towards the sky with a smile on his face.

    Yan Qianli looked towards where Yangkun was pointing at, and he seemed to have understood something.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, didn¡¯t say a word.

    He could roughly guess the identity of the 3 people that showed up. In Great Xia Dynasty, there were one pavilion, four sages, and thirteen constabries. The pavilion was obviously referring to Heaven Dao Pavilion, which was a friendly ally to Great Xia Dynasty.

    The 3 people that showed up were definitely not part of Heaven Dao Pavilion, so they were definitely the 3 sages who wandered around freely. Together with Heavenly Oasis Saint, they were called the four sages.

    They were Yangkun Saint, Baiya Saint, and Clear Water Sage. Clear Water Sage was the master of Wu Feng, who fought Fang Zhengzhi in the Southern Region.

    When Yan Xiu meant Wu Feng, Wu Feng mentioned that Clear Water Sage and Yan Qianli were close friends. Therefore, Yan Xiu and Wu Feng had met each other several times when they were young.

    However, this wasn¡¯t why Fang Zhengzhi remained silent. It was because of the 2 people in the sky whom Yangkun Saint and Yan Qianli had spotted as well.

    One of them was Yan Qing,

    The other was Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan was wearing a pink dress as per normal. A snow-white belt wrapped around her waist and emphasized her beautiful figure. Her long, ck hair danced gently behind her back while she looked down at the battlefield. Due to the sunlight, there was a shade of redness on her cheeks.

    Chi Guyan was beautiful because of her perfect facial features and her peerless appearance, as well as her arrogance and solitude. It felt like no one could taint her beauty as she stood on top of a giant snow-white beast.

    ¡°That¡¯s Chi Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan, the chosen one!¡±

    ¡°Why is she here? Is Heaven Dao Pavilion here as well?!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall diverted all their attention to Chi Guyan. With her presence, the three saints seemed insignificant.

    This was because Chi Guyan¡¯s arrival didn¡¯t only represent Heaven Dao Pavilion. It also represented a prophecy that everyone in the Holy Region knew about.

    Chi Guyan, the chosen one!

    Chi Guyan jumped off the back of the beast. She didn¡¯t fall down too quickly, but she was dashing downwards with an antique and simple sword in her hand.

    The tip of the sword was pointing straight at the great elder, Mo Yu.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need 4 people. 2 will be enough!¡± Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t a talker. She had expressed her intention with a sword and a short sentence.

    Mo Yu¡¯s expression finally changed. Even his scar trembled uncontrobly when he saw Chi Guyan charging towards him.

    They could tell that he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet all the way. Nevertheless, his expression was extremely gloomy.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s sword descended!

    It was as if tens of thousands of starlight had fallen down, and each of them was actually a sword. This was Divine Constabry¡¯s Million Sword Illustration. However, there was a humongous shadow amidst the countless starlight.

    It was an incredibly pretty woman with her long hair behind her back. The bottom half of her body was a huge snake tail covered with five-coloured scales. She felt unopposable.

    The great elder finally moved.

    He reached his right hand into the sea waves and pulled out a dark-blue spear that waspletely made of seawater. It was a long and narrow spear with a dark-blue jewel at its tip.

    ¡°Ocean¡¯s Rage!¡± The great elder swung his spear and turned the seawater into a massive snake, heading straight for Chi Guyan¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Rumble!¡±

    Tens of thousands of starlight struck the snake, creating a massive wave.

    The snake seemed to be stopped by the bombardment of starlight. It twisted its body around, looking for a chance to strike while it tried to dodge the starlight.

    This was a stunning scene.

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall were astounded. Although they knew that Chi Guyan, the chosen one, was very powerful, they didn¡¯t expect her to be able to take Mo Yu¡¯s attack head-on.

    ¡°Destroy!¡± Chi Guyan yelled softly. Just then, a gigantic ck shadow appeared above the great elder¡¯s head. It was a huge rock that appeared out of nowhere, and it was falling rapidly towards his head.

    ¡°The Top Gifted Bloodline surely lives up to its name!¡± The spear in Mo Yu¡¯s hand turned in countless spear shadows above his head.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The rock was shattered and fell into the raging waves. The seawater that sshed up gathered towards the giant snake at an incredible speed.

    In just a moment, the giant snake was covered with scales that seemed like an armour. The scales were translucent like a jewel, glittering brightly under the sunlight.

    All of these took ce very quickly.

    From the moment Chi Guyan jumped off the beast to the point when Mo Yu blocked her move, they had already traded blows twice. It happened in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°She¡¯s so powerful!¡±

    ¡°Is that the power of the chosen one?¡±

    ¡°The Top Gifted Bloodline!¡±

    Although the disciples of Yin Yang Hall weren¡¯t near the Endless Sea Domain, they could sense the intensity of the terrifying fight above them.

    At this moment, a person rushed out of the crowd standing in the Endless Sea Domain. He was too fast to even be seen clearly.

    However, there was a dragon¡¯s roar as soon as the person stepped out. All the disciples thought of the same person simultaneously when they heard that.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    With a sh of purple and red light, the giant snake stopped moving.

    After that, its head fell down into the sea.

 Chapter 760 - Identity of the Woman in the Pavilion

    <h4>Chapter 760: Identity of the Woman in the Pavilion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The dark-blue seawater sshed around as a person slowly appeared in the air. His long, blue robe was swaying with the wind.

    Beneath him, the giant snake¡¯s body finally fell into the sea just like its head.

    There was a creepy silence in the next moment.

    Meanwhile, the disciples of Yin Yang Hall went ck-jawed when they saw the giant snake copsing.

    ¡°This fellow, he... He managed to destroy the great elder¡¯s Ocean¡¯s Rage with a single sword?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°Powerful. They are both so powerful!¡±

    They were truly impressed by what they saw because such a fight was an exceptionally rare urrence even for them.

    However, they couldn¡¯t continue watching the fight as they were surrounded by the fearless disciples of Shadow Sect.

    ¡°Die!¡± The disciples of Yin Yang Hall shouted.

    ¡°Kill them!¡± Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples also screamed at the top of their lungs.

    Yan Qianli looked at the 3 sages and said in a serious tone, ¡°Yan Qianli truly appreciates your help...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Prince Yan. Since we are all part of the Great Xia Dynasty, we share the same ancestors. In that case, we must stand together!¡± Clear Water Sage stopped Yan Qianli, and an antique ck zither appeared in her hands. She looked towards Baiya Saint and said, ¡°Brother Bai, let¡¯s fight!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± Baiya Saint nodded with an intense fighting desire. Without further ado, he charged towards the dozen Yin Ying Hall¡¯s Sages with two swords in his hand.

    ¡°Hahaha, the student has surpassed the master. Old man Heavenly Oasis, you might be weak, but your disciple is really something. I¡¯ll fight alongside you today!¡± Yangkun Saintughed out loud and joined the battle as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m not weak. I¡¯m just concealing my real strength!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint shot Yangkun Saint a sneering nce and subconsciously looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with a look of approval. He then swallowed a few pills and joined the battle too.

    Yan Qianli... He already charged out at the same moment as Baiya Saint. It seemed like he wanted topete against Baiya Saint, so he was going as fast as he could.

    ¡°Ding...¡± They heard the sound of the zither. Although it sounded weirdly tranquil in this bloodbath, it was like a weapon.

    The sound was a shapeless killer. Although Clear Water Sage was thest to join the battle, she was the one that truly turned the tide. This was because the sound of her zither killed a bunch of people instead of only one.

    After the Sages joined the battle, more people started dying. While the disciples of Shadow Sect copsed, the disciples of Yin Yang Hall started dropping to the ground as well.

    The scent of blood filled the air.

    This was a mindless massacre. In a war like this, both sides were suffering tremendous loss.

    ...

    Mo Yu had never looked so upset before. His face couldn¡¯t stop trembling and he gripped the spear so tight that his hand turned white.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had both descended and were standing on the sea. However, they both looked extremely determined.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything because he didn¡¯t know what to say. Chi Guyan also kept quiet because she seemed to know that Fang Zhengzhi was unwilling to talk. She stood quietly beside Fang Zhengzhi with the antique and simple sword in front of her chest. She looked noble and aloof.

    The stand-off didn¡¯tst too long, because Fang Zhengzhi made the first move, and Chi Guyan followed beside him. Two swords were heading for Mo Yu.

    ¡°Two? Just two?¡± Mo Yu shouted angrily and formed a huge wave behind him.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword shed onto the huge wave, and so did Chi Guyan¡¯s sword.

    Tens of thousands of starlight glittered as if each of them was a sword. The humongous and noble shadow moved even faster.

    ¡°Freeze!¡± Chi Guyan shouted softly.

    Even the air seemed to have frozen at this moment. The spear in Mo Yu¡¯s hand stopped moving, and his expression changed again.

    This was the ability of N¨¹wa¡¯s bloodline.

    It was definitely the highest form of spiritual attack. It was even able to stop Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing from moving for half a second.

    In that case, Mo Yu couldn¡¯t possibly break free from it instantly.

    The great elder stopped moving, but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword was already above his head.

    ¡°Break!¡± Mo Yu yelled angrily and shielded himself with the roaring waves. Despite that, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword still hit him.

    A stream of blood flew into the air.

    Traceless Sword had made a small cut on Mo Yu¡¯s chest. Although there was hardly any blood, it was the first time that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to injure Mo Yu.

    ¡°sh!¡± Traceless Sword stabbed into the sea, following which, countless sword radiances appeared from the waves and headed toward the great elder.

    It was Hundred Dragon sh!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hold back because he already understood that there was no going back. He had to keep moving forward.

    ¡°Rumble...¡± Countless roaring swords sted the seawater that protected Mo Yu¡¯s body, sending waves everywhere.

    This was a fierce fight.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were teaming up against Mo Yu, he didn¡¯t sacrifice offense for defense. Mo Yu charged towards Fang Zhengzhi instead of falling back when he used Hundred Dragon sh.

    The dark-blue spear tore through the bombardment of swords and shot towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck like a sh of light.

    ¡°Cling!¡±

    Chi Guyan blocked the spear with her sword, and she was forced to move back. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword already up in the air, and the countless swords gathered towards Traceless Swords.

    For an instant, Traceless Sword became 10 times bigger.

    He then split the Endless Sea Region into two again with another strike!

    This was an inescapable fight. Although Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan didn¡¯t have many opportunities to fight together, their synergy was enough to frighten Mo Yu.

    This was an intense battle.

    While Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan fought against Mo Yu, almost 100 of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples were killed. Simrly, Shadow Sect suffered the loss of more than 200 disciples.

    The scent of blood was getting so strong that they could hardly breathe. The atmosphere became more depressing. Even though the sun had risen, it couldn¡¯t mask the devastation of the battle.

    As time went on, there were more corpses on the ground. Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples were running out of breath, while disciples of Shadow Sect couldn¡¯t stand firm.

    Yangkun Saint was already bathing in blood. There were many cuts on Clear Water Sage¡¯s face too. Baiya Saint¡¯s swords werepletely covered in blood too.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint had swallowed 10 bottles of pills already, and Yan Qianli¡¯s eyes were red as blood.

    Across the battlefield, the sixth elder of Yin Yang Hall was bleeding. The radiance on the foreheads of the third and fourth elders of Nine Pinnacles Mountain shone brightly. They were surrounded by the dozen disciples at Sage state.

    This was a fierce battle too. Although no one was killed, everyone was more or less injured.

    It was near the noon.

    It wasn¡¯t too hot in the mountain range although it was near summer. The golden sunlight reflected off the river of blood on the ground beautifully.

    At this moment, someone approached the battlefield hastily. It was a pretty woman with a jade-green dress that was decorated with 3 white petals.

    Her curly brows and dark eyes,bined with the faint herbal fragrance on her body, gave the impression that she was a spirit that descended on earth,pletely untainted by the human world.

    She was clearly in a hurry. The anxiousness in her expression grew stronger when she saw what was happening before the 1000 Herb Hall.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Her clear and pleasant voice was like a stream of spring water that washed the blood away.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword stopped.

    This was because he knew this woman. She was the woman in the pavilion, and her alias was ¡°Xin Mu¡±. However, he didn¡¯t stop his sword because he knew her. It was because she was holding an unconscious man.

    Fang Zhengzhi squinted, and his knuckles cracked. He didn¡¯t know why the woman was here, but he knew that she was carrying Yan Xiu, and that was thest thing he wanted to see.

    There was a short silence.

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword stopped, both the great elder¡¯s and Chi Guyan¡¯s weapons stopped moving as well.

    All the disciples of Yin Yang Hall were dumbfounded to see her. They had never expected her to show up here.

    The disciples of Shadow Sect... They obviously didn¡¯t know who she was. However, they could tell that she was very special to Yin Yang Hall.

    They knew that because all the disciples of Yin Yang Hall stopped moving when they heard her.

    The short silence added a hint of eeriness to the suffocating atmosphere. However, it didn¡¯tst for too long.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I really didn¡¯t expect you to seed!¡± The woman was surprised to see Chi Guyan, but she ultimately rested her gaze on Dao Hun, who was on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you could get out either.¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t lying, because he clearly remembered that he tied her up properly.

    Their conversation didn¡¯t make much sense, leaving the disciples of Yin Yang Hall feeling confused. However, none of them interrupted the conversation.

    The woman didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to continue talking about that. She nced around the battlefield as if she was looking for something amidst the bloodbath.

    A momentter, she glimpsed at Mo Yu and asked, ¡°Did you really enter 1000 Herb Hall and got out safely?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°However, you seemed to be corned when you tried to get out and failed to escape. This means that you were already discovered when you entered 1000 Herb Hall.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply because she was right. He was discovered before he entered 1000 Herb Hall, or rather, he was already discovered when he made up his mind to enter 1000 Herb Hall.

    ¡®If you can force the great elder to fight you, it means that you are really strong. Am I right to say that you injured the fourth, fifth, and eighth elders?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t deny it.

    ¡°Since I have Yan Xiu and you have my master, why don¡¯t we exchange them? What do you think?¡± The woman stopped talking and carefully ced Yan Xiu onto the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply immediately, but he knitted his brows.

    This time, he didn¡¯t know what to do. Exchanging Yan Xiu with Dao Hun seemed like a very reasonable suggestion.

    Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t have rejected that idea.

    However, he didn¡¯t reply immediately not because he didn¡¯t care about Yan Xiu¡¯ life. On the contrary, he couldn¡¯t give Dao Hun back to the woman because he cared about Yan Xiu¡¯s life.

    If he were to reject her suggestion... How could he take Yan Xiu back?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to save Yan Xiu?¡± After the moment, the woman asked another question. She wasn¡¯t surprised that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t reply to her previous suggestion.

    ¡°Tell me your name!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally replied. However, the question that he asked seemed to bepletely unrted to what the woman was asking. Furthermore, he had already asked her about her name in the pavilion. Nevertheless, he did it again.

 Chapter 761 - When Thereâ€™s Life, Thereâ€™ll Be Death

    <h4>Chapter 761: When There¡¯s Life, There¡¯ll Be Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°My surname is Dao, Xin is my name.¡± Thedy did not hesitate much before gradually moving forward one step.

    ¡°Dao Xin? Indeed your surname is Dao?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth quivered a little. Next, he raised his head lightly, gazing towards the horizon. Of course, he knew the meaning of the surname Dao. Even if thedy did not explicitly mention it, but as for her identity, he had roughly understood it. ¡°Indeed, I was too soft-hearted.¡±

    ¡°Soft-hearted?!¡±

    ¡°This punk dares to mention that he¡¯s soft-hearted? He really said it!¡±

    ¡°I have never seen such a thick-skinned shameless person!¡±

    Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, the Yin Yang Hall disciples were all bewildered. They felt immensely disdainful towards him.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re indeed soft-hearted. But this is not necessarily a bad trait.¡± Lady ¡°Dao Xin¡± did not seem to scornful, instead she nodded her head sincerely in agreement.

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    The Yin Yang Hall disciples looked at one another, before turning their attention towards Dao Xin. It seemed as though their faces were just struck with a tight p, and that they were burning in pain.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not continue saying much, because he did not know the motive of Dao Xin¡¯s appearance. As such, he was waiting, waiting for Dao Xin to continue talking.

    And Dao Xin seemed to have understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intentions, as she did not let him wait too long, ¡°Ever since you came to Yin Yang Hall, there were a total of two and a half times where you were soft-hearted.¡±

    ¡°Two and a half times?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly, and he felt as though even he did not quite understood when those instances were.

    Furthermore, when did these two and a half times start from?

    In reality, it was not only Fang Zhengzhi and the surrounding disciples, but Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Elders and even the Heavenly Oasis Saint who seemed to have not understood her.

    ¡°Yes, there were a total of two and a half instances. The first was when you were against me. You clearly knew that you had grabbed hold of me, and you could tell that I was of special status, yet you chose to act alone, and did not choose to threaten my life. This was your first instance.¡± Dao Xin opened his mouth.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not respond.

    However, upon hearing those words, the disciples were all bbergasted. Amidst the shock, they felt angry and bewildered too.

    ¡°This punk dared to.....¡±

    ¡°Disgusting!¡±

    ¡°Definitely cannot keep him!¡±

    The Yin Yang Hall Disciples were all feeling indignant. Furthermore, such anger was even more intense than before.

    Dao Xin extended his hand at this point. She did not seem angry at all. Instead, she was calm and peaceful.

    ¡°The second instance was when you rushed out of the Thousand Herb Hall. If I did not guess wrongly, not only did you not take my life, you did the same for Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder and even Eighth Elder. Is that not true?¡± Dao Xin opened her mouth again.

    Fang Zhengzhi remained silent, as he did not wish to admit such a happening. But the reality was that he had indeed shown them mercy.

    When he had killed Shi Fan at the bottom of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, it was because Shi Fan and Yuan Rong had used Yan Xiu as hostage, but Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder and Eighth Elder did not do that.

    Fang Zhengzhi had kidnapped Dao Hun.

    As such, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder and Eighth Elder had no choice but to stop him. There was no personal rivalry between them.

    ¡°Did this punk really intentionally show them mercy?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.....¡±

    ¡°But it seems like there was such a possibility!¡±

    Upon hearing till here, the Yin Yang Hall disciples finally had a change of expression. Afterall, as what Dao Xin had mentioned, Fang Zhengzhi had injured the three Elders, but he did not kill any of them.

    ¡°As for thest half instance, I think you should know what it is already.¡± As Dao Xin was opening her mouth, she looked towards Dao Hun who was on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulders.

    And Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew what Dao Xin was referring to.

    Half an instance?

    How unreasonable!

    ¡°A month ago, at the bottom of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, you had killed five Sages in a row. Everyone thought that you were killing indiscriminately, but I don¡¯t think so. In reality, without your half instance of being soft-hearted, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here talking to you.¡± Dao Xin did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to respond.

    ¡°How do you want to talk?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Firstly, I must admit that you¡¯re more capable that what I have thought. But you have lost this battle!¡± Dao Xin¡¯s tone was extremely confident.

    ¡°How do you tell?¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded.

    ¡°Because, your aim ofing to Yin Yang Hall was to save people, and not to kill them. However, you caused Yin Yang Hall to be aplete bloodbath, and you were unable to leave Yin Yang Hall yourself. How are you going to fulfil your aim?¡±

    ¡°You think I cannot leave Yin Yang Hall?¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiu is in my hands, how are you going to leave here?¡±

    ¡°Or maybe, I really shouldn¡¯t have shown you mercy.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched the Traceless Sword even more tightly, and his crystallised eyes shining even more radiantly.

    ¡°Ok, if you had killed me earlier, maybe you could really have escaped from Yin Yang Hall. Although, is that really the result that you were looking for?¡± Dao Xin nodded her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking so much, what are you really trying to say? If you are trying to persuade me to let Dao Hun go, then I suggest you stop wasting your effort.¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth.

    ¡°Maybe, let¡¯s make a deal.¡± Dao Xin said.

    ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°I heard you posses the Dao of Yin Yang?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Then you should understand the logic revolving around Yin and Yang. Everything in this world are of equilibrium, there is nothing that does not result in a return. Just like Yin and Yang, when there¡¯s Yin there will be Yang, when there¡¯s life..... naturally there will be death!¡± Dao Xin pointed out.

    ¡°Your meaning is, use my life, to exchange for Yan Xiu¡¯s one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled revealed a smile on his face upon hearing Dao Xin¡¯s words.

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±

    ¡°I seem to have no other choice, such as bringing you and Dao Hun out of the Yin Yang Hall, before using your life to threaten Dao Hun to release Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°Indeed that is quite a good suggestion. However, the only criteria is that you must capture me once again, or rather, you must capture me before I kill Yan Xiu!¡± A sword appeared on Dao Xin¡¯s hands, and it immediately pressed against Yan Xiu¡¯s heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi remained silent, but the Traceless Sword in his hand had already separated her sword from Yan Xiu¡¯s heart.

    ¡°You dare!¡± Sixth Elder opened his mouth.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if you dare to injure the Hallmaster, today none of you shall even think of leaving the Yin Yang Hall!¡± Great Elder clenched the spear in his hand even more vigorously.

    But at this moment Dao Xin extended her hand once again, preventing Great Elder and Sixth Elder from continuing. Next, she looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, ¡°Is this a stalemate?¡±

    ¡°Is it not?¡± Fang Zhengzhi responed.

    Dao Xin smiled a little, but remained silent. However, the spear on her hand moved down slightly a few inches. ¡°Pu Ci¡±, it pierced into below Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s facial expression changed immediately.

    Even Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint had their expressions changed. Everything in this world seemed to have restored its stillness once again.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s clenched his Traceless Sword even more tightly. It moved up a few inches, shifting towards the top area of the heart.

    ¡°No!¡± At this moment, someone grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. It was none other than Chi Guyan, who had remained silent all this while.

    ¡°Why no?¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded.

    ¡°Will be awaken.¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was not loud, in fact it was very light.

    However, it was loud enough for Fang Zhengzhi to hear. His expression immediately turned rigid.

    Awaken?

    HIs attention turned towards the smiling Dao Xin, before looking at the spear that she had pierced into Yan Xiu¡¯s body. He bit into his lips vigorously.

    For the first time, he clearly understood the abnormality of thedy Dao Xin. Amidst the words and the smiles, she had a deep plot nned within them.

    How radical!

    Furthermore, she had used the most unbearable trait to trigger him.

    If not for Chi Guyan¡¯s reminder. Fang Zhengzhi may have already entered the final state. And this whole process merely took a few sentences toplete.

    Was this the Holy Region?!

    ¡°The Choose One Chi Guyan, you¡¯re indeed intelligent. Your fame is well-deserved!¡± Dao Xin let out a sigh, before slowly withdrawing the long spear. She moved half an inch towards her left, before opening her mouth. ¡°Then, Fang Zhengzhi, do you still think we¡¯re in a stalemate?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi bit into his lips tightly, and blood could not seen dripping from the corner of his mouth. His bodily strength felt extremely unstable. He could not help but emit a ferocious vibe around him.

    He had no idea how to solve this problem.

    Because, he could not force himself to disregard Yan Xiu¡¯s life, but at the same time, he could only stare helplessly at Dao Xin¡¯s sword piercing into Yan Xiu¡¯s body.

    Looking at the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s eyes, it was of a simr expression. Yes, this was not a stalemate, it was a battle that he had already lost.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you have already tried your best. Xiu-er will understand!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s voice erupted in the air. At the same time, his body started emitting a glow of red light. Next, as swift as lightning, he leapt towards Dao Xin.

    However, just when Yan Qianli was rushing towards Dao Xin, a figure prevented him from doing so. It was Sixth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Yan Qianli, first you have to bypass me!¡± Sixth Elder had already started attacking, without any hesitation or dy.

    ¡°Old man Yan, let me help you!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint started moving at this moment.

    The other Sages, including Yan Qing, leapt swiftly towards Dao Xin.

    How could the people of Yin Yang Hall allow such a situation to happen?

    The ceasefire was broken once again. Furthermore, aspared to just now, the frustration and anger on both sides far surpassed that of the previous atmosphere.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not bear to allow such a bloodbath to continue, as he did not want anymore Shadow Sect disciples to perish.

    It was enough.

    Just like what Yan Qianli had said, they had already expended their strength for this battle.

    ¡°We have lost!¡± Fang Zhengzhi red intently at Chi Guyan. From her face, he could tell that they had the same expression.

    Yes, lost.....

    ¡°I have already mentioned the criteria just now. When there¡¯s life there will be death. You can choose if you are the one to continue living, or Yan Xiu!¡± Dao Xin nodded her head, and seemed to have ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, Xiu-er has already reached such a state. This is his life, he doesn¡¯t owe it to anybody!¡± Yan Qianli replied hastily.

    ¡°Yes, little punk, while the green hillsst, there¡¯ll be wood to burn. When there¡¯s life there¡¯s hope. We must first bring Yan Xiu out first, before thinking of other methods.....¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you make any foolish decisions, with your ingenuity, your future is limitless!¡± Yangkun Saint swung his sword.

    ¡°Future?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his head slightly and looked towards the scorching sun. It was dazzling, and he was almost unable to concentrate.

    He did not want to die.

    He had a lot of worries remaining in this world. For example, his parents in the Northern Mountain Vige, as well as the innocent and kind vigers.

    Furthermore, there was still Ping Yang, who was waiting for him at Ling Yun Tower. He did not know how she was doing now.

    ¡°Can you help me to do two things?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan. However prideful she may be, she still stood by him at the key moments of his life.

    ¡°No, you should do the things that you want to do yourself.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head, as she tried to avoid Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eye contact.

    ¡°First thing, take care of my parents. Do not tell them that I have died, I know you are able to do this ording to your abilities. Next thing..... Two monthster, represent me to Ling Yun Tower, and tell Ping Yang that I have failed to keep the appointment.....¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan had understood his intentions.

    Furthermore, he knew that Chi Guyan would not stop him, because if she were to be in his position, she would make the same choice.

    ¡°Seems like you have made your decision?¡± Dao Xin¡¯s voice could be heard once again, interrupting the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Yes, but I have another condition!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, before walking two steps forward.

    ¡°Okay, you say!¡± Dao Xin smiled a little, before withdrawing her sword. A light perfume smell circted around her body. The purity of the smell made it seem as though she had not just stabbed Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

 Chapter 762 - Look Quietly

    <h4>Chapter 762: Look Quietly</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°I want you to swear in front of everyone, that after saving Yan Xiu, you cannot allow Yan Xiu to avenge me. Simrly, you must ensure that he will be able to lead a proper life in the Holy Region!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stared intently on Dao Xin¡¯s face. His expression was as serious as ever.

    ¡°Alright, I promise you!¡± Dao Xin nodded her head, her face equally as imposing and serious.

    ¡°Shameless thief, you are really going to.....¡± Chi Guyan looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, and seemed a little speechless.

    ¡°Yes, I have already decided.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

    ¡°Little punk, don¡¯t do anything foolish. Your actions won¡¯t have any meaning!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Fang Zhengzhi, we all can tell that you have already tried your best. But, there are some things that are just fated, there is no point trying to deny them!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, your life cannot be used to rece that of Xiu-er¡¯s. If there is a need to rece, then use mine!¡± Yan Qianli opened his mouth again, before looking at Dao Xin. ¡°Dao Xin, I Yan Qianli am willing to use my life to rece his!¡±

    ¡°You? The Chief of Western Liang? Indeed you¡¯re of a respectable status, but I have no interest in your life!¡± A smile appeared on Dao Xin¡¯s mouth too.

    ¡°You.....¡±

    ¡°Old man Heavenly Oasis, grandpa Yan, both of you should leave. Thismotion is created by me, naturally I will settle it myself.¡± Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint. Next, he gradually raised the Traceless Sword in his hand, ¡°It was me who brought your out, but I cannot continue this journey with you.....¡±

    ¡°Yin!¡± A gush of ferocious vibe emitted from the Traceless Sword, permeating the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not continue talking.

    He merely looked at the surrounding disciples, before turning his attention towards Chi Guyan. Then he gradually closed his eyes.

    The Traceless Sword in his hand was already close to his throat.

    At this moment, countless memories shed past his mind. From the moment he was born to the turning point when he had coincidentally met Chi Guyan.

    Memories after memories.

    His encounter with Yan Xiu, which culminated in their friendship.

    And his mischievous acts in the examination of the Law of Dao, and his weird experience in the Southern Region, as well as his battle with Ji Duan King in the me Capital City.

    All these memories seemed to sh past his mind swiftly, just like a mysterious dream, and that now the dream was about to end. Or so to say, he was about to be woken up.

    Where would he be in the next life?

    He could feel the coldness of the de of the Traceless Sword, and a light smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

    In this life, he had indeed led a more interesting life than the previous one. In fact, to even have managed to reach such a state, he could say that he had indeed done a good job. The only pity was that, he was still unable to fully integrate in this world.

    Kindness?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not feel that he was too kind.

    He hadmitted a lot of ¡°unkind¡± deeds, such as stealing chickens, setting traps, and even unscrupulously attacking others from behind.

    But, he did not know why he just could notplete thest step, which was to change his world view he had of previously.

    Just like what Dao Xin had said, even after entering Yin Yang Hall, he was still ¡°too soft-hearted¡±.

    He had let Dao Xin go, and even released Fifth Elder.....

    If he had not done so, but instead after entering Yin Yang Hall, he had killed Dao Xin instantly.

    Then, maybe he would not have reached such a state.

    He felt that this world was much more cruel.

    Because, indeed he was unable to discard his previous world view, and he was unable to kill indiscriminately, to view human lives as nothing more than a strand of grass.

    As such, he felt that he had indeed failed.

    Of course, there was no point discussing about all these. In reality, Fang Zhengzhi had already reached the end of his path, and it was maybe due to his kindness, and that he was trying to retain the same heart that he had.

    No matter what the reason was, s, he had reached this state.

    To use his life, to exchange for that of Yan Xiu¡¯s?

    This seemed to be....

    A form of kindness?

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched the Traceless Sword tightly, and imitated the scene that he had seen previously. He would slide the de against his throat, before spinning his body.

    This would be the most graceful posture.

    A person can die, but his death must be graceful!

    But he did not know why.....

    When Fang Zhengzhi was twisting the sword, he did not feel any pain.

    He looked down and realised that the Traceless Sword did not seem to be following his intended gestures. It stayed still in mid-air, and no matter how much strength he exerted on it, it did not seem to move an inch.

    ¡°This..... can I borrow a sword?¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes and looked at Dao Xin, who was waiting silently for him to take his own life. It was a little awkward.

    ¡°.....¡± Dao Xin¡¯s lips moved. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi before looking at the Traceless Sword. She did not say anything.

    And the surrounding Yin Yang Hall disciples, as well as the Elders, were looking at one another. They did not know what to say.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint was a little speechless as well. He seemed to be mouthing out loud, ¡°Little punk, are you trying to y with me?¡±

    Then.....

    A sword reached in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a sword which was tossed from a distance. Its de shimmered brightly, and it could be seen that it was a good sword.

    As for the person tossing the sword, it was none other than Yan Qing.

    ¡°While I don¡¯t use swords, I have a sword by my side.¡± Yan Qing replied calmly.

    ¡°.....¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sword in front of him, and felt a little muddled in his mind. He felt like asking Yan Qing, why must you be so honest and frank? I want, and you give?

    But atst, he did not say those words. He looked at the sword in front of him, and did not know whether to pick it up.

    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s too easy for him like that!¡± Just when the atmosphere was feeling a little awkward, someone in the crowd shouted out loud.

    Next, a figure walked out from the crowd, and beside him, there was another elderly person wearing the same uniform.

    They were Third Elder and Fourth Elder from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Their fully ck costumes seemed to stand out from the rest of the people. As such, when the two Elders stepped out from the crowd, they attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°For stopping Fang Zhengzhi from taking his life, what do these two Elders have in mind?¡± Great Elder Mo Yu saw Dao Xin¡¯s expression, and waited for her gesture before looking towards the two Elders.

    Afterall, the two Elders had wanted to meet himself and Dao Hun. As such, it was only appropriate that he was the one to ask the question.

    ¡°Great Elder Mo you have mistaken. We only nned to take something back from Fang Zhengzhi that originally belonged to us.¡± Third Elder of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain shook his head.

    ¡°Something that was originally owned by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Great Elder Mo Yu seemed to have understood Third Elder¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes, Great Elder Mo should know, that it was because of that thing that resulted in our Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader¡¯s great misfortune. Now that the thing Fang Zhengzhi is in front of us, we hope that Great Elder Mo can allow us to bring him back to Nine Pinnacles Mountain, for us to persecute him!¡± Third Elder continued.

    ¡°How do you n to persecute him?¡± Great Elder Mo Yu looked at Dao Xin once again, before opening his mouth.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi once swallowed our Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s treasure, the Thousand Years Fire Herb. We think that his current strength has something to do with the effects of the herb. As such, before the herb has fully taken effect, we n to refine him into a herb!¡± Third Elder proceeded to exin.

    ¡°Refine him into a herb?!¡±

    ¡°You want to morph a live human being into a herb?¡±

    ¡°Even if it was ording to the our Yin Yang Hall, we would not have used this method.....¡±

    The Yin Yang Hall disciples were all bbergasted. Afterall, to morph a living person into a herb seemed quite ruthless.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s situation is a little special. The Thousand Years Fire Herb is still in his body. So we n to use his body as a furnace, and to refine the herb inside his body, before extracting it.¡± Third Elder borated upon hearing the surrounding discussion.

    The Yin Yang Hall disciples did not say anything else, because while such a phenomenon may seem ruthless in the Holy Region, it was not unheard of.

    Especially since Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body still contained the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    Then, it was only normal to refine the herb before extracting it.

    Afterall, the Thousand Years Fire Herb was a treasure, and there was only one or two of it existing in the entire Holy Region.

    ¡°Great Elder Mo, we know that this request may seem a little too unreasonable, but you should understand the importance of Fang Zhengzhi to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. If you can permit us to continue, we Nine Pinnacles Mountain will return the favour with luxury gifts, as for.....¡± Third Elder looked at Fourth Elder upon saying this sentence.

    And Fourth Elder seemed to have understood Third Elder¡¯s meaning, and he nodded his head in agreement.

    ¡°Furthermore, we agree to split the extracted herb into half, and give it to Yin Yang Hall. If Great Elder Mo is worried, you can send an Elder to apany us to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. We always believe that the skill of refining herbs has always been our number one talent among the Five Sectors!¡± Third Elder continued upon seeing Fourth Elder nodding his head.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster, what do you think?¡± Great Elder Mo finally asked Dao Xin upon hearing these words.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt a little bewildered, as in his mind, he had always thought that since he was Dao Hun¡¯s daughter, it would have been more appropriate for Great Elder to call her Lady instead.

    Second Hallmaster.....

    What is this meaning?

    Could it be that she was not Dao Hun¡¯s daughter?

    Wait!

    This seemed a littleplicated!

    If Dao Xin was not Dao Hun¡¯s daughter, that what was she? They can¡¯t be sisters? It seemed a little improbable, since Dao Xin seemed too young.

    Her youth was definitely genuine.

    Because, Dao Xin¡¯s capabilities were not too strong. She has yet to enter the Sage State, or else she would not have been knocked unconscious by his rod.

    However, he was merely curious about this question. Afterall, the biggest problem for him now was how to prevent himself from being captured to be refined into a herb.

    ¡°Grilled alive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not like this method of dying, because it did not seem graceful. It would be impossible to recognise his body after being grilled.

    However, he did not seem to have a choice.

    Afterall, Dao Xin, Great Elder Mo Yu, as well as Third and Fourth Elder, did not even bother to ask for his opinion.

    ¡°Alright, ording to the two Elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi will be handed over for you to handle. Sixth Elder will follow to help!¡± Dao Xin opened her mouth.

    ¡°This..... Can I have another method of dying?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not help it but blurted out loud.

    ¡°No, unless you don¡¯t wish to save Yan Xiu. Also, I don¡¯t wish for any misfortunes to happen along the way, or else you should know that Yan Xiu will not be able to live!¡± Dao Xin shook her head.

    ¡°Actually, I have another suggestion.¡± Chi Guyan saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression, and voiced out her opinions, albeit a little soft.

    ¡°Yes, I have another choice too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head while looking at Yan Xiu, before clenching his teeth. ¡°But I chose this path!¡±

    ¡°You have already decided?¡± Chi Guyan asked again.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head again.

    ¡°OK then, before you die, can you hug me onest time?¡± Chi Guyan moved two steps forward slowly. Her sparkling eyes glimmered, as her smooth white skin reflected under the scorching sun, showcasing her jadely presence.

    A pridefuldy of such a high status, suddenly asking him, can you hug me? What kind of test is this?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes stared wide in disbelief.

    ¡°Ah?¡± A sound blurted out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, and he seemed a little ¡°foolish¡± in front of the bewildered disciples.

    Just then, before Fang Zhengzhi could even react, Chi Guyan¡¯s body had already approached him. A pair of fine hands sped over the back of his waist.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt a pressure pressed against his chest.

    Wait.....

    Shouldn¡¯t he be given a bit of time to prepare? Or rather, to have a little acting before that, such a movement led him to feel a little ufortable.

    Just then, he heard a soft voice whispering beside his ears.

    ¡°Look quietly!¡±

 Chapter 763 - The Undercurrent Below The Surface

    <h4>Chapter 763: The Undercurrent Below The Surface</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Naturally this voice originated from Chi Guyan, after uttering these words, she withdrew the hug from Fang Zhengzhi.

    Next, she turned around and leapt into the air, before emitting a whistling sound. Then, an enormous white beast flew swiftly from afar.

    ¡°Yo!¡± A beastly howl resounded in the air.

    Chi Guyan leapt onto the back of the beast, and flew into the horizon.

    Such a phenomenon happened too quickly. From Chi Guyan giving him a hug, to her turning around and leaving, all these had happened too quickly.

    As such, it was only after Chi Guyan¡¯s figure had turned into a small dot in the horizon that Fang Zhengzhi was able to react.

    Looking at the ck dot reducing in size, Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes, and his expression was filled with frustration, ¡°Why did that girl just say.....?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like asking Chi Guyan to repeat her sentence, but she had already left.

    Looking at his surroundings, Fang Zhengzhi realised that everyone seemed bewildered as well, after seeing such an iprehensible phenomenon.

    ¡°What are you all looking at? A bunch of foolish birds!¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    The Yin Yang Hall disciples were all indignant. Their mouths were wide open, yet they remained silent. Because, the Fang Zhengzhi in front of their eyes was already considered to be a dead person.

    As such, it was normal for a dying person to be casual in his words.

    ¡°Bring him down!¡±

    Great Elder Mo Yu gestured his hands, and a few Yin Yang Hall disciples immediately appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi, all of whom seemed very careful when approaching him.

    ¡°I hope that you can keep your promise, or else you will definitely regret it in the future!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Dao Xin, before handing over Dao Hun to them.

    It was indeed difficult for him to make such a decision, but he did not regret it. After all, in such circumstances, he did not have a second choice to choose from.

    Of course, he could continue killing, or continue threatening, or even escape, before returning to attack them. However, Yan Xiu no longer had the time to continue to wait for him.

    Furthermore, most importantly.....

    Yin Yang Hall would not give him a second chance to attack, and would not agree to release Yan Xiu because of his threats. After all, Yin Yang Hall was one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region!

    Looking at the horizon once again, he could tell that the weather was indeed good today, with the fiery sun shining above, the blue skies and the white clouds, as well as the lush green forests.

    However, today was when he had experienced his biggest loss in his life, and that such a loss would result in his death.

    .....

    A gigantic ck-marbled pce stood erected on an isted ind, resembling a beast hiding in the dark, waiting to reveal its sharpest fangs.

    Within the bright interiors of the hall, a white fur-coateddy was sitting on a jade chair, her ck eyes looking silently below.

    This was a spectacrly beautifuldy, one of high status, elegant, exquisite. One could tell that she almost resembled a monster.

    Monster Lord Baizhi!

    And beside Monster Lord Baizhi, there was anotherdy clothe in a white long dress. Her lucious ck hair rested on her waist, and her ck eyes and appearance resembled that of Monster Lord Baizhi. However, aspared to thetter, thedy seemed more indifferent.

    It was Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°There¡¯s a piece of news, I think you¡¯ll be more than interested in it.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi finally opened her mouth. She did not see any signs of panic on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, nor even a slight trace of anxiety.

    Her indifference was almost that of a statue¡¯s. Yun Qingwu¡¯s expressions did not have a tinge of emotion, even while standing before the Monster Lord.

    ¡°Is Mother referring to the incident at the Yin Yang Hall?¡± Yun Qingwu replied calmly, her eyes as peaceful as the surface of a windlesske.

    ¡°Seems like you got the news too.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi replied.

    ¡°Since I was at the Holy Region, naturally I would make some preparations.¡± Yun Qingwu opened her mouth again.

    ¡°Hehe, tell me what you think about this situation.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi chuckled softly, as she plucked a strand of hair from her scalp.

    ¡°Within my expectations.¡± Yun Qingwu said calmly.

    ¡°borate, let me listen to them.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi shifted her posture closer upon hearing this.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is very intelligent, but this time he will definitely lose!¡± Yun Qingwu said confidently.

    ¡°Hm, continue.¡±

    ¡°His birthrights have already determined the limitations of what he is allowed to do. Due to his background, as well as hisck of backing influence, it is only natural that the path he takes will be more arduous than the rest. Moreover, it is easier for him tomit mistakes, as evidenced in his participation in the Great Xia¡¯s Law of Dao Examination. No matter how smart he is, he will definitely encounter many obstacles.¡±

    ¡°Proceed on.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi gestured.

    ¡°However, during this period, he was still very strong!¡± Yun Qingwu paused for a moment, as she seemed to have recalled something.

    ¡°Which period?¡± Monster Lord Baizhi was a little curious.

    ¡°After the Battle of the Southern Region, during that period, he received the support of Shadow Sect. I did not dare to touch him, as he had possessed the ¡°eyes¡±. At the Blood Shadow City, when he had kidnapped one of my Domain Chiefs, I did not even utter a word.¡± Yun Qingwu proceeded on calmly.

    ¡°He was this strong?¡± Monster Lord Baizhi seemed a little surprised.

    ¡°Yes, while he did not possess an rming intelligence, his ideas are daring, and nobody seemed to understand him. It was because of this point, that he was able to set up his n within more a year before entering the city. Not only that, he had entered the me Capital City in broad daylight, and using his strength, he overthrew the Great Xia Crown Prince!¡± Yun Qingwu answered.

    ¡°Slightly more than a year? Hm, how interesting.¡± Monster Lord Baizhu finally nodded her head.

    ¡°The only thing he wascking was the ¡°eyes¡±, a pair of ¡°eyes¡± which could help him understand this world. Initially he had possessed them, but unfortunately, he lost them not long after he had entered the Holy Region. It must be said that Shadow Sect¡¯s Heavenly Oasis was overly cautious, resulting in him losing the ¡°eyes¡±.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why do you say so?¡±

    ¡°If I did not guess wrongly, after Fang Zhengzhi had entered the Holy Region, Heavenly Oasis did not mention about Shadow Sect¡¯s procured intelligence to Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Yun Qingwu replied.

    ¡°Your meaning is that Heavenly Oasis had doubted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capabilities?¡±

    ¡°It was not because he had doubted his capabilities, but there were two reasons for his actions. Number one, Fang Zhengzhi had yet to agree to enter the Shadow Sect, and that the procured information was the central of Shadow¡¯s Sect most secretive and confidential plot. Nobody else would have agreed for him to do so.¡±

    ¡°Continue.¡±

    ¡°Number two, Heavenly Oasis felt that Fang Zhengzhi temporarilycked the leadership experience in the Holy Region. The Holy Region was tooplicated with the Five Sectspeting against one another. Since Fang Zhengzhi had never entered the Holy Region, it was only natural that Heavenly Oasis hesitated in cing Shadow Sect¡¯s future in his hands. He was waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to encounter an obstacle or two, and to understand the ruthlessness of the Holy Region, before cing such an important responsibility on him.¡± Yun Qingwu replied.

    ¡°You seem to make sense, however, how do these incidents rte to your words ¡®within your expectations¡¯? As for as I know, Fang Zhengzhi had agreed to enter the Shadow Sect after killing five Sages at the bottom of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. As such, Heavenly Oasis should not have hesitated.¡± Monster Lord Baizhi nodded her head after being silent for a few moments.

    ¡°This would then be Heavenly Oasis¡¯s biggest mistake. Looking at the big picture, he was reluctant for Fang Zhengzhi to go to the Yin Yang Hall. To prevent Fang Zhengzhi to have such thoughts, he could only continue to withhold the information, he was waiting, waiting for Yan Xiu to die, waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to enter the Sage State, but he actually forgot the rtionship between Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that it was because of Heavenly Oasis¡¯ caution that led to the downfall of Fang Zhengzhi at the Yin Yang Hall?¡±

    ¡°Notpletely, but if Heavenly Oasis had mentioned the piece of information to Fang Zhengzhi, then at least Fang Zhengzhi would have known that the scariest person in Yin Yang Hall was in fact Dao Xin, not Dao Hun, and he would not have made such a fatal mistake. Fang Zhengzhi may have at least a thirty percent chance of sess. However, this cannot bepletely med on Heavenly Oasis, because if it were to be another person, nobody would have been so daring to ce Shadow Sect¡¯s future on Fang Zhengzhi before he had even entered the Holy Region. He cannot risk Shadow Sect¡¯s future, because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi only had one desire to save Yan Xiu!¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°What if this person was you?¡± Monster Lord Baizhi seemed to be interested in this topic.

    ¡°I would.¡± Yun Qingwu answered without hesitation.

    ¡°Eh? Why?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always risk to everything. However, the bigger the risk, the bigger the fruits will bear. I will only consider about this point, is is worth or not!¡±

    ¡°Hehehe.....so, you would handover all thirteen pieces of Heaven Dao Sage Tablet to Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Baizhiughed upon hearing this.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yun Qingwu did not deny.

    ¡°From this, you are willing to ce such a huge risk on the hands of Fang Zhengzhi. Then, you surely don¡¯t hope for him to die like this?¡± Monster Lord Baizhiughed out loud again.

    ¡°Is Mother¡¯s intention of calling me over, to ask me about this thing?¡±

    ¡°So, your answer is?¡±

    ¡°Please Mother do not worry, I will not go to Nine Pinnacles Mountain.¡±

    ¡°Your reason?¡±

    ¡°The opportunity is not ripe yet.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying, you¡¯ll just watch by as Fang Zhengzhi die, right?¡± Baizhi¡¯s eyes suddenly became as sharp as ever, as though she was able to look through a person¡¯s heart.

    Yun Qingwu did not reply Monster Lord Baizhi¡¯s words, and she merely sat on her original spot, without a tinge of emotion on her face.

    It was as though she was contemting, and waiting.

    Time passed by quickly.

    After awhile, Monster Lord Baizhi retracted her gaze. Next, she shook her head, and gestured towards Yun Qingwu, ¡°Okay, you can go now.¡±

    ¡°Daughter will take her leave.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head, and did not continue to stay. Quickly, she turned around and walked out of the hall, during which she did not turn to look at Monster Lord Baizhi in the eye.

    .....

    Ling Yun Tower.

    It was almost like a utopia. It was always springtime, and the flowers were permanently in a blossomed state. A clear riverstream flowed down from the mountains, creating a dragon-like waterfall.

    Underneath the waterfall, there was a bottomlesske,.

    A barefooteddy was standing in front of theke, and her bright red dress was slightly wet. As her dress was tattered due to the prolonged soaking, pieces of cloth floated on theke.

    And at this moment.....

    A purple figurended from the horizon, just like a leaf,nding softly by the side of theke.

    ¡°Greetings Lady Cang Yue!¡± Upon seeing the figure, countless bystanders immediately kneeled on the floor and greeted her.

    ¡°Ya¡¯ll are dismissed.¡± Cang Yue waved her hand, her expression remained emotionless. Next, she turned towards thedy by thekeside, and saw that her dress was tattered. ¡°Your dress is torn, let me get someone to rece a new one.¡±

    ¡°No need, if I were to change a new dress, I¡¯m afraid he can no longer recognise me.¡± Thedy retracted her gaze from theke, and slowly turned towards Cang Yue, before shaking her head.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to tell you, he¡¯s already dead.¡± Cang Yue did not seem to care thedy¡¯s attitude towards her, and proceeded to say.

    Thedy did not say anything, as she merely stood on her original position, her eyes raised slightly towards the horizon. She stared at the floating clouds, seemingly dazed.

    ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Cang Yue opened her mouth once again. Then, she found a piece of rock to sit on. ¡°But, it is real this time, Fang Zhengzhi went to Yin Yang Hall, and to save Yan Xiu, he tried to kidnap Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Hallmaster Dao Hun, I heard he almost seeded.¡±

    Thedy¡¯s lips quivered a little, and it seemed like she wanted to say something. However, she did not open her mouth, as she merely turned her attention towards Cang Yue.

    ¡°What a pity, it is impossible for him to seed, even if Shadow Sect were to apany him in the battle, fate will still be fate. What I did not expect was that, a shameless person like him, would choose to use his life to exchange for that of Yan Xiu¡¯s, don¡¯t you think he¡¯s foolish enough?¡± Cang Yue seemed to be mumbling to herself as she continued talking.

 Chapter 764 - Nangongâ€™s Destiny, Nine Cauldrons

    <h4>Chapter 764: Nangong¡¯s Destiny, Nine Cauldrons</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Exchange for Yan Xiu¡¯s life?¡± Thedy finally opened her mouth, although her voice was very soft. Her crystal eyes showed a tinge of panic for a moment.

    ¡°Yes, one life for another. This was Yin Yang Hall¡¯s condition.¡± Cang Yue nodded her head as a smile was revealed on her face.

    Thedy did not say anything, but she clenched her fists intensely, as her chest palpitated furiously.

    ¡°You are very smart, so you should know my intention ofing here today. Remove the red dress on your body, and follow me to Ling Yun Tower. When we reach there you will understand that your waiting does not bear any meaning!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s tone sounded a little cold towards the end.

    ¡°Do you know what is friendship?¡± Thedy opened her mouth once again, and her chest gradually stopped palpitating.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cang Yue frowned.

    ¡°You won¡¯t understand, because you don¡¯t have any friends at all, so you will never understand what is a true friendship.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, seems like you still haven¡¯t given up. But it¡¯s alright, one day you will understand, that somethings are just meaningless in life!¡±

    ¡°How pitiful you are.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any friends, and you don¡¯t even know what is love. You¡¯re here at Ling Yun Tower since birth, so you think you¡¯re leaving a happy life, but actually, you have never really understood this world.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, how do you know I¡¯m here at Ling Yun Tower since birth?! Let me tell you, I..... nevermind, even if I tell you you won¡¯t get it!¡± Cang Yue did not continue talking. She stood up, looked at the horizon as she seemed bewildered for a moment.

    ¡°You¡¯re still not leaving?¡± Thedy continued.

    ¡°Are you really going to continue waiting in this Ice Prison forever, just for a dead man?¡± Cang Yue asked again.

    ¡°I will continue waiting.¡±

    ¡°How about after the six months duration?¡±

    ¡°Continue waiting!¡±

    ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯te, you will continue to wait?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Ridiculous, if this is what you mean by friendship and love, these things will only serve to be obstacles in your path to sess!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s tone sounded extremely cold.

    Thedy did not choose to continue the conversation, and she turned her body around. Next, she leapt into theke, her bodypletely immersed within the waters.

    ¡°Pu Tong!¡±. Ripples appeared on the surface.

    Cang Yue¡¯s expression immediately turned stiff, as she gazed at the disappearingdy. She seemed to be in pain.

    Nobody knew that at this moment,in Cang Yue¡¯s mind, a figure was relentlessly pestering her mind, causing her to quiver a little. Momentster, she recovered herposure, and she rushed up the horizon, disappearing from sight, not before leaving a resounding voice.

    ¡°There is no such thing as rtionship in this world!¡±

    .....

    In Nangong Mausoleum, a snow storm was brewing.

    A youth was walking through the storm. His footsteps were either quick nor slow. Not much expression could be inferred from his emotionless face, but the scars on his face were indeed hideous.

    Nangong Mu.

    A person who had disappeared at the Holy Region, but had now reappeared at Nangong Masoleum.

    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± A figure, who was standing among the countless Stone Tablets, looked at the youth. His tone sounded like aplete stranger.

    It was Nangong Tian, the head of the Nangong household.

    Nangong Mu did not open his mouth, but he nodded his head lightly. At the same time, he turned his attention towards the ancient gigantic tree in front of the Stone Tablets.

    It was a gigantic tree filled with countless white flowers. They were as white as snow, with their light silver colours shimmering in the light.

    It was a unique ancient tree.

    However, Nangong Mu did not seemed to surprised. He merely gave it a look, before retracting his gaze.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re back, and still alive, then you should know what you need to do next.¡± Nangong Tian opened his mouth once again.

    ¡°Will Brother die?¡± Nangong Mu finally opened his mouth.

    ¡°There is nothing definite in this world, I can¡¯t answer your question temporarily, but he has alreadypleted his duties of the Nangong household. Next, you will carry on his responsibility!¡±

    ¡°Why must it be like this? Are our lives not good enough?¡±

    ¡°Good? How good?¡±

    ¡°Peace..... At least, we¡¯re peaceful now, and we have already received our well-deserved respect, every year.....¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s tone seemed to have changed, and he interrupted Nangong Mu. ¡°We¡¯re peaceful now? Then, have you thought about them?¡±

    Afterpleting his sentence, Nangong Tian pointed towards the countless Stone Tablets, with illegible words inscribed on it. However, the outlines of the words could still be seen.

    Under the snow storm, the atmosphere seemed to be colder.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s body quivered a bit, as he looked towards the countless Stone Tablets, and he subconsciously bit against his lips.

    ¡°Ist you one more time, do you know your mission? If you don¡¯t know, then you will kneel here, until you know it!¡± Nangong Tian saw the silent Nangong Mu, and a light shed past his eyes.

    ¡°Father, if..... I ept this mission, will Brother return?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression seemed to be of unconditional pain.

    ¡°That is his own life, it has nothing to do with you. You just need to settle your things, that is enough.¡± Nangong Tian repeated once again.

    ¡°Father is not willing to even lie to me once?¡±

    ¡°The Nangong household does not need any of these ¡®bluffs¡¯, if you are not mentally strong, then you should continue to stay at the Holy Region, why did youe back for?¡± Nangong Tian responded.

    ¡°I.....¡±

    ¡°You will make this decision yourself, I will stop persuading you.¡± Nangong Tian turned around uponpleting his sentence, as he walked towards the Stone Tablets, leaving his footsteps in the snow.

    Nangong Mu stood in the same position, his bundle of hair already umting ayer of snow. He did not follow immediately, as he looked at the ancient tree, and the crystallised flowers on it.

    .....

    Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    It was an enormous volcanic mountain, with thick smokes emitting from it all year round. There was a gigantic volcanic rock in the middle of the mountain, and nine Three Legged ck Cauldrons were erected on it.

    The cauldrons had sophisticated carvings on it, and other than a fewplicated symbols, there were also drawings on it.

    Below the nine cauldrons was a piece of t ground. Rows of stone houses, built from the ck volcanic rocks, stood erected on the t ground.

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain seemed different today.

    There were more than a thousand Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples standing below the Nine ck Cauldrons solemnly, and it seemed to be a grave phenomenom.

    A Nine Pinnacles Mountain Elder and another elderly person were standing in front of the disciples. Both were wearing a ck metal ring on their foreheads.

    The rings were made from nine ck treasure stones using the nine cauldrons. The treasure stones were morphed into the metal rings.

    ¡°First bow!¡± One of the nine Elders opened his mouth. His facial expression seemed extremely solemn.

    He was Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s Great Elder, ¡®Ying Yu¡¯.

    Following his instructions, all the disciples immediately kneeled on the ground, with their heads touching the ground.

    ¡°No need to be so courteous?¡± An inappropriate voice could be heard at this moment.

    Naturally, the disciples seemed flustered, but nobody opened their mouths to question the voice.

    Afterall.....

    They were unable to quarrel with a sacrificial offering.

    Yes, the voice originated from a sacrificial offering, and he was none other than the person who had disrupted the Holy Region, Fang Zhengzhi.

    At this moment Fang Zhengzhi was chained up to a pole in front of the Nine ck Cauldrons, and his blue clothes were tattered beyond recognition.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked a little pathetic.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expressions did not look that bad. In fact, he looked a little charismatic.

    ¡°Second bow!¡± Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s Great Elder Ying Yu did not care about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s howl. His kneeled on the ground once again.

    The Elders and the disciples beside him naturally followed Great Elder in kneeling on the ground, their expressions more solemn than ever.

    This was tomemorate ¡°Tian Xing¡±.

    As such, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples as well as Great Elder had to kneel and pay their respects. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s howling sound made it seem as though they were paying respects to him.

    ¡°Third bow!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu opened his mouth once again.

    Following thepletion of the three bows, the ceremony ofmemorating ¡°Tian Xing¡± was about to end. Next was the Alchemy process.

    As for the pill.....

    Naturally it would be Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sixth Elder.¡± Great Elder Ying Yu stood up, as he looked towards the elder who was standing beside them.

    He was none other than Sixth Elder from the Yin Yang Hall, who had came over to help host the Alchemy process.

    Sixth Elder took a step forward, and he bowed slightly towards Great Elder Ying Yu.

    ¡°Which cauldron does Great Elder Ying n to use?¡± Sixth Elder looked at the nine erected Three Legged ck Cauldrons as he spoke.

    ¡°Let¡¯s use the ¡®Middle Stream Cauldron¡¯, at least we¡¯ll be giving this punk a little dignity. Afterall, he is considered to be a rare specimen!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu answered after contemting for a while.

    ¡°This punk really is lucky. Today is the first time we are using the Middle Stream Cauldron for alchemy. I remember the military equipment that it had churned out previously were all of Sage quality?¡± Sixth Elder seemed a little bewildered upon hearing this.

    ¡°Yes, the Middle Stream Cauldron had manufactured seven military machineries, and each one of them were at least of Sage quality¡± Great Elder Ying Yu nodded his head.

    ¡°Hehe, now that Fang Zhengzhi is finally being prosecuted, let me ask a question before Hallmaster arrives.¡± Sixth Elder smiled.

    ¡°Sixth Elder please ask.¡±

    ¡°Our Hallmaster wants to know who will be the next Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader.¡±

    ¡°Hallmaster need not worry, initially we nned to appoint whoever had managed to capture Fang Zhengzhi, but we did not expect that it was Fang Zhengzhi himself who entered Yin Yang Hall by himself. As such, this was a little out of our expectation, so.....¡±

    ¡°We understand Great Elder Ying¡¯s meaning, but Nine Pinnacles Mountain cannot be without a leader. Our Hallmaster¡¯s intention is that since Great Elder Ying is highly respected in Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and is also of the highest status, if Great Elder Ying can take on the responsibility of being the Leader, it would be the most appropriate!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s discuss this another time.¡± Great Elder Ying Yuughed, and his expression did not change much, as he merely nodded his head.

    The surrounding Elders, as well as the disciples, upon hearing Sixth Elder¡¯s words, had different expressions on their faces. Some were of happiness, some weer of anger.....

    ¡°Actually, I have an idea!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Sixth Elder quivered a bit.

    Not only Sixth Elder, but Great Elder Ying Yu and even the other Elders and disciples were all astonished.

    The selection of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader.....

    This punk has an idea?

    What a nuisance!

    ¡°Since you have decided that whoever can capture me would take on the responsibility, then why not pass the role to someone from Yin Yang Hall!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said directly.

    ¡°Impudent!¡± Great Elder YIng Yu had a sudden change in his expression.

    The other Elders could naturally tell that Fang Zhengzhi was intentionally provoking them, but it was a fact that Nine Pinnacles Mountain cannot afford to ruin their rtionship with Yin Yang Hall.

    However, like what Fang Zhengzhi had mentioned, if the selection of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader were to depend on Yin Yang Hall¡¯s discussion, it surely seemed a little vexing.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words were very direct.

    They seemed to be nonsensical words on the surface, but they had struck Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s most painful spot, causing the Elders and disciples to feel indignant.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was turned towards Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Sixth Elder, their ring stares almost prating

 Chapter 765 - An Accident, Wrong Judgement!

    <h4>Chapter 765: An ident, Wrong Judgement!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Hehe, Great Elder Ying makes sense, the selection of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader should be discussed at ater date, let¡¯s first refine this little punk!¡±

    Sixth Elder was indeed witty. Naturally he could feel the surrounding anger, thus he chose to take a step back.

    ¡°Still need to discuss? As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a leader, a sect cannot be without a leader. If Nine Pinnacles Mountain were to allow a Sixth Elder from Yin Yang Hall to decide, then why not just let him be the leader then.¡± Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have not felt the anger around him, and proceeded to continue.

    ¡°This fellow is spouting nonsense!¡±

    ¡°What is he treating Nine Pinnacles Mountain as?¡±

    ¡°How disgusting!¡±

    The disciples could not help but scold out loud.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are really trying to provocate the rtionship between Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain, stop dreaming!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s face turned blushed red, and it was obvious that he was unable to vent the anger in his heart.

    ¡°What provocating? I¡¯m only stating the facts, isn¡¯t it stronger if both housese together and form an alliance? Yes, maybe Dao Xin can be the new leader?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Talking about Dao Xin, there¡¯s something that I always don¡¯t understand, what¡¯s her rtionship with Dao Hun? Father and daughter? You guys call her Second Hallmaster, they should not be father and daughter then? Or are they siblings? Doesn¡¯t seem like..... Is she his mistress, wait, Dao Hun is not that type of person?

    ¡°Little punk, you¡¯re looking for death!¡± Sixth Elder could no longer contain his anger, and he leapt onto the volcanic rock, before choking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat with one hand.

    ¡°Sixth Elder please calm down, if you were to kill him now, we cannot retrieve the herbal effects from his bloodstream. Furthermore, the difference between an alive and a dead person when refining herbs is very huge!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu shook his head in frustration, as he was angry too, but he understood that they cannot kill him now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Great Elder Ying, I will not cross the line, I was just angry for a moment.¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s body quivered a little, before releasing his grip on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Dao Xin and Dao Hun really don¡¯t have something going on?¡± A smile shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face after his throat was released from the grip.

    ¡°Little punk, you die!¡± Sixth Elder did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to continue speaking, and he raised him in the air, before throwing him into the middle three legged ck cauldron.

    Middle Stream Cauldron, the centre of the nine cauldrons!

    It was manufactured from the ck metals, and it had a long history of having being passed down from generations after generations.

    The interior of the cauldron was huge, and its carvings were detailed.

    ¡°Dong!¡± A sound could be heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi entered the cauldron, causing the disciples to feel bewildered. Subsequently, they erupted into cheers.

    ¡°Finally thrown in!¡±

    ¡°See how this punk can continue to cause trouble!¡±

    ¡°Too infuriating!¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were discussing among themselves.

    But Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s expression did not seem too pleased, as he had initially thought of setting up a grand ceremony, before finally putting Fang Zhengzhi in the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    However, since Sixth Elder had already begun, naturally there was nothing else for him to say.

    Afterall, it was just a minor procedural issue. Whether they should throw him in at the beginning or at the end did not matter too much, but from this action, he could tell that Sixth Elder did not view himself as a stranger. He might even harbour thoughts of bing the leader himself.

    Great Elder Ying Yu did not question Sixth Elder, because it was not the time to squabble with Yin Yang hall. Furthermore, thetter had just given him a clear signal.

    To support him to take on the role as the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!

    ¡°Okay, now the alchemy ceremony will officially begin!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu gestured his hand, and nine disciples rushed up the volcanic rock immediately.

    A gigantic lid covered the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    .....

    After being throw into the cauldron, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head collided with the bottom of the cauldron. It was needless to say that it was painful, but obviously, this was not the most important point. More importantly, after being thrown into the Middle Stream Cauldron, he was covered by a gigantic lid.

    His entire world was only left with darkness.

    ¡°Crap..... I¡¯m really going to be grilled?¡± Fang Zhengzhi retracted his smile. The reason for him provoking Sixth Elder, was purely to pick on the rtionship between Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Afterall, he was not so naive to believe that his nonsensical words were enough to incite violence between the two houses, and that he would have the opportunity to escape.

    He did that because.....

    He was hoping that he would be able to enter the cauldron with his clothes on.

    Or so to say, he needed Sixth Elder to be furious, to the point where he wanted him dead. That way, he would then have the opportunity to bring ¡°The Vast World¡± along with him into the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    And it seemed like his n had worked.

    However, there was a little miscalction. The Vast World was brought in with him, but the chains that wrapped around his body were not unshackled.

    The process of alchemy does not require to unshackle the chains?

    What logic!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a little speechless, as a new problem had presented itself.

    How could he escape with his body tied up?

    Just when he was thinking about this problem, he felt heat emitting from the bottom of the cauldron, and it was slowly increasing in temperature.

    Of course, this was iplete. Some herbal nts were being thrown in from the top of the lid, including a basin of ¡°Rootless Water¡±.

    ¡°Are they cooking vegetables?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally experienced what is was like for a human to be refined into a herb, it was just like being steamed alive.

    However, it was impossible for such heat to kill him.

    Afterall.....

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capabilities were not low.

    It was impossible for an average fire to kill him.

    However, he felt a little stuffy, and such a feeling became increasingly stronger.

    ¡°Even though this punk is only in the Rebirth State, but he is not weak at all, and is on par with a person in the Sage State. Such an average fire would be unable to kill him, Sixth Elder please help us increase the intensity!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s voice could be heard from outside the cauldron.

    ¡°Ok, no problems, since our Hallmaster requested for me personally, I must oblige. But, Great Elder Ying you need not be humble, I heard you possess the skill ¡®Devouring mes¡¯. Not sure if I can borrow the skills of Great Elder Ying?¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s voice could be heard too.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu did not hold back and he nodded his head. Afterall, he did not wish for any problems to ur.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel certain changes within the me.

    The previous me seemed to be of red in colour, but the current me seemed to have traces of silver, and the silvers were slowly devouring the reds.

    Momentarily.....

    The mepletely turned silver!

    ¡°AH!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cries could be hearding from within the Middle Stream Cauldron, as the intensity of the silver me waspletely different from that of the red me.

    It was not solely because of the increasing temperature, but it felt as though the me was turning his internal bones into ashes.

    ¡°Great Elder Ying¡¯s ¡®Devouring mes¡¯ technique is indeed effective, it seems like this punk can no longer tolerate it. I will give him the ¡®Purple Thunder me¡¯!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s voice could be heard once again.

    Then, another purple me appeared within the silver me, and amidst the purple me, there were traces of thunder shing within.

    .....

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like asking about Ying Yu¡¯s and Sixth Elder¡¯s mothers, but in the end he decided to refrain himself from doing so.

    The ck chains were obviously beyond normal, under the two different types of mes, they did not have any signs of melting.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not quite understand the materials and quality of the ck chains, but he knew that using his current strength, he was unable to free himself from them.

    How?

    Was he really going to burned to death?

    No way!

    Surely he cannot sit and wait for his death.

    Of course his motive was not to ask for death, but for Yin Yang Hall to assume his death. It was only through this method that Dao Hun would release Yan Xiu.

    ¡°A drop of water can turn into an ocean, a seed can turn into an ancient tree!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up.

    Then, he attempted to interact with the boiling mes.

    ¡°Ah..... how painful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately felt as though his internal bones were about to turn into ashes.

    Furthermore, more importantly, it could be seen that it was more intense and fiery than before.

    ¡°I can¡¯t die, I can¡¯t die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth tightly, but the two mes were overly stubborn. The silver me seemed to be burning his bones, while the purple me seemed to be integrating into his bloodstream. His muscles started to turn ck.

    ¡°Must understand!¡±

    ¡°I must understand them!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s entire body waspletely immersed in the mes. He thought of understanding the two mes, so as to control both of them.

    However, he seemed to have underestimate the two burning mes, as they were overly intense, and he could not calm his emotions down.

    Wrong.

    Why did this happen?

    There¡¯s something wrong.

    He was able to do it previously, why wasn¡¯t he able to do it now?

    Fang Zhengzhi had not experienced such a situation before. Even when he was facing Shi Fan who was showcasing his Hell Dao, he was still able to calm his heart down.

    But this time round, the pain he experienced from the mes seemed to have exceeded his tolerance threshold. It was at least ten times the extent of pain he had experienced previously under the Hell Dao, maybe even hundred times.

    Circles of smoke overwhelmed his surroundings, and there was a tinge of golden atmosphere around him. The atmosphere was ever evolving, and it seemed to follow a mysterious pattern.

    ¡°It¡¯s this cauldron!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why the two mes caused him to feel such excruciating pain.

    When he was experiencing the Hell Dao, he was outside in the world. But now, he was located within the interiors of the Middle Stream Cauldron, and the two mes were reinforced by the golden atmosphere in the cauldron, resulting in the intensity to be increased by at least ten times.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood this point.....

    He finally understood why a herb of higher quality requires a better cauldron, because a better cauldron can churn out mes that are more intense in nature.

    And now, his body was ced in the Middle Stream Cauldron, one of the top two cauldrons. Of course the effect would be terrifying.

    ¡°Ah! Let me go, or I will kill all of you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth, and just when he did so, the mes seemed to gush down his throat.

    ¡°Hahaha..... Kill us? How naive, really naive. To kill us, you can, but first, you muste out to do so?¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s arrogant voice could be heard from outside the cauldron.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi let out painful cries once again, as the two mes circted around within his body.

    ¡°Scream, scream with a louder voice! Hahaha, Fang Zhengzhi, if you have another life, I advise you to be responsible, and to know your limits. Originally you have a level of ingenuity, if you had abided by the rules, would you havended in this oue? Also, whatever friends, or brothers, I advise you to forget about them. This things will only hinder your training!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯sughter entered the cauldron once again.

    At this point, there was no longer a response from within the cauldron. There was no struggling sounds at all, only leaving the crackling sounds of the mes.

    The crackling sounds of the mes were not too loud, but they were clear. The entire Middle Stream Cauldron turnedpletely rate, with circles of golden smokes convting with the sophisticated carvings and symbols.

 Chapter 766 - Return to Origins

    <h4>Chapter 766: Return to Origins</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°After 49 days, it will be a pill!¡± Sixth Elder smiled as he stared at Middle Stream Cauldron.

    And more than a thousand disciples subconsciously smiled too, after looking at such a phenomenon.

    ¡°Sixth Elder you have worked hard!¡± A few Elders from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain looked at one another, before proiming to Sixth Elder.

    ¡°Five sects same root, we are all one family, you don¡¯t have to be too polite.¡± Sixth Elder waved his hands, as he found a ce to sit down on.

    49 days!

    While this period was not too short, it was not long either, especially after bing a Sage. 49 days would pass by in just a snap of a fingers.

    Naturally Sixth Elder would not mind about the duration, as he had already prepared to protect the pill for the full 49 days, without leaving its side.

    It was a sunny day, and a good weather for such an asion.

    Within the Middle Stream Cauldron, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was curled up. The ck chains were stiff, and the interior heat was ever increasing.

    Painful!

    Really painful!

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not make any sounds, because he had already lost consciousness. In his mind, the world resembled that for a furnace.

    Countless burning mes surrounded him, and there was a red river flowing on the ground, emitting gushes of hot air.

    Magma.

    However, the magma seemed a little weird, as each line of magma was very detailed and sophisticated. It seemed to form a gigantic spider web when merged with one another.

    At this moment, a white figure appeared in his sight. Clothed in a snow-white dress, with lucious ck hair resting on the waist.

    A beautiful figure.

    More importantly, her surroundings contained two different silver and purple mes, identical to the mes in the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi recalled a simr scenario outside the Northern Mountain Vige, when he was trapped by Yun Qingwu using 30 pieces of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    The white-dresseddy did not say anything, and unlike previously, she merely stood quietly at her original spot. Then, she slowly turned her body around.

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi could see her appearance.

    Exquisite and beautiful, with a pair of bright eyes. It was a familiar face, but it felt unfamiliar to him at the same time.

    It was familiar because Fang Zhengzhi felt that her appearance was simr to that of Chi Guyan¡¯s, but it was unfamiliar because her vibe seemedpletely different. The temperament of the white-dresseddy seemed colder and more indifferent.

    During the first encounter, Fang Zhengzhi saw thedy¡¯s appearance clearly from her front, but he had felt that it seemed mysterious.

    He seemed to remember that their first encounter was at the Divine Constabry¡¯s parallel dimension, in the ¡®Heavenly Treasure Hall¡¯. Thereafter, the white-dresseddy always repeatedly appear in his mind.

    Who was she exactly?

    Why did she look simr to Chi Guyan, but their temperament seemedpletely different.

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to get this straight.

    However, the white-dresseddy had no intention of replying Fang Zhengzhi at all. She merely turned her body around, and she walked towards Fang Zhengzhi slowly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were wide in disbelief.

    Because, in the her hand, there was a treasure stone emitting golden rays of light. Its interior seemed to have different pictures revolving within, but it was difficult to discern its identity.

    ¡°Spiritual Jade!¡± Fang Zhengzhi naturally recognised this treasure stone, because that was the Spiritual Jade that he had retrieved from the Ninth Heaven of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

    However, he did not understand how the Spiritual Jade had reached the hands of the white-dresseddy.

    How did it happen?

    Was it not thrown into The Vast World by him?

    Wait!

    If the Spiritual Jade was really inside The Vast World, then does it not mean that the white-dresseddy was not just a mere figment of his imagination, but that just like the Spiritual Jade, she was located inside The Vast World?

    Thisdy.....

    Lives in The Vast World, does it mean that she is inside my heart?

    This was not really conforming to logic? How did this happen, was thedy not in the parallel dimension ¡®Heavenly Treasure Hall¡¯? How did she go to The Vast World?

    The pearl!

    Yes, when he was at the bottom of theke at the Heavenly Treasure Hall, he seemed to have taken a pearl, but he had never seen it after, and it felt as though it hadpletely disappeared.

    Was the pearl actually the white-dresseddy?!

    ¡°Wait quietly.¡± Just then, a soft yet clear voice seemed to ring beside his ears.

    ¡°What?¡± Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that the voice originated from the mouth of the white-dresseddy.

    However, this led him to feel a little surprised, because it was the first instancemunicating with the white-dresseddy.

    Not only did they looked at each other face to face, she still talked to him?

    What exactly was she thinking?

    ¡°Keeping one.¡± Thedy ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, and she merely looked at him quietly, before mumbing to herself.

    ¡°Keeping one?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shuddered, as naturally he understood the meaning of those words. However, he did not know why thedy had mentioned these words.

    Of course, he was unable to pose another question.

    Because after uttering the words, thedy¡¯s figure became slightly blurred, and in a matter of seconds, she disappearedpletely.

    What crap?

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to take a step forward, but he realised that he was unable to mobilise his body.

    Then.....

    He realised he was in fact tied up.

    As for the thing that was tied around him, it was naturally the ck chains. The hallucination disappeared as well, and he was once again back inside the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    The silver me and the purple me interweaved with one another, and the unbearable temperature infiltrated his body.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know why, but he felt that he was not dead.

    ¡°Why am I not dead?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked himself the question for the first time. Afterall, the excruciating pain made him feel that he would rather be dead.

    He wanted to lose his consciousness once again.

    But he was unable to do so. He could neither live nor die.

    Why can¡¯t he die?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think that his skills would be able to ovee the two mes in front of him. Afterall, he was inside the Middle Stream Cauldron, and he had yet to understand the two mes.

    Logically, he would have already died.

    But indeed he was still alive.

    Wait!

    ¡°What is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi realised that they were golden lights circting around his body.

    There was a bundle of golden rays shimmering brightly on his chest.l

    ¡°Spiritual Jade!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could finally see the treasure stone in the bundle of golden rays. It was the Spiritual Jade.

    Was it the Spiritual Jade that was saving him?

    Spiritual Jade.....

    Spiritual Jade!

    Yes!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened up, as he had initially doubted that the Spiritual Jade was different from that in the mythical stories.

    In the mythical stories, N¨¹wa had created 36, 501 stones, but she had discarded 36, 500 of them, leaving only thest piece. It was the Spiritual Jade!

    He was not willing to believe the story previously, but now, he was sure that the piece of Spiritual Jade was able to save his life.

    Or so to say.....

    Avoid the fire?

    That¡¯s right, if the Spiritual Jade was really the same one as in the mythical stories, that would mean that the Spiritual Jade was refined by N¨¹wa previously.

    As such, even if he was in the Middle Stream Cauldron, and no matter how intense the two mes were, the Spiritual Jade would no longer be processed or refined.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know the uracy of such an exnation, but that was the only exnation he could think of.

    Because, this world was part of N¨¹wa¡¯s bloodline, and thus there were many familiar book collections from her, such as Tao Te Ching, Analects, Lao Zi, etc.

    And in addition to them would be the Spiritual Jade, thus fitting into the exnation.

    What exactly was this world? What was the connection between the previous and the current world? Fang Zhengzhi could not seem to understand it.

    But he understood that there was no time to contemte about all this. While the Spiritual Jade was able to help him avoid the fire, but it was unable to prevent him from experiencing the underable pain.

    To be more direct, even if Fang Zhengzhi was an unkible being on mes, such a feeling would be the most unfortunate too.

    ¡°Crap..... Must I be burned like this forever?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that if such a situation would continue, he would choose to bite his tongue tomit suicide instead.

    Wait!

    He would not be able to die, even if he were to bite his tongue off.

    Because, he was currently in the Rebirth State, and he would be able to recover even after biting his tongue off. It was a little awkward. Why don¡¯t he take a knife so stab himself to death then?

    But his hands were tied.....

    How could he hold a knife?

    A drop of cold sweat fell from his forehead, but it immediately vaporised into thin air amidst the fiery mes.

    It was really unbearable for him!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely miserable. He really wanted to die, and this was the first time he had such a thought.

    How could he die?

    ¡°No! Have I forgotten something?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered that the situation did not seem too right.

    The white-dresseddy seemed to have mentioned something about ¡®looking¡¯.....

    Yes!

    Chi Guyan had whispered something about ¡®looking¡¯ too, and the two words they had mentioned seemed to be the same. Was it a coincidence?

    It should not be!

    If it was a mere coincidence, he would then be able topete against the sun already.

    Then, another question arises.

    What exactly was the ¡®looking¡¯ referring to?

    Fang Zhengzhi searched for answers in his mind, everything that rted to the word ¡®looking¡¯, but there were far too many ancient words that contained that word.

    There was no way to confirm it.

    However, the white-dresseddy had also said something else to him.

    One!

    Yes, one!

    ¡°One, what looking.... One. one....¡± Fang Zhengzhi started searching for the answers, as he frowned his eyebrows.

    Fang Zhengzhi browsed through his mind for every description rted to looking

    ¡°So it¡¯s like that!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood, and after understanding, he could not help but scold himself. ¡°Crap, it really is important to listen to others carefully, or else when the timees, I¡¯m really dead already!¡±

 Chapter 767 - Change, Red Glow in the Sky

    <h4>Chapter 767: Change, Red Glow in the Sky</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Of course, knowing the meaning of ¡®looking quietly¡¯ and knowing how to carry it out are twopletely different things.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan and the white-dresseddy were trying to tell him. Next, he would naturally contemte about it as to be able to use it in practical situations.

    Looking quietly.....

    It was a clear mental and spiritual condition.

    It was easy to understand this point, and it meant that his mind needed to bepletely clear, just like the mental state he would be in amidst the lucid waters and lush mountains.

    However, understanding it was the easy part, the difficulty would be trying to attain it.

    Empty!

    How does he empty it!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he would not be able to calm himself down immediately. Afterall, he was numb with excruciating pain, thus it was impossible for his mental state to be that of calmness.

    Difficult, too difficult!

    If one were able to enter such a mental state, then he would be able to understand the two mes surrounding him, and he would no longer have to bear such pain.

    Wait!

    Lucid waters, lush mountains!

    He was not able to imagine these, but he seemed to be able to see them.

    The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was really a good product to possess. There¡¯s everything inside, from rivers to mountains, and notcking of anything at all.

    Furthermore, more importantly, Fang Zhengzhi had plentiful of them. At Cang Ling mountain he had get hold of one, and thereafter Yun Qingwu had given him thirteen of them, and adding on to the nine pieces that he had received at the Ninth Heaven, he would have a grand total of 23 pieces of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Yes, the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet contained many differents ¡®Daos¡¯. He was able to witness this phenomenon at the Ninth Heaven of the Divine Rain Pond.

    During that urrence, Fang Zhengzhi had thought of taking all the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets out to properly observe and scrutinize them.

    However, he had left the Heaven Dao Pavilion in a hurry, and had caused many troubles before that, resulting in the hindrance of such a deed.

    But now.....

    Since he was unable to get out, he would try to gain some insights from them. Furthermore, by looking at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, he would be able to get into a clear and peaceful mental state.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Looking quietly, and gaining Dao insights ¨C these would be two things that he would do.

    There would no longer be any hindrances.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not a person who tend to hesitate. Furthermore, he was being tortured and was in excruciating pain. If there were any ns to escape his situation, he would do it instantly without any hesitation.

    The ck metal box containing the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets flew out from The Vast World swiftly,nding onto the heart of his palm.

    While his limbs were still tied up, he had no difficulty opening the box. With just a bit of fiddling, the box was opened.

    Instantly, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though his surroundings had changed. There was a lucious river flowing in front of him, the sky was serene, and the water was peaceful. It felt as though he had jumped out of the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Observing, observing.....

    Now he had to calm himself down to observe them!

    Fang Zhengzhi tried his best to turn his attention to the rivers and mountains in front of him, as he gazed at the luscious mountains, the flowing rivers as well as the blue sky.

    Heart!

    Peace!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind continuously repeated these two words, but after trying for a full minute, he realised that he was unable to do so.

    Even while such a scenic view was in front of him, he was unable topletely calm his heart down. The two ball of mes in the Middle Stream Cauldron was far too stubborn and intense, the excruciating pain constantly prated his energy and his body, and he was unable to calm down to think at all.

    No way!

    He could not continue to endure such a state!

    He has to think of another idea to ease his condition, albeit only temporarily.

    Yes!

    Since these two mes were for refining pills, was there a way for him to use the potential from them? He should not put the special abilities of the two mes to waste.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not know much about refining pills and alchemy.

    He had understood a little about them, as afterall, he had once been mentored by the Heavenly Oasis Saint for more than a year. Surely he had seen a bit.

    As such, he knew a little about the prescriptions or herbs and medicines.

    Talking about herbal nts.

    Fang Zhengzhi had plenty of them, It was enough to fill ten acres ofnd in Yin Yang Hall. It was a ridiculous amount, even for the entire Holy Region.

    ¡°Let you burn!¡± Fang Zhengzhi proimed, as chunks of herbal nts flew out instantly from The Vast World, and into the two burning mes.

    ¡°Hu!¡± The two mes seemed to have a new ¡°target¡±, and the herbal nts were incineratedpletely. The mes were suppressed.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that such methods of control were only temporary. Just like how when papers were thrown into the fire, it seemed as though they were able to suppress the fire temporarily. But after the me had incinerated the papers, the initially small fire would grow into a fiery one.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi no longer cared about all these. He only needed a short period of time to calm himself down, so as to enter the appropriate state of mind.

    Since the mes were suppressed, his pain was also considerably reduced. He was able to rx for a while, and under such a mental state, he continued to look at the surrounding mountains and waters.....

    It feltpletely different!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes grew brighter, as he looked at the 23 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets in front of him. He seemed to see golden symbols floating around in mid air.

    Yes, the golden symbols, they were Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi began to unwind, as symbols after symbols started appearing in his eyes, before slowly integrating into his body.

    It was a very rxing feeling, and it felt as though his body was being cleansed by warm water.

    ¡°Hu!¡± The surrounding mes started ascending once again, and it seemed to be even more exuberant than before. It looked as though they were about to devour the entire Middle Stream Cauldron.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi no longer felt the heat from the mes, as the golden symbols circting in his body had helped to resist them.

    Or rather, ¡°engulfing¡± was a more appropriate word to use.

    Because, the mes seemed to be interacting with the golden symbols, and each golden symbol seemed to take one ball of ze along with it.

    It was veryfortable, almost toofortable for Fang Zhengzhi to forget that he needed to understand the two mes.

    Time slowly passed by....

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the two ball of mes had weakened after a while, and it seemed as though they were about to be extinguished.

    About to die off?

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, Sixth Elder, who was outside the Middle Stream Cauldron, widened his eyes in disbelief, as he looked at the Middle Stream Cauldron, which was about to turn dark. Sixth Elder looked bewildered.

    It was night time, and they had started refining the herb in the morning. However, this did not meant that the alchemy process was about to end.

    ording to experience, it was usually only after the seventh day that they were required to reinforce the fire. However, currently, not a day has passed, and the fire in the Middle Stream Cauldron had started showing signs of being quenched.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Is it because of the Middle Stream Cauldron? Or is it because the Thousand Years Fire Herb in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body is far too strong?¡± Sixth Elder frowned his eyes as he did not understand the situation. However, his bewilderment quickly disappeared

    Afterall, the fire dying out was not considered to be a major problem. Furthermore, it was the first time they were using the Middle Stream Cauldron to refine a person into a herb.

    Hence, it was easy to solve the problem.

    SInce the fire was about to be extinguished, they would just add fire to it directly.

    ¡°Quickly invite Great Elder Ying toe over!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± One of the disciples guarding the cauldron acknowledged Sixth Elder, before sprinting towards a ck stone house.

    Moments after, Great Elder Ying Yu, who was clothed in a long ck robe, hurried over. His expression showed signs of bewilderment too.

    ¡°Sixth Elder request to meet me at this time, what was the matter?¡± Great Elder Ying Yu asked.

    ¡°Hm, the fire within the cauldron seems to be dying soon. I guess it¡¯s rted to the intensity of the Thousand Years Fire Herb in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, so I invite Great Elder Ying over to help me to add fire to it!¡± Sixth Elder pointed to the almost-ck Middle Stream Cauldron, and proceed to voice out his opinion.

    ¡°I see.¡± Great Elder nodded his head. While he had his suspicions, he did not express it as afterall, the person hosting the alchemy process was Sixth Elder.

    Furthermore, as what Sixth Elder had said, it was normal to experience problems since they were using the Middle Stream Cauldron to refine herbs.

    He did not over analyse the situation, since it was just the addition of fire.

    He moved his hands, and the silver me ascended once again. Next, it entered the Middle Stream Cauldron, and at this time, Sixth Elder extended his hand too, and the purple me followed behind the silver me.

    The initially disappearing balls of me lit up instantly, their monstrosity as ferocious as ever.

    ¡°Great Elder Ying great job!¡±

    ¡°Sixth Elder great job!¡±

    After the both of them gave each other a bow, they waited outside the cauldron for a while. Upon realising that the intensity reverted back to normal, Great Elder took his leave.

    Everything had seemed to be normal once again.

    However, this did not continue for long. By the next afternoon, the mes in the Middle Stream Cauldron showed signs of dying off once again.

    It was not a major problem, and Great Elder Ying Yu was invited over again, adding on to the fire.....

    .....

    Seven days quickly passed by, and within these seven days, Great Elder had went back to the cauldron multiple times, each time adding on to the fire without suspicion.

    ¡°Sixth Elder, ording to your experience, is this normal?¡± Great Elder Ying Yu did not doubt Sixth Elder¡¯s alchemy skills, as Yin Yang Hall¡¯s refinement of pills were the best in the Holy Region. However, it was impossible to admit that there was not a tinge of suspicion in this matter.

    ¡°It is indeed abnormal!¡± Sixth Elder nodded his head lightly, while he looked at the Middle Stream Cauldron, frowning his eyebrows. ¡°But if I were to open the cauldron now, I¡¯m afraid our efforts will be wasted.....¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Sixth Elder makes sense.¡± Great Elder nodded his head upon hearing those words, as he looked towards the cauldron. ¡°Did Sixth Elder hear any movement inside the cauldron during those few days?¡±

    ¡°No, everything is normal, there were no sounds.¡± Sixth Elder shook his head, because the fact was that there were no movements at all.

    ¡°Since everything is normal, there is no need to open the cauldron. We¡¯ll just continue to add on to the fire. Just like what Sixth Elder had guessed, the intensity of the Thousand Years Fire Herb is too strong. This should be normal!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu responded.

    ¡°Yes, since the Thousand Years Fire Herb was made of fire element too, naturally it would absorb the fire, Great Elder Ying¡¯s analysis is logical!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nodded his head in agreement.

    ¡°Then I need to thank Sixth Elder for continuing to observe the process!¡±

    ¡°Thank you Great Elder Ying too!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    ¡°Great Elder Ying please do.¡±

    After their discussion, they had no intention other than the adding of fire.

    Of course, it was because Great Elder Ying Yu had to contemte about another urgent matter.

    The night before, in the Holy Region, at the border between the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Yin Yang Hall, one of the mountains¡¯ height increased by three times overnight.

    That was an extremely mysterious phenomenon, and what was more mysterious was that the peak of the mountain actually exhibited a ray of red glow from the sun.

    Half of the horizon was stained in red, and it made the gigantic mountain seem as though it was soaked in the red light.

    As the saying goes, a red glow in the sky represents an auspicious happening. This urrence had naturally attracted the attention of the Five sects in the Holy Region. Everyone was guessing if such an urrence meant that a powerful treasure was about to appear.

    ¡°How are things now?¡± Great Elder Ying Yu asked a nearby disciple after leaving the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    ¡°Yin Yang Hall has responded, they invited Nine Pinnacles Mountain to join them.¡± The disciple replied.

    ¡°Ok, I can¡¯t go there temporarily, help me send a message to inform Third Elder and Fourth Elder to bring a hundred disciples with them, and set out immediately!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu nodded his head.,

    ¡°Yes!¡± The disciple acknowledged, before sprinting to afar.

    And Great Elder looked at the horizon, seemingly contemting about something. Not long after, he retracted his vision, before giving out a sigh. ¡°A red glow in the sky, is this a fortune or not?¡±

    It was a rhetorical question that he had asked himself, since there was nobody surrounding him. As such, naturally there was nobody who could answer his question.

    Of course, Great Elder Ying Yu did not need to answer that.

    Because, it was probable that he would be the next Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader. As such, it was a quality that he needed to exhibit.

 Chapter 768 - Weird Occurrences, Harvesting of The Pill

    <h4>Chapter 768: Weird urrences, Harvesting of The Pill</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    .....

    Everyone from Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain hurried over to the red glow over the mountain. Naturally, Heaven Dao Pavilion followed suit. Afterall, the mountain was situated in between Heaven Dao Pavilion and Yin Yang Hall.

    However, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s thought process was more concise than that of Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Yin Yang Hall, as there were many unusual happenings during this period at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Many gigantic beasts started appearing consecutively in the initially peaceful Heaven Dao Pavilion, and this seemed to have kickstarted a chain reaction, resulting in the proliferation of the beasts. More importantly, the beasts¡¯ territories have gradually expanded outwards.

    ¡°What is happening exactly?¡± Mu Qingfeng stood over the Sword Peak as he looked afar.

    A few Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and Elders were standing behind him silently. They were equally as bewildered as him.

    Recent developments in the region were indeed too iprehensible.

    The mutation of the beasts, the proliferation of their numbers, and the growth of their strengths. They were also unable to understand the reason for the smell emitting from the clearke beneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    In the beginning, they were excited about such happenings, as they had thought that they had discovered a ¡°hidden treasure¡±.

    However, the excitement changed soon after.

    Even after the disciples started guarding theke, the presence of the mutated beasts increased. Furthermore, in the forest, there were a few trees which suddenly grew at an rming rate.

    The presence of the hidden treasure was indeed a fortunate phenomenon.

    However, the over-proliferation of such presence led them to contemte about other issues.

    ¡°Sixth Elder.¡± Mu Qingfeng finally opened his mouth after being silent for a while.

    ¡°Pavilion Leader, please instruct.¡± Sixth Elder stepped out from the crowd quickly.

    ¡°Bring 12 people to have a look over there, I guess Yin Yang Hall must have sent their people already, and they may have formed an alliance with Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Remember that we cannot have any conflict with them.¡± Mu Qingfeng said.

    ¡°Yes, but is 12 people a little less? If any treasure were to appear, do we not.....¡±

    ¡°Give up.¡± Mu Qingfeng gestured his hands and interrupted Sixth Elder.

    ¡°This..... Understood, I will go and arrange now!¡± Sixth Elder was shocked for a while, before nodding his head after. He did not continue to question further.

    The other Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at each other in the eye, and they felt a little unjust.

    Afterall, the mountain¡¯s red glow happened at a position closer to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Logically, even if some treasures were to appear, they should be under the control of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, while the disciples were indeed unhappy, they remained silent. They had a slight feeling that this phenomenon was not as simple as it had seemed.

    And at this moment, a pink figure arrived from afar. While she did not walk too quickly, the disciples¡¯ attentions turned towards her.

    ¡°Master.¡± She gave Mu Qingfeng a slight bow, before greeting him.

    ¡°Chi Guyan you¡¯re here, I need you to help me do some things.¡± Mu Qingfeng turned his head slightly, and he seemed naturally doting towards her.

    ¡°Master please instruct.¡± Chi Guyan nodded her head.

    ¡°Actually it¡¯s nothing big. There¡¯s a ck dpidated pce at the bottom of the mountain. I have entered it a few times, but I can¡¯t see some things clearly, I need you to help me take a look.¡± Mu Qingfeng sounded rxed.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Chi Guyan nodded her head again, but there was a tinge of doubt in her eyes. While Mu Qingfeng had said it very casually, she understood that it was not a simple task.

    The dpidated ck pce?

    Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes turned towards the bottom of the Sword Peak. The ck pce was where Fang Zhengzhi hadnded on while he was fighting with the Three Sages from Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    It was already more than a month ago.

    During this time, many things had happened, such as the appearance of the beasts, theke bing clearer and emitting a unique smell, as well as her going to Yin Yang Hall.

    However, Mu Qingfeng did not seemed to concerned about such things. He had ced much attention on the pce since the beginning, and Mu Qingfeng did not ask much about the events at Yin Yang Hall even after Chi Guyan had returned.

    But now.....

    Mu Qingfeng wanted Chi Guyan to apany him into the pce. This showed that the dpidated ck pce contained some deep meaning which required Mu Qingfeng to investigate further.

    .....

    Seven days after.

    Due to the constant squabble within the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it was unexpected that the red glow over the mountain did not cause a hugemotion. While the disciples from Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles mountain upied the peak of the mountain, the disciples from Heaven Dao Pavilion only found a spot at the middle of the mountain.

    The two upying camps did not have much interaction with one another, and the red glow was still in the sky.

    As the days passed by, no treasure appeared, unlike what they had expected. As such, nomotion urred, and everything seemed peaceful.

    However, the peace was only contained within the mountain. Many unique phenomenons started appearing in various parts of the Holy Region.

    As Fu Xi Valley was close to the Heaven Dao Pavillion, many powerful beasts started appearing, and the valleys and mountains looked different from usual. There was even a golden-coloured waterfall with shimmering rays of light.

    Such an urrence was indeed shocking to Fu Xi Valley. Various parts of the Holy Region started turning frantic, and disciples from the FIve Sects wandered around the Holy Region, after news of the phenomenon started spreading around.

    For example, an old tree suddenly started bearing green fruits, and the smell emitted from the fruits attracted the attention of various beasts. They scrambled with one another for the fruits, leaving a pile of corpses at the bottom of the tree.

    In another example, an ordinary valley started turning foggy, and there were even sounds ofughtering from within. However, after entering the valley, they realised that they valley was empty.

    As time passed by, there were even more changes. Even the four Dynasties started seeing more unique phenomenons.

    If the urrences were to only happen within the Holy Region, most people would have kept their calm. However, it was impossible to do so since even the four Dynasties had seen such simr urrences.

    Countless citizens rushed towards the urrences, before worshipping them. If it was not for the armies for the four Dynasties, it would have been impossible to stop the spreading of such news.

    However, almost the entire world had experienced such drastic changes. The initially tall mountain was suddenly suppressed, and taller mountain ridges started appearing out of nowhere. Thekes and rivers turned clearer, and mutated fruits started appearing on trees.

    .....

    .....

    In the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, within the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes almost turned goldenpletely. If one were to look closely, one was able to see countless golden symbols circting around within his eyes.

    Simrly, on his body, there were tiny golden symbols floating around him, and the symbols seemed to be integrating to within his blood stream.

    The silver and purple mes continued burning around him, and interacting with the golden symbols around him.

    Furthermore, amidst the two mes, the 23 frames of paintings continued fluctuating, sometimes turning into lucious mountains, while turning into oceans shortly after.....

    It was very peaceful, if not for the stubborn heats from the two mes. It had almost seemed like he was in a utopia, and not inside the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know that the outside world was evolving, and he did not know how much time has passed by. He only knew that he was in a clear state of mind, and he was constantly absorbing the ¡°Dao¡± from the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, before integrating them into his body.

    Outside the Middle Stream Cauldron. Sunrise, sunset, the stars shone brightly, and the radiant moon hang in the sky.

    Finally, the sun rose again, and the golden light lit up the dark horizon.

    Sixth Elder, who had been sitting by the Middle Stream Cauldron for the whole duration, opened his eyes wide, as he gave out a long sigh.

    It could be seen from Sixth Elder¡¯s face that he was tired. In fact, if another person were to encounter what he has experienced, he would not be energetic too.

    The Middle Stream Cauldron in front of him seemed to turn into a ck hole, absorbing the me from the burning fire. This led to Sixth Elder having needed to constantly reinforce the fire.

    Eventually, he had to increase the frequency, from adding one time per day to adding three times per day.

    They needed toe every morning, afternoon and midnight. While it was not physically tiring, who would enjoy climbing out of bed in the middle of the night?

    However, there was something to celebrate about.....

    Today, the torture would finally end, because it had already been 49 days since Fang Zhengzhi entered the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    ¡°Quickly invite Great Elder Ying over!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± A disciple guarding beside Sixth Elder immediately ran to a ck stone house. Afterall, he was already ustomed to running after that period.

    Not long after, Great Elder Ying Yu came over, preparing to add fire to the almost-ck cauldron.

    ¡°Eh, Great Elder Ying please wait a moment!¡± Sixth Elder knew that he must have misunderstood his intention this time round.

    ¡°Eh? Does Sixth Elder still have anything else?¡± Great Elder Ying Yu tried his best to retain hisposure, although it was indeed tiring for him during this period.

    It could be seen from his expression that Great Elder was anguished, as many weird urrences had started appearing around the surroundings of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, resulting in much worry for him.

    He had to arrange for many issues within the Sect, and due to various ambassadors visiting from the Dynasties, he had very little time to rest during the day.

    Of course for a warrior in the Sage State, it was possible to have a few sleepless nights. However, he had to calm his heart too.

    Great Eler Ying Yu did not even have the time to close his eyes, much less the time to meditate and train for him to have a peaceful state of mind. As such, he was very affected, almost forgetting that today was the day of harvesting the herb.

    ¡°Great Elder Ying, today is the day. There is no need to add onto it.¡± Sixth Elder naturally understood Great Elder¡¯s situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s done?¡± Great Elder was slightly surprised, but he recovered his reaction shortly after. ¡°Send an order for every disciple and Elder toe over!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The disciple immediately left swiftly to pass down the information.

    Great Elder Ying Yu gave Sixth Elder a bow after the disciple had left. ¡°There are many matters to settle recently.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Great Elder Ying, there is no need to be so polite.¡± Sixth Elder smiled slightly, as he gestured his hands. Next, he moved his legs, before appearing by Great Elder¡¯s side. He said softly, ¡°Our leader¡¯s meaning is that we Yin Yang Hall will provide any disciples and help, as long anybody requests for any. We will support everyone fully!¡±

    Great Elder Ying Yu had a slight change in his expression, but he did not reply immediately. However, he remained standing rooted on the ground, as if he was contemting about something.

    After seeing such a scenario, a smile appeared on Sixth Elder¡¯s face, as he seemed to understood Great Elder¡¯s thoughts.

 Chapter 769 - Open The Cauldron

    <h4>Chapter 769: Open The Cauldron</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    There are some things which could not be expressly mentioned, but one¡¯s facial expression or attitude could reveal a person¡¯s thoughts and opinions.

    Great Elder Ying Yu chose to remain silent, as he had already made his arrangements. He merely had to ¡°add on to the fire¡±.

    Sixth Elder did not continue, and waited quietly at the side.

    Following the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple¡¯s announcement, the space in front of the Middle Stream Cauldron was filled with a few hundred disciples shortly after.

    Everyone of them seemed solemn.

    Four Elders, each clothed in a ck robe, were standing in front of the disciples, waiting quietly too.

    During this time, due to the weird urences in the Holy Region, many disciples and Elders were sent out, leaving only a few to guard the ce. Only Great Elder Ying Yu and four Elders were left in Nine Pinnacles Mountain, as well as a few hundred disciples.

    Sixth Elder saw the four Elders, and he was sure that they were ready to support Great Elder Ying Yu anytime.

    ¡°Only four Elders? Second Hallmaster is indeed a genius!¡± Sixth Elder sighed to himself, as he guessed that Great Elder had put in quite an amount of effort for the leader position.

    However, he had only received the support of four Elders, thus it could be seen that thepetition within Nine Pinnacles Mountain was even more intense than he had expected.

    While four Elders were already the majority, it would seem forceful for him to take on the role of the leader, and chaos might ensue.

    Of course, this is beneficial for Yin Yang Hall, as it can better control Nine Pinnacles Mountain when thetter was not steady.

    ¡°Let¡¯s count the time, 49 days, the herb should bepleted already!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard whenever the Middle Stream Cauldron is cooking, there¡¯s always weird urrences happening. Sometimes there would be thunders, and sometimes there would be rays in the sky, I¡¯m not sure what would happen this time?¡±

    ¡°The Thousand Years Fire Herb is one of Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s top two treasures, there are not many of it in the whole of the Holy Region, I think this weird urrence must be very unique as well!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait!¡±

    Clearly the disciples did not know that it was the day of appointing the new leader, as they looked at Great Elder Ying Yu, who was standing in front of the Middle Stream Cauldron, as well as Sixth Elder from Yin Yang Hall.

    And at this moment, Great Elder took two steps forward, and his eyes swept across the Elders and the disciples.

    ¡°It has been a thousand years since we Nine Pinnacles Mountain were set up, Leader Tian Xing was bright and magnanimous, he was able to lead well, and was respected in everyone¡¯s hearts. However, a few months ago, a tragedy happened in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, unfortunately he met some obstacles, and till this date his presence is still unknown.....¡± Great Elder Ying Yu stopped for a moment.

    The expressions of the disciples and four Elders turned cold suddenly upon hearing the words.

    ¡°Avenge the Leader!¡±

    ¡°Hatred!¡±

    The few hundred disciples eximed at the same time, as their voices reverberated across the horizon.

    Great Elder Ying Yu nodded his head lightly as he saw the situation, and his expressions slowly turned from one of sadness to one of anger, as his eyes revealed a cold tone.

    ¡°Now, the person who harmed our Leader has already been caught by us, and he has been put in the Middle Stream Cauldron for a total of 49 days, the Thousand Years Fire Herb has been retrieved back, we can finally request for Leader Tian¡¯s soul to rest in peace!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu continued.

    ¡°Under the leadership of Great Elder, we then can avenger our Leader Tian!¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Great Elder¡¯s hard work!

    ¡°We request Great Elder to lead us!¡±

    Many Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples started shouting as soon as Great Elder finished speaking, resulting in other disciples to support him too.

    ¡°Great Elder!¡±

    ¡°Support Great Elder!¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°A country cannot be without a king, a Sect cannot be without a leader, we Nine Pinnacles Mountain have been without a leader for a few months already. During this period, Great Elder¡¯s efforts have been seen by everyone, I am proposing now, for Great Elder to assume the position of the new Leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡± One of the Elders stood out at this moment, as he bowed in front of Great Elder Ying Yu.

    ¡°Great Elder please take on the position as the new Leader!¡±

    ¡°I support Great Elder bing the new Leader!¡±

    ¡°Great Elder please do not reject this.¡±

    Upon hearing that Elder¡¯s words, two of the Elders and many other disciples stood out as well, expressing their support for Great Elder Ying Yu.

    ¡°I oppose!¡± Just then, a voice rang in the air. Then, a disciple clothed in a ck robe stood out from the crowd. ¡°While Great Elder has indeed worked hard, but it was Yin Yang Hall who has caught Fang Zhengzhi, and not Great Elder!¡±

    ¡°So what? Is there another person who is stronger and more capable than Great Elder?¡± Another disciple refuted.

    ¡°I think the position of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader should be taken on by someone younger. While Great Elder is indeed capable, his potential has already reached the maximum, the new Leader must be someone of potential, so that he can make a name in the Holy Region!¡±

    ¡°Someone with potential? So many people has potential, how do we choose?¡±

    ¡°We can organise apetition, before allowing the nine Elders to discuss ande to an agreement! Moreover, four of the Elders are away now, it is not appropriate to push for a new Leader now!¡±

    ¡°Now the world is in a chaos, and the Holy Region is in a mess. If there¡¯s no Leader to manage the situation, how are we going to fight against the other four Sects?¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t agree that we should hold the selection now!¡±

    ¡°Shua!¡± Just when the disciples were quarrelling among themselves, the silent Sixth Elder made his move, the sword in his hand swinging up.

    The stubborn disciple did not even expect that Sixth Elder from the Yin Yang Hall would attack him at this moment, in front of all the other disciples.

    ¡°Hong!¡± A loud sound could be heard.

    As the swordnded, spurts of blood flew in the air. That disciple copsed in the pool of blood, his eyes wide in disbelief.

    Such a sudden change naturally caused the other disciples to quieten down, as their expressions were filled with bewilderment, ridicule, anger.....

    ¡°Sixth Elder, what have you done?¡± The Elder who had remained silent all this while finally opened his mouth. He looked at Sixth Elder who was standing in front of the cauldron, and his expression seemed solemn.

    ¡°We Yin Yang Hall has formed an alliance with Nine Pinnacles Mountain, of course we hope to have a capable ally, and not a divided one. At this important moment, how can Nine Pinnacles Mountain afford to be messy internally?¡± Sixth Elder did not seemed worried about the question.

    ¡°Even so, you cannot harm my Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple!¡±

    ¡°As the saying goes, punishment is necessary in times of troubles. I feel that Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain cannot fall apart. I do not hope for Nine Pinnacles Mountain to be in shambles internally, of course my method may be a little inappropriate. I am willing to submit 10 high grade soul pills aspensation, and as for the injuries of this disciple, I will bear the burdenpletely!¡± Sixth Elder said calmly.

    ¡°Sixth Elder is indeed generous!¡± The Elder understood Yin Yang Hall¡¯s stance on such matters.

    Silence, temporary silence.

    The few hundred disciples looked at one another, as each of them had realised that the ceremony was not merely just for opening the cauldron.

    ¡°We support Great Elder!¡±

    ¡°Together!¡±

    ¡°We wille together as one!¡±

    After the silence, the few hundred disciples finally opened their mouths. However, nobody dared to oppose now.

    A smile revealed om Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s face as he saw the situation. After making two light coughs, he gestured towards the crowd.

    ¡°I had no intention of assuming this role. However, now is indeed Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s most difficult period, I am willing to hold this role temporarily. As for the new generation, just like what ¡®Li Jin¡¯ had said just now, I am already old, and my potential cannot increase much already. As such, I hereby announce that I will not take control of the Thousand Years Fire Herb. As agreed, I will give half of it to Yin Yang Hall, and I will keep the other half, until the next sessor has been identified. He will then imbibe it, so as to ensure the continuity of Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡± Great Elder looked at the hundreds of disciples as he made the announcement.

    ¡°Great Elder please take on the role!¡±

    ¡°Great Elder please take on the role!¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Great Elder Ying! Oh, wrong, I should call you Leader Ying now!¡± Sixth Elder looked at the disciples who were kneeling on the floor, as a smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°Thanks to Yin Yang Hall¡¯s help, we are then able to carry out justice. Now, let us allow Sixth Elder to open the cauldron to retrieve the pill!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu nodded his head, as he pointed to the Middle Stream Cauldron behind him.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Sixth Elder nodded his head, before walking to the Middle Stream Cauldron before looking up in the sky and putting his hands together. ¡°Open the cauldron!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Four disciples, upon hearing the instructions, went up to the Middle Stream Cauldron immediately, and stood at the four corners of the cauldron.

    Then, the four disciples extended their hands too, as they held onto the four sides of the Middle Stream Cauldron, before lifting the cover.

    ¡°Cauldron!¡±

    ¡°Open!¡±

    Following the two sounds, they opened the cauldron. A silver and a purple me rushed up the sky immediately, resembling two fire dragons taking off into the sky.

    Such a sight attracted the attention of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, and their hearts were filled with anticipation

    It was their first time retrieving a pill from the Middle Stream Cauldron, and it was the Thousand Years Fire Herb, what will happen then?

    No one would be able to guess.

    Everyone was waiting for something to happen. However, after the lid of the cauldron was opened, and after the two dragons rushed up into the sky, everything seemed to have resumed their peace.

    The two fire dragons had already disappeared.

    ¡°What is happening?¡±

    ¡°Where is the unique urence? Has the alchemy process failed?¡±

    ¡°How can this be possible, Sixth Elder and Great Elder were..... no, Leader Ying they were refining the herb, how can they fail?¡±

    Momentster, the disciples could no longer tolerate the situation, as they started discussing among themselves.

    And the four disciples who had just opened the lid looked each other in the eye, as they were able to detect each other¡¯s suspicions.

    The cauldron has been opened?

    Why was there no movements?

    A daring disciple looked at Great Elder and Sixth Elder, and after attaining their permission, he leapt forward.

    He was able to see the interiors of the cauldron.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± A shocking sound emitted from the disciple¡¯s mouth, as afterall, anyone who had seen the same situation would have emitted the same sound.

    Because, there was no herb inside the Middle Stream Cauldron. Of course, there was no charred body, and there was only a sight of lucious mountains, clear rivers and blue skies. Furthermore, the scenery was constantly evolving, and it seemed like there was another world inside the cauldron.

    ¡°What are you screaming about? What happened to the herb? Is it a sess, or a failure?¡± Great Elder Ying Yu seemed bbergasted at the situation.

    ¡°This..... I, I...¡± The disciple did not know how to reply Great Elder.

    Is it an illusion?

    Yes!

    It must be an illusion!

    Just when the disciple was preparing to muster up his courage, the Middle Stream Cauldron vibrated a bit, and a sound emitted from within the cauldron.

    ¡°Eh? Is it time now?¡±

    While the sound was not loud, it was clear enough for everyone to hear it. The disciples were dumbfounded. Even in the sweltering heat with the shiny sun in the horizon, a chill went up their spines.

    It was a chilly feeling!

 Chapter 770 - Gather a Thousana Daos, Enter The Sage State!

    <h4>Chapter 770: Gather a Thousana Daos, Enter The Sage State!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°What is that sound?!¡±

    ¡°Who is talking!¡±

    ¡°Was it an illusion? I think I heard a voice from within the cauldron!¡±

    All the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples seemed to be taken aback, and their facial expressions turned pale immediately.

    Afterall, what is more horrific than a voice emitting from within the Middle Stream Cauldron after 49 days?

    ¡°Who is that!¡± Sixth Elder opened his mouth immediately. As the host who had been guarding beside the cauldron, he naturally would not believe that there would be someone alive in it, and he would not believe such a situation.

    More importantly, everything was going ording to his n. He just had to wait for the remaining Elders to return back to Nine Pinnacles Mountain, before triggering a fight among the two sides. Nine Pinnacles Mountain would then be unable to escape the grasp of Yin Yang Hall.

    As such, he could not allow such an ident to happen.

    Astounded!

    Be it Sixth Elder, or Great Elder Ying Yu or the rest of the disciples, nobody dared to believe what they had heard.

    However, a shimmering golden ray of light rushed out from within the Middle Stream Cauldron, just like a golden pir extending towards the clouds.

    The beautiful horizon was instantly dyed in gold, and the golden colour seemed to overpower the light emitting from the sun. The entire horizon seemed to be burning.

    An imposing atmosphere radiated out from the Middle Stream Cauldron, and it seemed to be getting stronger. Sixth Elder took a step back inadvertently.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡± Sixth Elder was dumbfounded.

    The remaining disciples opened their eyes wide in disbelief upon seeing the phenomenon. Afterall, they could feel the change in atmosphere too.

    ¡°Not good, sealed it back, quickly!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu reacted immediately. He did not know what had happened, but he made the decision quickly.

    What a pity.....

    He was toote!

    Just when after Great Elder had spoken, the Middle Stream Cauldron shuddered vigorously.

    ¡°Hong long!¡± A loud sound reverberated in the air.

    The Middle Stream Cauldron, which was erected in the centre of the nine ck cauldrons, suddenly copsed. Just at this moment, a ray of light shot out from the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    The ray of light wrapped around the silver and purple mes.

    It was swift!

    In just in a blink of an eye, it had reached midair.

    Great Elder¡¯s and Sixth Elder¡¯s expressions changedpletely, as they knew that those were the mes that they had used to refine the herb.

    ¡°Finally I¡¯m out.....¡± A voice could be heard amidst the light. Just then, the two mes disappeared, but a half-naked figure appeared in midair. His upper clothes were destroyedpletely, revealing a lean and muscr body.

    Countless tiny golden symbols circted around his body, integrating into his blood stream. His eyes was radiating rays of golden light too.

    However, his body was wrapped in chains, and it was obvious that the person was Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Not dead!!!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s really not dead!¡±

    ¡°How can it be? How can he not die!¡±

    If the disciples were feeling bewildered just now, then at this moment, they were unable to control their emotions any further.

    No amount of words could describe their feelings. A ghost in the middle of the day? No! Even if they had seen a ghost in midday, the wouldn¡¯t have reacted to such an extent.

    ¡°Hong Long!¡± At this moment, a loud sound could be heard from the golden horizon, and there was a hole among the clouds.

    There was no lightning, but countless rays of colourful light shone down from the horizon.

    Red, blue, golden, silver, green.....

    Different shades of colours rained down from the clouds, before integrating into the golden pir that extended into the horizon.

    ¡°What is happening?¡±

    ¡°The urrence! Is this the unique urrence?¡±

    ¡°The pill is yet to bepleted, and Fang Zhengzhi has yet to die, what is there such an urrence?!¡±

    The disciples¡¯ eyes were rolling wide in disbelief, and they seemed to have forgotten their identities. They seemed to bepletely engrossed in the various rays of light.

    There were unable to imagine what such a sight seemed to symbolise.

    Even Great Elder Ying Yu had the same reaction, as he has never experienced such a phenomenon before in all his years.

    ¡°Thousand rays of light, is he not.....¡± Great Elder Ying Yu did not continue his words, as he could not imagine the following consequences that would soon follow after.

    ¡°How is he still alive? 49 days, how can he survive?!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes widened, as his face turned as pale as ever. He was unable to ept such a sight, and was even more reluctant to believe that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    But the fact was that he was still alive, and he seemed to be doing fine. Other than his destroyed clothes, and the chains which were still wrapped around his body, he seemed to be in a pathetic condition, but his body was void of any other injuries.

    Furthermore, the light from the golden pir seemed to be gushing towards his body.

    In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body resembled a gigantic ck hole, absorbing the rays of light, before integrating into his body.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi emitted a howling sound, and it sounded painful, yet excited at the same time. Different colours were circting around within his eyes.

    Red, yellow, blue, green.....

    Furthermore, the golden symbols around his body seemed to have evolved into countless stars, gathering towards his chest.

    At this moment, it was like the horizon contained two suns!

    One of them was the sun which had just rose into the sky, and the other was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Not good, quickly kill him, quick! His body is evolving!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s face became paler, and his lips quivered uncontrobly.

    ¡°Body evolving?!¡±

    ¡°Is Fang Zhengzhi going to.....¡±

    ¡°Oh my, how can this be, even if he¡¯s not dead, he cannot.....no, this is impossible!¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples could not believe the situation, but it was a fact that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body seemed to be evolving.

    ¡°Die!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu looked at the rays on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest, and there was a cold tension that shed across his eyes.

    Because, he knew that if he did not use the opportunity to kill Fang Zhengzhi when he was chained up, there was probably no second chance to do so anymore.

    As such, a long silver spear instantly appeared in his hand, with a silver ball of me burning at the tip of the spear.

    Next, Great Elder arched his body, resembling a pulled bow, as his waist was bent to the maximum.

    ¡°Sou!¡± A loud sound erupted in the air.

    The long silver spear resembled a lightning snake, as it charged towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest in an abnormal speed.

    ¡°He is still bound by the chains, kill him!¡± The other four Nine Pinnacles Mountain Elders realised Great Elder¡¯s intentions, and revealed their weapons immediately.

    An enormous amount of energy emitted from the four Elders.

    And at this moment, the long silver spear had reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest. It¡¯s pointy edge was merely a finger¡¯s length away from his heart.

    However, what was weird was that.....

    It stopped advancing!

    It was as if time had stopped.

    Next, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands moved slowly.

    ¡°Kacha!¡± There was a soft sound.

    A crack appeared in the ck chains that surrounded his body. Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand extended from the crack slowly, as he grabbed onto the long silver spear.

    It was a slow scene.

    However, it felt shuddering.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were wide in disbelief, as they looked at the long silver spear, which was grabbed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth slowly broke into a smile, before the chains broke offpletely.

    ¡°Hong Long!¡±

    ¡°Hong Long!¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    Broken segments of the chains dropped from the sky and shattered on the ground, emitting trembling sounds.

    ¡°So I was tied up?¡± A calm sound came out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, just as the glow in his chest disappeared.

    Everything seemed to be restored to peace, as the rays of light in the horizon disappeared as well, leaving Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoing through the valleys.

    However, everyone seemed to be inadvertently taking a step back, and their facial expressions revealed the horrors in their hearts.

    ¡°He..... He managed to get away from the chains?!¡±

    ¡°And, he only used one hand to grab Great Elder¡¯s spear!¡±

    ¡°He really..... really became a Sage!¡±

    Be it the hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, or the four Elders who were brandishing their weapons, they were all dumbfounded by the phenomenon.

    Because the ck chains surrounding Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body could not be broken off even by the average Sage. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was able to withstand Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s attack while he was breaking off the chain, and he merely used one hand. Such a sight continue to dangle in their memories.

    ¡°Today¡¯s weather is not too bad. The sun is bright, the birds are chirping, the flowers smell great, what do you guys think?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the silent crowd, as he raised his head towards the sun, and waved the long silver spear around in his hand.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t you dare be too insolent. Even if you¡¯re still alive, you cannot leave. Do you think by just being a half-witted Sage, you¡¯re able to challenge Nine Pinnacles Mountain? You have underestimated the strength of the Five Sects in the Holy Region!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°I underestimate the strength of the Five Sects? No no no, you¡¯re wrong, I did not underestimate the Five Sects, because I have never even estimated them before!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head with an innocent look on his face.

    ¡°You..... You little punk, you¡¯re asking for death!¡± Sixth Elder was taken aback, but he quickly reacted. His face was flushed red, and his eyes were vexed. However, he did not rush up immediately, and merely gazed at Great Elder Ying Yu, ¡°Leader Ying, you cannot let him leave Nine Pinnacles Mountain, or else.....¡±

    ¡°Sixth Elder do not worry, he will not leave. Get ready!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu did not wait for Sixth Elder to finish his sentence, as he would never allow him to leave, even if Sixth Elder did notplete his sentence.

    Afterall, Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s hatred for Fang Zhengzhi was greatly entrenched, and it was impossible for them to show mercy or be afraid of him.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The hundreds of disciples started moving upon hearing his orders, as they knew that a battle was inevitable.

    Moreover, it was Nine Pinnacles Mountain!

    While there were a few Elders who were away, there was still the new Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, as well as the four remaining Elders, and Sixth Elder from Yin Yang Hall.

    Six Elders,bined with four disciples who were in the Sage State too, as well as the hundreds of disciples in Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    It would be a joke if thisbined strength would not suffice to retain Fang Zhengzhi, who had yet to enter the Sage Statepletely.

    ¡°Seems like, I have to kill now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth moved, as he looked up at the sun once again. Then, his body started moving.

    ¡°Hong Long!¡± A loud sound erupted.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bodynded on the ground, and he was a step¡¯s distance away from Sixth Elder and Great Elder Ying Yu. At this moment, a crack appeared on the ground where hended.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°So fast!¡±

    ¡°That was Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s gigantic rock. It had undergone thousands of years of hardening from therva, and it is as hard as ever. He is able to..... able to create a crack in it?!¡±

    Such a sight resulted in the disciples to widen their eyes once again, and they stood motionless on the ground.

    Of course, other than the hundreds of disciples, there were two men who stood rooted on the ground too. They were Great Elder Ying Yu and Sixth Elder.

    Such anding inadvertently caused Great Elder Ying Yu, who was usually extremely calm, to feel anxious.

 Chapter 771 - Go Forth, Heavenly God

    <h4>Chapter 771: Go Forth, Heavenly God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The first time, Great Elder Ying Yu had an uneasy feeling in his heart. Normally, Fang Zhengzhi should have taken this chance to escape.

    However, reality proved that Fang Zhengzhi did not escape. Instead, as he descended from the sky, hended right in front of him and was only one step away.

    This was akin to giving him and Sixth Elder a good opportunity for an ambush. However, for some unknown reason, the moment Fang Zhengzhinded, he did not attack. Instead of attacking, he took half a step back.

    However, he only took half a step back...

    This was enough to reflect what Ying Yu was thinking.

    Fang Zhengzhi came down too quickly!

    He was so fast to the point whereby Ying Yu could not even react to him. From his descent to the moment he appeared in front of him, he seemed to have teleported. However, he knew that this was not teleportation but instead, a speed which was as fast as that.

    ¡°How can he be so fast!?¡± Beads of cold sweat trickled down Ying Yu¡¯s forehead.

    He was not the only worried one. Sixth Elder, who stood next to him, was frozen solid. He stared straight at Fang Zhengzhi and he took two steps back quickly to steady himself.

    When Sixth Elder looked at the two cracks underneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet, his expression changed even more. His lips trembled and he wanted to say something. Yet, he remained silent.

    ¡°I remember when you chucked me into the Middle Stream Cauldron. You once said that if I didn¡¯t die, the two of you would die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not worried about being ambushed by Ying Yu and Sixth Elder. He stood quietly in front of the two of them without moving.

    However, as Fang Zhengzhi stood there alone, facing off against ten Sages and hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, he was like a sword which had just been unsheathed.

    ¡°Do you want us to die?! You can go and die first!¡± Sixth Elder could take it no more. He could feel the terrifying aura off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. However, as the Sixth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall, how could he be terrified of someone who had just be a Sage?

    Furthermore, he had Great Elder Ying Yu of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain next to him, as well as four elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and hundreds of other disciples.

    How powerful was Fang Zhengzhi?

    He did not know!

    However, he could be sure that no matter how strong Fang Zhengzhi was, there was no way he could beat the whole Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Sixth Elder attacked. The moment he said that, a few streams of fiery cloud patterns appeared on his hand. On his sword, rays of purple lightning appeared.

    Thunder boomed and lightning shed.

    From the moment he unsheathed his sword until when he pointed it at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat, it only took a single blink. This was because the two of them were very close and there was no way he could escape the distance of this sword.

    This sword was not an ambush...

    However, he still took advantage of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s unpreparedness.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to stand quietly in front of Sixth Elder. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi did not even react as he stood there and looked at the swording for his throat.

    ¡°Did I seed?¡± Sixth Elder was slightly confused. However, a cold look crossed his face because he knew that this was the result of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arrogance. Had he not been so self-confident, he would not have been able to increase the speed of this move by so much.

    A sharp ng of the sword rang out as if it was snuffing a soul to death. However, this sound did not persist for long.

    This was because when the sword was almost two fingers away from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat, it stopped. A palm stopped it.

    A hand which grabbed the de of the sword.

    ¡°Slow, really slow,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he shook his head. As he grabbed the sword, his mouth twitched and he looked slightly disappointed.

    ¡°Slow?! Fang Zhengzhi, are you asking to die!¡± Sixth Elder looked at the hand on his sword and his originally cold smile turned even colder.

    He roared and mes appeared on his de. At the same time, rays of purple thunder light rose with the mes,pletely ensnaring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Sizzle!¡± A huge explosion.

    Thunder burst it apart.

    Then, the cold smile on Sixth Elder¡¯s face became even wider. He used his right hand to smash vigorously because, normally, the moment Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand had been burned by the thunder fire, he would not be able to hold his sword. Furthermore, thunder could help paralyze him.

    Shocked by electricity, Fang Zhengzhi would naturally be unable to move.

    This was a chance!

    Furthermore, this was a chance to kill him!

    Hence, Sixth Elder could not let it go. However, just as he tried to force the sword from his hand, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was still gripping onto it very tightly.

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Sixth Elder was shocked. Then, a sense of danger rose in his heart. This was from his many years of battling experience.

    Right now, he evidently had the initiative. However, before he could pull the sword out from his hands, a voice in his heart told him to leave immediately!

    However, it was toote.

    This was because the moment he tried to pull the sword, a crackling sound rang out next to his ear.

    This was the sound of a sword breaking!

    The moment this sword broke, its broken sword de came flying at him. It was wielded by the same hand.

    ¡°No! That¡¯s impossible!¡± Sixth Elder could not believe it. He became a Sage through the Thunder and Fire Dao. Hence, his strongest Dao was naturally this.

    Never had his Thunder and Fire Dao be so weak to the point where it was almost useless. It could not even stop Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, the fact remained that...

    The de of the sword was already in front of his eyes.

    Furthermore, because the two of them were too close, he could not dodge in time. The reason was simple. They were less than a sword length apart.

    ¡°Slk!¡± The de entered his flesh and pierced his chest.

    However, what shocked Sixth Elder was that the de did not prate his left chest but instead, it pierced his right chest.

    ¡°When I was in the Yin Yang Hall, you stabbed me in my right chest. This is retribution,¡± a calm voice rang out from next to Sixth Elder¡¯s ears. It was very close and he could feel every single breath.

    ¡°What?¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s body froze. He naturally knew that he could not block that sword. However, he did not expect Fang Zhengzhi tond it so deliberately.

    This was a fearsome foe!

    In front of ten Sages and hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, Fang Zhengzhi was still able to strike him back.

    What kind of humiliation was this!

    In other words, how arrogant must a person be to dare to y tricks with a Sage State Great Elder?

    Humiliation and anger.

    From Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes, two balls of purple thunder fire rose.

    At this moment, a silvery-white ray of light shed past his eyes. This was a ray of light attacked him from his side and was like a shooting star in the night sky.

    It was extremely fast!

    No sharp sound could be heard as this was an ambush. However, this ray of silver brimmed with an icy-cold aura that seemed capable of tearing space apart.

    Sixth Elder did not look because he knew that Great Elder Ying Yu had attacked.

    The moment Fang Zhengzhi stuck a sword in his right chest, it was enough to give Ying Yu a chance for an ambush.

    ¡°Die!¡± Sixth Elder did not take a step back because he knew that he had to drag Fang Zhengzhi down.

    The moment he said that, countless rays of purple thunder fire appeared from his body. Every single one of them was like an open palm as they extended in all four directions.

    ¡°Crrrack!¡± A gentle sound.

    Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes lit up because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had been ensnared by this thunder fire. Hence, all he could do was to await death!

    At this moment, another shocking scene unfolded in front of his eyes.

    This was because the ray of silvery white light that came from the side appeared to have been batted away.

    Batted away?!

    What could anger him more, at this crucial moment of life and death, for his ally to miss such an important shot?

    Sixth Elder was deeply unhappy.

    This was because he had already caught Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, by right, Fang Zhengzhi was dead. However, he did not want to die alongside him.

    ¡°Oh, did it miss?¡± As despair filled Sixth Elder¡¯s heart, the calm voice rang out next to his ear once more.

    Then, he saw a hand grabbing the ray of silver light in front of him. This feeling was akin to grabbing a toy.

    ¡°What? Fang Zhengzhi... saved me?!¡± Sixth Elder could not believe it. However, it was true that Fang Zhengzhi grabbed the ray of silver light rushing toward him.

    Shock and disbelief.

    He did not understand what was going on. Then, he saw a smiling face appear in front of him.

    The face smiled widely, brimming with confidence and calm.

    Then, he felt that his breathing bing more difficult. His throat seemed to have been throttled by a force which he could not resist.

    ¡°Cough!¡± Mad coughing.

    The entire space appeared to have copsed at this moment. It was a terrifyingly powerful aura. It was as if countless swords were tearing this space apart.

    At the same time, Sixth Elder felt a pressure, which was as heavy as a mountain, crushing down on his throat.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    Sixth Elder¡¯s body crashed heavily against the ground. At this moment, he felt as if every single bone in his body was broken. All over his body, countless cracks started to appear.

    He felt an intense pain.

    This hit almost knocked him out. However, he was still able to survive it. With thest bit of strength that he had, he stared at a pair of eyes which brimmed with a faint purplish thunder fire.

    Then, a terrifying scene appeared.

    The smiling face in front of him was gone. Instead, there stood a huge figure which was about 30 meters tall. It was like a solid ck shadow.

    Golden clouds and a thick ck armor covered its body. ck mes danced all over it.

    Its two eyes stared intently at his face.

    At this moment...

    Sixth Elder felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

    This was because the moment he saw this ck figure, he also saw a body that was sent flying by it. Evidently, that was Great Elder Ying Yu.

    As a Great Elder of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, who was just one step away from reaching the peak Sage state, how could Ying Yu be sent flying just like this?!

    What a shocking scene!

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion rang out and Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s bodynded heavily on the ground, making a crater among the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    Sixth Elder¡¯s eyes were wide in shock.

    He did not know what attack did Fang Zhengzhi use or how was he able to achieve this. What he did know was that the only other time he had seen this manifestation of the ¡®bloodline of the Heavenly God¡¯ was on Tian Xing, the former leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    At that time, when Tian Xing unleashed his manifestation, all it had was ayer of ck armor. It was definitely not as big as a mountain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. I just want to kill you personally.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out from this colossal body. Then, he looked away from Sixth Elder, who was underneath his palm, and stared down at Great Elder Ying Yu and the hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

    ¡°Great Elder¡±

    ¡°What is this?!¡±

    ¡°Why is this bloodline even stronger than Leader Tian!¡±

    ¡°Did he really just be a Sage?¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples looked at the sky above their heads. When they saw this gigantic ck figure, their faces paled.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi spoke, ¡°Great Elder is calctive indeed. Just now, you wanted to take advantage of the chaos to kill Sixth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall. Not a bad idea... haha! Today, if I die, you can me it on me. At the same time, you can eliminate an elder of the Yin Yang Hall. If I escape, the Yin Yang Hall wille after me for vengeance. Isn¡¯t this good for the Nine Pinnacles Mountain? However, I think you have miscalcted, Great Elder. What if I never wanted to flee in the first ce?¡±

 Chapter 772 - One in a Thousand Years

    <h4>Chapter 772: One in a Thousand Years</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°What if I have never nned on escaping?¡±

    ¡°Never nned on escaping...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, shocking all of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples. They looked at this colossal figure and thought that his words may be too arrogant. However, no one dared to say anything.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was not running away!

    ¡°Cough... Fang Zhengzhi, I never expect you to try and start a fight between the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Yin Yang Hall before you die. Do you think that you¡¯re being too na?ve?¡± A trickle of blood ran down Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s mouth as he stared intently at Sixth Elder, who was underneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm, with an icy-cold look.

    After all, it was not a good feeling to be exposed by someone else. No one would admit to this.

    ¡°Hurhur... So I¡¯m trying to start a fight between the two of you? Right, this makes sense. So why don¡¯t youe and save Sixth Elder of the Yin Yang Hall?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not mind this statement at all.

    ¡°You...¡± Ying Yu narrowed his eyes and he frowned. He clenched his fists tightly.

    As the next leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had to consider many things. Right now, the most pressing issue was whether he should save Sixth Elder or not.

    If he saved him, would Sixth Elder still harbor a grudge in his heart? Would this affect the ties between the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Yin Yang Hall?

    If he did not save him, how could he make sure that no one would suspect the involvement of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    ¡°Leader!¡± Four elders looked at Ying Yu as they awaited his decision.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you think that we won¡¯t dare to attack you just because you seized Sixth Elder? Sixth Elder is a true hero. Do you think he will be your hostage willingly? He¡¯ll know when to sacrifice for the greater good,¡± said Ying Yu through gritted teeth as he looked at the four elders.

    ¡°Oh? This thinking is not bad. It¡¯s truly representative of the Five Sects of the Holy Region!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ¡®terrified¡¯ Great Elder Ying Yu and a smile crept across his face.

    Since he entered the Holy Region, he was able to understand the internal conflict among the five sects. While they imed to be from the same source, they all fought with each other and schemed against each other. There were much more brutal fights than the one right now.

    When Sixth Elder heard this, his face changed. He naturally knew that Ying Yu wanted to sacrifice him.

    More importantly, like what Ying Yu said, under this circumstance, it was forgivable even if Ying Yu did not reach out to help him.

    ¡°Fang... Fang Zhengzhi, you... you can¡¯t kill... kill me! If you kill me, you have absolutely no hope of escaping... anymore!¡± Sixth Elder¡¯s voice was terrified. Evidently, he did not want to die.

    To be fair, no one in the world wanted to kill. Against all odds, he became a Sage and his lifespan was already longer than usual.

    ¡°However, they want me to kill you. What should I do?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard Sixth Elder¡¯s voice, he lowered his head and looked interestedly at him.

    ¡°Can¡¯t... can¡¯t kill...¡± Sixth Elder wanted to say more but as he spoke, he realized he had no energy to continue his sentence.

    This was because a force, which was as heavy as a mountain, came crashing down onto him and smashed his heart instantly. ¡°Crack!¡± With this sound, his body lost all energy.

    He was unwilling.

    He was unwilling to die. In the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, in front of hundreds of disciples, he had been taken hostage and yet, he was still killed.

    Why?

    Sixth Elder did not understand. Until the moment he died, he did not know why Fang Zhengzhi had chosen to kill him. Was this because Ying Yu¡¯s attempt to trigger him failed?

    Perhaps Fang Zhengzhi never nned on using him as a hostage anyway.

    His vision blurred and he was unwilling to die. However, his heart had been shattered and his neck was twisted. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but die.

    ¡°Now, I have no hostage on me anymore,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at Ying Yu and the hundreds of disciples. His sparkling eyes were extremely calm and he said that as if it was something normal.

    Then, from underneath him, hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples looked at the dying Sixth Elder and exhaled a breath of cold air.

    ¡°He really killed him!¡±

    ¡°He really killed Sixth Elder!¡±

    ¡°Without a hostage, how can he escape?!¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples naturally did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi really fell for Ying Yu¡¯s ruse. They knew that he was not dumb.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi really did kill Sixth Elder. Furthermore, he killed him so determinedly.

    There was only one possibility. Everything Fang Zhengzhi said just now was true. From the start to the end, he had no intention of escaping.

    How arrogant must a person be to oppose the entire Nine Pinnacles Mountain?! This was the most extreme way of looking down at his foes.

    ¡°To be honest, your nine cauldrons are really good. They can be used to make pills and weapons. Why don¡¯t you give them to me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once more.

    ¡°How dare you! The Nine Cauldrons are the top treasures of our sect. We have them since the day the sect was founded...¡± The four elders were finally enraged. However, before he could finish, he was interrupted.

    ¡°What is this cauldron called? Oh, I remember now. Middle Stream Cauldron. You used it to cultivate me? I shall take it first then,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he walked up next to the Middle Stream Cauldron and put it in his chest, ignoring everyone around him.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± The four elders were incredibly enraged.

    Before hundreds of disciples, Fang Zhengzhi took away the top cauldron of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. This was not just looking down on them. This was a massive humiliation.

    They moved together even though Ying Yu did not issue any order to them. Together, they moved decisively. Their bodies turned into four rays of light as they charged toward Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi looked at the eight other cauldrons whilepletely ignoring the four elders. ¡°What¡¯s this called? Does anyone know? It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll take it first. Actually, I don¡¯t really care about the details.¡±

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± As he said that, he took another ck cauldron away.

    At the same time, the four elders were already behind him. Amidst a terrifying pressure, four rays of cold light, which were as fast as lightning, zapped Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back and his neck.

    ¡°Can I take another cauldron?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once more. Instantly, his humongous body turned around.

    His fist, which was covered with his ck armor and ck mes, hit the four elders which were charging toward him.

    This attack had no technique in it.

    However, it was enough to make all four of them freeze up. It was as if someone had paralyzed them.

    Then, under the disbelieving eyes of the disciples, the four elders were swept away by this fist as they flew away.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After four booms, four more craters appeared on the ground. Every single one had an elder inside it. One of them had a look of disbelief in his eyes.

    They could not believe it.

    This was because they had clearly seen his fist. Normally, by dodging his fist, it would not be difficult for them to then kill him.

    However, they were all struck by this fist.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Heaven Dao!¡±

    ¡°This fist controlled the restrictive capabilities of the Heaven Dao!¡±

    ¡°D*mn it!¡±

    The four elders were all enraged. However, other than being enraged, they remembered what was strange about this fist. This was because they were instantly immobilized by it and they could not move, which caused them to be struck by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Speaking of it, shouldn¡¯t you be thankful for me? Once I have the Nine Cauldrons, you won¡¯t have to worry about them getting damaged by the environment, right? Eh... this one has a nice pattern and it¡¯s really exquisite. This is nice too. If I nt flowers in them, I wonder how fragrant will they be?¡± After Fang Zhengzhi knocked the four elders back, he went back to his cauldrons.

    As he spoke, he took another two of them.

    ¡°Kill, kill him!¡± Ying Yu finally opened his mouth. This was because he could not take it anymore. In other words, no one from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain could endure such a humiliation.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    After hundreds of disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain heard his order, they all sprang into action. Rays of light shone from their bodies.

    However, when they really rushed forward, they discovered, to their shock, that hundreds of disciples stood on top of the rock.

    ¡°Everyone is here? Is it too crowded?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, who wereing toward him like raindrops, and a smile curled across his face.

    This scene, coupled with his 30 meters high body, would send chills down a normal person¡¯s heart. In fact, the moment Fang Zhengzhi said that, a chill ran down their hearts.

    This was because a terrifying pressure appeared above their heads. It was an incrediblyrge diagram. Around the diagram, eight balls of ck fire burned.

    Hell Dao!

    Most importantly, the Hell Dao covered the entire giant rock on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. On the ground, a simr diagram appeared.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Some of the weaker disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were crushed by this huge pressure. Coupled with the huge attractive force on the ground, they could not even stand up.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    Screams of pain rang out in the air. Instantly, the hundreds of disciples who led the charge fell.

    Fewer than ten could stand up.

    Among them, four of them were the Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s Sage State disciples and the others were exceptional Rebirth State disciples.

    Even so, this scene was shocking.

    The biggest difference between the Sage State and the Rebirth State was the disparity in strength. It was like between an adult and a child.

    Of course, this did not mean that a child would definitely lose to an adult all the time. If the child was gifted enough in fighting, he would still stand a chance.

    However, in terms of pure strength, there was a difference between an adult and a child.

    Right now...

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples could clearly sense this disparity. In particr, as Fang Zhengzhi had control over the Hell Dao, it became more obvious.

    At this moment, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples realized something. They were all genii but the one who could control the Six Rebirth Daos was the genius among the genii.

    Hence, when someone who mastered four of the Six Rebirth Daos appeared in front of them and was able to be a Sage sessfully, he could not be simply described as a mere genius.

    A prodigy?

    They could use these two words. However, countless of prodigies had appeared over the long history of the Holy Region.

    None of them, however, could master four of the Six Rebirth Daos.

    No word could describe him because nothing like this had ever happened before in the Holy Region.

    This was the first time this notion appeared in their minds. The reason why Fang Zhengzhi did not escape was that he had no reason to.

    ¡°Do you really not know the name of this cauldron? Fine, I¡¯ll name it myself. I shall call it the ¡®Prosperity Cauldron¡¯. This shall be the ¡®Lucky Cauldron¡¯. Eh... this one has flowery patterns. I shall call it the ¡®Peach Blossom Cauldron¡¯. Let me pray right now. I hope I can find someone who¡¯s kind, sweet, and knows how to do chores. She must be able to cook well and looks like.... looks a bit prettier than Chi Guyan!¡±

    When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were utterly silent.

    ¡°...¡±

    No one said anything. They all looked at the cauldrons Fang Zhengzhi took as their eyes bulged.

 Chapter 773 - Bursting Forth at Full Force

    <h4>Chapter 773: Bursting Forth at Full Force</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Atst, all nine cauldrons were in his chest.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi turned to look behind him. A pair of four-colored eyes descended by Great Elder Ying Yu. ¡°Almost there. It¡¯s your turn, Great Elder.¡±

    ¡°Rip!¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples¡¯ faces all changed. While Fang Zhengzhi did not look at them, they could all feel a chill running down their backs.

    Even Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s face turned pale. His fist tightened because he never expected that Fang Zhengzhi could humiliate the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to this extent.

    By himself...

    He was able to render ten Sages and hundreds of disciples helpless.

    He could not believe it. However, the fact remained that this was the case. He could not even fathom how did the Yin Yang Hall catch Fang Zhengzhi.

    What could he do?

    If he allowed Fang Zhengzhi to walk away like this with the Nine Cauldrons, how could the Nine Pinnacles Mountain remain respected in the Holy Region?

    Impossible!

    He had to seize Fang Zhengzhi.

    When he thought about this, a shadow appeared in front of him. It was as tall as a mountain and thick ck armor covered its body. A ray of golden cloud pattern swirled around its armor. The ck mes from the armor made everyone¡¯s heart turn cold.

    ¡°So fast!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s heart missed a beat. He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to seize the initiative at this point.

    In his heart, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice should be to take up a defensive position on top of the rock. Then, he should look for an opportunity to break through.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi instead chose to attack. Furthermore, he seemed determined to do so.

    Almost instantly, Ying Yu saw a huge fist, which was about the size of a small mountain,ing down toward him.

    Ying Yu, who shed with Fang Zhengzhi once before, naturally would not let himself be hit by Fang Zhengzhi just like this. His figure moved as he deftly retreated.

    However, just as he took half a step back, a powerful restrictive energy encircled him. His entire body felt as if it had been trussed up.

    ¡°Heaven Dao!? Damn it!¡± Great Elder Ying Yu gritted his teeth. A trickle of blood seeped out from his mouth. At the same time, he cried out, ¡°Crystal Pir!¡±

    ¡°Crack!¡± A delicate sound, like crystals breaking, rang out. following that, a silver light pir which seemed to be made from crystals appeared in front of Ying Yu.

    However, this crystal pir was already shattered. It was shattered in the middle and the crystalline light which shone off it slowly faded away.

    At the same time, Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s body descended down in a straight line. Then, a huge boom rang out.

    The ground split apart.

    Cracks started to appear underneath Ying Yu¡¯s feet.

    One could see Ying Yu¡¯s face turning pale. Evidently, that blow injured him.

    ¡°Leader!¡± When the four Nine Pinnacles Mountain elders saw this scene, they all rushed to his side withplex expressions on their faces.

    The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was suppressed by Fang Zhengzhi to this extent. This was something that they could not imagine.

    ¡°Could the four elders please help me!¡± Ying Yu looked at the ck shadow above his head and his lips trembled slightly.

    ¡°Alright! Listen up, Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples. Take up defensive positions!¡± When the four Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples heard Ying Yu¡¯s words, they looked at each other. Then, they nodded their heads in unison as they shouted their orders to their disciples.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples naturally understood what Ying Yu and the four elders meant. Instantly, theyid a huge formation.

    This was a strange formation. It had nineponents and each of them had a different shape. Some were square and some were round. There were also some which were triangr.

    Ying Yu and the four elders were in the center of the huge formation andpletely within its protection.

    Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    It was slightly awkward but despite him having read many books, he could not recognize this formation before him. Furthermore, he had never seen it before in all of the military books which he had read.

    ¡°Is this a unique formation of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Then, his body came crashing down as he stepped into the formation.

    So what if he did not recognize this formation? He stopped trying to recognize it but instead, relied on his fist. This was how Fang Zhengzhi settled problems. It was a rather stunning way to do so.

    His huge form instantly stomped out a huge hole in the formation. He was like a huge beast which had charged into a herd of tiny goats.

    This was also why he made the ck armor which covered his body as big as a small mountain. If his body was big enough, and his fist was strong enough, what could he not do?

    Of course, other than this reason, there were many other smaller reasons. For example, if his armor was big and thick enough, his body would be better protected. In fact, he would also look more fearsome in terms of his aura.

    As for wasting his Origin Energy...

    Fang Zhengzhi never thought about it.

    This was because he did notck Origin Energy. In 49 days, the Thousand Year Fire Herb in his body had beenpletely cultivated. Other than that, the ten acres of herb farm in his body had been turned into actual pills. With each pill he ate, his body brimmed with energy. Right now, his Origin Energy was plentiful and they all circted every well.

    Hence, he should fight!

    Without wasting any word or hesitating anymore, hended a fist.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion rang out.

    The ground split apart once more and countless of gravel and shrapnel flew in all four directions. They turned into dust which covered the sky, enveloping the huge formation within it.

    However, what shocked Fang Zhengzhi was the fact that his fist did not blow the huge formation apart. Instead, it just made it twist.

    In other words...

    When his fistnded on the ¡®circle¡¯, the entire formation came alive. It started to transform before his very eyes.

    Furthermore, the entire formation became bathed in a silver light.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if you lose, you¡¯ll lose because of your overconfidence!¡± At this moment, Great Elder Shi Yu¡¯s voice rang out from the middle of the formation.

    At the same time, nine brilliant rays of light shone out from the huge formation. All of them were silvery-white, just like the nine rays of crystalline light which shot into the sky.

    ¡°Did I just fall into a trap?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the nine pirs of silver light. A look of shock seemed to sh past his four-colored eyes. However, he remained there without moving and showed no intention of escaping.

    At this moment, Great Elder Ying Yu moved too.

    His body instantly rose from the center of the formation and he looked like he had been cloaked entirely in ayer of silvery-white light. His hair, body, and clothes were all silver.

    He was not the only one. Underneath him, the four elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain all shone with a simr silver light.

    ¡°Nine Crystals Formation, seal!¡± Ying Yu roared. Immediately, the silvery-white light from his body was unleashed.

    ¡°Seal?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. Then, as he looked at the silvery-white crystaling in his direction, he understood Ying Yu¡¯s trick.

    ¡°Hahaha... do you think I¡¯m getting the four elders to help me? You¡¯re wrong. The Nine Crystals Formation by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples is my most powerful move!¡± Ying Yu smiled gleefully.

    As someone who had spent much time in the Holy Region, his battling experience was vast and faced with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powerful rise, he clearly knew that if he tried to fight back head-on, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain would incur heavy casualties.

    Hence, he had to design a better trick. When he asked for help from the four elders and the disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, his real n was to make Fang Zhengzhi fall for his ruse.

    Fighting with the strength of five people and using his disciples¡¯ formation were all ruses to get Fang Zhengzhi to rush into the formation. The real attack was when he used the formation tounch it!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The earth shook and then, the nine pirs of silvery-white light shattered. Countless silvery-white ice crystals zoomed toward Fang Zhengzhi like chunks of ice as they surrounded him.

    ¡°Crackle, crackle...¡±

    Nine differently-shaped silvery-white ice crystals surrounded Fang Zhengzhi. They then reformed ording to some pattern and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a huge silvery-white light pir.

    In the light pir, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body waspletely sealed. He felt as if he had been sealed in a pir of ice.

    However, he was not sealed in ice but instead, ice crystals!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, just stay there sealed! My Ice Crystal Dao took me almost 30 years to master. Furthermore, it is the best defensive Dao. However, once you have been sealed by it, even if you¡¯re stronger than me and are in the peak Sage State, you can¡¯t escape!¡± Ying Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was inside the silvery-white pir of light and said gleefully.

    When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples saw this scene, they all sighed in relief. After all, this battle was too dangerous.

    Had they not understood their Great Elder well enough, coupled with the four elders understanding what he meant almost instantly, the results of this battle may have been utterly different.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    This character, who they had ignored and did not treat seriously, shocked them to their core today.

    Just when everyone was sighing in relief in their hearts, they suddenly heard a cracking from the huge ice crystal pir.

    Then, with that sound, cracks started to appear in the ice pir. It came from inside out and quickly enveloped the entire silvery-white ice crystal pir.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    The huge silvery-white ice crystal pir split open and turned into countless rays of silvery-white dots of light. They shed in the air and floated about like icy rain.

    Near the center where the pir split, a figure stood there quietly. His 30 meters¡¯ tall body hadpletely disappeared and his bare upper body shone with a faint golden light. His lower half wore blue robes which fluttered in the wind.

    ¡°What did you say just now? I did not catch it. Do you mind repeating yourself?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ying Yu, whose face was pale and frozen, and smiled brilliantly.

    Ying Yu stood where he was without moving. He did not say a single word or breath. This was because he could not believe it.

    Even if he died...

    He could not believe this scene.

    He was not alone. The other four elders next and the hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all stunned.

    ¡°It broke?!¡±

    ¡°He broke the Nine Crystals Formation!¡±

    ¡°The Nine Crystals Formation, strongest among all defensive formations, was broken!¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples could not believe it. There was no way they could believe or ept this fact. Something like this should not even happen!

    It should not be possible!

    However, the silvery-white pir made from ice crystals had beenpletely shattered. Fang Zhengzhi stood quietly in front of them.

    More importantly...

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, there was a chunk of white ice crystals. A chunk of ice crystal, which resembled the Nine Crystals Formation exactly, floated in his palm.

    ¡°30 years to master the Ice Crystal Dao? Great Elder, did I hear wrongly? You don¡¯t seem to be that smart. Why would this take you 30 years? I can master it in three breaths!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he yed with the ice crystal in his hand.

    ¡°Three breaths... three breaths¡¯ time...¡± Ying Yu¡¯s lips quivered and his body shook uncontrobly. His brain could no longer think straight. However, he stared intently at the ice crystal in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and his eyes bulged.

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± A mouthful of fresh blood flew out from Ying Yu¡¯s mouth. Then, his body turned soft as he sat down on the ground.

    As the Great Elder of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and the new Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he was extremely adept at strategies and hiding his feeling. Normally, he could maintain his calm in any situation.

    However, at this moment...

    He could not stay calm anymore.

    This was because he could not take this shock. Something which took him 30 years to master was achieved in just three breaths¡¯ time!

 Chapter 774 - Everyone Must Die!

    <h4>Chapter 774: Everyone Must Die!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Three breaths!

    What did this mean?

    It was akin to someone spending 30 years on closed-door cultivation in istion to master a new, immensely powerful sword technique. Then, the moment he ended his closed-door cultivation and dered, ¡°I¡¯m invincible and I want to rule the world¡±, he realized that the entire world had mastered this technique. Even a three years old child was better than him.

    Copse!

    This was Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s feeling right now. His body and soul were on the verge of a total copse.

    He was not alone. The four other elders who stood next to him and the hundreds of disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain all felt the same way.

    ¡°Three breaths?!¡±

    ¡°Mastered the Ice Crystal Dao!¡±

    ¡°Is he still human?¡±

    The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples naturally knew that it was extremely difficult to master the Ice Crystal Dao. In fact, they knew exactly how hard it was.

    However, the floating chunk of ice in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand resembled the Ice Crystal Dao¡¯s Nine Crystal Formation exactly. Furthermore, more importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was able to escape from the Nine Crystal Formation. The only exnation for that was that he had mastered it.

    This was a fact.

    However, it was a fact that few were willing to ept.

    At this moment, everyone was still unable toe to terms with this fact. A ray of light suddenly appeared in front of Ying Yu.

    ¡°Slk!¡± A sword which shone with a devilish purple light pierced through Ying Yu¡¯s heart in front of everyone. They instantly woke up from their reverie.

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    The four elders and hundreds of disciples all called out together.

    Great Elder Ying Yu¡¯s body shivered as he stared intently at the Traceless Sword, which had prated his heart. Then, he looked at the purple light swirling on top of it. His eyes bulged.

    ¡°You...¡± Ying Yu wanted to say that this was the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. It was one of the five sects of the Holy Region and furthermore, there were hundreds of disciples near him. How dared he try to kill him.

    However, just as he was able to speak, no word came out. This was because Fang Zhengzhi had already killed him without any fear or apprehension.

    Was he about to die?

    This was the first time Ying Yu asked himself this. At the same time, it was thest time.

    He never expected himself to die like this, standing amidst hundreds of disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain as he was stabbed to death.

    ¡°Actually, I lied to you just now,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he blinked his eyes. He noticed the unwilling look on Ying Yu¡¯s face.

    ¡°What... what...?¡± The Great Elder¡¯s eyes widened once more. His eyes were bloodshot and his body trembled violently. He did not know why Fang Zhengzhi would say this so suddenly. However, he wanted to know what did Fang Zhengzhi lie to him about.

    ¡°I lied to you about mastering the Ice Crystal Dao in just three breaths. Actually...¡± As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, his voice seemed to taper off.

    ¡°Haha... yes... how can you master a Dao in just three breaths when I, Ying Yu, spent my entire life on it! I wasn¡¯t calm... enough, so I fell for... your trick...¡± When Great Elder Ying Yu heard this, his expression froze and he understood what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say almost instantly.

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to say that I did not need three breaths. One to two breaths were enough!¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand as he looked innocently at Ying Yu.

    ¡°One to two breaths were enough!¡±

    ¡°... Enough!¡±

    The whole world turned deathly silent at this point. A single voice reverberated across the Nine Pinnacles Mountain...

    However, Ying Yu¡¯s body shook once more. His pale face turned green as his lips trembled non-stop as he said, ¡°One to two... breaths...¡±

    ¡°Bleugh!¡± He spat out another mouthful of blood. Then, Ying Yu¡¯s body fell backward.

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°Ma... master!¡±

    The four elders and the hundreds of disciples all called out in unison. Furthermore, as their voices reverberated, the four elders attacked together.

    They were very fast!

    At such a close distance, four rays of light appeared next to Fang Zhengzhi almost instantly as they attacked him from all directions.

    Then, at this moment, a ray of blood-red light shot out from the ground,pletely enveloping Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the same time...

    The groundpletely split open. Countless rays of blood-red light rose from the ground. Instantly, they solidified and turned into a blood-red de.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Dodge it, it¡¯s the Dao of Asura!¡±

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    Wails of pain rang out in the air. At this moment, with Fang Zhengzhi as the center, the Nine Crystals Formationid by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples turned into a ughterhouse.

    ¡°Crrack!¡± The right arm of an elder who wielded a sword was sliced off by a sharp, blood-red sword. His arm was sent flying.

    The three other elders were sent flying back too. Their bodies were all blood-soaked and huge gashes could be seen all over them.

    Among the hundreds of disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, half of them were severely injured. Almost all of them had wounds on them and their faces were extremely pale.

    Cries of pain rang out ceaselessly and reverberated in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°It seems that the Nine Crystals Formation just now depleted much of your Origin Energy, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gripped his sword and swept his surrounding with his gaze. He stood in the center of the carnage. His hair flew in the air as he looked at the bloodied ground.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you really want to kill everyone from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?!¡± The elder whose arm had been cut off knelt on the ground and looked at Fang Zhengzhi, his mouth oozing blood.

    He brimmed with hatred. He hated how helpless he was. At the same time, he hated Fang Zhengzhi too and he would like nothing more than to kill him straight away. However, he knew that was impossible.

    This was because, just like what Fang Zhengzhi had said, they were not powerful to move against him anymore. Just now, the Nine Crystals Formation had drained much of their Origin Energy.

    Hence, how could they continue fighting?

    He was unwilling.

    He was really unwilling.

    However, today, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had lost. Their defeat was absolute. Their new Leader, Ying Yu, had died before their very eyes and right now, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was stained with their own blood.

    What he did was to ask a question.

    He asked Fang Zhengzhi if he really wanted to kill everyone from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!

    At the same time, he was begging. He was begging someone they had to kill for mercy. He was begging this God of Death who stood in front of them. He was begging someone whom they had once tried to trick.

    As a Sage, this was not something that he could say. However, around him, there were countless other disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. He had no choice but to say it.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, we have lost... and we admit our defeat. However, we hope that you can spare the lives of these hundreds of Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples. If you want to kill, kill the four of us. As long as you let them go, we can promise, as elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, that wherever you appear from now on, no one from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain shall be there!¡±

    The other three elders looked at the hundreds of disciples around them. Then, they gritted their teeth and knelt down too.

    ¡°How long was I being cultivated in the Middle Stream Cauldron?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the four kneeling elders and then, at the rising sun, as he asked.

    ¡°Ah?¡± The four elders looked at each other as they could not understand why he would ask such a question. Then, after a short pause, they all said in unison. ¡°From then.... no, from the day we started to cultivate you, exactly 49 days have passed!¡±

    ¡°49 days? That means that there are still ten days...¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes. He remembered when he was still in the Yin Yang Hall, fewer than two months were left.

    After he was subdued in the Yin Yang Hall, it took them some time to transport him to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. After some calction, around two months should have passed since he had been stuffed inside the cauldron.

    Right now...

    49 days passed.

    Ten days?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up. He gripped his Traceless Sword as if he was thinking of something.

    At this moment, the silence in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was terrifying.

    Regardless whether it was the four elders or the hundreds of disciples from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, everyone stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for him to make his decision.

    The feeling of having one¡¯s life in the hands of another was horrible. However, they had to ept it because this was the Holy Region. Only thews of the jungle applied here.

    No one knew how long had passed...

    Fang Zhengzhi slowly loosened his grip on his Traceless Sword. Then, he looked at the four kneeling elders and said, ¡°Have you beenmunicating with the Yin Yang Hall?¡±

    ¡°Ye... yes. We have an alliance with the Yin Yang Hall. If you... think... there¡¯s a problem, we...¡± The four elders looked at each other and their expressions changed slightly.

    ¡°Since you have beenmunicating, help me ry a message to them,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi with a wave of his hand. He interrupted the four elders.

    ¡°Ry a message?¡± The four elders did not know what was going on.

    ¡°Tell Dao Hun of the Yin Yang Hall that I¡¯ll exchange one life for another. This is a path I have chosen and hence, if Yan Xiu is still alive, I¡¯ll just kill one person from the Yin Yang Hall! If Yan Xiu is dead, I¡¯ll kill them all!¡± After Fang Zhengzhi said that, he kept his Traceless Sword.

    ¡°Kill... kill them all!¡± When the four elders heard thest bit, their faces changed. Four pairs of eyes all brimmed with shock.

    Had Fang Zhengzhi said it one month ago, they would haveughed at how he had overestimated himself.

    However, today...

    When Fang Zhengzhi said it now, they were all silent. None of them dared to speak or revealed even the slightest sign of mockery.

    They may not know if Fang Zhengzhi was capable of killing the entire Yin Yang Hall. However, they knew that he was definitely not joking.

    Furthermore, they were sure that if Fang Zhengzhi dared to say it, he would do it.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had done it already. Alone, he went up to the Yin Yang Hall. Furthermore, behind Fang Zhengzhi stood the rapidly-rising Shadow Sect.

    ¡°Can I borrow your bird to y for a while?¡± Just as emotions swirled around the four elders¡¯ minds, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice rang out once more.

    ¡°Ah?¡± The four elders were not people who could not stay calm. However, when they heard his words, they really had no idea what he meant.

    ¡°I mean one that¡¯s simr to a White-Scaled Beast and can fly very fast. You guys should have one, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi described. He thought to himself, ¡°Is it so hard to understand what a bird is?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± This time, the four elders reacted very quickly.

    ¡°Can I borrow one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Of course, no problem!¡± The four elders nodded their heads rapidly. Then, they ordered one of their less-injured disciples, ¡°Bring the Gold-Eyed Silver-Scaled Beast over!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± When the lightly-injured disciple heard it, he immediately ran toward one of the huge rocks.

    Right now, they had vastly different objectives. They could not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to leave.

    Instantly, a beast with shining, golden eyes and silvery-white scales, which looked like a huge eagle, was brought before Fang Zhengzhi by that disciple.

    Fang Zhengzhi said nothing as he jumped on top of the beast. As the sun slowly rose, golden light shone down on him.

    ¡°Yooo!¡± The Golden-Eyed Silver-Scaled beast screeched. It was apparently unhappy with Fang Zhengzhi as it expanded its wings and shook violently.

    This scene shocked the four elders.

    After all, this Golden-Eyed Silver-Scaled Beast¡¯s pedigree was impable. It was one of the top White-Scaled Beasts and had been kept in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for a very long time. Until now, no one had ridden it.

    The reason why they gave it to him was that they feared that had they given him anything else, he would be unhappy with it.

    However, they forgot that it was very hard to train this Golden-Eyed Silver-Scaled Beast to recognize a master and allow him to ride it.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was not happy by it...

    The results were unimaginable.

    ¡°Aoo!¡± Right when their hearts were trembling, another roar rang out. Then, they saw many lights of different colors shining on his head.

    Then, the Golden-Eyed Silver-Scaled Beast shivered. The golden light in its eyes changed. In the next instant, it expanded its two wings and flew steadily into the sky.

    ¡°Near-Life Dao!¡±

    ¡°This is the Near-Life Dao from the Six Rebirth Daos!¡±

    When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples saw the Golden-Eyed Silver-Scaled Beast flying away, as well as the figure standing on it,plex emotions shone from their eyes.

    After a short pause, the four elders all looked at the rapidly-disappearing figure and said, ¡°He mastered four of the Six Rebirth Daos. No one else had one it before... Now that he left the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Holy Region in the future shall see no peace!¡±

 Chapter 775 - Rain Comes for the Ling Yun Tower!

    <h4>Chapter 775: Rain Comes for the Ling Yun Tower!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Indeed, there will be more day of peace. However, he did spare us,¡± said one of the elders who turned around to look at the injured disciples.

    ¡°Perhaps...,¡± said another elder. He wanted to say something more but he quickly swallowed his words.

    The other two elders were silent. They knew what he had wanted to say. They also knew the implications of these words.

    However, there was no point in saying all these now. They had lost utterly andpletely.

    ¡°Perhaps, he doesn¡¯t like to kill. Perhaps, he¡¯s the real Chosen One!¡± At this moment, a voice rang out from the door of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°Who goes there?!¡± The four elders were all stunned. They looked in the direction of the voice anxiously.

    After all, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was in their sorriest state right now. They were not ready to receive any more ¡®guest¡¯. After all, if someone could say these words, they surely were no guest!

    ¡°Without the Nine Cauldrons, what¡¯s the point of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± The in voice rang out once more. At the same time, dozens of shadows walked out from a thick fog.

    ¡°Assume your positions and prepare to engage!¡± When the four elders saw the dozens of shadows, their faces all changed. Unhesitatingly, they issued these orders.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡±

    ¡°Whoosh! Whoosh!¡±

    Swords aimed at the shadows. Many severely-injured disciples crawled up from the ground in agony as they stood, trembling.

    ¡°Right now, can the Nine Pinnacles Mountain still fight?¡± The shadow at the very front stopped. It did not seem to be in a rush as it waited there quietly.

    ¡°Rubbish! Tell me your name. If not, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain won¡¯t mind detaining you!¡± The four elders swiftly walked to the front of these disciples. At the same time, they tried to wipe the blood away from their mouths.

    The bodies of the four elders were trembling and for the one whose arm was broken, his face was green. However, they all looked on extremely resolutely.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu.¡± The shadow at the front slowly raised her hand and took off her hood. Her long hair cascaded down her back and her face was pale.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu?¡±

    ¡°The Demon Race!¡±

    ¡°The Demon Young Lord, Yun Qingwu!¡±

    The four elders trembled after they looked at each other. Their faces were all ugly because they knew that the demons were no friends of theirs.

    However, they stood upright as they looked at Yun Qingwu. Then, they looked at the dozens of shadows behind her.

    ¡°The Holy Region is forbidden ground for the Demon Race. I think you, as the Demon Young Lord, should now this?¡± One of the elders at the front said coldly.

    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± said Yun Qingwu with a nod.

    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you scram?¡± When another elder heard that, he asked furiously.

    ¡°ording to that agreement, the entry of any demon into the Holy Region is tantamount to an act of war and shall be killed indiscriminately. Now that I¡¯m here, do you think I can leave?¡± Yun Qingwu was not enraged despite being shouted at by the elder. Instead, she posed this question back to him.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu. We know that you are the Demon Young Lord and hence, we decide to be merciful. Do you really want to die here?¡± The faces of the four elders turned dark.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Yun Qingwu asked.

    ¡°How dare you! The Demon Race has less than 100 000 soldiers. Including your father, Emperor Yun, you have fewer than eight demons who are equivalent to a human Sage. We could not care less...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If the five sects work together, how can the demons live until today? I believe that the demon race would have gone extinct in that big fight 100 years ago, right?¡± Yun Qingwu interrupted the four elders. Then, she looked up at the rising sun and said, ¡°However, it¡¯s a shame that the nature of the five sects will never change. Even if the Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian, could not avoid your tricks!¡±

    ¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡± The four elders said angrily.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. At that time, you have yet to enter the five sects. Then, do you remember the battle of the Ten Mile Lake outside the me Capital City of Great Xia?¡± Yun Qingwu said after she suddenly realized something.

    ¡°Since you know of the Ten Mile Lake Battle, you should know the results of your actions! Do you really want to provoke another fight between humans and demons?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to provoke another fight between humans and demons,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she shook her head. Then, a light shed across her eyes as she said, ¡°I want to start a fight among the humans, demons, and monsters!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°A fight among the three races. Do you want to...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The Monster Race will never help you. You are seeking your own destruction!¡±

    When the four elders heard this, they instantly felt that something was terribly amiss. They could not believe it. Perhaps they did not want to do so.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Suddenly, a beastly roar could be heard.

    At the same time, the five shadows which stood behind Yun Qingwu rushed toward the four elders. The wind blew off their hoods and revealed five pairs of eyes, all of which were in different colors. However, they were all dark and murderous.

    ¡°The Monster Race!¡±

    ¡°Monster Kings! Five Monster Kings!¡±

    ¡°How dare you, Yun Qingwu!¡±

    The eyeballs of the four elders rolled. They were enraged. However, when they saw these eye, their hearts sank.

    They felt utterly hopeless!

    Not only were they helpless, but they were also deeply unwilling!

    As one of the five sects of the Holy Region, the elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain did not fear Monster Kings. Had it been any other ce and time, these five Monster Kings could not do anything to them.

    However, the situation now was different...

    Right now, the appearance of these five Monster Kings was not just a simple threat. They were all butchers, bloodthirsty butchers.

    ¡°Quick, tell the other four sects. The Monster Race...¡±

    ¡°Slk!¡± The sound of a body being torn apart could be heard right afterward. Then, a pair of demonic and murderous eyes swept the surroundings as it licked its lips.

    It was a bloodbath. It was a bloody and cruel carnage. Blood flew everywhere in the sky, turning the ground of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain even redder. Like the Ten Mile Lake outside the me Capital City, every single piece of rock was stained with red blood, which shone like the sun.

    As the massacre took ce, Yun Qingwu stood where she was. She looked into the sky at where a figure had previously disappeared as she mumbled quietly.

    ¡°Perhaps, you don¡¯t like killing and you¡¯re the real Chosen One.¡±

    ¡°I think... you will hate me after you hear of this. You may even want to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I used you, but I also delivered vengeance.¡±

    ¡°The war between you and I can never be avoided...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not because you are a human and I¡¯m a demon.... but it¡¯s because you will never know the reason why this world exists!¡±

    ...

    Ten dayster.

    The dusky sky seemed slightly dark. it was summer and by right, a red setting sun should hang over the dusky sky.

    However,rge clouds obstructed this sliver of sunlight. A rain, neither heavy nor light, fell amidst the grass and flowers. At the same time, it washed away the summer heat.

    In this otherworldly paradise, flowers bloomed everywhere and all four seasons was spring. In the cruel Holy Region, the Ling Yun Tower appeared to have transcended the mortal realm. While it was not a Shangri-La, its natural atmosphere created a rxing atmosphere for everyone here.

    The Ling Yun Tower was actually a tower.

    However, this tower was divided into nine floors. The bottommost floor was divided into nine parts and every single one of them was tiled with green bricks. Together, they formed a circle.

    From bottom up, the second and third floors were the same. By the time one reached the fourth floor, the green tiles turned snowy-white, which were as dazzling as jade.

    By the time one reached the seventh floor...

    The white tiles turned golden, which resembled the light of the sun. Rainwater fell from the sky and clinked against the tiles. They then slowly slid off the golden tiles and formed a curtain of beads.

    Unlike the other sects, the Ling Yun Tower did not have many disciples. In its thousand years long history, it always had exactly 200 disciples.

    These disciples all lived in the Ling Yun Tower.

    Other than them, the Ling Yun Towerprised other members too. They were never known as disciples but instead, as servants or guests.

    200 disciples and a few servants may not seem to be a force to reckon with. Indeed, the Ling Yun Tower could notpete against the other four sects.

    However, the fact remained...

    The Ling Yun Tower was the only exception among the five sects of the Holy Region.

    It stayed aloof from them all. The Heaven Dao Pavilion was an ally with the Fu Xi Valley. The Yin Yang Hall was an ally of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. The Ling Yun Tower remained solitary. It was its choice to remain distant.

    Of course, the territory of the Ling Yun Tower was vast. It was even bigger than the territories of the other four sects. Its climate was pleasant and a flowery fragrance permeated the air.

    This kind of ce would naturally arouse jealousy.

    However, since the establishment of the five sects, none of them tried to encroach onto the Ling Yun Tower¡¯s territory. None of them showed any desire to upy it.

    This was the Ling Yun Tower!

    Capped with golden tiles, it looked down in all directions.

    Underneath it, countless gazes looked back up at it. Some were hopeful, some were anticipating, some brimmed with a fiery respect.

    Of course, there were exceptions to these gazes to, just like how the Ling Yun Tower was an exception among the five sects. One gaze stood out.

    It was neither passionate nor anticipating.

    The eyes were as clear as water and as pure as it could possibly be. In this pair of eyes, there used to be arrogance and recklessness.

    However, today...

    There were only resilience and determination.

    As rain fell from the sky, this pair of eyes remained open. It seemed to ignore the drops of rain as it allowed the rainwater to wash them away. As this pair of eyes stared intently at the high tower, they did not close. Above the tower, there were dark clouds which obstructed the setting sun.

    Half a year!

    For half a year, this pair of eyes would look at the same direction. Day after day, it would look at the rising sun and setting sun.

    Today, dusk hade and as the sky dimmed, the setting sun was mercilessly obstructed.

    No matter how much she opened her eyes, she could not see it.

    Teeth bit down a powdery lip. Then, the fog started to seep out from this pair of eyes. The fog seemed slightly blurry, or perhaps the eyes stared for too long.

    However, the fog disappeared as if it had never existed.

    Resolution and determination appeared in the eyes once more. It was still dusk.

    There was rain...

    However, it was normal to rain in summer.

    Perhaps the clouds in the horizon would disappear. Perhaps this pair of eyes could see thest setting sun for this half of the year. Perhaps it could see the twinkling stars under the moon.

    After a long while, a voice rang out in its brain.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. A life for a life. Will you really wait for a dead man in this ice prison where you cannot see any hope?¡±

    ¡°I will wait.¡±

    ¡°What if he passes the promise of half a year?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll continue waiting!¡±

    ¡°What if he neveres? Will you continue waiting?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The clear eyes slowly closed. This was because a drop of rainnded in the center of these eyes, forcing them to shut.

    Then, this pair of eyes opened once more as it looked at the tower in the distance and the clouds in the sky.

    Until...

    A third item appeared in its field of vision. It was a blurry figure which walked from the dusky sky holding an umbre.

    An ordinary umbre!

    It was made from oil paper and slightly yellow.

    However, the figure underneath the umbre wore long blue robes. In the rain, the wind gently blew at it. As the figure walked, its robes fluttered in the wind.

    This figure walked firmly and stably. Even though its robes were being blown by the wind, it did not step on any flower as it walked across the grass.

    Every step treaded on one¡¯s soul.

    At longst, this umbre appeared above the pair of eyes. It blocked the high tower the eyes were looking at as well as the setting sun, the clouds, and the rainwater.

    However, this time, the pair of eyes did not mind as it allowed the umbre to stop over its head.

    Rain fell on top of the umbre.

    Pitter-patter.

    The two figures were extremely close. They stood unmoving underneath the umbre. Blue robes and a scarlet dress fluttered in the air because of the wind.

 Chapter 776 - Im Here and I Wont Leave

    <h4>Chapter 776: I¡¯m Here and I Won¡¯t Leave</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    No one knew how long had passed before the rain stopped and the clouds dissipated. Finally, a stream of sunlight from the setting sun and stained the sky red. It shone over the oil paper umbre.

    Dots of red light intermingled with raindrops and slid down the oil paper umbre like a stream of reddish-gold pearls as they trickled onto the grass.

    Then...

    The powdery lips started to open as if it wanted to say something. Warm breaths came out from it, smelling as fragrant asvender.

    However, the lips said nothing. The long red dress billowed and slowly, it got caught up with the blue robes. Both of them were tightly-tied together.

    The wind continued to blow.

    A pair of jade-white arms wrapped around the blue robes and grabbed onto it. It was trembling as if it was extremely afraid.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± said a in voice. At the same time, a pair of arms grabbed the red dress tightly.

    ¡°Yes, I know,¡± replied the lips. Then, teeth bit down on the lips tightly.

    Ping Yang!

    She was formerly the favorite princess in the Great Xia Dynasty and the most powerful figure in the me Capital City. She was brutal and headstrong. Almost everything you could think of, she had done them all.

    However, today, this princess just wanted to hug the person in front of her tightly. She did not want to let go and she could not bear to do so. She hoped that what she was real and not an illusion.

    She stood for half a year in front of the cold pond, waiting non-stop. All for a promise that she could guarantee.

    In this half a year, Cang Yue hade many times.

    Ping Yang did not like Cang Yue. She even found her annoying sometimes.

    However, every time Cang Yue came, she would be happy even though she never showed it. In her heart, she was most assuredly happy.

    It was not because Cang Yue would speak to her but because she would bring news of a person to her. For example, this person hade to the Holy Region, or that this person had gone to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Until the end, Cang Yue told her that this person had died for Yan Xiu. He had chosen to exchange a life for a life.

    Whenever Cang Yue asked her that question, she answered that she would continue waiting. Even if it passed the promised half a year, she would continue waiting.

    ¡°I¡¯ll continue waiting until the end!¡± Ping Yang told herself this time and again. Furthermore, she was sure that she could do it.

    However, when this time actually came, she finally realized how difficult and lonely it was.

    Resolute. Determined.

    None of this mattered anymore. All Ping Yang wanted to do was to hug the person in front of her, tightly. She would not let go.

    ¡°Speaking of it, you, as a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, had seen some tough times? Your dress is in such a bad shape. How long have you not washed it? I think I led a better life than you!¡± Right when Ping Yang was biting on her lips, this calm voice rang out once more. This time, it contained traces of mockery.

    In other words, he seemed to be asking for a beating!

    ¡°Oi! So your life is good then?¡± She finally stopped biting her lips and smiled. Her smile was like the sun, bright and refreshing.

    Then, Ping Yang reacted. She slowly let go of the person in front of her. However, before she let go, she wiped her face in his chest forcefully.

    ¡°Hmph! I don¡¯t like how you are so unclean. I shower every day and furthermore, I need to shower five times a day. Can you do that?¡± Ping Yang lifted her to look at the figure in front of her. This was the person whom she had waited six months for.

    His name was simple, Fang Zhengzhi. However, unlike his name, he was neither straightforward nor proper!

    However, without knowing why, Ping Yang felt that as long as she was with Fang Zhengzhi, she would be happy, even if her life did not go well.

    ¡°Five times a day?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang who stood in front of him, wearing a fiery-red dress.

    However, the bottom of the dress was in tatters. The long dress could no longer cover her bare feet.

    Furthermore, there were some pieces of ice which had yet to melt underneath her feet. They seemed to have fallen from her dress as they gave off a white aura.

    Most importantly, her feet were shackled. The manacle connected to a ck chain which led into the cold pond behind her.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Every day, I¡¯ll...,¡± said Ping Yang. She did not continue because she realized the smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face had disappeared.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely cold. His face was chillier than the water in the cold pond. Ping Yang felt her heart shiver.

    Then, she noticed Fang Zhengzhi bending over. He knelt in front of her and carefully touched her bare feet.

    Ping Yang¡¯s body trembled and she blushed. However, she did not move as she allowed these two hands to touch her body.

    Then, these two hands pressed on the manacles around her feet.

    ¡°They can¡¯t be opened. These are Thousand Years Cold Steel. Even a Sage can¡¯t do anything to them!¡± Ping Yang shook her head. Her face was wistful but quickly, the wistfulness disappeared and a look of joy crossed her face. ¡°Right, I need to tell you something. I¡¯m a Sage now. Not bad, right?¡±

    After Ping Yang said that, she waited for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply. However, after she waited for a while, she noticed that he was silent. She smiled gleefully and said, ¡°It was thanks to the demonic pill. Do you regret giving it to me now? Hahaha, but I have to tell you, there¡¯s no point in regretting this decision. I¡¯m more powerful than you, do you believe that? However, in your own words, that¡¯s useless...¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± A dull sound rang out, interrupting Ping Yang. This made the gleeful smile on her face freeze.

    Then, Ping Yang felt a pair of big hands pulling her in for a hug. They were warm and tight.

    ¡°I don¡¯t regret it at all. If you give me another chance to choose, I¡¯ll still give you the demonic pill,¡± said the in voice.

    Ping Yang¡¯s body froze.

    Her eyes, which were as clear as water, looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was hugging her tightly. From his face, she could see that he meant every single word which he had said.

    Ping Yang stopped biting her lips.

    This was because two streams of tears were trickling out of her eyes. This time, she did not resist it anymore. She just wanted to cry in his arms.

    ¡°Shameless fellow, why did you onlye now! Could you not havee earlier? I... I thought you were dead. I thought you died in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and had been turned into a pill by them. Why are you so stupid? Trading one life for another. I know you¡¯ll do something like this. However, I don¡¯t want you to die. I really don¡¯t want you to die. Also... I was determined, had you died, to go to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and retrieve the pill they turned you into. Even if I die, I must take it...¡±

    ¡°Yes, now this pill is in your hands. Actually, I¡¯m a pill,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi with a warm smile.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense! I don¡¯t want you to talk nonsense anymore!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll shut up. Can I give you a present?¡±

    ¡°Present? Great! What do you want to give me? If it¡¯s a trinket that could be bought by the roadside, I don¡¯t want it!¡± Ping Yang said greedily.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you clothes. Your dress is too tattered!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he took out a long, red dress.

    One could see that this dress was extremely vibrant. Three rays of fire were embroidered in silk onto it and a stream of pearls wrapped around its center.

    ¡°Wow, a dress! Wait a minute, why do you have a dress?¡± Ping Yang was delighted as she looked at the dress in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. Then, quickly, a look of suspicion crossed her face.

    ¡°The details are not important, right? Come, I¡¯ll help you put it on,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi with a smile as he prepared to help Ping Yang change.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Ping Yang dodged him immediately. Then, her face turned red once more as the tears on her face disappeared. ¡°Turn around, I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll change myself.¡±

    ...

    When the sun finally set, a red and a blue figure sat next to the cold pond side-by-side. An oil paper umbrey next to them.

    ¡°When you came, did you meet anyone?¡± Ping Yang looked up at the smudge of red in the sky as she ced her head on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Of course I did,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi naturally.

    ¡°Where are they?¡±

    ¡°I knocked each and every one of them out with one stroke of my stick.¡±

    ¡°No wonder it¡¯s so peaceful,¡± said Ping Yang with a nod. She did not find his words strange.

    ¡°The sunset is really nice. It¡¯s so close to dusk...¡±

    ¡°Are you tired?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m slightly tired. Do you know that to travel from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to the Ling Yun Tower is no mean feat? I traveled non-stop without sleeping!¡±

    ¡°Sadly, I don¡¯t have a room to give you.¡±

    ¡°This is a nice ce! There are birds and flowers. More importantly, I can avoid the heat!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he reached out and yawned. Hey next to the rock by the cold pond.

    Ping Yangy down on Fang Zhengzhi as she wrapped his arm around his waist. Quietly, shey next to him as she greedily inhaled his warmth.

    ¡°The outside of the Ling Yun Tower is not well-guarded. It¡¯s not surprising that you managed toe. However, it¡¯s a different story inside the Ling Yun Tower. Most importantly, every morning, someone from the Ling Yun Tower wille to take the ice from the cold pond. Then, it¡¯s possible that...¡± When Ping Yang said thest bit, she stopped.

    ¡°Will Cang Yuee?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯te as often but she wille. For matters like taking the ice from the cold pond, she won¡¯t ask much about it,¡± said Ping Yang as she shook her head.

    ¡°It seems that I need to make a trip up the Ling Yun Tower,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he nodded his head.

    ¡°You want to go up the Ling Yun Tower?¡± Ping Yang said in surprise. However, she quickly exined, ¡°If you want to go up, you should do so at night when it¡¯s dark. It¡¯ll be easier. However, even at night, their defenses are strict and you¡¯ll need a good n!¡±

    ¡°I want to go up via the proper channel.¡±

    ¡°The proper channel!?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll go up in the day. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face changed. Then, she bit her lips and said, ¡°The Ling Yun Tower is unlike the four other sects of the Holy Region. It¡¯s better for us to go at night. We can join forces. Cang Yue can¡¯t resist and we¡¯ll kidnap her. Then, we¡¯ll escape and slowly torture her...¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face turned serious as he stared at this chest and her excited little head.

    ¡°Eh? You want to... kill her?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s serious face and was slightly taken aback.

    ¡°Is Cang Yue important?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang fell silent. She felt as if she had been caught doing something naughty. She lowered her head and her breathing became tighter.

    ¡°Do you really not want to see your mother?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang remained silent. Her breathing became faster and a look of pain crossed her eyes.

    ¡°Do you not want to know why did your mother abandon you? Why did she leave Great Xia? Why does she recognize you as her daughter? Do you really not want to know all these?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued asking.

    ¡°I...¡±

    ¡°In my impression, Ping Yang is not like this. Half a year ago, when you came here, did you forget what you said?¡±

    ¡°I... I miss her and I want to see my mother. I want that more than anything else. However... it¡¯s been half a year. I have been waiting here for half a year. She has never appeared once, not even once! I think she doesn¡¯t want me anymore. I¡¯m unwilling, really unwilling!¡±

    ¡°Hence, we need to go up the Ling Yun Tower, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned extremely serious.

    ¡°However... the Ling Yun Tower is well-defended. I¡¯m afraid...¡± Ping Yang gripped her hands tightly and her body trembled. It was as if she was making a hard decision.

    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if we go up, we can¡¯te down. I can¡¯t see you ever again. I... I¡¯ve waited for half a year and now that you¡¯re finally here, we can actually leave now. As long as you¡¯re next to me, when we¡¯re strong enough, we cane again. Then...¡±

 Chapter 777 - A Night Together, Even More Shameless

    <h4>Chapter 777: A Night Together, Even More Shameless</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang wanted to say something else. However, after she saw the serious look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, she kept quiet and bit her lips.

    Silence. The sun had set. The first star started to shine.

    Time passed slowly.

    Slowly, the moonlight shone from the corner of the sky, casting a silver glow over the two of them. From the ground, two long shadows could be seen.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not interrupt Ping Yang but she did not say anything too. The two of them leaned against each other and stared into the stars in the skies and the moon.

    After the rain, the grass was slightly moist. Puddles could be seen on the ground, but the fragrance of the flowers was more intoxicating. Mixed with the soil, a highly natural smell could not smelt.

    After a long time, Fang Zhengzhi slowly closed his eyes. He hugged Ping Yang and leaned against a rock as he enjoyed this quiet night and intoxicating fragrance.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes slowly closed too. Her fast breathing became slower and from her mouth, one could smell avender-like fragrance.

    The two of themy there under the moon and the stars. Next to the cold pond, next to the wet grass, theyy there quietly.

    The night did not pass too quickly but it did not pass slowly too.

    Without any fanfare or fight, both Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had looks of content on their faces.

    As the moon slowly descended and the stars faded, a golden light shone from the sky, illuminating the dark sky. The sky started to turn reddish-gold.

    ¡°Ping Yang, the ice spirit.... Eh? Who are you? How dare you enter the Ling Yun Tower!¡± A voice rang out from across the cold pond.

    It destroyed the silence of the night.

    One could hear that this was the sound of a woman. Furthermore, it sounded shocked. After all, she could not believe what she had seen.

    Ping Yang was actually lying next to an outsider, who happened to be a male. Since Ping Yang entered the Ling Yun Tower, something like this had never happened before.

    However, she definitely saw a man. Furthermore, this man was lying next to Ping Yang next to the cold pond. They seemed to be asleep!

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s dawn,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the morning sun in the sky and acted as if he did not hear the voice from across the cold pond.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Ping Yang continued to lie next to Fang Zhengzhi. She did not get up immediately but instead, she slowly opened her clear eyes and her lips moved.

    ¡°The weather today is nice,¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°Right,¡± mumbled Ping Yang with a nod.

    ¡°How dare you! Can you not hear what I¡¯m saying? Ping Yang, you are but a ve. How dare you bring an outsider into the Ling Yun Tower. Do you know what crime have youmitted?¡± The woman¡¯s voice rang out once more.

    ¡°So noisy. Shall we find a different spot?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang, whoy in his chest. He did not even look at the woman across the cold pond.

    ¡°Where shall we go?¡± Ping Yang asked.

    ¡°To answer for our crimes. Did you not hear what she said? You are a ve and I¡¯m an outsider you brought in here. ording to the rules of the Ling Yun Tower, there¡¯s nowhere we can run,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi in a matter-of-fact way.

    ¡°We can¡¯t run?¡± When Ping Yang heard that, she was shocked. Then, she burst outughing happily. ¡°Hahaha... we can¡¯t run. We can¡¯t run.¡±

    When the woman in the green dress saw this scene from across the cold pond, she was incredulous and suspicious. However, she quickly became vignt and ced her hand on her sword. After all, she had never seen people who were about to answer for their crimes being so happy.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Ping Yang with a smile. For some reason, she became full of life as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi. In her eyes, there was a firm determination.

    ¡°Thank me? Why are you thanking me? I¡¯m someone who has vited the rules of the Ling Yun Tower. If anything happens, I can only save myself,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he shook his head in a rxed fashion.

    ¡°I know,¡± said Ping Yang with a nod.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he slowly stood up. Then, he stretched and wiggled his but while washing his face with the water from the cold pond.

    He naturally knew what Ping Yang was worried about. At the same time, he knew what she was anticipating. He understood the conflicts in her heart.

    Hence, he did not choose to continue reassuring her after she said that. All he did was to continue waiting.

    When the sun rose, when the people from the Ling Yun Tower discovered them, all they could do was to wait to be charged with their crimes. Everything else would progress normally like this.

    Like the ancient proverb, ¡°The Great Dao is simple. Let nature take its course.¡±

    ¡°As a powerful Sage, I have to warn you that while I¡¯m just a ve now, I¡¯m still very powerful!¡± After Ping Yang saw Fang Zhengzhi do all those, she smiled and her expression was a lot more rxed than before.

    ¡°So, should I hide behind you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Ping Yang confidently.

    ¡°Hurhur... you must protect me, princess!¡± Fang Zhengzhi chuckled as he walked toward the woman across the cold pond.

    The woman waspletely stunned at this point.

    It was not because she had beenpletely ignored by Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. Instead, it was because she had noticed that Ping Yang now wore a brand new red dress. More importantly, the Thousand Years Cold Steel manacles around her feet were actually...

    Broken!

    Broken?!

    The woman¡¯s face was pale. When she saw Fang Zhengzhi, she was too shocked to notice the changes on Ping Yang¡¯s body until the two of them stood up.

    That was not all...

    How could she allow Fang Zhengzhi to wash his face with the water from the cold pond?

    ¡°You...¡± The woman looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang, who were walking toward her side-by-side, and she took two steps back. Then, she drew her sword.

    ¡°Are you going to execute us here? I don¡¯t think the Ling Yun Tower works like this, right? We should have rules. If Ie with you, you must bring us inside the tower and give us a chance to exin ourselves, alright?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at the woman, who was evidently panicking.

    ¡°Stop! How... how did you break open the Thousand Years Cold Steel... manacle?¡± The woman pointed her sword at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat and her face was pale.

    ¡°Manacle? Oh, I understand. Do you want to tie us up? No problem. Since we have broken the rules of the Ling Yun Tower,e and tie us up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked shocked as he extended his hands.

    The woman dodged with a look of panic on her face. Faced with a ¡®criminal¡¯ like Fang Zhengzhi, she did not know what to do.

    ¡°Not going to tie me up?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked suspiciously as he stood where he was.

    ¡°I will!¡± The woman paused for a while as she collected her thoughts. After a while, she gritted her teeth and took a long white chain out.

    After all, her position in the Ling Yun Tower was not high. She was not as powerful as Ping Yang and hence, tying Fang Zhengzhi up would benefit her.

    Most importantly, once she tied Fang Zhengzhi up with her own strength, she could signal the other disciples. This would be to her credit.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯!

    The moment the girl walked next to Fang Zhengzhi and nned to tie Fang Zhengzhi up with her silvery-white chains, she heard a ¡®dong¡¯ next to her ears.

    Then, the girl¡¯s eyes rolled. She could not believe what had happened because Fang Zhengzhi moved too quickly.

    There was no chance for her to resist him at all!

    However, the result was certain. She swayed for a bit before everything went ck in front of her. Then, she copsed onto the ground.

    ¡°It turns out that the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower are as gullible as those from the other four sects,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he waved his hands. He quickly retracted his ck stick and, at the same time, looked at the wide-eyed Ping Yang and smiled.

    ¡°Why did you knock her out?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    ¡°Are you saying that I shouldn¡¯t? Hahaha... do you actually think I¡¯ll let her tie me up? I care about my image,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi with a smile.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s lips wanted to move but she could not react to what had happened. This was because she really believed him. However, quickly, she started tough too. Herughter was radiant and pure as if she had returned to the me Capital City. ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re even more shameless than before!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for yourpliments!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he dly epted herpliment. Then, he looked at the Ling Yun Tower and said, ¡°Sneaking into the Ling Yun Tower, spending a night with a ve, and then knocking a disciple out. Ai... I think it¡¯s the death penalty for me.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for mercy for you,¡± said Ping Yang with a smile.

    ¡°You won¡¯t ask for mercy for me? How cruel and fickle is your heart! It seems that I¡¯m doomed for this voyage to the Ling Yun Tower,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi pitifully.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°Then, may I ask Your Highness if you¡¯re willing to go and die with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m... willing!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ling Yun Tower. In a little hill surrounded by hundreds of flowers, a small stone path could be seen, which led straight into the tower.

    Before the Ling Yun Tower, in a space which was neither big nor small and fenced with wooden fences, one could see five giant and strange flowers.

    Each of these flowers had five petals. Each of the petals was of a different color. They were red, blue, ck, gold, and green. Together, they surrounded the center of the flower.

    Five disciples of the Ling Yun Tower, who were all wearing jade-green robes, stood in different positions. Each of them guarded a single flower and they were all armed with a sword each.

    Standing in front of the five disciples and five flowers, there was one more figure. Unlike the other disciples, this figure wore a greyish-white robe.

    From his appearance, he looked like a 30 years old man. However, his face seemed naturally stern.

    Right now....

    His face was unnaturally worried and his lips were pale. He was finding it difficult to open his eyes and he seemed drained.

    The five disciples guarded a flower each and naturally, they saw the man. However, none of them said anything.

    They all remained where they were.

    As if they had not seen him.

    However, the man stood there quietly too without moving. He bit his lips gently and seemed to be waiting for something.

    This was a curious and calm scene.

    Until...

    Two figures appeared on the small stone path. One red and one blue figure slowly walked from afar, step-by-step, on the stone path. They wereughing. This did not feel like the Ling Yun Tower but instead, a garden outside.

    ¡°Eh?¡± The disciples guarding the Ling Yun Tower looked at the two figures and they instantly reached for their swords.

    Unlike the usual calm, when these two figures appeared, a sharp light shed in the eyes of the five Ling Yun Tower disciples here.

    Then, when they clearly saw who the figure in red was, their expressions changed. Their expressions turned from severe to shock.

    ¡°It¡¯s the ve from the cold pond!¡± One of the disciples recognized Ping Yang even though she did not know who she was.

    However, half a year ago, a ve appeared next to the cold pond. Every day, she would collect ice for the Ling Yun Tower and she had been famous for it.

    However, after half a year had passed, everyone gradually forgot about her. Coupled with the fact that their superiors forbade them from talking about it, very few people even knew Ping Yang¡¯s name. Only some of those in charge of gathering the ice knew her name.

    Naturally, these were not important.

    Most importantly, everyone from the Ling Yun Tower knew that her legs were manacled, and these manacles were made with Thousand Years Cold Steel.

    Could the ve be released?

    This thought ran through their minds. However, this notion was firmly cast aside.

    This was because if she had been released, the one bringing the ve here should be someone from the Ling Yun Tower. It could not be this outsider next to her.

    Furthermore, they knew that the disciple who had left to collect the ice had already left the building. This meant that Ping Yang had not been released.

 Chapter 778 - How Strong Are You Exactly!

    <h4>Chapter 778: How Strong Are You Exactly!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°How dare you, ve, to escape the cold pond without receiving any order from the Tower Master and enter the Ling Yun Tower!¡± One of the Ling Yun Tower disciples finally opened his mouth and pointed her sword forward.

    ¡°Hurhur... I¡¯ve won again. The first person they scold is you. However, why did I say ¡®again¡¯?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard the words from the Ling Yun Tower disciple, a smile crept across his face as he turned to look at Ping Yang.

    The five disciples werepletely ignored.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ping Yang said softly. Her powdery lips curled into a look of unhappiness as she tilted her head to the side. She was evidently not pleased.

    When she turned her gaze over, she naturally saw the man who was standing close to the five other disciples of the Ling Yun Tower.

    From his back, his gray and white robes seemed extremely simple. However, even though she could not see his face, Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed and her body trembled.

    ¡°Your Majesty, father!¡± Instantly, Ping Yang called out. At the same time, she rushed as fast as she could over to the man.

    This sound and action finally made him turn around. With that, color returned to his originally-worried face. His gaze shone with light as his body started to shake.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡±

    ¡°Father!¡±

    The two figures shed against each other and the man in grey and white was evidently very emotional. As he looked at Ping Yang, who stood in front of him, his face revealed a look of disbelief.

    Ping Yang too looked at the man in gray and white. Her eyes started to turn watery and she grabbed his hands tightly.

    ¡°Eh!?¡± The five Ling Yun Tower disciples were shocked by the actions of the man and Ping Yang. After all, they did not know who the two of them were.

    All they knew was that this man arrived seven days ago here and he came with a parcel from the Ling Yun Tower.

    However, after they submitted the item, the instructions they received was to deny him an audience. Hence, this man stood here for seven days and seven nights.

    Of course, their superiors did not ask them to chase the man out of the Ling Yun Tower but allowed him to remain where he was.

    Your Majesty?

    Emperor!

    One of the four emperors!?

    Ping Yang!

    Could it be...

    It¡¯s him!

    The five Ling Yun Tower disciples exchange looks and from that one simple shout, they were able to figure out the identity of their ve.

    Then, their faces turned. Finally, they realized that this was something that everyone in the Ling Yun Tower knew about, but no one dared to speak of.

    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi looked at the man¡¯s face, it was impossible for him to not be at least a bit shocked.

    Lin Mubai.

    The Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Why was he in the Ling Yun Tower?

    Furthermore, Lin Mubai wore gray and white robes and looked like a pir in the Ling Yun Tower. More importantly, looking at Ping Yang and Lin Mubai, it seemed as if neither side knew that the other wasing.

    ¡°Father... why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m... here to take you away!¡±

    ¡°Take me away?¡±

    ¡°Yes! The world outside is quite different. I¡¯m worried... Furthermore, it has already been half a year and I heard that in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi... Eh? Fang Zhengzhi! You¡¯re still alive!¡± Just when Lin Mubai was about to continue, he suddenly noticed Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, I¡¯m not dead,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi in a slightly speechless fashion. However, when he saw the look of suspicion on Lin Mubai¡¯s face, he replied earnestly as he nodded his head.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Mubai paused for a while and then, he reacted quickly, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re still alive. Haha... it¡¯s good that you¡¯re not dead!¡±

    Lin Mubai seemed content.

    However, right when the five disciples heard the words ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯, their faces changed and they all had ugly expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi? You¡¯re Fang Zhengzhi!¡± The five Ling Yun Tower disciples exchanged a look and their expressions changedpletely. After all, in the Holy Region now, Fang Zhengzhi was more terrifying than any emperor. ¡°Stop!¡±

    Just when the first Ling Yun Tower disciple said that, an intense-green light shone from her body and turned into a long green stick which was like an emerald-green bamboo.

    This was the power of someone in the Rebirth State.

    In the Holy Region, someone in the peak Rebirth State was not considered strong. However, they could be said to be the top disciples within a sect. It was not umon for such power to appear on a disciple of the Ling Yun Tower.

    However, what was shocking was that the moment this green light appeared on this Ling Yun Tower disciple, the other four disciples also started to shine with green light.

    Quickly, in the small garden, bamboos made from green light could be seen everywhere. Crystalline green leaves shone with a cold light.

    ¡°This is their Jade Bamboo Domain! Fang Zhengzhi, bring Ping Yang away. The Ling Yun Tower is unlike the other four sects!¡± When Lin Mubai saw the emerald-green bamboos, he became visibly panicky.

    ¡°Right, among the five sects in the Holy Region, the Heaven Dao Pavilion cultivated the way of the sword. The Yin Yang Hall cultivated pills. The Nine Pinnacles Mountain forged weapons. The Fu Xi Valley studied formations. And the Ling Yun Tower studied the ¡®Dao¡¯. Indeed, they¡¯re slightly different!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s footsteps stopped as he looked at the swaying jade bamboos in front of him and his smile widened.

    While Fang Zhengzhi did not fear the Ling Yun Tower disciples opposite him, his words were not meant to mock them.

    In contrast, he seemed to admire them.

    After all, his understanding of the Dao was decent and hence, he knew how difficult it could be to understand the many creations in the universe.

    In other words, different people could interpret the same thing in many different ways. Like attacks, different people would use them differently ording to their respective strength.

    The five Ling Yun Tower disciples in front evidently went against this principle. Not only were they perfectly coordinated, but they were also all using the same ¡®Dao¡¯.

    What was going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand.

    However, he did not hesitate because of this. It was the same principle. If he did not understand something, he should let it go for now. After all, his fist was the only principle he needed.

    ¡°Ping Yang, go with Fang Zhengzhi. I¡¯ll block them!¡± When Lin Mubai heard the difference in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone, he clearly misunderstood him.

    His body moved and hended in front of Ping Yang and the five disciples of the Ling Yun Tower. At the same time, his body shone with a golden light.

    ¡°Father, we won¡¯t go!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out. Then, she skirted past Lin Mubai and apletely-red spear appeared. The tip of the spear shone with a golden light. This was one of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s top ten treasure, the zing Qilin Spear.

    ¡°Ping Yang, this is the Ling Yun Tower, we can¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A red ray of light shot into the sky, interrupting Lin Mubai. At the same time, Ping Yang tilted her head upward and from her forehead, a stream of fire started to rise. Then, the mes disappeared and an extremelyplicated fiery-red rune appeared on her forehead.

    ¡°Sage State?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in her Sage State!¡±

    The five Ling Yun Tower disciples were all shocked when they saw the red symbol on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead. They underestimated her strength.

    Lin Mubai stood where he was, frozen. As the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was calmer than a normal person.

    However, Ping Yang became a Sage...

    In just half a year!

    In a short half a year!

    Lin Mubai looked at Ping Yang, who stood in front of him, as well as the fiery-red mes rising around her. Her aura had changed and he was incredibly shocked.

    ¡°Father, you¡¯ve protected me for 15 years. It¡¯s my turn to protect you now!¡± Ping Yang turned around and looked at Lin Mubai. Her eyes, which were as clear as water, were determined.

    ¡°Protect me... My daughter wants to protect me... Hahaha... Yu Er, did you hear this?! Our daughter has grown up. She can protect me!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s body shook and he started tough. Hisughter was mad andpletely unlike that of an emperor.

    This was something which had never appeared in the Great Xia Dynasty before. Right now, Lin Mubai was slightly crazy. Furthermore, his face turned redder and redder.

    Perhaps it was because Ping Yang had really grown up. Perhaps it was because he had stood here for seven days. Perhaps he had been waiting for this day for far too long.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± When the five Ling Yun Tower disciples heard Lin Mubai say ¡®Yu Er¡¯ and ¡®our daughter¡¯, their faces turned dark.

    They did not hesitate anymore and they immediately reached other their hands. The jade bamboos around them started twist crazily. Each de of bamboo leaf was like a sword, which filled up the entire sky, and shot toward Ping Yang like lightning bolts.

    ¡°Shameless fellow. Let me show you how powerful I am!¡± Ping Yang looked at the oing leaves but she did not retreat. Instead, her clear eyes burned with two balls of fire and at the same time, she rushed forward.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom...¡±

    Countless bamboo leaves bombarded the ground.

    However, they did not stop Ping Yang. Ping Yang¡¯s body was like a ray of red light as she broke through these dense bamboo leaves.

    ¡°Eh? Not bad!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw this odd attack, he was stunned. In his heart, he thought even if Ping Yang did be a Sage, she would be the type that just bashed forward. She would not undergo so many changes.

    However, the scene in front of him was shocking.

    After half a year, not only did she be a Sage, she was also able toe up with new attacks.

    ¡°Aoo!¡± A ferocious beastly roar could be heard.

    Ping Yang¡¯s Fire Qilin Spear was finally in front of a Ling Yun Tower disciple. At that moment, a shadow could be seen on the pure-red Fire Qilin Spear.

    ¡°Defend!¡± Even though she was the spearing, the disciple did not panic. Instead, she moved to the left by one step and shouted.

    At the same time, the bamboos around her came alive. Each stalk of bamboo started to twist and knocked against Ping Yang¡¯s Fire Qilin Spear in a special motion.

    ¡°Boom boom boom!¡± Three sounds.

    The Fire Qilin Spear, which was aimed at the disciple, was knocked to the side by one inch and by-passed her.

    ¡°Not only did the five of them have the same Dao, but they could all control the Jade Bamboo Domain?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw this scene, a look of doubt crossed his heart.

    After all, this was already abnormal. If not for this reason, it would not be difficult for Ping Yang, with her current strength, to defeat these five disciples.

    Five Rebirth State disciples...

    Together, they could actually resist a Sage?

    This was different!

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± At this moment, the battleground started to change. Ping Yang, who had missed with her spear, seemed slightly enraged. She made a sweeping motion with her Fire Qilin Spear and after she broke all five ¡®jade bamboos¡¯, she hit one of the disciples.

    ¡°Bleurgh!¡± She spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly, the Jade Bamboo Domain dimmed and a few stalks of bamboo disappeared.

    However, Ping Yang did not much attention to that.

    There was a fundamental difference between someone in the Sage State and someone in the Rebirth State. Even though the five Rebirth State disciples were able to achieve parity with her via their Jade Bamboo Domain, they could not hold her off indefinitely, especially a Sage who was willing to use all her powers.

    ¡°Aoo!¡± Another beastly roar and Ping Yang¡¯s spear shone with a golden light once more. Huge fiery shadows rushed out.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± The ground cracked apart.

    One of the Ling Yun Tower disciples was sent flying. Her face was as pale as paper and her sword was broken into two. She spat a mouthful of blood out too.

    ¡°So I¡¯m this powerful?¡± Ping Yang looked at the Ling Yun Tower disciple, who had been sent flying, and a look of shock crossed her eyes. However, this shock turned to delight as she said, ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve be stronger. Shameless fellow, father, did you see? I can protect you now!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ping Yang had grown stronger and can protect me now!¡± Lin Mubai nodded his head and he looked delightedly at Ping Yang. His eyes were wet.

 Chapter 779 - Who Cares About the Ling Yun Tower? One Punch Will Take Care of It!

    <h4>Chapter 779: Who Cares About the Ling Yun Tower? One Punch Will Take Care of It!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Since a long time ago, in Lin Mubai¡¯s heart, Ping Yang had always been a child who could never grow up. She was headstrong and did as she pleased. She could be said to be a troublemaker.

    Of course, because of how much he doted on her, these traits also made her cute. Hence, Lin Mubai had never scolded Ping Yang before.

    Right now...

    This child had truly grown up. While she was still headstrong, she had grown into an adult who could not ¡®protect¡¯ him.

    Lin Mubai was slightly sad.

    No father wished to see this scene, even if he may be the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. After all, he was still Ping Yang¡¯s father.

    ¡°Powerful indeed,¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    However, other than being content, he was also slightly suspicious. After all, Ping Yang¡¯s progress was beyond his expectations.

    Was it really just because of one demonic pill?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think so because he knew that it was but a catalyst. It was not easy to fully ingest a demonic pill and then convert its energy into Origin Energy.

    Had he guessed correctly, Ping Yang did not give up on her training but instead, worked even harder. She had to have received outside help or met with some sort of miracle.

    Of course, none of this was important.

    Most importantly, Ping Yang was as powerful as a new Sage. While it seemed slightly unstable, it was still shocking.

    ¡°Boom!¡± After two of the disciples were swept aside by the Fiery Qilin Spear, the other three disciples found their fight a lot more difficult. Almost instantly, another disciple was hit by the Fiery Qilin Spear and his body flew backward, breaking the wooden fence in front of the Ling Yun Tower.

    This excited Ping Yang even more. Her face was flushed and fire rose from her clear eyes. Her Fiery Qilin Spear stabbed out non-stop.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Sheughed without any care in the world. It was clear that Ping Yang had bottled her up emotions for the past half a year and she was only releasing them now.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± At this moment, another awe-inspiring and angry voice rang out from the Ling Yun Tower. Then, a woman in a white dress which had the words ¡®Ling Yun¡¯ embroidered on it walked out. Behind her, there were eight females in green dresses.

    ¡°Eh? Does the Ling Yun Tower only have female disciples?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw the eight other Ling Yun Tower disciples in dresses, he made this guess silently.

    For them, the scene that confronted them was unbelievable. After all, this rarely happened in the Ling Yun Tower.

    As one of the five sects of the Holy Region, the Ling Yun Tower¡¯s position was esteemed and many people showed them a healthy amount of respect. Right now, intruders were charging their way inside.

    The white-dressed woman swept them with her gaze and naturally, she saw Ping Yang and Lin Mubai. This made her frown.

    She was not shocked to see Lin Mubai.

    She was shocked to see a ve, which had been punished to remain chained next to the cold pond, fighting with Ling Yun Tower disciples. Furthermore, she could defeat five of them at once.

    ¡°Seize her!¡± The woman in the white dress¡¯ gaze turned cold. She did not even look at Lin Mubai as she instructed the eight women in green dresses.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The eight of them did not hesitate as they sprang into action. Eight figures instantly surrounded Ping Yang.

    The moment they joined the fight, green light surged from their bodies. Instantly, the green light was turned into a patch of jade bamboos.

    Compared to the Jade Bamboo Domain earlier on, the new Jade Bamboo Domain was undoubtedly transformed when the eight other disciples joined it.

    ¡°Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!¡± Leaves flew everywhere.

    Sword-like leaves rained down as bamboo stalks twisted and turned. This caused the rain of swords formed from bamboo leaves to start turning as they turned into a tornado of swords.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s body shook slightly.

    A whole bunch of leafy swords hit her back. Even with her techniques, she was unable to dodge them like before. Fires burned from her back.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± When Lin Mubai saw the rain of leafy swords, his face transformed. He did not hesitate as he joined the fray.

    A golden light started to shine and turned into a flying dragon. Its two red eyes looked down on everyone and an ancient aura started to spread within the Jade Bamboo Domain.

    ¡°Green Dragon Eye?!¡± The woman in the white dress narrowed her eyes as she looked at the dragon above Lin Mubai¡¯s head. She was shocked.

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised too. However, he was not surprised by Lin Mubai¡¯s Green Dragon Eye or the fact that Ping Yang was hit by the rain of leafy swords. Instead, the new Jade Bamboo Domain caught his attention.

    ¡°If five people can form a Jade Bamboo Domain, and Ping Yang defeated three of them, and another eight joined her, does this mean that ten people can make one too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    It would be a coincidence for five people in the Ling Yun Tower to master the same Dao. When ten people mastered the same Dao...

    This was ridiculous.

    No!

    13 people mastered the same Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say that this was a miraculous urrence. Then, he thought for a while and realized that this miracle seemed slightly impossible.

    This was because this could not have happened. Normally, something like this could never take ce. However, the scene before him proved him wrong.

    Could it be a formation?

    Impossible!

    This was because a formation required transformation and change among those in it. Furthermore, a formation would require many different Daos toe together, instead of a single Dao making it stronger and stronger.

    It was evident that the new Jade Bamboo Domain formed by the ten of them was different from a formation. Its strength could be increased infinitely.

    This seemed slightly impossible.

    Furthermore, more importantly, after everyone joined, would they all be a part of the Jade Bamboo Domain? Could they control it?

    What was this?

    ¡°Senior Lu, he¡¯s the Emperor of Great Xia!¡± Right when Fang Zhengzhi was making heads and tails of it, a fallen disciple of the Ling Yun Tower said.

    ¡°Great Xia Emperor!? It¡¯s really him!¡± When the woman in white heard that, she nodded her head as this confirmed her suspicion.

    ¡°The ve is Ping Yang! And... Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi is here!¡± The Ling Yun Tower disciple said anxiously.

    ¡°She¡¯s Ping Yang? Wait a moment, Fang Zhengzhi? Isn¡¯t he dead?!¡± The woman in white was stunned. Then, she finally noticed Fang Zhengzhi, who stood in the distance in long blue robes. Instantly, her expression turned ugly.

    After all, she heard that Fang Zhengzhi had been subdued in the Yin Yang Hall. Then, he had been taken to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to be turned into pills. It was impossible for him to still be alive.

    More importantly...

    She had already confirmed Lin Mubai and Ping Yang¡¯s identities. Hence, this youth was very likely Fang Zhengzhi.

    What could she do?

    She clenched her fist. Then, she noticed Fang Zhengzhi staring intently at the Jade Bamboo Domain without even looking at her.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the case!¡± The woman in white¡¯s gaze turned cold and she started to move. She flipped her palm and a green dagger appeared in her hands.

    Then, she moved.

    She waved her dagger, which turned into a green ray of light, and shot it toward Fang Zhengzhi. At the same time, she ran deftly toward the ten disciples who were fighting with Ping Yang.

    Ambushing Fang Zhengzhi?

    No!

    She was not so confident in herself. After all, Fang Zhengzhi once killed five Sages in one day in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Alone, he went to the Yin Yang Hall and almost destroyed itpletely. No matter how ignorant she was, she knew she had almost no chance of taking him down alone.

    However, if she tried to subdue Ping Yang while ambushing Fang Zhengzhi, the results may be slightly different.

    With Ping Yang in her hands, Fang Zhengzhi would not dare to do anything!

    The woman in white moved very quickly and almost instantly, she was behind Ping Yang. Jade green light shone from her body.

    As a Sage, her joining the fray naturally made the Jade Bamboo Domain change once more. Compared to the eight Rebirth State disciples, it was even more powerful. The moment she was almost in front of Ping Yang, she took out a huge formed from jade bamboos.

    The green dagger was almost in front of Fang Zhengzhi. Zipping through the air, it tore a ck line in the air and went for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat.

    He started to smile.

    An ancient proverb once said, ¡°Once bitten, twice shy.¡± While Fang Zhengzhi had never been bitten and nor was he shy, it was impossible for him to not have any defense against this woman in white.

    Particrly when Ping Yang was involved.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡±

    With Fang Zhengzhi in the center, the entire garden in front of the Ling Yun Tower started to sink. The stone path and the pants sank by three inches.

    At the same time, eight balls of fire descended from the sky, igniting the Jade Bamboo Domain.

    Hell Dao!

    This change was rapid and the terrifying attractive force made it impossible for them to react. Their legs stumbled as they fell onto the ground.

    The eight ck balls of fire dissolved the Jade Bamboo Forest around them, setting them alight.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± The ten women in green shrieked. They all looked slightly shocked as their swords trembled.

    However, this did not affect the woman in white.

    Or rather, even if it did, it could not subdue herpletely. When the Hell Dao appeared, she bit her lips and took another step forward as she tried to throw her at Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ping Yang, dodge!¡± Lin Mubai knew what she wanted to do and he immediately lunged toward her. At the same time, a giant dragon with two fiery red balls of light hit the back of the white-dressed woman as he tried to stop her.

    ¡°Rise!¡± The white-dressed woman did not even look back. However, she could feel his aura behind her. Her palms moved once more and a barrier, formed from dozens of jade-like bamboos, rose behind her.

    Evidently, she was going all-out!

    With all her might, she had to take Ping Yang as a hostage.

    Closer and closer!

    As she noticed the enveloping more than half of Ping Yang, the woman bit her lips a lot more gently than before. Then, a cold smile crossed her face.

    Then, at this moment, a voice rang out next to her ears.

    ¡°Are you joking?¡± This voice was calm and when this voice rang out, a terrifying pressure came crashing down on her head.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge explosion.

    The woman in white was sent flying out and she fell like a shooting star as her head hit the half-open door of the Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The door shook.

    The green, which was almost half way down Ping Yang¡¯s head, and the entire Jade Bamboo Domain was torn apart. They turned into dots of green light which then disappeared in the air.

    Silence!

    Instant silence!

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who stood behind her in his blue robes, as she opened her mouth in shock to form an ¡®O¡¯.

    Lin Mubai too remained where he was. His expression was frozen as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. It was as if he had seen someone entirely different.

    ¡°This rascal... has turned into a demon!?¡± Lin Mubai swallowed and his face turned slightly red.

    One punch?!

    That was just one punch!

    He was able to destroy the Jade Bamboo Domain, cast by one Sage and dozens of other Ling Yun Tower disciples, apart?!

    Lin Mubai looked at the woman in white, who was unconscious, and then looked at Fang Zhengzhi. This was the first time he had been so utterly shocked by someone who was his subject.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Your Majesty, I¡¯ll protect Ping Yang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lin Mubai and shed him a radiant smile.

 Chapter 780 - Come Down and Serve Tea

    <h4>Chapter 780: Come Down and Serve Tea</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Eh... yes, with you protecting Ping Yang, I¡¯m... I¡¯m relieved,¡± said Lin Mubai as he nodded his head subconsciously. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi and then at Ping Yang with a veryplicated expression on his face.

    Too fast!

    The scene just now took ce too quickly and he could not even react to it. How did Fang Zhengzhi dodge the woman¡¯s dagger? How did he appear next to her? He did see all these clearly and he could not even see some of it.

    Grown. Truly grown. Ping Yang was not the only one. Fang Zhengzhi had grown too. Furthermore, his growth was even more terrifying.

    Lin Mubai remembered that a few months ago, Fang Zhengzhi was still like his subject. At that time, they fought the Holy Barbarian Empire and King Xieluo together.

    Right now...

    In just a few months, he discovered that Fang Zhengzhi, who now stood before him, was someone he had to look up to.

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t need your protection!¡± After her initial shock, Ping Yang recovered too. She pouted and her face blushed.

    However, she could not help but look at the woman in white who had fainted. An incredulous look crossed her face and her chest rose and fell.

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not mind Ping Yang¡¯s words.

    In fact, this made him like her more. This was her true personality. She was slightly headstrong and brash. She would also never admit her weakness.

    ¡°Then, I shall shout,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Shout? What do you want to shout?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    Lin Mubai was suspicious too. However, he did not open his mouth to ask. He regained his regal calm and naturally, this meant that Lin Mubai trusted Fang Zhengzhipletely.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re guests, even if I knocked one of their disciples, even if injured another, and even if I brought the ve here, I¡¯m still a guest. The Ling Yun Tower must treat its guest properly, am I right? Hence, may I request Tower Master Cang Yue of the Ling Yun Tower toe out and personally serve me tea!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice resonated up the Ling Yun Tower. When Lin Mubai heard this, he smiled wryly.

    ¡°Serve tea!¡±

    Even though Lin Mubai knew how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was, he still could not understand its extent. After all, no normal person would say something like this.

    Knocking one Ling Yun Tower disciple out? Injuring another? Taking a ve...

    He admitted to all his wrongdoings.

    In any other sect, these were capital crimes, right?

    However, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth, none of these sounded like capital crimes but instead, he seemed to be in the right. It was as if he had been maligned and now, he was asking Cang Yue to serve him tea.

    Lin Mubai could not imagine how shameless could someone be to say something like this. Furthermore, he was able to say it in such a matter-of-fact manner.

    ...

    Holy Region. Heaven Dao Pavilion. Underneath the Sword Peak.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A huge sound and a snowy-white figure rushed out from the ruined ck pce underneath the sword peak.

    ¡°Pavilion Leader!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    When the two elders guarding the ck pce and the dozens of disciples saw the person who came out, they were all anxious.

    After all...

    Mu Qingfeng had spent too long inside this ck pce. From start to finish, he had spent almost two entire months.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The figure knocked into a huge tree and verdant branches rained down, turning the ground green.

    Mu Qingfeng was half-kneeling on the ground and his face was pale.

    ¡°Pavilion Leader, what happened?¡± One of the elders swiftly rushed to Mu Qingfeng¡¯s side. Then, he tried to lift him up.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a ruin...¡± Mu Qingfeng did not reply to the elder. Instead, his pale face stared intently at the ck pce which was not too far away.

    ¡°Not a ruin?!¡± The elder¡¯s expression changed.

    Even though Mu Qingfeng did not reply him directly, this statement shocked him more.

    Three months ago, the ruined ck pce appeared underneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Until now...

    The entire world underwent shocking changes. Ferocious beasts became fiercer. Odd scenes happened all over the Holy Region. These changes were too sudden.

    In the eyes of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, these changes were linked to the ck pce.

    Right now, when Mu Qingfeng said that this was not a ruin, it undoubtedly made it even harder for a normal person to know its significance.

    If this ck rock pce was not a ruin, what was it?

    This thought gued the elder¡¯s mind.

    While Mu Qingfeng did not give an immediate expression, he continued to stare intently at the ck pce. He even forgot to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

    Only then did the elder reacted. Mu Qingfeng walked out, so where was Chi Guyan? Why did she not walk out of the ck pce?

    After all, two months ago, the two of them entered it together.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± Just when a sense of unease gued the elder¡¯s heart, another huge explosion rang out from within the ck pavilion.

    Then, a pink figure flew out. Unlike Mu Qingfeng, the pink figure was covered with a five-colored light.

    ¡°Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Senior Chi Guyan is out!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±

    A look of calm crossed Mu Qingfeng¡¯s face. The other disciples guarding it were all delighted.

    ¡°Pavilion Leader, what exactly?¡± The elder tried to probe.

    ¡°Convey my orders immediately and tell the other four sects that we need to have an emergency meeting. If this is real, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re in for a big trouble!¡± Mu Qingfeng waved his hand, ignoring the blood seeping out the corner of his mouth. However, his tone was determined.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it immediately!¡± The elder asked no more question. He turned and summoned a huge beast as he flew away from the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    At this moment, Chi Guyan appeared in front of Mu Qingfeng. Her starry eyes stared intently at his pale face.

    Unlike Mu Qingfeng, Chi Guyan¡¯s face was not pale. In contrast, it shone with light, which was five-colored. Furthermore, this light did not persist for long and as Chi Guyan approached Mu Qingfeng, the light faded.

    ¡°Master... why did you do that?¡±

    ¡°Guyan! The hope of the Holy Region is not me but you. Hence, don¡¯t think so much. Just remember that everything I do for you is for the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Holy Region, and all creations! That¡¯s enough!¡± Mu Qingfeng said with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°But...¡± Chi Guyan wanted to say something.

    ¡°Guyan, there¡¯s something I have to ask you,¡± interrupted Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Please ask, master!¡±

    ¡°Answer me honestly. Do you think I have made an error in dealing with him?¡± When Mu Qingfeng said this, a look of anticipation crossed his face as if he was searching for an answer.

    ¡°From master¡¯s perspective, no. If I were master, I would do the same,¡± said Chi Guyan as she shook her head.

    ¡°What if you were not me?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked.

    ¡°The ancients said, ¡®Those who are not in the situation can see it the clearest¡¯. When master asked this question, master already knew the answer to it,¡± said Chi Guyan after she thought about it for a bit.

    ¡°Hurhur... that¡¯s right. You¡¯re right, I had known the answer for a long time already. However, I don¡¯t want to admit it,¡± said Mu Qingfeng with a smile. Then, he looked at the sky and said, ¡°Guyan, we need to discuss with the other four sects our strategy. Go and get ready!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chi Guyan nodded her head and she too looked into the sky. It may be coincidental, but she was looking right at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ...

    Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower.

    After Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shout, three women in white flew out from the Ling Yun Tower along with dozens of disciples in green.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had expected this.

    After all, he created such a hugemotion when he knocked the woman in white out. The Ling Yun Tower was not full of deaf people and now, they were out to get him.

    As to why he shouted like this...

    One of the reasons was that his mouth was itchy. More importantly, he did not want to fight up floor by floor.

    What a waste of time!

    Hence, he decided to use mockery to make fun of them.

    However, this did not create the desired effect. After the three of them and the ten other disciples in green came out, the Ling Yun Tower was silent.

    It was as if the rest had not heard him.

    What did this mean?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. If this technique to start a fight was useless, could it mean that the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower did not respect him?

    Even so, that was impossible. Even if she did not respect him, Cang Yue should appear, right?

    After all, half a year ago, Cang Yue personally witnessed him making a promise to her. She should know the reason he was here and with Cang Yue¡¯s personality, there was no way she would avoid this.

    Could it be that...

    She had not woken up?

    Fang Zhengzhi found this reason slightly incredulous. However, other than this, there was no other reason. He did not need to confirm it. It was just a guess.

    Then, because of this, he decided to shout once more.

    ¡°Cang Yue, didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m dead? Shouldn¡¯t youe out to look at me, a dead man? Or were you talking nonsense half a year ago? In other words, you just want to be a cowardly turtle!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted. This time, he targeted his insult at Cang Yue.

    ¡°How dare you. How dare you call her by her name?¡± When the three women in white heard that, they were visibly enraged.

    Of course, they were more enraged by the fact that he knocked one of them out. They all had expressions of shock on their faces.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look at them for more than a single nce. He had already seen a silvery-white light shed on top of the Ling Yun Tower when he shouted.

    However...

    The light did not sh for long.

    It shed and then disappeared almost instantly. However, a smile crept across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    At this moment, a voice rang out from the Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re a guest, we should treat you like one. However, if you want our Tower Master to serve you personally, you must earn this right. Green Jade, exin to our guest!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± When one of the three women in white heard her words, she replied respectfully with a bow. Then, she turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°ording to the rules of our Ling Yun Tower, there are two ways to be an honored guest!¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Firstly, you must be invited by the Ling Yun Tower with a special invitation... this doesn¡¯t apply to you and hence, I don¡¯t need to exin it. As for the second one, since you invited yourself, I can provide exnations as to how this will work. The requirement is simple. You have to ascend the tower yourself and your treatment will depend on the number of floors you can climb!¡±

    ¡°Hence, how many should I climb?¡±

    ¡°ording to your request just now, since you asked for Tower Master to serve you personally, you must reach the highest level, the ninth level. Only then will you earn this right!¡±

    ¡°So, I need to fight my way up to the ninth level?¡± Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood.

    ¡°You can understand it as such,¡± replied Green Jade with a nod.

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to follow your rules?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... probably not to you to decide, right?¡± A cold smile crept across Green Jade¡¯s face.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± When Fang Zhengzhi heard this, he looked at the huge tower and a smile crossed his face too. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. After all, the rules are dead while I¡¯m alive.¡±

 Chapter 781 - The Damned Rules

    <h4>Chapter 781: The Damned Rules</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°You can¡¯t be sure? Rules are meant to be broken?¡± Green Jade frowned. She knew the meaning of these words but had no idea why Fang Zhengzhi had chosen to say them at this time.

    Nevertheless, she did not intend to ask any further for she understood that Ling Yun Tower had given their orders.

    The leaders had made their decision.

    She only had to follow instructions.

    ¡°Surround them!¡±

    Green Jade did not bother waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to continue and issued her orders. She waved a hand and signaled for two of her white-robed followers to make their moves.

    The two of them nked Fang Yuan from both sides and led more than a dozen girls to close in on Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang as well as Lin Mubai, who were all trapped in the middle.

    In a blink, lines of green light had encircled Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Lin Mubai. These lines of light linked the white-robed women and the green-robed women into a-like formation.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, His Majesty of the Great Xia, Princess Ping Yang, after you all!¡± With a grave look on her face, Green Jade adjusted her body to reveal the path leading up to the great doors of Ling Yun Tower.

    Green Jade had made herself clear. There were no other alternative paths to Fang Zhengzhi andpany other than the one she had pointed out.

    Just as she had mentioned, some issues were non-negotiable. At this point, Fang Zhengzhi no longer had the freedom to choose.

    ¡°Sure enough, the Five Sects of the Holy Region.¡± Fang Yuan observed the sight before him with a faint smile ying on his lips.

    Whether it was upon his first time stepping into the Heaven Dao Pavilion, or entering the Ying Yang Hall and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi had been able to feel the raw power emanating from these ces. He was experiencing the same feeling right now.

    In order words, this was a ce that was far removed from reality!

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi disyed his mighty prowess of the Sage State, the Five Sects of the Holy Region would give him the cold shoulder.

    Ling Yun Tower would set the rules.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to follow the game rules of Ling Yun Tower. Regardless of whether Fang Zhengzhi approached these challenges respectfully or with rage, Ling Yun Tower would continue to judge him with a cold arrogance.

    This was how the Five Sects of the Holy Region operated.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, His Majesty of the Great Xia, Princess Ping Yang, what are you all waiting for? Please proceed!¡± Green Jade spoke again after a momentary silence. She looked displeased.

    ¡°Hmph, we¡¯re not heading up. What can you do to us?¡± Ping Yang was bursting with impatience. She red at her surroundings and held even more tightly onto her Fire Kirin Spear.

    ¡°Princess Ping Yang, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. If you don¡¯t obey the rules of Ling Yun Tower, you will no longer be a guest of Ling Yun Tower and will be stripped of your guest right...¡± Green Jade cut her sentence short but it was a thinly veiled threat.

    Ping Yang wanted to protest further but was stopped by Lin Mubai.

    As the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was not impressed by the haughtiness of Ling Yun Tower. Still, he understood that Ling Yun Tower was a powerful entity in its own right.

    For one, the formation set up by the two white-robed women and tens of green-robed women was definitely a more powerful defence mechanism than the one used by the Jade Bamboo Region.

    Ling Yun Tower had an extremely strongprehension of the ¡°Dao¡±.

    By virtue of this enlightenment, Ling Yun Tower revelled in their imperiousness. They might recognise the abilities of others, but would always have a higher regard for their own abilities.

    Lin Mubai had put an end to the budding argument between Ping Yang and Green Jade. He then looked expectantly towards Fang Zhengzhi and willed him to make a decision.

    ¡°Ping Yang, how many levels can you ovee by yourself?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Lin Mubai was ying at and smiled at the fuming Ping Yang.

    ¡°My powers can probably bring me up to at least the fourth level. Any higher though...¡± Ping Yang was not sure why Fang Yuan would ask her this question but answered him nevertheless.

    ¡°You are so weak!¡± Fang Yuan said scornfully.

    ¡°I¡¯m weak?! I¡¯m one of the strongest in the Holy Region. It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t fully absorbed the Demon Pearl...¡± Ping Yang had grown angry at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mocking tone.

    ¡°Hahaha... have you ever seen anyone destroy an entire tower with one punch?¡± Fang Yuan could not help butugh at the indignance disyed on Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°No need to be surprised. I¡¯ve never seen it happen before either. Would you like to see it happen?¡± Fang Yuan kept his eyes on Ping Yang, who was beginning to smile.

    ¡°Of course I do!¡± Ping Yang blinked. She had finally understood Fang Zhengzhi and gazed expectantly at the looming Ling Yun Tower.

    The conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had severely offended Green Jade. After all, no one had ever dared to speak about Ling Yun Tower in this way.

    Knocking down the tower with one punch?

    Did they really think that Ling Yun Tower was made out of tofu?

    In Green Jade¡¯s opinion, only two kinds of people would talk like that. They were either crazy or were naive fools.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯ve already made a name for yourself. Why are you so intent on having a death wish?¡± Green Jade looked at Fang Yuan with a mixture of pity and helplessness.

    Fang Yuan broke into a grin.

    One could be confident and there was nothing wrong with that. However, overconfidence trantes into hubris.

    The Ling Yun Tower standing before them was one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region and could afford to be arrogant. Still, there was a limit to what others can tolerate.

    Of course, from Ling Yun Tower¡¯s perspective, there was nothing wrong with their attitude. Their reputation as one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region had endured for thousands of years.

    How could such a ce manage to maintain its humility?

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had not nned to do anything else other than to fetch Ping Yang and leave.

    Now that he had seen Ping Yang, he was getting some new ideas of his own. He wanted to help Ping Yang get up the Tower to demand an exnation.

    Just an exnation.

    It was probably going to be a demanding task, seeing how Ling Yun Tower had treated them with cold indifference.

    Even after he had given them a glimpse of his power.

    Nothing would change the way Ling Yun Tower conducted their business. They fancied themselves a god who could set their own rules.

    If so...

    Damn the rules!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no interest in facing the obstacles on every level in the process of climbing the Tower.

    You don¡¯t want to receive us?

    Easy!

    We¡¯ll wreck havoc until you are ready to see us!

    If it still does not work, we¡¯ll tear the Tower down. We¡¯ll burn, kill, plunder, pige...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to find out how much exactly could the lofty Ling Yun Tower tolerate.

    Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward with ck mes rising from his body. He had taken on an imposing stance which gave off a ferocious aura.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t push your luck! You better think twice about making your next move!¡± Green Jade could not help but feel intimidated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s disy of power.

    Although Green Jade had treated them in a condescending manner from the beginning, she had her misgivings regarding Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true strength.

    ¡°The five flowers... they look pretty good!¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Green Jade and focused on the five gigantic flowers adorning the Tower¡¯s body.

    The flowers had petals of red, blue, ck, gold and green surrounding a crystalline pistil. They shimmered in the sun and were clearly not ordinary nts.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had no idea about the practical uses of the flowers, he was confident that he would meet someone who knew how to utilise them one day.

    If it did not work out...

    He would pluck them down before throwing them into the furnace to cultivate pills that he would consume. This way, he could make sure that his efforts were not in vain.

    ¡°Flowers?! How dare you!¡± Green Jade had been jolted in action by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words and quickly drew her sword. ¡°Detain Ping Yang and the Xia Emperor first!¡±

    ¡°Yes, mydy!¡± The two white-robed women and the apanying green-robed women nodded in response to Green Jade¡¯s orders and rushed towards Ping Yang and Lin Mubai.

    ¡°How can the great Ling Yun Tower be so stupid!¡±

    ¡°Kaboom!¡±

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, a deafening crash rang out before Ling Yun Tower. A humongous ck figure had materialised out of thin air in his ce.

    The figure was encased in ck body armour and looked like a shadow that had solidified. It was more than thirty metres tall and blood-red lines cascaded down its ck armour. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s transformation wasplete!

    ck mes rose up into the skies.

    The most terrifying detail was that the ck figure had five sets of different-coloured chains curled around its body. They were the Hell Near-Life Chains. A frightful bloodlust radiated outwards from the ck figure.

    ¡°What... what is this?!¡±

    The white-robed women and the green-robed women were all staring at the ck figure dumbfoundedly. They all looked like they could not believe their eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Gifted Bloodline!¡±

    ¡°It looks like... the Bloodline of the Heaven God?!¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t right. Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t have the Gifted Bloodline!¡±

    The two white-robed women exchanged a quick look and were aware of each other¡¯s confusion about the sight before them.

    Lin Mubai and Ping Yang were stunned as well.

    They were the two people present who were the most familiar with Fang Zhengzhi. After all, Fang Zhengzhi had been born in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    ¡°The Xuan Heavenly Dao Body? The Gifted Bloodline? He has them?¡± Lin Mubai was shocked beyond belief.

    He would not have been too surprised if Fang Zhengzhi had mastered any other technique for he was aware of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s high intelligence.

    The Gifted Bloodline, however, was a huge stretch!

    Lin Mubai had gone through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s folder before.

    Everyone who had gone through the Law of Dao examinations would be screened for the Gifted Bloodline before anything else. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s folder had not indicated a positive result for the screening.

    Was it acquired?

    How could the Gifted Bloodline be acquired?

    Lin Mubai felt like his entire worldview had been refreshed.

    Ping Yang was confounded as well. She had spent a significant amount of time with Fang Zhengzhi but never knew that he had the Gifted Bloodline.

    ¡°This shameless fellow managed to keep me in the dark for so long?¡± Ping Yang was seething. She felt cheated on by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Everything...

    Fang Zhengzhi remained indifferent. He had never thought about exining himself to Ping Yang and Lin Mubai in such a situation.

    Of course, he did not know how Ping Yang and Lin Mubai felt about the whole thing. Right now, he was obsessed with the idea of knocking down Ling Yun Tower with one punch.

    He could even snatch over few flowers in the process!

    ¡°Crack!¡± Fang Yuan bent his knees a little andunched himself off the ground towards the five flowers on the body of the Tower.

    ¡°No, stop!¡± Green Jade had broken out of her daze and prepared to sh with Fang Zhengzhi, albeit with a pale-looking face.

    At the same time, the white-robed women and green-robed women looked at each other before pouncing towards Ping Yang and Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± At that moment, a band of blue light encircled Fang Zhengzhi and expanded outwards like a ripple on the water.

    Following that, Green Jade, along with her white-robed and green-robed followers, found themselves immobilised.

    It felt as if they were stuck in limbo.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Heavenly Dao!¡±

    Green Jade and the other two white-robed women had incredulous looks on their faces. They were aware that Fang Zhengzhi knew how to utilise the Heavenly Dao, but they had no idea that Fang Zhengzhi could manipte Heavenly Dao in such a way.

    Of course, what they did not expect was that...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even bother to pay attention to them. He did not take the opportunity to incapacitate them while they were being restrained by the Heavenly Dao.

    Instead, Fang Zhengzhi had skirted around Green Jade and scooped up the five flowers into his arms. It was as if Green Jade andpany were invisible to him.

    They were truly aggrieved!

    ¡°The flowers?!¡±

    ¡°The Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers have been stolen!¡±

 Chapter 782 - Destroying Ling Yun Tower with One Punch

    <h4>Chapter 782: Destroying Ling Yun Tower with One Punch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Green Jade andpany had all turned pale. Fang Zhengzhi had humiliated thempletely by leaving them in a paralysed state and not bothering to deal with them at all. They even found death preferable to this treatment. The most pressing issue was that the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers had been snatched away by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It had happened right in front of them!

    Of course, other than humiliation, they were experiencing fear of a visceral nature. They were very much aware of how much the five special flowers meant to Ling Yun Tower.

    Also, Fang Zhengzhi was not finished...

    Just as their hearts were filled with indignity and horror, Fang Zhengzhi had stomped a huge foot down into the first level of Ling Yun Tower and used it as leverage for him to leap up into the air.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± The sun had been blocked out by his huge body.

    ¡°What is he trying to do?!¡±

    ¡°Could it be that he wants to... no, no way!¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Green Jade andpany shouted at Fang Zhengzhi to stop but to no avail. They were unable to move and could only use their voices to protest.

    They were screaming at the top of their lungs and waiting for a miracle to happen. Even then, they could not believe that this was happening at all.

    Still, the huge ck figure struck out a fist.

    A punch!

    A punch that carried a blood-red glow and was fuelled by ck mes!

    The punchnded squarely on the space between the seventh and eighth levels of Ling Yun Tower. It was as if a meteorite had smashed into a mountain.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A ear-shattering sound split the air. The force of the st had knocked over every single nt in the vicinity.

    It was a shocking sight indeed.

    Green Jade andpany were devastated.

    ¡°He really dared to, and actually did it. Disying such impunity before Ling Yun Tower by virtue of his strength alone. Is he not afraid of death?!¡± Green Jade had not expected that such a madman would exist in this world.

    Or it might have already gone beyond madness. It was a death wish!

    ¡°This fellow has done it!¡± Lin Mubai had his eyes wide open. As the ruler of the Great Xia, he was usually able to maintain his coolness but at this point, even he was experiencing a surge of adrenaline through his veins.

    Lin Mubai had fantasized countless times about being able to achieve such an amazing feat himself one day.

    He had never been able to do it...

    His abilities and status were both limiting factors and pulled him back into reality every time.

    Right now, a fantastic event was urring before his eyes. He could scarcely believe that it was happening.

    ¡°Knocking down a tower with one punch? This shameless fellow is as audacious as ever. But... why hasn¡¯t the Tower fallen yet? Ping Yang exhaled deeply. She kept her eyes fixated on the horizon and pouted in bewilderment.

    Of course, such a sense of bewilderment was making things awkward for Fang Zhengzhi.

    What was this?

    Things were not going ording to n!

    Fang Zhengzhi had exerted much power in the execution of his punch and there was supposed to be no doubt that the Tower would copse in a heap of dust.

    It did not even budge an inch!

    The most amazing thing was that the punch had not managed to inflict any damage on the Tower. Not a single brick was lost and there were not even any cracks.

    For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi wondered if he had missed.

    How could this have happened?

    Even the huge rock on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain that had bathed in magma and was harder than metal had been smashed into pieces by his fists. How could Ling Yun Tower, apparently constructed out of gold and jade, have withstood his power?

    Fang Zhengzhi blinked and tried to look for cracks on the walls, or anything that would reassure him.

    Nevertheless, the truth hurt.

    The only way that Ling Yun Tower might have changed was that all of the dust particles on the Tower had been blown away.

    ¡°What the heck?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt his cheeks turn red. He had nned to destroy the Tower with one punch so as to vent his frustrations and to assert his dominance.

    However, the end result was that the Tower continued to stand.

    If only he had known that things would turn out this way...

    He should not have ignored Green Jade andpany from the beginning. What he should have done was to defeat all of them first. In that case, he would not look that much of a joke in front of them.

    No way!

    He had to try again!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not be reconciled to his failure and clenched his fists. He threw out another punch at another part of the Tower.

    A punch to the eighth level!

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another deafening roar that whipped up the surrounding winds. Ling Yun Tower remained unscathed.

    A punch to the sixth level!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Ling Yun Tower could withstand his repeated frenzied punches.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The world was shaking, proving that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s punches were indeed formidable. But why was the Tower still standing?

    Not a single brick or tile had fallen down!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face turned red as he flew into a rage.

    Green Jade andpany observed the proceedings with their mouths agape. Just how crazy must a person be in order to act like that?

    They were furious as well.

    Ping Yang was getting quite worked up too and cheered Fang Zhengzhi on.

    ¡°Go on, do it, bring it down. I, the Princess, support you! You must destroy Ling Yun Tower. If one punch won¡¯t do it, throw tens and hundreds of punches!¡± Ping Yang shouted at Fang Zhengzhi excitedly.

    ¡°Tens and hundreds of punches? So you think throwing punches is easy!¡± Fang Yuan smiled bitterly. He had prepared for the beginning and the process but he had failed to n for the oue.

    All the world¡¯s a stage but sometimes, acting skills are not enough. Luck could make all the difference in the least expected of times.

    Could it be that Ling Yun Tower was hiding a secret?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to overthink. He had no additional information that could help him draw a conclusion.

    The most important thing to do right now was to turn the tables.

    He was going to make use of a different method!

    Fang Zhengzhi squinted slightly. Physics told him that the greater the surface area of contact, the greater the extent force would be spread out over the area. Thus, to inflict the greatest amount of damage, Fang Zhengzhi had to concentrate his power on a single point of contact.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly shrank his body to a normal size. The armour clung on to his body and the gold and red markings on it became more concentrated and looked more solid.

    A height of over thirty metres was impressive.

    Being at normal height, however, allowed Fang Zhengzhi to unleash the full extent of his power.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always known this but he was inclined towards assuming his giant form for the sake of looking awe-inspiring.

    Of course, in this situation, there was no point in looking awe-inspiring. He needed power. Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists and let his aura expand once more.

    Monstrous ck mes rose into the air and looked as though as they were about to burn up half the skies. Blood red light swam around the ck armour, giving off sepulchral vibes.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Fang Yuan shouted. At the same time, a strange purple light appeared in his hands. It was the Traceless Sword, which gave out a purple light.

    He carried the sword with him just in case.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no other choice. To ovee the Ling Yun Tower, not only did he have to find its weak spot, he also had to rely on the sharpness of the Traceless Sword.

    This was his first time holding the Traceless Sword ever since he had left the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel the excitement of the Traceless Sword. It was as if he was handling a hungry child that was also inquisitive.

    The soul of the sword?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart skip a beat. He had always known that the Traceless Sword was sentient and had tried to guess at its intentions on multiple asions.

    Except this time...

    He no longer had to guess. He could actually read the thoughts and feelings of the Traceless Sword.

    It had the intelligence of a newborn but this was a newborn with an inherent thirst for blood and war.

    Fang Zhengzhi strengthened his grip on to the Traceless Sword.

    He did not want to think too much about it. Despite the murderous potential of the Sword, it was still very much reliant on him.

    The Traceless Sword trembled.

    A devilish light shot up into the skies.

    A red mark travelled along the de of the Traceless Sword until it reached the tip.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, Ling Yun Tower will be your burial ground!¡±

    ¡°Your attempt to damage Ling Yun Tower is a sin that you¡¯ll never be able to atone for!¡±

    ¡°Stop! Stop right now!¡±

    Green Jade andpany began to holler at Fang Zhengzhi again. The Traceless Sword in his hand was making them feel uneasy.

    The Traceless Sword was giving off a savage aura. It was a sentient entity with evil and barbarous tendencies.

    Even though they were not dealing with the sword directly, they could feel the malevolent aura of the sword pervading the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glowed purple, a colour simr to the light given off by the Traceless Sword.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had consciously achieved this state together with the Traceless Sword. He was not even sure what kind of state he was in.

    At this point, a silvery-white light emitted from Ling Yun Tower like the explosion of a star.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± A cold voice rang out as a purple figure swooped out of Ling Yun Tower.

    It was a woman in purple robes with waist-length hair. She had put on an expression that was cold and aloof. Even anger could not mask the conceit in her eyes.

    Cang Yue!

    This woman had appeared in the me Capital City of the Great Xia half a year ago. She was the one who had brought Ping Yang to Ling Yun Tower and was rushing out from the Tower at this moment.

    She sped towards Green Jade andpany with a light ray pinched between her thumb and forefinger.

    ¡°Cang Yue!¡± Lin Mubai was taken back slightly by Cang Yue¡¯s appearance. Nevertheless, it was to be expected that someone would confront Fang Zhengzhi sooner orter after his brazen acts.

    That¡¯s right!

    Fang Zhengzhi had enraged Cang Yue, which was proof that he had seeded in inciting Ling Yun Tower¡¯s anger.

    This was going ording to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    Ling Yun Tower had set down their rules but Fang Zhengzhi had deliberately disregarded them. Thus, he had resisted and made a scene so that they woulde out to deal with him!

    ¡°Buzz!¡± Stars were unleashed from Cang Yue¡¯s body and assembled to form a gxy that enshrouded the entire Ling Yun Tower.

    Green Jade andpany, who were still immobilised, had bright light emanating from their bodies. Their eyes turned silver as the stars encircled them.

    ¡°Crack, crack...¡±

    Grating sounds rang out. The silvery-white lights grew brighter as the stars pounded away at something.

    ¡°Lady Cang Yue!¡± Green Jade andpany were finally freed from their restraints. They immediately fell to their knees in reverence and fear.

    ¡°A bunch of trash!¡± Cang Yuan screamed before looking away to focus on the ck figure with glowing purple eyes in the air as well as the Traceless Sword he was carrying. She called out to him.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi. I did not think that you would still be alive. Seems Nine Pinnacles Mountain has be toothless after the death of Tian Xing!¡±

    ¡°Cang Yue, where is Yu Er? Tell me where Yu Er is! Is she still in Ling Yun Tower. Even if she doesn¡¯t want to see me, she wouldn¡¯t miss an opportunity to meet her daughter...¡± Lin Mubai was speaking again and he did not bother to conceal his distress.

 Chapter 783 - Never Let Go After Succeeding

    <h4>Chapter 783: Never Let Go After Seeding</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Shut up, you have no right to call our master by her name!¡± Cang Yue stared coldly at Lin Mubai before turning to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, haven¡¯t you been calling for me toe out? I¡¯m here now. What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, make a guess!¡± Fang Zhengzhi beamed as the purple light in his eyes became more active. Purple light was flowing all over his ck armour.

    Just as he had finished speaking.

    Fang Zhengzhi made his move. A purple stream of light made its way to the earth at a blinding speed. It was rushing directly at Cang Yuan, who was looking up into the sky.

    ¡°Lady Cang Yue, be careful!¡± Green Jade andpany had not expected Fang Zhengzhi to attack with such decisiveness.

    Seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impeding assault, Green Jade andpany rushed instinctively to Cang Yue¡¯s side. Their bodies glowed silvery-white as they enclosed Cang Yue in a protective circle.

    The dazzling stars were brilliant indeed!

    Cang Yue had not moved. Her only response to Fang Yuan¡¯s approaching sword attack was to squeeze the silver light rays between the thumbs and forefingers of both her hands.

    Whoosh!

    Following the movement of Cang Yue¡¯s hands, the continuous stream of silvery-white light formed by Green Jade andpanyshed about like arge whip.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands hade into contact with the flowing stream of light. It was as if the sword had sunk into a muddy surface.

    It was bing more and more difficult for the Traceless Sword to sh downwards.

    Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes. He would never admit that his powers were weaker than Cang Yue¡¯s.

    In truth, he had noticed that the strange phenomenon urring before his eyes had yed out in the Jade Bamboo Region before.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still baffled by it back in the Jade Bamboo Region but now that he had witnessed the silvery-white light stream created by Green Jade andpany, he realised that he had his answer.

    There was no way that Ling Yun Tower had so many people who had grasped the Dao of Starlight and could manipte starlight with their fingers.

    The only exnation for the phenomenon might lie in the fact that there was a secret that Fang Zhengzhi had not figured out yet.

    The Jade Bamboo Region...

    The gxy and starlight!

    Memories surfaced in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. The biggest difference between the two was the fact that the Jade Bamboo Region transformed into the starlights that formed the gxy.

    Another thing he took note of was how the Jade Bamboo Region was deployed by the five disciples at Rebirth State who were guarding the gate, and the disciples who showed up afterwards just joined them directly. However, it was Cang Yue leading the disciples this time, in other words, she was forcefully changing the Dao techniques of Qing Yu and the rest.

    That¡¯s right!

    The respective Daos of Green Jade andpany had been changed!

    Fang Yuan faintly recalled that when Green Jade andpany had surrounded them, their bodies did not glow up but they had created a-like formation.

    Now that Cang Yue had appeared, Green Jade andpany had their bodies light up as the starlight broke them out from the restraints of the Heaven Dao.

    What was going on?

    Fang Zhengzhi had some serious doubts in his mind but he continued to push his sword through the resistiveyer of defence. He was certain that he would seed eventually.

    As long as...

    He was strong enough!

    Fang Zhengzhi was under pressure. He had already failed to destroy Ling Yun Tower. If he also failed to deal with Cang Yue, it would be an utter embarrassment.

    He still had not managed to figure out how Cang Yue was resisting him.

    Still, it did not mean that he would not be able to defeat Cang Yue. After all, it was possible to defeat ten skilled opponents if one was powerful enough!

    ¡°I will break you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared. The de of the sword tilted to rece the shing action with a piercing action. The tip of the de was threatening to impale Cang Yue¡¯s face.

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Cang Yue had turned pale and her eyes were zed over with fear for a moment.

    She barely managed to dodge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack as she moved backwards with heavy feet.

    She shouted an order to her followers.

    Everyone dispersed from the area with haste in one coordinated movement.

    It was indeed a close shave for Cang Yue, Green Jade andpany. It was alling to an end.

    Or was it?

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to drive the Traceless Sword downwards. He had no intention of chasing after Cang Yue.

    ¡°Pierce!¡± The entire de of the Traceless Sword slid into the ground. Fang Zhengzhi began to smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi was sure that his Traceless Sword was not only able to break up the starlight formation, but also ensure that no one would escape its wrath.

    This was true domination!

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The moment the sword entered the ground, crooked rays of purple light emerged from the ground. They numbered in the thousands and looked like a gathering of dragons.

    It was the Hundred Dragon sh!

    ¡°Ah!¡± A green-robes woman fell to the ground. Blood spurted from a gash that stretched from her thighs to her chest and stained her body red.

    ¡°Ah... ah...¡±

    Screams filled the air as the other green-robed women copsed to the ground and contributed to the growing river of blood.

    The sight confounded Ping Yang and Lin Mubai.

    Everything had happened so quickly from Cang Yue¡¯s appearance to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword attack. Now, more than a dozen green-robed womeny severely injured on the floor.

    Too fast!

    Too furious!

    One sword attack had eliminated more than a dozen disciples of Ling Yun Tower and forced Can Yue to retreat.

    ¡°There is hope!¡± Lin Mubai was beginning to see the light.

    After all, he had waited a long time for this moment.

    Once, he had pinned all his hopes onto Prince Li of the First Rank. However, Prince Li did not manage to achieve a breakthrough even after years had passed.

    In the end, Prince Li¡¯s body suffered tremendously from his efforts and died by the hand of Monster King Xieluo.

    At that point in time, Lin Mubai had been devastated.

    Still, he could not give up. Not when he had poured so much time and effort into the venture. Not even when hope was all but lost.

    Later, he found another target.

    Yan Qianli!

    The ¡°idental¡± Prince Yan of Weatern Liang!

    Also, there was another person that Lin Mubai did not trustpletely. That person was Fang Zhengzhi.

    That¡¯s right. Lin Mubai had pinned hisst hopes onto Yan Qianli and Fang Zhengzhi. However, after waiting for almost half a year, he received news about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death.

    Finally, Lin Mubai was unable to wait on anymore.

    He was crushed. He hade to Ling Yun Tower for the sake of fetching Ping Yang away!

    For the sake of the woman he had waited for for more than ten years. He had to fight on for that glimmer of hope.

    Seven days!

    He had stood before Ling Yun Tower for seven consecutive days!

    He did not expect to see that woman and his only objective was to bring Ping Yang back to the Great Xia safely.

    Nevertheless, he had no news for seven days. None about that woman and Cang Yue.

    He could only wait, and wait...

    Except that he did not have to wait any longer. Cang Yue had appeared and the lofty Ling Yun Tower was mired in a crisis.

    Lin Mubai was looking forward to Fang Zhengzhi capturing Cang Yue.

    He could see that after injuring the green-robed women, the crooked rays of purple light had begun to converge once more.

    In a sh, they had gathered onto the de of the Traceless Sword.

    The Traceless Sword erged in a burst of purple light, bing ten times its original size.

    ¡°Thinking of running away? You can¡¯t!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had no idea how Lin Mubai was feeling at this moment. He only knew that he was not done with the Hundred Dragon sh technique.

    What goes out must return eventually.

    The gigantic Traceless Sword thundered through the air towards Cang Yue, Green Jade and the other white-robed women.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Green Jade and the other white-robed women flew backwards and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

    It was not only Green Jade andpany whp suffered.

    Cang Yue¡¯s face had turned into a paler shade of white. It was as if she had applied ayer of frost onto her already icy-looking exterior.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± Arge crack appeared in the ground. It was caused by a heavy foot nting itself onto the ground. At the same time, Cang Yue lifted her head up and stared at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Half a year!

    In only half a year!

    How had he aplished this? Not only had he entered the Sage State, he was also tremendously powerful. How did such a thing happen?!

    Cang Yuan was unwilling to believe that this was happening, even though she had anticipated a possible defeat before she exited Ling Yun Tower.

    She had thought that she would at least be able to match Fang Zhengzhi evenly and inflict damage on him. She had even expected to subdue him in not too long a time.

    She never would have thought that she would be defeated so quickly!

    She had been defeated?!

    Had she really been defeated by Fang Zhengzhi?

    While Cang Yue questioned herself relentless, Lin Mubai was asking himself simr questions.

    A defeat?

    Fang Zhengzhi had really defeated Cang Yue!

    Lin Mubai had been looking forward to this but also felt a tinge of sorrow. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

    As for Ping Yang, she was extremely happy. Her cheeks had turned red from the excitement. She felt a wave of emotions as she watched Fang Zhengzhi walk towards Cang Yue with his sword in hand.

    Ping Yang blinked as the Traceless Sword bathed in its purple light. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were glowing purple as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi was obviously unaware of all these. He only knew one thing, which was to take advantage of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s current vulnerability and bring it to its knees.

    He had seeded!

    He would never let go!

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± In a sh of blue light, Fang Zhengzhi appeared before Cang Yue with the Traceless Sword pointing at her throat.

    ¡°What now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept his eyes on Cang Yue. He did not smile.

    ¡°Hehe, I did not expect this... you really did it! You became a sage within half a year! I have truly underestimated you!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s eyes twinkled. Silver light danced around her body.

    ¡°Finally. I had been waiting for this!¡±

    At this moment, Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang out. A tear had escaped from the corner of his eye before he wiped it away.

    ¡°Cang Yue, you have lost. Do you remember what you said at the ming Capital City half a year ago? Tell me where Yu Er is, now!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, Lin Mubai. You are not worthy of addressing our master by her name and will never be! Regardless of whether I win or lose, you, Lin Mubai, have no right to call her by name!¡± Cang Yue bit her lip as a look of amusement passed her eyes. She then turned to Fang Zhengzhi once more.

    ¡°I have indeed underestimated you, but do you think you might have underestimated Ling Yun Tower too?¡±

 Chapter 784 - The Real Identity of Yu Er?

    <h4>Chapter 784: The Real Identity of Yu Er?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated Ling Yun Tower?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes. He was obviously going to take Cang Yue¡¯s words with a pinch of salt but she did not look like she was bluffing.

    On the contrary, Cang Yue was calm and did not show any hint of fear even as Fang Zhengzhi kept his sword pointed at her throat.

    This was a sort of confidence that only came about when one knew that everything was under their control.

    This wasn¡¯t right!

    Approaching Cang Yue had been too easy!

    Fang Zhengzhi was confident in his speed but he was not foolish enough to believe that he could kill Cang Yue by virtue of his speed alone.

    After all, Cang Yue¡¯s abilities surpassed that of the Monster King Xieluo.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, be careful!¡± At this point, Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang out suddenly. It carried with it a sense of urgency.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± While Fang Zhengzhi tried to make sense of everything, the Traceless Sword in his hand lunged forward instinctively so as to kill Cang Yue before any potential surprises.

    However, it was toote.

    As the sword extended its reach, Cang Yue disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a few twinkling bits of light.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi could feel a chill in his bones from his back. It was threatening to immobilise him.

    There was indeed a trap!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not let it bother him and assessed the situation in his mind quickly. Had she allowed him to get close, then moved stealthily to his back through some special technique?

    It probably was not this easy.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± A chilling voice broke the silence.

    It was Cang Yue¡¯s voice and wasing from behind Fang Zhengzhi. It was very near.

    Making sounds before a sneak attack?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid. If he guessed correctly, Cang Yue wanted to make him think that she had moved to his back when in fact, she had moved to the...

    Left? Or right?

    Up? Or down?

    Most likely none of the above!

    If it was any of the above, it would no longer be a brilliant move.

    If it was Fang Zhengzhi conducting the attack, he would attack from the front. Cang Yue had disappeared from the front and the lunge of his sword had found only thin air.

    A more careless person would no longer guard himself from the front.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know if his deductions were on point. Maybe he was being paranoid. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

    After all, there was no way one could bepletely prepared to deal with an ambush. He chose to follow his instincts.

    ¡°I shall sh down at the front again for good measure!¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored the chill behind him and cut the Traceless Sword through the air once more in one fluid motion.

    ¡°Hum!¡±

    There was an explosion of purple light and a roar. At short range, Fang Zhengzhi had picked the fastest sword move to execute, which was the Dragon yer sh.

    Just as his sword fell through the air, a ¡°Poof!¡± sound was created from behind his back. It sounded like something had been hit with force.

    It was the end!

    Had he guessed wrongly?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart skipped a beat. His thoughts wandered to an ancient warlord named Cao Cao who was intelligent and crafty. However, his major shoring was his paranoia.

    Just now...

    He seemed to have walked down the path of paranoia himself.

    As he pondered, Fang Zhengzhi distinctly felt a force pushing him from the back and he resisted the pressure by reflex.

    He found this pressure strange though.

    It was not a hand nor a de.

    It felt like...

    More like a person!

    A person?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt something hum beside his ear and wanted to turn around. At the the same time, he could feel the excitement of the Traceless Sword.

    Eh? He had hit something!

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    He had been steadily losing hope but now, his faith was renewed. This was proving to be a wild ride for his emotions.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword sh had hit Cang Yue.

    The twinkling bits of starlight in front of him suddenly grew brighter.

    Blood sprayed everywhere.

    Cang Yue¡¯s body flew backwards and crashed into the great doors of Ling Yun Tower. Her purple robes had been torn and were turning red from a wound on her shoulder.

    At the same time, blood had sprayed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back as well.

    ¡°Poof!¡± Warm blood dotted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back as a wail split the air. There was an explosion of golden light.

    ¡°Your Majesty? Lin Mubai!¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around and realised that Lin Mubai was leaning against his back.

    Wait a minute!

    Cang Yue had been struck down by him. Lim Mubai had remained behind him the whole time. He was the person who had shouted at Fang Zhengzhi to be careful, but of who exactly?

    Fang Zhengzhi craned his neck to see who was behind Lin Mubai.

    It was not Cang Yue, but Green Jade!

    ¡°Father!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice rang out. A fiery light closed in on Green Jade¡¯s back.

    ¡°Ow!¡± A roar, followed by a golden light that shot through Green Jade¡¯s chest. The light solidified to form the shining tip of a spear.

    It was the zing Qilin Spear!

    The spear had been run into Green Jade¡¯s back, through her heart, and out of her chest.

    Green Jade¡¯s eyes were bulging and her face was a deathly white. She stared incredulously at the tip of the spear, which was poking out from her chest.

    At the same time, a figure in red ran past Green Jade and into the arms of Lin Mubai. Her eyes were full of sorrow.

    ¡°Father, father...¡± Ping Yang wrapped her arms around Lin Mubai and shook him agitatedly.

    As Fang Zhengzhi observed the scene before him, he came to his senses.

    One at the front and one at the back!

    Fang Zhengzhi had guessed correctly. Cang Yue had indeed chosen to attack from the front. However, in her ambush, she was prepared to exchange a life for his life.

    Cang Yue had wanted a guarantee.

    She had tried to confuse Fang Yuan by calling out to him behind his back. SHe had ordered Green Jade to lie in wait as well.

    ¡°Cough cough... you... how did you manage to see through my disguise?! Every single person that I had ever used it on is dead!¡± Cang Yuan was kneeling down on the ground as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi bitterly. She did not bother to look at Green Jade, who was dead by now, and the severely injured Lin Mubai, who had borne the brunt of Green Jade¡¯s attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally understood Cang Yue¡¯s statement about him belittling Ling Yun Tower.

    Yes!

    Fang Zhengzhi had to agree that he had indeed underestimated Ling Yun Tower. He had never expected Ling Yun Tower to be way more ruthless than the other four Sects of the Holy Region.

    In order to achieve its goals and to bring about a higher mission sess rate, sacrificing any disciple was not out of the question.

    Not even a disciple of the Sage State like Green Jade.

    This was heartlessness at its best.

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion, Green Jade had indeed been surprised but she did not disy any hint of regret before she died.

    She was surprised by Ping Yang¡¯s attack, surprised by Lin Mubai shielding Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s with his own body and most of all, surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision to attack from the front.

    These surprises contributed to the disbelief in Green Jade¡¯s eyes, which were zed over by now.

    Cang Yue was did not concern herself with Green Jade and focused on asking Fang Zhengzhi about how he managed to see through her disguise.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists.

    So this was the real Ling Yun Tower.

    It was a ce touted as the paradise of the Holy Region, where birds sang and flowers bloomed. Yet, the lives of its disciples were treated so cheaply.

    ¡°Shh...¡±

    Suddenly, five figures leapt out of Ling Yun Tower. Their robes were of a higher-grade material than the white robes and green robes of those who hade before them.

    They were all women.

    Three of them had hair with streaks of white while the other two had developed wrinkles on their faces.

    Their presence of all five of them radiated power.

    Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi turned a blind eye to them and ignored Cang Yue¡¯s question as well. He turned around and knelt down beside Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Fang Yuan gazed at Lin Mubai quietly. He had never expected Lin Mubai to receive a blow for him.

    There are countless examples of subjects who had to sacrifice themselves for their kings. They would then be rewarded with posthumous titles and riches while their descendants would no longer want for anything. Those who survive would go on to live a life filled with wealth and glory.

    However, in this case...

    Lin Mubai, emperor of the Great Xia, had taken a blow for Fang Zhengzhi, and a heavy blow at that.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, it is I who is w... weak. I was unable to... to cover you from the back and could only...¡± Lin Mubai spokeboriously and tried to get to his feet, but to no avail.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I have some medicine with me...¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be of any use. I know my condition. It¡¯s toote... cough cough, it¡¯s just that... I want to see Yu Er before I die...¡± Lin Mubai moved his hand weakly.

    ¡°Father, you can¡¯t die! Don¡¯t leave Ping Yang behind, Father...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were welling up with tears.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Lin Mubai grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sleeve tightly. His face was contorted in pain.

    ¡°My final wish... is to... is to see Yu Er before I die...¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s voice rang out as she sneered.

    ¡°Lin Mubai, my master gave me orders to spare you. However, it¡¯s your fault that you had a death wish. Hahaha...¡±

    ¡°Your master?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shot a fierce nce at Cang Yue. He could see that she was excited.

    Although he did not know what had happened between Lin Mubai and this Yu Er, he did remember what Lin Mubai had told him before the Sects of ming Capital City. Lin Mubai was at least half a master to Cang Yue.

    Enmity?

    What kind enmity could lead to this sort of heartlessness!

    Ignoring Lin Mubai even as hey dying on the ground? Ignoring Ping Yang even though she had spent six months waiting outside Ling Yun Tower by the frozen pool?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand at first. He did not think that human nature could be corrupted to such an extent. However, after seeing how Cang Yue had sacrificed Green Jade¡¯s life without batting an eyelid, Fang Zhengzhi had wisened up.

    The Dao of Heartlessness!

    To detach oneself from the world.

    It might sound incredible but taking into ount the way Ling Yun Tower conducted its business as well as its haughtiness, it was more than possible that such a thing could be true.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not want to jump to conclusions, but if it was true, then this Yu Er that Lin Mubai was pining after could be witnessing the entire proceedings at that very moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi had another bold theory. No one had bothered about Green Jade andpany¡¯s death, yet five imposing women had appeared after Cang Yue had been wounded by him.

    The urrence might not have appeared to be anything out of the ordinary, but considering Ling Yun Tower¡¯s callousness, it was actually abnormal.

 Chapter 785 - Emotions Were Formed

    <h4>Chapter 785: Emotions Were Formed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Ling Yun Tower, which practised the Dao of Heartlessness, actually cared about whether Cang Yue lived or died. The only exnation for this was that Cang Yue remained very important to Ling Yun Tower.

    Why though?

    Was it because of her strength?

    In terms of power, Cang Yue was very strong and her skill level was most probably at the Sage State. Her unorthodox and ruthless fighting style ced her up on the ranks along with the elders of the other four Sects in the Holy Region.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Cang Yue¡¯s value in terms of skills did not call for the appearance of five more defenders.

    It probably had something to do with her position and status. However, Cang Yue was not an elder of Ling Yun Tower.

    A few months ago in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Elder Gu Yuan of Fu Xi Valley as well as Wan Lei, the head disciple of Yin Yang Hall had introduced Cang Yue as the premier disciple of Ling Yun Tower.

    Thus, Cang Yue did have a considerably high status, but she was not an apex figure.

    Unless...

    She had a special identity?

    For example, could Cang Yue be Yu Er? Maybe the leader of Ling Yun Tower had taken a liking to Cang Yue and wanted to groom her as a sessor?

    It was entirely possible. Cang Yue had entered into the world practising the Dao of Heartlessness until she met Lin Mubai, with whom she fell in love with until she decided to cut him off.

    Now, to backtrack some more...

    When Ping Yang had broken her ne while fighting with the Monster King Xieluo, Cang Yue was the first person to rush to her aid and had dragged Ping Yang into Ling Yun Tower. Although she did not reveal her identity, it did not change the fact that she was the first to appear by Ping Yang¡¯s side.

    Although Cang Yue did not behave like Ping Yang¡¯s mother and had said that she wished for Ping Yuan to die, it was still very much possible.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not press on with his hypothesis because there were several contradictions in the conversations between Lin Mubai and Cang Yue.

    The greatest contradiction to his hypothesis was that Lin Mubai seemed to have known Cang Yue from a long time ago!

    From the encounter in ming Capital City, it was clear that Lin Mubai and Cang Yue knew each other. Lin Mubai had even said that he was at least half a master to Cang Yue.

    Although this was only a one-off statement by Lin Mubai, from another perspective, it was unlikely that Cang Yue and Yu Er were the same person.

    Cang Yue had probably appeared somewhere together with Yu Er before.

    Thus, it could be that Cang Yue was a servant to Yu Er and was with her the whole time she romanced Lin Mubai.

    Of course, these were all guesses.

    However, these guesses pointed Fang Zhengzhi towards a bold deduction. Firstly, Cang Yue was not the strongest nor highest ranking person in Ling Yun Tower, yet her status was special.

    She had received solid protection.

    This inevitably pointed towards another possibility.

    Cang Yue was not the special one. It was Yu Er!

    Yu Er?!

    ¡°The leader of Ling Yun Tower is Yu Er!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes shone. It was a bold conjecture but it made sense too.

    This would exin her heartlessness. Even as Lin Mubaiy dying and even though Ping Yang had stayed in Ling Yun tower for half a year, she rejected every opportunity to see them. The reason was now clear: she was the one who had decreed the heartless behaviour of Ling Yun Tower personnel.

    How could she go against her own rules?

    Also, Cang Yue¡¯s presumed appointment as Yu Er¡¯s personal aide would exin why she was being protected by high-level individuals.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s guesses proved to be true, this trip to Ling Yun Tower would be an extremely challenging ordeal.

    The leader of Ling Yun Tower, Yu Er...

    The reconciliation of these two identities made it impossible for the acknowledgement of Yu Er¡¯s romance with Lin Mubai as well as her mother-daughter rtionship with Ping Yang.

    ...

    Holy Region, Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    The nine tripods which had once stood on the huge ck rock were gone. All that was left were the marks on the ground as well as the cracks made by punches and kicks.

    The smell of blood had dissipated and the war had long ended. The Nine Pinnacles Mountain had gone through a major revamp.

    The houses made out of ck stone had been torn down in some ces and rebuilt in others. It was a strange sight.

    A figure wearing white robes stood on the huge ck rock. Her long flowing hair danced slightly in the wind.

    She was devastatingly beautiful and her eyes gleamed.

    It was Yun Qingwu.

    A flying ck figure approached her from the distance. In no time, it had appeared before Yun Qingwu. Its monstrous gaze was partially obscured by the hood it wore.

    ¡°Greetings to the Young Empress. After the Lady Empress heard about your conquest of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, she sent ten Monster Kings over as escorts of the Imperial Monster Decree. Should I bring them to you?¡± The ck figure half-knelt behind Yun Qingwu respectfully and spoke up.

    ¡°Hmm, any news regarding Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Yun Qingwu kept a solemn gaze on the ck stone houses.

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower is located away from the four other sects. All their disciples live in the Tower and rarely came out. Hence, there aren¡¯t any urate information about them. However, our people stationed outside Ling Yun Tower have confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi has entered the Tower. Young Empress, did you ask about Fang Zhengzhi because you¡¯re nning to head towards Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°Why would I be going to Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°The Lady Empress had specially sent ten Monster Kings carrying the Imperial Monster Decree in the hopes that you, the Young Empress, would exploit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack on the Ling Yun Tower and...¡± The ck figure¡¯s eyes shone brighter as he spoke on.

    ¡°Conquer Ling Yun Tower and challenge the other three Sects of the Holy Region, am I right?¡± Yun Qingwu interrupted the ck figure. She turned to look at him.

    ¡°If we really manage to destroy Ling Yun Tower, given the substance of our race as well as the support from the Demon Army, the other three Sects would not dare to retaliate even if they find out the truth!¡± The ck figure exuded confidence.

    ¡°Everything that you¡¯ve said thus far is the will of my mother?¡± Yun Qingwu did not continue the discussion and suddenly questioned the ck figure.

    ¡°Yes... it is the will of the Lady Empress...¡± The ck figure was taken aback. There was a brief flicker in his eyes before he gritted his teeth and nodded.

    ¡°You may destroy your Demon Pearl.¡± Yun Qingwu said ndly.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± The ck figure¡¯s blood ran cold.

    ¡°You havemitted a heinous crime and have to pay for it with your life.¡± Yun Qingwu borated.

    ¡°What... Young Empress, I am a Monster King, one of the highest ranking monsters in the Monster Race. Don¡¯t you think that you might have made a mistake?¡± The ck shadow had heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s words clearly but his face lit up with incredulousness.

    ¡°Can a Monster King escape death even aftermitting a crime?¡±

    ¡°We... no... I just don¡¯t understand. I remember when ¡°We... no... I just don¡¯t understand. I remember that when the Young Empress first entered the Great Swamp, Xieyi was unaware of your identity and gave offense to you. However, you were tolerant and spared his life. Why would you want me to die even after my contributions to your conquest of Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± The ck figure was shocked.

    ¡°Because you are passing on false military orders.¡± Yun Qingwu said curtly.

    ¡°False military orders? What do you mean? Does the Young Empress have any proof?¡± The ck figure¡¯s expression changed but he recovered himself quickly.

    ¡°Proof? Let me ask you one more time. Did my mother really task you to pass on military orders for me to advance towards Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°This... the Lady Empress did not say it explicitly but she was very impressed by the battle n for the conquest of Nine Pinnacles Mountain. She also asked me about Fang Zhengzhi and Ling Yun Tower. So, I guessed she meant that...¡±

    ¡°You guessed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, even though it was a guess... anyway, even if I might have made a slight mistake, it does not warrant a death sentence. Besides, the Monster Race requires my service. Let me make up for my mistake by rendering meritorious service. At the very least, let me die on the battlefield!¡± The ck figure wanted to argue but fell to his knees in the end.

    ¡°Do you know how much your guesswork could cost both the Demon and Monster races?¡± Yun Qingwu red at the ck figure grovelling at her feet.

    ¡°I... I do not know!¡±

    ¡°How much have you heard about Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°I do know a few things about Ling Yun Tower. For example, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower are split into three distinct sses with different coloured clothing, namely green, white and gold. Green-robed disciples are those who have not reached the Sage State. White-robed disciples aremon Sage Stage pugilists. Gold-robed disciples are the true elites of Ling Yun Tower and are further split into...¡±

    ¡°Do you know who Ping Yang¡¯s mother is?¡± Yuan Qingwu interrupted the ck figure.

    ¡°Ping Yang?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ve sent the Monster Race to spy on Fang Zhengzhi. Did you not investigate why he was headed to Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°I heard it was because of ady. Does the Young Empress mean that thedy is Ping Yang?!¡± The ck figure hade to a sudden realisation.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you remember the major battle from more than a decade ago?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. I will never forget it for as long as I live. I will never forget the humiliation suffered by our people!¡±

    ¡°Do you also know who initiated the war?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡±

    ¡°What if I told you that that person is Ping Yang¡¯s mother?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s her?¡±

    ¡°Now, do you finally understand why I told you to take your own life?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes glinted.

    ¡°I... I still don¡¯t understand...¡± The ck figure shook his head tentatively.

    ¡°Now that you know who that woman is, and that Fang Zhengzhi went to Ling Yun Tower because of Ping Yang, the expected oue of this must be clear. Would you still suggest that we attempt to take Ling Yun Tower down?¡±

    ¡°I deserve death. I have realised my mistake. But... but I had no idea...¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly, your only son died in that war from more than a decade ago. He had died at the hands of Ling Yun Tower, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Young Empress, you...¡± The ck figure looked slightly afraid.

    ¡°My mother would not have ordered an attack on Ling Yun Tower. She is the Lady Empress of the Monster Race and is more meticulous than any other demon. She also knows the importance of every step we take now. You are the one who are giving false orders in her name. It is you who think that this is a god given chance for you to destroy Ling Yun Tower and avenge your son!¡± Yuan Qingwu¡¯s eyes were cold.

    ¡°I... I...¡± The ck figure shuddered violently. He looked extremely pained. Neverthless, he stood up after a short while and met Yun Qingwu¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°I am impressed by the Young Empress¡¯s intelligence. However, is there something that the Young Empress should consider?¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to the difference in power between you and I?¡± Yun Qingwu scrutinised the ck figure. She could feel the strength radiating from his body, which had not yet begun to move.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since the Young Empress is aware of that, you should preserve yourself. At least wait until you receive the ten Monster Kings and the Imperial Monster Decree before you challenge me!¡±

    ¡°So, are you going to kill me now?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to kill the Young Empress. My only wish is to avenge my son. Let me off this once and I will retain my loyalty to you. I will also vow to never pass on false military orders again!¡±

    ¡°What if I insist on sentencing you to die?¡± Yun Qingwu narrowed her eyes at the ck figure, her hair dancing about in the mountain wind.

 Chapter 786 - The True Warrior Faces Excitement

    <h4>Chapter 786: The True Warrior Faces Excitement</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Young Empress, don¡¯t force my hand! Although you hold an esteemed position, I know that you are not even as powerful as amon member of the Monster Race. We are only five steps apart from each other. Even if the Lady Empress was present right now, she would not be able to stop me from taking your life!¡± The ck figure clenched his teeth. He was emotionally unstable and looked like he was going to act any moment.

    ¡°If that is the case, then why haven¡¯t you made your move?¡± Yun Qingwu had a serene expression on her face.

    ¡°Young Empress... do you not want to live anymore?¡±

    ¡°I do not fear death. However, I don¡¯t want to go looking for death either. You may leave. Go announce your crimes to our fellow Monster racerades and take your own life after that!¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head slightly and tilted her head upwards gently. She went back to staring at the moving clouds.

    The ck figure shivered. He kept his gaze on Yun Qingwu, who was standing right before him. He could not believe that this was happening.

    He onus was on him to make a move. He had even threatened Yun Qingwu. However, he felt like he was entirely under Yun Qingwu¡¯s control.

    Why so?

    The ck figure did not understand. With his powers as a Monster King, he barely had to lift a finger in order to kill Yun Qingwu. He could thene up with an excuse to absolve himself of any me.

    For example, he could say that some of the travelling disciples of Nine Pinnacles Mountain had returned suddenly and he had been unable to protect Yun Qingwu from them. There were many potential stories that he coulde up with.

    Nevertheless, he was unable to act on his thoughts.

    It was very strange!

    Also, he was sure that the reason he was unable to act was not because of Yun Qingwu¡¯s status as the Young Empress of the Monster race. On the contrary, a half-blooded Young Empress was a joke.

    For twenty years, the entire Monster race was aware of the daughter produced from the union of the Monster Empress Baizhi and the Demon Emperor Yun. However, virtually no one from the Monster race had bothered to acknowledge the presence of Yun Qingwu.

    Until...

    Yun Qingwu started to strut around with a group of demon bodyguards and entered the Great Swamp. Only then did people remember that the Young Empress existed.

    It was quite funny.

    Funnier still, Yun Qingwu had not inherited the great size and strength of the Monster race. She did not have any of the characteristics that defined a member of the Monster race.

    There was something else. Not only did Yun Qingwu not possess any Monster race characteristics, she did not have any of the Demon race characteristics either.

    She did not have the Demon Eye!

    Yet she was the Young Lord of the Demon race!

    What a joke!

    When Yun Qingwu had first appeared before the Monster race, all of them had gotten down on their knees. In truth, all of them were smirking in their hearts.

    However, it was this joke of a Young Empress who had sessfully convinced the cold Monster Empress Baizhi. Also, she had utilised the power of five Monster Kings and conquered one of the five Sects of the Holy Region, Nine Pinnacles Mountain. This was an organisation that the Monster race had battled for ten years to no avail, until the Young Empress had appeared.

    At face value, it looked like pure luck.

    Nheless, the entire Monster race knew that this was because Yun Qingwu had predicted everything three months before!

    Three months!

    Yun Qingwu had led them to sess in only one attempt.

    This was nothing short of miraculous because the time of their attack had to be extremely precise. Acting any earlier orter would have resulted in another failure.

    The ck figure fell to his knees once more, except that it wasn¡¯t a half-kneel this time but a kowtow.

    ¡°Young Empress, do you really have to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Mmhm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded curtly.

    ¡°Why? At this critical juncture, why won¡¯t you show me mercy. I am a Monster King...¡± The ck figure was aggrieved.

    ¡°The war looms overhead. Killing a Monster King would be akin to chopping off a finger. However, this would also serve as a stern warning to the Monster army and keep everyone in line. Only through a high level of discipline can we win the war.¡±

    ¡°Discipline? Discipline... I understand now. The Monster race has stayed on too long in the Great Swamp and has lived toofortably for the past ten years. Although the hatred remains, the drive is no longer there. The Young Empress is right! Only my death can keep them on their toes!¡± The ck figure had finallye to terms with the Young Empress¡¯s wishes.

    ¡°When the war ends, I will personally carve your name onto the memorial for our fallen heroes!l Yun Qingwu stared at the ck mass hunched over the ground with a glint in her eye.

    ¡°Thank you, Young Empress! I have another wish!¡±

    ¡°I will avenge your son for you. I will drag the murderer from Ling Yun Tower to your son¡¯s grave.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°Then I shall thank you in behalf of my son, Young Empress. Now, I shall bid you... goodbye!¡± The ck figure got to his knees slowly.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded once more.

    The ck figure said no more and turned around slowly. He had a resolute determination in his eyes. Still, he could not help but turn back to look at Yun Qingwu, who was still standing on the ck rock.

    ¡°Young Empress, can you really lead the Monster race to greatness again?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to every question, but do you want the Monster race to stay in the Great Swamp and hide away in the darkness forever?¡± Yun Qingwu replied his question with a question of her own.

    ¡°Monsters absorb the essence of heaven and earth as well as the light of the sun and moon... I understand now. It is an honour to sacrifice myself for the future of the Monster race. I have no regrets!¡± The ck figure walked towards the numerous ck shadows gathered outside the Nine Pinnacles Mountain gate.

    ¡°Is a monster who cannot see sunlight still a monster?¡± Yun Qingwu watched on as the ck figure walked off into the distance. She then looked at the rising morning sun with a sort of bright tenacity on her face.

    ¡°The spoils go to the victor!¡±

    Right, or wrong!¡±

    ¡°The winners always get to write history!¡±

    Yun Qingwu clenched her fists as her voice echoed off the rocks. Her white robes pped on in the breeze.

    ...

    Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower.

    The sun had risen to the top of the sky and gave life to the big patch of greenery below. Dewdrops shimmered in the sunlight.

    Several green-robed women were lying in front of Ling Yun Tower. They were all seriously hurt and the ground ran red with their blood.

    Green Jade had drawn herst breath.

    Two white-robed women kept vigil by her body. They were both holding onto their swords tightly. There was a roaring hatred in their eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword.

    He was not afraid of the five women who had appeared next to Cang Yue. In fact, he could not even be bothered to look at them and he kept his eyes on Lin Mubai.

    The emperor of the Great Xia was lying on the floor with his face as white as a sheet. He looked like he was on the brink of death.

    However, even until now...

    The woman called Yu Er had not appeared.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a growing rage within him. Although all he had were spections and assumptions, he was aware of the power of faith. Ling Yun Tower had ced their faith in heartlessness.

    Otherwise, Green Jade would not have given up her life so easily.

    Women were emotional creatures and experience greater intensity in their feelings. History has been littered with many cases of women pining their whole lives away for a lost love.

    Examples include the stories of Meng Jiangnu and the lovers Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

    Of course, love could give way to hatred as well. Being emotional creatures meant that women were more susceptible to getting hurt by rtionships.

    Cultivating the art of heartlessness would fill one up with hatred and rage, which could help one break out from a state of extreme sadness.

    Love, hate, then indifference.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt ufortable after witnessing all these. He was not sure about how other people felt, but he recognised the sanctity of rtionships. Friendships, love and kinship were some of the most valuable treasures in the world.

    Ling Yun Tower, however, made use of rtionships for the sake of cultivation...

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion, this was evil!

    Of course, everyone was free to make their own choices and Fang Zhengzhi had no right to get involved. Nevertheless, he did not wish to see Ping Yang get hurt in the process.

    She had been born as a result of their romance, then abandoned when they fell out with each other. Now, she was getting hurt by the heartlessness of the involved party. Throughout all this while, she had been treated like the waste product of their cultivation.

    Fang Zhengzhi was angry. Not because Ling Yun Tower had controlled their disciples with an iron fist on the basis on faith, but at the leader of Ling Yun Tower for being so callous even though she lorded over one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    This might be aughable reason.

    Still, Fang Zhengzhi made up his mind to persevere in the defence of his ideals.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if... if I don¡¯t get to see Yu Er ever again, bury... bury my remains at the doorstep of Ling Yun Tower. This way, when I die...¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s voice rang out once more. He had chosen to disregard Cang Yue¡¯s admonishment.

    ¡°Father! Don¡¯t die, Father! I don¡¯t want you to die. Mother will save you like how she saved me. She will be able to keep you alive...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes welled up with tears.

    Lin Mubai had doted on Ping Yang since she was a little girl and was a mountain that had sheltered her from the storms. Now, this mountain was on the verge of copse. How would she be able to hold back her tears?

    ¡°Hahaha... dream on! Lin Mubai, just give up. Our master has never loved you and will never love you!¡± Cang Yue cackled. Her ferocious look was supplemented by the savage atmosphere surrounding Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°No, Yu Er truly loves me!¡± Lin Mubai got worked up and regained some colour in his cheeks. There was a look of determination on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi maintained a tight grip on the Traceless Sword.

    He did not know what had gone wrong between Lin Mubai and Yu Er. Neither did he know the reason for Lin Mubai¡¯s conviction.

    But he knew something else.

    Whether it was for Ping Yang or to fulfil Lin Mubai¡¯s wishes, Yu Er was the key. Thus, he would do it for them. After all, ever since Cang Yue and the other five women had appeared, the only way out for him was to move forward.

    Should he charge?

    Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head upwards slightly such that he could see Ling Yun Tower reflecting the sunlight of its roof.

    In fact, before arriving here, Fang Zhengzhi had never even considered the possibility of Yu Er being the leader of Ling Yun Tower.

    Ling Yun Tower?

    This was a mysterious ce.

    Every new person who turned up was stronger than thest and had a greater understanding of the Dao. Although Fang Zhengzhi had not yet entered the Tower, he was already in trouble.

    Fang Zhengzhi had grossly underestimated the difficulty of this trip to Ling Yun Tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original n was to goad the leader of Ling Yun Tower into appearing and settle their differences rationally over tea. After all, there were no grievances that could not be resolved.

    But now...

    As Ling Yun Tower loomed before him, Fang Zhengzhi was acutely aware of the difficulties he faced!

    Most importantly, after learning Yu Er¡¯s real identity, Fang Zhengzhi understood that this issue was no longer a petty quarrel. It had be personal.

    For example, only someone who dares to mock authority figures in their faces can understand how thrilling it is to utter such words.

    ¡°Yu Er, you are an evil woman with a big and round face. You are an ugly monster. Are you going to remain within Ling Yun Tower like a coward?¡± There was no turning back now and Fang Yuan decided to take a gamble.

 Chapter 787 - Roll, Another Problem

    <h4>Chapter 787: Roll, Another Problem</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    There was a saying that went: people speak nicely when they are on the verge of death.

    Lin Mubai felt like he was going to die. That was why he spoke more kindly and did not me Ling Yun Tower overtly. All he wanted was the fulfilment of hisst wishes.

    Fang Zhengzhi, however, did not want to die. Thus, he did not feel the need to mince his words. He felt that in terms of dealing with Ling Yun Tower, only evil could ovee evil.

    Fang Zhengzhi had used a particrly vile insult. Calling someone a woman with a ¡°big and round face¡± and ¡°an ugly monster¡± was very impressionable.

    Fang Zhengzhi had decided to go all out and shot his mouth off with no mercy.

    Anyway, it was all just words. Not much energy was required.

    Of course, as for the effect of the scolding...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked around him and saw that the present disciples of Ling Yun Tower as well as the five women with Cang Yue were all dumbfounded.

    Seems like it was pretty effective!

    Then...

    The response came swiftly.

    However, it did note from the intended target.

    The first person to express his anger was not a disciple of Ling Yun Tower nor the five women standing beside Cang Yue.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower and the five women standing beside Cang Yue had all heard Fang Zhengzhi and were shocked. Still, they all remained silent and looked at each other helplessly.

    On the other hand, Lin Mubai had be agitated and acted like he had been pped by someone. His pale face was slowly turning red.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you dare insult my... why would you insult Yu Er!¡± Lin Mubai was enraged but he tried hard to control himself.

    ¡°Shameless rascal. How would my motherbe an ugly Monster. Besides... monsters aren¡¯t ugly!¡± Ping Yang had a firm view that her mother was not ugly.

    After all, no one would find their own mother ugly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    He had been confident that his goading would seed but yet he only managed to elicit reactions from the people on his side. The people who were supposed to be railing at the top of their voices remained silent.

    What had gone wrong?

    Was none of them interested in defending the reputation of their master?

    Things were bing awkward.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was considering whether to continue with his tirade, the response that he had been waiting for rang out.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you sully the good name of our master!¡± It was the severely injured Cang Yue.

    While the other members of Ling Yun Tower held their tongues, Cang Yue, the personal aide to Yu Er, chose to speak out.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes brightened a little.

    It was not that his words were not effective. The people from Ling Yun Tower just had slow reactions.

    Could he expect a storm now?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not fire back immediately and decided to wait for a heavier reaction.

    The thing was, all of the members of Ling Yun Tower remained wordless and stared quietly at Fang Zhengzhi. It was very strange.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt his cheeks burn a little. He had always prided himself on his thick skin but their judgemental gazes were getting to him.

    What did this mean?

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower had no qualms about sacrificing themselves for victory but were letting him get away with verbally abusing their leader?

    So much for their faith!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not believe it. He decided to try again with viler words.

    ¡°Yu Er, you t chested hag. Not only do you have a big and round face, you have eyes of different sizes, a crooked nose, buck teeth, freckles, legs of different length...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was listing out every possible characteristic of an ugly woman.

    Lin Mubai exploded!

    ¡°Dirty rascal, shut your mouth. Yu Er resembles Ping Yang, especially in the eyes. She looks nothing like your description!¡±

    ¡°Shameless fellow, what did my mother do to offend you?¡± Ping Yang did not understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motive in doing this.

    Another voice rang out.

    ¡°I beseech the five masters to kill him on my behalf!¡±

    It was not an order but more of a plea. This meant that Cang Yue was not of a higher rank than the five women.

    The five women nodded gently in response to Cang Yue and shot looks at the two white-robed women standing beside Green Jade.

    The two white-robed women quickly understood and rushed over to Cang Yue where they guarded her.

    The five women had begun to act.

    They walked towards Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Lin Mubai breezily and surrounded them.

    Fang Zhengzhi had wanted to continue with his scolding.

    Nevertheless, he decided to stop after he realised that he had angered Lin Mubai and Ping Yang while the people from Ling Yun Tower were unfazed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised that things had turned out this way. Goading was supposed to be a surefire technique but yet it did not work on the Ling Yun Tower personnel.

    Were they exceptionally tolerant or did they not know who Yu Er was? Or was ¡®Yu Er¡¯ just an alias used by the leader of Ling Yun Tower on her travels?

    Something still wasn¡¯t right though!

    Even if they did not know that Yu Er was an alias of the leader of Ling Yun Tower, they should have been able to make an inference based on all that Cang Yue had said and the fact that she calls Yu Er ¡®master¡¯.

    Unless Yu Er wasn¡¯t the leader of Ling Yun Tower?

    However, if this was the case, that would mean that Cang Yue was not as high ranking as previously thought, which did not exined why Ling Yun Tower had assigned five protectors to her. It was mind-boggling.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that there was a problem somewhere but he did not know where.

    He did not have much time to think about all these anyway.

    The five women had taken up their positions around Fang Zhengzhi, Lin Mubai and Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that these positions were not arbitrary and that their orientation corresponded to the five elements.

    ¡°Three against five doesn¡¯t seem very favourable to you. Why not let me fight all five of you while we let Ping Yang and His Majesty leave?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood in front of Ping Yang and Lin Mubai with a sword in his hand. He smirked.

    ¡°Young master Fang, I admire your self-confidence. Very well, as long as Ping Yang doesn¡¯t interfere, we will leave our leader to deal with her personally!¡± One of the women who was in a red dress and whose hair was slightly white smiled back at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yu Er the old t-chested monster hag!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He turned to Ling Yun Tower and spewed out another string of obscenities.

    ¡°...¡± The five women heard him and shared a strange look with each other.

    They no longer stood on ceremony.

    They had no intention of trading barbs with Fang Zhengzhi and went all out in their assault.

    Or at least that was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

    There was a saying that went: when experts move, their skill immediately bes apparent.

    ¡°Buzz!¡±

    Green shoots popped out of the ground rapidly all around Fang Zhengzhi.

    The shoots shimmered with a greenish light. They looked like small pieces of jade and were beautiful.

    Of course, there were two sides to everything.

    Beautiful things tended to be dangerous. The green shoots were harmless, to begin with, but the green shimmer turned them into terrifying little des that were razor-sharp.

    In a short time, thousands of cracks appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ck armour. The cracks all had bits of green light in them.

    ¡°Oh? Not bad!¡± Fang Zhengzhi examined the cracks on his armour and saw that the five women had a green shimmer around them. His smile widened.

    It was clear that the five women had made use of a technique simr to those used in the Jade Bamboo Region. However, the effects were entirely different.

    Even the duel with Great Elder Yin Yu on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had not resulted in severe damages on his ck armour.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, you¡¯re aren¡¯t doing badly either!¡± The woman in the centre replied to Fang Zhengzhi with a wide smile too.

    This was a smiling battle.

    Nevertheless, they all had the intention to kill, which was apparent from the crackling and banging sounds in the air.

    Those were the sounds of the ck fire burning on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s armouring into contact with the green shimmer. The two energies were fighting each other.

    The green shimmer had an obvious upper hand though, for Fang Zhengzhi was taking them on one to five.

    Ping Yang clenched her fists.

    As she stayed by Lin Mubai¡¯s side, she could feel the heavy pressure of the surrounding air. Breathing was bing harder.

    ¡°One against five! Can this shameless fellow win?¡± Ping Yang was worried but she refrained from making any moves. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze told her that he would be fine, at least for now.

    Right after Fang Zhengzhi shot Ping Yang a look, the ck fire that had been resisting the green shimmer suddenly disappeared.

    In a sh, the green shimmer pounced madly onto Fang Zhengzhi and swallowed him up.

    This happened very quickly and not only Ping Yang was stunned. Even Cang Yuan and the five women were taken aback.

    ¡°Why did he suddenly be so weak?¡± Cang Yue did not understand what was going on. She did not want to praise Fang Zhengzhi but she was clear about his prowess.He was not weak and was in fact terrifying powerful.

    ¡°What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Did the Origin Energy suddenly run out?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right. From what we felt just now... he shouldn¡¯t have had any problems in the short term.¡±

    The five women were astonished. After all, they had faced Fang Zhengzhi directly and were not naive people.

    ¡°Buzz!¡±

    Just as Cang Yue, the five women and Ping Yang were confounded, the green shimmer that had swallowed Fang Zhengzhi dispersedpletely.

    The bits of green light on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s armour had disappeared as well.

    Even the cracks on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s armour had melted away like ice.

    ¡°Just as how the five elements countered reach other, everything in the world has its counter. Sometimes, it isn¡¯t that you aren¡¯t powerful. It¡¯s just that your dao has been restrained by my dao. You are smart people and will understand what I am talking about. Give up your struggle because your assault won¡¯t do anything to me!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi stared directly at the woman in the centre of the formation. The smile on his face was showing no sign of dissipating. If anything, it was bing brighter.

 Chapter 788 - A Weird Dao, Provocation!

    <h4>Chapter 788: A Weird Dao, Provocation!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi was looking very confident. His confidence was annoying but he did not care. He continued toughed on fearlessly.

    He was not pretending to be rxed. In fact, a scary thought had entered his mind.

    At face value, it seemed that the leader of Ling Yun Tower was unwilling to see Lin Mubai and Ping Yang.

    However, the truth was that...

    This was only one of the possibilities.

    The other possibility was that the leader of Ling Yun Tower was wasting time, mental energy and physical effort together with Fang Zhengzhi.

    In other words, she was stalling.

    Her reason for doing this was probably because of the old adage: if you know yourself and your enemy well, you will never lose your battles.

    The leader of Ling Yun Tower was testing Fang Zhengzhi with her disciples. She had sent them against him one by one from weak to strong in order to test his prowess.

    On the surface, it may seem like Fang Zhengzhi was gaining the upper hand by defeating all these disciples from Ling Yun Tower. However, the truth was that they were strippingyers off Fang Zhengzhi.

    If the targeted person had been any more prideful, he would have beencent by now and would have walked into the trapid out by the leader of Ling Yun Tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never seen anything like this before at the other Sects of the Holy Region.

    The other Sects in the Holy Region relied on their own power to suppress enemies directly while Ling Yun Tower approached things differently.

    Although they had never met, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the leader of Ling Yun Tower was a master in the art of forbearance .

    She had remained calm in the face of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attempts to invade and humiliate. It was as if all these had nothing to do with her.

    As the saying went, a correct decision made in camp will secure a victory thousands of kilometres away. Although Fang Zhengzhi was only specting, the leader of Ling Yun was shaping to be scarier than he had expected.

    Of course, whether or not his guesses were correct, Fang Zhengzhi had enough of being led by the nose. He did not want to reveal all his cards. Thus, he had to turn to deceitful tactics.

    Sessful warriors have always been crafty.

    To be truly deceitful, he had to begin with concealment.

    After all, the leader of Ling Yun Tower had note out and Fang Zhengzhi was running out of ideas. Hence, he had to conceal his trump cards and construct something false in order topromise the judgement of the leader of Ling Yun Tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to make himself look unpredictable and opaque. This way, the leader of Ling Yun Tower would have to rely more on her imagination and guesswork.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s confidence and unpredictability did not seem to be working very well. Cang Yue and the five women did not seem to have bought his act.

    ¡°Countered?¡± Cang Yue was aware of the counteraction of different forces but she did not believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talk of being able to counter them.

    Still, she hesitated.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi remained unharmed and nonchnt. It was like what he had said. Their assault was not doing anything to him.

    What was going on?

    Cang Yue and the five women were all asking the same question. Why wasn¡¯t their assault working?

    It was supposed to have seeded.

    What a deceitful urrence.

    The smiles of Cang Yue and the five women had stiffened. They found all that had happened extremely weird.

    Ping Yang was beginning to figure things out but even the truth was mind boggling.

    ¡°Has the shameless fellow really be this powerful? How has he managed to achieve this?¡±

    ¡°It seems like you all don¡¯t believe me. Never mind, you can all try me again!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for their replies and rattled on.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not in a hurry.

    He had made up his mind to be unpredictable and had to refrain from looking impatient or fearful.

    Thus, he continued to provoke them!

    This provocation troubled the woman, who was wearing red and had hair that was slightly white, standing directly in front of him.

    ¡°Young Master Fang. Your methods are truly weird. Nheless, we are devoted to Ling Yun Tower and even if we cannot defeat you, we will defend our sect with our lives!¡± The woman in the red dress spoke and turned to the other four women.

    The other four women nodded their heads in response and closed their eyes.

    When they opened their eyes again, the green light emanating from their eyes had be a dark deep oceanic blue.

    ¡°Buzz!¡±

    The green shimmer had turned dark blue as well. Water droplets fell from the sky and dewdrops rose from the ground.

    A white mist hung in the air.

    At the same time, the five women made their move. They pointed their index and middle fingers forward and dark blue swords with a sapphires embedded in their hilts appeared in their hands.

    ¡°Dance!¡± The woman in red called out.

    The five women began to shift their positions. The red woman had moved from in front of Fang Zhengzhi to his left. Loud cracks split the air.

    That was the sound of the air freezing.

    A deathly cold breeze assailed Fang Zhengzhi.

    The five women had their dark blue swords pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi. The swords had tips of white like they had just been dipped in snow.

    ¡°Indeed, they can disy the same Dao!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could see that the Dao that they were disying were based in water and crystals.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised. The five women had been utilising the same technique ever since they stood in formation.

    Whether it was the green previously, or the dark blue now...

    The five women acted in unison, like they were clones of the same person.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not help but feel awed by their methods.

    After all, the usage of the same technique by the five women was proving to be very effective.

    Besides, Fang Zhengzhi was sure that they would only grow stronger together. Still, he did not understand the rationale for only sending out these five women. Were they the only Ling Yun Tower members of this particr skill level, or were there any other special reasons?

    Fang Zhengzhi had not figured these out yet.

    The five women had thrust their dark blue swords towards Fang Zhengzhi from their various positions.

    A dark chill, together with the sharp wind of the swords, pierced multiple spots on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not leap away.

    In fact, he was unable to leap up at all. The five women had trapped his legs with the frost on the ground.

    Also, there was a terrifying pressureing down on him from above.

    The five women obviously did not intend for Fang Zhengzhi to escape their assault.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mind that either.

    The ck fire rose from his body once more and attempted to resist the dark blue swords of frost. However, the impact of the dark blue swords were too powerful for it to handle.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body had been hit by the swords. Large cracks broke out on his ck armour once more.

    Not just cracks.

    At the points where the swords had impacted the armour wererge holes. The swords had transferred some of the frost over to the armour and the frost had spread all over it.

    Dark blue light whirled about in the sky like the winds in winter. It was clearing up the remnants of the ck fire.

    ¡°Impressive!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his head a little. His hair was covered in frost but the ck fire in his eyes burned on.

    ¡°To be able to survive abined blow from the five of us is quite an achievement. Your name will do the rounds in the Holy Region if you leave Ling Yun Tower alive!¡± The woman in red looked at Fang Zhengzhi with her deep blue eyes. Her red dress pped a little. She was radiating more power than before.

    ¡°Does that mean that I have a chance of surviving this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and replied. The devilish purple light was still coursing through his sword.

    ¡°It was just a joke. Young master Fang, did you take it seriously?¡± The woman in red responded as her wrinkly lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Am I not given any chance of surviving?¡±

    ¡°Nothing is more vicious than a woman¡¯s heart. Young master Fang, you must have heard of that, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that indeed. However, that had always been imed only by the men since a long time ago, so it¡¯s definitely biased. A woman has the most vicious heart because it contains hatred. The strongest hatred is definitely the result of the most intense love.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up and replied while looking at Ling Yun Tower instead of the woman in red.

    ¡°You seem to be only 18 years old?¡± The woman in red looked a little surprised.

    ¡°Yup, the prime of my life.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a sincere look.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Young master Fang to know so much about ¡®love¡¯ despite your young age, if...¡± The woman in red seemed a little down at this moment, before she regained herposure and continued, ¡°Haha, Young master Fang, you¡¯re definitely a smooth talker. However, it isn¡¯t enough to save yourself!¡±

    ¡°Save myself?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled. Then, he smiled as if he had understood everything and said, ¡°This is a mistake. Actually, I¡¯ve been saying that my Dao counters your Dao. Hence, you guys couldn¡¯t hurt me at all. In that case, why do I need to save myself?¡±

    As he said that, the ck me on his body extinguished, then, his eyes becamepletely filled with a deep blue colour just like the five women.

    At the meantime, the five frosty sword tips that pierced through his ck armour shattered and turned into spots of deep blue radiance in the air.

    However, the deep blue radiance was surrounding Fang Zhengzhi in a friendly manner rather than attacking him.

    ¡°How is this possible!¡± The woman in red finally opened her mouth wide. If she was only surprised previously, this time, she was definitely dumbfounded.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one. The four other women, as well as Cang Yue, were all dazed. They looked at the deep blue radiance surrounding Fang Zhengzhi, his calm expression, and the ck armour that had returned to normal, as if they were looking at a demon.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Does he really counter us? How is that possible? Furthermore, doesn¡¯t the concept of countering apply to Dao only? How could human counter each other?¡±

    ¡°Is that the Fang Zhengzhi who had shocked the Holy Region?¡±

    The four women nced at each other and saw the same emotion. They were truly stunned to their cores.

    Ping Yang also opened her mouth wide at this moment with the same look of disbelief in her eyes. ¡°How did this shameless fellow do that? Is he a genius? A freak? Or is his understanding so extraordinary? However, could he really get so powerful... Just by understanding?!¡±

    Ping Yang found it hard to believe. She had always known about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s incredible understanding of Dao. However, this was really overly ridiculous.

    In fact, it was almost terrifying!

    <h4>Comment (0)</h4>

    COMMENT FIRSTRate this chapterVote with Power StoneSend Gifts<h4>Chapter 789: Behind, Sticking Tightly Behind</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Just how monstrous was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent? Ping Yang could not imagine.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how Ping Yang felt, or he would have given her a hard knock on the head and told her:

    ¡°Of course a person¡¯s talent can¡¯t be this monstrous. However, if he has a good grasp of different Daos, things would be different!¡±

    This was akin to someone who has read all the books in the world. They would be able to understand the content of books faster and where the information was gleaned from.

    As the saying went, bing formidable requires a lifetime of work.

    Fang Zhengzhi was formidable alright, to the point that he seemed scary. When he had been refined in the Middle Stream Cauldron on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he got to read the 23 Heaven Dao Sage Tablet everyday. This had given him a solid understanding of the Dao written on the tablets and his skills had progressed rapidly.

    He had already broken through over two thousand barriers in his cultivation of Dao.

    Over two thousand types of Dao?

    What kind of notion was this?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have any idea how this worked at first but he did now. On the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had grasped the Ice Crystal Dao of the Great Elder Ying Yu in a very short time.

    He had been astounded at himself then.

    Now...

    He had mastered the jade-green Green de Dao as well as the dark blue Extreme Frost Dao used by the five women from Ling Yun Tower in a short time as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi no longer needed to keep up the pretense. He ced a hand behind his back and with his other hand holding onto the Traceless Sword, he sighed towards the skies.

    ¡°Sigh... aces are often lonely! Fang Zhengzhi reflected while ignoring the dumbfounded expressions of the five women and Cang Yue.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi was acting like an arrogant prick.

    However piqued the five women and Cang Yue looked, they remained still.

    They did not believe a word about having their skills countered.

    Be that as it may, what they had seen was unprecedented. Nothing like this had every happened in the history of the Holy Region.

    No one would have thought that a person could master his opponent¡¯s techniques in the short time they took to exchange blows.

    ¡°Why did it turn out this way?!¡±

    ¡°This is impossible!¡±

    ¡°No one could have done that! This is too coincidental to be true!¡±

    It was often said that people who knew more tended to be confused easily. The five women prided themselves on knowing their Dao inside out and were thus unwilling to believe that incredible events had happened right before their eyes.

    Cang Yue could not believe her eyes either.

    She was seriously injured and could do nothing other than to steal looks at Ling Yun Tower every now and then.

    Ping Yang recovered herself upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi speak.

    ¡°Aces are often lonely? Just how thick-skinned can he get?¡± Ping Yang was contemptuous but she did not want to argue with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Perhaps it was Lin Mubai¡¯s injuries that had caused her to lose her inclination to argue with Fang Zhengzhi. Or it could be because she had no rebuttal for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated him!¡± Lin Mubai had kept his eyes on Fang Zhengzhi the whole time.

    Fang Zhengzhi was hisst hope, his only hope.

    At that moment, a light shed across Ling Yun Tower. It was like a golden ray of sunlight.

    It was unassuming.

    However, this was enough to make the five women shudder. They shared a look with each other.

    ¡°Dance!¡± The woman in red gritted her teeth and shouted out loud.

    The five women changed their positions once more and the dark blue light surrounding them disappeared. The dark blue in their eyes was reced by the colour ck. It was a deep dark ck that sucked in all the light and obscured the whites of their eyes.

    ¡°Indeed, she is watching.¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw the asional nce at Ling Yun Tower.

    When he had seen the light sh across Ling Yun Tower, he could not help but smirk.

    Fang Zhengzhi was pretty sure that the leader of Ling Yun Tower had been watching them the whole time.

    What actually surprised Fang Zhengzhi was that...

    The leader of Ling Yun Tower had such a high level of forbearance. She had refrained from revealing herself and was relying on the five women she had dispatched to test Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, the five women were powerful. They werepetent individually but theirbined strength was very outstanding.

    Were they really going to drag it on?

    Fang Zhengzhi had enough of this. God knows if Ling Yun Tower would send out another batch of fighters when he had defeated these five women.

    No one could know that.

    As Fang Zhengzhi pondered over this question, the world around him turned dark. The five women were attacking him once again.

    ¡°Darkness?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

    From the previous formation and techniques the five women had adopted, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that they would stick to the Five Elements Dao.

    However, it seemed that this was not the case.

    The positions of the five elements...

    Was only a method used by the five women to unleash the Dao better.

    ¡°Buzz!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision was entirely obscured by the darkness. He could feel the invasiveness of the shadows.

    ck mes rose up from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body again. This was an instinctive reaction to other Daos and served as a defence mechanism as well.

    The ck mes burned in the dark and banging sounds began to ring out. Fang Zhengzhi could feel new information entering the sea of his consciousness.

    An attractive force!

    This probably has something to do with the Abyss Dao!

    Other than the attractive force, there was the presence of another aggressive entity that carried with it a sense of corruption. Fang Zhengzhi could feel something burning as well.

    The nature of this darkness seemed to be simr to that of Hell Dao, but it was not as tough and energetic. It felt softer and more passive.

    Its name?

    It shall be called...

    The Yin Fire Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi had managed toprehend this Dao but there was no way for him to derive its name. Thus, he had named it casually.

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    A cold and sharp aura assailed Fang Zhengzhi from behind.

    It seemed like that of a sword!

    No!

    It was five swords!

    Fang Zhengzhi had lost his vision in the dark and could not see the iing attack. However, he was still able to feel its aura.

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

    The ck fire burning in his eyes had been extinguished and was reced by a deep dark ck.

    Just as his eyes turned ck, he suddenly saw that the five women were approaching him with their swords. The five swords were banded together just like how the five women had arranged themselves into one straight line. They had given up on their five elements formation.

    ¡°I see!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately understood their attack strategy. It was obvious that they were approaching Fang Zhengzhi with caution.

    They had given up on attempting to suppress him directly with Dao.

    They were going to try to get close to him and kill him from there.

    Of course, before proceeding with their ughter, the five women had activated the Yin Fire Dao.

    The Yin Fire Dao was not only invasive and aggressive, but it was also capable of obscuring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision. This way, the five women could approach him undetected.

    In such a situation, one would have thought that the five women would attack from five different directions.

    In truth...

    In order to kill someone, it was not necessary for them to aim for five vital points.

    One was enough!

    The five women were experienced in battle and had made use of the Yin Fire Dao to aid them in their assault. They were going to attack Fang Zhengzhi at only one of his vital points with theirbined strength.

    If their n went through, Fang Zhengzhi would not have detected the attack until it was toote.

    A seamless n, solid experience, as well as the excellent individual andbined prowess of the five women, meant that this assault had an extremely good chance of sess.

    Unfortunately, this was not going to work on Fang Zhengzhi, simply because he had literally seen iting.

    In the entire Holy Region, was there anyone who couldprehend a Dao in one look?

    No one!

    Except for Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, he was able to see through the battle n of the five women so easily. However, the ease at which he was able to do it was built upon a foundation that was tremendously strong.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    It was a merryugh. He wanted to shout to the skies about how lonely he was at the top. Was he going to be the second Dugu Qiubai, an unparalleled swordsman who had died of loneliness due to theck of opponents?

    But he did not do it in the end.

    Because he had no time for that!

    The swords of the five women had reached him.

    He twisted away rapidly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body had disappeared on the spot. Now that he hadprehended the Yin Fire Dao, he would not be harmed by it.

    No more hesitation. No more dragging it on.

    The five women had delivered a lethal blow. Fang Zhengzhi would not stand on ceremony either and shifted his body such that he appeared behind the five women.

    The five women had concentrated all of their attacking power on the straight-lined assault. This was the strongest blow aimed at one spot that they could manage.

    This form attack had one weak spot though.

    The weak spot was at its back.

    The reason being that the five women were arranged very closely to each other in the straight line so as to increase the attack speed.

    This way, their line of sight would bepromised. In order to stay within the line, the four women behind the woman at the front would not be able to see ahead.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current position...

    Was at the back of the five women. He was within one step of the woman at the back of the line. His eyes were as ck as their eyes.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were devoid of light, the Traceless Sword that he held sparkled with a strange purple light.

    In truth, as he stood behind the woman, an idea for a thrilling killing move came into his mind.

    However, he considered the advanced age of the five women and decided to drop the idea.

    He would give up the n for Kancho!

    However, thrusting his sword into their backs and skewering them like candied hawthorn did not sound like a bad idea!

 Chapter 789 - Behind, Sticking Tightly Behind

    <h4>Chapter 789: Behind, Sticking Tightly Behind</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Just how monstrous was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s talent? Ping Yang could not imagine.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how Ping Yang felt, or he would have given her a hard knock on the head and told her:

    ¡°Of course a person¡¯s talent can¡¯t be this monstrous. However, if he has a good grasp of different Daos, things would be different!¡±

    This was akin to someone who has read all the books in the world. They would be able to understand the content of books faster and where the information was gleaned from.

    As the saying went, bing formidable requires a lifetime of work.

    Fang Zhengzhi was formidable alright, to the point that he seemed scary. When he had been refined in the Middle Stream Cauldron on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he got to read the 23 Heaven Dao Sage Tablet everyday. This had given him a solid understanding of the Dao written on the tablets and his skills had progressed rapidly.

    He had already broken through over two thousand barriers in his cultivation of Dao.

    Over two thousand types of Dao?

    What kind of notion was this?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have any idea how this worked at first but he did now. On the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had grasped the Ice Crystal Dao of the Great Elder Ying Yu in a very short time.

    He had been astounded at himself then.

    Now...

    He had mastered the jade-green Green de Dao as well as the dark blue Extreme Frost Dao used by the five women from Ling Yun Tower in a short time as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi no longer needed to keep up the pretense. He ced a hand behind his back and with his other hand holding onto the Traceless Sword, he sighed towards the skies.

    ¡°Sigh... aces are often lonely! Fang Zhengzhi reflected while ignoring the dumbfounded expressions of the five women and Cang Yue.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi was acting like an arrogant prick.

    However piqued the five women and Cang Yue looked, they remained still.

    They did not believe a word about having their skills countered.

    Be that as it may, what they had seen was unprecedented. Nothing like this had every happened in the history of the Holy Region.

    No one would have thought that a person could master his opponent¡¯s techniques in the short time they took to exchange blows.

    ¡°Why did it turn out this way?!¡±

    ¡°This is impossible!¡±

    ¡°No one could have done that! This is too coincidental to be true!¡±

    It was often said that people who knew more tended to be confused easily. The five women prided themselves on knowing their Dao inside out and were thus unwilling to believe that incredible events had happened right before their eyes.

    Cang Yue could not believe her eyes either.

    She was seriously injured and could do nothing other than to steal looks at Ling Yun Tower every now and then.

    Ping Yang recovered herself upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi speak.

    ¡°Aces are often lonely? Just how thick-skinned can he get?¡± Ping Yang was contemptuous but she did not want to argue with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Perhaps it was Lin Mubai¡¯s injuries that had caused her to lose her inclination to argue with Fang Zhengzhi. Or it could be because she had no rebuttal for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated him!¡± Lin Mubai had kept his eyes on Fang Zhengzhi the whole time.

    Fang Zhengzhi was hisst hope, his only hope.

    At that moment, a light shed across Ling Yun Tower. It was like a golden ray of sunlight.

    It was unassuming.

    However, this was enough to make the five women shudder. They shared a look with each other.

    ¡°Dance!¡± The woman in red gritted her teeth and shouted out loud.

    The five women changed their positions once more and the dark blue light surrounding them disappeared. The dark blue in their eyes was reced by the colour ck. It was a deep dark ck that sucked in all the light and obscured the whites of their eyes.

    ¡°Indeed, she is watching.¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw the asional nce at Ling Yun Tower.

    When he had seen the light sh across Ling Yun Tower, he could not help but smirk.

    Fang Zhengzhi was pretty sure that the leader of Ling Yun Tower had been watching them the whole time.

    What actually surprised Fang Zhengzhi was that...

    The leader of Ling Yun Tower had such a high level of forbearance. She had refrained from revealing herself and was relying on the five women she had dispatched to test Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, the five women were powerful. They werepetent individually but theirbined strength was very outstanding.

    Were they really going to drag it on?

    Fang Zhengzhi had enough of this. God knows if Ling Yun Tower would send out another batch of fighters when he had defeated these five women.

    No one could know that.

    As Fang Zhengzhi pondered over this question, the world around him turned dark. The five women were attacking him once again.

    ¡°Darkness?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

    From the previous formation and techniques the five women had adopted, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that they would stick to the Five Elements Dao.

    However, it seemed that this was not the case.

    The positions of the five elements...

    Was only a method used by the five women to unleash the Dao better.

    ¡°Buzz!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision was entirely obscured by the darkness. He could feel the invasiveness of the shadows.

    ck mes rose up from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body again. This was an instinctive reaction to other Daos and served as a defence mechanism as well.

    The ck mes burned in the dark and banging sounds began to ring out. Fang Zhengzhi could feel new information entering the sea of his consciousness.

    An attractive force!

    This probably has something to do with the Abyss Dao!

    Other than the attractive force, there was the presence of another aggressive entity that carried with it a sense of corruption. Fang Zhengzhi could feel something burning as well.

    The nature of this darkness seemed to be simr to that of Hell Dao, but it was not as tough and energetic. It felt softer and more passive.

    Its name?

    It shall be called...

    The Yin Fire Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi had managed toprehend this Dao but there was no way for him to derive its name. Thus, he had named it casually.

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    A cold and sharp aura assailed Fang Zhengzhi from behind.

    It seemed like that of a sword!

    No!

    It was five swords!

    Fang Zhengzhi had lost his vision in the dark and could not see the iing attack. However, he was still able to feel its aura.

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

    The ck fire burning in his eyes had been extinguished and was reced by a deep dark ck.

    Just as his eyes turned ck, he suddenly saw that the five women were approaching him with their swords. The five swords were banded together just like how the five women had arranged themselves into one straight line. They had given up on their five elements formation.

    ¡°I see!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately understood their attack strategy. It was obvious that they were approaching Fang Zhengzhi with caution.

    They had given up on attempting to suppress him directly with Dao.

    They were going to try to get close to him and kill him from there.

    Of course, before proceeding with their ughter, the five women had activated the Yin Fire Dao.

    The Yin Fire Dao was not only invasive and aggressive, but it was also capable of obscuring Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vision. This way, the five women could approach him undetected.

    In such a situation, one would have thought that the five women would attack from five different directions.

    In truth...

    In order to kill someone, it was not necessary for them to aim for five vital points.

    One was enough!

    The five women were experienced in battle and had made use of the Yin Fire Dao to aid them in their assault. They were going to attack Fang Zhengzhi at only one of his vital points with theirbined strength.

    If their n went through, Fang Zhengzhi would not have detected the attack until it was toote.

    A seamless n, solid experience, as well as the excellent individual andbined prowess of the five women, meant that this assault had an extremely good chance of sess.

    Unfortunately, this was not going to work on Fang Zhengzhi, simply because he had literally seen iting.

    In the entire Holy Region, was there anyone who couldprehend a Dao in one look?

    No one!

    Except for Fang Zhengzhi. Hence, he was able to see through the battle n of the five women so easily. However, the ease at which he was able to do it was built upon a foundation that was tremendously strong.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    It was a merryugh. He wanted to shout to the skies about how lonely he was at the top. Was he going to be the second Dugu Qiubai, an unparalleled swordsman who had died of loneliness due to theck of opponents?

    But he did not do it in the end.

    Because he had no time for that!

    The swords of the five women had reached him.

    He twisted away rapidly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body had disappeared on the spot. Now that he hadprehended the Yin Fire Dao, he would not be harmed by it.

    No more hesitation. No more dragging it on.

    The five women had delivered a lethal blow. Fang Zhengzhi would not stand on ceremony either and shifted his body such that he appeared behind the five women.

    The five women had concentrated all of their attacking power on the straight-lined assault. This was the strongest blow aimed at one spot that they could manage.

    This form attack had one weak spot though.

    The weak spot was at its back.

    The reason being that the five women were arranged very closely to each other in the straight line so as to increase the attack speed.

    This way, their line of sight would bepromised. In order to stay within the line, the four women behind the woman at the front would not be able to see ahead.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current position...

    Was at the back of the five women. He was within one step of the woman at the back of the line. His eyes were as ck as their eyes.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were devoid of light, the Traceless Sword that he held sparkled with a strange purple light.

    In truth, as he stood behind the woman, an idea for a thrilling killing move came into his mind.

    However, he considered the advanced age of the five women and decided to drop the idea.

    He would give up the n for Kancho!

    However, thrusting his sword into their backs and skewering them like candied hawthorn did not sound like a bad idea!

 Chapter 790 - Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower

    <h4>Chapter 790: Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The sword was thrust out.

    The strange purple light had be a flowing purple line and entered the back of thest woman nearly at the speed of teleportation.

    At the same time, the woman at the front let out a scream.

    ¡°What?!¡¯ It was obvious that upon realising that Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared on the spot, the woman in red was thrown into consternation and screamed:

    ¡°Disperse!¡±

    The woman in red could see, but not the women behind her.

    When the women at the back had heard her scream, it was already toote. Their minds were only registering blinding pain.

    ¡°Hum!¡± The Traceless Sword passed through their bodies like a ghost. There was an explosion of purple light and blood.

    The blood that fell onto the Traceless Sword was absorbed hungrily by its de.

    The darkness gradually dissipated.

    A sliver of purple light had grown bigger until it was able to tear the darkness apart like lightning in the night sky.

    The whole world fell silent at that moment.

    Whether it was the disciples of Ling Yun Tower who had fallen to the ground, the seriously injured Cang Yue or the two white-robed women standing beside her, everyone remained silent.

    Everything had happened so quickly.

    From the point where the world turned dark to the point where the darkness fell apart, only a very short time had passed.

    It came quickly but it went away even quicker.

    The problem was that everything that had happened had been totally unexpected. The aftermath was uneptable.

    One sword!

    Five people?!

    Cang Yue could not believe her eyes. She knew very well what the five women were capable of. This made it all the more incredible.

    Appalled. Outraged.

    These were not enough to describe how Cang Yue felt at that moment. Lifeless might be the right word. She did not feel alive enough to think or breathe.

    The white-robed women standing beside her were dazed as well. They gazed intently at the five women and Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing behind them.

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°How could this be?¡±

    The two white-robed women could not for the life of them figure out how five masters had been defeated in this manner.

    Sunlight fell down upon the earth. The purple light was brighter still and the world was painted purple as a result. It was as if the sun had lost its light.

    Lin Mubai¡¯s expression had frozen into ce.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were bulging as well. Her eyes carried with them amazement and a building excitement.

    Very powerful!

    She had finally realised that within half a year, she had be more powerful. Fang Zhengzhi had be more powerful as well. In fact, he had be extraordinarily powerful.

    ¡°Puff!¡±

    The five women spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood.

    They were stuck to each other. They had been impaled with a longsword that sparkled with a purple light.

    Would the length of a sword suffice to run through five people?

    No one had bothered to figure out this question but Fang Zhengzhi had an answer to it now. The answer was that it was close, but it was not enough.

    The Traceless Sword had not pierced through the body of the woman in red entirely. It was barely halfway through.

    ¡°Not long enough? Sigh... a miscalction!¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked and sighed lightly.

    The woman in red fell to her knees and keeled over. Her face was white as a sheet and she shivered violently.

    Blood flowed out of the wound on her back.

    Even though the Traceless Sword had not run through herpletely, she had been severely hurt.

    Of course, the pain she felt in her heart hurt even more.

    The Five Sects of the Holy Region had established their own spheres of influence beyond the imperial court and were respected by thousands. They enjoyed great prestige and as a member of the upper echelons of Ling Yun Tower, she had lived a brilliant life.

    But now...

    The brilliance was gone.

    She was not dead yet, but she had been defeated. The fact that she had managed to live because the sword was not long enough was a huge joke.

    How humiliating was that?

    ¡°Why, why did things turn out like that?¡±

    The woman in red did not understand. She had so much faith in her judgement and was so sure that she had made the correct decision.

    Still, it was true that she had lost.

    She had beenpletely defeated, defeated to the point where she had no idea how she had ended up this way. She could not even feel sorry for herself.

    Yes, she did not feel sorry about her loss.

    She had seen Fang Zhengzhi disappear and she had made her choice. Nevertheless, she had not managed to avoid the blow that came from behind her.

    She had seen it but she had not been able to avoid it.

    It was because she had not been fast enough.

    ¡°Zah!¡±

    The woman in red heard a pained utterance and saw her fourrades fall to the ground around her.

    They did not scream or shout but fell to the ground quietly. Like her, they had looks of disbelief on their faces.

    The woman in red turned around.

    She looked at Fang Zhengzhi in his pitch ck eyes. His blue robes pped about gently in the wind.

    She finally understood to some extent.

    A counteraction?

    Yes, it was really a counteraction.

    A counter-reaction not between the Daos but between people. She had beenpletely ovee by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Not too long ago, she had heard his name for the first time...

    She had not paid much attention to the name back then. She could not even remember who had mentioned the name and when it was mentioned. It was a forgettable name.

    The second time she had heard the name, it had already made its rounds. The person with the name had killed five powerful pugilists of the Holy Region beneath the mountain that housed the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    She had remembered the name.

    Today, the person with the name had appeared at Ling Yun Tower before her. Now, this person was standing behind her.

    SHe would never forget the name for as long as she lived because it gave her the chills.

    Fang Zhengzhi, 18 years old, at the Sage State...

    This was her original understanding of Fang Zhengzhi. Now, she knew better. After so many years, another apex martial artist had surfaced in the Holy Region!

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost...¡± The woman in red turned to look at the golden roof of Ling Yun Tower.

    The sun was not especially bright but for some reason, it reminded her of the startling red colour of blood.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve lost.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded solemnly as he nced at the four women who had fallen around the woman in red.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you made your move yet?¡± The woman in red asked.

    ¡°To kill you?¡±

    ¡°Kill me? Hehe... you are too intelligent, too shameless to be asking me this question. There is a better alternative to killing me, that is to use me as a hostage in exchange for one or two lives.¡± The woman in red gave Fang Yuan a cold smile.

    Fang Zhengzhi did notugh this time and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

    Nevertheless, he came to his senses quickly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a hostage.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head calmly. The surety in his voice, however, was apparent.

    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± The woman in red turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi nkly.

    She was genuinely bewildered, but it did notst long. Her bewilderment gave way to determination.

    The woman in red pulled out a dull-coloured knife from her sleeves.

    ¡°Seems like I was lucky to have escaped that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked slightly surprised as he examined the knife.

    ¡°Yes... and no! I¡¯ve realised that even if I get close to you, I am not confident of being able to hurt you!¡± The woman in red spoke dejectedly.

    ¡°Anyhow, regardless of whether you knew that I was going to sneak on you or had not decided to take me as a hostage, I¡¯ve decided to give up.¡±

    After she had finished speaking, she switched to holding her knife with a reverse-grip and plunged it into her chest.

    ¡°Suicide?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had never seen such a thing happen in the Holy Region, and it involved a powerful figure that had attained the Sage State in her skills.

    When one¡¯s prowess reaches the level of the Sage State, it means that their emotional state has reached a high level as well. There was no way that it could be weak.

    However, the woman in red had chosen this way out and had done it with unfaltering resolution.

    The key thing was that...

    It was not out of not weakness, but a sort of staunch belief in the ideals that she valued more than her life.

    Cang Yue watched on.

    The white-robed women standing beside Cang Yue and the injured disciples of Ling Yun Tower lying on the ground were watching as well.

    The surprising thing was that no one had stopped the woman in red from doing what she did. No one had said anything about it.

    It was as if there was no doubt about how things would turn out.

    Fang Zhengzhi gripped tightly onto the Traceless Sword. He would not stop the woman in red from taking her own life but he felt slightly unsettled by it.

    ¡°Red Shadow, you don¡¯t have to die.¡± A voice emanated from Ling Yun Tower. It was a serene voice but carried with it an air of authority.

    Following that, a ray of sunlight descended from Ling Yun Tower andnded right before the woman in red.

    The woman in red stiffened and a look of disbelief shed across her face. The knife that she had used to plunge into her chest stopped dead in its tracks.

    At this moment, a jade-white hand extended out from the sunlight and pried the knife away from the fingers of the woman in red.

    ¡°Master!¡± The woman in red prostrated herself in front of this person and shuddered. Blood flowed from her chest and stained the ground red.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower that had copsed onto the floor from their injuries now mbered onto their knees before prostrating themselves.

    ¡°We are all ipetent and deserve to be punished!¡±

    ¡°We deserve to be punished!¡± The white-robed women standing beside Cang Yue fell to their knees as well. Their faces were full of regret.

    ¡°Get up, all of you. This defeat is not your fault.¡± A figure emerged from the sunlight.

    It was a woman wearing red robesced with golden silk. The purplish-gold belt around her waist revealed her svelte physique.

    Her long ck hair fell down to her waist and was adorned with five golden leaves.

    The woman had a very youthful appearance and looked to be 24 years of age at the very most. Her bright eyes sparkled with golden light.

    There was a golden mark in the middle of her forehead which gave her an elegant and sophisticated look. It was hard to believe that this woman was the leader of Ling Yun Tower, one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    ¡°Is this the Yu Er that His Majesty Lin Mubai has been pining after?¡± Fang Zhengzhi observed the woman walking out of the sunlight with interest.

    He had not expected her to reveal her face and her youthful appearance was even more surprising.

    After all, if he had guessed correctly, this was Ping Yang¡¯s mother, also known as Yu Er.

    Why did she look so young?

 Chapter 791 - Yu Erâ€™s â€˜True Identityâ€™

    <h4>Chapter 791: Yu Er¡¯s ¡®True Identity¡¯</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impression, the leaders of the Five Sects of the Holy Region tended to be older. At the very least, a Sect leader couldn¡¯t be so young.

    However, the woman standing before him was very young indeed.

    ¡°Yu Er! Yu Er... Is that really you?¡± Lin Mubai suddenly spoke. He was severely injured and lying on the ground, but now he was trying to stand up.

    ¡°I got it right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly startled.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s body shook after she heard Lin Mubai. She stared at the woman standing before her, and she could hardly hold the zing Qilin Spear anymore.

    ¡°Mother? Are you my mother?¡± Ping Yang was shocked to her core.

    After all, she had never expected to meet her mother under such circumstances, not to mention the fact that her mother was the leader of Ling Yun Tower.

    She couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    However, the woman disregarded Lin Mubai and Ping Yang. In fact, she didn¡¯t even look at them. Shrouded by a golden light, she walked towards Cang Yue. Under the sunshine, she seemed so holy just like the warmest light in the world.

    ¡°Leader, Cang Yue... I¡¯ve disappointed you!¡± Cang Yue furrowed her brows and supported herself with her arm.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯ve done well.¡± The woman shook her head and supported Cang Yue up while cing her other hand on the wound on Cang Yue¡¯s chest.

    In the blink of an eye, the wound started healing at a visible rate. It recoveredpletely in just a short while.

    ¡°Hmph?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was intrigued. Although the woman was very young, the healing ability that she disyed was something that only King Xieluo, the Monster King, was capable of, to the best of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s knowledge.

    However, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about her healing ability. He was more taken aback by how Cang Yue addressed the woman.

    ¡°Leader? Shouldn¡¯t it be ¡®Master¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know about Ling Yun Tower¡¯s rules, but under normal circumstances, since Cang Yue was the woman¡¯s servant, she should have addressed the woman as her master, unlike the other disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did I get it wrong? However... If I really got it wrong, why did the woman ignore the other disciples and only tended to Cang Yue¡¯s injuries?¡±

    ¡°Most importantly, even if I was wrong, Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t possibly get her identity wrong, unless, there was something that I had yet to figure out.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled.

    ¡°Could it be... Is this woman in a secret rtionship with Cang Yue?!¡± While Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was running wild, he heard Lin Mubai again.

    ¡°Yu Er... I...¡±

    ¡°Lin Mubai, shut up. You better take a good look. This is our leader, not my master! Furthermore, I¡¯ve already told you that master wouldn¡¯t see you again. Stop getting your hopes up!¡± Cang Yue interrupted Lin Mubai coldly.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t Yu Er?!¡± Lin Mubai trembled and opened his eyes wide, scrutinizing the woman standing before him. After a brief moment, he said agitatedly, ¡°You are not Yu Er, who... Who are you?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not Yu Er?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was astonished.

    Ping Yang was astounded too. Confused and lose, she looked at Lin Mubai, who was struggling to get up, and then at the woman.

    She obviously trusted Lin Mubai, however, she wasn¡¯t sure if Lin Mubai was fully conscious, given how badly injured he was.

    ¡°Father, you haven¡¯t seen mother in many years, so...¡±

    ¡°No, she definitely isn¡¯t Yu Er. For several years, I¡¯ve spent every single day with Yu Er. Even if I¡¯m separated from her for two or three decades, I¡¯ll still be able to recognize her, not to mention a dozen years. I can confirm that she isn¡¯t Yu Er, however, she looks so much like her, so much...¡± Lin Mubai shook his head, extremely certain of his judgement.

    ¡°Are you Fang Zhengzhi?¡± The woman finally looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She was calm and collected, and she looked like a holy divine spirit with her golden dress.

    However, she never took a single nce at Lin Mubai or Ping Yang.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you state your own name before asking for someone else¡¯s name? It seems like the leader of Ling Yun Tower isn¡¯t very courteous.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a question instead.

    ¡°Watch your mouth!¡± Cang Yue stood up. She was clearly enraged by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s disrespectfulment. The other disciples were equally furious, including Hong Ying and the two girls wearing white dresses.

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± The woman waved her hand at the disciples. She then looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with a faint smile and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong. It ismon courtesy to state one¡¯s name before asking for another person¡¯s name. However....¡±

    The woman paused, before looking towards the sky and continuing, ¡°Cultivating is an act of going against the world. Since you are a cultivator, you shouldn¡¯t be following these inflexible rules. Furthermore, we are at Ling Yun Tower. As Ling Yun Tower¡¯s leader, I am one who decide the rules.¡±

    ¡°You are the one who decides the rules¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he heard her. As he had expected, people from Ling Yun Tower were naturally arrogant, as if it was an inherited trait. Despite so, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about it, since he was used to such arrogance.

    ¡°You are right, but since it¡¯s my mouth, I can say that you are uncourteous if I want to. I can even say that you¡¯re an ugly and old witch, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always heard that you are glib-tongued. It seems like the rumors are true.¡± The woman nodded gently instead of getting angry with Fang Zhengzhi.

    She retracted her gaze towards the sky, and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase ¨C are you here to bring Ping Yang away?¡±

    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He was actually here to take Ping Yang away. If he hadn¡¯t seen how Ping Yang was treated at the Icy Pond, he wouldn¡¯t havee to provoke Ling Yun Tower.

    Of course, that was putting aside his business with Cang Yue.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± The woman asked again.

    ¡°Do you allow me to leave?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile grew brighter.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°So, it seems like I could get out of this alive.¡± Fang Zhengzhi chuckled. He didn¡¯t know what the leader of Ling Yun Tower was thinking.

    This was not the oue that he was expecting. In fact, this was far from what he had envisioned. It was obvious that the leader of Ling Yun Tower was much tolerant than he thought.

    The leaders of the other sects in the Holy Region would never offer to let him off if he had wounded so many of their disciples.

    However, the leader of Ling Yun Tower... Was willing to do that!

    In that case, there were only two possibilities. She was either pretending to be weak, or she wasn¡¯t confident of beating Fang Zhengzhi, which was why she didn¡¯t want to initiate a fight. Fang Zhengzhi felt that thetter was more likely to be true, but he couldn¡¯t be certain just yet.

    However, he was taken aback that the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, including Cang Yue, didn¡¯t make a singleint when the woman offered to let him off.

    The degree of their obedience was astounding.

    ¡°Since the ancient times, anyone that dares to trespass Ling Yun tower would be executed. However, I can break the rule for you and give you two options!¡± The woman didn¡¯t pay attention to the minor changes in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. Rather, she didn¡¯t care about what he was thinking of.

    ¡°Oh? Please enlighten me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He was interested in knowing his choices.

    ¡°The first option, which is the way you can get out alive, is if you swear to aplish three tasks for Ling Yun Tower. If you do that, you can take Ping Yang and Lin Mubai away.¡± The woman stated the terms directly.

    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡±

    ¡°Given your current strength, using all your effort toplete three tasks in exchange for the lives of a few Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples isn¡¯t a bad deal.¡±

    ¡°It seems like the other option is death?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± The woman didn¡¯t deny it.

    ¡°In that case, could you answer a few of my questions before I make my choice?¡±

    Obviously, Fang Zhengzhi asked another question instead of making a choice.

    ¡°I know what you want to ask, so I can answer three of your questions. However, you have to return the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers that you have taken.¡± The woman seemed to have expected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request.

    ¡°Ok, my first question is, are you really not Yu Er, and that you have never posed as Yu Er before?¡±

    ¡°No?¡± She shook her head.

    ¡°Is Yu Er in Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why is Yu Er unwilling to meet both Ping Yang and the emperor?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Ping Yang and Lin Mubai before asking the final question.

    The two of them held their breaths when they heard him, obviously eager to hear the answer.

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s yourst question? Are you not going to ask about Yu Er¡¯s whereabouts?¡± The woman looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a surprised expression instead of answering his question directly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± He nodded.

    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t really want to answer this question, but since I¡¯ve given you my words, I shall keep my promise... Yu Er isn¡¯t unwilling to meet Ping Yang or Lin Mubai.¡± The woman hesitated before she spoke, and the golden light around her grew stronger afterward.

    ¡°Yu Er is willing to see me? Yu Er is really willing to see me... That¡¯s right, Yu Er would never hurt me. Why? Why don¡¯t you let Yu Er see me!¡±

    Lin Mubai stood up immediately despite his injuries. His eyes were glowing as the massive golden dragon swam around him.

    ¡°Father!¡± Ping Yang held her father up, but she was feelingplicated.

    She could obviously tell that her father¡¯s injuries had not recovered, but he had never looked so determined before.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ping Yang. Yu Er would never abandon you. Yu Er is not a cruel person. She must be in the tower, that¡¯s right, she is definitely in the tower!¡±

    ¡°Father, mother is...¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Why do you look so much like Yu Er? Where did you imprison Yu Er? Where is Leader Lan? Where is she?!¡± Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t keep his cool anymore.

    ¡°Master had already passed away.¡± The woman answered Lin Mubai¡¯s question for the first time.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi knitted his brows together tightly.

    If this woman wasn¡¯t lying when she said that Yu Er was not the current leader of Ling Yun Tower, then why would she care so much about Cang Yue.

    Cang Yue was obviously not one of the strongest disciples in Ling Yun Tower. Putting the other disciples aside, Hong Ying was already stronger than Cang Yue.

    However, when the woman took away the knife in Hong Ying¡¯s hands, she didn¡¯t treat her first. Instead, she tended to Cang Yue¡¯s injuries first.

    This was strange.

    Most importantly, if this woman wasn¡¯t Yu Er, and Yu Er wasn¡¯t unwilling to meet Ping Yang and Lin Mubai, then where was she?

    Was Yu Er at Ling Yun Tower?

    If she was at Ling Yun Tower, why wouldn¡¯t she meet them?

    Cang Yue had brought Ping Yang to Ling Yun Tower for half a year already. Yu Er couldn¡¯t possibly not know about this. If she knew about this, why wouldn¡¯t shee out to meet Ping Yang?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve answered your three questions and even Lin Mubai¡¯s question. You can return the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers now.¡± The woman¡¯s voice interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thought. She seemed extremely calm.

    ¡°Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t dumb. He quickly figured out the woman¡¯s motive. However, he was surprised by her answer, so he decided to ask another question, ¡°You did answer my questions, but I can¡¯t tell if you are lying or not. Since you said that Yu Er is willing to meet Ping Yang and the emperor, why isn¡¯t she here?¡±

 Chapter 792 - A Strand of Masculinity for Ling Yun Tower

    <h4>Chapter 792: A Strand of Masculinity for Ling Yun Tower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°It seems like you aren¡¯t going to surrender the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers.¡± The woman nodded gently, surprisingly unfazed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. She simply nced at Fang Zhengzhi emotionlessly as if she was just a bystander.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. After spending some time in the Holy Region, he had familiarized himself with the principles here.

    Integrity of obviously important!

    However, blindly upholding one¡¯s integrity was a stupid thing to do.

    The woman definitely wasn¡¯t tolerating him because she was the leader of Ling Yun Tower. It was because she was wary of something. However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure if she was wary of his strength or the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers.

    Before he could be certain... returning the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers was as na?ve as abandoning his weapon.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m willing to return it, but I hope that you can invite Yu Er out, so I can ask her about the truthfulness of your answers. If you aren¡¯t lying, I¡¯ll hand over the flowers willingly.¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke his mind.

    ¡°No.¡± The woman shook her head without any consideration.

    Her stand was clear. Since she had already answered three questions, she was not going to respond to any of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s questions or demands.

    ¡°Nothing bad will happen if she shows herself, unless, there are some unspeakable secrets involved?¡±

    ¡°This is Ling Yun Tower¡¯s private affair.¡±

    ¡°Then I hope you can ept me as a disciple.¡±

    ¡°You want to join Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Once I find out about the truth, I¡¯ll leave the sect. I don¡¯t really mind doing that.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Interesting. It appears that the rumors about your shamelessness are true!¡± The woman was startled to hear Fang Zhengzhi, but she quickly regained herposure.

    ¡°That¡¯s just an undeserved reputation, you don¡¯t have to praise me. It¡¯s easy for a person to be too arrogant if he receives too manypliments.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and replied with a helpless expression.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t modest at all.¡±

    ¡°You could really consider my decision. You have seen how strong I am, so I could definitely ace any of your tests. Furthermore, there are too many female disciples in Ling Yun Tower. Over time, there would be an imbnce between Yin and Yang. I could help with that by providing a strand of masculinity for Ling Yun Tower.¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued speaking as he looked at the woman, almost if he was actually going to join Ling Yun Tower.

    Imbnce between Yin and Yang?

    A strand of masculinity!

    Even though Ping Yang was feeling upset, she couldn¡¯t help butugh when she heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Pfftt!¡±

    Lin Mubai shook his head helplessly. Fang Zhengzhi was probably the only person in the Holy Region capable of saying such a thing.

    A person could be shameless. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s level of shamelessness felt unsurpassable.

    Of course, Lin Mubai was used to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness, so he wasn¡¯t too surprised.

    Furthermore, even though he was shameless, his strength was terrifying.

    He was the first of his kind.

    ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡±

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower has always epted female disciples only, and yet he wants to join Ling Yun Tower? Furthermore, how could he say that there¡¯s an imbnce between Yin and Yang at Ling Yun Tower?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person before!¡±

    Ping Yang and Lin Mubai weren¡¯t the only people who were taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suggestion. Even the disciples of Ling Yun Tower who were badly injured couldn¡¯t control their temper anymore.

    Even Cang Yue, who knew about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality, was extremely upset.

    However, after a couple seconds of speechlessness, the woman didn¡¯t get angry. Instead, she seemed to be considering about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you said. I will set the test for you. If you could pass it, I¡¯ll allow you to join Ling Yun Tower!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone was stunned, including Ping Yang and Lin Mubai. They had never expected this to happen.

    ¡°Join Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°Is this really the time for that?¡±

    ¡°Could this get more ridiculous?¡±

    These were the thoughts of Ping Yang, Lin Mubai, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, and even Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi had just experienced the most awkward moment in the world. He made a joke that the woman couldn¡¯t possibly agree to, but she actually did.

    What was he going to do now?

    Was he going to p himself and say that he didn¡¯t want to join Ling Yun Tower anymore?

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously wouldn¡¯t do that.

    After all, he was a man that ¡®honored¡¯ his words. He would never go back on his words unless he had no other choices.

    ¡°Did I screw up?¡± Fang Zhengzhi dismissed that possibility. He wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to believe that the leader of Ling Yun Tower would allow him to join the sect and then quit the sect as he wished.

    Something smelled fishy!

    There was either something wrong, or this was a trap.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t read her mind, but he knew that this was a peculiar situation. One wrong move and he would end up on a path of no return.

    Under normal circumstances, the fight between him and the leader of Ling Yun Tower should have started a long time ago.

    However, this woman had remained calm ever since her appearance. It almost felt like she was doing it deliberately.

    She answered his three questions patiently, then she was even calm enough to discuss about the entrance test after he failed to keep his promise.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what was going on, but one thing was for certain. There was something about him that the leader of Ling Yun Tower was wary of.

    What was he going to do if he couldn¡¯t figure it out?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s solution was simple. He was going to do it!

    ¡°As you wish!¡± Fang Zhenzhi had nothing to lose, so he was going to risk it all in order to obtain what he desired.

    ¡°Ok, the test is simple. Since you¡¯ve fought my disciples, you should know that Ling Yun Tower has a unique understanding of Dao. I shall consider it a pass if you could do as they did. If that happens, I¡¯ll tell you everything about Yu Er, is that alright?¡± Said the woman as she pointed at Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples. She seemed to have already known that Fang Zhengzhi would agree to her suggestion

    ¡°What if I can¡¯t do it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Then you would be given the same two options as before.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I would go back on my words?¡±

    ¡°Haha, that depends on whether you are capable of doing that.¡± The womanughed and pointed towards the sky. A golden radiance appeared on her finger, as if it was the sun. At the same moment, the top three floors of Ling Yun Tower seemed to have been activated by that radiance.

    Buzz!

    A vast and ancient aura surged out of Ling Yun Tower. A dazzling golden light descended from the sky and engulfed Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, Lin Mubai, and even all the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°You might not be aware that Ling Yun Tower is actually a top-tier treasure. Apart from being waterproof and fireproof, you should have gotten a taste of its defensive power already. By the way, it is called ¡°Ling Yun Realm¡±. You can ask him... About its ability.¡± Said the woman as she pointed at Lin Mubai casually.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm?! That¡¯s Ling Yun Realm?!¡± Lin Mubai opened his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at the golden radiance above his head.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see it at the Ten Mile Lake outside of me Capital City a dozen years ago?¡± The woman replied calmly.

    ¡°Yes... I¡¯ve seen it... I...¡± Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t continue his sentence as if he just recalled something terrifying.

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower obviously has its own hidden cards in order to survive in the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°Hidden card? How is this merely a hidden card. I¡¯ve always thought that Ling Yun Realm belonged to Leader Lan...¡± Lin Mubai smiled bitterly. However, he suddenly eximed, ¡°Impossible, this is impossible. You could kill us easily with the Ling Yun Realm, in that case, why are you wasting your time with us?¡±

    ¡°Unless... this Ling Yun Realm isn¡¯tplete?¡± Fang Zhengzhi chimed in as he looked up at the golden light.

    ¡°Haha, Fang Zhnegzhi, you¡¯re really clever!¡± The woman suddenlyughed and nced at Fang Zhengzhi again. ¡°That¡¯s right, my Ling Yun Realm isn¡¯tplete. However, it could easily trap you for a dozen days. More importantly, it is more than enough to kill Ping Yang and Lin Mubai.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned cold. He never liked to be threatened, especially if it involved his friends.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really threatening you. At the very least, you could choose to live or die.¡± The woman shook her head and continued, ¡°I am giving you a chance to discover the truth, but you have to do it my way. If you are going to give up halfway through, you will have to pay the price. That¡¯s because we are at Ling Yun Tower, and I... I am Ling Yun Tower¡¯s leader, Qian Ye. At Ling Yun Tower, I¡¯m the one who sets the rules!¡±

    Just as she said that, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s gate openedpletely. One by one, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, all wearing different colored dresses, rushed out through the gate.

    They looked like thousands of blossoming flowers!

    It was a spectacr sight, but it was also filled with cold, murderous intentions. This was because every disciple was holding a sword as chilly as their expressions.

    The golden light hovering above Ling Yun Tower seemed like a gigantic curtain covered the earth. It felt ancient and limitless.

    Almost 200 disciples were standing orderly in eight directions, each direction representing a ¡°pole¡±. The strongest disciples, those wearing red and purple dresses, stood at the front. The disciples in white were behind them, while the those in green were at the back. Their positions were differentiated clearly.

    Most importantly, this didn¡¯t seem like a normal octupole! This was because there was a gap in between the eight poles, or rather, the center of the eight formations was empty.

    That position... was exactly where the leader of Ling Yun Tower, Qian Ye, was standing at.

    ¡°Octupole Formation? No, is it the Nine Stars Formation? Well... That isn¡¯t seem like it...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was analyzing the formation as quickly as he could.

    Ping Yang was on her guard, gripping her zing Qilin Spear tightly. She seemed ready for an all-out battle at any time. Lin Mubai was also tensing up. As an emperor, he naturally had the aura of a ruler.

    However, when he stood before Qian Ye, it seemed like Qian Ye was the true ruler.

    She felt extremely powerful.

    Maybe, just as she had stated, since she was the leader of Ling Yun Tower, she was the one who set the rules here!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, the test has begun, and you have topletely synchronize with their ¡®Dao¡¯. Of course, you could counter their ¡®Dao¡¯ with your own, but that means you have failed the test. In that case, you will have to either surrender the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers andplete three tasks for Ling Yun Tower, or you¡¯ll have to die... Or Ping Yang and Lin Mubai will have to die!¡± Qian Ye looked at Fang Zhengzhi and said that calmly as she pointed towards the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! The disciples of Ling Yun Tower are at least at Rebirth State, and each of them would haveprehended more than 10 different Daos. Those in the Sage State would haveprehended more Dao. There are almost 200 disciples here, meaning that they haveprehended over 2,000 Daos in total. There are at least over 1,000 Daos even if we exclude the repeated ones. No one could possibly do that!¡± Lin Mubai chimed in before Fang Zhengzhi could say a word.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve said that he must be able to understand Dao in a unique way just like my disciples if he wants to join Ling Yun Tower. Luck... Will eventually run out!¡± Qian Ye waved her hand and fixed her gaze on Fang Zhengzhi, waiting for his reply.

 Chapter 793 - Ready to Do it?

    <h4>Chapter 793: Ready to Do it?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°You...¡± Lin Mubai wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t finish his sentence in the end.

    There was nothing but silence.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower kept quiet, but their expressions conveyed their thoughts. Just as Qian Ye had said, they were at Ling Yun Tower, the best amongst the five sects of the Holy Region. No matter how strong Fang Zhengzhi was, he had to follow their rules.

    ¡°Shameless fellow, you... You should go. We will handle this by ourselves...¡± Ping Yang figured out the circumstances. Her body was trembling as her eyes lit up. She seemed to be making a tough decision.

    However, just as she was about to continue, she met Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. She saw his determination, the type of heartfelt determination.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s determination seemed to have calmed her wavering heart, like a harbour to a boat.

    It felt tranquil, calm, and safe.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi turned around and walked towards Ping Yang. He wasn¡¯t walking too quickly, but he still ended up in front of her.

    ¡°What do you want to do... do...¡± Ping Yang started running out of breath, her chest going up and down as Fang Zhengzhi walked closer towards her.

    ¡°Do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave her a peculiar look and nced around her body, before finally settling his gaze on her chest. He then shook his head and said, ¡°They surely have grown bigger, but this doesn¡¯t seem like the right time.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like the right time? Grown... bigger?¡± Ping Yang didn¡¯t understand what he was saying. However, when she realised that Fang Zhengzhi was staring at her chest, she quickly reacted, ¡°Shameless bastard, what are you talking about? I¡¯m a princess... How could I...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Ping Yang I know. Ok, you should protect the emperor. I will handle everything!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled and turned towards Qian Ye, shielding Ping Yang and Lin Mubai with his body, and said, ¡°Fine, I shall reluctantly agree to take the test!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Did he really just say that?¡±

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower stared at each other, clearly stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. After all, he couldn¡¯t possibly pass the test.

    Ping Yang stared at the average-sized man standing before her with her eyes wide open. Somehow, she felt warm.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, this shameless guy came to protect me because he is worried about what Qian Ye has said... Despite so, his expression is too shameless.¡± Ping Yang shook her head trying to get rid of these messy thoughts. However, she waspletely unaware that she was no longer feeling sad and disappointed unlike before.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s long blue robe danced in the wind, casting a light shadow under the golden light.

    ¡°Haha, let¡¯s begin.¡± Qian Ye smiled faintly when she saw Fang Zhengzhi shielding Ping Yang and Lin Mubai with his body. She seemed to have expected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision.

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯d like to rify something beforehand!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded, nced over Cang Yue and the other disciples, before finally fixing his gaze on Qian Ye.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Qian Ye was calm as ever.

    ¡°I hope that you will honour your words and tell us everything about Yu Er if I pass the test. If you dare to break your promise...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped midsentence.

    ¡°What are you going to do if that happens?¡± Qian Ye was curious.

    ¡°Leader of Ling Yun Tower, you seemed to have forgotten about something. I have yet to join any of the five sects since I entered the Holy Region. I¡¯m just an acquaintance even to Shadow Sect. Therefore, the biggest difference between the people of the five sects and I, is that I am a free man!¡±

    ¡°A free man?¡±

    ¡°Yup, a free man that ispletely unrestricted. This means that I can do whatever I want, and no one could stop me!¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Qian Ye frowned.

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower might be an impregnable and forbidden fortress to the rest, but it¡¯s just a normal ce to me. I coulde and go whenever I want to. Of course, I could even kill anyone if I wanted to. I can kill two disciples today, three disciples tomorrow...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare to do that!¡± Qian Ye finally lost her cool, because she understood what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to say.

    ¡°You definitely know if I¡¯d dare to do that! All I am saying is, I can go back on my words without a single worry, but you... Can¡¯t do that! That¡¯s because you are the leader of Ling Yun Tower, and unless you want your sect to never see another peaceful day, you have to keep your promise!¡±

    As he said that, Traceless Sword turned into a purple and demonic sword radiance and attacked the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    No one saw thating.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack came from nowhere, so neither Qian Ye nor the disciples of Ling Yun Tower managed to react in time.

    Boom!

    A few disciples were injured and sent flying, but they were still overwhelmed with disbelief.

    No one had expected Fang Zhengzhi to attack them at this moment, rather, no one thought that he would dare to do it.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did it. He did it without any hesitation, as if he was sipping tea or picking up a rock.

    He wasposed yet unrestrained!

    ¡°Pftt!¡± The disciples threw up a mouthful of blood when they fell to the ground, badly injured by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    Everyone was mortified by what they just saw, including Cang Yue, Ping Yang, and Lin Mubai.

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are courting death!¡±

    Almost 200 swords were pointed towards Fang Zhengzhi at this moment.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower were shocked to their core, because they couldn¡¯t believe what they saw. However, they still raised their swords at the first moment.

    ¡°Courting death? Since I first stepped into Ling Yun Tower, you people have been saying that nonstop. Nevertheless, I am still alive and standing here, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi glimpsed at the furious disciples around him and replied carefreely.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°You...¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples wanted to attack Fang Zhengzhi, but in reality, they knew that he was right.

    Instead of quarrelling with the disciples, Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Qian Ye. His expression was surprisingly calm.

    He had to take a bet!

    He was betting that Qian Ye was wary of him, because that was the only way he could take control of the situation, instead of falling victim to Qian Ye¡¯s n.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I wouldn¡¯t dare to do this? What can you do about it now that I have already done it? Are you really sure that the iplete Ling Yun Realm can trap me? If it cannot trap me, are you ready to take the heat of my revenge? I didn¡¯t kill anyone this time, but I can¡¯t say that about my next move!¡± Fang Zhengzhi fixed his gaze on Qian Ye¡¯s face, his expression full of unrivalled arrogance.

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Qian Ye¡¯s expression finally turned cold.

    ¡°I¡¯m not. At least, you have the choice to either keep or break your promise.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curved into a smile.

    Qian Ye squinted her eyes and fell into a silence. She didn¡¯t say a word for a long while.

    No one knew what she was thinking.

    There was nothing but silence.

    As the leader of the mighty Ling Yun Tower, the best of the fives sects in the Holy Region, she had unexpectedly chosen to keep quiet at this moment.

    The atmosphere was tensing up.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower gripped their swords tightly. As one of the five sects in the Holy Region, they were proud and arrogant. Nevertheless, they were being threatened by a single individual at this moment, even if they weren¡¯t willing to admit it.

    However, that wouldn¡¯t change the fact that they were being threatened. Moreover, they were threatened by an 18 years old boy who had just entered the Holy Region merely a few months ago.

    After god knows how long, Qian Ye finally opened her eyes again. Her eyes were filled with a golden radiance, as if she was bathing in the holy light.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve agreed to abide by my rules, I¡¯d definitely keep my promise. I¡¯ll tell you about Yu Er once you pass the test, but if you fail the test... you¡¯d have to surrender the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers. Otherwise, only one of us will live after today!¡±

    As soon as she said that, almost a hundred golden rays fell from the sky. They tore the space apart like a hot knife through butter.

    Crack!

    A bunch of cracks appeared in the air. As the golden raysnded on the ground, an enormous image appeared gradually. It was identical to the Ling Yun Tower, consisting of nine stories of matching colours.

    A violent wind blew up Qian Ye¡¯s golden dress. She unleashed a terrifying aura that was no weaker than that of Tian Xing and Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Leader, are you so eager to die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a step forward and pointed his Traceless Sword towards her. Four dazzling beams of light burst out of his body in the next moment. They were sky-blue, jade-green, blood-red, and hellish-ck.

    The four coloured lights bloomed in the air. Combined with the purple radiance on the Traceless Sword, it was a creepy and chilling sight to behold.

    All the disciples of Ling Yun Tower were overwhelmed.

    Both Qian Ye and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s auras were too overpowering, especially Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s murderous intent, which was so frighteningly intense. It felt like he was surrounded by invisible ws.

    ¡°Interesting, this is getting more and more interesting. Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, let¡¯s begin!¡± The golden light disappeared as Qian Ye moved her finger. The wind faded, restoring the peace and tranquillity again.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and retracted the four coloured lights and his murderous intent. Everything went back to normal in an instant. The disciples around them let out a sigh of relief, as if a huge weight on their shoulders had disappeared.

    However, they didn¡¯t notice that they were sweating already.

    Only now did they understand why Qian Ye had not fought Fang Zhengzhi yet, and why Fang Zhengzhi was still alive despite breaking into Ling Yun Tower.

    Although factors like the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers were to be considered, the key reason was his strength!

    He was powerful enough that Qian Ye had to be wary of him!

    Mastering four out of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques was something that no one had ever achieved in the Holy Region for thousands of years. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was too unpredictable and mysterious.

    In that case, even the leader of Ling Yun Tower had to be wary of him. After all, no one knew if the Ling Yun Realm could really trap him!

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was at Nine Pinnacles Mountain before he came here!

    To put it bluntly, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn¡¯t have appeared at Ling Yun Tower. In other words, he should have died a long time ago, when he was brought to Nine Pinnacles Mountain after he attacked Yin Yang Hall.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    In addition, he somehow broke through to the Sage State and showed up at Ling Yun Tower, and then continued to defeat Cang Yue and destroy the Five Elements Formation using unimaginable methods.

    What happened in Nine Pinnacles Mountain? How did Fang Zhengzhi get so much stronger and entered the Sage State? Why was he at Ling Yun Tower?

    How strong was he currently? Did he have any special hidden cards left? No one knew the answer to all these questions...

 Chapter 794 - Oh No Something Big Is Going Wrong!

    <h4>Chapter 794: Oh No Something Big Is Going Wrong!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Most importantly, every disciple was guessing if Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s skyrocketed strength had something to do with the changes in the world.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was already extremely powerful two months ago. Even then, he was onlyparable to an average Sage, which wasn¡¯t enough for him to be a threat to the five sects in the Holy Region.

    However... only two months had passed, and Fang Zhengzhi had miraculously gotten so much stronger. Was that really possible?

    This was unbelievable!

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower couldn¡¯t believe that someone could get so much stronger in merely two months.

    In that case, it was normal for them to link Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength to the changes in the world.

    After all, there were beasts in Ling Yun Tower¡¯s territory that had mysteriously gotten much stronger than before.

    Since both cases involved a sudden increase in strength, could there be any connections?

    The disciples nced at each other and saw the same expression. All of them shared the same thought.

    However, now wasn¡¯t the time for them to think about these matters. Since Qian Ye had given them an order, they would have to discover the truth with their strength.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± The eightdies standing at the front finally talked as they pointed their swords at Fang Zhengzhi.

    A dazzling radiance appeared with a buzz.

    It was an intense yellow light that came from the eight disciples. The yellow light then spread towards all directions like a dust storm.

    It was a stunning sight to behold.

    At the very least, it left Ping Yang and Lin Mubai speechless.

    Fang Zhengzhi also squinted his eyes as he could clearly see the changes in the surrounding. He had expected everyone to light up at the same time, but that wasn¡¯t happening.

    Although the progress wasn¡¯t slow, he could clearly tell that the lights were appearing in a certain order, almost as if they were passed on from one disciple to another.

    Beginning from the first eightdies, the light started spreading in all directions towards the back. In just a moment, every single disciple was glowing with a yellow light.

    Following which, Fang Zhengzhi felt a tremendous pressure crashing towards him. A sandstorm had surrounded his body.

    Boom! The entire ground shook from the power of thebined Dao of almost 200 disciples. It was much more powerful than before when there were only five disciples.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually possible for so many disciples to use the same Dao simultaneously?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched, for it was impossible for him to be unastonished.

    After all, this was abnormal.

    He couldprehend Dao with a single nce, but were all these disciples capable of the same? If that was the case, the world would be a terrifying ce!

    There must be some trickery involved!

    Although Fang Zhengzhi never underestimated other people¡¯s talent, he would never believe that they had umted as much potential as he did.

    There was only a total of 36 Heaven Dao Tablets, and he had 23 tablets to himself. In that case, how could there be enough tablets for these disciples toprehend Dao? Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue to ponder this issue, because that wasn¡¯t his way of doing things. Of course, it was also because the sandstorm wasing down on him.

    ¡°Sandstorm? That¡¯s easy!¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly summoned an identical yellow light on his body with his mind and it merged with the sandstorm that was crashing towards him.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°He really did it?!¡±

    ¡°That was quick. Is it possible that he has mastered Ling Yun Tower¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Impossible, he¡¯s just lucky. He must have gotten lucky!¡±

    Although they had foreseen this oue, they were still taken aback when Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Dao merged with their Dao.

    Meanwhile, Qian Ye fixed her gaze on Fang Zhengzhi in order to discover his secrets.

    However, she eventually disappointed herself.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi had merged too quickly with the disciples of Ling Yun Tower. It felt like the sandstorm had activated the yellow light on his body.

    ¡°Move!¡± The disciples moved again, and a spot of purple light appeared within the yellow lights.

    The purple light came from a disciple at the front. It contained a spark of electricity and spread rapidly in all directions like a wildfire.

    In almost the blink of an eye, all the yellow lights had transformed into a purple light, engulfing the surrounding with lighting and thunder.

    Huge thunder clouds filled the air and sent many bolts of purplish lightning towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Is what it means when they say women¡¯s mood change at the flip of a dime? It is really fast indeed, but the pity is... I am very fast too!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled at the lightning that was about to hit him.

    Boom!

    A purplish me lit up on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. He was engulfed by the me lightning as if he was taking a bath.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were speechless. The main reason they used the Dao of me Lightning was because it was fast and powerful.

    However... It appeared that Fang Zhengzhi was equally fast and powerful!

    ¡°Why is this happening?!¡±

    ¡°This is impossible?!¡±

    ¡°Completely ineffective... it¡¯spletely ineffective...¡±

    The disciples were dumbfounded.

    Nevertheless, since the test had already begun, they had no choice but to keep going even if they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    ¡°Move!¡± They heard anothermand.

    Just like before, a turquoise light appeared amidst the countless purple lights and transformed into a raging wave.

    Despite that... It waspletely futile!

    Fang Zhengzhi proved to them with his own effort that a man could change his mood just as quickly as a woman!

    He could merge with thempletely with a single nce.

    No matter how hard they tried, they couldn¡¯t get rid of him!

    ¡°...¡±

    After a dozen different Dao, the disciples were left ck-jawed as they looked towards the man who was smiling since the beginning.

    They felt helpless for the first time.

    Did greater number equate to greater strength?

    Normally speaking, that was the reality. However, abnormality existed, just like how almost 200 disciples couldn¡¯t manage to take down a single Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Move!¡± The disciples gritted their teeth and kept changing their Dao. However, their effort was in vain. They could never imagine that the 18 years old young man standing before them hadprehended more than 2,000 Dao.

    ¡°No matter how strong my opponents are, they cannot harm me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head up slightly whilst holding Traceless Sword in one hand, keeping his other hand behind his back. His blue robe was dancing in the wind.

    For some reason, he recalled this poem from his previous life, which adequately described how he felt right now.

    He was like a small boat drifting in a storm. However, no matter how strong the wind and waves were, he would never capsize.

    ¡°This boy is really... A freak!¡± Lin Mubai was badly injured, but he was so astounded by Fang Zhengzhi that he had forgotten about his injuries.

    He was actually frightened by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s performance. Although he had really hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could pass the test, it still felt unreal when he saw that Fang Zhengzhi could do it so easily.

    It wasn¡¯t disbelief or amazement, it was just... Too humbling!?

    As an emperor thatmanded tens of thousands of troops, Lin Mubai was well versed with the ancient strategy of a ruler. One of the most important parts of the strategy was knowing how to control his subordinates.

    Apart from managing his subordinates so that they can keep each other in check, he also needed to know his men.

    In other words, he needed to be able to tell the loyal ones from the treacherous ones.

    Therefore, Lin Mubai always knew that everyone was different, either psychologically, intellectually, or in terms of talent.

    At this moment... Lin Mubai wanted to say, ¡°Is his talent for real? Does such talent really exist in this world? What the hell is the point of living!¡±

    Although Lin Mubai hardly scolded anyone, he felt like cursing currently.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be so talented? If I was so talented, I wouldn¡¯t have to wait for so long!¡±

    ¡°Father? Are you ok?¡± While Lin Mubai was drowning in his sorrow, he heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice. She had obviously noticed his weird expression.

    ¡°No... It¡¯s nothing, father is just... just a little jea... jealous...¡± As an emperor, Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t express his emotions freely. However, he still voiced out his thoughts in front of Ping Yang. This was because he simply wanted to be a good and responsible father for Ping Yang.

    ¡°Jealous?¡± Ping Yang blinked her eyes and looked at Lin Mubai, before turning towards Fang Zhengzhi. She was startled by his words.

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m jealous of this kid!¡± Lin Mubai nodded and pointed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m jealous of him as well. Although he was born in a humble family, he had lived with both his parents since he was young. His mother is really... Really good to him...¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang, trust your father. Your mother is equally great. Yu Er is the best woman in this world. She¡¯s also the best mother in this world!¡± Lin Mubai stroked Ping Yang¡¯s hair as he said that.

    ¡°Really?¡± Ping Yang raised her head and asked Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Lin Mubai nodded firmly.

    ¡°Ok, Ping Yang believes you!¡± Ping Yang teared up a little when she looked at Lin Mubai. She then diverted her attention to Fang Zhengzhi, and for some reason, she became full of hope again.

    However... While Ping Yang was full of hope, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, including Cang Yue, were all feeling hopeless.

    Truly hopeless!

    After all, they had already changed their Dao over a hundred times, but Fang Zhengzhi remained indifferent.

    Worse still, he was making all sorts ofments.

    ¡°Let the storm get stronger!¡±

    ¡°Faster! Hurry up if you could! I am sick of waiting!¡±

    ¡°Are you guys really so weak? Can you increase the difficulty? Why can¡¯t you change to some advanced Dao? Do you guys not know any advanced Dao? Tell me if you don¡¯t, even though won¡¯t change a thing!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up! Even if you can¡¯t beat me now, you still can¡¯t beat me in the future!¡±

    ¡°Although they say that the world is always changing, I think it¡¯s a pity that the fact that you people cannot defeat me will never change!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Although the disciples of Ling Yun Tower wanted to retaliate, they didn¡¯t know what to say. Of course, the most important reason was because they needed to be highly concentrated. After all, it was very difficult to use the same Dao even for them.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi waspletely unfazed, because he didn¡¯t need to be as concentrated as they were. He was taking it so easily that he eventually started singing.

    ¡°I am just a small small small small small bird. I want to fly and fly and fly but I could never make it far. I am searching high and low for a warm home, is that too much to ask for...¡±

    ¡°Come on,e on, let¡¯s get moving!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you people like to ¡®move¡¯. Let¡¯s keep moving, follow my tempo and started moving. Let us move together...¡±

    ¡°Pftt!¡± While Fang Zhengzhi was singing to his heart¡¯s content, a disciple suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood, following which, she let out a heart-rending scream as if she was stabbed by a sharp knife.

    ¡°You must be kidding me? How could I kill someone by singing?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was bewildered by what he saw, and he subconsciously looked towards that disciple who copsed onto the ground.

 Chapter 795 - It Is the Wave That Propels the Boat Not the Paddles.

    <h4>Chapter 795: It Is the Wave That Propels the Boat Not the Paddles.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly discovered the disciple in green that had copsed onto the ground. She was sweating profusely, and her dress was covered in blood. She was either severely injured or on the verge of death.

    ¡°Did my singing really kill her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. It was like he had discovered a brand-new world, and he felt pleasantly surprised and yetplicated.

    He was pleasantly surprised because he just found out that he could actually kill them with his singing. If he had known that, he would have sung aplete song and destroyed the entire Ling Yun Tower

    However, he feltplicated because... Because he couldn¡¯t understand how such a nice song managed to kill someone.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t understand why it happened. Despite so, he wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to believe that the disciple was wounded by his singing.

    However, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower seemed to know what was going on. In fact, several other disciples turned pale as well, looking like they were about to die.

    ¡°Pftt!¡± Another disciple threw up blood and copsed onto the ground.

    ¡°Another one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes, unable to believe what he saw. This was too creepy!

    ¡°Why is this happening?¡±

    ¡°Is my singing that bad?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was confident of his voice. Although his artistic talent was iparable to Yun Qingwu, he could do well as a street performer at the very least.

    He wouldn¡¯t believe that his singing was bad enough to kill someone.

    However, the reality was... People actually died!

    Moreover, two people had already died, and three more were about to follow their footsteps. This made things awkward.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°Could it be... Sound waves?!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was wondering if the sound wave had somehow injured these disciples and killed them.

    Although this was hardly a valid exnation, it wasn¡¯t entirely impossible.

    After all, he was educated in the 21st century, where anyone who knew a thing about physics had learned about sound waves.

    Facts were based on trials and results.

    The only way to test his theory out was to try again.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, the disciples standing at the front started calming the others down.

    ¡°Stay focused!¡±

    ¡°Calm your mind and your breath!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense and fall for his trap!¡±

    After their reminder, the disciples who looked so pale as if they were going to die suddenly regained theirposures.

    After that, a silvery white light appeared as someone shouted, ¡°Move!¡± again.

    Buzz!

    The spot of silvery white light started spreading into the crowd, covering the entire area in mere moments.

    ¡°Yo? Are you guys moving again? Let¡¯s follow my tempo and move together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi blurted that out without thinking.

    Although he wasn¡¯t sure if sound wave had actually killed the two disciples, he was certain that hisments and singing were definitely part of the cause.

    In that case... He was going to keep singing!

    ¡°Shake it off, shake it off, let us shake it off! La... Where is the tempo? Look at my hands and shake it off...¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t forget to shake his hip and butt while he was singing.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t forget about the coreponent of the test. A silvery-white light appeared on his body while he was shaking.

    However, the silvery white light seemed to be shaking. It looked like a dancing little white snake.

    ¡°Pftt!¡± A disciple in green spewed blood and copsed onto the ground like the other two before her.

    The only difference was that she wasn¡¯t covered in blood unlike the previous disciples. She was covered by a silvery white frost and her face was extremely pale.

    ¡°I thought so!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t bothered by how she died. He was having a good time singing and dancing.

    He even decided to innovate.

    The pain and suffering of many ancestors and pioneers had taught us that those who refused to change will eventually be destroyed by a new era.

    Therefore, it was important for every aspiring youth to innovate and put forth new ideas. They also had to put their ideas into practice.

    Fang Zhengzhi was definitely such a young man, so he decided to make his songs more rhythmic and intense.

    He chose a legendary song from his previous life, which was said to be legendary because of its lyrics and the ridiculous facial expressions involved in singing it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was quite talented in this area. Although he couldn¡¯t replicate it perfectly, he wasn¡¯t too far off.

    The singingmenced!

    ¡°Ayo....Aiyoeh, wub wub wub wub, dub dub dub dub, lubba lubba lubba...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like the center of attention the moment he started singing, even though he had been in the limelight since the beginning.

    However, the key difference this time was that half of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples¡¯ faces changed before he could even finish half of his song.

    A whopping 50% of them!

    Fang Zhengzhi expected this song to be extremely lethal, but the results still exceeded his expectations.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be distracted by his song! Calm down!¡±

    ¡°Calm down now!¡±

    ¡°Try your best to keep his voice out of your mind, try...¡±

    ¡°Pftt!¡±

    While the disciples standing in the front were yelling at those behind them, they were interrupted by the sound of someone spurting blood.

    Afterward, more and more disciples started vomiting blood too.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t stop singing. In fact, his voice was overpowering the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Pftt!¡±

    ¡°Pftt!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    One by one, the disciples in green copsed. They were all pale as a sheet and covered by a thickyer of frost. Every one of them was severely injured.

    ¡°What the hell... Is this guy made of?¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s eyeballs almost popped out of his eye sockets when he saw the disciples in green dropping to the ground.

    He had never been so shocked before, that he was starting to question whether the world had changed.

    Why was he unharmed?

    Lin Mubai knew about melodic attacks, but those were supposed to injure an entire group of people rather than being a targeted attack. The aggressor had no control over the melodic attack¡¯s targets.

    To put it bluntly... If Fang Zhengzhi was attacking them with music, Lin Mubai and Ping Yang shouldn¡¯t have been spared from it. However, he waspletely unscathed.

    If it wasn¡¯t a melodic attack, why did the disciples copse? Could this get any creepier?

    Most importantly, what was that song?!

    As the emperor of Great Xia Dynasty, Lin Mubai thought that he had already heard every single tune in the world. However, he felt like his understanding of the world waspletely revolutionized when he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s song. In fact, he was even questioning the validity of his title of an emperor.

    ¡°Father, could there be someone more shameless than this guy?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face also turned bright red as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was singing to his heart¡¯s content.

    ¡°Definitely not!¡±

    ¡°Are you so sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Your father might not be sure about anything else, but... I¡¯m definitely sure about that!¡± Lin Mubai nodded and said that confidently.

    ...

    The stalemate finally ended after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lethal singing. Furthermore, his singing kepting nonstop just like ocean waves.

    Qian Ye¡¯s face was extremely ck.

    In fact, since she took over as the leader of Ling Yun Tower, her face hadn¡¯t been so ck before.

    Surprisingly, she didn¡¯t stop the test, which was obviously going bad for Ling Yun Tower. She just gritted her teeth and went on with it.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was already having a good time fooling around with the test.

    Since he had managed to kill over 20 disciples with a single song, he was wondering what would happen if he immediately followed up with another song.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to find out, and so he did.

    ¡°I¡¯m the monkey king... I¡¯m the monkey king... I live in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. I found the Golden... Golden Cudgel... And I love it, I love it, I love it...¡±

    The song had to be apanied by numerous expressions and body movements, and Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t shy to perform. Hepletely engrossed himself in this epic visual and aural performance.

    However, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower obviously couldn¡¯t appreciate art very well. Even though Fang Zhengzhi did his best, they still failed toprehend the essence of the performance.

    Therefore... The results were obvious.

    A whole bunch of disciples in green started dropping to the ground with their eyes wide open and their faces pale.

    They were extremely unwilling to ept this oue, or rather, they were embarrassed of themselves.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t aware of their feelings. In fact, when he had just arrived at Ling Yun Tower, he actually felt that the disciples of Ling Yun Tower were mentally tough.

    In that case, why were they susceptible to his singing?

    Was sound wave really the cause?

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that it was possible. However, for some reason, he felt that this exnation was just a tiny bit away from the truth.

    This was because he finally realized, after more and more disciples had copsed, that each group of disciples sustained different injuries.

    Some of them were covered in blood as if they were stabbed, while some were frozen.

    Apart from that... some were struck by lightning, burned, or knocked out. There were all sorts of injuries, and it seemed to be changing every once in a while.

    If soundwave was truly the culprit, why did they sustain different injuries?

    Fang Zhengzhi was still puzzled, so he nced at the disciples while he continued singing.

    Then, he noticed something.

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi realized what was going on almost instantaneously. This was because the injuries that the disciples sustained as they copsed were rted to the ¡°Dao¡± they were using.

    To put it simply, the disciples didn¡¯t seem to be injured by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s singing. It felt like they were injured by their own Dao.

    ¡°They are killing themselves?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t convinced that that was possible. However, the disciples¡¯ injuries were actually rted to their Dao.

    When it was a fire Dao technique, the disciples that had fallen were burned. When the Dao technique was either water or ice, the disciples were either drenched or frozen.

    That was weird.

    Did they really injure themselves? That shouldn¡¯t be possible, because the probability of that happening was too small.

    That could have happened to one of them, but it wouldn¡¯t make sense if it happened to so many disciples.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that there was an unanswered question, and its answer could exin how the disciples of Ling Yun Tower were able to use the same Dao techniques.

    However, what was the question?

    If soundwave wasn¡¯t the true cause, why did his singing injure these disciples? What was the real reason that they had copsed?

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my singing!¡±

    Realization dawned on Fang Zhengzhi. He remembered that the expressions of the disciples changed even before he started singing. It happened while he was spouting nonsense to them.

    However, his nonsense didn¡¯t seem to be as effective as his singing, which was why he disregarded its effectiveness.

 Chapter 796 - The Counterattack and Ling Yun Towerâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 796: The Counterattack and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s Secret</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    When Fang Zhengzhi connected that to the fact that the disciples of Ling Yun Tower repeatedly shouted at each other to keep calm and stay undistracted, he finally understood what was happening.

    It was distraction!

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower seemed to be distracted when he was spouting nonsense and singing. The distraction was the cause to their injuries.

    ¡°That¡¯s wrong! They didn¡¯t injure themselves... They were injured by their fellow disciples!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up when he realized that. He seemed to have finally understood what was going on as he looked over at the disciples on the ground again.

    They managed to synchronize their Dao techniques by employing a strange but special mechanism so as to increase theirbat strength exponentially.

    However, in order to achieve that, they had to be extremely calm and needed to fulfill a certain condition.

    In other words, if the disciples of Ling Yun Tower could not sessfully fuse their power with their fellow disciples, they would be treated as a ¡®foreign body¡¯. Therefore, they would be injured by their fellow disciples¡¯ Dao Techniques.

    That would exin how Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nonsense and his singing had managed to injure those disciples with their own Dao techniques.

    ¡°I see!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile subconsciously, because this reminded him of a ssic physics experiment in his previous life.

    It was a very simple experiment: Set up a few hundred pendulum clocks in the same area and mess with their pendulums so that they are swinging randomly andpletely out of sync.

    However, after a period of time, something magical would happen. The pendulums that were swinging randomly would slowly synchronize themselves and oscite at the same frequency.

    The theoretical exnation for this phenomenon, was that each pendulum would emit a special ¡®sound pulse¡¯ that would affect the surrounding pendulums.

    By putting this into concept, each disciple could be treated as a pendulum clock. When a disciple used her Dao technique, it acted as a sound pulse which would turn the other disciples into pendulum clocks as well.

    Following which, each disciple would use a special technique tobine her Origin Energy with that of the first disciple, or in other words, be a part of it. After that, it would appear as if all the disciples were using the same Dao technique. This was impressive!

    Fang Zhengzhi truly didn¡¯t expect someone in this world to understand such a concept, and even applying it to the usage of Dao techniques.

    It seemed like scientific knowledge was important regardless of the world one was in. Listening and learning about science was the only way to be a true master.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed emotionally, and he couldn¡¯t help but remember a ssic phrase that he came across frequently in his previous life.

    ¡°Study hard and do it hard!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°Why is it ¡®do it hard¡¯?¡±

    Whatever, Fang Zhengzhi never cared about details anyway. At this moment, the thing that he wanted to do most... That was wrong.

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and discarded all distractions. After all, he had already discovered the true cause behind this.

    In that case, the next step was easy.

    He had secured victory as he understood both himself and his opponent.

    Fang Zhengzhi already knew how the disciples of Ling Yun Tower were able to use the same Dao Technique. He was ready to take it to the experimental phase.

    As an aspiring youth, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motto had always been: If the enemy doesn¡¯t move, neither will I. If the enemy moves, I will... Move randomly!

    At the moment, he had a strong urge to move randomly, and he did!

    ¡°Move!¡±

    ¡°Move!¡±

    When a Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciple shouted ¡®Move¡¯, Fang Zhengzhi did the same almost simultaneously.

    More importantly, when Fang Zhengzhi shouted that, a dazzling jade-green radiance appeared on his body as the same time.

    Of course, the disciple that shouted ¡®Move¡¯ was also glowing. However, it was a deep-blue light unlike that on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    The two lights almost appeared at the same time, following which, something strange happened.

    The deep-blue light started spreading in all directions, with that disciple at the center of it. This was nothing abnormal.

    However, what was abnormal was that, a jade-green light was spreading around Fang Zhengzhi as well. Although it didn¡¯t cover much area, it contrasted sharply with the deep-blue light. The two lights soon collided against each other with a loud ¡°Boom!¡±.

    The deep-blue light which was absolutely overpowering obviously suppressed the jade-green light. That naturally injured the disciples glowing with the jade-green light severely.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Pftt!¡±

    There were disciple screaming from surprise and disbelief, together with the sound of blood spurting.

    The oue was clearly visible.

    Over 20 disciples trembled as blood flowed out through the corner of their mouths.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi remained unaffected.

    This was because he adaptively converted the jade-green light on his body to the deep-blue light that wasing for him.

    It was a deep, deep blue...

    Everything took ce very quickly and suddenly, but the effectiveness was outstanding. At the very least, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, including Cang Yue, were struck dumb.

    ¡°How is... How is this possible?!¡± Cang Yue was overwhelmed with disbelief and she looked towards the disciples on the ground. She had never lost her cool like this before.

    Ping Yang and Lin Mubai were equally shocked. Even Qian Ye¡¯s expression changedpletely when she witnessed this.

    Everyone already stunned when Fang Zhengzhi taunted Ling Yun Tower and started singing ridiculous songs, but now... Only after they witnessed the collision between the two lights, did they realize that there was something more unbelievable than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lethal singing. Furthermore, it took ce right before their eyes.

    ¡°How did he do that?¡± This question appeared in everyone¡¯s mind, including Ping Yang, Lin Mubai, Cang Yue, and all of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    They thought Fang Zhengzhi got lucky when he came up with the singing strategy to distract them. They believed that it was a coincident.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi said ¡°Move¡± and sessfully led over 20 disciples to use the same Dao technique as him, no one dared to say that he was just being lucky anymore.

    ¡°Prodigy!¡±

    ¡°This guy is truly a prodigy!¡±

    ¡°This is impossible! How did he do that!¡±

    The disciples¡¯ astonishment turned into fear. They feared Fang Zhengzhi from the bottom of their hearts.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was oblivious to their emotions. After the sess of his first experiment, he wanted to up his game again.

    He wanted to turn his passiveness into aggressiveness.

    He was a man after all, so he didn¡¯t want to remain passive when hundreds of women were forcing themselves onto him.

    He needed to turn over and be the aggressor instead, because he was an aspiring youth with dreams and responsibilities.

    Therefore, he moved again, only this time it wasn¡¯t just verbal. He literally charged towards the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°What is he trying to do?!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯sing towards us!¡±

    ¡°Stop him, stop him now!¡±

    ¡°Move!¡±

    ¡°Move!¡±

    While the disciples were astonished and agitated, they heard two simultaneous ¡°Move¡± again. Following which, the same thing happened.

    Two rays of lights appeared and collided against each other nonstop.

    As the initiator, Fang Zhengzhi adaptively changed his Dao technique at the moment of collision again and escape unscathed.

    However, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples couldn¡¯t change their Dao techniques so rapidly, so a dozen of them ended up badly wounded.

    Fang Zhengzhi was smiling so brightly.

    No one said that he could only defend himself against their attacks. Hence, he decided to move around like a flickering light.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s keep moving!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you guys move even faster, regardless of what you do, there aren¡¯t many new tricks left!¡±

    ¡°This is too slow, why don¡¯t you follow my tempo instead!¡±

    ¡°Unity is strength, it would always be easier to break a single pair of chopsticks than breaking 10 pairs of chopsticks. However, if I¡¯m using a knife, 10 pairs of chopsticks wouldn¡¯t work either.¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t fight it, just rx and enjoy it. The oue would be the same anyway.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    While Fang Zhengzhi was busying moving around, he didn¡¯t forget to keep spouting nonsense. He was having so much fun dancing and jumping around Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang and Lin Mubai werepletely stunned.

    ¡°He...¡± Lin Mubai wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t finish his sentence because he couldn¡¯t think of something appropriate. This was meant to be a test that couldn¡¯t be passed even if Fang Zhengzhi was much stronger than these disciples, but it unbelievably ended up like this. ¡°Incredible¡± wouldn¡¯t be enough to describe what had happened.

    However, a sudden change urred again.

    No one knew if it was because Fang Zhengzhi got too lucky, or if he was simply jumping around too much.

    After bouncing around randomly, a miraculous scene took ce. The entire Ling Yun Tower¡¯s formation went haywire.

    As a result... Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Dao technique managed to overpower all the other disciples¡¯ Dao techniques. In fact, over 80% of the disciples were using the same Dao technique as him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also surprised to see this, and he subconsciously nced at Qian Ye.

    ¡°Is she still treating this like a show? Is this... Really so entertaining?¡± Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand why Qian Ye would rather watch her disciples copse than to admit defeat.

    The oue of this test was already so obvious, but Qian Ye hadn¡¯t said a word yet.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t figure out what she was thinking.

    However, he was certain that he couldn¡¯t let Qian Ye watch this ¡®show¡¯ without paying a price. At the very least, she had to purchase a ticket or something.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s move together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and punched towards Qian Ye.

    The red light that shrouded Ling Yun Tower moved in the blink of an eye and crashed towards Qian Ye with an unimaginable speed.

    ¡°What?! Leader, watch out!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s expression changed. She couldn¡¯t react to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden attack in time.

    Qian Ye was also caught off guard. After all, even she herself didn¡¯t expect to see this happening. She could never imagine that Fang Zhengzhi was able to ¡®control¡¯ Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°How did he manage to control Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples?¡±

    Ping Yang and Lin Mubai were equally taken aback. This was too strange and illogical after all.

    No one could figure out what was happening.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t surprised by the result of his action, because he was well aware that the ¡®pendulum clock¡¯ that was leading the others, was the core of the formation. Putting it bluntly, all the other ¡®pendulum clocks¡¯ were just following the motion of the core. Although they could control their attacks ordingly, they could never go against themand of the core ¡®pendulum clock¡¯.

    That was the difference between the leader and the followers!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Qian Ye finally said something, and she was visibly angry unlike before.

    Truth be told, no one else could remain calm if he or she was put in the same situation. As the leader of Ling Yun Tower, she was attacked by her own disciples. Furthermore, they were under themand of an outsider!

    This would definitely be humiliating if it got out. However, what was more humiliating was that she had to follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movement.

    The faint golden light in her eyes was reced by a red light, one that was identical to that on Fang Zhengzhi and all the Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples¡¯ bodies.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi had said, Qian Ye did something that she herself couldn¡¯t believe. She was moving together with him.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Silence ensued. Everybody, including the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, Cang Yue, Ping Yang, and Lin Mubai, went dead silent.

 Chapter 797 - The Truth Surfaces

    <h4>Chapter 797: The Truth Surfaces</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Qian Ye¡¯s status was unquestionable.

    As the leader of Ling Yun Tower and one of the strongest people in the Holy Region, why did she choose to move together with Fang Zhengzhi like the rest of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples?

    No one could believe what they were seeing, just like how they couldn¡¯t believe a three-legged toad could only jump as high as a two-legged toad.

    After all, it was an undisputed fact that the former had one extra leg than thetter.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know if Qian Ye was a three-legged toad, but since she chose to ¡®jump¡¯... No, since she chose to ¡®move¡¯, Fang Zhengzhi felt responsible to remind that her that as a three-legged... As the leader of Ling Yun Tower, she needed to be more reserved.

    As a result, the eerie silence was eventually broken by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s unrestrainedughter.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Hisughter echoed in the air, piercing the hearts of the disciples of Ling Yun Tower, including Cang Yue, like a bunch of razor-sharp needles.

    He didn¡¯t care, because he didn¡¯t need to. Truth be told, if he wasn¡¯t as powerful, he would have been killed more than a thousand times for what he had done.

    In that case, let¡¯s keep going.

    Since Qian Ye was already moving like the rest of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples, Fang Zhengzhi was going to treat her equally.

    ¡°Seems like the leader is interested in joining us as well!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you make some noise too?¡±

    ¡°Your disciples are already on the verge of copsing. If you don¡¯t start ¡®moving¡¯, all of them would be goners. Do you really want all of them to die?¡±

    ¡°Oh, let me guess what you are thinking... Are you trying to use their lives to test the number of Dao techniques that I have acquired?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, because you could simply ask me if you wanted to know. You can ask me as loudly as possible, because I won¡¯t tell you anyway!¡±

    ¡°There is definitely another way of doing this. You can choose to beg for it sincerely if you are bold enough to do that. Nevertheless, I wouldn¡¯t tell you the answer. However, since you would have already tried and enjoyed the process of begging me, the result doesn¡¯t matter anymore, does it?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± A cold voice interrupted and stopped Fang Zhengzhi from babbling. The red light in front of Ling Yun Tower also disappeared at the same time.

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°We weren¡¯t good enough!¡±

    ¡°Please punish us!¡±

    All the disciples knelt down almost instantaneously. Their faces were almost touching the ground, but no one dared to raise her head.

    This wasn¡¯t a spectacr scene, because almost half of the disciples had already copsed. It looked messy and uneven rather than being a uniform formation.

    Qian Ye nced at the disciples kneeling on the ground in a messy manner, and her chest was going up and down slightly. Instead of scolding them right away, she stood quietly on the spot, but her expression was cold as ice.

    This wasn¡¯t a long fight.

    However, since the test began, more than two hours had already passed, so it was already approaching noon.

    The warm mind blew past her golden dress as the golden light shone on her body. She looked like a saint.

    The only pity was the fact that she didn¡¯t look too pleased. In fact, her face was extremely ck. Even though her face was supposed to be as white as snow, it looked like an inkstone at the moment.

    As the leader of Ling Yun Tower, she had never felt so humiliated before!

    Even though Qian Ye lived by the principle of endurance and constantly told herself to stay calm, that she must stay calm, she was almost losing it.

    She clenched her fists tightly, making a cracking sound as she crushed the air in her palms. The golden light screen on top of her head also started flowing and gathering like they were streams of water, eventually forming giant and vortex-like light spots.

    Nine gigantic and revolving light spots appeared above her head almost instantly, looking like stars in the sky.

    Nine stars were aligned in a single line!

    ¡°Leader, are you going to break your promise?¡± Said Fang Zhengzhi as he looked towards the nine rotating ¡®golden stars¡¯ in the air.

    ¡°So what if I am?¡± Qian Ye replied coldly, and the nine golden starts started shining more brightly than before.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯m right that the leader of Ling Yun Tower doesn¡¯t care about the lives of her disciples at all, apart from being a dishonest bastard.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said that with a smile,pletely unfazed by Qian Ye¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Hmph, are you trying to provoke me?¡± The golden light in Qian Ye¡¯s eyes looked like it was going to flow out.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really provoking you. I¡¯m just guessing... Why would you rather sacrifice so many disciples than tell me the truth instead? Is there a huge hidden secret involved? Let me take a guess, did Yu Er find out about the unspeakable things that you had done?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and said.

    ¡°I won¡¯t answer these questions.¡± Qian Ye knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do, so she dodged the questions easily.

    ¡°It seems like she really has something on you. I wonder what does she have on you? Oh... I know it, did youmit adultery?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°Watch your mouth!¡±

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t be so mad. I¡¯m just guessing. Seeing how heartless and cruel you are, I doubt any man would fall for you anyway, so you will eventually end up as an old... Lesbian?¡±

    ¡°Die!¡± Qian Ye moved.

    ¡°Wait a minute! Fine, I admit that I guessed wrong. I¡¯ll take it seriously from now on. Since the emperor had seen Leader Lan wielding the Ling Yun Realm about a dozen years ago, it means that you have not taken over as the leader for a long time yet, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a step back and put on a sincere and apologetic expression.

    ¡°...¡±

    Qian Ye didn¡¯t say a word, but the nine golden stars above her head grew increasingly brighter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your silence as consent. Then let me guess again... Ping Yang is 16 years old currently. This means that Yu Er had left Great Xia dynasty more than 16 years ago. The timing of her departure seems to match the timing of the war that took ce over 10 years ago. I wonder if this is a coincidence?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qian Ye remained silent. Her expression became more chilling, but it contained a hint of surprise as well.

    ¡°Are you not going to deny it? Then I shall keep guessing. If I¡¯m right, Leader Lan stepped down after the war, in other words, Yu Er was beside Leader Lan when she stepped down. Yup... You were there too!¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Qian Ye finally replied, she ced her hand behind her back casually at the same time.

    Apart from Cang Yue, no one noticed that Qian was holding a ball of light, which appeared to be a scroll painting, behind her back.

    ¡°If I¡¯m right, Yu Er isn¡¯t even in the Ling Yun Tower right now! Rather, she isn¡¯t in the Ling Yun Tower that is standing before us!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone suddenly changed, and he unleashed his intense murderous intent.

    ¡°What?!¡± Cang Yue replied subconsciously, but she quickly shut her mouth afterward. However, she seemed to be unexinably frightened.

    Qian Ye¡¯s expression also changed as soon as she heard Fang Zhengzhi, and she seemed extremely surprised for a split second.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what are you talking about? How do you know that Yu Er isn¡¯t in the Ling Yun Tower?¡± Lin Mubai chimed in. He couldn¡¯t believe what he heard either.

    ¡°She isn¡¯t in the tower?¡± Ping Yang nced at Fang Zhengzhi, then at Qian Ye and Cang Yue. She seemed stunned as well.

    Ping Yang and Lin Mubai weren¡¯t the only ones that reacted to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. The disciples kneeling on the ground trembled as well. Although none of them raised their heads, it was obvious that something was wrong.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile again. He glimpsed at Cang Yue and said, ¡°It seems like I hit the bullseye. Am I right, Cang Yue?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Fang Zhengzhi, you have nothing to do with my master¡¯s business. What happens between master and Ping Yang is none of your concern!¡± Cang Yue nced at Qian Ye before she took a step forward and shouted at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°It is none of my concern indeed. However, don¡¯t you have something to do with it? As Yu Er¡¯s servant, you should have sworn on your life to remain loyal to your master forever. Why did you betray your master after Qian Ye became the leader, and even worked with her to sabotage Yu Er?!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯d never sabotage my master. You... you are entrapping me?!¡± Cang Yue finally realized what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    ¡°Really? Do you think that we can believe what you have just said? If you didn¡¯t sabotage Yu Er and help Qian Ye be the leader, why could Qian Ye give you such an important position?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued. He didn¡¯t care if Cang Yue realized what he was doing.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t sabotage my master, I¡¯d never do that, even if it costs my life!¡± Cang Yue¡¯s expression changed, and she couldn¡¯t stop herself from replying.

    ¡°Why would Qian Ye trust you then? Yu Er was obviously contesting against her to be the leader of Ling Yun Tower, and she even lost to her. Why would anyone employ the servant of her enemy?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, I¡¯ve never felt that Qian Ye, no... I mean I¡¯ve never felt that the leader trusted me...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Qian Ye stopped Cang Yue before she could continue speaking.

    The dazzling golden radiance fell from the sky at the same time and engulfed Qian Ye.

    ¡°Leader, I...¡± Cang Yue¡¯s expression changed dramatically. She then turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and eximed, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how... How dare you deceive me...¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t deceive you. However, what you¡¯ve just said was equivalent to admitting that Yu Er and Qian Ye hadpeted against each other over the position of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s leader. In that case, it¡¯s easy to guess what happened next. After Yu Er failed to take over as the leader, there are normally two possible oues. She either leaves Ling Yun Tower or bes an elder. However, Ling Yun Tower seems different from other sects, because I don¡¯t think that there are any elders in Ling Yun Tower.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi glimpsed at Cang Yue before he turned towards the nine streams of golden rays falling from the sky. There were four lights of different colors glowing in his eyes as well.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Qian Ye finally moved towards him.

    ¡°Let me keep guessing. Since there are no elders in Ling Yun Tower, Yu Er would have left Ling Yun Tower... However, if she left Ling Yun Tower, Cang Yue wouldn¡¯t possibly be here. This is contradicting. In other words, the conclusion is that you have imprisoned Yu Er!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said that calmly while keeping his eyes on Qian Ye.

    ¡°You...¡± Cang Yue seemed to be extremely shocked. Apart from that, there was an unconceble hint of pain in her expression.

    ¡°However, it shouldn¡¯t be as simple as that. If Yu Er was imprisoned in a normal cell, those disciples who supported her would have tried to rescue her. Most importantly, Cang Yue wouldn¡¯t be working for you in that case. Am I right, leader?¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he raised his Traceless Sword and pointed its tip at Cang Yue¡¯s throat.

 Chapter 798 - The War Between Humans and Demons and Monsters.

    <h4>Chapter 798: The War Between Humans and Demons and Monsters.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you really think that anyone would believe you?¡± Qian Ye¡¯s gaze was as chilly and sharp as a razor de.

    Meanwhile, Cang Yue looked like she was confused. She was stunned, but more importantly, she seemed lost.

    The disciples around them chose to remain silent. No one said a word or looked at Fang Zhengzhi again as if that was a taboo.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t true that no one believes me, it¡¯s because no one dares to believe me. However...¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a break, because at this point in time, some of his questions had already been answered.

    The only question that he had yet to figure out was the war mentioned by both Lin Mubai and Qian Ye, which took ce over a decade ago.

    He guessed that everything had started from that war, but the strange thing was, the war wasn¡¯t recorded in Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s history.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that this was peculiar.

    After all, ording to Qian Ye, Lin Mubai took part in that war as well. Even Ling Yun Tower seemed to have been involved. In that case, it must have been a devastating war.

    If that was the case, why wasn¡¯t it recorded?

    Although Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t witness the war, and neither did he know anything about it, he had a feeling that it was definitely extraordinary.

    Wait!

    A devasting war that took ce in me Capital City a dozen years ago?!

    me Capital City... A dozen years ago?

    Was this the war that took ce at Ten Mile Lake?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. The bloody war that took ce at Ten Mile Lake a dozen years ago was the most famous war in Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s recent history. ording to historical records, that was a war between Great Xia Dynasty and the Demon race, and it almost wiped out Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, ording to the records, it was the Western Liang¡¯s Yan Cloud Cavalry that saved Great Xia Dynasty. Yan Qianli and his brothers led tens of thousands of Yan Cloud Cavalry¡¯s soldiers to me Capital City and managed to fend off hundreds of thousands of Demon soldiers until they received help from other regions, which ensured the sessful survival of Great Xia Dynasty.

    Was this a coincidence?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t think so. Such a significant war couldn¡¯t possibly be covered up, so the only possibility was that part of the true story was concealed.

    ¡°However?¡± As Qian Ye said that, she ced her other hand behind her back secretly.

    ¡°Your majesty, was Yu Er the cause of the war that took ce a dozen years ago?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Lin Mubai.

    ¡°How... How do you know that?¡± Lin Mubai trembled with disbelief.

    ¡°Am I right to say that this was the same war that took ce at Ten Mile Lake a dozen years ago?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with another question.

    ¡°Yes...¡± Lin Mubai paused briefly, before he continued with a miserable expression, ¡°You¡¯re right. The war at Ten Mile Lake was much moreplicated than what was recorded. However, as the emperor, I couldn¡¯t reveal everything to the dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°This was kept a secret in all the four Great Dynasties as well as the Holy Region. However, you are definitely qualified to know about it now!¡± Lin Mubai nodded and gazed towards the sky, falling deep into his thoughts. After a moment, he continued, ¡°To be honest, it was my ipetence which led to the war!¡±

    ¡°Father, why are you doubting your capabilities?¡± Ping Yang could sense that Lin Mubai seemed to have turned older all of a sudden.

    ¡°Cough... Ping Yang, let me finish the story first. It was my ipetence that turned Great Xia Dynasty into a battlefield! I was even selfish enough to forget the ancestors¡¯ instructions, and I... I took out the Heaven Dao Tablets.¡±

    ¡°Heaven Dao Tablets?¡± Ping Yang was startled to hear that. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Tablet?¡±

    ¡°The war that took ce over a dozen years ago was rted to Heaven Dao Tablets?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Heaven Dao Tablets!¡± Lin Mubai nodded. He looked towards Qian Ye in a daze and continued, ¡°She really... Really looks like her... When I first met Yu Er, she was also wearing a golden dress, and she looked so elegant and pure. I decided to marry her the moment I saw her!¡±

    Lin Mubai seemed to be recalling those memories, so he took a break before continuing, ¡°However, I only realized that she didn¡¯t just look elegant after I tried my best to know her. She was the living embodiment of elegance, because she was a Sage, a mighty and untouchable Sage. Furthermore, she was Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciple, so I must treat her with respect. I couldn¡¯t possibly force her to do anything...¡±

    ¡°However, I was madly in love with her. I didn¡¯t give up even though she was a Sage, and a disciple of Ling Yun Tower!¡±

    ¡°The truth eventually proved that I made the right choice. Yu Er epted my feelings and I got to marry her just as I wished. However, she had one condition. She would only spend two years by my side in Great Xia Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°She would leave after that!¡±

    ¡°However, for the sake of marrying her, I had no choice but to agree to her condition!¡±

    ¡°Those two years were the happiest time of my life. Not only was Yu Er by my side, but Great Xia Dynasty also became extremely prosperous thanks to her assistance.¡±

    ¡°However, two years ended in a sh...¡±

    ¡°Two years!! I am the ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, but I could only enjoy Yu Er¡¯spany for two years? I wasn¡¯t willing to let her go, because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.¡±

    ¡°I disobeyed the previous emperor¡¯sst words and took out the Heaven Dao Tablets passed down from all the previous emperors, and I ced all of them in front of Yu Er.¡±

    ¡°That was because I knew that no one could resist the temptation of Heaven Dao Tablets, even a mighty Sage. Yu Er would definitely stay by my side so that she could study the Heaven Dao Tablets.¡±

    ¡°I was right about that, for I could still vividly remember how excited Yu Er was when she saw the Heaven Dao Tablets. At that moment, I knew that she would stay behind!¡±

    ¡°However, I didn¡¯t expect...¡±

    ¡°Yu Er stayed, but the news about the Heaven Dao Tablets somehow got out, and it even brought Great Xia Dynasty to the brink of destruction.¡±

    ¡°Many masters came to me Capital City, either with the intent to threaten me, or to exchange the Heaven Dao Tablets with something else.¡±

    ¡°However, how could I give away the Heaven Dao Tablets that were handed down by my ancestors?¡± I could only turn all of them down, and that resulted in Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s istion. I lost all my allies!¡±

    ¡°The three other Great Dynasties joined forces and attacked Great Xia Dynasty. I... I couldn¡¯t fight against all of them at the same time. I was weak and useless...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°So, you turned to Yu Er for help?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally gained a better understanding of the war.

    ¡°Yes... I could only ask Yu Er for help, and she didn¡¯t abandon me. She stepped in and stopped the three Great Dynasties¡¯ invasion by killing three generals and 12manders in a single night. Only then did I realize... That Yu Er was so powerful!¡± Lin Mubai nodded.

    ¡°Well, Heavenly Oasis Saint told me before that the masters from the Holy Region are not allowed to interfere with the wars between the four dynasties. That is forbidden!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, it is forbidden. The five sects of the Holy Region have explicitly stated that all disciples of the five sects are not allowed to take part in the war between the four dynasties. Therefore... Yu Er broke the rules! However, I thought that the consequence was nothing but a slight punishment. If I could get the entire dynasty to ask for Ling Yun Tower¡¯s forgiveness, Yu Er could be spared. However, what I didn¡¯t know, was that this rule was rted to humans, demons, and monsters!¡±

    ¡°Rted to humans, demons, and monsters?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was astonished to hear that. He didn¡¯t expect this to involve all the three races.

    ¡°The Holy Region represented mankind, while the demons and monsters were allies back then. When Yu Er broke the rule, I thought the first party toe after her would be Ling Yun Tower. However, I didn¡¯t expect that the demons and monsters to show up first!¡± Lin Mubai sounded sad.

    Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and continued, ¡°The demons and monsters offered to spare Yu Er in exchange for all the Heaven Dao Tablets!¡±

    ¡°Did you turn them down?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could almost imagine what had happened back then. He also realized what the demons and monsters were truly after.

    ¡°No, I agreed to the offer. I was the one who started it all, and I was willing to do anything for Yu Er. However, Yu Er didn¡¯t agree with that!¡± Lin Mubai shook his head and continued, ¡°What happened afterward waspletely out of my control. The demon¡¯s and monster¡¯s armies came all the way to me Capital City!¡±

    ¡°Was that when Western Liang¡¯s Yan Cloud Cavalry arrived?¡± Fang Zhengzhi made a guess.

    ¡°Yes, the demon¡¯s and monster¡¯s armies included Sages. My troops werepletely defenseless against them, and the armies around the dynasty didn¡¯t dare toe to our aid. Western Liang¡¯s Yan family were the only ones who came to our rescue, with tens of thousands of their soldiers...¡± Lin Mubai nodded again.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept quiet. He finally understood why Lin Mubai had so much respect for Yan Qianli, and why he trusted the Yan family so much.

    Although Yan Cloud Cavalry was a normal army, it dared to go against Sages and the enormous army of demons and monsters. There wasn¡¯t another army which was capable of doing that.

    Lin Mubai sighed and continued, ¡°Although the Yan Cloud Cavalry arrived, they couldn¡¯t stop the demon¡¯s and monster¡¯s army. Tens of thousand of Yan Cloud Cavalry¡¯s soldiers defended Great Xia dynasty with their lives, and almost all of them died at Ten Mile Lake. On that day, the entireke turned red, very red... I only found Prince Yan after digging through piles of dead bodies...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in debt to the Yan family!¡±

    ¡°It was my selfishness and ipetence that caused the death of tens of thousands of Yan Cloud Cavalry¡¯s soldiers as well as most of Yan family¡¯s heirs...¡±

    Lin Mubai teared up as if he was witnessing the bloody war again.

    ¡°Father...¡± Ping Yang also teared up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine!¡± Lin Mubai wiped his tears and nced at Qian Ye again, before continuing with a sigh, ¡°Yu Er saved Great Xia Dynasty once again, but this time, it pissed the demons and monsters off, and that eventually led to the war between humans and the other two races!¡±

    ¡°The war took ce outside of me Capital City, right beside Ten Mile Lake. I saw the bloody battle between the masters of the three races with my own eyes, in theke water which was painted red by blood!¡±

    ¡°Of course, humans ended up winning the war, but the Heaven Dao Tablets were the ultimate reason that sparked the war.¡±

    ¡°Yu Er returned to the Holy Region after that war, and she never came back. Furthermore, in order to make up for the Holy Region¡¯s losses, I had to give them some of the Heaven Dao Tablets. In the end, Great Xia Dynasty was only left with 13 Heaven Dao Tablets. However, those tablets were still taken by the demons!¡±

    ¡°What?! The demons took away the 13 Heaven Dao Tablets in Great Xia Dynasty?¡± Qian Ye finally said something after keeping quiet for so long. She was definitely taken aback by the news.

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Lin Mubai, you really are useless after all. We spent so much effort to protect Great Xia Dynasty back then, even sacrificing so many disciples¡¯ lives so that you could keep 13 of the Heaven Dao Tablets. Who would have thought that you have lost all of them again in just a dozen years!¡±

    Qian Ye was obviously angry. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his nose subconsciously, as if he didn¡¯t hear what she had just said.

    13 Heaven Dao Tablets...

    Haha!

    He knew nothing about their whereabouts!

    The only thing he wanted to know now, was what happened after Yu Er had returned to Ling Yun Tower. Why did Leader Lan step down? Why did Yu Er fail to be the leader? Where was Yu Er now?

 Chapter 799 - The Life-or-Death Moment Between Spring and Winter

    <h4>Chapter 799: The Life-or-Death Moment Between Spring and Winter</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    There were so many questions, and Fang Zhengzhi knew that these questions were very likely the key to solving the mystery of Yu Er¡¯s disappearance.

    There were so many questions in his mind that he furrowed his brows, but he could never obtain the answer to some of the questions.

    For example, how did the Yan Cloud Cavalry fight the war at Ten Mile Lake? How did they die? How heavy were the Demon¡¯s and Monster¡¯s losses?

    Was there anyone who knew the answers to these questions?

    Without witnessing the war, no one could possibly know about these details. In that case, he could only identify the critical issues amongst all the questions and deduce the truth.

    That made things much easier.

    He could forget about the reason behind Leader Lan¡¯s retirement for the time being. After all, anyone would die from old age or illness. Even a Sage might die from severe injuries or even old age. He didn¡¯t need to know how Yu Er contested against Qian Ye and why did she fail either. As long as there was apetition, there were bound to be winners and losers. Fang Zhengzhi already understood the concept of ¡°Winner takes it all¡± very thoroughly, so he wasn¡¯t going to spend so much effort thinking about it.

    In conclusion, the most important question was... Where was Yu Er imprisoned?

    This was a very direct question, but it was also the toughest one, because Qian Ye wouldn¡¯t possibly answer the question.

    Everything was back to square one, but after a round of brainstorming, there were much more information than before. For example, it was now certain that Yu Er and Qian Ye contested against each other for the leader¡¯s position, and Yu Er was imprisoned after she lost.

    Moreover, there wouldn¡¯t be many people... Who knew where Yu Er was imprisoned!

    Since Yu Er was capable ofpeting against Qian Ye for the leader¡¯s position, she must be a prominent figure in Ling Yun Tower. This meant that she definitely had a group of loyal supporters.

    Following this train of thought, Fang Zhengzhi figured that apart from Qian Ye, only her most loyal followers knew where Yu Er was.

    However, neither Qian Ye nor her loyal followers would possibly him where Yu Er was.

    After all, given how cautious and emotionally-restrained Qian Ye was, she wouldn¡¯t leave behind many loose ends.

    Wait a minute!

    Speaking of loose ends...

    Why did Qian Ye keep Cang Yue by her side? Furthermore, why did she care so much about her? Most importantly, from Cang Yue¡¯s expressions and what she had said... She probably knew about it too!

    In other words, Cang Yue knew where Yu Er was!

    It was really suspicious that someone as cautious as Qian Ye would keep her enemy¡¯s servant by her side. Furthermore, she even convinced the servant not to save her master!

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t figure out how that was possible. Was Qian Ye treating Cang Yue so nicely because she felt guilty about imprisoning Yu Er? Was she benevolent because she was impressed by Cang Yue¡¯s outstanding talent?

    Neither of the two exnations seem usible, especially given how Qian Ye had treated the disciples of Ling Yun Tower.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confused, and he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this issue.

    Therefore, he stopped thinking about it!

    That had always been his style. Anyway, since Cang Yue was the key to solving the problem, he could find out where Yu Er as long as he could get Cang Yue to open up. He just needed to rescue Yu Er after that, and all the problems would be solved.

    Meanwhile, Lin Mubai seemed to be devastated by Qian Ye¡¯s usations. He was so upset and regretful about losing the 13 Heaven Dao Tablets.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, was in a daze. She seemed to be confused by the truth of the war at Ten Mile Lake, as well as the history between Lin Mubai and Yu Er.

    The atmosphere turned a little weird.

    Fang Zhengzhi glimpsed at Cang Yue and noticed that she wasn¡¯t looking at them. She was looking downwards at Qian Ye¡¯s back instead.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Fang Zhengzhi squinted his eyes.

    At this moment, Qian Ye became agitated and started scolding Lin Mubai for losing the 13 Heaven Dao Tablets. She seemed to be moving closer towards him intentionally too.

    ¡°Lin Mubai, do you know about the sacrifices Yu Er made so that you could keep the 13 Heaven Dao Tablets? Yet, you lost the tablets, and to make things worse, they were taken by the Demon Race. How could you be shameless enough to keep living, and evene looking for Yu Er?¡± As Qian Ye was speaking, she took a step forward. Her eyes were glowing with a chilling golden light.

    ¡°I... I...¡± Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t say a word against Qian Ye. He was trembling andpletely unaware that Qian Ye was inching towards him.

    ¡°During that war, master put her life on the line to prevent the Demon and Monster race from winning. She was severely injured as a result, and she soon passed... Ai, how could you have the audacity toe to Ling Yun Tower?¡± Qian Ye continued.

    ¡°I¡¯ve let Leader Lan down, but I feel...¡±

    ¡°Hmph, let her down? Do you think that¡¯s enough to repent for your sins? Do you know that you have not only let master down, but you also let mankind down? Do you know how important the Heaven Dao Tablets are? How could you allow them to be taken by the Demon Race? Do you want to witness mankind¡¯s extinction?

    ¡°Mankind¡¯s extinction...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ve personally witnessed the war between humans, demons, and monsters. Do you really think that the demons and monsters would let it go? If it wasn¡¯t because of you, the war wouldn¡¯t have taken ce, and Yu Er wouldn¡¯t have to be punished!¡±

    ¡°Punished?! Was Yu Er punished because of that war? She was imprisoned because of that? Does that mean... I¡¯m the cause of all her sufferings?¡± Lin Mubai trembled, unable to believe what he had just heard.

    ¡°What did you think was the cause?¡± Qian Ye moved closer towards Lin Mubai and continued in a chilling tone, ¡°When Yu Er returned to Ling Yun Tower a dozen years ago, she was already repenting her mistakes. Master did not intend to imprison her, and she even wanted to make her the next leader!¡±

    ¡°What happened after that? Why did...¡±

    ¡°It was because of you! Everything was because of you! Master knew that Yu Er was pregnant with your child, but you should know about Ling Yun Tower¡¯s rules since the beginning. Us disciples of Ling Yun Tower have chosen to take on the path of emotionlessness and devoid ourselves of all humanly emotions. In that case, how could the sessor of Ling Yun Tower be allowed to have a child?¡±

    ¡°Child... Are you saying that what Hua Fei did had led to Yu Er...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Master helped Yu Er to conceal the truth and even allowed her to give birth to Ping Yang. She only told all the other disciples that Ping Yang was a kid that they found outside. In that case, Yu Er could still take over as the next leader. However, Chen Feihua came to Ling Yun Tower because of your uselessness and retardation. Did you really think that she was capable of taking a new-born baby away from Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°It was Yu Er who purposely handed Ping Yang to Hua Fei. She did that so that I could be reunited with Ping Yang...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. She begged for master¡¯s approval because she wanted Ping Yang to return to Great Xia Dynasty so that you can get your life together. From there on, news got out that Yu Er gave birth to a child. After that happened, even master couldn¡¯t protect Yu Er anymore. In order to prevent the rumours from spreading, master had to...¡± Qian Ye suddenly shut up when she realised that she had said too much.

    ¡°What did she have to do?¡± Lin Mubai took a step forward, unable to mask his eagerness and destion anymore.

    ¡°She had to...¡± Qian Ye was hesitating. She appeared to be in pain because she was extremely reluctant to bring this up.

    ¡°Mother, mother...¡± Ping Yang couldn¡¯t wait to hear the truth from Qian Ye either.

    At this moment, everywhere in Ling Yun Tower was filled with a depressing vibe. Even Cang Yue and the disciples kneeling on the ground werepletely silent.

    Everyone seemed to be waiting!

    Fang Zhengzhi was waiting just like the rest. He literally did not expect Qian Ye to answer the question that had been bothering him since the beginning.

    Although no one knew if she was speaking the truth, but he could at least deduce that Leader Lan was more inclined to make Yu Er the next leader of Ling Yun Tower, rather than Qian Ye.

    In that case, no one knew if there were other things or critical information that Qian Ye had purposely left out.

    Everyone was depressed and waiting for an answer!

    However, that changed when a ray of sunlight fell from the sky.

    It wasn¡¯t very bright, in fact, it was almost negligible since it was already noon. However, it looked like a real golden long sword.

    This ray of sunlight was heading... For Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head!

    ¡°Eh? I... Damn it!¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi was waiting for Qian Ye¡¯s reply as well, he sensed the approaching danger almost instantly. Therefore, he subconsciously cursed.

    Despite that, Qian Ye already moved before Fang Zhengzhi reacted.

    Rather, Qian Ye disappeared the moment the sunlight descended, and she was already beside Fang Zhengzhi in the next instance.

    ¡°Die!¡± She muttered softly.

    Her hands reached out at the same time, each holding a glittering golden ball.

    The two golden balls were obviously something special. Apart from being crystal clear, they contained twopletely different paintings. The first one depicted many birds flying above a turquoise mountain with a waterfall as white as silk. The waterfall crashed into a huge jade-green pond, sshing white froth everywhere.

    It was a naturalistic painting.

    On the other hand, the second painting of an icynd. There was another mountain and another waterfall in this painting as well, but the waterfall had already frozen. It turned into numerous spikes of icicles that connected with the frozenke below.

    Two paintings!

    Both contained a mountain and a waterfall, but they represented two opposite artistic concepts. One was spring, the other winter.

    Qian Ye held the two golden balls and struck towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head and his chest.

    She was so close and so fast!

    It was a sneak attack!

    Furthermore, it was a sneak attack from the leader of Ling Yun Tower. One could tell that she spent a lot time preparing for this.

    ¡°Crap! Fang Zhengzhi, move away!¡± Lin Mubai was focused on Qian Ye the entire time, so he was quick to react to her movements.

    However, he seemed to be toote.

    He wanted to stop her, or even block the attack with his body, but it was impossible, because Qian Ye was too fast.

    Ping Yang wanted to do the same, but just like Lin Mubai, she wasn¡¯t capable of stopping such a rapid attack.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Ping Yang shouted and stabbed towards Qian Ye with her zing Qilin Spear without any hesitation, even though she knew that it couldn¡¯t possible stop her.

    The crimson me and the golden light on the tip of the spear were just a centimetre away from the sunlight that descended.

    However....A centimetre sometimes meant the difference between heaven and earth.

    Ping Yang¡¯s spear couldn¡¯t even stop the falling ray of sunlight, so it couldn¡¯t possibly stop the two golden balls heading for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head and chest.

 Chapter 800 - The â€œTruthâ€ Behind the Seal

    <h4>Chapter 800: The ¡°Truth¡± Behind the Seal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°No!¡± Ping Yang gripped her spear rightly. She hoped that she could be faster, for she wanted to stop the attacks even if it meant sacrificing herself.

    However, she was barely as strong as a Sage, so this was her maximum speed.

    She was overwhelmed with rage, hatred, and despair.

    She had thought that things were getting better, but she didn¡¯t expect it to change for the worse in the blink of an eye.

    They were too careless!

    Why would the leader of Ling Yun Tower spend so much time telling them about stories in the past? Nevertheless, the story was so interesting that she wanted to keep listening.

    Time appeared to have frozen at this moment. Ping Yang heard nothing but the wind as she med herself for being useless and failing to notice Qian Ye¡¯s sneak attack, because she was too focused on her story.

    Ping Yang was filled with regrets as the golden sunlight descended, but she didn¡¯t close her eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi dodged the falling sunlight.

    He was equally fast!

    Furthermore, he was also falling back rapidly at the same time, and he was already beside Ping Yang in a sh.

    Then, Ping Yang felt an arm around her waist that tugged her back.

    ¡°You silly.¡± She heard an indifferent voice, following which, she noticed a familiar and calming scent, which made her feel safe and at ease just like the night that she spent beside the Icy Pond.

    ¡°Is the shameless fellow trying to... Save me?!¡± Ping Yang was shocked to her core. While she was trying her best to Fang Zhengzhi, he was also trying his best to save her.

    That didn¡¯t seem very cooperative, but Ping Yang was touched.

    Sometimes, it didn¡¯t matter if they were in sync, as long as the first thing on their minds were each other¡¯s safety.

    Qian Ye didn¡¯t slow down at all, she was getting faster instead, charging towards Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang in a straight line. The golden orbs in her hands grew increasingly brighter.

    She was closing in on them!

    ¡°Leader, have you ever considered that I have been waiting for your sneak attack since a long time ago!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned towards Qian Ye and smiled.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Qian Ye¡¯s expression froze for a second, and she subconsciously slowed down a little. The slight moment of dy allowed Fang Zhengzhi to get away.

    ¡°Just as I thought, a cautious person gets way too paranoid!¡± Thank you for sparing my life, leader!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he was already nowhere to be seen.

    Ping Yang also disappeared along with him.

    For an instance, Ping Yang felt like she was traveling at an incredible speed, almost as if she was teleporting.

    It was so fast that her vision blurred.

    She was already standing in front of Ling Yun Tower when she could see clearly again, and there was a person standing before her, equally overwhelmed with disbelief.

    It was Cang Yue!

    All of these happened in an instant, from Qian Ye¡¯s sneak attack, to Fang Zhengzhi pulling Ping Yang back, and eventually taking advantage of Qian Ye¡¯s paranoia to get to Cang Yue.

    Everything took ce so quickly that no one else managed to react in time.

    ¡°Is this his true strength?!¡± Ping Yang finally realized that the gap their strengths had never been bridged.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what Ping Yang was thinking of. He only knew that he had truly waited a long time for Qian Ye¡¯s sneak attack. He had to thank Cang Yue for this, because it was her confused expression while staring at Qian Ye¡¯s back that allowed him to discover the aura which was getting stronger.

    Sneak attack?

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s specialty.

    Hence, he wouldn¡¯t simply dodge the attack. Since Qian Ye liked to put on a show, he wasn¡¯t about to ruin her fun.

    He originally intended to take down Cang Yue using this opportunity, since she was the key to solving all the problems.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect Ping Yang to act so rashly and charge out while he was feinting.

    This was a helpless yet familiar sensation for him.

    Maybe that was who Ping Yang was.

    She was a spoiled princess who was a little troublesome and simple-minded!

    However, it was this troublesome and simple-minded princess that apanied him through many crises. She even took a few bullets for him before. Of course, none of this mattered at the moment. Although there was a small change in the plot, the oue was just as Fang Zhengzhi had expected.

    His sword struck towards Cang Yue with a demonic purple light.

    However, she wasn¡¯t going down without a fight. A dazzling silver radiance appeared on her body the moment she saw Fang Zhengzhi appearing in front of her.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Cang Yue attacked him with the glittering starlight in her hand without any hesitation.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was alone, she would have escaped right away. After all, she knew that she was no match for him if both his hands were free.

    However, since Fang Zhengzhi was holding Ping Yang and only one of his hands was free, Cang Yue wanted to take a shot at it. More importantly, this was such a rare opportunity.

    ¡°I guess this turned out to be a blessing in disguise!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly when Cang Yue attacked him.

    He wasn¡¯t so confident about capturing Cang Yue if she tried to escape, but it seemed like Ping Yang¡¯s presence solved the problem.

    Cang Yue... Didn¡¯t run away!

    ¡°Well then... Stay down!¡± Fang Zhengzhi disappeared again, and Cang Yue was surrounded by eight shadows.

    Dragon Dances Eight Realms!

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going to kill Cang Yue, so he smacked Cang Yue with his sword instead.

    ¡°Cang Yue!¡± They heard Qian Ye¡¯s voice, following which, the golden radiance attacked one of the eight shadows.

    However, it was obviously toote.

    Cang Yue was already kneeling before Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi with a sword against her neck.

    Qian Ye stopped moving. The two golden orbs in her hands were glowing brightly, but she stopped moving when she was two steps away from Fang Zhengzhi

    ¡°Leader, why don¡¯t you tell me where Yu Er was imprisoned in exchange for Cang Yue¡¯s life?¡± Said Fang Zhengzhi. He could tell from Qian Ye¡¯s expression that she was fuming with rage, but he wasn¡¯t bothered by it. Ultimately, he wasn¡¯t the one who was angry about this situation.

    ¡°In your dreams!¡± Qian Ye replied coldly.

    ¡°Fine, since you are not going to tell me, I¡¯ll ask Cang Yue instead.¡± Fang Zhengzhi saw thising, so he wasn¡¯t surprised by her response.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think that I will tell you where she is?¡± Cang Yue nced at Qian Ye and clenched her fists subconsciously.

    She was defeated by Fang Zhengzhi twice in a row!

    To make things worse, it happened on the same day. She lost to Fang Zhengzhi again even though he was holding Ping Yang in his arm. Cang Yue was furious and filled with resentment.

    Why!

    She couldn¡¯t understand how a man who was definitely going to die had be a Sage in merely a few months. Moreover, he was ridiculously strong.

    ¡°Hahaha, why won¡¯t you tell me where Yu Er is?¡± Fang Zhengzhi chuckled as if he didn¡¯t notice Cang Yue¡¯s anger and resentment.

    ¡°Haha... Fang Zhengzhi, did you knock your head? Why would I tell you where my master is?¡± Cang Yue snorted.

    ¡°Because I can rescue your master. Unless... You don¡¯t want to rescue her? Was I right when I said that you have already betrayed your master a long time ago?¡±

    ¡°Rescue my master? Hahaha... Are you going to rescue my master? What a joke! Hahaha... That is such a ridiculous joke!¡± Cang Yue was actuallyughing out loud this time.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I do that?¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure you can. In that case, you¡¯d kill Ping Yang. If you kill her, I¡¯d immediately tell you where master is!¡±

    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it? Hahaha... What if I told you, the only way to rescue my master is to kill Ping Yang?¡± Cang Yue stared at Fang Zhengzhi intently after saying that.

    ¡°Killing Ping Yang is the only way to rescue Yu Er?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ping Yang is the seal that imprisoned my master! Are you going to kill her? Hahaha... Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to rescue her? Then you¡¯d kill Ping Yang! If you killed her, master would be released instantly!¡± Cang Yue nodded with a psychotic expression. ¡°Do you now understand why I wanted her dead so badly?¡±

    ¡°I am my mother¡¯s seal?! I... I was the one who imprisoned my mother...¡± Ping Yang turned pale and started trembling, unable to believe that that was the truth.

    ¡°Ping Yang, this is nothing but Cang Yue¡¯s ploy!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s brows knitted tightly together when he felt Ping Yang¡¯s emotional instability.

    He obviously didn¡¯t take Cang Yue¡¯s words seriously. However, he felt like Cang Yue wasn¡¯t lying when he looked at her psychotic expression.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to tell Ping Yang about that.

    Even if Cang Yue wasn¡¯t lying, he couldn¡¯t possibly kill Ping Yang in order to rescue Yu Er. That was never going to happen.

    ¡°My ploy? Haha, Fang Zhengzhi, since you are so smart, you must be able to tell if I am lying or not. Otherwise, how could I possibly be willing to serve someone apart from my master! I wanted to kill Ping Yang ever since she was born. I hated her even more when she became master¡¯s seal, and I spent every minute wishing she was dead. However, I couldn¡¯t kill her. She is my master¡¯s child, so I could never kill her no matter how much I wanted to. I knew how much my master loves her, so if I killed her, master would never forgive me...¡±

    As Cang Yue said that, she bit her lips so tightly that they started to bleed.

    ¡°But you can do that!¡± Cang Yue turned towards Fang Zhengzhi, before looking at Lin Mubai, ¡°Lin Mubai, you could do it too. Didn¡¯t you say that you love my master? In that case, you have to kill Ping Yang. If you killed her, master would be free again!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! There¡¯s no way I¡¯d believe you!¡± Lin Mubai sounded cold. He was clenching his fists tightly.

    ¡°Haha, Lin Mubai, you can definitely tell whether I¡¯m spouting nonsense. Didn¡¯t Chen Feihua tell you something when she returned with Ping Yang a dozen years ago?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lin Mubai was visibly shaken by her words.

    ¡°Hahaha, just as I thought, you knew about it! Chen Feihua must have told you that Ping Yang¡¯s life was tied to the safety of the entire world. If she hadn¡¯t told you about it, you wouldn¡¯t have kept Ping Yang in me Capital City all the time!¡± Cang Yue startedughing again.

    ¡°Cang Yue, I¡¯ll never believe you!¡± Lin Mubai suddenly turned towards Ping Yang and said sternly, ¡°Ping Yang, let¡¯s return to Great Xia Dynasty together instead of looking for your mother. I will stay by your side just like before, is that alright?¡±

    ¡°Father, she is right, isn¡¯t she?¡± Ping Yang looked at Lin Mubai with a determined expression on her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her nonsense!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s tone grew fiercer.

    ¡°But... It¡¯s true that you didn¡¯t let me out of me Capital City for over a decade. Furthermore, everyone seemed to be afraid that something might happen to me, and there were always rumors saying that the world would turn into a mess if I died. Even the Demon Race... That¡¯s right, when I was at the Southern Region, even half-sage Can Yang didn¡¯t dare to kill me! I was the one who imprisoned my mother... Those people weren¡¯t afraid of my death, they were afraid of my mother¡¯s fury and revenge, right?¡±

 Chapter 801 - â€˜Honestâ€™ Nonsense

    <h4>Chapter 801: ¡®Honest¡¯ Nonsense</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Ping Yang gazed at Lin Mubai calmly, only to reveal a hint of destion in her eagerness.

    Everyone was envious of her ever since she was born into the royal family. She lived a luxurious life without ever worrying about food or shelter, and she was even the most beloved child of the emperor of Great Xia Dynasty.

    Despite all that, she had always suffered from the pain of losing her loved one.

    She had never enjoyed thepany and love of her mother ever since she was young. Worse still, she had never seen or talked to her mother before.

    However, now that she knew about her mother¡¯s whereabouts and had a chance to see her, she suddenly discovered that she was the cause to her mother¡¯s disappearance.

    Death?

    Ping Yang wasn¡¯t afraid of dying!

    The problem was that she couldn¡¯t even see her mother once even if she died. Her pain and suffering were only known to those who had been in the same situation before.

    ¡°Ping Yang, don¡¯t be worried. It is impossible to seal someone with another person¡¯s life. Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t be deceived by Cang Yue...¡± Lin Mubai understood Ping Yang¡¯s thoughts from her expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your life, it¡¯s your bloodline! Although I was too lowly to witness the process of sealing my master, I am certain about it! You are the only person capable of sealing my master!¡± Cang Yue interrupted Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Bloodline?¡± Ping Yang turned towards Cang Yue.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, only a rted bloodline could be used to establish the seal, and the seal could only be broken by severing the connection between the bloodlines. Since you know the truth now, what do you n to do?¡± Cang Yue replied coldly.

    ¡°What... What do I n to do...¡± Ping Yang seemed depressed and confused.

    What was she going to do under such circumstances? Was there anyone who could tell her what to do? How was she supposed to decide between life or death!

    Ping Yang was at a loss for words.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower also chose to remain silent. Although they hated Ping Yang, they could sympathize with her pain, that she couldn¡¯t see her mother even if she died.

    Qian Ye didn¡¯t say a word either. She seemed to be waiting for something to happen, and so did Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, they were waiting for different reasons.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t be a Sage, master could still be released after you be 100 years old. But....Why did you be a Sage? Why could you be a Sage even though you are talentless?!¡± Cang Yue sounded like she was in pain.

    ¡°You¡¯re right... Why... Why did I be a Sage?¡± Ping Yang looked up at the sky in a daze.

    At this moment, she finally realized why Cang Yue appeared when she was on the verge on death six months ago, but her mother didn¡¯t.

    Simrly, she also understood why Cang Yue wanted her dead so badly, and why she kept forcing her to change her name again and again.

    As her mother¡¯s servant, Cang Yue hated Ping Yang. However, she could never kill Ping Yang personally. No matter how strong her hatred was, she had to do her job as a servant.

    The only thing that Ping Yang couldn¡¯t understand was how fate could be so cruel?!

    She entered Ling Yun Tower and waited for a whopping six months, only to find out that she had to kill herself to save her mother.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I see my mother even if I died? Even... Even if I died?!¡± Ping Yang clenched her fists tightly as her tears started flowing out. She was unwilling to ept her fate, because it felt like a knife stabbing her heart. The pain was so immense that she was trembling and unable to hold herself together.

    At this moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The hand moved up her tender face and wiped her tears away.

    Even though it seemed frivolous, Ping Yang didn¡¯t react at all. That was because she couldn¡¯t sense any disrespectfulness in his eyes. All she felt was his love.

    ¡°Everyone thought that I would die half a year ago, but aren¡¯t I still alive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said seriously.

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°I know that this isn¡¯t the same thing. However, couldn¡¯t we treat both of them simrly, given how slim the chances are in both cases?¡±

    ¡°Shameless, I...¡±

    ¡°Do you trust me?¡±

    ¡°I... I trust you!¡± Ping Yang hesitated, but she eventually nodded her head.

    ¡°Alright, do you trust me if I tell you that there is another person in the world, apart from you, who shares the same bloodline as your mother?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled at Qian Ye as he said that.

    ¡°Another person?¡± Ping Yang trembled.

    ¡°How could there be another person? Ping Yang is my master¡¯s only child!¡± Cang Yue scoffed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Qian Ye trembled when Fang Zhengzhi said that and even her hands moved.

    Although it wasn¡¯t obvious, Fang Zhengzhi noticed it, and he was delighted to see that.

    If Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t certain about it previously, he was now at least 50% sure that he guessed it correctly.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong to say that Yu Er only has one child, but she still has a servant, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held his sword tighter and left a minor cut on Cang Yue¡¯s throat.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Said Cang Yue with her eyes wide open.

    ¡°How do you sign a master-servant contract?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Obviously with mine and my master¡¯s blood... Are you saying that I am rted to my master¡¯s bloodline as well?¡± Cang Yue¡¯s expression changed.

    She wasn¡¯t alone. Lin Mubai and the disciples on the ground were equally shocked to hear that.

    ¡°Cang Yue?¡±

    ¡°Is she...¡±

    The disciples kept their heads low, but their bodies were obviously shaking.

    Lin Mubai was shaking like a leaf, murmuring, ¡°Is Cang Yue rted to Yu Er by blood? That¡¯s it....Since Cang Yue is Yu Er¡¯s servant, they must have signed the master-servant contract with their bloods. In that case, Yu Er¡¯s blood must be flowing in Cang Yue¡¯s body as well!¡±

    ¡°So, what do you n to do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi directed his question at Cang Yue as he stopped Ping Yang from saying a word.

    ¡°What do I n to do?¡± Haha... You¡¯re right, I¡¯m rted to my master by blood. However, Ping Yang is definitely the one who sealed her, not me. This is because Ling Yun Tower teaches its disciples to cut off all emotional attachments, so I couldn¡¯t possibly be the one!¡± Cang Yue quickly rebutted after a short pause.

    ¡°Oh yeah? Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure!¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that Leader Lan wanted Yu Er to severe all her emotional attachments? If she wanted that, why would she help to cover the fact that Yu Er was pregnant? Furthermore, why would she pass the leader¡¯s position to Yu Er after she conceived Ping Yang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°That¡¯s obviously because my master is the top in Ling Yun Tower both in terms of strength and talent, so she¡¯s the best candidate!¡± Cang Yue replied.

    ¡°ording to Ling Yun Tower¡¯s way of cultivation, how could she be the strongest and most talented if she couldn¡¯t even severe her emotional attachments?

    ¡°You... You are distorting the truth!¡±

    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s say that I¡¯m distorting the truth. However, ording to your words, Leader Lan should have been very disappointed in Yu Er back then, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because my master...¡± Cang Yue couldn¡¯t finish her sentence.

    ¡°If she was disappointed in Yu Er, why would she give her half of ¡®Ling Yun Realm¡¯?¡±

    ¡°How... How do you know that my master has the other half of Ling Yun Realm?!¡± Cang Yue was shaken to her core.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that very obvious? Since ¡®Ling Yun Realm¡¯ is Ling Yun Tower¡¯s most guarded treasure that is controlled by its leader in every generation, it doesn¡¯t make sense for it to be damaged. In that case, the only possible exnation is that Ling Yun Realm was originally passed down to Yu Er, but Qian Ye snatched a part of it away!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said that as if it was the truth.

    ¡°What?! Snatched it!¡±

    ¡°Of course! Furthermore, if I¡¯m right, it wasn¡¯t Leader Lan who sealed Yu Er. It was Qian Ye!¡±

    ¡°It was Qian Ye?! Leader...¡± Cang Yue couldn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Lies! Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you insult my reputation!¡± Qian Ye finally responded as she charged towards Lin Mubai.

    As one of the strongest people in the Holy Region, she was obvious unquestionably powerful. She was already behind Lin Mubai in an instant and engulfed him with the golden light.

    Qian Ye was unleashing her powerful aura.

    Lin Mubai turned pale as a sheet in no time. Although he was in Rebirth State, he was like a defenseless baby against Qian Ye.

    ¡°Father!¡± Shouted Ping Yang as Lin Mubai kneeled onto the ground with a hand grabbing his shoulder tightly.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m giving you onest chance. Release Cang Yue and take Ping Yang and Lin Mubai away. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t mind killing both of them even if I can¡¯t kill you!¡± Said Qian Ye coldly as a golden radiance shed in her eyes.

    ¡°Haha, fine. I¡¯ll exchange Cang Yue for the emperor. However, you have to release the emperor first since he is injured. I can¡¯t trust you otherwise!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded calmly while he stopped Ping Yang from charging towards her father.

    Qian Ye was startled as she didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to ept the trade so easily. She then nced at the disciples around her and loosened her grip.

    ¡°Move!¡± Qian Ye yelled coldly.

    Lin Mubai stood up slowly with blooding out from the corner of his mouth. Trembling, he slowly walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword slightly and said, ¡°If I was right that Qian Ye snatched the Ling Yun Realm and sealed Yu Er, then she couldn¡¯t possibly seal her with Ping Yang¡¯s blood!¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I would be convinced by your baseless allegations?¡± Said Cang Yue.

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you, since I¡¯m merely stating the fact. Think about it, Chen Feihua was already going to take Ping Yang back to Great Xia Dynasty when Yu Er was sealed. In that case, what are the chances of Ping Yang surviving?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t believe you even if your story is wless!¡± Cang Yue sounded determined.

    ¡°If I was Qian Ye, I wouldn¡¯t have sealed Yu Er with Ping Yang¡¯s blood, because that was too risky. If something went wrong and Yu Er escaped, everyone would know that I snatched the Ling Yun Realm and framed Yu Er in order to be the leader.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Hence, it¡¯s much safer to use your blood. Firstly, since you are always in Ling Yun Tower, she could guarantee your safety. Secondly, Ping Yang wasn¡¯t a Sage, so her lifespan was limited, and she would die after 100 years under normal circumstances. However, you are a Sage, so you could live as long as Yu Er. The seal would onlyst long if your blood was used!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Cang Yue didn¡¯t say anything, because she knew that Fang Zhengzhi would keep taking anyway.

    In that case, she could only bite her lips and let him go on.

    Just as Cang Yue had expected, Fang Zhengzhi continued without her reply, ¡°Do you think that Qian Ye might have killed Leader Lan as well?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re digging your own grave!¡± Qian Ye finally burst out with rage. She didn¡¯t care about exchanging hostages anymore and charged straight at Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 802 - Yan Xiuâ€™s Mountain River Illustration?

    <h4>Chapter 802: Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain River Illustration?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Eh? What happened to exchanging the hostages peacefully? Did she lose her mind so quickly...¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to be surprised when Qian Ye flew into a rage.

    After all, it meant that what he said had crossed her line, because it was getting closer to the truth.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to do this, because he couldn¡¯t think of a second way to expose the truth. Therefore, he kept provoking Qian Ye till the point where she couldn¡¯t control her emotions anymore.

    Although the reward was high, there were risks involved too. Fang Zhengzhi was about to take the heat of Qian Ye¡¯s anger.

    He pulled Ping Yang behind his back and used Traceless Sword to ce Cang Yue between Qian Ye and himself.

    Screech!

    Qian Ye forced herself to stop in front of Cang Yue. Her face was as ck as it could be. It was obvious that she was truly enraged.

    However, despite her anger, she was still concerned about Cang Yue¡¯s life.

    ¡°Leader, are you insecure? Was I right to say that Leader Lan handed over the leader¡¯s position to Yu Er instead of you? Unwilling to ept that oue, you killed Leader Lan while she was severely injured and sealed Yu Er by pretending it was Leader Lan¡¯s order!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you really think that you could threaten me with Cang Yue?¡± Qian Ye nced at Cang Yue and then turned towards Fang Zhengzhi. The two golden orbs were still spinning in her hands.

    At the same time, two of the disciples in white also charged towards Lin Mubai rapidly and attacked him.

    Lin Mubai chose to fight back, but his resistance didn¡¯tst long because he was already badly wounded.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Following a muffled rumble, Lin Mubai was subdued again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t worry about me. I know that you¡¯ve already tried your best. Escape with Ping Yang right now!¡± Lin Mubai shouted at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhipletely disregarded Lin Mubai.

    Firstly, it was improbable for him to escape even if he wanted to. Secondly, Ping Yang wouldn¡¯t let him escape without Lin Mubai.

    On the surface, it seemed like the they were back to square one. However, Fang Zhengzhi was well aware that holding Cang Yue hostage was pretty much pointless.

    So long as Lin Mubai was in their hands, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t possibly leave him for dead, and he couldn¡¯t kill Cang Yue either.

    Hence, holding Cang Yue hostage was like a double-edged sword which might backfire any minute.

    Of course, from Ling Yun Tower¡¯s point of view, they couldn¡¯t threaten Fang Zhengzhi with Lin Mubai¡¯s life either.

    If Qian Ye really wanted Lin Mubai dead, he would have died already. Furthermore, the most important thing was... Fang Zhengzhi was still undefeated!

    In other words, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s existence continued to be a threat to Ling Yun Tower, which in turn guaranteed Lin Mubai¡¯s safety temporarily.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about threatening you with a hostage. After all, I¡¯ve already agreed to exchanging Lin Mubai with Cang Yue just now. It was you who broke the agreement.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Fine, release Cang Yue then!¡±

    ¡°I am fine with that. The exchange would have already ended if you didn¡¯t act rashly and tried to kill me because you were afraid that everyone would find out it was you who murdered Leader Lan.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ve to admit that you¡¯re a good talker. However, your baseless allegations aren¡¯t working at all!¡±

    ¡°In that case, why won¡¯t you let me finish my words? I¡¯m guessing that...¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡±

    Lin Mubainded in front of Fang Zhengzhi and interrupted his sentence.

    Why did that happen?

    It was simply because Qian Ye tossed him over while Fang Zhengzhi was about to keep guessing.

    He had to admit that she was very sincere.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never seen such a sincere response before. She didn¡¯t even wait for him to finish his sentence before tossing the hostage over.

    In that case, he had to reciprocate Qian Ye¡¯s sincerity.

    Without much hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi kicked Cang Yue¡¯s buttock and sent her away.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Cang Yuended on her face.

    She was extremely upset, but she sat up straight immediately because she was in an unsightly position.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°A servant like you who is unwilling to admit her wrongdoings even after knowing the truth, and continues to serve the enemy of her master, is not qualified to kill me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at Cang Yue condescendingly.

    ¡°You...¡± Cang Yue was so mad that she couldn¡¯te up with a reply.

    ¡°Kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Qian Ye was obviously not interested in any more of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s guesses. She interrupted their conversation and her eyes turnedpletely golden in a sh.

    The nine golden stars above her shined even brighter. She was covered by countless spots of golden lights, as if she was showering in golden raindrops.

    ¡°Understood!¡± All the disciples kneeling on the ground raised their heads and unleashed many different colored radiances as well.

    They surrounded Fang Zhengzhi, Lin Mubai, and Ping Yang almost instantaneously, drawing their swords on the trio.

    ¡°Yo, is this the final battle?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Qian Ye was taking advantage of their numbers in a desperate attempt to kill him.

    This was unfair, because Fang Zhengzhi would truly be in a tough spot if he had to fight against all of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples, in addition to Qian Ye.

    After all, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s greatest weapon was their ability to fuse andbine their powers. However, that was definitely not their only weapon.

    Ling Yun Tower was iparable to Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Although Ling Yun Tower had fewer disciples, their true strength was leagues ahead of Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    There were still over 100 disciples standing before them, excluding the 100 odd disciples who were injured. Each one of them was at least at Rebirth State, and there were even 20 Sages.

    Most importantly, Qian Ye was here too. No one knew how strong she truly was.

    Qian Ye was wary of Fang Zhengzhi because she wasn¡¯t aware of his true power. However, Fang Zhengzhi was wary of her for the same reason too.

    He wasn¡¯t 100% confident in winning, and to make things worse, there were unpredictable risks involved.

    What should he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a simple solution to this situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared and just do it!¡±

    If he really couldn¡¯t defeat them, he just had to run away!

    The choices were clear, because there wasn¡¯t a sure-fire way to win a battle in the world. Even the most meticulous n might be derailed by unforeseen idents.

    For example, if a person was walking in a forest alone, he couldn¡¯t predict if he would be attacked by a ferocious beast, or maybe even several sword-wielding men.

    No one could be sure about the future.

    If a person wanted to avoid the uncertainties and chose a different path, he would never be able to make it out of the forest. To sum it up, everyone had to take risks in their lives.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi charged forward wearing a ck armor engulfed by a ck me.

    The purple radiance on Traceless Sword also grew brighter tremendously. It turned into a purple dragon as it headed towards Qian Ye¡¯s head.

    ¡°...¡± Cang Yue opened her eyes wide with astonishment. Since she was standing beside Qian Ye, she could detect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intense killing desire. However, she never expected him to initiate an attack voluntarily.

    The other disciples of Ling Yun Tower were equally caught off guard.

    After all, a normal person would have chosen to defend himself and try to escape at the right time.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to do that.

    He attacked Qian Ye right away without even giving a heads-up.

    ¡°What is he thinking?!¡±

    ¡°Is he for real?¡±

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower were truly startled by Fang Zhengzhi. If they didn¡¯t know how smart he was, they would have wondered if he was a doppelganger.

    However... Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the only one acting rashly.

    Ping Yang also moved simultaneously. Her fiery red dress danced in the wind and her eyes seemed to be burning brightly. Her zing Qilin Spear turned an enormous amount of mes into an extremely concentrated golden stream of light.

    The stream of light immediately shot towards Qian Ye after it appeared, and that left everyone dumbfounded.

    The disciples weren¡¯t too surprised that Fang Zhengzhi attacked Qian Ye, but they never expected Ping Yang, who had just be a Sage, to attack Qian Ye as well.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand... Didn¡¯t seem to notice the weird expressions on their faces. She was copying exactly what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    ¡°Die!¡± She yelled and thrust zing Qilin Spear at Qian Ye¡¯s throat. The golden stream of light was barely visible amongst the golden light spots.

    Qian Ye smiled.

    However, it was a chilling smile. For the first time, she felt like she was bullied repeatedly.

    As the mighty leader of Ling Yun Tower and one of the most distinguished masters in the Holy Region, it was uneptable that they disregarded her again and again. Furthermore, even Ping Yang, who had just be a Sage, dared to challenge her.

    She couldn¡¯t tolerate the disrespect anymore.

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    The golden orb in her hands exploded, and an intense green light burst out at an insane speed.

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately felt a terrifying powering from her hand. It was so overpowering that even he was incapable of stopping it.

    Rumble!

    The ground cracked open at this moment and a giant rock surfaced. It was overrun by mosses almost immediately, and the mosses turned into a bunch of tiny shoots very quickly. In almost the blink of an eyes, the tiny shoots grew into humongous trees.

    Mountains, waterfalls,kes, and gigantic trees...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw all of them before his eyes while Ling Yun Tower disappeared without a trace. Of course, apart from these sceneries, there was a person standing beside him. She was obviously struck dumb by what she saw.

    It was Ping Yang.

    ¡°Eh? Where¡¯s Qian Ye!¡± Ping Yang asked Fang Zhengzhi, who appeared to be startled as well.

    ¡°Is this an illusion?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t answer Ping Yang¡¯s question. He was looking around him because it felt strange.

    It appeared as if he was transported into a random region. There were mountains andkes, but Ling Yun Tower was nowhere to be found. Normally speaking, this should be some sort of illusion.

    It wasn¡¯t possible to teleport someone so far away so quickly. However, everything that he was seeing felt real.

    The mosses that eventually grew into gigantic trees definitely followed thews of nature.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t an illusion?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked closer at the mountains and waterfalls before he suddenly had a wild thought, ¡°Why does this ce look exactly like Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain River Illustration? Was Yan Qianli in a rtionship with Qian Ye before?!¡±

 Chapter 803 - Fusion and Transforming Calmness into Motion

    <h4>Chapter 803: Fusion and Transforming Calmness into Motion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t be sure if Yan Qianli and Qian Ye were in a rtionship. However, the mountains and waterfalls looked extremely simr to the ones in Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain River Illustration.

    ¡°ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint!¡±

    These two sentences described a beautiful and tragic love story that took ce in a chaotic era, which Fang Zhengzhi still remembered vividly.

    Why did the Mountain River Illustration, which was painted by a Yan family¡¯s ancestor with painstaking effort, appear at this ce?

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wrap his head about this. However, it was meaningless to think about the Mountain River Illustration at this instance, because the most important task was figuring out how to get out of this ce.

    ¡°Qian Ye, I am ordering you to show yourself now!¡± Ping Yang couldn¡¯t help cursing when she failed to find Qian Ye after looking all around.

    That didn¡¯t seem to work at all.

    The sceneries didn¡¯t change because of Ping Yang¡¯s cursing. Not even a single leaf had fallen from the trees either.

    Ping Yang was pissed off, and she struck at the mountains with zing Qilin Spear.

    Rumble!

    The mountains copsed, and the trees fell.

    Since Ping Yang couldn¡¯t find Qian Ye, she was working very hard to demolish the mountains and trees as a responsible princess coolie.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t stop her, because he could see the rocks turning into dust instead of light spots when they were destroyed.

    The realness wasn¡¯t something that an illusion was capable of.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t an illusion? If it isn¡¯t an illusion... Does that mean all of these are real? But that isn¡¯t scientifically possible!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head at the oddity of this urrence. After all, he was supposed to be fighting Qian Ye.

    Why did this happen?

    Was this Qian Ye¡¯s doing?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly recalled that Qian Ye crushed one of the golden orbs in her hand while he was charging towards her.

    Golden orb?!

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered seeing an image in the golden orb, but he couldn¡¯t see it clearly because it was so small.

    However, after thinking back... He was almost certain that the image in the golden orb was the Mountain River Illustration that he was looking at!

    Did Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang enter the space within the Mountain River Illustration after Qian Ye crushed the golden orb which contained the illustration?

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that this was a sensible exnation.

    In that case, the two golden orbs in Qian Ye¡¯s hand must be some sort of sealing technique.

    That led to the question ¨C How could they get out?

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, he heard a loud rumbleing from a huge mountain, which Ping Yang¡¯s destruction capacity was clearly insufficient of producing.

    Rumble!

    An enormous fire appeared at the same time as the extremely loud rumble.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the fire and quickly discovered countless humongous rocks were raining down from the mountains.

    Each of those rocks was the size of almost three to four menbined. Furthermore, there appeared to be thousands of them.

    Moreover, many thorny vines appeared on the ground. They started wrapping around Ping Yang¡¯s feet as if they were alive.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was wrong. This wasn¡¯t just a simple seal!

    Fang Zhengzhi soon realized that he was wrong, because the rocks and thorny vines were definitely abnormal.

    When Ping Yang destroyed those falling rocks with zing Qilin Spear, the broken shards flew towards her like sharp razor des.

    ¡°This is a Sage¡¯s attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally realized that the Mountain River Illustration wasn¡¯t just a simple seal. It was an attack that contained multiple techniques.

    Rumble!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi wanted to rescue Ping Yang, he felt something tying his legs. When he looked down, he discovered a gigantic ¡°water dragon¡± that flew out of theke.

    Furthermore, theke water started spinning rapidly and turned into a huge vortex. The water dragon was pulling Fang Zhengzhi into the vortex with a tremendous suction force.

    ¡°Splitting water!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shed the water dragon into two.

    He remembered an ancient saying at this moment: Splitting water is futile.

    The move that he had just pulled off was the legendary move called ¡°Splitting Water with One Sword¡±. Of course, the scientific exnation behind this move was very simple. It was coldness.

    When his sword went through the water dragon, the coldness froze the water that came into contact with the de. Hence, it created the delusion that the water was split into two.

    It was a cool move!

    Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously turned towards Ping Yang after he split the water dragon, thinking that she would be extremely impressed by the coolness of his move.

    However... She wasn¡¯t.

    Ping Yang wasn¡¯t just unimpressed, she didn¡¯t even nce at Fang Zhengzhi. She was destroying the falling rocks nonstop and burning the thorny vines with a fire-like armor on her body. Ping Yang was hopping around like a pretty butterfly.

    ¡°She... Really became much tougher than before!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was sure that if it was in the past, Ping Yang would have started panicking and shouting for help the moment something went wrong.

    Despite that, Ping Yang did not once ask for his help at the moment. She was sampling handling everything that wasing at her, almost as if it was a piece of cake.

    Moreover, her body movement was impressive.

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled Ping Yang using the same body movement to defeat several Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples just now.

    ¡°Shameless fellow, hurry up and think of a way to destroy Qian Ye¡¯s attack. I can handle this myself!¡± Said Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ok!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked away, because he knew that Ping Yang was no longer a burden.

    Although she wasn¡¯t nearly as strong as him, she was at least capable of defending herself now.

    He didn¡¯t put his attention on Ping Yang anymore.

    Fang Zhengzhi started looking around at the spinningke water and fallen tree leaves that were as sharp as razors.

    A ck me appeared on his body to ward off the iing attacks. Multiple colored lights appeared in his eyes.

    The mountains and rocks could move!

    The water could move...

    The trees could move too!

    ¡°What kind of attack is this?¡± It was his first time seeing an attack containing so many versatilities. He didn¡¯t think that it was simply an attack anymore. It felt like a painting, in other words, it might be an independent world.

    A painting?

    An independent world?

    Fang Zhengzhi held the Traceless Sword tighter, because he suddenly remembered the paintings hanging in the skies of the Nine Heavens.

    Apart from the paintings... There were Heaven Dao Tablets as well!

    Did Qian Ye use a Heaven Dao Tablet to trap him?!

    That wasn¡¯t it!

    Something felt wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. Since he had 23 Heaven Dao Tablets with him, he could obviously detect the existence of another Heaven Dao Tablet.

    Even if he couldn¡¯t, the ck metal box that he had definitely could.

    This wasn¡¯t a Heaven Dao Tablet.

    Heaven Dao Tablet was moreplicated because it was more spacious. Moreover, each Heaven Dao Tablet contained many more versatilities, each of them uniquely different.

    This Mountain River Illustration was different. It was smaller and contained less versatilities than a Heaven Dao Tablet.

    Most importantly, Heaven Dao Tablet wasn¡¯t aggressive by nature. On the contrary, this Mountain River Illustration seemed be under something¡¯s control.

    ¡°Could it be fusion?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. After reading all the books in Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Repository, he became decently knowledgeable.

    Hence, he was aware that different Dao techniques could be fused together, just like how an attack could contain two techniques.

    For example, ¡°Splitting water¡± contained ¡°Wind¡± and ¡°Coldness¡± Dao techniques, which was why it looked so cool.

    Apart from this, there was another specialbination which was possibly even moreplicated. That was the ¡°Gifted Bloodline¡±.

    Gifted Bloodline was the result of a certainbination, but thebination was fixed. Only a certain set of different versatilities were capable of producing different Gifted Bloodlines.

    However, Qian Ye¡¯s fusion attack... Didn¡¯t seem to be rted to Gifted Bloodlines. It felt more like the perfect form of fusion attack, or even the fusion of multiple perfected versatilities.

    ¡°Is this really possible?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt like he opened a new door in his life, as if he had discovered a new continent again.

    Of course, it was wrong to use ¡®again¡¯, because Fang Zhengzhi had never discovered a new continent in his entire life.

    However, that wasn¡¯t important.

    Finding a way to destroy Qian Ye¡¯s attack was the matter at hand.

    Fusion... Fusion...

    ¡°How do I destroy fusion? Byprehending it?¡±

    This idea actually crossed his mind. He couldprehend all the Dao techniques in this illustration and then create an identical attack.

    However, that wouldn¡¯t solve the problem that he faced.

    Putting aside the amount of time he needed toprehend all the Dao techniques in the illustration, how was he supposed to get out of this isted world in the Mountain River Illustration even after heprehended all the Dao techniques here?

    Could he create another isted space in the Mountain River Illustration and force the current one to burst open? That seemed impossible.

    He had to force it open!

    Under normal circumstances, one must identify the unique pattern involved in an attack to destroy it.

    For example, a person must know about formations and how they were formed, as well as the eight gates of Mysterious Gates Escape Technique, in order to tear apart a formation.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to do the same to destroy Qian Ye¡¯s attack.

    Mountains, water, trees, flowers...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew about these things, but that wasn¡¯t enough. He had to find out how they werebined into an attack.

    Ling Yun Tower...

    The five sects of the Holy Region were experts in different areas. Heaven Dao Pavilion focused on swordsmanship, Nine Pinnacles Mountain practiced craftsmanship, Yin Yang Hall was well-versed with alchemy, Fu Xi Valley studied formations, while Ling Yun Tower emphasized the understanding of Dao.

    ¡°Understanding...¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He didn¡¯t know what it meant at first, but after seeing Ling Yun Tower¡¯s techniques, he finally gained an initial understanding.

    For example, those disciples were capable of synchronizing their Dao techniques with a special ability. Fang Zhengzhi would have never thought of such a technique unless he saw it personally.

    At the moment, Qian Ye¡¯s attack felt like a brand-new world for him.

    He had to admit that Ling Yun Tower definitely understood Dao techniques more than the other sects of the Holy Region. Furthermore, their techniques were much more elusive and unpredictable too.

    Wait a minute!

    Speaking of fusion...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s Mountain River Illustration contained the same kind of ¡°fusion¡± as well. Although it was far weaker, the core concept was the same.

    ¡°Painstaking effort! That¡¯s it. It¡¯s the painstaking effort!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was gaining a deeper understanding of fusion. He remembered Yan Xiu saying that his ancestor painted the Mountain River Illustration with painstaking efforts.

    The painstaking effort represented his mncholic yearning.

    His mncholic yearning injected a power into the Mountain River Illustration, which was why anyone trapped by the illustration felt like they were drowning in sorrow and depression.

    In that case, was there an origin for this fusion attack too?

    A specific origin that sessfully fused multiple Dao techniques and turned them into a painting... Nope, it turned into the isted world in the Mountain River Illustration.

    The only question was... What was the origin?

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes and started sensing the emotions in this world. There was no sadness, no happiness, and no anger. Everything was calm like the surface of ake that had no movements.

    However, this calmness could be manipted and burst into motion at any minute.

 Chapter 804 - Dao Imitates the Laws of Nature and A Heated Argument

    <h4>Chapter 804: Dao Imitates the Laws of Nature and A Heated Argument</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Calmness had fused with motion, and so did the trees, grasses, flowers, mountains, and water. Everything in the Mountain River Illustration seemed to havepletely amalgamated with one another.

    It was just like a real independent world.

    ¡°What kind of origin is capable ofbining everything?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was considering every single emotion and possibility as hard as he could.

    However, he eventually rejected every emotions and possibilities very quickly, because none of them was capable of fusing everything so perfectly together.

    Wait a minute!

    If there was an origin that could truly fuse everything together perfectly like a real world, it must be... Nature!

    ¡®Dao imitates the Laws of Nature!¡¯

    This was a philosophical idea that originated from Tao Te Ching. It roughly meant that the order of ¡°Dao¡± reflected the ¡°state of nature¡±.

    ¡°Human imitates Earth, Earth imitates Heaven, Heaven imitates Dao, and Dao imitates the Laws of Nature.¡±

    This sentence summarized and described how humans, heaven, earth, and the universe worked.

    Furthermore, it even revealed the characteristics of the entire universe, including thews of nature that everything abided by.

    ¡°I got it, I got it, so that¡¯s how it works!¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes and felt a sense of familiarity when he looked at his surroundings again.

    Nature was the origin of the world in the Mountain River Illustration.

    As long as it abided by thews of nature, everything could be fused together, including the mountains, water, trees, flowers, even motion, calmness, and all sorts of existences and emotions.

    ¡°The Dao of Nature! I can¡¯t believe Qian Ye has mastered the Dao of Nature!¡± Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. After all, the Dao of Nature was said to be the Dao of All Creations. He had never expected someone to master the Dao of Nature.

    ...

    Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower.

    While Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were struggling in the Mountain River Illustration¡¯s world, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples heaved a long sigh of relief.

    ¡°This guy isn¡¯t as scary as he seems, is he?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he charged right into it. He might just be the most courageous person in the entire Holy Region!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he lost his life because of his courageousness!¡±

    All the disciples were discussing among themselves.

    However, their conversation was like a fish bone that got stuck in Lin Mubai¡¯s throat, causing him pain because he could neither swallow it nor spit it out.

    ¡°Ping... Ping Yang...¡± murmured Lin Mubai as blood flowed out of his mouth. He then lost the strength in his legs and fell to the ground.

    Lin Mubai seemed so pitiful as if he had suddenly aged a dozen years. He was trembling nonstop.

    Despite that, he never let Qian Ye out of his sight, because she was holding a huge water ball which was as tall as a person.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were inside the isted world that was inside the water ball.

    ¡°Lin Mubai, since you¡¯re the emperor, I¡¯d not kill you because that would be bad for the stability of the world. I¡¯ll let you go, but I can¡¯t forgive you so easily for attacking my disciples in Ling Yun Tower¡¯s territory. I want you to swear that you¡¯ll never enter Ling Yun Tower again andpensate Ling Yun Tower with 10 years¡¯ worth of mary offering. Do you have any objections?¡± Qian Ye nced at the upside-down water ball in her hand and slowly turned towards Lin Mubai.

    She was actually astonished by what had happened. After all, she didn¡¯t think that she could catch Fang Zhengzhi in a single move.

    At the very least, it should have taken two attempts? It was even possible that she couldn¡¯t catch Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was such a ¡°freak¡±. To put it bluntly, no one knew what he would do in a fight.

    Moreover, ording to Cang Yue, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s favorite activity was running away when he couldn¡¯t win a fight.

    That was the why Qian Ye was wary of him.

    What if she couldn¡¯t finish him off with a single stroke?

    Fang Zhengzhi was right when he said that Ling Yun Tower was a forbidden area to everyone except for him. Ling Yun Tower was just like a naked girl to a fearless lone wolf like Fang Zhengzhi!

    He could pounce on them whenever he wanted to!

    That was a horrifying thought. The consequences would be unimaginable if Fang Zhengzhi got away!

    That was why she didn¡¯t dare to attack him right away. However, she had to eradicate Fang Zhengzhi because she couldn¡¯t allow a single man to threaten the entire Ling Yun Tower.

    Hence, Qian Ye put up with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocations and secretly prepared two golden orbs to increase the chance of sess.

    It was better to be safe than sorry.

    However, such contingencies did not ur. Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t fight cowardly to gauge her strength, and he didn¡¯t fight dirty either.

    On the contrary, he charged right towards Qian Ye unlike his usual self.

    Qian Ye was actually startled when he came right at her, but she was soon sneering with joy.

    What happened next was nothing out of the blue.

    Qian Ye was also a little surprised when Fang Zhengzhi fell for her trap right away. She didn¡¯t even have to use the other golden orb.

    However, regardless of how she felt, it was over. The weight on her shoulders was finally lifted, and she regained her pride and calmness.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi had expected, Qian Ye wasn¡¯t going to kill Lin Mubai. It was partly because she wasn¡¯t willing to get into more trouble for killing an emperor. The other reason was because he didn¡¯t pose any threat to her. In other words, Lin Mubai was insignificant.

    In that case, she didn¡¯t have to go through the trouble of killing him.

    It was better to let him off and make him suffer in pain silently in Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, Lin Mubai didn¡¯t share the same idea as Qian Ye.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Heughed pitifully and shot Qian Ye a weird expression, saying, ¡°Leader, do you really think that I would go back like this?¡±

    ¡°Oh? What do you want to do then?¡± Qian Ye wasn¡¯t too surprised to hear that.

    After all, Lin Mubai was an emperor, so he ought to have a backbone. In that case, it wasn¡¯t too surprising that he would act tough.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m already here, I¡¯m not going to return empty-handed. Furthermore, I can¡¯t just leave when Ping Yang is in your hands!¡± Lin Mubai replied.

    ¡°That makes sense. However, since Ping Yang has worked at Ling Yun Tower as a servant for half a year,bined with the fact that she has be a Sage, she is obviously under our control. I¡¯ll promise you that I wouldn¡¯t kill her. She¡¯ll just be imprisoned temporarily.¡± Qian Ye nodded and said.

    ¡°Hehe, Qian Ye, I don¡¯t think you understand what I¡¯m saying. What I meant was, you can do whatever you want with Ping Yang since you¡¯ve already captured. However, I¡¯ve never thought of leaving after I got here!¡± Lin Mubai replied with a smile.

    ¡°Are you really not leaving?¡± Qian Ye frowned when she heard that.

    Lin Mubai didn¡¯t say a word, but his look of determination had already answered Qian Ye¡¯s question.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower nced at each other, clearly surprised by Lin Mubai¡¯s decision.

    Not killing Ping Yang was already the most benevolent thing they could do!

    What Lin Mubai was doing waspletely pointless. He didn¡¯t have any more bargaining chips, so there was zero chance of turning the tide of the battle.

    ¡°Interesting. What if I said that I¡¯d kill Ping Yang immediately if you don¡¯t get out of my sight right now?¡± Qian Ye moved her finger and summoned a purple lightning bolt in the water ball to attack Ping Yang.

    They didn¡¯t hear anything, but they saw blood flowing out of Ping Yang¡¯s mouth after she was attacked by the purple lightning bolt.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t control his anger anymore, but there was nothing he could do. Everyone knew that he had lost all his bargaining power. In that case, how was he able to negotiate terms with Qian Ye?

    ¡°So, are you leaving or not?¡± Qian Ye remained indifferent despite Lin Mubai¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Qian Ye, you....¡±

    ¡°Do you want to watch Ping Yang die right in front of your eyes?¡± Qian Ye¡¯s finger moved as she said that.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Leader, no!¡±

    Two voices were heard when Qian Ye¡¯s finger moved. The former was Lin Mubai, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, thetter was Cang Yue.

    Did Cang Yue tried to stop Qian Ye?

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower were bewildered, and Qian Ye also frowned when she heard Cang Yue.

    ¡°Leader, do you really dare to kill Ping Yang?¡± Cang Yue kneeled down and shouted at Qian Ye.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that my master would escape from the seal if you killed Ping Yang?¡± Cang Yue was still facing the ground as she said that.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Qian Ye nced at Cang Yue and her purple long dress which was stained with blood. She said in a surprised tone, ¡°Cang Yue, do you also think that I¡¯m afraid of Yu Er escaping from the seal?¡±

    ¡°Leader Lan sent someone to gift me a cup of tea on the day my master was sealed. I fell into aa for three days after I drank the tea. When I woke up, Leader Lan was already dying from her injuries, and my master had already been sealed!¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Leader, are you really not afraid of my master escaping?¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Qian Ye¡¯s tone finally changed. She shot Cang Yue a cold look before she spoke normally again, ¡°Cang Yue, do you really believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nonsense? Anyone in the world could have killed Leader Lan and sealed Yu Er, but you should know that I¡¯d never do that!¡±

    ¡°Yes... I used to firmly believe that the leader wouldn¡¯t harm my master. However, how do you exin the iplete Ling Yun Realm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already exined this a long time ago. That was an ident which urred because Yu Er was sealed against her will. Hence...¡±

    ¡°That exnation would make sense if it was someone else. However, I cannot believe it because my master would never disobey Leader Lan¡¯s order!¡± said Cang Yue determinedly.

    ¡°People change, especially if they were about to be sealed.¡± Qian Ye moved her finger subconsciously and created a tiny ripple on the giant water ball.

    However, the ripple was too small to be noticed unless someone waspletely focused on the water ball.

    Therefore, Cang Yue wouldn¡¯t have noticed it, because she was facing the ground since the beginning.

    It was impossible for Lin Mubai to notice it either, because he was solely focusing on Ping Yang.

    Nevertheless, nothing was impossible.

    Cang Yue was facing the ground, so her vision was definitely obstructed. However, coincidentally, there was a puddle of blood on the ground. Combined with the fact that the sky was raining down golden spots of light, the circumstances had changed.

    ¡°Leader, why are you nervous?¡± Cang Yue suddenly raised her head and revealed a ferocious countenance that reced her cold expression from before.

    ¡°Nervous?¡± Qian Ye squinted her eyes and stared intently at Cang Yue¡¯s face. ¡°Cang Yue, are you getting agitated because of your injuries and fatigue? You¡¯d go back and get some rest first if you¡¯re tired.¡± Said Qian Ye with a warm and sincere expression.

    ¡°Leader, why are you avoiding my question? Are you really not afraid that my master would be released?!¡± Cang Yue slowly stood up as her expression grew more menacing. She bit her lips so hard that she started bleeding.

 Chapter 805 - Dying Without Regrets and Removing the Seal

    <h4>Chapter 805: Dying Without Regrets and Removing the Seal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were surprised to witness this scene because they had never seen Cang Yue disobeying Qian Ye¡¯s order before, much less questioning her in such a tone.

    However, despite their confusion and surprise, no one said a word. Some of the disciples even seemed to be looking forward to the confrontation, but they concealed their emotions well.

    ¡°Cang Yue, you¡¯ve asked me the same question three times consecutively already.¡± Qian Ye squinted her eyes which were glowing.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve asked the same question three times, but I still don¡¯t have the answer...¡± Cang Yue suddenly turned lonely and sad, losing her fierceness from before. It felt like she had lost all her tenseness and became apletely different person.

    This was a sudden and rapid change.

    Furthermore, Cang Yue didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to keep on asking. She just raised her head a little and nced at the golden radiance in the sky.

    Ling Yun Realm!

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s ultimate treasure was dazzling as usual, but for some reason, Cang Yue felt miserable when she looked at Ling Yun Realm.

    Qian Ye frowned again, but she kept quiet because Cang Yue didn¡¯t ask another question again. However, her expression seemed a littleplicated when she noticed Cang Yue¡¯s countenance changing.

    It didn¡¯t seem like she was very angry or worried. In fact, she appeared to be calm, but there seemed to be a storm brewing under her calmness.

    However, her calmness was soon reced by surprise. This was an expression that hardly appeared on Qian Ye¡¯s face. Nevertheless, at this moment, Qian Ye was definitely surprised, and she wasn¡¯t hiding it at all.

    Qian Ye wasn¡¯t the only one. The disciples of Ling Yun Tower, and even Lin Mubai, were all taken aback too. They couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing.

    This was because a pitch-ck knife had appeared in Cang Yue¡¯s hand without anyone noticing. The knife was shining with a chilling light.

    Of course, the most important fact was that the knife was already pointing towards her chest. Although it hadn¡¯tpletely gone in, a stream of blood was already flowing down from the knife.

    ¡°Cang Yue, what are you doing?!¡± Qian Ye¡¯s eyes went wide open. The golden radiance exuded by her eyes were as bright as the sun at this instance. If she wasn¡¯t holding the gigantic water ball, she would probably have rushed to Cang Yue and stopped her already.

    ¡°Senior sister Cang Yue!¡±

    ¡°Senior sister, don¡¯t do it!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid, Senior sister Cang Yue! You can exin any misunderstandings you have, I believe that the leader wouldn¡¯t me you!¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples started yelling after they realized what Cang Yue was doing. She had clearly left them astounded.

    Suicide?!

    Who¡¯d have thought that Cang Yue wouldmit suicide at this moment!

    Qian Ye and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples weren¡¯t the only ones who were caught off-guard. Even Lin Mubai didn¡¯t see iting, and he still couldn¡¯t believe it even after he witnessed it with his own eyes.

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Cang Yue was still staring at the golden radiance in the sky as she continued, ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to believe him. Furthermore, he doesn¡¯t know anything at all. His unsupported guesses are full of errors too!¡±

    ¡°Cang Yue, you can say anything you want, just put down the knife first!¡± Qian Ye was obviously anxious, so much so that the corner of her mouth was slightly twitching.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe him, I really don¡¯t believe him!¡± Cang Yue kept going on as if she didn¡¯t hear anything that Qian Ye said. ¡°However, I must admit that he got one thing right, which is the fact that I¡¯m the only person apart from Ping Yang, who is rted to my master by blood!¡¯

    ¡°Senior sister Cang Yue!¡±

    ¡°Is senior sister thinking of...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Something like that ispletely impossible. Fang Zhengzhi was just spouting nonsense, you cannot believe him!¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples roughly figured out what Cang Yue was trying to say. However, that only made them more astonished.

    Did Qian Ye kill Leader Lan?

    Did she seal Yu Er too?

    That seemed impossible, because Qian Ye would never do that.

    No one believed that Qian Ye was the culprit.

    However, the knife in Cang Yue¡¯s hand pierced deeper into her chest. A massive amount of blood flowed out, wetting her purple dress which was already stained with blood.

    ¡°Master, Cang Yue is your servant. Without you... How could I possibly have survived till today. However, you have been sealed away for over a decade already...¡±

    ¡°Master...¡±

    Cang Yue suddenly bit her lips tightly and pushed the knife all the way into her chest without hesitation. Her blood spilled out into the air like an arrow.

    ¡°Senior sister, no!¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Cang Yue, please stop it now!¡±

    ¡°Junior sister, why are you doing this?!¡±

    All the disciples¡¯ expressions changedpletely. They were dumbfounded when they saw the stream of blood that shot out like an arrow.

    From Cang Yue¡¯s tone, they could obviously tell that she didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi. However, why would she do this if she didn¡¯t believe him?

    No one knew what Cang Yue was thinking, much less why did she was doing this or the rationale behind it.

    ¡°Cang Yue, stop, stop it now. I will answer your question now, I¡¯m not afraid of Yu Er escaping from the seal. Don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡± Qian Ye¡¯s countenance changed too.

    ¡°Yeah... Of course you aren¡¯t afraid. I also believe that you wouldn¡¯t hurt my master. However, since Leader Lan was the one who sealed my master, even you couldn¡¯t let my master out!¡± Cang Yue nodded. Then, she lost her strength and knelt down on the ground and spurted out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°However, as my master¡¯s servant, I¡¯d treat her as my master for the rest of my life. Master was the one who saved my life anyway. I¡¯m just taking a gamble with my life now!¡±

    ¡°A gamble?¡±

    ¡°What gamble?¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples stared at each other as they didn¡¯t understand Cang Yue¡¯s words.

    Cang Yue obviouslycked the strength to be concerned about the disciples. Her tears started flowing onto the ground as she clenched the knife tightly.

    ¡°Cang Yue was useless. I couldn¡¯t be by your side when you were sealed away take care of you and serve you. I couldn¡¯t even find a way to save you. It¡¯s been a dozen years already... Cang Yue misses her master every single second. I just hope to see you again, or maybe listen to your voice again. I¡¯d be satisfied to hear you say even a single word.¡±

    ¡°Master, Cang Yue¡¯s talent is limited, so I couldn¡¯t find a way to unlock the bloodline sealing technique and rescue you. You¡¯ve suffered too much because of my inability...¡±

    ¡°However, I couldn¡¯t kill Ping Yang! She is your child, your biological child. Cang Yue knows how much you love her, and I know your wish even better... In that case, how could I go against your wish and do something that you wouldn¡¯t want to do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a dozen years, the only thing I could do is wait, wait for Ping Yang¡¯s death so that you can be released from the seal...¡±

    Cang Yue took a break and at this moment and her miserable expression disappeared. She looked extremely determined and focused all of a sudden.

    ¡°Now, Cang Yue doesn¡¯t have to wait any longer! Cang Yue¡¯s body also contains master¡¯s blood, and it¡¯s even possible that I was the seal that put you away. Even if that possibility is really, really small... So what? There are only two people in this world with master¡¯s blood. Even if there is only a 1% chance, even if it¡¯s only 0.5%, I¡¯m willing to take the gamble, with my life!¡±

    Just as Cang Yue said that, the knife went through her bodypletely. So much blood gushed out through the knife and formed a tiny stream beneath her body.

    All the disciples were stunned to hear her, because they finally understood what Cang Yue was thinking.

    That was right!

    Just as Cang Yue had stated, she didn¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    So what if she didn¡¯t?

    It wouldn¡¯t change the fact that Yu Er¡¯s blood was flowing in her body.

    That blood was capable of removing the seal.

    In that case, there was a chance that she could remove the seal, even if the chance was so small that it was almost negligible.

    ¡°Master, Cang Yue would take my leave first. You... You must get out....Pfttt!¡± Cang Yue spurted out a mouthful of blood and it formed a beautiful crimson flower in the air.

    The golden radiance shone on the flower of blood, creating a glitter just like the stars at night. It was warm, but cold.

    That was contradicting, but it was the truth.

    Boom!

    Cang Yue copsed onto the ground, her face pale as a sheet. However, there was a smile on her face which seemed to mean that she was finally free.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower went silent. They weren¡¯t particrly fond or appreciative of Cang Yue, because she was unsociable for the past dozen years.

    They thought that she was spoiled and too arrogant.

    However, they now finally understood the kind of life Cang Yue had been leading over the past dozen years. She was suffering from a mental torture all alone.

    Cang Yue was dead now.

    Even though it seemed like she died in vain, it was a lesson for all for them. One could die without any regrets if he or she was as loyal as Cang Yue.

    ¡°Cang Yue...¡± Lin Mubai also bit his lips tightly as this instance. He nced at Cang Yue¡¯s lifeless body, then at the golden radiance from the sky and the gigantic water ball that contained the Mountain River World. He looked helpless just like how Cang Yue felt for the past dozen years.

    He wanted to see Yu Er again, and he waited year after year for it. He had his hopes up again and again, only for him to lose them each and every single time. This process had repeated itself for over a decade already.

    He wanted to protect Ping Yang, but the Demon Race and the three other dynasties had been eyeing them all these times. He didn¡¯t even dare to let Ping Yang out of his sight, so he had to do everything he could to lock Ping Yang in me Capital City.

    Now... He was standing in front of Ling Yun Tower.

    Even though he was so close to Yu Er, he still couldn¡¯t meet her. He could only watch helplessly while Qian Ye captured Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang and destroyed his hopes again.

    This helplessness hurt more than a knife wound!

    While Lin Mubai¡¯s fell into a daze as he looked at Cang Yue, he heard Qian Ye¡¯s voice.

    For some reason, Qian Ye¡¯s voice was trembling. In fact, she even seemed to be panicking.

    ¡°Died, she died... She... Really died! How could this happen... Impossible, this is impossible. How could she die just like that!¡± Qian Ye was so agitated that her hand which was holding the gigantic water ball started shaking.

    ¡°Leader...¡±

    ¡°Leader, please be calm. Cang Yue¡¯s death has nothing to do with you...¡±

    The disciples soon spoke up after they saw Qian Ye¡¯s expression. Several disciples in red and blue dresses even came to her side.

    However, Qian Ye didn¡¯t seem to have heard them nor saw theming towards her. She just stared at Cang Yue¡¯s body intently with a flickering golden radiance in her eyes. She seemed to be in an extremely unstable state.

    ¡°Why did this happen?¡±

    ¡°What did I do wrong? For the past dozen years, Ling Yun Tower had improved every single year. The disciples lived carefreely and our strength is superior to all the other four sects. Have I done anything wrong as the leader?¡±

    ¡°Leader, haha... I treated you so nicely, but you betrayed me because of an insignificant man, a piece of crap like Fang Zhengzhi! You betrayed me even though it cost you your life!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe him? Why did you kill yourself if you don¡¯t believe him?¡±

    ¡°Die... All of you shall die. Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang, and you... Lin Mubai, the emperor of Great Xia Dynasty. All of you shall go to hell!¡±

    Qian Ye¡¯s face turned red as she said that, but it wasn¡¯t because she was calm. She seemed like she was about to unleash all her emotions.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when they saw Qian Ye in such a state. They didn¡¯t know why Qian Ye would say something like that even though she had always kept her cool regardless of the situation, until they heard someone¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Big sister, it¡¯s been a while!¡±

 Chapter 806 - Yu Erâ€™s Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 806: Yu Er¡¯s Appearance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Boom!

    There was no lightning or thunder since it was noon and the weather was scorching hot.

    However, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples felt their ears ringing as if they were struck by lightning when they heard that ordinary greeting which sounded just like someone saying ¡®Hi!¡¯.

    All the disciples diverted their attention behind Qian Ye¡¯s back almost instantly.

    That wasn¡¯t Ling Yun Tower¡¯s gate. It was a path that led out of the sect.

    However, there was someone standing there at the moment.

    She was wearing a silvery white dress that borated her curves. Her long straight hair reached her waist and was decorated by a white-jade flower headdress.

    It was a woman, who seemed to have just gotten out of a shower, because she was exuding a cold and moist air. She didn¡¯t look like she was above 30 years old, and her facial features were as exquisite as a painting. This woman was elegant and gentle.

    Of course, most importantly, she looked extremely simr to Qian Ye. One could even say that they looked identical.

    ¡°Qian... Qian Yu!?¡±

    ¡°She, she really got out... Qian Yu¡¯s seal is removed!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    Several disciples in red and blue dresses were shocked to the core when they saw the woman¡¯s face.

    Not all the disciples of Ling Yun Tower had seen this woman before. However, they easily identified who she was from her appearance and what she said.

    Qian Yu!

    A woman that shared the same surname as Qian Ye!

    She was once the proudest symbol of Ling Yun Tower, but her name became a taboo in the past dozen years.

    Yet, this woman had appeared in front of their eyes now.

    Everything seemed so real yet so unbelievable.

    Everyone looked at Qian Yu and then at Qian Ye, who was frozen at the spot. There was nothing but silence, because no one knew what to say.

    Qian Ye¡¯s expression went through an obvious change at this instance. It turned from red to white, before it turned back to red again. It seemed to have gone through aplicated circle.

    No one knew what she was thinking or what she was going to do, because they couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing, and they were also unwilling to believe it. However, the unimaginable had happened right in front of their eyes.

    Cang Yue died!

    Then, Qian Yu appeared?!

    Was this a coincidence? Or was it... All part of the n!

    After god-knows-how-long, Qian Ye took a deep breath before turning around slowly. The golden radiance was still flowing in her eyes as she lifted the giant water ball with one hand and casually ced her other hand behind her back.

    Then, their eyes met.

    Qian Ye¡¯s lip twitched subconsciously, before a calm and sincere smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°Sister, you must have suffered a lot over these years!¡± Qian Ye sounded like she was greeting Qian Yu, but she didn¡¯t even move or physically weed her back.

    ¡°A person must toughen his mind and body before he could be sessful. It was just a dozen years of rigorous training, I wouldn¡¯t call it suffering.¡± Qian Yu shook her head and looked past Qian Ye.

    Her body trembled when she saw Cang Yue¡¯s lifeless body on the ground.

    A silvery light drew a beautiful curve in the air almost instantaneously as Qian Yu appeared in front of Cang Yue.

    ¡°Yue Er!¡¯ Qian Yu squatted down and carried Cang Yue¡¯s body up to her chest. She was visibly heartbroken.

    Years of being locked away was merely a rigorous training to Qian Yu, but she teared up as soon as she saw Cang Yue.

    ¡°Yu Er?! Is... Is that you? Is... Is that really you?¡± Lin Mubai was frozen at the spot and only just reacted.

    It wasn¡¯t because his cultivation wascking. In fact, his cultivation even exceeded the average Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    However, when he heard her voice, his mind went nkpletely. He only regained his consciousness when Qian Yu went to Cang Yue.

    That was because he couldn¡¯t believe that the person that he spent a dozen years waiting for had suddenly appeared in front of him. The shock was almost too much for him to handle.

    ¡°Your Highness... You shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± Qian Yu¡¯s hands trembled when she heard Lin Mubai¡¯s voice. However, she quickly collected herself.

    ¡°I know that we aren¡¯t fated to be together, but... I... I couldn¡¯t let you go...¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, since you¡¯re already here, please help me take care of Yue Er. Please forgive me as I have some matters to attend to.¡± Qian Yu interrupted Lin Mubai and walked towards him. She carefully ced Cang Yue¡¯s body in front of him and looked back at Qian Ye.

    Lin Mubai¡¯s body trembled and he wanted to say something, but he chose to keep quiet in the end. He nodded heavily and carefully covered Cang Yue¡¯s face with his outerwear.

    No one said a thing.

    The entire world seemed to be devoid of sound at this moment. There was only golden radiance falling from the sky and shining onto Qian Yu and Qian Ye.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples stared at the two people standing silently. They feltplicated because they knew a storm was approaching.

    Although they didn¡¯t believe that Cang Yue¡¯s death brought Yu Er here, but it didn¡¯t change the fact the taboo of Ling Yun Tower for the past dozen years was standing right in front of them.

    ...

    The wind was hot and the smell of blood in the air wasn¡¯t too intense. However, everyone could smell it clearly.

    Qian Ye was holding the gigantic water ball in one hand while keeping her other hand behind her back. The golden radiance in her eyes was flowing around and she seemed to be waiting.

    She didn¡¯t say a word, because she was aware of the ancient principle ¡®Winner takes it all¡¯. In that case, there was no need for any exnation.

    Did Qian Ye lose?

    The answer was obviously ¡®No¡¯. She was still the leader of Ling Yun Tower, and there were still over 100 disciples standing behind her.

    Most importantly, she was still in control of the Mountain River World, which contained Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    That was the true sign ofposure.

    Even though Qian Ye was in a chaotic situation, she could clearly identify her advantages.

    Qian Yu didn¡¯t say anything as well. She didn¡¯t question Qian Ye like what the rest had expected, and neither did she get angry. She was standing at same spot like a statue as if she was also waiting. However, no one knew what she was waiting for.

    This seemed to be a stalemate, and it was an eerie one. After all, Qian Yu was supposed to do something, rather than staying indifferent.

    After a long while, a smile appeared on Qian Ye¡¯s face, and that marked the end of the stalemate.

    ¡°So, Ping Yang is dead!¡± said Qian Ye.

    Just as she said that, Ping Yang¡¯s figure disappeared from the giant water ball.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi also disappeared. The clear water ball regained its tranquillity. There were no mountains copsing or water flowing. The only thing that remained was a poetic Mountain River Illustration.

    Qian Ye¡¯s simplement made the disciples of Ling Yun Tower realize why there was a stalemate.

    It was obviously because of Ping Yang!

    Since Ping Yang was in Qian Ye¡¯s control, how could Qian Yu act rashly?

    No one knew what Qian Yu was waiting for. She might have been waiting for Qian Ye to make a deal, or she might be waiting for Qian Ye¡¯s mood to get so good that she would release Ping Yang on a whim.

    That was why there was a stalemate.

    However... The stalemate had obviously ended, because Qian Ye had already made a decision. This decision meant that the stalemate wouldn¡¯t go on.

    What would happen next?

    While Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were guessing the development of the situation, an obvious answer appeared. That was because Qian Yu, who was calm and collected, started moving.

    She was walking towards Qian Ye, and the golden radiance had already dried off the moisture on her body. Her expression seemed cold.

    Meanwhile, Qian Ye was smiling brightly, so much so that her body was shaking. The Mountain River World in her hand also started shrinking and eventually disappeared.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally fallen for it!¡± As soon as the gigantic water ball disappeared, they suddenly heard a voice that came out of nowhere. Before long, a red and a blue figure appeared in front of Qian Ye.

    The blue long robe was swaying gently with the wind while the crimson dress looked dazzling. The me on zing Qilin Spear was burning brightly.

    Qian Ye¡¯s bright smile was frozen solid by this scene.

    ¡°Ha...¡± She suddenly stoppedughing as if someone stuck an entire egg in her mouth.

    She was helplessly lost!

    Of course, that was the more civilized way of putting it. In other words, she was almost choked to death!

    In fact, she wasn¡¯t the only person with an egg stuck in her mouth. Everyone¡¯s mouth formed a big circle, including Lin Mubai and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    No one knew what was going on.

    They died... And appeared again?

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were more stunned to see Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang than seeing a ghost.

    ¡°Eh, leader, you don¡¯t look too good? Did you think that Ping Yang and I have died? It turns out that we are still alive. Are you happy? Are you surprised?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi excitedly while blinking at Qian Ye.

    ¡°You, you...¡± Qian Ye didn¡¯t answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question as she was speechless, her eyes agape as if to say she would rather die than believe what was happening.

    That was because no one knew what happened in the Mountain River World better than she did. She could feel that Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi have both died.

    To put it bluntly, she killed them in the Mountain River World, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have deactivated the Mountain River World.

    She killed them!

    How could they be alive!

    Qian Ye couldn¡¯t wrap her head around this. She was staring at Fang Zhengzhi intently, and a thought that she would never believe crossed her mind at this moment.

    ¡°Is he invincible?¡±

    ¡°But if he¡¯s invincible, what about Ping Yang? Ping Yang can¡¯t be invincible just like this guy, right?¡±

    Qian Ye couldn¡¯t believe it, but that wouldn¡¯t change the fact that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were standing right in front of her, alive and well.

    ¡°Are you too surprised to talk?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled proudly when he saw Qian Ye¡¯s face turning bright red, and he continued, ¡°Actually, your attack is quite powerful. The only pity is... It¡¯s ineffective against me!¡±

    ¡°Ineffective?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower were once again left speechless by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, because it wasn¡¯t the first time they heard him saying that. In fact, he had already said it multiple times while he was fighting the five disciples just now.

    The only thing was, he was now saying the same thing to the leader of Ling Yun Tower.

    This guy... His shamelessness and boldness knew no limits!

    While Fang Zhengzhi was about to say something nice to Qian Ye again, he suddenly heard someone¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Ping Yang, Ping Yang... My child!!!¡±

    The voice was loud, and more importantly, it sounded unfamiliar. However, Fang Zhengzhi trembled when he heard the voice and he subconsciously looked behind him.

    Then, he saw a woman with long, ck hair, who was wearing a silvery white dress. He could tell that she was gentle and elegant.

    She was beautiful, as beautiful as a painting.

    Most importantly, she looked almost the same as Qian Ye. However, she exuded apletely different air than Qian Ye.

 Chapter 807 - A Ball Could Only Be Crushed Once

    <h4>Chapter 807: A Ball Could Only Be Crushed Once</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Two Qian Ye?!¡± That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first thought, but he quickly rejected it because they gave off different airs.

    Of course, he figured out her identity from what she had said, even though it was unbelievable.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had never seen Qian Yu before. He had never heard anyone discussing about her looks or special features.

    However, when he saw her face and heard her voice, he already knew who she was.

    In that case, how could Ping Yang be clueless?

    Ping Yang froze on the spot instantly and she let go of the zing Qilin Spear without even realising. It fell onto the ground with a ng.

    However, she seemed oblivious to all of these. She was focused on nothing but Qian Yu.

    Time stood still at this moment.

    Their eyes met. Both of their eyes were equally clear, and even expressed the same emotions.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t say anything. She just bit her trembling lips tightly, and she teared up.

    She had waited too long for this moment that she almost gave up hope, suffering from a continuous emotional pain.

    She fell into despair after she heard what Cang Yue had said. She wasn¡¯t afraid of dying, but she couldn¡¯t ept her fate. She wanted to see her mother, even if she could only take a quick nce.

    Yet, there was a woman who looked just like Qian Ye standing in front of her now, and her eyes were as clear as water just like Ping Yang¡¯s.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t dare to believe what she was seeing because she wasn¡¯t sure if it was real. She was afraid that the person standing in front of her would disappear if she blinked even once.

    Hence, although her tears had blurred her vision, Ping Yang didn¡¯t blink a single time.

    ¡°Child, my child...¡± Qian Yu was also looking closely and intently at Ping Yang. Her cold expression melted, and there was nothing but the excitement of a mother meeting her child.

    Extreme excitement!

    There was no talking or pouring of their hearts out. They just gazed at each other while the word ¡®Child¡¯ echoed in the surroundings.

    That was right... Child!

    The child that was taken away from her mother shortly after birth and was separated from her for over a decade, had grown into a 16 years old girl in the blink of an eye.

    Then, she suddenly appeared in front of her mother.

    In that case, how could the mother remain calm, even if she was in a critical situation and had important matters at hand.

    Lin Mubai was also tearing up, he wanted to loudly remind Ping Yang that the woman was her mother and she should call her ¡®Mom¡¯.

    However, he didn¡¯t say a word, because he knew that it wasn¡¯t necessary. As long as the two of them, the most important people in his life, were standing together, they would surely understand each other.

    That was the power of blood!

    In 16 years, the child had grown into a youthfuldy, and she had found her mother.

    Such a scene... Was tear-jerking even for Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples. Some of them even lowered their heads and started weeping.

    ¡°I pay my respect to Lady Qian Yu!¡±

    ¡°We are willing to serve you again, Lady Qian Yu!¡±

    ¡°We are willing to serve you again!¡±

    A bunch of voices eximed loudly, following which, over a dozen disciples knelt down on the ground.

    If they were still full of disbelief and hesitation when Qian Yu had just appeared, then at this moment, they had discarded all their worries.

    A simple sentence had illustrated their unwavering determination.

    These disciples knew the consequences of saying that, but they didn¡¯t care. That was because the woman standing in front of them was Qian Yu, once the pride and honour of Ling Yun Tower and also the woman that they had sworn on their lives to serve.

    At this moment, everyone was focused on Qian Ye and Ping Yang, including Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was because even he couldn¡¯t figure out what happened on the outside after he was trapped in the Mountain River World.

    Qian Yu?

    Yu Er...

    Her surname is Qian? Just like Qian Ye!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like his understand of the world was turned upside down. He didn¡¯t need to guess to know the rtionship between the two women who shared the same surname.

    However, that wasn¡¯t too important, because as he looked at Qian Yu and Ping Yang, he was reminded of the saying ¡®Every cloud has a silver lining¡¯.

    She got out of the seal?!

    Fang Zhengzhi would rather believe that Wu Yuer took a misstep and fell into a water puddle than believe that Qian Yu had somehow undone her seal.

    After all, he was supposed to be up for the task.

    Even he took 10,000 steps back, it was impossible for Qian Yu to get out of the seal, because Ping Yang was still alive. How could she possibly escape?

    Did he guess correctly?

    Was Cang Yue actually responsible for the seal instead of Ping Yang?

    As this thought entered his mind, Fang Zhengzhi quickly scanned the surroundings and soon spotted a person lying on the ground. He couldn¡¯t see her face because it was covered by Lin Mubai¡¯s outerwear, but the purple dress gave her identity away.

    ¡°Cang Yue, is dead? Who killed her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was struck dumb because he knew that he didn¡¯t do it. In fact, he even handed Cang Yue back to Qian Ye.

    How did Cang Yue die?

    Did Lin Mubai kill her?

    That was impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi would never believe that Lin Mubai was capable of killing her in front of Qian Ye and all the disciples of Ling Yun Tower. After all, if he was really that powerful, he wouldn¡¯t have waited for a dozen years in Great Xia Dynasty.

    If Lin Mubai didn¡¯t kill her, who did?

    Qian Ye?

    That was equally impossible, because if Cang Yue¡¯s death had something to do with Qian Yu¡¯s seal, how could Qian Ye possibly kill her.

    She didn¡¯tmit suicide, did she?

    Wait a minute!

    Suicide?

    Cang Yuemitted suicide?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes went agape. That was as unbelievable as someone telling him that Lin Mubai had actually fallen in love with Qian Ye at first sight, not Qian Yu.

    However... It seemed like Cang Yue actuallymitted suicide. Furthermore, that was the only usible exnation.

    ¡°Suicide? I got it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had wanted toment that the world was too crazy that even someone like Cang Yue wouldmit suicide.

    However, his expression turned solemn just as he was about to say it. It was a heartfelt respect.

    That was because he knew why Cang Yue hadmitted suicide. As a servant, she was willing to take a gamble with her life even though the chance was so slim. In that case, no matter how much wrong she did, she was worthy of respect.

    Loyalty.

    No matter what Cang Yue did, she had at the very least proven her loyalty.

    ¡°Mo... Mother?!¡± Ping Yang finally said the word that was long overdue. She looked extremely hopeful when she said that. She was hoping that this wasn¡¯t a dream.

    ¡°My child, it¡¯s me...¡± Qian Yu nodded heavily, and she could no longer hold her tears back.

    ¡°Mother!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This reunion after such a long time was enough to make many Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples tear up, even though their sect was known for its heartlessness.

    However, at this instance... A ray of radiance descended from the sky. It was as bright as the sun and felt hot due to the scorching weather.

    It shot towards Ping Yang like a bolt of lightning.

    Ping Yang¡¯s body trembled as she felt the approaching danger. She also knew where it came from.

    Qian Ye!

    While she turned towards Qian Yu, Qian Ye decided to backstab her!

    The leader of the mighty Ling Yun Tower finally lost it and decided to use a lethal move against Ping Yang, who had just be a Sage.

    Everything happened so suddenly, but there were still two people who reacted. One of them was Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing beside Ping Yang. The other person was Qian Yu, who still had years in her eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reaction was simple. He hugged Ping Yang as soon as the radiance descended and intended to dodge the attack.

    He was obviously fast enough since he wasn¡¯t too far away from Ping Yang. In fact, he was almost right next to her.

    However... To his surprise, Qian Yu somehow appeared beside Ping Yang just as his arms wrapped around her waist.

    Most importantly, Qian Yu also put her arm around Ping Yang¡¯s waist.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled because he didn¡¯t expect Qian Yu to be so fast.

    After all, she was further away from Ping Yang than he was.

    Of course, Qian Yu was equally surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed and reaction. She eximed softly from astonishment when she wrapped her arm around Ping Yang.

    There was a kind of cup that had a handle on the left and another on the right, called ¡°You left I right¡±...

    It was a ¡®euphonious¡¯ name which had a simple meaning. When both the handles are held by both of your hands, it stood for a way of paying your respect to someone.

    It was also known as ¡®sping your fists¡¯!

    Of course, under such conditions, the cup would be extremely stable.

    However, Ping Yang wasn¡¯t in a stable situation, because the golden radiance from the sky was about to hit her.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse out loud. He had never expected Qian Yu to gain the upper hand as theter and grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s waist at the same time as he did.

    This made things awkward.

    Courtesy!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how to be courteous, but he never really cared about being courteous. However, he somehow chose to let go of Ping Yang at this moment...

    Then, he realised that Qian Yu also let go of Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    For an instant, Fang Zhengzhi met eyes with Qian Yu. There wasn¡¯t any exchange of angry emotions involved, but Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to say ¡°Shit!¡±.

    Of course, he made a rare decision of being courteous twice in a single day. Even though he wanted to curse, he still leapt forward and shielded Ping Yang¡¯s body from the falling radiance.

    Then... There was no then.

    That was because Qian Yu also leapt forward, and in fact, she leapt higher than he did. Therefore, it was obvious Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t be struck by the golden radiance.

    However, that didn¡¯t matter anymore. What was important was that Fang Zhengzhi spotted Qian Ye holding another golden orb which contained another world simr to the Mountain River World, except for the fact that it was covered in snow.

    ¡°There¡¯s another one?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally knew why Qian Ye decided to backstab Ping Yang first, because that was the only way she had a chance to entrap all three of them in that golden orb.

    However, could she really pull off the same trick on the same person for a second time and expect the same results?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled confidently, because he wanted to beat his chest and say, ¡°No!¡±

    He knew how powerful the attack was and how much luck was needed to escape from it. He was also aware that he couldn¡¯t get so lucky again. Despite all that, he was brave enough to say ¡°No!¡±.

    That was because... A ball could only be crushed once!

 Chapter 808 - Does He Have a Bottom Line at All

    <h4>Chapter 808: Does He Have a Bottom Line at All</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Did Fang Zhengzhi have any balls? He did! Therefore, he wouldn¡¯t give Qian Ye a second chance to crush another ¡®ball¡¯, even though this ball wasn¡¯t the same as that ball.

    As the saying went, ¡°Your ball is not a ball, but it¡¯s also my ball...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi had a simple solution. He instantaneously lifted his leg and kicked Qian Yu¡¯s thigh without any hesitation.

    Boom! Qian Yu was already above Fang Zhengzhi, so the kick sent her flying at an even faster speed. She almost flew towards the sky like a stream of light.

    ¡°...¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were definitely shocked by what they saw. After all, they couldn¡¯t think of any reason why Fang Zhengzhi would attack Qian Yu.

    In that case, the only possible exnation was theck of cooperation between the two of them. In fact, their cooperation was bad that they were getting in each other¡¯s way.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention.

    He didn¡¯t kick Qian Yu by mistake or because he had impure intentions towards the empress of Great Xia Dynasty.

    He needed an external force if he wanted to stop Qian Ye from squashing the ¡®ball¡¯.

    To put it bluntly, he needed aunching pad, so he needed to choose between Qian Yu and Ping Yang.

    Choosing one based on their seniorities was a choice, but it wasn¡¯t suited for Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was because he wouldn¡¯t kick the one... That he was closer to!

    ...

    He didn¡¯t check if Qian Yu had survived the radiance from the sky. With the help of the counterforce from kicking Qian Yu¡¯s leg, Fang Zhengzhi reached Qian Ye in a sh.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original speed was already extremely fast, the only apt description for his speed with the help of the external force was freakishly fast.

    Qian Ye¡¯s expression changed when Fang Zhengzhi suddenly appeared in front of her eyes as if he had teleported.

    It might be due to what he did to Qian Yu, or it might be due his unbelievable reaction and speed.

    Nheless, it didn¡¯t affect Qian Ye¡¯s movement.

    As soon as Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of her, she squashed the golden orb.

    However... She felt that something was wrong.

    Neither did she hear an explosion, nor did she see a world of snow appearing in front of her eyes.

    Feeling lost and confused, she naturally looked towards her hand for an answer. However, much to her surprise, the golden orb which was supposed to be crushed by her hand... Had disappeared!

    It was reced by an ugly object that looked kind of like a stone.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    This was a weird feeling, as if you were walking around the streets with your pretty wife acting all lovey-dovey, but she left for someone else all of a sudden.

    Most importantly, she was reced by a hideous overweight woman with pimples all over her face, shouting, ¡°Honey, I just bought a new perfume. You have to find out if I smell nice...¡±

    Smell nice?

    To hell with that!

    This was howplicated Qian Ye felt at the moment. She didn¡¯t know how to react as she stared at the ¡®ugly ck stone¡¯ in her hand.

    At this moment... The ¡®ugly ck stone¡¯ blew up.

    A dazzling white light lit up in front her eyes. It was so bright, almost as if all the sunlight had converged at one spot.

    Qian Ye only felt that the world had bepletely white in her eyes. Moreover, there was a sharp and intense pain at her eyes.

    ¡°Ah! My eyes...¡± Qian Ye let out a heartrending scream, and she felt a powerful kick to her face at the same time.

    The immense impact and the pain on her nose made her body fell to the side uncontrobly.

    Everything happened quickly... From the moment she squashed the orb, to the moment it was reced by an ugly ck stone, and eventually till the blinding white light and the kick to her face... It all happened ridiculously fast.

    Of course, it also left Qian Ye stunned...

    She wasn¡¯t stunned that she lost to Fang Zhengzhi, rather, she was stunned that as the leader of Ling Yun Tower and one of the strongest people in the Holy Region, she was kicked in the face in front of so many people.

    How humiliating was that?

    Qian Ye didn¡¯t know how to describe her feelings right now. All she knew was that she was absolutely fuming with anger at this instance, so much so that she could tear Fang Zhengzhi into two pieces alive.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Qian Ye roared and unleashed a terrifying aura. Given how knowledgeable she was, she obviously knew that she had fallen for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡®trick¡¯.

    It was Heaven Dao!

    Heaven Dao¡¯s ¡®Shifting Forms¡¯ technique!

    Having mastered four of the six Rebirth Dao Techniques, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks were definitely unpredictable even if he wasn¡¯t as strong as Qian Ye.

    However... What was the ugly ck stone and the blinding white light that came out of it?

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a shbang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could guess what Qian Ye was thinking, so he mockingly answered her question.

    ¡°Do you want squash another ¡®ball¡¯? Do you really think that¡¯s possible?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself.

    Using Heaven Dao¡¯s Shifting Forms technique, he switched the golden orb with a shbang in that blink of an eye and took advantage of the situation to kick Qian Ye¡¯s face. Besides Fang Zhengzhi, who could have thought of such a smart move?

    Fang Zhengzhi was feeling good at the moment.

    However, those around him didn¡¯t feel the same, including many Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples who were too stunned to say a word. Lin Mubai was also left agape and speechless.

    Even Qian Yu wasn¡¯t in a good mood.

    In fact, Qian Yu was already injured before Fang Zhengzhi kicked Qian Ye¡¯s face.

    As a victim of this sudden change of situation, Qian Yu really didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi, who was supposedly on the same side as her, would ¡®backstab¡¯ her.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t kick Qian Yu with much force, but as a result, she couldn¡¯t even defend herself properly against the radiance that fell from the sky.

    In that case, she was obviously not in her best shape now.

    That was because even Qian Yu wouldn¡¯t be able to escape unscathed after taking a direct hit from Qian Ye. The golden radiance that rushed into her body turned her face a little pale.

    Rumble!

    Qian Ye and Qian Yu almost crashed into the ground at the same time. They were both kicked by Fang Zhengzhi, the only difference was, one of them got kicked in the face while the other was kicked in the thigh.

    Silence ensued!

    After a brief silence, everyone heard a voice.

    ¡°Eh? Are you both injured at the same time? That¡¯s great! You two could finally have a fair fight!¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked at Qian Ye and Qian Yu and gave them his sincere ¡®blessings¡¯.

    After he said that, he carried Ping Yang up, who was standing there like a stunned mullet, and ran like the wind towards Lin Mubai, and handed the battlefield to Qian Ye and Qian Yu.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower stared at each other before they nced at Fang Zhengzhi, who had already escaped to the side of the battlefield. They all looked like they were extremely speechless.

    ¡®A fair fight?¡¯

    Such a ¡®righteous¡¯ment! However, wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi the one who injured both Qian Ye and Qian Yu?

    What kind of logic was that?

    Rather, how shameless did a person need to be to call this ¡®fair¡¯ under such circumstances?

    The disciples really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    In fact, even Qian Ye and Qian Yu were staring at Fang Zhengzhi intently.

    Qian Ye needed to relieve her anger. She wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi. In fact, she wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi more badly than she wanted to kill Qian Yu.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi ran away with Ping Yang outright and even acted like he was doing the right thing.

    Qian Ye was mentally strong enough to contain her anger. If someone else was in her shoes, he would have already been consumed by anger.

    ¡°Does he have any shame at all?¡±

    ¡°Does he have a bottom line at all!¡±

    These were Qian Ye¡¯s actual thoughts. Even Qian Yu¡¯s shared the same feeling at this moment. As the most innocent victim, she wanted to p Fang Zhengzhi to his death too.

    Putting the ¡®backstab¡¯ aside... He actually had the audacity to run away?

    Furthermore, ording to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, she should thank him for kicking her so that she could fight fairly against Qian Ye.

    More importantly, she couldn¡¯t disagree with him.

    That pissed her off the most!

    ¡°Come on, why aren¡¯t you guys fighting? What happened to the deep-rooted grudges? If I was sealed away for a dozen years, I¡¯d surely lose my cool!¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued to pour gas on fire after he disregarded Qian Ye and Qian Yu¡¯s chilling gaze.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that he should always fight if he could. However, that wasn¡¯t always true. If he was in a situation where he couldn¡¯t fight, then he shouldn¡¯t do it.

    The situation now was thetter!

    Firstly, there was zero cooperation between him and Qian Yu, and he didn¡¯t know her strength and abilities at all. He had to base everything off his instinct, which led to a problem.

    How could he determine which one of Qian Ye¡¯s attack could she withstand? If Qian Ye was about to kill her, should he take the bullet for her? There were too many uncertainties.

    Secondly, Fang Zhengzhi was equally clueless about Qian Ye¡¯s strength.

    In fact, after he was trapped inside the Mountain River World, the only thing he did was borrowing and controlling the power of the Dao of Nature.

    He ended up ¡®deceiving¡¯ Qian Ye.

    In simpler words, Fang Zhengzhi used his techniques to borrow the Mountain River World¡¯s source of power and created the illusion to lead Qian Ye into thinking that he and Ping Yang had died.

    In that case, she would obviously stop wasting her energy to sustain the Mountain River World.

    Hence, there was some luck involved for Fang Zhengzhi to be able to escape with Ping Yang so quickly.

    That led to another problem.

    Did Qian Ye have any other hidden cards? For example, what was Ling Yun Tower¡¯s ultimate treasure, Ling Yun Realm, capable of?

    As the old saying went, ¡°If it¡¯s not my business, I¡¯m going to leave it alone.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going pretend that this had nothing to do with him. However, it was time for a ¡®honorable discharge¡¯.

    Furthermore, if he took 10,000 steps back... Protecting Ping Yang and Lin Mubai and keeping them out of harm¡¯s way was also a tough job.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s honest thought.

    However,bining his thought with his provocative words and sincere expression, made the rest feel like beating him up.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you aren¡¯t getting away!¡± Qian Ye was one of those who wanted to beat him up, and she put her n into action.

    Just as she said that, she wiped away the shoe print on her face and disappeared from the spot.

    The nine golden stars on top of the golden light screen that covered Ling Yun Tower glowed dazzlingly as soon as she disappeared.

    Afterward, nine rays of sunlight descended from the sky. They were twice as big as the earlier ones and also much faster.

    ¡°What the hell? Why are you fighting me instead of settling the grudge that hadsted over a decade first?¡± Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help but be frustrated when he saw the sunlight that wasing for him.

    After all, all he wanted to do now... Was stand around and look pretty!

 Chapter 809 - Letâ€™s Sell a Teammate Out

    <h4>Chapter 809: Let¡¯s Sell a Teammate Out</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    As the saying went, ¡°Dreams are beautiful, but the reality is cruel.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n of staying out of the conflict didn¡¯t go smoothly, because the nine rays of sunlight were falling rapidly. It seemed like Qian Ye didn¡¯t want to give him a break.

    However, since he already knew what he wanted, he had to work hard for it. Even though the road ahead seemed grueling, how could he quit without even trying?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he needed to try.

    Hence, he decided to ¡®move¡¯ a little. As the nine rays of sunlight fell, he hugged Ping Yang and shifted to the side again.

    However, he didn¡¯t take Lin Mubai with him.

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Mubai was dumbfounded. After all, he was Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor, and he even awarded Fang Zhengzhi the title of ¡®Prince Cang¡¯. In that case, Fang Zhengzhi, who was once his citizen, should be obliged to protect him, but now, what happened was...

    He ran away?

    What the hell?

    Lin Mubai didn¡¯t understand what was going on, because he didn¡¯t think that Qian Ye¡¯s attack could harm Fang Zhengzhi.

    Nine rays of sunlight...

    It should be fine, right?

    While Lin Mubai was engrossed in his thoughts, he heard a loud and clear voice.

    ¡°Your Highness, take two steps to your left now to dodge the attack!¡±

    ¡°Left?!¡± Lin Mubai recognized that it was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, so he subconsciously took a step to the left.

    However, his face pale as soon as did that, because he realized that there was a problem.

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be standing on his left just now, which meant that... The nine rays of sunlight were falling towards his left.

    ¡°Did he just ask me to move towards the sunlight?¡±

    ¡°Is he rebelling against me!¡±

    Lin Mubai didn¡¯t know how to describe his feelings at the moment. If this had happened half a year ago, he would have sentenced Fang Zhengzhi and his family to nine generations of capital punishment without any hesitation.

    However, could he do that now?

    He wanted to, but he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯d never forgive you even if I died!¡± Lin Mubai screamed at the top of his lungs, unwilling to resign his fate as he watched the nine rays of sunlight got closer.

    However, before he even finished his sentence, a silvery white figure already appeared above his head. Her dress which was as beautiful as the moon was swaying in the wind, and her long, ck hair was dancing behind her back.

    It was Qian Yu.

    The woman who had appeared in his dream countless times, whom he was willing to keep waiting for even after a dozen years, finally appeared before him again.

    Buzz!

    A silver radiance bloomed as if the moon was hanging in the air. Its cold aura froze the surrounding air and produced many ice crystals.

    This breath-taking scenebined with Qian Yu¡¯s dignified aura and exquisite facial features, looked just like a Moonlight Dance Illustration.

    Lin Mubai seemed to be drunk off the beauty of this scene.

    As he gazed at the figure that appeared above his head, he seemed to have forgotten about the nine rays of sunlight that were falling down, as well as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s crime of ¡®desertion¡¯.

    ¡°Yu Er...¡±

    Boom!

    The ground cracked, sending mud and rocks into the air. A golden radiance and a silver radiance were shing against each other in the air, as if the sun was fighting against the moon.

    Lin Mubai was pressed against the ground, but he gritted his teeth and tried his hardest to resist the enormous aura.

    This was an intense scene.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you excited? Do you feel your heart beating? Aren¡¯t you thankful that I helped you find out if Yu Er still loves you? You¡¯re wee! However, if you really want to express your gratitude, you can just award me a few more acres ofnd!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Mubai, drunk off love and pain, was suddenly pulled back to the reality when he heard that voice.

    He was truly speechless.

    Thankful?

    Should he be thankful that Fang Zhengzhi left him for dead?

    How could a person be so shameless?

    Lin Mubai felt a strong urge to grab Fang Zhengzhi by his ear and shout at him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it for yourself and find out if it¡¯s as ecstatic as you said?¡±

    However, regardless of how felt, he had to admit to himself that if he was given a choice, he would have wanted Fang Zhengzhi to abandon him again.

    Could this be... The legendary ¡®sluttiness¡¯?

    ¡°Everyone wants to feel alive and feel their heart beating.¡± Fang Zhengzhi put one arm around Ping Yang¡¯s waist and the other behind his back while he watched the battle between Qian Ye and Qian Yu. He kept his head high, as if to say, ¡°It feels lonely at the top¡±.

    Who said that ¡°Dreams are beautiful, but the reality is harsh?¡±

    As long as a person was willing to challenge himself and chase after his dreams, he could ovee even the toughest obstacles. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if he couldn¡¯t solve the problem, he could sell his teammate out.

    ...

    ¡®In spite of oneself¡¯ was used to describe a situation where a person couldn¡¯t get out because the situation was out of his control.

    Qian Ye was in such a situation. Since Qian Yu was standing in her way, she couldn¡¯t possibly go after Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally got to enjoy the peacefulness that he wanted.

    ¡°Shameless one, how could you risk my father¡¯s life just so that you could escape from the battle!¡± Although Ping Yang was a little na?ve, she was definitely smart enough to tell what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    ¡°I am doing it for the sake of your family reunion! Can¡¯t you tell that although your mother is happy to see you, she isn¡¯t willing to reunite with His Highness?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded righteous.

    ¡°So, should I thank you for that as well?¡± Ping Yang pouted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of using that as an excuse to ¡®gift¡¯ yourself to me, unless you could learn how to cook a dish within a year!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°A dish? What dish?¡± Ping Yang wanted scold Fang Zhengzhi for being shameless, but her curiosity got the better of her when she heard about the dish.

    ¡°The dish is called... Super Ma La Hotpot!¡±

    ¡°Super Ma La Hotpot? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a tasty dish.¡±

    ¡°Well... Is it difficult to learn how to cook this dish?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not too difficult. The key point is putting effort into the choice of ingredients. Do you want to learn to cook it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and said.

    ¡°Yup, I... do!¡± Ping Yang eventually nodded her head and some hesitation.

    ¡°As a girl, can¡¯t you show a little more self-restraint? Even a little bit is fine!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at her with a weird expression.

    ¡°What do you mean... Ah, you shameless fellow, how dare you take advantage of me! I... I¡¯m going to tell sister Yan and ask her to deal with you!¡± Ping Yang quickly reacted after her mind went nk for a brief moment.

    ¡°Chi Guyan?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he recalled the time when hest saw Chi Guyan.

    Although her departing words didn¡¯t sound like anything special initially, they kept him alive when he was crucified by the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Three months had past...

    ¡°I¡¯d be a Sage, but I wonder how much progress she made?¡±

    ¡°She has N¨¹wa¡¯s bloodline!¡±

    ¡°If she had be a Sage, I wonder if I could beat her? If I can¡¯t, does that mean I¡¯d be bullied just like what Ping Yang said?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°As a real man, I must be brave enough to stand up to the challenge!¡±

    ...

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in these ridiculous andpletely unrted thoughts, the battle between Qian Yu and Qian Ye had grown fiercer.

    The golden sunlight descended from the sky while the silvery moonlight rose from the ground.

    The two radiances shed against each other. The hot and cold auras drew a clear line of distinction in the air.

    ¡°The moon¡¯s radiance came from the sun. Sister, how could your moonlight be brighter than my sunlight?!¡± At this instance, Qian Ye¡¯s voice came from the sky, and at the same time, the golden radiance grew brighter and seemed to be overpowering the silvery radiance.

    ¡°The sun sets and the moon eclipses. Sister, stop being so obsessed with the sun and moon¡¯s light. Does it matter if your radiance is brighter than mine?¡± Qian Yu replied.

    Qian Yu was obviously having a hard time, but she kept hanging on like a tiny boat in the ocean.

    ¡°Rubbish! The strongest people rule this world. Since I¡¯m more powerful than you, you should surrender to me and obey my orders!¡± Qian Ye sounded like she was looking down on Qian Yu.

    ¡°The strongest people? That might be true in the short run, but do you know that even the brightest light will eventually burn out instead ofsting for eternity. We have to unite as one, make consistent breakthroughs, and nurture more and more younger talents so that Ling Yun Tower could stand tall forever!¡±

    ¡°United? Hahaha, do you think that Ling Yun Tower is not united as one at this moment?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t true unity, and it will fade away just like the brightest radiance. Sister... If you rule with an iron fist, you¡¯ll ultimately face rebellion!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! When you were at Great Xia Dynasty, you took it upon yourself to stop the war between the four dynasties by joining the war and killing three generals. Weren¡¯t you abusing your power too? Furthermore, after you had the chance to see the Heaven Dao Tablets, you forgot about the mission that master had assigned to you and failed to bring the Heaven Dao Tablets back to Ling Yun Tower immediately. Didn¡¯t that mean that you were preparing to rule with an iron fist?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qian Yu didn¡¯t say anything.

    However, Lin Mubai trembled when he heard that word. He looked at Qian Yu, then at Qian Ye, with a confused expression on his face.

    ¡°Mission?!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Lin Mubai, did she keep you in the dark until now? Do you know why my sister agreed to be your empress and stay by your side for three years?¡± Qian Ye wasughing in the air.

    ¡°Are you saying... That everything was...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Everything was part of our master¡¯s n, including the promise to apany you for three years. All of them was only for the sake of obtaining the Heaven Dao Tablets. Do you finally realize how stupid you are now? My sister had never loved you. In fact, that woman that you saw during the first encounter was me, not my sister!¡±

    ¡°The person that I saw, was you?!¡± Lin Mubai couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy to track down an emperor. In order to speed things up, our master ordered us to wait for you at two locations and pretend that the encounter was a coincidence. Unfortunately, you met me, but you married my sister. Isn¡¯t that hrious? Hahahaha...¡± Qian Ye continuedughing.

    ¡°Why... Did you guys do that?¡±

    ¡°As a high and mighty Sage, how could I marry a piece of crap like you? Only Yu Er followed the order obediently. Apart from that, I can tell you something else that you might be more interested in!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a guess? Why do you think that the entire world knew about the Heaven Dao Tablets right after you showed them to Yu Er?¡±

    ¡°It... It was you!?!¡±

    ¡°It was obviously me. Yu Er only told me about it, and she even wanted to disguise myself as her and sneak into the pce to study the Heaven Dao Tablets together. Isn¡¯t she generous? It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t need her generosity. If I wanted the Heaven Dao Tablets, I could get them by myself. Isn¡¯t that right, sister?¡±

    ¡°Big sister, you are too na?ve if you thought that you could affect my emotional stability with these stories.¡± Qian Yu¡¯s eyes turnedpletely silver at this point, and her entire body was surrounded by a silvery radiance which exuded a terrifying and chilling aura.

    ¡°Emotional stability? That¡¯s right, emotional stability! Yu Er still loves me, she definitely loves me. None of these is true... Qian Ye, do you really think that I¡¯d believe you?¡± Lin Mubai quickly regained hisposure and he looked more determined than ever.

    ¡°No, my sister was right. I only agreed to marry you because of my master¡¯s order. However, I didn¡¯t expect things to turn out like that.¡± Qian Yu shook her head and interrupted Lin Mubai.

    Just then, a faint golden shadow appeared behind her back. It was barely visible, especially since it blended into the golden radiance from the sky.

    However, the shadow crashed into Qian Yu¡¯s back as soon as it appeared. It moved so quickly that it felt the shadow had teleported.

    Boom!

    Qian Yu¡¯s expression changed as she got knocked forward and spurted a mouthful of blood into the air.

    Everything happened so quickly that no one could react in time.

    ¡°Yu Er!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes turned red when the silvery figure in the air was stained by blood. Golden radiance surged out of his body as he activated the Green Dragon Eye recklessly and charged towards Qian Yu¡¯s back as a golden dragon.

 Chapter 810 - A Sudden Change and The Secret of Heaven-Receiving Door

    <h4>Chapter 810: A Sudden Change and The Secret of Heaven-Receiving Door</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t overestimate yourself!¡± Qian Ye scoffed, and a dazzling ray of sunlight appeared behind Lin Mubai. Then, a hand appeared from the sunlight.

    Lin Mubai would definitely die if he was struck by the hand.

    However, at that split second, Qian Yu changed her direction in the air in a freakish manner, following which, a silver moon appeared on top of Lin Mubai¡¯s head.

    It was noontime... A moon?

    This was a refreshing sight to behold.

    However, what happened next was even more refreshing. Lin Mubai just disappeared from the spot after the moon appeared on his head. Then, a faint ck shadow appeared in Qian Yu¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Qian Yu¡¯s skills... Are really amazing!¡± Fang Zhengzhi became curious about Qian Yu¡¯s strength after he saw that.

    As that thought ran through his mind, the surrounding area suddenly vibrated. Ling Yun Tower, which was originally covered by the golden radiance, changed into apletely different scenery.

    It looked like a mini version of the 10,000 Miles Mountain River Illustration now.

    Everyone found themselves standing on a stretch of mountains full of greeneries and rivers. There were even clouds floating above their heads and they could touch them just by extending their hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s Ling Yun Realm!¡±

    ¡°The leader is using Ling Yun Realm?!¡±

    ¡°Everybody stay right where you are and don¡¯t do anything!¡±

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were caught off-guard by the sudden change, but they quickly reminded each other what to do.

    Of course, apart from those disciples who supported Qian Ye, the minority of disciples who were on Qian Yu¡¯s side started saying things like ¡®Lady Qian Yu, be careful!¡¯ and ¡®Lady Qian Yu, watch out!¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of them and focused solely on the changes in the surroundings.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm?¡±

    ¡°Is this Ling Yun Realm?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just like a mini version of the 10,000 Miles Mountain River Illustration... Wait!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly looked towards the sky and discovered that the golden light screen which was above them hadpletely disappeared.

    Even the sun and the blue sky, which were barely visible from within the golden light screen, had disappeared too. It felt like the entire world had shrunk.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t logical to conclude that the world had disappeared. In that case, the only usible exnation was that the golden light screen had turned into the surrounding sceneries.

    Or did it... Transform?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure about it, but he was certain that the mountain range beneath him was getting bigger, and the sky was getting taller.

    It felt like the world was expanding.

    ¡°Wait a minute, the world?!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his chest subconsciously. For some reason, he had a strong suspicion that the Ling Yun Realm was extremely simr to The Vast World.

    For example, when The Vast World appeared, it first epassed the surrounding area before destroying it and recreating it into another separated world that the user envisioned.

    On the other hand, Ling Yun Realm... It seemed to contain an independent world by itself, and anything that entered this world would be converted into part of it.

    Although there were slight differences between the two treasures, their fundamentals and core principles were remarkably simr.

    Was Ling Yun Realm rted to The Vast World?

    These were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts, but it was difficult to prove them, especially since Qian Yu and Qian Ye were engaged in a fierce battle.

    The mountain range expanded, and the clouds flew higher, which obviously led to the appearance of sunlight.

    However, when the sun shone on them, the moon that engulfed Lin Mubai didn¡¯t disappear. It just suspended in the air freakishly.

    ¡°I can let you and Ping Yang off if you hand over the Radiant Moon Realm!¡± Qian Ye¡¯s voice was heard as she appeared beneath the sun. Her golden dress looked holy under the sunlight, as if she was bathing in the Light of the Sage.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm isn¡¯tplete without the Radiant Moon Realm. Sister¡¯s power is enough to extend the daytime by 3 days at best. Afterward, Ling Yun Realm would wear off by itself. However, if I gave you the Radiant Moon Realm now, I¡¯m afraid that it wouldst longer than three days.¡± Qian Yu appeared below the silver moon as she spoke. The silvery radiance covered her body like an outfit.

    ¡°Do you think you couldst three days if you don¡¯t hand over the Radiant Moon Realm?¡¯

    ¡°I have to try.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, it pays to try.¡±

    ¡°Over a dozen years have passed. Since I¡¯ve gotten out of the seal, I wouldn¡¯t have remained the same and made zero improvements, would I?¡±

    ¡°Improvements? Alright, I shall witness the improvements that my sister made!¡± As Qian Ye said that, her body burst into a golden me, which was formed by the golden radiance.

    Qian Yu didn¡¯t say another word, but her eyes turnedpletely silvery like the winter when she saw the golden me on Qian Ye¡¯s body.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was protecting Ping Yang with one hand and keeping the other behind his back. He was staring at the sun and the moon in the sky, deep in his thoughts.

    ...

    While a fierce battle took ce at Ling Yun Tower, two other sects of Holy Region, Yin Yang Hall and Fu Xi Valley, all the other sects of varying sizes, as well as the four great dynasties, had all received a letter from Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Why is Heaven Dao Pavilion initiating a Heaven Alliance Meeting? Did they discover something?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Otherwise, given Mu Qingfeng¡¯s personality... He would usually spend his time preaching his ¡®Dao of Mediocrity¡¯ rather than taking the lead.¡±

    ¡°In that case, should we take part?¡±

    ¡°Yeah we should. Furthermore, we need to rush towards ¡®Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯ as soon as possible!¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    A person quickly exited a ck stone room in Yin Yang Hall, and he unknowingly looked towards the new stone pavilion which was built beside the room.

    The stone pavilion was extremely well-made. Itpletely built with a type of gigantic ck rock, and it looked different from all the other stone rooms.

    A dim radiance shed past the person¡¯s eyes, but it disappeared almost immediately, only to be reced by calmness.

    Then, the person went away speedily.

    Yin Yang Hall gradually became livelier as countless disciples started to gather around. However, every one of them looked solemn.

    ...

    What happened in Yin Yang Hall waspletely different from the development in Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Heaven Dao Pavilion was currently at its quietest. There weren¡¯t many disciples guarding the sword peak, and the number of disciples in the sect was much fewer than the normal times too.

    Obviously, this wasn¡¯t because all of them had died.

    As the initiator of the ¡®Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯ this time, they had already left for ¡®Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯, which was located at the center of the Holy Region, a long time ago.

    Therefore, there were fewer than 100 disciples remaining in Heaven Dao Pavilion at the moment.

    All the administrative matters were handed over to the Sixth elder, as all other elders had left for Heaven Zen Mountain together with the sect leader, Mu Qingfeng.

    However, the disciples tasked with guarding the Heaven-Receiving Door at the Heaven Academic Altar were still standing around the door dutifully.

    The Heaven-Receiving Door was built entirely from jade rock, giving it an ancient but simple look. The door was exuding a depressing air which made the surrounding atmosphere grim.

    ¡°Senior brother, I feel like the Heaven-Receiving Door... Is little strange recently!¡± a disciple in a white schr¡¯s robe turned towards and the middle-aged man beside him and said.

    ¡°Strange? What¡¯s strange about it?¡± the middle-aged man replied softly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t you feel that it¡¯s getting increasingly harder to breathe near the door?¡± said the disciple in a white schr¡¯s robe in a tired tone.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just feeling agitated because of the changes in the outside world that you¡¯ve heard about?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, I...¡±

    ¡°I can understand how you feel, since I was in the same position before. It¡¯s perfectly fine if you feel like exploring the outside world, since the changes meant new opportunities too. However, since we were tasked by our master to guard the door, we have to carry out our duties. Otherwise, we¡¯d be breaking the rules and thews of the Heaven Dao!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯re right. I know my mistakes now...¡± the disciple in white lowered his head and touched his chest as he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

    However, his body suddenly trembled and his eyes went agape before he could exhalepletely. He was even coughing badly because he couldn¡¯t control his breathing.

    ¡°Junior brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked the middle-aged man when he saw the other disciple¡¯s face turning bright red.

    The other disciples were looking at him with a confused expression too.

    ¡°Door... Door, senior brother... The door...¡± the disciple in white was obviously out of breath because he was overwhelmed by fear. He looked extremely terrified at the moment. Although he couldn¡¯t speak clearly, he still did his best and pointed towards the door.

    ¡°Door? What... Hmmm? Door... Door?!¡± the middle-aged man quickly looked towards the direction the disciple in white was pointing at after a short while.

    However, when he saw the Heaven-Receiving Door, he went from looking confused to looking terrified just like the disciple in white.

    Terror!

    It was a heartfelt terror!

    It didn¡¯t mean that he was too emotionally weak, because what happened at the Heaven Receiving Door waspletely out of his control.

    The other few disciples were stupefied and left ck-jawed as well.

    ¡°Call the master, call the master now!¡± eximed the middle-aged man, with his face pale as a sheet.

    ¡°Master? Didn¡¯t... Didn¡¯t he leave for the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡±

    ¡°Oh crap... Master isn¡¯t here?! Hurry up and inform the Sixth elder, quick... The other disciples will follow me and stop...¡± the middle-aged man gave an order soon after he reacted to the sudden change.

    However, he didn¡¯t finish his order, because a bloody radiance had grabbed his neck in that split second and dragged him towards the Heaven Receiving Door.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother?!¡± the other disciples intuitively rushed towards the door to rescue the middle-aged man.

    However, they regretted their decisions almost right away.

    That was because the same bloody radiance hade for them in the form of numerous bloody ws.

    Crack!

    That was the sound of bones breaking.

    The disciples all copsed, leaving only the disciple in white standing at where he was.

    ¡°He... Help! The Heaven... Heaven Receiving Door... Door... Has opened?!¡± the disciple in white kept trembling and yelling. Blood was falling onto the ground in front of him, painting the rocks red.

    The other disciples¡¯ eyes were wide open with disbelief, or rather, because they didn¡¯t want to die just like that.

    However, the most eerie part was that the middle-aged man who was first caught by the bloody radiance was kneeling on the ground with his head low and his palms together.

    It looked like he was performing some sort of ancient ritual.

    This urred so quickly that it was spine-chillingly creepy. Even the calm and collected disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion almost broke when they saw this.

    ¡°Junior brother, what¡¯s wrong!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Senior brother Wang... Why is he kneeling... Kneeling in front of the Heaven Receiving Door... Oh no, alert the Sixth elder now!¡±

    ¡°Ah... Senior brother Li, junior brother Meng! What happened to them?!¡±

    Three disciples who had just arrived after hearing the call for help also turned pale instantaneously. After all, the disciples lying down in the pool of blood and the middle-aged man kneeling in front of the Heaven Receiving Door, were clear indicators that the door was acting abnormally.

    One of them turned and left without any hesitation. Out of the two remaining disciples, one went toward the disciple in white, while the other moved towards the Heaven Receiving Door carefully.

    His target... Was naturally the middle-aged man kneeling in front of the door.

 Chapter 811 - The Person That Walked Out of the Door

    <h4>Chapter 811: The Person That Walked Out of the Door</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    One step, two steps...

    The disciples slowly walked towards the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground. It didn¡¯t take long before he was standing behind him.

    ¡°Senior brother Wang, senior brother Wang. What¡¯s wrong?¡± the disciple shouted carefully, gripping his sword as tight as he could just in case anything went wrong.

    However, the middle-aged man ignored himpletely. He just kept his head low and murmured softly.

    The disciple was a little freaked out to see that.

    Although there were no ghosts in this world, but the middle-aged man was acting so strangely that the disciple couldn¡¯t help but make connections between the two.

    ¡°Senior brother Wang, I¡¯m Lu Xiaochuan...¡± the disciple took another step forward and introduced himself as he cautiously put a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder.

    However, as soon as he did that, he heard the sound of bones cracking.

    Crack!

    After that, the middle-aged man copsed to the ground.

    They heard a bunch of heartrending sounds, and the middle-aged man¡¯s body became smaller and smaller. He eventually crumpled to the ground as all his bones were broken.

    This scene made Lu Xiaochuan¡¯s hair stood on end.

    Even though he had killed someone before, such a creepy way of dying was too much for him to handle.

    However, Lu Xiaochuan didn¡¯t run away immediately, which showed that he was mentally tough. Just as he was about to take a closer look at the man¡¯s body, he heard someone shouting.

    ¡°Junior brother Lu, run!¡±

    ¡°Run?!¡± Lu Xiaochuan trembled and intuitively retreated. Despite that, he felt his entire body being crushed by a terrifying pressure right when he was about to take the first step.

    Following which, he kneeled down on the ground uncontrobly.

    Most importantly, the pressure was pressing so hard against his chest that it was making a buzzing noise.

    ¡°Glub, Gu... Gu...¡± Lu Xiaochuan made a low and deep sound, and with that, he was closing his palms together.

    This was an eerie sight to behold, especially for the disciples standing behind him.

    The only word that could describe what was happening, was ¡®possessed¡¯.

    The middle-aged man, senior brother Wang, kneeled down in front of Heaven Receiving Door.

    Lu Xiaochuan, who went to check on him, also kneeled down after he touched senior brother Wang. His position even seemed like he was weing senior brother Wang.

    ¡°It¡¯s a ghost!¡± the disciple in white was freaked out and he ran away without ever stopping.

    It wasn¡¯t just because this was out of control. More importantly, what happened at the Heaven Receiving Door was too horrifying.

    The other two disciples were pale as a sheet as well when they saw this.

    It was too harrowing.

    So many people had ¡®died¡¯ in just mere moments. The ground was painted red by the blood, producing a blood-chilling scene.

    Wait a minute, the blood on the ground?!

    The two disciples went agape when they saw the blood on the ground, because it seemed to be following a weird pattern.

    It felt like a... Diagram!

    Furthermore, it was a huge circle that contained extremelyplicated symbols which were formed by the blood.

    There were eight of these symbols!

    ¡°Blood... Blood Offering Illustration!¡± One of the disciples finally started trembling, because he had seen the same diagram a few months ago.

    The only difference was, the Blood Offering Illustration was in the sky when he saw it the first time. However, it was on the ground this time.

    Most importantly, the eighth symbol on the Blood Offering Illustration was slowly coagting and glowing with a bloody radiance.

    ¡°This is wrong, something¡¯s wrong. Eight... That¡¯s it, eight of them! Eight people died... This is strange!¡±

    The other disciple looked towards the bodies on the ground and became stunned when he realized something.

    There were exactly eight disciples that died.

    Of the eight disciples guarding the Heaven Receiving Door, six died on the spot. Senior brother Wang was dragged away and started ¡®praying¡¯ in front of the door, following which, junior brother Lu went to take his ce. Adding up the six deceased disciples and the other two who kneeled down in front of the door, it just so happened that there were eight of them.

    Boom!

    At this instance, the sky turned dark, and a massive bolt of purple lightning descended and struck the Heaven Receiving Door.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    The beast head on top of the door moved. It revealed its fangs and its two diamond-like eyes were glowing brightly.

    At the meantime, the door that was supposed to be closed, opened without any warming.

    It opened wide enough to let a person through, revealing many glittering stars.

    ¡°Opened, it has really... Opened. The Heaven Receiving Door has opened!!¡± the two disciples wanted to run away, but their dutifulness reminded them that this wasn¡¯t the time for that. Therefore, they started shouting for attention.

    At this moment, a shadow appeared from the door.

    It was a man, a skinny man. A sword hilt was barely visible on his back, indicating that he could be carrying a sword.

    One step, two steps...

    The shadow seemed to havee from afar. He was walking slowly out of the door, and his appearance was getting clearer with each step he took.

    ¡°Some... Someone¡¯sing out?!¡± the two disciples intuitively took a few steps back. They wanted to run away because they couldn¡¯t help but be terrified by a man walking out of Heaven Receiving Door. However, they couldn¡¯t run away because they were Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples.

    While they were hesitating, the man finally walked out of the door. Under the lightning¡¯s sh, they saw a young man in a white schr¡¯s robe. He was indeed carrying a sword on his back. The sword was transparent with a snow-like pelt, and it exuded a hint of coldness.

    ¡°Nan... Nangong Hao?!¡±

    ¡°Junior brother? Junior brother Nangong, you... you didn¡¯t die?¡± the two disciples didn¡¯t know how to describe their feelings. There was confusion, terror, and also surprise and shock.

    Nangong Hao came out!

    He came out of Heaven Receiving Door?!

    How could they believe their eyes?

    Most importantly, this Nangong Hao seemed obviously different from the one they knew, especially his face.

    The original Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t extremely handsome, but he was bright and positive, so people couldn¡¯t help but get close to him.

    However, the Nangong Hao that came out of Heaven Receiving Door... Wasn¡¯t positive at all. He was cold and creepy.

    Half of his face was covered by blood-red symbols, and his right eye even contained a sanguine Blood Offering Illustration.

    ¡°Senior brothers, it¡¯s nice to see you.¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t seem to have noticed the changed in their expressions. He nodded after he identified them and paid his respect as a junior brother.

    Then, he raised his head and looked towards the sky. At the moment, storm clouds were gathering in the sky, and purple lightnings were shing constantly. It seemed that a storm might being at any minute.

    The two disciples nced at each other.

    They clearly didn¡¯t look very good, because after all, the incident that took ce a few months ago, the change in Nangong Hao¡¯s appearance, and even the fact that he walked out of the Heaven Receiving Door, were all telling them that this Nangong Hao was no longer the Nangong Hao that they knew.

    To put it in a different way, they didn¡¯t even know if this Nangong Hao was still their junior brother.

    ¡°Junior brother Nangong, how... How did you get out... Out of the Heaven Receiving Door?¡± one of the disciples asked softly after some hesitation.

    The other disciple ced his hand on his sword with a frown, extremely alert and cautious.

    Both of them seemed to be waiting, or rather, they were stalling him.

    However, Nangong Hao didn¡¯t seem to be leaving, and he wasn¡¯t going to answer the question either. He was just staring at the sky quietly.

    After a long time, he finally retracted his gaze.

    Then, he looked towards Lu Xiaochuan, who was kneeling on the ground, before he tapped his forehead with his finger.

    Crack! Crack! Crack!

    Lu Xiaochuan copsed as if all his bones were broken, just like what happened to senior brother Wang.

    The heartrending sound apanied the equally spine-chilling scene.

    It didn¡¯t take too long before Lu Xiaochuan¡¯s body fell to the groundpletely. He was dead, just like senior brother Wang.

    Hiss!

    The two disciples gasped uncontrobly. Even though it was a hot summer day, they felt a chill up their spines.

 Chapter 812 - Nangong Noblesâ€™ True Identities

    <h4>Chapter 812: Nangong Nobles¡¯ True Identities</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Senior brothers, what¡¯s today¡¯s date?¡± Nangong Hao turned towards the two disciples and asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s... The date?!¡± the two disciples were startled by his question. They nced at each other and noticed an obvious change in each other¡¯s expression.

    Unsurprised by their reactions, Nangong Hao nodded and continued, ¡°It¡¯s pretty hot, so I suppose it¡¯s summer, right?¡±

    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s two months away from Double Ninth Festival!¡± A disciple replied to him without thinking.

    ¡°Two months... Double Ninth Festival?¡± Nangong Hao nodded again before paying his respect to the two senior brothers again. Then, he turned around and took a few steps towards the Heaven Receiving Door and ced his hand on it.

    Crack!

    The Heaven Receiving Door trembled and closed again as if it was moved by a tremendous force.

    ¡°It... It closed?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s, what¡¯s going... On?¡±

    The two disciples were shocked by what they saw. After all, they had seen how Mu Qingfeng, Chi Guyan, and Fang Zhengzhi closed the Heaven Receiving Door.

    Yet... Nangong Hao managed to close it easily with a gentle tap just now?

    This scene summoned their memories of the incident that took ce in Heaven Dao Pavilion several months ago, which only took ce because Nangong Hao used the Blood Offering Illustration.

    The Heaven Receiving Door only appeared in Heaven Dao Pavilion because of the Bloor Offering Illustration too.

    Most importantly, Nangong Hao attacked Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, Tian Xing. It happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. It remained a mystery even till today.

    No one knew why Nangong Hao did that, but it was certain that he wasn¡¯t following Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s orders.

    Rumble!

    While the disciples were deep in their thoughts, the ground shook, following which, the Heaven Receiving Door, which was standing right at the center of Heaven Academic Altar, disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°It¡¯s gone?!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao....Is controlling the Heaven Receiving Door?¡±

    The disciples intuitively took a few steps back. They seemed terrified when they looked at him again.

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t seem he wanted to wait any longer after doing that. He turned and walked towards the two disciples.

    One step, two steps...

    Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t walk too quickly, but he wasn¡¯t too slow either.

    He soon reached the two disciples, before he turned and went past them. He was headed towards the sword peak.

    The two disciples were drenched in sweat at this moment.

    They were frozen solid from fear during the entire process.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, you can¡¯t leave!¡± When Nangong Hao was already five steps away from them, one of the disciples finally said something.

    It wasn¡¯t because he had ovee his fear. It was his responsibility reminding him that he couldn¡¯t let Nangong Hao have this ce.

    After all, Nangong Hao¡¯s motive for attacking Tian Xing remained a mystery.

    Most importantly, Nangong Hao was carrying the Heaven Receiving Door. Since they were tasked with guarding the door, how could they watch as Nangong Hao took the door away?

    ¡°Junior brother Nangong, the Sixth elder would be here soon. You¡¯d best have an exnation for him. At the very least, could you tell us what have happened in the Heaven Receiving Door while you were inside?¡± another disciple gritted his teeth and asked.

    He pulled out his sword at the same time and pointed its chilling tip towards Nangong Hao¡¯s neck.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, junior brother Nangong. After all, we were once fellow disciples. You could tell us if you are facing any problems... The master and Sixth elder would definitely be able to hell you!¡± the other disciple added.

    Nangong Hao stopped walking at this moment. Then, he slowly turned around and looked at the two disciples. He was just watching them silently without any excessive movements.

    However, in the two disciples¡¯ eyes, Nangong Hao had turned into apletely different person.

    He was cold and creepy.

    A bloody radiance was flickering in his right eye continuously. They started spreading around like ripples, with Nangong Hao at the center.

    Then... They saw a sh of red light.

    He was so fast that it seemed like he teleported in front of them. They also saw a long sword with a pelt as clear as snow in the midst of the red radiance.

    It was crystal clear like a piece of jade.

    The sword moved!

    However, it was silent!

    The only thing that could be seen was the purple reflection of the lightning on the de. It was so fast that they thought they were looking at an illusion.

    Then, the world started turning in their eyes. Heaven became earth, and earth became heaven. They were changing so rapidly that the entire world turned dark.

    There wasn¡¯t too much pain, because the sword was sufficiently fast.

    Nangong Hao appeared behind the two disciples, but they just stood there on the spot and didn¡¯t move a single finger.

    However, there were two more bloody heads on the ground.

    ¡°Nangong Hao?!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?! Where¡¯s the Heaven Receiving Door... Why is Nangong Hao here?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that on the ground... What the hell happened?¡±

    At this moment, several anxious voices came from afar as a dozen people made their way to the Heaven Academic Altar rapidly.

    However, the Heaven Academic Altar was already painted red with blood.

    There was a massive and bloody Blood Offering Illustration on the ground. There was still a mist of blood in the air, exuding an intense scent of blood.

    Amongst the dozen or so figures, there was a red-faced old man with white hair. His brows were tightly knitted together, unable to believe what he saw.

    He was the Sixth elder who was tasked with handling all the administrative matters.

    ¡°Sixth... Sixth elder, I only saw the Heaven... Heaven Receiving Door op... opening. I didn¡¯t... Didn¡¯t know that Nangong... Nangong Hao came out...¡± The disciple that ran away first stood out of the crowd and eximed. He was pale as a sheet.

    ¡°Ok!¡± the sixth elder nodded.

    He didn¡¯t say another word, or even reprimand Nangong Hao. He simply scanned the entire Heaven Academic Altar before he gazed at Nangong Hao again.

    Nangong Hao was silent too. He simply stood there while the Sixth elder and the group of disciples stared at him, as if he had nothing to do with any of this.

    Was that true though?

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion wouldn¡¯t believe that. In that case, the Sixth elder couldn¡¯t possibly be convinced, especially after he saw the blood dripping off Nangong Hao¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, is there a reason for doing this?¡± the Sixth elder finally took a step forward after a short silence. His countenance was extremely chilling.

    ¡°The world should have changed, right?¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t answer the Sixth elder¡¯s question. He just tilted his head up and murmured the question as if he was talking to himself.

    ¡°The world? Changed?¡± the Sixth elder was rmed. He obviously knew about the weird phenomenon that were happening all over the world now.

    However, even if he knew about it, Nangong Hao shouldn¡¯t. At the very least, he shouldn¡¯t have heard about it so quickly.

    So, what did Nangong Hao mean?

    Was it possible... That he had something to do with the changes?!

    The Sixth elder trembled at this thought, because if he was right, it meant the changes in the world were man-made.

    Man-made!

    If he was actually right, then the entire thing, or rather, its consequences, would be too much for a normal person to handle.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s been so many years. Some things should be changed.¡± Nangong Hao retracted his gaze towards the sky and pointed Wuwei Sword at the ground.

    ¡°Change? What kind of change do you want?¡± the Sixth elder stopped the disciples behind him from talking. His expression was incredibly solemn at this moment.

    He did that because he knew for sure that if the changes in the world had something to do with Nangong Hao, this entire matter would be unbelievablyplicated.

    Nangong Hao, Nangong Nobles...

    They were so ancient that even Heaven Dao Pavilion didn¡¯t know about them well.

    It felt the Nangong Nobles had existed since the world first appeared and survived through the flow of time until now.

    The Sixth elder didn¡¯t know much about the Nangong family, but he had a hunch that Nangong Hao was the key to understanding everything.

    ¡°All existences were chaotic at the birth of Heaven and Earth. Pangu was born from the chaos and he turned pure existences into Heaven and impure existences into Earth. That¡¯s the true reality of the world.¡± Nangong Hao said calmly.

    ¡°Turned pure existences into Heaven and impure existences into Earth? What does that mean?¡± The Sixth Elder frowned again. He obviously knew the literal meaning of Nangong Hao¡¯s words, as they came from an ancient scripture.

    However, he didn¡¯t understand why Nangong Hao mentioned this excerpt at this moment.

    ¡°If a man was born as ¡®Heaven¡¯, how could he possibly be willing to stay as ¡®Earth¡¯?¡± Nangong Hao kept going on instead of exining.

    ¡°What heaven... Earth? Nangong Hao... What are you talking about?¡± The Sixth elder didn¡¯t understand him, but he had a bad feeling that something big was about to happen.

 Chapter 813 - Yan Huang

    <h4>Chapter 813: Yan Huang</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    A few months ago, everywhere in the world suddenly experienced tremendous changes, including the Holy Region and the four great dynasties. Mountains, rivers, trees, nts, and even the animals, seemed to have gone through some sort of baptism.

    All of a sudden, they changedpletely.

    Some people were happy about the changes, while the rest were worried.

    Those who were happy, believed that this was the biggest opportunity in the recent millennium. If even the mountains, rivers, and animals could be baptized, why couldn¡¯t humans be baptized too?

    Therefore, there were a lot of people traveling the Holy Region and the four great dynasties, looking for a chance to be baptized.

    Those who were worried believed that this was a huge disaster, because there were two extremes to everything. If the baptism was a blessing, what was the hidden condemnation?

    No one knew the answers.

    The Sixth elder had always been a pessimist. He believed that a huge crisis followed behind every great opportunity. Now that he heard Nangong Hao¡¯s statement, he became more worried than before.

    Nangong Hao seemed to have read the Sixth elder¡¯s mind. He nced at the sixth Elder, then at the disciples, before finally speaking again, ¡°Heaven is the master and Earth is the servant. That¡¯s a fact which would never change.¡±

    ¡°Heaven is the master? Earth is the servant?¡± The Sixth elder didn¡¯t expect that to be the answer. His body trembled, but no one knew if it was because he was disturbed by Nangong Hao¡¯s blood-red eye, or if it was due to the shock from hearing Nangong Hao¡¯s reply.

    However, he quickly took a deep breath and calmed himself down, saying, ¡°I can¡¯t agree with you¡¯ve just said. Although I admit that you¡¯re a genius, but do you really think that you are qualified to talk about Heaven and Earth? Let me ask you something, what is Heaven, and what is Earth?¡±

    ¡°The superior existences are Heaven, and the inferior existences are Earth.¡± Nangong Hao was extremely calm,pletely unfazed by the Sixth Elder¡¯s question.

    ¡°Then, what¡¯s superior, and what¡¯s inferior?¡± The Sixth elder questioned him again.

    ¡°There are two ways to determine whether an existence is superior or inferior. Firstly, it¡¯s determined at birth. For example, amongst the countless existences in the world, there are exotic nts, but there are also themon ones. It can also be determined by other living things, such as the king of all beasts and the emperor in the human world.¡± Nangong Hao answered without much hesitation.

    ¡°Splendid answer! I expect no less from Nangong Hao. Your ability to discuss Dao is outstanding. Well, let me take a guess... When you were talking about ¡®Heaven¡¯ and ¡®Earth¡¯, ¡®Superior¡¯ and ¡®Inferior¡¯, you were referring to thetter, right?¡± The Sixth elder nodded and asked again.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! One¡¯s superiority is determined by other living things!¡± Nangong Hao nodded softly.

    ¡°I got it now. Although I didn¡¯t know when the Nangong Nobles¡¯ glory days were, I believe that you understand the logic of ¡®natural selection¡¯, as well as the fact that all existences go through the cycle of life and death. Even if the Nangong Nobles were once glorious and treated as superiors by other living things, why do you still want to restore its former glory even after thousands of years?¡±

    ¡°No. Sixth elder, you don¡¯t understand. Although all existences would eventually die, and some things would eventually be forgotten, some would never be. Furthermore, when I said ¡®at birth¡¯, I wasn¡¯t referring to humans. I was referring to the birth of Heaven and Earth.¡± Nangong Hao shook his head.

    ¡°Birth of Heaven and Earth? Haha... When was that? The post-Archean era? Nangong Hao, you are merely about 20 years old, what would you know about the post-Archean era? Moreover, there were no pens or paper during that era to record down history, so where did you get your information from?¡± The Sixth elder finally startedughing at this point.

    ¡°Sixth elder, have you heard of ¡®Yan Huang¡¯?¡± Nangong Huang didn¡¯t get angry from the Sixth Elder¡¯s sneering, nor did he answer his question. He simply replied with another question as if he was talking to himself.

    ¡°Yan..Yan Huang?!¡± The Sixth elder¡¯s smile froze. His expression changedpletely when he looked at Nangong Hao again.

    He was actually shocked to his core. Just as Nangong Hao had stated all existences would eventually die, and some things would eventually be forgotten, but that wasn¡¯t true for everything. Even though there were no pens or paper during that era, some things were truly etched into their bones, just like how every person¡¯s blood was red.

    The Sixth elder felt extremelyplicated.

    In fact, he wasn¡¯t alone. All the disciples intuitively took a step back, and they were stunned when they looked at Nangong Hao again.

    ...

    ...

    Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower.

    The burning sun and the shiny moon were both glowing in the sky. There were two people beneath them who were glowing equally brightly. One was golden, and the other silvery.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rarely impressed by the intensity of a battle. However, he was still amazed by the fight between Qian Yu and Qian Ye.

    It wasn¡¯t because their skills were fanciful, rather, it was because of their profoundprehension of Dao, and their extraordinary finesse.

    To Fang Zhengzhi... Finesse was his greatest weakness.

    To put it bluntly, although he had impressivebat strength and also mastered four of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, he was at a disadvantage in a lot of battles.

    It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯tprehend enough Dao techniques, but because he was one step away from being a true expert due to hisck of finesse.

    Take Qian Ye for example, she could almost fuse with the sunpletely during a battle and appear at any location that the sunlight shone on.

    Although this seemed to be exaggerated, it was the truth. Qian Yu and Qian Ye didn¡¯t use any overly fanciful skills, but every single one of their moves and attacks seemed to have fused with everything in the world.

    That was finesse.

    It was just like how a person could only break a tiny brig with the same move that someone else had used to split a giant rock.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t care about finesse in the past. He just wanted to be ¡®full¡¯ by storing as much Origin Energy in his body as much, while also maximizing the number of different kinds andbinations of Dao he could master.

    However, he was getting a feeling, that although he had mastered over 2,000 kinds of different Dao techniques, there wasn¡¯t much difference between him and Qian Yu or Qian Ye in terms ofbat techniques.

    To put it simply, even though he had mastered a lot of Dao techniques, he had way fewer tricks up his sleeves than both Qian Ye and Qian Yu.

    Boom!

    The golden figure collided against the silvery figure, then they broke up quickly.

    The golden figure was covered in a fire-like radiance. Many fireballs kept rising up, and each of them looked like a burning golden lotus.

    ¡°Turning sunlight into fire, then into golden lotuses? Each golden lotus contains a different Dao, and most importantly, the Dao is hidden in the golden lotus under the protection of the golden radiance?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was hugely impressed by the extreme transformation and Qian Ye¡¯s mastery of Dao. If Mu Qingfeng and the leaders of the other sects were trying to master more advanced Dao techniques, than Qian Ye and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were trying to maximize their masteries of the Dao techniques that they had already learned.

    That happened to be... Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s weakness.

    ¡°Pitching my weakness against someone¡¯s strength?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt lucky that he had chosen to stay out of the battle. Sometimes, a person might see the broader picture simply by taking a step back.

    ¡°Settle your grudges and resentments now. Use all your strongest moves!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted at Qian Yu and Qian Ye again.

    Of course, he was also considering the possibility of turning his Hell Fire into golden lotuses.

    ¡°No, they should be ck lotuses!¡±

    ¡°Can I make it more powerful? Maybe I could increase the number of petals on my ck lotus? 12 petals? 36 petals?¡± Is it possible to create one with over 2,000 petals!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly envisioned himself carrying a huge ck lotus that had over 2,000 petals.

    That would be enough to scare a few people to death, right?

    ¡°I thought that you¡¯ve actually made some improvements. It seems like I was wrong.¡± Qian Ye obviously didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, and she had also decided to automatically ignore his nonsense. After all, Qian Yu was standing in front of her.

    ¡°Big sister, do you know that you¡¯ve already lost?¡± Qian Yu was extraordinarily calm, and silvery radiance in her eyes grew increasingly stronger.

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! Do you think that you are capable of holding back against me?¡± Qian Yu shouted angrily. She obviously wasn¡¯t going to believe Qian Yu.

    ¡°Big sister, have you heard of ¡®Moon in the water¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Moon in the water?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Although the sun is bright, it could never leave a clear reflection in the water. However, the moon could do that with its gentle radiance!¡± As Qian Yu said that, the crescent moon above her head started vibrating.

    This was a shocking sight to behold, however, it was more shocking when it turned into two crescent moons afterward.

    Two... Moons?!

    If there was something that a person could never experience in his life, it would be witnessing two identical moons in the sky.

    What was freakier, was that the two crescent moons started growing fuller.

    Then, a mind-blowing scene urred.

    After the two crescent moons turned into two full moons, they started splitting again. Two full moons had turned into four crescent moons now.

    That wasn¡¯t the end.

    The four crescent moons grew fuller and split into eight moons!

    Eight moons!

    All of them hanging high in the sky, each radiating a pure silvery white light. The moonlight fell onto Qian Yu, and the radiance on her body became blinding.

    ¡°Impossible, this is impossible!¡± After a short daze, Qian Ye screamed angrily at the top of her lungs.

    She was truly overwhelmed with disbelief and reluctance to ept the reality.

    The disciples of Ling Yun Tower were equally stupefied, so much so that they fell into a daze.

    It wasn¡¯t as simple as splitting one moon into eight moons. It meant that Qian Yu was using one-eighth of her strength when she was fighting against Qian Ye.

    How scary was that?

    Rather, ¡®scary¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to cut it, because no one believed that something like this could happen.

    ¡°Mom...¡± Ping Yang intuitively said that because she was overly excited. Then, she turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and asked with her lips curling upwards, ¡°Shameless one, who do you think is stronger, you or my mother?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. He curled his lips at Ping Yang, and he didn¡¯t answer her question.

    It wasn¡¯t worth his effort.

    How could he answer such a low-quality question?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t interested in Ping Yang¡¯s pathetic ideas. He was thinking about holding a gigantic ck lotus with over 2,000 petals. He would shout, ¡°Transform!¡±, and the lone lotus would split into two, then into four, then into eight, then into 16...

    How awesome would that be?

    Of course, this was just casual thought, because Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t thinking of ¡®starting a florist business¡¯ at the moment.

    Well, although he wasn¡¯t thinking of doing that, Qian Ye seemed to be thinking of the opposite.

    After screaming at the top of her lungs, the golden me on her body skyrocketed and actuallybined with the sun on top of her head.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples could hardly stand straight because of the heat that descended from the sky. All of them were sweating.

    Qian Ye had already lost all her calm andposure that she initially had.

    She looked frightfully insane at the moment.

    The golden inferno on her body was over 30 meters tall and had connected with the sky. There were countless golden lotuses hidden in the me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even dream about it, Qian Yu. I won¡¯t lose. I wouldn¡¯t possibly lose!¡± shouted Qian Ye angrily as a longsword formed by the golden fire appeared in her hand.

    However, Qian Yu remained indifferent.

    She was just staring at Qian Ye quietly as she bathed in the silvery moonlight, doing nothing about the rampant golden inferno that was savaging the surroundings.

 Chapter 814 - The Beginning Is Also the End

    <h4>Chapter 814: The Beginning Is Also the End</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    The stare down didn¡¯tst for too long.

    Qian Ye attacked first. The golden me plummeted from the sky, and the golden lotuses bloomed and scattered their petals everywhere.

    Amidst the sky full of petals, Qian Ye¡¯s golden dress swayed gently. She was holding a sword that was covered in the golden me and radiating a dazzling light.

    This sword was so fast that the entire world seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    She was like an untainted fairy that descended from heaven, apanied only by flower petals. This was definitely an extraordinarily beautiful scene if it wasn¡¯t for her lunatic and ferocious expression.

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    Half of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples kneeled down even though they could already foresee the oue of this fight. However, they were still in awe of the Qian Ye¡¯s stunning attack.

    The golden sword came crashing down through a sky full of petals and drew a magnificent golden ray of light in the air.

    At this instance, the silvery radiance finally ascended.

    It didn¡¯t waver against the golden petals and the golden ray, just like how the moon was calm but bright.

    Qian Yu¡¯s eyes were white as snow.

    The frost even painted her hair white, just like the purest moonlight.

    She drew her sword, and there were two of them.

    Two silvery-white swords that were almost identical.

    Qian Yu moved after the silvery light lit up. She brandished the two swords against the falling golden radiance. She was as dazzling as the eight moons hanging in the sky.

    Snowkes danced in the air and wrapped around Qian Yu¡¯s body. Snow and moonlight had always been the most beautifulbination.

    ¡°Lady Qian Yu!¡±

    ¡°Lady Qian Yu!¡±

    The other half of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples also kneeled down as they gazed at Qian Yu. They looked as determined as she was.

    They were getting closer towards each other.

    The golden petal finally shed against the silvery-white snowkes. The collision between heat and ice produced a thick mist that looked like a dragon¡¯s breath.

    Amidst the cloud-like mist, two figures were engaged in a heated battle. The burning golden sword kept trading blows with the two silvery-white swords.

    The mist was getting heavier as they traded blows at a faster pace.

    Fang Zhengzhi slowly grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s hand because he could feel her body trembling from anxiousness.

    Boom!

    They heard incessant rumblesing from the sky.

    The entire area felt unstable, possibly due to the excessive amount of mist or the rapid collisions between their swords.

    Crack!

    A bolt of purple lighting shed through the mist and tore it apart, revealing the two figures shing against each other repeatedly.

    The mist finally dissipated gradually.

    That was because the golden petals had already disappeared. The entire sky was filled with silvery snowkes dancing in the wind.

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    Half of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples lowered their heads after witnessing this. They justy low on the ground and didn¡¯t look up at the sky again.

    The other disciples were obviously overjoyed and excited, because they knew that the oue might have been decided already.

    However, was that really true?

    Qian Ye¡¯s body was still burning with the golden me. Although there weren¡¯t any golden petals around her body anymore, she stood tall in the sky and held her sword tightly. Blood was flowing down the corner of her mouth, but she didn¡¯t lose her determination.

    ¡°You¡¯ve truly improved after all these years!¡± Qian Ye nced at the snowkes in the air and smiled bitterly.

    ¡°Just give it up, sister. We don¡¯t have to do this anymore.¡± Qian Yu stood motionlessly in the air instead of pressing Qian Ye on. She seemed to be waiting and also being cautious at the same time.

    ¡°Haha... Give it up? You¡¯ve never fought against me over anything since we were young, so why do you have topete against me for the leader¡¯s position?!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve never wanted topete against you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never wanted to? You stillpeted against me nevertheless, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but that was just the master¡¯s will. She originally intended to make you the next leader too, but what you did had disappointed her greatly, so she decided to make me...¡± Qian Yu sounded sad as she said that.

    ¡°Shut up, what did I do?¡±

    ¡°Sister, did you really think that master didn¡¯t know who was the one who disclosed the news about the Heaven Dao Tablets? In fact, I told her about the Heaven Dao Tablets as soon as I saw them. However, even master didn¡¯t have a good reason to take the tablets away by force. Hence, she told me to invite you to study the tablets together.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯d believe you? Don¡¯t even think that I don¡¯t know why you are saying this now. You want me to give up because you are wary of my Ling Yun Realm? In your dreams!¡± As Qian Yu said that, a small jade tower consisting of nine stories suddenly appeared in her hands. The jade was spotless, pure, and shining brightly. It was exquisite and looked almost exactly like Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Sister, do you really want to do this? Qian Yu¡¯s expression finally changed a little when she saw the small jade tower.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples trembled when they saw the jade tower. They were obviously extreme afraid of it.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi... He was undoubtedly surprised when he saw the small jade tower. After all, he had never made connections between Ling Yun Tower and Ling Yun Realm.

    However, now that he thought about it, he quickly figured out the truth.

    He had already tested the sturdiness of ¡®Ling Yun Tower¡¯ just now, and he couldn¡¯t even put a scratch on it.

    Hence, he was sure that the entire tower was some sort of treasure.

    Now, it seemed like his initial thought was confirmed. However, the truth turned out to be a surprise for him.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm is Ling Yun Tower?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had actually never thought of that.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the time for him to be pondering the truth, because the entire region seemed to be reacting to the small jade tower that appeared in Qian Ye¡¯s hand.

    Then, the mountain range beneath them started trembling.

    The ground cracked, and the fierce wind swept up all the broken rocks. Thebination of wind and broken rocks turned into a deadly tornado.

    Although this wasn¡¯t powerful enough to harm Fang Zhengzhi, he felt like this was just the beginning.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Ping Yang shouted anxiously.

    Fang Zhengzhi intuitively looked towards the silvery figure in the sky when he heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice.

    However, Qian Yu was no longer standing around. She charged towards Qian Ye rapidly with the eight moons surrounding her body.

    Qian Yu was extremely dazzling thanks to the radiance from the moons. She was holding the two silvery-white swords tightly as she flew through the snow.

    She was so fast that she had neared Qian Ye almost instantaneously.

    However, Qian Ye smiled when Qian Yu appeared beside her. It was a cold smile, but it also contained a hint of sadness.

    The only pity was... Few people noticed Qian Ye¡¯s expression, because almost everyone was focused on the tiny white jade tower in her hand.

    After all, that was Ling Yun Realm, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s strongest treasure!

    Qian Ye¡¯s Ling Yun Realm wasn¡¯tplete, so she couldn¡¯t recreate ¡®The Matching Sun and Moon¡¯. Nevertheless, as long as the tiny white jade tower was in her hand, she hadplete control over the entire region where everyone was.

    However, for some reason, the tiny tower wasn¡¯t glowing like everyone had expected. Qian Ye was simply holding it in her hands until Qian Yu¡¯s sword appeared in front of her chest.

    The silvery-white sword went through Qian Ye¡¯s chest without much resistance. Her blood spilled out through the sword and turned the snowkes red. This scene was cold and sad, just like her expression just now.

    This sudden change had urred too quickly.

    No one expected the fight to end like this, including all the disciples, as well as Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    The real fight should have only just began when Qian Ye took out the tiny jade tower. However, why did it end even before it had even started?

    This was the question that boggled Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples¡¯ minds. Fang Zhengzhi was equally confused, and even Qian Yu couldn¡¯t wrap her head around this.

    ¡°Sister, you...¡± Qian Yu was filled with disbelief as she looked at her sword that went through Qian Ye¡¯s chest and the blood that was dripping off the de.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised? Hahaha... Cough....¡± Qian Ye¡¯s mouth twitched and her face was pale as a sheet. However, there was pure madness on her face, and she said, ¡°Qian Yu, don¡¯t think that you¡¯ve truly won. I didn¡¯t lose to you. You could never take Ling Yun Realm away unless I gave it to you!¡±

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    Half of the disciples finally reacted after a moment of shock, because they had only just understood the pride of a true master.

    Qian Yu didn¡¯t respond. She slowly walked towards Qian Ye, who was yelling and shouting, and hugged her.

    Blood flowed down Qian Ye¡¯s chest and tainted Qian Yu¡¯s silvery dress, but she disregarded the blood and kept hugging Qian Ye.

    Qian Ye raised her hands at this moment.

    She held the tiny jade tower tightly in one of her hands, and there was a dazzling, golden, and sword-like radiance on her other hand.

    They were so close, especially when Qian Yu hugged her. The tiny and the golden radiance were barely an inch away from Qian Yu¡¯s neck.

    However, for some reason, the radiance never came down on her.

    Qian Ye ced the tiny tower in Qian Yu¡¯s palm slowly, so slowly as if time had stopped.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm, is finally... Complete...¡± Qian Ye trembled and spewed out blood after she said that.

    ¡°Sister!¡± Qian Yu cried at this moment. Her tear went down the corner of her eyes like two drops of ice.

    ¡°From today onwards, you... Will be Ling Yun Tower¡¯s new lea... Leader. You¡¯re stronger than I am....You... You will be even stronger... With Ling Yun Realm...¡± Qian Ye looked relieved after she said that, and her eyes eventually closed.

    No one knew what Qian Ye was thinking or why she did that. Was it just so that she could say ¡®I didn¡¯t lose¡¯?

    No one knew the answer to this question!

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°Leader!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All the disciples dropped to the ground when they heard Qian Ye¡¯s final words, even those who had rebelled against her.

    Qian Yu just stood motionlessly in the air while Qian Ye¡¯s lifeless body leaned against her. Her silvery-white dress was slowly turning red from the blood.

    Her hair swayed with the wind, but it remained white as snow instead of returning to its original ckness. It was as if the whiteness was already deep-rooted and would never disappear.

    Time ticked by slowly.

    After god knows how long, Qian Yu finally moved. She carried Qian Ye¡¯s body gently and descended from the sky, before walking towards Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, isn¡¯t it time to settle the score for invading Ling Yun Tower, stealing our Penta-coloured flower, and kicking me?¡± Qian Yu stopped at a few steps away from them and spoke indifferently.

 Chapter 815 - Aunty Wants You

    <h4>Chapter 815: Aunty Wants You</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Even though Qian Yu didn¡¯t look like she was angry, what she just said still left Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples in shock.

    ¡°Lady Qian Yu wants to punish Fang Zhengzhi for invading Ling Yun Tower?¡± The disciples stared at each other, unable toprehend the situation.

    However, they quickly realized that Qian Yu was protecting Ling Yun Tower¡¯s dignity as the new leader.

    However... Did karmae around too quickly?

    The disciples were surprised but also felt a little weird when they looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Mom, Fang Zhengzhi is... He...¡± Ping Yang wanted to say something, but she felt a hand on her shoulder at this moment. Ping Yang was startled, and she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. However, Fang Zhengzhi winked at her with a bright smile as if he wasn¡¯t angry about Qian Yu¡¯s ¡®betrayal¡¯.

    He stopped Ping Yang from speaking, then ¡®courteously¡¯ paid his respect to Qian Yu and said, ¡°Auntie, how do you know that I¡¯ve taken the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers? If I recall correctly, you were still sealed away when I took the flower, right?¡±

    ¡°Not only do I know that you¡¯ve taken the flower, I also know about what you did to Yang Er beside the Icy Pond. That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been staying inside the Icy Pond for the past dozen years.¡± Qian Yu replied calmly. From her countenance, it didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to go hard on Fang Zhengzhi right away.

    ¡°Icy Pond?!¡± Ping Yang was obviously stunned, and she seemed to have recalled something.

    ¡°So, the shadow that I saw in the Icy Pong was actually...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me... I could always see you every single day... I was the shadow that taught you those body movement and techniques.¡± Qian Yu nodded. Her snow-white hair was swaying with the wind.

    ¡°Then, did Cang Yue know...¡± Ping Yang stopped herself even though she wanted to say something.

    ¡°Yes, she knew that I was sealed inside the Icy Pond, because she had also seen my shadow inside the pond before. She was naturally smart enough to guess that I was sealed inside the pond.¡± Qian Yu nodded again.

    ¡°Shadow inside the Icy Pond?¡± Having heard that, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood how Ping Yang had improved so quickly and learned all those impressive techniques in half a year.

    Cang Yue...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know he should forgive her or continue to hate her. However, since she had already passed away, he knew that he should let it go.

    Speaking of ¡®letting it go¡¯, Fang Zhengzhi looked and Ping Yang and Qian Yu, and he felt bad for standing in their way of reminiscing about their past memories.

    ¡°Ping Yang, I¡¯ll take my leave first. You¡¯d keep chatting with auntie.¡±

    ¡°Hold it! Do you think you can leave without repaying the debt?¡±

    Qian Yu obviously wasn¡¯t falling for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick, so she stopped him immediately.

    ¡°So... Auntie, do you mean that... I can leave after paying my debt?¡± Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips and put on a sincere expression.

    ¡°You wish!¡± Qian Yu replied fiercely after she was dazed for a second.

    ¡°Auntie, you see... Although we¡¯ve only met for the first time, we hit it off right away. Since this is a fateful encounter, why do we have to be hostile to each other? Furthermore, you must have already epted me as a junior since you replied when I called you ¡®auntie¡¯, right?¡±

    ¡°Smooth-tongued!¡± Qian Yu condemned Fang Zhengzhi again. Then, she looked at him and continued, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯ll be frank with you. The Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers is Ling Yun Towers¡¯ treasure, so you can¡¯t take it away. Furthermore, I can¡¯t let you off easily for invading Ling Yun Tower.¡±

    ¡°Auntie, what are you suggesting?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Although Ling Yun Tower had never epted a male disciple, I will allow you to join the sect since you¡¯ve passed my sister¡¯s trial. Therefore, you can stay here. Additionally... Since you¡¯ve had physical contact with Ping Yang, we shouldn¡¯t dy this matter any further. The eighth of next month is a good day to get married. You canplete the traditional wedding rituals in Ling Yun Tower first before hosting the wedding ceremony in me Capital City.¡± Qian Yu replied tly.

    All of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples were dumbfounded by what she had just said. Even Ping Yang was astounded.

    None of them couldprehend the situation.

    Marriage? Wasn¡¯t Qian Yu going to restore Ling Yun Tower¡¯s dignity by killing Fang Zhengzhi? How did that turn into a marriage? What was going on?

    ¡°Auntie, are you forcing me to marry Ping Yang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised, but he wasn¡¯tpletely caught off-guard.

    After all, he knew that he was attractive, and it was also not the first time that something like this had happened to him. Therefore, he was mentally prepared.

    ¡°Are you not willing?¡±

    ¡°Well... To be honest, I¡¯m still fairly young. Our ancestors have said that a man must be ambitious. Hence, a real man like myself should be fighting gloriously in wars...

    ¡°You could still do that even after marrying Yang Er. Furthermore, Yang Er is Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s princess, so you¡¯d be the emperor¡¯s son-inw if you marry her. I¡¯d also offer you a ce in Ling Yun Tower. I would appoint you as Ling Yun Tower¡¯s next leader 100 yearster, if you are willing to ept that offer.¡± Qian Yu waved her hand and interrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nonsense.

    ¡°That sounds great.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and nodded.

    ¡°So, does that mean you have agreed to my suggestion?¡± A smile appeared on Qian Yu¡¯s cold expression as if the snow had melted.

    ¡°I would love to, but....¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m a real man. Hence, I¡¯d like to make it by myself rather than epting someone¡¯s charity. Furthermore, there¡¯s still a long time until the eighth of next month. I don¡¯t have time to stay in Ling Yun Tower until then.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    Ping Yang¡¯s blush turned a little pale when she heard that. However, she just kept quiet and gazed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Don¡¯t have time?¡± Qian Yu seemed displeased by his reply.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I need to go to Yin Yang Hall immediately to look for a person!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°It is less than a month away till the eighth of next month, and there¡¯s barely enough time to n a wedding. Can¡¯t you wait that long?¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What if I demand you to wait?¡±

    ¡°Auntie, a forced rtionship won¡¯t work out.¡±

    ¡°At least it¡¯s better than not having a rtionship.¡±

    ¡°Auntie, we just met for the first time, so we don¡¯t know much about each other. Isn¡¯t it better if we get to know each other before making a decision?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve said it yourself that we hit it off right away. I believe that this is a fateful encounter too, and we are destined to meet each other.¡±

    ¡°Would His Highness agree to this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally felt like he had met his match. It seemed like the saying ¡®Cougars are the scariest¡¯, was actually urate.

    ¡°He listens to me.¡±

    ¡°Auntie, do you really want to do this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m not trying to blow my own trumpet, but even if you¡¯re so powerful, are you so sure that you could stop me from leaving?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled confidently.

    ¡°You are right. I may not be capable of stopping you. However, you seem to have forgotten about something.¡± Qian Yu also smiled confidently.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°You are in Ling Yun Realm now.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed a little, because he had actually forgotten about that. Most importantly, since Qian Ye died, Ling Yun Realm was nowplete.

    ¡°Yang Er, let¡¯s go!¡± As Qian Yu said that, Fang Zhengzhi felt Ping Yang¡¯s body disappearing. She was gone.

    It wasn¡¯t just Ping Yang. Qian Yu, as well as all of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples, had disappeared in the blink of an eye. The only thing that remained was the mountain range.

    The breeze was blowing through the jungle.

    The eight moons in the sky were already gone. The golden sun was the only thing in the sky, casting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shadow on the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi nced around and looked at his lonely shadow. Even though he didn¡¯t like to curse, he really felt like saying, ¡°God damn it!¡±

    ...

    There was a piece ofnd covered in snow. Even though it was summertime, snowkes were floating in the air, eventually turning into frost on the ground.

    Nangong Mausoleum, a ce that was covered in snow all year round.

    There was nothing but countless stone tablets standing in a thickyer of snow here. No one knew how long these stone tablets had been standing here, and the writings on the tablets were no longer legible.

    Of course, there was also a giant tree standing in front of Nangong Mausoleum at the moment.

    The giant tree was so high that it had reached the clouds. Many white flowers had bloomed on its branches. The petals were exuding a dazzling silvery radiance that reached all the way below.

    ¡°Do you see that?¡±

    A plump middle-aged man standing at bottom of the tree pointed towards the treetop. He was wearing a thin garment with a hide on his shoulder. This man was the current master of the Nangong Nobles, Nangong Tian.

    There was a crystal-clear fruit hanging on the treetop, covered in cloud-shaped engravings.

    Most importantly, there seemed to be an extremely rich aura flowing in the fruit. The aura was shapeshifting between trees and flowers randomly.

    ¡°Yup.¡± The young man standing in front of Nangong Tian nodded. His turquoise shirt had long been painted white by the snow, and the scar on his face looked a little barbaric. However, his expression was extremely determined. He was clenching his fists so tightly that they were cracking softly.

    Nangong Mu, who had been ignored by his family since he was young, was now standing in front of the tree that the Nangong Nobles had ced all their hopes on.

    He didn¡¯t know if he should feel lucky or abhorred.

    However, he knew that this was his fate, something that had been imprinted deeply inside him since he was born. He couldn¡¯t fight it.

    ¡°Are you really ready for this?¡± Nangong Tian stared at Nangong Mu and asked.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Nangong Mu nodded again, and he didn¡¯t even say another word. Nevertheless, his determination remained unaffected.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t strong enough, your body would definitely blow up after eating that fruit, and you¡¯ll die. Even I wouldn¡¯t able to save you. Are you sure that you can survive?¡± Nangong Tian stared intently at Nangong Mu for a full ten minutes before he asked again.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Nangong Mu didn¡¯t nod this time, but he gritted his teeth tightly and unleashed an intense aura from his body.

    ¡°Go. You are a descendant of Nangong Nobles. Even if you aren¡¯t as talented as your brother, Nangong Family¡¯s bloodline still flows within you!¡± As if he had made up his mind, Nangong Tian stopped questioning Nangong Mu and pointed towards the treetop instead.

    ¡°Father!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s body trembled, and he finally couldn¡¯t keep calm anymore. He clenched his fists so tightly that they turned pale.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Nangong Tian shot Nangong Mu a puzzled expression.

    ¡°One day, I¡¯ll defeat my brother by myself!¡± As Nangong Mu said that, he elerated tremendously towards the tree.

    Crack!

    The snow on the tree fell down with the snowkes. It was not a thickyer of snow, but it was still clearly visible.

    Nangong Tian was startled for a moment.

    He didn¡¯t avoid the fallen snow nor swipe it away. He just allowed the snow to fall on his face.

    The turquoise figure above his head was moving up the tree nonstop. Snow fell down from the tree and started piling up at his feet.

    ¡°Defeat Hao Er?¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s lips moved a little. He seemed to feel conflicted, but he soon shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to be motivated. However, it¡¯s impossible to beat natural talent with hard work!¡±

    Snowkes were still falling.

    Nangong Mu stared intently at the crystal-clear fruit at the treetop and blocked out Nangong Tian¡¯s words, because he knew the answer. He had always known the answer since he was young.

 Chapter 816 - Heaven Alliance Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 816: Heaven Alliance Meeting</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    It was just like his bloodline. He had been imprinted with an unerasable mark since he was born in the Nangong Family.

    In that case, how could a single sentence change Nangong Tian¡¯s mind?

    Nangong Mu stopped focusing on this question, because he had diverted all his concentration towards the fruit at the treetop.

    He was moving so quickly and nimbly even in the snow. However, it would still take some time for him to reach the top of this sky-scraping tree.

    10 minutes passed...

    An hour passed...

    Nangong Mu couldn¡¯t see the figure standing at the root of the tree anymore because the aura around him was getting thicker.

    On the other hand, the crystal-clear fruit was getting closer.

    Nangong Mu eventually stopped when he was about 10 meters away from the fruit. That was because there was a golden condor-like creature resting on a branch above the fruit. Its jade-green eyes were staring at Nangong Mu fiercely.

    It was hard enough toe across a bird in a ce that was snowing all year round like this. One should consider himself lucky if he came across a golden, jade-green eyed condor-like this.

    However, Nangong Mu wasn¡¯t surprised to see it.

    He knew well that beasts sometimes had sharper senses than humans. In that case, it wasn¡¯t umon to find a powerful beast near a treasure.

    However, he was currently at a disadvantage.

    The golden beast could attack him freely at the treetop, but he couldn¡¯t leave stay away from the tree for a long time.

    Nheless, Nangong Mu wasn¡¯t the slightest bit afraid. He slowly drew his Green and Blue Dual de and pointed them towards the beast.

    ¡°Get lost, or, die!¡±

    Screech!

    The conversation between them was fairly simple, and so was the oue. Neither of them said another word because they had already started fighting.

    Metallic ngs filled the snowy region. Arge amount of snow and silvery flowers fell from the gigantic tree.

    Nangong Tian was gazing on the treetop from the bottom of the tree.

    He saw a glittering light spot at the top of the tree, apanied by two ck dots that were fighting against each other.

    He simply watched motionlessly and allowed the snow and flower petals to pile up on his shoulders.

    Time went by quickly sometimes, but it moved slowly during other times.

    Nangong Tian didn¡¯t calcte how long he had waited. However, the metal ngs became softer and softer, and eventually disappeared.

    Snow stopped falling from the tree, and the flower petals disappeared too.

    At this moment, a massive figure fell from the sky and crashed into the snow, creating a huge crater.

    Then, a person fell down as well.

    It was Nangong Mu.

    He was covered in blood. There were visible scratches on his face, shoulders, arms, legs, and even his chest.

    However, Nangong Mu didn¡¯t even make a sound, much less say a word. He just gazed at the crystal-clear fruit in his right hand quietly.

    ¡°Treat your wounds first. Even though the fruit is most effective when it has just been removed, but you are too gravely wounded to take it now. It shouldn¡¯t lose too much of its effectiveness if you take it three dayster...¡± Nangong Tian frowned at Nangong Mu¡¯s injuries. Then, he went agape from surprise just as he was about to continue his sentence.

    That was because Nangong Mu had already swallowed the fruit without any hesitation, before Nangong Tian could even finish his words.

    ¡°Mu Er!¡±

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice echoed in this mountain range covered in snow. He was roaring due to extreme pain, just like a beast howling from anger.

    Nangong Tian felt incredibly conflicted when he saw this. He couldn¡¯t understand why would Nangong Mu do that.

    However... That wouldn¡¯t change the reality.

    He swallowed the fruit even though he was savagely beaten, but his determination didn¡¯t waver even though he was screaming in pain.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Nangong Mu kept rolling around on the ground. His hair and clothes, and even his arms, were alreadypletely covered by ayer of crystal-clear ice. The ice seemed to have grown from his body, and it was enveloping his entire body.

    Nangong Mu stopped moving after just a mere moment. Theyer of ice on his body grew thicker and eventually became a human-shaped coffin.

    ¡°Mu Er...¡± Nangong Tian stood frozen at the spot, staring intently at the face that was buried in the ice coffin. His body was trembling, even though that had hardly happened before.

    No one knew what Nangong Tian was thinking, or why did he choose to take such a risk. However, at this moment, he was actually tearing up.

    The current master of the Nangong Nobles, who was known for his heartlessness, had finally teared up when he saw Nangong Mu¡¯s body in the ice coffin. However, his teardrop was quickly frozen, and it never came down.

    Nangong Tian didn¡¯t move, and neither did he try to sh the ice coffin open to rescue Nangong Mu. That was because he clearly knew that after Nangong Mu had eaten the fruit, the ice started growing from inside his body and took over all of his internal organs. Nangong Mu wouldn¡¯te back to life even if he forcefully rescued him.

    He didn¡¯t save Nangong Mu, but he didn¡¯t leave either.

    He was just standing there motionlessly and humming in a deep voice. He seemed to be praying, but it also felt like he was venting his emotions.

    Snowkes danced in the cold breeze, and the giant tree was slowly covered by a newyer of snow. However, Nangong Tian stood alone below the tree for a long time.

    The sky turned dark eventually, and the reflection of the snow was turning the entire region white. Despite theck of light, the figure beneath the tree remained clearly visible.

    ¡°Ai...¡± Nangong Tian finally let out a long sigh. Then, he slowly turned around and walked towards the stone tablets standing in the snow.

    There were two lines of shallow footprints on the ground.

    Nangong Tian was walking quite slowly, and he didn¡¯t even bother wiping his footprints away. In fact, the shallowness of his footprints varied, obviously due to his sorrow.

    Just as the old saying went, ¡°You only under its importance after truly losing it.¡±

    However, at this moment, Nangong Tian heard a faint cracking sound.

    It was so soft and almost negligible.

    However, Nangong Tian suddenly stopped moving when he heard the sound. His lips twitched uncontrobly, and his eyes turned red.

    His emotions had suddenly surged just like a volcano eruption. Even the chilly night couldn¡¯t stop it.

    Nangong Tian slowly turned his head around and looked towards the ice coffin that was already covered by a thickyer of snow, and he saw a tiny crack.

    ¡°Mu Er, You... You¡¯ve made it!¡± Nangong Tian clenched his fists tightly and eximed. His silvery hair was swaying freely in the wind.

    More cracks appeared on the ice coffin, until it eventually shattered.

    Boom!

    A terrifying cold air burst out of the broken ice coffin. It turned into a snow-white air st that blew all the surrounding snow away.

    That was nothing left on the ground except a thinyer of crystal-clear ice.

    The air st eventually dissipated, revealing a young man in a turquoise shirt. His injuries hadpletely disappeared and were seemingly reced by ayer of newly-grown skin. It was radiating a silvery-white light under the reflection of the snow.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯m ready.¡± The young man spoke tly. His eyes were glowing as if he had gone through metamorphosis.

    ¡°Ok, good....Good, very good!¡± Nangong Tian couldn¡¯t help but say it thrice. Then, he looked towards the sky and said, ¡°Our great ancestors, the day that Nangong Family had waited tens of thousands of years for, has finally arrived!¡±

    ...

    Holy Region, Heaven Dao Pavilion, Heaven Academic Altar.

    It was so quiet. There were no sounds, no yelling, and no reprimanding.

    Nangong Hao, who was wearing a white schr¡¯s robe, was standing in front of the Sixth elder and a bunch of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples. However, all of them seemed to be in a daze, or rather, their eyes looked lifeless.

    Their pupils slowly became dted. They couldn¡¯t see anything except darkness.

    Blood flowed out of their mouth and onto the ground, then, they converged towards the Blood Offering Illustration.

    This was a creepy scene, but there was something worse...

    There were streams of bloody aura rising from the Sixth elder¡¯s and the disciples¡¯ bodies, and they were gathering towards Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    The red symbol on his face was also flickering. This was a scene that would send a chill down anyone¡¯s spine.

    This was actually happening. Furthermore, the Blood Offering Illustration in Nangong Hao¡¯s right eye was rotating rapidly as if it was absorbing the bloody aura.

    The streams of bloody aura finally disappeared after a long time.

    The red symbol on Nangong Hao¡¯s face also disappeared at the same time, together with the Blood Offering Illustration in his right eye. Everything seemed to have returned the normal state of calmness.

    However, there was a scent of death amidst the calmness.

    This was because the Sixth elder¡¯s body had copsed onto the ground with a heavy thud, following which, all the disciples¡¯ bodies dropped to the ground as well.

    Nangong Hao was watching this calmly as if he was heartless. However, for some reason, there was a hint of sadness and sorrow in his expression.

    The sky was slowly turning ck.

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t say a word as he nced over the several dozen dead bodies on the ground. However, he slowly started moving towards the sword mountain peak.

    He knew that there were more guards in Heaven Dao Pavilion. There were still several dozen disciples guarding the sword mountain peak at the moment.

    The wind slowly blew the scent of blood away, but there was still a faint scent remaining thanks to the summer heat.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, stop right there!¡±

    ¡°How dare you murder your master! Do you know how heinous is the crime that you¡¯ve justmitted?¡±

    ¡°Are you really not afraid that...¡±

    The third disciples didn¡¯t finish his sentence, because he couldn¡¯t say a word anymore. He was engulfed by a horrifying aura that rendered him immobile, and he was losing his strength rapidly.

    ¡°Ah... He¡¯s a demon. Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The battle cries didn¡¯tst exceptionally long, and peace was soon restored to the sword mountain peak.

    Several dozen corpses were lying on the ground. All of their eyes were wide open, filled with regrets, horror, and despair.

    Everything had ended, and it didn¡¯t take long. The only thing that remained was a white figure carrying a sword on his back. The sword¡¯s hilt was white as snow and its de and crystal-clear.

    ...

    Heaven Zen Mountain.

    It was located at the border of Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley, amongst a mountain range that was covered by clouds. However, the peak of the mountain was a naturally urring tnd, which was known as ¡®Heaven¡¯s Peak¡¯.

    There was a white jade tform on the ¡®Heaven¡¯s Peak¡¯, and there were five towering human-shaped stone statues built around the tform. Each statue was wearing different clothes and essories.

    The center of the tform was built in the form of ¡®Round Sky and Squarish Earth¡¯. A circle was in the center while a square was on the outside, forming a tall altar.

    This was where the ¡®Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯ initiated by Heaven Dao Pavilion would be hosted at.

    However, it wasn¡¯t as easy as before to get to the Heaven¡¯s Peak. This was because Heaven Zen Mountain had grown over three times taller than before. One could hear the spring water flowing in the mountain and smell its calming fragrance.

    There was a seven-colored ray of light flickering amidst the thick, white fog at the top of the mountain. It looked just like a rainbow in the sky.

    However, there were many hidden dangers amongst this incredibly beautiful scenery.

    There were beasts roaring constantly, and one could often see a gigantic creature with a thick scale-armor and sharp fangs appearing in the mountain. Its eyes were equally nerve-wracking.

    Apart from beasts, there were birds flying around the mountain too. These gigantic birds could almost block the sun and moon. Whenever they pped their wings and flew, it would produce a strong gust that could shake the ancient, sky-scraping trees.

 Chapter 817 - Ling Yun Realm and Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 817: Ling Yun Realm and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Decision</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    However, none of these could stop the massive group of people gathered at the foot of the mountain. Tens of thousands of soldiers from the four great dynasties had formed up in all four directions. They wore thick armors of different colors and each held a chilly and deadly spear.

    There were many elderlies and young men wearing different clothes amongst the soldiers. Each group of them was holding a g that had a different inscription.

    Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Although it was organized by Heaven Dao Pavilion, one of Holy Region¡¯s five sects, all the sects and forces in the world were invited, including the emperors of the four great dynasties.

    Shadow Sect was obviously invited too.

    Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s troops were located on the east side of Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡®Xian King Ling Yun¡¯, who wore a silvery-white armor, was rushing towards the entrance of the army camp. His light-blue cape was touching the ground.

    ¡°Prince Yan!¡± Xian King Lin Yun quickly paid his respect when he saw the group of people at the camp¡¯s entrance. His entire body was almostpletely bent.

    ¡°Xian King, you don¡¯t have to be so formal. I¡¯m no longer Prince Yan, so you can¡¯t call me that anymore.¡± It was a hoarse voice. Then, he lifted Xian King¡¯s body and nced around the camp, before asking, ¡°Isn¡¯t His Highness here?¡±

    ¡°Well... Father went to...¡±

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°Yup, he hasn¡¯t returned yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Although Ling Yun Tower forbids outsiders from entering, Qian Ye wouldn¡¯t kill His Highness just because of that. By the way, how is the situation in Great Xia Dynasty?¡± After a short silence, Yan Qianli nodded.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t looking too good. There are changes everywhere. Any abnormal urrence would lead to amotion. Luckily, things are still within control. However, Cang Ling Mountain...¡± Xian King Ling Yun shook his head.

    ¡°Yeah, Cang Ling Mountain is at the border between our dynasty and the demon race. Furthermore, there are many ferocious beasts in the mountains, making it tough to control. What¡¯s your n?¡±

    ¡°I originally intended to transfer all the vigers in Cang Ling Mountain to Huai An County, but the vigers said that all their ancestral shrines are in the vige, so they would never leave. Considering the fact that they couldn¡¯t make a living outside the viges, I had no choice but to seal Cang Ling Mountain up with the troops. I also ordered a team of Dragon Protection Squad to protect Prince Cang¡¯s parents in my father¡¯s name in order to ensure their safety.¡±

    ¡°With Xian King¡¯s thoughtfulness, Fang Zhengzhi could die without any worries...¡±

    ¡°Die?! Fang Zhengzhi...¡±

    ¡°Ai...¡± Qian Yianli let out a heavy sigh with a sad expression.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t die!¡± They heard a woman¡¯s firm voice at this moment.

    ¡°Yeah yeah yeah, of course that little bastard wouldn¡¯t die.¡± They heard another person¡¯s voice. Then, a person stood out, nced at Yan Qianli and said, ¡°Old man Yan, can¡¯t you say something nice? For example, that boy was turned into a ¡®human elixir¡¯, but he suddenly burst out of the ¡®human elixir¡¯, and he even broke through.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s lips moved. Then, he shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯d be damned if I didn¡¯t hope that that would happen, but do you really think that¡¯s possible? We haven¡¯t heard anything after so long. It¡¯s already been half a year...¡±

    ¡°No, I believe that he didn¡¯t die! He wouldn¡¯t die!¡± The woman interrupted Yan Qianli firmly.

    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s put that aside. What¡¯s the situation at Heaven Zen Mountain like?¡± Yan Qianli stopped arguing and looked at Xian King Ling Yun.

    ¡°Heaven Zen Mountain is nothing like what it used to be. I could onlymand Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s troops, and I couldn¡¯t control any of the other sects. Over a dozen sects had already gone up the mountain before Prince Yan arrived. However, since Heaven Dao Pavilion has already gone into action, I believe that they could soon clear a path toward Heaven¡¯s Peak.¡± Xian King Ling Yun also looked sad, but he still replied fairly quickly.

    ¡°Alright, seems like we will be staying at the foot of the mountain for a while.¡±

    ¡°Prince Yan, please rest in the army camp. I¡¯ve already set up army tents for 3000 people. I¡¯ve also moved out of the king¡¯s tent, so Prince Yan could...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not used to staying in the king¡¯s tent, so I will stay in a random tent. If it¡¯s convenient for you, you could put me and Yu Er and Old man Heavenly Oasis in three adjacent tents.¡±

    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll make the arrangements now!¡± Xian King Ling Yun immediately passed down the order and personally led Yan Qianli, Yu Er, and Heaven Oasis Saint into the army camp.

    After that, the Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples wearing bamboo hats and ck clothing also quickly entered the camp.

    ...

    Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower.

    The interior of Ling Yun Tower wasn¡¯t decorated too luxuriously, but it was extraordinarily exquisite. Furthermore, each story was decorated differently. It was filled with all kinds of Mountain River Illustrations and ancient scrolls.

    Sunlight shone on Lin Mubai¡¯s lonely figure. However, he was treated much more nicely than before.

    At the very least, there was a newly-built pavilion. Lots of food were also delivered on time. Although the food was much simplerpared to the food in the pce, Lin Mubai obviously didn¡¯t mind.

    He was still sticking around even after Qian Yu had asked him to leave. Therefore, he was in fact quite satisfied with the treatment that he received.

    Most importantly, Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples¡¯ attitude towards him had obviously changed. They were treating him courteously instead of ignoring him like before.

    This had lit up his hopes.

    Persevere, persevere, and persevere!

    Lin Mubai felt that his sincerity could even move the heaven, because he stayed here despite his injuries. However, it didn¡¯t seem like it was working after he stuck around for two days.

    Ping Yang was the only person that would frequentlye out to talk to him. On the other hand, Qian Yu didn¡¯t even leave Ling Yun Tower once in the past two days.

    ¡°Her Majesty, His Highness is...¡±

    ¡°Yang Er, didn¡¯t I tell you to stop calling me that? I am no longer the empress of Great Xia Dynasty since a long time ago. Furthermore, there are many misunderstandings between your father and I. We aren¡¯t fated to be together anymore, so there¡¯s no point in trying.¡± Qian Yu waved her hand and interrupted Ping Yang. Then, she hugged Ping Yang tightly and gently stroke her silky hair.

    ¡°What about father¡¯s injuries...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve ordered the disciples to add healing elixirs into his food, so he should recover soon. What you should be worried about is your marriage.¡±

    ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to get married so soon!¡± Ping Yang blushed and shook her head softly.

    ¡°Is time really the issue? Is it because you don¡¯t want to get married?¡± Qian Yu smiled gently. She interpreted Ping Yang¡¯s expression urately.

    ¡°That shameless fellow... I don¡¯t want to marry him!¡± Ping Yang curled her lips with a stubborn expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m the one forcing him to do it, not you, so what are you worried about?¡± Qian Yu obviously knew what Ping Yang was thinking.

    ¡°Mom, is it dangerous inside Ling Yun Realm?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it is.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you...¡±

    ¡°As long as I don¡¯t control it, it wouldn¡¯t hurt him. It could only entrap him,¡± Qian Yu patted Ping Yang lovingly.

    ¡°How long are you going to keep him in?¡±

    ¡°Obviously until he agrees to my suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Is that really possible? That shameless fellow is exceptionally amazing. If he managed to get out by himself, that would...¡±

    ¡°Rx, he can¡¯t get out. Even the leaders of the other sects of Holy Region couldn¡¯t get out of Ling Yun Realm if they were trapped, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi. Do you know that Ling Yun Realm is the biggest reason that Ling Yun Tower could be one of the five sects of Holy Region!¡± Qian Yu smiled and said confidently.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I...¡± Ping Yang wanted to say something, but Qian Yu already stood up and walked towards the windows slowly and looked towards the rising sun.

    ¡°The world changed too suddenly. Heaven Dao Pavilion has gathered the five sects of Holy Region and organized the Heaven Alliance Meeting, so something huge may be happening. Yang Er, why don¡¯t you apany me there?¡± Qian Yu frowned as she said that. She was obviously gued by her thoughts.

    ¡°To Heaven Zen Mountain? What about father and Fang Zhengzhi...¡± Ping Yang stopped mid-sentence even though she wanted to continue.

    ¡°Your father is Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor, so he is naturally invited too. If we make our way there, he would definitely follow us. As for Fang Zhengzhi... The trip to Heaven Zen Mountain would rake roughly a month. After that¡¯s over, it¡¯s time to start preparing for the wedding ceremony.¡±

    ¡°Mom, I think I should stay in Ling Yun Tower. After all, I¡¯m not strong enough, so I¡¯d like to improve myself in Ling Yun Tower...¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I don¡¯t know what you are thinking about? There is no information regarding Ling Yun Realm in Ling Yun Tower. Everything about Ling Yun Tower is passed down from the previous leader to the new leader. You can¡¯t save Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, since you¡¯re already a Sage, you need make a name for yourself in the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°Make a name for myself?¡±

    ¡°Of course, how could my daughter be unrecognized!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang blinked with aplicated expression. She was excited in one moment, and worried in the next.

    Most importantly, Qian Yu¡¯s stance about Fang Zhengzhi was so firm that she couldn¡¯t do anything to help him.

    ...

    Inside Ling Yun Realm.

    Fang Zhengzhi was furious. As the only victim from the victorious side during this trip to Ling Yun Tower, he was obviously upset.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually imprisoned?!¡±

    ¡°Could this get any worse?¡±

    More importantly, he could hear the conversation between Qian Yu and Ping Yang clearly. Apart from that, he could even hear the conversations between Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    For example, things like ¡®Where did I put my bath towel?¡¯, ¡®Ah, there¡¯s a red spot on my chest!¡¯, and ¡®This lily is really pretty, why don¡¯t we go out and pick a few more?¡¯

    What the hell?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind listening to women¡¯s private conversations asionally. However, after two days of listening to these rubbishes non-stop, he couldn¡¯t take it much longer.

    However, the conversations between Qian Yu and Ping Yang were obviously the most important ones.

    ¡°Is she really going to keep me here until I agree to her suggestion!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why he could hear every single conversation in Ling Yun Tower clearly, but he definitely knew Qian Yu¡¯s stance.

    He suspected that Qian Yu was intentionally allowing him to hear her conversations, but in order to hide her motive, she allowed him to eavesdrop on all the conversations in Ling Yun Tower.

    She was really devious.

    Anyways, it was always extremely troublesome to deal with devious woman like Qian Yu. It would be over with just one misstep.

    Taking the current situation for example, Fang Zhengzhi had thought that he would be awarded with a few treasures from Ling Yun Tower¡¯s treasury.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect fate to y a trick on him.

    Qian Yu had actually forced him to marry Ping Yang!

    Furthermore, shepletelycked finesse. She didn¡¯t even give him time to shower and eat before imprisoning him.

    That was wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi was feeling hopeless. He had traveled everywhere in the past two days, but to his surprise, it seemed the like the world in Ling Yun Realm had no boundaries. No matter how far he walked, it is always full of sceneries. Furthermore, the sceneries have never repeated.

    Most importantly... Ling Yun Realm wasn¡¯t attacking him. That made things more difficult, because he couldn¡¯t find its weakness if it didn¡¯t attack him. It was just like a woman wearing too much clothes and standing in front him. He couldn¡¯t possible tell what she was wearing inside!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Did he really have to y dirty and suffer the humiliation of agreeing to her suggestion and then escaping after he got out of Ling Yun Realm?

    Fang Zhengzhi had actually thought of doing that.

    However, he quickly rejected that idea because he didn¡¯t want to joke about marriage, especially if Ping Yang was involved.

    ¡°Yang Er, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, he suddenly heard Qian Yu and Ping Yang¡¯s voices, and he couldn¡¯t help but tremble when he heard what they said.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? Are you really leaving?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. After all, he had clearly heard that this trip would take almost a month.

    ¡°Do you really have to take it so far?¡±

    ¡°At the very least, give me some food before you go.¡±

    While that thought crossed his mind, a massive shadow appeared in the sky and crashed into the ground before him.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved when he saw that it was a pile of fruits, vegetables, and two gigantic drumsticks.

    For a moment, he was actually speechless.

 Chapter 818 - Paradise of Fire and Ice and Becoming One

    <h4>Chapter 818: Paradise of Fire and Ice and Bing One</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    She wasn¡¯t kidding.

    Fang Zhengzhi had ced a little hope on Ping Yang, thinking that she could get him out. However, it seemed like she and Qian Yu were partners in crime now.

    ¡°What should I do?¡±

    ¡°Should I force my way out? But, I don¡¯t know where to start! Having said that, if I don¡¯t force my way out, I can¡¯t possibly wait for them toe back, right?¡±

    Most importantly, he faced the same problem even if he waited for them to return. He wouldn¡¯t be released if he didn¡¯t agree to marrying Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ai... I wonder how Yan Xiu is doing now?¡± Is he dead or alive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed. Then, he dug a small hole on the ground and made a simple stove with two rocks. He cut a piece of meat from the two gigantic drumsticks and started roasting it.

    After travelling over several dozen miles over the past two days, he was hungry.

    The meat started to exude its fragrance thanks to the fire, and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stomach growl from hunger.

    After eating the meat and drinking a little fruit liquor, he burped andy down on the ground. Using a rock as a pillow, he started taking a nap.

    The sunlight was warm.

    Ling Yun Realm¡¯s sceneries were hugely impressive. There were mountains, rivers, trees, and flowers. Even though Fang Zhengzhi grew up in a vige, he had to admit that the scenery here was incredibly beautiful.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±

    ¡°The scenery... Is beautiful?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly opened his eyes. He did learn something from the adventure at Ling Yun Tower. At the very least, his understanding of ¡®Dao¡¯ had reached a new level.

    Speaking of ¡®Dao¡¯, Fang Zhengzhi started recalling the fight between him and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples and Qian Ye.

    He could still vividly remember Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples¡¯ extraordinary idea and technique. They actually made use of the theory of sound pulse to synchronize their Dao.

    Apart from that... It was the orb that Qian Ye¡¯s squashed.

    An independent Mountain River World!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a connection between the orb and Ling Yun Realm, as if they were closely rted.

    Fusion?

    Fusing multiple Dao techniques together to create something that was even more powerful?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how to do that. After all, his ck armour of a product of the fusion of Dao techniques. However, he felt that this wasn¡¯t enough to exin the Mountain River World that Qian Ye had created, or the Ling Yun Realm.

    It wasn¡¯t just fusion...

    If it was merely fusion, there would still be a barrier between two Dao techniques.

    It was just like forcing two rocks together. Even though their power would improve, it was only to a limited extent. If the force was too strong, the rocks would break apart.

    However, that wouldn¡¯t be the case if it was an entire rock.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    ¡°An entire rock?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡±

    If he had to find a way to describe Ling Yun Tower¡¯s attack and Qian Ye¡¯s Mountain River World, it was like those Dao techniques had be one.

    ¡°Be one?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it. It¡¯s bing one!¡±

    Combining all the Dao techniques into a single one and thereby creating a new Dao technique...

    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s incorrect to call it a new Dao technique... Because there are 3000 Great Dao techniques, but there are over billions ofmon Dao techniques. The correct exnation is that tens of thousands ofmon Dao techniques couldbine and be one Great Dao technique.¡±

    ¡°I knew it, so that¡¯s how it works!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as he had discovered something new.

    He used to believe that he could be stronger byprehending more Dao techniques. He would try toprehend several Dao techniques every day, and slowly umte them over time.

    However, that was too slow after all.

    Most importantly, he didn¡¯t get many chances to use the majority of Dao techniques that he hadprehended, such as the average fire, wind, or rock Dao techniques.

    After he hadprehended these Dao techniques, he hadn¡¯t used them at all. They weren¡¯t useful apart from the fact that they improved his strength by a tiny bit.

    He felt like a tycoon who had a lot of money. However, he didn¡¯t know how to spend the money, or use them to create more money, like how a snowball gets bigger as it goes down the slope. In fact, he wasn¡¯t doing anything with the majority of his money.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current state.

    However, if he couldbine multiple Dao techniques and turn them into one Dao technique, he would be able to solve that problem. He could start bybining a fewmon Dao techniques into a Great Dao technique. Then, he couldbine a few Great Dao techniques into a Supreme Dao technique. If he continued to do that, he couldbine all the Dao techniques into one Ultimate Dao technique.

    In that case... There was a problem.

    What should he name the Ultimate Dao technique?

    He didn¡¯t know, and he didn¡¯t care... That was because he still had a long way to go before he could achieve that.

    After all,bining and turning all the Dao techniques into one Dao would take countless attempts and explorations. However, he was certain that this was the right way to go!

    Moreover, after fighting against Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples and Qian Ye, he understood two things. Firstly, the theory of sound pulse could synchronizebine Dao into one. Secondly, in order for them to be one, he needed to find a ¡®origin¡¯.

    In other words, he needed toe out with something like the ¡®Dao of Nature¡¯ in Qian Ye¡¯s Mountain River World.

    ¡®Origin¡¯ was the core, and ¡®sound pulse¡¯ was the method. Once he knew that, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult tobine many Dao techniques and turn them into a single Dao technique.

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought of that, his eyes glowed brighter, because he had just realised something more important, which was the final oue of bing one...

    It would produce something like the Mountain River World in Qian Ye¡¯s golden orb, or even the Ling Yun Realm where he was imprisoned.

    Of course, these were just his guesses, and he couldn¡¯t prove them with actual results yet.

    However, that had helped Fang Zhengzhi figure out a general direction... Which he had to work towards in order to escape Ling Yun Realm.

    In that case, which two Dao techniques should hebine first?

    Ice and Fire seemed great!

    If he couldbine two Dao techniques withpletely opposite properties, he might be able to recreate the legendary technique, ¡®Paradise of Fire and Ice¡¯!

    Fang Zhengzhi got excited just from thinking about it.

    He had always put his ideas to action right away. Moreover, since he had just eaten, he needed a channel to vent his energy.

    He summoned ice on his left hand. White, freezing air converged in his left hand and soon turned into an ice ke.

    Then, a fiery aura gathered in his right hand and turned into a ball of me almost instantly.

    Then, he began the process of ¡®bing one¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi closed his palms together and startedpressing the two different Dao techniques.

    Then... There was no then.

    That was because the me was jumping around due to the cold air, but Fang Zhengzhi was controlling the cold air with all his might so that the ice ke wouldn¡¯t melt. In that case, the result was pretty obvious.

    There was an explosion!

    The ice ke blew up due to the intense heat and sted towards his face. If Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t react in time, he would have been disfigured.

    ¡°I knew it. There is a gap between dream and reality after all. I need to stop thinking about recreating ¡®Paradise of Fire and Ice¡¯ for the moment.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t give up. He simply decided to start from something easier and get use to this process before attempting the tougher projects.

    Fang Zhengzhi became serious as he thought of it. If thebination of wind and water can be ice, what about thebination of fire and rock? Magma?

    Actually, apart from these ideas, there was a huge number of possibilities.

    While Fang Zhengzhi was thinking of different possiblebinations, he also began attempting. He started off bybining two different Dao techniques, and slowly made his way up to three, four, and five different Dao techniques, and so on and so forth...

    He also figured out some principles very quickly. For example, by using ¡®Dao of the Five Elements¡¯ as the origin, he could sessfullybine metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. By using ¡®Dao of Yin and Yang¡¯ as the origin, he couldbine Dao techniques like heat and coldness or light and darkness.

    After his first sessful attempt, his second attempt was much faster. In addition, he also understood more about the rtionship between Great Dao techniques andmon Dao techniques.

    Most of the time, a Great Dao technique was the origin of themon Dao techniques. Although there seemed to be no rtionship between many differentmon Dao techniques, they actually shared the same origin.

    It was their origins that connected the differentmon Dao techniques together.

    Sess breeds sess.

    After ten consecutive sessful attempts, Fang Zhengzhi came up with a bold idea, which wasbining multiple Great Dao techniques and turning them into one Dao technique.

    To put it more bluntly, he wanted to create a brand-new move bybining multiple Great Dao technique, and that would be his unique creation.

    As the saying went, ¡®You aren¡¯t a teenager if you aren¡¯t crazy enough¡¯.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was too old to be a teenager as he was already a young man, he was afraid how crazy he could actually get.

    ¡°It¡¯s all or nothing! If I die, so be it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared inside Ling Yun Realm,

    following which, a dazzling radiance lit up the sky.

    ...

    15 dayster.

    Holy Region, Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Aspared to 15 days ago, Heaven Zen Mountain was much quieter now. At the very least, there weren¡¯t any enormous and ferocious birds flying in the sky anymore. There were obviously much fewer beasts roaming in the jungles too, especially during the day, when people could hardly hear them roaring anymore.

    However, there was an unerasable scent of blood in the mountain now.

    Thousands of beasts had died because of the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    As rulers of the world, humans had absolute control. In that case, those beasts that dared to stand in their way, had to choose between banishment and death.

    This was the harsh reality.

    Luckily, the disciples who were tasked with ¡®cleaning up¡¯ the jungles didn¡¯t overdo it and destroy the jungles. The spring water was still fragrant, and the seven-coloured light was still visible amidst the clouds.

    Heaven¡¯s Peak, the location of the Heaven Alliance Meeting, was already full of people. The armies of the four great dynasties were here, as they were in charge of the discipline and order of the meeting. The disciples from all kinds of sects had also gathered here. Some were carrying swords on their backs, while some held sabres in their hands.

    Of course, the five sects of Holy Region were seated at a different location from the other sects. They each took up the space between the five stone statues respectively.

    As the organizer of this meeting, Heaven Dao Alliance was the first to arrive. Since Fu Xi Valley was just nearby, their people also arrived pretty early.

    Apart from them, Yin Yang Hall was the only sect that came on time.

    However, unlike Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley, there wasn¡¯t only a single person sitting at the front of Yin Yang Hall. Instead, there were two chairs standing by side by side.

    The person on the left was dressed in both ck and white and wearing a mask that covered his face. The person on the right wore a green dress and a bamboo hat with a white veil.

    No one could see their faces clearly, but no one doubted their identities.

    This was because almost everyone knew that the person on the left was Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Hall Master, Dao Hun, and the person on the right was Dao Xin.

    However, the person standing beside them caught everyone¡¯s attention instead.

    That was because he was sitting right behind Dao Hun and Dao Xin.

    In other words, he was sitting in front of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s elders.

    It would be impossible for the other sects to remain indifferent to this seating arrangement, because the seat often depicted one¡¯s position after all.

    However... The person sitting behind Dao Hun and Dao Xin didn¡¯t reveal his face either. He was wearing a mask too.

    The mask was both ck and white and shaped like the Yin Yang symbol. It seemed a little creepy, especially those pitch-ck eyes that could be seen through the mask, which looked like bottomless pits.

    ¡°Who is that?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s actually sitting behind Dao Hun and Dao Xin. Furthermore, it seems like Yin Yang Hall¡¯s elders are ok with that.¡±

    ¡°This is strange, I don¡¯t think such a person existed... In Yin Yang Hall? Did Yin Yang Halle across a godsend opportunity recently?¡±

    Everyone was guessing internally while they discussed softly. However, no one dared to ask about that person¡¯s identity, because they were just the disciples of some small sects after all. If even the other sects of Holy Region had kept quiet, how could they possibly have the guts to ask about it?

    <h4>Comment (0)</h4>

 Chapter 819 - Archean Miraculous Ruin

    <h4>Chapter 819: Archean Miraculous Ruin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower has arrived!¡± While everyone was confused about the identity of the person sitting behind Dao Xin and Dao Hun, they suddenly heard a voice.

    Then, a group of people appeared. Their dresses danced with the wind like a group of butterflies and attracted all the other disciples¡¯ attention.

    Qian Yu was obviously standing at the front of the group, donning her usual silvery-white dress. Her face wasn¡¯t covered by a white veil, revealing her calm expression. However, her facial features were as exquisite as a painting.

    Ping Yang, who wore a red dress, and several other disciples wearing different colored dresses, were standing beside Qian Yu.

    ¡°It¡¯s Ling Yun Tower!¡±

    ¡°Four out of the five sects of Holy Region are already here. Nine Pinnacles Mountain is the only one left!¡±

    ¡°This is weird, even Ling Yun Tower has arrived before Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Why are they so slow this time?¡±

    Some of the smaller sects automatically moved out of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s way, but they were clearly confused.

    However, their opinions didn¡¯t matter. After all, it was understandable if something happened in Nine Pinnacles Mountain and caused a dy.

    ¡°Leader Qian Ye, thank you foring!¡± One of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples who was in charged of reception quickly walked towards Qian Yu and paid his respect.

    ¡°How dare you. This is our new leader, Lady Qian Yu!¡± A Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciple frowned and reprimanded him. The small incident easily demonstrated Ling Yun Tower¡¯s arrogance.

    ¡°Lady Qian Yu?!¡±

    ¡°New leader?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Everyone was puzzled to hear her. However, several people¡¯s expressions changed drastically.

    Qian Yu!

    They obviously knew her name, because she was the one who sparked the war that took ce over a dozen years ago. However, she disappeared without a trace after the war ended.

    ¡°Qian Yu became the new leader?¡± Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley¡¯s elders nced at each other with surprise.

    After that, the disciple who scolded the receptionist didn¡¯t say another word. She obviously wasn¡¯t going to exin what had happened.

    ¡°Well...¡¯Qu Nan¡¯ apologizes on behalf of Heaven Dao Pavilion for insulting Leader Qian Yu!¡± The disciple in charge of weing them, Qu Nan, quickly paid his respect to Qian Yu again.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Qian Yu shook her head gently and forgave him.

    ¡°Thank you. Leader Qian Yu, please follow me.¡± Qu Nan paid his respect again before leading Ling Yun Tower towards one of the statues. However, after they were seated, Qu Nan noticed that something was off, because there seemed to be a strange person amongst Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples.

    Qu Nan sweated when he took a closer look.

    That was because the person was a man, and most importantly, he was Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor, Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Your Highness, what are you doing?¡± Qu Nan couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this. After all, Great Xia Dynasty was offering their own spot, so it didn¡¯t make sense for him to join Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Cough, cough, where¡¯s my seat? Lin Mubai turned red when he looked at Qu Nan and the confused faces around him.

    ¡°Oh... Qu Nan was careless. Please follow me!¡± Qu Nan quickly reacted by putting the me on himself.

    As the disciple who was chosen to be the receptionist, Qu Nan was indeed an outstanding man at resolving any sudden problems.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Mubai nodded and quickly followed Qu Nan to Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s designated area.

    ¡°Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Your servants pay their respects to Your Highness!¡±

    Xian King Ling Yun and a few apanying ministers and generals immediately kneeled on the ground to wee Lin Mubai back.

    ¡°At ease.¡± Lin Mubai nodded again and sat on the seat at the front. He didn¡¯t exin anything, and it didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to say anything else either.

    Xian King Ling Yun and the ministers and generals nced at each other, and they obviously didn¡¯t dare to ask Lin Mubai about it. They quickly got up and stood behind him.

    ...

    Sunlight fell from the sky. The mountain peak was a little cold due to the wind and the surrounding clouds, but it somehow exuded a solemn and holy aura.

    Time ticked by slowly.

    After waiting for 10 more minutes, everyone was puzzled once again because Nine Pinnacles Mountain hadn¡¯t shown up even though it was almost time for the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Nine Pinnacles Mountain this time?¡±

    ¡°I heard that something bad happened to their previous leader, Tian Xing, in Heaven Dao Pavilion. Hence the sect is probably in a state of chaos right now, which is probably why they arete.¡±

    ¡°I know about it too, but that doesn¡¯t mean that Nine Pinnacles Mountain can skip the Heaven Alliance Meeting today.¡±

    Everyone knitted their brows together. After all, as one of the five sects of Holy Region, Nine Pinnacles Mountain ought to have shown up even if something happened to their leader.

    Most importantly, Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain were both about the same distance away from Heaven Zen Mountain. If Yin Yang Hall was here since a long time ago, they couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Nine Pinnacles Mountain had yet to appear.

    ¡°Nine Pinnacles Mountain has arrived!¡± The crowd heard another voice while they were guessing, following which, another group of people appeared.

    ¡°They¡¯re finally here!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, all the five sects are finally here!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Who¡¯s that... At the front? I have never seen him before?¡±

    Everyone was astonished and confused when they saw the group of people, because the person that led Nine Pinnacles Mountain here wasn¡¯t their First elder ¡®Ying Yu¡¯. It was aplete stranger, a young man that no one had seen before.

    He was dressed in white and donning a huge bamboo hat. The ck veil covered his facepletely, and they could only see his slender figure, his ck hair, and his fair skin.

    Everyone was more astounded than before, because under normal circumstances, First elder Ying Yu should be the person leading Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    A young man?

    Who was he?

    It wasn¡¯t just the small sects that were bewildered. Even Dao Hun and Dao Xin trembled a little when they saw the masked young man. Although their faces were covered by their mask and veil, they were still visibly stunned.

    Nheless, neither of them raised a single question. However, they both seemed to be deep in thought.

    ¡°Qu Nan apologizes for thete wee, may I know who you...¡± Qu Nan came out to greet them, but he stopped mid-sentence. After all, he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake twice, so he was being extremely cautious.

    ¡°This is our Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader. His surname is Bai, and his given name is Fei. He¡¯s the final disciple that our previous leader, Tian Xing, had epted!¡± One of Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s disciple stepped out and announced loudly.

    ¡°Final disciple?¡± Qu Nan frowned and scrutinized the masked young man intuitively again.

    The identities of the five sect leaders¡¯ disciples were no secret in the Holy Region. However, this ¡®Bai Fei¡¯ seemed to have never appeared in the Holy Region before.

    How did a man like this be Tian Xing¡¯s final disciple?

    Furthermore, this person had be Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader. Qu Nan couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    ¡°This is our Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s private affair.¡± The disciples obviously saw the surprise in Qu Nan¡¯s expression, and his voice became colder.

    ¡°Definitely. Leader Tian had always hand-picked his disciples, so it makes sense that he didn¡¯t announce it publicly. Qu Nan was being disrespectful. Leader Bai Fei, please follow me!¡± Qu Nan immediately nodded and led them to their allocated spot.

    ¡°New leader, Bai Fei?¡± The crowd nced at each other with aplicated expression.

    However, since they were just here for the sake of being here, they obviously wouldn¡¯t question the new leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the five sects of Holy Region.

    After all, that disciple was right when he said that it was Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s private affair. Outsiders like them weren¡¯t even qualified to talk about Tian Xing¡¯s disciples or their new leader.

    However, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was wrong.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s leader suddenly became Qian Yu, and even Nine Pinnacles Mountain had a new leader that no one had ever seen before.

    No one knew if something out of the blue would happen during the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    After Bai Fei sat down, Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s leader, Mu Qingfeng, slowly stood up and scanned across the surroundings. His snow-white robe was rumbling in the wind.

    Several elders were standing behind him, followed by a group of disciples in white schr¡¯s robes, each carrying a sword on his back

    However, there was an odd one out amongst the disciples. The person in front of the other disciples was a woman in a pink dress and a snow-white belt.

    She was Chi Guyan.

    The pride of honor of Heaven Dao Pavilion stood motionlessly and quietly behind Mu Qingfeng, but she still caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Is that Chi Guyan?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s so beautiful. Her beauty is devastating....¡±

    ¡°Hush... Keep your voice down. You can¡¯t just say things like that. Chi Guyan is the Chosen One, so how could you be so disrespectful?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m justplimenting her. I wouldn¡¯t dare to think of anything else!¡±

    There was a small discussion amongst the crowd, but it quickly died down because Mu Qingfeng was going to speak.

    ¡°Ke Ke!¡± Mu Qingfeng coughed softly and paid his respect to the other four sects, saying, ¡°I¡¯m honored that so many fellow cultivators have shown up after receiving my invitation. I thank you all foring!¡±

    ¡°Leader, you¡¯re too courteous!¡± Everyone else also stood up and paid their respects to Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Please take a seat!¡± Mu Qingfeng gestured them to their seats after paying his respects again.

    After everyone was seated, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ve never liked to beat around the bush or nag unnecessarily, so I will cut to the chase and exin why I have invited everyone to the Heaven Alliance Meeting!¡±

    ¡°Leader, please go ahead.¡±

    Mu Qingfeng nodded and continued, ¡°Alright, I believe that everyone has witnessed the strange phenomenon that urred around the world in the past few months. For example, the Heaven Zen Mountain that we are standing on, had grown a few thousand meters taller overnight. This has never ever happened before. However, such phenomenon appears to be happening all around the world, and it seems to be going out of control. Do you agree with me?¡±

    Everyone nodded silently, and their expressions indicated that they knew what Mu Qingfeng was trying to say.

    Mu Qingfeng nced around and continued without a pause, ¡°However, I believe that everyone here isn¡¯t aware that something more bizarre than the weird phenomenon around the world has happened beneath Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain. An Archean Miraculous Ruin has appeared!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Archean Miraculous Ruin?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that. What¡¯s an Archean Miraculous Ruin?¡±

    The silent crowd intuitively blurted into amotion because ¡®Archean Miraculous Ruin¡¯ sounded too shocking.

    ¡°Fellow cultivators, you may not know that not a single Miraculous Ruin has appeared in the Holy Region for thousands of years, and there is a reason why I called it an Archean Miraculous Ruin.¡± Mu Qingfeng seemed to have expected their reactions, so he remained indifferent.

    Silence.

    Everyone quietened down and gazed at Mu Qingfeng, waiting for him to continue.

    Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t bush around the bust. He continued speaking after everyone had quietened down,¡± I¡¯ve called it an Archean Miraculous Ruin because I found a chunk of Archean scripture inside. After months of study, I¡¯ve discovered that a name is actually mentioned multiple times!¡±

    ¡°Name? What name?¡±

 Chapter 820 - Gate of God

    <h4>Chapter 820: Gate of God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Mother, Gaia!¡± Mu Qingfeng nced around the crowd and said that as clearly as possible in a serious tone.

    ¡°Mother Gaia?!¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°How could there be a record about Mother Gaia?¡±

    Even though they had mentally prepared themselves when Mu Qingfeng mentioned ¡®Archean Miraculous Ruin¡¯, everyone was still dumbfounded when he brought up ¡®Mother Gaia¡¯.

    That was because Miraculous Ruin and Mother Gaia werepletely unrted.

    Everyone knew what Mother Gaia meant, just like how they knew their mothers¡¯ names.

    However, knowing about it was different from finding a record, because Mother Gaia existed in a time period that dated back tens of thousands of years ago.

    An ¡®Archean Miraculous Ruin¡¯ that recorded what had happened tens of thousands of years ago?

    How was that possible!

    No one could believe it, but they had to, because Mu Qingfeng was the one who announced the news.

    ¡°I know that you may know believe me, but I am honestly telling the truth. Mother Gaia¡¯s name was mentioned multiple times in the Archean scripture, and that is why I have determined that it¡¯s an Archean Miraculous Ruin!¡± Mu Qingfeng eximed firmly.

    ¡°Leader, could you tell us the exact contents of the scripture?¡±

    ¡°Ok. Since it¡¯s an Archean Scripture, I couldn¡¯tprehend it entirely due to myck of knowledge, so I had to deduce part of the content. Furthermore, since the scripture was written on a rock, I wasn¡¯t able to bring it out. I could only figure out the rough content.¡±

    ¡°Leader, I¡¯m afraid that no one in the Holy Region would be better than you in the field of Archeannguage study. Please don¡¯t be so humble.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Since everyone is willing to trust me, I would announce its contents so that we can make a decision together.¡±

    ¡°Leader, please!¡±

    ¡°There are three parts to the scripture. The first part was mainly talking about the time when Heaven and Earth had just been created. The turmoil and unrest resulted in the instability of Heaven and Earth, and it led to a massive disaster!¡±

    ¡°A massive disaster?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Itsted for a long time. mes fell from the sky and lightning struck the earth relentlessly. Sometimes, even meteorites woulde crashing down on earth.¡± Mu Qingfeng took a break at this moment and gazed towards the sky as if he was picturing the disaster in his mind.

    Everyone went silent as well. Falling mes, nonstop lighting, and even meteorites. They could almost imagine how much pain and suffering the living things went through during that period.

    ¡°The second part was a little messy, or it might have been due to my limited knowledge that I could only decipher a small part of it. It talked about how Mother Gaia led the humans to find the source of the disaster, and eventually discovered that they were Heavenly Condemnations. That was she began ¡®amending the heaven¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Amending the heaven?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Amending the heaven!¡±

    ¡°What happened next?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure out the remaining content, but if I had to make an educated guess, I believe that the remaining content of the second part was talking about how Mother Gaia amended the heaven.¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head and replied.

    ¡°Leader, that is exactly what we are thinking!¡± Everyone nodded softly when they heard him. They had agreed with his deduction.

    ¡°The third part was difficult to understand. With my limited knowledge, I could only figure out a few phrases after several months, even with the help of Guyan.¡±

    ¡°Phrases? Leader, please enlighten me!¡±

    ¡°The first phrase was ¡®closure¡¯. Based on the previous parts, I believe that it was referring to the fact that the heaven was amended, and the Heavenly Condemnations had disappeared. However, it could also refer to the closure of a path, or even a... Door. That¡¯s right, a door was closed!¡±

    ¡°A door?¡± Everyone stared at each other. They wanted to say something, but they didn¡¯t know how they should start the conversation.

    ¡°I arrived at that conclusion because the second phrase was ¡®Gate of God¡¯. This phrase... Had appeared multiple times as well!¡±

    ¡°Gate of God?!¡±

    ¡°The third phrase was the reason that I have gathered all of you here, because it was ¡®Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯!¡± Mu Qingfeng continued after taking a deep breath.

    ¡°Heaven Zen Mountain? The first phrase is ¡®closure¡¯, the second phrase is ¡®Gate of God¡¯, and the third phrase is ¡®Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Is Heaven Zen Mountain the Gate of God that was closed?¡±

    ¡°I doubt it¡¯s that simple?¡±

    Everyone was guessing what the phrases meant, but no one could prove anything because there was too little information.

    ¡°Leader Mu!¡± Someone from Fu Xi Valley stood up. His beard was white, and he wore a grey and white long robe embroidered with two ancient words, ¡®Fu Xi¡¯.

    He was Fu Xi Valley¡¯s elder, Gu Yuan.

    ¡°Elder Gu, please speak your mind.¡± Mu Qingfeng obviously knew that Gu Yuan had something to say, so he nodded and gestured at him.

    ¡°Leader Mu, I don¡¯t think that you¡¯ve gathered us solely for the discussion about the Archean scripture, right? Leader Mu could have simply sent us a letter if you wanted to discuss about the scripture. So, why did you go through the trouble of gathering everyone here?¡± Gu Yuan¡¯s lips curled into a smile and he paid his respect to Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Elder Gu is right!¡±

    ¡°Leader Mu, why did you organize the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡±

    Everyone nodded when they heard Gu Yuan, because they also realized that the content of the Archean scripture was just an initiator.

    ¡°Haha, Elder Gu is right. I¡¯ve invited everyone here for two reasons. The first reason is to share the news of the Archean scripture, and the second reason, is to draw a connection between the scripture and the bizarre changes in the world.¡± Mu Qingfeng smiled and nodded at Gu Yuan before he continued.

    ¡°Are you saying that they are rted?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten to bring this up just now. The bizarre changes in the world only started urring after I found the Archean Miraculous Ruin beneath Heaven Dao Pavilion. Furthermore, I am certain that all the bizarre changes started from the location of the Miraculous Ruin, and gradually extended outwards!¡± Mu Qingfeng sounded affirmative.

    ¡°What?! It began after the Archean Miraculous Ruin has appeared?¡±

    ¡°And you are even saying that it started spreading outwards with the Miraculous Ruin as the epicenter?¡±

    ¡°How... How is that possible?¡±

    Everyone was filled with disbelief. However, Mu Qingfeng was obviously telling the truth, since he had no reasons to lie to them.

    Silence ensued, because everyone had finally realized why Mu Qingfeng was in a hurry to gather them for the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Mu Qingfeng continued after everyone had quietened down, ¡°I have two conjectures. Firstly, if we look on the bright side, there might be great opportunities at the ces where weird phenomenon has urred. There might even be extraordinary Archean treasures!¡±

    ¡°Wonderful Archean treasures?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since the Archean Miraculous Ruin and the Archean scripture had appeared, it is possible that Archean treasures might appear at the locations struck by bizarre changes!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is very likely!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression changed once again, and their silence was reced by a pleasant surprise. After all, everyone wanted an extraordinary treasure, not to mention an extraordinary Archean treasure. A normal disciple might able to create his own sect if he could evene across one of these treasures.

    ¡°I know that everyone wants a shot at the extraordinary treasures and opportunities. However, there are two sides to every story. My second conjecture is regarding the potential disaster. In the worst-case scenario, it might be rted to the Heavenly Condemnations mentioned in the Archean scripture!¡± Mu Qingfeng knew that everyone was excited from their expressions.

    ¡°Heavenly Condemnations?!¡±

    ¡°Would it befall us again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, right?¡±

    Everyone turned grim, because it was impossible for them to be unworried even if they didn¡¯t believe that it would happen again.

    After all, just as Mu Qingfeng had stated, all the bizarre changes urred after the Archean Miraculous Ruin had appeared. Why did it appear? Was it a prophecy, or a warning?

    No one knew the answer.

    ¡°Although I believe that it is unlikely, it isn¡¯t entirely impossible. Therefore, we need to be prepared against it!¡±

    ¡°Leader, what¡¯s your n?¡±

    ¡°I feel that we need to act upon a set of rules regardless of the oue. That¡¯s the only way we could minimize unnecessary death and destruction and prevent chaos and turmoil from getting out of hand!¡± Mu Qingfeng sounded extremely serious when he said that.

    ¡°Leader Mu is right!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we muste up with a set of rules. Otherwise, the situation would definitely be chaotic once the treasures appeared!¡±

    ¡°What if it¡¯s the Heavenly Condemnations?¡±

    ¡°Then it would be all the more important toe up with a set of rules!¡±

    Everyone nodded since they agreed with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s suggestion. After all, nothing could be achieved without a set of rules. This was definitely their top priority since bizarre changes were urring all around the world.

    ¡°Leader Mu, what do you have in mind?¡± Gu Yuan nodded and raised another question.

    ¡°Initially, I thought that the five sects should discuss the rules together and establish our territories clearly. However, that would lead to other problems. For example, if extraordinary treasures constantly appeared in one of the regions, would that disrupt the Holy Region¡¯s bnce? On the other hand, if Heavenly Condemnations befell a region constantly, should the other sects provide help?¡± Mu Qingfeng continued after a brief pause.

    Everyone nced at each other intuitively. No one said a word because they knew that Mu Qingfeng was right.

    Ambitions!

    That had never changed since the beginning of time!

    If one of the five sects became powerful enough to take down all the other sects, it would definitely destroy the bnce. At that point, no one would care about the rules.

    ¡°I believe that everyone knows what I¡¯m trying to say. Since the treasures wouldn¡¯t appear in every region, the problems that I¡¯ve talked about would surely arise. At that point. The rules would be useless because someone would definitely disregard the rules. In that case, there would still be chaos.¡±

    Everyone remained silent. No one disagreed with Mu Qingfeng because they knew that he was right. The treasures couldn¡¯t possibly distribute themselves evenly to all the regions. Even if they assumed that the treasures were split up evenly amongst different regions, the value of the treasures would still differ, and that would disrupt the bnce of power.

    ¡°Leader Mu, are you saying that we should establish a hierarchy in the Holy Region?¡± A voice came from Fu Xi Valley¡¯s direction, but it wasn¡¯t Gu Yuan.

    It was a skinny and short old man with a face full of wrinkles. His silvery brows were so long that they reached his waist.

    This man didn¡¯t stand out from the crowd, but he was sitting at the front of Fu Xi Valley¡¯s designated spot.

    He was Mo Shanshi, Fu Xi Valley¡¯s current leader, also known as the best irvoyant in the Holy Region.

    Everyone quickly understood what Mo Shanshi was trying to say, and they felt conflicted.

    If the five sects of the Holy Region established a hierarchy, it could actually prevent any conflicts that might arise due to the uneven distribution of treasures.

    However, that only would only solve the problems amongst the five sects.

    As the saying went, ¡®A soldier who doesn¡¯t want to be a general is not a good soldier¡¯.

    No one was willing to be a soldier for life.

    Furthermore, amidst a time filled with massive opportunities, no one would willingly obey another person¡¯s order and be a ¡®good boy¡¯.

    Most importantly, everyone knew that they were as insignificant as ants in the eyes of the five sects. No one would care about their life or death.

    ¡°Leader Mo is right. That¡¯s actually my intention. However, there are some differences. If the five sects continue to protect their individual interests like before, the amount of conflict would only increase. Hence, there must be a hierarchy for so that rules can be established. However, I intend to include the four great dynasties and all the other sects as well!¡± Mu Qingfeng said firmly as he nced around.

    ¡°Include the four great dynasties and all the other sects as well?!¡±

    ¡°How would that work?¡±

    ¡°There are so many people here. We can¡¯t possibly settle this through a war, can we? Is it a test of intelligence? That wouldn¡¯t make sense either, because each sect and each dynasty cultivated differently. A test of intelligence is impractical!¡±

    Everyone became more conflicted when they heard Mu Qingfeng¡¯s suggestion, because they couldn¡¯t think of a possible way of establishing a hierarchy when everyone was involved.

 Chapter 821 - Time for the Young People to Step Up

    <h4>Chapter 821: Time for the Young People to Step Up</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Everyone kept their eyes on Mu Qingfeng. Many of them looked doubtful but they mostly approved of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words.

    After all, Mu Qingfeng had mentioned that other than the Five Sects of the Holy Region, the minor sects had a stake in this as well. ¡°Conducting examinations is not practical.¡± Mu Qingfeng had been listening to the mutterings of members in the audience. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing to speak. ¡°After all, even the cultivation methods of the Five Sects are rather different. Thus, I suggest that we organise a fighting tournament!¡±¡±Fighting tournament?¡± Everyone was slightly taken aback.¡±How are we going to organise a fighting tournament?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we could start a war now, could we? Also, there are so many sects. How much time would we waste on a fighting tournament?¡±¡±Most importantly, we can¡¯t¡¯ hold it up here on the Heaven¡¯s Peak either!¡±Everyone present was confused. After all, a fighting tournament required judges and a good location. Also, no one wanted a massacre to take ce at the Heaven Alliance Meeting.¡±Pavilion Master Mu, how do you suggest we do it? In terms of swordy, I, Mo Shanshi, cannot match up to you. However, I fear no one when ites to the setting up of formations!¡± Mo Shanshi narrowed his eyes. He obviously disagreed with Mu Qingfeng. ¡°You misunderstand me, Valley Master Mo.¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head and raised up both of his hands to call for silence.¡±The fighting tournament that I suggest won¡¯t be between the leaders of the Five Sects.¡±¡±If not the leaders of the Five Sects, then who?¡±¡±That¡¯s right. If the leaders of the Five Sects do not participate, even if we do manage to choose an enforcer, he wouldn¡¯t have the authority to lead the masses.¡±¡±Yeah, how do you lead the masses without invested authority?¡±The members of the audience fell into a heated discussion among themselves once more. After all, the point of the tournament was to choose a person who would serve as policymaker andw enforcer of the martial arts fraternity.Such a person... Had to be one of the leaders of the Five Sects or even one of the leaders of the minor sects. Otherwise, how would he be able to make policies and enforcews?Mu Qingfeng broke out into a smile and turned to Chi Guyan, who was standing behind him.¡±What I meant was that it would harm the harmonious rtionship between the various sects if the sect leaders took part in the tournament. Also, it would be difficult to decide on winners. What we should do is to let the younger generation participate in our stead!¡±¡±The younger generation?!¡± Everyone stared at Mu Qingfeng. Then, they turned to look at Chi Guyan. They were all beginning to understand Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words.¡±So Pavilion Master Mu intends to let the younger martial artists represent their respective sects in the tournament?¡± Mo Shanshi had understood what Mu Qingfeng was getting at. ¡°Mm, we¡¯ll set the age limit of participants to be below 30 years of age. This will be a good test of the future leadership of our sects. Besides, this would also give the minor sects an opportunity to stand out.¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded. ¡°I support Pavilion Leader Mu¡¯s decision!¡±¡±So do I¡±¡±Letting the younger generation take part in this tournament is for the best!¡±The various sect leaders shared a look with each other before three of them spoke out in support of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s suggestion. Just as he said, this was an opportunity for the minor sects.After all, no one wanted to live forever in the shadows of another. Moreover, the leaders of the Five Sects would undoubtedly dominate thepetition if they took part in the tournament, which would defeat the tournament¡¯s purpose. The minor sects had a much greater chance of offering a sessful candidate if the younger memberspeted instead.The tournament age limit of 30 years of age and below was fair. Mo Shanshi was quiet now.He knew that Mu Qingfeng wanted to let the younger generation of martial artists distinguish themselves. ¡°Is it because of Chi Guyan?¡± Mo Shanshi looked at Chi Guyan knowingly. In terms of talent... Chi Guyan was unrivalled by leaps and bounds in the Holy Region.However, Chi Guyan was very young at only 17 years of age. Besides, she had not yet managed to break through to the Sage State.This was a key point to note. ¡°I agree with Pavilion Leader Mu¡¯s suggestion. However, I want to make a small request!¡± Mo Shanshi was silent for a moment before he spoke.¡±Please go ahead, Valley Master Mo.¡± Mu Qingfeng replied casually. ¡°If we are talking about giving the younger generation a chance, we¡¯ll have to be more inclusive. I suggest that the victory requirements be two wins out of three rounds, what do you say?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s lips curled up into a cold smile. However powerful Gu Chiyan was, she was only one person. It would be gruelling for a person who had not yet attain the Sage State to defeat one who was already at that level, much less achieve consecutive victories. ¡°Two wins out of three rounds?¡±¡±Yes. With this requirement, the rules would be more rxed. The various sects could send out onepetitor each, or even three!¡±¡±Mm, Valley Master Mo makes sense!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s suggestion was quickly seconded by another sect leader. After all, there was strength in numbers. If a sect could not win another through a one-on-one fight, they would send severalpetitors to take turns in fighting the opponent so as to tire him out.¡±I agree with Valley Leader Mo as well. Two wins out of three rounds would increase the fairness of this proposed tournament!¡± Another sect leader had spoken out. ¡°Yes, I agree too!¡±¡±Yes!¡±¡±The judges wille from the Five Sects. They will decide on the victor.¡±Very quickly, the other sect leaders began to speak out. Although they were unsure if they could win the Five Sects, it was their only chance to turn the tables. Mu Qingfeng frowned and turned to look at Chi Guyan without speaking. His displeasure was apparent from the questioning look on his face. After all, he had wanted the victor to be decided in just one round. To make sure that things went his way, he had tried to appeal to the other sect leaders and even raised the tournament age limit to 30 years of age. He had already done his best for the sake of ensuring a ¡°fair fight¡±.Now, things were not going in ordance with his ns. The results of the tournament would no longer be in his control if more fighting rounds were included. There was an exponential difference between the effort required to go through one fight and that required to go through two fights and beyond. Chi Guyan was aware of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s considerations. However, things did not always fall into ce. There was no way that someone would always be in control.Chi Guyan did not speak but she nodded to convey her wishes to Mu Qingfeng.¡±Alright, I will agree to Valley Master Mo¡¯s suggestion. Two wins out of three rounds it shall be. Does anyone else have anything to say?¡± Mu Qingfeng saw the nod from Chi Guyan and gritted his teeth before speaking. ¡°I have no objections.¡± A voice came from the Yin Yang Hall camp. It was Dao Hun.¡±I have no objections either.¡± Qian Yu turned to look at Ping Yang beside her before nodding slightly in agreement. ¡°Mm.¡± The new leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Bai Fei, nodded curtly as well. ¡°SInce everyone agrees, we shall begin. I, together with the leaders from the other Four Sects will form the panel of judges. The order of fighting will be decided through the drawing of lots. The minor sects are free to sign up for this tournament.¡± Mu Qingfeng announced. ¡°Sign up?¡± The other sect leaders quietened down and looked at each other. They were all waiting for someone among them to speak out. After all, none of them actually dared to pit themselves against the Five Sects. ¡°Sign up if you want to. How do you expect the Five Sects to ever listen to you all if you can¡¯t even deal with losses?¡± Mo Shanshi smiled coldly at the silent people from the minor sects. They had been so excited only a moment ago. ¡°Losses?¡± A minor sect leader had detected the hidden meaning in Mo Shanshi¡¯s words and swallowed the words that he had been nning to say. ¡°This is a fighting tournament. Injuries and deaths are inevitable. What is there to be surprised about?¡± Mo Shanshi cast a sweeping nce over the people from the minor sects.¡±Deaths...¡± The minor sect leaders were speechless. They could hear the concealed threat in Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice. Nevertheless, this was not entirely unexpected. After all, the Five Sects of the Holy Region had never held the minor sects in high regard.Of course, there was nothing wrong with what Mo Shanshi was saying. Injuries and deaths were indeedmon in fighting tournaments. The problem was if they could afford to sustain these injuries and deaths among their membership. The future of these minor sects hinged on every one of their younger members, especially talented ones. Three young members from each sect... That was virtually all they had. ¡°We, the ck Sky Pce, will not be taking part in the tournament!¡±¡±The Red Rainbow Sect isn¡¯t taking part either!¡±¡±The Purple me Realm... hehe, we¡¯re content being bystanders. We¡¯ll let the Five Sects sort this out among themselves.¡±¡±We¡¯re giving up too.¡±¡±We give up.¡±Many of the minor sect leaders had spoken. They did not want to admit it but they were well aware that nothing good would evere out of involving themselves in a conflict with the Five Sects.¡±Cowards, all of you. We, the Xuanji Sect, will take up the challenge!¡± A voice rang out from the crowd. A figure stepped forward. It was a man in his forties. He wore a ck robe and carried nine swords on his back. Three other people followed behind him. They were youths in their twentiesprising two men and a woman. A savage aura emanated from their bodies. This was the leader of the Xuanji Sect, Zu Lian. He was also known as Thousand Changes. ¡°The Xuanji Sect?!¡±¡±The Xuanji Sect has stepped forward. Well, perhaps only the Xuanji Sect has the strength to do so!¡±¡±Yes, the influence of the Xuanji Sect is widespread in the War Pinnacle and Radiant Moon Empires. It cany a im to being the sixth most powerful sect in the Holy Region!¡±The members of the other minor sects were slightly surprised to see the Xuanji Sect step forward but it was not entirely unexpected. The Xuanji Sect was powerful in their own right. ¡°We, the Shadow Sect, will sign up as well.¡± Just as the crowd was focusing their attention on the people from the Xuanji Sect, a bright voice rang out.¡±Shadow Sect?¡±¡±They are going to sign up too?¡±¡±I heard that the Shadow Sect was involved in a battle with the Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago. It seems that the Shadow Sect has been working on getting stronger in the past few years!¡±The members of the audience looked around in surprise. Before long, they had caught sight of a figure walking out of the Great Xia Empire camp. It was ady. Her fair skin and flowing hair were entuated by the small piece of cinnabar she wore on her forehead. She looked lovely but no one dared to treat her in a frivolous manner. Everyone knew that the Shadow Sect was headed by a woman. It was this woman who was keeping a vast organisation together. Her name was Wu Yuer. ¡°To think that the low-lying Shadow Sect is beginning to rise. It seems that we¡¯ll have to look you in the eye in a few years!¡± The leader of the Xuanji Sect, Zu Lian, was unhappy at being upstaged by Wu Yuer and spoke to her in a condescending tone. ¡°A sparrow will not understand the ambitions of a swan.¡± Wu Yuer looked Zu Lian in the eye before turning away disdainfully. ¡°Wu Yuer, how dare you speak to me in this way? You might be the leader of the Shadow Sect but I have seniority over you. Has no one taught you how to respect your elders?¡± Zu Lian¡¯s eyes shed in anger. After all, there was bad blood between the Xuanji Sect and the Shadow Sect. The Xuanji Sect was only influential in the War Pinnacle and Radiant Moon Empires because of the existence of the Shadow Sect in the Four Great Empires. In the past, the Shadow Sect was but a lowly existence. They eked out a living by running small businesses and had a reputation among the sects for not engaging in honest work. However, in the past two years or so, the Shadow Sect had extended its ws towards the Four Great Empires, thus encroaching on the territories of the Xuanji Sect. The incident that had incurred the most hatred from Zu Lian was something involving a biscuit.

 Chapter 822 - A Tactic Suggested by a Despicable Fellow

    <h4>Chapter 822: A Tactic Suggested by a Despicable Fellow</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    This incident involving a biscuit was not as simple as a sold biscuit being poisoned. After all, the people of the Xuanji Sect were not stupid. In truth, the incident with the biscuit was a disaster and was extremelyplicated. Even now, Zu Lian had not been able to get to the bottom of the matter. What he could confirm was that it all started from a minor dispute that had taken ce in one of the branches of the Xuanji Sect. This particr branch of the Xuanji Sect had received an anonymous letter. The contents of the letter were simple. It told of a nned assassination on one of the deputy branch leaders that would take ce within five days and that the assant would be disguised as a biscuit seller. The branch leader had mixed feelings upon reading the letter. Its credibility was one thing. More importantly, the branch had more than one deputy branch leader and the biscuit sellers in the city numbered in the hundreds. Which deputy branch leader had been targeted?Which biscuit seller was the assant disguised as?The branch leader had gotten a headache....Nevertheless, he gave the order to search the city. He had to weed out this threat to the Xuanji Sect. Still, it was a massive operation. Even with the widespread influence of the Xuanji Sect, they were unable to find out who the targeted deputy branch leader was. All they had managed to find were a few suspicious figures. Before long, five days had passed. The attack did not take ce. However, the branch received another anonymous letter.The contents of the letter were simr to the previous one. A biscuit seller was going to assassinate a deputy branch leader.¡±Damn your assassin!¡± The branch leader flew into a rage and tore the letter into pieces. No one spoke of the matter after that. Another five days passed, the deputy branch leaders remained safe and another anonymous letter arrived. There were no other developments. The branch leaderter decreed that there was no need to show him such anonymous letters and his subordinates could do as they deemed fit. After that... Something happened. On a cold and windy night, a deputy branch leader left to run some errands and did not return. The next day, his body was found by the city gates with a half-eaten biscuit left on it. ¡°...¡± The branch leader was extremely distressed and this matter was brought up to the higher-ups in the Xuanji Sect. However, the higher-ups could not make the decisions for the branch. The branch leader was ordered to conduct an investigation into the matter. The branch leader had no idea how to conduct his investigation. Was he supposed to round up all the biscuit sellers in the city and kill them? There was simply no way to go about it. The things that happened in the following days were even more exciting. The branch continued to receive anonymous letters listing different targets in the branch. On some days it could be the wife of a deputy branch leader. On another day, it would be the personal aide of the branch leader. The intended targets were everchanging but the supposed assant was always a biscuit seller. The members of the branch lived out their days in fear, their panic fuelled by the asional killings and the biscuits that were left on the corpses. Finally, the Xuanji Sect had enough. All the biscuit sellers in the city were captured and taken in for harsh interrogation. What happened next was easy to guess. Biscuit sellers no longer operated in the city. There was no longer any hope of finding biscuits for sale in such arge city. As for the consequences... It caused an uproar among the poption. People demanded that the Xuanji Sect return them their biscuit-eating ways of life. At this point, the Xuanji Sect received another anonymous letter. The contents of the letter were simr to the ones that came before it, except that the assant was going to be a vegetable seller instead of a biscuit seller.¡±...¡± The branch leader was stupefied. Facing mounting pressure from the people, he chose to release the biscuit sellers and began to investigate vegetable sellers instead. Nevertheless, more than half of the biscuit sellers who had been released left the city. After all, they could always sell their biscuits in another city. The biscuit-selling trade would never die!Before long, most of the biscuit sellers in the city moved elsewhere in search of a safer and more carefree life. Later, after a few more killings had taken ce, the vegetable sellers in the city began to suffer.The hardworking vegetable sellers were dragged away and subjected to brutal interrogations. As a result, not only was there a shortage of biscuits in the city, no one sold vegetables anymore. Rage!The rage of the general poption was a force to be reckoned with!The imperial authorities were finallypelled to address the matter and strongly reprimanded the Xuanji Sect. The vegetable sellers of the city got their freedom back but more than a third of their numbers left the city immediately. Thus, this particr branch of the Xuanji Sect experienced much hardship in the days that followed. They became despised by the people and were shunned like the rats in the sewers.They had lost their prestige and were now of ill-repute.The talented members of the branch were annoyed. They had joined the Xuanji Sect to bring glory to their families, not to be hated on by the general poption. Following the passage of time, the Xuanji Sect had to bring this particr branch underground and deployed their members elsewhere. Only a few would stay behind in the city as informants. After the Xuanji Sect had retreated from the city, the other sects moved in to fill the power vacuum and actively recruited members for their causes. The Shadow Sect was the most prominent among them. The Shadow Sect proceeded to open dozens of biscuit shops and won the love of the people with their version of pizza. Later... Simr events happened in the cities that the Xuanji Sect had taken root in. Within a year, the Xuanji Sect had been forced out of several cities. The Shadow Sect quickly moved in to fill up the power vacuums in these cities and before long, the pizza became a very popr food item in these locations. Not only did they bring inrge amounts of money for the Shadow Sect, but they also won the Shadow Sect popr support in these cities. In this way, the reputation and influence built up by the Xuanji Sect over several centuries became eroded. A year!Within a year, the Xuanji Sect had not only lost several cities¡¯ worth of ie but also the prestige in their reputation. How could they not be angry?Zu Lian was not stupid. He was more than aware that it had been the work of the Shadow Sect. All hecked was proof. Without proof, all he could do was tounch attacks on the Shadow Sect branches in several cities. The problem was that the Shadow Sect was rather powerful and had the support of the people. The Xuanji Sect was on the losing end. After challenging the Shadow Sect on a few asions, the reputation of the Xuanji Sect deteriorated further. On the contrary, the Shadow Sect continued to rise in poprity and their businesses prospered greatly. This was the incident with the biscuits. Hence, how could Zu Lian control his anger upon seeing Wu Yuer? After all, it was a few cities¡¯ worths of ie that they were talking about. Most importantly, the thing with the biscuits was still going on. It was like a fire that was spreading across the dominion of the Xuanji Sect. Zu Lian had not yet thought of a good way to prevent these things from happening. He could only bear with it and avoid making trouble for the biscuit sellers and vegetable sellers. However, he could not stop the anonymous letters froming in.The killings had indeed decreased in number after the Xuanji Sect had stepped up on security. Nevertheless, the urrences of one or two incidents were enough to keep the Xuanji Sect members talking. It was a terrible feeling. It was like an illness that he had no way of getting to the root of. An illness that hurt him every once in a while like gangrene in the bones. Zu Lian felt like he was going crazy. ¡°I wonder which despicable fellow gave Wu Yuer such an idea!¡± The Xuanji Sect and Shadow Sect had been fighting for years and Zu Lian knew what Wu Yuer was capable of. Thus, he was sure that Wu Yuer would not have been able toe up with this underhand tactic.Of course, now was not the time to be thinking about all these. Zu Lian only wanted to vent his anger. After all, his suppressed anger along with Wu Yuer¡¯s arrogance was making it difficult for him to bear it for any longer. However, the main problem was that... Even though he had unted his seniority and had shed his anger, Wu Yuer could not even be bothered with him. She continued to keep the look of indignance and disdain on her face.¡±Idiot!¡± Wu Yuer replied curtly and turned her gaze to Mu Qingfeng in expectation of his reply. ¡°You...¡±¡±Sect Leader Zu, there is no problem with Sect Leader Wu signing up for the tournament. Besides, we¡¯re in the midst of a discussion that concerns the welfare of people in the world. Whatever the conflict between the Xuanji Sect and the Shadow Sect, I hope that you will be able to let bygones be bygones. If we can¡¯t achieve unity in the martial arts fraternity, what would be the point of calling for a Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡±Zu Lian had wanted to say something when Mu Qingfeng waved a hand at him and offered some words of advice. Zu Lian narrowed his eyes and looked around him. The leaders of the Five Sects and the minor sects were all looking at him. He decided to keep his mouth shut.Be that as it may, Zu Lian was fuming mad and his face had turned a deep red. ¡°Alright, I will apologise for being rude to Sect Leader Wu today. However, I¡¯d like to see how the Shadow Sect would measure up against the Xuanji Sect and the Five Sects of the Holy Region!¡± Zu Lian was an esteemed sect leader after all and he practised self-restraint. Mu Qingfeng dropped the matter as well and turned to the crowd once more. ¡°Any other sects willing to participate in the tournament?¡±¡±...¡±The people from the other sects looked at each other. The underlying tensions between the Xuanji Sect and the Shadow Sect were in to see.They decided to keep their silence for the sake of the long-term developments of their sects. After all, the bright young members of their sects represented their futures. ¡°If there is no one else, then let us not waste our time!¡± The Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi had spoken.¡±Mm, I thank everyone for your faith in this venture. The Five Sects, the Xuanji Sect and the Shadow Sect will participate in this tournament. As for the fighting order... we¡¯ll draw lots to decide. Does anyone object to this?¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded and announced in a loud voice.¡±No objections!¡±¡±The drawing of lots is very fair!¡±¡±That¡¯s right. Since it was Pavilion Leader Mu who had called for this meeting, let him enforce the rules.¡±The members of the audience looked around at each other and nodded. They were all in agreement with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s suggestions. ¡°Alright, let usmence with the drawing of lots!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded. Although the rules of the tournament had been altered slightly, he had expected the participation of Xuanji Sect and Shadow Sect. He was still satisfied with the way things had turned out. As for the lots to be drawn. Mu Qingfeng had them all ready. At Mu Qingfeng¡¯smand, a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion brought out seven jade-green tablets that shimmered brightly. ¡°These tablets are numbered 1 to 7. 1 will face 2, 3 will face 4 and 5 will face 6. There are seven sects participating in this tournament so the sect that draws the 7 will progress directly to the second stage of the tournament. Any objections?¡±¡±No? Then let us begin!¡± The sect leader of the Xuanji Sect Zu Lian spoke up and turned to look at the young disciple standing behind him.The young disciple understood and proceeded to pick out a jade tablet after bowing to Mu Qingfeng. The number on the tablet shed in the daylight. ¡°5!¡±¡±5? Hehe, not bad!¡± Zu Lian nodded his head in satisfaction. Although he was slightly disappointed at not having drawn the 7, drawing a 5 meant that he would be involved in thest fight of the tournament¡¯s first stage. This would allow him to study the prowess of the Five Sects first. ¡°Yin Yang Hall has picked out the number 1!¡± A voice rang out and everyone turned to look at the Yin Yang Hall disciple who had chosen the tablet. ¡°It seems like we¡¯ll have to go first. Who is going to face us?¡± The Hall Master of Yin Yang Hall Dao Hun stood up and focused a cold gaze at the person with the Yin-Yang mask sitting behind Dao Xin.

 Chapter 823 - Destroyed in a Move

    <h4>Chapter 823: Destroyed in a Move</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°It¡¯s the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡±¡±The Nine Pinnacles Mountain has picked the number 2!¡±¡±The first match will be between Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain? Well, I¡¯m looking forward to the great show!¡±There were many responses to Dao Hun¡¯s words because the number on the tablet chosen by the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had been shown to the crowd. The first match was going to take ce. This elicited some mixed feelings from the members of the other sects. After all, they had all heard about what happened to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain a few months back. The previous leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Tian Xing had met with a mishap. Following that, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had formed an alliance with Yin Yang Hall. Now, a new leader had appeared out of nowhere in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.Everyone got the feeling that these happenings were somehow rted to each other but no one knew for sure the stories behind them.The various sects were waiting to find out if the answers to their questions would be revealed in the match.¡±The Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Dao Hun looked towards the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp where the masked youth Bai Fei was seated, his eyes shing. Everyone probably thought that Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain were coborating on a huge project. In fact, if Mu Qingfeng had not sent out a sudden invitation to the Heaven Alliance Meeting, Dao Hun would not be at the Heaven Zen Mountain but the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.A new leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain who had been a virtual unknown?A masked youth!Additionally, Sixth Elder, who had been sent to Nine Pinnacles Mountain to cultivate medicinal pills, had not yet returned. Dao Hun did not know what was happening but he was sure of one thing. The affairs of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were not within his control.Following the confirmation of the battle between Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Yin Yang Hall, the disciples of Ling Yun Tower and Fu Xi Valley shed the numbers they had drawn as well. Ling Yun Tower had drawn the number 3 while Fu Xi Valley had drawn the number 4.The oue made Valley Master Mo Shanshi grimace slightly before he recovered himself. His lips curled up into a cold smile. No one knew what was on Mo Shanshi¡¯s mind but one thing was for sure. He did not fear nor was unhappy with this arrangement. The two remaining jade tabletsy quietly in the hands of the disciple from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. A disciple from the Shadow Sect stepped forward and walked slowly towards the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple. ¡°7, I must draw the 7!¡± The Shadow Sect disciple muttered to himself as he put a hand on one of the jade tablets.Wu Yuer, leader of the Shadow Sect, regarded the whole process with a nonchnt look on her face while Zu Lian, leader of the Xuanji Sect, was getting agitated. ¡°Don¡¯t draw the number 7, don¡¯t...¡± Zu Lian muttered under his breath. If the Shadow Sect picked out the number 7, Xuanji Sect¡¯s opponent in the first stage would be the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Zu Lian did not want that to happen.¡±6!¡±¡±The Shadow Sect drew the number 6!¡±¡±The Heaven Dao Pavilion will progress straight on to the second stage!¡±The members of the various sects began to call out when they saw the number 6 shing on the tablet. This was going to be a fight between fierce rivals. ¡°6?! Hahaha... I, Zu Lian, will show the Shadow Sect that biscuits aren¡¯t that easy to sell. Listen up, the few of you. Give them a terrible beating from me or you won¡¯t have to bother returning to Xuanji Sect!¡± Zu Lian was stunned for a moment before he recovered himself. ¡°Yes, Sect Leader. We won¡¯t give them the chance to tap out until we reduce them to cripples!¡± The three Xuanji Sect disciples standing behind Zu Lian responded to his orders. ¡°Good, very good, hahaha...¡± Zu Lian burst out into merryughter. He could not wait to see the disciples of the Shadow Sect lie on the ground in pools of blood.The people in the crowd looked around at each other. They knew that the Xuanji Sect had a long-standing feud with the Shadow Sect but they could not make sense of Zu Lian¡¯s words about biscuits being hard to sell. Of course, it was not possible for Zu Lian to exin this to the crowd. The rest could only continue to specte. The order of the fight matches in the first stage was out. The Yin Yang Hall would face Nine Pinnacles Mountain in the first match. It was Ling Yun Tower against Fu Xi Valley in the second match. In the third match, Xuanji Sect would battle it out with the Shadow Sect. As the sect that had called for this Heaven Alliance Meeting, the Heaven Dao Pavilion was fortunate enough to have obtained a bye into the second stage.Had the results been rigged in any way?For instance, no one could know for sure if the jade tablets had been tampered with. Nevertheless, these considerations were no longer important. The most important thing was that the Heaven Dao Pavilion had sessfully picked ou the number 7, which would bring them directly into the second stage of the tournament. ¡°All the lots have been drawn in a fair process. Everyone here has borne witness to that. Any objections to this oue?¡± Mu Qingfeng tried his best to suppress his tion. ¡°The Xuanji Sect has no objections!¡± Zu Lian was the first to speak.¡±No.¡±¡±We don¡¯t have any objections.¡±¡±...¡±Before long, everyone present had expressed their approval of the lot-drawing process. ¡°Alright, let us begin. The first battle will be between Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain.¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded his head and let out a sigh of relief. Following Mu Qingfeng¡¯s announcement, the masked youth Bai Fei, the current leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, got to his feet. He turned to look at the dark figure behind him and nodded his head.The dark figure remained silent and glided out from the crowd. The sect leaders who were present, including the Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi, were mildly surprised. They had noticed that Bai Feng had chosen his contender without consulting any of the elders in his sect. All the elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had held their tongues as well. This could only mean that Bai Fei was truly the premier authority figure in Nine Pinnacles Mountain and not a puppet that had been raised to the leadership of the sect by the sect elders. ¡°Who is he exactly? Could it be that the masked youth Bai Feng was really the closed door disciple of the previous sect leader Tian Xing?¡± The same question popped up in the minds of everyone present but no one dared to ask aloud. Everyone knew that the biggest problem affecting the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was not theck of strength but internal strife. As long as the sect managed to keep their internal politics in check, they were still one of the powerful Five Sects of the Holy Region. Of course, this uing battle would be fought among members of the younger generation. This gave the Nine Pinnacles Mountain a significant advantage. At this point in time, no one knew who was going to win or lose. ... The dark figure had walked out from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp. He stopped beneath the altar at the dead centre of Heaven¡¯s Peak. It was apparent that the dark figure was skinny but there was a sort of sharpness in his movements. He did not take off the hood that he wore but slid out a long knife from his sleeves. The knife had a de that was ck with a hint of blood-red on it. ¡°I am ck Knife from Nine Pinnacles Mountain, 28 years old.¡± The dark figure introduced himself curtly. ¡°ck Knife?¡±¡±Why hasn¡¯t anyone mentioned this name before?¡±¡±If no one has ever heard of him, it probably means that he had just managed to achieve a breakthrough. It seems that this ck Knife fellow has mastered a formidable technique of some sort!¡±¡±Mm, that¡¯s possible!¡±The members of the other sects began to murmur among themselves. After all, this tournament was an opportunity for unknown martial artists to achieve overnight fame. The crowd observed ck Knife curiously. The Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall Dao Hun turned to look at the person wearing the Yin-Yang mask standing behind Dao Xin. He shifted his gaze to another disciple who was standing behind a few Yin Yang Hall elders and gave him a slight nod of his head. This chosen disciple strode out quickly and leapt to a position where he stood facing ck Knife. There were bright shes as he unsheathed a pair of swords, ck and white. ¡°I am a disciple from Yin Yang Hall, Fang Miao, also 28 years old. My powers are at the peak of the Rebirth State!¡± The Yin Yang Hall disciple introduced himself quickly. ¡°It¡¯s Fang Miao?!¡±¡±I did not expect Yin Yang Hall to send out Fang Miao for the first battle. I¡¯ve heard that this Fang Miao was a prodigy of the Radiant Moon Empire. Later, he joined the Yin Yang Hall and further developed his skills under the wing of Hallmaster Dao Hun. He is probably the most powerful among the younger generation of disciples in Yin Yang Hall!¡±¡±It seems that Yin Yang Hall is going to put up a fine disy of their prowess in the first battle!¡±The disciples from the other sects got excited upon hearing Fang Miao¡¯s name. After all, Fang Miao was quite an influential figure in the martial arts fraternity. ¡°The first round, Fang Miao from Yin Yang Hall versus ck Knife from Nine Pinnacles Mountain, begin!¡± A Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who had been tasked with emceeing the event announced loudly. Following the cue to begin, ck Knife moved before Fang Miao in a sh. ¡°Closebat?¡± Fang Miao had been taken by surprise but he recovered himself. He dipped the ground gently with his right feet and retreated backwards like a swallow. There were several prodigious disciples in Yin Yang Hall and yet Dao Hun had sent Fang Miao out first. The key reason for this was that while Fang Miao was highly skilled, he was also good at keeping his cool.Upon seeing that ck Knife was getting closer to him, he made a quick decision to move backwards. He was by no means weak in closebat but he did not want to attack yet. It has often been said that the fighting spirit aroused by the first roll of drums is depleted by the second and exhausted by the third. Fang Miao would refrain from acting before studying his opponent. However, just as Fang Miao retreated backwards, he felt a chilling at him from behind his back. The feeling made him feel ufortable and carried with it an urgent sense of danger. Fang Miao found it very strange. ck Knife was in front of him, so where was the chill assailing him from behind his backing from? Could it be that there was someone from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain making use of underhand tactics?Impossible!The leaders of the Five Sects themselves formed the judging panel of the tournament. Attempts to cheat would never escape their eyes no matter how well-concealed these attempts were. Despite his surety, Fang Miao still thrust out the white sword he was holding in his left hand towards his back and defended himself from the front with the ck sword.All for the sake of certainty!¡±Crack!¡± A crisp sound rang out as a disembodied arm flew up into the air, still gripping tightly onto a white sword. Blood spurted everywhere.It was a gory sight indeed. What made it more shocking was that another disembodied arm had flown up into the air as well, this time holding onto a ck sword. ¡°Ahh!¡± Fang Miao screamed in agony but it was not enough to prevent ck Knife from drawing blood with his weapon. His knife dripped with blood and dazed the crowd.At this point, all everyone could see was countless shadows encircling Fang Miao, each one holding onto a bloodied knife. ¡°ck Knife, stop!¡± The Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi roared at the figure dressed in ck. He himself was dumbfounded at the sight that met his eyes. The shadows scattered. ck Knife stood at where he was and held his knife to Fang Miao¡¯s throat. Blood continued to drip from the de. ¡°HIss!¡± Many of the disciples from the various sect sucked in breaths of cold air. They had been curious to find out more about ck Knife but now, they were beginning to fear him.It had happened so quickly!With only one move, ck Knife had inflicted aplete defeat on the Yin Yang Hall prodigy Fang Miao. Who exactly was this ck Knife person?!¡±Interesting!¡± Dao Hun got to his feet and looked at Fang Miao, who was covered in blood and half kneeling on the ground. Dao Hun clenched his fists involuntarily. This was a disciple that he had trained personally for three whole months and yet he had been crippled in the first round by a single move. Also, it had been the work of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Dao Hun was finding it difficult to hold in his anger. ¡°It seems that the Sixth Elder must have met with an ident.¡± Dao Xin, who had been sitting beside Dao Hun, opened her mouth to speak. She turned around to look at the figure wearing the Yin-Yang mask and nodded gently.

 Chapter 824 - Sage at 18

    <h4>Chapter 824: Sage at 18</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Mm, if that¡¯s the case, then we won¡¯t be holding back anymore.¡± Dao Hun nodded upon hearing Dao Xin¡¯s words and turned to look at the figure wearing the Yin-Yang mask.

    At the fighting tform, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who was serving as emcee looked stunned. After all, the fight had ended all too quickly.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple nced at Fang Miao, who was half kneeling on the ground, before turning to look at Mu Qingfeng.

    Upon seeing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s nod, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple took in a deep breath and made his announcement.

    ¡°ck Knife from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain has won the first round!¡±

    ¡°This ck Knife... he¡¯s amazing!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was expecting Fang Miao from Yin Yang Hall to...¡±

    ¡°Thank heavens that I did not rush to sign up for the tournament. The Five Sects of the Holy Region truly deserve their name!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects had not expected the skill standards of the tournament to be so high.

    ¡°Alright, let us proceed with the second round, Yin Yang Hall versus the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple announced after discussing with the judging panel.

    Following the announcement, the figure wearing the Yin-Yang mask walked out from the Yin Yang Hall camp. The mask obscured the entire face of the figure except for a pair of eyes that were as ck as the abyss.

    ¡°18 years old.¡± The figure wearing the Yin Yang mask said in a cold and calm voice. It seemed as though he had not seen the blood and gore from the first round.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion emcee, as well as the disciples from the various sects, felt like they had been struck by lightning upon hearing his words.

    18 years old?!

    No one could believe their own ears. The age limit of the tournament was 30. Wasn¡¯t it true that one got stronger with age? Why had an 18-year-old appeared instead?

    Was this some kind of mistake?

    Everyone turned to look at Dao Hun, the Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall. The only answer that they got from him was silence.

    ¡°Are they really going to send out an 18-year-old?

    Does the Yin Yang Hall intend to forfeit this tournament?¡± The disciples from the other sects spected upon seeing Dao Hun¡¯s silent admission.

    ¡°18 years old? Is there no one else in Yin Yang Hall?¡± ck Knife smirked behind his hood upon hearing the youth in the Yin-Yang mask introduce himself.

    The youth in the Yin-Yang mask did not let himself get riled up by ck Knife¡¯s words. He continued to stand at his spot, his eyes as dark as the night.

    ¡°This... does the Nine Pinnacles Mountain want to substitute their current contender?¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple questioned ck Knife.

    After all, the victory requirement of the tournament was strictly two wins out of three rounds. Beyond that, the rules were rather flexible. The winner of a round could choose to either continue or to take a break.

    ck Knife¡¯s lips moved a little but he did not speak. He turned to look at the masked youth Bai Fei, who was sitting at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp.

    ck Knife turned back to the announcer after he had gotten a nod from Bai Fei.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let us proceed!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple took two steps back hurriedly and made his announcement.

    The brows of Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi creased slightly. They had seen what ck Knife did.

    Bai Fei?

    Had he managed to consolidate his power in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain within a few short months? Just how powerful was he in order for a highly skilled person like ck Knife to be at his beck and call?

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were slightly perplexed but they did not let it affect them overtly. The match between ck Knife and the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was about to begin.

    On the contrary, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were not surprised at the emergence of this youth in the Yin-Yang mask. Judging from where he stood in the Yin Yang Hall camp, they could tell that he had a high position within the sect.

    The only thing that stood out was his age of 18 years. Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi frowned some more.

    At this point, ck Knife made his move.

    He did not greet his opponent nor put up a shy disy. ck Knife moved up close to his opponent like what he did with Fang Miao.

    His knife glinted blood-red in the light of day and shot forward. It was apparent that ck Knife had no intention of letting his opponent from Yin Yang Hall off easy, however indignant he might feel about his young age.

    ¡°Swish!¡± The shadows stirred along with the thrust of the knife.

    Just as ck Knife approached the youth in the Yin-Yang mask from the front, his figure seemed to multiply until there were eight shadowy figures surrounding the youth from all sides.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Suddenly, a ck ray of energy emanated from the youth in the Yin-Yang mask and rushed up into the skies.

    At the same time, a blood-red shadow began to materialise beneath the feet of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask like a spreading pool of blood.

    It was an unearthly sight.

    ck lights and red shadows.

    The key thing was that when the blood-red shadow had appeared, a bone-chilling aura had been unleashed by the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Sage State!¡±

    ¡°A master of the Sage State!¡±

    ¡°How can this be? 18 years old... since when had a master of the Sage state appeared in the Holy Region?¡±

    The disciples from the various sects had been astounded when they saw the ck ray of energy rush out. The rich quality of this dark energy was a disy of power derived from the Sage State.

    18 years old and already in the Sage State?

    Had the world gone mad?

    No one had any idea as to what was going on. Still, their eyes could not lie to them and the cold aura of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was chilling them to the bone.

    ¡°Ding!¡± A metallic sound rang out as ck Knife tried to stab his knife into the body of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    It was an ear-splitting sound but the youth in the Yin-Yang mask did not even move at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± The disciples from the various sects widened their eyes. Their mouths were agape.

    A w formed by the ck energy was holding onto the de of ck Knife¡¯s knife with an inhuman strength and keeping it at bay.

    Not only that, but several other ws had been formed by the ck energy and were snapping at the shadows surrounding the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A wretched figure retreated backwards in haste. Gaping holes had been torn into his cloak and even his hood had been pulled off.

    It was a man with a pale face. His face was somon that no one would have recognised him in a crowd.

    It was ck Knife!

    ck Knife¡¯s face had been revealed on merely the first encounter with the youth in the Yin-Yang mask!

    If ck Knife had shocked the crowd with his skills, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was terrifying the crowd with his power.

    A master of the Sage State at 18 years of age.

    Besides, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask looked as though he had not exerted much energy inunching the attack on ck Knife.

    This was fantastic.

    Everyone knew that the tournament was going to be exciting when Mu Qingfeng had first suggested it. However, this was almost too much for them to handle.

    After all, the martial artists who had been invited to the Heaven Alliance Meeting were all skilled in their own right but it seemed like they were all nothingpared to the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    ¡°Swish!¡± Just as the hood flew off ck Knife¡¯s head, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask rushed towards ck Knife.

    ¡°So fast!¡± Not only did the disciples from the various sects let out a collective gasp of amazement, but even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi inhaled sharply upon seeing how quick the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was.

    At this point, everyone understood why the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was standing behind Dao Hun and Dao Xin, and why the elders of Yin Yang Hall had not objected to his participation in the tournament.

    ¡°Bump!¡± A sound rang out from midair.

    ck Knife¡¯s body fell down straight to the floor. It was as if he had been kicked towards the ground, which was actually the truth. He had indeed been kicked down from midair by the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    The youth in the Yin-Yang mask had even managed to connect his feet directly with ck Knife¡¯s face. The force of the kick had shattered his facial features.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± ck Knife¡¯s bodynded on the ground with a heavy thud. He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

    It had all happened in a sh.

    As with the fight between ck Knife and Fang Miao, this had been a one-sidedbat. The only difference was that Fang Miao had not managed to get to his feet while ck Knife did.

    Even though his pale face was covered in blood, ck Knife still mbered onto his feet tediously, his hand still gripping tightly onto his knife.

    ¡°You, not bad!¡± ck Knife pressed a hand to his chest and held his knife with the other hand. His eyes glittered coldly.

    ¡°Off you go.¡± The masked youth Bai Feng, who was seated at the head of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp, had spoken.

    ¡°Yes...¡± ck Knife shuddered as he retreated back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp. He was obviously dissatisfied but he did not dare to disobey Bai Fei¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Has the Nine Pinnacles Mountain admitted defeat?¡±

    ¡°ck Knife looks like he still has some fight left in him!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ck Knife doesn¡¯t look like he waspletely defeated. However, the difference in skill level between the two contenders is too obvious. Yin Yang Hall will win this round no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Mm, that makes sense!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects were somewhat surprised at ck Knife¡¯s retreat but they quickly understood why.

    ¡°Alright, Yin Yang Hall has won the second round. Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles are tied at one win each. Nine Pinnacles Mountain can send out another contender!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple quickly made his announcement.

    ¡°Tsk, to think that a master of the Sage State would appear in this tournament!¡±

    ¡°Yeah... a master of the Sage State below 30 years of age. No, 18 years old... this is crazy!¡±

    ¡°The Five Sects of the Holy Region never fail to amaze!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects were not surprised at the results but they were astonished at how it had happened.

    ¡°Sect Leader, ck Knife has been defeated. Let me go next!¡± A figure approached the masked youth Bai Feng from behind.

    ¡°No need for that.¡± The masked youth Bai Fei shook his head and looked at the youth in the Yin-Yang mask who was still standing in the arena. Before long, he got to his feet and made an announcement.

    ¡°We, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, admit defeat.¡±

    ¡°Admit defeat?!¡±

    ¡°Are they not going to fight on?¡±

    ¡°They are tied at one win each and Nine Pinnacles Mountain is going to give up?¡±

    Amotion followed Bai Fei¡¯s announcement. His decision hade as a huge surprise to everyone.

    ¡°This Bai Fei... what an interesting fellow!¡± Dao Xin cast a nce at Bai Fei and fell silent.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who was emceeing turned to look at Mu Qingfeng and upon seeing his nod, he walked over to the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    ¡°Since the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain has forfeited the third round, Yin Yang Hall will progress to the second stage of the tournament!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± It was Mo Shanshi who had spoken. He cast a sweeping nce over the crowd and settled his gaze on the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

    ¡°I have no issue with Yin Yang Hall proceeding to the second stage of the tournament. However, there is a need to enforce the rules of this tournament!¡±

    ¡°The rules? Valley Master Mo, how do you intend to enforce them?¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple asked.

    ¡°The rules of this tournament state that contenders cannot be above 30 years of age. Our friend from

    the Yin Yang Hall has also said that he is 18 years old. However, if he doesn¡¯t show his face or reveal his name, how can we be sure that he is telling the truth? An 18-year-old attaining the Sage State... hehe, I don¡¯t believe it!¡± As Mo Shanshi finished speaking, his lips curled up into a cold smile.

 Chapter 825 - A Different Asura

    <h4>Chapter 825: A Different Asura</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Valley Master Mo makes sense!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if you don¡¯t want to reveal your name, shouldn¡¯t you at least show us your face? Otherwise, anyone could wear a mask and im to be 18 years of age. In that case, wouldn¡¯t our rules be for nought?¡±

    ¡°An 18-year-old who has broken through to the Sage State cannot stay unknown forever. Everyone has to be convinced in order for Yin Yang Hall to be promoted to the second stage.¡±

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s words had struck a chord among the disciples of the various sects. After all, no one in the Holy Region had ever heard of an 18-year-old master of the Sage State.

    The sudden appearance of such a young master of the Sage State in Yin Yang Hall was hard to believe.

    After all, even the Fang Zhengzhi who had wreaked havoc in the Holy Region a while back had only reached the Rebirth State.

    ¡°Old Mo, are you doubting the credibility of Yin Yang Hall?¡± Dao Hun stood up and spoke in a hostile manner.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to. If your disciple is really 18 years old, I will offer you my apologies. Hallmaster Dao, is your disciple hiding something? Hehe... or is he so ugly that he dare not show his face?¡± Mo Shanshi chuckled coldly.

    ¡°You...¡± Dao Hun could feel a rising anger.

    The disciples of the various sects remained silent. Even Mu Qingfeng did not speak. Everyone was getting more and more suspicious.

    ¡°Xiu, since Valley Master Mo is willing to get on his knees and apologise to you, why don¡¯t you remove your mask!¡± Dao Xin spoke out in a calm but cold voice.

    ¡°Get on his knees in apology?¡±

    ¡°Did Valley Master Mo say that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    The disciples from the various sects were slightly baffled upon hearing Dao Xin¡¯s words.

    Mo Shanshi was stunned as well.

    However, he recovered himself quickly enough. Dao Xin was raising the stakes. Fine, he would follow her lead!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯d like to see what this 18-year-old master of the Sage State looks like!¡± Mo Shanshi gritted his teeth. There was no backing down now. After all, he was the one who had stirred up the matter. If he back-pedalled now, he would be aughingstock.

    Of course, if the youth in the Yin-Yang mask turned out to be 18 years old, he would be aughingstock as well. Nevertheless, he had already ced his bets and could not afford to be indecisive.

    Mo Shanshi was in a good mood until he saw the youth in the Yin-Yang mask nod his head curtly. He began to feel anxious.

    ¡°Click!¡±

    The Yin-Yang mask had been taken off, revealing a face that was very young and very indifferent. His features looked as though they had been chiselled out of stone and his expression was as cold as ice. There was no light in those dark eyes of his.

    ¡°What?!¡± Mo Shanshi eximed in surprise. The youth before him was too young. His youth was indisputable.

    The members of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Ling Yun Tower and Shadow Sect let out a collective gasp as well.

    ¡°Yan Xiu?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually Yan Xiu?!¡±

    The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion knew who Yan Xiu was. After all, they had all witnessed everything that had happened at the Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago.

    Ping Yang, who was standing at the Ling Yun Tower camp, recognised Yan Xiu too. However cold and indifferent he looked, she was certain that it was Yan Xiu.

    ¡°How did Yan Xiu end up in Yin Yang Hall? Besides, he seems to be a high-ranking member. What is going on?¡± Ping Yang blinked in confusion at first before her excitement took over.

    ¡°Come over here, Yan Xiu. Let me see if you¡¯re really at the Sage State!¡±

    ¡°His name is Yan Xiu? Who is Yan Xiu?¡±

    ¡°If he is Yan Xiu, then he would really be around 18 years old. Yan Xiu is the oldest grandson of the Yan family, the lord of Western Liang in the Great Xia Empire, the current Prince Yan!¡±

    ¡°The Great Xia Empire¡¯s Prince Yan of Western Liang? Could it be that person who had crossed into the Holy Region together with Fang Zhengzhi...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yan Xiu is older than Fang Zhengzhi by only a few months and had taken part in the examinations held by the Heaven Dao Pavilion together with Fang Zhengzhi. However, he had just broken through to the Rebirth State half a year ago!¡±

    The disciples of the various sects engaged in a discussion among themselves after they had heard Ping Yang¡¯s shouted words. After all, Yan Xiu was the newly appointed Prince Yan of the Great Xia Empire and his name hade up often in the intelligence gathered by the informants of the various sects.

    ¡°Yan Xiu?! This kid is Yan Xiu!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s face had changed for the worse.

    18 years old!

    An 18-year-old master of the Sage State!

    Mo Shanshi did not want to believe that it was true. Nevertheless, it was true that the youth was Yan Xiu. There was no doubt.

    ¡°Xiu, is it you? Xiu,e here...¡± Yan Qianli rushed forward unthinkingly but was held back by a strong hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°Old Yan, something¡¯s wrong!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint scrutinised Yan Xiu from head to toe with mixed emotions.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°If he really is Yan Xiu, do you think that he would have ignored you?¡±

    ¡°This... Xiu naturally would not... wait a minute. Xiu previously mentioned that he was 18 years old but he had actually turned 19st month. Why would he say that he is 18 years old? Could it be that he doesn¡¯t remember...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Something must have gone wrong with Yan Xiu¡¯s memories!¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that Xiu doesn¡¯t recognise me at all?¡±

    ¡°It must be so. Otherwise, considering Yan Xiu¡¯s personality, he would not have joined Yin Yang Hall nor regard you as a stranger.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint replied with certainty.

    ¡°If this is the case, then I¡¯ll...¡± Yan Qianli hardened his gaze and tried to shake the arm of the Heavenly Oasis Saint off his shoulder.

    ¡°Old Yan, don¡¯t be rash!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint exerted more force on Yan Qianli¡¯s shoulder as he looked around them.

    ¡°Now is not the time to sh with Yin Yang Hall. On the bright side, Yan Xiu is alive, isn¡¯t he? As long as he lives, there was be plenty of opportunities to settle this in the future!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yan Qianli was silent for a moment before he nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. As long as Xiu is alive, I will be able to set my heart at ease!¡±

    ¡°Still, I had not thought that Yan Xiu would have broken through to the Sage State in only a matter of months. Your grandson is pretty scary!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint nced at Yan Xiu again and let out a sigh.

    ¡°His Sage State... I had not recognised it upon first sight. On hindsight, the dark energy bears a resemnce to the Dao of Asura, but yet it isn¡¯t!¡± Yan Qianli replied.

    ¡°Not the Dao of Asura?¡±

    ¡°Mm. If I had to describe it, it looks more like... the Fallen Asura! However, although Xiu¡¯s eyes were dark, they weren¡¯t clouded over like he was under the control of the Fallen Asura.¡± Yan Qianli was perplexed.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be Yan Xiu controlling the Fallen Asura, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. No one in the Yan family has ever done that. Still, it doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s impossible!¡± Yan Qianli shook his head. Then he nodded.

    ¡°Let us continue to observe before wee to a conclusion.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint pulled Yan Qianli to his side and threw a few nces towards the Yin Yang Hall camp.

    At the Yin Yang Hall camp, Dao Xin was looking over at the Shadow Sect camp. Her lips curled up into a smile underneath her white face veil.

    ¡°The best pill cultivator in the Holy Region sure lives up to his name. However, I wonder what Dao Hun did to revive Yan Xiu and to help him break through to the Sage State.¡± Mu Qingfeng did not know what to feel.

    ¡°The fact that Yan Xiu is alive means that that shameless thief can set his heart at ease.¡± Chi Guyan was not replying to Mu Qingfeng. She only gazed at Yan Xiu and whispered underneath her breath.

    she was intelligent and could tell that Yan Xiu had changed in some ways. Nevertheless, she held her tongue. As the Heavenly Oasis Saint had mentioned, there was hope as long as Yan Xiu was alive.

    ...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s identity was quickly confirmed by the others.

    An 18-year-old expert of the Sage State showed the rest what it meant to be a prodigy, a steamroller.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s big reveal elicited both happiness and sadness.

    The happy people included Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and everyone else from the Shadow Sect. Although Yan Xiu did not respond to Ping Yang¡¯s greetings, it did not curb her enthusiasm in any way.

    As for the sad people...

    Mo Shanshi was feeling troubled indeed.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, what are you waiting for? Are you going to go back on your word? I want to see how the Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley is going to make a fool out of himself!¡± Dao Hun had spoken. He stared at Mo Shanshi with cold and unsmiling eyes.

    ¡°Dao Hun, you¡¯re too much!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, since when did our Valley Master say that he was going to go down on his knees to apologise? It was you people who put words into his mouth!¡±

    ¡°If you want our Valley Master to go down on his knees, you need to get past us first!¡±

    The disciples of Fu Xi Valley were infuriated upon hearing Dao Hun¡¯s words and brandished their weapons in a show of anger.

    ¡°Is Fu Xi Valley going to go back on their word? We, the Yin Yang Hall, will fight it out with you until the end!¡±

    ¡°Untrustworthy cowards, do you think Yin Yang Hall is afraid of you people?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,e at us!¡±

    The disciples of Yin Yang Hall unsheathed their weapons as well. The des of their sword gave off a cold light that suppressed even the atmosphere on the Heaven¡¯s Peak.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Mu Qingfeng could stay silent no longer.

    ¡°Hallmaster Dao, I had called everyone to this meeting so as to discuss matters concerning the people of the world. From today onwards, the Five Sects have to work together in order to achieve ourmon objectives, not squabble over minor issues like these. I¡¯d like to implore you to give me some face and allow Valley Master Mo to bow in apology instead of going down on his knees.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. All I¡¯m worried about is Valley Master Mo losing his credibility in the martial arts fraternity. That wouldn¡¯t be a good thing, would it?¡± Dao Hun sat down slowly and lifted his teacup up to his nose for a sniff. He did not drink it.

    ¡°Dao Hun, Dao Xin, I¡¯ll remember this!¡± Mo Shanshi gritted his teeth. He went up to Yan Xiu and bowed deeply to him.

    ¡°I, Mo Shanshi, sincerely apologise to Yan Xiu!¡±

    Having offered his apology, Mo Shanshi walked back to the Fu Xi Valley camp in a huff.

    It was clear that Mo Shanshi was fuming. His face had turned a dark red.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Dao Hun harrumphed. He had expected this to happen. After all, how could the Valley Master of Fuxi Valley be expected to go down on his knees in front of all these people?

    If Dao Hun had forced the matter, not only would it not be resolved but more people were going to die.

    Mu Qingfeng shook his head gently at the scene. He had gotten used to the conflicts between the Five Sects.

    Fortunately, the Five Sects always managed to practise restraint at the right times, which allowed them to coexist with each other for so long.

    Seeing that the minor conflict had been resolved, Mu Qingfeng shed a look at the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who was doing the emceeing.

    ¡°Now that the identity of the Yin Yang Hall contender has been revealed to be Yan Xiu, his victory stands valid and Yin Yang Hall will progress to the second stage of the tournament. Next up, we have Ling Yun Tower versus Fu Xi Valley!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple announced.

    ¡°Mother, am I up next?¡± Ping Yang blinked at Qian Yu with her big bright eyes.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Qian Yu was silent for a moment as she looked at Yan Xiu go back to his seat and nodded gently.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, it¡¯s finally my turn!¡± Ping Yang had gotten excited and she leapt into a fighting arena in a sh of light. She wore a long red dress covered by the Red me Flower Armour. As she flipped over her palm, the zing Qilin Spear appeared in her hands.

    ¡°I am Ping Yang from Ling Yun Tower, 16 years old!¡±

 Chapter 826 - Ping Yang Makes Me Scared

    <h4>Chapter 826: Ping Yang Makes Me Scared</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°16 years old?!¡± The Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi was just about to sit down when he heard Ping Yang¡¯s self-introduction and almost fell to the floor. Likewise, the elders and disciples of Fu Xi Valley were stunned. A 16-year-oldss participating in a tournament of the Heaven Alliance Meeting?What the heck!If Ping Yang had not emerged from the Ling Yun Tower camp in in view, no one would believe that this was happening. ¡°Master, Ling Yun Tower is being arrogant. Let me take them on!¡± A disciple of Fu Xi Valley who had just turned 20 stepped forward.¡±Are you trying to be funny? Go back!¡± The Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan hardened his gaze and pped the disciple across the cheek. ¡°Smack!¡±The crisp sound echoed around the peak of the mountain. In the next moment, Gu Yuan bowed towards Mo Shanshi.¡±Valley Master, my grandson is ignorant. Please forgive him if he has offended you in any way!¡±¡±No worries.¡± Mo Shanshi shook his head and looked at Ping Yang wistfully.¡±Qian Yu had disappeared after the great war 10 years ago. I¡¯ve heard that she had left a daughter behind in the Great Xia, who should be 16 years old by now. If I¡¯m not wrong, this Ping Yang is Qian Yu¡¯s daughter!¡±¡±You make sense, Valley Master!¡± Gu Yuan nodded quickly. ¡°If she is Qian Yu¡¯s daughter, then she must be here to gain experience. 16 years old... has Gu Zhen¡¯s cultivation reached theter stages of the Rebirth State?¡±¡±Yes, my grandson¡¯s abilities are average and I have spoilt him. It was onlyst month when he had reached the final stages of the Rebirth State.¡±Gu Yuan nodded and turned to give his grandson a displeased stare.¡±You are too humble, Elder Gu. Gu Zhen is rather skilful to begin with and he will definitely be one of the top disciples in his generation with your guidance. If Gu Zhen wants to step up for this battle, then let him!¡±¡±Are you really going to let Gu Zhen fight this battle, Valley Master?¡± Gu Yuan looked at Mo Shanshi in surprise.¡±It¡¯s time for Gu Zhen to gain more experience. However, take note that he must win this battle and not inflict any serious injuries on Ping Yang. Otherwise, he¡¯ll be punished!¡±¡±What do you mean, Valley Master?¡±¡±Ling Yun Tower has always detached themselves from the affairs of the Five Sects. If we can obtain their support in this Heaven Alliance Meeting, it¡¯ll be easier to deal with Yin Yang Hall in the future.¡± Mo Shanshi said with a solemn look on his face. ¡°You are wise, Valley Master!¡± Gu Yuan quickly understood Mo Shanshi¡¯s intentions. ¡°Go forth, Gu Zhen, remember my words.¡± Mo Shanshi waved a hand and fell silent. ¡°Thank you, Master. Gu Zhen won¡¯t let you and Grandfather down.¡± Gu Zhen received Mo Shanshi¡¯s orders eagerly, the pain from Gu Yuan¡¯s p already forgotten. Gu Yuan suddenly pulled Gu Zhen close to him and passed him an ice-blue sword. Remember, ice counters fire!¡± Gu Yuan said to Gu Zhen while looking at Ping Yuan¡¯s Flower Armour and zing Qilin Spear. ¡°The Clear Ice Sword?! Thank you, Grandfather!¡± Gu Zhen looked at the ice-blue sword in Gu Yuan¡¯s hand with his eyes shing. The Clear Ice Sword was one of the three swords that Gu Yuan always carried with him. Not even Gu Zhen¡¯s father got to use it on a regr basis. Gu Zhen received the sword and waved it about experimentally. A chill aura emanated from the sword and frosted the surrounding air. ¡°I¡¯ll head over now!¡± Gu Zhen said confidently. ¡°Mm.¡± Gu Yuan nodded. Gu Zhen turned and focused his gaze on Ping Yang, who was standing in the fighting arena in her crimson armour.Gu Zhen leapt into the fighting arena andnded right in front of Ping Yang.¡±Little Sister Ping Yang, I am Gu Zhen. My grandfather is Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Third Elder Gu Yuan. I¡¯m 23 this year. As for my Enlightenment State... the final stages of the Rebirth State. What is your Enlightenment State, Little Sister Ping Yang?¡± Gu Zhen blinked as he finished introducing himself. It was clear that Gu Zhen was proceeding with this cautiously. He wanted to test the waters before making his move. ¡°Enlightenment State?¡± Ping Yang blinked. She had noticed the ice-blue sword in Gu Zhen¡¯s hand and broke out into a smile. ¡°I¡¯d advanced from the Star Conglomerate State to the Heavenly Reflection State half a year ago!¡±¡±Heavenly Reflection State?!¡± Gu Zhen was stunned. He had not prepared himself for Ping Yang¡¯s answer and tried his best to suppress augh. What was this ce?The altar on the Heaven¡¯s Peak atop the Heaven Zen Mountain, where they were organising a Heaven Alliance Meeting!What were they doing? The Five Sects were in the midst of showcasing their respective strength and yet, a young girl at the Heavenly Reflection State was going to take part in the tournament!If he had not seen this for himself, Gu Zhen never would have believed it.After all, what was the Heavenly Reflection State?One had to at least be at the Supernatural State before they could even join the Five Sects of the Holy Region. The Heavenly Reflection State... was too far off. Was there even a need for them to fight?¡±Pfft!¡± Just as Gu Zhen was trying hard to maintain hisposure, there was the sound ofughter from His Majesty Lin Mu Baiing from the direction of the Great Xia Empire camp. Still, Lin Mubai quickly recovered himself and exhaled in a bid to suppress hisughter.Ping Yang had been hanging too much with that person. His attitude was rubbing off on her.Still... Ping Yang was not lying. She had broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State half a year ago and she had been so proud of it. Of course, this was Lin Mubai¡¯s opinion. The disciples of the various sects viewed this as a joke!¡±Since when were people who were merely at the Heavenly Reflection State able to take part in a tournament like this?!¡±¡±It has been said that she is a princess... and she is from Ling Yun Tower. My guess is that she is Princess Ping Yang from the Great Xia Empire!¡±¡±Mm, that must be it. This Princess Ping Yang is said to be spoilt and stubborn. Her abilities are ordinary to a fault and she must have gotten to the Heavenly Reflection State with some external help!¡±¡±Well, she¡¯s a princess.¡±The disciples of the various sects shook their heads as they talked with each other. They were no longer interested in the uing round. Gu Zhen could no longer hold in his contempt for Ping Yang. ¡°Hahaha, Little Sister Ping Yang, I don¡¯t want to bully you. Tell you what, I¡¯ll fight you with only one hand, what do you think?¡± Gu Zhen told Ping Yang as he ced a hand behind his back while holding up the Clear Ice Sword with his other hand. ¡°One hand?¡±¡±Gu Zhen is quite the shameless fellow. How can holding a sword in one hand and holding the other hand behind his back be considered a disadvantage for him? If it was up to me, I wouldn¡¯t use either of my hands at all!¡±¡±Be it as it may, there¡¯s nothing wrong with Gu Zhen being more careful.¡±The disciples of the various sects wereughing as they discussed the uing round. ¡°So... will you give me a headstart of three moves?¡± Ping Yang gripped onto her zing Qilin Spear and stared at Gu Zhen¡¯s Clear Ice Sword hesitantly.¡±Three moves?¡± Gu Zhen was about to agree readily when he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He turned around to look at Gu Yuan, who was staring back at him sternly. ¡°No, three moves is too many. I¡¯ll give you a headstart of one move!¡±¡±Since you¡¯re so powerful, how about two moves?¡± Ping Yuan looked slightly disappointed as she fluttered her eyshes.¡±Two moves? Alright... two moves it shall be. I¡¯ll make my move on your third move!¡± Gu Zhen eded to her request without consulting Gu Yuan. ¡°Alright, thank you. I¡¯ll begin.¡±¡±Go ahead!¡±¡±But I¡¯m a little... afraid. What if you lie to me?¡± Ping Yang put a leg forward before retracting it back quickly. She had a terrified expression on her face.¡±Don¡¯t be afraid. My grandfather told me to avoid hurting you. Be rest assured that I won¡¯t exchange blows with you until you make your two moves!¡± Gu Zhen thumped himself on the chest to show Ping Yang that he was trustworthy.¡±If that¡¯s the case... then I¡¯ll make my move.¡± Ping Yang nodded gently and her lips curled up into a small smile. ¡°No problem. You may begin!¡± Gu Zhen did not take note of Ping Yang¡¯s facial expressions.¡±Attack!¡± Ping Yuan raised the zing Qilin Spear and rushed towards Gu Zhen. Suddenly, she fell forward as if she had tripped on something.¡±Aiya, you... you tricked me!¡± As Ping Yang fell to the floor, she let out a pained shriek.¡±Trick you?! I did not!¡± Gu Zhen was caught by surprise.The disciples from the various sects began to react.¡±How despicable of him to trick a young girl who is still at the Heavenly Reflection State of cultivation!¡±¡±What a loser!¡±¡±This jerk deserves to be condemned!¡±The disciples from the various sects began to rebuke Gu Zhen. For a martial artist at the Rebirth State to trick another at the Heavenly Reflection State was too much. ¡°I did not? I have not even made my move. What¡¯s happened to you, Little Sister Ping Yang? Did you sprain your ankle...¡± Gu Zhen broke out into a cold sweat. He had been sheltered under the wings of his grandfather ever since he was a boy and his childhood had been a boring one.Gu Yuan was known for being a disciplinarian and Gu Zhen had basically been training his whole life before turning 20.Although he had read the military ssics and strategy books, he had not yet managed to absorb the essence of these volumes. Gu Zhen was panicking at the sight of Ping Yang on the ground and ran towards her without hesitation. ¡°Zhen, be careful!¡± Gu Yuan¡¯s voice rang outbut it was toote. Gu Zhen¡¯s body had already flown up into the air. The Clear Ice Sword formed a beautiful trajectory in the air as it fell.¡±Ding!¡± The Clear Ice Sword fell to the ground with a deafening sound. At the same time, Gu Zhennded headfirst on the ground with a heavy thud. He did not make a sound and his eyes were tightly shut as if he had already gone unconscious when he was up in the air.No one had seen it happen clearly.One thing was for sure. Gu Zhen had apparently lost. Therge gash on his chest was indicative of his defeat even though it was very much questionable.¡±What happened?¡±¡±She seemed to have used something on him at close range?¡±¡±Mm, that must be it. Ping Yang is the favourite princess of the Xia Emperor. Now that she is in Ling Yun Tower, she must have received quite a few special items!¡± ¡°A pity that this Gu Zhen had been too naive.¡±The disciples of the various sects looked at the unconscious Gu Zhen and then at Ping Yang, who was slowly getting to her feet. They shook their heads speechlessly. ¡°Zhen, Zhen, are you alright?¡± Gu Yuan had rushed over to Gu Zhen and ced a hand on his chest. He heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that Gu Zhen was still alive. Still, Gu Yuan was infuriated. ¡°Ling Yun Tower has won this round through underhand tactics. Is this anything to be proud of?¡± ¡°All¡¯s fair in war. You must be getting old and foolish, Gu Yuan.¡± Qian Yu¡¯s calm voice wafted over to him. ¡°You...¡±¡±Elder Gu!¡± Mo Shanshi interrupted Gu Yuan and frowned.¡±We, Fu Xi Valley, will admit defeat for this round. Tower Master Qian¡¯s daughter is cunning indeed and we respect that. However, I suggest that you substitute your daughter for the next round!¡±¡±Why?¡± Qian Yu asked. ¡°I¡¯m saying this for your daughter¡¯s sake. How would she able to pull off the same trick the second time around?¡± Mo Shanshi said with a cold smile. ¡°Hmm, makes sense. Yang, do you want toe back now?¡± Qian Yu nodded her head in response to Mo Shanshi and turned to Ping Yang. ¡°Now? Mother, I still want to y on a little longer.¡± Ping Yang shook her head unhappily.¡±Alright, one more round then.¡± Qian Yu smiled at Ping Yang. She had already thrown Mo Shanshi¡¯s suggestion to the back of her mind.

 Chapter 827 - Establishing Your Fame in One Battle, Sage at 16

    <h4>Chapter 827: Establishing Your Fame in One Battle, Sage at 16</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°One more round? Tower Master Qian, are you really okay with your daughter getting hurt?¡± Mo Shanshi narrowed his eyes. His gaze had turned cold.He had wanted to form an alliance with Ling Yun Tower but it did not mean that he was going to let them win. Besides, Qian Yu was treating him like a fool. How could he tolerate this?¡±No matter. I believe that Valley Master Mo knows his limits.¡± Qian Yu shook her head and closed her eyes. She was not going to say anything more. ¡°Limits?¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists. He did not know what Qian Yu meant by ¡®limits¡¯ but he knew that if he let this continue, Fu Xi Valley was going to be eliminated from the first stage of the tournament. Mo Shanshi was silent for a moment as his bulging eyes gleamed. He opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Qing Feng, remember, don¡¯t kill her!¡±¡±Yes, Master!¡± Following Mo Shashi¡¯s orders, a young man dressed in a grey robe with all sorts of scribblings on it walked out from behind a few elders. This young man had a fierce look on his face and there was a scar on his forehead. He had a muscr physique and looked extremely fit. ¡°Qing Feng? This name sounds... so familiar! Could it be that Qing Feng from the War Pinnacle Empire?¡±¡±I think that¡¯s him. I¡¯ve heard that this Qing Feng had once beenuded as the number one prodigy in the War Pinnacle Empire. However, no one has heard of him ever since he entered the Fu Xi Valley four years ago.¡±¡±Don¡¯t you think Fu Xi Valley is making a mountain out of a molehill? Even though they are down by one round, are they actually going to get Qing Feng to deal with a youngdy who is still at the Heavenly Reflection State?¡± ¡°Maybe they want to get over with this quickly!¡±The disciples from the various sects began to worry for Ping Yang when they saw Qing Feng walk out from the Fu Xi Valley camp.After all, people always sympathised with the underdogs. In this case, Ping Yang was the underdog. ¡°I am Qing Feng from Fu Xi Valley, 26 years old. I¡¯m at the peak of the Rebirth State. One year ago, I had sparred with Gang Xin, a master of the Sage State. We were unable to decide a winner even after exchanging 300 blows!¡± Qing Feng stepped forward and announced to the audience in a frosty voice. ¡°They... sent out a contender who has skillsparable to a master of the Sage State!¡±¡±This is too much!¡±¡±Fu Xi Valley is too shameless!¡±The disciples from the various sects were already sympathetic towards Ping Yang. After listening to Qing Feng¡¯s introduction, they all got even more worked up. ¡°Comparable to a master of the Sage State... so powerful. Are you going to give me a head start of ten moves?¡± Ping Yang looked terrified.¡±This concerns the honour of my sect. How can I give in to you?¡± Qing Feng seemed to have already guessed what Ping Yang was going to say. He gave her a terse reply. ¡°Then... what about letting me make my move first?¡± Ping Yang continued to try her luck. ¡°Whether you can do that depends on your skills!¡±¡±Will you defeat me with your first blow?¡±¡±This happens sometimes in a zero-sum match like this. If you¡¯re afraid, just admit defeat. I won¡¯t make things difficult for you and Ling Yun Tower can simply rece you with a more powerful contender.¡±¡±But, I still want to y!¡±¡±Then don¡¯t me me for what happens after this!¡± Qing Feng nodded his head and turned to the announcer.¡±We are ready!¡±¡±Mm.¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple nodded and looked at Ping Yang. ¡°Little Sister Ping Yang. The battle is about to begin. Are you ready?¡±¡±No.¡± Ping Yang shook her head immediately.¡±...¡±¡±...¡±The announcer, Qing Feng and the members of the audience were speechless upon hearing Ping Yang¡¯s reply. Not ready?She had already fought in one round and yet she still wasn¡¯t ready?¡±How long more do you need, Little Sister Ping Yang?¡± The announcer coughed lightly before he posed the question to Ping Yang in a patient voice.¡±I¡¯ll be ready if he gives me a headstart of eight to ten moves.¡± Ping Yang pouted before breaking into an innocent smile. ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that...¡± The announcer was perplexed.¡±You¡¯re already calling me Little Sister and yet you won¡¯t help me?¡± Ping Yang fluttered her eyshes at him sadly. ¡°I¡¯m calling you Little Sister because I know that you and Sister Chi are as close as sisters. I don¡¯t mean anything else.¡±¡±Then all the more you should help me.¡±¡±But I can¡¯t... how can I force it if he doesn¡¯t agree?¡±¡±Why can¡¯t you force it?¡±¡±...¡±The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to deal with Ping Yang. What was he to do?The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple looked at Mu Qingfeng helplessly. ¡°Begin.¡± Mu Qingfeng was stumped as well but he was not going to let Ping Yang have her way. After all, they were holding back everyone else. ¡°Alright, in the second round of battles between Fu Xi Valley and Ling Yun Tower, we have Qing Feng versus Ping Yang. Begin!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple heaved a sigh of relief when Mu Qingfeng gave him the go-ahead and made his announcement. ¡°Ah... I¡¯m not ready yet. How could you...¡±¡±My apologies, Princess!¡±Ping Yang was halfway through her sentence when Qing Feng acted. He moved with lightning speed and brought his sword downwards in a shing motion towards Ping Yang.There was a whirl of purple light. The appearance of the purple light seemed to freeze the surrounding air. Everyone present was enthralled by the sight. ¡°Purple energy flows from the east as the sun rises. Great artistic conception, great swordy!¡± Mu Qingfeng was impressed by the descent of the purple light. At this point, a golden point of light had appeared in the midst of the purple light. It was not as aesthetic as the purple light but it carried with it an overwhelming sense of aggression.A spear with the name of zing Qilin!¡±Eh? Ping Yang isn¡¯t going to avoid the attack!¡±¡±Oh no, Princess, dodge!¡±¡±That¡¯s Qing Feng¡¯s Purple Energy Silver Hook!¡±The disciples of the various sects let out shouts of rm as they saw the zing Qilin Spear sh head-on with Qing Feng¡¯s attack.Qing Feng was stunned as well. However, he was quickly returned to reality by the explosive force created by the golden point of lighting into contact with his Silver Hook.The zing Qilin Spear!The most powerful spear among the ten treasures of the Great Xia royals. Enhanced by Ping Yang¡¯s powers of the Sage State, the spear¡¯s attack left Qing Feng with no time to react and blew him into the air with its terrifying power. ¡°Poof!¡± Qing Feng spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and the fierceness of his features was instantly coloured red. The power of the spear was invading his body and he felt as though his insides were burning up. ¡°I told you I wasn¡¯t ready and yet you began without any warning. Isn¡¯t this called bullying?¡± A clear voice rang out. A figure in red rushed up into the skies and the Flower Armour shone brightly in the sunlight. It looked as though a fairy was bathing in mes. ¡°Buzz!¡± A bright red light filled up the skies more brilliantly than the setting sun ever could. The light was emanating from Ping Yang¡¯s body and pierced through the firmament. Aplex red symbol appeared on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead. It was representative of her Sage State powers. ¡°What?! You...¡± Qing Feng was falling through the air as he saw it happen. He let out a strangled sound. Before he had the chance to say anything, the crimson zing Qilin Spear descended from the sky and onto him.¡±Punch!¡±Arge puncture wound had been created on Qing Feng¡¯s arm and he dropped the Silver Hook that he had been holding amidst the spige of blood. At the same time when the Silver Hook fell from Qing Feng¡¯s hand, a foot fell onto his face directly from above. ¡°Kaboom!¡± The force of the kick smashed his body to the ground and the colour drained out of his face immediately, except from his bloodshot eyes.Qing Feng tried to get to his feet but all he could see was a golden point of light pressing against his throat. ¡°So I¡¯ve heard that you managed to exchange 300 blows with a master of the Sage State a year ago without losing?¡± Ping Yang gazed at Qing Feng with a grin. ¡°...¡± Qing Feng¡¯s lips quivered as if he was about to say something but he was unable to.¡±Hahaha, needless to say, you¡¯ve lost. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself because losing to me is not a shameful thing. Hahaha... I¡¯ve won two rounds consecutively. I¡¯m even better than Yan Xiu!¡± Ping Yang broke out into aughter that echoed around the Heaven¡¯s Peak. Qian Yu opened her eyes just in time to see a beaming Ping Yang. She let out an internal sigh of relief. The disciples of the various sects, including Fu Xi Valley, Yin Yang Hall and the Heaven Dao Pavilion all had their mouths wide open in shock. ¡°She¡¯s won?!¡±¡±Ping Yan has actually won?!¡±¡±How did she win? How did this happen?!¡±No one could figure it out for the life of them. They had thought it impossible for Ping Yang to win. Did Qing Feng not have an overwhelming advantage?Unless... A thought rushed through everyone¡¯s mind.The faces of everyone present changed from the incredulity that came from the bottom of their hearts. ¡°The Sage State!¡±¡±Ping Yang has broken through to the Sage State!¡±¡±A 16-year-old.... 16-year-old master of the Sage State?!¡±No one could believe it but it was the only way to exin how Ping Yang had managed to toss Qing Feng into the air so easily.Silence.A deadly silence. As the sunlight fell on Ping Yang¡¯s body, red lights flowed throughout her suit of Flower Armour. Her long flowing hair danced about in the wind. The red symbol on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead shone with an attention-grabbing brilliance. ¡°The Sage State, it really is the Sage State!¡±¡±Ping Yang is a master of the Sage State!¡±Before all these had happened, everyone only saw Ping Yang as an adorable and lovely youngdy. Now, everyone felt their knees go weak as they stared at the symbol on her forehead that was representative of her Sage State powers. The Sage State!A 16-year-old master of the Sage State!The 18-year-old Yan Xiu had already shocked them with his abilities. The revtion of Ping Yang¡¯s abilities was threatening to send them over the edge.¡±Father, Ping Yang...¡± The Prince Xian Lin Yun could barely believe his eyes. He knew that Ping Yang had only been at the Heavenly Reflection State half a year ago. ¡°Mm, Ping Yang has reached the Sage State!¡± Lin Mubai nodded. ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty!¡±¡±Congrattions, Your Highness, for your breakthrough!¡±The generals and officials of the Great Xia Empire fell to their knees in reverence before the Emperor Lin Mubai and Princess Ping Yang. ¡°Hahaha, you may all rise! I was only at the Heavenly Reflection State half a year ago but now, I have arrived at the Sage State. Are you all very surprised? Wasn¡¯t it exciting? Hahaha...¡± Ping Yang giggled without restraint. She had been waiting a long time for this day to happen. ¡°...¡±¡±...¡±Presumptuous and wildly arrogant. These were the thoughts that came to everyone¡¯s mind as they observed Ping Yang¡¯s antics. Nevertheless, she had earned the right to act in this manner.Still, it would have been for the best if she toned down her behaviour. It was a pity that... Ping Yang was Ping Yang. She could never pass up this chance to create a scene on the Heaven¡¯s Peak while brandishing her zing Qilin Spear. ¡°Crack!¡± Mo Shanshi crushed the cup that he was holding into powder. The cold smile that had been stered on his face was long gone. All that remained was the darkest look that anyone had ever seen. ¡°Well yed, Tower Master Qian. I, Mo Shanshi, am thoroughly impressed!¡±

 Chapter 828 - Be Careful!

    <h4>Chapter 828: Be Careful!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Qian Yuughed gently and ignored Mo Shanshi¡¯s words. She did not care for his opinion at all.All she knew was that from today onwards, Ping Yang¡¯s name would reverberate throughout the entire Holy Region. That was all she cared about.¡±This...¡± The emceeing Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple stared at Ping Yang and cleared his throat. Beads of perspiration lined his forehead. ¡°Go on.¡± Mu Qingfeng had lowered himself into his seat once more. He did not dare to believe what he had just witnessed but the facts were indisputable. Ping Yang had won!There was no doubt at all. As a master of the Sage State, Ping Yang would have won this round anyway. Of course, she had taken everyone for a ride. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that that shameless fellow isn¡¯t here with me today, or...¡± Ping Yang tilted her head upwards and gazed at the skies as she kept her zing Qilin Spear. ¡°The second round between Ling Yun Tower and Fu Xi Valley has been won by Ling Yun Tower. Ling Yun Tower will progress to the second stage of the tournament!¡± The sound of the announcement echoed throughout the Heaven¡¯s Peak.The disciples from the various sects recovered themselves and responded with a round of apuse. Ping Yang had impressed with her abilities and managed to gain the respect of the younger martial artists present. ¡°You¡¯ll never know what to expect from the Five Sects of the Holy Region!¡± ¡°A 16-year-old master of the Sage State. I never would have believed it if I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes!¡±¡±Yeah, I wonder if there are any more uing surprises.¡±The disciples of the various sects were looking forward to the next battle. The Shadow Sect and Xuanji Sect were going up against each other. ¡°Congrattions, Little Sister Ping Yang!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple said to Ping Yang with a bow.¡±Thank you, Senior. Hahaha...¡± Ping Yang giggled as she returned to the Ling Yun Tower camp. On the way back, she tried to catch a glimpse of Chi Guyan, who was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion camp.Chi Guyan returned Ping Yang¡¯s gazes with a nod. It was clear that she held affection for Ping Yang.¡±Alright, it¡¯s the Xuanji Sect¡¯s turn!¡± Following Zu Lian¡¯s exmation, a young man leapt into the fighting arena.The young man wore a pale yellow robe with the words ¡®Xuanji¡¯ sewed with gold thread onto the chest area of the robe. He carried a sword with a golden sheath in his hand.¡±I¡¯m a disciple of Xuanji Sect, Chang Wei, 29 years old. I am at the peak of the Rebirth State and have killed five Rock Mountain Beasts in a row atop the Jade Lotus Mountain!¡± The yellow-robed youth greeted the audience with sped hands after he had finished introducing himself.¡±Rock Mountain Beast?! That¡¯s a monstrous animal. When fully grown, its power bes simr to that of humans who have attained the Rebirth State. He actually killed five of them in a row? This Chang Wei is powerful!¡±¡±One has to be powerful in order to participate in a tournament like this.¡±¡±That¡¯s right. Take Ping Yang for example. We had all thought that she was at the Heavenly Reflection State but she turned out to be a master of the Sage State!¡±The disciples from the other sects began to prattle away after they had heard Chang Wei¡¯s introduction.Wu Yuer smirked as she listened in on the conversations between members of the audience. ¡°Can you defeat the Rock Mountain Beast?¡± Wu Yuer adjusted her ck dress and turned to look at the figure behind her.¡±I stopped fighting Rock Mountain Beasts a long time ago. If I really had to take them on, I could kill three to four hundred of them in about an hour.¡± Wu Yuer received a reply from the figure who emerged from behind her. It was a muscr young man wearing a tight-fitting robe. His dark skin shone in the sunlight. He gave off the vibes of a savage animal. In fact, everyone who had heard his name saw him as a beast. His name was Yan Qing and he had grown up among wild animals.¡±Three to four hundred Rock Mountain Beasts in an hour? That¡¯s an insane exaggeration...¡± The Xuanji Sect¡¯s Chang Wei scoffed at the other contender. However, he turned pale and swallowed the words that he was going to say when he saw who it was.¡±Yan... Yan Qing?!¡±The Xuanji Sect had widespread influencethroughout the War Pinnacle and Radiant Moon Empires. As a disciple of Xuanji Sect, how could Chang Wei not know of the madman from the War Pinnacle Empire, Yan Qing?¡±What? It¡¯s Yan Qing?!¡±¡±Yan Qing... has joined the Shadow Sect?¡±¡±How is this possible? Hasn¡¯t he always said that he would settle for nothing less than the Five Sects of the Holy Region? Why did he... did he join the Shadow Sect?¡±Not only Chang Wei, but the rest of the Xuanji Sect disciples, as well as the people who knew who Yan Qing was, were all stunned.Although Yan Qing¡¯s reputation was not outstanding in the Holy Region, his name spread far and wide beyond the Holy Region. After all, the War Pinnacle Empire was a regime that ced a heavy emphasis on the martial arts.As the legendary prodigy of the War Pinnacle Empire, Yan Qing was highly sought after by the various sects. These sects included the Xuanji Sect who had widespread influence all over the War Pinnacle and Radiant Moon Empires. Not only that, but it had been said that the Xuanji Sect leader Zu Lian had waited a month outside Yan Qing¡¯s residence for an audience with him. Unfortunately... Even though Zu Lian had waited a month to meet with Yan Qing, Yan Qing had replied with the words ¡°Xuanji Sect isn¡¯t worthy!¡±¡±Sect Leader, I...¡± Chang Wei¡¯s wide grin had been wiped off his face by Yan Qing¡¯s appearance. He looked at Zu Lian with a pained expression.If he had known beforehand that his opponent would be the monstrous Yan Qing, he never would have gone into the fighting arena even if someone had held a dagger to his neck. The reason was simple. The people who had sparred with Yan Qing were either dead or maimed. None of them managed to survive the encounter whole.¡±Chang Wei, you¡¯vee a long way from then. You are not weaker than Yan Qing. Make it quick and don¡¯t let Yan Qing drag on the fight for too long!¡± Zu Lian clenched his fists as he spoke. In truth, Zu Lian was extremely troubled. However, he was not about to forfeit the battle. What he could do now was to offer encouragement to his disciple despite knowing that defeat was imminent. ¡°Don¡¯t act tough. You obviously know that you are going to lose... is your disciple¡¯s life not worth anything to you?¡± Wu Yuer chuckled and refilled her teacup with a teapot before sipping on it contentedly. ¡°Wu Yuer... do not be too happy yet!¡± Zu Lian¡¯s face turned a deep red upon hearing Wu Yuer¡¯s mocking words. However, there was nothing he could do about it.Destion had hit him the moment Yan Qing had emerged from the crowd. ¡°Xuanji Sect has been down on its luck.¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head. He was aware that Yan Qing had joined the Shadow Sect. Strictly speaking, Xuanji Sect was in no way weaker in strength than the Shadow Sect. In fact, their influence spread over arger area than the Shadow Sect. However, no one could say who Lady Luck favoured at the end of the day. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple asked the contenders. ¡°Ye... yes!¡± Chang Wei looked at Yan Qing with his body drenched in cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and nodded.¡±Chang Wei of the Xuanji Sect is going up against Yan Qing of the Shadow Sect. Let the first round begin!¡±¡±Ah, I¡¯ll beat the living daylights out of you!¡± Chang Wei raised his sword up into the air and rushed forward manically towards Yan Qing.He had remembered Zu Lian¡¯s words about him not being weaker than Yan Qing and that he had to finish Yan Qing off as soon as possible.He had rushed forward without hesitation!At the same time Chang Wei had rushed forward, Yan Qing charged at Chang Wei like a mad bull. Chang Wei¡¯s sword attack surged forward like a dragon. It had to be said that Chang Wei was a skilful martial artist himself. His sword move was not only fast but so powerful that it whistled through the air. It was a pity that Chang Wei¡¯s sword was halted in midair by a bare hand and broke into pieces. Following that, Chang Wei was tossed up into the air. Of course, Chang Wei could remember some bits and pieces of the moments before he had been thrown up into the air. After Chang Wei ¡®s sword had been broken into pieces, a hand as tough as iron had gripped his wrist and twisted his arm forcefully. ¡°...¡± Chang Wei had no idea how he had ended up on the floor. All he knew was that one of his arms was broken. So were a few of his ribs. He took a break.The mountain breeze was rather nice and warm.Chang Wei slowly closed his eyes. He could fight on but he did not want to. He knew that if he got to his feet, he would break more than just an arm. ¡°It has ended?¡±¡±It... looks like it!¡±¡±Indeed, there was no doubt...¡±The disciples from the other sects gazed at the fallen Chang Wei with a mixture of pity and helplessness. They did not me Chang Wei.After all, every person who had fought Yan Qing ended up in this way. All they could hope for was to break fewer bones and keep their lives. ¡°Yan Qing from the Shadow Sect has won the first round!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple announced immediately.The disciples from the various sects carefully observed Zu Lian. They remembered how Zu Lian had told Chang Wei to end the fight quickly and to not let Yan Qing drag it on for too long.Hmm... The fight had ended quickly enough!...

    Zu Lian had a terrible look on his face. Honestly speaking, anyone in his situation would be looking like this too. The two young disciples who had been standing behind Zu Lian looked back at him nkly. When they had first been selected by Zu Lian to take part in the tournament, their chests almost burst with pride. Now, they were nearly begging him to rescind his orders.¡±Sect leader, we...¡± The two disciples looked at Chang Wei¡¯s fallen form and then at the bored-looking Yan Qing standing in the fighting arena. Their lips quivered as they struggled to speak their minds.¡±You two will decide among yourselves.¡± Zu Lian waved them away. He knew what they wanted to say.¡±Among ourselves?¡±¡±What, do you want me to choose instead?¡±¡±No no no, we¡¯ll decide among ourselves. We¡¯ll do that!¡± The two young disciples replied quickly and turned to discuss among themselves. ¡°Little Brother Li, I¡¯ve always treated you well.¡±¡±Big Brother Wang, I¡¯ve always served you to the best of my abilities.¡±¡±I¡¯m getting on in age and it takes a longer time for me to recover from injuries. If I fight in this battle, I¡¯d be at least bedridden for two to three months. Would you bear to see me end up like that?¡±¡±Big Brother Wang, you make sense. But I¡¯m young and have a bright future ahead of me. Wouldn¡¯t it pain you if I died here?¡±¡±Young? You¡¯re only two months younger than I am!¡±¡±I¡¯m still younger than you are. Big Brother Wang, you should exercise some of those big brother qualities and protect your juniors!¡±¡±Can¡¯t you respect your elders instead?¡±¡±Stop arguing. Sort it out with a guessing game!¡± Zu Lian had enough of their bickering. It was irritating him to the point where he was very close to kicking them both up on stage. ¡°No need for that. I don¡¯t mind the Xuanji Sect sending both of these two pieces of trash up on stage to fight me!¡± Yan Qing suddenly spoke.¡±Both?!¡±This Yan Qing is a crazy man indeed!¡±The surrounding disciples of the various sects were astonished. At the same time, Yan Qing invoked in them a sense of visceral fear. ¡°Yan Qing, you said it!¡± Zu Lian narrowed his eyes. He had been infuriated by Yan Qing¡¯s arrogance. ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Qing nodded. ¡°Any objections, Wu Yuerr?¡± Zu Lian turned to look at Wu Yuer. ¡°No.¡± Wu Yuer shook her head carelessly. She did not even bother looking at Zu Lian. ¡°Alright, Wu Yuer. You¡¯ve forced my hand. I¡¯ll let you see what the Xuanji Sect is capable of!¡± When Zu Lian had finished speaking, two masses of energy that were as bright as the stars appeared in his hands.¡±

 Chapter 829 - Someone Who Came Accidentally

    <h4>Chapter 829: Someone Who Came identally</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions <strong>Editor: </strong>Sparrow Trantions

    Lights shed as two shimmering suits of armour appeared in Zu Lian¡¯s hands, one silver and one ck. The suits of armour were decorated inplex cloud patterns.

    ¡°Armour?!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like an ordinary suit of armour!¡±

    ¡°Could this be the Xuanji Armour left behind by the first Sect Leader of the Xuanji Sect?¡±

    The disciples from the other sects looked at the two suits of armour that Zu Lian was holding. Some were curious while others were shocked.

    ¡°Yan Qing¡¯s strengths lie in closebat. I want to see how he would manage to hurt the two of you when you put on the suits of Xuanji armour! Zu Lian passed the suits of armour to the two young disciples, his eyes twinkling with a cold light.

    ¡°Thank you, Sect Leader¡± The two young disciples from Xuanji Sect fell to their knees in gratitude.

    The disciples from the other sects were finally sure that it was the treasures of the Xuanji Sect that Zu Lian had given the two young disciples.

    ¡°It¡¯s really the Xuanji Armour!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this unfair? Two versus one with the help of two suits of Xuanji Armour!¡±

    ¡°me Yan Qing for being cocksure. If he had not been so insolent, Sect Leader Zu Lian would not have taken out the treasures of Xuanji Sect.¡±

    The other disciples looked at Yan Qing as they spoke to each other. They tried to scrutinise his face for expression changes but to no avail.

    Yan Qing watched everything that was happening around him silently with the same cold indifference.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, this...¡± The Heaven Dao disciple was perplexed as to how to proceed. After all, they had not prepared for a two-versus-one scenario in the tournament. He looked to Mu Qingfeng for further instructions.

    ¡°Since both the Xuanji Sect and Shadow Sect are agreeable to this arrangement, let them go ahead. Mu Qingfeng closed his eyes for a moment before making his mind.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Heaven Dao Pavilion nodded and turned to the contenders.

    ¡°The second round of the Shadow Sect going up against the Xuanji Sect, begin!¡±

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± The announcer had barely finished speaking when the two Xuanji Sect disciples quickly split up and tried to put a distance between themselves and Yan Qing.

    Their behaviour was making the disciples from the other sects confused. However, the audience quickly understood.

    Although the two young Xuanji Sect disciples were wearing their suits of Xuanji Armour, they were handling the fight cautiously. After all, Yan Qing specialised in closebat and they were not about to let him get close to them.

    ¡°Yan Qing, you asked for it!¡± The two Xuanji Sect disciples exchanged a look and unsheathed their swords together.

    Two masses of energy, one silver and one ck, emanated from the bodies of the two young men. At the same time, both of them attacked Yan Qing with their swords, one silver and one ck.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Yan Qing did not reply the two Xuanji Sect disciples but he let out the ferocious roar of a beast. At the same time, his eyes turned blood red and snapping sounds rang out from the bones in his body.

    ¡°Crack!¡± Arge crack appeared on the ground.

    ¡®Yan Qing¡¯s body disappeared on the spot. In the next moment, he appeared right in front of one of the Xuanji Sect disciples and grabbed onto his sword with an iron grip.

    ¡°How... is this possible?!¡± The Xuanji Sect disciple had already seen what Yan Qing was capable of but he was still taken by surprise.

    Unfortunately, the Xuanji Sect disciple was unable to react because his sword had already been broken into pieces.

    Following that, he suddenly felt a powerful blow to his chest and he flew backwards immediately.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± The Xuanji Sect disciple rolled on the floor, his face a deathly pale. A ray of silvery white light disappeared from his chest.

    ¡°Very impressive!¡±

    ¡°Is this what they call the Indestructible Body technique?¡±

    ¡°He is a monster indeed. How did he manage to block a sword attack carrying with it the peak powers of the Rebirth State with his bare hands? This is crazy!¡±

    The disciples from the other sects were stunned. They knew that if it was not for the Xuanji Armour, the Xuanji Sect disciple would have broken a few ribs at least by receiving that blow.

    Of course, as Yan Qing attacked one of the Xuanji Sect disciples, the other Xuanji disciple attacked him from the back.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A deafening call.

    Blood began to spurt out of the wound on Yan Qing¡¯s back and dyed the ground red.

    After all, these were promising disciples from the Xuanji Sect and they knew an opportunity when they saw one. The advantages of fighting two to one quickly became apparent.

    However, Yan Qing did not back down even though he had been stabbed in the back. He did not even turn around.

    In Yan Qing¡¯s eyes, there was only the Xuanji Sect disciple that had fallen to the ground.

    This was the fighting style of beasts!

    When he had locked onto his target, his surroundings melted away into insignificance. Only his prey remained in his line of vision.

    ¡°Awooo!¡± Yan Qing let out a howl as the wounds on his back healed rapidly. He began to move towards the Xuanji disciple who was still lying on the floor. Yan Qing pounced.

    ¡°Yan Qing, you...¡± The Xuanji Sect disciple had never seen someone fight like this before. This was looking more like a fight to the death.

    He got to his feet hurriedly and made an attempt to run.

    He did not make it.

    A hand grabbed onto his shoulder right when he stood up and he felt the world around him go topsy-turvy.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The Xuanji Sect disciple had been lifted up and smashed headfirst onto the ground. He saw stars. Thank god for the Xuanji Armour that he was wearing.

    Even so, it was proving to be extremely ufortable. No matter how strong the defensive capabilities of the Xuanji Armour was, it was not a good feeling to be treated like a punching bag.

    Of course, he did not have a choice in this matter.

    Yan Qing had locked onto him as a target and was pummeling him with all his might.

    ¡°Boom boom boom...¡± Thunderous sounds reverberated all around the Heaven¡¯s Peak. Yan Qing was hammering onto the head of the Xuanji Sect disciple with his fists.

    The other Xuanji Sect disciple tried his best to weaken Yan Qing by stabbing him in the back continuously.

    Nevertheless, he did not dare to go nearer to Yan Qing.

    It was a terrible sight.

    The disciples from the various sects were horrified. They had never seen such intensity in a tournament before.

    ¡°Is this fellow even human?!¡±

    ¡°Monster... he¡¯s a real monster!¡±

    ¡°This is insane!¡±

    No one had expected the battle to turn out this way. They were watching a wild beast savage a person.

    As thoughts ran through the minds of the audience members...

    A pained voice came from the direction of the Xuanji Sect disciple being attacked on the floor.

    ¡°Ah....no, no!¡±

    ¡°Crack!¡± As the Xuanji Sect disciple groaned in pain, the helm that he had been wearing was tossed into the air. Yan Qing turned to look at the audience.

    His eyes were bloodshot and there were streaks of his victim¡¯s blood on his cheeks. His mouth dripped with fresh blood.

    ¡°He... he actually bit the helm off the head of the Xuanji Sect disciple?!¡±¡±My god!¡±

    ¡°So this is the Indestructible Body technique!¡±

    The disciples from the other sects sucked in breaths of cold air as they watched the gory sight take ce before their eyes.

    The other Xuanji Sect disciple was at a loss of what to do. From where he was standing, he could see the blood spurting out of the neck of his fellow Xuanji Sect disciple who was lying helplessly on the ground.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A beastly roar rang out once more. It sounded like a beast¡¯s deration of victory.

    ¡°Monster... monster...¡± The Xuanji Sect disciple standing behind Yan Qing took an involuntary step back as his sword trembled in his hand.

    He had seen his fair share of blood as one of the premier disciples of the Xuanji Sect.

    However, he had never seen anything like this before.

    Yan Qing¡¯s back had been dyed red with blood and his wounds were so deep that his bones could be seen. This was thanks to the multiple stabbings that the second Xuanji Sect disciple had inflicted on Yan Qing.

    Even so...

    Yan Qing did not copse.

    Yan Qing was not even frowning.

    Unbelievable!

    The Xuanji Sect disciple did not want to believe his eyes but he could see that Yan Qing had already transformed into a monster.

    Now, this monster was staring at him. He had a feeling that he was going to be Yan Qing¡¯s next prey.

    ¡°No!!!¡± The Xuanji Sect disciple let out an indignant shriek but it was toote. Yan Qing was already bounding towards him.

    Like a beast with bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, not only the disciples from other sects closed their eyes. Even Zu Lian, who was standing in front of Xuanji Sect, shut his eyes.

    He really couldn¡¯t ept the oue.

    However, what could he have done? Xuanji Armour was the only solution he could think of.

    Nevertheless, even the most powerful armour was only capable of providing defense.

    The huge difference between their strengths couldn¡¯t be bridged with two pieces of armours.

    ¡°Yan Qing, my Yan Qing... why did he join the Shadow Sect?!¡± Zu Lian¡¯s heart hurt for he had spent too much in effort on recruiting Yan Qing. In the end, he was even forced to make the decision to kill Yan Qing if he couldn¡¯t be recruited.

    However, Yan Qing¡¯s Indestructible Body was too tough to handle. Coupled with his sharpened senses from growing up in the forest since young and his instinctive perception of danger, he eventually managed to enter the Holy Region.

    That could have been the end of it. However, Yan Qing somehow ended in Shadow Sect, a rival of Xuanji Sect. Zu Lian¡¯s heart was bleeding with pain and hatred.

    ¡°Zu Lian, do you still have any tricks up your sleeves? Isn¡¯t time to y your hand?¡± He heard Wu Yuer¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Wu Yuer, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself!¡± Zu Lian opened his eyes and gazed at the Xuanji disciples who had copsed on the ground, before turning his head away.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Wu Yuer smiled gently, but she suddenly went silent. Then, she looked at Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles Mountain and murmured, ¡°Yin Yang Hall, Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Even if you saved Yan Xiu, I¡¯d still avenge Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death!¡±

    ¡°Yan Qing, stop it, you¡¯ve already won!¡± At this moment, a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion eximed. They didn¡¯t need a judge to announce the result anymore because the Xuanji Sect¡¯s disciple hadpletely lost the power to defend himself.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yan Qing¡¯s hand stopped in midair as he stood up slowly and wiped the blood off the corners of his mouth in a casual manner. He returned to the Shadow Sect camp.

    It had happened all so quickly but to the disciples of the other section, it seemed as though a century had gone by. When they had finally recovered themselves, they were shocked to realise that their backs were drenched in sweat.

    ¡°This is scary!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather be enemies with a master of the Sage State than sh with this fellow!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects shook their heads with unforgotten trepidation. The memories of what they had seen would stay with them for a long time.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple wiped the sweat off his brows. He quickly regained hisposure.

    The first stage of the tournament had ended. The four sets that would progress to the second stage of the tournament had emerged.

    ¡°I shall represent the Five Sects of the Holy Region and announce the conclusion of the tournament¡¯s first stage. The sects that have progressed to the second stage are Yin Yang Hall, Ling Yun Tower, the Shadow Sect and the Heaven Dao Pavilion...¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± At this point, a voice suddenly interrupted the announcement as a human figure fell from above.

 Chapter 830 - Challenging Heaven Dao Pavilion

    <h4>Chapter 830: Challenging Heaven Dao Pavilion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was a plump middle-aged man. His clothes appeared to be thin, but he was wearing a hide around his neck.

    The man wasn¡¯t descending too quickly. He graduallynded without a sound like a snowke that fell from the sky.

    However, a dim light shed across Mu Qingfeng¡¯s, Mo Shanshi¡¯s, Dao Hun¡¯s, and Dao Xin¡¯s eyes almost simultaneously as soon as they saw the middle-aged man.

    ¡°Nangong Tian?!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s palms tensed up a little. However, he quickly smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the head of Nangong Family to personally attend the Heaven Alliance Meeting. It was my negligence that Heaven Dao Pavilion failed to wee you on time!¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, you¡¯re too courteous. Nangong Nobles are neither part of themon sects around the world nor the Four Great Empires. It¡¯s normal that we aren¡¯t invited by Pavilion Master Mu.¡± Nangong Tian smiled and paid his respect to Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Heaven Alliance Meeting aims to invite anyone who cares about the world, so it wouldn¡¯t make sense to segregate the sects from the empires. Since the head of Nangong family is able to attend this event, you must be a man who cares about the world.¡± Mu Qingfeng smiled again.

    ¡°In that case, I shall thank Pavilion Master Mu for your hospitality.¡± Nangong Tian nodded. Then, he looked up towards the sky and raised his hand up.

    Everyone looked towards the sky when he did that. However, they squinted when they saw over 20 enormous beasts hovering in the air, each carrying a person.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh! Swoosh!

    One after another, those people descended from the sky and stood behind Nangong Tian. Everyone was wearing thin clothes but no one said a word.

    However, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s, Mo Shanshi¡¯s, and the rest¡¯s expressions changed a little. They could tell that Nangong Tian came prepared.

    However, as Mu Qingfeng had said, although Nangong Tian wasn¡¯t invited, he was already here. It was impossible for him to expel Nangong Tian from the meeting.

    ¡°Prepare a seat for the head of Nangong family!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    With Mu Qingfeng¡¯s order, a Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple quickly appeared in front of Nangong Tian and ushered them to a remote corner.

    After all, the main area atop the Heaven¡¯s Peak had already been upied by the Five Sects of the Holy Region, the other sects, and the Four Great Empires. Since the Nangong Nobles weren¡¯t part of the empires or the other sects, they had to be seated beneath the other sects and the empires.

    However, Nangong Tian didn¡¯t look displeased at all. The faint smile remained on his face and he sat down slowly without saying anything.

    After the Nangong Nobles were all seated, the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple responsible for hosting the event coughed softly before he was about to continue announcing the results of the Martial Arts Competition just now.

    However, Nangong Tian spoke before that disciple could make a sound.

    ¡°Since my family is qualified to participate in the Heaven Alliance Meeting, are we allowed to take part in thepetition as well?¡± Nangong Tian then looked at Mu Qingfeng and continued, ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, what do you say?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to take part in the Martial Arts Competition?¡± Mu Qingfeng was clearly surprised by Nangong Tian¡¯s words.

    After all, although the Nangong Nobles were pretty well known to the rest of the world, they had always secluded themselves and remained uninvolved in any worldly matters for the past few decades.

    However, now...

    It was obvious that Nangong Tian was up to something.

    ¡°I do. I suppose that Pavilion Master Mu wouldn¡¯t disapprove of our participation, right?¡± Nangong Tian nodded softly. Although his tone was very calm, he had made his intention clear.

    The disciples from all the other sects started looking at each other when they heard him. They didn¡¯t know how he was confident enough to make such a demand.

    ¡®Take part in the Martial Arts Competition of the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡±

    ¡®Is an insignificant family like the Nangong Nobles qualified for that?¡¯

    Putting aside the fact that they werete. No one believed that the Nangong Nobles were powerful enough to be their leader.

    ¡°Well... Since the first round was already over, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to for your family to directly take part from the second round onwards...¡± Mu Qingfeng replied with a troubled tone.

    ¡°Although we arete, I couldn¡¯t agree with Pavilion Master Mu. It¡¯s true that Yin Yang Hall, Ling Yun Tower, and Shadow Sect have already taken part in the first round. However, Heaven Dao Pavilion didn¡¯t seem to have fought in the first round, right?¡± Nangong Tian continued.

    ¡°Haha, ording to the rules, Heaven Dao Pavilion could proceed to the second round directly since we¡¯ve drawn the ¡®7th¡¯ Jade te!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only because there are seven parties participating in thepetition. If there were eight parties, Heaven Dao Pavilion should be up against the party that drew the ¡®8th¡¯ Jade te!¡±

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, do you intend to challenge Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± There was no way Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t understand Nangong Tian¡¯s intentions at this point in time.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Pavilion Master Mu, are you willing to ept the challenge?¡± Nangong Tian nodded softly. His gaze looked as calm like water.

    All the other disciples were taken aback when they heard Nangong Tian because they couldn¡¯t understand how Nangong Tian was brave enough to outright challenge Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Is he serious about challenging Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that embarrassing his own family?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Chi Guyan defeated Nangong Nobles¡¯ best talent, Nangong Hao, many years ago. I wonder how are they going to challenge Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    The other disciples were confused because the Nangong Nobles were at best a family with more history. However, their true strength was far from the other sects or empires.

    ¡°Is Heaven Dao Pavilion afraid of taking on the challenge?¡± Nangong Tian ignored the discussions around him and continued calmly.

    ¡°I¡¯m astonished that the head of Nangong family is so aggressive today. However, the Heaven Alliance Meeting aims to establish a hierarchy amongst the sects. If you are serious about participating, shouldn¡¯t you showcase your family¡¯s power?¡± Mu Qingfeng furrowed his brows, clearly caught off-guard by Nangong Tian¡¯s words.

    However, as the Master of Heaven Dao Pavilion and the organizer of this Heaven Alliance Meeting, he was definitely a wellposed man. He wouldn¡¯t make a rash decision simply because he was taunted.

    The other disciples nodded at his words.

    If the Nangong Nobles wanted to take part in thepetition, they must have the power to lead the crowd at the very least!

    ¡°I agree with you, Pavilion Master Mu. In that case, I¡¯ll show everyone our power!¡± Nangong Tian didn¡¯t seem to to be surprised by Mu Qingfeng¡¯s reply and he nodded at the people standing behind him.

    Boom!

    Over a dozen people stood out almost instantly. They didn¡¯t exude much radiance or aura, butplicated symbols lit up on their foreheads simultaneously.

    ¡°They¡¯re all in the Sage State!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible that a small family like the Nangong Nobles have a dozen Sages?!¡±

    ¡°Impossible, this is impossible. The Nangong Nobles... They are just a small family that lives in seclusion. Why are they so powerful?!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects weren¡¯t the only ones who were stunned. Even those from the Five Sects of the Holy Region opened their eyes wide from disbelief.

    Over a dozen Sages!

    Their power was almostparable to some of therger sects even though they were just a family. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be stunned.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, do you think that we are powerful enough?¡± Nangong Tian spoke again, and the people behind him quickly fell back.

    ¡°Hahaha... Interesting. Mu Qingfeng, I¡¯m afraid that Heaven Dao Pavilion is up against a tough foe this time!¡± Mo Shanshi suddenly startedughing at this moment.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s brows knitted together tightly.

    He stared intently at Nangong Tian, then nced at the stunned disciples all around him. He clenched his fists together and asked, ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to figure something out. Something happened in Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago, and it had affected both Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Head of Nangong family, could you rify my doubts?¡±

    ¡°If Heaven Dao Pavilion could beat us, I¡¯ll be willing to answer all of your questions, Pavilion Master Mu.¡± Nangong Tian nodded.

    ¡°Ok. Only youths below 30 years old are allowed to take part in the Martial Arts Competition. Head of Nangong family, who shall be challenging Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± When Mu Qingfeng heard the reply, he finally gritted his teeth and asked.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, go.¡± Nangong Tian nodded at a person standing behind him instead of answering Mu Qingfeng¡¯s question directly.

    ¡°Ok.¡± A person jumped into the ring as soon as the crowd heard a voice. He wore a greenish grey robe shirt and seemed extremely ordinary.

    There was a hideous scar on his face as well. This young man was none other than Nangong Mu, the second son of Nangong Nobles¡¯ main family.

    ¡°Nangong Mu?¡± Mu Qingfeng was startled when he saw him. Just as Nangong Tian mentioned, he had seen Nangong Mu before.

    In terms of strength...

    Nangong Mu was pretty good.

    He¡¯d already entered Rebirth State even though he¡¯s just over 20 years old. His talent would be eye-catching in the Four Great Empires, but he is just considered average in the Holy Region where there is an abundance of geniuses.

    ¡°Nangong Tian has been squawking for so long, yet he is sending such an unimpressive kid in the end?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of this boy¡¯s name before?¡±

    ¡°No, but I¡¯ve heard of a genius in the Nangong Nobles called Nangong Hao. If I¡¯m right, this boy should be Nangong Hao¡¯s younger brother!¡±

    All the other disciples started discussing amongst themselves when they saw Nangong Mu. They were clearly surprised by Nangong Tian¡¯s decision.

    However, there were some exceptions.

    For example...

    Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ll go.¡± Said Chi Guyan as she took a step forward slowly.

    ¡°No,¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head and continued in a considering tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect both Ping Yang from Ling Yun Tower and Yan Xiu from Yin Yang Hall to have reached Sage State. Although Yan Qing from Shadow Sect isn¡¯t a Sage yet, defeating him wouldn¡¯t be easy. Since you have not broken through, your cultivation is one step behind them. It¡¯s better for you to preserve your strength at this point in time!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Nobles have been living in seclusion in a cold and harsh environment for hundreds of years, and they have hardly evere out. Only their younger generations would take part in the Law of Dao examinations every time. Since they decided to show up today, it means that Nangong Mu must have improved tremendously. I¡¯m just afraid that...¡± Chi Guyan was hesitant to speak her mind.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯ve witnessed how powerful Nangong Mu was several months ago. He wouldn¡¯t be too powerful even if he broke through. Furthermore, thispetition follows the Best of Three rule. If worstes to worst, it wouldn¡¯t be toote for you to step in!¡±

    ¡°Understood, Guyan will listen to Master¡¯s decision.¡± Chi Guyan nodded softly and stepped back.

    At the same time, someone behind Chi Guyan walked out. His brows were sharp as swords and he wore a snow-white schr¡¯s robe. There was a pair of swords on his back. One was long and the other short.

    ¡°Disciple ¡®Qiu Jingfeng¡¯ is willing to ept the challenge!¡± The young disciple, Qiu Jingfeng, paid his respect to Mu Qingfeng after he stepped out.

    ¡°Ok, Jingfeng. Although I¡¯ve helped you broke through a while ago, you still have to be cautious about this battle. You witnessed the fight several months ago, so I believe you know how strong Nangong Mu is. If you ignore Yan Qing¡¯s Indestructible Gifted Bloodline, Nangong Mu¡¯s overall strength is actually ahead of Yan Qing!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded after he saw Qiu Jingfeng.

    ¡°Yes, I understand. I¡¯ll definitely proceed with caution!¡± Qiu Jingfeng replied in a serious tone.

    ¡°Go.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Qiu Jingfeng nodded and his eyes lit up.

    He didn¡¯t say another word before he leaped out andnded in front of Nangong Mu like a stream of light. Then, he paid his respect to the surrounding crowd.

    ¡°I¡¯m Qiu Jingfeng, a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion. I¡¯m 29 years old and I¡¯ve just ascended into Sage State!¡± Qiu Jingfeng introduced himself and cupped his hands together towards Nangong Mu courteously.

    ¡°He¡¯s a Sage?!¡±

    ¡°I remember running into Senior brother Jingfeng outside half a year ago. He was still at the peak of Rebirth State back then! I can¡¯t believe he had broken through in just half a year!¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t underestimate Heaven Dao Pavilion after all. They not only have the Chosen One, Chi Guyan, but they also have Qiu Jingfeng, a disciple who reached Sage State!¡±

    The disciples of the other sects were definitely astonished after they heard Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s self-introduction. After all, there was hardly anyone who could reach Sage State before they were 30 years old.

    ¡°It seems like old man Mu is well-prepared!¡± Mo Shanshi squinted at this moment and he nced at Qiu Jingfeng and Mu Qingfeng, who was calm andposed. He seemed to be deep in thought too.

 Chapter 831 - I Am Nangong Mu

    <h4>Chapter 831: I Am Nangong Mu</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, Nangong Mu didn¡¯t respond to any of that. In fact, he didn¡¯t even utter a single word. He simply stood there silently.

    ¡°Erm... Nangong Mu, aren¡¯t you going to introduce yourself?¡± The disciple hosting the event couldn¡¯t help but remind him.

    After all, an eye-catching self-introduction could make him famous during such an asion.

    ¡°Nangong Mu.¡± Nangong Mu nodded gently and cupped his hands towards Qiu Jingfeng.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Nangong Mu was definitely polite. However, the disciples around them, including Qiu Jingfeng himself, were all rendered speechless by his action.

    In fact, the disciple from Heaven Dao Pavilion who was hosting the event also didn¡¯t expect Nangong Mu to simply state his name.

    Was that it?

    The disciple wanted to remind Nangong Mu to keep speaking, but he ultimately decided to keep quiet because Nangong Mu didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to say another word.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion against Nangong Nobles. Round One, Nangong Mu versus Qiu Jingfeng, fight!¡± The disciple finally dered themencement of the fight.

    Qiu Jingfeng drew the long sword and the short sword on his back as soon as he heard that disciple¡¯s voice. One of them was red and the other was white.

    However, a figure appeared in front of him as soon as he drew his sword. That person was less than a step away and he was incredibly calm.

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s actually faster!?¡±

    The disciples around them were stunned when Nangong Mu initiated the fight at such an unbelievable speed.

    Qiu Jingfeng was equally caught off guard and even his expression changed a little. After all, he believed that he should have had the upper hand due to his superior cultivation.

    Nevertheless, he reacted quickly. Instead of suppressing Nangong Mu forcefully with his cultivation, he took a step back cautiously and attacked with the long, red sword. It created a stream of crimson me in the air.

    The crimson light seemed to have ignited the surrounding air.

    There was a fundamental difference between the power of Sage State and Rebirth State. Sages hadplete control over Dao and could deliver all of Dao¡¯s power easily.

    However, this powerful stream of crimson light failed to stop Nangong Mu¡¯s advancement. In fact, he wasn¡¯t even avoiding it.

    Nangong Mu charged straight at the light.

    Boom! His body tore through the me in his way and closed in on Qiu Jingfeng like a demon god.

    ¡°How is he so powerful?!¡± Even though Qiu Jingfeng was mentally prepared, he was still dazed by Nangong Mu¡¯s ferocity.

    After all, he was a Sage!

    How could a Sage be suppressed by someone in Rebirth State? Furthermore, his opponent didn¡¯t even avoid his attack. That was pushing it too far.

    Qiu Jingfeng was angry.

    However, he quickly regained hisposure because he knew the importance of this battle and his duty.

    He couldn¡¯t lose!

    At the very least, he couldn¡¯t lose to Nangong Mu!

    ¡°Open!¡± Qiu Jingfeng eximed softly and stopped moving. Aplicated, silvery symbol started glowing on his forehead, following which, rings of violent silver aura started rising from his feet and wrapped around his body like a chain.

    Crack! Crack! Even the air started bellowing as if it was shredded by the chilly wind.

    Despite that...

    Nangong Mu wasn¡¯t stopping.

    He rushed towards Qiu Jingfeng directly without even drawing his sword. It was a simple punch.

    Boom!

    Qiu Jingfeng was sent flying as if he was defenseless against the punch. It took him 10 entire steps before he barely managed to stand his ground.

    ¡°What... What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°That punch!¡±

    ¡°Am I seeing things? Did his punch breakthrough Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s ¡®Frozen Wind Chain¡¯?!¡±

    All the disciples watching the fight opened their eyes wide with disbelief because they saw clearly that Nangong Mu¡¯s punch was unopposed.

    To put it bluntly, the Frozen Wind Chain around Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s appeared to bepletely useless against Nangong Mu¡¯s fist.

    ¡°Keke.What¡¯s going on?¡± Qiu Jingfeng was equally filled with disbelief because there wasn¡¯t any radiance on Nangong Mu¡¯s fist.

    It was a simple punch.

    However, such a simple punch had broken through his Dao. If he hadn¡¯t reacted in time and shielded himself with the short silvery sword, he would definitely be injured.

    However, Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s question would never be answered, because Nangong Mu was already charging towards him at an even faster speed than before.

    ¡°You¡¯re pushing it too far!¡± Qiu Jingfeng was a Sage after all, and he had his pride and dignity. He couldn¡¯t stay calm after failing to stop his opponent repeatedly.

    As the two long and short swords danced around him, coils of silvery chains and crimson mes appeared simultaneously.

    Wind could make fire stronger, but it could freeze water too!

    These were twopletely different auras. However, with the wind as a middle-man, they could co-exist for a short period of time and produce an enormous power.

    However, Nangong Mu still wasn¡¯t avoiding it.

    Swoosh! When Nangong Mu was two steps away from Qiu Jingfeng, he was finally engulfed by the silvery chain and crimson me.

    ¡°Die!¡± Qiu Jingfeng wasn¡¯t going to miss out on such an opportunity. He leaped forward and struck downwards with the red long sword.

    However, just as his sword was about to strike Nangong Mu¡¯s head, a hand came out of the silvery chain and crimson mes and grabbed his wrist.

    Then, Qiu Jingfeng felt a tremendous forceing from the hand, followed by acute pain.

    That wasn¡¯t the end.

    Another fist came out and struck towards his chest.

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Qiu Jingfeng was sweating nervously, but he managed to react calmly and shielded his chest with the silvery short sword.

    The terrifying force was like an unstoppable river. Although Qiu Jingfeng managed to stop the first at thest moment, he was still sent flying.

    ¡°Pfttt...¡± He spurted blood and crashed onto the ground. His right write was already twisted, so the red long sword dropped onto the ground.

    ¡°Senior brother Jingfeng is actually losing?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? When did Nangong Mu be so powerful?¡±

    ¡°It feels like Yan Qing¡¯s fighting style, but Nangong Mu doesn¡¯t have an Indestructible Body. Why is this happening?!¡±

    The disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when they saw Qiu Jingfeng spurting blood and turning pale.

    After all, they still remembered Nangong Mu¡¯s battle in Heaven Dao Pavilion several months ago. He was definitely not so powerful back then.

    It wouldn¡¯t be exaggerating to say that he waspletely different than before.

    ¡°This Nangong Mu is abnormal!¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned as he stared at Nangong Mu intently. He was clearly taken aback too.

    ¡°It feels like Jingfeng is repressed by Nangong Mu!¡± An elder standing behind Mu Qingfeng nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that. Jingfeng¡¯s ¡®Frozen Wind Chain¡¯ seems to be avoiding Nangong Mu on purpose. This is strange!¡± Another elder also shared his opinion.

    ¡°It¡¯s just been a few months... What exactly happened to Nangong Mu?¡± Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t join the discussion, but he furrowed his brows.

    Meanwhile, at Shadow Sect...

    Yan Qing¡¯s eyes lit up at this moment.

    ¡°Nangong Mu became so powerful after just a few months!¡± He seldom initiated a conversation, but there was an unconceble excitement on his face currently.

    ¡°Can you beat him?¡± Wu Yuer also creased her brows before she turned towards Yan Qing and asked.

    ¡°Nope.¡± He shook his head.

    ¡°Eh? I thought you¡¯d say you don¡¯t know the answer instead of admitting defeat. I remember that you¡¯ve never conceded defeat before.¡± Wu Yuer was clearly surprised to hear Yan Qing¡¯s confession.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve already lost once to Fang Zhengzhi. Nangong Mu, at his current state... Should be stronger than the Fang Zhengzhi back then!¡±

    ¡°Stronger than Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Wu Yuer trembled a little and she seemed perplexed for a split second. However, she soon regained herposure.

    However, she turned grim when she looked at Nangong Mu again, because she knew that if Heaven Dao Pavilion lost, there was over 50% chance that Shadow Sect would be up against Nangong Nobles in the second round.

    ¡°Nangong Mu?¡± Dao Hun also murmured and nced at Yan Xiu who was standing behind Dao Xin.

    Dao Xin fiddled her hair at this moment and she seemed equally surprised by Nangong Mu¡¯s performance. However, she didn¡¯t say anything.

    On the other hand, Ling Yun Tower... Was rtively calm.

    At the very least, Qian Yu didn¡¯t seem too worried. On the contrary, she looked pleased as if there wasn¡¯t much on her mind.

    However, the surrounding disciples all opened their eyes wide, ncing back and forth between Nangong Mu and Qiu Jingfeng. They couldn¡¯t believe what they saw.

    ¡°Qiu Jingfeng is actually injured?!¡±

    ¡°This Nangong Mu is actually so powerful!¡±

    ¡°This is incredible. Qiu Jingfeng is a Sage! Isn¡¯t it too ridiculous that Nangong Mu could repress him so easily?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yan Xiu¡¯s and Ping Yang¡¯s opponents are in Rebirth State so they were overpowered, but Nangong Mu is facing Qiu Jingfeng. This is unbelievable!¡±

    The surrounding disciples couldn¡¯t understand how that happened, but they all subconsciously remembered the name ¡®Nangong Mu¡¯.

    ¡°Are you in Sage State?¡± Qiu Jingfeng clearly heard the discussions around him. His pale face turned purple and he started running out of breath.

    Nangong Mu stood there silently as if he didn¡¯t hear Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s question. He simply took out his Green and Blue Dual de.

    ¡°Alright... It seems like I was too naive!¡± Qiu Jingfeng didn¡¯t repeat his question, because Nangong Mu¡¯s attitude had already given him a clear answer.

    Without waiting any further, he lowered his stance and pressed his right wrist against the ground and twisted it forcefully.

    Crack!

    Qiu Jingfeng frowned. It was the pain of realigning his bones, but he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    As soon as he fixed his wrist, his right hand moved. With that, the red sword on the ground was pulled into his hand by a strong force of attraction.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do it!¡± Qiu Jingfeng held the sword and stood out slowly. He looked determined once again.

    Nangong Mu nodded softly and raised his swords. A green and a blue radiance appeared on the tips of his Green and Blue Dual de ordingly.

    However, they disappeared shortly.

    As soon as the green and blue radiances disappeared, a ray of white light as pure as snow appeared. It was pure like a piece of jade yet it exuded a fearsome chill.

    For some reason, the chilliness didn¡¯t seem to contain a killing desire. It was so natural as if this ce was covered in ice and snow to being with.

    Snowkes started falling from the air like flower petals and covered the entire sky.

    ¡°This Nangong Mu... Oh no, Jingfeng, move! Mu Qingfeng nced towards the sky before his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly yelled at Qiu Jingfeng.

    However, it seemed like he was toote, because Nangong Mu had already moved. He disappeared as soon as he took a step and appeared right in front of Qiu Jingfeng the next moment. At the meantime, his sword was also less than an inch away from Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s chest.

    His speed was ridiculous, so ridiculous that it was indescribable.

    That was because it was teleportation!

 Chapter 832 - Chosen

    <h4>Chapter 832: Chosen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Qiu Jingfeng opened his eyes wide. He had joined Heaven Dao Pavilion since a long time ago, and he was a senior brother to most of the disciples.

    However, he had never attracted too much attention in Heaven Dao Pavilion, until a while ago when Mu Qingfeng suddenly summoned all the disciples below 30 years old.

    At that point in time, Qiu Jingfeng knew that the opportunity he spent so many years waiting for had finally arrived.

    It was time for him to shine.

    Not everyone could do it even if they were given the chance. It required day after day and year after year of hard work and perseverance. Qiu Jingfeng was the best at doing that.

    Although he was unheard of, he had never given up on entering Sage State even when he faced despair.

    On that day, all his hard work paid off.

    Mu Qingfeng chose him.

    He was chosen out of almost 100 genius disciples, and he didn¡¯t let Mu Qingfeng down. He eventually seeded and entered Sage State, a feat that most of the people could never achieve.

    He thought he had made it. At the very least, he felt like he could finally be proud of himself when he became a Sage.

    However, now...

    As he gazed at the longsword in front of him, he could no longer hear anything. He couldn¡¯t hear the wind or the snowkes falling, or even Mu Qingfeng yelling at him.

    He could only hear his own heartbeat.

    Thump, thump...

    It sounded a little rapid and panicky, but it was mostly fear. The fear of helplessness and unwilling to ept his fate. He truly wasn¡¯t able to ept this oue.

    ¡°Ahh!!!¡± Qiu Jingfeng screeched and stabbed at Nangong Mu with the short de in his left hand.

    Mutual assured destruction!

    This wasn¡¯t the move of a calm man. However, it was indeed the best way for someone to release his pent-up emotions.

    sh! Blood gushed out as the sword entered his chest.

    Time seemed to have stopped.

    Qiu Jingfeng stood there quietly. There was a sword on his chest which was exuding a faint, snow-white aura.

    It was cold.

    It was so cold that his hand turned rigid.

    ng! The sword in his hand fell to the ground.

    The short de stopped in mid-air and didn¡¯t advance any further. It was stopped by a crystal-clear flower which as pure as snow. Its petals were intoxicatingly beautiful.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡± Said Nangong Mu. Then, Qiu Jingfeng felt the sword in his chest being pulled out rapidly, apanied by a sharp and intense pain.

    ¡°Yeah... I¡¯ve lost...¡± Qiu Jingfeng replied softly and fell onto the ground.

    ¡°My sword was at half an inch above your heart. Your Small Dimension is sealed for... Seven days!¡± Nangong Mu spoke again, and his voice was emotionless just like before.

    ¡°Half an inch? Seven... Seven days...¡± Qiu Jingfeng was startled before he felt pleasantly surprised. However, that was reced by disbelief very quickly.

    That was right, he couldn¡¯t believe it.

    It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t trust Nangong Mu.

    He simply didn¡¯t think that Nangong Mu was able to control the position of his sword so precisely in such a heated battle.

    Unless Nangong Mu was so much stronger than him that he could defeat him so easily and even manage to control his attacks precisely even though he was aiming for mutually assured destruction.

    ¡°Why?¡± Qiu Jingfeng didn¡¯t understand why Nangong Mu spared his life because he didn¡¯t think that he was worth it.

    ¡°I think that you¡¯d know about a person.¡± Nangong Mu raised his head a little.

    ¡°Who?¡± Qiu Jingfeng asked without thinking.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?! Yeah... I know about him, but we are not acquainted, and I¡¯ve never spoken with him before...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my friend.¡± Nangong Mu didn¡¯t wait for Qiu Jingfeng to finish his sentence.

    ¡°Friend?!¡±

    ¡°Yup. This friend of mine has always said that he isn¡¯t a killer, especially during a martial artspetition. That¡¯s because he believed that apetition is nothing but apetition. Everyone is simply fighting for his own personal gain rather than settle a grudge. Hence, you just have to defeat your opponent. Isn¡¯t that a hrious ideal?¡±

    ¡°Hrious...¡± Qiu Jingfeng was dazed before he smiled bitterly.

    If someone told him about this ideal 15 minutes ago, he would have scoffed at his naiveness.

    In this world where strength was respected, the powerful people were in charge of everything.

    On the other hand, the weaklings...

    Their fates lied in the hands of the powerful ones.

    However, it was this naive man and his hrious ideal who managed to change Nangong Mu, and in turn, save Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s life.

    ¡°I owe him my life...¡± Qiu Jingfeng clenched his fists and something light up his eyes. It was way tooplicated to be described by words.

    ¡°Yup. Actually, I owe him something too, something which I feel is more valuable than life.¡± Nangong Mu nodded and took five steps back before he went silent again. He just stood there and waited.

    The disciple hosting thepetition finally reacted and bolted towards Qiu Jingfeng and carefully helped him up.

    ¡°Senior brother Jingfeng, he...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯d just lost my strength temporarily for seven days.¡± Qiu Jingfeng shook his head.

    ¡°Seven days?¡± The disciple was a little puzzled, but he reacted quickly and looked at Nangong Mu with aplicated expression. After a brief moment, the disciple paid his respect to Nangong Mu and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t say a word or respond to that disciple. He was like a tree that grew in the snow and wind. He was so calm and collected that no one could tell what he was thinking.

    ¡°The victor of the first round between Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nangong Nobles is... Nangong Mu!¡± The result was quickly announced because it was so obvious.

    However, all the disciples went silent from shock because they couldn¡¯t see thest attack clearly.

    ¡®Why was it so fast?¡¯

    ¡®Why was Nangong Mu, apletely unnoticeable young man, so powerful?¡¯

    ¡®What state was he in? What was his true strength?¡¯

    These questions were running through all the disciples¡¯ minds. At the same time, Mo Shanshi, Mu Qingfeng, and the elders standing behind them knitted their brows tightly together.

    At this moment, someone walked out from Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s section. She was wearing a pink dress with a snow-white fur belt hanging around her waist that showed off her beautiful figure. The skirt of her dress swayed gently with the wind.

    Her beauty was above all living things. She walked slowly into the ring and stopped in front of Nangong Mu, before tying her hair up.

    It was a simple movement...

    However, it shocked all the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion, because they knew that Chi Guyan would only tie her hair if she was absolutely serious.

    ¡°Chi Guyan! It¡¯s Chi Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Is Heaven Dao Pavilion finally going to send Chi Guyan?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case... I think it¡¯s because they have no choice, right? After all, Nangong Mu is too powerful. Even Heaven Dao Pavilion wouldn¡¯t be able to find another Sage below 30 years old.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but from what I know, Chi Guyan is only 17 years old. Furthermore, I¡¯ve heard that she has yet to enter Sage State. I wonder what will be the oue of this fight?¡±

    All the other disciples were startled when they saw the person who walked out, but they quickly understood the situation.

    Mu Qingfeng gritted his teeth tightly at this moment.

    Just as the other disciples had mentioned, he wasn¡¯t willing to send Chi Guyan out in the first round. However, he didn¡¯t have a second choice at the moment.

    Chi Guyan walked out.

    She didn¡¯t ask or seek his opinion.

    That was because Chi Guyan already knew the answer and the dilemma he was in. Therefore, she made her own decision.

    ¡°Guyan, you must be careful...¡± Mu Qingfeng reminded her and then sat down again quietly.

    The atmosphere turned quiet and almost depressing.

    However...

    This depressing atmosphere didn¡¯tst too long, because an untimely yet crystal-clear voice interrupted the silence.

    The voicepletely disregarded the current situation.

    ¡°Do your best, sister Yan! Beat this stupid man to a pulp! Nangong Mu, if you dare to fight back, I will... Will... Oh yeah, Nangong Mu, when are you going to return the money you owe me?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All the disciples felt like they were waking up in a different world. It was a heartfelt speechlessness.

    ¡®Return your money?¡¯

    ¡®Is this really the time for that?¡¯

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the issue. The issue was the fact that they couldn¡¯t do anything about it even though they knew that this was a distraction technique. That was because the person who said that wasn¡¯t just Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor¡¯s most beloved princess, she was also Ling Yun Tower¡¯s young master. Furthermore, she was a 16 years old Sage.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, when you were at me Capital City, I paid for all your food and amodation. Even if I give you a discount, shouldn¡¯t you pay me 100,000 silver coins at the very least? Return me my money now or else you¡¯d be a scum that doesn¡¯t pay back his debt!¡± Ping Yang seemed to be oblivious to the thoughts of the disciples around her and continued talking.

    ¡°...¡± All the disciples were left speechless again.

    Nangong Mu just stood there quietly and motionlessly as if he didn¡¯t hear Ping Yang.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, don¡¯t y deaf. If you dared to borrow my money, you better man up and return...¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang, stop it.¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice interrupted Ping Yang¡¯s words. Then, she looked up at the sky and spots of starlight started appearing in her eyes.

    ¡°Sister Yan...¡± Ping Yang seemed obviously upset, but she didn¡¯t say another word. She just red at Nangong Mu angrily.

    Although it was Fang Zhengzhi and her who invited Nangong Mu to stay in Ping Yang Residence, it was true that Nangong Mu didn¡¯t pay for food or amodation.

    Even though they were partners in crime who burned down Eastern Pce¡¯s Crown Prince Residence, but it wasn¡¯t too difficult for Ping Yang to make a choice between Nangong Mu and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Chi Guyan retracted her gaze and her eyes were glowing brightly as if there were stars shining in her eyes.

    ¡°Wait, before we begin, I have a few questions for you.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Chi Guyan nodded, but she seemed surprised. After all, Nangong Mu was acting abnormally.

    That was because anyone who knew Nangong Mu knew that he hardly answered other people¡¯s questions, not to mention asking them.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop Fang Zhengzhi from going to Yin Yang Hall?¡± After Nangong Mu said that, he subconsciously held his Green and Blue Dual de tightly.

    ¡°If you were there, would you have stopped him?¡± Chi Guyan didn¡¯t answer his question. Instead, she replied with another question after a short silence.

    ¡°I... Wouldn¡¯t,¡± Nangong Mu shook his head, then, he suddenly dered with determination, ¡°But I¡¯d have stopped Nine Pinnacles Mountain from taking him away!¡±

    ¡°Do you think that he¡¯s dead?¡± Chi Guyan paused for a long time before she replied.

    ¡°No one could survive that, not even if he was the Fang Zhengzhi that created countless miracles. There¡¯s no way he could have survived that...¡±

    ¡°What if he was chosen?¡±

    ¡°Chosen?¡±

    ¡°Yup, chosen!¡±

    ¡°Chosen... Hahaha, the chosen one... The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world, and bring peace to the world, huh? Chi Guyan, do you know that it was actually us, the Nangong Nobles, that...¡± Nangong Mu was startled for a moment, and his expression became mad all of a sudden.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er!¡± Someone interrupted Nangong Mu at this moment and exuded a vast and mighty aura.

    It was Nangong Tian, the current head of the Nangong family.

    ¡°So powerful? Nangong Tian... Had concealed his true strength as well?¡±

    ¡°Why did the Nangong Nobles hide their true strength?¡±

    ¡°Hiding their strength... Is a thing of the past. What¡¯s more important now is finding out why the Nangong Nobles are showcasing their strength, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    All the disciples were stunned and confused when they felt Nangong Tian¡¯s aura.

 Chapter 833 - Blossoming Flower, Descending Tree, and the Phenomenal Fight

    <h4>Chapter 833: Blossoming Flower, Descending Tree, and the Phenomenal Fight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu was clenching his fists tightly as if he was struggling with some sort ofplicated thoughts. He was even trembling a little.

    ¡°Some things need to be done even if they are wrong, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chi Guyan looked at Nangong Mu and replied.

    ¡°I agree with you, but I¡¯ve to insist on my standpoint.¡± Nangong Mu nodded and stopped asking because he had already raised the Green and Blue Dual de in his hands.

    Chi Guyan didn¡¯t say another word either and she slowly pulled out a longsword. It was an extremely ordinary sword thatcked any radiance, but when she wielded the sword, everyone felt their hearts trembling as if that was the sharpest weapon in the world.

    All the surrounding disciples held their breath at this moment.

    Although neither Chi Guyan nor Nangong Mu said ¡®Let¡¯s begin¡¯, they all knew that the fight had alreadymenced.

    The sh of their auras didn¡¯tst too long.

    Nangong Mu eventually moved first, but he wasn¡¯t as when he attacked Qiu Jingfeng. He was as calm as un unnoticeable snowke in winter.

    However, he was moving so quickly that he appeared in front of Chi Guyan in the blink of an eye. The Green and Blue Dual de also floated towards her.

    His sword seemed slow, but it was actually extremely fast.

    There wasn¡¯t much radiance, but there was a snowke on each of the dual des. The snowkes were crystal-clear and void of any contamination.

    At this moment, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword also moved.

    Her sword was calm too, but it managed to reach Nangong Mu¡¯s throat before his sword could reach her.

    She was using offense as defense, or, in other words, she was fighting to achieve mutual assured destruction. It was the same tactic that Qiu Jingfeng used just now.

    However, it was Chi Guyan¡¯s turn now.

    ¡°Why is senior sister...¡±

    ¡°Senior sister, watch out!¡±

    All the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion were nervous to see this because that was how Qiu Jingfeng lost the fight.

    The disciples from other sects also took a deep breath subconsciously at this moment.

    ¡®Risking her life right from the beginning?¡¯

    It seemed too lunatic.

    ng! Everyone was so anxious that they almost forgot to breathe when they heard the sound of metal shing.

    This was because the same thing that happened in the fight with Qiu Jingfeng was happening again. A crystal-clear flower as white as snow had appeared in front of Chi Guyan¡¯s sword.

    Moreover, it sessfully stopped her sword.

    However, Nangong Mu¡¯s Green and Blue Dual de weren¡¯t stopping. They were less than an inch away from her.

    ¡°Is this the end?!¡±

    ¡°Is Chi Guyan losing to Nangong Mu as well?¡±

    ¡°Is the fight going to end so quickly?¡±

    Everyone thought of the same thing almost simultaneously. Although it seemed unbelievable, it was about to be reality.

    However, at this critical moment, Chi Guyan suddenly leaped into the air and charged towards Nangong Mu¡¯s dual de.

    ¡°What is Chi Guyan doing!¡±

    This was the first thought that crossed everyone¡¯s mind. However, everyone was soon shocked to their cores.

    That was because Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t struck by the Green and Blue Dual de.

    It appeared as if she went in between his hands, or rather, his swords. She turned into a stream of pink light andnded behind Nangong Mu after going over his head.

    Boom!

    Chi Guyan smacked Nangong Mu¡¯s back and sent him crashing onto the ground.

    It was a strange scene.

    No one understood what had happened until they saw the snow-white flower that was still in mid-air.

    ¡°She made use of the flower¡¯s strength!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Because the tip of her sword was pressing against the flower, she was able to use that as a pivot to control her movements in the air urately and evade Nangong Mu¡¯s dual de!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fearsome. What¡¯s the thought process... No, it isn¡¯t just the thought process. It¡¯s her confidence as well. Only someone extremely confident in himself would dare to pull that off!¡±

    If the disciples from the other sects only knew her as the ¡®Chosen One¡¯ beforehand, then they finally realized how scary Chi Guyan truly was.

    It wasn¡¯t just her strength...

    It was also her astounding calction and judgment, coupled with her mighty confidence.

    ¡°Chi Guyan... She is the number one genius of the Holy Region without a doubt!¡± Even Mo Shanshi was amazed because he wouldn¡¯t dare to pull off such a risky move so easily.

    What about Chi Guyan?

    She didn¡¯t only pull it off, she even did that right at the beginning. Her determination and decisiveness alone made her unrivaled in the Holy Region.

    ¡°This girl came from Great Xia Dynasty, right?¡± Qian Yu wasn¡¯t able to stay calm anymore.

    ¡°Yup, sister Yan is the princess of Divine Constabry, and she¡¯s also the Double Dragon Roll Champion!¡± Ping Yang nodded and the unhappiness on her expression was swept away by excitement.

    ¡°Double Dragon Roll Champion? 17 years old... Yeah, she¡¯s indeed incredible. Her talent and her mentality are both perfect.¡± Qian Yu nodded softly after she heard Ping Yang.

    ¡°Yes, sister Yan is the mightiest!¡± Ping Yang looked extremely proud.

    ¡°Oh? Is she the mightiest even afterparing to your Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Qian Yu asked carefreely.

    ¡°That¡¯s different!¡± Ping Yang pouted.

    ¡°Haha, they are different indeed. One is perfect and impable, while the other is full of ¡®openings¡¯. By the way, this boy from the Nangong Nobles seems to know Fang Zhengzhi too?¡±

    ¡°Yup, they are more than that. That shameless fellow should be Nangong Mu¡¯s one and only friend. To be honest, I¡¯m pretty baffled when Nangong Mu said that he owes Fang Zhengzhi that¡¯s more valuable than his life. However, that shameless fellow has always been disgustingly selfish, so how could he lend something so valuable to Nangong Mu?¡±

    ¡°Something? Haha, some things can¡¯t be valued with money.¡±

    ¡°Mom, are you suggesting that they are homo...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s expression looked weird at this moment.

    ¡°Ke... Why are you learning about all these inappropriate stuff for your age? Who did you hear it from?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s...¡± Ping Yang stopped mid-sentence. Then, she stuck out her tongue and took a step back quietly, not daring to say another word.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu had already stood up again. He was ring at Chi Guyan while he clenched his dual de tightly.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, don¡¯t fight Chi Guyan with your martial arts techniques. Use your full power!¡± Nangong Tian sounded like he was a little nervous too.

    ¡°Full power?¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that Nangong Mu hasn¡¯t used his full power yet?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, right?¡±

    The surrounding disciples were a little dumbfounded when they heard Nangong Tian because the current Nangong Mu was already ridiculously strong.

    ¡®He¡¯s not using his full power?¡¯

    ¡®No one would believe that!¡¯

    However, their thoughts were soon proven wrong, because Nangong Mu started bellowing when Nangong Tian said that.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Mu sounded like he was in so much pain, and even his expression became extremely distorted as if something wasing out of his body.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu¡¯s shirt was blown to shreds and revealed his upper body which was covered in scars. There were several snow-white symbols appearing on his body at the moment.

    ¡°Is that...¡± Mu Qingfeng suddenly stood up, unable to conceal the shock in his expression.

    Even Mo Shanshi, who was sitting at the front of Fu Xi Valley¡¯s formation, opened his eyes wide with disbelief and clenched his fists tightly subconsciously.

    ¡°It¡¯s Gifted Bloodline!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu has Gifted Bloodline too?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? If he has Gifted Bloodline, why didn¡¯t he use it before?¡±

    The surrounding disciples were struck dumb by what they saw, unable to process the fact that Nangong Mu possessed Gifted Bloodline.

    Yan Qing, who was standing behind Wu Yuer, also went ck-jawed and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! If he possesses Gifted Bloodline, why didn¡¯t he use it against me during our fight previously?¡±

    ¡°Do we have any information regarding Nangong Mu¡¯s Gifted Bloodline?¡± Wu Yuer also frowned and asked someone behind her coldly.

    ¡°Nope. Nangong Mu shouldn¡¯t possess a Gifted Bloodline!¡± Someone behind Wu Yuer replied. He also sounded like he couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird. What happened to Nangong Mu in the past few months?¡± Wu Yuer obviously trusted Shadow Sect¡¯s intelligence gathering abilities. However, what she saw was clearly not reflected in the intel collected.

    ¡°Oh no, Nangong Mu seems to be breaking through!¡±

    ¡°Breaking through?! Does he intend to break through in the middle of a fight?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    While Wu Yuer was feeling puzzled, the surrounding disciples were once again struck dumb, because the snow-white symbols appearing from Nangong Mu¡¯s body were gathered towards his forehead at an extraordinary speed.

    In mere moments, a symbol that looks like a snowke materialized on his forehead, following which, a dazzling white radiance burst out of his body and soared into the sky.

    ¡°He broke through!¡±

    ¡°He... Has he entered Sage State?!¡±

    ¡°This... This is impossible. How could something like this happen? Is Sage State... Something that could be achieved so easily? This doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s another possibility apart from breaking through during the middle of the fight!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°If he could overpower Qiu Jingfeng, it means that Nangong Mu¡¯s strength has long exceeded Sage State. If he¡¯s breaking through now... It means that he has been suppressing...¡±

    ¡°Suppressing? Why would he do that?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m right, it has got something to do with his Gifted Bloodline! Maybe he¡¯s unable to control this power? However, that¡¯s just my spection...¡±

    All the disciples started discussing amongst themselves. However, just like what they said, everything was just spection.

    No one knew the real reason.

    ¡°I can¡¯t lose again, I can¡¯t...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were filled with a snow-white chill and his expression became abnormally cold.

    There were countless snowkes revolving around his body, then, they crystallized into a clear, white armor.

    Buzz!

    Snowkes fell from the sky again. This was a chilling sight to behold during summer.

    Mu Qingfeng also gazed at the sky at this moment, and his lips trembled when he saw the huge shadow in the air.

    In fact...

    He had seen this shadow once already.

    When Nangong Mu stabbed Qiu Jingfeng, this shadow also appeared in the sky. However, it only appeared for a split second just now.

    Yet, at this moment, the shadow was exceptionally clear. It was looking down at them from above like an almighty deity, exuding an unchallengeable aura.

    It was a tree, a gigantic tree blooming with white flowers. Every single flower was crystal-clear, and every branch was glowing.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, Chi Guyan managed to beat Hao¡¯er by the difference of a single move a few years ago. If you could defeat Chi Guyan now, it means that you¡¯ve defeated Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian also gazed towards the gigantic tree in the sky. He clenched his fists tightly and even his body trembled uncontrobly.

    ¡°If I could defeat Chi Guyan, it means that I¡¯ve defeated big brother? Big brother... Yes, I¡¯ll win. I have to win, because I¡¯m Nangong Mu, because my name is Nangong Mu!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s body trembled and the snowkes around him suddenly disappeared all of a sudden, leaving behind the crystalline white armor on his body.

    Manyplicated, snow-white cloud symbols were engraved on the armor. Nangong Mu¡¯s body exuded a chilling aura that seemed to have frozen the surrounding air.

    Chi Guyan raised her sword slowly. Spots of starlight rotated in her eyes as her hair drifted in the chilly wind.

    There wasn¡¯t any excessive words or movement. She just stood there quietly like a mountain in a storm.

    It felt lonely, but it could stand its ground against the wind and snow.

    Just as the saying goes...

    Unmovable like a mountain!

 Chapter 834 - Gate to the Three Realms

    <h4>Chapter 834: Gate to the Three Realms</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    ¡°So... Hao¡¯er influence on Mu¡¯er is so strong.¡± Nangong Tian seemed like he was in a dielemma, as if he couldn¡¯t bear to see Nangong Mu in that snow-white armor. However, it was soon reced by a determined look in his eyes.

    Meanwhile, in Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s faction, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression was changing rapidly. He was frowning at times, and gritting his teeth tightly at other. However, it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t looking pleased.

    ¡°How could it be a Gifted Bloodline that¡¯s innately cold!¡±

    ¡°Cold? What¡¯s the problem?¡± An elder standing behind Mu Qingfeng asked in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°Yup, although Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline is known as the best in the world, it has a natural weakness.¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s brows were knitted tightly together.

    ¡°Weakness?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s afraid of the cold by nature.¡±

    ¡°Afraid of the cold?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline contains the spirituality of a demi-snake. Since snakes are cold-blooded, they would enter a state of hibernation during extreme cold.¡± Mu Qingfeng exined.

    ¡°Are you suggesting that...¡±

    ¡°If Guyan has already be a Sage, this fight wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her. After all, this weakness only has a slight effect on her, just like how everything in this world reinforces or counteracts each other. However, Guyan is only at Rebirth State and her Gifted Bloodline hasn¡¯t awakenedpletely. Now that she¡¯s facing a Sage like Nangong Mu who has a Gifted Bloodline that¡¯s innately cold, her strength might be severely affected.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that Guyan is going to lose?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say that for sure. However, I think that there is something wrong about the fact that Nangong Mu has suddenly possessed a Gifted Bloodline and one which is innately cold.¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master, are you saying that the Nangong Nobles has nned this all along? The thing is, Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nangong Nobles has never had problems with each other. Why would they target us?¡±

    ¡°Yeah... Heaven Dao Pavilion has never had any conflict with the Nangong Nobles, so I¡¯m just specting as well. I hope that this is just a coincidence, but if it isn¡¯t... What exactly is the Nangong Nobles¡¯ goal for showing up at the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡± Mu Qingfeng sighed softly at the end.

    The elders behind him went silent after hearing that.

    Combining Nangong Hao¡¯s ¡®strange¡¯ behavior in Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago with Nangong Nobles¡¯ sudden appearance today, and Nangong Mu¡¯s unexpected Gifted Bloodline, the elders were equally confused and worried.

    Of course, regardless if it was a coincidence, Heaven Dao Pavilion no longer had any room for maneuver. Since the fight had already begun, they couldn¡¯t back down.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu had already moved. He didn¡¯t attack like before as he obviously chose to listen to Nangong Tian¡¯s words...

    He unleashed all his might!

    Huff! Nangong Mu¡¯s body exuded a chilling air and covered Heaven¡¯s Peak¡¯s ground with ayer of frost as if winter hade early.

    With that, many icicles began taking shape and flew towards Chi Guyan from all directions.

    ¡°He wants to freeze the entire altar!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu wants to make use of his absolute strength as a Sage to crush her!¡±

    ¡°So, he¡¯s not going to fight Chi Guyan with martial arts techniques anymore?¡±

    The surrounding disciples soon realized Nangong Mu¡¯s intention after they saw the freezing air and the wave of icicles rushing towards Chi Guyan.

    If Nangong Mu was said to be using close ranged sword techniques just now, then he was now using the chill that engulfed the entire altar.

    Under such circumstances...

    Even Chi Guyan was forced to go head-to-head against Nangong Mu.

    That was because she had no way of avoiding his attack.

    In fact, just like what everyone had expected, Chi Guyan gripped her sword tighter and a dazzling radiance,parable to starlight, lit up in her eyes. Then, she moved.

    She struck with her sword.

    It was like a meteor falling across the sky.

    Crack! The icy wave rushing towards her was split open and countless ice shards flew into the air and dissipated as spots of white light.

    A single sh was able to split open an icy wave created by a Sage from countless icicles. There was no doubt about the sword¡¯s sharpness.

    However, although the icy wave was shed open, there were many snow-white flowers blooming within the wave. Each flower was exuding a freezing aura.

    The icy wave regenerated almost instantly. It was flowing even faster than before and covered a wider area.

    ¡°What kind of Gifted Bloodline is that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen any simr record in historical documents.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, those white flowers and the gigantic tree floating in the sky don¡¯t seem like a normal Gifted Bloodline at all. What exactly is that?¡±

    The disciples were shocked and started guessing when they saw that the icy wave had regenerated.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan was falling back because of the icy wave.

    Her sword came down relentlessly and drew many streams of starlight in the air. The icy wave was split open repeatedly, but it regenerated over and over again.

    This was a battle of attrition.

    However, everyone knew that Chi Guyan couldn¡¯t fall back much longer, because she would lose the fight once she moved out of the altarpletely.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, if this goes on, Guyan might bepletely suppressed!¡± An elder from Heaven Dao Pavilion was looking more and more worried as he watched the fight.

    ¡°Nangong Mu¡¯s Gifted Bloodline is too bizarre. Without knowing its origin, it could be difficult to counter it. The only problem is, what kind of Gifted Bloodline consists of white flowers and a gigantic tree?¡± Another elder was equally anxious.

    ¡°Cold... White flowers, and a gigantic tree?¡± Mu Qingfeng gazed at the tree which gave out a holy aura and almost covered the entire sky. He clenched his fists without realizing it.

    ¡°Tree type Gifted Bloodline has always been rare, not to mention one with such an intense chill. I¡¯ve never heard of any tree that grew in the Wintry Land...¡±

    ¡°Wintry Land?!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide. His body trembled as he replied, ¡°No, there¡¯s a tree that grows in the Wintry Land!¡±

    ¡°What tree is that?¡±

    ¡°Have you guys heard of Yan Huang?¡±

    ¡°Yan Huang?¡± The elders looked at each other with a hint of surprise in their eyes. ¡°Of course we know about Yan Huang, but is it even possible for this tree to be rted to Yan Huang?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either. However, it is recorded in the historical texts that the world was split into nine parts during the Yan Huang era, and they were called the Nine Continents. Back then, there was a tree that grew in the Wintry Land.¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master, are you referring to the tree that Emperor Yan...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Emperor Yan used this tree as a map when he split the world into nine parts. Legend has it that this tree has existed since the creation of the world. There are even rumors that the top of this tree was the Realm of Gods and Demons. Hence, this tree waster known as the ¡®Tree of God¡¯, and it¡¯s the gate to the three worlds which belonged respectively to man, gods, and demons!¡±

    ¡°The gate to the three worlds which belonged respectively to man, gods, and demons?!¡± The elders¡¯ expressions changed when they heard Mu Qingfeng, because they knew very well what those words meant.

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s just my surmise, or else...¡± Mu Qingfeng stopped at this moment, but he was still staring at the gigantic shadow in the sky gloomily.

    The elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion went silent again, but they were much grimmer than before.

    Boom! A loud noise diverted the elders¡¯ attention to Chi Guyan again. However, they looked more nervous when they saw what was happening on the altar.

    That was because Chi Guyan no longer had anywhere to go. She was forced to the edge of the altar, and she would be out of bounds if she took another step back.

    Chi Guyan was surrounded by the icy wave. There were many snow-white flowers looming on the icy wave and exuding an intense chill.

    ¡°Is Chi Guyan going to lose?¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu is too powerful after all. He¡¯s a Sage with a weird Gifted Bloodline. Even Chi Guyan can¡¯t possibly defeat him, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Chi Guyan is only at Rebirth State currently. It is too much to ask... For her to defeat Nangong Mu!¡±

    The disciples from the other sects realized that Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t at an advantage in this fight even though it was a little unbelievable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose, sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang was also extremely nervous at this point in time. Her tender cheeks were blushing and she was clenching her fists tightly.

    Chi Guyan didn¡¯t say a word.

    However, the radiance in her eyes was growing brighter. Spots of light continued to gather in her eyes as if they were the starry sky.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, don¡¯t hold back!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice was heard again. The dozen people behind him were watching the fight closely as well.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Mu screamed again and the snow symbol on his forehead became exceptionally dazzling instantly.

    Rumble!

    While Nangong Mu screamed, the icy wave came crashing down towards Chi Guyan like a massive tidal wave.

    Buzz! At this moment, a vibrating buzz was heard, following which, a massive shadow appeared in the sky abruptly.

    Boom!

    The shadow crashed onto the icy wave and shattered itpletely. Even the snow-white flowers disappeared.

    It was an enormous ck rock.

    It fell from the sky and created a massive crater in the icy wave.

    At the same time, a dazzling radiance appeared behind the ck rock. It was a massive shadow with long ck hair hanging at its waist.

    It was a human-shaped shadow.

    The shadow appeared behind Chi Guyan out of nowhere. It was noble and holy as if it was the ruler of the world, overlooking the altar coldly and arrogantly. Its long, scaly tail was swinging around.

    Every time it swang its tail, it would take an inch off the icy wave. Even the stars would lose their radiance because of its imposing manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s Gifted Bloodline!¡±

    ¡°Is Chi Guyan finally forced to activate her Gifted Bloodline?¡±

    ¡°As expected of the number one Gifted Bloodline in the world, it¡¯s so impressive! Even though Nangong Mu is a Sage, he can¡¯t seem to suppress Chi Guyan¡¯s aura!¡±

    The spectating disciples took a step back subconsciously, stunned by the massive shadow behind Chi Guyan¡¯s back.

    However, she trembled a little at this instance. Even though it was a minor movement, it was obvious that she was straining herself.

    However, Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t about to stop. As soon as the shadow appeared, she rushed towards Nangong Mu.

    Boom! Her sword struck the icy wave.

    Chi Guyan was extremely fast,pletely disregarding the icy wave in her way. Her sword attacked nimbly, one stroke, two strokes, three strokes...

    As her sword swang up and down, the entire icy wave was torn apart, opening up a direct path to Nangong Mu. Although the white flowers were still on the wave, they were no longer able to stop Chi Guyan.

    ¡°So powerful! Is she really at Rebirth State?¡±

    ¡°She made a counterattack?!¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan, the Chosen One... She¡¯s only 17 years old!¡±

    It was impossible for the spectating disciples to remain unfazed after they saw Chi Guyan clearing a path in the icy wave towards Nangong Mu.

    After all, her cultivation was lower than Nangong Mu.

    Under such circumstances, not only did Chi Guyan fought back, but she also seeded in getting close to Nangong Mu. This was definitely a miracle.

    ng! It was the sound of metal shing. Nangong Mu crossed the Green and Blue Dual de in front of his chest, and there was a longsword in between them.

    ¡°He stopped it?!¡±

    The disciples were shocked by what they saw. Just as they were about to make furtherments, Nangong Mu¡¯s Green and Blue Dual de moved again.

    The dual de split up.

    A green and a blue radiance shot out of the des and sted towards Chi Guyan with an intense chill.

    Boom! Chi Guyan shifted her sword to block the attack, and she fell back rapidly due to the force from the two streams of sword radiance.

    At the meantime, countless snow-white flowers bloomed in the icy wave that was split open. The chilling air regenerated the broken icy wave rapidly.

    ¡°Crap, Nangong Mu did that on purpose just now!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changedpletely. Just as he said, Nangong Mu had purposely allowed Chi Guyan to get close to him. In that case, how would he allow Chi Guyan to escape?

    Countless icicles turned into an icy wave again and surrounded Chi Guyan from all directions. In just mere moments, she waspletely engulfed.

 Chapter 835 - The Blooming Seed

    <h4>Chapter 835: The Blooming Seed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang cried out loud. If Qian Yu hadn¡¯t stopped her, she would have charged into the altar.

    In fact, Mu Qingfeng, as well as the elders and disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion were equally devastated when they saw the icy wave rushing towards Chi Guyan.

    However, the snow-white and crystal-clear wave of ice eventually swallowed Chi Guyan. The pink dress was no longer swaying, and even her expression was frozen.

    Under the gigantic tree, a massive amount of snow and ice covered the entire altar. The snow-white flowers bloomedpletely in the snow and filled the surrounding area with a chilling air.

    Amidst the snow and ice, Chi Guyan was still falling back.

    However...

    She could no longer move.

    ¡°Is she really frozen?! The spectating disciples couldn¡¯t believe it when they saw Chi Guyan frozen in the ice. However, that seemed to be the truth.

    ¡°Finally... Did... Did I win?¡± Nangong Mu trembled at this moment as if he couldn¡¯t stand steadily. It was also extremely straining for him to control the icy wave in such a wide range.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, watch out! Behind you!¡± Nangong Tian suddenly shouted at this moment.

    ¡°Behind me... What?!¡± Nangong Mu froze for a moment. He was about to leap forward instinctively, but he was toote, as a tremendous force had already struck his back.

    It was a snake tail covered in five-colored scales. It appeared from beneath the altarid with white-jade and whipped his back.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu was sent crashing into the icy wave blooming with snow-white flowers. He spat out a mouthful of blood uncontrobly.

    As soon as he crashed into the icy wave, a pink figure rushed out of the icy like a meteor. She was extraordinarily fast, and her longsword even became a stream of light as it zapped towards Nangong Mu like a bolt of lightning.

    There was still ice on her pink dress and her hair was decorated with spots of snow. They looked like the dazzling stars in the night sky.

    Chi Guyan looked a little pale and there was even a faint bloodstain on the corner of her mouth. However, that didn¡¯t hinder her sword.

    ¡°Impossible!!!¡± Nangong Mu yelled frustratingly as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. However, he didn¡¯t be sluggish from disbelief. Instead, he looked a little insane.

    An intense snow-white radiance burst out of his body almost in an instant, following which, tens of thousands of white flowers bloomed in the radiance.

    The Green and Blue Dual de went straight against Chi Guyan¡¯s sword. Instead of blocking her attack, the dual de split up. With that, a green and a blue stream of radiance materialized into a white animal¡¯s head covered in ice.

    Its fangs were crystal-clear and its pupils were white as snow.

    It was Green and Blue sh.

    It was one of the two Nangong Nobles¡¯ secret arts that Nangong Mu had spent his entire life practicing. Therefore, he didn¡¯t hesitate to use it at this critical moment.

    However, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t seem to be fazed.

    It felt like she didn¡¯t even see the ferocious blow. The direction and momentum of her sword remain unchanged and stabbed the hideous animal¡¯s head like a stream of light.

    sh! The sharp sword shed against its fangs and produced a high-pitched and piercing sound.

    However, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword wasn¡¯t stopping.

    It forced its way through!

    The crystal-clear fangs swallowed the sword entirely and tore Chi Guyan¡¯s sleeve.

    sh! The fang stabbed her arm. Blood flowed out and stained the pink sleeve on Chi Guyan¡¯s right hand.

    The sword stopped!

    A chilling breeze blew!

    At this moment, the entire world seemed to have gone silent. All the disciples, regardless if they were from the Five Sects of the Holy Region or the other sects, opened their eyes wide.

    They had never seen such an insane fighting style before.

    Head-to-head. This was a true head-to-head battle.

    ¡°Ke...¡± A deep cough broke the silence, following which, drops of blood spattered the ground.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Guyan!¡±

    Nangong Tian¡¯s and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voices were heard almost at the same time. Both of them sounded extremely anxious and desperate.

    ¡°So, who knew that you¡¯d show mercy?¡± Nangong Mu looked at the sword that prated his shoulder, then at the arm that was bitten by the white animal¡¯s head. Blood was slowly flowing out from the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you show mercy to Qiu Jingfeng too?¡± Chi Guyan replied tly. She didn¡¯t even bother looking at her own arm.

    ¡°I did, but it was only because I knew that I could definitely beat him. Are you sure... That you could beat me?¡± Nangong Mu bit his lips softly.

    ¡°How would I know that without trying?¡± Chi Guyan replied.

    ¡°That sounds really familiar.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he said that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d stop fighting if I have a choice.¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression became gloomier.

    ¡°It seems like you didn¡¯te to Heaven Zen Mountain just to take part in the Heaven Alliance Meeting.¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Of... Haha. Chi Guyan, although we aren¡¯t exactly friends, I¡¯m unwilling to make an enemy of you. This has nothing to do with your strength. However, since this fight is destined, I won¡¯t be holding back, because this is my duty!¡±

    ¡°Duty?¡±

    ¡°Everyone has a duty in life. Some people¡¯s duty is supporting their family, some are after fame and wealth, and there are people who do it to vent their desires.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about you?¡±

    ¡°My duty is making sure that the seed blooms.¡±

    ¡°Making sure that the seed blooms?¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth twitched. Then, her eyes became extremely bright as she continued, ¡°So, has the seed been nted already?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Nangong Mu smiled ambiguously.

    ¡°Is your Gifted Bloodline the see...¡± Chi Guyan wanted to ask another question, but she didn¡¯t finish her sentence.

    That was because Nangong Mu had already moved.

    He fell back rapidly and forcefully removed the sword that was in his shoulder. His Green and Blue Dual de also came shing down at the same time.

    Boom! There was a mark on the ground almost instantly. The snow and ice were sliced apart by his sword.

    Just two steps away, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword was pressing against the ground. Blood was dripping off the de and onto the snow.

    Break!¡± She yelled softly.

    With that, the white animal¡¯s head that was biting her arm, now free from Nangong Mu¡¯s control, was shatteredpletely. It turned into chunks of ice and fell to the ground.

    Despite that, there were four visible holes on Chi Guyan¡¯s arm that the fangs left behind, and blood kept flowing out nonstop.

    However, the bleeding stopped soon enough. No one knew if it was due to the ice covering the wounds or if Chi Guyan had controlled her blood flow.

    ¡°No matter how powerful you are, you are only at Rebirth State. Even if you could stop the bleeding, your right arm wouldn¡¯t recoverpletely in less than an hour!¡± Said Nangong Mu after he nced at the four bloody holes on Chi Guyan¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Yup, you¡¯re right.¡± Chi Guyan nodded. Then, she wielded the sword with her left hand and pointed it towards Nangong Mu again.

    ¡°Left hand¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed a little. He bit his lips softly, and without uttering another word, stabbed the Green and Blue Dual de into the ground, saying, ¡°Tree of God!¡±

    Boom!

    As he said that, the ground that was covered with snow and ice started trembling violently. Then, an icicle grew out of the ground.

    The icicle was as thick as a tree branch. There were even crystal-clear leaves glowing chillingly on the icicle.

    Boom! Chi Guyan¡¯s sword came crashing down onto the icicle branch, splitting it into two instantly. The broken ice fell to the ground.

    However, there seemed to be more than one icicle.

    While Chi Guyan sliced the first icicle branch into two, the second, third, and fourth one appeared...

    In mere moments, dozens of icicles that looked like tree branches started surrounding Chi Guyan. Each of them was glowing chillingly.

    Boom boom boom... Chi Guyan leaped around in the air and her sword struck relentlessly to prevent the icicles from getting close to her body.

    However, the icicle branches growing from the ground became thicker and thicker. Eventually, a huge trunk appeared and grew towards the sky at an insane rate.

    ¡°It¡¯s a tree!¡±

    ¡°A tree made of ice!¡±

    ¡°It looks almost identical to the gigantic shadow in the sky!¡±

    The surrounding disciples were left agape with shock when they saw the gigantic ice tree.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s expression also changed a little at this moment.

    ¡°Tree of God?¡± She obviously heard what Nangong Mu had said. However, she wasn¡¯t left with too much time to think, because there were too many icicle branches.

    ¡°Guyan, Nangong Mu¡¯s Gifted Bloodline is the Tree of God. The Tree of God that grows in the Wintry Land!¡± Mu Qingfeng immediately reminded Chi Guyan while she was flying around the icicle branches.

    ¡°The Tree of God that grows in the Wintry Land... Could it be the legendary tree that connects the gates to the three realms...¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s expression finally changed.

    She obviously knew about this legend about Yan Huang¡¯s era.

    However, this legend was so ancient that no one would even think about it unless they were reminded.

    ¡®Tree of God?¡¯

    ¡®How does Nangong Mu suddenly possess the Tree of God¡¯s Gifted Bloodline?¡¯

    ¡®Seed...¡¯

    ¡®Nangong Mu mentioned a seed just now.¡¯

    ¡®Furthermore, he said that his duty is ensuring that the seed eventually blooms.¡¯

    All these questions crossed Chi Guyan¡¯s mind. Then, she connected all the questions and thought as hard as she could.

    ¡°Could it be...¡± A thought suddenly crossed her mind, and with that, her expression changedpletely.

    She was just about to say something when she felt a tremendous force on her back that pushed her forward. As a result, an attack hit her arm again.

    ¡°Watch out, sister Yan!¡± It was Ping Yang¡¯s anxious voice once again.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan gritted her teeth tightly because she knew that if she was distracted, the icicle branches swinging around madly would be too much to handle even for her.

    To make things worse, her right hand was injured so she was wielding her sword with her left hand.

    Boom! She destroyed another branch that came from beneath her feet. The chunks of ice crashed onto the ground with a loud noise.

    ¡°Chi Guyan seems to be at her limits!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she could have gone after Nangong Mu¡¯s vital point just now, but she spared Nangong Mu for some reason.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that she is returning the favor of sparing Qiu Jingfeng¡¯s life. However, she lost a great chance to beat him andnded herself in a tough spot now.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, one must merciless when it¡¯s necessary!¡±

    The spectating disciples were nervous for Chi Guyan and sighed softly as she was driven into a corner.

    Rumble!

    The icicles were still rushing out of the ground. Moreover, they were growing taller and taller, as if a gigantic ice tree was growing from the ground.

    ¡°What is Nangong Mu trying to do?¡± Mu Qingfeng stared at the gigantic ice tree. For some reason, he felt a sense of crisis.

    It was an unexinable feeling. He felt that this gigantic tree wasn¡¯t simply just a technique.

    That was because if it was simply a technique...

    It was definitely over the top.

    This sounded like an unfounded idea, but the matter of fact was that there were too many branches. If it was simply meant to defeat Chi Guyan, he wouldn¡¯t need to summon so many branches.

    What if it wasn¡¯t a technique used to defeat Chi Guyan?

    In that case, what would it be?

    Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t be certain. After all, Nangong Mu had obviously entered a state of insanity currently. Under such conditions, it¡¯d normal if he was over the top or a little too ¡®wasteful¡¯.

    Boom! The gigantic ice tree finally grew out of the groundpletely. It stood erected atop Heaven¡¯s Peak, and its huge icicle branches blocked the sunlight. It was glowing dazzlingly like a massive crystal.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu was kneeling on one knee and panting nonstop. Blood was flowing down from his shoulder, tainting his snow-white armor.

    It was obvious it wasn¡¯t easy for him to create such a hugemotion.

    However, Nangong Mu looked extremely determined. Although he was trembling nonstop, he was still staring intently at Chi Guyan, who was entrapped by the gigantic ice tree.

    ¡°Tree of God... Blo... Bloom!¡± Nangong Mu stumbled. He sounded a little brutal and also a little serious.

 Chapter 836 - The Unexpected Guest

    <h4>Chapter 836: The Unexpected Guest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As Nangong Mu said that, the gigantic ice tree lit up with a brilliant radiance. One after another, snow-white flowers bloomed on the branches.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°How could flowers bloom on an ice tree?¡±

    ¡°Its aura is so powerful!¡±

    The surrounding disciples were shocked to their cores when they saw the flowers blooming on the ice tree. They were also moving back continuously in the meantime.

    This was because the ice tree¡¯s aura was so powerful that they felt ufortable. They couldn¡¯t resist it at all and even felt like paying homage to it.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s aura was unstable as well. The relentless attacks from countless icicle branches had taken a toll on her body.

    However, she still heard Nangong Mu¡¯s voice clearly.

    ¡°Bloom?!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she looked up at the icicle branches above her.

    She couldn¡¯t be 100% sure about Nangong Mu¡¯s true intent, but from what Nangong Mu had just said and what she saw, she could guess that it wasn¡¯t simply iming victory in the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    ¡°No, I have to stop Nangong Mu!¡± The spots of starlight in her eyes suddenly changed as she focused her eyes.

    The silvery-white starlight became a faint five-colored radiance.

    It wasn¡¯t just the radiance in her eyes that changed. Even the massive shadow behind her started transforming, and the scales on its tail became five-colored too.

    Then, Chi Guyan charged down on Nangong Mu.

    Her sword moved swiftly andpletely tore apart the icicle branches that wrapped towards her. She bolted towards Nangong Mu from the center of the gigantic ice tree.

    ¡°Chi Guyan!¡± Nangong Mu was staring at her with one knee on the ground. He gritted his teeth tightly, and even his hands were trembling a little.

    Nevertheless, he quickly forced himself up and tried his hardest to protect his chest with the Green and Blue Dual de.

    Boom!

    The ice and snow covering the ground was blown apart. Countless ice shards flew everywhere as if it was hailing on Heaven¡¯s Peak.

    After the loud bang, two figures started colliding at extreme speed.

    Boom!

    ng ng...

    It was the sound of the continuous sh between swords. Blood was in the air and the altar was overrun with a chilling atmosphere. The surrounding disciples couldn¡¯t even see what was happening.

    The only thing that they could see was two figures dashing around in the icy fog and brandishing their swords at each other...

    They were so fast that it was almost hard to see them.

    ¡°They¡¯re so powerful!¡±

    ¡°What exactly is the caliber of this battle?¡±

    ¡°Sage State, this is a battle at the Sage State. Moreover, this has far exceeded the level of normal Sages. I¡¯ve never seen a battle like this before.¡±

    The spectating disciples were truly awestruck. Although they had been cultivating in their sects, it was exceptionally difficult to witness a battle of this caliber.

    After all, there weren¡¯t many experts at this level even in the entire Holy Region.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, I didn¡¯t expect that you could go to such an extent!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s expression finally changed. There was a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion, as well as Ping Yang, were all staring at the two figures in the icy fog nervously.

    Boom! The ice and snow on the ground was split open once again. Countless ice shards were sent flying as a huge crack appeared through the icy fog.

    It was a sword mark!

    One that was powerful enough to create a crack in the ground!

    Buzz! A five-colored radiance appeared. Blue, red, ck, white, and gold radiances mixed around and illuminated the snow-white icy fogpletely.

    After the five-colored radiance appeared, a person flew out of the fog and crashed into the gigantic ice tree.

    ¡°Pfttt!¡± That person spewed blood into the air.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were wide open. He couldn¡¯t believe, or rather, he couldn¡¯t ept the oue. However, he had truly lost all his strength already.

    Thump! He fell onto the ground, and the snow-white armor covering his body turned into spots of white light and gradually dissipated in the air.

    There was a person in front of him... She was exerting all her might to keep herself standing by using her sword as support. Her pink dress was fully tainted with blood, but no one knew whose blood it was.

    It was clear that Chi Guyan was at her limits.

    However, the massive snake tail behind her, covered by five-colored scales, was still swinging around. It shed against the ice and shattered itpletely.

    An overpowering aura.

    The aura that belonged to someone at the top of the world, proud and aloof.

    ¡°You¡¯ve... Lost!¡± Chi Guyan was staring at Nangong Mu as she said that in an exhausted tone.

    ¡°No, I... I did not...¡± Nangong Mu wanted to stand up but to no avail. He was also covered in blood.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡±

    Nangong Tian¡¯s, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s, and Ping Yang¡¯s voices were heard simultaneously. They looked equally anxious and desperate.

    ¡°I... I did not... Lose...¡± Nangong Mu was still struggling.

    Chi Guyan waved her hand softly and walked towards Nangong Mu one step at a time. With every step she took, she sweated profusely.

    The spectating disciples were stunned by this scene. However, none of them said a word, because the only thing they could do at this moment was to wait quietly.

    Finally, Chi Guyan came in front of Nangong Mu.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost...¡±

    ¡°No, I... I won¡¯t lose again!¡±

    sh! Her sword pierced through Nangong Mu¡¯s arm. Blood gushed out and flowed off the sword and onto the ground. With that, Nangong Mu¡¯s Green and Blue Dual de finally fell out of his hands.

    Rumble!

    The gigantic ice tree started shaking at this moment. Cracks started appearing on the branches and the snow-white flowers turned into spots of white light and dissipated into the air.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Chi Guyan said it once again.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, it¡¯s impossible... For me to... Concede defeat!¡± Nangong Mu sounded awfully determined.

    sh! She pulled out her sword from Nangong Mu¡¯s arm and stabbed his thigh. The cut was so deep that his bone could be seen, and blood sttered everywhere.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes turned red as he let out a heartrending scream. He was truly unwilling to ept his defeat, but he had already lost all his strength.

    Rumble!

    The gigantic ice tree shatteredpletely and exuded a chilling air. Huge spots of white lights almost covered the entire sky.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Chi Guyan slowly looked up at the gigantic ice tree that was gradually melting. Her legs suddenly trembled and she seemed like she was about to fall.

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t say a word this time. He just gazed at Chi Guyan silently and watched the snow-white radiance on top of her head because he knew that she was right. He had already lost, and it didn¡¯t matter if he chose to admit it or not.

    ¡°Admit defeat, otherwise, my sword would pierce his throat after this!¡± Chi Guyan sounded extremely adamant as she looked behind her back. However, she was obviously not speaking to Nangong Mu.

    Her words were directed towards Nangong Tian, who was at a corner not too far away.

    Nangong Tian squinted and clenched his fists tightly. With a chilling look in his eyes, he looked at Nangong Mu, who could no longer stand up, then at Chi Guyan. Eventually, he sighed gloomily and said, ¡°We¡¯ve lost this round!¡±

    ¡°This round?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was startled. He immediately looked towards Nangong Tian and asked, ¡°Are you saying that the Nangong Nobles could send another contestant?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the best out of three. We are just tied at 1-1 at the moment, so of course, we would send someone else.¡± Nangong Tian nodded as if it was obvious.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Obviously a disciple from our family.¡±

    Mu Qingfeng squinted a little when he heard Nangong Tian. Then, he nodded softly at Chi Guyan and said, ¡°I understand. Guyan,e and get some rest first. I¡¯ll take care of this.¡±

    ¡°Rest? I¡¯m afraid not?¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Why not? The rules of this Martial Arts Competition have been decided unanimously by the Five Sects of the Holy Region. There are no restrictions on the participants who will be taking part in the three rounds of fights. Since Guyan has already won this round, she could definitely take a break while another disciple from Heaven Dao Pavilion takes part in the third round.¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned and said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, Pavilion Master Mu. I¡¯m not talking about the rules.¡± Nangong Tian shook his head.

    ¡°Not the rules? What do you mean then?¡±

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, you lost to Chi Guyan by one move several years ago. Today is the time for you to redeem yourself!¡± Nangong Tian suddenly looked up and shouted instead of answering Mu Qingfeng¡¯s question.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er?!¡±

    ¡°Did he say Hao¡¯er...¡±

    ¡°Could it be Nangong Hao?!¡±

    The surrounding disciples were startled when they heard Nangong Tian.

    Although they all knew about Nangong Nobles¡¯ Nangong Hao, who was known as Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s number one genius, the incident that took ce at Heaven Dao Pavilion several months ago was already known by everyone.

    ¡°Nangong Hao? Didn¡¯t he... Die together with Tian Xing?¡± All the disciples looked at each other with disbelief.

    However, at this moment...

    They suddenly heard a beast roaring in the sky. It was a ferocious beast bathing in red light. Its feathers, eyes, and ws were all red.

    There was a person standing on top of the beast. He was wearing a white schr¡¯s robe and carrying a snow-white sword on his back. His robe swayed as a gust blew past.

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°How could junior brother Nangong still be alive?¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s alive... Does that mean that the Heaven-Receiving Door is opened?!¡±

    The elders and disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion were astounded when they saw the person standing on the beast¡¯s back because they all knew how unlikely it was for Nangong Hao to be alive.

    ¡°Nangong Hao?! How is that possible?¡± Even Mu Qingfeng was left dumbfounded at this instance. He couldn¡¯t believe it at all.

    ¡°Big brother... Big brother didn¡¯t... Didn¡¯t die?!¡± Nangong Mu was equally stupefied. He looked at the person in the sky, then at Nangong Tian, and asked, ¡°Big brother is really alive, but how would father know... Unless father knew all along that big brother didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao didn¡¯t die?¡± Chi Guyan also furrowed her brows. Her eyes, still glowing with the five-colored radiance, were fixated on the person in the sky.

    She obviously heard Nangong Mu.

    That was precisely why she became more confused and confounded.

    ¡®Nangong Mu didn¡¯t know?¡¯

    ¡®However, it seems like Nangong Tian knew about it since a long time ago?¡¯

    ¡®Why did Nangong Tian know that Nangong Hao didn¡¯t die? Furthermore, why did he have to hide it from Nangong Mu on purpose... What exactly is going?¡±

    ¡®Heaven Dao Pavilion...¡¯

    ¡®What happened to the Heaven-Receiving Door?¡¯

    Her mind was troubled with countless questions. Even Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t able to figure out all the answers in such a short time.

    However, Nangong Hao had already descended from the sky.

    Hended in front of Chi Guyan like a snowke in the winter wind. Then, he quietly carried Nangong Mu up from the ground.

    He didn¡¯t say a word or greet anyone.

    Nangong Hao walked straight towards Nangong Tian after he picked up Nangong Mu.

    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve matured a lot in the past few months!¡± Nangong Tian gazed at Nangong Hao. His even mouth twitched with excitement.

    ¡°Father, aren¡¯t you concerned about brother Mu¡¯s injuries?¡± Nangong Hao said calmly.

    ¡°Concerned... As his father, I¡¯m definitely concerned about Mu¡¯er¡¯s injuries. Someone, hurry...¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Nangong Hao interrupted Nangong Tian. Then, he looked at the person who was going to walk out from behind Nangong Tian and said, ¡°Stay back. Father should attend to brother Mu¡¯s injuries!¡±

    ¡°Ok, Hao¡¯er, I understand!¡± Nangong Tian was a little startled, but he quickly nodded and took over Nangong Mu.

    Several elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion nced at each other after seeing this. Soon, one of them stepped out.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, how did youe out of the Heaven-Receiving Door? What¡¯s happening in Heaven Dao Pavilion now?¡± This elder sounded nervous and hasty.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Heaven Dao Pavilion be more concerned about winning thest round of this Martial Arts Competition?¡± Nangong Hao slowly turned towards the elder. He seemed extremely calm.

    ¡°Bullshit, why don¡¯t you first tell me how you got out? By the way, why did we receive no updates from Heaven Dao Pavilion even though you are already here?¡±

    ¡°Elder, if you could beat me, I¡¯d definitely answer you.¡± Nangong Hao smiled and replied.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The elder was enraged. Without any hesitation, he leaped out and attacked Nangong Hao like a bolt of lightning.

 Chapter 837 - Why

    <h4>Chapter 837: Why</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    An intense red radiance was glowing in the elder¡¯s hand. From its powerful aura, it was obvious that the elder didn¡¯t hold back.

    At the moment the elder charged over, a person rushed out from behind Nangong Hao and shielded him before the elder could reach him.

    Bam! With a heavy thud, a violent shock wave started spreading out in all directions. The surrounding disciples felt a stinging pain on their faces.

    The elder fell back rapidly with a look of disbelief on his face because he was defeated in this quick exchange.

    ¡°Nangong Tian!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Tian is a Sage too!¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, he seems to be even stronger than the elder of Heaven Dao Pavilion?!¡±

    All the disciples opened their eyes wide when they saw the person who stood in front of Nangong Hao. In fact, they had already spected that Nangong Tian was at Sage State as soon as the Nangong Nobles showed up.

    However...

    They didn¡¯t expect him to be so powerful that he could easily overpower the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elder.

    ¡°So, is Heaven Dao Pavilion trying to be a bully?¡± Nangong Tian wasposed. He didn¡¯t even nce at the elder and simply stood at the spot calmly.

    ¡°You...¡± The elder wanted to fight him again, but he held his tongue after seeing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Head of the Nangong family, you¡¯ve concealed your strength really well.¡± Mu Qingfeng squinted and red at Nangong Tian coldly.

    ¡°Haha, Pavilion Master, you¡¯ve overpraised me,¡± Nangong Tian smiled, nced around, then continued, ¡°since Pavilion Master Mu is the organizer of this Heaven Alliance Meeting, are you intending to take advantage of the fact that us Nangong Nobles are fewer in numbers?¡±

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, isn¡¯t that an overstatement?¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong to say that Heaven Dao Pavilion wants toy a hand on my Hao¡¯er because you guys are afraid of losing the Martial Arts Competition?¡± Nangong Tian sneered.

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°Such insolence!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao did something horrible in Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago, moreover, he is Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple. Why can¡¯t we discipline him?¡±

    The other elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion finally lost theirposure at this moment. All of them stood out and unleashed their powerful aura.

    ¡°Haha, it seems like Heaven Dao Pavilion is actually nning on doing that! However, the Nangong Nobles aren¡¯t afraid of you either!¡± Nangong Tian sneered and waved his hand. With that, over a dozen people stood out.

    The surrounding disciples nced at each other after witnessing this. Everyone took a step back softly and kept his mouth shut.

    ¡°Is the Heaven Alliance Meeting turning into a tangled fight?¡± Dao Hun interrupted at this moment and nced around from underneath his mask.

    ¡°Elders, stand back for now.¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s brows were knitted tightly together as he waved his hands at them. Then, he turned towards Nangong Tian and said, ¡°Head of Nangong family, are you insisting on Nangong Hao¡¯s participation in the third round?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Nangong Tian nodded.

    ¡°You wish to send Nangong Hao, but do you realize that even though Nangong Hao is the son of Nangong Nobles¡¯s main family, he is technically considered Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple?¡± Mu Qingfeng continued.

    He obviously knew that Nangong Tian had summoned Nangong Hao during the Heaven Alliance Meeting so that he couldn¡¯t take Nangong Hao down in front of all the other sects and dynasties.

    Hence, he couldn¡¯t agree to Nangong Hao¡¯s participation all the more so.

    ¡°So, is Heaven Dao Pavilion afraid of my Hao¡¯er, and you guys want Hao¡¯er to represent Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± Nangong Tian smiled and replied with a question.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rules have always ced the interest of the sect above the interest of the family, don¡¯t you know that?¡± Mu Qingfeng clenched his fists.

    He obviously knew that Nangong Tian was taunting him, nevertheless, he was still angered by his words.

    However, given the current situation...

    He had to endure it.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion is really shameless!¡± Nangong Tianughed and continued, ¡°In that case, why can¡¯t Hao¡¯er simply quit Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, have you thought this through? Heaven Dao Pavilion has its own rules. If he wants to leave... There are rules pertaining to that as well!¡±

    ¡°Is Heaven Dao Pavilion afraid?¡±

    ¡°Rules are rules, and this has nothing to do with whether we are afraid.¡± Mu Qingfeng was extremely prudent. Since he could be the Pavilion Master of one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, his tolerance level was extraordinary.

    ¡°Interesting! It seems like...¡±

    ¡°Father, I should resolve this problem since I was the one who caused it.¡± Nangong Hao finally said something and interrupted Nangong Tian. Then, he slowly walked towards his father.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, the oue of this fight affects...¡±

    ¡°I know that.¡±

    ¡°Ok, in that case, it¡¯s all up to you.¡± Nangong Tian nodded. Without saying anything else, he went back to his original seat and sat down.

    Mu Qingfeng frowned. He looked at Nangong Tian, then at Nangong Hao, and finally at Chi Guyan. He definitely seemed a little helpless.

    As one of the Pavilion Masters of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he had never been in such a difficult situation before. However, under these circumstances, this was his only choice.

    It was because he knew that if Nangong Hao took part in thepetition...

    Heaven Dao Pavilion would definitely lose this battle!

    After Nangong Tian went back, Nangong Hao took a step forward and nced around, before eventually turning his gaze towards Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Master, are you wondering why am I alive?¡± Nangong Hao sounded indifferent as if it had nothing to do with him.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s silence implied that Nangong Hao was right. After all, as capable as he was, Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t figure out how Nangong Hao was still alive.

    ¡°Master, you should know that I was the one who cast the Blood Offering Illustration. In that case, I¡¯d naturally know the way of cracking it. Are you satisfied with this exnation, master?¡± Nangong Hao continued after a brief pause.

    Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t reply. He just looked at Nangong Hao silently.

    Meanwhile, the surrounding disciples all looked confused. They all knew that something huge happened at Heaven Dao Pavilion several months ago, as a result, both Nangong Hao and Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s previous leader, Tian Xing, had disappeared.

    However, they were clueless regarding the exact details.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Neither do I.¡±

    All the disciples shook their heads.

    After a short pause, Nangong Hao asked again, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve just said that I¡¯m still Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciple. ording to Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rules, I¡¯ve to put the sect¡¯s interest above my family¡¯s interest. Then, master, could you tell me if Heaven Dao Pavilion wants me to fight on its behalf?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Mu Qingfeng finally replied.

    ¡°If master wants me to represent Heaven Dao Pavilion in the third round, I wouldn¡¯t say no, because of the sect¡¯s rules and the need to defend the sect¡¯s honor. However, if master doesn¡¯t want me to represent Heaven Dao Pavilion, I can¡¯t fight for the honor of my sect. Then, as the son of Nangong Nobles¡¯ main family, I have the rights to fight for my family¡¯s glory.¡± Nangong Hao continued.

    ¡°I see.¡± Mu Qingfeng naturally understood what Nangong Hao what trying to say.

    If Heaven Dao Pavilion sent Nangong Hao as its representative in the fight, Nangong Hao would undoubtedly lose the round so that Nangong Nobles could win thepetition.

    On the other hand...

    Nangong Hao could definitely represent the Nangong Nobles. Even if Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s rules were strict, they couldn¡¯t stop Nangong Hao from doing that.

    ¡°Now, master, may I ask if I¡¯d have to represent Heaven Dao Pavilion in the third round?¡± Nangong Hao paid his respect to Mu Qingfeng after he said that.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. After you paid your respect, you¡¯d bepletely unrted to Heaven Dao Pavilion from now on!¡± Mu Qingfeng waited till Nangong Hao was done paying his respect before he said that.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯d like to thank you for educating me.¡± Nangong Hao nodded softly and bowed at Mu Qingfeng formally again.

    The spectating disciples fell silent after seeing this.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s solution was peaceful, but it was also the simplest and most overbearing answer.

    ¡°Once the number one genius of Great Xia Dynasty!¡±

    ¡°What is he going to do?¡±

    ¡°Are the Nangong Nobles really not worried about Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s revenge in the future for what they have done today?¡±

    All the disciples were puzzled. After all, it wasn¡¯t a smart move to go directly against Heaven Dao Pavilion. It wouldn¡¯t be exaggerating to say that there was no way out.

    ¡°Guyan,e back.¡± Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t say anything else. Now that it hade to this, he wasn¡¯t capable of stopping it.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s ok.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head and slowly raised her sword. However, her hand was obviously shaking.

    ¡°Guyan...¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, master!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng wanted to add something, but Chi Guyan interrupted him. Her eyes which were glowing with the five-colored radiance seemed to have expressed her extraordinary resolve.

    The disciples around the altar kept quiet.

    They could clearly tell Chi Guyan¡¯s current physical condition. Chi Guyan had barely defeated Nangong Mu in the previous fight.

    Under such circumstances...

    A second fight?

    No one believed that Chi Guyan had any hope of winning.

    However, the determination in her eyes shocked them to their cores, because it definitely came from the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°You¡¯re not my match in your current state.¡± Nangong Hao looked at Chi Guyan and shook his head.

    ¡°How would I know that without trying?¡± Chi Guyan replied tly.

    ¡°Is it really worth doing this just for the sake of Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± A bloody radiance shed across Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Some things are not meant to be doable, nevertheless, someone must do it.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head and walked into the altar one step at a time. The shadow behind her was clearly shaking and flickering as if it could disappear at any moment.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t continue talking. He walked towards the altar slowly just like Chi Guyan and arrived in front of her very quickly.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang was clenching her fists tightly with an enraged expression.

    ¡°Nangong Hao is a bastard! He knew that sister Yan is at her limits, but he is still going to take advantage of it!¡± There was a crimson radiance flowing on Ping Yang¡¯s body as she said that.

    ¡°Yang¡¯er, what would you do if you were going up against Nangong Hao?¡± Qian Yu opened her eyes and nced at both Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan before asking Ping Yang.

    ¡°I would beat him to a pulp!¡± She answered without thinking.

    ¡°What if he¡¯s far stronger than you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I know how strong Nangong Hao is. At the peak of Rebirth State, even...¡±

    ¡°I said ¡®if¡¯.¡± Qian Yu interrupted Ping Yang and gazed at her lovingly.

    ¡°I¡¯d still beat him up!¡± Ping Yang eximed fiercely.

    ¡°What if I asked you to give up?¡± Qian Yu continued asking.

    ¡°Give up?¡± Ping Yang didn¡¯t seem like she understood the question.

    ¡°Yes, give up.¡±

    ¡°Why would mother want me to give up?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out the answer to this question... Very soon.¡± Qian Yu shook her head. After spending several days together, she naturally discovered that Ping Yang was stubborn, willful, and naively ignorant.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s personality traits...

    Were identical to hers.

    Ping Yang¡¯s lips moved. She could tell from Qian Yu¡¯s expression that she was concerned about her. However, how could she actually give up?

    Ping Yang turned towards Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao again without saying another word. There was a red light shing in her clear eyes.

    The wind blew.

    It dispersed the white, chilling air atop Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯s peak. The dazzling sunlight could finally shine on the two people standing in the altar.

    Chi Guyan was covered in blood and she looked like she was exceptionally exhausted. However, she didn¡¯t move again. Her body slowly regained itsposure and her hand gradually stabilized.

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t move either. He just stood there quietly.

    He didn¡¯t say a word or attack Chi Guyan. He seemed to be waiting for Chi Guyan to recover, or in other words, waiting for Chi Guyan to attack him first.

    Time slowly passed.

    Five minutes passed very quickly.

    The massive shadow behind Chi Guyan finally coagted again. Her absolute beauty made people feel like paying homage, and there way no way anyone could even think of defiling it. Her long, ck hair which looked like a waterfall was swaying gently around her waist.

    Crack! Chi Guyan gripped her sword tightly. Then, a bright five-colored radiance suddenly appeared from her eyes. They looked like five meteors of different colors spinning around in her eyes.

 Chapter 838 - The Most Overbearing Sneak Attack In History

    <h4>Chapter 838: The Most Overbearing Sneak Attack In History</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Chi Guyan moved in the next moment.

    There wasn¡¯t any warning because she already knew from Nangong Hao¡¯s expression that he was prepared.

    She thrust her sword forward.

    Then, Chi Guyan disappeared on the spot.

    At the meantime, tens of thousands of starlights descended from the sky just like a group of meteors. This was Divine Constabry¡¯s secret art, Million Sword Illustration. It was a technique thatbined offense and defense.

    It was the best choice for both testing the opponent¡¯s strength and hurting him.

    Nangong Hao looked up at the starlights calmly as if he had already expected Chi Guyan¡¯s move.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said that you are not my match in your current state.¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t move or fight back. He just stood there like a statue admiring the starry sky.

    The starlights descended.

    The ground was shaking. Each starlight would leave a sword mark on the ground. After tens of thousands of them came down, the ground was filled with sword marks that looked like a spider web.

    What was creepy was, even though Nangong Hao was standing right below the starlights, there wasn¡¯t a single sword mark on him. There wasn¡¯t even a spot of dirt on his white schr¡¯s robe.

    It felt really creepy...

    It was as if Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t standing below the starlights. However, by looking closely, one could see that the starlights disappeared right after they entered Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao seems to have absorbed those starlights?¡±

    ¡°What kind of Dao technique is that...¡±

    All the spectating disciples were dumbfounded when they saw this. After all, even they were able to sense how creepy this was.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration?!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard amidst the starry sky.

    She sounded a little astonished because as the one fighting, she could see it much clearer and feel it much better.

    Although Nangong Hao didn¡¯t move, she could still detect that the starlights were absorbed. Most importantly, there was a bloody painting glowing in Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes when the starlights fell. It looked almost identical to the Blood Offering Illustration that appeared in the sky above Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago.

    ¡°What? Blood Offering Illustration?! Is Nangong Hao trying to recreate the same thing that happened a few months ago...¡± A Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elder¡¯s expression drastically changed when he heard Chi Guyan.

    However, he was puzzled because the sunlight was still dazzling unlike several months back when the gigantic Blood Offering Illustration appeared in the sky.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao suddenly moved.

    From motionless to movement!

    There weren¡¯t too many actions, but he managed to shoot up into the sky, above the tens of thousands of starlights, in an instant.

    ¡°So fast!¡± An elder of Heaven Dao Pavilion looked stunned.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, look at Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes!¡± Another elder yelled out abruptly because he finally discovered the bloody painting in his eyes when he soared up into the sky and looked down at them.

    ¡°Eyes?¡±

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration?!¡± That thing in his eyes is... Blood Offering Illustration!¡± All the elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion finally understood what Chi Guyan meant just now.

    However, it was toote.

    That was because the tens of thousands of starlights had suddenly stopped as if they were forcefully immobilized in the air. Then, all of them moved in the opposite direction and rushed towards Nangong Hao.

    In just a brief moment, Nangong Hao was covered in dazzling starlight.

    At the meantime, a sword appeared out of the starlight and stabbed at the area above Nangong Hao¡¯s chest.

    Chi Guyan was obviously faster than the elders¡¯ reaction.

    ng!

    It was the sound of metal colliding. However, it wasn¡¯t the Wuwei Sword on Nangong Hao¡¯s back that shed against her sword. It was his two fingers.

    The dazzling silvery starlight was flowing around his two fingers as if there were countless streams of sword radiance mixing with each other.

    ¡°He absorbed Guyan¡¯s Million Sword Illustration!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Blood Offering Illustration¡¯s power. However, how did its powerbine with Nangong Hao?¡±

    ¡°Did Nangong Hao...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Blood Offering Illustration is a forbidden sacrificial art. Activating the Blood Offering Illustration alone requires the lives of eight experts. How could a single person control this kind of power?¡±

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elders were truly stunned. After all, they had personally witnessed the Blood Offering Illustration¡¯s power, and they knew the extent of its power.

    They couldn¡¯t believe it!

    However, the power that Nangong Hao was disying right now forced them to consider this possibility.

    At this instance, the silvery starlight on Nangong Hao¡¯s body suddenly burst out and fell down as tens of thousands of starlights again. However, instead of rushing towards Nangong Hao this time, they were attacking Chi Guyan.

    Boom!

    The shadow behind her appeared and the five-colored snake tail shielded her from the starlights. However, she was sent crashing towards the ground.

    Eventually, shended heavily with a loud bang.

    ¡°What is happening? Chi Guyan is injured by her own Million Sword Illustration?!¡± The other disciples finally reacted after Chi Guyan crashed onto the ground.

    However, everything in the altar happened too quickly.

    Before the disciples could finish speaking, Nangong Hao moved again. He was charging towards Chi Guyan at an extreme speed.

    Her face was so pale and her pink dress was covered in blood. Despite all that, Chi Guyan still held on to her sword tightly.

    Freeze!¡± She yelled softly.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s body suddenly stopped as if he was bound by an invisible force and trapped inside a swamp.

    However, that didn¡¯tst for too long.

    A bloody radiance shed on his body, following which, numerous blood-red symbols appeared on half of his face.

    This was an eerie scene, but just as the blood-red symbols appeared, Nangong Hao broke freepletely and rushed towards Chi Guyan again.

    Boom! Rubbles flew everywhere.

    A person appeared from the rubbles. Her pink dress was swaying in the air, and although she was still holding on to her sword, it was already broken.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡± Someone shouted at this moment and a red figure bolted into the altar simultaneously.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± Qian Yu wanted to stop her, but it was toote. This was because Ping Yang moved without any hesitation as if she was acting instinctively.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, how dare you add insult to injury by attacking sister Yan when she was already severely injured. I¡¯ve tolerated your action for far too long!¡± As she said that, the crimson zing Qilin Spear appeared in her hands.

    A me-like symbol flickered on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead. The zing fire on her hands had already materialized into a spear, and a golden radiance lit up the top of the spear.

    She wasn¡¯t ying nice.

    Ping Yang¡¯s spear was violent and fast, and it went straight towards Nangong Hao¡¯s chest.

    ¡°She became a Sage?¡± Nangong Hao was a little astonished when he saw Ping Yang charging towards him, but it was just for a brief moment.

    He reacted very quickly. As the red light shed across his eyes, the spear in Ping Yang¡¯s hands, which materialized from fire, began trembling.

    It felt like it was about to be fire again.

    ¡°Ah... Nangong Hao, what kind of technique is this? Unfair, this is unfair...¡± Ping Yang also sensed the power that was fading away from her hands. She started panicking so much that even her movement was distorted. Her body crashed towards Nangong Hao as if it was out of control.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, don¡¯t hurt Ping Yang!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s anxious and desperate voice was heard.

    However, Nangong Hao didn¡¯t seem to have heard him. He just stared at Ping Yang motionlessly while the bright red radiance flickered in his eyes.

    She was getting closer and closer...

    When Ping Yang was less than two steps away from Nangong Hao, he lifted his palm. There was a ball of crimson me in his palm and it was growing.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± There was a hint of despair in Lin Mubai¡¯s voice.

    However, a sudden change took ce at this split second. It was a ball of snow-white powder that appeared weirdly between Nangong Hao and Ping Yang. Furthermore, it was moving towards his eyes at a tremendous speed.

    ¡°What?!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes opened wide with surprise. After all, even he couldn¡¯t expect Ping Yang to pull off such a trick.

    Of course, it didn¡¯t happen because he wasn¡¯t cautious enough. The thing was when he saw the fiery symbol on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead, he already made a judgment on Ping Yang¡¯s strength!

    Sage State!

    Ping Yang was at Sage State!

    Combining that with the arrogance, willfulness, and fearlessness that Ping Yang disyed in the past dozen of years, it seemed impossible for the princess of Great Xia Dynasty who was known for her ¡®impulse¡¯ to blind her opponent with powder.

    Most importantly...

    Ping Yang did that while she had ¡®lost herposure¡¯. As clever as Nangong Hao was, he couldn¡¯t calcte whether a person was marked by thepany she kept while also keeping in mind of her personality that remained unchanged over a dozen years.

    It must be said that Nangong Hao had hardly ever ¡®made a mistake¡¯ during a fight. However, he actually made a mistake this time.

    Poof! The snow-white powder sted Nangong Hao¡¯s face andpletely blinded him temporarily.

    That was because two steps were way too close even for someone like him, to evade the white powder which was already prepared and hidden in a Sage¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Hahaha... It feels horrible to be blinded by lime powder, right!¡± Ping Yang wasughing willfully. She was definitely excited and proud of herself.

    ¡®Behind me!¡± Nangong Hao reacted subconsciously and struck towards where the voice came from.

    However, as soon as he thrust his palm out, his body suddenly quivered and even his expression changed. That was because Ping Yang¡¯s voice, which wasing from behind him, sounded abnormal.

    It wasn¡¯t her tone that sounded abnormal.

    It was strengthlessness...

    An unconceble strengthlessness!

    ¡°Chi Guyan?!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s emotions finally wavered, because he couldn¡¯t imagine someone like Chi Guyan teaming up with Ping Yang to trick him by copying her tone andughing ¡®willfully¡¯.

    However, it didn¡¯t matter if he believed it or not, because it had actually happened.

    At the meantime, an extraordinarily sharp force had already stabbed into his chest. It tore his skin apart and pierced through his flesh and blood with an overbearing momentum.

    ¡®So it¡¯s a direct hit after all?¡±

    Nangong Hao knew where Ping Yang was aiming for. Without Chi Guyan¡¯s willfulughter, he wouldn¡¯t have given Ping Yang a chance to hit him even if he was blinded.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Nangong Hao screamed as if he couldn¡¯t endure the pain from his chest.

    ¡°I stabbed him?! I really stabbed him!¡± Ping Yang saw the zing Qilin Spear on Nangong Hao¡¯s chest and heard his scream. Despite feeling a little unconfident at first, she finally became excited, even if she was still a little unconvinced.

    However, the excitement in her eyes quickly disappeared, because she realized the zing Qilin Spear had stopped and it couldn¡¯t go any further.

    Her smile froze.

    The next scene even left her mouth agape, because ayer of ck armor started ¡®growing¡¯ out of Nangong Hao¡¯s chest at an insane rate.

    ¡°Gifted Bloodline?!¡± Ping Yang had experienced enough to urately deduce the source of this ck armor. However, in her memory, when it came to the appearance of Gifted Bloodline, a shadow should appear first, and a powerful technique like the ck armor would only appear after the shadow had materialized.

    However, the ck armor on Nangong Hao¡¯s body didn¡¯t seem to follow the natural steps of urrence. It felt like it was part of his flesh and blood.

    ¡°Heaven God¡¯s bloodline?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Tian Xing¡¯s bloodline of the Heaven God!¡±

    ¡°Impossible, this is impossible! How could Tian Xing¡¯s bloodline... Appear on Nangong Hao?!¡±

    All the elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion were dumbfounded when they saw the ck armor that grew out of Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    ¡°Eh? This thing is called Heaven God¡¯s bloodline?¡± Ping Yang was a little startled, but not for long. ¡°I don¡¯t care what¡¯s your bloodline, I wouldn¡¯t be Ping Yang if I don¡¯t destroy you while you¡¯re already down!¡±

    She didn¡¯t even think it through.

    As the saying went, ¡®Youth knows no fear¡¯. This was especially true for the fearless Ping Yang.

    Although zing Qilin Spear couldn¡¯t go in deeper, it didn¡¯t mean that Ping Yang would simply give up on such a good opportunity for a sneak attack.

    ¡°Heya!¡± She yelled and struck towards Nangong Hao¡¯s crotch with a more overbearing ¡®Groin Sweeping Kick¡¯.

 Chapter 839 - Devour Gifted Bloodline

    <h4>Chapter 839: Devour Gifted Bloodline</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Till now, Ping Yang could still remember a certain someone speaking about his experience with sneak attacks.

    ¡®You want to learn about sneak attack?¡¯

    ¡®Hmm... Since you are so weak, it¡¯s good to learn about it to protect yourself. Listen up, sneak attack, as its name suggests, is about sneaking.¡¯

    ¡®Of course, it isn¡¯t about literally sneaking around. The essence of sneak attack is the element of surprise. Hence, in conclusion, the timing and procedure are extremely important. Then, it¡¯s about the target. Without a doubt, you must choose a vital point as the target.¡¯

    ¡®However, how many vitals points could a person have?¡¯

    ¡®The answer is too many. Having said that, the most obvious parts are the head, the throat, and the heart. Still, these parts are naturally most well-protected, so it would be extraordinarily difficult to hit them perfectly unless you couldpletely crush your opponent in terms of speed and power.¡¯

    ¡®But if you could really do that, why is there a need for sneak attack? You¡¯d be able to beat them easily.¡¯

    ¡®Hence, if you want your sneak attack to be sessful, you must choose a position that your opponent wouldn¡¯t expect, and it must be hard to protect at the same time.¡¯

    ¡®As for the exact position...¡¯

    ¡®You know it!¡¯

    Ping Yang had a strong learning ability, so she could still remember these ssic quotes vividly. She could hear them like a siren ringing around her ears especially since it was time to put them to practice.

    Boom!

    Nangong Hao was sent flying backward. After all, Ping Yang¡¯s kick was so fast and so furious. She didn¡¯t hold back at all and exerted almost all of the strength she could muster. In addition, since she was so close to Nangong Hao, he couldn¡¯t dodge it no matter how powerful he was.

    Blinded by lime powder and sted by a powerful blow to his crotch, Nangong Hao flipped twoplete rounds in the air before hended. His legs were mped together tightly and he was almost kneeling on the ground with a drop of sweat rolling off his forehead.

    This turn of events took ce too abruptly.

    The entire process from the moment Ping Yang dashed out and sprinkled a handful of lime powder, till she sent Nangong Hao flying with a kick, took ce within the blink of an eye.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The spectating disciples were left agape and dumbfounded by the turn of events.

    Ping Yangunched a sneak attack on Nangong Hao... And, it actually worked?!

    How could they believe that? Most importantly, Ping Yang was actually a Sage. Furthermore, she was also Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s princess and Ling Yun Tower¡¯s young master. Despite that, she actually blinded Nangong Hao with lime powder and struck him with a fast and furious ¡®Groin Sweeping Kick¡¯.

    The disciples nced at each other before they looked at Nangong Hao, who was half kneeling on the ground from pain. All of them felt a chill at their groins.

    Their balls...

    Hurt a little!

    ¡°Who... Did Yang¡¯er learn these techniques from?¡± Even Qian Yu¡¯s mouth was wide open from disbelief.

    ¡°I definitely did not teach her about these kinds of stuff!¡± Lin Mubai trembled when he heard Qian Yu. He immediately shook his head and dered his innocence.

    ¡°Is it Fang Zhengzhi again?¡± Qian Yu shot him a chilling re.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Mubai opened his mouth awkwardly. He really didn¡¯t know how to answer that question.

    On the other hand, Nangong Tian, who was sitting at a corner quietly, suddenly stood up with burning anger written all over his face.

    ¡°Well done, Heaven Dao Pavilion. You¡¯re one of the renowned Five Sects of the Holy Region, yet you¡¯d cooperate with Ling Yun Tower to sabotage my son... Furthermore, how could you use such a shameless and cunning tactic and make my son...¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s voice interrupted Nangong Tian. Then, with one hand against the ground, he slowly brought himself up.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, are you all right...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Nangong Hao shook his head and slowly stood up straight. However, his eyes remained closed while he continued, ¡°Since us, Nangong Nobles have decided to participate in this Heaven Alliance Meeting, we¡¯re already mentally prepared to fight against Ling Yun Tower. Now that Ling Yun Tower has made an early move, why don¡¯t Heaven Dao Pavilion and Ling Yun Towere at me together to save the trouble.¡±

    ¡°Together?!¡±

    ¡°Save the trouble?!¡±

    Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t loud, but all the surrounding disciples felt like they were struck by lightning after they heard him.

    Vain!

    That was the only word that everyone could think of.

    ¡°If you guys are ok with it, Shadow Sect and Yin Yang Hall can also fight me at the same time! I, Nangong Hao, have no objections!¡±

    The ground suddenly trembled just as he said that. Then, with a loud bang, a crimson radiance that felt terrifyingly like solid matter burst out of his body and soared into the sky.

    ¡°Sage State!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao has entered Sage State too?!¡±

    Although the spectating disciples were already mentally prepared, they were still stunned when they witnessed it.

    The bloody light on Nangong Hao was especially shocking.

    It was too creepy!

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s settle this in a single fight!¡± Nangong Hao slowly opened his eyes at this moment. The lime powder on his face fell offpletely and the crimson Blood Offering Illustration was rotating in his eyes continuously like two puddles of blood.

    The ck armor covering his body hadpletely solidified, and there were manyplicated golden symbols glowing on the armor.

    ¡°He¡¯s so powerful!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Nangong Hao is even stronger than Nangong Mu!¡±

    Even though the disciples were standing outside the altar, they could clearly sense Nangong Hao¡¯s powerful aura.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones. Even Mu Qingfeng felt like he wanted to take a step back at this moment. His expression changed because of that, and even his eyes lit up as he said, ¡°Tian Xing¡¯s bloodline of the Heaven God has appeared on Nangong Hao. Does that mean that Nangong Hao is...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that he is as powerful as Tian Xing, or possibly... Even stronger!¡± Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Great Elder who had stood behind Mu Qingfeng and remained silent all this while finally said something.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded softly and fell silent again. However, he looked like he felt incrediblyplicated as he stared at Nangong Hao intently.

    ...

    The wind blew, and the situation in the altar seemed a little weird.

    At this moment, Wu Yuer turned towards Yan Qing and said after some consideration, ¡°Yan Qing, since Nangong Hao has warmly invited us, we shouldn¡¯t turn him down. Please bear with it!¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Yan Qing nodded as if he wasn¡¯t surprised by Wu Yuer¡¯s decision. He quickly stepped out of Shadow Sect¡¯s corner and entered the altar.

    Meanwhile, at Yin Yang Hall¡¯s corner.

    Dao Hun slowly looked to the side, but he was looking at Dao Xin instead of Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Since we could join whenever we want, it¡¯s safer to wait and see what happens.¡± Dao Xin replied softly.

    ¡°Ok.¡± Dao Hun nodded and looked away. He just sat there quietly without saying another word.

    ¡°Only three?¡± The bloody radiance on Nangong Hao¡¯s body surged. He looked at Yan Qing and pulled out Wuwei Sword slowly.

    Qian Yu¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw Nangong Hao drawing his sword. Her lips moved and it seemed like she wanted to tell Ping Yang toe back. However, she didn¡¯t do that in the end.

    ¡°Sister Yan, you¡¯d rest for a while first since you¡¯re injured. The two of us would be enough!¡± Ping Yang moved her zing Qilin Spear, and a crimson me red up on her body.

    ¡°No, you and Yan Qing... Aren¡¯t his match...¡± Chi Guyan shook her head. Blood flowed out of the corner of her mouth again as her body trembled. She was obviously hurt badly.

    However, Yan Qing moved at this instance. He charged towards Nangong Hao without any hesitation.

    ¡°Ya, wait for me. Don¡¯t you know how to cooperate?¡± Ping Yang also rushed towards Nangong Hao rashly.

    Nevertheless, Yan Qing managed to reach Nangong Hao first.

    He threw a punch without any bells and whistles!

    However, when his fist was less than an inch away from Nangong Hao, he suddenly disappeared without a trace.

    At the meantime, a bloody light that looked like a puddle of blood appeared beneath Yan Qing¡¯s feet. It started flowing around and turned into a gigantic Blood Offering Illustration.

    Boom! Yan Qing¡¯s body sank, and his punch which was directed towards Nangong Hao suddenly struck the ground. It felt like his fist was forcibly drawn towards the ground by an enormous force.

    Yan Qing was startled by this sudden change.

    He reacted almost instinctively and rolled towards the ce that he hit just like a beast dashing forward.

    Swoosh! A stream of bloody light brushed past his neck andnded on the ground, leaving behind an inch-long sword mark which was bottomless.

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even see him clearly!¡±

    The surrounding disciples intuitively cried out in surprise when they saw this abnormal yet astoundingly fast scene ying out.

    However, before they could even finish their sentence...

    Yan Qing, who was pouncing forward, suddenly flew up and crashed towards the edge of the altar.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The spectating disciples couldn¡¯t react at all, after all, from their point of view, Yan Qing should have avoided Nangong Hao¡¯s sword.

    It was obvious that they weren¡¯t strong enough to see this fight clearly.

    However, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the other experts clearly saw that Yan Qing failed to avoid Nangong Hao¡¯s kick after dodging his sword.

    Roar! Yan Qing roared like a beast. His eyes turn blood-red instantly and he started scanning his surrounding area.

    However, it was all in vain. While he was scanning his surrounding area, a stream of bloody light appeared on his right again.

    Yan Qing¡¯s expression changed.

    Having grown up alongside wild beasts since he was young, he could instinctively detect danger. Even though he didn¡¯t see the bloody light, he could sense the iing danger.

    Swoosh! The bloody light brushed past his neck again and left a mark on the ground. Yan Qing had already pounced forward once again.

    However, Nangong Hao¡¯s kick didn¡¯t send him flying this time, because there was a sword that stapled his right leg to the ground.

    Boom!

    Yan Qing, who was already lying on the ground, sank even deeper. Cracks started appearing on the altar below his body.

    It was a punch.

    A punch that came from behind.

    How powerful was a punch like that? In all likelihood, only someone who had personally experienced it could understand. However, Yan Qing¡¯s expression was indifferent.

    His expression...

    Seemed to suggest that he couldn¡¯t feel pain at all.

    Roar!!! Yan Qing bellowed like a beast again. Hepletely disregarded the blood flowing out of his mouth and the sword on his right leg. His hands pressed against the ground and he kicked back swiftly with his left leg.

    He wanted to injure Nangong Hao at the cost of his own injuries.

    sh! The sword that pierced through his right leg suddenly disappeared at this moment. Then, a figure appeared at five steps away from Yan Qing.

    He was wearing a ck armor covered with glowing, golden ripples. A bloody radiance was flowing in his eyes.

    It was Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Indestructible Body? Hmm... Not bad.¡± Nangong Hao nced at Yan Qing. Blood dripped off his Wuwei Sword and flowed into the Blood Offering Illustration on the ground.

    As soon as those blood entered the Blood Offering Illustration, a bloody radiance lit up Nangong Hao¡¯s body. Then, his body started making bone cracking sounds.

    It felt like his entire body was being restructured. As the bone cracking sounds continued, his muscles started transforming and a radiance appeared on his skin.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡±

    ¡°Devour, Nangong Hao is devouring the Indestructible Body!¡± A Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elder was shocked and horrified when he saw that.

    ¡°Oh crap, Nangong Hao already has the Heaven God¡¯s bloodline, if he also gains the Indestructible Body... Wouldn¡¯t that...¡± Another elder trembled at this moment.

    Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elders weren¡¯t the only people who were stunned.

    All the elders from the other four sects of the Holy Region also opened their eyes wide from astonishment.

    At this moment, almost everyone was shocked to his core. Even Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Valley Master, Mo Shanshi, who had remained seated so far, as well as Dao Hun and Dao Xin and the rest, stood up at this moment.

    ¡°Nangong Hao could actually devour Gifted Bloodline!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes were wide open because even with his experience, he had never seen something so abnormal before.

 Chapter 840 - Which Bastard Dares to Beat My Woman

    <h4>Chapter 840: Which Bastard Dares to Beat My Woman</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°He¡¯s too powerful!¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t stand a chance even if it¡¯s three against one!¡±

    ¡°Devouring Gifted Bloodline... How could there be such an ability?!¡±

    The surrounding disciples were incredibly astounded, so much so that they were afraid. After all, this ability was way too terrifying.

    ¡°Valley Master, what should we do?¡± An elder of Fu Xi Valley turned towards Mo Shanshi, who was looking genuinely worried.

    Although Fu Xi Valley had lost the rights to participate in the Martial Arts Competition, it didn¡¯t mean that they became an outsider in the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Bnce!

    That was the basis of the existence of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    It was because of this basis that the conflicts between the Five Sects of the Holy Region for the past thousands of years did not cross the line. However, there was a possibility that this bnce could be broken at the moment.

    ¡®The outstanding ones would be brought down by jealousy!¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists and said coldly.

    ¡°Valley Master, you aren¡¯t wrong, but at the moment, Nangong Hao is...¡± Gu Yuan looked at Nangong Hao. He obviously understood the reasoning behind Mo Shanshi¡¯s words. However, it wasn¡¯t applicable to all situations, such as the one they were facing. For example, Nangong Hao seemed to be almostpletely out of control at this instance.

    ¡°The status of the Five Sects of the Holy Region can¡¯t be broken. If it¡¯s necessary, the five sects would have tobine forced!¡± A chilling light shed across Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Gu Yuan nodded and stopped asking any further questions because he knew very well that this was the only solution currently.

    Meanwhile, at Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Mu Qingfeng also looked ghastly. Although he was truly trying to prevent any negative impacts brought about by the sudden changes in the world by hosting the Heaven Alliance Meeting, he had another intention in mind, which was to promote Chi Guyan as the true Chosen One.

    However, the situation seemed to have gotten a little out of control.

    Putting aside the fact that both Yan Xiu and Ping Yang posed a tremendous threat to Heaven Dao Pavilion since they became Sages, even Nangong Nobles showed up. With over a dozen Sages, they were almost as strong as any of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    To make things worse, Nangong Mu and Nangong Hao¡¯s sessive appearance had pushed Heaven Dao Pavilion into a corner.

    Nangong Hao...

    Was too powerful!

    ¡°Are you alive, Yan Qing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m... Fine.¡±

    ¡°Ok, it¡¯s my turn now. Prepare to die, Nangong Hao!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s words interrupted Mu Qingfeng¡¯s thoughts and brought everyone¡¯s attention back to the fight again.

    Ping Yang was shrouded in a crimson me, and a golden radiance was shing on zing Qilin Spear. Her ferocious attack went straight towards Nangong Hao¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Ping Yang, don¡¯t do it!¡± Chi Guyan trembled when she saw Ping Yang charging towards Nangong Hao. She wanted to stop her, but it was toote.

    Nangong Hao was smiling faintly. His smile wasn¡¯t too obvious, but it seemed chilling when it wasbined with the bloody light flowing in his eyes.

    A sanguine light shed by.

    Ping Yang was sent flying backward.

    Blood gushed out of her shoulder. If she hadn¡¯t be entered Sage State, which allowed her to forcefully evade the attack at the critical moment, the sanguine light would have pierced her heart.

    ¡°Yang¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡±

    Qian Yu and Lin Mubai shouted at the same time.

    At this instance, Chi Guyan moved again. The five-colored snake tail whipped towards Nangong Hao like a bolt of lightning, leaving a faint shadow behind.

    Boom! Nangong Hao stepped back, but it was just a single step.

    However, Chi Guyan¡¯s attack didn¡¯t end there. After it struck Nangong Hao once, it started swaying crazily like a whip.

    Boom boom boom... A series of thundering bangs shook the entire Heaven¡¯s Peak. Many cracks started appearing on the ground.

    However, the collision didn¡¯tst too long.

    That was because Chi Guyan was bing paler as she controlled her Gifted Bloodline until eventually, she vomited blood.

    ¡°Pfttt!¡± She spewed a mouthful of blood into the air.

    While that happened, there was a sharp screeching sound which sounded like metals grinding against each other.

    Ka! The snake tail which was swaying around crazily suddenly stopped moving. It was because a hand had gripped it tightly.

    However, at this moment, someone appeared beside Nangong Hao. He was fast as lighting and there was a bloodstain at the corner of his mouth.

    However, that didn¡¯t affect his movement.

    He threw a punch.

    Boom! Nangong Hao took another step back. The bloody light in his eyes shed, but he didn¡¯t let go of the snake tail.

    This was a tangled fight.

    In this 3v1 battle, even though Yan Qing, Ping Yang, and Chi Guyan couldn¡¯t coordinate with each other nicely, none of them was going to back off.

    After Yan Qing threw his first punch, the second one followed almost immediately. There was nothing but madness in his expression.

    However, his didn¡¯t technically throw a second punch, because Nangong Hao¡¯s sword was so much faster. As the sanguine light shed, Yan Qing was sent flying again.

    At the meantime, Nangong Hao retracted his hand violently. The golden symbols were flowing on the ck armor that covered his arm as he pulled Chi Guyan towards him.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡± zing Qilin Spear stabbed at Nangong Hao once again as they heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice. The golden radiance that looked like a snakeing out of its cave struck his arm.

    However, her spear didn¡¯t manage to pierce through the armor on Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    Boom! He kicked Ping Yang away. Chi Guyan also crashed onto the ground heavily at the same time, as she was pale as a sheet.

    ¡°He¡¯s too powerful!¡±

    ¡°Given on badly wounded Chi Guyan is, she couldn¡¯t possibly defeat Nangong Hao even with Ping Yang¡¯s and Yan Qing¡¯s help. They don¡¯t belong at the same level!¡±

    ¡°Why is Nangong Hao so powerful?!¡±

    The surrounding disciples shook their heads at Chi Guyan and Ping Yang, who had dropped to the ground, as well as Yan Qing, who was struggling to stand up.

    That was because they clearly knew, that no matter how hard the three of them tried, they couldn¡¯t change the oue of this fight.

    The only difference...

    Was how long it¡¯d take.

    ¡°That damned Nangong Hao, sister Yan... Are you ok?¡± Blood was also flowing out of the corner of Ping Yang¡¯s mouth, but she still looked extremely determined.

    ¡°I¡¯m... Fine...¡± Chi Guyan wanted to stand up, but her arms were trembling nonstop and unable to support her body.

    The elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion clenched their fists tightly without realizing it when they saw this.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, this fight cannot go on any longer!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... Nangong Hao is too strong, furthermore, Guyan is severely injured, what if...¡±

    ¡°Do you guys think that Guyan would concede defeat?¡± Mu Qingfeng bit his lips tightly. He knew the elders¡¯ concerns, but he also knew Chi Guyan¡¯s personality.

    She couldn¡¯t possibly admit defeat.

    Boom! Yan Qing, who had just managed to stand up and was charging towards Nangong Hao, was sent flying again. As hended on the ground, a sword pierced through the upper portion of his chest once more.

    ¡°Ao!¡± Yan Qing cried out in pain and his eyes turned red. He looked like he couldn¡¯t ept this oue no matter what.

    ¡°The Indestructible Body is pretty decent.¡± Nangong Hao looked at Yan Qing and shoved his Wuwei Sword farther into Yan Qing¡¯s body. With that, blood started gushing out from above his chest.

    This fight was part of the Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯s Martial Arts Competition. Nangong Hao didn¡¯t want to kill them, but he didn¡¯t want Yan Qing to stand up again either.

    ¡°Sister Yan, you¡¯d get some rest first. I¡¯ll stop him!¡± Ping Yang took out a medicinal pill and put it into Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth swiftly. Then, she stepped forward and shielded Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Ping Yang¡¯ve grown up...¡± Chi Guyan wanted to add something, but she eventually held her tongue.

    ¡°Bring it on, Nangong Hao. I admit that I¡¯m not as proficient as you at wielding a weapon. However, do you dare to fight me barehanded?¡± As Ping Yang said that, she stuck her zing Qilin Spear into the ground.

    ¡°Princess, are you trying to buy time?¡± Nangong Hao nced at Ping Yang, then looked towards Chi Guyan, whom Ping Yang had shielded. He obviously knew what she wanted to do.

    ¡°Just tell me if you dare to do it or not!¡±

    ¡°Sure, as you wish.¡±

    ¡°Ok, bring it on!¡± Ping Yang bit her lips and rushed towards Nangong Hao before he could sheath his Wuwei Sword. Her fists were wrapped by the crimson me.

    Nangong Hao quickly sheathed his sword when he saw that and grabbed at Ping Yang¡¯s fist at the same time.

    Buzz! There was a loud vibration.

    The crimson me that wrapped around Ping Yang¡¯s fist disappeared without a trace, following which, Nangong Hao¡¯s punchnded on Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    Boom! She was sent flying and crashed onto the ground heavily. Ping Yang trembled and vomited blood.

    ¡°Yang¡¯er...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s lips moved and she wanted to stand up. However, she eventually sat down after she saw the light in Ping Yang¡¯s eyes.

    Ping Yang did a flip and stood up. She caressed the broken Red me Flower Armor on her body and the me in her eyes reignited.

    ¡°Not bad! Again!¡± She bolted towards Nangong Hao again as she said. Her fists were covered in the crimson me once more.

    Of course, the result didn¡¯t differ from just now.

    Ping Yang quickly flew back and more blood flowed out of her mouth and tainted the Red me Flower Armor. Her legs were shaking and she obviously couldn¡¯t stand straight for much longer.

    ¡°Keke... Nangong Hao, I didn¡¯t expect you to be good in hand-to-handbat. Nevertheless, I won¡¯t lose to you so easily! Ag... Again!¡±

    Boom!

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang stood up, charged towards her opponent, and was sent flying back again and again. It hadn¡¯t been too long, but the amount of blood on the ground was umting.

    ¡°Ping Yang...¡± Lin Mubai was biting his lips tightly and he even clenched his fists so tightly that they turned pale. Blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth as he watched the fight.

    He wanted to interfere, but just like Qian Yu, he also knew that Ping Yang chose this fight herself. In that case, even he wasn¡¯t capable of stopping her.

    ¡°They have obviously been defeated already, so why must she insist on continuing the fight!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, would anything change even if Chi Guyan recovered slightly? Nangong Hao is obviously stronger than Nangong Mu. Even if Chi Guyan is at her best, I doubt that she could defeat him.¡±

    ¡°The difference in their cultivations and the severe injuries that she¡¯d sustained made it clear that there is zero need to continue fighting!¡±

    The disciples feltplicated as they watched Ping Yang got up again and again, only to be sent flying every time.

    It was a dumb thing to do...

    However, for some reason, they felt a little nervous even when they knew that she couldn¡¯t possibly win.

    ¡°She stood up again? How is that possible, isn¡¯t this the 13th time already?¡±

    Boom!

    Ping Yang dropped to the ground again. Her Red me Flower Armor was already tattered, and there was so much blood on the ground that it formed a stream.

    ¡°The 14th time!¡±

    ¡°Ag... Ag... Again!¡± Ping Yang was running out of breath. Her face turned purple and her hair was covered in blood. She looked like aplete mess.

    Despite that, she stood up once more. Even though her legs were shaking so much that they were bending, she still gritted her teeth tightly and carried on.

    ¡°Ping Yang, let¡¯s do this together!¡± An arm supported Ping Yang¡¯s body at this moment and helped her off the ground. The person who helped her was tearing up.

    ¡°Sister Yan... I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine, you could rest... Rest for a while longer...¡± Ping Yang trembled and shook her head with all her might at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Even if we are really going to lose, I hope that we could lose together!¡± Chi Guyan caressed Ping Yang¡¯s hair and wiped away the blood before tidying her hair. Then, she turned towards Nangong Hao and said, ¡°This is the final attack. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll do it together!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡±

    Boom! Bloody light soared into the sky on Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯s peak like a sanguine light pir that could reach heaven.

    At the meantime, two people were sent flying away. Blood gushed out of their mouths but they held each other¡¯s hands tightly and never let go.

    ¡°Sister Yan... Ke, we¡¯ve... Lost...¡± Ping Yang didn¡¯t want to ept the oue, but she was smiling faintly.

    ¡°Yup, we¡¯ve lost...¡± Chi Guyan nodded and held on to Ping Yang¡¯s hands tightly with a relieved smile on her face.

    Crack! At this moment, a bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky and pierced through the bloody pir andnded between the two of them.

    It was a twisted bolt of lightning that crashed down from the sky, bringing along a violent storm. It was like a lightning trial and it blew away all the rubbles on the altar.

    ¡°Damn it, which bastard dares to beat my woman!¡±

 Chapter 841 - How Did You Survive Until Now

    <h4>Chapter 841: How Did You Survive Until Now</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Boom! The ground trembled.

    The twisted lightningnded on the ground with two people. Violent gusts and dozen bolts of purple lighting went on a rampage in the surrounding area.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    The spectating disciples wanted to run away when they saw the lightning going on a rampage. Nevertheless, dozens of them were struck by the lightning and let out a heartrending scream.

    Xuanji Sect Leader Zu Lian¡¯s expression also changed at this instance.

    That was because over half of the lightning bolts hadnded on Xuanji Sect¡¯s disciples. In fact, there was a bolt of lightninging towards his face.

    ¡°How dare you injure my sect¡¯s disciple!¡± As Zu Lian said that, he wed at the lightning that was attacking him.

    Crack! The lightning bolt dissipated.

    Zu Lian scorned, but his expression soon froze because the lightning bolt that was torn apart by his w somehow reintegrated.

    Boom!

    There were razor-sharp wind and a freezing chill. It wasn¡¯t just a bolt of lightning anymore. It was a gust as powerful as tornado coupled with bone-chilling ice des. There were even several lively sword radiances amongst the wind.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu Lian eximed before he was blown away by the wind and chill. Then, he crashed onto the ground heavily.

    ¡°Why are you ying with lightning? Do you have nothing better to do? Don¡¯t you know that you have to keep yourundries if there¡¯s a storm?¡± It was an inexplicable arrogant and cocky voice.

    A person appeared from the lightning at the same time, carrying Ping Yang and Chi Guyan on both his arms. His Blue Changshan was swaying with the wind.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!!!¡±

    Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples definitely knew him well. However, at this moment, their eyeballs almost came out of their eye sockets.

    ¡°What?! He¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he die at Nine Pinnacles Mountain a long time ago?¡±

    ¡°Why is he attacking us?¡±

    The surrounding disciples were equally stunned when they heard Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples. However, they were a little upset.

    ¡®Make an entrance all you want...¡¯

    ¡®Why do you have to attack us?¡¯

    Of course, no one was going to answer their question because, at this moment, all the Sect Leaders and elders of the Five Sects of the Holy Region had already stood up.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was clearly doubtful. After all, ording to the information he received, Fang Zhengzhi was sent to Nine Pinnacles Mountain and refined into a pill after he broke into Yin Yang Hall. Furthermore, someone even personally witnessed Fang Zhengzhi being tossed into the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    ¡®How could he survive that?!¡¯

    ¡°He actually survived?!¡± Dao Hun trembled. He was overwhelmed with shock and disbelief beneath his mask.

    If there were people who wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead, Dao Hun was definitely one of them. That was because he couldn¡¯t forget about certain memories as long as he was alive.

    He lost several acres of herb-field!

    His reputation that he built up over his entire life was also ruined by Fang Zhengzhi.

    The mighty leader of Yin Yang Hall was knocked out by a noob at Supernatural State in his own 1000 Herb Hall. Fang Zhengzhi even carried him on his shoulder like a hostage.

    This incident...

    Had long be a taboo topic in Yin Yang Hall.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of his eyes, the scene that he couldn¡¯t forget started reying in his mind.

    Dao Hun clenched his fists tightly without realizing it.

    At this moment, someone ced her hand on Dao Hun¡¯s fists. Then, Dao Hun saw Dao Xin shaking her head softly.

    ¡°What the hell is Nine Pinnacles Mountain doing!¡± Dao Hun waved his hand and returned to his seat. However, he was ring at Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader, Bai Fei.

    However, the surprising fact was that although Bai Fei stood up as well, he didn¡¯t seem astonished. His mouth kept opening and closing as if he was giving out orders softly.

    ¡®Did Bai Fei know that Fang Zhengzhi is alive?¡±

    That was Dao Hun¡¯s opinion, but he could never confirm it because Nine Pinnacles Mountain waspletely under Bai Fei¡¯s control now.

    ¡°Is that Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Mo Shanshi looked at Gu Yuan, who was at a loss for words, and his eyes lit up.

    ¡°Hm... Yup, yes... He¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi, but he should be dead! Why didn¡¯t he die?!¡± Gu Yuan nodded, yet he was unable to calm himself down.

    ¡°How did he get out?!¡± Unlike the rest, although Lin Mubai was also stunned, it wasn¡¯t because Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    It was because he was wondering how did he get out?

    ¡°Impossible, he could he get out?!¡± Qian Yu was also filled with disbelief. After all, she was the only one who truly knew how powerful Ling Yun Realm was.

    No one could get out of Ling Yun Realm.

    For thousands of years...

    Something like this had never happened, not even once!

    However, Fang Zhengzhi actually got out and came to Heaven Zen Mountain. He was standing right in front of her, which meant that he was trapped in the Ling Yun Realm for less than 10 days.

    ¡®He escaped Ling Yun Realm in less than 10 days!?¡¯

    ¡®Is this guy really such a terrifying talent?!¡¯

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... Fang Zhengzhi... Are you really alive?¡± Even Nangong Mu who was extremely exhausted forced his eyes open and gazed at Fang Zhengzhi with a look of pleasant surprise.

    ¡°Eh? Little Mu Mu, who beat you to a pulp? Tell me and I¡¯ll avenge you!¡± After Fang Zhengzhi heard Nangong Mu¡¯s voice and saw the blood on his body, he quickly made him a promise even though he was a little startled.

    ¡°It... It was me...¡± Chi Guyan was resting on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right arm. Although she was pale as a sheet, she still forced herself and replied.

    ¡°Er? It¡¯s fine since both of you are badly wounded, we¡¯ll let it go. Little Mu Mu, I was just kidding, please don¡¯t take it seriously.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s lips moved and he wanted to say something, but he ultimately held his tongue.

    The surrounding disciples looked at each other speechlessly. After all, they had never seen such a shameless fellow before.

    ¡°Eh? Nangong Hao... You didn¡¯t die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded like he discovered a new continent when he saw the person standing in the bloody light.

    ¡°I could say the same about you..¡±

    ¡°Oh, hold on!¡± Before Nangong Hao could finish, Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and stopped him. Then, he looked towards Yin Yang Hall and said, ¡°It seems like Hallmaster Dao is a man of his words. In that case, I would spare the lives of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples. However, I¡¯m definitely going to take her life!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to take her life!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t loud, but all the disciples heard him clearly. All of them were dumbfounded by his words.

    That was because he was pointing at Dao Xin!

    ¡°He wants to kill Dao Xin?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi actually wants to kill Dao Xin?¡±

    ¡°How dare he make such a bold statement?¡±

    The surrounding disciples were truly left dumbstruck because they knew well about Dao Xin¡¯s importance in Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡®He isn¡¯t trying to kill Dao Xin!¡¯

    ¡®He¡¯s literally threatening Yin Yang Hall by himself!¡¯

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill her.¡± They heard a cold voice, following which, a person appeared in front of Dao Xin and guarded her with his hand.

    ¡°Yan Xiu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled. He obviously saw Yan Xiu, which was why he said that Dao Hun was a man of his words.

    However...

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression seemed a little weird at this moment.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, my life is yours for the taking. You¡¯d do it whenever you want. However, shouldn¡¯t you first take care of the person who beat your woman, Nangong Hao?¡± Dao Xin smiled and walked out from Yan Xiu¡¯s back and looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly.

    ¡°Nangong Hao?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao, then at Chi Guyan and Ping Yang, and he squinted.

    He didn¡¯t witness the entire fight. In fact, he only saw the beam of bloody light that shot into the sky. If it wasn¡¯t for that light, he would have spent more time looking around Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Of course, none of that mattered.

    What mattered was he knew how powerful Chi Guyan was, as well as Ping Yang¡¯s current strength. Moreover, he saw Yan Qing who had copsed on the ground not too far away.

    ¡°I see.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He already realized the two purposes behind Dao Xin¡¯sment. She wanted to figure out his current strength through Nangong Hao and also make use of Nangong Hao to get rid of him.

    ¡®When two tigers fight, one must fall?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally knew that logic. Dao Xin was truly proficient at ying mind games. With a simple line, he was forced to take on Nangong Hao first.

    However, he didn¡¯t mind!

    To put it bluntly, it was just a matter of sequence.

    If there was something on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, it was Yan Xiu. After all, he still hadn¡¯t figure out why Yan Xiu would protect Dao Xin.

    Did Yan Xiu screw Dao Xin...

    Or did Dao Xin screw Yan Xiu?

    Did the two of them fall in love with each other in just a few months? Was that why Yan Xiu prioritized hoes before bros and wanted to protect Dao Xin?

    That was probably impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t believe that it was possible. Most importantly, he saw coldness in Yan Xiu¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you aren¡¯t a disciple of the Five Sects, so you have no rights to take part in Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯s Martial Arts Competition!¡± Nangong Tian eximed.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s not from the Five Sects, so how could he take part in thepetition?¡±

    ¡°Did anyone say that he isn¡¯t part of the Five Sects? Fang Zhengzhi has already joined us and he is Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciple now.¡± A woman in a red dress walked out of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s corner and dered loudly.

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi has joined Ling Yun Tower? How is that possible? For thousands of years, Ling Yun Tower has never epted a male disciple, so how could he join Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s impossible!¡±

    All the disciples looked at each other as if their worldview had beenpletely reshaped. ¡®How did a man join Ling Yun Tower?¡¯

    ¡°He¡¯s indeed my Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciple.¡± Qian Yu responded calmly at this moment as if it was nothing out of the blue.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually true?¡±

    ¡°Is he actually a woman?¡±

    ¡°Is that even possible?¡±

    All the disciples were shocked to their cores at this moment.

    ¡°Woman my ass! Your entire family is women!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped that disciple¡¯s nonsense and sted him away with a bolt of lightning.

    That was because he already saw the anger and unwillingness on Wu Yuer¡¯s face. Most importantly, he saw the tears in her eyes.

    Since his appearance till now...

    Wu Yuer had not spoken a single word. In fact, she didn¡¯t even make a sound. She just stood there silently and gazed at him.

    Fang Zhengzhi had hardly seen such an expression before, especially on Wu Yuer¡¯s face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve just joined Ling Yun Tower temporarily. I¡¯ll betray them and return to youter!¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked at Wu Yuer with a sincere look on his face.

    ¡°Betray them and return to you?¡±

    ¡°How could he sound so carefree and righteous about such an intolerable act?¡±

    ¡°Could this fellow be more shameless... Ah!¡±

    A bolt of lightning interrupted that disciple¡¯s sentence.

    At this moment, Wu Yuer nodded softly and turned her head away, saying, ¡°If you could defeat Nangong Hao, I¡¯ll let everything go!¡±

    ¡°Defeat Nangong Hao?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Nangong Hao once again and the ck armor on his body, before turning to Ping Yang, who almost fell into aa, and Chi Guyan, who was pale as a sheet, saying, ¡°Yan¡¯er, help me take care of Ping Yang!¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Chi Guyan was startled for a moment, obviously because she was not used to how Fang Zhengzhi addressed her. However, she eventually nodded.

    ¡°And yourself too!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he moved. A bolt of purple lightning soared into the air and almost covered the entire sky in a split second.

    Boom! There was roaring thunder, violent gale, and torrential rain. Lightning fell from the sky like hundreds of dragons.

    It was a stunning scene.

    At this moment, almost everyone looked towards the sky subconsciously. However, they suddenly heard a voice behind Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Is it nice?¡± As they heard that voice, a foot whipped Nangong Hao¡¯s face with lightninglike speed. This sudden change took ce so quickly that no one could react in time. They could only see Nangong Hao flying away.

    ¡°How did you survive until now if you don¡¯t even know about diversionary tactics?¡±

 Chapter 842 - You Are Really Weak

    <h4>Chapter 842: You Are Really Weak</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As they heard the disdainful voice, Nangong Hao flew to the side and crashed on the edge of the altar like a cannonball.

    Boom! Rubbles flew and the soaring bloody light disappeared.

    This was definitely an unexpected scene. At the very least, more than half of the spectating disciples were still focused on the lightning falling from the sky before Nangong Hao was sent flying.

    However...

    While they were busy looking at the lightning, Nangong Hao had already flown away. It was so sudden that they couldn¡¯tprehend what had happened.

    ¡°Diversionary tactic?!¡±

    ¡°All of these lightning bolts is a... Diversionary tactic?¡±

    They couldn¡¯t believe that this big hoo-ha was just a diversionary tactic.

    ¡®That¡¯s so wasteful!¡¯

    This was the first thought in their minds.

    This thought had naturally crossed Nangong Hao¡¯s mind as well, even if it was just a split second. However, he had clearly heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Diversionary tactic?¡± Nangong Hao stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was now standing at the spot that he had stood on just now. Although it wasn¡¯t too obvious, he seemed a little astonished. At the very least, he no longer looked as calm as before, since there was a little dirt on his face now.

    Just as Nangong Hao was about to stand up, his expression changed again. Aspared to his astonishment just now, he looked much grimmer this time.

    That was because he felt an exceptionally terrifying sense of crisis, which was as ufortable as sitting on a bunch of needles. Furthermore, he could feel that it was extremely close to him.

    Boom!

    The entire Heaven¡¯s Peak shook after it was hit by countless bolts of lightning. Each one of them brought along violent wind and storm, and all of them struck the edge of the altar, where Nangong Hao was.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian cried out in shock. He was awfully pale at this moment even though he looked calm just a moment ago.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°How did the lightning...¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a diversionary tactic?¡±

    The intense tremor made the surrounding disciples fall back intuitively. However, all of them looked puzzled and stunned.

    ¡°Diversionary tactic? You guys are really naive. Did you really think that an honest man like myself would do something so wasteful? That¡¯s impossible. Thriftiness and frugality are great traditional virtues!¡± Fang Zhengzhi answered the disciples¡¯ doubts in a contemptuous tone.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Honest man?¡±

    ¡°Thriftiness and frugality are great traditional virtues...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    If there were different kinds of speechlessness in this word, one of them must be not knowing what to say, or rather, too ashamed to say anything.

    That was how the surrounding disciples felt at this moment.

    When Fang Zhengzhi started the massive hoo-ha but ended up sending Nangong Hao flying with a kick, they were dumbstruck because they felt like their intelligence were ttened.

    Now?

    They felt that it was more than their intelligence that was ttened. It was a heartfelt humiliation which made them angry and ashamed, and at the meantime, they felt like they couldn¡¯t stand tall anymore.

    It wasn¡¯t a diversionary tactic!

    There wasn¡¯t any diversionary tactic since the beginning. In other words, Fang Zhengzhi did that to trick them into thinking that he was using a diversionary tactic.

    It was so shameless!

    However, it also frightening and spine-chilling.

    The most important factor in a fight between two experts wasn¡¯t the difference in their strength, because it would be negligible at their level.

    Hence, it was most important to predict and control the tide of the battle.

    Fang Zhengzhi had managed to achieve that. Nevertheless, it was unimaginable that he had done that with his first move.

    Illusion could be the reality, and reality could also be an illusion!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is good! Elder Gu, if you were in Nangong Hao¡¯s ce, could you have stopped that?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s expression kept changing as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Well... I¡¯m afraid... Not!¡± Gu Yuan shook his. Even though he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he couldn¡¯t alter the truth.

    ¡®Yup, even I¡¯d fall prey to him, not to mention you!¡± Mo Shanshi nodded softly after he heard Gu Yuan.

    As the conversation between them ended, the lightning falling from the sky finally dissipated. The rubbles on the ground looked like they were shed by des.

    This scene left the spectating disciples ck-jawed. They couldn¡¯t understand how lightning bolts were able to damage the ground like this.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t important anymore. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t the most important thing at the moment because there was no one amidst the rubbles.

    Nangong Hao had disappeared.

    ¡°He disappeared?!¡±

    ¡°Did the lightning tear to him to shreds?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    The disciples couldn¡¯t believe it because Nangong Hao shouldn¡¯t be so weak.

    ¡°Young master Fang, what are you looking at?¡± While they were feeling confused, a voice suddenly appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    At the meantime, a ck figure slowly appeared behind his back.

    Nangong Hao!

    Almost everyone¡¯s heart skipped a beat at this moment because no one expected Nangong Hao to counterattack so quickly after he was sted by so many lightning bolts.

    Furthermore, he used an identical move.

    ¡®Freak!¡¯

    ¡®Both of them are freaks!¡¯

    That was everyone¡¯s first thought.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile as if he couldn¡¯t sense the approaching danger. He kept his head up and said, ¡°Today¡¯s weather is really fine. The sun is bright and the clouds are changing constantly just like the Dao of All Creation. However, is the Dao of All Creation simply about changes? I don¡¯t think so, I believe that apart from changes, the Dao of All Creation has another...¡±

    Boom!

    Right on the heels of the loud bang, the ck figure behind Fang Zhengzhi disappeared without a trace. Then, it appeared five steps behind him in the next moment.

    ¡°Young Master Fang is shameless as always. I seemed to have fallen for your trick again.¡± Nangong Hao gently wiped away the dust on his body and the shoeprint on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s not counted this time.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Oh, why¡¯s that?¡± Nangong Hao sounded puzzled.

    ¡°Because I¡¯d tell you the rest of the sentence.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled sincerely.

    ¡°Hmm, if that¡¯s the case, it would not be counted indeed. Young Master Fang, please enlighten me.¡± Nangong Hao nodded when he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Did you really believe that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shot Nangong Hao an astonished look.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s lips moved and his entire body trembled. Although he had regained hisposure, his face turned red again subconsciously.

    Of course, Nangong Hao wasn¡¯t the only one who reacted that way.

    All the surrounding disciples¡¯ faces turned beet red as well. They really wanted to curse at Fang Zhengzhi and tell him, ¡®You can be shameless, but you can¡¯t be this shameless!¡¯

    ¡°Ai... I¡¯m afraid that no one could remainposed against this boy. After all, I doubt that there would be another person as shameless as him in this word!¡± Qian Yu shook her head and eximed. She also felt a little speechless at this moment.

    ¡°How could such a shameless bastard who runs his mouth be qualified to lead the all the heroes in the world?¡± Nangong Tian eximed at this moment and he looked equally ashamed and angered.

    ¡°Head of Nangong family seems to be well-versed with ¡®taunting tactics¡¯ too, right?¡¯ Mu Qingfeng nced at Nangong Tian and replied.

    ¡°Taunting tactic is one thing, but such shameless...¡±

    ¡°They might be different tactics, but they share the same purpose. Furthermore, it seemed to have worked extraordinarily well, since the head of Nangong family has lost his cool too. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Mu Qingfeng interrupted Nangong Tian.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Nangong Tian sneered and didn¡¯t say another word. However, the anger in his expression disappeared in an instant and he regained hisposure.

    In fact, there was no way he would be agitated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tactic. He was just trying to make the rest angry.

    However...

    Mu Qingfeng obviously saw through his intention.

    Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Five Sects of the Holy Region, Four Great Empires, as well as sects of all scales in the world had gathered. Although the Martial Arts Competition was the highlight of this asion, there was an emotional undercurrent amidst the different forces apart from the contestants on the altar.

    ¡°By the way, you seem to have gotten weaker since Ist saw you half a year ago!¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued since Nangong Hao kept quiet.

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t think so¡± Nangong Hao shook his head and intuitively took a step forward and got closer to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°But I did kick you just now, didn¡¯t I?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and took a step forward. It felt like two friends who were meeting each other.

    ¡°What if I told that I let you kick me on purpose, would you believe that?¡± Nangong Hao took another step.

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Fang Zhengzhi also moved another step forward.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯d...¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t finish his sentence because he had already moved. Since they were one step away from each other, the first to move obviously had the advantage. Hence, he took the opportunity without any hesitation.

    He threw a punch.

    A bloody light rose.

    The Blood Offering Illustration on the ground that was formed from blood suddenly grew incredibly bright in an instant. The eight exceptionallyplicated symbols were even glowing creepily.

    Boom! Two fists collided.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t avoid the attack this time. He also threw a punch in an almost identical fashion when Nangong Hao attacked him.

    However, it was eerie because his eyes becamepletely transparent when he threw that punch as if there was nothing in his eyes.

    Crack! The ground shook and cracks started appeared beneath their feet and spread in all directions like the pattern on a turtle¡¯s shell.

    A brutal aura was rampaging between them.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the eldest son of Nangong Nobles¡¯s main family became a monster!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as the strong wind rampaged around him. However, there wasn¡¯t much change in his expression.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, didn¡¯t you be a monster too?¡± Nangong Hao looked equallyposed.

    ¡°Obviously I didn¡¯t. However, your reply confirmed the fact that you yourself believe that you¡¯re a monster too, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a question.

    ¡°Young Master Fang is slick as usual, however...¡± Nangong Hao didn¡¯t finish his sentence because he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s condescending and scornful expression.

    It wasn¡¯t just a pretense. Those were his heartfelt emotions.

    ¡°Did he...¡± Nangong Hao intuitively took a step back, but as soon as he did that, a vast and mighty force as powerful as the ocean came crashing down on him.

    It was a force that he couldn¡¯t resist.

    It was ridiculously powerful!

    So powerful that Nangong Hao felt his heart trembling!

    Boom! The ground beneath his feetpletely copsed. A bottomless hole appeared below him and ripped a massive opening on the Blood Offering Illustration.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been honest all along. You¡¯ve really be weaker!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were no longer transparent all of a sudden. Instead, a dazzling radiance appeared.

    It was a flickering golden radiance!

    This was a sudden change in development.

    However, Nangong Hao was sent flying as soon as it took ce. Furthermore, he was entangled by many coils of golden radiance at the same time.

    Swoosh!

    Golden radiance revolved around Nangong Hao¡¯s body rapidly. They pierced through his body again and again like a bunch of sharp golden swords.

    They were ceaseless and endless.

    ¡°It¡¯s Million Sword Illustration!¡± A hint of surprise appeared on Chi Guyan¡¯s pale face. She could naturally tell that the golden radiance revolving around Nangong Hao¡¯s body was Million Sword Illustration.

    However, what she couldn¡¯t tell what...

    When did Fang Zhengzhi use the Million Sword Illustration?

    It was too sudden!

    Everything seemed so peaceful since Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao started fighting each other, even though everyone could tell that there was a hidden storm brewing.

    However, the weird thing was...

    No one could understand how the storm appeared.

    How did Million Sword Illustration hit Nangong Hao?

    There wasn¡¯t any radiance when Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s and Nangong Hao¡¯s fists collided.

    The surrounding disciples weren¡¯t the only ones feeling puzzled. Even Chi Guyan furrowed her brows from astonishment because she couldn¡¯t figure out how Fang Zhengzhi managed to hit Nangong Hao with Million Sword Illustration.

 Chapter 843 - Ice Amethyst Hell

    <h4>Chapter 843: Ice Amethyst Hell</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡®If he didn¡¯t use his hands, did he use his eyes instead?!¡±

    This was Chi Guyan¡¯s first surmise, but it was a little too bold and out of this world.

    Hence, she didn¡¯t hold on to that thought for too long.

    However, none of these mattered anymore. What was important was the fact that Fang Zhengzhi actually sent Nangong Hao flying. He was surrounded by countless golden sword radiances as he flew.

    There was nothing but silence and shock!

    If everyone thought that Fang Zhengzhi was a shameless and crafty fellow at the beginning, their impression of him had definitely changed to a truly terrifying man.

    It was his absolute and overpowering strength that changed their minds.

    He managed to blow Nangong Hao away with a single strike.

    Boom! Nangong Hao crashed onto the ground heavily. The ck armor on his body was covered in blood because the Million Sword Illustration had prated his body.

    ¡°He¡¯s wounded?!¡±

    ¡°Is Nangong Hao injured?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so powerful. How... How did he do that?¡±

    The surrounding disciples nced at Nangong Hao, who had dropped to the ground, then at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s indifferent expression. They couldn¡¯t help but be stunned.

    After all, since Nangong Hao¡¯s appearance, his terrifying strength had left an impression in everyone¡¯s mind.

    Yan Qing was defeated even though he had the Indestructible Body. Ping Yang, who had be a Sage at the young age of 16, was also defeated. Even Chi Guyan, the Chosen One, wasn¡¯t capable of rivaling Nangong Hao.

    In that case, under normal circumstances, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone in the Holy Region capable of fighting Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Is this guy a Sage too?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that his strength had exceeded a normal Sage!¡±

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t possibly be at the peak of Sage State, could he? There are less than 10 people who have achieved the peak of Sage State, but this fellow... Looks like he¡¯s only 18 years old!¡±

    No one believed that an 18 years old boy could achieve such a feat because everyone else who had done that was already standing at the top of this world.

    For example, Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Pavilion Master Mu Qingfeng and the Great Elder, as well as Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Hallmaster Dao Hun and Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Valley Master Mo Shanshi.

    However, every one of them had set up their own sects and became well-respected and worshipped. How could an ¡®ignorant¡¯ 18 years old kid achieve that?

    ¡°In less than merely three months, this kid... Has finally grown into someone that I wouldn¡¯t dare ignore.¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression wasplicated as he looked at Nangong Hao who had dropped to the ground.

    Back in Heaven Dao Pavilion a few months ago, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s potential could even rival Chi Guyan¡¯s if he didn¡¯t have a limited time left when he met him for the first time.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was too wild and intractable.

    He waspletely unrestricted by any boundaries.

    Despite that, Mu Qingfeng hesitated about it. Ultimately, he didn¡¯t take thest step because all the elders were against it.

    They were lucky, but it was a misfortune at the same time.

    They were lucky that despite the unhappiness between Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fang Zhengzhi, they didn¡¯t end up as mortal enemies that would kill each other.

    Unfortunately, a godsend opportunity appeared in front of his eyes and even went up the mountain voluntarily. Yet, he did not seize it.

    ¡°Ai...¡± Mu Qingfeng sighed softly and looked at the elders standing behind him with a regretful expression.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, we...¡±

    ¡°We were short-sighted. However, we really didn¡¯t expect that kid to survive from that kind of situation...¡±

    Several elders naturally figured out Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mind when they saw his expression. In fact, they were equally regretful at this moment.

    ¡®Follow the dragon¡¯ was a phrase that had always existed in the Imperial Halls. It meant that one must join the side of the prince that had the highest chance of bing the emperor during the fight for the position.

    Once he was sessful and the prince became the emperor, he would be considered a meritorious statesman. As long as he didn¡¯tmit any outrageous crime, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the rest of his life.

    On the other hand, as a sect...

    ¡®Continuity¡¯ was the most important aspect.

    Unlike how it worked in the dynasties where the emperor¡¯s position was always passed down to his descendants, the sect leader¡¯s position had always been open for anyone who was capable. A sessful ¡®sessor¡¯ could ensure that the sect¡¯s prosperity for hundreds of years.

    For example, Chi Guyan.

    She disyed her talent in Great Xia Dynasty when she was 14 years old and imed the title of Double Dragon Roll Champion with a single long sword, She shocked the entire world.

    This happened in Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, as a result, Mu Qingfeng personally went to invite Chi Guyan to join Heaven Dao Pavilion. Furthermore, he constructed an isted and serene courtyard for her and even educated her personally for several years.

    Why?

    It obviously wasn¡¯t because Chi Guyan was Divine Constabry¡¯s Princess. It was because her extraordinary talent meant that she could be a ¡®sessor¡¯.

    ¡°If it¡¯s meant to be, it will be. If it¡¯s not meant to be, it shouldn¡¯t be forced.¡± Mu Qingfeng waved his hand at the elders behind him. Then, he turned towards Chi Guyan and said, ¡°I believe that Guyan isn¡¯t too far from breaking through to the Sage State. Once she bes a Sage, she could bring glory to our sect too!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if Guyan bes a Sage, she wouldn¡¯t be weaker than Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    A few elders nodded immediately after they heard Mu Qingfeng. Although it was a pity that they couldn¡¯t recruit Fang Zhengzhi, Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s future was still bright as day with Chi Guyan around.

    Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t say anything else because there was no point being mncholic now that things hade to this point. The most important thing now was defeating Nangong Hao and figuring out how he got out of Heaven-Receiving Door, and what exactly had happened to Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    In fact...

    Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be the only person capable of doing that now.

    Boom! There was another loud bang because Fang Zhengzhi arrived in front of Nangong Hao once again after he had crashed onto the ground.

    As the saying went, ¡®kick a man while he¡¯s down¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that from young, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t give up on such a good opportunity. He sent Nangong Hao flying with a kick again.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian eximed as he clearly couldn¡¯t ept this sudden change in the situation. His face was full of concern and worry.

    Fang Zhengzhi was obviously ignoring the noises around him. What he needed to do now was to take Nangong Hao down in one swift motion.

    He threw a punch again.

    It was right in front of Nangong Hao¡¯s face instantaneously.

    However, when his fist was less than an inch away from Nangong Hao¡¯s face, it was stopped by a sword.

    Boom! A bloody light burst into the sky.

    It was a powerful force that was frighteningly violent. It contained a cold-blooded chill as if it would devour everything in the surroundings.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised. He didn¡¯t witness the battle between Nangong Hao, Ping Yang, and Chi Guyan, so he was astonished by this sudden burst of suction power.

    However, he was merely a little taken aback.

    Without much hesitation, he kicked Nangong Hao, who was wrapped in the bloody light and sent him flying again. It was a normal move, but it worked pretty well.

    Boom! Nangong Hao crashed onto the ground again and rubbles flew everywhere. The intense bloody light flowing around his body had shrouded himpletely.

    Blood flowed out from the corner of Nangong Hao¡¯s mouth and dripped onto the ground, before gradually merging with the Blood Offering Illustration.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, your progress after these few months definitely did not disappoint me!¡± Nangong Hao slowly stood up, and the rubbles on his shirt fell off. A bloodlike radiance slowly appeared on Wuwei Sword.

    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a question.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely a little surprised. However, this... Doesn¡¯t seem to be enough!¡± As Nangong Hao said that, the ck armor on his body started exuding a golden radiance, and the blood on the armor suddenly started flowing rapidly and quickly disappeared. It felt like they had been reabsorbed by his body.

    It was a strange scene.

    ¡°Eh? Is that possible!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was a knowledgeable and experienced man at this point in time. However, he was still startled by such a strange scene.

    ¡®Could blood flow back to the body after flowing out?¡±

    ¡®Could this be the legendary...¡¯

    ¡®Spongebob Squarepants?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s understanding of the world had been refreshed. However, these thoughts were definitely unnecessary at the moment. While he was startled, a stream of bloody light had already appeared in front of him.

    Swoosh! The bloody light flew past his shoulder. It was so fast that it created an afterimage. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be heading towards him.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked back intuitively and saw Chi Guyan sitting on the ground, pale as a sheet, as well as Ping Yang, who was lying in her arms unconsciously.

    It was heading towards Chi Guyan and Ping Yang!

    ¡®Wait!¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s heading for me as well!¡¯

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to turn around, he caught a glimpse of a faint shadow. It was a sword that was aiming for his throat.

    In that split second, countless thoughts went through his mind.

    Given Chi Guyan¡¯s strength, she should be able to stop Nangong Hao¡¯s sword. In that case, he simply had to focus on blocking the attack that wasing towards himself.

    However, what if she couldn¡¯t?

    Under normal circumstances, unless Chi Guyan was so badly wounded that she couldn¡¯t even move, she would never rest at the side, given her personality.

    Ok...

    He had to admit that this was a merciless attack!

    In that case, he had to find out if the move that he had recentlye up with was as powerful as he had envisioned.

    ¡°Combination ¨C Ice Amethyst Hell!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi chanted that silently, the entire ground trembled violently and more than a hundred beams of ck radiance appeared from beneath the ground.

    It was Hell Dao!

    It was one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques that was extremely defensive. Apart from Hell Dao, there was also the Dao of Amethyst, which the original Great Elder of Nine Pinnacles Mountain hadbeled as the Dao with the strongest defense.

    When these two powerful Daos are connected by ice and snow...

    A strange phenomenon appeared in the sky above Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯s Peak.

    It was a massive amethyst city. The bottom part of the city waspletely shrouded by a ck me, while there was a huge amount of ice and snow descending above the amethyst city.

    It was an abnormal scene.

    However, as soon as it had appeared, the sword that was moving towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat suddenly stopped as if it was frozen by the falling ice and snow.

    At the meantime, nine indestructible amethyst barriers appeared in front of Chi Guyan and Ping Yang out of nowhere and stopped the bloody light.

    Boom! The ground sank.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s hand, which was holding Wuwei Sword, also sank at this moment. Amidst the ck me, there were many hands shaped like ws dragging his body downwards.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°A strange phenomenon in the sky... What kind of technique is this?!¡±

    ¡°It appears to be one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, Hell Dao. However, it doesn¡¯t seem like there is only Hell Dao, there¡¯s also... That seems like... The Dao of Amethyst?!¡±

    At this instance, all the spectating disciples and elders stood up with their eyes agape.

    That was because they had never such a technique before.

    It caused a strange phenomenon in the sky!

    How ridiculous was that?!

    However, Nangong Hao didn¡¯t appear to be fazed.

    Crack! The ice and snow on his Wuwei Sword, as well as the sharp ws grabbing his legs, were all removed.

    Aspared to the surrounding people, Nangong Hao was too much calmer, as if he hadn¡¯t seen the strange phenomenon in the sky. That was because he wouldn¡¯t fall for the same trick again.

    A strange phenomenon in the sky?

    If that was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s first move, he would have been just as stunned as those around him. However, the present him weren¡¯t convinced.

    ¡°Is it another diversion technique?¡± As the bloody light in Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes rotated again, he raised his sword and stabbed at Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.

    However, his sword was destined to miss.

    That was because the brief pause due to the ice and snow had undoubtedly given Fang Zhengzhi too much time.

    ¡°Do you think you can kick up a storm in my world?!¡± A voice came from above Nangong Hao¡¯s head. Then, a stream of purple light sted towards Nangong Hao.

    It was a cage formed from amethyst.

    The amethyst cage covered Nangong Haopletely almost in an instant and crashed towards the ground.

    Boom! The ground cracked.

    ck me gushed out of the cracked ground and lit up the amethyst cage. Meanwhile, ice and snow were falling from above the amethyst case as if they were going to put out the ck me. However, for some reason, the two opposing forces created a state of bnce.

    This bnce was reinforcing the amethyst cage in a strange manner. The top of the cage was covered in ice and snow while its bottom was burning as brightly as the sun.

    ¡°A sh of Ice and Fire,pleted!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stepped on the amethyst cage, and his long blue robe was swaying with the mountain breeze.

 Chapter 844 - The Sky Wont Fall!

    <h4>Chapter 844: The Sky Won¡¯t Fall!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Amethyst was a word that originated from the Greeknguage and it meant ¡®not easily broken¡¯. That was what Fang Zhengzhi had learned in his previous life.

    He understood more about amethyst because of this knowledge, such as its chemical form and trigonal system.

    Based on this knowledge...

    He created this technique known as ¡®Ice Amethyst Hell¡¯.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was never bounded by the secr world, so he obviously abandoned this secr name.

    Hence, ¡®sh of Ice and Fire¡¯ was a more befitting name since it was more refreshing and elegant.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood above the amethyst case and nced at Nangong Hao, who was clearly shocked to his core, before casually looking around.

    He felt that there should be apuse.

    However, the fact was that not a single person apuded. Moreover, almost everyone seemed to have frozen at this moment.

    They seemed to bepletely dazed.

    Their reaction was different than that when they witnessed the strange phenomenon in the sky. Although everyone was agape, no one made a single noise.

    There was an eerie silence.

    Time seemed to havepletely stopped at this moment.

    ¡°What the hell is this? Isn¡¯t my move domineering? Isn¡¯t it innovating?¡± Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips downwards and gave the finger towards everyone around him.

    As soon as he raised his middle finger, everyone¡¯s eyes twitched. Then, they seemed to have regained theirposure, as if they had just woken up from a dream.

    ¡°What... What exactly is that?!¡± Someone¡¯s voice broke the silence, following which, the entire Heaven¡¯s Peak went into an uproar.

    It felt like someone poured a tub of cold water into boiling oil.

    ¡°Strange phenomenon in the sky! Is that what made the sky... No, is that the technique that appears after the strange phenomenon in the sky? Dao of Amethyst, Dao of Hell, and Dao of Ice and Snow... Oh my god!¡±

    ¡°How could something like this exist?!¡±

    ¡°So powerful. How is he so powerful? He¡¯s just 18 years old. If he¡¯s so strong at only 18 years old, what am I? I thought that I¡¯m a genius, what kind of genius am I?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, I think this guy is despising us!¡± Amongst the noise voices, a disciple finally saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s middle finger.

    ¡°Despising?¡±

    All the disciples jolted. They wanted to be angry. However, for some reason, they couldn¡¯t get mad even though they knew that they were being despised.

    Fang Zhengzhi finally smiled at this moment.

    ¡®sh of Ice and Fire¡¯ could be considered the first technique that he had created himself. Hence, it meant something different to him aspared to his other techniques. He was naturally proud of himself when it managed to create amotion and received so much ¡®support¡¯ in such a short time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t all of you want to know the name of my technique?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and put on an inscrutable look.

    The surrounding disciples nced at each other after they heard him, wondering if they should say ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯.

    Of course, it was impossible that they didn¡¯t want to know the name.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s annoying face made it hard for them.

    Therefore, silence ensued after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. All the disciples looked towards Fang Zhengzhi, but they nodded their heads subconsciously.

    ¡°Ok, it seems like you are all hungry for knowledge. In that case, I¡¯ll enlighten you. The name of my technique is ¡®sh of Ice and Fire¡¯, isn¡¯t it cool?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he pointed towards Nangong Hao who was trapped in the amethyst. His upper body was covered in ice and snow while his lower body was scorched by the ck me.

    ¡°sh of Ice and Fire?!¡±

    ¡°Perverted!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡±

    ¡°How could you give such a powerful technique such a shameless name!¡±

    All the disciples were startled to hear him, but they quickly reacted when they realized the meaning of the name. Then, all of their faces turned red.

    ¡°I knew it, this kid was the one who spoiled Yang¡¯er innocense!¡± Qian Yu shook her head at this moment and she blushed as well.

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Lin Mubai nodded softly in agreement.

    However, at this moment, the half-unconscious Ping Yang suddenly opened her eyes. She definitely didn¡¯t look very good and her aura was extremely weak.

    Nevertheless, although she was half-unconscious, she could still faintly hear what was going on around her. She opened her mouth as if she was sleep-talking and said, ¡°sh of Ice and Fire? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s pale face twitched. She nced at the bloody light which was stopped by thest amethyst barrier, before she finally stroked Ping Yang¡¯s hair and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a technique.¡±

    ¡°A technique? Is it powerful?¡± Ping Yang asked again.

    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s very powerful...¡±

    The elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley, as well as Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, were speechless when they heard that.

    Meanwhile, although Dao Hun¡¯s expression was hidden, he spat and said, ¡°This kid is really shameless to the core!¡±

    ¡°Shameless? How could you say that about such an elegant and vivid name? Your minds are obviously not innocent enough!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sneered when he heard their response.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding disciples and elders became speechless again. Even Xuanji Sect Leader Zu Lian, who was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lightning bolt and wanted to scold him, held his tongue.

    At this moment, they heard a scream that could seemingly tear the air apart.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± The scream came from below Fang Zhengzhi. It sounded extremely angry and chillingly violent.

    Nangong Hao was hardly as angry as he was at the moment.

    Although he didn¡¯t like ttery, it remained a fact that he had been showered by praises and admiration since young.

    Since he was constantly surrounded by this feeling, he slowly got used to it. He was used to being at the top and looking down at the rest calmly, unarrogant and rxed.

    However, that was on the basis of him standing at the top.

    Meanwhile, at this very moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi was literally standing on top of him. Under such a situation, how could he remain calm and collected?

    Boom! A terrifying sanguine light surged out of Nangong Hao¡¯s body like a giant cloud of bloody mist. It exploded in an instant and the st left the amethyst cage trembling.

    ¡°Eh? He¡¯s still resisting?¡± Fang Zhengzhi leaped into the air.

    Of course, he actually did that because the bloody light was so powerful that his body was sted away.

    Despite that, his posture seemed like he leaped away voluntarily although he was actually blown away. He looked carefree just like a startled bird.

    Then, a sword appeared in his hand.

    He drew his sword!

    A devilish purple light permeated in the air.

    It was Traceless Sword!

    Fang Zhengzhi naturally felt Nangong Hao¡¯s ferociousness clearly, which was all the more reason to prevent Nangong Hao from escaping again.

    Following a dragon¡¯s loud and clear roar, Fang Zhengzhi disappeared in the air. There was only a twisted bolt of purple light rushing towards Nangong Hao who was trapped in the amethyst cage.

    It was Dragon yer sh.

    However, it was nothing like the Dragon yer sh before.

    Crack! The bloody radiance in Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes surged as he grabbed the purple light with his bare hands. The violent shockwave shattered the ground and the loud screech was almost deafening.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression was clearly a little vicious. He bit his lips so tightly that they bled.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice appeared from the purple light. Then, it suddenly sank and pierced through Nangong Hao¡¯s palm and continued towards his shoulder.

    sh! Blood sttered into the air.

    Traceless Sword whizzed excitedly. The devilish purple light expanded rapidly andpletely absorbed the blood into the de without a trace.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, no!¡± Nangong Tian couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore. He took a step forward and was about to rush into the altar.

    However, he was stopped by someone.

    ¡®Heaven Dao¡¯ was sewn onto this person¡¯s snow-white long robe on his chest. His long white hair was tied up and he wore a golden headdress which was glimmering under the sunlight.

    He was Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Great Elder, Yan Yin.

    Yan Yin wasn¡¯t the Great Elder¡¯s real name. It was how people in the Holy Region addressed him. It meant that he was the one controlling Enma¡¯s seal.

    Few people knew the Great Elder¡¯s real name. Actually, there were less than 10 people in the Holy Region who knew it.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t important anymore.

    The important thing was the fact that this man who was known as Yan Yin, was standing in front of Nangong Tian. Although he just stood there silently, he prevented Nangong Tian from taking another step.

    ¡°Yan Yin, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, since you¡¯ve chosen to join Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯s Martial Arts Competition, shouldn¡¯t you follow the rules of thepetition?¡± Yan Yin replied tly.

    ¡°My son¡¯s life...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d choose to admit defeat, which would allow you to save your son¡¯s life.¡± Yan Yin interrupted Nangong Tian.

    ¡°Admit defeat?¡± Nangong Tian clenched his fists tightly and subconsciously nced at the altar. Then, the concerned look on his face disappeared. He smiled once again and said, ¡°Nangong Nobles wouldn¡¯t admit defeat just because of a mere Fang Zhengzhi. It won¡¯t be that easy.¡±

    Boom! When Nangong Tian said that, there was a sudden explosion in the altar. Then, the bloody light in the air disappeared without warning.

    The amethyst cage that trapped Nangong Hao also disappeared along with the bloody light. At the meantime, a dash of purple radiance shed across Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yan Yin squinted and gazed at Nangong Hao and the purple radiance that flowing around his body. He was visibly surprised.

    ¡°Hahaha... No one can defeat Hao¡¯er, no one! Hahaha...¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s unrestrainedughter echoed in the sky.

    All the surrounding disciples opened their eyes wide.

    ¡°Nangong Hao actually devoured sh of Ice and Fire... No, he devoured the Dao of Amethyst?!¡±

    ¡°What kind of battle is this exactly?¡±

    ¡°So strong... Both of them are so strong. They are like monsters. Even though Fang Zhengzhi has the upper hand, he still couldn¡¯t take down Nangong Hao!¡±

    While the disciples were shocked by the intensity of this battle, they both feared Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao from the bottom of their hearts.

    After all, they had never seen a battle of this caliber before.

    ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± Fang Zhengzhi softlynded beside Chi Guyan and pointed his Traceless Sword towards the ground.

    ¡°Ke... If I¡¯m right, Nangong Hao went through something special in Heaven-Receiving Door and fused with the Blood Offering Illustration. Hence, he could do more than just use Blood Offering Illustration¡¯s power now. He could even devour other people¡¯s power.¡± Chi Guyan coughed and replied.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration? Is that the thing that appeared in the sky above Heaven Dao Pavilion half a year ago?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. No wonder he could use Tian Xing¡¯s bloodline of the Heaven God. I thought that he was as intelligent as I am.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sneered. Then, he frowned and asked, ¡°Hey... Do you think that he let the Heaven-Receiving Door absorb him on purpose?¡±

    ¡°On purpose?¡± Chi Guyan trembled when she heard that, and countless different expression shed across her pale face in an instant. Then, she looked towards Fang Zhengzhi with her bright eyes and said, ¡°If Nangong Hao did that on purpose, it means that he knew all along that the Heaven-Receiving Door would grant him such a power!¡±

    ¡°Is such a good thing possible?¡±

    ¡°No, I keep getting a feeling that something¡¯s wrong. Nangong Nobles suddenly appeared at Heaven Zen Mountain, and Nangong Mu also gained a Gifted Bloodline, furthermore, it¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Little Mu Mu also has a Gifted Bloodline now?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Moreover, it¡¯s the gifted bloodline of ¡®Tree of God¡¯. Shameless thief, I am suddenly getting a very bad feeling.¡± Chi Guyan nodded again and her face was turning paler.

    ¡°Is your chest hurting? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ve learned a new massage technique and I could soothe your pain with a quick massage.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Guyan was startled. Then, she blushed a little and replied, ¡°Shameless thief, how could you crack a joke in this situation.¡±

    ¡°Haha, rx, I¡¯m here to protect you. The sky won¡¯t fall!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled. However, the smile didn¡¯tst too long because he quickly became calm and serious, rather, he became more serious than he had ever been.

 Chapter 845 - The Strongest Move in History

    <h4>Chapter 845: The Strongest Move in History</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was extremely rare to see such a serious expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face because he gave off a cynical vibe most of the time.

    He was frivolous and didn¡¯t care about anything that wasn¡¯t rted to him.

    However, Chi Guyan wasn¡¯t too surprised when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. She knew that this seemingly cynical and aloof shameless thief had never escaped from his duties.

    ¡°Ok.¡± Chi Guyan nodded heavily and slowly closed her eyes, following which, a five-colored radiances appeared on her pale face.

    She didn¡¯t continue spectating the fight or racking her brain because she could recover in peace with Fang Zhengzhi in front of her.

    At this moment, Ping Yang blinked at Fang Zhengzhi. Although she didn¡¯t say anything when Chi Guyan was talking to Fang Zhengzhi, it didn¡¯t mean that she wasn¡¯t curious.

    ¡°Shameless fellow, how did you get out of my mother¡¯s Ling Yun Realm?¡±

    ¡°Well... It¡¯s actually pretty simple. Move your head closer and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and gestured at Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ok!¡± Ping Yang obediently moved her head towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved softly.

    ¡°Woah, you¡¯d actually do that? Does it mean that you¡¯ve already...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s expression was filled with disbelief after she heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve alreadyprehended the strongest technique, so I don¡¯t care if Nangong Hao has the Blood Offering Illustration.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and said confidently.

    ¡°The strongest technique!¡± Ping Yang was visibly excited and overjoyed.

    The surrounding disciples looked weird when they heard that. They nced at each other and felt a burning sensation on their faces.

    ¡°Did he actually say that he hasprehended the strongest technique?!¡±

    ¡°Is there anything in this world that is thicker than his skin?¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, even the thickest and toughest city wall in the world can¡¯tpare to how thick his skin is!¡±

    All the disciples chatted amongst themselves softly but no one dared to raise his voice because no one knew if they would get struck by a lightning bolt again.

    Boom! While these thoughts ran through their minds, a bolt of lightningnded right in the middle of the disciples. Then, thest disciple who spoke flew away.

    ¡°...¡± All of them shut their mouths immediately.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi, the aggressor, snorted condescendingly. He used to be bound by the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯sws and he couldn¡¯t st someone with lightning as he wished, so he disregarded other people¡¯sments.

    However, it was different now...

    The Holy Region wasn¡¯t bound by thews of a dynasty so it was much simpler to do as he wished.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t go so far as killing someone over a fewments. However, he believed that it was necessary to teach these people a lesson for making rude remarks even though they were watching a good show.

    ¡°How dare you scold me? I¡¯ll kick your ass! Are you not happy? If that¡¯s the case, we can fight it out. If you can¡¯t do it, you can even ask your sect leader. I¡¯m willing to ept any challenges, be it one on one or a group fight!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The surrounding disciples fell silent instantly because even their sect leaders understood that silence is golden.

    However, after the silence, they heard an extremely weak voice amidst the crowd, ¡°Young Master Fang, you... You hit the wrong person. I didn¡¯t... I didn¡¯t say a word just now...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom! Another lightning bolt descended, following which, they heard his feeble cries of pain again.

    ¡°Oh, did I hit the right person this time?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the crowd with an apologetic expression.

    ¡°...¡± That disciple ultimately chose to keep quiet because he finally understood the reality of this world. The weak could never stand up against the strong.

    Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips carefreely and that was the end. As the saying went, ¡®A sessful man never minds the trifles¡¯, hence, he wouldn¡¯t care too much about such insignificant matters.

    Did he hit the wrong person?

    Then he just had to do it again!

    That would make things right!

    ¡°Eh? Nangong Hao, you¡¯re still here? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve forgotten about you again. You... Wouldn¡¯t mind, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally turned toward Nangong Hao again.

    ¡°...¡± The spectating disciples became speechless once again. However, no one dared to say even a single word this time.

    Of course, Nangong Hao was an exception.

    ¡°Die!¡± Nangong Hao yelled furiously. After all, he was already like a ball of raging fire because he felt embarrassed and angry. After more provocation, he¡¯d definitely burn more ferociously and uncontrobly than before.

    As a spectator, Nangong Tian¡¯s expression changed because even he could clearly sense the violent and unstable aura on Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Oh no, Hao¡¯er is too emotional!¡± Nangong Tian wanted to remind him to calm down but it was toote. Nangong Hao had already moved.

    He dashed towards Fang Zhengzhi at an extreme speed.

    ¡°Fighting against this kid is totally... Even I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep calm, not to mention Nangong Hao!¡± Mo Shanshi shook his head helplessly.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Gu Yuan also nodded softly.

    As the saying went, ¡®Tunnel vision blinds the participants but not the spectators¡¯. Although Gu Yuan wasn¡¯t the strongest, his insight was one of the best.

    As a spectator of the fight, he naturally could see many things that the participants were oblivious to.

    The state of mind had always been the most critical factor in the battle between experts. In terms of strength, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t too far ahead of Nangong Hao. However, once one of them lost his cool...

    The oue of this fight became obvious.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The pace of the battle was so fast that the white jade stones covering the entire altar were close to getting uplifted. The altar was almostpletely covered by cracks.

    It was too fast.

    The spectators could hardly see the fight.

    All they saw were two figures shing against each other repeatedly. Sometimes a bloody light would burst into the sky, while the deafening roars of a dragon could be heard at other times. The devilish purple light would asionally cut into the bloody light and suppress it.

    However, the bloody light would rise up again very quickly.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how much power your Blood Offering Illustration is capable of absorbing!¡± Following a cocky voice, a massive figure appeared in the air.

    It was a ck armor covered in a ck me. The thick armor gave off a mountainous pressure and the entire figure was over 15 meters tall.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What kind of technique is that?

    ¡°Could that be the strongest technique?¡±

    ¡°Why does it look so simr to Nangong Hao¡¯s bloodline of the Heaven God? However, it feelspletely different. Do you guys think that this fellow has...¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Don¡¯t use the word ¡®fellow¡¯. You have to call him Young Master Fang! Don¡¯t drag me into this, I don¡¯t want to be struck by lightning!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding disciples were shocked to their cores by the figure which was as tall as a hill. However, they were discussing as softly as they could.

    After all, they could remember that ruthless scene vividly.

    Rumble... The figure which was as tall as a hill charged towards Nangong Hao like a bull in a china shop and threw a punch towards him. Each step it took would send rubbles flying everywhere.

    The bloody light soared once again.

    However, Nangong Hao only managed to stand firm after he was forced back by 10 steps. His hair was alreadypletely drenched by the sweat on his forehead.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, don¡¯t fight him with raw power, devour his Gifted Bloodline instead!¡± Nangong Tian shouted anxiously when he saw this.

    Nangong Hao didn¡¯t say a word, but his eyes werepletely filled by the bloody light. Eightplicated blood symbols were revolving in his eyes constantly.

    He obviously heard Nangong Tian. In fact, although he had lost his cool, it didn¡¯t mean that he had thrown his fighting experience and instinct out of the windowpletely.

    ¡®Devour his Gifted Bloodline?¡±

    ¡®Why couldn¡¯t I do that?!¡±

    Nangong Hao kept asking himself this question in his mind. However, no one could answer his question. In reality, a new Gifted Bloodline didn¡¯t appear in his body no matter how much he devoured. On the other hand, he was exhausting his strength rapidly.

    After all, using Blood Offering Illustration¡¯s power expended a considerable amount of his strength even though he could devour a decent amount of power in return.

    However, the devoured power needed to go through a process of conversion and absorption. It couldn¡¯t possibly be his own power right after it was devoured.

    During the battle against Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and the others, he merely returned the devoured power back. It was nothing more than a reflection of their own power.

    However, fighting against Fang Zhengzhi was obviously different.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was mostly fighting with his fists, Traceless Sword, and his speed. His fighting style was barbaric, almost unrestrained in fact.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moves were too fast and random.

    Although Blood Offering Illustration could be used in a fight to devour Origin Energy, the cost of using it to devour the Origin Energy of punches and kicks far outweighed the return.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡®Is it possible that the thing on his body isn¡¯t a Gifted Bloodline?¡¯

    ¡®Impossible!¡¯

    ¡®If it isn¡¯t a Gifted Bloodline, what could that ck armor be?¡¯

    Nangong Hao felt his strength depleting rapidly, so he didn¡¯t want the fight to continue like this. However, the reality remained that he was ¡®tied up¡¯ by Fang Zhengzhi.

    There was no way out!

    ¡°It seems like... Fang Zhengzhi has already figured out a way to ovee the Blood Offering Illustration!¡± Mu Qingfeng finally said something again when he saw Nangong Hao sweating profusely and the hill-like figure charging around wildly.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m afraid that there are few people in the Holy Region who could overpower Nangong Hao without using Gifted Bloodline...¡± One of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elders nodded and replied with aplicated expression.

    ¡°Ok, pass my message down. After today¡¯spetition, all Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples must treat Fang Zhengzhi like a sect leader!¡± Mu Qingfeng continued.

    ¡°Treat him like a sect leader? Yes!¡± The elder was startled, but he quickly understood the purpose and passed Mu Qingfeng¡¯s message down without any objections.

    Meanwhile, Dao Hun was sitting on pins and needles.

    After all, if Fang Zhengzhi defeated Nangong Hao and won this fight, Yin Yang Hall would be hisst opponent in thispetition.

    Although Dao Hun was confident in Yan Xiu¡¯s strength, nothing was 100% certain. Given Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current performance, Yan Xiu might not be capable of defeating him.

    ¡®What should I do?¡¯

    Dao Hun kept ncing around anxiously.

    ¡°Xiu, what do you think is the chance of you defeating Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Dao Xin¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t too loud, but Dao Hun heard her clearly.

    Naturally, Dao Hun looked towards Dao Xin, who was standing beside Yan Xiu.

    ¡°It¡¯s originally less than 20%, but it should be 30% now.¡± Yan Xiu didn¡¯t seem surprised by Dao Xin¡¯s question and he replied coldly.

    ¡°Why is it 30% now?¡± Dao Xin asked again.

    ¡°One¡¯s loss is another¡¯s gain.¡± Yan Xiu replied monotonously.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Dao Xin nodded. She obviously knew what Yan Xiu meant. However, she didn¡¯t mention the fact she knew very well how terrifying Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy was.

    ¡®One¡¯s loss is another¡¯s gain¡¯ wasn¡¯t wrong, but it only applied to normal people. Such logic didn¡¯t exist for a monster like Fang Zhengzhi.

    After a moment of silence, Dao Xin looked towards the altar again.

    In the altar...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao¡¯s fight was still ongoing. However, the oue was bing more and more obvious. Fang Zhengzhi had clearly suppressed Nangong Hao already.

    ¡°Xiu, what if I asked you to join the fight now?¡± Dao Xin clenched her fist as if she was making a difficult decision.

    ¡°Now?¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s lips moved. He nced at the sweaty Nangong Hao, then at the hill-like Fang Zhengzhi. His expression changed rapidly before he quickly continued, ¡°Do you want me to help Nangong Hao?¡±

    ¡°No. Nangong Nobles has openly challenged the Five Sects of the Holy Region, and Nangong Hao even possesses the Blood Offering Illustration. It doesn¡¯t make any logical or emotional sense for us to help the Nangong Nobles. Hence, I wouldn¡¯t do something so stupid. I want you to help Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Dao Xin shook her head and replied.

 Chapter 846 - Did You Screw Her or Did She Screw You

    <h4>Chapter 846: Did You Screw Her or Did She Screw You</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Help Fang Zhengzhi? Are you trying to...¡± Yan Xiu was somewhat dazed. He nced at the one-sided battle again and his expression quickly changed a little.

    ¡°Yes. This Heaven Alliance Meeting¡¯s Martial Arts Competition will affect the future prospects of the Holy Region. Yin Yang Hall must be the final victor. Xiu... Are you willing to do it?¡± Dao Xin replied and nodded softly with aplicated expression on her face. She seemed eager but also unwilling.

    ¡°The final victor...¡± Instead of answering her question immediately, Yan Xiu quietly looked at Dao Xin as if he was contemting.

    ¡°Xiu, I know that you wouldn¡¯t do such a thing given your personality. However, if you don¡¯t do this, once Fang Zhengzhi wins thepetition, I¡¯m afraid that Yin Yang Hall¡¯s future may be...¡±

    ¡°Do I have to do this?¡± Yan Xiu interrupted Dao Xin.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Dao Xin nodded again.

    Yan Xiu fell silent again, but not for long. He suddenly asked, ¡°Could you tell me why Fang Zhengzhi wants to kill you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because of... You!¡± Dao Xin trembled, but she quickly answered with certainty.

    ¡°Because of me?¡± Yan Xiu was startled and his expression finally changed.

    In fact, even Dao Hun and several other Yin Yang Hall¡¯s elders¡¯ expressions changed visibly after they heard Dao Xin. They looked like they wanted to say something, but they eventually held their tongues after seeing Dao Xin¡¯s eye gesture.

    Dao Xin replied at this moment, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because of you. However, the details are tooplicated and there isn¡¯t time to tell you everything at the moment. However, you should know that it was Hallmaster and I who saved your life.¡±

    ¡°Ok... I understand.¡± Yan Xiu nodded softly after hearing her. He took a step forward without asking another question.

    His robe swayed in the mountain breeze.

    Without much hesitation, Yan Xiu bolted towards the altar after taking a step forward. His eyes even turnedpletely ck in an instant.

    ¡°Yan Xiu?!¡±

    ¡°Why did hee out?¡±

    ¡°Is Yin Yang Hall going to help Nangong Hao?¡±

    All the surrounding disciples were astonished to see Yan Xiu bolting towards the altar. After all, no one knew what he was going to do when he rushed out at this moment.

    ¡°No, Yan Xiu is charging towards Nangong Hao!¡± Although the disciples were a little taken aback, they quickly discovered that Yan Xiu¡¯s target was Nangong Hao instead of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom!

    Nangong Hao, who was already exhausted, immediately took five steps back. A hint of surprise appeared in his bloody eyes.

    However, it disappeared quickly.

    That was because he saw Yan Xiu.

    Although Yan Xiu looked a little strange at the moment because of his unreasonable coldness, his appearance didn¡¯t change significantly.

    ¡°Have you finally decided to join the fight?¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s tone was chilling. The cloth behind his back waspletely drenched in sweat because he had expended an enormous amount of his strength.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be very surprised, do you?¡± Yan Xiu stood at where Nangong Hao was standing and slowly took out a Silver Blood Fan.

    ¡°Surprised? Haha, I¡¯d be surprised if anyone else joined the fight, but why would I be surprised if it¡¯s you?¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s lips curled into a ruthless smile, but he gripped his Wuwei Sword tighter.

    He didn¡¯t know how strong Yan Xiu was currently. After all, Yan Xiu¡¯s fight had already ended when he arrived.

    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s previous blow had shown that his offensive power had long surpassed a normal Sage.

    ¡®Did...¡¯

    ¡®Yan Xiu be a Sage as well?¡¯

    Nangong Hao was angry but he looked somewhat bitter. After all, everyone knew about Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s rtionship.

    Of course, that was Nangong Hao¡¯s perspective. The Five Sects of the Holy Region that had witnessed Yan Xiu¡¯s fight didn¡¯t share the same idea.

    ¡°Is Yin Yang Hall trying to steal the credit?¡± Mo Shanshi squinted and naturally looked towards Dao Xin and Dao Hun.

    However, both of their expressions were hidden beneath their mask and veil.

    ¡°What is Yin Yang Hall... Trying to do?¡± Mu Qingfeng also frowned. After all, no one would think that Yin Yang Hall was simply trying to ¡®help¡¯ by sending Yan Xiu out at this instance.

    Meanwhile, at Shadow Sect, Yan Qianli looked equally confused as he said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Xiu¡¯er lose his memory? Why would he join the fight now? Is it possible that he didn¡¯t lose his memory?¡±

    Yan Qianli couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this. After all, he was subconsciously hoping that Yan Xiu didn¡¯t lose his memory as Heavenly Oasis Saint had imed.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s Dao Xin¡¯s instruction!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s eyes lit up as he nced at Dao Xin.

    ¡°Old man, I can¡¯t agree with that. I¡¯d personally educated Xiu¡¯er since he was young, so how could he not know right from wrong? I don¡¯t believe that he would blindly follow a woman¡¯smand without a good reason!¡± Yan Qianli rebutted.

    ¡°His personality would obviously change after losing his memory. How does that have anything to do with your education?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint also argued.

    ¡°Personality is the core of a man, just like the roots of a tree. How can it change so easily?¡±

    ¡°Old man Yan, you¡¯re being unreasonable!¡±

    ¡°Regardless, I don¡¯t believe that Xiu¡¯er would do something against his conscience!¡±

    ¡°Master, Lord Yan, do you two have to keep quarreling?¡± Wu Yuer chimed in at this moment with a helpless expression.

    ¡°Fine fine fine, we¡¯ll stop.¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint smiled bitterly when he heard her and stopped arguing. However, he was visibly worried as he gazed at Yan Xiu and said, ¡°I hope old man Yan is right this time...¡±

    ...

    While the surrounding disciples were shocked and Yan Qianli was arguing with Heavenly Oasis Saint, Bai Fei, the young man who had been sitting at the front of Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s corner, was tapping the armrest of his chair softly.

    Thud, thud...

    It was calm and the pause between each thud waspletely identical. This meant that his state of mind was as calm as water andpletely unaffected by the change in the situation.

    Aspared to Bai Fei¡¯s calmness, Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little carefree.

    He retracted his hill-like armor and bounced towards Yan Xiu. It didn¡¯t feel like he was engaged in a life or death battle at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re here, Yan Xiu. Nangong Hao is about to go down, let¡¯s beat him together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly at Yan Xiu as he said that.

    ¡°Together? Why would you invite me to join you? Don¡¯t you mind my involvement at this moment?¡± Yan Xiu was a little startled and his expression was somewhat awkward.

    ¡°Mind? Why would I mind?¡± Fang Zhengzhi scanned Yan Xiu from head to toe with a puzzled look.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind?¡± Yan Xiu appeared to be unconvinced.

    ¡°By the way, there is something that¡¯s on my mind. What exactly did Dao Xin do to you? You actually stopped me from killing her, and you even seemed to have joined Yin Yang Hall?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked in a curious tone.

    ¡°She saved me.¡± Yan Xiu replied tly.

    ¡°Yup, I know that.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and replied. Then, he nced at Dao Xin and continued, ¡°So, did you screw her?¡±

    ¡°Screw?¡± Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t react.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t screw her? Did she screw you instead? Oh... Now I remember. When I went to Yin Yang Hall to kidnap her previously, I seemed to have ced the two of you on the same bed. However, you should be in aa back then. Could something like that happen even under those circumstances?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little speechless.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s lips twitched, and he was somehow at a loss for words. However, he heard something clearly.

    ¡®Went to Yin Yang Hall to kidnap her?¡¯

    ¡®Her?¡¯

    ¡®Dao Xin?¡¯

    ¡®Most importantly, he ced Dao Xin and I on the same bed? Why do I have no memory of such a thing? Moreover, Dao Xin has never mentioned this before.¡¯

    While Yan Xiu was extremely confused and about to ask more questions, a stream of bloody light that was filled with anger appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Die!¡± Nangong Hao was really angry. He was disregarded over and over again, so he couldn¡¯t possibly keep enduring and wait for Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu to finish their conversation.

    The bloody light soared into the sky.

    A violent and gory aura permeated the air. Nangong Hao¡¯s sword was obviously aimed at Yan Xiu. It appeared before him almost instantaneously.

    Motionless was also equivalent to motion!

    It was apletely silent and inert sword.

    It was extraordinarily fast!

    However, there was another sword that was even faster. Furthermore, it was equally silent. The only thing that shed in the air that a stream of devilish purple light.

    Boom! The two swords collided and unleashed a violent shockwave towards the surrounding area and blew away the rubbles on the ground. Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi shielded Yan Xiu without hesitation.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, why are you getting worse and worse? Did you actually just try a sneak attack, and failed? Lla, aren¡¯t you awfully angry? If you¡¯re angry, you should talk about it, or you could even shout it out. Ahhhhhh... Just like that!¡± While Fang Zhengzhiughed and said that, he also charged towards Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Yo? Are you mad? You should be mad. If I were you, I definitely couldn¡¯t tolerate this.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and punched Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword.

    Boom!

    Nangong Hao¡¯s face turned red and he was forced back by 10 steps again. His chest was moving up and down, clearly a sign that he was about to vomit blood due to extreme anger.

    ¡°Wa, don¡¯t hold it in. Since it¡¯s just a matter of time before you vomit blood, you should do it now so that you could at least be a fountain before you die, right?¡±

    ¡°Pftt!¡± Nangong Hao spat out a mouthful of blood right away. He had never been so angry before.

    This scene undoubtedly left the surrounding disciples speechless.

    If they were asked to choose their most unwanted opponent, all of them would pick Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.

    Winning and losing was part and parcel of a martial artspetition, and that was perfectly fine. However, such apetition would probably leave a mental scar in anyone¡¯s heart.

    That was because this was more than just winning or losing.

    It was a kind of humiliation...

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi happened to be ridiculously strong.

    Nangong Hao was unquestionably strong, however, after he ran into Fang Zhengzhi, this became a disaster rather than a fight.

    ¡°Xiu!¡± Dao Xin¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t too loud, but Yan Xiu heard it clearly.

    Yan Xiu clenched the Silver Blood Fan tighter and nced at Nangong Hao, who was on the verge of defeat. He stopped hesitating and dashed towards him directly.

    ¡°Bloody Landscape!¡± He yelled softly.

    Countless bolts of ck light rose from the ground and each of them was like a sharp w. They were waving in the air and formed a massive Mountain River Illustration.

    However, the Mountain River Illustration was no longer crimson...

    It was ck as ink.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s expression changed a little because he could feel the power of the Bloody Landscape. It was as chilling as Asura Hell and that made his heart tremble.

    ¡°Is that Dao of Asura? Why does it feel different?¡± Nangong Hao felt puzzled.

    However, this was no time to be puzzled because the Bloody Landscape that had surrounded him made him feel like he was sinking in a mud pond.

    Most importantly, it seemed to be hiding an endless amount of killing intent.

    Without much hesitation, the bloody light in his eyes began spinning crazily. As the eight bloody symbols rotated, the ck light around him flowed into his body continuously.

    Fang Zhengzhi moved at this moment. After years of working together, he naturally knew Yan Xiu¡¯s move.

    Although this Bloody Landscape seemed a little different, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t someone who cared about the details.

    Red or ck?

    That was obviously unimportant.

    As soon as Bloody Landscape appeared, Fang Zhengzhi jumped above it andpletely fused with the Bloody Landscape instantly.

    Then, a stream of light descended from the Bloody Landscape.

    Nangong Hao was just about to dodge it, but it had already appeared in front of him, just like a radiance that suddenly bloomed in the night.

    sh! Blood gushed out.

    The sword entered through his shoulder and almost tore his chest apart. If Nangong Hao hadn¡¯t managed to take half a step back at the critical moment, this sword would have severed his arm.

    ¡°So powerful! Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu¡¯s coordination is impable!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao is definitely going to lose against the two of them!¡±

    The spectating disciples were also frightened by that sword after they saw the bone-deep wound on Nangong Hao¡¯s shoulder.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu frowned when he saw this. He nced at Nangong Hao, then at Fang Zhengzhi, who was smiling brightly, and thought to himself, ¡®Why does it seem like he knew I was going to use this technique?¡¯

 Chapter 847 - Sudden Change and Fates Arrangement

    <h4>Chapter 847: Sudden Change and Fate¡¯s Arrangement</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice was heard again. His eyes were clearly red because even he could tell what a close call that was.

    If Nangong Hao hadn¡¯t given up on devouring Yan Xiu¡¯s Bloody Landscape at the critical moment, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, you seem to be very agitated?¡± Yan Yin nced at Nangong Tian¡¯s tightly clenched fists and said with a smile.

    ¡°Yan Yin, don¡¯t be too contented!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Head of Nangong family, are you picking a fight?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Nangong Tian snorted and his face turned ck. His aura also became unstable as he looked at Nangong Hao and the wound on his shoulder.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu was looking at Nangong Hao too.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly believe what Fang Zhengzhi said immediately, or rather, he couldn¡¯t believe itpletely. However, that didn¡¯t include their unspoken understanding.

    That was because unspoken understanding could only be achieved through a long time of cooperation.

    Theirbined attack just now was an example of unspoken understanding.

    After he used Bloody Landscape, Nangong Hao immediately tried to devour it with Blood Offering Illustration. Nangong Hao could have devoured or reflected Bloody Landscape if nothing went wrong.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi attacked him before he could devour it.

    This meant that Fang Zhengzhi had predicted his technique and Nangong Hao¡¯s reaction as soon as he moved. Hence, he was able to attack Nangong Hao right when he was about to devour Blood Landscape.

    ¡®Was it a coincidence?¡¯ Yan Xiu wanted to rify his doubt, but this was obviously not the time because Fang Zhengzhi moved again after he injured Nangong Hao.

    He threw a punch!

    Itnded on Nangong Hao¡¯s wound!

    Blood gushed out again.

    Fang Zhengzhi really took the idea of ¡®Kick someone when they¡¯re down¡¯ to the extreme. Once hended the first blow, the second and the third blow would immediately follow up.

    Yan Xiu also knew that logic.

    Therefore, he was aware that the oue of this Martial Arts Competition would be determined if he kept dying. Then, his interference would be meaningless.

    He stopped hesitating because he had never been an indecisive person.

    Yan Xiu moved again in an instant. He turned into a ck afterimage and appeared in front of Nangong Hao at an exceptional speed.

    Boom!

    Nangong Hao, who was already injured, was knocked back once again. He became paler and couldn¡¯t help spitting out another mouthful of blood.

    Meanwhile, below the altar, Dao Xin¡¯s nervous expression finally loosened up. However, an unconceble look ofplication remained in her eyes.

    ¡°Xiu, I¡¯m not being cruel. I would never lie to you or let you interact with Fang Zhengzhi again if I had a choice. However, you are the only one who could pull this off...¡± Dao Xin murmured. Then, she gazed at the sky and continued, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I never thought that you¡¯d still be alive. However, you have actually survived. In that case, I¡¯d have to kill you again regardless of the risk or price involved!¡±

    ¡°Xin, are you worried that Yan Xiu would regain his memory after interacting with Fang Zhengzhi?¡± She heard Dao Hun¡¯s voice at this moment.

    ¡°No, I am not worried about that.¡± Dao Xin shook her head and replied.

    ¡°Yup, you don¡¯t have to be worried because Yan Xiu would never regain his memory.¡± Dao Hun nodded softly when he heard that.

    ¡°I know.¡± Dao Xin nodded and nced at Yan Xiu. She obviously knew what Dao Hun meant, but she still looked a little worried. ¡°To be honest, my real worry isn¡¯t Yan Xiu regaining his memory, rather, it¡¯s whether the two of them would be friends once again!¡±

    Dao Xin didn¡¯t say that out because as long as Yan Xiu would truly try his best today, then her worry would be unwarranted.

    Luckily...

    In such a battle, even if Yan Xiu¡¯s heart wavered, he didn¡¯t have too much time to find out about the truth.

    Boom! There was another bang in the altar.

    It had to be mentioned that Dao Xin¡¯s surmise was correct because Yan Xiu truly didn¡¯t have time to think or ask. Everything was going ording to her n.

    Thanks to Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impable cooperation, Nangong Hao could barely fight back anymore. He was forced back again and again and he was almost out of the edge of the altar.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to be guarding against Yan Xiu at all. He was still shielding Yan Xiu like before and attacking Nangong Hao relentlessly.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, this will be the final blow!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile grew brighter when he saw Nangong Hao moving closer and closer towards the edge of the altar.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Yan Xiu nodded softly. At the meantime, he clenched his Silver Blood Fan tightly with a determined look on his face.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi moved again.

    He charged towards Nangong Hao first just like before with a devilish purple light flowing on Traceless Sword. Without any hesitation, he shed at Nangong Hao.

    Nangong Hao ced one hand on his shoulder and held Wuwei Sword in his other hand. He looked more determined as Fang Zhengzhi charged towards him.

    He didn¡¯t take another step back because he couldn¡¯t move back any more.

    Boom!

    A bloody light soared into the sky andpletely blocked the sunlight. The entire sky became red as if it was tainted by blood.

    A sky full of bloody mist permeated the air. It turned into streams of light at times and transformed into numerous bloody symbols at other times. It was chilling and horrifying.

    Following which, a figure suddenly flew out of the bloody light. It drew a curve in the sky like a shooting star and crashed into the ground heavily.

    Boom! The ground shattered.

    ¡°Did they win?!¡±

    ¡°Is it finally over?¡±

    ¡°Did Nangong Hao lose?¡±

    The surrounding disciples immediately looked at the figure on the ground, but when they saw who it was, all of them opened their eyes wide with disbelief.

    That was because the man on the ground wasn¡¯t Nangong Hao.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi!

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... Was blown away?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    They wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this had happened an hour ago and if Nangong Hao blew Fang Zhengzhi away with a single move at the start of their fight.

    However, at the moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously had the absolute upper hand, so they couldn¡¯t possibly believe that he was suddenly blown away.

    The disciples weren¡¯t the only ones who were filled with disbelief.

    Mo Shanshi, Mu Qingfeng, and even Qian Yu were all clearly shocked. They couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did actually crash into the ground, and he looked like he was in extreme pain.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, you... I didn¡¯t expect you to have one final trick up your sleeve...¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly jerked, rolled his eyes, and passed out at the most inappropriate time.

    This sudden change came too quickly.

    ¡°He fainted?!¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    The spectating disciples couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around this. After all, Fang Zhengzhi seemed too weak at the moment aspared to his impressive performance just now.

    ¡®If you are blown away, just get up and keep fighting.¡¯

    ¡®How could you just pass out?¡¯

    The disciples nced at Fang Zhengzhi, who had passed out, then at Nangong Hao, who was shrouded by the bloody light. They were clearly unable to ept the oue.

    In fact, even Nangong Hao himself was visibly astonished. He was actually stunned when he saw that Fang Zhengzhi had been knocked out.

    The atmosphere was intricate, so much so that even Bai Fei stopped tapping the armrest of his chair. His finger was suspended in the air almost motionlessly.

    However, if there was one person on Heaven¡¯s Peak who wasn¡¯t overly surprised, it was definitely Dao Xin.

    ¡°Xiu, thank you.¡± Dao Xin lips moved a little, then, she looked towards the distant figure in the altar.

    However, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t seem as calm as Dao Xin. In fact, he was a little startled as well.

    Moreover, his expression was almost identical to Nangong Hao¡¯s.

    He nced at Fang Zhengzhi who had passed out, before looking at Nangong Hao who was shrouded by the bloody light. Yan Xiu was also standing there in a daze.

    That was until he heard a voice.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, seize the opportunity!¡± This voice obviously came from Yin Yang Hall. However, it was Dao Hun instead of Dao Xin.

    His voice definitely sounded a little excited because the oue of this Martial Arts Competition was already foreseeable at this point in time.

    Yan Xiu finally regained hisposure at this moment.

    Even though he still looked astonished, he hastily turned towards Nangong Hao and bolted towards him.

    ¡°Hmph?!¡± Nangong Hao also responded. As Yan Xiu rushed towards him, he took two steps forward and charged towards him.

    Boom! Their fists collided.

    The ck radiance shed with the bloody light intensely. However, the bloody light soon faded after it was suppressed by the ck radiance.

    Nangong Hao was forced to move back.

    One step, two steps!

    After the second step, Nangong Hao was already pale as snow. However, he bit his lips so tightly that even his teeth were trembling.

    The third step!

    Nangong Hao¡¯s foot was in the air, but it eventually stopped in the air. He was one step away from crossing the edge of the altar.

    ¡°You can¡¯t win.¡± Yan Xiu looked at Nangong Hao¡¯s suspended foot and said coldly with his brows furrowed together.

    ¡°I... Know.¡± Nangong Hao was obviously trembling. He spat out blood as he replied.

    Just as Yan Xiu mentioned, it was impossible for him to win. After all, his injuries were so severe that he couldn¡¯t keep fighting even though he possessed the Blood Offering Illustration.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s offensive power was so strong that Nangong Hao couldn¡¯t possibly defeat him in a few moves even if he was at his best. Most importantly, Yan Xiu¡¯s power also didn¡¯t depend on Gifted Bloodline.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, this is the final step. The only opponent left is Yan Xiu. You have to keep going no matter what!¡± He heard Nangong Tian¡¯s voice at this moment.

    ¡°The final opponent, huh?¡± Nangong Hao looked slightly bitter.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, you are one of the Nangong Nobles. How could you be defeated here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, too many sacrifices have been made for this moment. How could I lose at the final step... However, some things are meant to be undoable... Maybe this is fate...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as fate. Us Nangong Nobles will seed for sure!¡±

    ¡°Seed? How?¡± Nangong Hao looked at Yan Xiu. His Wuwei Sword had already prated the ground. If he couldn¡¯t even hold his sword, how could he stop Yan Xiu¡¯s attack?

    ¡°Sacrifice, we could still sacrifice!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s eyes turned red when he saw that Wuwei Sword was on the verge of falling off Nangong Hao¡¯s hand. Then, he suddenly turned towards Nangong Mu and said, ¡°Mu¡¯er, I want to borrow a thing from you, are you alright with that?¡±

    ¡°Thing? What... Thing?¡± Nangong Mu trembled. He obviously witnessed the situation in the altar, however, he couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it since he was injured and had copsed onto the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s domineering power and Yan Xiu¡¯s interference were destined, just as Nangong Hao had mentioned. It was fate that prevented the Nangong Nobles from seeding.

    Nangong Mu didn¡¯t understand.

    He couldn¡¯t understand what else could be done at this point in time.

    However, it soon dawned on him because he saw a dagger in his father, Nangong Tian¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry, but this is your fate. In fact, this is destined since the moment you swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God. The thing is, I really don¡¯t want to do this unless I have no other choice, I really don¡¯t...¡± Nangong Tian had already teared up at this moment.

    ¡°Father, you...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes opened wide with disbelief because his father, his birth father, had stabbed a dagger into his chest.

 Chapter 848 - Storm is Coming!

    <h4>Chapter 848: Storm is Coming!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was an indisputable fact that one¡¯s life was given by his parents. In that case, what could be more unbelievable than your own parents taking your life?

    Blood gushed out from Nangong Mu¡¯s chest and painted his chest red. His face was twisted due to the intense pain and the chilliness of the dagger.

    However, for some reason, Nangong Mu seemed like he couldn¡¯t feel much of the pain from his body and the chilliness of the dagger.

    That was because those were nothingpared to his emotional pain and shock.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, I¡¯m so sorry, so sorry... If you want to hate me, then you should. I would definitely pay back what the Nangong family has owed you in the next life!¡± After Nangong Tian said that, his eyes werepletely filled with tears.

    However, his hands never stopped. They were performing a series of weird movements at an extraordinary speed. He was also murmuring a bunch of iprehensible words, and it seemed like he was performing some sort of extremely ancient ritual.

    It was solemn and archaic.

    However, it was also extremely heavyhearted.

    This was overly shocking and took ce too quickly. No one had expected or even thought of the possibility that Nangong Tian would kill Nangong Mu at this moment.

    Even a monster would not hurt its own children!

    Furthermore, he was his biological son, whom he had spent 20 years raising, and even managed to be a Sage!

    The surrounding disciples werepletely dumbfounded by this scene. No one could believe what they saw, or the fact that Nangong Tian had killed Nangong Mu.

    Even Yan Yin was left frozen on the spot.

    That was because even him, someone who was known as the wielder of Enma¡¯s seal, couldn¡¯t possibly imagine such a thing happening.

    Cruel?

    No!

    Cruel wasn¡¯t enough to describe this. How heartless did someone have to be to murder his own son?

    Be it the surrounding disciples, Yan Yin, or the disciples of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, everyone was left ckjawed by this shocking scene.

    At this moment, they heard a heartrending scream. It contained a heartfelt pain that could seemingly tear the sky apart.

    ¡°Brother Mu!!!¡± As they heard that voice, a figure went through the air in a strange way and reached Nangong Tian almost instantly.

    A bloody light was revolving around the figure crazily. The transparent Wuwei Sword was tainted with an intense smell of blood and its tip was pointed at Nangong Tian¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Nangong Hao?!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s expression changed. He was visibly astonished that Nangong Tian went past him and appeared in front of Nangong Tian directly.

    Although he was definitely stunned by Nangong Tian¡¯s action and that resulted in a poor judgment of his surroundings, it didn¡¯t mean that he could have stopped Nangong Hao¡¯s strange movements if all these things hadn¡¯t happened.

    ¡°Nangong Tian, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Nangong Hao was obviously not going to notice Yan Yin standing behind him because his eyes had bepletely red as they were filled with the bloody light.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, are you going to kill your father? Haha... No, you won¡¯t kill me because you know what I am doing!¡± Nangong Tian looked at Nangong Hao as tears fell from his eyes. However, his hand movements didn¡¯t stop. They were still changing rapidly.

    ¡°Why? Why are you so cruel!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s body was trembling, and his hand had already turned white because he was gripping Wuwei Sword too tightly.

    ¡°You know why! If I don¡¯t do that, are you willing to remove the fruit of the Tree of God from Mu¡¯er¡¯s body yourself?¡± Nangong Tian was also trembling.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s wasn¡¯t the n. The n was for me to swallow the fruit after Ie out. You told me that you wouldn¡¯t drag brother Mu into this. Why did you make him do it!¡±

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t any time left. I didn¡¯t know if you could get out. I have to n for the worst case scenario even if there is only a tiny chance of that happening. I can¡¯t bet the entire Nangong family¡¯s fate on you. I¡¯m the head of Nangong family, so I must follow the safest n!¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that you can sacrifice brother Mu¡¯s life and treat him like a ¡®container¡¯?!¡±

    ¡°Mu¡¯er did it out of his own free will. I wouldn¡¯t force him if he didn¡¯t want to...¡±

    ¡°Nangong Tian, you¡¯re so cruel. You disregarded the life of your own son over the fate of the Nangong family. You don¡¯t deserve, you don¡¯t deserve to be brother Mu¡¯s father!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t deserve it, but what about you? How many years have we waited to carry out this n? Eight elders have sacrificed their lives to give you the chance to change your fate, but what have you done? I asked you to steal Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline, but you stole Tian Xing¡¯s instead!¡±

    Nangong Tian sounded agitated as well. After a brief pause, he continued, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve already done it, I don¡¯t have any objections. However, you were supposed to return to Nangong family and begin carrying out our n right after you got out. Since Mu¡¯er had already devoured the Tree of God¡¯s fruit, why wouldn¡¯t you take it from him? If you took it from him, the worst that could happen is Mu¡¯er losing his consciousness and bing a cripple, but he won¡¯t die. If it wasn¡¯t because of you, our n would have been set in motion a long time ago. It was you who insisted on participating in this Heaven Alliance Meeting. You didn¡¯t care about our ancestors and said that this is a chance, and if we could be the ruler of the Holy Region, it¡¯d be the same as taking back what the Nangong family owned. I followed your will again, but what results did you produce? It was you who forced me to do this, and you should be responsible for Mu¡¯er¡¯s death. Swallow it, this is our family¡¯sst hope!¡±

    After Nangong Tian said that, a pure white radiance shot out of Nangong Mu¡¯s body and condensed into a flower in the air instantly. A fruit was lying in the center of the flower, exuding a chilling air. There were exceptionallyplicated golden ripples carved onto the fruit.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Hao jolted after hearing Nangong Tian and let out a heartrending scream again. Crimson tears fell from his bloody eyes.

    The surrounding disciples were once again stunned by this scene. They didn¡¯t really understand the meaning of Nangong Tian and Nangong Hao¡¯s conversation.

    However...

    That didn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯tprehend anything at all.

    Nangong family was nning to do something, and it definitely wasn¡¯t something insignificant because they actually nned to change fate and devour Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline.

    If Nangong Hao hadn¡¯t pointed his sword at Nangong Tian, they might have remained oblivious to this forever.

    ¡®What¡¯s the n?!¡¯

    ¡®No, we can¡¯t let Nangong family seed no matter what the n is!¡±

    This time, almost all the disciples looked towards Nangong Tian and Nangong Hao with a heartfelt hostility.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, do you see that? There is no way back for us anymore. If you don¡¯t do this, we would be the entire world¡¯s enemy. Do you really want to wait for the whole Nangong family to be exterminated before you are willing to do it?¡± Nangong Tian nced around with misery in his eyes.

    However, there was madness behind the misery. It was the sort of madness that would make a person cut off his own escape and fight to his death.

    ¡°Brother Mu, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you die, I¡¯d definitely not let you die!¡± Nangong Hao jolted once again before he kneeled down before Nangong Mu. Then, he suddenly turned towards Nangong Tian and said, ¡°I want brother Mu to live, I want him to live and witness everything!¡±

    ¡°Ok, as long as you swallow the Tree of God¡¯s fruit, I won¡¯t pull this dagger out. I also promise that Mu¡¯er would be alive to witness everything that would happen today!¡± Nangong Tian nodded seriously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± A voice interrupted Nangong Tian at this moment. Then, an angle-like w grabbed towards the white flower floating in the air.

    It was Yan Yin.

    After hearing the conversation between Nangong Tian and Nangong Hao, he immediately decided that he couldn¡¯t let the Nangong family seed no matter what they nned.

    However, he didn¡¯t actually manage to grab the fruit of the Tree of God.

    That was because he was stopped by another hand which had gripped his wrist like a metal mp. It was so powerful that even he couldn¡¯t break free right away.

    Yan Yin was undoubtedly surprised by this.

    Although he had roughly figured out that Nangong Tian wasn¡¯t weak, he still couldn¡¯t believe that he was strong enough to stand up to him.

    After all...

    He was Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Great Elder, at the peak of Sage State, and one of the strongest people in the Holy Region!

    ¡°Yan Yin, you can¡¯t get past me!¡± Nangong Tian stood up firmly between Yan Yin and Nangong Hao.

    ¡°I truly didn¡¯t expect the head of Nangong family to hide his true strength so well?!¡± Yan Yin stared at Nangong Tian intently as his expression changed rapidly.

    ¡°Are you still not giving up? Haha, I could tell you right now that you can¡¯t take me down within 50 moves even if you are at the peak of Sage State!¡± Nangong Tian obviously noticed Yan Yin¡¯s changing expression.

    ¡°50 moves? That might not be true!¡± Yan Yin frowned. Then, ck ripples that looked like a skull appeared on his arm.

    Boom!

    Nangong Tian¡¯s hand was sted away, but at that split second, Nangong Tian also kicked towards Yan Yin at an extraordinary speed.

    It was too close.

    Even Yan Yin couldn¡¯tpletely avoid his kick at such a close distance.

    Boom! Following a powerful impact, Yan Yin was sted away by five steps. It was already toote after he stood firm and wanted to charge towards the flower again.

    That was because Nangong Hao had already grabbed the fruit. It chilling aura covered his arm with ayer of frost.

    Gulp! Nangong Hao swallowed the fruit without any hesitation. At the meantime, dozens of figures rushed out and instantly surrounded Nangong Hao.

    Buzz! That was the sound of the aura of heaven and earth being actuated. Then, an extremely chilling aura started spreading from Nangong Hao¡¯s body towards the surroundings

    It was like the ocean waves. Layer byyer, the chilling aura spread towards the surrounding area. It was snow-white and transparent, but also chilling and vast.

    The surrounding disciples started falling back rapidly because of the violent aura. However, as they retreated, they discovered a ring of silver ripple beneath their feet. It was extremelyplicated and there were eight iprehensible symbols on top of it.

    The Blood Offering Illustration!

    However, it was silver!

    At this moment, Nangong Hao¡¯s body floated into the air. A silver flowery symbol appeared on his forehead. There were eight symbols around the flowery symbol that seemed to have connected with the silver flower in the center.

    A shadow of the gigantic tree appeared in the sky once again. However, it was different aspared to Nangong Mu¡¯s summoning just now. There wereplicated ripples on the gigantic shadow which seemed to have formed a massive cycle with the silver ripples on the ground. It looked like a cycle between heaven and earth.

    Rumble! The ground trembled.

    The gigantic tree which waspletely formed by ice grew out of the ground once again. Theplicate ripples covered its leaves and branches.

    The gigantic grew to 33 meters tall almost in an instant, and it didn¡¯t seem to be stopping. It kept growing towards the sky as if it was going to prate the heave.

    Pieces of snowkes fell from the sky.

    It was a beautiful view, but no one had the mood to enjoy them because everyone sensed a growingly ominous feeling.

    ¡°What is that?!¡±

    ¡°What exactly is Nangong family¡¯s n?¡±

    ¡°Why are the ripples beneath our feet... Completely identical to those on this tree?¡±

    Countless questions surfaced in the disciples¡¯ minds. However, no one could answer them because they had never seen anything like this recorded in historical documents before.

    However, these questions didn¡¯t keep them upied for too long because they were no longer of any concern.

    That was because the disciples suddenly felt their power being absorbed by the ripples beneath their feet rapidly.

    This sudden change caught them off guard and even left them a little terrified.

    Of course, this was just as unbelievable to someone that had copsed on the ground. Hence, that ¡®someone¡¯ who had passed out on the ground suddenly opened his eyes.

    ¡°Are you serious? I just dropped to the ground and didn¡¯t even finish feigning... My death, and a storm is alreadying?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao who was floating in the sky, and he could hardly ept what was happening. After all, this change was so sudden that he didn¡¯t even have the time to check if Nangong Mu had actually died.

 Chapter 849 - Dont Be A Chicken

    <h4>Chapter 849: Don¡¯t Be A Chicken</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If a sentence could be used to describe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current feeling, it would definitely be ¡®***********...**** all the girls in your family!¡¯

    Of course, there were too many people here. If all the girls from their families were ced in front of him, he wouldn¡¯t actually have the time or energy to **** all of them.

    However, that was obviously not the main point.

    The main point was that Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely speechless at the moment. Since he had to close his eyes and feint his death, he didn¡¯t see Nangong Tian killing Nangong Mu, so he was naturally unable to stop him.

    When he roughly figured out what had happened, he was also stunned.

    The experience of his previous life and the importance of his current life made him way less epting of such a ¡®sacrifice¡¯ aspared to most people. Hence, he didn¡¯t manage to react immediately.

    Then...

    There was nothing.

    That was because he saw a ridiculous scene unfolding as soon as he opened his eyes. The massive Tree of God formed from snow shot into the sky as if it was about to prate heaven. Its powerful aura came crashing down and it even made him frightened. He felt so tiny in front of this massive Tree of God.

    More importantly, this snow tree seemed to possess a terrifying absorption force that sucked all the surrounding power into itself.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power was naturally amongst those that were absorbed.

    ¡°Could this be the Tree of God bloodline that Chi Guyan was talking about?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Nangong Hao who was floating in the air. Although he wasn¡¯t feeling despair, he definitely wasn¡¯t happy either.

    After all, Nangong Hao totally looked like he just got a new lease of life and sessfully turned the tide of the battle. At the very least, he was much, much stronger than before.

    These were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s inner thoughts.

    However, he didn¡¯t seem to discover the surrounding disciples¡¯ expressions. They all looked like they saw a ghost in broad daylight.

    ¡°This fellow didn¡¯t pass out?!¡±

    ¡°How did he... Stand up again?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did he suddenly get up?¡±

    The disciples were already frightened, so they were all horror-struck when they saw Fang Zhengzhi standing up all of a sudden.

    However, they quickly realized what was going on.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t pass out!

    That could only mean that he had feigned everything!

    However, they didn¡¯t really understand why Fang Zhengzhi had to pretend that he passed out even though he was so close to defeating Nangong Hao.

    Of course, there were people who figured the truth out, such as Mu Qingfeng and Dao Xin.

    ¡°This kid would actually do that?¡± Although Mu Qingfeng understood his motive, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    Meanwhile, Dao Xin...

    She obviously felt moreplicated. She had calcted everything, but she missed out the fact that although Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, he would do anything for Yan Xiu.

    ¡®Did he realize that Yan Xiu wanted to win the Martial Arts Competition?¡¯

    Dao Xin realized why Fang Zhengzhi did that, but she couldn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi actually gave up on fame and fortune for Yan Xiu.

    Friendship!

    ¡®Could such friendship really exist in this sword?!¡¯

    Crack! Dao Xin shattered the teacup in her hand. She couldn¡¯t ept the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to escape her meticulous n. Furthermore, he did it in such a manner.

    She wanted to remind Yan Xiu to seize thest opportunity to kill Fang Zhengzhi while Nangong Hao had attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    However, she knew that it was already impossible.

    That was because she saw a perplexed expression on Yan Xiu¡¯s face. It was a heartfelt perplexity towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s behavior.

    That was right...

    Yan Xiu was perplexed.

    He couldn¡¯t understand why Fang Zhengzhi would do that. He didn¡¯t stop him at the beginning, didn¡¯t hold back during the fight, and he even pretended to pass out in the end. Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t wrap his head around the entire process.

    All of these seemed to be telling him one thing.

    It was the fact that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t care that he wanted to steal the first ce in the Martial Arts Competition, much less who would be defeating Nangong Hao in the final moment.

    ¡®Why? Why would he do that?!¡¯ Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi intently. He tried to think, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything for some reason. It felt like everything was as nk as a sheet of white paper, and that prevented him from remembering his past.

    It made him painful, so much so that he wanted to scream.

    However, he suddenly discovered that Fang Zhengzhi was looking at him at this moment, and he seemed to have blinked at him as if he was signaling something.

    ¡®Hmph? He¡¯s telling me not to do anything for now?¡¯ This message randomly went through Yan Xiu¡¯s mind. It felt so natural as if Fang Zhengzhi had said that to his ear.

    Yan Xiu was left startled once again because he didn¡¯t understand how he couldprehend the message behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s simple act of blinking.

    Most importantly...

    Why did Fang Zhengzhi ask him to stay put for the moment?

    While Yan Xiu was pondering that question, a voice came out of nowhere and interrupted the fear, confusion, and shock that permeated the crowd.

    ¡°Woah, the fruit of the Tree of God is too miraculous, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯d actually remove it after someone ate it. Doesn¡¯t that mean that whoever that could kill Nangong Hao would be able to obtain the fruit of the Tree of God?¡±

    It was obviously Fang Zhengzhi, moreover, there was an unconceble excitement in his voice.

    ¡°You¡¯d remove it after someone ate it?!¡±

    ¡°Killing Nangong Hao... Is equivalent to obtaining the fruit of the Tree of God?¡±

    ¡°Eh? That actually seems to be the case!¡±

    After the surrounding disciples heard his voice, the fear on their faces was suddenly reced by excitement and tion.

    ¡®The fruit of the Tree of God!¡¯

    ¡®Didn¡¯t Nangong Mu break through to Sage State in such a short time and even be almost as powerful as Chi Guyan by consuming this fruit?¡¯

    ¡®Furthermore, the same thing seems to be happening to Nangong Hao.¡¯

    All the surrounding disciples saw with their own eyes that Nangong Hao could hardly fight back just now. However, he seemed to have be a different person after swallowing the fruit of the Tree of God.

    ¡°Treasure, it is an absolute treasure!¡± All the disciples¡¯ eyes lit up in an instant. Unlike before, they were now looking at Nangong Hao as if he was the fruit of the Tree of God. All of them were filled with anticipation and excitement.

    However, the Martial Arts Competition was still ongoing and the Heaven Alliance Meeting hadn¡¯t ended. Since they didn¡¯t have the right to attack Nangong Hao, how could they fight for the fruit?

    ¡°Nangong Hao has already lost when he left the altar¡¯s boundaries just now. The Martial Arts Competition is over. Since he has just swallowed the fruit, he hasn¡¯t absorbed much of its power yet. Now is the best time to attack him. What are you waiting for?¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed once again.

    His voice made the disciples happy again.

    ¡®That¡¯s right!¡¯

    ¡®Nangong Hao has already lost as he left the altar just now. The Martial Arts Competition is over, so we don¡¯t have to care about the meeting or thepetition anymore.¡¯

    A burning desire was rising in their hearts.

    However, despite their impulses, the disciples didn¡¯t move right away because they were pondering another question.

    ¡®If this is such a good opportunity, why isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi attacking Nangong Hao, but giving away the opportunity like a good person instead?¡¯

    ¡®This is a trap!¡¯

    ¡®This must be a trap!¡¯

    While these thoughts went through their minds, Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    However, he suddenly crashed into the ground again as if he had lost his bnce before he could even leap up high into the air.

    ¡°Ah... My leg!¡± Fang Zhengzhi held his thigh while gritting his teeth tightly. His forehead started sweating as he continued, ¡°Damn it, my Tree of God¡¯s fruit. No, if I dy any further, Nangong Hao would absorb all of my Origin Energy. Damn it, damn it!¡±

    ¡°Origin Energy?!¡±

    ¡°Absorb everything!¡±

    All their expressions changed in a split second because Fang Zhengzhi had brought up their deepest fear.

    As soon as the Tree of God appeared, they felt their Origin Energy depleting rapidly and were absorbed by the ripples on the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s Nangong Hao. He¡¯s absorbing our power!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, my power is the results of my own hard work. How could I give it away for free!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t waste any more time. We have to stop him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s kill him together and take the fruit of the Tree of God!¡±

    The disciples finally realized that they didn¡¯t have any time to hesitate. They had to kill Nangong Hao immediately.

    Their impulse to obtain the fruit of the Tree of Godbined with the threat that they faced had allowed them to make a decision very quickly. They decided to work together to obtain the ¡®treasure¡¯.

    Swoosh! A red, glowing figure shot up into the sky. His movement was sleek and his sword radiance was like a stream of fire.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of hurting Young Master!¡± A ck figure that had surrounded Nangong Hao retaliated and threw a punch towards the red figure.

    However, it was a pity that...

    This was the Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Countless sects and elites from the Four Great Empires had gathered here.

    In that case, after one man led the charge, would the rest of them continue to sit around idling and continue their ¡®normal lives¡¯ of makingments rather than joining in on the action?.

    The answer was clearly ¡®no¡¯!

    That was because a second figure appeared as soon as the first figure soared into the air. Then, the third, fourth, fifth...

    ¡°Many hands make light work. Let¡¯s go, everyone, don¡¯t be a chicken. Attack him from eight directions simultaneously and create a straight line at each direction. That would maximize the power of the attacks!¡± The pain on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face hadpletely disappeared at this moment and he was yelling excitedly instead.

    However, the crowd wouldn¡¯t notice it because their passion had beenpletely ignited.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll attack him from eight directions!¡±

    ¡°Form a line!¡±

    ¡°We could definitely kill him as long as we work together!¡±

    After the reminder, all the disciples quickly went from unorganized to organized andmenced attack based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s instruction.

    Xuanji Sect leader Zu Lian also squinted at this moment.

    As the leader of Xuanji Sect, his status outside of the Holy Region was unquestionable. However, that was only limited to the regions beyond the Holy Region.

    Once the Five Sects of the Holy Region were involved, Zu Lian was still...

    As worthless as a fart.

    ¡°The fruit of the Tree of God?¡± A chilling radiance shed across Zu Lian¡¯s eyes. He was currently at thete stage of Sage State. In order to improve further, he had been obtaining wealthy illegally and expending countless resources like a madman. However, he was still far from reaching the peak of Sage State.

    He wasn¡¯t even close to making any progress, much less breaking through.

    How could he ept that?

    The wealth and fortune in themon world could no longer satisfy Zu Lian. He wanted to be superior and stand above everybody else.

    He wanted superior authority and superior strength.

    It was just like the princes in an empire fighting for the throne. They were born with a silver spoon, and normal people spent their entire lives trying to be them.

    However, the princes didn¡¯t think like that.

    They had always been after that ultimate position. Even though they knew that there was no way back once they entered the fight for the throne and it was all or nothing, they still pursued their goal relentlessly.

    ¡°If I could obtain the fruit of the Tree of God, I could break through to the peak of Sage State and attain superiority!¡± Zu Lian clenched his fists tightly at this moment.

    He didn¡¯t forget how Fang Zhengzhi humiliated him just now, and that was why his desire for the fruit was so strong.

    ¡°Xuanji Sect¡¯s disciples, listen to me! Whoever that takes down Nangong Hao will be Xuanji Sect¡¯s secondary leader. Apart from that, all the disciples who take part in this battle will be handsomely awarded!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    With Zu Lian¡¯s order, all of Xuanji Sect¡¯s disciples went mad. Bing Xuanji Sect¡¯s secondary leader and iming a handsome reward was much more realistic for them.

    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Dozens of figures rushed into the air and pointed their swords towards Nangong Hao.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mess, it¡¯s aplete mess!¡± The elders of Heaven Dao Pavilion all looked towards Mu Qingfeng. They didn¡¯t know if they should stop the rest or help them.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s brows were tightly knitted together

    That was because he was pondering the same question. ¡®Help them? Wouldn¡¯t that make the situation even messier? What if we don¡¯t help them? What¡¯s Nangong family¡¯s n and what are the consequences if they seed? Both scenarios are equally unpredictable!¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, everybody! Don¡¯t be afraid of dying because Nangong Hao can¡¯t kill you guys alone. Charge with all your might because unity is power. You could even drown him if everyone spat at him!¡± While Mu Qingfeng was in a dilemma, he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s inappropriate voice once again.

    Then, Mu Qingfeng saw Fang Zhengzhi holding Chi Guyan in one hand and Ping Yang in the other, rushing towards the back of a massive stone statue at the edge of the altar.

 Chapter 850 - Shamelessness is An Art

    <h4>Chapter 850: Shamelessness is An Art</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Most importantly, after hiding at the edge of the altar, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t forget to put on what he thought was a dazzling smile for those disciples who joined the fight and put their lives on the line.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng was truly speechless this time. He opened his mouth but his mind went nk and he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡®He went to hide?¡¯

    ¡®This kid actually went to hide?!¡¯

    Mu Qingfeng had always thought that he knew how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was. However, after witnessing this, he had a strong feeling that his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi was only the tip of the iceberg.

    Apart from the tip, there was still an unimaginably massive ¡®ocean¡¯.

    Didn¡¯t this kid just say that his leg hurt? How could he run faster than a rabbit now? How could a person be so shameless!

    Mu Qingfeng had an urge to drag Fang Zhengzhi out from behind the statue. However, he really couldn¡¯t be bothered with Fang Zhengzhi now because the entire situation waspletely out of control. Apart from the smaller sects, even Xuanji Sect became entirely involved.

    Of course, there was a more important reason.

    Fang Zhengzhi had brought Chi Guyan along with him. Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t say anything or even dared to say anything solely because of that.

    ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡°Take the fruit of the Tree of God!¡±

    ¡°Kill Nangong Hao!¡±

    All the disciples went utterly mad thanks to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s incitement. After enduring for so long, they were finally able to unleash all the grudges and unhappiness within themselves.

    Sword radiance flew everywhere.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The massive bangs and collisions weren¡¯t stopping.

    The dozen of Sages of Nangong family formed a big circle and did all they could to stop the disciples charging towards Nangong Hao. However, there were too many of them.

    Most importantly, the sects that were invited to the Heaven Alliance Meeting had met a certain standard, so their disciples were pretty strong. Those that could join their sect leaders and attend the meeting were definitely considered elites in their respective sects.

    Hence, even the weakest amongst these disciples were at Supernatural State.

    What was the effect of thebined attacks of hundreds of these disciples? It might not be too impressive, but what if there were tens of thousands of them?

    In fact, it couldn¡¯t be described as an effect anymore because it was just like a tide. A sudden and shipwrecking tide.

    However, there were some exceptions.

    For example, Heaven Dao Pavilion didn¡¯t join the tide. At the very least, none of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples had joined in at the moment, although some of them looked equally excited.

    Apart from them, Fu Xi Valley, Yin Yang Hall, and Ling Yun Tower were also exceptions.

    In other words, almost none of the Five Sects of the Holy Region moved. However, one of them did, hence the ¡®almost¡¯.It was Nine Pinnacles Mountain, which had remained quiet all along.

    ¡°Kill him and avenge sect leader Tian Xing!¡± Under the leadership of one of the elders, a dozen disciples officially joined the tide.

    This scene didn¡¯t catch the other four sects off-guard. After all, what Nangong Hao had just said was equivalent to admitting that Nangong Nobles were behind Tian Xing¡¯s murder.

    In that case, it was only reasonable that Nine Pinnacles Mountain wanted to avenge Tian Xing.

    However, this reasonableness more or less catalyzed the intensity of the tide because if Nine Pinnacles Mountain hadn¡¯t joined the tide, there would still be some sort of ¡®bnce¡¯.

    At least the status quo of the Five Sects of the Holy Region would be maintained.

    However, once Nine Pinnacles Mountain joined the tide...

    The bnce was broken. After all, if a small sect obtained the fruit of the Tree of God, the Five Sects of the Holy Region could still abuse their power and ¡®alliance¡¯ to ¡®rob¡¯ it.

    However, it would bepletely different if Nine Pinnacles Mountain obtained the fruit. The four other sects couldn¡¯t take it by force. At the very least, they couldn¡¯t do that openly.

    Although this seemed like a small problem, it was a critical issue.

    ¡°Valley Master, should we?¡± Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan looked a little anxious when he saw Nine Pinnacles Mountain joining the tide.

    ¡°What do you guys think?¡± Mo Shanshi knitted his brows tightly. He seemed like he was in a dilemma as well.

    In fact, how could he possibly not feel anxious? Having said that, his years of experience of surviving in the Holy Region reminded him that the more chaotic the situation was, the more he had to remain calm.

    However, the key to the problem was the fact that he couldn¡¯t remain calm at all.

    Nine Pinnacles Mountain had already moved. If he kept hesitating and missed this opportunity, then the fruit of the Tree of God would fall into Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s hands.

    How could he sit back and watch that happen?

    ¡°The other three sects have not moved yet. I feel that it¡¯s more appropriate for us to wait and see!¡± One of Fu Xi Valley¡¯s elder quickly voiced his opinion.

    ¡°Wait and see? The current situation isn¡¯t looking optimistic. With so many sects involved, I doubt that the Nangong Nobles could hold on for much longer. Once Nangong Hao is apprehended, the war would be over. At that point in time, how would the sects that have participated in the war see us?¡±

    ¡°They would definitely say that Fu Xi Valley isn¡¯t decisive enough. In that case, Nine Pinnacles Mountain could not just obtain the fruit, but also win the support of more sects.¡±

    ¡°I feel that the Seventh and Eighth elders are right. The tide of the battle is clear and Nangong Nobles would definitely lose. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks if we strike now!¡±

    Three other elders shook their heads and expressed their different opinions after they heard the stance of the first elder.

    ¡°Valley Master, I feel the same. Regardless of the current situation, we¡¯d join the tide first so that we won¡¯t be too passive when this ends. Why don¡¯t I bring a few disciples and join the tide first, and I will act ordingly afterward. We can¡¯t let Nine Pinnacles Mountain obtain the fruit no matter what!¡± Gu Yuan also nodded and replied.

    ¡°Yup, elder Gu is right. Even if we can¡¯t get the fruit, we can¡¯t let Nine Pinnacles Mountain get it!¡± The other elders also nodded in agreement when they heard Gu Yuan.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s frown finally loosened up. He clenched his fists and nced at Heaven Dao Pavilion, who hadn¡¯t reacted. Then, he smiled and said, ¡°Old man Mu, if Heaven Dao Pavilion is afraid of offending the Nangong Nobles and isn¡¯t willing to take the lead, Fu Xi Valley will do the honors instead. Elder Gu, go!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Valley Master!¡± Gu Yuan quickly understood Mo Shanshi¡¯s words and he charged out with a dozen disciples.

    Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t sit tight anymore when he saw that.

    It was obvious that Mo Shanshi said that on purpose. He wanted to give Fu Xi Valley a valid reason to join the battle, and his other intention was to drag Heaven Dao Pavilion into the ¡®mess¡¯ together.

    ¡°Old man Mo, why can¡¯t you hold your horses?¡± Mu Qingfeng felt a little helpless. Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley had always moved as one. Although they quarrel once in a while, they were always allies when it came to huge issues.

    Hence, now that it hade to this, he didn¡¯t have a choice. Since Fu Xi Valley had already moved, Heaven Dao Pavilion couldn¡¯t possibly hesitate any longer.

    ¡°Move!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Following Mu Qingfeng¡¯s order, one of Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s elders also rushed out with a dozen disciples.

    It was clear that although Fu Xi Valley and Heaven Dao Pavilion had both joined the action, their focus was on ¡®participation¡¯ rather than giving it their all. After all, one elder and a dozen disciples couldn¡¯t really be considered as a significant force to them.

    ¡°Xin, should we?¡± Dao Hun also asked. His eyes which were hidden beneath the mask looked like he was seeking Dao Xin¡¯s opinion.

    However, Dao Hun already raised his left hand as he said that. It was obvious that he had made up his mind.

    Dao Xin nced at Dao Hun, and she obviously noticed his left hand. Then, she lowered her head as if she was considering something. However, that didn¡¯tst for too long. She raised her head again very quickly and nodded at Dao Hun.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to take part!¡±

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do it!¡± After Dao Hun saw Dao Xin nodding her head, he immediately waved his left hand.

    ¡°Yes!¡± An elder quickly received the order and nodded at the dozen disciples behind him who had already been chosen. Then, he bolted away as well.

    So far...

    Out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley, Yin Yang Hall, and Nine Pinnacles Mountain had all joined the tide. They were like four sharp swords suspending in the ocean and ¡®stabbing¡¯ at Nangong Hao, who was floating in the air.

    Of course, there was still an exception.

    It was Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Tower Master, shouldn¡¯t we join them?¡± Said a woman in a red dress standing behind Qian Yu. She seemed a little nervous when she saw the four other sects joining the battle.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡±

    ¡°Well... Understood!¡± The woman in red wanted to say something, but she held her tongue after seeing Qian Yu¡¯s calm demeanor.

    Qian Yu¡¯s eyes were calm as water.

    The faint silvery radiance slowly glittered in her eyes like the moon and made them incredibly bright.

    However, she was somewhat ncing at Fang Zhengzhi, who was hiding behind the statues on the edge of the altar, with an unknown intention.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand...

    Was watching the ¡®intense battle¡¯ leisurely.

    However, he was kind of disappointed by the intensity of the battle. After all, the Nangong Nobles were pretty powerful, especially when a dozen Sages were fighting with all their power under such a situation.

    In such a scenario, even if there were some ¡®fishes that slipped through the¡¯, they weren¡¯t enough to threaten Nangong Hao¡¯s life. Thanks to the countless snow-white flowers falling from the sky, all the disciples were sted away.

    Furthermore, the people from Heaven Dao Pavilion, Yin Yang Hall, and Fu Xi Valley weren¡¯t trying their best too. They were just strolling amongst the crowd and trying to look as if they were doing something.

    This created a stalemate which wouldn¡¯t end in a short amount of time.

    Snowkes kept falling.

    Every snowke was sharp as a razor. They would leave cuts on those disciples¡¯ bodies when they flew past.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ahhhh....¡±

    Blood fell from the sky following the disciples¡¯ cries of pain.

    The leisurely expression on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face slowly disappeared because he realized that Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley, and Yin Yang Hall were focusing on ¡®participation¡¯.

    ¡°This won¡¯t cut it. I¡¯ve to spice things up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced around and then saw Qian Yu looking at him. Furthermore, there seemed to be a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

    It was a provocation. Although it wasn¡¯t too obvious, it was definitely a provocation. It portrayed theposed and unwavering attitude of an expert.

    ¡°Little bastard, did you think that I¡¯d fall for it?¡± Qian Yu¡¯s lips moved. They showed a clear shape with every movement.

    ¡°Lipnguage?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled. Then, he smiled extremely dazzlingly and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a treasure. Is auntie really not interested in the fruit of the Tree of God?¡±

    Since Qian Yu was in the mood, Fang Zhengzhi had to do his best. His lips were also moving but he didn¡¯t make a sound. He had clearlyprehended Qian Yu¡¯s message.

    ¡°Have you heard of the saying ¡®There is no technique better than not having a technique¡¯?¡± Qian Yu¡¯s lips moved again and she clearly seemed a little pleased with herself.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It means that if the enemy doesn¡¯t move, I wouldn¡¯t move either, and you, are my ¡®enemy¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Auntie is so wise!¡±

    ¡°This is nothing. I¡¯m just capable of holding my horses.¡±

    ¡°Haha, auntie, I wonder if you¡¯ve heard of this sentence before.¡±

    ¡°Which sentence?¡±

    ¡°Shamelessness is actually an art!¡±

    ¡°Shamelessness is an art?¡± Qian Yu was dazed and she couldn¡¯t respond because she didn¡¯t understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    While she was still trying to figure it out, she heard a loud and clear voice.

    ¡°Woah, take a look everyone, Ling Yun Tower wants to sit back and enjoy the benefits of everyone¡¯s hard work. They don¡¯t understand the concept of sharing both pain and gain, life and death. Do you all think that they are too naive or too selfish?¡±

    This was obviously Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Qian Yu¡¯s temper was definitely good, and she always believed that she had sufficient tolerance. However, she was still dumbfounded after she heard his voice.

    Even the disciples behind her were dumbfounded because right after they heard that voice, they discovered that the atmosphere of the entire Heaven¡¯s Peak became a little eerie.

    Countless eyes stared at them almost in an instant, and all of them contained an obvious ¡®hostility¡¯.

 Chapter 851 - Goddamn Busybodies

    <h4>Chapter 851: Goddamn Busybodies</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Human beings had been social animals since ancient times. The existence of societies often represented the existence of standpoints. For example, you could be unique, but you couldn¡¯t take on a different standpoint.

    If an olddy was getting bullied by a few punks and everyone was just watching at the side, then you wouldn¡¯t get into too much trouble for joining the bystanders and even sneering at the olddy.

    However, if everyone was fighting against the punks and you chose to be an onlooker or even said something like ¡®You goddamn busybodies...¡±, you would be in big trouble.

    In the best case scenario, they would beat you up and spit on you. In the worst-case scenario, they might throw you into the river or show you why flowers were red.

    Ling Yun Tower...

    Was in such an awkward position at the moment.

    Although Ling Yun Tower was well-respected as one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, people would still be unhappy if they chose to by onlookers while everyone else was working together.

    The name of this unhappiness was public outrage!

    ¡°Tower Master, what should we do?¡± The woman in a red dress standing behind Qian Yu obviously felt a sense of crisis when she saw the unfriendly gazes.

    ¡®Little bastard, how dare you sabotage me!¡¯ Qian Yu was obviously angry, but that wouldn¡¯t change a thing because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words had already left her stranded in a bad position

    ¡®Do I really have to let this little bastard lead me by the nose?¡¯

    Qian Yu was obviously unwilling to ept that. After all, it wasn¡¯t just the issue of her personal image. It also concerned Ling Yun Tower¡¯s status.

    The logic was simple...

    Now that it hade to this, she couldn¡¯t save Ling Yun Tower from its awkward position just by sending a few disciples out.

    After all, everyone would feel that Ling Yun Tower wasn¡¯t truly their ally and they only joined the rest because they didn¡¯t have a choice.

    ¡®What should I do?¡¯

    Many solutions went through Qian Yu¡¯s mind. However, she quickly rejected them until she eventually fixated on one solution.

    However, after she decided to do that, Qian Yu really had an urge to kill Fang Zhengzhi. Nevertheless, she must do it in order to maintain Ling Yun Tower¡¯s reputation.

    She was extremely angry!

    Yet, she had to pretend to be calm.

    ¡°You can¡¯t even take down a mere Nangong Hao with thebined forces of so many sects and Four Sects of the Holy Region? Ai... The Holy Region is no longer the same as before!¡± Qian Yu stood up and nced around the surrounding area as she exuded an arrogant aura.

    The surrounding disciples were startled when they heard her. Even Mu Qingfeng¡¯s, Mo Shanshi¡¯s, and the other Holy Region¡¯s personnel¡¯s expressions changed.

    After all, that was the same as saying that they were useless.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    ¡°She is obviously afraid of sacrificing her disciples, yet she could still sound so righteous?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ling Yun Tower is nothing but talk!¡±

    The disciples weren¡¯t stupid. They could definitely tell that she was making fun of them.

    However, they shut up very quickly because the disciples standing behind Qian Yu walked out.

    Ling Yun Tower had always held a special position in the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    That wasn¡¯t because Ling Yun Tower only had female disciples. It was because Ling Yun Tower was strong enough to frighten the rest.

    At this very moment...

    Dozens of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples stepped out. They were neatly arranged and walking in unison. It was their imposing manner that shut those disciples¡¯ mouths.

    ¡°To be honest, I really didn¡¯t want to take part in this messy fight because it would degrade ourselves. Why don¡¯t all of you back off? Ling Yun Tower could take down Nangong Hao alone!¡± They heard Qian Yu¡¯s voice at this moment again. She looked extraordinarily cold and sounded exceptionally dominating.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t want to take part in this messy fight?¡±

    ¡°Degrade ourselves?!¡±

    The surrounding disciples were enraged. However, their anger was different from their ¡®hostility¡¯ just now, because they were angered by Ling Yun Tower¡¯s arrogance.

    However, it was true that Ling Yun Tower had always acted arrogantly in the Holy Region. Hence, although they were angry, they weren¡¯t surprised.

    Most importantly...

    Everyone soon realized that Ling Yun Tower wasn¡¯t actually unwilling to work with them. They were just unwilling to fight alongside them because they were too scornful of the rest.

    They were angry, but they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    That was how everyone felt at the moment.

    ¡°Smart move, auntie!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved again. At the meantime, he also blinked at Qian Yu and gave her a thumbs up.

    Qian Yu naturally noticed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s movement and lip talking, but she disregarded him. She just turned her head to the side and scoffed. Then, she looked up towards Nangong Hao, who was surrounded by countless snow-white flowers.

    ¡°Seven Moon-gazing Stars, Incinerate Everything!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The dozens of disciples who walked out replied uniformly to Qian Yu and quickly set up their formation.

    Dozens of Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples separated into eight groups almost instantly. They aligned themselves ording to the Big Dipper and stood on the positions of the seven stars respectively.

    There was a round ¡®moon¡¯ above the stars.

    Since it was called ¡®Seven Moon-gazing Stars¡¯, the focal point of their attacks was obviously the ¡®moon¡¯ that was formed by several women in red dresses. The seven other stars were the sources of power for the moon.

    Buzz!

    An inferno rose up and started spreading from one of the stars. The me lit up the moon almost immediately.

    It was crimson.

    It was a crimson moon that was covered in mes.

    The surrounding disciples intuitively took a few steps back when they felt its mighty aura. All of them looked shocked and horrified.

    ¡°There are dozens of disciples, but they are using the same Dao!¡±

    ¡°Is that Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just like the legends. They are too powerful!¡±

    Even if these disciples were still angry about Qian Yu¡¯s words just now, they had ultimately decided to keep quiet after they witnessed this scene.

    Ling Yun Tower was powerful!

    In that case, what was wrong with being a little arrogant?

    ¡°Old man Mu, they are already shaming us to our faces. If we don¡¯t show anything substantial, I¡¯m afraid that people wouldugh at Fu Xi Valley and Heaven Dao Pavilion for being useless!¡± Mo Shanshi clearly looked like he wouldn¡¯t admit defeat as he nced at the burning moon.

    After all, he had dignity!

    Fu Xi Valley had already lost in the Martial Arts Competition. If the others continued to look down on them in this battle, it would be hard for their disciples to stand tall in the Holy Region in the future.

    Without much hesitation, he gave his order. Then, eight of Fu Xi Valley¡¯s elders and over 100 disciples stepped out.

    ¡°Show Ling Yun Tower the difference between our formation and theirs!¡± Mo Shanshi continued without waiting for Mu Qingfeng¡¯s response.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The 100 odd disciples replied immediately.

    Then, they all took out a weapon that looked like a ¡®silver hook¡¯.

    Cling cling cling!

    Following the metallic ngs, all of Fu Xi Valley¡¯s disciples connected their silver hooks together. Then, they started spreading out with their bodies as connection points.

    Buzz! A silver radiance shed.

    Over 100 Fu Xi Valley¡¯s disciples moved about rapidly but they didn¡¯t seem to be stopping. However, as they moved around, they became a massive river formedpletely by the silver hooks. It looked like a silver dragon dancing around.

    There were eight Fu Xi Valley¡¯s elders at the abdomen of the dragon. Each of them was holding a sharp-w as a weapon.

    ¡°Die!¡± After a war cry, all of them rose into the air like a massive silver dragon that was soaring in the sky and charged towards Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Is that Fu Xi Valley¡¯s formation?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too ridiculous? I always thought that formations are inanimate, but I have never expected Fu Xi Valley¡¯s formation... To be a live formation that could transform freely?!¡±

    ¡°This is a totally a godly technique. Could formations actually do that?¡±

    It was impossible for the surrounding disciples to bepletely unfazed. After all, it was the first time they saw such a formation.

    ¡°This is the Eight-wed Silver Dragon Formation, please excuse us!¡± Mo Shanshi nced at the silver dragon in the sky and looked towards Qian Yu. His lips subconsciously curled into a smile. After all, it was definitely overly insulting for them to show off their formation in front of Fu Xi Valley.

    ¡°Ai...¡± Mu Qingfeng obviously saw Fu Xi Valley ¡®taking the lead¡¯. He felt bitter because he was obviously intelligent enough to tell that Fang Zhengzhi was the driving force behind these developments.

    However, what could he do?

    He couldn¡¯t do anything to stop. In fact, he even had to pretend to be oblivious and follow suit.

    ¡°108 Swords Formation!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    With Mu Qingfeng¡¯s order, 108 Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples rushed out. Every one of them was holding a long sword with a chilling glitter.

    As the swords moved, the dragon¡¯s roars never stopped.

    It was like the neverending waves. One after another, the waves kept pushing forward with a chilling swordwill.

    ¡°Such a powerful swordwill!¡±

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion truly lives up to its name as the top sword-wielding sect!¡±

    ¡°We are iparable to the strength of the Five Sects of the Holy Region after all...¡±

    The surrounding disciples intuitively cleared a path for Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s disciples after they felt the never-ending waves of powerful swordwill.

    So far, three out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region had unleashed their true capabilities.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile grew more dazzling when he saw this. After all, he loved watching such exciting battles.

    If he had to describe with a phrase, it would be...

    ¡®There¡¯s value in authenticity¡¯.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Where¡¯s Yin Yang Hall? I thought there are five sects in the Holy Region? Dao Hun, Dao Xin, the two of you didn¡¯t be cowards at this moment, right? Show everyone Yin Yang Hall¡¯s true capabilities!¡± Fang Zhengzhi started yelling again,pletely unworried that things would get out of hand.

    ¡°He¡¯s really a bastard!¡± Dao Hun clenched his fists tightly and his body jolted. His eyes were exuding a chilling gaze as well.

    ¡°He is truly a bastard, but we have to join the rest.¡± Dao Xin sounded calmer, but the chill in her eyes was definitely stronger.

    ¡°Does Yin Yang Hall really have to listen to him?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve to listen to the correct advice. What¡¯s ¡®correct¡¯ at the moment is killing Nangong Hao. This is for the sake of the world, and it has nothing to do with Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Dao Hun nodded softly after hearing her. Then, he slowly stood up and said, ¡°Two Extremes of Yin Yang! Yang represents life and Yin represents death. Open the Twin Gates of Yin Yang with the two extremes of life and death!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± 88 Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples quickly stepped out after heading Dao Hun¡¯s orders and formed a giant Yin Yang Illustration hastily.

    It was rotating!

    As the Yin Yang Illustration rotated, numerous streams of radiance started spreading and covering those injured disciples. They immediately felt relieved and their wounds started healing rapidly.

    ¡°Thank you, Hallmaster Dao Hun!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Hallmaster!¡±

    The disciples obviously knew that it was Yin Yang Hall that healed their injuries, so they quickly thanked Dao Hun.

    At the meantime, the gigantic Yin Yang Illustration started rotating again.

    A light pir that was ck as ink soared into the sky and split into multiple ck pirs. Each of them gave off an extremely chilling aura.

    ¡°The Dark Pirs of Death!¡±

    ¡°Are those Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Dark Pirs of Death?¡±

    ¡°They are so powerful!¡±

    The surrounding disciples felt a chill down their spine when they saw the ck pirs and felt their chilling aura.

    ¡°Two Extremes of Yin Yang? Gates of Life and Death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the massive Yin Yang Illustration. However, he could see more than just the Dark Pirs of Death.

    It was a special path that was flowing on every Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciple. The paths kept running into each other, but they fused together creepily in the end.

    ¡°Interesting!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Then, he turned towards Nine Pinnacles Mountain instead.

    Coincidentally...

    Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s current leader, Bai Fei, was looking at him as well. Furthermore, his lips were moving as if he was saying something in lipnguage.

 Chapter 852 - Rainbow and the Connection Between Heaven and Earth

    <h4>Chapter 852: Rainbow and the Connection Between Heaven and Earth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually a little curious about Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader. However, he wasn¡¯t too surprised.

    After all, he had killed their Great Elder when he left Nine Pinnacles Mountain. In that case, it was only reasonable that they elected a new leader.

    However...

    Bai Fei¡¯s lipnguage left him a little dumbstruck.

    ¡°Your mother is calling you home to eat?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t manage to react to that.

    ¡®Could Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader Bai Fei know my mom?¡¯

    ¡®Who the hell are you?¡¯

    ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯

    ¡®No, it isn¡¯t ¡®Your mother is calling you home for dinner¡¯. It¡¯s actually a bunch of random words that sound simr.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously wasn¡¯t that dumb, so he quickly figured out what was going on after a brief moment.

    That was because he realized that Bai Fei¡¯s lips were moving too quickly. It seemed more like he was chanting some sort of special ritual spells rather than saying something.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was a little confused because...

    ¡®Why is Bai Fei chanting spells at me?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, he suddenly noticed a sh of light in Bai Fei¡¯s eyes. It was a tiny spot of light, even a little unnoticeable in fact.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attention waspletely attracted by that spot of light precisely because it was too small and unnoticeable.

    Then, he noticed that it seemed to have turned into a shadow. It was an extremely normal view of someone¡¯s back, yet he couldn¡¯t help but keep watching.

    It was a strange feeling, just like how you would spend more time looking and focusing on something blurry. A person would unknowingly waste his time to look and think about it.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s current state of mind because he was so curious about both the spot of light in Bai Fei¡¯s eye and the shadow it had transformed into.

    Then...

    He felt the world in front of his eyes changing into something new. The surroundings slowly became fuzzy and he was getting dizzy.

    Fang Zhengzhi was losing his focus because of this feeling, and he subconsciously tried to clear his head and figure out his surroundings.

    However, for some reason, the more he tried to do that, the harder it was to see things clearly, which in turn made him try even harder. His thought process formed a loop without him realizing it.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know how long was he stuck in such a state, but he knew that there was a woman standing right in front of him.

    A white dress revealed her curvy body, and her long, ck hair was hanging around her waist like a waterfall. She also had bright eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had already seen this woman in white a few times before. She wasn¡¯t aplete stranger, but he didn¡¯t know her well either.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here now.¡± The woman in white said tly.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be here? Where... Is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled, but he quickly realized that something was off.

    That was because the woman actually spoke. In fact, this could be considered the first time that she had spoken to him.

    ¡°You should go back.¡± He heard her voice again.

    ¡°Wait, you have to first tell me who you are.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like everything was going against his will.

    This was because he did not get an answer to his question. As soon as the woman in white said that, his vision became blurred again. The surroundings had reverted back to before where he couldn¡¯t see anything clearly and that gave him a strong desire to see things clearly.

    However, a sudden thought interrupted him.

    ¡®No!¡¯

    ¡®This is an illusion!¡¯

    When Fang Zhengzhi realized that, the Origin Energy in his body began seething. In order to get out of the illusion, his body needed to ¡®explode¡¯.

    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that he literally had to explode. It just meant that his emotional state needed to go through a drastic change.

    As his Origin Energy surged, the world before him suddenly became clear. Everything went back to normal and he heard the yelling and shouting again.

    He caught Bai Fei¡¯s expression changing slightly, but it didn¡¯tst for very long before disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion, not an incantation?!¡± Although Bai Fei managed to cover up his expression, Fang Zhengzhi was still certain that Bai Fei wasn¡¯t chanting the incantation of a ritual. Rather, it was an incantation to cast a spell that was simr to a spiritual illusion.

    ¡®How dare he cast an illusion on me?¡¯

    ¡®Bai Fei...¡¯

    ¡®Where the hell did this guye from!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi became a little mad. He felt that it was time to teach Bai Fei a lesson and give Nine Pinnacles Mountain another push so that they would start getting serious.

    However, several Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders rushed out from behind Bai Fei before he could start yelling.

    Moreover, there were close to 200 disciples that rushed out as well. They had obviously all received clear orders from Bai Fei to attack with their full force while Fang Zhengzhi was trapped in the illusion.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Fang Zhengzhi originally thought that Bai Fei wanted to take advantage of him with the illusion. However, it now seemed like Bai Fei had already given out orders before he cast the illusion and didn¡¯t mean to take advantage of him at all.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this. However, it was his habit to put problems that he couldn¡¯t figure out aside temporarily, and it was no exception this time. Nevertheless, he¡¯d definitely pay Bai Fei back for casting an illusion on him.

    Having said that, this was not the best time for revenge.

    After all, while the Five Sects of the Holy Region were busy working together against Nangong Nobles, he¡¯d be indirectly helping them and going against the five sects if he suddenly chimed in and attacked Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi was willful, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was stupid.

    He¡¯d definitely take his revenge, however, he needed to change his approach. For example, he could get another party involved so that they could do the dirty work for him.

    As the saying went, ¡®It¡¯s easy to avoid an open attack but hard to guard against a sneak attack¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he could take advantage of his intelligence a little and look for a good opportunity to ¡®backstab¡¯ Bai Fei.

    Then...

    The opportunity seemed to have arrived.

    However, it was too sudden and too fast that Fang Zhengzhi could hardly react in time.

    That was because the elders and 200 disciples of Nine Pinnacles Mountain didn¡¯t charge towards Nangong Hao. Instead, they stopped in front of Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley like a tall wall blocking their path.

    Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Eight-wed Silver Dragon Formation was naturally the first to be stopped, and the scene was weird and shocking.

    Two elders of Nine Pinnacles Mountain mped onto the silver dragon from both left and right. They forcefully held the entire silver dragon back with just their solid arms.

    Although the two elders were pushed back rapidly and the silver dragon was still advancing, it was obviously only half as fast as before.

    Boom! The crashing noises were incessant as the silver hooks that were connected collided against each other. It sounded as if the silver dragon was roaring angrily.

    This sudden change left the surrounding disciples dumbfounded.

    ¡°Nine Pinnacles Mountain stopped Fu Xi Valley?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Those two elders from Nine Pinnacles Mountain are so strong that they could actually stop Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Eight-wed Silver Dragon Formation?! Are their arms... Forged with metal?¡±

    The disciples were confused but they were equally stunned by the two elders¡¯ strength.

    On the other hand, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest furrowed their brows because they didn¡¯t understand the intention behind Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s action.

    However, at this moment, Bai Fei spoke.

    ¡°Nangong Hao killed our previous leader, Tian Xing, so he¡¯s our mortal enemy. His life should be ours for the taking!¡± Aspared to his veneer of refinement before, Bai Fei was now exuding an air that seemed like he was unquestionable.

    ¡°Yours for the taking? You talk big for a little kid. If you aren¡¯t the new leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain, do you think you could even talk to us?¡± Mo Shanshi naturally understood what Bai Fei meant very quickly.

    However, that was exactly why he was even angrier. After all, Ling Yun Tower was arrogant because of their strength. Hence, he couldn¡¯t tolerate Nine Pinnacles Mountain for doing the same.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, are you unhappy with that?¡± Bai Fei held his hands behind his back and took a step forward as if he wasn¡¯t afraid of Mo Shanshi¡¯s threat.

    ¡°Yo? Interesting, hahaha... I¡¯ve lived a long time but to be honest, I rarely fought against a junior. Leader Bai, are you picking a fight against me?¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t qualified yet.¡±

    ¡°Bai Fei, don¡¯t push it too far, you little kid. I¡¯m only willing to lower my position and fight against you because you¡¯re the leader of Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? However, I don¡¯t have to ept your offer, right?¡± Bai Fei smiled and nced around before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve said that Nangong Hao¡¯s life is ours for the taking. Anyone who dares to stop us would be Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s enemy!¡±

    ¡°Bai Fei, how dare you! Do you really think that Fu Xi Valley is afraid of Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Mo Shanshi was furious when he heard that.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s brows knitted together tightly.

    Bai Fei¡¯s sudden opposition was obviously out of his expectation because even a fool could understand the current situation.

    At such a time, the Five Sects of the Holy Region were fighting internally instead of working together. This seemed unwise and Nine Pinnacles Mountain could end up as the target of criticisms and insults.

    However, Bai Fei did that.

    In fact, even the elders standing behind did not oppose his orders. Instead, they followed hismand wholeheartedly and fought against Fu Xi Valley.

    Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.

    If Bai Fei was really such an ¡®oblivious¡¯ person, how could he secure the position of Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s leader while the sect was in such a huge mess internally?

    Most importantly, even if Bai Fei had really lost his mind temporarily, there were so many elders in Nine Pinnacles Mountain and they couldn¡¯t have lost their minds as well.

    ¡®No!¡¯

    ¡®Something¡¯s wrong!¡¯

    Mu Qingfeng felt an extreme sense of crisis instantly. However, before he could even say a word, something strange suddenly happened in the sky.

    The Tree of God made of ice suddenly stopped growing. Its thick trunk stood in the sky like a massive heaven-receiving pir.

    Most importantly, there was a dazzling radiance atop the Tree of God. It was red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

    The seven-colored radiance bloomed in the air and turned into a rainbow. It connected the sky and Heaven Zen Mountain¡¯s peak like a massive rainbow bridge.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    However, Mu Qingfeng wasn¡¯t in the mood to admire it because he heard an ancient voice as soon as the bridge appeared.

    Boom!

    It was a thunderous voice.

    No one could understand what the voice was saying. However, it was deafening and sounded like it came from an extremely ancient world. Everyone somehow felt like worshipping it.

    ¡°Oh no, kill Nangong Hao right now!¡± Mu Qingfeng finally reacted. While they were fighting amongst themselves and hesitating, they had already given Nangong Hao too much time.

    After such a long time had passed, Nangong Hao¡¯s n was definitely well prepared. Although Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t know what would happen next, he had a strong feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good.

    ¡°Hahaha... It¡¯s toote, it¡¯s already toote. Us Nangong Nobles could finally take revenge, hahaha...¡± They heard Nangong Tian¡¯s voice at this moment.

    He was stopped by Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Great Elder Yan Yin so he couldn¡¯t help with stopping the crowd that had charged towards Nangong Hao.

    However, after seeing this, his anxious expression finally looked a little relieved. It was the relief after seeing the hope of winning.

    Boom! Nangong Tian was struck in the chest by someone¡¯s palm and sent flying.

    Boom! He crashed into the ground.

    ¡°You¡¯d die before you can take your revenge!¡± Yan Yin looked at Nangong Tian with a strong killing intent on his face.

    ¡°Die? Hahaha... Why would I be afraid of dying? Yan Yin, you¡¯ve underestimated me!¡± Nangong Tian didn¡¯t seem to be in pain. He still looked excited as if he wasn¡¯t hit at all.

 Chapter 853 - Yan Huangs Descendants

    <h4>Chapter 853: Yan Huang¡¯s Descendants</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Not afraid of death?¡± Yan Yin was a little startled. He had believed that the ¡®revenge¡¯ that Nangong Tian spoke of was about something that happened to him in the past.

    However, it now appeared that Nangong Tian didn¡¯t care about his life at all. In that case, the Nangong Nobles¡¯ n was definitely not as simple as seeking mere vengeance.

    ¡®What exactly is their n?¡¯

    Yan Yin looked towards the Tree of God and the rainbow that descended from the sky, and he sensed an ominous feeling too.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao, who was floating in mid-air, started moving.

    With Nangong Hao at the center, nine snow-white flowers gradually appeared and revolved around him continuously. At the meantime, his eyes went through an eerie transformation.

    One of his eyes was red as blood while the other was pure and white. They gave offpletely different vibes yet they both appeared on Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    At this instance, a terrifying force of absorption started spreading towards the surrounding area like the ocean waves and formed a ckhole-like vortex around him.

    ¡°Oh no, stop him now!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. Just as he wanted to rush towards Nangong Hao, someone blocked his way.

    ¡°Yan Yin, I am not dead yet!¡± There was blood on the corner of Nangong Tian¡¯s mouth, but the excitement on his face remained unchanged.

    ¡°Nangong Tian, you¡¯re digging your own grave!¡±

    Boom! Following a deafening bang, the two of them became entangled in a fight again. The surrounding rubbles flew everywhere due to the incessant explosions.

    However, just as Nangong Tian had mentioned, even though Yan Yin was at the peak of Sage State, he still couldn¡¯t beat Nangong Tian in a short time.

    Mu Qingfeng obviously noticed that.

    After he saw Nangong Hao¡¯s transformation, he couldn¡¯t keep his cool any longer unlike his usual self. After all, as one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he didn¡¯t wish to see too many changes in the world.

    ¡°Old Mo, let¡¯s do it!¡± As Mu Qingfeng said that, he had already rushed out towards Nangong Hao like a stream of light.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing him.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since Ist exercised. I¡¯ll loosen up my body properly today!¡± Mo Shanshi didn¡¯t hesitate because he was already agitated by Bai Fei¡¯s words.

    Now that Mu Qingfeng had already moved, how could he keep on wasting time?

    Mo Shanshi disappeared on the spot after he moved. In the next moment, he appeared in the air, right behind Mu Qingfeng.

    Two of the strongest masters of the Holy Region attacked simultaneously.

    This was definitely a rare sight that might only appear once in a century. At the very least, the surrounding disciples became excited for some reason when they saw this.

    ¡°Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi attacked simultaneously!¡±

    ¡°Their auras are so overwhelming. Is this the power of the strongest masters of the Holy Region?¡±

    ¡°They are too powerful!¡±

    The disciples held their weapons tightly when they saw Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi charging towards Nangong Hao. However, no one was foolish enough to join the fight.

    After all, a fight of this caliber wasn¡¯t just about the numbers. If there were too many of them, they would just hold the masters back or even hurt them by ident.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up at this moment.

    He knew a thing or two about Mu Qingfeng¡¯s strength. He was definitely stronger than Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s previous leader, Tian Xing. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even possess a Gifted Bloodline.

    Meanwhile, Mo Shanshi was the master of Fu Xi Valley, and he was already so old. Hence, it was unrealistic to think that he was weak.

    As the saying went, ¡®Man gets better with age¡¯.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had never tested that theory personally, it didn¡¯t mean that he must try it out to know it was true.

    For example...

    A young boy¡¯s urine was rumored to be able to cure all poisons!

    Who would test it out unless he had nothing better to do?

    Since he was just a bystander, Fang Zhengzhi was happy to be apetent cheerleader now that Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi decided to step in.

    ¡°Do your best, old men!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually cheering loudly.

    However, as soon as he said that, two people wearing ck cloaks appeared in front of Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi out of nowhere.

    It was Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders again.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Valley Master Mo, our leader has said that Nangong Hao¡¯s life is ours for the taking. Please step back!¡± One of them spoke.

    ¡°Screw off!¡± Mo Shanshi didn¡¯t waste any time talking to the elders this time. Although the Five Sects of the Holy Region had always been allies, it didn¡¯t mean that he could tolerate Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s insolence again and again.

    As Mo Shanshi said that, his palm struck towards the two elders. In that split second, his hand seemed to have be as huge as a mountain.

    There was a massive shadow floating above the hand. It was an extremelyplicated pattern, and it looked like some sort of ancient formation.

    Boom!

    The two elders were sted away by five steps. The ck cloaks covering their faces were blown upwards and revealed two extremely young faces.

    ¡°Such a powerful blow!¡±

    ¡°Those two elders of Nine Pinnacles Mountain are extraordinarily powerful too. They were only forced back by five steps rather than getting blown away?¡±

    ¡°Impressive!¡±

    The spectating disciples were shocked by the exchange between the masters.

    However, Mo Shanshi squinted and a chilling sh appeared in his eyes as he nced at the two elders.

    ¡°Hmm? You aren¡¯t from Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Who exactly are you people?¡± As Fu Xi Valley¡¯s master, Mo Shanshi naturally knew about Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders to a certain extent.

    However, these two people were definitely strangers to him. They were obviously not Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders, whether judging by their strength or by their appearances.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, you must be joking. If we aren¡¯t from Nine Pinnacles Mountain, where else could we¡¯vee from?¡± The two elders smiled faintly when they heard him.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll reveal your true identity today no matter who you are!¡± Mo Shanshi didn¡¯t continue questioning them because he knew that it would just be wasting time.

    Mo Shanshi jolted and pounced towards them again. Theplicated pattern appeared on top of his head once more and it seemed to be covering his body. Streams of golden light gradually began flowing on his face and his hands.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi saw the transformation on Mo Shanshi. He was sure that Mo Shanshi didn¡¯t possess a Gifted Bloodline either.

    However, theplicated pattern above his head seemed to have given him a mighty power simr to that of a Gifted Bloodline.

    This was definitely a new discovery.

    However, there wasn¡¯t much time to study it at the moment because Mu Qingfeng also attacked at the same moment as Mo.

    He pointed his finger at one of the elders.

    There was a thunderous bang.

    It was a finger sword.

    Combined with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s unbelievable speed, the attack appeared in front of that elder almost instantaneously. Its sharp aura was aiming straight for his chest.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, are you disregarding the alliance between the Five Sects of the Holy Region?!¡± The elder made a weird noise as the finger closed in on him. Then, his body somehow shifted to the left, leaving only a faint shadow behind.

    ¡°A shadow clone?¡± Mu Qingfeng squinted. He obviously wasn¡¯t deceived by that elder¡¯s words because he also saw the two elders¡¯ faces clearly when Mo Shanshi attacked them.

    Although he didn¡¯t know what had happened to Nine Pinnacles Mountain, that quick glimpse was enough for him to confirm their identities.

    They weren¡¯t Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders!

    In that case, there was nothing to worry about!

    The radiance on the tip of his finger sword suddenly split into two and shott towards the figure at the side.

    Boom! That figure which had shifted to the side dissipated immediately, and only the original ¡®faint shadow¡¯ remained. It was now obvious that the shadow clone was actually his actual body.

    At the meantime, he heard an explosion beside him. It was clear that Mo Shanshi hadnded another attack on the other elder.

    The two elders were blown away again.

    Only this time, their ck cloaks werepletely destroyed and could no longer conceal their freakishly young faces.

    ¡°Eh? They are so young?!¡±

    ¡°How could Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders look like that?¡±

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t think they are Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders. Who are they?¡±

    The disciples on the ground saw this scene clearly. After all, the two elders were overly young.

    In fact, they were too freakishly young.

    Rumble!

    There was a bang not too far away from them. It was due to the sh between Fu Xi Valley¡¯s Eight-wed Silver Dragon Formation and the other two elders of Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    The massive Eight-wed Silver Dragon Formation roared continuously and sted those two elders away too. Their ck cloaks were also destroyed, revealing two extraordinarily young faces just like the other two elders.

    ¡°None of them are Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s elders!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s people be like this?¡±

    ¡°If they aren¡¯t from Nine Pinnacles Mountain, then, where are Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s people?¡±

    The disciples below were dumbfounded when they saw the four elders¡¯ faces.

    After all, this was the Heaven Alliance Meeting!

    Who would dare to cause troubles here?

    Most importantly, who was strong enough to cause troubles here while pretending to be Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    The disciples had many questions, however, they got their answered very quickly. That was because Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng attacked again, and the two elders before him couldn¡¯t seem to hold their ground much longer. As they fell back, smooth, shell-like scales started appearing on their bodies.

    ¡°Scales?!¡±

    ¡°They are... Monsters!¡±

    ¡°Monsters?!¡±

    All the disciples reacted almost instantaneously because there was only one exnation for their youthful appearances and the scales on their bodies.

    They were monsters!

    Only monsters looked like that!

    ¡°Monsters?! Shouldn¡¯t they be at the Great Swamp? Why would the monsters appear at the Heaven Alliance Meeting? What are they trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, did Nangong Nobles and the monster race join forces?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    Many people eximed with surprise.

    Many diverted their attention to the four monsters and Nangong Hao. The disciples¡¯ minds were filled with countless questions and spections.

    Nangong Tian¡¯s expression also changed at this instance.

    ¡°Monsters?¡± Nangong Tian looked up at the sky. It was apparent that even he didn¡¯t understand why the monsters would show up here at this moment.

    ¡°Head of Nangong family, how could you join forces with the monsters?¡± Yan Yin¡¯s gaze became increasingly chilling after he saw that.

    ¡°As a human, you could devise cunning ns, or even do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. However, forming an alliance with the monsters is obviously breaking the biggest taboo!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, us Nangong Nobles are the descendants of Yan Huang. Why do we need to work with the monsters!¡± Nangong Tian stared at Yan Yin, and he looked a little mad.

    ¡°Descendants of Yan Huang? You?¡± Yan Yin scoffed.

    ¡°Haha, if us Nangong Nobles are not qualified to be called Yan Huang¡¯s descendants, then I¡¯m afraid that no one in this world would dare to call himself a Yan Huang¡¯s descendant!¡±

    ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. Die!¡±

    ¡°Yan Yin, you can¡¯t stop us. We are destined to win this battle!¡±

    ¡°In your dreams!¡±

    After the argument, Yan Yin and Nangong Tian started fighting again. No one dared to stand around them because of the violent aura.

    At this moment, Dao Hun, who had been sitting in front of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s corner, stood up. After his menacing mask, a chilling sh appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°The monster race had remained hidden in the Great Swamp for over a decade. I didn¡¯t expect them toe out now, and even interfere with the Heaven Alliance Meeting. It seems like... Nine Pinnacles Mountain is probably non-existent already!¡± Instead of looking at the four monsters in the sky, Dao Hun nced at Fang Zhengzhi, who was hiding behind the statue, and said, ¡°If I¡¯m right, this has something to do with Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    ¡°Something to do with Fang Zhengzhi?¡± One of the elders standing behind Dao Hun was clearly surprised when he heard that.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably thanks to the monster race that Fang Zhengzhi had survived!¡±

    ¡°Hallmaster, this sounds reasonable. Fang Zhengzhi definitely didn¡¯t stand a chance of escaping from Nine Pinnacles Mountain alone. It must be the monster race helping him secretly!¡±

 Chapter 854 - Wait till You Find Out Whos Got My Back

    <h4>Chapter 854: Wait till You Find Out Who¡¯s Got My Back</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What happens to a human who sides with the demons?¡± A chilling sh appeared in Dao Hun¡¯s eyes as he took a step forward.

    ¡°He¡¯s obviously everyone¡¯s enemy!¡± The elder behind Dao Hun smirked and said because he already understood what Dao Hun meant.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I shall person end this traitor¡¯s life!¡± After Dao Hun said that, he stepped out of Yin Yang Hall¡¯s corner without asking for Dao Xin¡¯s opinion. Then, he appeared in the middle of the battleground in just a sh.

    Dao Xin¡¯s lips moved as if she wanted to say something. However, after she saw where Dao Hun had appeared, she held her tongue ultimately.

    Such a scene naturally attracted the surrounding disciples¡¯ attention.

    ¡°Eh? Is Dao Hun joining the fight too?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely. Since we¡¯ve found out about the elders¡¯ true identities, Bai Fei¡¯s identity is equally questionable ording to my spection!¡±

    ¡°No matter who Bai Fei actually is, it¡¯s a rare learning opportunity for us to see three of the strongest masters fighting at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I must learn something from them.¡±

    The disciples didn¡¯t feel threatened because humans had forced the Demon race to cower in the Great Swamp for so many years. They were basically harmless.

    Most importantly, the leaders of the Five Sects of the Holy Region were all present on the Heaven Zen Mountain. Why did they need to worry about a few problematic demons?

    While the disciples expected Dao Hun to attack the demons, he suddenly pointed at Fang Zhengzhi who was hiding behind a statue.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you collude with the Demon race and disrupt the Holy Region¡¯s peacefulness!¡± Dao Hun exuded a powerful aura as he said that.

    ¡°Collude with the Demon race?¡±

    ¡°Did Dao Hun just say that Fang Zhengzhi is colluding with the Demon race?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The disciples were definitely dumbfounded by Dao Hun¡¯s words. After all, they didn¡¯t see any connection between Fang Zhengzhi and the Demon race.

    In fact, even the other four sects of the Holy Region were extremely confused because Fang Zhengzhi had just dealt with the Nangong Nobles.

    Based on the current situation...

    It was most likely that the Nangong Nobles were working with the Demon race. In that case, how could Nangong Nobles¡¯ enemy, Fang Zhengzhi, work with the demons?

    ¡°I¡¯m colluding with the Demon race?¡± Fang Zhengzhi also seemed a little surprised as he looked a Dao Hun. However, he regained hisposure quickly.

    That was because he wouldn¡¯t be too surprised no matter why Dao Hun said that. After all, he wanted him dead.

    On that basis alone...

    It would be normal for Dao Hun to find an opportunity to use him of a crime.

    Demons were on the loose currently, so it made sense that Dao Hun took advantage of such a great opportunity to use him of colluding with the Demon race.

    However, was this really the perfect time for ¡®infighting¡¯?

    ¡°Dao Hun, are you a dumbass?¡± Fang Zhengzhi cursed at Dao Hun directly and ignored those astonished faces around him.

    ¡°Such insolence!¡±

    ¡°How dare you insult our Hallmaster!¡±

    Yin Yang Hall¡¯s disciples retaliated immediately after they heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you brave?¡± Fang Zhengzhi showed no courtesy. With a wave of his hand, several bolts of lightning descended from the sky and struck the disciples who talked back to him.

    Boom!

    They were blown away immediately.

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding disciples felt a chill up their backs when they saw that. Although they knew that Fang Zhengzhi was insolent, it waspletely different to witness it aspared to hearing about it.

    ¡®He attacked them just like that?¡¯

    ¡®Completely without a shred of concern?¡¯

    ¡®This guy is truly fearless!¡¯

    ¡°Dao Hun, I am all up for it if you want a fight. However, aren¡¯t you too naive for trying to use me of colluding with the demons?¡± Said Fang Zhengzhi as he put his hands around his waist and shook his ass, shooting Dao Hun a condescending nce.

    ¡°Hmph, Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t try to deny it. Everyone knows that you were thrown into the Middle Stream Cauldron at Nine Pinnacles Mountain. How could you have survived that without the Monster race¡¯s help?¡± Dao Hun saw the disciples who were blown away and his expression grew cold. However, he didn¡¯tment about it.

    After all, he had already known Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s insolence. It wasn¡¯t a big deal since he had only attacked a few disciples.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your proof?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sneered and replied.

    ¡°The fact that Nine Pinnacles Mountain has already been taken over by the Monster race is the best proof!¡± Dao Hun pointed at the four monsters in the air and said coldly.

    The three other sects of the Holy Region and the surrounding disciples were all a little rmed when they heard that.

    They might not have been convinced before, but Dao Hun¡¯s words acted as a sudden wake-up call.

    Just as Dao Hun had stated...

    Without the Monster race¡¯s help, how could Fang Zhengzhi possibly get out of Nine Pinnacles Mountain alive? Most importantly, there was obviously a huge problem with Nine Pinnacles Mountain at the moment. It was even possible that the monsters had taken over the sectpletely.

    That alone was indeed the most solid proof.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, it¡¯s time for you to repay our kindness. We have already gained the upper hand now, so stop wasting time with them and kill Dao Hun. The Monster race will help you eradicate Yin Yang Hall!¡± At this moment, they heard someone¡¯s voice from a short distance away.

    It was none other than Bai Fei, who was standing in front of Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s corner.

    ¡°Repay our kindness?¡±

    ¡°Kill Dao Hun and eradicate Yin Yang Hall?!¡±

    That simple sentence had immediately changed the minds of the surrounding disciples as well as those from the Holy Region. Everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an obvious cautiousness this time.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you collude with the Monster race!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re human, not a monster!¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long before the scolding started. After all, humans would never tolerate someone who had colluded with the Monster race for the sake of his own revenge.

    ¡°Damn it, am I getting screwed over?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed and eximed inwardly when he saw the cautious looks around him.

    That was because it was obviously a scheme to sow dissension between them.

    As an ancient saying went, ¡®He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was defiled now. He used to be the person who sowed dissension between others, but it seemed like he was the victim now.

    The person who dealt the killing blow...

    Was obviously Bai Fei.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was pointless to say anything at this moment. The only thing he could do was to take down Bai Fei and prove his innocence.

    However, both Chi Guyan and Ping Yang were severely injured. How could he cast them aside and deal with Bai Fei?

    As that thought went through his mind, he heard Dao Hun again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re a traitor to mankind. I, Dao Hun, shall personally execute you today!¡± It was obvious that Dao Hun wasn¡¯t going to give Fang Zhengzhi any time to exin himself or take down Bai Fei.

    He neared Fang Zhengzhi in an instant with an obvious smirk hidden beneath his hideous mask.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t back away. Since Dao Hun had already attacked him, people would treat him as a paper tiger if he didn¡¯t fight back.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword instantly. As the devilish purple light appeared, heshed out at Dao Hun without any hesitation.

    Boom!

    Following a violent gust, Dao Hun was actually blown away. He only managed to stand firm after taking three steps backward.

    All the surrounding disciples were overwhelmed with disbelief when they saw that because they could see clearly that blood was dripping off Dao Hun¡¯s finger.

    Tap! It was barely audible.

    However, the drop of blood did slowly fall from Dao Hun¡¯s finger and dripped onto the broken ground paved with white jade.

    In contrast to Dao Hun, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even budge. Although his face was a little flushed, he didn¡¯t take a single step back. The only thing that was moving in the wind was his long, blue robe.

    ¡°He actually overpowered Dao Hun?!¡±

    ¡°Is this fellow... Really only 18 years old?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so powerful! How is he so powerful when he¡¯s only 18 years old? Dao Hun is one of the strongest masters in the Holy Region, so how could he stand his ground against him? Furthermore, he even managed to overpower Dao Hun!¡±

    ¡°Has this fellow reached the peak of Sage State? That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    This time, the surrounding disciples were truly stunned.

    Although they already knew how strong Fang Zhengzhi was from his previous fight against Nangong Hao, it was still unbelievable that he had reached such a level.

    In fact, even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were shocked.

    After all, they knew too well about Dao Hun¡¯s strength.

    ¡°This kid is already powerful enough to face Dao Hun?!¡± Mo Shanshi obviously couldn¡¯t conceal his astonishment.

    In his impression, Fang Zhengzhi was strong, but not that strong. He didn¡¯t believe that Fang Zhengzhi was on the same level as them.

    However...

    He had to ept the truth before his eyes.

    ¡°This fellow has actually matured. Furthermore, he has matured to a terrifying extent. If he is really colluding with the Monster race, it¡¯d be a tough situation for us!¡± Although Mu Qingfeng wasn¡¯t convinced that Fang Zhengzhi was working with the Monster race, he couldn¡¯t help but be worried, especially since Chi Guyan was currently in his hands.

    If Fang Zhengzhi actually threatened him with Chi Guyan¡¯s life, even he wouldn¡¯t know what to do.

    ¡°Yo? Yin Yang Hall¡¯s Hallmaster, is that all you got? I expected you to be much stronger. It seems like I¡¯ve overestimated you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips upwards into a sneer and said. The redness on his face disappeared and he shot Dao Hun a condescending nce.

    ¡°Three months... Merely three months have passed. How could he have gotten so strong?!¡± Dao Hun raised his finger and glimpsed at the cut. He was obviously a little dumbfounded.

    Although he didn¡¯t exert his full strength or even use a weapon just now, he was still shocked that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to injure his finger with a single sh.

    ¡°If Yin Yang Hall wants to harm Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯d have to get past Shadow Sect first!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Dao Hun, our fight from three months ago hasn¡¯t ended!¡±

    At this instance, Wu Yuer, who had remained seated so far, stepped in, and so did Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli.

    The three of them walked out of their corner, followed by hundreds of Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples who were all wearing ck bamboo hats and carrying a sword on their backs.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled again.

    Then, he looked towards Qian Yu, who was ¡®firm as a rock¡¯, and his expression suddenly became sincere as he said, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m a part of Ling Yun Tower. Are you really going to sit back and watch me get bullied?¡±

    ¡°Bastard, why didn¡¯t you remember that you are part of Ling Yun Tower when you sabotaged me just now?¡± Qian Yu was obviously unconvinced.

    ¡°Auntie, are you going to expel me now?¡± Instead of answering Qian Yu¡¯s question, Fang Zhengzhi continued with a smile.

    ¡°Seems like you aren¡¯tcking in self-awareness. To be honest, I¡¯ve truly never seen someone as shameless as you before!¡± Qian Yu scolded him in a scornful tone. However, she quickly turned towards Dao Hun and said, ¡°Hallmaster Dao, I¡¯ll cut straight to the point. Fang Zhengzhi is mine, so you can¡¯ty a finger on him!¡±

    ¡°Is mine?!¡±

    ¡°Did Qian Yu just say Fang Zhengzhi belongs to her?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that Qian Yu and Fang Zhengzhi are...¡±

    The surrounding disciples¡¯ expressions looked a little weird at this moment despite their astonishment. They were clearly filled with disbelief as they nced at Qian Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    On the other hand, Emperor Lin Mubai, who was sitting at a short distance away, couldn¡¯t take it any longer. After all, even he sensed the inappropriateness in Qian Yu¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yu¡¯er is Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s empress, and I¡¯ve also personally bestowed Fang Zhengzhi the title of Prince Cang. The Great Xia Dynasty wouldn¡¯t allow Hallmaster Dao to harm Fang Zhengzhi either!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s exnation was perfect.

    Although it was a simple sentence, it had undoubtedly informed everyone of Qian Yu¡¯s rtionship with Great Xia Dynasty and got rid of the inappropriateness in her statement earlier.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips at this moment with unwillingness written all over his face. After all, he had never admitted that he was going to be Qian Yu¡¯s son-inw.

    However, he was more than happy that Qian Yu got his back.

    ¡°Dao Hun, don¡¯t you want to kill me? In that case, get past my auntie Qian Yu first!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Qian Yu as he said that.

 Chapter 855 - The Radical Change and Death of Bai Fei?

    <h4>Chapter 855: The Radical Change and Death of Bai Fei?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Get past my auntie Qian Yu?¡±

    ¡°Did he just try to get Ling Yun Tower involved? Most importantly, did Qian Yu actually step in to defend him?¡±

    ¡°This fellow... Is truly shameless!¡±

    All the surrounding disciples put on a strange expression after they heard Fang Zhengzhi. After all, it would furtherplicate things once Ling Yun Tower was involved.

    Having said that, they were surprised that Ling Yun Tower and Shadow Sect would step in at this moment because this meant that Fang Zhengzhi was important to both sects.

    Dao Hun¡¯s feelings were mixed as well.

    If Dao Hun had previously felt like it was a certain victory, then the current development was definitely out of his expectations.

    Not only did Shadow Sect stepped in, even Ling Yun Tower¡¯s Qian Yu decided to interfere. Coupled with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ridiculous power, this was bing a tough nut for Dao Hun to crack.

    However, that was precisely why...

    Dao Hun¡¯s killing intent towards Fang Zhengzhi was growing stronger.

    ¡®Shadow Sect? Ling Yun Tower! I definitely can¡¯t let this fellow grow any stronger!¡¯ Dao Hun knew that once he missed a good opportunity like this, it would be even more unlikely to catch Fang Zhengzhi slipping up in the future. He had to take advantage of this mess to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he also knew about Qian Yu¡¯s strength.

    After all, the battle that took ce outside Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s me Capital City over a decade ago still left a deep impression in many people¡¯s minds.

    Dao Hun clenched his fists tightly because it would be impossible to take down Fang Zhengzhi with Qian Yu defending him.

    ¡°I only spected that Shadow Sect is working with the Monster race due to its rtionship with Fang Zhengzhi. However, I certainly didn¡¯t foresee that even one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, Ling Yun Tower, is affiliated with them. This is definitely a surprise for me!¡± Dao Hun nced at Wu Yuer and Qian Yu coldly and questioned them.

    It had to be mentioned that Dao Hun was extremely calm in handling this sudden change. He managed to frame Shadow Sect and Ling Yun Tower with a simple sentence.

    The surrounding disciples¡¯ expression changed when they heard that. They nced at each other with the same doubt in their minds.

    ¡®Are Shadow Sect and Ling Yun Tower colluding with the Monster race too?¡¯

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯

    ¡®The entire Holy Region, or even the entire world, may be thrown into chaos!¡¯

    ¡°Hallmaster Dao is really proficient at making unfounded usations!¡± Qian Yu scoffed and replied. Then, she nced at the rainbow that descended from the sky and continued, ¡°I believe that everyone knows whether my Ling Yun Tower is colluding with the Monster race. On the contrary, what¡¯s Hallmaster Dao¡¯s intention for causing dissension amongst the Five Sects of the Holy Region at this moment and giving the monsters time to recover themselves?¡±

    ¡°The proof is solid and I¡¯m just trying to get rid of a menace for mankind. Tower Master Qian, aren¡¯t you biased by your emotions and protecting him on purpose by saying that I¡¯m causing dissension?¡±

    ¡°So what if I am? I AM going to protect him, and what could you do about that?¡± Qian Yu wasn¡¯t courteous either. She walked out directly and appeared beside Fang Zhengzhi in just a blink.

    ¡°Qian Yu, are you trying to be mankind¡¯s enemy?¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be on the same side as you!¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Dao Hun was too agitated toe up with a reply.

    ¡°If you want a fight, bring it on! Stop wasting time!¡± Qian Yu was extremely arrogant.

    ¡°Fine. I shall get a taste of Tower Master Qian¡¯s prowess today!¡± Dao Hun opened his palm and a pair of ck and white swords appeared in his hands instantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked towards Bai Fei at this moment. With Qian Yu here, he naturally didn¡¯t have to worry about Dao Hun. However, he was extremely puzzled by Bai Fei.

    He didn¡¯t know what the Nangong Nobles¡¯ n was, but he had a feeling that everything was part of Bai Fei¡¯s calctions.

    Bai Fei?

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly remembered that he didn¡¯t wipe out Nine Pinnacles Mountainpletely when he left. They were just badly injured.

    ¡®Why was Nine Pinnacles Mountain upied by the Monster race and how did Bai Fei be Nine Pinnacles Mountain¡¯s new leader? Did something happen to Nine Pinnacles Mountain after I left?¡¯

    If that was the case, it meant that his conflict with Nine Pinnacles Mountain was also part of Bai Fei¡¯s scheme, and that was too terrifying.

    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ll leave Dao Hun to you!¡± Said Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he looked at Wu Yuer and continued, ¡°Yu¡¯er, keep Ping Yang and Yan¡¯er safe!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± Wu Yuer didn¡¯t argue with Fang Zhengzhi this time. She waved her hand at Shadow Sect¡¯s disciples and hundreds of them immediately surrounded Ping Yang and Chi Guyan.

    At this instance, several generals wearing heavy armors walked out of Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s corner. Each of them was exuding intense radiance.

    ¡°Please be rest assured, Prince Cang. We¡¯ll also be responsible for Princess Ping Yang¡¯s and Princess Chi Guyan¡¯s safety!¡± They paid respect to Fang Zhengzhi after saying that.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi naturally saw this.

    They nced at each other and saw the worry in each other¡¯s eyes. After all, more infighting would definitely make the situation more chaotic.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was obviously unlike how he was when he had just entered the Holy Region. Not only was he extremely powerful himself, but he also had Shadow Sect and Ling Yun Tower behind his back.

    ¡°This is a mess, this is aplete mess!¡± The ominous feeling in Mo Shanshi¡¯s heart grew stronger as he watched the situation unfold. He felt like he didn¡¯t know how to handle this anymore.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put the other things aside and take down Nangong Hao together first!¡± Mu Qingfeng shared Mo Shanshi¡¯s feelings, but he knew that they couldn¡¯t waste any more time.

    After all, the conflict between Fang Zhengzhi and Yin Yang Hall couldn¡¯t be remedied in a short time.

    There was an order of priority and the first thing on the list was definitely taking down Nangong Hao. If they remain distracted, it would undoubtedly give Nangong Hao too much time.

    ¡°Ok!¡± Mo Shanshi nodded. He had obviously understood Mu Qingfeng¡¯s train of thought.

    Mo Shanshi charged towards Nangong Hao once again without any hesitation,pletely disregarding the two monsters in front of him.

    ¡°You have to get past us if you want to kill Nangong Hao!¡± The two monsters stopped Mo Shanshi and there was a demonic radiance on their faces.

    ¡°Screw off!¡± Mu Qingfeng appeared in front of the monsters and attacked them, opening a path for Mo Shanshi.

    The chaotic fight continued.

    Fang Zhengzhi held his Traceless Sword tighter at this moment. He glimpsed at the generals of the Great Xia Dynasty and looked at Lin Mubai, who was nodding at him. He naturally knew that Lin Mubai was supporting him.

    He rushed towards Bai Fei without saying a word because he spected that Bai Fei was the root cause of everything.

    ¡®He¡¯s running away?¡¯ Dao Hun became a little anxious when he saw Fang Zhengzhi rushing towards Bai Fei. After all, he was convinced that Fang Zhengzhi was colluding with the Monster race.

    In that case, Fang Zhengzhi was most likely trying to escape or seek protection from the Monster race.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, Fang Zhengzhi is mankind¡¯s enemy for working with the monsters. Don¡¯t give him a chance to escape, kill him!¡± Dao Hun shouted at Yan Xiu as he charged towards Qian Yu.

    ¡°Kill him?¡± Yan Xiu looked a little lost. Under normal circumstances, he felt that he should believe Dao Hun.

    After all, it was Dao Hun who saved his life.

    However, for some reason, he didn¡¯t want to be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s enemy. That was because he had yet to figure out why Fang Zhengzhi let him took ¡®credit¡¯.

    Nevertheless, he still moved.

    While Fang Zhengzhi rushed towards Bai Fei, Yan Xiu also turned into a shadow in the air. The shadow blinked several times in the air in a strange manner before it appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was caught off guard.

    He was obviously surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop or even ask Yan Xiu if he wanted to kill him.

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Swordshed out towards Bai Fei in a sh with a demonic purple radiance. It was as if he didn¡¯t see Yan Xiu at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt my lord!¡± Following that voice, a figure appeared in front of Bai Fei and shielded him. His ck cloak was blown by the wind and revealed a pair of ice-blue eyes.

    ¡°Your lord?¡± Fang Zhengzhi squinted with surprise. After all, that appetion didn¡¯t seem like it was made up on the spot.

    However, this was definitely not the time to think about that.

    His sword didn¡¯t falter.

    Following the sh of an azure radiance, Fang Zhengzhi zoomed past the figure in front of him instantly and appeared before Bai Fei.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you won¡¯t seed!¡± At this instance, another figure bolted out. It was obvious that Bai Fei wasn¡¯t just guarded by a single monster.

    A green radiance appeared and turned into a jade-like barrier, stopping right in the middle of Bai Fei and Fang Zhengzhi. Meanwhile, two short daggers appeared in his hands.

    ¡°Eh? There¡¯s another one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised.

    Just then, a few w-like shadows suddenly appeared from the ground behind Fang Zhengzhi and went for his back.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, you didn¡¯t disappoint me after all!¡± A chilling sh appeared in Dao Hun¡¯s eyes when he saw that because he knew that those ws were Yan Xiu¡¯s attack.

    Resistance in the front and a sneak attack from the back!

    Dao Hun was almost certain that Fang Zhengzhi would be severely wounded even if he somehow survived that.

    ¡°Die...¡± Dao Hun mumbled softly, but he didn¡¯t finish his sentence because he froze in the next second.

    That was due to the fact that those ck ws which seemed to have headed for Fang Zhengzhi suddenly changed their direction creepily at thest moment.

    It actually overtook Fang Zhengzhi and sted the green barrier.

    Boom!

    The green barrier cracked from the powerful attack like a piece of ss. It looked like it could shatter at any second.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Dao Hun was obviously startled.

    In fact, all the disciples felt the same because they clearly heard what Dao Hun had said to Yan Xiu.

    ¡®Kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡¯

    ¡®Why did Yan Xiu suddenly change his target?¡¯

    It was a strange scene.

    No one knew what Yan Xiu was thinking.

    However, Yan Xiu had actually avoided Fang Zhengzhi, who didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to move away from those ws.

    Without adjusting his movement, the Traceless Sword pierced the cracked barrier.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi went through the barrier and his Traceless Sword prated the figure in front of him like a soul-seeking specter.

    It was too fast.

    No one could even react in time.

    The figure in front of Fang Zhengzhi froze on the spot. The wind blew his ck cloak away and revealed a freakishly youthful face.

    However, there was strong disbelief on his face.

    ¡°Wh... Why?!¡± It was obvious that even till his death, this monster couldn¡¯t figure out why Yan Xiu had suddenly changed his target.

    That was because he didn¡¯t arrivete. On the other hand, he was here fairly early, and that was why he knew full well about what had happened to Yan Xiu.

    ¡®Is it possible...¡¯

    ¡®That Yan Xiu didn¡¯t lose his memories?¡¯

    ¡®Impossible!¡¯

    ¡®If Yan Xiu didn¡¯t lose his memories, why couldn¡¯t he recognize Yan Qianli? Most importantly, Dao Hun had clearly ordered him to kill Fang Zhengzhi.¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t understand nor ept this oue.

    Nheless, that didn¡¯t matter anymore because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had already pierced his chest, and it wasn¡¯t stopping.

    sh! An azure radiance appeared.

    Traceless Sword went past his body in a split second, and so did Fang Zhengzhi. This sword was as fast as a falling star.

    It was so fast that his blood wasn¡¯t spilled.

    At the next instance, Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of Bai Fei and his Traceless Sword stabbed at Bai Fei with the same momentum.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    At this moment, the monsters fighting in the sky and the figures standing behind Bai Fei were all stunned.

    However, it was toote.

    That was because Traceless Sword had pierced Bai Fei¡¯s chest.

 Chapter 856 - The Ups and Downs in Life Come Too Quickly

    <h4>Chapter 856: The Ups and Downs in Life Come Too Quickly</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Facing this, Bai Fei¡¯s expressions hardly changed since the start. He did not even show any quick ducking movement

    However, one could clearly see the paleness on Bai Fei¡¯s face.

    Ding! a crisp and loud sound was heard. It was an extremely sharp sound of friction that could even make one¡¯s ears vibrate.

    At this instance, Fang Zhengzhi reduced the movement of his sword.

    It was impossible to push the sword in!

    ¡°So hard? Don¡¯t tell me Bai Fei specially trains his chest to break stones?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised, but almost immediately felt that something was wrong.

    Although he knew all along that members of the Demon race had very strong bodies, this extent of strength was unbelievable.

    Wait a minute!

    Bai Fei has a protective treasure!

    Fang Zhengzhi also had a Heart Protection Mirror. That was the reason why he could react instantaneously without much problem.

    Fang Zhengzhi gave a smile that any ordinary person would understand as a thought shed through his mind.

    A treasure that could block the Traceless Sword?

    It was obvious that that was an extraordinary treasure!

    Snatch it!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision was not without reasons. It was based on Bai Fei¡¯s reflexes in response to the strike of the sword.

    Put it more straightforwardly, Bai Fei looked too weak to him.

    As to the reason behind why Bai Fei was so weak, Fang Zhengzhi did not ponder over it.

    After all, there was no use to ponder over such things. A weak opponent meant that he could kill him like killing an ant in his palm.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi fiercely flung himself towards Bai Fei.

    In a blink of an eye, the distance between the two became extremely close, such that Fang Zhengzhi could clearly see the sudden erging of Bai Fei¡¯s eyes.

    Then...

    With his left hand, Fang Zhengzhi held Bai Fei above his chest.

    He forcefully ripped Bai Fei¡¯s clothes while demanding, ¡°If you have an artifact, you should share it!¡±

    ¡°Share?¡± Bai Fei obviously could not react in time, but very quickly, his face paled significantly.

    This was because Bai Fei could clearly feel his clothes being ripped apart.

    Rip! A slit was made on Bai Fei¡¯s white long-sleeved shirt. From the slit, one could see a treasure glistening with golden sparkle.

    ¡°As expected, you are wearing a Heart Protection Mirror!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. He was just about to grab the Heart Protection Mirror from Bai Fei when he realized something was amiss.

    The bottom of the Heart Protection Mirror was bright red.

    It was definitely not blood stains, but an article of clothing that Bai Fei wore inside his white shirt. However, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the shape of the clothing was uneptable.

    ¡°Bellyband? A red bellyband?!¡± Even though only a little part of the bellyband could be seen, Fang Zhengzhi could identify that it was a special product almost immediately.

    Wait a minute!

    Why was Bai Fei wearing a bellyband?

    Subconsciously, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stretch his hand out to touch it, just to make sure that he was not mistaken.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Bai Fei finally reacted and shouted loudly, his face lit up like a red sunset glow.

    ¡°A man wearing a bellyband and yet calling me shameless?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was just about to scold him further, when a strong chill suddenly crept up the back of his neck.

    He had a bad premonition.

    An extremely strong one.

    Sneak attack?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sensitivity towards sneak attacks was no less than a beggar who saw a warm bun after having starved for seven days.

    Therefore, he immediately kicked towards the back, while pping his hand on Bai Fei¡¯s chest.

    This was both a subconscious and a desperate movement, as Fang Zhengzhi did not have time to turn back to identify the sneak attacker.

    Boom!

    Bai Fei did not dart at all, his body was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s p. Like a ray of light, it drew a beautiful arc in the sky.

    Then, hended heavily with a scream and coughed out blood.

    Meanwhile, at the position Fang Zhengzhi was standing at previously, two thin daggers sliced past with a intense chill, screeching as they tore through the air

    This scene happened so quickly that the disciples from the various sects nearby could not even react.

    Time seemed to have stopped. At this moment, both the disciples from the various sects and the demon race fighting in the sky stopped moving.

    ¡°Was he stabbed?!¡±

    ¡°No, it seemed like a p instead. Fang Zhengzhi really attacked the demon race?!¡±

    ¡°Hold on, why was Bai Fei stabbed by the dagger that brushed past the two members of the demon race? Also, when Bai Fei was hit by the p, he did not dart at all. Don¡¯t tell me that Bai Fei is not Tian Xing¡¯s final disciple? Is Fang Zhengzhi too strong, or Bai Fei too weak?¡±

    It was a shocking scene.

    Nobody really thought Fang Zhengzhi would be able to stab Bai Fei, but no matter what, he attempted to stab Bai Fei right at his chest. Besides that, he even added a p. This shows that Fang Zhengzhi had no rtions with the demon race.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that Fang Zhengzhi really has no rtions with the demon race? If so, how did he escape from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?¡± Even Dao Hun was surprised.

    Of course, the most surprised person is none other than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Thanks to the p earlier on, Fang Zhengzhi had avoided the two dagger strikes behind him. Meanwhile, he finally saw the figure who was standing at his original spot.

    It turned out to be the demon who had been stabbed by Fang Zhengzhi earlier on!

    ¡®He didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    How could he not die? Was he a monster?

    Wait a minute!

    He did seem like a monster!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized the difference between demons and humans. The fatal spot for humans was the heart, but for demons, the fatal spot was the Demon Pearl.

    To put it simply...

    Even if you cut a demon up to seven or eight parts, if the Demon Pearl was unharmed, the demon¡¯s body could be healed.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got into some trouble...¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at his spot, then looked at the figures surrounding him who had their eyes wide open. A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

    Too rash.

    He only thought of killing the enemy in one shot, but he had neglected the important question of how he should escape if he did not seed.

    ¡°Young lord!¡±

    ¡°Young empress, are you alright?¡±

    Echoes of concerned voices could be heard. To Fang Zhengzhi, however, the people around him were more concerned with Bai Fei¡¯s injury than himself.

    ¡°Young lord? Young empress?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was dumbfounded. Why did the people address Bai Fei differently? Unless these people were divided into two factions?

    Wait a minute!

    Young lord?!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly turned towards Bai Fei, who was on the floor not too far away, clutching his chest with his hand. Then, it struck him as he recalled the odd sense of touch when he pped Bai Fei.

    ¡°Woman? A woman who was as weak as a chicken, but addressed by others as ¡®Young lord¡¯... Yun Qingwu!¡± If Fang Zhengzhi had not realized the situation then, he must had been really stupid.

    However, that sh of thought made him confused once again. After all, everyone around him was of the monster race.

    Monster?

    Wasn¡¯t Yun Qingwu a demon?

    How did Yun Qingwu get involved with the monster race? Besides that, judging from how the monsters respected Yun Qingwu, addressing her as...

    Young Empress?!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, in the Southern region, I stabbed you once. Today, you returned the stab. We are equal now.¡± A faint voice could be heard, followed by the gentle removal of a mask made of human skin, revealing a extraordinary beautiful face.

    Like a waterfall, her ink-ck long hair gradually fell to her waist area.

    Indeed, it was Yun Qingwu

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s face was evidently pale, but from her gaze, one could tell that she still remained extremely determined.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    He had guessed Yun Qingwu¡¯s identity correctly, but seeing her in real life was a totally different feeling. After all, her appearance was unexpected.

    ¡°But I did not manage to stab you earlier on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi muttered, despite not knowing the reason behind it.

    ¡°Yes, you were right. But, that¡¯s none of my business.¡± Yun Qingwu said as she stood up, and a figure draped her clothes on her body.

    ¡°Alright, since we are even, then I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. As a man, he had always been generous and would never bother about every detail with a woman. Therefore, he decided to live up to his style as a man and did not continue arguing with Yun Qingwu.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s generosity clearly did not move the monsters who were staring furiously at him. In a blink of an eye, Fang Zhengzhi felt the whole sky turn dark.

    That was because a few hundred monsters had surrounded him.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, die!¡± Almost instantaneously, a few hundred weapons were drawn, and the sky seemed to brighten up.

    It darkened, then it brightened up!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not help but sighed. The ups and downs in lifee too quickly.

    Just a moment ago, he was a casual bystander who was watching others fight. But a momentter, he was surrounded.

    Surrounded by a group of monsters.

    A saying goes, ¡°Just escaped the ws of the wolf, then immediately fell into the tiger¡¯s den¡±. Most importantly, all these were self-inflicted by Fang Zhengzhi himself.

    Woosh! Just when Fang Zhengzhi felt that his life was in total darkness, a ray of ck light fell from the sky andnded beside him.

    Pitch-ck ray that kept winding around him.

    The coldness felt like hell, causing one¡¯s heart to tremble.

    It was Yan Xiu!

    ¡°Yan Xiu, you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu who was beside him. In fact, at this point of time, he already felt that Yan Xiu was odd.

    Not only because of the chilling aura that Yan Xiu exuded, but also because of the confused and suspecting gaze Yan Xiu gave as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think you will not lie to me.¡± Yan Xiu shook his head, then nodded it. There was no light in his pitch-ck eyes.

    ¡°Of course I will not lie to you! We are friends, best friends!¡± At this point, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tears welled up in his eyes.

    He was not exactly sure about what happened to Yan Xiu.

    But he could roughly guess that Yan Xiu had lost part of his memory. At the very least, Yan Xiu could not recognise him at that moment.

    Despite that, he backfaced Yan Xiu without any hesitation, because he believed that Yan Xiu would not stab him from his back.

    ¡°Friend?¡± Yan Xiu showed confusion once again, staring straight at Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he subconsciously smiled. That smile was a genuine smile from his heart. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s be friends!¡±

    ¡°Friend!¡±

    ¡°Yes, friend...¡±

    Both Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voices were not loud, but it was loud enough to be heard by the disciples from the various sects and those from the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    ¡°They want to be friends?¡±

    ¡°At this point in time, they are making friends while smiling?¡±

    The disciples from the various sects could not believe their eyes.

    Meanwhile, in the Yin Yang Hall corner, Dao Xin stood up abruptly, staring at the two of them, extremely astonished.

    ¡°Xiu smiled? In the few months at Yin Yang Hall, I have never seen him smile. But after meeting Fang Zhengzhi, he smiled... just like that?¡± Dao Xin subconsciously clenched his fist tight, his whole body shook uncontrobly.

    Fang Zhengzhi disregarded all of that. After reaching the friendship agreement with Yan Xiu, he smiled too.

    ¡°As a friend, shouldn¡¯t you treat me to a meal?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I have a lot of silver, I...¡± Yan Xiu nodded without hesitation, but before he couldplete his sentence, he stopped abruptly. His body trembled violently and the ck rays radiated non-stop. He looked as though he was in great pain.

    Yet, the strangest thing was how the shadow beneath his feet turned red as he trembled, as though it was painted by fresh blood.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. Just as he was about to open his mouth again, the ground trembled suddenly, and rays of ck light shot up from the ground.

    Boom, boom!

    Rays of ck light kept shooting up from the ground, raging in the air and emitting growls that sounded like hell. Meanwhile, the floor was painted bright red like a sea of blood.

    The strangest thing was, Yan Xiu¡¯s pitch-ck eyes suddenly had two red, blood-red spots.

    <h4>Comment (0)</h4>

    COMMENT FIRSTRate this chapterVote with Power StoneSend Gifts<h4>Chapter 857: Who Can be Killed Cannot be Humiliated</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Blood red light appearing in the iris that was surrounded by pitch-darkness of hell. This type of eyes was indeed eerie.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Following a loud roar, a surge of murder flowed like ferocious ocean waves that spread in all directions, lifting all the small rocks from the floor.

    The violence was raging continuously.

    Yan Xiu moved too. With an extremely fast speed, he dashed towards the monster race like a starving wolf dashing into a herd of sheep.

    However...

    Were the surrounding monsters sheep?

    Of course!

    At the instance when Yan Xiu dashed over, one of the monsters was sent flying after being tossed by a ck w that emerged from the ground.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu leaped quickly, hitting the monster¡¯s head with the silver blood fan on his hand.

    Boom!

    The monster that took up the human form was turned back into his beast form: a bull-like beast with two huge horns.

    Besides that, he spat out a silvery white monster pearl from his mouth.

    It was too fast!

    It happened so quickly that the surrounding monsters could not react. When the monster pearl appeared, Yan Xiu crumbled it immediately with his hand.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± The monster who took the form of the bull-like beast evidently was unable to take the blow. After letting out a roar, he fell to the ground, dead.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this point in time, not only were the disciples from various sects and the disciples from the holy region stunned by the scene, Fang Zhengzhi also could barely react.

    ¡°Wow, transformation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not mind Yan Xiu bing stronger, but the sudden increase in power definitely surprised him.

    Of course, that was not the critical concern. The critical concern came when the few hundred monsters were infuriated by Yan Xiu¡¯s sudden attack.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Die, Humans!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The bestiality of the monsters were revealed, they were steaming with rage especially after seeing a fellow monster being killed in such a cruel manner.

    However, Yan Xiu did not seem to care about that.

    Yan Xiu already made his second move, charging towards another monster like a wolf. Most importantly, that monster had already transformed into a size of a small mountain.

    Roar! The giant w pped down with a sharp gust of wind, almostpletely blocking out the sun. It was obvious that it was the Monster King.

    Boom! Yan Xiu¡¯s fist struck the Monster King¡¯s sharp w. Violent gusts of wind spread in all directions, emitting a deep and dull sound.

    And the result...

    Of course, the Monster King was sent flying away by the blow.

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°He could fight head-on with the Monster King!¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, he won!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects were extremely excited upon the sight of Yan Xiu charging into the camp of the monster race.

    After all, in the history of humankind, there were only a handful of humankind who had the power to fight head-on with the monster race. Furthermore, in this case, it was fighting against the Monster King.

    ¡°It finally fusedpletely?¡± Looking at how everything unfolded, Dao Hun was extremely excited, his eyes glowing with excitement.

    ¡°Fusedpletely?¡± Frowning, Qian Yu also noticed the oddness on Yan Xiu¡¯s body. Then, it struck him, ¡°Is this the legendary original form of Asura that was recorded in the historical books?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Dao of Asura is the only Dao of Good and Evil in the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. But people abandoned the Evil of Dao of Asura, and only chose to promote the Good of it. Without the Evil, the Dao of Asura is iplete! However, Yan Xiu is different. He is the only Asura thatpletely fused the Good and Evil in a thousand years!¡±

    ¡°The Good and Evil of the Dao of Asura?¡±

    ¡°Qian Yu, didn¡¯t you think that Fang Zhengzhi had a great potential? Yet now Yan Xiu has be the real Asura, even someone like me cannot win him. Do you still want to view me and Yin Yang Hall as an enemy because of Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Dao Hun said in an imposing manner.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Qian Yu smiled, pointing to the sky slowly with his fingers. A silvery white moon appeared at the tip of his fingers. ¡°You are wrong. The reason why I stopped you was not because of Fang Zhengzhi, but because I found you... annoying!¡±

    ¡°Qian Yu, you... fine, fine!¡± Having heard this, Dao Hun did not say much. He spread his arms and pounced on Qian Yu.

    Meanwhile, from the sky, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who were trapped by a few monsters noticed themotion below. They also noticed both Yun Qingwu and Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, is her surname... Yun?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi seems to know Yun Qingwu personally. Besides that, she was addressed as young lord. Don¡¯t tell me Yun Qingwu is a demon?¡±

    ¡°Demon? By right, the demon race should have broken their ties with the monster race after the great war more than ten years ago. What was the reason that triggered their coboration?¡±

    ¡°Old man Mu, do you think Yun Qingwu could be the daughter of Emperor Yun of the Demon Race and Monster Emperor Baizhi twenty years ago?¡±

    ¡°Regarding this... I heard that the girl was abandoned by the demon race because of her mixed identity and evicted from the Blood Shadow City. If you are right, then we are in trouble!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Demon Emperor and Monster Emperor did not love each other, their marriage was simply driven bymon interests. However, after the great war more than ten years ago, both of them no longer have anymon interests and instead ended up at odds with each other because of their interests. Only the girl could bring the two races together again for a coboration!¡±

    ¡°No, the girl alone would not have brought the two races together. Unless... they found amon interest again!¡±

    ¡°Amon interest again? What will that be?¡± Mo Shanshi had a suspicious expression on his face. Given the current situation, he could not think of any interests that could bring together the two races

    ¡°If I guessed correctly, the interest could be rted to the ns of the Nangong Nobles!¡± Mu Qingfeng nced up at the sky, and a long sword appeared in his hand.

    That ordinary-looking long sword had a strange design on the de.

    The design looked like a bird. Exuding a mild aura of redness, it felt like the bird coulde alive any time.

    ¡°Old man Mu, I haven¡¯t seen you draw this sword in more than ten years!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the sword.

    ¡°Save the talking, let¡¯s fight a quick battle!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Mo Shanshe nodded. He ced one hand on his waist and suddenly, a foot long giant ck hammer appeared in his hand.

    With a petite frame and a weak palm, it was hrious to see Mo Shanshe carrying such an ipatible ck giant hammer. Nevertheless, not a single of the disciples from the holy region mocked at him. Instead, their expressions were very serious. They were very sure that Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi had never ever drawn that weapon after the great war over ten years ago.

    Of course, everything that happened was ignored by Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was facing an unprecedented crisis. After all, he could not abandon Yan Xiu and flee on his own.

    So...

    It meant that he had to fight alongside Yan Xiu, using the power of two to defeat hundreds of roaring, towering monsters.

    What kind of f*ck did hend himself in?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not scared of death. Although that was a contributing factor, the primary reason was that he did not feel that it was the final moment to fight.

    Go all out, of course!

    However, this style of physical fighting with hundreds of monsters did not fit his personality. To be frank, he had always thought he had fought with his wits.

    ¡°Charge!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not wait longer, because he knew that he did not have a choice. After all, Yan Xiu had already killed a few monsters.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    After Fang Zhengzhi struck with his sword, a corpse dropped to the floor with a silvery white monster pearl floating in midair.

    This attracted the attention of more monsters.

    Three figures with the build of a hill surrounded him like a triangle, trapping him in the center.

    Monster King!

    Three Monster Kings!

    Besides that, there were countless monsters looming around the three Monster Kings. Every single pair of the monsters¡¯ eyes was filled with the desire of blood.

    ¡°Three strikes to kill one monster... To defeat the Monster King, I at least need twenty over strikes... If we distribute the numbers equally, Yan Xiu takes two to three hundred, and I will also take two to three hundred. That adds up to eight or nine thousand strikes? Also, that is assuming I was fighting with my prime condition, and that I would not injure myself or tire myself out...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt like saying, ¡°Why do this to me?¡±

    However, he eventually did not say it because he had no time. The surrounding monsters have surged like a wave towards him.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°To seek revenge for young lord!¡±

    When Fang Zhengzhi did his rough calctions using the average distribution principle, he had neglected the fact that the monsters held a much higher level of hatred against him aspared to Yan Xiu.

    Evidently, there were way more monsters surrounding Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, all these were no longer important. Just like silver, upon reaching a certain amount, further addition would only add on to the number, but not the significance.

    ¡°Come at me, I will kill all of you today!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword, slicing the approaching monster into half.

    After all, he thought that with a fixed amount of space around him, the number of monsters that could attack him at any one point of time must be fixed too.

    In such situations, if he could remainposed and keep his tempo, it was not as difficult as it seemed.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed in his judgment.

    However, very quickly, he noticed that something was amiss. On the ground beneath his feet, eight sharp ws suddenly appeared.

    ¡°What... Underground? Are these monsters? Alright... they are really monsters!¡± Fang Zhengzhi realized what he had neglected.

    His opponents are monsters!

    Legend says there were monsters with all sorts of strange powers. Of course, that included those who could go underneath the ground.

    It was true in reality as well.

    He could no longer see the sun above his head. Countless winged monsters above him had blocked the skypletely.

    Besides that, the monsters kept spitting their ¡°saliva¡± at him.

    ¡°Who can be killed cannot be humiliated!¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not tolerate this humiliation. Letting out a roar, his body was covered with a thickyer of ck armor.

    Meanwhile, his body grew rapidly in size, growing by three feet in a blink of an eye. ck mes started burning on his body.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi threw a punch at the Monster King¡¯s face in front of him, causing his face to be disfigured.

    This sudden change of events caused the surrounding monsters to subconsciously retreat their attack by a little.

    Fang Zhengzhi made use of this break, reached out his hand above his head, clutching the monster which had been happily spitting its ¡°saliva¡± on him in one hand and threw the monster hard on the floor.

    Crack! The floor cracked. The winged monster moaned, its mouth was covered in blood.

    As expected, it felt much better with a bigger build!

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled and nced around.

    Earlier on, he was surrounded by hundreds of monsters and had lost the sight of Yun Qingwu. Now with a bigger build, he could see much further. He desperately searched for Yun Qingwu as he did not want to foolishly stay on to fight the rest of the monsters.

    ¡°There!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spotted Yun Qingwu almost immediately. However, he was surprised by the fact that Yun Qingwu had already retraced her steps to a position towards the back.

    The strangest thing of all was that Yun Qingwu was not protected heavily with a group of monsters.

    Instead, Yun Qingwu only had one figure beside her. That figure was dressed head-to-toe in a ck cloak, simr to the surrounding monsters.

    Yet, till now, the figure had not revealed his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always felt that something was strange about the person hiding beneath the cloak. He seemed to be stronger than any other individual he had met before.

 Chapter 857 - Who Can be Killed Cannot be Humiliated

    <h4>Chapter 857: Who Can be Killed Cannot be Humiliated</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Blood red light appearing in the iris that was surrounded by pitch-darkness of hell. This type of eyes was indeed eerie.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Following a loud roar, a surge of murder flowed like ferocious ocean waves that spread in all directions, lifting all the small rocks from the floor.

    The violence was raging continuously.

    Yan Xiu moved too. With an extremely fast speed, he dashed towards the monster race like a starving wolf dashing into a herd of sheep.

    However...

    Were the surrounding monsters sheep?

    Of course!

    At the instance when Yan Xiu dashed over, one of the monsters was sent flying after being tossed by a ck w that emerged from the ground.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu leaped quickly, hitting the monster¡¯s head with the silver blood fan on his hand.

    Boom!

    The monster that took up the human form was turned back into his beast form: a bull-like beast with two huge horns.

    Besides that, he spat out a silvery white monster pearl from his mouth.

    It was too fast!

    It happened so quickly that the surrounding monsters could not react. When the monster pearl appeared, Yan Xiu crumbled it immediately with his hand.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± The monster who took the form of the bull-like beast evidently was unable to take the blow. After letting out a roar, he fell to the ground, dead.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this point in time, not only were the disciples from various sects and the disciples from the holy region stunned by the scene, Fang Zhengzhi also could barely react.

    ¡°Wow, transformation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not mind Yan Xiu bing stronger, but the sudden increase in power definitely surprised him.

    Of course, that was not the critical concern. The critical concern came when the few hundred monsters were infuriated by Yan Xiu¡¯s sudden attack.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Die, Humans!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The bestiality of the monsters were revealed, they were steaming with rage especially after seeing a fellow monster being killed in such a cruel manner.

    However, Yan Xiu did not seem to care about that.

    Yan Xiu already made his second move, charging towards another monster like a wolf. Most importantly, that monster had already transformed into a size of a small mountain.

    Roar! The giant w pped down with a sharp gust of wind, almostpletely blocking out the sun. It was obvious that it was the Monster King.

    Boom! Yan Xiu¡¯s fist struck the Monster King¡¯s sharp w. Violent gusts of wind spread in all directions, emitting a deep and dull sound.

    And the result...

    Of course, the Monster King was sent flying away by the blow.

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°He could fight head-on with the Monster King!¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, he won!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects were extremely excited upon the sight of Yan Xiu charging into the camp of the monster race.

    After all, in the history of humankind, there were only a handful of humankind who had the power to fight head-on with the monster race. Furthermore, in this case, it was fighting against the Monster King.

    ¡°It finally fusedpletely?¡± Looking at how everything unfolded, Dao Hun was extremely excited, his eyes glowing with excitement.

    ¡°Fusedpletely?¡± Frowning, Qian Yu also noticed the oddness on Yan Xiu¡¯s body. Then, it struck him, ¡°Is this the legendary original form of Asura that was recorded in the historical books?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Dao of Asura is the only Dao of Good and Evil in the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. But people abandoned the Evil of Dao of Asura, and only chose to promote the Good of it. Without the Evil, the Dao of Asura is iplete! However, Yan Xiu is different. He is the only Asura thatpletely fused the Good and Evil in a thousand years!¡±

    ¡°The Good and Evil of the Dao of Asura?¡±

    ¡°Qian Yu, didn¡¯t you think that Fang Zhengzhi had a great potential? Yet now Yan Xiu has be the real Asura, even someone like me cannot win him. Do you still want to view me and Yin Yang Hall as an enemy because of Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Dao Hun said in an imposing manner.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Qian Yu smiled, pointing to the sky slowly with his fingers. A silvery white moon appeared at the tip of his fingers. ¡°You are wrong. The reason why I stopped you was not because of Fang Zhengzhi, but because I found you... annoying!¡±

    ¡°Qian Yu, you... fine, fine!¡± Having heard this, Dao Hun did not say much. He spread his arms and pounced on Qian Yu.

    Meanwhile, from the sky, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who were trapped by a few monsters noticed themotion below. They also noticed both Yun Qingwu and Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, is her surname... Yun?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi seems to know Yun Qingwu personally. Besides that, she was addressed as young lord. Don¡¯t tell me Yun Qingwu is a demon?¡±

    ¡°Demon? By right, the demon race should have broken their ties with the monster race after the great war more than ten years ago. What was the reason that triggered their coboration?¡±

    ¡°Old man Mu, do you think Yun Qingwu could be the daughter of Emperor Yun of the Demon Race and Monster Emperor Baizhi twenty years ago?¡±

    ¡°Regarding this... I heard that the girl was abandoned by the demon race because of her mixed identity and evicted from the Blood Shadow City. If you are right, then we are in trouble!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Demon Emperor and Monster Emperor did not love each other, their marriage was simply driven bymon interests. However, after the great war more than ten years ago, both of them no longer have anymon interests and instead ended up at odds with each other because of their interests. Only the girl could bring the two races together again for a coboration!¡±

    ¡°No, the girl alone would not have brought the two races together. Unless... they found amon interest again!¡±

    ¡°Amon interest again? What will that be?¡± Mo Shanshi had a suspicious expression on his face. Given the current situation, he could not think of any interests that could bring together the two races

    ¡°If I guessed correctly, the interest could be rted to the ns of the Nangong Nobles!¡± Mu Qingfeng nced up at the sky, and a long sword appeared in his hand.

    That ordinary-looking long sword had a strange design on the de.

    The design looked like a bird. Exuding a mild aura of redness, it felt like the bird coulde alive any time.

    ¡°Old man Mu, I haven¡¯t seen you draw this sword in more than ten years!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the sword.

    ¡°Save the talking, let¡¯s fight a quick battle!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Mo Shanshe nodded. He ced one hand on his waist and suddenly, a foot long giant ck hammer appeared in his hand.

    With a petite frame and a weak palm, it was hrious to see Mo Shanshe carrying such an ipatible ck giant hammer. Nevertheless, not a single of the disciples from the holy region mocked at him. Instead, their expressions were very serious. They were very sure that Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi had never ever drawn that weapon after the great war over ten years ago.

    Of course, everything that happened was ignored by Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was because Fang Zhengzhi was facing an unprecedented crisis. After all, he could not abandon Yan Xiu and flee on his own.

    So...

    It meant that he had to fight alongside Yan Xiu, using the power of two to defeat hundreds of roaring, towering monsters.

    What kind of f*ck did hend himself in?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not scared of death. Although that was a contributing factor, the primary reason was that he did not feel that it was the final moment to fight.

    Go all out, of course!

    However, this style of physical fighting with hundreds of monsters did not fit his personality. To be frank, he had always thought he had fought with his wits.

    ¡°Charge!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not wait longer, because he knew that he did not have a choice. After all, Yan Xiu had already killed a few monsters.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    After Fang Zhengzhi struck with his sword, a corpse dropped to the floor with a silvery white monster pearl floating in midair.

    This attracted the attention of more monsters.

    Three figures with the build of a hill surrounded him like a triangle, trapping him in the center.

    Monster King!

    Three Monster Kings!

    Besides that, there were countless monsters looming around the three Monster Kings. Every single pair of the monsters¡¯ eyes was filled with the desire of blood.

    ¡°Three strikes to kill one monster... To defeat the Monster King, I at least need twenty over strikes... If we distribute the numbers equally, Yan Xiu takes two to three hundred, and I will also take two to three hundred. That adds up to eight or nine thousand strikes? Also, that is assuming I was fighting with my prime condition, and that I would not injure myself or tire myself out...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt like saying, ¡°Why do this to me?¡±

    However, he eventually did not say it because he had no time. The surrounding monsters have surged like a wave towards him.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°To seek revenge for young lord!¡±

    When Fang Zhengzhi did his rough calctions using the average distribution principle, he had neglected the fact that the monsters held a much higher level of hatred against him aspared to Yan Xiu.

    Evidently, there were way more monsters surrounding Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, all these were no longer important. Just like silver, upon reaching a certain amount, further addition would only add on to the number, but not the significance.

    ¡°Come at me, I will kill all of you today!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword, slicing the approaching monster into half.

    After all, he thought that with a fixed amount of space around him, the number of monsters that could attack him at any one point of time must be fixed too.

    In such situations, if he could remainposed and keep his tempo, it was not as difficult as it seemed.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed in his judgment.

    However, very quickly, he noticed that something was amiss. On the ground beneath his feet, eight sharp ws suddenly appeared.

    ¡°What... Underground? Are these monsters? Alright... they are really monsters!¡± Fang Zhengzhi realized what he had neglected.

    His opponents are monsters!

    Legend says there were monsters with all sorts of strange powers. Of course, that included those who could go underneath the ground.

    It was true in reality as well.

    He could no longer see the sun above his head. Countless winged monsters above him had blocked the skypletely.

    Besides that, the monsters kept spitting their ¡°saliva¡± at him.

    ¡°Who can be killed cannot be humiliated!¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not tolerate this humiliation. Letting out a roar, his body was covered with a thickyer of ck armor.

    Meanwhile, his body grew rapidly in size, growing by three feet in a blink of an eye. ck mes started burning on his body.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi threw a punch at the Monster King¡¯s face in front of him, causing his face to be disfigured.

    This sudden change of events caused the surrounding monsters to subconsciously retreat their attack by a little.

    Fang Zhengzhi made use of this break, reached out his hand above his head, clutching the monster which had been happily spitting its ¡°saliva¡± on him in one hand and threw the monster hard on the floor.

    Crack! The floor cracked. The winged monster moaned, its mouth was covered in blood.

    As expected, it felt much better with a bigger build!

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled and nced around.

    Earlier on, he was surrounded by hundreds of monsters and had lost the sight of Yun Qingwu. Now with a bigger build, he could see much further. He desperately searched for Yun Qingwu as he did not want to foolishly stay on to fight the rest of the monsters.

    ¡°There!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spotted Yun Qingwu almost immediately. However, he was surprised by the fact that Yun Qingwu had already retraced her steps to a position towards the back.

    The strangest thing of all was that Yun Qingwu was not protected heavily with a group of monsters.

    Instead, Yun Qingwu only had one figure beside her. That figure was dressed head-to-toe in a ck cloak, simr to the surrounding monsters.

    Yet, till now, the figure had not revealed his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always felt that something was strange about the person hiding beneath the cloak. He seemed to be stronger than any other individual he had met before.

 Chapter 858 - Breaking the Deadlock, The Final Battle

    <h4>Chapter 858: Breaking the Deadlock, The Final Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What kind of monster could stand beside Yun Qingwu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not dare to confirm because it could be a devil instead. After all, Yun Qingwu had the identity of a young lord of the devil race.

    However, that was not his concern at that moment. What he had to do was to charge out, then subdue Yun Qingwu like he did previously.

    Somewhat inflexible.

    But the truth was, that was the only method he could think of. Most importantly too, that was the most effective method.

    ¡°Scam!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared, punching his right fist fiercely towards his direct front.

    Crack! One monster standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi had its bones broken by the blow. LIke a meteor, it hit the ground.

    However...

    They are monsters!

    Despite breaking their bones, if the monster pearl remained intact, the monster would not die. Therefore, the monster that was struck by the blow quickly stood up from the ground. Although his face was evidently pale and his body kept wobbling about, his gaze remained like those of a monster.

    ¡°So hard to deal with these monsters. Be it the body strength or the vitality, monsters were much stronger than humankind. The fighting power of a few hundred monsters are way stronger than that of a few hundred disciples of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to take the chance to escape, but got forced back by the two Monster Kings.

    That was a fighting style that required a life to exchange for another life. Fang Zhengzhi was forced to retreat because he could not exchange his life with the Monster Kings for a so-called ¡°big business¡±.

    Rtive to Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu¡¯s side significantly experienced lower levels of stress. The main reason was because there were lesser monsters attacking Yan Xiu.

    From the perspective of the battle, the monsters adopted more ¡°draining¡± tactics for Yan Xiu, surrounding him and continuously took turns to fight to tire him out. After all, the hatred to Yan Xiu was only limited to the current battle and not the bitter hatred that required involved the exchange of a life.

    Despite this, Yan Xiu was still unable to escape in a short time.

    This was not because of the incapability of Yan Xiu, but rather due to the fact that there were too many monsters. With the power of an individual, it was clearly not advantageous for one to fight against hundreds of monsters. Even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi would struggle with that.

    After all, if the monster race was easy to fight against, the Five Sects of the Holy Region would not have kept the monster race in the Great Swamp instead of killing them.

    ...

    Time slowly passed.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were surrounded by hundreds of monsters. Chi Guyan and Ping Yang remained at their location for recovery, while Qian Yu was fighting a fierce battle with Dao Hun.

    Although the Five Sects of the Holy Region have started closing in on Nangong Hao, to defeat more than ten Sages of the Nangong Nobles was not a easy task.

    This battle, at its current progression, was somewhat a stalemate.

    However, the stalemate would not continue on, as there was a spot where the abilities of the two sides are rtively unequal.

    This spot was none other than Mu Qingfen and Mo Shanshi against the two monsters.

    Those were two Monster Kings!

    They were definitely strong!

    This was confirmed by how two monsters were forced back to their original forms by Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, but it was evidently impossible for the two Monster Kings to block Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who are each equipped with their weapons. Therefore, this stalemate would be broken very quickly.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s ck giant hammer heavily struck the head of the Monster King who was standing in front of him, causing the Monster King with a build of a hill to copse.

    Afterwards, a ray of green light escaped from the body of the Monster King. Clearly, this was the revtion of the Monster King¡¯s true form.

    However...

    This dy gave Mo Shanshi some time to catch his breath.

    How experienced could Mo Shanshi be?

    He naturally knew what was the best course of action to take. Therefore, after grasping this opportunity, he immediately dashed to Nangong Hao, like a whirlwind, he struck Nangong Hao with his ck giant hammer.

    ¡°Mo Shanshi, stop!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice was filled with desperation.

    However, why would Mo Shanshi stop?

    The move was not only not retractable, but one that was made with a full blow. One could hear the loud rumbles around the ck giant hammer.

    Nevertheless, neither did the hammer hit Nangong Hao, nor did the move produce the expected loud rumble. It felt like the move was a miss.

    Of course, it was indeed a miss.

    At that instance when Mo Shanshi¡¯s ck hammer was about to hit Nangong Hao, Nangong Hao¡¯s body zoomed towards the sky while stepping on a white flower.

    One had to admit that the posture was rather charismatic.

    However, that made Mo Shanshi angry. As the Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley, he was just about to catch his prey, but it flew away in front of his eyes?

    How could he endure that!

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, if I were you, I would definitely have been unable to endure this!¡± Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing at three-foot, witnessed the scene and made a casualment.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s face turned red immediately. He gritted his teeth in anger, as though he was a old duck that was about to fly.

    Then...

    He really flew!

    Behind him, two gust of air currents quickly agglomerated, the rings of patterns glistening in the gust of air currents, causing the air currents to remain intact, as though he had two wings behind his back.

    Afterwards, Mo Shanshi¡¯s body instantaneously shot up, looking extremely nimble like a bird flying in the sky.

    ¡°Eh? That is possible?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes light up immediately and he felt like he was being educated by Mo Shanshi again.

    After all, all along, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ability to remain in the sky was based on his control of the wind and his body. This method was able to allow him to temporarily remain in the sky and make attacks, but it was no way close to the nimbleness of the two ¡°wings¡± that Mo Shanshi had.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s continuous attacks, be it the palm strength that was as strong as the mountains, or the ¡°wings¡± grew out from his back, were extremely intriguing.

    Nevertheless, Mo Shanshi would never exin all of these to Fang Zhengzhi. At that moment, in his eyes, he was only concerned about chasing after Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Running away? Have you sought permission from my hammer?¡± Mo Shanshi let out a roar and immediately shot up. A few afterimages continuously appeared in the sky and in the blink of an eye, Mo Shanshi seemed to have blocked Nangong Hao by rising above him.

    Followed by that, the ck giant hammer struck down.

    Boom! This time round, Nangong Hao was unable to avoid the hammer. The hammernded on his right arm, causing his body to crash into the tall Tree of God like a meteor.

    Boom! the Tree of God shook, causing snowke-shaped leaves to fall off. Even the 7-colored rainbow from the sky seemed to have trembled due to the impact.

    Seeing this, excitement was disyed on Mo Shanshi¡¯s face, his eyes glowing with radiance.

    ¡°Hahaha, Nangong Hao, regardless of what are the ns made by the Nangong Nobles, if I am here, they would definitely not seed! Face your death!¡± Mo Shanshi shot out again as he finished his sentence. With a p of his ¡°wings¡±, he traveled at such a high speed that one could only see his afterimages.

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast!¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, as one of the most powerful person in the Holy Region, he was extraordinary!¡±

    ¡°This time round, Nangong Hao must be dead!¡±

    The disciples of the various sects watched with anticipation, waiting for Mo Shanshi to defeat Nangong Hao with his own hands.

    Nangong Hao bit his lips tight and blood trickled from the side of his mouth. From his expressions, one could tell that he was in extreme agony. With one eye red and one white, his gaze was extremely chilling.

    ¡°I just need a little more time, a little more time!¡± Nangong Hao clenched his fist tightly, turning his gaze to a figure that copsed on the ground below.

    That was Nangong Mu!

    His biological younger brother!

    Nangong Mu had his eyes closed and judging from his lifeless body, he would die any moment.

    ¡°No, I cannot give up. Brother, your blood is flowing in my body!¡± Nangong Hao shouted as his body was once again covered with thick ck armor.

    Crack! With one hand, he caught the ck hammer that was striking downwards at him. Meanwhile, a beam of bloody light sliced at Mo Shanshi¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Eh? How dare you!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes narrowed, upon seeing the bloody light, he did a somersault in the air, allowing the bloody light to brush past his forehead.

    A drop of perspiration trickled down Mo Shanshi¡¯s cheeks. It was evident that the attack by Nangong Hao was barely avoided by him.

    ¡°Old man Mo, don¡¯t be too careless. Nangong Hao¡¯s physical and mental strength are top-notch!¡± Upon seeing this scene, Mu Qingfeng warned.

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Mo Shanshi felt it. To make a retaliation in such a precarious situation, Nangong Hao must have had extraordinary mental strength.

    However...

    This shocked Mo Shanshi even more. He was not shocked because of the high level of Nangong Hao¡¯s physical and mental strength.

    Rather, he was shocked by how one individual was oddly having fun while confronting Nangong Hao!

    In reality, it was precisely because of the past lesson that caused Mo Shanshi to be careless and almost got into trouble.

    Just as he was thinking about this, Nangong Hao moved in front of Mo Shanshi, consecutively striking three times with his Wuwei sword.

    Three beams of bloody light, from top, middle and bottom, flew at Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°This is really Nangong Hao?!¡± Mo Shanshi was really astonished. He did not expect Nangong Hao to make his advances instead of escaping!

    Nangong Hao was the only person who had such physical and mental strength in the entire Fu Yi Valley. More importantly, he was defeated by Fang Zhengzhi just not too long ago.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, if I were you, I would definitely not give Nangong Hao any chance to retaliate!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard again.

    ¡°...¡± Mo Shanshi twitched his mouth.

    He initially wanted to reply, ¡°Shut up, stop talking crap! I have lived for so many years, of course I have more experience than you, do I need you to teach me?¡±

    However, he did not know why he was unable to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words of ridicule seemed to be giving Mo Shanshi an advice: When dealing with Nangong Hao, he should not give him any chance to retaliate.

    This brat!

    I, Mo Shanshi, owe you a favor!

    Mo Shanshi did not over-think. Keeping his eye on the three beams of bloody light, he changed his body again, this time round shrinking to half of his original size.

    Woosh! With the advantage of a small body, Mo Shanshi zoomed past the three strikes. With the hammer making thunderous noises in his hand, he threw a blow at Nangong Hao once again.

    This should respond to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words earlier on. Don¡¯t defend, just attack!

    Or rather, use attack as a means to defend!

    Boom! Nangong Hao¡¯s body was struck again. Evidently, Mo Shanshi¡¯s way of constantly changing his forms made it difficult for Nangong Hao to react quickly.

    In the next moment, he saw Mo Shanshi dashing towards him again.

    ¡°Die die die die die...¡± Mo Shanshi kept muttering his words, his ck giant hammer changed from a heavy, ferocious form to an extremely fast one.

    It was the raindrop-like hammer shadows!

    Besides that, on the top of the shadow, there was a huge design that was continuously agglomerating with golden rays flowing on the design.

    Rumble...

    A continuous string of rumble was heard in the air. Facing the wild attack methods by Mo Shanshi and the sudden change to a fast and lightweight hammer.

    Nangong Hao could only use his remaining strength to pull through. After all, judging from physical strength, Mo Shanshi was one of the few masters whose power is at the peak of the Sage State.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, escape, stop draining your strength!¡± Nangong Tianmented again, sounding more desperate this time round.

    ¡°Escape?!¡± Nangong Hao kept retreating, with blood-red light rising from his body, he was about to touch the Tree of God.

    He understood what Nangong Tian meant, because he had nearly depleted his Origin Energy after the fight with Fang Zhengzhi.

    If he had not eaten the fruit of the Tree of God, he would have been paralysed by now.

    However, despite the fact that the fruit of the Tree of God provides enough power, cultivating the Tree of God requires an extensive amount of input power. Thank goodness, Nangong Hao still had the Blood Offering Illustration in his body.

    Because of that, he was able to take the risk.

    Nevertheless, for the Tree of God to truly be plete¡±, it requires a very long time.

    Previously, he was about to aplish it. However, after the Mo Shanshi¡¯s series of attacks, his Origin Energy was excessively drained again.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. Excessive draining of strength could cause the Tree of God to wither, I would not let this happen!¡± Nangong Hao clenched his teeth and his gaze begun to change.

 Chapter 859 - Descendants of Emperor Yan, Spirit of the Tree of God

    <h4>Chapter 859: Descendants of Emperor Yan, Spirit of the Tree of God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A white flower shed in the white eye of Nangong Hao, while in the red eye, a trace of blood was continuously spinning.

    It was the Blood Offering Illustration!

    However, aspared to earlier on, both the white flower and the Blood Offering Illustration were much clearer, as though they were in their real forms.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Hao roared as he raised his Wuwei sword high, traces of blood flowed down the sword like rays of light.

    Then, a shocking scene took ce.

    Instead of approaching Mo Shanshi¡¯s hammer as expected, the Wuwei sword stabbed into Nangong Hao¡¯s own chest in the speed of lightning.

    Spit! Fresh blood was spat out from Nangong Hao¡¯s mouth.

    This scene undoubtedly shocked the disciples from the various sects. Even the approaching Mo Shanshi was evidently stunned.

    ¡°What is Nangong Hao doing?!¡±

    ¡°Committing suicide?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be suicide, he stabbed himself above his heart. But still, what is he trying to do?!¡±

    None of the disciples understood what Nangong Hao was doing.

    Apart from them, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng also could not react. After all, such action was rather shocking..

    But quickly, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expressions changed.

    The blood spat out by Nangong Hao did not flow as expected, it kept flowing, agglomerating in front of his face, turning into a blood-red flower.

    It was an eight-petaled flower. Every petal was madepletely out of fresh blood. Besides that, on every petal, there was an extremely sophisticated symbol.

    ¡°What is this?!¡± Mo Shanshi looked at the blood flower in front of Nangong Hao and froze.

    Simrly, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. He frowned, trying to recall if he had seen this scene before.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao¡¯s lifted his head gradually and gave a cruel smile.

    ¡°You guys havepletely no idea who are you fighting against!¡± Nangong Hao looked beneath him with a chilling re, exuding a Sage-like arrogance.

    ¡°Fighting against who?¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao, what is he saying?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand at all!¡±

    After hearing Nangong Hao, the disciples from the various sects stared at each other in confusion, shaking their heads as they did not understand what Nangong Hao meant.

    Nangong Hao did not bother exining. He lifted his head up slightly and looked at the seven-colored rainbow above his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t every one of you im to be descendants of Yan Huang? If so, do you know why it was the Huang Emperor who ultimtely ruled the world?

    ¡°Haha... You don¡¯t know, you all only know what was recorded in the historical books!¡±

    Nangong Hao did not give any chance for the rest toment. As though he was talking to himself, he seemed to be also recalling a story from the past.

    ¡°I will only tell you, the Tree of God belonged to the Nangong Nobles. It was nted by the ancestors of the Nangong Nobles. Therefore, only the disciples of the Nangong Nobles are entitled to the fruits of the Tree of God. None of you can snatch it, and neither can you make use of the power of the Tree of God!¡± Nangong Hao said with a hint of despise.

    ¡°The Tree of God was nted by the Nangong Nobles?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    ¡°This is ridiculous, we¡¯re not believing this!¡±

    Some of the disciples from the various sects began to refute Nangong Hao¡¯s words as they refused to believe him.

    Meanwhile, after hearing thement made by Nangong Hao, the expression of the frowning Mu Qingfeng who had been deep in thought changed suddenly, giving a look of disbelief.

    ¡°Tree of God was nted by the Nangong Nobles? Judging from Nangong Hao¡¯s character, he would not lie at this point of time. However, if he was not lying, that means the Nangong Nobles...¡±

    ¡°Old man Mu, what are you thinking about?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice could be heard. From his voice, Mu Qingfeng could tell he was in utter shock.

    ¡°If I guessed correctly, we are thinking about the same thing!¡± Mu Qingfeng understood what Mo Shanshi meant by his words, but he thought that it would be an exaggeration if he said it out. It was so impactful that it could even shake the world.

    ¡°Descendants of Emperor Yan?¡± Mo Shanshi narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Mu Qingfeng did notment too much, but he subconsciously tightened his grip on his long sword with an extremely solemn look.

    Despite that...

    Nangong Hao ignored all of thosements. He continued looking at the sky and the sever-colored rainbow, allowing the blood from his chest to flow along the Wuwei Sword into the eight-petaled blood flower.

    ¡°The Nangong Nobles only wants ¡°fairness¡±. Is this simple request too much? How dare all of you stop me?!¡±

    ¡°How dare you stop me?!¡±

    ¡°How dare you...¡±

    Nangong Hao¡¯s voice echoed through the sky. Like an insane force of evil, it shook the hearts of the disciples below.

    Following the echoes, the disciples were perplexed, as though they were subdued by the force.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he just trying to dy time? What¡¯s the point of making it sound so pompous?¡± At this point, a voice spoke.

    This voice was not loud, but it made the disciples, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s bodies shake.

    ¡°Dying time?!¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s gazes fell on the blood flower in front of Nangong Hao¡¯s chest. Then it struck them.

    When Nangong Hao made his ¡°self-harm¡± move all of a sudden, they were subconsciously shocked by his move. Following that, Nangong Hao made use of this period of time to ¡°narrate¡±.

    This narration was undoubtedly very attention-seeking.

    That was because till now, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi still could not figure out what were the ns of the Nangong Nobles. Nangong Hao¡¯sment naturally gave them a chance to rify their doubts.

    Because of that, they gave Nangong Hao some more time undeliberately, allowing the blood flower in front of Nangong Hao to be more solidified.

    ¡°Regardless of whether he was the descendant of Emperor Yan, stop him!¡± Mu Qingfeng finally spoke, while quickly using his long sword to attack the Monster King in front of him.

    Then, he dashed towards Nangong Hao.

    However, Mo Shanshi was much faster. After the reminder given by Fang Zhengzhi, he already began moving, once again turning the ck giant hammer to raindrops.

    ¡°Haha... toote, it¡¯s toote!¡± Nangong Hao looked at the raindrops from the giant hammer and smiled coldly.

    Then, he disappeared from his original position. Like teleportation, he appeared instantaneously on top of the Tree of God.

    The blood flower floated above Nangong Hao¡¯s palm.

    At his chest...

    The Wuwei Sword was removed but the tip of the sword still had drops of fresh blood. The blood flowed into the blood flower.

    ¡°With my fresh blood today, allow me to create the flower of the Tree of God, irrigate the fruit of the Tree of God. Allow me to use the seven-colored rainbow as a bridge to return the hopes of Mother Earth, open the gates of heaven!¡±

    Boom!

    Following his words, a beam of golden lightning bolt sliced through the sky, striking the tip of the Tree of God.

    Crack!

    A loud noise was heard.

    The Tree of God was about to be sliced into pieces by the lightning bolt, cracks continuously spreaded from the top to the bottom of the tree.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Flower of the Tree of God, fruit of the Tree of God, seven-colored rainbow... Most importantly, what was the meaning behind the ¡®return the hopes of Mother Earth¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Look, the Tree of God split!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects also saw the strange scene. The Tree of God waspletely split with a beam of golden light flowing from the crack between the branches and the trunk.

    ¡°No, it did not split, bathing in the lightning bolt... This is the real Tree of God!¡± Mu Qingfeng was initially shocked by the scene, but regained his senses quickly.

    At this point in time, he was still unsure of the ns of Nangong Nobles, but he finally understood the real identity of the Tree of God.

    Put it simply, the Tree of God was a ¡°body¡±.

    A body constructed by the powerful Origin Energy of Nangong Hao. However, this body did not have the real spirit of the Tree of God.

    However, after Nangong Hao used his own blood to stimte the lightning bolt¡¯s strike, the Tree of God finally got its spirit.

    Boom! The floor split open.

    Beams of golden light shot out from the ground, turning into old green vines, exuding an aura of ancientry.

    ¡°Finally seeded? Hahaha... The age-long hopes of the Nangong Nobles finally came true today? Nobody can stop us anymore, nobody!¡± Nangong Tian looked at the green vines in extreme exhration.

    Meanwhile, the disciples from the various sects widened their eyes and retreated their steps. The aura was too powerful for them to get close, they could only stay far away, or even get down to their knees.

    Crack! Crack!

    The golden ray tore the branches and the bark of the Tree of God apart, then wrappeed them up together, causing it to turn pitch-ck.

    In the pitch-ckness, there seemed to be some force that was still moving like a heartbeat with even tempo.

    ¡°In the ice and snow... Is the tree trunk being formed?!¡±

    ¡°This is amazing!¡±

    ¡°Tree of God, this is the real Tree of God?¡±

    The disciples watching from below had never seen such a strange phenomenon and was shocked to the core.

    This process did not continue for a prolonged period of time. As the golden rays were emitted, more and more green vines shot out from the ground. Meanwhile, the trunk of the Tree of God gradually became a real tree trunk, pitch-ck and ancient, with beams of light rays flowing on it.

    ¡°Old man Mo!¡± At this time, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Mo Shanshi understood what Mu Qingfeng meant. Although it seemed like the Tree of God had been created with the spirit...

    what could that mean?

    Mo Shanshi did not know and dare not to confirm.

    But he was sure that he would not give up even in the final moments. He was also determined to stop Nangong Hao.

    This was exactly the most important attitude for the most powerful ¡ª Never give up!

    Therefore, Mo Shanshi dashed towards Nangong Hao immediately. Raising his ck giant hammer which was like a majestic tall mountain, he aimed at Nangong Hao¡¯s head.

    Rumble! With the fast speed, the sound caused by the friction between the ck giant hammer and the air was like the sound of thunder.

    Most importantly, Mo Shanshi¡¯s body doubled in size at that moment, veins bulging from his originally frail body.

    Strong and powerful.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi was shocked by this scene. After all, he could not visualize the transformation made by the old man.

    Of course, he once asked the Heavenly Oasis Saint for an exnation. However, the exnation given was simple: the real appearance of a sage was always the same appearance when he reached the Sagely State.

    Regarding the frail body...

    Some of these were hidden tactics that were meant to prolong their lifespans. Some could be done on purpose. After all, if one did not change one¡¯s appearance for decades, people would find it hard to ept.

    ¡°Not sure if Mo Shanshi belonged to the former or thetter group?¡±As Fang Zhengzhi pondered over the question, Mo Shanshi¡¯s ck giant hammer had reached the top of the Nangong Hao¡¯s head.

    The rumbles of thunder was extremely loud.

    Everyone knew that the attack was Mo Shanshi¡¯s full out attack.

    ¡°Die!¡± Mo Shanshi grimaced, beams of gold patterns flowed along his face and body.

 Chapter 860 - Combination of Human and Tree

    <h4>Chapter 860: Combination of Human and Tree</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The terrorizing attack was apanied by a force of thunder.

    The violent strength caused the air to stop circting. Loud cracking noises resonated through the air while countless golden rays umted at the center of the giant ck hammer.

    Despite this, Nangong Hao remained calm as ever, nonchntly ncing at the approaching giant hammer, he raised his left arm slowly.

    Boom! A gigantic shock wave spread through the air like water ripples, so strong that the ground shook.

    ¡°Sess?!¡±

    ¡°With this level of attack, I doubt anyone could block it?¡±

    ¡°Blocking it was impossible!¡±

    The disciples from the various sects widened their eyes and stared at the center of the shockwave, the two shadows that were about to meet.

    However, soon, their expressions changed.

    The terrifying attack did not reach Nangong Hao, but was instead blocked by a hand which was surrounded by many ck tree branches.

    The ck tree branches intertwined on the ck giant hammer like many palms, blocking the hammer above Nangong Hao¡¯s head. Every branch was glowind with radiance and exuded a holy aura.

    ¡°The Tree of God!¡±

    ¡°The branches of the Tree of God!¡±

    ¡°Why did this happen?¡±

    This was undoubtedly an astonishing scene for the disciples of the various sects and those of the Holy Region. They never expected the Tree of God to make this move.

    Was the Tree of God willingly helping Nangong Hao?

    Or, Nangong Hao was able to make use of the powers of the Tree of God?

    Confusion!

    This confusion also prompted an idea in the disciples¡¯ minds.

    ¡°Unless the Tree of God was really nted by the ancestors of the Nangong Nobles?¡± This thought worried the disciples. If this was the truth, then nobody would be able to stop Nangong Hao!

    ¡°Nangong Hao, you...¡± Mo Shanshi was also extremely shocked. He could feel the intense power on the branches of the Tree of God more than anyone else.

    ¡°I said, it¡¯s toote!¡± Nangong Hao grimaced, the blood stains on his chest made him look extremely insane.

    More importantly, the blood flower on the top of his head kept rising, flying towards the top of the Tree of God with insane speed.

    ¡°Old man Mo!¡± Mu Qingfeng arrived at this moment, with the speed of lightning, he struck the branches on the ck giant hammer using his long sword.

    Boom! Another loud sound was heard.

    However, the next scene made the disciples feel like they were woken up in a different world. The branches of the Tree of God were like gold iron, not only did they remainpletely undamaged, but none of the leaves fell too.

    ¡°What?!¡± Mu Qingfeng clearly could not believe his eyes.

    But he could not overthink. After he cut the tree branch with his sword, more tree branches grew from the Tree of God.

    Crack! In a split second, Mu Qingfeng was caught by a ck tree branch. Followed by the second, the third...

    Nangong Hao, on the other hand, acted as though nothing had happened. He followed closely behind the blood flower, flying towards the top of the Tree of God.

    However, when he was flying, a few drops of fresh blood fell from the sky.

    ¡°Is there really no way to stop him?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s giant hammer was caught by the branches. He stared nkly at Nangong Hao while remaining stuck to the spot.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression was also very solemn. However, when the few drops of fresh blood dripped on his face, his expression changed.

    ¡°Wait, he still cannot control the Tree of God!¡±

    ¡°Cannot control?¡± Mo Shanshi was shocked by Mu Qingfeng¡¯sments. It was the Tree of God that blocked the blow for Nangong Hao earlier on.

    ¡°He is injured, badly injured! He is intentionally tricking us into believing that he could control the Tree of God!¡± Mu Qingfeng was going wild.

    Beams of aura exuded from Mu Qingfeng¡¯s body. Bright and pure, the aura wereparable to sharp swords.

    As the aura continuously flowed, the ck branches on his body began to fall off, their color changing from ck to snow white.

    ¡°Snow and ice!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes widened. Staring at the ice and snow form of the ¡°ck branches of the Tree of God¡±, he immediately understood what Mu Qingfeng meant.

    Nangong Hao was taking a bet!

    He was betting on Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s fear of the power of the Tree of God!

    He used his own power to block Mo Shanshi¡¯s attack, but he credited that to the Tree of God.

    This wittiness, calmness and plotting, was almost perfect.

    If Nangong Hao had not suffered severe injuries and left the few drops of blood, nobody would have realized it.

    ¡°Nangong Hao... No wonder he was publicly dered as the Number One Prodigy by the Great Xia Dynasty. In such scenarios, how could he exhibit such calmness in making judgments, how formidable!¡± After shaking off the branches, Mu Qingfeng felt intimidated

    They were so close to being ¡°tricked¡± by Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, you can¡¯t escape!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s body shook suddenly, breaking the branches on his ck giant hammer. Then, with a p of his ¡°wings¡±, he zoomed towards Nangong Hao again.

    Cough... Nangong Hao coughed heavily and spat fresh blood from his mouth.

    Evidently, to block Mo Shanshi¡¯s attack and plot this trickery, he had paid a heavy price.

    ¡°I am exposed so quickly?¡± Nangong Hao turned towards Mo Shanshi with a tinge of exhaustion in his expression.

    However, he did not slow down. With a calm expression, he looked as though he was not surprised that he was exposed.

    ¡°Nangong Hao. with your current condition, you will not be able to escape!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice could be heard from beneath.

    Nangong Hao still remained silent.

    He bit his lips and continued flying towards the blood flower. His speed was even faster now, so fast that one could not see him clearly.

    ¡°Give up now, it is impossible!¡± Mo Shanshi shouted again.

    ¡°Just a little more to go, a little more... I can do this, I definitely can. Brother, I will not let you bleed in vain. Never, never ever!¡± Nangong Hao did not look down, he focused entirely on the blood flower above him.

    He was getting closer and closer!

    Nangong Hao was closing in on the blood flower. Meanwhile, Mo Shanshi was closing in on him as well. It was as though the three were about to meet.

    The disciples held their breath as they watched from underneath. Everyone stared at the two blurry figures.

    Getting closer and closer!

    He reached!

    Just when Mo Shanshi was about a person¡¯s distance away from Nangong Hao, blood-red light lit up the sky.

    Buzz! A gigantic Blood Offering Illustration masked the sky like a sky screen. Many red ws flowed out of the Blood Offering Illustration wildly.

    ¡°Hmph, you can¡¯t block me!¡± Seeing the attack of countless red ws, the golden marks on Mo Shanshi¡¯s body flowed rapidly. Almost immediately, an extremelyplicated figure lit up above his head as though he was holding a gigantic golden light shield on his head.

    However, aspared to ordinary light shields, this light shield was extraordinarily intense, as though it was a heavy hammer that was thrown out.

    Boom!

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s body zoomed past the Blood Offering Illustration,pletely ignoring the red ws, making a human-sized tear on the gigantic Blood Offering Illustration.

    It was a shocking scene.

    Then, Mo Shanshi was finally behind Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Die!¡± Mo Shanshi was certain. At this moment, he would definitely not spare Nangong Hao, hence he threw the hammer towards Nangong Hao¡¯s back.

    Nangong Hao turned pale.

    Yet, his pale face disyed calmness instead of panic.

    He did not attempt to dart.

    Boom!

    After the loud boom, the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s hammer struck Nangong Hao¡¯s back urately, causing Nangong Hao to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    Spit! The blood turned into blood mist in the sky, then, it strangely continued to umte in the blood flower.

    What was stranger was how Nangong Hao, despite suffering the blow, continued advancing even faster and did not copse.

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°He did not die? He is still advancing?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    The disciples were extremely shocked as they knew Mo Shanshi was really powerful.

    He was one of the most powerful in the Holy Region!

    How could one survive the blow made by him?

    Nobody could.

    It was unbelievable, but, it was reality.

    Mo Shanshi was also taken aback. He had really gave a full-out attack earlier on.

    Under such circumstances...

    Nangong Hao did not die?

    Was he a monster?!

    ¡°No, not a monster, he was indestructible!¡± Mo Shanshi, as the Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley Master, figured out very quickly after a temporary daze.

    If anybody could survive the blow of his hammer, it must be imed as the first Indestructible Body of the bloodline.

    Coincidentally...

    Yan Qing had a fight with Nangong Hao before.

    Coincidentally, Nangong Hao had swallowed some of Yan Qing¡¯s blood.

    This was easily neglected as nobody would bother recalling this fact.

    Also, Nangong Hao had always been trying to hide this. He had never fought with Mo Shanshi or even Fang Zhengzhi.

    This made it easier for others to neglect the fact.

    ¡°How witty... Did he n this all along?! Or, had he always made this his Trump card?!¡± Mo Shanshi gasped.

    He saw through his intentions.

    However, he could no longer stop Nangong Hao.

    Thanks to the blow of his hammer, Nangong Hao had already caught up with the blood flower like a meteor that flew up to the sky.

    He was less than five-people¡¯s distance away from the top of the Tree of God.

    Therefore, even as one of the most powerful in the Holy Region, Mo Shanshi could not stop Nangong Hao from reaching the top of the Tree of God.

    Mu Qingfeng witnessed this scene.

    He wanted to stop Nangong Hao, but nobody was faster than Mo Shanshi in the air.

    If Mo Shanshi could not stop him, how could Mu Qingfeng?

    Crack! At this moment, Nangong Hao finally grabbed the blood flower. Glistening, the blood flower floated in his palm.

    Meanwhile, his foot touched the top of the Tree of God. Underneath his foot, the ck tree branches glowed, the radiance flowed continuously from the tree branches to his body, as though he had fused with the branches.

    ¡°Today, I can finally rewrite the fate of Nangong Nobles!¡± Nangong Hao¡¯s tear dripped on the blood flower in his hand as he stood on the top of the Tree of God, ¡°It had been ages... For thousands of years, Nangong Nobles changed our family name and endured. Despite that, we could only stay in a cold and harsh environment. We were destined to live through the cold, and those people who betrayed us... They lived a wealthy and happy life!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao, didn¡¯t you say that the Nangong Nobles were descendants of Emperor Yan? Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting into trouble with your ancestors? What are you trying to do?!¡± Mo Shanshi said.

    ¡°What am I trying to do? Hahaha, nothing much. I just wanted justice! The Nangong family only wants to get back the things that belonged to us and our ancestors. Trying to stop me? Dream on!¡± Nangong Haoughed hysterically. Then, the blood flower in his hand fell to the tree branch on the top of the Tree of God.

 Chapter 861 - Gate of God of the Three Realms

    <h4>Chapter 861: Gate of God of the Three Realms</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Belongings of the ancestors?¡± Mo Shanshi narrowed his eyes. He was unsure of what Nangong Hao was saying, but it was clearly not important anymore.

    The blood flower in Nangong Hao¡¯s handnded on the top of the Tree of God and flowed into the tree extremely quickly.

    It looked as if the blood flower was swallowed by the Tree of God.

    The blood flower disappeared in a split second. Meanwhile, a fruit grew at the top of the Tree of God. The fruit had three colors, and split into three different fruits.

    One was as ck as ink, radiating a mysterious aura. One was green and had the vibrance of a metal. Thest was glowing with golden beams, extremely eye-catching.

    Three fruits!

    Moreover, none of these three fruits were round. In fact, they were shaped very oddly. Instead of looking like normal fruits, they looked like three keys.

    Buzz! At this moment, the sky trembled as though there were huge tears in the sky.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°What on earth is that?¡±

    ¡°I have a feeling, a bad one. I feel that the sky is about to fall?¡±

    ¡°The sky is about to fall? What do you mean?¡±

    As the disciples discussed beneath, the sun in the sky suddenly disappeared.

    It changed from daylight to night time!

    What a strange scene that took ce in a blink of an eye. The sun disappeared and night time arrived, only three fruits glistened on the top of the Tree of God, radiating three different colors.

    ¡°Heaven and Earth Reversal, Yin Yang Retrograde?¡± This scene shocked Dao Hun, who was in the midst of a battle.

    The other disciples werepletely stunned.

    In a blink of an eye, day turned into night. This phenomenon that just took ce in front of their very own eyes had never been recorded in historical books.

    ¡°Why did the sky darken suddenly?¡±

    ¡°Stars... Look, the stars in the sky...¡±

    ¡°And a bright moon? Am I dreaming?¡±

    The disciples of the various sects and the disciples of the Holy Region could not understand this strange phenomenon.

    ¡°The reversal of Heaven and Earth?¡± Qian Yu looked up at the sky, looking shocked as well. Evidently, even she could not find a reasonable exnation to this phenomenon.

    Compared to Mo Shanshi, Dao Hun and Qian Yu, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression was slightly different. Countless thoughts shed through his mind.

    That was because he suddenly recalled the ck pce located underneath the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, as well as the stone tablet in the pce which had ancient writings carved on it.

    ¡°Tree of God...¡±

    ¡°Fruits? Blood flower...¡±

    ¡°The hope of Mother Earth? The reversal of Heaven and Earth?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Countless thoughts shed through and gathered in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mind. He felt as though he was about to figure things out, but yet he could not.

    ¡°Three fruits... Three worlds... Gate of God, Nangong Hao wants to open the Gate of God of the Three Realms!¡± At this point, a crisp voice could be heard.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan who had been recuperating stood up, staring at the figure on top of the Tree of God with eyes as bright as the stars.

    ¡°What? Gate of God of the Three Realms?!¡± All the disciples gasped in shock.

    However, none of them questioned this sentence.

    Because this sentence was said by Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Indeed, it is Gate of God of the Three Realms... Huyan was correct, Nangong Hao is indeed trying to Gate of God of the Three Realms!¡± Mu Qingfeng reacted upon hearing Chi Huyan¡¯s words.

    ¡°Gate of God of the Three Realms? So the legend was true!¡± Mo Shanshi sounded extremely shocked.

    ¡°Yes, the legend about the God of Tree which connected the three realms. So he... He wants to open the Gate of God of the Three Realms, what exactly does he want?!¡± Mu Qingfeng did not look very well.

    There were very little detailed description regarding the Gate of God of the Three Realms in the Repository of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. The insignificant legend was only recorded in an extremely ancient historical book.

    Tree of God that connected the three realms!

    That was all!

    However, nobody knew, and nobody would have been able to know whether the three realms really existed, and what was in the three realms.

    ¡°Hahaha, you are wrong. The Nangong Nobles do not want to open the Gate of God of the Three Realms, we want to open the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡±Door of the Realm of God?!¡±

    ¡°¡±The Realm of God really exists?¡±

    Upon hearing Nangong Tian, the disciples of the various sects showed astonishment on their faces. None of them have heard of the legend that stated the existence of the Realm of God.

    ¡°Looks like there is no point in hiding the truth anymore!¡± After blocking the strike of the Yan Yin, Nangong Tiannded somewhere far away, staring intensely, he said, ¡°The Nangong Nobles originally had the surname Jiang and were the descendants of Emperor Yan. However, due to one mistake made by our ancestor Emperor Yan, we had to hide our names for thousands of years!¡±

    ¡°Mistake?¡± The disciples looked at each other in confusion.

    ¡°Yes, mistake!¡± Nangong Tian nodded, then spoke with a sense of pity, ¡°The story that Pavilion Master Mu had told earlier on was something that happened in real life!¡±

    ¡°The story that Pavilion Master Mu had told?¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to Mother Earth?¡±

    ¡°The natural disaster?¡±

    Upon hearing this, the disciples looked even more shocked.

    Besides them, even Mu Qingfeng subconsciously trembled. If Nangong Tian could bring up the story, he probably knew the details of it.

    ¡°Although you may not believe me, the natural disaster really happened on earth before, and the battle of the three races ¡ª human race, demon race, and monster race ¡ª was the trigger!¡± Nangong Tian continued.

    ¡°The battle of the three races?¡±

    ¡°Thousands of years ago, under the leadership of Yan Huang, a great war was started. However, people did not know that the war did not end. During the final battle, the natural disaster took ce! That natural disaster killed countless lives and caused the world to be consumed by blood and fire!¡± Nangong Tian evidently sounded very agitated.

    ¡°It did not end?¡±

    ¡°The natural disaster took ce during the final battle?¡±

    ¡°But why then do we still have the records of Yan Huang?¡±

    Although they were shocked by the story, the disciples of various sects still doubted his words.

    Nangong Tian, however, ignored thements made by the disciples. Instead, he looked quietly at the sky filled with stars, ¡°It was Mother Earth who convinced the three races to temporarily ceasefire. However, topensate for the damage caused by the natural disaster as a result of the Great War, Mother Earth could not possibly do it alone. Therefore, she requested for the three races to send their most powerful representatives to fight alongside her against the natural disaster and mended the sky!¡±

    ¡°Mended the sky?!¡±

    ¡°Coboration amongst the most powerful of the three races!¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    At this moment, the disciples fell silent. They could picture the spectacr scene of the coboration between Mother Earth and the most powerful of the three races when natural disaster struck.

    As the natural disaster struck, fire zed and small rocks fell.

    The ground burned in raging mes. The most powerful of the three races dashed to the sky. Like meteors, they gathered at the area struck by natural disaster. Using their powers, they fought the natural disaster.

    ¡°Mother Earth? N¨¹wa mending the sky?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat surprised.

    He had heard this legend before. However, it sounded a little different from what Nangong Tian had said.

    Why does this world have the same legend?

    And most importantly, this legend was different from the legend in the past life? What exactly is this world? How is this world connected to the past world?

    Many questions popped up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    However, he could not find an exnation because he was not sure whether Nangong Tian was telling the truth or not. Nevertheless, he was sure that there were some ssic books that could be found in both worlds. These ssics were renamed Law of Dao!

    Nangong Tian spoke again, albeit with a trembling voice, ¡°All of you guessed correctly. The three races agreed and led by Mother Earth, they fought against natural disaster. The most powerful in the family of Emperor Yan also participated. However, we made a mistake. We went full-out and did not hold back at all, trying topensate for our mistakes!¡±

    ¡°Full-out? No holding back? What was wrong with that?¡± The disciples could not understand. Shouldn¡¯t going full-out be regarded as a major aplishment at the time of a natural disaster? Why did Nangong Tian say that it was a grave mistake?

    ¡°Correct? Haha... If we had not made that mistake, our race would not have fallen! Because we did not hold back and trusted Mother Earth entirely, we depleted our energy when the natural disaster was fixed. As a result, we were trapped outside the sky!¡±

    ¡°Trapped outside the sky?!¡±

    ¡°In order to mend the sky, we must block the disasters from entering the sky. By moving outside the sky, we put in all efforts into preventing the natural disaster from striking, allowing Mother Earth to have the opportunity to mend the sky. However, after mending the sky, we could no longer enter the sky again. Don¡¯t you think that was a grave mistake?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Could no longer enter the sky again?¡±

    This time round, apart from the disciples, even Mu Qingfeng fell silent. If Nangong Tian was telling the truth, then the Emperor Yan family had suffered huge losses, it could even be said to be catastrophic.

    ¡°After resolving the natural disaster, even Mother Earth had depleted her powers. Feeling guilty for trapping them out of the sky, Mother Earth handed over a seed to the ancestors of the Emperor Yan family. She also left behind ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven¡± to the ancestors of the Emperor Huang family, hoping that the descendants of Yan and Huang could coborate, create the Gate of God and wee those who were trapped outside back. However... the descendants of Emperor Huang used the ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven¡± to rule, climb to the throne,pletely ignoring the ancestors and most powerful fighters who were trapped outside the sky!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s eyes welled up with tears.

    ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?!¡±

    ¡°I have never heard of this Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?¡±

    ¡°Thirty-six maps... Does he mean thirty-six pieces of Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?¡±

    The disciples of the various sects were extremely confused. However they gained back their senses quickly. This was because thirty-six, the number of maps, matched perfectly with the number of Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    However, this meant...

    ¡°Could it be that the Great Xia Dynasty was started by the descendants of Emperor Huang?!¡± After this thought shed across his mind, all eyes focused on Lin Mubai, His Majesty, who was sitting within the faction of Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, when His Majesty Lin Mubai heard that, his expression immediately changed. ncing around, he clenched his fist tight.

    However, Nangong Tian obviously did not give His Majesty Lin Mubai a chance to talk. After a pause, he said, ¡°Yes, Lin Mubai is the descendant of Emperor Huang. Because the Lin family broke their promises, after several arguments, our ancestors finally could not endure it any further. That battle, the family of Emperor Yan went all out, yet we could still could not win. Nheless, after that battle, the family of Emperor Huang were also depleted of strength and severely injured. Till now, the Great Xia Dynasty that once ruled the world have finally became the talk of the past!¡±

    Nangong Tian looked slightly sad as he talked. However, he also seemed to be contented and proud.

    On the other hand, all the disciples had their mouths agape.

    The world they knew only had one dynasty ¡ª the Great Xia Dynasty. In that era, the Great Xia Dynasty ruled the world and there was no such thing as Holy Region.

    Nevertheless, the Great Xia Dynasty which had a glorious past quickly fell and broke down, and eventually ended up as a dust in history.

    ¡°Nangong Tian, you are talking rubbish!¡± His Majesty Lin Mubai could no longer hold his frustration.

    ¡°Hahaha, whether I am talking rubbish is no longer important. I did not expect the descendants of Emperor Huang to be so pathetic such that they resorted to changing the name ¡®Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven¡¯ to ¡®Heaven Dao Sage Tablet¡¯, and using the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven to exchange for army and horses, establishing an empire again!¡± Nangong Tianughed loudly.

    ¡°How do you know what happened thousands of years ago?¡± His Majesty Lin Mubai did not believe him.

    ¡°Haha, of course I don¡¯t. However, the ancestors of the Nangong Nobles knew everything. Why do you think Nangong Nobles nted ourselves within the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty? Why do you think we did not be officials? You don¡¯t know, but Emperor Taizu of the Great Xia Dynasty does! If I had guessed correctly, Emperor Taizu must have given emperors like you a will after he passed away that is rted to Nangong Nobles?¡±

 Chapter 862 - An Approachable Beautiful Lady

    <h4>Chapter 862: An Approachable Beautiful Lady</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You...¡± His Majesty Lin Mubai¡¯s face changed after hearing Nangong Tian¡¯s words.

    This was because, as what Nangong Tian said, Emperor Taizu of the Great Xia Dynasty indeed left behind a will, and majority of the content was regarding their rtionship with the Nangong Nobles.

    However, the content in the will stated that the emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty must treat the Nobles kindly, and they could never kill the Nobles of the Nangong Nobles.

    ¡°So? Speechless?¡± Nangong Tianughed coldly.

    ¡°If I told you that the will mentioned about Nangong Nobles, but was about how I should treat the Nangong Nobles kindly and provide the best help I could, would you believe?¡± His Majesty Lin Mubai exuded a powerful and majestic aura.

    ¡°Hahaha... That only shows that Emperor Taizu was smart. He knew that he would not be enemies with the family of Emperor Yan, hence he hoped to use the chance to recruit us. However, he did not know that the family of Emperor Yan would never betray?¡± Nangong Tianughed again.

    ¡°Nangong Tian, you...¡± His Majesty Lin Mubai¡¯s lips twitched. He wanted to say something but no words were heard. Instead, his face instantaneously turned ugly.

    Because he knew that Nangong Tian was overwhelmed with intense hatred and no sense of kindness would touch him. Emperor Taizu¡¯s hopes of reconciling with the Nangong Nobles could only be a impossible dream.

    Nevertheless, this incident had happened too long ago, so long tht he could not even remember how many sessions of emperors had taken ce. Nobody could even remember that there was such a story between Emperor Lin of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Nangong Nobles.

    ¡°The family of Emperor Yan have done our best to prevent the natural disaster from hitting us, yet, what did we get in return?¡± Nangong Tian was evidently agitated as he said, ¡°It was just a historical record that stated the achievements aplished by Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. However, despite being history, the family of Emperor Huang insists on removing the achievements of the family of Emperor Yan, leaving no trace of records for the descendants! Were they guilty?¡±

    Towards the end, Nangong Tian exuded a powerful aura, the symbol on his forehead which represented the Sage State was extraordinarily eye-catching.

    Meanwhile, the various disciples remained silent, as they werepletely clueless about who wa right or wrong.

    Who could tell if it was the truth for something that happened thousands of years ago?

    Even if they assumed that Nangong Tian was telling the truth, it was only one side of th story. As the descendants of Yan Huang, they did not dare toment on their ancestors¡¯ story.

    However, they need to be concerned with one thing: What does the Nangong Nobles want, and how to resolve the grudges between the two families?

    ¡°Alright, if the family of Emperor Huang do not want to do it, then let us, the family of Emperor Yan do it. Door of the Realm of God shall be opened by us. We will wee back the most powerful fighters of the family of Emperor Yan!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s expressions turned wild after hearing the silence.

    ¡±To open the Door of the Realm of God?¡±

    ¡°Weing back the most powerful fighters of the family of Emperor Yan...¡±

    ¡°The most powerful fighters from thousands of years ago?! The family of Emperor Yan!¡±

    Upon hearing this, the disciples of the various sects and the disciples of the Holy Region finally understood what Nangong Tian wanted to achieve. He wanted to use the three realms that were connected by the Tree of God to open the Gate of God that was once sealed.

    However, that was the Gate of God that was sealed with natural disaster!

    Once the Gate of God is opened, the natural disaster that struck thousands of years ago would hit the world again?

    Nobody knew the answer. However, that was not impossible. After all, Nangong Tian¡¯s words could only represent the Nangong Nobles. The truth behind how the family of Emperor Huang was unwilling to reopen the Gate of God to wee back the most powerful fighters had long been covered by history.

    ¡°No, the Door of the Realm of God cannot be opened!¡± Mu Qingfeng was extremely anxious at this point in time.

    However, it was toote.

    As Nangong Tian was narrating the history of the families, three huge cracks had appeared on the top of the Tree of God as well as above Nangong Hao¡¯s head.

    Those were cracks belonging to three different regions. From the cracks, one could see the different lights emitted ¡ª gold, green and ck respectively.

    At this moment, Nangong Hao moved. Following the raising of his left hand, a beam of light shot through the sky, fusing instantly with the golden light above his head.

    It was a giant ancient Green Rock Door.

    However, after the giant ancient Green Rock Door fused with the golden light, streams of bright golden patterns flowed on the green rocks.

    A magnificent aura descended from the sky.

    Simple yet filled with holiness, the cloud patterns that were carved on the rock door began to flow rapidly, as though as they came alive.

    ¡°It is the Heaven-Receiving Door!¡±

    ¡°Why is the Heaven-Receiving Door in our Heaven Dao Pavilion... in Nangong Hao¡¯s hands?¡±

    ¡°Unless Nangong Hao killed the guards of the Heaven-Receiving Door?¡±

    Staring at the giant rock door in the sky, extreme astonishment could be seen on the faces of the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    All of them had seen the rock door before. Furthermore, this rock door ought to be in the Heaven Academic Altar of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Heaven-Receiving Door? No, this is the Door of the Realm of God! The so-called Heaven-Receiving Door was a ¡®legend¡¯ deliberately left behind by the ancestors of the Nangong Nobles. In order to reseize the Door of the Realm of God from the family of Emperor Huang, generations after generations, the ancestors of Nangong Nobles spent so much efforts to rewrite the historical records, in order for the descendants of Emperor Huang to only recognise the ¡®Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven¡¯ while neglecting the presence of the Door of the Realm of God. Because of that, our ancestors were able to reseize the Door of the Realm of God during the great war between the Yan and Huang!¡±

    After hearing what the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion said, Nangong Tian shook his head while smiling coldly, exuding an extreme sense of pride underneath his wild expressions.

    ¡°Rewrote the history?!¡±

    ¡°Reseize the Door of the Realm of God...¡±

    All of the disciples from the various sects and the disciples of the Holy Region were the world¡¯s elites and naturally understood what Nangong Tian meant.

    If they guessed correctly, prior to the death of Mother Earth, she had handed over the seeds of the Door of the Realm of God and that of the Tree of God to the Huang and Yan race respectively.

    However, as time past, due to the rewriting of history by the family of Emperor Yan to hide the existence of the Door of the Realm of God, the descendants of Emperor Huang gradually lost their understanding of the Door of the Realm of God. As a result, after the great war, the Door of the Realm of Godnded in the hands of the family of Emperor Yan.

    However...

    Why are there three ¡°Door of the Realm of God¡±?!

    Wait a minute!

    Three?!

    The disciples realized something was amiss. After the appearance of the stone door above Nangong Hao¡¯s head, two identical giant doors also appeared in the two other cracks. The only difference was...

    The other two stone doors were made using different construction materials. One of which waspletely made using ck metal, while the other was made of bronze patina and had marks of bronze.

    Most importantly, regardless of the different doors, all of them exuded the same magnificent aura.

    What was going on?

    This scene was strange and somewhat ridiculous.

    Not only were the disciples unable to understand, but even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were taken aback by the scene.

    ¡°Could... Could this two be...¡± Nangong Tian was also stunned, his expression froze as he stared at the ck and bronze doors. He was evidently surprised by the scene too.

    Of course, as a ¡°bystander¡±, Fang Zhengzhi was extremely excited when he witnessed the appearance of the two doors.

    That was because he realized...

    The door made of bronze was almost identical to the Near-Life Gate on his body.

    ¡°What? Nangong Hao had stolen my Near-Life Gate? Wait, but it is still here?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to criticize Nangong Hao for being a thief, but he realized that the Near-Life Gate was still with him.

    Then what was the exnation behind the bronze door?

    The twin of the Near-Life Gate?

    While deep in thought, Fang Zhengzhi saw the figure underneath the ck cloak, which had been beside Yun Qingwu all this while, move.

    It was not a big movement. He merely took a step forward.

    However, this step blocked Yun Qingwupletely, as though he changed roles with Yun Qingwu, changing from a ¡°servant¡± to the ¡°master¡±.

    Meanwhile, the cloak on his head fell slowly, exposing ady with fine and beautiful facial features with a ball of white fluff on her hair.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen many beautifuldies with exquisite makeup in his past life. In this world, due to the nourishment of the water and soil, there were also many beautifuldies.

    However, thedy standing in front of him had features so beautiful such that even Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu could barely win.

    Nheless, aspared to Chi Guyan¡¯s arrogance and Yun Qingwu¡¯s coldness, thedy standing in front of him exuded an alluring aura.

    Elegant, graceful, yet alluring.

    Describing the samedy with these three adjectives was simply not suitable, but Fang Zhengzhi could only think of those.

    ¡°What an approachable alluringdy!¡± This strange phrase shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Aspared to arrogance and coldness, being alluring made her more approachable.

    However, thedy looked very simr to Yun Qingwu, except slightly more mature. Could she be Yun Qingwu¡¯s older sister?

    At this point in time, Fang Zhengzhi heard two shocked gasps.

    ¡°Baizhi!¡±

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    It was none other than Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure why Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi bothered to notice thedy beneath, but he was sure that they made thements.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi felt that his three views (Tl note: Three viewsprises of: world view, philosophy and life values) were twisted.

    Monster Emperor?!

    That means thedy standing in front of him was a century-old monster?

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say, a century-old monster should just stay put at home instead of going out to act young.

    Of course, that was merely Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thoughts.

    On the other hand, for the surrounding disciples, the term Monster Emperor Baizhi did not only mean a century-old monster.

    That was because they were very certain that the presence of Monster Emperor Baizhi was the reason behind why the monster race could not be destroyed by the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Mu Qingfeng, one of the most powerful in the Holy Region.

    Mo Shanshi, simrly, one of the most powerful in the Holy Region.

    However, both Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi only dare to call themselves as one of the most powerful. None of them dared to im to be the most powerful.

    The reason being...

    In the depths of the Great Swamp, there was a pce in which ady, the beast of the Monster race, Nine-Tailed White Fox, stayed.

    And this Nine-Tailed White Fox was none other than Baizhi!

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    ¡°So, this is the Nine-Tailed White Fox, the legendary beast of the Monster race, the most powerful of the Holy Region?!¡±

    ¡°Beautiful, too beautiful... Everyone said that Monster Emperor Baizhi was extraordinarily beautiful. Seeing her in real life, she is even more beautiful than in the legends!¡±

    The disciples were evidently stunned. They felt attracted by a mysterious power just by a nce at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi? Three doors... Oh no!¡± Unlike the rest, Nangong Tian trembled when he saw Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Then, he became extremely nervous, even more anxious than before.

    ¡°What will happen?!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s voice could be heard. As one of the most powerful in the Holy Region, he knew how terrifying Monster Emperor Baizhi was.

    Nevertheless, Nangong Tian¡¯s hidden powers were too deep. Nobody could take down Nangong Tian in a short period of time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I know that we must stop her! The two doors... are not the Doors of the Realm of God!¡± Nangong Tian sounded panicky.

    ¡°Not the Doors of the Realm of God?!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s attention was drawn towards the two other doors in the sky. The ancient aura that the doors exuded made him feel that something extremely ominous was about to happen.

    Furthermore, this ominous feeling was much more stronger than before, as though a knife had stabbed him on his back.

 Chapter 863 - Evil Creature, Die!

    <h4>Chapter 863: Evil Creature, Die!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Stop her!

    Yes, we must stop her!

    Yan Yin was unsure of what will happen, but he gave up fighting with Nangong Tian and charged towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    However, it was toote. Monster Emperor Baizhi had leaped up and her ck cloak fell off, showing a long dress made of white fur underneath.

    Elegance, Faerie, as eye-catching and beautiful as the stars.

    However, at this moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of Monster Emperor Baizhi. It exuded a wild and cold aura.

    ¡°Yan Xiu?!¡±

    ¡°When... When did he escape from the Monster race?¡±

    Witnessing his appearance, the surrounding disciples could not believe their eyes.

    After all, Yan Xiu had been captured by hundreds of monsters.

    He managed to escape?

    Besides the disciples, Monster Emperor Baizhi also did not believe her eyes.

    ¡°The Good and Evil of the Dao of Asura? Interesting.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s lips moved. She heaved a sigh and raised her right hand gradually.

    As her right hand rose, the surrounding air froze. Time seemed to have stopped. The radiance from the stars, the sun and the moon darkened.

    ¡°Swallowing the Sun and the Moon?¡± Upon witnessing this scene, the disciples¡¯ expressions changedpletetly. They had heard of how the powerful Monster absorbed the essence of the Sun and the Moon, how the Monster could make the radiance of the Sun and the Moon disappear by raising his hand. However, seeing it happen in real life still shocked them immensely.

    ¡°Oh no, Yan Xiu, duck!¡± Dao Hun looked much more desperate and anxious than the rest of the disciples.

    Besides Dao Hun, Dao Xin also stood up abruptly, looking more anxious than Dao Hun.

    It was toote.

    As Monster Emperor Baizhi raised her right hand, Yan Xiu who was standing in front of her looked as though he had suffered some form of imprisonment and was bound in the sky.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi ced her hand on Yan Xiu¡¯s chest.

    Spit! Not much noise was made, but at the moment when Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hand was ced on Yan Xiu¡¯s chest, Yan Xiu¡¯s expressions changed abruptly, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

    It was too fast!

    From the sudden appearance of Yan Xiu to the moment when Monster Emperor Baizhi pped Yan Xiu¡¯s chest, the duration was at most that of a blink of an eye.

    Then, Monster Emperor Baizhi appeared above Yan Xiu.

    It felt like teleportation, or more specifically, Monster Emperor Baizhi made use of the move to bypass Yan Xiu¡¯s blockage.

    Most importantly, as Monster Emperor Baizhi moved above Yan Xiu¡¯s head, she gave an alluring smile.

    The ancient saying goes, she revealed a hundred charms after she nced back.

    However, the smile that Monster Emperor Baizhi gae did not only reveal a hundred charms. In fact, she exuded an alluring aura from her core, an extremely powerful charm that captured one¡¯s soul.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°So... beautiful!¡±

    Although they were in the midst of a battle or killing their enemies, every single move made by Monster Emperor Baizhi was so beautiful that the disciples¡¯ hearts fluttered.

    Instead of any aura of death, only a sense of pure beauty could be felt. It was such that nobody could resist it.

    An eerie but absolutely beautiful scene.

    Yet this eerie but absolutely beautiful scene was broken by a voice.

    ¡°Old wretch, how dare you touch Yan Xiu? Die!¡± The voice was quite loud and wild, and heard by everyone.

    Shock and terror.

    Only one person could make such ament at this point of time.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    Only Fang Zhengzhi was wild enough to say that he wanted the most powerful of the Holy Region, the beast of the Monster race, the Nine-Tailed White Fox Monster Emperor Baizhi to die.

    However, what shocked the rest was not the wildness of Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was the phrase...

    Old wretch!

    ¡°He called Monster Emperor Baizhi an old... old wretch?!¡± Everyone was stunned.

    After all, nobody had dared to use the phrase ¡°old wretch¡± to describe Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Was he courting death?

    No, this could not be described as courting death.

    ¡°...¡± The air fell silent.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hand stopped at a position about one inch above Yan Xiu¡¯s head.

    ¡°Old wretch?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mouth twitched. As the Monster Emperor with the title of the Nine-Tailed White Fox, nobody had dared to call her an old wretch.

    Not only was it impossible for her to be addressed as an old wretch, but whenever she appeared, every single person¡¯s heart would flutter from her beauty, be it a friend or foe, be it a man or woman.

    Yet, how could someone possibly use the phrase ¡®old wretch¡¯ on her? It waspletely unthinkable!

    However, at that moment...

    Fang Zhengzhi used it. He used it in front of all the sects in the Holy Region, the Four Great Empires, and the monster race.

    ¡°This brat, trying to kill me? We shall see who will be the one getting killed!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was furious, but she had not lost her sanity.

    As the Monster Emperor, the beast Nine-Tailed White Fox, she not only had a heart-fluttering outer appearance, but also an exceptionally high intelligence and a powerful state of mind that allowed her to control her emotions.

    Therefore, after nking out for a short moment, she was ready to move her hand.

    She was very certain of the flow of event, and more certain about what should be prioritised at that moment. Therefore, despite feeling extremely angry, she did not let her emotions affect her n.

    Yet at that moment, the voice that infuriated her could be heard again.

    ¡°Evil creature, I can¡¯t believe you are still harming people at such an old age! Die!¡± Aspared to the previous sentence of calling her an old wretch, this statement was much wilder.

    Besides that, it was extremely humiliating.

    Most importantly, it came from a close distance, as though it was right beside her. More specifically, it came from her right.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± This greatly confused the previously calm Monster Emperor Baizhi. After all, Fang Zhengzhi was trapped amonst the monster race just a moment ago.

    However, she figured things out very quickly.

    After all, being a Nine-Tailed White Fox, and with her exceptionally high intelligence and beauty, Monster Emperor Baizhi naturally was able to figure out the reason.

    Was it because of the phrase ¡°old wretch¡±?

    The phrase old wretch stopped her from pping Yan Xiu. At the same time, it shocked the Monster Kings surrounding Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi took this opportunity to escape sessfully, using an insanely fast speed and got beside her.

    ¡°I have always heard from Qingwu that this brat is hard to deal with. Today... Indeed, knowing someone by their reputation cannot bepared to meeting him in real life!¡± A beam of light shed past Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes.

    She already figured out how Fang Zhengzhi escaped. It was precisely because she knew that made her even more shocked. This feeling of shock was much more vivid than witnessing the fight of Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao from the side.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, take care of your friend Yan Xiu.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi smiled again, giving off an even more alluring charm.

    Most importantly...

    She did not choose to attack Fang Zhengzhi because of his second sentence. Instead, she continued to fly towards the sky with a high speed.

    It was a strange scene.

    ¡°Escaped?!¡±

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi escaped?¡±

    ¡°How could this be?!¡±

    This scene undoubtedly stunned the disciples. After all, they thought Fang Zhengzhi had gone to court death.

    After calling Monster Emperor Baizhi an ¡°old wretch¡±, then another ¡°evil creature¡±, how could he have survived from Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    The disciples could not understand.

    But the truth was, Monster Emperor Baizhi ¡°escaped¡± with a speed of the light,pleting ignoring the insultingments made by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Leaving behind...

    Fang Zhengzhi who stood quietly in the air.

    His blue robe flew gently in the mountain breeze, seeming somewhat lonely, however with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stunned expression, it affected the powerfulness of his aura.

    ¡°She escaped?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that the ultimate failure in life was none other than how he had prepared to face death, yet his enemy escaped right away without batting an eye.

    Wait a minute!

    She told him to take care of Yan Xiu!

    That was obviously not the main point, the main point was why did Monster Emperor Baizhi escape? Could it be that he was so powerful that even Monster Emperor Baizhi was afraid of him?

    Fang Zhengzhi was proud of himself, in fact, he was slightly arrogant.

    However, he was still aware of the truth. If he had not seen how Monster Emperor Baizhi attacked, he would have said, ¡°Monster Emperor? She is nothing!¡±

    After all, he was a possible candidate to fight against Dao Hun.

    And who was Dao Hun?

    The hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall, one of the most powerful in the Holy Region!

    Fang Zhengzhi was certainly confident that if he had encountered seniors like Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, he could have easily fought for at least a few hundred rounds.

    However, after seeing the attack made by Monster Emperor Baizhi, he knew that there was indeed a monster who was more powerful than Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    And this monster was none other than Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    An old wretch who could make the sun, moon and stars lose their radiance.

    However, now...

    This old wretch fled because of him?

    Surprising?

    Of course, it was surprising. However, this kind of surprise was too sudden and he could not believe it.

    ¡°Should I have been harsher with my words?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought for a moment and negated this thought. He definitely saw Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s lips twitch after his scolding.

    It could be imagined how angry Monster Emperor Baizhi must have been.

    Anger?

    Yet, she did not kill him?

    There was only one possible exnation for this scenario. Monster Emperor Baizhi has something more important to do, something hundred times more important than killing Fang Zhengzhi.

    While deep in thought, Fang Zhengzhi also felt Yan Xiu¡¯s body move. Evidently, the power that was restraining Yan Xiu had been removed.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, how are you feeling?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held Yan Xiu, he was not foolish enough to ask Yan Xiu whether he was alright, because it was obvious that he was severely injured.

    Just a mere p could make Yan Xiu, the person who had mastered and sessfully merged The Good and Evil of the Dao of Asura, spit blood?

    The power of Monster Emperor Baizhi was evident.

    ¡°Are we... really... friends?¡± Yan Xiu looked extremely pale, the ck and red light in his eyes seemed to be flickering.

    ¡°Of course, we are friends. Once friends, always friends!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked but replied extremely seriously.

    ¡°Hmm... we are friends...¡± Yan Xiu nodded then slowly shut his eyes and never made anymore noise.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    He did not let out a furious roar because he knew that Yan Xiu did not die. He could feel Yan Xiu¡¯s heartbeat with his hand.

    Yan Xiu had fainted out of lethargy after using up too much energy. After all, he was surrounded by hundreds of monsters, went through a forced breakthrough and the p by Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was amiss!

    At the final moment, when Yan Xiu was unable to fight back, by right, Monster Emperor Baizhi had ample time to kill Yan Xiu with another blow.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not do so. Instead, he escaped immediately and deliberately told Fang Zhengzhi to take care of Yan Xiu.

    Merciful?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not naive till the point of believing that. If Monster Emperor Baizhi was merciful, she would not have attacked Yan Xiu in the first ce.

    Therefore, the only exnation was..

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did it on purpose!

    ¡°Deliberately allowing Yan Xiu to live so as to stop me from chasing after her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly understood why Monster Emperor Baizhi fled.

    It was because of time!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not have time to spare on Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. Put it simply, her target was never Yan Xiu or Fang Zhengzhi.

    If Yan Xiu had not appeared out of the blue and blocked her, Monster Emperor Baizhi had not thought of attacking him at all.

    After all, if Monster Emperor Baizhi really wanted to kill Yan Xiu, she had more chances to do so when Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were trapped by hundreds of monsters.

    Therefore, whatever that happened was all coincidental!

 Chapter 864 - Unpredictability of the God and Ghost

    <h4>Chapter 864: Unpredictability of the God and Ghost</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Coincidentally attacked Yan Xiu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was unsure of what went through Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mind. However, he was sure that if Monster Emperor Baizhi wanted to kill Yan Xiu, there could only be two oues.

    Firstly, Fang Zhengzhi blocked the attack of Monster Emperor Baizhi for Yan Xiu. In this case, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s power is depleted. Fang Zhengzhi suffers grave injuries while Yan Xiu remains alive.

    Secondly, Monster Emperor Baizhi blocks Fang Zhengzhi with her body to stop him from rescuing Yan Xiu, which was equivalent to forcefully blocking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack. In this case, although Yan Xiu will die, the infuriated Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be able to trap Monster Emperor Baizhi sessfully.

    These two oues...

    Regardless of which, it requires time.

    Whereas if Monster Emperor Baizhi decides to give up on killing Yan Xiu, she could get away with the most amount of time without consuming any energy.

    ¡°There is only one reason for her to be so desperately fighting for time!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stared in the direction above his head, towards the figure standing on the top of the Tree of God.

    Nangong Hao!

    However, why did Monster Emperor Baizhi decide to attack Nangong Hao?

    Could it be that she did not want the Door of the Realm of God to open? Or did she want to kill Nangong Hao like Fang Zhengzhi did?

    Wait a minute!

    If Monster Emperor Baizhi really wanted to kill Nangong Hao, or did not want to the Door of the Realm of God to open, she could have attacked long ago and not have waited till now.

    ¡°The other two doors, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s target is the other two doors!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized. However, he could not possibly stop Monster Emperor Baizhi. Be it capabilities or speed, he knew that he could not win Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Yet, two people could.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi!

    The two of them were located between Monster Emperor Baizhi and Nangong Hao. With the capabilities of these two, blocking Monster Emperor Baizhi should not be a problem.

    As he thought, there was a thunderous explosion across the sky.

    Boom! With a loud explosion, the sky was struck into two and lit up the dark sky instantly.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi disappeared. After which, she appeared above Nangong Hao¡¯s head. She had circumvented Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who were blocking her way to Nangong Hao.

    It was a strange scene.

    It felt as though Monster Emperor Baizhi had made use of the thunder, or used the thunder as a steppingdder to advance to the top.

    ¡°She¡¯s so fast!¡±

    ¡°How did she get up there?!¡±

    The disciples beneath could not react at all. After all, they recalled how Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi both took a long time to chase after Nangong Hao.

    Yet Monster Emperor Baizhi seemed to have teleported?

    The height of the Tree of God?

    She arrived using the duration of a thunder?!

    Even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were evidently shocked. Their eyes showed that they were terrified.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also stunned.

    ¡°What on earth?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had seen various exaggerated tactics, however, this extent of exaggeration was uneptable to him.

    Controlling the path of lightning?

    Then, making use of the path of lighting to conduct some form of ¡°teleportation¡±?

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen Prince Li of the First Rank perform a simr tactic once. When Prince Li of the First Rank was performing the sealing of the seven colors, he had made use of the clouds in the sky to camouge and umte power.

    But aspared to Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s tactic...

    Prince Li of the First Rank¡¯s tactic could be said to be childish.

    Most importantly, the tactic performed by Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely pure, it focused on increasing the speed to fuse the body and lightning so as to achieve the speed of the lightning.

    It sounded very simple.

    However, performing this tactic was extremely difficult. One had toplete the fusion of the body and lightning in a short period of time as a second¡¯s dy could cause one to be struck by thunder.

    Moreover, if any part of the body could not fuse with lightning, one could suffer from injuries.

    But Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    When she appeared above Nangong Hao, there werepletely no creases on her clothes and her hair did not show any signs of being burnt by the thunder.

    It could not be denied that the monster race was born with an advantage as they could control the sun and moon, the thunderstorm and fire. They took in the essence of the sun and the moon, and breathed out the spiritual energy of the sky and earth.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, watch out!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice could be heard. He looked extremely desperate, but it seemed to be toote.

    At that moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi moved too.

    Once again, she pped Nangong Hao, a sh of dim light shed past her eyes.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shocked when he saw that sh of light.

    He had seen a simr light before.

    However...

    That sh of light appeared in the ¡°Young Bai Fei¡±, yet now, this dim light appeared in the eyes of Yun Qingwu. Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously fell into a state of confusion.

    ¡°Illusion!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not feel like helping Nangong Hao, but he feltpelled to remind him at that point in time despite knowing that it would unlikely work.

    As predicted by Fang Zhengzhi, when Monster Emperor Baizhi pped down, Nangong Hao raised his hands. However, halfway through the motion, he froze on the spot with a face of confusion.

    White and red, two colors shone on Nangong Hao¡¯s body. Like a chain that entangled him, Nangong Hao was trapped.

    However, this could not stop Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s p.

    With a p, the light broke!

    The sun, moon and stars immediately became dark!

    Simr to the p on Yan Xiu¡¯s body, the p that Monster Emperor Baizhi left on Nangong Hao¡¯s chest did not produce too much movements or sound.

    Spit! Fresh blood was spat out from Nangong Hao¡¯s mouth.

    At that instant, Monster Emperor Baizhi started waving her hands continuously. Every move she made was veryplicated and she looked as though she was conducting a ritual.

    ¡°Stop her!¡± Mu Qingfeng finally reacted. As he spoke, he transformed into a beam of light and sprang towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Mo Shanshi was stunned. Then, the wings on his back pped and he flew towards Monster Emperor Baizhi with a speed quicker than Mu Qingfeng.

    However, it was toote.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had stopped her movement. She gave a light smile, a beautiful and alluring one.

    Instead of looking at Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who were approaching her, she quietly looked at Nangong Hao. She looked as though she was admiring a beautiful artwork.

    ¡°Godly charm, the skill of stealing souls!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi said softly as her eyes glowed suddenly.

    Buzz! The sky and earth shook.

    Circles of light descended from the sky. Like raindrops, they fell to the ground, as though the sky was raining light.

    At this moment, everyone including the disciples, Yan Yin who was dashing towards the sky, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, stopped moving.

    Almost everyone had a perplexed expression on their faces.

    Of course, there was one exception. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes shut immediately when the light shone in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes.

    However, despite this, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s alluring voice when she said ¡°Godly charm, the skill of stealing souls¡± still made his heart flutter.

    ¡°F*ck, this old wretch... is powerful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi rarely praises someone, even when he met Mu Qingfeng after he first entered the Holy Region and Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, this time he had to admit that the ancient saying that goes ¡°as old as a alluring woman, as strong as a dog¡± was real.

    So, what should he do?

    Breaking illusion was not his expertise.

    To put it nicely, he could barely resist illusion. To put it more frankly, he was a novice in the realm of illusion.

    Nevertheless, he was proud to be a novice!

    Fang Zhengzhi disyed the style of a proud novice. Therefore, as the only ¡°powerful¡± individual who was conscious, he felt that he had to act.

    For example...

    Curse and swear or sing a mountain song.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose thetter. After all, he had high standards for himself and was well-educated. How could he possibly curse and swear to the old wretch?

    ¡°The blossoms blooming wildly on the mountain top...! How red... and gorgeous!¡± Since Fang Zhengzhi chose to sing, he decided to go all out. Things like protecting his voice was disregarded as he sang with a voice that sounded like hundred male ducks quacking wildly.

    He was proud of how he had edited the lyrics on the spot, added a little rhetoric devices to make the howling more passionate, effective and impactful.

    In the end...

    It was unexpected.

    At the very least, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s smile stiffened again. Despite her reluctance, she turned towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Confusion andplexity appeared in her pair of eyes which were emitting radiance.

    One could not me Monster Emperor Baizhi for not having a firm state of mind as nobody would have expected for someone to start singing the mountain song after she had cast her spell.

    What¡¯s more, he sounded like a male duck quacking!

    ¡°This brat... having a screw loose?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi was not affected by her illusion spell, however, she was surprised by his odd behavior.

    Yet, very quickly, her expression changed. She realized that after Fang Zhengzhi sang with that hoarse voice, the people who were initially in a daze moved.

    The first to regain their senses were Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, as well as Yan Yin and Qian Yu. Afterwards, the disciples gradually regained their senses too.

    Pairs of eyes which were initially still began to move slowly. From experience, Monster Emperor Baizhi knew it was the early signs of the escape from the control of the illusion spell.

    ¡°,,,¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi did not know what to say anymore. This time round, she really had nothing to say, and did not know what she could say.

    Say Fang Zhengzhi had a screw loose?

    Obviously not!

    It was precisely the nondescript mountain song that Fang Zhengzhi sang that broke the raindrop spell cast by her.

    Even though the raindrop spell was not difficult to be broken, she could not ept the fact that it was broken with this method.

    Seeding unknowingly?

    Monster Emperor Baizhi wanted to credit his sess to this reason, but it was not possible for one to seed unknowingly multiple times.

    Luck?

    Bizarreness?

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was not naive. She eliminiated these words very quickly, only a phrase remained in her heart for a long time...

    The phrase was...

    Unpredictability of the God and Ghost!

    Of course, it was no longer important. What was more important was whether Fang Zhengzhi was able to wake up Nangong Hao who was under the spell of ¡°godly charm, the skill of stealing souls¡±.

    Although Nangong Hao frowned, he remained dazed and his eyes did not move.

    In that case, nothing significant was affected.

    With his hands moving slightly, Nangong Hao slowly took a step forward. Then, one of his hands grabbed two out of three of the fruits in front of him.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes were back to normal. Trembling, their forehead was covered in sweat.

    ¡°Who was the one singing...¡±Mu Qingfeng did notplete his sentence because he noticed what Nangong Hao was doing, ¡°Old man Mo, wake up!¡±

    ¡°I am already awake!¡± Mo Shanshi moved as he spoke. His wings pped again and without waiting for Mu Qingfeng, he flew to Monster Emperor Baizhi who was less than ten steps away from him.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, the p I gave you more than ten years ago, does it still hurt?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stared at Mo Shanshi and smiled as though she had no worries. She touched his face gently with one hand while giving a bright smile.

    People of the past used countless punchlines phrases to describe woman¡¯s charms. A nce, a smile, a simple movement could all be a punchline.

    Yet, for Monster Emperor Baizhi...

    All these punchlines were not effective because simply by standing there, Monster Emperor Baizhi exuded a charm that prated the souls.

    All these seemed to hit Mo Shanshi¡¯s heart and as though he had sunk into a swamp, it caused him to pause his actions.

    ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t tell me Mo Shanshi and the old wretch were involved in a scandal?¡± At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard again.

 Chapter 865 - Fight to the Death, The Bites of a â€œMad Dogâ€

    <h4>Chapter 865: Fight to the Death, The Bites of a ¡°Mad Dog¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Old wretch...¡±

    ¡°Scandal?!¡±

    When Mo Shanshi heard this, his body trembled in anger and his face flushed red with fury.

    As a valley master of the Fu Xi Valley, how could he be used to be involved in a scandal with the wretch?

    How could he endure that?

    ¡°Rubbish. I have always lived a virtuous life. How could I possibly be involved in...¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s expression changed suddenly as he spoke.

    However, it was toote.

    He could clearly see Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s face turn ugly and her lips were quivering.

    ¡°Brat, younded me in trouble!¡± Mo Shanshi felt extremely bitter. Subconsciously, a voice in his head told him that there would be grave consequences as Monster Emperor Baizhi was infuriated.

    He wanted to run!

    But how?

    He was the one who dashed forward regardless of his own safety. If he was to turn around and flee, how embarrassed would he, as a valley master of the Fu Xi Valley, be?

    ¡°Fight till the end!¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his teeth. He could not possibly lose his reputation like that. His reputation was more valuable than his life after he had achieved his high status.

    However, the thought of fighting with Monster Emperor Baizhi made him a little worried.

    It was impossible to win!

    What should he do?

    Mo Shanshi was in a dilemma. However, he did not have time to deliberate over this as Monster Emperor Baizhi had already dashed towards him.

    How terrifying could the infuriated Monster Emperor Baizhi be?

    Regarding this question...

    Fang Zhengzhi was not keen on answering, but he clearly felt it from the loud p that resonated through the air.

    Mo Shanshi was pped!

    Furthermore, he was pped right on the face!

    The sound was extremely loud and clear.

    As for the movement, Fang Zhengzhi did not see very clearly. However, he roughly saw a lightning shing on top of Mo Shanshi¡¯s head for a brief second before vanishing into thin air.

    Then, Mo Shanshi was pped right on the face.

    Astonished, Mo Shanshi froze.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed. He could see the redness on Mo Shanshi¡¯s face, not sure if it was caused by the p or his anger. However, he felt the need to remind Mo Shanshi as he could sense that there were some words that he had not yet spoken.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, if I were you, I would no longer be able to live without humiliation if I did not return the p!¡±

    ¡°You brat, shut up!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s face turned blue. He clearly needed to vent his anger and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words gave him a chance to do so even though it was not satisfying enough.

    ¡°Scolding me for my good intentions?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. As a innocent guy who was scolded for his advice, he felt the need to express his thoughts.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Mo Shanshi was infuriated.

    Not sure if it was because of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s p or Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocation, Mo Shanshi was clearly burning with anger.

    Burning with anger and his face as red as pig liver, Mo Shanshi raised both of his arms and hammered down on Monster Emperor Baizhi heavily. He went all out.

    Boom! The thunders rumbled.

    As one of the most powerful in the Holy Region, Mo Shanshi was pretty terrifying when he gave his all. Even Monster Emperor Baizhi was afraid to receive the attack.

    She zoomed towards the side.

    However, Mo Shanshi had evidently gone crazy. The blood vessels in his eyes could be seen and he could no longer control himself.

    One, two, three blows!

    Each blow was done with full strength. Like a mad dog, he no longer cared if Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, was the most powerful in the Holy Region.

    This scene shocked the disciples who just regained their senses.

    ¡°Eh? What is wrong with Valley Master Mo?!¡±

    ¡°Crazy?¡±

    ¡°That p... Anyone would go crazy with that!¡±

    ¡°What p?¡±

    ¡°That extremely loud p that Monster Emperor Baizhi gave Valley Master Mo...¡±

    Amongst the disciples who were watching from beneath, some of them witnessed the pping scene while some did not. Nevertheless, everyone knew about it now.

    ¡°Old man Mo, calm down!¡± Mu Qingfeng finally arrived. He felt helpless after sensing the burning anger on Mo Shanshi.

    However, though he felt helpless, he had to admit that Mo Shanshi would not have disyed such prowess if not for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    But could Mo Shanshi calm down in this state?

    Of course not.

    ¡°Baizhi, I shall fight till the end with you!¡± The infuriated Mo Shanshipletely did not hear Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice. He only had one motive in his heart: Humiliation.

    Boom!

    After continuously retreating due to Mo Shanshi, Monster Emperor Baizhi could no longer retreat any further. She kicked Mo Shanshi¡¯s ck giant hammer, causing a loud sound to resonate through the air.

    Mo Shanshi was flung at least ten steps away by the kick. His chest popped and he spat a mouth of blood.

    However, when Mo Shanshi hadpletely lost his sanity, he disyed the highest level of ¡°bravery¡±, despite spitting out blood, he rushed forward again.

    ¡°Ah!!! Baizhi, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression finally changed. Although she was more powerful than Mo Shanshi, Mo Shanshi was still a threat to her.

    After all, having reached a certain level of power, the difference in capabilities could not be too extreme. Not to mention that Monster Emperor Baizhi was fighting against a ¡°mad dog¡± that was going all out.

    ¡°This brat did it on purpose!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi knew all this was caused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words. If not for that sentence, Mo Shanshi would not have called her an old wretch, and she would not have pped him out of impulse.

    But it was meaningless to think about these now.

    Having reached this stage, the only way out was to go all out with Mo Shanshi. She definitely would not hold back if Mo Shanshi was to fight.

    ¡°Mo Shanshi, since you are seeking death, then I shall grant your wish!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s charmpletely disappeared and she gave off a chilling murderous look.

    ¡°Die!¡± Mo Shanshi continued dashing forward.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changed. A great war against the monster race had taken ce more than ten years ago. That war between the monster race and the demon race saw huge (?) casualties for the two races and humans.

    But even in that situation...

    The real dominating powerful individuals remained calm and rational until the end.

    Nobody really fought till their deaths.

    That was because it was simply meaningless. After all, it was nothing good for any of the powerful individuals if both sides suffered major injuries or perished.

    As a result, humankind and the two races decided to reach a ceasefire. In the end, a rule was set: the demon race was to retreat to the Blood Shadow City, the monster race was to hide in the Great Swamp. Besides that, regardless of what happened, the sages were not to interfere in the business of the Four Great Empires.

    Even if the dynasty was destroyed!

    This was thew of survival for the dominating powerful individuals!

    Yet now, how could Mu Qingfeng do nothing and watch Mo Shanshi seek for his death when he decided to go all out against Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    ¡°If I die, so be it!¡± Mu Qingfeng clenched his teeth and stomped his feet. Without further hesitation, he leaped towards Monster Emperor Baizhi, ¡°Baizhi, we will fight till we die!¡±

    ...

    Roar! A beastly roar was heard.

    At this juncture, the Monster Kings watching from beneath were also infuriated. No longer treating it as a ¡°small fight¡±, each of the Monster Kings had their eyes filled with blood.

    Fight!

    Over thirty Monster Kings showed their true appearance at this moment. The sky was filled with many monster figures that were glimmering.

    The Monster Kings exuded a strong and powerful aura. Each of their figures and their appearance was terrifying to the core.

    Having witnessed this, the elders of the Holy Region could no longer do just sit and watch.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The elders, be it those from the Holy Region or sages, began to move.

    Nobody would watch as a bystander in the great war between humankind and the monsters.

    That was because if humankind lost the battle, all the most powerful fighters of humankind would have to hide in the Great Swamp.

    Countless figures flew towards the sky.

    Every single sage whipped out their weapons. Fighting against over thirty Monster Kings, they could only fight with all their might.

    The great war between humankind and the monsters finally began.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi, the trigger of this battle, had escaped the battleground before the Monster Kings roared.

    After all, the weapons were blind. No one could ensure that he would not be ¡°unintentionally injured¡± by someone else.

    Yet, he did not flee to a ce too far away this time.

    If there is righteousness in one¡¯s heart, the evil would not be able to invade. Fang Zhengzhi was able to distinguish between what was right or wrong. There was an ancient saying that goes: when the nest is overturned, no egg stays unbroken.

    As a human with the authentic blood running in his body, he could not possible sit and do nothing about the Great War between humankind and the monsters.

    Therefore...

    He decided to watch the fight!

    The real warrior must be able to face a simple life and dare to look at fresh blood. Fang Zhengzhi was a real warrior, hence, he definitely had to look at fresh blood.

    And the best perspective to see fresh blood clearly was none other than from above. This was precisely what Chi Guyan said before, it is lonely at the top.

    Somewhat dangerous.

    But as the saying goes, the most dangerous ce is the safest ce.

    Besides that, with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capabilities, as long as he does not battle with Monster Emperor Baizhi directly, he would not have problems staying alive.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi eventually decided to choose a spot behind Monster Emperor Baizhi. The reason was simple, if he could not battle with her directly, then he must do it from behind.

    There was nothing wrong with the reasoning.

    Yet, to aplish this was still rather difficult. Nevertheless, this difficulty could not stop Fang Zhengzhi from advancing.

    Tree of God!

    It was the best ¡°camouge¡±!

    Making use of the gigantic trunk and branches of the Tree of God, it was possible for him to find his way to the back of Monster Emperor Baizhi in the messy battlefield.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    Carrying the unconscious Yan Xiu on one hand, Fang Zhengzhi used his other hand to grab onto tree branches randomly. As nimble as before, he made use of the Heaven Dao and rushed towards the top of the Tree of God.

    As he kept climbing, loud noises echoed in the sky. For a battle of over thirty Monster Kings and hundreds of fighters, the scale of the battle was spectacr.

    Fresh blood and broken limbs flew in the air.

    Mixed sounds of anger, mourning, and roars painted a ghastly image to the dark sky.

    Qian Yu and Dao Hun stopped their battle too.

    Judging from the torn long ck robe of Dao Hun, one could tell that he had lost the battle.

    This caused his gaze to be even more creepy.

    However, neither Dao Hun nor Qian Yu had the intention to continue fighting each other.

    ¡°This concerns the survival of humankind. We will settle our business another day!¡± Dao Hun said coldly as he flung his blood-stained sleeves.

    ¡°Anytime.¡± Qian Yu nodded. His face turned ugly when he looked up in the sky and saw the three figures fighting at the top of the Tree of God.

    ¡°Rest assured, I am not bad enough to spring a surprise attack at this point in time. You do not need to worry about Ping Yang¡¯s life!¡± Dao Hun knew Qian Yu was worried about Ping Yang.

    ¡°I know,¡± without saying much, Qian Yu disappeared from his position and in the next second, reappeared in midair.

    A p!

    Itnded on the top of a head.

    Boom! The Monster King that got pped by Qian Yu widened his eyes as his body got pushed downwards. Letting out a gasp of shock, he spat out a mouth of blood.

    Meanwhile, Dao Hun arrived.

    Like the speed of lightning, he waved both ck and white swords in his hands. Two beams of sword rays shot through the sky. Like the fusion of Yin and Yang, the ck and white rays fused together to form a rainbow.

    Crack! The Monster King that got pushed down did not resist. His body was instantly split into two and a golden Monster Pearl was left behind floating.

    ¡°Wa... roar!¡± Another Monster King witnessed the scene and leaped like a shocked wild goose, extending his w to catch the monster pearl.

    However, Qian Yu was significantly faster. At the instant the golden monster pearl floated in the sky, a silvery white ray shed across his hand and struck the golden monster. pearl

    Boom! The monster pearl exploded.

 Chapter 866 - The Brat Became Hero

    <h4>Chapter 866: The Brat Became Hero</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With the coboration of Qian Yu and Dao Hun, the most powerful fighters in the two Holy Regions, it was not difficult to kill one Monster King.

    Nevertheless, the monster race would not allow Qian Yu and Dao Hun to continue killing the rest.

    After witnessing the death of a Monster King, the rest of the Monster Kings became cautious. After exchanging a few nces, they took their position quickly. Like the stars in the sky, each of them was less than five steps away from each other.

    This resulted in the formation of a gigantic in the sky by the thirty over Monster Kings, blocking the sages from reaching the sky.

    However, there was an exception.

    It was none other than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Making use of the gigantic trunk and branches of the Tree of God, Fang Zhengzhi did not face many obstacles. He was close to the top of the Tree of God in a blink of an eye.

    Circr ripples traveled down from the top of the Tree of God. The strong wind blew on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blue robe.

    These were the ripples created during the fight between Mo Shanshi, Mu Qingfeng, and Monster Emperor Baizhi. They were extremely wild and cold, and could easily disintegrate any ordinary disciple.

    However, that was not a cause for concern for Fang Zhengzhi. Without much hesitation, he sped up and continued approaching the top of the Tree of God.

    He was getting closer and closer!

    As he approached, Fang Zhengzhi could feel the strong killer aura on Mo Shanshi and Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Very intense.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat satisfied with the effect. Since they had started fighting, they should not hold back.

    Indeed, the oue was as he predicted.

    The infuriated Mo Shanshi used two hundred percent of hisbat power. Not only did hepletely ignore his injuries, but he also continuously attacked Monster Emperor Baizhi with all his might.

    Although Monster Emperor Baizhi had not suffered any injuries, she was constrained by Mo Shanshi and could not escape.

    This was exactly what Fang Zhengzhi hoped to see.

    ¡°Should I spring a sneak attack on Monster Emperor Baizhi?¡± A thought shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. However, he quickly negated it.

    The reason was not because of theck of chance to spring an attack, but rather because of the difference between a Monster and a human.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very certain that it was not an easy task to kill a monster. A sneak attack was meaningless if he was unable to break the monster pearl.

    Furthermore, more importantly, he might divert the attention of Monster Emperor Baizhi onto himself if he had sprung a sneak attack.

    Should he continue spectate?

    The n was faultless. However, Monster Emperor Baizhi seemed to be someone who was very concerned about time.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi waste his time by spectating?

    The critical focus should be...

    On Nangong Hao!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly turned his attention from the top of the Tree of God to Nangong Hao. Nangong Hao looked dazed and seemed as though he was in agony.

    Wait a minute.

    Agony?

    Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised. If he had guessed correctly, Nangong Hao was under some special illusion spell of Monster Emperor Baizhi. By right, he should be totally controlled by her.

    But in reality, judging from Nangong Hao¡¯s expression, Fang Zhengzhi could feel a sense of agony. Nangong Hao looked as if he was struggling with all his might.

    Should he sing a few more sentences of the mountain song to awaken Nangong Hao?

    Or should he...

    Kill Nangong Hao?

    Fang Zhengzhi chose thetter. That was because the former choice had too many uncontroble factors. Firstly, he was uncertain if the mountain song could wake up Nangong Hao. If it could not, he would divert Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s attention on himself again. That would cause his previous efforts to go to waste.

    Besides that, after waking up Nangong Hao, what would Nangong Hao do next? Open the Door of the Realm of God? That was not something Fang Zhengzhi wanted to see.

    Therefore, the most straightforward choice was to kill him.

    Killing him would end everything.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao were not considered the greatest enemies based on personal grievances, the fact that Nangong Hao injured Chi Guyan and Ping Yang made it justifiable for Fang Zhengzhi to kill him.

    Most importantly...

    It was for the sake of the bigger picture.

    As someone who does not hesitate, once Fang Zhengzhi had made a decision, he would do it as quickly as possible.

    After gingerly cing Yan Xiu between a tree branch, he pressed his hand on the de of the Traceless Sword.

    It was a difficult task to spring a sneak attack on Monster Emperor Baizhi. Yet, it was much easier to spring a sneak attack on Nangong Hao.

    Especially since Nangong Hao was not fully conscious.

    ¡°To do nothing means doing something!¡± This was Nangong Hao¡¯s concept regarding Dao. The best thing about this concept was how no sound was made when the sword was drawn.

    Nevertheless, despite that, Fang Zhengzhi decided to wait patiently for the best chance.

    Meanwhile, Mo Shanshi had once again made his way to the front of Monster Emperor Baizhi. He flung his ck giant hammer towards Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s waist as it let out a thunderous boom.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was evidently anxious. Facing the attack made by Mo Shanshi, she decided to retaliate instead of darting.

    Her slim fingers slid past the air like lightning,nding on the ck giant hammer. Meanwhile, she kicked her right leg towards Mo Shanshi¡¯s neck.

    Boom!

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s ck giant hammer shook abruptly and almost fell from his hand.

    This attack caused Mo Shanshi¡¯s facial expression to change. Furthermore, he could feel the ¡°violent wind¡± blowing towards her.

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Mu Qingfeng arrived before Mo Shanshi was about to get kicked, bright red light shot out from the long sword on his hand.

    He struck with his sword!

    The strike was extremely quick, as though the sky was about to be split open.

    Boom! The thunder rumbled after Monster Emperor Baizhi kicked Mu Qingfeng¡¯s long sword. Meanwhile, beams of rays spread along the long sword and wound around it.

    The kick was not only as fast as the violent wind but also apanied by loud thunder.

    This was the real capability of Monster Emperor Baizhi!

    However, Mu Qingfeng was almost equally as powerful. As the ray of light surged towards his long sword, instead of defending, he decided to attack.

    He tossed the long sword from his right hand to his left.

    During this process of exchanging hands, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s left hand was coated with ayer of jade green radiance, as though his hand was wound by tree vines.

    The tree vines grew wildly, morphing to the shape of a palm.

    Holding the sword, he struck again!

    This series of movements was done in a breath. Flowing like the clouds and water, there was not a single pause. It looked as though Mu Qingfeng had nned to use his left hand in the first ce.

    Crack! The sharp de struck Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s arm.

    At the instant when the de struck Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s arm, strands of fox fur that were as white as snow grew on her arm. Each strand was as hard as steel.

    When the dended on the fox fur, loud and sharp metal sounds were heard.

    The strike did not cause any serious injuries to Monster Emperor Baizhi, but it was powerful enough to cause her to retreat for a distance of at least three steps.

    ¡°Here¡¯s my chance!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had been waiting for this moment. It was sufficient for Monster Emperor Baizhi to retreat a few steps.

    Things like greetings...

    Were impossible to be done.

    In fact, there was no need for it at all. To put it tantly, Fang Zhengzhi only encountered her once and was not familiar with her at all.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, you shall die so that we can achieve world peace!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted and dashed forward with his sword raised.

    With no sound and actions!

    Without any light and any movements, yet with a speed enough to navigate past every obstacle to achieve sess.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that it was impossible for his attack to fail.

    Yet at that moment when he dashed out with full confidence, Monster Emperor Baizhi, who initially retreated, whipped her head around.

    Shock, surprise!

    This was the gaze that Monster Emperor Baizhi gave.

    He also felt the same. He never thought he could be exposed even in this manner.

    Was she a monster?!

    Hmm... looks like she was indeed a monster!

    But to this extent? With such a high level of alertness, how could anyone spring sneak attacks in the future? This is ridiculous!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure if that was coincidence or fate.

    He wanted to curse, but it was not possible for him to retreat since he had already struck his sword. After all, it was not an issue about reputation.

    Luckily, Monster Emperor Baizhi was at least ten steps away from Nangong Hao after being forced to retreat by Mu Qingfeng¡¯s attack.

    Even if she noticed, she could not possibly block Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi targeted at Nangong Hao¡¯s heart. He did not show mercy at all.

    It was filled with strength!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression finally changed as she saw the Traceless sword approach Nangong Hao¡¯s heart. She could no longer keep her cool.

    That was because she did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to sneak up the top of the Tree of God and spring a sneak attack at Nangong Hao.

    Wasn¡¯t this brat scared of death?

    Even though they only met once, from what Monster Emperor Baizhi knew, Fang Zhengzhi was not a guy that cared about the big picture.

    Fang Zhengzhi could, in fact, be described as sly and selfish.

    She had made this judgment when she saw Fang Zhengzhi carry Chi Guyan and Ping Yang to hide in a corner.

    Because of this judgment, she did not pay too much attention to Fang Zhengzhi when she discovered that he went missing.

    After all, she thought Fang Zhengzhi had left to hide from danger.

    ¡°Well done, brat!¡± Mo Shanshi spotted Fang Zhengzhi. He was stunned for a moment before he disyed intense happiness in his eyes, as though he had struck the lottery.

    Besides Mo Shanshi, Mu Qingfeng was also astonished. Despite that, his eyes lit up and said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, kill Nangong Hao now!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t kill Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian pleaded. With his eyes red, he was about to cry.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored thempletely.

    He did not bother about the meaning behind Mo Shanshi¡¯s words. Neither did he consider the consequences of killing Nangong Hao. He only followed his own decisions.

    To put it frankly...

    He was stubborn!

    sh! A sound like paper tearing could be heard. It was the sound that the Traceless sword made as it was stabbed into the body. There were both a sense of excitement and a hint of moaning.

    Yet, blood did not stter all over the ce.

    However, the Traceless sword had sunk deeply into Nangong Hao¡¯s chest. Drops of fresh blood that flowed out were quickly swallowed by the Traceless sword.

    ¡°He was stabbed?!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes lit up again.

    ¡°This brat... Although the way he behaved made people mad, he was a reliable person at critical timings like this!¡± The wild expression on Mo Shanshi¡¯s face disappeared.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian roared. When he saw the Traceless Sword sink into Nangong Hao¡¯s chest, he could not stop trembling and his face turned pale.

    Despair.

    The expression of ultimate despair.

    Meanwhile, the disciples from the various sects and the sages who were fighting with the Monster Kings turned their heads towards the two figures standing on the top of the Tree of God.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Did Nangong Hao really get stabbed? Judging from this, the grand ns of the Nangong Nobles, the monster race and the demon race havepletely gone down the drain?¡±

    ¡°This brat... he really did it!¡±

    ¡°How on earth did he get up there?¡±

    ¡°Regardless of what method he used to get to the top of the Tree of God, he managed to stop this battle. He ought to be called the hero!¡±

    ¡°Yes... This brat turned into a hero.¡±

    One could see mixed feelings in the disciples¡¯ eyes. Some were excited and some were confused. However, more were exhrated.

    Despite Nangong Hao¡¯s behavior in the past made them speechless, that was no longer important.

    Because...

    Fang Zhengzhi killed Nangong Hao!

    Thispletely negated the past actions of Fang Zhengzhi, even for the incident when Fang Zhengzhi provoked Mo Shanshi and Monster Emperor Baizhi.

 Chapter 867 - The Man Who Read The Plum in the Golden Vase

    <h4>Chapter 867: The Man Who Read ¡°The Plum in the Golden Vase¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes widened with disbelief. She had waited forever for this moment.

    However, she had to believe the scene in front of her. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had indeed prated Nangong Hao¡¯s chest.

    ¡°No!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi let out an indignant howl and her white fur dress began shaking wildly. White fur that looked like metal began growing beneath the white fur dress, covering her body in a blink of an eye.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes turned dark green. With the green light circting in her eyes, she gave a chilling and mysterious nce.

    ¡°She was turning into a monster!¡±

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi was turning into a monster?!¡±

    ¡°Everyone had known Monster Emperor Baizhi for her vanity. Can¡¯t believe that she turned into a monster in public! Nine-Tailed White Fox, I have never ever seen its true form in my life!¡±

    This scene stunned the disciples from various sects. Nevertheless, they were exhrated as well.

    After all, they thought that the ongoing crisis would have ended with Nangong Hao¡¯s death. Yet the scene that was taking ce in front of them was an extremely rare one.

    On the other hand...

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were trembling.

    More than ten years ago, humankind had once engaged in a Great War with the monster race and demon race because of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. The war saw countless deaths.

    Even in that war, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not resort to turning into a monster.

    Yet now, the most powerful of the Holy Region, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the legendary Nine-Tailed White Fox, turned into a monster! This definitely was a great shock to Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi?

    If Nangong Hao had not died, they could only choose to fight to their deaths. For the future of humankind, it was worth it.

    However, Nangong Hao had died...

    Now that everything had ended, things were different. Monster Emperor Baizhi had turned into a monster in front of the public as a way to vent her anger because she had lost control of her own emotions.

    When Monster Emperor Baizhi calmed down, she would consider other things such as the survival of the monster race. By then, the monster race would have to retreat to the Great Swamp again.

    ¡°Old man Mo, retreat!¡± Mu Qingfeng fled without hesitation. After all, it would not be a wise choice to fight with the crazy Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    However, as the Pavilion Master of Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng was profound enough to know that he should not use the word ¡°run¡±. Therefore, he said ¡°retreat¡± instead.

    ¡°Baizhi, there is no point struggling anymore!¡± With a face of righteousness, Mo Shanshi looked as though he was invincible.

    Despite of the aura he gave from his expression, he had retreated far away without needing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s reminder.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who had both ran afar, as well as Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s pair of dark green eyes which were staring at his face. He wanted to say ¡®motherf*cker¡¯ but hesitated.

    As the ancient saying goes, Heroes die early. It was indeed true!

    What a pragmatic and cruel scene. Fang Zhengzhi wished that he could rewind time and remain as the little naive afterlife bystander.

    However, everyone had the ambition of bing a hero.

    Fang Zhengzhi too. Therefore, he had to bear with Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s anger regardless of whether he was willing or not.

    ¡°That old monster... Oh no, I meant, white... auntie. Actually, my rtionship with Yun Qingwu is rather...¡± Fang Zhengzhi realised that he needed to put his cards on the table.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not give him a chance to speak. With a shake, she disappeared from her spot.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi felt a chilling auraing from his back, as though the spirits from hell were holding the saber of death behind him.

    ¡°Face your death!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s face was full of fur that looked extremely smooth. Radiance was flowing through her body, though she looked as though she was grimacing, she radiated alluring beauty.

    However, that was no longer important.

    The important thing was, Monster Emperor Baizhi had two lightning bolts in her hands. They were real lightning that had umted and took the shape of two cold and long knives.

    It was recorded in historical books that a real powerful Monster could control the Sun and the Moon, hold lightning in their hands, step on wind and fire, breathe the breath of sky and earth, as well as fuse with the sky and earth.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure if Monster Emperor Baizhi had already fused with the sky and earth, nor could he see the two lightning bolts in her hands.

    But he knew that she was behind him.

    Furthermore, from the chilling and terriffying tone of Monster Emperor Baizhi, he could tell that she meant it when she said ¡°face your death¡±.

    ¡°Fight till the end!¡± As the saying goes, despair gives courage even to a coward. At this critical point of life or death, Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth and stomped his feet, his potentialpletely exploding out of his body.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was fast. Fang Zhengzhi was not slow either.

    As the saying goes, capture the ringleader so as to capture all of his followers, hit where it hurts the most. Fang Zhengzhi was clueless about where Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s ¡°hurting point¡± was, but he knew where the ¡°hurting point¡± of a woman was.

    To a woman, the real taboo was not about any particr body part. Woman would not specially cover that part to protect it.

    Therefore, most of the time, woman only react after they had been grabbed at that area.

    In that situation, Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not have time to grab the area. Furthermore, even if he sessfully grabbed it, he probably would have already died by the time Monster Emperor Baizhi reacted.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi decided to not target any specific body part, but rather the mindset.

    In reality, anyone who was mindful would know that there had been a saying that described the rtionship between a man and a woman ¡ª It is improper for the opposite sexes toe into contact with one another.

    This saying was extraordinarily emphasised in this rtively conservative world.

    Fang Zhengzhi had read ¡°The Plum in the Golden Vase¡± before and hence understood more things than the ordinary man. Naturally, he knew that the real taboo for women was the sudden close approach of men.

    This was a subconscious mindset.

    For example, while walking on the streets, if you suddenly stretched out your hand to touch any part of a woman¡¯s body, if you were fast and decisive enough, you would have at least a fifty percent chance of sess.

    However, if we used another method, while walking on the streets, you suddenly leaned against a woman¡¯s chest, there is a ny percent probability that the woman would jump away and scream. Following that, not only did you fail atpleting your mission, but you would also have to face the consequences.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely meticulous. He had flipped ¡°The Plum in the Golden Vase¡± a hundred times and memorized the finest details.

    Regarding the actual effect...

    We would find out if we try.

    At that point of life and death, Fang Zhengzhi no longer cared about etiquette. After all, etiquette does not guarantee your survival.

    In fact, you can only talk about etiquette if you remain alive!

    Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    After sensing the crisis awaiting behind him, he leaned backwards immediately. That action was miraculously effective.

    At a far distance, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng were stunned. They never imagined Fang Zhengzhi to react in this manner.

    But the truth was...

    When Fang Zhengzhi leaned back, Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had lost control of herself due to anger, was evidently stunned for a moment.

    Even though it was just for a moment, she was stunned.

    She did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi did not choose to run forward or towards the sides, but instead approached her like a lost sheep and did not even attempt to defend.

    Most importantly...

    He was about to touch her?!

    ¡°You brat...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stepped backwards when Fang Zhengzhi was about to hit her chest.

    That move was made unconsciously and instinctively, like how one instinctively closes one¡¯s eyes when a stone flies towards them.

    After all, as the Monster Emperor...

    How could she allow a man to crash into her chest in public?

    However, at the instant when she stepped back, she suddenly realised.

    As the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Monster Emperor Baizhi was gifted with an extremely strong premonition.

    Because of this premonition, she was able to react almost instantaneously when Fang Zhengzhi sprung a sneak attack at Nangong Hao. Unfortunately, she was too far away from Nangong Hao. Although she had managed to block Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, she did not manage to sessfully stop Fang Zhengzhi from advancing using the Tree of God.

    At that moment, her premonition gave her a sense that Fang Zhengzhi was desperately trying to survive as though he was hanging from a strand of grass at the edge of the cliff.

    Bam!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not dodge.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body crashed into her body, causing them toe intoplete contact with one another.

    At that instant, Monster Emperor Baizhi smiled faintly. Her smile was alluring yet filled with a sinister murderous intent.

    ¡°Brat, I have sacrificed a lot in order to kill you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice rang beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    It felt warm.

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely stunned.

    ¡°I hit her?! There was only a ten percent chance and yet he hit her?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi never knew he could be so lucky.

    So lucky such that hended straight into Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s chest.

    F*ck...

    It hurt a little!

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not have any mood to enjoy the ¡°special treatment¡± because he had been strapped down by the chilling aura that Monster Emperor Baizhi exuded.

    Besides that, he could feel the pain followed by an intense numbness that flowed along his arms.

    ¡°Lightning?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi saw the two lightning bolts that were inserted in his arms. They were not thick but as sharp as knives.

    Why were the two lightning bolts inserted in his arms?

    He did not have time to think about that. He could feel a cold gust of air on his back and another intense pain was felt on his neck.

    It felt as though an extremely sharp object was inserted in his flesh. Along with the numbness in his arms, the agony almost killed him.

    ¡°Bitten... I was bitten... by Monster Emperor Baizhi?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not need to turn his head to feel the strong aura beside his ears.

    In fact, when Monster Emperor Baizhi said the sentence, his neck waspletely exposed below Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s sharp teeth.

    The most painful thing in life was none other than facing the cruel reality while having a idealistic ambition.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought his idea was creative and feasible. It was evident from the two lightning bolts that were inserted in his arms.

    If he had guessed correctly, the two lightning bolts were supposed to be inserted in the right and left sides of his chest.

    It was hisst-minute decision that caused the two lightning bolts to miss the spot.

    However, things are unpredictable in life.

    He only predicted half of the story. He did not expect himself to crash into Monster Emperor Baizhi, neither did he realise that Monster Emperor Baizhi was a monster.

    Monsters have teeth!

    After being stabbed by lightning in both his arms and bitten on his neck, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he waspletely wound up by a gigantic snake.

    Although he might not die immediately, he could not move his body at all.

    A single slip may causesting sorrow.

    Of course, having witnessed Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s capabilities, he knew that he would probably have died even if he had not made such a decision.

    After all, Monster Emperor Baizhi would have definitely predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would dodge.

    ¡°Auntie, although I am about to die in your mouth, I have yet toplete my sentence earlier on. You interrupted me before I couldplete it. Before you kill me, can you please grant me myst wish toplete that sentence?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi did not struggle. He looked nkly at the stars in the sky. As a person who was about to die, he looked lonely and sorrowful.

 Chapter 868 - Unexpected Pregnancy?

    <h4>Chapter 868: Unexpected Pregnancy?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Qingwu?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was slightly moved. With her capabilities as the Monster Emperor and having turned into a monster, breaking off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s in one bite was not a difficult task.

    Furthermore, he could sense that Fang Zhengzhi had given up struggling. However, because of that, she was suddenly curious about what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say.

    Yet as she was about to open her mouth to say ¡°yes¡±, a strong premonition made her body tremble as it struck her.

    This brat was trying to make me release my bite?!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was shocked. She almost got tricked again if not for her premonition. She suddenly recalled thement that Yun Qingwu gave about Fang Zhengzhi.

    A man who was shameless to the core.

    He was a guy who appeared to be of little importance, yet once you neglect him, you realize he was the one who changed the oue of a situation.

    He was gifted with talent as terrifying as the evil. He also had a meticulous state of mind and an unpredictable way of thinking.

    Crack! Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s bite tightened, her sharp teeth sank deeply into the flesh on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck. She smirked, ¡°Too bad you encountered someone who was more powerful than you in terms of both her capabilities and state of mind. How could you trick me?¡±

    ¡°Ah, pain... Ah...¡± Fang Zhengzhi let out a sound of agony as his heart sank again.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not open her mouth.

    This meant that his ns had failed once again. Now it was almost impossible for him to make use of the instant when Monster Emperor Baizhi opens her mouth to escape.

    What should he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi was troubled.

    Why must Monster Emperor Baizhi be so shrewd to see through his ns every single time?

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi could feel that the origin energy in his body was drained continuously when Monster Emperor Baizhi bit his neck. It was as though Monster Emperor Baizhi had sucked away his origin energy.

    No, he could not continue this further.

    If he continued draining his origin energy, he would definitely die. Even if he managed to survive, he would probably be half dead.

    He had to think of a n that Monster Emperor Baizhi would sessfully fall for.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was definitely much more alert after Fang Zhengzhi attempted to trick her continuously. If he failed again, he would lose hisst chance.

    However, what n would Monster Emperor Baizhi definitely fall for? Or rather, what would force Monster Emperor Baizhi to release her bite?

    It was too difficult.

    Fang Zhengzhi originally thought Monster Emperor Baizhi would be curious about the rtionship between Yun Qingwu and himself. However, this was evidently not viewed as something important in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes.

    Wait a minute!

    Something that was viewed as important...

    ¡°Opening the Gate of God?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up and turned to look at Nangong Hao.

    When he leaned back earlier on, the Traceless Sword that was in Nangong Hao¡¯s chest had already been half withdrawn. However, he could not move his hands freely because of the lightning bolts inserted.

    Yet that does not mean he could not move his hands at all.

    At this point, Fang Zhengzhi had an idea. Without hesitation, with his right hand, he used the Traceless Sword to push Nangong Hao¡¯s body slightly forward.

    It was not a huge action but Nangong Hao¡¯s body had moved at least half an inch forward, both of his hands almost touching the two fruits in front of him.

    ¡°Nangong Hao did not die, he is still alive!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted, his voice filled with anxiety and surprise.

    Em?! Monster Emperor Baizhi heard his voice and saw how Nangong Hao moved. This caused her to move her dark green eyes.

    After all, Nangong Hao¡¯s life was the determinant of the whole incident. No matter how alert she was, she still turned to take a look.

    With that quick look...

    Her eyes lit up.

    She remembered clearly that when she had Nangong Hao in her control, Nangong Hao¡¯s hands were not in contact with the two fruits on the Tree of God.

    Yet now, his hands were extremely close to and almost in contact with the two fruits. One could even see the radiance of the fruit flowing to Nangong Hao¡¯s fingers.

    ¡°Nangong Hao did not die?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had lost hope initially, was suddenly aroused.

    That was a special feeling.

    It felt as though she managed to find a lost person. It was an extremely precious feeling.

    Of course, while Monster Emperor Baizhi was overwhelmed with excitement, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who had tactically retreated became anxious.

    They could only see Nangong Hao¡¯s back from their spot.

    ¡°Nangong Hao moved?!¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t die!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi felt as though they were struck by lightning. It was a feeling of intense desperation when they realized that they had lost something that was already in their hands.

    Besides Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, every single one of the disciples watching from beneath and the sages who were in the midst of a battle was stunned by the scene.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t... die?!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he stabbed in the heart? How could he not die?!¡±

    The disciples were evidently in disbelief. After witnessing how Fang Zhengzhi killed Nangong Hao, they all understood that even though the battle was still ongoing, it was as good as it had ended.

    If they had persisted for a little longer, they could aplish what they had wanted. The priority would be avoiding unnecessary injuries.

    But if Nangong Hao did not die...

    It would be another story.

    Roar!

    ¡°Roar... Attack!¡±

    Apart from the disciples and sages, the Monster Kings in the sky also had the same thought.

    If Nangong Hao was dead, it meant that their n was put on hold.

    If he did not die, everything would revert back to square one. If they could control Nangong Hao, they would then be able to achieve their ns as per normal.

    Without any dy, the Monster Kings once again sprang into action with their powerful fighting spirit. The situation turned into the war scene earlier on.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and stop Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    The sages also dashed towards the Monster Kings with all their might, forgetting all the worries they had previously.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er did not die? He really did not die?!¡± Nangong Tian stared at the figure standing on the top of the Tree of God in the sky.

    And everything that happened...

    Was caused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s scream.

    Regarding this situation, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say, ¡°F*ck, all these people who were afraid to attack earlier on are finally going full out now?¡±

    At this moment, a surprise came.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who had escaped far away finally found their consciences and dashed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi, while shouting, ¡°Baizhi, let Fang Zhengzhi go! Don¡¯t you dream of controlling Nangong Hao!¡±

    At this moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body shook.

    That was because she realized that something was odd with Nangong Hao. His eyes were closed just as before.

    ¡°This brat, trying to make the deade alive. I¡¯m impressed!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi had understood what Fang Zhengzhi was nning to do.

    Although she understood, she could not open her mouth.

    She could not open her mouth to exin to the rest who did not know that Nangong Hao was not suddenly ¡°revived¡±.

    Swoosh! At this moment, long tails appeared from Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s back, each of them coated with white fur that was as strong as metal.

    Nine-Tailed White Fox, nine tails in total!

    This was recorded in historical books. After turning into a monster, Monster Emperor Baizhi definitely had nine tails behind her.

    As the nine white tails emerged, they grew rapidly and wildly, as though as they were about to cover the entire sky. A terrifying aura could be felt.

    Witnessing this scene, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi took a quick nce at each other and saw the paleness on each other¡¯s faces.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The nine white tails fell from the sky continuously like giant whips that whipped on their bodies. Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi immediately stopped advancing forward.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I have said before that I would never fall for your tricks. Attempting to revive the dead so that Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi can save you? Dream on!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi sneered.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi did not give up.

    ¡°He really came alive... I... Hurry, stop Nangong Hao, hurry...¡±

    ¡°Hurry up, it would be toote if we don¡¯t stop him now!¡±

    ¡°How is he still alive? He was definitely stabbed...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi voice could be heard repeatedly. It sounded much more anxious than before and his expression had evidently changed.

    ¡°How naive! Expect me to believe you?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi obviously did not believe him and refused to let go of her bite. In her heart, she despised Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions greatly.

    However, the feeling of despise she had towards Fang Zhengzhi disappeared very quickly. The smirk on her face also disappeared.

    She discovered that...

    Nangong Hao, who was initially about to grab for the ck and green fruits, changed the direction of his fingers and extended them towards the golden fruit instead.

    The fruit for the Door of the Realm of God!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression changed and turned towards Nangong Hao. To her horror, Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes had gradually opened.

    Beams of red light shed across Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes. It was as though blood was flowing in his eyes.

    ¡°A... Alive? He was really alive?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely shocked because she had thought that it was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n all along.

    Yet, Nangong Hao was really alive?

    Of course, she could not react to this sudden turn of events.

    Shocked, surprised.

    Besides that, she felt extremely strange, as though there was something twisting and turning in her body.

    ¡°You shameless brat! How dare you do this... to me!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi finally opened her mouth. In that moment of extreme shock, how could she possibly allow a man to ¡°take advantage¡± of her?

    She muttered the sentence subconsciously.

    Before shepleted her sentence, she had already regained her senses. Yet, everything was toote after she had opened her mouth.

    ¡°I have finally seeded?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was exhrated though he was also simrly stunned.

    After all...

    Nangong Hao really came alive!

    He was not bluffing.

    When he saw that Nangong Hao was alive, he was more shocked than anyone else. After all, he was the one who stabbed Nangong Hao¡¯s chest with his sword.

    Although he had not checked carefully if the sword had hit Nangong Hao¡¯s heart, he was very certain that the sword had stabbed his chest.

    Why didn¡¯t Nangong Hao die?

    Could it be the Nangong Hao managed to avoid the sword in thest second?

    Or could it be because he subconsciously allowed Nangong Hao to touch the two fruits?

    He was unable to determine what was the reason.

    But the reality was that Nangong Hao was revived. Furthermore, he was trying extremely hard to grab the golden fruit.

    Actually, Fang Zhengzhi had repeatedly warned Monster Emperor Baizhi that Nangong Hao was alive because he saw the scene.

    Yet Monster Emperor Baizhi did not believe him initially.

    Screw her.

    In order to let Monster Emperor Baizhi notice the situation, he could only twist his body to allow Monster Emperor Baizhi to have a clear line of vision to see the changes happening to Nangong Hao.

    Then, he realized he had seeded?

    How unexpected. It was as though ady was sessfully impregnated after a swim even though she had previously failed hundreds of times through adopting different positions.

    What the f*ck!

 Chapter 869 - Are You A Man?

    <h4>Chapter 869: Are You A Man?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to scold Monster Emperor Baizhi. However, it was more critical for him to escape now, though escaping requires skills.

    After all, Monster Emperor Baizhi had only released her bite. Their bodies were still in contact.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had chosen to run forward, he would be blocked by Nangong Hao.

    Even if he could roll, he would not do so. Once he did that, his back would be exposed to Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    She could simply use her ws...

    And get him controlled once again.

    Therefore, although Fang Zhengzhi was desperate to run away, he knew that he had to ensure Monster Emperor Baizhi was unable to attack him again.

    What should he do?

    Countless of escape methods shed through his mind such as pping Monster Emperor Baizhi or blowing lime powder into Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes.

    Yet he quickly negated these methods. He was going against Monster Emperor Baizhi, an ¡°evil monster¡± that made his ns fail twice.

    No!

    He definitely could not use ordinary escape methods!

    He had to still depend on Nangong Hao. After all, in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes, Nangong Hao was the only person that would be of a greater significance than himself.

    However, what should he do so that Nangong Hao could help him escape? Or should he let Nangong Hao appear in between himself and Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    That¡¯s right, shifting forms (a Heaven Dao technique)!

    Fang Zhengzhi could only think of this idea. Even though it may not be the best idea, he had no time.

    He had made his decision and would not hesitate any further. At this time, an azure blue light covered his body.

    ¡°Hmm? Trying to escape!¡± With her great sense of premonition, Monster Emperor Baizhi reacted right away, grabbing the azure blue light with her hand.

    It was extraordinarily fast.

    ng!

    A sharp sound like the intense rubbing caused by the nging of metals was heard. It felt as though there was an intense fight between Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hand and the azure blue ray.

    ¡°Screw this... How does she react so quickly?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi paused and frowned. Although he had predicted that the sess rate was not very high if he used this method, he did not think that it would be so easily blocked by Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Suddenly, anger overwhelmed him.

    Having been ¡°suppressed¡± repeatedly by Monster Emperor Baizhi, Fang Zhengzhi felt humiliated.

    After all, he regarded himself as one of the more powerful fighters.

    He was extremely pissed off. He vaguely recalled how Mo Shanshi was able to make Monster Emperor Baizhi retreat after he went mad. Maybe he could do the same?

    He wanted to forcibly pull himself out of the Heaven Dao!

    That was provided if he had the capability to do so.

    It had not urred to Fang Zhengzhi how Monster Emperor Baizhi had not turned into a monster when she was battling with Mo Shanshi. Monster Emperor Baizhi was only the most powerful in the Holy Region after she had turned into a monster.

    Of course, that was no longer important.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no other way out. If he chose to fight with his life, he mighte out alive. If he did not, he would definitely die.

    Without thinking further, he clenched his teeth and dived into the azure blue light with all his strength.

    Screech! The piercing sound and the flickering blue light made Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hands shake.

    ¡°This brat is trying topete with me in terms of strength?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was really shocked. She had always thought that the monster race was much more powerful than humankind in terms of body strength.

    How would humankind dare to fight with them?

    That was her thoughts. As the Monster Emperor, she was extremely certain about it.

    Although her title as the beast of the Monster race, the Nine-Tailed White Fox was not earned because of her strength, she would definitely be infuriated if Fang Zhengzhi had won her in terms of strength.

    Therefore, when she saw that Fang Zhengzhi was about to escape, her tail moved and whipped down from the sky onto Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! The terrifyingly powerful force from his back caused Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body to jerk. The force was so powerful that he almost spat out blood.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi could feel that the azure blue light covering his body was about to be smashed by the tail.

    It was really powerful!

    This was the first time he felt beingpletely suppressed by a powerful force since he left the Middle Stream Cauldron in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s powers had clearly surpassed his expectations.

    Be it the control of the powers of the sky and the earth, or the strength and toughness of the body, Monster Emperor Baizhi was almost at the peak in terms of ability and did not have any slightest w.

    But what could Fang Zhengzhi do?

    Sit and watch in despair?

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi imed that they would save him, yet in reality, Fang Zhengzhi knew that they were only trying to confuse Monster Emperor Baizhi. The real target for the two sly ones was no doubt on Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Do it!¡± As the saying goes, relying on oneself is better than relying on others. Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid enough to ce his hopes in Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s hands.

    Therefore, he could only do it himself!

    Regardless of whether he could seed, he had to give it a shot.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi exuded a wild and furious aura. ck armor, burning mes, blood-red radiance... Regardless of whether they were useful, all of them flowed out of his body.

    Following that, Fang Zhengzhi felt that his body was shifted forcefully towards the azure blue light by an inch. Although it was only an inch, it gave him great hope.

    ¡°Ah, old wretch, fight me directly if you dare!¡±

    ¡°Directly?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s lips moved. She wanted to remind Fang Zhengzhi about how she had sessfully attacked him directly earlier on.

    However, before she could say that, she felt a powerful force radiating from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, so strong that he was about to escape from her palms.

    ¡°This brat... How could he have such potential?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was shocked by how Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers kept growing stronger as though there were no limits. It was an extremely strenuous task to continue controlling him.

    Boom! At this moment, a bolt of purple lightning struck from the sky. Like a sharp sword, it struck in between her eyebrows.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi knew it was done by Fang Zhengzhi. She also knew the difference between this particr lightning and an ordinary lightning.

    It was a fused Dao?

    Monster Emperor Baizhi subconsciously raised her other hand. A bolt of golden lightning quickly formed in her hand.

    ¡°Go!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi shouted as the golden lightning shot out of her hand towards the purple lightning.

    Yet at the instant when the lightning left her hand, she felt that somethiing dangerous was about to happen.

    It was her strong premonition.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi could possibly be a source of threat, especially after she had turned into a monster.

    As she was thinking about that, she realised the purple lightning bolt that was traveling towards her brows stopped all of a sudden. Following that, a strange scene happened.

    The lightning disappeared.

    Then, she felt a beam of light zoom past her eyes.

    ¡°Sword?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi finally saw the purple light clearly. It was not a lightning bolt,instead, it was a long sword that was wrapped by lightning bolt.

    Traceless Sword!

    Almost instantaneously, it travelled to her back. Before she could make any reaction, it struck her back.

    Boom!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body shook. She felt an intense pain on her back and blood sttered through the air.

    However, the blood was soon swallowed by the Traceless Sword. As that happened, the Traceless Sword let out a soft moan.

    The scene happened quickly.

    Too quickly.

    Everything happened in a blink of an eye, from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s escape through Shifting Forms to exuding a powerful aura to the strike of the Traceless Sword on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body.

    After Monster Emperor Baizhi was struck by the sword, the Monster Kings and the disciples reacted in disbelief.

    ¡°He injured the Monster Emperor!¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    Nobody could believe their eyes. They were certain that Monster Emperor Baizhi had never suffered any injuries before.

    Roar!

    Roar...

    The Monster Kings roared furiously. After all, Monster Emperor Baizhi was viewed as a superior figure to them.

    Now that she was injured, how could they be not mad?

    However, this has yet to end. At the instant when the Traceless Sword struck Monster Emperor Baizhi, Fang Zhengzhi had dashed into the azure blue light.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Hao¡¯s body appeared in front of Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    That¡¯s right, shifting forms (a heaven dao technique)!

    This change surprised Monster Emperor Baizhi. Although she knew that Fang Zhengzhi had escaped, she did not understand why he had swapped Nangong Hao back.

    ¡°Shifting Forms from the Heaven Dao?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi finally realized. She did not know how to react as she stared at Nangong Hao who was standing in front of her.

    What is meant by ¡®we¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it, there is always light at the end of the tunnel¡¯?

    The answer was in front of her.

    The escape of Fang Zhengzhi returned her Nangong Hao. If she had known the ending, she would have dly let Fang Zhengzhi go.

    ¡°Run, even if you managed to run away today, I would be able to capture you sooner orter.¡±Monster Emperor Baizhi was not anxious. After all, aspared to killing Fang Zhengzhi, controlling Nangong Hao was more important.

    Stretching out her hands, Monster Emperor Baizhi forgot about Fang Zhengzhi and grabbed Nangong Hao¡¯s shoulders. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not return after he had escaped.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi returned.

    Furthermore, he returned very quickly. At the instant when Nangong Hao appeared in front of Monster Emperor Baizhi, Fang Zhengzhi appeared behind her.

    Meanwhile, he pped Monster Emperor Baizhi on her head.

    Boom!

    The power of a kick in midair could not be estimated by onlookers. Only Monster Emperor Baizhi who felt it personally would know.

    Everything went smoothly.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi rolled towards the side and spun a few rounds in the air continuously.

    ¡°Trying to get away after biting me? Dream on!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he grimaced wildly.

    The Monster Kings, sages and the disciples werepletely stunned.

    None of them had expected Fang Zhengzhi to return after his escape from Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s control.

    Yet, he came back.

    Not only did he return, he sessfully sent Monster Emperor Baizhi flying with a kick.

    How ridiculous?

    How impossible?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... is he crazy?¡±

    ¡°He must be crazy. But he really sent Monster Emperor Baizhi flying with a kick!¡±

    ¡°What is going on in his mind?¡±

    Nobody could understand what was going on in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He clearly wanted to escape, so why did hee back?

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not bother answering these questions.

    As a man, he ought to flee when he had insufficient powers. That was not embarrassing at all. However, that does not mean that he would still remain afraid to attack when he had the chance to. If he was that kind of person, how could he be called a Man!

    If you can¡¯t win, run. If you can win, you should never run!

    As simple as that, that was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s values. If the opponent could not understand, then he would fight until the opponent did.

    It was insane but it represented his character. He would never allow himself to be at a disadvantage.

    Of course, after the kick, Fang Zhengzhi fled again without any hesitation.

    Before he ran, he did not forget to give Monster Emperor Baizhi a middle finger.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As they watched Fang Zhengzhi leave, every single one of the audiences froze.

 Chapter 870 - Old grudges, The Most Beautiful Woman of the Holy Region

    <h4>Chapter 870: Old grudges, The Most Beautiful Woman of the Holy Region</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This is meant by being shameless!

    However, none of the Monster Kings, sages and the disciples had the chance to discuss about the matter.

    That was because Monster Emperor Baizhi was clearly infuriated.

    As the Monster Emperor, the most powerful in the Holy Region, she would not have possibly tolerated hiding into the Great Swamp if not for the survival of the monster race.

    She had endured the insult and suffering for over ten years, and now that she finally could change all that, Fang Zhengzhi came by and messed up her ns.

    Most importantly, she was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kick in front of countless monsters and humans?

    How could she not be mad!

    She was overwhelmed with anger and wanted to shred Fang Zhengzhi to pieces. However, Fang Zhengzhi had fled again after the kick.

    Fled!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi clenched her teeth in anger. She wanted to disregard everything else and focus on chasing after Fang Zhengzhi till the end of the world.

    But could she do that?

    No!

    She was not willing to give up something that she was about to achieve because of anger. More importantly, she could not simply forsake the future of the entire monster race for that.

    Therefore, she could not possibly chase after Fang Zhengzhi.

    She could not imagine what would Nangong Hao, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi do if she had given chase.

    That would be the ultimate desperation.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi had lost all her alluring charm. Instead, she was exploding with anger.

    Nevertheless, she did not chase after Fang Zhengzhi. For the future of the monster race, she could only endure. After she was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kick, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi had already dashed towards Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Hurry, get Nangong Hao!¡±

    ¡°I know!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi could not possibly let go of this opportunity and dashed like a whirlwind towards Nangong Hao.

    However, would Nangong Hao give in so easily?

    ¡°I must aplish the mission of the Nangong family!¡± Nangong Hao did not have the time to think about Fang Zhengzhi and reached out for the golden fruit again.

    ¡°Open the Door of the Realm of God. Everything would end once I opened the Door of the Realm of God!¡± The n that was nned out thousand of years ago was almost about to be achieved. Nangong Hao could not give up at this point in time.

    However, both Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were traveling extremely quickly. In a blink of an eye, they blocked Nangong Hao, making it impossible for him to touch the golden fruit.

    ¡°Nangong Hao, just give up. Do not give the monster race and the devil race any chance. That is the only way to ensure the survival of the Nangong Nobles!¡± As he spoke, Mu Qingfeng attacked.

    The long sword on his hand turned into a beam of light. It came down from the sky without any hesitation, as though it was about to split the world into parts.

    ¡°Vitality? Talking about vitality while lingering on with one¡¯sst breath?¡± Looking at the beam of light, Nangong Hao did not dart. That was because he saw a long white tail approaching the beam of light.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi!

    It was a fight between three parties.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s motive was to pluck the golden fruit and open the Door of the Realm of God, while Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi wanted to prevent this from happening.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, on the other hand, wanted to make use of Nangong Hao to achieve her own motive.

    Each of the three parties had their own motives yet all three of them had their focus on Nangong Hao. Therefore, they could only fight with all their might.

    Boom! Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s tail blocked Mu Qingfeng and the long sword, giving Nangong Hao a moment to breathe as well as a chance to advance further.

    Yet this chance was stopped by Mo Shanshi.

    As the ck giant hammer in Mo Shanshi¡¯s hand struck, Nangong Hao was forced to retreat his hand from the golden fruit. Under the force of the hammer, he took a step back.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Nangong Hao was an extraordinarily calm person. Even at the most dangerous moments, he kept his calm and confidence.

    Just like how he was stabbed by Fang Zhengzhi earlier on.

    The sword missed his heart by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    However, that sessfully woke him up from the illusion of Monster Emperor Baizhi. Yet, he did not act immediately.

    He was waiting for the best moment.

    Until...

    He only opened his eyes when he saw that Fang Zhengzhi was controlled by Monster Emperor Baizhi andpletely shifted her focus away from him.

    However, he did not predict that he would end up in front of Monster Emperor Baizhi because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shifting forms technique just before he was about to seed.

    At that moment, Nangong Hao felt extremely bitter.

    He was so close to sess!

    Yet, it was ruined because of Fang Zhengzhi.

    And now, after making a mess, Fang Zhengzhi had fled.

    Even the extraordinarily calm Nangong Hao could not remain his cool any further, especially upon seeing Monster Emperor Baizhi approaching him.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Hao yelled unwillingly. However, he was severely injured and could not get past Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    However, he was extremely unwilling to give up. After thousands of years of effort of the Nangong Nobles, he could not bear to see it being taken away forcefully by Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    However, everything seemed to be destined.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had already reached and trapped himpletely with one of her tails.

    ¡°Stop her!¡± Mu Qingfeng was somewhat anxious. After all, if Nangong Hao got controlled by Monster Emperor Baizhi again, the future of the world would change.

    Mo Shanshi was equally anxious.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi was too strong. Her powers increased exponentially after turning into a monster.

    With the nine gigantic fox tails striking continuously on Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s bodies, they struggled very hard to protect themselves.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, here Ie!¡± At this moment, a voice could be heard from beneath.

    ¡°Elder Yan Yin?¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes lit up. Yan Yin, being the Great Elder of Heaven Dao Pavilion, was extremely powerful as well.

    However, Yan Yin was too aloof. In addition to that, the encounters he had at a younger age caused Yan Yin to neglect about his sect.

    However, judging from his true capabilities without the aid of any special weapons or equipments, Yan Yin was not any weaker than Mu Qingfeng.

    This was evident from how Yan Yin managed to escape the siege by over thirty Monster Kings and made it to the top.

    ¡°Elder Yan, attack from behind!¡± Mo Shanshi was delighted to see Yan Yin. He immediately teleported to another position.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Yan Yin formed a triangle, trapping Monster Emperor Baizhi in the center.

    ¡°Three of you? Then we shall die together!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi took a nce at all of them with a cruel gaze.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Loud sounds of collision could be heard repeatedly.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Yan Yin made continuous attacks in an attempt to rescue Nangong Hao out of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hand.

    Yet Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely powerful.

    The three of them were unable to defeat her.

    The scene looked like a deadlock. Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Yan Yin felt chills behind their backs after several attacks.

    After turning into a monster, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s powers was terrifying.

    Not only did the three of them fail at defeating Monster Emperor Baizhi after several attacks, but they even suffered some minor injuries.

    ¡°So powerful, how could this be?¡± Mu Qingfeng had always known that Monster Emperor Baizhi was very powerful. Yet, her powers made him fear.

    The memories from the great war that took ce more than ten years ago were still fresh in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mind. In that war, the ultimate winner was humankind.

    However, in that war, they lost the most powerful of humankind and the only person who could fight head-on with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    The ex-tower master of Ling Yun Tower!

    The ex-tower master of Ling Yun Tower had sacrificed his life to dy Monster Emperor Baizhi, allowing humankind to attack the monster race from behind and eventually controlling the fate of the monster race.

    Yet despite that, humankind did not dare to kill every single one of the monster race, not because they were merciful but due to the fact that Monster Emperor Baizhi was not dead.

    If Monster Emperor Baizhi was not dead, how would they dare to kill the monster race?

    Fortunately, Monster Emperor Baizhi surrended in the end. After the monster race was controlled by humankind, she submitted the Instrument of Surrender and was willing to bring the monster race to the Great Swamp.

    Of course, some were certain that the reason behind the sessful sneak attack was due to the betrayal of the demon race.

    Due to this, Monster Emperor Baizhi killed almost all of the most powerful members of the demon race in less than a month¡¯s time before officially parting ways.

    That was also one of the main reasons why humankind was able to release all of the Monster Kings.

    After all, it was impossible to resolve the conflict.

    Yet Mu Qingfeng did not expect the monster race and the demon race to forget about the hatred and coborate once again under Yun Qingwu¡¯s lead.

    Furthermore, aspared to years ago, Monster Emperor Baizhi was evidently more terrifying.

    Boom! Mu Qingfeng was finally sent flying by the whip of the giant fox tail. After flipping through the sky, he turned pale and spat out a mouth of blood.

    ¡°Old man Mu, don¡¯t die!¡± Mo Shanshi was worried when he saw the scene.

    ¡°How would I die before you?¡± Mu Qingfeng clenched his teeth, tightened his grip on the long sword and returned back after he had regained control of his breath.

    ¡°Hahaha... I¡¯ll treat today¡¯s battle as granting my wish in the past. After sister Lan passed away... I have lived long enough, it¡¯s time for me to apany her too.

    ¡°Dream on, I¡¯m the one in Lan¡¯er¡¯s heart. I should be the one apanying her!¡±

    ¡°Rubbish, sister Lan clearly had feelings for me!¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Mu Qingfeng scolded.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, old man Mo, I would not have any objections to anything you two say, but speaking of Lan¡¯er, I¡¯m very sure she had feelings for me.¡± Yan Yin finally spoke with a serious look on his face.

    ¡°Yan Yin, after so many years, you finally admit that you have feelings for Lan¡¯er?¡± Mo Shanshi smiled when he heard that.

    Hmph! Yan Yin did not reply but gave a nonchnt ¡°hmph¡±. From his eyes, one could tell that he clearly missed her.

    Lan¡¯er, the ex-tower master of Ling Yun Tower.

    She used to be the most beautiful woman in the Holy Region and the most powerful of the humankind. How could anyone not develop feelings for her? However, she had passed away from the war more than ten years ago.

    Ever since, nobody dared to dere themselves as the most beautiful woman of the Holy Region.

    ...

    Laughter was not a suitable emotion for a battle, yet Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng both had smiles on their faces. Yan Yin too, showed guilt and yearning in his eyes.

    ¡°We must fight for Lan¡¯er!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression suddenly became extremely certain. He exuded a powerful aura.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Mo Shanshi replied in disdain. He bit his lips and tightened his grip on the ck hammer in his hands.

    Yan Yin did not speak but once again dashed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Lan¡¯er? The defeated one who had died? Humans being humans, all of you always yearn for the past and do not know how to cherish the present, why?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression changed as she overheard the conversation before making ament.

    Meanwhile...

    The expressions of the sages and Qian Yu changed as they heard theughter from above.

    ¡°Master, you were extremely popr in the Holy Region back then. In those days, none of the sects dared to fight with Ling Yun Tower and scrambled to be favored by us. Ling Yun Tower was about to be the leader of the five sects... If wasn¡¯t so stubborn, if you had not fight against Monster Emperor Baizhi alone to atone for my sins, you would not have died...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s lips moved and his eyes welled up with tears.

 Chapter 871 - Is Fang Zhengzhi Reliable?

    <h4>Chapter 871: Is Fang Zhengzhi Reliable?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Since she was young, Qian Yu had lived in the Ling Yun Tower. She was brought into the Ling Yun Tower and raised by the ex-tower master ¡®Lan Qin¡¯.

    Qian Ye was also brought into the Ling Yun Tower with her.

    Lan Qin had an exceptional judgment of people. Both Qian Yu and Qian Ye were gifted naturally and with the patient guidance of Lan Qin, the sisters grew in fame in the Holy Region and was viewed as the future of Ling Yun Tower.

    Until that incident that happened over ten years ago...

    The fight for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet between the demon race and the monster race saw the involvement of Ling Yun Tower. As the ally of the five sects and in order to prevent the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet fromnding in the two races¡¯ hands, the Holy Region had to start a great war outside the me Capital City of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    The war ran the Ten Mile Lake red with blood and remains of the fighters piled up like a mountain. The war also saw the ex-tower master Lan Qin¡¯s death.

    After that, there was finally peace.

    Although Qian Yu was not med for the war as after all, the root cause of the war was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, Qian Yu always felt that she was the one who started the great war and eventually caused Lan Qin¡¯s death.

    Although she was her master, she saw her as a mother. Qian Yu missed Lan Qin greatly.

    Yet the scene that took ce more than ten years ago seemed to rey in front of her. Qian Yu felt the pain in her heart and clenched her fists as she raised her head and stared at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Master, let me fulfill your upleted wishes!¡±

    Roar! A Monster King approached Qian Yu cautiously.

    After all, the Monster King had all along knew about Qian Yu¡¯s identity and prowess.

    However, he ultimately underestimated Qian Yu.

    Like Qian Ye, when the eight moons appeared out of nowhere above Qian Yu¡¯s head, the Monster King widened his eyes.

    ¡°Eight moons?!¡± The Monster King sounded extremely stunned. After all, years ago, Qian Yu only had one moon above her head.

    Yet now...

    Eight moons?!

    The Monster King suddenly felt worried. However, it was toote. A strong gust of chilling wind had attacked from his back.

    Almost instantaneously, the body of the Monster King was shrouded by a silvery light and soon covered by ayer of snow.

    Swoosh! A figure zoomed past him.

    Qian Yu!

    However, Qian Yu did not pay too much attention to the Monster King. As she zoomed past him like a stream of light, she pressed her hand on the Monster King¡¯s head.

    Crack! The stiffened head that was covered with snow broke and fell off. No blood was sttered.

    However, there was a glistening golden monster pearl in the head.

    Boom! Both the head and the golden monster pearl exploded to be fragments of snow that flew in the sky.

    Meanwhile, Qian Yu had already dashed forward.

    This scene surprised Dao Hun who was standing nearby.

    ¡°Qian Yu... How did she became so powerful after these years?¡± Although Dao Hun could not believe his eyes, he had to believe the eight moons that was above Qian Yu¡¯s head.

    Yet, Qian Yu had never turned back to look at Dao Hun who was fighting alongside with her. Dao Hun, though shocked, continued to fly forward.

    Having gotten past the Monster King, Qian Yu¡¯s speed was extremely fast. With the silvery-white radiance of the eight moons, she lit up the dark sky.

    ¡°Tower Master Qian Yu!¡±

    ¡°She had also gotten past the Monster Kings!¡±

    ¡°She must be as powerful as Tower Master Lan?¡±

    The sages who were still blocked by the Monster Kings stared in shock and excitement.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi who was at the top of the Tree of God, noticed the eight moons.

    ¡°Oh? The rebellious little girl have reached the stage of eight moons?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s dark green eyes lit up in shock.

    ¡°Baizhi, return my master!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s voice could be heard. Meanwhile, the radiance from the eight moons turned her entire body silvery-white.

    Her hair and her skin were coated with ayer of silvery armor that flowed through her body.

    Buzz! Silvery radiance spalshed across the sky.

    With two long swords in her hands, Qian Yu stabbed in the directino of Monster Emperor Baizhi;s throat without hesitation. She was so fast that she her actions could not be seen clearly.

    ¡°Ridiculous, trading Lan Qin for the victory of war. If it was me, I would dly do so!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi sneered as the two giant fox tails, which had lightning whirling around them, whipped Qian Yu from the left and right.

    Qian Yu did not speak or dart. Instead, she sliced the fox tails with her long swords and blinding silvery light radiated from the two long swords.

    Boom!

    The collision of the silvery light and lightning felt like a fight between two dragons that had been provoked. It was a neck to neck fight.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was evidently shocked. Although she had not used her full powers, the power of two fox tails was rtively strong.

    To put it frankly, one fox tail was enough to win Nangong Hao and suppress Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    Yet, Qian Yu was able to defend against the attack of two fox tails.

    ¡°She blocked it?!¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°Tower Master Qian Yu, she was so powerful?¡±

    The sages watching from beneath was evidently shocked as they knew how powerful Monster Emperor Baizhi was.

    Apart from them, the disciples of the various sects were also stunned.

    Using only two long swords, she was able to defend against the attack of the Nine-Tailed White Fox and was not in a disadvantaged position. The fight between two powerful opponents definitely shocked them.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Qian Yu shouted again. Meanwhile, she whipped her two long swords, stepped on a fox tail and dashed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Old man Mo, attack together!¡± Witnessing this scene, Mu Qingfeng could not possibly hold back. With a roar, he dashed forward too.

    Mo Shanshi was not in a disadvantaged position too.

    Although he did not have many encounters with Qian Yu, he knew that as the disciple of Lan Qin, she definitely would not be in a disadvantage position.

    Of course, Qian Yu had disyed strong powers.

    Although Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were slightly impressed, strictly speaking, Qian Yu was of a younger generation.

    Yan Yin did not speak.

    Nevertheless, he fought simrly like Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi and reached even earlier than them.

    Roar! Monster Emperor Baizhi roared as her face and her entire body was coveredpletely with white fur.

    A giant white fox had finally taken its form.

    Dark green eyes, sharp ears, nine white giant long tails that continuously swayed around her, almost blocking out the skypletely.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi hadpletely turned into a monster!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    With her sharp ws and the nine giant long tails, Monster Emperor Baizhi was clearly infuriated. Every move she made was apanied by thunder, lightning and strong wind.

    Although the few of them kept avoiding the attacks, they were advancing closer towards Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body. As they got closer, the whip of the fox tail felt heavier.

    The beads of perspiration that trickled down their cheeks were immediately blown dry by the wild wind.

    It was an intense battle.

    Four of the most powerful in the Holy Region against Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    The sages and the disciples were dazed as they witnessed this magnificent scene from beneath.

    Yet, that was not representative of everyone¡¯s reaction.

    At least Fang Zhengzhi was different. Although he had fled earlier on, he had sneakily returned.

    That¡¯s right!

    Fang Zhengzhi returned.

    Like how he ¡°tantly¡± fled, he came back ¡°tantly¡± too. At the very least, he did not deliberately avoid the line of vision of Monster Emperor Baizhi and the four fighters.

    ¡°You brat, you finally found your conscience!¡± Mo Shanshi was initially stunned when he saw Fang Zhengzhi, but quickly smiled. After all, he had seen Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capability and knew that he was almost as powerful as the four of them.

    With the addition of Fang Zhengzhi, the four powerful individuals could finally fight neck to neck with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Roar! Monster Emperor Baizhi roared again with a cold gaze in her dark green eyes, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you still return?¡±

    ¡°You are not blind. Whether I dare to return, you can see for yourself!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stared at Monster Emperor Baizhi scornfully as though he was not afraid or worried at all.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, the five element formation!¡± Mu Qingfeng was clearly more straightforward than Mo Shanshi. Upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi, he immediately hinted the rest with his eyes and moved towards the side to leave an ¡°additional¡± spot for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Yin nodded and clearly understood Mu Qingfeng. Although he was annoyed by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless personality, he had to admit that Fang Zhengzhi would help them if they had join forces.

    Even if they could not defeat Monster Emperor Baizhi immediately, a tie was a hopeful oue.

    However, when he stepped aside to leave a spot for Fang Zhengzhi, he realized that something was wrong. Fang Zhengzhi did not run towards the spot.

    Instead, he ran towards another position.

    More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi looked as though he was only ¡°passing by¡±. This confused Yan Yin.

    ¡°Auntie, good job!¡± Fang Zhengzhi greeted Qian Yu politely as he passed by Qian Yu.

    ¡°If you want to be credited for your efforts, stop talking nonsense.¡± Qian Yu did not respond to Fang Zhengzhi directly, her expressions looked slightly strange.

    That was because she did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to return.

    Yet, he returned.

    However...

    To rely on Fang Zhengzhi?

    Was he reliable?

    Qian Yu kept this thought to herself. If they could win Monster Emperor Baizhi, she would have sessfullypleted her wish.

    ¡°Auntie knows me well, I shall stop talking nonsense then.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head after hearing what Qian Yu said and moved.

    With a sh of an azure blue light, Fang Zhengzhi disappeared from his spot and appeared in another position.

    His blue robe flew in the intense wind.

    What a charasmatic scene. Yet, the position at which Fang Zhengzhi appeared and the posture he appeared with stunned Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Yan Yin and Qian Yu.

    Besides them, Monster Emperor Baizhi was also stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not appear at the spot that the four had left for him. Instead, he appeared beside the three fruits at the top of the Tree of God.

    More importantly, with a intriguing smile on his face, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was grabbing towards the golden fruit.

    He was satisfied with the expressions on the four fighters and Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s faces. After all, he knew that his actions would shock them.

    A quarrel which benefits only a third party ¡ª a famous saying since the beginning of time. After seeing how Monster Emperor Baizhi was held back by the four of them, how could he not make use of this opportunity?

    The fruit of the Tree of God...

    Wonderful!

    ¡°No!¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was about to touch the golden fruit, an extremely hasty voice could be heard.

 Chapter 872 - Seeking Ones Own Death

    <h4>Chapter 872: Seeking One¡¯s Own Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Chinesenguage had always been profound.

    No? This word was much moreplicated than it was at the surface level. For example, when a woman said ¡°no¡± to a man, it could mean ¡°I want it,e quickly¡±.

    Of course, that was just an example. At the very least, when a man says ¡°no¡±, he meant that he really did not want it.

    Yet now...

    The person who shouted no was a woman.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not tell whether it was Monster Emperor Baizhi, Qian Yu or the twodies who were severely injured, Chi Guyan and Ping Yang.

    After all, the surroundings were too noisy. However, he was sure that it was the voice of a female.

    Therefore, he quickly regained his senses and sped up his motion to grab the golden fruit.

    ¡°No? Why should I listen to you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled excitedly as he looked at the golden fruit in front of him.

    To put it frankly, the thing that everyone wants must be something good.

    However, he did not understand why everyone had their focus on Nangong Hao instead of the fruits of the Tree of God.

    That was a question that confused him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was a decisive person and would not be easily confused. His way of dealing with uncertainty had always been: just try.

    After all...

    Nobody would get killed.

    While he was thinking, Fang Zhengzhi managed to touch the golden fruit of the Tree of God. It felt great. It was slightly cool and had marks on it.

    ¡°What a great treasure...¡± Fang Zhengzhi dislikeborous things but was not someone who was afraid of them. Therefore, after grabbing onto the golden fruit, he was ready to pluck it out and continue to keep the other two fruits.

    However, at the instant when he tried to pluck the golden fruit, a strange feeling of crisis suged in his heart. Following that, he felt the cool golden fruit turn hot. It was as hot as fire and almost burned his hand.

    ¡°You brat, do not touch the fruits of the Tree of God!¡± A rough voice of a man could be heard. It sounded a little desperate.

    Fang Zhengzhi figured out that it was Mo Shanshi.

    However, it was toote. The burning sensation had flowed extremely quickly from his hand into his body, attacking his heart.

    ¡°What on earth?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately released the fruit, breaking the source of the heat. However, the heat in his body did not subside.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi felt like his head caught fire all of a sudden. Then, after a rumble in his chest, he spat out a mouth of blood.

    Pfttt! The bloody mist from the blood rose in the sky.

    Everything happened so quickly that the sages and the disciples could not react.

    Until Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouth of blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Not sure, but Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be injured?¡±

    ¡°Was it caused by the fruit of the Tree of God?¡±

    The disciples of the various sects did not understand. After all, they had not seen what had happened and only knew that Fang Zhengzhi got injured.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I think only the Nangong family are allowed to touch the fruits of the Tree of God, stop touching it!¡± The voice of a woman could be heard again.

    Fang Zhengzhi could identify the voice this time. It was from Qian Yu. However, this voice was slightly different from the voice that said ¡°no¡±. Clearly, the woman who said ¡°no¡± was not Qian Yu.

    It was not Qian Yu who reminded him?

    Could it be Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused. However, he finally understood something.

    ¡°I think only the Nangong family can touch it?¡± Although this sentence had a hint of uncertainty due to the two words ¡°I think¡±, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Monster Emperor Baizhi, Mu Qingfeng, and the others had not reached for the fruits after all the fighting.

    What the f*ck? How does this work?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    After spitting out blood, on top of the pain from the burning sensation, he also realized that his origin energy had decreased by thirty percent after he touched the fruit.

    It was swallowed by the fruit of the Tree of God?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was at a big loss. Although the ancient saying goes, it is a blessing to suffer from a loss, he felt that this incident did not give him any form of blessing.

    Most importantly, he felt that he made a fool of himself.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, Mu Qingfeng, and Yan Yin all looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a strange expression.

    Mo Shanshi and Qian Yu too.

    He felt as though they were saying, ¡°Look, we¡¯ve told you not to touch it and yet you refused to listen. Have you learned your lesson now?¡±

    ¡°So the fruit of the Tree of God could not be touched!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it so obvious? Or else, why wouldn¡¯t Pavilion Master Mu and Valley Master Mo snatch the fruits?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi was always conceited, now that hended himself in this situation, what will he do? Snatching the fruit of the Tree of God, how foolish!¡±

    After hearing Qian Yu¡¯s words, the disciples finally understood too. Following that, they began to ¡°show off¡± their intelligence.

    Their behavior was exactly like the old saying that goes: Hindsight is 20-20.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, the tactic you used to divert attention worked well, but for now,e and help us to trap Baizhi using the five element formation!¡± Mu Qingfeng saw the awkwardness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and gave him an out.

    ¡°You brat, stop wasting your energy!¡± Mo Shanshi was clearly more straightforward. While he said that, he pointed at the empty spot that was meant for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Both Qian Yu and Yan Yin did not say anything. They were trying their best to block Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s attack and controlling the fox tail that was around Nangong Hao.

    Of course, Monster Emperor Baizhi would not let the two of them achieve their goals so easily. She kept changing the position of the fox tail that trapped Nangong Hao.

    Yet, Monster Emperor Baizhi found a time to nce at Fang Zhengzhi, secretlyughing at his foolishness.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved. He stood rooted to the ground, looked at the three fruits of the God of Tree and then looked over at Qian Yu and Yan Yin who were busy fighting.

    Another saying goes, the wind is blowing and the river is flowing, the hero will go and nevere back.

    Fang Zhengzhi could notprehend the second part of the sentence yet. However, he could certainly understand the first part of the sentence, he indeed felt the wind of embarrassment.

    Should he run over to help?

    If he had done that from the start, he would be looked up by others for being righteous. However, it would be apletely different story if he had gone now.

    That was foolish.

    Moreover, after thirty percent of his origin energy was drained, Fang Zhengzhi was certain that even if he had joined, the best oue could only be a tie.

    Yet, that was not the problem he was most concerned with.

    He was not afraid if he only coborated with Qian Yu. However, that was not the case for Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who had lived over a hundred years. They were as sly as a fox and god knows if they would betray him during crisis just like before.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was amiss. If the woman who had said ¡°no¡± was not Qian Yu, then it had to be Monster Emperor Baizhi who was physically closest to him.

    However, why did Monster Emperor Baizhi remind him?

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi clearly saw the nervousness in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes when he appeared in front of the fruits of the Tree of God.

    Something was wrong.

    There must be something wrong.

    He suddenly remembered that the fruits must be consumed instead of touched.

    Fang Zhengzhi vaguely recalled that Nangong Hao had swallowed the white fruit of the Tree of God without touching it with his body.

    It could really only be consumed?

    After his origin energy was drained by thirty percent because he touched the fruit, he was afraid that the consequences would be dire if he had made the wrong deduction.

    What should he do? Should he consume the fruit?

    Fang Zhengzhi was hesitant. After all, even though the fruit looked edible, god knows whether it was poisonous.

    To eat or not to eat...

    It was a debatable question.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi do not have any more time to ponder over it. After he saw the mocking look on the disciples¡¯ faces, he did not have the guts to flee again.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was not someone who viewed his reputation as something important, he could not possibly return without any aplishment. If he did, he would be mocked at for his whole life!

    In the future, he would be known as the ¡°guy who failed to steal the fruit and was instead injured by the fruit¡±.

    ¡°Screw this. So I can¡¯t touch it because it would swallow my powers? Fine, I shall see how it can swallow my powers after it ends up in my stomach!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was someone who was ambitious and revengeful.

    Furthermore, he was not only gifted but considered rather experienced at eating fruits in actual battles.

    For the worst case scenario, he would end up with a three-year life in the past!

    Even if he had lost a huge portion of his powers, with his current capabilities, he could easily enhance his powers with some treasures like the Thousand Years Fire Herb or change his physique and still end up with a higher chance than before.

    ¡°Fight till the end!¡± Fang Zhengzhi made up his mind and leaped towards the golden fruit. After all, it was the golden fruit that had swallowed thirty percent of his origin power.

    If he swallowed the fruit, then he could get his origin powers back!

    Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth and bit the golden fruit.

    ¡°What is he trying to do?!¡±

    ¡°He went for the fruit again. Is he not afraid of death?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, he looks like he is...¡±

    The disciples could not react when they saw Fang Zhengzhi make his advances towards the fruit of the Tree of God again, until they saw him taking a bite on the fruit...

    ¡°Eating... He is eating?!¡± The disciples of the various sects and the sages werepletely stunned. They could not understand what went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Why would he dare to eat a fruit that could not even be touched?

    They were not the only ones.

    Even Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu and Yan Yin were stunned, their eyes widened in shock.

    ¡°You brat, let go of the fruit now!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t seek for your own death!¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng regained their senses and quickly warned Fang Zhengzhi.

    Besides that, Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had been silent along, was also shocked. Instead of the sneer look in her dark green eyes, she looked extremely nervous.

    So would Fang Zhengzhi let go of the fruit?

    Of course not!

    He had to swallow the fruit while it was still slightly cool. If he had waited a while longer, the burning sensation would definitely burn his mouth.

    Crack! A crisp sound was heard from the branches of the Tree of God. The golden fruit was bitten off by Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a shocking scene.

    Moreover, the fist-sized golden fruit did not stay too long in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth. Fang Zhengzhi stretched his neck and threw his fist on the golden fruit...

    Plop!

    Everyone saw the entire golden fruit of the Tree of God fall into the stomach of Fang Zhengzhi after passing through his mouth and throat.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi looked as though he was yearning for more. After looking at Monster Emperor Baizhi, he nced at Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu and Yan Yin.

    Fang Zhengzhi smacked his lips and raised his head slightly. Then, he rubbed his stomach and looked at the shocked disciples beneath. He heaved a breath and said satisfyingly, ¡°Sweet and delicious, top grade fruit!¡±

 Chapter 873 - How Could It Be The New World

    <h4>Chapter 873: How Could It Be The New World</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Sweet and delicious...¡±

    ¡°Top grade fruit?!¡±

    The blue robe on Fang Zhengzhi flew as a breeze blew by, producing a soft sound that felt like a spring breeze in the starry night sky.

    However, everyone was frozen.

    Be it Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu or Yan Yin, everyone froze on their spots.

    The air was silent.

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi froze and could not react.

    The sages and the disciples felt as though they had been hit by stones.

    They felt a little dizzy and could see stars.

    After a long while, Mo Shanshi finally reacted and spoke as though he had seen a monster, ¡°He ate... ate it?! This brat ate the fruit of the Tree of God?!¡±

    Following Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice, the Heaven Zen Mountain also exploded inmotion.

    ¡°This brat really ate it!¡±

    ¡°The fruit of Tree of God... He swallowed it in one mouth?¡±

    ¡°How could he be not scared to die? Why was he so daring? How did he get the guts to eat the fruit of the Tree of God?¡±

    Nobody could understand.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions would be understandable if he had note into contact with the fruit of the Tree of God previously. However, nobody figured out why he still dared to eat the fruit after suffering from the aftereffects of touching it.

    However, no matter what, Fang Zhengzhi had already swallowed the golden fruit of the Tree of God and casually touched his stomach.

    ¡°No!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard. It was Nangong Tian. His expression was one of ultimate desperation, as though the world was ending and he no longer had the will to live.

    After all, Nangong Tian would not bother about the aftereffects of consuming the fruit of the Tree of God.

    However, he was concerned about the opening of Door of the Realm of God!

    Yet, after the golden fruit was swallowed by Fang Zhengzhi, how could the Door of the Realm of God be opened? Without any keys, it was impossible to open the Door of the Realm of God.

    Nangong Tian was in despair. He really wanted to break through the Monster Kings and dig out the fruit of the Tree of God from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stomach.

    However, he clearly could not...

    ¡°Shameless thief...¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s lips moved. Although she had not personally fought with Monster Emperor Baizhi, she had already seen her powers.

    The level of danger of this battle had way surpassed her expectations. She wanted to fight alongside with Fang Zhengzhi but she was severely injured. Even after a short recuperation, she could not move at all.

    At this moment, she saw Fang Zhengzhi winking at her with a bright smile on his face.

    ¡°This shameless thief, could it be...¡± Chi Guyan was shocked. Before she could think any further, she saw Fang Zhengzhi pouncing for the other two fruits of the Tree of God.

    ¡°Still eating?!¡±

    ¡°Pouncing forward again?!¡±

    Everyone reacted this way when they saw Fang Zhengzhi move. It made them even more shocked.

    Was the fruit of the Tree of God really meant to be eaten?

    As they were thinking about that question, a huge fox tail blocked Fang Zhengzhi and whipped at his back with an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Eh? Preventing me from courting death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi darted skilfully as he saw the fox tail, meanwhile giving Monster Emperor Baizhi a middle finger.

    After all, before he had swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God, Monster Emperor Baizhi was sneering at him and waiting for him to fiddle with it.

    However, now...

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was clearly anxious.

    The more anxious she was, the more certain Fang Zhengzhi was. He was finally lucky! After eating the fruit, he waspletely unharmed.

    It felt great!

    Although he had exaggerated about how tasty the fruit was, the fruit did not taste too bad.

    From an objective aspect, the texture of the fruit was pretty good. At least it was slightly cool and fresh.

    Because it tasted pretty good, Fang Zhengzhi decided that he was in for a penny in for a pound and was ready to swallow the other two fruits too.

    ¡°Baizhi, I am your opponent!¡± Qian Yu finally reacted and attacked without hesitation.

    Besides Qian Yu, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi also reacted. Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions hadpletely stunned them and made them feel as though they were pped on the face, they did not bother too much about it.

    After all, they had asked for the p.

    ¡°This brat¡¯s behaviour is really bizarre. However, I am really impressed!¡± Mo Shanshi had calmed himself down and was about to whack his ck giant hammer towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    No matter what aftereffects there were, if Fang Zhengzhi was able to finish eating all the three fruits of the Tree of God, he would have helped to resolve the problem.

    Without the fruits of Tree of God...

    They would not need to fight any further!

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu and Yan Yin all decided to attack again, fighting for time and room for Fang Zhengzhi.

    As they were waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to swallow the other two fruits, they realised Fang Zhengzhi, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly stopped moving.

    ¡°Stopped moving?!¡±

    ¡°What is he up to again?¡±

    ¡°Does he not understand how difficult it is for us?¡±

    The four of them stared at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion. Then, they realized that not only did Fang Zhengzhi stop moving his body, his facial expression also froze. He looked as though he was a statue.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    How could it be?

    When you feel that someone is hopeless, he miraculously tells you that he can and is extremely able.

    Yet, when you start putting all your hopes on him, you realize that he suddenly became a block of ¡°wood¡±.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this brat is dead?¡± Looking at how Fang Zhengzhi was not moving, Mo Shanshi was suspicious.

    After all, he had swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Boom! After Mo Shanshi said that sentence, a loud explosive sound came from Fang Zhengzhi, Then, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly exploded into countless beams of golden light, as though a huge surge of energy dashed out of his body.

    Huff! Almost instantaneously, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body radiated with gold light and a burning sensation could be felt radiating from his body as though it was on fire.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Exploded!¡±

    ¡°So it really can¡¯t be eaten?!¡±

    All of the disciples¡¯ expressions changedpletely when they saw Fang Zhengzhi exploded into a gold fireball. They did not know whether to feel happy or sad.

    ¡°Hahaha, Fang Zhengzhi? Hahaha¡± Monster Emperor Baizhiughed happily, her dark green eyes glowing with light.

    As Monster Emperor Baizhiughed, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body slowly leaned forward and hit a branch of the Tree of God.

    Dong!

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice echoed in the air. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not seem to hear it. His body was still burning in golden mes.

    ...

    Carrying autumn vibes, a boat was sailing in the smoothke.

    At this point in time, Fang Zhengzhi only wanted to curse at the old nine-tailed fox.

    If the world had only one mirror, he wanted that mirror to be a monster-revealing mirror. If there were ten mirrors, all of them should also be monster-revealing mirrors.

    That was how he felt at that point in time...

    He cursed, ¡°Monster-revealing... mirror!¡±

    It hurt, it hurt like hell!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how painful it was for a woman duringbor. However, he could feel his body exploding.

    After reaching his stomach, the fruit of the God of Tree that was initially cool suddenly radiated a wave of intense heat as though it was ignited.

    At that instant, Fang Zhengzhi knew he was dead.

    This was precisely the ancient saying, he who touches pitch shall be defiled.

    The extreme pain did not allow Fang Zhengzhi to think straight. Immediately, he cked out and could no longer feel anything.

    He did not know where he was or whether he was dead. He went into a daze.

    Moreover, he waspletely clueless about how long he remained in that state. It felt like a blink of an eye but also felt as though thousands of years had passed.

    Was he dead?

    Or still alive?

    ¡°Drip, drip...¡± The sound of water dripping rang in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. It felt like a fusion between spirit and water.

    After a while, the dripping sound changed into the sound of water flowing in a stream. It flowed past his head in a light and lively manner.

    Again, after a while, the stream seemed to umte and became a wider, deeper river. The water flowed more rapidly...

    Buzz!

    Suddenly, thepletely dark world was lit up by a dim ray of light.

    Gradually, the light became brighter and brighter, from white to gold, then from gold to an eye-blinding red.

    It was the sun!

    However, the sun disappeared quickly and the world fell back into darkness. Yet, the dark skies were lit up with silvery-white spots of light: the stars.

    Besides that, there was a bright moon amongst the stars.

    The bright moonlight shone on the ground and radiated light, as though thousands of stars were moving continuously on the ground.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously widened his eyes. He realized that there was a wideke that was rippling with waves on the ground.

    A fascinating sensation rose from his heart. He had a feeling that theke was a portrayal of the small dimension in his heart.

    Ever since the Battle of the Southern Region, he had almost never entered the small dimension in his heart to check.

    That was because, after the Battle of the Southern Region, the small dimension in his heart had copsed and ceased to exist. In other words, it was empty.

    Even though he had gained the Sagely State and reconstructed his body, sessfully allowing the pain in his heart to disappear, his small dimension was still empty.

    Although the small dimension still existed, there was nothing inside it.

    Yet theke in front of him gave him an extremely familiar feeling, as though it was like the wideke in his small dimension in the past.

    However, the giant tree that was initially in the center of theke had disappeared.

    Theke rippled. Under the silvery white moonlight, the waves made theke look wider than before.

    Then, the moon went down and the sun rose again.

    Golden light shone on theke. As a breeze blew past theke, circr ripples spread on the surface of theke.

    Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not remember how many cycles of days and nights he had gone through, or how many times he had seen the sunrise and the moonset.

    He could only see theke grow bigger and bigger as the waves rippled continuously.

    The waves also became more vigorous. The gentle breeze became strong wind, creating more ripples as it blew on theke.

    Perhaps it was no longer ake. It was an ocean, a vast ocean!

 Chapter 874 - Origin Illusion, A Complete World

    <h4>Chapter 874: Origin Illusion, A Complete World</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The ferocious waves tumbled in the ocean while making loud whistling noises. The violent sea breeze raged in the skies, blowing the waves higher and higher.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly saw a bright red object. However, it was not the sun in the sky.

    It was burning with fieriness.

    It was the Thousand Years Fire Herb!

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that when the Thousand Years Fire Herb entered his body, it was made to an undeveloped pill by Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Afterward, the undeveloped pill was gradually absorbed by his body. Although he only absorbed a small portion of it, he was sure that Thousand Years Fire Herb could no longer be in his body.

    Why would the Thousand Years Fire Herb appear again?

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused. However, before he could think it through, more spots of light appeared in front of his eyes and floated in the sky.

    Those were stalks of herbs.

    Every stalk of herb was flowing with radiance. There were so many of them that dotted the sky like stars, as if they were about to block the skypletely.

    ¡°Could it be the ten acres of herb farm from the Yin Yang Hall?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was astonished. He could understand the appearance of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, but he could not ount for the appearance of the stalks of herbs.

    That was because most of the herbs had already been refined by him. He had made use of the fire in the Middle Stream Cauldron to turn them into pills.

    Then, he ate them as meals.

    Why did the herbs that were refined and eaten by him reappear? Fang Zhengzhi could notprehend it but that was what he saw in front of him.

    Could it be that he was seeing his own origin illusion?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure of how he should describe this phenomenon, hence he casually used the term ¡°origin illusion¡± for easyprehension.

    ¡°Origin¡± referred to the origin energy while ¡°illusion¡± referred to the ¡°objects¡± that umted in the origin energy. For example, if you had developed the origin energy after refining the Thousand Years Fire Herb, then the ¡°object¡± of the origin illusion would be the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    The same idea applies for others.

    That was a guess made by Fang Zhengzhi. However, it encountered a problem. Amongst the various stalks of herbs in the sky, he discovered a few stalks that were starkly different.

    Red, blue, gold, ck, white.

    An unique flower made up of five different colored petals. It glowed with a radiance that made it look brighter than other herbs. In fact, it wasparable to the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

    ¡°Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers of the Ling Yun Tower?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew the origin of this herb. It was found during the battle with Qian Ye in the Ling Yun Tower.

    The situation was ratherplicated then. In order to force Qian Ye to appear, Fang Zhengzhi had to steal the treasure.

    In the end...

    These Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers ended up in his possession.

    Afterwards, everything went smoothly. Qian Ye died and Qian Ye was sessfully rescued and became the new Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower.

    What a perfect ending. By right, Fang Zhengzhi should have returned the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers to Qian Yu.

    However, something unexpected happened.

    In order to force Fang Zhengzhi to marry Ping Yang, Qian Yu had trapped him in the Ling Yun Realm. Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi could not return the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers even if he wanted to.

    Of course, that was a nicer form of exnation. To put it harshly, how would Fang Zhengzhi return something that he had already got on hand?

    Therefore, the Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers eventually still ended up in the possession of Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, the penta-coloured wonder flower was slightly different from other herbs. It was obtained by Fang Zhengzhi in the Ling Yun Tower and hence he had neither turned it into pills nor absorbed the medical benefits of the Penta-coloured Wonder Flower. He had not even ingested the flower before.

    Based on his guess and deduction, he knew that only things he ate could turn into origin illusions. How could something he had never eaten turn into an origin illusion then?

    Fang Zhengzhi was really confused.

    However, he decided to let it be. After all, what happened in front of him and why it happened was no longer important. At that moment, the sky changed once again and a strange phenomenon happened.

    The light from the Penta-coloured Wonder Flower radiated across the sky. The five colors ¡ª blue, red, gold, ck, white ¡ª spread and surrounded the stalks of herbs.

    Then, millions of light fell from the sky, like raindrops that fell into the ocean underneath, and disappeared afterwards.

    It was a rain of light.

    After the rain of light, the waves in the ocean gradually gathered towards the center as though they were attracted by the light rain, forming a giant whirlpool in the ocean.

    Boom! Thunders rumbled and a rainstorm hit.

    The violent raindropsbined with the rain of light and fell in the ocean. Then, they followed into the giant whirlpool.

    The whirlpool became bigger and bigger...

    A bizarre scene.

    But the strangest thing happened when a palm-sized ck spot appeared in the center of the swirl.

    The sun set and the moon rose again.

    As the rain fell in the sea, there was lesser light in the sky. In the end, there was only the pouring rain, the stormy waves and whirlpool in the center of the ocean left.

    After a while, the rain subsided and the ck spot in the center of the whirlpool increased in size, from the size of a palm to the size of a stone then the size of an ind.

    As the ind formed, the violent waves gradually subsided and the waters became clear. It felt as though everything flowed towards the small ind and things began changing on the ind.

    The first sprout appeared, followed by the second, the third, until the sprout grew to a shrub ad flowers grew. Then the shrub grew to a tree and the flowers bloomed with fragrance.

    Thousands of years seemed to have passed by, yet it was as though it urred in a blink of an eye.

    The seawater became extremely clear. It looked like a blue jelly and flowed slowly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought suddenly became clear. He could even feel the impact caused by the seawater hitting the ind.

    All the trees on the ind was connected to his soul. He could even hear the nts whisper and feel their happiness.

    As this feelings grew more intense, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized that the world in front of his eyes was his own world which he could control.

    That¡¯s right...

    It was his Small Dimension!

    However, unlike the past, the Small Dimension was no longer ake but instead a vast ocean. The tall tree in the center became an ind.

    The ind had many exuberant trees that exuded vitality just like the tall tree in the past.

    Very clear.

    Moreover, besides the trees, the ind had flora and fauna, stones, fine white sand as well as thick and hard metals.

    It was aplete world.

    It was almost identical to the real world. However, the only different with the real world was that the ind had a golden fruit that was shaped like a key floating in the sky above the ind.

    It was the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Surrounding the fruit of the Tree of God were a few other Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers. They were flying gradually around the golden fruit as though they were guardian angels.

    On the other hand, the other herbs and the Thousand Years Fire Herb disappeared.

    Of course, they did not disappear without a trace. There was still a tall mountain on the ind that had smoke rising from its peak.

    It was a volcano.

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi understood. Although this could be called an origin illusion, it was slightly different from the literal meaning of an origin illusion.

    There were no suitable adjectives to describe the scene ahead of him. The closest term that could be used to describe the Small Dimension would be ¡°abundant¡± and plete¡±.

    In the previous Small Dimension, there was only one tree bearing many Dao Fruits.

    Yet now, all the Dao Fruits had ripened and produced various types of ¡°items¡± such as flowers, grass, trees, stones, mes, violent winds, and even the sun, moon and thunder in the sky.

    ¡°Dear ocean, why on earth are you filled with water. Dear horse, why on earth do you have four legs!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly had an impulse to write a poem.

    ...

    Holy Region. Heaven Zen Mountain, Heaven¡¯s Peak.

    The violent battle was still ongoing. After Qian Yu joined, it greatly reduced the pressure on Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Yan Yin.

    However, the reduction was very insignificant.

    It was still almost impossible topletely win Monster Emperor Baizhi who had turned into a monster. Moreover, as time passed, the fatigue in humankind became a weakness.

    Mo Shanshi was the first person who disyed this weakness.

    After all, he had once used his energy wildly. In addition to his old age, under intense pressure, he evidently could notst much longer.

    He kept gasping for air as beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead. The perspiration was blown away by the strong wind, making his face pale and cold.

    Finally, his vision began to blur and he gradually began to lose consciousness. As he saw the giant fox tail approach him, he subconsciously blocked the whip with his ck giant hammer.

    However, just as the ck giant hammer was about to touch the fox tail, its direction changed suddenly. Instead of hitting downwards, it moved sideways, from left to right.

    This sudden change and the instant of absentmindedness of Mo Shanshi made it impossible to prevent the tail from hitting him.

    Boom!

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s body flew. He spat out a mouth of blood and it created a blood-red flower in the sky.

    ¡°Old man Mo!¡± Seeing this scene, Mu Qingfeng became worried. Moreover, when Mo Shanshi flew due to the impact of the whip, the second giant fox tail was about to hit Mo Shanshi¡¯s head.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was clearly trying to kill Mo Shanshi when he was disadvantaged.

    Mu Qingfeng had to attack so as to prevent the fox tail from hitting Mo Shanshi again. However, Monster Emperor Baizhi had clearly figured out what Mu Qingfeng was going to do.

    One misstep leads to a series of wrong steps.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had lived for a really long time. To describe it using Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, she was a real old wretch.

    And this wretch was one who had an extremely strong state of mind and was extremely experienced.

    The coborative attack of four had its advantage as it allowed for different attack positions and methods.

    However, the disadvantage woulde when a mistake is made. With one mistake, many other mistakes would ensue, causing a total destruction.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi knew about this.

    Therefore, she purposely gave Mu Qingfeng a chance to save Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Caught you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi smirked. Meanwhile, she shifted her body suddenly and faced Yan Yin and Qian Yu with her back,pletely giving up attacking the two so she could put her focus entirely on Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng.

    Boom! Mu Qingfeng suffered a blow on his back. He almost broke his waist due to the whip of the giant fox tail.

    ¡°Pavilion Master!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s expression changed and wanted to go forward to help. However, his path waspletely blocked by Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Desperate, he pped Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s back. As it was an anxious attack, it was neither strong or urate.

    Of course, it did not hurt Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    On the other hand, Mu Qingfeng, after suffering from the whip, spat out blood and had turned extremely pale.

    ¡°Sword-like Moon!¡± Qian Yu frowned. The sudden change in situation was unexpected, but since it had happened, she could not possibly push the me on others. She could only try her best to prevent the situation from worsening.

    Following hermand, millions of light rays shot out from the eight moons on top of Qian Yu¡¯s head. Every light ray was as sharp as a sword and looked like frost.

    Rumble...

    The light rays produced loud rumbles as they fell on Monster Emperor Baizhi. The sound was simr to that when the sword and metal collided.

    However, unlike expected, blood did not stter. That was because Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body was too strong. When the white fur came into contact with the light rays, they turned as hard as metal. The attack would not cause any substantial damage to Monster Emperor Baizhi at all if it was not done with full concentration.

 Chapter 875 - Chain Reaction, Five Wives?

    <h4>Chapter 875: Chain Reaction, Five Wives?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, the most powerful in the Holy Region, not only had extremely high capability and intelligence, but was also very experienced. Once she saw the chance, she would definitely make full use of it.

    Although she was attacked by Qian Yu from the back, she did not bother with it and continued to focus on Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was very certain that the ¡°struggle before death¡± of humankind would officially end if she defeated Mo and Mu.

    After that, she would only need to regain her control over Nangong Hao. Like her initial n, everything would fall into ce and no more unexpected incidents would happen.

    Boom! A lightning struck.

    Mo Shanshi was sent flying again with purple lightning bolts twisted around his body. His expression was distorted.

    ¡°Valley Master!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    The disciples of Fu Xi Valley reacted anxiously to this scene. The silver dragon in the sky that was made up of hundred over disciples of the Fu Xi Valley began moving.

    This movement was noticed by some of the Monster Kings.

    Monsters lived in the deep mountains and absorbed the essence of the sun and the moon to train. In such an environment, they naturally had exceptional sensitivity.

    None of the creatures in the world could win the monster race in terms of seizing opportunities. This was caused by the nature of the monster race¡¯s habitat.

    Upon seeing the movement of the silver dragon, three Monster Kings immediately sprang into action at the same time. They began their joint attack on the few ¡°nervous¡± disciples who were in a ¡°daze¡±.

    Crack! The silver dragon which was initially connected was split from the center. The silver long connection was broken and a few disciples had their bodies torn into half. Blood sttered in the air.

    This was a chain reaction!

    As the mental support of the Fu Xi Valley, once Mo Shanshi met a crisis, the disciples of the Fu Xi Valley would also be affected.

    In fact, this chain reaction did not only affect the Fu Xi Valley.

    The sword formation formed by the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion was also unstable. After all, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion were also deeply concerned with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s safety.

    As the ancient saying goes, a snake without head cannot crawl. Regardless of whether it was on the battlefield or in the sect, once they had lost the leader, the morale would also be greatly affected and there was a ny percent chance that it would result in a failure.

    In contrast, when the opponent¡¯s leader was in an advantageous position on the battlefield, the morale of their disciples would increase. Indeed, as one falls, another rises.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s energy was depleted and this affected Mu Qingfeng. Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s fall also affected the disciples of Fu Xi Valley and Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    It was predictable that the oue of this battle was leaning towards the monster race¡¯s favor.

    In the Great War that happened over ten years ago, although the monster race and demon race were more powerful than the humankind, the two races not only lost the battle but also ended up killing one another, resulting in the death of nearly all of the powerful individuals of the demon race.

    Yet after more than ten years...

    The situation was exactly opposite.

    In terms of numbers, humankind had an absolute advantage. However, the chances of winning were slim and there was even a possibility of failure.

    ¡°Change is the only constant, the wheel of fortune turns.¡± Although this sentence felt like a ridicule, it was notpletely unreasonable.

    Roar!

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    With a ferocious roar, the Monster Kings¡¯ killing intent was raging. Instead of defending, they decided to change their tactic and attacked the troop beneath.

    ¡°Oh no, the Monster Kings are attacking us!¡±

    ¡°Run for your lives!¡±

    The disciples of the various sects were no match for the Monster Kings. As they saw dozens of Monster Kings approach, they panicked.

    Besides them, the troops of the Four Great Empires also moved. The previously calm andposed troops began surrounding the emperor of the Four Great Empires.

    ¡°Protect His Majesty!¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, please leave this dangerous ce!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, stand aside!¡±

    The sounds of amotion could be heard. Aspared to the calmness previously, humankind had ended up in a state ofmotion. Although they were not yet escaping, the morale had been greatly affected.

    Thismotion had inevitably affected the sages who were fighting in midair. When they saw how the disciples of the various sects started scurrying, they began to lose theirposure.

    As the saying goes, ¡°When disaster strikes, birds fly off in different directions.¡±

    Regarding this battle that involved the future of humankind, everyone was mentally prepared to fight until their deaths. However, there was still a huge difference between being mentally prepared and actually dying.

    Nobody wants to die.

    Therefore, although they knew that they should not retreat, when the Monster Kings pressured them, they subconsciously began to retreat, hoping that others would be able to fight on their behalf.

    When one person retreated, the surrounding few would also be affected. When three or four people retreated together, the situation then became worrying.

    ¡°Brace it, do not retreat!¡±

    ¡°If we are able to fight with all our might, then the Monster Kings won¡¯t be able to defeat us!¡±

    ¡°Let us work together and repulse the Monster Kings!¡±

    As the sages were forced to retreat, someone finally reacted. However, it was toote as the fighters¡¯ mindsets had already changed.

    It changed from attack to defense mode!

    This was a critical point even though this change was not very noticeable. The fighting power of the troops is greatly diminished when they were only concerned about defending.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster, the situation looks awry. Should we do some preparation...¡± In the Yin Yang Hall, an old man looked at Dao Xin nervously.

    ¡°If Hallmaster is here, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Dao Xin frowned. The veil covering his face was blown by the gentle breeze, revealing a face of purity.

    ¡°However, the Yin Yang Hall is known for assisting and providing recovery support. Now that the people of the Fu Xi Valley and Heaven Dao Pavilion are defeated, the Yin Yang Hall and Ling Yun Tower have taken over the front line. Although the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower are powerful enough, the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall cannot match up to that. If this continues, the Yin Yang Hall would suffer the most loss!¡± The old man said.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Dao Xin frowned harder when he heard this. Looking at the powerful individuals who were retreating, she clenched her fists and said, ¡°We are set for defeat, it is hard to turn the tables...¡±

    ¡°Please decide for us, Second Hallmaster!¡±

    ¡°Retreating... is not an option! Nobody can retreat in such a situation. Whoever who retreats first would definitely lose. Unless we... break down parts to form a whole!¡±

    ¡°Break down parts to form a whole? Understood!¡± Hearing this, the old man was stunned for a while. Soon after, he understood the meaning of Dao Xin¡¯s words.

    He was right about how the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall were better at support and recovery efforts. This was why the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall were allocated to the different sects when the battle began.

    That was meant by breaking down a whole into parts!

    Breaking down parts to form a whole meant to gather the dispersed disciples to form back a whole entity. The reformation would give the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall a chance to ¡°retreat¡±, while gathering them together.

    Of course, Dao Hun was a critical factor for this reformation.

    Instead of joining the joint attack on Monster Emperor Baizhi, Dao Hun remained in the battle with the Monster Kings. This gave the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall an excellent opportunity for reformation.

    If all the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall who were participating in the battle had reformed and gathered near Dao Hun, with Dao Hun¡¯s blessings and protection, they could minimize their loss.

    How witty of the old man to understand Dao Xin¡¯s train of thought. Without hesitation, he shouted at the disciples of Yin Yang Hall, ¡°Gather at the direction of my left index finger, form the two arrays of Yin and Yang!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± After hearing the old man¡¯s orders, the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall moved quickly and gathered in the direction he was pointing to.

    With this movement, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley were shocked.

    Without the assistance and recovery support of the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall, it was as though they had embarked on a journey to a deste ind without any water or food. This caused them to panic.

    To put it frankly, it meant that they could only depend on themselves when they were injured!

    Of course, they would panic!

    Retreat, retreat, and retreat further...

    Although they did not say it out, this sentence echoed in the minds of the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion and Yin Yang Hall.

    They werepletely ruined.

    If they were said to be retreating slowly earlier on, they would be described to be fleeing for their lives now. Furthermore, some sages had already escaped to hide behind the elite disciples.

    ¡°...¡±

    The scene made people speechless.

    Yet that was the cruel reality. When facing a life-threatening situation, even the sages would choose to run to a safer position.

    ¡°Your Majesty, it looks like we are losing. Please leave with the two princesses first!¡± A general of the Great Xia Dynasty who was guarding Ping Yang and Chi Guyan said as he looked at Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Yu Er is still in the midst of a battle, how can I possibly leave first?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai frowned and flung his long sleeves violently.

    ¡°Empress Yu¡¯s powers are extraordinary. Even if the situation is looking bad, she would still have the capability to escape. However, if we continued staying here, it may affect her escape!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, please leave with the two princesses first!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s there¡¯s life there¡¯s hope. One of the princesses had already achieved the Sage State while the other is the chosen one as well as the heroine of humankind. You shouldn¡¯t worry about the possibility of turning the tides of the battle!¡±

    After hearing this, other ministers and generals of the Four Great Empires also began to persuade.

    Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s lips trembled. He wanted to stay, but he could not make that decision after looking at the unconscious Ping Yang and the severely injured Chi Guyan.

    ¡°You guys get ready to leave with the two princesses. Meanwhile, leave behind hundred soldiers with me to defend from the rear!¡± Lin Mubai finally made his decision after biting his lips.

    ¡°This...¡± The ministers and generals stared at each other with a hesitant gaze. After all, how could they possibly leave the Emperor behind to defend?

    ¡°Those who don¡¯t obey my order shall be killed!¡± Lin Mubai was infuriated when he saw that the ministers and generals stood stationary at their spots.

    ¡°Yes your majesty!¡± After Emperor Lin Mubai shouted, the ministers and generals did not dare to dy any further and obeyed immediately.

    At this time, a weak voice could be heard.

    ¡°I am not leaving, bring Ping Yang away first.¡± The voice was obviously from Chi Guyan. As she spoke, Chi Guyan stood up with difficulties. Her pink long dress moved in the breeze, the spots of fresh blood was as beautiful as blooming flowers.

    ¡°Princess...¡±

    ¡°Stop talking, get ready to leave with Ping Yang.¡± Chi Guyan waved her hands and prevented the ministers and generals from continuing their sentence.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The ministers and generals knew Chi Guyan¡¯s personality was as such. They wanted to say something but were unable to do so in the end.

    At other positions, the ministers and generals of the other three great empires had already left with their emperors, upying the positions of retreat in an ¡°orderly¡± manner.

    It was like the arrow on the bowstring that was waiting to be shot.

    ...

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯sughter echoed in the sky as she looked down at the situation beneath.

    This was a massive despise.

    Yet this despise had infuriated those beneath who were already in a state of chaos. A small trigger could cause them to explode with anger.

    And the trigger would be the first person who escapes.

    Be it the Five Sects of the Holy Region, Four Great Empires or the sects of varying sizes, as long as one of the sects make their escape first, it would cause massive chaos.

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡±

    ¡°I am still young... I still have five wives at home...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    At this moment, the disciples of the various sects let out a few screams of agony. Then, a handful of disciples started running down the mountain.

    ¡°Who dares to escape?!¡± At the instant when the few disciples escaped, an old man stood out, blocking the path with a long sword in front of his chest.

    ¡°Ah... I don¡¯t want to stay and wait for my death!¡± Blocked by the old man, one of the disciples became extremely anxious and ran into the old man without any thoughts.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± The long sword in front of the old man¡¯s chest moved. Without hesitation, it stabbed towards the disciples who ran towards him.

    sh! The sharp sword stabbed through their bodies and blood sttered into the air.

 Chapter 876 - Black and Naked

    <h4>Chapter 876: ck and Naked</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was an old saying that went, ¡®A general should make judgements ordingly instead of following all of the emperor¡¯s orders when he¡¯s at the battlefield¡¯. The same logic could be applied to killing a deserter without seeking permission during the critical times of war.

    However, everyone was surprised when the old man thrust his sword forward but he ended up as the victim instead of that panicking disciple.

    Shock, and horror.

    The old man opened his eyes wide and spurted out a lot of blood from his mouth. He looked like he was overwhelmed with extreme disbelief.

    That was because he couldn¡¯t believe that his sword was slower than the disciple in front of him. After all, in his memories, the few disciples before him had never done anything extraordinary in the sect, especially the one who stabbed and killed him. He had always been quiet and mediocre.

    ¡°You...¡± The old man wanted to say something but his throat was clogged by his blood so he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence.

    sh! That disciple removed the sword from the old man¡¯s heart and threw it on the ground in a panic At the same time, the old man saw a smirk on that disciple¡¯s face. It was very well-hidden and quickly disappearedpletely after a split second.

    Boom! The old man¡¯s body copsed onto the ground heavily. His face was purple, blood was gushing out of his mouth nonstop, and even his body was shaking.

    At this moment, that panicky disciples started freaking out even more. He kept wiping his bloody hands on his face and it looked gruesome.

    ¡°No... I don¡¯t want to die. I want to live, I¡¯m still young!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and go, brother Li!¡± While that disciple was yelling, the disciples around him quickly grabbed him and ran towards the foot of Heaven Zen Mountain after going around the old man¡¯s corpse.

    All of these took ce so suddenly and rapidly. The few disciples who had escaped disappeared from everyone¡¯s vision in mere moments.

    They sessfully got away!

    When a few disciples had seeded, what would happen next?

    It was obvious.

    ¡°Run, hurry up and run!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I don¡¯t want to die too!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and go!¡±

    Soon, there were lots of shouting and yelling. The disciples that had already started backing off finally descended into chaos. They started running away in all directions without any hesitation.

    Once the disciples started escaping...

    The ministers and generals of the Four Great Empires who had been waiting for this moment all this while naturally wouldn¡¯t wait any longer. Under the soldiers¡¯ escort, Radiant Moon Empire was the first to leave, followed by War Pinnacle Empire and Holy Barbarian Empire.

    ¡°The Four Great Empires have already retreated. Shall we?¡±

    ¡°Go, go now!¡±

    A single push would set everything in motion, not to mention if they were the Four Great Empires. Even though Great Xia Dynasty didn¡¯t retreat, it didn¡¯t matter if they did because three out of the Four Great Empires had already left.

    Once the Four Great Empires left, the numerous sects of varying sizes couldn¡¯t sit tight anymore.

    These sects were mediocre and they were only here to join in on the fun. Were there any experts in these sects? Even the best amongst them only had a single Sage.

    These sects were considered extremely powerful within the territories of the Four Great Empires and they were even the preferred choices of the Nobles.

    However, in the Holy Region...

    They were truly not worthy of mention. Even powers like Xuanji Sect and Shadow Sect had more than one Sage, not to mention the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    To put it simply, the addition of their power was insignificant. The tide of the battle wouldn¡¯t change with or without them.

    Most importantly, they were up against the Monster race.

    There was a staggering number of 30 to 40 Monster Kings in the sky, led by the strongest master in the Holy Region, Monster Emperor Baizhi. With such an elite force, they could effortlessly annihte these sects.

    Fight?

    That would be suicidal!

    Every person was selfish. Although not everyone wanted to escape, when a portion of the people started to demonstrate their selfishness, the oue would be uncontroble.

    ¡°Sect master, are we going to fight?¡±

    ¡°Fight? My ass! How could a small sect like ours join the fight? Even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi are going to die! Tell the disciples to retreat now!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    All the sect masters started ordering their sects to retreat. Once the first sect was gone, more sects followed suit... Soon, the stream of people escaping started growing and eventually turned into a massive flood. They were running down Heaven Zen Mountain in all directions crazily as if they wished they had another pair of legs so that they could run faster.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster, shall we stop them?¡± The old man standing beside Dao Xin held his sword tighter as he watched the sect masters and disciples escaped.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t necessary... It¡¯s already toote. Stopping them would only lead to more pointless casualty and hatred.¡± Dao Xin nced at them and shook her head softly. Then, she raised her head and said thoughtfully, ¡°I¡¯ve always heard about Demon Race¡¯s Yun Qingwu, who is weak but extremely scheming. The Demon race trusted that she would be their hope. Now that I¡¯ve seen her... I realized that she¡¯s truly terrifying!¡±

    ¡°Terrifying? Second Hallmaster, is there anyone in the Holy Region who would dare topete with your wisdom and gambit? Why would you have such a high opinion of Yun Qingwu?¡±

    ¡°What do you think is the main criteria for judging a person¡¯s wisdom?¡±

    ¡°Well... I suppose it¡¯s control over the overall situation?¡±

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t too difficult to control the overall situation with as long as there is enough information. You always have to look at the details to judge a person¡¯s wisdom.¡±

    ¡°Details? I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°What do you think of the disciple who panicked and ran away just now?¡±

    ¡°That disciple? Second Hallmaster, are you suggesting... Wait a minute, are you suggesting that his escape wasn¡¯t coincidental?¡± The old man jolted at this moment with a mixture of emotions in his expression.

    ¡°There are many coincidences in this world, but this is definitely not one of them!¡± Dao Xin shook her head and replied. Then, she clenched her fists and continued, ¡°Her n is so meticulous that she had even arranged for people to initiate the escape beforehand. I¡¯m afraid that Yun Qingwu... Is more terrifying than Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    ¡°Second Hallmaster, Yun Qingwu has disappeared!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Dao Xin¡¯s expression changed dramatically.

    ...

    The fierce fight at the top of the Tree of God was still ongoing.

    However, unlike before, the stalemate had already been broken. Due to Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s insane counterattack, both Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng were already severely injured and pale as a sheet, and their aura was rmingly unstable.

    If Yan Yin and Qian Yu didn¡¯t exert all their might to keep Baizhi in check, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng would be dead already.

    Although the fierce fight was continuing, the oue was already predetermined.

    Just as the escaping disciples underneath had thought, this battle would end with mankind¡¯s defeat. After this battle, the Monster race that had hidden inside the Great Swamp for over a decade would finally regain freedom.

    Most importantly, the result of their defeat wasn¡¯t as simple as that. That was because Nangong Hao was still in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Mother.¡± At this moment, they heard a soothing voice from the other side of the Tree of God. It was sudden but not unexpected.

    ¡°Mother?!¡±

    ¡°She called Baizhi ¡®mother¡¯? Just as expected, she is the daughter of Monster Emperor Baizhi and Emperor Yun of the Demon race from back then!¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng, both severely injured, obviously spotted the person on the other side of the tree. Her long, snow-white dress was hardly unnoticeable.

    Although they had both spected about Yun Qingwu¡¯s identity since the beginning, they were still a little surprised when they found out about the truth.

    ¡°Hmm? Why did youe up?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked somewhat astonished and slowly turned towards the source of that voice.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. I¡¯m here to take a look.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s answer was exceptionally simple. In fact, it was so simple that they could hardly believe it.

    However, that was Yun Qingwu¡¯s actual answer.

    ¡®He¡¯s dead...¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m here to take a look.¡¯

    It was such a natural answer, but was it really appropriate under such a condition and in the midst of such a fierce fight?

    Baizhi¡¯s lips moved. A variety of emotions shed across her jade-green eyes. There was surprise, anger, and confusion. However, she only said a single sentence ultimately, ¡°Well then, take a look.¡±

    ¡®Well then, take a look.¡¯

    ¡®... Take a look.¡¯

    Baizhi¡¯s words echoed in the air. When Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Yan Yin, and Qian Yu heard that, it was as if a rock dropped into a peacefulke.

    The ripples represented the shock in their minds.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, a Nine-Tailed White Fox who was so powerful and arrogant, and even rumored to have abandoned Yun Qingwu right after she was born, was somehow so ¡®gentle¡¯ today.

    ¡®What exactly have Yun Qingwu done?¡¯

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi nced at each other, both seeking an answer, but to no avail.

    Only when Yun Qingwu slowly walked out from the other side of the Tree of God and headed towards Fang Zhengzhi, did they discover that there were several people following her.

    They were all shrouded by ck cloaks.

    Each of them exuded a chilling aura. Unlike the Monster race¡¯s demonic aura, their aura was colder and more arrogant.

    ¡°Are all of the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains here?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked while suppressing the undtion of his chest with one hand. He looked deeply worried.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, that is a meaningless question. Did you think that I, your enemy, would unveil all my hidden aces before the oue is determined?¡± Yun Qingwu replied with a question instead.

    ¡°Before the oue is determined?¡± Mu Qingfeng squinted. He nced at the armies and disciples that hadpletely lose their fighting will below, then at Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had fully transformed into her Monster Body, before smiling bitterly and continuing, ¡°If you call this an undetermined oue, I guess that this battle is already a lost cause for mankind.¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, are you giving up?¡±

    ¡°No, I definitely won¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°However, you have already given up in your heart, haven¡¯t you? If you haven¡¯t given up, why are you chatting with me instead of fighting?¡± Yun Qingwu responded calmly.

    ¡°You... Hahaha. Good job, Yun Qingwu. Turns out that I¡¯d not taken you, the Young Lord of the Demon race, into consideration for so many years.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just me that you did not take into consideration. It was the entire Monster and Demon race. I¡¯m afraid that us lying dormant for over a decade had long given you the idea of a peaceful era, isn¡¯t that right? As the saying goes, ¡®It¡¯s easy to conquer the world but hard to defend it¡¯. I believe that Pavilion Master Mu didn¡¯t have an easy time guarding the world over the past dozen of years!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve definitely secured the position as the Demon Young Lord just with that insight alone!¡± Mu Qingfeng was a little startled when he heard that, but he quickly turned grim.

    ¡°Haha, humans are the same as always, including Mu Qingfeng. I¡¯m afraid that no one could beat you guys in conforming to the same old rules and traditions.¡± At this moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi scoffed and said. Then, she took a step forward, with purple lighting coiling around her paw, and continued, ¡°Mu Qingfeng, what if I told you that the true leader of this battle is actually Qingwu, and even I would have to obey her orders? How would an old conformist like yourself feel?¡±

    ¡°What?! That little kid is the leader?!¡± Mo Shanshi already eximed with extreme shock before Mu Qingfeng could say a word.

    In fact, even Yan Yin, as well as the Sages and disciples below, couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard.

    The true leader of the Monster race and Demon race...

    Was the fragile Yun Qingwu rather than the strongest master in the Holy Region, Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    ¡°How old is she... How could she have the authority to lead both the Monster and Demon races?!¡±

    ¡°Even if she¡¯s the leader, it should only happen after the Monster Emperor step down, right? How could she be the leader when the Monster Emperor is still inmand?¡±

    The Sages and disciples obviously couldn¡¯t believe that.

    However, when they saw the Monster Kings¡¯ emotionless expression, they were truly shocked to their cores.

    That was because they didn¡¯t look surprised at all.

    Yun Qingwu!

    An exceptionally weak and young woman, was actually the true leader of the Monster race and Demon race, the highest inmand behind the scenes.

    That was the fact, but it was also an unbelievable fact.

    Yun Qingwu remained calm and peaceful despite their reactions. She had focused on Fang Zhengzhi all along.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you really dead?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at his body and mumbled softly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was pitch ck.

    He was burnt by fire, and his long, blue robe had been reduced to ashes a long time ago. Even his skin was so scorched that smoke wasing out. He was basically naked.

 Chapter 877 - Lets Get This Party Rocking

    <h4>Chapter 877: Let¡¯s Get This Party Rocking</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, he could also be described as ¡®crispy on the outside and tender on the inside¡¯. However, no one knew if his insides were tender and whether he smelled nice after he was charred.

    Nevertheless, one thing was certain.

    Fang Zhengzhi probably died. After all, it would be too bizarre if he came back to life after being burnt to a crisp.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity and you and I are not on the same side.¡± Yun Qingwu naturally knew that no one would answer her question, and her feelings were mixed.

    Then, she slowly squatted down. Her snow-white dress opened itself out like a blooming flower. It was staggeringly beautiful.

    Having said so, no one would notice that under such a situation.

    Ultimately, the battle had not concluded. Although the battle between humans and the Monster and Demon race wasing to an end, its oue wasn¡¯t decided yet.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body stopped in front of Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, while her gigantic fox tail blocked off all possible routes for Qian Yu and Yan Yin to attack Yun Qingwu. In that case, none of them could get near her.

    Yun Qingwu ced her right hand on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead after she squatted down and gently brushed his scorched skin. Then, her fingers glided downwards.

    Her hand slowly reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest. She pulled his burnt clothes aside and revealed the silver Heart Protection Mirror that was engraved with a squarish ¡®jewel¡¯.

    It was The Vast World.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s fingers trembled a little. She seemed to have fallen into deep thought as she gazed at the ¡®jewel¡¯ engraved on the Heart Protection Mirror.

    However, she quickly regainedposure. Having said that, she still looked a little sad. Instead of looking happy and excited for retrieving her treasure back, she seemed mncholic.

    ¡°Young Lord!¡± Said someone standing behind Yun Qingwu. The voice seemed much more normal aspared to Yun Qingwu¡¯s sorrow. At the very least, it contained excitement.

    ¡°I want to y a song for you.¡± Yun Qingwu raised her hand and stopped the ck figure who was about to move forward rather than removing the Heart Protection Mirror from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body directly.

    ¡°Now?!¡± The ck figure jolted. He nced at Monster Emperor Baizhi, then at the badly injured humans, including Mu Qingfeng, before continuing with a surprised tone, ¡°Young Lord, given the current situation... We don¡¯t have too much time for this...¡±

    ¡°Stand down!¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t wait for him to finish his sentence. Her tone turned cold and a chilling sh appeared in her eyes.

    ¡°Please pardon me!¡± His expression changed and he kneeled down on the ground without any hesitation. His body was cowering and he didn¡¯t even dare to raise his head.

    This was definitely a shocking sight to behold for Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest.

    The elders of the 10 Devilish Domain were extremely well-respected in the Demon race. However. they seemed to bepletely insignificant when they faced Yun Qingwu.

    If the humans didn¡¯t believe Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s words just now, this scene had definitely convinced them otherwise.

    Yun Qingwu!

    She was truly the leader of both the Monster and the Demon race. Furthermore, she had absolutemand and her authority might have even exceeded that of Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi both fell silent.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones. The Sages and disciples beneath who had yet to escape also held their tongues. All of them had aplicated expression on their faces.

    Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t bothered by any of that.

    Maybe, the only thing that caught her attention at this moment was the body in front of her. Although it was so charred that it was unidentifiable, Yun Qingwu was still fixated on the body.

    ¡°The first time we¡¯ve met was at Huai An County. You were only 15 years old back then...¡± Yun Qingwu sat down crosslegged and a purple antique Guqin appeared above her knees. She mumbled softly in a tone as soothing as flowing water. It brought a refreshing feeling for everyone on this battlefield that was filled with bloodshed.

    The sky was still dark.

    Stars were glittering in the sky. Starlight descended on her snow-white dress and covered it with a silver radiance.

    ¡°The second time that we¡¯ve met was at River of Trust. That was when everything was going well for you. I could tell that you were very happy on that day.¡±

    The instrumental melody began. It was ¡®Guanglin San¡¯, an ancient tune that was rarely known and almost lost in the course of history. However, Yun Qingwu yed it skillfully.

    ¡°The third time was outside me Capital City. Although we could have met, we didn¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°The fourth time was at the Southern Region. You¡¯d already known my identity back then. We were originally just looking at each other from afar, but you abducted me. That was my first failure...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°We could finally spend some time together during thest time we met. I thought it couldst longer, but you seemed to be in a hurry...¡±

    ¡°Before you left, you asked me why I gave you those things, and I didn¡¯t answer you back then. However, I could tell you the reason now. Although you might not understand my rationale, that¡¯s just the way things are sometimes.¡±

    ¡°If you became an emperor one day, you¡¯d realized that an emperor could give anything to anyone if he wishes, and vice versa. Who could im ownership over something, against the emperor¡¯s wish? Hence, when you own the entire world, who¡¯s the owner doesn¡¯t really matter anymore.¡±

    As Yun Qingwu said that, she naturally exuded a powerful aura from within. However, the aura quickly disappeared just like a massive dragon that flew into the clouds.

    The melody of the Guqin was still delightful to the ears and echoing in the air.

    It was a beautiful melody but the disciples below didn¡¯t have the mood to stay and enjoy and it. Before the tune even ended, over half of them had already escaped.

    It was an aura.

    Although Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t exude it on purpose. The fact that she could casually y a tune on her Guqin amidst this battlefield that was filled with corpses and blood was already a demonstration that she was above everyone else.

    At this moment, it seemed like there was only one star in the sky. It was so dazzling and bright that even Monster Emperor Baizhi who had transformed into her Monster Body lost her shine inparison.

    The tune ended but the battle did not.

    Yun Qingwu ced her hand on strings of her Guqin and nced at the Sages and disciples below with an extremely calm and collected expression.

    However, in their eyes, Yun Qingwu¡¯s aura was so overpowering that they didn¡¯t dare to look at her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Said Yun Qingwu softly. The purple antique Guqin on her knees disappeared at the same time.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The ck figures standing behind Yun Qingwu replied in unison. Then, they split up and surrounded her.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi also reverted back to her human form at this moment. She grabbed Nangong Hao, who was unconscious, in one hand, and walked towards Yun Qingwu. Her snow-white fur dress looked extremely demonic in the night sky.

    ¡°Baizhi, you won¡¯t seed!¡± Yan Yin charged towards her immediately when she reverted to her human form.

    ¡°10-Sided ming Demonic Formation!¡± Yelled the 10 ck figures beside Yun Qingwu and Monster Emperor Baizhi. Then, a massive ck fire appeared.

    The firepletely shrouded the Elder of the 10 Devilish Domains almost instantly. Furthermore, it even acted as a barrier at their center and shielded Baizhi and Yun Qingwu.

    Boom! Yan Yin¡¯s fist sted the massive ck fire, sending violent shockwaves towards all directions.

    However, the ck fire didn¡¯t extinguish. On the contrary, it was crackling and getting even stronger as if the wind was adding fuel to it.

    ¡°It¡¯s burning with the help of the wind? I¡¯m afraid that this formation could only be destroyed from the inside!¡± Mu Qingfeng knitted his brows together even more tightly than before when he saw that. It looked like he was extremely anxious.

    ¡°Does that mean we can¡¯t destroy it?¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists tightly from anger. However, no matter how angry he was, what could he do with all those injuries?

    ¡°Regardless, we have to try!¡± Mu Qingfeng gritted his teeth and replied.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why are we wasting time?¡± Qian Yu moved as she said that. She wielded her silver dual de and descended from above like a falcon.

    Boom! As the st created another violent gust, the ck fire grew stronger. The massive me shot straight up as if it would ignite the entire sky.

    ¡°No, this fire is mixed with the wind. Even if we could forcefully create a small crack, the gust would help it grow stronger again!¡± Yan Yin looked grim.

    ¡°Are you telling me that there¡¯s nothing we could do?¡± Mo Shanshi couldn¡¯t ept that. However, just as Yan Yin and Mu Qingfeng had said, since the Elder of the 10 Devilish Domains decided to deploy the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation at this moment, how could it be so easily broken?

    Anger and reluctance!

    There was even a little bit of despair.

    However, it remained a fact that humans could no longer hold their ground against both the Monster and Demon race after Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi became severely wounded.

    ¡°Divine Enchantment ¨C Soul-seizing spell!¡± At this moment, they heard a voice from within the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation. Then, they felt a buzz in heaven and earth.

    Buzz!

    Circles after circle of radiance appeared from the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation just like ripples in ake. However, the ripples did not expand outward or rain down on the people below this time. They werepletely enclosed in the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian didn¡¯t leave. However, how could he face the dozens of Monster Kings in the sky alone?

    He couldn¡¯t ept this either.

    They were so close to sess after hundreds and thousands of years of hard work but they had failed again. Furthermore, he felt despair this time.

    He clenched his fists tightly, but it was pointless. There were dozens of Monster Kings in his way and he couldn¡¯t possibly break through.

    Moreover, even if he somehow went past the Monster Kings, he still couldn¡¯t destroy the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation that had stopped even Mu Qingfeng and the rest.

    His despair came from his reluctance to ept the oue.

    However, no one cared about Nangong Tian at this moment.

    The people who wanted to escape were almost gone, and those that shouldn¡¯t escape were barely holding on. At this point in time, humans had almost no chance of turning the tide of the battle.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster, if we don¡¯t retreat now, we might never make it!¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡± Dao Xin nodded and nced at the person dressed in a snow-white dress at the center of the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation. Then, her lips started moving.

    There wasn¡¯t a single sound, but her lips were moving as if she was saying something.

    As Dao Xin¡¯s lips moved, Dao Hun, who was fighting in midair, suddenly jolted. Then, he actually inconspicuously took a glimpse at Dao Xin.

    Following which, Dao Hun moved.

    He went through the Monster Kings at an extreme speed and reached the top of the Tree of God in an instant as if he was a shooting star in the sky.

    This happened fairly suddenly.

    What was more sudden was when Dao Hun rapidly turned around after reaching the top of the tree and said, ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Valley Master Mo, Tower Master Qian. There¡¯s hope as long as there¡¯s life. We were defeated because the Demon and the Monster race caught us by surprise today. Why don¡¯t we leave before we sustain any significant loss and take our revenge another day!¡± A person appeared in Dao Hun¡¯s arm as he said that.

    It was Yan Xiu, who was unconscious at the moment.

    ¡°Dao Hun, you...¡± Mo Shanshi was startled when he heard Dao Hun. Then, it was as if he was too pissed to finish his sentence even though he wanted to say something.

    ¡°Old Mo!¡± Mu Qingfeng squinted and gritted his teeth even harder. However, he eventually sighed and said, ¡°There isn¡¯t really a need for us to die here without a purpose. Hallmaster Dao isn¡¯tpletely wrong!¡±

    ¡°Do we really have to go?¡± Mo Shanshi replied reluctantly.

    ¡°Hahaha... Are you trying to leave? That¡¯s only if you could!¡± They heard Monster Emperor Baizhiughing at this moment. It sounded seductive unlike her coldness just now. They could guess that she was currently in a good mood.

    In fact, anyone would feel pretty good if he was in her ce right now. After all, there wasn¡¯t anyone or anything that could stop the uing ¡®party¡¯ any more.

    However, were there any absolutes in the world?`

    There were, for example, Mu Qingfeng was definitely old; Mo Shanshi was definitely experienced, and Qian Yu definitely loved Ping Yang a lot. However, did these ¡®absolutes¡¯ matter?

    Absolutely not!

    Taking Monster Emperor Baizhi for example, she wasughing extremely joyously at the moment. However, herughter didn¡¯tst too long because no one could keepughing forever.

    Boom!

    She flew out of the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation and high up into the air like a shiny and bright cabbage rolling in the sky.

 Chapter 878 - Who the Hell Stripped My Clothes Off

    <h4>Chapter 878: Who the Hell Stripped My Clothes Off</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This happened so suddenly that it was almost weird. After all, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest didn¡¯t even enter the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation.

    Who could have backstabbed Monster Emperor Baizhi at this moment?

    Nobody could figure it out.

    However, Baizhi was indeed flying. Furthermore, they could clearly sense that someone had kicked her.

    As for where she was kicked...

    It seemed to be her buttock.

    That was because there was a faintly visible ck footprint on her buttock when she was spinning in the air. It was covered with burnt ash.

    ¡°Footprint?¡±

    ¡°ck? Burnt ash?!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s and Mo Shanshi¡¯s heart skipped a beat at the same time and they nced at each other intuitively. They could see the shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    That was because there was only one person who had burnt ash on his foot and could have kicked Monster Emperor Baizhi at this moment.

    Boom! A golden radiance shot into the sky from within 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation. It had a terrifying intense aura.

    Light drove away darkness at this instance and the stars that filled the sky disappeared. The golden radiance had torn a massive opening in the darkness that engulfed the sky.

    Sunlight and warmth descended.

    Night had turned into day!

    This was something that only Baizhi could have pulled off. However, when the golden radiance appeared, daytime returned once again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s alive?! Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu, and Yan Yin all opened their eyes wide with surprise because they already saw the slender figure in the golden radiance clearly.

    That figure stood quietly in the golden radiance. The ash that had covered his body was blown away by the radiance, revealing his jade-like skin and toned muscles. His body was crystalline and his skin was even shimmering.

    ¡°He¡¯s actually alive!¡±

    ¡°He really didn¡¯t die!¡±

    All the Sages and disciples were terrified and stunned when they saw Fang Zhengzhi bathing in the golden light.

    He had swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God...

    Yet he was still alive?!

    ¡®Is he a monster?¡¯

    No one could wrap his head around this because this had never happened before.

    In fact, even Yun Qingwu lost herposure when she saw Fang Zhengzhi, not to mention the rest.

    That was right!

    Even Yun Qingwu couldn¡¯t believe it!

    ¡°Didn¡¯t die... Fang Zhengzhi, you didn¡¯t die...¡± Yun Qingwu rarely looked as surprised as she was at the moment. It was true that she couldn¡¯t remain calm like she always did.

    However, for some reason, there wasn¡¯t too much fear in her expression. On the contrary, she looked somewhat excited.

    As a woman, Yun Qingwu shouldn¡¯t be staring intently at Fang Zhengzhi at this moment because he wasn¡¯t wearing anything after all.

    However, she didn¡¯t avert her gaze.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes hadpletely caught her attention. There wasn¡¯t much radiance in his eyes, but they felt as vast and deep as the ocean to her. They looked calm, but there seemed to be a massive wave that could unleash its fury at any time hidden beneath the calmness.

    ¡°The tune wasn¡¯t too bad!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also looking at Yun Qingwu, and his lips slowly curled into a smile.

    ¡°Ah? What... Tune. Oh, I always y it...¡± Yun Qingwu replied instinctively but she quickly realized that it was inappropriate and held her tongue. Then, the surprise on her face disappeared and she quickly regained herposure.

    ¡°Do you always y it? That¡¯s a pity, you¡¯ve also said that the two of us don¡¯t belong to the same side at the end of the day!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile grew even brighter. At the meantime, a demonic purple light appeared in his hand.

    It was Traceless Sword!

    As soon as it had appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, the calm in his eyes disappeared and it was reced by an aura that was as insane as a tsunami.

    Buzz!

    Buzz!

    ¡°...¡±

    Ripples of shockwaves surged out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and crashed into the surroundings like ocean waves. They lifted Yun Qingwu¡¯s white dress and blown up the ck cloaks of the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains, revealing 10 old men with silvered hair.

    Each of the elders had a Demon Eye on his forehead. However, they werepletely gold instead of sangria.

    Their golden Demon Eyes shone brightly and exuded a chilling air. They also represented the fact that the elders were all at Sage State.

    Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to care about that. He had been fixated on Yun Qingwu all alone and his smile grew brighter but colder.

    He took a step forward.

    The golden radiance that shot into the sky suddenly retracted and returned to Fang Zhengzhi like birds returning to their nests. Only the ripples of shockwaves remained.

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance. We still have a chance!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That brat is still alive, us humans aren¡¯t defeated yet!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... I didn¡¯t expect that the fate of mankind in this battle would ultimately depend on this boy. This is truly...¡±

    Although Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi still couldn¡¯t believe what they saw, they saw hope once again.

    They couldn¡¯t destroy the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation because they were on the outside. However, Fang Zhengzhi was in the formation.

    The formation would be destroyed as long as Fang Zhengzhi killed any of the 10 elders. Then, with thebined force of the five of them, they could definitely turn the tide of the battle.

    ¡°Hurry up, Fang Zhengzhi, kill the elders of the Demon race!¡± Although Yan Yin didn¡¯t have a good impression of Fang Zhengzhi, that didn¡¯t matter anymore. What was important was the fact that only Fang Zhengzhi could change the course of the battle, and Yan Yin had to ept that.

    ¡°Kill the elders of the Demon race?¡± Fang Zhengzhi naturally heard Yan Yin, so he subconsciously nced at the elders of the Demon race who had their eyes wide opened with astonishment. Then, he looked at Yun Qingwu and her beautiful eyes again.

    After that, he heard a wave of tsunami-like cries.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and kill them!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    They obviously came from the Sages and disciples below. The fact that they didn¡¯t escape represented their desires for victory.

    How could they not get excited now that Fang Zhengzhi, their beacon of hope, came back to life?

    ¡°A lot of people are missing.¡± Fang Zhengzhi casually nced at the people below. Although he could obviously tell that a majority of the people were gone, he still sensed the anticipation in the remaining people¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®I knew that I¡¯m always the man at the center of attention.¡¯

    Since Fang Zhengzhi was in the limelight, it was impossible for him to not feel good about himself, especially when he clearly felt Yun Qingwu¡¯s intense gaze and the fear in the eyes of the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains.

    ¡®Alright, seems like it¡¯s time for me to save the world!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t a man with exceptionally high aspirations. However, he wouldn¡¯t mind iming this huge honor since it was right there for his taking.

    However, he felt something wrong just as he was about to move because he sensed a chill at his groin when the mountain breeze blew past.

    ¡®Eh?!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi looked downward intuitively and saw his glimmering body. He concluded that he was very handsome, but he didn¡¯t know why he waspletely naked.

    ¡°Who the hell stripped my clothes off!¡± Even though Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, he still blushed a little as he was filled with embarrassment.

    After all, there were several hundred people staring intently at him from below, including even Qian Yu and Chi Guyan.

    Bt the way...

    There was Yun Qingwu too!

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and Yan Yin nced at each other and they wanted to curse too. ¡®Is this really the time for him to be bothered by that?¡¯

    Qian Yu¡¯s lips twitched. She wasn¡¯t the type to reprimand others for no reason. However, she really wanted to pull Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ear and yell at him, ¡°What happened to your usual shamelessness? Why are you pretending to be embarrassed now?¡±

    That was how Mu Qingfeng, Qian Yu, and the rest felt at the moment.

    Meanwhile, the Sages and disciples below turned red. They really wanted to ask...

    ¡°Is this fellow really dependable?!¡±

    Roar! Just then, they heard an angry roar in the sky, following which, a massive body appeared in the air and blocked all the light.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was enraged!

    This was the first time that Monster Emperor Baizhi was so furious. As the renowned Monster Emperor, the strongest master of the Holy Region, and the Divine Beast Nine-Tailed White Fox, she had never been this humiliated before.

    Twice...

    The same person had actually kicked her and sent her flying twice!

    Such humiliation was more infuriating than someone giving her a tight p on the face. She was so outraged that her fur stood on end.

    Baizhi pounced towards him without any hesitation.

    There were a storm and lightning. Her two sharp ws exuded a metallic shine and their powerful aura even changed the weather.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, watch out!¡±

    ¡°Litle bastard, get out of its way!¡±

    Both Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi yelled. After all, Fang Zhengzhi carried all their hopes currently so they couldn¡¯t help but be worried.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was too powerful

    Furthermore, she was obviously furious and had turned into her monster formpletely. In her current state, even the four of them wouldn¡¯t dare to take her head on.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t seem to have heard their reminders. The purple light on his Traceless Sword shone brightly and it didn¡¯t look like he was about to dodge it.

    ¡°Die!¡± He yelled softly.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi flew. Not only did he not try to evade Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s attack, but he also charged straight towards her.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Brat, no!¡±

    ¡°No? Why not?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi with a disdainful expression. He thrust Traceless Sword forward and continued, ¡°Her fox fur is great and perfect for making my clothes!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Was there anything more absurd than hearing someone saying that he wanted to make clothes with a Nine-Tailed White Fox¡¯s fur? No one knew the answer. However, both Mu Qingfeng and Mu Qingfeng shut up at this moment.

    That was because they felt hopeless once again.

    A person could overestimate himself.

    However, overestimating himself to such an extent was just being wildly overconfident. These people¡¯s fates did not tend to end well.

    Their hope arose, only to be shattered once again.

    Boom! They heard a loud bang and saw a dazzling golden radiance at the same time, as if a star had suddenly exploded, or if a massive wave suddenly exploded and turned into a violent tsunami that would swallow the world.

    Then, the man and the beast that had collided against each other separated instantly. Amidst the golden radiance, the speed of their separation was extremely fast.

    ¡°Is he dead?!¡±

    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t seem like he died!¡±

    ¡°Was it a draw?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    ¡°No... It doesn¡¯t seem like a draw, he... He rushed upwards!¡±

    The people¡¯s hearts sank when they saw the two figures that split up. However, soon, they opened their eyes wide with surprise.

    That was because one of the figures started charging upwards.

    From down below!

    It rushed up towards the massive figure at a faster speed along the same path and it was holding a massive lightning-like sword.

    Purple light was flowing on the transparent sword. It was a projection, yet it looked real.

    ¡°Die!¡± He yelled softly once again.

    It wasn¡¯t too cold, but everyone felt like they were in a dream when they heard it. It was too unbelievable.

    ¡®Is this a dream?¡¯

    ¡®Fang Zhengzhi actually blew Monster Emperor Baizhi away?!¡¯

    ¡®Furthermore, he is chasing after her?¡¯

    sh! They heard a sharp noise and saw a dash of red falling from the sky like rain.

    It was a ball of mist of blood that came from an inch above Baizhi¡¯s sharp w. There was a bone-deep wound.

    Aww! Baizhi jolted and howled in pain.

 Chapter 879 - Falling for the Trap and the Story of Seeing a Ghost in Broad Daylight

    <h4>Chapter 879: Falling for the Trap and the Story of Seeing a Ghost in Broad Daylight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°She¡¯s wounded?!¡±

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi is injured?!¡±

    ¡°He actually... Injured Monster Emperor Baizhi once again?!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, the Sages and disciples below were all shocked to see Monster Emperor Baizhi in pain and the blood spilling from her body.

    As strong as Monster Emperor Baizhi was, Fang Zhengzhi managed to push her back with a single blow. Furthermore, he even injured her w.

    What could be more ridiculous than that?

    No one could believe what they saw. Even Yun Qingwu and the Elders of the Demon race were shocked and failed to react.

    After all, she was the Monster Emperor, the strongest master in the Holy Region!

    There were shock and horror!

    Regardless, no matter how much they didn¡¯t want to believe it, the truth remained that Fang Zhengzhi had pushed back Monster Emperor Baizhi and seemed to have gained the upper hand.

    ¡°What exactly has happened just now?¡±

    ¡°Why did Fang Zhengzhi suddenly be so strong?¡±

    ¡°Does it have something to do with the fruit of the Tree of God that Fang Zhengzhi swallowed?¡±

    Doubts and questions appeared in everyone¡¯s mind and ultimately they all pointed towards the fruit that Fang Zhengzhi had swallowed.

    ¡®He didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    ¡®Furthermore, he became even stronger!¡¯

    ¡®Is the fruit of the Tree of God really meant to be eaten?¡¯

    No one knew if that was the right answer. However, it was true that Fang Zhengzhi became stronger. Much stronger.

    ¡®Kid, how... How did you do that?¡¯ If there was a single living thing in this world that knew the answer to that question, it¡¯d undoubtedly be Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    However, knowing the answer was exactly why she was more shocked to the core because the fruit of the Tree of God couldn¡¯t be consumed in a normal way.

    In simpler words, the fruit could be eaten. However, it could only be eaten by the direct descendants of Emperor Yan.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi couldn¡¯t understand.

    She truly couldn¡¯t understand why Fang Zhengzhi was able to devour the fruit. Furthermore, how did hee back to life after it backfired on him?

    ¡°Do you want to know why? If you say you do, I¡¯d tell you right away!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t in a hurry. After all, since he had already stopped Baizhi, there was no more rush.

    ¡°You...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi squinted and subconsciously lifted her w. However, she put it down quickly, following which, her demonic jade-green eyes lit up and she continued, ¡°Ok, tell me. I really want to know how you¡¯ve managed to survive.¡±

    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°How badly?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Baizhi clenched her ws and her teeth were grinding loudly. However, she quickly loosened up and said with a charming expression, ¡°Badly, very badly!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? What would I get if I told you the answer?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Baizhi, who was on the verge of going mad, with an eager look.

    ¡°Haha, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Would you give me what I want?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Baizhi¡¯s clenched her ws again and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you first tell me what do you want? I¡¯d naturally give it to you if I have it.¡±

    ¡°I want a little bit of your fur to make clothes.¡±

    ¡°Kid, you are courting death!¡± Baizhi was finally furious once again. All of her white furs stood on end as if she was covered in needles.

    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯d spare me if I¡¯m not courting death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯d beat me?¡±

    ¡°How could I know without trying?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, despite being so smart, have you not realized what is going on yet? Take a good look at where you are!¡± Baizhi startedughing at this moment extremely happily as if all of her anger hadpletely disappeared.

    ¡°Where I am?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked and looked around him. For a moment, he really didn¡¯t understand what she meant.

    After all, he felt that he was in a good position. He had the entire situation under his control and obstructed Monster Emperor Baizhi, thereby preventing her froming into contact with Nangong Hao.

    ¡®Am I not...¡¯

    ¡®In a good position?¡¯

    ¡®Wait a minute. Speaking of a bad position, I¡¯m actually not standing at a good spot. After all, the tree¡¯s leaves helped to cover me up just now. However, where I am standing at right now...¡¯

    It really concurred with the old saying ¡®My buttock feels cold in the wind¡¯.

    ¡°Old wretch, I didn¡¯t expect you to have this kind of fetish. Luckily, I still have a change of clothes... Eh? Who stole my Heart Protection Mirror!¡± Fang Zhengzhi intuitively wanted to reach into his Heart Protection Mirror for something to put on. However, he quickly realized that something was wrong.

    That was because apart from his buttock feeling cold, his chest also felt empty.

    ¡®What the hell!¡¯

    ¡®Am Ipletely plundered?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was really a little displeased now. They could strip his clothes off but they couldn¡¯t take his Heart Protection Mirror. It contained the treasures that he had umted over the years.

    He could bleed or die, but he could never lose his treasures!

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bottom line.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi was obviously startled when she heard ¡®Who stole my Heart Protection Mirror?¡¯.

    ¡°Does he really not realize that he¡¯s already out of the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation?¡± Baizhi truly didn¡¯t understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought.

    What was considered a failure? Failure was feeling smug and proud about the sess of your scheme while your opponent didn¡¯t understand your scheme at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi was definitely the example of such an opponent at this moment.

    However, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest turned grim. After all, they already understood what Monster Emperor Baizhi meant.

    Position!

    Just like what she said, Fang Zhengzhi had unknowingly moved out of 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation when he charged towards her.

    ¡°This brat... Got tricked!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s really over now!¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t enter 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation again once he came out. Nangong Hao would still be in their hands if we can¡¯t destroy the formation.¡±

    Their hopes were shattered once again. That was because the key solution to the problem was still Nangong Hao.

    As long as Nangong Hao was still in the hands of the Monster and the Demon race. It wouldn¡¯t be a game changer even if Fang Zhengzhi could challenge Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    That was how Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest felt.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi was still unconscious when the rest were stopped by the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation, he obviously didn¡¯t know about it.

    Apart from hearing the faint sound of the Guqin, he was basicallypletely unaware of whatever that had happened.

    However, that didn¡¯t affect his judgement at all.

    For example, he quickly discovered that Yun Qingwu was holding a long shiny object in her hand. It was obviously his Heart Protection Mirror.

    ¡°It was Yun Qingwu who had stolen it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. It wasn¡¯t a nice thing for someone else to hold on to his belongings.

    Moreover, he didn¡¯t even pay a storage fee.

    Under such a scenario, if something went wrong, for example, if something was missing or broken, would Yun Qingwupensate his losses?

    That was an unanswered question.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi decided to retrieve it first.

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi moved without any warning and zoomed towards Yun Qingwu like a lightning bolt that descended from the sky.

    ¡°Hmm? Did he finally realize that he¡¯s out of the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation?¡± Baizhi smiled when she saw Fang Zhengzhi charging towards the formation. This was the feeling of sess after failure. While feeling pleasantly surprised, she also scoffed and said, ¡°It¡¯s easy toe out, but not the other way round!¡±

    She didn¡¯t stop him immediately.

    That was because she was well aware of the power of 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation. It would take a fair amount of effort even for her to destroy the formation, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! There was a loud bang. Then, the ck fire was blown into the sky by the wild wind as if it was going to set the sky on fire.

    Bzzzzz...

    The extreme temperature scorched even the air.

    Without any doubt, Fang Zhengzhi was swept away by the wind and fire. He flipped three rounds in the air before he managed to stabilize himself.

    His posture...

    Looked pretty graceful.

    However, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s, Mo Shanshi¡¯s, and the rest¡¯s hearts sank when they saw that. They nced at each other and couldn¡¯t help but sighed.

    ¡°The 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation could only be destroyed from the inside after all!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Monster Emperor Baizhi to be so calctive even under such conditions. She actually feigned defeat so that Fang Zhengzhi would chase after her!¡±

    ¡°Although the brat is insanely powerful, he¡¯s still not thoughtful enough aspared to someone as experienced as Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and Yan Yin were angry, but they didn¡¯tpletely put the me on Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, he was up against Monster Emperor Baizhi. Even they might unavoidably fall victim to her trap, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hahaha, Fang Zhengzhi, stop wasting your strength. You can¡¯t destroy 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation!¡± Baizhi startedughing once again.

    ¡°This thing is called 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at Baizhi before looking towards the ck fire beneath him, as well as Yun Qingwu, standing calm and collected at the center of the formation, and the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains who had remained silent all along.

    ¡®Is it very difficult...¡¯

    ¡®To destroy this formation?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why Baizhi wasughing so happily, but he did know that the ¡¯10-Sided ming Demonic Formation¡¯ mainly consisted of Dao of Ice and Dao of Fire. These two Daos were extremely difficult tobine, and once they werebined, it would create a new Dao known as ¡®Cold Fire¡¯.

    Once the Dao of Cold Fire was created, it could be fused with the Dao of Hurricane. However, the formation was currently suppressing the Dao of Hurricane.

    To put it bluntly, the Dao of Hurricane would only appear when the Dao of Cold Fire was attacked and supplement the growth of Cold Fire to an insane level.

    It was a decent 3-in-1 Dao.

    However, unfortunately, he seemed to know all three of them.

    That made things a little awkward. He wondered if Baizhi, who wasughing so happily at the moment, would identally bite her tongue if she suddenly stoppedughing.

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi moved again. In that split second, a ck fire which was identical to the one in the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation appeared on his body.

    This happened extremely suddenly.

    Furthermore, one could tell that Fang Zhengzhi was exceptionally fast. He collided against 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation once again almost in the blink of an eye.

    Pop! There wasn¡¯t a loud bang unlike before. It was so soft that it was almost negligible.

    Then...

    There was nothing.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had alreadynded in front Yun Qingwu steadily.

    As the mountain breeze blew past, he felt a chill at his groin. Luckily, Fang Zhengzhi chose a nice position where there was a leaf covering him.

    Of course, it was just a leaf. It could cover him temporarily, but not forever. After all, even the greenest leaf would eventually fall.

    Hence, Fang Zhengzhi naturally took back his Heart Protection Mirror from Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands. The entire process was smooth and without obstruction.

    ¡°Stealing? That¡¯s not a good habit!¡± With a righteous expression, Fang Zhengzhi educated Yun Qingwu with this principle that his mom had taught him since he was young.

    However, he could totally tell from her expression that she didn¡¯t seem to have heard his meaningful lecture.

    Furthermore, she looked a little dazed.

    In fact, Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t the only person who was dazed. Monster Emperor Baizhi, who wasughing coldly with her mouth wide open, as well as the humans who hadpletely lost all hope, such as Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and Yan Yin, were alsopletely stunned.

    There was absolute silence.

    No one could react.

    At this instance, even the Monster Kings and Sages who were fighting against each other stopped moving. They werepletely dumbfounded.

    ¡°10-Sided ming Demonic Formation... Is destroyed?!¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡±

    ¡°What was that? What the hell was that?¡±

    Even the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains were left agape and speechless at this moment, not to mention the others.

    After all, they didn¡¯t even feel an impact...

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had managed to break into the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation again without any impact at all. Wasn¡¯t this just like seeing a ghost in broad daylight?

    Clunk... Monster Emperor Baizhi felt a pain on the tip of her tongue as blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Just as Fang Zhengzhi had predicted, she would definitely bite her tongue if she suddenly stoppedughing.

 Chapter 880 - The True Secret of Heaven Dao Sage Tablets

    <h4>Chapter 880: The True Secret of Heaven Dao Sage Tablets</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Monster Emperor Baizhi believed in god, but not ghosts. However, at this moment, she somehow felt a chill down her spine.

    Destroying the formation? That wasn¡¯t scary!

    However, destroying the formation in such a way was surely somewhat creepy.

    After all, as strong as she was, Baizhi didn¡¯t really want her opponent to be equipped with some sort of unknown power. That was because every unknown could end up changing the tide of the battle.

    Now, this sort of unknown seemed to be working.

    ¡°Why? Why did this happen? Is it the power of the fruit of the Tree of God? That¡¯s impossible, how could its fruit contain such a power!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was truly struck dumb.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know what the rest were thinking about. He was just minding his own business and doing what he should be doing.

    He first blew the Heart Protection Mirror carefully, then, he slowly put it back on and delicately tightened its strap.

    Then, with a blue sh, he was soon covered by a long blue robe.

    After everything, Fang Zhengzhi cracked his neck and warmed up his legs. He nced at Yun Qingwu and the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains, who had yet to react to him, and sighed inwardly. Sure enough, it was better to bring an extra set of clothes while he was away from home.

    However, why wasn¡¯t Yun Qingwu reacting at all even though he had already put on his clothes?

    ¡°Rx, although you stripped my clothes off, I wouldn¡¯t do the same to you. After all, your dress isn¡¯t very suitable for me.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°The dress isn¡¯t very suitable?!¡±

    ¡°Is this the time to talk about that? Shouldn¡¯t he exin how he has managed to break the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation?¡±

    All the Sages and disciples nced at each other, and no one had a clue what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

    Even Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest were equally speechless. They randomly felt like they had really gotten older, and their train of thought couldn¡¯t keep up with the youngsters anymore.

    However, wasn¡¯t that too much of a change in the topic?

    Of course, none of that mattered anymore. What was important was the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had entered 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation again, and he did it easily.

    Although they didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest saw hope once again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, hurry up and destroy the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation and kill the Demon race¡¯s elders. That¡¯s the only way we could help you!¡± Mu Qingfeng, who had experienced despair once already, was truly scared. He was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would do something out of the blue again, so he just yelled out the n straight away.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, brat. Hurry up and destroy the formation so that we could all help you!¡± Mo Shanshi also quickly followed suit after he heard Mu Qingfeng.

    The two of them were honestly anxious.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi put on a weird expression after hearing them. Then, he nced at them disdainfully.

    ¡°Destroy the formation? Isn¡¯t the old wretch standing outside the formation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi as he said that.

    Even though Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi might be stupid, he definitely wasn¡¯t. Even 20 or 30 Demon race¡¯s elders were probably weaker than a single Monster Emperor Baizhi, not to mention 10 of them.

    At this moment, the safest option was to stay within the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation, carefreely toy with Yun Qingwu, and enjoy a snack while watching Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest fighting against Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Furthermore, Nangong Hao was also inside the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation and less than five steps away from him. He¡¯d immediately solve everything by taking him down.

    ¡®Destroy the formation?¡¯

    ¡®Only an idiot would do that!¡¯

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    What did it feel like to get pped in the face?

    Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t know that. However, there was a burning sensation on his face at this instance. The pain made him feel like crawling into a hole.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s face also hurt, even more than when Monster Emperor Baizhi pped him. After all, his intelligence was insulted.

    Having said that, no one knew why they said something as stupid as that. After all, thanks to that shocking scene just now, none of them realized that Monster Emperor Baizhi also went out of the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation.

    ¡°Old Mu, are our brains fried?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s lips moved and he turned beet red. Nevertheless, as Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Master, his endurance was better than average. ¡°Stop wasting time, let¡¯s do it!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master and Valley Master Mo, since you¡¯re both injured, I¡¯ll stall Monster Emperor Baizhi and buy some time for the kid!¡± Yan Yin naturally reacted.

    Yan Yin moved as he said that and bolted towards Baizhi like a stream of light.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi also regained herposure. She didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time when she saw Yan Yin charging towards her.

    That was because she knew that she had to return to 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation as soon as possible and prevent Fang Zhengzhi from killing Yun Qingwu.

    However, could she do that?

    Considering the distance, it seemed impossible because Fang Zhengzhi was too close to Yun Qingwu. He was only one step away from her, which meant that her life was in his hands.

    A sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand at this moment. A demonic purple radiance was flowing on the sword just like a stream of blood.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t you dare!¡± The 10 elders of the Demon race finally reacted. They couldn¡¯t be bothered with maintaining the formation anymore and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi simultaneously and

    ¡°Do you guys think that I don¡¯t dare to do it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a smile as Traceless Sword moved in the air and drew a purple shadow.

    When the shadow disappeared, the de of the sword was already on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t fight back or move a single muscle from beginning to end. She just stood there quietly like a puppet.

    The 10 elders of the Demon race stopped moving. They clenched their fists tightly and radiance was glittering in their golden Demon Eyes. However, none of them dared to move anymore.

    That was because they knew very well that Fang Zhengzhi dared to do anything.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯d definitely kill you if you hurt Qingwu!¡± Said Baizhi as she wed towards Yan Yin.

    One could tell that she was really anxious. Her attack almost tore a visible giant hole in space.

    ¡°You won¡¯t get past!¡¯ Yan Yin obviously knew that Monster Emperor Baizhi was anxious. The more anxious she was, the more he had to stop her.

    Yan Yin gritted his teeth and exuded a terrifying aura. At the meantime, two blood-red markings were spinning on his palms.

    ¡°If there was time, I¡¯d definitely considered ying a tune for you too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Baizhi and Yan Yin. He just nced at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°It¡¯s isn¡¯t toote now.¡± She replied tly.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to do that, but it¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t know how to y it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied and sighed. It seemed like he actually felt proud about not knowing how to y the Guqin rather than feeling embarrassed.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I could teach you.¡± Yun Qingwu said calmly. The purple Guqin appeared in her hands in the meantime and it seemed like she really wanted to teach him.

    ¡°So, it looks like you don¡¯t really want to die now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at the Guqin in her hands and startedughing uncontrobly.

    ¡°No one wants to die.¡±

    ¡°However, I remembered that you were never scared of dying.¡±

    ¡°Not being scared of dying and wanting to die are two different matters.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. However, it seems like there is no way to end this war unless you die.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded softly and replied.

    ¡°My death has no direct impact on ending the war. My mother and Nangong Hao are the ones who would truly affect the war.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed at Nangong Hao.

    ¡°So, should I kill Nangong Hao first?¡± Fang Zhengzhi understood what she meant at this point in time.

    ¡°I¡¯d definitely do that if I were you.¡±

    ¡°However, you aren¡¯t me. Furthermore, I¡¯m not stupid. The war would end as long as your life is in my hands.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t fall for her trap so easily.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s make a deal.¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t continue debating when she heard that.

    ¡°What are the conditions?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t want to waste time, but he honestly seldom heard Yun Qingwu initiating a deal with him.

    After all, Yun Qingwu used to bepletely unafraid of dying, so she would never make a deal with him. Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious.

    ¡°If you let me go, I¡¯d give you a piece ofnd and make you the emperor. Furthermore, I can promise that both Demon and Monster races would never set foot in your territory as long as you are alive.¡± Yun Qingwu made her offer without much consideration.

    ¡°How big is the piece ofnd?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked as if he was actually interested.

    ¡°The entire Great Xia Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Are you really capable of doing that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I can do that as long as you let me go.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and replied with certainty.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t believe her. How could she decide the ownership of the Great Xia Dynasty just like that?¡± A voice interrupted their conversation at this moment.

    It was Mu Qingfeng.

    One could that Mu Qingfeng was really anxious this time. After all, he really wasn¡¯t sure if Fang Zhengzhi would give in to such conditions.

    ¡°Brat, Yun Qingwu is obviously lying to you. Given your current strength, if you really want to be an emperor, I, Mo Shanshi, could make you an emperor unconditionally after this war is over!¡± Mo Shanshi also chimed in.

    However, aspared to Mu Qingfeng¡¯s indirectness, Mo Shanshi sounded more ¡®sincere¡¯ as he hadpletely disregarded the emperors of the three great empires that weren¡¯t too far away yet.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    He naturally hoped that this was an ¡®auction¡¯, so that Monster Emperor, Mu Qingfeng, and the rest could all start bidding, and the highest bidder would win.

    However, it was a pity that he didn¡¯t have too much time. Furthermore, even if he did, he wasn¡¯t really interested in bing an emperor.

    ¡°Your offer is decent, but I don¡¯t really want to be an emperor. What should I do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand moved slowly and Traceless Sword made a cut on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck. He had decided to stop wasting time with her and kill her right then and there.

    ¡°I still have an offer that you¡¯d definitely be interested in!¡± Said Yun Qingwu. He could hear a little anxiousness in her voice. Although Yun Qingwu still looked calm, her body trembled.

    ¡°Oh? An off that I¡¯d definitely be interested in? Tell me about it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand stopped moving. He decided to give her time to finish her sentence.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, the rest of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets.¡±

    ¡°Do you have them?¡± Fang Zhengzhi squinted.

    ¡°Not all of them. However, I know where the rest are located. Given your current strength, I believe that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for you to retrieve them as long as I told you where they are.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and replied.

    ¡°Are you really sure that I¡¯d be interested in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets?¡±

    ¡°Maybe not the tablets themselves, but I believe that you¡¯d surely be interested in the product when youbine all 36 Heaven Dao Sage Tablets together.¡±

    ¡°Combine them together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interest was piqued.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What would they be?¡±

    ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven. The real Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!¡±

    ¡°That sounds decent. Having said that, how could I trust you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded at this point in time and his smile grew brighter.

    ¡°I could give you three tablets first to prove my sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Do you have them with you?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°I will give them to you after you let me go.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d fall for that? Let you go? You have plenty of defensive treasures with you, don¡¯t you? I don¡¯t want to take that risk.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was definitely not falling for it.

    ¡°Then... You could do it yourself.¡± Yun Qingwu gritted her teeth when she heard that. Then, she seemed to have bit the bullet.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Where did you hide them?¡±

    ¡°At my...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice obviously became much softer halfway through her sentence.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°My... There¡¯s a pendant... At an inch below my neck.¡± Yun Qingwu continued with determination. However, she blushed at thest part of her sentence.

    ¡°An inch? Below your neck... Er!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at where she said it was and he blushed too.

    That was because he finally knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression looked so unnatural. The ce where she had hidden the tablets was extremely private.

    So...

    Herees the question.

    Should he take the three Heaven Dao Sage Tablets there were right before him?

 Chapter 881 - Fang Zhengzhis Principles

    <h4>Chapter 881: Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Principles</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi did not spend too much time pondering over this question. After all, he was someone with principles. In order to stick to his principles, even though he knows that the path ahead was difficult, he had to brace it and continue moving forward.

    For example, he had risked the dangers and stolen the penta-coloured wonder flowers in front of Ling Yun Tower under Qian Ye¡¯s nose.

    Because he had stolen the penta-coloured wonder flowers, he was still alive and standing here.

    Although he was not sure whether the changes in his Small Dimension was rted to the penta-coloured wonder flowers, he saw the penta-coloured wonder flowers surround the golden fruit of the Tree of God in his Small Dimension.

    As an ancient saying went, ¡®There is no such thing as too much treasures. The more the treasures, the more protection they provide.¡¯

    The valuable experiences and lessons of ancestors taught him to never be merciful and never be a coward. He had toplete his task with rigor.

    As for how rigorously...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that those were details that were not important for now. After all, Yan Yin¡¯s blood-curdling scream that came from above his head was ear-piercing.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    Pfft! Yan Yin spat out a mouth of blood. It was evident that Yan Yin was extremely dested. Not only was his white robe torn and tattered, but his arm was also broken and his face was pale with a little bit of purple radiance.

    ¡°Pathetic...¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed. Yan Yin¡¯s pathetic state taught him another lesson: if one tries to be the hero when one was not capable, one would usually end up in a pathetic state.

    Of course, after sighing, Fang Zhengzhi decided to quickly settle the matter on his hands. To put it frankly, this precious amount of time was exchanged using Yan Yin¡¯s life.

    He could not afford to waste too much time.

    Therefore, after he figured out his thoughts, his left hand subconsciously reached forward to the position that was one inch beneath Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck.

    Yun Qingwu, upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi stretch out his hand, blushed and moved slightly.

    ¡°There are really three Heaven Dao Sage Tablets?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly nervous too. As his hand approached the cor of Yun Qingwu, his palms began to sweat.

    After all, in the past, he had always touched some areas unknowingly. However, this time round, he was doing it on purpose.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her teeth and gave an expression that made her look as if she was unafraid of death.

    ¡°Then I shall just proceed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said again. This was a method to divert attention so as to hide his nervousness.

    ¡°Can you... hurry?¡± Yun Qingwu stared at the approaching finger and her body started shaking more violently. Eventually, she decided to close her eyes and began to ask Fang Zhengzhi to hurry.

    Of course, Yun Qingwu wanted to deal with this quickly. However, when she said that sentence, the atmosphere felt a little strange.

    ¡°I want to hurry too, but the cor of your dress is too tight?¡± Fang Zhengzhi grumbled as he saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress cor sticking to her body.

    Hearing this sentence, Yun Qingwu blushed again and even her eyshes started trembling non-stop.

    Afterwards, Fang Zhengzhi saw Yun Qingwu lower her body towards the front as though she was hunching over.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand stopped immediately and his body froze. That was because Yun Qingwu¡¯s action caused his gaze tond on the spot while she hunched.

    It was a rtively good ¡®scenery¡¯!

    Fang Zhengzhi was someone who was good at discovering beautiful things. Yet the ¡®scenery¡¯ in front of him was a rare sight, especially since it was so up close.

    ¡°Cough cough, steal the treasure!¡± Fang Zhengzhi reminded himself quickly and his expressions became serious.

    Without hesitation, he reached out his hand and touched the spot where Yun Qingwu hunched over at. Then, with his hands trembling, he reached down.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Very quickly, Fang Zhengzhi felt a smooth hard object that was slightly warm. If he had guessed correctly, it should be the pendant Yun Qingwu was talking about.

    He had sessfully got three pieces of Heaven Dao Sage Tablets!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to be too courteous nor cared about whether there were any other things in the pendant apart from the three Heaven Dao Sage Tablets and gave the pendant a pull.

    What a rare chance to take advantage of Yun Qingwu, he definitely would not be too cultured.

    After all, as the Demon Young Lord and Young Empress of the monster race, there ought to be more than the three pieces of Heaven Dao Sage Tablets inside the pendant.

    He struck the lottery!

    A windfall!

    Wait a minute!

    Something was amiss!

    As he pulled the pendant, he suddenly had a bad feeling about it, as though he had been caught by someone.

    Too easy, everything was too easy.

    However, was handling matters with Yun Qingwu supposed to be so easy?

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously wanted to retreat but it was toote. When he pulled the pendant out, a beam of silvery white light shot out from the pendant.

    It was not too bright, but like tens of thousands of star lights, it exploded immediately after it was shot out of the pendant.

    At such a close distance, it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to dart. His chest, arms, legs were all struck by the exploding silvery light.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body flew like a stream of light towards the sky. His Traceless Sword fell on the floor due to the impact of the silver light.

    This happened too suddenly, such that Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi was unable to warn Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°This brat... Got tricked!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s facial expression changed drastically.

    At this point, Yun Qingwu gradually opened her eyes. Light shed past her eyes and she was no longer trembling like before.

    However, her face was still red and her chest was still moving up and down. It looked ipatible with her calm expression.

    However, that was no longer important.

    The important thing was, Fang Zhengzhi was sent flying and Yun Qingwu naturally regained freedom.

    The ten elder of the demon race who were standing nearby reacted quickly.

    At the instant when the silver light shone, they had already moved. None of them gave chase to Fang Zhengzhi and without giving any thoughts, they surrounded Yun Qingwu.

    Clearly, in the ten elders of the demon race¡¯s eyes, Yun Qingwu¡¯s safety was more important than anything else. It was even more important than killing Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Both your sess and failure stems from the treasure. This must be your weakness?¡± Yun Qingwu nced at the ¡°flying¡± Fang Zhengzhi and touched her cor with her right hand. Then, her calm expression changed and her right hand froze.

    ¡°So painful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard. Meanwhile, his body stopped moving in midair and he opened his palms. A pendant glowing with silvery white radiance was in the middle of his palm, still slightly warm to touch.

    Based on distance, Fang Zhengzhi was currently at a position that was exactly between Monster Emperor Baizhi and Yun Qingwu. Of course, it could be said that he was caught in the center between Yun Qingwu and Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    However, this did not matter as long as he got the pendant.

    Injuries were nothing to be afraid of!

    What was worth being afraid of was getting injured and losing the treasure.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a determined person with strong beliefs. His stubborn belief allowed him to hold on tight to the pendant even at times of crisis, refusing to let go until his death.

    ¡°You...¡± Yun Qingwu was stunned.

    She never expected Fang Zhengzhi to release his grip on the pendant when he realized he got tricked or when silver light rays shot out of the pendant.

    What kind of stubbornness was that?

    It was simply unbelievable.

    After all, by right, any person who was in the correct state of mind would stay away from the pendant in that situation. Who would hold on to something ¡°dangerous¡±?

    But...

    Fang Zhengzhi did.

    ¡°Will there really be three pieces of Heaven Dao Sage Tablets in this pendant?¡± Fang Zhengzhi touched the pendant and kept it in his heart protection mirror.

    ¡°Return it to me!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s calm expression changed when she saw Fang Zhengzhi keeping her pendant. Even her voice trembled as she spoke.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, even you can also be so naive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and looked at Yun Qingwu with disdain.

    Yun Qingwu gritted her teeth in anger, her eyes showing intense fury.

    As predicted by Fang Zhengzhi, there were really three pieces of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets in her pendant. She did not lie about it.

    After all, she was not sure if Fang Zhengzhi would check the contents of the pendant when he first touched it.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s ns were very well-thought out. Because she was meticulous, she would not allow any loopholes in her ns.

    Therefore, her n was naturally built on the real Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.

    Yet she did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to not release his grip on the pendant even after he was injured by it.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi obviously did not think the same way as Yun Qingwu did. How would he let go of the treasure that he had already got on hand?

    The pendant!

    Even if there were no Heaven Dao Sage Tablets in it, it was still a pendant.

    To be worn on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck, the pendant was definitely not an ordinary pendant. At the very least, it was a protective treasure.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he would be a real fool if he had immediately released his grip on the pendant when he was attacked. He did not have an ordinary thinking.

    Without any dy, after he had kept the treasure into his heart protection mirror, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body also shot out beams of gold light rays.

    In a blink of an eye, his entire body was surrounded by golden light. His injuries caused by the silver light was healed extremely quickly.

    Soon, the golden light disappeared and he tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword.

    Boom! At this moment, a loud thunderous sound was heard above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. Following that, a figure fell from the sky.

    It was Yan Yin.

    Yan Yin had evidently suffered severe injuries. His entire body was stained with blood and his broken arm drooped beneath his body.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, watch out!¡± Yan Yin warned Fang Zhengzhi with a weak voice as he ¡°passed by¡± Fang Zhengzhi.

    Before Yan Yin¡¯s voice ended, a ck figure appeared above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. It was a gigantic ck shadow that blocked the entire sky and the sunlight.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had arrived!

    With lightning surrounding her body and the violent waves of movements from her fox tails, she pounced on Fang Zhengzhi from above, her two ws glowing with radiance.

    ¡°Hurry, stop Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡± Mu Qingfeng saw Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s arrival and became extremely anxious. If Monster Emperor Baizhi re-entered the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation, all his hopes would perish and Nangong Hao would be under Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s control again.

    ¡°You are not killing the elder of the demon race?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pouted. Sometimes, he really could not understand what was in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s ¡°fickling¡± mind.

    One moment he wanted others to kill the elder of the demon race, and another moment he wanted others to block Monster Emperor Baizhi. Want to talk so much, why not have the guts to block the attack by himself?

    He was injured?

    Does it mean he could give orders because of his injuries?

    Fang Zhengzhi had some disdain for Mu Qingfeng. However, as someone who cared about the ¡°big picture¡±, the raging ¡°righteousness¡± in him forced him to act as he could not bear to see Monster Emperor Baizhi create trouble.

    He moved his left hand.

    Golden light surged from his hand, caught Yan Yin and wrapped around him. Meanwhile, the Traceless Sword in his right hand shone with purple light.

    ¡°Get off!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared while a beam of purple sword light shone. Without hesitation, he attacked Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s head.

    Humm! The humming continued as the purple light twirled around the sword.

    Although this attack did not look as if it caused a lot of disruption, behind the purple sword light, the space had beenpletely sliced into half and a long ck gap was created.

    ¡°This brat, still choosing to make a head-on confrontation?!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s expression changed and his eyes widened. He did not know what was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capabilities like, but he knew that Monster Emperor Baizhi probably deliberately retreated in the previous round during Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    In other words, whether Fang Zhengzhi had the capability to battle with Monster Emperor Baizhi...

    Was still a big question mark.

    Could he win?

 Chapter 882 - Counterattack To Turn The Tides

    <h4>Chapter 882: Counterattack To Turn The Tides</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Could he win?

    That was Mo Shanshi¡¯s question.

    However, Yan Yin, who was wrapped around in the golden light, soon got the answer to this question.

    At that instant when the golden light wrapped around him, Yan Yin felt a terrifyingly strong force.

    That feeling was as though as an ocean surrounded him, an vast ocean raging with turbulent waves.

    Most importantly, he could clearly see his injuries heal at the speed of lightning.

    ¡°This brat... is really powerful!¡± In the past, Yan Yin¡¯s impression of Fang Zhengzhi was that he was a shameless and arrogant person. Now, Yan Yin was genuinely impressed by him.

    Impressed beyond words.

    Nevertheless, Fang Zhengzhi did not have the time to notice Yan Yin¡¯s change in expression and thoughts. He struck his sword without any hint of panic or fear.

    It was confidence, confidence that originated from his own capabilities. It was like how as the owner of a gold mine, you are not afraid of ordering a te of dumplings.

    Boom! The sword light and Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s w collided, producing a ear-deafening sharp metal sound.

    Afterwards, a violent air wave exploded.

    The air wave tumbled continuously, causing the fur on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s head to stick to he back. Her sharp fox ears kept moving as the eye-blinding lightning shone.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blue robe also made pping noises as it was blown by the wind. His hair-tie was blown off, leaving his long hair flying in the air.

    However, this did not affect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s next move.

    He did not choose to continue defending on the spot. Instead, tightening his grip on the Traceless Sword, he ran towards Monster Emperor Baizhi for an attack.

    ¡°This brat really survived the attack of Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes were about to pop out as he watched Fang Zhengzhi approach Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°No, not only did he survive, he had obtained the capabilities to fight one on one with Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡± Mu Qingfeng was equally stunned.

    Just not too long ago, Fang Zhengzhi could not even defend a single attack. Yet after a few months, he had shockingly discovered that Fang Zhengzhi had managed to gain so much power.

    Luck?

    Mu Qingfeng wanted to credit everything to luck. However, thinking of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s encounters in the past few months, he could not bring himself to link his encounters to luck.

    After he entered the Holy Region, he had suffered severe injuries like Yan Xiu.

    Afterwards, he was caught in the Yin Yang Hall and had to exchange his life for Yan Xiu¡¯s survival. Then, he was thrown into the Middle Stream Cauldron of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    How could this be luck?

    Furthermore, although Mu Qingfeng was not entirely clear about what happened in the Ling Yun Tower, he believed that Fang Zhengzhi must have had something to do with the sudden death of Qian Ye and the incumbency of Qian Yu as the new tower master of the Ling Yun Tower.

    Most importantly, earlier on...

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly was not able to match up to Monster Emperor Baizhi. However, after several miss and hits, he ¡°revived¡± and his powers increased tremendously.

    Could all this be luck?

    No, this was opportunity!

    To be fair, the same opportunity had appeared for Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi. However, the only person who was able to catch it was Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was his bravery and aggressiveness that gave him the confidence to try.

    Yet in Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s heart, they had already lost the confidence to try and only knew how to stick to the rules.

    Mu Qingfeng looked at Fang Zhengzhi and the sword light that was emitted from his traceless sword and sighed to himself, perhaps, he was really old...

    ...

    The sword light crossed in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strikes were not too impressive, but every strike was extremely sharp such that even Monster Emperor was not able to block the strikes with her body.

    ¡°This brat seemed to have... changed!¡± After continuously blocking three strikes from Fang Zhengzhi, this thought popped up in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mind.

    This was not because of the sudden sharp moves of Fang Zhengzhi. Rather, it was because of the tremendous change in the vibes that Fang Zhengzhi gave off when he attacked.

    In the past, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strikes were urgent and ruthless, as though he wanted to end the battle in the fastest time possible.

    Yet now, his strikes were no longer urgent and ruthless. In fact, they were sharp and stable like ripples of waves that flowed continuously.

    This was a change in his aura. Simrly, it represented a change in his state of mind.

    Urgent and ruthless represented Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s state of mind when he wanted to take advantage of opportunities to find the weakness spot and attack it.

    Yet now, he no longer took advantage of such opportunities. This proved that Fang Zhengzhi;s state of mind had be extremely confident. Only such confidence could allow Fang Zhengzhi to take on a battle with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Boom! The sword light and w collided once again. Then, the air wave violently twirled in the sky, forming a gigantic tornado.

    This scene stunned the sages and the monster kings. Fang Zhengzhi had made too many strikes.

    More than five strikes!

    Five strikes and had had yet to retreat at all. In fact, he continued closing in and attacked Monster Emperor Baizhi continuously as though he had no intention of escaping.

    Most importantly, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not counterattack.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, he... he could break a tie with Monster Emperor Baizhi alone?¡±

    ¡°Terrifying! How could this happen?¡±

    ¡°She is the Monster Emperor, the most powerful in the Holy Region! Whereas Fang Zhengzhi is only eighteen years old! How could an eighteen year-old tie with Monster Emperor Baizhi?¡±

    The sages were initially proud of themselves for having reached the Sage State. Yet, after seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle with Monster Emperor Baizhi, they lost their pride.

    It was a blow to their confidence!

    It was as though you had worked hard for your entire life for something which another person managed to aplish in one or two years¡¯ time. They definitely felt indignant and salty over that.

    ¡°Lady Empress!¡±

    Roar!

    Roar!

    The monster kings were equally shocked. After all, in their heart, Monster Emperor Baizhi was like God who was a superior figure that would definitely not lose in a battle.

    Yet now, Monster Emperor Baizhi was hindered by an eighteen year-old human.

    How could they not be shocked?

    How could they not be afraid?

    ¡°Perhaps this brat could really turn the tides!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s face was red. After a few rounds with Monster Emperor Baizhi, he knew about Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s capabilities.

    If he was able to continuously make five strikes with the condition that Monster Emperor Baizhi had turned into a monster, Fang Zhengzhi definitely had the capability to battle one on one with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Even though he may lose in the end, it was enough.

    ...

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you really think you can fight with me?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi roared with a cold look in her dark green eyes.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded with another question. Meanwhile, he zoomed past the air waves and leaped to the top of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s head.

    He struck her with his sword.

    The evil purple light umted. Like a crescent moon, it struck the neck of Monster Emperor Baizhi with a sharp howl.

    ¡°Very good, I shall see how capable you are!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was really infuriated. Instead of using her ws to block the attack, she sprung forward.

    While she made the spring, she darted the strike made by Fang Zhengzhi. Meanwhile, her gigantic frame shrunk instantaneously but the nine fox tails grew longer.

    It was a strange scene.

    The shrinking of her body meant that the thickness of her fur was reduced. Yet, judging from the speed, it looked as though it grew faster.

    This change was very effective.

    After Monster Emperor Baizhi had darted the attack, her nine fox tails began whipping towards Fang Zhengzhi in all directions.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi finally began her counterattack.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. He clearly saw the change in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s and felt the increase in her momentum.

    He had no time to think too much as the nine fox tails hadnded in front of his face.

    Dart!

    Dart, dart, and dart again...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body kept twisting and turning in the sky. He made ridiculous movements such as twisting his back, lifting his pelvis, or making a star shape with his body.

    With a Herculean effort, he finally managed to dart the whips of the nine fox tails.

    However, he did not have much time to rest because Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s fox tails whipped towards him again.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi seemed to understand why Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s was holding back earlier on. With a huge body frame, she could not possibly avoid his sword radiance and only could passively wait to be attacked.

    However, now that she had shrunk in body size, the situation seemed to be reversed.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had sacrificed the defense of her body and traded that with speed and agility. On top of that, she increased the length of her nine fox tails in order to escape from her predicament.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand...

    Was sessfully trapped!

    Historical books have recorded that a real powerful monster had the ability to change its form. It could take the form of a human to seduce other humans, or take the form of a gigantic monster to be able to soar in the skies and control the lightning, thunder and wind, as well as hiding amongst the beasts to avoid being attacked and escape from troubles.

    Fang Zhengzhi always thought it was just an illusory legend. However, he realized that all legends had its origins after he fought with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    What should he do?

    He preferred to be at the upper position with respect to a female and was not very happy with the fact that he was suppressed.

    Therefore, he decided to flip around.

    However, he had to ponder over how he should do this flip. After all, he was not as powerful as Monster Emperor Baizhi and was not as fast and agile as her. He was only making use of his endless origin energy, albeit it had an insignificant effect.

    ¡°Auntie Qian, in times of crisis like this, how could you possibly just sit back and watch?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he tried his best to avoid the fox tail.

    ¡°If you need help, say it. Why use those righteous words which I cannot understand.¡± Qian Yu waved her hand at Fang Zhengzhi and was clearly unwilling to help.

    ¡°Auntie, please save me!¡±

    ¡°If you had say this earlier, you would not need to suffer.¡± Qian Yu smiled while she tightened her grip on the two swords in her hands. Without any dy, she dashed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Seeing this scene, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi nced at each other and gave a wry smile.

    If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they really could not imagine that Tower Master Qian Yu had such a temper.

    Of course, Qian Yu should not be med for that.

    After all, nobody would feel great to have Fang Zhengzhi as a shameless ¡°nephew¡±,

    ¡°Attack!¡± Mu Qingfeng said while clenching his teeth.

    ¡°How about Yun Qingwu?¡± Mo Shanshi asked hesitantly as he took at nce at Yun Qingwu who was standing in the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation and surrounded by the ten elders of the demon race.

    ¡°If we could defeat Monster Emperor Baizhi, the ns of the monster race and the demon race would not seed.¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned for a moment.

    ¡°You are right!¡± Mo Shanshi nodded his head in approval.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Although both Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi had suffered severe injuries, with the addition of the two and Qian Yu, the battle situation had a huge change.

    Although the shrinking of body size helped to increase Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s speed and agility, this reduced her defence capabilities.

    In the situation of a joint attack, her speed and agility was somewhat constrained. This was precisely why Monster Emperor Baizhi had chosen to increase her body frame when she was battling against four.

    To find opportunities while defending.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi clearly could not continue her tactics like before. The reason was that Fang Zhengzhi alone forced her to defend with her bigger body frame.

    Therefore, how could she find a chance to counterattack?

    ¡°We have a chance, Monster Emperor Baizhi looks like she cannot hold on any longer!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Fang Zhengzhi alone could defend against Monster Emperor Baizhi, with the addition of Pavilion Master Mu, Valley Master Mo and Tower Master Qian, Monster Emperor Baizhi can never win!¡±

    ¡°They can carry out their counterattack. If they can sessfully defeat Monster Emperor Baizhi, we will not need to worry about the Monster Kings!¡±

    After witnessing the scene, the sages were hopeful again. They fought with all their might and stopped retreating.

    After all, nobody wanted to see the fall of humankind.

    This was a change in the state of mind. From a failure to winning, it gave everyone intense confidence as though they had resurrected.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± Dao Xin nced over at Fang Zhengzhi who was battling with Monster Emperor Baizhi and clenched his fist. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how he turned the tides of this battle!¡±

 Chapter 883 - Open the Gate of God!

    <h4>Chapter 883: Open the Gate of God!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Dao Xin did not know if it was a coincidence. However, if it really was a coincidence, then Fang Zhengzhi would have encountered too many coincidences.

    No matter what, she had to ¡°make use of the opportunity to take action¡± now.

    After all, when humankind sessfully turned the tide of the battle, she could not possibly ¡°take her leave first¡± like what she did earlier on.

    Dao Hun clearly understood this.

    Without any reminders from Dao Xin, Dao Hun knew what to do next. However, it was difficult for him to change his words after he had said something earlier on.

    It was very awkward.

    However, no matter how awkward it was, he could not possibly leave again.

    Having retreated to the bottom of the Tree of God, Dao Hun did not hesitate. After leaving Yan Xiu with Dao Xin, he dashed towards the top of the Tree of God again.

    Dao Hun was rather terrifying when he became ¡°fric¡±. He managed to break through the defence of the Monster Kings and returned to the top of the Tree of God like a stream of light.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Valley Master Mo, Tower Master Qian, I¡¯m here to help!¡± At the instant when he returned to the top of the Tree of God, Dao Hun pped down at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°...¡± After hearing Dao Hun¡¯s sentence, the sages and the disciples of the various sects stared at each other speechlessly.

    Besides them, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi was also perplexed.

    However, in that situation, Dao Hun¡¯s addition definitely increased the chances of winning the battle. Therefore, they could not possibly reject his help.

    Yan Yin, who had recovered slightly from his injuries, gritted his teeth and followed Dao Hun.

    The two figures moved extremely quickly and reached Monster Emperor Baizhi at almost the same time.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Two loud booms.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, who was already limited in terms of speed, was pped twice with force, causing her fur to stand upright.

    Although the two ps did not affect Monster Emperor Baizhi too much, the two ps did cause some injury to her.

    ¡°Here¡¯s our chance!¡± Seeing the look of agony on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s face, Dao Hun was very certain that he made the right choice of staying behind.

    Yan Yin¡¯s eyes lit up too.

    When he was fighting against Monster Emperor Baizhi, he clearly felt the strong defensive powers that she had. However, this defensive powers seemed to have dropped by arge extent.

    He could breakthrough her defence!

    That gave him absolute confidence!

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Valley Master Mo, Tower Master Qian, this is the opportunity to kill Monster Emperor Baizhi, so that we can see world peace again!¡± Dao Hun tightened his fist, giving a chilling gaze beneath his mask.

    ¡°Kill Monster Emperor Baizhi?¡± Mo Shanshi was stunned.

    He had not thought of doing that. After all, he had thought that Monster Emperor Baizhi was undefeatable.

    However...

    As what Dao Hun had said, if they were able to kill Monster Emperor Baizhi, the world would no longer see a repeat of such events again.

    If Monster Emperor Baizhi dies, the dozens of Monster Kings would not be a threat anymore.

    Same for the demon race!

    With merely over ten powerful individuals in the demon race, without the support of the monster race, they would no longer be a threat too!

    Mo Shanshi had not given these questions a thought previously because Monster Emperor Baizhi was too powerful. Yet now, he could finally give these questions a thought.

    ¡°Old man Mo, Tower Master Qian, I think it is feasible. What do you think?¡± Mu Qingfeng said with a chilling gaze.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Mo Shanshi made up his mind.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Qian Yu nodded her head.

    ¡°Hahaha... Trying to kill me?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi overheard the conversation and said with a chilling look in her dark green eyes, ¡°Do you humans really think you can achieve victory and be the master of the heaven and earth with your cunning plots? The world is fair to all creatures!¡±

    ¡°Haha, fair? What do you mean by fair! This world is a world where the most powerful wins. Be it your birthce or enlightenment state, nothing in the world is fair! Unless you think that someone without any identity could be a powerful individual?¡± Dao Hun made a mocking remark after hearing Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s words.

    ¡°Why not? Powerful individualse from poor family backgrounds too!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard. He broke off Dao Hun¡¯s sentence without caring about his reputation.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you...¡± Dao Hun was shocked. He wanted to say something but upon seeing the Traceless Sword that was emitting purple light, he swallowed his words.

    ¡°Although I do not like this old wretch, but I feel that she¡¯s right about the statement that the world is fair to all creatures!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said nonchntly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi moved their lips and wanted to say something. However, they decided to keep silent in the end, just like what they said, it is a world where the most powerful wins.

    Now that Fang Zhengzhi had be the ¡°most powerful¡±...

    He was naturally right.

    ¡°Hmph, you brat, I do not need your agreement!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked at Fang Zhengzhi before turning around and giving the rest a nce. WIth a chilling gaze, she said, ¡°Do you really think you have won?¡±

    ¡°Unless you still have a chance to win?¡± Dao Hun finally found a chance to speak.

    ¡°Alright then, I shall see how you all can kill me!¡± As she spoke, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s frame grew bigger while her nine fox tails shrunk in size.

    Very quickly, Monster Emperor Baizhi changed into a gigantic figure. Her ws were glowing with radiance and a thickyer of white fur covered her entire body like metal.

    ¡°She grew in size again?¡± Dao Hun¡¯s gave a chilling nce.

    ¡°Baizhi, there¡¯s no benefits in trying to struggle before your death!¡± After seeing her grow in size, Mo Shanshi was stunned too.

    After all, they had to spend some time trying to kill Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi snorted coldly as she stopped talking and waved her nine fox tails around herself, preventing the attacks of the fighters.

    The battle intensified again.

    However it was clear that Monster Emperor Baizhi was limited in terms of her speed after she grew in size. Even though she could make use of the thick and strong defensive measures tost through the attacks, she no longer had a chance to attack.

    She could only defend.

    ¡°You brat, show us what you¡¯ve got!¡± Mo Shanshi said to Fang Zhengzhi. He was very certain that the critical sess factor of killing Monster Emperor Baizhi was Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°If you are able to kill the monster emperor, you would be the hero of humankinnd,¡± Mu Qingfeng said.

    After all, even though the situation was pretty clear now, he was not sure whether Fang Zhengzhi had any new ideas.

    ¡°Hero?¡± Fang Zhengzhi twitched his mouth.

    He knew the meaning behind their words, but he had a strange feeling about the fact that Monster Emperor Baizhi had grown bigger in size once again.

    Growing bigger!

    That definitely gave her more time tost through the battle.

    However, even though she couldst a little longer, the increase in size meant that Monster Emperor Baizhi hadpletely given up the chance to win.

    Why so?

    Why would Monster Emperor Baizhi make such a decision?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure. He knew that Monster Emperor Baizhi did not have the intention to give up from her expression.

    Not giving up? Yet she used the tactic of surrendering?

    What was wrong?

    Exactly what was wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned deeply. By right, nothing should go wrong with the current situation as Monster Emperor Baizhi had already been trapped by them.

    It was only a matter of time before they won.

    However, this victory made him feel that something was wrong.

    Was she trying to dy?

    Why would Monster Emperor Baizhi try to dy?

    Wait a minute!

    Yun Qingwu!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized and nced towards the position where Yun Qingwu was at. Then, his expression changed.

    Beside Yun Qingwu, there was a figure who was wearing a white robe that was painted in blood. They exuded a chilling aura.

    Most importantly, the figure looked perplexed and seemed to be in agony, as though he was trying very hard to struggle.

    ¡°Nangong Hao!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not shocked by how Nangong Hao was standing beside Yun Qingwu, but rather the fact that he was holding onto the ck and green fruits.

    Wait a minute!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had already been trapped by them, how did she have the ability to control Nangong Hao? What was going on?

    ¡°Oh no, the ¡°godly charm, the skill of stealing souls¡± was not the spell used by Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡± A thought stuck Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What?!¡± Mu Qingfeng heard Fang Zhengzhi and was evidently shocked. However, he did not fully understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    ¡°It is Yun Qingwu who controlled Nangong Hao!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood where the awry feeling originated.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had opted to use a tactic that gave her no chance of winning so as to divert the attention of the rest, thereby giving Yun Qingwu more time.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu...

    She as patiently waiting for everyone¡¯s attention to be diverted to Monster Emperor Baizhi before she ¡°attacked¡± Nangong Hao.

    What a mindset with terrifying endurance.

    Most importantly, everything seemed to be predicted by Yun Qingwu. In other words, Yun Qingwu had not predicted about what would happen but rather the most foolproof method.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was indeed very powerful. However, she was the target of others because of her powers.

    Yun Qingwu knew this.

    Therefore, she went to the top of the Tree of God.

    When the ten elder of the demon race made use of the ten-med demon arrays, she used ck mes to defend herself and blocked the line of sight of others, thus conducting a ¡°tant¡± act of ¡®passing off fake products as genuine ones¡¯.

    All of this took ce with everyone watching, yet precisely because she did this in front of everyone, nobody suspected her.

    The reason why Fang Zhengzhi could think of this was not because he was more intelligent thatn Yun Qingwu, but rather because he had an experience of getting controlled by Yun Qingwu¡¯s illusion tactic.

    When he was hiding behind a statue, he took a nce at Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes. One nce and he went into a daze.

    If he was not rescued by the girl in white skirt in his state of illusion, he would have been controlled by Yun Qingwu using her illusion tactic.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu also knows the ¡°godly charm, the skill of stealing souls¡±!¡±

    ¡°What? Yun Qingwu knows too?!¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Shanshi was evidently shocked and looked astonished.

    ¡°How could this be?¡± Dao Hun did not believe his ears.

    ¡°Stop her!¡± Mu Qingfeng spoke.

    Meanwhile, Yan Yin and Qian Yu had already made a move and dashed towards Yun Qingwu with the speed of lightning.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you try to hurt our master!¡± Upon seeing Yan Yin and Qian Yu, the ten elders of the demon race moved their ck robes and emitted an eye-catching radiance from their bodies.

    Huff! ck mes started to burn and transformed to be a gigantic protective barrier which enclosed Yun Qingwu and the ten elders o the demon race.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, hurry, hurry break through the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation!¡± Mu Qingfeng became exasperated when he saw the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation.

    This was because only Fang Zhengzhi was able to break through the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that too.

    In reality, the moment he saw Nangong Hao appearing beside Yun Qingwu, he had already started to move. He turned into a stream of light and dashed towards Yun Qingwu.

    However, it was toote.

    Yun Qingwu had already prepared for everything when she moved Nangong Hao beside her.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you have lost!¡± Yun Qingwu took a look at Fang Zhengzhi and her expression remained calm.

    Following her words, Nangong Hao¡¯s hands made an ancient ¡°hand sign¡± and the two fruits vanished into thin air.

    ¡°Vanished?¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned and widened his eyes in shock.

    ¡°How did this happen?¡± Mo Shanshi was confused too.

    However, his confusion turned into a shock. That was because at the instant when the two fruits had disappeared, a ck ray and a green ray appeared on Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    Boom!

    The two rays shot out of Nangong Hao¡¯s body like two light pirs that connected to the sky,nding on the ck and green doors in heaven.

 Chapter 884 - The Truth Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 884: The Truth Revealed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Crack! At the same time, a low and heavy sound was heard from the ck and green doors. Then, the two doors started vibrating.

    A vast and ancient aura exuded from the doors. It was like the newborn heaven and earth, along with a whistle and supreme authority.

    Buzz!

    Vast and broad, the ocean waves caused the atmosphere to be extremely suffocating to the point when one had difficulties breathing.

    At this moment, the clouds that were blocking the sky was blown away,pletely revealing the two doors standing erected in the heaven.

    ¡°The Door of the Realm of Demons!¡±

    ¡°The Door of the Realm of Monsters!¡±

    ¡°Are they really going to be opened?!¡±

    The sages, disciples of the various sects and the Monster Kings all stopped moving and stared at the two tall doors in the heaven.

    Fang Zhengzhi froze in midair, in an upside-down position that was less than ten steps away from Yun Qingwu and the ten elders of the demon race.

    In fact, he had broken through the the 10-Sided ming Demonic Formation again. However, he could not continue advancing because he was constrained by a white fox tail on his right leg.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi could allow anyone to spring an attack on Yun Qingwu, except for one person.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi dashed towards Yun Qingwu, Monster Emperor Baizhi had broken through all the attacks and hurled all her nine fox tails towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi was unable to stop all nine fox tails, hence Fang Zhengzhi was unable to advance close enough to Yun Qingwu.

    Of course, all of these were no longer important. Regardless of whether Fang Zhengzhi was trapped by the fox tail of Monster Emperor Baizhi, it was impossible for him to stop Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°What are in those two doors?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not immediately break away from the fox tail on his right leg. Instead, he looked at Yun Qingwu who was standing ten steps away and asked.

    ¡°The powerful men of the monster race and demon race.¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression as calm as water. She did not have the intention to hide the truth.

    ¡°From the Yan Huang era?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°Powerful men from thousands of years ago, how are you certain that all of them are still alive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not understand.

    ¡°No, in fact, some of them had died long ago. I have said earlier on, those who survived till now are really the most powerful.¡±

    ¡°Longevity?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°From my knowledge, almost everyone with longevity,,, died too,¡± Yun Qingwu replied after a short pause.

    ¡°Then how are you certain that some powerful men are still alive?¡±

    ¡°Seal.¡±

    ¡°Seal?¡±

    ¡°Yes, after the natural disaster, Mother Earth sealed all of them after knowing that she could not bring them back.¡±

    ¡°So this two doors are connected to the other two worlds that had been sealed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s connected to the same world.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°The same world?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused.

    ¡°To be exact, it is the gxy outside this world. You should have seen how the gxy looks like,¡± Yun Qingwu replied calmly.

    ¡°You mean the starry sky with ck chains and meteorites?¡±

    ¡°Meteorites?¡± Yun Qingwu did not seem to understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant. However, she did not probe further and continued. ¡°When natural disaster struck, Mother Earth used all of the skills she had to refine 36,500 pieces of ¡®heavenly gemstones¡¯ to prevent natural disaster from striking, and refined the ck metals thatnded with the natural disaster to connect with the ¡®spirit chain¡¯. The gxy was the ce that the most powerful of the two races were sealed.¡±

    36,500 pieces of heavenly gemstones!

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. This story was almost identical to the mythical story of how N¨¹wa had created heavenly gemstones to mend the sky.

    How could it be so coincidental?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not dwell over it as it was not the time to do so. He had an important question. ¡°Wait a minute, how do you know I had seen the gxy before?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Yun Qingwu smiled. Her calm expression finally became a joyful one and she looked as beautiful as a blooming flower. After smiling, she said, ¡°Actually, when you entered the Holy Region, or in other words, when you left the Northern Mountain Vige, I knew that you would see the gxy.¡±

    ¡°So you are making use of me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi trembled when he heard this and a ray of light shed past his eyes.

    ¡°Not exactly. I had known about the ns of the Nangong family, which includes a critical point about capturing Chi Guyan. For you to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion, you would definitely be caught in the ns of the Nangong family and therefore see the gxy.¡±Yun Qingwu replied with confidence, ¡°However, if you want to me me for making use of you, I made use of you when I gave you the ¡®ck box¡¯.¡±

    ¡°ck box? The box that contained the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    ¡°A ck box... is not necessarily needed for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. The Vast World on your body could contain the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet too. The ck box¡¯s use was to detect the presence of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet and merging them to form the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven,¡± Yun Qingwu exined.

    ¡°To detect the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? Merge to form the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.. So the ¡®Nine Heavens¡¯ incident I encountered at the Heaven Book Pond was because of your doing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you participated in the test of Heaven Dao Pavilion, you would end up with two oues: pass or fail. If you passed, you would enter the Heaven Book Pond. If not, I think... With Chi Guyan¡¯s authority in Heaven Dao Pavilion, she would try her best to let you enter the Heaven Book Lake!¡±

    ¡°So it was you... you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. ¡°Do you know that the Heaven Dao Pavilion had came after me because I ruined the Heaven Book Pond, and that resulted in Yan Xiu bing a Fallen Asura, causing him to lose his memory of me till date!¡±

    ¡°This was an ident. The incident of you exchanging your life for Yan Xiu¡¯s, how you were throw into the Middle Stream Cauldron, these were not in my n. In fact, my initial n was...¡±

    Crack! At this moment, a loud sound from the sky disrupted Yun Qingwu¡¯s sentence.

    The vibrations of the green and ck door also stoppedpletely.

    It was a moment of calmness.

    Then, the light pir shining on the two doors also vanished, as though it waspletely swallowed by the two doors.

    Boom! After the moment of calmness, the ground shook.

    A strong and dark ancient aura descended from the sky, causing some of the weaker disciples to get on their knees, each one of them sweating profusely, as though they were repressed by a superior force from above.

    ¡°Hahaha... A world where the strongest wins?! I shall see who is the strongest one in this world!¡±Monster Emperor Baizhi;sughter could be heard.

    From her tone, Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely happy. Sheughed hysterically and herughter resonated through the air, mixing in with the rumbles of the ground.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you smiling? Your n has seeded, no?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu who gave a more chilling look than before.

    ¡°Why must I smile when my ns seed?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook as though she felt the intense coldness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. Yet, she recovered soon, though she had an oddlyplex look in her eyes andpared to Monster Emperor Baizhi, she was not excited or happy at all.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be happy when the most powerful of the monster race and demon race arrive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his left fist while the Traceless Sword on his right hand moved.

    ¡°Sometimes it does not matter whether I am happy or not. More importantly, you would not be given a second option due to your identity and mission. If you were me, you would react the same way.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, what makes you so sure!¡± A chilling look shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and his traceless sword glowed with a bright purple light, emitting sharp and loud tweets.

    ¡°Even if you killed me, I would make sure you made the same choices as I did!¡±

    ¡°Then I shall kill you!¡±

    ¡°You cannot kill me anymore. Not now, not ever!¡± Yun Qingwu stepped forward abruptly with an extremely confidence expression on her beautiful face. ¡°However, since I made use of you, I shall give you a chance. If you really want to kill me, we can take a bet!¡±

    ¡°A bet? What bet?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you always say how you like to live a calm and peaceful life and did not want to bother about what is happening in the world? I shall give you this chance, but I will bet you can¡¯t live with it past two years!¡±

    ¡°Two years?¡±

    ¡°Yes, if you are able to live with that life for two years, I, Yun Qingwu, would let you ughter me as you wish and not fight back, not even give a single frown!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bet with you, but I have one condition!¡±

    ¡°What condition?¡±

    ¡°You would be able to leave this ce alive!¡± Following Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, his right leg trembled violently.

    Instantaneously, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right leg seemed to have disappeared, it was an effect caused by the extremely fast vibrations.

    Besides his right leg, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s giant white fox tail also started to tremble violently.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi began to move.

    He descended from the sky and was freed from the restrains of the white fox tail. He dashed towards Yun Qingwu with an extremely fast speed and the traceless sword in his hands gave an ear-piercing tweet.

    Humm! This was a sound of extreme excitment, as though the peaceful vast ocean was suddenly attacked by a tornado that caused a terrifying tsunami.

    ¡°What?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯sughter stopped. She evidently could not believe how Fang Zhengzhi escaped from her fox tail with such a method.

    She wanted to stop him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was way too fast for her to stop in front of Fang Zhengzhi or use her fox tail to stop him.

    Despite that, the ten elders of the demon race could stop him.

    The ten elders of the demon race had always been guarding by Yun Qingwu¡¯s side. Like shadows, they followed every single step that Yun Qingwu took without anyx.

    Fang Zhengzhi had escaped Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s fox tail with an amazing speed.

    But the ten elders of the demon race also reacted equally quickly. Although they did not speak, they had overheard Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu¡¯s conversation.

    Therefore, they were prepared.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you won¡¯t be able to harm our lord!¡± Letting out a roar in unison, the ten elders of the demon race¡¯s ck cloak flew.

    ¡°Whoever who blocks me shall die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes changed to an evil purple. With an intense killing intent, he exerted a force from the top to the bottom like an ocean.

    He had always took the incident that happened in the Nine Heavens to heart. He had always wondered why the ¡®Ninth Heaven¡¯ had copsed when he stepped into the Heaven Book Pond.

    If the Ninth Heavens had not copsed, if the Heaven Book Pond had not been destroyed, Fang Zhengzhi could have left the Heaven Dao Pavilion in ease and did not have to end up running away or being chased by the members of the Heaven Dao Pavilion from the top of the Sword Peak to theke at the bottom of the Sword Peak.

    Simrly, if he had not been chased after by the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    How would the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind and two others force Yan Xiu to be a Fallen Asura?

    In reality, he had made ns at the bottom of the mountain of Heaven Dao Pavilion. Although he was not aware of the power of the Shadow Sect, he had informed Wu Yuer and the members of the Shadow Sect to wait for his ¡®grand arrival¡¯ below the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion everyday.

    However, things happened too quickly. Nobody predicted that the ¡®Ninth Heaven¡¯ would copse suddenly and damage the Heaven Book Pond.

    Yet now, he seemed to have understood. No matter what choice he had made then, no matte whether he had passed or failed the test of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he would definitely have entered the Heaven Book Pond and step into the trap of Yun Qingwu.

    Being chased after...

    Then living like a rat in the sewers in the Holy Region!

 Chapter 885 - A Place He Grew Up

    <h4>Chapter 885: A ce He Grew Up</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s n was very simple: make use of Fang Zhengzhi, the ¡°rat in the sewers¡± to stir up matters in the seemingly calm and peaceful Holy Region.

    That was because Yun Qingwu was very certain that although the Five Sects of the Holy Region each represented a region, there were too many disputes involving interests.

    Fang Zhengzhi came.

    He would naturally stir up the situation. However, the most he could do was to create the ordinary disputes amongst the disciples of the five sects, or at best, amongst the elders.

    Such events were notmon in the Holy Region, but it was after all only some friction and disputes amongst humans. Although it made some disruption, it would not result in anyrger problems. After all, the Five Sects of the Holy Region must have had a certain level of tolerance in order to be established for thousands of years.

    In order to make the five sects fight arge-scale battle...

    Was basically impossible!

    However, the ¡®ck box¡¯ on Fang Zhengzhi could make things different. The destruction of the Heaven Book Pond in the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Heavens definitely spread through the entire Holy Region.

    As such, Fang Zhengzhi who was scurrying in the Holy Region with the ck box and the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet would naturally be the target of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    At that point in time, any sect who caught Fang Zhengzhi would invite trouble because Fang Zhengzhi had the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet with him.

    This was the most important factor!

    Although the Five Sects of the Holy Region would not fight arge-scale battle because of interpersonal friction, they would definitely do something if the nine Heaven Dao Sage Tablets from the Heaven Dao Pavilion were involved.

    That was the initial n of Yun Qingwu.

    To use Fang Zhengzhi as the ¡°bait¡± to cause disruption to the Five Sects of the Holy Region, then continue stirring up matters behind the scenes and ultimately sit back and enjoy sess.

    Of course, there was a small ident in this n.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s life was in danger.

    In such a situation, Fang Zhengzhi had made an unexpected decision: to exchange his life for Yan Xiu¡¯s survival.

    As such, the battle amongst the five sects did not go as nned.

    However, Yun Qingwu being Yun Qingwu, although things did not go as nned, she still had ways to fulfill her ns.

    It was entering the Great Swamp.

    The final oue was not too different.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not die. Not only did he not die, he had caused a few of the elders in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to suffer heavy injuries. This gave Yun Qingwu another chance to break through.

    To use Nine Pinnacles Mountain as a breakthrough point to tear apart the alliance between the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    ...

    Although the sun was shining bright, the wind made it slightly cold.

    Perhaps this cold was not from the wind on the mountains but also from the killer aura and intense chilling aura that Fang Zhengzhi exuded.

    Towards Yun Qingwu...

    Fang Zhengzhi had all along feltplicated.

    If Yun Qingwu was not the Demon Young Lord or the Young Empress of the monster race, things would not have progressed as such. Nevertheless, he could not change the facts.

    The stand taken would be different with different factions.

    Boom! A loud sound was emitted from the top of the Tree of God. Three rays of purple light, each ray as bright as the sun, shone in the sky.

    The ten elders of the demon race widened their eyes.

    They knew that Fang Zhengzhi was powerful, yet they could not ept the fact that the eighteen-year old was so powerful.

    However, no matter whether they choose to ept the fact or not, Fang Zhengzhi hadpletely suppressed them.

    The violent killer aura was pressing them on their heads and the three rays of purple light, with an extremely fast speed, had made three slits between them.

    Crack! One of the elders¡¯ arm was broken by the purple light. Blood sttered andnded on some of the white flowers on the Tree of God.

    Beside him, the other two rays of purple light had forced two other elders of the demon race away. A scar, deep till the extent that bones were revealed, could be seen on each of the elders¡¯ chest.

    One of the elders fell straight on the ground. The golden demon eye split from the center and a crystal-like substance flowed out from it.

    One strike!

    Two injured and one died!

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi was unable to achieve such a sharp move. That was because this strike was made when Fang Zhengzhi was facing ten elders of the demon race.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had blood stains on his body too.

    While Fang Zhengzhi charged towards the elders of the demon race, one of them ran to the back of Fang Zhengzhi and pped him from the back.

    On the other hand, another elder went into a strange position and made use of a special weapon that was shaped like a moon hook to create an incision on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right leg.

    However, what surprised the elders of the demon race was the fact that Fang Zhengzhi did not seem to be too bothered by his injuries. In fact, with the p on his back, he managed to use his body to forcefully break apart the defence made by the ten elders of the demon race.

    It happened very quickly.

    So quickly that the sages and the disciples of the various sects could not see the scene clearly. However, they saw one of the elders die on the spot.

    ¡°So... so powerful!¡±

    The sages and the disciples of the various sects, as well as the Monster Kings all widened their eyes and had the same thought.

    Facing the ten elders of the demon race...

    He managed to break through with one strike of his sword!

    How terrifying was that!

    However, things did not seem to end because of that. After breaking through the defence, Fang Zhengzhi continued to attack using his Traceless Sword.

    Humm! A clear sound of the sword was heard.

    Like a giant purple dragon that dived down from midair, the strike carried an overwhelmingly strong killing intent. At the instant when the purple sword light appeared, it had already struck.

    From the start to the end, it did not even take a blink of an eye.

    It was a strike with the ultimate speed!

    The target of the strike was none other than Yun Qingwu. Finding a gap between the elders of the demon race, Fang Zhengzhi immediately struck towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Looks like... You really want me to die...¡± Yun Qingwu began to tremble slightly as she stared at the purple sword radiance directed towards her.

    She did not retreat, neither did she dart or try to protect herself.

    Yun Qingwu stared at the purple sword radiance calmly. Her expression portrayed a struggle within her, as though she wanted to seek for relief but was unable to do so.

    sh! The sword light cut through a body and fresh blood sttered across the sky.

    However, the person who was stabbed was not Yun Qingwu, it was an elder of the demon race who stood out and used his body to block the attack.

    It was evident on the elder¡¯s face that he was in agony. However, he also looked happy and relieved.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are powerful, but you will not be able to kill Young Lord!¡± Blood flowed from the mouth of the elder of the demon race as he gripped tightly on the Traceless Sword which had prated his chest.

    He was not as fast as Fang Zhengzhi, nor could he block the extremely fast strike made by Fang Zhengzhi. Yet, he could use his hands to catch the sword.

    That was because after the sword had entered his body, it would not be able to move. Therefore, he could grip onto the sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped moving.

    His Traceless Sword was held tightly by the elder of the demon race. The two hands of the elder were like metal shackles that were shackled on the Traceless Sword.

    This was a protective willpower.

    From the eyes of the elder of the demon race, Fang Zhengzhi saw happiness, a happiness that exuded after he had managed to protect someone important.

    Furthermore, he could hear sharp sounds of wind beside his ears. The wind was so near and fast that it made his ears hurt.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi let out a long howl and kicked the chest of the elder standing in front of him. Blood sttered again. It was the blood after the Traceless Sword had cut the two hands.

    Boom!

    At Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s initial position, four or five light rays rose. Some rose from the bottom and some came from the top.

    With the collision of the light rays, a huge air wave was produced.

    This was the attack sprung by the other few elders of the demon race while Fang Zhengzhi paused his attack. Each of the attack sprung was terrifyingly powerful.

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to avoid these attacks.

    That was because he had managed to move at least two steps backwards after he kicked the chest of the elder.

    Plop! The elder of the demon race who had blocked the attack of the sword with his body fell to the ground.

    However, the other elders of the demon race had gathered together with Yun Qingwu behind them. Each of them portrayed a face of perseverance.

    As the elders in the demon race whose status were second only to that of the Demon Emperor...

    All of them were more experienced than Yun Qingwu. Yun Qingwu had to even bow to them respectfully when they met.

    Yet, none of them retreated. Even the two elders who fell to the ground did not show any sense of hatred or fear.

    That was because they were protecting Yun Qingwu.

    The future hope of the demon race was also the only hope for the coboration between the monster race and the devil race.

    Therefore, none of the status were important.

    They could die.

    But not Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you won¡¯t be able to kill Young Lord. Even if you kill us all, you won¡¯t be able to kill Young Lord!¡± The elders of the demon race said in unison, their expressions as firm as ever.

    Roar!

    Roar...

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, kill us before you even think of killing Young Empress!¡±

    After the elders of the demon race spoke, dozens of Monster Kings also made noises, some were beastly roars while others were spoken words.

    Afterwards, the dozens of monster kings started moving.

    Like the torrent that covered the sky and earth, they swarmed towards Fang Zhengzhi. Each of the Monster Kings moved with extremely fast speeds and had the same determination in their eyes.

    It was a sudden scene.

    It was so sudden that the sages and the disciples of the various sects could not react.

    Even after Monster Emperor Baizhi met a crisis and was trapped by Mu Qingfeng and Fang Zhengzhi, the monster kings did not react the same way.

    Yet, when Yun Qingwu encountered danger, they all disregarded the fight with the sages and surged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Why did this happen?!¡±

    ¡°Unless, to the monster kings, Yun Qingwu is more important than Monster Emperor Baizhi?¡±

    The sages and the disciples of the various sects could not figure out why.

    Yet, they understood it very quickly. The reason was not due to the level of importance, but rather the status of Yun Qingwu now.

    Even though the monster race was powerful, they were trapped in the Great Swamp by humankind and could never escape.

    With this kind of life, the future of monster race was non-existent.

    However, Yun Qingwu changed this.

    In other words, only Yun Qingwu could change this.

    After bringing the monster race out of the Great Swamp, she built the solid alliance between the monster race and the demon race. They achieved sess again and again, bringing hope to the monster race.

    Therefore, how would they ever let their hopes perish?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you understand now? It is not about whether I am willing to die under your sword, in fact, your sword will not be able to kill me!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard behind the elders of the demon race. It sounded very calm, yet there was a hint of sigh that came from the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°You brat, stop stoning and attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill Yun Qingwu, we are helping you!¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Yan Yin¡¯s voices could be heard.

    As their voices resonated through the air, a beam of silvery white light struck with a very fast speed in between the ten elders of the demon race.

    It was Qian Yu!

    Qian Yu had not spoken a word since the start.

    However, the two swords in her hands was already in front of one of the elders¡¯ chest, her silvery white dress flowing in the chilly wind.

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword.

    He took a nce at the elders of the demon race in front of him, then to the Monster Kings who had dashed up from beneath, then towards Monster Emperor Baizhi who was charging towards him.

    Everything seemed to be telling him: It was really difficult to kill Yun Qingwu.

    So what?

    Although it looked as if it was impossible to kill her, he had to give it a shot. It may be for the sake of Yan Xiu who was still in aa; it may be for Chi Guyan who was severely injured or Ping Yang who was still unconscious; or it could be for Wu Yuer who was still battling with all her might.

    There were more people around him. Emperor Lin Mubai, Prince Xian Lin Yun, the dying Nangong Mu, Marquis Xing Yuanguo who was in Great Xia, as well as the future of Stablisation Constabry Xing Qingsui.

    Also...

    Northern Mountain Vige, the ce where he grew up!

    There were his mother and father in this current life.

    No matter what is it for.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should at least give it a shot.

 Chapter 886 - The Black Giant Rock In The Galaxy

    <h4>Chapter 886: The ck Giant Rock In The Gxy</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Boom! Another loud sound was heard. It was the loud sound made by Yan Yin when he dashed between the elders of the demon race.

    The coboration of two of the most powerful men definitely gave the elders of the demon race some pressure. Both Qian Yu and Yan Yin represented the pinnacle of humankind¡¯s capabilities.

    On the other hand, the elders of the demon race?

    The most powerful demons were mostly killed by Monster Emperor Baizhi after the battle over ten years ago, leaving behind less than twenty of them.

    But would they give up?

    No!

    Even if they were to lose their lives, they would not give up or retreat, regardless of how strong their opponent was.

    This was a battle where the fighters swore to stay on with their lives. Without a single hint of retreat, every single elder of the demon race had an extraordinarily strong willpower.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of harming our Lord!¡± With their voices in unison, the strong powers exploded amongst the elders of the demon race. They pushed the approaching Qian Yu and Yan Yin aside in a wild manner.

    ¡°Tower Master Qian was pushed aside?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    This scene happened quite suddenly.

    The sages and the disciples of the various sects could not understand.

    This scenario was unexpected. In fact, the powers of the elders of the demon race was unexpected as well. However, the reality was that Qian Yu and Yan Yin were pushed back for at least a distance of five steps.

    In the book ¡°The Record of Strange Stories¡±, there were special records such as the strange phenomenon of the valleys outside the Icy Monkey Settlement of the Southern Region and the unique creatures in some regions.

    Beside the strange phenomenons and creatures, another category was strange events.

    For example, when a child was stuck under a giant rock that rolled down from the mountains, an ordinary woman lifted the giant rock with an extraordinary and terrifying strength.

    Such events were notmon, yet they exist.

    Some people credit this to motherly love while some credit it to a sudden explosion of one¡¯s potential. No matter what, they shared amon point: willpower, a strong and firm willpower.

    Now, it was evident that the elders of the demon race had this type of willpower. They were not afraid of death or other strong opponents. They only had a single thought in mind: prevent anyone from approaching Yun Qingwu.

    This was a form of protection.

    Protecting the most important person and not allowing anyone to touch him or her. This protective willpower enabled them to exceed their own capabilities.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi, unlike the sages and the disciples of the various sects, was not surprised at this scene.

    In reality, he had felt the strong and firm willpower when he approached the elders of the demon race.

    The final part of any battle was the battle amongst willpowers.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not retreat.

    That was because he had a willpower in his heart too. He also had someone he wanted to protect and hence he would never retreat.

    ¡°Die!¡± As fast as a lightning, Fang Zhengzhi charged towards the front of the elders of the demon race once again.

    At such a close distance, they could feel each other¡¯s breaths.

    Humm! A loud and clear sound made by the sword was heard again. However, unlike the previous strike, Fang Zhengzhi did not strike his Traceless Sword towards the front.

    Instead, he raised it up high.

    There had always been an ordinary sword technique in the Great Xia Dynasty called the ¡°slicing of mountains¡±.

    In fact, it was a technique without any fanciful moves.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had used this move at this point in time. Furthermore, it was evident that he had tightened his grip on the handle of the Traceless Sword.

    He gripped the handle with both of his hands.

    Without any hesitation, he raised his sword high and struck downwards.

    There was neither any eye-blinding light nor violent waves. There was only one element to it ¡ª willpower, the willpower to slice everything apart.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to kill Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to kill her!¡±

    The voices of the elders of the demon race could be heard. Beneath their old facial features and silver hair, they exuded inner strength.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword struck downwards.

    With a speed that was extremely fast and with purple light glowing, it hit the center of the row of elders of the demon race.

    Meanwhile, the elders of the demon race defended with their weapons. Although they were neither as strong in terms of capabilities nor as fast as Fang Zhengzhi, they managed to block the attack of the sword and at the same time without hesitation, struck Fang Zhengzhi with their weapons.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I will not let you hurt Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°Kill her!¡±

    ¡°Kill Yun Qingwu!¡±

    Different voices could be heard. Although these voices could not be differentiated, they all rang in unison.

    At that instant, everyone focused their attention on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword.

    The Traceless Sword struck one of the arms of the elders of the demon race. Without much obstruction, the arm stayed stationary in midair.

    Following that, the Traceless Sword hit the shoulder beneath the arm.

    Blood sttered everywhere.

    However, at this moment, a silvery white hook blocked the front of the traceless sword. From the bottom, it was lifting the traceless sword from the shoulder of the elder of the demon race.

    An ear-piercing collision sound was heard.

    It happened very quickly!

    As though it ended in a few seconds.

    Crack! The silvery white hook was broken and sliced in half by the traceless sword. The shoulder of the elder of the demon race was also sliced apart.

    An excited sound was emitted from the traceless sword.

    The tip of the traceless sword was approaching Yun Qingwu who was standing behind the elders of the demon race. It was less than an inch away from her and the chilling sword radiance was radiating towards her direction.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    Ding! A gentle sound was heard. It came from the collision of the des of the long sword of the demon race and the traceless sword.

    Apart from the long sword, another dark green scimitar blocking the front of the traceless sword.

    It happened in an instant.

    The sounds produced were mixed together with other noises. For example, the gentle ¡°ding¡± sound had sounded together along with the ¡°crack¡± sound.

    Of course, the sound that was loud enough for everyone to be heard was none other than the sword sound made by the Traceless Sword.

    The sword sound caused the long sword to bend and eventually break apart.

    Simrly, the sword sound allowed the tip of the Traceless Sword to pierce through the long dark green scimitar. With a chilling sword radiance and the purple light, the Traceless Sword struck forward continuously.

    At that instant when the tip of the Traceless Sword was about to touch Yun Qingwu¡¯s chest, a white flower petal suddenly fell from the sky.

    Following that, a sword appeared at the front of the Traceless Sword.

    It was a long sword that was crystal clear like snow. The handle was white as snow, the hand holding the sword was also thin and white as snow. However, the white schr¡¯s robe on the person¡¯s hand was stained with blood.

    Wuwei Sword!

    This sword belonged to Nangong Hao.

    And now, it appeared in front of the Traceless Sword.

    Nangong Hao¡¯s attacks had always been very fast. To do nothing means doing something. From the start of the attack to the end, Nangong Hao performed his sword moves extremely fast.

    ¡°Ultimately, you missed by a little¡­¡± Yun Qingwu sighed as she looked at the two swords in front of her eyes.

    ¡°A little? Really?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised of Nangong Hao¡¯s attack. After all, Nangong Hao was still under Yun Qingwu¡¯s control/

    Yet, the sword of Nangong Hao¡­

    Could it really block his attack?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not certain.

    Therefore, how could Yun Qingwu be certain?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, stand aside!¡±

    ¡°You brat¡­ Run, hurry up and run!¡±

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was in a state of confusion, two exasperated voices could be heard. He roughly figured out that the first voice was from Qian Yu and the second¡­

    Was from Yan Yin!

    Both Qian Yu and Yan Yin were not far away from him. The two exasperated screams clearly resonated into his ears.

    However, why should he run?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not react at that moment. However, soon, he felt something falling from the top of his head.

    Sneak attack?!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    It could not have be Monster Emperor Baizhi. After all, in that situation, Mu Qingfeng ad Mo Shanshi must have attacked with all their might, hence Monster Emperor Baizhi could not possibly arrive so quickly. She needed at least the time taken for ten breaths to arrive.

    Yet if it was not Monster Emperor Baizhi¡­

    How else could attack from above his head?

    By right, there should not be anyone. However, in reality, a strong force pressed down on his head and Fang Zhengzhi saw a shadow forming beneath his feet.

    Although he hesitated for only a second, the strong force above his head had changed after a few thoughts had shed across his mind.

    The force turned from pressure to a terrifying sense of crisis.

    ¡°What on earth?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate any further and took a step back. After all, his scalp had felt numb from the sense of crisis caused by the force.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Afterwards, Fang Zhengzhi saw the elders of the demon race flew in all directions like ¡°small stones¡± that were smashed apart.

    The strong willpower to protect¡­

    Disintegrated.

    This happened too suddenly such that even Fang Zhengzhi was astonished.

    Of course, he was more surprised by the ¡°ck¡± shadow that was not too big in size but had the power to not only block Yun Qingwu fully but also sent the elders of the demon race flying in all directions without any resistance.

    ¡°Rock?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced upwards. He saw the object that was blocking him ¡ª a rock that was at least one foot high.

    It was very ck and did not have any radiance or fancy marks. Instead, it exuded an ancient rustic aura.

    Besides that¡­

    There was a slight trace.

    Nobody knew how long this ck rock hadsted through. It exuded a powerful force that made one¡¯s soul tremble and one¡¯s head throb in pain.

    Crack! At this instant, a gentle sound emitted from the giant ck rock. Then, a crack formed in the center of the rock.

    ¡°Giant ck rock, trace¡­ crack?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt a jolt and the gxy suddenly shed through his mind.

    In this gxy, there was a intertwining giant ck chain in the middle of the sky as well as giant ck rocks that were connected by the chain.

    It exuded an chilling aura that also gave off an ancient forcefulness.

    It was the giant ck rock in the gxy!

    The trace in the center of the giant ck rock was caused by the chains that had chained the stones together.

    ¡°The giant ck rock in the gxy? Landed¡­ In front of me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the giant ck rock and the crack that was expanding. He was astonished.

    ¡°You missed by a little bit not because you were not capable, but because of your luck. In other words, it was time¡­¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice came from the back of the giant ck rock.

    ¡°Luck, time?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could understand what Yun Qingwu meant but it felt strange.

    He was not sure if he should continue discussing about the topic at this point in time. However, he could see that the crack on the giant ck rock was bing increasingly concentrated.

    It was like a spider web that spread throughout the giant ck rock. Furthermore, it was bing increasingly concentrated till the point that the small rocks were about to turn into fragments.

    So¡­

    Was this rock supposed to explode?

    This thought shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. After that, he took two steps behind to ensure that he was a distance away from the giant ck rock.

    At least, he had to make sure that he had sufficient time to prevent the rock fragments from hitting him when the giant ck rock exploded.

    These were Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s inner thoughts.

    On the other hand, to the sages and the disciples of the various sects, the giant ck rock thatnded made them stunned and astonished.

    That was because from their angle, they did not only see the giant ck rock between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu. They saw that the green and ck doors in heaven werepletely opened.

    In the darkness, spots of light twinkled like pairs of eyes that were staring at the world beneath.

 Chapter 887 - Who In The World Dare Not Comply

    <h4>Chapter 887: Who In The World Dare Not Comply</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The two doors ¡ª green and ck ¡ªpletely opened!

    The vast gxy could be seen through the doors, it looked very near yet very far. The ancient aura continuously exuded from the two doors.

    ¡°The door¡­ really opened?!¡±

    ¡°What is the stone that fell from the door?¡±

    Both the sages and the disciples of the various sects felt uneasy.

    Compared to the humankind, every single one of the monster kings was extraordinarily excited, their expressions filled with exhration.

    Buzz! At this moment, the ck giant stone shook violently. The cracks became very unstable and pieces of rocks kept falling from it.

    Swoosh!

    After every piece of rock fell, it emitted an extremely sharp sound of the wind. As though they were strongly attracted by the Tree of God, they fell exceptionally quickly towards the bottom of it.

    Boom! A loud boom was heard as the first piece of rocknded on the ground. Fragments of rock flew and a deep but tiny hole was formed on the ground.

    Following that, the second and third piece of rocks fell¡­

    The broken rocks continuously fell on the ground like rain, producing loud sounds as they fell. This scene shocked everyone.

    It was an extremely exaggerated scene.

    Yet, such an exaggerated scene did not attract the attention of onlookers. Both the humankind and monster kings¡¯ attention was fixated on the ck metal that got exposed on the ck rock.

    It was a curved metal that was as ck as ink. It looked very ancient and a clear mark made by a saber could be seen.

    ¡°Helmet?!¡± When the curved ck metal was exposed due to the falling rocks, everyone widened their eyes.

    The ck metal looked like a ck helmet.

    Crack!

    Crack¡­

    The ck stone beneath the helmet cracked open again and revealed a face that was as ck as ink. It looked extremely majestic.

    However, the face was coated with ayer of ck dust and could not be seen clearly. Nobody could tell whether it was a statue or a real face.

    However, as the broken rocks kept falling, the armor on the shoulder was revealed, followed by the waist, then the thighs.

    It was a sculpture of a man!

    The sculpture had a thick and ancient ck armor and its expressions were majestic, yet it was blocked by a thickyer of dust.

    This scene was stunning.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi widened his eyes in disbelief. Though the explosion he had predicted did not happen, the scene of the exposure of the sculpture was even odder.

    ¡°Powerful man? Unless this person was the most powerful of the monster race and demon race that Yun Qingwu was talking about?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought as he stared at the stationary sculpture.

    There was a saying that went, ¡®kill you when you are ill¡¯!

    Based on his nature, he was not someone who was thirsty for blood. However, if the human sculpture was really the strongest fighter of the monster race and demon race, he could imagine what would happen when he ¡°resurrected¡±.

    Though he was not thirsty for blood, it does not mean that he was indecisive.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was a very decisive person. He does not consider the consequences too much and followed his intuition.

    Just like what he had been thinking about and what he had been doing¡­

    A powerful man?

    Then I shall stab you to see how powerful you are!

    Fang Zhengzhi stabbed him without any hesitation. When others were still in a state of shock, he had stabbed the chest of the sculpture with his sword.

    sh! The Traceless Sword turned into a purple light and stabbed the chest area of the sculpture.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    It was an instantaneous change in event. It happened so sudden that all of the Sages, the disciples of the various sects and the monster kings did not have the time to react.

    But no matter whether they had the time to react¡­

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was already inserted in the sculpture¡¯s chest.

    Shock, astonishment.

    Followed by amotion, amotion that was unprecedented. Almost every human, monster and demon stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an odd gaze.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice could be heard. It was the voice of someone who had turned insane after a shock, along with unhappiness due to disbelief.

    Her emotions were veryplicated.

    If one had to use an analogy to describe her emotions, it would be how Fang Zhengzhi had killed a chicken, which was owned by Monster Emperor Baizhi for years, right after it had been released from its home.

    ¡°So, tell me how powerful is he?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s screams and looked at the blood stains that formed at the chest area of the sculpture.

    That¡¯s right!

    He had really inserted the sword!

    Even Fang Zhengzhi found it unbelievable. Wasn¡¯t he the most powerful man? Didn¡¯t he wear an armor as thick as turtle shell?

    How could it live up to the exaggerated appearance if the sword could be inserted so easily?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the statue with a tinge of despise. He felt that he had overestimated the legendary powerful man, or rather, he overestimated Yun Qingwu¡¯s confidence.

    Therefore, since he had already stabbed him once, two or three more stabs would not make a difference. In fact, a few more stabs could kill him.

    Since it came to his mind, he should follow his thoughts.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a decisive person. He pulled out the Traceless Sword which was already inserted in the sculpture, then stabbed him once again.

    This time, he stabbed the right chest.

    From the left to the right, at least this could address the problem in case the so-called ¡®most powerful man¡¯ had two hearts?

    Regardless if there was such a possibility, it would not hurt to take preventive measures.

    sh! The Traceless Sword once again turned into a beam of purple light and stabbed into the left chest area of the sculpture.

    Bright red blood seeped through the chest of the sculpture once again.

    This made Monster Emperor Baizhi, the monster kings and even Yun Qingwu who was standing behind the sculpture change their expressions.

    It was a scene that nobody had expected.

    The Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons was finally opened and a giant ck rock fell out. Then, a sculpture of a man appeared from the giant ck rock. Everything that had happened signaled that the most powerful man of the past era had sessfullynded in this world.

    So¡­

    By right, the most powerful man should be attacking and killing everyone else.

    Yet he was stationary and repeatedly stabbed by Fang Zhengzhi?

    Nobody understood what was happening and nobody believed why something so ridiculous was happening.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi really stabbed the sculpture twice. This was evident from the blood stains that had seeped through the sculpture¡¯s chest.

    Of course, it had not ended.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s third strike was made. This time, he had aimed at the sculpture¡¯s throat.

    Three strikes, each strike was deadly.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say that he was actually not a person who was thirsty for blood.

    All of these was because of how Yun Qingwu had over-exaggerated the abilities of the powerful man.

    Therefore, he decided to try his luck with his strikes.

    He never thought that he could kill the so called ¡°most powerful man¡± so easily by stabbing him.

    sh! The Traceless Sword slit open the throat of the sculpture. It was a deeper cut than the other two because there was no armor protecting the throat area.

    The sword pierced through the sculpture¡¯s throat.

    From the front to the back of the sword, a clear sound could be heard. It was an extremely excited sound that represented the joyfulness of the Traceless Sword.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Is he dead?!¡±

    ¡°He died like this?¡±

    ¡°What¡­ What is happening?¡±

    After witnessing how Fang Zhengzhi had pierced through the sculpture¡¯s throat, the sages, disciples and the monster kings werepletely dumbfounded.

    But how could he really die like that?

    If it was so, what was the purpose of the monster race and the demon race when they spent so much efforts trying to open the Gate of God of the two realms?

    Was it only to wee some of these stationary sculptures?

    Everyone felt like they were struck by lightning and had buzzing noises in their heads. Even Nangong Tian, the head of Nangong family who had been struggling, behaved as though he was a frightened rooster and stood dumbfounded on the spot.

    ¡°Why did the most powerful man of the monster race and the demon race¡­ not move?¡± Unlike others, Nangong Tian was more familiar with what was inside the Gate of God.

    However whatever he knew merely originated from the historical records of the Nangong Nobles and he had never witnessed it with his own eyes.

    Never witnessed it¡­

    How does he have the right to talk?

    Although he was very certain that once he opened the Door of the Realm of God, the Nangong Nobles would regain their powers and get back whatever the Nangong family owned.

    Yet now, although the Door of the Realm of God was unopened, the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons was opened and the legendary most powerful man had arrived.

    Yet why was he so useless?

    Even Nangong Tian could not understand what had gone wrong.

    Plop! At this moment, the sculpture finally fell to the ground and emitted a sound that was not too loud.

    Blood flowed from both the left and right chest as well as the throat of the sculpture andnded on the white flowers on the top of the Tree of God. Everything returned to calmness.

    Ultimately¡­

    He did not move at all.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Nothing could make one more speechless than witnessing the most powerful man arrive majestically and yet was stabbed to death by Fang Zhengzhi.

    If there was, it would be two of them arriving and dying the same way.

    ¡°Dead!¡±

    ¡°He is really dead?!¡±

    All the sages, disciples and the monster kings had broken down at this moment. No words could be used to describe their emotions.

    That was because the most powerful man had really died. Besides that, he was more dead than dead, he did not even breathe at all.

    ¡°How could he be so weak?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stared at the sculpture in front of him, forgetting about Yun Qingwu who was standing not too far away.

    Yun Qingwu also stared at the sculpture on the ground, a slight paleness was seen on her beautiful face. One could not tell what she was thinking about from her eyes, but her mouth was agape and from that, one could tell that she was evidently surprised.

    Dead?!

    ¡­

    At this moment, there was not a single sound made by people on the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain. Only the sound of the wind that blew on the robes could be heard.

    Dead silence.

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi who was screaming at the top of her lungs stopped making noise. She had simrly entered a state of daze.

    Although her dark green eyes still had radiance, it was rather stagnant.

    In fact, Monster Emperor Baizhi was not the only one who was in a daze.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu and Yan Yin all stood rooted to the ground and stared speechlessly at the sculpture on the ground.

    After all, nobody could ept this ending.

    Expectations? Ended?

    Everything happened too quickly for one to react.

    ¡°Life¡­ Is indeed a lonely one!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally raised his head towards the sky after fifteen minutes or so, sounding like he was an expert in loneliness.

    The most powerful man who walked out of the Gate of God was easily stabbed to death by him. Then, what else in the world could not be stabbed to death?

    Nothing!

    Pride overwhelmed Fang Zhengzhi. It was the pride that made him feel like he was standing at the highest point in the world, like the lonely powerful man in the legend of the previous world he was in.

    That powerful man only hoped to lose once in his life and yet did not seed. Before he died, he left his sword in his house and wrote a sad song.

    I have used four swords in my life.

    The first was a sharp sword which emitted green light. It was ferocious and strong, and had fought with the enemy at the riverside.

    The second was a soft sword with purple radiance. I used it before I was thirty and identally injured a righteous person. Feeling remorseful, I discarded it in the deep valley.

    The third was heavy sword made of ck metal. Individual conduct and training was more crucial than the reliance on the sword. With this sword, I had conquered the world before I was forty.

    The forth was a wooden sword with a decayed handle.

    So far¡­

    Anything could be made into a sword.

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the green light in his hands¡­ No, a sharp sword which emitted purple light. Then, he sighed, ¡°I would only ask one question, who in the world dare notply?¡±

 Chapter 890 - A Strange Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 890: A Strange Mistake</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Nobody answered Fang Zhengzhi because the sculpture was motionlessly on the ground and did not appear to have any intention of standing up.

    Of course, the actual reason was that nobody heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    After all, everyone¡¯s train of thoughts had been disrupted and nobody could hear Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Unless I need to change my sword? Soft sword, heavy sword... or immediately go for a wooden sword?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about others¡¯ opinions, took a quick nce at his Traceless Sword before shaking his head. ¡°Forget it, I shall not change. Even if I was to be lonely, I would leave it to nature.¡±

    So, what should he do next?

    Even the most powerful man who walked out of the Gate of God was stabbed dead by his sword. Doesn¡¯t that mean Yun Qingwu¡¯s ns had failed?

    How miserable.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was too powerful. With his powers, how could anyone qualify to be his opponent?

    As he lifted his head, he subconsciously took a nce at the two Gates of God that were still opened. He wondered if he should close these two useless gates.

    Just as he was thinking about it...

    A ck spot appeared in his line of vision.

    It was not big, but it was very ck. It looked like a rock that was falling with extremely fast speed. Almost instantaneously, itnded at Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s position.

    ¡°Eh? Another one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. However, he figured it out very soon. After all, there were two gates, hence it was no surprise for two of the ¡°rocks¡± to fall out.

    An ancient saying went, ¡®newborn calves are not afraid of the tiger¡¯. Yet besides this saying, there was another saying that was even more stylish that went, ¡®boldness stems from superb skill¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi belonged to thetter.

    Since he had already killed one, it would not require much more efforts for him to kill the other.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly nervous but he was not fearful. After all, he had already experienced sess.

    So, this time, how should he kill?

    Stab him a few times, or straight away go for the head?

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Another powerful person arrived?!¡±

    ¡°Two?¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi was pondering over how he should do the killing to make it more meaningful, the sages and monster kings beneath finally regained their senses.

    Of course, their mental strength was obviously weaker than theposed Fang Zhengzhi.

    They were not the only ones...

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu and Yan Yin¡¯s expressions were rather exaggerated too, turning pale again.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to fear about!¡± With a look of despise, Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword in his hand. He was ready to kill the second powerful man.

    Boom!

    A giant ck rock that looked almost identical to the one previously fell. However, itnded about ten steps beside Fang Zhengzhi instead of in front of him.

    Crack!

    Lightning shed and struck the giant ck stone. It looked extraordinary and gave off a vibe as though it was split open by lightning.

    ¡°The way of appearance seemed to be slightly different?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused but did not take it to heart.

    After all, strictly speaking, anyone who fell out from the Gate of God deserves to be the so-called ¡°powerful man¡±.

    Boom!

    Unlike the previous one, this giant ck rock did not gradually peel open. Instead, it explodedpletely when itnded on the ground.

    Buzz! A strong vibration of heaven and earth was felt, as though the entire universe was about to break into pieces.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was amiss!

    Looking at this scene, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed. The aura exuded was too powerful and gave off a strong sense of vitality, just like the green grass that grew exuberantly.

    The aura from this explosion was even more terrifying than the aura from Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Hahaha... I am back, finally back!¡± At this moment,ughter could be heard from the location where the giant ck rock exploded.

    Following that, the shape of a figure could gradually be seen.

    Simrly, it was d in ck armor. However, the ck armor had an extremelyplicated pattern, was not stained with a single speck of dust and a light golden radiance flowed on it.

    Aspared to the previous sculpture which had ayer of dust, the face of this individual was much more clearer. ck eyes and narrow eyebrows, it gave a natural stern look that radiated from the core, exuding an invisible aura.

    Most importantly...

    On the forehead of this figure, there was a long golden vertical mark that looked like a closed eye, giving off a noble look.

    ¡°Demon!¡±

    ¡°A living demon!¡±

    Almost instantaneously, the same thoughts popped up in everyone¡¯s minds. It was an aura, a demon aura that exuded from the core.

    ¡°So this time it¡¯s a living one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment as he stared at the figure that was ten steps away.

    What on earth!

    Where was the sculpture?

    Shouldn¡¯t all the powerful men who came out from the gates be stationary? What does it mean for a living and jumping one to suddenly appear?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the powerful demons nearby, then looked at the sculpture beneath his legs who did not even breathe at all.

    Suddenly, he realized something different.

    For example...

    The living one in front of him had an armor that looked new as ever, while the dead¡¯s armor looked as if it had been used for countless of years.

    Most importantly, the powerful man who had copsed had a thickyer of dust on his face. Both his face shape and looks were extremely different from the strong demon in front of him.

    The most obvious difference was the style.

    When the sculpture first appeared, it had a very powerful but extremely different style, but the style was more of charisma than the coldness that the powerful demon exuded.

    What was going on?

    ¡°It feels so good to... breathe again!¡± The powerful demon said again. He did not seem to notice what was happening around him but was still immersed in the excitement of ¡°rebirth¡±.

    ¡°Demon Deity!¡±

    ¡°Wee Demon Deity!¡±

    After hearing the voices, the elders of the demon race who were sent flying regained their senses and knelt on the ground without hesitation.

    ¡°Hmm, you must be the ones who woke... Eh? This armor and this face... Sigh, why did ¡®Jiang Ji¡¯ die here?¡± The powerful demon nodded his head and looked at the few elders of the demon race. However, he soon noticed the sculpture that copsed on the ground and was evidently surprised.

    ¡°Jiang Ji?¡±

    ¡°The powerful man who died is called Jiang Ji?¡±

    ¡°His surname is Jiang?!¡±

    After hearing the words by the powerful demon, the sages and disciples of the various sects were not only astonished but also puzzled.

    Of course, with the exception of one person.

    It was none other than the current head of Nangong family, Nangong Tian.

    Aspared to the astonishment and puzzlement of others, Nangong Tian was stunned for a second and continuously muttered the words ¡®Jiang Ji¡¯.

    Afterwards, Nangong Tian knelt to the ground immediately.

    ¡°Jiang Ji... My ancestor!!!¡± Nangong Tian said with in extremely sorrowful tone, looking more miserable than he was when he saw how Nangong Mu was severely injured.

    ¡°Ancestor?!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Tian called Jiang Ji his ancestor?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is Nangong Tian silly... Wait a minute, unless the Jiang Ji which copsed is not... is not a demon!¡±

    ¡°Not a demon? Then what could he be...¡±

    Before thest sagepleted his sentence, he stopped as his face turned extremely pale.

    ¡°He is a human!¡±

    ¡°That was a human!¡±

    ¡°Why did a humane out of the Gate of God of the monster race and demon race?¡±

    The crowd exploded in astonishment.

    This was extremely strange.

    Nobody could figure out why Jiang Ji, a powerful human, was the first to fall from the Gate of God of the monster race and demon race.

    That did not make sense at all.

    ¡°Yes, this does not make sense...¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a nce at the powerful demon race nearby, then at ¡®Jiang Ji¡¯ who was lying on the ground in front of him. He felt as though he was struck by lightning. His entire body was numb and his feet felt as though they were floating.

    So...

    I f*cking killed the wrong person?!

    ...

    The breeze was chilly, so chilly that it made Fang Zhengzhi quiver.

    He really could not understand why such a ridiculous thing could happen. It did not follow anymon sense or logic.

    A human who fell from the Gate of God of the monster race and demon race?

    Who would believe this!

    Anyway, Fang Zhengzhi refused to believe it. After all, it was too ridiculous.

    Wait a minute!

    Gxy...

    The same gxy?!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s words suddenly shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Humankind, monster race and demon race were all sealed within the same gxy.

    He always had a doubt regarding this statement.

    Based on Yun Qingwu¡¯s ¡°story¡±, when the natural disaster struck, the powerful individuals of the humankind, the monster race and the demon race all worked together with Mother Earth to defend against the natural disaster. Although they seeded in the end, the powerful individuals of the three races could not make aeback.

    Meanwhile, Mother Earth, after defending against the natural disaster, had depleted so much energy that she was unable to get the powerful individuals of the three races to return. In the end, she could only create the three Gates of God.

    This story was faultless.

    However, the problem was: since it was in the same gxy, why did Mother Earth waste her efforts and time constructing three different Gates of God?

    Instead, she could just construct one!

    After all, based onmon sense, the efforts taken to construct three Gates of God was definitely much greater than that taken to construct one.

    What was the reason?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand at the moment. However, he felt that this could be rted to what was happening in front of him.

    Another possibility would be that Yun Qingwu did not fully understand what happened back then.

    Could it be that the natural disaster that struck thousands of year ago...

    Was rted to some other event?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure. However, what happened in front of him caused him to have such doubts. After all, it was something that happened thousands of years ago.

    Of course, he could not possibly look into the matter now.

    That was because things had already taken ce.

    He killed someone!

    He killed an ancestor of the Nangong Nobles...

    That was slightly awkward.

    However, it was not the time to feel awkward. The powerful demon had already started to approach him step by step. Although he was not moving too fast, every step he took created some disruption in the air.

    ¡°Monster race? Nine-Tailed White Fox?¡± After looking at Monster Emperor Baizhi, the powerful demon gave a sigh and looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu. ¡°Both of you killed Jiang Ji?¡±

    ¡°Demon Deity Bing, Jiang Ji was killed by Fang Zhengzhi. Yun Qingwu is our current Young Lord. It was her intelligence that enabled us to open the Gate of God to wee you back!¡± The elders of the demon race responded quickly.

    ¡°Young Lord?¡± The powerful demon nced at Yun Qingwu from head to toe and stopped at a distance three steps away from her. ¡°They said that your name is Yun Qingwu?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded. She looked calm and was not affected by the fact that the powerful demon was approaching her. Neither did she kneel like the other elders of the demon race.

    ¡°Why do you not kneel?¡± The powerful demon nodded and spoke once again.

    ¡°In this world, I am the master. You... are not.¡± Yun Qingwu firmly nced at the powerful demon.

    ¡°Oh? Interesting. For the demon race, we always abide by the rule where the most powerful gets to take charge. From your words, you seem to be confident that you are more powerful than me?¡± The powerful demon was not triggered by Yun Qingwu¡¯s words. Instead, he gave a chilling smile.

    ¡°No, what I meant was, I have yet to see how powerful you are.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... How do you want to see it?¡±

    ¡°There are five people, standing in front of me, who want to kill me. I have stayed on the spot and held on for about an hour¡¯s time. How long... could you hold on?¡±

 Chapter 891 - Space-splitting Demon God

    <h4>Chapter 891: Space-splitting Demon God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Five people? An hour?¡± The powerful demon looked at Fang Zhengzhi then at the rest of the four, moving his fingers as he counted: one, two, three... Then, he looked back at Yun Qingwu. ¡°You really held on for an hour?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded again.

    ¡°Hmm... Very good! You indeed do not need to kneel before me. At least, until I manage to stay for an hour.¡± The powerful demon nodded too and did not doubt Yun Qingwu¡¯s words because the expressions of the people around them have ascertained her im.

    ¡°Can you hold on for an hour?¡± Yun Qingwu asked with the same tone and calm expression as before.

    However, the expressions on the other people, including Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, turned ugly when they heard Yun Qingwu.

    After all, what she implied behind her sentence was too obvious.

    ¡®Can you hold on for an hour?¡¯

    This was a interrogative sentence. Yet when Yun Qingwu said it in this situation, it sounded very provocative.

    Yun Qingwu, ady who almost did not have any real capabilities, did not show any sign of inferiority when facing a powerful demon who walked out of the Gate of God. Instead, in the timespan of a few sentences, she had turned the situation to her favor without any efforts.

    Given her abilities, how was she not born a leader?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± After a short while, the powerful demon startedughing again, giving off a chilling aura in his stern expression. Meanwhile, he raised his hand gradually and a pale radiance shed across his hand. Then, a dagger as ck as ink appeared in his hand.

    It was called a dagger because it the de was short enough, but this particr dagger was slightly different from other ordinary daggers. It looked more like a bone spur.

    The bone spur was full of ck bone markings. One could not differentiate the handle and the de of this bone spur as it only had a ¡°bone knot¡± that bulged at the bottom.

    The powerful demon did not answer Yun Qingwu¡¯s question.

    That was not because he was not confident of answering it, but rather because he knew that in this situation, he would appear more charismatic if he kept silent instead. As a powerful demon, how would he lose his charisma repeatedly?

    ¡°Run, old man Mo!¡± Mu Qingfeng shouted upon witnessing this scene.

    ¡°Run? I would love to run, but do I look like I can?¡± Mo Shanshiughed bitterly. It was impossible for him to escape with the presence of the powerful demon from thousands of years ago, Monster Emperor Baizhi and the dozens of monster kings who had charged from beneath.

    ¡°Pavilion Master, Valley Master Mo, Tower Master Qian, all of you leave first, I will take care of this myself!¡± Yan Yin¡¯s voice could be heard. Then, bright light emitted from his body.

    Without much hesitation and unnecessary words, Yan Yin¡¯s personality was as such. He was slightly introverted but he never retreated at critical points in time.

    As the bright line shone, Yan Yin¡¯s hands moved. With an extremely rich battle experience, although he had the intention to block the powerful demon, he was not silly enough to get too close.

    After all, without understanding him fully, keeping a distance would be more appropriate.

    As Yan Yin¡¯s hands pressed down in front of his chest, a majestic force pressed on the powerful demon too. Meanwhile, two spinning handprints had appeared on both sides of the powerful demon.

    The powerful demon smiled.

    A smile from the bottom of his heart. It was a chilling and strange smile that made people feet like if he saw the most hrious thing on earth.

    He definitely would not budge.

    Even when the two spinning handprints had reached his ears and made his hair fly, he did not show any intention of budging.

    Until the two handprintsnded on his body.

    Ding, ding! There were two gentle sounds that did not cause too much waves, looking as though the smallke had streamed into the ferocious waves of the sea.

    It was gone without any return, or in other words, an overestimation of oneself. Afterwards, everything returned to calmness.

    ¡°The state of mortals? Acquired fulfillment?¡± The powerful demon took a nce at the ce where the two handprints disappeared, then raised his left hand and casually pped the radiance that had yet to dissipate on his armor.

    It was a strange scene.

    However, to Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, this scene was more than strange. That was because they did not understand what tactic did the powerful demon do to quell Yan Yin¡¯s hand markspletely.

    By swallowing?

    No way since his armor still had the radiance of the handprints. However, if it was not through swallowing, what tactic did he use to quell the effects of the handprints.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi took a nce at each other. They saw the astonishment in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Furthermore, the words that the powerful demon said...

    The state of mortals?

    Acquired fulfillment?

    What did this two phrases mean?

    Could it be asking for Yan Yin¡¯s enlightenment state?

    A few elders of the demon race looked at one another with excitement on their faces. Although the reason was obviously because of how powerful the powerful demon was, they were secretly guessing what he meant by his words.

    ¡°Demon Deity Bing... Yan Yin is currently at the peak of his Sage State.¡± Finally, one of the elders of the demon race said cautiously after getting the signals from the other elders.

    ¡°Peak of his sage state?¡± The powerful demon looked surprised and took a nce at Yan Yin from head to toe. Afterwards, he said in disdain, ¡°An ordinary mortal deserves to be called a Sage? Then shouldn¡¯t I deserve to be called a ¡®God¡¯?¡±

    ¡°God?!¡± Everyone who heard the word had their expressionspletely changed.

    Since ancient times, those who deserved to be called ¡®god¡¯ were greatly admired and worshiped by the public. Every one of them had the powers to conquer the nature. [Trantor¡¯s note: The literal trantion is to ¡®move mountains and fill seas¡¯]

    The word ¡®God¡¯ was always looked upon superiorly.

    Yet the powerful demon in front of their eyes...

    Said he deserves to be called a ¡®God¡¯?

    How ridiculously arrogant and daring. Yet, this showed that the confidence in the powerful demon¡¯s heart was way greater than the enlightenment state of Yan Yin.

    ¡°God?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi turned to look at the powerful demon. Unlike others, her expression looked much more calm.

    That was not because she could possibly end up in the same faction as the powerful demon, but rather because she was much more clearer about the significance of the word ¡®God¡¯ in the ancient times.

    ¡°Hmm... From now onwards, I shall be called the ¡®Space-splitting Demon God¡¯!¡± The powerful demon certainly did not bother about the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces, casually made a remark and then looked at Yan Yin. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s the difference between a ¡®god¡¯ and a ¡®sage¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Stop talking crap!¡± Yan Yin clenched his fists and glowed with a brighter radiance, as if he was coated with ayer of light on his body.

    As someone who had been severely injured in the battle with Monster Emperor Baizhi, Yan Yin had surpassed his usual capabilities.

    He moved his hands again and the twirling handprints appeared around his body. The grandness and aura even caused the surrounding air to move.

    ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t know.¡± The powerful demon, ¡®Space-splitting Demon God¡¯ smiled as he saw this scene. His smile looked much colder than before.

    Meanwhile, he moved his right hand too.

    Without too much radiance or powerful aura, he raised his hand gradually as if he was casually waving to Yan Yin.

    However, that was a not a friendly wave.

    At the instance when the Space-splitting Demon God raised his right hand, the ck bone spur had vanished into thin air.

    It felt very sudden and unexpected.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi, who had been standing stationary without any moves or remarks, widened his eyes at this instant.

    As someone who was in the Heavenly Rebirth State, he was extremely sensitive to the movement of air earlier on. Moreover, he was not too far away from the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Speed? No... it¡¯s not the speed!¡± Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously thought the reason behind the disappearance of the ck bone spur was because of the extremely fast speed.

    Yet he felt the difference very quickly.

    That was because if speed was the only factor, there would be inevitably some air waves after the ck bone spur was used.

    Yet, the ck bone spur that vanished into thin air did not cause any air waves.

    However, if it literally vanished...

    Fang Zhengzhi would not be as shocked as he was right now.

    After all, he had the ability of shifting forms in the Heavenly Rebirth State, and even the ability to provide support for a short period of time. Yet, the disappearance of the ck bone spur was very different.

    That was because, the moment when the ck bone spur vanished, it reappeared at another location that was less than seven steps away from Yan Yin.

    As ck as Ink!

    Then, it vanished in a second!

    sh! At the instant that the ck bone spur vanished, a sound that was not too loud could be heard again. Then, the bone spur reappeared in the hands of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    The ck bone spur had an extra red marking on it. Blood flowed like rainwater down the bone markings of the ck bone spur andnded on the top of the Tree of God.

    Very quickly, the ck bone spur had returned to the sparkling clean state and was as ck as ink again.

    This strange scene happened extremely fast. Yet, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the sages watching from beneath all felt as though they were surrounded by a mysterious vibe.

    It was not because of the strange scene of the blood dripping from the ck bone spur, but rather, it was because everyone already knew where the blood came from.

    ¡°Yan Yin!¡±

    ¡°Elder Yan!¡±

    Almost instantaneously, everyone¡¯s attentionnded on Yan Yin and widened their eyes.

    Yan Yin looked at himself too.

    Yan Yin bent his head down and looked at a small hole on the top of his chest. Blood was gradually flowing out from it.

    It was a very fast attack.

    It was so fast that Yan Yin did not feel much pain. He only realized and looked at his chest when he saw the reappearance of the ck bone spur in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s hand.

    ¡°So this is... God?¡± Yan Yin had an expression of disbelief. He did not even see the route taken by the ck bone spur.

    More importantly, he had already been surrounded by ayer of light shield. That was the strongest defence tactic for one who was at the peak of his Sage State.

    Yet...

    Everything was insignificant in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s eyes.

    He did not wow anyone with any big moves or tactics. He merely raised his right hand and put it down.

    ¡°Looks like you not only do not know the difference between a god and a sage, but also do not know what is meant by a real battle.¡± After cing his right hand down, the Space-splitting Demon God nced up slightly at the ck and green doors that werepletely open in the heaven. ¡°Only the monsters and demons who had experienced a real battle would understand that you do not need any special amazing tactics to kill, you simply just need to kill the person.¡±

    ¡°Simply just need to...¡±

    ¡°Kill the person?¡±

    The onlookers expressions turned extremely pale at this instant as they finally knew what was the kind of demon that came out from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons!

    ¡°Elder Yan!¡±

    ¡°Old man Yan, you can¡¯t die now!¡±

    As someone who was at the peak of his sage state, he ought to be at the pinnacle of the world and have the ability to defend himself even when he encounters the most powerful individual in the sage state ¡ª Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Yet now...

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi realized that when they were facing the Space-splitting Demon God, they hadpletely lost their so-called defence capability.

    It was a strong sense of crisis.

    He was too powerful!

    When they were battling with Monster Emperor Baizhi, the few of them had made use of their willpower to continue fighting on.

    Yet, this willpowerpletely disappeared when they were facing the Space-splitting Demon God.

    The powers of the Space-splitting Demon God...

    Was not the ordinary powers. It was in fact, so powerful that it was too dangerous, so powerful that he gave off a killer aura as though he was on the ancient battlefield, so powerful such that it could make others lose their willpower to fight!

    So, was this the difference between a sage and a god?

 Chapter 892 - Reincarnation of Emperor Huang as a Hero

    <h4>Chapter 892: Reincarnation of Emperor Huang as a Hero</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Plop! Yan Yin¡¯s legs gave way and he knelt on the ground. This was an action that no one with his admirable status would take, the only exnation was that he could no longer stand.

    Blood flowed form the corner of Yan Yin¡¯s mouth and he took heavy breaths that caused his chest to move rapidly while beads of perspiration trickled down his face.

    ¡°Elder Yan!¡±

    ¡°Old man Yan, hold on!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi sounded desperate. They were evidently stunned.

    An attack!

    Merely an attack was sufficient for Yan Yin to copse!

    The powers of the Space-splitting Demon God hadpletely surpassed their expectations. Even the word ¡®terrifying¡¯ was not sufficient to describe how they felt.

    Depressed, extremely depressed.

    The Space-splitting Demon God stood silently on the spot without moving. He did not deliberately emit a stronger and more powerful radiance and aura, yet he gave off a terrifying vibe.

    ¡°So, who¡¯s next?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God looked around at Mu Qingfeng then Mo Shanshi and Qian Yu. Finally, his gaze fell back on Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Actually, I had a good rtionship with Jiang Ji.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I had a good rtionship with him too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head calmly. Instead of flushing, his expression was extremely calm.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    There was a type of person who made people feel that he was extremely shameless simply by uttering one sentence. Obviously, Fang Zhengzhi was this type of person.

    At this instant, apart from Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, even the Space-splitting Demon God was speechless.

    ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t really believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and said again when he saw that Space-splitting Demon God remained silent.

    ¡°Do you think I will believe you?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God twitched his mouth and looked impatient, but still forced a smile and asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, it is indeed not easily convincing. However, I believe you will believe me when I say my real identity,¡± Fang Zhengzhi said unhurriedly.

    ¡°Real identity?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s expressions turned from impatience to confusion. After a while of silence, he said, ¡°Let me hear it.¡±

    ¡°This is a long story...¡±

    ¡°Then cut it short.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but before I dere my identity, you should have noticed that I am the only one who is so young and yet standing amongst the world¡¯s most powerful individuals. Don¡¯t you find it strange?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and continued.

    ¡°Hmm... Are you trying to imply that you are more gifted than them?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God narrowed his eyes and asked.

    ¡°Do you think it is possible to solely rely on gift?¡±

    ¡°Indeed it is not very possible. Then cut to the point, what¡¯s your identity?¡±

    ¡°Actualy, I am the reincarnation of Emperor Huang!¡±

    Pfft! Yan Yin trembled violently and spat out a mouth of blood. Nobody knows if it was because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words or the fact that his body could notst him longer.

    In fact, apart from Yan Yin, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Qian Yu would have probably spat out blood if they had it in their mouths too.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi be so shameless?

    Reincarnation of Emperor Huang!

    How thick must this brat¡¯s skin be to say such big words unscrupulously. Furthermore, he had said it so calmly.

    If people could believe his ridiculous words, then either the world is mad or the person who believed him is mad. Did Fang Zhengzhi really treat the Space-splitting Demon God as a fool?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± After stoning for a while, the Space-splitting Demon God finallyughed. Heughed wildly for a moment before his face turned back to the stern and cold expression. ¡°Enough rubbish. Now, let me see what kind of surprise this reincarnated Emperor Huang can bring me!¡±

    Obviously, the Space-splitting Demon God did not believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised. After all, even he would not believe such nonsensical words.

    Yet, these are no longer important.

    What was important was that he was still alive. Even though he had lived only for an extra time of a few sentences, aspared to dying straight away, he felt that he had gain something.

    As the saying went, ¡®happinesses with a contented mind¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi was someone who knew how to be contented. Besides that, he had another habit where he would try his best to obtain as much ¡®content¡¯ as he could.

    ¡°Trying to kill me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi panicked.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God smiled and looked even more cold. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with arrogance and despise as though he was a giant looking at an ant.

    ¡°Of course you can, but I thought I heard the demon race abide by the rule where the most powerful gets to take charge.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, you are not a demon.¡±

    ¡°But Yun Qingwu is.¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said this, he pointed to Yun Qingwu who was standing calmly nearby.

    ¡°Yes, she is a demon, but what does that got to do with you?¡±

    ¡°I remember you had bet with her earlier on, the person who could stand here for a longer time without moving will be regarded as the more powerful one, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Sort of.¡± the Space-splitting Demon God did not give a direct answer.

    ¡°Since you have decided topete with Yun Qingwu, you should follow the rules of Yun Qingwu, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°So, how should I follow her rules?¡±

    ¡°Well, when Yun Qingwu was standing here, she did not use any weapons.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s empty hands, then pointed at the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s ck bone spur.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± The Space-splitting Demon Godughed and his body shook. However, he regained his stern and cold expression very quickly and said, ¡°Right, you are right. Yun Qingwu did not use any weapons, if I did, I would have vited the rules.¡±

    As he spoke, the ck bone spur in his right hand vanished into thin air, as though it had entered his body.

    This scene caused the onlookers to develop extremelyplicated emotions.

    So...

    With a few sentences, the Space-splitting Demon God had kept his weapon?

    Amongst the rest, they all knew how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was all along. Yet now they understood that hidden beneath this shamelessness, he was exceptionally intelligent.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She looked as though she wanted to say something but decided to shut her mouth in the end.

    Nobody knew what was going on in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind.

    That was because everyone knew that Yun Qingwu¡¯s words would cause the Space-splitting Demon God to sh his weapon once again. Since Yun Qingwu did not say anything, the Space-splitting Demon God naturally did not sh his weapon again.

    ¡°Now, there shouldn¡¯t be any more problems?¡± As he spoke to Fang Zhengzhi, the Space-splitting Demon God looked at Yun Qingwu as though he was speaking to her as well.

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s still a problem,¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied without thinking further.

    ¡°What problem?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God narrowed his eyes. It was clear that he had reached his limits of patience.

    ¡°Since Yun Qingwu¡¯s enlightenment state is only the Star Conglomerate State, you should lower your enlightenment state to that of a mortal.¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem if you don¡¯t agree. However, you should at least show it from your appearance. If you don¡¯t want to lower your enlightenment state, at least change your outfit? Look at Yun Qingwu¡¯s normal dress, shouldn¡¯t you remove your armor?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡±

    ¡°Fine, actually what I wanted to say is, I am really the reincarnated Emperor Huang. It would be extremely dangerous if you really decide to go against me. It¡¯s still not toote to regret.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Once a person had reached the extent of shamelessness, he could in fact make the onlookers feel less nervous even in extremely precarious situations.

    For example, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi had felt so. Subconsciously, they found that they had recovered slightly in terms of inner strength.

    Dying time?

    Was Fang Zhengzhi trying to dy time? Yet, what was the point of him dying time in such a situation?

    ¡°You brat, die!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God evidently had no interest in continuing the conversation with Fang Zhengzhi. With his right hand raised, he was about to p Fang Zhengzhi to death.

    ¡°Wait, I still have my final words to say!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand at this instant, his face looking extremely anxious and panicky.

    ¡°Speak!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God forced himself to say this word.

    ¡°Are you sure you would stand on the spot without moving at all?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the position where the Space-splitting Demon God was standing at and subconsciously stepped backwards.

    Seeing this scene, the onlookers finally understood. Judging from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions and personality, he was about to make an escape.

    Somewhat shameless.

    Yet, in this situation, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi did not think that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice was wrong. After all, before he escaped, he risked his life and made the Space-splitting Demon God keep his weapon.

    They ought to thank Fang Zhengzhi for this.

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was only eighteen. He had much more potential than the few of them who were much older.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Space-splitting Demon God finally nodded after he kept silent for a moment.

    ¡°You brat, I¡¯ll defend him!¡± Right after the Space-splitting Demon God spoke, Mo Shanshi raised his ck giant hammer and struck it downwards at the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head.

    ¡°Me too!¡± Mu Qingfeng also charged downwards with his long sword producing a loud and clear sound.

    The two most powerful people of the Sage State who were extremely astute, the pavilion master of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the valley master of the Fu Xi Valley, had decided to help Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a miracle.

    However, this came as no surprise to the sages and the disciples. They had already sensed the decision made by Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    However, at this moment, a beam of sword radiance shed before them like a soaring purple dragon, preventing them from advancing further.

    ¡°What?!¡± Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng were shocked. They knew that the sword radiance came from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s traceless sword but they did not understand what was the purpose of that strike.

    Nevertheless, they darted to both sides and felt the air above them vibrate violently.

    Boom!

    The purple sword radiance exploded above them. Then, a voice that sounded extremely angry could be heard from above their head.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± The angry voice was none other from Monster Emperor Baizhi. She was angry because she had stopped attacking Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    From her point of view, she did not mind Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi to seek their own doom. After all, she would not suffer any loss from this.

    In fact, she was more than happy because she could not only save her energy but also figure out the real powers of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword radiance had reached her...

    And struck her.

    Therefore, how would she not be angry?

    ¡°Trying to take credits for me? Scram!¡± While Monster Emperor Baizhi was angry and Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were shocked, Fang Zhengzhi shouted wildly.

    ¡°Scram?¡±

    ¡°Credits?¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi nced at each other and were evidently stunned. Why do Fang Zhengzhi need to be credited for? They could not believe it.

    However, those words were said by Fang Zhengzhi. They had to believe the truth even if they did not want to.

    ¡°Dao Xin, leave with Yan Xiu. I would not forgive you if he suffers the slightest injury!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard again. Meanwhile, an evil purple light radiated from his traceless sword.

    However, aspared to previously, the purple light on the traceless sword was not only evil but had drops of blood flowing on it.

    The heinous killing intent was as frivolous as a dragon.

    Dao Xin was stunned for a moment. Apart from her, Dao Hun who was watching from beneath and Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Qian Yu who were standing nearby Fang Zhengzhi also changed their expressions.

    That was right!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have the intention to escape!

    Not only did he have no intention of escaping, but he intended to defend against the Space-splitting Demon God so that the rest could escape.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you...¡±

    ¡°You brat, what are you doing?!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi could not believe it at all. How could anyone believe tht Fang Zhengzhi, being such a shameless person, did not have the intention to escape?

    ¡°Scram.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled. He did not have the intention to be a hero, but he was very sure that Yun Qingwu would never let him off.

    Therefore, why not be a hero again!

 Chapter 893 - Son of a B*tch, How Dare You Spring a Sneak Attack!

    <h4>Chapter 893: Son of a B*tch, How Dare You Spring a Sneak Attack!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi stared at each other. From their eyes, one could see shock and disbelief. Yet this was no longer important as Fang Zhengzhi had already stood up and stood in front of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    This was more than sufficient!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Mu Qingfeng shouted to Mo Shanshi, After looking at the two Gates of God, he finally decided to head downwards with Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Trying to escape? Naive!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi immediately gave chase when she saw Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi escape.

    ¡°Mother, let them go.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard as she shook her head at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Not giving chase?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi understood Yun Qingwu. However, she was curious as to why Yun Qingwu made such a decision.

    ¡°The Holy Region is not big. Where would they be able to escape to? It is more important to have him stay with us.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed at Fang Zhengzhi as she spoke.

    ¡°This brat?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi frowned. Deep inside, she did not agree with the decision Yun Qingwu had made.

    After all, it was a fact that Fang Zhengzhi would stay with them.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi possibly escape in the presence of the Space-splitting Demon God? What is the purpose of staying behind for someone who was doomed to die?

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not understand.

    However, with regards to the current situation, she did not oppose straightaway. As what Yun Qingwu had said, the Holy Region was not big and Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi could not possibly escape to a ce too far away. Moreover, how would they be willing to leave behind the Holy Region that took them thousands of years to build?

    ¡°Alright, we shall spare their lives for now.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi finally nodded and stopped giving chase. She changed to the human form and stood beside Yun Qingwu.

    The white furry long dress glistened under the sun. Although she had a dazzling appearance, aspared to Yun Qingwu, she exuded an allure from deep within.

    It was really beautiful when the twody stood beside each other.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not have the mood to admire their beauty. His attention had been on the Space-splitting Demon God who was standing just four or five steps in front of him.

    In reality, he was closer to Yun Qingwu than to the Space-splitting Demon God.

    However in terms of strategy, the best strategy would be to capture Yun Qingwu and use her to threaten the Space-splitting Demon God.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not do so.

    It was not because he did not want to, but because he knew that he could not do it. When he saw Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s attack on Yan Yin, he knew it would be impossible for him to capture Yun Qingwu.

    Furthermore, even if he did sessfully capture Yun Qingwu, how would he be sure that the Space-splitting Demon God would abide by hismands?

    Quoting the words of the Space-splitting Demon God...

    For a demon who came from the real battlefield, killing someone meant peanuts for him. Who knew what would the so-called loyalty and camaraderie mean to him?

    Therefore, aspared to asking for his own death, he would rather pretend to be calm.

    At least he had gained some advantage from making use of the bet between Yun Qingwu and Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God was somewhat impressed as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who exuded an extraordinary killer aura.

    ¡°Do you have wine? I need it to calm myself down!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Haha, I am not interested in watching you drink in front of me.¡± The Space-splitting Demon God smiled. As someone who came from a real battlefield, he knew exactly what his opponent¡¯s attitude was.

    Even an ant had the potential to kill an elephant by biting it.

    Therefore, as he spoke, he gradually raised his right hand and did not give Fang Zhengzhi any chance to y around.

    ¡°Hold on.¡± As the Space-splitting Demon God raised his hand, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard. ¡°I bought a bottle of ¡®Apricot Spring¡¯ from the Northern Mountain Vige when I was there sometime ago. I heard that the recipe came from you. I still have half a bottle with me now, do you want some?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I would definitely want some ¡®Apricot Spring¡¯.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and walked towards Yun Qingwu slowly.

    The Space-splitting Demon God frowned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. He raised his right hand again but eventually put it down.

    On the other hand, when Monster Emperor Baizhi saw Fang Zhengzhi approaching, she felt worried and without hesitation, she stood in front of Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Rest assured mother, he will not kill me, at least not now,¡± Yun Qingwu said to Monster Emperor Baizhi as she shook her head gently.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was slightly confused. Even with her intelligence, she did not understand why Yun Qingwu was so certain that Fang Zhengzhi would not kill her.

    ¡°He needs me to help him dy some time.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed at the sages and disciples who were escaping.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi frowned again.

    She had obviously noticed how the people beneath had left in all directions like flood water after Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi chose to escape.

    The Yin Yang Hall, Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley, Ling Yun Tower and the remaining factions of the Great Xia Dynasty had all retreated from the mountain.

    This was within expectations.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not understand why Yun Qingwu had no intention to make use of such a good opportunity to give chase. Instead, she intentionally allowed Mu Qingfeng and the disciples to leave.

    Why?

    Since Yun Qingwu did not give an exnation, Monster Emperor Baizhi did not probe further. In fact, she could not ask for the reason why in such a situation.

    ...

    The breeze was chilly and Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression suddenly turned awkward.

    That was because when she touched her neck, she realized that the pendant on her neck was no longer there.

    ¡°The wine is with you,¡± Yun Qingwu spoke after being dazed for a moment.

    ¡°With me? Oh... yes, it¡¯s with me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also shocked for a moment but reacted quickly and touched his Heart Protection Mirror in front of his chest.

    Then, a jug of wine appeared on his hand. Two words, ¡®Apricot Spring¡¯, was scribbled on the jug.

    Fang Zhengzhi lifted the cork of the bottle and took a whiff at the opening of the wine bottle, giving a satisfying look.

    ¡°Naturally-brewed wine is the best!¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed as he took a glimpse at the situation beneath.

    He could see that Dao Xin and Dao Hun had already sessfully brought Yan Xiu and the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall down the mountain peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Besides the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall, the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley and Ling Yun Tower had mostly escaped too.

    ¡°I initially thought that auntie Qian Yu... would stay back,¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed. He had always thought Qian Yu would be the one who was most likely to stay.

    That was because aspared to Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, Qian Yu was the only one apart from Dao Hun who had suffered the least injuries.

    Yet, Qian Yu left.

    She left with the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower, Emperor Lin Mubai and Ping Yang.

    When she left, she took a nce back at the direction of the top of the Tree of God, though Fang Zhengzhi was not sure if she was looking at the two opened Gates of God or himself.

    The tea turns cold when people leave, the breeze of the mountain added to that coldness.

    Yet, there were a few people who did not leave immediately. Instead, they stood at the bottom of the Tree of God silently and nced at the sky.

    Out of the few people, Chi Guyan and Wu Yuer were the most eye-catching.

    One was in pink and the other in ck. The two figures looked like they were two blooming flowers in the bushes, it was impossible to not notice them.

    They were not standing together. Instead, they were at least twenty steps away from each other.

    The pink dress on Chi Guyan swayed, the blood stains looked like burning red mes.

    Aspared to Chi Guyan, Wu Yuer had much lesser blood stains on her body. The ck muslin dress entuated her slim figure and added to her allure.

    Both of them did not leave, or at least they had not leave yet.

    Of course, apart from Chi Guyan and Wu Yuer, there were a few others who stayed. One of them was the Heavenly Oasis Saint and the other was Yan Qianli.

    The disciples of the Shadow Sect had left, yet the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli did not. Perhaps they were waiting for Wu Yuer to leave together with her.

    This was not surprising.

    However, what made Fang Zhengzhi slightly surprised was the fact that Nangong Tian had not left too. In fact, none of the sages of the Nangong Nobles left.

    Therefore, Nangong Mu who was lying on the floor was also not carried away.

    Fang Zhengzhi startedughing out of the blue.

    He did not expect Nangong Tian, a guy who could kill his biological son in order to achive his motives, to stay in such a situation.

    Was it for Nangong Hao?

    Or was it because Nangong Tian had not given up?

    If it was thetter, Fang Zhengzhi was really impressed by Nangong Tian¡¯s determination. The determination that remained even though he knew that there waspletely no hope.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi took a deep breath, then he ced his mouth near the opening of the wine bottle and the rich and spicy ¡®Apricot Spring¡¯ flowed into his mouth.

    Gulp... As he took a sudden sip of wine, he felt a burning sensation flowing from his stomach.

    Unlike the fruit wine he brewed himself, this ¡®Apricot Spring¡¯ was much more stronger. It was usually meant for the hunters to get rid of the cold in their body.

    Yet, that sip made him feel extremely satisfied.

    ¡°How boring for you to drink alone.¡± As Yun Qingwu said this, she reached out her right hand and her face was as calm as water.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and took another sip. Then, he put on the cork and tossed the wine bottle over to Yun Qingwu. ¡°What are you going to do with Nangong Hao after releasing Mu Qingfeng?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to save him?¡± Yun Qingwu caught the wine bottle with one hand and used the other to open the bottle. Much to the shock of dozens of monster kings, she took a sip directly from the wine bottle.

    This scene definitely shocked the monster kings as they had always had the impression that Yun Qingwu was a prim and proper person.

    Since when did she ever drink from the same wine bottle as another person?

    ¡°Since I am going to die soon and the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons are opened, under this circumstance, if I managed to save Nangong Hao, perhaps he would be the next hope for humankind,¡± Fang Zhengzhi said casually.

    ¡°Hmm, you make sense.¡± Afterpleting her sentence, Yun Qingwu tossed the wine bottle to Fang Zhengzhi again and said, ¡°But why should we leave another hope for humankind?¡±

    ¡°So, there are times when Yun Qingwu would be scared too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi caught the wine bottle and took another sip before tossing it back to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Do you think prodding me works?¡±

    ¡°Not sure, but I would still try it anyway.¡±

    ¡°Before you die, do you... have anyst wishes?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t married and spent a night with my wife.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, it does fit your personality. However, I did not say that I will grant you your wish, hence you can just think about it.¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu is indeed Yun Qingwu.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and shook the wine bottle in his hand. After discovering that it was empty, he smiled bitterly. ¡°We have finished the wine and the people who wants to leave have already left. Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Yun Qingwu spoke again.

    ¡°You changed your mind? Reluctant to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Your confidence feels more like shamelessness. Let me ask you onest time, do you really want to save Nangong Hao?¡± Yun Qingwu bit her lips unknowingly as she spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a casual remark. If I had a choice, I would rather save myself.¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a bright smile.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Yun Qingwu smiled like a white lotus flower that suddenly bloomed. Under the sunlight, it felt as if it had just emerged from the soil. ¡°Fine, I would grant your wish and not kill him for now. It doesn¡¯t matter to me as I can also enjoy myself in the days toe.¡±

    As Yun Qingwu spoke, dim light shed across her eyes like a meteor that fell past the corner of her eyes.

    As this light shed past...

    Nangong Hao who was standing quietly nearby suddenly sank down like a giant stone that lost its gravity.

    ¡°Indeed, ¡®godly charm, the skill of stealing souls¡¯, came from you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Hao and proved his hypothesis.

    ¡°Hmm, you are right. However, I think you should... keep a lookout for your back.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head lightly.

    Fang Zhengzhi actually did not hear theter part of Yun Qingwu¡¯s sentence. He had already felt a gust of coldness surging towards the back of his neck before Yun Qingwu had said it.

    ¡°Son of a b*tch, how dare you spring a sneak attack?!¡±

 Chapter 894 - At Least I Gave You My Life

    <h4>Chapter 894: At Least I Gave You My Life</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Sneak attack?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God moved his lips and looked at the right hand he just raised. He was astonished for a moment.

    As a powerful individual that deserved to be called ¡®god¡¯, why does he need to spring a sneak attack on a man who is as weak as an ant?

    He definitely did not need to do so.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi really shouted at the top of his lungs. Moreover, he used an insulting phrase ¡°son of a b*tch¡±.

    The Space-splitting Demon God could not react for a moment. He thought to himself, could it be the unintentional coldness he had exuded that made Fang Zhengzhi misunderstand him?

    As he was thinking about it, he realized...

    Fang Zhengzhi escaped!

    Furthermore, he escaped at a very fast speed and did not even bother to turn his head back.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    If you realize someone was springing a sneak attack on your back, what should you do? Common sense would be to bend down or dart.

    Those would be the natural reflexes.

    Yet such reflexes definitely did not include escaping.

    Fang Zhengzhi ran away very decisively. He did not bend down or dart. If one was to describe how Fang Zhengzhi looked, it would be that he yearned to have a few more legs.

    Yun Qingwu was speechless as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi who was running away at the speed of the lightning.

    She thought she had seen through Fang Zhengzhi and made sufficient mental preparation. Yet, she ultimately underestimated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness.

    Indeed, limits were meant to be broken.

    The Space-splitting Demon God was speechless too. He was a demon who had experienced a real battle and seen countless instances of how each party tried to deceive the other. Yet at this moment, he seemed to have...

    Fallen for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick!

    At least he was stunned for a moment. Yet in this short timespan, Fang Zhengzhi had already ran for a distance of at least twenty steps.

    Almost instinctively, the ck bone spur had reappeared in the hands of the Space-splitting Demon God. Meanwhile, he had noticed Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression.

    There was a sign of shock on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face. However, this slight shock disappeared in a sh and her expressions were back to the usual calmness.

    The Space-splitting Demon God smiled.

    Yes, he smiled.

    In fact, when he first saw Yun Qingwu, he had already felt the aura that she exuded. It was very weak, so weak that she should not have even appeared there.

    Yet such ady appeared in front of him.

    Furthermore, he could obviously sense the respect and fear based on the expressions of the elders of the demon race and the monster kings.

    It was no surprise that they respected her. Yet, the fear that they portrayed sparked the curiosity in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s heart.

    Because of this curiosity, he was willing to use his time to bet with Yun Qingwu. Since he had chosen to bet, how would he be willing to lose?

    He kept his ck bone spur immediately.

    The Space-splitting Demon God did not move because the rules of the bet stated that he could not move. However, the golden scar on his forehead shed with a beam of radiance.

    Every demon with the pure blood had a demon eye on the forehead. The demon eye of the demon race also represented their powers.

    Red represented reincarnation while golden represented sage state!

    The Space-splitting Demon God was a demon. By right, he should have a demon eye on his forehead. However, in reality, he only had a golden scar on his forehead.

    ¡°Come back!¡± As the beam of radiance shed across the golden scar on the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s forehead, he shouted ferociously.

    ¡°Come back? Only fools will!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had a face of disdain. He was not silly, not to mention about how powerful the Space-splitting Demon God was, he knew that with his capability, he probably could not even fight against Monster Emperor Baizhi alone.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Qian Yu had all escaped.

    Leaving him to stay there?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not so naive. After all, if he had a chance to escape, he would not sit and wait for his death.

    Yet, the fact that Chi Guyan and Wu Yuer had not escaped even after how he had dyed so much time made him speechless.

    Somewhatforting.

    Yet, it made him frustrated.

    ¡°Run, are you two fools...¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expressions froze and he was stunned.

    He realized that he...

    Went back again?!

    Yes, he went back to the same spot he was at, in front of the Space-splitting Demon God and Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What on earth?!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask, what on earth was that witchcraft, but it was clearly not the time to ask questions because an icy cold chill was being blown towards his neck.

    Different from the chill previously, it was sharp like a de and reached him almost instantaneously.

    It was so fast that he did not have time to react.

    ¡°Do you know why I am called the Space-splitting Demon God?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God smiled coldly and did not look surprised to see Fang Zhengzhi back at his position.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi had no time to reply.

    That was because when he felt the chill attacking him, he already had a neck ache. The chill was so fast that it was as though it had attacked his neck directly.

    Or in other words...

    After the chill was sent out from the Space-splitting Demon God, it did not even ¡°glide¡± through the air and had directly reached his neck.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not even have the chance to dart. The only way was to take three steps to the side using Heaven Dao.

    An azure blue light shed past.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s figure appeared not too far away with a few drops of fresh blood trickling down his neck. The blood stained the cor of his blue robe.

    ¡°Heavenly Rebirth State? How surprising.¡± The Space-splitting Demon God was slightly shocked as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who appeared a distance away.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi felt the chills creeping up his back.

    He finally understood why even someone as powerful as Yan Yin was hurt by the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s bone spur attack without having the time to defend.

    That was because the speed of attack by the Space-splitting Demon God was extraordinarily fast. In fact, it should not even be described as ¡®fast¡¯ as it was as though the Space-splitting Demon God took a knife and cut Fang Zhengzhi directly on his body.

    What kind of Dao technique is that...

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword.

    The scene where the the ck bone spur made two shes in the air when the Space-splitting Demon God sprang his attack on Yan Yin shed through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Space-splitting?

    Wait a minute!

    Space-splitting!

    A drop of cold sweat dripped down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°It was space! Splitting space apart!¡± <sup>1</sup> This was a daring guess, yet the only exnation that exined what Yan Yin and Fang Zhengzhi had experienced himself.

    No, it was not only about splitting space apart...

    He could control space too!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly recalled that a small space that looked as though it was about to be broken appeared in front of him when the Space-splitting Demon God shouted e back¡±.

    He did not bother about the space or purposely run around it as he was only concerned with escaping.

    Therefore he ran into the space.

    Then...

    He came back?

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood but was left speechless. This meant that he could no longer win the Space-splitting Demon God.

    In fact, how could he win someone who could split space apart, send the moves ¡°flying¡± into the space and then sessfully attacked him?

    There was a saying that went, ¡°In the world of martial arts, there is no impregnable defense, only swiftness is invincible.¡±

    And the swiftness of the Space-splitting Demon God could not even be described with the word ¡°fast¡±. This suddenly made Fang Zhengzhi recall about a ssic advertisement slogan in his past word, ¡®XX Express Delivery, The World On Time.¡±

    The problem came.

    How could he dart from a move that was as fast as express delivery?

    ...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi encountered the ¡°fastest situation¡± in his life, the falling Nangong Hao was finally caught safely by Nangong Tian and another sage of the Nangong Nobles.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian looked exasperated after catching Nangong Hao and kept pressing on Nangong Hao¡¯s body.

    ¡°Cough...¡± Nangong Hao coughed out a mouth of blood, his pale face finally had a little bit of color and his eyes gradually opened.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Dad...¡± Nangong Hao looked at Nangong Tian who was in front of him, then looked up at the sky, at the green and ck Gates of God which had already been opened. ¡°We lost, we lost eventually.¡±

    ¡°No, we did not lose!¡± Nangong Tian shook his head. ¡°If Fang Zhengzhi dies, the fruits of the Tree of God could reappear, and we could still...¡±

    ¡°Dad!¡±

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, you can¡¯t give up now, you can¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Dad, I am a little tired...¡±

    ¡°Tired? Then rest for a while. After... After Fang Zhengzhi dies, then we will...¡±

    ¡°No, dad, I mean that I am really exhausted.¡± Nangong Hao shook his head and turned his head towards Nangong Mu who was lying on the floor nearby with his eyes closed. ¡°Brother Mu, I... am sorry.¡±

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, do not say such things. Whatever that happened to Mu¡¯er was my decision, it has got nothing to do with you. We only need to just wait for a bit more, wait for the chance...¡±

    ¡°Dad, do you really think you still stand a chance?¡± Nangong Hao interrupted Nangong Tian and pointed at the Space-splitting Demon God who was standing on top of the Tree of God.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Tian moved his lips slightly as if he was about to say something. However, he did not speak eventually.

    Meanwhile, as the sages of the Nangong Nobles witnessed this scene, every one lowered their heads and did not speak.

    They all knew that, the so-called ¡°chance¡±...

    Is non-existent.

    Even if the fruits of the Tree of God reappeared after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s death, in the presence of the Space-splitting Demon God and Monster Emperor Baizhi, how could they possibly snatch the fruits of the Tree of God?

    ¡°Dad, I have lost. Based on the rules of the Nangong family, I ought to be punished!¡± Nangong Hao spoke again with a miserable expression.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er... You have tried your best and we could all see your efforts. You should not be med, in fact it is me... I am not capable enough to...¡±

    ¡°Myst wish is for Dad to promise me regarding one thing!¡±

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, don¡¯t say such things...¡±

    ¡°Dad, promise me!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you... speak.¡±

    ¡°Save Brother Mu!¡±

    ¡°This... Of course I want to save Mu¡¯er. However, Mu¡¯er¡¯s heart has already... You should know that the Nangong Nobles has a special bloodline. For your generation, only you and Mu¡¯er have the blood of the Nangong Nobles... The other disciples cannot possibly inherit the ancestors¡¯...¡±

    Crack! A sound broke off Nangong Tian¡¯s words.

    Then, Nangong Tian¡¯s eyes widened instantaneously.

    That was because there was a hand that hadpletely sank into the location of Nangong Hao¡¯s heart. Blood flowed vigorously from his chest area.

    ¡°Dad... If you don¡¯t agree, I... I will crush my heart immediately!¡±

    ¡°Hao¡¯er, you, why do this to yourself!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s body trembled as he finally understood what Nangong Hao wanted. However, that made him even more miserable.

    ¡°I have lost, so I should receive the punishment... I only hope that Dad could grant me myst wish, to exchange my life for Brother Mu¡¯s,¡± As Nangong Hao turned to look at Nangong Mu, instead of showing any sense of pain, he smiled faintly.

    ¡°Brother Mu...¡±

    ¡°I know that you have worked relentlessly for all these while, for more than ten years, I know that you really wanted to surpass me, yet I could not grant you your wish because I know that once you have surpassed me, you will be the one shouldering the responsibility and pain...¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you much as a brother, but at least, I can give you my life...¡±

    ¡°Brother, the brother I love the most!¡±

    Nangong Hao¡¯s lips trembled non-stop. Nobody could hear what he was saying clearly, but they saw how Nangong Hao, as a person who had never felt emotional, had two drops of blood-filled tears trickling down his face.

    ¡°Hao¡¯er!¡± Nangong Tian howled. He looked at Nangong Hao and then the Space-splitting Demon God above him and clenched his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± After they saw Nangong Tian carry Nangong Hao, the sages of the Nangong Nobles followed Nangong Tian¡¯s orders and carried Nangong Mu carefully, quickly running down the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The wind on the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain turned more chilly.

    Nangong Tian had escaped with Nangong Hao, Nangong Mu and the sages of the Nangong Nobles. Only Chi Guyan, Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint were left standing at the peak of the mountain.

    ¡°Yuer, there¡¯s no more hope.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that!¡± Wu Yuer bit her lips. The red dot between her brows was extremely eye-catching, like the plum flowers that bloomed in the cold winter.

 Chapter 895 - The Balls were Crushed

    <h4>Chapter 895: The Balls were Crushed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡± Looking at Wu Yuer¡¯s expressions, the Heavenly Oasis Saint wanted to say something but eventually only gave a sigh.

    Sometimes things are as such, we choose to attempt things which we know are impossible and we choose to believe in things that are unbelievable.

    Was that wrong?

    Nobody could give a definite answer.

    However, one could be sure that Fang Zhengzhi was in an extremely dangerous state. Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Space-splitting Demon God or dozens of monster kings, Fang Zhengzhi could not match up to any of them.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s bit her lips very hard, the feeling of powerlessness overwhelmed her and she could not think of any solution except for watching silently and waiting.

    At this moment, a silvery white radiance that looked like stars could be seen.

    Chi Guyan moved.

    The pink dress that was stained with blood swayed and the stars in her eyes agglomerated and spun continuously, causing her eyes to be extraordinarily bright.

    Swoosh! The pink figure dashed towards the sky like a stream of light with an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Yuer, no!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint pressed his hand on Wu Yuer¡¯s shoulder. That was because Wu Yuer¡¯s body glowed with radiance when she saw Chi Guyan dash up to the sky.

    ¡°Master, I want to help her!¡±

    ¡°No, I can agree to anything but this!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You should understand, nobody can save him except for himself.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint continued to press his hand hard on Wu Yuer¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°But Chi Guyan...¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint looked at the figure that had dashed to the sky. With aplex expression, he shook his head.

    He did not understand why Chi Guyan wanted to court death by heading up.

    With Chi Guyan¡¯s intelligence, she definitely would have understood the current situation ¡ª there will be more casualties if more people went up.

    Yet Chi Guyan decided to go in the end.

    For no apparent reasons, or perhaps, that was precisely the biggest reason.

    ...

    After seeing Chi Guyan, the Space-splitting Demon God was slightly shocked.

    It was not because of her speed, but rather he was surprised by how there would be someone who was willing to court death by challenging his authority even after witnessing his real capabilities.

    Of course, he did not need to bother about this.

    After all, there were dozens of monster kings with huge body built blocking in front of Chi Guyan. How could she possibly break through that?

    ¡°Chi Guyan, you are courting death!¡± The dozens of monster kings who were standing in midair had radiance shining in their eyes. None of them would retreat at that point in time.

    Meanwhile, facing the dozens of monster kings, Chi Guyan did not speak. Instead, she took out her sword and attacked.

    It was a simple movement...

    It felt as though the figures in front of her were not monster kings, but rather dozens of ordinary creatures that were of no significance or threat to her.

    ¡°Indeed, even after suffering severe injuries, Chi Guyan is still as arrogant as ever.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi smiled faintly as she saw Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Mother, do you think a miracle will happen?¡±

    ¡°Miracle? Haha...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhiughed. Although she did not answer Yun Qingwu directly, her answer was obvious from her expressions.

    Yun Qingwu did not talk any further. She raised her head slightly to look at the two Gates of God in the sky as well as the stars that were like blinking eyes in the Gates of God.

    Roar! A beastly roar was heard.

    Evidently, the battlefield that was once calm had been ignited again.

    The arrogance of Chi Guyan frustrated the monster kings. They attacked Chi Guyan with their sharp and giant ws, making sharp sounds as they struck.

    Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have the time to greet Chi Guyan such as saying, ¡°Hi, you are here?¡±. That was because the speed at which the Space-splitting Demon God attacked was way too fast.

    It was so fast such that it felt like with a simple move of the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s finger, Fang Zhengzhi would immediately find himself in another ce and die straightaway.

    ¡°I almost forgot that you haven¡¯t eaten. You must be hungry since you just ¡®came back to life¡¯? Why not you have your meal first before we continue our battle?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the traceless sword as he spoke, he seemed to have given up on trying to escape.

    ¡°Haha...¡± The Space-splitting Demon God smiled with intense coldness. As he smiled, he raised his right hand gradually.

    To a demon who had been to a real battlefield, he would not allow something as silly as ying around with his prey to happen.

    However, just as he raised his hand, he was stunned for a short while and looked somewhat annoyed.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had escaped again.

    Moreover, he was running with a very fast speed. Without any signal, he dashed down with a speed that was so fast that one could not see him clearly.

    What was the purpose of this?

    One could be foolish for once. However, if one continued to do such foolish acts after learning their lesson, then one was indeed too naive and ignorant.

    ¡°Come back!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God once again smiled coldly as light shed across the golden scar on his forehead.

    Following that, as expected...

    Fang Zhengzhi came back again.

    This slightly disappointed the Space-splitting Demon God. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi would have been smarter since he had decided to escape again.

    Yet the reality was that he was not any smarter.

    That was right!

    Fang Zhengzhi was brought back by running into the moving space again. However, unlike before, he was much closer to the Space-splitting Demon God this time as the Space-splitting Demon God did not want to waste anymore of his time with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You think you can run... eh?!¡± Before he couldplete his sentence, a sword appeared above the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head.

    It was very fast!

    Although it could not bepared to his speed, he had to admit that the sword had struck down with an extremely fast speed.

    Moreover, it struck without any hesitation.

    With the evil purple light glowing and a loud and clear sound of the sword, the sword looked as though it was a dragon out at the sea as it had a long and narrow and eye-catching purple shadow.

    Boom! The sound of violent waves was heard. The ferocious air waves spread like circr waves towards all directions.

    Indeed, Fang Zhengzhi had attacked!

    In fact, he had already prepared his attack when he made a run. He knew that there was no way for him to escape.

    Since he could not escape, then he was left with no choice.

    He could only attack!

    However, for an opponent like the Space-splitting Demon God, he could not possibly attack as usual. The only way was to attack from a close distance. It may sound ridiculous as the extraordinary speed of the Space-splitting Demon God meant that the closer they were, the faster he would be.

    This was the normal logic.

    Yet, was the Space-splitting Demon God normal?

    Clearly not.

    As the speed of the Space-splitting Demon God had reached an ultimate level, his speed could not be any faster than this ultimate level even if Fang Zhengzhi attacked from a close distance.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi could be even faster.

    Therefore, at the instant when he was brought back by the Space-splitting Demon God, Fang Zhengzhi struck with the sword that he had prepared long ago.

    Furthermore, as he struck, he lifted one of his foot and with a cunning angle, he hooked his foot at the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s crotch area.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Feeling the wind between his legs, the Space-splitting Demon God was taken by surprise.

    After all, nobody still used such a shameless tactic.

    He closed his legs.

    The Space-splitting Demon God quickly squeezed his legs to catch Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foot, however, before he could think properly, a cloud of white powder appeared in front of his eyes.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As a powerful demon that had reached the ¡®god¡¯ level, how would he feel for being attacked by a eighteen year old human at such a close distance, with the continuous attack of foot-hooking and spraying lime powder in his eyes?

    Nobody knew.

    At least, Monster Emperor Baizhi had her mouth agape. Besides being astonished, she thought she was seeing things.

    Of course, the monster kings watching from beneath also could not believe their eyes. After all, the tides had turned too quickly.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly would not think of that at the moment.

    The only thing he thought of was to be fast, faster, even faster, and as fast as he could. He had to make sure that the Space-splitting Demon God could not attack and could only defend.

    This was the ultimate lesson he learned from Xing Yuanguo from the Stablisation Constabry, the leading constabry of the Thirteen Constabries in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Use attack as a means to defend!

    However, the ¡®use attack as a means to defend¡¯ battle tactic had evolved in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands. For example, he used the tactic in a much more shameless manner.

    However, were these important?

    No!

    When it was a matter of life and death, regardless of what tactic was used, it was the best tactic as long as it was effective. Just like how when choosing cats, regardless of whether the cat was a ck cat or white cat, it was a good cat if it could catch the rat.

    ¡°Looks like you have figured out why I am called the ¡®Space-splitting Demon God¡¯.¡± After defending the five consecutive attacks of Fang Zhengzhi, the Space-splitting Demon God finally calmed down and gave a chilling smile.

    Yet the few white spots of the lime powder made him look slightlyical.

    ¡°Well, I will still suggest that you have your meal first!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he threw a punch in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s face.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s not toote for me to eat after I kill you.¡± The Space-splitting Demon God already understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought.

    However, just like what Fang Zhengzhi had predicted, when fighting at a close distance away from him, the advantage that the Space-splitting Demon God once had in terms of speed was reduced.

    Moreover, the Space-splitting Demon God could not retreat or move. Therefore he was unable to use his advantage in terms of speed to escape from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack.

    ¡°He could hold on for such a long time?!¡±

    ¡°This brat... How did he manage to do that?¡±

    ¡°Yan Yin onlysted for one attack, yet this brat managed to attack ten times? Moreover, the Space-splitting Demon God has yet to counterattack?!¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    As the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the Space-splitting Demon God was the focus of that area, the monster kings were extremely stunned.

    After all, this scene was somewhat unbelievable.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi could be said to be at an advantageous position while he attacked the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°You brat, although you are good, you are ultimately a mortal. Now, I shall let you know what¡¯s the difference between a god and a mortal!¡± After defending the five consecutive strikes by Fang Zhengzhi, the Space-splitting Demon God looked serious.

    He no longer had the interest to ¡®y around¡¯ with Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! The sky darkened suddenly with a loud noise. Unlike how Monster Emperor Baizhi turned the day into night, this time, the darkness only surrounded the Space-splitting Demon God and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Along with the change to darkness, a palm was stretched out and pped down on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    It was a terrifying coercion.

    It was an extremely powerful aura that pressed down like a tall mountain. With an undefeatable power, it felt like as if a giant was pping on ants.

    The Space-splitting Demon God had begun his counterattack.

    In a situation where it was almost impossible for him to do so, he managed to counterattack. More importantly, as he attacked, the other two of his hands were still defending the moves made by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°A third hand?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was soaked with perspiration when he saw the gigantic palm that mmed down on him. If he had a chance, he wanted to curse.

    ¡®Since you could already control space, why do you still need a third hand?¡¯

    ¡®Why must you be so powerful!¡¯

    ¡®How to even fight enjoyably with you if you are so powerful?¡¯

    ¡®I might as well just wait for you to kill me.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to give up on hope. Although he might not die from the p, he would definitely die if he gave the Space-splitting Demon God an opportunity to counterattack.

    Should he dart?

    Definitely not!

    Biting his teeth, Fang Zhengzhi tossed his Traceless sword and mumbled, ¡°Dear, I have treated you well, if it¡¯s time to attack, please attack!¡±

    Buzz! Just as Fang Zhengzhi was praying for the Traceless sword to defend against the gigantic hand that pped down, a loud sound that shook the world could be heard.

    Soon after, a clear sound was heard too.

    ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather familiar with that sound. He was not only shocked but also surprised as that was the fighting style of Chi Guyan.

    Of course, that was not the main concern. Most importantly, he was extremely near to the Space-splitting Demon God and by raising his leg, he could sessfully kick the Space-splitting Demon God in his balls.

    Crack! Following the explosive sound, the Space-splitting Demon God widened his eyes immediately. He felt that something underneath his crotch was crushed...

 Chapter 896 - Go Forth, I Am Your Opponent

    <h4>Chapter 896: Go Forth, I Am Your Opponent</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was a kind of pain that went down to the bone.

    That was the pain that the Space-splitting Demon God was experiencing. This excruciating pain caused him to tremble uncontrobly and his face paled.

    ¡°He kicked... kicked it?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    Monster Emperor Baizhi and the monster kings watched in disbelief.

    Regardless of whether they believed it, Fang Zhengzhi indeed kicked it. Furthermore, he was spot on and had used all of his strength.

    Of course, it was not because he kicked fast enough. In fact, the Space-splitting Demon God had already made a defensive movement when Fang Zhengzhi made his move.

    However...

    The Space-splitting Demon God did not manage to block the kick.

    That was because when he did his defensive move, a powerful restraining force caused him to stop moving temporarily.

    It was for a very short period of time, but it was sufficient.

    Boom! At the instant when Fang Zhengzhi kicked the Space-splitting Demon God, a loud and powerful explosive sound was heard. That was because the gigantic palm had pped down.

    While blocking the attack, the traceless sword made a loud and clear sound.

    When the palm and traceless sword collided, a gigantic airwave spread towards all directions. It was so strong that it made countless ck cracks in the surrounding space. Yet strangely, Fang Zhengzhi was enclosed within an odd purple light shield.

    ¡°He blocked it?!¡± Not only could the monster kings not believe what had just happened, but even Fang Zhengzhi felt the same way when he saw the purple light shield around his body.

    Yet these were no longer important.

    He had indeed blocked the attack made by the Space-splitting Demon God. Therefore, driven by the mindset of ¡°kick someone when they¡¯re down¡±, he threw a punch towards the face of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    Bam! Once again, he managed to hit the Space-splitting Demon God right in the center of his face. Since the start, the Space-splitting Demon God had not made a single dodge.

    Fresh red blood flowed out of the corner of the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s mouth. It was evident that he was in pain after being hit by the punch.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was almost equally as powerful as Monster Emperor Baizhi. In fact, he was even stronger than Yan Yin.

    Of course, most importantly, the Space-splitting Demon God did not even dodge or had any intention to defend. Therefore, no matter how powerful he was with a ¡®god¡¯ level, it was impossible for him to remain unharmed.

    Yet, the Space-splitting Demon God lived up to his name.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack had hit the face of the Space-splitting Demon God, he was not defeated by the attack. Instead, he stood quietly on the spot with his eyes widened.

    This was out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expectations.

    Chi Guyan was unquestionably powerful. Even someone who was in the ordinary sage state was not her opponent if she chose to make use of her Gifted Bloodline.

    Yet, Chi Guyan had not entered the sage state. She was not able to fully utilise both her Gifted Bloodline and her capabilities.

    Furthermore, she was severely injured.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi was certain that with her current condition, Chi Guyan could not possibly control the Space-splitting Demon God for such a long duration. In fact, it would be exaggerating if she could even control him for a second.

    Yet why did the Space-splitting Demon God not make any movements after he was attacked by Fang Zhengzhi?

    Could it be that...

    Chi Guyan had reached the Sage State?!

    As this thought struck him, Fang Zhengzhi looked beneath at the pink figure amongst the dozens of monster kings.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s ck long hair swayed behind her back.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s beauty was one that left the world in awe. Even though she was severely injured, the arrogance on her face could not be hidden.

    Combined with the enormous faint shadow when she turned behind, in particr, the cold, bright, long five-colored snake tail that was above all living things, her beauty gave an extremely high degree of invasion.

    Unfortunately, however...

    There was no marking on her forehead that represented the sage state. Her face was as pale as ever and perspiration trickled down her forehead.

    It was evident that Chi Guyan could not havested until now solely by using her origin energy. She hadsted because of her willpower and determination.

    ¡°Mother... Mother Earth?!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi heard a trembling voice.

    Space-splitting Demon God!

    This voice was not foreign to Fang Zhengzhi. However, aspared to the voice that was filled with coldness and despise, Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s voice was filled with astonishment.

    Moreover, there was a quiver in his voice.

    ¡°Mother Earth?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s face of astonishment and blood, then looked at the pink figure a distance away, and was stunned as well.

    Apart from him, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster Kings who were surrounding Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu were also stunned after hearing the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s words

    ¡°Mother Earth?¡±

    ¡°Was Space-splitting Demon God referring to Chi Guyan?¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan is Mother Earth?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    Almost every human and monster in the Holy Region has know that Chi Guyan had a powerful gift and had the First Bloodline.

    Yet the origin and specialty of the First Bloodline was unclear to all.

    After all, Chi Guyan was not old. Besides that, she did not spend a lot of time outside. Except for the time when she showcased her capabilities during the examination for the Law of Dao in the Great Xia Dynasty few years ago, she spent most of her time in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Most importantly...

    The era of Mother Earth had long passed. It was almost untraceable except for a few records in the historical books.

    Yet, the Space-splitting Demon God was different.

    Amongst the humans, demons and monsters, the Space-splitting Demon God was the most familiar with Mother Earth. He was the only one who witnessed the presence of Mother Earth.

    ¡°Demon Deity, her name is Chi Guyan and she is only seventeen. Although she is extraordinarily gifted, she is not Mother Earth!¡± After being stunned for a moment and exchanging gazes with each other, one of the elder of the demon race said loudly.

    ¡°Chi Guyan?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God looked at the enormous faint shadow behind Chi Guyan and frowned.

    As he frowned, a beam of purple light shed across his eyes. Then, the Space-splitting Demon God felt the pain on his chest.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    It happened very quickly, so quickly that even the elders of the demon race and Monster Emperor Baizhi who had been looking at the Monster Emperor Baizhi could not react.

    Nevertheless, a sword was inserted into the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s chest and the evil purple light glowed on the sword. Although it was not fully inserted into his body, blood had flowed out.

    Shock and horror.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also shocked. He sprang his attack. Before the Space-splitting Demon God regained his senses, he grabbed his traceless sword and stabbed it in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s chest.

    However, after about an inch, he encountered a powerful force that prevented his sword from further sinking in.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A loud roar was heard. Then, an enormous and terrifying force surged towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    The Space-splitting Demon God was infuriated.

    This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had seen such a furious emotion after arriving in this world. The anger had made the Space-splitting Demon God forget about the bet with Yun Qingwu.

    He took a step forward.

    Without any consideration, the Space-splitting Demon God crashed into Fang Zhengzhi and his thick armor glowed with extraordinarily bright radiance.

    Bam! The powerful force made Fang Zhengzhi feel like he was being hit by a tall mountain. He was sent flying uncontrobly backwards.

    The next moment, he felt a powerful sense of crisis surging towards him. It was a beam of light that was hidden in the dark. It was extremely sharp and fast that it made one quiver.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish.

    He knew that it was the ck bone spur that the Space-splitting Demon God had kept all along. Therefore, when he felt the sense of crisis, his body glowed with an azure blue radiance too.

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi appeared at a spot that was three steps away. However, he had a cut on his left hand.

    It was a small cut but an extremely deep one. Blood sttered across the sky andnded on the white flowers on top of the Tree of God.

    Everything happened in an instant.

    From stabbing the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s chest with the Traceless Sword to Fang Zhengzhi being pushed by the Space-splitting Demon God, and finally to how the ck bone spur prated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left hand, everything happened in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°What the f*ck...¡± Fang Zhengzhi started perspiring with cold sweat. If he had not dodged at thest moment, he would have been stabbed in his heart instead of his left hand.

    It was too fast!

    Moreover, the Space-splitting Demon God had moved. Not only that, he had used his weapon, the ck bone spur.

    How about the bet agreement?

    Where was the trust between people?

    ¡°Die!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s voice could be heard again. Clearly, he did not care about the bet agreement at this point in time and the only thing he had in mind was to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Since he did not kill Fang Zhengzhi with one strike, the Space-splitting Demon God had movedd once again. He disappeared from his spot as though he had blended into the darkness.

    ¡°Shameless thief, watch out!¡± Witnessing the disappearance of the Space-splitting Demon God, Chi Guyan¡¯s snake tail turned into a stream of light and whipped at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi fell forward as he was struck by the whip. It was so powerful that he nearly dropped the Traceless Sword in his hand.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    However, he did not manage to do so because as he fell, a chilling ck light ray shed across the spot he was at.

    Then, the Space-splitting Demon God appeared beneath the ck light ray. Although the blood on his chest had solidified, the anger in his face seemed to have grown.

    ¡°Looks like you are indeed not Mother Earth!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God took a nce at Chi Guyan with a cold expression. ¡°Mother Earth had already died. So... You should not continue to live in this world!¡±

    As he spoke, the darkness surrounding him spread towards all directions.

    Then, he disappeared once again.

    It was very fast, so fast that there were no disruptions to the surrounding space. It was no longer the ultimate speed but rather a literal vanish.

    The next moment, a ray of ck light had reached Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Oh no, dodge!¡± Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint who were standing beneath finally reacted and shouted when they saw the ck light.

    However, the ck light had came too quickly. Furthermore, nobody had expected that the Space-splitting Demon God would suddenly attack Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Chi Guyan yelled softly. Meanwhile, the faint shadow behind her shook violently and an extremely powerful aura exuded from the body of the faint shadow.

    Boom!

    The two forces of power collided and the ck light shook a little. Very quickly, the ck light disappeared into the broken space.

    It appeared as though Chi Guyan had sessfully blocked the attack. Yet everyone knew that when the ck light reappeared, Chi Guyan would be dead.

    Then...

    The ck light reappeared.

    This time, it appeared at the position of Chi Guyan¡¯s heart. It was cold and sharp and the entire space seemed to have been frozen.

    Time seemed to have stopped.

    However, surprisingly, after the ck light appeared, instead of entering her heart, it quietly remained at the front of it.

    That was because a red chain was coiled around the ck light.

    Near-Life Key!

    Crack! The red chain shook and cracks appeared on it. However, this did not have much effects as the dark green chain had coiled around the ck light again.

    The instant when the dark green chain appeared, a gigantic ck figure appeared in the sky. Eightplex symbols shone at the eight different positions of the figure.

    ¡°You are not stupid, don¡¯t you know your opponent is me?!¡± A furious roar was heard. Then, a fist surrounded by ck armor and ck mes appeared at the back of the ck light.

    Boom! A terrifying airwave tumbled like the tornado. The powerful aura blew on the pink dress and the ck hair of Chi Guyan.

    As the airwave tumbled, the Space-splitting Demon God appeared. With an extremely fast speed, he retreated in the other direction.

    Following that, another figure appeared in front of Chi Guyan. It was wrapped with ck armor and zing mes were burning on the armor.

 Chapter 897 - Time to Explode

    <h4>Chapter 897: Time to Explode</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Come on, let me see how powerful the so-called ¡®God¡¯ is!¡± A voice with a wildness that was never heard before came from the ck mes

    This was a shocking scene.

    Nobody had expected Fang Zhengzhi was able to send the Space-splitting Demon God flying with a punch after he was attacked by the Space-splitting demon god.

    This was not because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed was faster than the Space-splitting Demon God. It was because he had an urate judgment of where the Space-splitting demon god would appear.

    The monster kings were stunned.

    Apart from them, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Heavenly Oasis Saint, Yan Qianli and Wu Yuer who were watching from beneath also watched with astonishment.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about this. He took a nce at the pale Chi Guyan, slowly stretched out his arm and stopped it in front of her.

    Without any words and without further stretching action, he calmly stopped his arm in front of Chi Guyan and patiently waited.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s body trembled. She looked at the palm in front of her and then at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression.

    She could not see anything much from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face because the ck mes that surrounded Fang Zhengzhi had already blocked his face.

    The only thing she could see was...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    It was a pair of eyes that showed anger. Apart from the evil purple, there was a gradually turning Figure of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. Red, blue, green and ck, four different colors shined brightly on the Figure of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    Chi Guyan did not ask Fang Zhengzhi what he was up to. She knew about his decision after she saw the pair of eyes.

    The two hands were held together.

    ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said. The killer aura in his voice made him sound serious.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan¡¯s pale face started blushing as though she had not felt the killer aura.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    Without saying anything, she leaned towards Fang Zhengzhi gradually and her shoulder was in touch with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    ¡°Let¡¯s kill this God together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on Chi Guyan¡¯s hand and smiled faintly.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Chi Guyan smiled. Although she did not answer Fang Zhengzhi directly or nod, her face showed a sense of aplishment and relief.

    Her pink long dress that was stained with blood swayed in the wind, making a sound which sounded like a happy tune from the streams of the mountain.

    ¡°Stop talking rubbish, roar!¡± At this moment, a Monster King who was standing beside Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have regained his senses.

    As he let out a loud roar, two gigantic sharp ws pped down on Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan with the speed of the lightning.

    Just before the two sharp ws touched Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, a bright purple sword light shined.

    The sword light rose majestically like fire.

    Instantly, the entire sky seemed to have darkened. All that left in the sky was this sword that looked as though it was about to split open the sky and the earth.

    The sword light passed by the two sharp ws and went straight into the sky, the sound of the sword and the sound caused by the collision between metals echoed in the sky.

    Crack! The monster king¡¯s ws split open along with its gigantic body that was covered in scaled armor.

    One could see the astonishment and fear on the monster king¡¯s face. There was also utter disbelief in his blue eyes.

    However, no matter whether he believed it or not, his body had been split into two by the sword light. Meanwhile, a golden monster pearl floated in the sky.

    Plop! The moment where the golden monster pearl appeared, Fang Zhengzhi had swallowed it.

    Gulp, gulp...

    After swallowing the monster pearl, Fang Zhengzhi kicked his mouth and looked at the other monster kings around him with a hungry expression like a starving wolf looking at its prey.

    ¡°Tastes good, anymore?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    None of the monster kings answered Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question. They could only think of a word: beast; a beast that was even more terrifying than monsters.

    ¡°Hahaha, interesting, very interesting!¡± The voice of the Space-splitting Demon God could be heard. Unlike before, there was extreme excitement in his cold voice.

    Meanwhile, a figure had gradually appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi. It was less than ten steps away from Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that the person standing in front of me was as weak as an ant. Looks like now I have to admit that I¡¯ve underestimated your abilities. You mastered four out of the six Rebirth Dao Techniques? How rare, so rare!¡± The Space-splitting Demon Godughed until his body trembled. Then, he stopped abruptly. ¡°To make up for my mistake, I shall let you see the powers of the real god before I kill you!¡±

    ¡°Can you please say something new? You have said the exact same thing once already.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his traceless sword slowly and pointed the tip of the sword at the throat of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Haha, really?!¡± Smiling again, the Space-splitting Demon God widened his eyes. ¡°Fine, I shall say something new. How do you want to die?¡±

    Buzz!

    Following the voice of the Space-splitting Demon God, an extremely terrifying aura exuded from his body. It felt like the roars emitted by the vast troops and horses in a bloody battlefield. The force was so strong that it created ck cracks in the surrounding space.

    Meanwhile, the golden mark on the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s forehead gradually split open, exposing twoplicated Cloud Pattern beside the crack.

    Demon Eye!

    Every demon had a demon eye that represented their identity and capability on their forehead. That was no exception for the Space-splitting Demon God, who was a demon.

    However, the demon eye on the forehead of the Space-splitting Demon God was neither red nor gold and there was no radiance in the eye. In fact, it was filled with darkness,plete darkness.

    Yet, at the instant when the demon eye opened, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though it was a real eye looking at him, causing him to slip into a daze.

    However, he did not stay in the state of daze for too long and in fact regained his senses almost instantly. That was because Chi Guyan had attacked immediately after the Space-splitting Demon God opened his demon eye.

    It was very sudden.

    It was so sudden that even Monster Emperor Baizhi was shocked.

    After all, Chi Guyan was severely injured. By right, for someone who was severely injured, it would be more advantageous with longer dys.

    Yet Chi Guyan clearly did not do that. Without any hesitation, she whipped her gigantic snake tail at the Space-splitting Demon God.

    Most importantly, the faint shadow behind her had evidently solidified and the five colored scales on the snake tail were shining with radiance.

    ¡°Erm? She recovered so quickly?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was clearly surprised.

    ¡°If Fang Zhengzhi had a way to make Chi Guyan recover so quickly, he would have used it long ago. If I am right, he must have used some method and lent his origin energy to Chi Guyan.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head lightly.

    ¡°Lend?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi frowned slightly and looked at the hands that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan held together. ¡°It is the Dao of Yin Yang!¡±

    ¡°Dao of Yin Yang? Hmm... it should be.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded. Her tone was rather confusing as it made her sound surprised but yet not very.

    ...

    A loud voice was heard.

    When Monster Emperor Baizhi was talking to Yun Qingwu, the Space-splitting Demon God had sessfully blocked Chi Guyan¡¯s attack, causing a ferocious force to spread to the surroundings.

    The Space-splitting Demon God did not dodge.

    He did not have to worry about anything else after he had opened his demon eye. However, he was still rather surprised when he blocked Chi Guyan¡¯s attack.

    ¡°The Dao of Yin Yang?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God had also realized the change in Chi Guyan¡¯s capability. After all, it was too obvious.

    The solidified faint shadow behind Chi Guyan, the majestic aura, the face and hair that were bing more defined were all signs that told him that Chi Guyan was at the peak of her powers.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi was the one who really surprised the Space-splitting Demon God.

    As Chi Guyan¡¯s powers hit the peak, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers did not have any signs of diminishing, in fact, it grew stronger.

    ¡°Exactly how much origin energy does this brat have in his body?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God knew that although the Dao of Yin Yang could allow the two parties to achieve an amazing cycle, this cycle would not appear from nowhere. In other words, when Chi Guyan became stronger, Fang Zhengzhi would be weaker.

    Unless...

    The origin power that Fang Zhengzhi had was so great that it could support two people at the same time such that both Chi Guyan and himself were at the peak of their capabilities.

    The Space-splitting Demon God was confused.

    However, he did not remain confused for a long time. That was because he knew that no matter how great Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy was, there was an enormous difference between them in terms of their Enlightenment State.

    Using the analogy of a wealthy person who owned a gold mine, if he did not know how to make use of it, he would not be able to make too much impact.

    ¡°Die!¡± After shouting ferociously, the Space-splitting Demon God dashed towards Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    He was so fast that nobody could react.

    Yet the purple sword radiance had shone again. At that instant when the Space-splitting Demon God vanished, Fang Zhengzhi moved his traceless sword.

    He could not see the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s actions clearly.

    However, that did not affect his strike. Once again, the purple sword radiance lit up the sky.

    Crack! The Traceless sword collided with the ck bone spur, emitting a sound that was sharp enough to shatter the surrounding space. ck cracks shone in the sky.

    Meanwhile, the giant figure of eight mes above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head pressed down on the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head like a tall mountain.

    ¡°Naive!¡± With a cold expression, the Space-splitting Demon God threw his ck bone spur forward and defended against the approaching purple sword radiance.

    The bright purple sword radiance suddenly became twisted and made quite some noise. Then, it split open under the pressure of the ck bone spur.

    Boom! The ck bone spur hit Fang Zhengzhi.

    The strong collision force split open the ck armor on Fang Zhengzhi and he felt as though his entire body was about to explode.

    However, he still held on tight to his sword.

    Spat! Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouth of blood. The red bloodnded on the Traceless sword and was absorbed by it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the one who is going to die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi widened his eyes. His entire body was burning with the ferocious ck mes and golden light was flowing on the broken ck armor.

    As he spoke, a blood-red light rose from the de of the traceless sword, exuding a chilling aura.

    He wanted to kill the god, however, was it so easy to kill a god?

    Fang Zhengzhi had always known that he could not possibly stand an advantage in terms of strength. Therefore, he only could use his willpower, a determined willpower to win.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God was evidently shocked. He thought that Fang Zhengzhi should have been sent flying by his attack.

    Yet not only was Fang Zhengzhi not sent flying, but he did not retreat at all. On top of that, he even made an attack with his sword.

    The Space-splitting Demon God tightened his grip on the ck bone spur once again. Just as he was about to continue his attack, another beam of sword radiance had reached his throat.

    It was Chi Guyan¡¯s sword.

    As Fang Zhengzhi made his attack, Chi Guyan¡¯s also attacked with her sword. Meanwhile, she whipped her gigantic snake tail towards the back of the head of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    The Space-splitting Demon God narrowed his eyes.

    In terms of Enlightenment State, he definitely won Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. However, that was precisely why he did not want the battle to end up with a lose-lose oue.

    He moved.

    The Space-splitting Demon God had once again disappeared into the space.

    If he could not attack from the front, then he should choose to attack from the rear. However, would the Space-splitting Demon God make this ordinary choice?

    No!

    That was because he was a demon who had experienced the real battlefield. Another reason was because of the gigantic snake tail swaying behind Chi Guyan.

    Therefore, he made a more cunning choice that caught his opponents off guard. However, the main reason was to take revenge on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kick earlier on.

    The bottom part of the body ¡ª the legs!

    This was a position that no ordinary human would think of!

    However the Space-splitting Demon God could not understand why he felt a painful sensation on his face just as he appeared beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet.

    Fang Zhengzhi had stepped on his face with his feet.

    It hurts!

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t read your mind!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard. It was as though he was chanting ¡®dumbass, dumbass, dumbass...¡¯ repeatedly.

 Chapter 898 - Who Has The Power To Decide The Winner and Loser

    <h4>Chapter 898: Who Has The Power To Decide The Winner and Loser</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s face became distorted.

    As a powerful demon who was at the ¡®god¡¯ level, he ought to bemanding the sea and waves and be at a highly-respected position. However, he was ¡°tantly¡± stepped on the face by an ordinary mortal.

    Insult? This word was not even suitable to describe his feelings.

    That was because he had been repeatedly attacked by Fang Zhengzhi with the most insulting tactics possible. Furthermore, he saw a tinge of disdain in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    Or in other words, despise!

    A human in the Mortal Enlightenment State was despising a God? This was so ridiculous that none of the monsters, demons, or humans could believe.

    It was exactly like how they still could not believe how even after the Space-splitting Demon God had shouted ¡°die¡±, he was still stepped on the face by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± The Space-splitting Demon God wanted to speak but he could not because his mouth was sealed by the feet above him.

    Why did this happen?

    The Space-splitting Demon God could not understand. He could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi had thought of his ns and was so certain that he would have attacked from the bottom.

    Nevertheless, that was no longer important.

    His face really hurt. Fang Zhengzhi must have stepped him with full force and unrestrained.

    Boom! The head of the Space-splitting Demon God inclined and he fell heavily on a branch of the Tree of God. The powerful force broke the tree branch and caused countless of leaves and white flowers to fall. It was rather beautiful but dested.

    This scene was sufficient to make people scream in shock.

    However, the atmosphere had been extremely quiet throughout the entire process, from the start when Fang Zhengzhi stepped on Space-splitting Demon God to how the Space-splitting Demon God broke the tree branch of the Tree of God.

    That was because the monster kings, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli were all evidently stunned by the scene.

    Nobody could believe their eyes. Yet, that was the reality.

    Time seemed to have stopped until the Space-splitting Demon God stood up again. He touched the footprint on his face and spat out a mouth of blood.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I want to tear you into pieces!!!¡± A terrifying aura exuded from the Space-splitting Demon God. This aura lingered in the air and blew on the branches of the Tree of God, causing the surroundings to be extremely turbulent as breaking sounds were heard.

    It was evident that the Space-splitting Demon God was infuriated to the maximum level.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still had a look of disdain on his face. He did not disdain the Space-splitting Demon God because of his capabilities, but rather how he wanted to spring a sneak attack under his crotch area.

    How stupid!

    As the ssic famous saying during the Three Kingdoms Period, ¡®How would the person who was good at targeting others not watch out for himself?¡¯ How hrious.

    Fang Zhengzhi gave the Space-splitting Demon God a middle finger and secretly said ¡®dumbass!¡¯. Then, he tightened his grip on the traceless sword and stuck out his tongue to lick the blood stains around his mouth.

    ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head.

    ¡°You indeed do not need to be afraid. After all, you are not the person he wants to tear apart.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chi Guyan smiled faintly and her pale face became pink like the peach blossom that bloomed in March.

    It was so beautiful that it made one¡¯s heart flutter.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan and the scene where he was lured by Chi Guyan¡¯s gold ingot in the Southern Mountain Vige shed across his mind.

    That was when he found out about Chi Guyan¡¯s identity.

    The daughter of the Divine Constabry, the Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty. She was so noble that her words could decide one¡¯s life or death.

    All along he had been thinking why Chi Guyan had been continuously forcing him to go to a higher ground. Was it because of the kick years ago?

    If he had been caught by Chi Guyan back then, or if he had decided to take the risk, revealed the truth of the Illustration of All Creation and became a member of the Divine Constabry, would the oue be different?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know. However, at that instant, he realized that perhaps there was something in the world that could not be described using words.

    ¡°Is it nice?¡± Chi Guyan suddenly asked.

    ¡°Yes it is, butcking some gentleness. It will be better if you can have the three obediences and four virtues, be good in both domestic and social aspects... Cough, actually you¡¯re good this way!¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off his sentence and shuddered. Then, he smiled brightly.

    ¡°Hmm, I think so too.¡± Chi Guyan nodded in satisfaction. Then, she looked beneath. ¡°Do you think Wu Yuer can hear our conversation?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile froze. He suddenly realized that Chi Guyan was standing in front of him. Chi Guyan, the Pride of the Heavens, the one who was more superior than Yun Qingwu in terms of the state of mind and intelligence.

    So, was he tricked again?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not continue thinking because the Space-splitting Demon God had already charged towards Chi Guyan and himself with a wild and raging force.

    The god-like powerful demon was being ignored.

    The Space-splitting Demon God could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi still had the mood to chat with Chi Guyan when he was burning with rage.

    ¡°What on earth are the two of them thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Time is precious.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword and the purple sword radiance made the sky turn purple.

    People like to ask, ¡®What will you do at thest moment of your life?¡¯

    There was a variety of answers to this question.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer was...

    To have a casual chat with someone.

    This was the state of mind that Fang Zhengzhi had now. He did not know what was on Chi Guyan¡¯s mind, but since Chi Guyan was smiling so leisurely, he thought that she would be in the same state of mind as him.

    Escape?

    If he had met a powerful rival like the Space-splitting Demon God previously, he would definitely have escaped. However, at that moment in time, he did not have the intention to escape.

    There were not many reasons for this.

    Perhaps it was because of Chi Guyan¡¯s blooming smile, or maybe it was because of the figure who was d in a ck muslin dress that stood below the Tree of God.

    Of course, perhaps he wanted to stay to witness the powers of the so-called Demon God who had walked out of the Gate of God.

    That was what went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    However, Wu Yuer did not think the same way. From her expressions, one could tell that she was evidently angry.

    Just like her personality, she drew a clear distinction between what she loved and what she hated.

    ¡°Shameless, extremely shameless!¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s face was slightly red. It was either due to her anger or because she felt wronged.

    However, she still did not move. Even though she was breathing heavily, she stood silently on the spot and bit her lips.

    Yet one thing that was certain was that if Fang Zhengzhi was fortunate enough to survive, he had to pay some price for the words he had said.

    But will Fang Zhengzhi survive?

    Wu Yuer was unsure. However, she would definitely take care of his corpse if he died and send it back to Northern Mountain Vige. Then, she would find a ce beside the river to build a grave so that the Northern Mountain Vige and the Cang Ling Mountain could be seen.

    Of course, she would put a stone on the grave, then a wooden chair on the stone so she could apany him quietly...

    ¡°Shameless brat, will you really die this time?¡± The more Wu Yuer thought about it, the angrier she got. However, without knowing the reason, her vision started to blur.

    Perhaps it was because the purple light in the sky was too blinding, or perhaps it was because the darkness was too powerful that it had crushed the purple lightpletely.

    Wu Yuer suddenly realized that she could no longer see clearly.

    Yet she tried her best to open her eyes wide without blinking or rubbing them. She was afraid that everything would have ended if she rubbed her eyes.

    There were loud sounds in the sky.

    The sounds alternated between loud thunderous booms and ear-piercing sharp noises. Wu Yuer could not see clearly. She only saw the movements of shadows and lights.

    However, she knew that it had not ended as long as there were movements. Therefore, there was still hope even though it was extremely small.

    ¡°Yuer, you cried...¡± The voice of the Heavenly Oasis Saint was heard. It was very soft but it was extremely concerned.

    ¡°Ah? I cried?¡± Wu Yuer shook her head and realized that tears had streamed down her face.

    She panicked when she realized that the shadow she had been looking at had disappeared when she blinked.

    Where was it?!

    Do not end like that!

    Wu Yuer opened her eyes again. She stopped panicking when she realized that the shadow in the sky was still there.

    Furthermore, her vision became clearer and she could see the hand which Fang Zhengzhi held his Traceless Sword.

    However...

    Why were there so much blood on his body?!

    Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes widened again as she wanted to see clearer. Then, she realized that not only were there more blood stains on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body, he had many injuries too.

    Although the wounds were not big, he was covered in wounds which blood continuously flowed out from. Even his ck armor was stained red by the blood.

    Meanwhile, many spiderweb-like cracks had appeared on the exquisite ck armor. Some of them were deep and some were shallow, as if the armor was about to shatter apart.

    ¡°No, do not die, you shameless brat!¡±

    ...

    At the top of the Tree of God, Fang Zhengzhi raised his head slightly and smiled because he realized that he had held on for another fifteen minutes.

    ¡°Looks like you are not powerful enough.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Space-splitting Demon God with disdain.

    ¡°Since I have said I would tear you into pieces, I will not let you die so easily!¡± There was also blood on the hands and body of the Space-splitting Demon God, yet the blood was from the ck bone spur. In other words, the blood was from Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Not powerful means not powerful. Nobody would believe your excuses.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and pointed the tip of the Traceless Sword at the throat of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God snorted coldly and did not have any intention to continue to talk nonsense with Fang Zhengzhi. The ck bone spur in his hand moved and vanished into thin air.

    Meanwhile, a beam of purple sword light shined.

    However...

    No matter how bright the sword light was and how fast it had struck, the ck bone spur was not blocked at all and appeared at the bottom of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s left thigh.

    sh!

    The ck bone spur prated through Fang Zhengzhi;s thigh and returned to the hands of the Space-splitting Demon God. The blood on the bone spur dripped down like water droplets onto his body and sttered onto his ck armor.

    Meanwhile, the other hand of the Space-splitting Demon God had caught the purple sword light that was traveling towards him.

    With a tight grip, the sword light broke apart and became purple spots.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body inclined slightly and his mouth moved subconsciously. However, he stood back upright again and tightened his grip on his Traceless Sword.

    ¡°You are a mortal. No matter how talented and lucky you are, it is impossible for you to win a God. Do you not understand this?¡± After saying this sentence, the ck bone spur in the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s hand disappeared again.

    This time, instead of appearing beside Fang Zhengzhi, the ck bone spur appeared in front of Chi Guyan¡¯s chest.

    ng!

    At the instant when the ck bone spur appeared, a beam of purple lightnded on it and it fell from the sky.

    ¡°Hmph, naive!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly. However, along with the blood on his body, it appeared as though he was struggling.

    The Space-splitting Demon God frowned.

    This was the fifth time he attacked Chi Guyan. However, he had not seeded once because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s defence.

    Why could he predict that?

    The Space-splitting Demon God stretched out his hand and the ck bone spur reappeared on his palm, radiating a chilling light that made one quiver.

    What was the reason?

    The Space-splitting Demon God could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi who neither had the speed nor any idea of his attack route could manage to block his attack, be it for Chi Guyan or himself, at the critical moment.

    ¡°What kind of monster are you?¡±

    ¡°You have asked the right question. I can tell you very honestly that I am really the reincarnated Emperor Huang. Believe me, look into my eyes, I am very sincere!¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked his eyes and said with a look of sincerity.

 Chapter 899 - The Best Moment to Kill With One Shot

    <h4>Chapter 899: The Best Moment to Kill With One Shot</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Sincere? Reincarnation of Emperor Huang?¡± The Space-splitting Demon God nced at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. He did not know whether to describe him as being too naive or simply too foolish.

    How would he believe ament that even a five-year-old child would not? Even if he had believed it, so what?

    At this stage, even if Fang Zhengzhi was really the reincarnated Emperor Huang, why would he show mercy? Why would he allow such a potential threat and trouble-maker to live?

    The Space-splitting Demon God wanted tough.

    He really did not want to continue wasting his time with Fang Zhengzhi. However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stubbornness was beyond his expectations.

    After a few rounds of exhrating engagements, he was slightly afraid of closing up to Fang Zhengzhi. That was because he knew that once he had chosen to attack Fang Zhengzhi from a close distance, he would not have much advantage in terms of speed.

    Furthermore, along with the engagements, he became more shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers. Fang Zhengzhi was so powerful that even he felt difficult to defeat him in some aspects.

    For example, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacking power, under the support of the Dao of Asura and the Traceless Sword, although notparable to himself, could not be underestimated. At least, he could not use his body to defend against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacks.

    The other aspect would be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s judgment.

    Perhaps it should not be called judgment but rather imagination. His radical imagination made the experienced fighter lose his advantage.

    He was like the ancient saying that went, ¡®one never ys by the rules¡¯.

    Because of this, the Space-splitting Demon God had lost his advantage twice consecutively. Nevertheless, the main concern apart from Fang Zhengzhi was the presence of Chi Guyan.

    Aspared to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°rebellious acts¡±, Chi Guyan belonged to the other extreme. She was calm, decisive and extremely intelligent.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack¡¯s were ¡°full of loopholes¡±, then Chi Guyan¡¯s attacks could be said to have perfectly made up for those loopholes.

    The Space-splitting Demon God had a feeling that he was being spied on, as though all his ns could be seen through by Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    This was an extremely unbearable feeling but yet it felt very real.

    ¡°I can only wear them out!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God gritted his teeth. To be safe, the best way was non other than keeping a distance between the two of them. As long as there was a distance between them, he could make use of his advantage in speed and his Enlightenment State. Then, the only problem left was time.

    Talking about time...

    He was not too anxious.

    ¡°The Space-splitting Demon God wants to wear us out.¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    This was not due to telepathy, but rather because Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had constructed a cycle that connected the Yin and Yang.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s through the origin energy in the cycle.

    ¡°Hmm, I can see that.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He did not speak but he was certain that Chi Guyan could hear his voice.

    This was a small discovery after they went through the Yin Yang cycle. However, therger discovery was Chi Guyan¡¯s secret.

    A mind-blowing secret!

    It was ridiculous!

    Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline gave her another legendary ability ¡ª the ability to urately locate and sense temperature.

    Fang Zhengzhi was well-educated.

    Therefore, he had some understanding of the special features of certain animals. One of them was a special ability in some species of snakes.

    The term used in the past world he was in was ¡°infrared¡±.

    It was scientifically proven that the ¡°cheeks¡± of the Crotalinae snakes had an extremely special ability like the infrared sensor. Even during nighttime, it was able to detect surrounding warm-blooded animals and urately locate them. This special locater in their cheeks allowed the Crotalinae snakes to hunt at night.

    So...

    Was N¨¹wa a Crotalinae snake?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this assumption was ny percent urate. The only inuracy would be in his use ofnguage. The actual expression should be: The ability of the Crotalinae snakes originated from N¨¹wa.

    Of course, none of that mattered.

    What mattered was that this ability was extremely potent.

    Furthermore, it was especially used to defend ¡°sneak attacks¡± because no matter when one springs a sneak attack, Chi Guyan will definitely realize it before that happens and ¡°urately locate¡± the attack.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt the chills as he recalled this fact. In fact, he had once used this sneak attack tactic on Chi Guyan.

    However, he was certain that when he kicked Chi Guyan down the river previously, the Gifted Bloodline on Chi Guyan had not been entirely aroused.

    Or else he would have probably died then.

    He shuddered with fear just by thinking about it.

    ¡°The Space-splitting Demon God is too fast. Even if I can locate him, it¡¯s still too difficult for me to block his attackpletely.¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice could be heard by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, but you don¡¯t need to block his attack entirely. In fact, if you do so, he would sense that something is wrong. I think we stand a better chance now since he cannot figure out what is happening!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    Ever since he knew about Chi Guyan¡¯s special ability, he had been waiting for a chance to kill the Space-splitting Demon God. In order to not let the Space-splitting Demon God pay attention to Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi had been blocking the attacks for her.

    In other words, the Space-splitting Demon God thought that Fang Zhengzhi was the one who had the special ability.

    A fake move was a real one, a real move was a fake one.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure if the Space-splitting Demon God would definitely fall for it, but at least for now, it looked like he had not figured out.

    However, he was very troubled with the shrewdness of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    A powerful demon at the god-level, he was willing to forgo his pride and start using the ¡®draining¡¯ tactic with two mortals while increasing the distance between them. This was extremely unexpected for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Keep bracing!

    Now he had no other choice other than to keep bracing as he waited for an opportunity.

    After all, if the Space-splitting Demon God kept on maintaining the distance between them, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to passively defend.

    Boom!

    Boom, boom!

    Crack...

    As time passed, loud sounds emitted from the sky while the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the Space-splitting Demon God continued.

    This surprised the monster kings.

    If Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had only managed to defend for a short time, they could tell that the Space-splitting Demon God was trying to lose on purpose.

    However, without any oues after an hour into the battle, it would make no sense to say that the Space-splitting Demon God was trying to lose on purpose.

    Why did this happen?

    The monster kings could not understand. They wanted to help but they did not receive any orders from Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    This was not surprising.

    Although the monster race and demon race were allies, the Space-splitting Demon God was a demon after all. Furthermore, his attitude was not clear. Nobody could be sure what he would do after he killed Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    Nobody knew the answer. Therefore, the best tactic was to stay put and watch out for any changes before everything was confirmed.

    ¡°Looks like he wants to kill either Fang Zhengzhi or Chi Guyan to prevent them from making trouble for the monster race and demon race!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi frowned.

    She clearly saw the worries that the Space-splitting Demon God had. If she was him, she also would not allow both of them to live.

    ¡°Mother, are you nning to attack?¡± After hearing Monster Emperor Baizhi, Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan and nodded.

    ¡°Is anything wrong?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi asked.

    ¡°If you have attacked from the beginning, the Space-splitting Demon God would have felt that it was unnecessary and maybe even prevented you from doing so. However, I think in this situation, he would allow you to do so.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°You mean now is the perfect time for me to attack?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi asked again.

    ¡°It is indeed the best time to attack now, but...¡± Yun Qingwu hesitated as she spoke.

    ¡°Since it is the best time to attack now, then there should not be a problem. I would not be able to sleep well if Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan are still alive!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi did not continue probing.

    She had already made up her mind. No matter what, she would kill at least one of them today.

    She did not hesitate further.

    ¡°Protect the Young Empress!¡± As Monster Emperor Baizhi ordered, she vanished and appeared ten steps behind Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The monster kings had understood Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s intention and charged towards the top of the Tree of God without any hesitation.

    Besides the monster kings, several elders of the demon race had also surrounded Yun Qingwu with a serious expression.

    They did not have to worry if Monster Emperor Baizhi was beside Yun Qingwu. However, things were unpredictable after she had left.

    ¡°Young Lord, should we find a ce to...¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and broke off the elders of the demon race. Then she nced at the few elders of the demon race and the monster kings and said, ¡°Get into the Seven-figure Formation.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The elders of the demon race understood what Yun Qingwu meant and moved quickly.

    After exchanging nces with each other, the dozens of monster kings made anotheryer of protection outside the ¡°Seven-figure Formation¡± while giving space for the few elders of the demon race.

    Without any time wasted, everything was ready.

    Yun Qingwu did not bother to check. She knew that with the Seven-figure Formation and the protection of the dozens of monster kings, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to get close to her for the time being.

    ¡°Mother had chosen a good spot, but... Forget it, let¡¯s hope that I am worrying too much.¡± After looking at Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s position, Yun Qingwu frowned a little but did not make too muchments.

    Just as what she had said, it was the best timing for Monster Emperor Baizhi to attack. Moreover, the position that Monster Emperor Baizhi had chosen matched the timing she was about to attack.

    With one at the front and one at the rear, they could spring abined attack.

    Furthermore, she had deliberately maintained a distance of ten steps and had not made an immediate move. This was equivalent to asking for the permissino of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Old wretch, why are you so thick-skinned?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was clearly shocked when she saw Monster Emperor Baizhi behind him.

    Besides him, Chi Guyan¡¯ facial expression also changed. Although she looked slightly worried, she tried her best to keep calm.

    ¡°Haha, your words are still very spiteful. However, I think you have mistaken. I did not say I would definitely attack if I came. Is that right, Space-splitting Demon God?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi smiled faintly. Although she was speaking to Fang Zhengzhi, she looked at the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± the Space-splitting Demon God snorted coldly. Neither did he answer Monster Emperor Baizhi nor me her for her behavior.

    Upon seeing this, Monster Emperor Baizhi smiled even brighter and her eyes lit up. She knew that the Space-splitting Demon God had agreed.

    However, his attitude still made her worried. After all, this meant that the Space-splitting Demon God was unable to take down Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan for the time being.

    ¡°Are they really that powerful?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan and the two tighty-held hands. Her white fur dress started to transform gradually and surrounded her entire body in an instant.

    Although she was still in the human form, she looked like a miniature Nine-Tailed White Fox. Furthermore, the nine white fox tails had appeared behind her.

    She did not believe it!

    However, she was still very cautious.

    The more unsure Monster Emperor Baizhi was, the more cautious she was. She did not look at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan as though they were severely injured.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was breathing heavily, sweating profusely and covered in blood, as though he was about to die because of excess loss of blood, his condition made Monster Emperor Baizhi even more cautious.

    ¡°You brat, your grandfather wasn¡¯t even born when I was alive. Do you think I will be fooled by your act? Naive!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was very calm. She was waiting for the best moment to attack, killing Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in one strike.

 Chapter 900 - Mixed-Blood Nine-Tailed White Fox?

    <h4>Chapter 900: Mixed-Blood Nine-Tailed White Fox?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Monster Emperor Baizhi knew that even if she did nothing and just stood beside Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, their state of mind would be drained rapidly.

    This was a mind game.

    Her presence was like a sabre that was hanging above Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, ready tond on them anytime.

    The longer this knife was hanging, the more advantageous it was for her. She would automatically have the chance to attack when Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan became exasperated.

    This was what went through Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mind and she followed her thoughts.

    Time passed by and the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the Space-splitting Demon God became even more violent.

    Both Fang Zhengzhi and the Space-splitting Demon God were in an uncontroble state.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi started frowning. She wanted to pressurize Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan but she realized that they did not see her as a pressure at all.

    As though as her presence was non-existent, they did not even take notice of her.

    ¡°...¡± The saddest thing in life was, although you thought you were important, others treated you as though you were non-existent.

    This felt like as though you were wearing traditional clothing made out of gold, walking into a restaurant with big strides while holding onto arge amount of gold, yet you were chased out by the restaurant server before you ordered anything, with him scolding, ¡°Country bumpkin, take a look at yourself beforeing in!¡±

    What on earth?!

    This is ridiculous!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi felt the same way. As a Monster Emperor who was standing behind Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan and ready to attack, how could Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan not take notice of her?

    Shouldn¡¯t they be looking out for her movements, being 120 percent alert and shuddering with fear?

    Monster Emperor Baizhi would have cursed if she was not well-cultured. She was tempted to hold Fang Zhengzhi by his cor and ask him, ¡®How the f*ck did you not notice me?¡¯

    However, she did not curse in the end. She felt that this was a trap and scheme deliberately made by Fang Zhengzhi to trick her.

    Therefore, she decided to wait a while longer.

    She repeatedly told herself that she definitely could not be anxious. Since she was ying a mind game with Fang Zhengzhi, she needed to be calm.

    However, after waiting for a period of time, Monster Emperor Baizhi felt like going crazy. She saw too many points of attack in which she could make use of behind Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan such that she could no longer ignore them.

    Moreover, the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s gaze became more chilly after he saw that Monster Emperor Baizhi refused to attack even though there were many opportunities.

    ¡°You brat, you forced me to do this!¡± Finally, Monster Emperor Baizhi decided to give up on her mind game tactic and make Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan pay the price of ignoring her.

    There was an opportunity!

    After making up her mind, Monster Emperor Baizhi found an opportunity to attack. In fact, such opportunities were so abundant that she did not have to wait for it.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan did not take notice of her at all.

    As she saw Fang Zhengzhi struck his sword towards the Space-splitting Demon God, she could no longer suppress her frustration and decided to attack.

    ¡°The old wretch finally got impatient and decided to attack?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt the chilling aura behind him and took a heavy breath.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was waiting, but he was waiting too. If Monster Emperor Baizhi did not participate or decided to continue waiting, he would be left with no choice but to be depleted by the Space-splitting Demon God.

    When Monster Emperor Baizhi attacked, it gave him the hope of victory. There was a saying that went, ¡®You gain from taking risk¡¯. The more dangerous it was, the more likely one could benefit from it.

    Of course, in order to seek benefits from dangerous situations...

    One had to definitely make some sacrifice.

    Boom! Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s attack struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back. Although the location was one inch away from where she had targeted, the attack still struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back with a great force.

    ¡°Wow... Old wretch, how dare you spring a sneak attack?¡± Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouth of blood and his expressions were twisted in agony. Evidently, he looked slightly anxious.

    ¡°Die, brat!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was slightly shocked by how easily she managed to attack Fang Zhengzhi. Upon the sight of signs of victory, she no longer held back and whirled her nine white fox tails towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s body sank downwards and dropped extremely quickly.

    ¡°Trying to escape?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi would not let such a rare opportunity go even though the dodging action by Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan was predictable.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was not too surprised after seeing how Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan couldst for such a long time under the attack of Space-splitting Demon God.

    As she watched them drop down, Monster Emperor Baizhi charged towards them, refusing to let them go.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were extremely fast too. Their speed had reached the ultimate upper limit such that Monster Emperor Baizhi was unable to catch up.

    The Space-splitting Demon God frowned at this scene.

    He was not willing to have a closebat with Fang Zhengzhi as he knew that if everything had gone as nned by Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be the winner of this battle.

    However, he could not possible give up on the rare opportunity in front of him even though it may end up in the escape of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    Most importantly, he was a God-level powerful demon.

    As someone who was more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in terms of Enlightenment State and capabilities, he was definitely not fearful.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God finally moved. He had made up his mind when he saw how Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan escaped together.

    He directly entered the space.

    The tactic he used to travel through space was what gave him the name of a ¡®God-level powerful demon¡¯. Furthermore, this tactic allowed him to appear in any location around his opponent.

    Enlightenment State, power, speed ¡ª he used these three aspects to pressurize his opponents.

    The Space-splitting Demon God did not mind appearing directly in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, then springing another attack from the front and the rear along with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    In fact, that was what he did.

    Almost instantaneously, he appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. Meanwhile, without hesitation, he stabbed his ck bone spur towards them.

    However, before he could fully make his attack with his ck bone spur, an eye-blinding white light ray shined suddenly.

    It was so bright that his eyes felt painful. Besides that, his vision hadpletely went white, as white as snow.

    ¡°Oh no, Mother, retreat!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard clearly by the Space-splitting Demon God and Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    She was always worried about sudden changes. In fact, the more participants of the battle, the higher the chances of sudden changes.

    This was something that was easily understood.

    Just like how when one buys one item, there would be a low probability of encountering a problem. However, if one bought ten items at one go, the probability of encountering a problem would increase tremendously.

    Yun Qingwu actually did not really approve the participation of Monster Emperor Baizhi in this battle.

    That was because the Space-splitting Demon God would be the final winner if he maintained a distance from Fang Zhengzhi and continued fighting this way. The biggest problem would be the duration.

    However, she did not have sufficient reason to stop Monster Emperor Baizhi. After all, she could not possibly tell Monster Emperor Baizhi, ¡°Mother, you would only create more trouble if you participate in this battle.¡±

    Furthermore, in order to deplete Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength...

    A much longer time is needed.

    Ultimately, nobody knew what would be the oue of the battle. That was why Yun Qingwu had not articted her concern. After all, the best timing for Monster Emperor Baizhi to participate in the battle was none other than now.

    So, how could she stop Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    However, the important thing of concern was that Monster Emperor Baizhi had already attacked and Yun Qingwu clearly knew what the beam of white light meant.

    The eye-blinding white light shone in the sky.

    Everyone who was watching the battle was blinded by the white light.

    ¡°The shameless brat counterattacked!¡± Wu Yuer was happy but she could not see anything clearly as her eyes were hurting.

    On the other hand, Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely furious. She could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi had the guts to make such a childish ¡°diversionary tactic¡± in such a situation. Was Fang Zhengzhi so naive that he thought he could escape if the opponent could not see?

    Before Fang Zhengzhi knew, the Space-splitting Demon God had already blocked the path ahead of him.

    How could he escape with opponents attacking from both the front and the rear?

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was about to attack, she heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Retreat?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi shuddered. Although she had her own train of thought as the Monster Emperor, she still trusted Yun Qingwu very much.

    However, how could she retreat in this situation?

    What should she do?

    While Monster Emperor Baizhi was trying to make up a decision, her speed slowed down slightly. This slight reduction of speed made her sense that something was amiss.

    While she was in a daze, she felt that she was forcefully pulled by a force.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s the changing of positions!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi felt a chill behind her back. She knew that Fang Zhengzhi had the Heavenly Rebirth State and witnessed how he made use of this tactic to change Nangong Hao¡¯s positions. Therefore, she was able to react immediately even when she could not see anything.

    However, it was toote...

    At the moment when her body was pulled down, a voice could be heard behind her.

    ¡°Space-splitting Demon God, I¡¯ll fight till my death with you!¡±

    Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression finally changed. She was too familiar with this voice and she could not wait to kill crush him with her hand.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!!!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi wanted to retreat but it was impossible as there was a tremendous force behind her.

    Meanwhile, she heard a cold voice.

    ¡°Brat, you are courting your own death!¡±

    sh! Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s body froze and blood gushed out from the bottom part of her throat.

    This made Monster Emperor Baizhi shudder in fear. If she had not heard Yun Qingwu earlier on and proceeded an inch further, her throat would have been prated instead.

    Despite this, the intense pain made her body tremble. The ck bone spur especially made her lose her voice.

    The white light disappeared at this instant.

    The world became normal again.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi took a nce at the Space-splitting Demon God. Her dark green eyes widened and her white fur was stained red.

    Simrly, the Space-splitting Demon God was also looking at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    It was evident from his eyes that he was in disbelief and shock. However, this expression disappeared in a sh.

    The Space-splitting Demon God clearly figured out that he seemed to have ¡°killed¡± the wrong person.

    However, he was not too concerned. Furthermore, although he still could not see clearly, he could feel that Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s injury was not life-threatening.

    Therefore, why should he be concerned?

    This was what the Space-splitting Demon God felt. However, he was slightly doubtful because when he slowly regained his vision, he discovered that there was an eye that looked like a blue gemstone in Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s forehead.

    The light blue radiance was not eye-catching.

    However, he was puzzled by the fact that an eye appeared on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s forehead. After all, she should not have a Demon Eye.

    Could it be that the hidden Demon bloodline within her was aroused after the stab? Or could it be that the Nine-Tailed White Fox was mixed blood?

    Wait a minute!

    That was not the Demon Eye!

    After the nonsensical thoughts in Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s mind, he suddenly realized that there were circles of ripples spinning on the blue gemstone.

    Hypnotic Eye!

    This was something that was disregarded even in the mortal world. That was because, in order to see the effect of the Hypnotic Eye, the opponent must stare into it for at least three seconds.

    Three seconds?

    Only a fool would stare at it for three seconds!

    The Space-splitting Demon God was not foolish, he was only surprised and curious. He did not know how long he had stared into the Hypnotic Eye but he felt slightly dizzy.

    ¡°You have the guts but you think you can defeat me by using this tactic? How naive!¡± After the Space-splitting Demon God regained his senses, he disappeared into space once again.

    As the saying went, ¡®He who arrived fast escaped ever faster!¡¯

    This was why the Space-splitting Demon God had managed to survive after the Demon Gods had died one after another during the ancient battlefield. In fact, it was the primary reason why he managed to survive until now.

    What could you do to me if I knew how to escape?

 Chapter 901 - The Fatal Blow

    <h4>Chapter 901: The Fatal Blow</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Space-splitting Demon God escaped very quickly. He had vanished in a blink of an eye.

    However, he still felt a little dizzy and this limited the distance he could run away to. Furthermore, his location was not entirely urate.

    However, that did not matter.

    As long as he could escape for a distance of a few steps, it was sufficient for him.

    That was because if he was given a little more time to recover, he would be able to show his powerful capabilities and majesty again.

    However, when he dashed out of the space, he suddenly felt that something was amiss, it felt as though he had sunken into a pool of mud.

    ¡°Freeze!¡± A crisp sound was heard. It was not very loud but it was extremely majestic.

    ¡°What?!¡± The expression of the Space-splitting Demon God changespletely. He knew what the sound represented and knew what was going to happen next.

    However, he really could not understand why it sounded so close to him, as if it had predicted the location he would appear at.

    How was that possible?

    It was impossible!

    The Space-splitting Demon God could not believe how Chi Guyan could urately predict the location he would appear at when he did not know the location himself.

    However, regardless of whether he believed it, it was toote.

    At the instant when he heard the sound, a beam of purple light shed across his eyes, it was so bright that the sun and moon had lost their radiance.

    ¡°No!!!¡± The Space-splitting Demon God roared ferociously and widened his eyes. His cold sweat had cured his dizzinesspletely.

    However, nothing was reversible as the purple light had already cut past his body with an extraordinary speed.

    Moreover, the purple light was too sharp such that even his thick ck armor could not block it.

    A slit appeared on his chest and it was smooth like a cut made by a sharp sword. Red blood gushed out of the slit, making a scene as significant as a fountain.

    This stunned the Space-splitting Demon God.

    He had not suffered such severe injuries in a long time. He had not even been severely injured like this in the ancient battlefield.

    However...

    This was not the end.

    At the instant when the sword light struck him, another sword radiance shed across his eyes. Then, he felt as though the world was turned upside-down.

    At a point in time, he suddenly felt that the sky was the earth and the earth was the sky, or rather, the world was spinning, continuously spinning...

    The Space-splitting Demon God took a quick look beneath him. Then, he realized that he was hanging stationary in midair.

    However, his vision was still spinning.

    ...

    All the monster kings stood quietly at their spots like stone sculptures.

    Their faces all had the same expression.

    Astonishment!

    Yes, astonishment!

    How could they be not astonished when they saw an unforgettable scene of a head spinning in the sky.

    It would not be too shocking if any head had been severed by the sword, however, it was extremely shocking since it was the head of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    The head of the Space-splitting Demon God...

    Was severed?

    How could the Monster Kings believe the scene in front of them after their vision had recovered from the sh of the white light?

    Apart from them, Wu Yuer and Heavenly Oasis Saint Yan Qianli who were standing beneath the Tree of God could not believe their eyes too.

    Although Wu Yuer knew Fang Zhengzhi had made a counterattack, it was unrealistic for him to sever the head of Space-splitting Demon God.

    After all, he was a God!

    A Demon God who had went through real battlefields in the past!

    The word ¡®astonishment¡¯ was not sufficient to describe what Wu Yuer and others¡¯ were feeling. However, what was more shocking was how Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had yet to give up on Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared coldly and charged towards the head with Chi Guyan at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Mother!!!¡± Yun Qingwu shouted anxiously again. One was not sure if she was concerned about Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s injuries or Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head that was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, one could be sure that Yun Qingwu rarely showed such worried expressions.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard. Following that, a light ray as white as snow expanded as though the winter had arrived.

    It was the white fur that was as strong as metal. Every single fur was like sharp needles and spread throughout the surroundings as if it was about to cover the whole sky.

    ¡°What? This old wretch...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not see the position of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s injury. However, he had always thought that Monster Emperor Baizhi was about to die. Even she did not die, it would be impossible for her to have such explosive powers.

    Unless the Space-splitting Demon God missed the spot?

    Could it be because Monster Emperor Baizhi hesitated slightly when Yun Qingwu shouted for her to retreat?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not certain. However, he knew that there was a mishap in his n and the mishap made it impossible for him toplete his final attack.

    Boom! The fox tail that was like steel struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back. The white fur that were as sharp as needles prated his ck armor which had already been cracked open.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook and spat out a mouth of blood.

    St! The blood was st on the head of the Space-splitting Demon God, adding bloodiness and hideousness to his chilling expression.

    At that moment, he heard a growl.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± This sound was made by the Space-splitting Demon God. As he growled, his head had disappeared.

    However, following that, his head appeared at a distance three steps¡¯ away very quickly. However, the demon eye that was originally as ck as ink suddenly shot out a beam of extremely bright golden light.

    It was a very strange scene. As the golden light shined, a fluid that looked like golden water flowed out of the demon eye, and flowed down the chilling face which had been stained by blood.

    The stranger thing was, after the golden fluid flowed down, instead of dripping down, they solidified. Furthermore, they were growing and tumbling rapidly.

    Just in a moment¡¯s time...

    A shape of the human body was formed.

    ¡°He really did not die?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was initially uncertain about whether the Space-splitting Demon God would die after his head was severed. However, he was always mentally prepared.

    The fatal spot for humans was the heart; The fatal spot for the monsters was the monster pearl. The fatal spot for the demons was none other than the demon eye on their forehead.

    For the demons who had reached the Sage state, they would not die unless their demon eyes are damaged.

    As the God-level powerful demon, the Space-splitting Demon God had more powers in his demon eye. It was so powerful that it allowed him to instantaneously rebuild his body.

    This was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spection.

    This spection stopped him from giving up on chasing after the head of the Space-splitting Demon God. However, he had not predicted that the Monster Emperor Baizhi would block him at thest moment.

    ¡°So close, just so close!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth tightly. Although the powerful force behind him made his whole body slightly unsteady, he continued staring at the Space-splitting Demon God in front of him.

    As he saw the golden fluid that was continuously solidifying, he really wanted to make another strike. However, he knew that it would be toote if he had charged over after his body was stabilized.

    That was because, although the Space-splitting Demon God had lost arge part of his power, he still had the ability to enter space, although the duration of which only allowed him to move for three steps.

    However, if the Space-splitting Demon God was given sufficient time to recover, everything would be back to square one.

    Fang Zhengzhi was really unwilling to ept this. He had nned meticulously for every single step in his n in order to sessfully kill the Space-splitting Demon God.

    For the first strike, he struck the Space-splitting Demon God in his body.

    He did not do that because he did not know the fatal spot for the Space-splitting Demon God was on his demon eye. It was because although he could predict the location the Space-splitting Demon God would appear by connecting his thoughts with Chi Guyan, he could not predict in what way the Space-splitting Demon God would appear in.

    To put it simply, he was unsure of whether the Space-splitting Demon God would be kneeling or standing when he made his first strike. Therefore, it was impossible to aim at his demon eye, or rather, the chances of seeding would be less than ten percent.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not do something that cost him a long waiting time but yet did not guarantee even ten percent of probability of sess. Therefore, he chose to severely injure the Space-splitting Demon God with his first strike.

    Then, in order to seize the best opportunity...

    He decided that it would be more appropriate for Chi Guyan to make the second strike because she was more calm and decisive than him.

    However, the same idea applied. Chi Guyan could not wait till the Space-splitting Demon God had fully appeared before she struck. She could only see the rough shadow of the Space-splitting Demon God.

    Therefore, without a clear sight of the Space-splitting Demon God, it was a huge risk for them to aim urately at his demon eye on his forehead.

    After all, the target was too small!

    Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was not certain about how long the Space-splitting Demon God would look into the Hypnotizing Eye. He was also unsure of how serious the injuries of the Space-splitting Demon God would be, and if he could disappear into space in thest minute.

    Therefore, for the second strike, Fang Zhengzhi told Chi Guyan to worsen his severe injuries.

    Chi Guyan made an extremely charismatic move. She severed the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head in one strike. This had exceeded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expectations.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head fly, he was stunned too. However, despite that, he still had sufficient time to reach the front of the Space-splitting Demon God¡¯s head.

    It was because Chi Guyan¡¯s strike was too perfect.

    It was so perfect that if Monster Baizhi had not suddenly sprang an attack from the back, even if Fang Zhengzhi was in a rxed state of mind, he could casually kill the Space-splitting Demon God who only had his head left.

    After all, as what he had seen, even if the Space-splitting Demon God tried to escape, he could not get any further than three steps. This distance was close enough for Fang Zhengzhi to make a strike without Monster Baizhi¡¯s attack.

    However, the reality was as such.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was very unwilling to ept this, he had to admit that the attack made by Monster Emperor Baizhi indeed made him lose the best opportunity to kill the Space-splitting Demon God.

    ¡°Shameless thief, you still have onest chance!¡± At this moment, a voice traveled into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears.

    ¡°There is still a chance?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan said it, but he did not understand what st chance¡¯ she was referring to.

    Moreover, he was very certain that Chi Guyan was also attacked by Monster Emperor Baizhi when he was attacked.

    Therefore, how would there by any chance left?

    Fang Zhengzhi really could not understand.

    However, a shocking scene appeared in front of him. Chi Guyan dashed out and charged towards the Space-splitting Demon God with an extremely fast speed.

    Like a lightning that shed past the sky with a ting of pink, she charged towards the Space-splitting Demon God with her long sword in her hand, shining bright like the stars.

    ¡°So fast? Why was she so fast?! Unless...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. When he saw the bloody injury behind Chi Guyan¡¯s back, he widened his eyes.

    Chi Guyan had much more blood on her body aspared to Fang Zhengzhi. Her back waspletely prated and blood flowed like a river, staining her entire dress redpletely.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Chi Guyan could still travel at such a terrifying speed even after the attack. That was because she did not block Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s attack at all.

    In other words, Chi Guyan had used her body to...

    Forcefully take on the impact of the explosive and powerful attack of Monster Emperor Baizhi?!

    Then, she made use of the momentum and force of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s strike.

    Fang Zhengzhi trembled. This was a tactic that caused both sides to suffer great losses or even perish together. However, he did not see any hint of regret on Chi Guyan¡¯s face.

    Not only was there no regret, but there was absolute determination.

 Chapter 902 - Buried Alive, Mo Cheng, Courage

    <h4>Chapter 902: Buried Alive, Mo Cheng, Courage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In this few years¡¯ time, the Northern Mountain Vige had experienced a great change. As a proper school was established and the introduction of a wider road and a few renowned teachers from the Five Capitals of the Northern Lands, it was not surprising to see more peopleing to the vige.

    However, the figures who appeared in front of them were definitely an exception.

    They came from the Cang Ling Mountain and every one of them were wearing thick and bright ck armors.

    Those were not the armors of Great Xia Dynasty.

    Moreover, the numbers were extremely huge. They came like the ferocious tides and included some beastly figures.

    ¡°Tr... Troop?!¡± Thedy was not well-educated. Apart from knowing that these people were not the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty, she had difficulties trying to figure out who they were.

    ¡°Is it Brother Zhengzhi who came back from his battle?¡± Little Radish¡¯s eyes lit up with curiosity and excitement when he heard the word ¡°troop¡±.

    ¡°No, run, Little Radish. They are enemies... enemies!¡±

    ¡°Enemies?¡± Little Radish was clearly confused. After all, in his memory, how would there be enemies in the Northern Mountain Vige?

    Who are the enemies?

    What are they here for?

    The term ¡°enemy¡± was evidently foreign to a five-year-old boy who grew up in the vige. It was so foreign that he could not understand what was the meaning behind it.

    However, thedy did not give Little Radish any time to think. She carried Little Radish and sprang into the vige.

    ¡°Vige Chief, Vige Chief... there is... a troop!¡±

    ¡°Troop?!¡±

    ¡°What troop?¡±

    ¡°The Northern Mountain Vige had been sealed. Isn¡¯t Zhengzhi Prince Cang? How will there be... Ah! It is really a troop, hurry, Vige Chief... A troop is approaching!¡±

    After hearing thedy¡¯s words, the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige came out of their houses. The silence was broken very quickly.

    It had been long since there was amotion in the Northern Mountain Vige. Vige Chief Zhang Yangping, who was ready to eat his dinner, also heard themotion.

    ¡°There is a troop?¡± Vige Chief Zhang Yangping sticked his head out of the window. His old face was covered with all types of wrinkles.

    However, aspared to the shock on his face, the wrinkles meant nothing.

    Plonk! The pot in Vige Chief Zhang Pingyang¡¯s hand fell onto the ground, spilling the hot dishes. However, that was clearly not important anymore.

    ¡°Hurry, gather. Everyone, gather!¡±

    ...

    Roar! A loud beastly roar broke the peacefulness in the vige. Meanwhile, a beast covered in thick green scales appeared at the entrance of the vige.

    There was a figure who was shrouded by a ck cloak sitting at the back of this beast. Although one could not see his face, one could sense the chilling aura exuded by him.

    ¡°Vice Domain Chief, they seemed to have discovered our whereabouts?¡± A figure who was wearing ck armor appeared at the back of the beast with a face of respect.

    What made it special was a Demon Eye on the forehead of this figure.

    Blue Demon Eye!

    ¡°Hmm, I can see it with my eyes.¡± The figure who was addressed as the Vice Domain Chief nodded and did not look surprised.

    ¡°Please give yourmands, how should we deal with this group of vigers?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± The Vice Domain Chief asked.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Said a cold voice.

    ¡°Dumbass, how do we get rid of the blood stains after we kill them? For a vige with hundred over people, It takes more than ten days for the smell of blood to diffuse away. Our goal is to capture the Golden Scale City of the Northern Lands and build a barn to provide supplies for the future troops. If we spend too much time here, our traces would be exposed if anyonees.¡±

    ¡°You are right, sir. However, if we leave just like that, the vigers would still spread the news and it would be even more disadvantageous for us...¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that. However, Sir Demon Lord had specially instructed us to try our best to avoid being seen and avoid killing others. If we did not have three troops for this operation, I would not have taken the risk and left the mountain before sunset. Sigh... In order toplete our task before the other two troops, I have indeed overlooked the vige below the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Would Sir Demon Lord me us for merely one vige?¡±

    ¡°Of course Sir Demon Lord would not me me for one vige. However, I have heard that this order was given to Sir Demon Lord by ¡®Young Lord¡¯ through the letters. Do you want me to go against Young Lord¡¯s orders?¡± The Vice Domain Chief had a look of anger on his face.

    ¡°This... I understand what Sir is concerned about. However, since the past, those who had made aplishments were never concerned with minute details. In the open, we cannot possibly follow all the orders. Moreover, Sir Demon Lord told us to avoid too much killing, but in this situation, we have no choice. Unless, we retreat because of this?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, we will never retreat!¡±

    ¡°Sir, please calm down. We are in a dilemma currently since we need to obey the orders of Young Lord and Sir Demon Lord as well as not waste too much time here. I... I... Hold on, I have an idea! I have an idea to prevent us from getting into trouble with Sir Demon Lord and Young Lord.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What idea?¡±

    ¡°Burying them alive!¡±

    ¡°Burying them alive? It is indeed simple and would not leave behind traces or smell of blood. However, how do we prevent ourselves from getting into trouble by Sir Demon Lord and Young Lord?¡±

    ¡°Since we are burying them alive, then it would be ssified as an ident instead of a murder...¡±

    ¡°ident? You mean?¡±

    ¡°Sir, think about this. During this period of change, there are a lot of strange natural phenomenons. At this moment, a lightning struck the hill behind the vige andrge rocks rolled down the hill. With weak bodies, the vigers were unable to defend and the vige was destroyed by the rocks. What do you think, Sir?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Hearing this, the Vice Domain Chiefughed. With an extremely chilling gaze, he said, ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°I will do it now!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, the lightning marks on the hill must be made realistic. There must be absolutely no loopholes, understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    ...

    At the square of the Northern Mountain Vige, Vige Chief Zhang Yangping looked extremely worried. Besides him, the vigers who were carrying all types of weapons and standing behind him also had their eyes widened.

    Aspared to the past, the modern Northern Mountain Vige no longer used lousy weapons like forks, wooden sticks and choppers. Instead, they have adopted modern guns, knife and swords.

    However, that does not mean they were able to fight with the powerful Demon troops.

    ¡°Demon... Demon Race?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Demon troops, how is this possible? How would they appear in the Northern Mountain Vige, how did they get down from the Cang Ling Mountain?!¡±

    ¡°What is that? Why is there a weird creature beside the Demon soldiers? Could it be a beast? A beast that was more powerful than the Blue Fire Wolf...¡±

    The voices of the vigers echoed through the air. Everyone¡¯s eyes were filled with fear. Having lived in the vige since they were young, they had never seen such powerful Demon troops and beasts.

    ¡°Houde, it is the Demon troops. Zheng¡¯er said before that they have Demon Eyes on their foreheads. What... What should we do?¡± Qin Xuelian grabbed Fang Houde¡¯s arm. Her wrinkled face looked slightly pale but she did not escape right away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared... I am here, I...¡± Fang Houde was also rather pale. As a simple viger, his capability was limited.

    Facing the enormous Demon troops, although he wanted to say ¡°I will protect you¡±, he could not say it out.

    It was not fear but rather hopelessness.

    ¡°Stand right there!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard. Following that, a figure who was wearing a robe and dressed like a teaching mister walked out from the crowd.

    He looked like he was sixty years old. However, perhaps it was because of years of teaching, he still exuded a majestic aura.

    It was none other than the current Dean of the College of Northern Mountain Vige, ¡®Mister Mo Cheng¡¯.

    This was a respectful term and not his real name. However, he had lived with this respectful term and the vigers were used to addressing him with it.

    ¡°Mister Mo Cheng!¡±

    ¡°Dean Mo!¡±

    ¡°Teacher!¡±

    After Mister Mo Cheng stood out from the crowd, all the vigers, including Vige Chief Zhang Yangping, looked extremely nervous. After all, it was the Demon troops that they are confronting.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon troopsmanded the instant he saw Mister Mo Cheng stand out. He did not even give the vigers a chance to speak.

    After all, to the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon troops, any conversation is a waste of their time.

    ¡°You... What exactly do you want? This is the Northern Mountain Vige, the territory of the Great Xia. How dare you demon race invade our space?¡± Mister Mo Cheng, who was slightly shocked, began scolding loudly when he saw one demon soldier charging towards them.

    However, his questions were not replied.

    ng! The Demon soldiers drew their swords and ran towards Mister Mo Cheng. Meanwhile, a beam of light shed past.

    However, what was surprising was...

    The beam of light stopped at a distance less than an inch in front of Mister Mo Cheng¡¯s throat. Mister Mo Cheng had blocked it with two of his fingers.

    On each of the two fingers of Mister Mo Cheng, there were ck metal rings that were glistening with radiance.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The demon soldier saw this scene and looked astonished. Withdrawing his sword, he gave Mister Mo Cheng a kick.

    However, what surprised him again was that not only did his sword remain stuck at that position, he also experienced a powerful resistance force before he managed to kick Mister Mo Cheng.

    Then, a forcended on his shoulder.

    Boom!

    The demon soldier was sent flying. He crashed onto the ground and his thick ck armor was broken, leaving traces of blood.

    ¡°As the Dean of the College of the Northern Mountain Vige, I would not let you, the Demon soldiers hurt us. If you retreat now, I...¡±

    ¡°So there are really nerds amongst humankind. He purposely showed mercy when there was a chance to kill, why should we keep him alive?¡± The Vice Domain Chief smiled as he nced at the demon soldier on the ground.

    Then, he moved.

    He turned into a stream of light and reached the front of Mister Mo Cheng. Meanwhile, a dot of light shed across Mister Mo Cheng¡¯s forehead.

    It vanished in a second.

    It was so fast that Mister Mo Cheng did not have a chance to dodge.

    ¡°You...¡± Mister Mo Cheng widened his eyes and a drop of blood trickled down his forehead. He stared in disbelief at the figure in front of him.

    Soon, the disbelief became fear, extreme fear.

    That was because the figure who was shrouded by the cloak had removed his hood, showing an extremely cold face as the killer aura filled the air.

    Most importantly, there was a blood-red Demon Eye on the forehead of the figure.

    ¡°We do not have much time. Finish them in 15 minutes!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± After themand of the Vice Domain Chief, a few of the Demon soldiers behind him stood out, each exuding an extremely chilling aura.

    ¡°You... What on earth do you want? Silver or rice, we have... we can give you whatever amounts you want...¡± Vige Chief Zhang Yangping looked at Mister Mo Cheng who had copsed to the ground, then at the trembling vigers behind him, his face as pale as white paper.

    ¡°Silver? Rice? Haha...¡± The Demon soldiersughed coldly and turned to Vige Chief Zhang Yangping. ¡°You are the Vige Chief?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes, I am!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, very good. Now listen to mymands and check if every one is here. If there is anyone missing, don¡¯t me me for killing all the vigers!¡±

    ¡°Everyone?¡±

    ¡°Yes, check now. Or else...¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to gather all of us together so you can kill us at one go?¡± At this moment, a clear voice was heard.

    This voice was not loud and sounded extremely young. It was very clear and gave off a naive and pure feeling.

    After hearing this voice, the Demon soldiers were slightly stunned. Then, they turned their gazes towards a figure that came out from the crowd.

    It was a short boy with big ck eyes and a big head.

    ¡°Little Radish,e back quickly!¡±

    ¡°Quick, Little Radish...¡±

    A few female vigers turnedpletely pale when they saw Little Radish. They were extremely shocked.

    ¡°Auntie, I am not afraid. I am a guy. Brother Zhengzhi said before that guys need to be courageous so we can protect the vige!¡± Little Radish shook his head and raised his chest. He did not look afraid at all.

 Chapter 903 - The Village of Fang Zhengzhi

    <h4>Chapter 903: The Vige of Fang Zhengzhi</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Guys need to be courageous so they can protect the vige?¡± Looking at Little Radish, the Demon soldiers could not help butugh.

    A boy who was not yet six years old had stood in front of the Demon soldiers and said he wanted to protect the vige, how hrious was that?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± The Demon soldiersughed their hearts out. They were more than happy to get entertained by the boy who looked like a radish head standing in front of them.

    However, they did not have the time. Furthermore, as Demons, they would not be too merciful towards humans, especially since Little Radish had exposed their ns.

    ¡°Hmph, why are youughing?¡± Upon seeing the Demon soldiers who wereughing their hearts out, Little Radish was slightly angry.

    Then, he scurried over to the front of one of the Demon soldiers at an unimaginable speed and threw a punch to the Demon soldier with his small fists.

    ¡°Little Radish!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Upon seeing this scene, every viger waspletely stunned. Nobody had expected Little Radish to have the courage to attack the Demon soldiers.

    However, how would a boy who was not yet six years old have the real capability to fight afainst the powerful Demon soldiers?

    ¡°Scram!¡± As a cold voice shouted, Little Radish was sent flying to the back by a kick and hended heavily to the side.

    ¡°Vige Chief, is the decision made by your vige?¡± After kicking Little Radish, the Demon soldier casually tapped away the dirt on his shoes and looked at Zhang Yangping.

    His n was to let Zhang Yangping gather all the vigers. Therefore, before this waspleted, he did not have the intention of killing Little Radish.

    Furthermore, the Vice Domain Chief had ordered for all the vigers in the vige to be buried alive. Since they were to be buried alive, there should not be too much bloodshed.

    ¡°Little Radish!¡±

    ¡°Little Radish, are you alright?¡±

    Ady who looked extremely concerned dashed towards Little Radish and hugged him in her arms.

    However, Little Radish shook his head and coughed violently. Then, he spat out a mouth of blood.

    ¡°Little Radish, where are you hurting? Quickly tell auntie, please don¡¯t die!¡± Thedy panicked upon seeing this scene.

    ¡°Auntie, I am fine, I am a guy... Cough cough, this minor injury won¡¯t hurt me, I... I still have to protect the vige. Brother Zhengzhi had said before... He said guys must be strong and cannot... cannot copse easily, so I must stand... stand up!¡± Afterpleting his sentence, Little Radish struggled to push thedy¡¯s hands away and stood up with a face of courage. However, there were blood stains on the corner of his small mouth.

    Meanwhile, the Demon soldier who had kicked Little Radish did not bother about him at all. He looked at the Vige Chief Zhang Yangping and waited for a reply.

    ¡°So? Vige Chief, do the vigers want to resist and die? Or cooperate with us and remain alive? The patience of our Vice Domain Chief is limited.¡±

    ¡°No, no... Sir, everyone except for the hunting team... no, everyone... everyone in our vige is... is present.¡± The Vige Chief knew about the n of the Demon soldiers, but it was impossible for him to do anything. He could only hope for the best and cooperate. After all, he would try his best to dy.

    ¡°Hunting team?¡± Looking at the stuttering Zhang Yangping, the Demon soldier frowned and turned towards the back.

    Soon, the Demon soldiers standing beside the Vice Domain Chief nodded their heads and gave a hand sign that showed ¡°23¡±.

    Vige Chief Zhang Yangping also saw the hand sign. Although he did not understand what exactly the Demon soldiers were talking about, he was extremely affected by the hand sign of 23.

    23?

    Why 23?

    ¡°My son... Li¡¯er!!!¡± Vige Chief Zhang Yangping¡¯s pale face turned green instantly. He shuddered and knelt down on the ground.

    That was because the sum of the number of people who had participated in the hunt on the Cang Ling Mountain and their family members summed up to 23 exactly.

    Most importantly...

    His son, Zhang Li, the current vice team leader of the hunting team, was also included.

    ¡°Brother Yangping!¡± A deep voice was heard. Following that, a figure pushed the crowd aside and dashed towards Vige Chief Zhang Yangping.

    It was none other than Fang Houde!

    ¡°Father of my son...¡± Qin Xuelian also dashed out uncontrobly when Fang Houde did and ran towards Fang House.

    However, when she dashed out and saw the Demon soldiers standing in front of her as well as their ck armors, her expressionpletely changed.

    The Vice Domain Chief ignored all of these. He raised his head towards the sky and waved his hand impatiently.

    The Demon soldiers at the frontplied with his order quickly.

    ¡°Alright, stop crying, we are not trying to invade yournd. We are only trying to retrieve some of the treasures that belonged to the Demon race. If the vigers had not resisted, we would not have attacked.¡±

    ¡°Treasure?¡± The vigers looked at each other and did not understand what the Demon soldier meant.

    ¡°Hmm, you all would not understand even if I exined. Basically, one of our treasures is buried underground in your vige. If you cooperate and help us get it out, we will let you off.¡±

    ¡°Do you think we are stupid? There¡¯s no such treasure in the vige!¡± The viges responded quickly upon hearing this.

    They could not be certain about other things but they were very certain that the Northern Mountain Vige definitely did not have any treasures.

    That was because five to six years ago when Fang Zhengzhi had discovered strange phenomenons, he took something called the pass¡¯ and walked around the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Then, he started to preach to the vigers that there could be a historical graveyard underground.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was only twelve years old, he had an exceptional status in the Northern Mountain Vige. His right to speak had already surpassed that of Vige Chief Zhang Yangping.

    Although the vigers did not believe him, after the passionate preaching and encouragement given by Fang Zhengzhi, they began to take action.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    For six months, the vige was turned upside down and yet nothing was found.

    In response to this cruel reality, Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised. He only looked up to the sky and sighed to himself, ¡°The gift of Brother is indeed not here.¡±

    Afterwards, Fang Zhengzhi smashed the pass¡¯ and began studying like he did in the past. Although the vigers were rather speechless and indignant, they suffered in silence.

    Therefore, the vigers would believe anything the Demon soldiers had said except for the im that there was a treasure underground.

    ¡°Why? Do you not believe?¡± The Demon soldiers were surprised as after all, they thought the vigers were extremely naive.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± The vigers affirmed without giving any thoughts.

    ¡°...¡± After seeing the determination on the vigers¡¯ faces, the Demon soldiers were unable to make any morements.

    ¡°Stop wasting time with this bunch of vigers!¡± Another Demon soldier stood out and nced at the vigers with a cold gaze. ¡°You have two choices. Follow our orders and dig, or die now, choose for yourselves!¡±

    ¡°Little Radish will not give in, Little Radish will protect the vige!¡± The young voice was heard as a figure stood up again.

    His frame was not huge and he did not even reach the waist of the Demon soldiers when he stood upright. However, there was an extraordinary determination in his big ck eyes.

    ¡°Little Radish!¡±

    ¡°No, Little Radish,e back now!¡±

    The vigers¡¯ voice was heard again. Thedy dashed towards Little Radish and tried to get him back once again.

    However, the Demon soldier had already drawn his sword.

    ng! The long sword turned into a chilling sword light and stabbed at Little Radish;s throat.

    After being disrupted by a boy who was not even six years old, the Demon soldiers had ran out of patience. They did not show any mercy and attacked him.

    ¡°Little Radish!¡± Looking at this scene, every single viger¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. They hated their incapability.

    However, Little Radish was not fearful at all.

    He clenched his small fists. Without moving at all, he stared quietly at the long sword that was directed at him and raised his chest.

    Ding! A crisp sound was heard and the long sword stopped in front of Little Radish. Then, cracks appeared on the long sword and in a second, the long sword broke apart.

    Meanwhile, a figure zoomed past the Demon soldiers¡¯ heads. Like a stream of light, it dashed towards the Vice Domain Chief who was sitting behind the green-scaled beast.

    ¡°Erm?! Rebirth State!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race widened his eyes. He saw the actions of the figure clearly. It had only made one strike since the start.

    However, this one strike had shattered the long sword in the Demon soldier¡¯s hand. After that, it prated the Demon Eye on the Demon soldier¡¯s forehead and was aimed at the Vice Domain Chief.

    As the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race, he had always been extremely cautious.

    However, he was still rather surprised by the fact that there was a powerful person in the small vige.

    Furthermore, the presence of this powerful individual was not known to the vigers. Throughout the entire process, the vigers had almost given up on hope. However, none of them looked at the figure hidden within the crowd.

    ¡°Watch out, Sir!¡±

    ¡°Protect Sir!¡±

    The Demon soldiers were astonished.

    The expression on the face of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race also changedpletely. He instinctively reached out for his long sword but it was toote.

    The strike was too fast and too sudden.

    Left with no other choice, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race could only leap to the back. Meanwhile, he covered his Demon Eye with one hand.

    Crack! An arm was severed from the body and blood sttered through the sky. This entire process happened so quickly that it onlysted for the duration of a few breaths.

    Furthermore, the sword did not stop there and continued to stab towards the Demon Eye of the Vice Domain Chief. It moved as quickly as the meteor from the sky.

    At this moment, the green-scaled beast the Vice Domain Chief had been sitting on moved.

    Roar! With a growl that sent a tremor throughout the forest, he pped the approaching figure with his two sharp ws.

    Boom! The figure retreated.

    Meanwhile, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race rolled towards the side. His left arm was severed and there was arge pool of blood on the ground.

    The green-scaled beast moved again and stood in front of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race. his two red eyes were ming and he let out a deep growl.

    ¡°Who are you, how is it possible for there to be someone as powerful as you in the vige?¡± The eyes of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race were bloodshot and he was in agony.

    The surrounding Demon soldiers also stood in front of the Vice Domain Chief quickly and pulled out their ck longbows.

    This happened very quickly.

    Apart from the troop of Demon soldiers who protected the Vice Domain Chief, hundreds of Demon soldiers had also surrounded the figure standing ahead of him.

    ¡°It is Miss Qing Yi!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Miss Qing Yi the servant whom Zhengzhi told to stay back to take care of the Fang family? How is she... so powerful, she could even kill the Demon soldiers!¡±

    After having a clear sight of the figure, every single viger was extremely shocked. That was because Qing Yi¡¯s presence was so insignificant in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    She looked ordinary and the way she did things was also ordinary. She rarelymunicated with the vigers. Apart from knowing that she was a servant for Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian, the vigers had absolutely no knowledge about her.

    Yet this servant...

    Managed to kill a Demon soldier so easily and severed the arm of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon soldiers. This stunned the vigers.

    ¡°Qing Yi?¡± After hearing the vigers¡¯ words, the gaze of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race became more cold. He smiled coldly as he looked at thedy dressed in in viger clothes. ¡°A powerful individual of the Rebirth State, what a surprise. Looks like this vige is not so simple, there is a teaching Mister, a renowned college and now, a hidden ace. Tsk tsk tsk, if I am not wrong, this must be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige?¡±

 Chapter 904 - Please Bury Me at the Entrance of the Village

    <h4>Chapter 904: Please Bury Me at the Entrance of the Vige</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You know who is Brother Zhengzhi? Then you should scram now. Wait till... Wait till Brother Zhengzhi returns, none... none of you would be able to leave!¡± Little Radish clenched his fist tighter after hearing the words of Vice Domain Chief.

    Meanwhile, having heard this, the other vigers were nervous. After all, regardless of how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was, he could not fight against the entire troop of the Demon Race.

    ¡°Little Radish, shut up!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Zhengzhi is not in the vige. No... Fang Zhengzhi does not belong to our vige!¡±

    The vigers began talking. Although they sincerely hoped that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name would serve as a deterrence factor, they were more concerned to not get Fang Zhengzhi involved.

    However such cover-up behaviors could not possibly trick the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race.

    ¡°Indeed, it is really Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige. I have heard that Fang Zhengzhi was born in a vige below the Cang Ling Mountain. What a coincidence!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race smiled cruelly.

    ¡°Sir, if this is really Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige, then we will be in trouble...¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that.¡± The Vice Domain Chief broke off the Demon soldier¡¯s sentence. Then, he made a sweeping nce at the vigers. ¡°Tell me who are Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents and I will spare the others¡¯ lives!¡±

    ¡°There is no such person called Fang Zhengzhi here!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you all must have made a mistake.¡±

    ¡°This is not Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige!¡±

    The vigers understood the intent behind the Demon soldiers¡¯ words and refuted without any hesitation.

    ¡°Not saying? Then kill all of them!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race narrowed his eyes and gave an extremely chilling gaze.

    ¡°In your dreams!¡± Qing Yi¡¯s sword moved again. Like a shadow that was floating in the sky, she stabbed in the Vice Domain Chief¡¯s direction.

    However, there were too many obstructions ahead of Qing Yi. When she made her strike, countless of arrows were shot at her and fell like the rain.

    ¡°Trying to fight against my 10,000-soldiers troop? I shall see how capable you are!¡± The Vice Domain Chief waved his hand and the few Demon soldiers who were wearing thick armors moved.

    As the Generals in the Demon troop, they were powerful. Each of them at least had the powers of the Supernatural State and three of them were of the Rebirth State.

    After all, this was a elite troop meant to carry out a sneak attack on the Golden Scale City of the Northern Lands. How could Qing Yi of the Rebirth State defend against their overall strength?

    Qing Yi¡¯s sword moved quickly and she was extremely agile.

    However, when she was trying to defend the continuous shots of the arrows and the attack of the few powerful Demons, a cut appeared on her back.

    It was not a very deep cut but it cut open her clothes and stained it red with blood.

    ¡°Miss Qing Yi!¡±

    ¡°Miss Qing Yi, run!¡±

    After seeing her injury, the vigers shouted desperately.

    Meanwhile, witnessing this scene, the red Demon Eye on the forehead of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race glowed with light. ¡°Hmph, overestimating yourself. Hurry up tell me who are the parents of Fang Zhengzhi or everyone here will... die!¡±

    ¡°You viins, we will never hand over Uncle Fang!¡± Little Radish¡¯s voice was heard again. Meanwhile, he clenched his teeth and charged towards the Demon soldiers.

    Bam! One of the Demon soldiers staggered after being hit by Little Radish.

    This scene shocked the vigers and the Demon soldiers. The Demon soldier that was hit was extremely angry.

    ¡°Brat, you are seeking for your death!¡± The Demon soldier¡¯s eyes reddened with anger and struck his long sword at Little Radish.

    ¡°No, Little Radish! You evil demons, return my Li¡¯er to me or I will fight till my death with you!¡± At that instant when the Demon soldier struck at Little Radish, Vige Chief Zhang Yangping who was kneeling on the floor pounced on the Demon soldiers with his eyes red with fury.

    As the viger of the Northern Mountain Vige and the ex-captain of the Hunting team, although he had aged, Zhang Yangping could not bear to see Little Radish die in front of him.

    ¡°Brother Yangping!¡± Fang Houde tried to stop him but it was toote. Vige Chief Zhang Yangping was too fast and had dashed forward with an explosive force.

    Boom! Zhang Yangping¡¯s body collided with the Demon soldier and the long sword missed Little Radish and fell on the ground.

    However, there were way too many Demon soldiers.

    After seeing how Zhang Yangping knocked down a Demon soldier, another Demon soldier drew his long sword and stabbed it towards Zhang Yangping.

    sh! Vige Chief Zhang Yangping froze at his spot and blood flowed out of his throat like a fountain.

    ¡°Brother Yangping!¡±

    ¡°Vige Chief!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Ah, we will fight till our deaths with you!¡±

    The vigers were infuriated and charged towards the front with all their might. However, the troop of Demon soldiers surged forward and threw punches and kicks at the vigers, causing them to fall to the ground.

    ¡°Tsk, a bunch of sly vigers!¡±

    ¡°Disable all of them, then bury them alive!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After receiving the order, each of the Demon soldiers were extremely ferocious. Although they did not use their swords, every blow they made was apanied by sounds of broken bones.

    ¡°Evil demon!¡±

    ¡°All of you are evil demons!¡±

    The vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige cursed. However, they could not escape the fate of having their legs broken by the Demon soldiers and all fell to the ground injured.

    Meanwhile, Qing Yi shuddered. She wanted to break through the surround after seeing Zhang Yangping lying in a pool of blood and the various vigers who were injured, but was shot by an arrow when she turned.

    Qing Yi frowned.

    She used her long sword to cut off the arrow. However, the other Demon soldiers had charged towards her and pointed at her vitals with their long swords.

    ¡°Run!¡± Qing Yi roared.

    ¡°Run? Hahaha... Where to? Take all of them down!¡± Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race¡¯s voice was heard. How could he possibly let any of the vigers live after knowing that this was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige?

    ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone go!¡±

    ¡°Disable all of them!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Amongst the moans of the vigers, a middle-framed figure stood up with determination on his face. He was trembling with anger. ¡°I am Zheng¡¯er¡¯s father. Kill me if you want but let others off.¡±

    ¡°Houde...¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice trembled but she did not retreat. She hugged the only arm of Fang Houde with a firm expression on her pale face.

    ¡°Haha, you finally admitted? However, it is toote. The first team will be responsible to dig the hole, the second suppress the violent vigers and the third shall search the vige and ensure that no one leaves alive!¡± After hearing Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian¡¯s words, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race smiled coldly again.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Demon soldiers obeyed his orders.

    ¡°Evil demons, you bunch of evil demons, didn¡¯t you say that as long as I stood out, you will let others go? Why are you not keeping to your promise!¡± Fang Houde clenched his fist tight.

    ¡°Promise? Haha, do you think I will let anyone go alive after knowing that this is Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige? Naive humans, naive and foolish vigers...¡±

    ¡°You... You guys are evil demons!¡±

    ¡°We are evil demons, but do you know what your son did outside? If not for him, the demon race would have conquered the territories of Great Xia and would not need to spring a sneak attack now!¡± The eyes of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race was filled with cruelty and he felt extremely good for finally being able to take revenge.

    Bum!

    A figure was sent flying amongst the crowd. Then, Little Radish rolled to the foot of Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian, his tender face was scratched by the stones on the floor and looked very pale.

    ¡°Uncle Fang, Auntie Qin, leave quickly, Little Radish will protect you two!¡± After rolling to the back of Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian, Little Radish pushed against the ground with all his might and stood up. He clenched his fist very tightly and said, ¡°I will not let these viins hurt Uncle Fang!¡±

    ¡°Little Radish...¡± Looking at Little Radish who was in front of her, Qin Xuelian trembled. She hugged Little Radish and caressed his head, two streams of tears flowed down her face.

    ¡°Auntie Qin, don¡¯t cry... Little Radish is a man, Little Radish will protect the vige and will never allow these viins to hurt Auntie Qin!¡± Little Radish stretched out his hand and wiped off the tears on Qin Xuelian¡¯s face.

    ¡°Little Radish, Auntie did not cry, Auntie will not cry...¡± Qin Xuelian lowered her head and wiped off her tears. Her gaze was determined again.

    ¡°Xuelian, hurry up and leave. This bunch of evil demons want to kill all of us, leave with Little Radish now!¡± Fang Houde whipped out a sharp short knife as he spoke.

    ¡°No, I am not leaving, even if I die, I will die together with you!¡±

    ¡°Go!¡±

    ¡°No... I can¡¯t leave. Little Radish, leave quickly!¡±

    ¡°If Uncle Fang and Auntie Qin stay, Little Radish will stay too. Little Radish wants to protect you two. Furthermore, Little Radish is waiting for Dad and Mom to return from their hunt. Little Radish had already prepared dinner, Dad and Mom will definitely praise me.¡± Little Radish shook his head violently and stubbornly.

    ¡°Little Radish...¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s tears flowed again and hugged Little Radish with her body trembling.

    ¡°Auntie Qin, I know that I can¡¯t win these viins...¡± Little Radish suddenly sounded deste after Qin Xuelian hugged him.

    ¡°No, we can win them!¡± Qin Xuelian affirmed.

    ¡°Auntie Qin, I hope to ask for something...¡±

    ¡°Speak, Little Radish.¡±

    ¡°If I die, please bury my body at the entrance of the vige so that when Dad and Mom return, they can find me easily.¡± Little Radish turned his head towards the Cang Ling Mountain as he spoke and looked with anticipation.

    ¡°Little Radish...¡±

    ¡°Do you not promise me, Auntie Qin?¡±

    ¡°No, Auntie Qin promise you, if Little Radish die first, Auntie will definitely bury your body at the entrance of the vige. If... If I die first, can you also bury my body at the entrance of the vige?¡±

    ¡°Auntie also wants Brother Zhengzhi to find you?¡±

    ¡°Yes... Zheng¡¯er, my Zheng¡¯er has yet to return... He has yet to see me for thest time. I... I really want to take a good look at Zheng¡¯er, cook his favorite braised pork for him. Zheng¡¯er, where... where are you? Zheng¡¯er...¡± Qin Xuelian nodded and hugged Little Radish tightly, her tears flowed uncontrobly.

    ¡°If only Brother Zhengzhi could return...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    sh! A sharp sword sliced the clothing and blood sttered. Following that, a figure copsed to the ground with cuts all over her arms and thighs.

    However, this figure stood up again.

    It was not because of the sword that was approaching her, but she was motivated by her mission that told her that she could not copse at the moment. She had to protect Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian and the vige. That was the order that Fang Houde and Wu Yuer had given her before they left.

    ¡°Your Lord, Master...¡± Qing Yi looked somewhat deste. She looked at the surrounding Demon soldiers and the vigers who were gathered by the Demon soldiers, then at Qin Xuelian and Little Radish as well as Fang Houde who was attacking the Demon soldiers with his knife.

    Since the beginning, she was a misfit in the vige. She had notmunicated with the vigers.

    As a powerful individual of the Rebirth State, she was actually unwilling to stay in the vige and see the vigers work in the farms under the hot sun.

    However, despite that, she still had a sense of mission.

    However, now...

    There were too many powerful Demon soldiers.

    If there was only one Demon soldier of the Rebirth State, she had absolute confidence that she could kill him. However, she was facing a 10,000-man Demon troop.

    How could she fulfill her mission?

    How?

    ¡°Die!¡± A roar was heard and a long sword was stabbed into Qing Yi¡¯s shoulder, prating her shoulder.

    St! Qing Yi st out a mouthful of blood. However, she still stood at her spot and stabbed her long sword upwards.

    Crack! An arm of a Demon soldier was severed by her.

    However, more Demon soldiers swarmed towards her. The arrows were like floodwater that surged at her, giving her no chance to take a break.

    ¡°Your Lord, Master... Qing Yi, Qing Yi has let you all down...¡±

 Chapter 905 - Protection

    <h4>Chapter 905: Protection</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Heroes do not turn into formidable figures. Simrly, formidable figures do not turn into heroes. This is a redundant remark but all heroes and formidable figures share something inmon: There are always a group of loyal followers behind their backs.

    For instance, Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide who followed Liu Xuande till his death in the Three Kingdoms, as well as General Xu Da who supported Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang during his rule of the Ming Dynasty.

    Although these followers did not be Emperors, it was not because they did not have the ambition but rather because they knew what roles were they were more suited to be.

    Qing Yi was someone like this.

    After entering the Shadow Sect, her only wish was to help Wu Yuer and was willing to be the Sword Attendant for Wu Yuer.

    Therefore, when Wu Yuer asked who in the group of Sword Attendants was willing to stay behind in the Northern Mountain Vige, Qing Yi volunteered without any hesitation.

    The reason was simple...

    She knew that Wu Yuer needed her to volunteer.

    However, anything could go wrong. Determination did not guarantee sess.

    ¡°Ah...¡± The sound of something torn was heard and Qing Yi moved her sword again. Although her injuries were very severe and she could barely see any hope in such circumstances, she was not affected by it.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The Demon soldiers made a chilling roar.

    As the elite team of the Demon Race, they surpassed the human troops in terms of both their experience and their capabilities. Therefore, how would they be afraid?

    sh!

    sh!

    Two Demon soldiers fell to the ground at approximately the same time. However, a long sword in one of the demon soldiers¡¯ hand had prated Qing Yi¡¯s arm.

    ng! Qing Yi¡¯s sword fell to the ground.

    ...

    The sun gradually set and a golden beam stretched across the sky.

    At the East gate of the Huai An County, there was a wide road that led to the Northern Mountain Vige. It was constructed a few years ago by Fang Zhengzhi and had taken the name of ¡°The Zhengzhi Road¡±.

    The implied meaning was to let the disciples learn from Fang Zhengzhi and see him as a role model. After the construction of Zhengzhi Road, it became the main busy route for businessmen.

    However, there were not many pedestrians on this road today. It appeared rather dested with only a handful of people. That was because there were many soldiers guarding the East Gate.

    In fact, the most important gate and borders of the Great Xia Dynasty were simrly heavily guarded by troops. After all, with the rumors that sparked fear amongst the people, the soldiers had to be extremely vignt in guarding the flow of people and goods in and out of the city to prevent any idents.

    Roar! Following the loud roar, two enormous ck shadows appeared at the gate of the city. With the pressure of the chilling strong wind, the soldiers who were guarding the gate looked up immediately.

    Then, their eyes widened as they saw two gigantic beasts that were covered in white scales above their heads. Each of them had their wings spread and almost covered the entire sky.

    ¡°What... What are those?!¡± The soldiers who were guarding the gates looked in horror as they saw the two gigantic beasts that flew past the gates.

    ¡°It¡¯s the White-Scaled Beast!¡±

    ¡°Demon Race? Demon Race... is carrying out a sneak attack? Look, there is someone standing on the White-Scaled Beast! Wait a minute, there is a person standing on each of the beasts!¡±

    ¡°Besides that, that... that woman seems to be carrying a... Wait a minute, is that the Prin... Princess of the Divine Constabry?¡±

    ¡°Princess?! Why is the Princess carried by that woman, and who on earth is that woman?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, the man in front of them, the blue robe...¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°It is Prince Cang Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Oh my goodness, Prince Cang has returned, Prince Cang has returned to Huai An County. Hurry... inform Sir Li!¡± After having a clear vision of the person standing on the back of the beast, the soldiers quickly neglected Wu Yuer who was carrying Chi Guyan on the other beast.

    The handful of people on the road was also evidently shocked.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°He is Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°And the Princess?!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, it¡¯s Prince Cang and the Prince Cang... Kneel down now!¡±

    As themotion was made, the people on the road knelt down and stared at the figures in the sky.

    After all, the current Great Xia Dynasty was quite different from the past.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were the two most powerful names amongst the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands. How would the people not be surprised when both of them appeared at the same time?

    ...

    At the back of the White-Scaled Beast, Fang Zhengzhi took a nce at the shocked soldiers and kneeling people and frowned. He had been encountering such situations throughout his whole journey.

    He was recognized in every Capital he passed and his route waspletely exposed. However, he did not have the time to care about this as he was rushing.

    After all, he did not really matter about the fact that his route was exposed.

    However, the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli was more concerned with this issue. In fact, after descending from the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli had mentioned tio him regarding the argument on how it is never toote to take revenge.

    Afterwards, they gave him a lot of suggestions for his future ns.

    For instance, Yan Qianli suggested him to head to Western Liang as the ce was less likely to be found. On the other hand, the Heavenly Oasis Saint suggested him to return to the Shadow Sect first because it was the best ce to receive treatment for Chi Guyan¡¯s injuries.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi outrightly rejected these suggestions.

    He wanted to return to the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The reason was simple. He did not want to live in cover and wanted to live righteously in the Northern Mountain Vige. Most importantly, he was worried about Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian even though Qing Yi was tasked by Wu Yuer to protect them.

    However, the situation had changed...

    In the past, he would not overly concerned as after all, Qing Yi was powerful enough unless she encountered Sages in which there would be a great disparity in terms of power.

    However, after returning from the Holy Region, Fang Zhengzhi had changed his mind.

    There were way too many powerful individuals in the world. Moreover, the monster race and demon race and already coborated. Therefore, will the forbidden area in the deep regions of the Cang Ling Mountain still be considered as a forbidden area?

    Fang Zhengzhi was very worried. He would not be able to take it if anything goes wrong.

    That was his pressure spot.

    A pressure spot that nobody could touch.

    As for Chi Guyan¡¯s injuries, they were not as serious as they appeared to be. Also, he felt that Chi Guyan¡¯s condition did not require any recuperation or special medication.

    That was a strange feeling.

    As though she had entered a state of ¡°hibernation¡±, Chi Guyan¡¯s heartbeat was very slow and her body temperature was extremely low.

    Somewhat odd.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was a better choice to bring Chi Guyan back to the quiet and simple home in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Of course, he was not surprised when Wu Yuer insisted on following them.

    ¡°Hurry, hurry up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi hurried the White-Scaled Beast below his feet. However, the White-Scaled Beast did not speed up despite this.

    After all, with one and a half month¡¯s journey from the Holy Region to the Northern Lands without any takeover from other beasts, the White-Scaled Beasts were exhausted.

    Roar! The White-Scaled Beast pped his wings in opposition.

    ¡°Shameless brat, we haven¡¯t met any problems throughout our entire journey, it is impossible to be so unlucky,¡± Wu Yuer looked at the pathetic state of the White-Scaled Beast and made a casual remark.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°I thought you would be more assured after you reached the Huai An County. After all, anything that happened in the Northern Mountain Vige would be known to the Huai An County, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    ¡°If you really want to return home earlier, I have a suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... Hmm? What is it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to continue nodding when he suddenly regained his senses and turned towards Wu Yuer.

    ¡°This White-Scaled Beast had been flying non-stop for one and a half months and probably won¡¯t be able tost much longer. If you are really impatient, I think it would be faster if you depended on yourself. We have already passed the Huai An County and this route looks rather peaceful. You don¡¯t have to worry about Chi Guyan, I¡¯ll take care of her and ensure her safety.¡±

    ¡°You are so weak, how can you take care of her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly worried.

    ¡°What? You said that I am... Fine, although I may not be as powerful as you, I will still be able tost for a while? You take your leave first and I¡¯ll give you a signal right away if I encounter any problems. It won¡¯t be toote for you toe and rescue me after you see the signal.¡± Wu Yuer was clearly unhappy.

    ¡°Hmm... You are right!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as he heard this. Then, he leaped down from the back of the White-Scaled Beast.

    An azure blue light ray shed past and Fang Zhengzhi had appeared at a far distance away. Aspare to the White-Scaled Beast, he was much faster.

    ¡°Shameless brat Fang Zhengzhi... You left without bidding goodbye? So frustrating. Considering that I am the Shadow Sect Leader, in terms of appearance... Er? Nobody would deny if I said that I was one of the most beautiful in the country!¡± Wu Yuer took a nce at Chi Guyan and paused. Then, she raised her chest and mumbled to herself.

    ...

    In the Northern Mountain Vige, Qing Yi¡¯s entire body had been stained with blood and she knelt to the ground with perspiration trickling down her cheeks and mixing with the blood on her body.

    ¡°Die!¡± A Demon soldier let out a chilling roar and stabbed his pike at Qing Yi.

    However, at the instant when the pike touched her throat, she vanished from her spot and a deep sound was heard.

    Boom! The Demon soldiernded heavily on the ground. He stared in disbelief at Qing Yi who was standing behind him.

    That was because Qing Yi¡¯s sword had already dropped.

    Despite that, he was unable to kill Qing Yi but instead got his body prated by Qing Yi¡¯s fist. Blood flowed out like a fountain from his body.

    Plop! The Demon soldier copsed heavily.

    Witnessing this scene, the blood-red Demon Eye of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race shined. He was really astonished.

    How could she possibly stand with her injuries?

    What kind of willpower made Qing Yi so determined. Was she unwilling to die just like this? The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race shook his head. He knew the answer was no, because Qing Yi would not have even appeared if she was unwilling to die.

    After all, with her powers, she could have escaped from the Northern Mountain Vige without being discovered by the Demon Race.

    So, what exactly was the reason?

    Mission? Or to protect someone?

    The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon soldiers took a look at the man and woman and a boy standing behind Qing Yi and the group of Demon soldiers surrounding her.

    Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian and Little Radish.

    ¡°Must be because of them?¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race narrowed his eyes. He knew that the best way to let Qing Yi give uppletely was to make her lose hope.

    If the people she wanted to protect died, then what¡¯s the purpose of her determination?

    In fact, after knowing that the Northern Mountain Vige was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vige, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race had a tant thought.

    Capture Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    This could be considered a backup n for him as after all, there were many ways to let Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian forget about what had happened.

    After they had lost their memories, he could give many exnations for the current situation. For instance, he was passing by when the mountain rocks fell and managed to rescue Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race had considered this.

    However, he gave up on this idea as there were too much uncertainty. After all, it was a difficult business.

    If he had gotten himself involved, it would be hard for him to be clear of any me.

    Even though he coulde out with enough reasons to exin, some people would not be convinced. Fang Zhengzhi was one of them.

    He was not fearful of Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he did not want to gamble with his life. Moreover, it may not be advantageous for him to rescue Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    ¡°There is no such thing as a person who does not talk, unless... that person is dead!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race widened his eyes and a chilly gaze shed passed his eyes. ¡°For me to kill the two of you with my own hands, as an ordinary viger, you two should feel honored?¡±

 Chapter 906 - Return, the Overwhelming Rage

    <h4>Chapter 906: Return, the Overwhelming Rage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With the intense pain caused by his severed arm, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race clenched his other fist tight and was determined to inflict his pain on Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Step by step, he walked towards the Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian and Little Radish.

    He did not move too quickly but was enough for Little Radish to sense something was wrong. He freed himself from Qin Xuelian¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Viin, do note over!¡± Little Radish raised his arms in front of Qin Xuelian and looked a little scared.

    ¡°Xuelian, hurry and leave with Little Radish. I will stay and block this viin!¡± Fang Houde also noticed that the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race was moving towards them. He hid his knife behind his back, clenched his teeth and stood in front of Little Radish and Qin Xuelian.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race snorted coldly as he sped up with a smirk on his face and reached Fang Houde¡¯s position in a sh.

    Upon seeing this, Qing Yi¡¯s expression changed drastically. On her blood-covered face was an extremely unwilling and desperate expression.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Qing Yi wanted to rescue Fang Houde but the more anxious she was, the more ws she exposed. Almost immediately, two spears stabbed her thigh at the same time.

    The intense pain caused Qing Yi to copse to the ground. However, this time round, she did not resist with her fist. Instead, she stared deadly at the sabre in the Vice Domain Chief¡¯s hand.

    He raised his sabre.

    With a eye-blinding radiance and an intense wave of heat, the red mes that were burning made sizzling sounds in the surrounding air.

    ¡°Evil demon, I will kill you!¡± Looking at the sabre that was aze with mes, Fang Houde was definitely a little afraid.

    However, that did not prevent him from attacking because he needed to protect his wife and the child behind him.

    As a man, how could he back away at this point in time?

    Even though he knew that he was doomed, even though he knew that it would make no difference if he attacked or not, he still attacked with his knife.

    With an extremely fast speed, he stabbed at the heart area of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race.

    However, the cruel reality proved that the disparity between the Rebirth State and the ordinary viger was too big that there was no suitable word to describe it.

    A beam of light shed past the body of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race. Fang Houde lost his grip on his knife and it fell onto the ground.

    ng!

    Fang Houde¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He took a look at the knife on the ground and then towards the sabre on mes on top of his head.

    Misery, despair.

    ¡°Even if I stood here, you won¡¯t be able to hurt me. How do you feel? Despair? Haha...¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Raceughed evilly. ¡°Alright, your life is ending now. However, not to worry, your wife will apany you soon after!¡±

    The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race tightened his grip on his sabre and took a look at Qing Yi who was surrounded by soldiers behind him. Then, he shouted coldly, ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Yo!¡± At this moment, a beastly howl resounded in the air. It was a sound that prated the Cang Ling Mountain and the eight viges around it.

    ...

    Three miles away from the Northern Mountain Vige, Fang Zhengzhi stood rooted to the ground. He heard a beastly roar that came from somewhere so close to him that it was as though it sounded beside him.

    ¡°Beast? Why are there beasts?! Who... who is it?! Northern Mountain Vige, it¡¯sing from the Northern Mountain Vige...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment. Then, his expression changed and his eyes turned as red as blood instantly. ¡°Dad... Mom!¡±

    ...

    ±±É½´åÖÐ.

    In the Northern Mountain Vige, the Vice Domain Chief¡¯s sabre stopped quietly at a spot one inch away from Fang Houde¡¯s head with red mes still billowing.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    In the dead silence, the Vice Domain Chief, Demon soldiers, the vigers and Qing Yi raised their heads and looked into the sky.

    Above them were three enormous figures that had their wings spread wide apart as thought they were about to block the entire sky.

    It was three beasts that were glowing with golden light.

    Each of the beasts had thick white scales on their stomach, while their back was covered with golden feathers that glowed with light.

    It was evident that these golden feathers were extraordinary. They extended all the way from the back of the beasts to their tails and finally ended with two long tail feathers.

    The Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast!

    The king of the Fowl, they could travel a thousand miles with a p of their wings.

    Although the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast was categorized as a beast, each of them were nearly as powerful as the Monster Kings. It was extremely rare to find them in the world as rumors had it that the total number of Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast in the world was less than five.

    But there were three enormous Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast in the sky above the Northern Mountain Vige. How was this not shocking?

    That was not the main point.

    The main point was that there were three figures standing on the backs of the three Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast. This was extremely unimaginable as the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast, apart from being nearly as powerful as the Monster Kings, they were also extremely hard to tame. Nobody in history, including the leader of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, had managed to tame the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast.

    ¡°All to retreat to Blood Shadow City.¡± A emotionless voice was heard from the back of the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast. Although it sounded very calm, there was a hint of majesty that caused one to be afraid to not follow the order.

    ¡°All... all to retreat... what does this mean?!¡± The Vice Domain Chief¡¯s expression changed as he looked at the figure shrouded by a ck cloak standing on the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast. He was unable to react for a moment.

    Actually, he was unable to figure out the identity of the three figures. If the sharp beastly howl had originated from the outskirts of the vige, he would not have stopped his attack. However, the sound came from the direction of the Cang Ling Mountain.

    Furthermore, when the beastly howl was heard, three enormous Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast had dashed up to the skies from the Cang Ling Mountain and ended up above him.

    It happened too quickly such that even as a person who wasposed, he was stunned and have yet to regain his senses.

    However, that was no longer important.

    That was because when the sound was heard, three figures had leaped from the back of the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast andnded right in front of him.

    The sky was left with thest ray of the setting sun.

    The golden light shone over the three figures and coated their ck cloaks with ayer of light that looked like a gold muslin.

    Meanwhile, the cloak covering the head of the figure standing at the most front fell gradually, showing a face with the beauty that could overthrow states and cities.

    Under her arched eyebrows were two sparkling eyes that were like fluid.

    It was a face that was so beautiful that it made people suffocate. Although there was not much expression on her face, her appearance still made one¡¯s heart tremble till the point that one could not breathe.

    The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race was stunned.

    He could not figure out who were on the back of the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beasts, but now that the ck cloak has fallen, how could he not possible recognize the figure standing in front of him?

    Yun Qingwu!

    Demon Young Lord Yun Qingwu!

    Instantly, the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race copsed to the ground and started perspiring profusely.

    Yun Qingwu did not bother about him. She looked at Fang Houde, Qin Xuelian, then Little Radish.

    ¡°So brave of you at such a young age. Do you mind telling big sister what is your name?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the clenched fist of Little Radish and smiled involuntarily.

    ¡°Are you... a viin?¡± Seeing the smile on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, Little Radish¡¯s stubborn expression became more rxed.

    ¡°Viin? Hmm, regarding this question... I don¡¯t know too. Do you think I look like a viin?¡± Yun Qingwu asked back.

    ¡°You are not a viin!¡± Little Radish affirmed.

    ¡°Oh? Why do you think so?¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly shocked.

    ¡°Because you are different from them. They have a Demon Eye on their foreheads but you don¡¯t, hence you should be a good person like us!¡± Little Radish said again.

    ¡°No Demon Eye?¡± Yun Qingwu seemed to be deep in thought.

    ¡°You are not a viin, then... are you here to save us? Did Brother Zhengzhi ask you toe? Why isn¡¯t he back?¡±

    ¡°Little Radish, stop talking!¡± Qin Xuelian took a look at the perspiration on the face of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race, then at the expressions of the surrounding Demon soldiers and quickly pulled Little Radish back to her.

    ¡°So your name is Little Radish? Hmm, an easy name to remember.¡± Yun Qingwu heard Qin Xuelian¡¯s words and nodded her head lightly. Then, she blinked at Little Radish and turned to Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde. ¡°Auntie Qin, Uncle Fang, nice to meet you, I am Yun Qingwu.¡±

    ¡°Yun... Yun Qingwu?! You... You are Yun Qingwu? Zheng¡¯er mentioned about you before, aren¡¯t you a de... de...¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s expression changed drastically after hearing Yun Qingwu¡¯s words. She took a step back involuntarily with an extremely shocked expression on her face.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi mentioned about me before? He is...¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Young Lord!¡±

    Before Yun Qingwu could finish her sentence, the surrounding Demon soldiers had reacted from their shock and knelt down instantaneously.

    This was a shocking scene for Fang Houde, Qing Yi and the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°Young lord?!¡±

    ¡°She is the Young Lord of the Demon Race!¡±

    ¡°Evil demon, she... she is the actual evil demon!¡±

    ¡°Ah... I am going to kill you, evil demon. You are the one who invaded thend of Great Xia. Evil demon, I am going to kill you!¡±

    The vigers were shocked and began to yell.

    However, it was impossible for them to approach Yun Qingwu. When one of the vigers charged towards her, the Demon soldiers kneeling nearby stood up, tripped the viger, pressed him down using his feet and was about to aim his spear at his throat.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Yun Qingwu shouted.

    The spear stopped at a spot that was an inch away from the viger¡¯s throat. The chilling light caused immense pain to the viger¡¯s throat and he became extremely pale.

    However, this could not stop the viger from giving hisst yell.

    ¡°Evil demons, you evil demons, kill me now. I am not afraid to die, even if I die, I will fight till my death with you evil demons, I will fight it out with you!¡±

    ¡°Fight, fight it out with them!¡±

    ¡°They are all evil demons!¡±

    As the viger gave hisst yell, the other vigers were also extremely triggered. After all, the words ¡®Demon Young Lord Yun Qingwu¡¯ were enough to make them lose control and give theirst struggles in desperation.

    The vigers stood up in fury. Regardless of whether they were injured, they held on and picked up the weapons on the ground.

    Of course, the Demon soldiers would not allow the vigers to go near Yun Qingwu, even though Yun Qingwu¡¯s attitude was not clear and she was telling them to stop.

    Their role was to protect Yun Qingwu, so how would they possibly bother about other factors? They would never allow the vigers to get close to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°How dare you be disrespectful to Young Lord, you are seeking for your own death!¡±

    ¡°A bunch of fussy vigers!¡±

    ¡°Die, all of you!¡±

    The Demon soldiers also whipped out their weapons. To them, it was the biggest crime to be disrespectful to Yun Qingwu. Therefore, they would not possibly show mercy to the vigers.

    ¡°Who dares to attack would be dealt with the militaryw and be beheaded!¡± Yun Qingwu frowned and exploded with an intangible aura.

    ng! The Demon soldiers stopped their movements.

    Even though there was a Sabre that struck down towards them.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    The Sabres struck on the armors of the Demon soldiers, making nging sounds. A few of the Sabres even prated the Demon soldiers¡¯ bodies.

    However, none of the Demon soldiers moved.

    ¡°I order the entire troop to retreat to Blood Shadow...¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!!!¡± Before Yun Qingwu could give her order, a roar came from the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Following that, a sharp aura surged over from the entrance of the vige. it was a purple stream of light that was like blood, making a faint shadow that lit up the sky. With a speed that was fast enough to tear open the space, it went straight towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat.

 Chapter 907 - The Dragonâ€™s Trigger Point

    <h4>Chapter 907: The Dragon¡¯s Trigger Point</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It happened too quickly. From the sound to the sh of the light, everything happened in an instant.

    The surrounding Demon soldiers could not react to the purple light that was moving towards Yun Qingwu. They could only stare with their eyes widened.

    ¡°Young lord!¡±

    ¡°Young Lord, dodge!¡± The shocked voice of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race was heard. Meanwhile, thick red light started radiating from his body.

    His Sabre rose up in the sky.

    Without any hesitation, he sliced down on the purple light.

    With his powers, he was unable to win the purple light in terms of speed. However, since the sword light came from the entrance of the vige and he was right in front of Yun Qingwu, he had the opportunity to block the purple light.

    ¡°I will not allow you to hurt Young Lord!¡± The Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race roared and sliced down on the purple light with all his might.

    However, when he was about to slice his Sabre down, he realized, to his horror, that the beam of purple light was much faster than what he had expected.

    Before he could slice down on the purple light, it had already reached his face.

    sh! The purple light cut through the mes on the Vice Domain Chief¡¯s body and then prated his body without any pause in between.

    Humm! Like the dragon, the sound of the sword echoed through the valley. It was both the sound of excitement and a furious roar.

    Yun Qingwu was slightly stunned and looked surprised. However, she did not dodge like what the V of the Demon Race told her to.

    It was getting closer and closer!

    Just as the purple light was an inch away from Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat, a slender arm that was covered in ck scales grabbed the purple light.

    In terms of speed, the speed of the arm was much faster.

    However, this ridiculous method shocked those around it. After all, it was the sharp purple light that had prated the body of the Vice Domain Chief.

    Hiss! A sharp and eye-piercing sound was heard. It was the sound of the collision and rubbing of metals, apanied by sparks.

    It was an exaggerated scene.

    What was more exaggerated was that the arm, after having grabbed the purple light, spun together with it and stopped in mid-air.

    ¡°Hmm??¡± A confused and surprised voice was heard. Meanwhile, violent wind blew away the ck clothing covering the arm as well as the cloak on the head of a ck figure.

    It was a woman that looked extremely bewitching. She looked younger than 20 years old and had a pair of dual-colored eyes with green and red iris.

    ¡°Looks like someone has made a fool out of herself for being too brazen?¡± As she eximed, another figure appeared right in front of Yun Qingwu.

    The ck cloak was lifted, revealing a face that was as cold as snow, along with sharp features and an expression that caused one to shudder in fear.

    It was a male.

    Furthermore, it seemed like this man was sneering at the woman.

    As he sneered, he made a punch with his fist towards the beam of purple light that was intertwined with the woman¡¯s arm.

    Bam! The purple light tilted and fell from the palm that was covered in ck scales. It turned into a long sword that flowed with purple radiance.

    Boom! The long sword prated into the ground.

    ...

    The Demon soldiers werepletely stunned.

    They were elites who had experienced cruel trainings, yet it never came across their minds that a sword could be so powerful.

    It was so fast!

    It was so powerful!

    Whose? Whose sword was it?!

    The Demon soldiers shuddered uncontrobly as they stared at the vibrating long sword in the ground.

    The sword had clearly came from the entrance of the vige. However, despite the far distance, it had directly prated the body of the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race and forced the man and woman beside Yun Qingwu to attack together.

    This was a thought that struck the Demon soldiers immediately.

    However, very quickly, they saw the real appearance of the long sword. It was a sword that was not too fanciful but a familiar one.

    ¡°Traceless Sword!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi returned?!¡±

    The person and weapon that the Demon soldiers were the most familiar with were none other than Fang Zhengzhi and the Traceless Sword respectively. After all, they were a legend in the battlefield of the Southern Region.

    Using his sole powers, Fang Zhengzhi turned the tides of the battle in the Southern Region and resulted in the only loss of the Demon Race¡¯s Half Sage, Can Yang. He was also the respected mentor of Yun Qingwu.

    Terror, astonishment.

    The Demon soldiers feared because in a mere two years¡¯ time, the teenager who had battled in the battlefield of the Southern Region seemed to have grown again with terrifying powers.

    Another reason why they were astonished was because of the man and woman standing in front of Yun Qingwu. Although they had not seen them before, they were shocked by the fact that the woman was able to grab the sword with her bare hands.

    ¡°Could they be the Demon Deity?!¡± Although the Demon soldiers knew about the arrival of the Demon Deity, their status did not allow them to know about the entire truth. Therefore, they were not aware of the numbers and identities of ancient powerful individuals who had walked out of the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons.

    ¡°I have already said that I don¡¯t want toe and yet you dragged me here. Look now, these bunch of bastards are treating me as a Demon! I am obviously a ssy Monster!¡± The woman appeared extremely unhappy as she took a look at the astonished Demon soldiers surrounding her.

    ¡°Did I ever drag you?¡± The man said coldly

    ¡°Woah, so you are refusing to admit after you finish fooling around? Also, how dare you say that I am being brazen... I am superior!¡± The woman raised her chest casually after she spoke.

    ¡°...¡± The man kept silent.

    Meanwhile, the surrounding Demon soldiers werepletely astonished.

    There was a type of pride called the pride of the powerful. However, after the woman spoke, the Demon soldiers could not feel this pride at all.

    ¡°Monsters?!¡±

    ¡°So this are the ancient powerful monsters that walked out of the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon soldiers really did not know how to respond. After all, the perception that powerful individuals are superior had grown in them. The disparity between their perception and what they had witnessed was toorge.

    Of course, such minor issues were not important now.

    That was because the Traceless sword, after being inserted into the ground, flew up again and flew back towards the entrance of the vige.

    Meanwhile, a figure appeared in front of the Demon soldiers.

    The blue robe swayed in the night breeze. The figure had a face with young features but a pair of eyes that shot out a blood-red radiance.

    The pair of eyes scanned past Yun Qingwu and the pair in front of her, then towards the surrounding Demon soldiers and the vigers who were lying on the ground with blood stains all over them.

    The pair of eyes eventually fell on a corpse.

    It was a corpse whose throat had been prated by a sword. He was slightly old and his eyes widened as though he portrayed a sense of desperation and unwillingness.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping!!! Yun Qingwu... Yun Qingwu, how dare you lead the troop to conduct a massacre in my Northern Mountain Vige!!!¡± An overwhelming killer aura surrounded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body like wild wind.

    He did not make too muchments.

    That was because every Dragon had a trigger point.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was a holy ground in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart that nobody could touch. His parents and vigers who had seen him grow up were all in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    On his way back, he had already felt that there was something amiss in the Northern Mountain Vige. However, he did not expect it to be so serious. Furthermore, it was organized and led by Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always thought that the only difference between Yun Qingwu and him was the difference of race. He was a human and Yun Qingwu was a demon.

    This was an unchangeable fact.

    He had to be enemies with Yun Qingwu because of that. He wanted to kill Yun Qingwu and she could kill him too. This was an unquestionable fact because after all, he was a human and Yun Qingwu was a demon.

    What was wrong for two individuals of different races to be calctive and attack each other?

    Fang Zhengzhi really hated Yun Qingwu. However, this was rted closely to the battle between the different races.

    He always thought he was very simr to Yun Qingwu for this aspect.

    Both of them could fight.

    Both of them could be extremely shameless and would do whatever they could to achieve what they wanted.

    However, they would never do certain things such as how Fang Zhengzhi did not kill Yun Qingwu when she appeared outside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    When Fang Zhengzhi had broken through the formations made by the thirteen Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, he actually had the chance to kill Yun Qingwu. However, he did not.

    That was because he had a bottom line.

    Yun Qingwu gave him the thirteen Heaven Dao Sage Tablets. Even though he did not know what was the reason behind this, he could not possibly attack her after he had benefited from her.

    However, now...

    The scene in front of him triggered him. How could he possibly still think that he was simr to Yun Qingwu, have principles and would not touch his bottom line upon seeing the corpse of Zhang Yangping and the vigers who were lying on the ground?

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi is back!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi... How... how powerful!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi had always been the pride of the Northern Mountain Vige, especially since he was crowned the only Prince that had a different surname in the Great Xia Dynasty when he was eighteen.

    However, it was merely the feeling of pride.

    The vigers did not know the actual capabilities of Fang Zhengzhi. Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, acted normally like any other viger when he was in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Therefore, the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige only knew that Fang Zhengzhi was very powerful but not the extent of his powers.

    That included Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    But now...

    They knew.

    They knew why the eighteen-year-old Fang Zhengzhi was crowned the only Prince that had a different surname in the Great Xia Dynasty, as well as why he was appointed to be in charge of the entire region surrounding Northern Mountain Vige and the Cang Ling Mountain.

    They also knew why the Lord of the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands who visited the Northern Mountain Vige had to lower his voice when speaking to Fang Zhengzhi.

    He was too powerful. Fang Zhengzhi was so powerful such that he was able to defend against the powerful Demon soldiers even though the troop consisted of 10,000 elite Demon soldiers.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er...¡±

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, don¡¯t worry about me and leave!¡± Fang Houde could feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers, but as his father, how could he bear to watch Fang Zhengzhi take such a risk?

    ¡°Dad, Mom, rest assured, I am here to save you. I will not allow anyone to hurt you two, nobody!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched the Traceless Sword extremely tightly in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

    However, he did not move immediately because Yun Qingwu was less than a step away from Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    Furthermore, in front of Yun Qingwu were the man and woman who were able to block his attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi was boiling with hatred and anger.

    However, he did not dare to take a bet that Yun Qingwu would not hurt Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian. In fact, he would never take this bet.

    ¡°So this brat is Fang Zhengzhi? Was the Air-splitting guy killed by him?¡± The woman standing in front of Yun Qingwu said after seeing Fang Zhengzhi, ¡°He looks very angry!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, seems to be so.¡± The man nodded.

    ¡°His powers are not bad, I can have some fun dealing with him. You don¡¯t need to interfere in this, I want to deal with him alone, is that alright?¡± The woman said again as she smiled beautifully, radiating an allure that caused people to shudder in fear.

    ¡°I am alright but you should seek our Young Lord¡¯s opinions.¡± The man shook his head casually and turned towards Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Yes yes, I almost forgot... now the Monster Race has a Young Empress too, what is your opinion, Young Emperor Qingwu?¡± After hearing the man¡¯s words, the woman turned to Yun Qingwu.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu was staring at Fang Zhengzhi and the powerful killing intent surrounding him with a pale face and trembling lips, as though she was trying to make some exnation.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, kill her. She¡¯s the Demon Young Lord. Once you kill her, we will be able to die in peace!¡± A viger shouted.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t bother about us!¡±

    ¡°Kill the Demon Young Lord and take revenge for our Vige Chief!¡±

    Upon listening to this, other vigers shouted too.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er...¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s lips moved. She wanted to say something but ultimately did not. Instead, she bit her lips and hugged Little Radish behind her.

    ¡°Young Emperor, is you don¡¯t kill this brat, he would kill you. Look at his pair of angry eyes, even I feel slightly fearful, as though there are butterflies in my stomach...¡± The woman said again when she saw that Yun Qingwu was silent.

 Chapter 908 - Killing You With One Hand

    <h4>Chapter 908: Killing You With One Hand</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Since you have already made an attack, why aren¡¯t you attacking anymore?¡± Yun Qingwu finally spoke although it was not directed to the woman.

    Or rather, after Fang Zhengzhi had appeared, Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes had not left Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Our Young Empress seemed to be a little unfriendly? She is ignoring others.¡± The woman seemed to be unhappy.

    ¡°It is called being arrogant,¡± said the man.

    ¡°That is considered being arrogant? Then what about me? Am I rather... arrogant?¡± The woman licked her lips and winked at the man.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°This cheap ve girl beside you... seems to be a little disobedient?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice broke off the conversation between the man and the woman.

    Of course, he was directing his words towards Yun Qingwu instead of the woman. His eyes were also turning redder.

    ¡°Brat, did you just call me a cheap ve girl?!¡± The woman¡¯s expression changed suddenly.

    ¡°You mean you are not? As a Monster who walked out of the ancient battlefield, a powerful monster of the Godly State, you are obeying a mortal of the Star Conglomerate State. If you are not a cheap ve girl, then are you a dog-like ve?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a step forward as he spoke and the Traceless Sword in his hand kept making a sound.

    ¡°Hahaha... I knew that you would say this. Did you feel like you were able to make use of my anger to aplish your ulterior motive? Do you think you could sow dissension between me and the Young Empress so simply? Come on, continue calling me a cheap ve girl or a dog-like ve, or do you have other more offensive names?¡± The woman startedughing hysterically at thest part of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence and her body shook.

    ¡°Lin Ji, make your leave first!¡± Yun Qingwu frowned.

    ¡°Oh... okay, though I haven¡¯t had enough fun dealing with such a interesting human.¡± The woman named Lin Ji poured and was clearly unhappy when she heard Yun Qingwu¡¯smands. However, she quickly went to the back of Yun Qingwu and kept quiet.

    Meanwhile, the man standing in front of Yun Qingwu also moved to stand beside her.

    It was evident that after Yun Qingwu spoke, both the man and Lin Ji no longer had the intention to speak.

    This was not surprising to the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige as they did not know what were the significance of their status as Godly State experts.

    However, the scene shocked the surrounding Demon soldiers.

    In fact, when Fang Zhengzhi began to sow dissent, they already started to worry because the man and woman were too powerful.

    With their powers...

    Were they really willing to listen to Yun Qingwu?

    After all, Yun Qingwu was the Young Lord of the Demon Race. Although she was extraordinary intelligent, how would the two powerful Monsters willingly obey hermands and not resist at all?

    Nobody was certain.

    Therefore, the Demon soldiers could not be certain too.

    However whatever took ce in front of them told them that both Lin Ji and the man seemed toply to Yun Qingwu.

    This was astonishing.

    Yet, it was the reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the man and woman who had moved and clenched his fist. From what he could recall, the Space-splitting Demon God did not acknowledge Yun Qingwu¡¯s identity immediately after he walked out of the Gate of God of the Realm of the Demons.

    Although the Space-splitting Demon God had lost his bet with Yun Qingwu and had toply with her eventually, this only happened because of the special circumstances.

    However, the Heaven Zen Mountain...

    Obviously did not have the same special circumstances.

    Fang Zhengzhi was genuinely impressed by Yun Qingwu¡¯s powerful leadership skills. He was certain that Yun Qingwu had her ways to make use of the powerful individuals who came out from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons.

    However, he still had to take a gamble.

    He was gambling with time.

    Only one and a half month had passed since the opening of the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons. Would the two Godly State experts reallyply with Yun Qingwu in this short period of time?

    This was what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to gamble on. In fact, Yun Qingwu seemed to have already done it. Despite his insultingnguage, the woman named Lin Ji did not resist at all.

    Yun Qingwu!

    So this was the power of Yun Qingwu?!

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking?¡± Yun Qingwu asked after taking a nce at Fang Zhengzhi and feeling the killer aura surrounding him. Her tone waspletely different from before.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept silent and clenched his fist. He really wanted to attack because he was not afraid of the so-called ¡°Godly State experts¡±, however, how could he do so?

    Yun Qingwu was too close to Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian. In fact, they were just one foot apart. Qin Xuelian would be dead if Yun Qingwu moved her finger.

    In such a situation, how could he take a gamble? He could not because he was unable to ept the consequences if he had lost.

    They were his only family members in this world, they were his biological parents!

    Fang Zhengzhi really could not bring himself to do so. He could make use of Qian Yu or even Emperor Lin Mubai to set the trap, but he would never ever be able to bet for the mercy of Yun Qingwu with the lives of his parents.

    ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Yun Qingwu trembled uncontrobly when she saw that Fang Zhengzhi had kept quiet. Her expression became slightly agitated. ¡°What are you afraid of? What exactly are you afraid of?¡±

    This was an expression that could be rarely seen on Yun Qingwu. However, Yun Qingwu was clearly agitated. It was an agitation that could not be suppressed.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist so tight that he cracked his knuckles and he started breathing very quickly. It was an expression that could be rarely seen on him.

    Anger, extreme anger.

    ¡°In the Southern Region, you were not afraid when you were the only one who dashed towards the cliff amongst the 10,000 soldiers. In the Holy Region, you were not afraid when you went alone to the Yun Qingwu to capture Dao Hun. From Ling Yun Tower to the Heaven Zen Mountain, you were never afraid. Why are you afraid now?¡± After the wave of agitation, Yun Qingwu had calmed down and looked dejected.

    However, she did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to reply. In a sh, her dejected expression disappeared and she became as calm as theke. ¡°Hmm... Speaking of which, you ought to be afraid since your parents are in my hands, right?¡±

    ¡°What on earth do you want?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke.

    ¡°Initially I didn¡¯t want to do much, but since you have spoken, let me think... Wait for a while as I think about it... Ah, I know, I thought of a very interesting deal that I am sure you would agree to without any hesitation!¡± Yun Qingwu smiled involuntarily at thest part of her sentence.

    It was a subtle smile but instead of a joyful smile, it looked like a bitter one.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll agree!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not have the mood to notice Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression. He only had a thought in mind: rescue Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian. No matter what terms Yun Qingwu had given him, he would agree to them.

    Therefore, he agreed without any hesitation before Yun Qingwu even told him about her terms.

    ¡°Including the request for you to marry me?¡± Yun Qingwu asked casually.

    ¡°Marry her?!¡±

    ¡°This evil Demon Young Lord... wants Zhengzhi to marry her?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige were all extremely stunned when they heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s words.

    Simrly, the Demon soldiers werepletely stunned too.

    After all, they did not expect the ¡°interesting deal¡± Yun Qingwu was talking about referred to asking Fang Zhengzhi to marry her.

    ¡°So what? Not willing to? Marry me and serve for the Monster Race and Demon Race. Do you agree with this deal?¡± Yun Qingwu asked again, ignoring the shocked reactions of the vigers and the Demon soldiers.

    At this instant, Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword and pointed it at Yun Qingwu with his eyes bloodshot. However, he soon put his Traceless Sword down.

    That was because he saw Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde standing like two falling leaves in front of Yun Qingwu and the two powerful Monsters.

    ¡°Alright, I will go to the Blood Shadow City with you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, no! You can¡¯t leave with this evil demon...¡± Qin Xuelian cked out and her body gave way. If Little Radish had not caught her, she would have copsed on the ground.

    ¡°Auntie Qin, Auntie Qin are you alright?¡± Little Radish caught Qin Xuelian with all his strength. His face was flushed red but his skinny arms had an enormous strength that held on to Qin Xuelian dearly to prevent her from falling to the ground.

    Meanwhile, Fang Houde panicked and dashed over after he saw that Qin Xuelian had fainted, and helped Little Radish hold on to Qin Xuelian.

    ¡°Xuelian, you can¡¯t die, Xuelian...¡± Two streams of tears flowed down Fang Houde¡¯s stern face. Although he was a strong-willed man, he could no longer hold in. ¡°Zheng¡¯er, I understand that you want to save us, but you can¡¯t be the enemy of humankind because of that, you can¡¯t... Zheng¡¯er, you are the pride of our Northern Mountain Vige!¡±

    ¡°Dad!! I can¡¯t watch Mom and you die like this. No matter what, I must save you two, trust me...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook and his eyes were wet with tears. The killing aura around his body radiated to the surroundings.

    ¡°Zhengzhi...¡±

    ¡°Good boy, what a good boy!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi, we are proud of you. No matter what your decision is, we will support you, even if your decision is wrong.¡±

    Witnessing this scene, every viger teared.

    ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t believe that you really agreed.¡± Yun Qingwu startedughing bitterly and there was a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

    ¡°I have already promised you. Now, let my Dad and Mom go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not know what went through Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind. He also did not need to know. He only knew that no matter what, he could not let Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian die.

    ¡°Brother Zhengzhi, are you really marrying her?¡± A tender voice that was extremely pure was heard.

    ¡°Little Radish, I will put you the future of the Northern Mountain Vige in your hands.¡± Clenched his teeth very tightly, Fang Zhengzhi nodded lightly.

    ¡°Hmm, rest assured, Brother Zhengzhi, I will. Even if I die, I will make sure I protect the Northern Mountain Vige well!¡± Little Radish nodded seriously.

    ¡°I believe in Little Radish.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was also very serious. After finishing his sentence, he looked at Yun Qingwu once again. ¡°Let my parents and the rest of the vigers go. I¡¯ll go with you to the Blood Shadow City and you can do whatever you want to me!¡±

    ¡°Young Empress, are you really going to marry this brat? Is he even worth marrying?¡± The woman named Lin Ji standing behind Yun Qingwu could not hold in her words anymore.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Yun Qingwu asked back.

    ¡°In terms of looks... This brat is not ugly and has some speciality. However, he is not extremely handsome.¡± Lin Ji shook her head and took a sweeping nce at Fang Zhengzhi again before she continued, ¡°In terms of capabilities, he has potential and is talented, but he is not powerful enough.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think he is powerful enough?¡± Yun Qingwu asked again.

    ¡°Perhaps he is one of the most powerful in the Mortal State, but he is too weak aspared to us. I can even kill him with one hand.¡± Lin Ji said with affirmation.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to kill him with one hand,¡± said the man standing beside her.

    ¡°What do you mean, Lin Yu? Are you trying to dampen my aspirations and boost this brat¡¯s ego? Let me tell you, I have at least ten ways to kill him with one hand.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± The man named Lin Yu was not convinced at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe? Then let me prove it to you!¡± Lin Ji stood out while one of her hand got quickly covered with ck scales.

    Witnessing this, Yun Qingwu frowned again and took a look at Lin Ji with an unhappy expression.

    After seeing Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression, Lin Ji stuck out her tongue and stood behind Yun Qingwu again without any intent to go against her.

    The man named Lin Yu smiled and looked carefully at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°I think that although this brat may not be powerful enough at the moment, if he followed me, looking at the current state of the world... I believe that he would be a powerful individual in less than five years¡¯ time.¡±

 Chapter 909 - Black and White, A New World!

    <h4>Chapter 909: ck and White, A New World!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Five years? With Young Empress¡¯s ns, we only need two years before the humankind lose their ability to defend, why do we need to wait for five years for this brat?¡± The woman named Lin Ji said.

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s right, we don¡¯t need to wait for five years.¡± This time round, Lin Yu did not refute Lin Ji and nodded his head slightly. Then, he turned to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Of course, with this brat¡¯s personality, he would not be genuinelypliant even if he went to Blood Shadow City.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Young Empress, do you really think this brat is worth marrying?¡± Lin Ji understood what Lin Yu meant and looked at Yun Qingwu again.

    ¡°He used to be!¡± Yun Qingwu affirmed.

    ¡°Used to? How long ago?¡± Lin Ji asked again.

    ¡°Just now... 15 minutes ago,¡± Yun Qingwu spoke again.

    ¡°Young Empress, you mean that he is no longer worth marrying now?¡±

    ¡°I am not sure about that. Maybe he is, maybe not.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and seemed to be pondering over something.

    Just as she was conversing with Lin Ji and Lin Yu, Fang Houde suddenly bent to the ground and a sharp knife appeared in his hand.

    It was the knife that had dropped to the ground when he was fighting against the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race.

    This was an unexpected and sudden scene. The vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige were shocked and stared at Fang Houde.

    After grabbing the sharp knife, Fang Houde did not attack Yun Qingwu like how the vigers had expected. Instead, he returned to Qin Xuelian¡¯s side.

    ¡°Dad, what are you doing?!¡± Fang Houde¡¯s body shook. He did not bother about what Yun Qingwu and Lin Ji would do to him because he only had one intention: to rescue Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, Dad and Mom can¡¯t be a burden to you. Forgive me... I have to do this!¡± After Fang Houde spoke, without hesitation, he stabbed Qin Xuelian¡¯s chest with the knife in his hand.

    Bam!

    Fang Houde rolled to the side and dropped his knife on the ground. Meanwhile, a figure gradually appeared at the position he was standing at previously.

    It was none other than Lin Ji.

    ¡°Hey, trying to kill your wife beforemitting suicide? What a noble fatherly love. However, it¡¯s not so easy tomit suicide in front of me, hehe...¡± Lin Ji¡¯s body shook slightly ass sheughed. She looked at Fang Houde as if she was looking at an ant that could be fiddled with or killed anytime by her.

    ¡°Lin Ji!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s roar echoed throughout the entire Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°What happened? So fierce? I saved your parents, shouldn¡¯t you thank me for that? Don¡¯t shout at me like this, I am so scared...¡±

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, Dad is useless. I can¡¯t evenmit suicide...¡± Fang Houde gradually stood up from the ground. He took a nce at the knife on the ground and two streams of tears fell to the ground.

    Fang Houde, a man who was nearly fifty and had lived strong-willed for decades, a man who never shed a tear even when one of his arm was bitten off by the Blue Fire Wolf and was having the hardest time in his life, had his tears flowing like a fountain at this moment.

    He resented his incapability, he resented his weakness, he resented the fact that he had be a burden for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t die. Mom too. i can¡¯t live without you two, please, I am begging you!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook and he knelt down to the ground.

    Throughout his entire life, Fang Zhengzhi was someone who rarely knelt down to his knees, even when he met Emperor Lin Mubai.

    However, he knelt down at this moment.

    With both knees on the ground, his Traceless Sword was stabbed deeply into the ground and tears as red as blood welled up in his bloodshot eyes.

    Perhaps it was not tears but real blood.

    A man does not shed tears unless deeply hurt.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi not be resentful?

    He was extremely bright. He had clenched the Double Roll Champion continuously in the examination of the Law of Dao and made great achievements in the Battle of the Southern Region, making himself known in the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    However, now...

    He could not even protect his loved ones. How could he not be resentful?

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er... Don¡¯t kneel, you can¡¯t kneel. You are a man, how can you kneel like this?¡± Fang Houde¡¯s body trembled violently and gripped onto the soil and rocks on the ground with all his might, causing his nails to curl because of the immense strength. However, Fang Houde did not seem to feel any of this.

    ¡°Brother Zhengzhi, Uncle Fang, you two have to be brave and not be terrified by the viin! The book wrote that a gentleman must constantly strive to improve and stay strong. This was what Brother Zhengzhi taught me!¡± Little Radish¡¯s tender voice was heard and his ck eyes were glistening with determination.

    ¡°Little Radish...¡± Fang Houde sobbed.

    The vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige also sobbed. Their visions blurred with tears and soon began weeping.

    Yun Qingwu clenched her fist tight and turned over to look at the gradually darkening Cang Ling Mountain.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Now?¡± Lin Ji was clearly not satisfied yet but did not say much.

    ¡°Hmm, Fang Zhengzhi, I have decided to change my mind and I am not marrying you. Anyway, you do not have the right to choose, so you should not have anyins if I change my deal?¡± Yun Qingwu continued staring faraway and did not turn back.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists very tightly and did not speak.

    ¡°Do you still remember our bet on the Heaven Zen Mountain? For two years¡¯ time, you can live peacefully as an ordinary human and I won¡¯t disturb you. However, there¡¯s something I wish to remind you, if you want to protect your parents, you better don¡¯t leave the Northern Mountain Vige. After all, I may be back anytime.¡± After she finished her sentence, Yun Qingwu walked out of the vige.

    ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s right, Young Empress. How is this brat worth marrying?¡± Lin Jiughed as she heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lin Yu took a nce at Lin Ji and caught up with Yun Qingwu. He clearly did not have any intention to stay on longer.

    Witnessing this, the surrounding Demon soldiers kept their weapons and retreated from the Northern Mountain Vige in an orderly manner.

    Meanwhile, a few of the Demon soldiers helped the severely injured Vice Domain Chief up from the ground. After all, although his body had been prated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword, as a Demon who was of the Rebirth State, he did not die immediately. In fact, he would be able to recover after a period of recuperation.

    As Yun Qingwu and the Demon soldiers took their leave, the vigers got up and quickly surrounded Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

    At this moment, a shadow suddenly exploded up from the ground.

    A killer aura surged crazily like a wild whirlwind that shrouded the entire Northern Mountain Vige. It was extremely fast, as fast as a stream of light.

    Crack!

    The Vice Domain Chief that the Demon soldiers were carrying split into half. Then, his body exploded and the force caused the Demon soldiers to fall to the ground.

    A figure appeared at the center of the explosion. The blue robe was stained with blood under the night sky and a dragon-like sound came from the purple long sword.

    ¡°Fang... Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± All the Demon soldiers who saw this whipped out their weapons again with stern expressions.

    After all, nobody had expected that Fang Zhengzhi really dared to spring an attack in front of 10,000 Demon soldiers and two powerful individuals of the Godly State.

    Lin Yu frowned. A light radiance flowed past his body as he took a nce at the dead Vice Domain Chief and the figure who was shrouded by a killer aura.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu stopped.

    However, she did not turn back or speak. She only stopped for a while before she continued walking in the direction of the exit of the vige.

    The Demon soldiers looked at each other and did not know what to do.

    ¡°Are you guys waiting to be killed by staying here?¡± Lin Yu nced at Yun Qingwu and Fang Zhengzhi and the radiance on his body disappeared.

    ¡°Go, go now!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The Demon soldiers understood what Yun Qingwu meant. Without the protection of the two Godly State experts, the 10,000 of them were like the fish on the chopping board that was left to be ughtered. Fearing for their lives, the soldiers sprang towards the exit of the vige.

    Aspared to the orderly manner they were moving in earlier on, the speed that the Demon soldiers had retreated was several times faster. Almost immediately, they were all out of the vige.

    However, there was still one figure standing at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    It was none other than Lin Ji.

    ¡°Young Empress really cared for you. However, are you able to fully vent your anger on the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race only? If I recalled correctly, there were 23 corpses on the Cang Ling Mountain. It seems like... they are the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige? Hahaha...¡± said Lin Ji.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± With an extremely violent stance, Fang Zhengzhi moved and dashed towards Lin Ji with the Traceless Sword in his hand.

    ¡°Well, here again, you are infuriated again. I shall not keep youpany today. Hahaha, if you want to take revenge,e find me in the Blood Shadow City. It¡¯s very near, you just have to climb over this mountain. If you feel lonely tonight, you cane look for me too, I have many ways to keep you entertained!¡± Lin Ji smiles and vanished.

    Boom!

    A gigantic crack appeared on the ground. It was caused by a sword and extended from the entrance of the vige to the river outside the vige.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A howling roar which was emitted at the entrance of the vige echoed throughout the entire Northern Mountain Vige. The violent killer aura and anger turned into zing mes that burned the ground, causing cracking sounds to be made as though the ground was about to be set aze at any time.

    Meanwhile, two gigantic beasts appeared in the sky outside the vige. Both of themnded at the entrance of the vige with an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Shameless... Zheng, Zhengzhi what happened to you?!¡± Wu Yuer leaped down from the beasts with Chi Guyan in her arms. She took a look at the Northern Mountain Vige and her expression changed drastically. ¡°What happened to the vige? Who did this? Why did this happen? Where are the people who did this?¡±

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared again. Instead of replying Wu Yuer, he headed towards a corpse.

    Mister Mo Cheng.

    The Chief Mister of the College of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi asked Chi Guyan for Mister Mo Cheng, a famous Mister in the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands, he had been loyal to the Northern Mountain Vige and stayed there ever since.

    Yet now...

    Mister Mo Cheng had copsed and gave hisst nce to the vige. Now, even his body was unable to leave this ce.

    ¡°Sob sob sob...¡±

    ¡°Mister was a good man. Without him, the Northern Mountain Vige would not have possibly prospered. Mister had contributed a lot. Rest In Peace, Mister!¡±

    ¡°Mister Mo Cheng...¡±

    The vigers all began to cry after seeing Mister Mo Cheng¡¯s corpse. These vigers bidded farewell to Mister Mo Cheng with their kind hearts.

    However, Mister Mo Cheng could no longer hear them.

    ¡°Vige Chief, Vige Chief!¡±

    ¡°Wake up, Vige Chief. The evil demons had already left...¡±

    ¡°Old man, don¡¯t leave, don¡¯t leave me alone, old man!¡±

    Soon after, weeping sounds were heard in another ce. There was another corpse, the corpse of Vige Chief Zhang Yangping at that location.

    ¡°Auntie Wang, Vige Chief had already left, he had already left us.¡± The vigers, with faces of sorrow, tried to convince the woman who was hugging Vige Chief Zhang Yangping and refused to let go.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, knelt down to the ground and moved towards the corpse of Zhang Yangping gradually on his knees.

    From the Southern Mountain Vige to the Northern Mountain Vige, if Zhang Yangping had not given him assistance initially, Fang Zhengzhi would not have managed to get hold of the entire ¡°Law of Dao¡± so quickly and aplished so much within a short period of time.

    Although Zhang Yangping had his ulterior motives when he brought Fang Zhengzhi to the Northern Mountain Vige, for these ten years, he had genuinely cared for the Fang family.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knelt in front of Zhang Yangping and banged his head on the ground such that deep dents were formed and his forehead bled.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, get up quickly!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi, Auntie won¡¯t me you. The evil Demons were too powerful...¡± Auntie Wang sprawled beside Fang Zhengzhi and hugged him.

    Fang Houde walked to Fang Zhengzhi with Qin Xuelian and Little Radish, his tears still flowing non-stop.

    ¡°Brother Yangping, Houde thank you for your care in this ten years. Here I am to apologize!¡± Fang Houde knelt to his knees after he spoke.

    ¡°25 lives, 25 lives of the Northern Mountain Vige... Yun Qingwu, I will make sure you pay the price for this, a thousand and million times of the price!¡± Fang Zhengzhi inserted his hands into the soil and tears of blood started trickling down his face again while he let out a painful roar, ¡°Ah!!!¡±

    Anger, grievance, hatred.

    Fang Zhengzhi breathed heavily as he looked at Zhang Yangping who had his eyes shut.

    Then, gradually, his world became silent.

    That was because he could no longer hear the sound around him. He could only see the vigers screaming around him.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, Zhengzhi...¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    Voices were made around him but he could not hear them at all. Wu Yuer shook Fang Zhengzhi violently but he did not give any reactions.

    All he did was look quietly at Zhang Yangping and spat out a mouthful of thick blood. Then, his visionpletely changed instantly.

    If the fuming rage was not vented, it would result in the flow of blood towards the brain.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew about that. However, the world he saw was slightly odd. It was grey, or in other words, ck and white.

    Most importantly, the vigers around him were divided into two groups ¡ª one group was white and the other ck.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    He still could not hear what the vigers were saying. He only could see their mouths opened and shouting.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not overthink because the only thought in his mind was to take revenge for Mister Mo Cheng, Vige Chief Zhang Yangping and the 23 vigers on the Cang Ling Mountain.

    However, at this moment...

    Zhang Yangping, who always had his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. It was a pair of eyes that waspletely ck without any white parts.

 Chapter 910 - Change of the Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 910: Change of the Spirit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook.

    Nothing was scarier than witnessing the sudden opening of the eyes of a dead person.

    Although he did not see how Zhang Yangping was killed with his own eyes, the hole of blood on Zhang Yangping¡¯s throat was extremely obvious.

    Even a powerful individual of the Rebirth State would be severely injured after having their throat prated by a sword, what more for Zhang Yangping, an ordinary viger?

    How could he still be alive?

    A drop of cold sweat dripped from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. He suddenly felt chills behind his back, as though there were pairs of eyes staring at him.

    Then, an even more exaggerated scene took ce in front of him.

    After Zhang Yangping opened his eyes, he sat up quickly from the ground. Although there were blood stains on his throat, he smiled as though he was heartened.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, you are finally back?¡± Zhang Yangping¡¯s mouth opened and his voice was extremely clear, as though he was whispering right beside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not believe in ghosts. However, the scene in front of him stunned him as he stepped back out of fear.

    At this moment, he saw the vigers¡¯ shocked expressions as they continuously shouted beside his ears.

    Wu Yuer too.

    It was evident that Wu Yuer was very nervous. She shook him with one hand while uttering some words that he could not make out.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Zhengzhi, I am Uncle Yangping. Zhengzhi... Your Dad and I miss you, we miss you a lot...¡± Zhang Yangping¡¯s voice sounded again.

    Furthermore, as he spoke, Zhang Yangping started to crawl towards Fang Zhengzhi with his ck eyes like the abyss of hell.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook again and felt the chills behind his back. Meanwhile, he took a nce at the surrounding vigers.

    He could tell from the vigers¡¯ expressions that they were very concerned. However, what was strange was that none of them noticed that Zhang Yangping had woken up, or rather, nobody saw Zhang Yangping crawling towards him with his eyes opened.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, the evil demons came. They killed Li¡¯er and was about to kill all of the vigers in the Northern Mountain Vige. Zhengzhi, you have to take revenge for Li¡¯er, they killed Li¡¯er, my Li¡¯er... No, wait a minute, you can¡¯t take revenge. The evil demons are too powerful, you definitely can¡¯t take revenge.¡± Zhang Yangping crawled to the front of Fang Zhengzhi, ces one of his hand on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and talked to himself.

    This time round, Fang Zhengzhi did not dodge.

    That was because Zhang Yangping mentioned about the evil demons and his son Zhang Li, the current Deputy Captain of the Hunting Team of the Northern Mountain Vige, the chap with a muscr built.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes welled up in tears as memories shed past his mind. He remembered that he first met Zhang Yangping on the Cang Ling Mountain.

    He was only seven years old then and had just joined the Hunting Team of the Southern Mountain Vige. He was rivals with Zhang Yangping of the Northern Mountain Vige and fought with each other for the animals in the region surrounding the Cang Ling Mountain.

    However, their rtionship turned out to be simr to that of a father and son.

    Zhang Yangping had lent a helping hand to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s family when they were struggling. He gave them a new living environment and supported everything he did. He had invested all the savings of the Northern Mountain Vige on Fang Zhengzhi. The efforts he had put in to support Fang Zhengzhi was even more than what he did to his son Zhang Li.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, I¡¯m d that you are back. With your presence, the Northern Mountain Vige will be safe and sound and the evil demons will not dare to invade us anymore. Uncle Yangping can finally leave in peace.¡± Zhang Yangping held Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands tight and gave him a look of admiration.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping, do you know...¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Uncle Yangping knows, of course I do. Yes, I am already dead, I can¡¯t drink and dine with you and Houde anymore.¡±

    ¡°Uncle Yangping...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Zhengzhi. You are the pride of our entire vige. Without you, the Northern Mountain Vige would not have prospered and we would have probably all starved to death a few years ago. You must stay strong and live on, stay strong and live on for the Northern Mountain Vige!¡± At this point in time, Zhang Yangping looked into the sky before his body disappeared gradually as though he had ¡°dissolved¡± into thin air.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping, Uncle Yangping!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pounced forward and wanted to hold on to Zhang Yangping but to no avail.

    Then, a wave of intense pain surged from his heart like floodwaters that flowed into his brain.

    The world in front of him changed again. It was still ck and white but it feltpletely different like before, as though nothing had happened at all.

    Zhang Yangping was still lying on the ground like before with his eyes closed and un-dried blood stains on his throat, as though he had not moved at all.

    ¡°Uncle Yangping!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted again.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, Zhengzhi, what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi, can you hear Auntie? Zhengzhi, don¡¯t scare Auntie!¡±

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er... Zheng¡¯er what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    The vigers including Fang Houde and Wu Yuer were desperately yelling beside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears. However, he could neither hear or feel them.

    Moreover, the strangest thing was...

    He saw another shadow on the bodies of the vigers, Fang Houde and Wu Yuer. It was constantly present and had intertwined with their bodies.

    ¡°What is happening? What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart felt extremely heavy, as though there was a gigantic mountain rock pressing down on his chest that prevented him from breathing. He could feel his own breath but he could not hear the sound of it.

    Not only was he unable to hear the sound of his breath, but he was also unable to hear anything, including the wind, footsteps, rustling of the grass...

    All sounds disappeared.

    The only thing left in the world was an intertwined ck and white.

    Following that, Fang Zhengzhi felt that his entire body had be light, as though he was slowly floating up to the sky of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    In the sky, he looked at the vigers beneath. Suddenly, he felt that the vigers were crying and their cries seemed to originate from their spirits.

    Boom! A loud but neat sound was heard.

    A row of figures appeared at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige. The leader was a general with his whole body covered in a ck cloak and riding on a beast that was covered in scales.

    ¡°Vice Domain Chief, they seemed to have discovered our whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Little Radish will protect the vige and will never allow these viins to hurt Uncle Fang and Auntie Qin, Little Radish is brave...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The scenes kept changing as though the vigers¡¯ spirits were conveying the entire sequence of events to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No! Mister Mo Cheng, no!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop Mister Mo Cheng from being killed by the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race in front of his eyes, but he could not do so.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Uncle Yangping, Uncle Yangping don¡¯t go!¡±

    ¡°Ah, I will fight till my death with you evil demons!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, Yun Qingwu!!!¡± A violent rage surged from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart and he felt extremely painful, as though he was being burnt by intense mes.

    ¡°Ah!!! Yun Qingwu, I am going to take revenge!!!¡±

    Plop! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head dropped and all the images disappearedpletely. The world was no longer ck and white but instead turnedpletely ck without a trace of light.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi, Zhengzhi, what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, help, Zhengzhi fainted, he fainted!¡±

    The vigers started shouting as Fang Zhengzhi had copsed on the corpse of Zhang Yangping and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Hurry, get him into the room to rest, his anxiety must have attacked his heart!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, very careful...¡±

    ...

    Nighttime approached.

    The Northern Mountain Vige was not a busy town. On normal days, when night approached, there would not be too much light or movements as vigers tend to go to bed early in preparation for the next day¡¯s morning work.

    However, the Northern Mountain Vige was different today. Almost every family lit up their oilmp and nobody slept in early.

    Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in front of the Fang family in the small courtyard. Everyone stretched their necks and waited in anxiety.

    ¡°Why are there no updates?¡±

    ¡°When will Zhengzhi wake up?¡±

    ¡°Sigh... The Vige Chief has brought Zhengzhi¡¯s family to the Northern Mountain Vige. However, the first thing Zhengzhi saw when he returned was the corpse of the Vige Chief. How could he possibly cope with this sudden turn of events?¡±

    The vigers discussed quietly. Everyone was saddened but nobody dared to enter the small courtyard and disturb the Fang family.

    Meanwhile, in the small courtyard of the Fang family, Wu Yuer sat quietly beside the bed and watched Fang Zhengzhi with a face of anxiety and concern.

    ¡°Yu¡¯er, Auntie Qin has woken up.¡± Fang Houde¡¯s voice was heard. It was not loud but very clear.

    However, Wu Yuer continued to sit beside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bed, as though as she did not hear him.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, how¡¯s Zheng¡¯er?!¡± At this moment, Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice was heard and she rushed over.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s body shook and she finally turned towards the entrance of the house. She bit her lips as she saw the pale face of Qin Xuelian.

    ¡°Auntie, did Yun Qingwu bring the Demon soldiers over? Tell me, did she?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Qin Xuelian nodded.

    ¡°This despicable Yun Qingwu, despicable!¡± Wu Yuer gritted her teeth and her heart palpitated with anger as a chilling gaze shed in her ck eyes.

    ¡°Yu¡¯er, we won¡¯t be able to win. She is the Demon Young Lord. I only can hope for Zheng¡¯er to wake up quickly, my Zheng¡¯er...¡± Qin Xuelian walked to the bedside as she spoke, sobbing uncontrobly as she saw Fang Zhengzhi with his eyes shut.

    ¡°Xuelian, why are you crying again right after you woke up? I told you not toe in but you insisted to...¡± Fang Houde hugged Qin Xuelian in one hand, his eyes welled up with tears as he spoke.

    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t cry. As long as Zheng¡¯er is still alive, as long as our family has reunited. I won¡¯t cry, yes, I won¡¯t cry...¡±

    ¡°Yuer, you mentioned that one of your masters was proficient in medicine?¡± Fang Houde tapped Qin Xuelian¡¯s shoulder and turned to Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Hmm, I have already sent a letter to him, it should arrive in about a few days¡¯ time.¡± Wu Yuer nodded and took out a small jade bottle from her chest. ¡°Uncle Fang, I have a Nourishing Pill, do you happen to have hot water in the room?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes, I will get the hot water right away.¡± Fang Houde immediately nodded and looked at Qin Xuelian. ¡°Xuelian, go and rest in the room, please don¡¯t cry again.¡±

    ¡°Should I get the hot water?¡±

    ¡°No, you should rest. I will go!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ...

    The night passed quickly. The morning sun shone on the vige.

    At the entrance of the courtyard of the Fang family, the vigers were still waiting patiently. Although nobody went in to disturb, some vigers had brought porridge and breakfast over.

    ¡°Brother Fang, Sister Qin, I have brought some breakfast, please have some?¡±

    ¡°Thank you Sister Lee.¡± Fang Houde ran out of the house quickly. Although he had bad dark eye circles, he quickly epted the bamboo basket from thedy. Then, something struck him. ¡°How is Little Radish? Does he know that his parents...¡±

    ¡°Little Radish is with Sister Wang. Now that both Vige Chief and A Li had passed on, Sister Wang decided to adopt Little Radish as her grandson,¡± Thedy who was addressed as Sister Lee sighed.

    ¡°Hmm, that is the best n.¡± Fang Houde nodded and continued, ¡°I have to trouble Sister Lee with the funeral for Vige Chief. I will go over to help after I finish my breakfast with Xuelian. No matter what, we have to settle the funeral properly for Mister Mo Cheng and Vige Chief.¡±

    ¡°Everyone had already discussed about this. Now that both Vige Chief and A Li has passed on, we have to trouble Brother Fang to overlook the vige. We know that Zhengzhi is still in aa right now, and Princess is... However, our vige is in a mess right now, we...¡±

    ¡°Sister Lee, please stop. I understand. I am familiar with the things happening in the vige as after all, I have been managing the things with Brother Yangping all these years. Since the vigers trust me, I will definitely take on the job!¡± Towards the end of his sentence, Fang Houde looked into his house and sighed deeply.

    At this moment, a sound was heard from the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige. The ground shook and loud ¡®neigh¡¯ sounds of the horse was heard.

    Rumble!

    The rumble caused the expressions of Fang Houde and the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige to change. They looked at each other in horror.

    ¡°The evil... evil demons are back?!¡±

 Chapter 911 - Waking Up

    <h4>Chapter 911: Waking Up</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Neigh! Following the horse sounds, a troop of cavalry appeared at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Vige with solemn expressions on their faces.

    This was a troop of elite cavalry, and every cavalry had a blood-red triangle sign printed on their helmets.

    Red Pinion Squad, the private protection squad for the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands!

    ¡°It¡¯s the troops from the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands!¡±

    ¡°... The Lord... The Lord had came personally!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, My Lord!¡±

    After seeing the sign on the helmets of the cavalry, the vigers recognized it and fell to their knees.

    Meanwhile, Chi Hou, the Lord of the Divine Constabry, who was wearing an over-sized purple robe took a nce at the vigers and then the hanging white cloth in the vige. His expression changed slightly.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°My Lord, the evil demons came and killed our Vige Chief...¡± After hearing Chi Hou¡¯s words, the vigers began to sob.

    After all, to the vigers, the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands was the pir of support for the residents of the Northern Lands to defend against the Demon Race.

    ¡°Evil demons? You mean the Demon Race?¡± Chi Hou¡¯s expression changed and his gaze turned cold. ¡°Where¡¯s Yan¡¯er? Is she alright? Is she in the Northern Mountain Vige?¡±

    ¡°Yes, My Lord, Princess is in the house of the Fang family.¡±

    ¡°Quick, bring me over!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ...

    A troop of cavalry appeared at the entrance of the courtyard, causing the vigers to move aside.

    Chi Hou clearly could not pay too much attention to the vigers. He speed-walked to the courtyard of the Fang family, looking extremely worried.

    ¡°My Lord.¡± A voice was heard. Following that, Wu Yuer, who was wearing a ck muslin dress, appeared at the entrance of the house.

    ¡°Wu Yuer?¡± Chi Hou frowned and said, ¡°How is Yan¡¯er? I heard that Yan¡¯er had fainted and had not woken up ever since. Why isn¡¯t Yan¡¯er here to wee me, is something wrong? What about Fang Zhengzhi, where is he?¡±

    A chain of questions were shot from Chi Hou¡¯s mouth. Evidently, he was extremely anxious.

    After all, Chi Guyan was the hope and biggest pride of his life.

    ¡°My Lord shouldn¡¯t be here now.¡± Instead of answering Chi Hou¡¯s question, Wu Yuer blocked him at the doorsteps.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The journey from the Golden Scale City to the Northern Mountain Vige requires at least ten days. My Lord, you still haven¡¯t answered me, how did you manage to arrive in such a short time?¡± Wu Yuer continued to ask.

    ¡°Must I really answer your question?¡± Chi Hou frowned slightly.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Alright them, the news of Fang Zhengzhi arriving back in the Great Xia had spread throughout the entire Northern Lands. I have received a tip-off saying that Yan¡¯er had suffered severe injuries and is now unconscious, and Fang Zhengzhi would definitely rush back to the Northern Mountain Vige as soon as he could. Therefore, I have made my way to the Northern Mountain Vige ten days ago...¡±

    ¡°Where did My Lord get your tip-off from?¡± Wu Yuer broke off Chi Hou¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°This is a military secret. I have my own ways to get my tip-offs, you don¡¯t need to...¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Wu Yuer broke off Chi Hou¡¯s sentence again. Then, she frowned and looked at the sun that had just risen. ¡°Yun Qingwu... is indeed impressive!¡±

    ¡°What Yun Qingwu? What do you mean... Unless, you mean?!¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, a Demon troop that came from the Cang Ling Mountain appeared in the Northern Mountain Vige. If I am right, there are more than one troop sent out by the Demon Race. Do you understand what I mean?¡±

    ¡°You, you...¡± Chi Hou started perspiring and his body shook, causing his over-sized purple robe to be drenched in perspiration immediately.

    ¡°My Lord, please enter!¡±

    ¡°I... I am...¡±

    ¡°My Lord, think no further. The Golden Scale City would have been invaded by the time you head back. Now your concern should be how to beg mercy from the Emperor of Great Xia.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Hou moved his mouth and wanted to speak. However, no words came out.

    That was because he was certain that if Wu Yuer was right, the Golden Scale City would definitely be invaded and there was no hope.

    After all, his opponent was Yun Qingwu!

    Furthermore, this had been a n by Yun Qingwu long time ago. Against his opponents who were fully prepared, he would have lost without any doubt.

    ...

    Three dayster, the Heavenly Oasis Saint rushed to the Northern Mountain Vige and headed straight to the courtyard of the Fang family. After taking a look at the unconscious Fang Zhengzhi, he shook his head and did not speak.

    After another two days, the bodies of Vige Chief Zhang Yangping, Mister Mo Cheng and the 23 bodies found on the Cang Ling Mountain were buried together behind the Northern Mountain Vige.

    In this five days, Chi Guyan had stayed in the Northern Mountain Vige. He stayed in Chi Guyan¡¯s room and had never left the room.

    Time passed by quickly. Five days went past in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Re... Report! My Lord, the Golden Scale City is in... invaded!¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Chi Hou took a look at the sergeant kneeling at the entrance of the courtyard of the Fang family, shook his head and went back to the room.

    Chi Guyan lied silently on a bed that was lined with the skin of an animal with a calm expression on her pale face. However, her pace of breathing was still very slow.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, Father Lord have let you and His Majesty down. As a father, I could not protect you. As a military officer, I also did not manage to protect the people of the Golden Scale City. I am useless, useless...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    In the small courtyard, Wu Yuer, who was wearing a ck muslin dress, turned her head towards Chi Hou as she watered the flower.

    ¡°My Lord, are you heading to the me Capital City to ask for forgiveness?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I have to trouble you to take care of Yan¡¯er, I am immensely grateful!¡± Chi Hou was stunned for a moment before he nodded.

    ¡°My Lord, are you not intending to bring Chi Guyan along?¡±

    ¡°I am a sinner now. The trip to the me Capital City spells disaster for me, how can I possibly bring Yan¡¯er along?¡± Chi Hou looked deste.

    ¡°Hm, you are right.¡± Wu Yuer was not surprised. She put down the water scoop gently and said, ¡°So My Lord thinks that you can never see Chi Guyan again after this trip?¡±

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, I...¡±

    ¡°I have a suggestion, not sure if My Lord wants to hear it?¡±

    ¡°Please speak!¡±

    ¡°Although the Golden Scale City is invaded, the foundation of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands are still present. If My Lord is able to sent amand to reconquer the Golden Scale City, I am sure that the troops of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands would be able to reunite. In view of the current situation, if My Lord secure a powerful troop, how would the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands convict you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? You want me to betray the country?!¡±

    ¡°Haha, My Lord is an intelligent person, how would you be so foolish. My Lord should give it some thoughts and you will understand what I mean.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Hou kept silent and frowned. However, his eyes lit up quickly as he clenched his fist. ¡°You mean I could redeem myself?¡±

    ¡°My Lord is indeed brilliant. Apart from My Lord, who else would have a better understanding of the Northern Lands and be more suited to lead the troops of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands? I think My Lord understand what I mean, if you go to the me Capital City now, even if the Emperor of Great Xia did not want to kill you, he would be forced to convict you. The lightest sentence would be to put you in jail. By then, the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands would probably have be the territory of the Demon Race.¡±

    ¡°So you want me to gather the troops and recapture the Golden Scale City?¡±

    ¡°No, since Yun Qingwu had already sprung an attack at the Golden Scale City, it would be impossible for My Lord to recapture it in such a short duration. What I meant was for My Lord to endure this temporarily so as to preserve the capability of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands.¡± Wu Yuer shook her head.

    ¡°You want me to not do anything after seeing the suffering of the people in the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands? Impossible!¡± Chi Hou shook his head immediately.

    ¡°My Lord can think about it, do you want to secure the foundation of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands and wait for a ripe moment to attack, or make a sacrifice right now,¡± said Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Wu Yuer, you... Alright, tell me about your n!¡±

    ¡°Firstly, send a letter to the me Capital City to ask for a reward, stating that you have already used the Golden Scale City as a bait to control a troop of Demon soldiers, and ask the me Capital City to provide you with military help to control the situation!¡±

    ¡°I have lost the Golden Scale City, and you are asking me to send a letter to ask for a reward?!¡±

    ¡°Unless My Lord wants to ask for punishment? If so, I am pretty sure the order would be made immediately. By then, My Lord would have lost your position as the military officer and end up as a rebel army.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi Hou moved his lips and frowned, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white. However, soon after, he looked at Wu Yuer and said, ¡°Speak, what should I do after that?¡±

    ¡°After losing the Golden Scale City, anyone would know that the Imperial Court would not approve of your request. Moreover, with your letter, the officers of the Imperial Court would have known about your intention to rebel. If I am not wrong, some courtiers would be waiting to kill you.¡±

    ¡°Continue speaking!¡±

    ¡°By right, the Imperial Court would send soldiers over to repress your intentions. However, judging from the current situation, the Imperial Court would not even dare to punish My Lord because they have to consider about the troops in your control. They can¡¯t possibly force you to rebel!¡±

    ¡°Continue!¡±

    ¡°In order to appease My Lord, the Imperial Court can only agree to your request. Then, My Lord would still preserve your position as the military officer of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands and control the troops of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands. Although the Imperial Court would use all sorts of reasons to not send any soldiers and food over to you, you can make use of this to rest in the Northern Lands. Most importantly...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Chi Hou asked desperately.

    ¡°Do you think His Majesty is ipetent?¡±

    ¡°How dare you say that. His Majesty is wise and farsighted and had always been fair in his rewards and punishments. How could he be ipetent?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not right. My Lord had always been so loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty and you suddenlymitted such a rebellious sin. Do you really think that His Majesty would not notice that something is amiss?¡±

    ¡°This... I understand. No wonder the Shadow Sect Leader could be the First Sect in the Great Xia. I have indeed learnt a lot from you today, thank you!¡± Chi Hou bowed to Wu Yuer and dashed towards the entrance of the vige where the Red Pinion Squad were based at.

    Meanwhile, Wu Yuer turned over to look at Fang Zhengzhi, who was still lying on the bed, giving a dejected look in her eyes.

    She knew that Chi Hou had epted her suggestion. As the Shadow Sect Leader, she did not need to participate in the politics of the military of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However, she still did...

    That was because she knew that whatever happened next would determine whether the human poption could continue to survive on Earth.

    ¡°Shameless brat, I will prepare everything for you. You must quickly wake up, I¡¯ll be waiting!¡± Wu Yuer walked towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s bed slowly and took a nce at the back. Then, she kissed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips.

    It was a mere peck.

    However, Wu Yuer had blushed tremendously.

    ¡°Cough cough... Yuer, Zheng¡¯er had not woken up?¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s voice came from the door. It was not loud but extremely clear.

    ¡°Ah?! Ah... No, not yet...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ...

    A month¡¯s time past in a blink of an eye.

    It had been exactly two and a half month¡¯s time since the battle at the Heaven Zen Mountain. Peace had restored in the Northern Mountain Vige. What was different was that there was an elite Red Pinion Squad stationed around the Northern Mountain Vige, as well as arge group of sergeants of the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands hidden in the mountains.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan...

    They were still unconscious.

    ¡°It has been a month, one whole month, shameless brat, why aren¡¯t you awake yet? Do you know the entire world has changedpletely in this one month¡¯s time?¡± Wu Yuer had apanied beside Fang Zhengzhi for the entire month, she was really exhausted.

    However, she did not feel like resting because she was afraid that if Fang Zhengzhi woke up suddenly, he would not be able to see her in the first instant.

    However, she was really exhausted till the point that she could not open her eyes.

    ¡°Shameless brat... Zhengzhi, I will wait for you. I will wait for you to wake up. I have already prepared everything for you, I am just waiting for you to wake up...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The night fell and the bright moonlight shone in the courtyard through the windows andnded on Wu Yuer¡¯s back, throwing a silver cast on her body.

    Wu Yuer crouched at the bedside of Fang Zhengzhi with her eyes shut and breathing heavily. There was also undried tears at the corner of her eyes.

    Suddenly, the unconscious Fang Zhengzhi moved and his eyes opened wide.

 Chapter 912 - You May Hurt Your Balls If You Take Big Steps!

    <h4>Chapter 912: You May Hurt Your Balls If You Take Big Steps!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The silence was broken the moment Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes.

    Boom!

    A lightning bolt struck through the sky. It was a silvery-white lightning bolt that lit up the entire sky with its eye-catching radiance.

    ¡°Hmm? Is it going to rain?¡±

    ¡°Why did the lighting suddenly strike?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    A few of the vigers who had yet to fall asleep opened their eyes and pushed open the windows after hearing the sound of the thunder.

    However, after opening their windows, they realized that the sky was still dark and the stars were still shining. A storm did not look imminent at all.

    ¡°Could it be that we¡¯ve heard wrongly?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s thunder and lightning but no rain, what a weird weather!¡±

    ¡°It is bing hotter...¡±

    The vigers had hoped for rain due to hot weather. However, evidently, they were disappointed because it did not rain.

    However, in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s house, Fang Zhengzhi hadpletely opened his eyes. There was a Rebirth te that was spinning in his eyes. Blue, Green, Red, ck, the four colors appeared on the Rebirth te.

    The Four Rebirth Daos ¡ª Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao, Asura Dao and Hell Asura!

    At the instant when the Four Rebirth Daos appeared, a beam of silvery-white radiance appeared at the window of the courtyard and shone right into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    It was like the return of the dragon!

    Buzz! The sky and earth shook.

    There was an addition of a silvery-white symbol in the Rebirth te in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. It was an extremelyplicated symbol that consisted of moving cloud patterns.

    ¡°This is... my house?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around at the familiar furniture in his room and the Rebirth te in his eyes vanished.

    Meanwhile, at this moment, he heard a breathing sound beside his ear, apanied by a voice of annoyance.

    ¡°Who is it? How dare you knock the door and disturb my rest... I will kill you with my Sabre!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He looked at the figure that crouched beside his bed and the long waterfall-like hair on the shoulders, he felt slightly cold between his legs.

    He was about to wake Wu Yuer up with his hands but decided not to. Then, he turned his palms around and an azure blue radiance umted in his palms.

    Then, Wu Yuer appeared on the bed whereas Fang Zhengzhi was no longer on the bed.

    Heavenly Rebirth State, Shifting Forms.

    He gently ced the nket over Wu Yuer and walked out of the house slowly to the courtyard.

    It waste.

    The serene Northern Mountain Vige made Fang Zhengzhi stretch involuntarily and twist his bottoms before he found a spot to sit down.

    The ancient saying went, ¡®an impossible dream¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not aware of how long he had slept for, but he was certain that it was a long time.

    With a majestic and explosive inner power, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s focus changed and a vast ocean with five different colors appeared in front of him.

    That was his Small Dimension.

    In his Small Dimension, the sea had turned into a vast ocean. In the skies above the vast ocean, there was still a golden fruit floating in the center of the penta-coloured wonder flower.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, did Zheng¡¯er wake up?¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to conduct a closer inspection, a tiny voice was heard from the room.

    Then, a figure who had a cloth shirt over her shoulders appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi. She had a face ofnguish and the wrinkles on her face were the marks of old age.

    It looks gentle but it also showed an exceptional inner strength.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes welled up with tears.

    ¡°It¡¯s Zheng¡¯er, Zheng¡¯er, you are really awake?! Is Mom dreaming... My Zheng¡¯er, you are finally awake, you had slept for one month!¡±

    ¡°Mom, you are not dreaming, your Zheng¡¯er is really awake.¡± Fang Zhengzhi hugged Qin Xuelian as he spoke.

    The unsteadiness in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body suddenly calmed down as he felt the warmth from Qin Xuelian¡¯s hug. It was as though a peaceful ind appeared in the middle of the vast ocean.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, my Zheng¡¯er, this is great, this is great, my Zheng¡¯er is awake...¡± Qin Xuelian¡¯s eyes welled up in tears too. After a while, Qin Xuelian seemed to have remembered something. ¡°Zheng¡¯er, you must be hungry. Mom will go and make some food for you? Wait for me, you must be hungry after this long sleep...¡±

    Qin Xuelian did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to reply and dashed into the kitchen straightaway with an extremely delighted expression on her pale face.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m hungry, Mom.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not stop her. He was certain that if Qin Xuelian could discover that he was awake at this timing, it meant that she did not sleep at all.

    To Qin Xuelian, the greatest joy was none other than being able to prepare food for Fang Zhengzhi immediately after he woke up.

    Therefore, how could Fang Zhengzhi stop her?

    ¡°Mom, I want to eat egg noodles, with two eggs please!¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke as he looked at his Mom who was busy preparing in the kitchen.

    ¡°Okay okay okay, Mom will prepare it for you right away. Zhengzhi, you have fainted for an entire month, how are two eggs enough? The family is doing well now, we have dozens of Fire Plume Chickens in the mountain behind, and the vigers had given us many of your favorite food recently...¡± Qin Xuelian spoke as she washed the pot.

    ...

    When the first beam of sunlight shone in the morning, Wu Yuer woke up from her dreams and slowly opened her eyes. Her ck hair was slightly messy and she looked blur.

    However, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and began rubbing her eyes as she looked at the figure beside the bed.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s vision blurred instantly.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you are awake?! You really woke up!¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s face was full of disbelief but she still hopped out of bed involuntarily.

    ¡°Wa, why aren¡¯t you wearing your clothes?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at Wu Yuer who had hopped out of the bed and walked out of the room pouting.

    ¡°Ah... clothes?! My clothes... Eh? But I wore them?¡± Shocked, Wu Yuer blushed and covered her private parts with her hands immediately. However, she soon realized that unlike what Fang Zhengzhi said, she was wearing the silky long dress.

    Wu Yuer was stunned for a moment but reacted quickly with a sh of anger in her eyes. ¡°Shameless brat, how dare you lie to me!¡±

    Wu Yuer chased after Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she realized that Fang Zhengzhi was sitting in the courtyard, sipping on his morning tea while turning the Green-horned Antelope on the griller.

    ¡°Want to have some?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly as he pointed to the Green-horned Antelope and the bowls beside it.

    ¡°Yes, of course. I... I haven¡¯t eaten the meat grilled by you shameless brat in a long time. This time, I will make sure I eat my share!¡± Wu Yuer made a soft ¡®hmph¡¯ and sat beside Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi and her lips moved as though she was about to say something.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a great mood now, if you have any questions, just ask.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled extremely brightly as he saw Wu Yuer¡¯s expression.

    ¡°You... really don¡¯t feel the hatred anymore?¡± Wu Yuer asked cautiously.

    ¡°I feel it, how can I not feel the hatred?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied casually without giving much thoughts.

    ¡°But you still have the mood to grill meat? Shouldn¡¯t you be...¡±

    ¡°Then what do you want me to do? Stop eating and drinking? Or should I head to the Blood Shadow City alone and look for Yun Qingwu to take revenge?¡± Fang Zhengzhi used his knife to cut a piece of the meat as he spoke. Then, he sent the meat to Wu Yuer¡¯s mouth.

    Wu Yuer took a bite of the roast meat and chewed vigorously as her ck eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡±

    ¡°No otherments?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Fresh and juicy, melt-in-your-mouth, crispy and fragrant. Are thesements sufficient?¡± Wu Yuer smiled happily.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s quite sufficient. Eat more, tell me about what¡¯s the situation like outside after you finish eating.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and cut another piece of meat to put in his mouth.

    ¡°Situation? What do you n to do?¡± Wu Yuer was stunned. She looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a shocked expression. After all, from what she had remembered, Fang Zhengzhi was never concerned about the situation.

    In other words, situations had never came across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. He was only interested in earning money, enjoying life, and so on.

    Yet now, the first question Fang Zhengzhi had asked Wu Yuer was regarding the situation, it was no wonder that Wu Yuer was shocked.

    ¡°I have thought about it for a long time and analyzed some things. Would you care to listen?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wiped his mouth, poured a cup of tea and delivered it to Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Analyzing it for me?¡± Wu Yuer was shocked again because this was something that she had been doing in the past: putting together the tip-offs and then analyzing them to Fang Zhengzhi with great efforts.

    ¡°In your perception, what kind of Demon is Yun Qingwu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi fed Wu Yuer the tea and asked.

    ¡°Hmm... Wise and full of stratagems, an amazing strategist?¡± Wu Yuer swallowed the tea and blinked. She tried her best to cooperate with Fang Zhengzhi although she did not know what he wanted exactly.

    ¡°Besides that?¡±

    ¡°Pretty?¡±

    ¡°Let me rephrase my question. You mentioned that Yun Qingwu is wise and full of stratagems and an amazing strategist. Do you know how is she wise and full of stratagems, and how is she an amazing strategist?

    ¡°This... I know a little.¡±

    ¡°All this while I have always had a question. Why did Yun Qingwu take such a huge risk to infiltrate into the boundaries of Great Xia, and why did she go around busking?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it was to hide her identity and get tip-offs?¡±

    ¡°No, if it¡¯s merely to hide her identity, going around to busk is not the best choice. Furthermore, with her status in the Demon Race, she did not need to get tip-offs.¡±

    ¡°I think you are right, so what do you think is Yun Qingwu¡¯s purpose?¡±

    ¡°Looking for someone!¡±

    ¡°Looking for someone?!¡±

    ¡°Yes. She went around to busk in the regions of the Great Xia Dynasty in order to look for someone. Only with that kind of method and identity could she get into direct contact with the elites in the Great Xia Dynasty,¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and said with confidence.

    ¡°So, she found you?¡± Wu Yuer was taken aback when she heard this.

    ¡°Hmm, initially, she became slightly curious when I lifted her veil. The second encounter I had with Yun Qingwu was after I had passed the Province examination of the River of Trust Province. I revealed my capabilities and Yun Qingwu began to probe further. If I am correct, during the Imperial Examinations in the World of the Sage when I battled with the Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race Ying Shan, Yun Qingwu should be outside the me Capital City. She sacrificed the life of a Vice Domain Chief to probe into my capabilities?¡±

    ¡°By your logic, could it be that... the Court Examinations was also a probe?¡±

    ¡°I was not so sure before this, but now, I am at least 70 percent sure that the so called ¡°Battle of the Southern Region¡± was a plot by Yun Qingwu and she had made ns for two oues: winning and losing.

    ¡°ns for two oues?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If I won, I would have secured the Southern Region. If I did not, she would still achieve her goal of her probe. Thest probe she made should be the power struggle between the Crown Prince and King Duan.

    ¡°Are you referring to the battle in the me Capital City? So she nned for the appearance of Monster King Xieluo?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. With the powers of Monster King Xieluo, it was impossible for the Holy Barbarian Empire to control him. The only person who couldmand King Xieluo was Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°This...¡± Wu Yuer had her mouth agape as she heard this. She was immensely shocked as after all, this plot was terribly shocking.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi looked as though he was deep in thought and turned the Green-horned Antelope with his hand.

    ¡°The death of King Xieluo caused Yun Qingwu to make a decision. However, this was not the end. She did ast confirmation personally!¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to the incident in Northern Mountain Vige?¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Hmm. All these were to enable me to enter the Holy Region and disrupt the bnce in the Holy Region before I create an opportunity to open the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons!¡±

    ¡°She did it, she really did it. If all these are real, then Yun Qingwu is too intimidating!¡± Wu Yuer nodded her head slightly and clenched her teeth. ¡°So... What do we do now? Do we really sit and wait for our deaths?¡±

    ¡°Eat your meat.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand.

    ¡°Tell me first, after thinking about it for such a long time, you should have a n already?¡± Wu Yuer clearly would not stop talking so simply.

    ¡°Of course, the n is...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You may hurt your balls if you take big steps!¡±

    ¡°Balls? But Yun Qingwu... doesn¡¯t have balls?¡± Wu Yuer frowned in confusion.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze slightly and looked at Wu Yuer. He suddenly felt that the saying ¡®one is marked by thepany one keeps¡¯ was very urate. ¡°If she does not have balls, what would she hurt?¡±

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t have balls, she would hurt... Shameless brat, you are shameless!¡± Wu Yuer was about to continue talking until she suddenly realized and blushed in embarrassment.

 Chapter 913 - The Fifth Dao of Rebirth State â€” Do Something to Her

    <h4>Chapter 913: The Fifth Dao of Rebirth State ¡ª Do Something to Her</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat innocent. He was talking about a serious matter with Wu Yuer but it ended up like this.

    Was he really not suited to be too formal?

    Just as he was thinking about this, Wu Yuer approached him slowly with a face that was as red as a ripe apple.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t answered me, what¡¯s the meaning behind that sentence?¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s warm breath was felt on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°Which sentence?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked confused.

    ¡°The sentence ¡®You may hurt your balls if you take...¡¯¡± Wu Yuer stopped in the middle of her sentence and punched Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°You shameless, shameless!¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± The biggest misunderstanding in life was none other than being perceived by others that you knew everything even though you were genuinely confused. Moreover, getting punched by someone else because of that?

    What on earth?!

    ¡®Not everyone had a corrupted mind like you!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to say this to Wu Yuer but swallowed his words. After all, Wu Yuer had a kind nature.

    However, the people she came in contact with...

    Pooh!

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the images that shed across his mind. Then, he stood up gradually and looked up into the sun that had just risen in the sky. ¡°What do you think is the biggest weakness of the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡±

    ¡°Biggest weakness?¡± Wu Yuer stopped the motion of her fists, looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was in the sun and was deep in thought. ¡°Although the Monster Race and Demon Race had be allies, they are still of different races and there would definitely be friction between them, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded, then shook his head.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wu Yuer questioned.

    ¡°This is a problem. However, I believe that Yun Qingwu had predicted it and is probably still in the process of resolving this problem. When this problem strikes, the precondition would be that the battle between humankind and the two races have ended. In other words, the precondition for a conflict between the Monster Race and Demon Race is the end of resistance from humankind.¡±

    ¡°You are right. When they have amon enemy, even though there may be friction between individuals of the same race, they would still endure...¡± Wu Yuer nodded her head lightly as she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s exnation.

    ¡°In fact, the real weakness of the Monster Race and Demon Race is... Numbers!¡±

    ¡°Numbers?! You are right, both the Monster Race and Demon Race are limited in numbers, especially the Monster Race!¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Meanwhile, the humankind is exactly the opposite. Our weakness is on theck of individual power, but we stand an advantage in terms of the overall number,¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Wu Yuer nodded. However, she soon frowned again. ¡°But what does this do? On the battlefield, we could make use of our advantage in numbers, but with the current situation... no matter how strong our force is in terms of numbers, we still can¡¯t defend against the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not disagree.

    ¡°So... what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Tell me about the current situation first. It is difficult for you to understand and believe even if I exin now. However, I¡¯m sure you will understand me soon.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not continue exining. Instead, a silvery-white radiance shed across his eyes.

    ...

    After an hour, Fang Zhengzhi and Wu Yuer had finished half of the Green-horned Antelope on the griller. The remaining meat was sent by Fang Zhengzhi to Auntie Wang and Little Radish¡¯s home.

    Meanwhile, after Wu Yuer¡¯s detailed narration, Fang Zhengzhi had a rough understanding of what happened in the past month.

    The Golden Scale City was invaded by the Demon Race.

    The Southern Region had called for emergency assistance from the Great Xia Dynasty. After half a month, the Southern Region was probably invaded too.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too surprised by that.

    After all, with Yun Qingwu¡¯s capability, it was not difficult for her to aplish those. However, in this case, the Great Xia Dynasty was attacked from both the North and South.

    ¡°Golden Scale City... Based on my prediction, 90 percent of the people in Holy Barbarian Empire are Yun Qingwu¡¯s people. Perhaps the Holy Barbarian Empire was already in control by Yun Qingwu.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    ¡°Yes, the invasion of the Golden Scale City is equivalent to opening the North gate to the Holy Barbarian Empire, allowing them to invade Great Xia. Luckily, Chi Hou¡¯s right to mobilize the military had not been stripped, thereby still giving the Five Constabries of the Northern Lands the power to fight a battle. If not, the Holy Barbarian Empire would have already sprung an attack on the me Capital City.¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°You mentioned that the Xuanji Sect was probably controlled by the Monster Race and Demon Race, is this information urate?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not continue dwelling over the previous topic.

    ¡°This information was given to me by the person I nted in the Xuanji Sect. However, I cannot confirm the exact details right now!¡± Wu Yuer shook her head.

    ¡°The power of the Xuanji Sect covered throughout the entire War Pinnacle Empire and Radiant Moon Empire. Furthermore, almost 80 percent of the disciples are Nobles of the two empires. Once the Monster Race and Demon Race had gotten control of the Xuanji Sect, it was equivalent to having controlled the noble families in the War Pinnacle Empire and the Radiant Moon Empire. ¡±

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s right!¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°The Holy Barbarian Empire and Great Xia Dynasty are involved in the Golden Scale City while the War Pinnacle Empire and the Radiant Moon Empire are involved in the Xuanji Sect. Yun Qingwu is indeed powerful. How about the situation over in the Holy Region?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked after taking a sip of tea from his teacup.

    ¡°Master had visited once while you were unconscious. He left after noticing that you had no signs of waking up and is now heading towards the Holy Region. ording to the information from the Holy Region, the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley and Yin Yang Hall havee to an agreement for Yin Yang Hall to take over the leadership and gather the various sects at a ce called the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯ outside the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Yin Yang Hall?¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist.

    ¡°Hmm, this oue was inevitable. After the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley had all lost. Only Yan Xiu who was representing the Yin Yang Hall won. Therefore, Dao Xin proposed for Yin Yang Hall to take over the leadership while the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley had no reason to oppose,¡± exined Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Yan Xiu...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up to the sun that had almost risen to the middle of the sky, a figure shed past his mind.

    Someone who was cold and did not talk much!

    However, he always stood beside Fang Zhengzhi. They had stuck together through thick and thin but was separated in two different locations now.

    ¡°You miss him?¡± Wu Yuer asked.

    ¡°Hmm, what a pity that he can no longer remember me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and sighed.

    ¡°You two are friends, even though Yan Xiu no longer remembers you, the fact that you two are still friends will never change, right?¡± Wu Yuer asked back.

    ¡°Haha, yes, best friends!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded vigorously, grabbed a random tree branch and strted doodling on the ground.

    Meanwhile, Wu Yuer used her hand to support her chin and watched attentively at what Fang Zhengzhi was drawing.

    ¡°Based on what you had said, four ancient powerful individuals had appeared in the Monster Race and Demon Race. However, they did not directly attack the people who had gathered at the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯. Instead, they spread out their forces and took over four different positions respectively, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked while he doodled.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°What do you think of the four positions?¡± Fang Zhengzhi made a few dots on the map on the ground, showing the four positions.

    ¡°I have sent someone to investigate on these locations and found that they are the centers responsible for the changes in the world. Except for the Heaven Dao Pavilion, these four locations should have the most treasures!¡± Wu Yuer replied.

    ¡°Can you be more promising?¡±

    ¡°Are you scolding me?¡±

    ¡°No, I am praising you. It does match your character for you to know the four locations with the most treasures.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly annoyed.

    ¡°Why do I feel that you are scolding me?¡± Wu Yuer pouted slightly and was clearly unhappy.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu had spent so much efforts and time to bring Lin Ji and Lin Yu to the Blood Shadow City. What do you think is her motive?¡± Instead of answering Wu Yuer¡¯s question, Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°She was afraid that we will spring a sneak attack at the Blood Shadow City?¡±

    ¡°The Blood Shadow City is the city of the Demon Race, even if she was afraid of us springing a sneak attack, one Godly State expert was sufficient, why did she need both?¡±

    ¡°This... Could there be something wrong?¡±

    ¡°There are many beasts in the Southern Region. If I am right, there are two reasons as to why Yun Qingwu was so determined to take over the Southern Region. One would be to demolish the barrier of the Southern Region that had trapped the Demon Race, another would be that she needed more beasts, and she had to depend on Lin Ji from the Monster Race in other to obtain these beasts!¡±

    ¡°I understand now. However, I still cannot figure out why she needs twoGodly State experts. Moreover, what is the rtionship between this and the four positions each of the powerful individuals had upied?¡± Wu Yuer was confused.

    ¡°There is definitely a rtionship,¡± affirmed Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he used the tree branch to create another dot on the map on the ground. ¡°The Southern Region was a vastnd rich in resources. Not only was it close to the Great Xia, they both had a region beside the Holy Region. The region is here, take a close look, how is it linked to the four positions?¡±

    ¡°Linking them...¡± Wu Yuer looked towards the position where Fang Zhengzhi had ced his tree branch, then at the other four positions. Suddenly, her expression changed. ¡°Five Elements?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Five Elements! If I am right, the next step after Yun Qingwu had taken over the Southern Region would be to station Lin Ji at this position!¡±

    ¡°This... If it is really as such, then... then it¡¯s the end for humankind. The Four Great Empires were tied down and the Holy Region was surrounded by the Five Element Formation. If this continues, there¡¯s no hope for us to survive. No... This can¡¯t be it, Master is still in the Holy Region... he is...¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s faced turned pale as she spoke.

    ¡°Rest asssured, I think that Old man Heavenly Oasis Saint would be unharmed for at least a year.¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw away the tree branch and cleaned off the dirt on his hands.

    ¡°A year?! How are you so certain?¡±

    ¡°The Five Element Formation is still in the early stages of development, furthermore, the Four Great Empires still had the ability to fight, hence Yun Qingwu would not rush to attack.¡±

    ¡°Then what would she do?¡±

    ¡°This is like ying chess, after securing a few crucial points, the next step was naturally to expand the battlefield. As time passes, the Demon soldiers would gradually move to the Holy Region and the beasts controlled by the Monster Race would start to take shape. Furthermore, there would be an increasing number of Godly State experts descending from the Gate of God. Yun Qingwu would wait till then before she attacks!¡±

    ¡°You mean she wants to gradually perfect her plot?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she wants to perfect the plot of the Four Great Empires then the Five Element Formation in the Holy Region, step by step, forcing humankind to our despair.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she directly attack humankind? There are more than half of the poption of the Holy Region on the Ling Xiao Mountain, she could totally just capture everyone and did not need to use her n?¡±

    ¡°No, you are wrong, she can¡¯t capture everyone!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t capture everyone? I... don¡¯t really understand.¡± Wu Yuer was confused. After all, she thought that the Monster Race and Demon Race were almost certain to win the battle. By springing an attack at humankind, the humankind would definitely lose.

    ¡°You forgot? The biggest weakness of the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡±

    ¡°Numbers?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why did you think Yun Qingwu let the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley and Yin Yang Hall off at the Heaven Zen Mountain?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°... I am not sure.¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you a question. If you only could move one hand, how would you grab this huge pile of sand at one go, without the use of your Origin Energy?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said, he pointed to the mini sand dune outside the courtyard that was used to build a house.

    ¡°One hand? How is that possible?¡± Wu Yuer shook her head quickly.

    ¡°The method is to mix water and soil with the sand, then solidify it to form cement!¡±

    ¡°Cement?¡± Although Wu Yuer was not sure what ¡®cement¡¯ was Fang Zhengzhi referring to, she roughly understood what he implied. ¡°You mean, Yun Qingwu did it on purpose?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there are way too many humans. The Holy Region alone had more than 100 Sages, once these Sages separated as they ran for their lives and hid at secluded areas, how long do you think it will take for Yun Qingwu topletely kill all these Sages?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°Finding all the Sages who had been separated and kill them one by one... This is impossible. Even though the Sages could not win the Godly State experts, once they chose to hide... I understand now, the reason why Yun Qingwu had released the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley and Yin Yang Hall was to allow the powerful humans to gather?!¡± Wu Yuer finally understood towards the end of her sentence.

    ¡°Humankind needs a leader. Yun Qingwu also hopes that humankind has a leader. Only with that, she can kill off all the powerful humans at one go. However... it is not enough now. Dao Xin is not foolish enough to fight with the Monster Race and Demon Race without any tactics. Therefore, it would be too risky for Yun Qingwu to attempt to kill off all the powerful humans with only five or six Godly State experts.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Then what should we do now?¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu is waiting. We can wait too. That is because as she is waiting, she is also giving us time,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°However, you said that Yun Qingwu would only attack humans after a year. Do you mean we have to wait for a year too?¡± Wu Yuer was slightly reluctant.

    ¡°One year¡¯s time passes by very quickly, but...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped speaking towards the end of his sentence and looked once again at the Cang Ling Mountain with an extremely bright silvery-white radiance in his eyes.

    It felt extremely strange.

    As though there was another pair of eyes in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes!

    Wu Yuer did not notice the radiance in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. She took a look at the direction of his gaze and asked impatiently, ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But... I want to do something to her first!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly. It was a smile that all men understood.

 Chapter 914 - Something Starts From You!

    <h4>Chapter 914: Something Starts From You!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Wu Yuer was evidently stunned and her face flushed in embarrassment although she did not know what exactly did Fang Zhengzhi mean with the so called ¡®something¡¯.

    However, the smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was the smile of ultimate shamelessness.

    ¡°Is Qing Yi almost recovered from her injuries?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining to Wu Yuer and continued speaking after he thought for a moment.

    ¡°What? You are not even letting Qing Yi off?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave Wu Yuer a look of despise. What kind of nonsense is going on in her mind, why could she not interpret what he said in a pure and innocent manner?

    ...

    Qing Yi was eventually brought over by Wu Yuer.

    After her identity was exposed, Qing Yi never behaved like an ordinary viger but still wore the same ck shirt and ck bamboo hat.

    ¡°Master, you are looking for me?¡± Qing Yi stopped three steps away from Fang Zhengzhi and bowed respectfully.

    ¡°How¡¯s your injuries?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at Qing Yi before pointing to the chair beside him, signaling to her that she could talk while sitting down.

    However, Qing Yi did not have any intention of sitting down. She nodded slightly and lifted up a corner of her shirt and took a close look.

    ¡°My injuries are more or less healed. Thank you for your concern, Master!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze as he took a look at the corner of the shirt that was covered again and he shook his head. ¡°Qing Yi, do you know why I left you in the Northern Mountain Vige?¡±

    ¡°Qing Yi did not do her part in protecting the vige, please punish me, Master!¡± Qing Yi fell to her knees and groveled.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. However, he did not me her because he was aware that Qing Yi had grown up in the Shadow Sect.

    The rtionship between a Master and servant was deeply ingrained in her mind as she was brought up as a Sword Attendant and taught to think like one. It was impossible for her to change her perceptions.

    ¡°Get up, I am not talking about this issue. I was asking you... do you know why I left you behind in the Northern Mountain... Cough cough, this sounds the same. Forget it, I will say it directly. One of my intentions for leaving you behind in the Northern Mountain Vige was for you to take care of my parents. However, why did I choose you, out of everyone else, to take on this role? Do you understand what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Qing Yi understands, it¡¯s because I am loyal!¡±

    ¡°Alright, except for this, there¡¯s another reason that has got to do with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that he could no longer continue asking questions and had to speak more straight to the point.

    ¡°Got to do with me? Please advise, Master.¡±

    ¡°Very simple. I think your training has reached a bottleneck. It is verymendable for you to be able to focus on practicing your sword skills without being distracted. It is alsomendable that your skills are sharp enough. However...¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly blushed as he looked at Qing Yi who was standing humbly in front of him. ¡°Alright, I am actually not an expert in training. I just wanted to give you a suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Please advise, Master.¡± Qing Yi knelt down again humbly.

    ¡°Cough cough, it is perhaps not an advice, but I feel that your skills are a little too sharp. You only know how to attack but not so much of how to defend. The ancient saying goes, ¡®be like the water as you may suffer if you are too brutal¡¯, do you... understand what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master wants Qing Yi to be more gentle like the water?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°May I ask Master how should I do that?¡±

    ¡°Sigh... You can understand what I mean but you can¡¯t do it. In fact, I have ced you in the Northern Mountain Vige for you to understand this.¡±

    ¡°Qing Yi is stupid, sorry to disappoint you, Master.¡±

    ¡°No, in fact I had not even be a Sage at that time, hence I did not actually fully understand this idea too. Forget it, help me do something.¡±

    ¡°Please instruct, Master!¡±

    ¡°Try to chat with the vigers and help them with their farmwork.¡± Fang Zhengzhi touched his forehead. He could not even chat casually with Qing Yi at all.

    That was because Qing Yi felt that the most important thing was to obey instructions. Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi could only convey his words in the form of an order.

    ¡°Yes, I will do so right away!¡± Qing Yi did not ask any questions and turned to leave right away.

    After Qing Yi had disappeared, Wu Yuer peered into the courtyard with an odd expression.

    F¡±Did you just call Qing Yi over to tell her to chat and help the vigers with their farmwork?¡± Wu Yuer was confused. After all, it was slightly inappropriate for a Sword Attendant to do such things, or rather, it was wasting her capabilities.

    ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you hear all of that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You must have had some plots. Be honest, are you fond of Qing Yi? If so, just admit and I can make Qing Yi yours tonight. Hold on, are you going to marry Qing Yi off to someone from the Northern Mountain Vige? Then I will not be willing to...¡±

    Wu Yuer mumbled to herself while Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes gradually and leaned against the back of his chairfortably,pletely ignoring Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Hey, shameless brat, reply me!¡±

    ¡°You will understand it soon.¡± Fang Zhengzhi casually replied without opening in his eyes. However, he was looking at another world in his eyes.

    The world was exactly the same as the Northern Mountain Vige, except that it was in ck and white.

    ...

    In the world of ck and white, Qing Yi greeted a viger and carefully asked if she could help with the moving of farming equipments.

    Of course, the viger rejected with fear.

    ¡°Miss Qing Yi, you have such a high status, how can you be doing such dirty and tiring work? Miss Qing Yi, I am begging you, please don¡¯t do this to me.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qing Yi stopped and looked slightly unnatural. However, she did not give up and continued to look for vigers who were busy with their farmwork.

    After asking each family and chatting with them, Qing Yi finally returned to the courtyard.

    Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes, the silvery-white radiance disappeared in a sh and he smiled involuntarily.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you really fond of Qing Yi? Are you blind to not notice such a beautifuldy in front of you?¡± Wu Yuer looked at Qing Yi who was standing at the door, then at Fang Zhengzhi with an extremely confused expression.

    ¡°Are you rejected by the vigers?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Wu Yuer and sat upright as he looked at Qing Yi.

    ¡°Please forgive me, Master, I...¡±

    ¡°Try again with another method.¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Qing Yi¡¯s sentence and pointed in the east direction. ¡°Uncle Lee is cutting wood now. Try to praise his cutting skills before asking him to teach you. Then, help him finish his work with the skills he taught you.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Qing Yi nodded again and headed to the east without any questions or doubts.

    Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes lit up. She took a look at Qing Yi then at the smiling Fang Zhengzhi and seemed to be deep in thought.

    After a moment, Wu Yuer jumped up as though something brilliant had struck her.

    ¡°You are teaching Qing Yi? Am I right?!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi rolled his eyes. However, after seeing Wu Yuer¡¯s face of anticipation, he replied, ¡°You are extremely brilliant!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, finally stating a fact.¡± Wu Yuer smiled brightly and then looked towards the east direction as her body shook suddenly. ¡°Eh? How did you know that Uncle Lee is cutting wood now? You didn¡¯t even leave this ce?¡±

    ¡°If I said that I have two pairs of eyes, would you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled again as he looked at Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Believe, no way!¡± Wu Yuer replied Fang Zhengzhi with a look of disdain and mumbled again, ¡°You must have discussed this with Uncle Lee long ago, right?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi did not reply Wu Yuer. He gave her a middle finger and leaned back with his eyes closed.

    ...

    A day passed by quickly, followed by two days, three days, four days...

    Qing Yi kept asking the vigers to teach her the skills needed to do farmwork with the method that Fang Zhengzhi had taught her and managed to gradually merge with the vigers.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Miss Qing Yi was not only capable but also humble and willing to learn.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, not only willing to learn but also very smart. I only taught her once and the vegetable she grew were even better than mine!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, what a fantastic girl. I always thought she was quiet and unwilling to socialize, now that she had suddenly became outspoken, it seemed like she had be a different person.¡±

    Themotion went on throughout the entire Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°Be a different person?¡± As she listened to the discussion at the corner of the wall, Qing Yi was deep in thought. ¡± ¡®Be like the water as you may suffer if you are too brutal¡¯... I, I think I understand now!¡±

    ¡°You finally understand it? Brutal is Yang and Gentleness is Yin. Things can always be done with an different method. Simr to sword skills, although being fast is important, sometimes, it may be good to slow down too. When you slow down, you can put in more thoughts when you strike and naturally, make more changes to your moves.¡± A figure appeared behind Qing Yi.

    Qing Yi¡¯s body shook and she fell to her knees and kowtowed to the figure. ¡°Qing Yi thank Master for the advice!¡±

    ¡°No need to thank me. By helping you, I am helping myself too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and helped Qing Yi up.

    In fact, he had been thinking a lot for a while, such as what Yun Qingwu had been doing in the past few years and had chatted with Wu Yuer regarding all that.

    However, there was one issue that he did not talk about.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s power did not only stem from her plots but rather her extraordinary ability to control and lead. A single spark can start a prairie fire. If Yun Qingwu was given ten soldiers, she could make use of them to conquer an entire vige, then turn the numbers into 100, then 1000, 10,000 and even 100,000.

    ¡°The power of an individual is only limited to the individual. Yun Qingwu, out battle begins now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the Blood Shadow City in the Cang Ling Mountain, as though there was another world over there.

    After a while, a silvery-white radiance shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and he smiled. ¡°Got it, I shall start from you!¡±

    ...

    After half a month, the autumn wind blew and the smoke signal was activated.

    The Southern Region was in a terrible state. A month ago, the central Sagely Mountain City was invaded,and Yun Qingwu used the name of the Shan Family Settlement to order the Nan Ling Settlement and Iron Hill Settlement to return to the Sagely Mountain City to provide support.

    Although the Settlement Chiefs of the Nan Ling Settlement and Iron Hill Settlement felt that something was amiss, how could they not do anything when the Sagely Mountain City sent an emergency order like this?

    The oue was obvious. Before the troops of the Nan Ling Settlement and the Iron Hill Settlement had reached the bottom of the Sagely Mountain City, the tens of thousands of elite Demon soldiers had attacked from the Blood Shadow City and defeated the two cities.

    Currently, three out of four of the settlements, Yan Ya, Shi Zun, Icy Monkey, and Thunderous Lion Settlement, was defeated. Only the Thunderous Lion Settlement was left defending themselves.

    ¡°My Lord, the Southern Region had been invaded, for the future of the Southern Region and the bloodline of the Shan Family... please leave!¡± The other Three Settlement Chiefs that had lost knelt on the walls of the Thunderous Lion Settlement, each of them was covered in blood and one of them had both of his arms severed.

    ¡°Escape? Where to?¡± Shan Yu, who was wearing a long dress made out of animal skin, looked at the Demon troops who were closing up towards thest mile in a state of daze.

    It was evident that Shan Yu was extremely exhausted. Although her skin was covered with dust, she did not bother about it.

    That was because just as what the three other Settlement Chiefs had said, the Southern Region could no longer defend against the attack of the Demon race.

 Chapter 915 - Beat Me on My Beautiful Face

    <h4>Chapter 915: Beat Me on My Beautiful Face</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In half a month¡¯s time, the Southern Region had ended up in this state. The tens of thousands of soldiers were down to less than 50,000, the previous King of the Southern Region had died in the battle of the Sagely Mountain City, three out of the six Settlement Chief had died while the remaining three were severely injured. Only one out of the seven cities were left uninvaded.

    How could Shan Yu escape?

    Where could she escape to?

    ¡°To the me Capital City. Although the Great Xia did not send troops, My Lord is still the King of Great Xia, how could the Great Xia sit back and not do anything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness, please start moving now, we will protect you with our lives on the route!¡±

    ¡°Please move now, Your Highness!¡±

    The three Settlement Chief¡¯s hearts were bleeding as they looked at Shan Yu¡¯s expression. Nevertheless, they gritted their teeth and continued begging her after exchanging zed with one another.

    ¡°Great Xia?¡± Shan Yu took a nce at the three Settlement Chief and the surrounding soldiers who were covered in blood, and clenched her fist slowly.

    In fact, she had already sent a letter to ask for support to the me Capital City a month ago, however, till date, the Great Xia Dynasty has yet to send over any soldiers.

    Shan Yu knew that it was not because of Great Xia¡¯s unwillingness, but rather because the unstable situation in Great Xia did not allow them to have the ability to send soldiers over to assist the Southern Region.

    As for the royal bloodline that the three Settlement Chiefs mentioned about...

    How would there be any royal bloodline if the Southern Region was gone?

    ¡°No, I will not leave!¡± Shan Yu shook her head.

    ¡°Your Highness, it will really be toote if you don¡¯t leave now. The Demon soldiers are reaching soon, by then, the Southern Region would really be doomed!¡±

    ¡°Please leave now, Your Highness, while the Demon soldiers are still a mile away, we can protect you and help you make your way to the me Capital City.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, please take into consideration of the plight of the Southern Region, Your Highness!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs understood the aspiration of Shan Yu. In over a year¡¯s time, under the rule of Shan Yu, the Southern Region had experienced a rare state of peace and prosperity.

    After importing the ntation technology of the Great Xia Dynasty, the people of the Southern Region finally had a stable harvest and could fill their stomachs with the food they nted, and they no longer need to go out to hunt for food.

    The people of the Southern Region also had smiles on their faces...

    This was what Shan Yu had aplished in the timespan of a year. She opened up the Southern Region, made use of the advantages of the outside world and epted the tradition and culture of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    However...

    Things did not go as nned. A Great War destroyed the aplishment of the Southern Region and everything was caused by a Monster named Lin Ji.

    One and a half month ago, Lin Ji arrived at the Southern Region.

    She stood at the front of the pce with her own capabilities. From that moment, the Southern Region realized that there was someone who was powerful enough to fight against 10,000 by herself.

    Of course, Lin Ji was not powerful enough to kill the entire Southern Region on her own. After all, there were way too many soldiers in the Southern Region. Even if they had stood in front of Lin Ji and waited for her to kill them, she probably had to spend a year¡¯s time to do so.

    However, Lin Ji brought up a term.

    Offering, a first-ss offering.

    Shan Yu agreed because she had no other choices. The only thing she could do was to bring Lin Ji into the pce and order others to serve her.

    However, that was the start of a nightmare.

    Those who were sent to serve Lin Ji were killed if they did not get along well with her. Some of them died before even stepping into Lin Ji¡¯s room.

    It took a mere three to five days before the pce ended up in state of mess.

    Nobody dared to serve Lin Ji, but Lin Ji would begin a massacre in the pce the moment she did not see anyone. In this situation, the pce was in a mess.

    Shan Yu knew that Lin Ji did this on purpose.

    However, she had no choice and could only bear with it. She also asked someone to help her send a SOS signal to the Great Xia Dynasty. However, at this moment, news of the enemy came from the Nan Ling Settlement of the Blood Shadow City.

    Both the internal and external security were being threatened.

    Shan Yu was on the verge of devastation.

    However, Lin Ji brought up the idea of taking over the troops of the Southern Region to defend against the Demon Race. She also forced Shan Yu to hand over the military power to her.

    Both Shan Yu and the previous King of the Southern Region could not have possibly agreed.

    However, Lin Ji was way too powerful. With a mere movement of her fingers, she could kill a powerful individual of the Rebirth state. How could the previous King of the Southern Region negotiate with her?

    The oue was obvious...

    The previous King of the Southern Region died in the battle in the pce. Lin Ji managed to obtain the stamp of the King of the Southern Region and sent a letter to ask for assistance to the Nan Ling Settlement and Iron Hill Settlement.

    Afterwards, the Sagely Mountain City, then the Nan Ling Settlement and Iron Hill Settlement were invaded.

    ¡°Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, please make a decision quickly!¡±

    The three Settlement Chief desperately pleaded Shan Yu.

    ¡°No, stop talking. I won¡¯t leave. There are only Kings who die in a battle, not Kings who escape from a battle!¡± Shan Yu clenched her fist and sounded extremely determined.

    After hearing this, the three Settlement Chiefs lowered their head and took a nce at each other. Then, the three of them clenched their teeth.

    ¡°My Lord, please forgive us for being disrespectful!¡±

    ¡°What... what do you guys want?! I won¡¯t leave, not over my dead body!¡± Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed drastically as the three Settlement Chiefs pounced on her.

    However, it was toote. The three Settlement Chiefs¡¯ energy and the close distance between them caused Shan Yu to have no time to react.

    ¡°No, let go of me, I am the King of the Southern Region! How dare you guys! Mmm mmm...¡± Shan Yu wanted to struggle but her mouth was covered by a piece of animal skin.

    ¡°Your Highness we have to send you away no matter what. Even if you don¡¯t agree, we have to do so. If you want us to die together with you, you can struggle as much as you want to attract the attention of the Demon soldiers!¡± After subduing Shan Yu, the three Settlement Chiefs fell on their knees again.

    Shan Yu froze as she stared at the three Settlement Chiefs kneeling in front of her. Then, she turned her head towards one side and stopped resisting.

    ¡°Send my orders, no matter what, defend for two hours before surrendering!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ...

    At the North Gate of the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    ¡°No Demon soldiers in sight!¡± A soft voice was heard.

    ¡°Alright, dash out, turn to the direction of the Qing Mountain then towards the Great Xia!¡± Another voice replied after a moment.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After the sentence, the city gate slowly opened and a group of ten, each covered in a thick ck animal skin, sprinted out of the gate.

    At night, the group of ten did not make too much noise. Especially since the Silver Horned Wolf they were riding on were extremely familiar with the mountain roads, they disappeared outside the city gate after a few leaps.

    The mountain breeze blew. The ten people were extremely fast, leaping and avoiding the main road, after an hour, the group of ten were a mile¡¯s distance away from the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    ¡°We are finally out.¡±

    ¡°Not yet, anything could happen if we haven¡¯t left the Southern Region. Hurry a little so we can reach the Qing Mountain before sunrise.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Before you leave the Southern Region, anything could happen.¡± At this moment, a voice was heard from the forest.

    Then, a figure walked out of the forest gradually. Each of her steps was extremely alluring and her waterfall-like hair was at her waist area.

    It was ady.

    A very youngdy that had a pair of alluring eyes and smile.

    Extremely beautiful.

    However, the group of ten stopped immediately with faces of horror the instant they saw thedy.

    ¡°Why, the Southern Region has already lost, why do you want to exterminate us!¡± The man who was leading the team sounded extremely angry.

    ¡°Haha, I thought you would ask me about why am I here.¡± Thedy smiled lightly and lifted her hair from her forehead with her fair fingers.

    ¡°Leave with Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Leave? Where do you think you all are leaving to?¡± Lin Ji blinked and pointed around them. ¡°To the East or the West, or to the South or the North? Oh... I forgot to say this, you guys have been surrounded, I don¡¯t think any direction works.¡±

    After she spoke, countless of fire torches appeared in the surroundings and thousands of Demon soldiers charged from the forest.

    The group of ten¡¯s faces turned extremely pale.

    They knew how powerful Lin Ji was. When Lin Ji appeared, they knew that the probability of them escaping was less than ten percent.

    But they overestimated the probability...

    Lin Ji did not even give them ten percent of chance of escaping.

    How could they possible escape after being surrounded by thousands of Demon soldiers?

    ¡°Lin Ji, we¡¯ll kill you!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs stood out together, flexing their muscles. Moreover, two of them had their backs covered with ck hair, making them look like two giant bears.

    ¡°Hahaha... kill? How to kill? Luckily Young Empress had predicted that you guys would flee. When I kill Shan Yu, the Thunderous Lion Settlement would naturally self-destruct without the need of my soldiers!¡± Lin Jiughed evil and moved her fingers. ¡°Kill them all!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡± Loud voices were heard as countless of arrows that were glistening with cold light shot down like raindrops at the group of ten.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    Screams of pain were heard as a few of the Southern Region soldiers were injured. However, despite that, they did not copse.

    ¡°Lin Ji!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs charged towards Lin Ji at a speed of lightning.

    Meanwhile, Lin Ji looked at the three Settlement Chiefs and gave a smile that looked as evil as a poisonous snake.

    ¡°I have no time to waste on this kind of nonsense.¡± After she spoke, Lin Ji vanished from her spot and appeared in the middle of the group of ten.

    Boom!

    The powerful airwave created a force that was so impactful that it caused the entire group to fly off. The aura that was like a knife filled the air and made sharp sounds.

    ¡°Oh, so the King is tied up? Why do this?¡± Lin Ji did not bother about the soldiers of the Southern Region who flew because of the impact. She held onto Shan Yu who was wrapped around a ck animal skin, stuck out her small tongue and gave him a lick at the corner of her lips.

    ¡°Mmm mmm...¡± Shan Yu wanted to talk but her mouth was sealed up by the animal skin and her hands were tied. She could not open her mouth nor move at all.

    ¡°If you had known it would end up like this, why did you act like that in the beginning? If you had agreed for me to lead the soldiers of the Southern Region, perhaps I could have helped you defend against the Demon soldiers, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Mmm!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, let me finish my sentence. As the king, you must be calm and patient, why are you so anxious?¡± Lin Ji shook her head gently as she looked at Shan Yu who had turned purple and continued, ¡°Look at how you forced me to join the Demon Race, now isn¡¯t the Southern Region doomed? Do you regret now?¡±

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Shan Yu clenched her fist tight and was fuming with rage. Her eyes gradually became pitch ck as though ck mes were burning in them.

    ¡°Hahaha, do you want to speak, what do you want to say before you die? What a pity but I do not want you to speak. Are you furious? Are you going to die with regrets?¡± Lin Ji continuedughing until her body swayed. ¡°I love to see how you are dying to speak although you can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, we have let you down!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs¡¯ eyes welled up in tears as they saw Shan Yu being held single-handedly by Lin Ji. They wanted to dash forward in anguish.

    However, the more anxious they were, the more arrows struck them.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The thousands of Demon soldiers roared and surrounded the three Settlement Chiefs. They attacked the three Settlement Chiefs with their sharp sabres.

    Shan Yu widened her eyes as she looked at the three Settlement Chiefs, two streams of tears fell from her eyes.

    ¡°You are crying? Hmm.. you do have the right to cry as a weak person, I can¡¯t stop you from that. How about you kowtow to me three times, I may consider giving you a chance to have somest words with them. What do you think? Want to beg me?¡± As Lin Ji spoke, she gave Shan Yu a punch and threw her on the floor with so much strength that the stones flew.

    ¡°Oh? You really knelt down to beg me?¡± Lin Ji covered her mouth with one hand andughed wildly as she looked at Shan Yu who was thrown onto the ground in a kneeling position. ¡°However, I won¡¯t agree. I will never agree. So what? Do you hate me? Do you hate me very much? Come on, if you hate me,e and beat me up, beat me up with all your strength, on my face, on my beautiful face, beat me up with all your strength!¡±

    Bam!

    Lin Ji¡¯s body was sent flying and her ¡®beautiful face¡¯ instantly became deformed.

 Chapter 916 - The Legendary â€œGodâ€ Arrived!

    <h4>Chapter 916: The Legendary ¡°God¡± Arrived!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A saying went, ¡®you will not die if you do not seek death¡¯.

    Nobody knew if Lin Ji was going to die, but it was certain it was a heavy blow from the distortion on Lin Ji¡¯s face.

    Crack! Lin Ji¡¯s bodynded on a gigantic tree. The powerful collision force broke the tree trunk.

    This happened in a second. It was so sudden that none of the 10,000 surrounding Demon soldiers could react.

    As for Lin Ji...

    After she broke the tree trunk, she fell on one of her knees, one of her broken teeth fell out from her mouth and blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

    ¡°She¡¯s wounded?!¡±

    ¡°The ancient powerful Monster God is wounded?!¡±

    ¡°Who... Who did that?!¡±

    The Demon soldiers were stunned because Lin Ji was a legendary powerful Monster God.

    How could she possibly be wounded like this?

    The Demon soldiers were extremely stunned.

    Apart from them, Lin Ji was also stunned when she saw her broken tooth on the ground and could not believe her eyes.

    As a powerful Monster who had went through the ancient battlefield, she was used to the notion that injuries were inevitable.

    However, as a female Monster God, a Monster God who was extremely proud of her looks and confidence, how could she tolerate the fact that one of her teeth fell out from her neat row of white teeth?

    Anger, rage!

    ¡°Who is that!!¡± Lin Ji roared angrily and a powerful aura exuded from her body as though there were sharp knives flying around her.

    However, nobody responded to her.

    That was because there was a figure beside Shan Yu who was wrapped in ck shirt. The figure was untying the ropes around Shan Yu¡¯s hand while removing the animal skin in her mouth.

    ¡°Who... are you?¡± Shan Yu asked the same question as Lin Ji the moment the animal skin was removed from her mouth.

    However, Shan Yu did not wait for the figure to reply her, because one of the Settlement Chief had fell to his knees.

    ¡°Yan Ya!¡± Shan Yu was mad. However, she felt helpless because she knew that she was no match for Lin Ji and the 10,000 Demon soldiers in front of her.

    However, she was the Queen of the Southern Region, the Queen of Yan Ya, how could she possibly sit back and watch?

    Therefore, she dashed forward when Yan Ya copsed to the ground without answering the figure in fron of her.

    However, at this moment, a hand pressed on her shoulder. It was not too forceful but the force that was like a mountain made Shan Yu unable to move.

    ¡°Release me, I want to save Yan Ya!¡±

    ¡°Can you save him?¡± The figure spoke as a dim radiance shed past his eyes. It was peaceful butplicated.

    ¡°I can¡¯t sit back and...¡±

    Before Shan Yu couldplete her sentence, the hand that was pressing on her shoulders slid down to her waist.

    Shan Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    However, she reacted quickly as a pair of vengeful eyes appeared in front of her the moment the hand slid down to her waist.

    Lin Ji attacked.

    She did not wait for a reply from the figure. The moment when the figure saved Shan Yu, she had sprung a sneak attack from the back with an incredible speed.

    It was a form of consciousness.

    A form of consciousness that one could get only after experiencing the cruel battlefield. She did not have to bother about greetings and even if her opponent is not as powerful as her, she attacked with the most straightforward method.

    However, Lin Ji¡¯s sneak attack was doomed to fail.

    The instant she dashed behind the figure, the figure had carried Shan Yu up and rolled towards the front.

    ¡°Hmph, go and die!¡± Lin Ji would definitely not let them off so easily. She chased after the figure without any hesitation.

    She was sufficiently confident as after all, there were nobody who was of the Godly State apart from the ancient powerful individuals who came from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons.

    Therefore, why would she not chase after the figure?

    However, an extremely odd sensation surged from her heart the instant she gave chase, as though as there was a pair of eyes staring at her from behind.

    It was an instantaneous instinct.

    In other words, it originated from the experience of a powerful individual. She knew from her experience that there were more than one person who came to rescue Shan Yu.

    ¡°Then I shall kill the one in front of me first!¡± Lin Ji clenched her teeth and sped up, pouncing on the figure in front of her.

    Then...

    Her eyes widened.

    It was because as the figure rolled on the ground, it lifted a leg and kicked towards her face.

    Was it a coincidence?

    Or an ident?

    Lin Ji was unsure but she was certain that the kick was very sudden and decisive, as though as the figure could see every single move she had made.

    ¡°F*ck...¡±

    Bam!

    Lin Ji¡¯s body froze. Before she could finish cursing, the pain on her face stopped her frompleting her sentence.

    Then... There was no ¡®then¡¯...

    That was because she was sent flying backwards. However, she forcefully twisted her body such that she flew towards the side instead of directly to the back.

    Boom! A rock broke.

    Lin Ji¡¯s head fell heavily on a rock such that it was broken into pieces and left a dusty white mark on her head.

    Instead of kneeling on the ground, Lin Ji stood up after she fell and took a look at the spot that was directly behind her original position.

    ¡°Nobody?! How is that possible!¡± Lin Ji was really shocked because she clearly felt a pair of eyes staring at the back of her head.

    How could there be nobody?

    She would not have been distracted and not notice the kick that was directed to her face if not for the strange feeling she felt.

    However, now...

    Nothing could be done.

    The 10,000 Demon soldiers widened their eyes in utter disbelief, staring at the figure who was holding onto Shan Yu¡¯s waist with one hand as though he was a monster.

    The silvery-white moon shone in the night sky.

    A dim light fell on the figure, giving off an eerie feeling together with the face that was wrapped around with a ck cloth which had a huge ¡°God¡± word written on it.

    God was a word that symbolized superiority and gave a mysterious and ancient feeling.

    Of course, it represented the peak of power too.

    However, after the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons had been opened, the experts who had arrived in the world called themselves the ¡°God¡± and was known to be of the Godly State.

    Now, the word ¡°God¡± seemed to have a new meaning.

    ¡°God?!¡±

    ¡°Is this guy another ancient powerful individual?¡±

    ¡°Is he a Demon or a Monster?¡±

    The Demon soldiers were stunned because although they were unsure if another Godly State expert had arrived, they were certain that the figure in front of them was extremely powerful and perhaps, even more powerful than Lin Ji.

    ¡°God? You... you are?¡± Lin Ji had not seen the figure from the front and hence had not noticed the ck cloth around his face. Therefore, she sprang a sneak attack without any hesitation after she was punched.

    However, after seeing the word ¡°God¡± on the figure¡¯s face...

    She had to suppress her burning anger before she confirmed his identity.

    That was Yun Qingwu¡¯smand.

    No internal conflicts amongst the experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race should be tolerated.

    ¡°I have never heard of such ridiculous request before, forcing me to punch you on your beautiful face. As though that was not enough, you moved your face over after my punch and let me kick it. Sigh... Are you trying to self-harm?¡± The figure spoke and shook his head as he took a nce at the footprint on Lin Ji¡¯s face.

    ¡°Nonsense, tell me your name. Are you a Monster or a Demon?¡± Lin Ji¡¯s face turned ck. Although she obeyed Yun Qingwu¡¯s orders and did not continue with an internal conflict, that did not mean that she was afraid of the guy who had a ¡°God¡± word on his face. After all, she was a Godly State expert too.

    As she spoke, she tried to recall who in the ancient battlefield had the same outfit.

    However...

    Even after going through almost the entire list, she could not remember who would be so extra to stitch the word ¡°God¡± on their ck cloth.

    ¡°Want to know my name? Come, beg me, kowtow to me three times before shouting ¡®I¡¯m begging you¡¯. Perhaps I will tell you my name if I feel like it.¡± The figure spoke again and looked at Lin Ji with disdain.

    ¡°Kneel down and kowtow to him thrice...¡±

    ¡°Beg him?¡±

    The surrounding Demon soldiers gave an odd expression when they heard the figure speak as those are the exact words that Lin Ji had told Shan Yu.

    ¡°You... are you a Demon or a Monster? Why did you save me?¡± Shan Yu¡¯s state of mind was clearly different from the Demon soldiers. As the Queen of the Southern Region, she had her own train of thoughts.

    The masked person that rescued her was indeed powerful.

    However, just like what Lin Ji mentioned, how could such a powerful individual belong to this world? It was almost certain that he was either a Demon or a Monster.

    Or maybe...

    Lin Ji was putting on an act with the masked figure.

    Although Shan Yu did not know what were the motives of Lin Ji and the masked individual, this was not impossible judging from Yun Qingwu¡¯s cunning plots.

    ¡°Shut up if you want to live.¡± The figure took a nce at Shan Yu who was about to struggle and a few spots of radiance that looked like ck silk appeared on his hand.

    Almost instantly, the radiance that looked like ck silk entered Shan Yu¡¯s body, causing her to be unable to move.

    This was a sudden turn in event.

    Shan Yu paled significantly and stared at the ¡°God¡± word that was sewn onto the ck cloth.

    As for Lin Ji...

    The change in event made her somewhat surprised. However, this caused her to loosen her grip slightly.

    ¡°Have you met the Young Empress?¡±

    ¡°What... Young Empress? Who is the Young Empress?¡± The figure blinked and looked shocked. Then he looked at Lin Ji with disdain. ¡°You became a ve?¡±

    ¡°Very good! Let me ask you for the final time, who on earth are you? Monster or Demon?¡± Lin Ji breathed heavily and was significantly angered.

    ¡°Woah, you are angry? I love to see how you can¡¯t attack me despite being angry, do you refuse to ept this? If so,e at me,e hit my face that has the ¡°God¡± word written on it!¡± The figureughed in disdain and swayed slightly.

    ¡°You are digging your own grave!¡± Lin Ji exploded. She had suppressed her anger because she wanted to rify the identity of the figure in front of her. However, that did not mean that she was a Monster that anyone could take advantage of.

    To put it frankly, as a Monster who had survived the ancient battlefield, participated in the natural disaster and had survived until now, she was definitely not weak.

    Without any hesitation...

    Lin Ji clenched her fists and ayer of ck scales covered her body. On each scale was a different Cloud Pattern.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The figure extended on of his hand and waved it at Lin Ji, looking as though he had no intention to attack.

    ¡°You have thest chance to speak!¡± Lin Ji narrowed her eyes. She retreated her feet after taking a step out.

    ¡°By your looks... you must be a woman? Oh oh oh, no no, you are a Monster so I can¡¯t call you a woman, the correct term should be a female animal, am I right?¡± The figure sneered.

    ¡°I will kill you!¡± Lin Ji dashed towards the figure without any hesitation.

    The moment when she dashed forward, the scales on her body shook and became upright as though her body was covered with sharp thorns.

    ¡°Hahaha... this is right. If you are able to attack then do so. Since I have already destroyed your ¡®beautiful face¡¯, isn¡¯t it stupid for you to ask me who I am?¡± The figureughed loudly. Along with the ck cloth that had the word ¡°God¡± sewn on it, he looked extremely eerie.

 Chapter 917 - Now You Know My Name

    <h4>Chapter 917: Now You Know My Name</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Ji was really mad.

    After being punched and kicked on the face by a random individual who appeared out of nowhere, she was insulted and sneered at. No matter how good her state of mind was or how much she wanted to go along with her initial ns, she could no longer follow the rule to not have an internal conflict with another Godly State expert.

    After all, she was a superior Godly State expert.

    If she was not moved and convinced by Yun Qingwu¡¯s ideology, how could she possibly obey Yun Qingwu given her powers?

    ¡°The Young Empress¡¯ n was to eliminate the Southern Region and I am the person who was supposed to carry it out. If I killed this person before his identity was known, even if Young Empress found out afterwards, she shouldn¡¯t me me for it, right?¡± Lin Ji had made her decision and therefore would no longer show mercy. She punched the figure with all her might.

    Meanwhile, the two Settlement Chiefs who were surrounded by the Demon soldiers watched withplicated emotions.

    Save Shan Yu?

    It was impossible given their capabilities.

    However, who exactly was the figure in front of them, why did he choose to save Shan Yu and why was he tying down Shan Yu again were questions that had not been answered.

    As long as there were unknowns, there would be way too many turn in events.

    The two Settlement Chiefs wanted to save Shan Yu but they knew that given their capabilities, they could barely escape the surround by the Demon soldiers.

    What should they do?

    ¡°Kill all of the soldiers of the Southern Region!¡± While they were hesitating, an extremely chilling voice echoed through the night sky.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Demon soldiers raised their weapons again and started attacking the two Settlement Chiefs.

    ¡°Fight!¡± The two Settlement Chiefs looked at each other. They felt helpless because they knew that Lin Ji made themand.

    This cold-blooded Monsterdy!

    The Monsterdy who killed the past King of the Southern Region with her own hands in the Sagely Mountain City!

    Furthermore...

    They were too weak to stop Lin Ji and protect Shan Yu. They probably could not evenst till the end of the battle.

    However, they never gave up. That was the spirit of the Southern Region, as long as they are still alive and breathing, they would never surrender.

    The sounds of battle were heard.

    The battle between the two Settlement Chiefs and the Demon soldiers began again.

    On the other hand, Shan Yu¡¯s eyes welled up in tears as she looked at Yan Ya who had copsed on the ground and the two other Settlement Chiefs who were surrounded by Demon soldiers. Her heart was bleeding and she wanted to dash forward to save the remaining three Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region, but the powerful ck silk threads that had permeated into her body was too strong and restricted her movements.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Shan Yu roared. There were bright red mes in her ck eyes.

    As the Queen of the Southern Region, she could not bear to see the Southern Region fall in her own hands and the Settlement Chiefs die in front of her own eyes.

    This type of agony...

    Was even more intense than dying.

    The intense agony caused her entire body to tremble as she clenched her fist tightly until her knuckles cracked.

    It was an involuntary action.

    However, when she did it, she was shocked.

    ¡°Hmm?! I... can move?!¡± As this thought shed across Shan Yu¡¯s mind, she took a step forward.

    Then, she began to move.

    As a meteor that was aze, she charged towards the three Settlement Chiefs with an incredible speed.

    She was too fast.

    So fast that Shan Yu was stunned.

    At the instant when she charged forward, the power of the ck silk surged from her body and solidified to form a ck Heart Protection Mirror on her chest.

    Boom! A loud sound exploded behind Shan Yu¡¯s back. It was certain that Lin Ji had began a fight with the figure.

    However, this was no longer important to Shan Yu now because the Heart Protection Mirror that had formed gave her a sense of empowerment and safety...

    As though someone was protecting her beside her, there was warmth in her heart.

    ¡°Who... on earth is he?!¡± Shan Yu did not look back and continued charging towards the front while two ck daggers shed past her hands.

    ¡°Yan Ya, you have to hold on!¡±

    Swoosh!

    The two ck daggers began to spin amongst the Demon soldiers, making loud sounds for every spin, slicing apart weapons and severing heads.

    ...

    Lin Ji¡¯s emotions could not be described by words.

    It was neither because of Shan Yu¡¯s sudden breakthrough nor her strange but explosive battle tactic. It was because she felt that her train of thoughts were seen through by someone else when her fist collided with that of the figure¡¯s.

    It felt extremely clear.

    As though as there was a pair of eyes staring from her back.

    This was the second time Lin Ji felt this way. During the first time, she thought there was someone behind her and got distracted, causing her to neglect the foot that kicked her face.

    This time, Lin Ji would definitely not be distracted. However, she felt extremely ufortable as though she was fighting against more than one person.

    ¡°Have you heard of a legend?¡± The figure floated to a position that was five steps away from Lin Ji. He stretched out one of his hand while the other was ced behind his back.

    ¡°Rubbish!¡± Lin Ji charged forward again and refused to listen to the figure. However, she could still feel the immense powers of the figure after the collision with him. It was a terrifying strength that felt like the vast ocean, it terrified her a little.

    Who on earth was he?

    Who exactly was this guy who was masked with a ck cloth with the word ¡°God¡± sewn on it?

    Lin Ji ran through her memory quickly, not because she wanted to identify the figure in front of her, but she needed to know his capability to win. After all, every Godly State expert had an unique skill.

    For example, the Space-splitting Demon God was able to temporarily leave the current space and enter another space with the fastest speed possible.

    As for Lin Yu who was also a Demon...

    He had a different skill from the Space-splitting Demon God.

    With different skills, their battle tactic would naturally be different. Lin Ji had to understand the tactic of the figure in front of her.

    ¡°You really never heard of the legend?¡± The voice of the figure was heard again. It sounded slightly disappointed.

    Boom!

    Lin Ji¡¯s fist collided with the figure¡¯s fist again. The oue was obvious, with an absolute advantage, Lin Ji¡¯s punch caused the figure¡¯s body to fly.

    However, despite this oue, Lin Ji frowned because she felt the strange sensation again.

    Most importantly...

    The figure in front of her did not have any intention to fight head-on with her. It felt as though he was trying to tease with her.

    ¡°You have been to the Blood Shadow City, so you should know that there is a sword mark in the Blood Shadow City. Do you not want to know how it came about?¡± The figure continued to speak.

    ¡°Hmph, of course I know.¡± Lin Ji snorted coldly. The legend that the figure was talking about was too childish and absurd.

    Although the incident that created the sword mark happened after she was trapped in the gxy, everyone in the Blood Shadow City knew about the origin of it.

    Lin Ji, ady of the Monster Race who was born to be a busybody, definitely knew about it.

    Yet the guy in front of him was trying to fool around with her using the legend of the sword mark in the Blood Shadow City, how absurd!

    Wait a minute!

    How did he know about the incident of me entering the Blood Shadow City and the sword mark in the Blood Shadow City?

    Unless he was not an ancient Godly State expert who descended from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons?

    Just as Lin Ji was about to ask the figure how did he know about it, the figure had already moved.

    Instead of retreating, he attacked.

    After continuously retreating twice, the figure charged towards her with a tree branch in his hand.

    ¡°Tree branch?!¡± Lin Ji widened her eyes. As a Godly State expert, she ought to have the right to be arrogant and look down on her opponents.

    However, what kind of experience was it for her to witness her opponent charge towards her with a tree branch that was casually obtained from a tree?

    Nobody knew. However, Lin Ji¡¯s face was extremely ck. It was not because of the scales, it was genuinely ck.

    ¡°Some legends are not real!¡± The figure spoke again before he vanished.

    At the next moment, the figure appeared at another position.

    At a position which was extremely near to Lin Ji.

    More specifically, at a position that was less than one feet away, right in front of Lin Ji.

    ¡°Die!!!¡± Lin Ji was somewhat stunned because the figure¡¯s speed was so fast that it was close to the speed of teleportation. However, being experienced in the ancient battlefield, she did not panic in such situations.

    Moreover, she was a Monster.

    Why would she be worried about a heart injury?

    Following an explosive sound, the ck scales on Lin Ji¡¯s body grew explosively, pricking in all directions around her body like sharp thorns.

    Closebat!

    The forte of the Monster race!

    Lin Ji has been waiting for a chance to have a closebat with the figure. However, she was worried because the figure did not have that intention initially.

    However, she was not too surprised by his actions.

    After all...

    Nobody would be foolish enough to have a closebat with a Monster.

    However, everything that happened afterward seemed to exin something. Her opponent knew too much for an individual who had justnded in this world. Therefore, she could not help but was confused.

    Yet now, her confusion seemed to be exined.

    How would Lin Ji not be surprised by the fact that her opponent chose to closebat?

    Crack! The tree branch that was aimed at Lin Ji¡¯s heart was broken by her ck scales and turned into wood dust.

    Lin Ji smiled.

    There were no loopholes in her defense tactic. Every single part of her body was covered in scales and every scale was her sharpest weapon.

    Tree branch?

    Prate her body?

    Rather than calling it a daydream, it would be more suitable to call it a joke.

    Lin Jiughed in disdain but herughter did notst long. That was because a hand came towards her face the instant her scales started pricking outwards.

    pping the face?!

    Lin Ji wanted to ask the opponent, do you have a f*cking problem? Why choose to p ady¡¯s face out of all ces? How shameless was that?

    As ady, Lin Ji was overly concerned with her appearance, hence she did not cover her face with scales.

    That had be the only w on her body.

    However as the saying went, ¡®do not do things more than three times¡¯.

    How could Lin Ji allow such things to happen again?

    This time, she would not allow the hand to touch her beautiful face. Although the hand was extremely fast and she did not have the time to cover her face with scales, she could dodge.

    By taking a small step backward, she had sufficient time.

    Lin Ji dodged.

    She dodged without any hesitation.

    However, the instant when she took a step back and covered her face with the scales, a sharp sensation was felt on her forehead.

    Buzz! It was the ¡®finger sword attack¡¯, where the finger was used as a sword. It was not a superior move as almost every single Sage could do it.

    However the finger sword attack caused Lin Ji to tremble violently as her entire face froze and her eyes widened as though her entire body was no longer hers.

    ¡°Now, I will tell you my name. My surname is Meng and my name is Tian!¡± A gentle voice was clearly heard in the night sky.

 Chapter 918 - The Echoes of A Gun

    <h4>Chapter 918: The Echoes of A Gun</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Surname is Meng and name is Tian.¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    If there was a name in the world that was unforgettable for the entire Demon race, it was none other than Meng Tian, the Sagely Battle God.

    On his own, he managed to chase after Demon Emperor Si Kong in the Blood Shadow City and killed him in front of the tens of thousands of Demon soldiers while standing in the sky.

    Even now...

    There was still a sword mark left in the Blood Shadow City.

    This memory was fresh as new in every single Demon¡¯s mind. They remembered how they were insulted and the hatred they felt. However, they were extremely fearful of the Sagely Battle God.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°He is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God... did not die? He is still alive?!¡±

    The Demon soldiers were stunned. A name alone was able to send a chill down the 10,000 Demon soldiers¡¯ spines.

    ¡°He is Meng Tian?!¡± Shan Yu, who was in the midst of fighting against the Demon soldiers, stopped moving and looked in disbelief.

    As the Queen of the Southern Region, the vassal state of the Great Xia Dynasty, how could she have not heard of the legend where the Sagely Battle God split the Blood Shadow City apart?

    After all, the Sagely Battle God was someone who stood at the peak of the world.

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Meng Tian did not die?!¡± The two Settlement Chief looked at each other and saw each other¡¯s shock.

    Meanwhile, there was chaos amongst the Demon soldiers. The Demon soldiers began retreating involuntarily with their eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡°Monster Deity, he is Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible? How is Sagely Battle God Meng Tian not dead?!¡±

    The Demon soldiers shouted in disbelief. However, the powers shown by the figure forced them to believe it.

    That was because only Meng Tian whose powers were previously at the peak of the world could possibly beat Lin Ji in such a manner.

    The Demon soldiers were astonished. They wished that they could tell Lin Ji how powerful the figure in front of her was, but Lin Ji acted like she did not hear anything.

    Then, a dull sound was heard.

    Bam! Lin Ji¡¯s body flew and made a parabolic path across the sky before she heavilynded on the ground.

    It was a punch.

    A punch made by the figure.

    Of course, it was made on Lin Ji¡¯s face. After all, all the other parts of her body were covered with spikes from her scales.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon soldiers watched with their mouths agape as they fell silent. This was the third time Lin Ji was sent flying by the figure standing in front of her, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    ¡°Sigh... really weak.¡± The figure began speaking and scanned around at the 10,000 over Demon soldiers.

    The Demon soldiers¡¯ trembled in fear as they tried to avoid the gaze of Meng Tian.

    Meng Tianughed.

    Heughed in joy and disdain. Theughter echoed through the night sky and hit the Demon soldiers like a whip.

    ¡°Hahaha... Hahaha...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Just as the figure wasughing his heart out, a roar was heard and Lin Ji stood up abruptly from the ground.

    ¡°Monster Deity!¡±

    ¡°Monster Deity, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°He is Meng Tian, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    The Demon soldiers started moving towards Lin Ji as they shouted.

    ¡°Meng Tian?¡± A look of confusion shed past Lin Ji¡¯s eyes. She had a strange expression as though she had just lost her memory.

    However, her eyes lit up quickly as chilling gazes shed past.

    ¡°Legend... Meng Tian? Sagely Battle God Meng Tian? The Meng Tian who split the Blood Shadow City apart with his sword?!¡± Lin Ji mumbled to herself as she tried to process the information in her mind. As she spoke, her face turned dark. ¡°Rubbish, how can someone who had been dead for yearse back alive?¡±

    ¡°Yes, how can the deade back alive?¡± The figure nodded and walked towards Lin Ji.

    ¡°How can the dead...e back alive? What does it mean?¡± Lin Ji clenched her fist as she stepped backwards slightly.

    ¡°Guess, use your beautiful face to guess.¡± The figure stared at Lin Ji with a look of disdain.

    ¡°Why should I guess!¡± Lin Ji moved again.

    That was because the figure had moved extremely close to her. As the saying went, ¡®Who strikes first prevail, who strikesst lose out¡¯. At such a close distance, if Lin Ji did not strike first, she probably would really end up in a disadvantaged situation.

    Lin Ji threw a punch forward.

    However, at the instant when she did that, her body froze again and it felt as though there were lightning bolts that spread through her body.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    She was sent flying once again. However, this time, the figure had struck her directly and extremely violently.

    Right on her face!

    It was a simple strike but it was aimed directly at the center of her face.

    Pfft! Lin Ji spat out a mouthful of blood which stained her ck scales.

    ¡°What happened? Why am I...¡± Lin Ji stood up again with heavy breaths and looked at the figure who was walking towards her with a look of astonishment and disbelief.

    She felt that her body was no longer under her control when she threw the punch earlier on as it became extremely stiff.

    Or rather, it was not only stiff but also a state of confusion, as though her brain had lost connection with her body.

    Why did this happen?

    Why?!

    Nobody answered Lin Ji¡¯s question as she was once again sent flying andnded in the middle of the Demon soldiers.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    The Demon soldiers moaned as they were struck by the sharp scales. Some of them were killed by the forceful impact.

    It was an exaggerated and shocking scene.

    The Demon soldiers, Shan Yu, Yan Ya and the two Settlement Chiefs were allpletely stunned by the scene.

    Lin Ji, a Godly State expert who came from the ancient battlefield was sent flying continuously and had no opportunity to resist.

    He was too powerful!

    Was this the powers of someone who had once stood at the peak of the world!

    The person who split the Blood Shadow City apart in one strike.

    The legendary Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian.

    ¡°You... What did you do to me...¡± Lin Ji was extremely speechless. Although she could feel that she was no less powerful than the figure in front of her, she did not know why she could not control her body at all and could only be attacked.

    Furthermore, what was more infuriating was that...

    The guy who called himself the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had punched and kicked her face without any signs of mercy.

    It was her face!

    Lin Ji wanted to cry. Her beautiful and alluring face did not only have a few footprints but was also swollen like a pig¡¯s head.

    Can he kick her somewhere else?!

    Bam! A foot stepped on Lin Ji¡¯s face and caused her face to rub against the floor.

    ¡°I just have one question, do you want to die?¡± The figure nced at his surroundings while he moved his feet on top of Lin Ji¡¯s face...

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Retreat, retreat!¡±

    The Demon soldiers looked at each other and soon, an order was given by a general. They were not afraid of death but none of the demons was willing to die just like that.

    After all, they only had a force of 10,000 whereas the person in front of them was the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian who had defeated Lin Ji. How could they win?

    Moreover...

    Aspared to fighting till their deaths, they would rather let Yun Qingwu know about the news that the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was still alive.

    ¡°Tell Yun Qingwu, if she dares to attack thest settlement of the Southern Region, Thunderous Lion Settlement, I do not mind making another strike at the Blood Shadow City!¡± The voice of the figure echoed in the night sky.

    Meanwhile, Lin Ji who was pinned to the ground tried her best to push herself up. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not do so.

    ¡°It was that attack! The finger sword attack!¡± Lin Ji was furious and filled with hatred. However, she was also embarrassed. ¡°Why can¡¯t my body move? What attack tactic was that? Could it be... could it be the tactic used to attack the soul?!¡±

    Bam!

    A giant ck stick that appeared from thin air whacked the back of Lin Ji¡¯s head and caused her to see stars. Meanwhile, her eyes gradually closed and a scene appeared in front of her the instant her eyes shutpletely.

    A finger sword attack!

    It went from her forehead, passed through her brain and came out of her body along with her soul.

    Next, she flew andnded on the floor.

    Soul...

    It was the attack on the soul that was used specially for the Monster Race¡¯s strong body!

    ...

    Two dayster, the Blood Shadow City received a battle report stating that Lin Ji had lost a battle outside the Thunderous Lion Settlement and was captured.

    On the fifth day, the news had spread throughout the world.

    ¡°Meng Tian is still alive? Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is still alive?!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s hope for humankind!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, if it is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, there¡¯s still hope for humankind. Meng Tian is alive, he is actually still alive in this world?!¡±

    Humans who were on the verge of despair began to spread the news that the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was still alive. The news spread like wildfire, as though as everyone saw thest light of hope.

    They did not bother thinking about how did the dead Sagely Battle God Meng Tiane back alive as it was evidently no longer important.

    Hope!

    Humankind needed hope!

    Furthermore, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had seized the powerful individual of the Godly State, Lin Ji, outside the Thunderous Lion Settlement.

    This was his capability.

    The legendary Battle God had revived, brought hope to humankind and showed his powerful capability. Therefore, was the question regarding why he was alive still important?

    ...

    In the Blood Shadow City, the current Demon Lord Emperor Yun took a look at the silent Yun Qingwu and Lin Yu and frowned.

    ¡°How could someone who had died for centuriese back to life?¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s voice was not too loud but it demonstrated her confusion.

    ¡°Perhaps, he did note back to life.¡± Lin Yu took a look at the elders and the Domain Chief of the Demon soldiers and said.

    ¡°Demon Deity, you mean that someone used Meng Tian¡¯s name? However, Lin Ji was really captured by him!¡± Emperor Yun narrowed his eyes.

    From a practical point of view, he did not believe such a ridiculous story. However, the reality was that Lin Ji had been defeated.

    In the current world...

    Who could possibly defeat Lin Ji by himself?

    There was no other possibility except that the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian hade back to life.

    ¡°I have a spection based on the battle report, and it is not too difficult to verify my spection if Young Lord grant me the permission.¡± Instead of answering the question directly, Lin Yu continued to speak softly as he took a look at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°How do you want to verify it?¡± Yun Qingwu looked up in the North direction outside the pce.

    ¡°Judging from the distance, we will take about three days¡¯ time to get there. If he is really in the Southern Region and had rushed back immediately, he would need another five more days on top of the five days that had already passed to reach. I would get a clear picture if I can go down and take a look,¡± said Lin Yu.

    ¡°No.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and rejected him without giving any thoughts. ¡°Judging from the current situation, it would be better for us if he does not move. Once you make your way there, he would naturally sense that something is wrong. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to do that.¡±

    ¡°Understood. Since I can¡¯t go, then we can send the five Vice Domain Chiefs over as sacrifice.¡± Lin Yu paused for a moment before he spoke again.

    ¡°Send the five Vice Domain Chiefs as sacrifice?!¡± Emperor Yun narrowed his eyes and nced at both Lin Yu and Yun Qingwu. With a confused expression, he asked, ¡°What do you mean by that, Demon Deity?¡±

 Chapter 919 - Source of God

    <h4>Chapter 919: Source of God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Emperor Yun, who do you think is the most likely to impersonate Meng Tian?¡± Lin Yu took a nce at Emperor Yun and stopped showing the respectful look towards Yun Qingwu. Instead of directly answering Emperor Yun, he asked him back.

    ¡°Who do I think is the most likely to impersonate Meng Tian... Unless you are referring to Fang...¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Lin Yu nodded and continued, ¡°Although based on the battle report, the tactic did not seem to be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tactics and neither does Fang Zhengzhi have such high capabilities, there are some simrities between the tone and expression of the attacker and Fang Zhengzhi. That is why I developed this spection.¡±

    ¡°Spection? Then what is the rtionship between this and sacrificing the five Vice Domain Chiefs of the Demon Race?¡± Emperor Yun frowned and asked.

    ¡°In order to prove my spection, we have to make a trip down to the Northern Mountain Vige. If I went, Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to stand an advantage. However, if the five Vice Domain Chiefs of the Demon Race went and followed Young Lord¡¯s order to take revenge, then...¡± Lin Yu stopped at thest part of his sentence.

    ¡°Demon Deity, you mean you want the five Vice Domain Chiefs to get themselves killed?!¡± Emperor Yun finally understood what Lin Yu meant.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Yu did not answer and instead, raised his teacup and took a small sip from it. ¡°ording to Young Lord¡¯s n, if we can keep holding on to the ¡®Source of God¡¯, then we will be able to get as many Vice Domain Chief of the Mortal State as we want!¡±

    ¡°However, just because of a mere spection, we are... Alright, I understand, go and make the necessary arrangements right away.¡± Emperor Yun wanted to say something but after looking at Lin Yu¡¯s expression, he decided to not continue.

    ¡°Young Lord, what is your opinion?¡± Lin Yu waved his arm and stopped Emperor Yun who had already stood up from his chair, turning his gaze to Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu stood up and stared outside of the pce. She bit her lips and looked hesitant.

    ¡°Qingwu, what are your views?¡± After taking a look at the silent Yun Qingwu and Lin Yu, Emperor Yun took a deep breath and asked again.

    ¡°Father, you don¡¯t have to seek my opinion for such small matters. You are the current Demon Lord.¡± Yun Qingwu took a nce at Lin Yu then Emperor Yun and said softly.

    ¡°Haha... Alright, then I shall decide!¡± Emperor Yun smiled and looked at the few Domain Chiefs standing underneath. ¡°Ying Dao, I shall put you in charge of this.¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord, Young Lord had not expressed her views,¡± Ying Dao replied respectfully as he took a step forward.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s smile froze.

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord, please seek Young Lord¡¯s views before making a decision. I am saying this because of the future of the Demon Race as I do not want a simr loss to be made like the one in the Northern Mountain Vige.¡±

    ¡°You mean I sent out the troops previously without asking for others¡¯ opinions?!¡±

    ¡°I do not dare to say that, but it is true that Sir Demon Lord did not wait for Young Lord to return to the city before ordering the Demon soldiers to travel across the Cang Ling Mountain, resulting in the loss of a Vice Domain Chief of the Demon Race and a few hundred Demon soldiers.

    ¡°You...¡± Emperor Yun clenched his fist and looked at Lin Yu again before turning his gaze to Yun Qingwu.

    Emperor Yun could not make out much from Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression. Apart from a calm and peaceful look,a look of respect towards her father could be seen on her face.

    Of course, Yun Qingwu did not speak. In fact, her words became very little after Emperor Yun ordered for the troops to travel across the Cang Ling Mountain before she returned to Blood Shadow City.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Emperor Yun sighed and looked back at Ying Dao. ¡°I have an abdication edict that I have drafted for days, if Domain Chief Ying don¡¯t mind, please help me announce it.¡±

    ¡°Abdication edict!¡± The few other Domain Chiefs in the pce looked at each other after hearing Emperor Yun¡¯s words. Instead of looking surprised, they looked somewhat happy.

    That was because the abdication of Emperor Yun and session of Yun Qingwu had been something that everyone of the Demon Race had looked forward to. Furthermore, this announcement was also an assurance to the Demon Race.

    The reason was simple...

    Everyone knew the status of Yun Qingwu, the Young Empress of the Monster Race.

    As the Young Empress of the Monster Race, Yun Qingwu¡¯s status was extremely respectable and valuable. However, this also implied something else.

    She had double identity!

    Therefore, in this battle for ¡°results¡±, the most important aspect was whether Yun Qingwu leaned in the Demon Race or Monster Race¡¯s favor.

    The only way to solve this problem was to make Yun Qingwu the sessor of the Demon Lord so that she could not abandon the Demon Race.

    ¡°I refuse to seed the position of the Demon Lord. No more discussion is needed!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice caused Ying Dao who was about to start reading out the edict to freeze on the spot.

    Soon, he regained his senses and fell to his knees and went to a kowtow position.

    ¡°In consideration of the future of the Demon Race, I hope Young Lord...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Young Lord...¡±

    ¡°Whoever who continues to mention about this matter would be killed!¡± As Yun Qingwu said this, she turned to bow to Emperor Yun before walking out of the pce.

    The Demon Domain Chiefs kept silent after seeing this and stared at Emperor Yun with a worried expression.

    Emperor Yun, on the other hand, instead of looking worried, looked somewhat shocked.

    He was extremely clear about the current plight of the Demon Race.

    Although he was still named the ¡°Emperor¡±, Yun Qingwu was more superior than him in terms of both her right to speak and credibility.

    Emperor Yun did not actually feel unhappy about this.

    That was because the future of the Demon Race could only be ced in the hands of Yun Qingwu, the sole potential sessor of the Demon Lord.

    Therefore, without a second choice, he did not bother about her credibility and right to speak.

    After all, it was only a matter of time before Yun Qingwu became the sessor of the Demon Lord.

    ¡°Qingwu, Dad genuinely wants to pass the position to you. Since the beginning of time, the Demon Race had followed the rule where the most powerful gets to take charge. Since a young age, Dad had been involved in training my skills, aspared to your intelligence, I am too short-sighted...¡± Emperor Yun sighed again after Yun Qingwu walked out of the pce.

    ¡°Demon Lord, do not be over-worried, it is indeed not the best time to handover your position to Young Lord now. However, I believe that within two years, Young Lord would agree to seed.¡±

    ¡°Two years?¡± Emperor Yun looked at Lin Yu.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lin Yu affirmed and looked at Ying Dao who was still kneeling on the floor. ¡°Domain Chief Ying, why aren¡¯t you making the necessary arrangement based on Demon Lord¡¯s order?¡±

    ¡°I will do it now!¡± Ying Dao stood up and left the pce quickly.

    Emperor Yun looked at Ying Dao, then turned to Lin Yu beside him and smiled bitterly. ¡°Looks like I have to continue staying in this position for another two years.¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, you will be able to get a relief in less than two years¡¯ time.¡± Lin Yu smiled.

    ¡°Haha, it is indeed a relief. Oh right, I remember you mentioned about the five problems a Demon would face when he was breaking through the Sagely State, I have two questions regarding that, would you help me rify my doubts?

    ¡°Since Young Lord had went back to her room to rest and my role is to protect Young Lord¡¯s safety, pleasee to my room to talk if you have any queries.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    ...

    At one of the halls of the Demon pce in Blood Shadow City, Yun Qingwu, who was wearing a white dress sat down. After taking a look at the Guqin in front of her, she pressed her fingers down on the strings of the Guqin.

    Ding! A pleasing tune was heard.

    The same old ¡°Guanglin San¡± echoed in the pce. Yun Qingwu looked as calm as ever but looked far away as though she was trying to recall about something, as though as she had returned to the boat in the River of Trust.

    During the dawn seven dayster, the sun casted a golden shade to the Blood Shadow City.

    Lin Yu, who was dressed in ck clothing, stood beside Yun Qingwu and waited patiently for Yun Qingwu to finish eating her breakfast before turning to the door and nodding his head.

    Soon after, a Demon soldier who was covered in dirt entered and knelt in front of Yun Qingwu immediately after he entered the hall.

    ¡°Greetings, Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°Rise. Did you see everything that you have written in the letter with your own eyes?¡± Yun Qingwu stretched out her arm to signal the Demon soldier to stand up.

    ¡°Yes, I have witnessed everything with my own eyes. I found a hidden spot in the Northern Mountain Vige that was blocked by a rock, hence I was not discovered by Fang Zhengzhi,¡± The Demon Soldier stood up and replied.

    ¡°Are you sure that all five of the Vice Domain Chiefs were killed by Fang Zhengzhi alone?¡± Lin Yu frowned as he heard this.

    ¡°I am sure!¡± The Demon Soldier nodded.

    ¡°How so?¡± Lin Yu asked again.

    ¡°Traceless Sword, he was holding his Traceless Sword. Although I did not dare to go up close, I can definitely recognize the Traceless Sword!¡± The Demon Soldier said.

    ¡°Just using a sword?¡± Lin Yu did not seem to believe him.

    ¡°And his powers, his absolute powers of the Sagely state. Although all of the five Vice Domain Chiefs had the power of the Rebirth State, they did not even have the chance to resist when Fang Zhengzhi attacked, they could not even...¡±

    ¡°Even what?¡±

    ¡°They could not even escape. Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful. When the five Vice Domain Chiefs saw Fang Zhengzhi, they had the intention to escape but none of them seeded.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you may go now.¡± Lin Yu nodded and stopped probing.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Demon Soldier exited quickly.

    Lin Yu frowned again and looked at the sun outside the window. He seemed to be deep in thought.

    After a long while, Lin Yu looked back into the room.

    ¡°In three days¡¯ time, the five Vice Domain Chiefs had rushed to the Northern Mountain Vige. If Fang Zhengzhi was in the Souther Region, he would not have made it back in time.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°However, I still think that it is impossible. After all, if Meng Tian was really alive all this while, why were there no news from him? But...¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡± Yun Qingwu gradually lifted the ancient book on the table and flipped it open.

    The book clearly looked ancient and its texture showed its age. However, strangely, it had a very special texture. Although it was old, the words could still be seen vaguely.

    ¡°If the ¡®Source of God¡¯ had reallynded in Meng Tian¡¯s grave, he would have revived under the influence of the ¡®Source of God¡¯. This is possible.¡± Lin Yu nodded his head lightly after keeping silent for a while.

    ¡°I would actually hope that he is Meng Tian.¡± Yun Qingwu stood up from his chair and walked to the door of the hall with the book in her hand.

    ¡°Young Lord thinks that this is possible too?¡± Lin Yu narrowed his eyes and looked out of the window again.

    ¡°Judging from the time, Yun Qingwu could not have possible rushed back to the Northern Mountain Vige from the Southern Region,¡± Yun Qingwu said softly.

    ¡°Or should I try it myself just to make sure?¡± Lin Yu spoke again after his consideration. Meanwhile, he clenched his fist.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and looked afar. ¡°Lin Ji was defeated and now we arecking a force in the Holy Region. We should leave the Blood Shadow City and head to the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°Understood, I will do the necessary preparation now.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded with a calm expression.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yu left the hall quickly and walked into another stone room that was constructedpletely out of ck stones.

    After seeing Lin Yu walk into the stone room, Yun Qingwu walked back into her room and looked at the Guqin on the table.

    ¡°Meng Tian, is it really the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡± Yun Qingwu spoke as she reached her hands to touch the pendant on her neck before her fingers froze as she realized that there was nothing there. Yun Qingwu smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what a thief!¡±

 Chapter 920 - An Eye for An Eye, Blood Shadow City, Here I Come!

    <h4>Chapter 920: An Eye for An Eye, Blood Shadow City, Here I Come!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    The moon was like a mirror and the shadow was like a hook.

    The Southern Region was made up by forests. The six settlements and the Sagely Mountain City stood amongst the forest with the formation of Big Dipper Constetion.

    However, it was a pity that...

    The Southern Region was only left with the Thunderous Lion Settlement as the other five settlements and the Sagely Mountain City had been invaded by the Demon Race.

    Nan Ling Settlement was one of them. Furthermore, it was the closest settlement to the territory of the Demon Race. With a cliff and surrounded by mountains, it had an extremely good location.

    It was an extremely dangerous ce.

    Precisely because of how dangerous it was, it had helped in the defense against countless invasion of the Demon Race, ensuring that the terrain of the Southern Region and Great Xia was not invaded by the Demon soldiers.

    At this moment, in a small secluded cave in the mountain two miles away from the Nan Ling Settlement, a tree branch of a tall ancient tree blocked the view from the cave as well as the faint light in the cave such that it was impossible for anyone to notice it.

    In the cave, a bonfire was burning. On top of the bonfire was a wooden rack that had a cooked Golden-stripped Panther on it.

    It was extremely rare to find Golden-stripped Panther, a beast who was extremely fast and good at hiding, in the Souther Region. Furthermore, it was at the top of the food chain amongst the beasts. However, on that unfortunate day, there were a few intruders in its den.

    The Golden-stripped Panther was killed and after some cleaning and processing, it became the food on the fire rack.

    Thump! At this moment, a weak sound was heard from the entrance of the cave before a beast flew into the cave.

    The figure who was turning the fire rack raised his arm after seeing the beast and the beastnded on his arm.

    A letter that was tied on the w of the beast was retrieved. Then, the figure put down the fire rack in his hands and gave a look to the three Settlement Chiefs who were dressed in animal skins.

    The three Settlement Chiefs immediately took over the fire rack and began turning it carefully. Meanwhile, they took a peek at the letter that the figure had opened.

    However, the figure evidently did not want to share the contents of the letter with the three Settlement Chiefs. He threw the letter into the fire after reading it.

    A cracking sound was heard from the fire and the letter turned into ashes.

    ¡°Senior, what happened? Was the news regarding the Southern Region? How¡¯s the Thunderous Lion Settlement now? Is it invaded by the Demon Race? How about the soldiers of the Southern Region, how are they doing?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs looked at Shan Yu and tried to get a response from the figure.

    The figure still had a ck cloth with the word ¡°God¡± around his face. It was extremely eye-catching.

    However, he did not reply. He waved to the three Settlement Chiefs and took over the fire rack from them.

    The three Settlement Chiefs gritted their teeth as they saw this. They had asked countless questions these few days but the guy who imed to be the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian did not answer them at all.

    ¡°Senior, since you have the ability to defeat Lin Ji, you definitely have the ability to help us reim the Southern Region. In view of the thousands of lives in the Southern Region, we hope that Senior can...¡±

    ¡°I feel sleepy, are you three full? If you are, go and guard the cave.¡± The figure waved his hands and broke off the three Settlement Chiefs¡¯ sentence. Then, he yawned and lied down.

    ¡°This...¡± The three Settlement Chiefs nced at each other and sighed gently before taking a look at Shan Yu who had yet spoken for advice.

    Shan Yu nodded slightly upon seeing the gaze in the three Settlement Chiefs. Then, she took out her knife and cut a piece of meat from the fire rack and delivered it cautiously to the figure.

    Seeing this, the three Settlement Chiefs stood up quickly and left the cave to focus on guarding it.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting cold.¡± The figure stretched, took the meat with his hand and chewed on it.

    ¡°I made a coat with the animal skin during my free time, if Senior don¡¯t mind...¡±

    ¡°Is the Queen of the Southern Region trying to please me?¡± The figure broke off Shan Yu¡¯s sentence and gradually sat upright, looking at Shan Yu who was wearing a ck animal skin and had her face slightly red from the glow of the fire.

    ¡°Senior, you saved our lives. This is nothing aspared to your favor. Please do not look at it that way, Senior. In fact, Shan Yu has noins even if Senior did not care about the plight of the Southern Region.¡± Shan Yu shook her head.

    ¡°Do you know why I brought all of you here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Haha, then why didn¡¯t you ask?¡±

    ¡°Our lives were saved by Senior, hence how would we dare to say anything?¡±

    ¡°So it seems like you are really gratified?¡±

    ¡°You saved my life, I will never be able to repay this favor!¡±

    ¡°Never be able to repay this favor? Come on, I have always read that people would repay by marriage, right? Are you trying to y cheat?¡± The figure smiled.

    ¡°Senior, please mind your words!¡± Shan Yu¡¯s body shook and she clenched her teeth.

    ¡°Haha, you mean I am wrong?¡±

    ¡°Senior, you are someone with an incredible status, how can I match up to you? It¡¯s not that you are wrong, but rather because... I already have someone in mind. Senior, I am willing to do anything else except for this, I seek your understanding.¡± Shan Yu fell on her knees as she said and made a bow.

    ¡°So you have someone in mind already?¡± The figure nodded his head lightly and looked at Shan Yu with an interested look. ¡°Can you tell me who is the handsome and extremely intelligent talent?¡±

    After he spoke, he casually took the cup of hot water in front of him and took a sip as he waited for Shan Yu¡¯s reply.

    Meanwhile, Shan Yu was stunned after hearing the question. She lifted her head and looked at the figure who was waiting for her reply and at the ck mask with the big word ¡°God¡± on his face. She hesitated for a moment before gently nodding her head. ¡°Senior, you have overestimated me. The person whom I have in mind is neither handsome nor an intelligent talent, he is merely a shameless brat.¡±

    Pfft! The figure spat out the water that was in his mouth and it was spat all over Shan Yu¡¯s face.

    The warm water made Shan Yu¡¯s face wet and she was stunned.

    After the figure spat out his tea, he jumped up with his hands across his waist as though he was about to fight.

    ¡°How is he not handsome, how is he not an intelligent talent? He was the top scorer of the Law of Dao of the Great Xia Dynasty and Double Roll cham...¡± At this moment, the figure suddenly shut his mouth and sat down as he took a sneak nce at Shan Yu.

    ¡°Senior, you know who is the guy I¡¯m referring to?!¡± Shan Yu was extremely surprised.

    ¡°No... Oh, yes I do.¡± Just as he was about to shake his head, he realized and corrected himself.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that even Senior, such a highly-respected individual, knows him. He is... indeed very powerful. However, I am not blessed enough and did not grab onto the chance that was given to me. Now, I am getting further and further away from him, I wonder where exactly is he right now?¡± Shan Yu¡¯s eyes welled up with tears.

    For the Queen of the Southern Region, this was an emotion that was almost impossible to portray. However, Shan Yu hadpletely disregarded her position in front of the man who had once stood on the peak of the world, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    ¡°Seriously? Crying over this?¡± The figure stretched out his hand involuntarily to touch Shan Yu¡¯s face.

    However, just before his hand touched Shan Yu¡¯s face, she had reacted and widened her eyes while taking a step back.

    ¡°Senior!¡±

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± The figure coughed and pulled back his hand. Then, he turned to look at Lin Ji who was tied up like a dumpling at the corner of the cave. ¡°Do you want to talk? What a pity, I don¡¯t want you to talk, what can you do about that?¡± t

    ¡°...¡± Shan Yu was speechless.

    Meanwhile, Lin Ji struggled violently and widened her eyes. The thick ck scales grew all over her body and the collision between the scales and the ck chains around her body produced sounds of metal.

    ¡°I will punch you until you faint if you move anymore!¡± The figure waved his fist.

    Lin Ji stopped moving immediately and gave an evil stare.

    ...

    Night fell and the bonfire was still burning in the cave.

    Shan Yu stared at the mes. She seemed to be deep in thought and was trying to recall something. After a long while, she looked up at the figure who had lied down and wanted to speak.

    ¡°Senior... you are asleep?¡± Shan Yu said softly after a long while.

    ¡°So the Queen of the Southern Region had finally thought through and decided to sleep with me?¡± The figure was back-facing Shan Yu.

    ¡°Cough...¡± Shan Yu¡¯s body shook and her face flushed. Nevertheless, she clenched her teeth and continued, ¡°There is something that I want to ask Senior about.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°We are now outside the Nan Ling Settlement. In other words, if we continue further down, we would enter the Demon Race¡¯s territory. Senior, are you really heading to the Blood Shadow City?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± The figure asked back.

    ¡°I am just slightly worried as after all, Senior, you are alone. From my understanding, there are other Godly State experts in the Blood Shadow City, even if Senior can defeat them alone, if there were other powerful Demons, I am afraid that...¡±

    ¡°You are afraid that I am courting death by heading to the Blood Shadow City, right?¡±

    ¡°I dare not say that, I am just...¡± Shan Yu bit her lips again but did notplete her sentence.

    The figure kept silent.

    However, an image appeared in front of him. It was the image of a few hundred vigers being beaten cruelly by the Demon soldiers and the ground was stained red with blood.

    A five-year-old child was protecting Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde.

    And two corpses...

    Vige Chief Zhang Yangping and Mister Mo Cheng.

    One of them was an ordinary viger while the other was a teaching Mister. They were not supposed to be involved in this cruel battle but had been killed when the battle began.

    Besides that, on the Cang Ling Mountain outside the Northern Mountain Vige, there were 23 members of the Hunting Team. They were hunting on the mountain as usual when they were ughtered after identally bumping into the Demon soldiers who were charging down from the mountain.

    25 lives!

    25 lives in total!

    Crack! The figure clenched his fist tight and a blood-red radiance shed across his eyes as though there was blood flowing in them.

    The Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was impersonated by Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he could not tell Shan Yu about this because he had gotten information that Yun Qingwu had sent five Demon Vice Domain Chiefs to the Northern Mountain Vige from the letter he had just received.

    Although there was Qing Yi who had made a breakthrough in terms of skills and could use the Traceless Sword, he could not allow ¡°Fang Zhengzhi¡± to appear in the Southern Region. Even though he knew that Shan Yu would not spread the news, he could not guarantee that the three other Settlement Chiefs would not spread the news. If Shan Yu knew about it, the three Settlement Chiefs would definitely sense that something was wrong based on their interactions.

    Therefore, the safest way was to not reveal anything.

    The reason was simple. He could not afford to lose this gamble!

    However, there was something he had to do and could not wait for two years to do.

    The 25 lives of the Northern Mountain Vige vigers ...

    Someone had to pay for their lives!

    ¡°Blood Shadow City, here Ie!¡±

 Chapter 921 - Attacking Blood Shadow City and Taking the Emperor.

    <h4>Chapter 921: Attacking Blood Shadow City and Taking the Emperor.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    This was a night with howling wind and ack of moonlight. Blood was bound to be spilled.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with Demon Race¡¯s capital, Blood Shadow City. That was because he actually came here once before and kidnapped a Demon general without anyone realizing it.

    However, as the capital, Blood Shadow City was extremely well-guarded. The strongest experts of the Demon Race were all gathered here.

    Facing the well-guarded Demon Race¡¯s capital that had countless experts...

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to go through the front door!

    The sound of a flying arrow broke the silence of the night. It was an arrow used to deliver a letter. It drew a beautiful curve in the air from outside of Blood Shadow City and ultimatelynded on the g hanging at the top of the city wall.

    ¡°It¡¯s an enemy¡¯s attack!¡±

    ¡°Enemy¡¯s attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The guards atop the city wall started shouting soon enough. Countless torches lit up the city and many of the guards drew their bows.

    However, there was no one in front of Blood Shadow City.

    ¡°General, there¡¯s a letter on the arrow!¡±

    ¡°Letter? Bring it to me!¡± The general stationed at the city wall didn¡¯t waste any time before he took the letter that the soldiers passed to him.

    It was a dirt-brown envelope which wasn¡¯t too big. However, ¡®To Yun Qingwu¡¯, was written clearly and powerfully on the envelope.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the Young Lord? I¡¯ll report this right now, you guys will keep guarding the city¡¯s gates!¡± The Demon general gave his order fairly quickly after he read the words on the envelope.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Demon soldiers obeyed his orders.

    ...

    There were nine walls in Blood Shadow City, and each of them was heavily guarded. The entire city was a massive circr fortress.

    The Demon general walked fast, but he was stopped by four soldiers guarding the second wall. Each of them was holding a sharp spear.

    ¡°Hold your step, why are you entering the city?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Min Yu, the head of the guards of the city¡¯s gate. We received a letter from the enemy that is specifically addressed to the Young Lord. I feel that this is an urgent matter so I should deliver the letter to the Demonic Hall personally!¡± The Demon general replied hastily.

    ¡°Where are your token and the letter?¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s my token and the letter, please take a look.¡±

    ¡°Ok, you may enter.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Demon general nodded and passed through the second wall and rushed towards the third wall while holding the dirt-brown envelope high in the air.

    ¡°Hold your step!¡± The guards at the third wall soon stopped the general. There were four soldiers again.

    ¡°I¡¯m Min Yu, the head of the guards of the city¡¯s gate. We received a letter from the enemy that is specifically addressed to the Young Lord. I feel that this is an urgent matter so I should deliver the letter to the Demonic Hall personally!¡± The Demon general replied hastily.

    ¡°Where are your token and the letter?¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s my token and the letter, please take a look.¡±

    ¡°Ok, you may enter.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After going through numerous city walls, the general finally arrived outside of the Demonic Hall, which was located at the center of Blood Shadow City.

    ¡°Hold your step. Why are you rushing towards the Demonic Hall in the middle of the night!¡± Eight soldiers wearing ck armors standing outside the door stopped the general once again.

    ¡°I¡¯m Min Yu, the head of the guards of the city¡¯s gate. We received a letter from the enemy that is specifically addressed to the Young Lord. I feel that this is an urgent matter so I should deliver the letter to the Demonic Hall personally!¡± The Demon general replied hastily.

    ¡°Addressed to the Young Lord? What the hell, don¡¯t you know that the Young Lord has gone to the Holy Region together with the Demon Deity two days ago?¡± The soldiers nced at the envelope in his hands. An unnoticeable sh of light appeared in their eyes and they looked a little puzzled.

    ¡°Went to the Holy Region?¡± The general was startled.

    However, at this moment...

    Several additional Demon soldiers arrived.

    ¡°Report!¡±

    ¡°Report!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± The soldiers guarding the Demonic Hall raised their spears when they saw the other soldiers approaching the hall.

    ¡°General, general, there¡¯s bad news! Meng... Meng Tian, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian... Is... Is outside the city. He¡¯s about to attack... Attack the city...¡± The few soldiers quickly reported as they rushed over.

    ¡°What?! Sagely Battle God Meng Tian! Are you guys... Sure that it¡¯s him?¡± The eight soldiers guarding the Demonic Hall were shocked.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was too much of an overpowering existence to the soldiers of the Demon Race. After all, his legend was still told all around the Blood Shadow City till today.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. Furthermore, Master Lin Ji is also there. Meng Tian tied her up and they are right outside the city¡¯s gates right now. I saw it clearly!¡±

    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll inform the Demon Lord immediately!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The Demon soldier just took a step before it seemed like he had recalled something. He turned around and told the general, ¡°You, pass me the letter and wait here too.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The general handed the letter to the guard and backed away respectfully.

    ...

    A fire soon appeared in the Demonic Hall and the gemstones engraved onto the walls of the hall also lit up, illuminating the entire Demonic Hall as if it was daytime.

    ¡°Demon Lord, I have a report!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Emperor Yun, who was sitting on the throne, raised his head. However, he did not put down the pen in his hand.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is here!¡±

    Pa! The pen in Emperor Yun¡¯s hand dropped onto the paper and the ink smudged the writings on the paper. Despite that, he didn¡¯t even take a single look at it.

    That was because he had already stood up from his throne with a shocked expression that had never been seen in his eyes before.

    ¡°Send a signal and summon the Domain Chiefs and elders of the 10 regions. Bring in the soldier who made the report as well!¡± Emperor Yun gave his order as soon as he stood up.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The soldier quickly took his order and exited the hall.

    After a brief moment, a hasty and incessant drumming sound came from the Demonic Hall. It was so loud that the entire Blood Shadow City could hear it.

    ¡°It¡¯s an urgent military situation!¡±

    ¡°Quick, get to the Demonic Hall immediately!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon, many people entered the Demonic Hall. In less than 15 minutes, there were already several Domain Chiefs and elders in the hall.

    ¡°Demon Lord, why did you summon us at this time of night?¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian, Meng Tian is here!¡± As Emperor Yun said that, he was pacing around his throne anxiously.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°He came to Blood Shadow City!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Meng Tian is right outside Blood Shadow City now. I saw it clearly!¡± The soldier in charge of the report quickly responded to the Domain Chiefs and elders.

    ¡°He¡¯s really here. How many people are there?¡± An elder frowned and asked.

    ¡°There are four of them, along with Master Lin Ji. I saw it clearly. Two of them are Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region, and the other one is the Princess of the Southern Region, Shan Yu!¡±

    ¡°They dare to invade Blood Shadow City with merely four people?!¡± A chilling light appeared in that elder¡¯s eyes when he heard that and he clenched his fists tightly.

    ¡°Demon Lord, let¡¯s fight them!¡±

    ¡°How? Our opponent is the Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian. I doubt that all of usbined would be a match for him. Furthermore, they are holding Master Lin Ji as a hostage.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, if Young Lord and Master Lin Yu didn¡¯t happen to have left for the Holy Region, why would we be scared of Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point talking about that now. Since Meng Tian is here, this battle is unavoidable. Regardless, we have to defend Blood Shadow City!¡±

    The Demon elders and Domain Chiefs quickly started discussing. There were manyplicated expressions on their faces. Some looked stunned, some looked cold, and there were also those who looked ferocious.

    ¡°Demon Lord, please give me an order. I¡¯ll find out how strong Meng Tian really is!¡± They heard a voice amongst the discussion.

    Then, someone walked out. His face, although ordinary, was as sharp and cold as a knife.

    It was Ying Domain¡¯s current Domain Chief, Ying Dao.

    ¡°Domain Chief Ying? Are you really capable of fighting Meng Tian alone?¡± One of the Domain Chiefs asked when he saw Ying Dao walking out.

    ¡°Domain Chief Ying, it¡¯s good that you want to fight him. However, the opponent is Meng Tian after all. In my opinion, it¡¯s safer for us to take turns fighting him!¡±

    ¡°The Third Elder is right. No matter how strong Meng Tian is, he¡¯s just a single person. I don¡¯t believe that he could ughter the entire Blood Shadow City!¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, give us your order!¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, please give us your orders!¡±

    ¡°Alright, acting appropriately ording to the situation has been the evesting truth. Since Meng Tian is here, us Demon Race wouldn¡¯t be scared of him.¡± Emperor Yun nodded and said, then, he nced outside the hall and continued, ¡°However, it¡¯s not the best choice for us to take him head-on. We¡¯ll do as the Domain Chiefs and elders have suggested and take turns fighting him to wear him down. Additionally, send an urgent mail to Qingwu and asked her to bring the Godly State expert back to help us!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± One of the soldiers waiting in the hall who was in charge of passing his orders quickly took the order and made his exit.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I shall see how strong Meng Tian really is!¡± Emperor Yun left his throne right after he gave his order.

    ¡°Demon Lord, please wait!¡± He heard Ying Dao¡¯s voice once again.

    ¡°Domain Chief Ying, do you have something against my arrangement?¡± Emperor Yun frowned at Ying Dao, who blocked his way with his arm.

    Emperor Yun wasn¡¯t actually too fond of Ying Dao. Although he didn¡¯t mind Yun Qingwu taking the throne, it didn¡¯t mean that he liked Ying Dao¡¯s attitude towards him.

    ¡°Demon Lord, I have no objections.¡± Ying Dao shook his head and replied.

    ¡°Then why are you stopping me?¡±

    ¡°Ying Dao is just concerned about Demon Lord¡¯s safely. Since you have ordered us to take turns fighting him, then you¡¯d naturally wait in the Demon Hall.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Are you suggesting that I should wait here?¡±

    ¡°This is for your own safety!¡±

    ¡°Safety my ass. I know how strong I am. Do I really need a Domain Chief like you to be concerned about me? Step aside, I¡¯m going to watch the battle personally and find out about Meng Tian¡¯s true strength!¡±

    ¡°Please forgive me because I cannot step aside!¡± Ying Dao shook his head once again,pletely ignoring Emperor Yun¡¯s order.

    ¡°Ying Dao, are you disobeying my order?¡± Emperor Yun frowned and an intense me soon appeared on his fist.

    ¡°Demon Lord, Ying Dao is just trying to ensure your safety!¡±

    ¡°Yes, although Ying Dao¡¯s attitude isn¡¯t great. However, he¡¯s the Domain Chief of Ying Domain, after all, Demon Lord, please consider the overall situation!¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, please do not be angry. We are facing a powerful enemy!¡±

    Several elders quickly chimed in in order to prevent the conflict between Emperor Yun and Ying Dao from worsening.

    ¡°Step aside!¡± Said Emperor Yun once again.

    ¡°The Young Lord has personally told me that I must protect the Demon Lord if anything happened to Blood Shadow City. The Young Lord and Demon Deity are heading towards the Holy Region to carry out their big n and there could be no mistakes. If anything happened to you, wouldn¡¯t that affect Young Lord¡¯s judgement?¡±

    ¡°Ying Dao, are you saying that I¡¯m not strong enough to protect myself?¡± Emperor Yun was furious when he heard that.

    Demons respected the strong.

    That was a tradition that had been passed down from thousands of years ago. How could Emperor Yun im the throne if he was untalented and weak?

    However, since Yun Qingwu brought back the Six Domain Demonic Army back to Blood Shadow City, Emperor Yun had handed over the future of the Demon Race and all his power to Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu was actually the one making all the decisions.

    However, as Emperor Yun was once an overlord, how could he really be interested in being a carefree Demon Lord that did not need to do anything? That was especially true after he saw hope.

    In fact, that was the reason why he gave the order to invade the Golden Scale City in Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Northern Lands before Yun Qingwu had returned to Blood Shadow City.

    The oue was obvious...

    Golden Scale City was seized and both Great Xia Dynasty and the Empire of the Northern Barbarians were kept at bay.

    That allowed Yun Qingwu to attack the Southern Region without any worries, and Great Xia Dynasty couldn¡¯t send any troops to their rescue.

    Of course, some minor idents happened in the process. For example, they lost a Vice Domain Chief, and Yun Qingwu brought back a troop of 10,000 soldiers from Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, Emperor Yun never felt that he had done anything wrong.

    On the contrary, if he was given another chance, he would have done the same thing. The only difference was the fact that he would give his order even earlier.

    ¡®It¡¯s just a vige, so what if we had ughtered all of them. Does Fang Zhengzhi really dare to attack Blood Shadow City?!¡± Emperor Yun wasn¡¯t concerned about it. However, since Yun Qingwu had insisted, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have anything against it. After all, he was Yun Qingwu¡¯s father.

    Why would a father argue with his daughter?

    Emperor Yun took the me, and he even had to deal with Ying Dao¡¯s bad attitude because of that. Now that Ying Dao had blocked his way, how could he, the powerful Demon Lord, continue to endure it?

    ¡°Demon Lord, if you really want to watch the battle, please kill me first!¡± Ying Dao could obviously sense Emperor Yun¡¯s anger. However, he waspletely not afraid because it was Yun Qingwu¡¯s order that he had to keep the Demon Lord safe and prevent him from taking a single step out of the Demonic Hall no matter what.

 Chapter 922 - Die! Dance of the Silver Dragon!

    <h4>Chapter 922: Die! Dance of the Silver Dragon!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Kill you?¡± Emperor Yun squinted, and the Demon Eye on his forehead even exuded a dazzling radiance. ¡°Alright, then I will kill you first!¡±

    ¡°No! Demon Lord, it isn¡¯t wise to kill a general while we are facing such a tough enemy!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Demon Lord, please let Domain Chief Ying off this time.¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, please forgive Domain Chief Ying just this once considering his past contributions!¡±

    All the Elders of the Demon Race turned grim when they heard Emperor Yun. After all, Ying Dao was one of the 10 Domain Chiefs. Furthermore, Yun Qingwu ced much trust in him. If the Demon Lord had really killed him, how could they exin it to her?

    Hmph! Without saying another word, Emperor Yun kicked Ying Dao away and walked out of Demonic Hall.

    Ying Dao rolled to the side after Emperor Yun kicked him. He clenched his fists extremely tightly with a grudging look.

    ¡°Domain Chief Ying, in my opinion, it¡¯s better to let Demon Lord spectate the battle. After all, given his strength, in addition to our protection, it¡¯s impossible for anything to go wrong.¡± One of the Elders sighed and began persuading Ying Dao after seeing his state.

    ¡°Impossible for anything to go wrong?!¡± Ying Dao gritted his teeth and flipped right back his feet. Then, with a chilling re in his eyes, he said, ¡°Which one of us could stop Meng Tian? If Meng Tian is here for the Demon Lord, you should know what would happen, Sixth Elder!¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± The Sixth Elder didn¡¯t know how to reply. He shook his head and stopped trying to persuade Ying Dao. Instead, he quickly followed Emperor Yun out of the Demonic Hall.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Ying Dao yelled angrily and punched a pir in the hall. The massive power was enough to shake the pir which was made of metal. However, this was definitely not capable of changing Emperor Yun¡¯s mind.

    That was because the only people left in the Demonic Hall were him and several other Demon soldiers who were guarding the hall. All the other Domain Chiefs and Elders had already left the hall.

    Ying Dao clenched his fists so tightly that they were cracking. However, he eventually made up his mind and walked out of the hall.

    ...

    The guards and the general were still waiting outside of the hall.

    Soon, a dozen people appeared, and the current Demon Lord was at the front, followed by the Elders and the Domain Chiefs.

    ¡°Demon Lord!¡± The guards quickly greeted Emperor Yun as soon as they saw him.

    ¡°Alright, where¡¯s Meng Tian?¡± Emperor Yun nodded softly after hearing them and threw them a question right off the bat.

    ¡°He¡¯s right outside Blood Shadow City, together with Master Lin Ji and...¡±

    ¡°Are you the Demon Lord?¡± While the soldiers were ready to respond, the general standing beside them suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Emperor Yun looked a little startled.

    The soldiers, Elders, and Domain Chiefs were equally surprised, and they quickly diverted their attention to the general.

    Was it possible for a general who was tasked to guard the gates of Blood Shadow City to not know how the Demon Lord looked like? It was obviously impossible.

    A spy!

    Swoosh! All the soldiers raised their spears in a split second and pointed the tips towards the general¡¯s throat.

    The Elders, on the other hand, quickly shielded the Demon Lord. All of them looked extremely vignt while they watched the general.

    ¡°It seems like... You are really the Demon Lord.¡± The general raised his eyes at this moment and there was a silvery radiance in his eyes.

    ¡°Who are you?!¡± The Elders asked in unison.

    ¡°My first name is Meng, and my name is Tian.¡± The general removed his helmet as he said that to reveal his tied-up hair.

    The wind blew his human-skin mask away. However, instead of his true identity, they only saw a ck facial mask with a huge ¡®GOD¡¯ written atop. It looked extremely weird.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, how could Meng Tian...¡±

    ¡°Quick, return to the Demonic Hall and protect the Demon Lord!¡±

    The Elders of the Demon Race and the Domain Chiefs were all rmed were they saw the ck facial mask with the word ¡®GOD¡¯ written on top of it.

    As the saying went, ¡°The power of influence is significant¡±. Meng Tian¡¯s name had already left a mark in the hearts of the Demon Race.

    Most importantly, Meng Tian wasn¡¯t actually outside of Blood Shadow City. He had alreadye to the center of the city and arrived at the doorstep of Demonic Hall.

    How could they remain calm?!

    ¡°Do you guys really have to be so nervous? I¡¯m not nervous even though I am the one who is surrounded. Demon Lord, do you really need to be so afraid?¡± Fang Zhengzhi, disguised as Meng Tian, startedughing at them.

    ¡°You... How did you get...¡±

    ¡°How did I get here? It¡¯s really easy. I just have to find out who is the general in charge of guarding the gates tonight, then... sh!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he made a throat-slitting gesture. Then, he casually took a step forward and continued, ¡°What happens next is even simpler. I just have to hold the letter and no one would stop me!¡±

    ¡°That exins it. However, we didn¡¯t expect the Sagely Battle God to do something as cunning as infiltrating Blood Shadow City by pretending as a Demon soldier. Aren¡¯t you afraid of mockery?¡± The Elders of the Demon Race quickly understood how he got in.

    ¡°People could mock me all they want, I don¡¯t care.¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°Meng Tian, since you¡¯ve already seeded in getting close to me, why didn¡¯t you attack me straightaway? Why did you expose your identity so easily? If you had attacked me just now, I could have been dead already!¡± Emperor Yun stopped the Elders from talking and asked with a chilling sh in his eyes.

    After all, he really didn¡¯t understand why ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ had not attacked just now, and instead gave him enough time to prepare himself.

    Was it confidence?

    If that was the case, then how arrogant could ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ be?

    ¡°Sneak attack? Hmm... I¡¯ve actually thought about it. However, after thinking about it, I felt that you didn¡¯t seem to be worthy. What do you think about this reason?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and replied. He was looking at the Demon Lord condescendingly.

    As he said that, he drew the sword hanging at his waist, and a chilling light reflected off its de.

    ¡°You are courting death!¡± Demon Lord yelled coldly.

    ¡°Hurry up and stop him!¡±

    ¡°Take him down!¡±

    ¡°Attack him together and protect the Demon Lord!¡±

    All the Elders and Domain Chiefs started shouting after they heard the Demon Lord. All of them quickly aimed their weapons at ¡®Meng Tian¡¯.

    At the meantime, two of the Domain Chiefs rushed out from beside the Demon Lord and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi from both left and right.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the two Domain Chiefs, then at the Demon Lord, who was protected by the Elders, and he sighed.

    In fact...

    It wasn¡¯t just for show. He was actually feeling a little frustrated. That was because he came to Blood Shadow City this time for Yun Qingwu instead of the Demon Lord.

    However, Yun Qingwu left the city three days ago?

    She wasn¡¯t in Blood Shadow City anymore!

    That made things somewhat awkward.

    ording to his original n, Yun Qingwu should be currently nning out her entire scheme while also guessing about ¡®Meng Tian¡¯s¡¯ true identity.

    Under such conditions, no matter how intelligent she was, she would never expect ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ to suddenly appear in front of her.

    After all, given Meng Tian¡¯s reputation, he would never bother with a sneak attack.

    A hundred years ago, Meng Tian chased after the previous Demon Lord, Si Kong. Back in those days, the Demon Race was at its peak, unlike the current Demon Race.

    Despite facing the Demon Race at its peak, Meng Tian still stormed into Blood Shadow City through its front doors alone with his sword, killing Demon Lord Si Kong and leaving behind an unremovable mark in the city.

    How could such a hero pretend to be a Demon general, sneak into Blood Shadow City¡¯s Demonic Hall, and attack Yun Qingwu without a warning?

    Fang Zhengzhi was certain that Yun Qingwu would never see iting.

    The reality had indeed proved that Yun Qingwu hadn¡¯t expected this. Or else, there would be a trap waiting for Fang Zhengzhi, instead of this chaotic scenario ying out before him.

    ¡°I knew it, even the greatest n requires a little bit of luck.¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because now that his acts were exposed, it¡¯d nearly impossible to sneak up on Yun Qingwu again.

    ¡®Keep quiet, get out of Blood Shadow City, and wait for Yun Qingwu to return?¡¯

    That was close to impossible.

    Putting aside the fact that the Demon soldiers had already suspected him due to his slip of the tongue, it wasn¡¯t possible to alter the reality that he had killed the Demon general guarding the gates.

    Therefore, regardless of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s desire, his n had already been exposed.

    Since it was already exposed...

    He had to make something out of it, right?

    His sword moved. He rushed towards the two Domain Chiefs instead of retreating. His body jolted violently and created three splitting images in the air.

    ¡°Oh crap!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s too close, protect the Demon Lord first!¡±

    Several Elders felt an intense sense of crisis when they saw three ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ standing in front of them.

    They pulled the Demon Lord back towards the hall without any hesitation.

    The soldiers standing at the side also moved. They split into three teams instantly and jabbed at the three ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ with their spears.

    However, just as the soldiers and Domain Chiefs¡¯ attacks were about to hit them, the three ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ disappeared.

    Roar! At this moment, they heard a loud dragon roar. Its powerful aura was as frightening as the ocean which has no boundaries.

    ...

    Ying Dao was pissed off. He wanted to rush out of the hall to stop the Demon Lord. Even if the Demon Lord would kill him, he had to do it.

    However, before he could step out of the hallpletely, he suddenly saw the Demon Lord rushing towards him behind the protection of several Elders.

    ¡®Demon Lord?¡¯ While Ying Dao was confused, he suddenly saw a radiance at the corner of his eyes. It was as bright as if the moon had suddenly appeared in front of him.

    It was a radiance that had shot up into the sky outside the Demonic Hall. It was silvery like the moon and soared towards the sky like a massive dragon.

    ¡°Oh my god, what kind of power is that?!¡±

    ¡°Oh crap, get out of its way!¡±

    ¡°Stop it and don¡¯t hide. Protect the Demon Lord!!!¡±

    The Domain Chiefs and Elders were shouting amidst the loud dragon roar.

    Ying Dao was also stumped.

    Everything happened in an instant. In the next moment, the dragon had already descended. It wasn¡¯t too fast, but it was violently powerful and unopposable. The vivid dragon¡¯s head exuded a silvery radiance while its lively eyes felt chilling.

    ¡°What?!¡± Ying Dao opened his eyes wide from astonishment. He intuitively wanted to dodge the dragon as it descended, but as soon as he had just taken a step, his body stopped.

    That was because the silver dragon¡¯s sharp ws were moving towards the Demon Lord, who was protected by the Elders and had no way to evade it.

    It was close, too close!

    Ying Dao could see the dragon opening its mouth, even its teeth were visible.

    ¡°Demon Lord!¡± Ying Dao moved bolted towards the dragon at this moment. A blood-red saber appeared in his hand.

    A red radiance appeared. However, aspared to the powerful silver dragon, it was as insignificant as a firefly in the moonlight.

    Boom!

    The silver dragon descended and sted Ying Dao away as expected. Its sharp ws tore apart the radiance on his body and continued towards the Demon Lord like a sharp sword.

    ¡°No!¡± Emperor Yun screamed helplessly at this moment.

    ¡°Demon Lord!¡± Several Elders shouted and they pushed him away.

    At the meantime, the silver dragon¡¯s sharp ws descended. A violent power sted the foundation of the Demonic Hall, which was built with giant ck rocks.

    Crack! The foundation shattered and turned into rubbles.

    However, the massive power didn¡¯t disappear. The silver dragon charged into the Demonic Hall like a silver light beam.

    There was a momentary silence.

    Then, the world seemed to have calmed down. However, shortly after the calm, they heard a loud explosion.

    Boom! Dust flew everywhere

 Chapter 923 - The Sword of the Battle God, Would You Believe that My Hand Trembled?

    <h4>Chapter 923: The Sword of the Battle God, Would You Believe that My Hand Trembled?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The giant ck rocks kept falling to the ground, causing the Demonic Halls to tremble violently as the metal pirs were gradually revealed.

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    The giant rocks fell on the ground, causing the entire Blood Shadow City to tremor as if it was about to copse.

    Crack! The crack on the floor extended. The terrifying tearing force and the powerful collision almost caused the entire Demonic Hall to split into two.

    A strike of the sword had split the entire Demonic Hall apart!

    How terrifying was that?

    The Demon soldiers were stunned as they saw the Demonic Hall copse. The immense shock from their heart made them feel as though their bodies were not theirs anymore.

    Meanwhile, Ying Dao and the few elders of the demon race fell on the grond in the Demonic Hall with their eyes widened as blood stained their bodies.

    ¡°Meng Tian, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°So this is Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°The Sagely Battle God Meng Tian who had once split upon the Blood Shadow City with a strike of his sword and chased after the Demon Lord for thousands of miles!¡±

    If there was a kind of fear that originated from the soul, the strike undoubtedly caused the elders of the Demon Race, Domain Chiefs and the Domain Chief to feel this fear.

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Violent coughs could be heard in the dust before Emperor Yun who was covered in dust got up slowly from the wreckage.

    However, when he saw the copsed Demonic Hall beside him, his body shook and his eyes became bloodshot.

    As the Emperor of the Demon Race, how humiliating was it for him to see how the Demonic Hall was split apart by someone else.

    At this moment, a soft voice was heard.

    ¡°This sword... is so ordinary.¡± A figure walked slowly to the Demon Lord while holding on to a long sword that waspletely broken.

    Evidently, the powerful force could not be withstood by any ordinary swords as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had been broken by the powerful force.

    ¡°Sword?!¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s eyes widened again as he looked towards the North. There was a small vige and a person stood with a Traceless Sword in his hand. The sword seemed to be the sword that was used to split apart the Blood Shadow City in the past.

    The sword of the Sagely Battle God was in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, despite that...

    The powerful Sagely Battle God Meng Tian could still split apart the most sturdy Demonic Hall in the Blood Shadow City into two with an ordinary sword.

    How terrifying was that.

    ¡°Hundred years ago, I made a strike with my sword in the Blood Shadow City. Today, I will make another strike and that¡¯s sufficient!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Emperor Yun in the ruins and at the Elders of the Demon Race and Domain Chiefs who had stood up, as well as the Demon soldiers who had surrounded him.

    ¡°Make another strike and that¡¯s sufficient, what do you mean...¡± Before Emperor Yun could finish his sentence, ¡°Meng Tian¡± had disappeared in front of him.

    This gave him an extremely bad premonition. Earlier on, he had kicked Ying Dao in the Demonic Hall and confidently imed that he could protect himself even if he was fighting against Meng Tian.

    However, the reality was...

    The Demonic Hall had been split into two.

    Now that Meng Tian had disappeared again, chills went down his back.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you won¡¯t be able to kill me!¡± As Emperor Yun said this, a sword as ck as ink appeared in his hand.

    At that instant when the long sword appeared, a pair of ck wings grew from Emperor Yun¡¯s back. When the two wings expanded, they turned into two swirls of whirlwind that protected Emperor Yun from the left and the right and sent him flying at an extremely fast speed towards the sky.

    However, before Emperor Yun reached two meters high, a figure had appeared at the top of his head and a foot stomped down on him violently.

    This foot stomped down extremely quickly and powerfully, such that Emperor Yun who was flying up towards the sky could not dodge it at all.

    Bam!

    Yun Di only felt that his face was forcefully pressed on a hard metal board such that he heard a buzzing sound.

    After that, he felt that his body was being stomped down by someone else and fell deeply into the small rocks without any resistance.

    It happened too quickly.

    At this speed, the elders and Domain Chiefs around the Demon Lord could not save him even if they wanted to. Moreover, as ¡°Meng Tian¡± stepped on the Demon Lord, he ced the broken sword in his hand onto the throat of the Demon Lord.

    ¡°You...¡± Emperor Yun wanted to move but he felt a cold sensation on his neck just as his body moved up an inch. It seemed like he touched a broken sword.

    However, the sharp edge of the broken sword had already made a cut on his neck and blood dripped down.

    Emperor Yun looked at ¡°Meng Tian¡± who had stepped on him and could not speak due to his overwhelming shock.

    Meanwhile, Meng Tian¡¯s attention was not on Emperor Yun¡¯s face but rather on the pair of ck wings behind him.

    ¡°This pair of wings... seems to be great!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. He was not surprised with the kind of protective artifacts Emperor Yun had as after all, he was a Demon Lord and ought to own some impressive artifacts.

    With this thought, Fang Zhengzhi bent down slowly and touched the ck wings of the Demon Lord with his left hand.

    ¡°What do you want to do?!¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s face turned pale. As a Demon Lord, he had been repeatedly humiliated until he was going mad, yet now, the ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of him seemed to be eyeing for the ¡°ck-Golden Wings¡± behind his back. How could he tolerate this?

    ¡°Nothing much, just lend me this pair of wings to y around with. Besides that, do you mind heading to the Holy Region with me, Sir Demon Lord? Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he looked around him with a rxed and casual vibe.

    ¡°You want to kidnap me? Instead of killing...¡±

    ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t you feel extremely happy that you had just escaped from death? Don¡¯t be in a hurry to thank me because your life would be even more miserable than death in the future!¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Emperor Yun¡¯s sentence, ced a hand on his shoulder and lifted him up from the ground.

    ¡°Meng Tian, let Sir Demon Lord go!¡±

    ¡°Let Sir Demon Lord go or you won¡¯t be able to leave the Blood Shadow City!¡±

    ¡°Let Sir Demon Lord go now!¡±

    The elders of the demon race¡¯s expressions changed when they saw ¡°Meng Tian¡± lifting Demon Lord up with one hand. After all, they never expected such an oue.

    They saw the Demon Lord being kidnapped with their own eyes?

    Furthermore, the person who kidnapped him was alone, how could they tolerate this?

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, move aside or I will kill him right now.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    ¡°Will you be able to leave even if you killed Sir Demon Lord?¡±

    ¡°So... You want to try?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his eyebrows and stabbed the chest of the Demon Lord with his sword.

    sh!

    The entire de of the sword sank into the Demon Lord¡¯s body.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Emperor Yun shouted in agony.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi took a look at his surroundings with his eyes bloodshot.

    ¡°I said, move aside!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was extremely cold.

    ¡°Hurry, move aside!¡±

    ¡°Do not attack, Sir Demon Lord is with him!¡±

    ¡°Move aside, quickly!¡±

    The elders of the demon race and the Domain Chiefs finally moved and nobody dared to block Fang Zhengzhi as Fang Zhengzhi had drew the sword out from the Demon Lord¡¯s chest and raised his hand again.

    sh! The sword stabbed the thighs of the Demon Lord and blood spurted out and flowed down the thighs of the Demon Lord, turning the entire ground red.

    ¡°Meng Tian, they have already moved aside, why are you still hurting me?!¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry, my hand trembled.¡± Fang Zhengzhi drew the sword out and stabbed the arm of the Demon Lord.

    sh!

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon Lord trembled.

    Apart from the Demon Lord, the surrounding elders and Domain Chiefs¡¯ expressions changed drastically and nobody dared to utter another word.

    ¡°It trembled again, you have no objections to that, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked the Demon Lord with sincerity.

    ¡°...¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s lips moved and wanted to say something but swallowed his words eventually. He clenched his teeth and endured the excruciating pain.

    ¡°If there are no further objects, then let¡¯s go!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said this, he lifted the Demon Lord and ran towards the gate of the Blood Shadow City.

    It was not because he did not want to take the opportunity to kill a few more elders or Domain Chiefs, but rather because he did not have time to waste further.

    The reason was simple. At this moment, there were Shan Yu and three other Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region. Their identities had been exposed when Fang Zhengzhi split open the Demonic Hall.

    When ¡°Meng Tian¡± appeared in front of the Demonic Hall, those who were impersonating Meng Tian could no longer continue their act.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very certain about this.

    And this was why he decided to not kill Emperor Yun yet.

    That was because once he killed Emperor Yun, he would have triggered the entire Demon Race in the Blood Shadow City to kill. If that was the case, he would have to fight his way through to the gate of the Blood Shadow City.

    That would be wild!

    Furthermore, he was a little agitated when he thought of it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had actually given this possibility a thought, however, he changed his mind the instant he ced his sword on the Demon Lord¡¯s throat.

    The reason was because he needed to end the battle and leave the Blood Shadow City as quickly as possible. He was not afraid but he knew that the lives of those who were fighting outside the Blood Shadow City would be in danger if he chose to act this way.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to take revenge for the 25 lives in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    However, this did not mean that Fang Zhengzhi could sacrifice the lives of the people outside the Blood Shadow City just because he wanted toplete the task as quickly as possible. Moreover, he did not want to see the Demon Lord die a quick death. He wanted to put double the pain that the 25 lives of the vigers onto the Demon Lord. He wanted the vigers of the Northern Mountain Vige to take revenge for their family members.

    ¡°Great Elder, what do we do?¡± One of the Domain Chiefs turned to the respected Great Elder.

    ¡°No, no...¡± The Great Elder shook his head violently and had aplicated expression on his face.

    ¡°No? Great Elder, what is wrong?¡±

    ¡°If the real Meng Tian had managed to get into the Blood Shadow City and the Demonic Hall, then... who are those outside the Blood Shadow City?¡± The Great Elder of the demon race narrowed his eyes before widening them. ¡°Hurry, pass down my order, take down the fake Meng Tian outside the Blood Shadow City and exchange him for our Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°Fake Meng Tian? Outside the city...¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, pass down the order!¡±

    ¡°Leave with me, Domain Chiefs, we have to take down the fake Meng Tian before Meng Tian reached the gates!¡± Ying Dao¡¯s voice was heard. Although one of his sabers had been broken and his body was stained with blood, he jumped up from the ground and dashed towards the gates of the Blood Shadow City.

    After seeing this, the other Domain Chiefs looked at each other and caught up without any hesitation.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi had to pass through the nine gates in the Blood Shadow City before he could exit the city.

    Furthermore, he was holding onto the Demon Lord...

    ¡°It is Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°That is Meng Tian?! Meng Tian caught Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, block him!¡±

    The Demon soldiers instinctively tried to block Fang Zhengzhi when they saw Fang Zhengzhi charging towards them.

    ¡°Stand aside or I will kill the Demon Lord!¡± Fang Zhengzhi demanded coldly and raised his broken sword.

    At this moment, a beam of golden light rose from the Demonic Hall into the sky and lit up the night sky.

    Most importantly, there were a few clear words in that beam of light.

    ¡°Take down the Fake Meng Tian outside the City!¡±

    ¡°So they have figured it out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes and spotted a few figures running at an extremely fast speed towards the gate of the city.

    It was none other than Ying Dao and a few Domain Chiefs. They did not run towards Fang Zhengzhi or take a look at him.

    It was evident that their goal was very clear.

 Chapter 924 - Awaken the Same Bloodline

    <h4>Chapter 924: Awaken the Same Bloodline</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Trying to detour? Naive!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smirked. He had to admit that he was surprised by how quickly the Demon Race had reacted but it did not mean that he could not deal with it.

    As the saying went, how would the arrogant swan allow other birds to fly over its head?

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi charged towards Ying Dao and the Domain Chiefs of the Demon Race at a speed of light.

    ¡°Domain Chief Yin, Meng Tian ising towards us!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, block him!¡±

    ¡°I will go!¡±

    With a few simple sentences, one of the Domain Chiefs had approached Fang Zhengzhi with a fearless expression.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have the intention to fight with this Domain Chief. He pushed the Domain Chief when he got closer.

    ¡°What?!¡± The demon Domain Chief was shocked and withdrew the saber he had raised as he twisted his body forcefully in midair.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foot hadnded on the face of the Domain Chief and used this force to leap into the sky.

    Boom! The Domain Chief crashed onto a stone house like an artillery shell and passed through several walls beforending heavily on a gigantic rock and crushing it.

    Pfft! The Domain Chief spat out a mouthful of blood. It was certain that he was injured so severely that he could not get up for a while.

    This exaggerated scene stunned all of the Demon soldiers who had charged towards Fang Zhengzhi with spears in their hands. Every one of them turned pale.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Is this the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°He is a God... He really is a God! A God that is even more powerful than Sir Demon Deity!¡±

    While the Demon soldiers were still in shock, Fang Zhengzhi had charged towards Ying Dao and the other Domain Chiefs again at a speed faster than the Domain Chiefs.

    ¡°Domain Chief Yin, Meng Tian is approaching... again?!¡±

    ¡°So fast?! Useless things, a bunch of useless things!¡± Ying Dao¡¯s gaze was cold as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was approaching him. He wanted to curse.

    After all, he had killed the other Domain Chief too quickly?

    The other Domain Chiefs heard him, clenched their fists tight and gritted their teeth with an angry expression.

    Although they knew that was Ying Dao¡¯s personality, they were all the Domain Chiefs of the demon race and had the same status. They definitely felt annoyed after being insulted like this.

    Moreover, they remembered how Ying Dao was unable to defend against ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s strike and in fact, broke an arm.

    ¡°Domain Chief Yin, you call us useless, what about you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I do not want to argue about such insignificant matters in front of a powerful enemy. If Domain Chief Yin has the ability, please show us!¡±

    Two of the Domain Chiefs could no longer hold in their anger and replied.

    ¡°Useless things, I don¡¯t want to waste my time arguing with all of you!¡± Ying Dao¡¯s gaze turned cold and continued charging forward without continuing the argument. As he charged forward, he ordered the surrounding Demon soldiers, ¡°Listen to my order, block Meng Tian at all costs!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The Demon soldiers had to obey his order.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to frown as he did not understand how daring was Ying Dao to give suchmands?

    ¡°It seems that he is really not afraid that I will kill you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at the Demon Lord in his hand.

    ¡°Haha, yes, he had always wanted me to die. If I die, Qingwu will be able to take over the position as the Demon Lord, of course he wanted that!¡± Emperor Yun smiled bitterly.

    ¡°I see, so Demon Lord, do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°If you want to kill me, just kill me and stop talking nonsense!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord, do you really not want to taste the fruit of sess? The Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons is now open and it will not be long before the Demon Race take over the world, right? By then, with your status as the Demon Lord, how many things will you be able to get?¡±

    ¡°What are you implying?¡± Emperor Yun did not answer Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Bing a Godly State expert, ruling over the world, longevity... Have you thought of these, Sir Demon Lord?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took his time and asked.

    ¡°Meng Tian, I am already a captive under you, there¡¯s no more meaning to discuss about these dreams!¡± Emperor Yun was mad.

    ¡°Enduring the insult and live on, perhaps one day Yun Qingwu would kill me and Sir Demon Lord, you will be able to rise to the top like what is written in the books?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Meng Tian, are you so naive to think that I will cooperate with you and help you escape this city?¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s eyes narrowed andughed.

    ¡°There¡¯s no purpose in a stalemate. Ying Dao wants you to die andmanded the Demon soldiers to attack. If I am forced, I will kill you with my sword and fight the rest. Do you really want to see such an oue?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took another nce at the Demon Lord.

    The smile on Emperor Yun¡¯s face froze. He looked at Ying Dao who had charged towards the gate and the Demon soldiers who were catching up and a cold gaze shed past his eyes.

    ¡°How long can you let me live for?¡± Emperor Yun finally replied.

    ¡°One year, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    ¡°One year? No way!¡± Emperor Yun frowned and rejected it without any thought.

    ¡°Then one and a half years.¡±

    ¡°No, at least three years!¡±

    ¡°Three years is too long, two years, and that¡¯s thest deal.¡±

    ¡°Two years?! You really can let me live for two years?¡± The Emperor Yun¡¯s eyes widened and sounded extremely excited.

    This caused a sh of light to sh across the corner of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes too.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had always predicted a time that Yun Qingwu would carry out her final attack judging from several signs.

    However these were only predictions...

    Perhaps, even the Godly State experts did not know about the actual time. However, Yun Qingwu, the Demon Lord and Monster Emperor Baizhi definitely knew.

    Demon Lord and Monster Emperor Baizhi were Yun Qingwu¡¯s biological parents. Yun Qingwu would definitely not hide this from them.

    One and a half years was too short but two years made Demon Lord excited.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew the answer after seeing this.

    ¡°Rest assured, Sir Demon Lord, if i say two years, I mean it!¡± After this thought struck him, Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    ¡°No, you have to vow!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, vow that if the Demon Lord helped me get out of my predicament sessfully, I will let the Demon Lord live for two years.¡± Fang Zhengzhi vowed without any hesitation.

    ¡°Meng Tian, I shall trust you for once!¡± Emperor Yun was unwilling but he had no other choice.

    After all, as what Fang Zhengzhi said, if he really drove ¡°Meng Tian¡± to desperation, he would probably die.

    He did not want to die.

    At least, he did not want to die in such a manner.

    Enduring the insult and live on, of course, the Demon Lord could endure!

    ¡°Get lost, everyone!¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s voice was heard and he raised one of his hands. ¡°Ying Dao is revolting, take him down!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The Demon soldiers who had surrounded Fang Zhengzhi were stunned and nobody could believe their ears.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Didn¡¯t you hear mymand?¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°Take down Ying Dao!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon soldiers retreated and charged towards Ying Dao and the few other Domain Chiefs at a crazy speed. Although they did not understand what happened, they did not dare to disobey the Demon Lord¡¯smand.

    ¡°Ying Dao, we can¡¯t save you!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Domain Chief Ying!¡±

    Upon seeing this, the other Domain Chiefs quickly left Ying Dao and went to the side.

    ¡°All of you...¡± Ying Dao gritted his teeth. He had figured out what the Demon Lord was thinking of. In fact, he wanted to kill Demon Lord with ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s hands.

    This was against Yun Qingwu¡¯smands and was somewhat ironic!

    However, the situation was different now.

    If the Demon Lord had yet to be captured, he would do everything to protect Demon Lord¡¯s life and not allow Yun Qingwu¡¯s state of mind to be affected by Demon Lord¡¯s death. However, Demon Lord had already been captured.

    The situation waspletely different.

    If he let ¡°Meng Tian¡± off, the Demon Lord would be the hostage and humankind would probably use him to threaten Yun Qingwu.

    Therefore, he had to take a gamble.

    This was the mindset of a gambler, the more he lost, the more he wanted to win all the money back. Of course, Ying Dao was rather confident about the gamble he took.

    One possibility was that ¡°Meng Tian¡± would not dare to kill the Demon Lord. If he was correct, he would have the chance to get to ¡°Meng Tian¡±, take down the fake Meng Tian outside the gates of the city and exchange for Demon Lord¡¯s safety.

    The second possibility would be ¡°Meng Tian¡± killing the Demon Lord out of anger. Although this would affect Yun Qingwu inevitably, aspared to the bigger picture, Yun Qingwu would be more willing to put her n into action.

    Both of the possibilities resulted in positive oues.

    However, Ying Dao did not expect ¡°Meng Tian¡± to persuade the Demon Lord in such a short time and made the Demon Lordmand the Demon soldiers to target him.

    ¡°Why? Why did this happen!¡± Ying Dao was really indignant. However, regardless of how indignant he felt, the spears of the Demon soldiers had reached him.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A ferocious growl was heard in the Blood Shadow City.

    ...

    ¡°Meng Tian, the ck-Golden Wings is yours!¡± After seeing how Ying Dao was surrounded by the Demon soldiers, Emperor Yun clenched his teeth and the ck-Golden Wings behind him disappeared and turned into a ck gemstone.

    The ck gemstone was extremely clear and had a small pair of ck wings in it, as if the wings were sealed in the gemstone.

    ¡°How generous of you, Sir Demon Lord.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and snatched the gemstone over.

    ¡°...¡± The Emperor Yun made a deep sigh. ¡°Meng Tian, I have done all I can do, you have to remember the vow you made!¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I, Meng Tian, will definitely live up to my words!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and added a few words in his heart, ¡®like real!¡¯

    Meng Tian¡¯s vow had nothing to do with Fang Zhengzhi.

    If he had the capability...

    He could talk to Meng Tian!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not care at all and touched the ck gemstone in his hand as he said, ¡°How do I use this?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Emperor Yun was stunned for a moment and looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s masked face for three times. He did not understand how the Sagely Battle God did not know how to use the ck-Golden Wings? However, he had no other choice in this situation, or rather, he did not dare to think about other things. ¡°Put in your demonic force and you will be able to feel the ck-Golden Wings.¡±

    ¡°Demonic force? Oh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded, he did not want to slowly experiment with the ck-Golden Wings but he knew that the demonic force was the same thing as the Origin Energy of humankind.

    He made up his mind.

    The powerful Origin Energy surged into the ck gemstone. In a blink of an eye, Fang Zhengzhi felt the energy of the ck-Golden Wings.

    It felt ancient, powerful, and was filled with an unknown sensation as though it had a life.

    ¡°Could this pair of ck-Golden Wings be the wings of an ancient beast?¡± This thought struck Fang Zhengzhi but he did not give too much thought about it. He felt as though he had fused with the ck-Golden Wings when he felt its energy.

    Boom!

    The ck wings opened they were at least twice asrge on Fang Zhengzhi than the wings used by the Demon Lord.

    Each wing were at least three meters long.

    Moreover, golden radiance flowed continuously on the ck feathers. The powerful forces made Fang Zhengzhi screech in excitement.

    ¡°Yo!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi uttered a sharp sound which echoed in the moonless night sky like the chirp of a bird.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm also grew by ten percent and broke the armor on his body.

    ¡°This... Is this how the ck-Golden Wings really looked like?! Awakening... awakening the same bloodline... This is awakening the same bloodline! It is exactly... exactly the same as what was recorded in the Books of the Demons!¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s eyes widened in shock when he saw the gigantic ck-Golden Wings.

 Chapter 925 - Surprising Big Secret!

    <h4>Chapter 925: Surprising Big Secret!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Buzz! A violent wave of air spread as the two gigantic ck wings expandedpletely. Following that, Fang Zhengzhi zoomed up into the sky with the Demon Lord.

    This scene shocked the Demon soldiers watching from beneath. The powerful wave of air exerted a pressure that was as heavy as a mountain on their body.

    After that, they witnessed a shocking scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his broken sword which was flowing with a silvery light as bright as the moon. Then, a beam of silver light struck.

    Roar! The sound of the dragon was extremely loud.

    It was a gigantic silver dragon with clear scales on its body. It was more robust than the dragon from the Demonic Hall and most importantly, there were two gigantic ck wings on the back of this silver dragon.

    Boom! The silver dragonnded.

    Itnded in the Blood Shadow City and dashed towards the gate at the speed of lightning, leaving behind a trace of silver light.

    Then, the entire Blood Shadow City, including the stone houses quaked as if the city had sunk downwards by an inch.

    Crack! An extremely deep crack appeared on the ground and it spread neatly towards the path of silver light and reached the gate of the Blood Shadow City in no time.

    At the instant when the crack reached the gate of the Blood Shadow City, the gigantic gate that was made up of ck stone split into half and copsed.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you!!!¡± Emperor Yun took a deep breath as he looked at the huge crack on the ground. He was infuriated.

    ¡°Sorry, I was a little too excited after wearing the ck-Golden Wings.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and he threw the broken sword towards the gate of the city.

    Meanwhile, the Demon soldiers stood rooted to the ground as they took a nce at Fang Zhengzhi and Emperor Yun before looking down at the deep crack.

    If a sentence was to be used to describe what the Demon soldiers felt now, it would be...

    ¡°Mom, I want to go home!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Hundred years ago, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian attacked the Blood Shadow City alone and killed the Demon Lord Si Kong, leaving behind an evesting mark.

    And today...

    The Demon soldiers guarding the gates felt like they experiencing deja vu.

    It felt like a repeat of the battle that took ce 100 years ago, especially when they saw Fang Zhengzhi and the Demon Lord flying towards them in the sky and the big ¡°God¡± word on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ck face cloth.

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°He is a God... A real Battle God!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The mission of the Demon soldiers told them to continue with their defense, however, how could they do so when ¡°Meng Tian¡± appeared in front of their eyes in such a manner?

    The difference in the level of power was so huge that they could not even counterattack at all.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about what the Demon soldiers were thinking about because he suddenly felt like he became a ¡°bird human¡±.

    When the ck-Golden Wings fused with his body, the energy in his body increased dramatically as he felt that he became so powerful that he could match up with the demons and monsters, or rather, it felt as if he suddenly shared the same bloodline as the monsters.

    ck-Golden Wings, was this the most precious treasure of the Demon Lord?

    Fang Zhengzhi had been searching for treasures for the past few years. However, the treasures he found were antiques or things like silver.

    There were not many treasures which were truly of high value.

    The Traceless Sword was a decent treasure, followed by The Vast World, then the remaining Hypnotic Eye, Near-Life Gate, and more.

    Moreover, he had lost the Near-Life Gate in the battle at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Besides that, there were nine Three Legged ck Cauldron of unknown uses he found on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and a few Penta-colored Wonder Flowers he snatched at the Ling Yun Tower. Last but not least, the 26 Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. He originally had 23 pieces but found another 3 in the pendant of Yun Qingwu.

    Was it a lot?

    Not at all!

    At least, that was what Fang Zhengzhi thought. To him, if he could count the number of treasures, it would not be considered as having a lot of them. He could easily take a few hundred or thousand more pieces.

    Wait a minute!

    ck-Golden Wings, the same bloodline...

    Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes suddenly as he remembered a few treasures he had seen before, such as the zing Qilin Spear in Ping Yang¡¯s hands and the Green Dragon Eye of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Bloodline!

    There seemed to be a drop of golden blood on the tip of the zing Qilin Spear.

    As for the Green Dragon Eye that was used to protect Emperor Lin Mubai, when it was used, one could feel the real ¡°blood of the dragon¡± in the Green Dragon Eye.

    Apart from that, there was a drop of blood in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword too, a drop of purple blood.

    Treasures, bloodline?!

    Strangely, Fang Zhengzhi thought that there were much more secrets involved. After all, it was impossible for all these treasures to be rted to each other coincidentally.

    ¡°Seems like there are a lot of unknown secrets in this world!¡± Fang Zhengzhi made a brave guess that the bloodline on these treasures was perhaps rted to the major battle between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang as well as the Monster Emperor. He could unveil the scene of the battle if he was able to figure out the secret behind these treasures.

    Therefore, in order to ¡°unveil¡± the scene, Fang Zhengzhi decided to sacrifice himself to collect more treasures which are rted to the bloodlines so as to ¡°examine¡± them thoroughly.

    However, it was not the time to do that now. After all, he saw Shan Yu and the few Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region surrounded by thousands of Demon soldiers outside the Blood Shadow City.

    However, these did not matter...

    After he became a ¡°bird human¡±, was he worried that he could not break through?

    ¡°Anyone who obstructs me will die!¡± It was rare for Fang Zhengzhi to talk in such a formal manner but since he was acting as Meng Tian, he had to do some things using Meng Tian¡¯s identity.

    At the very least, he needed to sound more charismatic.

    However, the awkward was the sentence became a loud and clear whistle instead.

    ¡°Yo!!!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°He is Meng Tian, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°They are approaching us!¡±

    After seeing Fang Zhengzhi and the Demon Lord charging down towards them, all the expressions of the Demon soldiers changed as they did not know what to do.

    That was because they knew that the ¡°Meng Tian¡± who were outside of the Blood Shadow City were fake after seeing the signal given out at the position of the Demonic Hall of the Blood Shadow City.

    They only dared to attack because they knew that they were fake...

    However, the real ¡°Meng Tian¡± had appeared and flown above them with the Demon Lord in one of his hands. How could they not be surprised or scared?

    ¡°Senior!¡± Shan Yu had already seen Fang Zhengzhi flying towards her when the gate was split apart. However, when she saw the Demon Lord in his hand, she was astonished. ¡°Senior Meng Tian really managed to... do it?!¡±

    ¡°Queen of the Southern Region, did you have fun?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Shan Yu with a smirk as hended.

    ¡°Fun?¡± Shan Yu was stunned. She could not associate anything that took ce earlier on with the word ¡°fun¡±.

    Meanwhile, after Fang Zhengzhi descended, the surrounding Demon soldiers instinctively took a step back and held on tight to their spears.

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian, release Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°Attack and save Sir Demon Lord!¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Emperor Yun¡¯s voice broke off the roars of the surrounding Demon soldiers. His lips trembled a little but eventually gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I know that all of you are brave, but... stop making sacrifices, head back, all of you, rebuild the Blood Shadow City, I am leaving the future of the Demon Race to all of you!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord...¡±

    ¡°We...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After hearing his words, every single Demon soldier¡¯s body shook and some of them had tears in their eyes.

    Meanwhile, Shan Yu and the few Settlement Chiefs¡¯ bodies stiffened. They looked at the Demon Lord and Fang Zhengzhi andpletely could not figure out what had happened.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to exin.

    ¡°Er... Queen of the Southern Region, can I ask you a question, are there any treasures in the Southern Region? Hmm... I mean, a treasure simr to the ck-Golden Wings on me, do you... understand what I mean?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the gigantic ck-Golden Wings behind him as he spoke.

    ¡°A trea... treasure simr to the ck-golden wings?!¡± Shan Yu¡¯s expression froze. She did not know how to answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    Should she say yes?

    However, there were no simr treasures that allowed one to fly in the Southern Region. However, if she said no... she felt it was inappropriate.

    Moreover...

    Why did Senior suddenly be so interested in ¡°treasures¡± after he left the Blood Shadow City? Shan Yu could not understand why.

    ¡°No? Seriously? The Southern Region is so big but there are no such treasures?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt slightly disappointed when he saw how Shan Yu kept quiet.

    ¡°This... there are, there are a lot of treasures in the Southern Region!¡± Seeing the disappointed look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, Shan Yu clenched her teeth and said.

    ¡°Really? What are they?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi became excited when he heard that.

    ¡°Gold mine, the Southern Region has a lot of gold mines...¡±

    ¡°Gold mine?! Isn¡¯t the gold mine my...¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Shan Yu¡¯s sentence but he realized something halfway through his sentence. ¡°Em... I mean, how would something as ordinary as gold mine be something a God like me would fancy?¡±

    ¡°Ordinary? Hmm, to Senior, gold mines are definitely ordinary. However... he liked it a lot. I forgot to say earlier on that ten of the gold mines in the Southern Region belongs to him, however, they are invaded by the Demon Race now. If he found out about this, I¡¯m sure he would...¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, did you hear her? Hurry make amand for the Demon soldiers to return the gold mines to the Southern Region! You are acting like a thief, do you know? A thief!¡± Before Shan Yu could finish her sentence, Fang Zhengzhi said to the Demon Lord.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon Lord blinked and looked at Shan Yu before shifting his gaze to ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was wearing a ck face cloth. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. ¡°Isn¡¯t it... ordinary?¡±

    ¡°Ordinary?! Who said it is ordinary? How can something as priceless as gold mine be ordinary? Let me ask you, do you want to live?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    There was a type of suffering that made one¡¯s heart exhausted.

    That was exactly how Emperor Yun felt at that point. His heart was really exhausted and felt like dying. However, he was a little indignant.

    Like what Fang Zhengzhi said, he had already endured till this point, if he was killed, the suffering he had endured would be wasted.

    ¡°Pass down mymand, all the Demon soldiers are to retreat from the gold mines of the Southern Regions!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The Demon soldiers replied immediately.

    Hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi blinked as he sensed that Shan Yu was looking at him with a look of expectation.

    Shan Yu, the queen of the Southern Region...

    How could she continue to be called the Queen of the Southern Region if the Southern Region was no longer hers?

    Fang Zhengzhi understood what Shan Yu wanted, she wanted to force the Demon Lord to give amand for the Demon soldiers to retreat from the Southern Region.

    However, was retreating from the gold mine and retreating from the Southern Region referring to the same thing?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure.

    He did not know if the Demon Race would really obey the Demon Lord if he ordered them to retreat from the Southern Region. However, he was certain that the Southern Region would no longer be the same even after the Demon Race left.

    To put it more straightforward, even if the Demon Race pretended to retreat, the Southern Region would still be unprotected like a piece of meat hanging from the Demon Race¡¯s mouth.

    There was a simr story in the Three Kingdoms Period in the past world called the ¡°Death of Yang Xiu¡±.

    It was about how during a battle, Cao Cao gave amand called the ¡°chicken ribs¡± at night. Yang Xiu, the counselor, figures out the hidden meaning which was ¡°tasteless but to give up¡± and assumed that Cao Cao would retreat in the future. Therefore, he packed up early to preventst-minute chaos but ended up getting himself killed.

    As for the Southern Region...

    It was actually a ¡®chicken rib¡¯.

    If Fang Zhengzhi forced the Demon soldiers to retreat from the Southern Region, Shan Yu would remain in the Southern Region. The current manpower and capability of the Southern Region troops were insufficient to protect the region and hence the Southern Region was still like a piece of meat hanging from the Demon race¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Shan Yu¡¯s look of expectation.

    ¡°Senior... Senior! The Southern Region is my homnd, it is where I grew up, my father is still inside and his remains has yet to be properly buried. I plead you, Senior, please...¡± Shan Yu¡¯s knees bent and wanted to kneel.

    ¡°Sell one¡¯s body to bury one¡¯s father, have you heard of this, Queen of the Southern Region?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his arm and stopped Shan Yu from kneeling.

    Of course, while doing that, he made two sweeping nces from Shan Yu¡¯s face to all the parts of her body.

 Chapter 926 - Trying to Take Advantage of Me?

    <h4>Chapter 926: Trying to Take Advantage of Me?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The ancient saying went, ¡®making apromise will resolve a conflict much more easily¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like to give in because he knew that when one got used to giving in, one would often end up in a disadvantageous position. Therefore, he was more inclined towards advancing, though it had nothing to do with the theory about ¡°attack¡± and ¡°defend¡±.

    In short, he decided to advance step by step, forcing Shan Yu to give up the Southern Region so as to ensure her safety.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    Nevertheless, that was just his n. Fang Zhengzhi did not miss out anything when he was supposed to appreciate Shan Yu. He had looked at her from head to toe extremely carefully, just like the saying that went ¡±.

    However, when the Demon soldiers and the Demon Lord witnessed this, they felt speechless.

    It was the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, the first powerful man in the history of hundreds of years, the real man who once stood at the peak of the world!

    Indeed, he was very...

    Manly!

    The Demon soldiers felt strange but they could not make anyments as nobody had ever seen the real appearance of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    Therefore, nobody would know how the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian behaved and what type of woman he liked.

    ¡°Meng Tian, even if you are the Sagely Battle God and our Senior, you can¡¯t ... can¡¯t...¡± One of the Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region could no longer hold it in.

    ¡°Not willing to? Alright, then we shall not discuss this any further. Stop the nonsense and let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not mind and immediately stopped looking at Shan Yu.

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Shan Yu bit her lips, flushed slightly, and frowned as though she was making an extremely difficult decision.

    Looking at this, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered. ¡°F*ck... Don¡¯t tell me that Shan Yu is really willing to sell herself to be a ve?¡±

    Just as he was thinking about this, he saw Shan Yu take a deep breath and opened her mouth, as though as she had made the decision.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to give me a reply so quickly.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his arm and stopped Shan Yu. Then, he looked around. ¡°As the Queen of the Southern Region, you should mind your words and mind the asion. Furthermore, I hope that you give me a reply only after giving it a serious thought.¡±

    After Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he did not wait for Shan Yu to reply and pointed towards the Southern Region. ¡°Queen of the Southern Region, if we don¡¯t leave now, we probably won¡¯t be able to leave anymore.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shan Yu swallowed her words as she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze.

    Meanwhile, the Demon Soldiers felt that they were struck by lightning.

    ¡°Mind the asion?¡±

    ¡°Mind my words?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this referring to ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ himself?¡±

    The Demon Soldiers were really speechless as after all, they did not expect the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian to be so thick-skinned.

    After listening to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words, the few Settlement Chiefs also looked confused. However, they quickly noticed the spot in front of the Gate of the Blood Shadow City.

    Arge number of Demon soldiers charged towards the gates with a few Demon Domain Chiefs and Demon seniors amongst them. This stunned them.

    ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s leave!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we can talk after we leave!¡±

    The few Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region said.

    ¡°Senior, I only hope that you mean your words!¡± Shan Yu looked outside the gate and ran in the direction of the Southern Region.

    ¡°Mean my words?¡±Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he looked at Shan Yu¡¯s back profile. ¡°Shan Yu, this girl... is really stubborn. If I trick her into signing a contract to sell herself, would she kill me when she realizes who I am in the future?¡±

    ...

    At dawn two dayster, two beasts glowing with golden radiancended at the gate of the Blood Shadow City. Their long tails dropped from the gate all the way to the rocks on the ground.

    The Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast!

    The king of the Fowl, they could travel a thousand miles with a p of their wings.

    ¡°Young Lord!!!¡±

    ¡°Demon Deity!¡±

    As the Demon soldiers who were repairing the gate saw the white and ck figures standing on the two golden beasts, they fell to their knees.

    Following that, a team lead by several elders of the Demon Race along with a few Domain Chiefs walked towards the gate.

    ¡°Young Lord, I did not do my best in protection, please punish me!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s my father?¡± Instead of looking at the gate which had been split apart, Yun Qingwu looked quietly at the Demon pce which had copsed.

    How could she not have noticed the state of the Demon pce as she descended from the sky? When she rushed back within two short days, she did not even have the chance to shut her eyes and rest.

    ¡°Demon Lord is...¡±

    ¡°We seek your forgiveness!¡±

    ¡°Young Lord, Demon Lord is... caught by Meng Tian...¡±

    The elders and the Domain Chiefs lowered their heads and did not dare to take a look at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Meng Tian... Father is caught by Meng Tian...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook and her facial expression changed, evidently, she could not stabilize herself.

    ¡°Young Lord, I will give chase now. I will definitely get Demon Lord back!¡± Lin Yu finally spoke.

    ¡°No, it had been two days, it¡¯s impossible to get him back.¡± Yun Qingwu took a look at the broken gate and the crack that had extended to the entrance of the gate and said, ¡°Meng Tian... Did he say anything or try to strike a deal?¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian only asked us to leave the Gold Mine Station of the Southern Region. Other than that, he did not say anything.¡±

    After ncing at each other? The elders and Domain Chiefs of the Demon Race shook their heads.

    ¡°Leave the Gold Mine Station of the Southern Region?¡± Yun Qingwu frowned and almost fell from the back of the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast.

    ¡°Young Lord had not slept for two full days, apany her to get some rest first!¡± Upon seeing this, Lin Yu walked towards Yun Qingwu but did not touch her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and looked at the Elders and Domain Chiefs underneath. ¡°Where¡¯s Domain Chief Ying? Why didn¡¯t I see him?¡±

    ¡°Young Lord, because Domain Chief Ying re... rebelled, he is currently in jail...¡± The Elders and Domain Chiefs of the Demon Race looked at each other and hesitated for a moment before replying.

    ¡°Rebel?¡± Yun Qingwu raised one of her hands and pressed it on her head. Then, her eyes lit up and said, ¡°Noted, let Domain Chief Ying reflect in jail then, I will put Tian Yu in charge of the Shadow City temporarily!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Domain Chief Tian Yu abided by Yun Qingwu¡¯s orders.

    Meanwhile, the other Domain Chiefs looked at each other with confusion in their eyes. Ying Dao was someone whom Yun Qingwu trusted a lot.

    They had thought initially that Ying Dao would be released from jail once Yun Qingwu returned. However, Yun Qingwu did not do so, instead of releasing Ying Dao, she handed over the job to overlook the Shadow City to Tian Yu?

    Why?

    None of the Domain Chiefs could figure out why.

    However, despite not understanding Yun Qingwu¡¯s rationale, none of the Domain Chiefs objected because Yun Qingwu¡¯s decision gave them a sense of fairness.

    ¡°Young Lord, indeed our Young Lord...¡± After seeing the expressions of the surrounding Domain Chiefs, the Great Elder of the Demon Race lowered his head and stopped talking.

    Meanwhile, Tian Yu who just took over the Shadow City began speaking, ¡°Young Lord, should we send the soldiers to check on Demon Lord¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head. ¡°Although Meng Tian did not mention about any terms, he would definitelye and find me since he took my Father.¡±

    ¡°Do you need us to wait here?¡±

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯te back to the Blood Shadow City. If I guess correctly, he should be on his way to the Holy Region.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head again.

    ¡°Holy Region... then we...¡±

    ¡°No change in n.¡± Yun Qingwu broke off the Domain Chief Tian Yu¡¯s sentence and turned to Lin Yu. ¡°Let¡¯s go and wait for him at the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need a short rest, Young Lord?¡± Lin Yu asked upon seeing how tired Yun Qingwu looked.

    ¡°There needs to be some adjustments to the n for the Holy Region. I need to confirm something first.¡±

    ¡°Confirm something? Understood.¡± Lin Yu nodded without asking further and hopped back onto the Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast.

    Yo! A sharp sound was heard.

    The Golden-feathered Phoenix Beast expanded its arms and flew into the sky in an instant. With each p of its giant wings, a violent aura was felt from the sky.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu gently raised her head.

    The sun had not risenpletely and the sky was only golden-red. However, Yun Qingwu bit her lips. ¡°Is it really Meng Tian?¡±

    ...

    At the opening of a cave along the road to the Great Xia and Holy Region, Fang Zhengzhi stood in front of the cave and looked at the same sky which the sun had not risen.

    Meanwhile, in the cave, Shan Yu knelt in front of a tomb made up of stones. A few big words were carved on the tombstone.

    ¡°The Tomb of the King of the Southern Region!¡±

    ¡°My Lord, although Senior Meng Tian helped us retrieve the remains of the previous King, after all, you are still the Queen of the Southern Region, are you really willing to be the ve for Meng Tian...¡± After looking at Shan Yu who was kneeling on the floor, the few Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region stopped halfway through their sentence.

    ¡°Do you think that I will go against my promise?¡± Shan Yu wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes and looked up at the Settlement Chiefs.

    ¡°Er...¡± The few Settlement Chiefs took a nce at each other and fell silent.

    At this moment, Lin Ji, who was tied up at a corner, startedughing as she looked at the Demon Lord who was also tied up and then the stone tomb.

    ¡°Selling yourself as a ve for a set of useless remains? How pathetic!¡± Lin Ji sneered.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how did Monster Lin Ji sell herself as a ve to Yun Qingwu and suck up to her?¡± A voice was heard from the entrance of the cave and following that, a figure walked out of the cave.

    ¡°Nonsense, since when did I sell myself as a ve?¡± Lin Ji replied without giving much thoughts as she knew who had walked in.

    ¡°Oh? You didn¡¯t?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sneered.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Lin Ji sounded very sure.

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t understand why is the Godly State expert willing to follow themands of a weak person like Yun Qingwu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said.

    ¡°Weak? Haha...¡± Lin Jiughed and she seemed to be in thought. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the Sagely Battle God knows how to y chess?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°If I used 100 pawns and you used 50, are you confident that you will win me?¡± Lin Ji asked.

    ¡°100 versus 50 pawns?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment before he proceeded to sit down. ¡°If my opponent was you, I think I stand a high chance to win.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Meng Tian, I am starting to like your confidence, or maybe, shamelessness?¡± Lin Jiughed again. ¡°However, even if you are willing to win my 100 pawns with 50 pawns, I won¡¯t listen to you because Young Empress only uses 15 pawns!¡±

    ¡°15 pawns?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Young Empress had ever won 100 pawns with 15 pawns on the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± Lin Ji sounded very impressed.

    ¡°Won 100 pawns with 15 pawns?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why the Godly State experts who descended after the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons opened had listened to Yun Qingwu.

    One chess game!

    Winning 100 pawns with 15 pawns!

    It sounded like something ordinary but only those who truly understands it would appreciate the ultimate scheme and mind game involved.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the game on the Heaven Zen Mountain was not merely a game but rather a ¡°n¡±, a ¡°n¡± of the battle between humankind and the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Winning despite having lesser numbers, winning 100 people with 15!

    ¡°It seems like you are trying to lure me to the Heaven Zen Mountain to look at the game?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lin Ji.

    Lin Ji¡¯s body shook and looked slightly surprised by the fact that Fang Zhengzhi could read her mind. However, she began tough hysterically again. ¡°You are right, not sure if Sagely Battle God Meng Tian dares to go!¡±

    ¡°Go... of course I need to go. However, before I go; I need to first resolve the... personal problems between us.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked brazenly at Lin Ji.

    ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of me?¡± Lin Ji twisted her body as she felt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s haze. Instead of dodging, she raised her chest towards Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 927 - Good in Bed

    <h4>Chapter 927: Good in Bed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Whore!¡± Before Fang Zhengzhi could say anything, Shan Yu could not hold in any longer.

    Although the mindset of people in the Southern Region was liberal, Lin Ji¡¯s actions could not merely be described by the word ¡°liberal¡±.

    Simrly, after hearing Lin Ji, the three Settlement Chiefs also showed expression of disgust and snorted coldly.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand...

    He did not mind Lin Ji¡¯s attitude. There was an old saying that went, women do not only need to be good in both domestic and social aspects, they must also be good in bed.

    Lin Ji definitely looked like the type of woman who was good in bed. However, the thought that Lin Ji had experienced the ancient battlefield and had lived for god knows how long prevented Fang Zhengzhi to make anyments.

    Although the rtionship between an older man and a younger woman was a trend, it felt weird if he became the younger one.

    ¡°You are too old!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and expressed his opinion after he took a good look at Lin Ji¡¯s raised chest.

    ¡°Meng Tian! Show me some face, I am too old?! Don¡¯t forget that you are also a few hundred years old!¡± Lin Ji stood up from the ground but had to bend her body because she was being tied too tightly.

    However, after all, Lin Ji was a woman. Although she was indeed rtively old, there is no woman would like to be called ¡°old¡±.

    ¡°You are indeed desperate... Forget it, let¡¯s get onto the topic, do you want to be freed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and looked nonchnt. After all, Lin Ji could not do anything to him, so why did he bother?

    ¡°Hahaha... You must be dreaming if you want me to betray Young Empress!¡± Lin Ji knew what Fang Zhengzhi had implied and rejected him without hesitation.

    ¡°It had not been long since you came out from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi found a ce to sit as he spoke and he did not seem to be surprised by Lin Ji¡¯s response.

    ¡°Yes, so what?¡± Lin Ji was fearless.

    ¡°You have two options, one is for me to continue sealing you. You should know that I have the ability to do so, to put you into deep sleep again for hundreds or thousands of years...¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a sneak peek at Lin Ji as he spoke.

    He saw that Lin Ji¡¯s expression evidently changed. Although it was rather insignificant, it was obvious enough to be seen.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was Lin Ji¡¯s ¡°trigger point¡±.

    How would a hundred-year-old Monster be willing to return to the dark world after being freed from the seal?

    ¡°What¡¯s the second option?¡± Lin Ji kept silent for a while and asked impatiently after Fang Zhengzhi paused.

    ¡°What do you think the second option is?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that the more impatient the other person was, the more patient he must be. After all, he had the final say.

    ¡°If you want me to be your ve, it is impossible!¡±

    ¡°Haha, I am not interested in keeping you as my ve. I have a simple deal. If you tell me Yun Qingwu¡¯s n, I will let you off.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled faintly.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°What else are there apart from the Five Element Formation in the Holy Region?¡±

    ¡°You know about the Five Element Formation?!¡± Lin Ji evidently looked surprised.

    Meanwhile, the Demon Lord who was tied up at the corner also widened his eyes and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not intend to exin himself. He merely shook his hand and took a bite of the cooked food on the fire rack. ¡°Tell me about the other ns.¡±

    ¡°I can agree to this deal, but how can I be assured that you won¡¯t kill me after I told you the relevant details?¡± Lin Ji clenched her fist as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then released her fist before she asked.

    Lin Ji was obviously not foolish. Although she was being held as a hostage, she knew her value. Once her value was lost, she would not possibly live on.

    ¡°This is simple. I can pledge, pledge with Meng Tian¡¯s name.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said casually.

    ¡°Pledge? Haha, do you think I will believe you?¡± Lin Jiughed and sat back down, not convinced at all.

    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Release me first. I will tell you once I find the cave.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I will agree?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then why should I believe you?¡± Lin Ji was calm after she found out about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motive, giving an expression of nonchnce.

    ¡°You are right. Fine, tell me some details before I release you, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave the issue a little bit of thought before he said, ¡°However, the things you say must be something I do not already know and of sufficient value.¡±

    ¡°You will seriously let me go if I told you some details?¡± Lin Ji¡¯s eyes lit up and a cold gaze shed across her eyes.

    ¡°Speak. I will let you go if I find the information you say useful.¡±

    Meanwhile, Shan Yu and the three Settlement Chiefs looked at one another with a nervous expression.

    However, Shan Yu did not speak at all or disturb Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interrogation since the start. She only gritted her teeth and trembled slightly.

    The other three Settlement Chiefs simrly wanted to talk but after seeing how Shan Yu kept silent, they clenched their fists and remained quiet too.

    Lin Ji saw the expressions on their faces and her gloomy expression became more pleasant.

    Although she did not believe Fang Zhengzhi, it was a chance to her.

    As long as she followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request, she had the chance to escape. She had absolute confidence that she could escape from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control if he let down his guard a little.

    ¡°Alright, Meng Tian, I will trust you for this once!¡± Lin Ji clenched her teeth and showed a difficult expression before she turned to look at the Demon Lord. ¡°But I will only say this to you. Come closer, I promise it will be something you are interested in.¡±

    ¡°How close?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took two steps towards Lin Ji as he spoke before stopping.

    ¡°A little closer. I don¡¯t want anyone else to hear it.¡± Lin Ji leaned back and gave an alluring look at Fang Zhengzhi who was three feet away.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not hold back and took two steps forward and sat right beside Lin Ji with a distance of less than one inch away from her.

    Lin Ji smiled extremely alluringly. However, as she looked over at Shan Yu and the three Settlement Chiefs, she looked very unhappy.

    ¡°Why not let the few of them leave first.¡± Lin Ji blushed as she leaned towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s rather inconvenient for them to stay here. Shan Yu, leave with the three Settlement Chiefs and guard outside. Also, bring Demon Lord along with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    ¡°Senior!¡±

    ¡°Senior, this Monsterdy is extremely cunning, I think you should be wary...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave.¡± Shan Yu broke off the three Settlement Chiefs¡¯ words and headed towards the exit of the cave. When she was about to step out, she turned and gave Fang Zhengzhi a look of confusion.

    After hearing Shan Yu¡¯s words, the three Settlement Chiefs sighed as they lowered their heads and brought Demon Lord out of the cave.

    Soon, the cave was left with the man and the Monster, Fang Zhengzhi and Lin Ji.

    ¡°So what do you want to tell me?¡± After the few people left, Fang Zhengzhi leaned back into the grass.

    His action surprised Lin Ji.

    She once thought that Fang Zhengzhi could have fallen for her trick, but she knew that he would not fall for it so easily, or rather, she felt that he was trying to y along with her.

    Moving her eyes slightly, Lin Ji¡¯s body fell together with Fang Zhengzhi and pressed her thigh on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, Sagely Battle God is the member of Great Xia and had reached the peak hundred years ago. So why are you go underground?¡± As she spoke, she turned her body and changed her tone, making her seem extremely alluring.

    ¡°Go underground? I did not go underground, I only shut myself from the world.¡± Fang Zhengzhi allowed Lin Ji to carry on turning as she liked.

    ¡°Shut yourself?¡± A look of coldness shed across her eyes before her gaze turned alluring again. ¡°So, what state are you at now?¡±

    ¡°Much higher than you. Let me be honest with you, when I was fighting against you, I only used less than half of my powers.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely thick-skinned until his face would not even blush when he boasted.

    ¡°Half of your powers? Haha...¡± Lin Jiughed and licked her lips with her tongue. Then, her voice became low suddenly, ¡°Battle God, have you heard of the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Source of God? Of course.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said without any change of expression.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know where the ¡®Source of God¡¯ is?¡±

    ¡°If I am not wrong, you are trying to tell me about the location of the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi did not know what the Source of God was, he had to act like he knew.

    ¡°Yes, do you want to know?¡± Lin Ji nodded and leaned her head towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck as she stuck out her tongue.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sat up from the grass, flinging Lin Ji¡¯s leg was aside as he said with extreme excitement, ¡°Tell me, where is the Source of God?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Ji¡¯s tongue was stuck out halfway and her body froze on the spot. She looked extremely furious and annoyed.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had already sat upright so she had to adjust her emotions. After taking two deep breaths, she sat upright too.

    ¡°Aiya, this chain is too tight, I am suffocating. Battle God, don¡¯t you pity me at all?¡±

    ¡°Tight?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the chains on Lin Ji.

    ¡°Yes, of course. I am so ufortable, ah... I cannot breathe at all, aiya, Battle God... Please save me...¡± Lin Ji began twisting around as she said and her face turned red as though she was really suffocating.

    ¡°Then, I shall add another chain for you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied after giving some serious consideration.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Ji could not react.

    ¡°I heard that when you add another chain, the two chains wille to a bnce, did you not hear of this before? The issue is about bncing it out.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not mind sharing some Science knowledge with Lin Ji. After all, he did not bother even if she did not believe him.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Ji¡¯s face was extremely red but she could not say anything in defense.

    ¡°The weather is good today.¡± Since Lin Ji did not speak for a long time, Fang Zhengzhi stretched and stood up from the grass patch.

    ¡°Meng Tian, do you really not want to know where the Source of God is? You should know that you are only able to suppress me alone. If you had two other Godly State experts, you will definitely win! You can only return to the peak once you obtain the Source of God!¡± Lin Ji gritted her teeth as she returned to her usual tone.

    ¡°I know where the Source of God is.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said without looking back.

    ¡°You know?!¡± Lin Ji was shocked for a moment, but she beganughing soon. ¡°Impossible. If you had known, you won¡¯t be here!¡±

    Lin Ji obviously did not believe him.

    ¡°Holy Region. The Source of God is in the Holy Region, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother debating.

    ¡°Haha... Of course the Source of God is in the Holy Region. I am not surprised even if you guessed it correctly. However, how do you know where is the exact location of the Source of God since the Holy Region is so big?¡± Lin Ji, instead of being surprised,ughed in disdain.

    ¡°Really? You are certain that I do not know?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°You have to know that this is your only chance to live. If I say it out, do you think you can still walk out of the cave alive?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned his body around slowly.

    ¡°You won¡¯t kill me!¡± Lin Ji was certain.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t I kill you?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, because you won¡¯t kill me until you know where the Source of God is!¡± Lin Jiughed. Unlike previously, herughter was filled with confidence.

 Chapter 928 - Have A Taste of Fang Zhengzhiâ€™s Tactic!

    <h4>Chapter 928: Have A Taste of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Tactic!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi wasughing too. He wasughing with even more confidence and in greater disdain. He was mocking Lin Ji as though she was a fool.

    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± Lin Ji felt the chills because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s re and stopped smiling.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t kill you, it does not mean to others won¡¯t too. For example... Shan Yu?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, he turned to look outside the cave. ¡°Queen of the Southern Region, pleasee in.¡±

    ¡°Why did you call me?¡± Shan Yu¡¯s voice was heard and she immediately appeared at the entrance of the cave.

    Evidently, Shan Yu did not go too far away, or rather, she never left the entrance of the cave because she could not allow the person who killed her father to run away in front of her eyes.

    ¡°Do you want to take revenge?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Lin Ji.

    ¡°Meng Tian, do you think you can force me to oblige using this method? Impossible! If she really killed me, you will never know where the Source of God is!¡± Lin Ji¡¯s expression changed but became calm again, except for the fury in her eyes.

    ¡°Kill her to take revenge for your father. Since the tomb of the previous King of the Southern Region is nearby, you can use Lin Ji¡¯s head to pay respect to him,¡± Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.

    ¡°Senior... but she...¡± Shan Yu was stunned as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Lin Ji.

    This does not mean that she did not want to take revenge, but rather it was because she knew the situation better than anyone else as the Queen of the Southern Region. She would have attacked Lin Ji long ago when Fang Zhengzhi infiltrated the Blood Shadow City, but she did not do so because she had to care for the overall situation.

    Not only was very certain that Lin Ji was not captured by her, but she also knew that Lin Ji¡¯s practical value was too high.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to take revenge?¡± Seeing Shan Yu¡¯s hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°I want to, I really want to, I have been constantly thinking about it. Since the moment Lin Ji killed my Father, I really wanted to kill her with my own hands!¡± Towards the end of her sentence, Shan Yu showed a sense of hatred that was indescribable by words as she clenched her fists till they turned white.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°She has no more value for me,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi, who knew what Shan Yu was concerned about.

    ¡°Thank you, Senior!¡± Shan Yu¡¯s body bent forward and was about to kneel on the ground.

    However, Shan Yu did not kneel down because Fang Zhengzhi had held her hand and supported her body with great force.

    At this moment, the three Settlement Chiefs entered the cave with the Demon Lord and looked at both Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi before taking a nce at each other and falling to their knees.

    ¡°Your Highness, you can finally die in peace!¡±

    ¡°Senior, on behalf of the people of the Southern Region, we thank you...¡±

    ¡°The people of the Southern Region can finally have our wishes granted by being able to kill this Monsterdy!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs knelt down on the ground quickly with tears welled up in their eyes and did not wait for Fang Zhengzhi to go up to them.

    As the saying went, ¡®A man does not shed tears unless deeply hurt¡¯. Men in the Southern Region respected the brave individuals. By kneeling in front of Fang Zhengzhi, the three Settlement Chiefs showed that they sincerely admired him.

    Of course, they did not know that...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not intend to go up to them as after all, Fang Zhengzhi did not have enough arms to support four people at one go.

    ¡°Please rise, Settlement Chiefs. Do you all want to y around with this Monsterdy before killing her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked after helping Shan Yu up.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Even Shan Yu and the Demon Lord was stunned as they widened their eyes.

    ¡°Monsterdy, do you want to y?¡± Fang Zhengzhi reminded with a ¡®kind intention¡¯ after seeing the stunned expressions of the three Settlement Chiefs.

    ¡°Senior, you must be kidding. We only want to kill her to take revenge for Your Highness!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs looked at each other and replied.

    ¡°How boring, up to you then.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shrugged and stood at the entrance of the cave.

    After hearing this, Lin Ji¡¯s face turned pale because she could evidently feel the intense killing intent exuding from the bodies of Shan Yu and the three Settlement Chiefs.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you have to consider this carefully. If you don¡¯t make use of the opportunity now to get the Source of God, you will not have the chance to do so when the real Monsters and Demons arrive in a few months¡¯ time!¡± Lin Ji clearly did not want to die.

    ¡°Senior?¡± Shan Yu bit her lips after hearing Lin Ji¡¯s words and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a look of query.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi looked as calm as usual and acted as though he had not heard what Lin Ji said.

    Shan Yu stopped biting her lips and meanwhile, two daggers that were as ck as ink appeared in both of her hands.

    ¡°Meng Tian!!!¡± Lin Ji shouted angrily.

    Shan Yu did not probe Fang Zhengzhi further and dashed towards Lin Ji directly with red light radiating like fire on her two daggers.

    ¡°Shan Yu, how dare you! If you killed me, humankind would have no...¡±

    ng!

    Lin Ji clearly did not finish her sentence because Shan Yu¡¯s daggers had urately stabbed her body on her left and right chest.

    However...

    The daggers did not prate her body.

    That was because the thick ck scales had covered Lin Ji¡¯s entire body. With Shan Yu¡¯s power, she could not have hurt Lin Ji at all.

    ¡°Hahaha... You want to kill me? What a jo...¡±

    sh!

    Lin Ji¡¯sughter stopped and her expression froze. A dagger had been inserted into her left chest.

    Blood trickled down the dagger and dripped on the floor.

    ¡°You... Meng Tian, you...¡± Lin Ji refused to believe it but a figure stood behind Shan Yu.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    That was not the main thing. The main thing was one of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foot was pressing on Shan Yu¡¯s dagger!

    Lin Ji gradually looked down at the dagger that was inserted in her chest, then at Fang Zhengzhi who was standing behind Shan Yu, her eyes were bloodshot.

    She was confident but meanwhile she was mocking at how inferior Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tactic was.

    Trying to frighten her with Shan Yu?

    How was that possible?

    Lin Ji was absolutely confident that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interest in the Source of God was because of such. She was also sure that Fang Zhengzhi would not kill her.

    However, why?

    St! Another soft sound was heard in the cave.

    Meanwhile, Shan Yu¡¯s dagger was kicked by Fang Zhengzhi. It prated the ck scales on Lin Ji¡¯s body and stabbed her chest.

    Blood dripped down again.

    ¡°The heart is not the fatal spot for Monsters. To kill them, one has to destroy the Monster Pearl.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said softly and ignored Lin Ji¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Yes, Senior!¡± Shan Yu was about to bow and say thanks when Fang Zhengzhi grabbed onto her with one hand and dragged her to his back.

    ¡°Meng Tian, do you really want to kill me?¡± Lin Ji stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and tried to get something out of it.

    However, she could not get anything out of it because what she saw was calmness.

    ¡°Well, this Monsterdy is indeed quite powerful. It would be a little difficult if you try to destroy her Monster Pearl using your tactic. How about this, I will seal her powers first and look for the location of her Monster Pearl, then you can kill her easily.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded at Shan Yu andpletely ignored Lin Ji.

    ¡°Meng Tian, I will kill you!¡± Lin Ji could no longer hold in any further after she heard Fang Zhengzhi. The scales grew rapidly over her entire body and the spikes that were as sharp as knife appeared all over her, making eye-piercing sounds as they shed with the chains on her body.

    Besides that, Lin Ji¡¯s head changed significantly. Her eyes turned dark green and something horn-like grew from her head.

    Swoosh! A tongue that was split into half protruded from her mouth.

    ¡°So you are a small snake?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the tongue in Lin Ji¡¯s mouth and quickly understood her original form. However, that was not important as the only way to deal with a captive who tried to resist was to p her with full force.

    So...

    Fang Zhengzhi pped her.

    He pped her on her head on which a horn was grown.

    Bam!

    The floor trembled and cracks appeared from beneath her body and spread all the way to the entrance of the cave like a giant spiderweb.

    Meanwhile, Lin Ji¡¯s body stiffened and her twisted expression frozepletely as though her soul had left her body.

    ¡°Kill me? How?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lin Ji with despise.

    After he spoke, Lin Ji¡¯s body mmed onto the ground and she was drenched in perspiration

    This scene shocked the Demon Lord as it was his first time seeing Fang Zhengzhi perform this tactic.

    ¡°One p?! Just one p?¡± The Demon Lord clearly remembered the two strikes made by Fang Zhengzhi in the Blood Shadow City using his sword, and he knew that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was very powerful.

    However, he did not expect him to be so powerful.

    ¡°The Monster Pearl is in her stomach.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not take any extra look at Lin Ji and walked behind Shan Yu.

    Meanwhile, the scales and horn on Lin Ji disappeared as she returned to her normal appearance.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you... are indeed cruel. However, if you kill me, you would lose your final opportunity, humankind... is destined to disappear from the earth!¡± Lin Ji breathed heavily and her entire body trembled. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an extremely twisted expression.

    ¡°Make your move.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not moved at all.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Shan Yu nodded. Without hesitation, she withdrew her two targets and stabbed them into Lin Ji¡¯s chest with a speed of the lightning.

    ¡°Ah... Meng Tian, I will not let you off until the day of my death!¡± Lin Ji shouted as blood tricked down the side of her mouth.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, turned his head to the side casually.

    He did not like to see such gory scenes. However, he was slightly speechless after hearing Lin Ji. She will not let him off until the day of her death? How could she not let him off if she had died?

    What an irony.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also a little desperate.

    Did every single person who was about to die like to say the exact same sentence? How boring, why couldn¡¯t they change to a more refreshing line like ¡®I would continue to hate you even after I die¡¯?

    It seemed like...

    It was a little self-contradictory too.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He was not too concerned over such minute details. After all, everyone liked to say it and he could not possibly seal Lin Ji¡¯s mouth up.

    Crack! At this moment, a crisp loud sound was heard. Following the sound, a crystal clear Monster Pearl rolled out from Lin Ji¡¯s stomach.

    Instantly, a powerful aura shrouded the entire cave and radiated outwards like water ripples.

    ¡°This is the Monster Pearl?!¡±

    ¡°The Monster Pearl of a Godly State... What a powerful aura!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region looked at the Monster Pearl with their eyes wideNed. After all, it was their first time seeing a Monster Pearl. Furthermore, it was a Monster Pearl of a Godly State expert.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t destroy my Monster Pearl, I don¡¯t want to die yet... I... I will tell you where the Source of God is. Meng Tian, I... I will tell you!¡± Lin Ji became extremely dispirited the instant her Monster Pearl rolled out of her body. She copsed on the ground as though she hadpletely depleted her energy.

    ¡°Say, where is the Source of God!¡± Shan Yu, who was about to stab the Monster Pearl with her dagger, stopped at this instant. She knew how important the information was for Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright, I will say... I will say... However, you must promise me that you will not kill me. I don¡¯t want to die, I really... don¡¯t want to die...¡± Lin Ji nodded and had her two hands on the ground. She was drenched in sweat and pleaded.

    ¡°No! Lin Ji, you can¡¯t reveal the location!¡± Demon Lord finally spoke and he threw his body towards Lin Ji.

 Chapter 929 - Revelation, Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi?!

    <h4>Chapter 929: Revtion, Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi?!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    He moved extremely quickly.

    At least it was so fast that the three Settlement Chiefs beside the Demon Lord could not block him and could only watch how he slowly approached Lin Ji.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    That was because although the Demon Lord could be faster than the three Settlement Chiefs, he definitely could not match up to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed.

    With a simple kick, the Demon Lord turned to another direction in midair andnded on the wall of the cave with a thud.

    Meanwhile, the three Settlement Chiefs regained their senses and pounced on the Demon Lord like three ferocious tigers.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    After a round of kicking and punching, the Demon Lord was paralyzed and could only make moaning sounds.

    That was because the three Settlement Chiefs hadpletely thrown their bodies on the Demon Lord ¡°shamelessly¡± as they were afraid that he would help Lin Ji again.

    ¡°So is this the so-called ¡°human pyramid¡±?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless as he stared at the Demon Lord who was being forcefully pressed on the ground with his face red.

    Meanwhile, Lin Ji¡¯s voice could be heard. However, her voice was extremely weak and one could only vaguely make out the front part of her sentence. ¡°Actually, the Source of God is in the Heaven...¡±

    ¡°What? What did you say? Where¡¯s the Source of God?!¡± Shan Yu bent her body involuntarily and leaned towards Lin Ji as she tried to figure out the rest of her sentence.

    ¡°Move aside, silly girl!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was wrong as he saw Shan Yu bending down.

    However, it was toote.

    Lin Ji had moved with the speed of lightning the instant Shan Yu bent down. Two sharp fangs appeared as she opened her mouth.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop her.

    However, Lin Ji was too close to Shan Yu. She was so close that she could reach Shan Yu just by moving an inch forward.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Shan Yu screamed painfully.

    Meanwhile, her body was dragged by an invisible force and shended on Lin Ji in a blink of an eye.

    Fang Zhengzhi widened his eyes.

    That was because two sharp fangs had sunk into Shan Yu¡¯s neck. Purple fluid flowed out from the location of her teeth.

    ¡°Release her, or you will die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw a punch towards Lin Ji¡¯s head without hesitation.

    Boom!

    Lin Ji¡¯s body was sent flying in the air and her two fangs broke. Blood, as well as the purple fluid, sttered in the air like rain.

    ¡°Watch out, Senior!¡± Shan Yu turned forcefully when she saw the purple fluid and covered Fang Zhengzhi using her body.

    The drops of purple liquidnded on Shan Yu¡¯s back likeva and purple steam rose from her back.

    Shan Yu¡¯s face turned purple and she began moaning involuntarily. However, she tried to subdue her moans and bit her lips.

    ¡°Shan Yu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi hugged Shan Yu and looked at Lin Ji, who hadnded on the ground, with bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°Die!¡± A furious roar was heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi held on tightly to Shan Yu¡¯s hand, tightened the grip on her dagger and along with Shan Yu, he approached Lin Ji.

    Swoosh! A chilling radiance shed past.

    A head flew into the air andnded on the floor. Meanwhile, the corpse on the ground turned gradually into a gigantic ck snake that was covered in thick scales.

    It was evident that the gigantic snake had extremely sharp thorns on its back. Furthermore, it had four obvious bulges below its stomach.

    ¡°Hahaha, Meng Tian, did you expect this? I can¡¯t kill you but I can kill Shan Yu, hahaha... Besides that, I am not a ¡®small snake¡¯, I am the ¡®Pa snake¡¯ [1. Pa snake was a python-like Chinese mythological giant snake that ate elephants], listen carefully, I am the ancient...¡±

    Crack!

    Before Lin Ji could finish her sentence, a foot stepped onto her head and crushed the half snake-like headpletely.

    ¡°Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Senior, please save Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Monsterdy, evil Monsterdy, I will kill you and chop you up into pieces!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs werepletely stunned at this scene. When they finally regained their senses, roars could be heard in the cave.

    ¡°Senior, please save Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Please save Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Shut... shut up!¡± Shan Yu broke off the requests of the three Settlement Chiefs. Then, she grabbed tightly on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm. ¡°Senior, just now... Lin Ji said... she said...¡±

    ¡°Shan Yu, stop talking.¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop Shan Yu from talking because the more she talked, the more injuries it would cause to her heart.

    However, Shan Yu shook her head vigorously. Her purple face was filled with determination and patterns that looked like the Cloud Pattern appeared on her arm.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt hurt when he saw this. He knew that Shan Yu was using herst breath toplete her sentence.

    ¡°Alright, speak.¡± Fang Zhengzhi presses one of his hand on Shan Yu¡¯s throat, causing power to surge into Shan Yu¡¯s body in order to protect her heart.

    ¡°Thank you Senior... Lin Ji said just... just now that the Source... Source of God is... is in the Heaven... Heaven Zen Mountain. She said it... it is in the Heaven Zen Mountain... Senior, the Source of God is in the Heaven...¡±

    ¡°I got it, the Source of God is in the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, My sacrifice is nothing... nothing much. However, I have a final... final wish, I hope that Senior... Senior can help me ful... fulfill...¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°I hope to take ast look at Fang... Fang Zhengzhi. However, I... I know that... it is im... impossible for me to... to meet him. Senior, I... I only hope that after I die... you can move my bo... body to... to the Northern... Northern Mountain Vige of the Great Xia Dynasty, and hand... hand it over to...¡± Arge amount of purple blood fished out of Shan Yu¡¯s mouth towards thest part of her sentence.

    ¡°No, you can still meet him, he is just beside you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook as he heard this. How could he continue hiding his identity as he saw Shan Yu¡¯s purple face?

    Perhaps it was not the best time to reveal his identity. Perhaps his identity may be exposed after the three Settlement Chiefs were caught.

    In fact, the Demon Lord was right in front of him.

    There were many possibilities...

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could not bother about them. Perhaps he was too rash, perhaps he did not think it through, but this rashness was exactly Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality.

    Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi took off the ck face mask on his face.

    A handsome face appeared in front of Shan Yu. This face was a familiar one because Shan Yu had dreamt of it countless times.

    However, at the same time, this face looked slightly foreign because she had not seen it for a very long time.

    ¡°Shameless brat, it is indeed... indeed you!¡± Shan Yu¡¯s eyes widened as she started breathing heavily and rapidly.

    The three Settlement Chiefs and Demon Lord werepletely stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, the legend who once stood at the peak of the world was actually Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Wait a minute!

    To put it in other words, the man standing in front of them, the man who split apart the Demon Pce and the gates of the Blood Shadow City was Fang Zhengzhi!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± The Demon Lord was in disbelief because he had sent people down to check that Fang Zhengzhi was in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    So why did Fang Zhengzhi appear in front of him?

    Furthermore, he appeared using the identity of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!

    The other three Settlement Chiefs were also in disbelief. They had the impression that Fang Zhengzhi was the teenager in the battlefield of the Southern Region who only had the power of the Rebirth State.

    In less than a year¡¯s time...

    The shameless Fang Zhengzhi who had once made an aplishment in the battlefield of the Southern Region and stirred things up in the me Capital City of Great Xia had be a ¡°Sagely Battle God¡± who was able to split apart the Blood Shadow City with a single strike of the sword!

    How exaggerated and terrifying was that!

    ¡°Shan Yu, rest assured, as long as I am here, I will not let you die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored the reactions of the Settlement Chiefs and the Demon Lord and turned his gaze towards the Monster Pearl on the ground. ¡°Yes, as long as I have the Monster Pearl, Shan Yu won¡¯t die!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his hand and the Monster Pearlnded in his hand.

    That was because he recalled the scene outside the me Capital City when Ping Yang was about to die but was miraculously saved by a Monster King¡¯s Monster Pearl.

    The Monster Pearl could heal.

    Yes, the Monster Pearl definitely could heal.

    Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi was ready to put the Monster Pearl into Shan Yu¡¯s mouth. However, he stopped when the Monster Pearl touched her lips.

    ¡°Hold on, something is wrong!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind was in a mess but there was a voice telling him that there was a scheme behind this.

    ¡°Senior? Oh, no... Young Master Fang, this Monster Pearl can save Your Highness, right?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs looked at each other and asked cautiously.

    ¡°Please save Your Highness, Young Master Fang!¡±

    ¡°Yes, if Young Master Fang managed to save Your Highness with the Monster Pearl, the vigers of the Southern Region would be grateful to you for our entire lives!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs were extremely anxious when they saw Fang Zhengzhi stop. They could feel Shan Yu¡¯s weakening breath.

    ¡°The Monster Pearl can certainly cure injuries, but...¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned as thoughts ran through his mind.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs were stunned for a moment before they fell to their knees. ¡°Young Master Fang, we know that the Monster Pearl is precious, but Your Highness is the future of the Southern Region, please save her!¡±

    ¡°Please, Young Master Fang!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness got tricked by Lin Ji because she was too anxious to find out about the location of the Source of God. Furthermore, Your Highness is true to Young Master Fang, we hope that you...¡±

    ¡°What did you say? Say it again?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned to the three Settlement Chiefs.

    ¡°Ah? We said that... Your Highness was true to Young Master Fang...¡±

    ¡°No, the previous sentence.¡±

    ¡°The previous sentence? Oh... Your Highness got tricked by Lin Ji because she was too anxious to find out about the location of the Source of God...¡±

    ¡°Yes, the location of the Source of God!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt chills behind his back as his eyes lit up. In fact, his back was drenched in sweat.

    So close, he was so close to taking Shan Yu¡¯s life with his own hands.

    Lin Ji was an extremely cunning Monster.

    This was a scheme that killed three birds with a stone. It was also perfectly nned. If the three Settlement Chiefs had not mentioned about the location of the Source of God, Fang Zhengzhi would not have figured out.

    Of course, after thinking through, he clearly saw the loophole in the n.

    For instance, when Lin Ji bit Shan Yu, she did not kill her but rather injected venom into Shan Yu¡¯s body.

    This did not seem like anything wrong but was actually an extensive scheme.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very sure that with the capability of Lin Ji, if she had really bitten her throat, she would not need to waste time and efforts to inject the venom.

    She could have just killed her!

    However, Lin Ji did not do so. Instead, she gave Shan Yu a chance to respite and made her tell Fang Zhengzhi what she had heard.

    The first bird in her n was to let Fang Zhengzhi, who was desperate to save Shan Yu, feed her the Monster Pearl and therefore kill her with his own hands.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had done this, he would naturally be the enemy of the people in the Southern Region.

    Besides that, he could be the enemy of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Northern Mountain Vige.

    That was the second bird.

    The battle between Sagely Battle God Meng Tian and Fang Zhengzhi!

    That was what Lin Ji was anticipating and what the Monster Race and Demon Race hoped to see. The battle between two tigers would definitely see one side injured. This story was passed on for hundreds of years.

    Lin Ji¡¯s n was as such.

    However, Lin Ji was too cunning and hated ¡°Meng Tian¡± too much. Therefore, she was not satisfied with her n and despite knowing the inevitability of her death, she revealed the location of the Source of God and made Shan Yu convey the message to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Heaven Zen Mountain!

    Nobody could be clearer about what kind of ce that was.

    Lin Ji wanted to use the hand of ¡°Meng Tian¡± to kill Shan Yu and invoke a great battle between Fang Zhengzhi and ¡°Meng Tian¡±. Then, she could use the Heaven Zen Mountain as a trap to trick ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    What a perfect n of killing three birds with one stone.

 Chapter 930 - Sacrifice for the Bigger Picture

    <h4>Chapter 930: Sacrifice for the Bigger Picture</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What a pity that Lin Ji was too greedy.

    If she had not intentionally told Shan Yu about the location of the Source of God, Fang Zhengzhi would have not noticed the loophole in her n.

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly regained his senses and retreated his hand and kept the Monster Pearl quickly.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, you can¡¯t leave her in the lurch!¡± The eyes of the three Settlement Chiefs were bloodshot when they saw this.

    ¡°Nonsense! I have said that as long as I am here, I will definitely not allow Shan Yu to die. However, this Monster Pearl cannot save her.¡± Fang Zhengzhi carefullyid Shan Yu on the ground and walked towards Lin Ji¡¯s body.

    ¡°Cannot save her? However, didn¡¯t Young Master Fang say that the Monster Pearl is used to heal injuries?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs looked at each other in confusion.

    However, they did not probe further because it was Fang Zhengzhi, and not the so-called ¡°Meng Tian¡±, who was standing in front of them.

    Although the felt that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shameless, they knew that if he was Fang Zhengzhi, he would definitely save Shan Yu.

    ¡°The Monster Pearl can indeed heal injuries, but Shan Yu is unable to take this Monster Pearl and she will definitely die because of internal explosion.

    ¡°Oh I see... So what do we do now?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs understood as they were familiar with the relevant knowledge.

    The body is the primary factor for cultivation.

    Like a water tank, if the tank was too small, it could not hold too much water and would break apart if too much water was forced into it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not answer the three Settlement Chiefs. Instead, he was looking for something on Lin Ji¡¯s body and quickly found a red object.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°Could it be the...¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs widened their eyes when they saw what Fang Zhengzhi was holding.

    ¡°Hmm, the galldder of the snake.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head lightly. Although he did not study medicine, he knew how to neutralize snake toxins.

    The three Settlement Chiefs understood what Fang Zhengzhi was doing.

    After all, they had the experience from living under harsh conditions in the Southern Region.

    Fang Zhengzhi held the snake galldder carefully in his hands and rushed to Shan Yu. However, instead of feeding her the galldder, he kissed her neck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that, Young Master Fang, it is too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Yes, if you need to do that, let us do it instead!¡±

    ¡°Young Master Fang!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs instantly understood what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do. They wanted to stop him but it was toote.

    Spat! Fang Zhengzhi spat out the poison that he had sucked into his mouth. The thick purple fluid made sizzling sounds when spat on the ground.

    ¡°Leave the cave and guard outside. Don¡¯t let anyone in.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said after spitting out the poison.

    In reality, he was not trying to act like the hero. In fact, he had to do it because the toxin was too poisonous for the three Settlement Chiefs to handle.

    ¡°Young Master Fang!¡±

    ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then we shall leave Your Highness to Young Master Fang!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs nodded and left quickly although they were unwilling to do so.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stop and continued to suck out the poison from Shan Yu¡¯s neck before spitting them on the floor.

    This method was the oldest and most dangerous method.

    That was because the snake toxin could enter Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body if he was not careful, causing him to be intoxicated too. However, he had no time to worry about that.

    After a long while, the color of the purple poisonous blood on the floor became fainter and turned into a bright red color while Fang Zhengzhi was drenched with perspiration.

    Lin Ji, the Godly State expert!

    The intensity of the toxin she had injected was definitely extremely high.

    The taste of the toxin could not be described by normal words. It made a burning sensation in his mouth and had a mixture of numbness, sourness, bitterness...

    After he finished sucking out all the poisonous blood, Fang Zhengzhi finally held up the snake galldder and wanted to open Shan Yu¡¯s purple lips with his other hand.

    However, Shan Yu had lost her consciousness and her lips were extremely tight. It was impossible to open them.

    How could he feed her the galldder if she could not open her mouth?

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He took a look at the galldder in his hand and then at Shan Yu. Taking a deep breath, he bit open the galldder with his teeth.

    Instantly, a hot fluid flowed into his mouth. He widened his eyes immediately and his entire body trembled.

    Bitter...

    It was too f*cking bitter!

    If the snake toxin he had sucked earlier on was the most bitter thing he had ever tasted, the galldder juice was so bitter that he could no longer describe it with any words.

    However, did he have a choice?

    No!

    Therefore, he bowed forward again. He fed Shan Yu the galldder juice with his own mouth.

    ¡°Mmm, mmm...¡± Shan Yu made ufortable sounds as the galldder juice flowed into her mouth and she began to resist.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi definitely would not let her break free!

    He pressed his body down on Shan Yupletely. It was warm but it felt more like riding on a wild horse¡¯s back.

    ¡°Mmm!!!¡± A painful scream was heard and the ¡°wild horse¡± began to run with both her arms and legs. She kicked and scratched and moved her sllm and long legs as though she wanted to knee something.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not experienced in this but he knew that the private part of a man could not be hit. Therefore, he could only close his legs tight.

    There was an old saying that went, ¡°Live happily in pain!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand what this meant as after all, he was still a ¡°innocent child¡±. However, he knew that if he allowed Shan Yu to break free, all his past efforts would have gone to waste.

    ¡°Looks like I have to be more violent!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not like violence but he was forced to release the ¡°wildness¡± in himself.

    As the saying went, ¡®adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation¡¯, in emergency situations, he also began to use both his arms and legs and pressed himself on Shan Yu¡¯s body.

    After the storm...

    You see the rainbow.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how long it took for him to finish feeding Shan Yu the galldder juice with his body pressing on Shan Yu¡¯s body, but he saw a beam of sunlight shine into the cave when he was done.

    ¡°What the f*ck...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse but he realized that he could not talk as his entire mouth was numb.

    He waspletely drenched and his sweat had formed a puddle on the ground.

    Indeed...

    No ordinary person could ride a wild horse!

    Giving a sigh, Fang Zhengzhi bit the flesh of the galldder into pieces and fed them in small portions to Shan Yu.

    Meanwhile, outside the cave, the three Settlement Chiefs looked at each other with their faces red and was speechless after the noises stopped.

    ¡°Yan Ya, do you think Young Master Fang had done... that to Your Highness?¡± One of the Settlement Chiefs said as he saw Yan Ya¡¯s confused expression.

    ¡°Young Master Fang is not someone like that!¡± Yan Ya shook his head.

    ¡°However, I heard that Young Master Fang had some understanding about the Dao of Yin Yang. Could it be possible that... he had no choice but to do that to Your Highness in order to save her?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Yan Ya¡¯s expression changed slightly as he heard this.

    ¡°I think that it may not be a bad thing if Young Master Fang did that to Your Highness,¡± said another Settlement Chief.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°All of us know the feelings that Your Highness had towards Young Master Fang. Furthermore, the previous King had also gave his blessings to the two of them, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are right. The previous King indeed had that intention. However, Young Master Fang had sneaked onto Your Highness¡¯ bed that night...¡±

    ¡°He was framed by the Crown Prince of Great Xia!¡±

    ¡°I see, so if Young Master Fang had done that with Your Highness in order to save her, it could actually be something good!¡±

    ¡°Of course it is!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What? I don¡¯t think it is good at all!¡± While the three Settlement Chiefs were in the midst of discussion, a muffled sound came from the cave.

    Following that, Fang Zhengzhi who was drenched in sweat walked out of the cave. He had already taken off his shirt and held the dripping shirt in his hand.

    The three Settlement Chiefs took a quick nce at each other and immediately understood what had happened.

    ¡°Young Master Fang, do you need us to do anything for you?¡±

    ¡°Get a bucket of water, I want to take a shower.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he looked at the sweat on his body. He found a ce to sit and said again, ¡°Hold on, get two buckets of water instead. Shan Yu needs to shower too.¡±

    ¡°Alright, please wait as I go and get the water.¡± One of the Settlement Chiefs nodded and ran towards theke nearby.

    Meanwhile, Yan Ya exchanged nces with the other Settlement Chief with an odd expression. They wanted to say something but held back their words.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused by their expressions but he was too tired to ask.

    However, he quickly understood why they had such an odd expression.

    That was because he suddenly realized that everyone present were guys when the two buckets of water were ced in front of him.

    ¡°Thank you, Young Master Fang!¡±

    ¡°We have to trouble Young Master Fang to help Your Highness take a shower. On behalf of the residents of the Southern Region, thank you!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, rest assured, Young Master Fang, we will guard outside and make sure nobody disturbs your shower!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs began talking as Fang Zhengzhi stared at the two buckets of water.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved. He looked at the two buckets of water then at the three Settlement Chiefs standing in front of him and said, ¡°You want me to help Shan Yu shower?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs nodded.

    ¡°But I am still a child!¡±

    ¡°Child?¡± The three Settlement Chiefs immediately understood what he meant. However, they knew what Fang Zhengzhi implied after seeing his facial expression. ¡°Young Master Fang, don¡¯t tell me you expect us to do it instead? We definitely cannot do such a thing to Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°So, I am the only one who can do it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±

    ¡°Will Shan Yu kill me if she finds out after she wakes up?¡±

    ¡°Young Master Fang, please rest assured, Your Highness will definitely not hurt you. We can exin to her and after all, you are much more powerful than Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°In order to save Your Highness, Young Master Fang had sacrificed. The entire Southern Region poption would be eternally grateful to you!¡± The three Settlement Chiefs fell to their knees after they spoke.

    ¡°Alright, it looks like I have to make this sacrifice.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma but he knew some things had to be done regardless.

    Sacrifice...

    It was inevitable for a man.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± After hearing what Fang Zhengzhi said and seeing his expression, the Demon Lord turned his head towards the side and scolded.

    ¡°How dare you scold Young Master Fang?¡±

    ¡°Beat him up!¡±

    ¡°How righteous is Young Master Fang to sacrifice himself for the bigger picture. How is he shameless?!¡±

    The three Settlement Chiefs were evidently afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would misunderstand. Therefore, after the Demon Lord scoled him, they stood up immediately.

    Boom! After a round of beating, there were more blood prints on the Demon Lord¡¯s face and his face was heavily bruised.

    How could the Demon Lord be punched on the face by three Settlement Chiefs of the Southern Region? Furthermore, he was unable to resist at all!

    ¡°I will never let you bunch of barbarians off!¡± The Demon Lord shouted with anger.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about what had happened and had already brought the two buckets of water into the cave when the three Settlement Chiefs were busy beating the Demon Lord up.

    When he entered the cave, Shan Yu took a look at thepletely drenched Shan Yu who was lying in the grass.

    So...

    Herees the question.

    ¡°Do I shower first, or should I help Shan Yu shower first, or do we shower together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was in a difficult situation.

 Chapter 931 - Rise of the Monster!

    <h4>Chapter 931: Rise of the Monster!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Experience was too important. A man is like a dead person if he did not have experience.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that as a man, he had to step forward if the situation needed him to. However, the current problem was rtivelyplicated.

    It involved three different options. As a person who had aspirations, had aplished many things, had his own ideology and consciousness, Fang Zhengzhi had always followed a set of principles.

    Anyone must have his bottom line.

    As the ancient saying went, it is an embarrassment to be wasteful!

    Since he was young, Fang Zhengzhi had grown up in a poor rural vige. Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde had taught him how precious food and water resources were.

    Therefore, he decided to...

    Take a bath together!

    There was no mixed thoughts involved in this decision. By taking a bath together, they could use the other bucket of water to rinse themselves. It was a perfect n that allowed them to not only save water but also clean their bodies more thoroughly.

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi was carefully doing what he thought was a ¡°righteous¡± act, a troop stood at a ce that was covered in snow in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    In front of this troop was a gigantic tree that almost reached the sky. The tree trunk was thick and strong and there were drooping white flowers on the tree.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, the blood in your body is no longer your own. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Nangong Mu, who was wearing an oversized robe turned to the figures beside him. He sounded slightly regretful but quickly found his determination.

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s cold voice was heard.

    It was evident that Nangong Mu no longer had the calmness on his face. Or rather, ferocious waves were hidden beneath his facade.

    During the battle at the Heaven Zen Mountain, he had been stabbed by the father he had trusted and had seen his dearest brother die in front of him.

    Nobody knew what Nangong Mu, who had experienced all of this, was thinking of.

    However, it was evident that Nangong Mu had revived and sessfully reopened his eyes after taking over Nangong Hao¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡± Nangong Tian clenched his fist tightly after looking at Nangong Mu who was not moving.

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Nangong Mu turned and looked at his most respected and trusted father.

    For some unknown reason, he was no longer afraid of his father. In fact, he no longer wanted to hear his father¡¯s voice.

    Perhaps it was because he had a new heart!

    Nangong Hao¡¯s heart!

    After all, in the Nangong Nobles, only Nangong Hao was daring enough to disobey Nangong Tian¡¯s orders and Nangong Tian had nothing to say about that.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Mu¡¯er? Haha...¡± Nangong Muughed with a hint of sadness. ¡°Nangong Mu already died, no? Father!¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Nangong Tian clenched his fist tight and raised his hand before pping it hard on Nangong Mu¡¯s face.

    ¡°Master!¡± The surrounding people of the Nangong Nobles fell to their knees with anxious expressions as they saw this.

    However, Nangong Mu did not show any reaction.

    The p on his face was loud and clear. However, no trace of redness or handprint could be seen on his face.

    Without saying anything, Nangong Mu turned his body and walked slowly towards an entrance that led to the underground.

    ¡°Nangong Mu!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s voice was heard again. ¡°You are the disciple of the Nangong Nobles, the descendant of Emperor Yan. You mean you forgot all of these?¡±

    ¡°Should a dead person remember his identity when he was alive?¡± Nangong Mu continued walking.

    ¡°Fine, very fine! You can forget about me, but can you forget the heart in your body? It¡¯s your brother¡¯s heart!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s face became slightly distorted.

    ¡°Brother?¡± Nangong Mu finally stopped and turned to look at the new tombstone.

    It was a ck tombstone that was covered with a thickyer of snow. However, two big words were clearly carved on it.

    Nangong Hao!

    A talented individual who had been called the Number One Prodigy in the Great Xia Dynasty, a talented individual whom the Nangong Nobles was proud of, a talented individual who was the hope of the Nangong Nobles.

    However, this talented individual was in a deepa underground and could no longer wake up.

    ¡°You mean you forgot how Hao¡¯er died? He was driven to his death by the Monster Race and Demon Race, he was driven to his death by Yun Qingwu!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s tone became extremely agitated.

    ¡°No, he was driven to his death by you!¡± Nangong Mu turned with his eyes as red as blood.

    Moreover, there were six extremelyplex symbols turning in his eyes.

    The Blood Offering Illustration!

    The Blood Offering Illustration which had appeared in Nangong Hao¡¯s eyes appeared clearly in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes. In fact, it was even more clear in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes.

    Nangong Tian¡¯s expression changed.

    His expression had changed the instant when Nangong Mu stared at him. It was an immense force that caused him to unable to look straight at Nangong Mu.

    Yes, Nangong Mu was no longer the Nangong Mu from the past.

    After Nangong Hao¡¯s heart was fused together with Nangong Mu¡¯s heart, a new Nangong Mu, or rather, a monster had revived.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry. If you still hate me, I can die in front of you for the future of the Nangong Nobles. I only hope that you can help the Nangong Nobles fulfill our mission, the mission that your brother did not fulfill before he died!¡± A dagger appeared in Nangong Tian¡¯s hand towards thest part of his sentence.

    ¡°Master!¡± The faces of the surrounding people turned pale when they saw the dagger in Nangong Tian¡¯s hands but none of them went up to stop him.

    sh! The dagger prated his chest and fresh blood dripped on the ground and stained the white snow red.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°From now on, you... Nangong Mu, will be the new head of Nangong family!¡± Nangong Tian waved to the surrounding people and copsed.

    Nangong Mu did not move at all upon seeing this. There was only a pain in his eyes that was hard to be hidden.

    ¡°Thump!¡± It was the sound of the heartbeat.

    ¡°Thump, thump...¡±

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    The beating sound echoed in Nangong Mu¡¯s ears, hitting his heart like the drums used in the battlefield.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    A chilling breeze blew past and snowkes fell on the ground,nding on the patch of red.

    Unfortunately, the boiling hot blood was unable to be covered.

    As blood continues to flow, the patch of red increased in size...

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A roar prated the wind and the snow, causing the gigantic tree and the ground to vibrate.

    ¡°Greetings, new Master!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, new Master!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Everyone turned towards Nangong Mu as they greeted him. There were no signs of sadness or pain in their eyes. Rather, it was filled with immense hatred.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er...¡± A weak voice was heard.

    ¡°Father!¡± Nangong Mu knelt down in front of Nangong Tian.

    ¡°Mu¡¯er... You are now the head of the family so you don¡¯t need to kneel down in front of me anymore. From now on, you don¡¯t have to kneel in front of anyone, because... cough, you are destined to be the dominator of the world!¡±

    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t want to be the dominator of the world, I don¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°I understand. Since you were young, I... I knew that you were born as someone who was notpetitive and everything you have done was to prove... prove your abilities, you wanted me to pay more attention to you. However... However, I did not even fulfill your wish.

    ¡°Father...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand but what I am doing... is to allow you to continuously improve. Hao¡¯er also understands, he... wants to protect you, what a pity that...¡±

    ¡°Father, stop talking.¡±

    ¡°No, let me finish. Hao¡¯er¡¯s efforts did not go to waste because you are more powerful than him now. You... cough, definitely can help the Nangong Nobles get rid of the shame from the battle of the Heaven Zen Mountain!

    ¡°Yes I will, Father, I will!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, thenplete the unfinished mission of your brother. Use the Blood Offering Illustration to swallow the ¡®Tree of God¡¯, by doing that, you can surpass every... cough... Hao¡¯er refused to touch the ¡®Tree of God¡¯ in order to protect you because he knew that once he had swallowed the ¡®Tree of God¡¯ with the Blood Offering Illustration, I will definitely take the ¡®Fruit of the Tree of God¡¯ from your body. It¡¯s my mistake... I shouldn¡¯t have made my own decision, I should have trusted him!¡±

    ¡°Father, I am wrong. If I was not so stubborn, I would not have forced Father to make me swallow the Fruit of the Tree of God, then Brother would not have...¡±

    ¡°No, you are not wrong. It¡¯s my mistake, I was afraid of failure and had made the mistake when Hao¡¯er did not follow my instructions to swallow Chi Guyan¡¯s bloodline. Father is afraid that Hao¡¯er would fail and afraid that he would not be able to get out, hence... hence I gave you my permission to swallow the...¡± At this moment, Nangong Tian¡¯s body shook and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Master!¡± The surrounding people fell to their knees.

    The cold wind blew and Nangong Tian looked depressed. His expression was a mixture of unwillingness, hatred, regret, and an intense yearning.

    But very soon...

    Everything disappeared once again as Nangong Tian¡¯s gaze became determined.

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote now. Even though Hao¡¯er had passed on, he had left everything behind for you. Now that you have the Blood Offering Illustration, you only need to swallow this ¡®Tree of God¡¯ to be extremely powerful. Promise me... kill Fang Zhengzhi, retrieve the ¡®Fruit of Tree of God¡¯ from his body, open the ¡®Gate of God¡¯ and wee our ancestors back. As long as our ancestors arrive, all of the Monsters and Demons in the world would have to obey us Nangong Nobles!¡±

    ¡°Father!¡±

    ¡°You have to remember, we, the members of the Yan n are... are the King of the world!¡± Nangong Tian¡¯s eyes suddenly widened towards thest part of his sentence.

    He looked afar towards the direction of the Holy Region as though he had managed to avoid all the obstacles in the world and returned to the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Father!¡±

    Their voices echoed in the snow storm.

    After a long while, the snow finally covered the patch of blood on the ground.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, I, Nangong Mu, hereby swear with the bloodline of the Yan n that I would kill the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡± A determined voice was heard.

    Meanwhile, a figure had leaped up and a blood-red radiance shrouded the sky, turning into a gigantic Blood Offering Illustration.

    Boom! The thunders rumbled.

    A blood-red lightning bolt struck from the sky andnded on the towering gigantic tree, emitting a loud boom.

    ¡°Attack!¡± A sound was heard amidst the rumbles of the thunder. The gigantic Blood Offering Illustration fell gradually and covered the towering tree. After that, the

    ...

    Half a monthter, in the Great Swamp of the Holy Region.

    It was a ce that was always shrouded by haze. Simrly, it was the ce where the Monster Race was being ¡°confined¡± by humankind.

    By right, this ce should not be used as the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons had been opened after the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Therefore, the Monster Race and Demon Race had already upied a sufficientlyrge territory in the Holy Region and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain that originally belonged to the Five Sects of the Holy Region waspletely taken over by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Apart from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fu Xi Valley and Heaven Dao Pavilion had also been invaded by the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race and lost their vibrancies.

    Three out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region were invaded by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, the Monster Race had not been evicted from the Great Swamp. Furthermore, the Great Swamp had be the core of the battle in the Holy Region.

    ¡°Young Lord, are you still undecided?¡± In the pce at the center of the Great Swamp, Lin Yu, who was dressed in a ck robe stood silently in front of Yun Qingwu. He asked the question carefully after he saw the frown on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face and her prolonged hesitation.

    ¡°If he is the real Meng Tian, he should have reached the Holy Region by now.¡± Yun Qingwu seemed to be talking to herself but also seemed to be answering Lin Yu¡¯s question.

    ¡°We have already arranged spies in the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯. If Meng Tian arrives at the Holy Region and met with the people of the Yin Yang Hall, Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley, we will get the information immediately. Unless...¡± Lin Yu stopped at thest part of her sentence.

 Chapter 932 - Unexpected Battle Situation

    <h4>Chapter 932: Unexpected Battle Situation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Unless he is not Meng Tian!¡± Yun Qingwu frowned again at this point in time as she stretched her hand out to get her teacup before she realized that it was already cold.

    ¡°Young Lord, you think so too?¡± Lin Yu saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s actions and quickly ran to the table. He poured away the cold water from the teacup and refilled the teacup with the hot water from the kettle.

    Yun Qingwu did not bother reaching for the water. She stood up slowly and took a few steps out of the pce.

    Upon seeing this, Lin Yu followed her.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu stopped in front of the door of the pce and looked at the hazy sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a guess.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was not loud but there was a tinge of sigh.

    ¡°In order to confirm my guess, I have to make a trip to the Northern Mountain Vige.¡± Although Lin Yu did not know Yun Qingwu for a very long time, he could already somewhat read Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    It was an ordinary name but it was viewed highly in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Northern Mountain Vige? It¡¯s alright.¡± Yun Qingwu was deep in thought. Then, she shook her head lightly and said, ¡°If we cannot figure out, then we shall wait.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Lin Yu nodded.

    He understood what Yun Qingwu meant. Although Meng Tian¡¯s real identity was unknown, he was rtively insignificant.

    Regardless of whether he is real, the bigger picture would not be affected by one person.

    Moreover, the Monster Race and Demon Race had invaded arge region of the Holy Region and set up traps all over the region. Therefore, they did not need to overthink.

    After all, the Monster Race and Demon Race was already at an advantageous position.

    Although waiting was not the best choice, waiting could mean ¡°no changes¡± in some asions so as to deal with the ever-changing situation.

    ¡°Are there any updates from the Heaven Zen Mountain?¡± Yun Qingwu asked casually after remaining silent for a while.

    ¡°Hmm, two more Godly State experts of the Demon Race had descended. Now we have ced five ¡®obvious piles¡¯ and three ¡®hidden piles¡¯ in the Holy Region. We just need to wait for three months before the first step of Young Lord¡¯s n can be sessfully achieved,¡± Lin Yu replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be so sessful.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Where do you think will go wrong? There should not be a problem with the Ling Xiao Mountain, even if there is, it would only be limited to the ¡®Ling Yun Tower¡¯. Unless Young Lord thinks that there is something wrong with Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°The peace before the storm is always the most dangerous.¡± Instead of answering Lin Yu directly, Yun Qingwu mumbled to herself.

    Lin Yu frowned again. He somewhat understood what Yun Qingwu meant but was not entirely sure.

    Of course, he could rify.

    However, Lin Yu did not like to rify in such a straightforward manner. He preferred to ponder over it. This was one of the main reasons why Yun Qingwu kept him by her side.

    There are no perfect individuals.

    This was said by Yun Qingwu. She hoped that Lin Yu could remind herself that because every intelligent individual had to have such a person beside him or her.

    Besides that, Lin Yu was more than happy to do so.

    Just as Lin Yu was pondering over Yun Qingwu¡¯s words, a figure appeared from the haze. He was wearing a ck cloak but moved very quickly.

    ¡°Is it an urgent report at this timing?¡± Yun Qingwu asked.

    ¡°Urgent report?¡± Lin Yu could not react for a moment but he moved as he saw the approaching figure.

    Without any hesitation, he stood in front of Yun Qingwu and pointed at the forehead of the approaching figure.

    ¡°Young Lord, urgent... urgent report!¡± The figure fell to his knees five foot away from Yun Qingwu, revealing himself as a General of the Demon Race who was dressed in armor.

    ¡°At such ate timing? Hurry tell us what urgent report you¡¯ve got!¡± Lin Yu dropped his finger after seeing the face of the General.

    ¡°Meng... Meng Tian is here!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Where is he?¡± Lin Yu was evidently shocked but his expression returned to a calmed one very quickly.

    ¡°He appeared at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. This... This information came from the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡± The General raised a small envelope above his head as he spoke.

    ¡°Young Lord.¡± Lin Yu took over the envelope from the General and turned to pass the envelope to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± Yun Qingwu opened the envelope and frowned as she scanned through the words on the letter. However, soon after, her frown disappeared. ¡°From the Southern Region, Heaven Dao Pavilion... is indeed the closest boundary of the Southern Region and Great Xia!¡±

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t he head to the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯ directly? Unless he wants to kill all the soldiers who are guarding the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Yun Qingwu raised her hand and the letter turned into ashes.

    ¡°Looks like... Meng Tian wants to kill us one by one?¡± Lin Yu smiled in disdain.

    ¡°Do you think Meng Tian will do that?¡± Yun Qingwu asked.

    ¡°I actually hope that it was his n, because he would no longer be terrifying.¡± A cold gaze shed across Lin Yu¡¯s eyes.

    Meanwhile, the General who was kneeling in front of Yun Qingwu and Lin Yu was confused.

    ¡®Kill us one by one¡¯, ¡®no longer be terrifying¡¯?

    This two phrases...

    Were definitely ironic.

    After all, he felt that this type of opponent was the hardest to deal with because he could attack you anytime from the back.

    ¡°Young Lord, Demon Deity, should we...¡±

    ¡°Do not bother about him. If Meng Tian wants to kill us one by one, let him be,¡± Lin Yu replied without waiting for Yun Qingwu to speak.

    ¡°Ah? Then Heaven Dao Pavilion... Young Lord?¡± The General was clearly confused. After a slight hesitation, he turned to look at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hmm, follow Demon Deity Lin Yu¡¯s orders.¡± Yun Qingwu did not bother exining but instead nodded her head and walked out of the pce in the direction of the stone room.

    Lin Yu followed closely.

    However, he maintained a feet¡¯s distance away and followed quietly as though he was her shadow.

    The General looked at Lin Yu and Yun Qingwu with his mouth agape. He wanted to make somements but eventually shut his mouth tight.

    ¡°Yes!¡± The General left quickly after taking the order.

    However...

    When he left, he saw a figure, who was dressed almost identically as him, scurrying in the haze. He was heading towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Young Lord, urgent... urgent report!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lin Yu who was just about to apany Yun Qingwu back to the stone room stopped and turned around with anger in his eyes. ¡°What is it? Do you not know that it¡¯s time for Young Lord to rest?¡±

    ¡°Demon... Demon Deity, it is... is regarding Meng Tian¡¯s...¡± The General¡¯s face paled after he heard Lin Yu¡¯s words.

    ¡°Meng Tian again?!¡± Lin Yu looked slightly shocked but was more overwhelmed with disbelief.

    That was because there was already something awry with Meng Tian, hence why would there be any news about him?

    Could it be that...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion had been invaded?

    So fast?

    Lin Yu was confused. Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu stopped and turned to look at the General.

    ¡°What news have you got?¡± Yun Qingwu asked gently.

    ¡°It¡¯s ... It¡¯s the news from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. They saw Meng Tian in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!¡± Afterpleting his sentence, the General raised an envelope over his head.

    ¡°What?!¡± Lin Yu was stunned and could no longer hide his shock.

    How was that possible?

    One needed at least ten days to get from Heaven Dao Pavilion to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, How could Meng Tian appear at both locations at the same time?

    Auditory hallucination?

    Or was it false intelligence report?

    Lin Yu took the envelope without any hesitation and was extremely confused.

    Meanwhile, the General who had reported earlier on also widened his eyes in shock.

    Another Meng Tian who appeared in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

    This was not only something that was ¡°impossible¡±. To him, he could be killed for delivering false military report after a thorough investigation.

    ¡°Young Lord, this was exactly the news I received. The envelope had the mark of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, it shouldn¡¯t be wrong...¡±

    ¡°Take your leave first. I will investigate this matter by myself.¡± Yun Qingwu waved her hand and broke off the General¡¯s sentence before taking the envelope from Lin Yu¡¯s hands.

    This was a special paper made by Yun Qingwu. Apart from the different marks which represented the various locations, every piece of the paper had a mark made by Yun Qingwu.

    Intelligence reports was viewed with great importance by Yun Qingwu. Therefore, how could she tolerate fake intelligence reports?

    However, in her hand...

    The mark on the envelope was extremely clear.

    ¡°Both are... real intelligence reports?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s calm expression finally changed.

    ...

    It was a starry night at the Heaven Dao Pavilion in the Holy Region.

    It was the ce where all the talented individuals of the Four Great Empires headed to. The name of Heaven Dao Pavilion was known for using the sword to help one with his cultivation and the ess of Dao.

    However, it was a pity that the current Heaven Dao Pavilion was in an unsightly mess.

    Of course, the buildings made of white jade stone was still standing on the Sword Peak, bathing in the radiance of the stars.

    ¡°Report, Meng Tian... he left!¡± A sharp voice was heard on the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion as a figure fell to his knees.

    ¡°Left?¡± Different expressions shed across the faces of the 20 figures who were on the Sword Peak.

    Their expressions were extremely strange.

    Yes, two days ago, Meng Tian¡¯s trace was discovered five miles away from the Heaven Dao Pavilion. After all, his trademark ¡ª the ck cloth ¡ª was too eye-catching.

    God!

    Who on earth would sew the big word ¡®God¡¯ on a face cloth?

    Only Meng Tian!

    In less than one month¡¯s time, his appearance had stirred upmotion in the Four Great Empires and the Holy Region.

    In the Blood Shadow City, Meng Tian had split open the entire Demonic Hall alone with a strike of his sword. With another strike, he split the sturdy city gate of the Blood Shadow City into two.

    Furthermore, he had defeated Lin Ji, the Godly State expert of the Monster Race.

    Now...

    He was holding the Demon Lord as hostage.

    How could the Monster Race and Demon Race soldiers, who were guarding the Heaven Dao Pavilion, not make an immediate report on the appearance of Meng Tian at a distance five miles away from the Heaven Dao Pavilion to the Great Swamp?

    However, Meng Tian left!

    Just as they were making the necessary preparation for a shocking great war, Meng Tian decided to leave without a sound.

    What the hell?!

    Was he passing by?

    ¡°Meng Tian... In which direction did he leave to?¡± A voice was heard after the twenty over figures exchanged gazes with each other.

    ¡°I think it was towards the direction of the Ling Xiao Mountain,¡± said the figure on the ground after a slight hesitation.

    ¡°Ling Xiao Mountain? Hmm... That¡¯s right. Young Empress had spected that Meng Tian would head directly to the Ling Xiao Mountain to meet the three sects after reaching the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°Should we block his way?¡±

    ¡°Is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Er...¡± The figures looked at each other and fell silent. After all, they were limited in terms of their powers. Although they had invaded the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there were only three Monster Kings and no Godly State experts stationed there.

    ¡°Although we can¡¯t block Meng Tian, we can¡¯t possibly not take any action and allow him to meet the three sects at the Ling Xiao Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Of course not. The three of you shall go and follow Meng Tian, however, make sure you see where he is heading to.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The three figures nodded and leaped down from the Sword Peak.

 Chapter 933 - The Third Meng Tian!

    <h4>Chapter 933: The Third Meng Tian!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The night was silent.

    However, the pressure that billowed in the air caused the insomnia of the powerful Monsters and Demons who were guarding the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Meanwhile, the same thing happened in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°What?! He left?¡± The powerful Monsters and Demons guarding the Nine Pinnacles Mountain looked at each other in shock.

    Aspared to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the location of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain did not give them more ¡°spections¡±.

    After all, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was far from the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Region. It would not be possible for anyone to ¡°pass by¡± the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°Leaving after he arrived, what is Meng Tian up to?¡±

    ¡°In which direction did he head to?¡±

    ¡°Not sure, but probably the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯ because he had disappeared at a ce that was closest to the ¡®Ling Xiao Mountain¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Ling Xiao Mountain? Send a few people to search for him along the route to Ling Xiao Mountain. Remember, do not get too close to Meng Tian in case he notices that he is being followed.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± A few figures answered before they leaped off the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and disappeared in the dark.

    After they disappeared, the powerful Monsters and Demons in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were deep in thought and could not figure out the reason behind what had happened.

    However, someone spoke eventually.

    ¡°We need to report this information to Young Lord in the Great Swamp as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, send the information to Young Lord now!¡±

    ...

    Yin Yang Hall was built in the mountains. It was nourished by the skies and earth and there were many pharmaceuticalnds that made it the best ce to hide in the Holy Region.

    Meanwhile, Ling Xiao Mountain was the tallest mountain that made attacks difficult. It was surrounded by cliffs and there was a circr patch of barend on the peak of the mountain.

    Four pirs stood on the peak of the mountain. Each pir was made of white jade stone and had ck metal chains tied around them. They were the ¡°passageways¡± that connected to the foot of the mountain.

    If there were no gigantic powerful beasts who were capable of flying, one could only use the chains on the four pirs to reach the top of the mountain.

    Of course, at this moment, the four pirs were under strict control by the disciples of the three sects as well as a few powerful elders of the three sects.

    The night breeze blew.

    A night bird that was flying at high speednded from the sky. It was evident that the peak of the mountain was extremely cold as there was a thinyer of frost on the ck feathers of the night bird.

    ¡°It¡¯s an urgent report. Guard here and I will notify the alliance leader!¡± The expression of one of the Yin Yang Hall disciples who was guarding beneath the pir changed after he retrieved the bamboo tube from the night bird¡¯s feet and ran towards the newly built ck stone pce in the center of the peak of the mountain without hesitation.

    A momentter, the interior of the ck stone pce was lit up.

    Troops entered the ck stone pce from all directions. Their steps were extremely fast and all of them looked very serious.

    Since the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race continuously descended. The humankind hence formed alliances and decided to make Dao Hun the Alliance Leader and Dao Xin the Military Adviser.

    Meanwhile, the Pavilion Master of the Heaven Dao Pavilion Mu Qingfeng, the Valley Master of the Fu Xi Valley Mo Shanshi and the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower Qian Yu were the Vice Alliance Leaders. However, Qian Yu did not agree. After saying ¡°the battle has not ended yet so the oue is not determined!¡±, he left with the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower and left Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi behind.

    However, despite that, Qian Yu¡¯s position as the Vice Alliance Leader was still retained.

    The four sectsbined to one and ¡°four troops¡± were formed, each led by and named after Yin Yang Hall, Fu Xi Valley, Heaven Dao Pavilion and Ling Yun Tower respectively. Dao Hun was the Marshal of the four troops while Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were the Deputy Marshals.

    The other leaders and disciples of the various sects were allocated to the four troops and became the Generals.

    Of course, as the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower Qian Yu ¡°abandoned his job¡±, the position of the Deputy Marshal of the Ling Yun Troop was taken over by Yan Qianli. This did not evoke much opposition.

    After all, the name of Western Liang Prince Yan was known worldwide. Besides that, there were 3000 disciples of the Shadow Sect Leader so the other leaders of the various sects could only obey the orders.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, what¡¯s the matter that made you call for me in the middle of the night?¡± Mo Shanshi asked Dao Hun immediately after he sat down.

    Mo Shanshi was actually reluctant to ept the position of Dao Hun as the Alliance Leader. However, he decided to ¡°concede defeat¡± eventually, or rather, he did not want to stir up an internal fight of the four sects at this time.

    Combined efforts to defend the Monsters and Demons!

    This was Mu Qingfeng¡¯s slogan and Mo Shanshi did not oppose to it. It was also one of the reasons why Ling Yun Tower was able to leave tantly.

    Of course, the other sects, including Fu Xi Valley, were unhappy after Ling Yun Tower left and wanted to .watch the scene of a bustle.

    After all, it was almost impossible for one sect to defend the powerful Monsters and Demons alone.

    ¡°We will win if we joint forces and lose if we separated.¡±

    This was the only sentence Dao Xin said when Qian Yu left with the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower.

    After that...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was invaded.

    Fu Xi Valley too.

    Three out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region were invaded by the Monster Race and Demon Race. Meanwhile, the territory of the Ling Yun Tower remained uninvaded.

    After hearing this news, Mo Shanshi looked up into the sky and cursed, ¡°What the f*ck!¡±

    After that, although Mo Shanshi did not leave the Ling Xiao Mountain, he no longer believed in the ideology of ¡°We will win if we joint forces and lose if we separated.¡±

    ¡°Please wait a moment, Vice Alliance Leader Mo, I will make the announcement after everyone is present.¡± Dao Hun knew that Mo Shanshi held a ¡°grudge¡± and that he was extremely impatient. However, he still raised his hand and calmly told him to wait for a little while.

    However, after hearing this, Mo Shanshi¡¯s face turned cker. The words ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mo¡± were like needles that pricked him.

    He was about to open his mouth when a hand patted on his shoulder.

    ¡°Prioritize the interest of the bigger picture.¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head at Mo Shanshi.

    Although Mu Qingfeng was also unhappy, at least the power of humankind was congregated on the Ling Xiao Mountain and had not suffered great blows till now.

    The biggest victory was to retain their powers although they were in an obviously disadvantaged position. That was how Mu Qingfengforted himself.

    As for the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    Although it was tentatively controlled by the Monster Race and Demon Race, they could take over it once the opportunities are ripe.

    One who knows how to endure will make great aplishments.

    ¡°Fine, did you think that I will stir things up? Since when did I not prioritize the interest of the bigger picture? If I didn¡¯t, I would have already left this bloody ce!¡± Mo Shanshi continued speaking at his loud voice as he stared at Dao Hun who was sitting on the seat for the Alliance Leader.

    Meanwhile, the other sect leaders of the various sects kept quiet as they watched this scene. After all, they were used to suchmotions.

    After a short while, the Hall was filled except for one seat. This meant that all the Deputy Marshals of the Human Alliance Troops were present except for Qian Yu.

    Dao Hun stood up at this moment and took out three pieces of yellow slips of paper from his long sleeves before cing them on the table in front of him.

    However, nobody could see Dao Hun¡¯s expression clearly because of his mask. They could only see his pair of eyes that looked like they were on mes.

    ¡°Meng Tian appeared, and he is already... in the Holy Region!¡± said Dao Hun as he ced the three slips of paper on the table.

    After his sentence, all the expressions of the leaders of the various sects, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng changed.

    After all, the news of Meng Tian¡¯s appearance had spread to the Holy Region.

    ¡°Where is Meng Tian?¡± asked Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡± Dao Hun scanned the crowd sitting below and said, ¡°And... Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fu Xi Valley...¡±

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion? Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Fu Xi Valley? What do you mean?¡± Mo Shanshi was evidently confused.

    The other sect leaders also exchanged nces as none of them understood what Dao Hun meant.

    ¡°I mean, Meng Tian had appeared in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Fu Xi Valley at the same time. All three locations made the same report at the same time.¡± Dao Hun held up the three slips of paper and showed them to the crowd.

    ¡°Three Meng Tians?!¡±

    ¡°Appeared in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Fu Xi Valley at the same time?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Everyone watching from beneath became even more confused. After all, it sounded ridiculous.

    ¡°He is trying to confuse us!¡± Just as the rest were confused, a calm voice was heard and a figure stood up from the chair.

    It was none other than the Military Adviser of the alliance, Dao Xin.

    ¡°Confuse us? You mean Meng Tian did it on purpose?¡± One of the sect leaders quickly understood what Dao Xin meant.

    ¡°Why did Meng Tian do that?¡±

    ¡°Was he trying to hide his whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s so simple. With Meng Tian¡¯s powers, if he did not intentionally expose himself, the Monster Race and Demon Race should not be able to track him down.¡±

    Soon, there was a discussion amongst the sect leaders.

    ¡°If I am correct, the real Meng Tian should be reaching the Ling Xiao Mountain soon. This is the reason why I called for everyone.¡± Dao Hun¡¯s voice broke off the discussion.

    ¡°Why do I feel that Meng Tian will note to the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡± Mo Shanshi pouted and clearly did not agree with Dao Hun.

    ¡°Old man Mo!¡± Mu Qingfeng knew that Mo Shanshi was purposely ¡°finding fault¡±. He gave a sigh and quietly reminded Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Fine fine fine, so assuming Alliance Leader is correct, what should we do after the real Meng Tian reached the Ling Xiao Mountain? What should we do with the position of the Alliance Leader?¡± Mo Shanshi waved his hand and said.

    ¡°...¡±

    Nobody answered Mo Shanshi. Everyone including Dao Hun fell silent.

    That was because although Meng Tian¡¯s arrival was good news to them, the position of the Alliance Leader would be another problem after he arrived at the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    The four sects of the Holy Region were established for hundreds of years. They were extremely familiar with the geography of the Holy Region and the situation amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    They definitely had an advantage.

    However, as the Sagely Battle God who had once stood at the peak of the world, Meng Tian had now also defeated the Godly State Monster Lin Ji and captured Demon Lord from the Blood Shadow City on his own.

    With his aplishments and capability, how could he be inferior to the four sects?

    ¡°If he is the real Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, I will definitely give my position to him. However, Meng Tian¡¯s identity is mysterious and he had never revealed his appearance, how can we trust him?¡± After a long silence, Dao Hun clenched his fist and said.

    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°What if everything is a scheme?¡± Dao Hun asked too.

    ¡°What scheme?¡±

    ¡°If Meng Tian was a Godly State expert, then the so-called defeat of Lin Ji, capture of Demon Lord could be Yun Qingwu¡¯s plot, and her motive is to infiltrate our alliance and take control of humankind!¡± said Dao Hun.

    ¡°...¡± Mo Shanshi moved his lips and wanted to speak but eventually did not.

    Although he was unwilling to obey Dao Hin, he did not lose his consciousness because of that. After all, Dao Hun¡¯s words did make sense.

    Meng Tian¡¯s appearance was way too sudden and coincidental.

    The Sagely Battle God who had died for a hundred years was revived out of the blue and had defeated Lin Ji and captured the Demon Lord within a month¡¯s time.

    Everything sounded too unbelievable.

    Furthermore, none of the people on site saw all of these with their own eyes. The only person who saw everything was Shan Yu, the Queen of the Southern a Region.

    Moreover, did Meng Tian sew the big word ¡°God¡± on the ck mask on his face?

    If Dao Hun was right and everything was a scheme nned by Yun Qingwu, then Meng Tian¡¯s arrival would be terrifying.

    Once the position of the Alliance Leadernded in the so-called ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s hands, the future of humankind was doomed.

    ¡°You are right, Alliance Leader, before we confirm the identity of Meng Tian, we should not handover the position of the Alliance Leader to him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we cannot afford to take the risk!¡±

    ¡°If he is the real Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, he does not necessarily need the position of the Alliance Leader, I think we can give him the position of a Vice Alliance Leader first?¡±

    ¡°But the issuees if he is not Meng Tian? Then what should we do after he reached the Ling Xiao Mountain? After all, he is a Godly State expert who had split apart the Demonic Hall with a strike of his sword!¡±

    After the silence, voices were heard again.

 Chapter 934 - My Name is Yan Xiu

    <h4>Chapter 934: My Name is Yan Xiu</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°So we are not allowing him to enter the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡±

    ¡°No way. If he is the real Meng Tian, then won¡¯t we be destroying humankind¡¯s own future by not allowing him to enter the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡±

    Debates were unavoidable in any alliances. These type of debates were more vigorous when facing the unknown.

    The alliance of the humankind was exactly like so.

    Meng Tian¡¯s appearance had sparked hope but also suspicion and disbelief.

    This was somewhat ironic but it was human nature.

    ¡°I have a suggestion.¡± A voice that was extremely loud and clear broke themotion.

    ¡°Let us all keep quiet and listen to the suggestion by Deputy Mashal Yan.¡± Dao Hun signaled everyone to keep quiet after looking at the source of the voice.

    Meanwhile, I figure stood up from the chair and took two steps to the center of the Hall. He was none other than Yan Qianli, Western Liang Prince Yan.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Since Meng Tian has already appeared in the Southern Region, we should no longer keep guessing over here. Why not we send some people down to the foot of the mountain to look for him, it will be the best if we can find him and rify his identity right away, if not, we can set up a wee spot at the foot of the mountain to wee Meng Tian and rify his identity afterwards,¡± said Yan Qianli.

    ¡°Hmm, Old Man Yan¡¯s suggestion is good.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint who was standing amongst the crowd approved Yan Qianli¡¯s idea.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi exchanged nces and also nodded their heads in approval of Yan Qianli¡¯s idea.

    After all, by weing Sagely Battle God Meng Tian at the foot of the mountain, it also signified their respect to him. Not only was it respectful to do so, but they could also make preparations for the unknown.

    ¡°Hmm, I agree too.¡± Dao Xin nodded her head after giving it a thought.

    ¡°I have a feeling that Meng Tian will not directlye to the Ling Xiao Mountain, instead...¡± Just when everyone expressed their approval, a voice was heard.

    A figure who was wearing traditional Chinese clothing stood out with a cold expression. His expression was not like the calmness of theke, instead, it was as forbidding as a single mountain peak.

    It was none other than Yan Xiu.

    Yan Xiu had be the Vice Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall and was also the Second Deputy Mashal. Although his status was not the highest amongst the Alliance of Humankind, it was not too low.

    ¡°Xiu, what do you think?¡± Dao Xin was evidently shocked when she heard Yan Xiu as Yan Xiu rarely expressed his opinions.

    However, this time, Yan Xiu had expressed his opinion voluntarily, offering another opinion when everyone approved Yan Qianli¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, you have a different opinion?¡± Yan Qianli was also a little surprised.

    ¡°I think that this is a signal sent by Meng Tian.¡± Yan Xiu took a look at Yan Qianli and bowed to him before continuing.

    ¡°Signal?¡±

    ¡°What signal?¡±

    The surrounding people blinked their eyes in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I have a feeling that Meng Tian is trying to send us a message.¡± Yan Xiu said as he shook his head gently.

    ¡°This...¡± The surrounding people fell silent again.

    Meanwhile, Dao Xin frowned as she reached for the teacup on the table and took a sip from it.

    ¡°Xiu, you mean Meng Tian is trying to signal to us that he wants us to work together with him by intentionally appearing at three separate locations?¡± After a while, Dao Xin¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Xiu nodded.

    ¡°I agree with you. If I am not wrong, the reason why Meng Tian intentionally appeared in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Fu Xi Valley and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain was to prompt us to attack these three locations!¡± After a moment of silence, Dao Xin nodded her head and agreed.

    ¡°Attack?¡±

    ¡°However, we have yet to confirm Meng Tian¡¯s identity, how can we follow his orders?¡±

    ¡°Precisely. Furthermore, this is only a guess. If we take action rashly, who will pay for the loss if anything goes wrong?¡±

    The surrounding people also sounded their doubts regarding this issue.

    ¡°You guys are right, if we coborated with Meng Tian, we would definitely be able to regain our rule in these three locations. However, Meng Tian¡¯s identity has yet to be confirmed. We should be extra careful even though Meng Tian had given us the signal!¡± said Dao Xin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we should be extra careful!¡± The surrounding people quickly agreed with Dao Xin.

    Dao Xin smiled as she saw the faces of approval and stopped talking.

    That was because she had achieved her motive.

    Although the alliance of humankind could gather the powers of every individual, it could easily create friction due to differing opinions.

    Dao Xin¡¯s task was simple. She needed to gather the opinions, build the reputation of the alliance and eventually make all the sects of the alliance obey the orders willingly.

    ¡°Old man Mu, why do I feel like I am being led by the nose?¡± Mo Shanshi looked around and narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Hmm, Dao Xin is indeed good at getting the trust of others. If nothing goes wrong, very soon, the sects in the alliance would trust her more than the two of us. However... as it is a critical time now, we should not start any conflicts with Dao Xin and we should endure instead.¡±

    ¡°Endure?¡±

    ¡°Unless you have a better idea?¡±

    ¡°Rubbish!¡± Mo Shanshi snorted and stopped talking. He sat in his chair and listened to themotion.

    ...

    Five dayster in the Great Swamp of the Holy Region...

    ¡°Young Empress, we found Meng Tian¡¯s traces near the Seven-Colored Mountain in the Holy Region!¡±

    ¡°Young Lord, urgent report, we found Meng Tian¡¯s traces in the Broken Scar Valley in the West of the Holy Region. Please advice, Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The various urgent reports from all regions kept flooding into the Great Swamp, all directed to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°What on earth is Meng Tian doing? There are already more than ten Meng Tians discovered in the Holy Region!¡± Lin Yu mumbled angrily as the soldier who made the report left.

    ¡°If I am not wrong, the number is more than what we have now,¡± said Yun Qingwu as she frowned.

    ¡°Hmm, me too. So can we start taking action? We can¡¯t possibly let these ¡®fake Meng Tians¡¯ act arbitrarily in the Holy Region?¡±

    ¡°We have insufficient manpower.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Insufficient?¡±

    ¡°Yes, rtive to humankind, both the Monster Race and Demon Race are at a disadvantage in terms of manpower,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°You mean?¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian wants us to take action. Once we do, everything would be a mess. I had once used this n on ¡®Fang Zhengzhi¡¯,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Oh I see, so... are we not taking any action?¡± Lin Yu understood Yun Qingwu but was certainly unwilling to not do anything.

    ¡°I think we should go with the flow!¡± After giving it a deep thought, Yun Qingwu took a sip of water from the teacup on the table, rinsed her mouth before she spat the water out.

    ¡°Young Lord, are you nning to use the scheme of sowing dissension?¡± Lin Yu¡¯s eyes lit up as he gave a cunning smile.

    ¡°Since Meng Tian did not head directly to the Ling Xiao Mountain to meet the three sects, we can therefore use Meng Tian¡¯s name to do that for him.¡±

    ¡°Understood, I will make the necessary arrangements now!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head lightly. She gradually stood up from her chair and walked towards the windows after Lin Yu left the room.

    The sky outside the window was still shrouded by haze. Even though it was in the day, the sun could not shine through the haze.

    ...

    At the Northern Mountain Vige in the Great Xia Dynasty, the sunlight shone on the small vige and covered it like ayer of golden clothing, radiating vibrancy throughout the vige.

    In the courtyard of the Fang family, Fang Zhengzhi, who was wearing a blue robe, opened his eyes slowly and stretchedfortably on the deck chair.

    ¡°Sleeping is the mostfortable.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smacked his lips and reached out for the fruits in front of him, threw one piece into his mouth and began munching on the delicious fruit.

    ¡°You are awake?¡± A voice was heard from the courtyard. Then, Wu Yuer who was wearing a ck dress walked out from the room.

    ¡°Hmm, has Shan Yu woken up?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Not yet, but the poison in her body are more or less gone. I think she will wake up in a few days¡¯ time.¡± Wu Yuer stretched her head towards Fang Zhengzhi and asked, ¡°I heard from the Settlement Chiefs that you took a bath with Shan Yu?¡±

    ¡°Goodness me, do you think I will take advantage of others in such situations?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pped his chest and said without hesitation.

    ¡°Well, even if you had, I will not mind.¡± Wu Yuer blinked and exuded an extremely alluring aura.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed lightly and stood up from his chair, went around Wu Yuer before entering his room.

    He was not a fool, how would he believe Wu Yuer¡¯s words?

    Never believe a woman who says that she does not mind. If anyone actually believed such words, that person was doomed to live a hard life.

    Nevertheless...

    Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not admit it.

    Furthermore, he was forced to do it. He had no other choices and had to take a bath with her.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, are you hungry?¡± Qin Xuelian stepped out of the kitchen with a warm bowl of steamed egg in her hands,

    ¡°Wow, smells amazing, I am really hungry now!¡±

    ¡°If you are hungry, eat it while it¡¯s warm. I will take another bowl for Yuer.¡± Qin Xuelian smiled and took another bowl of steamed egg from the kitchen. ¡°Yuer, are you hungry? Want to have some of my steamed egg?¡±

    ¡°Sure, Mother!¡± Wu Yuer hopped into the kitchen and blinked at Fang Zhengzhi again.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather speechless.

    He told Qin Xuelian repeatedly to not allow Wu Yuer to address her as ¡°Mother¡±. However, Qin Xuelian clearly did not listen.

    Wu Yuer was also outrageous!

    She addressed Qin Xuelian as ¡°Mother¡± so naturally that it made her look extremely shameless.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not possibly remind Qin Xuelian every single time Wu Yuer called her ¡°Mother¡± as after all, Qin Xuelian would not listen.

    That forced him to leave it as such.

    ¡°Mother, I think I need to leave for a while...¡± said Fang Zhengzhi softly to Qin Xuelian who was busy in the kitchen after he had finished the steamed egg.

    ng! The sound of pots and pans dropping was heard, followed by the sounds of clearing up.

    Wu Yuer rolled her eyes at Fang Zhengzhi and hurried into the kitchen to help. A momentter, she apanied Qin Xuelian out.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, I know that you have things to do, but... but I am really reluctant to leave you...¡± Qin Xuelian sobbed.

    ¡°Xuelian, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s not as if Zheng¡¯er will nevere back. Look, he came back after he left us thest time!¡± A sigh was heard from the room upstairs as Fang Houde walked down. He took a nce at Fang Zhengzhi before looking back at Wu Yuer. ¡°How long will you be gone for?¡±

    ¡°Probably...¡±

    ¡°Dad, we will be back really soon, rest assured!¡± Wu Yuer broke off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence and smiled brightly.

    ¡°Alright, then go. A man has aspirations, your mother and I will not be a burden. You can rest assured as we have Qing Yi with us!¡± Fang Houde nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else.

    He did not want to leave the Northern Mountain Vige. If he could, he wanted to apany Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde until they passed away.

    However, he could not.

    Although he had already tried his best to spend as much time as possible in the Northern Mountain Vige, he still had things to do.

    ¡°When shall we leave?¡± Wu Yuer walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and asked softly.

    ¡°Today,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Understood, I will go and prepare now.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and walked slowly into a room.

    On the bed in the room lied a woman with an extremely alluring aura and beautiful face. Even when she asleep, one could feel the arrogance that was emitted from her.

 Chapter 935 - Good Shot, Shameless Old Man!

    <h4>Chapter 935: Good Shot, Shameless Old Man!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Five months had passed since the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain. However, there was no trace of the awakening of Chi Guyan.

    <i>Was she brain-dead? Or was she entirely paralyzed?</i>

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that Chi Guyan was in a state of ¡°hibernation¡±. However, he was slightly unsure after waiting for so long.

    After all, she should be awake after hibernating for five months?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked carefully at Chi Guyan from her eyshes to her nose and her lips, trying to spot for any movements but was sadly disappointed.

    Time passed by gradually.

    Soon, Wu Yuer returned with a few disciples of the Shadow Sect and Qing Yi who was dressed in blue robe like Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Are we ready to go?¡± Wu Yuer was slightly unhappy after looking at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and was about to leave the room. However, he stopped the moment he stepped out of the room. ¡°Wait for me outside for a while.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of Chi Guyan too?¡± Wu Yuer was clearly unhappy.

    ¡°Cough... Get out for now.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to exin.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Yuer pouted. Although she was not happy, she followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s order and left the courtyard.

    After Wu Yuer left the courtyard, he went to Chi Guyan¡¯s bedside and took out a crystal clear round object.

    It was none other than Lin Ji¡¯s Monster Pearl!

    Even Fang Zhengzhi was not sure about how much power a Monster Pearl of the Godly State could hold.

    He wanted to swallow it previously but decided to keep it before he popped it into his mouth.

    There were two reasons for that. One was because the poison in Shan Yu¡¯s body was not entirely removed and hence Fang Zhengzhi thought that it would be a good idea to keep the Monster Pearl for emergency usage.

    The second reason was that Fang Zhengzhi was unsure of what would happen to him after he swallowed the Monster Pearl.

    The logic was simple...

    If he was about to die, he would not hesitate to swallow the Monster Pearl as the worst oue would be death.

    On the other hand, if he was perfectly fine and living happily, when he was presented with the so-called ¡°Godly Pearl¡± that could either make him more powerful or kill him, anyone in the right mind would hesitate.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish. He definitely would not take the risk and swallow the Monster Pearl of the Godly State. However, Chi Guyan was a different case.

    Chi Guyan was evidently drained of energy after the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    To put it simply, she had used too much energy such that her body was ¡°hollowed out¡±. Furthermore, she entered the Sagely State without a solid foundation, resulting in her current condition.

    Fang Zhengzhi touched the Monster Pearl in his hand and looked at Chi Guyan in the bed. He thought that it would be more appropriate to leave the Monster Pearl with Chi Guyan.

    However...

    There was a problem.

    How could he leave the Monster Pearl with her?

    Let Chi Guyan swallow it? Although this was the most straightforward method, it could kill Chi Guyan if she swallowed it!

    Fang Zhengzhi had to consider this possible oue.

    Therefore, the problemes, should he ce the Monster Pearl near Chi Guyan¡¯s chest or keep it in her mouth?

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to unbutton Chi Guyan¡¯s shirt when Wu Yuer¡¯s sentence rang beside his ears.

    ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of Chi Guyan too?¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck! I am an upright man, how will I possibly take advantage of Chi Guyan?¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly retreated his hand and slowly opened Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth using his hand.

    A warm breath was felt on the back of his hand, making his hand itch.

    Of course, it was not a difficult task to ce the Monster Pearl into Chi Guyan¡¯s petite mouth after some careful tries.

    ¡°Alright, she shouldn¡¯t be able to swallow it if I put it like this.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pped his hands and closed Chi Guyan¡¯s mouth before he left the room.

    Meanwhile, Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde who was waiting outside the room stared at Fang Zhengzhi with an odd expression.

    ¡°...¡± Judging from their expressions, Fang Zhengzhi knew that they had misunderstood. He was about to exin when Qin Xuelian winked at him.

    ¡°Yuer is waiting outside. Rest assured, I will not tell her anything.¡± said Qin Xuelian softly.

    ¡°Mother... You are indeed my biological mother.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly speechless. <i>What did she mean by ¡®not telling her anything¡¯ when nothing even happened?</i>

    <i>Wait a minute!</i>

    <i>Why was he afraid that Wu Yuer would know?</i>

    <i>As a ¡®single dog¡¯, what was he afraid of?</i>

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly annoyed. After all, it was really strange to be caught ¡®red-handed¡¯ by his biological parents.

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er, head off soon, as your father, I can understand.¡± Fang Houde felt that he needed tofort Fang Zhengzhi who looked awkward.

    ¡°Understand?!¡± Qin Xuelian narrowed her eyes when she heard this. Then, she stared at Fang Houde with a sharp gaze. ¡°What do you mean by understand? Are you eyeing on other women? Which vige is she from?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Houde¡¯s expression changed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not dare to stay any longer. He dashed out of the courtyard and shouted to Fang Houde, ¡°Dad, take care!¡±

    ¡°Zheng¡¯er... Aiya, the pot... pot... don¡¯t use the pot...¡±

    ng!

    ...

    At the Holy Region ten dayster, a figure covered in ck cloak appeared at the bottom of the Ling Xiao Mountain. Although one could not see his expression, the ck face cloth was clear in sight.

    ¡°It¡¯s the face cloth with the word ¡®God¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Meng Tian has arrived at the Ling Xiao Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, hurry report this to Alliance Leader!¡±

    After seeing the ck cloth with the word ¡®God¡¯, the disciples of the Alliance who were hidden at the foot of the Ling Xiao Mountain reacted quickly.

    After all, the Holy Region was in a mess.

    Besides the report of sighting Meng Tian at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley, Meng Tian had been sighted at four or five other venues consecutively.

    Four or five Meng Tians?!

    How is that f*cking possible?

    However, that was the truth. Not only were there multiple Meng Tians all around the Holy Region, but the situation was on the rise.

    Nobody understood what went on, but they were certain that it was nothing surprising to see Meng Tian in the Holy Region again.

    However, the appearance of Meng Tian in the Ling Xiao Mountain was something new.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God, I, Qing Yan, the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, warmly wee you to the Ling Xiao Mountain!¡± A young man wearing white robe quickly greeted the Sagely Battle God.

    ¡°You are the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± Meng Tian lowered his cloak when he saw the young man.

    ¡°Yes, may I know what you are here for?¡± Qing Yan nodded and showed respect.

    ¡°Bring me up to the mountain first.¡± Meng Tian was not keen to borate.

    ¡°Alright, but please wait for a moment, Battle God, Pavilion Master Mu and Alliance Leader Dao of the Human Alliance areing over to wee you. You can take a rest first. I have already prepared a widespread of dishes for you to try.¡± After speaking, Qing Yan waved to a corner.

    Soon, a few other disciples appeared with freshly prepared fruits and snacks in their hands.

    ¡°What do you mean? You want me to wait for them here?¡± Meng Tian¡¯s expression turned cold as he saw the few disciples.

    ¡°Battle God...¡±

    Swoosh! Before the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion could continue, a beam of sword light that was extremely shiny shed past his eyes.

    This turn in event was extremely shocking for the disciples. After all, they thought they did not offend Sagely Battle God Meng Tian in any way.

    Yet, Meng Tian attacked?

    And...

    Dong! Qing Yan¡¯s head was severed and rolled to the ground with his eyes opened wide. He did not understand why Meng Tian had attacked him even after he died.

    ¡°He is a Monster!¡±

    ¡°He is the powerful individual of the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    The expressions on the other disciples¡¯ faces changed and tried to run away as fast as possible.

    However, they were too slow aspared to Meng Tian...

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

    A few beams of sword light shed past and the disciples copsed on the ground.

    A mountain breeze blew the blood on the ground which flowed like a stream into theke at the foot of the mountain.

    ¡°Meng Tian!!!¡± The sect leaders who came down from the mountain were extremely shocked and clenched their fists tight when they saw the blood on the ground.

    ...

    Three dayster...

    Aspared to the bloody situation in the Ling Xiao Mountain, the Ling Yun Tower who was far from the battleground was extremely peaceful, as though it was out of the world.

    It had been so peaceful for five months¡¯ time. If not for the soft ¡°ding¡± at the entrance of the tower, nobody would expect the peace to be broken.

    However...

    The peace was indeed broken.

    The person who broke the peace was none other than the figure who was wearing a ck cloak and had a ck cloth sewn with an eye-catching word ¡®God¡¯ on it.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡± One of the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower who was guarding at the entrance of the Ling Yun Tower was surprised when he appeared. ¡°Hold on, Tower Master had instructed that whatever happened in the Holy Region was unrted to the Ling Yun Tower. If Senior is looking for the Tower Master, please return!¡±

    ¡°Return?¡± Meng Tian was slightly shocked but regained his senses quickly. ¡°I came here to take a look at the scenery, shouldn¡¯t you be weing me with good food and wine?¡±

    ¡°Good food and wine? Haha, didn¡¯t Ling Xiao Mountain prepare good food and wine for you? But what happened in the end?¡± After saying that, the disciple of the Ling Yun Tower waved and ten other disciples jumped out of the bushes.

    Besides that, a clear signal was sounded in a distance far away. It was obvious that Ling Yun Tower had been waiting for Meng Tian.

    ¡°Hmm, I know about what you are referring to in the Ling Xiao Mountain. However, that was not done by me.¡± Meng Tian was not too bothered by the powerful force in front of him and replied calmly.

    ¡°Of course it was not you, senior, the incident at the Ling Xiao Mountain only took ce couple of days ago, even with Senior¡¯s capability, it is impossible for you to travel from the Ling Xiao Mountain to the Ling Yun Tower in three days¡¯ time.¡± As he spoke, the ten other disciples had taken their ce in the formation.

    ¡°Smart. Since you know that it is not done by me, why aren¡¯t you weing me with good food and wine? Also, call the Tower Master Qian Yu to apany me, and... I heard that Qian Yu has a daughter named Ping Yang. I am slightly curious about this girl, if she¡¯s around, let here over too to keep me entertained.¡± Meng Tian nodded and praised the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower.

    However, such praises...

    Definitely was not appreciated.

    ¡°Shameless old man, how dare you insult our Tower Master and Young Tower Master, attack!¡± The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower did not hesitate and began attacking.

    ¡°Attack?¡± Meng Tian¡¯s eyes lit up as he saw eleven swords flying towards him at the same time. All of the eleven swords was glowing with the exact same radiance.

    It was none other than the legendary capital of the Ling Yun Tower that allowed it to rule the Five Sects of the Holy Region, the secret art that was able to turn a sword into a million other swords.

    However, obviously...

    The few ordinary disciples of the Ling Yun Tower could not defeat Meng Tian.

    An intense force of attraction was given out by Meng Tian and surged towards the eleven disciples who were charging towards him.

    Then, in a blink of an eye, the swords in the eleven disciples¡¯ hands flew out of their hands like arrows andnded in Meng Tian¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Hmm... Good sword!¡± After obtaining the eleven swords, Meng Tian took a closer look at them and gave a sign of approval.

 Chapter 936 - The Fear of Sudden Silence

    <h4>Chapter 936: The Fear of Sudden Silence</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After that, Meng Tian walked towards the Ling Yun Tower without bothering about the extremely shocked expressions on the eleven disciples¡¯ faces.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± After being shocked, the eleven disciples charged towards Meng Tian once again. Unfortunately, he had already walked far away.

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast?!¡±

    ¡°How is he so fast?!¡±

    ¡°He is the Godly State expert, the Godly State expert of the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡±

    The eleven disciples wanted to give chase but could not keep up with the extraordinary speed of Meng Tian. In a blink of an eye, he was already 100 feet away.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had given enough hints to the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower.

    At least, after he kept the swords of the eleven disciples, he had not done anything horrendous to them.

    For instance, he did not casually strip off their clothes and dripped wax on them. Instead, like a gentleman, he kept his cool.

    However, the eleven disciples of the Ling Yun Tower did not realize that and still insisted on giving chase like a sticky patch that refused to let him off.

    He was slightly annoyed.

    However, a saying went, you cannot expect anyone to be as intelligent as you.

    Fang Zhengzhi was walking very quickly and reached the bottom of the nine-story Ling Yun Tower in a blink of an eye.

    In front of the tower were nearly 100 disciples of the Ling Yun Tower waiting with killing intent on their faces.

    ¡°Meng Tian, we will spare your life if you remove your face cloth!¡± A loud and strong voice was heard amongst the disciples.

    ¡°Can you be more creative?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly speechless. He did not understand why the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower were still so arrogant although they were obviously at a disadvantage in terms of power.

    Who gave them confidence?

    ¡°Die!¡± Attacking when an agreement could not be made was normal. With themand, the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower began to attack.

    They quickly spread in all directions and then moved towards each other, surrounding Fang Zhengzhi in the center.

    That was a rather impressive formation.

    At least, the choice of position and techniques were very good, especially when the girls wearing dresses moved, it looked like the flowers blossoming.

    Fang Zhengzhi was someone who knew how to appreciate beauty, hence he did not act immediately. Instead, he made a pose and waited for the disciples to get into formation.

    As for what happened next...

    He thought that by right, the powerhouse should appear after he was surrounded.

    Therefore, would the first person to walk out of the Ling Yun Tower be the charming Qian Yu whom he had not met in five months, or the beautiful and cute Ping Yang?

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi was mentally prepared, a figure appeared slowly from the Ling Yun Tower.

    Waist...

    Was rather straight.

    Chest?

    Wait? Why was there no chest?

    Could it be that Qian Yu had used a special training method to make a certain part disappear within five months?

    ¡°Who on earth are you?!¡± A furious voice was heard before a shining gold color shed.

    The sun shone on the gold clothes of that figure, causing one to be slightly blinded by the reflection of light.

    Wait a minute!

    Why was it a guy?

    Why were there guys in the Ling Yun Tower?

    What the hell!

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely shocked, the man revealed his face. He was young and rather handsome.

    ¡°What... the... Your Majesty?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi almost cursed because he did not expect Emperor Lin Mubai to be present at the Ling Yun Tower.

    What was going on?

    Shouldn¡¯t the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty be overlooking the overall situation in the pce of the me Capital City during such time of crisis?

    Why did he appear at the Ling Yun Tower?

    ¡°I am the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. If you are the Sagely Battle God, you should kneel when you see me!¡± demanded Emperor Lin Mubai after seeing how Fang Zhengzhi kept silent.

    ¡°So this is it...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was starting to understand the situation.

    However, the current emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty was rather infatuated with the Sagely Battle God. In order to verify his identity, he specially made a trip from the Great Xia to the Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Your Majesty, shouldn¡¯t you think about the current crisis in the Great Xia Dynasty instead ofing all the way to the Ling Yun Tower?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°There is no crisis in the Great Xia Dynasty.¡± Emperor Lin Mubai frowned because ¡°Meng Tian¡± clearly did not want to kneel down.

    He figured out the situation very quickly. However, despite that, he had to keep his cool.

    ¡°Really? Wasn¡¯t the Golden Scale City of the Northern Lands invaded?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at the disciples nearby and spoke again.

    ¡°This is my national issue, who... exactly are you? Or rather, what Monster or what Demon are you?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai clearly did not intend to continue wasting his time with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°My surname is Meng and my name is Tian!¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied without any hesitation.

    ¡°Haha... Why are you impersonating the Sagely Battle God of the Great Xia Dynasty?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai sneered and ced one of his hand on his waist.

    ¡°Do you mind to let me take a look at the ¡®Green Dragon Eye¡¯ hidden at your waist?¡± Fang Zhengzhi saw the movement of Emperor Lin Mubai.

    ¡°How... How did you know that I have the Green Dragon Eye?!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s calm expression changed.

    Although the Great Xia Dynasty was not a huge secret in the Imperial Halls of the Great Xia Dynasty, not many people knew about it.

    Most importantly, the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race only descended after the battle at the Heaven Zen Mountain, so judging from the time...

    If the ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of him was impersonated by a Godly State expert of the Monster Race and Demon Race, he would definitely not know about the Green Dragon Eye.

    ¡°Apart from the Green Dragon Eye, I also know much more. For instance, Lady Hua Fei gave birth to a girl named Ping Yang,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha... I see, in order to make you look more convincing, Yun Qingwu had told you everything.¡± Emperor Lin Mubai startedughing again.

    ¡°So Your Majesty firmly believes that I am fake?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a step towards Emperor Lin Mubai as he spoke.

    ¡°Stop moving!¡± This small step caused a huge reaction from the disciples surrounding him.

    After that, a patch of dark green light was seen.

    Countless of dark green radiance spread from one of the disciples andbined soon after.

    Meanwhile, as the radiance spread, there were green leaves that were clear and transparent but as sharp as a knife with hidden killing intent.

    ¡°Hold on, hold on... If you kill me now, then aren¡¯t you giving up the chance to fully understand the truth of ¡®Meng Tian¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tried to convince the crowd around him as he smiled.

    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t kill him yet!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai raised his hand and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to die, answer a few of my questions.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty, please ask,¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    ¡°Why are you impersonating Meng Tian?¡± asked Emperor Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Impersonating? I am not impersonating, I am Meng Tian. No other Meng Tian is more real than me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was saying the truth. If Meng Tian still existed, then he would be the most realistic Meng Tian.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai said coldly.

    ¡°No.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Then answer me, why are you impersonating Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°I am Meng Tian.¡±

    ¡°Looks like you really want to die!¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then you...¡± Emperor Lin Mubai was about to speak before he suddenly stopped. He was angered by the repeated questioning. However, he suppressed his anger quickly because of a simple reason.

    There were a pair of eyes staring at him from his back.

    He fell silent and took a deep breath. If he was unable to get an answer, he should change the question.

    ¡°Alright, since you im to be Meng Tian, then who was the one who appeared on the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai asked the second question.

    ¡°Obviously that one was the fake Meng Tian,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You asked someone to do that, didn¡¯t you?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and continued asking.

    ¡°No, not for that fake Meng Tian.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°What about the other fake Meng Tians?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s eyes lit up and he asked again.

    ¡°Others... Maybe, or maybe not,¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied honestly.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°To put it simply, I did arrange for a few people to impersonate me. However, after that arrangement, some other individual was inspired to insert a few more fake Meng Tians. Therefore, now I am also not aware of who are the fake and who are the real Meng Tians.¡±

    ¡°You are not aware too?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai understood what he meant.

    After all, as the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was excellent atprehending and analyzing one¡¯s words. However, he grew more suspicious after understanding what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    That was because it was really messy.

    The self-imed real ¡°Meng Tian¡± arranged for a couple of fake Meng Tians, and someone else inserted more fake Meng Tians?

    If the ordinary Holy Region was a pot of in porridge, then the current Holy Region was a pot of porridge that was mixed with vegetables and all types of herbs and mud.

    ¡°Alright, I have finished answering your questions, now it¡¯s Ling Yun Tower¡¯s turn to answer my questions.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and began to speak.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai frowned and replied.

    ¡°Instead of participating in the Human Alliance, why did Ling Yun Tower decide to return to this ce? This doesn¡¯t seem to coincide with the Five Sects of the Holy Region¡¯s ideology of ¡°five sects same root¡±?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look inside the Ling Yun Tower as he asked.

    ¡°What same roots are you talking about, the Ling Yun Tower had never wanted to be live on the same root as the other four sects, that was merely a im made by the other four sects.¡± A sound was heard from the Ling Yun Tower.

    Following that, a figure who was wearing a silvery-white dress walked out of the Ling Yun Tower with her waterfall-like hair swaying around her waist.

    Qian Yu!

    Qian Yu, who was once trapped under the Icy Pond by Qian Ye for more than ten years after the inner conflicts of the Ling Yun Tower, was unfortunately as arrogant as Qian Ye.

    Of course, there was another beautiful figure beside Qian Yu.

    Such bright red was notmonly seen in the Ling Yun Tower, or rather, there was only one person who liked the bright red color.

    It was none other than Ping Yang.

    Aspared to five months ago, Ping Yang was much more mature and calm. At least, she stopped pouting.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the nature of an individual was impossible to be changed along with time. She was only pretending to be calm in front of others.

    To put it frankly...

    She was acting!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have a bad impression of the word ¡®acting¡¯. In fact, he liked it a lot as, after all, it required some skills to act.

    ¡°Cough cough, Tower Master Qian Yu is right, I actually can¡¯t refute your point. However, since Tower Master Qian Yu feels that you are not living on the same root as the other four sects, why not consider joining my faction instead and live on the same root as me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Live on the... same root as you? Haha...¡± Qian Yuughed, she was like a lily in the snow, not too beautiful but still retained the grandeur.

    ¡°Tower Master Qian Yu, please don¡¯t misunderstand. When I said living on the same root, I didn¡¯t mean to... screw you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt embarrassed when he saw how happy Qian Yu was.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The most terrifying thing during a chat was the sudden dead silence. Evidently, there was an awkward dead silence.

 Chapter 937 - Travesty

    <h4>Chapter 937: Travesty</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Not only did Qian Yu¡¯s smile freeze, but all of the other surrounding disciples and Emperor Lin Mubai froze too.

    Evidently...

    The sentence ¡®I didn¡¯t mean to screw you!¡¯ stopped the conversation, and clearly, the conversation could no longer continue casually.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s voice was as cold as the chilliest wind in the winter that drilled into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s neck.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi shrugged.

    He needed to change his habit of being too straightforward. He should learn to be less straight to the point when facing an elder woman.

    At least, he should mention the sentence, ¡®our age difference is too big, so we¡¯re not too suited for each other¡¯.

    However, it was toote. The green leaves had already swirled towards him like a whirlwind, radiating cold light on every single leaf.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi began to move.

    He moved towards Qian Yu step by step. For every step he took, he paused to admire the beautiful scenery around him.

    It was near the end of Autumn and Winter was approaching.

    Ling Yun Tower was a ce where the flowers bloomed. With the natural Icy Pond protecting the area, the flowers did not die like the other ordinary flowers.

    However, the green leaves still turned slightly brown and there were a few leaves on the ground that looked like the sunset at dusk.

    Fang Zhengzhi was immersed in the scenery.

    Perhaps he was too immersed, he began to narrow his eyes and started humming a tune.

    ¡°I am just a small small small small bird. I want to fly and fly and fly higher, oh oh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was not too loud but it was extremely clear. His voice resonated in the air of the Ling Yun Tower.

    Almost a hundred of the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower and the eleven disciples who rushed from afar werepletely shocked.

    The ancient saying went, ¡®passing through flowers, nothing can be allured¡¯.

    Although the meaning of the sentence was not the most appropriate description of the situation, the scene itself could be described using this ancient saying.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we hurt him?!¡±

    ¡°What... What is happening?¡±

    The confidence of the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower was extremely defeated. After all, anyone who experienced this would feel defeated.

    They used all their powers but they could not even touch his shirt?

    Was he a ghost?

    ¡°Yu Er, watch out!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai regained his senses as he saw Fang Zhengzhi approaching Qian Yu. He pressed at his waist area and a golden dragon leaped up to the sky.

    Green Dragon Eye.

    It was a protective artifact of Emperor Lin Mubai. As for how it came about, some people said it was a gift from Qian Yu, some said that it was passed down in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Of course, no matter where it came from, it was a powerful artifact.

    Buzz! At this moment, two gigantic ck wings that were at least twenty feet long appeared suddenly, huge enough to cover the entire sky.

    ¡°If you are talking about artifacts, I have one too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled but it could not be noticed because of the face cloth covering his mouth.

    ¡°It is the ck-Golden Wings, the protective artifact of the Demon Lord!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed when he saw the ck-Golden Wings behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although he had not seen it with his own eyes prior to this, how the ck-Golden Wings looked like when they were expanded was recorded in the ancient books.

    ¡°Looks like you really caught the Demon Lord!¡± Qian Yu was not as anxious as Emperor Lin Mubai. In fact, she looked calmer when she saw the ck-Golden Wings behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Why did she be calmer?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it had got to do with the powers he had disyed. After all, to put it frankly, anyone could have died a thousand times if they had said what Fang Zhengzhi said earlier on.

    ¡°After verifying my identity, shouldn¡¯t you serve me with good food and wine?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not in a hurry and took slow steps.

    ¡°What kind of good wine do you want?¡± Qian Yu asked.

    ¡°I am not too particr about wine, but if I don¡¯t think you should be serving anyone wine that is less than a few hundred years old,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha... There is no problem with serving good wine that is a few hundred years old. However, you have to defeat me first!¡± Qian Yu smiled and attacked.

    Eight moons appeared above her head. The white light made her head look like it was covered in ayer of snow.

    ¡°It seems like Tower Master Qian does not believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he thought that he had done enough to show his sincerity.

    However, Qian Yu was unwilling to ept it.

    Furthermore, she had attacked without showing sympathy, clearly giving off the ¡°attitude of a queen¡± and wanting to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    How ridiculous.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi could not actually handicap Qian Yu andy her on the ground.

    Buzz! In a blink of an eye, Qian Yu had moved to Fang Zhengzhi with the two silvery-white long swords glowing with eye-blinding radiance.

    The moon was like a hook and the sword was like frost.

    Qian Yu was not as powerful as a Godly State expert. However, her wless tactic was her winning point. That was precisely how she managed to fight with the more powerful Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Swoosh! Two beams of silver light struck.

    The white frost extended on the ground like a sword for a distance of hundred feet before it gradually disappeared.

    The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower moved away from the strike.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi too.

    Aspared to the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower, he dodged more quickly and earlier. He had moved to a ce far away before the sword radiance hit the ground.

    However, he did not move to the correct position.

    Instead of retreating, he advanced with a leap and zoomed past the Qian Yu in between her two swords.

    Then, he ended up beside Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    There was a type of person who could kill the conversation.

    This type of person could make the atmosphere awkward instantly and was not liked by others. On the other hand, there was another type of person who could make his opponent feel like they were struck by lightning.

    Obviously...

    Fang Zhengzhi disyed the characteristics of both types of people.

    He was not sure whether the atmosphere was awkward, but a strange phenomenon happened the instant when he ended up beside Ping Yang.

    Qian Yu, Emperor Lin Mubai and all the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower froze on the spot like a statue.

    Their faces were extremely pale.

    ¡°Ah... Evil brat, I will kill you!¡± A ferocious roar broke the silence. Meanwhile, a ball of red me rose like a Qilin that pounced out and attacked the center of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead with sharp ws and golden eyes.

    As the saying went, when a woman was infuriated, she could even frighten herself.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too sure how ferocious Ping Yang could be, but now he had experienced it personally. The attack made by Ping Yang, in terms of both the angle and the power, as well as the ruthless expression on Ping Yang¡¯s face was extremely well-coordinated.

    It was like a vast ocean raging with turbulent waves.

    However...

    In the midst of this ferocious attack, Fang Zhengzhi saw a leg that was aimed at his crotch.

    That¡¯s right!

    Aspared to the pure and cute Ping Yangst time, the current Ping Yang was no longer pure. In fact, after she was influenced by someone, she had be extremely cunning.

    At least, her diversion move was perfect.

    She had almost mastered the angle of her strike and the expression of a mixture of shock and helplessness.

    Any ordinary person would not have managed to defend against both Ping Yang¡¯s shot at the middle of his forehead and the kick at his crotch with her perfect acting skills and brilliant reasoning

    However, was Fang Zhengzhi an ordinary person?

    Of course not!

    Therefore, he raised his butt and closed his legs, and sank downwards when he saw the spear approaching him. While he forced himself to get into a ¡°twisted horse stance¡±, he got hold of the leg that was aimed at his crotch.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    The autumn breeze blew on the faces of shock. Unfortunately, there was no snow.

    It wascking the beauty of a poem.

    Ping Yang was stunned.

    Her petite mouth formed an ¡®O¡¯ shape and there was disbelief in her eyes. She almost dropped the zing Qilin Spear in her hand.

    How could Fang Zhengzhi defend such a perfect attack?!

    Oh my goodness!

    Ping Yang could not believe her eyes. She was shocked, helpless, anxious. She wanted to scream and run for her life.

    She turned.

    Just as she turned around, she discovered that her feet were still stuck between ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s legs.

    She tried her best to pull it out.

    However, she could not.

    Ping Yang was anxious, she was desperate.

    Then...

    The air was filled with a sprinkle of lime powder.

    ¡°Travesty!¡± Looking at the lime powder and recalling the helplessness on Ping Yang¡¯s face, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he suddenly gained an outstanding student.

    This outstanding student made use of the tactics that Fang Zhengzhi was the best at. She put on a show that she was helpless then sprinkled the lime powder in her hands towards Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 938 - Twisting, Insane Twisting!

    <h4>Chapter 938: Twisting, Insane Twisting!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What was meant by ¡®one could not forgive a crimemitted by oneself?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi experienced that himself. The lime powder came too quickly and too close such that he could notpletely dodge it.

    As the saying went, ¡®touch pitch and you shall be defiled¡¯.

    The lime powder came straight at his face.

    The only thing Fang Zhengzhi could do was to close his eyes. Fortunately, he was wearing a face cloth that prevented his face from turning white.

    However, despite that, there was still a lot of powder around his eyes.

    Then, he felt a surge of forceing towards him at an extremely fast speed.

    Evidently, after Ping Yang sprinkled the lime powder, Qian Yu, Emperor Lin Mubai and the other disciples of the Ling Yun Tower had attacked together.

    Did he need to go underneath the ground?!

    If it was six months ago, Fang Zhengzhi definitely would have gone underneath the ground. After all, it was rather difficult for him to block the attacksing all around him without having any vision.

    However, he could not do that now.

    A ck and white world appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes when he was momentarily blinded by the lime powder. In this world, with an evil smile, Ping Yang stabbed his eyes with her long, slim and fair fingers.

    ¡°Stabbing of eyes?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that Ping Yang had surpassed her master¡¯s skills. If she could do make such shameless moves, what else could she not do?

    As for the attack tactics of Qian Yu and Emperor Lin Mubai...

    They were slightly more ¡°generous¡±.

    However, that was only in rtive terms. After all, the ¡°pounce of a hungry tiger¡± by Emperor Lin Mubai and the ¡°explosion of the posterior part of the brain¡± by Qian Yu were evil tactics too.

    What on earth was happening to this world?!

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head towards the left as he twisted his body, barely dodging the stab made by Ping Yang and the terrible sensation of the explosion of his posterior part of the brain.

    As for the ¡°pounce of a hungry tiger¡± by Emperor Lin Mubai, it was much easier to deal with. He targetted Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s chest with the strike ¡°Digging of the ck Tiger¡¯s Heart¡±.

    Then, an explosion was heard.

    Boom! Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s body flew at least ten feet¡¯s distance away,nding on a group of disciples who were charging towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Qian Yu, Ping Yang, and Emperor Lin Mubai could not react to this sudden change of event as Fang Zhengzhi was clearly momentarily blinded by the lime powder.

    However, he still behaved as though he could see everything clearly.

    Shock, astonishment!

    That were the expressions that Fang Zhengzhi saw on Emperor Lin Mubai, Qian Yu and Ping Yang¡¯s faces. Following that, the two ck wings behind Fang Zhengzhi moved.

    With a violent p, a gigantic airwave was formed.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body flew towards the Ling Yun Tower as he closed his legs tight.

    This way...

    Ping Yang¡¯s body naturally was hung upside down.

    After all, her leg was still stuck between Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs and she could not remove her leg from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°metal-tong¡± legs.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Ping Yang screeched and she tried to struggle with her body upside-down as she continuously stabbed her zing Qilin Spear towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Meanwhile, Qian Yu leaped, looking extremely cold with the two silvery-white swords in her hands and the ring eight moons above her head.

    He could still keep his calm in the face of this turn of event.

    Qian Yu was indeed experienced inbat and was extraordinarily calm when facing his opponents.

    However, her opponent was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although there were only ck and white colors in the world of ck and white, Fang Zhengzhi could still see every single move Qian Yu made.

    The zing Qilin Spear in Ping Yang¡¯s hands were not threatening at all.

    He simply reached his hand out, grabbed the zing Qilin Spear at a position that was one inch under the tip of the spear, shook and gained the possession of it.

    It was a simple movement with a little bit of roughness.

    Nevertheless, the effect was impressive.

    However, just when Fang Zhengzhi snatched the zing Qilin Spear, two silvery-white swords had reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs.

    Like the frost, the swords were glowing like the moon!

    Even as he was closing his eyes, Fang Zhengzhi could feel the sharpness of the two swords. If he was identally struck, he probably would have been paralyzed for the rest of his life.

    ¡°How cruel!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi gasped, he could only release his legs and moved them up further for two inches.

    Swoosh! Two beams of sword radiance brushed past the tip of his feet, creating ayer of frost beneath the tip of his feet.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Qian Yu was extremely stunned. If Fang Zhengzhi had used his subconscious judgment to dodge their joint attack previously, then how could what happened in front of them be exined?

    How could he urately confirm the position she had attacked by using his subconscious judgment?!

    Impossible!

    Doubting intensely, Qian Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. They were still tightly shut.

    He did not open his eyes!

    Yet he could see all the moves?

    Creepy!

    If she had to describe this scenario with one word, it would be ¡®creepy¡¯. Creepy move, creepy scene, so creepy that one shuddered with fear just by thinking of it.

    After that, a creepier scene took ce.

    Qian Yu saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s legs spread out with an extremely fast speed when she raised her head to look at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    It was not a difficult move.

    However, the ingenuity of this move could not be described by words as she was directly below his legs.

    Bam!

    Qian Yu felt that her back was stepped by his legs and immediately fell to the ground like a falling rock.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi pounced on her.

    ¡°Evil brat, don¡¯t you think of hurting my Mom!¡± Ping Yang, who had escaped, raised her fist as she saw the scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. He felt good about taking control of the situation. He knew that the battle would not stop no matter how many times he attacked Qian Yu and Emperor Lin Mubai, and the only way was to get hold of Ping Yang.

    If he was able to get hold of Ping Yang, both Qian Yu and Emperor Lin Mubai had to obey him and could not resist.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡±

    ¡°Yang¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Young Tower Master!¡±

    Voices of shock were heard, including those of Qian Yu, Emperor Lin Mubai as well as the group of disciples of the Ling Yun Tower who were watching from beneath.

    However, it was toote.

    Ping Yang¡¯s fist was grabbed by Fang Zhengzhi as he pulled her hand up to his chest.

    ¡°Let go of me, let go, evil brat, let go of me now!¡± Ping Yang struggled vigorously, turning her body and kicking her legs as well as moving her head all around.

    Fang Zhengzhi was continuously hit by her but it waspletely useless.

    Fang Zhengzhi would not let go.

    He merely lowered his body and hugged Ping Yang, allowing her to struggle as she wished.

    ¡°Now... Tower Master Qian, can we finally sit down and have a good chat?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at Qian Yu who had fallen to the ground, as well as Emperor Lin Mubai and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower, who were worried but afraid to take further action.

    ¡°Meng Tian, what do you want?¡± Qian Yu got up quickly after she fell and asked.

    ¡°Coborate.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was straight to the point.

    ¡°Dream on, even if I die, I will not be the ve of the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡± Qian Yu rejected without giving any thought.

    ¡°I have already said, I am not a Monster or a Demon, I am Meng Tian, the Sagely Battle God Meng Toan.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and exined.

    ¡°Do you think I will believe you?¡± Qian Yu sneered.

    ¡°Fine, whatever, but by coboration, I didn¡¯t mean to let you be the ve for Yun Qingwu, instead, I want you to kill her,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha... I have seen this tactic so many times, trying to trick the Ling Yun Tower by using the murder of Yun Qingwu as an excuse. You want me to work for the Monster Race and Demon Race, impossible!¡± Qian Yu rejected again.

    ¡°You are indeed... stubborn.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was having a headache.

    As what Qian Yu said, that was a possible scenario. Using the excuse of going against the Monster Race and Demon Race to ask someone to work for you was often seen in the Imperial Halls.

    And Qian Yu...

    Was once the Queen of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    She had seen way too many tactics and disputes in the Imperial Halls. Without being able to judge the authenticity of the situation, it was best for her to stick with her objective point of view.

    However, that meant that Fang Zhengzhi had no other ways of persuading her.

    ¡°If you want to coborate, then show me your sincerity.¡± Qian Yu gritted her teeth and said after Fang Zhengzhi kept silent.

    ¡°I think I should be the one negotiating the terms, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. He was rather impressed by how Qian Yu negotiated.

    Her sentence sounded ordinary but had inverted the position of the parties instantly.

    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t expect me to negotiate if you don¡¯t show me your sincerity!¡± Qian Yu turned her head and acted like she did not care, but still sneakily kept her nce on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Then, bye bye.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded, pped his wings and flew to the sky like a stream of light

    In a blink of an eye...

    He vanished.

    Qian Yu waspletely stunned on the spot. Apart from her, Emperor Lin Mubai and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower were also dumbfounded.

    He left?!

    He f*cking left?!

 Chapter 939 - Find A Cave and Deal with the Girl

    <h4>Chapter 939: Find A Cave and Deal with the Girl</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What could make one more speechless other than disappearing during a negotiation? Moreover, ¡°Meng Tian¡± had left with Ping Yang.

    All talk and no action?

    Wait a minute!

    ¡°Yang¡¯er!¡± Qian Yu roared, totally neglecting about maintaining her dignity as the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower and was about to cry.

    Meanwhile, Lin Mubai stood rooted to the ground. He could not figure out why she had left like that, without giving any chance to negotiate?

    What on earth?

    Unless ¡°Meng Tian¡± came specially to snatch Ping Yang?!

    At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changedpletely. If that was the case, Ling Yun Tower was really doomed.

    How could Ling Yun Tower maintain its neutral position if Ping Yang was controlled by the Monster Race and Demon Race? It would be impossible for them to continue maintaining a neutral stance in the world.

    ¡°Chase after them, get Ping Yang back!¡± As Emperor Lin Mubai spoke, he dashed towards the exit of the Ling Yun Tower.

    Meanwhile at the exit of the Tower...

    Fang Zhengzhi hugged onto Ping Yang with all his might. He was afraid that Ping Yang would fall to the ground and be paralyzed if she struggled too hard.

    ¡°Let go, let go of me! Damned evil brat, old shit...¡± Ping Yang struggled with all her might and punched her fist continuously. She even cursed with the legendary phrase, ¡°if you don¡¯t let go of me, I will put a curse on you... to be torn into five parts by the horses!¡±

    After all, having grown up in the pce of Great Xia, Ping Yang had an innocent nature and did not have much knowledge of curse words.

    ¡°Stop moving, if you move again, I will smack your buttocks!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he raised his hand.

    ¡°How dare you... Fine fine fine, I won¡¯t move!¡± Ping Yang was about to insist but soon quietened down.

    However, her eyes kept moving as though she had thought of a scheme.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Ping Yang was extremely cunning, he could get tricked by her if he was not careful.

    No, he could no longer fight with her this way.

    If he was really tricked by Ping Yang, his reputation would be ruined and he could no longer control over Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should remind Ping Yang, but the current situation was tooplex and god knew what was the situation like amongst the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower.

    Only a fool would believe that the Ling Yun Tower was ¡°pure¡± and was free of spies nted by Yun Qingwu.

    He definitely had to get out of Ling Yun Tower, find an empty cave, get some hay and deal with Ping Yang on the spot.

    ¡°Stop there!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian, release Ping Yang and we can discuss further!¡±

    ¡°We agree to coborate!¡±

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was deep in thought, he heard Emperor Lin Mubai and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower from afar. They looked extremely anxious.

    ¡°Want to coborate now? Toote!¡± Fang Zhengzhi no longer wanted to negotiate as any coboration without trust was dangerous.

    To put it more frankly, he initially had the intention to coborate with Ling Yun Tower. However, it must be based on the condition that Qian Yu believed that he was not a Monster or Demon.

    As the saying went, one could only work together well with someone else if both parties had the same enemy.

    However, Qian Yu clearly did not believe him.

    Therefore, how could they coborate? The only way Fang Zhengzhi could get Qian Yu to believe him was to remove his face cloth.

    However, if he did that...

    Then the Northern Mountain Vige would be in danger.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi appointed Qing Yi to stay in the Northern Mountain Vige, the number of people Qing Yi could protect was limited and she could only ensure Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde¡¯s safety.

    The ancient saying went, ¡®once bitten, twice shy¡¯.

    Although it was not that exaggerated for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s case, he knew the importance of being cautious.

    He had to leave the territory of the Ling Yun Tower first. As long as he had Ping Yang with him, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to force Ling Yun Tower into a ¡°coboration¡±.

    He did not stop or reply.

    Fang Zhengzhi leaped and left the Tower, disappearing from Emperor Lin Mubai and the disciples¡¯ sight.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡±

    ¡°Young Tower Master!¡±

    ¡°Why? Why is he no longer coborating with us? Why is he not negotiating with us?!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai cried in anxiety when Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang vanished.

    He had initially hoped that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was doing it on purpose when he reached the exit of the Tower.

    However, when ¡°Meng Tian¡± left with Ping Yang, he realized that ¡°Meng Tian¡± really had no intention to continue with the negotiation.

    ¡°Ah!!! Meng Tian, return Yang¡¯er to me!¡± A silvery-white figure zoomed past the sky like a meteor and a ferocious roar echoed through the sky.

    ...

    Half a mile away from the exit of the Ling Yun Tower, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he turned to look at the origin of the roar while holding Ping Yang in his arms.

    ¡°Is it seriously so heartbreaking?¡± Fang Zhengzhi snorted and proceeded to look for caves where he could hide in.

    Of course, he was punched and cursed by Ping Yang in the process.

    For example, Ping Yang added a ¡°damned¡± to ¡®evil brat¡¯ and a ¡°shameless¡± to ¡®old shit¡¯, making him a ¡°damned evil brat¡± and ¡°shameless old shit¡±.

    The profound study ofnguage was clearly seen at this moment.

    As for what effects did such mild scolding create? Fang Zhengzhi could answer honestly, ¡°Nothing at all!¡±

    While Fang Zhengzhi was speeding, he soon found a rtively small cave located in between some rocks.

    There were a few fan-shapes leaves at the entrance of the cave.

    ¡°Good location, I can start doing my things after making some adjustments!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded in satisfaction and leaped down with Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ping Yang screamed in fear and hugged Fang Zhengzhi tightly with her hands and legs.

    It was an involuntary movement.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that he was doomed when Ping Yang hugged him.

    Indeed...

    As expected, two secondster after Ping Yang hugged him, Fang Zhengzhi felt something extremely sharp poking at the back of his neck.

    It was too fast!

    It was so fast that Fang Zhengzhi had no choice but to block that attack. As his body trembled, an intense force pressed on the back of his neck.

    Ding! A crisp ng of the metals was heard and a narrow blue needle fell on the ground.

    Cold sweat was formed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. In a few months¡¯ time, not only did Ping Yang learn how to fight and sprinkle lime powder, but she also knew how to use the needles?!

    The needle...

    Was it even suitable to be used by children?!

    What if they prickled someone else? Even if it did not prick anyone, it would not be good if it pricked the nts as it was after all a poisonous blue needle.

    ¡°Ah... I will kill you!¡± Wild expressions were etched on Ping Yang¡¯s face as she saw the poisonous needle fall onto the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t this girl too rebellious?¡¯

    She had various types of creepy tactics. Along with her expressions, she looked like a replica of himself.

    God knew what this girl had hidden in her hands if she continued.

    ¡°Stop fooling around, are you f*cking stupid?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said after lowering his voice.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s Wild actions stopped immediately after hearing his voice, disbelief and agitation could be seen in her eyes.

    The reason was...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not intentionally change his voice when he said the sentence, he had used his own voice.

    Ping Yang¡¯s mouth opened.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi covered her mouth with one of his hand and rolled into the cave in front of him.

    ¡°Mmm mmm...¡± Ping Yang was struggling desperately but her actions changed. While holding onto Fang Zhengzhi with one hand, her the hand pulled at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face cloth.

    Fang Zhengzhi allowed her to pull it as she liked.

    Ping Yang¡¯s fair fingers brushed past Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, tearing down the ck face cloth on it, revealing a handsome face.

    This was a scene that was filled with excitement. However, what ruined it was the white lime powder on the handsome face.

    ¡°Girl, you are in deep trouble. How dare you remove my face cloth, looks like you are doomed in the Holy Region!¡± Fang Zhengzhi closed his eyes and hugged Ping Yang once again before throwing a whack at the entrance of the cave.

    Bam!

    Pieces of rocks fell and sealed the entrance of the small cave, turning the cave pitch dark instantly.

    However, at that moment, three pairs of red eyes glowed in the dark like mes. They looked eerie and bloody.

 Chapter 940 - I Am Young but I Can Give It To You

    <h4>Chapter 940: I Am Young but I Can Give It To You</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Holy Region was never too peaceful. After all, there were countless precious herbs and treasures in the region.

    Therefore, it was natural for a few beasts to be hidden in the cave.

    Of course, three beasts, though rather powerful, did not affect Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    A momentter, they became the food on the fire rack. Their meat was very fresh as they were freshly ughtered.

    The bonfire in the cave was warm but because of theck of air cirction, it was rather stuffy.

    Ping Yang¡¯s fair face turned slightly red, either because she was lying in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest or because she was feeling warm.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you really captured the Demon Lord?¡± Ping Yang breathed heavily as she looked at the mes in front of her.

    ¡°It¡¯s an insignificant matter.¡± Fang Zhengzhi casually raised his head with a rxed expression. The lime powder on his face had been rubbed off.

    ¡°You are still so shameless...¡± Ping Yang smiled as she wiped her mouth on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest to remove the oil and said, ¡°Where is the Demon Lord now? Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Northern Mountain Vige would be ...¡±

    Ping Yang stopped at thest part of her sentence. She had heard about what happened to the Northern Mountain Vige from Emperor Lin Mubai.

    ¡°I left him in the Northern Mountain Vige,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I see.¡± Ping Yang agreed that it was a good idea to leave the Demon Lord in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Firstly, as long as Yun Qingwu had no suspicion regarding ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s identity, she would not look for the Demon Lord in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Secondly, if the Northern Mountain Vige encountered a crisis again, they could afford to strike a deal with the Demon Lord in their hands.

    As she thought through these factors, Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up again and she looked extremely excited.

    ¡°So where are we proceeding to next? Heaven Zen Mountain? I can lead if we are!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes burned with fury as she spoke.

    After all, Ping Yang still could not forget about the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    As the saying went, you get up from where you fall, Ping Yang had the same ideology as Fang Zhengzhi with respect to this.

    ¡°Since you have stayed in the Ling Yun Tower for a while, have you heard of the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡± Instead of answering Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi asked a question.

    ¡°Source of God? What Source of God?¡± Ping Yang looked confused.

    ¡°You never heard of that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked slightly disappointed. He had always thought that the history of the Five Sects of the Holy Region was very ancient.

    Therefore, he had hoped that he could get some hints about the ¡°Source of God¡± that Lin Ji mentioned from the Ling Yun Tower.

    However, it seemed like...

    It was not as easy as he thought it would be.

    ¡°I am sure. After flipping through almost every single book in the Ling Yun Tower, I never saw anything rted to the Source... of God?¡± said Ping Yang. However, she blinked as though something struck her. ¡°Is this something important? How does it look like?¡±

    ¡°Thing? Actually, I am not sure whether the Source of God is a thing...¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. At that point in time, in order to get something out of Lin Ji, he did not probe her further.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not a thing, could it be a piece of article?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Article?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang. From her expression, he could tell that she had something in mind. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much actually, but I recall that Mu Qingfeng mentioned about reading a piece of article on the Heaven Zen Mountain.¡±

    ¡°Mu Qingfeng?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think the article was the reason why he gathered the five sects on the Heaven Zen Mountain. I think... Mu Qingfeng may know something.¡±

    ¡°Why did I not hear about this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not remember this event.

    ¡°You werete, that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t hear it. Mu Qingfeng said it before the meeting, he even talked about the story of the Mother Earth, you came when Sister Yan was injured. Oh right, how¡¯s Sister Yan?¡± Ping Yang suddenly thought of Chi Guyan as she said.

    ¡°Chi Guyan is currently in the Northern Mountain Vige. However, she has yet to wake up.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned as he started to process Ping Yang¡¯s words.

    Mother Earth?

    How did Mu Qingfeng hear about the story of Mother Earth?

    ¡°She hasn¡¯t woken up after such a long time?¡± Ping Yang was evidently worried.

    ¡°Hmm, although she has yet to wake up, her condition is stable. Oh right, you mentioned the story of Mother Earth, did Mu Qingfeng mention about how he learned about it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he said it was in a broken ck Stone Pce underneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I think Sister Yan had been there before too?¡± replied Ping Yang as she recalled.

    ¡°ck Stone Pce? Under the Heaven Dao Pavilion... could it be that?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as something struck him.

    At that time, he and Yan Xiu were surrounded by the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind when a ck pce fell from the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, he did not enter at that point in time as he did not have the mood to.

    Wait a minute!

    When the ck Stone Pce fell...

    It was the exact time when the beasts of the Holy Region changed. Moreover, it seemed like the entire Holy Region changed after the ck Stone Pce fell.

    Then...

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned. For some reason, he felt that there was some special rtionship between these events that was way moreplicated than mere coincidence.

    However, at that point in time, he only thought of rescuing Yan Xiu. Therefore, he forced his way through the Yin Yang Hall before he was sent to the Middle Stream Cauldron on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for alchemy.

    After that, he went to the Ling Yun Tower and then the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never thought so much about the change of events of the world.

    However, things were different now.

    He felt that he had neglected many things in the past as he looked at the beast which had experienced the change of the world on the fire rack.

    These seemed to be the root of the mystery.

    ¡°An article about Mother Earth, could it be rted to the ¡®Source of God¡¯ that Lin Ji mentioned about? Or was the ck Stone Pce the... Source of God?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling that even Yun Qingwu did not know where the Source of God was.

    That was because if Yun Qingwu had known where the Source of God was, things would not be soplicated like now.

    ording to Lin Ji...

    The Source of God could turn the tides. In other words, whoever who could find it first could control the world.

    Analyzing from the ¡°importance¡± of the Source of God, why didn¡¯t Yun Qingwu look for it? Or rather, if Yun Qingwu had known, she would have dug it out a long time ago.

    She would not bother with any ns dealing with the Holy Region.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up and glistened with silvery-white sparks, as though it was separated from the real world.

    ¡°Shameless brat, tell me the truth, are you in the Godly State?¡± Ping Yang asked with expectation as she saw the sparks in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°No, I did not even touch the door for the Godly State.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned as he did not know why Ping Yang asked that.

    ¡°Then how did you defeat Lin Ji? Furthermore, I heard that you killed her with one strike of your sword!¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    ¡°Kill? Haha... I only made her faint.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his hand.

    ¡°Faint? That¡¯s not possible, I remember Mother said that you were not even the match for the Space-splitting Demon God on the Heaven Zen Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Auntie Qian said that?¡±

    ¡°Erm? You are calling my mom Auntie? I remember you were very disrespectful towards her in the past!¡± Ping Yang smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m too engrossed. Sigh... That¡¯s my strength, once I start acting, I will immerse myself in my character. Since I am acting as ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, I definitely have to be slightly more domineering and stop calling her Auntie.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled awkwardly.

    ¡°Domineering? Why do I feel that you are still as shameless?¡± Ping Yang asked.

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Fang Zhengzhi coughed and changed the topic. ¡°I know what we should do next!¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± Ping Yang looked with anticipation.

    ¡°What do you think is the thing I want to do most now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly as he looked at Ping Yang.

    ¡°Now?¡± Ping Yang looked up and stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, causing her body to shudder.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang blushed as she saw Fang Zhengzhi nod. Then, she looked at the surroundings and the hay in the cave before lying down as she said, ¡°Although I am still young, if you really want to, I, I can give it to you ...¡±

 Chapter 941 - Burn, the Restless Youth

    <h4>Chapter 941: Burn, the Restless Youth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Give... you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment. He looked at the hay behind him and then at the blushing Ping Yang in front of him.

    Wait a minute!

    The scenario did not seem to be right.

    Wasn¡¯t he talking about serious matters with Ping Yang? Did his expression look like he was not being serious?

    What on earth?!

    What did she mean by ¡®although I am still young, if you really want to, I, I can give it to you¡¯? Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that the world had changed and became unbelievable.

    Furthermore...

    What was going on in Ping Yang¡¯s head? After all, Fang Zhengzhi was an upright man, did she think that he was the scandalous type of person?

    Hmm? Now that he looked at it, in these five months, Ping Yang seems to have grown a little, besides bing chubbier on her legs, another area seemed to be...

    Fang Zhengzhi scanned Ping Yang from head to toe. Aspared to their first meeting, Ping Yang had indeed changed.

    Both her feminine aura and allure increased tremendously. In addition to that, she had a cherry blossom-like blush on her face.

    Gulp! Fang Zhengzhi swallowed his saliva unconsciously and forced himself to stop looking at Ping Yang. Then, he took a nce at the hay on the ground behind him.

    Looking at the animal skin from the Southern Region that wasid on the hay, a thought went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Would it be more interesting if he really did it here?

    Should he just go with the flow and do it?

    Although it was a little...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard again. Aspared to the shyness earlier on, she sounded a little afraid.

    ¡°Shameless brat, we are notwfully married, would others misunderstand and view me in a negative light, saying that I am dirty or improper?¡± As she spoke, Ping Yang fixed her gaze on Fang Zhengzhi with anticipation.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly shuddered violently.

    It felt like the burning mes were suddenly put out by a bucket of cold water.

    Beast!

    What on earth was he thinking about?!

    First of all, Ping Yang was only fifteen years old and far from a mature age. Furthermore, considering how Ping Yang had risked her life to block the attack of King Xieluo for him, how could he do anything to harm Ping Yang?

    Although Fang Zhengzhi knew that he could assure Ping Yang of her worries byforting her...

    How could he say it?

    Although men could be beastly or behave worse than a beast, he had toply with the bottom line as a person. Like what Ping Yang mentioned, they were notwfully married, how would the rest of the world view them?

    Perhaps in his past world, people did not see an issue when men and women went overboard because of love.

    However, it was a different story for the current world he was in now.

    Moreover, Ping Yang was the princess of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Young Tower Master of Ling Yun Tower. How could he do that to someone with such a high status?

    Hold on, there was another problem...

    Ping Yang was born with a demanding nature. Although she was trained to be slightly more well-behaved now, God knew how she would be like after marrying her?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not very experienced in this aspect but he had heard of relevant things. One could be as well-behaved as a bird before marriage but be a fierce tiger after marriage.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you are not talking... are you angry? Actually, I wasn¡¯t thinking of anything much, I only... I feel that...¡± Ping Yang became more nervous after Fang Zhengzhi kept silent. She started breathing more heavily as she moved towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched.

    That was because while moving closer to him, Ping Yang began to unbutton her shirt, revealing a red strip underneath.

    Furthermore, she was ready to remove the red strip too.

    ¡°What the... f*ck?! She¡¯s being serious?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood up immediately and quickly took two steps towards the exit of the cave.

    This caused Ping Yang to stop. She looked slightly shocked and her eyes were filled with uneasiness and confusion.

    The atmosphere became strange.

    Heavy breaths were heard in the cave. Due to the bonfire, the temperature in the cave rose and the heat caused one¡¯s face to burn.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi turned around.

    As he turned around, he gave an extremely bright smile and his eyes were glowing with a radiance that was like the fire.

    ¡°Ping Yang, do you know how to dance?¡±

    ¡°Dance?¡± Ping Yang was evidently stunned and could not react for a moment. After all, she could not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant when he suddenly raised this question in this atmosphere.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi soon began to sway as he touched his body, starting from his face and slowly moved downwards.

    ¡°Do you know about the 18 touches? Like this... this... this? Understand?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he moved his body,

    ¡°This is... this is dan... dancing?¡± Ping Yang states for a good while before she asked.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t even know how to dance the ¡°18 touches¡±, then do you know how to do the ¡°noodle-making Du Shiniang¡±? Do you... know? No? Sigh... you are so boring!¡± Fang Zhengzhi attempted to make a few other poses that he thought was handsome, before waving his hands disappointedly as he realized that Ping Yang was still in a daze.

    At this moment, Ping Yang finally regained her senses and her expression turned from shyness to extreme anger, as though she was burning with mes.

    ¡°Shameless!!!¡±

    ¡°Eh, what do you want? Fight? Do you think you can win me with such a small build? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will split your buttocks open with a p?¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat, I will kill you!¡±

    Bam!

    The cave which was initially shut was pushed open and the two figures who were fighting rolled out of the cave along with the small rocks.

    Since they entered the cave in the day, the time had passed and it was already night time.

    The moon was round and bright.

    Silvery-white light shone from the sky onto the two figures who were twisted together, as well as a petite mouth that bit tightly onto a shoulder.

    ¡°Let go! Open... open your mouth!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s veins popped out of his forehead.

    Her bite was extremely painful. If Fang Zhengzhi did not have his cultivation, he probably had already lost a part of his shoulder.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth from the pain, Ping Yang suddenly released her bite and pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes widened.

    Feeling the petite mouth on his lips, the only thought that shed across his head was, ¡°What the f*ck, I am forced to do this again?!¡±

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to show some care for Ping Yang, she suddenly removed her mouth.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think I will like someone as shameless as you? If you want to marry me, you have to at least own a pce!¡± As Ping Yang said this, her eyes shed with excitement and pouted her mouth.

    ¡°Pce? Are you forcing me to take over the position of the king?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled cunningly.

    ¡°How dare you! If you dare to eye on my Father¡¯s position as the King, I will never forgive you. However, you can consider invading the Northern Barbarians, or the Radiant Moon Empire and War Pinnacle Empire. I do not have very high expectations, but the pce must be prettier than that of the Great Xia Dynasty. Besides that, I want my bedroom to be hung with the brightest pearls and I want 10,000 red gemstones on my walls, and...¡±

    ¡°Take your time, I will leave first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned and walked into the forest.

    ¡°Wait a minute, hey... Shameless brat, where are you heading to?¡± Ping Yang caught up with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Stop following me.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to follow you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a pce, neither do I have a room full of pearls and 10,000 red gemstones.¡±

    ¡°You do!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°You really do! As long as you marry me, my Father will build a pce for you at the foot of the Cang Ling Mountain and give you a room full of pearls and 10,000 red gemstones. This is my dowry!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course, my Father will give me whatever I want!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you can follow me now.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang felt speechless but soon caught up with Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Shameless brat, if my Father really gave you a pce and a room full of pearls and 10,000 red gemstones, will you marry me?¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan¡¯s current position is the deputy leader of the bed-warming servants. What do you think will be your position after you enter the Fang family?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    ¡°Then... I will be a bed-warming servant under Sister Yan¡¯s lead, after Sister Yan made an aplishment and gets promoted to the senior leader, I shall be the deputy leader, is that alright?¡± Ping Yang answered seriously after giving it some thoughts.

    ¡°You are not picky at all.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I am not picky at all. Oh right, where are we heading to?¡±

    ¡°To look for Yun Qingwu,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°To look for Yun Qingwu?! Are you... you really going to the Great Swamp? That is the most critical location for the Monster Race and Demon Race... I heard that there are more than ten Monster Kings and at least three Godly State experts. Furthermore, Monster Emperor Baizhi is also at the Great Swamp!¡± Ping Yang was astonished.

 Chapter 942 - What Are You Waiting For!

    <h4>Chapter 942: What Are You Waiting For!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I am not f*cking stupid.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew about the danger of the Great Swamp and how many Monsters, Demons and Godly State experts there were.

    ¡°Then you still want to look for Yun Qingwu?¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    ¡°I said I want to look for Yun Qingwu, I didn¡¯t say I want to go to the Great Swamp.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little annoyed.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t Yun Qingwu in the Great Swamp? How can you look for her if you don¡¯t go to the Great Swamp... Sigh, shameless brat, wait for me!¡± Ping Yang caught up with Fang Zhengzhi who was speeding up.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not say much and held Ping Yang¡¯s hand. In reality, he did not think of bing a reputable hero.

    Therefore, he would not do things that heroes did. For example, changing the situation of the entire world on his own, or charging into the Great Swamp and carrying out a massacre.

    To put it frankly, if Fang Zhengzhi had such powers, he would not be running all over the Holy Region.

    He would have immediately charged to the Great Swamp and carried out a massacre for at least half a month.

    However, was that possible?

    Obviously not!

    Fang Zhengzhi had the skills to match up to a Godly State expert, but whether he could win had to depend on the power of the Godly State expert and luck.

    He won the battle with Lin Ji partially because of luck.

    Firstly, Lin Ji did not know Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s real identity and was worried. Secondly, after Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocation, Lin Ji had lost her cool. In addition to that, although the Monster Race was powerful in terms of physical strength, theycked mental strength. All these gave Fang Zhengzhi the opportunity for a sessful attack.

    The sessful attack helped with the seizure of Lin Ji, and now, the news that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had ¡°revived¡± was known worldwide.

    Based on this, if Fang Zhengzhi encountered another Godly State expert, the Godly State expert would definitely fight with all his might and would not give him a chance like before.

    Fang Zhengzhi was very sure about this. Therefore, he knew that the battle between him and Yun Qingwu had only just begun.

    ...

    Although five days was not a long duration, it was long enough for news to spread throughout the Holy Region, especially with the intentional push of particr individuals.

    Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Was one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Yet now, it became the location where everyone in the Holy Region surged towards to. That was because a piece of breaking news was announced in these five days.

    Source of God!

    It was a phrase that was unknown to most people previously. However, in merely five days¡¯ time, it became the aspiration of everyone.

    Why did the world undergo such a drastic change? Why did the beasts be powerful for no reasons? Why did the small mountains suddenly increase in size? Why did the river carry a light fragrance?

    Everything was a mystery.

    And there was an answer to this mystery.

    It was none other than the Source of God.

    ording to legends, the Source of God was a secret location at the point of time when the world was formed. When the world was formed, the world was not as ¡°dested¡± as it looked like currently.

    At that time, the creatures in the world were extremely agile, they breathed with the Reiki energy and cultivated themselves to be Gods.

    Furthermore, in that era, the trees were able to bear unique flowers and fruits because of the umtion of the Reiki energy from the sky and earth. Anyone who consumed the flowers or fruits were able to gain control over the world.

    Because of that, there were all kinds of powerful and ferocious beasts, such as the Golden Dragon, Four-wed Qilin, Fire-zing Phoenix and the Water-controlling Turtle.

    Apart from that, there were Gods who ruled the world. By raising their hands, they could split apart mountains and stones and could make the weather rain by giving a smile.

    That era was an ancient era.

    A battle in the ancient era caused the Cosmic Disaster. mes and rocks fell from the sky and covered the ¡°source¡± of the Reiki, depleting the Reiki. As a result, the trees could no longer bear unique flowers and fruits and powerful Gods seized to exist.

    This disaster changed the world.

    Yet now, the ¡°source¡± of the Reiki appeared again. All forms of life were reinvigorated along with the umtion of Reiki, mountains, stones and trees grew and beasts became powerful again.

    It could be foreseen that the magnificence of the ancient era woulde alive again, powerful Gods would rule the world again and have the powers to destroy the world.

    However, in order to be such a God, they had to find the Source of God.

    That was because the Source of God was the ¡°source¡± of the Reiki. One could be the next God if they found the Source of God and swallowed the fruit in the Source of God!

    It was an extremely attractive legend. However, nobody knew where it originated from.

    Although there were some ridiculous ims such as how one could be a God after consuming the fruits of the Source of God, all the disciples who went through the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain saw with their own eyes that Nangong Hao had instantly be more powerful after swallowing the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Apart from Nangong Hao, Fang Zhengzhi had also swallowed a fruit before.

    Moreover, he did not die!

    What did this mean? It meant that there was indeed a fruit in the world in which one could be powerful if they found and consumed it.

    Although it was slightly against the ideology of cultivation and too good to be true, everyone had the dream to be God.

    If they had a dream, they had to have the opportunity and hope.

    Even though everyone knew that one should cultivate oneself steadily, when a ¡°shortcut¡± appeared in front of one¡¯s eyes, one would definitely try it.

    The allure of these shortcuts was extremely huge for those who encountered bottlenecks during their cultivation process.

    Insanity!

    In five days time, after the legend had spread in the Holy Region, all the depression andints turned into a burning passion.

    Moreover...

    This legend also provided a piece of extremely important information.

    The wrecked ck Stone Pce at the foot of the Heaven Dao Pavilion was the clue of the Source of God. One could find the Source of God if they entered the ck Stone Pce.

    Holy moly!

    Then what are you waiting for?!

    ¡°What do you think? Isn¡¯t the legend that I made up with attractive?¡± At the entrance of a secluded cave outside the Great Swamp, Fang Zhengzhi, who was wearing a ck robe and had a cloth with the word ¡®God¡¯ around his face, pointed at a group who walked out quickly from the Great Swamp.

    ¡°You really made this legend up?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to turn something that did not exist into something that was so convincing such that even she herself almost believed it.

    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t it very realistic?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    In reality, for someone who had experienced the past life, he had no difficulty making up these type of ¡°small stories¡± as, after all, there were many of these stories recorded in the books.

    For example, ¡®N¨¹wa mends the sky¡¯, ¡®Kuafu Chases the Sun¡¯, ¡®Four Ancient Beasts¡¯, there were so many of simr stories, so how difficult could it be for him to make one up?

    Of course, when making up the legend, Fang Zhengzhi had taken into consideration the events that took ce in the current world and made some iprehensible things more ¡°realistic¡±. This way, he was able to convince a group of people and that allowed more people to be persuaded.

    It was simple logic. It was alright even if you did not believe in the legend! If your brothers believed it, what would you do?

    You would still pursue and attempt it.

    This was a chain reaction. Fang Zhengzhi did not need to make up a legend that everyone in the world believed. He only needed to persuade a small group of people and purposely pushed them further.

    For example, gather a sufficient number of ¡°water army¡± <sup>1</sup> .

    Then, everything would proceed smoothly.

    ¡°Will Yun Qingwu believe it?¡± Ping Yang looked slightly worried after ncing at the Great Swamp.

    ¡°She won¡¯t, but she will definitely go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Firstly, Yun Qingwu is very smart. She knows what she should do and what she should not. After all, she cannot stop the entire Monster Race and Demon Race from believing this legend. If she forced everyone to stop looking for the ¡®Source of God¡¯, the result would be the opposite from what she wants to see,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. Yun Qingwu has a very high status amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race, why wouldn¡¯t they believe her if she said that the legend is fake?¡± Ping Yang frowned.

    ¡°She can¡¯t say that.¡±

    ¡°Why? Why not?¡±

    ¡°That is because she did not have concrete evidence to prove whether the legend is real or fake. If she said it was fake, she must reveal everything she knows about the ¡®Source of God¡¯. However, how could she possibly reveal such important insider news to the entire Monster Race and Demon Race?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi confidently.

    ¡°I understand now. You are saying that even if Yun Qingwu knows that this is a trap, she won¡¯t let this trap affect her original n or reveal the truth about the ¡®Source of God¡¯.¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the second reason?¡±

    ¡°The second reason is, the fake legend may not be a bad thing for her. I have heard from Lin Ji that the main reason why Yun Qingwu could get the support of the Godly State experts was that she had set up a chess game in the Heaven Zen Mountain and won 100 pawns with only 15 pawns.¡±

    ¡°Could this game... be rted to why she went to the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Yes. She got the full support of the Godly State experts with one chess game. However, do you think that¡¯s possible?¡±

    ¡°Hmm... I understand. You are saying that Yun Qingwu is making use of this opportunity to once again establish her credibility in the Godly State experts¡¯ hearts?¡± Ping Yang understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    ¡°Exactly. Yun Qingwu will show her powerful intelligence when everyone headed to the wrecked ck Stone Pce under the Heaven Dao Pavilion. She wants to show the Godly State experts how she is able to calcte the perfect timing and turn this entire event into a trap!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    ¡°Then ording to what you said, aren¡¯t we helping her?¡± Ping Yang became confused again.

    ¡°Kind of.¡±

    ¡°You... spy of the humankind! Tell me, do you have a scandal with Yun Qingwu? Did you sleep with her? Or, did she sleep with you?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened and she opened her petite mouth and was about to bite Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless when he saw Ping Yang opened her mouth. Since when did this girl be so easily triggered?

    Moreover, from whom did she learn this biting tactic from? He did not know that she had this special habit previously.

    Judging from time...

    Ping Yang had followed Qian Yu all along, could Qian Yu, the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower, be an expert in terms of certain skills?

    Thinking about this, Fang Zhengzhi showed an odd expression that all men could understand.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are you thinking about?¡± After seeing how Fang Zhengzhi remained silent and the odd expression on his face, Ping Yang stopped and did not bite him.

    ¡°I was thinking about the incident when Qian Yu conquered the Emperor, did she use her mouth... oh, sorry, I meant that, Auntie Qian¡¯s mouth... Er, actually, I am not thinking about anything, do you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi began perspiring as he tried to exin himself.

    ¡°Yes, of course, I believe you! You shameless brat, tell me, what exactly are you thinking about?!¡± Ping Yang did not hesitate this time and was ready to bite Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, oblivious of the sparrow stalking him!¡± <sup>2</sup> Seeing how Ping Yang was ready to bite him, Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and pretended to be profound.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Indeed, Ping Yang stopped and looked confused.

    ¡°I meant that I had always thought I was a sparrow until I discovered that I am a mantis. This time, I want to give the sparrow a try.¡±

    ¡°So we are eating roasted sparrows tonight?¡± With anticipation, Ping Yang blinked and licked her lips.

    ¡°Your IQ... is wrecked!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I said you are really smart, I will go capture some sparrows and cook them for you. Are you surprised?¡±

    ¡°Yay, that¡¯s great!¡± Ping Yang leaped in joy but quickly turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi again. ¡°You haven¡¯t told me why you are helping Yun Qingwu. Do you have a scandal with her?¡±

    ¡°You can ask her ten dayster.¡± Fang Zhengzhi leaped into the forest and refused to exin further.

    ¡°Ten days?¡± Ping Yang pouted as she watched Fang Zhengzhi disappear. ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, oblivious of the sparrow stalking him? Shameless brat, do you think you can win Yun Qingwu in terms of intelligence?¡±

 Chapter 943 - Huge Huge Hugeâ€¦ Trap!

    <h4>Chapter 943: Huge Huge Huge... Trap!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were discussing the ¡°world affair¡± in the small cave, Ling Xiao Mountain, the center of humankind, was also in the midst of a debate.

    ¡°This must be a trap, it must be a trap set by Yun Qingwu. Her intention is to lure us over and kill us all at one go!¡± A voice was heard in the hall of the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    This voice was soon acknowledged by the rest of the crowd. After all, this legend emerged too quickly and too coincidentally.

    It was impossible for a so-called ¡°Source of God¡± and a fruit that could allow one to be God directly to appear out of nowhere at such a critical point in time.

    ¡°What if it¡¯s real?¡± Another voice was heard. It was not loud but it caused the crowd to turn silent.

    Yes, although this legend emerged too coincidentally, the content was what the humankind had dreamt about.

    Most importantly...

    Humankind had already been forced to a ¡°dead end¡±.

    Three areas of the Holy Region were invaded by the Monster Race and Demon Race, and no disciples dared to live in the Yin Yang Hall now.

    Except for the Ling Yun Tower, the Five Sects of the Holy Region and the major and minor sects were all congregated on the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    How could they put up with such a life!

    They were unwilling to ept it!

    They were like a man in the desert who saw an oasis. Even though it may be a mirage, would that stop them from advancing further?

    He would definitely die if he did not take action but he had the chance to survive if he did.

    Right now, that was precisely the situation humankind was in. Since they were already desperate, how could they give up on the hope before their eyes?

    ¡°I suggest for us to take a look.¡± One of the leaders of the sect stood up. He was not from a major sect, in fact, in the Human Alliance, he was allocated to the Fu Yi troop and became a mere General.

    Although the people he ruled over were still the members of his sect, he could no longer call himself the leader of the sect given his current status.

    How would a sect leader who had established his own sect be willing to be controlled and suppressed by others?

    It was a form of ambition!

    Although ambitions were known to be built upon one¡¯s capabilities, why couldn¡¯t one have a little bit of hope if they werecking in their capabilities?

    Find the Source of God, eat the fruit inside it, be the God that ruled the world and stand on the peak of the world.

    That was everyone¡¯s dream.

    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s wrong with taking a look? It¡¯s better than doing nothing over here!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes, why should we be afraid if we make sufficient preparation? Even if there was something amiss, we could still escape!¡±

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mu must be familiar with the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how would anything bad happen in the territory of Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡±

    ¡°Precisely, furthermore, didn¡¯t Vice Alliance Leader Mu enter the wrecked ck Stone Pce before? There were indeed inscriptions on tablets there, perhaps that included the records of the Source of God, right? Vice Alliance Leader Mu!¡±

    The gazes of the crowd quickly fell upon Pavilion Master Mu Qingfeng. After all, it used to be the territory of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Mu Qingfeng had entered the ck Stone Pce before.

    ¡°It is really dangerous in the ck Stone Pce!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changed when he felt the gazes fall upon him.

    ¡°How dangerous?¡± asked the surrounding people.

    ¡°Actually, I only explored a small part of the pce, moreover... I had Guyan assisting beside me then. As for the deepest part of the pce...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°I did not enter the deepest part of the pce. Apart from traps, there was a special force that could make one develop an illusion...¡±

    ¡°Illusion?!¡± The surrounding people fell silent as they heard this. How could they possibly defense against the special force that Mu Qingfeng couldn¡¯t?

    ¡°I feel that the most dangerous ce is the ce where secrets may be hidden. Perhaps the legend is real, the Source of God is in the wrecked ck Stone Pce!¡± said the sect leader who made the firstment earlier on, showing no sense of fear.

    ¡°That makes sense!¡±

    ¡°It is not possible for it to be not dangerous!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If any of you are afraid, you can choose to not go. Anyway, I am determined the go and take a look. Perhaps that is thest hope for humankind!¡±

    The surrounding people nodded.

    ¡°Dao Xin, what do you think?¡± Dao Hun, who was sitting in the middle of the hall looked at the agitated sect leaders and disciples before turning to Dao Xin who was beside him and asked softly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a trap,¡± said Dao Xin softly.

    ¡°Trap?! Then we...¡±

    ¡°Should go!¡± Dao Xin said before Dao Hun could continue.

    ¡°Why do we still go despite knowing that it¡¯s a trap?¡± Dao Hun could not understand.

    Instead of answering Dao Hun¡¯s question, Dao Xin frowned slightly and pointed at the agitated sect leaders and disciples beneath.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Dao Hun quickly understood the reason. The scene in front of them was not one that could be stopped as he wished even though he was the Alliance Leader.

    However, since he had known that it was a trap, Dao Hun had no intention to take the risk himself. Instead, he started to think of a n.

    At this moment, a sound was heard outside the pce/hall(?).

    ¡°Shadow Sect Leader, Wu Yuer is here!¡±

    ¡°Wu Yuer?!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t she go to the Great Xia Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°Why is she on the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡±

    Everyone was shocked when they saw the figure who was wearing a ck dress enter the hall.

    However, Wu Yuer was the Sect leader of the Shadow Sect and since the Shadow Sect had also taken the position of the Deputy Mashal of the Ling Yun troops, her status was not low in the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Long time no see, Sect leader Wu!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Sect Leader Wu is still as charming as ever!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Sect Leader Wu, for you to make a trip personally to the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡±

    The crowd stood up and weed Wu Yuer. However, nobody dared to get too close to her as after all, she was a rose with thorns.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to tell everyone that the Monster Kings who have guarded in the Great Swamp are now rushing to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.¡± Wu Yuer said softly as she walked quickly to the center of the hall and took a quick nce at Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    However, her gaze fell very quickly on a figure beside Dao Xin, a figure who was wearing traditional Chinese clothing.

    Yan Xiu remained nonchnt.

    ¡°Sect Leader Wu, you mean we should also start heading to the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± Dao Hun began to speak after hearing Wu Yuer¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°Did it not cross Sect Leader Wu¡¯s mind that this could be a trap?¡± Dao Hun¡¯s haze sharpened after a moment of silence.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Wu Yuerughed with a sh of allure. She took a quick scan of the surroundings and said, ¡°Of course this is a trap! Furthermore, it is a trap set by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian in order to lure Yun Qingwu out of the Great Swamp!¡±

    ¡°Trap?!¡±

    ¡°A trap set by Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Hold on, what did you say, Sect Leader Wu, Meng Tian set a trap to lure Yun Qingwu out of the Great Swamp? But Meng Tian just killed a few disciples at the foot of the Ling Xiao Mountain a few days ago!¡±

    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Wu Yuer¡¯s sentence made Dao Hun, as well as the surrounding disciples and leaders of the various sects, confused.

    ¡°Are you referring to Meng Tian who appeared at the foot of the Ling Xiao Mountain a few days ago?¡± Wu Yuer asked after hearing the gasps of

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°That Meng Tian, haha... he was a fake one sent by Yun Qingwu.¡± ¡±

    ¡°Fake? How are you so certain, Sect Leader Wu?¡±

    ¡°That was because the real Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was with me at that time. How could he possibly double and appear at the foot of the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God was with you? What on earth is happening? So, Sect Leader Wu met Meng Tian before? Also, how are you sure that the Meng Tian who was with you was the real Meng Tian?¡± The crowd were extremely suspicious because Wu Yuer¡¯s words were too shocking.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for evidence because Meng Tian was holding on to Demon Lord then. That was when he told me about the n too.¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian told Sect Leader Wu personally?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°Then... Can I ask Sect Leader Wu a question, have you seen Meng Tian¡¯s real appearance?¡± One of the sect leaders asked with a cold gaze.

    ¡°Hahaha, do you think I am a fool?¡±

    ¡°Why did you say that, Sect Leader Wu?¡±

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t believe what I said, you should believe this?¡± Wu Yuer took out something wrapped in ck cloth as she said.

    A round object rolled onto the ground and the cloth fell apart, revealing a head that had a horn and was covered in ck scales.

    ¡°What... What is this?!¡± The expressions on the surrounding peoplepletely changed when they saw the head because they had never seen such a ferocious beast before.

    ¡°Lin Ji!¡±

    ¡°Is it... Lin Ji?! The Godly State expert that rampaged through the Southern Region?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s her head!¡± Wu Yuer nodded and looked at Dao Hun. ¡°This is indeed a trap, a trap that the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian made to lure Yun Qingwu out of the Great Swamp. However, this trap was built upon a real legend, in other words, the Source of God exists and is probably in the wrecked ck Stone Pce beneath the Heaven Dao Pavilion. So now... who else still don¡¯t believe?¡±

 Chapter 944 - Charge, Troops of Meng Tian!

    <h4>Chapter 944: Charge, Troops of Meng Tian!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Silence.

    The entire hall fell into silence.

    If anyone had initially thought that Meng Tian was a ¡°mythological figure¡± made up by Yun Qingwu intentionally, that thought became invalid when Lin Ji¡¯s head appeared in front of them.

    That was because Yun Qingwu would never sacrifice a Godly State Monster to create a ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was suspected by others.

    ¡°It seems like Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is really alive!¡± After a moment of silence, a voice was heard in the hall. It was the sect leader who spoke earlier on.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the only possible exnation!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that this Senior is still alive, this is amazing!¡±

    He was affirmed by others around him. The voices of suspicion alsopletely disappeared.

    At this moment, Dao Xin stood up and took two steps towards Wu Yuer before bowing to her.

    ¡°Since Sect Leader Wu has met Sagely Battle God Meng Tian before, can you tell me the reason why multiple Meng Tians appeared in the Holy Region?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why are there so many Meng Tians?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The surrounding people also looked at Wu Yuer with faces of confusion after hearing Dao Xin¡¯s words.

    ¡°The reason is very simple, those fake Meng Tians are people I assigned for impersonation.¡± Wu Yuer took a nce at the surroundings and gave an alluring smile.

    ¡°You assigned people to impersonate Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I had already gotten the permission of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian so I had not offended Senior by doing this.¡±

    ¡°Why did you do this, Sect Leader Wu?¡±

    ¡°To get intelligence reports!¡±

    ¡°Intelligence reports?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, our force is currently concentrated in the Ling Xiao Mountain and the disciples who are in charge of spying are extremely careful and often encounter precarious situations. On the other hand, the Monster Race and Demon Race are tantly plotting points for intelligence reports. If this goes on, we will only find ourselves in an increasingly difficult position,¡± exined Wu Yuer.

    ¡°I see.¡± Dao Xin nodded.

    That was because she had already understood what Wu Yuer meant. Like what Wu Yuer said, the intelligence report was always the primary factor of any battles.

    As the saying went, if one knew one¡¯s enemy well enough, one would not meet any problems in the battle.

    If one lost in terms of intelligence reports, then even if one won the opponent in terms of power, one could lose the battle due to misjudgment.

    Judging from the current situation...

    Humankind was not as powerful as the Monster Race and Demon Race. In this case, if they were disadvantaged in terms of intelligence reports, it was extremely unlikely for them to win the battle.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God said we can ¡®tantly¡¯ impersonate him, he was fine with dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Meng Tian,¡± said Wu Yuer again.

    ¡°We can impersonate Meng Tian too?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Think about this, if ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ is present all over the Holy Region, how can the Monster Race and Demon Race still have any intelligence reports?¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°No, they can¡¯t. Hahaha, of course, they can¡¯t because everyone is Meng Tian. Even if they can trace us down, they will be like the blind, right?¡± The surrounding people understood the intention behind Wu Yuer and Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s n.

    Turning all the disciples into Meng Tian!

    How magnificent was that?

    Furthermore, the real Meng Tian is hidden amongst these ¡°Meng Tian¡±s and the Godly State experts of the four sects in the Holy Region, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi could also be Meng Tian.

    With that, all the disciples of the various sects could walk out of the Ling Xiao Mountain tantly.

    ¡°Good strategy! No wonder he is the Sagely Battle God!¡± Mu Qingfeng stood up and his initially worried eyes lit up.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we will no longer need to guard here while holding in our emotions. If we pretend to be Meng Tian, we can do whatever we want in the Holy Region.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if we are discovered. If we can win, we will fight, if we can¡¯t, we can run!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes. Also, we can supervise the actions of the Monster Race and Demon Race anytime because we are ¡®Meng Tian¡¯!¡±

    After hearing Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words, the surrounding people were extremely excited. After all, that meant that they were now the ones in control of the situation.

    For more than five months, the powerful humans had been stuck in the Ling Xiao Mountain and did not dare to step out of the mountain. They could only send a group of disciples out to gather information.

    Although this method conserved the overall power of humankind, some people were already going crazy because they could no longer endure the suffering.

    After all, it was not easy for them to live a life that required them to be exposed to the mountain wind every day!

    Moreover, on Ling Xiao Mountain, they could not even have fun. The only fun they had in these five months was to make fun of the female disciples.

    However, the female disciples were the minority, so the ratio did not match!

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this, go and make ck face cloths now and sew the word ¡®God¡¯ in them. I do not want to stay in this bloody ce anymore!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice was heard. It was so loud like thunder that the entire hall shook.

    The other sect leaders and disciples nodded their heads.

    Looking at this scene, Dao Hun¡¯s expression changed. After all, Mo Shanshi was not the one who was in charge of makingmands.

    Just as he was about to speak, he saw Dao Xin shaking his head at him and had no choice but to swallow his words.

    However, Dao Hun was after all the leader of the sect and understood why Dao Xin did that. The situation now could not be stopped by a single person.

    To put it frankly, he got the position of the Alliance Leader forcefully with the unconcluded battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    There were not many people who genuinely approved of him!

    If he could not stop them, what else could he do?

    Dao Hun was not stupid. After enduring this grievance, he stood up slowly from his chair and looked around before clearing his throat.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡±

    Dao Hun thought that since he was the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, other people should remain silent when he was speaking.

    However, Dao Hun was too naive. Some things did not act out as he thought they would be.

    The hall was still extremely rowdy as excitement filled the air. The voices of debate echoed throughout the hall and nobody heard Dao Hun.

    That was rather awkward.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?! He had already taken my position as the Alliance Leader before he even reached the Ling Xiao Mountain?¡± Dao Hun gritted his teeth.

    In order to get his position as the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, he had put in so much effort.

    Moreover, after getting his position as the Alliance Leader, he continuously tried to find ways to establish his credibility in order to get his followers to trust him. He even went on to distribute the medicinal pills made from the Yin Yang Hall to other sect leaders and disciples in order to secure his position as the Alliance Leader.

    Yet now?

    Meng Tian, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, had already overpowered him without even showing his face or reaching the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    ¡°Detestable!¡± Dao Hun clenched his fists.

    Meanwhile, the sect leaders and disciples had reached a conclusion very quickly. Every sect sent some female disciples to make the ck face cloths.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Dao, we are in a rush, goodbye!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we need to rush to make the ck face cloths. We hope to make sufficient cloths for everyone in a day¡¯s time.¡±

    After the sect leaders finished discussing, they left to make the necessary preparation.

    Meanwhile, Dao Hun raised his arm helplessly and tried his best to squeeze out a friendly smile. ¡°Hmm, thanks for your hard work, everyone!¡±

    ...

    At midnight ten dayster...

    Stars were twinkling in the night sky and gazing at the tall mountain and the asional roars of beasts and chirps of birds in the forest.

    The night ought to be silent.

    However, the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion could not quieten down. Even though it was already midnight, the lights were still lit and shadows could be seen moving around.

    ¡°Report, bad news, we discovered Meng Tian five miles away in the East. Since it is dark, we can only guess that there are about... about 300 men!¡±

    ¡°300 Meng Tians?!¡± The expression of the Monster King, who was standing on the Sword Peak with a red light shing in his eyes, changed immediately.

    300 Meng Tians?

    What bullshit?!

    ¡°Yes... yes!¡± The spy who saw that said with affirmation.

    ¡°What the f*ck, I had already been embarrassed the previous time when a fake Meng Tian appeared. Now, there are so many f*cking Meng Tians?!¡± The Monster King cursed.

    ¡°Sir, Young Lord had sent a letter five days ago that she would reach the Heaven Dao Paviliontest by noon. What should we do with all these Meng Tians?¡± One of the Demons who was standing beside the Monster King frowned.

    ¡°What should we do? Young Empress had instructed us to not be rash when we see Meng Tian. Now that there are 300 Meng Tians, what do you want me to do?¡± The Monster King¡¯s face was very ck.

    ¡°Report... Urgent report!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter again? Speak!¡±

    ¡°In the South... I spotted Meng Tian, at least 500 of them, all of them were masked with a ck face cloth sewn with the word ¡®God¡¯!¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck? Say again?!¡± The Monster King raged after being stunned for a moment.

    ¡°Sir... sir, I spotted... spotted at least 500 Meng Tians six miles away in the South direction!¡± replied the spy who had sweat all over his forehead.

    ¡°Report, report... Urgent report... I spotted about 400 Meng Tians in the West!¡±

    ¡°Report... The North, there is a huge number of Meng Tians charging towards us from the North. There is at least... at least 1000... 1000 Meng Tians...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 945 - How Alluring is the â€œLakeâ€!

    <h4>Chapter 945: How Alluring is the ¡°Lake¡±!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Report...¡±

    If the Monster Kings in the Heaven Dao Pavilion had a teacup in their hands, the teacup would have been broken. Simrly, if there was an egg, the egg would also have been cracked.

    2000 over Meng Tians charging from all directions?

    ¡®What on earth!¡¯

    ¡°Fake, they must be fake!¡± said one of the Demon Generals.

    ¡°Rubbish, of course, I know that they are fake!¡± The Monster King was extremely annoyed. How could 2000 over Meng Tians all be real?

    This was self-exnatory. However, the problem was, why did so many Meng Tians appear and what were their motives?

    ¡°Send my order, prepare to battle!¡± The Monster Kingmanded even though he did not know what exactly these Meng Tian wanted.

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°I want to see how powerful these fake Meng Tians are!¡± The Monster King looked furious and radiance seemed to appear from the scales on his body.

    ¡°But Sir, Young Lord¡¯s instructions...¡± The Demon General seemed worried.

    ¡°Of course I would obey the orders given to us and not be rash if there were only a couple of fake Meng Tians. However, how could I possibly do nothing if there are so many of them?¡± The Monster King raged.

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Stop talking rubbish, inform Sir Demon Deity now. As long as he is here, he can kill all these fake Meng Tians!¡± The Monster King waved his hand as the red light shed in his eyes.

    ¡°Understood, I will do it now!¡± The Demon General clenched his teeth. Although he was slightly worried, that was the only feasible move now.

    After all, like what the Monster King said, although the Young Lord had instructed for them to not be rash if they encountered Meng Tian, they had to do something when over 2000 Meng Tians appeared at the same time.

    If they retreated, they would lose the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Judging from the current situation, they could not afford to lose the Heaven Dao Pavilion. They had to guard it until noon.

    That was because Young Lord would reach the Heaven Dao Pavilion at noon, hence how could they retreat now?

    Impossible!

    Since they could not retreat, the only way was for them to guard it with their lives.

    Fortunately, a legend was spread in the Holy Region a few days ago and following that, a Godly State Demon reached the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    If the Godly State expert was there, what should they be afraid of?

    The Demon General did not say anything else. Afraid to stay on, he turned and ran towards the most luxurious ce in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was surrounded by mountains on three sides. One of them was facing a cliff, a dangerous ce.

    However, any dangerous ce could be invaded, especially by Mu Qingfeng and the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion who were familiar with the geography of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Therefore, the so-called ¡°surrounded by mountains on three sides¡±...

    Was merely an arrangement!

    However, since the Monster Race and Demon Race invaded the Heaven Dao Pavilion, they had made some adjustments to the traps in order to prevent humankind from attacking suddenly from the mountain behind.

    The night was dark.

    However, the fire lit up the Heaven Dao Pavilion well enough for everything to be seen clearly. The Demon General left very quickly and reached the door of the luxurious side of the pce.

    ¡°Report, Sir Demon Deity!¡± The Demon General did not enter but stood carefully outside the door and shouted.

    ¡°Is the Young Lord here?¡± A low voice was heard from the room.

    ¡°No, Young Lord will only arrive at noon.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say before, do not disturb me if Young Lord is not here yet? Do you... not understand?¡± The voice was heard again but this time, it had a tone of killing intent.

    The Demon General began to sweat and his legs were like jelly. However, he still bit his lips and said, ¡°There¡¯s something urgent that requires Sir Demon Deity¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity, there is really...¡±

    Boom! The luxurious stone door broke open and a figure dashed out of the room, strangling the Demon General with one hand.

    ¡°Mmm mmm...¡± The Demon General¡¯s body trembled violently and his face turnedpletely pale as he struggled and kicked his leg in the sky.

    ¡°I give you one chance, tell me what happened. If you don¡¯t give me a satisfying response, you know the consequences.¡± After speaking, the figure released his grip and the Demon General fell to the ground.

    When he fell, he knelt down immediately, trembling vigorously as the sweat on his forehead dripped down on the ground like rain.

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity, it¡¯s... Meng Tian is here, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian...¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Hmm, continue!¡± A cold gaze shed across the figure¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Over 2000 Meng... Meng Tians are approaching from all directions and they are reaching the Heaven Dao Pavilion soon. We... we don¡¯t know what to do, we hope Sir Demon Deity...¡±

    ¡°Over 2000 Meng Tians?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡±

    ¡°A bunch of useless shit!¡± The figure raised his arm and pped down. Bam! The Demon General¡¯s head was mmed on the floor and he stopped making any noise.

    A pool of blood was formed beneath his legs. Under the reflection of the moonlight, a scar that looked like a cross appeared on his forehead.

    The expression on the face could not be seen clearly as everything looked like water. However, instead of pure water, it was water mixed with blood.

    Especially the scar that looked like a cross on his forehead.

    The scar was a diagonal scar that crossed with another red scar on the forehead, forming a terrifying cross.

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity!¡± The surrounding Demon soldiers fell to their knees after seeing how the Demon General copsed to the ground.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± The figureughed wildly as he stepped on the corpse of the Demon General.

    Bam!

    Crack...

    Sounds of bone cracking were heard and soon after, the body of the Demon General sankpletely into the ground and all that was left was a pool of water mixed with blood.

    The Godly State expert!

    Nobody ever heard of this phrase in hundreds of years. However, in the past five months, this phrase represented an incredible power.

    Of course, the power included all types of faces and personality.

    Nobody knew how the ancient battlefield looked like. However, everyone was certain that the Monsters and Demons who managed to survive in the ancient battlefield...

    Were definitely powerful.

    Apart from their capabilities, they also had an extraordinary character.

    Chou Qi!

    This name was somewhat strange and nobody knew if it was an alias or his real name as all the Godly State experts called him Chou Qi.

    Moreover, none of the Godly State experts were willing to team up with Chou Qi or even get close to him.

    Then, Yun Qingwu gave an order to pass a ck chess pawn to Chou Qi.

    ck represented darkness!

    However, not all the Monsters and Demons knew what the darkness represented. However, they could notice something for sure.

    After Chou Qi arrived, he rarely made appearances and did not get involved with the events in the Holy Region. He was the one who decided where to go.

    Now, Chou Qi had arrived at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Nobody knew the reason for that. It could be because Chou Qi was ordered by Yun Qingwu, or perhaps it was just his own decision.

    However, what took ce in front of everyone¡¯s eyes made the surrounding Demon soldiers shudder. Theughter from Chou Qi especially made them feel as though they were about to die.

    The killer aura exuded from Chou Qi was too strong. In fact, it felt more like the aura of death.

    Swoosh! Following a sound, Chou Qi vanished into thin air and all was left were the Demon soldiers kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Demon... Where did Sir Demon Deity go to?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°What do we do now? Sir Demon Deity had disappeared, how do we exin to Sir Monster King?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Demon soldiers stared at each other, horrified as they did not know how to respond to the order.

    They did not even know whether Chou Qi went to murder or simply just left.

    ...

    At theke at the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    This was where Fang Zhengzhi was killed by the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. It was also the ce where Yan Xiu became a Fallen Asura because he was overly infuriated.

    With a ck face cloth on his face, Fang Zhengzhi stood silently beside theke, at the spot beside the green stone where Yan Xiu once waited for him and looked at the reflection of the full moon in the water.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are you thinking about?¡± Ping Yang disrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought. Then, she pointed at the flickering light from fire torches behind them and asked, ¡°Did you send all those ¡®Meng Tians¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Kind of.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head lightly, sat on the green stone and lied down.

    Seeing this, Ping Yang got on to the green stone too, her eyes clearer than the water on the river.

    ¡°What are you trying to do by sending so many ¡®Meng Tians¡¯?¡± Ping Yang looked far away before sticking her head in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Make a guess?¡±

    ¡°How... how am I supposed to guess? Oh, I know, are you trying to get into the ck Stone Pce at the foot of the mountain when everyone is dressed as ¡®Meng Tian¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s wrong, you owe me 10,000 ounces of gold!¡±

    ¡°10,000 ounces of gold? Since when did I bet with you?¡±

    ¡°So do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I don¡¯t, because I can go and take a look myself!¡± Ping Yang leaped from the green stone after she spoke and sprang towards the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not react to this. When he finally regained his senses, Ping Yang had already vanished. ¡°Eh? Since when did Ping Yang be so smart? She used to be so bad at this. I... F*ck, oh no, it¡¯s dangerous ahead!¡±

    ...

    Three miles away from the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    The formidable troop of Meng Tian was approaching the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion at an rming speed. Furthermore, there were other simr troops approaching from all directions.

    ¡°Sect Leader Wu, do we attack straightaway?¡± Seeing how they were approaching the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mo Shanshi asked impatiently.

    After all, he had held in for five months.

    ¡°Oh right, Sagely Battle God passed me a few kits when he met me and told me to open the first one when I¡¯m at the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Open it now!¡± said Mo Shanshi.

    The other sect leaders also looked at Wu Yuer, waiting eagerly to see what was in the kit.

    Soon, Wu Yuer took out a ck kit and opened it, revealing a note written on fabric.

    She nced through it and her expression changed.

    ¡°What is written on it?¡± Mo Shanshi asked again.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God told us to identify all the Sages, form four groups of twenty people each and spring a sudden attack on the Heaven Dao Pavilion from four different directions.

    ¡°Sudden attack? Our trace had already been exposed by making our way here. How are we going to spring a sudden attack?¡± Mo Shanshi was confused.

    ¡°What he meant was... the Sages will lead the sudden attack while the other disciples hold on,¡± exined Wu Yuer immediately as she knew that Mo Shanshi had misunderstood.

    ¡°Hold on?¡±

    ¡°Yes, hold on. Senior Meng Tian had also specially instructed for the four troops to retreat immediately after they killed one Monster King or one of themanders of the Demon Race.

    ¡°Retreat? Are we not fighting?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what he meant.¡±

    ¡°What on earth is Sagely Battle God doing? Isn¡¯t he fooling around?!¡± Mo Shanshi could not take it further.

    ¡°Old man Mo, let Sect Leader Wu finish talking.¡± Mu Qingfeng smiled bitterly after hearing their conversation.

    ¡°Alright, Sect Leader Wu please tell us, what else is writing on the note? He can¡¯t possibly make use all the way just to kill one Monster King?¡±

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, you misunderstood Senior Meng Tian. What he meant was, we can sessfully enter the ck Stone Pce after we kill the Monster King.¡±

    ¡°Enter after we kill the Monster King?! What if we meet Godly State experts? Also, I heard that Yun Qingwu would arrive at noon, what do we do then?¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian said he has his own ways to deal with it!¡±

    ¡°This... why do I feel like this is a trap?¡± Mo Shanshi narrowed his eyes as he felt that something was wrong.

    The other sect leaders also looked at each other and could not understand what was the purpose of the kit that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian gave them.

 Chapter 946 - Super Duper Cool, Handsome and Awesome

    <h4>Chapter 946: Super Duper Cool, Handsome and Awesome</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°So... Sect Leader Wu, should we open the second kit and see what Senior Meng Tian instructed us to do after we enter the ck Stone Pce?¡± Mu Qingfeng was also a little hesitant.

    After all, this was closely rted to the survival of humankind.

    Although Wu Yuer¡¯s arrival had proven Sagely Battle God Meng Tuan¡¯s identity, nobody saw how he looked like.

    It was a little difficult for the Human Alliance topletely follow ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®smands solely basing on Wu Yuer¡¯s words.

    ¡°No, Senior Meng Tian especially instructed that the second kit must only be opened if we face danger in the ck Stone Pce.¡± Wu Yuer directly rejected Mu Qingfeng¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Face danger?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the other sect leaders and disciples frowned when they heard this.

    ¡°So what? Old man Mu, what do you think?¡± Mo Shanshi could not make up his mind and hence turned to look at Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Since we are here, we can¡¯t possibly return empty-handed.¡± Mu Qingfeng clenched his teeth.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your idea?¡±

    ¡°Follow the instructions in the first kit, form four teams of Sages and attack the Heaven Dao Pavilion from the North, South, East and West. We can decide on whether we should immediately enter the ck Stone Pce after the sudden attack based on the situation then.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I think Vice Alliance Leader Mu makes sense!¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the most reliable n!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then follow this n and inform the other three troops to select the team for the sudden attack right now!¡± Mo Shanshi nodded his head.

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ...

    In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had been ready for a battle since a long time ago. Not only did they guard the three important paths at the back of the mountain, but they were also stationed at the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    That night was meant to be a sleepless night.

    Unfortunately, the elites of the Monster Race and Demon Race were segregated in these five months. After all, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also stationed at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Fu Xi Valley.

    Therefore, there were not many Monster Kings at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Even though some Monster Kings were sent over to guard at the Heaven Dao Pavilion because of the legend, the total number of Monster Kings were still lesser than 15.

    Of course, apart from the 15 Monster Kings, there were many Demon troops and a Godly State experts Chou Qi.

    The team¡¯s overall force was still very strong.

    After all, the power of an individual Monster King was equivalent to that of two or three Sages. Meanwhile, a powerful Godly State expert was powerful enough to threaten the entire human poption.

    ¡°Pass down my order, all these Meng Tians are fake. If they dare to attack us, don¡¯t show mercy and kill all of them!¡± A blood-thirsty look shed across the face of a Monster King who was tasked to protect the Heaven Dao Pavilion at the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    ¡°Roger!¡± One of the Demon soldiers replied.

    Soon after, the order given by the Monster King was made known to the entire Demon troop. It was evident that the Demon troop was extremely disciplined under the rule of Yun Qingwu.

    It was especially so in terms of the reporting of intelligence reports and militarymands, they were even better than the elite troops of the Four Great Empires.

    Less than 15 minutes after this military order was passed down, a figure, who had a ck face cloth on his face, walked from the forested area at the west side of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is here!¡±

    ¡°He dares to invade the Heaven Dao Pavilion... alone?!¡±

    ¡°He is fake!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Upon seeing only one individual, the Demon soldiers were initially worried because the individual was too brazen.

    However, when they remembered the order given by the Monster King, all of them raised the spears in their hands and advanced forward without hesitation.

    The ¡°Meng Tian¡± who had just walked out of the forest evidently did not expect to see this.

    Meng Tian?

    He had a big word ¡°God¡± sewn on his ck face cloth. How were the ordinary Demon soldiers unafraid of death?

    ¡°Attack!¡± The voices echoed through the air.

    However, it was not effective. ¡°Meng Tian¡± had already attacked before the Demon soldiers dashed towards him. A dark golden radiance shed passed the air and turned into a long golden sword in midair. Then, with a sh of light, it sliced down.

    Boom! A crack was immediately formed on the floor.

    Meanwhile, the ten Demon soldiers fell to the ground with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he... fake?!¡±

    Looking at the crack on the ground and the unsatisfied gaze of ¡°Meng Tian¡±, the Demon soldiers were stunned.

    ¡°Hold, hold on!¡±

    ¡°This Meng Tian is the real one!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    There are always people whock intelligence, especially when it came to the matter of life and death, there were always some clever people who thought they had seen through everything.

    ¡°Real?!¡±

    ¡°This one is real?¡±

    Soon, various sounds were heard from the Demon soldiers. Some of them questioned the authenticity while some approved of it. Of course, there were some who were sitting on the fence.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Meng Tianughed wildly before he turned around and disappeared into the forest.

    All that was left...

    Were the Demon soldiers¡¯ pairs of widened eyes.

    Of course, another ¡°Meng Tian¡± with a ck face cloth walked out from another part of the forest.

    Boom! He used an almost identical strike, except that the golden sword became a red sword.

    It was an eye-catching red that looked like mes. The heat emitted by the red mes made crackling sounds.

    After that, another crack was formed on the ground, apanied by ten bodies of the Demon soldiers and countless pairs of widened eyes.

    ¡°This Meng Tian is real too?!¡±

    ¡°Yes... he is. He is more powerful than a Sage!¡±

    ¡°Could there be two Meng Tians?¡±

    All of a sudden, the Demon soldier felt that he could not absorb all the information. After all, the information associated with two Meng Tians was a little too much.

    Then, the third Meng Tian walked out.

    ¡°...¡±

    The third Meng Tian dashed out and killed over ten Demon soldiers again before returning to the forest. Then, amotion erupted amongst the Demon soldiers.

    ¡°Three real Meng Tians?! Impossible!¡±

    ¡°But they are all very powerful and could cause the ground to crack open!¡±

    ¡°This is Meng Tian¡¯s tactic!¡±

    ¡°You useless people!¡± A coarse voice broke off themotion and a man who looked rather alluring walked out from the group of Demon soldiers.

    ¡°Sir Monster King!¡±

    The Demon soldiers made way for the man very quickly but did not look happy.

    They were ordinary Demon soldiers. Even though they had good discipline, they were not powerful.

    So how could they fight against the ¡°real Meng Tian¡±?

    ¡°Brother Jin, what do you think of this?¡± Another fair-skinned man who had a golden horn on his forehead walked out.

    He was also a Monster King.

    ¡°I think it is a trick!¡± The man who was addressed as Brother Jin affirmed.

    ¡°Trying to lure us into the forest?¡± The other man nodded slightly.

    ¡°Yes, if I am correct, there are a lot of powerful humans hiding inside the forest. There may be traps if we went in rashly!¡±

    ¡°So we wait?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see!¡± The man nodded.

    ¡°Alright, we shall listen to you, Brother Jin.¡± After a moment of silence, the other Monster King nodded and turned to the Demon soldiers behind him and said, ¡°Pass down my order. Stay on the spot and guard, do not enter the forest!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The order was passed down very quickly.

    ...

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was very big.

    As one of the five major sects of the Holy Region and the location where gifted individuals headed to, the Heaven Dao Pavilion had to be well established.

    Therefore, apart from being a dangerous location, the area was pretty big too.

    Therefore, the entire defense battlefront on the West side was rather long and it was not possible for merely two Monster Kings to look after the entire region.

    At this moment, Meng Tian appeared from this ce.

    At the next moment, another Meng Tian appeared from another ce.

    After this cycle repeated for more than ten times, the Demon soldiers were extremely furious as after all, over 200 of them were killed.

    How big was the Demon troop?

    At least a few hundred thousand!

    However, they could not possibly die in vain? After all, the reproduction rate of the Demon Race was rather low, they could not possibly withstand such massacres.

    ¡°Sir Monster King, we cannot keep guarding like this!¡± One of the Vice Domain Chiefs of the Demon troops could no longer hold it in.

    ¡°Precisely, we cannot continue to stay like this!¡±

    ¡°We need to think of a way to deal with this!¡±

    The few other Vice Domain Chiefs agreed quickly.

    After all, nobody fought like this!

    They felt extremely insulted!

    Any Meng Tian who appeared was more powerful than a Sage. His strike could kill at least dozens of Demon soldiers.

    Furthermore, these Meng Tians did not love to battle.

    They fled after killing dozens of soldiers!

    ¡°He dares to stir up our emotions?!¡± The face of the man with an alluring look changed and kicked the Vice Domain Chief who spoke first.

    However, he only kicked him and did not kill him.

    The main reason was not because of the alliance between the Monster Race and Demon Race, but rather because he was also very annoyed by the brazenness of the ¡°Meng Tians¡±.

    How could he and Bai Jing guard the entire battlefront at the West side? In fact, it could not even be guarded by four Monster Kings.

    What should he do?!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Jin. Even though there may be booby traps in the forest, I have carefully observed earlier on that the Meng Tians who appeared generally had the same way of attacking and the only difference was in terms of their ¡®power¡¯. If I am correct, there are only at most three Sages hidden amongst these people!¡± The fair-skinned man finally spoke.

    ¡°I have a simr thought. The humans who came were obviously aiming for the ck Stone Pce at the foot of the Sword Peak. Therefore, their main force will still be at the main side of the cliff of the Sword Peak. I think they are mainly trying to hold us back and divert our attention by harassing us from the West side. They will definitely not send too many Sages over!¡± The alluring man nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that has always been the tactic for humankind. They put the main force at standby mode and will immediately retreat once the situation is not favorable. After all, the Heaven Dao Pavilion has Godly State experts. How will they dare to seriously attack us?¡±

    ¡°Brother Lin, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°If Brother Jin agrees, I want to go into the forest alone to check out where they have plotted their booby traps. After that, Brother Jin cane in with the troops and we will be able to defeat them!¡±

    ¡°It is a good n but it¡¯s way too dangerous for Brother Lin to go in alone. What if there are any mishaps...¡± The alluring man was concerned.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Jin. Although I may not be as powerful as the Godly State experts, I will be able to defend myself if I encounter three or four Sages. Since they are only harassing us on the West side, there can¡¯t be possibly ten or twenty Sages in the forest, right?¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s impossible. Now, the Monster Race and Demon Race are at an advantageous position and humankind should be afraid. Sending three Sages at one go to harass us is already a feat, how can they possible send 20 Sages? Unless they don¡¯t have anyone backing them up!¡±

    ¡°Brother Jin, that¡¯s exactly the same as my opinion!¡±

    ¡°Alright, looks like there is no other way out. Since you are willing to make a trip, I shall wait for your news here!¡± The alluring man nodded his head.

    ¡°Brother Jin, rest assured and wait for my news!¡± The fair-skinned man¡¯s eyes lit up and ayer of white scales formed over his face and body.

    Although he was very sure that there were at most three Sages and some disciples hidden in the forest, he knew the importance of being careful.

    He made the necessary preparation for any possible idents. The white scales on his body were definitely difficult to break through.

    Unless they were the most powerful individuals like Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    However, would such powerful individuals appear at the West side with a group of disciples and lead them in this dy tactic?

    Any fool would know that it¡¯s impossible!

 Chapter 947 - Hammer Hammer, Play Scissors!

    <h4>Chapter 947: Hammer Hammer, y Scissors!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everything was ready. The fair-skinned man quickly went back to the troop and put on a ck robe and a ck face cloth.

    Most importantly, a big bold ¡°God¡± word was sewn on the ck face cloth and it looked almost identical to the one on ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    ¡°Brother Lin, nice one!¡± The alluring man looked at him approvingly.

    ¡°Hmph, I shall blend in and see if they can discover me!¡± The fair-skinned man snorted confidently and dashed towards the forest.

    Under the night sky, the moonlight shone on a figure who dashed quickly into the forest. Very quickly, the moonlight was blocked by the densely grown trees and the figure disappeared.

    The fair-skinned man was rtively fast and chose a strange path. He had decided to go by the path under the shadows of the trees.

    The Monster Kings were very powerful. Before the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons was opened, one Monster King could rule a region.

    The fair-skinned man was very confident.

    It was not arrogance but rather confidence based on practicality. After all, it was rather ridiculous for a Monster King to be discovered by a group of ordinary human disciples.

    How was it possible for him to be discovered?

    ¡°Who are you, which group are you from?!¡± Just as the fair-skinned man was moving surreptitiously with confidence, a voice was heard from his right.

    ¡°...¡± The fair-skinned man turned pale immediately and the white scales underneath his ck robe made a buzzing sound.

    He, a Monster King who was moving sneakily at night, was discovered?

    What on earth?!

    The fair-skinned man could not figure out how this happened. He had chosen a secluded path and hid well, how was he discovered?

    Unless...

    There were too many ¡°spies¡± in the forest!

    What should he do?

    Kill him directly?

    No!

    If there were too many spies in the forest like what he suspected, he would be exposed immediately once he attacked.

    The fair-skinned man was not afraid of escaping after he was exposed, but he had yet to figure out where the humans plotted the booby traps. In fact, he had not even seen a shadow on his way.

    Then, he was discovered!

    This was rather strange.

    However, if he had returned empty-handed, he would be embarrassed, especially if he was in front of a troop of Demon soldiers. Although they would not talk about him in front of his face, they would definitely joke about him behind his back.

    The fair-skinned man did not want to return ¡°empty-handed¡±.

    Wait a minute!

    The person asked what group he was in!

    ¡°I understand now!¡± The fair-skinned man calmed down quickly as this thought struck him. He turned to the right gradually and saw some figures with ck face cloths hidden in the bushes on his right. ¡°Not too many people? I think it¡¯s less than 25!¡±

    The fair-skinned man scanned the bushes on his right and lowered his head slightly as he made an urate analysis.

    ¡°What group are all of you from?¡± The fair-skinned man definitely could not reply and had to fake his way through. As he spoke, he dashed towards the figure in the bushes.

    ¡°We are asking you!¡± The figure in the bushes did not fall for his trick.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The fair-skinned man raged and quickened his steps. A momentter, he was three feet in front of the bushes. ¡°Do you know which Sect Master I am? Hurry up and tell me what group are all of you from!¡±

    ¡°Sect Master?¡± The figures in the bushes looked shocked when they heard this and walked out of the bushes. ¡°Sorry, some of us got lost here and offended you. Please forgive us, Sect Master. May we ask which sect are you from?¡±

    ¡°Got lost? Show me the map.¡± The fair-skinned man did not reply them and asked for the map straight away.

    ¡°Hurry, hurry and bring the map over.¡± The figures reacted quickly and none of them noticed that something was amiss.

    The fair-skinned man sneered silently at this scene.

    Indeed, the disciples of the humankind were a mix. The so-called Human Alliance was a rough mix of different sects.

    Talking about discipline? Military rules? Rigor?

    Rubbish!

    The fair-skinned man lowered his head as one of the disciples passed him the rolled-up map and put one hand behind his back.

    20 people!

    He had urately counted the number of people.

    Now, the people werepletely off their guards. In this situation, he could finish all of them in the duration of three breaths with his capability.

    Moreover, the map was already in front of him.

    Why should he wait any further?

    He could kill all of these 20 people at one go, take the map andplete his mission.

    It was too simple.

    The fair-skinned man smiled cunningly and ws appeared on the right hand behind his back.

    ¡°Closer!¡±

    ¡°Just a little closer...¡±

    ¡°Perfect, now¡¯s the time!¡±

    The fair-skinned man was calcting the distance the ¡°human disciple¡± was away from him. At about half a foot¡¯s distance, he finally attacked.

    With a cold gaze, he raised his head suddenly and sneered.

    ¡°Die...¡± The fair-skinned man nned to kill the ¡°human disciple¡± in front of him before throwing his body towards five other people in front of him.

    Then, make use of the time when they were stunned to kill of all them in the fastest and most violent way.

    However, his ambitions were idealistic but the reality was cruel.

    He was not even able toplete his sentence before he felt a powerful force strike at his back. Before he knew, his head crashed onto the ground.

    It was too fast!

    The blow was too violent!

    It felt as though a giant hammer had hit his head and he could not even react.

    Of course, the fair-skinned man had an urate sensation.

    What struck him was indeed a hammer, a big ck hammer with purple radiance like lightning surrounding it.

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mo¡¯s strike is indeed powerful!¡± The surrounding people praised Mo Shanshi after they saw him standing behind the fair-skinned man with a ck giant hammer in his hand.

    ¡°What?! Vice... Vice Alliance Leader? Surname is... Mo? Mo Shanshi?!¡± The fair-skinned man¡¯s head almost exploded because of the hammer. However, a thought shed past his mind.

    As this thought shed past his mind, he felt heavy strikes falling on him like raindrops. Every strike made the ground tremble violently.

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader? Why am I the Vice Alliance Leader? If Dao Hun had not done something funny if he did not take advantage of how Yan Xiu won the fight on the Heaven Zen Mountain, how would I possibly approve of Dao Hun as the Alliance Leader? Go f*ck himself!¡±

    Boom!

    Boom!

    With the continuous strikes of the giant ck hammer, the back of the fair-skinned man was almost broken and he felt that his upper and lower body was broken into two parts.

    ¡°Mo Shanshi?! He is really Mo Shanshi!¡± The fair-skinned man did not recognize anyone but he definitely knew who was Mo Shanshi, the Valley Master of the Fu Xi Valley.

    After all, the Monster Race was trapped in the Great Swamp for more than ten years by the five major sects.

    No!

    He needed to flee!

    The fair-skinned man made the decision immediately.

    Although he had not figured out why Mo Shanshi appeared in the forest at the West side and ¡°yed¡± as a ¡°disciple¡± in the bushes, he knew that he definitely could not match up to Mo Shanshi.

    Furthermore, he had been sneak attacked.

    His head was half smashed and his body had broken into two parts. He would have already died if he had not held on to the Monster Pearl at his chest.

    He could only flee!

    Without any hesitation, the fair-skinned man began to move. He mmed the floor with one hand and a gigantic crack was made on the vibrating ground.

    Meanwhile, his arm broke off and began to dig into the ground at an extremely fast speed.

    Boom! Just after two digs, a bright golden sword light shed past the sky andnded on the ground.

    Then, the broken arm flew from the ground.

    ¡°Trying to escape? To where?¡± A figure who was holding a golden long sword stood arrogantly with a look of disdain.

    ¡°Another Sage?! I can¡¯t leave from here... there!¡± The real body of the fair-skinned man was hidden in the broken arm. After realizing that he was blocked from the front, he turned around and dashed out of the broken arm, turning into a white monster.

    He was a Monster King who looked like a unicorn. However, unlike the unicorns in the legends, he had white scales all over his body. His horn did not have golden swirls but was instead smooth and shiny, radiating a yellow light.

    ¡°Wow, do you think it will be nice to ride on this fe?¡± The six figures began tough as they saw the Monster King dash towards his left.

    ¡°Lowly humans, want to ride on me? Go and die!¡± The Monster King was infuriated and a cold gaze shed across his eyes. At the same time, two of his sharp ws that were covered in scales struck at the people who wereughing the most vigorously on the left and the right.

    ¡°Woah? Looking down on us!¡±

    ¡°What a Monster King, still so violent even though he is injured?¡±

    The two ¡°disciples¡± sneered as the ws of the Monster King approached them and shed their dark green sword and bright red saber respectively.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The sword light and the saber radiance struck the Monster King at the same time, causing the fair-skinned man to fall to the ground. His white scales were broken and blood gushed out like a fountain from his body.

    ¡°Sages? More sages?! How is this possible?¡± The fair-skinned man lied on the ground and stared at the direction ahead of him in disbelief.

    ¡°This dumb Monster King just realized that?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°I think he never expected 20 sages to attack him at the same time?¡±

    ¡°Stop talking crap, kill him and leave!¡± Mo Shanshi disrupted the ¡°disciples¡± surrounding the Monster King and raised his ck giant hammer. ¡°Revealing your real body? This time, I shall see if you are still hiding behind anything!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The fair-skinned man screamed as he watched the giant hammer fall. However, it was toote because the hammer had struck perfectly on his head.

    Boom!

    The fair-skinned man copsed to the ground and spat out a Monster Pearl glowing with golden light.

    Drrrrrr...

    The Monster Pearl rolled to the feet of Mo Shanshi.

    The fair-skinned man stared at the Monster Pearl with his eyes opened. He could not figure what had happened even after he died.

    The humans had formed a team with 20 sages? Waiting in the forest for him? Moreover, they pretended to be disciples by hiding in the bushes.

    Most importantly, Mo Shanshi participated in this.

    The fair-skinned man would never believe this if it happened five months ago because he was merely a Monster King.

    Why did theyunch such arge-scale attack?!

    ¡°Why? Why?!¡± The body of the fair-skinned man shook as arge volume of blood flowed out his mouth and nose.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡± A voice was heard.

    ¡°Nonsense, after I hit him with my hammer, how could he still be alive?¡± said Mo Shanshi confidently.

    ¡°Now what? Do we continue to wait? After this Monster King died, maybe the other Monster King outside woulde in with the Demon soldiers. Then, we can kill another Monster King, what do you all think?¡± Another excited voice was heard.

    ¡°I agree, we are finally here after holding it in for five months on the Ling Xiao Mountain, I don¡¯t think there is any danger associated with this!¡±

 Chapter 948 - Hook Up, Seduction, Discovered?

    <h4>Chapter 948: Hook Up, Seduction, Discovered?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Yes, I heard that there is only one Godly Sage expert in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could it be so coincidental for him to appear at the West side of the battlefield?¡±

    In the past, 20 Sages were sufficient to support the entire Five Sects of the Holy Region. How would they possibly leave after having their warm up?

    Furthermore, they were having so much fun with killing. Therefore, when someone suggested for them to continue with the killing, others immediately approved of the idea.

    However, Mo Shanshi frowned. He looked at the body of the Monster King and the fire torches outside the forest.

    Mo Shanshi also had enough of holding it in after being trapped on the Ling Xiao Mountain for five months. After all, he had once ruled the Holy Region.

    Now?

    He had to be extremely careful at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He had to even put on the ck face cloth and act as ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    However, despite the negative sentiments, he was clear-minded. He knew that it was not the time for him to vent his anger and his motive at the Heaven Dao Pavilion was not to kill Monster Kings.

    The main purpose was the Source of God!

    It was rted to the future of humankind. After all, as a Sect Leader, Mo Shanshi could not possibly get addicted after killing a Monster King.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave, right now!¡± said Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Are we really leaving? If we stay here, we can continue to kill another Monster King. The death of one Monster King is a great loss to the Monster Race and Demon Race, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Vice Alliance Leader Mo, are we really following the orders of ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ whom we had not even seen before?¡±

    ¡°We came here all the way and we are leaving now?¡±

    A few people were evidently disappointed after hearing Mo Shanshi¡¯s words.

    ¡°Since we had followed Senior Meng Tian¡¯s ns and sessfully killed a Monster King, that means that he had given extraordinary thoughts to the battle. I am not discussing with you all, this is a militarymand. If you insist on staying, then bear the consequences yourselves!¡± After finishing his sentence, Mo Shanshi turned and walked back into the forest, vanishing in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Military order?¡±

    ¡°Sigh...¡±

    The other people exchanged nces and sighed before catching up with Mo Shanshi.

    Less than 15 minutes after they left, a figure leaped from the sky and stepped on the body of the Monster King.

    Crack! A dent was made on the body and the figure proceeded to lift it up with one hand.

    ¡°Another useless shit!¡± A cold voice was heard and the body was thrown aside, hitting a tree that had a trunk as thick as five individuals.

    Bam!

    The trunk of the gigantic tree was broken by the force of the body and fell on another tree beside it.

    It was an exaggerated scene.

    What was more exaggerated was the fact that the broken tree looked as though it had been suckedpletely dry instantly, its trunk and leavespletely withered.

    The smell of death could be felt in the forest.

    Of course, apart from the smell of death, there was anotherughter. ¡°Useless shit, another one is dead, hahaha...¡±

    ...

    While such strange ¡°battle¡± happened at the West side, simr things happened on the other sides too.

    The four teams of humankind had sprung a sudden attack at the Heaven Dao Pavilion from four directions ¡ª North, South, East, West ¡ª resulting in the death of almost 2000 Demon soldiers and four Monster Kings.

    However, there was a difference between the situation of the battlefield in the forest on the West side and the cliff on the main side of the Sword Peak.

    Without the forest acting as a cover, the battle at the main side of the Heaven Dao Pavilion was not as straightforward as that of the west side.

    However, Mu Qingfeng was not a ¡°kind soul¡±.

    As the past leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the hatred he had towards the Monster Race and Demon Race who invaded the Heaven Dao Pavilion was way more than any other people.

    Therefore, under his leadership, the battle at the main side was much more ¡°indistinct¡±.

    Only part of the battle could be seen obviously.

    After all, Mu Qingfeng had taken advantage of his understanding of the geographical location of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. In fact, he was the most familiar with the entire Holy Region.

    With this advantage, Mu Qingfeng had long set up a ¡°trap¡± made of 20 Sages at the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    As for how he would go about luring the Monster King into the trap...

    This was rather ¡°straightforward¡± and simr to Mu Qingfeng¡¯s style.

    To put it more straightforward, Mu Qingfeng flew to the cliff of the Sword Peak while riding on a beast and leaped down while all of the Monster Kings watched in shock.

    Then, he began to speak. What he said was...

    ¡°Sorry, I am in the wrong ce!¡±

    Yes, that was exactly what Mu Qingfeng said. He said he was at the wrong ce and before the Monster Kings and Demon Domain Chiefs could react, he turned and ran off. However, he ran off as though he was like a ¡°lost sheep¡±.

    That was because he ran into the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    He was being such a ¡°bully¡± to the Monster Race and Demon Race, after all, who dared to provoke them like that?

    The oue was evident.

    The Monster Kings would definitely not let a ¡°lost sheep¡± off.

    After a round of chasing and blocking, they realized that not only did this ¡°lost sheep¡± run very quickly, but also realized that he disappeared after looking for him for a few rounds in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    It was as though he had vanished into thin air.

    The Monster Kings felt like cursing. How could a group of monsters and demons not catch a human who lost his way?

    How frustrating!

    After the Monster Kings and the Domain Chiefs returned to the cliff of the Sword Peak, they realized that there was one less Monster King who was guarding at the Sword Peak...

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At the second level of a secluded stone room on the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there were a few bodies of Demon soldiers on the floor.

    At the window near the bodies, Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had witnessed everything with their own eyes.

    ¡°What a great distraction tactic by Pavilion Master Mu.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that the only person who could do this to the Monster Kings was Mu Qingfeng.

    After all, one could not simply depend on one¡¯s powers to be able to escape unscathed after being chased by monsters and demons in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. It was only possible because Mu Qingfeng knew the geography of the Heaven Dao Pavilion extremely well.

    ¡°Why do I feel that Mu Qingfeng¡¯s battle tactic is simr to yours?¡± Ping Yang blinked and could not understand how Mu Qingfeng, who was usually an upright man, suddenly changed his behavior today.

    Especially with that sentence, ¡°Sorry, I am at the wrong ce¡±.

    Ping Yang almost choked on her water. Fortunately, she did not drink tea in the stone room with a few bodies.

    ¡°Of course, I taught him,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You taught him? Weren¡¯t you with me all this while? When did you meet Mu Qingfeng?¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    ¡°Ping Yang, let me ask you about something serious.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you are saying now, who taught you these?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it is you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth moved and he could not find any words to reply to her. The only thing he could do was to sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going until you told me when did you guys hook up on each other!¡±

    ¡°What hook up? What do you mean by hook up! Can you be more urate in your use ofnguage?¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to correct Ping Yang¡¯s wrong use ofnguage.

    ¡°Alright... Then should I say ¡®seduce¡¯?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to give Ping Yang his middle finger. However, before he could do that, Ping Yang¡¯s middle finger was in front of his face.

    Very slender, very fair, very smooth.

    After that, Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking. He raised his hand and smacked on Ping Yang¡¯s buttocks.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Ping Yang screamed painfully.

    ¡°Who is that?!¡± The Demon soldiers patrolling outside the small stone house heard the loud scream.

    As Ping Yang screamed, a ferocious roar was heard and the door of the stone house was kicked open.

    ¡°Uh oh, we are discovered!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face turned pale from shock. She grabbed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm tightly and was evidently worried.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, felt speechless.

    He definitely would not be tricked by Ping Yang¡¯s expression. He was very certain that she had screamed on purpose.

    After all, Ping Yang was not blind and definitely saw the Demon soldiers walking past the stone house.

    As for why Ping Yang purposely attracted the attention of these Demon soldiers, Fang Zhengzhi was very certain too.

    It was a state of mind which only could beprehended by Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang, or rather, Ping Yang was reminiscing about the past.

    A few years ago, Fang Zhengzhi met Ping Yang in me Capital City. Then, like wood that met fire, a chemical reaction between a ¡°perfect match¡± happened.

    The most straightforward evidence was how the two of them carried out ruthless activities in the me Capital City and almost set the Crown Prince Residence of the Eastern Pce on fire.

    Yet now, Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi met again.

    After a rather long time, the two of them had not done anything ¡°mischievous¡± apart from the mini ¡°coborations¡± in the Ling Yun Tower and the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Therefore, what Ping Yang did was very simple. She wanted to be ¡°discovered¡± again and do something mischievous with Fang Zhengzhi.

    She was a little stubborn.

    However, stubbornness was Ping Yang¡¯s personality. Furthermore, it stemmed from the trust she had of Fang Zhengzhi.

    She trusted that Fang Zhengzhi was able to escape unharmed with her.

    It was like how Fang Zhengzhi provoked Ping Yang to set the Crown Prince Residence of the Eastern Pce aze in the past. Ping Yang also trusted that Fang Zhengzhi was able to escape unharmed with her.

    However, the only difference was that the reason for trust in the past was due to Emperor Lin Mubai while the reason for trust now was due to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s true power.

    A power that was simr to that of Battle God Meng Tian!

    The power that allowed him to enter the Blood Shadow City of the Demon Race alone!

    ¡°Shameless brat, I am scared... They... they are attacking us.¡± A nervous expression was seen on Ping Yang¡¯s face as she saw the Demon soldiers charging towards the second floor.

    Meanwhile, the Demon soldiers who had reached the second floor was also shocked by the fact that there were almost ten bodies on the floor.

    This meant that the powers of the two ¡°Meng Tians¡± ahead of them were not ordinary.

    In fact, after the news that four Monster Kings had died, the Demon soldiers were already fearful of ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s words confused them.

    ¡°Scared?! She said that she¡¯s scared?¡± The Demon soldiers exchanged gazes and a cold gaze shed across their eyes as they aimed their spears at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    ¡°Surrender!¡±

    ¡°Or you will die!¡±

    As the Demon soldiers said this, they surrounded Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang and sealed the escape routes.

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and held on to Ping Yang¡¯s ¡°worried¡± face.

    ¡°Want to y?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes!¡± Ping Yang nodded continuously like a chick pecking on rice and her eyes twinkled with excitement.

    ¡°Alright, then we shall find something thrilling to y with. However, you must promise me to be well-behaved after this, okay?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled behind the ck face cloth as he said.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Ping Yang agreed quickly.

    ¡°Then I am going to begin. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am ready.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he saw the nod given by Ping Yang. He pushed open the windows and jumped out of it.

    After she saw Fang Zhengzhi jump out of the window, she hopped onto the windowsill and was about to jump out like how Fang Zhengzhi did.

    However, just as she hopped onto the windowsill, a loud and clear voice was heard. ¡°Come on, monsters, wait, I mean,e on, demons... Come on, monsters and demons, there¡¯s a spy on the second level. Catch the spy with a ck face cloth, catch her!¡±

 Chapter 949 - Tunes of Flute

    <h4>Chapter 949: Tunes of Flute</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Spy?!¡± The Demon soldiers in the Heaven Dao Pavilion who were already flustered were stunned immediately when they saw the figure who jumped out of the small stone room and heard the loud roar.

    They soon realized that something was amiss because the person who jumped down was Meng Tian who was masked with a ck face cloth.

    What the hell?!

    Apart from the Demon soldiers in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the Demon soldiers on the second floor who were ready to attack also could not react to this.

    What on earth? The thief called for people to catch him? The spy called for people to catch him? How did that even work? Unless that was the legendary rare phenomenon where a dying person pulled down someone with him?

    Ping Yang, who was about to jump down from the window, got a shock too. She could tell that the voice was none other than Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    ¡°Catch the spy?! Shameless brat, you dare to...¡± After being stunned for a moment, Ping Yang regained her senses very quickly and jumped down without hesitation.

    Then, Ping Yang began to follow Fang Zhengzhi and shouted, ¡°Come on, monsters and demons, he is the spy, catch him!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    What is meant by being speechless? The Demon soldiers were speechless when the two ¡°Meng Tians¡± began to call each other spies.

    Besides them, the Monster Kings who were guarding at the cliff of the Sword Peak was also stunned.

    After all, the stone room was very close to the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had found a spot where he could see what was going on at the cliff of the Sword Peak. Therefore, the Monster Kings could definitely hear themotion.

    ¡°Catch them!¡± Although the Monster Kings did not know what the two ¡°Meng Tians¡± were doing, theymanded the soldiers quickly.

    After hearing themand, the surrounding Demon soldiers regained their senses and attacked Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang with their spears.

    Fang Zhengzhi also reacted very quickly.

    He grabbed Ping Yang who was still shouting and ran with her.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Ping Yangughed happily but herughter quickly subsided because she realized that there was something wrong with the direction Fang Zhengzhi was heading towards.

    He ran towards the Monster Kings on the cliff of the Sword Peak and shouted continuously, ¡°Run quickly or we will be caught!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face blushed immediately.

    This was a blush due to extreme excitement. Her entire body trembled due to excitement as though she had just drunk an intense liquor.

    In the eyes of the Monster Kings who were at the cliff of the Sword Peak, this odd scene made them extremely confused.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Why are the two of them running towards us?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that they lost their way too?¡±

    The Monster Kings exchanged gazes and did not know how to react to this unlogical phenomenon.

    ¡°Hmm? Are we at the wrong ce?¡± Just when the Monster Kings felt speechless, a voice that sounded flustered was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Kings felt extremely insulted as though they were fools.

    ¡®That¡¯s right!¡¯

    ¡®Did you two just realize you are heading in the wrong direction?¡¯

    The Monster Kings wanted to ask this question but ever since the incident with Mu Qingfeng, they could no longer ask such ¡°nonsense¡±.

    ¡°Hahahaha...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s unrestrained and excitedughter echoed through the air. She was really very happy.

    After all, what was more thrilling than running to the cliff of the Sword Peak and telling the Monster Kings ¡®I am at the wrong ce¡¯?

    ¡°Kill them!¡± Intense anger definitely resulted in an intense oue. The Monster Kings attacked right after they shouted.

    There were fewer than 15 Monster Kings in the Heaven Dao Pavilion and four died in themotion. However, there were eight Monster Kings on the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    What was it like when eight Monster Kings are present?

    In the past, the power of eight Monster Kings could immediately destroy any sects apart from the five sects of the Holy Region. However, all of the eight Monster Kings had decided to attack the two Meng Tians who ¡°were at the wrong ce¡±.

    Besides the eight Monster Kings, the Demon troops around them also pulled their ck metal bows.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Amand was made.

    Countless of arrows were shot. The power of a leveled shot was definitely more powerful and direct than a parabolic shot.

    ¡°Wow, so fun!¡± Ping Yang was extremely excited.

    Of course, as she said that, a red light that looked like fire exuded from her body. The beams of red light shone upwards and hit the sky.

    The arrows that were shot parallel to the ground definitely was not able to prate the beams of red light. They turned into ashes the moment they hit the red light.

    ¡°Sages?!¡± The surrounding Demon soldiers were stunned. What on earth was happening today? All the Meng Tian whom they encountered were Sages.

    The Demon soldiers could not take it anymore.

    After all, because of that, they had no chance of using their powers and could only wait to be ughtered like useless ¡°chickens¡±.

    They felt extremely insulted!

    There were still 2000 ¡°Meng Tians¡± waiting at the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Were all of these Meng Tians also Sages?

    This was an illogical guess.

    However, thissting thought surfaced in the minds of all of the Demon soldiers.

    However, the scene that happened next caused them to abolish this thought as Fang Zhengzhi hid behind a stone the instant when red light shone from Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°He is hiding? Why is this Sage hiding?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?! Don¡¯t tell me he can¡¯t even defend against the arrows?¡±

    The Demon soldiers felt that they could no longer treat whatever that happened with a logical mindset because everything that took ce was out of the norm.

    ¡°No, they are not Sages, only one of them is!¡± Of course, the smart Demon soldiers regained their senses after being stunned.

    ¡°I see, only one of them is a Sage!¡± The Monster Kings regained their senses quickly. After exchanging gazes, they split up into two groups.

    Seven of the Monster Kings surrounded Ping Yang while the weakest Monster King pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi like a tiger.

    ¡°Die, weak human!¡± The Monster King¡¯s hands turned into dark green sharp ws that looked like jade.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi acted like he was weak, the Monster King still attacked with all his might and did not underestimate Fang Zhengzhi.

    The two ws were positioned with one slightly forward and one slightly above the other. One aimed for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head while the other aimed for his heart.

    This was a perfect attack.

    Defend the attack!

    The oue seemed very perfect too because Fang Zhengzhi looked as if he waspletely stunned when the Monster King attacked.

    The Monster King had seen this expression multiple times. He thought he did not see things wrongly because such realistic expression could only be portrayed with intense fear.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi turned around.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi turned around.

    Instead of dodging the attack, Fang Zhengzhi chose to run away and exposed his entire back.

    ¡°Is he stupid? Hahaha...¡± The Monster King was slightly confused for a moment before he startedughing evilly.

    What was the taboo during a fight?

    Exposing your back at your opponent.

    Evidently, the fake ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of him did not understand this simple logic. He was so afraid that he chose to turn and run.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Monster King did not show mercy and struck at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. However, he missed it.

    That was because as Fang Zhengzhi ran, he seemed to have identally tripped such that his entire body almost fell forward, causing his head to lower down.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Monster King was rather surprised but it was still expected because he had seen many simr cases when one tripped because of fear.

    But would he allow Fang Zhengzhi to escape like that?

    Impossible!

    Therefore, he immediately used the other w that was reserved for defense purposes to attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that, something else that shocked him took ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned around and the w, which was initially aimed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back, hit right on his heart.

    ¡°...¡± There was a kind of sess that came because of luck.

    That was exactly how the Monster King felt.

    He had not expected himself to sessfully hit the heart of his opponent but the reality was that he did and he had a perfect hit.

    However, there was something strange...

    It felt hard!

    Hold on, why was it so hard?!

    The Monster King¡¯s expression changed because he felt that he had hit a metal surface when his w came into contact with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart.

    A treasure?

    This brat had a Heart Protection Mirror?!

    No wonder!

    Hold on, so what if he had a Heart Protection Mirror? Could such a small Heart Protection Mirror block his attack?

    Impossible!

    The Monster King knew that no matter how powerful the treasure was, in order to fully utilize it, it required one¡¯s true powers. It was impossible for one to solely depend on the treasure to block the attacks.

    In other words, even if he was able to block the attack, it was impossible for him to not be injured and not move at all.

    That was right. When the Monster King¡¯s w hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart, not only did he feel like he had hit a metal surface, but Fang Zhengzhi did not even take a step back.

    ¡°Are you shocked? Are you surprised?¡± Just as the Monster King felt that something was amiss, a mocking sound was heard.

    Then, he saw a pair of eyes that were glistening with a silver radiance. They were like stars which saw through the entire world.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± The Monster King was about to retreat.

    However, it was toote. When he opened his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand had punched his hand into his mouth.

    It was a terrifying move.

    The punch entered his throat and hit the organs in his body.

    ¡°Uhh...¡± The Monster King widened his eyes. His instinct told him to bite down on the fist when it entered his mouth.

    However, another premonition told him that he should run immediately.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± At this moment, a horrifying scream was heard on the cliff of the Sword Peak. It made the seven Monster Kings surrounding Ping Yang shudder.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Gu Nu?¡±

    The seven Monster Kings could tell the voice came from the Monster King who had attacked Fang Zhengzhi. They turned and their expression changedpletely.

    Their faces turned pale like snow.

    That was because they saw Fang Zhengzhi strangling a Monster who was covered in dark green scales. Moreover, he pulled out this dark green-scaled monster from the mouth of a ¡°Monster King¡± in a terrifying manner.

    Meanwhile, the monster was struggling with all his might and trembled as he whimpered loudly.

    Creepy and terrifying.

    This scene definitely stunned the seven Monster Kings.

    That was because whatever happened was impossible. Nobody had ever found the real body of the monster who hid in his cover.

    That was because the real body was not fixed at a particr position in the cover and it could take any position at any time. Unless the cover waspletely damaged, the real body of the Monster would never be forced out of it.

    That was one of the reasons why it was hard to kill the Monster Kings.

    However, this mysterious guy who impersonated ¡°Meng Tian¡± did it. The Monster Kings could infer the entire process took ce.

    Did he extend his hand into the cover through the mouth of the monster?

    How was that possible?!

    Unless he could see the position at which the real body of ¡°Gu Nu¡± was at?!

 Chapter 950 - The Overpowering Power

    <h4>Chapter 950: The Overpowering Power</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    He could see the monster¡¯s real body inside the cover with his naked eyes. This was an unimaginable feat. However, if not for this reason, what else would be the reason for him to be able to do that?

    None of the Monster Kings could understand why.

    However, that was the reality. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand went into the Monster King¡¯s mouth and pulled out the real body from his cover.

    Crack! The sound of bone breaking echoed in the air on the cliff of the Sword Peak, sending chills down the Monster Kings¡¯ backs.

    At the same time, a golden Monster Pearl was spat out from Monster King Gu Nu¡¯s mouth and floated silently in the air while radiating a blinding light.

    ¡°This brat... is more powerful than a Sage!¡±

    ¡°Who is he?!¡±

    ¡°Is he Mu Qingfeng from the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Or Mo Shanshi from the Fu Xi Valley? Or Dao Hun from the Yin Yang Hall?¡±

    These thoughts shed past the seven Monster Kings¡¯ minds but were soon negated because the person in front of him used a different tactic aspared to the other three individuals.

    Moreover, the Monster Kings were extremely aware of the three individuals¡¯ powers. Even though Mu Qingfeng could murder the Monster King alone, it would definitely not be so effortless.

    It was too fast!

    He had killed Monster King Gu Nu with such a terrifying method.

    ¡°I heard that there are more Godly State experts in the Heaven Dao Pavilion?¡± After breaking Gu Nu¡¯s neck, Fang Zhengzhi kept the floating Demon Pearl and turned to look at the seven Monster Kings around Ping Yang with a silvery-white gaze in his eyes.

    ¡°Silver eyes?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°He is Meng Tian?! Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    The Monster Kings felt that their bodies had been prated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. They also remembered the intelligence report that was passed on from the Blood Shadow City.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian has a pair of silvery-white eyes!

    ¡°Congrattions, you are right!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and charged towards the seven Monster Kings directly.

    He was extremely fast, like a silvery-white shooting star that zoomed past the ck sky. He reached the seven Monster Kings in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Attack together!¡± The leader of the Monster Kings regained his senses and ced his ws in front of his chest.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Following that sound, the leader of the Monster Kings flew and his body fell heavily on the ground after undergoing a projectile motion in the air.

    This happened so quickly such that the leader of the Monster Kings was already sent flying before the other six Monster Kings could even react.

    ¡°So powerful!¡± The Monster Kings and the surrounding Demon soldiers trembled as they gasped.

    If the scene of the murder of Gu Nu was not enough for them to confirm Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity as the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, this strike was enough to give them the answer.

    That was because the Sages could not possibly have done that.

    After all, the Monster Kings were way more powerful than Sages in terms of physical strength.

    Yet the ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of them had sent the leader of the Monster Kings flying with a punch.

    Only the Godly State experts who descended from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons could do this. Therefore, who else could he be if he was not Meng Tian?

    ¡°Meng Tian is here!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is here!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    Screams were heard but they were rtively weak in a scenario with Meng Tian all around them.

    That was because simr screams were also heard at other locations.

    ¡°Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Another Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Although these screams were slightly different from that on the cliff of the Sword Peak, if one did not listen carefully, one could not tell the difference between them.

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not care about these screams.

    That was because he knew the logic behind ¡°catching fishes in muddy waters¡±. It was extremely difficult for him to catch fishes in clear waters, hence, he had to make the water as muddy as possible.

    ¡°Monsters, it is still those monsters. However, the King is no longer the King in the past!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he looked up slightly.

    It was indeed lonely to be a powerful individual.

    He always had to attack at the critical moments so as to terrify the ¡°weak chickens¡±. Furthermore, these ¡°weak chickens¡± were unable to counterattack?

    Why can¡¯t there by some slightly more powerful ones?

    Sigh...

    It¡¯s so difficult to be powerful!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not let these thoughts affect his final decision. After all, he had already attacked so there was not much significance for him to hold back.

    ¡°Alright, I shall kill another one then!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell on the leader of the Monster Kings again.

    As the saying went, ¡®kick a man while he¡¯s down¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rather single-minded. He did not like to mess around with multiple individuals. He preferred to kill one Monster King first before moving on to another one.

    This repetitive action was the way to aplish the powerful Dao.

    It was somewhat stretching the limits!

    However, who never stretched their limits before?

    After all, nobody could guarantee that in his life, he never encountered a time when he stretched his balls because he took steps that were too big.

    Fang Zhengzhi attacked.

    He pounced onto the leader of the Monster King who was on the ground. However, he seemed to have misjudged the unity of the Monster Kings.

    After they had confirmed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity as the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, instead of fleeing like any ordinary person, they huddled together.

    This was rather surprising for Fang Zhengzhi. He also had to admit that in terms of unity, the Monster Race and Demon Race was way better in that aspect than humans.

    Perhaps that was because they had endured the sufferings for a long time.

    However, because Fang Zhengzhi attacked, Ping Yang could rx. She was ying with the red zing Qilin Spear in her hands.

    ¡°sh, sh...¡± After a few shes, she made a hole on one of the Monster Kings¡¯s lower part of the stomach.

    This made Ping Yang more excited.

    How powerful was she to be able to hurt the Monster King? Ping Yang was extremely satisfied with this oue.

    However, she pouted when she saw how Fang Zhengzhi sent the other Monster Kings flying.

    ¡°Hmph, those must be really weak!¡± Ping Yang snorted indignantly. She proceeded to y with her zing Qilin Spear and did not have any intention to join the battle with the ¡°weak¡± Monster Kings.

    On this note, Ping Yang did have some self-awareness, or in other words, she was hypnotizing herself. Since she never fought with the Monster Kings before, they were assumed to be weak.

    What a naive thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand...

    Was not so naive. When he was surrounded by the few Monster Kings, he had a whale of a time fighting with them. However, he had used some unmorous tactics.

    These included poking their eyes and kicking their balls...

    He made simr moves continuously,pletely disregarding the justice that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian ought to portray.

    Of course, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had disappeared for a hundred years, nobody knew if he behaved like what was written in the legends.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about that.

    He was only concerned with the actual feasibility and his own enjoyment. Just as the ssic quote that went ¡®regardless of what tactic was used, it was the best tactic as long as it was effective¡¯.

    Boom! After an explosive boom, Fang Zhengzhi finally broke through the defense of the Monster Kings and approached the leader of the Monster Kings once again.

    ¡°Ah... I will kill you!¡± The leader of the Monster Kings could sense that he was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s target. Fang Zhengzhi had targeted him since the start of his attack.

    This caused him to quiver slightly as he felt like he was being eyed on by the death god. However, that did not stop his fierce nature from being aroused.

    With a ferocious roar, the body of the leader of the Monster Kings grew ten timesrger to the size of a hill.

    Puff! A white fog spurted out from the Monster Kings¡¯ nose andnded on the floor, making two gigantic dents.

    It was a powerful scene.

    Meanwhile, the leader of the Monster Kings raised one of his legs and with golden streams of light, he stomped on Fang Zhengzhi violently.

    There were differences in the Monster Kings¡¯ powers.

    Evidently, the leader of the Monster Kings was much more powerful than the other Monster Kings. He was even more powerful than the King Xieluo whom Fang Zhengzhi had battled against in the me Capital City years ago.

    With arger frame, his power was much greater too. Although it affected his speed, it was not the most important factor in this situation.

    Moreover, the leader of the Monster Kings had to protect his own life!

    When his frame grew to the size of a hill, the real body inside the frame had more space to hide.

    After all, he had seen the entire process of how Fang Zhengzhi killed Gu Nu.

    With a stomp, the entire ground shook.

    The eyes of the leader of the Monster Kings shed with a red killer radiance and he looked like a giant Bull Demon with two sharp horns.

    Boom! The floor cracked.

    In a blink of an eye, Fang Zhengzhi disappeared as though he was forced underneath the ground.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°Where did he go?¡±

    ¡°No, he can¡¯t be so weak!¡±

    The other Monster Kings widened their eyes and began to search for Fang Zhengzhi with caution when he disappeared.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have really vanished.

    There was no sign of his reappearance.

    ¡°What happened?!¡± While the Monster Kings were in a state of confusion, they realized something was amiss because the leader of the Monster Kings had stopped moving after stomping on Fang Zhengzhi.

    It felt as though he froze and turned into a gigantic sculpture, sending chills down one¡¯s back.

    After that, an eerie scene took ce.

    A crack appeared on the chest of the leader of the Monster Kings, and a four-horned beast dashed out from the crack.

    ¡°The real body of the monster!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up.

    The other Monster Kings froze on the spot like stones. After all, this scene was too shocking.

    Roar! An ear-deafening roar was heard and echoed in the air on the Sword Peak. However, it sounded extremely painful.

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian!¡± The Monster Kings saw a figure behind the real body of the leader of the Monster Kings.

    It was none other than Fang Zhengzhi!

    ¡°No!!!¡± The face of the leader of the Monster Kings waspletely distorted. He could not understand how ¡°Meng Tian¡± had figured out the exact location of his real body.

    However, that was the reality. When Fang Zhengzhi was being stomped by him, Fang Zhengzhi had managed to enter his body.

    He made a hole in the metal hoof of the Monster King.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not give the Monster King any chances to counterattack and forced his real body out of the cover.

    Furthermore, he saw two fingers approaching his forehead. It was the simplest form of the finger sword.

    Crack! The finger sword hit his forehead.

    At that instant, countless images shed past the leader of the Monster Kings¡¯ mind. He thought he saw his spirit separate from his body and saw his real body.

    Astonishment, extreme astonishment!

    Creepy, extreme creepiness!

    After that, he saw a golden Monster Pearl floating in the sky. It was spat out from the real body of the monster and shined like the stars at night.

    However, this light disappeared instantly.

    Fang Zhengzhi had kept the Monster Pearl instantly after it appeared.

    Then, his vision went back to normal. He saw ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was in front of him and the pair of silvery-white eyes.

    It was extremely bright and could indeed see through everything.

    At that moment, he finally understood why Lin Ji, a powerful Godly State Monster, had died in Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s hands.

    It was an attack on the spirit.

    It was deadly for the Monster Race.

    ¡°You... are really Meng Tian? The Meng Tian who had disappeared... disappeared a hundred years ago?!¡± The leader of the Monster Kings was indignant. Although he no longer had any more energy, he wanted to know the truth before he died.

    What a naive thought.

    However, that was his only thought before he died.

 Chapter 951 - Two People Traveling With One â€œDrunkâ€

    <h4>Chapter 951: Two People Traveling With One ¡°Drunk¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, the leader of the Monster Kings was unable to get an answer.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not too mean. In fact, he was kind at times, for example, he plucked a green apple and fed it to the Monster King.

    Even though the apple might be poisonous, it was not important.

    ¡°Have you heard of ¡®Dao imitating thews of nature¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was soft but clear.

    ¡°Dao... Dao imitating thews of nature?¡± The body of the leader of the Monster Kings shook. He did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi started to discuss this topic andpletely disregarded his question about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s real identity.

    The Monster King did not want to answer because it was rted to the knowledge of humankind and was starkly different from his life.

    Just like how humans used the term ¡°Origin Energy¡± to describe powers while the monsters called it the ¡°Monster Energy¡±. It was a cultural difference.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to answer me, do you? What about ¡®don¡¯t do unto others what you wouldn¡¯t want to be done unto you¡¯, have you heard of that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.

    ¡°What... What do you mean?¡± The leader of the Monster Kings said with thest bit of energy.

    ¡°To put it frankly, are you f*cking stupid? If you don¡¯t answer my question, why should I answer yours?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The leader of the Monster Kings widened his eyes even though the radiance in his red eyes were slowly fading away.

    He understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant but he had no energy to speak.

    He was unwilling to die!

    Really unwilling!

    He was unable to know the truth before he died. However, just as what Fang Zhengzhi had said, if he didn¡¯t answer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not answer his question.

    It was a ridicule.

    ¡®Don¡¯t do unto others what you wouldn¡¯t want to be done unto you...¡¯

    Death could really make one¡¯s mind clear and understand logic, other¡¯s suggestions and culture.

    The leader of the Monster Kings was slightly regretful. He should have listened to the advice given by the Demon General to avoid fighting against ¡°Meng Tian¡±. If he had listened to his advice, he probably would not have died.

    However, unfortunately, there was no cure for regret. He died. Simrly, the Demon General also died.

    However, the difference was that the Monster King died in the hands of ¡°Meng Tian¡± but the Demon General died by having his head stepped on and crushed by Chou Qi.

    Boom! The body of the leader of the Monster Kingsnded heavily on the ground as his eyes gradually closed.

    This scene happened too quickly and eerily.

    The surrounding Monster Kings still had not regained their senses, how did ¡°Meng Tian¡± kill the leader of the Monster Kings, why was he able to force the real body out of the Monster?

    It was too strange.

    It was like a riddle that could not be solved.

    Therefore, should they continue the battle?

    In the past, this was a question that did not require contemtion as there had never been Monster Kings who fled in the middle of a battle in the history of the Monster Race.

    However, they had to contemte over this question now.

    That was because they had very little chances of winning the battle. In fact, two Monster Kings had died in front of them within a span of fewer than 15 minutes.

    Moreover, they will be killed by the same person.

    Most importantly, that person had turned his gaze to the Monster Kings with his silvery-white eyes.

    He looked as if he was hunting for his next prey.

    ¡°Run!¡± This was a difficult decision for the Monster Kings but all of them had made the same decision at that point in time.

    ...

    At the foot of the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng who was dressed like ¡°Meng Tian¡± was ready to retreat with ten over Sages when a figure appeared in front of them.

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s a piece of important news!¡±

    ¡°Speak!¡± Mu Qingfeng recognized the person in front of him as one of the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion whom he had nted at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He was the ¡®spy¡¯ of which he made use of to obtain the situation in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Meng Tian appeared!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?! You mean?¡±

    ¡°The real Meng Tian, the Meng Tian who had killed Lin Ji in the Southern Region and captured the Demon Lord in the Blood Shadow City!¡± The figure replied immediately.

    ¡°You said that the real Meng Tian... No, Senior Meng Tian appeared?! Where is he now?¡± Mu Qingfeng was shocked.

    ¡°At the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Impossible, I just returned from that ce. Furthermore, there were eight Monster Kings guarding over there, how could Senior Meng Tian possibly appear there? Hold on, you mean Meng Tian is being surrounded by the eight Monster Kings now? Or does Senior Meng Tian belong to the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡± Just as Mu Qingfeng was about to shake his head, he thought of something and immediately shot out two questions.

    ¡°He was being surrounded, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°ording to what I saw, Senior Meng Tian had intentionally headed to the cliff of the Sword Peak. Initially, I thought Senior Meng Tian belonged to the Monster Race and Demon Race, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked again.

    Meanwhile, the Sages around Mu Qingfeng held their breaths as they awaited the disciple¡¯s response.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, he... he killed two Monster Kings!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, the other Sages widened their eyes when they heard this.

    It was not shocking for one to kill a Monster King. However, it happened on the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    There were eight Monster Kings and countless Demon soldiers guarding at that location and was the most heavily armed location.

    Mu Qingfeng had also killed a Monster King.

    However, he had to pay a price. Mu Qingfeng was used as the bait to lure the other Monster Kings away before the rest of the ten over Sagesbined efforts and killed the Monster King.

    However, it was not even ten minutes since Mu Qingfeng left the Heaven Dao Pavilion. That meant that the murder had just taken ce.

    Just?

    How long did he take?

    An individual, under the surround of eight Monster Kings, managed to kill two Monster Kings effortlessly, how powerful was he? Could it be that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian had obtained the Godly State too?

    If the head of Lin Ji that Wu Yuer had thrown on the Ling Xiao Mountain was not sufficient to prove the Sagely Battle God¡¯s identity and capability, the suspicions amongst the people disappeared when the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion gave his report.

    That was because the Monster Race and Demon Race could not have possibly done that!

    They would definitely not kill two Monster Kings and a Godly State Monster in order to convince the people that the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is a human.

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu represented the Demon Race in some aspects.

    Sacrificing three powerful monsters for one ¡°Sagely Battle God¡±? How would Monster Emperor Baizhi agree to that? How would Yun Qingwu make such a rash decision?

    ¡°How¡¯s the situation on the cliff of the Sword Peak now?¡± After taking a deep breath, Mu Qingfeng calmed himself down.

    ¡°After the two Monster Kings died, the remaining six Monster Kings were ready to escape. Upon seeing this, I immediately made my way down to report this to you!¡±

    ¡°Alright, go up now and report to me if there are any new developments!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The figure leaped to the back of a small beast that was wrapped in ck gauze all over his body.

    This was the beast that had been specially trained by the Heaven Dao Pavilion to obtain intelligence report around the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He could fly sufficiently high and had a sufficiently small build. After being wrapped by ck gauze, nobody could see him at night.

    After the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion left, Mu Qingfeng turned to the surrounding sages and clenched his fist as though he was making a decision.

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mu, have you made up your mind?¡± One of the sages could roughly read Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mind by looking at his expression.

    ¡°What do you all think?¡± Instead of answering his question, Mu Qingfeng asked the sages.

    ¡°To be honest, I did not believe it initially. However, I have to admit that Senior Meng Tian¡¯s n is indeed extremely well-thought out,¡± said the Sage.

    ¡°Yes, based on the intelligence reports from the other teams, we can roughly confirm that the four teams had not suffered any loss and in fact, aplished our missions sessfully and killed a Monster King each. In the past, killing four Monster Kings was a dream!¡± Another sage nodded and agreed immediately.

    ¡°Since we have Senior Meng Tian, what are we afraid of?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡±

    ¡°With Senior Meng Tian, we can hold back the Godly State expert in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. We leave other decisions to you, Vice Alliance Leader Mu!¡±

    The other sages also expressed their thoughts.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s send a signal to others. However... We have to seek approval from Dao Hun as he is after all the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance.¡± After giving it some thoughts, Mu Qingfeng nodded and made the final decision.

    ¡°What a wise decision, Vice Alliance Leader Mu, then we shall proceed to contact the rest!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to bring Sect Leader Wu along. She is holding onto the kits given by Senior Meng Tian. I am still very interested to know what is inside the kit!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Me too!¡±

    The other Sagesughed when they heard this.

    ...

    On the cliff of the Sword Peak, Fang Zhengzhi stood quietly and looked at the twinkling stars in the night sky with a silvery-white radiance shing across his eyes.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang, who was beside him, imitated his actions although her eyes did not show a simr calmness.

    Of course, anyone who had been surrounded by the Monster Kings and Demon troops would not have the mood to enjoy the scenery of the night sky?

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did.

    When the Monster Kings shouted ¡°run¡±, he immediately responded.

    ¡°Run slowly, don¡¯t trip and fall, anyway... I won¡¯t catch you!¡± The six Monster Kings froze on their spots when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    What on earth?

    An unscrupulous insult?

    The Monster Kings wanted to run and stay far away from Fang Zhengzhi. However, they were unable to continue running when they heard this.

    They could only surround Fang Zhengzhi...

    It was a helpless stalemate.

    A weird one too.

    The six Monster Kings stood a distance away from Fang Zhengzhi. The Demon soldiers behind them held on tightly to their swords.

    However, none of the monsters or demons dared to take a step forward.

    ¡°What a beautiful night scenery, you don¡¯t seem to be able to appreciate it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said to Ping Yang.

    ¡°Hmph, I can¡¯t appreciate it?¡± Ping Yang imitated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone and pouted. Then, she rolled her eyes. ¡°Why aren¡¯t we fleeing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, why aren¡¯t you fleeing?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s mouth moved as though she was holding in her anger. She ced both her hands on her slim waist and said, ¡°I... I flee?!¡±

    Ping Yang was indignant but also slightly confused. Based on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality, he should have fled long ago.

    Although she did not assume that Fang Zhengzhi could not defeat the Godly State expert in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, based on her interactions with Fang Zhengzhi these few days, she could sense that Fang Zhengzhi was not fully confident of defeating the Godly State expert.

    That was also the reason why Ping Yang thought Fang Zhengzhi would flee.

    After all, based on her understanding of Fang Zhengzhi, he was not a person who would do things that he was not confident of. Therefore, a sneak attack would be the normal choice?

    Unless this shameless brat changed?

    Just as Ping Yang was trying to read Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, an icy cold aura of death came attacking at her from her back. It felt as though there were countless of spirits wandering behind her and their cries caused her to shudder.

    Danger!

    Ping Yang reacted immediately and wanted to push Fang Zhengzhi over. However, before she even moved, Fang Zhengzhi had already moved.

    ¡°I knew you would do this.¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said this, he leaned back and caused Ping Yang to miss his body. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi sighed softly, ¡°I also want to flee, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 952 - Ridiculous!

    <h4>Chapter 952: Ridiculous!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Can¡¯t flee?¡± Ping Yang missed Fang Zhengzhi and almost fell t on her face. However, after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice, she was confused.

    She did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant by ¡°can¡¯t flee¡±. Did he mean that it was toote? Or did he mean that they were unable to flee?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining but his words could be easily understood if one thought about the battle situation.

    The Heaven Dao Pavilion was attacked from all directions.

    The intention of using this battle strategy was obvious. They were using the strategy of distraction and killed several Monster Kings before the Monster Race and Demon Race figured out what the situation was like.

    After that?

    If Fang Zhengzhi did not appear on the cliff of the Sword Peak, the Monster Race and Demon Race would definitely gather and guard in front of the wrecked ck pce, waiting for the Human Alliance to attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not flee because he really was unable to.

    If he had chosen to flee, the battle would eventually end up with the brutal fight between humankind and the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The oue was predictable.

    If the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race appeared, judging from the situation amongst the Human Alliance, it was impossible for them to be united.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like to be the hero. However, after these few months, he could understand the meaning behind ¡°when a group suffers, all individuals belonging to it will be affected¡±.

    Although the Human Alliance was not United, he could not sit back and do nothing. After all, if the Human Alliance lost, it would be impossible for him to change the world on his. own

    Just like Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s strength was in terms of her intelligence, which was almost fully used in her rule. To put it more straightforward, the biggest strength of Yun Qingwu was her cohesion.

    The five-year-old Yun Qingwu was sent out of the Blood Shadow City and traveled to a foreign ¡°barrennd¡± with a small amount of cash from the Demon Lord and a few bodyguards.

    However, in such a situation, Yun Qingwu was able to develop an entire force with a small amount of cash and a few bodyguards.

    The forces multiplied from tens to hundreds to thousands...

    Eventually, with the help of the Half Sage Canyang, she managed to conquer the region around the Blood Shadow City and she went back to the Blood Shadow City with the Demon troops.

    Yun Qingwu only took five years to aplish this.

    In the following ten years, Yun Qingwu did only one thing which was to find the chance to enter the Holy Region. However, the method she used was also to ¡°look for people¡±.

    To look for people with capabilities who could aplish great things!

    That was Yun Qingwu¡¯s strength.

    Now, in order for Fang Zhengzhi to defeat Yun Qingwu and the Monster Race and Demon Race, he had to seek help from others because he needed various types of intelligence report and various forms of coboration.

    After all, the perspective of one individual was severely limited.

    ¡°To turn oneself into a bait, hmm... smart!¡± A cold voice was heard from the back of the six Monster Kings. After that, a figure dressed in a ck cloak walked out.

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity, we...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Upon seeing the figure, the six Monster Kings and the surrounding Demon soldiers all bowed down and fell to their knees.

    ¡°Scram, you bunch of useless things!¡± The figure raised his arm and several Demon soldiers were sent flying in the air beforending heavily on the ground.

    This scene shocked the six Monster Kings and the rest of the Demon soldiers.

    However, what was more shocking was that the Demon soldiers who were sent flying never stood up again and their faces were as dry as dead tree branches.

    ¡°...¡± Chills rose from the backs of the six Monster Kings and Demon soldiers. Upon seeing this, one of the Demon Vice Domain Chiefs was about to make ament when he was grabbed on the arm by another Vice Domain Chief and swallowed his words.

    ¡°Hmm? You don¡¯t look like you are willing toply?¡± The figure turned around before he vanished.

    Bam!

    The Demon Vice Domain Chief who swallowed his words fell onto the ground. Unlike the Demon soldiers who were sent flying earlier on, his head was crushed into pieces. In fact, his entire upper torso was broken into pieces.

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity, we...¡± The other Vice Domain Chief shuddered as he looked at the body covered in blood.

    ¡°Die, useless things, all of you can go and die! Hahaha...¡± After a merciless roar, the other Vice Domain Chief also fell on the ground.

    A few other innocent Demon soldiers also fell with him.

    It was a cruel scene!

    Moreover, there were no exnations given!

    Chou Qi, the ¡°Sir Demon Deity¡± who stood on the cliff of the Sword Peak, had told everyone with his method that everyone could die regardless of whether they spoke.

    That was because to him, all of the so-called Monster Kings and Demon soldiers were useless things.

    This scene caused the six Monster Kings and Demon soldiers to shudder and perspiration trickled down the Monster Kings¡¯ forehead.

    To the six Monster Kings, although their status was iparable to the Godly State experts, they were still Monster Kings and had power amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, they figured out something at this moment...

    To Chou Qi, they were nothing.

    ¡°So I see that you, this silly... fool is good at the ¡®seven-wound strike¡¯!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed involuntarily when he saw over ten bodies on the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The air was dead silent.

    It was not because Fang Zhengzhi said the term ¡®seven-wound strike¡¯ which the Monster Race and Demon Race could not understand. It was because of the straightforwardness and harshness of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone.

    After all, the phrase ¡°silly fool¡± shocked them.

    The expressions on the six Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers¡¯ faces wereplex. They did not know whether to thank ¡°Meng Tian¡± for attracting the hatred from Chou Qi or to praise ¡°Meng Tian¡± for being overconfident.

    However, a voice seemed to answer their question.

    ¡°Seven-wound strike, what is that?¡± Ping Yang asked innocently, her eyes blinking curiously.

    ¡°A formal exnation would be ¡®killing 1000 of your opponents with a casualty of 800 of your own men¡¯,¡± exined Fang Zhengzhi as he touched Ping Yang¡¯s head.

    ¡°How about the informal exnation?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that just now... silly fool, did you not hear that?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Ping Yang¡¯sughter echoed through the air on the cliff of the Sword Peak. Herughter was so loud that it was heard by a figure hiding in the sky.

    The faces of the Monster Kings turned ck.

    Apart from them, all of the surrounding Demon soldiers could feel a terrifying aura spreading rapidly through the air.

    It was the aura of death that was so powerful that its force could cause one¡¯s body to stiffen up.

    ¡°Step back!¡±

    ¡°Step back now!¡±

    The six Monster kingsmanded immediately.

    However, there were still some Demon soldiers who could not step back in time. They fell to the ground with their faces purple and their bodies ¡°wilted¡± so quickly that they looked like they were being sucked dry.

    ¡°Silly fool, tell me your name to make meugh a bit more?¡± Instead of stepping back, Fang Zhengzhi stepped forward towards the aura of death.

    ¡°Chou Qi!¡± A cold voice was heard.

    ¡°Oh, so you acknowledge that you are a silly fool?¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The simple conversation did not result in a simple oue. That was because Chou Qi had attacked. With a change in his form, he appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was very close...

    So close that Fang Zhengzhi could see the terrifying scar on Chou Qi¡¯s forehead. The red scar looked like a cross of death.

    Bam! Two palms collided with each other.

    Then, two figures separated instantly. Chou Qi returned to his original position and made two deep footprints on the floor he was standing on.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi flew to the foot of the cliff of the Sword Peak as though he had slipped and fallen after the strike.

    ¡°...¡± The air was dead silent again. Aspared to earlier on, there was an additional suppressive force that was as heavy as a mountain.

    The six Monster Kings and the surrounding Demon soldiers all widened their eyes because everything happened so quickly that there could not ept it.

    As for Ping Yang...

    She stood rooted to the ground,pletely stunned.

    She looked at Chou Qi who was standing far away and the six Monster Kings who were shocked. She felt as though winter had arrived early.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this shameless brat is joking at such a timing?¡± Ping Yang liked thrills but the situation now was way too thrilling for her.

    So was Fang Zhengzhi pushed to the bottom of the cliff?

    Not sure whether he was dead or alive?

    Then...

    She was all by herself?!

    The wind blew past the cliff of the Sword Peak. It was slightly chilly but it felt warm aspared to the coldness from the aura of death on the cliff.

    ¡°This... Actually, I... I only passed... passed by!¡± After saying that, Ping Yang turned around and was about to chase after Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, at the instant when she turned around, a ck figure had brushed past her head andnded on the edge of the cliff.

    ¡°You seem to beughing very happily earlier on?¡± Chou Qi¡¯s cold voice was heard. He looked extremely cold when his ck cloak flew in the mountain breeze.

    ¡°Did Iugh?¡± Ping Yang looked extremely awkward.

    ¡°If you canugh again like just now, I may spare your life,¡± said Chou Qi as he took a step towards Ping Yang.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s smile looked worse than a cry.

    She definitely knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not die like that. However, with such a steep and high cliff, Fang Zhengzhi needed at least ten minutes to climb back up.

    Ten minutes...

    She could have died at least ten times.

    What should she do?

    Should she fight with all her might? Or smile and dy the time?

    Different thoughts shed past Ping Yang¡¯s mind, then, she threw the zing Qilin Spear towards Chou Qi.

    Chou Qi stopped moving towards her when she did that. He looked at the bright red zing Qilin Spear and at Ping Yang who was masked with a ck face cloth.

    Then, Chou Qiughed.

    ¡°Hahahahaha...¡± Chou Qiughed wildly as though he had seen the biggest joke in his life.

    However, afterughing, Chou Qi¡¯s gaze turned even colder and the aura of death he exuded caused his cloak to be blown off.

    ¡°Another useless thing!¡± Chou Qi took a step forward.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t kill me, I am really a passer-by...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s legs turned into jelly and she fell on the ground as though she had no strength for defense at all.

    The six surrounding Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers looked at each other, speechless.

    Sage!

    She was a Sage?

    Did she have to do that?!

    Godly State...

    Unless this was the difference between a Sage State and a Godly State? The power of a Godly State individual caused a Sage to give up on counterattacking?

    ¡°Die!¡± In an instant, Chou Qi reached Ping Yang and pped her with a palm that emitted a deadly gray airwave.

    ¡°Ah, I have an important intelligence report to tell you, it¡¯s regarding Meng Tian and the Source of God...¡± Ping Yang cupped her head with her hands and was extremely scared of being smashed into pieces.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Chou Qi stopped.

    He did not stop because he heard Ping Yang, but rather because the zing Qilin Spear that Ping Yang had thrown on the floor was poking on his palm.

    There was a Cloud Pattern that looked like fire on the bright red body of the spear. A golden spot was flowing continuously on the tip of the spear.

    Then, lime powder was sprinkled from Ping Yang¡¯s hands.

    She sprinkled it as she spoke.

    At such a close distance and with Ping Yang¡¯s power as a sage, the speed of the sprinkling of lime powder was extremely fast.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi who had some mental preparation could not dodge Ping Yang¡¯s lime powder, Chou Qi, whose gaze was fixated on the tip of the zing Qilin Spear, was not even mentally prepared.

    Therefore, the lime powder had undoubtedly hit the bull¡¯s eye...

    Bam! The lime powder exploded on Chou Qi¡¯s face, turning his cold face snow white.

 Chapter 953 - Face on the Ground

    <h4>Chapter 953: Face on the Ground</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What was more insulting than being plotted against by someone weaker than you?

    There was no specific answer to this question. However, it was evident that Chou Qi looked extremely bad.

    Apart from the white color, his face was extremely ck.

    ¡°Die!¡± A ferocious roar was heard as Chou Qi grabbed on the zing Qilin Spear at his palm and kicked forward.

    This happened almost instantly.

    That was because Chou Qi thought that it was impossible for Ping Yang to dodge his fatal blow after she sprinkled the lime powder on him.

    However, Ping Yang dodged it.

    Strangely, Ping Yang was five foot away from Chou Qi, or rather, she was forcefully pushed by someone because her entire body had rolled towards the side.

    Meanwhile, a low voice was heard behind Chou Qi.

    Bam! Judging from the sound, the p was rtively hard and the person had no intention of showing mercy.

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°He... He didn¡¯t fall from the cliff!¡±

    The six Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers saw the figure who had pped Chou Qi. It was no other than the ¡°Meng Tian¡± who had been pushed down from the cliff by Chou Qi.

    As for Chou Qi...

    The heavy p caused his body to fall forward and he mmed his face right on the ground.

    Then, with the shocked gazes from the six Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers, ¡°Meng Tian¡± raised his leg and stepped on Chou Qi¡¯s head.

    ¡°Silly fool!¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t youughing very happily?¡±

    ¡°If you canugh again like just now, I may spare your life!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed on the cliff of the Sword Peak. He did not stop stepping on Chou Qi because that was one of the only chances he could do it.

    Bam!

    Crack...

    ¡°...¡±

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    Chou Qi¡¯s body had vanished and rolled far away like Ping Yang. However, aspared to Ping Yang, he looked way more miserable.

    There were terrifying blood stains on the face that was coated with white like powder and even the corner of his mouth was red with blood.

    It was evident that Chou Qi was quite severely injured.

    All these happened within a short period of time, from the collision of Chou Qi and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palms to how Chou Qi and Ping Yang had both rolled to the side.

    It was unbelievable and felt as though one was riding a roller coaster as the ups and downs, as well as the turn in events, happened too quickly.

    ¡°Hahaha... Did I, the Princess, act well?!¡± Ping Yangughed wildly when everyone else was stunned.

    Perhaps she was too excited and happy, she identally revealed her identity as the ¡°princess¡±.

    ¡°Act well?!¡±

    ¡°She said she was acting?¡±

    ¡°Could all of these be...¡±

    The six Monster Kings did not hear the exact words of Ping Yang because they were overly stunned but they heard part of her sentence very clearly.

    In reality, it was exactly like what they had thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were acting.

    It was a plot?

    Although he was called ¡°shameless¡± by many, Fang Zhengzhi was never against how others had called him. After all, only a dead person or a fool would forcefully fight on and dy time while pretending to look good as a hero in this scenario.

    Therefore, before Chou Qi had arrived, Fang Zhengzhi had already discussed a plot with Ping Yang although the Monster Kings thought they were just chatting casually while admiring the scenery.

    Evidently, their plot was sessful.

    After Fang Zhengzhi pretended to fall from the cliff, Chou Qi¡¯s back waspletely exposed in front of him. Of course, he had to cripple Chou Qi.

    As for Ping Yang...

    She dashed back towards Fang Zhengzhi as she spoke with her eyes lit up in excitement. Of course, she did not realize her slip of the tongue.

    Fang Zhengzhi also did not bother too much about it as after all, he was used to Ping Yang calling herself a ¡°princess¡±. Therefore, he did not realize there was a problem with her sentence.

    ...

    At the bottom of the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were waiting behind a giant rock while the teams led by Dao Hun and Wu Yuer had rushed over to meet them.

    It was a little overwhelming to see over 70 ¡°Meng Tians¡± who had ck face cloths over their faces standing together, but it was still difficult for them to be noticed in the dark.

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mu, I heard that Meng Tian is currently on the cliff of the Sword Peak?¡± Dao Hun asked immediately after he reached.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded and was about to continue talking when he suddenly saw something that looked like a ck dot in the sky.

    Very quickly, the ck dot erged in size and a figure who was masked with a ck cloth leaped down from the sky.

    ¡°Greetings, Master and all sect leaders!¡±

    ¡°Any new intelligence report?¡± Mu Qingfeng identified that the person was the spy on the Heaven Dao Pavilion right away.

    ¡°Hmm, the Godly State expert had appeared. His name is Chou Qi and he began fighting with Senior Meng Tian on the cliff of the Sword Peak. However, he is injured!¡± replied the disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°He¡¯s injured?!¡±

    ¡°Can you be clearer with your words, who is injured, Meng Tian or Chou Qi?!¡±

    The surrounding sect leaders asked with their eyes widened.

    ¡°Chou Qi... Chou Qi is injured. He was pped on the back and kicked by Senior Meng Tian. It looks like Senior Meng Tian is winning so I came back to report!¡± replied the disciple.

    ¡°How powerful!¡± Apart from being excited, the sect leaders had expressions of admiration and envy.

    ¡°Yes, how wonderful, I never thought that Senior Meng Tian was so powerful. With him, we totally do not need to fear the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, so what are we waiting for?!¡±

    ¡°How about charging to the Heaven Dao Pavilion and kill all of the monsters and demons with Senior Meng Tian before entering the ck Stone Pce?¡±

    The other sect leaders expressed their opinions.

    ¡°No! Yun Qingwu is arriving soon and there are other Godly State experts with her. Our time is limited. We should not underestimate our opponents now, we need to enter the ck Stone Pce immediately!¡± Mo Shanshi spoke.

    Having a straightforward character, he was extremely suspicious of Meng Tian¡¯s ns after confirming his identity and capability.

    The other people also nodded quickly upon hearing that. After all, the main mission for them was to look for the Source of God in the ck Stone Pce.

    However, aspared to the other sect leaders, Dao Hun kept silent and seemed to be deep in thought.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Dao, please make a decision!¡± After expressing their thoughts, the sect leaders turned to Dao Hun and waited for hismands.

    ¡°Ah... Alright, then... then let¡¯s head into the ck Stone Pce to look for the Source of God now.¡± Dao Hun regained his senses and turned to Wu Yuer as something struck his mind. ¡°Sect Leader Wu, since we are entering the ck stone pce, can you please take out the kit that Meng Tian gave you?¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian told us to open the kit after we enter the ck Stone Pce.¡± Wu Yuer shook her head without hesitation.

    ¡°After we enter? Haha... Does it matter? We are about to enter anyway... What do the rest think?¡± Dao Hun narrowed his eyes and turned to the surrounding sect leaders.

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The sect leaders kept quiet.

    ording to Meng Tian, they could only open the kit after they enter the ck Stone Pce. However, since they are already about to enter, what was wrong with opening it slightly earlier?

    ¡°Since Senior Meng Tian instructed us to open it after we enter, why are you insisting on opening it right now?¡± Mo Shanshi asked straightforwardly without caring about Dao Hun¡¯s image.

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mo, that¡¯s not the right way to phrase it. As the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, I care about the safety of our alliance. Although we have already confirmed Meng Tian¡¯s identity, it is still dangerous for us. The reason why I wanted to open the kit was that I am taking everyone¡¯s safety into consideration...¡±

    ¡°What is there to consider? If we trust someone, we should trust him fully! Since we have trusted Senior Meng Tian, we should not doubt his intentions and follow his orders as it is!¡± Mo Shanshi interrupted Dao Hun before he couldplete his sentence.

    ¡°I agree with Valley Master Mo!¡±

    ¡°Yes, since we are definitely entering, there¡¯s no difference between opening it now andter!¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s no difference between opening it now andter too. I have no objections if everyone feels that we should open it after we enter.¡±

    The other sect leaders nodded at his words.

    ¡°Alright, since everyone agrees, please make your order, Alliance Leader Dao!¡± After hearing these, Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes shed with a mocking intention.

    Dao Hun clenched his fist as his body shook slightly. Although his face was covered by the ck cloth and mask, one could still feel his anger.

    However, Dao Hun became calm very quickly and his gaze changed back to a friendly one. He looked at Wu Yuer and Mo Shanshi and said, ¡°Haha, since everyone has no objections, then we shall follow Senior Meng Tian¡¯s instructions for now. However, Sect Leader Wu, please remember to open the kit after we enter the ck Stone Pce. This is for the sake of the Human Alliance¡¯s safety!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°Alright, pass down my order, the four teams are to standby outside the ck Stone Pce at the four directions ¡ªNorth, South, East, West. Besides that...¡± Dao Hun took a nce at Mo Shanshi and coughed, ¡°I have a suggestion, do you want to hear it, Vice Alliance Leader Mo?¡±

    ¡°Haha, please speak, Alliance Leader Dao!¡± Mo Shanshiughed.

    ¡°Considering the uncertainty after we enter the ck Stone Pce, I think we should keep a group guarding outside the ck Stone Pce, what do you think, Vice Alliance Leader Mo?¡±

    ¡°So you want me to guard the door for you?!¡± Mo Shanshi understood what Dao Hun meant immediately.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Vice Alliance Leader Mo, it is for the sake of the bigger picture. Are you willing to make a small sacrifice for the bigger picture, Vice Alliance Leader Mo?¡± Dao Hun tried to convince him.

    ¡°Since it is for the bigger picture, why don¡¯t you wait outside instead?¡± Mo Shanshi was evidently not happy. How could he ept it if he was not allowed to enter after making his way there?

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind guarding outside but as the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, I can¡¯t possibly stay at the frontline. If anything happens inside, I have to be there to make decisions. Furthermore, don¡¯t you think you are the most suitable person to be the guard?¡±

    ¡°Why am I the most suitable?!¡±

    ¡°Haha, calm down, Vice Alliance Leader Mo. Firstly, I can¡¯t possibly be the one guarding outside because I am the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance. Nobody has objections to this, right?¡± Dao Hun looked at the surrounding sect leaders after he spoke.

    The sect leaders took a nce at each other and nodded quickly. After all, it was a fact that Dao Hun was the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Alright, very well, you are the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, but aren¡¯t I the Vice Alliance Leader?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s temper could be felt.

    ¡°You are still so impatient, Vice Alliance Leader Mo, let me finish my sentence first, please?¡±

    ¡°Fine, speak!¡±

    ¡°Firstly, we need someone to stay outside, no objections to that, right? Secondly, I have to enter, and Vice Alliance Leader Mu had gone into the ck Stone Pce before so he can¡¯t possibly be the one staying outside. Thirdly... Amongst the four Vice Alliance Leaders of the four teams, that leaves us with Vice Alliance Leader Mo and Sect Leader Wu. Let¡¯s not talk about the kit in Sect Leader Wu¡¯s hands, just by judging from your individual powers, are youfortable with leaving Sect Leader Wu outside to defend the powerful opponents?¡± Dao Hun smiled as he argued.

    ¡°You...¡± Mo Shanshi was extremely infuriated.

    Mu Qingfeng, on the other hand, frowned and tapped Mo Shanshi¡¯s shoulders, attempting to calm him down.

    ¡°Old man Mo, don¡¯t be rash!¡±

    Spat! ¡°Since when was I rash? Fine, I will stay outside!¡± Mo Shanshi spat on the floor and walked to the side.

    Seeing this, Dao Hun smirked and pointed at the ck Stone Pce. ¡°Pass down my orders, the Fu Yi troops will guard outside the ck Stone Pce. The other three troops, follow me!¡±

 Chapter 954 - Killing the Betrayer with the Sword in Hand!

    <h4>Chapter 954: Killing the Betrayer with the Sword in Hand!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    At the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±Fang Zhengzhi was not aware of themotion at the foot of the mountain. However, judging from the time, he thought it was about time Mo Shanshi and the rest was about to enter the ck Stone Pce.

    Therefore, he wanted to finish the battle quickly!

    Without much hesitation, after Ping Yang had gone behind him, he whipped out a long sword that was flowing with green radiance.

    This sword was obtained from the Ling Yun Tower. Although it was not as good as the Traceless Sword, it was still top-grade in terms of its quality and sharpness

    Killing the betrayer with the sword in hand!

    The clouds moved with the sword!

    A green sword radiance rose in the night and to the sky before falling back down like a green meteor.

    Roar! The sound of a dragon was heard as the green sword radiance moved faster. A false image that looked like a gigantic green dragon with its mouth open appeared at the front of the sword radiance.

    ¡°Watch out, Sir Demon Deity!¡± Although the six Monster Kings and the demon soldiers were afraid of Chou Qi¡¯s cruelty, they were more afraid of the possibility that he lost the battle.

    After all, Chou Qi represented the Monster Race and Demon Race and was the only Godly State expert at the Heaven Dao Pavilion now. He was the only hope for their victory of this battle.

    Meanwhile, Chou Qi got up from the ground.

    Chiu Qi was rtively pathetic as his entire face was full of the lime powder and he could not open his eyes at all.

    Besides that, there was blood all over his face, body, and corner of his mouth. His look made one shudder in fear.

    ¡°Attack!¡± A ferocious roar was heard.

    One was not sure if Chou Qi heard the reminder given by the six Monster Kings and the Demon troops. However, it was certain that a gray airwave exuded from Chou Qi¡¯s body as though a ferocious beast was charging out of his body.

    Rumble!

    The floor cracked open as though it underwent immense pressure due to the violent aura. Moreover, the withered grass on the ground turned ck instantly.

    Meanwhile, Chou Qi jumped up from the ground and dashed towards the green radiance.

    This scene shocked everyone.

    The six Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers werepletely stunned and could not believe their eyes.

    Besides them, even Fang Zhengzhi was stunned because that was the first time he ever saw a fool dash towards his sword radiance.

    Boom!

    Chou Qi collided with the green sword radiance, causing the gray airwave around his body to disappear immediately.

    Swoosh! The sword radiance entered Chou Qi¡¯s body from the red cross scar on his forehead before disappearing.

    Then, the gray radiance twined around Chou Qi¡¯s body again. This happened in an instant.

    It was a strange scene.

    The stranger thing was the disappearance of the green sword radiance after it entered Chou Qi¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°What on earth?¡± While Fang Zhengzhi was shocked, he quickly discovered that the wounds on Chou Qi were healing at a terrifying speed.

    ¡°Wa, this Chou Qi seems to be very powerful!¡± Ping Yang gasped while witnessing this scene.

    ¡°So?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Should we start fleeing?¡± Ping Yang blinked and replied.

    ¡°Good idea, but it¡¯s not the time now...¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly nodded before he shook his head again.

    Just after he finished his sentence, Chou Qi, who had absorbed the green sword radiance, charged towards them again.

    Merely judging from his speed...

    He was faster than earlier on when he mmed Fang Zhengzhi with his palm.

    Moreover, the gray radiance around Chou Qi radiated in all directions very quickly like a gigantic gray when he charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Run!¡± Seeing the gigantic gray falling from the sky, Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s hands and leaped down from the cliff.

    ¡°Hmm? Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s not the time now?¡± Ping Yang fell uncontrobly into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms after being pulled by him.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    That was because she was brought down by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Ah, help!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sometimes, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Ping Yang¡¯s acting skills had improved. However, sometimes, he also felt that Ping Yang¡¯s acting skills had remained stagnant. At least, her shout for help this time was really nontechnical.

    After all, Chou Qi had charged from the sky. Even if he was blind, he could still see the small dent at the edge of the cliff.

    The dent was made to ¡°sabotage¡± Chou Qi and was made when Fang Zhengzhi stargazed earlier on.

    However, after he sessfully sabotaged Chou Qi, the dent was no longer useful.

    Now, it could be used for a temporary escape as he could make use of this small dent to adjust his position when ¡°falling from the cliff¡±.

    ¡°Die!¡± A cold roar was heard behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi could guess that Chou Qi had reached his back without even turning around. Chou Qi was indeed extremely fast.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not too anxious.

    After all, he was prepared. Therefore, when the tip of his toesnded on the dent at the bottom of the cliff, he twisted his body towards the back.

    Bam! The two palms collided once again.

    Chou Qi¡¯s body jolted back while Fang Zhengzhi made use of the force from the p and leaped down from the cliff with Ping Yang.

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity, watch out, it may be a plot!¡± One of the Monster Kings was shocked and ran towards the cliff to prevent Chou Qi from falling for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick again.

    ¡°Useless brat, die!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s expression turned extremely cold as he saw Fang Zhengzhi escape with Ping Yang.

    Meanwhile, he caught a glimpse of the Monster King who was running towards him. He smiled slightly, made use of a p on the Monster King¡¯s chest and chased after Fang Zhengzhi at an extremely fast speed.

    Bam! The Monster King¡¯s body flew as he spat out a mouth of blood. He looked extremely weak and dead.

    ¡°Brother Ying, are you alright?!¡±

    ¡°Brother Ying!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, get the medicine!¡±

    The other Monster Kings¡¯ expressions changed when they witnessed this. They never thought that Chou Qi was cruel enough to hurt the Monster Kings in order to catch up with ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    The other Monster Kings¡¯ expressions changed when they witnessed this. They never thought that Chou Qi was cruel enough to hurt the Monster Kings in order to catch up with ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    ¡°Sigh...¡±

    The Monster Kings sighed but could do nothing because they were unable to defeat ¡°Meng Tian¡± and could only silently suffer.

    Meanwhile, at the bottom of the cliff of the Sword Peak, Chou Qi was elerating after he pped the Monster King and caught up with Fang Zhengzhi very quickly.

    The gray airwave surrounded Chou Qi¡¯s body, expanding and contracting continuously like a giant and a beating heart.

    Fang Zhengzhi was troubled.

    Initially, he thought he had the absolute advantage after he sprang his sneak attack. However, he never guessed that Chou Qi would return to his normal state.

    Moreover, he returned to his normal state with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword radiance?

    Exactly what power did he use?

    Was it the same swallowing power as that of the Blood Offering Illustration of Nangong Hao?

    However, it seemed a little different too.

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that Nangong Hao¡¯s Blood Offering Illustration was able to swallow powers, but it had to release the powers it had swallowed after that.

    In other words, Nangong Hao¡¯s Blood Offering Illustration was more like a rebound.

    But Chou Qi¡¯s power was a little more terrifying...

    After absorbing the green sword radiance, his wounds had healed miraculously and it seemed that he had gained more power.

    As though the power on the sword radiance was absorbed by himpletely.

    Moreover, the gray airwave surrounding Chou Qi was way too cold and had a heavy smell of death.

    His instincts told him...

    He better not get caught in the gigantic made from the gray airwave, if not, even if he did not die, Ping Yang who was beside him probably would not survive.

    ¡°Die!¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about how to counterattack, Chou Qi palm came pping at him at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Seriously, so dumb? Trying to give me another boost of energy?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to extend his palm.

    However, just before his palm touched Chou Qi¡¯s palm, he suddenly noticed the cold gaze in Chou Qi¡¯s narrowed eyes.

    Looks like he was not dumb after all!

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat experienced. He could easily capture the details during a battle.

    At least he could be sure that Chou Qi¡¯s p was not an ordinary one.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi retreated his right hand before stretching it out again. However, as he stretched his hand out, he tightened his grip on Ping Yang¡¯s slim waist.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A sharp scream was heard.

    Meanwhile, a beam of golden radiance shed past the sky, it flew at Chou Qi¡¯s throat as it burned with red mes.

    zing Qilin Spear!

    One of the ten treasures with the greatest attacking power in the Great Xia Dynasty!

    It was also Ping Yang¡¯s favorite weapon.

    After the ¡°hint¡± given by Fang Zhengzhi, she attacked without hesitation. Her attack was both urate and violent.

    In the midair, it was impossible for an ordinary person to dodge her attack.

    However, was Chou Qi ordinary?

    Clearly not.

    Therefore, when Chou Qi saw the approaching spear, he made a strange move which looked as though he did a somersault in the air.

    ¡°This works too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked as Chou Qi did not have any surface in midair to take off from.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi quickly realized the sudden contraction of the gray airwave around Chou Qi.

    So it seemed like he made use of the airwave?

    Fang Zhengzhi had a little bit of knowledge in science. Furthermore, as a Godly State expert, it was within Chou Qi¡¯s capability to make a somersault in midair.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi also had something ridiculous.

    Wings!

    A pair of gigantic ck wings that could change its position to anything in midair. Apart from performing a somersault, it could even turn 360 degrees.

    Buzz! The gigantic ck wing expandedpletely. The strong wind blew on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s messy long hair and his oversized ck robe.

    Midair!

    It was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s main battleground now!

    In the past, he was still looking at the small wings behind Monster Emperor Baizhi during her battle with Mo Shanshi.

    Control of airwaves? Although this could allow for a change in position in midair, it was definitely notparable with the real wings.

    ¡°This is the... ck-Golden Wings?!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s gaze changed slightly when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s muscles bulk up.

    ¡°Oh? You recognize this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked because he remembered the ck-golden wings was snatched from the Demon Lord.

    Therefore, how did Chou Qi recognize it?

    From Chou Qi¡¯s expression and tone, it could be inferred that Chou Qi not only recognized it but was extremely familiar with it as he could say its name with a quick nce.

    That was somewhat strange.

    However, although it was strange, now was not the time to discuss it. Making use of his advantage, Fang Zhengzhi had to attack now.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Ping Yang¡¯s hand and made use of the increased strength in his arms to forcefully change the direction of the spear.

    sh!

    A hole that was deep enough to show Chou Qi¡¯s bone was formed on his body.

    Chou Qi¡¯s expression changed as he turned his body and stabbed his hand like a metal sword onto the cliff.

    Then, Chou Qi¡¯s foot was seen pumping vigorously on the cliff and the gray airwaves waspletely absorbed into his body in an instant.

    ¡°Hmm? He is not fighting anymore?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked when he saw that Chou Qi had absorbed the gray airwaves.

    ¡°Hold on, he... looks like he wants to flee!¡± Ping Yang was also surprised when she saw this.

    ¡°Flee?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had fled countless times in the midst of a battle. However, amongst those who he encountered, there had only been one opponent who had decided to flee from a battle.

    Seriously?

    Wasn¡¯t he the Godly State expert?

    Why was he fleeing?

 Chapter 955 - Open the Five Rebirth Dao Techniques!

    <h4>Chapter 955: Open the Five Rebirth Dao Techniques!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hurry, catch up with him, he is fleeing!¡± Aspared to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s confusion, Ping Yang looked much more worried. She scratched Fang Zhengzhi as she screamed.

    Woosh! With a p of the giant ck wing, Fang Zhengzhi quickly ran after Chou Qi with a long sword in his hand.

    If the sword radiance was unable to hurt Chou Qi, then he would use the de of the sword!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Chou Qi could absorb the de of the sword. If he could actually do that, Fang Zhengzhi would really be speechless then.

    ¡°Meng Tian, I will let you two off today!¡± Chou Qi shouted at Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang as he climbed up the cliff.

    ¡°How are you letting us off?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Chou Qi kept silent. After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question really made one speechless, what did he mean by ¡°how to let them off¡±? How the f*ck was he supposed to answer that?

    Chou Qi did not reply because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was intentionally distracting him. Refusing to speak, he sped up.

    ¡°Looks like he is determined to flee?¡± Fang Zhengzhi initially thought it was Chou Qi¡¯s plot but judging from now, he was certain that Chou Qi was really going to flee.

    However, why did Chou Qi want to flee?

    Hepletely did not have to flee since the oue of the battle was not out yet!

    Could it be because of the ck-golden wings behind Fang Zhengzhi? Or did he sense the meager advantage that Fang Zhengzhi had in midair?

    These may be the reasons.

    However, aspared to the grand n of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the importance of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, these reasons did not seem sufficient.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand.

    However, he knew that there would not be any more problems if he had caught up with Chou Qi and killed him.

    Woosh, woosh! His wings pped vigorously and the violent wind from the movement of the wings exerted a force continuously on Chou Qi and slowed him down.

    On the contrary, with the ck-golden wings, Fang Zhengzhi sped up and got in front of Chou Qi very quickly.

    Then...

    Chou Qi turned and ran down the cliff.

    What the hell?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was ying the game of ¡°The Eagle Catches the Chickens¡±. It was really difficult to read Chou Qi¡¯s mind as he behaved as if he had no intention of fighting with Fang Zhengzhi anymore.

    ¡°Hurry, he is running down the cliff, don¡¯t let him escape!¡± shouted Ping Yang.

    ¡°Meng Tian, do you not understand what is the meaning of ¡®do not press an enemy at bay¡¯?¡± Chou Qi said as he sped down the cliff.

    ¡°Not really, mind exining?¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Chiu Qi remained silent and suddenly stopped and stood at the cliff like a log. ¡°Let¡¯s strike a deal.¡±

    ¡°Oh? There¡¯s a deal to strike?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s wings pped and he stopped right in front of Chou Qi.

    Ping Yang was pulled by Fang Zhengzhi towards his side to prevent Chou Qi from springing a sneak attack on Ping Yang.

    ¡°Hmm, I can tell you something but in exchange, you have to let me go.¡± Chou Qi nodded and his eyes narrowed to a slit.

    ¡°Why not you tell me why you are fleeing in the first ce?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sure, because I no longer feel like fighting with you.¡±

    ¡°And the reason is?¡±

    ¡°Since I have no confidence in winning, there is no need for me to continue the battle,¡± replied Chou Qi who had his gaze fixed on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Good reason, but are you really giving up on Heaven Dao Pavilion because of this?¡±

    ¡°The Heaven Dao Pavilion is not as important as my life,¡± replied Chou Qi.

    ¡°Haha... I see.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. Although Chou Qi¡¯s reason was not good, it was very straightforward.

    Moreover, this reason was easily eptable and seemed to match Chou Qi¡¯s personality as a Godly State expert.

    It was like how two beasts naturally left each other after realizing that they were unable to win after testing out each other¡¯s powers.

    This was considered a rule in the jungle.

    Chou Qi, a demon who had an odd personality and did not blend in with the rest, especially needed to make sure he was in the best condition at all times.

    To put it bluntly, Chou Qi did not want to be wounded because once he got wounded, he would be in a dangerous situation as he could not trust anyone around him.

    ¡°So since we can¡¯t get an oue from the battle, let us strike a deal?¡± asked Chou Qi again after he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nod.

    ¡°Firstly, you need to understand that you are the one who brought this up. Secondly, I want to let you know that unlike you, I am not afraid of being wounded, I don¡¯t even mind if both of us are wounded.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    Chou Qi paused.

    He narrowed his eyes and stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, trying to spot something wrong but was eventually disappointed by the oue.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s looked extremely determined.

    ¡°Alright, my deal is simple. Aren¡¯t you all looking for the Source of God? If you let me go, I can tell you where it is!¡± said Chou Qi again.

    ¡°Change your deal,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi without giving it a second thought.

    ¡°Hmm? You don¡¯t want to know where the Source of God is?¡± Chou Qi was surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t, but rather because you don¡¯t know either. Even Yun Qingwu does not know. If you have no other deals, then I think we should not waste any more time.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his sword as he spoke.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± A beam of light shed across Chou Qi¡¯s eyes as he licked his lips. ¡°Alright, you are indeed not stupid, Meng Tian, let us strike a deal for real. How about exchanging my life with two Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?¡±

    ¡°You have the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned when he heard this. Of course, he knew what was the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.

    It was none other than the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!

    However, why did Chou Qi have the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, and two of them?

    Wait a minute!

    Chou Qi was a Godly State expert who descended from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons, how could he possibly have the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet? Unless he got it after he descended?

    In other words...

    Yun Qingwu had been secretly searching for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet all along!

    This seemed like something that was expected. However, thinking about it again, it was not normal because the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons had already opened.

    Therefore, what was the purpose of searching for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu should know that she would definitely not be able to gather all the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets no matter how hard she searched for them.

    If Yun Qingwu really wanted the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet desperately, why did she not take them in the Northern Mountain Vige when she had the absolute advantage?

    Wait a minute!

    What if Yun Qingwu was not the one who wanted them?

    ¡°I have two of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven with me now and I know where the other Maps of ess to Heaven are. Is this deal sufficient to exchange for my life?¡± continued Chou Qi.

    ¡°You looked for them behind Yun Qingwu¡¯s back?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t answer this question, but I can tell you that amongst those who had descended, I am not the only one who is looking for the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.¡± After a slight pause, Chou Qi replied.

    ¡°Alright, I ept this deal. You can leave after you hand the maps over to me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and stopped probing.

    That was because he had already gotten the answer from Chou Qi¡¯s tone.

    ¡°I am not assured if I give the maps to you like this.¡± Chou Qi shook his head.

    ¡°Haha, then how do you want to give them to me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by Chou Qi¡¯s response.

    ¡°You remove your ck-golden wings and hand it over to me before I pass you the two maps.¡± Chou Qi pointed at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ck-golden wings.

    ¡°Change your condition.¡±

    ¡°No, with the ck-golden wings on you, I can¡¯t even flee. I can¡¯t trust you if you don¡¯t remove it.¡±

    ¡°You forgot something, you are the one who is striking a deal with me,¡± reminded Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you can get two maps of ess to heaven if you let me go. If not, you may not win me and may even die!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s gaze was cold.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a shot then?¡± Fang Zhengzhi edged closer to Chou Qi as he spoke.

    Ping Yang hid behind Fang Zhengzhi carefully and mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath with him, you can get all the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven after you kill him, right? Don¡¯t you think I make sense?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you make sense.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and his sword began to move. He struck his sword towards the red cross scar on Chou Qi¡¯s forehead.

    Seeing the strike approach him, Chou Qi¡¯s expression turned extremely bad and he began to climb upwards again.

    While he was climbing, he hurled a handful of stones from his hand. Each stone was as sharp as a knife when they were hurled.

    ¡°Meng Tian, there¡¯s no meaning for both of us to be injured. Furthermore, you are carrying a useless thing on your back, you can¡¯t possibly kill me!¡± After hurling the stones, Chou Qi continued to climb without looking back as though he was a rat that was chased on the streets.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not block the stones. With the agility of the wings, he changed his position in midair and dodged the flying stones.

    However, it was impossible topletely dodge the stones, especially since it was at such a close distance and hurled by Chou Qi. One of the stones hit his calf and blood flowed from a cut.

    The Godly State expert!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt slightly helpless.

    Although Chou Qi was fleeing and was evidently scurrying anxiously because he was being chased, he still had the powers of a Godly State expert.

    ¡°Shameless brat, can you defeat him?¡± Ping Yang asked Fang Zhengzhi softly.

    ¡°If I fought with all my might... probably! Fortunately, there¡¯s no one else apart from me and Chou Qi!¡± affirmed Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Am I not a person?¡± Ping Yang was slightly annoyed.

    ¡°You? Oh... didn¡¯t you hear that he called you a useless thing?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ping Yang had her own style of venting her anger. Therefore, without waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to speak again, she bit him right away.

    ¡°F*ck, let go!¡±

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Ping Yang continued to bite on him.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t let go, I will throw you down!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I have let go already!¡±

    ¡°Change your bad habit of biting people and I will still be your friend.¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to give Ping Yang a final warning.

    ¡°If you can kill Chou Qi, I will never bite you again,¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so absolute in your words. There¡¯s nothing wrong with biting, if you separate the word ¡®bite¡¯, it will be much better!¡±

    ¡°Separate the word ¡®bite <sup>1</sup> ¡®?¡±

    Before Ping Yang could react, Fang Zhengzhi moves. As he pped his ck-golden wings, the silvery radiance in his eyes disappeared immediately.

    Recing it...

    Was a circr diagram that turned continuously!

    On the circr diagram were five different colors ¡ª blue, green, ck, red, and silver ¡ª each color formed a differentplicated symbol.

    The five different colors spun continuously to form aplicated picture of Rebirth State!

    Buzz! Following the appearance of the Picture of Rebirth State, an intense airwave surged from Fang Zhengzhi like a deep ocean.

    The terrifying force caused the hard stone walls on the cliff to crack as pieces of stone fell.

    Such a powerful airwave attracted Chou Qi¡¯s attention.

    Chou Qi, who was busy climbing upwards, turned back to take a look. When he saw what was behind him, his eyes widenedpletely as though the lime powder on his face were none existent.

    ¡°This... could this be?!¡± Even Chou Qi waspletely stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. His face twitched as he saw the fiveplicated symbols in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, or rather, his entire body trembled.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi moved. After a few shes of azure blue light, Fang Zhengzhi reached the front of Chou Qi.

    ¡°Heaven Dao?! Rebirth Heaven Dao? You opened five... hold on, let us negotiate further!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s expression changed with a violent push of his legs, he scurried towards the top of the cliff at an extremely fast speed. Unlike earlier on, he evidently had no intention of fighting with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote!¡±

 Chapter 956 - Combination of Asura, Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    <h4>Chapter 956: Combination of Asura, Heavenly Rebirth Dao!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Could Fang Zhengzhi possibly let Chou Qi off?

    Even though Chou Qi had two of the thirty-six maps of ess to heaven with him, when he saw the Rebirth figure in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was not going to give him any chance.

    With a shout, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword struck with a sharp sound, apanied by a few different colored chains that flew from the cliff at an extremely fast speed.

    Near-Life Dao, Hell Near-Life Chains!

    Crack! Crack! Mountain rocks fell and the Near-Life chains locked Chou Qi from different directions. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword reached Chou Qi.

    ¡°Meng Tian!!!¡± Chou Qi could not escape in this situation. Therefore, the only thing he could do was to fight it out with Fang Zhengzhi.

    With a loud yell, the gray airwave that was previously absorbed into Chou Qi¡¯s body flowed out again, shrouding over himself, Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang like a gigantic spider web.

    Boom!

    Rumble...

    Loud rumbles caused by the collision between the Near-Life chain and the gray spiderweb were heard. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi and Chou Qi attacked each other at an insane speed.

    Since they chose closebat, Fang Zhengzhi who was trapped by the spiderweb was mentally prepared.

    However, even though he was mentally prepared, when he was shrouded by the spiderweb, Fang Zhengzhi could still feel the powerful attractive force from it.

    It felt as though it was sucking out the entire l energy of Fang Zhengzhi from his body.

    It felt extremely strange!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that spiders made use of spiderwebs to capture their prey. As long as their prey was stuck onto the spiderweb, they would not be able to escape even if they were physically stronger than the spider.

    However, Chou Qi was a demon!

    Since he was a demon, he should not have simr power to that of a spider. However, it felt as though he had it.

    ¡°Shameless brat, the... ising down on us!¡± Ping Yang gels onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waist with her dear life and screamed.

    ¡°Burn it with fire?¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Oh, so this thing is scared of fire?¡± Ping Yang figured out what to do with a simple hint. She turned the zing Qilin Spear in her hands and raging fire soar to the.

    However, when the mes touched the gray spider web, they disappeared like how the snow melted while the spiderweb became even bigger.

    ¡°Eh?! Didn¡¯t you say that it is scared of fire? It doesn¡¯t seem like it is. Liar, what do we do now... what do we do? It¡¯s getting closer and closer to us!¡± Ping Yang was shocked.

    ¡°Make it cold!¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hahaha... Meng Tian, stop wasting your efforts. My spiderweb is neither scared of fire nor water. By doing this, you are just giving me the ¡®power of God¡¯!¡± Chou Qiughed.

    ¡°Wow, how naive are you to still be able tough at such a timing!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled below his ck face cloth.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chou Qi¡¯s smile froze.

    ¡°If you are dead, how will you still have your sh*tty powers?¡± As he spoke, Fang Zhengzhi ced one of his hands on Ping Yang¡¯s shoulder while he tightened his grip on his sword on the other hand.

    ¡°You are trying to kill me in the ¡®heaven¡¯! How could you?!¡± Chou Qi figured out what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    However, he was extremely shocked after figuring out. What gave Fang Zhengzhi the confidence that he could end the battle in such a short time?

    ¡°You look doubtful?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his sword after he spoke.

    ¡°You...¡±

    sh!

    Before Chou Qi could reply, he was interrupted by a rtively soft sound. Then, he took a glimpse at one of his arms.

    There was a sword on that arm, it was the sword that Fang Zhengzhi was holding on just a while ago.

    ¡°Splitting of space?!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. He did not understand how ¡°Meng Tian¡± managed to do this but he knew that the only way to aplish this was to make the sword travel through another space.

    ¡°Wrong guess!¡± Another sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. It was also a green long sword but it had another design.

    ¡°What?!¡± Chou Qi yelled.

    ¡°The correct name is... Combination of Asura!¡± After he finished his sentence, the Rebirth figure in his eyes suddenly became extremely bright and ring.

    sh! After that, another sword appeared on Chou Qi¡¯s right leg. It was none other than the sword that Fang Zhengzhi was holding a while ago because it had an identical pendant.

    ¡°Combination of Asura?!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s face paled.

    ¡°Yes, and this, this is called the Combination of Asura!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and threw his sword towards the gray spiderweb above his head.

    Swoosh!

    A sword radiance that looked like blood shed and seemed to have torn the space apart. It was an extremely sharp sword radiance.

    Dao of Asura!

    However, it was not the ordinary Dao of Asura!

    It was the Dao of Asura which consisted of over five different methods of attack.

    What was the oue after the Dao which consisted of five different methods of attack fused with the Dao of Asura, the most powerful Dao of the six Rebirth Dao techniques?

    Boom! The loud boom gave the answer.

    After the sword radiance hit the gray spiderweb, they disappeared and was absorbed gradually by the spiderweb like the attack made by Ping Yang earlier on.

    However, the difference was...

    A split was formed on the gray spiderweb!

    It split!

    It split with a strike of the sword!

    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Chou Qi could not believe his eyes because he could not believe how his heavenly could be split apart like that.

    ¡°Even if your ¡®heavenly¡¯ was not afraid of the attack of fire and water and could absorb any types of power, it is after all still a. Any has its limitations and could be split open. Of course, that¡¯s with the precondition that my sword is sufficiently violent and sharp!¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his sword.

    ¡°Sufficiently violent and sharp?!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s face was extremely pale. Although he understood the rationale behind this, he was still stunned.

    Ping Yang¡¯s stared in shock with her mouth agape.

    She knew that Fang Zhengzhi was very powerful but did not know that he was so powerful. Moreover, even though he was so powerful, he kept saying things like ¡®I can¡¯t defeat them, they are Godly State experts, the ancient monsters and demons...¡¯

    Spat! Ping Yang wanted to spit on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. What did he mean by he can¡¯t defeat them, he was just f*cking afraid of death and was unwilling to fight.

    Afraid of death and unwilling to fight?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what was going on in Ping Yang¡¯s mind. However, he was slightly surprised after seeing how the heavenly was split open.

    After all, he only knew that it was possible after he struck.

    Of course, after splitting open the spiderweb, he casually boasted about it and treated it as an opportunity to calm himself down. He acted extremely well such that nobody could tell.

    Be it being afraid of death or being unwilling to fight, all of these could only be considered as one reason. The other reason was that Fang Zhengzhi was afraid of using the five Rebirth Dao techniques altogether.

    After all, he had reservations about it.

    Once his identity was exposed, the Northern Mountain Vige would be in grave danger.

    ¡°Combination of Heavenly Dao, splitting of space... Combination of Asura, Near-Life Dao... Five Rebirth Dao techniques?! You... you are not Meng Tian!¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to continue threatening Chou Qi, Chou Qi¡¯s eyes widened suddenly and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a shocked look that had never been seen before.

    ¡°I am definitely Meng Tian, regarding this...¡±

    ¡°No, you are Fang Zhengzhi! Space-splitting Demon God died in your hands. You have seen how his split space looked like, that¡¯s why you have the Combination of Heavenly Dao. Furthermore, there can¡¯t possibly be a second person who mastered the five Daos all at the same time. This cannot possibly be a coincidence, the only possibility is that you have figured out the fifth Dao technique and can see the other world¡¯s... Ghost Dao!!!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s eyes became bloodshot towards thest part of his sentence.

    ¡°It may not be a good thing if you are too smart!¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes gradually and the Rebirth figure spun faster.

    ¡°So you are really Fang Zhengzhi, I never thought of that, I really never thought of that... go and die!¡± As Chou Qi spoke, his right hand whacked at Fang Zhengzhi suddenly.

    In a blink of an eye, the entire world seemed to turn into a cold ce of death. It was so terrifying and felt as though one was about to suffocate.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed slightly at this moment.

    That was because he could feel Ping Yang¡¯s body torn apart by a powerful force and her body temperature was decreasing rapidly.

    Meanwhile, he could feel a hint of gray airwave flowing past his eyes. It was very subtle but it felt extremely real.

    ¡°What was that?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his sword instinctively and struck at the gray airwave.

    Crack!

    The sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand cracked and the gray aura continued to flow towards his back.

    Ping Yang!

    It was where Ping Yang was at!

    ¡°No!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook. He stretched out his left hand again and ayer of ck armor with golden light flowing on it covered his left hand.

    Crack! There was a crack sound again.

    It sliced the ck armor on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand open and the pieces of ck armor turned into spots of light in midair.

    Then, gray blood flowed out.

    There was an extremely thin transparent gray object at the spot where blood flowed. It looked like a knife or a sword but was neither of them, yet, a terrifying aura of death could be felt within it.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you alright?!¡± Ping Yang wanted to touch Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands instinctively when she saw the gray blood on the back of his hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately stopped her. In the meantime, a wave of force surged out of his body and surrounded Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    Then, he looked down.

    That was because, after Chou Qi threw the thin object at him, he had dashed down the cliff like a whirlwind.

    It was evident that Chou Qi had made his decision after the confirmation of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity.

    The so-called ¡®go and die¡¯...

    Was targeted at Ping Yang!

    ¡°Chou Qi, die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi dashed down as his ck-golden wings produced an intense gust of wind. He was so fast that it seemed like he was teleporting.

    ¡°He is not dead?!¡± Chou Qi was evidently shocked.

    After all, the ¡®de of death¡¯ he had thrown at Fang Zhengzhi was his deadliest weapon. Countless Godly State experts had died under it.

    Yet now, he had used the ¡®de of death¡¯ on Pig Yang but was still blocked by Fang Zhengzhi? How could he not be shocked?

    Chou Qi!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, spare me and I will give you the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!¡± Chou Qi looked terrified as Fang Zhengzhi approached him.

    ¡°No way!¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not give Chou Qi any more chances.

    Be it the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven or the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, they were iparable to the ¡°hatred¡± he had towards Chou Qi for intentionally hurting Ping Yang.

    Chou Qi attacked Ping Yang.

    That meant Chou Qi had already taken a step into the door of death.

    No matter how hard Chou Qi struggled, Fang Zhengzhi would not give him any chances nor strike a deal to exchange for him to spare Chou Qi¡¯s life.

    ¡°No!¡± Chou Qi shouted in shock again as the gray airwave radiated again. However, instead of the spiderweb, it was a gigantic and ferocious lion-like beast.

    Roar! The gray gigantic lion-like beast showed its teeth as it roared coldly. It immediately pounced on Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang when it appeared and the aura of death filled the air.

    Get lost! As a long sword appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, he flung it at Chou Qi¡¯s back violently.

    Swoosh! A beam of gray airwave surged towards Chou Qi.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword turned red like blood. In a blink of an eye, it tore the gigantic lion-like beast into small spots of light.

    Crack!

    The gray airwave hit the back of Chou Qi¡¯s neck, causing him to jolt forward suddenly.

    ¡°de of death?! You... how dare you use the de of death to fight... fight against me?!¡± Chou Qi was genuinely horrified. When he touched the de of death behind his neck, his eyes turned to the color of a deadly gray.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had no intention on replying Chou Qi. He immediately leaned forward and charged downwards as he struck his sword on the red cross scar on Chou Qi¡¯s forehead.

 Chapter 957 - The Arrival of the â€œEvil Godâ€

    <h4>Chapter 957: The Arrival of the ¡°Evil God¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was getting closer and closer!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was about to reach the forehead of Chou Qi, Chou Qi vanished in front of him.

    It was a strange scene.

    Moreover, when Chou Qi vanished, the surroundings changedpletely and became white as snow and looked as though it was a world filled with haze.

    What was going on?

    Where was that?

    Two ideas shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Then, he turned around and realized that Ping Yang, who was initially behind his back, had gone missing.

    Ping Yang disappeared?!

    Wait a minute!

    It was the state of illusion... No! It was the world of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!

    Fang Zhengzhi regained his senses quickly as, after all, he had experienced this before. Yun Qingwu had trapped him using the same method when he was outside the Northern Mountain Vige.

    The Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven could be used to plot formations. Furthermore, after plotting the formation, it turned into a real world that looked like an illusion.

    There were two ways to break through the world of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven. The first would be a realization, like how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to break through the formation plotted by Yun Qingwu using thirteen out of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven. The second would be to keep, to keep the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven directly using the ck metal box on his body.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose the second method because he was unsure of what was taking ce outside the world. It would be terrible if Chou Qi attacked Ping Yang while he was trapped.

    ¡°Open it for me!¡± With a loud roar, a ck metal box appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Soon after that, the white fog around him surged towards the ck metal box as though they were attracted by something and disappeared after a while.

    As the white fog disappeared, the world in front of him changed again to and of sand apanied by a zing sun in the sky.

    The scorching hot weather and the endlessnd of sand seemed to be portraying a type of destion and bleakness.

    ¡°Hmm? Open again!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly anxious. He had already spent a lot of time keeping one of the maps, and yet Chou Qi had thrown two maps to him at one go.

    Without any hesitation, the ck metal box produced a strong attractive force again and absorbed the endlessnd of sand quickly into the box.

    Chou Qi had definitely intentionally used these two scenes to trap Fang Zhengzhi. After all, both the white fog and the sand was extremelyrge-scale.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you alright?!¡± After thest grain of sand was absorbed into the ck metal box, Fang Zhengzhi heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m out!¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around upon hearing Ping Yang¡¯s voice and heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I am fine. However, I felt like I went into another world just now and there was nothing in it, oh... no, there was white fog and... sand, loads of sand... but it disappeared in a sh.¡± Ping Yang was stunned for a moment before she replied.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head. He knew that Ping Yang must have entered the worlds of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven with him.

    He was somewhat lucky.

    That was because Chou Qi did not choose to trap Fang Zhengzhi alone and made use of the time he was trapped to attack Ping Yang.

    However, unfortunately...

    Chou Qi disappeared!

    Chou Qi, who was initially standing in front of him, had vanished without leaving behind any airwave or trace.

    ¡°Eh? Where¡¯s Chou Qi? How did he disappear?!¡± After regaining her senses, Ping Yang looked around and gasped in shock.

    ¡°He fled,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fled? Then what do we do now? He seemed to have already known your identity!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try to give chase.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not say much.

    If Chou Qi did not make use of that opportunity to attack Ping Yang, that meant that he had chosen to flee directly after throwing two of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi did not take very long to keep the two maps, that period of time was sufficient for Chou Qi to flee.

    Since he was severely injured, he shouldn¡¯t be able to run far!

    However...

    Which direction would Chou Qi run towards?

    Earlier on, Chou Qi ran down the cliff, by right, Fang Zhengzhi could catch up with him if he gave chase in that direction.

    However, would Chou Qi really run down the cliff?

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly and took a nce at the direction of the top of the cliff. ¡°Could he have... ran up?¡±

    The possibility of that was rather huge.

    After all, all the Human Alliance were at the bottom of the cliff whereas the forces of the Monster Race and Demon Race were at the top of the cliff. By running towards the top of the cliff, Chou Qi had a greater chance of receiving treatment.

    ¡°Hurry and give chase, what are you waiting for?¡± Ping Yang saw the hesitation on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and hurried him.

    ¡°If you were me, what direction would you go?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Of course to the bottom of the cliff, didn¡¯t you see him earlier on... Hold on, you mean he ran to the top of the cliff?¡±

    ¡°What do you think is more likely to happen?¡±

    ¡°The top, definitely to the top. Chou Qi is not stupid, the forces of the Monster Race and Demon Race are on the top of the cliff, he definitely ran up!¡± Ping Yang replied in confidence.

    ¡°Now that you say this, I am starting to feel that he ran downwards... After all, Chou Qi is too arrogant, he definitely does not want the Monster Race and Demon Race to see him injured. Also, he must be thinking that we will give chase in the direction to the top of the cliff and therefore, by going in the opposite direction, it is more likely...¡±

    ¡°Stop thinking about this, listen to me, he definitely went up. Nobody is unafraid of death, including Chou Qi, he will definitely run upwards. If I am wrong, I can even sleep with you to make up for it!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Very sure!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will trust you for once!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped hesitating as there was a 50-50 chance for both directions.

    He could only take a gamble!

    Woosh! With a p of the ck-golden wings, Fang Zhengzhi carried Ping Yang and dashed towards the top of the cliff of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, he did not realize that the cut on the back of his right hand had not healed like his other injuries and gray blood was still trickling down from the cut.

    ...

    When Fang Zhengzhi, who had the ck-golden wings, chose to pursue at full force, how fast could he go? If there was a machine to measure his speed, the machine would have exploded.

    In a blink of an eye, two ¡°evil gods¡± appeared on the cliff of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°Hand over Chou Qi and we can spare your lives!¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± The six Monster Kings and the Demon troops at the top of the cliff of the Sword Peak stared at the two of them in confusion.

    Chou Qi?

    Didn¡¯t he head down?

    Wait a minute!

    The two of them are back again? Did that mean that Demon Deity Chou Qi was defeated by the guy named ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of them?!

    At this thought, the six Monster Kings¡¯ expressions changedpletely. After exchanging gazes, they turned and fled.

    Upon seeing this, how would the rest of the Demon troops be willing to stay on?

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Hurry... Run!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is back!¡±

    Shouts echoed in the sky and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were guarding at the Heaven Dao Pavilion werepletely in chaos as everyone fled.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched upon seeing this. He wanted to give chase but the six Monster Kings had cleverly run in six different directions, making it impossible for him to give chase.

    As for the other Demon troops, they fled like a group of frightened ¡°ducks¡± that flew all over the ce.

    How could he give chase?

    It was impossible!

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s target was Chou Qi. If he had chosen to chase after the Monster Kings, he would be wasting more time.

    ¡°It seems like... We chased in the wrong direction?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned to Ping Yang after staring at the silent and empty scene ahead of him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe this. Chou Qi must havee up here. Perhaps he is hidden amongst the Demon soldiers. Hmm... Yes, it must be like that!¡± Ping Yang was confident.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So I did not lose!¡±

    ¡°How dare you learn to deny that you have lost, I am going to beat you... Hmm?! The sky seems to be spinning... spinning...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to p Ping Yang when he suddenly felt lightheaded and the whole world was spinning around him.

    He felt as though he was immortalized!

    ¡°Spinning? What spinning? Erm? Shameless brat, what happened to you!¡± Ping Yang realized that Fang Zhengzhi was perspiring like mad on his forehead and he was about to faint.

    Then, a body copsed on her with his face on her chest. It felt warm and heavy.

    ¡°Wake up... Shameless brat, don¡¯t scare me? Alright, I will sleep with you, I will not deny my mistakes, I lost... Shameless brat, don¡¯t pretend to die!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice echoed in the sky but Fang Zhengzhi did not move.

    The six Monster Kings and the Demon soldiers also heard Ping Yang¡¯s voice from afar and stopped their footsteps.

    ¡°He is dead?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? Sir Demon Deity lost to him, how is it possible for him to die suddenly? Trap, it must be a trap! They are luring us over!¡±

    ¡°That makes sense!¡±

    ¡°I think we should head down using other paths. Young Lord is reaching soon, we should wee her and let her know about the situation here, then we can stand a chance to regain our possession of the Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, you are right!¡±

    After a slight hesitation, the six Monster Kings came to a consensus and ran down the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion with the Demon soldiers.

    ...

    At the foot of the mountain of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, a ck figure leaped down from the cliff of the Sword Peak and fell with a thud.

    ¡°Damn, damn it... urgh....¡± As the figure spat out a mouthful of blood, he uttered indignantly and touched the back of his neck.

    As predicted by Fang Zhengzhi, Chou Qi did not choose to run to the top of the cliff because he was Chou Qi, the guy who loved to kill.

    Therefore, how would he hand over his life to a group of ¡°useless things¡±?

    What was it like at the bottom of the mountain?

    He knew the answer but so what? In his opinion, even if he was severely injured, the weak humans there could not be his match.

    Crack! A thin gray object appeared in his hand.

    The de of Death!

    It was stained with gray blood.

    Without hesitation, Chou Qi took out a bronze bottle, poured out a red pill and swallowed it.

    The so-called de of Death was not an ordinary weapon. Once one was injured by it, even the Godly State experts could not heal their injuries with their cultivation.

    Therefore, countless Godly State experts had died under the de of Death.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, after being injured by the de of Death... If I were you, I would have amputated my arm immediately. What a pity, it¡¯s toote!¡± Chou Qi smirked as he looked at the top of the cliff.

    Godly State experts could amputate their arms and had them grow back. However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not know about that.

    He chose to continue to give chase.

    Therefore, the oue was predictable.

    ¡°Hahaha... cough cough, you will definitely die, definitely die, haha... haha... haha... ¡± Chou Qiughed evilly as though he was trying to vent his anger. His body trembled as heughed and he coughed out blood.

    However, he did not bother about that and continuedughing until both of his eyes were bloodshot and a pool of gray blood was formed on the floor.

    However, the blood Chou Qi coughed out turned red quickly and the drops of blood dripped on the ground.

    ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s so funny?¡± Just as Chou Qi wasughing hysterically, a calm voice was heard behind a tree.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Chou Qi stopped smiling and turned to the tree nearby as a figure walked out slowly.

 Chapter 958 - The Real Appearance of the God

    <h4>Chapter 958: The Real Appearance of the God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was a teenager in a gray shirt who looked so ordinary that he was not noticeable if he stood amongst a crowd.

    Besides that, there was a scar on his face, adding a tinge of hideousness to his ordinary looks.

    Chou Qi narrowed his eyes.

    That was the first human he had seen that day who did not have a ck cloth on his face. It made him feel slightly odd.

    However, that was the only thing he felt.

    He was not foolish enough to ask teenager who he was because to him, when the teenager walked out, he was destined to be killed.

    The teenager also did not speak and walked towards Chou Qi at a moderate speed.

    Swoosh! The de of Death in Chou Qi¡¯s hands flew and turned into gray clouds of smoke, traveling at a high speed such that they could not be seen by naked eyes.

    Crack!

    The gigantic tree that the teenager was hiding behind earlier on broke into half. The cut was clean and neat and a cloud of gray airwave surrounded it. The leaves of the gigantic tree also withered.

    It was an extremely powerful strike.

    However, Chou Qi¡¯s expression changed.

    That was because when the giant tree broke into half, it meant that his de of Death had been sessfully dodged.

    The de of Death that had once killed countless Godly State experts was dodged sessfully by two humans consecutively. That was something that never happened before.

    Moreover, the teenager in front of him looked like he was only 20 years old.

    Chou Qi took a step back and cold sweat umted on his forehead because he felt as though he was facing the God of Death.

    Of course, the pair of eyes which was staring into him was glowing with red light and had an extremelyplicated blood-red figure in them.

    Eight blood-red characters glowed in the figure. They each represented a different formation and an ancient mark.

    The Blood Offering Illustration!

    ¡°You... You are Nangong Hao?! No way, Nangong Hao is already dead, how... how can he be still alive?!¡± Chou Qi was drenched in cold sweat after he saw the Blood Offering Illustration in the teenager¡¯s eyes.

    Although he had lived in another dimension, he got familiar with the important events that happened in this world after he descended to this world.

    Blood Offering Illustration, Nangong Hao, the descendant of Emperor Yan, how could he not know about these?

    ¡°My name is Nangong Mu!¡± As the teenager spoke, a gigantic blood-red figure appeared on the top of his head. Meanwhile, two chains which were stained with blood shot out and chained Chou Qi up instantly.

    ¡°Nangong Mu?! The useless brother of Nangong Hao...¡±

    ...

    On the cliff of the Sword Peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Ping Yang carried Fang Zhengzhi and crawled down the cliff. After trying with all types of medicinal pills, she was determined to find someone who could save Fang Zhengzhi even if she revealed her identity.

    ¡°Shameless brat, don¡¯t die...¡±

    ¡°You are still young! You are only 18, you have a bright future...¡±

    ¡°Oh right, you still have me and Sister Yan. You have to stay strong, you are so powerful, nothing must happen to you, nothing!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang kept yelling as she crawled down the cliff, hoping that Fang Zhengzhi could wake up after hearing her voice.

    However, unfortunately, no matter how she yelled, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were still tightly shut with his head in her chest and had no signs of waking up.

    The sky was grayish white.

    The sun had slowly risen, implying that the night had passed. Time had passed from dawn and it was less than two hours to noon.

    What should she do?

    What exactly should she do?

    Ping Yang kept asking herself. She suddenly realized how helpless and fearful she was when Fang Zhengzhi was ¡°not around¡±.

    However, Ping Yang did not know that Fang Zhengzhi was in another world, staring nkly at ady who was dressed in a white dress standing in front of him.

    It had been a while since he met thedy in the white dress in his dreams. Fang Zhengzhi was not sure if it was a good thing to see her again, but he knew that thedy was standing less than five feet away from him and he could see her features very clearly.

    Seeing thedy in the white dress up close for the first time stunned Fang Zhengzhi because her appearance was way too surprising.

    She looked extremely simr to Chi Guyan and she gave off a simr aura to that of a lotus that had emerged from the soil.

    Yun Qingwu?

    Chi Guyan?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how to describe his thoughts.

    However, that was not the main thing. The main thing was that there was an ¡°eye¡± like a gemstone that flicked on the forehead of thedy in the white dress.

    Demon?!

    Thedy in the white dress was a demon?!

    That was the immediate thought that struck Fang Zhengzhi. However, he quickly negated this possibility because the pair of eyes was different from the Demon eyes.

    It was neither an ordinary demon eye nor a scar like that on Chou Qi and the Space-splitting Demon God. It gave off a unique vibe that caused one¡¯s heart to flutter.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± This was the umpteenth time Fang Zhengzhi had asked this question.

    ¡°You should be more concerned with your life or death now.¡± Thedy in the white dress took a look at Fang Zhengzhi and her cold tone made her seem like she did not belong to this world.

    ¡°Life or death?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, follow me.¡± Thedy in the white dress walked towards the front, stepping on the green grass with her fair-skinned bare feet.

    The world in front of him was a patch of grass but with purple flowers blooming at the sides.

    The flower petals were glistening like jade and the diamond-like pistils made each of the purple flowers look extremely vibrant.

    When these purple flowers covered the entire world, the crystal-like purple made one immerse deeply in the scenery.

    ¡°What flower is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had seen many exotic flowers before, especially in the Ling Yun Tower. However, he had never seen the purple flower before. In fact, the fragrance in the air made him feel floaty.

    ¡°Have you heard of the Boundary Flower?¡±

    ¡°Boundary Flower?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the flower that bloomed at the boundary between the world of life and death.¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded.

    ¡°So this is the boundary between the world of life and death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi cautiously stretched his hand towards the flower beside him.

    Thedy in the white dress did not stop him. She looked extremely calm as Fang Zhengzhi touched the petal of the Boundary Flower.

    Crack!

    The Boundary Flower in front of Fang Zhengzhi cracked open and the crack quickly spread and in a second, the Boundary Flower had crackedpletely, turned into purple dust andnded on the ground.

    With a gentle breeze, the dust was blown away.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Thedy in the white dress did not look at the Boundary Flower at all. She turned and walked towards a distant ce.

    ¡°Where are we going again?¡± Fang Zhengzhi added the word ¡°again¡± because he had already walked quite a bit with thedy.

    ¡°To a ce that you want to go to.¡±

    ¡°A ce that I want to go to?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted toin, ¡®How do you know where I want to go?¡¯ However, after some consideration, he did not say it out.

    ¡°Of course I know where you want to go.¡± Just when Fang Zhengzhi was about to catch up with her, the voice of thedy in the white dress entered his ears again.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment and looked at thedy in the white dress as if she was a monster.

    ¡°I am a monster.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    ¡°But I am not the kind of monster that you know.¡±

    ¡°So what kind of monster are you? The Monster... in the legends?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that she could read his mind so he did not bother saying it out loud.

    ¡°Your personality is really quite simr to him.¡±

    ¡°Him? Who is he?¡±

    ¡°Someone you do not know yet.¡± After finishing her sentence, thedy in the white dress had already taken fifteen steps and had no intention of slowing down.

    ¡°Someone I do not know yet? Does that mean I will know him in the future?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confused but caught up with thedy.

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Thedy continued walking without turning back.

    ¡°Are you a monster who is imprisoned?¡± After a few steps, Fang Zhengzhi caught up with thedy and asked again.

    ¡°...¡± Thedy in the white dress did not reply him.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can consider releasing you as after all, you had helped me quite a lot. However, you need to tell me where are you imprisoned at?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Thedy in the white dress remained silent.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Hold on, are you waiting for the moment to exchange your body with mine? You are a woman and I am a man, this is not appropriate, you should find a woman. Oh yeah, Dao Xin from the Yin Yang Hall is a good choice. She gives off a simr vibe as you and is very pretty as well. How about I kill her and you take over her body?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi after thinking for a while.

    ¡°I do not need to take over her body.¡± Thedy in the white dress finally spoke.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not continue probing because his shock overpowered his curiosity.

    ¡®Take over¡¯!

    This phrase did not belong to this world!

    To put it frankly, ording to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s understanding, there was no such concept as ¡®taking over¡¯, yet thedy in the white dress replied very naturally.

    Strange, it was way too strange!

    Was he overthinking? Was there the concept of ¡®taking over¡¯ in the ancient times? Or rather, did thedy standing in front of him not belong to this world too?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure because he did not have any evidence to prove that. It would be too rash to assume things based on the historical books in the repository of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    For example, the incident that took ce on the Heaven Zen Mountain was not recorded in the books.

    There were way too many unexined mysteries in the world. For example, how did ¡°Law of Dao¡± appear in this world? Why did this world have the same legends as the past world? Moreover, these legends actually existed.

    15 minutes passed...

    30 minutes passed...

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how long he followed thedy in the white dress for, but he knew that all the blooming purple Boundary Flower had disappeared.

    A dry and cracked cknd was in front of him. There were ck mountains, ck rocks, ck soil and ck mud.

    Everything seemed to be ck.

    Was this the legendary ¡°ce of death¡±? Or was it the ce called ¡°hell¡±? If so, how many stories were there?

    The legendary eighteen stories?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know and thedy in the white dress also did not bother exining. She only continued to walk without stopping.

    Soon, the cknd had disappeared and the scene changed to one with magma. They seemed to have gone underground unknowingly as the heat radiated in the air and visible mes continuously rose in the sky, making cracking sounds.

    Then, thedy in the white dress stopped on a long and narrow path in the middle of the magma and looked at the bright red waves in front of her silently.

    ¡°Are we not continuing?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, we have already reached the first location.¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded and turned gradually as she pointed at the magma in front of them.

    ¡°The first location? Then what?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°Jump down.¡±

    ¡°Jump down?! Are you f*cking kidding me?!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die.¡± Thedy in the white dress was not agitated because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tone. Instead, she replied calmly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die but I will definitely die after jumping down. Moreover, why am I going to die? I am well alive, how would I possibly die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could no longer hold in his curiosity.

    He saw thedy in the white dress immediately after he reached this world. Then, she said that he would die. After meeting in a long while, why couldn¡¯t she say something more auspicious?

    ¡°Have you forgotten about the ¡®de of Death¡¯ that you blocked for Ping Yang?¡± reminded thedy in the white dress.

    ¡°de of Death?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was astonished and he remembered the scene where he battled with Chou Qi on the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    However, how did thedy in the white dress know about that event which took ce in real life? Furthermore, how did she know that it was called the de of Death?¡±

 Chapter 959 - Refine and Control Everything!

    <h4>Chapter 959: Refine and Control Everything!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was too strange.

    If Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s impression of thedy in the white dress was previously unclear, now, it became one that was strange beyond words.

    Thedy in the white dress seemed to have known everything. Most importantly, she said that she was a monster?!

    ¡°Jump,¡± said thedy in the white dress again.

    ¡°Are you sure I won¡¯t die after I jump?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the red magma in front of him and felt fearful.

    After all, it was magma and not warm bathwater, how could he survive if he jumped?

    Only the God would believe in that.

    ¡°Other people will die.¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded slightly and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°But you won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Can you give me a reason that is more believable?¡±

    ¡°You have the Thousand Years Fire Herb in your body. Is this reason sufficient?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips twitched as he wanted to ask more questions, for instance, why could he survive if he had the Thousand Years Fire Herb? Or, was the Thousand Years Fire Herb still in his body?

    That question seemed a little stupid.

    In reality, however, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the Thousand Years Fire Herb had long been refined after he threw it into the Middle Stream Cauldron at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°Actually, you have a lot of things in your body: The Thousand Years Fire Herb, Penta-colored Wonder Flowers, Nine Cauldrons and The Vast World. However, you did not make use of them,¡± said thedy in the white dress after seeing how Fang Zhengzhi kept silent. However, she seemed to be talking to herself.

    ¡°Will they be used if I jumped in?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps? I am gambling with my life and you are telling me ¡®perhaps¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. How could he continue chatting with her?

    ¡°I mean, what and how much can be used entirely depends on you.¡± As thedy in the white dress was very clear of what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about, she exined to him again.

    ¡°Can I think about it first?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but you don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    ¡°How much time do I have?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Three? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi understood. Three meant that he had three seconds left.

    ¡°One.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, I have something to say!¡±

    ¡°See youter.¡±

    ¡°Erm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was just about to flee when he realized his body was flying into the sky uncontrobly.

    He was not moving too quickly but what was thrilling was that he actually flew past the magma..

    What the hell?!

    Where on earth was he at?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse. He already had the power to fight with a Godly State expert, yet in this world, he could not do anything to thedy in the white dress at all.

    Moreover...

    Thedy in the white dress did not seem to bother about how Fang Zhengzhi jumped into the magma.

    ¡°Can I change a pose, I don¡¯t want my face to be facing down!¡± Fang Zhengzhi made a final request as his face was about to touch the magma.

    However, that did not seem to work.

    His pose did not change and he was getting closer and closer to the magma. He could even feel the boiling hot air.

    ¡°... Ah, f*ck!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi shouted, he felt something boiling hot entering his mouth.

    Bitter? Or salty? Or spicy? Or sweet?

    Who f*cking knows!

    Fang Zhengzhi only had one sensation. When it flowed into his mouth, his vision became red like fire.

    Furthermore, a boiling hot wave continuously surged into his ears and nose. It was a sour feeling that he had never experienced before.

    ¡°Refine.¡± Thedy in the white dress stood on the path filled with the magma and watched Fang Zhengzhi as he entered the magma. ¡°Refine everything, Thousand Years Fire Herb, Penta-coloured Wonder Flowers, various herbs, Nine Cauldrons... When everything merged to be one with your body, you can then control everything in the world.¡±

    As she said, thedy in the white dress sat down and waited quietly. It felt as though she was waiting for everything to start as well as everything to end.

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly could not hear what thedy in the white dress said on the path. His body was entirely on fire.

    From his organs to the blood, veins, muscles, every cell in him was burning as though they were on fire.

    The pain prated all the way to his bones.

    He felt like passing away but for some reason, his body could not be extinguished. After his original muscles turned into ashes, new muscles grew. After his blood was evaporated, new blood flowed.

    It was endless and repeated in a cycle!

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi genuinely felt the feeling of ¡®not being able to live or die¡¯. It was so painful that he wanted to curse.

    Of course, he had already cursed once.

    Yet now, he seemed to have lost the right to curse because once he opened his mouth, the boiling hot magma flowed into his mouth.

    ¡°No, I must find a way to reduce the pain. If this continues, I probably would have died due to this torture.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not stupid.

    The more painful he felt, the more alert he had to be. Furthermore, he could clearly remember what thedy in the white dress said to him before hended in the magma.

    ¡°What and how much can be used entirely depends on you.¡±

    The meaning behind this sentence could not be clearer. If he endured the suffering without doing anything else, he would get very little out of it.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi remembered that thedy in the white dress said before that this was only the first location. Therefore, there were more locations...

    That was the real frightening thing!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to experience the same experience two or three times. He was someone who was afraid of pain, one experience like this was more than sufficient.

    It was like having sex for the first time.

    Pain was enjoyable!

    ¡°Looks like I have to be the one initiating!¡± As this thought struck Fang Zhengzhi, he closed his eyespletely and huddled up in the magma.

    15 minutes...

    30 minutes...

    ...

    After a long time, Fang Zhengzhi finally moved again. He moved violently and his body jumped as though he was in spasm.

    Meanwhile, thedy in the white dress looked at the turning waves in the magma and the spinning flow of heat.

    ¡°Looks like we failed. Let¡¯s go to the second location then.¡± Thedy in the white dress said softly and stood up gradually from the ground as she looked in a distance.

    There was a light blue radiance at a distance away. It was slightly different from the magma in front of her and it looked extremely cold.

    Thedy in the white dress raised her hand and was just about to ¡°lift¡± Fang Zhengzhi up from the magma when the spinning magma suddenly became calm.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Thedy in the white dress widened her eyes. She seemed to be deep in thought but she stopped her movement.

    15 minutes...

    Another 15 minutes...

    The magma was as calm as water. Although the heatwave was still turning, there was no longer any movements underneath them.

    ¡°Once? Okay?¡± Thedy in the white dress gradually withdrew her arm and her eyes glowed with radiance. She sat back down in her original position and closed her eyes as she waited patiently like how she did earlier on.

    Meanwhile in the magma, Fang Zhengzhi was lying on his side in the heatwave.

    It was a pose that did not need further description and it even felt like he was beingzy.

    However, everything looked extremely natural. From head to toe, there was nothing that was not coordinated and felt like everything was perfectly fused together.

    He gave up on the position that he thought was correct. His entire body was not in a morous position at all as he looked as though he was deep asleep..

    However, in reality...

    Fang Zhengzhi actually really fell asleep.

    However, images shed across his mind repeatedly. It was an image from his childhood when he was in a beautiful vige.

    There were children who grew up with him, his parents from this world, and a voice which always growled.

    ¡°Which idiot stole my Fire Plume Chicken again!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi? Isn¡¯t that just a chicken?¡± Upon seeing this, Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    Then, he saw a child flip out of the window in the middle of the night and raised his small fist.

    ¡°Haiya!¡± The child punched the green stone on the floor.

    ¡°Aiya, f*ck... it hurts!¡± Then, the child made noises in agony as he hopped back into the room while clutching his fist.

    What a carefree childhood.

    Oh right!

    Controlling every single muscle, controlling every drop of blood, controlling every single cell...

    Without knowing, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered when he first essed Dao, his body had gradually controlled, regenerated, disappeared, regenerated again, then disappeared...

    When the blood was evaporated, new blood was formed. Simrly, his muscles, bones, every bit of his skin and hair.

    Controlling everything.

    Allowing everything to be controlled by him.

    Buzz! Radiance flowed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body from head to toe, wrapping him inside as though his entire body was being rinsed by warm water before regeneration.

    ...

    At the bottom of the cliff of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Ping Yang ran towards the ck Stone Pce while carrying Fang Zhengzhi. For some reasons, she felt that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was heating up and eventually felt as though she was hugging a fireball. However, she no longer cared about that.

    Regardless of whether it was a boiling hot fireball or a freezing cold ice cube, she hugged onto it with her dear life, even though she was already drenched in sweat.

    ¡°Faster, faster!¡± Ping Yang mumbled as she ran. She was so fast that a faint shadow was left behind her.

    She was getting closer and closer!

    Soon, figures appeared in front of her. Although she was still a distance away, she knew she was reaching the ck Stone Pce soon.

    At this moment, a few loud howls were heard. Then, a few figures wearing gold charged down from the sky.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Ping Yang did not see clearly. However, she no longer cared about that. Regardless of what happened in front of her, she had to rush over.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi could only be saved if she rushed to the camp of the Human Alliance at the fastest speed possible.

    Soon, she was reaching soon!

    As the figures in front of her became clearer, Ping Yang bit her lips and dashed towards the figures without slowing down.

    ¡°Yes, I have finally reached!¡± Ping Yang stopped because she had already reached the ck Stone Pce. In front of her stood a group of people who were masked with the ck face cloth which had the word ¡®God¡¯ sewn on them.

    The Human Alliance.

    This was the symbol of the Human Alliance.

    Ping Yang was very certain about this. Therefore, when she reached, she heaved a sigh of relief and her legs turned into jelly.

    ¡°Where is Dao Hun?! Where is Alliance Leader Dao Hun? Pavilion Master Mu? Valley Master Mo? Where are they? Help, Fang... Oh, no, Meng Tian... The real Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is injured, please save him!¡± Ping Yang engaged her muscles and stood up again as she walked quickly towards the figures.

    As she spoke, all of the people turned around and looked at her.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°That is Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°The real Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡±

    Their gazes quickly fell upon ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was in Ping Yang¡¯s hands. It was evident that all of them looked very shocked.

    However, the shocked expressions turned into horrified ones as though they could sense that something terrifying was about to take ce.

    ¡°Run! Run now, run with Senior Meng Tian!¡± A voice was heard when Ping Yang was still in a state of confusion as she walked towards the Human Alliance.

    It was a very worried voice and it did not provide any exnation.

    ¡°Run?¡± Ping Yang stopped for a moment although she was still not sure why the voice told her to run.

 Chapter 960 - Reopen Another World!

    <h4>Chapter 960: Reopen Another World!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Moreover, Ping Yang did not know where to run to.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was going to die. If he did not receive treatment any time sooner, nobody knew what would happen to him.

    Ping Yang did not know what to do.

    It was not because she was stupid, but rather because she was not able to think about anything other than to save Fang Zhengzhi in such an emergency.

    However, despite that, she figured out where the voice came from and realized that it was none other than Valley Master of the Fu Xi Valley, Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, Meng Tian is really going to...¡±

    ¡°Run now!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s expression became extremely anxious when he saw how Ping Yang was still rooted to the spot. However, it was toote.

    When he shouted again, a figure had charged towards Ping Yang at a terrifyingly fast speed and blocked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Run? Haha... can you run away?¡± A figure appeared as the voice was heard.

    It was a man who was wearing a white robe with golden threads and wearing a golden hat made up of jade.

    He was a very beautiful man.

    The reason he was described as ¡°beautiful¡± was that he exuded a feminine beauty. Both his features and face shape was round. The only strange thing was he had a strand of long white hair that fell to his chest.

    ¡°You...¡± Ping Yang took a look at the man and then the surroundings of Mo Shanshi and the various ¡°Meng Tians¡±.

    She regained her senses immediately.

    That was because there were ¡°strikingly different¡± figures surrounding Mo Shanshi and the other ¡°Meng Tians¡± who looked different from the Human Alliance.

    Eerie and cold.

    Ping Yang felt a different aura on the faces of the figures. Therefore, she could guess their identity easily.

    The Godly State expert!

    Moreover, there were five of them!

    Terrifying powers.

    Ping Yang was drenched in cold sweat. She finally figured out why Mo Shanshi told her to run the first minute he saw her.

    She had to run!

    However, how could she run?

    ¡°It seems like other people had entered before us.¡± At this moment, a soft voice was heard.

    After that, a figure jumped down nimbly from a beast with a pair of gigantic golden wings and walked towards the crowd.

    Behind this figure was a man who was wearing a ck robe. His face was so cold that it made people shudder.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!¡± Ping Yang could definitely recognize Yun Qingwu as her aura was so unique that nobody else had the same coldness as her.

    ¡°Young lord!¡±

    ¡°Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon after, the figures standing around Mo Shanshi and the man in white who was blocking Ping Yang greeted Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yun Qingwu!¡±

    ¡°The Daughter of the Monster and Demon Race, Yun Qingwu!¡±

    ¡°Another Godly State expert?! Six!!! Six... Godly State experts!¡±

    The expressions on the disciples of the Human Alliance who were standing around Mo Shanshi changed again when they figured out it was Yun Qingwu and Lin Yu.

    In fact, they already had a bad premonition when they saw the five Godly State experts. However, they did not expect Yun Qingwu to arrive with the five Godly State experts at the same time.

    Furthermore, she brought another one with her.

    This seems to be announcing to everyone that the troop of the Monster Race and Demon Race had arrived.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s face looked rather ugly.

    He knew that something would happen when he was forced by Dao Hun to guard outside the ck Stone Pce.

    However, he did not expect the Monster Race and Demon Race to arrive so quickly. Moreover, they sent six Godly State experts at one go.

    It would be seven if they counted the Godly State expert on the Heaven Dao Pavilion!

    Seven!

    That was almost the total number of Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    By doing this, it could be confirmed that Yun Qingwu was making use of this chance to wipe out the entire poption of the Human Alliance!

    ¡°Why did she arrive so quickly? Didn¡¯t the intelligence report say she will arrive at noon? It¡¯s only dawn now!¡± Mo Shanshi refused to ept this.

    In his n, Yun Qingwu¡¯s troops should only arrive two hourster.

    Two hours...

    Was sufficient for the Human Alliance to aplish many things. Even if two hours may not be enough, he could still hold on a little further.

    However, look at what was happening now.

    Yun Qingwu had arrived with six Godly State experts and countless soldiers of the Monster and Demon Race. Even if he tried to defend, how long could he defend for?

    Moreover, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, thest hope for the Human Alliance and the only person who could match up with the Godly State experts, was injured.

    Moreover, he was in aa!

    Mo Shanshi felt that these ¡°coincidences¡± happened too quickly that it messed up his entire n and he could not take it.

    ¡°Fu Xi troops, listen to mymand, fight till your death and make a route for Senior Meng Tian!¡± Mo Shanshi did not bother thinking about what he should do next.

    That was because whatever happened in front of him had told him that there was no hope for them in this battle and the Human Alliance would definitely lose.

    Therefore, he did not need to make any more considerations. The only thing he could do was to ¡°sacrifice¡±, exchanging his ¡°sacrifice¡± with thest beam of hope of humankind.

    Meng Tian, he had to save Meng Tian. Even though everyone in the Alliance Troop died, he had to make sure Meng Tian could escape.

    ¡°Roger!¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance understood Mo Shanshi¡¯s decision after hearing hismand.

    Everyone was afraid of death!

    However, even the person who was the most afraid of death had something they wanted to aplish in their mind.

    These things included friendship and love, yet now, when the survival of the humankind was at stake, they could not run away from it.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Attacking when there were disagreements usually happened between two people with simr powers. However, this time, the situation was an exception.

    SImr?

    Thebined powers of the six Godly State experts and the troop of the Monster Race and Demon Race had overpowered the Fu Xi troop. However, all of the disciples of the Fu Xi Valley had attacked first.

    Nobody retreated at this moment.

    That was because this was a battle that did not allow them to retreat. Moreover, it was a bloody battle that could only be ended with countless deaths.

    ¡°Sometimes, humans are so foolish.¡± One of the figures standing around the Human Alliance smiled when he saw the disciples charging towards them.

    Having experienced the ancient battles, he had seen too much blood and killed too many people.

    Therefore, how would an additional few or few hundred lives matter to him?

    ¡°They are not foolish, they are ignorant.¡±

    ¡°Our powers will tell them how scary it was to be ignorant. I only hope that these ignorant spirits would learn their lesson after they die.¡±

    ¡°Must you all talk about these irrelevant things before killing? Can¡¯t you all just kill and end it quickly? Will they understand even if you talk about these irreverent things?¡±

    The other three Godly State experts had their own personalities. Some were straightforward and some were careless.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

    Waves of air shed past the scene, some of them were bright and some were silent, one of the Godly State experts even had his eyes entirely closed throughout the battle.

    However, in front of them, the disciples of the Human Alliance fell one by one and blood sttered across the sky.

    It was a cruel scene.

    Aspared to the cruelty in the battle, the man dressed in white who was standing in front of Ping Yang looked rtively calm and stared at the person in Ping Yang¡¯s arms.

    ¡°This is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡± The man spoke and walked towards Ping Yang gradually.

    ¡°No!¡± Ping Yang said with affirmation.

    ¡°Haha, but didn¡¯t you said he was earlier on?¡± The man was stunned for a moment before heughed, revealing two dimples on his face.

    ¡°That was earlier on, but now it¡¯s different. Stoping closer or I, the God, will attack!¡± Ping Yang said as she took a few steps back.

    ¡°You, the God? Haha, are you the Sagely Battle God then?¡± The man continued tough.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I can kill you with a p!¡± Ping Yang nodded and sneakily ced her hand behind her.

    ¡°Oh? You sound very pro, so, how are you going to kill me with a p?¡± The man did not seem to be in a hurry to attack at all.

    Witnessing this, Lin Yu, who was standing beside Yun Qingwu frowned and a cold gaze shed across his eyes.

    ¡°Qin Xian, end the battle quickly!¡±

    ¡°Lin Yu, you are still behaving as you did in the past, making demons dislike you. Do you know how long I took to rush over? Don¡¯t worry, are you actually worried that she will fly away with a pair of wings?¡± Qin Xian, the man in white, seemed to be unhappy.

    ¡°You...¡± Lin Yu wanted to say something but ultimately did not because he was very clear of the status of the Monster and Demons in front of him.

    To put it frankly, these Godly State experts were not easily controble as they had strange personalities and habits. Only Yun Qingwu could unite them.

    However, he knew that even Yun Qingwu was unable to make all of these monsters and demons follow her instructions. This required time, a very long time.

    That was the main reason why Yun Qingwu plotted her n so slowly.

    If not for the sudden outburst of the ¡°legend¡±, Yun Qingwu would not have left the Great Swamp or gather so many of the Godly State experts.

    The reason was simple...

    Monsters and demons both had their killing intents and grievances on the battlefield.

    Just like Chou Qi!

    Chou Qi could be counted as an exception in the ancient battlefield, an exception who exceptionally loved to kill. Nobody knew how many monsters, demons or humans he had killed in the ancient battlefield because it was uncountable.

    Yet, there were simrly exceptions amongst the five Godly State experts in front of her.

    Qin Xian!

    He was one of the exceptions!

    Boom! At this moment, a loud thunderous boom was heard and a figure reached the front of Ping Yang at a very fast speed.

    It was a strike with the purple lightning.

    With ear-deafening noises, a ck giant hammer with purple lightning around it reached the top of Qin Xian¡¯s head in an instant.

    Mo Shanshi.

    He had attacked.

    The strange thing was, none of the four Godly State experts defended against Mo Shanshi and was all busy fighting with the other disciples of the Human Alliance.

    Qin Xian raised his head and looked at the ck giant hammer falling on him, giving a vibrant smile on his feminine face.

    Then, he gradually bent over his body as though he did not see the ck giant hammer in Mo Shanshi¡¯s hand.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this instant.

    Qin Xian bent over his body extremely slowly such that the disciples of the Human Alliance who were busy fighting could see his movements clearly.

    However, the strange thing was, Mo Shanshi¡¯s rapid strike seemed to slow down too. Besides his strike, his eyes also blinked extremely slowly.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo!¡± Looking at how Mo Shanshi took an eternity to strike, Ping Yang was definitely worried and shocked.

    After all, Qin Xian was bending forward. Mo Shanshi would definitely break open Qin Xian¡¯s head if he struck his hammer.

    ¡®Why is this happening?¡¯

    Ping Yang could not understand why but she was extremely close to Mo Shanshi and could see everything clearly.

    She could see that Mo Shanshi was trying very hard to strike but for some reason, it moved so slowly as though it was like a turtle.

    She would not have believed it if she did not see it with her own eyes.

    Moreover, the expression in Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes showed that he was frustrated.

    It felt strange.

    It was as if Mo Shanshi was in a separate world.

    At this moment, Qin Xian stood upright again with a wild flower in his hand. It was a wild flower that could be seen everywhere, a wild flower that was withering because it was going to be winter soon.

    ¡°Rebloom of the flower.¡± Just as Ping Yang was at a loss, a voice with a hint ofughter was heard.

 Chapter 961 - I Canâ€™t Wait, Hurry!

    <h4>Chapter 961: I Can¡¯t Wait, Hurry!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡®Rebloom of the flower¡¯?

    What did that mean?

    Ping Yang could tell that it was Qin Xian¡¯s voice but she could not understand what he meant when he said that.

    Did he mean that he wanted to make the flower in his hand re-bloom? How was it possible for the flower that was about to wither to re-bloom?

    Although that was what Ping Yang thought of instinctively, her eyes quickly widened to a size that had never been achieved before.

    That was because when Qin Xian said that sentence, the wild flower that was almost withering suddenly bloomed again.

    Moreover, it bloomed extremely strangely.

    A light beam of radiance shed past the wild flower, then, as though it came back to life, the flower bloomed crazily with a speed that could be seen by the naked eye. Furthermore, it kept growing bigger, every petal grew from the size of the nails to that of a metal pot and then to that of a millstone.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    Ping Yang was really stunned because she was so near that she could see that the flower in Qin Xian¡¯s hand was not an illusion but a real flower.

    Boom! At this moment, the ck giant hammer of Mo Shanshi finallynded but fell directly on the blooming wild flower.

    However, the pistil-like structures in the flower twined around the ck giant hammer as though they were alive. They moved from the ck giant hammer to Mo Shanshi¡¯s arms and eventually moved to his neck and head.

    Bam!

    The petals of the size of the millstone that were initially blooming suddenly closed up, wrapping around Mo Shanshipletely.

    ¡°Haha, I don¡¯t like to see blood.¡± Qin Xianughed and threw the flower which had wrapped around Mo Shanshi to the side.

    The gigantic flower fell to the ground with a thud, creating a dent that was half-inch deep.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Silence. The disciples of the Human Alliance who were in the midst of a violent battle became extremely silent because they could not ept what happened in front of them.

    Mo Shanshi!

    The Valley Master of Fu Xi Valley, one of the most powerful Sages in the Holy Region!

    His power was at the peak of the Sage State, yet he was defeated with one strike? Furthermore, this strike was so strange? How could the disciples believe that?

    ¡°Rest assured, your Valley Master Mo has not died yet, don¡¯t be so afraid. All of you can continue to fight and kill, I am not in a hurry at all,¡± exined Qin Xian as though he was not used to the silence. Meanwhile, to let the disciples believe him, he purposely kicked the wild flower on the ground.

    Boom! The wild flower flew in the air in a parabolic path beforending heavily on the ground again.

    When itnded, a moan was heard.

    It was none other than Mo Shanshi who was wrapped by the wild flower.

    ¡°Look, he is not dead yet. He is really not dead, don¡¯t give up defending so quickly, show me your vigor and save your Valley Master Mo!¡± Qin Xian heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Mo Shanshi¡¯s moan.

    However, this exnation sounded extremely strange to the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    He didn¡¯t die?!

    Do not give up defending?

    Save your Valley Master Mo.

    Apart from the disciples of the Human Alliance, some of the Sages and the sect leaders¡¯ expressions changedpletely.

    Their faces paled significantly.

    The other four Godly State experts and Lin Yu, who was standing beside Yun Qingwu, showedpletely different expressions.

    The cold Lin Yu certainly did not like what Qin Xian did. However, he could not stop him because Qin Xian was so strange that it made him terrifying.

    The other four Godly State experts reacted differently, someughed and some turned their heads to avoid seeing the scene.

    Of course, some took the opportunity to kill.

    ¡°Are they dumbfounded? That¡¯s great, kill all of them!¡± With a ferocious roar, two disciples of the Human Alliance died in puddles of blood.

    The peaceful ke¡± was broken by the ¡°stone¡± again.

    The quiet atmosphere turned into panic. Although the disciples of the Human Alliance had known that this battle involved the death of many, they could not convince themselves to not be fearful.

    This fear slowed their actions and pushed them closer to death.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°We have to save Senior Meng Tian even if we die!¡±

    ¡°Since I am going to die anyway, I will fight till my death with these monsters and demons!¡±

    Roars were heard from the Human Alliance as the cruel and bloody battle resumed. However, unlike earlier on, there was a feeling of despair that made the human disciples anxious and helpless as tears formed in their eyes.

    Meanwhile, Qin Xian smiled slightly as the battle resumed and turned to Ping Yang.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I am different from these monsters and demons, I do not like to kill.¡± Qin Xian walked towards Ping Yang with a smile.

    ¡°Then, what do you like?¡± Ping Yang took a deep breath and said as she moved back.

    ¡°Flower, not only can I make dying flowers bloom again, but I can also make withered flowerse back to life. What do you think? Imagine if the world was filled with blooming flowers that did not die throughout the four seasons, how beautiful would that be?¡± Qin Xian said with great aspiration.

    ¡°It is rather beautiful, can you teach me how did you manage to do that?¡± Ping Yang stopped moving back.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Qin Xian continued to smile but took a nce from Ping Yang¡¯s head to toe before stopping at her eyes. ¡°Hmm? Your eyes are beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, they are more beautiful than yours.¡± Ping Yang nodded.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I do not like things that are prettier than me. Therefore, if I used your eyes as a fertilizer for my flowers, they would definitely bloom better.¡± Qin Xian nodded and said seriously.

    ¡°You are lying!¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°Oh? Tell me, how did I lie?¡± Qin Xian stopped at a distance that was two foot away from Ping Yang. He did not need to get closer since Ping Yang stopped moving back.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes are prettier than yours too, why didn¡¯t you dig her eyes out?¡± Ping Yang pointed at Yun Qingwu as she said.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu?¡± Qin Xian¡¯s smile froze and looked at the direction Ping Yang pointed to.

    As what Ping Yang said, Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes were very pretty too. Her eyes glowed with a dim light which was not bright but it was extraordinarily peaceful and cold.

    ¡°Qin Xian, what are you looking at?¡± Lin Yu felt chills behind his back when he saw Qin Xian looking at Yun Qingwu and jumped in front of Yun Qingwu instinctively.

    However, Yun Qingwu waved her hands and took a step forward as her long dress moved.

    ¡°If you can kill ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, I can give your my eyes as the fertilizer for your flowers.¡± Yun Qingwu said calmly after she took a step forward.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Apart from Lin Yu, the other four Godly State experts and the disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked when they heard her.

    Yun Qingwu actually agreed.

    This was something unexpected for everyone. Ping Yang¡¯s attempt to cause dissension was so obvious and low-ss, and with her current status, Yun Qingwu did not have to agree at all.

    It was her pair of eyes!

    ¡°Haha... Young Lord, you must be kidding, how would I do such disrespectful things to Young Lord and yearn for your eyes?¡± Qin Xian finally smiled after staring at Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes for a long time.

    ¡°Timid rat.¡± Ping Yang smirked.

    ¡°Qin Xian, stop talking nonsense and kill her now!¡± Lin Yu heaved a sigh of relief and said coldly.

    ¡°Hmm, let me think, how should I kill you to make you die nicely... Oh right, how about a flower burial? I can feed you with some seeds then let the seeds germinate so your body will be full of blooming flowers. I promise you will look beautiful!¡± Qin Xian¡¯s eyes lit up after giving it some thoughts.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance looked shocked when they heard this.

    Let flowers bloom on a human body?!

    This was such a gruesome way to kill someone but ording to Qin Xian, it was a beautiful way to die.

    Strange, he was indeed strange.

    Or rather...

    Perverted!

    Apart from the disciples of the Human Alliance, the other Godly State experts also twitched their eyes when they heard this.

    The blood on the ground was very red.

    However, no matter how red it was, aspared to Qin Xian who killed without bloodshed, the blood on the ground was not sufficient to let one feel disgusted.

    However, Qin Xian was extremely excited about it.

    It seemed as though he had found something exciting to y with. His body shook in excitement and his feminine face flushed.

    ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t wait anymore, hurry, eat these seeds!¡± Qin Xian took out a handful of ck seeds and passed them to Ping Yang.

    ¡°Eat these and flowers will start growing on my body?¡± Ping Yang blinked naively.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Qin Xian nodded in excitement.

    ¡°What flowers would they be?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about this. I promise they will be beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Are the seeds tasty?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will trust you once.¡± Ping Yang finally nodded and took over the seeds from Qin Xian.

    This scene made the disciples of the Human Alliance and the few other Godly State experts extremely shocked.

    She really took the seeds?

    Was she foolish enough to seriously eat the seeds?

    Although the Godly State experts knew that Ping Yang could not decide on what to do, there was still a difference between being forced to do something and doing it willingly.

    ¡°I will eat it now.¡± Ping Yang looked at the seeds and raised her head as she said to Qin Xian.

    ¡°Hmm, eat it now, I can¡¯t wait to see the beautiful scene.¡± Qin Xian nodded and hurried her.

    Without hesitation, Ping Yang cleared her throat, coughed and raised her hand as she was about to swallow the seeds in her hand.

    ¡°She is really eating them?!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    The surrounding people widened their eyes in disbelief.

    However, just as the seeds were about to enter Ping Yang¡¯s mouth, Ping Yang suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Hold on, I think I forgot something.¡± Ping Yang said while raising her head.

    ¡°What?¡± Qin Xian was impatient.

    ¡°How do I eat with my face cloth on?¡± Ping Yang pointed at the face cloth on her face and shook her head violently.

    ¡°Take it off and you can eat,¡± said Qin Xian.

    ¡°No no, I am carrying Sagely Battle God ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ on one hand and holding the seeds on the other, how am I going to remove my face cloth like that? How about you help me?¡± Ping Yang shook her head again.

    ¡°Help you? Alright.¡± Qin Xian took a look at Ping Yang and realized that she indeed could not remove her face cloth.

    ¡°Qin Xian, be careful, it may be a trap!¡± Lin Yu felt uneasy when he saw Qin Xian stretching his hand out to Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    However, nothing like what he predicted happened.

    Ping Yang did not dodge or attack, she continued raising her head and allowed Qin Xian to put his hand on her ck face cloth.

    Then, a ck face cloth was lifted. The big ¡®God¡¯ word on the ck face cloth shone in the sun.

    ¡°Now you can... Hmm?!¡± Qin Xian¡¯s smile disappeared in the middle of his sentence.

 Chapter 962 - The Uncle Could Endure but not the Aunt

    <h4>Chapter 962: The Uncle Could Endure but not the Aunt</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure how long he had slept for, perhaps one or two days, or perhaps only for a few breath¡¯s time.

    However, when he reopened his eyes, he was still in a world that was red and filled with magma.

    However, he no longer felt the burning sensation on his body.

    It felt warm like water.

    As though his body was in a wooden bucket full of warm water, his body fused perfectly with the surrounding magma.

    Or rather, he controlled it!

    He had controlled the surrounding magma!

    ¡°This feels reallyfortable!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretchedzily and jumped out from the magma with a loud boom.

    Then, the magma which sttered on the groundnded like mes and made sizzling sounds.

    ¡°You managed to control it entirely just by doing it once?!¡± Thedy in the white dress opened her eyes when Fang Zhengzhi jumped up.

    Even someone as calm as thedy felt shocked.

    She looked at Fang Zhengzhi from head to toe in detail.

    There was a golden radiance flowing on Fang Zhengzhi that had extremelyplicated symbols on it. However, aspared to the symbols in the past, these symbols had fused together perfectly like a water stream that was gold in color.

    Buzz! Following a loud buzz, a gigantic Rebirth te appeared on top of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    The golden radiance flowed towards the gigantic Rebirth te as though they were summoned by it and surrounded the Rebirth te.

    Red, blue, ck, silver, green; Five of the vibrant colors lit up in five different positions around the Rebirth te-like stars in a patch of golden light.

    Heavenly Rebirth Dao, Dao of Asura, Heaven Dao, Hell Dao, Ghost Dao, Near-Life Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up and smiled as he could feel the changes in his body.

    The ocean in his Small Dimension was so vast that the boundaries could no longer be seen.

    However, this was not the main point.

    The main point was that there was no longer any penta-colored wonder flower floating on the top of the ocean. All that was left was a golden fruit.

    ¡®The fruit of the Tree of God!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what this fruit was, but apart from this fruit, everything else, including the Penta-colored Wonder Flowers, had fused with the ocean and the ocean also fused with the Rebirth te on top of his head.

    The genuine control and an almost perfect fusion.

    ¡°Yo!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted excitedly as a pair of gigantic ck wings appeared behind his back.

    Countless beams of golden light surged towards the ck wings, causing a eye-blinding golden radiance to flow on the ck wings. Meanwhile, muscles appeared on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms and every single vein turned gold as if it was a part of the golden radiance on the ck wings.

    It was a perfect control.

    It was so perfect that Fang Zhengzhi had an impulse to vent his emotions. However, before he could do that, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.

    ¡°This...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to speak when he realized that the direction of which the pair of eyes was looking at was weird. Then, he looked down.

    Then...

    He realized something was wrong.

    His clothes had disappeared. Why did that happen? What did it mean?

    Wait a minute!

    Clothes!

    Holy sh*t...

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to seed at one try.¡± Thedy in the white dress stopped looking at Fang Zhengzhi when she realized that Fang Zhengzhi noticed.

    ¡°F*ck, where are my clothes?¡±

    ¡°You can find a leaf, or use your hands... to cover it.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°There is nothing else I can assist you in, remember to wear your clothes when we meet again.¡± After saying that, thedy in the white dress turned and walked back from where she came from.

    ¡°What do you mean by remember to wear my clothes when we meet again... Didn¡¯t I f*cking wear my clothes just now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse, his clothes were obviously dissolved by the magma, how unfair was it to use him of not wearing anything?

    Furthermore, it was said by a woman.

    No, she was a Monster!

    ¡°Hold on, there still seems to be a fruit of the Tree of God in my Small Dimension!¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked just as thedy in the white dress was about to disappear.

    ¡°I know.¡± Thedy in the white dress did not stop and vanished in a second.

    ¡°You know? Then... So what?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth was agape. He felt speechless looking at the magma around him.

    You know but you did not bother exining?

    What on earth?

    ...

    Ping Yang was still looking up and did not have any intention to resist.

    However, nothing could describe what Qin Xian was feeling now. He felt like cursing someone.

    That was because after he had managed to lift up the face cloth on Ping Yang¡¯s face, he realized to his horror that there was another face cloth underneath it.

    It was also a ck face cloth with the word ¡®God¡¯.

    What the hell?!

    Did she seriously have to put on twoyers of the same face cloth?

    Qin Xian¡¯s expression turned ugly but he still used his hand to lift up the second face cloth.

    Then...

    He realized that there was another ck face cloth underneath the secondyer.

    The third piece?!

    ¡°You...¡± Qin Xian really wanted to curse but his hand continued to lift off the third face cloth.

    This was a subconscious movement.

    Just like how a man was stripping clothes off a woman, he only thought of removing the clothesyer byyer when the woman did not resist.

    Even though it involvedyers afteryers...

    One could not stop! ( Boxno vel. co m )

    That was exactly what Qin Xian felt right now. This had nothing to do with whether he was cautious but rather stemmed from pure curiosity.

    At least, for the time being, Qin Xian had only one thought in mind: to remove all the face cloths from Ping Yang¡¯s face so that he could see how she looked like.

    This was more important than anything else.

    However, just as Qin Xian stretched his hand out to Ping Yang again, Ping Yang¡¯s face suddenly lowered down.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Qin Xian missed Ping Yang¡¯s face. When he was about to continue stretching his arm out at a lower height, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.

    Retreat!

    That was the first thought that shed across Qin Xian¡¯s mind!

    However, he did not do so because Ping Yang was too weak. Based on both her powers and what she had done earlier on, Qin Xian felt that Ping Yang was a useless weak person.

    How could he possibly retreat when facing a useless weak person?

    Therefore, although he felt that something was amiss, he made the choice of attacking instead of retreating and stretched out his other hand towards Ping Yang.

    ¡°Lie down!¡± Qin Xian ordered and he felt both of his hands mming onto each other.

    Qin Xian had full confidence that his opponent would fly like the wind.

    However, instead of flying, a powerful force that was so strong that it forced him to move backwards came blowing at him.

    What was going on?

    Just as Qin Xian was shocked by this oue, he felt as though lightning had struck his back.

    That was because he remembered what Ping Yang had said earlier on.

    ¡°I am carrying Sagely Battle God ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ on one hand and holding the seeds on the other, how do I have a third hand to remove my face cloth?¡±

    She did not have a third hand?

    Then the hand below him...

    Where did ite from?!

    Qin Xian looked down and his smile disappeared as his face turned pale.

    That was because there was a pair of eyes staring at him at that position. It even blinked at him.

    It felt as if it was saying...

    ¡°Hi!¡±

    After that, he really heard a voice saying ¡°hi¡±. However, it came along with another sentence that was rather rude.

    ¡°Hi, cheap monster!¡±

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt rather good after mastering the few thousand different Daos in his body and fusing the penta-colored wonder flowers into his body.

    Although he did not get an answer from thedy in the white dress regarding the fruit of the Tree of God, he was extremely excited with the rapid improvement of his powers.

    However, even though he was excited...

    When he saw a ¡°cheap monster¡± after he opened his eyes, he felt slightlyplicated especially since this cheap monster was about to p his face.

    The uncle could endure but not the aunt!

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his palm and hit the palm of the cheap monster, resulting in whatever that had happened earlier on.

    However, what surprised Fang Zhengzhi was that his body was being ¡°thrown¡± away by Ping Yang as though he was ¡°abandoned¡± when he hit the cheap monster.

    After that, he saw white powdering from Ping Yang¡¯s hand.

    It was definitely the lime powder!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Qin Xian finally regained his senses after seeing the white lime powder flying towards him. He wanted to retreat but it was toote.

    The lime powdernded on his face and burned his eyes.

    The oue definitely made Ping Yang happy because this move had somehow managed to turn the tides again.

    However, Ping Yang did not understand why the p that Qin Xian had thrown at her did not hit her body?

    This was rather surprising.

    She saw Qin Xian pping her and decided to throw Fang Zhengzhi down on the ground.

    Then, she would take the blow of the p with her body.

    This was Ping Yang¡¯s attitude and way of fighting. Even if she had to take the blow of the p, she had to make her opponent blind, or rather, this was Ping Yang¡¯s only hope.

    However, she did not understand why Qin Xian¡¯s p did not hit her?

    Therefore, after Ping Yang managed to seed, she took a look at the ground and saw a pair of eyes that were filled with ¡°grievances¡±.

    After that, she heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°Hi, cheap monster!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everything took ce so quickly that it was difficult to exin everything in detail. However, it was actually very easy to understand after thinking it through.

    Ping Yang used her trick to lure Qin Xian and made use of Qin Xian¡¯s curiosity to blind him with her lime powder.

    However, she never expected Fang Zhengzhi to wake up at this moment and block the p of Qin Xian.

    Therefore, Ping Yang still threw Fang Zhengzhi on the ground like what she had nned earlier on.

    It was such a coincidence.

    However, the oue turned out well. Qin Xian was blinded by the lime powder and Ping Yang had escaped unscathed. However, Fang Zhengzhi was the one who made contributions without getting any rewards.

    After all, even though it was not painful to be thrown on the ground, it did not feel good.

    ¡°Did you enjoy throwing me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi touched his buttocks and stared at Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, stood rooted to the ground in disbelief. After all, she really did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would wake up.

    Wasn¡¯t he poisoned?

    Wasn¡¯t he in aa?

    Unless he was acting all along?

    Ping Yang would not have thought this way if it involved other people. However, if Fang Zhengzhi was the one involved, she could not say for sure.

    However, these questions were no longer important now.

    That was because Qin Xian seemed to have gone crazy.

    Really crazy.

    ¡°Ah!!! Cheap humans, I want to turn all of you into fertilizers!¡± As Qin Xian roared, a powerful surge of force exuded from his body and shrouded himself, all the disciples of the Human Alliance, Godly State experts and Yun Qingwu within a gigantic screen.

    Rumble! The ground trembled.

    The withering grass and wild flowers suddenly grew wildly as though they had gained a new life.

    It was a shocking scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked too. Looking at the crazy expression on Qin Xian¡¯s face, he turned towards Ping Yang and asked, ¡°Who is this cheap monster?¡±

 Chapter 963 - This Xâ€¦ Is Poisonous!

    <h4>Chapter 963: This X... Is Poisonous!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang had no time to reply Fang Zhengzhi.

    In reality, apart from Ping Yang, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance, the few Godly State experts and Yun Qingwu also did not have time to reply Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question was not important at all.

    The real important issue was that Qin Xian had gonepletely mad. The flowers and grass that grew wildly no longer differentiated between humans, demons or monsters.

    Every single insignificant wild flower became extremely gigantic and attacked everyone surrounding them like a cannibal flower.

    ¡°Qin Xian, stop!¡± Lin Yu looked rtively angry after he blocked off a wild flower that had attacked Yun Qingwu.

    He attacked Young Lord Yun Qingwu!

    Only someone as crazy as Qin Xian dared to do that.

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± was awake?

    Was that important?

    Perhaps it was not on the surface.

    However, in Lin Yu¡¯s mind, how could the insignificant Sagely Battle God Meng Tian defend against the six Godly State experts all at one go?

    As long as Qin Xian did not mess up, they would definitely win the battle.

    That was what went through Lin Yu and the other four Godly State experts¡¯ minds. However, Qin Xian, the exception, did not bother about that.

    Lin Yu¡¯s sentence did not catch Qin Xian¡¯s attention.

    Not only did it not catch Qin Xian¡¯s attention, but it made Qin Xian even crazier. His face suddenly became distorted like the flowers that swallowed the disciples of the Human Alliance, his white teeth radiating a sense of eeriness under the sunlight.

    The ancient era was cruel.

    In that era, blood-drinking and bone-gnawing were normal. Different kinds of weird individuals were born in those living conditions.

    Qin Xian was one of them. He had respected Yun Qingwu, but once he was hurt and went crazy, he no longer bothered about Yun Qingwu. That was because Monsters that were born in the cruel era held the belief that ¡°most powerful gets to take charge¡±.

    It was alright to not be powerful!

    However, one could not be so weak that one gets killed easily!

    This was the lesson of life and death.

    After all, in order to get into power, there was nothing wrong with servants killing their masters. In fact, they would get hailed by the people and respected as powerful individuals.

    Qin Xian was mad.

    Therefore, he only had one thing in mind, to kill everyone he could. Just like what he had shouted, he wanted to turn everyone into fertilizers for his flowers.

    Just as Qin Xian was out of his mind, a figure had appeared in front of him.

    With an extremely fast speed!

    It was so fast that it could be described as teleportation.

    This scene stunned Qin Xian. Moreover, he saw a hand that was highly raised up.

    The airwaves surrounding him have broken apart and turned into dust as the handnded on him.

    Bam! A loud p was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    Qin Xian¡¯s mouth was agape in shock. A clear print of a hand gradually appeared on his feminine face as the wildness on his face froze.

    Apart from Qin Xian, the disciples of the Human Alliance and the Godly State experts blocking the ¡°wild flowers¡± all froze on the spot.

    This p...

    Was extremely loud!

    However, was that the main concern?

    The disciples of the Human Alliance stared at each other, the shock in their eyes could not be described by any words.

    Meanwhile, the other Godly State experts including Lin Yu, were stunned on the spot.

    Qin Xian!

    He got pped by ¡°Meng Tian¡±?!

    To them, Qin Xian was not only a weirdo. They were actually worried about Qin Xian¡¯s Powers.

    The power in thete stages of a Godly State.

    He was the most powerful God who had descended since the opening of the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons!

    Silence, absolute silence. It was as though time had paused, the air had frozen and everything seemed to have stopped.

    Even Ping Yang...

    Was stunned.

    ¡°This shameless brat became... became more powerful again?!¡± Ping Yang clearly remembered that Fang Zhengzhi was not as powerful when he battled against Chou Qi.

    However, after waking up, Fang Zhengzhi had proven to her with a p thatnded perfectly on Qin Xian¡¯s face.

    ¡°Cheap monster, I am asking you a question, who are you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not seem to notice the atmosphere nearby. As he spoke, he kicked the surrounding wild flowers.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The wild flowers that were flying towards him broke into pieces and wilted on the ground. Even though they were still gigantic in size, there was no longer any signs of life

    ¡°...¡±

    Speechless. Sometimes speechless meant that one did not know what to say, yet this time, it meant that one could not say anything.

    ¡°So... so powerful!¡±

    ¡°Is this the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°How could he possibly be so powerful?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance, the Sages and the sect leaders had their mouths agape as they were stunned by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers.

    Besides them, the Godly State experts were stunned too.

    After all, they thought that they were the only Godly figures in the world and the only respectable ones.

    However, this mindset had changed at that moment.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, someone whom they had belittled since the past, had told them in the most straightforward manner...

    The ancient Godly State experts were not the only ones who could call themselves ¡®Gods¡¯!

    ¡°Mmm mmm mmm...¡± At this moment, moans were heard from a gigantic flower before the flower split open.

    Mo Shanshi, who was wearing a ck robe, rolled out of the flower. His ck face cloth had fallen off, revealing a face that was evidently emaciated.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo?!¡±

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader is out?¡±

    ¡°Hurry, save Valley Master Mo!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance quickly regained their senses. After Qin Xian was pped by ¡°Meng Tian¡±, Mo Shanshi managed to break free of the flower¡¯s restraints.

    However, why did Mo Shanshi suddenly lose so much weight?

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Mo Shanshi evidently did not notice the change in his own appearance. With a pale face, he leaned forward and coughed out blood.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Valley Master, are you alright?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance ran forward to help Mo Shanshi up but once they came into contact with Mo Shanshi, they were flung into the air.

    ¡°Don¡¯t... don¡¯t touch me, the pollen in this flower is... is weird.¡± Mo Shanshi pushed the disciples of the Human Alliance away as he spoke.

    ¡°Weird?¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked and looked at the flowers that had split open around them.

    Then, a terrifying scene happened.

    They saw emaciated bodies and bones inside the flowers which had split open.

    The scene of the white bones falling on the ground made one shudder.

    Fang Zhengzhi noticed what had happened. He took a look at the emaciated Mo Shanshi and the piles of white bones as well as the monsters and demons who were dressed differently.

    ¡°Godly State experts?¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly made the correct deduction. In fact, he had understood everything when he looked at Yun Qingwu.

    One, two, three...

    Six Godly State experts!

    Brining out six Godly State experts at one go, Fang Zhengzhi could not help but say, ¡®Yun Qingwu, you are really cing high stakes in this.¡¯

    Therefore, what shall he do next?

    Fight to his death with the six Godly State experts using his individual powers, or find an opportunity to capture Yun Qingwu and kill the ¡°leader¡± first?

    As Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this question, a gust of cold wind blew at him. Without knowing, he was surrounded by five or six gigantic wild flowers.

    ¡°Die!¡± A roar was heard. Without looking, one could still tell that it was Qin Xian who had attacked. Without any signs, he had sprung a sneak attack at Fang Zhengzhi.

    This should not happen to Godly State experts. The only exnation for this was that Qin Xian had seriously viewed Fang Zhengzhi as an opponent.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not really look up to Qin Xian...

    When the five or six gigantic wild flowers pounced on Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened. She was extremely nervous as she thought of how Mo Shanshi had changed physically.

    ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t...¡± Before Ping Yang finished her sentence, a look of disbelief shed in her eyes.

    That was because something strange happened in front of her.

    The wild flowers that ¡°bit¡± Fang Zhengzhi ferociously were not vigorously defended but froze on the spot when they got close to Fang Zhengzhi.

    It felt as if...

    They encountered their kind!

    Like how wild flowers would not ¡°provoke¡± wild flowers.

    It felt strange.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi moved again. He patted the dirt off his shirt and pped Qin Xian again.

    p! Aspared to the previous p, this p was much harder and the sound of the p echoed in the air.

    Qin Xian was stunned.

    If it was coincidence earlier on in which he underestimated his opponent ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± powers, how could he justify what had happened now?

    Was it still a coincidence?

    The surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance and Godly State experts, and even Qin Xian himself could not believe it.

    How was that possible?

    How did he manage to break through my ¡®formation of life and death¡¯? Qin Xian could not believe it. However, regardless of whether he could believe it, the truth was that the wild flowers did not threaten Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    ¡°Why are you fiddling with flowers and grass in front of a God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the surrounding wild flowers in disdain and kicked Qin Xian.

    However, he was surprised because he did not manage to kick Qin Xian¡¯s head as Qin Xian had dodged his kick.

    This shocked Fang Zhengzhi slightly.

    He had already pped Qin Xian twice. Therefore, he thought Qin Xian was very weak, or at least weaker than Chou Qi and the other Godly State experts.

    However, judging from Qin Xian¡¯s speed...

    He did not seem weak?

    ¡°Meng Tian!!!¡± After retreating for about ten feet, Qin Xian touched the handprints on the two sides of his cheeks and shouted with a terrifying look on his face.

    He would definitely not allow Fang Zhengzhi to p him twice consecutively so easily. However, he still could not figure out how Fang Zhengzhi managed to break through his ¡®formation of life and death¡¯. This never happened even in ancient times.

    ¡°Qin Xian, can you make it?¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t, tell us, this Meng Tian perhaps is one who can subdue you!¡±

    ¡°When a weirdo meets a weirdo...¡±

    The other Godly State experts finally regained their senses as Qin Xian retreated. They had figured out that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers could not be fought against by Qin Xian alone.

    However, Qin Xian was a weirdo.

    Nobody could figure out what was going through in his mind. Even if the other Godly State experts wanted to attack together, they had to ask for Qin Xian¡¯s permission first.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± Qin Xian scolded them fiercely as he took a step to the side and ced his hands on his waist.

    He did not reply the Godly State experts but they knew what he meant.

    After all, it was almost impossible for Qin Xian to ask for help.

    ¡°Mu Xing, Li Sha, go and help Qin Xian.¡± Lin Yu said to two of the Godly State experts after looking at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Haha...¡± The Godly State monster Mu Xing smirked.

    ¡°Roger.¡± The other Godly State expert Li Sha was more understanding. After nodding, he leaped up.

    ¡°Senior Mo Shanshi, leave first!¡± Mo Shanshi saw the other two Godly State experts approaching and wanted to charge forward to fight with them.

    However, he was blocked by the other disciples of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°No, Valley Master Mo!¡±

    ¡°Master, you are already injured!¡±

    Few of the disciples of the Human Alliance who wanted to stop Mo Shanshi did not expect to press him all the way to the ground.

    By ident, Mo Shanshi fell on his face.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s heart was bleeding yet the disciples of the Human Alliance let him go suddenly without knowing what had happened.

    What exactly happened to Mo Shanshi?

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were confused but they saw how ¡°Meng Tian¡± was surrounded by the three Godly State experts instantly.

    ¡°Three? Enough?¡± Instead of looking at the three Godly State experts, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu who was a distance away.

 Chapter 964 - â€˜Drowningâ€™, I Cheatedâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 964: ¡®Drowning¡¯, I Cheated...</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Won¡¯t you know if it was enough after you try?¡± Yun Qingwu took a look at Fang Zhengzhi and the three Godly State experts surrounding him, her voice was slightly shaky.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers were way too special, not only did he subdue Qin Xian, he overpowered him.

    To Yun Qingwu...

    Such an oue was out of her expectations.

    ¡°Hmm, then let¡¯s try. However, are you sure that you are still safe with two fewer Godly State experts?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and smirked.

    ¡°Are you sure that you are still safe...¡±

    ¡°With two fewer Godly State experts?¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu... That¡¯s right, Yun Qingwu!¡±

    The eyes of the surrounding disciples, sages and the sect leaders lit up when they heard this.

    If they were in a state ofplete passiveness earlier on, things werepletely different now.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, after getting rid of two other Godly State experts, would the remaining two Godly State experts and Lin Yu be sufficient to protect her?

    She should know that there were 2000 over people from the Human Alliance. Even after deducting those who entered the ck stone pce, there were still more than 500 people at the scene.

    500 disciples of the Human Alliance!

    it was not a big number and they were insignificant to the Godly State experts. However, aspared to Yun Qingwu¡¯s powers, it was different.

    Any disciple of the Human Alliance could easily kill Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    ¡°Fight for the hope of Human Alliance!¡±

    ¡°Kill Yun Qingwu!¡±

    After regaining their senses, the 500 disciples of the Human Alliance, sages and the sect leaders began to move, each of them was ferocious like wolves and tigers.

    Even though there were three Godly State experts in front of them, they were not afraid.

    That was because they knew that as long as they had the chance to get closer to Yun Qingwu, it was worth trying regardless of the heavy price they paid.

    That was the advantage of having more numbers.

    ¡°Trying to get close to Young Lord with merely 500 people?¡± Lin Yu¡¯s expression changed as he figured out what Fang Zhengzhi implied in his words.

    However, could the 500 disciples of the Human Alliance really get close to Yun Qingwu?

    Lin Yu did not believe it.

    It was not because he looked down on these so-called ¡°elite¡± disciples but rather because he was extremely confident.

    However, a simple sentence like that changed the entire momentum of the Human Alliance. Lin Yu admitted that he could not have achieved that.

    Meng Tian?!

    Was he really Meng Tian?

    Lin Yu did not know why he asked such a contradictory question, but it was clearly not the time for this question as the Human Alliance had charged towards them.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Lin Yu, on the other hand, stood in front of Yun Qingwu and whipped out a spear that was at least twenty feet long. ¡°Protect Young Lord and kill all of them!¡±

    ¡°Understood, a bunch of cheap humans!¡± The other two Godly State experts went beside Lin Yu instantly.

    Three Godly State experts surrounded Yun Qingwu in a triangle.

    ¡°How?!¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked when they saw this. It was impossible for them to break through the protection of three Godly State experts.

    ¡°Attack from afar!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°Attack from afar?! That¡¯s right, we can attack from afar, as long as we are not too close, they won¡¯t be able to counterattack!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, let us prolong the battle!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant immediately.

    Beams of radiance shone through the sky as they attacked Yun Qingwu. At times, a few ¡°flying swords¡± flew past at a terrifying speed.

    It was an intense battle.

    However, this battle seemed to be at a deadlock.

    The Human Alliance did not dare to move closer while the three Godly State experts did not dare to separate themselves and could only stay at their spots and defend the attacks.

    However, despite this, the Human Alliance had a chance to take a rest. They did not need to sacrifice as much as before and in fact, was at an advantageous position.

    ¡°Prolong? What sh*t!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse when they saw how the Human Alliance attacked in an orderly manner.

    They were obviously using thebat that military troops used, which had no issue in terms of formations and frequency of attack. However, this method was not suitable for the situation they were facing.

    To put it straightforward...

    The situation now required a mess!

    Only if they were in a mess, they could seize an opportunity from the three Godly State experts.

    however, the Human Alliance had put in 120 per cent of effort into prolonging the battle with the three Godly State experts? Even if one disregarded the fact that the Godly State experts could definitely oust the Human Alliance, one had to consider the fact that once the backup troops of Yun Qingwu arrived, they could eliminate the entire Human Alliance.

    How ridiculous.

    However, fortunately, after Ping Yang got closer to ¡°Mo¡±, her mindset had be much more ¡°ck¡± <sup>1</sup> . When she saw this, she figured out what Fang Zhengzhi meant immediately and joined in the battlefield.

    Just as Ping Yang ran towards the Human Alliance, the Godly State monster ¡®Mu Xing¡¯ moved.

    His target was not Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was Ping Yang!

    However, before Mu Xing could take two steps, a figure blocked him and a sword was ced on his throat.

    ¡°Little brat, move, continue to move!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Mu Xing in disdain and held his sword stably.

    ¡°Haha... Interesting!¡± Mu Xing smirked as he took a glimpse at the sword near his throat.

    Then, he began to move.

    From his throat, circles of blue mes rose into the air, producing blue ¡°tiger stripes¡± on his body.

    Roar! The roar of a tiger was heard.

    Then, Mu Xing began to move as he punched Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face with his fist,pletely disregarding the sword on his throat.

    Meanwhile, the Godly State demon named ¡®Li Sha¡¯ began to attack too.

    Aspared to Mu Xing, Li Sha was way more cunning. He immediately went to the left side of Fang Zhengzhi and used his finger to touch the side of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    It was a very simple strike.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was not simple at all.

    That was because when Li Sha did that, he felt that something wrapped around his legs and pulled him down violently.

    It felt as if he had stepped into mud.

    It was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had fought with two Godly State experts at the same time, it was considered a challenge but how difficult was it?

    He did not know.

    Fang Zhengzhi had made up a famous saying by himself, which went, ¡®I borrowed some money from you though I may not return you after I finish spending¡¯.

    Yet now, he wanted to change this saying to, ¡®I borrowed some ¡®dao¡¯ from you and I will definitely return it to you after I finish using it¡¯.

    Take action after making a decision. After all, this was a good practice.

    Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was pulled down and fell into the ¡°mud¡± underneath his feet like a loach.

    ¡°Hm?!¡± Li Sha watched how Fang Zhengzhi was swallowed by the ¡°mud¡± and ¡°died¡± because of that. It would be a lie to say that he did not feel like cursing at all.

    So weak?

    To him, ¡®drowning¡¯ was not a special tactic, therefore, he used it to act in concert with the tactics the three Godly State expert used.

    As the saying went, there was no way of escaping from the heaven or the earth.

    Li Sha¡¯s ¡°drowning¡± tactic involved the earth. However, he did not realize that Fang Zhengzhi got ¡°sucked¡± into the ground without struggling.

    Just as Li Sha felt astonished, Mu Xing¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    ¡°Watch out?! Oh... Oh no!¡± Li Sha instinctively wanted to retreat but just as he was about to take a step back, he felt something pressing on his head.

    Then. there was no ¡®then¡¯...

    That was because Li Sha¡¯s head was pressed down onto the ground with a slim and long arm on his head.

    That arm pressed on Li Sha¡¯s head like a metal restraint that forced his head into the ground while not forgetting to kick his buttocks.

    Bloop! Li Sha felt that his eyes, mouth and nose were filled with ck mud and he felt extremely ufortable.

    How was that possible?!

    How could his own ¡°drowning¡± tactic take effect on him?!

    Li Sha did not expect himself to fall for his own tactic and therefore did not resist too much. After all, it felt as if he had made great efforts to dig a hole and jumped into it himself, how could he believe that?

    However, no matter what, it was the reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi had promised that he would return Li Sha¡¯s Dao to him. It was a matter of principles and he was someone who held onto that belief strongly.

    Of course, after kicking his buttocks, Fang Zhengzhi saw how Li Sha fell into the mud.

    It was a great posture!

    As Fang Zhengzhi sighed, he did not forget to add another strike with his sword. However, his sword struck an awkward ce.

    sh! The sword entered Li Sha¡¯s buttocks and went in so deep that only the hilt was left exposed.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Li Sha¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. His body shot up straight like a sword.

    ¡°Sorry, my hand slipped.¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should exin himself to get his opponent¡¯s understanding.

    However, this exnation made Li Sha felt like killing himself.

    Besides Li Sha, Mu Xing who was in front of them had cold sweat trickling down his forehead when he saw the sword prating Li Sha¡¯s buttocks. His sweat dripped on the tiger spots ignited on blue mes, producing crackling sounds.

    ¡°You... How dare you use such a shameless tactic!¡± Mu Xing roared angrily.

    ¡°Hmm, I think it is too much too. However, I only know this tactic, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can give it a try?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said innocently.

    ¡°Try? No way!¡± After hearing that, Mu Xing felt cold in an area and took a step back instinctively.

    ¡°I thought we promised to go with three versus one? Looks like you guys are not cooperating well.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled when he saw Mu Xing take a step back.

    Taking a step back was nothing big on the battlefield.

    However, considering the current situation when Li Sha was still under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control, Mu Xing¡¯s step became crucial.

    Boom!

    Just as Mu Xing took a step back, a loud boom was heard from underground and Li Sha who ¡°drowned¡± suddenly flew.

    Meanwhile, nine long swords appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands and each of them had purple bolts of lightning surrounding it.

    Roar! The sound of the dragon was extremely loud.

    The purple lightning bolts shone and the eye-blinding light overpowered the sun in the sky.

    ¡°Oh no, Qin Xian, save him!¡± Seeing this, chills went up Mu Xing¡¯s back. At such a critical junction, he could only depend on Qin Xian.

    It was a type of instinct!

    The instinct of an ancient powerful individual!

    In the battlefields at those times, they did not trust anyone except for themselves. Therefore, they would definitely not fight a battle that they were not confident of winning, neither would they let themselvesnd in a dangerous situation.

    However, Mu Xing seemed to have forgotten that Qin Xian was also an ancient powerful individual. Furthermore, he was one who had lost to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Qin Xian did not move.

    Or rather, he never moved since Mu Xing and Li Sha attacked.

    Mu Xing¡¯s face paled and clenched his teeth when he saw Qin Xian¡¯s cold expression. He was about to jump into the sky to stop Fang Zhengzhi but it was toote.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already jumped up.

    Meanwhile, the nine long swords in his hands flew like nine purple dragons and prated Li Sha¡¯s body instantly.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Sounds of the thunder echoed through the sky and the purple bolts of lightning twined around Li Sha¡¯s body, twisting his body like sharp knives.

 Chapter 965 - Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi!

    <h4>Chapter 965: Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Li Sha¡¯s eyes opened at this moment with bolts of purple lightning and frustration in them.

    ¡°Trying to kill me like this?! Dream on!¡± Li Sha roared furiously before the scar on his forehead opened.

    It opened like an eye but for some reason, there was no radiance in that scar, instead, it was filled with muddy water that was as ck as ink.

    ¡°Im... Impossible!¡± Li Sha could not believe it.

    ¡°It is the seal!¡± Mu Xing looked shocked when he saw Li Sha¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Se... seal?!¡± Li Sha was stunned for a moment. Then, a look of despair took over the frustration on his face.

    The depletion of strength made him realize where he was.

    He was drowning!

    An image shed across Li Sha¡¯s mind, it was the image he saw when he got forced into the water to ¡®drown¡¯.

    It was a gigantic Picture of Rebirth State.

    Blue, green, red, ck, silver, five different colors were shining on the Picture of Rebirth State like the brightest stars in the sky.

    Moreover, the Rebirth te was pressed on his forehead.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Li Sha¡¯s ferocious roar was heard.

    He wanted to run but he could not. The bolts of purple lightning had prated his body and tore it apart.

    Moreover, he could not exert any energy from within his body as all of the energy were forcefully suppressed by the Rebirth te

    Rebirth te?!

    How did this Rebirth tee about?

    No, he... he was not Meng Tian...

    Boom! Li Sha¡¯s body could no longer withstand the force and exploded into a cloud of blood thatnded on the ground like rain.

    Li Sha was not willing to die in such an insulting manner because he was a God, he was a powerful individual that came from the past, he was a powerful Demon God.

    However, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no chances of surviving and could not even shout out his final thoughts.

    He died, he died very quickly.

    This scene shocked all of the Godly State experts.

    In a three versus one situation, Li Sha was still killed by ¡°Meng Tian¡± with such a strange tactic and in such a short period of time.

    What was going on?

    Why could ¡°Meng Tian¡± break through Li Sha¡¯s ¡®drowning¡¯ technique? Why did Li Sha¡¯s Demon Eye get sealed?

    Questions shed across the Godly State experts¡¯ minds but none of them had the answer to the unsolvable mystery.

    ¡°So it looks like we are left with two now?¡± Fang Zhengzhinded on the ground along with the nine long swords that prated the ground around him.

    Like earlier on, he did not look at Qin Xian and Mu Xing but turned to Yun Qingwu who was guarded by the three Godly State experts.

    ¡°So powerful, he is really so powerful!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian can really defeat three people alone!¡±

    ¡°We have hope, we still have hope!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were astonished but this astonishment gave them the hope that humankind would win.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian...¡± Mo Shanshi wanted to say something but he was so severely injured that he had no energy to speak.

    Qin Xian¡¯s flower was poisonous!

    Perhaps it was not only a poisonous flower but also a flower that could absorb the vitality of a human being!

    ¡°Hahaha, attack, use the smoke formation to distract them and kill Yun Qingwu!¡± The excited Ping Yang began tomand the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Smoke formation? Distract?¡±

    ¡°Would it work?¡±

    ¡°She came with Senior Meng Tian, let¡¯s not care about her identity and follow her instructions!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were somewhat speechless but after remembering the scene where¡±Meng Tian¡± was being carried by Ping Yang, they followed her instructions immediately.

    Smoke began rising. White, grey, ck, all colors of smoke that could be used were used all at once.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu stood in the smoke and stared at Fang Zhengzhi. Instead of answering him, she raised her hand.

    Zoom!

    An eye-catching stream of stars appeared in the bright sky and gave off an eye-catching radiance.

    At the instant when the stars shone, a loud roar was heard.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Roars were heard from afar apanied by footsteps and sounds made by the horses. The majestic aura was terrifying.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had arrived!

    ¡°So I see, you have a backup n?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yun Qingwu had done when he heard the roars nearby.

    If he was not mistaken, Yun Qingwu had asked the Monster Race and Demon Race to surround the area when she was fighting against the Human Alliance with the Godly State experts.

    As for her motive...

    It was none other than to capture all of them at one go!

    Using herself as bait?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu was using herself as a bait to lure ¡°Meng Tian¡± out. It was a perfect n.

    However, he would definitely not give Yun Qingwu a chance to seed.

    Since Yun Qingwu wanted to be a bait, Fang Zhengzhi decided to grant her wish, making use of this opportunity to capture Yun Qingwu and hence gain control of the Monster and Demon race.

    That was the plot that Fang Zhengzhi had nned this time as he was certain that Yun Qingwu woulde.

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi moved at an extraordinary speed towards Yun Qingwu,pletely ignoring Qin Xian and Mu Xing.

    In fact, he had no intention to fight against the three Godly State experts in the first ce.

    Killing one was enough.

    That was because he would not be surrounded if there were only two demons and monsters left.

    ¡°Oh no, watch out, Young Empress!¡± Mu Xing quickly understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n when he saw Fang Zhengzhi charging towards Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s target had always been Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Lin Yu, protect the Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, hurry up and block Meng Tian!¡± Lin Yu also reacted after seeing Fang Zhengzhi and retreated without any hesitation.

    However, the smoke in the surroundings became thicker. White, grey, ck, the different colors of smoke surrounded Yun Qingwu and Lin Yu.

    He could not see Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s moves clearly at all.

    Boom! At this moment, a loud explosive sound was heard and a figure stood right in front of Lin Yu.

    ¡°Qin Xian!¡±

    Both Mu Xing and Lin Yu were shocked because they did not expect Qin Xian to stand out and attack at this point in time.

    ¡°Young Lord, aren¡¯t I faithful enough?¡± Qin Xian looked very solemn as he stared at a figure in front of him, lookingpletely different from the person he was earlier on.

    ¡°Stop attacking ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, focus on protecting Young Lord until the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race arrive!¡± Lin Yu heaved a sigh of relief. As long as Qin Xian act properly, Yun Qingwu would be unharmed.

    Five Godly State experts were more than sufficient to protect Yun Qingwu.

    This was what Lin Yu had thought. After hismand, Mu Xing also dashed to Yun Qingwu¡¯s side and guarded beside her.

    ¡°Five?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew that he did not have much time as he listened to the sound of the approaching troops.

    Once the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race arrive, the 500 people of the Human Alliance were useless and the oue would be him versus five Godly State experts.

    Furthermore, he had to defend the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race at the same time.

    How stressful was that!

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was arrogant, he knew that he could not eliminate the entire Monster Race and Demon Race and all the Godly State experts by himself.

    What should he do?

    Teleport?

    If he did that, he had a slight chance if nothing went wrong. However, once he teleported, he would have revealed his identity.

    Was it a suitable time for him to reveal his identity?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not make up his mind. Although he was confident to take Yun Qingwu down, what would happen if he could not?

    Fang Zhengzhi had too many concerns. After all, there were too many concerns involving the Northern Mountain Vige. He could not disregard the safety of the Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°What is wrong? Are you unwilling to reveal your identity?¡± Just when Fang Zhengzhi was hesitating, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard.

    It was not loud but it made Fang Zhengzhi widen his eyes immediately.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi almost fell on the ground.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, I did not expect that Meng Tian is actually Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi is actually Meng Tian!¡± After this sentence, Yun Qingwu turned towards another direction. ¡°And princess Ping Yang of the Great Xia Dynasty, hmm... it had been about six months since west met.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°What did Yun Qingwu call Senior Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? Isn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi in the Northern Mountain Vige? Furthermore, how could Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers beparable to that of Meng Tian? Is Yun Qingwu in her right mind?¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang? Yun Qingwu said that is Ping Yang? But isn¡¯t Ping Yang in the Ling Yun Tower? How would Ping Yange if Qian Yu did not appear?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance, Sages, and the sect leaders were stunned by Yun Qingwu¡¯s words and shook their heads.

    After all, to them, regardless of how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was, he would not possibly fight against a Godly State expert.

    They had seen the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain when Fang Zhengzhi fought against the Space-splitting Demon God. If not for Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi would have died.

    It had only been merely less than six months since the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to gain the powers of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian in six months¡¯ time and kill a Godly State expert easily? How was that possible?

    It was impossible!

    Moreover, it was four months ago when Sagely Battle God Meng Tian unveiled his powers.

    It was when he split open the Demonic Hall and kidnapped the Demon Lod in the Blood Shadow City.

    Who would believe that Fang Zhengzhi did all of that?

    Next, moving on to Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang was the daughter of Qian Yu, this was a secret that everyone in the Holy Region knew about. Simrly, the Ling Yun Tower did not participate in this battle.

    Therefore, why would Ping Yang appear at this ce?

    Apart from the disciples of the Human Alliance, Mo Shanshi also shook his head when he heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s sentence.

    Although Mo Shanshi did not talk, his expression made it very clear.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed though he actually felt like crying because Yun Qingwu¡¯s sentence came too sudden that he was not mentally prepared at all. Therefore, his voice trembled even though he tried his best to calm down.

    ¡°I should have guessed it earlier.¡± Yun Qingwu ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯sughter and continued, ¡°Only Fang Zhengzhi will have such a good understanding of me. It can¡¯t be Meng Tian.¡±

    ¡°Really? You think I have a good understanding of you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist as his eyes lit up.

    ¡°Thinking about it, your n was perfect. Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, hmm... only you would think of such a n. However, I don¡¯t understand how you managed to appear in both the Southern Region and the Northern Mountain Vige at the same time? Based on my calction, there should not be a second Sage in the Northern Mountain Vige?¡± Yun Qingwu continued talking to herself and ignored Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Of... what Northern Mountain Vige? I don¡¯t know what you are talking about!¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to say ¡®of course not¡¯, he suddenly realized.

    It was a dangerous dialogue!

    He almost got caught. If he was Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, how would he know about the Northern Mountain Vige?

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian of the Great Xia Dynasty doesn¡¯t know about Northern Mountain Vige?¡± Yun Qingwu took a few steps towards Fang Zhengzhi and stared at him.

    Fang Zhengzhi started perspiring.

    Yun Qingwu was so intelligent that every sentence she said was full of traps. In fact, it was a set of traps.

    He could not reply to her question because both ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®no¡¯ would get him into trouble.

    Therefore, the best way was to keep silent.

    ¡°Trying to dy time? How naive!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said this, a long sword flew into his hand, followed by two, three, four of them...

    Nine long swords surrounded him. They emitted a silvery-white radiance like a sword dragon and made thunderous noises.

 Chapter 966 - Determinant of Success or Failure, Fusion of Dao

    <h4>Chapter 966: Determinant of Sess or Failure, Fusion of Dao</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi chose to strike right away because he could hear from the sounds that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were getting closer and closer and he was running out of time.

    Moreover, like what Yun Qingwu said, he could read Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind and vice versa.

    ¡°Trying to fight one against five?¡± Lin Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s nine swords with a chilling gaze.

    Godly State experts had their own pride.

    This pride could not be easily humiliated.

    If they had lost in the situation of one versus one, it could still be understandable. However, if they lost in the situation of five versus one, there were no excuses for that.

    They definitely could not lose!

    That was because if they had lost this battle, the pride of the Monster Race and Demon Race would have beenpletely lost too.

    ¡°Qin Xian, get rid of the smoke!¡± said Lin Yu.

    ¡°Smoke? Sure, but I have one condition.¡± Qin Xian looked around in reluctance but said eventually.

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°I want to kill him with my own hands!¡±

    ¡°Sure, I agree on behalf of Young Lord.¡± Lin Yu nodded quickly and agreed right away without even asking Yun Qingwu.

    That was because he was not sure if Yun Qingwu would agree to this condition.

    However, judging from the current situation, he had to make sure that Qin Xian did not do anything funny. Besides that, he had to ensure that Qin Xian would cooperate to the best of his abilities.

    ¡°Disappear!¡± After Lin Yu agreed, Qin Xian¡¯s mouth opened slightly and the white, grey, and ck smoke were all swallowed by him.

    It was a strange scene.

    Moreover, after Qin Xian swallowed the smoke, the pieces of gigantic wild flowers on the floor ¡°revived¡± again.

    It felt as though the smoke became their ¡°tonic¡±. ( Boxno vel. co m )

    ¡°Who on earth is this guy?¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance started perspiring after witnessing this unbelievable scene.

    If not for ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was standing in front of them, the scene was enough to send chills down their spines.

    The ancient Godly State expert was way too terrifying.

    Yet now...

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± had to go against five of them at one go?!

    ¡°Lin Yu, protect Young Lord, I will attack along with Mu Xing!¡± One of the Godly State experts standing beside Lin Yu clenched his teeth when the smoke disappeared.

    ¡°No, nobody shall move, we will only defend and not attack!¡± Lin Yu shook his head immediately.

    ¡°The smoke had already disappeared, why aren¡¯t we attacking?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the troops will reach if we hold on for a while longer. There is still time if we counterattacked then!¡± Lin Yu nodded.

    ¡°Is this necessary?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± The other Godly State experts cursed when they heard this.

    However, despite their cursing, they understood that this battle was not as simple as it looked because the oue was determined by whether the Monster Race and Demon Race still had the power to subdue the humankind.

    ¡°Defend and not attacking?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. The purpose of the smoke was to help the Human Alliance find an opportunity to take Yun Qingwu down.

    However, if the Godly State experts insist on defending, not only would the smoke be useless, but the situation would be even harder than before.

    One versus five!

    The only way to seize the opportunity was to seize the opportunities between the gaps of the attacks by the five Godly State experts. However, if all the Godly State experts did not attack, how could he even find an opportunity?

    It was too difficult!

    Extremely difficult!

    The chances were extremely slim for him to defeat all the five Godly State experts at one go within a short period of time while trying his best to not expose his identity.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have any other choices but to fight. Moreover, he must take Yun Qingwu down before the arrival of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared and moved. In the situation that the Godly State experts insisted on defending, he had to initiate the attack.

    ¡°Can he win?¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance looked at Fang Zhengzhi extremely nervously.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you have to win!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was very soft and only she could hear it. That was because she could tell that Fang Zhengzhi did not want to reveal himself yet.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Evidently, the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the five Godly State experts had officially begun.

    Nine swords spun in the air like dragons with purple bolts of lightning winding around them. Loud sword sounds were heard too.

    The five Godly State Experts, including Qin Xian, hade to a consensus at this point in time. Nobody initiated an attack and nobody retreated.

    After witnessing how Li Sha was killed, the five Godly State experts all chose to defend!

    It was a terrifying battle.

    Intense light radiated from the bodies of the five Godly State experts. The five light screens intertwined and formed a fiveyered protective screen.

    Apart from that, beams of radiance shone outside the protective screen. Each of the beams had a killing intent and flowed in the sky.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword hit the fiveyered protective screen and the violent shocks caused his long sword to break into pieces.

    These swords were found from the Ling Yun Tower.

    Although they were considered good swords, they were iparable with the fiveyered protective screen of the five Godly State experts and could not break through it.

    ¡°Can¡¯t break through? These swords are way too easily-broken...¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. The fact that he could not use weapons made the task even more difficult.

    As Fang Zhengzhi was about to attack again, he suddenly felt a chilling behind his back.

    It was as sharp as a knife and extremely chilly.

    If he had not opened the Ghost Dao and was able to look into another world, this silent chill would be impossible to be discovered as it blended with the radiance.

    Left with no choice, he forcefully turned his body and moved sideways to the right for an inch.

    Crack! Just as he moved away, a small crack appeared at the original position he was standing at.

    Furthermore, there was a dark-blue colored cold gust of air on the crack.

    Lin Yu!

    Fang Zhengzhi saw what Lin Yu did earlier on. He had attacked sneakily from the side when Fang Zhengzhi struck with his sword.

    Unlike Qin Xian and Mu Xing, Lin Yu¡¯s tactic was neither as weird as Qin Xian nor as impulsive as Mu Xing. However, Lin Yu chose a very urate time to attack.

    As Lin Yu missed Fang Zhengzhi, the other Godly State experts began attacking.

    Although they were defending, they used different types of attacks while staying stationary on their spots.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Loud booms were heard consecutively beside Fang Zhengzhi and traces of explosive cracks appeared on the floor.

    The attack made by a Godly State Expert was definitely not weak.

    Furthermore, it was apanied by various types of strange things. For example, Lin Yu¡¯s tactic was such that after every attack, a dark blue chilly radiance would be formed. This chilly radiance could even be felt from the side, hence one could imagine how damaging it would have been if itnded on someone.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had improved a lot in terms of speed, it was still extremely dangerous for him to seed in avoiding the consecutive attacks made by the five Godly State experts.

    Two pieces of his shift fell on the floor. One was burnt into ashes and the other was frozen by ice.

    He was left with only five long swords as the other four had been broken after he attacked the fiveyered protective screen.

    ¡°How I wish I had the Traceless Sword with me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless as he looked at the five long swords left.

    He had intentionally left the Traceless Sword behind in the Northern Mountain Vige to let ¡®Qing Yi¡¯ impersonate Jim. Therefore, he did not have the Traceless Sword with him.

    Moreover, even if he brought it with him, he could not use it at this juncture because his identity would be revealed once he used it.

    Could he only use the five Rebirth Dao techniques?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi? What are you hesitating about? You do not have much time left, didn¡¯t you master four Rebirth Dao techniques? Why aren¡¯t you using them? Unless I am mistaken and Sagely Battle God Meng Tian really came back to life?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard. She stared at Fang Zhengzhi with aplicated look.

    Nobody knew what was going on in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind.

    Perhaps she was anticipating that Meng Tian was Fang Zhengzhi, or perhaps she only wanted to confirm that this was merely a guess.

    ¡°Why is Yun Qingwu so certain that Senior Meng Tian is Fanf Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t believe it, how could he possibly be Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, based on my knowledge, Fang Zhengzhi had remained in the Northern Mountain Vige all these while, how could he possiblye to the Holy Region?¡±

    ¡°Moreover, there is a stark difference between the powers of Fang Zhengzhi and Senior Meng Tian, even a genius can¡¯t possibly be so powerful in such a short period of time!¡±

    ¡°However, it seems like Senior Meng Tian is unable to break through the defense of the five Godly State experts?¡±

    ¡°Sigh... Five Godly State experts, I think even Senior Meng Tian can¡¯t do it, after all, no matter how powerful Senior Meng Tian is, the resources used to train can¡¯t bepared to the ancient times...¡±

    The disciples watched Fang Zhengzhi in anticipation and helplessness.

    It was extremely demanding for one to defend against five Godly State experts at the same time.

    Moreover, the five Godly State experts had chosen to defend together and prolonged the battle intentionally. This made it impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to break through their defense.

    ¡°Time, we are running out of time...¡± Mo Shanshi was held onto by a few disciples but he still looked extremely worried.

    Rumble! The sound of footsteps from afar got closer and closer, such that one could hear the beastly roars and ear-deafening shouts clearly.

    It was too close.

    It was predicted that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would reach in less than 10 minutes.

    What should they do?

    Ping Yang was equally worried but she did not do anything rash this time because she knew that the intensity of the battle was not for her.

    Once she got involved, not only was she unable to help, but Fang Zhengzhi might also be distracted by her.

    She was anxious but all she could do was to widen her eyes.

    The swords in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands were held tightly. How was he willing to ept the fact that he could not use the five Rebirth Dao techniques which had been painstakingly fused with 2000 over types of Daos?

    ¡°Thest attack, I will try it for thest time!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that he did not have much time. If he chose to continue prolonging the battle, he would lose his final chance.

    He must seed!

    Swoosh! Fang Zhengzhi vanished.

    ¡°Left?¡±

    ¡°Right?¡±

    ¡°Front?¡±

    ¡°Back?¡±

    ¡°No, at the top!¡± The five Godly State experts began sweeping their surroundings when Fang Zhengzhi vanished.

    At this moment, a beam of silver light fell from the sky.

    It was a long sword.

    ¡°Trying to break through from the top, dream on!¡± Lin Yu narrowed his eyes and struck the long sword.

    A dark blue radiance was infused in the gigantic airwave. Like a long blue river that was connected to the sky, the surrounding air froze because of the coldness.

    Sizzle! The frozen air made sounds.

    Meanwhile, the long sword had hit the blue long river and bright line shone. The purple bolts of lightning around the silvery-white long sword disappeared and was surrounded by a dimyer of starlight.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard the moment the long sword struck the blue long river. However, instead of breaking apart, it began to spin extremely quickly.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    Many cracks were formed on the blue long river and it seemed that it could not withstand the attack.

    ¡°Meng Tian is indeed very powerful!¡± A Godly State expert standing beside Lin Yu said as he shot out a beam of red light from his hand.

    It was a long sword that was as red as blood.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s long sword was broken into two by the Godly State expert¡¯s long sword. The de of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s turning sword broke apart into pieces.

    However, this was not the end.

    At the instance Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s long sword was sent flying, a second long sword had struck down from the sky at an rming speed, as though it was touching the hilt of the first sword.

    Boom! The Godly State expert¡¯s long sword was sent flying while the second long swordnded into the blue long river and turned the river into pieces.

    ¡°There¡¯s more?!¡±

    ¡°Chaining the two swords together?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s five!¡±

    The other Godly State experts soon regained their senses and without hesitation, beams of light struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s second long sword.

    Boom!

    His second long sword was sent flying, then the third.

    Boom!

    The long sword finallynded on the fiveyered protective screen. Sparks were seen on the tip of the sword and the spinning tip made sharp whistles as it rubbed against the protective screen.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to break through, Meng Tian!¡± Ping Yu roared furiously.

 Chapter 967 - A Well-Deserved Genius

    <h4>Chapter 967: A Well-Deserved Genius</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was not exaggerated to call the fiveyered protective screen made by the five Godly State experts the most powerful defense.

    How would Ling Yu believe that Fang Zhengzhi could break through the defense using a few ordinary swords?

    Even if ¡°Meng Tian¡± was really more powerful than him, even if ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± sword skills were extremely good, it was impossible for him to break through this level of defense.

    ng! The sword de of the third long sword eventually broke as it was unable to withstand the prolonged collision and spinning.

    However, there were still the fourth and fifth swords.

    Boom! The fourth swordnded on the fiveyered protective screen again and ovepped with the position that the third sword was at, with an increasing speed of rotation.

    The sharp whistle was heard again and it was more intense aspared to earlier on.

    Crack! At this moment, a crisp crack sound was heard with the whistle. It was not very loud but it made the Godly State experts¡¯ expressions changepletely.

    That was because when this sound was heard, they saw a small crack on the fiveyered protective screen above their head. Even though it was very small, it really cracked open.

    Moreover, the crack became bigger and spread to the surroundings as the fourth long sword spun.

    Boom! A beam of light struck the fourth long sword and it was sent flying. It was none other than Qin Xian who had attacked.

    However, when the fourth sword was sent flying...

    The fifth long sword did not strike!

    ¡°Hmm?! Where¡¯s thest sword?¡± Lin Yu was surprised because he remembered clearly that Fang Zhengzhi had five swords in total.

    Therefore, there should be five long swords in total.

    However, why were there only four?

    Where was the fifth long sword?

    As this thought struck Ling Yu, a chill rose from his feet. It was an instinctive thought as a result of years of experience on the battlefield.

    ¡°Under the feet?!¡± Ling Yu¡¯s face turned pale instantly. He figured out that the fifth long sword did exist, except that it did notnd from the sky.

    It was hidden underground!

    This was a diversion trick!

    Boom! The ground split open and the fifth long sword flew out from underground with a shining silver light like a stream of light that flew to the sky.

    ¡°Dodge, Young Lord!¡± Without hesitation, Ling Yu turned and pushed Yun Qingwu who was behind him away.

    At such a critical moment, he had no other choice but to attack Yun Qingwu. Fortunately, he could control his strength even at such moments.

    Yun Qingwu was sent flying by Ling Yu but did not suffer severe injuries. In fact, she did not even spit out a mouth of blood.

    They were rather lucky to get this oue.

    After all, Ling Yu was a Godly State expert while Yun Qingwu was merely at a Star Conglomerate State. The difference in their powers was starking.

    Swoosh! The sword de of the fifth sword brushed past Ling Yu¡¯s face and flew towards the fiveyered protective realm in the sky at an extremely fast speed.

    This ought to be a fortunate oue.

    However, Ling Yu¡¯s expression froze and looked at the fifth sword in disbelief.

    That was because he did not expect himself to be able to dodge the sword.

    After all, the position he was standing at was exactly the position Yun Qingwu was at earlier on. He had exchanged positions with Yun Qingwu when he pushed her away.

    Therefore, by right, he should be stabbed.

    Why did the sword miss him?!

    Was it because ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± sword missed him by ident?

    Ling Yu did not like to boost others¡¯ morale and make himself look bad, but he was not naive enough to believe that ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± sword really missed him by ident.

    Therefore, the only exnation was that ¡°Meng Tian¡± had intentionally done that.

    However, why did ¡°Meng Tian¡± intentionally miss him?

    Unless Meng Tian had spent so much effort and energy to merely frighten Yun Qingwu and the Godly State experts?

    Obviously not.

    Boom! Just as Ling Yu was in a state of confusion, the fifth long sword finally hit the fiveyered protective realm at the exact same position as the fourth long sword.

    However, the difference was that the past four swords had stabbed into the realm but the fifth sword stabbed in an inside-out manner.

    Crack! Almost instantaneously, the fiveyered protective realm brokepletely under the impact and swivel of the fifth sword.

    The cracks were like a spiderweb and exploded at an extremely fast speed as though the realm did not have any protection at all.

    Ling Yu¡¯s face turned purple.

    Apart from him, the faces of Mu Xing, the other two Godly State experts as well as Qin Xian turned extremely ugly.

    They were not dumb.

    Although this scene shocked them, it did not surprise them as they knew the reason behind what had happened.

    In fact, when the fourth swordnded on the fiveyered protective realm, it had suffered some damage from the strong pressure of the force.

    The pressure caused it to deform as it contracted.

    If a fifth sword struck down on it at that state, it would continue to contract. Even if it was further damaged, it would not break into pieces.

    However, when the fifth long sword was stabbed upwards,,,

    The oue waspletely different.

    Using the analogy of a door, after it was being kicked by people from the outside and dented inwards, it would break if someone suddenly kicked from the inside.

    The fiveyered protective screen was simr.

    The force caused by four strikes from outside and one strike from inside caused the crack to bulge up. Even the strongest defense object could not take this blow.

    ¡°He did it on purpose. Since the start, Meng Tian had no intention of hurting Yun Qingwu. His was eyeing on the fiveyered protective screen!¡± Lin Yu finally figured out.

    He figured out why the fifth sword missed Yun Qingwu.

    That was because the fifth sword was not aimed at Yun Qingwu, or rather, it was not supposed to be attack in a straight line since the start.

    The fiveyered protective screen...

    Broke!

    So, where would ¡°Meng Tian¡± attack from?

    Young lord...

    Wait a minute!

    Young Lord was sent flying by the push?!

    ¡°Meng Tian!!!¡± Lin Yu¡¯s eyes widened and were bloodshot as he saw Yun Qingwu.

    An intense chill rose from his heart and cold sweat formed on his back. He felt extremely cold from head to toe as if he had entered a freezer,

    That was because there was a figure standing at the ce where Yun Qingwu was at.

    There were some tears on his ck robe but the ck face cloth on his face still made one shudder.

    Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian!

    The huge ¡®God¡¯ word was filled with ridicule.

    ¡°Hi, have you heard of ¡®waiting for a hare by the tree stump¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretched his armszily and grabbed onto Yun Qingwu with one hand.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Seeing this, Lin Yu, Qin Xian and the other Godly State experts, as well as the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance werepletely stunned.

    The five Godly State experts could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi was able to take Yun Qingwu down with their protection.

    Furthermore, it seemed like Lin Yu had intentionally ¡®pushed¡± Yun Qingwu into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    It was too strange.

    It was so strange that it was unbelievable.

    However, that was the reality. Yun Qingwu hadnded in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand. Her face turned pale as she was choked by Fang Zhengzhi.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance also could not believe their eyes.

    Although they witnessed the entire scene unfold, they still could not believe how Fang Zhengzhi caught Yun Qingwu.

    After all, there were five Godly State experts in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Moreover, these five Godly State experts had never left Yun Qingwu at all and their main priority was to protect her.

    Under such circumstances...

    Yun Qingwu was still caught and was even intentionally pushed out by Lin Yu.

    Who would believe this?!

    ¡°How is it possible, unless... you... you... what...¡± Lin Yu lost his cool. At this moment, all he felt was astonishment.

    At this point in time, he had figured out the ¡°nature¡± of everything.

    Fang Zhengzhi used four swords and the tactic of chaining them up to catch the five Godly State experts¡¯ attention and mislead them to believe that there would be a fifth swordnding from the sky such that they neglected about the undergrond defense. This resulted in the underground bing their weakest point of defense.

    Making use of this opportunity, he managed to push the fifth sword into the fiveyered protective screen.

    At this moment, all the Godly State experts thought of protecting Yun Qingwu.

    Therefore Lin Yu did it.

    He did it sessfully.

    However, because of this critical step, Yun Qingwu left the protection realm of the five Godly State experts.

    Yet, that was not the most important factor.

    The most important factor was the timing. If the fiveyered protective screen did not break open, Yun Qingwu would havended on the surface of the screen and not out of the control of the five Godly State experts.

    Yet, the critical thing was...

    The fiveyered protective screen broke open at this moment!

    Everything fell in ce so nicely, from the attack of Fang Zhengzhi to how Yun Qingwunded in his hands, every segment was so surprisingly well-nned.

    Be it the timing or the power of attack or the spection, everything was calcted in a seamless manner that it was not sufficient to be described with the phrase ¡®the sky and earth were astonished and the Gods were crying¡¯.

    ¡°He did it, he really did it!¡± Ping Yang finally regained her senses after a temporary shock. Excitement, exhration, joy, all types of emotions struck her and she began to scream while jumping in joy because the strike was way too shocking.

    It was not because it was a terrifyingly powerful strike but the ¡°thoughts¡± that was behind it was so immensely powerful.

    ¡°You manage to catch me without exposing your identity or using the four Rebirth Dao techniques, not bad, you... finally won me once...¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the man in front of him. Instead of looking at the hand on her neck, she starred int Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes, hoping to see something from it.

    Of course, Yun Qingwu sessfully saw pride and excitement in his eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi was indeed very proud and excited, so much that his hand trembled.

    He was so f*cking happy!

    Fang Zhengzhi was genuinely happy, what other things would make him happier than being able to ¡°lift¡± Yun Qingwu out of the surround of the five Godly State experts without him using the teleportation tactic of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao?

    ¡®Genius, I am a genius.¡¯

    Wait a minute!

    Should be called a wizard!

    A wizard-like genius!

    Hahaha...

    Fang Zhengzhiughed happily and was close to howling to the sky and pointing at the five Godly State experts, telling them, ¡°I did not target anyone in particr, I targeted all of you because all of you suck!¡±

    However, he did not forget to remain ¡°humble¡± after hearing what Yun Qingwu said..

    ¡°Since hundred years ago, there has never been a word called ¡°defeat¡± in my dictionary. As long as I have a sword, I can kill all the monsters and demons in the world. What do you mean by I finally won you, this... I seriously don¡¯t understand it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled uncontrobly as he said.

    However, because of the ck cloth on his face, Yun Qingwu was unable to see his expression clearly even if he smiled.

    ¡°As long as you have a sword, you can kill all the monsters and demons in the world?¡±

    ¡°There has never been a word called ¡°defeat¡± in your dictionary?¡±

    ¡°Since hundred years ago...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and the five Godly State experts, as well as the injured Mo Shanshi had their eyes lit up when they heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    They exchanged nces. Everyone wanted to scold him for being shameless but could not say it.

    After all, it was Meng Tian, the Sagely Battle God who was a legend that once stood at the peak of the humankind.

    Moreover, he had just defeated five Godly State experts by himself and caught Yun Qingwu.

    Therefore, how would it be shameless for him to say that?

    As for the Godly State experts...

    They had really lost this battle without any reasons. Despite the coboration of the five of them, they lost.

    However...

    Did he really have to be so arrogant?

    As this thought went through the five Godly State experts¡¯ minds, they clenched their fists and veins popped out from their faces.

 Chapter 968 - Finding the Root Cause and Reverse the Situation

    <h4>Chapter 968: Finding the Root Cause and Reverse the Situation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As for Ping Yang who was standing by the side, unlike the disciples of the Human Alliance and the Godly State experts, she only had one thought in mind. ¡°This brat¡¯s shameless state seemed to have reached another level!¡±

    Rumble...

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Just as the Godly State experts and the Human Alliance were speechless, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race finally arrived and they made deafening roars.

    However, roars quickly subsided.

    That was because they saw an astonishing scene: Yun Qingwu was caught and was strangled by a person who was wearing a ck face cloth.

    Sunlight shone from the sky on the big ¡°God¡± word on the ck face cloth, radiating light. However, this sent chills down the spines of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian?!¡±

    ( Boxno vel. co m ) ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°He caught Young Lord?¡±

    ¡°Young Empress was caught by Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°Where are the Godly State experts? What are they doing? Hold on, they seem to be... looking at her nkly?¡±

    None of the monsters and demons could figure out what lead to this shocking and strange scene, why did Yun Qingwu get caught?

    Moreover, there were five Godly State experts near Yun Qingwu who were standing together, what on earth was happening?

    Also...

    Where were there only five of them?!

    What about Chou Qi, the Godly State expert waiting in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? And Li Sha, the Godly State demon who arrived along with the five Godly State experts?

    The countless doubts that rose amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race cause them to stop shouting as everyone stood rooted to the ground, stunned.

    ¡°Killing all the monsters and demons in the world with a sword in hand?¡± Yun Qingwu finally spoke with aplicated look, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, stop pretending. I know it is you, it must be you, only you... only you will be able to capture me in a one versus five situation!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°What did Young Lord call Meng Tian? Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°One versus five?!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race widened their eyes in confusion when they heard Yun Qingwu.

    Although they heard her words clearly, but Fang Zhengzhi? Sagely Battle God Meng Tian? And one versus five? They could not understand anything that she just said.

    However, they understood something out of it...

    The man in front of them seemed to have taken Yun Qingwu down from the hands of the five Godly State experts.

    How was that possible?!

    Could it be that there was a person who was even more powerful than an ancient Godly State expert? Or a person who was able to fight against five?

    Everything surpassed their room for imagination.

    However, Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    Heughed without holding back at all and his body leaned forward and backward. He moved the hand on Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat and pulled her towards his front.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, Yun Qingwu, you are so naive. I have already said so explicitly that my surname is Meng and my name is Tian. I am the Sagely Battle God!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said with ridicule.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that!¡± Yun Qingwu sounded very certain.

    ¡°Believe or not, it¡¯s up to you. However, I need your troops to get lost now and get back to the Great Swamp, never to be able to step out of the Great Swamp in the future!¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha, do you think you can let the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race retreat by capturing me?¡± Yun Qingwu suddenlyughed coldly.

    ¡°You mean I can¡¯t?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s personality was such that she was not afraid to die, but he did not believe that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not care about her safety.

    ¡°Pass down mymand, from now on, Qin Xian will be the newmander for the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.¡± Yun Qingwu replied Fang Zhengzhi with her actions.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Qin Xian will be the newmander?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Besides the disciples of the Human Alliance, even Qin Xian, the other four Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could not believe it.

    Who was Qin Xian?

    Although Qin Xian was a Godly State expert that descended from the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons, he was an absolute weirdo.

    Yet Yun Qingwu wanted Qin Xian tomand the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race?

    This was unbelievable.

    After all, by right, the most suitable candidate should be Monster Emperor Baizhi, even if she was not present, Lin Yu should be the onemanding on her behald.

    Qin Xian, the weirdo, should definitely not be the one taking the role of themander.

    Nobody knew what would happen after handing over the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race over to Qin Xian.

    ¡°Young Lord, you... why did you...¡± Lin Yu was stunned and looked at Yun Qingwu in disbelief as he thought he was the demon who had the best understanding of Yun Qingwu¡¯s n.

    As for Qin Xian?

    Qin Xian did not even follow Yun Qingwu for a day!

    How was it possible for Qin Xian to carry out the future ns of the Monster Race and Demon Race? Why did Yun Qingwu make this decision? Why?

    Lin Yu did not understand.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze when he heard Yun Qingwu¡¯smand and stared at her with a horrified look.

    That was right, he was horrified.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rarely horrified but he was truly stunned by Yun Qingwu¡¯s decision this time.

    That was because even he did not expect this.

    Qin Xian!

    She used Qin Xian!

    ¡°Hahaha... Young Lord, looks like I did not waste my efforts being loyal to you!¡± At this moment, a burst of unrestrainedughter was heard.

    It was none other than Qin Xian.

    Unlike the shock of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the disciples of the Human Alliance, Qin Xian¡¯sughter was filled with cruelty.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu and bowed down slowly.

    ¡°Thank you, Young Lord, for trusting me. I, Qin Xian, hereby vow that I would not let you down!¡± Qin Xian took a nce at the surroundings as he said. ¡°Now, as the leader of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Imand to kill all of the humans and Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Qin Xian, you can¡¯t do this, unless you are disregarding Young Lord¡¯s safety?!¡± Lin Yu¡¯s expressionpletely changed after hearing Qin Xian¡¯smands.

    ¡°What? Do you not understand mymands? Don¡¯t forget that from now on, I, Qin Xian, am the leader of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Are you trying to go against me?¡± Qin Xian smirked.

    ¡°I will definitely not obey!¡± Lin Yu was very stubborn.

    ¡°Not obeying? Then don¡¯t me me for not showing mercy.¡± After Qin Xianpleted her sentence, she pped Lin Yu on his chest.

    Boom!

    Lin Yu was sent flying. With a pale face, he spat out a mouth of blood immediately.

    This happened too quickly.

    Apart from Lin Yu, even the other few Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not expect this to happen.

    Moreover, they did not expect Yun Qingwu to not show any hint of anger when Lin Yu was sent flying by Qin Xian.

    ¡°Lin Yu disobeyed Qin Xian and mymands. By right, he should be killed. However, since now is the critical battle between the Monster Race and Demon Race and the humankind, don¡¯t kill Lin Yu first. If he ever disobeys any orders again, kill him immediately!¡± Yun Qingwu sounded extremely calm as though she did not see the shocked expressions of the troops.

    ¡°Hahaha... alright, since the ex-Young Lord has spoken, I will spare Lin Yu¡¯s life for now. Get lost, I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡± Qin Xian, who initially raised his hand again for another p, put down his hand slowly after hearing Yun Qingwu¡¯s words.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yu bit his lips as blood trickled down the side of it. He stared at Qin Xian like a poisonous snake.

    However, Lin Yu did not resist any further. Instead, he turned around and knelt down to Yun Qingwu with his body trembling.

    ¡°Lin Yu thank Young Lord for sparing my life!¡± After he said this, Lin Yu did not continue staying behind and left right away.

    Upon seeing this, the other Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stared at each other and kept silent.

    ¡°What are you all waiting for? Attack, kill every single one of the humans who dared to hurt Young Lord!¡± Qin Xianmanded again.

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race finally understood.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s words were amand and it was amand that could not be changed.

    Although they could not understand what went on in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind, they knew that as a soldier, they had to followmands.

    Even though they were not approving of thismand, they could not resist and had to follow it. They followed Qin Xian¡¯smand to kill every single human at the scene.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin. Let¡¯s get ex-Young Lord back from Meng Tian¡¯s hands, then, I want to kill him personally!¡± Qin Xianughed without any restraints and there was an intense killer aura on his feminine face.

    He did not bother about Yun Qingwu¡¯s life.

    In fact, he was never willing to obey Yun Qingwu since he returned from the gxy.

    He did not bother about the future of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ns or not, they were not important at all.

    As long as he had sufficient time, as long as the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons was open, then it would be a matter of time for the Monster Race and Demon Race to take over the world.

    If Yun Qingwu had not subdued the other few Godly State experts before he descended, he would not have been willing to obey Yun Qingwu.

    In the ancient times, most powerful took charge of everything!

    He was a powerful individual!

    Yet now, Yun Qingwu unexpectedly handed over the leadership for the Monster Race and Demon Race over to him? How would he not treasure such a valuable opportunity?

    After killing all the humans, he could find a chance to kill Yun Qingwu. From then on, the Monster Race and Demon Race would have to respect him. Even the future Godly State experts who descended in the future had to obey him.

    What a captivating sunlight...

    It was as warm as jade!

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The roars of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were heard again. Their ck bows were pulled and an overwhelming number of arrows flew towards the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    Meanwhile, the other three Godly State experts exchanged gazes, clenched their teeth and walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Release Young Empress or you will die!¡± Mu Xing spoke first.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you won¡¯t be able to leave today. It doesn¡¯t work even if you seized Young Empress, you have to understand this!¡± Another Godly State Demon said.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, can you? Do it want to wait until our ex-Young Empress is killed before you start attacking?¡± Qin Xian was clearly unhappy after hearing the words of the two Godly State experts.

    Boom!

    At this moment, a loud boom was heard. It was the sound made by a gigantic Monster King when he stomped on the ground with his two metal hoofs.

    Apart from the disciplined Demon soldiers in the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, there was a powerful force made up of countless beasts and monsters.

    It was a terrifyingly powerful force.

    In six months¡¯ time, Yun Qingwu had made use of the connections between the monsters and the beasts to rule over the stray beasts on the Cang Ling Mountain, in the Holy Region and around the Four Great Empires. She formed a powerful beast troop that was even more powerful than the Demon troops which had a force of a few hundred thousand soldiers.

    ¡°Why did this happen?¡± Mo Shanshi looked at the arrows that fell, the howling beast troop and the disciples of the Human Alliance who were desperately defending the attack in despair.

    He had thought that the battle between the Monster Race and Demon Race and humankind had ended or at least reached a ceasefire for now, after Yun Qingwu was captured.

    However, the oue waspletely different.

    Not only did the battle not end or reach a ceasefire, but it was, in fact, more violent as the ¡°leader¡± whomanded the terrifying force had changed from Yun Qingwu to Qin Xian.

    A weirdo Qin Xian.

    ¡°What should we do? What should we do now? Shameless brat, think of a n...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s expression turned from excitement to helplessness.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance started copsing beside her, aspared to battling with five Godly State experts, they were defeated at an even faster speed now.

    Although Ping Yang knew that she would not die under the Monster Race and Demon Race yet, but once the disciples all died, their target would change to her. How would she be able to escape at that time?

 Chapter 969 - Fighting Wretchedly, Scam!

    <h4>Chapter 969: Fighting Wretchedly, Scam!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The power of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race way exceeded the expectations of the Human Alliance.

    In merely six months¡¯ time, the Monster Race and Demon Race who were initially weaker than humans had changed drastically under Yun Qingwu¡¯s rule.

    Yun Qingwu definitely had an exceptional talent in terms of leading the troops.

    However, this was no longer important as Yun Qingwu had handed everything over to Qin Xian, a weird Godly State expert.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ( Boxno vel. co m ) Shouts of attack were mixed with moans as the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race dashed into the Human Alliance. The beast troops showed an exceptional advantage.

    Especially the ten over Monster Kings in front of the beast troop.

    Every Monster King has a built that was as tall as a hill and Blood was she¡¯s immediately after the Monster Kings infiltrated the Human Alliance.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance began copsing on the ground.

    They did not run...

    However, the speed at which they were injured was extremely fast. Within a few strikes, at least 50 of the 500 disciples of the Human Alliance has passed away.

    Blood formed a stream on the ground.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, why did you do this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on his sword such that cracking sounds could be heard.

    ¡°What will you do if you were me?¡± Instead of answering Fang Zhengzhi directly, Yun Qingwu took a nce at the copsing disciples of the Human Alliance and asked.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not ask further because he already knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s intention of doing this. She had no other choice.

    She was caught!

    And she was held hostage by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even though Yun Qingwu did not want to admit it, it was the reality.

    No matter how intelligent Yun Qingwu was, she would not have predicted this oue. Therefore, Yun Qingwu admitted that she had been defeated because she underestimated Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s capability.

    Or rather, nobody would have predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would really be able to catch Yun Qingwu when she was heavily protected by the five Godly State experts.

    That included Fang Zhengzhi.

    The shocking turn of events forced Yun Qingwu to make a shocking decision, which was to...

    Find the root cause!

    ce them on a field of death and they would fight to live!

    That was because the oue was obvious if she continued to hold the leadership of the Monster Race and Demon Race in her hands or hand it over to Lin Yu.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, including Lin Yu, would definitely not disregard about her safety.

    Therefore, their only choice would be to retreat, or perhaps even more than that.

    The Human Alliance was not silly.

    They would definitely not let the Monster Race and Demon Race retreat back to the Great Swamp so easily and pose as a prominent threat. Therefore, they would definitely force the Monster Race and Demon Race to sign an unfair ceasefire treaty.

    In order to protect the status of humankind, the Human Alliance would definitely reseal the Godly State experts.

    Would the Godly State experts agree with this term?

    No!

    Then, it would be chaos.

    Or rather, even if Lin Yu was able to convince the Godly State experts to return to the gxy willingly, would Yun Qingwu be able to return to the monster race and demon race like before?

    Impossible!

    As Yun Qingwu was the initiator of the battle, the Human Alliance would definitely not let her off. Even if she was not killed, she would definitely be in captive forever.

    That was to threaten the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Although I lost to you, the Monster Race and Demon Race would not lose because of me. Just like your actions, you have said that your aspiration is to live a rxed life, but you... did not achieve that,¡± said Yun Qingwu after Fang Zhengzhi kept quiet.

    ¡°Shut up, do you not understand? I have said so many times that I am not Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°You did, but I also said that I don¡¯t believe you!¡±

    ¡°Alright, do you think I won¡¯t dare to do anything to you after you have handed over the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to Qin Xian?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not continue arguing.

    ¡°At least I am still alive now.¡± Yun Qingwu was not afraid.

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck and felt the smooth skin and warmth of her neck. He knew that Yun Qingwu would die if he had twisted his hand slightly and she could argue with her ancestors about whether she was dead or alive.

    Should he kill her or not?

    Could he kill her or not?

    Fang Zhengzhi kept asking himself about this question since he stepped into the Holy Region. From deep within, he hated how Yun Qingwu had plotted a scheme against him because he had destroyed the Ninth Heaven because Yun Qingwu gave him the 13th piece of Heaven Dao Sage Tablet and the ck box.

    Thereafter, it triggered the battle in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    If the Ninth Heaven was not destroyed, Fang Zhengzhi would not have be enemies with the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the three Sages of the ck Moon Ind would not have sprung a sneak attack on him under the foot of the cliff of the Sword Peak.

    However...

    If not for the 13th piece of Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, how would Fang Zhengzhi be like what he was right now?

    Things were unpredictable.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt conflicted but that seemed to be life.

    However, despite knowing that, when he thought about how the lives of the Vige Chief Zhang Yangping, Mister Mo Cheng in the Northern Mountain Vige as well as the 20 over lives of the Hunting Team, he was extremely resentful.

    It was Zhang Yangping who sent him from the Southern Mountain Vige to the Northern Mountain Vige and gave him the chance to learn. How could he not take revenge for him?

    Kill Yun Qingwu and take revenge for Uncle Yangping!

    ¡°Are you certain that I don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip again and his gaze looked bloody.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu turned extremely pale as she significantly had difficulties breathing. However, she did not struggle but stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. Her beautiful eyes showed an expression that gave people an impression as if she was about to be freed.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, now... now is not the time to kill Yun Qingwu!¡± At this moment, Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice was suddenly heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook. Instead of answering Mo Shanshi, he looked around at the disciples of the Human Alliance who copsed one after another.

    Death!

    Sometimes, it was extremely simple!

    The strike of a sword, a knife or the blow from a w could all kill, just like how Yun Qingwu would die if he had twisted his hand a little.

    ¡°Do you really want to die?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded extremely revengeful.

    ¡°Die... haha, what¡¯s bad... about that?¡± Yun Qingwu took a lot of effort to speak.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not move any further. He knew that he could easily kill Yun Qingwu, but what happens after that?

    How would the oue be like for the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race under the rule of Qin Xian? It was predictable and did not even require a second thought.

    That was right!

    He could find another chance to kill Qin Xian but after Qin Xian died, there would be another Godly State expert appointed to lead the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    This cycle would go on, and how many people could Fang Zhengzhi kill?

    As long as the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons remained open, new Godly State experts would continue to descend, but could Fang Zhengzhi continue to kill?

    Most importantly...

    Without Yun Qingwu, the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race would most probably go out of control and be extremely wild.

    Just like Qin Xian.

    There were many weird Godly State experts who were simr to Qin Xian. The most obvious example would be Chou Qi. Once the restraints on these weird individuals were lost, they would be insane killing machines. Not only would the Holy Region end up in trouble, but even the Four Great Empires would also experience massacres.

    At that point in time, the entire world would be in chaos.

    What should be done?

    What exactly should be done?

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu was taking a bet that he would not be able to witness all of the disciples of the Human Alliance die before his own eyes. She was betting that Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to stand seeing the world turning into a ce of a bloody massacre.

    ¡°Meng Tian, release Young Empress now. If you dare to kill her, I, Mu Xing, will make sure humankind would repay for her death but thousand times more!¡± Mu Xing¡¯s voice could be heard again.

    As the Godly State expert of the monster race, he did not carry out Qin Xian¡¯smands immediately and directly attack Fang Zhengzhi as he still had some reservations.

    ¡°Release Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian, you will not win by yourself!¡±

    The other two Godly State experts began to speak as they walked closer to Fang Zhengzhi with chilling looks in their eyes.

    As for Qin Xian...

    He kept moving back and ended up in the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Evidently, he had reservations about the powerful Fang Zhengzhi and decided to surround himself in the protection of the troops.

    ¡°Hahaha, Meng Tian, all of you will not be able to escape!¡± Qin Xian¡¯s unrestrainedughter was heard from a far distance while flowers started blooming crazily on the ground.

    The flowers began to attack the disciples of the Human Alliance and swallowed them, they did not even spare the bodies on the ground.

    It was a cruel scene.

    This scene caused Fang Zhengzhi to boil with anger.

    Godly State experts...

    He definitely could not allow the Godly State experts to lead the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, in order to control these Godly State experts, he had to release Yun Qingwu because only she could stop them from killing.

    However, once he released Yun Qingwu, everything would be back to square one.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not do that.

    After all, Yun Qingwu¡¯s motive was also to empower the Monster Race and Demon Race and most importantly, Yun Qingwu was more difficult to deal with aspared to the Godly State experts.

    This was a closed loop.

    A closed loop of irony.

    He would be wrong for both releasing and killing Yun Qingwu!

    Furthermore, the most important thing was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality. He was a person who would not even release a Fire Plume Chicken he had caught, therefore, how would he possibly release Yun Qingwu?

    ¡°Mu Xing, why aren¡¯t you attacking, are you trying to rebel?!¡± At this moment, Qin Xian¡¯s voice was heard and it was evidently a final warning.

    ¡°Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°You forced us!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Mu Xing and the other two Godly State experts who had already surrounded Fang Zhengzhi finally attacked as they clenched their teeth. After finding the correct position, an extremely sharp beam of light shone and directly struck at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat after going around Yun Qingwu.

    Besides that, there was another airwave hidden beneath the beam of light.

    A double attack!

    Made by two Godly State experts at the same time.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even need to guess but he knew that what waited for him after the two consecutive attacks were the third attack by the third Godly State expert.

    How could he defend against the attacks by three Godly State experts with Yun Qingwu in one hand?

    Dodge, he could only dodge!

    However, how was it easy for him to dodge thebined attack of the three Godly State experts?

    Very quickly, a few extremely deep cuts were made on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms and thighs. Blood flowed out like rain and dripped on the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew he could not dy any further.

    Almost half of the disciples of the Human Alliance had died and Ping Yang was also surrounded by two Monster Kings. The situation looked very bad.

    Should he escape?

    Where to?

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had surrounded them and the disciples of the Human Alliance kept retreating until they were extremely close to the door of the ck stone pce.

    Wait a minute!

    ck stone pce?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. He had made up a legend not too long ago about the ¡®Source of God¡¯. Since it was made up by him, it was definitely untrue.

    However, even though the legend was untrue, the ¡®Source of God¡¯ was true.

    This fact was undeniable. The fact that Yun Qingwu brought the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race over was sufficient to prove that the Source of God existed.

    Source of God...

    That¡¯s right, the Source of God!

    Yun Qingwu did not know what was the exact location of the Source of God but she had the most understanding about it in the world.

    And now, Yun Qingwu was in his hands.

    He could make use of Yun Qingwu to find the Source of God. Then, the Human Alliance would be more powerful. If the Human Alliance became more powerful than the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, then the dead loop and irony would be solved.

    By then...

    Yun Qingwu could be killed as and when he liked.

    Moreover, even if the Human Alliance did not be more powerful with the Source of God, as long as the Human Alliance could be on par with the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, the problem could still be solved.

    This might sound difficult toprehend.

    However, the logic behind it was simple, it was the legendary...

    Law of Bnce!

    When one party was extremely weak aspared to the other party, the only consequence was that he would be killed. However, if their powers wereparable, the party would be unharmed.

    ¡°I am a f*cking genius!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely relieved as he thought of this. The only thing left was to resolve the problem he was facing. His gaze turned to Qin Xian, who was ¡°fighting wretchedly¡± amongst the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    This brat was so far away?

    Herees the question...

    If he was unable to kill Qin Xian, how could he escape from the troops of the Monster?

 Chapter 970 - The Odd Thirty-six Maps of Access to Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 970: The Odd Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Forcefully charge out with the Human Alliance?

    Fang Zhengzhi definitely had thought of this before. However, he quickly negated this thought after looking at the surrounding troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. He had no problem with protecting himself but it was almost impossible for him to charge out along with the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    Moreover, he could not leave yet because there were other people from the Human Alliance in the ck stone pce, including Wu Yuer, Mu Qingfeng, Yan Xiu...

    ¡°Yan Xiu... How are you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly calmed down and no longer had the bloodthirsty gaze in his eyes.

    He knew that the Human Alliance would definitely not remain in the ck stone pce forever and had toe out. If he had left now, what should the Human Alliance do?

    What about Wu Yuer and Yan Xiu?

    He could not leave!

    Fang Zhengzhi was sure that not only was he reluctant to leave, the injured disciples of the Human Alliance were also unwilling to leave, how would they not have any worries?

    If they were unable to charge out, they could only charge in!

    They were left with not many choices.

    It was meaningless for them to carry on with their ¡°guarding¡± task outside the ck stone pce in face of such a powerful troop of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, how would they exit after they charge in, was another question.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could not afford to think about that as there were only two choices for him, enter the ck stone pce or die.

    Therefore, why did he still have to think?

    He could only think after he acted.

    ¡°Hold on, I have something to say!¡± As he thought of this, Fang Zhengzhi ced Yun Qingwu in front of him and shouted loudly.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    ¡°What do you want to say?¡±

    The three surrounding Godly State experts stopped attacking after seeing how Yun Qingwu was used as a shield and heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    Simrly, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race also stopped attacking when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    After all, to them, Yun Qingwu was their real Young Lord. They definitely wanted to hear what Fang Zhengzhi had to say.

    However, for Qin Xian...

    He did not want Fang Zhengzhi to say anything.

    However, the Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had all stopped without hismand. It would be toote for him to make anothermand to attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi was rtively pleased with this oue. After all, Yun Qingwu was Yun Qingwu and definitely still had some use in his hands.

    ¡°I will say something now. All of you, listen up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said again as he looked at the Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Hurry up and speak!¡±

    ¡°Is he trying to dy time?¡±

    The three Godly State experts frowned slightly but still gave Fang Zhengzhi time to speak because of Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Alright, listen up... I have decided to let you all see my real appearance!¡± Fang Zhengzhi paused for a while before taking a nce at the surroundings and shouted again.

    ¡°Real appearance?!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is revealing his identity?¡±

    ¡°Why is he doing this?¡±

    The Godly State experts, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and disciples of the Human Alliance were all extremely confused as ¡°Meng Tian¡± did not need to reveal his face at all.

    However, everyone was curious.

    They were curious about how Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, the figure that shook the whole world hundred years ago, looked like.

    Even Qin Xian swallowed his words ofmand.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu¡¯s muffled voice could be heard.

    However, although she wanted to speak, she was strangled by Fang Zhengzhi on her neck and it was impossible for her to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    With one hand on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck, he raised his other hand slowly and reached for the ck face cloth.

    Time seemed to have slowed down tremendously.

    The countless pairs of eyes stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and his masked face without blinking.

    Then...

    A piece of ck cloth flew.

    ¡°He really revealed himself?!¡± Everyone was in disbelief when they saw the ck face cloth flying and widened their eyes.

    They wanted to see how did the legendary Sagely Battle God Meng Tian look like.

    However, they soon realized that the Sagely Battle God ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was initially standing in front of them had disappeared?

    Then, they heard a voice.

    ¡°Silly fool?! Run, all to run into the ck stone pce!¡± As the voice was heard, a figure was speeding towards the ck stone pce.

    The strangest of all was Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang who was initially surrounded by two Monster Kings did not even have time to react before she was forcefully pulled by a hand to the door of the ck stone pce.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang blinked her eyes and was stunned by the sudden pull.

    Apart from Ping Yang, Qin Xian, the three Godly State experts, the Monster Race and Demon Race and the disciples of the Human Alliance all could not react in time.

    When they could finally react...

    Fang Zhengzhi had already charged into the ck stone pce with one hand holding onto Yun Qingwu and the other holding onto Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°All to run into... the ck stone pce?¡±

    ¡°Run?!¡±

    Although it would be really foolish of the disciples of the Human Alliance to not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant, they felt speechless to follow his instructions.

    Shouldn¡¯t the powerful one usually be the one who took care of the situation?

    But he ran first?

    What on earth?!

    ¡°Shameless!¡±

    ¡°Extremely shameless!¡±

    Aspared to the speechlessness the Human Alliance felt, the Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race exploded in rage like how a bowl of cold water was poured into a boiling hot pot of oil.

    One could be shameless!

    But not as shameless as this!

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian... You really run very fast...¡± Mo Shanshi swallowed his saliva and looked extremely pale.

    ¡°Master, run!¡±

    ¡°Vice Alliance Leader Mo, we will help you up!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance definitely could not leave Mo Shanshi behind. A few of them helped him up and dashed towards the ck stone pce.

    Fortunately...

    The position where the disciples of the Human Alliance was at was rtively good.

    Initially, the disciples of the Human Alliance had guarded at the door of the ck stone pce and they were forced to edge closer to the entrance of the ck stone pce by the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Now, after regaining their senses, they surged into the pce like a river.

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, run!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Was there anyone who would be so foolish to wait for their death at the door?

    No!

    After all, since Sagely Battle God ¡°Meng Tian¡± had already fled with Yun Qingwu, they were definitely not foolish enough to wait outside the door.

    ¡°Block them, stop them from entering!¡± Qin Xian¡¯s eyes were bloodshot when he saw the disciples of the Human Alliance surge towards the ck stone pce like fishes.

    ¡°Roger!¡± The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not hesitate and charged towards the disciples of the Human Alliance. However, it was toote.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were too close to the entrance of the ck stone pce. They were so close that they just had to turn their body to enter.

    Despite that, some of the disciples of the Human Alliance still remained outside the ck stone pce.

    Nearly half of the 500 disciples of the Human Alliance had died after the arrival of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. There were less than 260 out of the remaining 300 disciples who entered the ck stone pce.

    ¡°Charge in!¡± Qin Xian looked extremely bloodthirsty as he saw the body on the ground.

    ¡°No, Qin Xian!¡± The other three Godly State experts looked at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and stopped them.

    ¡°Hmm? What did the three of you call me?¡± Qin Xian¡¯s expression turned cold.

    ¡°Commander-in-chief...¡± The three Godly State experts looked at each other and clenched their teeth.

    ¡°Whatmander-in-chief? You should call me ¡®Your Highness¡¯, understand? Tell me, why are all of you going against mymands, if you can¡¯t answer, all of you will die!¡± Qin Xian was slightly unhappy.

    The faces of the three Godly State experts turned ck but held it in. Meanwhile, Mu Xing quickly walked beside Qin Xian.

    ¡°If I am correct, the Human Alliance purposely ced a group outside the ck stone pce because there is no other way out. Therefore, they will definitely have toe out through this door. Should we save our energy so as to prepare for the battle?¡± Mu Xing suggested.

    p! Mu Xing was pped on the face.

    ¡°Hmph, save our energy so as to prepare for the battle? Are you dumb after being trained under Yun Qingwu? Our force is at the peak condition now, the correct option should be to continue with our attack and kill all of them at one go!¡± Qin Xian scolded Mu Xing after pping him.

    ¡°You...¡± The blue fire prints on Mu Xing shone continuously and he was clearly mad as he clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked.

    Mu Xing was also a Godly State expert.

    How could he tolerate the fact that he had been pped in front of others?

    ¡°Brother Mu, Qin... he is not wrong.¡± One of the Godly State experts immediately ced one of his hand on Mu Xing¡¯s shoulder when he saw that Mu Xing was about to rage. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the troops behind him. ¡°However, there¡¯s a small problem...¡±

    ¡°What problem do you have?¡± Qin Xian was slightly impatient.

    ¡°We cannot be entirely sure about what is inside. Furthermore, the number of troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race isrge and there will probably be some damage if everyone barges in. Should we select an elite troop to enter first and leave the others outside to guard. This helps to ensure that nothing goes wrong too.¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Qin Xian narrowed his eyes, looked at the troops behind him and nodded. ¡°Alright, the three of you will bring the elite troops in and I will guard outside!¡±

    ¡°You will guard outside?¡± Mu Xing was slightly unhappy.

    ¡°Haha... looks like you want to rebel? If so, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Qin Xian pointed at the ever-ready troops behind him as he said.

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°Brother Mu, let us bring the troops in!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Without any otherments or looking back, Mu Xing turned and walked into the ck stone pce.

    Meanwhile, the other two Godly State experts quickly selected an elite troop whichprised of mainly the Monster Kings, beast troop as well as some powerful demons.

    After they hadpleted their selection, the two Godly State experts quickly led the troop into the ck stone pce.

    ¡°Hmph, I am the leader of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, how can I be the one who will be heading in and taking a risk?¡± Qin Xian looked at Mu Xing and the two Godly State experts in disdain before turning to the back. ¡°Prepare some tea, I want to guard here personally!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± A few of the Demon soldiersplied.

    Just as they were about to turn, they saw a figure who was covered from head to toe in a ck robe walking towards them.

    ¡°Stop there, who are you?!¡±

    ¡°Haha... It is better to share the joy than enjoy it alone, am I, the deity right?¡± The figureughed as though he did not hear what the Demon soldiers said.

    ¡°Deity?!¡±

    ¡°Could he be?¡±

    If there was another monster or demon who would call himself a ¡°Deity¡±, it would be none other than Chou Qi who was waiting in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    He was a weirdo like Qin Xian.

    ¡°Chou Qi?¡± Qin Xian narrowed his eyes subconsciously. He had a much deeper understanding of Chou Qi than the rest of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    If Qin Xian was the weirdo amongst the monsters and demons, then Chou Qi would be the weirdest of the weirdos, a demon who worshiped murder.

    Of course, Chou Qi could not match up to Qin Xian.

    Qin Xian was not too worried about this and moreover, as the leader of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, he definitely was not afraid of Chou Qi.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Young Lord? I have something important to tell her. It¡¯s regarding the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.¡± Instead of answering Qin Xian¡¯s question, the figure said.

    ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?¡± Qin Xian¡¯s Hans moves and showed a bright smile. ¡°I have heard that you have two of the thirty-six maps of ess to heaven?¡±

    ¡°Three,¡± said the figure.

    ¡°Oh? Did you get another one? Haha... very good. Chou Qi lives up to his name. Speaking of which, I also have one of the thirty-six maps of ess to heaven with me, I can consider giving it to you if you want it. However, you have to swallow this seed first.¡± Qin Xian took out a green seed as he smiled wider.

 Chapter 971 - Slower, Faster, Slower, Fasterâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 971: Slower, Faster, Slower, Faster...</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What if I refuse to eat it?¡± As the figure spoke, he reached the front of Qin Xian and stopped a foot away from him.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Qin Xianughed and raised his right hand.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Qin Xian rose his right hand, the weapons of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also raided and the roars of battle echoed in the air.

    ¡°It seems like I don¡¯t have another choice?¡± The figure took a sweep at the surroundings and his gaze eventually fell back upon Qin Xian.

    However, unlike before, it fell on the seed in Qin Xian¡¯s hands and he looked as if he was thinking about something.

    ¡°Chou Qi, you should be familiar with the idea of how the most powerful get to take charge.¡± Qin Xian waved his hand immediately before Chou Qi could reply. ¡°Serve tea for Sir Demon Deity.¡±

    Swoosh!

    Before Qin Xian could finish his sentence and before the Demon soldiers could reply ¡°roger¡±, the figure who was standing in front of Qin Xian moved.

    It was a sudden movement.

    So sudden that he had almost no friends...

    Of course, whether the figure had friends or not was not important. The important thing was that Qin Xian also started moving when the figure moved.

    Amongst the monsters and demons who had descended, both Chou Qi and Qin Xian were weirdos.

    As a weirdo, Qin Xian had the mindset of a weirdo. Simrly, he knew what Chou Qi was thinking about much better than any other monsters or demons.

    He would attack once they could note to a consensus.

    This was not anything surprising, especially since the person who was standing in front of him was the super Demon Chou Qi who found joy in massacring.

    Qin Xian retreated very quickly.

    When the figure charged forward, he had retreated for a distance of five feet and as he did that, two gigantic green vines grew from the ground.

    The green vines had thorns and glistened like metals. Furthermore, there was a blue radiance on the tip of the thorns.

    Evidently, they were poisonous thorns!

    ¡°Chou Qi, how dare you to attack me, you are still too young...¡± Qin Xian stopped in the middle of his sentence because a pair of bloodshot eyes were right in front of him.

    It was so close that it was almost touching his face. Furthermore, there was a spinning Blood Offering Illustration in the pair of bloodshot eyes!

    Eight different symbols were shining on the Blood Offering Illustration.

    Moreover, there was a terrifying attractive force in the eyes that pulled at Qin Xian¡¯s eyes.

    It felt as if Qin Xian was chained up by chains.

    ¡°The most powerful get to take charge!¡± A cold roar was heard before a grey cloud of haze shrouded Qin Xian and the two green vines behind him.

    Everything took ce so quickly, from the attack of the figure to Qin Xian¡¯s retreat to how Qin Xian was shrouded by the grey cloud of haze.

    Everything happened in a blink of an eye.

    None of the surrounding troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could react in time. In fact, everything had already begun when they reacted.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Sir Demon Deity is rebelling!¡±

    ¡°Take... take him down!¡±

    By right, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would not participate in a battle between two Godly State experts. However, it was different this time as Qin Xian was the one being attacked.

    He was the next Highness as instructed by Yun Qingwu!

    Therefore, how could the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race sit back and watch?

    Despite knowing that it was dangerous, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race still charged forward furiously into the grey cloud of haze with bloodthirsty expressions.

    However, they stopped immediately after they stepped into the cloud of haze.

    Because...

    They had already died.

    The bodies of the monsters and demons fell on the ground. Like withered trees, all the liveliness and flesh had been swallowed.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    At the same time, a cloud of blood-red light shone in the gray cloud of haze like a blood moon in the world of death.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Qin Xian¡¯s indignant voice was heard in the haze because he did not underestimate his opponent. He even had prepared himself long ago.

    However, he did not expect Chou Qi to suddenly be so powerful as though he had be another person in less than two months¡¯ time.

    The swallow of death!

    This was Chou Qi¡¯s power. A terrifying power that allowed him to swallow any force to supplement his force.

    Qin Xian knew that Chou Qi had this power.

    However, he did not expect Chou Qi to have the Blood Offering Illustration which was so powerful that it was able to transform any type of powers!

    The swallow of death, Blood Offering Illustration...

    When these two terrifying powers appeared on one particr person, nobody could guess who powerful he could be.

    ¡°Seed? Naturally grown... Not bad, I will ept it then!¡± A cold voice was heard again and a hand pressed on Qin Xian¡¯s head.

    Qin Xian was stunned at this moment.

    He knelt in front of the figure and his eyes looked dead as he held his hand in front of his chest as if he was making a prayer.

    It was a strange scene.

    The stranger thing was that Qin Xian was ncing upwards.

    The figure in front of him was not in his eyes. Instead, it was a gigantic tall tree that was as white as snow. There was a green fruit that was solidifying in the tree.

    Crack!

    A crack appeared on Qin Xian¡¯s forehead and it extended from the top of his forehead to his lips, passing by the green scar on his forehead.

    Buzz! A gigantic airwave surged out from Qin Xian¡¯s body. However, it was blocked when it touched the gray clouds of haze.

    Thereafter, the airwaves surged into his body as though that was the only ce it could enter.

    After a long time, the howling wind...

    Finally stopped.

    Qin Xian had copsed on the ground. However, his body was no longer made up of flesh as there were cracks that looked like spiderwebs all over his body.

    A strong gust of wind blew and his dried dead body which had split open turned into dust.

    ¡°Huff...¡± The figure withdrew his palm and blew out a gust of air as if he was relieved.

    The blood red radiance subsided.

    The gray clouds of haze were also absorbed into the figure¡¯s body.

    It was a strange scene.

    The stranger thing was that the Blood Offering Illustration had disappeared from the figure¡¯s eyes and all that was left was a gigantic tall ancient tree with a few gigantic fruits.

    However, after a short moment, the tall tree had also disappeared and the pair of eyes turned ck.

    It was as calm as undisturbed water in the well.

    ¡°You all must have heard that, the most powerful get to take charge!¡± The figure gradually turned around and looked at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were stunned as they stood rooted to the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Died, he died?!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race swallowed their saliva as they exchanged gazes in fear and shock.

    ¡°I am asking all of you a question, did you hear me?¡± The figure spoke again.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Yes, we heard it!¡± A few of them finally spoke as they trembled.

    ¡°Hmm, Qin Xian did not care about Young Lord¡¯s safety and I have already killed him. From now on, I will lead all of you in the battle against the humankind and will try my best to save Young Lord. Do all of you... understand?¡± The figure nodded and sounded extremely cold.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race took a nce at each other as they heard this.

    ¡®Did not care about Young Lord¡¯s safety...¡¯

    ¡®Killed Qin Xian!¡¯

    ¡®Try my best to save Young Lord!¡¯

    ¡°Yes,mander-in-chief!¡±

    Chou Qi!

    ¡°Chou Qi, Chou Qi!!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Without hesitation, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race knelt down immediately.

    Their loud and clear roars echoed in the air. Aspared to the leadership under Qin Xian, the morale of the troops were much more boosted and each of them showed a simr seriousness in their eyes aspared to when they were under Yun Qingwu¡¯s rule.

    ...

    The ck stone pce was a wrecked pce.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that long ago. Therefore, when he entered the ck stone pce, he thought that he had to walk through the wreckage.

    However, in reality, he walked through a small walkway which was not very ¡°fanciful¡± with one hand holding on to Yun Qingwu and the other holding on to Ping Yang.

    It was called small because it was really narrow!

    At least, this walkway was not wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Moreover, the space was too narrow.

    It was extremely narrow at the head area.

    Fang Zhengzhi liked to walk with his chest up. Even though he was running extremely quickly, it did not affect his posture.

    And this habit...

    He was forced to lower his head after he was knocked on the head by the eaves.

    Fang Zhengzhi lowered his head. Therefore, in order to prevent Yun Qingwu from sneaking away, he held her close to his chest.

    He was surprised that Yun Qingwu did not struggle and purposely curled her body up.

    However, one of her hands pushed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mind such a small action as after all, it was an instinctive move to prevent their bodies from touching.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not a person who took advantage of others.

    If he wanted to take advantage of others, he made sure it was a huge advantage. Or else, he would rather not take advantage of others as it would not be interesting at all.

    ¡°You... walk slower!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard. As she was forcefully pulled by Fang Zhengzhi, she could not see what exactly was in front of her and could only follow close behind. Therefore, she inevitably collided onto some things.

    For instance, the bumps on the ceiling and the small rocks on the ground.

    ¡°Alright, we will walk slowly then.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and slowed down drastically.

    Then, he felt someone mming right onto his back.

    ¡°Can you not be so slow?!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then we will speed up...¡±

    ¡°Slow down a little!¡±

    Plop! Another m.

    ¡°Faster!¡±

    ¡°Slower!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After a series of screams of ¡°faster¡± and ¡°slower¡±, Fang Zhengzhi finally walked passed the difficult and long narrow path. Then, his vision widened.

    It only widened a little, though.

    The ck stone pce was not very bright and Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was wrong.

    ¡°Ooo... Shameless... Senior Meng Tian, do you... do you feel... tired...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°Tired?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized.

    If not for Ping Yang¡¯s reminder, he did not realize this at all. However, Ping Yang¡¯s sentence caused him to suddenly realize.

    It was a feeling of tiredness!

    A very strange feeling of tiredness!

    Of course, it was not because of the intense ¡°exercise¡± earlier on as they walked through the narrow path.

    In fact, with his powers, such exercise was no issue for Fang Zhengzhi and he could even do it for a month.

    However, the reality was that...

    He actually felt his footsteps bing heavy.

    Could it be gravity?

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly negated this possibility because if it was so, he would have felt the gravity immediately when he stepped into the ck stone pce.

    Something was wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi was confused but he did not overthink because there was a dim starlight shining in front of him.

    Light?

    It was undoubtedly a surprise in this dark world.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not overly surprised but he knew that he would have reached the end of the long and narrow path when he reached the light.

    ¡°Ping... cough, erm... now that the road is wider, walk beside me so we can hurry up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to call Ping Yang by her name instinctively but he realized before that.

    ¡°Hmm, alright!¡± Ping Yang nodded and moved beside Fang Zhengzhi. She became excited when she saw the light ahead of her. ¡°Light, there is starlight in front, that must be the exit!¡±

    Evidently, Ping Yang had forgotten about the ¡°tiredness¡± she wasining about earlier on when she saw the light.

    ¡°Smart, let¡¯s go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi praised Yun Qingwu and started running.

    In less than 10 minutes...

    The starlight disappeared.

    An unforgettable scene appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes. It was a scene that should not have existed in the world.

 Chapter 972 - The Truth of the Black Stone Palace

    <h4>Chapter 972: The Truth of the ck Stone Pce</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In reality, when Fang Zhengzhi entered the ck stone pce, he thought of many possible scenarios such as how the ck stone pce was a battlefield filled with bodies and bones, or how it was full of various types of traps.

    However, the scene in front of him was way beyond his imagination.

    There were no piles of bodies or bones, and no cliffs or traps, however, what was in front of him was even more shocking than all of these.

    Roar! A thunderous roar was heard and a gigantic horse charged out of the haze into another cloud of haze.

    It was not too astonishing.

    However, that is not the case if there were all types of exotic creatures swimming around the horse and all types of streams of lights around it.

    It was a word made up of streams of light and countless exotic creatures.

    It was clearly not an ordinary world.

    Because Fang Zhengzhi could clearly sense that everything in front of him was ¡°non-existent¡±. Even the horse, golden birds and gigantic rhinoceros that appeared in the sky were not real.

    However, these imaginary objects existed in front of his eyes.

    This was an irony.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how to describe this but he could clearly sense that everything in front of him should not exist in that world.

    ¡°So this ce is merely a gigantic illusionary state?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard and she sounded extremely shocked.

    ¡°Illusionary state?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head involuntarily.

    Any ordinary person who witnessed this scene should havee to the same deduction as Ping Yang because whatever they saw was unrealistic.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had another view as he saw a world that was different from what others¡¯ saw.

    It was a ck and white world.

    The Sixth Rebirth Dao technique, Ghost Dao!

    Ever since he could appreciate the Ghost Dao, Fang Zhengzhi had the ability to ensure that he would not be confused by any illusions. Therefore, he was sure that the scene in front of him was not an illusion.

    An unrealistic world...

    But not an illusionary state?

    Ping Yang, who was very certain about her own deduction, would not believe in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s deduction. In fact, even Fang Zhengzhi felt that his deduction was not convincing.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think so?¡± Ping Yang asked Fang Zhengzhi as he saw him shake his head.

    ¡°No, you are right, it is an illusion.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again. Since he could not exin himself, he would rather not say anything.

    ¡°So... Is it dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Mu Qingfeng had entered earlier than us and there were quite a lot of people who entered. Therefore, even if there was a danger, they would have resolved it.¡±

    ¡°So you mean we should just charge forward?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, we can do that until we meet Mu Qingfeng and the rest.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡± Hearing this, Ping Yang¡¯s confidence was boosted and she looked extremely eager to try.

    ¡°We will charge when Mo Shanshi and the reste.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Then, we can rightfully im that we are opening the path for them. After all, I am Meng Tian, the savior of the Human Alliance!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knocked Ping Yang¡¯s head lightly.

    ¡°Wa... I understand now!¡± Ping Yang figured it out immediately.

    ¡°How shameless.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes twitched when she heard their conversation.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about what Yun Qingwu said.

    As he had said, he was the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian and therefore, he should be behaving with the corresponding ¡°behavior¡± of Meng Tian.

    Running at a fast speed?

    That was nothing!

    ...

    Soon after, Mo Shanshi, who was supported by two disciples of the Human Alliance on his left and right, appeared within Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s sight.

    Appearing along with Mo Shanshi was a wave of disciples of the Human Alliance. Every one of them ran rtively quickly like grasshoppers.

    ¡°Hurry up...¡±

    ¡°Hurry run, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are catching up!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t block the way!¡±

    As the disciples of the Human Alliance escaped, they did it with 120 percent of their ability, causing their faces to turn red as they huffed and puffed.

    However, they showed no signs of stopping at all.

    After all, My Xing and three other Godly State experts were closing up behind them. The disciples of the Human Alliance who weregging behind were being killed once again.

    If the path to the ck stone pce was not so narrow, there would have been at least two times as many casualties for the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, can you still walk?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked Mo Shanshi in concern.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, you... you didn¡¯t run? Are you waiting for...¡± Mo Shanshi was slightly surprised as he remembered clearly that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was the first person to charge into the ck stone pce.

    Yet now...

    Meng Tian was waiting for him at the entrance of the path?

    This was the first thought that struck Mo Shanshi. However, when he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, the scene in front of him stopped him from continuing his sentence.

    Astonishment!

    Not only was Mo Shanshi astonished, but the disciples of the Human Alliance behind Mo Shanshi were also astonished and widened their eyes.

    ¡°What... what is this?!¡±

    ¡°Light, these light... and those beasts?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusionary state. Yes, Vice Alliance Leader Mu Qingfeng told us before that we will see illusion after we enter the ck stone pce and told us to be extra careful!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance remembered what Mu Qingfeng once said on the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    ¡°Mu Qingfeng also thought that these are illusions?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. He had not been to the Ling Xiao Mountain and therefore did not know how Mu Qingfeng had described the ck stone ce.

    However, from thements made by the disciples of the Human Alliance, he deduced that Mu Qingfeng had entered the ck stone pce before he went up to the Ling Xiao Mountain.

    Oh right!

    Mu Qingfeng did enter the ck stone pce before!

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered the reason why Mu Qingfeng held a Heaven Alliance Meeting on the Heaven Zen Mountain because he saw some inscription in the ck stone pce.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was a littlete for the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain. He only heard about this from Ping Yang after the battle.

    So it meant that...

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest were probably at a ce with the inscription.

    ¡°What should we do? There are illusions ahead of us and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are catching up behind us. Are all of us going to die here?¡± At this moment, a voice broke off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, now that Valley Master Mo is injured and we don¡¯t have Vice Alliance Leader Mu who is familiar with the pce to lead us, how can we break through the illusion?¡±

    ¡°We can only force our way through...¡±

    ¡°Looks like we have no other choice, we will fight it through then!¡±

    The other disciples of the Human Alliance quickly responded. After all, they had not much time to hesitate. Even if there was a fire ahead of them, they had to charge in as if they did not, they would be killed by the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am here, I will personally lead the way for all of you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was time for him to act.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, indeed puts the affairs of the country and the people before anything else!¡± Ping Yang was clever enough to know what she should say at this point in time. ( B oxnovel.c om )

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, so you have always been leading us!¡±

    ¡°We thought you fled because you were afraid, we are... we shouldn¡¯t be called human!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we are extremely ashamed!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked but soon regained their senses. Each of them looked extremely guilty.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu who was being held by Fang Zhengzhi turned her head helplessly and snorted. ¡°Shameless.¡±

    ¡°Follow me closely, everyone!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not drag on any further. He turned and charged into the illusionary world with Yun Qingwu in one hand and holding Ping Yang in the other.

    Although he had not figured out what exactly was the ck stone pce and why was there something that looked like an illusion, those were not the most crucial things for now...

    That was because the sound of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was approaching.

    Escape!

    That¡¯s the most crucial thing now!

    As the Human Alliance med themselves for misunderstanding Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi brought Ping Yang and Yun Qingwu and rain into the haze which was filled with streams of light.

    When he entered the haze, buzzing sounds ran beside his ears. The sound did not seem like the growls of the beasts.

    It had a strange tempo.

    It was described as a ¡°tempo¡± because it was not loud but it was as though it was right beside his ears.

    It was so near that it felt as though it was connected to his heartbeat and the flow of blood.

    ¡°Something is wrong!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could feel that there were some changes to his heartbeat and blood under the influence of this rhythm.

    Meanwhile, he felt the surrounding scene change from the original haze with a stream of light into images of grass, tree, and sea.

    Changing his heartbeat and flow of blood so as to create an illusion?

    It was a typical illusion spell.

    Why did this happen?

    He was clearly not in an illusionary state!

    It was not an illusionary state but it was made to look like one?

    Could it be that...

    Someone was trying to hide something?!

    As this thought struck him, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heartbeat and flow of blood resumed to a normal state before his eyes turned silvery white.

    In the world of ck and white, he saw the disciples of the Human Alliance and Mo Shanshi as he looked down from the sky.

    Simrly, he heard Mo Shanshi yelling.

    ¡°Listen up, everyone, keep silent and hold your breath in the illusionary state, do not be affected by the sound that you hear. If you discover people around you behaving strangely, p his chest above his heart so as to disturb his heartbeat!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance obeyed his order immediately.

    After that, Fang Zhengzhi saw red light shoot out from one of the disciples¡¯ eyes as he became extremely violent.

    After that...

    Another disciple beside him pped him on the chest above his heart.

    Spat! He spat out a mouthful of blood.

    The aroused disciple became normal again.

    ¡°Thank you, Senior, for saving me!¡±

    ¡°You are wee, Junior!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everything seemed to be telling Fang Zhengzhi that the haze with the streams of light would cause one to see an illusion in the mind.

    What exactly was it trying to hide?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was pondering over this, neers entered the area with haze. It was three figures who were wearing ck cloaks.

    Evidently, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had charged in under the leader of Mu Xing and three other Godly State experts.

    However, unlike the disciples of the Human Alliance...

    Three different colors of light screens radiated from the Godly State experts¡¯ bodies. Like three gigantic umbres, these light screens shrouded the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race behind them.

    This caused them to proceed extremely quickly.

    They were close!

    Getting closer and closer!

    As Fang Zhengzhi dashed forward with Yun Qingwu and Ping Yang, he could ¡°see¡± the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race advance extremely quickly towards the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    It was a good thing to have a pair of eyes that allowed him to see another world.

    However, the more he saw, the more things he had to face.

    If Fang Zhengzhi did not see this, he would have charged forward with Ping Yang without any concerns.

    However, after seeing it...

    Could he still do that?

    Fang Zhengzhi was shameless and a little selfish. However, he was still a man, a man with blood and flesh, emotions and determination.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not like the words ¡°bringing up the rear¡± because he always misunderstood it as losing his progenies. [1. In Mandarin, the same phrase had two interpretations based on context.]

    However, he could afford to not bring up the rear and slightly harass the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    As this thought struck him, Fang Zhengzhi took a nce at Ping Yang beside him and gradually loosened his grip on Ping Yang¡¯s hand. ¡°Follow me closely!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Although Ping Yang was confused, she quickly nodded.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi flipped his right hand and instantly, three silvery white long swords appeared on his hand.

    Swoosh! With a soft sound, the three long swords were thrown by Fang Zhengzhi and made a parabolic path in the sky.

    Then...

    Like three silver meteors that passed through the sky, they struck the light screens on the head of the Godly State experts at the same time!

    Boom! A thunderous boom was heard.

    A powerful airwave rippled like waves and spread to the surroundings when the long swords collided with the light screens.

    Meanwhile, a strange scene happened. The haze filled with streams of light seemed to have be thinner and a ck hue could be seen vaguely...

    <h4>Comment (1)</h4>

    VIEW ALL COMMENTSRate this chapterVote with Power StoneSend Gifts<h4>Chapter 973: This Wave of ¡°Turbulent¡± Operation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is sneakily attacking us!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race became extremely cautious as the three Godly State experts were attacked. After all, the haze around them disrupted their vision and they could not see what was in a distance.

    That affected the speed of the troop¡¯s progress.

    However, it merely affected their speed as this attack did not seriously hurt the three Godly State experts.

    ¡°Follow closely!¡± Mu Xing frowned and gave hismands. Meanwhile, the light screen on top of his head became brighter.

    It was evident that the Godly State experts, including Mu Xing, did not notice the change in color of the surroundings. Meanwhile, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race followed closely behind the Godly State Experts with a serious expression.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi saw the ck ¡°things¡±.

    It was like a texture of stone. Of course, Fang Zhengzhi would not bother about it if it was merely a ck stone.

    That was because that would only mean that the road in the haze was paved by ck stones.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi saw the ck stones, his eyes widened and he looked evidently shocked.

    The reason was...

    There were some special marks on the rocks which looked like they were made by gigantic locks.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen simr marks once before.

    It was on the Heaven Zen Mountain after the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons opened. The first gigantic ck rock thatnded had the same mark on it.

    In other words, the ck stone paved on the ground was exactly the same as the ck rocks that sealed the ancient monsters and demons in terms of both texture and marking.

    How did this happen?!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand why.

    That was because based on his understanding, the ck stones should only exist in the gxy world and they were used to seal the body and spirits of the monsters and demons.

    Why were there simr ck stones here?

    Unless there were monsters and demons sealed in the ck stone pce too?

    Impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly negated this possibility. Although he saw a bit of the ck light, he could roughly seduce that the entire floor beneath his feet was paved by the ck stones. Judging from the size, what kind of monster or demon required so many ck stones to be sealed?

    This guess was over-terrifying and Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that such a thing would happen. Therefore, he quickly negated this possibility.

    However, although he negated it, this discovery made him think of something.

    ck stone pce...

    Should be rted to the gxy world.

    However, if it was rted to the gxy world, why did it end up at the foot of the sword peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Shouldn¡¯t it be on the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    Moreover, the ck stone pce appeared before the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons had opened.

    Wait a minute!

    Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    ck stone pce? Heaven Zen Mountain... Earlier?!

    Could it be that asion? That asion when Nangong Hao was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered something. Nangong Hao once killed the ex-leader Tian Xing of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Nangong Hao also opened a door then.

    Heaven-Receiving Door!

    And the Heaven-Receiving Doornded in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°The ck stone pce flew out from the Heaven-Receiving Door and the Heaven-Receiving Door was connected to the gxy world, this means that... the ck stone pce is simr to the ck stones that sealed the monsters and demons, they belong to the gxy world!¡± Fang Zhengzhi figured this out very quickly.

    However, there was another problem now.

    ording to the ancient legend, in the past, a natural disaster struck and another Earth led the humankind, Monster Race and Demon Race to defend against the natural disaster.

    Then, because of the depletion of her strength, Mother Earth was unable to bring back the Godly State experts of the three races and hence they ended up being sealed in the gxy world.

    Therefore, what was the wrecked ck stone pce meant for?

    That did not make sense at all!

    Since Mother Earth had depleted her strength and the Godly State experts were sealed, how could there possibly be another ck stone pce built in the gxy world?

    Furthermore, it was a wrecked pce.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was wrong, very wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that Ping Yang had once told him that Mu Qingfeng decided to hold an alliance meeting after he saw something in the ck stone pce.

    Meanwhile, there were records about the natural disaster in the ck stone pce.

    This meant that the ck stone pce should have existed after the natural disaster and this could be proven by Qin Xian, Mu Xing and the other Godly State experts.

    After Mu Xing and the three Godly State experts led the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race into the ck stone pce, they did not seem very familiar with the interior of it.

    This meant that they were unaware of the presence of the ck stone pce as well.

    The ck stone pce was built after the natural disaster but came from the gxy world?

    It was impossible!

    How could this be possible?

    That was because the Gate of God connecting to the gxy world was already closed and Mother Earth should have ¡°died¡± by then, however, all the Godly State experts in the gxy world were sealed. Who would be able to get to the gxy world to build this wrecked pce

    Moreover, the materials used to build this pce was the same material as that used to seal the Godly State experts.

    It was too strange.

    All of the evidence seemed to be telling Fang Zhengzhi that the ck stone pce should not have existed. However, he was forced to believe as the truth was right in front of him.

    ¡°Forget it, I will reserve my judgments until I find the stone tablet and see what was inscribed on it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not someone who dwelled over things.

    Since he could not figure out about it, he would not think about it now.

    Meanwhile, because of Fang Zhengzhi, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the three Godly State experts had slowed down a little and the distance between them and the Human Alliance widened.

    If he did not leave now, when would he leave?

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to grab onto Ping Yang and continue running but did not manage to catch anything.

    ¡°...¡±

    What the hell?

    Where was Ping Yang? Where did she go? Didn¡¯t he ask Ping Yang to follow him?

    Fang Zhengzhi swept around him from behind to the left then to the right before he realized that Ping Yang had run ahead of him.

    Moreover, she acted like a crazy dog.

    She ran at an extremely fast speed.

    As she ran, she waved the zing Qilin Spear in her hands and said, ¡°I am the number one Battle God in the world, die, monsters and demons!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Evidently, Ping Yang had been influenced by the voices around her and was in the illusionary state.

    By right, this was something that should not happen as after all, even though Ping Yang was not as powerful as Fang Zhengzhi, she always still a sage.

    The Illusionary state...

    Should not exist!

    However, Ping Yang behaved as though she was affected by the illusion spell.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was correct, the reason behind this should be rted to how Ping Yang did not have a solid foundation as she had entered the Sage State a little too quickly.

    In six months¡¯ time, she advanced to the Sage State. Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not believe that Ping Yang¡¯s foundation was solid.

    ¡°It seems like although her cultivation is there, her state of mind is stillcking.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to catch up with Ping Yang when he felt that Yun Qingwu moved.

    He lowered his head...

    And saw Yun Qingwu staring at him.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could see some things from Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes, which had lost the calmness.

    Instead, there was a zing emotion in her eyes.

    Seriously?

    Did Yun Qingwu get influenced by the spell too?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know whether to consider this as a good or bad thing. However, he was not surprised by this as after all, Yun Qingwu¡¯s level of cultivation was very low.

    She was only at the Star Conglomerate State.

    She entered the ck stone pce with a Star Conglomerate State. If she did not get influenced by the illusion spell, then nobody else would.

    ¡°Fang... Fang Zhengzhi, I... I need to tell you something.¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu spoke and edged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°How many times have I said that...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to reply her before he realized that he did not need to because Yun Qingwu was under the spell.

    If she was under the illusion spell, would she still remember what he had said?

    Of course not!

    This wasmon sense and Fang Zhengzhi knew about this. Therefore, after a slight hesitation, he took back his words.

    ¡°I... I did not lead the troops to the Northern Mountain Vige... Northern Mountain Vige... it was my father, he ordered for the troops to go...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly.

    The military order was not given by Yun Qingwu? It was a military order by the Demon Lord? How was this possible, Yun Qingwu was at the Northern Mountain Vige at that time. He clearly saw that with his own eyes.

    Could it be that Yun Qingwu was not under the illusion spell?

    Was it a plot by her?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had to be cautious about this as it was likely that Yun Qingwu was acting as though she was under the spell so as to make Fang Zhengzhi release her.

    How was that possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish.

    ¡°That day, when I... when I rushed over to the Northern Mountain Vige, your vige chief had already... already died. I could only save your father and mother, I...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi could no longer make out what Yun Qingwu said after that as there was a ferocious gigantic wave surging in his heart.

    Yun Qingwu saved his father and mother?!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that!

    He would never believe it!

    ¡°She must be faking!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was certain that Yun Qingwu was faking. In order to prove this, he felt that it was time to sacrifice his image.

    What was Yun Qingwu most afraid of?

    Chastity!

    Fang Zhengzhi was very aware of this. He clearly remembered how he forced Yun Qingwu to act normally by using this tactic.

    If Yun Qingwu was acting, she would definitely not tolerate it.

    Touch her?

    And see what was her reaction?

    Anyway...

    Ping Yang had already run ahead and there was no one around. If he did not do it now, when can he do it?

    However, was he taking advantage of Yun Qingwu?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma. Although he was slightly shameless, he had his bottom line with regards to gender issues. It was always the woman taking advantage of him and not the other way round.

    He could not get used to being the one initiating it. ( B oxnovel.c om )

    Ok...

    Then he shall just touch the face!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not bring himself to take advantage of Yun Qingwu when she was under the ¡°illusion spell¡±.

    After all, this was a morally wrong thing to do.

    Even though Yun Qingwu made use of him often, he would be nothing better than a wicked demon if he did it.

    A touch on the face was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s limit.

    At this moment, he moved and touched Yun Qingwu¡¯s face. It felt so smooth and warm that his palm trembled.

    Then, a scene that shocked Fang Zhengzhi happened.

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi touched Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, Yun Qingwu¡¯s arms wrapped around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    She did not press on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right chest like before.

    Instead, she wrapped her arms around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s handpletely and this caused him to feel a ¡°stress¡± on his arm.

    ¡°I did not do that on purpose!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin himself but Yun Qingwu hugged his arm so tightly without any worries and her smooth face rubbed against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm unknowingly.

    Moreover, after Yun Qingwu rubbed against his arm, she stretched out her hand and grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pants.

    ¡°I... f*ck!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time and before he knew, the waistband on his pants was forcefully pulled down by Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi who was running while hugging onto Yun Qingwu never expected her to do this and almost tripped and fell.

    It had to be admitted that this action waspletely out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control. He could say for sure that Yun Qingwu would definitely not do this even if she did not want him to kill her.

    What was she doing?!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and Mo Shanshi stared at them.

    Moreover, Mu Xing and the three Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were chasing them closely behind. Why did Yun Qingwu decide to do this at this point in time?!

 Chapter 973 - This Wave of â€œTurbulentâ€ Operation

    <h4>Chapter 973: This Wave of ¡°Turbulent¡± Operation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is sneakily attacking us!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race became extremely cautious as the three Godly State experts were attacked. After all, the haze around them disrupted their vision and they could not see what was in a distance.

    That affected the speed of the troop¡¯s progress.

    However, it merely affected their speed as this attack did not seriously hurt the three Godly State experts.

    ¡°Follow closely!¡± Mu Xing frowned and gave hismands. Meanwhile, the light screen on top of his head became brighter.

    It was evident that the Godly State experts, including Mu Xing, did not notice the change in color of the surroundings. Meanwhile, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race followed closely behind the Godly State Experts with a serious expression.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi saw the ck ¡°things¡±.

    It was like a texture of stone. Of course, Fang Zhengzhi would not bother about it if it was merely a ck stone.

    That was because that would only mean that the road in the haze was paved by ck stones.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi saw the ck stones, his eyes widened and he looked evidently shocked.

    The reason was...

    There were some special marks on the rocks which looked like they were made by gigantic locks.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen simr marks once before.

    It was on the Heaven Zen Mountain after the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons opened. The first gigantic ck rock thatnded had the same mark on it.

    In other words, the ck stone paved on the ground was exactly the same as the ck rocks that sealed the ancient monsters and demons in terms of both texture and marking.

    How did this happen?!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not understand why.

    That was because based on his understanding, the ck stones should only exist in the gxy world and they were used to seal the body and spirits of the monsters and demons.

    Why were there simr ck stones here?

    Unless there were monsters and demons sealed in the ck stone pce too?

    Impossible!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly negated this possibility. Although he saw a bit of the ck light, he could roughly seduce that the entire floor beneath his feet was paved by the ck stones. Judging from the size, what kind of monster or demon required so many ck stones to be sealed?

    This guess was over-terrifying and Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that such a thing would happen. Therefore, he quickly negated this possibility.

    However, although he negated it, this discovery made him think of something.

    ck stone pce...

    Should be rted to the gxy world.

    However, if it was rted to the gxy world, why did it end up at the foot of the sword peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?

    Shouldn¡¯t it be on the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    Moreover, the ck stone pce appeared before the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons had opened.

    Wait a minute!

    Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    ck stone pce? Heaven Zen Mountain... Earlier?!

    Could it be that asion? That asion when Nangong Hao was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly remembered something. Nangong Hao once killed the ex-leader Tian Xing of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain at the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Nangong Hao also opened a door then.

    Heaven-Receiving Door!

    And the Heaven-Receiving Doornded in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    ¡°The ck stone pce flew out from the Heaven-Receiving Door and the Heaven-Receiving Door was connected to the gxy world, this means that... the ck stone pce is simr to the ck stones that sealed the monsters and demons, they belong to the gxy world!¡± Fang Zhengzhi figured this out very quickly.

    However, there was another problem now.

    ording to the ancient legend, in the past, a natural disaster struck and another Earth led the humankind, Monster Race and Demon Race to defend against the natural disaster.

    Then, because of the depletion of her strength, Mother Earth was unable to bring back the Godly State experts of the three races and hence they ended up being sealed in the gxy world.

    Therefore, what was the wrecked ck stone pce meant for?

    That did not make sense at all!

    Since Mother Earth had depleted her strength and the Godly State experts were sealed, how could there possibly be another ck stone pce built in the gxy world?

    Furthermore, it was a wrecked pce.

    Wait a minute!

    Something was wrong, very wrong!

    Fang Zhengzhi remembered that Ping Yang had once told him that Mu Qingfeng decided to hold an alliance meeting after he saw something in the ck stone pce.

    Meanwhile, there were records about the natural disaster in the ck stone pce.

    This meant that the ck stone pce should have existed after the natural disaster and this could be proven by Qin Xian, Mu Xing and the other Godly State experts.

    After Mu Xing and the three Godly State experts led the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race into the ck stone pce, they did not seem very familiar with the interior of it.

    This meant that they were unaware of the presence of the ck stone pce as well.

    The ck stone pce was built after the natural disaster but came from the gxy world?

    It was impossible!

    How could this be possible?

    That was because the Gate of God connecting to the gxy world was already closed and Mother Earth should have ¡°died¡± by then, however, all the Godly State experts in the gxy world were sealed. Who would be able to get to the gxy world to build this wrecked pce

    Moreover, the materials used to build this pce was the same material as that used to seal the Godly State experts.

    It was too strange.

    All of the evidence seemed to be telling Fang Zhengzhi that the ck stone pce should not have existed. However, he was forced to believe as the truth was right in front of him.

    ¡°Forget it, I will reserve my judgments until I find the stone tablet and see what was inscribed on it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not someone who dwelled over things.

    Since he could not figure out about it, he would not think about it now.

    Meanwhile, because of Fang Zhengzhi, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the three Godly State experts had slowed down a little and the distance between them and the Human Alliance widened.

    If he did not leave now, when would he leave?

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to grab onto Ping Yang and continue running but did not manage to catch anything.

    ¡°...¡±

    What the hell?

    Where was Ping Yang? Where did she go? Didn¡¯t he ask Ping Yang to follow him?

    Fang Zhengzhi swept around him from behind to the left then to the right before he realized that Ping Yang had run ahead of him.

    Moreover, she acted like a crazy dog.

    She ran at an extremely fast speed.

    As she ran, she waved the zing Qilin Spear in her hands and said, ¡°I am the number one Battle God in the world, die, monsters and demons!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Evidently, Ping Yang had been influenced by the voices around her and was in the illusionary state.

    By right, this was something that should not happen as after all, even though Ping Yang was not as powerful as Fang Zhengzhi, she always still a sage.

    The Illusionary state...

    Should not exist!

    However, Ping Yang behaved as though she was affected by the illusion spell.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was correct, the reason behind this should be rted to how Ping Yang did not have a solid foundation as she had entered the Sage State a little too quickly.

    In six months¡¯ time, she advanced to the Sage State. Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not believe that Ping Yang¡¯s foundation was solid.

    ¡°It seems like although her cultivation is there, her state of mind is stillcking.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to catch up with Ping Yang when he felt that Yun Qingwu moved.

    He lowered his head...

    And saw Yun Qingwu staring at him.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could see some things from Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes, which had lost the calmness.

    Instead, there was a zing emotion in her eyes.

    Seriously?

    Did Yun Qingwu get influenced by the spell too?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know whether to consider this as a good or bad thing. However, he was not surprised by this as after all, Yun Qingwu¡¯s level of cultivation was very low.

    She was only at the Star Conglomerate State.

    She entered the ck stone pce with a Star Conglomerate State. If she did not get influenced by the illusion spell, then nobody else would.

    ¡°Fang... Fang Zhengzhi, I... I need to tell you something.¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu spoke and edged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°How many times have I said that...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to reply her before he realized that he did not need to because Yun Qingwu was under the spell.

    If she was under the illusion spell, would she still remember what he had said?

    Of course not!

    This wasmon sense and Fang Zhengzhi knew about this. Therefore, after a slight hesitation, he took back his words.

    ¡°I... I did not lead the troops to the Northern Mountain Vige... Northern Mountain Vige... it was my father, he ordered for the troops to go...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly.

    The military order was not given by Yun Qingwu? It was a military order by the Demon Lord? How was this possible, Yun Qingwu was at the Northern Mountain Vige at that time. He clearly saw that with his own eyes.

    Could it be that Yun Qingwu was not under the illusion spell?

    Was it a plot by her?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had to be cautious about this as it was likely that Yun Qingwu was acting as though she was under the spell so as to make Fang Zhengzhi release her.

    How was that possible?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish.

    ¡°That day, when I... when I rushed over to the Northern Mountain Vige, your vige chief had already... already died. I could only save your father and mother, I...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi could no longer make out what Yun Qingwu said after that as there was a ferocious gigantic wave surging in his heart.

    Yun Qingwu saved his father and mother?!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that!

    He would never believe it!

    ¡°She must be faking!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was certain that Yun Qingwu was faking. In order to prove this, he felt that it was time to sacrifice his image.

    What was Yun Qingwu most afraid of?

    Chastity!

    Fang Zhengzhi was very aware of this. He clearly remembered how he forced Yun Qingwu to act normally by using this tactic.

    If Yun Qingwu was acting, she would definitely not tolerate it.

    Touch her?

    And see what was her reaction?

    Anyway...

    Ping Yang had already run ahead and there was no one around. If he did not do it now, when can he do it?

    However, was he taking advantage of Yun Qingwu?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in a dilemma. Although he was slightly shameless, he had his bottom line with regards to gender issues. It was always the woman taking advantage of him and not the other way round.

    He could not get used to being the one initiating it.

    Ok...

    Then he shall just touch the face!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not bring himself to take advantage of Yun Qingwu when she was under the ¡°illusion spell¡±.

    After all, this was a morally wrong thing to do.

    Even though Yun Qingwu made use of him often, he would be nothing better than a wicked demon if he did it.

    A touch on the face was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s limit.

    At this moment, he moved and touched Yun Qingwu¡¯s face. It felt so smooth and warm that his palm trembled.

    Then, a scene that shocked Fang Zhengzhi happened.

    Just when Fang Zhengzhi touched Yun Qingwu¡¯s face, Yun Qingwu¡¯s arms wrapped around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    She did not press on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right chest like before.

    Instead, she wrapped her arms around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s handpletely and this caused him to feel a ¡°stress¡± on his arm.

    ¡°I did not do that on purpose!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin himself but Yun Qingwu hugged his arm so tightly without any worries and her smooth face rubbed against Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s palm unknowingly.

    Moreover, after Yun Qingwu rubbed against his arm, she stretched out her hand and grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pants.

    ¡°I... f*ck!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time and before he knew, the waistband on his pants was forcefully pulled down by Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi who was running while hugging onto Yun Qingwu never expected her to do this and almost tripped and fell.

    It had to be admitted that this action waspletely out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control. He could say for sure that Yun Qingwu would definitely not do this even if she did not want him to kill her.

    What was she doing?!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and Mo Shanshi stared at them.

    Moreover, Mu Xing and the three Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were chasing them closely behind. Why did Yun Qingwu decide to do this at this point in time?!

 Chapter 974 - An Ancient Handwritten Letter, the Tomb of the Source of God

    <h4>Chapter 974: An Ancient Handwritten Letter, the Tomb of the Source of God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu who was in his hand. He looked at her eyes which were glistening with warmth and her beautiful alluring face.

    Yun Qingwu was really beautiful.

    If Yun Qingwu was not the Young Lord of the Monster Race and Demon Race, if he did not hold any grudges with Yun Qingwu, if Yun Qingwu was an ordinary person...

    Fang Zhengzhi really did not mind making love with Yun Qingwu.

    However, even if these did not exist, Yun Qingwu was Yun Qingwu, the Young Lord of the Monster and Demon Race, the enemy of humankind and Fang Zhengzhi

    Then, some things would definitely not take ce.

    Moreover, the timing was not right. Even if they wanted to make love, they did not have enough time.

    After all, he was not someone who had a weak body since young and had difficulties ejacting.

    How could heplete it without requiring a few hours and undergoing dozens or hundred over different positions?

    Did he want to let the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Mo Shanshi and the rest watch a live scene?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not shameless until this extent. Therefore, he pulled his pants up with all his might when Yun Qingwu continued to pull it down.

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) However, Yun Qingwu seemed to have made up her mind. Since she could not do it with one hand, she used both her hands and pulled his pants down from the left and right.

    Split!

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. He had seen people who pulled others¡¯ pants but it was the first time he saw someone insisted on forcefully pulling others¡¯ pants even after she failed.

    What the f*ck!

    If Yun Qingwu really pulled his pants down there, how would he still have the face to face anyone else in the future?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi decided to ruin the beautiful moment with cruelty. Since his pants had been torn, he could no longer protect himself further and might as well p Yun Qingwu until she fainted.

    As Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, Yun Qingwu spoke again, ¡°You lied to me... You lied to me that you wanted a carefree life. However, you left the Northern Mountain Vige. You still can¡¯t get your mind off the humans, like me.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand because he did not want to hear any other words from her.

    However, Yun Qingwu still had more to say and in fact looked even more agitated as she flushed. ¡°I know you won¡¯t be able to do it, in fact, me too... I can¡¯t see the people in my race get bullied while I remain stuck in the Blood Shadow City. I know... I know you want to kill me but do you know that I never wanted to kill you...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand stopped moving.

    If Yun Qingwu was not under the illusion spell, how would she pull down his pants? However, if Yun Qingwu was indeed under the illusion spell, she said that she never wanted to kill him?

    Who would f*cking believe that!

    Yun Qingwu was too smart.

    She was so smart that people could not figure out whether she was acting or not. In fact, her acting skills were superb too.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that the only way to tell if Yun Qingwu was lying or not was to push her down and start taking advantage of her.

    However, the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were following too closely behind.

    He had no time!

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) How to take advantage of her?

    Unless he wanted to do it while running?

    That was...

    A little too difficult.

    It was impossible for him to do that.

    Wait a minute!

    There was another way!

    Source of God!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not kill Yun Qingwu because of another reason which was that Yun Qingwu was probably the person who had the most understanding of the Source of God.

    Yet now, since Yun Qingwu was under the influence of the illusion spell, could he possibly try to get some information about the Source of God from her?

    If Yun Qingwu was acting, she would definitely not reveal any information about the Source of God. Therefore he could also use this to prove if Yun Qingwu was indeed under the illusion spell or not.

    Acting straight away had always been Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength

    ¡°Cough cough... you said you don¡¯t want to kill me, how can I believe you? Now that the Holy Region is filled with Godly State experts, even if you don¡¯t want to kill me, how would they let me off?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he continued running forward

    ¡°They won¡¯t dare to kill you. As long as I am there, they will...¡±

    ¡°What if they don¡¯t listen to you? Take Qin Xian, for example, he wanted to drive you to death, do you think the Monster Race and Demon Race will still listen to you when they take over the world?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu was silent and breathed heavily. She finally stopped pulling Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s pants.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not probe further.

    That was because he knew Yun Qingwu needed time to think. The speed of thinking was much slower in the illusionary state.

    However, fortunately, he still had a bit of time.

    At least, even though Ping Yang was ¡°charging and killing¡± as she ran, she was not facing any actual danger.

    After a couple of minutes, Yun Qingwu sighed slightly and hugged onto Fang Zhengzhi as she was about to doze off.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that he could not stop waiting any longer because if Yun Wingwu really fell asleep, he did not know how long he had to wait for. ¡°Tell me where the Source of God is. If I can find the Source of God, the Godly State experts will no longer be able to kill me!¡±

    ¡°Source of God?!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands on Fang Zhengzhi suddenly trembled and she blushed as she breathed much faster as though she was struggling to catch her breath. ¡°No... I can¡¯t tell you where the Source of God is. If I did that, I would have betrayed the Monster Race and Demon Race. I can¡¯t... I can¡¯t...¡±

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) ¡°So she was indeed acting!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his hand again as he was about to p Yun Qingwu so that she fainted.

    However, Yun Qingwu became more agitated.

    Not only was she breathing very quickly, both her hands and legs started kicking about as though she just got triggered very badly.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t tell you, I also can¡¯t fall in love with you... I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t love you, you are human and I am a monster... we don¡¯t belong in the same world. I need to kill you, no... I can¡¯t kill you, you can¡¯t die, I don¡¯t want to see you die... Source of God, Source of God is the restrictednd...¡±

    ¡°Restrictednd?! The Source of God is the restrictednd?¡± Fang Zhengzhi narrowed his eyes and his hand stopped in midair.

    ¡°There... there are too many secrets in there... it¡¯s a tomb, you cannot open that tomb, no matter what happens, you cannot open it, cannot open it...¡±

    ¡°Tomb? Where is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, stop asking me, I don¡¯t know...¡±An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± wrote that one cannot open the tomb no matter what...¡±

    ¡± An Ancient Handwritten Letter? What else is written in it?¡±

    ¡°It wrote... wrote... no, I can¡¯t tell you all of these, I can¡¯t, can¡¯t, I can¡¯t!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands started to move around crazily and the zing gaze in her eyes started to turn red. She looked like she was in extreme pain.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    Spat! Right after Fang Zhengzhi finished asking his question, Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    It was a shocking turn in the event.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time and Yun Qingwu¡¯s blood was spat on his face. Fortunately, he was still wearing the ck face cloth on his face.

    As the blood was spat, Yun Qingwu¡¯s body started to cramp. Veins popped up from her hands and her whole body was in spasm.

    Evidently, she was about to die.

    Indeed, Yun Qingwu was too weak.

    Was it because she was under the illusion spell for too long with a low level of enlightenment state?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have a lot of knowledge about the illusion spell but he knew that one¡¯s mind could die after an intensive trigger.

    Yun Qingwu seemed to be acting like this.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t let Yun Qingwu die so easily!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not know what went through his mind. He also did not know if he should save Yun Qingwu or not but he felt that he should not let Yun Qingwu die so easily.

    No matter what, he should torture her a bit before letting her die?

    For example, leather whip, wax...

    Cough cough!

    Fang Zhengzhi was not so sadistic so he negated these thoughts and pped Yun Qingwu¡¯s chest.

    Bam!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body froze suddenly and her eyes widened and stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, the red light in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes disappeared and blood started trickling down from the corner of her mouth as her vision started to be clearer.

    ¡°Cough...¡± Yun Qingwu coughed violently. She stood upright, closed and opened her eyes and looked as though she had returned to normal.

    When she returned to normal, her gaze fell on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and looked lost when she saw the ck face cloth that was smeared with blood.

    However, this did notst for a long time. Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression returned to a calm state after a few seconds¡¯ time.

    Her hand pushed on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right chest again.

    Then, Yun Qingwu allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold her like that as though nothing had happened.

    Fang Zhengzhi was impressed with Yun Qingwu.

    Speaking of calmness, Yun Qingwu was extremely good at that. There were so many things that happened in her ¡°dream¡±, yet after she woke up, she could differentiate between the ¡°Dream¡± and reality and calm down so quickly. Nobody could match up to her intelligence in this aspect.

    ¡°You said a lot of things in your dream earlier on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to remind Yun Qingwu or his previous efforts would have gone to waste.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu did not talk but her gaze changed slightly.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, you mentioned the Northern Mountain Vige in your dreams?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu still did not speak but her hand on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest trembled slightly as she was evidently shocked.

    ¡°Moreover, you said that you did not make themands for what happened in the Northern Mountain Vige and you saved the lives of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked cold as he said this.

    ¡°These are not important.¡± Yun Qingwu finally spoke.

    ¡°Oh? You would not bother exining this to him even if you meet him?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly curious.

    ¡°Haha, he wants me to die and I want him to die too. It will be easier for me to attack him with hatred in mind. For example, if I said I wanted to save the people, would you release me?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously and sneered after a short hesitation.

    ¡°No.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head because he already understood what Yun Qingwu meant. To save or to kill, did it really matter?

    Perhaps it did!

    But perhaps not!

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu were ultimately enemies. This was destined since birth and could not be changed.

    As a human, one wanted the humankind to prosper.

    As a demon, one wanted to revitalize the Demon Race.

    As a monster, one wanted the Monster Race to take over the world.

    This was a logic that never changed since the beginning of time. Since they were in different races, to ¡°save¡± or to ¡°kill¡±, did it still matter?

    ¡°You also mentioned something called the ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±... in your dreams!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped asking about the question regarding to ¡°save¡± or to ¡°kill¡± as he already had the answer to it.

    However, he still did not have to answer to another question and wanted to try his luck while Yun Qingwu just regained consciousness and had yet to stabilizepletely.

    ¡°...¡± Aspared to a slight tremble earlier on, Yun Qingwu¡¯s actions were much bigger. Not only did her limbs tremble, but her expression also changedpletely and she stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes as if she was trying to make out something from them. ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand you!¡±

    ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter... Tomb... Do you need me to continue?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could evidently sense Yun Qingwu¡¯s nervousness and definitely would not let this opportunity go.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed and her face turned pale.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t know what I am talking about. However, ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± is such an important thing, you should have it with you at all times, right?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said this, his gaze fell on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face and looked down at her neck.

    On Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck...

    There was no longer the pendant as after all, he had snatched the pendant on the Heaven Zen Mountain. However, Yun Qingwu evidently loved pendants.

    That was because there was a different pendant on her neck. It had the shape of a teardrop and was glistening with a sky blue radiance.

 Chapter 975 - Do You Conduct Electricity

    <h4>Chapter 975: Do You Conduct Electricity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You think I will bring something so important along with me?¡± Yun Qingwu felt the gaze in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and trembled uncontrobly.

    ¡°I will know the answer after I take a look.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about proving further because he knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s personality very well.

    Admit it herself?

    That would definitely not happen to Yun Qingwu.

    He could only snatch it. Therefore, after he finished his sentence, Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his hand and tried to grab the pendant on Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck.

    Yun Qingwu resisted.

    She resisted with full force and it could be described as using both her fists and her legs. However, she was too weak.

    A person with the Star Conglomerate State was nothing in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Without much efforts, Fang Zhengzhi presses down on Yun Qingwu¡¯s head and pulled the pendant down from Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t look at it!¡± Yun Qingwu became worried as she saw her pendant snatched by Fang Zhengzhi. It was an expression that was rarely seen on her.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled. Like what he had guessed, ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± was hidden in the pendant. If not, Yun Qingwu would not be so anxious.

    He made up his mind and looked into the pendant.

    Soon, he found a lot of different books in the pendant. Apart from books, there were also figures of formations and exotic gemstones.

    However...

    90 percent over of the things inside the pendant were books. Each book was as thick as a fist and piled up to form a small hill.

    Yun Qingwu really liked to read books and the books that she read were from almost every single genre.

    However, amongst these books, exactly which one was ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a strange force on his chest as though something was going to be pulled out of his body.

    Oh no, he was tricked!

    Fang Zhengzhi quickly withdrew his attention from the pendant. However, it was toote as a glistening pendant had appeared in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand.

    It was the pendant that Fang Zhengzhi snatched from her on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Yet now...

    It was in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand.

    Boom! Following a loud boom, a powerful collision force struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest and he could no longer hold onto Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu snatched the pendant in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and made use of this force to escape from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grasp. She flew towards a distance away and was as fast as a bolt of lightning.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that apart from storing things, the pendant was a powerful treasure that allowed one to resist collision forces. However, he did not expect Yun Qingwu to be able to withdraw the pendant from ¡°The Vast World¡± in his chest?

    Could it be that she had already thought of this n when she was caught?

    Even though she had already confirmed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity, she did not show any signs that she had ¡°figured it out¡± or not, instead, she used the riskiest method and shouted, ¡°I am sure that you are Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    She was able to act in such a way and nobody could figure out whether she was behaving as though it was real or not.

    Indeed, only Yun Qingwu had such endurance.

    However, Yun Qingwu must have been really agitated as she was forced by him. If not, she would not have forcefully acted at this moment.

    After all, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were still a long distance behind them.

    Meanwhile, the disciples of the Human Alliance followed behind Fang Zhengzhi. Even if Yun Qingwu managed to get out of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s grasp, where could she run to?

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, you won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought it was hrious as he watched how Yun Qingwu ran ahead.

    In the past, he had seen the smiles on the faces of bad guys who chased after a weakdy and forced her into a corner.

    Now, that smile was seen on his face.

    Where was she running to?

    Yun Qingwu had nowhere to run to!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t force me!¡± shouted Yun Qingwu as she ran, showing no signs of slowing down.

    However, even if she did not slow down...

    She was running very slowly.

    To put it outrightly, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he only needed a few seconds¡¯ time to recapture Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°So what if I force you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang who was a distance away and then at Yun Qingwu who was still nearby. He decided to recapture Yun Qingwu first as he was aware that there was a risk in a turn of events if his actions were dyed.

    Moreover, after Yun Qingwu found out about his identity, he would definitely not let Yun Qingwu go.

    ¡°Let¡¯s strike a deal.¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°If you promise me to not look for the Source of God, I will tell you everything that I know.¡±

    ¡°Haha, do you think I will agree?¡±

    ¡°Also... I... I can promise you to let the Monster Race and Demon Race return to the Great Swamp and not leave the ce for 100 years. I also can tell you how to close the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked when he heard this as he did not expect Yun Qingwu to be pushed to such an extent.

    How was this a deal?

    It was more like a ceasefire agreement!

    However, why did Yun Qingwu agree to such a condition? What exactly was in the Source of God and the tomb that could not be opened?

    Fang Zhengzhi was curious.

    An impulse kept telling him to find the Source of God and open the tomb. However,mon sense also reminded him that there was something unknowingly terrifying in an unknown opportunity.

    Of course, these should be said at ater time. No matter whether he decided to agree with the deal, he should recapture Yun Qingwu first.

    ¡°Alright, I agree with your deal. Stop running.¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to lure his opponent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± said Yun Qingwu without looking back.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had reached Yun Qingwu and whacked the back of Yun Qingwu¡¯s neck with his hand.

    Evidently, the biggest weakness of Yun Qingwu was the fact that she was too incapable.

    Fang Zhengzhi caught Yun Qingwu who had copsed while opened her hands and was about to get the two pendants back.

    However, what shocked him was that there were no pendants in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why Yun Qingwu ran even though she knew she couldn¡¯t escape. That was because she never ever thought of escaping.

    Since the start, Yun Qingwu¡¯s goal was on the pendant.

    It was really difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to get back the pendant from Yun Qingwu...

    Where would it be?

    Could it be hidden somewhere else on her body, or did she drop it on the way?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked behind him at the thick haze. It was like finding a needle in the sea if he wanted to search for the two small pendants in the haze.

    Moreover, Ping Yang had run far away and he could not possibly leave Ping Yang like that!

    Moreover, the disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were chasing after him with all their might.

    Should he get Ping Yang back first?

    Then run back to look for the pendants?

    F*ck, he did not have so much time now!

    Moreover, he was not even sure if Yun Qingwu really dropped the pendants on the ground as it was just his own guess.

    Left with no choice, Fang Zhengzhi could only continue running forward.

    Then, he suddenly realized that Ping Yang who was initially in front of him had suddenly vanished.

    Seriously?

    Why was she doing this at this point in time!

    Just as he was about to dash forward to see what had happened, Ping Yang appeared in front of him again but was much calmer aspared to earlier on.

    She was also shaking her head non-stop.

    ¡°Ping Yang,¡± shouted Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm? Why are you not out yet? How weak are you, I, the prin... er, I had killed so many monsters and demons on my way out!¡± Ping Yang looked extremely proud of herself as she turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Killed so many monsters and demons?¡± Fang Zhengzhi would not believe it. However, Ping Yang looked like she had managed to leave the illusionary state by herself.

    However, how did she leave the illusionary state by herself?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not certain about that but he figured it out very quickly because as he ran towards Ping Yang, he fell into a hole.

    Then...

    He fell down while hugging onto Yun Qingwu.

    Plop! He did not fall with his face on the ground but it was still a rtively heavy fall while hugging onto Yun Qingwu.

    Fortunately, though, Yun Qingwu acted as his ¡°cushion¡±.

    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse. Who the f*ck dug a deep hole at the edge of the haze.

    Wasn¡¯t that on purpose?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Ping Yangughed whole-heartedly.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi saw a patch of dirt on Ping Yang¡¯s forehead. Evidently, Ping Yang had fallen earlier on and she probably regained consciousness because of that.

    No wonder she suddenly vanished.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought he was exceptionally smart. However, he did not expect Ping Yang to have vanished and regained consciousness because of the fall.

    Indeed...

    An intelligent man looked foolish.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to teach Ping Yang proper manners, he suddenly realized the haze with streams of light in front of him had disappeared.

    The haze with the streams of light was reced by nine gigantic ck chains.

    Nine chains locked nine different positions of stars, extending from the spot he was standing at towards his head.

    A cloud of thick ck haze was at the location that the nine chains led to, with purple bolts of lightning shing once in a while.

    ¡°These chains?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell upon the nine ck chains. The material of these chains was exactly the same as that of the chains in the gxy.

    However, this was the first time he had seen these ck chains up close. Furthermore, from their thickness, they looked much thicker and stronger than the chains which were used to lock the gigantic ck rocks in the gxy world as the thickness of each of these chains were at least the length of five people¡¯s height.

    The nine chains were connected to the ck haze in the sky and nobody could see what was above them or in front of them. It was like apletely different world from the white haze earlier on.

    ¡°Crack!¡± A bolt of lightning struck the center of the nine chains and made a loud sound: meanwhile, purple bolts of lightning appeared on the nine chains.

    ¡°It seems like they are moving up?¡± While Fang Zhengzhi was shocked, he looked closely at the ck haze above him. He could not figure out what was inside even if he used the eye of Ghost Dao.

    What exactly was it?

    Apart from the same ck stones and chains in the gxy world, what else was hidden in the wrecked ck stone pce?

    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s hurry up and leave.¡± Ling Yang was more excited and curious about the unknown than worried.

    ¡°Leave? Do you conduct electricity?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt angry and wanted tough at the same time.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s mouth was agape in confusion.

    ¡°Look at the chains.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the lightning on the chains. If he was not wrong, the ck haze above him should be a thunder cloud.

    The thunder cloud shrouded above the ck chains and lightning struck asionally and were reflected upwards by the chains.

    Then, new lightning would strike once the lightning returned to the clouds.

    This was an endless cycle.

    After Fang Zhengzhi pointed it out, Ping Yang saw the bolts of lightning on the ck chains. She blinked her eyes and reacted quickly.

    ¡°I am not sure whether I can tolerate the electricity, but I¡¯m sure that Yun Qingwu can¡¯t!¡± Ping Yang raises her head as she said.

    ¡°So?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°So you sure think about how to carry her up!¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°Climb? I don¡¯t need to climb, I have wings,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang, who initially wanted to see the hrious act, was stunned for a moment when she heard this. Then she looked at Yun Qingwu before turning to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she figure out your identity if you used wings?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded before he turned Yun Qingwu around. ¡°But she is unconscious.¡±

    Ping Yang moved her mouth and did not know how to reply to him. Then, she heard a voice.

    ¡°Do you want me to bring you along?¡±

 Chapter 976 - The Inverted World

    <h4>Chapter 976: The Inverted World</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°No, I can go up by myself!¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu in his chest and rejected outrightly.

    Furthermore, after rejecting him, Ping Yang dashed towards the chains, leaped and stopped stably at a height of twenty feet.

    Then, she turned around.

    She looked down at Fang Zhengzhi with an expression that signified her superiority. Then, without waiting, she continued flying upwards.

    It had to be admitted that Ping Yang was rtively nimble and her speed was fast. After all, it was easy for her to climb up a chain with the capability equivalent of a Sage State.

    However...

    Before she reached a hundred feet high, she trembled as though she was hit by something and even her hair stood up.

    ¡°In fact, you conduct electricity rather well.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled lightly and looked at a diagram below the chains.

    It was drawn intentionally on the floor but a part of it was erased by someone and what was left were merely the traces of the diagram.

    Despite that, one could still make out that the figures seemed to be various different formations and looked matching to the nine chains in front of them.

    ¡°I see.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head slightly.

    At this moment, a shout of agony was heard above him and a figure fell from the top.

    Fang Zhengzhi moved and stretched out his hand. He caught Ping Yang who was falling down and hugged her in his arms.

    Then, without waiting for Ping Yang to speak, he immediately dashed up along the chains. The ck-Golden Wings behind him spread open and wild wind blew.

    ¡°Don¡¯t... don¡¯t step on the chains, there... there is lightning...¡± Ping Yang looked extremely concerned while she was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms.

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) ¡°I know,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fly, you should fly...¡±

    ¡°Do you think there is no electricity if I flew?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless looking at Ping Yang but found it funny too.

    However, he knew that Ping Yang¡¯s personality was as such. She was stubborn and slightlypetitive, yet it was what made her cute too.

    ¡°You will get electrocuted even if you fly? How do you know that?¡± Ping Yang clearly did not believe him.

    ¡°You told me this!¡±

    ¡°I told you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you once told me that Mu Qingfeng entered this ce before and after he entered, he specially made a trip out to call Chi Guyan in.¡± Fang Zhengzhi exined to Ping Yang as he continued dashing upwards.

    ¡°What has this got to do with getting electrocuted while flying?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    ¡°Look at the diagrams on the ground.¡± Instead of exining directly, Fang Zhengzhi signaled to the marks on the ground.

    Ping Yang immediately looked down.

    Although she was already at a height of thirty feet, she immediately saw the blurry marks on the ground.

    Then, Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°You... Shameless brat, you knew this long ago?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face turned red after she figured out the marks of the diagram.

    ¡°I just saw it too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish enough to admit that he saw the marks when he fell.

    As he may be hit if he said that.

    Moreover, he was not certain that the diagram was really rted to the nine chains as after all, he had to test it to find out.

    And Ping Yang sessfully tested it out for him.

    Therefore, no matter how foolish he was, he would have guessed that the marks on the diagram were made after Mu Qingfeng brought Chi Guyan in.

    Who was Mu Qingfeng?

    The Pavilion Master of Heaven Dao Pavilion, one of the most powerful Sages.

    With this level of power, the only reason why Mu Qingfeng left the ck stone pce halfway without aplishing anything was that he encountered a problem that he could not resolve with his physical powers.

    If it was not resolved with his physical powers, then he would naturally need to depend on his intellectual capability.

    Intellectual capability was something that Mu Qingfeng had. He did not need to purposely go out and ask for help if he met ordinary traps.

    Yet, the reality was that Mu Qingfeng went out and only brought Chi Guyan back in.

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) Therefore, it meant that amongst the people in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, only Chi Guyan could resolve this problem.

    The answer was obvious now.

    Mu Qingfeng trained his sword powers and state of mind. Although he was powerful, if one looked at the ability to break through and resolve formations, he could not bepared to Chi Guyan who was born in the Divine Constabry and had studied the formations since she was young.

    Of course, this deduction could be proven by something else.

    There were no corpses of the disciples of the Human Alliance on the ground.

    How could the disciples of the Human Alliance be able to get up the chains if Ping Yang could not do it?

    The only possibility was that Mu Qingfeng had his way to break through the nine ck chains.

    ¡°Do we just go up like this? Then what about... Mo Shanshi and the rest?¡± After figuring out the logic behind it, Ping Yang was slightly worried about the Human Alliance behind them.

    ¡°Chi Guyan is indeed very powerful in terms of her understanding of thew of formations. However, she is not the best.¡± Fang Zhengzhi had guessed what Ping Yang was concerned about.

    ¡°Oh... I get it!¡± Ping Yang figured it out quickly.

    What was the Fu Xi Valley? It was the sect that had the best understanding of thew of formations amongst the five sects in the Holy Region. Therefore, how would Mo Shanshi not be able to break through the formation in front of them?

    ¡°If I can figure out the gist of the formation based on the marks, Mo Shanshi should be able to see them more clearly than me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi changed his position on the chains as he spoke.

    At the instant he changed his steps, a bolt of lightning struck at the position he was at initially and made a moderately loud sound.

    ¡°You figured it out just by one look?¡± Ping Yang was shocked when she saw this because after all, a part of the diagram had been destroyed.

    It was probably intentionally destroyed after Mu Qingfeng and the rest got up. The purpose was probably to prevent the demons and monsters from chasing after them and also to dy the time.

    ¡°Make a guess?¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    ¡°I thought only Sister Yan knows the Law of Formations, I never expected you to know that too?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing this.

    ¡°You are so confident in me?¡±

    ¡°Of...¡±

    Before Ping Yang could say the word ¡°course¡±, her body trembled and her hair which was already standing stood even higher.

    She was electrocuted!

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu were also electrocuted.

    The three of them were connected.

    Fang Zhengzhi moved his body slightly and was not surprised by the electrocution. pping the ck-golden wings, he moved to another chain very quickly.

    ¡°Shameless brat, didn¡¯t you say that you have figured it out?!¡± Ping Yang was mad.

    ¡°Did I say that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked innocent.

    It was more difficult for him to figure out the erased marks just by one look aspared to drawing those marks. Evidently, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s knowledge in terms of the Law of Formations was much poorer than Chi Guyan.

    As the saying went, ¡°so-so¡±, that was the urate description for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s understanding of the Law of Formations.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had already figured out a part of it and as he had surpassed Mu Qingfeng¡¯s skills, he was confident to continue going.

    ¡°Ah... I am going to die from the strike of lightning!¡± Ping Yang screamed after she regained consciousness.

    ¡°Are you dumb or what, even if we were to be struck, I would be the one dead first!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless.

    ¡°Hmm? Why?¡± Ping Yang did not understand but her expression had returned to normal. Evidently, she faked the scream earlier on.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that the strike of lightning didn¡¯t hurt?¡±

    ¡°Now that you say it... it seems like it. Why is this so?¡±

    ¡°Rubbish! I am blocking it!¡±

    ¡°I see, then I have nothing to worry about. However, although you were blocking it, why was I still electrocuted?¡± Ping Yang nodded but was suddenly confused again.

    ¡°We should share the pain together, I was mainly afraid that you have fallen asleep.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s mouth moved and she stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and clenched her fists tight.

    However, she did not punch Fang Zhengzhi with her fists.

    That was because the moment she clenched her fists, she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes blink and the light from the bolt of lightning shed across them.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi turned and hopped onto another ck chain.

    Evidently, Fang Zhengzhi was electrocuted again.

    However, this time, Ping Yang did not feel the strike of lightning. She merely felt a numbing sensation and it did not hurt at all.

    ¡°Shameless brat...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s head leaned towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest because she knew that although Fang Zhengzhi refused to admit it, he was blocking all the lightning that came from the ck chains on his own.

    And the few electrocutions earlier on...

    Should be because Fang Zhengzhi did not truly figure out the power of the lightning bolts.

    ...

    With the speedy leaps of Fang Zhengzhi, the three of them who were connected got closer and closer to the highest ck thunderous cloud on the nine ck chains.

    The nearer they got, the louder the thunderous sounds were.

    They were close!

    At the instant when the three of them dashed into the lightning, Ping Yang felt warm and a set of ck armor with gold radiance flowing in it appeared on her body.

    The lightning was striking non-stop.

    A bolt of lightning struck and hit the ck armor. However, Ping Yang could not fell any pain but instead felt as though she was being submerged in warm water.

    Not only was she not in pain, but she enjoyed it.

    ¡°Shameless brat is bing more and more powerful...¡± Ping Yang looked up slightly at the figure who was also wearing a set of ck armor and tightened her grip on him.

    Boom! A golden bolt of lightning struck past the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi twisted his body in an awkward manner and managed to move two feet away from the ce where the golden lightning struck.

    The golden lightning missed him.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued charging up to the thunder cloud.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang was so shocked that her mouth was open because she could not believe how Fang Zhengzhi was so fast that his speed wasparable to the speed of the lightning.

    ¡°When... when can I reach this level...¡±

    Boom!

    As Ping Yang was thinking about this, the ck thunder cloud disappeared and she found herself in a whole new world.

    The sound of thunder had stopped.

    What she saw in front of her was a stunningly beautiful and shocking scene. There were countless mountains around her and each of them was above theyer of white clouds.

    Meanwhile, underneath her was a tall mountain that was covered with nts and tall ancient trees.

    However; the strange thing was...

    These tall ancient trees did not grow towards the sky, instead, they were growing in a reversed manner as the top of the trees were growing towards the ground.

    It was a strange but shocking scene.

    Ping Yang looked around and her mouth opened bigger because she realized that not only did this phenomenon appear on the mountain she was standing on, but it was also the case for a waterfall at a distance.

    The silvery-white waterfall had water flowing rapidly from the bottom to the top and light shone as the water fell on the mountain rocks.

    Moreover, the other mountains around her were all showing the same phenomenon.

    All the mountains were hanging upside down in midair.

    Those clouds...

    Should be the clouds at the peak of the mountains!

    And what they were standing on was not the peak of the mountain but the bottom of it.

    They were standing on the bottom of the mountain!

    ¡°Wah, this ce is... really beautiful!¡± Although Ping Yang was shocked, the first sentence she said was an appreciation for the beautiful scenery.

    ¡°Hmm, it is indeed very beautiful.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded seriously.

    Although the world in front of them was inverted, this scene gave them a feeling that they never felt before.

    The word ¡°beautiful¡± was not sufficient to describe what they felt.

    However, what wascking was that there were countless pairs of eyes staring at the two of them.

    ¡°Who are you!¡±

    ¡°Who?!¡±

    The behavior of the two people who barged into this strange world but was ¡°blindly¡± admiring the beautiful scenery made it hard for an ordinary person to understand.

    Moreover, when their gaze fell on the two visitors, they shockingly discovered ady in a white dress.

    The woman was being hugged by a man who was masked with a ck face cloth and she looked like she was unconscious.

    ¡°Could this be...¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu!¡±

    ¡°The Daughter of the Monster and Demon Race, Yun Qingwu?!¡±

    All of the pairs of eyes widened. If they did not have the ck face cloth on their faces, one could definitely see their exaggerated mouths.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is Yun Qingwu, I identally caught her,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he saw the pairs of widened eyes.

 Chapter 977 - Kill Dao Hun Before Killing Dao Xin

    <h4>Chapter 977: Kill Dao Hun Before Killing Dao Xin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°He caught...¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu identally?!¡±

    ¡°God?! He called himself a God... He... he is Meng Tian? Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    When the figures heard Fang Zhengzhi, they exchanged nces with each other and looked extremely shocked because Fang Zhengzhi called himself ¡°the God¡±.

    Sagely Battle God ¡°Meng Tian¡± caught Yun Qingwu!

    How could this not shock the entire Human Alliance?

    Not only were the disciples of the Human Alliance shocked, even Wu Yuer who knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity had her mouth agape when she saw Yun Qingwu in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    ¡°This shameless brat, he really managed to catch Yun Qingwu? How did he do that?¡± As Wu Yuer was thinking about this, she quickly stood up. ¡°Senior Meng Tian caught Yun Qingwu, this is the best aplishment in the Human Alliance. Senior Meng Tian is our savior!¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is our savior!¡±

    ¡°This is awesome!¡±

    ¡°Now that we caught Yun Qingwu, we will definitely win!¡±

    The other disciples cheered and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in respect.

    However, Dao Hun who was masked with a ck face cloth was frowning.

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± caught Yun Qingwu. Such an aplishment was definitely terrifying. If nothing went wrong, the humankind would win the battle and ¡°Meng Tian¡± would be the king of the humankind and receive immense respect and admiration.

    As for Dao Hun...

    He would resume his position as the Hall Master of the Ying Yang Hall.

    It was unclear if he was able to return because humankind had already formed an alliance and the Five sects of the Holy Region no longer existed.

    ¡®No!¡¯

    ¡®I have put in so much efforts, I can¡¯t possibly give my position up to others!¡¯

    Dao Hun was indignant. He had nned so much just to climb up to his current position and yet everything was going to waste. How would he be willing to ept that?

    The ancient saying went, ¡°A man dies for money and a bird dies for food.¡±

    At his current status, money was no longer luring for Dao Hun. The only thing that would move him was power, the supreme power.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice the gaze in Dao Hun¡¯s eyes because he was looking at an arrogant figure behind Dao Hun. He saw the pair of cold eyes on the figure that was looking at him.

    Yan Xiu!

    He seemed to have slimmed down?

    Fang Zhengzhi was just about to greet Yan Xiu when a figure walked out from the crowd. Then, the ck cloth on his face was removed, revealing a hideous mask.

    ¡°I am Dao Hun, the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance. Senior Meng Tian was able to capture Yun Qingwu, this is a great honor for humankind. However, I do have something that I need to rify with Senior Meng Tian.¡± Dao Hun said politely to Fang Zhengzhi as he walked out.

    ¡°Hurry up.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Dao Hun and did not give him any respect.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Dao Hun¡¯s body shook and he looked extremely cold. However, after seeing the pairs of eyes looking at him, Dao Hun quickly calmed himself down as the cold gaze in his eyes disappeared. He said nicely to Meng Tian, ¡°Senior Meng Tian is a straightforward man. I am sorry to have offended you. I wanted to ask why did Senior Meng Tiane to this ce?¡±

    ¡°Oh? You mean I can¡¯te?¡±

    ¡°How would I dare to say that. However, I remember that Vice Alliance Leader Mo was guarding outside the pce. If Senior is here, does that mean that something went wrong outside?¡± Dao Hun was smart.

    ¡°Yes, there is a little turn in the event.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not lie about it.

    ¡°Only a little? May I ask Senior if Vice Alliance Leader Mo is safe and sound?¡± Dao Hun stepped forward as he said.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense in front of me. Shoot and stop wasting my time. If there¡¯s nothing important, don¡¯t block my way, I want to take a look at the stone tablet.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. He would definitely not be nice to Dao Hun as he definitely implied something in his sentence.

    ¡°You...¡± Dao Hun¡¯s gaze turned cold and fell on Yun Qingwu. ¡°Senior, you haven¡¯t answered my question, may I ask if Vice Alliance Leader Mo is not injured at all? Or... Vice Alliance Leader Mo is injured and is done by you personally?¡±

    ¡°Done by me personally?¡± For a moment, Fang Zhengzhi could not understand what Dao Hun meant.

    Besides him, the other disciples of the Human Alliance including Mu Qingfeng also frowned and was confused with what Dao Hun meant.

    ¡°You mean you didn¡¯t?¡± Dao Hun pressured him.

    ¡°Judging from your words... you are trying to falsely use me?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi was not very sure what Dao Hun meant, he could roughly guess what he was trying to do.

    ¡°I am just stating the facts. Since you came from the outside, why aren¡¯t you traveling with Vice Alliance Leader Mo? Did you kill him, or, are you a demon or monster?¡± Dao Hun¡¯s tone changed as he spoke and he was no longer courteous.

    That was because he had sensed something from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude.

    Something happened to Mo Shanshi!

    Even if he was not dead, he must be severely injured!

    Then, he saw some blood traces on Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang which told him that both of them were probably injured too.

    If he did not make a move now, when must he wait until?

    ¡°Alliance Leader Dao, what do you mean by that, I have already told you that Senior Meng Tian is the savior of the Human Alliance, he even killed the Godly State expert Lin Ji!¡± Wu Yuer could not hold in any further and yelled as she stood out from the crowd.

    ¡°Those are ims made by Sect Leader Wu alone, who saw it with their own eyes? Moreover, even if he killed Lin Ji, that is only the act of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Sagely Battle God Meng Tian... haha, how can someone who had died for a hundred yearse back to life?¡±

    Dao Hunpletely ignores Wu Yuer and continued after casually waving his hand, ¡°Now it¡¯s very obvious. Vice Alliance Leader Mo was killed and the killer was you... the so-called Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. If I am not wrong, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race must be behind now?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian killed Vice Alliance Leader Mo? How is this possible!¡±

    ¡°But he managed to capture Yun Qingwu? How would he possibly kill Vice Alliance Leader Mo?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance evidently did not believe Dao Hun. However, his words made some sense as the main problem was...

    Why didn¡¯t Mo Shanshi appear together with ¡°Meng Tian¡±!

    ¡°You are spouting nonsense...¡± Ping Yang could not hold it in further.

    However, Dao Hun did not allow Ping Yang to finish her sentence. He disrupted her halfway through her sentence and said, ¡°Stop. I only care about the truth. Now we do not know whether Vice Alliance Leader Mo is alive or not, your identity as the Sagely Battle God is suspicious. If you want to prove yourself, it¡¯s very simple, hand over Yun Qingwu and we will believe that you are not a monster or demon!¡±

    ¡°So you want Yun Qingwu.¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally figured out what Dao Hun wanted.

    Although he knew that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were no longer under Yun Qingwu¡¯s control, Dao Hun did not think so.

    In fact, anyone else would believe that controlling Yun Qingwu was equivalent to controlling the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Dao Hun wanted Yun Qingwu because of authority.

    If Yun Qingwu sessfully ended up in his hands, he would secure his position as the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance,

    ¡°So? You do not trust me? Or... do you not have the intention to hand Yun Qingwu over to the Human Alliance?¡± Dao Hun was more certain when he saw Fang Zhengzhi hesitate.

    ¡°Haha, Dao Hun, do you know what¡¯s the meaning of ¡®biting off more than one can chew¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled extremely brightly.

    He knew that many people in the Imperial Halls wanted authority, yet, he still felt speechless when he encountered someone like that.

    Most importantly...

    Dao Hun was really daring to do so!

    He was definitely biting off more than one can chew and overestimating himself.

    Of course, that was what went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. However, Dao Hun thought otherwise as he still had the Human Alliance supporting him.

    He did not know whether Mo Shanshi was dead or alive.

    There were also blood stains on ¡°Meng Tian¡±. Based on his deduction, there was definitely a violent ¡°blood battle¡± outside the ck stone pce.

    Perhaps ¡°Meng Tian¡± got desperate.

    In this situation, he could seize the opportunity to take Yun Qingwu down while defeating ¡°Meng Tian¡±, not only would the humankind win, but he would also secure his position as the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance.

    As the saying went, ¡°when could one find such an opportunity in the risk if one did not act now?¡±

    ¡°So... you are not intending to hand Yun Qingwu over?¡± Dao Hun stepped closer to Fang Zhengzhi as he spoke.

    ¡°I caught Yun Qingwu with my own capability. Why should I hand her over?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was unhappy.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t hand Yun Qingwu over, it means that you are a monster or demon and acting like the Sagely Battle God of humankind, waiting to kill all of us. ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, dream on!¡± Dao Hun was getting closer to Fang Zhengzhi and was only five feet away.

    ¡°So, what do you want to do to me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked as if he totally did not notice Dao Hun¡¯s attitude and intentionally ced one of his hand at his back.

    This scene made Dao Hun¡¯s gaze turn colder as he ced one hand at his waist and took two more steps forward.

    ¡°I do not want to do anything to you. I only hope that you can hand Yun Qingwu over as this would be a win-win situation for both you and the Human Alliance. Senior ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, don¡¯t tell me...¡±

    Dao Hun stopped at this point in time because he had already attacked. The soft sword at his waist was whipped out by him and the silvery white sword stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s throat while his other hand rose.

    As Dao Hun¡¯s left hand rose, a few figures appeared immediately from the Human Alliance.

    The elders of the Yin Yang Hall!

    They had already made the necessary preparations as Dao Hun edged closer to Fang Zhengzhi because they had figured out his intention.

    The signal given by Dao Hun was a signal.

    As Dao Hun attacked, the ten over Sages also attacked. Every one of them had sword light radiating in their hands and made killer moves.

    It was an instantaneous change in event.

    Even though the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance had sensed that something was wrong, they could not believe that Dao Hun really attacked Meng Tian.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Dao, you can¡¯t do that!¡± Mu Qingfeng wanted to stop but Dao Hun was so close to Fang Zhengzhi that it was impossible for him to stop Dao Hun.

    Wu Yuer was also stunned.

    However, she regained her senses quickly and moved to block the sages who were flying towards Fang Zhengzhi. Her speed was rtively fast.

    However, aspared to the Sages, she was still rather slow.

    Of course, two people were powerful. They were none other than Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint. Both of them had attacked almost at the same time as Dao Hun.

    However, despite that, they could only block the two elders of the Yin Yang Hall who were charging towards Fang Zhengzhi and were not able to block all of the swords aimed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°It is important to know one¡¯s own limitations...¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised one of his hands casually and caught the silver light easily with his fingers as he saw iting at him.

    Instantly, the silver light stopped in front of him.

    It was unable to move an inch.

    This change in event caused Dao Hun to shudder as he watched in disbelief. He would never expect how Fang Zhengzhi was able to easily catch his sword with his fingers while having Yun Qingwu in one hand and another hand behind his back.

    He caught it with his fingers!

    How exaggerated was that!

    Furthermore, he only used two fingers.

    This could only happen when the two parties had a huge difference in their enlightenment state, such as in the case of training given by a Master to his disciple. This situation would definitely not appear in ordinarybat.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you... quick, kill him!¡± Dao Hun was shocked but he had already attacked and there was no other way out. Therefore, he shouted at the elders of the Yin Yang Hall behind him as he pushed the sword forward.

    Along with Dao Hun¡¯s shout, ten over elders of the Yin Yang Hall had also arrived and every sword was glistening with a cold radiance.

    Just like Dao Hun

    The elders of the Yin Yang Hall knew that if they were not able to kill Meng Tian, the Yin Yang Hall¡¯s status amongst the Human Alliance would be affected.

    The winning bes the King and the loser bes the bandit.

    ¡°Die!¡± With cold gazes in their eyes, the swords of the elders of the Yin Yang Hall stabbed towards all the critical parts on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

 Chapter 978 - Yan Xiuâ€™s Memory

    <h4>Chapter 978: Yan Xiu¡¯s Memory</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sword radiance shone.

    Every sword was like lightning. Almost instantly after Fang Zhengzhi caught Dao Hun¡¯s Sword, they reached Fang Zhengzhi at the same time.

    ¡°Scram!¡± A cold yell was heard.

    Meanwhile, almost a hundred bolts of purple lightning rose into the sky like purple dragons, producing loud whistles of dragons.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    The thunder boomed.

    The purple thunderous dragons wound themselves around the bodies of the elders of the Yin Yang Hall and tore their robes with their sharp teeth.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of lightning struck from the sky and hit the different elders, causing them to copse to the ground.

    This scene made Dao Hun surprised and angry at the same time.

    He was surprised because he did not believe that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was so powerful. He was angry because he could sense a sneer from Meng Tian¡¯s faze when the bolts of lightning struck the elders.

    Crack! The sword in Dao Hun¡¯s hand was snapped into two and he saw a silvery-white radiance striking towards his forehead.

    He wanted to dodge but it was impossible.

    The radiance was so fast that it was unbelievable.

    sh!

    A scene of the ¡°illusionary state¡± appeared in front of Dao Hun. He thought he saw himself retreat for five steps but he was still standing in front of ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    Soul?!

    His soul left his body?!

    ¡°Ghost... Ghost Dao, it¡¯s the Ghost Dao!¡± Dao Hun wanted to shout but no voice came out as his body was floating like a willow tree.

    He wanted to move but could not as his body was restrained by thousands of invisible forces that depleted his strength.

    Why did this happen?

    Why?!

    Dao Hun looked extremely shocked but ¡°Meng Tian¡± was mocking at him wholeheartedly as though he was looking at an ant.

    Buzz! The world in front of him changed and Dao Hun¡¯s expression returned to normal. ¡°Meng Tian¡± looked extremely close to him.

    They were one foot apart but this distance was as like the distance between heaven and earth. He was unable to go past it because he was drenched in cold sweat.

    Plop! Dao Hun fell to the ground and knelt in front of Fang Zhengzhi. His sword dropped on the ground with a ¡°ding¡± and he could no longer hold onto it.

    ¡°You... you...¡± Dao Hun¡¯s legs trembled non-stop and were about to copsepletely to the ground.

    It was a bad injury to his soul.

    He could no longer control his body. Even though he still had strength, it was as though the strength was not his.

    ¡°Not long ago, Lin Ji knelt in front of me like this too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised one of his legs as he said this to Dao Hun who was kneeling in front of him.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi stepped on Dao Hun¡¯s head andpletely pushed his body down t on the floor as he kept twisting his feet on Dao Hun¡¯s mask.

    ¡°Mmm... you, you dare to kill... me, the Human Alliance... will not... not let... let you off...¡± Dao Hun wanted to struggle but his body was unable to resist and only could breathe heavily as Fang Zhengzhi stepped on him.

    This scene happened too suddenly.

    From Dao Hun¡¯s attack to thebined attack of the seniors of the Yin Yang Hall then to how the ten over elders fell on the floor while Fang Zhengzhi directly stepped on Dao Hun.

    Everything happened too quickly!

    Such that the Human Alliance was unable to react.

    This was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that the skills that Fang Zhengzhi showed were more powerful than the skills that Dao Hun showed when he sprang a sneak attack.

    It was too astonishing.

    He was too powerful!

    Dao Hun was not an ordinary Sage but was at the peak of the sage state. At this level, he had the ability to protect himself even in front of Godly State experts.

    However, in front of Fang Zhengzhi...

    He lost without even defending at all. Moreover, he lost extremely pathetically and could bepared to an egg which is thrown at a stone.

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian...¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°So this is Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s capability?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance did not know how to describe what they felt anymore as the powerful force had stunned thempletely.

    Fang Zhengzhi took a sweeping nce at the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance, Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    He saw the astonishment in Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s eyes.

    Perhaps...

    Even Wu Yuer and Yan Qianli did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to reach such a powerful state.

    ¡°This brat...¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint opened his mouth and forcefully swallowed his words such that his eyes were bloodshot from holding them in.

    .

    To the Heavenly Oasis Saint, he hadst seen Fang Zhengzhi in the Northern Mountain Vige where he was in a state ofa and could be said to be extremely vulnerable

    Although he had heard from Wu Yuer that Fang Zhengzhi killed Lin Ji in the Southern Region, it was a difference between hearing it and witnessing it with his own eyes.

    ¡°Even the Space-splitting Demon God... was not as powerful as this?¡± Yan Qianli was a straightforward person. He had experienced a lot of battles and saw a lot of fresh blood and was very rarely surprised. However, he was genuinely surprised by Fang Zhengzhi this time.

    One blow helped him to defeat the ten over elders of the Yin Yang Hall.

    If nothing went wrong...

    Fang Zhengzhi already had the power to willfully kill the Five Sects of the Holy Region, and how old was he? He was not even 20 years old!

    Astonishment!

    However, apart from astonishment, Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint felt heartened.

    Fang Zhengzhi grew up and exceeded their expectations.

    Therefore, they were definitely happy.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, Dao Hun was foolish and made a mistake, however, he is after all the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance, please... please let him off...¡± Mu Qingfeng felt extremelyplicated but he definitely could not bear to see the Human Alliance fight against each other in the face of strong opponents.

    ¡°Let him off?¡± After hearing what Mu Qingfeng said, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Dao Hun.

    ¡°Meng Tian... you... you won¡¯t dare to kill... me, even if you are the real Sagely Battle God... you... you can¡¯t afford to be the enemy of humankind...¡± Dao Hun¡¯s gaze was evil. He wanted to stand up as he had never been insulted and stepped on by others.

    However, could he stand up?

    Evidently...

    Not!

    Fang Zhengzhi knew what Dao Hun was thinking about.

    To Dao Hun, he knew the battle between humankind and the Monster Race and Demon Race had ended after seeing that Yun Qingwu was caught.

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi shared the same thought when he caught Yun Qingwu.

    Since the battle was about to end soon, what should he do for the remaining time?

    Even a fool would know what to do next.

    Dao Hun was not a fool.

    However, Dao Hun was too anxious. After seeing how Yun Qingwu was caught by Fang Zhengzhi, he was sure that if he did not kill Fang Zhengzhi then, he would lose everything he had.

    He was a little rash.

    However, didn¡¯t everyone have a rash moment?

    Most of the times, tragic incidents happen because of a slip of mouth of unintentional acts.

    Dao Hun¡¯s rashness was caused by Yun Qingwu.

    He wanted to make use of the opportunity while Yun Qingwu was caught by Fang Zhengzhi to attack him and kill him while he sustained ¡°severe injuries¡± before he got hold of Yun Qingwu.

    By then, he would be able to seize Yun Qingwu andmand the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    After Yun Qingwunded in Dao Hun¡¯s hands, what could the Human Alliance do even if they were unsatisfied? They could not do anything to Dao Hun.

    After all, Dao Hun had a disciple of the Yin Yang Hall with him and the authority due to his leadership of the Human Alliance all these while.

    As long as Yun Qingwu is in his hands, he could control the Monster Race and Demon Race and the Human Alliance.

    It was a fantastic idea.

    However, unfortunately, he mistook Fang Zhengzhi as being severely injured and underestimated Fang Zhengzhi, causing him to make a wrong decision.

    ¡°What did you say? I didn¡¯t hear you properly. You said that I don¡¯t dare to kill you... hmm... say that again?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked calmly at Dao Hun under his feet and put more pressure on him.

    Crack!

    A dent was made on the ground.

    Dao Hun¡¯s head was touching the ground and the powerful force caused his mask to crack.

    ¡°No!¡± At this moment, a soft but anxious voice of a female was heard and a figure dashed out from the crowd.

    Dao Xin!

    Dao Xin dashed out and Yan Xiu who was standing beside her disappeared suddenly.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi felt chills rising from his feet.

    It was a color that was as red as blood. There was also a hint of ck that was extremely dull.

    Dao of Asura?!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked around and one of his hands grabbed behind him. Then, he felt a powerful force collide with his palm.

    Boom! Following a loud sound, Fang Zhengzhi took a few steps forward and another slim figure stood at where he was initially.

    Yan Xiu!

    His ck cloak was blown by the wind and the ck face cloth on his face gradually dropped to the ground, exposing an extremely slim face.

    It was a very familiar face.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this face well. However, the face had a ck eye as ck as an abyss and a red eye as red as blood.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to kill him!¡± Yan Xiu spoke directly and was not afraid of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers. He was like a sharp sword and was fearless despite being blown by the strong wind.

    Yan Xiu was still the same Yan Xiu as before...

    However...

    However, he became someone Dao Hun relied on. His memory of the past was either sealed orpletely lost.

    ¡°You alone can¡¯t stop me,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu and Dao Hun who was unable to get up from the ground.

    ¡°I will know after I try.¡± Yan Xiu stretches out his right hand as he spoke and a blood fan with silvery white lines appeared in his hand.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to try.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and move his gaze away from Yan Xiu to Dao Xin. ¡°I heard that apart from Dao Hun, there¡¯s a Second Hallmaster called Dao Xin, that must be you?¡±

    ¡°Yes... Senior.¡± Dao Xin stopped for a while. She looked at Yan Xiu and Dao Hun before replying respectfully.

    ¡°If you can answer me three questions, I can agree to one of your conditions.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said after thinking.

    He needed answers.

    Answers regarding Yan Xiu.

    Therefore, he could let Dao Xin and Dao Hun live for a while longer.

    However, he could not reveal his identity in order to obtain the answer as he knew that he would not be able to get the correct answer if he revealed his identity due to the hatred between him, Dao Xin and Dao Hun.

    ¡°Three questions?¡± Dao Xin was evidently shocked but after seeing Dao Hun could not get up from the ground, she answered without much hesitation, ¡°Please ask, Senior, I will be truthful.¡±

    ¡°Is Yan Xiu¡¯s memory sealed or removed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked in a straightforward manner.

    ¡°Yan Xiu¡¯s... memory?! Senior... Do you know Yan Xiu?¡± Dao Xin did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to ask this question.

    Regarding Yan Xiu¡¯s memory!

    This was definitely a secret within the Yin Yang Hall that no outsiders knew about. Moreover, he was a Sagely Battle God who became well-known hundred years ago.

    Meng Tian?!

    Who exactly was he?

    Why did he know about Yan Xiu¡¯s memory?

    Questions shed across Dao Xin¡¯s mind and a name came into her mind. However, she negated this possibility.

    That was because it was impossible.

    That person was currently in the Northern Mountain Vige and definitely would not have appeared there. Moreover, his ability would not have reached such a standard.

    ¡°You only have the rights to answer but not question me further. If you don¡¯t speak, Dao Hun will die. You should know that Yan Xiu can¡¯t defend against me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining to Dao Xin as he knew that Dao Xin was very intelligent.

 Chapter 979 - The Truth Behind Dao Hunâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 979: The Truth Behind Dao Hun¡¯s Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°If I don¡¯t speak... Dao Hun will die...¡± Dao Xin clenched her fist and kept silent. She had too many questions and doubts regarding Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question.

    That was because she did not expect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question and was not mentally prepared at all.

    Why was ¡°Meng Tian¡± interested in Yan Xiu¡¯s memory?

    Dao Xin did not understand how two people who were not rted could be linked together. Moreover, Yan Xiu¡¯s status was not prominent amongst the Human Alliance.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have much time to think.¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard again before he started counting down. ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡±

    ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Haha, Senior Meng Tian, I think you misunderstood. What¡¯s wrong with Yan Xiu¡¯s memory?¡± Dao Xin startedughing when Fang Zhengzhi counted to one.

    ¡°It seems like you are not concerned with Dao Hun¡¯s life.¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Dao Hun and a long sword appeared in his hand.

    ¡°I am sure the Yin Yang Hall and the Human Alliance know my answer to the question regarding if I am concerned with Dao Hun¡¯s life. However, I seriously don¡¯t understand you, there¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong with Yan Xiu¡¯s memory, so why are you talking about his memory being sealed or removed?¡± Dao Xin but her lips as she saw the long sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Evidently, she was taking a gamble.

    She was not gambling about whether Fang Zhengzhi knew about Yan Xiu¡¯s memory as the answer was obvious when Fang Zhengzhi asked the question.

    Dao Xin was gambling about the rtionship between ¡°Meng Tian¡± and Yan Xiu.

    She did not know whether the two of them were rted but after recalling how Yan Xiu attacked ¡°Meng Tian¡±, she had a feeling that it was slightly different from the sneak attacks by Dao Hun and the elders.

    Yan Xiu was indeed powerful. However, aspared to Dao Hun?

    He was stillgging behind.

    However, the truth was that Yan Xiu had defeated ¡°Meng Tian¡± with a p and got Dao Hun back from ¡°Meng Tian¡± on his own.

    It was unbelievable.

    This only proved a point...

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± was showing mercy to Yan Xiu earlier on.

    Dao Xin could not figure out why he showed mercy but she was sure that it was rted to that person in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°Was it because of that sword?¡± Dao Xin had a rtively good understanding about Fang Zhengzhi and she knew that he once had the chance to get the sword that belonged to Sagely Battle God Meng Tian during the Imperial Examinations in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Fang Zhengzhi and ¡°Meng Tian¡± came to some agreement because of a Sword?

    Although these were merely her guesses, they were built upon evidence after connecting ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± actions to these guesses.

    Of course, the most important thing was the situation now.

    ¡°Meng Tian¡¯s¡± question surprised her so much that she felt a strange feeling of crisis. She felt that everything would end once she revealed the answer.

    Not only would she be unable to save Dao Hun, but also may risk ¡°losing¡± Yan Xiu.

    Then, she would really end up in a desperate situation.

    However, if one looked at it in another manner...

    At least the person who was genuinely in control of Dao Hun¡¯s life was still temporarily Yan Xiu. Even if ¡°Meng Tian¡± wanted to attack, he had to defeat Yan Xiu first.

    Dao Xin¡¯s was rtively intelligent and she knew the lesson of ¡°cing one in a dangerous situation and one will fight to live¡±.

    Therefore, she was taking a gamble.

    She was gambling about how ¡°Meng Tian¡± would not kill Yan Xiu so easily since he asked about Yan Xiu¡¯s memory. Therefore, Dao Hun, who was in Yan Xiu¡¯s hand, would be safe.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned because he already knew the answer.

    Dao Xin was gambling with him.

    He knew that Dao Xin was hard to deal with all along but did not expect him to be so hard to deal with.

    Dao Xin was able to keep her cool even though Dao Hun¡¯s life was in a risky situation. This meant that Dao Xin was a rather impressive woman, or rather, a terrifying one.

    However, unfortunately, Dao Xin used too much of her intelligence on trying to reap benefits for herself and Yin Yang Hall instead of considering from the point of view of the Human Alliance.

    If she used her intelligence correctly, her powers would beparable to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°The ancient saying goes, one who is born with ¡®beauty¡¯ will have a short life... Dao Xin, you are indeed beautiful. Although your beauty is not conventional beauty, it should still be considered as one. If I am not wrong, you are taking a gamble that I won¡¯t dare to kill Yan Xiu, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up slightly at the beautiful scenery nearby and sighed.

    ¡°I... don¡¯t dare to! I feel that since Senior Meng Tian wants to prove your identity, you shouldn¡¯t kill innocent people. Even if there are misunderstandings, you can afford to rify them. Dao Hun is not only the Hall Master of the Yin Yang Hall but also the current Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance. Even though he was a little rash in his actions and was disrespectful to you, he had a good intention as he only wanted to rify your real identity...¡± Before Dao Xin couldplete her sentence, she saw Fang Zhengzhi wave to her.

    Then, she heard an exmation of excitement.

    ¡°You are right, indeed, I won¡¯t kill Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t kill Yan Xiu, indeed...¡± Dao Xin¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change but she felt excited. Before she was able toplete her sentence, she saw Fang Zhengzhi charge towards her with his sword.

    What?!

    Dao Xin¡¯s expression changed. Although Fang Zhengzhi was not fast, the coldness on his sword de was enough to send chills down her back.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill Yan Xiu, but that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t kill you!¡± His cold roar echoed in the sky and his overwhelming killing intent surged towards Dao Xin.

    Rumble!

    The purple bolts of lightning fell on the mountain rocks and made loud sounds.

    The speed at which Fang Zhengzhi charged towards Dao Xin was not very fast but he did it in an extremely ferocious manner that made Mu Qingfeng and the rest shudder.

    ¡°No, Senior Meng Tian!¡± Mu Qingfeng dashed out. He did not know if he should act at this moment but he knew that if ¡°Meng Tian¡± really killed Dao Xin, then the identity of ¡°Meng Tian¡± as a monster or demon would be confirmed. Even if it was not confirmed, he had to live by the name of a cruel murderer.

    After all, Dao Xin did not do anything bad to ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    Moreover, ¡°Meng Tian¡± did not kill Dao Xin because of minor disagreements. That was something that Mu Qingfeng could not understand.

    However, in reality...

    It was also the point which Dao Xin has neglected.

    Dao Xin had never expected ¡°Meng Tian¡± to attack her as she did not think she made anyments that were disrespectful.

    However, regardless of whether she believed it or not, ¡°Meng Tian¡± had charged towards her with a killer intent that was fixed on her.

    Wait a minute!

    Why was he moving so slowly despite his capability?

    Wait a minute!

    Meng Tian was waiting for someone...

    Waiting for someone who would definitely not bear to see her die and would definitely save her!

    ¡°Xiu, stay back!¡± Dao Xin manages to react immediately but it was toote as there was already a pitch ck abyss on the ground directly ahead of her.

    Yan Xiu had arrived!

    When he saw Fang Zhengzhi charge towards Dao Xin, Yan Xiu attacked immediately as he would definitely not sit back and do nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare hurt her!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s figure dashed out of the ck abyss. He opened the blood-red fan with silver linings in his hand and a Bloody Landscape illustration appeared in the sky.

    Towering mountains, blood-red streams, every mountain and rock looked like they were stained with blood.

    If they only talked about the killing aura, Yan Xiu¡¯s killer aura when he revealed the Bloody Landscape illustration wasparable to that of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s. The two killer auras made cracking sounds as they collided with each other.

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng had arrived.

    Using his finger as the sword, he stood between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi with aplicated expression. However, he was extremely careful with his finger sword.

    Boom!

    The sword that Fang Zhengzhi had struck was immediately withdrawn. The tip of the sword was pointing to the back while the de collided with Mu Qingfeng¡¯s finger sword.

    A powerful airwave soared in the air.

    The powerful force caused Mu Qingfeng to move back without being able to defend himself. His body collided with Yan Xiu behind him.

    At this moment, a sneering voice was heard.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, thank you for helping!¡±

    ¡°Helping?! What helping?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was shocked. He knew that that was the voice of ¡°Meng Tian¡± but could not understand what he meant by the so-called ¡®helping¡¯.

    However, he figured it out very quickly.

    That was because, after the collision of ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s body and his finger sword, his body flew back like a stream of light. Meanwhile, the long sword that he had withdrawn earlier on was urately aimed at Dao Hun¡¯s throat.

    ¡°No!¡±

    sh!

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice was heard at the same time when the sword cut Dao Hun¡¯s flesh. However, no matter how loud he had shouted, it was useless.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had already prated Dao Hun¡¯s throat.

    In front of the ten over elders of the Yin Yang Hall and the various disciples of the Human Alliance; the sword acted like a silvery soul-seeking specter and prated through Dao Hun¡¯s throatpletely.

    Blood gushed out like arrows.

    ¡°How... how was this possible?!¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian he.... he really killed Dao Hun?!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, the hope of the future Human Alliance has killed the Alliance Master Dao Hun? How... why did that happen?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance widened their eyes in disbelief.

    Everything happened too quickly. From Dao Hun¡¯s attack at Fang Zhengzhi to how Fang Zhengzhi subdued Dao Hun with one shot to Yan Xiu seizing Dao Hun...

    It was a strange turn in the event.

    Nobody could understand what had happened.

    However, at this moment, ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s sword had already stabbed Dao Hun¡¯s throat and his blood sttered in the air.

    Crack! The mask on Dao Hun¡¯s face cracked open and fell on the ground like pieces of metal.

    The face behind the mask was revealed.

    It was a beautiful face that did not belong to this world. The eyes were like a mountain, lips were red and teeth were white. However, that face looked extremely familiar.

    That face was the exact same face as Dao Xin.

    The only difference between the two faces was that this face was slightly older. There were some wrinkles at the corner of the eyes.

    Dao Hun...

    Is a woman!

    A woman who looked identical to Dao Xin!

    Boom! The purple bolts of lightning struck the ground and hit Dao Hun, causing her eyes to widen and her body to tremble.

    Her throat was prated by the sword.

    Although this injury would not kill a sage, it would be apletely different story if a sage¡¯s head was severed.

    After all, no matter how powerful one¡¯s healing ability was, one could not heal a severed head.

    Dao Hun was aware of this.

    However, she was even more aware of the fact that she had no strength to resist. She could not escape from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword and hence, her life was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control.

    One¡¯s life was filled with ups and downs.

    Just a moment ago, she was the well-respected Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall and a momentter, she was almost about to die.

    She was unwilling to die.

    Extremely unwilling.

    She wanted to vent her anger but she could not speak at all because her throat was prated by the sword. She could only stare at ¡°Meng Tian¡± who was in front of her.

    If she could, she really wanted to lift up the ck cloth on ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s face and take a look at his real appearance.

    However, the only sound she could make now was the sound of agony.

    ¡°Mmm... mmm mmm...¡± Dao Hun raised her right hand with thest bit of her strength and grabbed onto the long sword in her throat.

    Meanwhile, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance, elders and disciples of the Yin Yang Hall werepletely stunned.

    Dao Hun was a woman?!

    A woman who looked identical to Dao Xin!

    What was exactly going on?

    The disciples of the Human Alliance was shocked by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s determination to kill Dao Hun but they were also stunned by the real appearance of Dao Hun.

    Not only were the disciples of the Human Alliance unaware of this, but even the elders of the Yin Yang Hall were in a state of confusion.

    Dao Hun did not hold the title of the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall for a very long time.

    However, it was not a short period of time too. Although Dao Hun had interacted with the disciples and elders of the Yin Yang Hall all these while, nobody knew that Dao Hun was actually a woman.

    Why was she a woman?

    Wait a minute!

    Dao Hun was definitely a man when he assumed the position of the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall!

 Chapter 980 - Killing Dao Xin, Do I Deserve This?!

    <h4>Chapter 980: Killing Dao Xin, Do I Deserve This?!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In order to be selected as the sessor of the Hall Master, Dao Hun must have aplished something great before that.

    Therefore, people would have definitely seen her actual appearance before that. In fact, she had always shown her real appearance during her rule as the Hall Master.

    However, how could the handsome man turn into a woman, a woman who looked exactly the same as Dao Xin.

    ¡°How did this happen? Unless she... she is not our Hall Master?!¡± The shock that the seniors of the Yin Yang Hall felt could no longer be hidden after they saw Dao Hun./

    ¡°Not our Hall Master?!¡±

    ¡°Then who is she?¡± ( .c om )

    The other disciples of the Yin Yang Hall and the disciples of the Human Alliance were also stunned when they heard the elders of the Yin Yang Hall.

    However, no matter how stunned they were, there was something that they could not change.

    That was none other than...

    The determination that Fang Zhengzhi had to kill Dao Hun.

    To Fang Zhengzhi, no matter whether Dao Hun was the Hall Master of the Yin Yang Hall or a woman, Dao Hun was destined to be a dead person when he attacked with his sword.

    ¡°Wait a minute... don¡¯t kill her yet!¡± The elders of the Yin Yang Hall said when they saw how Fang Zhengzhi was about to attack.

    However, it was toote.

    Even if Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi pled for mercy on behalf of Dao Hun, Fang Zhengzhi would not care.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword moved. With a slice and lift, a head flew in the sky.

    Blood sttered all over the ce.

    It turned into a blooming blood-colored flower.

    Dao Hun, who used to be one of the most powerful Sect leaders in the five sects of the Holy Region, had passed away and would no longer be able to make any sound.

    Gasp!

    Upon seeing the severed head, the elders and disciples of the Yin Yang Hall and the disciples of the Human Alliance held their breaths.

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± really killed Dao Hun?!

    No matter whether the Dao Hun in front of them was real or fake, this event definitely caused the disciples of the Human Alliance to shudder.

    Who said ¡°Meng Tian¡± was afraid to kill Dao Hun?

    He did it!

    Moreover, he did it extremely decisively and did not even give him a chance to talk!

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, you...¡± Mu Qingfeng swallowed his saliva and stared at the severed head. His thoughts could not be described by words.

    To describe ¡°Meng Tian¡± as righteous?

    Then, this act by ¡°Meng Tian¡± clearly did not give the Human Alliance any face.

    However, if ¡°Meng Tian¡± was described as an evil person, he was also different from someone who was truly evil. At least, ¡°Meng Tian¡± caught Yun Qingwu.

    Perhaps...

    ¡°Meng Tian¡± was really the act made by Yun Qingwu? After Dao Hun was exposed, he had no choice but to mercilessly kill Dao Hun?

    Mu Qingfeng used to not have this suspicion but now that Dao Hun had died in front of him, he was slightly suspicious.

    ¡°Meng Tian, no matter how powerful you are, we will never let you off since you killed our Hall Master!¡± The elders of the Yin Yang Hall spoke while gritting their teeth.

    ¡°Never let me off? So does that mean all of you want to die too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not threatened and immediately ces the tip of his sword at the throat of the elder of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Gasp!

    Cold sweat trickled down the backs of the elders of the Yin Yang Hall and the disciples of the Human Alliance. They were extremely terrified when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword.

    He was too arrogant.

    Moreover, he was Meng Tian, the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, the hope of humankind. He did not mind making suchments and bing the enemy of the entire Human Alliance.

    This was beyond the imagination of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°You stopped talking?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the elder of the Yin Yang Hall who had his mouth shut. ¡°I, Meng Tian, am not afraid of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. I managed to seize Yun Qingwu from the hands of the five Godly State experts, now I am used of being a spy and an act made by the monsters and demons by all of you? Do I deserve this?!

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi asked this question, all of the elders, as well as the disciples of the Human Alliance and the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall, fell silent.

    ¡°Talking about righteousness in front of me? Dao Hun dared to kill me, so I dare to kill her too. What is wrong with this?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°...¡± The ce was filled with dead silence.

    ¡°I have be renowned a hundred years ago. I can kill all the demons and monsters in the world if I had a sword. In fact, I have done it in real life and killed Lin Ji, the Godly State expert, in the Holy Region. I also barged into the Blood Shadow City of the Demon Race alone and seized the Demon Lord. I have done so much for the humankind and you are using me because of Dao Hun¡¯s words?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely furious.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance lowered their heads.

    That¡¯s right!

    Meng Tian had done so much.

    Not only did he kill Lin Ji in the Southern Region and seized the Demon Lord, but he also sessfully made a plot in this battle so the Human Alliance was able to kill a couple of Monster Kings.

    With such honorable achievements...

    They were still suspicious of ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s real identity?

    Embarrassment, a feeling of embarrassment rose from the Human Alliance¡¯s heart. Everyone who had suspected ¡°Meng Tian¡± lowered their heads.

    ¡°I recall that the few of you attacked me earlier on? Let me ask the few of you a question, can I kill you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved his sword slightly and blood trickled down the throat of the elder of the Yin Yang Hall and dropped on the ground.

    The elder of the Yin Yang Hall bit his lips and trembled slightly. He looked at the long sword in front of him and at Dao Hun who was dead.

    Then, he finally knelt down slowly.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, I deserve to die!¡±

    Plop!

    Plop!

    ¡°...¡± ( .c om )

    All of the elders of the Yin Yang Hall fell to their knees and put their long swords down. None of them spoke and resisted.

    Fang Zhengzhi took a sweeping nce at the surroundings.

    He could have killed the elders easily but he knew that he could no longer do that.

    That was because the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had already entered.

    He killed Dao Hun because of personal grievances.

    Yet, there was no meaning for him to kill the elders as they were after all the main force of the Human Alliance.

    If he had to kill, he would only kill one person.

    That person was none other than Dao Xin.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are arriving soon, you all have better things to do.¡± Fang Zhengzhi withdrew his sword.

    However, his gaze fell upon a figure who was nearby.

    Beside the figure stood someone whom he was very close to, Yan Xiu, a friend whom he was extremely close to.

    ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to kill her!¡± Yan Xiu spoke and blocked in front of Dao Xin as the blood-colored fan with silver lines appeared in his hand.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, move aside, this woman deserves to die!¡± Yan Qianli yelled at Yan Xiu when she saw this.

    ¡°No.¡± Yan Xiu shook his head.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, I am your grandfather!¡± Yan Qianli clenched his fist.

    ¡°I know that.¡± Yan Xiu nodded.

    ¡°You... you know that?¡± Yan Qianli was evidently shocked. He did not recall Yan Xiu calling him ¡®grandfather¡¯ since Yan Xiu lost his memory.

    On the Ling Xiao Mountain, he had several encounters with Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu acted as if he did not know Yan Qianli and refused to trust him at all despite Yan Qianli¡¯s exnations.

    However, now...

    Yan Xiu said that he knew?

    How could Yan Qianli not be surprised by this? When he was about to speak again, a few figures jumped out from the thick haze nearby.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Yan Qianli looked around and saw that the surrounding people were wearing ck robes and masked in ck face cloths.

    The Human Alliance?

    Just as this thought struck him, a familiar-looking figure appeared. However, unlike before, this figure looked rtively weak and was supported by some disciples of the Human Alliance. He looked like he was going to fall at any moment.

    ¡°Mo Shanshi?! He is injured?¡± Of course, Yan Qianli knew that Fang Zhengzhi would hurt Mo Shanshi. Therefore, the only possible reason for Mo Shanshi¡¯s injuries would be the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    In order to injure Mo Shanshi...

    It was definitely not an ordinary monster or demon. It must be done by a Godly State expert.

    ¡°Old man Mo, what happened to you?¡± Mu Qingfeng charged towards Mo Shanshi without any hesitation when he saw the severely-injured Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°I won¡¯t... won¡¯t die yet.¡± Mo Shanshi shook his head at Mu Qingfeng and turned to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Thank you so much, Senior Meng Tian... hmm?!¡±

    Just as Mo Shanshi was about to thank Fang Zhengzhi, he saw a headless body below Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet.

    However, he saw familiar pieces of masks around the body and a severed head lying in a pool of blood.

    ¡°Dao... Dao Hun?!¡± Mo Shanshi was genuinely shocked and he almost spat out blood. After all, he did not expect that at all.

    Dao Hun died!

    Moreover, he died under ¡°Meng Tian¡±¡®s feet.

    What exactly happened?

    ¡°Dao Hun tried to use Senior Meng Tian as a Demon or monster and hence was kill... killed by Senior Meng Tian.¡± Mu Qingfeng saw the shock in Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°use Senior Meng Tian as a demon or monster? Dao Hun... Nice one! Cough cough... What a nice kill, haha...¡± Mo Shanshi startedughing after a moment of shock.

    ¡°What happened outside?¡± Mu Qingfeng knew that something was wrong upon hearing this.

    Although Mo Shanshi did not make his words very clear, the attitude he showed after knowing that Dao Hun was killed ¡°Meng Tian¡± had exined everything.

    That was because, based on Dao Hun¡¯s assumption, Mo Shanshi¡¯s injuries were caused by ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    Yet Mo Shanshi still called ¡°Meng Tian¡± a Senior. This showed that Yun Qingwu was really caught by ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s injuries were definitely caused by a Godly State expert.

    ¡°I made some pranks, I think... I think we can afford to dy the time for a while, but it won¡¯t... be too long. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are catching up really soon...¡± Mo Shanshi struggled as he replied.

    ¡°What is the number of troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race¡±

    ¡°A... A lot, moreover, there are three Godly State experts behind...¡±

    ¡°Three Godly State experts?!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changed.

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, the expressions of the disciples of the Human Alliance also changed. How terrifying was the power of three Godly State experts?

    One Godly State expert was equivalent to a dozen of Sages.

    The terrifying power of the Godly State experts and the monster kings of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was sufficient to wipe out the entire Human Alliance.

    ¡°What should we do?!¡±

    ¡°The troop of the Monster Race and Demon Race ising!¡±

    ¡°Are we going to perish like this?¡±

    ¡°Hold on! How would the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race dare to kill us if Yun Qingwu is in our hands?¡±

    Although the disciples of the Human Alliance were panicking, they quickly put their hopes on Yun Qingwu.

    After all, to them, as long as Yun Qingwu was with them, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would be under their control.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless now as the leader of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race is Qin Xian. He... he is mad... he had already given instructions... I think... even Yun Qingwu can no longer... instruct the troops...¡± Mo Shanshi heard themotion and shook his head.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Even Yun Qingwu can no longer instruct the troops?¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do? Are we really going to fight it out with them?¡±

    The expressions on the faces of the disciples of the Human Alliancepletely changed.

    Although they did not know what exactly happened outside, they heard a sentence.

    ¡®Yun Qingwu can no longer instruct the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.¡¯

    ¡°Senior... Senior Meng Tian...¡± Mo Shanshi looked at Fang Zhengzhi because he knew that the only person who could defend against the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race on hold, I want to kill someone first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi causally waves his hand and looked at Dao Xin who was blocked by Yan Xiu.

    As the saying went, enemies were extremely furious when they met.

    Moreover...

    The other party was Dao Xin.

    A woman who had once sent him to the Middle Stream Cauldron on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain for alchemy. He would not have been able to sleep if this woman did not die.

    ¡°Kill someone?¡± Mo Shanshi was evidently shocked.

    However, his gaze soon fell upon Dao Xin as Fang Zhengzhi had pointed his sword at her.

    Senior ¡°Meng Tian¡± wanted to kill Dao Xin? Killing Dao Xin after killing Dao Hun?

    Wait a minute!

    What happened?

    What exactly happened earlier on?

 Chapter 981 - Life and Death, the soul of the Bloody Landscape

    <h4>Chapter 981: Life and Death, the soul of the Bloody Landscape</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was nothing wrong with ¡°Meng Tian¡± killing Dao Hun if it was because Dao Hun had sprung a sneak attack at ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    However, Dao Xin never attacked ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    Even if Dao Xin wanted to save Dao Hun earlier on, it was understandable and there was no reason to kill her.

    Mo Shanshi did not understand why ¡°Meng Tian¡± insisted on killing Dao Xin.

    Besides him, Mu Qingfeng and the disciples of the Human Alliance also could not understand as the urgent matter now was to stop the troops the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, shouldn¡¯t we...¡± Just as Mo Shanshi was about to speak, he saw Fang Zhengzhi walking towards Dao Xin.

    Step by step.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not walk too quickly but was extremely steady. He was carrying Yun Qingwu with one hand and Ping Yang followed after him silently.

    Ping Yang knew the reason.

    She was not surprised that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to kill Dao Xin because she also wanted Dao Xin to die.

    Perhaps it was a sort of telepathy.

    If you are angry, I will be angry too. If you hate someone, I will hate someone to. If you love something, I love that thing too. Till our deaths, we will stay together.

    Yan Xiu tightened his grip on the Silver Blood Fan in his hand.

    He did not move and had the same determination in his gaze and expression.

    Yan Xiu did not make any morements or plead for mercy. This was Yan Xiu¡¯s character. He would not change his mind once he made up his mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped five feet away from Yan Xiu.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and Mu Qingfeng held their breath as they watched nervously.

    Was he really going to kill Dao Xin?

    What was it for?

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me.¡± At this moment, Dao Xin finally spoke. She stepped towards the side and showed a part of her body.

    ¡°Reason.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely straightforward.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t finished asking your question.¡± Dao Xin waved her hand at Yan Xiu and stopped Yan Xiu from blocking her.

    ¡°Hmm, this reason can indeed help you live a little longer. So, what is the answer to my question?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded slightly after taking a nce at Yan Xiu.

    He wanted to kill Dao Xin but if she was willing to answer his question about Yan Xiu, he would not mind letting her live for a while longer.

    ¡°There¡¯s no answer to your question.¡± Dao Xin shook her head.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed as he raised his sword and pointed it at Dao Xin¡¯s throat. A light silver radiance flowed on the sword.

    ¡°However, there is an answer that I think you will be interested in.¡± Dao Xin was not worried at all despite Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s actions.

    ¡°Tell me about it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s regarding how the Yin Yang Hall revives Yan Xiu,¡± said Dao Xin.

    ¡°It¡¯s merely about exchanging a life for a life.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not understand why Dao Xin talked about this at this point in time as he thought there was nothing much about it.

    ¡°Senior, the number of things that you know have exceeded my expectations. However, you said something incorrectly regarding Yan Xiu, the Yin Yang Hall did not only exchange a life for a life.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of the co-existence of the Yin and Yang?¡±

    ¡°Co-existence of Yin and Yang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked and looked extremely cold because he suddenly had an undesirable answer.

    ¡°The life in the Yang has ended when someone ends up in the Asura Hell. Despite how powerful one¡¯s medical skills were, one would not be able to save the other person. There is only one way to prolong his life.¡±

    ¡°By using one¡¯s own life?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I will believe you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Senior, to believe me. This is everything I can say. If you insist on killing me, please go ahead.¡± Dao Xin closed her eyes as she said.

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on his sword.

    He did not believe Dao Xin because his understanding of the Dao of Yin Yang was no lesser than Dao Hun and Dao Xin. Yin and Yang referred to the two states that could go in a cycle and contribute to each other.

    However, they were still two different states and was impossible tobine into one.

    Since it was impossible for them tobine into one state, how could Yin and Yang possibly coexist?

    It was like water and fire which represented two extremes that against each other. Although in specific situations, the two of them could be used together, could they possiblybinepletely and fuse into one?

    No way!

    They could only share simrities.

    However, sharing simrities did not mean they were identical.

    The ssic example would be life and death. For a human, there was only the difference between life and death, he either lives or dies and could not possibly be in both states.

    ¡°Dao Xin is lying!¡± Fang Zhengzhi figured it out very quickly and realized that it was impossible for the co-existence of Yan Xiu and Dao Xin.

    Moreover, Dao Hun¡¯s appearance was the most important factor.

    It was almost impossible to say that a woman who looked almost identical to Dao Xin had no rtion to Dao Xin.

    Therefore, even if Dao Xin was willing to give up her life, Dao Hun would definitely not allow it.

    After all, when Fang Zhengzhi brought Yan Xiu to the Yin Yang Hall, Yan Xiu was already unconscious and the two of them did not have many interactions.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi had already been caught at that time.

    To Dao Hun and Dao Xin, after Fang Zhengzhi was brought into the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he should have definitely died. Therefore, the spection that the two of them connected their lives because they were afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would take revenge could not have been true.

    It was impossible.

    Furthermore, there was no reason for it to happen.

    There was only one possibility for Dao Xin to say this. Dao Xin had seen the concern Fang Zhengzhi showed to Yan Xiu and made up a lie on the spot.

    What a detestable woman.

    If Fang Zhengzhi did not understand the Dao of Yin and Yang enough and was familiar with how the incident unfolded, he would not have spotted the loophole in the lie.

    ¡°Dao Xin, what you said made sense but unfortunately, I don¡¯t believe you,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Senior, if you don¡¯t believe me, why don¡¯t you attack...¡± Dao Xin opened her eyes slightly.

    She looked extremely calm.

    However, after she opened her eyes, she was no longer as calm as before because a sword was being stabbed towards her throat.

    Fang Zhengzhi had attacked.

    When Dao Xin knew that she was about to seed, Fang Zhengzhi attacked and did not give Dao Xin any chance to exin herself.

    How was that possible?

    Dao Xin did not understand what loophole there was in her words unless ¡°Meng Tian¡± had a better understanding of the Dao of Yin and Yang than her.

    However, that was even more impossible.

    Who would have a better understanding of the Dao of Yin Yang than the Yin Yang Hall?

    Dao Xin did not believe it. She felt that ¡°Meng Tian¡± would definitely hold back but his sword had already reached her.

    ¡°Leave!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard. Then, the Bloody Landscape Illustration descended from the sky, shrouding him and Fang Zhengzhi togetherpletely.

    ¡°There¡¯s blood in the river!¡±

    ¡°But this blood is not real blood!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tears, the tears of heroes!¡±

    Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard and countless blood radiance surged towards Fang Zhengzhi like long rivers that flowed continuously.

    ¡°ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at the blood radiance that surged towards him.

    ¡°You?!¡± Yan Xiu was shocked.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was referring to the soul of the Bloody Landscape Illustration. Any tactic had a soul and this poem was referring to the soul of the Mountain River.

    As Fang Zhengzhi spoke, the blood radiance that was surging towards him stopped moving and they looked like tears that were unable tond.

    3000 strands of hair that signified a troubled mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to end everything with a strike of his sword but was unable to do so.

    It troubled him and made him sad as he looked at Yan Xiu.

    He did not want to hurt Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu would definitely be injured by him as he was about to kill someone whom Yan Xiu was protecting.

    Buzz! A beam of white radiance shot up to the sky and broke the blood radiance into spots of silvery light that descended from the sky.

    It was like rain.

    Like the rain in the spring.

    Such a rain would not happen in the winter season, but these silver spots of lightnded on Yan Xiu like rain and tears.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    His cold expression seemed to be overwritten with a hint of sadness. He looked as if he was hurt by the broken spots of light and also looked like the painting of the Bloody Landscape.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, it¡¯s time to wake up!¡± A sound that came from the soul was heard. A silvery-white radiance prated Yan Xiu¡¯s body andnded on the ground, washing away the ck under Yan Xiu¡¯s feet and showed a color of bright red instead.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    At this moment, two voices were heard almost at the same time.

    Yan Xiu hugged his head with his hands and looked as if he was in extreme pain. Meanwhile, Dao Xin, who was beside him, looked saddened and in pain too.

    Sweat dripped from Yan Xiu and Dao Xin¡¯s foreheads.

    They dripped on the ground along with the silver radiance, onto the ck abyss that was gradually turning red before being swallowed by the abyss.

    ¡°The co-existence of Yin and Yang?!¡±

    ¡°It really is the co-existence of Yin and Yang, hurting Yan Xiu was equivalent to hurting Dao Xin!¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, no!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and the disciples of the Human Alliance shouted anxiously when they saw this strange scene.

    Besides them, Ping Yang, Yan Qianli, the Heavenly Oasis Saint and Wu Yuer also looked extremely anxious.

    They also knew how important Yan Xiu was for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although they also did not believe that Yan Xiu and Dao Xin were co-existing with the Yin and Yang, the strange scene ahead of them forced them to believe it.

    Even though the possibility was 1 in 10,000.

    ¡°You... you are not Meng Tian!¡± At this moment, Dao Xin¡¯s eyes opened wide and her gaze which was initially calm became extremely shocked.

    She did not believe her spection.

    However, she had to believe it because when the silver ¡°rain¡± fell and when Fang Zhengzhi said the poem ¡°ck hair dyed white, I wait silently and wholeheartedly for you to paint¡±, she was forced to believe that the person in front of her was not ¡°Meng Tian¡± but a person who was supposed to be in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    Only Fang Zhengzhi could read Yan Xiu¡¯s mind and understand his sadness. Only Fang Zhengzhi would know about the soul of the Bloody Landscape Illustration.

    ¡°Dao Xin, you are indeed very smart.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword moved again and the light silver rain turned into heavy rain as countless beams of silver light fell from the sky.

    Those were countless silvery-white long rivers that looked like the gxy. They were extremely vibrant and lit up the entire sky with their brightness.

    ¡°Why? Why are you here?!¡± Dao Xin¡¯s body shuddered, the pain on his face became more obvious and blood started trickling down the side of his mouth.

    ¡°Is this important?¡±

    ¡°Not really, but don¡¯t you want the answer all along? If you kill me now, you won¡¯t get the answer, you will never get it!¡± Dao Xin looked as if she was going crazy.

    ¡°You are wrong, I have already gotten the answer.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Impossible, it is definitely impossible! You definitely did not get the answer, nobody can guess the answer!¡± Dao Xin turned pale and started trembling. However, despite that, she still stood beside Yan Xiu and had no intention of running away.

    Perhaps it was not because she did not want to run.

    Instead, it was because she knew that she could not run away after knowing the true identity of ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    ¡°Guess? Haha... Dao Xin, you finally said a ¡°truthful¡± sentence.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was 100 percent sure of his answer now.

    ¡°...¡± Dao Xin froze.

    She finally stopped trembling but the agony on her face was even more obvious. The pain and sadness that she portrayed were impossible to be faked.

    Dao Xin was really in pain, it was a pain due to sadness.

    It was the same feeling as what Yan Xiu experienced but even stronger such that her tears flowed down uncontrobly.

    ¡°No, this is not possible... it¡¯s impossible!¡± Dao Xin seemed to be venting her anger and pain.

    However, at this moment, Yan Xiu suddenly copsed to the ground and was drenched in sweat. The silvery-white rain seemed to have a huge impact on his body, causing his breath to be extremely irregr and the ck and white radiance in his eyes were flickering non-stop.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± An ear-deafening voice of agony was heard.

 Chapter 982 - Journey to the West to for a Pilgrimage for â€œScriptureâ€

    <h4>Chapter 982: Journey to the West to for a Pilgrimage for ¡°Scripture¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er! Xiu¡¯er, are you alright?!¡± Yan Qianli was extremely anxious when he saw Yan Xiu copse to the ground. He knew Yan Xiu¡¯s personality very well.

    Unless Yan Xiu was unable to stand any further, with his determination, he will definitely not copse to the ground.

    Yan Qianli wanted to act, he wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword because Yan Xiu looked like he was in extreme agony and the agony looked like it originated from the soul.

    However, could he stop Fang Zhengzhi?

    No!

    It was not because he couldn¡¯t stop him but rather because he believed that Fang Zhengzhi would not kill Yan Xiu even though Yan Xiu was in extreme agony now.

    ¡°Xiu... sorry, I have let you down...¡± Dao Xin also copses to the ground and hugged Yan Xiu tightly. ¡°My selfishness made you suffer, now it¡¯s time for you to be free... That¡¯s right, I have no other reason to continue restraining you.¡±

    ¡°Dao Xin, what are you going to do?¡± Yan Xiu trembled and stared at Dao Xin, holding onto Dao Xin¡¯s arm tightly with his hand.

    ¡°It has been so long and you are still calling me Dao Xin?¡± Dao Xin started crying and the tears that trickled down his face was like rain, waterfall and also a river.- .c om

    This was a sign of extreme sadness but nobody knew where this sadness originated from. Was it disappointment, indignance or was it influenced by the tears of the Bloody Landscape?

    ¡°Dao...¡± Yan Xiu stopped after only saying one word. He sounded hesitant and it was a hesitation that was extremely difficult toprehend.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword had reached and the silver heavy rain from the sky umted towards his sword rapidly.

    Finally, they turned into a spark of silver.

    It was a star that was bright enough to light up the entire sky. The star was floating in front of Dao Xin¡¯s throat and was able to end her life if it moved forward for a millimeter.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let her die!¡± At the instant when the stars umted, Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard again. She sounded extremely mad after being pressured to her limits.

    Boom! A beam of blood radiance shot up.

    There was no longer any darkness in that blood radiance. There was only a red color that looked like fresh blood. The extremely cold aura caused the air to almost freeze.

    This scene was extremely shocking to Yan Qianli.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er¡¯s Fallen Asura... seems to be resolved?!¡± Yan Qianli had been learning about the Dao of Asura for his entire life and definitely could see the changes in Yan Xiu.

    It was pure red.

    That was the sign of the optimal state of the Dao of Asura. There was no longer the darkness of an abyss, or rather, the darkness had been painted red.

    ¡°Fallen Asura, resolved?!¡± Dao Xin evidently trembled and looked in disbelief after hearing what Yan Qianli said.

    That was because she had spent so much efforts trying to help Yan Xiu master thest stage of the Dao of Asura but the results were not very promising.

    Left with no choice, she could only merge the twopletely different skills into one.

    As such, Yan Xiu¡¯s Dao of Asura became both ck and red. When both forms of powers concentrated on Yan Xiu, her powers were greatly boosted.

    However, the situation of a backfire was also more severe.

    Of course, it was not difficult for them to suppress the backfire with their medical knowledge but some things could only be cured on the surface level and the root cause was left unaddressed.

    However, now...

    The aura that Yan Xiu gave off was extremely pure.

    There was no longer any darkness in that bright red. The pure Asura was like the supreme killer God that stood in the sky.

    Bam! Just when Dao Xin and Yan Qianli were extremely shocked, the bright red blood radiance turned into a gigantic palm and pped on Fang Zhengzhi.

    This caused Fang Zhengzhi to move back involuntarily for at least five steps.

    Moreover, the five footprints on the ground were at least one inch deep and the stones he stepped on turned into powder.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡± Mu Qingfeng eximed.

    He did not want to see ¡°Meng Tian¡± being killed by Dao Xin but he also did not want ¡°Meng Tian¡± to die or get injured from the battle with Yan Xiu.

    It was an ironic thought but it was exactly what Mu Qingfeng was thinking of right now.

    Apart from him, the other disciples of the Human Alliance also shared the same thought as ¡°Meng Tian¡± was their final hope.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waves his hand and stopped Ping Yang from charging towards him. Meanwhile, he gradually handed Yun Qingwu to Ping Yang. ¡°Be careful of the sudden appearance of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I know that.¡± Ping Yang nodded and received Yun Qingwu from Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she quietly moved back to where Yan Qianli and Wu Yuer were standing.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really Yun Qingwu?¡±

    ¡°She seemed to have passed out? Should we take this opportunity to kill her now?¡±- .c om

    The disciples of the Human Alliance stretched their necks and started amotion as they saw Yun Qingwu in Ping Yang¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Ping Yang roared softly.

    ¡°...¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance looked at each other and wanted to say, ¡®who on earth are you?¡¯

    However, they did not say that eventually because although Ping Yang was masked with a ck face cloth, they could tell that she was closely rted to ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    For such a person...

    They were afraid to offend her.

    After all, offending her meant offending ¡°Meng Tian¡±, and the consequences of offending ¡°Meng Tian¡± was self-exnatory by Dao Hun¡¯s body on the ground.

    ¡°That shameless... no, I mean, Senior, is not killing her?¡± Wu Yuer figured out Ping Yang¡¯s identity from her eyes. However, she did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi chose to hand Yun Qingwu over to Ping Yang instead of killing her straight away after he caught her.

    ¡°We can¡¯t kill her now.¡± Ping Yang did not exin any further.

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Wu Yuer nodded but was still not satisfied with the answer. She stretched out her hand ced it on Yun Qingwu¡¯s chest before tightening her grip violently. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t tell me... he is really interested in her?¡±

    Wu Yuer¡¯s voice was so soft that only Ping Yang could hear her.

    Her actions were also noticed by Ping Yang. However, instead of stopping her, Ping Yang pinched Yun Qingwu on her arm.

    ¡°If he is really interested in her, I will strangle him!¡± Ping Yang pouted and also looked annoyed.

    ¡°Hahaha... who are you nning to strangle?¡± Wu Yuerughed while covering her mouth, the slight blush on her face gave her an extremely alluring look.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to care.¡± Ping Yang looked at Wu Yuer and a look shed across her eyes. ¡°From what I know, you are married to that brat in the Northern Mountain Vige? Moreover, it is a blessing granted by Auntie Xuelian? Let me warn you, with Sister Yan around, you must be dreaming!¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan? She is powerful, but unfortunately... she has already turned into a sleeping beauty.¡± replied Wu Yuer as she rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Even so, you won¡¯t stand a chance!¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to pick a fight?¡±

    ¡°You are just a sage, who do you think you are? I have a few people under me, even if I don¡¯t stand a chance for a one versus one battle, you will not be my opponent if it was a group fight!¡±

    ¡°Really? Did you forget that I am still the Young sect leader of the Ling Yun Tower?¡±

    ¡°You are impressive but you have small boobs!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang blushed immediately. She lowered her head and looked at her chest before looking at Wu Yuer with a furious expression.

    ¡°Look, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are here!¡± Just as Ping Yang was about to rage, Wu Yuer suddenly pointed behind Ping Yang with a worried look.

    ¡°So fast?¡± Ping Yang turned back instinctively and realized that there was nothing behind her.

    Instantly, Ping Yang knew she had fallen for Wu Yuer¡¯s lie.

    Just as she was about to p Wu Yuer, she realized that Wu Yuer was already standing behind Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint with a carefree look.

    ¡°Annoying!¡± Ping Yang was about to continue scolding Wu Yuer when she heard a loud boom. She turned her attention to the location of the sound.

    Then, her petite mouth opened wide.

    That was because there was a shadow which was twenty feet tall, glowing in bright red and wearing a blood-red armor.

    There was another figure within that shadow.

    It was Yan Xiu!

    ¡°Erm? Yan Xiu can be so big too?¡± Ping Yang was evidently shocked because she thought only Fang Zhengzhi liked to do something like this.

    Surrounding oneself with Origin Energy so as to increase one¡¯s body size tremendously. Then, the Origin Energy would turn into armor, causing one to look extremely powerful when worn on the body.

    However, this was the power of the bloodline.

    Yan Xiu also had the power of the bloodline?

    It was not very likely.

    So what was exactly happening in front of them?

    ¡°It¡¯s the transformation into Asura, even I... can¡¯t do this!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s voice was heard and he answered Ping Yang¡¯s queries.

    ¡°Transformation into Asura? Is it powerful?¡± Ping Yang asked naively.

    ¡°After experiencing life and death, and entering the Asura Hell to be the Fallen Asura, Xiu¡¯er managed to break through the restraint of the chains and regain the Dao of Asura. He is actually more powerful than me.¡± Instead of answering Ping Yang, Yan Qianli talked to himself.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this something very normal? Like the Heavenly Oasis Saint, even though he called himself the ¡±, he only knew how to flee when he had to fight and can¡¯t even defeat me.¡± Ping Yang blinked her eyes.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Qianli¡¯s expression froze. The Heavenly Oasis Saint also had the same expression as him. Both of them looked at each other and saw the speechlessness in each other¡¯s eyes.

    What f*cking bad luck!

    They had lived for such a long time and finally managed to be a Sage after all the difficulties. Now, they were put down by a 16-year-old girl.

    Moreover, Ping Yang was speaking the truth and they could not refute.

    ¡°I have been learning Alchemy for my entire life, regarding physicalbat... the younger generation is definitely better at that.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint took a deep breath before saying this in a superior tone.

    ¡°Dao Hun also likes to practice Alchemy but he is already dead.¡± Ping Yang took a nce at the dead Dao Hun who was on the ground with an arrogant look.

    ¡°...¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s legs trembled and he almost fell.

    Ping Yang did not care about the Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s reaction. However, the anger she had because of Wu Yuer had vanished instantly.

    She showed a happy expression again.

    ¡°Go... Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hear themotion between Ping Yang, Wu Yuer and the others. Or rather, he would have pretended that he did not hear it even if he really did.

    After all, he had more important things to do now.

    Yan Xiu suddenly broke through his restraints and grew immensely in power. This was something worth celebrating but it did note at the right time. If this had happened after Dao Xin was killed, it would have been perfect.

    However, how could things be perfect in this world?

    Even the scriptures obtained after the Journey to the West had missing pages. Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi did not have very high expectations.

    However, the trouble came eventually.

    Yan Xiu was protecting Dao Xin with his life. This was what troubled him.

    With Yan Xiu¡¯s usual powers, he could not match up to Fang Zhengzhi. However, if Yan Xiu turned into an Asura, he would be almost on par with Fang Zhengzhi.

    In such a situation, Fang Zhengzhi needed time to kill Dao Xin without injuring Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to get Yan Xiu away from Dao Xin.

    However, Yan Xiu was Yan Xiu after all.

    He was not moved at all and was determined to stay beside Dao Xin to protect her. Like a statue of the Demon God of Asura, he refused to take a step away from Dao Xin regardless of how hard Fang Zhengzhi had tried.

    ¡°Xiu, you don¡¯t want me to die, but you... have never had me in your heart...¡± Dao Xin sat on the ground in pain and mumbled to herself, ¡°It has been so long... I still can¡¯t get a ce in your heart, is this really my destiny?¡±

    ¡°People say that their destiny is decided by themselves. For all these years, I always thought that I have gotten hold of my own destiny but today I finally realized...¡±

    ¡°Perhaps our destinies are still pre-destined.¡±

    ¡°Xiu... I always wanted to tell you about my story but you never asked about it. I don¡¯t understand, I really don¡¯t understand...¡±

    ¡°I know my own problems, I know why I am like this, I can see the pain you are going through, I can see everything about you, your entire life, I can...

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Like real!¡±

    A cold roar was heard halfway through Dao Xin¡¯s sentence and a beam of sword radiance went around Yan Xiu who was standing in front of Dao Xin.

    The sword radiance went underneath Yan Xiu¡¯s armpit.

    It traveled at a very fast speed.

    Although Yan Xiu saw it, he could not stop it.

    Boom! The sword radiance hit Dao Xin and the force threw her in the air in a parabolic path before shended heavily on the ground again.

 Chapter 983 - Their Small Hearts were Unable to Take It!

    <h4>Chapter 983: Their Small Hearts were Unable to Take It!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Spat! Fresh blood was spat out from Dao Xian¡¯s mouth.

    Meanwhile, the clothes on her right shoulder also split and a sharp bloody mark was exposed with the silver soft armor inside her clothes.

    Dao Xin was wearing a protective soft armor that was silver and white like snow.

    This was evidently a good protective treasure. Even though Dao Xin was struck by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword radiance, she did not die immediately.

    It was not surprising for this protective treasure to appear on Dao Xin.

    After all, Dao Zin was the Second Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Furthermore, Dao Hun was the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance and his protective treasures would definitely not be an ordinary one.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t die? Looks like it is indeed not so easy to kill you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. Although he did not use his full power for that strike earlier on, it was a strike that ordinary people would not be able to withstand.

    He didn¡¯t die!

    He was only severely injured!

    This meant that the quality of Dao Xin¡¯s silver soft armor was extraordinary. Such an extraordinary soft armor was worn on Dao Xin instead of Dao Hun.

    How exactly were Dao Hun and Dao Xin rted?

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± After Dao Xin spat out a mouthful of blood, she coughed heavily twice and she looked extremely depressed and was in great pain.

    However, she did not look like she was in intense pain after she was injured. In fact, she acted as if the sword did not hit her shoulder.

    ¡°Second Hallmaster!¡±

    ¡°Madam Second Hallmaster!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    When the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall saw Dao Xin spitting out blood, they felt miserable although they knew that some things were inevitable.

    After all, Dao Xin¡¯s status and credibility in the Yin Yang Hall was extremely high. How could the disciples bear to watch her die?

    ¡°We pled you, Senior Meng Tian, please let Second Hallmaster off!¡±

    ¡°If Second Hallmaster hadmitted anything wrong, we, the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall, can take the punishment for her.¡±

    ¡°We will kowtow to you, Senior Meng Tian, please show mercy!¡±

    The disciples of the Yin Yang Hall fell to their knees. Every one of them wanted to help Dao Xin up but nobody dared to.

    ¡°Meng Tian!¡± Yan Xiu turned and looked at the injured Dao Xin. Raging anger was disced on his cold face and the Silver Blood Fan in his hand turned into thousand beams of blood radiance.

    A river which was thousands of miles long flowed down.

    Yan Xiu who had turned into Asura had an evident improvement. The power of his attack was even stronger than Mu Qingfeng.

    After all, the Dao of Asura was the Dao with the most powerful force amongst the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    However, Yan Xiu did not have long exposure to the Dao of Asura. Although his attacking force was powerful, his overall power was still iparable to the experienced individuals like Mu Qingfeng.

    However, it was not a huge difference.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have the intention to fight all out with Yan Xiu. He knew that if he did that, Yan Xiu could be injured because of his strikes.

    That was something he did not wish to see.

    Especially if Yan Xiu was furious and vtile, Fang Zhengzhi was concerned that Yan Xiu would lose control of his emotions and fall back to Asura again.

    Then, he could no longer be cured.

    Fortunately, Yan Xiu only defended and did not attack or had the intent to fight with Fang Zhengzhi. Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi did not have a hard time dodging.

    When the blood radiancended on the ground, Fang Zhengzhi had already dodged to a distance away.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi could dodge Yan Xiu¡¯s attack, Dao Xin¡¯s mouth...

    He could not seal it.

    ¡°Get up, all of you, don¡¯t plead him because of me. He will definitely not let me off because he is...¡± At the middle of her sentence, Dao Xin took a nce at Yan Xiu who was in front of her. She seemed to be hesitating and deep in thought.

    The disciples of the Yin Yang Hall exchanged nces and waited for Dao Xin toplete her sentence.

    ¡°He is what?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°What does the Second Hallmaster want to say?¡±

    The disciples of the Yin Yang Hall were confused.

    However, Dao Xin did not continue her sentence after a slight hesitation. Therefore, the disciples did not know the true identity of ¡°Meng Tian¡±.

    ¡°Let me and Yan Xiu off and I will keep your secret for you!¡± Dao Xin suddenly spoke. Her gaze was no longer calm but rather filled with hope.

    It was a kind of hope that made her view anything in her way as a saving mechanism. Despair, fear, mixed with unwillingness.

    Dao Xin did not know why Fang Zhengzhi chose to hide his identity.

    However, since Fang Zhengzhi chose to hide it, she thought this was at least a beam of hope that could save her life, even though if it was extremely small.

    ¡°Haha, so Dao Xin also has her times of being naive...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed slightly.

    ¡°You... Unless you want to...¡± Dao Xin¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°It seems that you still did not understand that I don¡¯t have any secrets. Say what you wish to.¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Dao Xin¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°...¡± Dao Xin was silent. She lost all the cards in her hands, now that she finally obtained one, she did not know if she wanted to y it.

    Hesitation. Even Dao Xin who was extremely intelligent was hesitating.

    ¡°I say onest time, you have no chances of surviving, you will die today!¡±Fang Zhengzhi said with full assurance regarding his choice. It was a choice that would never change.

    Dao Xin had to die!

    So what if Dao Xin revealed his identity? Now that Yun Qingwu had already known about his identity, he could not hide it for too long.

    ¡°Will die? Hahaha... I get it, I get it...¡± Dao Xin¡¯s facial expression froze for a while before she startedughing wildly suddenly. ¡°I knew it, when I saw that you didn¡¯t die, I knew you will take revenge!¡±

    ¡°Take revenge?!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t die?¡±

    ¡°What does Dao Xin mean?¡±

    Both the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall and the Human Alliance looked confused after hearing this.

    Meanwhile, the conflicted Mu Qingfeng and heavily injured Mo Shanshi shuddered.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t die!¡¯

    ¡®Take revenge!¡¯

    These were two very simple phrases but there were too much meaning behind it. In fact, it was rted to a name that everyone was familiar with.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was because the only person in the Holy Region who could make Dao Xin say the two phrases was Fang Zhengzhi. someone who was supposed to stay in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    ¡°He... He is really Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± Mo Shanshi was in disbelief and astonished.

    Before she entered the ck stone pce, Yun Qingwu had already spectacted that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was Fang Zhengzhi. However, Mo Shanshi did not believe her at all then.

    However, if Dao Xin also said that ¡°Meng Tian¡± was Fang Zhengzhi, he was somehow swayed.

    As the saying went, a rumor bes a fact after it was said by three people!

    Although it was not repeated by three people, Yun Qingwu and Dao Xin were extremely intelligent people. If both of them made the same spection...

    Mo Shanshi was finally swayed.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± Mu Qingfeng also thought of this name, however, he still refused to believe it.

    How was that possible?

    The ¡°Meng Tian¡± in front of him was so powerful.

    On the other hand, what about Fang Zhengzhi?

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi had shown his powerful skills in the battle at the Heaven Zen Mountain, it wasparable to Mu Qingfeng.

    Yet now?

    Within a few months¡¯ time, how could he possibly make such a great improvement? If he was really Fang Zhengzhi, was he still a human?

    Even if he was not a human, he could not possibly reach this standard!

    Mu Qingfeng really did not want to believe it because it was way too mindblowing. Nobody could be so talented.

    ¡°What?! Senior Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°What are Valley Master Mo and Pavilion Master Mu talking about?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance also could not believe it.

    However, at this moment, Dao Xin stood up slowly with one hand covering her shoulder injury and the other pointing at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I regret... I regret not killing you with my own hands when I caught you. That mistake led to today¡¯s oue!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Dead silence filled the air.

    Mo Shanshi, Mu Qingfeng, the disciples of the Human Alliance and Yin Yang Hall all turned to Fang Zhengzhi in silence.

    They were waiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    ¡°Dao Xin, stop spouting nonsense! How can Senior Meng Tian be a shameless brat like Fang Zhengzhi!¡± A voice was heard amidst the silence.

    It was none other than Ping Yang.

    After shouting, Ping Yang stood out furiously with one hand holding Yun Qingwu and one hand pointing at Dao Xin.

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was really speechless this time.

    After all, it was strange for someone who knew your identity to scold you when you have decided to reveal your identity.

    It must be intentional.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± After hearing what Ping Yang said and recalling about how Ping Yang had appeared with Fang Zhengzhi, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance were confused again.

    ¡°How can Senior Meng Tian by that shameless brat?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, Senior Monster Emperor had killed Lin Ji, the Godly State expert of the Monster Race. He also captured the Demon Lord in the Blood Shadow City alone!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi definitely would not have such skills!¡±

    Very quickly, the disciples of the Human Alliance came to an agreement.

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng felt speechless upon seeing this. They both heard Dao Xin and Ping Yang.

    To believe or not?

    The two of them did not know how to express their emotions. It was aplicated emotion that made them want to believe it but did not dare to.

    Of course, the answer would be revealed with one action by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was toozy to continue acting. The two reasons why he had taken up the identity of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian were to protect the citizens of the Northern Mountain Vige by faking his identity and to use the authority of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian to ask for the Human Alliance to cooperate with him.

    Now that Dao Hun had died, the Human Alliance had to assign a new leader. It was no longer important if he was Fang Zhengzhi or Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    After all, he had never wanted to be the Alliance Leader of the Human Alliance.

    The ck face cloth gradually fell along with the ck robe on Fang Zhengzhi.

    A handsome face was revealed.

    Meanwhile, the familiar blue robe was revealed too and it flew in the breeze.

    The world fell into silence.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze fell upon Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and robe.

    Debates and exnations were no longer required as the reality had spoken for itself.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian...

    Was Fang Zhengzhi!

    It was Fang Zhengzhi who killed Lin Ji and captured the Demon Lord in the Blood Shadow City. It was also Fang Zhengzhi who taught them how to kill the Monster Kings.

    Everything was done by Fang Zhengzhi.

    The unsolved mystery was unveiled.

    Fang Zhengzhi was Meng Tian. Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely kill Dao Hun and not let Dao Xin off as he was enemy with the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Wow, Senior Meng Tian, you are really the shameless brat Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s surprised voice was heard.

    Of course, she also removed the face cloth on her face and revealed her fair and cute face.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng. Mo Shanshi and the disciples of the Human Alliance fell silent again.

    Theplex emotions and speechlessness could not be described by words when they saw Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    Fooling around with us?!

    The entire Holy Region and the Four Great Empires knew that Fang Zhengzhi was partners with Ping Yang. Nobody would believe that Ping Yang did not know about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity.

    Speechlessness, aggrievance.

    However, despite that, waves were turning in their hearts. The astonishment caused their mouths to remain wide open.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!!!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian... Is really Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°How old is he?!¡±

    ¡°How did this shameless brat be so powerful in six months¡¯ time? What did he eat?! How did he be so powerful?!¡±

    ¡°Monster, no... not monster, he is not a human!¡±

    Although Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the disciples of the Human Alliance were mentally prepared, they still felt immensely shocked when they saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance.

    It was too overwhelming!

    It was so overwhelming that their small hearts were unable to take it!

 Chapter 984 - The Death of Dao Xin and Truth of the Stone Tablet

    <h4>Chapter 984: The Death of Dao Xin and Truth of the Stone Tablet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s him?! He is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed because he remembered the face and the name.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    In the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi was the one who coborated with Chi Guyan to kill the Space-splitting Demon God and saved the entire Human Alliance.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi went back to the Northern Mountain Vige and never stepped into the Holy Region.

    However, now...

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of him again with the identity of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian. How would Yan Xiu not be shocked?

    However, unlike the shock others had felt, on top of astonishment, Yan Xiu felt another special emotion.

    It was a feeling of familiarity.

    Yan Xiu was familiar with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s appearance and name because he had met him once in the Heaven Zen Mountain. However, the feeling of familiarity was definitely not due to the one-off meeting.

    What happened?

    Why did he have such a strong feeling of familiarity?

    Just as Yan Xiu was trying to figure out the reason behind it, a drastic change happened. He heard a voice beside his ear before the voice traveled to a spot behind him.

    ¡°Dao Xin, you can now die in peace.¡± As Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard, he had moved to the spot behind Yan Xiu.

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) An azure blue radiance shone in the sky.

    It was the Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    Fang Zhengzhi made use of the chance while Yan Xiu and the others were shocked to go around Yan Xiu and reached the spot where Dao Xin was at.

    ¡°No!¡± Yan Xiu regained his senses and wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi but it was toote. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was already touching Dao Xin¡¯s throat.

    Fresh blood flowed down the tip of the sword.

    Yan Xiu knew that it was impossible for him to stop Fang Zhengzhi. He could only stand quietly at the spot and look at the sword on Dao Xin¡¯s throat without moving at all.

    ¡°Yes... I should die, actually, I should have died long ago... Xiu, don¡¯t feel sad because of this because I am not worth it.¡± Dao Xin showed misery and loneliness in her eyes. She was unable to struggle and wanted to say herst words before she died.

    ¡°Indeed, you are not worthy enough to make Yan Xiu feel sad,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi! You can kill me but you can¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Friendship? You are not worth it. You only took a glimpse at Yan Xiu¡¯s memory, am I right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Dao Xin¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, apart from Dao Hun and I, no third party knew about this. How did you manage to guess it?¡± Dao Xin shuddered and returned to her usual state of calmness.

    Death could indeed make one¡¯s state of mine return to calmness because Dao Xin had given up on resisting due to despair.

    ¡°Truth bes fiction while fiction bes reality when you mentioned about the co-existence of Yin and Yang, I have made spection already. The misery on your face after that proved my spection,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha... Fang Zhengzhi lives up to his name. You managed to guess that Yan Xiu¡¯s memory was sealed on me with these two points. I... am speechless.¡± Dao Xin startedughing suddenly.

    ¡°What? Yan Xiu¡¯s memory was sealed on Dao Xin?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°How did he do that?¡±

    The surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked when they heard this.

    On the other hand, Yan Qianli and Mu Qingfeng widened their eyes because they did not guess that this would happen.

    Without saying anything else, Dao Xin slowly shut her eyes close.

    Memory surged into her mind like water as she saw Yan Xiu¡¯s birth, experience, and friendship between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    These memories, along with her own memory, sometimes caused her to be confused with whether she was Yan Xiu or herself.

    However, these were no longer important.

    She was going to die.

    ¡°Sister...¡± Dao Xin mumbled non-stop. It was like a call for someone whom she would never hear from again before she died.

    The twin of Yin Yang.

    It was an extremely special case that gave Dao Hun and Dao Xin a terrifying gift that was impossible for ordinary people to possess.

    However, when this special case and terrifying gift happened in an ordinary family, it became a tragedy.

    The birth of Dao Hun and Dao Xin was a tragedy.

    ( B oxnovel.c om ) In fact, Dao Hun was not called Dao Hun when she was born. She was called ¡®Li Yulian¡¯, an extremely ordinary name just like her ordinary family, her father who worked in the military, and her mother who was a farmer.

    However, nobody had guessed that after ten years, her mother gave birth to Dao Xin.

    At that time...

    Their father had already died five years ago on the battlefield.

    Rumors attacked the family like devils. The countless usations and scoldings drove their mother to death.

    The twin of Yin Yang.

    The terrifying presence of the Reverse of Yin Yang was the reason why the second child required at least ten years of pregnancy.

    The father died on the battlefield while the mother hung herself when Dao Hun was eleven and Dao Xin was only slightly more than one year old.

    Fortunately...

    The terrifying giftedness caused Dao Hun to gradually be more powerful, step by step, she exposed Dao Xin to the outside world and Dao Xin eventually became a powerful talent.

    At that moment, Dao Hun met another man.

    It was an ordinary man but he gave Dao Hun a simple sense of security, allowing her uncertain mind to calm down.

    The following days were happy days. Both Dao Hun and the man grew in their level of cultivations.

    Finally, the man started to use his powers to aplish feats and became one of the candidates for the sessor of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Everything seemed to be working well.

    However, it was also that day when the man entered Dao Xin¡¯s room and Dao Hun found out about his real intention.

    The twin of Yin Yang.

    The co-existence of Yin Yang was only valid if the Yin and Yang were connected.

    In order to be the only candidate for the sessor of the next Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall, the man needed both Dao Hun and Dao Xin to be his ¡°Ding Furnace¡±.

    It rained very heavily that day...

    Dao Xin still remembered the distorted expression of the man. He roared ferociously at Dao Hun who wanted to stop him and stabbed her mercilessly.

    That day, the man died under the sword of Dao Xin who ¡°did not even have the strength to kill a chicken¡±.

    It was also that day when Dao Xin¡¯s state of mind became calm. She helped her severely injured and anxious older sister up and put a mask on Dao Hun¡¯s face.

    ¡°Sister, you are no longer Li Yulian, you are Dao Hun!¡±

    ¡°Dao Hun?!¡±

    From that day onwards, the man lost everything, his life, his body, his soul, his cultivation...

    However, he left behind a name for ¡°Li Yulian¡±.

    Dao Hun!

    It was a name that belonged to a man.

    Li Yulian disappeared from the world. A new Dao Hun was born into the world and a brand new Dao Xin too.

    ¡°Kill me!¡± Dao Xin opened her eyes suddenly and there was a cold gaze in it. She hated everyone in the world who was not loyal.

    Moreover, she swore that she would rise above all the men in the world. She wanted to prove that women were not weaker than any men and were, in fact, more powerful.

    The position of the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall was no longer sufficient to appease Dao Xin.

    She wanted her sister Dao Hun to be the leader of the Human Alliance and the leader of the world. She wanted to prove to the dead man that she and her sister were able to attain the status and powers that men were not able to.

    Dao Xin felt that she had been fighting for her powers for her entire life. However, she fell in love with Yan Xiu because she sealed his memory.

    She had always wanted to tell Yan Xiu about the story but she was afraid that it would cause Yan Xiu to feel ufortable.

    After all, she did note from a privileged background and had an unpleasant blot on her reputation.

    Tears streamed down Dao Xian¡¯s eyes.

    It flowed along her cheeks to her throat, mixing together with the blood that flowed out from her throat. It dropped continuously on the ground and umted to a pool of bloody water.

    Dao Xin copsed on the ground.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not give Dao Xin any more chances to speak. Dao Xin also did not tell Yan Xiu about her story before she died.

    ¡°Is the love that is caused because of a seal of memory considered real love?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not understand love but he knew that Yan Xiu would not regain his memory if he did not kill Dao Xin.

    The so-called co-existence of Yin and Yang was actually the cycle of Yin Yang. However, when saving Yan Xiu, Dao Hun forcefully sealed Yan Xiu¡¯s memory in Dao Hun¡¯s soul.

    It was a story that was destined to end without a proper ending.

    When Dao Hun made this decision, he probably did not think about the possibility that Dao Xin would fall in love with Yan Xiu because of Yan Xiu¡¯s memory.

    Yet now...

    Dao Xin was dead.

    Yan Xiu also copsed on the ground. He looked as if he was in extreme pain and there was a bright red bloody look in his eyes.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Yan Xiu cupped his head and rolled on the ground. His lost memories surged like spring water into his mind.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, are you alright?!¡± Yan Qianli dashed towards Yan Xiu but was forcefully kept away because of the powerful airwave around Yan Xiu.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi reached.

    He ced one of his hands gently on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder, allowing Yan Xiu¡¯s body to return to a calm state.

    After a long time, Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes became calm again and the bloody look disappeared. However, amidst the calmness was a slight feeling of sadness.

    He stood up slowly from the ground, got rid of the dirt on his body and turned to Fang Zhengzhi with a look of intimacy.

    ¡°I can betray everyone in the world except for one person.¡± Yan Xiu spoke with the simplest words.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He knew what Yan Xiu meant. By saying that, Yan Xiu had already regained his memory.

    However, even though he regained his memory, he did not forget the memories of the Yin Yang Hall.

    ¡°Hand me her body.¡± Yan Xiu turned to Dao Xin.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    Yan Xiu did not say anything else or probe further as there was no exnation required between him and Fang Zhengzhi and no misunderstandings would ur.

    ¡°It¡¯s so good to be alive...¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are all alive.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yan Xiu was thinking about and what he was implying by his words as he looked around at the dead bodies.

    Ping Yang hopped over happily and ced one of her hands on Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder while her other hand hugged Fang Zhengzhi on his waist.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, you were able to regain consciousness because of me. How are you going to thank me for that?¡± Ping Yang winked at Fang Zhengzhi as she said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to thank you,¡± replied Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why should I thank you if I made you help me with my own capabilities?¡± Yan Xiu asked back.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang opened her mouth and her eyes were wide open. Even though she was very good at talking, she was speechless for a moment.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhiughed until he teared up.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, it¡¯s so good to be alive.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked heartened.

    ¡°Yes, we are all alive.¡± Yan Xiu nodded.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu looked at each other and smiled. They did not say anything else as it was not the time for them to reminisce their friendship. There were many other things waiting for them to do.

    Yan Xiu turned slowly to Yan Qianli who was on the ground and fell to his knees before giving three kowtows to Yan Qianli. ¡°Sorry, grandfather.¡±

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, there is nothing to be sorry.¡± Yan Qianli got up from the ground quickly but there were tears in his eyes.

    Yes, the hero that was born in the military camp had tears in his eyes.

    Yan Xiu regained his memory.

    He was conscious!

    Aspared to before, Yan Xiu was clearly more mature as he had experienced something that ordinary people never did before.

    ...

    ¡°Zhengzhi, I think you will be interested in a tablet.¡± Yan Xiu pointed to a location nearby as he got Dao Xin¡¯s body up from the ground.

    ¡°Tablet?¡± Fang Zhengzhi deduced that their location was where Mu Qingfeng found the stone tablet which recorded the ¡°story¡± when he entered the ce.

    That was because all the disciples of the Human Alliance stopped there.

    He looked at the direction Yan Xiu was pointing at and saw a ck stone tablet with ck words scribbled all over it.

    It was not big and about five feet tall. All the words were gold in color and gave off an ancient aura.

    However, the words were not the words of this world. They looked like worms and had special symbols.

    ¡°Hmm? I think I recognize all of these words.¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked and said after looking at the words engraved on the stone tablet.

 Chapter 985 - God Save Me â€“ The Monsters are Coming!

    <h4>Chapter 985: God Save Me ¨C The Monsters are Coming!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi was an expert who specialized in ancient literature in his previous life, and he had studied hard. Several of his articles had even been published in magazines.

    Of course, that didn¡¯t work out.

    After graduation, he was unemployed because it wasn¡¯t fun working in research institutes.

    All they did all day was tranting ancient scriptures, checking documents, back to tranting, followed by checking documents again...

    It was so boring.

    Most importantly, there weren¡¯t any officedies around. The employees were either grandpas, grandmas with reading sses, or lifeless nerds.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a man with ambitions and aspirations, so he couldn¡¯t let himself be trapped by such a lifestyle. Hence, he rejected the boring work at a research institute and resolutely decided to find another job.

    Then...

    That was the end.

    When Fang Zhengzhi thought that he could be a boss that had a secretary to buy him coffee, with his degree in Ancient Literature Studies, he discovered, to his surprise, that he couldn¡¯t even be an insurance agent.

    It was his first job-hunting experience, and he was facing a middle-ageddy who wore sses with a ck frame. The seriousness of the working environment was written all over her face.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s begin the interview. The first question is, what do you think insurance can bring you?¡± The middle-ageddy adjusted her sses calmly.

    ¡°Eh? Shouldn¡¯t the first question be about self-introduction?¡± Fang Zhengzhi, who had just graduated, showed his surprise and naiveness.

    ¡°Answer the question!¡±

    ¡°House, car, money, woman...¡±

    ¡°Wrong, it¡¯s safety!¡± The middle-ageddy¡¯s face tightened up. Then, she stared at Fang Zhengzhi for a full 10 seconds before asking, ¡°Have you bought insurance?¡±

    ¡°No...¡±

    ¡°There is an insurance policy here, are you willing to sign your name on it?¡±

    ¡°No...¡±

    ¡°If you yourself don¡¯t believe in insurance, do you think you can be a good insurance agent? If you don¡¯t even have the experience of getting insurance for yourself, how could you possibly know anything about insurance?¡±

    ¡°Auntie, aren¡¯t you just trying to sell me your insurance policy?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized what was going on.

    ¡°...¡± Thedy held the insurance policy in her hands and fell silent for 10 seconds. Then, she sighed and ced Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s resume to the side and said, ¡°Alright, next!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi failed his first interview at that moment.

    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that Fang Zhengzhi was actually useless. At the very least, he was fairly proficient in the study of ancient literature.

    For example, Oracle bone script, Rock carvings, Bronzeware script, so on and so forth...

    He knew a little about all of them!

    He even studied the Eight Mysterious Chinese Scriptures, such as Cangjie Script, Xiayu Script, Red Rock Heavenly Script, Bashu Symbols, Dongba Symbols, etc.

    He was a talent of his generation after all.

    Fang Zhengzhi was being honest and earnest when he said, ¡®I seem to know all of these words¡¯.

    However, his honest words made Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest felt like they were struck by a heavy hammer.

    It was as if someone had punched them in the face.

    They were dumbfounded!

    ¡°He knows... All of them!¡±

    ¡°Did he say that he recognizes all the words on the Stone Tablet?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance stared at each other in disbelief. If Fang Zhengzhi was still disguised as Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, they might have actually taken his words for real.

    However, it was Fang Zhengzhi after all.

    How could they believe him?

    This was especially true for Mu Qingfeng. He felt like that was a huge duck egg stuck in his throat. He couldn¡¯t utter a single word.

    ¡®You know them all? If you freaking know everything, then what am I?¡¯ Mu Qingfeng considered himself as the most knowledgeable and experienced person.

    However, someone was iming otherwise.

    Furthermore, this fellow even shamelessly dered that he knew all of these words, which even Mu Qingfeng himself had failed to decipher after months of study.

    Not a damn person would be deceived by his words!

    A person could be shameless, but there must be a limit.

    Just as Mu Qingfeng was about to question him, he abruptly remembered something and held his tongue.

    It wasn¡¯t because he had suddenly decided to believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was because he had recalled something in his memory.

    ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯

    ¡®If Fang Zhengzhi was Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, thenbining what Wu Yuer had said on Ling Xiao Mountain and that legend...¡¯

    ¡®Damn it, I seemed to have fallen for his trick again!¡¯

    Mu Qingfeng instantly realized that if he was right, that legend should have originated from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡®golden mouth¡¯.

    Shameless. He waspletely shameless.

    Mu Qingfeng was furious, but he could understand Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s motive for creating this legend. It was probably to capture Yun Qingwu.

    If that was the case, could there be a reason behind his purposeful im that he seemed to recognize all the words on the Stone Tablet?

    Mu Qingfeng thought that this was highly likely.

    Although he wasn¡¯t sure why Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do that on purpose, he believed that he had his reasons. Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t know what exactly were his reasons, but considering what Fang Zhengzhi had done recently, he felt that it was better not to expose his ¡®lies¡¯.

    ¡®Fine, I shall find out what this brat is up to!¡¯ After all these considerations, Mu Qingfeng coughed and pointed towards the Stone Tablet, saying, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, since you said that you know all of these words, why don¡¯t you tell us the rough content of these three stories.¡±

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words were carefully thought out.

    Despite seeming like he was doubting Fang Zhengzhi, he was actually subtly reminding him that there were three stories on the Stone Tablet so that he wouldn¡¯t mess up.

    Furthermore, he even asked Fang Zhengzhi to only describe the rough content of the stories so that there wouldn¡¯t be any mismatch between their interpretations while Fang Zhengzhi was ¡®reading¡¯ the contents of the tablet.

    After all, they had already studied the contents of the tablet for a while before Fang Zhengzhi arrived. Mu Qingfeng had already told the Human Alliance some of the words that he could recognize on the Stone Tablet.

    ¡°Yup, shameless brat, why don¡¯t you tell everyone the rough outline.¡± Wu Yuer quickly realized what Mu Qingfeng meant and added on.

    As for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi imed to know all of the words...

    She wasn¡¯t stupid!

    In fact, Wu Yuer knew Fang Zhengzhi better than most people.

    He was incredibly talented and an unmatched genius.

    However, his fatal weakness was that he knew nothing about the world¡¯s history and legends.

    It wasn¡¯t over the top to say that Fang Zhengzhi waspletely ignorant when it came to this aspect.

    In that case, how could he possibly know the words on the Stone Tablet? He had never been here before, so it was impossible for him to know these words.

    ¡°Alright, let me take a look first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded rxedly and walked towards the Stone Tablet steadily.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Take a look?!¡±

    The disciples of Human Alliance nced at each other as if they were struck by lightning.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t you say that you know them all?¡¯

    ¡®Why do you need to take a look!¡¯

    While the disciples were about to express their doubts, they suddenly Fang Zhengzhi mumbling, ¡®Hmmm... The first paragraph is talking about... Hmmm... So that¡¯s what happened. Oh... No wonder... Woah... The handwriting here is a little illegible...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Can you stop pretending?!¡¯

    ¡®Who the hell would actually believe that you could actually understand these words?¡¯

    The disciples were a little surprised and optimistic when they heard Fang Zhengzhi talking about the first paragraph. However, as he went on, they became speechless.

    ¡®You call that knowing it all?¡¯

    ¡®Only a fool would believe you!¡¯

    Of course, even though they knew the truth deep down, they didn¡¯t dare to voice it out. After all, they could still remember what had happened atop Heaven Zen Mountain vividly.

    Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t hesitate to strike someone with lightning at the slightest disagreement.

    They didn¡¯t dare to mess with him...

    Most importantly, this fellow was terrifyingly powerful now. Dao Hun¡¯s dead body was the best proof of that. Mu Qingfeng and the other masters at the peak of Sage State weren¡¯t even capable of matching his strength.

    He had even killed several experts at the Godly State.

    How could they possibly dare to bad-mouth such an existence?

    ...

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang came to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side at this moment. Unlike the rest, Ping Yang looked surprised while Yan Xiu was extremely calm.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu said that the first story was roughly about Mother Earth finding the source of the disasters and ultimately discovering that the sufferings in the world originated from the Cosmic Disaster. Hence, she started looking for a way to mend the sky. Is there any mismatch between what you read and what he had said?¡± Said Yan Xiu unhurriedly.

    ¡°Are you interested in this as well?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yan Xiu and replied.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Yan Xiu nodded and said.

    ¡°Then I will read it for you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded readily.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Wu Yuer and the surrounding disciples became speechless instantly.

    Mu Qingfeng was the most speechless one of them all. He really wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi if he could. ¡®Does he really have to do this? Isn¡¯t this brat afraid that his lie would be exposed?¡±

    ¡®Read!¡¯

    ¡®Read the damn story if you could!¡¯

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    ¡°In ancient times, the four pirs supporting the sky copsed. The sky couldn¡¯t cover the world and the earth couldn¡¯t support the world. Uncontroble fire and floods ran rampant. The ferocious beasts ate the good, honest civilians and the vicious birds grabbed the elderly and children with their ws...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi said that, all the surrounding disciples fell dead silent because they became ck-jawed.

    ¡®He is actually reading it!¡¯

    ¡®Moreover, he¡¯s reading so fluently?!¡¯

    ¡®This guy is a freak!¡¯

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were really struck dumb because they had been studying the first paragraph before Fang Zhengzhi came.

    After thebined effort of knowledgeable ¡®experts¡¯ such as Mu Qingfeng, Dao Xin, Dao Hun, Wu Yuer, and Yan Qianli, they had actually managed to decipher a few words.

    For example, they figured out ¡®four pirs¡¯, ¡®fire¡¯, and ¡®floods¡¯. Through their deduction, these words slowly evolved into a story about a Cosmic Disaster.

    Now, Fang Zhengzhi had pieced them together seamlessly and turned them into extremelymon words which formed an easily understandable story.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s face turned red as a tomato. If there was a hole in front of him, he would crawl into it without any hesitation.

    ¡®Do you have to do this?¡¯

    ¡®Do you really have to do this?¡¯

    ¡®What kind of genius is he?¡¯

    ¡®He could actually read all the words on the Stone Tablet. Damn it. He is actually reading them word by word. He could really do it...¡¯

    ¡°The sky was mended and the four pirs were fixed... Ok, that¡¯s the end of the first paragraph. Is there a huge contrast with what Old Mu had said?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yan Xiu again and asked for his opinion after reading the first paragraph patiently. He didn¡¯t notice the expressions on My Qingfeng and the disciples¡¯ faces.

    ¡°There are some minor differences, but Pavilion Master Mu did an okay job of tranting the content.¡± Yan Xiu nodded softly and replied honestly.

    ¡°...¡± The disciples looked towards Mu Qingfeng.

    Mu Qingfeng stood there like a stunned mullet. He couldn¡¯t leave, nor could he stay. It didn¡¯t seem appropriate no matter if he chose to talk or keep quiet.

    It was so damn awkward!

    ¡°Old Mu, didn¡¯t you say that you are the best in the Holy Region when ites to the study of ancient scriptures?¡± Mo Shanshi spoke at this moment.

    ¡°Old Mo, why aren¡¯t you dead yet?¡± Mu Qingfeng was red with embarrassment. He looked at Mo Shanshi, who was severely injured and clenched his fists so tightly that they were crackling.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you. After taking your elixirs, I won¡¯t die just yet. By the way, you haven¡¯t answered my question, have you?¡± Mo Shanshi smirked and stood up slowly.

    After some rest, Mo Shanshi had cleansed some of the poison in his body. Moreover, since Mu Qingfeng had treated him, he was no longer incapable of standing up. He could move around normally to some extent now.

    ¡°If I answered your question just because you wanted me to, wouldn¡¯t that reflect poorly of my sense of pride?¡± Mu Qingfeng turned his head away and disregarded Mo Shanshi¡¯s taunts. However, his face was turning redder.

    That was because he truly could not understand how Fang Zhengzhi had managed to read the words on the Stone Tablet.

    Mu Qingfeng opened his eyes wide and looked at the Stone Tablet again, scanning through the words that were written densely together. Even symbols and figures appeared asionally.

    ¡°Have I fallen for an illusion?¡± Mu Qingfeng would rather die than believe that Fang Zhengzhi could actually understand these words, not to mention that he could understand all of them.

    This was too strange!

    Mu Qingfeng could still remember that Fang Zhengzhi spent the majority of his time in Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Repository during the one month that he stayed in the pavilion.

    ¡°Did he learn about these words in the Repository? That can¡¯t be it. I have read all the books in the Repository...¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head. He truly couldn¡¯t wrap his head around this.

    At this moment, he heard Fang Zhengzhi talking again.

    ¡°Eh? There¡¯s really an allusion to the Source of God!¡±

 Chapter 986 - Illustration of the Source of God and Secrets of the Ancient

    <h4>Chapter 986: Illustration of the Source of God and Secrets of the Ancient</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Source of God?!¡±

    ¡°Did he just say that this Stone Tablet contains an allusion to the Source of God? Can we actually find the Source of God in this ck Stone Pce?!¡±

    ¡°Is that legend actually true?¡±

    Although no one was convinced that Fang Zhengzhi could understand the words on the tablet, they had no choice but to believe him now after he read out the inscriptions on the tablet so fluently.

    No one dared to doubt him!

    It was now confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi actually knew the words on the tablet, no matter how much the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples wanted to believe otherwise.

    ¡°What does it say about the Source of God?¡± Even Mu Qingfeng was staring at Fang Zhengzhi eagerly, waiting for him to continue.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel like talking anymore. He was even frowning and seemingly deep in his thoughts.

    The atmosphere became tense.

    Neither Yan Xiu nor Ping Yang disturbed him. They just stood quietly beside Fang Zhengzhi, holding Dao Xin and Yun Qingwu in their arms respectively.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the truth!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally said something after he was lost in his thoughts for a long time. Then, he looked towards Ping Yang.

    However, he was looking at Yun Qingwu instead of Ping Yang, setting his eyes on her extremely beautiful face and her eyes which were sewn shut.

    ¡°Hey, shameless brat, why did you stop reading? I¡¯m still waiting to hear the story.¡± Ping Yang couldn¡¯t help asking when she saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head turning towards her.

    After all, she was actually impatient. She didn¡¯t enjoy a story half told.

    ¡°Do you want to hear more of the story?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and asked.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ping Yang nodded continuously as if she was a chicken pecking on rice.

    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing after that.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shrugged, implying that there was nothing that he could do about it.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing?¡± Ping Yang looked confused. She was nowpletely convinced that Fang Zhengzhi could understand the words on the Stone Tablet. Yet, he was telling her that that was the end of the story.

    ¡®What the hell!¡¯

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Apart from Ping Yang, even Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest were rendered speechless, as if they had a fly stuck in their throats.

    ¡®This fellow is too shameless!¡¯

    ¡®Why is he keeping us in suspense at such a critical time?¡¯

    ¡°Erm... Fang Zhengzhi, the Source of God is way too important for the Human Alliance. Please tell us the truth if you can so that we could discuss this together.¡± Mu Qingfeng was pulling his seniority on Fang Zhengzhi. After all, the Source of God was extremely crucial for them.

    ¡°That¡¯s really the end of it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said the same thing again.

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± Mu Qingfeng was a little frustrated. However, he wasn¡¯t about to give up, so he asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look again, and do it seriously this time? Isn¡¯t there something about a ¡®gate¡¯ in the third paragraph?¡±

    ¡°There is something about a gate, but it isn¡¯t a story.¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded lightheartedly.

    ¡°What is it about?¡±

    ¡°An illustration.¡±

    ¡°An illustration?! What illustration?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m right, it should be a treasure map.¡±

    ¡°A treasure map?!¡±

    At this moment, Mu Qingfeng wasn¡¯t the only person who was stunned. Even Mo Shanshi opened his eyes wide with shock and his pale face turned red a little despite his injuries.

    A treasure map!

    That implied that there must be a treasure!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance stared at each other with their eyes beaming with excitement, as if they saw a pile of treasure waving its hand at them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the treasure?¡± Mu Qingfeng gulped and asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Source of God.¡± Fang Zhengzhi responded emotionlessly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone was speechless again. They were back to square one now.

    ¡°Well, the treasure map shows where the Source of God is.¡± Fang Zhengzhi exined.

    ¡°Then... Where is it?¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement again. Even he was extremely interested in this ancient treasure.

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°What... What are we waiting for?¡±

    While Mu Qingfeng felt incredibly puzzled, he saw a long sword appearing in Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he struck the Stone Tablet.

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom!

    The ck Stone Tablet was split into two. Then, he struck the table over and over again.

    He only stopped when the tablet turned into countless fragments.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what are you doing?!¡± Even Mu Qingfeng was scared out of his wits. He really didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to destroy the tablet.

    ¡°Destroying it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a straight face.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng felt like it was getting harder to breathe. He obviously knew that Fang Zhengzhi was destroying the tablet, but he wanted to know why he did that. ¡°How are we going to find the Source of God if you destroy the tablet?!¡±

    ¡°I know where it is. The army of Demons and Monsters will be here soon. Do you want them to see the tablet too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was staring at Mu Qingfeng like he was an idiot.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng turned red.

    The surrounding disciples and Mo Shanshi were also looking at Mu Qingfeng with a weird expression that was somewhat simr to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s.

    That was right, they were looking at him as if he was a fool!

    Mu Qingfeng suddenly felt like an idiot.

    It was fairly awkward.

    ¡®Is it because I was too desperate to obtain the treasure?¡¯ Mu Qingfeng knew that a person would tend to lose his cool when he was overly concerned with gains and achievements.

    He was currently in such a state.

    ¡®However, what the hell is with the expression on these disciples¡¯ faces?¡¯ Mu Qingfeng didn¡¯t believe that they realized what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to do.

    ¡®Damn it, I became aughingstock.¡¯

    While Mu Qingfeng was thinking about his predicament, he saw Fang Zhengzhi collecting the fragments of the tablet.

    He didn¡¯t leave behind a single piece.

    ¡®Why is he... Collecting the fragments now?¡¯ Mu Qingfeng was just about to ask that question when he remembered how everyone ridiculed him, so he instantly held his tongue.

    Meanwhile, all the disciples were staring at Fang Zhengzhi with their eyes wide open. However, no one said a word because they didn¡¯t want to be treated as a fool.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked satisfied after collecting all the fragments. He dusted his hands while humming a tune.

    It was as if he had obtained some exceptional treasure.

    Mu Qingfeng felt conflicted because he didn¡¯t know if he should ask Fang Zhengzhi what he was doing. He couldn¡¯tprehend his actions at all.

    Of course, Mu Qingfeng truly felt helpless.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was the only one who could understand everything on the tablet.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. This brat is keeping something from us!¡± Mu Qingfeng was almost certain that there was more to the tablet than meets the eye.

    However, he didn¡¯t have any proof.

    In that case, what could he do?

    Nothing.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Wu Yuer, and the rest kept quiet. However, Ping Yang and Wu Yuer were smiling subtly.

    They didn¡¯t know what Fang Zhengzhi was doing, but they were definitely sure that he was up to no good.

    After Fang Zhengzhi was done, he turned towards Ping Yang again. Then, he silently curled his lips at her.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Ping Yang replied unhappily.

    ¡°Is she heavy? Do you want me to carry her?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Yun Qingwu and said.

    ¡°Do you want to carry her, or do you want to cop a feel?¡± Ping Yang pursed her lips as if to say that she saw through his shameless n, and she wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Do I really seem like that type of guy?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a straight face. Then, he smiled and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that there¡¯s something different about Yun Qingwu?¡±

    ¡°Something different?¡± Ping Yang didn¡¯t understand him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard enough, haven¡¯t you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang and looked at Yun Qingwu instead.

    ¡°What?!¡± Ping Yang was surprised.

    Mu Qingfeng was taken aback too. He also looked towards Yun Qingwu, and he quickly realized what was going on.

    Yun Qingwu had probably woken up already!

    That was right!

    Since Fang Zhengzhi realized that Yun Qingwu had already woken up, how could he possibly tell them where the Source of God was?

    ¡®So that¡¯s it. It seems like I was worried about nothing.¡¯ Mu Qingfeng soon deduced the whole picture. Although he was extremely curious about the location of the Source of God, he also knew that it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing if Yun Qingwu knew about it.

    That was in spite of the fact that Yun Qingwu was no longer themander of the army of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    While Mu Qingfeng was figuring everything out, he saw Fang Zhengzhi raising his hand. Then, he gave Yun Qingwu¡¯s butt a tight p.

    Smack! It was loud and clear.

    However, Yun Qingwu remained motionless, and she didn¡¯t move a muscle. She looked like she had passed outpletely.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a good actress?¡± Fang Zhengzhi scorned at Yun Qingwu¡¯s unchanged expression. Then, he raised his hand again and was about to p her butt a second time.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was about to hit Yun Qingwu¡¯s butt, he heard a cry of anger.

    Then...

    Yun Qingwu fell on her butt.

    That was because Ping Yang had ¡®identally¡¯ lost her grip.

    Thump! Yun Qingwu fell hard on her butt. However, she quickly stood up and remained silent after throwing Ping Yang a quick nce.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s tolerance was really exceptional!

    She wasn¡¯t even mad after all that happened?

    However, even if Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t angry, it didn¡¯t mean that Ping Yang wasn¡¯t pissed off. After she saw that Yun Qingwu had woken up, she felt like she was yed like a fiddle.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, when did you wake up!¡±

    ¡°When you pinched me.¡± Yun Qingwu replied straightforwardly.

    ¡°When I pinched you?¡± Ping Yang soon recalled that she pinched Yun Qingwu in secret when she was quarreling with Wu Yuer earlier. ¡°Does that mean that you¡¯ve heard everything Fang Zhengzhi said just now?¡± She asked again.

    ¡°Yup, not only did I hear the story that Fang Zhengzhi read from the tablet, but I also heard you quarreling with Wu Yuer.¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t deny it.

    ¡°You...¡± Ping Yang turned red with frustration.

    How could Ping Yang let it go after Yun Qingwu had heard her secret? Therefore, she quickly lifted Yun Qingwu off the ground.

    ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± Yun Qingwu looked calm.

    ¡°Would you believe me if I said that killing you is as easy as squashing an ant?¡± Ping Yang wore a ruthless expression.

    ¡°I would, but right now, you guys should have something that¡¯s more important than killing me.¡± Yun Qingwu allowed Ping Yang to grab her by her cor, and she wasn¡¯t going to put up any resistance.

    ¡°Something that¡¯s more important?¡± Ping Yang was stumped.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi turned towards somewhere in the distance after hearing her. That was because there was an obviousmotion over there.

    The army of Monster Race and Demon Race was here!

    Yun Qingwu was right that that was the most critical matter at hand now.

    They saw several figures shing in the distance.

    The first person that appeared waspletely covered by a ck cloak. There was a lingering air of death on this person and it felt chilling and nerve-wracking.

    This sensation...

    Fang Zhengzhi was familiar with this sensation, and so was Ping Yang.

    ¡°Chou Qi?!¡± Ping Yang eximed.

    Fang Zhengzhi also frowned because he clearly remembered that he saw Mu Xing, two other experts at Godly State, and the army of Monster Race and Demon Race chasing after them when he opened his Ghost Eye just now.

    ¡®Aren¡¯t Mu Xing and his friends chasing after us?¡¯

    ¡®In that case, why is Chou Qi the first one to arrive, rather than Mu Xing?¡¯

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was deep in his thoughts, Mu Xing and the other Monster and Demon Gods appeared as well. Lin Yu was also with them.

    Five Gods!

    To make things worse, they were followed by the army of Monster Race and Demon Race. The size of the army waspletely different from what Fang Zhengzhi had seen with his Ghost Eye earlier.

    ¡®Did all of theme in?¡¯ It was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to bepletely unsurprised. Most importantly, he didn¡¯t see Qin Xian.

    ¡®Where did Qin Xian go?¡¯

    ¡®Why is Chou Qi here?¡¯

    Several questions popped up in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind simultaneously.

    Unlike Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and everyone else were more than surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s the army of Monster Race and Demon Race!¡±

    ¡°Their Gods are also here!¡±

    ¡°Five?! Oh my god, there are five Gods?¡±

    ¡°What should we do?! Can Fang Zhengzhi hold them off alone?¡±

    When the disciples of the Human Alliance saw Fang Zhengzhi and the others, they knew that the army of Monster Race and Demon Race was chasing after them. However, they didn¡¯t expect so many of them to show up.

    ¡®I thought there were only three Gods?¡¯

    ¡®How did five of them appear at the same time?¡¯

    ¡®Moreover, isn¡¯t the size of the army that is chasing after us an overkill? There are dozens of Monster Kings, coupled with an uncountable number of Demon soldiers and Beasts.¡¯

    This was too horrifying!

    Hearing about it and actually see it were twopletely different matters.

 Chapter 987 - Five Shadows of Souls

    <h4>Chapter 987: Five Shadows of Souls</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were frightened. After all, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race that had appeared was far too powerful. It was beyond anyone¡¯s expectations.

    On the other hand, Mu Xing, Lin Yu, and the other Gods who were following behind ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ looked puzzled.

    That was because they didn¡¯t find ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ amidst the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Meng Tian has disappeared?¡± Mu Xing felt that ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ shouldn¡¯t have disappeared. At the very least, this wasn¡¯t the appropriate time for him to disappear.

    Unlike Mu Xing, Lin Yu and the massive army of Monster Race and Demon Race were puzzled for a different reason.

    Lin Yu wasn¡¯t puzzled by ¡®Meng Tian¡¯s¡¯ disappearance. Rather, it was because he saw a familiar figure standing in front of the Human Alliance.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi!

    He was supposed to beying low in Northern Mountain Vige, so he should be thest person to show up here.

    ¡®Fang Zhengzhi? Why is he here?¡¯ Lin Yu was far more puzzled than Mu Xing. Furthermore, this reminded him of an extremely unpleasant possibility.

    Meng Tian disappeared.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had somehow appeared?!

    What did that mean?

    ¡®Did Young Lord¡¯s worry actuallye true?!¡¯ Lin Yu turned grim instantly because he knew far too well about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength.

    That was precisely why he was afraid of him.

    In less than half a year, did this man that they didn¡¯t have to worry about at first make such terrifying progress? Was he really human?

    Lin Yu wasn¡¯t the only person who was stunned.

    The army behind him was shocked to its core.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a name that they could never forget, especially for the Demon soldiers. They hated Fang Zhengzhi to their cores.

    Yet, this man had somehow appeared right here.

    At this moment, ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, who was standing in front of the army, said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is Meng Tian. Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    His voice was chilling.

    It exuded a deathly aura that could make people¡¯s hearts tremble.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is Meng Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Is that true?!¡±

    The army of Monster Race and Demon Race couldn¡¯t believe what they had heard. However, since ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ had already said so, they must take it as the truth. That was because ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ was theirmander currently.

    Nevertheless, this was a truth that was overly shocking.

    Not a single one of them had expected that the mighty Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s true identity was the shameless Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that his identity was already revealed when he fought against Chou Qi just now. Hence, he wasn¡¯t too surprised when ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ exposed his disguise.

    However, he didn¡¯t understand why Chou Qi was standing in front of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Shouldn¡¯t Qin Xian be standing there?

    Moreover, Chou Qi should be severely injured.

    Given his personality, the first thing he would do after he was injured would be running away. In that case, how could he possibly enter the ck Stone Pce and chase after the Human Alliance on purpose?

    This was weird.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t quite grasp the situation. While he was trying to figure things out, he saw ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ taking a couple of steps forward, following which, he bowed to Fang Zhengzhi and hispanions.

    ¡°I¡¯ll introduce myself. I¡¯m Chou Qi, the currentmander of Monster Race and Demon Race.¡±

    ¡°What?! Commander?¡±

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was no longer the only one that was baffled. Even Mo Shanshi and the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples were equally stumped.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t Qin Xian theirmander?¡¯

    ¡®How did it be Chou Qi?¡¯

    No one knew what had happened. However, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race didn¡¯t say a word after ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ made that statement.

    This meant that ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ was speaking the truth, and his rank had been acknowledged by the army of Monster Race and Demon Race, as well as Mu Xing and the other Gods of the two races.

    ¡°Qin Xian is dead.¡± Chou Qi spoke again.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s mouth was agape. It was obvious that he was actually surprised. Having said that, as the leader of one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he knew that he had to maintain hisposure.

    ¡°Did you kill him?¡± Asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chou Qi nodded and replied.

    ¡°Why?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued asking.

    ¡°He was too weak to be themander of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.¡± Chou Qi exined. He wasn¡¯t about to attack the Human Alliance immediately, for he didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry.

    ¡°Yeah, he was actually pretty weak.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and agreed with him.

    Mu Xing, the other Gods, and the soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race were all rendered speechless with a weird expression on their faces.

    ¡®Qin Xian was weak?¡¯

    If Qin Xian was weak, what about them?

    Mu Xing and the other Gods begged to differ, but they couldn¡¯t because it was Chou Qi and Fang Zhengzhi who imed that Qin Xian was weak.

    ¡°I do things differently aspared to Qin Xian.¡±

    ¡°Is that right? What are the differences?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to see Chou Qi¡¯s expression through the ck cloak.

    However, the hood of the cloak was pulled all the way down and it covered Chou Qi¡¯s facepletely. Furthermore, there was a thinyer of fog beneath the cloak.

    It was obvious that Chou Qi did it on purpose.

    His motive was naturally to stop people from seeing his expression or his appearance.

    This was somewhat strange.

    ¡°I prefer a more direct approach. I don¡¯t like to waste time on chit-chatting.¡± Chou Qi said tly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t like to waste time on chit-chatting?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled. For some reason, his impression of Chou Qi suddenly improved a little.

    At the very least, he didn¡¯t detest him as much as before.

    After all, this fellow must be fairly thick-skinned if he could im that he didn¡¯t like chit-chatting while he was chit-chatting.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the only one who was startled.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the disciples of the Human Alliance were equally perplexed because there was no doubt that Chou Qi was chit-chatting with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you attacking us yet?¡± After some consideration, Fang Zhengzhi decided to expose Chou Qi¡¯s pretentiousness.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I have my concerns.¡± Chou Qi replied lightheartedly.

    ¡®Concerns?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood how Chou Qi had managed tomand the army of Monster Race and Demon Race and gain the approval of all the Demons and Monsters.

    The reason was simple. Qin Xian didn¡¯t have any concerns, so he died. Chou Qi had his concerns, so he became themander of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The reason sounded a little boring.

    However, it was fairly straightforward.

    The army of Monster Race and Demon Race needed amander who had concerns, hence they chose to ept Chou Qi.

    ¡°It seems like I made the right decision of sparing Yun Qingwu¡¯s life.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled after he understood the circumstances.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chou Qi nodded.

    ¡°Can I infer that your army wouldn¡¯t dare to attack us as long as Yun Qingwu is in my hands?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile grew brighter.

    ¡°No. I have my concerns, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t dare to do it.¡± Chou Qi shook his head and replied.

    ¡°Shall we be more direct?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯d like to negotiate terms with you.¡±

    ¡°What terms?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Human Alliance once organized a Heaven Alliance Meeting on Heaven Zen Mountain. However, it was stopped halfway because the Gates of God of the Monster Race and Demon Race opened.¡±

    ¡°You heard it correctly.¡±

    ¡°I want to continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting.¡±

    ¡°Continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile slowly faded, and he stared at Chou Qi.

    He thought of many possible terms, but he didn¡¯t expect that Chou Qi wanted to continue the unconcluded Heaven Alliance Meeting.

    Strange.

    This was extremely strange.

    Most importantly, how did Chou Qi intent to continue the meeting?

    Only three out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region remained. Nine Pinnacles Mountain had long been annihted by the Monster Race and Demon Race, and Yin Yang Hall no longer had any say in this matter after both Dao Hun and Dao Xin died.

    On the other hand, Ling Yun Tower... Didn¡¯t even enter the ck Stone Pce.

    Under such circumstances, the only remaining sects of the Five Sects of the Holy Region were Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley. Moreover, Mo Shanshi was severely injured. Was there any point in continuing the meeting?

    Most importantly, the Heaven Alliance Meeting was organized so that the Human Alliance could be established. Since the alliance had already been established, why would Chou Qi want to continue the meeting?

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised a question that he never expected to ask because he felt that Chou Qi wasn¡¯t the Chou Qi that he knew.

    However, the deathly aura on Chou Qi¡¯s body did actually exist.

    ¡®Is it possible that Chou Qi has a younger brother?¡¯

    ¡®Named Chou Ba!¡¯*

    ¡°Chou Qi.¡± He replied tly.

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree to your terms?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He was clearly upset with Chou Qi¡¯s reply.

    However, since Chou Qi wouldn¡¯t tell him the truth, then there wasn¡¯t a need to keep asking.

    ¡°Look behind me. You don¡¯t have a choice.¡± Chou Qi seemed to have expected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response, and he pointed towards the four Gods and the army of Monster Race and Demon Race behind him.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The war cries of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race went through the roof. Unlike how Qin Xianmanded them outside the ck Stone Pce just now, the army was definitely more unified now.

    Its ferocity wasparable to the days when it was under Yun Qingwu¡¯smand.

    ¡°Do you think that the Human Alliance would definitely lose if we go to war?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held his sword tightly and pointed its tip towards Chou Qi¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Yes. Once we go to war, I¡¯d do my best to keep you upied. Then, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race would ughter the Human Alliance. The four Gods behind me would split up and gang up on Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. If my calctions are right, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu would die within 15 minutes.¡± Chou Qi replied with confidence.

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally furrowed his brows together.

    ¡°I¡¯m just telling you my n. Of course, I¡¯ve said that I got my own concerns, so I don¡¯t want to follow through with my n unless it is really necessary. Now, can we keep negotiating?¡±

    ¡°You want to continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How do you intend to do it?¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s the Heaven Alliance Meeting, we must naturally wee all the sects in the world. That would obviously include the Monster and Demon Sect.¡± Chou Qi replied calmly.

    ¡°Monster and Demon Sect? I¡¯ve never heard of this sect before. The Heaven Alliance Meeting doesn¡¯t wee such a small sect.¡± Fang Zhengzhi rejected his suggestion without any consideration.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s only natural that you haven¡¯t heard of it, because it was just founded today by the Monster Race and the Demon Race. The size of the sect isn¡¯t too big since there are merely a couple hundred thousand disciples. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too small.¡± Chou Qi didn¡¯t seem to be irritated by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness. It felt like he was prepared for it.

    ¡°Do you think that the sect was founded just because you imed it was? Does your Monster and Demon Sect have its own territory? Without your own territory, you guys are just a bunch of undisciplined militias and cannot be considered a sect.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we are fortunate enough to have our own territory. It¡¯s the Great Swamp.¡±

    ¡°The Great Swamp? That¡¯s Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s territory, it isn¡¯t yours just because you im that it is. I don¡¯t believe you. Without any proof, you and your people can return.¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I can prove it.¡±

    While everyone, including the Human Alliance and the army of Monster Race and Demon Race, was rendered speechless by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless tactics, they heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, as a hostage, you must understand how to act like one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yun Qingwu and threatened her.

    ¡°I¡¯m your hostage, but I¡¯m also Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s only daughter. Hence, I can prove that the Great Swamp is the Monster and Demon Sect¡¯s territory.¡± Yun Qingwu was unfazed by his threat.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, I¡¯m truly worried about your future as a hostage.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist and nced around her body.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m already your hostage, you can do whatever you want.¡± Yun Qingwu actually didn¡¯t avert her eyes from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze this time, nor did she call him shameless. She faced him head on instead.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually speechless for a moment.

    At this moment, Chou Qi took another step forward, bowed to Yun Qingwu and said, ¡°Thank you, Young Lord. So, Fang Zhengzhi, do you have any other questions?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I do!¡± Fang Zhengzhi answered without any hesitation.

    ¡°You do? Fang Zhengzhi, I believe I mentioned that I don¡¯t like chit-chatting.¡± Chou Qi seemed to have lost a little of his patience.

    ¡°But I like it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t care at all.

    ¡°...¡± Chou Qi opened his mouth, but he was really at a loss for words this time. Nevertheless, after a long silence, he ultimately replied, ¡°How many more questions do you have?¡±

    ¡°One.¡±

    ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°How many moves did it take you to kill Qin Xian?¡± A bright silvery radiance appeared in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes when he asked that question.

    It was Ghost Dao.

    It could open his eyes to another world.

    As the silvery radiance appeared, Fang Zhengzhi saw a world that was ck and white. Many white shadows quickly appeared above the army of Monster Race and Demon Race in front of him.

    Unlike the ck shadows on the ground, those were the shadows of their souls.

    Everyone had a soul, and every soul had a shadow. It didn¡¯t matter if you were human, a monster, or a demon. There was no difference.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened wide with shock when he looked at Chou Qi.

    That was because... There were five shadows above his body!

 Chapter 988 - New Rules and Sudden Changes!

    <h4>Chapter 988: New Rules and Sudden Changes!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Each soul had one shadow. Five shadows meant that there were five souls.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that he couldn¡¯t see straight. However, after rubbing his eyes, he realized that the five shadows of souls above Chou Qi¡¯s body were still clearly visible.

    What was going on?

    ¡®Are you telling me that Chou Qi has five souls?¡¯

    ¡®What on earth!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t believe it, but that wouldn¡¯t alter the reality. He had never seen anything as freaky as this ever since he mastered Ghost Dao. He couldn¡¯t help but be astonished.

    However, he didn¡¯t take a look at Chou Qi¡¯s soul with his Ghost Eye in the previous fight, so he didn¡¯t notice it.

    ¡®Five souls...¡¯

    ¡®Is it possible that I¡¯ve only wounded one of Chou Qi¡¯s souls earlier?¡¯

    ¡®The other souls were unharmed, and that¡¯s why Chou Qi followed me into the ck Stone Pce.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure if he was right. However, since his opponent was at Godly State, he wasn¡¯t overly concerned about his strange abilities.

    Five souls and five lives.

    He decided to kill all of them at once.

    It was simple and straightforward.

    ¡°Is that yourst question? Hmm, it took me two moves to kill Qin Xian.¡± Chou Qi didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question, but he still answered it truthfully.

    ¡°Two moves?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little stunned.

    ording to his memories, Chou Qi could be considered a powerful God, but there wasn¡¯t much difference between him and Qin Xian.

    It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that... Chou Qi was slightly weaker than Qin Xian.

    ¡®Killing Qin Xian with two moves?!¡¯

    ¡®Was it a sneak attack?¡¯

    It was unlikely even if it was a sneak attack. Most importantly, both Qin Xian and Chou Qi were freaks amongst the Gods.

    The biggest problem with freaks like them was that they wouldn¡¯t trust anyone.

    Under such circumstances, it was extremely difficult to carry out a sessful sneak attack, unless one party was significantly stronger than the other.

    That was the only way to end a God¡¯s life in merely two moves.

    ¡®Something¡¯s wrong!¡¯

    ¡®Something¡¯s definite wrong!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure what was wrong, but he could sense that the Chou Qi standing before him seemed to be fundamentally different from the Chou Qi that he had fought against.

    ¡®His aura is the same but his strength is different?¡¯

    It was too abnormal.

    However, there wasn¡¯t any point in thinking about this right now. He would find out how strong this Chou Qi was during the fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi was fairly confident in his current strength.

    Although he wasn¡¯t capable of taking on five Gods at the same time, he could easily manage one or two of them.

    In that case, why would he need to give it so much thought?

    Instead of overthinking, Fang Zhengzhi asked directly, ¡°Are we still following the rules of the Heaven Alliance Meeting? Best of three?¡±

    ¡°Yes. However, in order to differentiate this from the Heaven Alliance Meeting, I believe that we could make some changes to the rules.¡± Chou Qi nodded and replied.

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Under the premise that it¡¯s the best of three, each of us could add a new rule. That would make things rtively fair.¡± Chou Qi responded.

    ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± Fang Zhengzhi understood what he meant.

    It would still be best of three.

    However, other rules could be changed.

    After some consideration, Chou Qi said, ¡°My rule is simple ¨C no matter who the participant is, each person could only participate once.¡±

    ¡®Each person could only participate once?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi frowned again.

    This modification was checkmate for them because there were five Gods amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race. However, he was the only one amongst the humans that was capable of fighting a God.

    If each person could only participate once... It meant that only Fang Zhengzhi could win his round.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance also realized the situation they were in, and they all turned grim.

    ¡°How could we fight under such restrictions?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we can¡¯t put up any fight.¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s best of three and Fang Zhengzhi could only participate once, the other two of our participants would be fighting against experts at the Godly State. There¡¯s no hope of winning for us.¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance started protesting.

    ¡°Have you given up so easily? Haha...¡± Chou Qi sneered when he heard the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples protests.

    ¡°Shameless brat, we don¡¯t need to waste time chit-chatting with him. Let¡¯s go to war!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s fight them!¡±

    Wu Yuer and Ping Yang stood up with indignation written all over their faces. After all, there wasn¡¯t any point in thepetition if such a restriction was imposed.

    There might be a faint chance of winning if they simply went to war.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t respond to Ping Yang and Wu Yuer, but he clenched his fists tightly. He could fight back against them, but what about Ping Yang and Yan Xiu?

    Chou Qi was right that he could keep Fang Zhengzhi upied for a while once they went to war. However, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t possiblyst 15 minutes against four Gods.

    ¡°Let¡¯s first decide what the winner would gain.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mention his restriction immediately because he wanted to verify Chou Qi¡¯s real goal.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Based on the rules of the Heaven Alliance Meeting, the winning sect wouldmand the Human Race, the Monster Race, and the Demon Race. If we win, we¡¯d decide the fate of mankind. On the contrary, if we lose, the Human Alliance can decide the fate of both Monsters and Demons.¡± Chou Qi replied tly.

    ¡°Command the Human Race, the Monster Race, and the Demon Race?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually taken aback.

    He thought that Chou Qi merely wanted Yun Qingwu back, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be even more aggressive than Yun Qingwu. He wanted to bring the Human Alliance down in one fell swoop.

    His aspirations were great.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest of the Human Alliance all fell silent.

    The stakes were too high.

    Although Chou Qi said that the winner would simplymand all three races. However, if the humans lost, the only possible oue for them was bing enved by the Monsters and Demons.

    The reverse... Was also true.

    If the Human Alliance won, how could they possibly be willing to share the world with the Monsters and Demons, which could pose a huge potential threat in the future?

    This was a fight that hadsted thousands of years.

    There was only winning or losing.

    There would never be true peace.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, are you afraid of losing?¡± Chou Qi asked.

    ...

    Holy Region- Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Three majestic Gates of God quietly stood in the sky above Heaven Zen Mountain. The mountain seemed holy because of the vast and ancient aura exuded by the gates.

    The altar at the peak of the mountain was heavily guarded by the Monster Race. 10 Monster Kings stood at the four corners of the peak, protecting the chessboard at the center of the altar.

    There wasn¡¯t a single speck of dust on the chessboard. It was clearly well taken care of every day.

    Ancient experts frequently descended here, where the two Gates of God that connected to the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons opened. Hence, the Monster Race and Demon Race naturally stood guard over here.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was their suprememander.

    She was once the strongest in the Holy Region, yet she now resided in a freshly built stone house at the peak of the mountain. She wore a snow-white fur dress that made her seem a little slothful but enchanting at the same time.

    She exuded an innate demonic air that could make a heart tremble.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi didn¡¯t seem to be joyful. After all, it was pretty boring atop the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    That was because not a single human dared to set foot here on the mountain after the previous battle.

    ¡°This is so boring.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stretched andy down in another position. Then, she gradually closed her eyes.

    ¡°If it¡¯s so boring, why are you still guarding this ce?¡± At this moment, she heard a crisp voiceing from outside the stone house.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi opened her eyes instantly.

    Her eyes lit up and a smile soon appeared on her face.

    It was an extremely bewitching smile that could make any man fall in love.

    Then, Baizhi slowly sat up and groomed herself carefully, following which, she stood up and walked towards the door.

    After opening the door, she saw a woman in a silvery long dress.

    She was extremely beautiful.

    Her elegant and dignified appearance was the exact opposite of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s beauty. One was innately bewitching while the other was so dignified that others would naturally develop respect for her.

    It was Qian Yu.

    The Tower Master of Ling Yun Tower.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± Baizhi smiled and said. She didn¡¯t seem to be provoked by Qian Yu¡¯s arrival at all.

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯ve stayed at Ling Yun Tower for too long. I am finding a Monster for my work out.¡± Qian Yu also smiled as she replied, standing motionless on the spot.

    ¡°That¡¯s a creative idea. Having said that, I have 10 Monster Kings here. Can you really do it alone?¡± Baizhi¡¯s smile grew brighter.

    ¡°10 Monster Kings and one Monster Emperor. This is indeed a challenging task.¡± Qian Yu also smiled brightly.

    ¡°So, I guess there will be a fight after all?¡±

    ¡°I suppose so.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, let me guess why Tower Master Qian came here.¡± Baizhi nodded, gazed into the distance, and continued, ¡°Ling Yun Tower isunching a sneak attack on Heaven Zen Mountain while Yun Qingwu brought the army to Heaven Zen Mountain. This is a decent n, but it feels like a suicidal mission. What do you think, Tower Master Qian?¡±

    ¡°A good n is all it takes.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that Ling Yun Tower could destroy Heaven Zen Mountain and closed the gates to the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons by itself?¡± Baizhi was still smiling.

    ¡°You¡¯ll never know till you try.¡± Qian Yu rebutted.

    ¡°You can try.¡± Baizhi didn¡¯t say another word. She attacked immediately and struck towards Qian Yu¡¯s chest with her palm.

    She was extraordinarily fast.

    Her overwhelming power was as frightening as a towering mountain.

    Boom!

    Their palms shed, following which, Qian Yu flew back andnded in the distance rapidly. At the meantime, eight silvery moons lit up above her head.

    ¡°Your strength has improved ever so slightly in half a year.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhiplimented Qian Yu.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯ve grown much weaker.¡± Qian Yu responded with a smile.

    ¡°Tower Master Qian¡¯s tongue is definitely sharper. I wonder if the Emperor of Great Xia Dynasty, Lin Mubai, has experienced Tower Master Qian¡¯s tongue before?¡± There was a faint radiance in Baizhi¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    She obviously knew that Monsters and Demons were much more open-minded than humans in certain areas. However, she couldn¡¯t control her temper when she actually heard Baizhi saying something so filthy.

    She was enraged and called Baizhi a bitch.

    However, Baizhi waspletely unfazed because she was ncing around at Ling Yun Tower¡¯s disciples that were going up against the Monster Kings.

    There were less than 200 of them.

    Yet, they managed to fight off 10 Monster Kings and an army of several thousand Monsters. Ling Yun Tower was indeed the strongest in the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    However, that wasn¡¯t what Baizhi was truly wary of.

    That was because one would be naive to believe that Ling Yun Tower could take down Monster Emperor Baizhi, 10 Monster Kings, and an army of thousands of Monsters by itself.

    Nevertheless, Qian Yu came.

    Furthermore, she came tantly.

    In that case, Qian Yu couldn¡¯t havee unprepared. There must be a basis for her confidence, and it was definitely not her strength.

    It was...

    It was Ling Yun Realm.

    It was something that once forced the army of Monster Race back Into the Great Swamp.

    That was what Baizhi thought. She knew that since Qian Yu came, she naturally wasn¡¯t here to deepen their friendship or to simply start a fight.

    Furthermore, they weren¡¯t friends to begin with.

    Therefore, Qian Yu came to risk it all.

    ¡°It seems like today will be the day that Ling Yun Tower perishes.¡± Baizhi retracted her gaze shortly and her smile became a little chilling.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty worth it if a single sect could be traded for mankind¡¯s victory.¡± Qian Yu extended her hand and a small, exquisite jade tower appeared in her palm.

    It was Ling Yun Realm.

    Ling Yun Tower¡¯s ultimate treasure.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t break it by brute force back then. Once trapped, it was almost impossible to escape.

    Of course, ¡®almost¡¯ was used because Fang Zhengzhi managed to escape from Ling Yun Realm. However, Fang Zhengzhi was the only person in history who had done it.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi didn¡¯t seem to be capable of that yet!

    ¡°If the trade is sessful, it¡¯s definitely worth it. Moreover, the reward is worth much more than the price. I¡¯m just afraid that... You can¡¯t manage the trade.¡± Baizhi looked towards the small jade tower on Qian Yu¡¯s hand and frowned subtly because she knew very well how powerful Ling Yun Realm was.

    Having said that, despite how powerful Ling Yun Realm was, there was a heavy price to pay in order to unleash its full power.

    After all...

    No one was stupid enough to stand idly by while the opponent was activating its power.

    ¡°I wonder if I could pull off the trade if someone can hold you off while I am activating Ling Yun Realm?¡± Qian Yu took a step towards Baizhi as she said that.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Baizhi¡¯s expression changed.

 Chapter 989 - Reverse Evolution- Nine-Tailed to Eight-Tailed

    <h4>Chapter 989: Reverse Evolution- Nine-Tailed to Eight-Tailed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As an ¡®old wretch¡¯ who had lived for hundreds of years, Monster Emperor Baizhi was naturally far more experienced than themon folks. Furthermore, her Monster Body was the legendary Nine-Tailed White Fox that was known for its premonition. Hence, she could obviously sense the confidence in Qian Yu¡¯s expression.

    However, based on the intel, almost everyone in the Human Alliance had gone to Heaven Dao Pavilion, including the mysterious Sagely Battle God, ¡®Meng Tian¡¯. All of them should be in Heaven Dao Pavilion at this very moment.

    Unless... Meng Tian didn¡¯t go to Heaven Dao Pavilion at all.

    However, if that was really the case, the Human Alliance would be in extremely deep water right now, and there was even a chance that they could all die. If that truly happened, what could Meng Tian do even if he managed to take over Heaven Zen Mountain?

    Meng Tian couldn¡¯t possibly sacrifice the Human Alliance as a diversion tactic to regain control of Heaven Zen Mountain.

    That was a price that the Human Alliance couldn¡¯t pay.

    In that case, where did Qian Yu¡¯s confidencee from?

    While Baizhi was deep in her thoughts, she heard the loud cry of an animal from high up in the sky. Then, a figure descended from above.

    It was a woman in a pink dress. Her gorgeous ebony hair was untied, her face was iparably beautiful, and her aura was superior to anyone in the world.

    Furthermore, there was a sword on her back. A chilling aura was flowing on the sword and there was a purple scar blinking on its de.

    It was Traceless Sword.

    A sword that had ughtered countless Demons and Monsters.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi naturally knew the sword.

    However, it was currently on this woman¡¯s back. She leaped off a ferocious beast that was entirely white andnded softly next to Qian Yu.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty punctual.¡± Qian Yu smiled as she looked at the woman beside her. She seemed to be delighted.

    However, one could observe from Qian Yu¡¯s clenched fists that even she was respectful towards the woman beside her.

    However, that woman obviously couldn¡¯t read the ¡®air¡¯, or rather, she read the ¡®air¡¯ too perfectly.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we make a promise?¡± The woman replied. Her voice was as pleasant as a nightingale¡¯s song. She sounded a little surprised, but her expression was incredibly proud and aloof.

    ¡°Erm... Did we?¡± Qian Yu was left a little speechless.

    She had indeed made a promise with Chi Guyan. Moreover, they had already met each other once somewhere not far from Heaven Zen Mountain. Otherwise, they couldn¡¯t have timed this so perfectly.

    However, what happened to the coordination that they had talked about?

    Qian Yu believed they must first overwhelm the opponent with an imposing manner in order to win a battle. For example, she was doing that by pretending to be ¡®unpredictable and unreadable¡¯.

    However, all her effort was in vain because of Chi Guyan¡¯s words.

    Qian Yu felt like she had failed.

    However, Baizhi didn¡¯t think so. That was because she was already shocked to the core when she saw the face of the woman in pink when she leaped down.

    She was so shocked that she didn¡¯t even hear their conversation.

    ¡®Chi Guyan?!¡¯ Thest thing that Baizhi expected was that Qian Yu¡¯s backup was someone that couldn¡¯t possibly appear right here.

    ¡®Chi Guyan, who is supposed to be in a a¡¯.¡¯

    ¡®Why is Chi Guyan here at the peak of Heaven Zen Mountain?¡¯

    ¡®Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword is on her back.¡¯

    ¡®Why is this happening?¡¯

    ¡®If Chi Guyan is here at the Heaven Zen Mountain, where¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi? Did he leave Northern Mountain Vige ande here as well?¡¯

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯d be really troublesome.¡¯

    Baizhi knew very well that once Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi joined forces, even she couldn¡¯t do anything about the two of them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi? Where¡¯s that shameless brat?¡± Baizhi looked towards the sky but she didn¡¯t see anyone else.

    ¡°Are you asking about Fang Zhengzhi? That shameless thief should be at Heaven Dao Pavilion now.¡± Chi Guyan replied nonchntly.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Pavilion? Fang Zhengzhi is currently at Heaven Dao Pavilion?!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t you know that?¡±

    ¡°How would I be aware of his whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d know that he couldn¡¯t escape the surveince of the Monster Race and Demon Race no matter how hard he tried to hide. However, he has a new name now, which is ¡®Meng Tian¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian?! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s new name is Meng Tian, how¡¯s that... Wait a minute, are you telling me that Fang Zhengzhi... Is that ¡®Meng Tian¡¯?!¡± Baizhi¡¯s expression changed.

    The rosiness on her face had disappeared without a trace. She became as pale as the snowkes in winter.

    ¡®Fang Zhengzhi is Meng Tian.¡¯

    ¡®Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi.¡¯

    Chi Guyan said those words calmly as if she didn¡¯t intend to overwhelm her with an imposing manner at all. However, she shocked Baizhi much more than Qian Yu¡¯s pretentious act ever did.

    Countless thoughts went through Baizhi¡¯s mind.

    ¡®If Fang Zhengzhi was disguising as Meng Tian, it meant that he had killed Lin Ji in the Southern Region and kidnapped the Demon Lord from Blood Shadow City.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s terrifying!¡¯

    ¡®His strength is absolutely terrifying!¡¯

    ¡®Did he be so powerful in merely a couple of months?¡¯

    ¡®Most importantly, Yun Qingwu is currently rushing towards Heaven Dao Pavilion with the army of Monster Race and Demon Race, with the intention of destroying the Human Alliance and ¡®Meng Tian¡¯ altogether.¡¯

    ¡®However, Yun Qingwu doesn¡¯t know that she is going up against someone that she couldn¡¯t be more familiar with ¨C Fang Zhengzhi.¡¯

    ¡®Will anything go south?¡¯

    ¡®Can they destroy the Human Alliance?¡¯

    ¡®No, this is a scheme, this is definitely a scheme.¡¯

    Baizhi had always thought that the Monster Race and Demon Race had the absolute advantage over the humans, and nothing would go wrong in the battle at Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, after finding out about the true identity of ¡®Meng Tian¡¯, she suddenly started panicking because this was obviously a setup.

    This was all part of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s meticulous scheme.

    Although the Monster Race and Demon Race had the help of Gods and were basically undefeatable, it was extremely likely that something would go wrong, if this was truly all part of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s scheme.

    At the very least, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy victory.

    Most importantly, even if they won, Yun Qingwu might be in danger.

    Cold sweat fell off Baizhi¡¯s forehead. She was actually panicking a little right now, not because of the danger that she was about to face, but rather, Yun Qingwu¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Baizhi, you¡¯ll die today!¡± Qian Yu could naturally tell that Baizhi was panicking. In that case, she wouldn¡¯t miss such a good opportunity.

    The eight moons floating above her head rotated and unleashed eight silvery sword lights towards eight of Baizhi¡¯s vital spots.

    ¡°At your hands?¡± Although Baizhi was freaking out a little, her natural sense of crisis as a Nine-Tailed White Fox still calmed her down quickly.

    As the eight sword lights neared her, she moved back swiftly and gently drew a line in the air with her right hand.

    A ck crack appeared in front of her instantly.

    The eight sword lights werepletely swallowed by the ck crack in a split second, and their radiance disappeared without a trace.

    Then, Baizhi¡¯s left hand also moved.

    She pointed forward without much strength.

    Then, a ck crack appeared above Qian Yu¡¯s head, and there were eight silver sword lights descending at lightning speed.

    Those were Qian Yu¡¯s sword lights.

    However, they were falling towards Qian Yu now.

    Qian Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    She didn¡¯t hold back at all. Rather, she unleashed all her power because she saw that Baizhi was distracted.

    However, she didn¡¯t expect her to react so quickly and take advantage of the spatial crack to attack her with her own sword lights.

    ¡®This old wretch is indeed powerful!¡¯ Qian Yu turned serious and she was about to fight off the sword lights with the small jade tower in her hand.

    However, before the small jade tower even left her hand, a jade-green had already appeared above her.

    It was a that was formed by countless rays of jade-green sword radiance.

    It was Divine Constabry¡¯s ultimate technique ¨C Million Sword Illustration.

    Boom!

    The sword lights shed against the Million Sword Illustration and were soon shredded into tiny spots of silvery light.

    ¡°...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s eyes went agape.

    She knew that Chi Guyan was incredibly strong, but she didn¡¯t expect that she had already be so powerful. Chi Guyan was even stronger than her since she had easily stopped her stronger attack with Million Sword Illustration.

    Moreover, Chi Guyan didn¡¯t even rely on her Gifted Bloodline, not to mention that the Million Sword Illustration was still flowing above her head.

    Sword lights intertwined with each other, light and shadow blended together.

    There was no damage done to the Million Sword Illustration.

    This meant that if Qian Yu had attacked Chi Guyan with all her strength, it wouldn¡¯t have had any effect too.

    Each generation was sluttier than the previous...

    ¡°Cough cough!¡±

    No, it should be ¡®Each generation was better than the previous!¡¯.

    While these thoughts crossed Qian Yu¡¯s mind, Chi Guyan moved again. She took a gentle step and appeared in front of Baizhi as if she had teleported.

    ¡°She¡¯s so fast!¡¯ Qian Yu was astonished.

    Baizhi was shocked too. She had already nned her second attack after she saw Chi Guyan moving. However, Chi Guyan was already in front of her before she could unleash her attack.

    She was too fast!

    Even Baizhi could barely react in time.

    However, she was still the Monster Emperor and once the strongest in the Holy Region. She was incredibly close to Godly State, in addition to the fact that she was a Nine-Tailed White Fox, which was known for its exceptional premonition.

    Hence, despite feeling shocked, Baizhi still reacted hastily and swapped to a defensive stance.

    Nine snow-white fox tails appeared behind her back instantly and two of them went straight for Chi Guyan as soon as they had appeared.

    Roar! At this moment, Traceless Sword roared on Chi Guyan¡¯s back. Then, a purple radiancended in her hand.

    Chi Guyan didn¡¯t stop for a single moment even with Traceless Sword in her hand. She bolted towards Baizhi as if she hadn¡¯t seen the two foxtails that wereing towards her.

    Swoosh!

    They went past Chi Guyan¡¯s dress.

    It was apparent that Chi Guyan took advantage of her extreme speed to get close to Baizhi before her tails could strike her instead.

    ¡®How¡¯s that possible?!¡¯ Baizhi could never imagine that Chi Guyan¡¯s speed could be so extraordinary. Furthermore, the shadow of her bloodline had yet to appear behind her back.

    This was too ridiculous.

    Even without exerting all her strength, she was somehow faster than Baizhi.

    Baizhi had no choice but to move back as fast as she could. When shended, her feet actually created two cracks on the ground.

    Boom!

    While Baizhi was moving back, one of her tails guarded her front. Its snow-white fur looked incredibly soft.

    However, her soft-looking fur was as tough as solid steel.

    During the previous battle atop Heaven Zen Mountain, Fang Zhengzhi tried to cut her tails with his sword. However, he couldn¡¯t break through the defense of the Nine-Tailed White Fox¡¯s fur at all.

    After all, the strongest part of a Monster Emperor was its body, not to mention the divine beast, Nine-Tailed White Fox.

    However, a sudden change happened at this moment. Chi Guyan brandished the Traceless Sword towards the fox tail at a speed that was as fast as if it were an illusion.

    Crack!

    Blood gushed into the air, and there was a snow-white fox tail too.

    She cut off a tail with a single sword!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Emperor amongst Monsters, was once the strongest in the Holy Region and her physical defense was also unbeaten.

    At this moment...

    She was turned into an Eight-Tailed White Fox!

    The crimson blood looked like flowers blooming in the air. The massive snow-white tail flew into the air before crashing into the ground with a loud bang.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Baizhi let out a heartrending scream. It was truly a heartfelt pain that left her trembling nonstop.

    The pain of a Nine-Tailed White Fox losing its tail was equivalent to a person losing all his fingers.* In fact, it was hundreds, if not a thousand times more painful.

    Baizhi kept rolling around on the ground, shifting between her human body and her Monster body intermittently.

    Baizhi¡¯s sharp ws struck the ground, leaving behind horrifying w marks and sending broken rocks flying everywhere. Her blood was flowing all over the ground.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    Qian Yu, on the other hand, waspletely dumbfounded. She held the small jade tower so tightly that her fingers were turning pale, and her eyes were wide open with astonishment.

    That was because ording to her n, she thought that Chi Guyan might to able to hold Baizhi off for a moment or two by relying on her Gifted Bloodline and fighting with all her might.

    As long as Chi Guyan could hold Baizhi off, she would be able to concentrate on activating Ling Yun Realm. Then, she would be able to trap Baizhi temporarily.

    However, look at what was happening now.

    What the hell was the meaning of this?!

 Chapter 990 - Wow, Look at the Monster!

    <h4>Chapter 990: Wow, Look at the Monster!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Qian Yu was really stunned.

    She always thought that she was the main person taking charge of the battle against Monster Emperor Baizhi and Chi Guyan would act as a support. However, the reality gave her a painful p her on her face.

    p! Her cheeks hurt.

    At this moment, she finally understood why Chi Guyan did not have to act as a mysterious individual and made use of her authority to overpower others. That was because Chi Guyan did not care about it at all.

    She severed one of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s tails with one strike of her sword!

    This was way beyond Qian Yu¡¯s capability as Chi Guyan was in fact powerful enough to kill Monster Emperor Baizhi. With such powers, how would Chi Guyan continue to act to stay in authority?

    It was like a giant versus a baby.

    Did she need to push further?

    Not at all. She could simply kill the baby by lifting her foot and stepping on him.

    It was simple and straightforward.

    Simrly, Chi Guyan did not give Monster Emperor Baizhi any chances since the start of the battle. She simply went straight to her and severed her tail.

    That was what resulted in the miserable scene in front of her.

    Qian Yu held on to the small jade tower tightly in her hands but did not have any intention to use it because she did not need to use it in the Ling Yun Realm.

    She neither took the main or supporting role in this battle.

    She only had to watch quietly at the side. If she wanted to, she could even bring a chair over, drink some tea and munch on some snacks.

    ¡°Sigh, times have changed and each generation surpassed the preceding generation. Looks like the older generation is destined to lose out.¡± Qian Yu sighed. She had finally made the decision tomit fully to the great battle between humankind and the monster race and demon race, but nobody gave her the chance to do so.

    A gust of cool air blew past and blew Qian Yu¡¯s hair.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had long rolled to the side and destroyed the entire stone house she was living in.

    The bigmotion caused all the surrounding Monster Kings to be taken aback.

    After all, they had never seen Monster Emperor Baizhi behaving so improperly before. However, they understood the reason why after they saw the severed white fox tail on the ground.

    It was not the Monster Emperor Baizhi who was behaving improperly, but rather because Chi Guyan was a powerful ¡°monster¡±.

    ¡°Hurry, hurry up and save Lady Empress!¡±

    ¡°Send signals!¡±

    ¡°Send signals to the Sir Monster Deity!¡±

    A huge crowd of monsters swarmed towards Monster Emperor Baizhi while a red signal was shot up and painted the entire sky red.

    ¡°Signal?¡± Qian Yu narrowed her eyes.

    Based on the intelligence report given to her, Monster Emperor Baizhi, ten Monster Kings and some of the monsters from the Monster troops were guarding on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    However, if the intelligence report was urate...

    Who was the signal meant for?

    Wait a minute!

    There were Godly State experts guarding on the Godly State expert!

    Qian Yu quickly came to this realization as she would have not been able to monitor the presence of the Godly State experts and their numbers from the intelligence report.

    ¡°Guyan, let¡¯s leave now!¡± Qian Yu made her decision quickly. If there were only Monster Emperor Baizhi and ten Monster Kings, with the capability of the Ling Yun Tower and Chi Guyan, they had stood a chance to win.

    However, once the Godly State experts came into the picture, they would havepletely lost control of the situation and might even perish.

    ¡°Leave?! Hahaha... you won¡¯t be able to leave!¡± As Qian Yu¡¯s voice was heard, a deep ear-deafening voice was also heard from the foot of the mountain.

    After that, the ground started to tremor.

    It was a tremor caused by the metal hoofs which were as heavy as mountains. The rumbling continued and a gigantic figure soon appeared in front of Qian Yu.

    It was a beast.

    If it was called a beast, it was definitely not ordinary.

    Qian Yu¡¯s eyes widened.

    The beast had five heads ¡ª red, green, purple, silver and ck ¡ª which looked like the heads of monkeys.

    However, below the five heads was a fit body that looked like a lion. Brown fur covered the necks of the five heads and scales which were ck and glistening extended all the way from the necks to the four ws.

    The ws looked like those of the eagle.

    Moreover, the beast was at least 50 feet tall and it creates another ¡°hump¡± on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Poof! The beast breathed out and the violent airwaves blew the small stones on the ground up and caused them to rotate around its head.

    The Godly State expert of the Monster Race!

    Five-headed lion beast?!

    ¡°Are there only two of them?¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s calm voice was heard while Qian Yu was taken aback. Chi Guyan looked at the Godly State experts in slight disappointment.

    ¡°Two?! Since when were there two?¡± Qian Yu looked at the five-headed lion beast in front of her but did not see the second one.

    However, at this moment, a burst of coarseughter was heard.

    Then, a petite figure popped out of the neck of the five-headed lion beast. It was a short person who was emaciated and less than 1.2 meters in height.

    His head was bald and he was wearing a torn grey cape. He looked extremely unsightly.

    However, this petite man was standing on top of the five-headed lion beast. Every single Godly State expert of the Monster Race was arrogant, how would they possibly allow others to stand on their heads?

    This reason why this happened was not because of the level of powers. The only reason why this scenario could possibly happen was that the short man was the owner of the five-headed lion beast.

    In other words, the five-headed lion beast, a Godly State expert, was the beast that the short man rode on.

    ¡°Little child, you have pretty good eyesight. Since you are young and looks... pretty decent... Alright, I will show mercy on you and give you a chance. You can be a ¡°servant¡± for me, hurry and kneel down to thank me.¡± The short man¡¯s eyes lit up instantly when he saw Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Only two of them? Looks like the shameless thief must be really pressured,¡± Chi Guyan continued mumbling to herself as if she did not hear the short man¡¯s words.

    ¡°Little child, I am talking to you, are you listening... hmm? Little child, you are cruel!¡± The young man realized that Chi Guyan disappeared suddenly just as he was about to continue.

    After that, he suddenly felt chills from his back.

    The intense sense of crisis forced him to stop his sentence and he pped behind him without any hesitation.

    However...

    He did not manage to hit anything.

    After that, he saw a figure in front of him who was wearing a pink dress and had long ck hair.

    Her beauty was above all living things and she was extremely arrogant.

    Chi Guyan did not attack from the back of the short man. Instead, she went straight to the front of the short man and the five-headed lion beast. This method of attack definitely shocked them.

    The more shocking thing was that the short man actually felt the chills behind him.

    What was going on?

    The short man was slightly confused but he regained his senses quickly. He definitely was unable to retreat his attack after he had pped.

    Although he made the wrong move, he was not overly bothered by that.

    That was because he had the five-headed lion beast below his feet. With the presence of the five-headed lion beast, how would a Godly State expert of the Monster Race be afraid of Chi Guyan?

    A beam of sword radiancended from the sky.

    Like a waterfall that fell from the mountain top, it sliced down at the short man and the five-headed lion beast with a sharp whistle.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s strike was an ordinary strike of the sword.

    Without much fanciful moves or changes between the fake and the real moves, it was a clean and straightforward move that made it impossible for one to dodge it.

    That was because her sword was extremely fast.

    Roar! The five monkey heads of the five-headed lion beast looked up with a bloodthirsty look in their eyes. mes shot out from one of the heads while blue ice crystals shot out from the other.

    When the mes and ice crystals merged, a gigantic zing ice blue armor was formed while other colors of radiance appeared in the. mouths of the other three monkey heads.

    Five heads that represented the five elements!

    Being able to master the five elements at the same time as a Godly State expert was already extraordinary. However, if it was able to merge the five elements together, it showed a lot about the capability of the five-headed lion beast.

    However, Chi Guyan did not seem to bother about this.

    That was because her sword did not stop at all. Even though the gigantic zing ice blue armor was in front of it, it continued advancing forward.

    Crack!

    The gigantic zing ice blue armor cracked open and the mes split into half as though they were blown by a gust of air.

    And the gigantic zing ice blue armor broke from the center. Countless ice crystals flew and turned into sparks in the sky.

    However, despite this, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword did not stop moving.

    Not only did it not stop, but it did not even slow down at all. The silvery-white radiance mixed with the purple radiance, producing an extremely loud whistle.

    The expression on the short man¡¯s face changed.

    If he was said to have an arrogant expression earlier on, he was now showing an astonished look.

    However, it was toote.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s Traceless Sword had already struck on the monkey head which was spitting out mes.

    Boom!

    The five-headed lion beast fell forward. It could no longer bnce due to the powerful force that pressed on its head.

    Its body that was as tall and big as a mountain suddenly copsed on the ground.

    However, this was not the end.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s sword continued to strike downwards. It sliced from the gigantic monkey head along to the thick fur in the five-headed lion beast¡¯s neck.

    Crack! Blood sttered across the air.

    A monkey head rolled to the side.

    Blood spurted out from the ce where the five-headed lion beast¡¯s head was severed and stained Chi Guyan¡¯s pink dresspletely red.

    The eyes on the other four monkey heads of the five-headed lion beast stared were wide open.

    It was a look of disbelief. Following that, an agonizing roar was heard and it echoed through the air in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The five-headed lion beast rolled on the floor and the blood slowly solidified from the cut on the neck. However, a new head did not grow out and instead, a gigantic bloody scar was formed.

    The short man had already jumped down from the five-headed lion beast. However, his face was extremely pale and was as white as a sheet of paper.

    ¡°How is this possible?¡± The short man could not believe it.

    He was extremely aware of the power of the five-headed lion beast. He had once put in so much effort in order to get it under his control.

    Even though he finally got it under his control...

    He had made use of the weakness of the five-headed lion beast.

    The weakness of the five-headed lion beast was definitely not on the five monkey heads.

    However, Chi Guyan has sliced off one of the five monkey heads of the five-headed lion beast with one strike of her sword?!

    How exaggerated was this!

    In reality, the short man was already mentally prepared when he saw Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s white fox tail being severed.

    However, no matter how mentally prepared he was, he had never expected Chi Guyan to be so powerful that he could not even get used to it.

    At this moment...

    The atmosphere on the Heaven Zen Mountain became extremely strange.

    All of the Monster Kings and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower stopped moving and everyone stared at the five-headed lion beast.

    Shock, astonishment, fear.

    A mixture of emotions flooded their minds.

    ¡°She managed to sever one of the heads of the Godly State expert of the Monster Race with one strike of her sword?!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible, am I seeing things?¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan is so powerful?!¡±

    The Monster Kings and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower all could not believe it as this scene was after all so exaggerated that it was unbelievable.

    Apart from them, even Qian Yu felt stunned. She initially thought she had seen through the powers of Chi Guyan but what happened in front of her made her realize that she only managed to see a small part of her.

    Being able to severe the fox tail of the Nine-Tailed White Fox was nothing. The real deal came when she was able to severe the monkey head of the Godly State expert of the Monster Race.

    Qian Yu could not imagine how Chi Guyan managed to be so powerful in six months¡¯ time. This way exceeded her realm of imagination.

    The peak of sage state?!

    Wait a minute!

    If she was at the peak of sage state, how could she possibly kill a Godly State expert?

    If she was not at the peak of sage state, then what was she?

    Unless Chi Guyan managed to break through the legendary Godly State in six months¡¯ time?!

    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s mouth was so big that a fist could fit into it.

    Moreover, she was extremely sure that Chi Guyan¡¯s capability originated from the utmost Gifted Bloodline of the Holy Region. That was what made Chi Guyan terrifying.

    However, now, there was not even a shadow behind Chi Guyan.

    If she managed to kill a Godly State expert without using the Gifted Bloodline, then how powerful would she have been if she used it?!

 Chapter 991 - Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 991: Revenge</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Qian Yu did not know anymore because it was way beyond her imagination.

    In merely six months¡¯ time, Chi Guyan¡¯s power had exceeded her expectation. It was the time for the Gifted Chi Guyan with the utmost Gifted Bloodline in the Holy Region to show her true capability.

    While Qian Yu and all the monsters and demons felt overwhelmed by astonishment, Chi Guyan moved again and raised her Traceless Sword.

    Roar! The five-headed lion beast looked at Chi Guyan¡¯s Traceless Sword in fear as it roared.

    A Godly State expert of the Monster Race was arrogant.

    However, it was not ignorant. When it encountered danger, no matter how arrogant it was, it had to bow down.

    The five-headed lion beast bowed down in front of Chi Guyan. In fact, he would have escaped if the short man was not beside him.

    After all, no matter how powerful a Godly State expert was, he would still be afraid of death.

    ¡°Little child, I would like to see if your sword is sharper or if my hand is...¡± Before the short man could finish his sentence, he felt a chill behind his back again.

    It was the same sensation as earlier on.

    It was a very strange feeling.

    It was as though something stabbed him from his back.

    However, earlier on, the short man made a p but found nothing behind him.

    Yet now, the same sensation attacked him again. His battle experience and instinct told him to p his back again.

    Strange!

    Creepy!

    However, the short man was extraordinary alert.

    Therefore, even though he knew that it might end up the same way, he pped his back again.

    And reality...

    pped him hard on his face once again.

    That was because he pped the air again while Chi Guyan¡¯s sword had reached the five-headed lion beast.

    His sword glowed with thousands of beams of radiance.

    Roar! Letting out an agonizing roar, the five-headed lion beast rolled on the ground and the sword barely missed his monkey head again.

    Despite this, however, another bloody scar appeared on his front right w. It was deep enough that the bone could be seen and blood gushed out like spring water.

    ¡°Little child, you are wicked!¡± The short man was infuriated. He was filled with rage after being continuously tricked using the same method and experiencing the cruelty of Chi Guyan.

    Without any hesitation, the short man initiated an attack on Chi Guyan. While he dashed towards Chi Guyan, his palms were covered with ayer of bright radiance that was as ck as ink.

    However, just as he took two steps, he felt the attack of the strange sensation again.

    It was as though a sword had reached his back.

    ¡°Again?! Don¡¯t think I will be tricked again!¡± As the saying went, something would not happen more than thrice, the short man did not counterattack and charged right towards Chi Guyan.

    Then...

    He realized that Chi Guyan who was initially in front of him had vanished.

    As though she had disappeared into thin air.

    ¡°Hmm? What a fast speed! Hold on, isn¡¯t this...¡± While the short man was shocked, he suddenly felt pain on his back.

    Evidently, he got struck by the sword!

    This was something that was extremely strange. How could he get struck by the sword if there was no sword?

    The short man could not figure out what had happened but the reality was such that a sword had prated his back.

    St! Blood gushed out

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This time, not only was Qian Yu shocked, but even Monster Emperor Baizhi who had lost one of her fox tails had stopped rolling on the ground.

    That was because the scene in front of them was so strange that it was unrealistic.

    Chi Guyan appeared out of nowhere behind the short man as the short man dashed towards her and stabbed her sword into his chest.

    It was too simple and straightforward.

    It felt as though it was a match between a powerful sage and a weak person of the Star Conglomerate State.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s tactic was extremely simple but the oue was surprisingly good. In fact, nobody figured out how it worked.

    However, a stranger scene just started to happen.

    At the same time when the short man got prated by Chi Guyan¡¯s sword, Chi Guyan appeared back at her original position as though she had never moved at all.

    However, Chi Guyan¡¯s Traceless Sword was already withdrawn from the short man

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan began moving again. She moved to the front of the short man and her Traceless Sword sliced his throat at an extremely fast speed.

    Swoosh! A bald head flew in the sky.

    Then, the body of the short man fell to his knees and his eyes were wide open on his bald head.

    ¡°Dead?!¡±

    ¡°The Godly State expert is dead?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Every single disciple of the Ling Yun Tower, the Monster Kings and the Monster troops widened their eyes as though they were struck by lightning as they saw the bald head being severed.

    He was a Godly State expert!

    A powerful man who descended from the ancient era!

    He died like this?!

    It seemed like he did not even have a chance to counterattack?

    Nobody would have believed it if they did not see it with their own eyes. After all, this was way too exaggerated and felt like a dream.

    ¡°Chi Guyan!¡± At this moment, the severed bald head gave a ferocious roar before intense ck light shot out of the head.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, he was a Godly State expert, he couldn¡¯t have died like that!¡±

    ¡°We still have a chance!¡±

    The Monster Kings and the Monster troops became hopeful again when they heard the voice of the short man.

    Although they were almost in despair, if the Godly State expert did not die, they still had a chance to fight.

    However, this hopefulness did notst long.

    That was because Chi Guyan appeared behind the bald head the moment it made a sound and ck radiance shot out from it.

    ¡°No!!!¡± The bald head was in despair.

    However, that scream was useless as Chi Guyan would never stop her sword. That was Chi Guyan¡¯s character. She would never show mercy when she was fighting against an enemy.

    Boom!Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s swordnded on the bald head and destroyed the ck radiancepletely, turning them into ck sparks and they disintegrated in the sky.

    Meanwhile, a beam of bloody light shot up to the sky.

    It was like rain and flower.

    Blood rain fell from the sky andnded on the ground. It also fell on the body of the five-headed lion beast as well as the hearts of Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster Kings and the Monster troops.

    Shock and astonishment.

    Hope was no longer existent and in fact, they did not even have any hope in the first ce as they were fighting against Chi Guyan.

    The gifted girl with the Gifted Bloodline of the Holy Region.

    Roar! The five-headed lion beast roared furiously and looked as though he was in extreme agony. His eyes were bloodshot but he did not attack Chi Guyan.

    Instead, he turned and ran away.

    Like how he ran quickly when he came, he ran away very quickly too.

    However, would Chi Guyan allow him to escape?

    Obviously not.

    The sword radiance struck again and like rain in the spring, thousands of beams of radiance shrouded the sky andnded like sword rain on the body of the five-headed lion beast.

    Roar!

    Roar...

    Blood sttered from the body of the five-headed lion beast and his remaining four monkey heads were desperately spitting out various types of radiances in an attempt to block the attack of the sword rain.

    However, the sword rain was so sharp that it could destroy anything. Without giving the five-headed lion beast a chance, the rain broke the sword radiance emitted by the monkey heads.

    The sword rain fell and every drop prated the body of the five-headed lion beast.

    Finally, the five-headed lion beast turned into a puddle of bloody water and all that was left was a glistening pearl ¡ª the monster pearl of the five-headed lion beast.

    Two Godly State experts had perished.

    It was as though they did not even appear in the first ce as everything happened too quickly that nobody had a chance to react.

    Chi Guyan managed to defeat the two Godly State experts even though she was fighting one against two.

    Chi Guyan seemed to be telling everyone that since she was back and stood at the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain again, she would definitely not hold back.

    The Monster Emperor Baizhi looked extremely stunned. She could no longer feel the pain from her severed tail as she could not even think straight anymore.

    ¡°Chi Guyan? How did she... be so powerful?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stared nkly at the pink figure standing in midair.

    She had a bad premonition since the appearance of the figure. However, her self-confidence and the reassurance of the two Godly State experts on the Heaven Zen Mountain ensured that she did not escape nor have any fears.

    Until now...

    The two Godly State had died on the spot.

    She realized that her premonition as the Nine-Tailed White Fox was definitely correct!

    ¡°Her Majesty, we can shut the Gate of God of the Monster Race and Demon Race now.¡± Chi Guyan graduallynded beside Qian Yu.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qian Yu looked up at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Her Majesty, aren¡¯t you here to shut the Gate of God of the Monster Race and Demon Race with me?¡± Chi Guyan stared at Qian Yu silently and waited for her reply.

    ¡°Ah... oh yes, I made an agreement with you...¡± Halfway through her sentence, Qian Yu suddenly felt that something was amiss.

    Chi Guyan called her ¡®Her Majesty¡¯?

    Yes, Chi Guyan belonged to the Great Xia Dynasty and was the princess of the Divine Constabry. Therefore, she would address her as ¡®Her Majesty¡¯ instead of Tower Master Qian.

    Qian Yu swallowed her saliva unconsciously.

    If other people had called her ¡®Her Majesty¡¯, she would have definitely pped the person as it was after all only a small part of her memory.

    However, if Chi Guyan said that...

    She could not refute it.

    Moreover, she thought that perhaps it would be more intimate if she used the identity of Queen of the Great Xia Dynasty to chat with Chi Guyan.

    For the first time, Qian Yu thought it was pretty good to be the Queen of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    At least, the Great Xia Dynasty she was in charge of had someone as terrifying as Chi Guyan...

    Wait a minute!

    There¡¯s still another brat!

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    He was as terrifying as Chi Guyan. The future of the Great Xia Dynasty with the presence of these two individuals was almost predictable.

    ¡°Hmm... cough cough, don¡¯t call me ¡®Her Majesty¡¯ in the future. You are sisters with Ping Yang, if you don¡¯t mind, you can follow her and call me Auntie.¡± Qian Yu coughed before raising her chest and spoke firmly.

    ¡°Alright, Auntie.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    Speaking of which, Fang Zhengzhi also calls me Auntie. However, Yan¡¯er is much more powerful and respectful than that brat, haha...¡± Qian Yuughed.

    ¡°The shameless thief¡¯s capability isparable with mine. Moreover, he was one of the reasons why I could wake up,¡± replied Chi Guyan.

    ¡°He was one of the reasons?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Before he left, if he had note to my bed and did something to my body...¡± Memories floated in Chi Guyan¡¯s mind as she spoke.

    It was a pitch dark pool.

    She was floating silently in the center of the pool. Like the floating duckweed, she kept floating around in the wind.

    After a long, long time...

    Chi Guyan had already lost track of how long she had been in the pool.

    Until she heard a soft voice calling her name, unbuttoning the cor of her dress and stretching a hand in...

    At this moment, Chi Guyan saw a pearl that was crystal clear like jade.

    Most importantly, she saw the shadow of a ¡°snake¡± in the pearl. She did not know whether it was a coincidence or fate.

    Her Gifted Bloodline was a ¡°snake¡±.

    Although it was not an ordinary snake, it was still rted to one. In fact, Chi Guyan felt that the pearl contained her bloodline.

    Because of that, the snake was subdued by her and surrounded her with a powerful force that repaired the injured parts in her body.

    The ck pool became a goldenke, giving her warmth. Finally, the sun shone and she finally saw the light.

    ¡°Shameless thief, thank you!¡± Chi Guyan thought silently.

    Qian Yu, on the other hand, looked at Chi Guyan in a confused manner. She thought about what Chi Guyan said, bed, body... that shameless brat indeed took advantage of her!

    He actually took advantage of Chi Guyan while she was unconscious!

    How detestable!

    Qian Yu was extremely angry but the oue was not too serious as she was no longer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s match and could do nothing much to him no matter how furious she felt.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, rest assured, Auntie will definitely fight for your justice!¡± Qian Yu reassured Chi Guyan fearlessly.

    ¡°Fight for my justice?¡± Chi Guyan was confused but it was not the time for her to rify.

    That was because the main purpose of her trip was to kill the two ¡°sessors¡± of the Monster Race and Demon Race, or rather, put an end to the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons.

    ¡°So the both of you think you can close the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi clenched her teeth and stood up from the ground with difficulty.

    It was very difficult to open the Gate of God.

    Closing it was more difficult!

 Chapter 992 - Oolala, Transform, Transform, Transform!

    <h4>Chapter 992: Ola, Transform, Transform, Transform!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Monster Emperor Baizhi could be said to be one of those who had lived for the longest time on Earth. Therefore, she definitely knew how difficult it was to open the three Gates of God.

    They were able to open the Gates of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons because of Yun Qingwu¡¯s intelligence and various kinds of coincidences.

    For example, if Nangong Hao had waited slightly longer for the Tree of God to be entirely absorbed before heading to the Heaven Zen Mountain for the final battle with the Monster Race and Demon Race,

    Or if Nangong Hao had followed the ns made by the Nangong family and swallowed the Gifted Bloodline on Chi Guyan, the winner of the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain would have been undetermined.

    There were too many coincidences that led to the sessful opening of the Gate of God of the Monster Race and Demon Race and hence allowing the descent of the ancient Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    It was extremely difficult to open the Gate of God.

    Simrly, after being opened, many conditions had to be met before it could be closed. After all, the Gate of God was something that the Mother Earth had left behind.

    Unless...

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was thinking about this, Chi Guyan began to attack. Without bothering to debate with Monster Emperor Baizhi or replying her, Chi Guyan dashed towards the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons in the sky at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°How naive of her to think that she could close the two Gates of God by herself! How is that even possible?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi did not rush to stop her.

    It was not because she was not Chi Guyan¡¯s match.

    Of course, this was one of the reasons. With Chi Guyan¡¯s capability, if Monster Emperor Baizhi went forward to ¡°provoke¡± her a little, Monster Emperor Baizhi would probably die immediately.

    Apart from knowing that she would not be able to fight against Chi Guyan, the main reason why Monster Emperor Baizhi did not stop Chi Guyan was that she did not think Chi Guyan would make it.

    If the Gate of God could be closed so easily, the people left on the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain would be more than herself and the two Godly State experts.

    Boom! A loud boom was heard and a terrifying force pressed from the sky as though a mountain had crashed onto the Gate of God.

    The ground tremored and the birds on the Heaven Zen Mountain began making loud noises and flew in circles in the sky as though they were shocked.

    Chi Guyan did not bother about all of these.

    Her eyes lit up like the brightest stars in the sky and her pink dress flew in the sky. Her hair was also flying behind her back.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s beauty was indeed shocking.

    Her stare, her smile, and even her asional anger was a beauty that did not belong to this world. Yet now, when Chi Guyan stood in front of the Gate of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons, her aura and arrogance made one feel like idolizing her uncontrobly.

    Boom! Chi Guyan¡¯s p caused the Gate of God of the Monster Race and Demon Race to shake and beams of light flowed continuously on the Gate of God.

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°I think she has surpassed the Godly State!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s so terrifying!¡±

    The Monster Kings and the Monster troops began to shudder uncontrobly as they saw the arrogant shadow in the sky.

    It was an admiration to someone who was extremely powerful and they did not bother about whether she was a human, monster or demon.

    However, although Chi Guyan¡¯s p was terrifyingly strong, the Gate of God of the Monster race and Demon race only shook once.

    The door of the gates did not even move at all.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, I will help you!¡± Qian Yu also moved. She was slightly disappointed when she saw that the Gate of God did not move.

    However, despite being disappointed, it was an extremely rare opportunity as neither Monster Emperor Baizhi nor the Monster Kings went up to stop Chi Guyan.

    Therefore, even though she knew that it was impossible, she decided to give it a shot.

    ¡°Two of them? They still won¡¯t be able to do it!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi narrowed her eyes. She still did not go forward to stop them as she had felt the power of the Gate of God.

    If Chi Guyan could not open the Gate of God, would an additional Qian Yu make any difference?

    How naive they were!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi could do nothing anymore. Therefore, the only constion she had was to believe that the Gate of God was powerful enough.

    Rumble!

    Qian Yu threw her small jade tower in the air as she headed for the Gates of God, triggering off bolts of lightning and thunder.

    Golden bolts of lightning struck the small jade tower, surrounding the small jade tower and causing it to be extremely clear as though it was filled with lightning.

    Meanwhile, the silver moon on Qian Yu¡¯s head shone and lit up the entire peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain with a silvery-white radiance.

    ¡°She is using the Ling Yun Realm?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi clenched her fists. She knew the power of the Ling Yun Realm too well. Twenty years ago, the ex-Tower master of the Ling Yun Tower had used the Ling Yun Realm to trap her and caused her faction to lose the battle between the Monster Race and Demon Race and humankind.

    Now that the Ling Yun Realm appeared right in front of her again, she was definitely nervous.

    However, what could she do?

    She definitely felt desperate.

    She could not match up to the two of them and fighting against them could end up getting the entire Monster Race perished. Chi Guyan was already being ¡°merciful¡± by not conducting a massacre.

    Therefore, how would she dare to move?

    She could only stay and watch.

    The small jade tower gradually turned golden in midair. Countless bolts of lightning filled up the small jade tower, causing it to be extremelyrge in size.

    Eventually, it became ten feet tall.

    The gigantic golden nine-story tower was surrounded by bolts of lightning in midair. This scene was more than ¡°spectacr¡±.

    Finally, Qian Yu moved again.

    After a roar from Qian Yu, a beam of radiance that looked like water surged out from the golden nine-story tower and shrouded the entire peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Meanwhile, a golden sun appeared on the eight moons on Qian Yu¡¯s head.

    The golden sun emitted thousands of beams of radiance whichbined with the silvery-white moon and turned continuously as though the night and day were reversed.

    It was a radiance of thebination of the sun and the moon!

    In order to activate the Ling Yun realm, both the sun and the moon had to co-exist.

    The ex-Tower master of the Ling Yun realm had handed over the golden sun to Qian Ye, the sister of Qian Yu, and handed the silver moon to Qian Yu.

    The intention was to unite the two sisters.

    However, something went wrong eventually. Nevertheless, that was no longer important as Qian Ye had died and Qian Yu was now the sole controller of the Ling Yun Realm.

    As the sun and the moon shone together, the golden nine-story tower grew a few times bigger. A clear sound was heard from the golden nine-story tower as though it was surrounded by the sound of God.

    ¡°So this is the Ling Yun Realm?!¡±

    ¡°What a powerful airwave.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, it was the best treasure of the Ling Yun Tower.¡±

    While the Monster Kings and the Monster troops were in shock, the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower looked in admiration at the golden nine-story tower.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, let¡¯sbine our forces!¡± At this moment, Qian Yu¡¯s voice was heard again and a golden light beam shot up from the sky towards the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up as she stared at the golden light beam. Meanwhile, a shadow appeared behind her back.

    Perhaps it was no longer a shadow.

    It was a ¡°body¡± thatbined with Chi Guyan¡¯s real body. It had a waterfall-like long hair, white dress, and the arrogant vibe.

    At this moment, Chi Guyan was like that holy woman, every single move she made was exactly the same as the holy woman, as though they were the same person.

    Boom!

    Chi Guyan¡¯s palm and the golden light beam struck the Gate of God of the Monster realm. The powerful collision force was like the turbulent flow of the river.

    The stationary Gate of God began to shake tremendously.

    Crack! A sound was heard. It was not ear-piercing but it caused Monster Emperor Baizhi all the Monster Kings and the entire Monster race¡¯s expressions to change.

    That was because they saw the opened Gate of God move as though it was about to close again.

    ¡°Impossible! How is this possible?! How can Chi Guyan and Qian Yu do it just by the two of them?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes were wide open and bloodshot.

    She could not believe that Chi Guyan and Qian Yu were able to move and even close the Gate of God of the Monster Race after they joined forces.

    It was unbelievable!

    So the legend was fake?

    In order to open the Gate of God, one needed the bloodline of the family of Emperor Yan and the power of the Gate of God. Meanwhile, in order to close the Gate of God, one needed the power of Mother Earth.

    Mother Earth?

    Where could they find Mother Earth?!

    If there was no Mother Earth, how did Chi Guyan and Qian Yu manage to do it?

    Wait a minute!

    Could the Gifted Bloodline of the Holy Region of Chi Guyan be the legendary Mother Earth? Impossible, this was impossible!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not believe it.

    However, she had a feeling that she understood why Nangong Tian, the head of the Nangong Nobles, forced Nangong Hao to swallow Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline no matter what.

    Even though Chi Guyan¡¯s Gifted Bloodline did not belong to Mother Earth, Chi Guyan had the ability to close the Gate of God.

    That was beyond terrifying.

    That was because once the Gates of God of the Realm of Monsters and Demons closed again, the n that had already achieved sess would go to waste.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi would definitely not allow this to happen. Even if she was going to die, she could not bear to see her hopes perish.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi roared furiously.

    The Monster Kings and the Monster troops regained their senses after hearing Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice.

    The Monster Kings were also stunned.

    In fact, they were even more afraid than Monster Emperor Baizhi because they could not believe that Chi Guyan managed to do it.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Stop them!¡±

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    Death was terrifying and everyone was afraid of death, including the Monster Kings. However, like Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster Kings could not possibly give up theirst hope.

    Even if they were to die, they had to fight.

    The Monster Kings dashed upwards and the Monster troops also fought with all their might. However, they had to make it through the defense of the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower if they wanted to dash up.

    Bright radiance shone in the air and countless beams congregated in the sky, forming a gigantic green web of light.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Kings hit the green web of light and loud sounds were heard.

    Meanwhile, in the sky, Chi Guyan was extremely focused and stared at the Gate of God of the Monster Realm in front of her, as though she could not hear anything around her.

    Simrly, Qian Yu behaved the same way too.

    However,pared to Chi Guyan, Qian Yu¡¯s body trembled non-stop as the force of the Ling Yun Realm was too powerful. In order to control the Ling Yun Tower, Qian Yu not only had to use her powers but also her life which was merged with the Ling Yun Realm.

    That was because only the power of her life enabled her to light up the sun and the moon at the same time.

    Yet now, in mere seconds, Qian Yu looked like she had aged as wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes.

    ¡°No!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi charged up into the sky towards Qian Yu as her body turned into the Nine-Tailed White Fox.

    However, a powerful force blocked Monster Emperor Baizhi and caused her to fall back to the ground with a loud thud.

    ¡°Ling Yun Realm can trap everything and block everything too, how annoying!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi knew that once the Ling Yun Realm was activated, even she could not do anything to Qian Yu and Chi Guyan.

    This was perhaps why Chi Guyan and Qian Yu did not bother wasting their time killing her.

    However, although she knew that, she was extremely indignant to see the Gate of God of the Monster Realm close like that as it was the hope of the Monster Race.

    Why must they close the Gate of God of the Monster Realm first?!

    They could have closed the gate of the Demon Realm!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi would definitely not attack them if they closed the gate of the Demon Realm first!

    Buzz! Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was indignant and in despair, the Gate of God of the Monster Realm shook again and the gates that were half-closed suddenly opened again.

    It was a strange scene.

    The stranger thing was that there was no longer starry radiance at the opening of the Gate of God of the Monster Realm. What reces it was pitch darkness like the mountain rocks.

    ¡°What is happening? More Godly State experts of the monster race have descended?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned. If that happened, she would be in luck.

    However, the strange scene in front of her waspletely different from what she had seen before.

    The darkness in front of her was too big in scale and there were countless cracks on it too.

    Those were cracks that were caused by countless chains. However, there were way too many cracks and they lookedpletely different from the cracks made when the Godly State experts descended.

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was in a state of confusion, a gigantic ck shadow charged out of the Gate of God of the Monster Realm andnded on the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°What on earth is this?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s eyes were wide open as what hadnded was clearly not a Godly State expert of the Monster Race.

    However, if it was not a Godly State expert, what was it?

 Chapter 993 - You Will Not Die If You Did Not Pretend To Die

    <h4>Chapter 993: You Will Not Die If You Did Not Pretend To Die</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was humongous!

    If the Godly State expert was described to a giant ck rock when he descended, the object thatnded could definitely be called a hill.

    A hill that was at least a few hundred feet in height.

    Could it be that a hill was floating in the Gate of God of the Monster Realm and was coincidentally bumped out by Chi Guyan and Qian Yu?

    However, why were there hills in the Gate of God?

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was pondering over this, the ck hillnded directly on the altar in the center of the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Boom! The entire Heaven Zen Mountain shook and countless stones cracked into small pieces, even the white altar cracked from the center.

    Crack! The white altar cracked and traces of ck could be seen. However, these traces of ck was quickly hidden as the hill pressed on it.

    ¡°So... so huge!¡± The Monster Kings stared at the ck hill in shock as there were way too many cracks on it.

    In fact, there were a few broken ck chains hanging from the hill.

    The ck chains were forced out?!

    This was the first time the Monster Kings had seen the ¡°chains¡±. Although they had seen the intertwining ck chains outside the gxy before when the Gate of God opened, this was the first time they are seeing them up close.

    What exactly was it?

    Apart from Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster Kings, Chi Guyan and Qian Yu all stopped moving.

    Qian Yu looked extremely tired and she had evidently consumed arge amount of energy trying to control the Ling Yun realm earlier on. How would she be willing to ept the disruption caused by the sudden appearance of the ck hill?

    She was extremely unwilling to ept it!

    Why did a ck hill suddenly appear?

    Qian Yu could not understand why.

    Aspared to her unwillingness to ept the fact, Chi Guyan, on the other hand, looked heavy-hearted.

    Yes, she looked heavy-hearted.

    Since the ck hillnded, Chi Guyan had her eyes glued on it. She inspected every single detail of the ck hill, from its location to every single mark on it to the broken ck chains.

    Chi Guyan inspected it extremely carefully.

    Until...

    A crack was formed on the ck hill, producing a soft crack sound. At the same time, the ck chains on it dropped onto the ground with a thud.

    ¡°It cracked?!¡±

    ¡°It really cracked open?¡±

    ¡°What is inside?!¡±

    All the Monster Kings and the Monster troops, as well as the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower stared at the crack on the ck hill with their eyes wide open.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    Along with cracking sounds, the cracks grew bigger and gradually covered the entire hill like a spiderweb.

    ¡°Auntie, leave now!¡± At this moment, Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed from a heavy-hearted expression to a slightly stunned one.

    This expression had never appeared on Chi Guyan before but this time, Chi Guyan seemed to have experienced a real sense of danger.

    ¡°Leave?!¡± Qian Yu looked very shocked. She was not shocked because of the ck hill that cracked open in front of her but because of what Chi Guyan said.

    Chi Guyan actually asked her to leave?

    How surprising was that? One had to note that Chi Guyan had said ¡°there are only two of them?¡± when the two Godly State experts of the Monster Race appeared.

    Chi Guyan did not even think highly of the two Godly State experts.

    However, once she saw the ck hillnd, she asked Qian Yu to leave without any hesitation before it even cracked open fully?

    What exactly was inside the hill?!

    ...

    In the ck pce of the Heaven Dao Pavilion...

    Mountains were inverted amongst the mist and clouds. The waterfall flowed from the peak of the inverted mountain in an upwards direction, connecting the sky and the earth.

    It was a beautiful scenery.

    However, the atmosphere was extremely nerve-wracking.

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were in a deadlock. Neither parties attacked but the tense atmosphere made it difficult for them to breathe.

    Chou Qi looked at Fang Zhengzhi as he waited for him to reply.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi frowned very hard. The deal that Chou Qi gave seemed to be fair but how could it possibly be fair if both parties had unequal levels of power?

    It was a three-round battle and the winner needs to win two rounds. Each representative only could fight for one round.

    This restriction basically made it a deadlock.

    Fang Zhengzhi understood the idea behind it. However, like what Chou Qi said, could he really stop Chou Qi if he chose to attack Yan Xiu and Ping Yang in an irrational manner?

    Perhaps yes.

    However, it was most probably not possible.

    If he attacked, it would end up in a deadlock. If he retreated, it would also end up in a deadlock.

    For some reasons, Fang Zhengzhi felt strange. He felt that ¡°Chou Qi¡± seemed to have an extremely good understanding of him and his ¡°weakness¡±.

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice at all.

    ¡°What do all of you think?¡± Instead of answering Chou Qi directly, Fang Zhengzhi turned and looked at Mu Qingfeng and the rest to ask for their opinions.

    ¡°Fight it out with them!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s answer was straightforward.

    It also got the approval from a portion of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Yes, if we went with Chou Qi¡¯s deal, we do not stand a chance to win at all. I would rather fight it out with them and kill as many as we can. It won¡¯t be a loss to us even if we died!¡±

    ¡°Exactly, fight it out with them!¡±

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    Every single disciple of the Human Alliance felt a strong sense of righteous indignation.

    ¡°How are we going to fight? There are five Godly State experts, the troops with the beasts and so many Monster Kings. We are more likely to lose if we really fought with them!¡±

    ¡°Exactly... we can¡¯t fight it out with them at all, it would definitely result in our deaths...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet...¡±

    Amongst those who voted for them to fight, another group of people with differing opinion spoke. Instead of saying that they were timid, it should be said that they were behaving with their true nature.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was way too powerful.

    With the addition of five Godly State experts, the two parties were ipatible in terms of the level of power.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you have the final say.¡± At this moment, Mu Qingfeng who had been quiet all along finally spoke. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a rare look of trust.

    ¡°Shameless brat, the fate of the Human Alliance is in your hands. You will decide our fate.¡± Mo Shanshi nodded.

    The other disciples of the Human Alliance kept quiet.

    They were never ¡°friendly¡± to Fang Zhengzhi. Everyone knew about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless.

    However, they had to admit that Fang Zhengzhi was their only hope now.

    ¡°I have the final say?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng nodded quickly after exchanging nces.

    ¡°Alright, I agree to hold a martial artspetition.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded without hesitation.

    He knew very well that if he lost this battle, the Human Alliance would perish.

    They had to face the battle no matter what.

    Therefore, why shouldn¡¯t he take a gamble?

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°He really agreed!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance widened their eyes and sighed as they also knew that they had no other choice.

    However, they had no chances of winning if they followed Chou Qi¡¯s rules for the martial artspetition?

    ¡°We will follow your request for a martial artspetition, but...¡± Mo Shanshi nodded but had some reservations.

    ¡°ording to the rules made by Chou Qi, one can only fight once. Old man Mo, since you are severely injured, you should rest at the side. I will take the first match!¡± Instead of retreating, Mu Qingfeng initiated to take on the role.

    ¡°Old man Mu...¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance looked saddened when they saw Mu Qingfeng take the initiative.

    They saw the determination in Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes but based on the current situation, the first match had to be taken up by Mu Qingfeng.

    After all, Chou Qi would definitely not go first.

    Therefore, the only person in the Human Alliance who stood a chance to win was Mu Qingfeng who was at the peak of the Sage State.

    ¡°No, Pavilion Master Mu can take the second match.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised by the ¡°rashness¡± of the sly old fox, but he still shook his head and declined.

    ¡°Second match?¡± Mu Qingfeng was shocked. Then, he turned to Yan Xiu. ¡°Unless you want Yan Xiu to take the first match? No, although Yan Xiu was powerful, I think I am more experienced than Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°I am willing to take on the first match.¡± Yan Xiu ignored Mu Qingfeng and said.

    ¡°No, Yan Xiu, you will take the third.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    ¡°Third?¡± Yan Xiu was evidently taken aback.

    That was because, by right, they had very little chance of proceeding to the third match based on Chou Qi¡¯s rules.

    Even if there was a third match, Fang Zhengzhi should take it.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was telling him to take on the third match, Yan Xiu was definitely surprised.

    However, Yan Xiu did not argue much as he had already regained his memory and trusted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s choice.

    ¡°Shameless brat, don¡¯t tell me you want me to take the first match? Although I admit that I am as fierce as a tiger, it is still too much a responsibility for me to take on the first match.¡± Ping Yang blinked and probed her head towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang in disdain and stretched out two fingers. ¡°You can do the third match too.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Ping Yang was surprised.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    ¡°How can both of them take on the third match? What does that mean?¡±

    Not only were Yan Xiu and Mu Qingfeng surprised, but all the disciples of the Human Alliance were confused.

    Letting Ping Yang and Yan Xiu take on the third match together?

    What did he mean!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining and turned to Chou Qi. ¡°I agree to proceed with the martial artspetition, but can I introduce some restrictive terms too?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Chou Qi nodded.

    ¡°A three-round battle and the winner needs to win two rounds. Each representative only could fight for one round. These are your terms, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi confirmed again.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chou Qi nodded.

    ¡°Alright, my terms are simple. For every round, each party must send four people,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at Chou Qi and the four Godly State behind him.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°For every round, each party had to send four people?!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t even defeat one of them and yet he wanted us to send four?!¡±

    ¡°Is Fang Zhengzhi mad?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Hearing this, the disciples of the Human Alliance were despair and looked as if they were struck by lightning.

    Crazy, Fang Zhengzhi was crazy.

    Nobody could believe Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s outrageous term.

    Even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were stunned when they heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    For every round, each party had to send four people?!

    How could they fight like that?

    Unless they fought with all four of the Godly State experts?

    That was courting death!

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s faces turned pale immediately. They did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to bring up this deal.

    They had already lost hope when they heard that each individual could only go once.

    However, despite that, they still had the determination to fight.

    However, after Fang Zhengzhi brought up the new term, how could they even have any chances of winning if they had to fight against four Godly State experts at once?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi. are you mad?¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat... Do you want to kill us?¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi stared at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t all of you leave the final say to me? Are you regretting it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng innocently.

    ¡°Nonsense, of course, we regret it!¡± Mo Shanshi was inpatient. He never thought that Fang Zhengzhi who was usually intelligent suddenly became like that.

    Of course, they were courting death by fighting against four!

    ¡°So you are regretting it? Hmm... But it is toote.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly and shrugged.

    ¡°...¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng were speechless.

    Chou Qi kept silent after hearing the conversation.

    Simr to Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, he was surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s terms.

    By fighting against four, wasn¡¯t he courting death?

    With such a term, he only had to send anyone out when it was Mu Qingfeng¡¯s turn and send four out when it was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s turn.

    Wait a minute!

    The term was not to ¡®send out at most four in a match¡¯ but rather ¡®must send out four people during a match¡¯!

    Although there did not seem to be much difference in these two terms, after careful consideration, the difference was huge.

 Chapter 994 - The New Level of Shamelessness

    <h4>Chapter 994: ¡°The New Level of Shamelessness¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Four people at once?!¡± Chou Qi¡¯s eyebrows frowned. He did notpletely understand why Fang Zhengzhi said this.

    However, for some reason, he felt that there was a huge trap in this n that he did not spot.

    Four people...

    Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to put all the ¡°talents¡± in one round and put a mixture of people in another round, hence deciding the oue with one round?

    This was highly probable as both the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were not kind people. If Fang Zhengzhi killed all of the four Godly State experts in one match, it did not matter even if he lost the two other rounds.

    After all, the so-called ¡°agreement¡± was useless if all of the Godly State experts had died as the threat they had brought about would have been eliminated. How hrious it would be for them to talk about credibility at that point in time?

    Wait a minute!

    If that was what Fang Zhengzhi had nned, he should have changed his term to five people instead so as to allow him to kill everyone at one go.

    Why was it four?

    Thoughts ran through Chou Qi¡¯s mind very quickly. It was not two, not three nor five but rather four. There was definitely some ¡°evil plot¡± in this.

    Could it be coincidental?

    Chou Qi did not believe in coincidences.

    Moreover, the real Chou Qi has already died, the current Chou Qi was none other than the only bloodline left of the Nangong Nobles, Nangong Mu.

    A person who understood Fang Zhengzhi as though he was like his brother.

    Nangong Mu knew very well that although Fang Zhengzhi looked shameless and clumsy, he was definitely meticulous when doing serious things.

    There was definitely something wrong with having four people.

    Nangong Mu was making rapid spections. If the rules demanded two people in one match, he would have easily allocated two Godly State experts in one group and he would go with another monster king in thest group.

    He had full confidence in winning the three rounds.

    What about the arrangement of three people?

    He would allocate Three Godly State experts in one group while the second group wouldprise of himself, another Godly State expert and another Monster King. This would still ensure his win as he only had to win two of the three rounds.

    However, what about four?

    Nangong Mu frowned again.

    Although four people in a group seemed easier for nning purposes, in reality, there were too many uncertainties aspared to two, three or five.

    Too many possiblebinations.

    It could be four Godly State Experts in one group and Nangong Hao with three Monster Kings in another. Simrly, it could be two plus two or three plus one.

    ¡°What exactly is the problem?!¡± Nangong Mu initially thought this martial artspetition would be very easy for him as he had the absolute say.

    Four Godly State experts, himself and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, nothing would go wrong with this powerful force.

    However...

    Now he was in a dilemma.

    The reason was purely because Fang Zhengzhi brought up a n that was seemingly more advantageous for himself, each party must send out four people in a match.

    Strange, this was way too strange.

    ¡°If it is four...¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu who was silent all along suddenly spoke.

    ¡°So you have been thinking about this question too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around gradually and smiled.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved. She turned towards Fang Zhengzhi before turning to Chou Qi and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, then, she shook her head and said, ¡°Rest assured, I know that I am a ve.¡±

    ¡°If I said I don¡¯t mind you participating in this martial artspetition, would you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled even brighter, he definitely would not have forgotten about Yun Qingwu.

    However, like what he had said, he did not mind Yun Qingwu speaking or giving Chou Qi hints on how to allocate manpower.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind?¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly shocked before she smiled bitterly. ¡°Indeed, even if I had said it, it would not make much of a difference.¡±

    ¡°I mind. Shameless brat, do you need me to hit her so she faints? You can rest assured and let me do it!¡± Although Ping Yang did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about, she knew very well how terrifying Yun Qingwu was in terms of her schemes.

    As the saying went, stifling everything in the cradle.

    Ping Yang was like that.

    After all, to Ping Yang, Yun Qingwu was way too cunning, it would have been a disaster if Yun Qingwu saw through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ns.

    This was Ping Yang¡¯s thoughts. one can never be too careful.

    Therefore, she did not mind hitting Yun Qingwu so that she fainted.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed and she was about to say something but eventually kept quiet and did not resist.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright, let her say if she wants to. I said I don¡¯t mind.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°What gave you the confidence?¡± Ping Yang was extremely confused as the current situation definitely would result in their loss.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was still fully confident.

    He was not even afraid of Yun Qingwu exposing his ns, he was so confident that he was a little ¡°frenzied¡± and she could not stand it.

    Apart from Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the disciples of the Human Alliance all looked at each other, wondering where Fang Zhengzhi got his confidence from.

    They must send out four people for one match, they will definitely die!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you really confident?¡± Mu Qingfeng was really desperate but still asked him carefully.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said with confidence.

    ¡°How much confidence do you have? 30 percent?¡±

    ¡°No, 100 percent!¡±

    ¡°100 percent?!¡±

    Not only was Mu Qingfeng so shocked that his eyes were about to fall out, the Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race also could not take it.

    ¡°100 percent of confidence?!¡±

    ¡°He said he was 100 percent confident? Did he mean that he was 100 percent confident that he will lose?¡±

    ¡°How ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°He had to send four people in one match and still said he had 100 percent confidence of winning, he must be dreaming!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race began tough and looked at Fang Zhengzhi as though he was a fool. After all, how could he not be a fool if he was so confident in such a situation?

    However, Fang Zhengzhi clearly did not mind the sneering of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. In fact, he was alsoughing andughing even louder than the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Then, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stoppedughing.

    That was because they realize that nobody was as thick-skinned as Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Chou Qi, let¡¯s start, who are you sending to face death for the first round?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked Nangong Mu afterughing.

    ¡°You mean that I can choose first?¡± Nangong Mu who was frowning initially looked up.

    ¡°Visitors are guests. Since we arrived first, we are the owners and you are the guests. We should definitely let you go first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°I am definitely not as shameless as you but you seemed to have neglected a problem. I am the one initiating thispetition. What if I don¡¯t agree to choose first?¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    ¡°Then we will have to draw lots,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Draw lots?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will write take two pieces of paper and write ¡®first¡¯ on one and ¡®second¡¯ on the other. Whoever who drew the paper with the word ¡®first¡¯ would go first. It is extremely fair and nobody can cheat their way through,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright, we shall follow what you said, let¡¯s draw lots.¡± Hearing this, Nangong Mu paused and stared at Fang Zhengzhi before nodding his head.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed extremely happily.

    After hearing this, Ping Yang gave a look of confusion but that look of confusion soon changed into a smile.

    ¡°What do you think this guy is nning to do?¡± Ping Yang went towards Yan Xiu and asked softly.

    ¡°No.¡± Yan Xiu shook his head.

    ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t know?¡± Ping Yang clearly could not believe it but she did not prove further. Instead, she turned to Wu Yuer who was standing nearby and said, ¡°Wu Yuer, how about let¡¯s take a bet?¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Wu Yuer who was behind the Heavenly Oasis Saint walked out with her chest lifted and went to Ping Yang.

    Ping Yang¡¯s face turned ck immediately.

    However, she endured it and did not ¡°pinpoint¡± at Wu Yuer¡¯s actions. Instead, she quickly whispered into Wu Yuer¡¯s ears.

    ¡°You want to bet about this?¡± Wu Yuer asked after hearing what Ping Yang said.

    ¡°Yes, are you daring to take a gamble?¡± Ping Yang said confidently.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I am afraid of!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I am going to bet with... with... the zing soft armor on me. This is the best treasure in the Ling Yun Tower, what do you think?¡± Ping Yang pointed at one of the soft armor in her clothes after consideration.

    ¡°zing soft armor? I am not interested in this. I only want 10,000 teals of Gold.¡± Wu Yuer took a nce at the soft armor that Ping Yang was wearing and shook her head.

    As the sect leader of the Shadow Sect Leader, she knew that this zing soft armor was a priceless treasure.

    However, it was precisely because she knew the price, she also knew that even if she won Ping Yang, she would probably not get hold of the zing soft armor as Qian Yu was not a person who could be fooled around with.

    Judging from Qian Yu¡¯s character, she would definitely not allow the soft armor to fall into other people¡¯s hands.

    Even if Ping Yang won the bet.

    Therefore, she would rather get something more practical as after all, no matter how demanding Qian Yu was, she would not demand 10,000 ounces of gold to be returned to her.

    ¡°10,000 ounces of gold? You really can¡¯t appreciate the soft armor. Alright, I will bet with 10,000 ounces of gold, what do you want to bet with?¡± Ping Yang was slightly annoyed.

    ¡°I will bet with the ¡®Fallen Rain Pavilion¡¯ in the me Capital City,¡± said Wu Yuer after giving it some thoughts.

    ¡°Sure, if you lose, the Fallen Rain Pavilion would belong to me, including the people of the pavilion!¡± Ping Yang was not overly concerned about what she was betting with Wu Yuer as she was only interested in winning. Therefore, what she won did not really matter to her.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Wu Yuer nodded as it was undeniable.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi had finished writing the words on the two slips of paper and held one on each of his hands. He walked slowly towards Nangong Mu and opened his hands, allowing Nangong Mu to take his pick.

    Nangong Mu did not hesitate.

    He reached out his right hand and took the paper on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right hand. Everything looked extremely smooth.

    Nothing went wrong.

    However, when the paper was handed over to Nangong Mu, something strange happened.

    That was because Nangong Mu swallowed the paper without even taking a look at it.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the disciples of the Human Alliance, as well as the confident Ping Yang, widened their eyes.

    ¡°He swallowed it?!¡±

    ¡°Chou Qi swallowed the paper he drew?!¡±

    ¡°What is he trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, could it be...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance could not react for a moment but their expressions changedpletely and looked extremely ugly.

    After the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned for a moment, they managed to regain their senses.

    ¡°Haha, I see!¡±

    ¡°Sir Chou Qi is indeed brilliant!¡±

    ¡°Taking action first, Fang Zhengzhi is doomed now!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race began smiling and mocked the stunned Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, was stunned and stood rooted to the spot.

    That was because she and Wu Yuer had bet that Fang Zhengzhi had written ¡°first¡± on both of the strips of paper. After all, that would fit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless personality.

    If he had written ¡°first¡± on both pieces of paper, no matter what Chou Qi drew, the result would be the same and Chou Qi had to go first.

    But now...

    The paper was swallowed by Chou Qi.

    What next?

    ¡°You have lost.¡± Nangong Mu took a small step back after swallowing the paper and signaled Fang Zhengzhi to open the paper in his hand.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you have this hobby. Is the paper... yummy?¡± After a long pause, Fang Zhengzhi finally reacted and looked at Chou Qi with a confused look.

    ¡°Open it.¡± Nangong Mu did not answer Fang Zhengzhi directly.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you can take a look at it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he shook his head. Then, he tossed the paper in his left hand to Nangong Mu.

    Then, he turned and walked away.

    Nangong Mu was surprised at how Fang Zhengzhi turned and left but he still opened the paper in his hand quickly. When he opened the paper, he froze.

    A gigantic ¡°second¡± word was written on the paper.

 Chapter 995 - The Shameless Allocation for the Three Rounds

    <h4>Chapter 995: The Shameless Allocation for the Three Rounds</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Second?! How is this possible?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s hands trembled as he knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character too well.

    Because he knew Fang Zhengzhi too well, he was even more certain that Fang Zhengzhi would have definitely yed cheat and wrote ¡°first¡± on both of the pieces of paper.

    However, now...

    The word ¡°second¡± was extremely ring.

    Why did this happen?

    Could it be such that Fang Zhengzhi did not y cheat and really wrote ¡°first¡± and ¡°second¡± on the two pieces of paper, meaning that he actually swallowed the piece of paper with the word ¡°first¡±?

    No, no...

    Fang Zhengzhi would have definitely yed cheat. Therefore, the only exnation would be that both of the papers had the word ¡°second¡± written on them.

    Thinking about this, Nangong Mu¡¯s face turned rtively ugly as he had realized that Fang Zhengzhi knew that he would have spotted the possible problem.

    ¡°If we talked about the state of mind... I am definitely worse than Fang Zhengzhi, however, we arepeting based on our true capability.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head gently and did not continue further.

    Although losing the round on drawing lots was a slight blow to Nangong Mu¡¯s confidence, it did not surprise him too much as he was mentally prepared.

    However, after losing the round on drawing lots, the situation seemed to be...

    Just as Nangong Mu was deep in thought, a voice floated into his ears.

    ¡°I forgot to tell you that I identally smudged something dirty on the two pieces of papers when I was writing... are you still feeling alright after eating the paper?¡±

    The voice came from Fang Zhengzhi, it was not very loud but it caused Nangong Mu¡¯s face to turn as ck as charcoal.

    Poison!

    He poisoned the paper!

    If this happened six months ago, even someone who had a good endurance like Nangong Mu would have cursed.

    However, Nangong Mu could not curse as he had to endure. In order to fulfill thest wish of Nangong Tian, he had to endure.

    However, even if Nangong Tian was able to endure, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was unable to endure.

    ¡°This shameless brat dare to poison the paper!¡±

    ¡°How detestable!¡±

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, ask Sir Chou Qi to make amand for us to kill him and all of the Human Alliance!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race roared furiously.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, was evidently stunned. She had always thought she had learned how to be as shameless as Fang Zhengzhi, but after hearing what Fang Zhengzhi said, she realized that there was still a huge gap between her and Fang Zhengzhi that she could never match up to.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you really poisoned the paper?!¡± Ping Yang still could not believe it as her consciences told her that no matter how shameless one was, one could not possibly be as shameless as that.

    Poisoning the paper was such a horrendous act that made both the humans and Gods furious.

    ¡°Of course, I did... It was such a great opportunity, how could I have not done it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was so tant that he did not even bother hiding the truth.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer also moved her lips but did not say anything.

    Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng stared at each other and blushed slightly as they felt embarrassed to be in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s team.

    However, they had no choice.

    ¡°Brat, you used my poison?¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint looked nonchnt as he had the same personal experience.

    Sometimes, he felt that he could even be Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s master. However, the truth was that he would have been under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control with the use of several cups of poison.

    Moreover, what pained him the most was that those poisons were made by him.

    ¡°I made some slight improvements to the poison,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi casually.

    ¡°Nice one, you are indeed merciless!¡±

    ¡°Just a bit.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance turned their heads to pretend that they did not hear the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    At this moment, cold sweat trickled down Nangong Mu¡¯s forehead because he suddenly felt that his stomach felt as though it was being turned upside-down.

    ¡°It is really poisonous!¡± Nangong Mu squatted down and vomited everything in his stomach out. Meanwhile, he took out a medicinal pill and swallowed it.

    He felt slightly better after swallowing the pill.

    Having the power of the Tree of God and Nangong Hao¡¯s heart and the additional power that Nangong Tian left behind before he died, as well as the power obtained from Chou Qi and Qin Xian, Nangong Mu would definitely not die so easily because of the poison.

    However, that did not mean that he would not get affected by the poison as it was an ¡°intense poison¡± made by Fang Zhengzhi after some improvements.

    It was as though as finding ¡®a segment of caterpir¡¯ inside an apple...

    That feeling would not kill you but you would feel disgusted for at least ten days. Therefore, Nangong Mu was definitely affected temporarily.

    ¡°Rest assured, you won¡¯t die. This poison is not lethal, it only hurts your kidney a little... The most straightforward effect would be frequent micturition and diarrhea...¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a ¡°friendly¡± reminder to Nangong Mu as he looked like he was struggling.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s face turned extremely pale upon hearing this. His legs almost turned into jelly and fell on the ground.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi...¡¯

    ¡®I really should not have been your opponent.¡¯

    Nangong Mu clenched his fist and a scene shed across his mind.

    In the freezingnd covered in snow, there was a patch of fresh blood, a shriveled Tree of God and ten over loyal servants of the Nangong Nobles kneeling in front of him/

    ¡°Mu¡¯er, the future of the Nangong Nobles is in your hands...¡±

    ¡°You have to kill Fang Zhengzhi and get back the things that belonged to the Nangong Nobles!¡±

    ¡°Dad, please!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Dad!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Nangong Mu bit his lips. He did not want to fulfill the final wish of Nangong Tian but he had to ¡°fight¡± for the future of the Nangong Nobles.

    That was because he had the Nangong Nobles¡¯ blood flowing in his body.

    ¡°Dad... I can¡¯t follow what you have taught me but I promise, I will get back whatever that belonged to the Nangong Nobles...¡± Blood trickled down Nangong Mu¡¯s lips and his eyes became bloodshot. He gave off a creepy and terrifying aura.

    However, he calmed down very quickly.

    With the identity of Chou Qi and the right tomand the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, he was already halfway to sess and definitely could not give up at this time.

    ¡°This little amount of poison will not hurt me!¡± Nangong Mu gradually raised his head but the gray haze beneath his ck cloak became thicker and thicker.

    ¡°Of course it won¡¯t hurt you. I believe that you are powerful enough. Let us start ourpetition now, so who are you sending out in the first round?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Sir!¡± At this moment, Lin Yu who had been usually quiet suddenly dashed towards Nangong Mu.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Nangong Mu asked with a deep voice.

    ¡°Who are you sending for the first round?¡± Lin Yu clenched his teeth and asked carefully.

    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Nangong Mu knew what Lin Yu was thinking about.

    ¡°If you trust me, I will go in the first round. I will fight till my death!¡± Lin Yu was determined.

    ¡°Only you?¡±

    ¡°And another three Monster Kings.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is sufficient.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    ¡°Why? Unless Sir feels that there is another person, except for Fang Zhengzhi, who can win us?¡± Lin Yu did not understand.

    ¡°No, but what if the two of them were able to kill the three Monster Kings in a short time?¡± Nangong Mu asked.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°ording to what I know, Mu Qingfeng could kill three Monster Kings very easily. Then, you will be facing thebined attack of four people!¡±

    ¡°I am not afraid even if four of them attacked me together!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, but the chances of winning is 50-50.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    Lin Yu fell silent.

    As what Nangong Mu said, even though he was a Godly State expert, there was a 50 percent chance that something would go wrong when he fought against Four Sages like Mu Qingfeng.

    50-50 chance...

    If they lost the first battle, they still have to fight against Fang Zhengzhi...

    ¡°Then send me and Mu Xing!¡± Lin Yu decided to ept the suggestion given by Nangong Mu and replied.

    ¡°With the powers of you and Mu Xing, you will definitely win if you did not encounter Fang Zhengzhi. I was also thinking about this arrangement but I feel that there is a trap in this.¡± Nangong Mu nodded slightly before shaking his head again.

    ¡°What trap?¡±

    ¡°If... You were Fang Zhengzhi, what would you do when you have to fight against two Godly State experts?¡± Nangong Mu asked back.

    ¡°Other than fighting by himself, the only choice was to forfeit as he would definitely not win.¡± Lin Yu replied without thinking.

    ¡°Do you think he will forfeit?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If he forfeited for the first round, he had even lesser hope for the second round as I will be fighting along with two other Godly State experts.¡±

    ¡°So... Sir, what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°If I send you and Mu Xing, Fang Zhengzhi will definitely go.¡±

    ¡°So you mean in the first round, Fang Zhengzhi will...¡± Lin Yu shuddered slightly and a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

    ¡°Yes, he will definitely kill you and Mu Xing in the first round. Then, he will have two choices, one will be to fight with us without heeding by the rules. However, I don¡¯t think he will do that as he will be even more shameless than that. Therefore, the second option was to kill again in the round when we only send one Godly State expert out.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Yu felt chills down his back when he heard this.

    Although Nangong Mu was merely specting, if the opponent was Fang Zhengzhi, this was extremely likely to happen.

    After all, he was a shameless brat that was daring enough to poison the paper

    Moreover, if two or three Godly State experts were killed consecutively in the martial artspetition, the power of the troops of the Monster race and Demon race would be greatly depleted and ...

    The troops of the Monster race and Demon race might no longer have the final say.

    ¡°Then what do you think we should do, Sir?¡± Lin Yu stopped insisting on his stand as he felt that Chou Qi had a better understanding of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Lin Yu felt suspicious.

    That was because from what he could remember, Chou Qi should not have came into contact with Fang Zhengzhi before. However, the reality was that Chou Qi was more far-sighted than Lin Yu himself.

    That was strange.

    However, Lin Yu had no time and means to investigate as Chou Qi was the leader of the troops of the Monster race and Demon race now.

    He could not suspect Chou Qi.

    He could only trust him whole-heartedly.

    ¡°If we want to secure all three rounds, we will definitely lose and lose extremely dramatically. Therefore, we can only ce our bets on securing two of the rounds!¡± Nangong Mu finally spoke after some consideration.

    ¡°Two rounds?!¡± Lin Yu¡¯s eyes lit up.

    He had already understood what Nangong Mu meant. The winner was decided based on winning two out of the three rounds, yet it sounded risky to ce a bet on two of the rounds.

    However, intelligent people would know that it was impossible to win all the rounds.

    If one wished to win all the rounds...

    One would lose dramatically.

    ¡°For the first round, you will bring two other Godly State experts and one Monster King. Mu Xing... I will go with him in thest round,¡± said Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Sending three Godly State experts in the first round, are you sure?¡± Although Lin Yu understood Nangong Hao¡¯s n, he was slightly hesitant.

    ¡°Hmm, Fang Zhengzhi will only not fight if we send out three Godly State experts as the chances of him killing all three Godly State experts were extremely slim. The chances of him winning in a one versus three scenarios will only be 50 percent. Even if he won by luck, he would not be able to kill the Godly State experts and will definitely lose the subsequent two rounds!¡± Nangong Mu was very certain.

    ¡°Then what are the arrangements like for the next two rounds?¡± Lin Yu nodded.

    ¡°Based on the rules, Fang Zhengzhi will send out their people first. I think he will send out at least one person who is able to kill the Monster Kings to secure his win.¡±

    ¡°So Sir, you mean we will forfeit the second round?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we will put our bets on the third round!¡±

    ¡°I understand, however, could you please fulfill my request?¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°Sir, please take back yourmands and put me in the third round!¡±

    ¡°You want to go in the third round?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°But you should know that you will face Fang Zhengzhi in the third round.¡±

    ¡°I know that and that is why I wish to be put in the third round. Rest assured, sir, I will definitely not disappoint you.¡±

 Chapter 996 - One Round to Determine the Winner

    <h4>Chapter 996: One Round to Determine the Winner</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go in thest round?¡± Nangong Mu asked again.

    ¡°Yes!¡± As Lin Yu replied, he looked at Yun Qingwu who was standing amongst the crowd in a white dress.

    Lin Yu and Fang Zhengzhi did not hold any grudges between each other but Yun Qingwu was taken away from Lin Yu by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Because of this...

    Lin Yu would definitely not ept the humiliation.

    Because he could not ept the humiliation, he took the initiative and returned to the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race after Qin Xian died and vowed to be loyal to ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    Now that the chance was right in front of him, how could he possibly let the chance go?

    Nangong Mu fell silent.

    In terms of skill level, Lin Yu was not the most powerful amongst the four Godly State experts. Mu Xing was, in fact, more powerful.

    That was the reason why Nangong Mu had assigned Mu Xing to take on the final round with him.

    He could guess who would be his opponent in the third round and the third round would be the round in which the winner was determined and he could not afford to have anything going wrong.

    However, Lin Yu¡¯s determination caused him to waver.

    ¡°Alright, both of us shall take the third round!¡± Nangong Mu finally nodded his head after a moment of consideration.

    He changed his mind because he knew that the state of mind was what made one powerful and not because he was easily swayed by others.

    Lin Yu¡¯s attitude told Nangong Mu that once he gave Lin Yu a chance to fight against Fang Zhengzhi, Lin Yu would definitely go all out.

    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Lin Yu thanked Nangong Mu quickly and without saying anything else, he quickly went to the back of Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Mu Xing,¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Mu Xing stepped out.

    ¡°You shall lead the other two Godly State experts and one Monster King for the first round,¡±manded Nangong Mu.

    ¡°We are sending three Godly State experts for the first round?!¡± Mu Xing did not hear the conversation between Nangong Mu and Lin Yu because they blocked out their voices when they were talking.

    Therefore, Mu Xing was rtively shocked when he heard Nangong Mu¡¯smands.

    ¡°Hmm, win the first round, you must win and cannot lose!¡± Nangong Mu nodded.

    ¡°Roger!¡± Although Mu Xing did not understand the rationale behind this, themander was Nangong Mu and he could not over-question his decisions.

    Sending three Godly State experts for the first round?

    Could it be that ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ had a way to force Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the first round and therefore he was sending the three of them to fight against Fang Zhengzhi?

    Mu Xing started to make guesses.

    However, he still followed Chou Qi¡¯smands. After calling for the other two Godly State experts, he went to the center of the battleground with them and another powerful Monster King.

    ¡°Three?!¡±

    ¡°What is happening?!¡±

    ¡°Chou Qi sent out three Godly State experts in the first round? Is he mad?!¡±

    ¡°Indeed he had a lot of back-ups, how are we going to fight against three Godly State experts? We have no chance of winning at all, this is forcing Fang Zhengzhi to participate in the first round!¡±

    Following the appearance of the three Godly State experts and a Monster King, the disciples of the Human Alliance showed an expression of disbelief.

    Then, they turned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    With the powers of three Godly State experts, if Fang Zhengzhi did not participate, how else could they win?

    No way!

    The only way to win was to send Fang Zhengzhi out!

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are they trying to do?¡± Ping Yang turned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in shock.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Instead of answering directly, Fang Zhengzhi asked her.

    ¡°Forcing you to participate in the first round?¡±

    ¡°How smart.¡±

    ¡°So... are you going to participate?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°No? Then won¡¯t we lose?¡± Ping Yang was evidently indignant.

    ¡°The winner is decided if he wins two out of the three rounds. Don¡¯t be anxious, let them win one round first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not worried at all and pointed at the direction of the voice earlier on. ¡°Where was the person who was talking earlier on? Stand out and let me see who is starting amotion at the back.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance looked at each other and blushed before taking a step back instinctively.

    ¡°Those who took a step back, you, you, you and you... stand out.¡± The crowd quickly moved aside after Fang Zhengzhi pointed randomly.

    Almost instantly, three stunned disciples of the Human Alliance were singled out.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Uh... Fang Zhengzhi, no... Young Master Fang...¡±

    ¡°What Young Master Fang? You should call him Prince Cang, Prince Cang of the Great Xia Dynasty! No, wait... he should be called Sect Leader Fang, erm... I... I offended you earlier on, please forgive me, Sect Leader Fang.¡±

    ¡°Please forgive me, Sect Leader Fang!¡±

    Sweat covered the foreheads of the four disciples pointed out by Fang Zhengzhi. They knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tactics very well and did not dare to resist.

    ¡°Forgive you for what? It¡¯s time for you to make some aplishments. I have decided that the four of you will go in the first round,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi straightforwardly as he pointed to the center of the battleground.

    ¡°Ah?!¡± The four disciples were instantly stunned.

    Apart from him, the other disciples surrounding them as well as Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi all had their mouths agape in shock.

    He was sending them?!

    What on earth!

    The opponent sent out three Godly State experts and one powerful Monster King and they sent out four ordinary disciples who had just entered the Rebirth State

    Moreover, one of them was only at the Supernatural State.

    They were courting death!

    ¡°The future of the humankind is in your hands. I believe that you will be able to surpass your limits and kill all the four monsters and demons!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not worried at all.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi, and the rest fell speechless.

    Meanwhile, the faces of the four disciples turned red and started trembling. They were talented but were merely talents.

    One was at the Supernatural State and three were at the Rebirth State...

    Versus three Godly State experts and one powerful Monster King.

    What surpassing limits did Fang Zhengzhi mean?!

    The four disciples were not foolish. Even if they managed to surpass their limits, to what extent could they go? It would be a great aplishment if they could win a sage state.

    That was already surpassing their limits.

    However, what was the situation they were facing?!

    No matter how much they tried to surpass their limits, could they possibly surpass a Godly State expert?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are taking revenge!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are definitely abusing your powers to take revenge for personal grudges!¡±

    ¡°Since when did we offend you, the only thing we did was talk to you at a higher volume, do you really have to force us to this extent?¡±

    ¡°We refuse to ept this!¡±

    The four disciples of the Human Alliance opposed strongly.

    ¡°You mean you are afraid? You don¡¯t dare to attack because you are afraid? Or do the four of you want to be cowards and getughed at by others?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by the attitudes of the four disciples at all.

    How would he be surprised?

    If he was one of the four disciples, he would have also cursed. Besides cursing, he probably would have run away too.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°We are not cowards! We are just...¡±

    ¡°Just what? Think you can¡¯t win?¡± Fang Zhengzhi disrupted the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°...¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance fell silent.

    They couldn¡¯t win?

    Wasn¡¯t that obvious?

    How could the four of them possibly defeat three Godly State experts and a Monster King?

    However, they did not dare to admit it because after all, Fang Zhengzhi was at such a high status such that even their master was unable to disobey him.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you sure you are sending the few of them?¡± said Mo Shanshi as the four disciples were the disciples of his Fu Xi Valley.

    Moreover, they were slightly weaker ones.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Alright, the few of you shall go, don¡¯t embarrass Fu Xi Valley. Even if you die, die honorably!¡± Mo Shanshi stopped asking further.

    ¡°Master...¡± The four disciples looked depressed.

    They really could not imagine how they were sent to fight against three Godly State experts and one Monster King because they were a little too loud.

    How pathetic was that?

    How horrifying was that?

    ¡°Do the four of you not understand me?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡°No, Master, we understand. Even if we die, we will not embarrass Fu Xi Valley!¡± The four disciples exchanged nces before they gritted their teeth, stomped their feet and walked out towards the center.

    However, when they passed by Fang Zhengzhi, the four of them looked resentful, as though they were daughters-inw who got abused by their parents-inw.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t win, you can surrender,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi softly.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The four disciples were shocked and looked at him in disbelief.

    Surrender?!

    They could surrender in a martial artspetition that concerned the future of humankind?

    Holy goodness, did they mishear Fang Zhengzhi?

    The four disciples were in disbelief but they were very certain that they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    Although his voice was so soft that only the four of them could hear him.

    If the disciples still did not understand at this point in time, they would be really foolish.

    ¡°So this is apetition in which we can surrender!¡± The four disciples flushed with excitement.

    If they could not win, they could surrender, they had no stress at all.

    Meanwhile, Mu Xing, the two other Godly State experts, and a Monster King were evidently stunned when they saw the disciples of Human Alliance.

    What on earth?!

    They were Godly State experts and they had to fight with four ¡°lowly ranked¡± individuals.

    Was it an insult?

    ¡°So he really forfeited the first round?¡± Nangong Mu moved his lips and looked into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes confidently.

    With three Godly State experts, Fang Zhengzhi had to forfeit.

    He had no other choice.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, roars were heard.

    It came from the four disciples of the Human Alliance. Their voices were loud and clear and had an ear-deafening effect.

    However, the roars stopped very quickly.

    That was because, after shouting, the four disciples of the Human Alliance immediately dropped to the ground and surrendered without struggling at all.

    ¡°...¡± The three Godly State experts and the Monster King looked at each other furiously.

    Trying to fool with us!

    Surrender?!

    How would we allow you to surrender just like that!

    A beam of radiance shone from Mu Xing¡¯s hand. It split into two then into another two before shooting directly towards the four disciples of the Human Alliance.

    The four disciples of the Human Alliance turned pale.

    How could they endure the powerful attack made by the Godly State experts?

    They did not even have the power to defend themselves.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill us!¡±

    ¡°We already surrender, didn¡¯t we?!¡±

    The four disciples of the Human Alliance were desperate. They thought that they could surrender in this martial artspetition but they did not expect that Mu Xing did not even give them the opportunity to surrender.

    Just as that moment of despair...

    A beam of sword radiance shone behind them.

    Simrly, it split into two before splitting into another four. However, this sword radiance was silvery-white and looked like the radiance given out by the brightest moon.

    Boom!

    Countless cracks appeared on the ground and every crack was sharp and terrifying. However, the strange thing was that none of the cracks hit the four disciples of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Ah...¡± A miserable cry was heard.

    Mu Xing took a step back and cupped his head. His eyes were bright red and he looked like he was in agony.

    ¡°Why are you still attacking us after we surrendered? Do you really think you can take advantage of us humankind like that?¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi stood up and his blue robe flew in the wind.

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°He could hurt the Godly State expert using a strike of his sword, Fang Zhengzhi is really very powerful!

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    One simple sentence that Fang Zhengzhi said caused the Human Alliance and the four disciples on the ground to cry out in excitement.

    ¡®Do you really think you can take advantage of us humankind like that?!¡¯

    How charismatic was that!

    With such powerful support, the disciples felt that it was worth it to die for him.

    ¡°Sect Leader Fang, sorry for being a burden to the Human Alliance!¡± The four disciples knelt in the ground without hesitation despite Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s age and shamelessness.

    As the saying went, ¡®the capable one was the master¡¯.

    In front of Fang Zhengzhi, they were the disciples. Bowing down to Fang Zhengzhi was like bowing to their master.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you all did very well by luring the opponent to attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at Mu Xing whose soul was hurt by his strike.

    He had already figured out that ¡®Chou Qi¡±s intention was a martial artspetition. ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ has never changed his mind despite the various rounds of probing.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi would make good use of the rules of thepetition.

    Mu Xing did not follow the rules of the martial artspetition.

    Therefore, he was looking for trouble.

 Chapter 997 - The Blossoms Blooming Wildly on the Mountain Top!

    <h4>Chapter 997: The Blossoms Blooming Wildly on the Mountain Top!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°So this is the Ghost Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?¡± Nangong Mu looked at Mu Xing who was in agony and tightened his fist but eventually kept quiet.

    ¡°Mu Xing, are you alright?¡± The other two Godly State experts asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Mu Xing nodded and gave an extremely chilling look. However, he felt astonished and fear overwhelmed him.

    Too powerful!

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to hurt him with a strike of his sword!

    If he had not experienced this personally, he would not have imagined how powerful Fang Zhengzhi had be.

    ¡°Shameless brat, let¡¯s kill him now!¡±

    ¡°No, wait for the end of thepetition!¡±

    ¡°Hmm... fine!¡±

    Mu Xing and the other two Godly State experts gritted their teeth and retreated quickly.

    The first round ofpetition ended like that.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi injured Mu Xing while Mu Xing attacked the four disciples of the Human Alliance, he still lost this round.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race won the first round.

    They had to proceed onto the second round of thepetition.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, ording to the rules, since we sent out our representatives first in the first round, shouldn¡¯t you send your representatives first in the second round?¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°There¡¯s such a rule?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Nangong Mu nodded.

    ¡°But you did not seem to follow the rules earlier on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Mu Xing who had an ugly expression and said.

    ¡°But you attacked too.¡± Nangong Mu was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shamelessness.

    ¡°Hmm, you are right, do you mean that you gave me permission to attack Mu Xing?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Hearing this, Nangong Mu was taken aback slightly but started tough again as he had already understood what Fang Zhengzhi implied.

    He was trying to sow dissent.

    That was exactly like Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character.

    However, Nangong Mu definitely would not give Fang Zhengzhi the chance to do that. Heughed coldly and did not reply, agree nor deny.

    ¡°Alright, since you have no objection to me punishing Mu Xing, then we shall do things ording to the rules. For the second round... we will send out our representatives first!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said again.

    ¡°Please go ahead.¡± Nangong Mu nodded.

    Without saying much, Fang Zhengzhi turned around and went beside Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi and greeted them.

    His actions surprised them.

    They looked at each other and did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant. Why did he suddenly be respectful to them?

    However, they quickly figured it out.

    ¡°For this round, may I please ask for the both of you to choose the most powerful individuals from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Fu Xi Valley respectively and head to the battlefield together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi waited for Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s reply after he finished his sentence.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi frowned.

    They had no problems with one round of thepetition. However, the Human Alliance had already forfeited the first round ofpetition, how could they afford to lose again for the second round?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you sure you are sending me and Old Man Mo for the second round?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked after a moment of silence.

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°But what if they...¡± Mu Qingfeng still had something to say.

    ¡°There is no ¡®what if¡¯s.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and disrupted Mu Qingfeng¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Without saying anything else, Mu Qingfeng turned and looked at two elders of the Heaven Dao Pavilion who had cold appearances.

    Fang Zhengzhi recognized both of them.

    One of them was the second elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion who once chased after him under the foot of the cliff of the Sword Peak, and the other was an old stranger.

    ¡°Sect Leader Fang, long time no see, regarding the incident that took ce in the Heaven Dao Pavilion...¡± The second elder¡¯s lips trembled as he walked out from the crowd.

    ¡°The incident that took ce at the foot of the sword peak has got nothing to do with the second elder.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand.

    ¡°Thank you, Sect Leader Fang! If Sect Leader Fang trusts us, we will take on the second round of thepetition!¡± The second elder was stunned when he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    From his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi, he was not a person who was ¡°happy and forgiving¡±.

    In fact, he was exactly the opposite of that!

    Fang Zhengzhi would definitely take revenge and would not show mercy.

    That was why the Second Elder had decided to hide amongst the crowd after Fang Zhengzhi revealed himself.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words made the second elder slightly surprised as Fang Zhengzhi did not show any intention to take revenge.

    ¡°Don¡¯t need to thank me yet, after this battle, I will settle the bills with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi held up his hand and replied.

    ¡°...¡± The Second Elder was stunned again.

    The other elders looked at each other with bitter smiles.

    Didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi say it had got nothing to do with the Second Elder?

    So why did he say he would settle the bills with the Second Elder?

    Indeed, Fang Zhengzhi was an unreliable person, nobody would believe him when he said he would not take revenge.

    Mu Qingfeng also felt troubled.

    The incident that involved Fang Zhengzhi and the Heaven Dao Pavilion ought to be something that had nothing to do with whether it was right or wrong. However, the world was as such.

    One had the rule if one had a stronger fist.

    In thest, Heaven Dao Pavilion has a stronger fist and therefore Fang Zhengzhi would not have headed to the Heaven Dao Pavilion to settle the old bill.

    However, times had changed.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s fist became strong now.

    With this change, the Heaven Dao Pavilion could not do anything when Fang Zhengzhi came to settle the old bills. They could only smile and try to deal with it.

    However, Mu Qingfeng was rather heartened by something.

    At least, he did not see an obvious killing intent in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes when he looked at the second elder. This meant that this issue could be discussed.

    If it could be discussed, it could be resolved.

    ¡°Cough cough... Thank you, Second Elder!¡± Mu Qingfeng did not dwell over this issue and decided to end it quickly.

    ¡°For the future of humankind, I will fight till my death!¡± The Second Elder was determined.

    ¡°Alright, we are done with our selection too!¡± At this moment, Mo Shanshi came forward with an elder from the Fu Xi Valley.

    ¡°Old man Mo, can you do it? If not, we can look for someone else.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t?! Why can¡¯t I? If an emaciated camel was bigger than a horse, of course, I, Mo Shanshi can do it! Even if I was about to die, do you dare to say that you are more powerful than me?¡± Mo Shanshi was indignant.

    ¡°Alright alright, you can!¡± Mu Qingfeng was speechless but still asked for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you really think that the four of us can do this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else.

    However, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance were all extremely worried as they thought that Fang Zhengzhi would go in the second round.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi sent Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi instead.

    Could they really win?

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were doubtful.

    However, if Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi did not have any objections, as disciples, they could not object too.

    ...

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race looked in disbelief when the four of them stood in the center.

    ¡°They sent Mu Qingfeng?!¡±

    ¡°Are they surrendering right away?¡±

    ¡°Four Sages, as long as either Sir Lin Yu or Sir Chou Qi goes, we should be able to win this round?¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race startedughing.

    Mu Xing and the two other Godly State experts looked shocked. If they had not gone in the first round, they would definitely have volunteered to go now.

    ¡°Lin Yu, you should go for this round!¡± One of the Godly State experts looked at Lin Yu.

    ¡°No, both Sir Chou Qi and I are not going for this round.¡± Lin Yu shook his head gently and said even though he was unwilling to let the Human Alliance win.

    ¡°Why, we could have won?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, wasn¡¯t the winner decided by winning two of the three rounds?¡±

    ¡°If Sir Lin Yu is not confident to go alone, you could go with Sir Chou Qi, both of you can definitely win this round.¡±

    The Monster Kings and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were confused.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of winning a meaninglesspetition?¡± Nangong Mu looked at the Monster Kings and said coldly.

    ¡°...¡± The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race fell silently instantly.

    Meanwhile, Mu Xing and the other two Godly State experts looked at one another.

    As the Godly State expert, they understood what Nangong Mu meant. This type of consciousness was not something that a weak person would have.

    A real powerful individual!

    Would definitely not fight with a weak individual.

    Just like the three Godly State experts, although they won one round extremely easily, none of them felt that it was an honorable achievement.

    Not only did they not feel honorable, but they felt humiliated.

    That was the same situation they were facing now.

    If they only sent Lin Yu, apart from only having a 50-50 chance of winning this round, if they had lost this round, they would definitely lose the final round when ¡°Chou Qi¡± was up against Fang Zhengzhi.

    In that case, they would have lost the overall battle.

    Of course, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race indeed had a choice now, to send both Lin Yu and Chou Qi, the Godly state experts to fight against Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    If they did that, they would definitely secure their win.

    However, thepetition would then be meaningless.

    The reason was simple...

    The ¡°ideology¡± of the Human Alliance was not broken.

    In other words, as long as Fang Zhengzhi did not lose, the Human Alliance would not surrender willingly. If they did not surrender willingly, thepetition would be meaningless.

    It was a little forceful, but that was the thought that went through the mind of a powerful individual.

    ¡°Go, the four of you.¡± Without any other exnations, Nangong Mu pointed to the four Monster Kings who were standing behind the Godly State experts.

    ¡°Roger!¡± The four Monster Kings exchanged gazes and stepped out.

    They were powerful Monster Kings who had their own dignity. Even though they were facing a powerful human-like Mu Qingfeng, they were fearless.

    That was the dignity of a Monster King!

    Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the four Monster Kings.

    In fact, the sequence of the second round of thepetition...

    Was more important than the first!

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had already forfeited in the first round and allowed the Monster Race and Demon Race to win. Therefore, he could not afford to lose the second round.

    Initially, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to y cheat on the sequence of the second round too.

    However, he changed his mind.

    That was because the feeling that ¡°Chou Qi¡± gave him was very different. It was a feeling of steadiness and calmness as though he had already made up his mind.

    That meant that ¡°Chou Qi¡± already had a n.

    ¡°He was indeed targeting me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could easily win the second round.

    In fact...

    He was also betting that ¡°Chou Qi¡± would choose to forfeit the second round in order to fight against him in the third round.

    The reason was very simple.

    If ¡°Chou Qi¡± really wanted to kill the Human Alliance, he could have taken action long ago. With the capability of five Godly State experts and the powerful troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, they had an absolute advantage and no longer needed an unnecessarypetition.

    However, ¡°Chou Qi¡± brought up the terms for thispetition.

    That means there was only one possibility. ¡°Chou Qi¡± not only wanted to win thepetition between the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, but he also wanted to take over the entire Human Alliance.

    There was a ssic story in the Three Kingdoms in the past world.

    Zhuge Liang¡¯s seven captures of Meng Huo.

    It was a story about how Zhuge Liang caught Meng Huo seven times and released him seven times, eventually securing his troops.

    Many people could not understand what Zhuge Liang was doing and thought he was wasting time

    However, in reality, because of this, Zhuge Liang was able to attack and control his troops without any reservations.

    ¡°Chou Qi¡± was like Zhuge Liang.

    ¡°Trying to go against me in the third round? I wonder... where did you get your confidence from?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at ¡°Chou Qi¡± who was nearby. He wanted to peek at the gray haze underneath ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s cloak but gave up after a few tries.

    He had to give up as he did not manage to peek.

    It was simple logic.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had a strong feeling that ¡°Chou Qi¡± was very strange andpletely different from the Chou Qi he had met before.

    It felt as though they were two different people.

    Be it their state of mind or character of how they carried out their actions, they werepletely different.

    Could it be that...

    He was not Chou Qi but Chou Ba?

    Boom! A loud boom broke Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thoughts as the battle between the two teams had begun.

    However, instead of looking at the battle, ¡°Chou Qi¡± looked at the surroundings and the inverted mountains.

    ¡°Sir, what are you looking at?¡± Lin Yu¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°Mountains,¡± replied Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Mountains? Hmm... these mountains are strange.¡± Upon hearing this, Lin Yu also looked at the surroundings and said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they are strange,¡± said Nangong Mu.

 Chapter 998 - The Story of the Toad and the Monster

    <h4>Chapter 998: The Story of the Toad and the Monster</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange?¡± Lin Yu looked at the inverted mountains and the waterfalls that flowed upwards.

    Wasn¡¯t it strange for the mountains and waterfalls to be inverted?

    Although Lin Yu was an ancient powerful individual who had encountered numerous strange events, the inversion of mountains and rivers was not easily seen.

    However, Lin Yu did not continue probing as after all, everything had their own opinions.

    It was simr to how different people interpreted a painting differently.

    Nangong Mu stared at the surroundings extremely closely from left to right and did not miss out any details.

    Meanwhile, thepetition was still going on.

    Mu Qingfeng was indeed very powerful. He was at the peak of the Sage State and was once recognized as one of the most powerful Sages in the Holy Region. Besides that, he was also the Pavilion Master of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Both his capability and experience could be described to be experienced and vicious.

    Crack! An arm of one of the Monster Kings was crushed by Mu Qingfeng. He spat out a mouthful of blood and kept retreating.

    Evidently, none of the Monster Kings could match up to Mu Qingfeng if they fought one on one.

    The so-called ¡°a starving camel is still bigger than a horse¡± theory by Mo Shanshi was rather urate. Although he suffered grave injuries in the battle with Qin Xian, fortunately, he had enough time to recover and recuperate. Now, he was attacking rather ferociously.

    Under Mo Shanshi¡¯s control, the ck giant hammer was extremely powerful and forced the Monster Kings to retreat as sweat trickled down their faces.

    Both the second elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the elder of the Fu Xi Valley were both rxed too.

    The golden seal in the second elder of the Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s hand flipped over and shrouded the four of thempletely. The spinning golden sword on the golden seal made him even more powerful.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew the capability of the second elder.

    Attack of the golden seal, defense of the golden seal, be it attack or defense, the golden seal was the best at it and was only slightly weaker than Mu Qingfeng in terms of the Enlightenment State.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t lose to them!¡±

    ¡°We must defeat these humans!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were anxious when they saw the four disadvantaged Monster Kings. Although they knew that they would have probably lost this round when they saw Mu Qingfeng, they were reluctant to lose.

    However, the difference in their level of skills was very obvious.

    Without Godly State experts, no matter how powerful the Monster Race and Demon Race were, they were unable to defend against the Human Alliance. The oue of this round was already determined.

    The four Monster Kings held on with all their might but was unable to defend against the violent attacks of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s team. Soon after, one of the Monster Kings was heavily injured.

    Meanwhile, the faces of the other three Monster Kings were pale.

    They did not want to lose but Mu Qingfeng was too powerful. Although he was below the Godly State, he could indeed be called the most powerful Sage of the Sage State.

    ¡°Die!¡± As Mu Qingfeng roared coldly, his finger sword struck the forehead of the Monster King and the force caused the Monster King to fly back.

    Two of the Monster Kings were heavily injured.

    The other two Monster Kings gritted their teeth. They wanted to go all out but would they be able to turn the tides if the oue had already been determined?

    The concern here was not their willingness to fight but whether it was worth it or not.

    It was unwise for them to fight if it was not meaningless.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Along with two loud ps of thunder, seven golden king swords stabbed the bodies of the remaining two Monster Kings and bloody cuts were made.

    Blood spurted out from the two Monster Kings¡¯ bodies.

    The floor had been stained red.

    Aspared to the first round of thepetition between the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, the second round was much more violent and all the four Monster Kings suffered heavy injuries.

    ¡°We won!¡± Mu Qingfeng stepped on one of the Monster Kong¡¯s chest and a bright light shone from his finger sword.

    ¡°...¡± The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race fell silent.

    Meanwhile, the four heavily injured Monster Kings gritted their teeth. Although they were all unwilling to ept it, they had to admit that there was a huge difference in terms of the level of skills.

    ¡°We have lost.¡± The four Monster Kings looked at each other and said in unison.

    ¡°We won!¡±

    ¡°We really won!¡±

    ¡°One loss and one win, we have a chance!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance finally regained their senses and cheered in excitement.

    They had initially thought that they would not stand a chance to win at all in thispetition. However, now they were at a draw with the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi from the Human Alliance had yet to go on the battlefield.

    There was hope!

    There was really hope!

    They had never been so excited before in their lives. They felt like they saw the light of hope in the darkness of despair.

    Of course, while they felt excited, their attention fell upon one person.

    Fang Zhengzhi!

    He was an extremely shameless person who had been despised and even hated by the disciples of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Hey now, he was the one who brought light to their darkness of despair.

    ¡°Shameless brat, how did you guess that ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ will not send any Godly State experts in the second round?¡± Ping Yang turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and she could not hide the excitement as well as confusion in her eyes.

    ¡°Because this Chou Qi is not the real Chou Qi.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°This Chou Qi... is not the real Chou Qi? What do you mean?¡± Ping Yang looked even more confused.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not continue to answer Ping Yang as he was also not sure about the answer.

    So...

    What exactly happened?

    ¡°Ping Yang, should we settle our bet?¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s voice was heard at this moment and there was a hint of a smile in her ck eyes.

    However, it was a smile as though she saw money.

    She managed to get 10,000 ounces of gold so easily like that!

    How would she not smile?

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ping Yang pouted and looked extremely unhappy. However, she was somewhat helpless. She wanted to win Wu Yuer initially but ended up losing.

    How would she be cool with that?

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s character was good and she had no intention of ying cheat. ¡°I will never go back on my words, isn¡¯t it just 10,000 ounces of gold, I will pass them to you after I return to the pce in the Great Xia.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Wu Yuer did not probe further as she knew that 10,000 ounces of gold were nothing to Ping Yang.

    ...

    Nangong Mu stopped looking at the inverted scenery and took two steps forward gradually.

    ¡°One win and one loss. The winner is determined by this final round.¡± Nangong Mu said quietly and was not unhappy because he lost the second round.

    ¡°It seems like so.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head and walked out from the crowd into the center of the stage.

    ¡°I wonder who you are sending to take part in the final round with you?¡± Nangong Mu asked again.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be the one sending out your participants first?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked as he smiled and looked at Lin Yu who was behind Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Hmm, yes indeed.¡± Nangong Mu nodded and looked behind.

    Lin Yu knew what Nangong Mu meant and took a step forward with the two Monster Kings who were pre-selected. All of them looked extremely stern.

    The two Monster Kings were the most powerful amongst the monster kings. In fact, they were ranked just below Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    One of them was almost as powerful as Mu Qingfeng.

    It was a female monster that changed her form to a charming man. She was female but she wore a white outfit of a man and had extremely fair skin.

    If not for her thin waist and bulging chest, one could definitely not tell that she was a female.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, this Monster King is called ¡®Ling Ning¡¯, she is the servant of Monster Emperor Baizhi and is very powerful. Her real form is a three-eyed poisonous toad. Her speed of attack is extremely fast and you have to be careful of her third eye!¡± Mu Qingfeng reminded Fang Zhengzhi when he saw the Ling Ning step out.

    ¡°Poisonous toad? You mean an ugly toad?¡± [1. Fang Zhengzhi had used another term that referred to ¡®toad¡¯ in a negative manner] Looking at the female monster named ¡®Ling Ning¡¯, Fang Zhengzhi sighed to himself, indeed...

    One couldn¡¯t judge a monster by her looks.

    This fair-skinned female monster was actually a toad?

    ¡°Ugly told?¡± Mu Qingfeng was speechless. In the Holy Region, probably only Fang Zhengzhi dared to call a powerful three-eyed poisonous toad an ¡®ugly toad¡¯.

    However, it was not the time to dwell over this now.

    That was because Mu Qingfeng knew that the Monster Race and Demon Race had reserved their powers in the second round when Ling Ning walked out.

    This meant that the Monster Race and Demon Race also ce all their bets on the third round.

    One round to determine the winner!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, both of these Monster Kings are powerful. Both old man Mo and I are not confident of winning with a hundred strikes. Who are you nning to send to fight alongside with you?¡± Mu Qingfeng hesitated a little before he gingerly asked the question.

    Mo Shanshi and the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance also turned to Fang Zhengzhi.

    The winner was determined by this round.

    They would definitely not hold back.

    ¡°Yan Xiu,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm... Alright, and?¡± Mu Qingfeng paused for a moment and nodded. Although Yan Xiu was young, he was almost as powerful as Mu Qingfeng.

    Moreover, Yan Xiu was friends with Fang Zhengzhi.

    The two of them had good chemistry.

    Mu Qingfeng had no objections for Yan Xiu to participate in the third round of thepetition.

    ¡°And I have to trouble Uncle Yan.¡± Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi turned to Yan Qianli who was standing amongst the crowd.

    ¡°Yan Qianli?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked surprised.

    Although Yan Qianli was also a powerful sage, he did not enter the sage state for a long time and only had reached the first stages of the sage state.

    Although Yan Qianli secured the Dao of Asura of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, aspared to the powerful elders of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he was stillcking.

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and Yan Qianli were also surprised and looked stunned when they heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked again.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Alright, then we shall proceed with your decision. Thank you, Prince Yan!¡± Although Mu Qingfeng was not sure why Fang Zhengzhi made this decision, he did not probe further.

    Mo Shanshi, however, had the intention to ask.

    However, after hearing what Mu Qingfeng said, he swallowed his words and ended up keeping silent.

    ¡°I have a suggestion for thest representative ¡ª elder ¡®Gu Yuan¡¯ of the Fu Xi Valley. You should have met him at the Heaven Dao Pavilionst time. Elder Gu, for the third round, we are putting the Human Alliance in your hands!¡± continued Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°I will definitely fight with all my might!¡± Hearing this, elder Gu Yuan of the Fu Xi Valley quickly stepped out from the crowd.

    ¡°Elder Gu, please describe your skills in detail to Fang Zhengzhi, remember to protect Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli!¡± adviced Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Alright, my Dao is...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I have already decided on the fourth person, it¡¯s Ping Yang.¡± Fang Zhengzhi disrupted Gu Yuan¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°Ping Yang?!¡± Mo Shanshi was shocked.

    Apart from him, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance were also very shocked and acted as though they heard something extremely unbelievable.

    ¡°Why was it Ping Yang?!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s so young, even if she had entered the sage state, her foundations are weak!¡±

    ¡°Be it her foundations, her state or her experience, Ping Yang was waycking in those aspects. We are doomed to lose if we sent her for the third round!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were in disbelief.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng smiled bitterly after hearing what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    He had always stayed beside Fang Zhengzhi and have heard the conversation earlier on in which Fang Zhengzhi decided to let Ping Yang take on the third round.

    Precisely because he heard Fang Zhengzhi, he did not ask Fang Zhengzhi about thest representative and appointed Gu Yuan directly instead.

    After all, the third round was way too important.

    Did he want to send Ping Yang?

    Wasn¡¯t he messing around?

    Mu Qingfeng had some reservations with sending Yan Qianli up but he did not express it eventually.

    The reason was that although Yan Qianli was not as powerful as the elders of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he was close to Yan Xiu.

    The two of them had a lot of chemistry and could work together well, that was extremely crucial.

    Moreover, although Yan Qianli was slightlycking in his cultivation state, he was very experienced in battles. After all, Yan Qianli was a soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles and his skills were trained because of the battles.

    Although he was slightly weaker in terms of power, he was still considered a suitable representative.

    However, who was Ping Yang?

    Sending her up to court death?!

 Chapter 999 - Leaving Behind Oneâ€™s Name for Years

    <h4>Chapter 999: Leaving Behind One¡¯s Name for Years</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°No, Ping Yang can¡¯t go, I... I oppose strongly!¡± Mu Qingfeng gritted his teeth and said firmly.

    If they had no chance of winning, Mu Qingfeng would allow Fang Zhengzhi to do anything he wanted to do.

    However, they had managed toe so far and smelt victory, how could Mu Qingfeng possibly allow such things to happen?

    Although he knew Fang Zhengzhi would probably not listen to him...

    He still said it out loud.

    Even if his power as an individual was insufficient, what about the entire Human Alliance¡¯s power? No matter how stubborn Fang Zhengzhi was, he should listen to everyone¡¯s opinion, right?

    That was what Mu Qingfeng thought.

    After Mu Qingfeng spoke, the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance expressed their agreements.

    ¡°I agree with Pavilion Master Mu!¡±

    ¡°Precisely, Ping Yang is still young. Even if she needed an opportunity to train, this is not the asion to do it. Ping Yang will definitely lose to two Godly State experts and a Monster King like Ling Ning!¡±

    ¡°Exactly, the Human Alliance¡¯s final hope cannot die in Ping Yang¡¯s hands!¡±

    Every single disciple of the Human Alliance had a firm expression.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®Human Alliance¡¯s final hope cannot die in Ping Yang¡¯s hands¡¯? I am very powerful, whoever who does not believe can fight with me!¡± Ping Yang could not hold in further after hearing this.

    In fact, she was initially worried as although Fang Zhengzhi had promised her to send her in the third round, she was slightly fearful when she saw the opponents sent by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, even though she was fearful...

    The worst case scenario was to quit!

    Ping Yang had already chosen to keep silent but was still used by others to be the one ¡°killing¡± the hopes of the humankind, how could she be pleased with that kind ofments?

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance shut their mouths.

    None of them were weak and everyone was a sage. However, no matter what, they were not powerful when they considered Ping Yang¡¯s identity and her rtionship with Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, she had powerful support!

    ¡°I have my reasons for choosing Ping Yang.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was initially not nning to exin himself but after considering that this battle affected the future of the Human Alliance, he decided to exin.

    ¡°What reason? Ping Yang is too weak, she cannot even defend against a Monster King like ¡®Ling Ning¡¯, what could she do if she went for the third round?¡± Mu Qingfeng who was usually gentle with his words became very assertive.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, can we discuss this first, you may not know how powerful Gu Yuan is but I know. Why not listen to my description of his skills before you make a decision? If you still insist on sending Ping Yang after my description, I, Mo Shanshi, will definitely not object!¡± Mo Shanshi tried to persuade Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright, Speak, Valley Master Mo.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we can discuss in peace. Old man Mu, you aren¡¯t like this usually?¡± Mo Shanshi smiled after Fang Zhengzhi agreed.

    Hearing this, Mu Qingfeng moved his lips and did not say anything else. Instead, he winked at Mo Shanshi.

    His expression was obvious. He was trying to tell Mo Shanshi to describe Gu Yuan¡¯s powers as detailed as possible.

    Mo Shanshi definitely understood what Mu Qingfeng meant.

    As long as Fang Zhengzhi could be persuaded, not only would Mu Qingfeng be willing to endure, but he would even be willing to get pped.

    ¡°Elder Gu Yuan¡¯s skills are...¡± As Mo Shanshi said, he lowered down his volume and set up a sound barrier within the Human Alliance. ¡°Elder Gu entered the Holy Dao after his sessful interpretation of the Eight Diagrams, even though it was not as powerful as the Dao of Asura in terms of attacking power, its defense... I won¡¯t dare to say that I am more powerful than him, especially since he could change his opponents¡¯ positions continuously!¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is very important!¡± Mu Qingfeng added on as he could not hold it in.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Mo Shanshi finally got the chance to scold Mu Qingfeng and definitely had to make use of it. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, think of this... there are four people and only you can fight against Lin Yu and Chou Qi. If he could change your position at any time, then you would be able to take care of the others, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm... this is very important!¡± Mu Qingfeng really could not hold it in.

    ¡°Old brat, will you die if you kept silent? Can you let me finish?¡± Mo Shanshi was mad and did not care about Mu Qingfeng¡¯s reputation.

    ¡°Alright, you continue, I am listening.¡± Mu Qingfeng was not mad and was in fact submissive.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was patiently listening and admiring the skit put up by the pair of old ¡°friends¡±.

    Not bad, the two old men were good at coordinating with each other.

    They had put on a very good skit. One was acting as a firm and strict person and the other acted as the one trying to persuade others.

    Fang Zhengzhi was really reluctant to dismiss them. He could only give a sigh in his heart, ¡®continue performing, if you persuade me, you win.¡¯

    That was what went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi heard the description of Gu Yuan¡¯s skills and had to admit that he was powerful.

    In order for Mo Shanshi to say that he might not even be as good at defense as Gu Yuan, Gu Yuan¡¯s defense skills must be really excellent.

    Moreover, the ability to change one¡¯s position was somewhat interesting. It was equivalent to setting up a formation in a constrained space and make use of the formation to lead and giving one the ability to ¡®shift forms¡¯.

    However, was this useful?

    It would be in an ordinary battle.

    However, it was useless in today¡¯s battle. In fact, not only was it useless, but it would disrupt Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tempo and steps of attack.

    The reason was simple...

    Fang Zhengzhi chose Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli.

    Who were they?

    Swords!

    Two most powerful swords for attacking!

    The Dao of Asura was a Dao that made use of attack as a means of defense and would not take back its attack after taking action.

    At this moment, introducing a Gu Yuan who was powerful at defense and could change the four people¡¯s positions casually was definitely causing a disruption.

    Of course, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi had their own opinions.

    They were old and liked the battle to be steady.

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand this. Gu Yuan was indeed the most suitable person to send if he wanted a steady battle.

    That was because Gu Yuan could perfectly make up for theck of defense ability of Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli.

    However, it caused a problem too.

    The reason was simple...

    This was not a battle that required steadiness.

    There was only one reason to exin why ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ was willing to give up on the second round ofpetition: he had absolute confidence that he could win the third round.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi did not know where ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ got his confidence from, he knew that the third round could be described as a battle that would not end until one party was wiped out.

    As the saying went, enemies meet on a narrow path and the brave one wins.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose to use the two most powerful ¡°swords¡± with the highest attacking power, one on his left and one on his right, so how could he possibly choose another shield to be ced in front of the swords?

    That was an ironic behavior and Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish.

    As for why he chose Ping Yang...

    It was not because of his stubbornness. In fact, it was because Ping Yang was the only ¡°unpredictable factor¡± in the battle. She was a weakness, a weakness that could cause the loss of the Human Alliance.

    By right, Ping Yang would be the first target of the two Monster Kings.

    That was precisely Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n.

    For a battle between two individuals with a simr level of power, if both parties decide to be reserved, the oue of this battle would probably not be out even after seven days and nights.

    In the end, willpower would be the determining factor.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have that level of willpower to fight with ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ and Lin Yu. After all, be it Yan Xiu or Yan Qianli, none of them were in the defense line.

    Attacking would be the most exhaustive!

    Since Fang Zhengzhi chose to attack, he would definitely not prolong the battle. He was not afraid of ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ to attack him but was afraid that ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ would not attack. Therefore, he wanted to put a ¡°point of weakness¡± out there for the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡®Come and attack us!¡¯

    ¡®Let¡¯s attack each other!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to force ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ to attack him with their weakness.

    Of course, this n was both extremely risky and profitable. However, fortunately, Ping Yang, the ¡°weakness¡± could read his mind.

    Since he had decided on his n, how would he be easily swayed by Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s ¡°skit¡±?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, with this, you can rest assured and attack without having to worry about Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli. You just need to find an opportunity to severely injure the two Monster Kings before the three other teammates put a restraint on Lin Yu. Then, you can fight it out with Chou Qi and I am at least 50 percent sure we will win!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s eyes lit up as though he saw the door of victory opening for him.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, with the help of Elder Gu, he will definitely try his best to help you take Chou Qi down!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded immediately and waspletely unafraid of Mo Shanshi¡¯s scolding.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded like a chicken.

    Mo Shanshi smiled.

    Mu Qingfeng also smiled.

    After spending so much efforts to describe Gu Yuan¡¯s skills in detail, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng were indeed very good at coborating.

    Especially Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression when he was mad but did not dare to express himself, wanted to say but was afraid of being scolded, and choosing to say even after he was being scolded. The conflicting thoughts and the mixed expression of hate and love...

    One was willing to hit the other while the other was willing to be hit. That skit was so real and well-performed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was almost persuaded.

    ¡°So, Fang Zhengzhi, you agreed?¡± Mo Shanshi asked him after exchanged nces with Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Agree with what?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    ¡°Agree with sending Gu Yuan up!¡± said Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Oh, you are referring to this? I will still send Ping Yang up,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as though he had just woken up from his dreams.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng froze on the spot.

    What the f*ck!

    After a painstaking round of acting, their efforts had gone to waste? After all these while, nothing had changed?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi did you hear us clearly? If you didn¡¯t, I will repeat it again. This time, you must listen...¡± After a while, Mo Shanshi regained his senses and said while trying to suppress his anger.

    ¡°I heard you well.¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off Mo Shanshi¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°You have heard me and you are still insisting on sending Ping Yang up? What exactly did you hear?¡± Mo Shanshi was in disbelief.

    ¡°I have heard very clearly. You said that you will not object if I still insist on sending Ping Yang after your description of Gu Yuan¡¯s skills,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi sincerely.

    ¡°...¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s face turned green.

    He was really green. If he was not 100 years old and had a white beard, he would definitely look like a jade statue that was green from head to toe.

    What the hell?

    What on earth was happening?

    Even if there was only a little bit of trust between two parties, they should not be saying such things?

    After saying so much, you only remembered this sentence?!

    Mo Shanshi was really so angry that he turned green.

    Mu Qingfeng, on the other hand, was ck instead of green. He was ck from head to toe. He had been scolded continuously since Mo Shanshi started talking.

    That was almost the sum of all the scoldings he had received for the past of his life.

    He had suffered so much...

    And the oue was so miserable.

    How would Mu Qingfeng not be angry?

    ¡°Alright, since both Valley Master Mo and Pavilion Master Mu has no objections, then the third round would be represented by me, Yan Xiu, Yan Qianli and Ping Yang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a happy expression after looking at Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng.

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s face turned even greener.

    It was crystal clear like a piece of jade.

    As for Mu Qingfeng...

    He looked extremely painful as though he had just consumed the most bitter herb on earth and had no choice but to suffer in silence.

    ¡°...¡± the disciples of the Human Alliance looked at each other with their eyes wide open.

    Therefore...

    They had patiently watched the three of them make mute hand signs for such a long time and the oue was unchanged?

    So why did they decide to mute hand signs?

    ¡°Thank you, uncle Yan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shifted his focus from Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng and bowed to Yan Qianli.

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure. I can still fight although I am old. Don¡¯tg behind me on the battlefield!¡± Yan Qianli was excited.

    He had fought as a soldier for his entire life, guarded at Western Liang and his name as Prince Yan brought him a bright future.

    However, after turning to a sage, Yan Qianli fell to the lowest point in his life. The powerful individual was like a forest and the sage state was like a cloud. He persisted forward with much trouble and hoped to reach the peak again someday.

    Today, he stood up.

    He stood up during the third round ofpetition that decided the future of humankind. Leaving behind his name for years, even if he died, what regrets would he have?

 Chapter 1000 - The Combined Massacre of the Five Daos

    <h4>Chapter 1000: The Combined Massacre of the Five Daos</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the ancient saying went, deaths could be both insignificant like a feather or extremely significant like a mountain.

    Yan Qianli was not afraid to die. He was only afraid to die meaninglessly and without being known. Therefore, how would he reject Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s offer to fight in the third round?

    Not only would he ept it but Yan Qianli in fact felt that it was a form of recognition.

    ¡°Godly State expert?! I, Yan Qianli, am not afraid!¡± Yan Qianli clenched his fists and went up to Fang Zhengzhi with his white hair flying in the wind.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang came beside Fang Zhengzhi. Her eyes showed a mixed expression as though she was both touched and confused at the same time.

    She was touched by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s determination but was also confused as to why Fang Zhengzhi was determined.

    After all, she was really not as powerful as Gu Yuan.

    Gu Yuan, on the other hand, felt helpless. However, since Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi stopped arguing, he could only step back quietly.

    The participants of the third round were confirmed. Representing the Human Alliance were Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, Yan Qianli and Ping Yang while ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, Lin Yu, Ling Ning, and another monster king represented the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    As the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race saw Ping Yang and Yan Qianli walk out from the Human Alliance, they were shocked as the two of them were not the most powerful in the Human Alliance.

    Why did they send the two of them?

    Besides the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Nangong Mu also frowned in confusion and surprise.

    He was not surprised by Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli but as for Ping Yang...

    ¡°Was he really so confident?¡± Nangong Mu felt that he was being underestimated by Fang Zhengzhi but he forcefully suppressed this thought.

    That was because he knew that Fang Zhengzhi would not make a rash decision.

    ¡°Can we begin now?¡± asked Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head slightly and took a step back, giving the ¡°main position¡± to Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡± The Human Alliance fell speechless immediately.

    ¡°...¡± Simrly, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race looked at each other and did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was up to.

    After Fang Zhengzhi took a step back, a hammer-shape formation was formed.

    Ping Yang was right in the center.

    Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli were at Ping Yang¡¯s left and right respectively.

    The most powerful Fang Zhengzhi was one foot behind Ping Yang and this was equivalent to cing Ping Yang at the main position for attack.

    ¡°What on earth is Fang Zhengzhi doing?¡±

    ¡°Not only did he send Ping Yang up but he ced Ping Yang in the center. Isn¡¯t this equivalent to forcing Ping Yang to court death?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, unless they wanted to attack by going around Ping Yang?¡±

    The Human Alliance did not know how to describe their feelings anymore as they felt that Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s positions were definitely swapped.

    Moreover...

    ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ and Lin Yu were standing directly opposite Ping Tang. This formation meant that Ping Yang was directly up against the two Godly State experts.

    ¡°This formation is somewhat strange.¡± A cold look shed across Lin Yu¡¯s eyes as he looked at Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi who was hiding behind her.

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Nangong Mu nodded. You¡¯re reading on B oxnovel.c om .Tks!

    ¡°Are they trying to confuse us? I don¡¯t care about this. We should kill this brat first before taking the old man and Yan Xiu down and then proceed to attack Fang Zhengzhi together. What do you think, sir?¡± said Lin Yu again.

    Nangong Mu did not answer Lin Yu immediately.

    That was because his initial n was to take down Fang Zhengzhi on his own and then allowing Lin Yu and the two other Monster Kings to take down the three other people.

    However, he felt helpless after Fang Zhengzhi went behind Ping Yang and had no intention to attack.

    If he wanted to attack Fang Zhengzhi, he had to first take Ping Yang, who was blocking Fang Zhengzhi, down.

    What exactly was their plot?

    Just as Nangong Mu was deep in thought, he realized that Ping Yang was even more impatient than him and immediately charged towards him.

    She shouted as she charged.

    ¡°Attack, I am going to kill the monsters and demons!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Kill the monsters and demons?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned when they saw the red zing mes on Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    This was an overexaggerated and unbelievable scene. Ping Yang, who had just entered the sage state, attacked the two Godly State experts with a zing Qilin Spear first.

    Even if she was to throw an egg on a stone, this was not the way to do it?

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Without waiting for Nangong Mu to reply, Lin Yu moved. How could he remain on the spot since Ping Yang had already charged towards him?

    A chilling airwave surged out ferociously and formed a powerful circle of cold stream of air around him. Meanwhile, an icy blue long sword was formed in the center of the cold stream of air.

    The long sword was an icy blue gigantic sword that was at least ten feet long. Ice blue flowers floated around the long sword like the radiance on it.

    Swoosh! The long sword flew towards Ping Yang.

    ¡°Is he trying to shift forms?¡± Nangong Mu looked at the long sword which was about to hit Ping Yang. Unlike Lin Yu, he was not anxious to attack.

    That was because even a fool would know that Fang Zhengzhi would not let Ping Yang fight against Lin Yu. Moreover, Nangong Mu knee Fang Zhengzhi extremely well.

    He was waiting!

    He was waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to exchange position with Ping Yang.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not move. Instead he was following closely behind Ping Yang and allowed her to dash towards the icy sword with her zing Qilin Spear,

    It was moving closer to her!

    Ping Yang was about to get stabbed by the gigantic icy sword.

    Two beams of bright red radiance struck the icy blue gigantic sword. It was the Dao of Asura, the Dao with the most powerful attacking power amongst the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    Boom! The ice blue gigantic sword was struck from the left and the right by the bright red beams and split open from the center.

    ¡°I aming!¡± With the expression to kill, Yan Qianli¡¯s entire body was radiating with red light and that thickyer of red light covered his eyes and body.

    Simrly, Yan Xiu was also covered by a red light.

    However, aspared to Yan Qianli, Yan Xiu was colder and looked like the Asura in hell holding a Silver Blood Fan which was flowing with light.

    ¡°Three versus one? Here¡¯s the chance!¡± The Monster king beside Ling Ning could not wait longer as he saw thebined attack of Ping Yang, Yan Qianli and Asura.

    Four versus four, so how would he make Lin Yu fight against three on his own?

    Roar!

    With a roar, the Monster King dashed towards Ping Yang. The two of his hands on the floor turned into two gigantic hoofs and three ck wings formed on his back.

    It was a strange beast with three wings. He looked like a bull but had three wings behind his back and four blue sharp ws.

    When he attacked, he turned into his original form as the Monster King.

    sh! As the Monster King continued to run, his extremely fast speed caused the air to vibrate.

    The two horns on the Monster Kong¡¯s head hit Ping Yang¡¯s slim waist.

    ¡°Aiya, I am about to die, save me!¡± Ling Yang¡¯s face turned pale as she saw the ¡°three-winged ferocious bull¡± charging towards him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Your Highness, I will definitely make sure you are not hurt as long as I am here!¡± Yan Qianli roared ferociously and stabbed the Monster King with the red spear that appeared in his hand.

    Boom!

    The red long sword stabbed the forehead of the Monster King but it did not prate it. Instead, it only made a bloody mark on his forehead.

    The Dao of Asura was very powerful.

    However, the defense of the Monster King was evidently more powerful.

    Roar! The Monster King raised his body and two white airwaves were emitted from his mouth. Without hesitation, he pounced towards Yan Qianli with his front ws.

    At this moment, there was a turn in the event.

    Yan Qianli, who was originally shrouded by the red radiance, saw a beam of azure blue radiance shing across his body. Although it disappeared after that instant, one could still see the remaining traces of the blue light.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± When Lin Yu saw the radiance, he knew that something was wrong. However, the Monster King was fighting a closebat with Yan Qianli. It was toote for him to stop him as they were too close to each other.

    In fact, not only was Lin Yu shocked, but Nangong Mu who was observing the unfolding of events was also shocked.

    He had been waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to save Ping Yang using the shifting form technique of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. However, he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi used the technique on Yan Qianli instead of Ping Yang.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t save Ping Yang? He saved Yan Qianli?!¡± Even Nangong Mu did not expect this to happen. It was toote when he wanted to attack.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had reached where Yan Qianli was standing at.

    Buzz! The sky changed colors and radiance of five different colors shot out together ¡ª blue, green, ck, red, silver ¡ª the five colors of radiance gathered on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head and formed a gigantic Rebirth te.

    Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao, Hell Dao, Dao of Asura, Ghost Dao.

    Five extremelyplicated symbols shone on five different areas of the Rebirth te and the brightness lit up the entire sky and it was as though the sky was painted with five colors.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Rebirth te, Five Rebirth Dao Techniques!¡±

    ¡°Thebined powers of the five Daos!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance stared at the Rebirth te above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head with their eyes wide open as it was their first time seeing such a strange phenomenon.

    ¡°So this brat really managed to master five of the six Rebirth Dao techniques?!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mouth hung open in extreme shock.

    He had seen the Rebirth te before during the battle at the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was not as terrifying then. He only barely managed to master three of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    However, even so, he was able to shock the world.

    Yet now, Fang Zhengzhi who had mastered the five Daos had really stood on the peak of the world and was able to defend against ancient Godly State experts.

    Recalling about the past...

    Mu Qingfeng felt speechless and had mixed emotions.

    It was as though everything was destined to happen.

    However, no matter what, everything was in the past. Fang Zhengzhi was indeed very powerful and caused one to shudder in fear.

    Buzz! The Rebirth te turned and the five-colored radiance umted in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and turned into a red long sword that flowed with a unique radiance.

    It was the same Dao of Asura but in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand, the long sword that was formed by the Dao of Asura had one more word...

    Combination!

    The difference of one word was tremendous.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Rebirth te in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned rapidly. He did not hold back as he would not let such a rare opportunity go.

    The red long sword stabbed the Monster King¡¯s forehead again.

    It was at the exact same position where the spear of Yan Qianli had struck.

    However, this sword managed to break through the defense of the Monster King and prated the forehead of the Monster King.

    Bam! The two sharp ws of the Monster Kingnded on Fang Zhengzhi but the attack was so weak that it was negligible.

    That was because the Monster King had lost his focus after his forehead was prated by the sword.

    He wanted to retreat.

    However, he did not have any way of retreating.

    A powerful force pulled his body to the ground and a few chains of different colors were tied onto his body.

    They either chose not to attack or attack with all their might.

    It was a battle in which everyone went full out and it affected the future of humankind. Although Fang Zhengzhi did not enjoy killing, he would definitely show mercy at such a moment.

    The long sword in the Monster Kong¡¯s forehead exploded and turned into beams of red sword radiance.

    Million Sword Illustration!

    The ultimate skill of the Divine Constabry!

    The sword radiance churned the head of the Monster King into pieces and made thousands of stabs on the body of the Monster King. Blood sttered all over the sky.

    ¡°He was indeed ruthless!¡± Lin Yu felt chills behind his back when he saw this. He knew that it was a battle that would result in many casualties but did not expect death to happen so quickly.

    Moreover, the powerful Monster King was the first to die.

    It was merely the start of the battle and...

    A Monster King had died?!

    Lin Yu seemed to have figured out that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s formation n was actually a huge trap.

    Using Ping Yang as the bait to lure their opponent.

    Then, they grabbed hold of the opportunity to kill their opponent.

    ¡°I see, Fang Zhengzhi, you have indeed made a very good formation n!¡± Nangong Mu also figured it out as he saw the Monster King turn into a bloody rain.

    If they looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s formation n as a person, it would be a person who had a sharp sword on each of his hands and exposed his body.

    Anyone would attack his exposed body when they saw him.

    However, if one attacked his exposed body, one would shockingly realize that the sharp swords were already at one¡¯s back.

    ¡°This brat is indeed more powerful than what we had imagined. Besides his powers... he was more powerful in his schemes. In fact, his schemes are unpredictable!¡± If Mo Shanshi did not see the scene unfold with his own eyes, he could not have imagined that to happen.

    It was too fast!

    The speed of murder was so fast that it was beyond imagination!

 Chapter 1001 - A Crazy Person!

    <h4>Chapter 1001: A Crazy Person!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Initially, Mu Qingfeng was close to desperation when Fang Zhengzhi insisted on sending Ping Yang up. However, the scene in front of him sent chills down his back.

    Pretending to be weak in front of his opponents although he was powerful.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s tactic was very risky but once he seeded, the rewards were extremely great too.

    Yan Qianli and Yan Xiu were two swords.

    When Ping Yang got attacked, everyone would think that Fang Zhengzhi would save her. In reality, he saved Yan Qianli and Yan Xiu instead.

    It seemed very simr but was extremely different.

    That was because an even more terrifying Fang Zhengzhi was backing up the two swords.

    The two powerful swords kept attacking from the left and right. In addition, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reserved attack from the back made this attack formation the most powerful one.

    Moreover...

    There was a significant weakness in this attack formation.

    It was like some tantalizing food ced directly in front of the Monster Race and Demon Race. It tempted them to take a bite.

    Bam! The body of the Monster King finally exploded and a golden monster pearl floated in the sky but was quickly kept by Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°So... Fang Zhengzhi who has the Heavenly Rebirth Dao can change his position by himself and did not need me...¡± Gu Yuan seemed to have figured out as he saw the Monster King explode.

    The Heavenly Rebirth Dao was unpredictable.

    In this situation, his Dao of Eight Diagrams would have disrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle tactic instead of helping him.

    ¡°Hmph, shameless brat, how dare you to not save me!¡± Ping Yang pouted as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi who had kept the monster pearl.

    ¡°You are so powerful, why would you need me to save you?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Ping Yang raises his chest and turned her zing Qilin Spear in her hands proudly as it caused a ferocious wave of mes.

    Then, Ping Yang dashed out again.

    ¡°Attack, I am going to kill some monsters and demons again!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were speechless as they stared at Ping Yang who charged towards Lin Yu.

    Wasn¡¯t she too cocky?

    She was so cocky although she was only at the starting stage of the Sage State?

    Moreover, Lin Yu actually hesitated and took a few steps back when he saw Ping Yang charging towards him.

    Boom! mes rose from the ground.

    Ping Yang was not powerful but she was definitely not weak when she held the zing Qilin Spear.

    The spear stabbed in the ground and caused small stones to fly all over the ce.

    The entire ground was burnt ck.

    Of course, Lin Yu¡¯s face was also very ck and in fact cker than the charred soil on the ground. After all, he was a Godly State expert.

    He actually retreated because of a girl who was at the initial stage of a Sage State?

    How humiliating was that!

    ¡°Sir, who shall we attack first?¡± Lin Yu did not want to ask this but he still asked.

    ¡°Ping Yang.¡± Nangong Mu tightened his fists.

    ¡°We are still attacking Ping Yang?¡± Lin Yu was a little confused.

    After all, even a fool could tell that Ping Yang was a trap set by Fang Zhengzhi intentionally. Even though they knew that she was a trap, they still wanted to attack her?

    Wasn¡¯t that jumping into the trap?

    ¡°Yes!¡± Without exining his decision, Nangong Mu nodded.

    Ping Yang was indeed a trap.

    However, Nangong Mu had no other choice as Fang Zhengzhi forced the Monster Race and Demon Race to continuously attack Ping Yang.

    To not attack Ping Yang?

    They could choose to do that.

    However, if they did not attack Ping Yang, it was equivalent to bowing down to Fang Zhengzhi was equivalent to surrendering.

    The reason was simple. Nangong Mu would definitely not allow Ping Yang to block them. It was a form of humiliation that distracted them.

    Moreover, once they gave up on Ping Yang and decided to attack Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli instead, they would bepleted suppressed by Fang Zhengzhi and his team.

    As the ancient saying went, the fighting spirit aroused by the first roll of drums was depleted by the second and exhausted by the third. It was precisely the case now.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s tactic was also to attack. Therefore, how would he possibly hold back when Fang Zhengzhi exposed his ¡°weakness¡±?

    ¡°I see, I will attack this time!¡± Lin Yu did not ask Nangong Mu for his reason for choosing to attack Ping Yang.

    Although he did not understand why Nangong Mu made that decision, he knew that they had to stay united in order to win a battle.

    ¡°No, let me do it!¡± Nangong Mu shook his head and charged towards Ping Yang without waiting for Lin Yu to attack.

    ¡°Chou Qi attacked?!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so fast!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even see him clearly!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned when they saw Nangong Mu attack as they could not even see his actions clearly.

    ¡°Hmm? Why is he so fast?¡± Ping Yang was also quite surprised.

    That was because she remembered that although Chou Qi was also very fast during the battle on the cliff of the Sword Peak, he was not as terrifyingly fast as this.

    This speed...

    Seemed to be even faster than Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Ping Yang, stand back!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard.

    However, it was toote as Nangong Mu had reached Ping Yang and tore the mes in front of her with his hand.

    His hand looked like the sharp ws of an evil demon and struck towards Ping Yang¡¯s throat.

    The dense gray haze surrounded that hand and the hand emitted the aura of death. It was so overwhelming that one could not even breathe.

    Ping Yang turned pale.

    She was instantly drenched in sweat as she could not move her body at all and felt as though a mountain was pressing on her body

    At this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s Bloody Landscape Illustration came down and Ping Yang¡¯s entire body waspletely shrouded in the blood radiance and was as clear as jade.

    However, that did not seem to stop Nangong Mu¡¯s hand.

    His hand, which was surrounded by the gray haze, reached a distance that was half an inch away from Ping Yang¡¯s throat without being disrupted by the blood radiance at all.

    On the other hand, the blood radiance surrounding Ping Yang...

    Waspletely ¡°swallowed¡± by the gray haze.

    Boom!

    Ping Yang moved back quickly and a powerful airwave exploded in front of her like a tsunami.

    ¡°It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°He saved Ping Yang at thest moment?¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    Although the disciples of the Human Alliance did not see what happened, they saw that Ping Yang was unscathed.

    Moreover, there were two shadows intertwining at the center of the explosion.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Loud booms were heard continuously.

    This was a tactic that involved both parties¡¯ attack on each other. The two shadows struck each other ferociously and every strike created powerful airwaves.

    Bam! Finally, the two shadows were separated.

    Fang Zhengzhi took three steps back and his blue robe was flying in the wind. The Rebirth te above his head was also spinning wildly.

    Meanwhile, opposite Fang Zhengzhi, Nangong Mu barely stabilizes himself after taking three steps back. His ck cloak flew in the wind but was soon blown back down. A beam of blood radiance shed across his face.

    ¡°Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, you are indeed powerful!¡± Nangong Mu smiled and his ck cloak flew as the gray airwaves became more intense.

    ¡°I am actually more powerful than this, do you want to experience it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood with his hands behind his back and grayish radiance flowed across his face.

    It was the breath of death.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi could block the breath of death from attacking him, he was unable to eliminate everything at one go.

    Chou Qi¡¯s Dao was the Dao developed from massacres.

    Not only could it swallow other Daos, but it was also able to corrode human bodies. In fact, it was a powerful Dao that was meant for killing.

    Especially after a few exchanges of attacks.

    Fang Zhengzhi could obviously sense that the Dao grew more powerful after depleting its enemy¡¯s powers.

    ¡°Chou Qi¡± was swallowing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy during the exchanges of attacks. Although Fang Zhengzhi did not mind, it was a problem that should not be neglected.

    ¡°¡®Chou Qi¡¯ suddenly became so powerful?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was definitely shocked.

    After all, he had a taste of ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s Powers after a few attacks by him.

    ¡°Chou Qi¡± was almost on par with Fang Zhengzhi. This shocked him as it was rather exaggerated.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had fought with Chou Qi before.

    Back then, when he first used all the five Daos together, Chou Qi did not have the ability to counterattack and was defeated with severe injuries.

    However, after a mere few hours¡¯ time, Chou Qi almost turned into another person. Not only had hepletely recovered, but he was so powerful that it seemed impossible.

    When Fang Zhengzhi made his ns, he had never thought that Chou Qi was so powerful.

    If he had not stood at Yan Qianli¡¯s original position, he almost could not save Ping Yang from ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s attack.

    ¡°What on earth happened to Chou Qi?¡± Fang Zhengzhi really did not want to admit that the person in front of him was ¡°Chou Qi¡± but the breath of Death was almost identical to Chou Qi.

    Daos could be simr.

    But breaths could not.

    Could it be that Chou Qi really had a twin?!

    As Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, Ping Yang¡¯s exmation was heard from behind followed by a loud boom.

    Boom! The floor cracked.

    Meanwhile, a bloody radiance shot up to the sky and turned into multiple red spear. It looked as though a rain of spears had taken ce.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked and turned instinctively. Then, his eyes widened as he saw another figure standing beside Ping Yang.

    The figure was clearly not Yan Qianli.

    Yan Qianli was currently furiously attacking the figure in the air.

    ¡°Ling Ning?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not expect Ling Ning could go around him and spring a sneak attack on Ping Yang.

    When did that happen?

    Just now?

    Impossible!

    Or could it be when he was attacking ¡°Chou Qi¡±?

    One misstep leads to a series of wrong steps.

    Fang Zhengzhi had underestimated ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s powers and spent too long fighting with him, therefore giving Ling Ning the chance to go around him to spring a sneak attack on Ping Yang.

    Moreover, Lin Yu had leaped above Ping Yang when Ling Ning sprung a sneak attack on Ping Yang.

    If not for Yan Qianli¡¯s intense defense...

    Ping Yang could have died.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you have lost!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was heard. The soaring breath of death surged towards Fang Zhengzhi like waves.

    Block Fang Zhengzhi.

    Then, Ping Yang would not be able to get up.

    Bam! Nangong Mu pped on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest as though he had not met any obstruction.

    That surprised Nangong Mu.

    He had only wanted to stop Fang Zhengzhi from saving Ping Yang but did not expect his p to hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    What was going on?

    Why didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi block his p?

    Initially, Nangong Mu could not understand but he soon figured out the reason why Fang Zhengzhi was willing to suffer the blow than to dodge it.

    ¡°No wonder!¡±

    Boom! As the loud boom was heard, a frail and pale body flew in the sky andnded like a flying rock on the ground.

    Ling Ning!

    The female monster who was almost about to kill Ping Yang was sent flying by a powerful force after touching Ping Yang¡¯s throat.

    ¡°He made use of that force?!¡± Lin Yu, who was above Ping Yang¡¯s head, gasped in horror when he saw that.

    How insane must someone be to make use of the force of a Godly State expert?

    Insane!

    He must be insane!

    Did he really not want to live?

    Apart from Lin Yu, the disciples of the Human Alliance also thought Fang Zhengzhi was insane.

    This battle was closely rted to the fate of humankind.

    As thest hope of the humankind, Fang Zhengzhi took the blow made by ¡°Chou Qi¡± in order to save Ping Yang and exchanged her life by being severely injured.

    Was it really worth it?!

    One¡¯s sess depended on thousands of death, this wasmon sense. The victory of a battle must be obtained through blood and suffering.

    This shameless brat...

    Why did he give up on the selfishness that he ought to have?

    ¡°Shameless brat, why... why did you do this?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in shock. Tears streamed down her face as she saw the grayness that shrouded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    ¡°Silly girl, why are you crying, since I made you join the battle, I will definitely not allow you to die.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and touched Ping Yang¡¯s smooth long hair.

 Chapter 1002 - Trust and Loyalty Between Men

    <h4>Chapter 1002: Trust and Loyalty Between Men</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Shameless brat...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s heart was aching when she saw Fang Zhengzhi smile.

    That¡¯s right.

    Although this brat was shameless, he was really nice to his friends.

    Be it Yan Xiu or herself, he did not show any reservations although he acted shamelessly asionally or put the me on himself.

    ¡°Rest assured, I am fine... spat!¡± Before he finished his sentence, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed and he spat out a mouth of blood.

    The blood was spat on Ping Yang¡¯s face.

    It was boiling hot.

    However, Ping Yang three herself into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms and hugged Fang Zhengzhi tightly as though she would lose him once she let go.

    ¡°I am really fine. I still have to win thispetition with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi wiped off the blood at the corner of his lips and patted Ping Yang on her back gently.

    ¡°Hmm, we have to win, we must win!¡± Ping Yang looked extremely determined.

    ¡°Win?! Hahaha... You are still talking about this now, don¡¯t you think you are too naive?¡± Ling Yuughed after hearing the conversation between Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race also beganughing.

    ¡°He is still talking nonsense even though he is injured?!¡±

    ¡°Humans are just so naive and don¡¯t know how to think rationally.¡±

    ¡°I think thepetition will end in five strikes.¡±

    ¡°Five strikes? I don¡¯t think they can evenst through three strikes!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were extremely confident when they saw that Fang Zhengzhi was injured.

    After all, the powers of ¡°Chou Qi¡± had surpassed their expectations. With his powers and the injuries Fang Zhengzhi was suffering, they would definitely win.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, this is bad, please do something!¡±

    ¡°Yes, or should we retreat?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t possibly wait here, we are definitely going to lose this battle. Once Fang Zhengzhi dies, we will really be under the control of the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡±

    You¡¯re reading on  Thanks!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance had given up.

    Thest hope had perished. Although the terms of thepetition stated that the loser would have to ¡°follow¡± the winner, they all knew that the so-called ¡°follow¡± referred to ¡°obey¡± instead.

    The entire Human Alliance has to obey the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    It was basically equivalent to dying.

    Moreover, would the Monster Race and Demon Race change their mind? That was extremely possible as such change of mind happened verymonly in the past.

    ¡°Retreat, where to?!¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned.

    He knew the tactics of the Monster Race and Demon Race very well. Even if the Human Alliance surrenders, they could not escape the fate of a massacre.

    And for people like Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi...

    They were the top choices for the massacre.

    That was because the Monster Race and Demon Race would definitely not allow them to continue living. The humankind would only give up on defending if the two of them were killed.

    ¡°There seems to be road behind the haze, should we head there?¡± said one of the sect leaders as he looked at the haze behind him.

    ¡°Haze?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at the haze too but he could not see what was inside it.

    However, Mu Qingfeng knew what was in the haze.

    It was a cliff!

    A cliff that was upside down.

    Looking top-down, one could see a bottomless ck abyss and if one looked up, one would see blue sky.

    The upside-down cliff was connected to the sky.

    And the bottom of the cliff was a bottomless abyss.

    Where could they run to?

    Mu Qingfeng had once gone to the cliff but did not continue walking as he did not know whether there was any way out.

    ¡°Decide now, Pavilion Master Mu, even if you have only been here once, please lead us,¡± hurried the Sect Leader.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± A coarse voice was heard.

    It was none other than Mo Shanshi.

    Mo Shanshi was infuriated and his mustache was standing in anger. There were mes burning on the top of his head and he had definitely hit the limits of his endurance.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, why are you scolding me?¡± The sect leader¡¯s expression changed but he could only give into Mo Shanshi¡¯s anger.

    ¡°I am already being nice to you. Fang Zhengzhi is fighting with all his might in front and you are demanding to retreat, are you trying to turn the Human Alliance into disloyal people?!¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists and was about to throw a punch

    ¡°You...¡± The Sect Leader was so angry that he could not speak properly. ¡°Valley Master Mo, this is a matter of life or death, when it¡¯s time to talk about loyalty, why would we not be loyal? However, it¡¯s not the time to be loyal now, right? If we continue wasting time, we won¡¯t be able to escape. Do you really want to see the Human Alliance perish here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here and wait to die.¡±

    ¡°If Fang Zhengzhi could win, that would be the best. However, the situation does not look optimistic. We can¡¯t possibly wait here, right?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance nodded their heads.

    ¡°If you want to retreat, you can, but I, Mo Shanshi, will definitely not retreat!¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles cracked and he emitted a powerful aura.

    The powerful force caused the expressions on the disciples of the Human Alliance to change. Every single one of them started perspiring and stopped making noise.

    ¡°If Fu Xi Valley wants to wait, then they can wait. We are not waiting though!¡± After biting his lips, the Sect Leader said again.

    ¡°I will kill you if you dare to leave!¡± At this moment, Wu Yuer¡¯s voice was heard and the disciples who were wearing ck surrounded the Sect Leader instantly.

    ¡°Wu Yuer, what are you doing?¡± The Sect leader¡¯s expression changed again.

    ¡°Nothing much, but none of you can leave before I leave!¡± For once, Wu Yuer looked extremely serious.

    Her eyes gave off a killer aura. It was as though a gigantic stonended in a peacefulke and caused waves to ripple.

    ¡°Yuer, forget it, there¡¯s no use for them anyway, in fact, they will affect our mood. If they want to leave, so be it.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint stood out and ced one hand on Wu Yuer¡¯s shoulder with a helpless expression.

    ¡°Master... I feel that it is not worth it for Fang Zhengzhi to risk his life for these people... really, I really feel so!¡±

    ¡°Who could say for sure whether it was worth it or not? Just let them leave,¡± sighed the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s leave!¡± Hearing this, the Sect Leader said and gritted his teeth as he knew that it was meaningless for him to leave.

    However, to his surprise...

    He realized there was almost nobody following him when he turned and left.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t all of you leaving?¡± The Sect Leader was shocked. There were many people who supported him when he brought up the suggestion earlier on.

    Yet now when he really was about to leave, there were less than five people who followed him?

    Amongst the few thousand disciples of the Human Alliance, only five followed him? How shocking was that?

    ¡°Li Meng, you are not leaving too?¡± The Sect Leader¡¯s face turned red when he saw a teenager who stood motionless amongst the crowd.

    It was his disciple, the disciple he had instructed personally.

    ¡°Master, I will not leave. I want to stay behind. Even if I die, I don¡¯t want others to talk about me behind my back!¡± The teenager shook his head and was determined.

    ¡°Well, very well, you want to stay and wait to die? Sure, then stay here!¡± The Sect Leader was infuriated and left without looking back.

    The faces of the five disciples following him flushed red and followed quickly behind the Sect Leader.

    Mo Shanshi looked at the surroundings.

    Then, his gaze fell upon the elders of the Yin Yang Hall and all the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall who stayed.

    Instead of asking them, Mo Shanshi nodded at the few elders.

    The few elders of the Yin Yang Hall also nodded back st Mo Shanshi.

    It was a small action but it was sufficient to represent the determination of the elders and the disciples of the Yin Yang Hall.

    Fang Zhengzhi killed Dao Hun and Dao Xin!

    However, that did not mean that the elders and the disciples should not remain loyal. Instead of leaving, they chose to stay.

    ...

    While facing a disadvantageous situation, an expectedmotion took ce amongst the Human Alliance.

    However, thismotion was unexpectedly minor because except for the Sect Leader and the five disciples, everyone else chose to stay.

    Perhaps this was the ¡°naivety¡± that the Monster Race and Demon Race was talking about when they referred to humans.

    In reality, because of their naivety, humankind was able to fight amongst themselves and clinch the position of the world leader.

    That was because when the real crisis hit...

    Humankind would always stay united like metal tes that would not be affected by sshes of water or the heat of the fire.

    Now, their reason for staying united was Fang Zhengzhi, the shameless brat they had all regarded as.

    This shameless brat eliminated their fears and helped them to find hope again.

    Even though the hope was extremely slim.

    ¡°So this is how humankind behaves?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance. She senses fear on their faces and in their eyes.

    However, they still chose to stay.

    They were afraid to die but still stayed on.

    Yun Qingwu looked at the faces around her and her gaze finally fell upon a figure who was standing in front of Ping Yang.

    That figure was not big in build but he was the one who managed to unite the entire Human Alliance.

    Yun Qingwu even had the premonition that...

    In the near future, this person would unite the Four Great Empires and the entire human poption!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, did you know? I have always hoped that one day, I will not need to depend on other people or schemes but depend solely on my fists and my legs to fight against you... Unfortunately, I will probably not have a chance to do that...¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi quietly as though everything else but him had disappeared from the world.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand...

    Could no longer put his focus on what was happening with the Human Alliance as ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s powers made him feel the stress that thispetition brought about.

    Buzz! The ck wings expanded from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back and golden radiance flowed on them. At this point in time, he could no longer hide his powers.

    He had to go all out!

    No matter what, he had to fight till his death.

    ¡°What a powerful force!¡±

    ¡°After being pped by Sir Chou Qi, he could still remain so powerful?!¡±

    ¡°Is Fang Zhengzhi a human or not?¡±

    The expressions of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race became serious again after they felt the powerful aura that radiated from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    They knew that as long as Fang Zhengzhi had the strength to fight, the oue of thepetition could be changed.

    Moreover...

    Such incidents had happened many times.

    For the battle in the Southern Region, they had initially thought that Fang Zhengzhi would lose to the Half Sage Canyang but the oue was forcefully turned over by Fang Zhengzhi.

    For the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain when Fang Zhengzhi went against Monster Emperor Baizhi, none of the monsters and demons thought that Fang Zhengzhi would win.

    Especially when the Space-splitting Demon God descended.

    Who would believe that a human who had just be a sage could have the ability to kill a Demon God?

    Yet, it happened. Furthermore, it happened right before their eyes. No matter how unwilling they were, they had to believe it because it was a true fact.

    Many miracles happened to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Brat, you belong to the Great Xia Dynasty, don¡¯t drag me down!¡± Yan Qianlinded beside Fang Zhengzhi with a concerned look but a different tone.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, let¡¯s attack together.¡± Yan Xiu did not ask about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries because he knew Fang Zhengzhi very well.

    Moreover, he believed that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to fight until the end with him.

    ¡°Shameless brat, I want to attack with the three of you too!¡± Ping Yang stood up and pointed her zing Qilin Spear at Ling Ning with a stubborn look.

    ¡°Alright, now we are fighting four against three, we are at an advantage!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and flipped his palms, revealing two long swords in his hands. With one sword on the left and the other on the right, he pped his wings and carried Ping Yang up into the air.

    ¡°Four versus three? And they are at an advantage? I am really speechless... I would love to see how are you guys at an advantage!¡± Ling Yu snorted coldly.

 Chapter 1003 - The High-Hanging Red Lantern

    <h4>Chapter 1003: The High-Hanging Red Lantern</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    An icy blue spear appeared in Lin Yu¡¯s hands and the tip of the spear was sharp while a blue ice crystal could be seen in it.

    It was the first time Lin Yu was using a weapon.

    A spear.

    ¡°His spear is made of ice and my spear is made of fire. Let me fight against him!¡± Ping Yang was burning with excitement when she saw the icy blue spear in Lin Yu¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You want to fight against him!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not want to kill Ping Yang¡¯s enthusiasm.

    However, Ping Yang¡¯s power was not even sufficient to fight against an ordinary Monster King, so how could she even fight against Lin Yu, a Godly State Expert?

    The difference in their enlightenment state was too big.

    ¡°I am willing to fight with Princess Ping Yang, although we may not win, I am confident that we can drag on for a while!¡± said Yan Qianli.

    ¡°I can kill that female monster in the timespan of three strikes,¡± said Yan Xiu as he looked at Ling Ning.

    ¡°So, I am left with no other choice?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at the three of them.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yan Xiu nodded.

    Yan Qianli and Ping Yang rolled their eyes at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡®You still wanted to choose? If you could choose, then do we still have to carry on with the battle?¡±

    Without any further discussion, the n was made and the battle began.

    Ping Yang dashed out first while Yan Qianli followed closely by her side. Both of them attacked Lin Yu from the left and the right.

    Their attack surprised Lin Yu.

    He was a Godly State expert. Although he was not at the most powerful phase of the Godly State, he was still well-known in the ancient battlefield. Yet now, after he revealed his weapon, he was being ¡°provoked¡± by two Sages.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Lin Yu raised his icy blue spear. His eyes turned blue while a beam of blue light shone on his forehead.

    Meanwhile, sharp ice crystals flowing with blue radiance rose from the ground underneath his feet.

    They were not any ordinary ice, they were ice crystals.

    Not only were they more chilly than ordinary ice cubes, but they were also much harder and even the blue radiance that flowed on them was tough.

    Although its toughness was iparable to that of a cane, it was still able to cause a change during an attack.

    Ping Yang was not aware of this and stabbed her zing Qilin Spear down.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    However, ice shavings did not stter across the sky unlike what was expected. The ice piton was as hard as steel walls and grew rapidly upon Ping Yang¡¯s stab of her spear.

    They stabbed at Ping Yang crazily.

    ¡°Leave now, Your Highness!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s battle experience had been trained in the battlefields. He knew that the ice pitons were not easy to deal with and hence without hesitation, he pulled Ping Yang backward and a red Asura shield appeared in his hands.

    Bam! Yan Qianli flew back with Ping Yang as the ice pitons collided with the Asura shield.

    However, Yan Qianli forcefully pulled Ping Yang behind him and Ping Yang¡¯s feet were shockingly ced stably on the ground.

    What was more shocking was that...

    After Ping Yangnded, Yan Qianli made use of that stability to do several somersaults in the air before hended.

    Both of them were fine even after a blow.

    Even Lin Yu was surprised by this oue.

    ¡°Yan Qianli? Hmm... In terms of battle experience... Yan Qianli is rather impressive!¡± Lin Yu could tell that Yan Qianli had managed to salvage the situation with his rich battle experience as anyone else would have rolled on the ground.

    ¡°Uncle Prince Yan, you are amazing!¡± Ping Yang was slightly astonished.

    ¡°Haha, if you trust me, listen to mymands and attack ordingly, alright?¡± Yan Qianli smiled and blushed slightly.

    ¡°Yes, I will listen to you!¡± Not many people could make Ping Yang listen to them. However, Yan Qianli was one of them.

    The reason was not only because Yan Qianli was the grandfather of Yan Xiu but rather because Yan Qianli was from Great Xia and was a hero of Western Liang.

    He even deserved to be called the battle god of Western Liang.

    Even someone as stubborn as Ping Yang would be fully willing toply with him and respect him fully after restraining her arrogance.

    ¡°With the directions of Prince Yan, Ping Yang should be safe for now.¡± Mu Qingfeng looked more rxed upon seeing this.

    ¡°Hmm, Yan Qianli indeed is someone special. Otherwise, the borders of Western Liang would not have been possibly uninvaded for a hundred years!¡± Mo Shanshi nodded too.

    After hearing the conversation between Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, the disciples who chose to stay back clenched their fists silently.

    How could they have not heard the name of Prince Yan of the Great Xia Dynasty?

    Although Yan Qianli was not the most powerful in the Holy Region, he was rather famous in the Four Great Empires.

    Fang Zhengzhi was smart to choose Yan Qianli to participate in this battle.

    ...

    Under the attack of Ping Yang and Yan Qianli, the third round of the battle entered the fierce state while Yan Xiu initiated the attack towards the female monster Ning Ling.

    Boom!

    With the collision with a palm, the female monster Ning Ling was forced to take three steps back. A shocked and astonished expression could be seen in her pale face as, after all, the blow that struck her was pure brute force.

    A sage...

    Was able to attack a powerful Monster King?

    Moreover, Yan Xiu was only eighteen years old. His potential caused Lin Yu to be shocked.

    Although humankind was weaker than the monster race and demon race in nature, they definitely won in terms of numbers.

    Plus the opportunities they had along the way and continuous learning.

    The powerful individuals were born with great potential that made them even more powerful than some of the talented monsters and demons.

    Yan Xiu was evidently one of them.

    He could fight against a powerful monster king at the age of eighteen and suppress him in terms of powers. If this progresses, in the near future, he could definitely be a hero.

    ¡°I have to kill him!¡± Lin Yu was determined.

    However, he clearly was unable to this now as he had to first ovee thebined attack by Ping Yang and Yan Qianli.

    Following Yan Qianli¡¯s orders, Ping Yang has stopped being clumsy and every strike she made was killer attacks.

    Along with Ping Yang¡¯s freestyle in attack methods...

    Her strikes were somewhat professional.

    If Lin Yu had not experienced it personally, he could hardly imagine how a sixteen-year-old girl could use the spear so professionally.

    Bam! Lin Yu was forced to take a step back and he blocked his crotch area with his icy blue spear.

    Then...

    A hand full of lime powder flew towards him.

    ¡°Go and die, little girl!¡± Lin Yu was finally mad. The blue radiance on his forehead grew rapidly and an icy blueyer of armor had covered his body.

    He was not afraid of being injured as it was not an issue regarding being injured or not.

    It was dignity.

    A dignity that every man ought to uphold.

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu was still looking at thepetition silently nearby. How could Lin Yu allow himself to suffer from such terrible injuries?

    The battle was at a deadlock.

    Although Lin Yu still had an absolute advantage, it was difficult for him to kill Yan Qianli and Ping Yang within a couple of strikes.

    ...

    Nangong Mu ignored both Lin Yu and the female monster Ling Ning.

    That was because he had never taken his eyes off Fang Zhengzhi. He did not attack since Fang Zhengzhi did not.

    It had to be noted that Fang Zhengzhi was already injured.

    By right, Nangong Mu should be initiating the attack but he seemed to be deliberately waiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries to recover.

    ¡°Are you still not attacking?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I am waiting for you,¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Really? Me too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed the two tips of the long swords at Nangong Mu¡¯s throat.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, here Ie.¡± Nangong Mu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking as Nangong Mu came right up to him after he said that sentence.

    It was really fast.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance could not even add Nangong Mu¡¯s actions clearly.

    It was a battle between two powerful individuals.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword also moved. One of his swords was ced vertically while the other was ced horizontally, forming a cross in front of his face.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu was thrown back. However, after he took two steps back, he turned to his left and was right beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Closebat?¡± Fang Zhengzhi remembered that Chou Qi was a demon and by right, the Demon Race did not like closebats.

    However, ¡°Chou Qi¡± seemed to be deliberately closing up the distance between himself and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword moved again. With a turn, both of his swords struck towards Nangong Mu.

    However, at that instant, he realized that Nangong Mu had disappeared without a trace.

    He disappeared?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not guess where he had disappeared to because he could have been tricked even if he guessed it correctly. Therefore, he charged upwards directly.

    With a p of his ck wings, he reached the midair of the sky.

    At this moment, ayer of gray haze formed beneath his feet and shrouded his entire body like an ocean.

    ¡°Oh no, Fang Zhengzhi is trapped by the Dao of Death!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, he is injured?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t lose!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were extremely nervous when they saw Fang Zhengzhi shrouded by the gray haze.

    Meanwhile, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were extremely excited.

    ¡°Sir Chou Qi is indeed powerful!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Sir Chou Qi could actually fight against Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°With Sir Chou Qi, I don¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi would dare to be as arrogant and wild as what he is now?¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race acted as though they had smelt victory.

    However, aspared to the excitement of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Yun Qingwu, who was standing amongst the Human Alliance frowned as though she was deep in thought.

    Although Yun Qingwu was not powerful, she roughly knew how powerful Chou Qi was.

    Was he able to catch Fang Zhengzhi?

    Yun Qingwu felt that the chances were slim but ¡°Chou Qi¡± managed to do it and was at an advantage in the battle against Fang Zhengzhi.

    What exactly happened?

    Did something go wrong?

    Could it be that Chou Qi had found the thirty-six maps of ess to heaven?

    Although Yun Qingwu had not met Chou Qi many times, she had an urate judgment that determined what Chou Qi was looking for correctly.

    However, like how Lin Yu was unable to attack Yan Xiu, she was unable to conduct a deep investigation about what Chou Qi had experienced thus far.

    However... she felt that something happening in the dark.

    Boom! A loud boom was heard and a golden beam of lightning struck from the sky andnded in the gray haze.

    It was a bolt of lightning that was powerful enough to tear the sky apart.

    However, it did not tear the gray breaths of death apart.

    ¡°If I surrender now, will I be able to share the control of the world with you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked shocked as he felt the breath of death continuously swallowing his origin energy in the gray haze.

    ¡°No.¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°Oh, then...bine the Near-Life!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked somewhat disappointed but soon attacked at the direction of the voice.

    A few chains of different color appeared at the position where the voice came from.

    Hell Near-Life Chains.

    Moreover, there were various types of radiances flowing on the few chains of Near-Life as though the radiances were connected to the Rebirth te on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    The Hell Near-Life Chains returned back to Fang Zhengzhi but one of them had a few drops of red blood dripping down it.

    ¡°Was it painful?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at the blood.

    ¡°Not really.¡± The voice was heard at another position.

    ¡°Then let me try again... Combine hell!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat shocked as he had thought that ¡°Chou Qi¡± would answer him again.

    Was ¡°Chou Qi¡± acting to be foolish or was he really a fool?

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure but he could not miss such an opportunity to locate where exactly ¡°Chou Qi¡± was.

    Eight clouds of ck mes rose up in the air.

    It raged towards the position where the sound came about like the fire in hell.

    At that moment, two clouds of red radiance shone at that spot, looking like two rednterns in the haze.

    Hmm? Are we guessing some riddles on the 15th day of the lunar new year?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly recalled the traditional festival in his past life and a riddle came to his mind.

    Guess a word with the hint: add another half to the word ¡®tree¡¯, the answer is not ¡®forest¡¯! [1. The Chinese character of ¡®tree¡¯ and ¡®forest¡¯ are made up of two and three simr characters respectively.]

 Chapter 1004 - Nangong Muâ€™s Final Decision

    <h4>Chapter 1004: Nangong Mu¡¯s Final Decision</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The answer to the riddle is ¡°Dream¡± <sup>1</sup> .

    However, this was no longer important as the ck mes seemed to be swallowed when the twonterns lit up in the haze.

    It actually...

    Disappeared?!

    ¡°You can swallow my bination of hell¡¯?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi felt shocked, the two long swords in his hands struck once again.

    The swords made two sword radiances that was shaped like semi-circles in the air.

    Meanwhile, the twonterns had disappeared and reappeared ten feet away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was extraordinarily fast.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi struck again.

    The twonterns disappeared again.

    However, they soon appeared and was only three feet away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    At such a close distance, Fang Zhengzhi could see the real shape of the twonterns even though it was hazy.

    It was actually a pair of eyes!

    It was a pair of bloodshot eyes. However, unlike the Dao of Asura, there was aplicated illustration in each of the eyes.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration!¡± Fang Zhengzhi recognized the illustration and knew that it was owned by Nangong Hao of the Nangong Gables.

    What was going on?

    Why did the Blood Offering Illustration appear in ¡°Chou Qi¡±¡®s eyes?!

    It was too strange.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked because logically speaking, Nangong Hao had died in the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Would a dead person resurrect?

    Of course not.

    However, if he did not resurrect, how could the phenomenon be exined?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, look at who I am!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard and a ck cloak shrouded over Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°F*ck no!¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely fall for such an obvious trick.

    Therefore, he had no intention to look at the ¡°real identity¡± underneath the ck cloak.

    That was because no matter what the truth was, he would kill his opponent with his sword!

    By then, everything would be revealed.

    It was simple.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi took two steps back and sliced the ck cloak into half with his sword.

    sh! The ck cloak turned into pieces.

    A figure appeared behind the ck cloak. He was wearing a dark green shirt and had an ordinary look with a scar on his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped attacking.

    Besides that, his eyes were wide open as the figure was none other than Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Nangong... Mu?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was no longer interested in finding out why he did not make use of the chance to trick him but chose to reveal his real identity.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was already extremely shocked by Nangong Mu.

    ¡®Why is Nangong Mu here?¡¯

    ¡®Moreover, he appeared when I was fighting against Chou Qi?¡¯

    Wait a minute!

    Something was wrong!

    Chou Qi is Nangong Mu?

    Nangong Mu is Chou Qi?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that his brain is exploding as he had never thought that Chou Qi would he rtes to Nangong Mu.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu had be themander of the Monster Race and Demon Race while making use of the identity of the demon ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    What exactly was going on?

    Why did Nangong Mu choose to do this?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was in confusion, the pair of bloodshot eyes had reached him and it was so close that he could see the blood illustration in them extremely clearly.

    Bam!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body flew backward and fell from the sky like a meteor. Then, just as it was about to fly out of the gray haze, it was attracted by a powerful force and he got pulled back to where Nangong Mu was sanding.

    They were four bloody sharp ws.

    The four sharp ws grabbed the arms and thighs of Fang Zhengzhi tightly and pulled his body towards Nangong Mu.

    He had been sneak attacked.

    This was the first time someone had sessfully sprung a sneak attack on Fang Zhengzhi.

    And the person who did it was a person whom he had viewed as a friend, a person who had burnt down the Crown Prince¡¯s Residence in the Eastern Pce of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Nangong Mu?!

    ¡°You want to kill me?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could tell that the four sharp ws came from Nangong Mu and made use of the energy of the Blood Offering Illustration.

    Fang Zhengzhi had witnessed this force once before.

    In the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Tian Xing was once pulled into the Blood Offering Illustration by this force and Nangong Hao was the person who used it then.

    Yet now...

    The person became Nangong Mu and the person who got caught was no longer Tian Xing but Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, I want to kill you!¡± Nangong Mu said with affirmation.

    ¡°Are you f*cking possessed, if you are, tell me. I can conduct an exorcism, perform Samdambi or burn paper <sup>2</sup> , I can do all of that!¡± Fang Zhengzhi really could not believe it and he could not figure out why Nangong Mu chose to kill him all of a sudden?

    Was he crazy?!

    ¡°I am not possessed, I want the fruit of the Realm of God in your body. I want to open the Gate of God, hence, I have to kill you!¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Fruit of the Realm of God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi understood.

    He had swallowed a fruit on the Heaven Zen Mountain and it was the key to opening the Door of the Realm of God. Nangong Mu wanted this key.

    Although he still could not figure out what Nangong Mu had experienced after he returned to the Nangong Nobles, why he suddenly wanted to open the Door of the Realm of God and was willing to kill him for it, he realized that perhaps...

    It was the mission of the Nangong Nobles.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, rest assured, I will take care of your parents on your behalf and treat them like my own parents. They will be the ¡®Father of the King¡¯ once I sessfully be the King!¡± Four bloody chains surged out of Nangong Mu¡¯s body as he spoke.

    ¡°Father of the King?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to dodge as he saw the four bloody chains approach him but he was being gripped by the sharp ws.

    He could not move at all.

    Crack! The four bloody chains wrapped around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and tied him up like a gigantic rice dumpling.

    However, it was a pity that...

    It was not the day of the dumpling festival.

    If not, Fang Zhengzhi would probably have recited a poem rted to the festival...

    ¡°What the f*ck, do I really have to die in Nangong Mu¡¯s hands?¡± Fang Zhengzhi really did not expect that he would die like this.

    Moreover, he had to ¡°trouble¡± Nangong Mu to take care of his parents?

    What the f*ck!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was better for him to do some things by himself, this includes taking care of his parents, wife and children.

    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t you just want the fruit of the Realm of God? You should have just said this from the start and I would have given it to you. We didn¡¯t even have to fight?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted as he struggled.

    ¡°Give? You can¡¯t give it.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    ¡°How do you know that without even trying? Release me and I will give it to you right away.¡± Sweat trickled down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead as he felt the powerful pulling force.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can take it by myself.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head again.

    ¡°What happened to the trust between humans? Weren¡¯t we friends? What happened to the trust between friends? Since when have I not given you the things you wanted, do you still remember the times when we sang around the hotpot in the Ping Yang Residence? We had even burnt down the Crown Prince¡¯s Residence together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was angry.

    Crack! The chains which were pulling at him stopped moving.

    ¡°Ping Yang Residence...¡± Nangong Mu looked up at the gray haze in the sky and looked like he was in pain.

    Yes, friends!

    Wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi his friend?

    No!

    Fang Zhengzhi is his friend, not only was Fang Zhengzhi a friend, he was the only friend of Nangong Mu.

    ¡°What about the promise I made during the Imperial Examination? I helped you hit your brother, didn¡¯t I? I fought with your brother and won, Isn¡¯t this correct? I have done everything I promised you and yet you don¡¯t trust me now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued as he looked at Nangong Mu.

    He did not want to bring up the past.

    But he did not want to die so indignantly like that.

    He felt too f*cking indignant.

    Nangong Mu had sprung a sneak attack at him with a slip of his mind. Moreover, he could clearly remember what would happen if he got dragged into the Blood Offering Illustration.

    It gave him chills just by the thought of it.

    No, he couldn¡¯t die like this. Even if he had to die, he wanted his entire body to remain as a piece and put a piece of ice spirit in his mouth so that his body would not rot for a thousand years.

    Touch wood...

    He would rather not die.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, we are friends, right?¡± At this moment, the Blood Offering Illustration in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes started to spin furiously.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded without hesitation.

    ¡°Then... would you me me if I killed you?¡± Nangong Mu asked again.

    ¡°Of course, not only would I me you but I will also hate you for being a betrayer, a terrible friend and you don¡¯t deserve to be a human!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not foolish.

    He knew that if he had said no in a selfless tone, Nangong Mu would have killed him straight away.

    ¡°Betrayer... I don¡¯t deserve to be a human? No!!! I, Nangong Mu, am not someone like that, I... I am forced to do this!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed.

    It was evident that Nangong Mu was extremely unstable and he was in so much agony that his expression was twisted.

    A white gigantic tree shone behind Nangong Mu.

    There were a few brightly-colored fruits on that tree and every one of the fruits were glowing and they looked extremely Holy.

    ¡°This is the Tree of God? There are fruits on it?! Nangong Mu has fused with the Tree of God, those fruits... hold on, the gray fruit looks like...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped.

    Because he saw a gray fruit on the Tree of God behind Nangong Mu. It was surrounded by a thickyer of gray haze.

    Breath of death.

    The breath of death that belonged to Chou Qi.

    Did Nangong Mu kill Chou Qi?!

    ¡°Yes, I killed Chou Qi. I even killed Qin Xian and... my father. Besides that, my heart... belongs to my brother. Fang Zhengzhi, at this state, would you still be my friend?¡± Nangong Mu raised his head and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Of course, we are forever friends!¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied immediately and said after giving it some thoughts, ¡°Amongst the people you killed, two of them are demons. Nangong Hao does because he wanted to save you so you shouldn¡¯t put the me on yourself.¡±

    ¡°What about my father?¡± Nangong Mu desperately wanted an answer.

    ¡°So your dream is to be someone like your father?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked back without answering Nangong Mu.

    ¡°No... my dream is not, I am...¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. You are a good person and I am one too. Moreover, we are still friends so you shouldn¡¯t kill me,¡± continued Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we are... friends, I shouldn¡¯t kill you... I can¡¯t kill you, I can¡¯t... you are my only friend, I... however, I... I am the disciple of the Nangong Nobles and I have my mission. My dad and my brother are dead. I am the only bloodline left in the family of the Yan Emperor. I can¡¯t let them down... what should I do? What should I do?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed and he mumbled to himself.

    Moreover...

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel that the red chains around him were slightly loosened and he could finally move.

    An opportunity that was given by God.

    If he did not grab onto this opportunity, Fang Zhengzhi would have killed himself with a rod.

    ¡°Open!¡± The Rebirth tended at an extremely fast speed and went into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body. Then, a five-colored radiance shot out of his body like sharp swords.

    Meanwhile, his ck wings expanded rapidly behind his back and the powerful energy caused veins to bulge from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm.

    Crack! All of the four red chains broke apart together.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi seized this opportunity to cut the red ws into pieces with the two long swords in his hands.

    This happened extremely quickly and suddenly.

    However, Nangong Mu, who had calmed down initially suddenly changed his expression again as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. When he saw that he had broken free from the red chains and cut the sharp ws, the Blood Offering Illustration in his eyes shone again and they looked even bloodier than before.

    The terrifying killer aura surrounded Nangong Mu like a bloody haze.

    Meanwhile, the gigantic white Tree of God became extremely clear and was like a real tree that grew in front of him.

 Chapter 1005 - Friends, Till Death Brings Us Apart

    <h4>Chapter 1005: Friends, Till Death Brings Us Apart</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Evidently, Nangong Mu was jolted awake.

    However, surprisingly, Nangong Mu did not shout things like ¡°you are lying?!¡± at the top of his lungs. Instead, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly with a bloody look.

    He did not look angry nor desperate. Instead, he looked like he was freed from the soul.

    ¡°Now, we can fight it out again without any restraints!¡± Nangong Mu was very calm, as though nothing had happened.

    ¡°Just for a fruit of the Godly Realm?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Besides that, I am also fighting for my mission, my mission as the descendant of Emperor Yan,¡± said Nangong Mu with an affirmed look.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He did not probe further as Nangong Mu¡¯s attitude had told him that Nangong Mu had already made up his mind and would not change his mind.

    After all, he was Nangong Mu.

    If this was forced by other people, he could be swayed. However, nothing could be changed once Nangong Mu made up his mind.

    ¡°I am going to attack,¡± said Nangong Mu again.

    ¡°Come.¡± Fang Zhengzhi ced both of his swords in front of his chest and was ready to fight.

    There was no need to discuss anything anymore.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not want to be enemies with Nangong Mu as he really did not have a lot of friends in this world.

    Nangong Mu was one of them.

    It only required one fruit.

    If one fruit was able to save Nangong Mu, he was really willing to that as the fruit was not absorbed in his body and did not help him.

    However, could he spit out the fruit that he had already ingested?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do that but he really was unable to do it. Moreover, the fruit was not in his stomach but in his Small Dimension.

    That meant that the fruit was actually in his heart.

    Digging a hole in his heart?

    Then, the Small Dimension would break apart and he would have to return to The Vast World to make up for it?

    That was too heavy a price to pay.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi did not know if Nangong Mu would really return to who he was in the past even after he paid such a heavy price.

    Nangong Mu not only wanted the fruit of the Realm of God but also wanted to open the Gate of God and be the leader of the world.

    Swoosh! At this moment, two beams of sword radiance, one green and one blue, had struck at Fang Zhengzhi.

    When Nangong Mu revealed his true identity, he had taken out the green and blue swords, one of which was long and the other was short.

    Fang Zhengzhi could recognize the two swords.

    In fact, he had imitated Nangong Mu¡¯s sword tactic by using two swords, taking the strike of a ¡°cross¡± for instance.

    Swoosh! As Fang Zhengzhi dodged the two beams of sword radiance, he stabbed his swords at Nangong Mu.

    Boom!

    Beams of lightningnded from the sky into the gray haze. The gray haze was like a thunder cloud with radiance flowing in them.

    In the region outside of the haze, Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the disciples of the Human Alliance watched at the gray haze extreme nervously. The gray haze was an area that was shrouded by the breath of death and there were violent motions in it.

    With their skill levels, they were unable to enter at all.

    They could only watch from the outside.

    ¡°The battle is continuing if there¡¯s motion!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we still have hope!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi must win!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance had never so desperately hoped for Fang Zhengzhi to win before as, after all, they did not have a good impression of Fang Zhengzhi in the past.

    ¡°After he is shrouded by Sir Chou Qi¡¯s breath of death, will Fang Zhengzhi still have a chance to survive?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡±

    ¡°He is dead meat!¡±

    The attitudes of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the disciples of the Human Alliance werepletely different. That was because the Monster Race and Demon Race were very confident that there should not be any more movements after Fang Zhengzhi had been surrounded by the breath of death.

    However, at this moment, blood rain fell from the sky.

    They were radiance that was as red as blood and crystal clear blood drops were mixed in the radiance.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A shriek was heard as the blood rain fell.

    This caused the Human Alliance and the Monster Race and Demon Race to turn towards another direction.

    There was a figure standing at that spot.

    He was slim but he gave off a uniquely cold and arrogant aura. Meanwhile, he was holding a Silver Blood Fan that had blood dripping down it.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°Those blood are?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s Ling Ning¡¯s Blood! The blood of Monster King Ling Ning!¡±

    The Human Alliance and the Monster Race and Demon Race then saw a severely injured woman lying beside Yan Xiu.

    Ling Ning¡¯s face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

    However, instead of being purely pale, it had turned purple after being injured by a powerful force.

    Moreover...

    There was a cut that was deep to the bones on Ling Ning¡¯s body and blood spurted out from the cut and fell on the ground.

    ¡°Yan Xiu defeated Ling Ning!¡±

    ¡°How powerful is Yan Xiu, he is only eighteen years old and Ling Ning is one of the most powerful monster kings who is almost as powerful as Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were astonished.

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned as they never expected Yan Xiu to defeat Ling Ning within such a short span of time.

    ¡°I used five strikes in total. That is slower than I expected, I am still not powerful enough!¡± Yan Xiu shook his head and kept the Silver Blood Fan in his hand behind his back.

    Swoosh! Ling Ning¡¯s head flew in the sky.

    There were silver threads connecting the head and the Silver Blood Fan. They were extremely thin and were almost unnoticeable with the naked eye.

    Plop! Ling Ning¡¯s body fell to the ground and a golden monster pearl rolled on the ground to Yan Xiu¡¯s feet.

    Bam! Yan Xiu raised his feet and crushed the monster pearl.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The eyes of the Monster Race and Demon Race became red and the disciples of the Human Alliance stared at this scene speechlessly.

    As for Ping Yang who was nearby...

    She pouted at this scene.

    ¡°What a waste, you should have given it to me. Uncle Yan, why aren¡¯t you looking after your grandson, do you know that he is being wasteful? Being wasteful is something that is shameful!¡± Ping Yang was extremely pissed.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, the Yan family has a lot of silver. We are not afraid of being wasteful.¡± Yan Qianli took a nce at Yan Xiu and shook his head lovingly.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang opened her mouth but was unable to say anything.

    Monster pearl?!

    A monster pearl of the Monster King?

    They could buy it with silver?

    She really did not know if Prince Yan was really stupid or acting stupid.

    Ping Yang decided on thetter as, after all, one would be really silly if one said that Prince Yan was silly.

    ¡°Watch out, Princess!¡± Yan Qianli did not even bother about calling Ping Yang with respectful terms like ¡°Your Highness¡± as after all, it was too stressful to fight against Lin Yu.

    Boom! Ping Yang¡¯s body was flung back.

    An icy blue hole was formed at the original position she was standing at and the stones were covered by ice.

    ¡°Whew...¡± Ping Yang heaved a sigh of relief with a shocked expression. ¡°I almost became an ice statue, I wonder if I can still survive if I really became one?¡±

    ¡°Live?¡± Lin Yu could not hold in his words after hearing Ping Yang¡¯s question, ¡°After being frozen by my ice crystals, you have at most ten seconds before your entire body bes frozen and fuses with the ice crystals. You will never be able to be separated from the ice crystals!¡±

    ¡°So powerful?¡± Ping Yang was evidently terrified.

    However, Lin Yu did not reply to Ping Yang as, after all, he only spoke because he felt like it. Now that Ling Ning had died, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Yan Xiu woulde and attack him.

    Three versus one!

    Lin Yu definitely would not have an absolute advantage anymore.

    Ping Yang smiled as she saw Lin Yu keeping quiet and turned to Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Hey, Yan Xiu, if you are done,e over and help. Three versus one, we definitely can kill him!¡± Ping Yang was confident.

    ¡°Hold on for a while more.¡±

    However, his reply was not what Ping Yang had expected.

    Yah Xiu did note over.

    That was because after killing Ling Ning, Yan Xiu dashed towards the gray haze of death without hesitation.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    ¡°Princess, we have to fight on our own!¡± Yan Qianli could understand how Ping Yang felt but he knew that Yan Xiu would make such a choice.

    That was because he knew who his grandson prioritized.

    It had been almost two years.

    After the Court Examinations of the Great Xia empire ended, Yan Xiu returned to Western Liang and stayed there for nearly two years¡¯ time. He only stepped out of the pce for a few times.

    Within that period of time, Yan Qianli saw his grandson slim down and heard him repeatedly calling out a name.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was an ordinary name.

    However, Yan Xiu said it for nearly two years and he would always stare nkly out of the windows at a small vige in the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Until...

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s name was heard in the Great Xia Dynasty again.

    It happened in the middle of the night.

    Yan Qianli could still remember it was near midnight when Yan Xiu pushes open the door of his room and fell to his knees.

    ¡°Grandfather, I want to go to the Northern Mountain Vige!¡±

    ¡°Northern Mountain Vige?¡±

    ¡°Yes, right now. I also have to borrow the Yan Cloud Cavalry from you, please agree, grandfather!¡±

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, you had never pleaded with me for the entire eighteen years of your life, even when your mother passed away when you were eight. Why are you pleading with me now?¡±

    ¡°I can take revenge for mom by myself. However, what I am about to do may cause His Majesty to punish the Yan family of Western Liang, therefore, I...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Who exactly is he?¡±

    ¡°He is my friend.¡±

    ¡°Friend? How close a friend?¡±

    ¡°A friend whom I am willing to sacrifice my life for!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Xiu¡¯er, you are too naive. You need to know that some things cannot be trusted. You may be able to sacrifice your life for him but he may not be willing to sacrifice his life for you.¡±

    ¡°No, grandfather you are wrong, I believe that he will be willing to sacrifice his life for me!¡±

    ¡°You... really think so?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I firmly believe that!¡±

    ¡°Alright, although I don¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi is willing to sacrifice his life for you, I will help you this time. After all, this is the first time my grandson pleaded with me. This is the military pass for the Yan Cloud Cavalry, it has always been with me since I took control of the troops. Today, I will pass this to you.¡±

    ¡°Pass it to me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, from today onwards, you are the sole sessor of the Yan family of Western Liang and your actions represent the Yan family. I, Yan Qianli, dare to say that with this military pass, apart from the Holy Region, you can go anywhere in this world including the me Capital City!¡±

    ¡°Grandfather...¡±

    ¡°Go, go and do whatever you wish!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Qianli could still remember Yan Xiu¡¯s expression and the light in his eyes. It felt as though he had be another person.

    Of course, although Yan Qianli had handed the Yan Cloud Cavalry to Yan Xiu, he did not believe what Yan Xiu said.

    Friends who were willing to die for each other?

    Although Yan Qianli had lived for a very long time, he was not confident to say that he had met a friend like that.

    Until...

    Fang Zhengzhi was willing to exchange his life to save Yan Xiu in the Yin Yang Hall and was eventually sent to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and thrown into the Middle Stream Cauldron.

    Till then, Yan Qianli realized that what Yan Xiu said was real.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, go, fight with Fang Zhengzhi and defeat ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, grandfather will be proud of you!¡± Yan Qianli¡¯s eyes glowed red and he looked relieved.

    It was a relief that he felt because his grandson had grown up.

    Buzz!

    At a distance away, Yan Xiu did not know what went through Yan Qianli¡¯s mind. He stared at the gray haze ahead of him and moved extremely quickly with his eyes bloodshot. His body was surrounded by a blood-red radiance as he plunged into the gray haze of death.

 Chapter 1006 - Legend

    <h4>Chapter 1006: Legend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°He really went in!¡±

    ¡°He is only a sage?!¡±

    ¡°Although Yan Xiu killed Sir Ling Ning, judging from his cultivation and Enlightenment State, he should be waiting outside. Is he not afraid to die by charging in like that?¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race werepletely stunned when they saw Yan Xiu charging into the breath of death.

    He was courting death.

    To them, the breath of death represented death. One ought to be considered lucky if one was even able to stay in the breath of death for a minute.

    Yet, Yan Xiu charged in like that?

    Was he really not afraid to die?

    Besides the Monster Race and Demon Race, the disciples of the Human Alliance and the sect leaders of various sects were also extremely stunned as they felt that Yan Xiu was overly rash.

    In this situation where the situation inside the breath of death was unclear, the safest method was to kill Lin Yu with Yan Qianli and Ping Yang first.

    As long as Lin Yu was dead, even if Fang Zhengzhi lost to ¡°Chou Qi¡±, the humankind still had the hope of winning as after all, ¡°Chou Qi¡± would have suffered severe injuries in order to win Fang Zhengzhi.

    After that, the three of them could fight against ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    They would still have at least 40 percent of chance of winning!

    ¡°Yan Xiu is way too rash, the breath of death set by ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ is so powerful and he charged into it like this. Does he not understand the significance of this battle?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, he is too young and rash!¡±

    ¡°How unfortunate, the hope that we could turn the tides is going to perish in his hands.¡±

    The sect leaders in the Human Alliance sighed.

    ¡°Old man Mu, do you have nothing to say?¡± Mo Shanshi asked as he saw that Mu Qingfeng had chosen to keep silent.

    ¡°What should I say?¡± asked Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Regarding Yan Xiu¡¯s actions?¡±

    ¡°Sigh... I have nothing much to say, I am not surprised at all.¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head. He also knew that Yan Xiu was slightly rash.

    However, so what?

    Yan Xiu was rash and so was Fang Zhengzhi. A year ago, Fang Zhengzhi had charged to the Yin Yang Hall alone in order to save Yan Xiu. He was so rash that it made others speechless.

    Friends?

    Mu Qingfeng looked at the figure who had disappeared into the breath of death and sighed in his heart. There were really such friends in the world.

    ¡°You are not surprised?¡± Mo Shanshi went into deep thought after hearing what Mu Qingfeng said. However, he soon smiled. ¡°Haha, Indeed, you shouldn¡¯t be surprised as Fang Zhengzhi was trapped inside and Yan Xiu was the one who charged in!¡±

    ¡°Yes... because he is Yan Xiu!¡± Wu Yuer sighed too when he saw the scene.

    ...

    Yan Xiu was unaware of themotion outside.

    His body had been surrounded by a red armor made from the Dao of Asura. He used it to break open the breath of death and charged inside immediately.

    ¡°Wait for me, you have to wait for me!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and the red armor was being burnt by the surrounding breath of death. However, he did not seem to mind at all.

    That was because he only had one thing in mind: to reach Fang Zhengzhi in the shortest time as possible.

    Puff!

    Finally, Yan Xiu reached the center of the breath of death. Due to the battle, the breath of death had be much thinner there.

    Yah Xiu quickly noticed the two people standing at the center.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡± Without any hesitation, Yan Xiu charged towards the blue figure as he knew that it was Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, halfway through, he froze on the spot and widened his bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°Nangong... Mu?!¡±

    ¡°Erm? Yan Xiu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a nce back when he heard Yan Xiu¡¯s voice and saw him.

    ¡°Where¡¯s ¡®Chou Qi¡¯?¡± Yan Xiu stared at Nangong Mu, the ck cloak on his body and the gray aura that flowed from his body.

    It was the breath of death.

    However, he did not believe in such a strange scene as, like Fang Zhengzhi, he could not believe in something that he thought was impossible to happen.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is Chou Qi, Chou Qi is Nangong Mu,¡± exined Fang Zhengzhi as he saw the shock in Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I get it, let¡¯s attack.¡± Yan Xiu nodded and stopped asking.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had made it very clear. ¡°Chou Qi¡± was Nangong Mu, no matter how much he refused to, he chose to believe it as Fang Zhengzhi was the one who said it.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, leave, you can¡¯t even stay for a minute in here with your level of skills,¡± said Nangong Mu after taking a nce at the red armor on Yan Xiu.

    ¡°One minute is enough.¡± Yan Xiu did not seem to be bothered and waved his Silver Blood Fan to block out the breath of death surrounding him.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s definitely enough.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head slightly.

    Initially, he wanted Yan Xiu to leave immediately after he saw him entering as Yan Xiu could not stay long in the breath of death.

    However, he did not speak his mind.

    That was because he knew that Yan Xiu would not leave. Since he would not leave, it was meaningless for him to waste time persuading him.

    ¡°I will attack first.¡± Without much words, Yan Xiu charged towards Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Both of you do not have much time, you stand a slight chance only if both of you attacked at the same time.¡± Yan Xiu waved his green and blue swords and two beams of sword radiance shot out at Yan Xiu.

    It was a casual strike.

    But the speed was extremely fast.

    The two-colored radiance of green and blue attacked Yan Xiu from the front and back.

    However, Yan Xiu did not dodge.

    That was because he knew Fang Zhengzhi was behind him.

    As predicted by Yan Xiu, just as the two sword radiances were about to hit Yan Xiu, a few different colored chains shot out from his back, traveling at a speed that was as fast as lightning. They were the Hell Near-Life Chains and every chain had radiance flowing on it.

    Boom! A loud boom was heard when the Hell Near-Life Chains collided with the two-colored sword radiance and the sword radiance was broken instantly.

    ¡°Strike!¡±

    ¡°Of!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    At the instant of the collision, Yan Xiu roared coldly and struck his Silver Blood Fan at Nangong Mu.

    Buzz!

    The bright red radiance turned into a gigantic crystal-like sword in the air. There was a bright red Hell Near-Life Chain on the de of the gigantic sword.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Nangong Mu froze.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had not met for a long time and there was a huge difference in their level of skills.

    Even so...

    Both of them could still coordinate so well with each other?

    What was the reason?

    Was it trust?!

    Nangong Mu retreated extremely quickly but the gigantic red sword which was chained up by the Hell Near-Life Chains had already reached the top of his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll split it!¡± Nangong Mu moved his green and blue swords to form a cross on the top of his head before a sword radiance that was shaped like a cross zoomed up towards the sky.

    However, at this moment...

    He suddenly heard a cold voice.

    ¡°Combination of Asura!¡±

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    The gigantic red sword was stained with a beam of gold and had seemingly gained its own life. It was so sharp that it sliced the space apart immediately.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s body shook violently.

    That was because instead of the gigantic red sword above his head, the blue sword in his hand broke into two.

    The sword broke!

    But it was Nangong Mu¡¯s sword!

    Spat! Nangong Mu spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Nangong Mu was injured. However, that was not what mattered the most to him. He was more concerned with how Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were still able to coordinate so well even after not meeting each other for such a long time.

    Most importantly...

    There was a stark difference in their skill levels.

    With this stark difference, they were still able to fuse their moves together so perfectly and produce an extraordinarily powerful move.

    Why?

    Trust, the trust amongst friends, was it really that powerful?

    Nangong Mu had always wanted a friend whom he could trust with his life. In fact, he thought he had found one.

    However, a while ago...

    He decided to forgo.

    He had forgone his friend and their friendship, he gave up on his determination because he had the blood of the descendant of Emperor Yan flowing in his body and had no choice but toplete his mission.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Nangong Muughed until his entire body shook. He wasughing so wildly and agonizingly that his face became terrifyingly twisted.

    Was that wrong?

    Was he really wrong?!

    The voices echoed in his head repeatedly. He recalled how he first met Fang Zhengzhi and fought with him for the first time on the battle stage.

    Perhaps, he had once experienced friendship too.

    Perhaps, he should be the one standing beside Fang Zhengzhi and fighting against the Monster Race and Demon Race with him.

    Perhaps...

    There should not be any more ¡®perhaps¡¯.

    That was because he had already made a choice, a choice that determined the loss of all his friends, a choice that determined his loneliness for the rest of his life.

    However, there was no turning back.

    That was his character.

    He was unwilling to regret and go back to square one after he made a choice.

    Just like the famous officials in the past who could betray once but never a second time, Nangong Mu chose to betray.

    He betrayed his friendship and his friends. Therefore, he would never change his mind again. Even if the path was filled with darkness, he would continue walking.

    ¡°I have already chosen to betray my friends so I will definitely not betray my family, Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, both of you have to die today!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot.

    An extremely thick red light radiated from his body.

    Boom! A bolt of blood-red lightning struck.

    It struck the top of Nangong Mu¡¯s head and formed an extremely huge Blood Offering Illustration with eight extremelyplicated symbols on it

    Blood Offering, eight directions!

    Meanwhile, white sticks of branches surged from Nangong Mu¡¯s body. The branches rose up and spread extremely quickly and were about to touch the Blood Offering Illustration on his head.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration and the Tree of God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze. This scene was extremely strange and moreover, he could not recall a legend like this in his past life.

    Was it not recorded?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure how was this world rted to the past world but he felt that there were a lot of repetitions of the legends.

    For instance, the Cosmic Disaster recorded in the stone tablet.

    It was simr to the legend of N¨¹wa.

    ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯

    Simr?!

    A thought suddenly struck Fang Zhengzhi. Yes, the legends in the past world were simr to that in this world, but not identical.

    Although it seemed to be a small difference, it gave Fang Zhengzhi a whole new train of thought.

    Tree of God...

    Talking about the records of the Tree of God...

    The types of Tree of God recorded in the ancient books shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. Amongst them, there were five Trees of God. The first one was the ¡°Immortal Tree¡±.

    It was recorded in the ¡°Sea and Mountain Scripture¡±.

    The legend stated that the immortal trees grew on thend of an immortal country in the Southernnds. One would be immortal if they ate the fruits of the immortal tree.

    It was rather exaggerated.

    But if they applied it to the current context of this world...

    It could be interpreted as ¡®the fruits on the tree gave one superpower such that one could be a sage and have an extended life expectancy and increased power¡¯.

    That was rted to Nangong Mu¡¯s Tree of God.

    Initially, Nangong Mu and Nangong Hao¡¯s powers increased tremendously after consuming the fruit on the Tree of God and entered the Sage state from the Rebirth State.

    Besides that, there was another record of a Tree of God.

    The legend stated that it grew on the Eastern Sea and the Goddess of the Sun had once ridden on it for her son.

    The tree was imed to be the door that connected the Godly Realm and the world of life and death. However, after Hou Yi stood on it and broke it while trying to shoot down the sun <sup>1</sup> , the three realms could no longer be connected.

    These were seemingly twopletely different legends and records. However, if one put them together, one could see the simrities with Nangong Mu¡¯s Tree of God.

    However, what was the Blood Offering Illustration for?

    Why did Nangong Mu fuse the Blood Offering Illustration and the Tree of God?

    Fang Zhengzhi could not figure it out but he had a premonition that there would be a terrifying turn in events.

    The Blood Offering Illustration...

    Emperor Yan?

    Nangong Hao and Monster Emperor Baizhi seemed to have mentioned about this on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The Tree of God was nted after the great battle and only descendants of Emperor Yan could control it. This was easily understandable.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could not understand something.

    What was the rtionship between the Blood Offering Illustration and the Tree of God?

 Chapter 1007 - Turn of Events, Fusion, Death of Lin Yu

    <h4>Chapter 1007: Turn of Events, Fusion, Death of Lin Yu</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how powerful the Blood Offering Illustration was. Not only did it have impressive attacking power, but it was able to swallow all other forms of power and turn it into its own power.

    Was there such a legend in the mythology world?

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was deep in thought, the white branchesing out of Nangong Mu¡¯s body finally merged with the gigantic Blood Offering Illustration in the sky.

    Buzz! An airwave shook the entire world.

    It was as though heaven and earth hadbined. The entire world fell silent and only a gigantic tree was left.

    The Blood Offering Illustration in the sky turned into beams of red light and stained the white branches red, leaving various diagrams on the branches.

    ¡°The Blood Offering Illustration disappeared?¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze. He had not figured out what exactly happened but the scene that took ce in front of him stopped him from thinking further.

    That was because when the Blood Offering Illustration disappeared, the white Tree of God had turned red as though blood was flowing in it.

    Life!

    Life was injected into it!

    Yes, that must be it.

    The Blood Offering Illustration was a ¡°medium¡±, a ¡°medium¡± that merged Nangong Mu and the Tree of God. Through the special powers of the Blood Offering Illustration, it was able to turn the power of the Tree of God into its own.

    ¡°Oh no, something bad is going to happen!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally figured out the rtionship between the Blood Offering Illustration and the Tree of God. They were not rted by the legends.

    However, they had to co-exist.

    That was because, without the Blood Offering Illustration, the Tree of God would remain as an ordinary Tree of God. Even if it was able to produce fruits, its powers could not be controlled by others.

    However, with the Blood Offering Illustration...

    Everything would bepletely different.

    When the Blood Offering Illustration and the Tree of God appeared on someone at the same time, the person would be able to demonstrate the prowess of the Tree of Godpletely as though he was the Tree of God.

    Run!

    That was the first thought that struck Fang Zhengzhi!

    That was because Nangong Mu was no longer the Nangong Mu he had known. Now, he was so powerful that he could match up to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Once Nangong Mupletely gain control of the Tree of God...

    How powerful would he be?

    Boom! Blood red thunder struck on the Tree of God and its trunk was surrounded by bolts of lightning.

    Nangong Mu haspletely vanished and his entire body had fused with the Tree of God, turning into a red and gigantic Tree of God.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    The branches began to sway and the leaves looked as though they were dripping with blood. The branches were extremely agile as though they were human arms.

    ¡°What should I do? Should I run?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly hesitant. He wanted to run, but he could not leave the Human Alliance outside like that.

    Swoosh! Just as Fang Zhengzhi was hesitating, one of the tree branches stabbed at him and the space was almost torn apart by the tree branch.

    ck cracks were formed in the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try and see!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should at least experience how powerful Nangong Mu was after he had fused with the Tree of God before he made his final decision.

    After all, even if he was unable to win, with his skill level, he should be able to escape after trying to fight with Nangong Mu?

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi charged towards the two swords. Red radiance flowed on the two long swords in his hands and his swords turned bright-red.

    ¡°Combination of Asura!¡±

    With a roar, the two swords struck the red branches at the same time.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that instead of tree branches, he had struck ¡°diamond¡± that was harder than metal. However, his rank in the previous world was only tinum, so how could he possibly damage diamonds?

    That was awkward.

    Bump! With a sharp sound, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s swords broke into halves.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stared at his broken swords.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s broken swords too.

    Both of them exchanged nces speechlessly.

    Of course, that was not the utmost concern. The greatest concern was that Nangong Mu was still nowhere to be found.

    They could not find Nangong Mu and the branches were so hard. Fang Zhengzhi would definitely be as dumb as ¡°Wu Gang¡± in the Moon Pce to strike the branches, right?

    Moreover, Chang¡¯er was not present too?

    Nangong Mu...

    Fang Zhengzhi was really not interested in him.

    ¡°Should we run?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Can we run?¡± asked Yan Xiu as he looked at the red Tree of God, then at the broken swords in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Let me change my sentence, perhaps yes,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he gave Yan Xiu a look.

    ¡°I get it.¡± Yan Xiu seemed to have understood it very quickly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was trying to lure Nangong Mu to reveal his true identity. That was because they could not continue with the battle if Nangong Mu did not appear.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, we will retreat for a little while, wait for us, we will be back!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said to the red Tree of God as he knew Yan Xiu figures out what he meant.

    ¡°...¡± The red Tree of God kept silent.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu kept silent too.

    ¡°Since he did not say anything, that means he agreed. Yan Xiu, let¡¯s go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was ready to escape when he did not hear any reply.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I thought you had the determination to battle with me, I can¡¯t believe that you still want to run away!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice finally could be heard.

    At the same time, Fang Zhengzhi saw a small head appear amongst the gigantic red tree branches.

    Nangong Mu extended his head from the red Tree of God.

    However, he no longer had theplexion of a person nor any expressions. He was like a dead tree with extremely red eyes.

    ¡°He has indeed revealed himself, so he was all along hiding amongst the tree branches!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up but he felt hopeless again when he saw the exuberant tree branches and leaves around the trunk.

    Although Nangong Mu revealed himself as what Fang Zhengzhi had expected, with the attacking power after the Combination of Asura, how could Fang Zhengzhi...

    Get across the red tree branches which he could not cut?

    He could not get to Nangong Mu at all.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I know you want me to reveal myself, now I¡¯m here, do you dare toe over?¡± Nangong Mu stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    After his sentence, two more branches reached out to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Evidently, Nangong Mu wanted to hold back both of them.

    The two branches struck at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu respectively.

    If he could not cut the tree branch apart?

    He could still dodge.

    After making this decision, a beam of azure light shed and Fang Zhengzhi appeared at another position, sessfully avoiding the attack of Nangong Mu.

    However, Yan Xiu had met some difficulties.

    The branches that were striking at Yan Xiu brushed past his clothes, tearing his sleeves and leaving a bloody cut on his arm.

    ¡°My sword is too inferior, without the Traceless Sword, I can¡¯t possibly cut these branches!¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw his two swords away.

    Ever since he had taken many swords from the Ling Yun Tower, he had broken more than 20 swords in the battles.

    Although the quality of these swords was not too bad, they were not sharp enough to be used to fight against powerful opponents and were broken very easily.

    Fang Zhengzhi missed his Traceless Sword.

    However, he had ced his Traceless Sword in the Northern Mountain Vige to confuse the demon race. It was too far away from the Holy Region.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this...

    The red branches had reached. Instead of two, there were eight branches and six struck at Fang Zhengzhi while two struck at Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Oh no, Yan Xiu can¡¯tst for long, we have to a strategic retreat!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not afford to hesitate any further when he saw the eight branches.

    That was because he knew that there was only one possible oue if this continued ¡ª both of them would die.

    He could only retreat.

    At least retreat from the area surrounded by the breath of death.

    ¡°Hell Near-Life Chains!¡± A roar was heard.

    A few gigantic chains flew from the ground and wound around the red Tree of God before striking at Nangong Mu¡¯s head.

    Nangong Mu did not duck.

    That was because the surrounding branches had already moved for a counterattack.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Loud booms were heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi took this opportunity to grab hold of Yan Xiu and run away from the breath of death without saying goodbye.

    Say goodbye?

    When he really needed to run, Fang Zhengzhi would not bother about saying goodbye.

    ¡°The Human Alliance is still here even if both of you leave!¡± The redness in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes became more intense.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    The tree branches surged towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu like rain.

    There were so many branches that they were uncountable. It was as though the entire red Tree of God was crashing towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi still managed to escape with Yan Xiu.

    After all, nobody would dare to say they are the best at escaping if Fang Zhengzhi said he was the second best.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi showed his ultimate capability of escaping and running through the boundary of the breath of death.

    This was not a big move but it was sufficient for the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to widen their eyes in shock.

    ¡°They are out?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi came out with Yan Xiu?¡±

    ¡°Both of them are holding hands!¡±

    ¡°Why are you f*cking looking at that? Is that the main point?¡±

    ¡°Er... no, why did they run out? Did they win? So ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ lost? But why didn¡¯t the breath of death disperse?¡±

    As the disciples of the Human Alliance were discussing amongst themselves, they saw blood-red gigantic tree branches emerge from the breath of death.

    ¡°What on earth is that?¡±

    ¡°Tree?!¡±

    ¡°Why is there a tree inside?!¡±

    Not only were the disciples of the Human Alliance astonished, but the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race also acted like they saw a ghost when they saw the red tree branches.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± Lin Yu was also shocked.

    That was because the spot where Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu had charged out from was coincidentally behind him. Moreover, both of them were so fast that they looked like they were teleporting.

    Was it a coincidence?

    Lin Yu did not believe that it was a coincidence

    Although it was really a coincidence, Lin Yu immediately made a defensive move. After all, he had witnessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s powers and knew that Fang Zhengzhi was more powerful than himself.

    ¡°Hmm? What a coincidence?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also shocked when he saw Lin Yu standing in front of him. However, the shock soon turned into a surprise

    ¡°Shifting Forms!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Before Lin Yu could even react, he felt a powerful force tugging on his body.

    Then, he realized that he had swapped position with Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Of course, that was not the main point...

    The main point was that at the instant he had swapped positions with Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, he saw the red tree branches covering down on his head like rain.

    ¡°Tree branches?¡± Lin Yu did not know what the red tree branches were for but he had alreadypleted his defensive move and blue ice crystals soon rose around him.

    Shifting forms?

    Lin Yu could roughly figure out the intention behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡®Shifting Forms¡¯. However, he did not understand how the tree branches could scare Fang Zhengzhi to such an extent?

    Just at this moment, the red branches zoomed down.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Yu¡¯s eyes widened continuously during the loud booms as the tree branches had passed through the icy blue shield around him and prated his body.

    Moreover, when the tree branches prated his body, he felt his internal energy disappear rapidly like melting ice.

    It was as though his energy was absorbed by the tree branches.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Lin Yu wanted to run but it was toote as his entire body and his muscles were shrinking and drying up.

    It was as though his body had be the fertilizer for the tree branches.

    Bam! Lin Yu¡¯s body exploded into a powder-like version of dry wood and vanished in thin air.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race widened their eyes in disbelief as they witnessed how Lin Yu vanished.

    He died?!

    A Godly State expert of the demon race died?!

    He died in front of them because of a bunch of strange red branches. What was happening?

    The entire world fell silent.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi froze on the spot.

    Besides them, the usually calm Yun Qingwu and the three other Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race also froze in shock.

 Chapter 1008 - Ambush, Lin Ji?

    <h4>Chapter 1008: Ambush, Lin Ji?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was too strange.

    He was a Godly State expert, what exactly were those tree branches? Why did so many tree branchese from the breath of death?

    Rumble! The thunder rumbled.

    The gray breath of death slowly subsided and icy blue radiance which belonged to Lin Yu could be seen in the breath of death.

    The blue radiance was gradually flowing on the tree branches and it looked as if the tree branches were coated with ayer of armor made of icy blue crystals.

    Finally, the gray breath of deathpletely dispersed.

    A gigantic red tree appeared in front of the disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. There were a few different colored fruits at the top of the gigantic tree.

    Red, gray, blue...

    Every fruit had aplicated pattern and a different colored essence flowing on it. Every single fruit looked extremely holy.

    Moreover, there was a small head on top of the gigantic tree branch of the red tree.

    However, the head was covered with a cloak and it was surrounded by a gray breath of death such that one could not tell the appearance.

    It was a scene that caused one to shudder.

    ¡°It¡¯s Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯! He turned into a tree?!¡±

    ¡°No way? Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ turned into a tree? So Sir Lin Yu was killed identally by Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ is indeed powerful. However, why did he kill Sir Lin Yu?¡±

    ¡°Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ did not kill him, it was Fang Zhengzhi... Fang Zhengzhi swapped position with Sir Lin Yu!¡±

    Although the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not know what exactly happened, they could recognize ¡°Chou Qi¡± from the ck cloak and the breath of death.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, so your so-called n and mission is to hide in the shadow and forever be ¡®Chou Qi¡¯?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi when he saw Nangong Mu hide his face.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu? Which Nangong Mu?!¡±

    ¡°The Nangong Mu of the... Nangong Nobles?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned when they heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    Fang Zhengzhi said that the tree was made by Nangong Mu?!

    What was happening?

    Since when did Nangong Mue into the ck stone pce and turned into a tree...

    Did Nangong Mu secretly infiltrate and kill Chou Qi?

    No, something was amiss!

    If Nangong Mu really killed Chou Qi, then Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu ought to be happy. Why did they run out in such a panicked manner?

    ¡°Could Nangong Mu be...¡± Mo Shanshi paled and a brazen thought struck him. However, this thought was so exaggerated that he could not believe it.

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Qianli also had a bad premonition.

    ¡°Grandfather, Chou Qi is Nangong Mu,¡± exined Yan Xiu.

    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Qianli was shocked.

    ¡°Chou Qi is Nangong Mu?! So this tree is... the Tree of God! The tree is the Tree of God of the Nangong Nobles!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes widened suddenly when he looked at the red gigantic tree after hearing the conversation between Yan Xiu and Yan Qianli. He had figured it out.

    Although the color of the Tree of God had changed to blood-red and was no longer the white Tree of God on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    However, the blood-red flowers on the branches of the Tree of God...

    Remained unchanged.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu has fused with the red Tree of God. Everything that had taken ce was sufficient to make Mu Qingfeng realize something was wrong.

    However, why was Nangong Mu able to fuse with the Tree of God?

    ¡°Why could Nangong Mu fuse with the Tree of God?¡± Mu Qingfeng could not understand. It was the Tree of God nted by Emperor Yan and it interlinked the realms of god, monster and demon. How terrifyingly powerful could it have been?

    ¡°It¡¯s the Blood Offering Illustration, he used the Blood Offering Illustration to fuse the power of the Tree of God unto his body,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    He said that not because he intentionally wanted to rify Mu Qingfeng¡¯s doubts but rather because Mu Qingfeng had a better understanding of this world¡¯s history than himself.

    ¡°Use the Blood Offering Illustration to... fuse with the Tree of God?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was extremely shocked when he heard this. He had guessed so but he still could not believe that it was real.

    During Mu Qingfeng and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s conversation, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stared at each other and retreated back subconsciously, trying to avoid staying too close to the red Tree of God.

    That was because they heard Fang Zhengzhi and Mu Qingfeng¡¯s conversation.

    Moreover...

    They saw Lin Yu being killed by the red Tree of God with their own eyes.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯?!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he a human?¡±

    ¡°What is happening, a Human was leading the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡±

    ¡°We were being used!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were furious.

    No matter how powerful Nangong Mu was and even if he could kill Fang Zhengzhi, he was still a human. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would never allow for a human to lead them.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I can¡¯t believe that you are still trying to sow dissent before your death. Did you purposely set a trap for me to kill Lin Yu so you can attain the trust from the rest? Or do you think the Monster Race and Demon Race are all fools?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice broke off themotion amongst the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race while a hand gradually appeared from the tree branches of the red Tree of God.

    It was a horrifying scene.

    However, that caused the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were initially talking amongst themselves to quieten down.

    ¡°Yes, Fang Zhengzhi used the Shifting Forms technique of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao to kill Sir Lin Yu!¡±

    ¡°It was an ident for Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi had always been a shameless brat, he is trying to sow dissent now, we almost fell for it!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race definitely did not believe in Fang Zhengzhi as he had done too much simr acts in the past.

    ¡°However, this tree indeed looks identical to the tree of the Nangong Nobles. How do you exin that?¡± One of the monsters who had taken part in the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain asked.

    ¡°One is white and one is red, how are they identical?¡± Another monster defended.

    ¡°You are right, this is the Tree of God of the Nangong Nobles. However, this tree belongs to me, Chou Qi, now as Nangong Tian and Nangong Hao had both died in my hands!¡± Instead of denying, Nangong Mu rified.

    ¡°I see!¡± Mu Xing and the other two Godly State experts nodded their heads.

    After all, they knew about ¡®Chou Qi¡±s powers. He could forcefully obtain others¡¯ powers upon defeating them.

    ¡°Since the Monster deities and demon deities have all acknowledged, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem!¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, Nangong Mu had died in the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain long ago. Only Nangong Tian and Nangong Hao stayed alive. However, Nangong Hao was severely injured so Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ killed them and seized their powers with the breath of death!¡±

    ¡°So Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ killed Nangong Mu and Nangong Hao!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race finally believed ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ after the three Godly State experts nodded their heads.

    Of course, be it the Godly State experts or the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, they had amon reason to believe as it was the best choice.

    The reason was simple...

    With their skill levels, they were still unable to match up to ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    Since they were unable to match up to him, the best choice was to believe him.

    ¡°So you are indeed not admitting?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had expected that to happen when he saw Nangong Mu put on his ck cloak again.

    He wanted to say, ¡®I will beat you until you admit it¡¯.

    However...

    He could not do it!

    He did not have his Traceless sword with him and could not even cut the tree branches of the Tree of God, therefore, how could he possibly hurt Nangong Mu?

    He felt helpless.

    As there was no point in him continuing with the argument.

    However, fortunately, Fang Zhengzhi did not have high hopes too as, after all, the only purpose of making thatment was to inform Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi.

    As for whether they chose to believe him, it was obvious.

    Of course, they believed him!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you very sure that ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ is Nangong Mu?¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice was heard at this moment.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. ¡°Valley Master Mo, don¡¯t think I will not dare to hit you just because you are more Senior. Is that even a question?¡±

    ¡°Hit me? Sure, but you have to defeat Nangong Mu first!¡± Instead of getting infuriated by Mo Shanshi¡¯s words, he said matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, is there any way for me to destroy this tree?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Mo Shanshi and turned to Mu Qingfeng who was deep in thought.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much understanding about the Tree of God...¡± Mu Qingfeng shook his head and sighed, ¡°In fact, I have heard the majority of the information regarding the Tree of God from another person, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°She is already dead...¡±

    ¡°Dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she was the ex-Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower!¡±

    ¡°Ling Yun Tower?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I believe that she had recorded some of the information about the Tree of God in the Ling Yun Tower but unfortunately, I did not have a chance to take a look at them.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    So he had wasted his time but obtained nothing out of the conversation. Unless he could tell Nangong Mu to wait here for him until he finished checking the information in the Ling Yun Tower?

    ¡°No need for all these troubles, it¡¯s only a tree, we still have four members, four versus one, we stand a chance to win!¡± Yan Qianli was evidently confident.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s attack!¡± Ping Yang was also extremely excited.

    ¡°Attack? What the...¡± Before Fang Zhengzhi could finish his sentence, Yan Qianli and Ping Yang had charged forward.

    Evidently, Ping Yang gained her confidence with Yan Qianli.

    However, it was not the correct time to feel confident now.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    A few red branches moved when Yan Qianli and Ping Yang charged forward and they stabbed towards the two of them.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, is there any other way out from here?¡± Cold sweat trickled down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead. He shouted towards his back as he wrapped Yan Qianli and Ping Yang with his Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    ¡°What?¡± Mu Qingfeng could not react in time.

    ¡°I asked, is there any other way out from here!¡±

    ¡°Way? I... I am not sure.¡± Mu Qingfeng was being honest as he was really not sure. In fact, ording to what he had checked out earlier on, there should no longer be any way out.

    However, the six people who left earlier on had yet to return.

    By right, if there was no way out, the six of them should return. It was rather strange since they have yet to return even though a long time had psed.

    ¡°Not sure?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    ¡°Yes, there is a cliff behind us but it is a cliff that is connected to the sky!¡± Mu Qingfeng described what he had seen earlier on during his expedition.

    ¡°Cliff?¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to continue asking, he realized he could not continue as both Yan Qianli and Ping Yang had been pushed to their limits.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had used the Heavenly Rebirth Dao to change Yan Qianli and Ping Yang¡¯s positions to help them avoid several attacks of the tree branches, Fang Zhengzhi was perspiring as the number of tree branches kept increasing.

    No.

    If the battle continued on, they would definitely die.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell that Nangong Mu did not have the intention to kill Yan Qianli and Ping Yang right away. In fact, he seemed to be creating a cage.

    A cage to trap Yan Qianli and Ping Yang inside.

    The purpose was to...

    Force Fang Zhengzhi to rescue them and end up being trapped inside the cage too.

    What should be done?

    If he attacked, he definitely would not be able to win.

    If he retreated, a cliff was waiting for him!

    Moreover, there was a big group of disciples of the Human Alliance at his back and they were not fast at escaping at all.

    For some reason, Fang Zhengzhi felt like he returned to the Three Kingdoms period in his past life. Liu Bei faced danger in the Jingzhou state and was chased after by Cao Cao but Liu Bei could not advance because he was leading tens of thousands of people.

    ¡®Am I in Liu Bei¡¯s position now?!¡¯

    ¡®But where¡¯s my ¡®Zhao Zi Long¡¯? Where¡¯s my advisor Zhuge Liang? And where¡¯s my Guan Yunchang and my good brother Zhang Yide?¡¯ <sup>1</sup>

    Wait a minute!

    ¡®I don¡¯t think I am Liu Bei!¡¯

    ¡®I am Xiang Yu, the Xiang Yu who was ambushed from all directions.¡¯

    However, my Yu Ji <sup>2</sup> ...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang in front of him and the nervous Wu Yuer behind him before his gaze fell on Yun Qingwu.

    Eh?

    I really seem to have a Yu Ji!

 Chapter 1009 - Intimacy

    <h4>Chapter 1009: Intimacy</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi always liked a line of a poem, ¡®The memory of Xiang Yu is cherished to this day because he chose to die instead of crossing the East of the Changjiang River after his defeat.¡¯ <sup>1</sup>

    Although there was nothing worthy of debate or investigation for this line of the poem, it was uncertain if Xiang Yu could rise to power again after he had made it through the East area of the Changjiang River.

    After all, in that era, Liu Bang had an obvious advantage in the battle.

    However, there was something that he was sure about.

    Xiang Yu was a heroic figure but because his entire life had been very smooth-sailing, it was very difficult for him to ept reality after a huge setback and make aeback.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, was different...

    Setbacks were normal for him.

    Escaping was even more normal.

    As the saying went, a man should be flexible.

    Xiang Yu and Yu Ji¡¯s story had ever since remained as a legend.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have a real Yu Ji but there was someone who could act as Yu Ji. That person was none other than Yun Qingwu.

    It was difficult for him toprehend it.

    But it could be easily concluded in four words.

    Live and die together.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, leave with the disciples of the Human Alliance first and let Yun Qingwu stay,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi to Mu Qingfeng as he forcefully pulled Ping Yang and Yan Qianli back.

    ¡°Leave first?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was evidently shocked.

    ¡°Yes, immediately, right now, go and verify if there is really no way out of here!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was running out of time to exin to Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Alright... but, Yun Qingwu...¡± Mu Qingfeng wanted to ask a question as he could not understand what was the purpose of letting Yun Qingwu stay if the Human Alliance retreated.

    However, Mu Qingfeng swallowed his words.

    That was because the only thing he could do right now was to trust Fang Zhengzhi. After all, apart from trusting him, the Human Alliance had no other choice.

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Amand was made.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance looked at each other in confusion.

    Wasn¡¯t there no way out?

    Where could they retreat to?

    Unless he wanted them to jump off the cliff together?!

    ¡°What are all of you waiting for? Run!¡± Mo Shanshi was much more straight to the point aspared to Mu Qingfeng. Moreover, when he said that...

    He ran!

    Yes, Mo Shanshi ran!

    He ran especially fast and did not look back at all.

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng was speechless but he had to thank Mo Shanshi for doing that because after the disciples of the Human Alliance saw Mo Shanshi run, they finally reacted.

    Run!

    If Mo Shanshi ran, then why were they still staying behind?

    All of the disciples of the Human Alliance ran towards the cliff behind them crazily.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo... runs at such a high speed!¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed when he saw Mo Shanshi leading the Human Alliance.

    The current situation required Fang Zhengzhi to be flexible.

    That was because Nangong Mu was at the peak of his powers. He had fused with the Tree of God and had three Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race supporting him.

    Judging from this situation, Fang Zhengzhi had a very low chance of winning.

    It was like a monster king taking a bet with a monster, whoever who lost would die. The oue was that the Monster King had lost.

    However, will the Monster King really die?

    If anyone believed that, then that person was really too naive.

    Fang Zhengzhi was facing the same predicament. Nangong Mu was too powerful and was powerful enough to fight against the four of them. Moreover, he had the Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race supporting him.

    Lose?

    How naive!

    Moreover...

    There was no meaning for him to go against Nangong Mu as the person who had made the agreement with Fang Zhengzhi was Nangong Mu and not ¡°Chou Qi¡±

    After Fang Zhengzhi knew the true identity of Nangong Mu, he knew that the agreement of thepetition would not be followed as it was a huge scam.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would never listen to a human.

    This could be seen from the reaction of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race when Fang Zhengzhi pointed out Nangong Mu¡¯s identity. The grudges between races could not be resolved in days.

    The agreement between Nangong Mu and Fang Zhengzhi...

    Had too many loopholes!

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them run!¡±

    ¡°Chase!¡±

    ¡°Chase and kill all of them!¡±

    As they saw the Human Alliance run away, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race begun to move as it was impossible for them to sit back and watch.

    Under the leadership of a few Monster Kings, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race charged towards the Human Alliance furiously.

    ¡°Freeze, or else I will kill Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved behind Yun Qingwu. With one hand around Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat, he pulled her towards his body.

    ¡°Young lord!¡±

    ¡°Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were shocked.

    However, they did not stop but went around Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu. Meanwhile, they looked at Nangong Mu in unison.

    As they were chasing after the Human Alliance, they were also waiting for Nangong Mu¡¯smands as he was theirmander.

    Yun Qingwu had made it clear outside the ck stone pce.

    ¡°Haha, Fang Zhengzhi, I can¡¯t believe you are using the same tactic again. How silly are you to be using the same tactic you had used earlier on when you were outside?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s throat was being restrained and her body was lying unnaturally in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest but she did not panic.

    Ping Yang, Yan Qianli and Yan Xiu were also forcefully pulled towards Fang Zhengzhi. They stared at him and could not understand why he was using Yun Qingwu to threaten the Monster Race and Demon Race again.

    Was it useful?

    If it was useful, the Monster Race and Demon Race would have retreated outside the ck stone pce.

    Why would they wait until now?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are trying to threaten me with Young Lord? You don¡¯t seem to remember what I said previously, I will only try to save Young Lord but I will not be threatened by you!¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°I know, I won¡¯t be able to threaten you with Yun Qingwu, but what if I used the entire humankind?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not release Yun Qingwu despite Nangong Mu¡¯s words.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were red.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, consider this, do you really want to make amand to kill all the Human Alliance? Do you think you would have fulfilled your mission if you did that? I know what you want, I will stay back with Yun Qingwu, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at his chest as he said.

    ¡°You will stay back with Yun Qingwu?¡± Hearing this, Nangong Mu¡¯s other arm slowly stretched out from the red Tree of God.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t you want to save Yun Qingwu? I can stay back, Yun Qingwu can also stay back, this is the best opportunity for you to save her!¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    Saving Yun Qingwu...

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Nangong Mu¡¯s purpose was not to do that.

    However, he also knew that Nangong Mu would not be able to kill the entire Human Alliance as if he would have already taken action if he really wanted to do that.

    He did not take action!

    That meant that Nangong Mu was unable to kill the entire humankind.

    In fact, Fang Zhengzhi only realized that after he saw Nangong Mu¡¯s real appearance.

    Nangong Mu wanted to be the leader of humankind and fulfill the upleted mission of the Nangong Nobles, therefore, how would he kill the entire humankind?

    Fang Zhengzhi was taking a bet.

    He was betting that Nangong Mu would definitely release the Human Alliance.

    Of course, Nangong Mu needed a reason to release the Human Alliance, and Fang Zhengzhi had already given Nangong Mu the reason to do so. It was none other than Yun Qingwu.

    ¡®The memory of Xiang Yu is cherished to this day because he chose to die instead of crossing the East of the Changjiang River after his defeat.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi made a simr decision as Xiang Yu and chose to stay behind and face death with Yun Qingwu, hoping that ¡°Han Xin¡± would be able to release the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, Young Lord is...¡±

    ¡°We hope Sir Chou Qi can save Young Lord from the Human Alliance!¡±

    ¡°Please save Young Lord, Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were moved as all of them were hoping that Yun Qingwu was able to return to the Monster Race and Demon Race to lead them again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you seemed to have forgotten about something!¡± Nangong Mu clenched his fists when he saw the Human Alliance retreat.

    ¡°No!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°How do I believe you?¡± asked Nangong Mu again.

    ¡°You only can choose to believe me,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a retarded conversation. Apart from Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stared at each other and could not understand Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew what Nangong Mu was asking for.

    It was none other than Yun Qingwu...

    Nangong Mu needed an excuse to save the Human Alliance but he did not need Yun Qingwu to return to the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to lead.

    Therefore, Nangong Mu wanted Yun Qingwu, a dead Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are you two talking about?¡± Ping Yang clearly did not understand their conversation and asked.

    ¡°Leave first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Ping Yang¡¯s question.

    ¡°What?! THe martial artspetition hasn¡¯t even ended, how can I leave?¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    ¡°Princess, Your Highness, let¡¯s listen to Fang Zhengzhi and leave first.¡± Yan Qianli disrupted Ping Yang as he knew that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely take this risky step after fighting with Nangong Mu.

    Retreat!

    It was extremely risky to retreat now!

    In fact, it was way riskier to retreat than to attack as Fang Zhengzhi could definitely drag on further until the Human Alliance fought with the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and choose to leave when everything was in a mess.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not choose to do that. That meant that Fang Zhengzhi had the thought of leading the Human Alliance.

    Therefore, why would Yan Qianli continue to suspect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention?

    Even though he did not understand, he wouldply. This was the determination of an iron-blooded soldier, a soldier who was born and lived in the battlefield.

    ¡°Grandfather, leave first!¡± said Yan Xiu.

    ¡°No, Yan Qianli, you are not only the friend of Fang Zhengzhi but also the descendant of the Yan family. You are a soldier! Now, you have to follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯smands!¡± Yan Qianli knew what his grandson was thinking about but he also knew that Fang Zhengzhi had his reason of letting them leave first.

    ¡°Grandfather...¡±

    ¡°Xiu, leave first, trust me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu. He knew that Yan Xiu would not leave but he could not let Yan Xiu stay beside him.

    ¡°We will die together!¡± Yan Xiu was determined.

    ¡°We will live together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also determined.

    ¡°We can live?¡±

    ¡°We have to give it a shot.¡±

    ¡°Alright, understood.¡± Yan Xiu stopped probing further as he already knew the answer. Without hesitation, he turned and ran towards the back.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang widened her eyes.

    Didn¡¯t the two of them say they will live and die together, so why did Yan Xiu run so quickly?

    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Ping Yang shouted and wanted to catch up.

    ¡°Ping Yang, wait.¡± Something struck Fang Zhengzhi and the Heavenly Rebirth Dao moved in his hand before he dragged Ping Yang back.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang looked extremely confused. She had finally made the decision to run and Fang Zhengzhi pulled her back again?

    What was he doing?

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi called her back, could there be something interesting for her to do?

    Thinking about that made her thrilled!

    ¡°Did you call me back because you don¡¯t bear to let me go, or did you realize how intelligent I am and need my help?¡± Ping Yang asked in anticipation.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t need your intelligence, I only need your zing Qilin Spear.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said calmly as he looked at Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi also stared at Ping Yang.

    Silence.

    Dead silence.

    Then, the zing Qilin Spear which was glowing in red was thrown towards Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang ran away pouting angrily.

    ¡°Are we not giving chase?¡± Mu Xing and the other two Godly State experts looked at Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Nangong Mu replied with one word.

    ¡°...¡± The three Godly State experts could not understand but kept silent after thinking about how Lin Yu died.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu leaned closer to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest unexpectedly and ced her mouth beside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Do you want to die with me?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s soft voice was heard. She intentionally lowered her volume so that only Fang Zhengzhi could hear her.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and leaned towards Yun Qingwu¡¯s ear. ¡°Dream on!¡±

 Chapter 1010 - The Complete Thirty-six Maps of Access to Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 1010: The Complete Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook.

    She had gone closer to Fang Zhengzhi so that others would not hear her. However, what Fang Zhengzhi did make her feel strange.

    Did he do that on purpose?

    Yun Qingwu shook her head quickly.

    That was because she knew how much Fang Zhengzhi hated her and would not initiate that intimate move. Moreover, based on her spection, both she and Fang Zhengzhi will not have a chance of surviving.

    That was Yun Qingwu¡¯s spection.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi felt Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shake and realized that his action was too intimate.

    Why did he go so close to Yun Qingwu?

    Something was wrong!

    He should have hated her!

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the dazzling face of Yun Qingwu and the blush on her face, his hand pulled Yun Qingwu towards his chest uncontrobly.

    Instantly, Yun Qingwu¡¯s body was touching Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What are you looking at, you are now my servant!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pretended to be nonchnt and did not bother looking at Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression.

    Yun Qingwu fell silent surprisingly.

    Without any resistance or speaking any words, she behaved as though she gave in to her identity as a servant andid in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were at a distance away could not see the ¡°interaction¡± between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu. They thought they saw Fang Zhengzhi coercing Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Detestable!¡±

    ¡°How could he do this to Young Lord!¡±

    ¡°If I catch him, I will cut him up into pieces!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race idolized Yun Qingwu like a God. Therefore, how would they tolerate how she was caught by a ¡°thief¡± and humiliated in such a manner?

    Unfortunately...

    They could not match up to Fang Zhengzhi.

    This made them feel helpless as no matter how much they wanted to save Yun Qingwu, they did not dare to move without Nangong Mu¡¯smands.

    Time flew by quickly.

    Soon, all the people of the Human Alliance, including Wu Yuer and Mu Qingfeng, had dispersed and disappeared from the sight of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Only Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu were left being trapped inside the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, now the Human Alliance had left, should you hand over the things that I wanted now?¡± said Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Now that you are a tree, can you still run faster than me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked back.

    ¡°I think so.¡± Nangong Mu was not surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question and replied expressionlessly.

    ¡°Then give it a shot...¡±

    Boom!

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could finish his sentence, countless blood-red tree branches came out of the ground beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet.

    Or rather, those were not tree branches.

    They were roots!

    The roots underground.

    ¡°So there is really something called roots...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked surprised but did not stop.

    He dodged them at an extremely fast speed.

    Just as he was continuously dodging while carrying Yun Qingwu, the tree roots that came out of the ground formed a gigantic ¡°birdcage¡±.

    ¡°We can¡¯t escape...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to die together with you,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi right away. He was telling the truth as he had many other things to do.

    For example, he had yet to get a room full of pearls for Ping Yang. He also had yet to lose his virginity after arriving in this world.

    Besides that...

    He wanted to find out about something.

    If Chi Guyan could wake up?

    ¡°Some things can¡¯t be aplished even if you want to.¡± Yun Qingwu did not bother too much about life and death.

    Moreover...

    She knew who Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was.

    Nangong Mu!

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race decided to believe Nangong Mu but Yun Qingwu chose to believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was somewhat unbelievable.

    However, that was the truth. Furthermore, not only did Yun Qingwu know that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opponent was Nangong Mu, but she also knew that Nangong Mu had gained control of the power of the Tree of God.

    ¡°So you want to die here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°What can I do even if I didn¡¯t want to?¡± Yun Qingwu smiled bitterly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you can¡¯t figure out what Nangong Mu¡¯s intention is. Unless you want the Monster Race and Demon Race to be used by Nangong Mu?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Are you nning to ask me for help?¡±

    ¡°Tell me everything you know about the Tree of God. If the Ling Yun Tower has records, ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± definitely will have records too!¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not forget what type of person Yun Qingwu was.

    In fact, when Mu Qingfeng said that the ex-Tower Master knew about the Tree of God, he had already confirmed that another person who was aware of it too.

    The person was none other than Yun Qingwu...

    That was because Yun Qingwu was the Demon Young Lord and she had read all of the historical books and Art of Qimen <sup>1</sup> in this world.

    If Chi Guyan was to be likened to a library for the art of war, Yun Qingwu would definitely be a collection of all the books for formations, tactics and History.

    Talking about the breadth of knowledge, if Yun Qingwu said she was second in the world, nobody would dare to say that he or she was the first.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Yun Qingwu suddenlyughed bitterly. She wasughing until her body shook.

    After she finishedughing, she said something to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Dream on!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Bolts of blood-red thunder struck on the ground. Meanwhile, the tree roots that were surrounding Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu gradually got closer and the area shrank continuously.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point for us to keep dragging this on, tell me what you know and I can leave with you, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could no longer dodge the attacks around himpletely.

    He had to start using the zing Qilin Spear to block the attacks.

    Fortunately, the zing Qilin Spear was sufficiently sharp and along with the mes, it was able to withstand the attack of the tree branches for a short while.

    However, it was only for a short while.

    Seriously?

    Did he make the wrong assumption and Yun Qingwu was already ready to face death?

    Apart from using Yun Qingwu to assure Nangong Mu, the main reason Fang Zhengzhi made Yun Qingwu stay with him was to give himself an alternative escape route.

    As the ancient saying went, as long as two parties had amon interest, even if they were enemies, they could be allies temporarily.

    Fang Zhengzhi deliberately revealed Nangong Mu¡¯s identity and had a ¡°conversation¡± with him in order to tell Yun Qingwu that both Yun Qingwu and himself were like grasshoppers on a string.

    Nangong Mu would definitely kill her.

    Therefore, by right, Yun Qingwu should be on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side. However, he did not expect Yun Qingwu to make the decision to die with him.

    ¡°I am your servant, I won¡¯t make anyments no matter how you bully me,¡± said Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡°This sentence came from you, do you think I will believe you? After you make use of me, I am still your servant, I think it would be unrealistic for me to... die together with you.¡±

    ¡°You mean you know how to deal with the Tree of God?¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up and asked Yun Qingwu Instead of answering her.

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°State your deal.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was straight to the point.

    ¡°I will not make a deal with shameless people anymore.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°In order to show that I¡¯m sincere about it, I will tell you where the Demon Lord is, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi threw his trump card after a while of hesitation.

    The reason he decided to say was not that he wanted to put the Northern Mountain Vige at danger but rather because he knew that Yun Qingwu had no more power tomand the Demon troops attack the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Or in other words...

    Fang Zhengzhi would not give her the chance to do so.

    ¡°I know where Dad is.¡± Yun Qingwu took a nce at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You know?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised.

    ¡°I knew it when you revealed your identity as Fang Zhengzhi. Dad is definitely in the Northern Mountain Vige,¡± replied Yun Qingwu without hesitation.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s change a deal. I had promised the Demon Lord to let him live for two years¡¯ time, now, I will release him back to the Blood Shadow City, how about that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother denying.

    That was because he knew that Yun Qingwu was so intelligent that she would definitely figure out that the Demon Lord was in the Northern Mountain Vige after knowing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity.

    Yun Qingwu fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu was deep in thought. Although some people may not prioritize their family members, Yun Qingwu regarded them extremely seriously.

    With regards to this...

    Yun Qingwu and Fang Zhengzhi were simr.

    Of course, Yun Qingwu was not a human but the mixed-blood of monster and demon.

    ¡°You should know that if I died here, the Demon Lord will definitely not be able to survive. Nangong Mu will also definitely not allow him to survive, and your mother, the Monster Lord...¡±

    ¡°I can tell you how to deal with the Tree of God, however, I have another condition for you on top of the release of my dad.¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her fist and looked extremely determined.

    ¡°Speak.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was happy.

    ¡°After you escape, I don¡¯t want anyone else but you to kill me. Then, bury my body with my Guqin under the ¡®Cang Ling Mountain¡¯. Do not write my full name but just the word ¡®Wu¡¯. Every year during the Qingming Festival, you have to burn a piece of ancient music for me.¡± Yun Qingwu looked like she was pleading towards the end of her sentence.

    ¡°You are not requesting me to let you off?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an impossible wish... you will not let me off and neither will the Human Alliance. I don¡¯t want to be kept in captive for my entire life, I only wish to die in your hands.¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi calmly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook.

    If he was Yun Qingwu, he would definitely ask to be released and he knew that his opponent would agree.

    But why didn¡¯t Yun Qingwu ask for that?

    Was it because she knew that he would not release her?

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s loosened his grip on Yun Qingwu strangely but he soon tightened his grip again.

    That was right...

    He would not!

    Be it himself or the Human Alliance, nobody would let Yun Qingwu off or let her remain as a major threat.

    Even if he did not kill Yun Qingwu, he would give her a lifetime imprisonment.

    Generations after generations...

    Yun Qingwu did not want to live like that, therefore she brought up the request to die in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not understand why Yun Qingwu wanted her body to be buried under the Cang Ling Mountain and requested for him to not carve her full name on her tombstone.

    Was the simple world ¡®Wu¡¯ Yun Qingwu¡¯s entire ¡°life¡±?

    ¡°Do you promise?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice disrupted Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought.

    ¡°Alright, I promise.¡± Fang Zhengzhi stabbed the zing Qilin Spear in his hand forward as he saw the imprable tree branches.

    Instantly, the raging mes made a small hole in the tree branches and caused the tree branches to break apart.

    ¡°ording to what was recorded in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±, the Tree of God was personally nted by Emperor Yan.¡± Yun Qingwu smiled heartenedly when Fang Zhengzhi made the promise and continued, ¡°However, this seed was not created by Emperor Yan.¡±

    ¡°Was it Mother Earth?¡± Fang Zhengzhi made a guess.

    ¡°It was passed by Mother Earth to Emperor Yan but the seed was not created by Mother Earth. It was plucked by her.¡±

    ¡°Plucked by her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± did not record the location in which Mother Earth had plucked the seed of the Tree of God but there was a record about some spections.¡±

    ¡°Spections?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    There were ¡°spections¡± in an ancient book. That meant that there was no evidence to prove this incident.

    Of course, that was expected.

    After all, the history of the ancient times was so long that it could only backtrack to the era of Yan Huang. Anything before that would be too ancient.

    ¡°Hmm, ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± also spected that Mother Earth¡¯s power originated from the Tree of God,¡± continued Yun Qingwu as she nodded.

    ¡°This is rted to how to deal with the Tree of God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi disrupted Yun Qingwu as the situation was so intense that a detailed story was not required.

    ¡°Yes, it is rted.¡±

    ¡°Then can you cut straight to the point?¡±

    ¡°Alright, you should remember that Mother Earth also left behind Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven, the Heaven Dao Sage Tablets, apart from the seed of the Tree of God,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, you mean?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt a sense of inspiration when he heard that but was unable topletely understand.

    ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven can control the power of the Tree of God!¡± Yun Qingwu went straight to the point.

    ¡°Hmm, you make sense but you forgot that I don¡¯t have the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!¡± Fang Zhengzhi almost wanted to strangle Yun Qingwu when he said this.

    What the f*ck!

    She might as well have not said anything!

    Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven...

    ¡®Give me theplete set of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!¡¯

 Chapter 1011 - Combine the Thirty-six Maps of Access to Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 1011: Combine the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You don¡¯t have them?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a strange expression. ¡°If you really don¡¯t, then we can wait to die together.¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was emotionless but he added a sentence after that, ¡°At least not theplete Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.¡±

    ¡°Then how many do you have?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Uh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi hesitated. He was not afraid of saying the truth but he felt strange because Yun Qingwu was the one asking the question.

    It felt like he had painstakingly saved some money secretly but was immediately busted by his wife.

    He felt guilty.

    Although they were not married and this feeling should not exist, most of the Maps of ess to Heaven that Fang Zhengzhi hade from Yun Qingwu.

    Of course, another important reason was that the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven was too precious. It would easily cause trouble if someone else knew how many Maps of ess to Heaven he had.

    The Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s biggest secret.

    Yet now, he had to reveal this secret to Yun Qingwu, a person who used to be his enemy and themander of the Monster Race and Demon Race, how would he not be worried?

    However, thinking about the deal that Yun Qingwu brought up earlier on...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was overly cautious.

    ¡°My only wish is for you to kill me with your own hands and bury my body under the Cang Ling Mountain, carving the word ¡°Wu¡± on the tombstone...¡±

    For someone who was ready to die, even if she knew how many Maps of ess to Heaven Fang Zhengzhi had, how threatening could she be?

    ¡°Alright, I have...¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought about it. He received one on the Cang Ling Mountain, followed by thirteen from Yun Qingwu, nine from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, three which he had snatched from Yun Qingwu and finally, two more from Chou Qi. ¡°I have 28 of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the two maps of Chou Qi is with you.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head and did not seem to be surprised.

    ¡°You know that Chou Qi is looking for the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised.

    Based on his understanding from Chou Qi, Yun Qingwu should not know the exact number of Maps of ess to Heaven Chou Qi had. Moreover, Yun Qingwu did not seem to be concerned about the collection of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven anymore.

    Yet now, Yun Qingwu said she knew...

    That meant that Chou Qi could be lying. Perhaps Yun Qingwu, unlike what Chou Qi had imed, was actually concerned about the maps and had been looking for them all along.

    Then could it be possible that Yun Qingwu still had some?

    This was possible and in fact very probable. After all, it had been more than six months since the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Besides that, Fang Zhengzhi had always known that Yun Qingwu had made use of the ¡®Xuanji Sect¡¯ to control the Radiant Moon Empire and War Pinnacle Empire after the Godly State experts arrived.

    Granted with these factors, it was not difficult for Yun Qingwu to obtain the remaining Maps of ess to Heaven.

    ¡°Do you still have the Maps of ess to Heaven with you?¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°No?¡± Fang Zhengzhi refused to believe her.

    ¡°There are only 36 Maps of ess to Heaven and you have 28 of them. That means you are onlycking eight...¡± Instead of answering Fang Zhengzhi, Yun Qingwu seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°Although 28 Maps of ess to Heaven are insufficient to defend against the Tree of God, they could be used to help you escape.¡±

    ¡°Used? How?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Yun Qingwu had no maps with her, he forcefully suppressed his doubts when he heard the next sentence said by Yun Qingwu.

    That was because he never knew that the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven could be ¡°used¡± as he had always thought that they were for viewing only.

    Or perhaps...

    Used to plot formations like what Yun Qingwu did in the past.

    However, plotting formations was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forte. After all, the Law of formations were made possible through the developments in a battlefield.

    The formations differed at different geographical locations.

    So here came the question...

    How to use them?

    Use them by throwing them on Nangong Mu¡¯s face?

    ¡°There are various ways to use the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven, one of which is to use it as a form of distraction to plot your formation. However, it is not the best way to use it,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°So what is the best way then?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Did the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven really have other uses? Could it really be used to throw on his opponent¡¯s face?

    ¡°Combine the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, how do Ibine them if they are notplete?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡°The Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven look the same but they are different. Each of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heavenprises of different ¡®Daos¡¯ and realms, therefore, there is a sequence. If you are able to arrange them ording to the sequence, even if you don¡¯t have theplete set, you can still form a portion of it,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Sequence? How do I know the sequence?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up again. He could give it a shot if there was really a sequence.

    It was as though he had received a map that was torn apart into 36 pieces. However, he could still piece together a part of the map with 28 pieces.

    Although the roads would not beplete, he still could obtain some hints from it.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to tell the sequence of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven at one nce but if you can deduce from the Thirty-six Dippers, it is still possible,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Thirty-six Dippers?¡± Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew what that was.

    However, the Thirty-six Dippers was a part of Astrology. There were too many different versions of it that it was impossible to master everything by reading some books.

    In order topletely understand the core of the Thirty-six Dippers...

    One had to do in-depth research.

    Moreover, one would have to spend a long time doing in-depth research and be extremely patient.

    Fang Zhengzhi was only so-so in terms of patience.

    Although he understood the surface level of it, his knowledge was not in-depth. It was difficult for him to deduce the sequence of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven using the Thirty-six Dippers.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°Then what?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked impatiently.

    ¡°Then? Then it is your own business.¡± Yun Qingwu looked extremely calm and looked like she was saying, ¡®I am only going to tell you everything I know¡¯.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    He did not mind to act humble and re-learn. However, he had no time for that now.

    Indeed, learning was important!

    ¡°You don¡¯t have much time, start now, you just have tobine the 28 pieces of the Maps of ess to Heaven together. It shouldn¡¯t be a difficult task to get out of here,¡± reminded Yun Qingwu kindly as she saw how Fang Zhengzhi kept silent.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi remained silent.

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi remained silent. The roots of the tree spurted out from the ground and twined around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s right leg, causing him to almost fall to the ground. Yun Qingwu who was beside him also fell and their faces collided with each other.

    It looked somewhat intimate.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had no mood to enjoy that as the ¡°birdcage¡± made by Nangong Mu had shrunk so much that it was almost impossible for him to dodge the strikes.

    No!

    He would definitely die if he continued dying!

    What should be done?

    He didn¡¯t know the Thirty-six Dippers...

    Wait a minute!

    Someone should know!

    Yun Qingwu!

    Fang Zhengzhi was aware that Yun Qingwu was very proficient in terms of her knowledge on the Art of Qimen. He knew that when he first went to Yun Qingwu¡¯s boat.

    Yun Qingwu must be the person who knew the Thirty-six Dippers the best in the world.

    She was a talenteddy.

    However, this talented woman was mixed blood of the monster and demon race. Moreover, she was the Young Lord who was respected by the Monster Race and Demon Race and an enemy that Fang Zhengzhi had to be wary of.

    ¡°Do you know the Thirty-six Dippers?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu would definitely know, he could not hold in his question.

    ¡°A little,¡± said Yun Qingwu without denying.

    ¡°So you can deduce the sequence of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven, right?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°Yes, but are you willing to hand the Maps of ess to Heaven over to me? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will run away with them?¡± Radiance shed across Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes and she blushed because she was too close to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She dazzled the entire nation when she turned and smiled.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never seen such a beautiful ¡°scenery¡± before. His heart fluttered when Yun Qingwu blushed.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s beauty was not the beauty when she turned and smiled.

    In fact, Yun Qingwu gave off a feeling as though she was the red in the ck ink painting. She was eye-catching but elegant.

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist.

    Yun Qingwu...

    Although she was beautiful, she was so terrifying that nobody could guess what she was thinking of.

    It was like a mystery that one would like to solve.

    However, after one solved it, one would realize that there were more mysteries behind it. There could even be a knife in the mystery, a knife that was capable of killing.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to guess what was going on in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind as he could not possibly do that.

    However, whatever Yun Qingwu said was very practical.

    Like what Yun Qingwu mentioned, Fang Zhengzhi knew that she had a deep understanding of the Thirty-six Dippers, however, would he really bear to hand over 28 of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven to her?

    What if...

    She really fled without Fang Zhengzhi?

    Even if she did not flee without Fang Zhengzhi, would Fang Zhengzhi still be able to control her like now?

    If she had the power to escape the control of the Tree of God, she would definitely be able to escape from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s control.

    This was a dilemma that Fang Zhengzhi had never faced before.

    If he did not give her the maps, he would die.

    If he did, he would die too.

    ¡°Apart from using the Thirty-six Dippers to deduce the sequence of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven, are there any other methods?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi after pondering over it and added, ¡°You know that I will definitely hand over the Maps of ess to Heaven to you.¡±

    ¡°I know...¡± Yun Qingwu was not surprised but she looked disappointed. ¡°I thought we were already a team.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered.

    He could see the disappointment in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes. It was an expression that never appeared on her before and she looked like she was the Meng Jiangnv who cried the Great Wall down <sup>1</sup> .

    Wait.

    An endless wait.

    Yet, she was ultimately disappointed.

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt that perhaps Yun Qingwu would not trick him. Perhaps Yun Qingwu really wanted to fight alongside with him.

    However, he negated this thought quickly as his opponent was Yun Qingwu.

    A woman whom he could not understand.

    ¡°Speak, you must have other ways.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth. At this point in time, he had no choice but to sound extremely harsh.

    Yun Qingwu raised her head.

    She looked quietly at Fang Zhengzhi. They were so close to each other that Fang Zhengzhi could feel the warmth in Yun Qingwu¡¯s breath.

    ¡°You want both the Demon Lord and Monster Lord to die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart fluttered again but he suppressed that feeling and reminded Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°There are no other ways, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°There is another way which does not require you to pass the Maps of ess to Heaven to me.¡± Yun Qingwu said after hesitating.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up and he rejoiced secretly to himself. Indeed, Yun Qingwu¡¯s words could not be trusted.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple, you just have to put me inside the ck-golden box containing the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven and I will be able tobine the Maps of ess to Heaven for you. Once I¡¯m done, you can use it.¡±

    ¡°Put you inside the ck-golden box?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment but soon figured it out.

    If he put Yun Qingwu in the ck-golden box, he would still have control of the Maps of ess to Heaven and all that Yun Qingwu could do was to help Fang Zhengzhi tobine the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven.

    However, the ck-golden box did not belong to a standalone Small Dimension. Instead, it belonged to apletely sealed space.

    To put it simply, it was impossible to breathe in the ck-golden box.

    In order to use the Thirty-six Dippers to deduce the sequence of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven within a limited time in a ce without air...

    How terrifyingly powerful must her state of mind be?

    ¡°Rest assured, I am confident about this but you have to remember your promise. If I die... you have to bury my body under the Cang Ling Mountain and burn a musical score for me every year on the Qingming Festival. If possible, I hope to hear... the ¡°Guanglin San¡± yed by you.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes looked dested towards thest part of her sentence.

 Chapter 1012 - Black Hair Turned White

    <h4>Chapter 1012: ck Hair Turned White</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°¡±Guangling San?¡±¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu¡¯s dested eyes and the scene when they first met on the boat shed across his mind.

    Yun Qingwu was ying the ¡°Guangling San¡± then.

    An ancient piece that was almost discontinued...

    Could he still remember it?

    One could not tell the real situation as one was caught in it.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what was going through Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind but he was slightly hesitant after listening to Yun Qingwu.

    Perhaps his state of mind was not mature enough. Perhaps he should be more firm and not be affected by Yun Qingwu¡¯s expressions.

    However...

    How many men in this world could do that? To be unmoved at all by a dazzlingdy¡¯s dested expression?

    Fang Zhengzhi hated Yun Qingwu.

    However, he felt sad and unbearable to see Yun Qingwu die.

    Should he hand over the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven to her so she did not have to take the risk?

    After all, both of them ought to be fighting together.

    ¡®She won¡¯t lie to me, right?¡¯

    No!

    ¡®What if she did?!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head violently. He wanted to trust Yun Qingwu but once he remembered Yun Qingwu¡¯s identity, he could not help but to control his emotions.

    After all, Yun Qingwu was the daughter of the Demon Lord and Monster Emperor. Even if she did not have the intention to trick Fang Zhengzhi, how would one be sure that she would disregard the Monster Race and Demon Race in her final decision?

    It was too risky.

    Once Yun Qingwu turned her back on him, the consequences would be grave.

    Yun Qingwu...

    If Yun Qingwu was not mixed blood of demon and monster, Fang Zhengzhi would have believed her. However, Yun Qingwu¡¯s identity caused her actions to be unpredictable.

    After all, there are some things that Yun Qingwu were forced to do.

    For example, there was nothing wrong with Yun Qingwu requesting to be killed after being caught by Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, once Yun Qingwu had a chance, would she still request to be killed?

    Even if Yun Qingwu was determined to die, how would she possibly leave the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race alone and let Nangong Mu take over the leadership by using ¡°Chou Qi¡¯s¡± name?

    Yes, he should not give Yun Qingwu a chance.

    ¡°Alright, after youbined the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven, I will let you out and I will leave with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi made up his mind.

    He did not want to do this but he had no choice as Yun Qingwu was, after all, too dangerous.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head gently.

    Without ming him or feeling saddened, she acted as if she already knew that Fang Zhengzhi would make such a decision. She was as calm as a peacefulke.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi decided to carry out the n as he was running out of time.

    Immediately, Yun Qingwu was kept into the ck-golden box.

    In the ck-golden box were 28 Maps of ess to Heaven.

    Such a turn of the event...

    Naturally attracted the attention of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Young Lord?!¡±

    ¡°What did Fang Zhengzhi do to Young Lord?¡±

    ¡°Did he teleport her to somewhere else? That¡¯s impossible. If he could do that, why didn¡¯t he escape?!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could not understand.

    However, the sudden disappearance of Yun Qingwu shocked them greatly as they had always hoped to get Yun Qingwu back from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, return our Young Lord to us!¡± The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could no longer hold in and attacked Fang Zhengzhi together.

    Countless of arrows and spears shot at Fang Zhengzhi and some of them were shining with radiance.

    This time, they clearly did not ask for Nangong Mu¡¯s permission as they clearly saw Yun Qingwu as their leader.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother answering the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, the attack by the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race gave him some trouble. Although the arrows and spears could not injure him, it dazzled him slightly.

    Moreover, because of his restricted movement due to the tree branches of the God of Tree, some of the arrows and spearsnded in his body.

    It was impossible for him to dodge.

    Left with no choice, Fang Zhengzhi could only set up a light shield and forcefully block the attacks. However, because of that, he used up his strength more rapidly.

    Thankfully, Fang Zhengzhi had sufficient Origin Energy in his Small Dimension.

    He could still hold on for a little while.

    However, Yun Qingwu¡¯s condition was obviously not very good.

    As Fang Zhengzhi blocked the attacks by Nangong Mu and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression turned paler.

    Thirty-six Dippers was an extremely rigorous skill to master, it was extremely difficult for one to deduce it calmly without breathing.

    It was as though one had to solve an extremelyplicated Mathematics question in a very noisy environment. Even if one could work it out, he would take much longer than usual.

    Yun Qingwu was facing a much more difficult situation.

    After all, breathing is one¡¯s instinct. If one was deprived of air for a long period of time, one might even go into aa because of theck of supply of oxygen to the brain.

    It was no longer a question regarding whether Yun Qingwu was calm enough but rather a question on whether her body could take it.

    ¡°Can you make it? If not, what should we do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could sense the situation in the ck-golden box. Apart from turning pale, Yun Qingwu¡¯s body was trembling non-stop.

    28 Maps of ess to Heaven floated in front of Yun Qingwu. She calmly stared at the maps and made gestures continuously with both of her hands.

    Time flew by quickly.

    How long could onest without air?

    It was not a difficult question.

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu¡¯s cultivation and Enlightenment State was not high. She was merely at the Star Conglomerate State and it was impossible for her to press on with her cultivation state.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Bolts of blood-red lightning struck from the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi continuously dodged the bolts of lightning while blocking the attacks of the arrows and spears from all directions with his light shield.

    Meanwhile, the zing Qilin Spear in his hand rapidly shed at the tree branches of the Tree of God. mes lit up the sky with different colored radiance.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯tst for long. Hand over what I want.¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice could be heard but he did not stop attacking Fang Zhengzhi with the tree branches.

    Instead of stopping, he attacked Fang Zhengzhi with even more branches.

    The attack was endless.

    The branches kept colliding with the zing Qilin Spear and this caused Fang Zhengzhi to perspire non-stop.

    ¡°Are you still not done?¡± As time passed, Fang Zhengzhi began to be anxious.

    However, Yun Qingwu still continued her hand gestures and did not have any intention tobine the maps.

    No!

    Yun Qingwu looked like she was unable tost through!

    Fang Zhengzhi could evidently sense the reduction in speed of Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand gestures. That meant that the deduction became more difficult towards the back.

    Should he release her from the ck-golden box?

    If this continued...

    Perhaps Yun Qingwu would really die.

    At that moment, Yun Qingwu finally started to move. With one hand still making gestures, her other hand started to make some markings on the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven.

    Multitasking?!

    Yun Qingwu...

    Had such a powerful state of mind!

    Could she do it?

    Fang Zhengzhi forcefully suppressed his urge to release Yun Qingwu as he still could notpletely believe her.

    ¡°She¡¯s a mixed blood of the monster and demon race... I can¡¯t give her the Maps of ess to Heaven, once she has the chance, she would definitely flee with the Maps of ess to Heaven. I can¡¯t give her this chance... I definitely can¡¯t be merciful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept reminding himself.

    That was because he had once trusted Yun Qingwu.

    However...

    Yun Qingwu tricked him!

    As the saying went, once bitten twice shy, Fang Zhengzhi definitely had to be wary of Yun Qingwu.

    Time continued to pass.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body trembled more vigorously. The hand which she was making gestures with trembled and her other hand stopped touching the Maps of ess to Heaven.

    However, she was still biting her lips andsting on.

    She did not send any signal for help. Even though she was already turning purple, she still continued her deduction with full attention.

    ¡°Drip, drip...¡±

    Her sweat dripped down her face like rain and dripped on the floor of the ck-golden box. Her white dress was also drenched in sweat.

    The white dress stuck to Yun Qingwu¡¯s body and made her slim figure more obvious.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could not admire her figure.

    He was shameless.

    However, this was not the time for him to be shameless as he could feel the hardship Yun Qingwu was facing now even though she was his enemy.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, why must you be Yun Qingwu? Why must you be mixed blood of monster and demon race? If you are not... perhaps we can really be friends...¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists and moved the zing Qilin Spear to vent his emotions through this torture.

    It was a hrious torture.

    Yun Qingwu had definitely tricked him before and he did not have to worry for Yun Qingwu. In fact, he once felt the urge to kill Yun Qingwu.

    However, at that moment, Fang Zhengzhi really felt that he was tortured.

    It was a strange feeling of torture.

    Perhaps it was because Yun Qingwu hadnded in such a state because of him, or perhaps it was because Yun Qingwu¡¯s sess or failure determined his life.

    Yes...

    What should he do if Yun Qingwu really does in the ck-golden box?!

    Without Yun Qingwu, how could hebine the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven, how could he even survive it?

    Suddenly, this question struck Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was right, in such a situation, he was indeed Yun Qingwu¡¯s ally. He would survive if Yun Qingwu seeded and he would die if Yun Qingwu failed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never thought that his life would be tied with Yun Qingwu¡¯s. Moreover, his life depended on Yun Qingwu.

    What a joke.

    They were actually rivals.

    Moreover, he had wanted to kill Yun Qingwu some time ago.

    ¡°No, I am a man, how can I depend on a woman to save my life?! Moreover, the woman who is saving me is the woman whom I will definitely kill!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart shuddered.

    He felt that he had made the wrong decision. He should not have kept Yun Qingwu in the ck-golden box. He should be the one doing the deduction if it was necessary.

    Although he did not know the Thirty-six Dippers very well, he should have still given it a shot.

    With his understanding of the ¡°Law of Dao¡±, perhaps he could find another way. He shoved this task to a woman without even trying.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about that, Yun Qingwu, who was initially standing in the ck-golden box, suddenly fell to her knees.

    Was she dying?!

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked, he instinctively made the preparation to release Yun Qingwu from the ck-golden box as he could not let her die. At least, he could not let her die like that.

    If Yun Qingwu had to die, she should die under his sword.

    Or else, it would not do justice to him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to release Yun Qingwu when she suddenly stood up again.

    She was trembling non-stop.

    Evidently, she was struggling very hard and her lips turned slightly ck. Her perspiration dripped on the ground like rain and formed a puddle.

    Moreover...

    Fang Zhengzhi saw how Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair turned from ck to gray and to white like snow.

    Her hair turned white in such a short period of time?!

    This was a strange scene. Moreover, Yun Qingwu had only entered the ck-golden box for less than 15 minutes.

    Within such a short period of time...

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair had turnedpletely white.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, do you... really have to work till... such an extent?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart ache. Then, he saw how Yun Qingwu began to touch the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven with both hands as though she was about to piece them together.

    Wait!

    He just had to wait for a little while more!

    Yun Qingwu was almost going to seed!

    He just had to be merciless for a while longer and Yun Qingwu would be able to piece together the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven in the ck-golden box. Then, he would be able to release her.

    No!

    Yun Qingwu was dying.

    She was really about to die. She was already dehydrated. She would definitely die if he waited for a while longer.

    ¡°Ah!!! F*ck those tricks and f*ck being merciless, I am a man!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared before he pressed his hands on the ck-golden box. ¡°Come out!¡±

 Chapter 1013 - Guangling Painting

    <h4>Chapter 1013: ¡°Guangling Painting¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Correct?

    Or wrong?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think about these questions as he had only one thought in mind. No matter what the oue was and no matter what would happen in the future, at least for now...

    He was unable to see Yun Qingwu die in front of him

    That was because he was a man.

    Buzz! At the instant Fang Zhengzhi pressed his hand on the ck-golden box, Yun Qingwu¡¯s figure appeared in front of him.

    Of course, apart from Yun Qingwu, there were the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven.

    However, the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven had formed a silvery-white bright spot and scenes kept changing in that spot.

    Mountains, rivers, flowers, trees, beasts, birds, mes, lightning...

    Everything, all forms of life and nature seemed to be congregating rapidly, causing the silvery-white spot to shine more vibrantly.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Why did this radiance appear?!¡±

    ¡°Young Lord...¡±

    ¡°Look at Young Lord¡¯s hair!¡±

    The sudden turn of the event caused the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who had wanted Fang Zhengzhi to die to freeze in the spot and everyone stared in disbelief.

    That was because Yun Qingwu had re-appeared.

    Most importantly, Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair had turned as white as snow and was no longer the ck fountain-like hair.

    What was going on?

    What happened to Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair?

    Besides that, it was evident that Yun Qingwu¡¯s face was drained of color and her lips were terrifyingly purple, as though she had been poisoned.

    ¡°What on earth did Fang Zhengzhi do?¡±

    ¡°What did he do to Young Lord? Why did Young Lord suffer such severe injuries?¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were anxious and furious.

    At this moment, the silvery-white radiance in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hands stopped moving and the scenery stopped changing too.

    It was as though time had stopped at that moment.

    The entire world quietness down and what was left was the silvery-white spot which slowly expanded and turned into a silvery-white object that looked like a scroll of painting.

    Rumble!

    Boom!

    The sky turned dark with dark clouds and bolts of lightning struck across the sky, lighting up the sky and the scroll of painting.

    It was a scroll of red and ck painting.

    At the center of the painting was a peaceful mirror-likeke that had asional waves. There were tall mountains, trees, flowers and birds flying in the sky.

    It was a scroll of painting that was ¡°alive¡±.

    Be it the water surface, mountains, trees or birds, they were all alive. Roars were heard as the birds flew past the sky. asionally, a few of them walked out of the mountains and drank water from theke.

    Spat! Just as everyone¡¯s attention was fixed on the scroll of painting, Yun Qingwu¡¯s face turned red suddenly and spat out a mouth of blood.

    ¡°Blood from the heart?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze on the spot. He knew that when¡¯s energy was severely depleted, one would spit out blood from the heart.

    That was what happened to Yun Qingwu.

    Her hair turned white instantly.

    The energy Yun Qingwu spent in the ck-golden box was terrifying.

    However, she still managed to do it.

    With such an overwhelming pressure, she spent such a short time to sessfully deduce the sequence of the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven and pieced them together.

    Hismon sense told him that he should snatch the scroll of painting from Yun Qingwu immediately as it was the product after the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven were pieced together.

    This scroll of painting was with Yun Qingwu.

    What would the oue be?

    It was beyond imagination.

    He wanted to snatch it but for some reason, he did not move. He stood on the spot quietly and observed how Yun Qingwu touched the scroll of painting.

    Yun Qingwu touched it very carefully as if she was touching something she loved. Her face was extremely pale and her hair was white as snow.

    However, Yun Qingwu did not seem to care about this.

    At this moment, she only had the scroll of painting in mind. She was admiring it and ignored the blood that was spurting in the sky. She was admiring it silently and nothing seemed to distract her.

    ¡°What is Young Lord holding onto?!¡±

    ¡°That looks like a scroll of painting...¡±

    ¡°The painting is moving!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stopped moving and attacking Fang Zhengzhi and fixed their gazes on Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Could this be...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s bloodshot eyes disyed a sense of shock when he saw the trees on the painting move in the wind.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu slowly turned her head around.

    Then, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. Her eyes were as beautiful and ck as before and they were calm like water.

    However, she could no longerst.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, you...¡± Fang Zhengzhi saw how Yun Qingwu¡¯s body was falling to the ground and moved. Instead of snatching the scroll of painting from her, he supported Yun Qingwu¡¯s body and rested her head on his shoulder.

    Yun Qingwu was drenched in sweat but Fang Zhengzhi did not care about that. He supported Yun Qingwu silently and warmed her ice-cold body with the warmth of his body.

    Suddenly, Yun Qingwu smiled.

    She showed a heartened smile as though she was enjoying the sunset.

    It was warm and beautiful but it was already sunset.

    Then, Yun Qingwu tightened her fists and grabbed onto the scroll of painting tightly before passing it to Fang Zhengzhi slowly.

    ¡°Finally, we... we can fight...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, we are fighting alongside each other.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded strongly and passed his Origin Energy to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Thank you...¡±

    ¡°Why are you thanking me? I should be the one thanking you!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, you... are right, you should thank... thank me. Then can I... bring up a... another deal?¡±

    ¡°Speak!¡±

    ¡°I want to name... name this scroll... scroll of painting. I want to call it...¡±Guangling Painting¡±, do... do you think it is okay?¡±

    ¡°Guangling Painting?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body froze. His tightened his fists again as he looked at the hopeful eyes of Yun Qingwu and nodded vigorously, ¡°Alright, I will name it ¡°Guangling Painting¡±!¡±

    ¡°I... I... really want to take... take another look...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice stopped as she had gradually closed her eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking.

    He could feel that Yun Qingwu¡¯s heart was still beating but her breath was extremely heavy, as though she wanted to gain back everything she had lost.

    Yun Qingwu...

    This woman!

    After obtaining the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±, instead of returning to the Monster Race and Demon Race, she handed the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± to Fang Zhengzhi in front of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not understand what was going on in Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind.

    Was she silly?

    Why didn¡¯t she escape by making use of this golden opportunity? If she had escaped, Fang Zhengzhi would not have the ability to give chase.

    If Yun Qingwu used the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± to escape from the ck Stone Pce and went back to the Great Swamp, she could make use of the remaining force of the Monster Emperor and the Monster Race and Demon Race to gain control of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race again.

    Why didn¡¯t she do that?

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu should be aware of the consequences she would face if she stayed behind.

    Death!

    Yes, when Fang Zhengzhi got hold of the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±, everything would return to square one and Yun Qingwu would end up dead.

    Yun Qingwu was so intelligent, didn¡¯t she think of this?

    Did she be foolish after using too much brainpower in the ck-golden box?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not sure. Yun Qingwu was so intelligent that she was terrifying. However, at least for now, she was in his arms.

    Therefore, he should protect her.

    ¡°¡±Guangling Painting¡±?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took the scroll of painting from Yun Qingwu and looked at the birds flying across the sky as well as the waves on theke.

    So that was it.

    After Fang Zhengzhi touched the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±, he felt the wonder of the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±. It was almost apletely isted space.

    Or it could be called a Small Dimension that was not rted to a human heart.

    Although the Small Dimension was notplete and seemed to becking in something, the feeling it exuded made Fang Zhengzhi shudder.

    ¡°Attack!¡± At this moment, Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was heard, ¡°Mu Xing, don¡¯t you want to get Young Lord back? What are you waiting for!¡±

    ¡°Get Young Lord back?!¡± Mu Xing and the other Godly State experts were stunned when they heard Nangong Mu¡¯s sentence.

    Then, their eyes lit up.

    That¡¯s right!

    What are they waiting for?

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Get Young Lord back!¡±

    ¡°Kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    Mu Xing, the other two Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race regained their senses and raised their weapons.

    At this moment, the tree branch that had trapped Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu initially gradually opened up to give a space sufficiently wide to allow Mu Xing and the Godly State experts to pass through.

    Nangong Mu could no longer sit still.

    Although he was not sure whether the scroll of painting in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand had something he was expecting, he really could no longer sit still.

    He had to end the battle as soon as possible.

    In order for things to proceed smoothly, he had to kill Fang Zhengzhi as quickly as possible.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of blood-red lightning struck from the sky towards Fang Zhengzhi. Meanwhile, countless of red tree branches of the Tree of God began to stab at Fang Zhengzhi furiously.

    Nangong Mu was evidently going crazy.

    Without any hesitation, the red tree branches were like sharp swords and did not care about Yun Qingwu¡¯s safety.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he looked at the three Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were charging towards him.

    Stayingposed and fearless despite facing tens of thousands of soldiers.

    That was everyone¡¯s dream.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not have much time to enjoy this wonderful dream. However, he was anticipating what state of mind would he have when he was facing tens of thousands of soldiers?

    Now, he could understand that state of mind.

    Fearless!

    Fearless despite facing tens of thousands of soldiers!

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how powerful this ¡°Guangling Painting¡± is?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi tossed the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± above his head as he smiled.

    Meanwhile, a gigantic Rebirth te appeared on the top of his head and five different colors of radiance flowed on the Rebirth te.

    Combination.

    Combination of the Rebirth te and the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±.

    It looked impossible but when Fang Zhengzhi touched the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±, he knew that it was definitely possible.

    That was because the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± was an isted Small Dimension.

    And the power of this Small Dimension...

    Was the origin of all things in the world.

    Buzz! When the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±bined with the Rebirth te, the Rebirth te which was originally glowing with five colors of light suddenly became eye-blinding.

    It was as though life had been injected into the Rebirth te.

    The sparks of silver light shone on the Rebirth te and lightened it uppletely. Moreover, something seemed to be changing on the Rebirth te.

    They were tall mountains.

    They werekes with waves.

    They were also birds flying in the air.

    Inside the Rebirth te...

    It seemed toprise of everything in the world.

    Meanwhile, a Rebirth te identical to that above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head was seen in his eyes and the eye-blinding radiance blinded the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Anyone who blocks me will die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s zing Qilin Spear moved and stabbed outwards as the Rebirth te above his head spun furiously.

    Fang Zhengzhi was like the Rebirth te and the Rebirth te was like Fang Zhengzhi.

    Both of their powers were merged.

    A golden spark shone and turned into thousands of beams of light. Different sounds echoed in the air. They were sounds of the mountain and the sea, sounds of a thunderstorm and sounds of the roars of the beasts.

    ¡°What?!¡± Mu Xing who had just reached the front of Fang Zhengzhi could not react in time before the golden beams of light shone at him.

    His body was unconsciously increasing in size and he became as tall as a mountain. The ck scales covering his body was glistening like metal.

    That was Mu Xing¡¯s actual form.

    That was because Mu Xing could sense an unforeseen danger. The golden beams of light were not only eye-blinding but extremely sharp.

    Boom!

    The beams of golden light surged towards Mu Xing and swallowed the mountain-like body of Mu Xing like a golden ocean.

 Chapter 1014 - Madness Due to Despair

    <h4>Chapter 1014: Madness Due to Despair</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°No!¡± Mu Xing roared indignantly.

    He could feel the power of the golden beams of light. He wanted to escape from it but they had covered his body and was cutting him.

    It felt as though tens of thousands of ants were feeding on his body.

    The scales on Mu Xing¡¯s body kept splitting apart and his flesh could be seen. Then, his flesh split apart too and his bones were exposed.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    The more terrifying thing was that the bones were also splitting apart. That was extremely shocking as Mu Xing was a Godly State expert of the Monster Race and had extremely hard bones.

    Boom! As Mu Xing¡¯s bones split apart, his body eventually exploded. Instead of a Monster Pearl, a cloud of white powder was left floating in the air.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The two Godly State experts behind Mu Xing froze on the spot and looked extremely shocked when they saw this.

    A Godly State expert died in one strike of attack!

    Moreover, none of his remains were left behind. It was as though he had been swallowed by the beams of golden light.

    It was too terrifying!

    The two Godly State experts were terrified. They were powerful in the ancient battlefields and were able to defend themselves if they did not encounter the strongest opponents.

    However, that was the ancient battlefield.

    Yet now, the current world they were in was no longer as cruel as the ancient battlefield. It was ¡°weak¡± due to theck of the Reiki energy from the sky and earth.

    They had thought they could rule this world.

    However, now...

    They were encountering death. It could be said to be a coincidence for the ¡°Space-Splitting Demon God¡± to die when he first arrived in this world. However, were the continuous deaths of other Godly State experts coincidences?

    If they were coincidences, then what about the scene ahead of them?

    Was it a coincidence for Mu Xing to be killed by Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was too powerful!

    The two Godly State Experts could not believe how a human could be so powerful to be able to kill a Godly State Expert in such a manner that they could not defend themselves at all.

    Moreover...

    There was not only one powerful individual like Fang Zhengzhi.

    Behind them, there was ¡°Chou Qi¡± who had turned into a red Tree of God. He suddenly became powerful as well.

    Simr to Fang Zhengzhi, ¡°Chou Qi¡± had killed Lin Yu in one strike of attack.

    However, this was still eptable as, after all, Chou Qi was an exceptionally weird Godly State Expert.

    But Fang Zhengzhi?

    He was merely an ordinary individual in the world that wascking in Reiki energy, how could he be so powerful?

    The two Godly State experts were extremely terrified.

    For the first time in their lives, they felt the danger of the world. This caused them to stop and they even felt like retreating.

    However, just at this moment, a figure appeared in front of them and he was carrying ady in his hands.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡± The two Godly State experts could not see Fang Zhengzhi clearly but they saw a pair of eyes.

    It was glowing with five different colors and had sparks of silver light. It was so bright that it almost prated their hearts.

    It also sent chills down their backs.

    ¡°Run!¡± The two Godly State experts wanted to rescue Yun Qingwu but they decided not to as they were in an extremely dangerous situation.

    If they died, they would be nothing.

    The two Godly State Experts has experienced the cruel ancient battlefield and witnessed countless death scenes. That made them cherish their lives much more.

    They did not exchange eye contact.

    However, they made the same decision.

    They turned and ran.

    Boom! The ground cracked.

    At that instant, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s zing Qilin Spear also reached them and made a gigantic hole in the floor with one strike of the zing Qilin Spear.

    Small stones flew and hit the backs of the two Godly State Experts.

    Bam!

    Bam...

    Although the small stones were not extremely sharp, under Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack, they were like sharp knives and were extremely powerful.

    The two Godly State Experts felt the pain on their backs.

    The powerful force almost caused them to fall. If they were not experienced, they would have already fallen onto the ground.

    This was merely a broken stone attack by Fang Zhengzhi.

    What would happen if they were hit right on their faces?

    Gulp! The two Godly State Experts took a deep breath as they could not imagine how terrifying the strike would be if they had not made a run for it.

    Or rather, if they had run with a slight hesitation, they would have ended up like Mu Xing.

    ¡°Escapist, die!¡± Just as the two Godly State experts were about to escape from the ¡°cage¡±, a cold voice was heard

    ¡°Die?!¡± The two Godly State Experts froze.

    Just a while ago, they were respected by the Monster Race and Demon Race as Monster Deities and Demon Deities just like ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    However, now...

    They realized that they seemed to have turned into pawns.

    Moreover, they are like pawns that were easily disposed of and killed by others.

    The two Godly State experts were extremely indignant. They had been sealed and trapped in the gxy for thousands of years and they ought to be respected and idolized by millions of people after they had descended.

    Why did they end up like that?

    What was the reason?

    It ought to be a battle where they could have won. When Yun Qingwu invited them, they had once disregarded her invitation and felt that Yun Qingwu was being too careful.

    Did she need to send out so many Godly State experts to kill the Human Alliance?

    That was too exaggerated.

    That was what went through the two Godly State Experts¡¯ minds initially. However, in a blink of an eye, only three Godly State experts were left and Yun Qingwu had turned into a servant with her hair entirely white.

    It was an unimaginable oue.

    Even until now, the two Godly State experts still could not understand what on earth had happened.

    However, this was no longer important as after the roar was heard, two red tree branches had appeared on their bodies.

    The two red tree branches prated their bodies.

    The branches stabbed their chests like two sharp swords and consumed their energy, causing them to feel weaker and weaker.

    ¡°So... cruel!¡±

    ¡°Indeed... Chou Qi, we will... never forgive you!¡±

    The two Godly State experts¡¯ bodies shrunk rapidly and their flesh dried up like tree branches.

    Meanwhile, the tree branches that had prated their chests turned bright red as though blood was flowing on them. The scene made one shudder in fear.

    Crack! At this moment, a crisp sound was heard and one of the red tree branches cracked open.

    A spear which had mes spurting out of it threw the tree branch to the side.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± The Godly State Expert, who was almost shriveled up, looked at the broken red tree branch in disbelief. He could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi saved him.

    Why did Fang Zhengzhi save him?

    Was he trying to show pity?

    Or was it because he had a deal with Yun Qingwu...

    At this moment, the spear which broke the tree branch stabbed his throat.

    ¡°...¡± The Godly State Expert widened his eyes.

    So Fang Zhengzhi did not actually have the intention to save him. Did he break the tree branch in order to kill him by himself?

    So he was over-imagining things?

    The Godly State expert felt victimized. Moreover, he knew that he would pass away without being able to say anything.

    That was because beams of golden light were wound around the spear that had prated his throat. It tore his body apart like a sharp spinning knife.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Another Godly State Expert had died.

    This happened in a blink of an eye. Before the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could enter the ¡°cage¡±, two Godly State Experts had died before their eyes.

    Moreover, one of the other Godly State Experts was shrinking non-stop. Like a wild flower that was withering in the winter, it shrunk rapidly and was gone in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned.

    They did not know how to react to the situation as it was so shocking that they could not think properly.

    Dead...

    All of them were dead!

    All of the three Godly State experts died in front of them.

    Just a while ago, the three Godly State experts were standing in front of them and charged into the cage to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    But what happened in the end?

    Fang Zhengzhi was still standing in front of them, perfectly unharmed.

    However, all of the three Godly State experts who charged into the cage had died. Two of them died because of Fang Zhengzhi and one died because of Sir ¡°Chou Qi¡±.

    Why did this happen?!

    They had never felt so helpless before. When Yun Qingwu was leading them, although they lived in agony, they had never felt helpless before.

    Yet, what happened in front of them was a huge blow to them.

    It was not because of the death of the three Godly State experts but rather because their hopes had perished in an instant.

    That feeling...

    Was a disappointment.

    An intense disappointment towards the Godly State experts, towards ¡°Chou Qi¡± and towards the future. In fact, they did not even care about their lives anymore.

    For some reason, all of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race turned to look at ady in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms instantly.

    Yun Qingwu!

    Their Young Lord, their Young Empress was unconscious with her hair entirely white.

    ¡°Young Lord, what exactly happened to you?!¡±

    ¡°Is Young Lord really going to leave us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi who took Young Lord away from us and destroyed our hopes. I want to get Young Lord back, I will get her back no matter what!¡±

    ¡°Yes, kill Fang Zhengzhi and get Young Lord back!¡±

    The disappointment was a huge blow to the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and they felt that everything was progressing towardsplete failure.

    However, this disappointment actually evoked the ferocity of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    That was because...

    The only emotion they felt was unwillingness.

    That was because...

    They wanted to get their Young Lord and the hopes that they had lost back.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race surged forward like floodwater. They did not retreat or intentionally keep a distance away from Fang Zhengzhi. Instead, they charged towards him like a ¡°pack of wolves¡±.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who was charging towards him and felt an overpowering killer aura.

    That was definitely not the aura that an ordinary troop should have.

    In the past, there were many famous battles where the minority won the majority. For example, the Battle of Red Cliffs in the Three Kingdoms era and the Battle of Poyang Lake in the Ming Dynasty.

    There were many such battles.

    However, these battles usually involved abination of factors of nature, manpower, and schemes. It could be considered as something wondrous but not something to do with bravery.

    However, there was a battle that could be considered the bravest battle of all times.

    It was the ¡°Battle of Pengcheng¡± during the era where Xiang ahh and Liu Bang fought.

    In that battle, Liu Bang had a troop of 560,000 soldiers while Xiang Yu only had 30,000.

    560,000 against 30,000 was an extremely exaggerated ratio.

    Even though the victory could be credited to Xiang Yu¡¯smands, in the situation where there was a huge disparity in terms of the size of the force, the reason for victory could only be...

    Bravery!

    Xiang Yu¡¯s bravery and the bravery of the 30,000 soldiers caused Liu Bang to suffer the worst loss in his life, his troop of 560,000 soldiers suffered grave injuries and countless deaths.

    While facing the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Fang Zhengzhi thought of the word ¡°bravery¡±.

    Of course, the bravery of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not originate from Nangong Mu or the three dead Godly State experts.

    It came from Yun Qingwu!

    While facing a desperate situation, they were furiously searching for theirst hope.

    They went all out and had no concerns as they were ready to fight to their death.

    ¡°Sigh, Yun Qingwu...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu, her closely shut eyes, her pale but beautiful face, and her snow-white long hair.

    ¡°Attack!¡± One of the spears of the Demon soldiers stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi blocked the attack and the spear of the Demon soldier broke apart. His body was swallowed by the mes and he turned into ashes.

    However, instead of indignance in his eyes, Fang Zhengzhi saw an expression of relief.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race dashed forward and attacked Fang Zhengzhi from all directions, each of them showing wildness in their eyes.

 Chapter 1015 - Different Races had Different Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 1015: Different Races had Different Thoughts</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were mad.

    They were like famished wolves and furious roars echoed through the air. All the soldiers charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s zing Qilin Spear kept stabbing at the soldiers and every strike he made killed a few soldiers and severely injured dozens of them.

    It was an insane massacre.

    Roars and screams were heard.

    Blood formed a puddle on the ground and the entire ground was soonpletely red.

    As the battle between Fang Zhengzhi and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race continued, the red Tree of God became even redder and many fruits began to bear on the tree branches.

    Red, blue, green, ck, white...

    ¡°Stop... stop it... they are... the people of my race...¡± A weak voice was heard. It was from Yun Qingwu.

    She was still in aa.

    However, it was as though she had seen what happened in front of her. Perhaps she was dreaming.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body trembled.

    He looked at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were charging towards him. There were too many of them who entered from the opening of the ¡°cage¡±.

    It seemed like...

    It was advantageous for Fang Zhengzhi

    That was because the opening was not big and hence not many soldiers reached Fang Zhengzhi at one go.

    Why didn¡¯t Nangong Mu open the cagepletely?

    Fang Zhengzhi noticed the gigantic red Tree of God instantly and the fruits borne on the tree.

    The corpses of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race on the ground dried up and became the fertilizers for the Tree of God.

    ¡°Nangong Mu...¡± Fang Zhengzhi had always thought that Nangong Mu would kill him while the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were going wild. However, it seemed like his guess was wrong.

    Nobody knew what was going through Nangong Mu¡¯s mind.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could tell that Nangong Mu was making use of him to deplete the strength of the Monster Race and Demon Race while increasing his own power.

    ¡°Stop... stop killing each other...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again. She grabbed on tightly to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms and looked like she was suffering from great pain.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The spears of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi again. They were mad. They could not hear Yun Qingwu at all because they only had one thought in mind.

    Kill Fang Zhengzhi and get their Young Lord, Yun Qingwu, back.

    The zing Qilin Spear in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand blocked their attack and the soaring mes lit up the sky, painting the entire sky golden.

    Meanwhile, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race flew across the sky due to the impact. Their bodies collided and blocked the opening of the cage.

    ¡°Hmm?! I didn¡¯t die!¡±

    ¡°I am not injured?¡±

    ¡°I blocked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack?!¡±

    The soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished because they were determined to die when they charged forward.

    They did not die?

    This came as a surprise for them.

    They wanted to get up from the ground instinctively but they felt that their bones were broken and they were unable to move.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Nangong Mu.

    He seemed to have understood why Nangong Mu intentionally made a narrow opening in the cage. It was to force him to charge towards the opening.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu mobilized three Godly State experts and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to enter from the opening, surrounding Fang Zhengzhi and attacking him continuously.

    It was an amazing scheme.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was unable to break the tree branch of the red Tree of God apart, he could only proceed ording to Nangong Mu¡¯s n.

    Or until he killed all of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    By then, Nangong Mu would be able to take revenge for the Monster Race and Demon Race ¡°whole-heartedly¡± and kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Of course, Nangong Mu would not mind if Fang Zhengzhi died due to exhaustion.

    As for Yun Qingwu...

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that Nangong Mu had various ways to stimte an ident and put the me on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sit this one out and reap the spoilster? Unfortunately...¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around and ran backward.

    ¡°Hmm?! Trying to escape?¡± Nangong Mu, who was looking from the red Tree Of God, moved when he saw that. Then, countless red tree branches fell from the sky.

    Instead of attacking Fang Zhengzhi, the tree branches cast a gigantic web at the direction Fang Zhengzhi was charging towards. The tree branches intertwined and formed a bloody web.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, you can¡¯t stop me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Nangong Mu was up to. He raised the zing Qilin Spear in his hand and stabbed the bloody web in front of him.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t break through the defense of the Tree of God, just give up now!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s cold voice was heard. He was evidently extremely confident of the defense of the Tree of God.

    However, right after he finished his sentence, a hole was formed on the bloody web.

    It was a small hole but it did indeed break apart.

    Seven or eight tree branches were broken by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spear.

    Fresh blood flowed from the tree branch of the Tree of God andnded on the ground, radiating heat that was boiling hot.

    ¡°It broke open?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi broke through the defense of ¡®Sir Chou Qi¡¯s¡¯ tree branches!¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race wanted to charge in but the opening was blocked by the severely injured soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race and they were unable to enter the cage.

    ¡°No way!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s tone changed from one that was cold and full of confidence to one of disbelief.

    Meanwhile, he started to wave his hands and countless tree branches extended down from the sky while red roots prated the ground.

    The tree branches from the sky intertwined with the tree roots from the ground.

    It formed a wall made up of tree branches.

    The thickness of the wall was at least twice as thick as the bloody web. The tree branches were also extremely thick.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, have you heard of the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± before?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on Yun Qingwu as he looked at the red wall of tree branches in front of him.

    ¡°I already said, I am Chou Qi!¡± Nangong Mu was not easily tricked.

    ¡°I send the person I care about off with the Guangling song, only hoping to meet again in the future...¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he looked at Yun Qingwu. Meanwhile, he tightened his grip on the zing Qilin Spear.

    Boom!

    Countless golden beams surged from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and formed a golden-silver Rebirth ring with the Rebirth te on the top of his head.

    A silver radiance shone from the Rebirth te.

    The golden radiance flowed into the Rebirth te.

    This scene looked like the merger of Heaven and Earth.

    After that, Fang Zhengzhi began to move. He stopped looking at Nangong Mu and stabbed at the red wall of tree branches in front of him. The golden-silver radiance blended together to form a spear that was crystal clear.

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t break through!¡±

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and spear prated the red wall of tree branches. Blood spurted in the sky as though the tree branches were spurting blood.

    That wasn¡¯t the end.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stop moving his spear. He continued to advance forward and stabbed the red tree branches, cutting a few of thempletely.

    ¡°Im... impossible!¡± Blood trickled down the corner of Nangong Mu¡¯s mouth and the Blood Offering Illustration spun continuously in his blood-red eyes.

    A terrifying bloody mist fell from the sky and covered the bodies of the soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t breathe...¡±

    Shouts were heard and hundreds of soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race fell on the ground after their bodies were covered by the bloody mist and their bodies shriveled up.

    Eventually, their bodies and bones turned to a white powder form.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped moving and looked at Nangong Mu who had his head and arms exposed from the Tree of God. Then, he looked at the struggling soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race on the ground.

    They were not people of his race.

    As an ancient saying went, different races had different thoughts.

    By right, Fang Zhengzhi should not feel anything for the dead soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race, however, for some reason, his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.

    That¡¯s right!

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were not humans.

    However, they were still lives.

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to make ament but he could not say anything as he had also been killing the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race earlier on.

    Many lives turned into corpses in his hands.

    Ice cold corpses.

    And the bloody river on the ground.

    If Yun Qingwu did not speak, he would probably continue killing the soldiers...

    Everything was telling Fang Zhengzhi that he had killed almost as many lives as Nangong Mu. In fact, a few hundred monsters and demons died under his spear.

    A general conquers at the expense of myriads of lives...

    A general conquers at the expense of myriads of lives!

    Fang Zhengzhi bit his lips until it bled. He was not someone who craved blood but he had killed too many lives.

    In the battle in the Southern Region...

    In the Holy Region...

    In the Blood Shadow City ...

    He had killed many lives repeatedly with his sword.

    That was not what he wanted to do or see but he still did it. He killed many monsters, demons, and even humans.

    Battle.

    The battle amongst humans, the battle between demons and monsters, and the battle between humans and the monsters and demons...

    There were way too many battles...

    From the establishment of a dynasty to suspicions between the Monster Race and Demon Race and the conflict between humans and the monsters and demons, everything could result in a battle. The shared point about these battles was that it resulted in a mountain of remains and a river of blood.

    ¡°Why must we fight?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not want to live this way. He would rather live a peaceful life.

    For example, owning a huge mansion with jewelry and hundreds of plots ofnd, hundreds of servants and a gentle and virtuous wife who could cook well...

    Hmm, the best mansion would be one that was in front of a mountain and faced the ocean.

    Fang Zhengzhi had subconsciously added another point to his goal of living an ordinary life. However, unfortunately, he had yet to live such an ordinary life.

    What happened to the saying that went ¡®Within a book, there is a house of gold, and within the book, there is a beautiful girl¡¯?

    Everything was a lie!

    F*cking lies

    Since the age of six, Fang Zhengzhi had been studying extremely hard. He attended the examination for the Law of Dao when he was fifteen and had continuously obtained the Double Roll Champion since then.

    Wasn¡¯t that a happy and carefree history of how a schr grew up?

    Why did he end up in the dispute of the dynasties and the rebel incidents of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Southern Region?

    And eventually...

    The event between humankind and the Monster Race and Demon Race also involved him.

    How frustrating was that?

    That was not the life Fang Zhengzhi wanted. He only wanted an ordinary life.

    Wait a minute!

    He seemed to be thinking too much.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped himself from the thoughts and looked at Yun Qingwu and Nangong Mu. ¡°Why is it so difficult for me to live an ordinary life?¡±

    ¡°Ordinary?¡±

    ¡°Did he say he wants an ordinary life?!¡±

    ¡°What doe he mean?¡±

    When the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race heard Fang Zhengzhi, they were extremely confused as they could not understand why Fang Zhengzhi mentioned about an ¡°ordinary life¡± out of the blue.

    Wasn¡¯t the most important task to continue killing them?

    What a tremendous change in his train of thought!

    Of course, no matter how surprised the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were, it was an undeniable fact that Fang Zhengzhi had escaped from the cage he was trapped in.

    They did not question the bloody mist.

    That was because they were soldiers and it was their duty to obey themands given to them. That was a rule set by Yun Qingwu when she was still their Young Lord.

    They could not change it.

    Even though they hated their ¡°Sir Chou Qi¡± very much, they were still soldiers and could not question ¡°Sir Chou Qi¡± at that point in time.

    Therefore, they were still focused on getting Yun Qingwu back.

    After Fang Zhengzhi escapes from the cage...

    They had a chance.

    That was because they had surrounded the cage and they were no longer constrained by the narrow opening of the cage after Fang Zhengzhi escaped. They could finally attack him.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡±

    ¡°Get Young Lord back!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race surged towards Fang Zhengzhi like a gigantic wave.

    Rumble! The ground shook. Almost instantly, the troops of th Monster Race and Demon Race swallowed Fang Zhengzhi and did not even give him a chance to speak.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Kill him now!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Fang Zhengzhi escape!¡±

    Roars were continuously heard.

 Chapter 1016 - The Secret of the Black Stone Palace

    <h4>Chapter 1016: The Secret of the ck Stone Pce</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi so badly.

    However, they realized that something was wrong as they could no longer see Fang Zhengzhi as more monsters and demons crowded towards the center.

    As Nangong Mu saw this, he was stunned as Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu hadpletely vanished.

    Did they vanish?

    ¡°Scram!¡± Nangong Mu roared furiously. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not be killed so easily by the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    There was only one possibility.

    Fang Zhengzhi used the Heavenly Rebirth Dao to escape as the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race surrounded him. After all, there were too many of the monsters and demons.

    It was not difficult for Fang Zhengzhi to escape in the chaotic scene.

    ¡°Where is he?!¡±

    ¡°Where did he go?¡±

    ¡°Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, I think Fang Zhengzhi fled with Young Lord!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race regained their senses after hearing Nangong Mu¡¯s voice. However, it was toote.

    Fang Zhengzhi disappeared.

    He disappeared into thin air.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± Blood flowed in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes and the gigantic red Tree of God vanished and flowed into his body.

    He could not wait to kill all of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, he could not do it now as he had to make use of them to fight against the Human Alliance.

    He thought he would definitely win initially but Fang Zhengzhi still managed to escape. Moreover, he escaped along with Yun Qingwu. How could Nangong Mu tolerate that?

    ¡°Fled? Did I flee?¡± Just as Nangong Mu was furious, a voice came from above him. It was very sudden and it caused his body to shake vigorously.

    ¡°What?!¡± Nangong Mu could recognize the voice. He moved back without even daring to take a look.

    However, despite that, he felt a sharp pain on his right arm.

    The zing Qilin Spear had prated his arm. Blood spurted out of his arm and the figure above him blended into a beam of azure blue radiance.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t die? See you again!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°See you again?!¡± Nangong Mu looked at the blue radiance that vanished from his original position and his eyes twitched uncontrobly.

    It was too risky.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strike missed him by an inch.

    If he did not look up because of curiosity, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spear would have prated his skull instead of his arm.

    Chills went down Nangong Mu¡¯s back when he thought of this.

    Speaking of sneak attack...

    Fang Zhengzhi was an expert at that because nobody would expect Fang Zhengzhi to return for another strike even though he did not seed.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you haven¡¯t changed!¡± Nangong Mu gritted his teeth but he knew that Fang Zhengzhi had really left this time.

    ¡°Chase him!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ...

    Behind a rock at a distance away, Fang Zhengzhi reappeared from the azure blue radiance and quickly carried Yun Qingwu from the ground before retreating to the back.

    Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the rest had already left for a while

    However, they did not give him any signals. That meant that they should have at least reached the next position and was no longer trapped on the cliff.

    Behind him, there should be a way out.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was specting about this, he felt pity because he was so close to stabbing Nangong Mu earlier on. He could have sessfully stabbed Nangong Mu if Nangong Mu had reacted a second slower.

    Was he not destined to die yet?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know whether it was because of the blessing of the ancestors of the Nangong Nobles. However, Nangong Mu was really powerful and would not have died with one strike.

    Moreover, for the battle earlier on, Nangong Mu had absorbed the power of another Godly State expert and had achieved an extraordinary level in terms of power.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi obtained the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± that wasbined from the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven, it was still difficult for him to kill Nangong Mu straightaway while he was amongst the troop.

    However, despite the pity, Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by the oue as, after all, he still had a chance to do that in the future.

    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped thinking about it. He turned and ran towards the back, holding the zing Qilin Spear in one hand and carrying Yun Qingwu on the other hand.

    He was extraordinarily fast.

    Soon after, Fang Zhengzhi saw the inverted cliff that Mu Qingfeng mentioned about

    It was a cliff with a silver waterfall. However, the waterfall flowed from the bottom to the top and the water fell to the sky.

    ¡°Cliff... Logically speaking, am I supposed to jump down?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around him at the patch of grass and saw many footprints.

    They should be left behind when the Human Alliance walked past.

    However, apart from the footprints, there were no other markings. One could not see the end of the cliff and at a distance away, there were many inverted mountains floating in midair.

    It was a beautiful scenery but Fang Zhengzhi had no mood to admire it.

    That was because he had to look for clues that Mu Qingfeng left behind for him. However, after searching thoroughly, he found nothing but a small puddle of water beside the cliff.

    ¡°Water?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the waterfall and the inverted cliff which was blocked by the clouds. ¡°Could it be that I have to jump into the waterfall instead of jumping off the cliff?¡±

    It was a brazen guess.

    However, based on what he saw, it was possible as there did not seem to be an end to the flow of the waterfall.

    The inverted cliff and the waterfall that flowed up to the sky.

    However, judging from the current situation...

    The waterfall was like a band that connected heaven and earth. It seemed like the only possible path that connected to another location

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had already made a decision but decided to spread out his ck-Golden Wings so he would not suddenly fall from midair.

    ¡°Since my entire body is stained with blood, let¡¯s take a shower together, Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted and leaped into the waterfall.

    The water was a little cold.

    It was extremely clear too. There were silver sparks and it looked like a waterfall formed from stars.

    However, that was definitely not the most important thing. The most important thing was how Fang Zhengzhi felt the ck-Golden Wings behind him being kept back into his body as he leaped into the waterfall.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not keep his wings as he wanted to fly a little longer with Yun Qingwu.

    However, the reality was as such.

    The next moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt the waterfall wind around his body like a ribbon and hepletely lost his energy.

    It was a strange scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not even say anything before he was wrapped by the waterfall and thrown to the sky as though he was free-falling.

    However, he was free-falling towards the sky.

    ¡°Where on earth am I? Why is my Origin Energy sealed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had never encountered something like this before since he was born.

    Moreover, he could breathe without a problem in the waterfall. This was evident from Yun Qingwu¡¯s calm expression.

    Yun Qingwu did not face any difficulty breathing due to the rapids.

    It was too strange.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling that there was a huge secret in the ck Stone Pce.

    Not only was it a huge secret but it also epassed a powerful force.

    Fang Zhengzhi had some suspicion from the moment he stepped into the ck Stone Pce and saw the ck stones on the ground as he had only seen those stones in the gxy before.

    Thereafter, when he saw the nine gigantic ck chains, he was even more certain that the ck Stone Pce was definitely not ordinary.

    However, due to the appearance of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Fang Zhengzhi temporarily stopped exploring the ck Stone Pce and began to fight against the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race instead.

    However, now...

    The scenes he had seen before came shing back when Fang Zhengzhi experienced the mysterious force again.

    It was really strange.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have any concrete clues. Not only did he not have any clues about who had built the ck Stone Pce, but he also had no clue about how the ck stones ended up there.

    As for the words carved on the stone tablet, they were even more strange as it recorded about the mending of the sky and what happened after that incident. That meant that it was written by someone who survived the Cosmic Disaster.

    However, why would the person who survived the Cosmic Disaster have ck stones from the gxy world?

    That was an extreme contradiction.

    Moreover, the ck Stone Pce had suddenly appeared under the cliff of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Judging from the time, the ck Stone Pce probably came from the gxy world.

    That made it even more unbelievable.

    The gxy world had shut down after the Cosmic Disaster, how could something happen in the afterlife possibly fall into the gxy world?

    There were so many questions that drove Fang Zhengzhi crazy.

    Ssh! The sound of water flowing rapidly kept sounding beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    The water from the waterfall that surrounded him and Yun Qingwu fell on their bodies and rinsed the blood and sweat from their bodies.

    It felt as though they were taking a shower.

    Wait a minute!

    Shower?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. He was unsure if the waterfall led to another ce, but he knew that before one entered a Holy venue, it was a cultural habit for one to shower and change clothes.

    That was to show respect for the Holy venue.

    For instance, this was performed when paying respect to ancestors or praying for rain.

    Of course, apart from that, there were many other rituals which required the same move. However, no matter what, they all shared a simrity ¡ª it had to be Holy.

    ¡°Holy... that¡¯s right, it had to be holy. Could it be possible that this waterfall led to somewhere holy?¡± guessed Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, this guess made him question too.

    If the ck Stone Pce really originated from the gxy world, what exactly was considered Holy?

    Was there anything or ce more holy than the Godly State experts who survived the ancient battlefields?

    It was so difficult for him to make a guess.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped pondering over this question as he would only be able to find out after hended.

    ...

    The waterfall connected to the sky and it was endless.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy was sealed in the waterfall. He could not use any force and could barely hug Yun Qingwu such that she did not get washed away by the water.

    Therefore, he was not traveling at a very fast speed.

    He could only go with the flow of the water.

    After a long while, Fang Zhengzhi felt that his body was entirely cleansed by the water and Yun Qingwu¡¯s skin had be warmth and smooth.

    At this moment, he suddenly felt that the flow of the water around him became less rapid.

    Then...

    He felt his energy return to his body as he suddenly fell into a pond

    ¡°Bloop bloop...¡± Air bubbles were produced from Yun Qingwu¡¯s nose and mouth. She struggled and looked as if she was suffering from the water that had entered her body.

    ¡°We are finally out of the waterfall!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt the change in Yun Qingwu and immediately swam towards the top of the pond. However, he felt something amiss as he swam.

    The top of the pond seemed to be endless.

    The higher up he swam, the colder the water became and the darker it became.

    ¡°No! Up is down and down is up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly figured it out. The rules in the world never changed.

    Earlier on, he instinctively swam up towards the surface of the water.

    However, in reality, the higher up he went, the deeper he was.

    After figuring this out, Fang Zhengzhi changed his direction and swam down while paddling in the water.

    His level of cultivation enabled him to stay in the water for more than an hour without any problems. A small mistake in judgment did not hurt him.

    However, Yun Qingwu looked like she was suffering.

    Water kept entering her mouth and she was unable to breathe. Her face turned purple and she began to struggle.

    Then, her mouth opened and looked like she was saying something.

    Fang Zhengzhi could not hear her clearly but judging from her mouth shape, he had a feeling that Yun Qingwu was making a deduction.

    ¡°Was Yun Qingwu having illusionary visions because she could not breathe in the water and had dreamt about the scene in the ck-golden box again?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that it was extremely probable for that to happen.

    That was because Yun Qingwu was in aa and it was extremely easy for her state of mind to mess up if she fell into a pond while she was in aa.

    Oh no!

    If Yun Qingwu was able to hold her breath, she would be able tost in the pond. However, once her state of mind became messed up, she would open her mouth and start making deductions.

    By opening her mouth, the water would naturally flow into her mouth as though she was drowning.

    If she was conscious when drowning, she could stillst a while longer. However, once she panicked and choked on the water, she would suffocate and die very quickly.

 Chapter 1017 - Balls

    <h4>Chapter 1017: Balls</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Time was extremely tight and Fang Zhengzhi had no other ideas.

    After all, any man would know what to do when a woman was drowning. Therefore, he immediately put his mouth on Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth.

    He was saving a life...

    That did not require much stress.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips and Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips touched.

    Because Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth was opened, Fang Zhengzhi felt a special sensation that made his heart flutter.

    However, he had underestimated the state of confusion Yun Qingwu was in. By right, Yun Qingwu should stop struggling once he had breathed into Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth.

    However, was it so simple?

    ¡°Umm...¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi breathed into Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth, he felt a strong kick on his stomach and he almost went out of breath.

    Indeed, forcefully kissing someone was not easy.

    Fang Zhengzhi continued to swim deeper into the pond while bearing with the pain in his stomach. At the same time, he was being beaten up by Yun Qingwu.

    On his stomach, thighs and arms...

    He could not even remember how many kicks and punches he had suffered. However, there was one area that he would never let Yun Qingwu kick or punch.

    However, was it possible to close one¡¯s legs when swimming?

    Evidently not.

    Therefore, he could only hold onto Yun Qingwu¡¯s waist with one hand and grab onto her thigh, which was kicking furiously, with the other hand.

    However, that caused Yun Qingwu to struggle even more. It was an instinct for her to get out of the restraints.

    Bam! Fang Zhengzhi felt a hit on his throat.

    ¡°F*ck... bloop bloop...¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth and cursed before he swallowed a mouthful of water.

    Oh no.

    Was he going to die?

    Fang Zhengzhi saw many news reports on how one got drowned when trying to save an uncooperative person from drowning.

    That was a terrible ending.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to die because of Yun Qingwu but he could not leave her alone.

    There was no other way.

    He could only pinch her.

    Fang Zhengzhi pinched Yun Qingwu¡¯s thigh really hard. He felt the best way was to wake Yun Qingwu up from hera.

    The effect was not bad.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook. She reduced her struggling actions and opened her eyes slightly.

    It was a pair of beautiful, ck and bright eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu. He saw a sense of desperation in her eyes as though she had a mission toplete.

    Then, Yun Qingwu suddenly widened her eyes.

    ¡°Bloop bloop...¡± Yun Qingwu wanted to open her mouth to talk but the water gushed into her mouth and caused her face to turn purple.

    There was no choice.

    Fang Zhengzhi forcefully pressed his lips on Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips again.

    This caused Yun Qingwu to freeze. Her ck eyes widened and she pped Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    However, she used much lesser strength than earlier on.

    She eventually stopped struggling and allowed Fang Zhengzhi to kiss her. In fact, she wrapped her arms around Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s waist.

    Puff! At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt the environment turn bright as he breathed in some air from the surroundings.

    They finally got out of the pond.

    If he had not swum in the wrong direction at the start, they would not have struggled as much. However, fortunately, they still managed to get out of the pond unscathed.

    ¡°Umm...¡± Yun Qingwu made some noises again and started to push Fang Zhengzhi away.

    ¡°I saved your life, so I have repaid your favor for helping mebine the Maps of ess to Heaven, right?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi as he lifted his mouth off Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yun Qingwu scolded him. Her white hair was wet but she looked even more dazzling.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned for a moment.

    He looked at Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair and her white dress that was sticking to her body as she floated in the water.

    It felt as if there was ayer of mist surrounding Yun Qingwu¡¯s hair. She looked wless and out of the world, as though she was a fairy from the legends.

    ¡°Can you... let go of me?¡± Yun Qingwu blushed when Fang Zhengzhi stopped moving.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was still grabbing onto her thigh and it looked extremely inappropriate.

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blushed and released his grip on Yun Qingwu before he turned around.

    However, he soon realized that something was amiss.

    What would happen if Yun Qingwu decided to spring a sneak attack on him at this moment?

    As this thought struck him, he turned around again and looked quietly at Yun Qingwu in caution.

    Yun Qingwu, on the other hand, was evidently stunned.

    When Fang Zhengzhi turned around, she was shocked by how the shameless brat disyed some characteristics of a gentleman.

    However, she soon realized that she was wrong.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi turned around again and his gaze looked even more brazen than before.

    Indeed, he was shameless after all.

    Yun Qingwu sighed to herself but stopped feeling angry or had the urge to curse as she was used to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shameless already.

    ¡°So we don¡¯t owe each other any favors anymore?¡± Fang Zhengzhi reminded Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Up to you.¡± Yun Qingwu walked slowly to the pond. Her white dress floated in the sky like a fairy.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    He knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s character very well and was not surprised. He felt relieved now that Yun Qingwu had regained consciousness.

    At least she did not die.

    ¡°You snatched my pendant away, can you pass it back to me for me to use for a while?¡± Yun Qingwu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi as she walked to the side of the pond.

    ¡°For what? Don¡¯t think I will return it to you just because you helped mebine the Maps of ess to Heaven, I also saved your life.¡±

    ¡°My dress is inside the pendant.¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at one of Yun Qingwu¡¯s pendants and realized that her dress was inside.

    Of course, there were other things apart from her dress.

    He could not describe what he saw with words.

    ...

    While Yun Qingwu hid behind a stone to change her clothes, Fang Zhengzhi started to look around.

    The ce could be described as a scene in a fairytale.

    Water gushed out from the pond continuously like underground water. There were also green trees and blooming flowers around the pond.

    Red, yellow, purple, white...

    There was no longer the inverted waterfall and trees. Everything seemed to return to normal, it was beautiful.

    However, what surprised Fang Zhengzhi was that he did not see any footprints beside the pond.

    No footprints?!

    What was going on?

    Didn¡¯t the Human Alliance enter this ce?

    That should not be the case as Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were not silly enough to jump off the cliff together.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi remembered that he saw small puddles of water beside the inverted cliffs. That meant that Mu Qingfeng and the rest should havee to the ¡°sky¡± with the waterfall.

    However, why were there no footprints?

    As Fang Zhengzhi thought about that, Yun Qingwu finished changing her clothes and walked out slowly from the stone.

    She was wearing a dress with blue prints.

    The main color was still white but there was a blue waistband on her dress. Along with her white long hair, Yun Qingwu¡¯s smile dazzled the entire nation.

    However, unfortunately, Yun Qingwu did not smile. In fact, her face was extremely pale and she looked like she was so weak that the wind could make her fall.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew that the weak figure in front of him was the person who brought hope to the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Yun Qingwu...

    She was too intelligent.

    ¡°I took a look at the surroundings. If I¡¯m not wrong, our current location is a chess piece.¡± Yun Qingwu walked to Fang Zhengzhi and sat down as her body trembled.

    Yun Qingwu was evidently still very weak. She had trouble standing and walking and beads of perspiration formed on her forehead.

    ¡°Chess piece?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    Then, he took a look around him at the exuberant trees and the white mist amongst the trees.

    ¡°The world is the stage and the people are the chess pieces,¡± said Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°The Human Alliance should be in another chess piece.¡± Yun Qingwu seemed to be able to read Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind.

    ¡°You mean this is a formation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have figured it out.

    ¡°Kind of. However, it is not an ordinary formation. If I¡¯m not wrong, this should be the ¡¯36 Heavenly Stars Formation¡¯. Using the chessboard as the stage, every mountain is a chess piece and the waterfall should be the entrance to the formation. One would end up in different pawns after entering the formation,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°How do you know that this is the ¡¯36 Heavenly Stars Formation¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was really shocked.

    Just as he was still pondering over why there were no traces of the Human Alliance, Yun Qingwu had figured out that the location they were at was a chess piece and the name of this ce was the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    Seriously?

    Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not believe the difference between him and Yun Qingwu.

    He had caught her a few times.

    He refused to believe it!

    ¡°Do you still remember the inverted mountains floating in midair when you fought with Nangong Mu?¡± Yun Qingwu asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips moved.

    ¡°Those mountains were the chess pieces for the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation. I have observed them carefully and we should be on one of the inverted mountains right now. If I recall correctly, Nangong Mu had also taken notice of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation carefully.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not make anyments as no matter he believed it or not, Yun Qingwu was speaking the truth.

    Even though he refused to admit it, Yun Qingwu was indeed better than him in terms of this aspect.

    While he was busy admiring the scenery, Yun Qingwu had already made aplete analysis of their surroundings and predicted the next ce they would enter.

    How f*cking...

    Meticulous.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always known that Yun Qingwu was good at this but he only knew exactly how powerful she was after he had got in touch with her.

    Silence.

    Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking.

    Yun Qingwu did not hurry him and also kept silent. She sat in front of Fang Zhengzhi and slowly regted her breathing.

    ¡°Since you can tell that this is the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation, you should know where the exit is?¡± After a long silence, Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Not yet?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know the exact chess piece we are at, so I won¡¯t be able to tell where the exit is, I need some trial and error.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°If I guess correctly, every chess piece should have a ce in which it is connected to. As long as we find this ce and enter other chess pieces, I only need three tries to figure out where the ¡°Heavenly Yuan¡± is.¡±

    ¡°Heavenly Yuan?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The Thirteen Stars Formation made use of the chessboard to set the stage, there are nine star positions on the chessboard. The center of it is the Heavenly Yuan. As long as we find the Heavenly Yuan, we will be able to find the exit.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept silent again.

    What the f*ck...

    He knew the chessboard had nine star positions. Besides that, he also knew that the chessboard was made up of 19 horizontal lines and 19 vertical lines. There were 361 intersection points in total.

    361 intersection points...

    How many differentbinations were there?

    It wasparable to thebinations of the different forms of stars in Astrology.

    Yet, Yun Qingwu said she only needed three tries to find the exit, was she f*cking too intelligent or was he too stupid?

    ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t believe that the Demon Young Lord Yun Wingwu is so weak?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenlyughed after keeping silent.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yun Qingwu turned to Fang Zhengzhi in confusion.

    ¡°Since you know it is the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation, why do you need to waste time to make three tries? If I¡¯m not wrong, Nangong Mu has already started trying after entering the chess piece with the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Three times? I think we would have lost to Nangong Mu in terms of speed,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Unless you mean...¡±

    ¡°If I was doing it, I only need at most two tries toplete it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said confidently.

 Chapter 1018 - Exaggerated and Flawless Acting Skills

    <h4>Chapter 1018: Exaggerated and wless Acting Skills</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Two tries?¡± Yun Qingwu looked in disbelief as she heard Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she shook her head gently. ¡°361 intersection points and two tries, that¡¯s equivalent to deducing 180 possibilities. It¡¯s rather difficult. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Then do you want to take a bet?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Alright, what do you want to bet with?¡± Yun Qingwu knew that Fang Zhengzhi would say that. She nodded right away without feeling surprised.

    ¡°The remaining eight Maps of ess to Heaven. If you lose, you will tell me where they are, what do you think about that?¡±

    ¡°What if you lost?¡±

    ¡°I will give you this zing Qilin Spear. You should know that this zing Qilin Spear is one of the ten greatest treasures in the Great Xia Dynasty. It is extremely powerful at attacking.¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a look as if Yun Qingwu had a great advantage.

    Hearing that, Yun Qingwu smiled.

    A bright radiance shone on her pale face. Her appearance was exactly like the saying that went ¡°she revealed a hundred charms when she turned around and smiled¡±.

    Although the zing Qilin Spear was one of the greatest treasures, Yun Qingwu did not have many uses for it.

    Most importantly...

    The zing Qilin Spear was Ping Yang¡¯s weapon.

    Fang Zhengzhi used the zing Qilin Spear to bet with Yun Qingwu. Not to mention the difference in terms of price, just the shamelessness of Fang Zhengzhi was impressive enough.

    ¡°I want the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±. If you lose, you have to give me the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±.¡± Yun Qingwu stated her deal in a straightforward manner after smiling.

    ¡°No way, the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± was formed bybining the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven. I will suffer a great loss if I used it for this bet.¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave her an outright rejection.

    ¡°But I¡¯m the one whobined the ¡°Guangling Painting¡±.¡±

    ¡°I saved your life. I have already repaid your favor.¡±

    ¡°Shameless.¡± Yun Qingwu said as she heard Fang Zhengzhi. After pondering for a while, she said again, ¡°Then I¡¯ll use my father¡¯s ck-Golden Wings to bet with you.¡±

    ¡°The ck-Golden Wings can¡¯t work too. I think it¡¯s pretty useful, I can¡¯t give it to you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    ¡°So you are scared of losing?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I will be scared...¡± Halfway through his sentence, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized Yun Qingwu was prodding him. However, unfortunately, would he get tricked?

    The answer was clearly...

    Yes.

    ¡°Alright, I will bet with you using the ck-Golden Wings, how will I f*cking lose?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped negotiating and agreed with the terms Yun Qingwu said.

    A gaze shed across Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    The ck-Golden Wings?

    Was Fang Zhengzhi really confident that he could deduce where the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ was with only two tries? It was impossible.

    How could he do it?

    Yun Qingwu was slightly confused as she was very sure that Fang Zhengzhi would not be better than her in terms of making deductions. However, Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely confident.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s begin.¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly confused but she was curious to see how Fang Zhengzhi would do it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not hesitant.

    Since they had finished negotiating the terms, it was time to show off. Of course, he had to first find the connections between the different chess pieces.

    Fang Zhengzhi thought it would require some time and he could use this time to observe his surroundings and the entire plot setting.

    However, he had made a miscalction.

    That was because Yun Qingwu was beside him.

    With Yun Qingwu¡¯s intelligence, it was not difficult at all for her to find something wrong in the forest and discover the connections from there.

    After 15 minutes, Yun Qingwu pointed out a line of nine caves in one of the forests and nodded to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°This should be the path connecting to the other chess pieces.¡± Yun Qingwu was very confident and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Which cave should we enter?¡±

    ¡°The first one is a trial. Any one would do.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed in his heart as he looked at the nine caves and the trees which were blocking the entrances of the caves.

    F*ck... Yun Qingwu was so good at looking for things!

    If not for Yun Qingwu, it would be extremely difficult for him to find that hidden spot.

    Even if he managed to find it, he would definitely need a long time.

    Indeed, everything became much simpler with Yun Qingwu. Perhaps that was the benefits of saving Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Alright, I will choose this.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head and did not seem to be suspicious of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°theory of choosing randomly¡±. Instead, she randomly chose the nearest cave and walked in.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled and followed closely behind Yun Qingwu. The cave was dark and damp but there were no signs of danger.

    Almost instantly, he saw the light at the other end of the cave.

    ¡°We have reached.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard. She had already walked out of the cave and entered another chess piece.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and stepped out of the cave.

    The scenery of the new venue looked simr to that of the world they were in previously.

    He could even hear the flow of water.

    If he was correct, there should be another pond nearby and it would lead to the mountain he hade from.

    Then, what was left was for him to start the ¡°deductions¡±.

    ¡°The sound of the water came from the Southwest direction... that means the first chess piece that Yun Qingwu and I had stepped into is somewhere in the Southwest...¡± Fang Zhengzhi pretended to look around and make a random mark at the entrance of the cave. Then, thoughts began to run through his mind.

    Yun Qingwu was also making some deductions.

    However, aspared to Fang Zhengzhi, Yun Qingwu¡¯s deductions were more legitimate. Not only was she listening to where the sound of the water came from, but she was also using her fingers to draw something in the palm of her other hand.

    Fang Zhengzhi took a quick nce and it looked like a formation.

    He could not see the exact formation because Yun Qingwu did not draw the full picture out but only made dots.

    ¡°Have you figured it out?¡± After a long time of gesturing, Yun Qingwu finally stopped and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, I had figured it out long ago. Come with me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his chest and said confidently.

    ¡°So fast?¡± Yun Qingwu looked suspiciously at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She thought she was extremely gifted in making deductions and calctions.

    But Fang Zhengzhi said he hadpleted it faster than her?

    Would she believe it?

    Yun Qingwu did not believe him but still nodded her head slightly and continued to look for other paths that connected with the other chess pieces.

    With her earlier experience, she was much faster now.

    In less than ten minutes¡¯ time, they had reached another location with nine caves. It looked almost identical to the previous row of caves in terms of the number and arrangement of caves.

    36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    Using the chessboard to set the scene, all the mountains were used as chess pieces. The pawns were therefore almost identical and did not have many differences.

    ¡°Which one should we choose?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Definitely the second one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the second cave without hesitation and walked in with big strides.

    ¡°The second one?¡± Yun Qingwu frowned slightly as based on her deductions, the seventh, eighth and ninth caves had a much higher probability.

    Why did he choose the second cave?

    Did she make the wrong deductions?

    Yun Qingwu started to question herself even more but did not raise her doubts as, after all, she was not fully confident.

    She could only continue walking with Fang Zhengzhi.

    After a short while, both of them passed through the caves and reached the location where the third ¡°chess piece¡± was at. The location had the same mountain and sound of flowing water.

    The only difference was that the direction of the flow of water changed to a southeast direction,

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi listened to where the flow of water came from and his eyes twitched. If he did not hear wrongly, he had chosen the wrong cave.

    After all, it wasmon sense.

    When he entered the second chess piece, the sound of water came from the southeast direction. If he had chosen the correct cave, the water would still flow from the southeast direction.

    That was slightly awkward.

    Lady luck was not with him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not mind at all. It was extremely normal for him to make a mistake as he was picking from nine caves.

    In fact...

    It would be weird if he managed to get it right in one try.

    ¡°I think you chose the wrong cave.¡± Yun Qingwu turned and asked Fang Zhengzhi when she realized the direction of the flow of water was different.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°The water sounds like it came from the southeast but we ought to be at the southwest.¡± Yun Qingwu said to prove that Fang Zhengzhi was wrong.

    Fang Zhengzhi blushed slightly.

    What the f*ck!

    Yun Qingwu was indeed too intelligent. She managed to spot Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mistake immediately, so what should he do?

    Remain calm!

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely calm.

    ¡°What does it mean if we went from southwest to southeast?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked Yun Qingwu instead of replying her.

    ¡°What does it mean?¡± Yun Qingwu asked too.

    ¡°This means that our first pawn was at the southeast and we stepped onto the second pawn wrongly and went to the southwest direction. Thanks to my correct judgment, we found our way back to the southeast and are one step closer to the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯. Do you understand now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi exined very seriously.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved and fell deep in thought before she nodded. ¡°Hmm, then let¡¯s continue walking.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you should trust me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi patted his own chest confidently.

    Yun Qingwu stopped making anyments. Instead, she mumbled to herself and began to move her finger on her palm again.

    This continued for a while before Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°After three tries, I think she managed to solve it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi guessed as he saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes light up.

    ¡®Looks like it is time to ask her about what she found out.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi continued walking as he thought about how to ask Yun Qingwu about it.

    Soon after, they reached the pond.

    ¡°You are sweating, do you want to take another shower while I wait for you here?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi as he pointed at the water in the pond.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Nangong Mu is probably close to finding out the location of the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯. I can stillst a while longer.¡± Yun Qingwu rejected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s offer.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s hurry up.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not insist.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and followed him closely.

    Soon after, they found nine more caves.

    Yun Qingwu looked much calmer this time. She did not even take an extra look at the nine caves.

    ¡°Did you figure out too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to look for the answer from Yun Qingwu¡¯s gaze but she, unfortunately, did not take a nce at the caves.

    ¡°Somewhat.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded slightly.

    ¡°Somewhat? Does that mean your answer is unconfirmed? How about this, I shall be kind and cross-check my answer with yours. This also helps me to verify that you can indeed find the correct way in three tries,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Cross-check with my answer?¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly shocked.

    ¡°Yes, you should know that I¡¯m trying to help you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi winked at Yun Qingwu. ¡°You should be grateful as I¡¯m helping you to improve.¡±

    ¡°Thank you but I don¡¯t need it.¡± Yun Qingwu wanted to smile but managed to hold it in. Instead, she shook her head and rejected Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°kind offer¡±.

    ¡°Sigh... Looks like you won¡¯t be able to improve since you are not willing to learn.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as though it was a pity.

    Of course, he actually wanted to curse.

    F*ck!

    She did not get tricked?

    How was it possible for her to not get tricked with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°wless¡± acting skills?

    What the hell!

    Yun Qingwu was indeed difficult to fool around with. Fang Zhengzhi had to be more realistic with his acting instead of being so exaggerated.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly annoyed.

    However, it was too difficult for him to think of another way to trick Yun Qingwu in such a short period of time. It was unavoidable for him to exaggerate asionally.

    However, there came the problem...

    Which of the nine caves should he choose?

    Forget it.

    Pick a random one.

    Perhaps he would be lucky enough to pick one that had water flowing from the southeast direction.

    ¡°The third one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the third cave, pulled Yun Qingwu along as he walked towards it with huge strides.

 Chapter 1019 - Our Train of Thought? Going Around in Circles!

    <h4>Chapter 1019: Our Train of Thought? Going Around in Circles!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The third one?¡± Yun Qingwu paused her footsteps and looked surprised.

    ¡°Oh, I said it wrong. I mean the fourth one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt Yun Qingwu¡¯s hesitation and changed his words immediately.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a strange nce without hesitation and allowed him to pull her towards the cave.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was happy.

    His acting skill was so realistic!

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to delve into a realistic acting skill from an exaggerated one.

    That was what made him a master at acting.

    I aming for you, the sound of water flowing from the southeast.

    ¡°Ssh...¡± The sound of water was heard once again when Fang Zhengzhi went through the dark cave with Yun Qingwu excitedly.

    The sound was extremely clear.

    However...

    It seemed toe from the southwest.

    Southwest?!

    Hold on, why was it from the southwest?!

    Fang Zhengzhi waspletely stunned. What happened to the water flowing from the southeast? Why didn¡¯t Yun Qingwu tell him that he was bringing her to the wrong cave?!

    ¡°Why did the water flow from the southwest again?¡± Yun Qingwu also heard the sound of the water and smiled.

    ¡°Exactly, why did the water flow from the southwest again?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi too.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that we are back to the same ce after one entire round?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and smiled brightly.

    ¡°Exactly, this is ¡®going around in circles¡¯!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Going around in circles?¡±

    ¡°Yes; the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation used the chessboard to plot many mountains as pawns. Think about it, how would it possibly allow one to enter the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ in a straight path?¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So the correct path requires us to go in circles, southeast, then southwest, then southeast, and southwest... we can reach the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ through this repetition of directions.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not panic at all.

    ¡°I see.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    She behaved as though she really believed Fang Zhengzhi and did not have the intent to expose him at all.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s hurry up.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to exin too much as the saying went, an exnation was equivalent to covering up for one¡¯s mistake.

    After a short while, the two of them reached another pawn.

    The water flowed rapidly from the Northwest.

    ¡°It¡¯sing from the northwest, what do you have to say about this?¡± Yun Qingwu covered her mouth and asked Fang Zhengzhi as sheughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right... it¡¯s northwest...¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not take it anymore.

    He could continue to exin if the sound of water came from the southeast or southwest, but why did it f*cking be the northwest?

    Seriously?!

    Was he so unlucky?!

    ¡°Yeah, why did the water end up at the northwest?¡± Yun Qingwu continued to ask while covering her mouth.

    ¡°Going around in circles. This is it. The so-called going around in circles is meant to confuse your sense of direction, or else, why was it named this way?¡± Fang Zhengzhi squeezed out an exnation.

    ¡°Do you think I will believe you?¡± Of course, Yun Qingwu did not believe him.

    ¡°This... I don¡¯t care whether you believe me or not, the path I am taking is definitely correct.¡± Fang Zhengzhi insisted. In any case, they were alone and nobody was there to witness it.

    Why should he be afraid?

    He did not have to be afraid. As long as he felt that he was correct, he was indeed correct. No matter how Yun Qingwu questioned him, he would still be correct.

    That was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s persistence.

    ¡°So you are trying to y cheat?¡± Yun Qingwu figured out what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    In fact, she had already guessed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sneaky ns when he walked in the wrong direction for the third time. However, she did not expose him as she wanted to see what excuses he woulde up with.

    ¡°y cheat? I am an honest <sup>1</sup> person, how would I possibly y cheat?¡± Fang Zhengzhi insisted without feeling ashamed at all.

    ¡°But you walked in the wrong direction.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then exin to me, why is the watering from the Northwest?¡±

    ¡°Going around in circles.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu was speechless.

    Talking about shamelessness, Yun Qingwu had to take her hats off to Fang Zhengzhi as he was the only person who could be so shameless.

    Going around in circles?

    Yun Qingwu definitely would not believe that.

    However...

    She could not do anything to Fang Zhengzhi now as he insisted that he was correct.

    What could she do in this case?

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue, just a while longer and we will reach our destination.¡± Fang Zhengzhi hurried Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hold on, did you say we are reaching our destination soon?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How long do we need to take?¡±

    ¡°Hmm... At least three to five hours and at most three to five days? We have food and water in this mountain anyway, we won¡¯t starve to death, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said nonchntly.

    ¡°But you just said that Nangong Mu is looking for the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ too.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and reminded Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Uh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned before he said again, ¡°Nangong Mu is not as intelligent as me, I don¡¯t believe that he can find the Heavenly Yuan before I do.¡±

    ¡°Of course he is not as intelligent as you, but in terms of knowledge of formations... Based on my understanding, the Nangong Nobles are good at that,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°So?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Based on my judgment, he will be able to find the Heavenly Yuan in two hour, and we have already wasted an hour¡¯s time already,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°You mean we only have an hour¡¯s time left?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, we can definitely reach the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ within an hour¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°What if we don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t reach the ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ within an hour¡¯s time, then I shall lead. That also means that you have lost to me and you have to give me the ck-Golden Wings.¡± Yun Qingwu raised her deal again as she broke off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°One hour?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped talking.

    He understood what Yun Qingwu meant. If he was unable to reach the Heavenly Yuan in an hour, Nangong Mu would probably reach the Heavenly Yuan first.

    He definitely could not allow that to happen.

    However, after a few attempts, he had finally understood how terrifying and grand the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation was.

    Every chess piece had nine caves.

    Nine caves!

    361 intersection points and nine different choices each. It gave him a headache just by thinking about theplexity.

    Luck...

    Fang Zhengzhi had hoped tond on the Heavenly Yuan based on luck but he was evidently not lucky.

    Not anyone could break through the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    What should he do?

    Was he really going to admit that he had lost?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that even if he had to admit defeat, he should not do it now as he still had an hour to try.

    We¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it.

    We¡¯ll cross the bridge...

    Definitely!

    As Fang Zhengzhi continuouslyforted himself, he started to think about the attempts he had made in this journey.

    First, he chose the second cave...

    Then he reached the southwest?

    Then he chose the third cave and reached the Southeast. Fourth cave, southwest; Ninth cave, northwest...

    Then?

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    What could these clues do? Could he deduce the plot of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation based on these clues?

    Definitely not!

    Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that one could deduce the correct path based on the direction of the flow of water.

    After all, that was too exaggerated.

    However, the direction of the flow of water was definitely one of the factors.

    If not, Yun Qingwu would not pay attention to the flow of water. However, besides that, there must be other clues.

    Clues...

    Where were they?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like his brain was going to explode. He was definitely not good at deductions.

    It was too difficult.

    What should he do?

    What should he do?

    Forget it, if he could not think of an answer, he would just continue on. As the ancient saying went, ¡®It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books¡¯, perhaps he would get new insights as he traveled on.

    One must have aspirations as anyone without an aspiration would be useless.

    Fang Zhengzhi had aspirations. Although he admitted that Yun Qingwu was much stronger in terms of deductions, he still had the aspiration to defeat her.

    ¡°I agree with your deal, let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi dragged Yun Qingwu on and sped up towards the possible location of the caves.

    ¡°Don¡¯t insist if you can¡¯t.¡± Yun Qingwu smiled.

    ¡°Not at all. One hour is more than enough.¡± Fang Zhengzhi insisted as there was no harm doing it.

    ...

    They continued on...

    Fang Zhengzhi once again proceeded on with his path in circles. The both of them walked through mountains and rivers as they jumped from one chess piece to the next.

    However, they were still going around in circles.

    There was once when he realized that he went back to the same chess piece as there was a marking left by him at the entrance of that cave.

    Of course, he did not take notice of that small marking.

    He pretended not to see it.

    Yun Qingwu also did not stop Fang Zhengzhi from going around in circles and followed closely behind him as they proceeded on in the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    Time past gradually.

    After half an hour, Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped. He looked at the mountains, identical ponds and forest around him.

    What should he do?

    Was he really going to continue walking without any clue?

    Then get humiliated by Yun Qingwu after time was up?

    No!

    Who can be killed cannot be humiliated!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was time for him to really think about the path seriously. He felt that he had umted sufficient experience from turning around in circles.

    It was time for him to make use of these umted experience.

    Yun Qingwu was able to deduce the path of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation after three tries, why couldn¡¯t he do it after 30 tries?

    Perhaps...

    He really could not.

    No, he definitely could. 36 Heavenly Stars Formation, the chessboard was used to set the scene and the mountains were used as chess pieces. 361 intersection points in total.

    361...

    Wait a minute!

    Apart from the 361 intersection points, there seemed to be another crucial information, nine stars.

    Oh right!

    The nine star positions on the chessboard.

    The center of it was the Heavenly Yuan.

    Therefore, could it be that he would be able to deduce the positions of the other stars once he found the position of one star, and sessfully find the Heavenly Yuan from there on?

    ¡°Yes, this must be it. As long as I find the position of any star, I will be able to deduce the location of the Heavenly Yuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Deducing where the Heavenly Yuan was from scratch was extremely difficult.

    However, it was possible for him to deduce the position of one of the stars. Moreover, he had already made so many attempts.

    Although the attempts he had made caused him to continue going around in circles, he already had a rough idea of where he had stopped.

    He had been to the southeast, southwest, northwest, west, east, south...

    Fang Zhengzhi recalled where he had been and the directions of the mountains. Then, he started to deduce the nine star positions in his heart.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it toote for you to start your deduction now?¡± Yun Qingwu reminded Fang Zhengzhi as he stopped and started to think.

    ¡°Toote? Not at all,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha... Do you need a hint?¡± Yun Qingwuughed and sat calmly beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No,¡± rejected Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not believe that Yun Qingwu would give him a hint at this point in time. The so-called hint would probably be a source of distraction.

    Moreover, even if Yun Qingwu really gave him a hint out of goodwill, he probably would not understand it.

    After all, there was some difference in the level of knowledge between them.

    It could be likened to a primary school kid asking a professor about the path of the sun, even if the professor exined patiently, the primary school kid would not understand.

    There were too many professional terms involved.

    Wait a minute.

    Speaking of the path of the sun...

    36 Heavenly Stars Formation!

    Heavenly Stars?!

    The chessboard was used to set the scene and the mountains were used as chess pieces. In addition to that, the heavenly stars...

    ¡°I think... I figured it out!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lit up suddenly.

 Chapter 1020 - Turnover

    <h4>Chapter 1020: Turnover</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the radiance of the stars increased, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes became brighter and it looked as if there was a milky way flowing in his eyes.

    Meanwhile, golden symbols flowed on his body and mixed with his blood, thereby passing through the veins on his body.

    That was Dao.

    Dao of All Creation, the Source of Dao.

    Yun Qingwu stared at Fang Zhengzhi and her expression gradually changed as she could feel the powerful aura exuding from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    ¡°So was this the Dao that this shameless bratprehended? Isn¡¯t this... too much?¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly shocked when she saw the densely packed golden symbols.

    She knew how difficult it was toprehend the Dao.

    However, the Dao that umted on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body way surpassed her imagination. In fact, she could see at least 2000 Daos on him.

    That amount was tremendous.

    However, what was the purpose for him to ¡°observe the Daos¡± at this moment?

    Yun Qingwu did not understand as one needed deductions to breathe through the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation and that waspletely unrted to the number of Daos.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Just as Yun Qingwu felt confused, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was suddenly heard and the golden symbols on his bodypletely disappeared.

    ¡°You figured it out?¡± Yun Qingwu asked in suspicion and did not stand up immediately.

    ¡°Yes, Ipletely figured it out. From now on, we are going into the Heavenly Yuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and said in confidence.

    ¡°Going into the Heavenly Yuan?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at him with a strange expression.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had said this one and a half hours ago, she would have believed him.

    However, she was very sure that Fang Zhengzhi did not know the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation at all after following him for this one and a half hours.

    How could he possibly break through the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation in two hours if he did not know the formation at all?

    It was as though an illiterate person suddenly picked up a book and read it for a day before announcing that he wanted to take part in the Examination for the Law of Dao and won the Double Roll Champion.

    Who would believe that?

    Definitely not Yun Qingwu.

    However, since Fang Zhengzhi was so confident, she did not want to dwell his excitement as, after all, he still had less than half an hour¡¯s time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what tricks this shameless brat is up to.¡± Yun Qingwu stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°I am going to walk really fast. You need to follow closely.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pulled Yun Qingwu and walked quickly towards the nine caves.

    ¡°I am following very closely.¡± Yun Qingwu smiled bitterly. She was being pulled by Fang Zhengzhi all along and had no choice but to follow him closely.

    ¡°Oh, then follow more closely.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°More closely.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu soon found the other connected points between the other chess pieces. It was yet another series of nine caves that was pitch dark.

    ¡°Which one are you going to choose?¡± Yun Qingwu followed closely behind Fang Zhengzhi and asked.

    ¡°The seventh cave,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi without hesitation.

    ¡°The seventh cave? Are you sure?¡± Yun Qingwu looked calm but she was actually shocked because based on her deductions, the seventh cave...

    Was the correct one!

    The correct one?!

    How was that possible, did he get it right by guessing randomly?

    Yun Qingwu was shocked but still sounded very calm and did not make any unnecessary movements.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked very confident and dragged Yun Qingwu into the seventh cave.

    In a blink of an eye, the two of them passed through the cave and reached another chess piece.

    The forest still looked the same.

    The sound of the water came from the South.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled as the chess piece he was at previously also had water flowing from the South.

    He guessed correctly!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt extremely happy and sang, ¡°The happy pond turned into an ocean thanks to a dream, I will sing happily and loudly, lend me a pair of wings and I will reach the sun...¡±

    ¡°What is this song?¡± Yun Qingwu felt strange as she had never heard this song before. However, she had to admit that Fang Zhengzhi sounded really happy.

    ¡°The Small Frog,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°The Small Frog?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at him with a strange look.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining further. He continued to sing while pulling Yun Qingwu and continued to look for the nine caves that connected the chess pieces.

    Soon, they came to another connection point.

    ¡°After finally making a correct guess, what guess are you going to make now?¡± Yun Qingwu had a special feeling as she asked this question.

    She felt that Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not make the correct guess this time.

    However, for some reason, she was hoping that Fang Zhengzhi would give her a surprise again. It was an ironic feeling.

    ¡°The first one.¡± After he said that, Fang Zhengzhi dragged Yun Qingwu and walked into the first cave.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression finally changed.

    She was no longer as calm as before. In fact, her palms started to perspire as Fang Zhengzhi had made the correct guess again.

    Two correct guesses consecutively!

    Moreover, he made the correct guess from nine choices.

    How did this happen?!

    This was impossible. He was already extremely lucky if he got it correct for once, but the probability of getting it correct consecutively was extremely low.

    Impossible...

    It was definitely impossible!

    How could he possibly figure out the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation in slightly more than one hour¡¯s time?

    It was the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation, the formation that contained 361 intersections with nine different choices each.

    Yun Qingwu was able to make the correct deduction on her third try because she had already observed the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation carefully before she entered it.

    Three tries did not mean she managed to break through on her third try. Instead, it meant that she confirmed the location she was at in the ¡°chessboard¡± after three tries.

    After she confirmed her location, she continued her deductions.

    Then, she was able to figure out the formation.

    She was sure that Nangong Mu was able to figure out the formation in two hours¡¯ time because she saw him observe the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation too,

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was different.

    She knew that Fang Zhengzhi did not even make any observations of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation before he entered as he was focused on battling against Nangong Mu.

    How could he possibly figure out the formation in this case?

    That was impossible.

    Without any prior observations, even someone like Valley Master Mo Shanshi who was extremely well-versed in terms of formations would not be able to make the correct deduction in two hours¡¯ time.

    After all, the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation was tooplicated.

    ¡°It must be a coincidence, definitely a coincidence. Although the probability of getting it right consecutively is extremely low. it was not impossible!¡± As Yun Qingwuforted herself, they exited the cave.

    The sound of the pond was heard again.

    It came from the South again.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed without restraints and sang ¡°The Small Frog¡± even more happily.

    ¡°I believe in miracles,ll....ll...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi was singing happily, they found the connection point once again. It was another identical series of nine caves.

    ¡°You... Which one are you choosing this time?¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the nine caves and her vision darted around.

    That was because she thought that Fang Zhengzhi could make the correct choice because of her as she gave hints with her eyes and her body.

    If not...

    Why would he ask her to follow him more closely?

    That¡¯s right.

    It must be so!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes lit up at this moment.

    That was right, even if she remained extremely calm, with the close distance between her and Fang Zhengzhi, it was definitely possible for him to figure something out.

    No!

    She definitely could not let Fang Zhengzhi get hints from her anymore.

    She had to behave more strangely.

    Yes, that¡¯s right!

    ¡°Hahaha... I think this is a lovely song, I even have the impulse to dance now, how about I perform a dance for you...¡±

    ¡°Dance?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at her strangely.

    What was she doing, why did she suddenly say that she wanted to dance? Was his ¡°The Small Frog¡± so good that it inspired one to dance?

    ¡°Yes, I...¡±

    ¡°No, let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped Yun Qingwu frompleting her sentence and pulled her towards the eighth cave.

    ¡°The eighth cave?!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook violently.

    ¡°Is anything wrong?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a nce at Yun Qingwu as he felt the change in her voice.

    ¡°No... Nothing...¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head violently but her expression became extremelyplex.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi got it right again.

    Again?!

    Three times consecutively!

    He was choosing from nine, how could he get it right thrice consecutively?

    Yun Qingwu did not know what was the probability of getting it right thrice consecutively but she was very sure that it was almost impossible.

    However, she was struck by reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to get it right thrice consecutively and made even more incredible progression after that.

    That was because...

    After Yun Qingwu followed Fang Zhengzhi out of the cave, Fang Zhengzhi made the correct choice again.

    He made the correct choice for the fourth time!

    Then, the fifth.

    The sixth...

    ...

    Yun Qingwu could no longer keep track of how many times Fang Zhengzhi got it right. However, she realized that they reached apletely different venue.

    The so-calledpletely different did not mean that the scenery was different but rather because there were stars flickering in the sky of that particr chess piece.

    It was not very ring.

    However, one could still see the stars.

    ¡°The position of the star. This shameless brat found it!¡± Yun Qingwu could not stand still anymore. It was not because she was exhausted but rather because she could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi was able to do that.

    ¡°How did he do that?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi definitely did not observe the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation before, therefore, how could he have done that?

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi waspletely clueless about formations.

    He was clueless about formations and was still able to locate the position of the star of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation? Yun Qingwu could not believe that this was possible.

    Could it be that he had known how to break through the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation all along and was faking from the start?

    That was impossible.

    Yun Qingwu quickly negated this possibility.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi did not need to pretend as they had already decided on the bet before he started to break through the formation.

    ¡°I found the position of the star. We are going to reach the Heavenly Yuan soon, right, Yun Qingwu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the stars above his head and turned to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hmm... I think so...¡± Yun Qingwu tried to calm herself down but all the questions in her mind made her unable to think straight.

    She could no longer remain calm.

    As she had a strong premonition that she was going to lose again.

    Moreover, she was going to lose without even knowing why.

    Was she going to lose?!

    If so, she would have to tell Fang Zhengzhi about the secret of the eight remaining Maps of ess to Heaven?

    No.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi found the position of the star, he definitely would not be able to find the Heavenly Yuan. There were three more rounds to clear before he could find the Heavenly Yuan.

    There should not be any more coincidences...

    He would definitely make a mistake, definitely.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the perspiration on Yun Qingwu¡¯s forehead and smiled even brighter as he sang the song more loudly.

    Yun Qingwu was rooted to the ground and frowned as though she did not hear Fang Zhengzhi.

    Until Fang Zhengzhi pulled her into the entrance of the seventh cave again.

    ¡°Oh shit... he... he got it right again?! How... how is that possible?!¡± Yun Qingwu trembled violently and cold sweat trickled down her forehead the moment she stepped into the seventh cave.

 Chapter 1021 - Straight into Heavenly Yuan - A Bizarre Realm

    <h4>Chapter 1021: Straight into Heavenly Yuan ¨C A Bizarre Realm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were only three rounds between the position of the star and the Heavenly Yuan.

    Fang Zhengzhi had now cleared the first round sessfully. If everything went well, he could lead her straight into Heavenly Yuan in just two more correction choices.

    ¡®Straight into Heavenly Yuan...¡¯

    Yun Qingwu was a little stumped. When Fang Zhengzhi said that just a short while ago, she thought that he was about to do something shameless again.

    However, she was truly stunned at this moment.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had already proven to her that he did it. Moreover, he did such a perfect job that she couldn¡¯t find any ws.

    Most importantly, she still hadn¡¯t found out how he had managed to do it.

    ¡®How did this happen?!¡¯

    Yun Qingwu couldn¡¯t wrap her head around this, but Fang Zhengzhi was still dragging her along.

    The duo soon arrived at the next point of connection, and nothing went wrong because Fang Zhengzhi chose the correct path once again.

    So far, he had already cleared two of the three rounds.

    There was only onest round left before Fang Zhengzhi could actually bring her straight into Heavenly Yuan.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned around and asked Yun Qingwu when he brought her to the pond beside thest chess piece.

    ¡°Yes...¡± Yun Qingwu gritted her teeth and admitted.

    She wasn¡¯t willing to concede defeat or express how shocked she was. However, she was so curious about it that she couldn¡¯t help nodding her head.

    That was because Heavenly Yuan was already within reach.

    She lost.

    She was utterly beaten.

    ¡°Do you want to know?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the sky, calcted the time, and asked again.

    ¡°I do...¡± Yun Qingwu nodded again.

    Having heard that, Fang Zhengzhi nodded with satisfaction and said generously, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll satisfy your curiosity and tell you.¡±

    ¡°Are there no conditions?¡± Yun Qingwu was a little surprised.

    Based on her understanding of Fang Zhengzhi, he¡¯d definitely take advantage of her curiosity and make ¡®uneptable¡¯ demands.

    However, it didn¡¯t seem like Fang Zhengzhi wanted anything this time.

    That left her astonished once again.

    ¡°Conditions? What else could you give me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gazed at Yun Qingwu with an expression as if to say ¡®You¡¯re already my captive, and you have nothing left. What could you give me?¡¯.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu was startled, and she soon smiled bitterly and replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m no longer themander of the Monster Race and Demon Race, so what could I give you?¡±

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s still something you can do.¡±

    ¡°Like?¡±

    ¡°Like taking a shower in front of me or... Look at yourself, you are covered in sweat. If you enter Heavenly Yuan like this, it¡¯s being disrespectful to the Gods.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yun Qingwu scolded him. Then, she nced at the pond in front of her, where a stream of water continuously surged.

    She could hear the sound of water flowing.

    The pond was crystal-clear.

    Yun Qingwu was a little sweaty, partly due to exhaustion, and partly due to having cold sweats as a result of shock.

    ¡°Haha, whatever. Let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t particrly mind. He pointed towards the front unseriously and was about to drag Yun Qingwu along.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We are reaching Heavenly Yuan soon, and it¡¯s indeed disrespectful to the Gods if I remained in my current state. I want to take a shower.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised. He brought it up as a joke but he didn¡¯t expect Yun Qingwu to actually take his suggestion and shower in front of him.

    ¡®Does she really have to do that?¡¯

    ¡®I am not mentally prepared yet!¡¯

    ¡°Yup...¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t say another word. She walked towards the pond directly and leaped into it.

    Water droplets sshed everywhere.

    Of course, Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t take her clothes off. Furthermore, her back was facing Fang Zhengzhi so he couldn¡¯t even see her expression.

    Having said that, when Yun Qingwu¡¯s dress was soaked in water, it still entuated her perfect curves.

    ¡°Damn... This is so exciting!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was appreciating the show fully.

    ¡°You can tell me how you did it now.¡± Yun Qingwu spoke tly while she was cleaning her face.

    One could tell from her tone that she had calmed down greatly and regained her usualposure after she leaped into the pond.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. It¡¯s astrology.¡± Fang Zhengzhi found a rock by the pond and sat on it, and he quickly lied down.

    ¡°Astrology?¡± Yun Qingwu jolted.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°What else would there be? I¡¯ve already told you that it¡¯s based on astrology, so you can figure out the rest by yourself. Aren¡¯t you extremely intelligent? How could the Young Lord of both Monster Race and Demon Race be stumped by such an easy problem?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded as if he was already being selfless but Yun Qingwu was still pressing him for too much.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu fell silent.

    However, her movement in the water was obviously getting bigger. She was sshing water everywhere and creating ripples after ripples.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind that at all.

    He was lying leisurely on the ground and watching Yun Qingwu vent her emotions at the water. His lips subconsciously curled into a smile.

    The four arts of Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t understand these profound arts well. Therefore, when Yun Qingwu mentioned that the chessboard made up the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation and the mountain peaks were the chess pieces, he really couldn¡¯tprehend how it worked.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t well-versed in astrology either.

    However, he had made much more significant improvements in his understanding of astrology aspared to the four arts of Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting because he had to understand astrology since he wanted to study Geomancy and The Art of Bing Invisible.

    Furthermore, astrology had a new name in his previous life ¨C Astronomy.

    Heavenly Yuan!

    Was the centermost position in a chessboard.

    However, in astrology, Heavenly Yuan had another meaning. It represented the ¡®North Star¡¯, which wasplemented by all the other stars. In ancient scriptures, the term ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ had long been introduced in ¡°Records of the Grand Historian¡±.

    When a ruler wanted to establish a new dynasty, he must proceed cautiously at the beginning.

    He must change the calendar, the color of clothing, carriages, and gs. He must calcte and adhere to Heavenly Yuan (Thew of the universe), as well as obey the heaven¡¯s will.

    In this case, ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ could beprehended as the origin of everything in the world, and any exceptional and extraordinary individual must understand it.

    Inspired by the positions of the stars, Fang Zhengzhi thought of Heavenly Yuan¡¯s position in astrology, and from there, he naturally figured out the coordinates that he needed to look for.

    After he had identified the coordinates, he opened up his other pair of eyes with Ghost Dao as observed the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation from a bird¡¯s-eye view.

    How could he possibly go wrong after all that?

    ¡°I figured it out. Did you calcte Heavenly Yuan¡¯s coordinates based on astrology and found the position of one of the stars with your Ghost Dao?¡± After a long silence, Yun Qingwu suddenly turned around and asked.

    Astrology was based on the positions of the stars.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi only told her a simple word, she still managed to work it out. Nevertheless, she was still shocked to the core after she found out the truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi was as shocked as Yun Qingwu.

    ¡®Are you kidding me? Did she figure it out just like that?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi nced at Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes, then at her beautiful face, then his gaze shifted from her face and went down...

    It continued moving down...

    ¡°Er!¡±

    ¡°You seem to have... identally exposed yourself!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu froze, and her snow-white face turned bright red instantly, and she said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you... You... You are shameless!¡±

    ...

    Several minutes had passed after Yun Qingwu changed into a clean and dry dress and stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi. However, her blush had yet to disappear.

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡®She was the one who turned around and revealed herself to me. Why am I med for it?¡±

    ¡®Women are truly mysterious beings.¡¯

    Luckily, he had forcefully suppressed his ¡®impure thoughts¡¯ and stared for as long as he could. Otherwise, he would have failed to benefit from this incident.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. After entering Heavenly Yuan, you would honor your words and tell me where the eight remaining Maps of ess to Heaven are, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand just like before.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and turned her head to the side. However, she allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold her hand instead of pulling her hand away.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t continue questioning her.

    After all, he knew what kind of person Yun Qingwu was. If she had agreed to something, it was basically impossible for her to go back on her words.

    In that case, Yun Qingwu was a righteous ¡®hero¡¯ unlike Fang Zhengzhi, an ¡®anti-hero¡¯ who always went back on his words.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi enjoyed being an ¡®anti-hero¡¯.

    As the saying goes, ¡®Regardless if it¡¯s ck or white, a cat that could catch mice is a good cat¡¯ (an idea coined by Deng Xiaoping, exining his mindset that any method could be a good method as long as it produces results). He had always embraced the logic behind this saying so he didn¡¯t care about any of those ¡®heroic¡¯ qualities.

    ¡®You don¡¯t like it?¡¯

    ¡®Bite me!¡¯

    That was how impetuous he was.

    ¡°Heavenly Yuan, the centermost position of 36 Heavenly Stars Formation. It seems soplicated and mysterious, and she even showered and changed her clothes. I am actually looking forward to it a little. I wonder what¡¯s inside Heavenly Yuan?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was looking at the nine caves in front of him. He knew that the ninth cave would lead him straight into Heavenly Yuan.

    When he was looking at Heavenly Yuan through the sky using Ghost Dao, the only thing he saw was a thick fog that was radiating a faint golden light.

    He couldn¡¯t see anything else.

    If he was right, there was probably some sort of restrictive barrier on Heavenly Yuan. Furthermore, it was so powerful that even his Ghost Dao couldn¡¯t see through it.

    ¡®What exactly is inside there?¡¯

    The ck Stone Tablet that recorded the ancient legend about ¡®mending the sky¡¯.

    The giant ck rocks that paved the ground and the nine ck chains that were connected to the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    These things should be the products of that starry space.

    However, all of them... Had somehow appeared in the ck Stone Pce.

    ording to the legend, Mother Earth sealed up the starry space after fighting against the Cosmic Disaster. In that case, who could have possibly ced these things into that starry space once again?

    Most importantly, he could tell from the expression of the Gods that had entered the ck Stone Pce that even they knew very little about this pce.

    It was as if they had never seen it before.

    The ck Stone Pce descended from the starry space, yet the Gods from the ancient battle didn¡¯t know about it. Furthermore, it had a mysterious and strange powers.

    Countless entangled mysteries left Fang Zhengzhi incredibly curious.

    At this moment, he was about to solve these mysteries. Once he entered Heavenly Yuan, he could find the answers that he seek.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help being a little excited and eager. After all, this was about the biggest secret surrounding the Cosmic Disaster during ancient times.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we are entering Heavenly Yuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi grabbed Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand and pulled her straight into the ninth cave.

    On the other hand, Yun Qingwu had already regained herposure.

    She wasn¡¯t surprised anymore that Fang Zhengzhi had chosen the correct cave. After all, she already knew that she had lost the best.

    Fang Zhengzhi figured out the correct path towards Heavenly Yuan and solved the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation.

    Now...

    Heavenly Yuan was right in front of them.

    Yun Qingwu also was curious about it because ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± didn¡¯t contain any records about this ck Stone Pce.

    That was precisely why she didn¡¯t make exploring the ck Stone Pce the top priority in the past six months.

    It wasn¡¯t because Yun Qingwu was careless.

    It was because she wanted stability.

    Yun Qingwu tried to do everything perfectly be it nning or strategic positioning. However, she was but a single person.

    She was too exhausted.

    She had to convince Gods that had appeared to work for her, train an army of beasts in secret, as well as monitor the movements of all the Gods. Furthermore, she had to look for the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven covertly.

    There was too much on her te.

    Therefore, she spent more energy and time on the things that were recorded, and in turn, overlooked this mysterious ck Stone Pce that had long been in her control.

    That was until a legend about the ¡®Source of God¡¯ appeared.

    At that moment, Yun Qingwu suddenly had a feeling that she seemed to have neglected an important clue that could likely change the tide of the battle.

    Then, she came.

    She brought an army of tens of thousands of Monsters and Demons, together with seven Gods, and arrived at the ck Stone Pce in an overwhelming and imposing manner.

    However, she did not expect... To lose.

    Under seemingly impossible circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi managed to capture her despite the fact that she was protected by four Gods. Then, due to the uncontroble situation, she had to hand over hermand of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.

    After that, everything went out of control.

    The situation kept changing, until eventually, Nangong Mu, under the disguise of ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, took over themand of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race. Furthermore, using the Tree of God as his body, he became terrifyingly powerful and went to war against the Human Alliance, leading to the deaths of many soldiers and Gods of the army, in order to grow stronger.

 Chapter 1022 - The Truth is Smooth and Tender

    <h4>Chapter 1022: The Truth is Smooth and Tender</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At that moment, what could Yun Qingwu do?

    Things had already gone out of her control. Of course, she could escape with thepleted Guangling Painting and return to the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, was it really so simple?

    Putting aside the fact that she didn¡¯t know to what extent could she unleash Guangling Painting¡¯s power and therefore wasn¡¯t sure if she could escape, what could she do after she had returned to the Monster Race and Demon Race?

    Without any doubts, infighting between the Monster Race and Demon Race would break out.

    That was because Nangong Mu had spent so much effort in order to control the army of Monster Race and Demon Race so he wouldn¡¯t possibly hand over itsmand easily.

    Regardless of the result, infighting was unavoidable.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t want that to happen. Hence, her only option was to work together with Fang Zhengzhi even though she knew that she was ¡®holding a candle to the devil¡¯.

    Of course, this was the logical choice.

    Apart from being logical, Yun Qingwu was also a little excited due to an inner desire that she had been suppressing all along.

    When she was the Young Lord of the Monster Race and Demon Race, her desire couldn¡¯t be fulfilled.

    However, now that she had a ¡®valid¡¯ reason, she didn¡¯t feel guilty anymore. She truly wanted to know what would happen if she and Fang Zhengzhi could one day work together.

    That was the thought that gave her the strength to stand up after she had copsed in the ck-golden box.

    It was an intense obsession.

    It burned deep down in her heart like a ball of fire and supported her weak body. She exerted all her might for the sole wish of working together with Fang Zhengzhi.

    It didn¡¯t matter... If it could only happen once!

    At this moment, she seemed to have seeded and fulfilled her desire. In addition, she didn¡¯t just escape from Nangong Mu together with Fang Zhengzhi. They even solved the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation together and they were going to enter ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯ soon.

    Yun Qingwu was delighted.

    She was indescribably delighted.

    However, she was also a little afraid that they would be enemies once again after entering ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯.

    She wanted to enjoy this moment for a little longer.

    Therefore, she wasn¡¯t in a rush to enter ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯. Instead, she gave Fang Zhengzhi plenty of time and opportunities, and she even stopped to ¡®shower and change her clothes¡¯ in the final round.

    However, she couldn¡¯t be straightforward with her feelings.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Yun Qingwu raised her head and gazed at Fang Zhengzhi intensely, subconsciously holding his hand tighter.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t feel the change in Yun Qingwu¡¯s strength.

    After all, he was solely concentrated on the secret of ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯. However, he was still surprised when he heard Yun Qingwu saying ¡®thank you¡¯.

    ¡°She¡¯s thanking me?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi was a little curious about Yun Qingwu¡¯s behavior. ¡®Why would she thank me? Is it because I¡¯ve defeated her utterly again?¡¯

    ¡®Or is she thanking me for sneaking nces at her body when she was in the pond?¡¯

    ¡®Women...¡¯

    ¡®Are really strange!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask Yun Qingwu about it, but she didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to talk about it anymore.

    At this moment, a ray of light slowly appeared in front of him. The dark cave was gradually turning brighter, meaning that he had exited the cave.

    Heavenly Yuan!

    The center of the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation!

    ¡®This ce holds the key to solving the secret of the ck Stone Pce. What exactly would we find here?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi examined the surrounding carefully, not leaving out any details. As he looked around, his eyes opened wider and wider.

    Even Yun Qingwu stopped gazing at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face and started checking out ¡®Heavenly Yuan¡¯.

    The dense trees were gone.

    There were no more clear ponds and flowing water as well.

    There were no flowers or grass either. This was a world that was formedpletely by ck rocks that were stacked on top of each other. There were many ck chains in the sky.

    Most importantly, there were many blinking stars in the sky as well. Every one of them was exceptionally dazzling.

    ¡°The gxy?!¡± That was the first thought that went through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. However, he quickly denied that possibility.

    That was because this ce couldn¡¯t possibly be the gxy.

    Apart from the stars and ck chains, there should be ck rocks sealing the masters in Godly State in the gxy.

    However, there were only stars in the starry sky above him. There were no ck rocks.

    ¡°No, those aren¡¯t real stars. They are gemstones that are as bright as the stars!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could see extremely far with his eyes now, so it was only natural that he discovered their true identities.

    However, these gemstones had obviously been meticulously cut and polished.

    Every one of the gemstones was identically shaped, in addition, even their materials were the same. That was why they looked like stars in the sky at a rough nce.

    It was magnificent.

    ¡®Are there 10,000 gemstones in the sky?¡¯

    ¡®No, there are definitely more than 10,000 gemstones. There are probably tens of thousands of gemstones amongst those ck chains. Their number is terrifying.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes opened wider and wider as if there were numbers jumping around in his eyeballs.

    ¡®Money!¡¯

    ¡®Gems!¡¯

    ¡®So much money and so many gems!¡¯

    He¡¯d be so filthy rich if he took all of the gemstones down that he could probably afford the entire me Capital City.

    ¡°An ordinary life. This is the ordinary life that I¡¯m seeking.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was getting increasingly excited. He felt like he was one step closer towards his dream.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, this ce seems like a tomb.¡± While Fang Zhengzhi was pondering how he could get the gemstones, he heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Tomb?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled for a second, then, he subconsciously turned away from the dazzling gemstones in the sky and asked, ¡°What tomb?¡±

    ¡°Look over there.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed towards the center of this ce.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked towards that direction and soon discovered that there was actually a tombstone at the center.

    The only thing was, the tombstone was also made out of ck rocks, so it was hard to spot it at a quick nce because it blended perfectly with the ground, which was also made out of ck rocks.

    Most importantly...

    There wasn¡¯t a single word on that tombstone.

    It was incredibly smooth and ordinary, and there were no patterns or any colors on it. The ck tombstone simply stood there in the center, looking lonely and weird.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the coffin?¡± Fang Zhengzhi intuitively asked that question because ording to the normal plot of ¡®tomb raiding¡¯ stories, a coffin should appear at this moment.

    It could be behind the tombstone, or it could be hanging upside down in the air like a lotus flower. There could even be multiple mechanisms on the coffin that needed to be activated simultaneously.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi took out a candle as if he was well-experienced. He walked towards the east, lit up the candle, and shouted, ¡°A man lights a candle and the ghost blows it out!¡±

    However, after looking around the tomb, he realized that there wasn¡¯t a coffin.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯

    ¡®A tomb without a coffin?¡¯

    ¡®How am I supposed to raid the tomb if that¡¯s the case?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi had lost interest, Yun Qingwu seemed to have discovered something. She suddenly took a couple of steps forward and dragged Fang Zhengzhi along with her.

    ¡°Look behind the tombstone.¡± Yun was fixated on the back of the wordless tombstone while she was walking towards it.

    ¡°Behind it? Are you saying that the coffin is hidden behind the tombstone?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s interest in the tomb was reignited and he also looked towards the back of the tombstone.

    From his angle, he could roughly see a ck object.

    It looked like a squarish box, but also like a protruding rock. There were no patterns or colors on it either.

    It was extremely inconspicuous.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ignore it just because it wasn¡¯t eye-catching because he knew that such a design was extremely unusual.

    Tombstone ¨C A critical part of a tomb. Simrly, its position had to be chosen carefully.

    Therefore, it was impossible for any unimportant objects to be ced around the tombstone. The chance of a rock falling behind the tombstone was even less likely.

    Hence, there were only two possibilities.

    It was either a treasure or the mechanism of a restrictive barrier.

    Fang Zhengzhi instinctively felt that the former was more likely. After all, there were so many gemstones above his head.

    This ce was decorated so extravagantly.

    In that case, how could there possibly be ack of treasure?

    Since Fang Zhengzhi was so focused on the treasure, he naturally threw everything about solving the ¡®mystery¡¯ out the window temporarily.

    However, at this moment, he heard Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice again.

    ¡°Why is there a tomb inside this pce? Someone spent so much effort to deploy the 36 Heavenly Stars Formation, but somehow there is only a tomb with a wordless tombstone at the center of Heavenly Yuan?¡± Yun Qingwu was obviously not interested in the treasure.

    She was more concerned about the truth behind the tomb, why the tomb was decorated like the gxy, and why there wasn¡¯t a single word on the tombstone.

    Of course, apart from that, she also wanted to figure out what the ¡®rock¡¯ behind the tombstone was.

    However, she didn¡¯t continue walking forward because she knew that since this was a tomb, then it wouldn¡¯t be safe around here.

    ¡°Yeah, why is there a tomb here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was fixated on the ck rock as he mumbled. However, he didn¡¯t stop moving. He actually let go of Yun Qingwu and quickened his pace towards the ck rock.

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was startled.

    His body moved extremely ridiculously in that split second. He bounced into the air like a frightened cat.

    However...

    When hended on the ground, he realized that there wasn¡¯t anything to watch out for.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu was also looking back at him.

    The two of them stared at each other.

    It was a little awkward.

    ¡°What do I have to watch out for?¡± After a long wait, Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°No... I just thought that since this is a tomb, there are probably dangerous traps around here, so I...¡± Yun Qingwu blushed.

    ¡°The daring ones make it big while the cowards starve to death. What do I have to be afraid of?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shot Yun Qingwu a condescending nce and continued walking towards the ¡®rock¡¯ behind the tombstone.

    Nothing happened throughout his journey.

    Just like that, Fang Zhengzhi arrived in front of the tombstone.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved. She was left dumbfounded for a moment because she couldn¡¯t figure out why it was so ¡®safe¡¯ around here.

    ¡®Did I overthink things?¡¯

    ¡°Yo... It¡¯s really a treasure!¡± While Yun Qingwu was feeling puzzled, she heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s excited cry.

    She subconsciously looked towards him.

    Then, she discovered that Fang Zhengzhi was already holding the ¡®rock¡¯ in his hand. Moreover, he had even opened it up.

    It was actually a stone box.

    There was an extremely entric crown in the box.

    It was made of bronze and there was an exquisite engraving of a dragon¡¯s head on it. The crown didn¡¯t seem big, but it exuded a tremendously ancient aura.

    ¡®A dragon¡¯s head?¡¯ Yun Qingwu was stumped for a second. Then, her expression changed rapidly as if she was reminded of something extremely horrifying.

    In the meantime, the ground that was paved with ck rocks lit up.

    Spots of golden light started flowing and then converged into a thin golden line.

    The entire ground was painted gold almost instantly.

    Most importantly, while the ground was covered by the golden radiance, golden symbols started appearing on the wordless tombstone.

    It looked like flowing blood.

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    She heard a strong and powerful heartbeat sound.

    ¡°Look out!¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t know if it was the sound of her own heartbeat or if it belonged to someone else. However, she instinctively sensed an approaching danger.

    It felt like something was staring at her intently.

    She felt her body turning lighter as soon as she said that because someone had already grabbed her and lifted her off the ground forcefully.

    It was extraordinarily fast!

    It was so fast that Yun Qingwu couldn¡¯t even resist it.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t important. What was important was the fact that the arms that surrounded her body were obviously acting up.

    ¡°Let... Let go of me!¡± Yun Qingwu turned red instantly and she struggled as hard as she could to get out of those arms. However, they didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°Let go? How the hell can I do that? This is a time when you should hold on to me tightly. Do you think that I¡¯d secretly take advantage of you during such times?¡± Fang Zhengzhi reprimanded Yun Qingwu.

    Then...

    Yun Qingwu received a p on her butt.

    However, that didn¡¯t leave her speechless. What truly left her speechless was the fact that he groped her waist after pping her butt.

    ¡°...¡± Even though Yun Qingwu knew that Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shameless, she still didn¡¯t expect him to be shameless to the core.

    ¡°Rx, I am not a sneaky man. I¡¯d never secretly take advantage of you, I¡¯d only do it openly!¡± Fang Zhengzhi added.

    ¡°...¡± What could Yun Qingwu possibly say?

    She thought of countless words and phrases that she could use to vent her emotions, but at this moment, she felt that none of them could truly express how she felt.

    Humiliated, frustrated, helpless, lost...

    Countless emotions went through Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind and she felt extremelyplicated. She loved it but she also hated it at the same time. The dilemmas left her emotions tumbling like a violent tsunami.

    She wanted to vent her emotions.

    However, simply cursing wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s face turned redder as she tried to hold back her emotions. Her blush looked gorgeous and overwhelming.

    For some reason, she suddenly felt like she wanted to vent all her ¡®resentment¡¯ in one go and stop caring about anything else.

    She wanted to forgo all etiquettes and pretenses. She wanted to forgo everything.

    That was because she was facing Fang Zhengzhi, a shameless fellow who had never cared about etiquettes.

    ¡°You shameless fellow. If you are really so daring, why didn¡¯t youe near me when I was in the pond just now? Coward, you are a coward! Have sex with me if you have the balls for it!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to grope Yun Qingwu¡¯s waist again when his hand stopped moving. He froze with a weird expression on his face and thought to himself, ¡®Have sex with her? This chick...¡±

    Boom!

    At this moment, while Fang Zhengzhi was frozen, the golden radiance that had covered the entire ground shot up and swept towards him and Yun Qingwu like a massive wave in the ocean.

 Chapter 1023 - Bullshit â€˜Benevolenceâ€™

    <h4>Chapter 1023: Bullshit ¡®Benevolence¡¯</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Furthermore, the massive wave was extraordinarily odd. As soon as it appeared, all the golden radiance started converging in its direction.

    The golden radiance seemed to have materialized.

    Roar! They heard the loud roar of a beast. Then, one after another, metallic scales started appearing from the golden radiance.

    A vast and ancient aura engulfed the entire world.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi originally thought that the golden radiance was some sort of mechanism, however, he was startled when he heard the roar.

    There was a beast in the ck Stone Pce?!

    Was it some sort of monster from the Monster Race or Demon Race again?

    If that was the case, it¡¯d be too ridiculous. If there were monsters everywhere, how could humans survive? Most importantly, once a monster appeared...

    It meant that the entire ck Stone Pce could be a specific monster¡¯s territory. It was even possible that this was the monster¡¯s tomb.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to identify the monster appearing from the golden radiance.

    However, the golden radiance was surrounded by a dense golden fog. It looked like a golden cloud and he couldn¡¯t tell what it was.

    He could only see the scales amidst the radiance.

    In the meantime, he also sensed an imminent crisis. It felt like a tremendously terrifying existence had locked on to him, and even his ears started hurting.

    This was a rare feeling for him.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi believed that he was already powerful enough at his current state. To put it humbly, he had no problem bullying the old folks and the children.

    ¡®What kind of monster could be a threat to me?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled, but his ears were actually hurting, so his head tilted to the left subconsciously.

    Then, he saw a sharp w grazing his hair and shing past his eyes. It was almost as fast as light.

    ¡°Kiddie, how dare you fly in front of me?¡± He heard a stern and thunderous voice at this moment.

    Fang Zhengzhi jolted.

    He felt like he was crushed by a towering mountain just like a certain monkey (Sun Wukong in Journey to The West) when he heard that voice.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi crashed onto the ground together with Yun Qingwu. Even his ck-Golden Wings werepressed by this massive power and became a little smaller.

    It didn¡¯t hurt too badly.

    However, he felt like his pride was insulted.

    ¡®What the hell was that?!¡¯

    ¡®How is it so powerful!¡¯

    As soon as Fang Zhengzhi crashed onto the ground, he wielded zing Qilin Spear and stabbed towards the figure in the golden fog without a second thought.

    A zing me appeared.

    The golden radiance suddenly grew much brighter after it epassed the five-colored radiance of blue, red, ck, silver, and green.

    The five-colored radiance fused with the golden radiance and turned the sky full of mes into a five-colored me as well.

    Roar! This was also the bellow of a creature, but it came from within the five-colored me instead. A shadow was somewhat visible within the me. It had four legs and was covered in mes.

    ¡°Eh? A small Qilin?¡± The stern voice sounded a little surprised when it saw the shadow in the me. However, it quickly sighed and continued, ¡°It¡¯s just a single drop of blood from a small Qilin. Hmm... Mastering five of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques... Kiddie, you¡¯re pretty good!¡±

    Boom!

    As they heard that stern voice, there was a loud bang due to the sh between zing Qilin Spear and the figure in the golden fog.

    A violent aura rampaged in the surrounding area.

    A sharp whistling sound shook the entire ground. Ripple-like air sts expanded in all directions and slowly whittled down the golden fog.

    However, it could merely whittle it down.

    Nevertheless, the rough outline of the figure became visible.

    It was a gigantic beast that was glowing with a golden light. It was covered in golden scales that were as chilling as metal.

    There were two antlers on his head.

    His two long and golden whiskers were floating in the air.

    He had four ws, each holding on to a ball of golden fog. His golden eyes were quietly fixated on Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    The creature was cold and arrogant.

    ¡°A dragon!¡± Fang Zhengzhi widened his eyes.

    He saw dragons before ¨C in paintings and on the dragon pirs in the pce of Great Xia Dynasty.

    Of course, apart from that, he witnessed Emperor Lin Mubai using the ¡®Green Dragon Eye¡¯. He could even turn his own sword radiance into a purple dragon.

    Its name was ¨C Dragon yer sh.

    However, the dragons on the paintings, his sword move, and all the other dragons he had seen before were only ¡®dragonesque¡¯.

    On the other hand, the gigantic beast in front of him with the chilling scales and the sharp and terrifying ws was obviously a real dragon.

    A real dragon!

    ¡®Am I seeing things?!¡¯

    ¡®Do dragons really exist in the world? Furthermore, did a dragon just appear in the ck Stone Pce out of nowhere, right in front of my eyes?¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I want to rinse my face because I am seeing things. Goodbye!¡± After Fang Zhengzhi caught a good look of the creature in front of him, he immediately turned around and pulled Yun Qingwu towards the entrance that they came from.

    ¡°Kiddie, since you¡¯re already here, do you think that this is a toilet? Do you think you cane and go as you wish?¡± The Golden Dragon moved and turned into a stream of light.

    In the next instance, his body was already blocking the exit of the cave.

    He was extraordinarily fast.

    At the very least, he was faster than Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stumped. Then, he smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to run into such a humorous dragon here. I have a question, how much do I have to pay to use the toilet?¡±

    ¡°Kiddie, you¡¯re pretty smart. I don¡¯t want money. Leave the 28 Maps of ess to Heaven behind and you may leave.¡± The Golden Dragon was smiling as well.

    However, his smile was obviously a little chilly. Both his sharp fangs and his whiskers gave off a chilling air.

    ¡°What maps? I¡¯ve never heard of them before.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was inwardly stunned.

    ¡®This Golden Dragon actually knew about the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven? Furthermore, he can tell at a single nce that I have 28 of them?¡¯

    ¡®This is too freaky.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t figure out how the dragon knew that he had the maps. However, he knew that an innocent man would still be persecuted for possessing items of exceptional value.

    ¡°This dragon is asking you for ¡°Guangling Painting¡±, which is the one that I created with 28 of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven. Isn¡¯t it with you?¡± Yun Qingwu chimed in at an ¡®appropriate¡¯ moment.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze.

    ¡®How do I sing that song?¡¯

    ¡®Piggie, you have two holes on your nose. Mucus hangs around your nose when you catch a cold. Piggie, you have pitch-ck eyes. No matter how far you looked you can¡¯t see the edge of the sky. Piggie, your ears are so big...¡¯

    ¡®Who¡¯s an example of ¡®pig-like teammates¡¯?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t even want to mention any names because Yun Qingwu had already illustrated that term perfectly with her IQ of 189.999.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    ¡®What the hell!¡¯

    A dragon suddenly appeared and knew that he had the Maps of ess to Heaven at a single nce. Moreover, he even knew urately that he had 28 of them.

    ¡®Damn it!¡¯

    ¡®Is this dragon a devil?¡¯

    Most importantly, Yun Qingwu, who had agreed to fight alongside him, actually decided to backstab him at such a critical moment.

    The plot twist happened too suddenly.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he needed some time to get ustomed to the change.

    ¡°Oh, you want ¡°Guangling Painting¡±? Sure, I do actually have it. However... I haven¡¯t gone to the toilet yet. Can I pass it to you after I¡¯m done?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Golden Dragon blocking his way and put on an ¡®innocent and naive¡¯ smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok, I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡± The Golden Dragon nodded.

    ¡°Then... Can you let me through?¡±

    ¡°No, you can only leave after you¡¯ve gone to the toilet.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®For goodness sake, is it really eptable for a dragon to be so humorous? What happened to the cold-blooded and ruthlessness that I¡¯ve heard about? Although he¡¯s so powerful, he is actually a benevolent dragon?¡¯

    ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯

    ¡®A benevolent dragon?!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi nced at the Golden Dragon in front of him and recalled how he had tried to w him when he just appeared and how he attacked him with his spear just now.

    It seemed like...

    This Golden Dragon was actually benevolent.

    He wasn¡¯t ruthless at all. He only reacted ¡®passively¡¯ to his attacks and then took the opportunity to counterattack. Apart from the thunderous roar that sent him crashing onto the ground, the dragon didn¡¯t actually hurt him.

    Most importantly, he actually started joking with him about ¡®toilet usage fee¡¯. This dragon was way too benevolent.

    ¡®This style didn¡¯t seem right...¡¯

    ¡®This was supposed to be a ¡®hot-blooded¡¯ fantasy novel, so how did it be aedy all of a sudden?¡¯

    ¡°Kiddie, do you want to go to the toilet yourself, or do I have to whoop your ass and throw you into the toilet?¡± The Golden Dragon spoke once again after he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changing rapidly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®So, the style has reverted back after all, huh?¡¯

    ¡®It was so direct and violent.¡¯

    ¡®What happened to the benevolent dragon?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi held on tight to the zing Qilin Spear.

    There was an upation in the West called the ¡®Dragon Rider¡¯. It was unlikely for him to tick that off his bucket list in this lifetime, but he could learn from his ancestors in the East and be a ¡®Dragon yer¡¯.

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to take a huge gamble, Yun Qingwu suddenly said something.

    ¡°A real ancient dragon with a golden body and four ws... You know about the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven and you even have such a sharp sense for their presence. Senior Dragon, can you tell me if yourst name is ¡®Xuanyuan¡¯?¡± As Yun Qingwu said that, she actually took a step forward and stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± A sh appeared in the dragon¡¯s eyes. Then, he slowly lowered his massive head and approached Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t move.

    Since she had backstabbed him, he didn¡¯t mind backstabbing her too. He wouldn¡¯t feel guilty about it at all.

    Yun Qingwu backstabbed him once, so in return, he would backstab her at least a hundred times or so.

    However, to his surprise, the Golden Dragon didn¡¯t attack Yun Qingwu. He simply came close to her and sniffed her gently.

    ¡°Kiddie, you smell a little weird. Not only do you smell like one of my kinds, but you also exude a smell that I hate...¡± The Golden Dragon slowly rose up and hovered in the air. It looked like he was stepping on clouds with the golden fog around him.

    ¡°Senior Dragon, you haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡± Yun Qingwu continued.

    ¡°Why do I have to answer your question?¡±

    ¡°If you are willing to answer my question, then, I could answer your questions too.¡± Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t surprised to hear his reply and she still looked calm and collected.

    ¡°Haha... How much would a kiddie know?¡± The Golden Dragon was a little surprised, but it still seemed interested in her and shot her a nce.

    ¡°I know everything that you don¡¯t.¡± Yun Qingwu looked confident.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Golden Dragon¡¯s eyes lit up once again, and he started taking Yun Qingwu seriously. ¡°Ok, then I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you could answer three of my questions, I¡¯d answer yours. However, if you can¡¯t answer them, I¡¯ll have to kill you.¡±

    ¡°Please, ask away.¡± Yun Qingwu replied calmly. She didn¡¯t seem to be surprised by the Golden Dragon¡¯s words at all, as if she didn¡¯t hear hisst sentence.

    ¡°Kiddie, you¡¯re pretty courageous. I¡¯ll test your wits with the first question. The question is simple: What¡¯s the difference between humans, Monsters, Demons, and Gods?¡± The Golden Dragon nodded and asked his first question.

    ¡°There is no difference between them.¡± Yun Qingwu answered without a second thought.

    ¡°Oh? Exin your answer.¡±

    ¡°God is a title that is used to describe humans, Monsters, or Demons that have be sufficiently powerful. A man can be a God, and so can a Monster or a Demon. As long as he is well-respected, made significant contributions, and the future generations record his deeds and worship him, he would be considered a God. Hence, there is no fundamental difference between humans, Monsters, Demons, and God.¡± Yun Qingwu exined her answer after some consideration.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so full of wit despite your young age. Although your answer is different from what I have in mind, I¡¯d consider that as an eptable answer.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Senior Dragon.¡± Yun Qingwu bowed to the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was pretty startled. He truly didn¡¯t expect this benevolent Golden Dragon to be so easygoing.

    ¡®Even a wrong answer can be considered right?¡¯

    ¡®In that case, I could answer the questions too.¡¯

    This was too easy.

    It was all about spewing bullshit, and he was naturally better than Yun Qingwu in that aspect.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me right now since you still have to answer two questions. If you get either one of them wrong, you would die.¡± The Golden Dragon shook his head and rejected Yun Qingwu¡¯s attempt at creating a ¡®friendly rtionship¡¯. Then, he looked towards her again and said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask the second question now.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Fang Zhengzhi chimed in at the ¡®appropriate¡¯ time.

    He decided to backstab Yun Qingwu again because given how benevolent this Golden Dragon was, he would be giving out treasure soon if the story developed as per normal.

    After all, he had seen many stories like this in his previous life.

    For example, that ssic story that had been passed down for many centuries.

    ¡®Oh, kind farmer, did you drop the gold ax, or did you drop the silver one?¡¯

    Even a fool knew that the answer was the steel ax.

    ¡°Oh? Kiddie, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to answer the second question.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at Yun Qingwu. Then, he stood in front of her unceremoniously.

    ¡°Haha, interesting. You¡¯ll answer the second question then. I¡¯ll test your knowledge with the second question. This question is also very simple: There was a master in the Great Xia Dynasty known as the Sagely Battle God, and his name is Meng Tian. Tell me, how did he die?¡±

 Chapter 1024 - What a Shameless Couple

    <h4>Chapter 1024: What a ¡®Shameless Couple¡¯</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Golden Dragon looked at Fang Zhengzhi silently after asking his question.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also looking at the dragon. The two of them were looking at each other intently with merely a couple of steps between them.

    This was a heartwarming scene.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had an urge to leap up, grab the dragon, and crush his balls.

    ¡®Knowledge?¡¯

    ¡®What kind of bullshit knowledge is that?¡¯

    He wasn¡¯t even born when Sagely Battle God Meng Tian died. Furthermore, Great Xia Dynasty was extremely secretive about the records of Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s deeds.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was most notably known for chasing after Demon Lord Si Kong by himself, killing him in Blood Shadow City with a single strike, and leaving behind a cut that split the city into two.

    Besides that...

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really know much about him.

    Even though he had entered World of the Sage, there weren¡¯t any records about Meng Tian inside. The only thing left was a sword.

    So, how exactly did Sagely Battle God Meng Tian die?

    Such f*cking bad luck.

    When it was Yun Qingwu¡¯s turn, she only had to answer a ¡®discussion question¡¯, and she could get it right even with an ambiguous answer. However, it became a ¡®fill in the nk¡¯ type of question when it came to his turn.

    There was only one answer to this question.

    ¡®Is the world even fair?¡¯

    After waiting for a short while, the Golden Dragon realized that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t going to say anything, and he asked impatiently, ¡°You can¡¯t answer the question, can you?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to reply with ¡®Duh¡¯.

    How could he possibly know how did Sagely Battle God Meng Tian die?

    He wasn¡¯t Zhuge Kongming reincarnated, so he couldn¡¯t simply just ¡®work it out¡¯. However, since things hade so far, he could no longer back out.

    ¡®Make up a random story?¡¯

    ¡®He died of old age?¡¯

    ¡®He died of stupidity?¡¯

    ¡®He froze to death from drinking cold water?¡¯

    None of them seemed like the right answer. Since the dragon raised this question, it probably knew the answer. Therefore, if he simply went with a random answer, he might die.

    ¡®Wait a minute.¡¯

    ¡®Why does he know about Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly looked towards Yun Qingwu. Then, he discovered that Yun Qingwu was also looking at him. However, her expression was calm as water.

    It was as if she was saying, ¡°Answer the question. Go ahead and answer the question if you can.¡±

    ¡°Can you give me some hints?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked away from Yun Qingwu and turned towards the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both the Golden Dragon and Yun Qingwu were stumped.

    That was because neither of them had ever expected Fang Zhengzhi to ask for hints so ¡®explicitly¡¯ under such circumstances.

    Did he think that this was a teacher testing his student?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± The dragon startedughing so hard that even the golden fog around him began shaking. Fang Zhengzhi made him so mad that he startedughing. ¡°Kiddie, you really have balls, don¡¯t you? I¡¯m asking you a question, but you dare to ask me for hints? Interesting, I¡¯ll tell you now that there will be no hints. If you can¡¯t answer the question, you¡¯ll die.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you asking too much of me if you aren¡¯t going to give any hints?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little speechless. He had actually thought that it was a benevolent dragon, but in the end, he kept talking about killing him.

    ¡°Hurry up and answer the question!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute. What¡¯s the rush? I¡¯m not even in a hurry.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both Yun Qingwu and the Golden Dragon were rendered speechless.

    Fang Zhengzhi simply went back to Yun Qingwu¡¯s side and poked her arm gently.

    His intentions were extremely clear. He wanted hints.

    However, Yun Qingwu purposely acted like she didn¡¯t see anything, and even turned her head to the side.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know the answer either, do you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi started taunting her.

    ¡°How can I possibly not know the answer?¡± Yun Qingwu responded nonchntly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at her scornfully.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t reply.

    On the other hand, the Golden Dragon was getting impatient. He had seen cheaters in the past, but not one that would tantly cheat right in front of the invigtor.

    Did Fang Zhengzhi really think that he¡¯s blind?

    Most importantly, he didn¡¯t even seed in cheating!

    Roar! The Golden Dragon bellowed angrily and swept his massive tail towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    He carried Yun Qingwu in one arm and fell back towards the wordless tombstone.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t answer the question now, both of you will die.¡± He gave them a final warning.

    ¡°Did you hear that? If I can¡¯t answer the question, you¡¯ll also die. Why don¡¯t you give me some hints since we are both in the same boat? Do you really want to die here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately conveyed the Golden Dragon¡¯s message to Yun Qingwu after hearing him.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved, but she was actually at a loss for words.

    In terms of shamelessness, Fang Zhengzhi was leagues ahead of her.

    It was Fang Zhengzhi who wanted to backstab her, but he ended up sabotaging himself too. Yet, at this moment, he could ask her for hints with a straight face as if he was in the right.

    How could a person be so shameless!

    Yun Qingwu was speechless, but she actually couldn¡¯t do anything to him. After all, it seemed like Fang Zhengzhi had sessfully gotten her into trouble once again.

    Feeling helpless, she could only extend her finger and scribble two words on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand quickly.

    ¡®Suicide!¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Then, he turned around towards the Golden Dragon, signaled for him to stop, and said, ¡°Meng Tian killed himself!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Golden Dragon¡¯s massive tail stopped moving. His gaze bounced back and forth between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu, but the golden aura around him eventually calmed down. ¡°Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was incredibly powerful, why would he kill himself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s not part of the question, so I won¡¯t answer it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi rejected his additional question without any consideration.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon froze, and his aura became violent once again.

    ¡°Senior Dragon, if you don¡¯t mind, you could make that the third question and I¡¯ll answer it.¡± Yun Qingwu finally said something at this moment.

    ¡°Make it the third question?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You are testing us to see if we could answer the questions on your mind. The first two questions tested our wits and knowledge. Therefore, the third question must be a test of our courage and strength. You¡¯ve already seen our strength, and I believe... You¡¯ve gotten a taste of our courage too.¡± Yun Qingwu stopped talking at this moment as if she had left the decision to the Golden Dragon on purpose.

    ¡°Hahaha... You¡¯re pretty good at ying mind games. Alrighty then, I¡¯ll take your suggestion. Tell me, why did Meng Tian kill himself?¡± The Golden Dragon startedughing after he heard Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple ¨C He had to die.¡± Yun Qingwu said confidently.

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°After Meng Tian killed Emperor Si Kong with a single move, delivering a crushing defeat to the Demon Race and brought glory for mankind, Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s ambitions would definitely start to grow.¡±

    ¡°Ok, keep going.¡±

    ¡°Great Xia Dynasty ordered Meng Tian tomand an army, ughter the Demon Race, invade Blood Shadow City and destroy the Demon Race once and for all. However, Meng Tian couldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°Why not? From what I knew, Meng Tian wasn¡¯t merciful.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because of the Monsters that lived deep within the mountains. No matter how strong Meng Tian was, he couldn¡¯t possibly kill all the masters of the two races. He knew that there would only be two oues if he attacked the Monster Race. Either the Monster Race and Demon Race would join forces andunch a counterattack against mankind, or the Monsters would initiate a sneak attack on the humans while they are busy with the Demon Race. Either one of these two scenarios would be a massive disaster for mankind, so he had to live in seclusion.¡±

    ¡°Live in seclusion? Then why would he kill himself?¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian thought that he could avoid the worldly conflicts if he lived in seclusion. However, he didn¡¯t know that once an emperor¡¯s ambitions started growing, he would never tolerate the possibility of any mishaps. The emperor threatened him by holding his family members hostage, and Meng Tian couldn¡¯t say no. Therefore, he had to kill himself in order to get out of this situation and keep his children safe. This was the secret history of Meng Tian and it wasn¡¯t recorded by Great Xia Dynasty. Even I couldn¡¯t prove the validity of this story.¡±

    ¡°You really know your stuff.¡±

    ¡°Senior Dragon, does that mean that we¡¯ve passed the test?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard that and she took a step forward once again.

    She subconsciously nced at Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing beside her, because she wanted to know if she could find any sign of ¡®shame¡¯ or simr emotions in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression. However, she was obviously going to be disappointed.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t ashamed of himself at all.

    In fact, he also took a step forward as well as if nothing had happened. He totally intended to let bygones be bygones.

    Since it was over, just let it go.

    What was the point in arguing about the past?

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve passed the test now. You can give me all your treasures.¡± Fang Zhengzhi stuck his hand out towards the Golden Dragon as he said that.

    ¡°Treasures?¡± He was stumped.

    ¡°Are you telling me that you don¡¯t any treasures?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also stumped.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The increasingly harmonious atmosphere became a little awkward once again.

    The Golden Dragon was furious.

    ¡®How dare a human ask a dragon for treasures?¡¯

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t he know what¡¯s a dragon¡¯s favorite thing?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was also extremely mad. He tried so hard to answer the question, so he expected a basketball-sized night pearl at the very least, even if the dragon couldn¡¯t give him a mountainous pile of treasures.

    However, there was nothing.

    The dragon was definitely being selfish.

    He was just about to vent his anger when he saw Yun Qingwu blinking at him nonstop. Her beautiful eyes almost felt fiery.

    ¡®Blinking? What does that mean? Is she flirting with me?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi shook his head to signal that he didn¡¯t understand her message. He wanted her to be more direct.

    Then, Yun Qingwu did just as he intended.

    She moved her finger and pointed at the wordless tombstone.

    ¡°The wordless tombstone?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was startled. He connected that to the question just now and thought to himself, ¡®Is she trying to say that this ce... Is Sagely Battle God Meng Tian¡¯s tomb?¡¯

    ¡®That doesn¡¯t make sense!¡¯

    ¡®No matter how secretive his history was, it can¡¯t possibly fly up into the gxy, can it?¡¯

    ¡®Wait a minute.¡¯

    ¡®If the wordless tombstone isn¡¯t Meng Tian¡¯s, then whose tombstone is it?¡¯

    ¡°Senior Dragon, shouldn¡¯t you answer my question now?¡± After blinking at Fang Zhengzhi continuously for a short while, Yun Qingwu was confident that Fang Zhengzhi hadpletely understood her message, so she turned towards the Golden Dragon again.

    He flew around the air and then back to Yun Qingwu, and replied, ¡°You can only ask a single question.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same question. Can you tell me if yourst name is Xuanyuan?¡± Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t surprised by his reply, and she insisted on asking the same question.

    ¡°Kiddie, are you sure that that¡¯s your question for me?¡± The Golden Dragon seemed like it didn¡¯t want to answer her question, and his golden eyes flickered.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu affirmed.

    ¡°Kiddie, you¡¯ve also answered my question just now. Given your... Spectacr... Performance, I believe that you also have the right to ask a question. If you have another question, I wouldn¡¯t mind answering your question instead.¡±

    ¡°I am that outstanding?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little astonished.

    ¡°Of course, you can choose to ask me about the treasures, for example: Where is the only treasure that is hidden in this pce?¡± He nodded.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    ¡°Ha...¡± The Golden Dragon was alsoughing. His sharp fangs were glowing with a chilling light, and he seemed extremely majestic and arrogant.

    Judging by hisughter alone, he wasn¡¯t too ugly.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, my question is really critical.¡± At this point, Yun Qingwu naturally realized that the Golden Dragon was luring Fang Zhengzhi into asking a different question.

    ¡°A dragon¡¯sst name is critical? Haha... How could it be more important than treasures?¡± Fang Zhengzhi despised her, but in the meantime, he subconsciously recalled a children¡¯s song from his previous life.

    ¡®There are antlers on my head and a tail on my back...¡¯

    ¡®Xuanyuan...¡¯

    ¡®The little golden dragon, Xuanyuan?¡¯

    ¡®How important could that be?¡¯

    ¡®Wait a minute, something¡¯s wrong.¡¯

    ¡®Xuanyuan?!¡¯

    ¡®Did Yun Qingwu ask the Golden Dragon if hisst name is Xuanyuan?!¡¯

    ¡®Not Xiahou, not Dongfang, not Ximen, and definitely not Nangong...¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. He didn¡¯t know why Yun Qingwu wanted to ask the Golden Dragon about hisst name. However, if the answer to that question was ¡®yes¡¯, then there would really be a story behind the Golden Dragon in front of them.

    ¡®A dragon with thest name ¡®Xuanyuan¡¯.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi nced around him. Then, he looked at the wordless tombstone, the ck rocks around him, and the starry sky and ck chains above him.

    Mysteries.

    Countless mysteries.

    There seemed to be a reasonable answer to all of them at this moment.

    Of course, that was only if this dragon was actually that dragon.

    ¡®Hmm...¡¯

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s question was actually critical.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d also like to know if thest name of an old Golden Dragon that has lived for tens of thousands of years, who seems to be trapped here, guarding this tomb, yet appears to know about everything that has happened in the world, is actually ¡®Xuanyuan¡¯.¡± Fang Zhengzhi slowly spoke while the Golden Dragon was smiling eagerly.

    ¡°Hahaha....¡± The Golden Dragon froze, then, he startedughing so hard that the golden fog and the ground began shaking. ¡°What a shameless couple. You don¡¯t even want the ultimate treasure that everybody seeks. Instead, you want to know myst name?! Damn you... DAMN YOU!¡±

 Chapter 1025 - Activate Gamer Mode, Call for the Dragon Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 1025: Activate Gamer Mode, Call for the Dragon Pearl</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Golden Dragon was infuriated and loud cracking explosive sounds could be heard from his dragon ws. It seemed that Yun Qingwu¡¯s question hit the pain spot in his heart.

    However, he regained hisposure after being ¡°wild¡± for a short while.

    His two golden eyes stared closely at Yun Qingwu and Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Both of you must have extraordinary skills in order to have sessfully entered this ce. Fine, I will answer your question. You are right, my surname was Xuanyuan a very very long time ago.

    ¡°Actually, I was also a Xuanyuan a very very long time ago...¡± Fang Zhengzhi said ¡°honestly¡± when he heard the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Golden Dragon and Yun Qingwu were astonished. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s honest expression in confusion.

    ¡°You had the surname of Xuanyuan too?¡± The Golden Dragon obviously did not believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, it was very long ago though. So much time had passed that I can¡¯t remember what happened. I do see the bloody battlefield frequently in my dreams. Countless of Demon Gods fought against each other in the battlefield and blood stained the ground...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon was stunned again.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if she was looking at a strange creature. She wanted to add on, ¡°Shameless brat, aren¡¯t you acting... a little too ridiculously?¡±

    The ancient battlefield of the Demon Gods...

    Battles!

    If Yun Qingwu had not known how shameless Fang Zhengzhi was, she would have almost believed him with the realisticments he made.

    Yun Qingwu expressed her suspicion.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi ignored her suspicious look and was still immersed in his ¡°memory¡±.

    ¡°And the heavenly fire thatnded on the ground... the deaths and injuries of vigers at dawn... I always felt an extreme pain when I dreamt of these scenes, I would rather bury myself to relieve the pain they felt...¡±

    ¡°Bury myself to relieve the pain they felt?¡± The Golden Dragon¡¯s expression changed from one with suspicion to one that was serious.

    Fang Zhengzhi saw the look in the Golden Dragon¡¯s eyes and turned his body around and sighed heavily.

    ¡°Sigh... I can only see that scene in my dreams now, dreams... I still remember the scene when the sky was filled with Demon Gods and that powerful force prevented the arrival of the Cosmic Disaster. Besides that, the white figure who was leading the human, monster and demon races at the front...¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded somewhat sad towards the end of his sentence.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon seemed to be busy reminiscing about the past.

    After a long while...

    .The Golden Dragon¡¯s eyes were filled with radiance. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if he was looking at a familiar figure in the battlefield. He actually looked as if he was lost in thoughts.

    ¡°Do you remember that I gave you your surname?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned and his eyes lit up with a silvery-white radiance.

    The Rebirth Ghost Dao!

    Buzz! The sky and earth shook.

    The entire world turned ck and white suddenly. Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon¡¯s body trembled and the white shadow attached to his body shook violently.

    ¡°Of course, I remember that, mas...¡± The Golden Dragon spoke instinctively but halfway through his sentence, his gaze suddenly became clear and he shook his gigantic dragon head violently. ¡°Kiddie, you are indeed extremely shameless, I almost got tricked by you!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised when he saw how the Golden Dragon figured it out suddenly. However, he still put on a calm front.

    ¡°How can I possibly believe you?¡± The Golden Dragon¡¯s expression changed and struck at Fang Zhengzhi with his dragon w.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you wait here for me toe?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a step forward and was fearless despite the attack of the Golden Dragon.

    The dragon w of the Golden Dragon stopped.

    It stopped less than two inches away from Fang Zhengzhi. Golden radiance flowed on the w and a chilling breeze blew the hair on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°You have already waited for a thousand years. Now that the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons has reopened and the powerful individuals in the gxy had returned to the world, when are you nning to wait until?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon fell silent and was rooted to the spot.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu widened her eyes and stared at Fang Zhengzhi before looking at the Golden Dragon.

    Seriously?

    That worked too?

    Yun Qingwu was slightly taken aback.

    Based on her memory, Fang Zhengzhi knew very little about what happened in the past. However, Fang Zhengzhi behaved as if he had really seen whatever he described with his own eyes.

    How strange and unpredictable.

    Yun Qingwu initially felt that Fang Zhengzhi was a joke but the reaction of the Golden Dragon made her feel that she was doomed.

    Xuanyuan!

    A dragon with Xuanyuan as his surname!

    Did Fang Zhengzhi know the meaning of the word ¡°Xuanyuan¡± too?

    How was that possible?

    The historical books rarely recorded these ancient events. Only certain extremely ancient books had these records.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you...¡± Yun Qingwu wanted to make somements but she did not know how to articte them.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t believe me now, but do you really want to stay here, wait here and be trapped here forever under restraint?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Yun Qingwu and continued talking to the Golden Dragon.

    Xuanyuan.

    Of course he knew about Xuanyuan.

    It was the surname of Emperor Huang.

    He knew that something was wrong when Yun Qingwu asked the Golden Dragon if his surname was Xuanyuan. His suspicion was only gone when the Golden Dragon gave his reply.

    Very long ago, his surname was indeed Xuanyuan.

    This answer may be rather vague but the vague answer made Fang Zhengzhi even more certain of the Golden Dragon¡¯s identity.

    The beast owned by Emperor Huang, the first Godly beast of the ancient era, the Five-wed Golden Dragon!

    So powerful...

    The Golden Dragon in front of him was the legendary dragon of ancient times. How would Fang Zhengzhi let such an amazing opportunity slip?

    He had to fake it.

    As the saying went, fake it till you make it.

    Fang Zhengzhi definitely did not dream about the ancient battlefield. However, he had read about the incident of Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan in his past world.

    Then, he made some connections with the information he obtained from the current world he was in as well as the ¡°specific details¡± he read from the ck stone tablet.

    If he was still unable to fool the dragon...

    He would not call himself Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You know that I¡¯m put under restraints?¡± The Golden Dragon did not believe Fang Zhengzhi but when he heard the word ¡°restraint¡±, he started to question himself.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Then, he shook his hand and a huge ck stone tablet with golden marks appeared.

    It was the ck stone tablet in the ck Stone Pce that recorded about the Cosmic Disaster.

    After the stone tablet got sliced into pieces, Fang Zhengzhi carried it along with him. He took it out as evidence when he heard what the Golden Dragon said.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Golden Dragon looked at the broken stone and reached out for one piece. He examined it carefully as his expression changed.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept praying as the Golden Dragon looked at the stone.

    ¡®Prayers to heaven.¡¯

    ¡®Please let me seed.¡¯

    The stone tablet had a huge diagram behind it. He could not understand what it was about but he could infer that it was useful.

    He then recalled how the Golden Dragon appeared.

    The ground started to glow with golden marks before the golden light congregated and the Golden Dragon appeared from the patch of golden light.

    Everything proved that the Golden Dragon could survive because of other special restraints apart from his own body.

    ¡°I guessed it correctly? I must be right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Golden Dragon as he made his prayers and was extremely cautious in case an emergency happened.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu waited at the side and was surprisingly quiet. However, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi and the Golden Dragon with a strange look.

    If Fang Zhengzhi could actually guess correctly...

    That was too ridiculous!

    As this thought struck Yun Qingwu, she saw the Golden Dragon raise his head before he kept the broken stone pieces quickly.

    ¡°Kiddie, I don¡¯t believe you but if you can free me from the restraints put on me, I can grant you three wishes.¡±

    ¡°Three wishes? So he has indeed sessfully gathered all the seven dragon pearls?¡± Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief as he looked up slightly. ¡°It is extremely difficult to get rid of the restraints.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know that.¡± The Golden Dragon nodded.

    ¡°Then just give me some random hints.¡± Fang Zhengzhipletely did not know what restraints were put on the Golden Dragon but he had to pretend as though he knew.

    Acting!

    Life was like a drama, it required acting skills.

    He knew this very well.

    ¡°Are you sure you can understand the words on the stone tablet?¡± The Golden Dragon asked to confirm.

    ¡°The issue is in the wood.¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt happy. So was the freeing of restraints really rted to the diagrams on the stone tablet?

    If that was so, he had really struck the lottery.

    ¡°Alright, I shall give you a hint then.¡± The Golden Dragon nodded again as his eyes lit up with golden light. The two beams of golden light shot straight towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°There¡¯s a trick?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. Without any hesitation, he pulled Yun Qingwu and rolled towards the side with her.

    Meanwhile, two beams of golden light shot past the position where Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu were standing earlier on. It struck the wordless stone tablet at a terrifying speed like the meteor.

    Instantly, the wordless stone tablet shone with radiance.

    The spots of golden light shone continuously on the wordless stone tablet. They eventually gathered as symbols and cramped together like tadpoles.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s body was forcefully pressed down by Fang Zhengzhi. Her face turned red and she had difficulties breathing but she did not look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    She did not even intend to me Fang Zhengzhi for that.

    That was because she was attracted by the golden symbols that appeared on the wordless stone tablet. The symbols were almost identical to that of the ck stone tablet which was outside.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the shameless brat is about to seed?!¡± Yun Qingwu was speechless.

    If Fang Zhengzhi manages to seed so simply, it would have been incredible and too coincidental.

    However, as the saying went, ¡®Without coincidences, there are no stories.¡¯

    She was speechless but also felt slightly helpless.

    That was because she did not recognize all of the symbols. She could only make a rough guess of their meaning from her understanding of other ancient books.

    However...

    She knew that Fang Zhengzhi could genuinely understand those words.

    Although she never understood why Fang Zhengzhi could recognize those words, it was an undeniable fact.

    ¡°What a coincidence, I recognize all of these too, sigh... I really have Xuanyuan as my surname a long time ago, now do you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the golden symbols in the wordless stone tablet. He patted the dirt off his body and stood up.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yun Qingwu scolded Fang Zhengzhi as she could no longer hold it in.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon turned his head to the side. He definitely would not believe what Fang Zhengzhi said. However, if Fang Zhengzhi really could recognize all the symbols on the stone tablet...

    Did that mean...

    The Golden Dragon stopped his train of thought as he felt that it was impossible

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality was different from the person he knew.

    How could the two of them be the same person?

    Who would believe that?

    Not the Golden Dragon.

    In fact, even Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that. iming that he was the resurrection of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan? He really did not have any special Gifted Bloodline on him and was genuinely an ordinary person.

    However, no matter whether he believed it or not, he would never stop acting.

    ¡°A dragon with Xuanyuan as his surname... so the grave in front of me must be the grave of the legendary Emperor!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was 90 percent confident.

    However, there was something he still could not understand.

    Based on the records in the current world, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was not trapped in the gxy. He survived with Emperor Yan and created the world of humankind.

    Then, why would the grave fall from the gxy?

    Fang Zhengzhi still did not understand why that happened but he made a guess that the answer was recorded on the wordless stone tablet.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi walked up to the wordless stone tablet and began to read the symbols on it.

    ¡°So your full name is ¡®Xuanyuan Five¡¯. It is such a simple name but is ratherpatible with your status as the Five-wed Golden Dragon!¡± said Fang Zhengzhi after reading a few lines.

    ¡°You... kiddie, you really can understand the symbols on that?!¡± The Golden Dragon¡¯s body shook again when he heard Fang Zhengzhi. Even the golden mist shrouding his body started to be unstable.

    Evidently, the Golden Dragon was slightly agitated.

    After so many years...

    Nobody knew his real name.

    Xuanyuan Five!

    Xuanyuan Five...

    It had been long, too long.

    The number one Godly beast who had been at the peak, the Five-wed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five!

 Chapter 1026 - The Recorded Truth of the Ancient Secret

    <h4>Chapter 1026: The Recorded Truth of the Ancient Secret</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°How did this shameless brat manage to recognize all these symbols? Exactly how did he manage to do that?¡± Yun Qingwu knew that Fang Zhengzhi managed to make a lucky guess again.

    Xuanyuan Five!

    The name of the Golden Dragon was really Xuanyuan Five!

    Yun Qingwu was intelligent. She had guessed that the Golden Dragon¡¯s identity was definitely extraordinary.

    She asked the question previously because of the records in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±.

    That was because, in the ancient times, the Five-wed Golden Dragon became Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s good friend and hence became its family.

    If the golden dragon in front of them had the surname Xuanyuan, it could be proven to be the Five-wed Golden Dragon who was with Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in the past.

    However, she did not expect that...

    Fang Zhengzhi would have such a deep understanding of the past. He was able to deduce the identity of the golden dragon just by the word ¡°Xuanyuan¡±.

    Then, he managed to take action.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yun Qingwu could only curse in her heart as no matter whether she was willing to ept it or not, she was unable to get rid of the restrictions put on the Golden Dragon.

    IN fact, only Fang Zhengzhi was able to understand the symbols on the wordless Stone Tablet and sessfully get rid of the restrictions put on the Golden Dragon.

    ...

    Surprisingly, Fang Zhengzhi did not answer the Golden Dragon¡¯s question.

    That was because he got intrigued by the content of the Wordless Stone Tablet.

    The content was...

    The biography of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!

    ¡°This is really the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!¡± Even though Fang Zhengzhi had correctly guessed it earlier on, he was still very shocked after verifying the truth.

    After all, he was Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!

    The first person in the world to be crowned an emperor.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt even more shocked as he read on as the contents werepletely different from historical records and the legendary stories.

    However, he was sure about one thing.

    Both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang did not pass away in the Cosmic Disaster. Both of them survived it and established the society of humankind.

    The two characters in the legends had immense powers. One could imagine how quickly the human poption flourished under their rule.

    The Stone Tablet recorded what happened to Emperor Huang after the Cosmic Disaster.

    ¡°The society of humankind was established and he became the well-respected Emperor...¡±

    ¡°Yan... His emotions seemed to be a little odd. For some reason, the rtionship between Gu and Yan became more detached as time passed by. Could it be that Yan was still ming Gu for his actions?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi continued reading. The words on the Stone Tablet were simple and short. However, he still needed a long time to trante them.

    Moreover, it became more difficult towards the back as though the person who wrote it was too exhausted to continue.

    However, as Fang Zhengzhi was well-trained in historical literature, he had no problems understanding the content.

    He could roughly understand it.

    It should be narrating about how after dozens of years of reign, Emperor Huang became more distant to Emperor Yan and even had some quarrels with him, thereby causing Emperor Yan to escape to the forest.

    After that, he realized that their strain in the rtionship resulted in a war.

    At this point in time...

    Emperor Huang felt that it may lead to a second Great War but as the society of Humankind was just established, it was definitely unable to withstand the torture of war.

    Therefore, Emperor Huang looked for Emperor Yan and initiated a negotiation with a list of terms.

    After that negotiation, their strained rtionship became normal again.

    That was followed by ten days of drinking...

    After ten days, they remembered the ¡°clues¡± left behind by Mother Earth and began to look for the path that led to the gxy ording to the will of Mother Earth.

    The records stopped here.

    Perhaps Emperor Huang did not want to record down how the two of them coborated and how they managed to find the path that led to the gxy.

    However, judging from the oues...

    The gxy had really been opened once.

    ¡°I see.¡± Although there were no records, Fang Zhengzhi could roughly figure out that Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had managed to enter the gxy.

    However, he did not return.

    As for...

    Why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan not return and what happened after that, there were no records on the Stone Tablet. There was only a brief mention about the Five-wed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five towards the end.

    ¡°It was indeed sealed up. However, the condition to free it required... the power of Emperor Yan?! What on earth?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was ridiculous.

    Based on his assumption, something must had happened to the coboration between Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan.

    It was most probably because Emperor Yan had given Emperor Huang Xuanyuan a...

    Wait a minute!

    No!

    If Emperor Huang Xuanyuan died in the gxy, then Emperor Yan would have seeded. If he had seeded, then the descendants of Emperor Yan should have be respected by the world.

    In that case, why was Nangong Mu stillpleting his mission?

    Something was wrong.

    Emperor Huang Xuanyuan did not me Emperor Yan at all in the records. In fact, he trusted Emperor Yan.

    That meant that there was nothing wrong with their n and coboration.

    The thing that went wrong was the second part of the n.

    Emperor Yan did not follow Emperor Huang after he entered the gxy world? And yet the descendants of Emperor Yan was able to open the gxy world as their mission...

    Wait!

    Something was wrong.

    Enter the gxy, open the gxy, mission...

    ¡°Could it be that the truth of the n was... to let Emperor Huang enter the gxy and put Emperor Yan responsible for weing Emperor Huang back!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    It was as though he had uncovered a terrifying secret.

    That¡¯s right.

    Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang had established their friendship in the battlefield. Even if they had some conflicting opinions, they would never end up bing enemies.

    ¡°I see, I see!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally figured it out.

    The so-called mission of the descendants of Emperor Yan was not to be respected by the world but rather to open the gxy and wee Emperor Huang Xuanyuan back.

    However, something went wrong with the passing down of this mission.

    After Emperor Huang Xuanyuan entered the gxy, Emperor Yan did not eye for the position of bing the respected individual. Instead, he put in the effort to reopen the gxy to wee Emperor Huang back.

    Even after his death...

    He passed this mission on to his descendants.

    Everything made sense now.

    Emperor Yan nted a Tree of God and passed down the Blood Offering Illustration. Besides that, he left behind a ¡°Heaven-Receiving Door¡± that connected to the gxy world.

    At the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Nangong Hao had once used the bloodline of Tian Xing, the ex-sect leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to forcefully open the Heaven-Receiving Door and a path to the gxy.

    The Heaven-Receiving Door was meant to receive Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    After Nangong Hao exited from the Heaven-Receiving Door, the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and the ck Stone Pce arrived in the current world.

    However, after thousands of years, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had already died in the gxy and the ck Stone Pce was wrecked.

    ¡°No wonder the breath of Emperor Yan is required to free the restraints put on the Golden Dragon... If I am not wrong, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan wanted to pass the title of the Emperor to Emperor Yan before he died.¡± Fang Zhengzhi figured it out.

    However, he felt helpless after he figured it out.

    The situation now waspletely different from the era of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. Nangong Mu had misunderstood his ¡°mission¡± as bing the respected individual of the world.

    Because of that mission, he made use of the powers of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Most importantly...

    The Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons had opened.

    What should he do?

    Where could he find the breath of Emperor Yan to free the restraint put on the Golden Dragon?

    ¡°Little brat, so what now? Can you free the restraint put on me?¡± The Golden Dragon asked when Fang Zhengzhi finished reading the content of the Stone Tablet.

    Yun Qingwu also looked at Fang Zhengzhi in expectance.

    That was because she thought that since Fang Zhengzhi was able to understand the words on the Stone Tablet, he should be able to free the Golden Dragon.

    With the help of the Golden Dragon, defeating Nangong Mu would no longer be an issue.

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Fang Zhengzhi became extremely confident after hearing the Golden Dragon¡¯s question.

    ¡°Really? Then... what are you waiting for?!¡± The Golden Dragon was happy and looked extremely eager.

    Although that was the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and the Golden Dragon had the mission to protect the tomb, it did not conflict with him bing freed.

    After all, anyone who was restricted in a ce for thousands of years would want to leave to explore the other parts of the world, be it to take a stroll to look at the nts or buy something small.

    ¡°No, what if you don¡¯t keep your words?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that it was necessary for him to ¡°drag on¡±.

    ¡°I won¡¯t keep my words? Who do you think I am? I am Xuanyuan Five, the only Five-wed Golden Dragon in the world!¡±

    ¡°Do you think I will believe you?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°I sincerely said I was called Xuanyuan long ago and you also did not believe me?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Xuanyuan Five opened his mouth and was unable to make anyments.

    ¡°How about this, I can believe you if you are able to prove that you are really Xuanyuan Five,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What proof do you want to see?¡± After some hesitation, the Golden Dragon said again.

    ¡°Simple, since you belong to Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s family... Then you should have experienced the ancient battlefield?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Of course, I had followed my master from the North to the South and made countless achievements in the ancient battlefield,¡± said the Golden Dragon proudly.

    ¡°Hmm, then do you know about the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Source of God, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, of course, I do!¡± roared the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi directly.

    ¡°It is at... Hold on, brat, are you looking for the ¡®Source of God¡¯?¡± the Golden Dragon felt that something was wrong.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it is...¡± the Golden Dragon stopped halfway through his sentence as his eyes glistened.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you continuing your sentence?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Brat, I don¡¯t think you should look for the ¡®Source of God¡¯ as it is located at the most dangerous ce in the world. You definitely should not go!¡± exined the Golden Dragon after a slight hesitation.

    ¡°But it is filled with opportunities too, no?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, you are right. The ce of the ¡®Source of God¡¯ is the origin of the Reiki. I obtained my Dao from the Source of God and got my fifth w, thereby bing the only Five-wed Golden Dragon in the world, but now... you can¡¯t go there anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°I said no, means no.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know where the ¡®Source of God¡¯ is and you still dare to say that you are Xuanyuan Five and the Five-wed Golden Dragon, do you think I will believe you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said with a look of despise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force me, brat!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t really want to go there anyway, but I am facing a slight problem now. If you want me to free you, you have to help me solve this problem first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to give up on the idea of the ¡®Source of God¡¯ for now even though he was still very curious about it.

    ¡°You mean the ¡®soldiers¡¯ who are chasing after you?¡± the Golden Dragon¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°No.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Then what are you referring to?¡±

    ¡°I identally swallowed a fruit in the past. It is the fruit borne on the Tree of God nted by Emperor Yan. It is currently in my Small Dimension. Do you have any way to take this fruit out of my Small Dimension without hurting me?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    Emperor Yan had died.

    Therefore, the only thing that had the power of Emperor Yan was none other than the Tree of God nted by Emperor Yan and the fruits of the Tree of God.

    As for the Tree of God...

    He lost hope in that.

    The Tree of God had already been swallowed by Nangong Mu.

    Fang Zhengzhi had considered making use Nangong Mu¡¯s powers to free the restraint in front of him but soon negated this idea.

    The reason was simple, he needed more than a little bit of energy to free the restraint put on the Golden Dragon.

    Just like how Yun Qingwu made use of Nangong Hao to open the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons, Nangong Hao needed to open them by himself.

    To put it in a more straightforward manner, if he wanted to make use of Nangong Mu to free the restraints, he had to tell Nangong Mu the way to do it and ask him to free the restraints personally.

    With Nangong Mu¡¯s current skill level...

    He would definitely not be controlled by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Therefore, the only way was to use the fruit of the Realm of God in his Small Dimension.

    ¡°The fruit that was borne on the Tree of God?¡± The Golden Dragon was surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s question but his expression soon changed. ¡°You are referring to the ¡®key¡¯ that leads to the Gate of God of the Three Realms?! That is... wait a minute, there is really a ¡®key¡¯ in your body?¡±

 Chapter 1027 - Come Up and Do It By Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 1027: Come Up and Do It By Yourself</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Golden Dragon looked extremely excited towards thest part of his sentence. That excitement was even stronger than what he had shown when he knew he was able to be freed from the restraints.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly confused.

    Were the fruits borne by the Tree of God able to produce other effects apart from connecting to the Gate of God of the Three Realms?

    However, he had already swallowed the fruit for a long time. Apart from feeling slightly stronger when he swallowed it, he did not feel any other effects.

    Of course, speaking of specialty...

    The fruit was indeed rather special.

    At least, the fruit was still floating in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Small Dimension when he fused it with other herbs and was undamaged.

    ¡°There is indeed a key in my body. Is there anything wrong with that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked after pondering over the Golden Dragon¡¯s question.

    ¡°Of course there is. Only the descendants of Emperor Yan are able to possess the fruits on the Tree of God. How did you manage to swallow it without dying?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I am Xuanyuan a long time ago...¡±

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, I don¡¯t believe you!¡± The Golden Dragon broke off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sentence and fell silent. After a good long while, he finally looked up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not care about why you swallowed this fruit and did not die for now. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to retrieve the fruit from your body if it¡¯s inside.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a way to do that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can suck it out for you!¡± The Golden Dragon said confidently.

    ¡°Suck?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Golden Dragon and the fangs in his mouth with a strange expression. ¡°How are you nning to such and which part of me are you nning to suck?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Golden Dragon was stunned and did not understand Fang Zhengzhi for a moment. However, when he finally understood him, his expression turned extremely ugly.

    He was the first Five-wed Golden Dragon in the ancient times...

    How could he tolerate a brat¡¯s despise like that?

    Besides him, Yun Qingwu blushed instantly when she heard Fang Zhengzhi and turned her head to the side before scolding, ¡°So shameless, you are so shameless!¡±

    ¡°Cough cough... hmm Xuanyuan Five, are you sure that I won¡¯t be hurt after you suck the fruit out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi also felt that he had used the wrong terms. He definitely could not take it if he was being sucked by a dragon.

    ¡°Have you heard of the idiom ¡®the dragon sucks four seas¡¯?¡±

    ¡°No I didn¡¯t, but I have heard the term ¡®a woman can suck the soil by sitting onit¡¯ <sup>1</sup> ...¡±

    ¡°Brat, I am a male dragon, male dragon... not a female dragon, do you understand me?¡± The Golden Dragon was furious and could not hold in his anger anymore.

    ¡°I understand, of course I do. I just wanted to confirm if I will be injured. If you injure me, I will not help you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved and looked helplessly at the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°Rest assured, as long as you listen to me, rx your entire body, don¡¯t resist, don¡¯t shift your Origin Energy, just open your Small Dimension to me...¡±

    ¡°Why does it sound so weird?¡±

    ¡°Enough, brat!¡±

    ¡°Erm... Let me ask you something, is it possible for you to pass your powers to Yun Qingwu and let her do the sucking?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pouted.

    He was not trying to be unreasonable.

    However, the thought of being sucked by a male dragon made him feel odd.

    ¡°Pass my powers to Yun Qingwu?¡± The Golden Dragon was stunned and really started to ponder over this possibility. A momentter, his eyes lit up and said, ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Instead of passing my powers to Yun Qingwu, I can use Yun Qingwu¡¯s body to demonstrate my powers,¡± the Golden Dragon corrected Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Use her body? Xuanyuan Five... you can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon froze again and clenched his ws until cracking sounds were heard. ¡°I just have to inject my powers into her heaven soul!¡±

    ¡°Heaven soul? You mean her head?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, that sounds usible. Yun Qingwu, do you have any objections?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded reluctantly.

    Yun Qingwu kept silent.

    One could not tell if she was happy or furious but her eyes, which were staring at Fang Zhengzhi, had a tinge of happiness amongst theirplexity.

    ¡°She has no objections, so let¡¯s begin.¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided for Yun Qingwu since she did not object.

    ¡°Alright, both of you shall touch your mouths together.¡± the Golden Dragon nodded.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed and looked confused. ¡°Senior Golden Dragon, why do I have to kiss... kiss him since I am borrowing your powers?¡±

    ¡°Yes, if I do it personally, we can skip this step. However, if I use your body to demonstrate my powers, you have to use your mouth to suck the fruit of the Tree of God from his body. However, remember once the fruit enters your mouth, do not swallow it or else you will die.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu kept silent.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly disappointed. He thought there would be more thrilling actions but he realized that it was merely a kiss. ¡°Only a touch of our mouths? No touching of other parts of the body?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both the Golden Dragon and Yun Qingwu felt like pping Fang Zhengzhi.

    ...

    Although he did not manage to take as much advantage of Yun Qingwu as he had wanted to, Fang Zhengzhi was happy enough to avoid being sucked by the Golden Dragon.

    The next steps were simple.

    He only had to lie down and rx while Yun Qingwu did her thing.

    Fang Zhengzhi lied on the ground without hesitation and waved at Yun Qingwu to signal her to start.

    ¡°Girl, you can start now,¡± hurried the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°Shameless brat!¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi who lied casually on the ground and scolded him.

    Yet, she still crouched down slowly.

    However, just as she was about to touch Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips, she stopped and blushed in awkwardness.

    Nevertheless, that situation did notst long.

    That was because when the Golden Dragon saw that Yun Qingwu was unable to ¡°initiate¡± the action, he pressed Yun Qingwu¡¯s head down with his w.

    Their lips touched.

    Yun Qingwu wanted to scream and opened her lips.

    Then, she felt that something was wrong and closed her lips again. However, it was toote as a powerful force had pressed down on her heaven soul.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Yun Qingwu mumbled.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi felt a powerful suction force from Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth and it immediately surged into his Small Dimension.

    Instinctively, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to resist.

    However, at this moment, Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand pressed on his head and lifted it up slightly as she looked at him with her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Rx...¡±

    ¡°Rx your entire body...¡±

    ¡°Open your Small Dimension.¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi kept reminding himself and finally rxed his body, allowing the suction force to enter his Small Dimension.

    This did notst for a long time.

    Soon, Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was being sucked out from his Small Dimension and flowed to his mouth.

    It was a scalding hot sensation.

    It was the same feeling that he had felt when he first swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God. The scalding hot mes burned his body and caused him to sweat profusely.

    ¡°This damned dragon... said I won¡¯t be injured?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was amiss but it was toote to stop it.

    That was because Yun Qingwu¡¯s face turned bright red instantly.

    Her face looked as if there was a fireball burning on it, causing her skin to turn clear and the sparks of the fire shone on her face.

    Bam! At this moment, the Golden Dragon pped Yun Qingwu¡¯s back and caused her body to jerk.

    Then, a fruit that was glowing with golden light fell on the ground.

    ¡°Girl, hurry up and hold your breath. The fruit of the Tree of God is in your mouth. Although you didn¡¯t swallow it, it is a huge opportunity for you!¡± The Golden Dragon sounded very anxious.

    ¡°Thank you, senior Golden Dragon.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and closed her eyes as she felt the golden fireballs flowing through her body.

    ¡°So... it was an opportunity triggered by my fruit?¡± Fang Zhengzhi woke up and felt angry as he looked at Yun Qingwu.

    Indeed, this Dragon...

    Is a male dragon!

    ¡°Brat, don¡¯t me me, you insisted on letting her suck the fruit. You have to pay the price since you took advantage of her.¡± The Golden Dragon figured out what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about.

    ¡°Anything, my Origin Energy is like the vast ocean, I have a huge amount of it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he picked up the fruit of the Tree of God.

    It was still boiling hot to touch it!

    It felt as though it was going to burn down his entire body.

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel that the fruit contained a terrifyingly immense amount of energy. However, even though it was in his body for such a long time, it was not being absorbed by his body.

    That was strange.

    He had definitely swallowed it, so why was it not absorbed?

    ¡°Stop looking at it, the fruit of the Tree of God would not be absorbed. Even for the descendants of Emperor Yan, they merely have the right to use it!¡± said the Golden Dragon.

    ¡°Use it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi vaguely remembered that Nangong Mu had once owned the power of the Tree of God and spat it out to pass it to Nangong Hao.

    It sounded very strange.

    However, ording to what the Golden Dragon said, the power of the fruit of the Tree of God could not be absorbed and only could be used. This somewhat exined the phenomenon.

    Although it contained a terrifying power...

    It was unable to be absorbed.

    That was a pity.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed internally but did not mind as, after all, there was no point in forcefully obtaining it if it did not belong to him.

    ¡°Brat, let¡¯s begin. Now that the fruit has been sucked out, if you are able to free me from the restraints, I will grant you three wishes. I will do anything I can manage!¡± The Golden Dragon was desperate.

    ¡°Vow,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What?¡± The Golden Dragon clearly did not understand Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Make a vow using Xuanyuan Five¡¯s name. If you go against your promise, you would be chased out of the Xuanyuan family and end up in the Hell of the Rebirth State forever,¡± added Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You brat... you are so cruel!¡±

    ¡°Too bad, didn¡¯t you also do the same to me? You said I won¡¯t be injured but I almost f*cking spat blood!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not exaggerating.

    The fruit of the Tree of God was sucked out of his body.

    His veins and organs had been scalded.

    It was not severe enough to cripple him but he would need a long time to recoverpletely.

    ¡°This... fine, I was a little too impatient earlier on.¡± The Golden Dragon was guilty as he injected slightly too much powers into Yun Qingwu earlier on, causing the speed of the fruit to be too fast.

    Therefore, it resulted in the internal injuries of Fang Zhengzhi.

    He indeed ¡°lied¡± to Fang Zhengzhi in this aspect.

    The Golden Dragon did not continue arguing as he did not have the intention to lie to Fang Zhengzhi. Therefore, he did not mind even though the vow he had to make was cruel.

    ¡°I, Xuanyuan Five, hereby vow that... brat, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    ¡°Alright, as long as Fang Zhengzhi is able to free the restraints put on me, I, Xuanyuan Five, will grant him three wishes. If I went against this promise, I will be kicked out of the Xuanyuan family and end up in the Hell of the Rebirth State forever...¡±

    Buzz!

    As he said this, beams of golden radiance flowed out from the ground and formed a gigantic diagram.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi quickly ced the fruit of the Tree of God into the center of the diagram and began to recite the contents of the wordless Stone Tablet silently.

    ¡°Gagapumlaxi...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Rumble!

    As Fang Zhengzhi continuously recited the contents in his heart, the bolts of golden lightning shed in the diagram andnded instantly on the Golden Dragon¡¯s body.

    Boom! The Golden Dragon spat out a mouth of golden saliva.

    The dragon salivanded on the diagram on the ground and blended into it instantly. It turned into dots and flowed like water in the diagram.

    It was a shocking scene.

    The Golden Dragon felt the force around his body gradually loosen and he looked extremely happy as he was being freed.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not stop reciting.

    Yun Qingwu was resting with her eyes shut and was trying to absorb the power of the mes of the fruits of the Tree of God.

    Everything seemed to progress in a positive manner.

    However, nobody realized that a figure behind Fang Zhengzhi was gradually appearing.

 Chapter 1028 - You are a Female Dragon?

    <h4>Chapter 1028: You are a Female Dragon?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was a figure who walked out of the cave. The ck cloak over his headpletely blocked his face.

    At the back of him...

    There were countless other figures surging in like waves of a ck ocean.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The leader was none other than Nangong Mu.

    There were definitely some who suspected about Nangong Mu¡¯s identity amongst the vast number of army amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race. However, without Godly State experts, Nangong Mu could easily kill any Monster King and therefore nobody dared to question Nangong Mu¡¯s identity.

    ¡°A dragon?¡± Nangong Mu was unsure what had happened before him but the aura that the Golden Dragon exuded gave him a sense of crisis.

    The dragon in the legend whose body radiates golden light.

    Nangong Mu was definitely affected by this scene but he was not stunned as there were records about dragons in his family.

    It was a very powerful living species.

    Moreover, the golden dragon was the king of the dragons.

    ¡°That... is?!¡± Nangong Mu noticed the ball of golden radiance in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    This stunned himpletely.

    That was because the golden radiance radiated a familiar aura. It was something that belonged to the Nangong Mu and attracted him greatly.

    ¡°The fruit of the Tree of God!¡±

    What is meant by ¡®we¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it, there is always light at the end of the tunnel¡¯?

    Nangong Mu initially thought that Fang Zhengzhi had sessfully escaped and it was almost impossible to re-capture him. However, now that he saw the flowing golden radiance, he felt as though it had dropped from the skies.

    Especially since Fang Zhengzhi had yet to notice him.

    Fang Zhengzhi was like a ¡°monk¡± who was fully concentrated on saying prayers. Although he was mumbling non-stop, he did not notice everything that happened behind him.

    As for the Golden Dragon...

    He also closed his eyes and felt as if he was enjoying the bath of the golden beams of radiance.

    ¡°Perfect opportunity!¡± Although Nangong Mu was old, he still knew how to spring a sneak attack just like Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was a tactic that did not require much efforts but produced amazing results.

    Of course, he would d to do it!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, this time, Heaven is not on your side!¡± Nangong Mu turned into a beam of light and went behind Fang Zhengzhi silently.

    Bam!

    He pped Fang Zhengzhi on his back without any hesitation. The p was extremely fast and hard.

    ...

    One could rarely sessfully spring a sneak attack on Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi had let his guards down. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he had to free the restraints put on the Golden Dragon and therefore had to pay full attention.

    Secondly, he never expected Nangong Mu to arrive at such ¡°perfect¡± timing.

    Moreover...

    He did not expect the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to be engrossed in ¡°enjoying¡± the process.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell forward as a p with the power as heavy as a mountain struck his back and his injured organs began to tumble in his stomach like ocean waves.

    Spat! He spat out a mouthful of bloody mist.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The intense motion caused Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to widen his eyes. Then, he immediately noticed the figure behind Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°How dare you!

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was mad.

    He had such a high status and was once the partner of Emperor. Now that he was about to be freed, someone in ck came out and disrupted the process?

    He roared and the entire ground shook.

    Meanwhile, he moved his tail and it whipped Nangong Mu like a gigantic golden whip.

    Bam!

    Nangong Mu was unable to dodge in time and flew in the sky due to the impact of the whip.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu fell on a gigantic ck stone and the powerful force caused the gigantic stone to shake as well. Then, Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed drastically and spat out a mouthful of blood

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everything happened in a blink of an eye.

    From how Nangong Mu sprung a sneak attack on Fang Zhengzhi to how the Golden Dragon got infuriated and whipped Nangong Mu with his dragon tail.

    Everything happened too quickly.

    It happened so quickly that it had ended before the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could even react.

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°This dragon... is so powerful?!¡±

    ¡°Could this be the legendary golden dragon? The powerful ancient Godlike Dragon!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned by Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s Powers.

    However, although they were shocked, they quickly noticed Yun Qingwu who was sitting on the ground with her eyes shut and saw the flickering mes on her face.

    ¡°Young Lord looks like... she¡¯s injured?¡±

    ¡°She seems to be recuperating?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi must be torturing her!¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race knew the power of the Golden Dragon but it was a rare opportunity as the Golden Dragon¡¯s attention was fully fixated on Nangong Mu.

    They could make use of this opportunity to kill the severely-injured Fang Zhengzhi.

    And get Yun Qingwu back.

    At this moment, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not hesitate and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Golden Dragon turned around.

    Radiance shot out from the Golden Dragon¡¯s eyes and the bolts of golden lightning shed on his scales. He blocked Fang Zhengzhi with his entire body.

    ¡°How dare you do this in front of me?!¡± The Golden Dragon pressed his ws on the ground and cracks were formed on the ground, ¡°engulfing¡± the dozens of soldiers who were charging towards him.

    His roar showed supreme charisma.

    His w caused the ground to crack and the mountains to fall apart.

    His move was apanied by bolts of golden lightning.

    That was Xuanyuan Five, the ancient Five-wed Golden Dragon. Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s partner who had once stood at the peak of the battlefield.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was way more powerful than what they imagined him to be. They shuddered in fear when the Golden Dragon red at them.

    That was the charisma of a dragon.

    The supreme charisma since the ancient era.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that monster... wa, it looks like a dragon, a golden dragon. This is my first time seeing a living dragon, am I dreaming?¡± Just as the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned by the Golden Dragon, a crisp sound was heard behind them.

    It was none other than Ping Yang.

    Only Ping Yang could remain as her naive joyful self at this moment.

    For the other people of the Human Alliance like Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, the scene ahead of them shocked them and they were speechless.

    A legendary dragon.

    Appeared out of the blue in front of them.

    They did not even understand what exactly happened.

    ¡°Zhengzhi?!¡± Yan Xiu saw Fang Zhengzhi and the bloodstains on the ground and immediately thought that the Golden Dragon had injured Fang Zhengzhi.

    As Yan Xiu said that, Ping Yang also noticed Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu on the ground.

    ¡°The Shameless brat is injured?!¡± Ping Yang was surprised. She knew how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was. The person who was able to injure Fang Zhengzhi must be extremely powerful.

    Was it Nangong Mu?

    Ping Yang looked around and saw a ck figure lying on the ground nearby.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is injured too?!¡± Ping Yang was extremely shocked but she did not have time to care about that as Yan Xiu, who was beside her, had already made a move.

    Yah Xiu charged forward the instant he saw the injured Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ping Yang also followed behind.

    Even though she was weak, she had the heart of a ¡°powerful individual¡± and therefore followed behind.

    The two shadows, one at the front and one at the back.

    A beam of blood-red radiance went across the air like mes.

    Roar! The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was infuriated. He lifted his dragon w from the ground when he saw Yan Xiu and Ping Yang charging towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No... don¡¯t hurt them!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s strike almost caused him to faint. His internal organs were screaming in sharp pain as though they were on mes. However, he still shouted.

    That was because Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were charging towards him.

    The dragon w of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five stopped two inches away from Yan Xiu and Ping Yang and a cold chill could be felt radiating from the golden radiance.

    The Golden Dragon heard Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang did not.

    Both of them attacked the Golden Dragon simultaneously. Yan Xiu pped the w of the Golden Dragon while Ping Yang kicked him and flew to the Golden Dragon¡¯s head after stepping on his w.

    Then...

    Lime powder was thrown into the eyes of the Golden Dragon

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned. He was not surprised that Yan Xiu and Ping Yang did not stop but he was surprised by how Ping Yang chose to throw lime powder at him.

    ¡°Fall!¡±

    A furious roar was heard from the dragon.

    Ping Yang, who was initially in midair, fell to the ground in a straight line

    It was a powerful attractive force.

    It surrounded Ping Yang as though it had emerged from the ground and she did not even have the chance to struggle.

    ¡°Plop!¡± Ping Yangnded on Fang Zhengzhi and caused him to fall to the ground once again.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Fang Zhengzhi had the impulse to flip Ping Yang around and p her buttocks but his body was forcefully pressed down on the ground by Ping Yang and he could not move at all

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you alright? Don¡¯t worry, as long as I am here, I will protect you...¡±

    ¡°Can you f*cking get down first?¡±

    ¡°Oh oh... this dragon? Is he not listening to you?¡± Ping Yang flipped over immediately and looked at the Golden Dragon in confusion.

    That was because he heard the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and the Golden Dragon.

    Evidently, the Golden Dragon did not have the intent to hurt her or Yan Xiu.

    However, why would the Golden Dragon listen to Fang Zhengzhi? This was unbelievable. ¡®What did Fang Zhengzhi, this shameless brat, do to the Golden Dragon?¡±

    ¡°You are a female dragon?¡± Ping Yang asked.

    ¡°Male, I am a male!¡± The Golden Dragon was stunned and roared furiously.

    Was she deaf?

    Couldn¡¯t she tell from his deep and masculine voice?

    What could be more speechless than asking if he was a female?

    ¡°Male? Then why are you obeying this shameless brat?¡± Ping Yang blinked and was confused.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon opened his mouth and felt speechless.

    What on earth was she thinking about? Why was her train of thoughts so simr to Fang Zhengzhi? Both of them caused others to be shocked and speechless.

    ¡°The Golden Dragon is the ally of humankind?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    ¡°With such a powerful ally, the Human Alliance have hope!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, Kill Nangong Mu now!¡±

    After being stunned for a moment, the Human Alliance finally regained their senses.

    The Golden Dragon ahead of them was extremely powerful and was able to stun the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and injured Nangong Mu.

    They still could not believe that.

    However, they realized something. The Golden Dragon obeyed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯smands and did not attack Yan Xiu or Ping Yang.

    What did that mean?

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and Nangong Mu were surrounded!

    With the Golden Dragon at the front and the Human Alliance at the back, it was extremely hopeful for them to destroy Nangong Mu and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race in one strike.

    ¡°Old man Mo, what do you think?¡± Mu Qingfeng took a nce at Mo Shanshi who was behind him. He also felt like doing it.

    After all, it was such a rare opportunity.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Mo Shanshi used his actions to answer Mu Qingfeng.

    Meanwhile, the other sect leaders of the Human Alliance got into their positions as they were ready to massacre the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Roars were heard from the Human Alliance.

    For the first time in forever, they felt a sense of hope. After a few rounds of near death, the Human Alliance finally found hope.

    ¡°What should we do?!¡±

    ¡°The Golden Dragon obeys Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, are we doomed?¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were shocked when they heard the roars of the Human Alliance.

    They were on par with the Human Alliance. In fact, with the Monster Kings and the ferocious beasts, they actually had an advantage.

    However, the Golden Dragon in front of them was too powerful.

    Not only was he powerful but also made the beast troop shudder in fear.

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡°Even if I die, I will die with them!¡±

    ¡°We may not defeat the Golden Dragon but we are unafraid of the Human Alliance!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race did not choose to give up as they had endured the humiliation of being trapped in the Great Swamp and Blood Shadow City for too long.

    They were ready to fight it out with the Human Alliance.

    However, at this moment, they suddenly realized that Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who was initially showing his prowess suddenly turned around.

    ¡°Hmm?! What¡¯s this? It¡¯s such a familiar scent, this... This is the scent of Yan?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked at the figure who was standing up after being pped down in shock and confusion.

 Chapter 1029 - â€œUnpredictableâ€

    <h4>Chapter 1029:<i> ¡°Unpredictable¡±</i></h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Meanwhile, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five saw Nangong Mu stand up gradually as ring bloody radiance shot out from his body. Many red branches continuously extended from the bloody radiance.

    It was an extremely strange scene.

    It looked as if a tree monster had climbed out from the ground and possessed Nangong Mu¡¯s body.

    However, instead of a tree monster, it was the Tree of God, the Tree of God nted personally by Emperor Yan. The ancient aura it exuded gave it a Holy feel.

    ¡°Nangong Mu didn¡¯t die? He is going to change into a Tree of God again?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes glistened in fear as she saw this.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Xiu nodded.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. He knew that Nangong Mu was able to transform into the Tree of God but the aura he exuded was much more powerful than before.

    In merely two hours¡¯ time...

    Did he be more powerful?

    Could it be because he absorbed the energy of Mu Xing and the other Godly State experts?

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen how Nangong Mu absorbed the energy of the Godly State experts with his own eyes. However, he did not feel much about it as he was only concerned about escaping then.

    Yet now, when Nangong Mu¡¯s body was covered by the tree branches of the Tree of God, he suddenly realized the increase in power of his aura.

    ¡°This guy is not easy to deal with!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not afraid of Nangong Mu as he was still able to defend himself.

    However, Nangong Mu¡¯s improvement was too fast.

    It felt as though it was an endless pit.

    He could be more powerful after absorbing others¡¯ powers. The more powers he absorbed, the more powerful he got at an extremely fast speed.

    A powerful enemy was not terrifying. The terrifying thing was how this powerful enemy was still growing and was able to gain more powers continuously at an extremely fast speed.

    That was too terrifying.

    ¡°It is the aura of Emperor Yan, could this brat be... the descendant of Emperor Yan?!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five widened his eyes. As an ancient beast who had been on the same battlefields as both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, he could definitely recognize the powerful aura of Emperor Yan.

    Emperor Yan was also called the Magical Farmer.

    The most powerful form of this ability was not about how he nted but rather how he lived.

    The powerful breath of life enabled nts to grow well and also allowed Emperor Yan to have an intimate interaction with nts.

    The Tree of God was the product that epassed Emperor Yan¡¯s life.

    The Tree of God was the beginning of all living things. Blooming of flowers, bearing of fruits, absorption, changing form, everything was simr to the changes on earth from life to death.

    Emperor Yan was able to appreciate the Dao of all lives using his reputation as the Magical Farmer. He nted all the Daos on the ground and nurtured a Tree of God with his power of life.

    One could imagine how powerful the Tree of God was.

    Boom! A gigantic tree surged from Nangong Mu¡¯s body and continuously grew until it surrounded his entire body.

    Fruits were borne on the top of the Tree of God.

    There was a gigantic Blood Offering Illustration spinning at the top of the sky and beams of light shone on the branches of the Tree of God.

    It had the color of blood.

    It towered in front of them and grew all the way into the sky.

    Then, the branches of the Tree of God began to move and the bloody tree branches began to sway like sharp spears as they stabbed towards the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    Roar! The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared but did not question about the Tree of God. Instead, he looked very serious.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    His dragon tail collided with the tree branches and a loud boom was heard.

    Every single time the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five swayed his tail, he could break a dozen of branches.

    However, there were way too many branches.

    The countless tree branches fell on the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five like raindrops and he had no choice but to take a few steps back.

    This scene caused the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to widen their eyes as they fell silent.

    After all, the battle between the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Nangong Mu was directly rted to each other. Who would be the ultimate winner?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this Dragon is so weak that he can¡¯t defeat Nangong Mu?¡± Ping Yang was shocked because the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not seem to have an advantage.

    However, although he was shocked, she still stood in front of Fang Zhengzhi and blocked the wild airwaves attacking him.

    Roar! The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five acted as if he heard Pig Yang¡¯s voice. His golden eyes glowed and his entire body was surrounded by golden bolts of lightning.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this instant, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five dashed forward

    Four of his ws tore the tree branches apart continuously. He opened his gigantic mouth and a ball of golden mes was blown on the Tree branches of the Tree of God.

    Boom! The golden radiance shone.

    The gigantic tree branches of the Tree of God shook as the ball of golden mes hit it. An opening was formed and blood spurted from the tree branches like rain.

    ¡°Sess?!¡±

    ¡°So powerful, he managed to break through the defense of Nangong Mu and hurt the tree branches!¡±

    The Human Alliance were shocked and heartened. ¡°This is my first time seeing the mes of the dragon... it is so powerful, no wonder it is a dragon...¡±

    The Human Alliance were shocked and heartened.

    However, just before they finished their sentence, the opening in the tree branches healed at a terrifying speed. The mes that had struck the tree branches also disappeared instantly like snow that melted.

    Or in other words...

    It was as though it had been sucked dry by the tree branches of the Tree of God

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned and he could not believe his eyes. ¡°What is happening? It could absorb my dragon mes?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s using the power of the Blood Offering Illustration and some other changes,¡± reminded Fang Zhengzhi when he heard Xuanyuan Five¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration? When Emperor Yan was still around, he did not have this power...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shook his head and looked at the bloody diagram that was spinning continuously on the top of the Tree of God. ¡°Could it be something that Emperor Yan has created after that? The Blood Offering Illustration... is indeed a powerful thing!¡±

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was evidently stunned.

    He did not feel that something that was able to absorb power was inappropriate or evil as he only knew how to differentiate between the powerful and the weak.

    The Blood Offering Illustration was very powerful.

    Therefore, it deserves to be praised.

    ¡°Hey... Dragon, are you able to defeat Nangong Mu? If you can¡¯t, we are going to flee now!¡± Ping Yang hurried Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five as he kept silent.

    ¡°Flee?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was speechless.

    He was the ancient beast Five-wed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who had once ruled the battlefield. How could one question that he could not defeat a brat?

    How ridiculous!

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared and charged forward. The four of his dragon ws continuously tore the tree branches of the Tree of God and his mouth also did not stop moving.

    He was tearing and biting on the tree branches.

    He looked like he was mad.

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had never seen such a spectacr scene.

    A dragon tearing a gigantic tree apart such that the tree branches were torn apart and fresh blood spattered out from the branches. There were also bolts of lightning surrounding the golden dragon scales.

    It was too astonishing.

    ¡°Wow, this dragon is not bad!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up. She had always loved such crazy battles.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu, who initially had her eyes closed, finally opened her eyes gradually.

    She immediately saw the scene in front of her.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was beside him as well as the blood that had yet to dry up on the ground.

    Very quickly, she had figured out what had transpired.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how¡¯re your injuries?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hmm? You woke up? How dare you ask Fang Zhengzhi how¡¯re his injuries? Didn¡¯t all this happen thanks to you?¡± Ping Yang turned around and questioned Yun Qingwu.

    Instead of answering Ping Yang, Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi quietly and waited for his reply

    ¡°Stupid demoness, detestable monster girl!¡± Ping Yang continued to curse and did not hold back herments because of Yun Qingwu¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°Ping Yang, there¡¯s no point in scolding her. I highly suspect that Fang Zhengzhi had done something with Yun Qingwu.¡± At this moment, a voice was heard near Ping Yang.

    It was none other than Wu Yuer.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head hurt.

    Ping Yang and Yun Qingwu were already bad enough for him. Now, Wu Yuer had managed to go around the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and came to him.

    Three women putting up a show?

    Fang Zhengzhi had no mood to care about the bickering now as he had something extremely important to do

    ¡°Aiya, it hurts...¡± Fang Zhengzhi leaned his body back and plopped on the ground. Sweat covered his head and he looked extremely pale.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you alright?¡± Ping Yang immediately stopped scolding Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, quicklye and lie on me, I have the medicine in my pocket, there...¡± Wu Yuer immediately ran towards Fang Zhengzhi and hugged him.

    This action caused Yun Qingwu to stop her motion of raising up her hand. She froze.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened immediately.

    Wu Yuer managed to be faster than her?

    She had miscalcted the time needed!

    ¡°Shameless brat, I have the medicine too!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he managed to attract all the attention even though it was supposed to be something else that was extremely important.

    ¡°Hold on, before you guys feed me the medicine, can you describe the effects of it? I will eat the medicine that had a better effect!¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to use this tactic.

    ¡°The effects of the medicine? Alright...¡±

    ¡°Let me say it first, my medicine is the medicinal pill used in the royal pce, it was made by a thousand years...¡± Ping Yang was the first to bber.

    When Ping Yang finished talking, Wu Yuer also began to talk.

    Another round of unting about the medicinal effects.

    However, it had to be admitted that Wu Yuer was indeed more powerful than Ping Yang in terms of boasting about the medicine. She managed to praise the medicine such that it could cure any illness in the world.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed.

    She was indeed a wicked seller!

    He did not need to choose at all. Based on their description of the medicine, he had every reason to eat the jade green pill in Wu Yuer¡¯s hand.

    However, just as he was about to take the medicine from Wu Yuer, a soft voice was heard behind him.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard me?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡®Eh?¡¯

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Wu Yuer both turned around at the same time and looked at Yun Qingwu who was sitting behind Fang Zhengzhi as well as her white long hair that fell to her waist.

    Shock, astonishment.

    They felt this way because of Yun Qingwu¡¯s sentence and not because of her snow-white hair.

    They had never expected Yun Qingwu to join in this ¡°boring game¡± of boasting about their medicine.

    The situation...

    Changed?!

    Yun Qingwu no longer needed to fight against the Human Alliance and had changed her career to be a medicine-seller?

    ¡°This pill not only can target the injuries on your organs but is also able to change yourplexion and bone structure, allowing your blood to flow more smoothly and get rid of the toxins in your bones. To put it simply, it can change yourplexion, hmm... meaning you will be more handsome.¡±

    Yun Qingwu stared calmly at Fang Zhengzhi and took out a white pill from her pocket,plexly ignoring the shocked looks on Wu Yuer and Ping Yang¡¯s faces.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Wu Yuer were speechless.

    A pill could change one¡¯splexion and make one more handsome?

    How would they believe that?

    Of course, the thing that made them more speechless was how Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Oh no, the shameless brat is persuaded by Yun Qingwu!¡± Wu Yuer was shocked and about to say something but it was toote.

    Fang Shengzhi had already grabbed the white pill in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand and swallowed it.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Detestable demoness!¡±

    Wu Yuer was speechless from her anger while Ping Yang started to curse in anger.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, looked nonchnt. All three medicine pills were good and he merely chose the best-advertised one to eat.

    However, the instant after he swallowed the pill, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    ¡°Although this pill could change one¡¯splexion and make you more handsome, there is poison in the pill and you could easily die from it. Hence, you need to take it with caution.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Who was Yun Qingwu? That was Yun Qingwu!

    She looked calm and did not fight for glory. However, nobody could read her mind. Just like how a woman¡¯s mind was unpredictable.

    However, one could not resist the temptation to continue guessing.

    Boom! When Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Wu Yuer stared speechlessly at Yun Qingwu, a loud terrifying boom was heard.

 Chapter 1030 - The Real God Descended

    <h4>Chapter 1030: The Real God Descended</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Evidently, when Fang Zhengzhi was deciding over whose medicine to take, the battle between the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Nangong Mu was entering the fierce state.

    With a loud boom, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five retreated back at a very fast speed.

    Meanwhile, he was biting onto a gigantic tree branch and one of the branches were torn down from the God of Tree.

    A massive amount of blood flowed down.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race shuddered in fear.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was too powerful, even though Nangong Mu was able to change his form to a Tree of God, he was unable to fight head-on with the ancient beast.

    ¡°Is this the end?!¡±

    ¡°No, this can¡¯t be it!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t lose, Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ will definitely lose to this Golden Dragon!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were disappointed but still ced theirst hopes on Nangong Mu as he was the only person who stood a chance to defeat the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Brat, give up, you are not worthy to be my opponent!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five took a few steps back and spat out the gigantic tree branch in his mouth.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Nangong Mu replies with a roar.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu who had turned into a bloody Tree of God seemed to have gone crazy. He grew taller and the tree branch grew to be at least twice as thick as before.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    However, the fruits on the tree seemed to have shrunk in size as the Tree of God grew rapidly.

    ¡°Still trying to struggle?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was evidently furious.

    As an ancient beast, he had his pride to uphold. He had already given Nangong Mu some face by fighting with him.

    Should he continue fighting?

    Would that still make him the ancient beast?

    He swayed his gigantic body and pounded on Nangong Mu.

    At this moment, there was a turn of event. A bright golden beam shot out from the blood-red Tree of God.

    Then, more beams of golden radiance were seen.

    The broken branches werepletely healed as though life had surrounded the tree trunk and tree branches. There was even golden radiance flowing on the branches.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was surprised because based on his judgment, Nangong Mu was about to die.

    Why did he suddenly look as if he suddenly came back to life?

    This was extremely illogical.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked around and realized something was wrong because the golden light seemed to be extending from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s direction.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Silence.

    Not only did the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five kept silent, Fang Zhengzhi too. That was because Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have figured out what was wrong.

    When he was severely injured and surrounded by Wu Yuer and the others, a tree branch extended from the ground and took something away from him.

    The fruit of the Tree of God...

    It was the fruit that he used to free the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and the fruit that helped him open the Door of the Realm of God!

    Nangong Mu seized the opportunity...

    And snatched it away!

    ¡°I think... something bad is going to happen...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not know what exactly would happen after Nangong Mu got his fruit of the Tree of God, but he had a premonition that something big was about to happen.

    ...

    ...

    Holy Region, Heaven Zen Mountain.

    A small ck mountain dropped down from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm andnded on the altar at the top of the Heaven Zen Mountain, causing it to be knocked a few inches deeper into the ground.

    The tremendous motion apanied by the powerful aura stunned Qian Yu.

    The ck mountain had split open and countless spider-web like cracks had spread from the ck mountain as if it was about to explode.

    ¡°Auntie, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was still echoing around Qian Yu¡¯s ears.

    Qian Yu was stunned because she knew that Chi Guyan was not someone who easily gave up in fact of predicaments. When facing two Godly State experts, Chi Guyan did not look afraid at all.

    Moreover, she attempted to kill them with all her might.

    However, now...

    Chi Guyan asked Qian Yu to leave without even knowing what was in the ck mountain?

    ¡°No, you can go alone!¡± Qian Yu had made a decision. When she saw how powerful Chi Guyan was, she knew that only Chi Guyan was able to save the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°Auntie, you can go first, I will soon...¡±

    Boom!

    Before Chi Guyan could finish her sentence, the ck mountain had already exploded and thick ck clouds spurted out from the mountain.

    In an instant, the entire top of the Heaven Zen Mountain was covered with the ck clouds.

    Rumble!

    Rumble...

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of lightning could be seen amongst the ck clouds. However, the color of the lightning was neither purple nor golden butpletely ck.

    ck bolts of lightning.

    There was no radiance in the lightning at all.

    However, they were definitely lightning because when they struck the ground, the white altar waspletely sent flying.

    Roar! A loud beastly roar was heard.

    After that, a gigantic horn that was as ck as ink gradually extended from the thick ck clouds with bolts of ck lightning wounded around it.

    It was a single horn.

    However, there were ck swirl patterns as well asplicated symbols on it, giving one a terrifying pressure.

    ¡°What on earth is this?!¡± Qian Yu looked at the horn that had appeared from the thick ck clouds and froze. The overpowering aura made her wobble.

    Meanwhile, somewhere further away, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster troops and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower all stopped moving and stared at the thick ck clouds.

    ¡°Could it be... it?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression changed and she instantly became pale when she felt the overwhelming aura.

    She did not look relieved.

    Instead, she looked fearful and shocked.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    The powerful nine-tailed white fox. Although she was also an ancient beast, she was still overwhelmed by the horn¡¯s aura when she saw it amongst the thick ck clouds.

    Boom! The ground cracked.

    A sharp w with ck scales stepped out from the thick ck clouds, producing dents and cracks on the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s a monster...¡± The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower were terrified when they saw the sharp w, acting as though they had fallen into a cier.

    They had already figured it out.

    When Chi Guyan and Qian Yu were shutting the Gate of God of the Realm of Monster together, one monster descended from the gxy and reopened the Gate of God of the Realm of Monster.

    A new Godly State expert?

    No!

    The monster in front of them was definitely not an ordinary Godly State expert.

    Apart from the terrifyingly powerful aura, this monster was different from other monsters who had taken the form of a human. He appeared straightaway with his original form.

    This felt like the olden days.

    A monster was able to take the form of a human as he reached the level of a King and would be called the Monster King. They hadparable powers as a Sage and was, in fact, more powerful in terms of physical strength.

    That wasmon sense.

    However, some monsters were different.

    They did not like the form of a human and would live with their original form as that was what made them proud. They did not care about changing into a form of a human that was ¡°inferior¡± to them.

    Roar! A beastly roar was heard again.

    The thick ck clouds gradually dispersed and revealed a huge figure which had white patches on its ck scales.

    Those were bones.

    Chilling bones.

    Bones covered by ck stones.

    ¡°This... this is...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s eyes widened and even someone who was as calm as her could not maintain her cool when she saw this gigantic figure.

    It was too big.

    Moreover, the single horn was too sharp and the aura flowing on it gave one a devilish feel.

    ¡°So, so huge...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡±

    ¡°A dragon?!¡±

    The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower were not afraid of death but fear rose from their hearts when they saw this monster.

    Dragon!

    The dragon in the legends!

    The monster in front of them looked like a dragon with dragon-like ws and the body of a snake.

    However, it was not a dragon.

    That was because it did not have antlers like a dragon but instead a sharp horn. Moreover, there was an eye on the monster¡¯s forehead.

    It was a closely shut eye.

    What exactly was it?

    ¡°Candle Dragon <sup>1</sup> !¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard. Meanwhile, she tightened her grip on her Traceless Sword.

    ¡°It really is him... he didn¡¯t die?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi also staggered back and trembled uncontrobly.

    As an ancient beast, Monster Emperor Baizhi had a very excellent sense of premonition.

    She could feel the powerful devilish force in front of her. She also knew how terrifying the ¡°monster¡± in front of her was.

    Candle Dragon.

    Also known as the Torch Dragon.

    Of course, the most important thing was that it was a real God. He was respected as the ¡°mountain God of Zhongshan¡± in the past.

    ¡°You are a white fox with only eight tails... who managed to cut your tail?¡± Candle Dragon asked and thick ck clouds continuously tumbled around his body.

    ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°You are an ancient beast, how can you end up in such a miserable state? How embarrassing.¡± The Candle Dragon shook his head and turned to Qian Yu and Chi Guyan. ¡°Must be you two... Hmm? Could this sword be?!¡±

    ¡°Candle Dragon... Auntie, leave first and I will stay to dy some time!¡± Chi Guyan pointed her Traceless Sword at the closed eye on the Candle Dragon¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Trying to leave? Haha, what a joke! I haven¡¯t tasted fresh meat for such a long time!¡± The Candle Dragonughed weirdly.

    Then, a wave of thick ck clouds flooded towards Chi Guyan and Qian Yu.

    The thick ck clouds were extremely ck and looked as if they were about to swallow the entire sky.

    ¡°Run, Tower Master!¡±

    ¡°We will stay to dy some time!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sisters, let¡¯s go! Protect Tower Master as she leaves!¡±

    The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower began to attack the Candle Dragon in the thick ck clouds. Countless beams of light continuously shone in the sky.

    ¡°No¡± Qian Yu¡¯s eyes turned red and shook tremendously as she saw the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower charging towards the Candle Dragon.

    She wanted to stop them.

    However, it was toote.

    The ck clouds had covered too much area and surrounded the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower too.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A miserable cry was heard.

    After that, a dozen dead bodies of the disciples fell to the ground and every corpse looked as if they were bitten by something.

    Bloodnded from the sky.

    It painted a tinge of red to the ck sky.

    Qian Yu was extremely pale.

    There were less than 200 disciples of the Ling Yun Tower and every one of them were as close as sisters.

    However, in a blink of an eye, a dozen of them had died.

    How would Qian Yu not feel hurt?

    Frustration!

    Shock and astonishment!

    Various different emotions flooded Qian Yu¡¯s mind and her heart bled.

    She could never imagine such a turn of event in this battle. Everything was nned perfectly until the Candle Dragon came.

    Monster!

    That was the real monster of the ancient era.

    Why didn¡¯t this monster die? Moreover, hended coincidentally on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The intense fear and frustration caused Qian Yu to tremble but she could not bear the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower die because of her.

    She wanted to save them.

    However, she could barely save herself.

    That was because the thick ck clouds had reached her apanied by a chilling gust of wind with a howl.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the first God of the Monster Race who descended is Candle Dragon...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi froze on the spot. She knew the Candle Dragon¡¯s Powers very well.

    However, if it was possible...

    She did not want the Candle Dragon to descend.

    ¡°Gather!¡± Just as the thick ck clouds were about to swallow Qian Yu, Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard as she stood up from the ground.

    Swoosh!

    She dashed into the thick ck clouds like a meteor.

    Her pink dress flew in the sky and purple radiance wound around the Traceless sword. The powerful killing aura collided with the thick ck clouds, producing rumbles.

    Arrogance.

    Chi Guyan knew who the Candle Dragon was but still decided to charge forward.

    However, at the instant she charged into the thick ck clouds, sounds of ss breaking were heard and the thick ck clouds continued to move.

    ¡°Brat, can you use a better tactic?¡± The Candle Dragon was slightly shocked but he was only shocked for a second.

    After that, he continued to move.

    His w that was covered with ck scales pped at Chi Guyan¡¯s sword.

 Chapter 1031 - You Are Just A Son of a Bitch

    <h4>Chapter 1031: You Are Just A Son of a Bitch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was extraordinarily fast.

    The dragon w extended by Candle Dragon reached Chi Guyan in an instant, as if it was able to twist space.

    Boom!

    The dragon w collided with the Traceless Sword.

    Without any mishaps, Chi Guyan¡¯s body flew back like a meteor and her face turned pale immediately.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she dodge?¡± Qian Yu was extremely shocked when she saw this.

    That was because based on her impression of Chi Guyan, she was definitely not someone who behaved so carelessly. Although the Candle Dragon¡¯s strike was very fast, if Ping Yang was Chi Guyan, she would still have the chance to dodge.

    Yet, Chi Guyan did not dodge.

    Instead of dodging, she went straight up to the w.

    Spat! Chi Guyan spat out a mouthful of bloody mist and she looked extremely pale. Her body dropped down as though she had fainted.

    ¡°Hmph, you can¡¯t even survive one strike!¡± The Candle Dragon snorted coldly.

    Qian Yu clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. As the Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower, she could not bear to watch the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower sacrifice their lives for her. Moreover, she could tolerate how Chi Guyan was injured by the Candle Dragon in order to let her leave first.

    She could not do that.

    Even if someone was to die, she would rather be the first person to die.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, since you call me ¡°Auntie¡±, then Auntie would definitely not leave you in the lurch!¡± Qian Yu began to move and a silver radiance rose on the top of her head.

    She held on tightly to the two silver swords and the eight moons shone extremely brightly on her head.

    ¡°You are merely an ant.¡± The Candle Dragon looked at the eight moons on Qian Yu¡¯s head. Unlike Chi Guyan, he did not even intend to look at it for a while longer.

    He did not even bother attacking Qian Yu again.

    He merely allows the thick ck clouds to press down on his opponents.

    It was a type of arrogance that was inborn in her. Or rather, an arrogance that made him look down on others as, after all, to him, Qian Yu was not capable enough for him to use his w.

    However, at this moment, there was a turn of event.

    Chi Guyan who had fainted on the ground suddenly opened her eyes when shended on the ground. Then, she made a dramatic turn.

    Crack! Her feet stomped on the ground.

    The powerful stress broke the tiny stones on the ground.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan made use of this stomp to make contact with the ground with her body and hugged Qian Yu before she charged forward to court death.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Chi Guyan used her foot to push off the ground as she hugged Qian Yu and immediately reached an ultimate speed.

    Qian Yu¡¯s expression changed.

    Although Chi Guyan only said two words, she had figured out everything. Chi Guyan did not faint because of the Candle Dragon¡¯s attack.

    That could only mean that...

    Chi Guyan did everything on purpose.

    She purposely fought with the Candle Dragon, paid the price with her injury so as to flee with Qian Yu when the Candle Dragon was distracted.

    ¡°What a smart tactic!¡± Qian Yu was astonished.

    In reality, Chi Guyan¡¯s sacrificial move was not very impressive and could be said to be very risky.

    That was because if the Candle Dragon did not believe that Chi Guyan had fainted, then whatever Chi Guyan had done would put her in an extremely dangerous position.

    After all, with her injury, she would definitely die if the Candle Dragon gave her another strike.

    However, as what was described earlier on, Qian Yu knew that Chi Guyan would not act abruptly. Therefore, the only exnation would be that Chi Guyan was fully confident when she made that decision.

    the Candle Dragon¡¯s arrogance immediately?

    Then, she made use of his arrogance to deduce that he would definitely not make a second strike?

    What a terrifying state of mind.

    Moreover, she was facing a powerful monster like the Candle Dragon. With such pressure, she could still remain calm andposed.

    Qian Yu was really astonished.

    That was because she knew very well that facing such great pressure, she had already lost control and herposure and was almost ready to die.

    Calm.

    She had to remain calm.

    If Chi Guyan could do it, me too!

    Qian Yu did not realize that apart from an extremely urate judgment, another important point was to allow her to regain ¡°consciousness¡±.

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s made her judgment.

    The disciples of the Ling Yun Tower who were in the process of attacking were stunned for a moment. When they saw Chi Guyan save Qian Yu, they stopped in their footsteps.

    Without hesitation, they retreated to all directions.

    ¡°Trying to flee?! Block them!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi did not like the Candle Dragon but no matter what, he was still the ancient beast of the Monster Race.

    Moreover, the Candle Dragon was powerful, very powerful.

    If the Candle Dragon did not appear at the correct moment, the Gate of God of the Monster Realm would probably have been forcefully closed by Chi Guyan. That would greatly destroy her initial n.

    Therefore, regardless of whether she was willing to or not, she needed to cooperate with the Candle Dragon and hold back Chi Guyan, Qian Yu and the rest.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them flee!¡±

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    The Monster troop roared when they heard Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯smands and charged towards the disciple of the Ling Yun Tower.

    However, a figure was much faster than them.

    Candle Dragon!

    His gigantic frame apanied by the swirling thick ck clouds reached Chi Guyan and Qian Yu immediately and his gigantic body covered the entire sky.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A furious roar echoed through the forest.

    The Candle Dragon was frustrated. He was arrogant and ¡°calmness¡± never ever matched his character. Not only did it not match his character, but he was never ever calm before.

    He was an ancient beast.

    He was a real God.

    The Candle Dragon¡¯s status was extremely superior and precious and could be said to be the ultimate of all ancient beasts.

    However, the two words ¡®Candle Dragon¡¯ represented hell, death and bloody massacres. The reason for that was none other than his personality, violence, and cruelty.

    Crack! The four dragon ws of the Candle Dragon stepped on the ground and cracks expanded beneath his feet. Broken stones flew in the sky.

    As a superior God, how could he tolerate mocking by a human?

    ¡°You dare to y around with me, the God?! Brat, I will tear you apart and swallow you in bites!¡± The Candle Dragon opened his mouth and his fangs glowed in blue.

    ¡°You can be called a God? Aren¡¯t you just a son of a bitch who loves to massacre?¡± Chi Guyan stopped moving but frowned very hard.

    The Candle Dragon was too powerful.

    Moreover, his speed was extraordinary.

    Even though she had made her urate judgment about the Candle Dragon¡¯s personality and found the opportunity to escape, the difference in their skill level was too huge.

    ¡°Did you call me a son of a bitch?!¡± The Candle Dragon growled and the closed eye on his forehead suddenly opened. It was a ck hole with swirls.

    It was pitch dark and had no light.

    It felt as if it was an abyss in hell.

    At that moment, the brightness of the world seemed to be swallowedpletely and the entire world turned dark as though the day had be the night.

    Candle Dragon, the legendary God of the Mountain Zhong.

    He could change the time of the day.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, leave quickly, I will deal with this monster. Please, I am begging you!¡± Qian Yu escaped from Chi Guyan¡¯s arms and stood in front of her immediately.

    She had already realized that the Candle Dragon was not a Godly State Expert.

    He was a real God.

    ¡°Auntie, do you believe me?¡± Chi Guyan did not answer Qian Yu. Instead, she took a step forward slowly as he took a nce at the opened eye of the Candle Dragon.

    ¡°What?¡± Qian Yu did not understand.

    ¡°If you trust me, please leave. If I stayed, the Ling Yun Tower and yourself can live, but if you stay... everyone has to die,¡± Chi Guyan said calmly.

    ¡°If I stay... everyone has to die...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s expression changed and repeated what Chi Guyan said.

    That¡¯s right!

    Even if she refused to admit it, Chi Guyan was saying the truth.

    Her skill level was not sufficient to hold the Candle Dragon back. In fact, it would drag the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower down.

    Only Chi Guyan can fight with this monster, thereby giving time for Qian Yu and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower to escape.

    ¡°Auntie, please leave,¡± said Chi Guyan calmly.

    ¡°I... got it!¡± Qian Yu bit her lips so hard that it started bleeding. She knew that to humans, Chi Guyan¡¯s value was much higher than hers.

    If possible, she really wanted to sacrifice herself to save Chi Guyan and the hope of humankind. However, she did not have the ability to protect Chi Guyan.

    She had no choice.

    That was because the death of one was definitely more worth it than the death of all.

    ¡°None of you can leave, die, all of you!¡± The Candle Dragon began to move. The thick ck clouds spread out and were much more aggressive than earlier on.

    Qian Yu, on the other hand, made a shocking discovery.

    The Candle Dragon¡¯s pitch dark eye that looked like a swirl was no longer ck. Instead, there was a silvery-white crescent moon.

    He could change the sun and the moon?!

    No, he was basically swallowing them.

    Qian Yu also had the radiance of the moon and therefore understood how it worked. However, she knew that the Eight moons on her head werepletely different from the crescent moon in the Candle Dragon¡¯s eye.

    ¡°Guyan, you have to stay alive!¡± Without hesitation, Qian Yu turned and fled because the Candle Dragon had already begun to attack and the ck clouds were about to cover the entire mountain.

    She was also aware that once the thick ck clouds covered the entire peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain, it would be impossible for her to escape and she would definitely die.

    ¡°Son of a bitch, your opponent is me!¡± Chi Guyan smiled as she saw Qian Yu turn and flew. Then, she turned her gaze towards the Candle Dragon.

    Five-colored radiance shone in the sky.

    A gigantic shadow appeared behind her and covered her entire body instantly. A long tail covered in scales and radiance swayed on the ground.

    Then, Chi Guyan dashed forward.

    She did not give any greetings as she did not bother about those when she was fighting against enemies.

    A purple radiance shone.

    Her long ck snake tail fell from the waist of her human body. Even in the dark, Chi Guyan¡¯s arrogance and superiority lit up the environment.

    ¡°Erm?!¡± The Candle Dragon¡¯s expression changed as the aura that Chi Guyan emitted gave him a familiar feel.

    This familiarity did not stop him as he was extremely furious. His extended his dragon w once again in the thick ck clouds.

    He used one strike to tear open space.

    He appeared right in front of Chi Guyan.

    However, this time, the w did not hit Chi Guyan. It brushed past her shoulder and left a mark of torn space behind her.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword struck.

    It was a sword that struck vertically from the top.

    Countless purple radiance turned into sword radiance,nding from the sky and umting on the Candle Dragon¡¯s head.

    It was as though the countless small purple swords umted to form a gigantic crystal-clear sword thatnded from the sky into the Candle Dragon¡¯s eye on his forehead.

    Roar! The Candle Dragon roared.

    The crescent moon in his opened eye emitted light. The thick clouds umted above his head, giving an illusion as though there was a bright moon shining in a gloomy sky.

    The gigantic sword struck.

    It struck the thick clouds directly.

    Then...

    It disappeared.

    After that, the crescent moon emitted a silvery-white radiance that prated the thick ck clouds. It shot up towards the sky vertically from the ground.

    Boom! A thunderous boom was heard.

    In the dark night sky, a figure appeared amongst the purple sword radiance. Meanwhile, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

    However, the figure merely appeared for a split second.

    It soon disappeared into the sky and turned into a ¡°silver river¡± that shed across the sky. The spots of radiance twinkled in the sky like stars.

    Stars flowed in the sky.

    Then, they fell gradually unlike the sword radiance earlier on.

    These stars were extremely slow, even slower than the stream of water in theke.

    ¡°Changing form? I shall see how you can do that!¡± The thick ck clouds surrounded the Candle Dragon¡¯s four ws and he leaped into the sky, heading for the silver river.

    He no longer cared about Qian Yu and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower as the power that Chi Guyan had shown sparked his interest.

    The air was silent.

    Chi Guyan obviously would not answer the Candle Dragon.

    However, the silver river was continuously changing forms in the sky. It flowed and turned like the stream of ake and flowed into the thick ck clouds.

    It gradually flowed towards the Candle Dragon¡¯s body.

    Gradually.

    Although the silver river was flowing extremely slowly, there were too many star-like sparks that gave one the illusion that it was about to cover the entire ck cloud.

 Chapter 1032 - Opportunity in the Face of Predicaments

    <h4>Chapter 1032: Opportunity in the Face of Predicaments</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    On the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Monster troop who was in the midst of chasing after the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower held their breaths as they saw the ¡°strange phenomenon¡± in the sky.

    It was too powerful.

    Be it the Candle Dragon of Chi Guyan, none of them were their opponents. They had no ability to interfere with this battle at all.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi clenched her fists really tightly and looked at the radiance from the stars that were slowly swarming to the thick ck clouds with aplicated expression.

    Chi Guyan, the gifteddy, managed to be so powerful a day after waking up? She could go against the ancient God Candle Dragon?

    He was the real God!

    ¡°The light of the Stars, how dare you topete with the Sun and the Moon!¡± The Candle Dragon roared furiously while the monsters and demons were shocked.

    Then, countless beams of silvery-white radiance shot out from his third eye and they flew like thin needles towards the surroundings.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Loud noises of vibrations were heard when the silvery-white radiance collided with the radiance of the stars. It sounded like the collision of thunders.

    ¡°Guyan, you have tost through!¡± Qian Yu was extremely anxious when she turned and looked at the silver river which had been broken apart by the silver radiance.

    She wanted to go back but she knew that she would not be able to change anything but instead serve as a source of distraction for Chi Guyan.

    The Candle Dragon was too powerful.

    If she was Chi Guyan, she would not even be able to take three attacks by the Candle Dragon. In fact, she could immediately die from his attacks.

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Amidst the loud booms, a figure suddenly appeared on the back of the Candle Dragon as if she had passed through the stars in the thick ck clouds.

    Her long ck hair flowed in the wind.

    The pink dress she was wearing was extremely eye-catching and looked lonely but extremely beautiful in the dark sky.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± The Candle Dragon was clearly surprised.

    That was because, from the continuous attack of Chi Guyan, he had already made the judgment that Chi Guyan¡¯s attack target had always been his third eye on his forehead.

    It was an urate judgment.

    After all, that was the fatal spot of the Candle Dragon.

    The Candle Dragon knew about this but he did not care because although his third eye was a fatal spot, it was also the most powerful spot.

    Of course, he was still impressed by Chi Guyan¡¯s judgment as she was able to find out where his fatal spot was and attack in the fastest time possible.

    ¡®Very good!¡¯

    ¡®Come and attack me!¡¯

    As this thought went through the mind of the Candle Dragon, he continuously took caution of his third eye while defending against Chi Guyan¡¯srge-scale attack.

    However, Chi Guyan appeared on his back?

    Moreover, she raised her Traceless Sword high up with the top of the sword facing down, acting as though she was about to make a powerful attack on his back.

    sh!

    The Traceless Sword stabbed the Candle Dragon¡¯s back, prating the ck scales and sank into the flesh of the Candle Dragon after passing through the middle of two bones.

    Blood spurted out.

    Growl! The Candle Dragon growled in pain and his body dashed towards the sky as thick ck clouds umted towards his body.

    ¡°The Candle Dragon is injured?!¡±

    ¡°She... she managed to injure the Candle Dragon?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    The Monster troops were stunned. They had never expected this oue from the battle. Chi Guyan managed to injure the Candle Dragon?!

    After all, he was a God!

    ¡°No, the Candle Dragon just did not predict that the only attack Chi Guyan made was a stab on his back.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi could tell the reason behind the sessful attack was none other than the fact that the Candle Dragon did not predict that Chi Guyan would attack him from his back.

    Attack from his back.

    It might have hurt the Candle Dragon a little but it was nothing for him.

    What was going on in Chi Guyan¡¯s mind?

    Could it be that she only wanted to stab the Candle Dragon on his back after such a long time of battle?

    Moreover, after the stabbing of the sword, the Candle Dragon already knew how sharp Chi Guyan¡¯s Traceless Sword was and would take extra caution of it.

    Lose a great deal through saving something insignificant?

    Acting rash and alerting the enemy?

    These two idioms shed past the mind of Monster Emperor Baizhi. However, these two idioms were not suitable to be used on Chi Guyan.

    Of course, if it was Fang Zhengzhi...

    Monster Emperor Baizhi would not be surprised at all.

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was in a state of confusion, Chi Guyan, who was standing on the back of the Candle Dragon, began to move. After stabbing the Candle Dragon, she pulled out her sword and charged towards the top of the Candle Dragon¡¯s head.

    She was extraordinarily fast.

    She looked as if she was like a pink stream of light.

    ¡°Hmm?! Did Chi Guyan purposely attack the back of the Candle Dragon, divert his attention away from his third eye so as to give him a fatal blow on his eye?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi made a guess as she looked at the pink stream of light.

    However, what happened next waspletely different from what the Monster Emperor Baizhi had predicted.

    That was because the stream of pink light disappeared at the moment it reached the top of the Candle Dragon¡¯s head.

    The silver river which was broken apart appeared again.

    Countless sparks of lightnded and collided with the thick ck clouds, infiltrating the thick ck clouds once again.

    Then...

    A familiar scene took ce again.

    Chi Guyan appeared behind the Candle Dragon¡¯s back at the exact same spot. Even the stabbing action she made was identical.

    sh! The Traceless Sword stabbed the Candle Dragon¡¯s back again.

    Unlike before, the Candle Dragon¡¯s body shook and blood spurted from his back like a fountain.

    The sword made a deep cut.

    It was much deeper than the cut made earlier on.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, the Monster troop, Qian Yu and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower all had their mouths agape in shock.

    The sword struck the same spot!

    Nobody could figure out what was going on in Chi Guyan¡¯s mind.

    Roar! The Candle Dragon roared in pain. He was evidently infuriated as seen by the ck bolts of lightning around his entire body.

    Although Chi Guyan¡¯s attack did not cause him to suffer any grave injury, the insult he suffered was worse than ever.

    He was an ancient God of the Mountain Zhong.

    How could he tolerate the fact that someone who was thousands of years younger than him had stabbed him on his back?

    Even though it was not a fatal spot, it was still the back of the Candle Dragon, the back of the ancient God.

    Boom! The ck bolts of lightning struck Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s body shook and blood trickled down her lips. However, she stabbed the back of the Candle Dragon once again with her Traceless Sword.

    The third strike!

    It stabbed at the same ce again.

    The sword went deep into the bones.

    ¡°Go and die, brat!¡± The Candle Dragon turned his head around and aimed his sharp horn at Chi Guyan¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Run!¡± Qian Yu was shocked. She could feel the sharpness of the Candle Dragon¡¯s horn. One would definitely die after being stabbed by it.

    However, Chi Guyan did not dodge like what Qian Yu had predicted.

    Her pink dress flew in the sky. She looked slightly pale but her star-like eyes were glowing brightly with five-colored radiance.

    ¡°Fall!¡± A deep voice was heard.

    A ck shadow fell from the sky like a meteor andnded on the head of the Candle Dragon at an extremely fast speed, the impact caused his head to tilt to one side.

    After that, Chi Guyan stabbed her Traceless Sword at the Candle Dragon¡¯s back again. However, she used more strength this time.

    Crack! The ck scales flew across the sky.

    With a strike of the sword, a footlong cut was made on the Candle Dragon¡¯s back. Blood flowed like a fountain out of the cut and bones could be seen.

    Chi Guyan was fighting with all her might.

    She was fighting against the Candle Dragon despite the risk of being struck by the ck bolts of lightning.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned.

    Qian Yu was also stunned.

    The Monster troops and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower were all stunned by the scene and Chi Guyan¡¯s wildness.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s determination had way surpassed their imagination.

    Nobody could predict how Chi Guyan decided to use such a wild battle tactic though she was way weaker than the Candle Dragon.

    Opportunity in the face of predicaments!

    That was Chi Guyan¡¯s battle tactic.

    ...

    Silence, astonishment.

    Everything seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    The pink shadow in the sky was still as beautiful as ever. However, it had fallen from the back of the Candle Dragon.

    Boom!

    Chi Guyan¡¯s bodynded heavily on the ground.

    Eventually, she was unable to ovee the drastic difference in the level of skills. Although the Candle Dragon did not stab Chi Guyan with his horn as he got hit on the head by a falling stone, he managed to hit her with his dragon tail.

    The Candle Dragon swung his tail.

    How could Chi Guyan block that attack? Her back was struck by the dragon tail and she fell like a stone after she lost control of her body.

    The Candle Dragon stayed in midair and stared at Chi Guyan who gradually stood up from the ground. Blue radiance could be seen from his fangs.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?!¡± asked the Candle Dragon.

    ¡°Chi Guyan.¡± Chi Guyan stabbed her Traceless Sword on the ground and climbed up with some difficulty. She looked up into the Candle Dragon¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Very good, Chi Guyan, I decide to kill you with your body intact. I will also keep your corpse well-protected,¡± said the Candle Dragon again.

    Meanwhile, the thick ck clouds covered his injury and blocked the cut made by Chi Guyan.

    ¡°No thanks.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head and looked very calm.

    This caused the eye on the Candle Dragon¡¯s forehead to widen as Chi Guyan¡¯s reply was way too calm.

    She was not angry or afraid.

    She waspletely calm. It felt like the water surface undisturbed by the wind. It was so calm that it made one shudder in fear.

    Moreover, Chi Guyan was evidently struggling to stand up and her arm was trembling.

    Where did she get her confidence from?

    Where exactly?

    For the first time in his life, the Candle Dragon felt that as an ancient God, the supreme God of the Mountain Zhang, he had been mercilessly looked down upon by Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Then go and die!¡± Without hesitation, the Candle Dragon pounced down on Chi Guyan with a cold radiance flowing on his sharp horn.

    The terrifying charisma could be felt on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ck clouds filled the sky as if the entire sky was about to copse. Even Monster Emperor Baizhi started perspiring and trembled uncontrobly.

    On the other hand, the Monster troop fell to their knees.

    Both the Monster Kings and the ordinary monsters looked in fear. They were unable to breathe and trembled uncontrobly as though a cosmic disaster was foreboding.

    The Candle Dragon was way too powerful. The pouncing action he made was powerful enough to cause them to freeze.

    However, Chi Guyan looked as determined as ever.

    The hand which she used to hold the Traceless Sword trembled slightly but she didn¡¯t look afraid at all as the five-colored radiance still shot out from both of her eyes.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Chi Guyan moved.

    She didn¡¯t wait for the Candle Dragon to pounce down. Instead, she went for him directly. Her pink dress flew in the air and made loud noises.

    One strike.

    The whistle of the dragon echoed through the air while the purple dragon soared in the sky.

    Starlights fell like rain, frost and sword. They umted and continuously stabbed towards the sky. It was like rainfall in the spring that went from the ground into the air.

    Meanwhile, the purple dragon which was in the rain turned into a nobledy dressed in a white dress. She had ck hair and her gigantic snake tail swayed in the air.

    Qian Yu was stunned.

    She trembled. Her eyes became blurred with tears and two streams of tears trickled down her face.

    Chi Guyan fulfilled her promise.

    She managed to distract the Candle Dragon in order for Qian Yu to escape.

    Qian Yu closed her eyes and felt the breeze on the Heaven Zen Mountain. It was slightly chilly but the breeze that was blowing on her face made her calm and determined.

    ¡°Guyan, Auntie is going!¡± Qian Yu turned her head and sped down the mountain.

    Meanwhile, a loud boom was heard behind her. The gigantic wave of wind whirled, causing the stones to fly and uplifted the roots of the tree.

    The purple radiance mixed with the thick ck clouds.

    It was extremely bright.

    Then, the purple radiance started to darken. A sword fell from the sky andnded on the white altar that had already cracked open.

    Silence.

    A gust of breeze blew the soil on the ground.

    It felt somewhat pathetic.

    At this moment, a ck shadow appeared out of the blue beside the sword. He looked at the Traceless Sword that was in the altar and slowly pulled it out of the altar.

 Chapter 1033 - Take the Stage, Godly Man!

    <h4>Chapter 1033: Take the Stage, Godly Man!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Traceless Sword made some whistles.

    That was a joyous whistle of the sword. The whistles were loud and clear as the sword shook. It felt as if it had been waiting for a long time.

    At this moment, Chi Guyan fell from the sky andnded slowly on the ground with scars on her arms and legs.

    She wanted to look for the sword.

    It was a subconscious move.

    However, she soon realized that the Traceless Sword was being held by a ck shadow and whistling sounds was made continuously from the Traceless Sword.

    ¡°Shameless thief?¡± Chi Guyan mumbled as she closed her eyes gradually. However, she quickly opened her eyes and said, ¡°Wait a minute, who are you?!¡±

    ...

    The Heaven Zen Mountain was very tall.

    Even a trained soldier needed at least three hours to climb from the foot of the mountain to the peak.

    Of course, for a powerful Sage like Qian Yu, the time required was different.

    Qian Yu was very fast. She only left behind a sh of her shadow when she sprinted through the woods. One could not even see the footprints she made on the ground.

    Moreover, that was not the fastest Qian Yu could go.

    That was because she had to take care of the disciples who were following behind her.

    Even though the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower had parted ways, Qian Yu could not escape alone. She kept looking at the directions where the disciples ran towards and were prepared to provide assistance when necessary.

    However, at this moment...

    A crowd appeared in front of her.

    There were so many people that one could not see the end of the crowd. Every single one was wearing ck armor and they looked like ck clouds that surged towards the peak of the mountain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Monster Emperor Baizhi ced Demon soldiers at the foot of the mountain?!¡± Qian Yu¡¯s body trembled. She did not notice the soldiers waiting for them at the foot of the mountain when she was ascending the mountain.

    However, that did not mean that there were no soldiers.

    If Monster Emperor Baizhi had predicted that she woulde andmanded the Demon soldiers to hide in the woods, it would be normal for her to not notice them.

    It sounded rather exaggerated.

    However, nothing was impossible if Yun Qingwu was the one who made the plot.

    ¡°Why are there so many Demon soldiers? Does Heaven really want the Ling Yun Tower dead?!¡± Qian Yu looked down and could tell that there were at least tens of thousands of soldiers.

    Perhaps there were even more than that.

    That was because there were loud footsteps and roadsing from the forest.

    ¡°Yu¡¯er?! It¡¯s really Yu¡¯er!¡± Just as Qian Yu was about to turn desperate, a familiar voice came from the ¡°ck clouds¡±.

    Then, a figure charged out from the ck clouds and reached Qian Yu almost instantly. He was wearing a golden armor with a ck cloak.

    ¡°You? Why... are you here?!¡± Qian Yu recognized the person in front of her instantly. He was none other than the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Emperor Lin Mubai.

    However, she did not understand why Lin Mubai had to add a ck cloak to his armor, making him look as if he was a demon soldier.

    Most importantly, why did Lin Mubai arrive at the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    ¡°I aming to help you, Yu¡¯er!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai waved and the soldiers behind him stopped moving.

    ¡°Greetings, Her Majesty!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Her Majesty!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The soldiers greeted in unison.

    However, Qian Yu frowned.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Qian Yu shouted and turned to Lin Mubai. ¡°I told you I will never allow you to join the trip to the Heaven Zen Mountain. Are you trying to ruin the future of the Great Xia Dynasty and kill these innocent soldiers by doing this?!¡±

    ¡°If we lost this battle, would Great Xia Dynasty still have a future?¡± Emperor Lin Mubai asked back, ¡°Rats leave a sinking ship, the plight of the Southern Region had told me that nobody can be excused from this battle!¡±

    ¡°Fight till our deaths!¡±

    ¡°Protect the Dynasty!¡±

    ¡°Fight till our deaths!¡±

    ¡°Protect the...¡±

    The soldiers shouted in unison when they heard Emperor Lin Mubai.

    Meanwhile, Emperor Lin Mubai took a step forward and put his hands over Qian Yu¡¯s shoulders, stopping her from continuing. ¡°Yu¡¯er, I know what you want to say. You want to say that I am forcing them to their deaths by allowing them to participate in this battle, right? No, Yu¡¯er, you don¡¯t understand. For you... I am willing to do anything!¡±

    ¡°What can you do?¡± Qian Yu asked.

    ¡°I can go against the will of the ex-Emperor, I can forget about the lessons given by the ancestors. As long as I can save the world and you, I can give up everything I have!¡± said Emperor Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Do you know what you are saying?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I do. As the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, I have to obey thews. I know my actions no longer justify my position as the Emperor, therefore, I have already given an order to pass my throne to ¡®Lin Yun¡¯ in the next month!¡± Emperor Lin Mubai looked extremely determined.

    ¡°Mubai, you...¡± Qian Yu¡¯s body shook and her lips moved as she stared at Lin Mubai. However, she did not say anything eventually.

    However, she stood quietly on the spot and allowed Lin Mubai to hold onto her. She did not resist but instead tightened her grip onto Lin Mubai.

    ¡°Rest assured, Yu¡¯er, I did it, he ising!¡±

    ¡°He? Who?¡±

    ¡°A person who can save the world!¡±

    ¡°No no no, Mubai, I know your intentions but the situation has changed. Another powerful individual has descended, the Candle Dragon, the legendary Candle Dragon, do you know him?¡±

    ¡°Candle Dragon?!¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changes drastically.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, without his sudden appearance, Guyan and I would have won this battle already, do you understand? Even Chi Guyan can¡¯t win the Candle Dragon, nobody in this world can defeat him!¡±

    ¡°He can!¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°No, this concerns the reputation of Emperor Taizu, I only knew about the ¡®prohibition¡¯ that Emperor Taizu left behind recently...¡±

    ¡°Prohibition?¡±

    ¡°Yes, in the will of Emperor Taizu, he wrote that nobody was to activate the prohibition or... the Great Xia Dynasty would end up in an irreversible disaster.¡±

    ¡°What is the prohibition?¡±

    ¡°Yu¡¯er, forgive me as I can¡¯t answer you. However, if I am not wrong, he should be at the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain already. Moreover, besides him, the troops of the other three dynasties are also rushing to the Heaven Zen Mountain. Yu¡¯er, please, believe me, humankind can win this battle, we definitely can!¡± said Lin Mubai determinedly after a slight hesitation.

    ¡°At the peak of the mountain?!¡± Qian Yu turned to look at the peak of the mountain. She could not believe that someone was able to ¡°pass by¡± without being noticed by her.

    However, Lin Mubai was the one who said that.

    A man who would not lie to her at this point in time.

    Moreover, the four empires had always been fighting against each other. Yet, Lin Mubai was so certain that the other three empires would send their troops to the Heaven Zen Mountain at the same time?

    Who would have such capability and credibility?

    ...

    At the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain, Chi Guyan gaze was fixated on the ck shadow in front of her. She was shocked when she saw the Traceless Sword in that shadow¡¯s hand.

    After all, it was the Traceless Sword.

    Only Fang Zhengzhi could draw the Traceless Sword in the world. This was a known fact amongst the people in the Great Xia Dynasty.

    She was able to use the Traceless Sword thanks to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, now...

    The Traceless Sword was in the ck shadow¡¯s possession. Moreover, instead of resisting, the Traceless Sword made whistles of happiness.

    ¡°Who are you? Who on earth are you?¡± Chi Guyan struggled to stand up but because of her severe injuries, her feet were trembling.

    ¡°Chi Guyan? The daughter of Chi Hou?¡± The ck shadow spoke. His voice sounded very ancient and distant.

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m not your enemy, I¡¯m your friend.¡± The shadow shook his head when he saw the expression on Chi Guyan¡¯s face. Then, he took off the ck cloak on his head.

    It was an aged face.

    Like an old tree trunk, there were many deep wrinkles from the forehead to the cheeks. On top of that, his hair was fully white.

    However, the pair of eyes on that aged face...

    Was as sharp as a sword.

    The body of the Candle Dragon tumbled in the air and the thick ck clouds expanded and contracted continuously. The blow that hit him earlier on seemed to have injured him as well.

    The appearance of the ck shadow surprised him slightly. However, it merely surprised him a little.

    After all, nobody dared to disobey the Candle Dragon. Therefore, why would he bother about a guy who randomly appeared?

    That was the attitude of the Candle Dragon.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi who was nearby was staring closely at the aged face and the sharp eyes with her fingers trembling.

    That was because she was Monster Emperor Baizhi, the nine-tailed white fox.

    Her innate premonition told her that the man in front of her was extremely terrifying. There was immense power in the body of the man.

    ¡°Who are you? There¡¯s nobody like you amongst the Human Alliance!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi spoke as she showed her fangs and snow-white fur.

    She was on her guards.

    She was ready to defend against the sudden attack of the man.

    ¡°So this is the Candle Dragon? The ancient Godly beast... the God of Mountain Zhong? I can¡¯t believe such a thing existed.¡± Instead of answering Monster Emperor Baizhi, the man stared quietly at the thick ck clouds that were tumbling in the sky and the Candle Dragon who appeared in the thick clouds.

    ¡°How can an ant like you call my full name like that?¡± The Candle Dragon roared furiously and a bolt of ck lightning shot out from his mouth.

    It was extraordinarily fast.

    It was aimed directly at the top of the man¡¯s head.

    Boom!

    The ck bolt of thunder hit the man¡¯s body and traveled from his head to his toe as the bolts of lightning went around his body.

    However, the man continued to look up.

    His hand, which was holding onto the Traceless Sword, did not move at all. He stared calmly at the Candle Dragon and allowed the bolts of lightning to shine on his body. Then, the bolts of lightning disappeared.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Candle Dragon was shocked as the bolts of lightning he used to attack which had managed to injure Chi Guyan did not injure the man at all?

    Was he a Godly State expert?

    However...

    The Candle Dragon looked up at the closed Gate of God of the Realm of God and shook his head. The Gate of God was not opened, hence how would a Godly State expert appear?

    Moreover, there were only a handful of ancient Godly State experts who could defend against his attack of the ck bolts of lightning.

    The person in front of him was definitely not included.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, leave the rest to me. His Majesty has arrived, he will leave with you, you can finally recuperate,¡± said the man as he looked at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Thank you... Senior.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    She did not reject and sat on the ground immediately. That was because her instincts told her that although the man was very powerful, he would not hurt her.

    As what the man had said, they were not enemies.

    The man smiled heartenedly when Chi Guyan sat down. Then, he looked up again at the Candle Dragon.

    ¡°Tell me your name, Human!¡± The Candle Dragon stretched out one of his dragon ws amidst the thick ck clouds. A sharp cold radiance flowed and it was extremely chilling.

    ¡°My name? Hmm... it has been ages since someone asked for my name... to be honest, I almost forgot what is my name. However, I have been asked this question repeatedly today and now, a Candle Dragon is asking me the same question, how refreshing.¡± The man smiled and the wrinkles on his aged face became more obvious.

    Then, he pointed his Traceless Sword towards the sky.

    He pointed it directly at the third eye of the Candle Dragon.

    A chilling purple radiance radiated on the de of the Traceless Sword. It flowed continuously like blood, as though something was about toe out from the sword.

    Roar!

    A purple dragon leaped and flew out of the Traceless Sword. The scales on the dragon was so distinct that the marks could be seen clearly.

    ¡°Long time no see, old friend, today we are working together again to kill the dragon!¡± The man spoke with a deep voice. He took a step forward and disappeared.

    The only thing left was a purple beam of light that shot up to the sky.

    It tore the darkness apart.

    Dragon!

    ¡°yer!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    The man¡¯s voice echoed through the air. It sounded like it wasing from somewhere far but also sounded like it was just beside one¡¯s ear. Meanwhile, the purple dragon flew in the sky.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Lightning shed across the sky and it started raining. The rain was purple and made sounds of water dripping when itnded on the thick ck clouds on the Can¡¯s body.

    ¡°Dragon yer sh? Isn¡¯t that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s... hold on, it¡¯s not Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi can¡¯t possibly appear here. Moreover, that brat can¡¯t be so powerful. You... you are... Meng Tian?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi saw the purple dragon soaring towards the sky and something seemed to have struck her.

 Chapter 1034 - Kill the Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 1034: Kill the Dragon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Meng Tian!

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.

    This was not the first time Monster Emperor Baizhi had heard of this name. Moreover, it was heard frequently recently and the repetition had gotten to her.

    However, this time, Monster Emperor Baizhi felt that the man who appeared in front of him was the real Meng Tian.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian did not die!

    ¡°Candle Dragon, careful!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi did not like the Candle Dragon but she did not want him to lose at this point in time.

    Boom!

    The Candle Dragon did not know what was going on in the Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mind but he could feel the powerful force in the purple dragon who was charging towards him.

    It was very powerful and sharp.

    It felt like a long sword that was able to cut through everything. With purple lightning bolts, it reached him at the speed of the lightning.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± The Candle Dragon was frustrated.

    He attacked the purple dragon with his dragon w that was covered in ck scales and surrounded by thick ck clouds. The ck bolts of lightning were surrounding his body.

    Boom!

    His dragon w collided with the purple dragon and the ck sky seemed to have been torn apart. The entire space shook and broke apart, forming many ck cracks.

    A chilling purple radiance exploded in the air.

    The purple radiance collided with the thick ck clouds and produced loud whistles. It felt as though the two forces were intertwining, the purple radiance moved to the top while the thick ck clouds pressed down.

    Rumble!

    The purple lightning and ck lightning struck each other and airwaves rippled outward like water ripples, exerting a force towards the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The ground cracked due to the vibrations.

    The altar which was made up of white stones was overturned. All of the stones broke and copsed on the ground, causing the soil to fly all over the ce.

    Then, a crack appeared in the center of the white altar. It was so endlessly deep that it looked like it led to an abyss underground and made one shudder in fear.

    However, everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the sky and nobody noticed the fact that the altar was torn or what was in the crack.

    Meanwhile, in the sky, the purple radiance and the ck radiance collided with an even greater force. At one moment, the thick ck clouds looked more powerful, the next moment, the chilling purple radiance caught up.

    Roar! At this moment, the Candle Dragon opened his mouth suddenly and spurted out a mouthful of thick ck clouds.

    However, the thick ck clouds he spat out were different from the surrounding clouds.

    They caught fire immediately after they were spat out and turned into a ball of ck mes. The heat of the mes made cracking sounds in the air.

    Then, the entire sky looked as if it was lit up on fire.

    The ck mes spread continuously towards the surroundings, they covered both the sky and the ground and shrouded the sky of the Heaven Zen Mountain, making it look like a dark and hellish sea of mes.

    The purple dragon was surrounded by the ck mes and tumbled continuously in the sky. The purple beams of radiance spread and turned into sharp swords.

    Every sharp sword struck the ck mes and made sharp whistling noises.

    However, there were too many ck mes. Even though the purple sharp swords were sharp enough, they could not get rid of all the ck mes.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Candle Dragon pounced down and its four ws grabbed onto the purple dragon in an attempt to tear it apart.

    However, at the instant when the four ws of the Candle Dragon grabbed onto the purple dragon, a clear and loud whistling sound of the sword was heard.

    It stabbed Heaven.

    Then, the purple dragon vanished.

    All was left was a sword, a crystal-like purple long sword that stabbed at the third eye on the Candle Dragon¡¯s forehead at an extremely fast speed.

    Roar! The Candle Dragon retreated extremely quickly but it was toote. The speed of the sword was so fast and it reached the front of the Candle Dragon instantly.

    ¡°Ow...¡± A painful howl of the dragon was heard.

    Meanwhile, blood spurted across the air like a blooming flower.

    At thest moment, the Candle Dragon managed to block the sword that was aimed at his third eye. However, his dragon w was stabbed by the sword.

    The purple long sword prated his w.

    Blood was spurted across the air.

    The Candle Dragon was astonished. His dragon w was supposed to be his most powerful weapon. He was able to crack the ground and move the mountains with it, yet, it had been prated by a sword.

    ¡°What sword can hurt me? No, the color of this sword is wrong!!¡± The Candle Dragon stared at the sword floating in midair.

    The sword looked familiar.

    However, it also looked rather foreign, he did not what to feel about it.

    A man appeared at this moment and held onto the hilt of the Traceless Sword. His ck cloak was blown by the wind and made loud noises.

    ¡°Yes, the color is wrong.¡± The man nodded.

    ¡°So what is the original color of this sword?¡± asked the Candle Dragon again.

    ¡°I forgot.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Candle Dragon shook and the crescent in his third air glowed brighter as the thick ck clouds surrounded his body. ¡°Your name is Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡± The man paused for a while before nodding his head.

    ¡°Meng Tian, very good! You are the first opponent I met in this world. I will make sure you have a full corpse when you die.¡± The Candle Dragon sneered.

    ¡°Thank you, but I may not do the same for you?¡± Meng Tian looked at the Candle Dragon with a sorry look and added, ¡°You should know that humankind likes to sever the head of the dragon. We look more charismatic holding a dragon head on one hand and a sword on the other.

    ¡°Meng Tian, you are really pissing me off!¡±

    ¡°You mean you were still very happy when I stabbed you earlier on?¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Candle Dragon did not continue. His gigantic body tumbled in midair. The thick ck clouds covering his body turned into ck armor.

    From the head of the Candle Dragon to his body and the four ws, a ck dragon armor covered his entire body.

    Apart from the ck dragon armor, white bone spur protruded from the ck dragon armor and looked extremely intimidating.

    Roar! The roar of the dragon was ear-deafening.

    Meng Tian narrowed his eyes and gave a serious look on his aged face.

    In reality, he did not stand an advantage in the battle earlier on as, after all, his opponent was the Candle Dragon, the ancient Godly beast, the God of Mountain Zhong.

    Moreover, considering the power of the dragon, it was impossible for him to fight head-on with a dragon.

    However, the Candle Dragon was too arrogant and violent and had ack of patience. He wanted to kill Meng Tian in the fastest way possible.

    Therefore, he took the risk to pounce down on him when he had the advantage, hoping to kill him with one strike. This gave him the chance to attack from up close.

    However, despite this...

    His sword did not hit the third eye of the Candle Dragon.

    Not only did it miss his third eye, but it was also unable to kill the Candle Dragon as the healing power of the Candle Dragon was too powerful.

    Through the thick ck clouds, Meng Tian could see the dragon w which he had struck earlier on heal rapidly.

    ¡°The ancient saying was right, it is really difficult... to kill a dragon!¡± Meng Tian sighed as he looked up into the sky before he flew up with his sword.

    Although he knew that the Candle Dragon would definitely be warier after the failed attack and it would be extremely difficult for him to look for another opportunity to attack, it meant nothing.

    He was Meng Tian, he said he would kill the dragon and he meant it!

    ¡°Hundred!¡±

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    As Meng Tian shouted, he vanished again and blended into the surroundings in silence.

    However, the Candle Dragon evidently felt uneasy.

    Boom! The Candle Dragon moved and his gigantic dragon tail struck the back, tearing space apart. The white bone spur started shining with a chilling radiance.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    The Candle Dragon¡¯s eyes lit up. He felt that he managed to hit something with his dragon tail. If he was not wrong, Meng Tian had been hit.

    The strike of a dragon tail?

    Human!

    How could he not be dead?!

    At this moment, the Candle Dragon felt pain on his back.

    He remembered that injury very vividly as Chi Guyan had stood on his back and stabbed that spot a couple of times not long ago.

    Now, the exact same spot was being stabbed again.

    With the same sword.

    Roar! The Candle Dragon turned around and stabbed at the spot behind his back with his horn. He had managed to get Chi Guyan off his back because of that earlier on.

    Therefore, he instinctively thought that the same attack could kill Meng Tian.

    However, he did not see Meng Tian behind his back. What shocked him was the fact that there was indeed a sword on his back.

    ¡°What is happening?!¡± The Candle Dragon¡¯s body trembled.

    Then, he felt pain throughout his entire body. It felt as though hundreds of long swords were stabbing continuously into his body.

    ¡°What?!¡± The Candle Dragon did not understand why there were so many swords.

    However, no matter whether he understood it or not, the swords were in his body and every sword was shining with eerie purple radiance.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    The ck dragon armor cracked open continuously.

    The cold ck-scaled armor was exposed and several bone spurs were sliced apart by the sword. A sharp pain was felt by the Candle Dragon as a result.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Candle Dragon flew into the Gate of God of the Monster Realm in the sky at an extremely fast speed.

    He reached the front of the Gate of God of the Monster Realm almost instantly.

    ¡°Son of a bitch, what are you doing?!¡± Meng Tian¡¯s voice was heard. He was standing on the dragon tail of the Candle Dragon and holding one of his bone spur with his hand.

    Hundred Dragon sh.

    He could hide amongst the countless swords.

    Turn himself into a sword.

    His attacking power had improved tremendously. However, it was unable to exhibit the power of a single strike of the sword. It could only hurt the Candle Dragon but was unable to kill him.

    After all, the Candle Dragon was too good at defending.

    Meng Tian wanted to break through the Candle Dragon¡¯s defenses before killing him.

    However, the Candle Dragon was behaving strangely. It felt as if he was about to charge back into the Gate of God of the Monster Realm again.

    Boom! The Candle Dragon hit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm heavily and the Gate of God of the Monster Realm vibrated in midair.

    ¡°He did not go in? Is his body too big?¡± Meng Tian¡¯s body shook. The intense force due to the collision almost made him lose his grip on the Candle Dragon¡¯s tail.

    However, the Candle Dragon totally ignored Meng Tian.

    He charged into the sky again towards the Gate of God of the Monster Realm. Then, he threw his body towards the Gate of God of the Monster Realm again like moths heading for the fire.

    Boom!

    This time, bright light radiated from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm. The bronze stone door buzzed as though there were countless of beasts howling.

    Roar!

    ¡°Ow ow ow...¡±

    ¡°Growl!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Various types of beastly sounds echoed in the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.It sounded like the struck of the ancient clock and caused one¡¯s blood to boil.

    Chi Guyan, who was recuperating on the ground, raised her head.

    She looked at the Gate of God of the Monster Realm which the howls emitted from. Her expression suddenly changed as though she suddenly remembered about something bad.

    ¡°Oh no, could the Candle Dragon be thinking of...¡±

    Boom!

    Before Chi Guyan could finish her sentence, the gigantic dragon tail of the Chi Guyan struck the Gate of God again. However, he did not hit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm this time.

    He hit the Gate of God of the Demon Realm instead.

    He hit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm twice and the Gate of God of the Demon Realm once.

    The Candle Dragon acted extremely strangely.

    However, the Candle Dragon definitely used more power on hisst strike.

    When his ck dragon tail hit the Gate of God of the Demon Realm, a loud boom was heard and the ck scales on his tail came off when he made the hit.

    Cracks appeared.

    The ck scales on his tail turned into thick ck clouds again.

    Meanwhile, the Candle Dragon opened his gigantic mouth suddenly and bit on the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± To Meng Tian, this scene was unexpected because he thought the Candle Dragon was trying to call for the other beasts when he hit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    However, he started questioning his guess when the Candle Dragon hit the Gate of God of the Demon Realm.

    Yet now?

    What was happening?

    Besides Meng Tian, Chi Guyan who was about to stand up from beneath was also stunned. She could not understand what the Candle Dragon was doing.

    But very soon...

    A change happened.

    Beams of radiance shone from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm which was initially filled with beastly howls. It felt as though something was about to charge out from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    After that, booms could be heard from the Candle Dragon¡¯s body.

    It was very loud.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Like thunder, the booms sounded continuously and extremely strangely.

 Chapter 1035 - A â€œPalm Tacticâ€ from Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 1035: A ¡°Palm Tactic¡± from Heaven</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Candle Dragon, how... how dare you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression changed drastically. She had the impulse to kill the Candle Dragon.

    That was because she finally figured out what the Candle Dragon was doing when she heard the booms from his body.

    The Candle Dragon was swallowing the ¡°God¡±.

    The forces resulted in the trembling of the Gate of God of the Monster Realm. Simrly, it caused the Godly State experts of the Monster realm to descend crazily from the gxy.

    That was unexpected for Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    Of course, even if she had expected it, she could not have done it as, after all, the power required to hit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm and lead the descent of the Godly State experts of the Monster Realm was too great. Only someone as powerful as the Candle Dragon could do it.

    However, the Candle Dragon¡¯s intention was not to let the Godly State experts descend.

    He wanted to swallow.

    Forcefully swallow the power of the Godly State experts of the Monster Race.

    It was too terrifying.

    Although Monster Emperor Baizhi had all along known that the Candle Dragon represented bloodshed and cruelty in the ancient era, she did not expect his cruelty to be so extreme.

    It had evidently surpassed Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expectation.

    Swallowing his race, using the flesh of his race to empower himself. Only a ¡°God¡± like the Candle Dragon would be able to do that.

    ¡°Oh no, this son of a bitch is mad!¡± Meng Tian also figured it out. He did not hesitate further when he saw the loud continuous boomsing from the Candle Dragon¡¯s body.

    That was because if the Candle Dragon continued to swallow the Godly State experts¡¯ powers, it would be extremely terrifying.

    A God who was able to kill his own kind!

    He definitely had to kill him!

    Meng Tian sprung towards the Candle Dragon with eerie purple radiance bursting out from his Traceless Sword as the killer aura rose rapidly.

    Swoosh!

    His sword moved and the purple radiance glowed.

    However, the Candle Dragon evidently predicted that Meng Tian would attack. Before the purple radiance reaches him, his dragon tail had struck the center of the purple radiance.

    Boom! The purple radiance broke.

    The body of the Candle Dragon began to increase rapidly. The ck scales on his body was extremely cold and the white bone spurs started to grow crazily.

    ¡°Candle Dragon, stop, those are the hopes of the Monster Race!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi began to attack as she could no longer bear to see how the Candle Dragon swallowed the other monsters.

    She had to stop him.

    Even if her n failed, she could not bear to see all the ancient experts of the Monster Race end up in the Candle Dragon¡¯s stomach.

    The Candle Dragon ignored Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    That was because he had been biting the Gate of God of the Monster Realm all along. Or rather, he would definitely not listen to Monster Emperor Baizhi even if he could open his mouth.

    The reason was simple...

    He was the God, the ancient Godly beast, the God of Mountain Zhong.

    Therefore, how would he listen to a Nine-Tailed White Fox with a broken tail?

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The loud booms did not stop.

    Some came from the stomach of the Candle Dragon and some came from the collision between Meng Tian¡¯s sword and the Candle Dragon¡¯s dragon tail. The loud boom caused the air to vibrate.

    A distance away, the Monster troop and the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower had felt the changes in the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    After all, the Candle Dragon¡¯s body was too huge.

    When he bit the Gate of God of the Monster Realm, even those at the foot of the mountain could see his gigantic frame and the huge door in the sky

    ¡°What is the Candle Dragon doing?¡±

    ¡°He seems to be biting on the Gate of God of the Monster Realm!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up with the loud noises?¡±

    The Monster troops did not understand but they soon saw Monster Emperor Baizhi dashing into the sky.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had turned into a gigantic nine-tailed white fox, oh, no, eight-tailed white fox as one of her tails had been severed by Chi Guyan.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi who turned into an eight-tailed White Fox was still attacking the Candle Dragon madly.

    She threw her sharp ws to the dragon tail of the Candle Dragon but was soon sent flying in the air by his tail and fell to the ground with a loud boom.

    ¡°Oh no, Her Majesty seems to be attacking the Candle Dragon!¡±

    ¡°Why is this happening? Is the Candle Dragon swallowing the Godly State experts who were descending?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Impossible, the Candle Dragon is also a monster...¡±

    ¡°Should we go back... to take a look? No matter what, we should help Her Majesty!¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go back!¡±

    The Monster troops evidently did not believe in their spection but Monster Emperor Baizhi was really attacking the Candle Dragon. Simrly, the Candle Dragon was biting on the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    Most importantly...

    The loud boomsing from the stomach of the Candle Dragon were like the exploding ck stones after the Godly State experts of the Monster Realms descended.

    Terrifying.

    Different types of emotions welled up in the hearts of the Monster troops and resulted in their diversion of the route from giving chase to the disciples of the Ling Yun Tower to sprinting towards the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Meanwhile, arge patch of ck cloud began to approach them from their back.

    It was the troops of the Great Xia Dynasty. They charged towards the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain again under the leadership of Emperor Lin Mubai and Qian Yu.

    They wanted to save Chi Guyan.

    Simrly, they wanted to help Meng Tian.

    Boom!

    Finally, Meng Tian¡¯s sword avoided the dragon tail of the Candle Dragon and struck his head, forcefully shaking away his mouth from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm.

    This caused the Candle Dragon¡¯s body to shake and blood spurted out from his head.

    Meanwhile, he opened his mouth and five ck stones fell out from his mouth onto the cracked altar on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The five ck stones exploded consecutively and five powerful Godly State experts of the monster race walked out of the exploded pieces with an expression of...

    Astonishment.

    Yes, they were astonished.

    Initially, they wanted to shout ¡°Daddy is back again!¡±

    However, the terrifying movement above them and the pairs of widened eyes around them caused them to swallow their words.

    ¡°What¡¯s that... could it be...¡±

    ¡°Candle Dragon?!¡±

    ¡°Hold on, there¡¯s a human fighting against the Candle Dragon? Who is that? Why didn¡¯t I see him on the battlefield before?¡±

    ¡°Who can fight against the Candle Dragon?¡±

    The five powerful Monsters were unaware of what had happened and did not know that they had just escaped from the mouth of the Candle Dragon.

    However, they soon saw the eight-tailed White Fox who had fallen to the ground.

    ¡°Hold on? Why does she only have eight tails?¡±

    ¡°Is she mutated?¡±

    ¡°So there are foxes with eight tails in this world too?¡±

    The five powerful monsters looked at each other and did not know how to describe their feelings in words.

    ¡°The Candle Dragon is swallowing our kind, hurry... kill him, hurry!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice could be heard.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Kill the Candle Dragon? Do you mean to kill the human who was fighting against him?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, why do I not f*cking believe...¡±

    Before thest Godly State expert of the Monster Race finished his sentence, the Candle Dragon had dashed down and swallowed him.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The world fell silent.

    However, the silence was broken very quickly as the other four Godly State experts had run down the mountain while screaming.

    ¡°What the f*ck... the Candle Dragon is crazy!¡±

    ¡°He really wanted to kill us...¡±

    ¡°Run for your lives!¡±

    Instead of what the Monster Emperor Baizhi had expected, the remaining four Godly State experts turned and ran away without hesitation.

    After all, they had seen the powers of the Candle Dragon in the ancient battlefield. They were no match to the Candle Dragon.

    Moreover, they were imprisoned for thousands of years.

    Now that they are freed, they are fighting against the Candle Dragon before they had the chance to enjoy themselves or have sex with a beautiful beast?

    Nobody would be willing to do that.

    The best decision was to flee.

    That was the same thought that struck the four Godly State experts of the Monster Race. However, they soon realized that there was ady standing in their way.

    Very pretty.

    Not only was she very pretty, but she was also dazzlingly beautiful.

    Her arrogance and her pink dress were dazzlingly beautiful, even more beautiful than the most beautiful fox in the Monster Race.

    However, she was human.

    ¡°Move aside!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t move aside, we will kill you!¡±

    ¡°A humankind who is blocking our way?¡±

    The four Godly State experts of the Monster Race said in unison.

    ¡°You have two choices. Either kill the Candle Dragon or I will kill all of you!¡± Chi Guyan shouted at the four Godly State experts mercilessly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The four Godly State experts felt extremely strange.

    A human girl who appeared out of nowhere gave them two hard choices which both sounded equally bad.

    How was that not strange?

    ¡°Do you think we are chickens? Let¡¯s kill this rudessie first!¡± The four Godly State experts looked at each other and were ready to attack.

    After all, if they were forced to pick a choice, they would rather kill Chi Guyan.

    As for why they said ¡®Chicken¡¯...

    That was unknown. After all, who would know about the things in the ancient era? Perhaps it was because the chicken was the weakest amongst the monster race?

    ¡°Hurry... Kill the Candle Dragon or the whole monster race will perish!¡± Just as the four Godly State experts were about to attack Chi Guyan, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°What the f*ck, I am confused!¡±

    ¡°Me too, so who do we kill?!¡±

    ¡°The Eight-Tailed White Fox said if we don¡¯t kill the Candle Dragon, the entire Monster race will perish, and the Candle Dragon was indeed going to kill us, how about...¡±

    ¡°Alright, stop discussing, let¡¯s deal with the Candle Dragon first!¡±

    The four Godly State experts of the Monster Race stopped hesitating as the Candle Dragon was already charging towards them again.

    ¡°Candle Dragon, you are willing to kill your own kind, Heaven will not tolerate this!¡± Meng Tian stood in front of the Gate of God of the Monster Realm and shouted as he stopped the Candle Dragon from hitting the gate.

    ¡°My own kind? I am a God and they are merely ants, what¡¯s wrong for them to donate their powers to me?¡± The Candle Dragon opened his mouth and bit on one of the Godly State experts of the Monster Race.

    Crack!

    The arm of the Godly State expert who was closest to the Candle Dragon got caught in the Candle Dragon¡¯s mouth. The intense pain caused him to reveal his true form.

    He was a mountain-sized beast that looked like the ancient crocodile.

    However, one of his front ws was in the Candle Dragon¡¯s mouth. He was struggling and his body was shaking non-stop as he whipped the Candle Dragon¡¯s head with his tail.

    However, the Candle Dragon did not release him.

    He opened his mouth and swallowed half of the body of the ancient crocodile, then, he opened his mouth again and the entire ancient crocodile was swallowed.

    ¡°...¡±

    It was a terrifying scene.

    After that, the Candle Dragon¡¯s body grew even bigger, his head was as big as a hill and the ck scales on his body glowed with a ck-golden radiance.

    Beams of radiance circted around the Candle Dragon¡¯s body and a powerful airwave rippled outwards from his body like waves.

    ¡°Candle Dragon, you are too cruel!¡±

    ¡°We are going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The rest of the three Godly State experts of the Monster Race attacked.

    They turned into true forms instantly. However, aspared to the Candle Dragon¡¯s immense body frame, they looked very weak even though their builds were as huge as a hill.

    ¡°Donate your powers to me, and I, the God, will lead the Monster Race to rule the world!¡± The Candle Dragon¡¯s body tumbled as his dragon ws stepped on the ground.

    Roar!

    ¡°Candle Dragon, dream on!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The three Godly State experts, along with Monster Emperor Baizhi, flew and attacked the Candle Dragon from four directions.

    ¡°Baizhi, how dare you go against me, even if you are an ancient Godly beast, I will not forgive you. You are going to turn into my food just like the rest of them!¡± The Candle Dragon opened his mouth and bit towards Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    At this moment, a sword fell from the sky.

    It was traveling at the speed of light and continuously grew bigger. Ultimately, it turned into a clear and long purple sword with diagrams shining on it.

    Although the diagrams were blurry, one could still make out that there were nts...

    Boom!

    The gigantic sword stabbed the top of the Candle Dragon¡¯s head and nailed the Candle Dragon¡¯s body on the ground like a gigantic metal nail.

    Boom! The front ws of the Candle Dragon hit the ground, causing the ground to crack open and blood spurted out from the head of the Candle Dragon like a fountain.

    ¡°Destroy!¡±

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    This voice was only heard now and it echoed in the air.

 Chapter 1036 - Oh My Goodness, Breaking News!

    <h4>Chapter 1036: Oh My Goodness, Breaking News!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was a shocking scene.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, the three Godly State experts of the Monster Race and the Monster troops who returned were allpletely stunned.

    All of them turned to look at the long sword which stabbed the head of the Candle Dragon.

    ¡°He... killed the Candle Dragon?!¡±

    ¡°He was merely a human but he killed the Candle Dragon?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The three Godly State experts had their mouths agape in shock. After all, to them, the Candle Dragon was extremely powerful.

    Even though they were willing to fight against him, they were prepared to die as the Candle Dragon was definitely not going to show mercy on them.

    However, now...

    The Candle Dragon was killed by a human.

    Moreover, he was killed right in front of their eyes.

    It was so powerful!

    So there was a human who was so powerful in this world?!

    They looked up slightly at the human who was wearing a ck cloak, standing on the hilt of the Traceless Sword. They shuddered uncontrobly.

    Meanwhile, Meng Tian looked down.

    He took a sweeping nce at the Candle Dragon, Monster Emperor Baizhi, the three Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Chi Guyan who was standing nearby.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult to kill the dragon after all!¡± Meng Tian spoke as his ck cloak flew in the mountain breeze. He would have been described as being ¡°valiant and heroic in bearing¡± if he did not have the wrinkles on his face.

    Of course, the phrase ¡°valiant and heroic in bearing¡± wasmonly used to describe females. Meng Tian was a man so this phrase was rather inappropriate.

    However, what could be confirmed was that...

    Meng Tian indeed brought pressure to the three Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Monster Emperor Baizhi. His superiority caused them to shudder in fear.

    Meng Tian was too powerful!

    ¡°Anymore? Any more monsters or gods who dare to fight against me? I, Meng Tian, will kill every single one of...¡± Meng Tian suddenly stopped at this moment.

    That was because four gigantic ck stones were rolling towards him from above his head. Every stone was as big as a mountain.

    The four gigantic stones fell on the ground.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The floor cracked open and the mountain stones flew.

    Meng Tian¡¯s eyes narrowed and looked stunned. Could he take back his words?

    Boom!

    The four gigantic stones exploded at the same time and the thickyer of dust covered the sky, surrounding the entire peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain such that everything became blurry.

    Meanwhile, a shriek was heard.

    Then, a shadow flew out from the dust and fell on the ground at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Meng Tian?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi froze and could not understand what had just happened when she saw the face of the shadow.

    Until a ferocious dragon roar was heard.

    An extremely gigantic figure charged out from the dust. His eye on his forehead was glowing with a silvery-white moon radiance and his body was covered with ck scales.

    Candle Dragon!

    He is not dead?

    ¡°Meng Tian, I will kill you, I must kill you!¡± The Candle Dragon was frustrated. He did not expect Meng Tian to attack him suddenly when he was attacking Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    A human who sprung a sneak attack.

    He deserved to die!

    The Candle Dragon pressed on the ground using his dragon ws as he swung his gigantic dragon tail and made cracking sounds with his bones.

    He was evidently infuriated.

    ¡°Noisy!¡±

    At this moment, a sound came from the soil and a huge w extended from the soil before pressing on the Candle Dragon¡¯s head.

    With a ¡°bam¡±, the Candle Dragon¡¯s head exploded.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world fell silent.

    The Candle Dragon did not even have the time to make a snort before he fell unconscious. His third eye waspletely crushed and he died.

    If he was conscious, he would have definitely cried for injustice.

    The ancient Godly beast, the God of the Mountain Zheng, he had swallowed five or six Godly State experts of the Monster Race who had descended from the sky in order to upgrade his skill level.

    Yet, before he could absorb all their powers, he was dead after being stepped on?

    Who could exin this to him!

    It was a terrifying scene.

    Chills went down everyone¡¯s backs when heard they heard the Candle Dragon¡¯s voice earlier on as they felt the overwhelming terror.

    Yet now?

    What on earth?!

    The Candle Dragon was dead!

    He was dead after being stepped on?

    Everyone, including Meng Tian who was on the ground, widened their eyes and stared at the gigantic w which was still stepping on the head of the Candle Dragon.

    It was a tiger-like w that had fur all around it. The nails were blue and crystal clear like jade withplex symbols flowing in them.

    Then, a gigantic figure walked out from the soil.

    ¡°God? How dare a single-eyed snake call himself a God? Then what should we call ourselves?¡± A sneering voice that was extremely charismatic was heard.

    Then, all the soil and dust was blown away.

    Four extremely gigantic figures were revealed. Every single one of them was at least 70 feet tall and was of different shapes with radiance flowing in their bodies.

    Like gemstones.

    Meanwhile, the figure who was stepping on the Candle Dragon¡¯s head was a beast who looked like a tiger. He had a pair of sharp fangs and his entire body was blood-red.

    Unlike a tiger, he had a pair of gigantic bony wings.

    ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s them!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Plop!

    Unlike their reaction when they saw the Candle Dragon, when they saw the identity of the four gigantic figures, the three Godly State experts of the Monster Race did not hesitate.

    They fell to their knees immediately.

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi was shuddering in fear.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we hear someone say that he will kill every single attacker? Now the four of us are here, where is that person?¡± The tiger-like beast scanned the surroundings and his gaze fell on Meng Tian.

    ¡°...¡± Meng Tian moved his lips, looked into the eyes of the tiger-like beast and gulped. ¡°Who said that? Who?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The mountain breeze blew and it was dark.

    It was silent.

    ...

    When Meng Tian was screaming internally ¡°Oh my goodness, I am in trouble!¡±, Fang Zhengzhi was also yelling the exact same words in the ck Stone Pce.

    ¡°We are in trouble!¡±

    What could be more exaggerated than the fact that Nangong Mu swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God?

    If there was, it would be the major event that took ce on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not know the situation on the Heaven Zen Mountain. He only saw the red Tree of God regain its vitality in front of him.

    Moreover, it started glowing with slight golden radiance.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are we still fighting?¡± Ping Yang blinked and looked at the Tree of God which was radiating with energy. Her pink and petite mouth formed the shape of an egg.

    ¡°Where can we escape to?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°This... I think we have to ask that dragon.¡± Ping Yang pointed at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who also froze on the spot.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer was silent.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu kept silent too. The only difference was that Yun Qingwu seemed to be deep in thought while Wu Yuer was more frustrated.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, I believe that you can kill him!¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought it was time to give the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five some mental support.

    ¡°Kill him?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi before turning to look at Nangong Mu who was exuding golden radiance from his body.

    Haha!

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five could only say that.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, don¡¯t tell me that you are incapable of defeating someone as weak as Nangong Mu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought that this was unlikely as Xuanyuan Five was after all the legendary Five-wed Golden Dragon.

    By right...

    A dragon who was the partner of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan should not be too weak.

    Even though his opponent was Nangong Mu, a human who was about to turn into aplete Tree of God, he should have his ways.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi was educated.

    He had read many books. Anyone withmon sense who had read the history books should know that the Five-wed Golden Dragon was known as the number one amongst the dragon race because he had a fifth w.

    The w that was hidden in his body.

    It was the Five-wed Golden Dragon¡¯s killer move too.

    The Five-wed Golden Dragon could only disy his true capability when his fifth w appeared.

    However, till now, Fang Zhengzhi had yet to see the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five use his fifth w. This meant that Xuanyuan Five was hiding his true capability.

    He could be even more powerful!

    This must be it!

    As this thought struck Fang Zhengzhi, he saw the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five turn around with an extremely arrogant expression. In his golden dragon eyes.

    ¡°I am the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, the Five-wed Golden Dragon, why would I be afraid? God knows how many opponents I have killed in a day in the past!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was arrogant.

    Meanwhile, the Human Alliance who looked rather panicky after Nangong Mu recovered gained their motivation again when they heard Xuanyuan Five¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°Five-wed Golden Dragon!¡±

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five!¡±

    ¡°The number one Godly Beast of the ancient era!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Shouts echoed in the air.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi¡¯s expressions ckened as the current situation required the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi was severely injured.

    He would definitely have difficulties to fight against Nangong Mu with his injuries.

    They were left with the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    If the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five could win Nangong Mu, then the Human Alliance could take this opportunity to kill the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Or else...

    They would lose!

    This was simple logic.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Fight alongside the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era!

    ¡°Kill the monsters and demons!¡±

    The Human Alliance began moving to their formations as they dashed towards the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race wildly and fought with them.

    ¡°Looks like this dragon is rather trustworthy!¡± Ping Yang heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°No, he is already getting ready to flee.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was untimely but it was soft enough such that not everyone from the Human Alliance could hear her.

    However, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five heard her.

    This caused his body to jerk. He looked at Yun Qingwu with some shock but soon became arrogant again.

    ¡°What a joke, how would I escape? I just did not bear to be too violent considering that this Kiddie has the bloodline of Emperor Yan, therefore I only killed him.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five replied nonchntly.

    ¡°So you are really about to escape?¡± Yun Qingwu asked again.

    ¡°Hahaha... thessie is driving the dragon nuts! I have already said, I am not escaping, I just want to resolve the problem in a peaceful manner because I can¡¯t bear to see violence.¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    When the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was discussing peace or violence with Yun Qingwu, Nangong Mu¡¯s voice suddenly came from the Tree of God.

    Meanwhile, golden branches started attacking the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five like rain. Every single branch looked like golden metal.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, make a wish, you only have one wish before I bring you guys out to take a rest!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was anxious. He twisted his body continuously and shouted at Fang Zhengzhi as he avoided the golden branches.

    ¡°No.¡± Fang Zhengzhi refused to.

    After all, he was not blind, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was concerned about Emperor Yan? Then what about the ferocious and cruel biting and wing earlier on?

    Now after Nangong Mu had swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God, he started to be concerned about Emperor Yan?

    Did he really think Fang Zhengzhi was stupid?

    ¡°Do you really want to see all the humans die here?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five became more anxious when Fang Zhengzhi rejected him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really can¡¯t defeat him?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was confused.

    Was the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five really so weak? He should have hidden some of his capabilities. At least, the fifth w of Xuanyuan Five was not used yet.

    ¡°What a joke, I am the legendary Five-wed Golden Dragon, how can¡¯t I kill a Kiddie, I just don¡¯t bear to end the bloodline of Emperor Yan!¡± affirmed the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your fifth w?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was evidently stunned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in shock. He opened his gigantic mouth and wanted to say something.

    However, at this moment, a few golden tree branches whipped his body and he tumbled in midair.

    Xuanyuan Five was furious.

    His dragon whiskers flew in the air and he looked extremely ferocious. He waved his dragon ws and caught the golden branches.

    Roar!

    The golden branch in his hand was torn apart and drops of golden fluid started to drip from the broken branch onto the ground.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    It was a strange scene. The golden fluid made loud noises when they fell on the ground.

    After that, tree branches started growing from the ground. They were golden branches just like those on the Tree of God that Nangong Mu turned into.

    They looked like they were alive.

 Chapter 1037 - Super Terrifying Mega Weapon, Kneel Upon Hearing It!

    <h4>Chapter 1037: Super Terrifying Mega Weapon, Kneel Upon Hearing It!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The intense liveliness all around caused the tree branches that had just emerged from the ground to grow bigger, while some branched out further and more leaves started growing.

    ¡°Wow, more Trees of God are growing?!¡± Ping Yang was so shocked that her jaw almost fell onto the ground. ¡°Does this mean that men can be pregnant and give birth?¡±

    What the f*ck!

    Fang Zhengzhi almost pped Ping Yang¡¯s head. Since when did she be so abnormal?

    Could this be the legendary ¡®one is marked by thepany one keeps¡¯...

    Wait a minute!

    It felt like he was scolding himself?

    Fang Zhengzhi shook his head helplessly and did not want to recall what Ping Yang had said. However, the strange scene ahead of him made him realize what the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was worried about.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s aura seemed to have changedpletely after he swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God.

    If Nangong Mu felt like the ck hole with the killer aura initially, the Nangong Mu now had seemed to have be the real Tree of God.

    The powerful growth spurt allowed the power of the Tree of God to flourish close to perfection.

    The broken branches could re-grow.

    The tree branches were no longer afraid of being broken, so how were they going to continue the battle?

    Fang Zhengzhi had guessed that the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had hidden some of his powers and did not show the powerful ability of his fifth w, but now, he seemed to have some understanding.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had yet to show his fifth dragon w and would rather bite and tear furiously. This meant that if he used his fifth dragon w, he would deplete his strength extensively.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five would not worry if he was facing an ordinary opponent.

    Once he used his dragon w, his opponent would die.

    However, if the opponent was a ¡°cockroach¡± who would not die so easily, then it was a miserable thing.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu seemed to be concerned about the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five as well. He had yet to expose his full body andpletely hid in the Tree of God.

    Xuanyuan Five could not kill him in one strike.

    Even if he used his fifth w, Nangong Mu might not die. Perhaps that was what the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was worried about.

    After Fang Zhengzhi figured this out, he turned to Yun Qingwu who was beside him. ¡°Do you have any way to let Nangong Mue out from the Tree of God?¡±

    It is such a waste if he did not utilize the ¡°military advisor¡± beside him and wrecked his own brain.

    Fang Zhengzhi was a minimalist and therefore would not be so wasteful.

    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± replied Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°Why are you asking this Demoness, what idea will she have?¡± Ping Yang was instantly unhappy and pouted angrily.

    ¡°Then, Your Highness, please tell me how?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    What other ways were there? The fact that Nangong Mu has yet to reveal himself from the Tree of God meant that he had his own worries. Unless he wanted her to call for him toe out?

    Ping Yang could only say that she was not good at thinking about schemes.

    ¡°You can consider using provocations,¡± said Wu Yuer as Ping Yang fell silent.

    ¡°How?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°This... I haven¡¯t thought about it yet. You can think about it, didn¡¯t I give you some inspiration? Aren¡¯t both of you friends in the past?¡± Wu Yuer pouted and gave a look that implied that she could only offer help to this extent.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good n but I have already used it before.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was the limit of Wu Yuer¡¯s ideas.

    She could remind him and give him inspirations.

    However, it would be asking too much for Wu Yuer to design aplete and wless scheme. After all, Wu Yuer¡¯s strength was not on formting schemes but rather on making business deals.

    Putting hopes on a sly dealer to fight a battle?

    That may be possible for small fights but definitely not possible for big-scale fights.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu again. ¡°I have already provoked Nangong Mu once. I don¡¯t think the effect would be good if I used it again. Do you have other ideas?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu did not hesitate for long.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe!¡± Ping Yang snorted coldly and turned her head to the side. However, she purposely turned her ears towards Yun Qingwu.

    Wu Yuer did not make too manyments. She knew that Yun Qingwu was terrifyingly good ating up with schemes. However, she was slightly indignant and wanted to hear what were her ideas to let Nangong Mu reveal himself from the Tree of God.

    ¡°What method?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked in a straightforward manner.

    ¡°Provocation,¡± replied Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°...¡±

    There was a short pause of silence. Wu Yuer and Ping Yang were stunned for a moment before they exploded in anger.

    What on earth?

    Copycat!

    She was Yun Qingwu, the so-called hope of the Monster Race and Demon Race with amazing ideas. Yet, she thought of a n that was identical to that of Wu Yuer?

    Wu Yuer wanted to curse.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang began to curse. ¡°Chey, didn¡¯t he already say he had used provocation once, you are still suggesting that? Demoness, do you even...¡±

    Ping Yang did notplete her sentence.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had used both his hands to seal her mouth.

    ¡°How to provoke?¡±

    ¡°Know yourself and know your enemies and you shan¡¯t fear a hundred battles, Nangong Mu is a Human and any human would have his weakness. Nangong Mu¡¯s biggest weakness is none other than his brother.¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was jolted awake.

    He had made use of his friendship with Nangong Mu earlier on. Because of that, Nangong Mu hesitated and gave him a chance.

    Yet Yun Qingwu¡¯s idea...

    Was definitely more straightforward.

    ¡°Hmm, you have fought with Nangong Hao before. With your ability, you definitely could use Nangong Hao¡¯s tactics. If you used Nangong Hao¡¯s tactics to fight against Nangong Mu...¡± Yun Qingwu did not continue her sentence as she knew that she had said enough.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang and Wu Yuer fell silent again.

    They looked at each other and had the same expression in their eyes. Yun Qingwu was indeed a terrifying Demoness.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not probe further.

    That was because just as what Yun Qingwu was thinking about, he definitely already knew how to force Nangong Mu out of the Tree of God.

    This provocative tactic...

    Was indeed very provocative!

    Fang Zhengzhi was confident that even if Nangong Mu knew that it was a provocative tactic, he would definitelye out from the Tree of God and swear to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Gaining profits while taking risks, one was extremely determined.

    Perhaps that was Yun Qingwu¡¯s scheme.

    Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. He did not want to use this provocative tactic if he had a choice as it would target the most painful spot in Nangong Mu¡¯s heart.

    He remembered the scene when he first met Nangong Mu and fought alongside him, burning the Crown Prince Residence together and entering the Heaven Dao Pavilion together.

    Friends.

    Till date, he had not forgotten that they were friends.

    Yet given the current situation, he had no other choices. Nangong Mu had swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God and gained immense powers.

    The broken branches healed and were extremely hard to deal with.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Nangong Mu had arge number of troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race supporting him. These monsters and soldiers obeyed him and were willing to sacrifice for Nangong Mu.

    The immense powers and the endless supply of ¡°energy¡± made it valid to call Nangong Mu as the ¡°powerful king¡± of the new generation.

    He had to force Nangong Mu out from the Tree of God.

    Otherwise, this battle would never end. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would all die and the ordinary disciples of the Human Alliance would not be able to escape the fate of death either.

    If Nangong Mu¡¯s broken tree branches kept growing and end up upying the entire area, the ce would end up bing a gigantic ¡°killing ground¡±.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not want to touch on the most painful spot of Nangong Mu, but neither did he want to see the ce filled with blood and remains of bodies.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, the brother and friend I used to call... sorry!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood up slowly as he pushed on the ground. ¡°Pass me a sword.¡±

    ¡°Mine?¡± Wu Yuer was about to remove her soft sword on her waist.

    ¡°I think you are referring to this sword.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard and somehow managed to whip out a long white sword.

    Wuwei Sword!

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    Why did Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword end up with Yun Qingwu? What was happening?

    ¡°During the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain, I sent a troop of soldiers undercover at the foot of the mountain. Although they did not manage to stop the Nangong Nobles when they escaped, they managed to keep this sword,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not have time to probe about the details but he scanned Yun Qingwu from head to toe.

    ¡°There are indeed other ces to store things on my body. Since you stole my pendant, I developed this habit. Now are we on the same team?¡± said Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Yun Qingwu sighed softly but her expression changed soon after.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand was on her waist and he leaned towards her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think that I won¡¯t snatch things from people on my team?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu moves her lips and her body trembled slightly. Her face turned red and it was probably because Fang Zhengzhi was too close to her or because she was too nervous.

    However, to her surprise, after Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he loosened his hand on her waist and went behind her.

    ¡°Keep it safe, I will take it when I have time.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her fists but gradually let go of them and returned to her calm self. ¡°The most important items of the Monster Race and Demon Race are with me, let¡¯s see whether you can find them!¡±

    As the hope of the Monster Race and Demon Race, Yun Qingwu¡¯s safety was directly linked to the future of the Monster Race and Demon Race. She was the priority of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The Godly State experts who had always been hiding in the Great Swamp felt that it was the safest ce.

    However, it was no longer safe.

    That was because Yun Qingwu had left the Great Swamp. However, nobody had expected Yun Qingwu to be caught by Fang Zhengzhi despite the protection of five Godly State experts.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had never thought about that as well. He also never thought about the reason why Yun Qingwu kept nothing except for some clothes in her second pendant.

    Aspared to the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven in the first pendant, the difference was stark.

    Moreover, the Monster Race and Demon Race was ruling the world for over half a year¡¯s time. With such a high status, how could she be so impoverished that she only had a few sets of clothes?

    Fang Zhengzhi initially thought that Yun Qingwu would have hidden her other items in her pendant. If Yun Qingwu had not taken out her Wuwei Sword, he would not have thought about it.

    However, it was not the time to search Yun Qingwu¡¯s body for her treasures.

    After all, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was feeling unwell.

    With the capability of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, he had no problems with tearing the golden tree branches. However, the more he tore them, the more golden fluid dripped on the ground.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    As a few more golden tree branches broke, a few golden tree branches grew from the ground, each of them the size of a miniature Tree of God.

    Starting from their roots, they sprouted and grew bigger, leaves grew and flowers bloomed...

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, let me ask you onest time, are you making a wish or not?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five turned around with a look of helplessness and frustration.

    ¡°To do nothing means doing something!¡± Instead of answering the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five directly, he drew the Wuwei Sword slowly and pointed at Nangong Mu.

    It was crystal clear.

    That was Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword.

    ¡°What?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five evidently did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi said that suddenly and what it meant. ¡°To do nothing means doing something? Is this brat stupid?¡±

    Boom!

    At this moment, the golden tree of God shook violently as though it suffered a huge blow.

    The rapidly growing golden tree branches stopped moving as though time had stopped.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s happening?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five froze. A simple sentence was more effective than his gnaws on the tree branches.

    How could he tolerate that?

    This was so strange!

    Or was that sentence a powerful curse?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not look at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. He merely looked at the Golden Tree of God in front of him and pointed calmly with his Wuwei Sword. ¡°Nangong Mu, don¡¯t you wish to fight with this Wuwei Sword? I shall grant your wish today, do you dare to ept this battle?¡±

    ¡°Do you dare to ept this battle?

    ¡°Do you dare...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the air. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the Human Alliance stoppedpletely upon hearing him.

    ¡°Where did this brat find Nangong Hao¡¯s Wuwei Sword from?¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned when he saw the Wuwei Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    ¡°My name is ¡®Chou Qi¡¯, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice echoed from the golden Tree of God but it sounded different.

    ¡°Chou Qi? Haha, being the only bloodline of the Nangong Nobles and the sole descendant of Emperor Yan, you don¡¯t even dare to reveal your real name and is trying to hide your identity. Now you still dare to call yourself ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ in front of your brother, what Qi? Why don¡¯t you call yourself Ba, Chou Ba? Or Wang Ba<sup>1</sup> , Nangong Hao really did not die in vain, he deserved to die. The Wang Ba brother has a younger Wang Ba brother!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck?! You are so easily triggered... I just started and have yet to start my speech officially!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was evidently shocked. He knew that Nangong Mu would be infuriated but did not expect Nangong Mu to explode in anger so quickly. The effect was indeed shocking.

 Chapter 1038 - Cultured and Scum

    <h4>Chapter 1038: ¡°Cultured¡± and ¡°Scum¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    That was so exaggerated.

    Fang Zhengzhi still remembered how he once used their friendship to provoke Nangong Mu. It required a lot of efforts on his side before he saw the effects.

    Yet now, Nangong Mu waspletely pissed off just by one sentence.

    Moreover, he reacted in front of the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Besides Fang Zhengzhi, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, the Human Alliance, Wu Yuer and Ping Yang were also taken aback.

    Nangong Mu admitted!

    At this critical moment, by turning angry, he admitted his identity as one of the Nangong Nobles and his brotherly rtionship with Nangong Hao.

    ¡°He is really Nangong Mu?!¡±

    ¡°Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯ is Nangong Mu?¡±

    ¡°What did he do to Sir ¡®Chou Qi¡¯?¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were not foolish, if the person in front of them was Chou Qi, he would definitely not be triggered by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, you are a human and yet you are willing to act as a monster or demon. Do you think Nangong Hao will be happy to see that even if you manage to rule over the world in this manner?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued while Nangong Mu was angered.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, my brother is already dead!¡± Nangong Mu did not continue hiding his identity.

    By being angered, it was equivalent to admitting his true identity. There was no point lying as after all, he could no longer control his emotions.

    Nangong Hao!

    His brother!

    If there was only one person who was able to make Nangong Mu lose his cool and forgo everything he had aplished despite being at an advantageous position, that person would be none other than Nangong Hao.

    He had Nangong Hao¡¯s heart in his body.

    Therefore he would definitely not allow anyone to insult his brother.

    ¡°You seem to have forgotten something, the Wuwei Sword is with me now. I am the only one in the world who can use this Wuwei Sword!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he carefully guarded his Wuwei Sword.

    He knew Nangong Mu¡¯s personality very well.

    Since he had already admitted, he would not hold back.

    ¡°Therefore, you have to die!¡± As Nangong Mu said that, golden branches stabbed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you able to defend?¡± Xuanyuan Five was stunned for a moment as he saw the golden tree branches stabbing at Fang Zhengzhi.

    He did not know if he should help to block the branches or not.

    After all, he could notpletely understand the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Defend what? Help me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi yelled as he dashed behind the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned.

    He had said that he wanted to fight to his death with Nangong Mu, why did he suddenly flee and hid behind Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five?

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was also confused.

    He did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was doing. Since he had sessfully provoked Nangong Mu, why didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi take this opportunity to coborate with himself?

    Of course, even though he did not understand, he reacted quickly. He tumbled in the midair and extended his front ws to block the golden tree branches.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.

    ¡°Scoundrel, this tree is nted by Emperor Yan, do you want me to fight with Emperor Yan? If you have the guts, use your Green and Blue Dual de to fight with me! I will definitely kill you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    One could be shameless but probably only Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang had the courage to scold someone while escaping.

    ¡°I see.¡± Wu Yuer figured it out at this point in time.

    If Fang Zhengzhi coborated with the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five immediately and fought against Nangong Mu, the n would have sewn discord between Nangong Mu and the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The oue would be unbearable.

    That was because Nangong Mu was very hard to deal with. He had a powerful living will and was able to heal his broken branches. Ultimately, the oue would not be too different.

    The only way to achieve victory was to force Nangong Mu out of the Tree of God.

    But will Nangong Mu...

    Reallye out?!

    Ping Yang had figured it out at this moment and sighed internally. Although the shameless brat was shameless, he had a clear state of mind.

    His motive was to force Nangong Mu out of the Tree of God.

    ¡°Old man Mu, Nangong Hao is the disciple of your Heaven Dao Pavilion, what do you think he is trying to do now?¡± asked Mo Shanshi as he saw this scene.

    ¡°If I am correct, he is trying to make use of the rtionship between Nangong Hao and Nangong Mu to force Nangong Mu out of the Tree of God. He wants to force Nangong Mu to fight with him using the ultimate skill of the Nangong Nobles!¡± Mu Qingfeng could deduce as he was rather knowledgeable about the Nangong Nobles.

    ¡°Does he stand a chance?¡± asked Mo Shanshi again.

    ¡°I think at least 90 percent!¡±

    ¡°Then do we just wait here?¡±

    ¡°If you are willing to, you can do the scolding along with Fang Zhengzhi,¡± said Mo Shanshi after looking at Mo Shanshi and Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hahaha... Speaking of scolding others, I am notcking in that aspect. I am definitely better than the brat, watch and learn!¡± Mo Shanshi started smiling and looked around. ¡°Listen up, disciples of the Fu Xi Valley, scold him along with me!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The disciples of the Fu Xi Valley replied.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is a scum!¡±

    ¡°He ruined the Nangong Nobles¡¯ reputation!¡±

    ¡°Dumbass!¡±

    Sounds of scolding could be heard.

    Meanwhile, Mo Shanshi looked at the surrounding disciples with a shocked look. That was rather embarrassing, how could such scolding be even considered a scolding?

    Most importantly, they did not hit the point.

    Since Fang Zhengzhi was making use of their brotherly rtionship, they should be scolding Nangong Hao instead of Nangong Mu.

    It would only be effective if they scolded Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, listen up, brat, I am giving your dead brother a greeting. Nangong Hao is a damned scoundrel, he was born with a dead pig face and has a sword with rubbish hanging from it, that is because he has uneven lengths of legs...¡± Mo Shanshi made a demonstration.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding disciples of the Human Alliance were evidently stunned. However, they figured out what was the critical point in Mo Shanshi¡¯s sentence.

    So the person they were supposed to scold was Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Nangong Hao is a piece of trash!¡±

    ¡°Scoundrel!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Nangong Hao is not a Human!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The sounds of scolding raged.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were all speechless. So that was how humankind scolded other humans? Why were they so cultured?

    It was not wild at all.

    They wanted to make use of this opportunity to teach the Human Alliance the correct way to scold others.

    However, the current situation made them clueless.

    Should they continue to fight?

    Nangong Mu was a human, what was their chances of winning?

    Should they just do nothing and watch?

    But when Nangong Mu was defeated by the Human Alliance, what was their chances of winning?

    If they fought, they would lose.

    If they didn¡¯t, they would still lose.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were devastated. Initially, they have ced their hopes on Nangong Mu and now, they realized that he was a human.

    What should they do?

    Where was the future of the Monster Race and Demon Race?

    ¡°Die, everyone is to die!¡± Nangong Mu did not bother about what the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were thinking about as he was extremely pissed.

    The soaring insulting scolding hurt him like knives cutting on his heart. Every sentence hurt him deeply.

    Moreover...

    His heart came from his brother Nangong Hao.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The oue of anger was madness.

    Nangong Mu was mad. Countless golden tree branches stabbed at all directions crazily. Instead of attacking at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, they started stabbing in all directions towards the Human Alliance.

    ¡°He had seeded.¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression became calm again after seeing the golden tree branches.

    ¡°He seeded? But Nangong Mu did not leave the Tree of God?¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    Based on her deduction, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to provoke Nangong Mu to fight with him. However, Nangong Mu was still staying in the Tree of God.

    ¡°I see, it seems like... I got it wrong again.¡± Wu Yuer was stunned after listening to Yun Qingwu but soon figured it out.

    ¡°What did you get wrong?¡± Ping Yang was still confused.

    ¡°This provocative tactic had more than one oue. In other words, Nangong Mu did not need toe out of the Tree of God by himself,¡± exined Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Did not need toe out of the Tree of God by himself?¡± Ping Yang blinked her eyes.

    ¡°When he started to go crazy, it means that he had already lost his cool. He attacked the Human Alliance, how could the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five continue to block his attacks?¡± Wu Yuer pointed at the position where Nangong Mu was at.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had charged to that position. He broke the few golden tree branches in front of him like a golden bolt of lightning.

    Boom!

    The four dragon ws grabbed the trunk of the golden Tree of God, forming four holes on the tree trunk which was flowing with golden radiance.

    ¡°Ah... I will kill you, kill you!¡± Nangong Mu growled and the golden Tree of God shook continuously as the leaves fell like rain.

    The countless leaves spun in the air like sharp swords.

    But would the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five give Nangong Mu another chance?

    When he approached Nangong Mu, he activated his energy to the maximum. He took a huge bite on the tree trunk of the golden Tree of God and made a huge hole in the tree trunk.

    Crack! The golden Tree of God shook and golden fluid flowed onto the ground. They still continued to sprout and grow.

    However, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not care about that.

    That was because he had begun attacking again. He struck the golden Tree of God continuously with his w at the same spot.

    ¡°That is insane!¡±

    ¡°Is the Golden Dragon trying to break the Tree of God?!¡±

    ¡°Probably!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop, continue scolding.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes... Hurry, continue scolding Nangong Hao!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked but did not stop their scolding. In fact, they began to scold more vigorously and raised their volume.

    The waves of scolding buzzed around Nangong Mu¡¯s ears like ¡°houseflies¡±. It affected his state of mind and made him extremely cranky.

    However, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five continued to attack him with full power.

    The physical and mental torture caused Nangong Mu to end up in a state of despair. He wanted to kill the people who were insulting his brother but Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not give him a chance to do that.

    He wanted to go one-on-one with the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    However, the insults kept hitting him and he could not endure it.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are shameless!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s emotion was extremely unstable. He felt like there were mes raging in his heart and all of this was because of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the one who sparked this wave of insults.

    He would not havended in this difficult situation if Fang Zhengzhi did not initiate the scolding. All of his plots and schemes had gone to waste because of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Howughable was that?

    However, no matter what, it was the reality.

    ¡°Thank you for your praise!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked at the Tree of God that was almost broken by the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. ¡°Nangong Mu, you still have a choice. Fight with the Wuwei Sword with your ¡°Green and Blue Secret Art¡± and fulfill yourst wish!¡±

    ¡°...¡± There was no reply.

    ¡°You have already lost. There¡¯s no way you will win. Do you want to die like that or fight with me, make a choice. Anyway, I won¡¯t suffer any loss,¡± continued Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright, Fang Zhengzhi, i will fight with you. ¡°Green and Blue Secret Art¡± against the Wuwei Sword!¡± Nangong Mu finally spoke with a frustrated and resentful tone.

    Meanwhile, the gigantic Tree of God shrunk rapidly and the golden radiance swarmed together before they disappeared underground.

    Then, a figure crawled out from the ground.

    It was none other than Nangong Mu.

    However, unlike before, he had removed the ck cloak on his head and revealed his face with a scar.

    There was also a pair of eyes that were as red as blood. The Blood Offering Illustration had disappeared and the only thing left was a flickering Tree of God.

    ¡°He came out!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu really came out!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he was hiding underground all along? If he did not walk out by himself, he would not have been discovered, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was always attacking the tree trunk and tree branches.¡±

    The Human Alliance looked at Nangong Mu who crawled out from underground in astonishment.

    ¡°¡±Green and Blue Secret Art¡± against the Wuwei Sword?¡± Ping Yang blinked her eyes and looked as if she was deep in thought. ¡°But I thought the shameless brat is injured? He had suffered severe injuries and had difficulties standing up. Even if he ate medicine, it will not be possible for him to defeat Nangong Mu in such a short period of time?¡±

 Chapter 1039 - Have Some Sense of Shame!

    <h4>Chapter 1039:<i> Have Some Sense of Shame!</i></h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Ping Yang¡¯s concerns were valid.

    Fang Zhengzhi was seriously injured as his internal organs were all scalded because he ¡°spat¡± out the fruit of the Tree of God. Besides that, he was pped on the back by Nangong Mu.

    If Yun Qingwu did not give him a ¡°poisonous pill¡±, he probably would have difficulties standing.

    ¡°Hmm, although Nangong Mu left the Tree of God, he still has immense power. With Zhengzhi¡¯s injuries, he indeed will lose to Nangong Mu!¡± Wu Yuer also nodded when she heard Ping Yang.

    Nangong Mu was on par with Fang Zhengzhi.

    In fact, Nangong Mu was more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi as he managed to obtain powerful vitality after he had absorbed the powers from the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi was at his peak, he had less than 20 percent of chance of winning Nangong Mu.

    How could he possibly go against Nangong Mu who had limitless vitality when he was severely injured? Thispetition was definitely hopeless for Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi acted as though he did not bother.

    After Nangong Mu appeared, he smiled extremely brightly. He held the Wuwei Sword in front of his chest.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are courting death!¡± Nangong Mu walked towards Fang Zhengzhi and the green and blue radiance shone from each of his hands respectively.

    Green and Blue Secret Art!

    The ultimate skill of the Nangong Nobles.

    He had initially used his vitality to blend the two different auras together. Yet now, after swallowing the fruit of the Tree of God, his inner vitality had been boosted as well as the power of the Green and Blue Secret Art.

    ¡°Nangong Hao is useless shit!¡± Instead of answering Nangong Mu, Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race around him and make a casual insult.

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also staring at Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, they were not optimistic about the victory of Fang Zhengzhi as they could see the injuries that Fang Zhengzhi was suffering from.

    Who was more powerful and who was less powerful, one could tell by a simple look.

    However, when such things happen to Fang Zhengzhi...

    They were unsure.

    The reason was very simple, many miracles had happened to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Ever since Fang Zhengzhi had appeared, he had created countless miracles.

    It was a miracle for Fang Zhengzhi to obtain the title of double roll champion several times at the examination of the Law of Dao.

    It was also a miracle for him to win the hundreds of thousands of Demon troops in the battle in the Southern Region. On top of that, he severely injured the Half Sage Canyang.

    Until now, countless miracles had happened to Fang Zhengzhi. For example, making a lively escape after being thrown into the Middle Stream Cauldron for Alchemy.

    Besides that, recently, he had killed many Godly State experts consecutively and seized Yun Qingwu, the Young Lord of the Monster Race and Demon Race, from five Godly State experts.

    Everything seemed to be a miracle once Fang Zhengzhi was in the picture.

    Therefore, what about now?

    Both the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race held their breaths. They did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would win Nangong Mu.

    However, they could not question him.

    That was because he was Fang Zhengzhi.

    The son of miracles!

    ¡°Do you think... Fang Zhengzhi can win?¡±

    ¡°If he was anyone else, it is impossible. But if it is Fang Zhengzhi, the oue is uncertain.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, god knows if he is just too lucky or too shameless, I feel that he may win!¡±

    ¡°Same here. After all, he had initiated this battle. Without confidence, he won¡¯t possibly initiate the battle with Nangong Mu, right?¡±

    ¡°Unless he still has a hidden ace card?¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race and the Human Alliance were making spections about what shameless tactics Fang Zhengzhi would use in this battle.

    ¡°Could he still stand a chance despite his severe injury?¡± Mu Qingfeng was also suspicious. He felt that Fang Zhengzhi would not win but he was secretly hoping for Fang Zhengzhi to create another miracle.

    ¡°This brat is too shameless. If he did not have the confidence, he would not have initiated the attack. Since he did, he must have a way, don¡¯t worry too much!¡± Mo Shanshi, on the other hand, was confident.

    ¡°Hmm, you are right!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded.

    From his impression of Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi was unlikely to initiate to do something that he was not confident of. In fact, he would have fled if that was the case.

    Courting death?

    That should not happen.

    Boom!

    As the crowd was specting what shameless tactics Fang Zhengzhi would use to defeat Nangong Mu, a loud boom was heard.

    Evidently, Nangong Mu was really infuriated and had intense killing intent.

    His fury had sparked the thunder in the sky after Fang Zhengzhi insulted Nangong Hao as useless shit.

    The green and blue bolts of lightning struck from the sky.

    They fell on the palm of Nangong Mu and two different colors ¡ª green and blue ¡ª intertwined and made cracking sounds.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, die!¡± Nangong Mu began to move like lightning. The two-colored radiance wound around his body and merged with his body.

    The immense vitality caused him to exude a terrifying aura. He was like the ocean with raging waves and exuded extreme superiority.

    He charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    He charged towards Fang Zhengzhi at an extremely fast speed. He pped his hands together in front of his chest and a sharp ear-deafening whistle was heard.

    ¡°Hold on, I still have something to say!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was evidently shocked by Nangong Mu¡¯s aura. He retreated without even attempting to defend.

    ¡°He is indeed trying to do something funny!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I wonder what is he going to do?¡±

    ¡°I think he is going to set some rules that will benefit himself?¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race started specting amongst themselves.

    Besides them, Ping Yang and Wu Yuer were also specting about what shameless tactics Fang Zhengzhi was about to use.

    However, unexpectedly...

    Nangong Mu did not stop.

    That was right, Nangong Mu did not stop because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°hold onm I still have something to say!¡±

    Or rather, Nangong Mu knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character too well.

    One could definitely not act normally when they went against Fang Zhengzhi.

    To kill Fang Zhengzhi, one definitely could not waste time with him. To sum up using a ssic statement, ¡®attack when you can¡¯.

    That was because one could potentially be tricked by Fang Zhengzhi no matter what one said.

    Kill him right away and end it.

    ¡°No, I really have something to say...¡±

    Bam!

    At the moment when everyone was shocked by Nangong Mu¡¯s determination and thought that Fang Zhengzhi was going to die, a loud bam was heard.

    Then, Nangong Mu, who was initially charging towards Fang Zhengzhi, stopped moving.

    He stopped one foot away from Fang Zhengzhi and froze in disbelief.

    ¡°Why did he stop?!¡±

    ¡°Is he not killing Fang Zhengzhi?¡±

    ¡°What is happening? Why isn¡¯t Nangong Mu attacking?¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also in disbelief as they did not see what had happened.

    It was too strange.

    Nangong Mu stopped in front of Fang Zhengzhi?

    What ¡°witchcraft¡± did Fang Zhengzhi use this time?

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race could not understand but they soon saw a gigantic shadow behind Nangong Mu.

    The golden radiance was eye-catching and blinding.

    It was the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. However, he was more charismatic than before. Golden radiance flowed through his entire body and he looked like an eye-blinding sun.

    Besides that, two gigantic golden wings pped behind his back.

    The two wings were enormous and each wing covered the entire sky. There were streams of light flowing on each of the wings as well.

    ¡°Just like what the legend stated, the beast owned by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan is a golden-winged dragon!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the shadow behind Nangong Mu and smiled.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Why are there wings on the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five?!¡±

    ¡°When did he appear behind Nangong Mu? Everything happened too quickly, he looked as though he appeared out of nowhere!¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished when they figured out the identity of the gigantic shadow.

    That was because nobody noticed the movement of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five when Nangong Mu was attacking Fang Zhengzhi. Yet now, he suddenly appeared behind Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Look, below the stomach of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five!¡±

    ¡°That... That is the legendary fifth w?!¡±

    ¡°Oh my lord, that¡¯s the fifth w, the fifth w of the Five-wed Golden Dragon!¡±

    Finally, the disciples of the Human Alliance noticed the clear dragon w below the stomach of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. It was a dragon w that was crystal clear like a gemstone.

    It was not big.

    Aspared to the other four dragon ws, the fifth w was rtively much smaller.

    However, the intense power on the dragon w was shocking. Moreover, it was not golden but a near-transparent color of the gemstone.

    It was surrounded by a halo.

    If the wings of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had not blocked out the light from the sky, nobody would have discovered the dragon w hidden beneath the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°You... You...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s body tilted before his eyes rolled and fell to his knees.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would be dumb if they still did not understand what had happened.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five defeated Nangong Mu.

    While Nangong Mu was determined to kill Fang Zhengzhi, the Five-wed Golden Dragon suddenly attacked and pped his fifth w with a tremendous force on the back of Nangong Mu¡¯s head.

    Nobody could doubt the power of that p.

    That was because even someone as powerful as Nangong Mu copsed on the ground without any struggle.

    Gasp!

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, as well as Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng held their breaths in horror.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was the one who attacked.

    Indeed, they had underestimated the shamelessness of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not even intend to fight with Nangong Mu. He merely nned to provoke Nangong Mu and used the fifth w of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to attack Nangong Mu.

    Shameless...

    Ultimate shamelessness!

    ¡°Sigh, I already reminded you that I have something to say. I was going to tell you that the dragon might spring a sneak attack from your back. Too bad, you didn¡¯t want to listen to me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi tilted his head 45 degrees to the sky and looked at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five helplessly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were speechless.

    The shamelessness of Fang Zhengzhi that was deeply ingrained in him was something they could never master.

    Evidently, Fang Zhengzhi said that on purpose.

    Did distraction turn into a friendly reminder?

    How ridiculous.

    Please struck this shameless brat with lightning.

    ¡°So, I misunderstood you?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked down and his gigantic mouth had golden radiance flowing on it.

    ¡°Cough cough... you cooperated well with me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi coughed and stopped looking at him. ¡°However, your standard for a sneak attack is so ordinary, I had to remind you twice before you attacked, sigh... the IQ of a dragon... I really can¡¯t put too many hopes on you!¡±

    The golden radiance shot out from the mouth of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    He could not stand it!

    What did Fang Zhengzhi mean by ¡®reminded twice¡¯?

    Wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi the one who said he wanted to fight one-on-one with Nangong Mu?

    In the end, after Nangong Mu left the Tree of God and used the Green and Blue Secret Art to fight to his death with Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi decided to wink at the Golden Dragon? What on earth?

    The Golden Dragon was the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, the Five-wed Golden Dragon, how could he tolerate it?

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five spat mes at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was prepared. He had run far away and the mes merely touched his shirt.

    Fang Zhengzhi acted in disdain towards this. He patted the mes on his shirt before waving the Wuwei Sword in front of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Do you see this? Wuwei Sword, to do nothing means doing something, clear and transparent, isn¡¯t this a hint for you to attack? If you use your brain, you will definitely know that, okay? Forget it, I am very forgiving and don¡¯t want to be fussy over this small matter with a dragon. How about this, grant me one more wish, four wishes in total as a form of apology. Very fair, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept his Wuwei Sword and looked with high hopes.

    ¡°Scram!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five exploded in anger but did not attack. He only looked at the unconscious Nangong Mu on the ground. ¡°How are you going to deal with this kiddie called ¡°Nangong Mu¡±? Kill him?¡±

 Chapter 1040 - The Legendary Ancient Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 1040: The Legendary Ancient Treasure</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was asking for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s opinion.

    However, his dragon w had shifted Nangong Mu¡¯s body towards himself while he ced his other dragon w in between Nangong Mu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi figured out the intention of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    Nangong Mu was the descendant of Emperor Yan and could be said to be thest bloodline of Emperor Yan in this world. As the beast owned by Emperor Huang, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not want to see the bloodline of Emperor Yan die off like that.

    The rtionship between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang was extraordinary.

    Even though they had some hups for some issues, their rtionship was not strained as a result but still maintained their brotherly love.

    However, after thousands of years, this brotherly love was misunderstood by the descendants of Emperor Yan and people thought that Emperor Yan waspeting with Emperor Huang for the rule over the world.

    That resulted in the mission of the Nangong Nobles.

    Fang Zhengzhi found out about all of these from the stone tablet and knew about the misunderstanding.

    Be it Nangong Hao or Nangong Mu, or even Nangong Tian, the head of the Nangong Nobles, they all grew up with this misunderstanding and became the sacrifice.

    ¡°Do you have a way to restrain his powers?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked. He did not need to kill Nangong Mu anyway.

    Nangong Mu was the victim.

    He was now on the floor, unconscious. As long as one could remove his misunderstanding about the mission of the Nangong Nobles, based on Nangong Mu¡¯s personality, he would not be so violent.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded after being stunned for a moment.

    He was evidently surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision. To him, Nangong Mu had vowed to kill Fang Zhengzhi and hence Fang Zhengzhi would not let Nangong Mu off so easily.

    That was the logic of the ancient era.

    Powerful people were respected, he would definitely let people who may bring trouble to them live.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not say much. Instead, he asked the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five if he could keep Nangong Mu¡¯s powers in restraint. This shocked the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five slightly.

    Apart from the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also confused.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he kill him straightaway?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, Nangong Mu betrayed humankind, he deserves to die!¡±

    ¡°He even killed the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race, this kind of man does not deserve to live!¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race all wanted Nangong Mu to die as, after all, not only was Nangong Mu a traitor of humankind, but he was also the enemy of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The winner bes the King and the loser bes the bandit.

    This was perfectly-exined.

    There was always an ancient saying that went, ¡°one¡¯s sess was exchanged with thousands of lives¡±, this sentence described the scenario during the situation when one became a General or an Emperor. However, nobody brought up this sentence if they were not a general or an Emperor.

    That was because they had be those who were despised and looked down upon by others.

    That was the hard truth.

    That was what Nangong Mu was experiencing now. He had lost, he had lost because he was not determined enough.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The voice of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was heard. He looked around with his golden eyes and the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race shut up immediately. ¡°I am making a decision here, how dare all of you to discuss amongst yourselves?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race shut up immediately.

    After all, they had witnessed the power of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five with their own eyes. Even someone as powerful as Nangong Mu could not withstand the legendary fifth w, of course, they would die under the fifth w of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°I have some questions to ask you,¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi as he ignored the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Shoot.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded. He could guess what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask.

    ¡°Is this really the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five made a sound of affirmation and clearly did not want to provide more answers to the question.

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand how the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five felt.

    Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was his owner. However, after he broke through the gxy, he was unable to return to the world he was initially in. That was rather embarrassing.

    Fang Zhengzhi also did not continue asking about the details and only looked around. ¡°Since it¡¯s the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, you should know the way out?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded again.

    ¡°What¡¯s the way out?¡±

    ¡°Return with the same path.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. The tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan required one to trace back with the initial path, how ridiculous was that?

    Was there no such thing as a ¡°prize for passing¡±?

    How stingy!

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly unhappy. However, he had no choice but to follow what the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five said even though he was reluctant.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go?¡±

    ¡°Actually? There¡¯s another way out apart from returning from the original route,¡± said the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five casually after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s response.

    ¡°F*ck, I knew that there was a ¡®shortcut¡¯. Hurry up and tell me what is it? Dahuan Pill or the legendary tactic left behind by the Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew he was fooled by Xuanyuan Five.

    How could there be no treasures in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    That was so odd!

    ¡°There are no tactics, there¡¯s only a treasure.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five hesitated as he took a look at Fang Zhengzhi but he still told him.

    ¡°Treasure? What treasure?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes glowed.

    The treasure of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was definitely extraordinary. Perhaps it was the legendary Xuanyuan Sword, one of the ten greatest treasures of the ancient era.

    The thought of that made one excited.

    ¡°Make a guess.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five winked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    Make a guess?

    Guess for f*ck!

    How to make a guess when there were millions of treasures in the world?

    ¡°Hmm, you have three chances. If you managed to guess correctly, I will consider telling you the answer. If not, then me yourself for not having the fate with the treasure,¡± said the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nonchntly.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, don¡¯t acquiesce to something after having refused someone¡¯s first overture!¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to pick a fight?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to fight with the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five but he definitely could not win with his injuries.

    He would only be tortured if he tried.

    ¡°What if I exchanged it with one of my wishes?¡± Fang Zhengzhi carefully pondered over it and decided to sacrifice one of his wishes.

    ¡°No.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shook his head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even exchange it with one wish?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat shocked. He had always thought that the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was behaving as such because he wanted to trick him to use up one of his wishes.

    However, it looked like it was not the case.

    ¡°This is the rule set by Emperor Huang. He said that if I am able to get out to the world, I can give the person who freed me three guesses. If the person manages to make the correct guess, I can give the person the treasure,¡± said the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five confidently before he paused and continued again, ¡°Of course you can exchange this with your three wishes.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood.

    The dragon was indeed ckmailing him. However, he was ckmailing him with not one but three wishes. What a cruel dragon.

    ¡°So what do you think about the intelligence of a dragon now?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five smiled and looked like he got Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    Indeed, the ancient saying went, it was not because one did not want to take revenge but rather because the opportunity was not ripe yet

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. The dragon was too sly. He went one whole round and his intention was to make an exchange with Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s three wishes.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi could not do anything to that dragon.

    Make a guess!

    He had three guesses!

    But what on earth was the treasure?

    ¡°Is it the Xuanyuan sword?¡± Fang Zhengzhi remembered that the most powerful weapon of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in the legends he had seen was the Xuanyuan sword.

    Therefore, it would be normal for the treasure to be the Xuanyuan Sword.

    As that was the answer Fang Zhengzhi was the surest about, he guessed it in the first try.

    ¡°Wrong.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shook his head and his smile widened as though he saw the light of victory. ¡°You still have two tries, treasure them!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi could only give the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five a middle finger and cursed him silently.

    It was not the Xuanyuan Sword!

    Then what else could be in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    Fang Zhengzhi turned around and looked at Wu Yuer. After all, she had some understanding of treasures.

    ¡°Give a suggestion?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I have no clue, but I think it¡¯s something very powerful. If not, this dragon would not ask to exchange for your three wishes so confidently,¡± said Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Thisssie is spot-on, this treasure is extraordinary. Fang Zhengzhi, even if you exchanged it for three wishes, it is worth it!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded immediately after hearing what Wu Yuer said.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    Only a fool would be willing to use three of his wishes to exchange for a treasure which he was about to get!

    The dragon was clearlypeting with him to see who was more patient.

    Fang Zhengzhi was almost confident that the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five would ignore the treasure and leave the tomb of the Emperor Huang Xuanyuan with him.

    He would definitely bring the treasure along.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that very well but he really could not do anything to the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five as, after all, he really had no patience to waste his time on the Golden Dragon who had guarded the area for thousands of years.

    He was still looking at Wu Yuer.

    However, Wu Yuer had shut up. That was the most she could think of and could not confirm what was the exact treasure.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless and turned to look at Ping Yang.

    Ping Tang looked extremely excited and her big clear eyes kept turning before she gave an answer, ¡°Ruyi Golden Cudgel, the one whose length could be changed!¡±

    ¡°What f*cking Cudgel, what f*cking Ruyi, what f*cking change of length?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi cursed right away, what kind of ridiculous answer was that?

    That was f*cking in the Journey to the West!

    Fang Zhengzhi did tell Ping Yang the story about Journey to the West but that waspletely unrted to the ancient era.

    It was something that took ce in another era.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the Ruyi Golden Cudgel? Then it must be the Golden hoop, the one on the neck. Yes... it must be the Golden hoop, the hoop must have used it to put around the neck of this dragon! Am I smart?¡± Ping Yang did not mind how Fang Zhengzhi cursed and continued in excitement.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Still not correct? Then it must be the armor? The golden invincible armor that could not be affected by water or fire. It should be simr to the scales on the dragon and is called the Dragon Armor, am I right?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°The Thunderbolt Spear which can control lightning and thunder and is extremely majestic...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped looking at Ping Yang. She was too unreliable, if he followed the way she guessed, he would have depleted his two chances immediately.

    Then, he would be left with exchanging the answer with his three wishes.

    Fang Zhengzhi was helpless and finally turned to Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu was definitely more reliable in terms of intelligence.

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu was extremely meticulous and noticed the minute details. Even Fang Zhengzhi was not as good as Yun Qingwu in this aspect.

    Since he was sure that it was the tomb of the Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and there was an extraordinary treasure in it, he could definitely try his luck.

    ¡°Are you trying to ask me for an answer?¡± Yun Qingwu understood what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about when she saw his gaze.

    ¡°We are now on the same team, that¡¯s what you said.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Still?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°You mean we are not anymore?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I really hope we are, but unfortunately... Nangong Mu had been defeated and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race are unable to defend themselves in front of you. The Monster Race and Demon Race had already lost and can no longer retreat, they are here for you to ughter as you wish. Therefore, you can kill me without any worries,¡± replied Yun Qingwu.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned. Then, he turned to look at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and saw terror in their eyes.

    Yes, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were terrified.

    Like what Yun Qingwu said, Fang Zhengzhi and the Human Alliance were at an absolute advantage now. The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race had no power to defend or counterattack if he wanted to kill them.

    However...

    Was it so easy to kill them?

    Fang Zhengzhi was not naive enough to believe that the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would stay on the spot and wait for the Human Alliance to carry out their massacre.

    Even an anxious rabbit would bite, arge number of troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would definitely do something.

    Although the Human Alliance had an absolute advantage, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race would definitely counterattack if they conducted a massacre.

    With the state that the Human Alliance was in, without the help of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, they would definitely lose to the powerful troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    If they were forced, the oue was obvious.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell silent. His wish was to defeat Yun Qingwu but it was really difficult to do so.

    ¡°I think we should talk about the treasure, how confident are you to make the correct guess?¡± Fang Zhengzhi decided to leave that matter aside as he was concerned about the treasure now.

    ¡°100 percent,¡± replied Yun Qingwu calmly.

    ¡°Can you don¡¯t pretend to be so confident?¡± Fang Zhengzhi scolded her in his heart before realizing that something was wrong. ¡°That sounds like my line?¡±

 Chapter 1041 - Taiyi Xuan Mark

    <h4>Chapter 1041: Taiyi Xuan Mark</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can make a guess yourself.¡± Yun Qingwu did not force him to believe her.

    Fang Zhengzhi fell silent. He knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s personality very well. If she was not fully confident, she would not have said that.

    Moreover, there was no point for her to lie to him now.

    That was because if Yun Qingwu¡¯s answer was wrong, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five would not deliver the treasure to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Tell me your term.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yun Qingwu would make a deal with him at this point in time as that was her principles all these while.

    ¡°Release them.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Release the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race?!¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t agree to Yun Qingwu¡¯s term!¡±

    The Human Alliance opposed immediately without waiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    ¡°All of the Monster Kings belong to the Human Alliance¡¯s control, you can decide to kill them or imprison them. The elders of the Demon Race will also give in and stop resisting,¡± said Yun Qingwu after hearing the Human Alliance.

    Mo Shanshi ad Mu Qingfeng exchanged gazes.

    The Monster Race and Demon Race was indeed a huge threat to the Human Alliance, however, it was a little cruel if they wanted the Monster Race and Demon Race to perishpletely.

    Everything in the world was alive.

    If things worked out ording to what Yun Qingwu had said, the powerful Monster Kings and elders of the Demon Race could be under their control, that was definitely the best solution.

    After all, humankind would be able to rule over the world and be unthreatened by others for a hundred years.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I think this term is eptable, but the Monster Race will have to return to the Great Swamp and the Demon Race will have to return to the Blood Shadow City, not to exit from the Blood Shadow City for at least a hundred years¡¯ time!¡± Mu Qingfeng signaled the Human Alliance to quieten down when Mo Shanshi nodded his head.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yun Qingwu agreed without hesitation as she did not have the position to argue about the terms. It was already pushing to the limits to request for the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race to live.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you pleading me to let you go?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and looked at the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. ¡°Anyway, you guys won¡¯t let me off.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Silence, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race fell silentpletely.

    They felt extremely sad. They lost, they lost once again. Moreover, they lost despite having an absolute advantage, they lost extremely indignantly.

    ¡°Sob... sob sob...¡± Sobs could be heard from the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Even the determined and strong demon troops felt sad at this moment.

    Yun Qingwu saved their lives.

    However, she was unable to save her own life and could only die in the hands of the Human Alliance. The demon troops were unable to save her and could only watch.

    ¡°Young lord!¡±

    ¡°Young Empress!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race fell to their knees and none of them looked up.

    The atmosphere was filled with sadness.

    However, very quickly, a few powerful Monster Kings walked out from the troops and made three kowtows to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Young Empress, we will bid you goodbye now!¡± After saying that, the Monster Kings were ready to kill themselves by breaking their Monster Pearls.

    However, at this moment, a beam of golden light shone amongst the Monster Kings and the Monster Kings who were ready tomit suicide were shaken off.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The voice of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was heard. He looked at the Monster Kings and said, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, during the times when Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were around, they did not even have the intention to kill the entire Monster Race and Demon Race. If you are willing to believe me, why not put me in control of these Monster Kings and I will bring them to the mountains to hide?¡±

    ¡°Bring them to the mountains to hide?¡±

    ¡°What if they decide to gather ande out again?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were extremely worried.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are the one who released Senior Xuanyuan Five, you have the final say.¡± Instead of making the decision on behalf of Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng gave the right to him.

    ¡°I think it is feasible.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    He could understand how Xuanyuan Five felt. Even though Xuanyuan Five was the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, he was counted as a monster.

    For the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to witness the deaths of the Monster Kings,it was a little cruel.

    It was not ridiculous to do Xuanyuan Five a favor.

    ¡°Thank you Senior Xuanyuan Five for helping us!¡± Yun Qingwu bowed to Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Don¡¯t need to thank me. Since you said you are able to guess correctly, then tell me your guess.¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shook his head to tell Yun Qingwu that she did not need to thank him.

    ¡°There is an extraordinary treasure in the ancient era that could allow one to traverse space. However, for some reason, it vanished long ago. Is my guess correct, senior Xuanyuan Five?¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and spoke.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned and golden light glistened from his eyes.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned as well, an extraordinary treasure that can allow one to traverse space?!

    Damn it!

    Could it be the Kunlun Mirror?!

    The Kunlun Mirror which is also one of the ten greatest ancient treasures just like the Xuanyuan Sword? Could there really be such a treasure in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    ¡°How did you guess that?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five finally regained his senses but had a look of disbelief.

    He did not even give any hints.

    Yet, Yun Qingwu managed to guess it correctly in one try, how could he not be shocked?

    ¡°It is very simple. The first stage of the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan is the illusionary state. There is the thick white haze that could dazzle one. From this, I can make some deductions,¡± replied Yun Qingwu calmly. She paused for a short while before continuing, ¡°However, there are a lot of treasures that could create the illusionary state, I may not be able to guess it in the first stage.¡±

    ¡°Continue,¡± rushed the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°However, there is something to look out for in the second stage. Nine ck metal chains connect to another world, and the world is an inverted world!¡± Yun Qingwu continued.

    ¡°Inverted world?!¡±

    ¡°Could that be...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance figured it out at this point in time.

    The world in the second stage was an inverted world. The mountains and waterfall were all hanging inverted from the sky and it was an amazing sight.

    Fang Zhengzhi also figured it out.

    Inverted world.

    It was actually a mirrored world.

    Amongst the ten greatest treasures of the ancient era, only the Kunlun Mirror had a mirrored world.

    However, why was Yun Qingwu so sure that the treasure in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was definitely one of the ten greatest treasures of the ancient era?

    ¡°Initially, I was not sure but senior Xuanyuan Five had said that the treasure was definitely worth more than three wishes, and the wishes that Xuanyuan Five was talking about must be extraordinary. Therefore, I decided to make a bold guess that it must be on par with the Xuanyuan Sword,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    Gasp!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance gasped.

    They had also been through the haze in the first round and the inverted world in the second round. However, they did not think about the problem involved.

    However, Yun Qingwu was able to use the clues in these rounds to deduce that there was an extraordinary treasure in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and deduce that the treasure was the Kunlun Mirror.

    It was too terrifying.

    The intelligence of the demoness was terrifying.

    ¡°Not bad,ssie, you are good. I am impressed by your intelligence. You are right, it is indeed the Kunlun Mirror. Lassie, do you want to hide in the forest with me, if so...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu must die!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we can¡¯t let this demoness live!¡±

    Before the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five finished his sentence, the Human Alliance exploded.

    Yun Qingwu was way too terrifying. She would be a great treat if they let her live, a bigger threat than any other Monster Kings.

    After all, better an open enemy than a false friend, an open foe may prove a curse but a pretend friend is even worse.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s presence made it uneasy for the Human Alliance to fall asleep.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, regarding Yun Qingwu, we hope that...¡± Mu Qingfeng spoke and expressed concerns in his tone.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®hope¡¯, we want to make it clear that we cannot let Yun Qingwu live.¡± Mo Shanshi was more straightforward.

    Fang Zhengzhi kept silent again.

    Like what the Human Alliance was fearful of, Yun Qingwu was way too terrifying and had extremely high intelligence. Moreover, she was so meticulous that it sent chills down one¡¯s back.

    Kill her?

    ¡°Shameless brat, don¡¯t tell me you are in love with this demoness? She is a demon, no, she is a monster and demon!¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°Sister Ping Yang, you are over-worried. Zhengzhi knows that, he will not forgive her.¡± The implied meaning behind Wu Yuer¡¯s words was obvious.

    ¡°Haha... What are you talking about? I am a kid, I don¡¯t understand you at all.¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed before pointing at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. ¡°Xuanyuan Five, I have guessed it, so take out the Kunlun Mirror now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I mean my words. However, a part of this ce is supported by the Kunlun Mirror, once I take it out, there may be some changes. It is the best if you make a decision on where you want to go after this as you can only use the Kunlun Mirror once in a month,¡± reminded the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°I can only use the Kunlun Mirror once in a month? What kind of treasure is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    ¡°Kiddie, don¡¯t be greedy. How will a treasure that is used to traverse space be ordinary? You can take hundreds of thousands of soldiers to all around the world in a split second, how can¡¯t this be called the extraordinary treasure?¡±

    ¡°Now that you say it, yes it can.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    After giving it some serious thoughts, the Kunlun Mirror was indeed extraordinary. It could bring hundreds of thousands of soldiers to anywhere around the world. Just thinking about this made one terrified.

    Especially on a battlefield.

    One was fighting a battle when one suddenly realized that a troop descended from the sky and took over the ce. This would be extremely terrifying.

    So here came the question...

    Where should he go?

    To the Northern Mountain Vige? To see his parents?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that it was a good idea but felt that it may not be a good one after some consideration as, after all, it would be terrifying for therge number of soldiers to appear at the Northern Mountain Vige.

    Disregarding the fact that they may crush the nts there, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was a little difficult to manage.

    If they suddenly lost control and began to massacre in the Northern Mountain Vige, that would be terrifying.

    He couldn¡¯t go to the Northern Mountain Vige!

    Then where else could he go?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Ling Xiao Mountain. It is the Human Alliance¡¯s territory, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race can¡¯t do anything funny there.¡± Mu Qingfeng figured out what Fang Zhengzhi was worried about and gave him a suggestion.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s go to the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Heaven Zen Mountain?! There is... Alright, let¡¯s go to the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were stunned but they soon figured out the reason behind Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s decision.

    It was not a random decision.

    Heaven Zen Mountain!

    The ce where the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons were opened.

    Now, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race was in his control and with Yun Qingwu, even if Monster Emperor Baizhi was on the Heaven Zen Mountain, she would be like a ¡°wild flower¡± on the road.

    He could do anything to her.

    Everything would end if he managed to close the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, use the Kunlun Mirror to send us to the Heaven Zen Mountain, I want to end this battle now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi said firmly after making up his mind.

    ¡°Heaven Zen Mountain? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I am sure.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Heaven Zen Mountain it is. I haven¡¯t been there in ages, I can finally take a good look at the real flowers and trees and smell the fragrance of the flowers. Oh, how is the scenery there?¡±

    ¡°Extremely stunning!¡±

    ¡°Kiddie, you are good at picking the venue, I am impressed.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five rejoiced as he waved his dragon ws in front of him before a violent vibration was made to space.

    Rumble!

    The ground shook rapidly. Instead of cracking open, one could see the floor changing continuously and the rocks reformed as though they were in a dreamy state.

    At this moment, a crack formed in front of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    It had a beam of golden light in it.

    The Golden light seeped out from the space like a stream of the river that slowly umted and formed a clear ancient mirror.

    The ancient mirror was golden and there were extremelyplicated patterns on it. The front was a mirror while the back was a pattern that was extremely weird but unique.

    ¡°So this is the Taiyi Xuan Mark on the Kunlun Mirror?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shockd as the Taiyi Xuan Mark seemed to carry a special aura that triggered his Origin Energy and made him feel as though he was bathing in a golden sea. He felt extremelyfortable.

    ¡°Oof...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that his internal injuries were healing at an extremely fast speed. ¡°It is indeed the greatest treasure of the ancient era. I wonder if Monster Emperor Baizhi would piss herself when she sees Xuanyuan Five and me appear on the Heaven Zen Mountain?¡±

 Chapter 1042 - How Thrilling, The Four Ancient Beasts Glanced Back!

    <h4>Chapter 1042: How Thrilling, The Four Ancient Beasts nced Back!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, who was once the most powerful in the Holy Region.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi no longer viewed her as a threat as he was powerful enough to kill Godly State experts now.

    A Nine-Tailed White Fox who had yet entered the Godly State...

    He really did not bother about her.

    He would have gone to the Heaven Zen Mountain and cut off a fox tail to use as his scarf if he had not been concerned about the Godly State experts.

    ¡°Hmm... nine tails, does that mean I can make nine scarfs?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that his n was entirely feasible and the thought of it made him slightly excited.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five said as he picked up Nangong Mu who was unconscious from the ground.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Swoosh!

    Golden radiance bloomed and turned into a gigantic light screen, surrounding Fang Zhengzhi, the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race immediately.

    Kunlun Mirror, one of the ten greatest treasures of the ancient era!

    Fang Zhengzhi finally felt how powerful it was. The warmth eased his breath.

    Traverse through space while breathing with ease.

    Buzz!

    A sound that shook the world was heard. Then, Fang Zhengzhi felt Ping Yang¡¯s hand on his hand as though she was slightly nervous.

    Then, Wu Yuer gripped his hand too.

    Yun Qingwu, on the other hand, was not too nervous. She stood calmly on the spot and waited for the golden light to surround her.

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    Yun Qingwu was indeed good at acting!

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi, I aming for revenge!¡± Fang Zhengzhi yelled silently in his heart before the surroundings became blurry and twisted.

    It was as though he had entered another dimension.

    Although he was still able to breathe easily, he felt an extreme sense of loss of gravity which was much more intense than that of flying at an extremely high speed.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi realized that everything around him turned to pitch ck. He almost thought he had fainted if he had not felt the warmth from Ping Yang and Wu Yuer¡¯s hands.

    Loss of gravity.

    Pitch dark.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely not used to it. Therefore, he stretched out his hand and touched something soft.

    Eh?

    What was that?!

    At this moment, the surroundings gradually brightened and blurry images formed.

    ¡°Shameless brat, let go of me!¡± A voice was heard beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Uh? Ping Yang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. Then, it struck him that he had touched Ping Yang earlier on.

    What a sin!

    Wu Yuer, Ping Yang and Yun Qingwu were all beside him and he touched Ping Yang? She was a girl who just hit puberty and was like a small apple which was not fully grown yet.

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Fang Zhengzhi blushed and released his hands immediately. Then, he looked up and changed the topic. ¡°Baizhi, I am here,e out and face your death!¡±

    ¡°Face your death...¡±

    ¡°... death!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    His arrogant voice echoed in the air.

    The surroundings becamepletely clear. There were three gigantic Gates of God above him, two were open and one was closed, each exuding an ancient aura.

    Heaven Zen Mountain.

    It must be right.

    They had really reached the Heaven Zen Mountain directly. The Kunlun Mirror was indeed...

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exim and praise the user-friendliness of the treasure. With it, he would be able to make a sudden appearance in front of his enemy and scare the hell out of him.

    However, before he could say that, he was stopped.

    Gulp! Fang Zhengzhi swallowed his saliva and his eyes widened when he saw the few gigantic and terrifying figures ahead of him.

    What kind of terrifying monsters was that?

    Their gigantic body frames were even taller than a mountain. They looked down at him from the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Moreover...

    There was a gigantic and terrifying ck body beneath the gigantic beast¡¯s front w. The body was covered in scales.

    Moreover, there were ws at the bottom of the ck body¡¯s stomach. They were the same four dragon ws as the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the beast.

    Meanwhile, the beast also looked down at Fang Zhengzhi. There was a strange emotional exchange going on as their gazes met.

    Sparks were created.

    Chills went down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spine.

    He was educated and was extremely familiar with a book he had read in the past world.

    ¡°Sea and Mountain Scripture¡±, a famous book that recorded the various Godly beasts and mountains in the legends. One of the records included something simr to the body beneath the beast¡¯s feet.

    A ck dragon.

    He had white bones on his dragon scales. His name was Candle Dragon, or the Torch Dragon, and he had a third eye.

    He was extremely terrifying.

    He could be said to be the representative of cruelty and violence.

    So thrilling from the start? The Candle Dragon was dead?!

    The beast in front of him had the figure of a ferocious tiger and was covered with red fur and me-like scales. There was also a pair of bony wings behind his back.

    He f*cking looked like...

    Qiong Qi!

    In reality, Fang Zhengzhi was initially not certain that the beast in front of him was Qiong Qi, the legendary ancient Godly Beast and one of the four ancient beasts.

    However, if there were three identical beasts standing behind this beast, what else could he say?

    Even if he did not want to admit it, it was undeniable!

    Therefore, the beast who looked like a sheep was the legendary Tao Tie [1. a creature of Chinese mythology that feasted on other creatures]? The beast with dog-like fur and two fangs was Tao Wu?

    Lastly, the beast who looked like a gigantic meatball was Hun Dun?

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that a right amount of excitement could ease blood flow but anything too intense would probably trigger a heart attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he was having a heart attack.

    Then, he realized that there was a familiar figure near him. She was wearing a pink dress and the dress was stained with blood.

    Chi Guyan?!

    ¡°Ah, what¡¯s this?!¡±

    ¡°Could... could this... this be...¡±

    ¡°The four beasts?! The four ancient beasts!¡±

    ¡°Ah... how can this be possible? Such beasts really exist!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi was suffering from shock, the disciples of the Human Alliance started screaming, or rather, squealing from horror.

    They hade with an idealistic hope.

    They thought that when they reached the Heaven Zen Mountain they would be able to show their prowess and have the final battle with the monsters and demons. They thought they could kill the remaining troop led by Monster Emperor Baizhi and make a huge aplishment.

    However, they saw four gigantic beasts standing in front of them the moment they reached the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Moreover, these four gigantic beasts were the legendary four beasts of the ancient era. What kind of emotional trauma was that?

    The Human Alliance were stunned.

    Besides them, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were also stunned. They looked at the four beasts of the ancient era with their mouths agape.

    The four ancient beasts.

    They descended to this world?!

    ¡°Shameless thief?¡± Chi Guyan looked extremely shocked as well. She never expected Fang Zhengzhi to appear out of nowhere.

    Moreover, he had brought along the entire Human Alliance behind him.

    And...

    The countless troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    What was going on?

    Even someone as intelligent as Chi Guyan could not figure out what exactly happened. However, it was undeniable that Fang Zhengzhi was there.

    ¡°How did you guys... take such a short time to reach?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, why did we take such a short time to reach? Why didn¡¯t we go somewhere else?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and looked at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five behind him.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five kept silent.

    ¡°Hahaha... It came really quickly, right, my old friend? Xuanyuan Five!¡± said Qiong Qi with a surprised tone as he stepped on the body of the Candle Dragon.

    He was indeed surprised.

    Of course, he was not surprised because he saw Fang Zhengzhi and the Human Alliance troops but rather because he saw a familiar face of a friend.

    There was a Golden Dragon who was radiating golden radiance behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    His friend in the ancient battlefield.

    ¡°You... why aren¡¯t you all dead yet?!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked at the four beasts and looked emotionally-unstable.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, how will we die if an old brat like you is not dead yet?¡± Tao Tie said and exuded a bloody aura as he spoke.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Hun Dun nodded with the only head he had.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Tao Wu wasughing with his mouth wide open. The fangs which looked like that of a wild boar¡¯s had fluid dripping down them and loud booms were heard as they dripped onto the ground.

    ¡°I was initially nning to admire the scenery but now...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked at Fang Zhengzhi and wanted to say, ¡°Brat, you are really good at picking the spot.¡±

    However, he did not say it out.

    That was because he needed his reputation!

    Of course, forgetting his reputation, there were those whom he was afraid of, or rather those whom he did not want to see in this world. Those referred to the four beasts in front of him.

    One of them was able to cause a major disruption.

    World peace would be lost with the four of them.

    ¡°The scenery here doesn¡¯t deserve your admiration?¡± Qiong Qi opened his mouth and flung the Candle Dragon from the ground to the floor behind him.

    ¡°Growl!¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Tao Tie and Hun Dun continuously gnawed at the Candle Dragon¡¯s body and in a split second, half of his gigantic body had been swallowed.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race widened their eyes and chills went down their backs.

    ¡°The four ancient beasts!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard and a figure wearing ck cloak got up from the ground. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the four beasts to descend... I am... really... surprised!¡±

    ¡°Pee in your pants <sup>1</sup> ?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to flee initially but could not resist the urge to turn over and saw an old man with his face like an ancient tree trunk. ¡°Who are you, Uncle? Why did youe to the peak of the Heaven Zen Mountain, it is very dangerous here, go somewhere else if you are harvesting herbs.¡±

    ¡°Uncle?¡± Meng Tian was shocked by this term and looked at Fang Zhengzhi closely before asking, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Who am I?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised, the uncle in front of him did not know who he was? That was surprising. ¡°Will you believe me if I say I am Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to fool the old man.

    After all, Meng Tian¡¯s name was rather useful.

    ¡°You are Meng Tian? Then who am I?¡± Meng Tian was stunned again before he ced his Traceless sword in his hands in front of him.

    ¡°Unless you are Meng... Eh? Traceless Sword?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to continue before he saw the Traceless Sword in Meng Tian¡¯s hand.

    He immediately thought that the old man had snatched his treasure away from him.

    Then, he was about to snatch it back.

    Then...

    He felt that something was amiss.

    Wait a minute!

    How could the Traceless Sword be used by someone else? He had definitely instructed ¡®Qing Yi¡¯ to be in charge of the Traceless Sword. Unless ¡®Qing Yi¡±s real identity was an old man?

    No, wait a minute!

    How could an adorable young girl be an old man? Moreover, the old man had said earlier on ¡®If you are Meng Tian, then who am I?¡¯

    ¡°F*ck, you are Meng Tian?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized something was wrong.

    ¡°Yes, are you Fang Zhengzhi?¡± Meng Tian nodded.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    Apart from him, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi as well as Yan Xiu, Wu Yuer and Ping Yang, and even Yun Qingwu looked at Meng Tian in astonishment.

    Meng Tian came back to life.

    Oh my goodness!

    ¡°You are really Fang Zhengzhi? Not bad, young and aplished,e, flee with me!¡± After confirming Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s identity, Meng Tian raised his sword and fled without hesitation.

    ¡°...¡±

    What was happening?

    The legendary Sagely Battle God Meng Tian...

    He fled?!

    ¡°He is really the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡± Yan Qianli was a soldier who heard the legend about Meng Tian since he was young.

    How could he believe that?

    ¡°Grandfather, you don¡¯t think so? However, he is holding Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword...¡± Yan Xiu also did not believe it but Meng Tian was really holding onto the Traceless Sword.

 Chapter 1043 - Combination of the Man and the Sword, a Cheap Person!

    <h4>Chapter 1043: Combination of the Man and the Sword, a Cheap Person!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°He is indeed Senior Meng Tian!¡± said Chi Guyan. She knew that it was hard for one to believe as she felt the same as Yan Xiu and the rest.

    Sagely Battle God Meng Tian did not die.

    How unbelievable was that?

    ¡°Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°He is the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Oh my goodness, Sagely Battle God Meng Tian is really not dead?!¡±

    ¡°But why is he fleeing?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance confirmed the real identity of the old man in front of them after hearing what Chi Guyan said. However, there was one thing they did not understand.

    Since he was the Sagely Battle God...

    Why did he flee?

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly speechless. He felt that he should be the first person to flee. How could Meng Tian flee before him?

    For a moment, he could not understand what happened but he was intelligent enough to figure it out quickly.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, hold on, I brought over a dragon, the number one Godly Beast of ancient times, the Five-wed Golden Dragon, he is very powerful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted at Meng Tian.

    ¡°Number one Godly Beast of ancient times, the Five-wed Golden Dragon?¡± Meng Tian stopped and looked behind. ¡°Oh? He is indeed a golden dragon!¡±

    ¡°Of course, a dragon versus the four beasts, he will definitely win. Now let¡¯s just sit back and enjoy the show,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi confidently.

    He trusted the capability of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five very well.

    After all, he was owned by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    How could the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era be weak?

    He was on par with Nangong Mu who had the fruit of the Tree of God. Even though the four Godly Beasts of the ancient era had incredible titles, they were not very powerful after all.

    Fang Zhengzhi believed that in the scenario of one versus one, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five could easily win one of the four ancient beasts. He should be at an advantage even he was fighting one against four.

    Moreover, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not flee after seeing the four ancient beasts.

    This made him even more certain.

    ¡°Right, Xuanyuan Five? ... Eh?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around to look at Xuanyuan Five but realized that he had disappeared.

    Uh!

    Where did he go?

    Fang Zhengzhi was about to speak before he realized that there was a beam of golden light zooming past at a distance away. It was extremely fast like a racing horse.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Meng Tian, Fang Zhengzhi, as well as Ping Tang, Wu Yuer, Yan Xiu and the rest, stared at the golden light with their mouths agape.

    F*ck?!

    Xuanyuan Five, the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, fled!

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, you traitor, where are you fleeing to!¡± As Qiong Qi spoke, he began to move. He squatted deeply before he leaped.

    The entire ground copsed.

    Boom!

    Then, the red radiance shone at a distance extremely far away. His leap was faster than the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and he blocked the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    The other three beasts also moved.

    Each of them disappeared in a split second like a faint shadow and appeared at the position where the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was. The four beasts surrounded the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Why do this? Both born of the same root, why torment each other so cruelly?¡± The expression of the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five changed immediately. The clouds surrounding him tumbled as he looked at the four beasts who surrounded him.

    ¡°When old friends reunite, shouldn¡¯t we spend some time to catch up?¡± Qiong Qi stepped on the ground with his front w and the ground split open. Beams of ghostly red radiance surged out from the ground and wound around his body, causing his red scales and fur to slowly turn clear.

    Meanwhile, as the ghostly radiance appeared, the expressions of the disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race who were ¡°enjoying the show¡± changed gradually.

    Their expressions changed from one of astonishment to frustration.

    Each of their eyes started to turn blood-red and grievances could be felt in their eyes. They looked as if they were extremely emotionally-unstable.

    ¡°It is the fury of hatred!¡± Chi Guyan was astonished when she saw this. She reactedpletely differently from her usual calm self.

    ¡°Fury of hatred?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook.

    He knew a little about Qiong Qi. The book recorded that Qiong Qi liked the evil and disliked the good. He would kill the good people whenever he witnessed a fight.

    People knew him as one who punished the good and rewarded the evil. Therefore, he was called one of the four beasts.

    These were recorded in the books of the legends. However, Fang Zhengzhi did not expect a powerful hatred mindset to be ingrained in Qiong Qi.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Attack, all of you have to die!¡±

    ¡°Blood... I want blood...¡±

    The voices of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were heard.

    Under the influence of the fury of hatred, their personalities changed rapidly and were taken over by the fury of hatred. They lost control and started to attack the people around them mercilessly.

    sh!

    sh!

    ¡°...¡±

    As the massacre began, blood st across the sky and the fury of hatred became more intense.

    The stranger thing was that the radiance on Qiong Qi¡¯s body became more intense and his power seemed to have increased with the radiance.

    ¡°How terrifying. He could control one¡¯s state of mind, how to kill him? One can¡¯t even get close to him?¡± Ping Yang had always been someone who loved to watch the scene of bustle.

    However, when she saw the fury of hatred and the massacre of the Human Alliance, her expression changed gradually.

    Qiong Qi, one of the four ancient beasts, was able to control one¡¯s state of mind.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also stunned. Qiong Qi alone was so difficult to be dealt with as he could control the states of mind of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    If they counted in the other three beasts...

    It was beyond imagination.

    ¡°What should we do? Shameless brat, even this dragon is fleeing, shouldn¡¯t we flee too?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for him to make a decision.

    Wu Yuer looked at Fang Zhengzhi too.

    Yan Xiu, Yan Qianli, Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng as well.

    Although their states of mind were more firm than the ordinary disciples and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race and was not affected by the fury of hatred yet, they knew that as the fury of hatred umted, the Heaven Zen Mountain would soon turn into and of massacre with piles of bodies and pools of blood.

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Can¡¯t leave?¡± Ping Yang was evidently shocked because she had always thought that Fang Zhengzhi was very decisive.

    Especially when it came to fleeing.

    He was always the first to flee.

    However, this time, Meng Tian fled first, followed by the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    Although they did not leave eventually, both the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Meng Tian had the intention to retreat.

    Yet Fang Zhengzhi said not to leave?

    That was so unbelievable.

    ¡°If we leave, this ce will definitely end up in a sea of blood, hence, we can¡¯t leave. We have to kill them before they be powerful. Or else, as their powers grow, we will lose control over them.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists and looked determined.

    The four ancient beasts.

    How powerful and terrifying were they?

    Qiong Qi loved the evil and hated the good, Tao Tie liked to feast, Hun Dun liked to kill and Tao Wu had a strange personality and was emotionally unstable. All four beasts were the root cause of evil deeds.

    ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t leave!¡± Chi Guyan nodded and walked beside Fang Zhengzhi. She touched Ping Yang¡¯s hair with a determined look.

    ¡°Yes, we have to kill the four beasts!¡± Even Wu Yuer had a determined look in her ck eyes.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, we are on the same team!¡± Yan Xiu stood beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hahaha... Since all of you choose to fight, I, Yan Qianli will join too!¡± Yan Qianli stood beside Yan Xiu too.

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded.

    ¡°Old man Mu, you are finally rash, for once, hahaha...¡± Mo Shanshi stood out and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Brat, I had never judged someone wrongly but today I have to admit that I judged you wrongly. You are more righteous than anyone else!¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat, I also want to join, I am not afraid of these four beasts. Even if I have to die, I want to die with you and sister Guyan!¡± Ping Yang became calm again and her eyes lit up as she had a determined look on her face.

    ¡°Fight together!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Fight together!¡±

    ¡°Fight together!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone replied in unison.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi? Interesting, Sagely Heaven... You didn¡¯t choose the wrong person!¡± Meng Tian looked at his Traceless Sword slowly and said, ¡°I always thought that I will be needed for this battle. Where¡¯s there¡¯s life there¡¯s hope, but now it looks like each generation is better than the previous!¡±

    Humm! The Traceless Sword made a clear whistle.

    Meng Tian smiled.

    He smiled rather wildly. Unlike earlier on, his gaze became sharp and the sharpness was even stronger than the Traceless Sword in his hand.

    ¡°Since we are at this sage, Sagely Heaven, go ahead!¡± Meng Tian threw his Traceless Sword.

    Swoosh!

    The shadow of the sword flew past the sky.

    The Traceless Sword reached Fang Zhengzhi and floated quietly with purple radiance flowing on it like fresh blood.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Traceless Sword in front of him before turning to Meng Tian who was at a distance.

    ¡°From now, the title of the Sagely Battle God belongs to you. I will help you with five minutes. Since all of you are taking on the battle, I will fight with you!¡±

    ¡°You are not leaving?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... I was kidding!¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, you are just showing your own personality.¡±

    ¡°No, I just left first because I knew that you will leave as I saw you before in the World of the Sage!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned before a scene shed across his mind.

    During the Imperial Examinations, he had passed several rounds consecutively. In thest round, he once met a mysterious middle-aged man.

    Could that be Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian?!

    Meng Tian...

    He was always in the World of the Sage!

    He did not die nore back to life. Instead, he had always been trapped in the World of the Sage and was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Small Dimension?!

    Boom! An explosion was heard.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the origin of the explosion and he saw Meng Tian glowing with radiance.

    The old and dried skin started to peel.

    Crack!

    Meng Tian¡¯s bones began to grow and the skin on his face regenerated and became clear. Eventually, it was as though he had shed ayer of skin.

    The middle-aged man!

    The middle-aged man in the World of the Sage.

    Firm,posed, with a gaze as sharp as the sword.

    ¡°Five minutes, because... I can onlyst for so long!¡± Meng Tian roared before he charged towards Qiong Qi.

    Swoosh!

    It was a stream of light like the sword light.

    He turned into a sword!

    Meng Tian¡¯s body became a real sword, crystal-clear, bright, gigantic, unbeatable.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    He suddenly recalled a legend about the highest state of the sword technique.

    Combination of the man and the sword.

    This person was called the cheap <sup>1</sup> ... oh no, the sword man!

    Roar! Qiong Qi was stunned when he saw the sword approaching him as he had never treated the ant-like humans seriously.

    He only treated the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five seriously.

    However, he did not expect Meng Tian to be the first person to attack him.

    Moreover, he chose him out of the four beasts?

    The hunter will shoot the bird that sticks out!

    ¡°Scram!¡± Qiong Qi raised his w and pped the body of Meng Tian. He wanted to crush him like how he did to the Candle Dragon.

    However, what surprised him was...

    When he stepped on Meng Tian, the gigantic sword which Meng Tian had turned into suddenly ¡°disintegrated¡± and turned into thousands of spots of light.

    Then, the spots of light brushed past Qiong Qi¡¯s front w.

    They umted on Qiong Qi¡¯s neck.

    Swoosh!

    They turned into a gigantic sword again!

    ¡°So impressive!¡±

    ¡°Is he going to stab him?!¡±

    ¡°Killing in one strike of the sword? Is that Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?!¡±

    The clear-minded people started to be hopeful as they witnessed this.

    Meng Tian dodged the attack of Qiong Qi and turned into a sword before appearing on his throat. If he managed to stab Qiong Qi, he would definitely be severely injured.

    Everyone was extremely excited.

    However, at this moment, there was a turn of event.

    Qiong Qi, who was initially as tall as a mountain, suddenly vanished and before they knew, a beam of red radiance struck on Meng Tian who had turned into a sword.

    Bam! The body of the sword broke apart.

    Meng Tian fell on the ground with a pale face. A beast which was less than two meters long stepped on his body.

    It was none other than Qiong Qi.

    However, it was a mini Qiong Qi.

    ¡°Five minutes? How can you, an ant, do that?¡± The mini Qiong Qi looked at Meng Tian and lifted him up as he flung Meng Tian towards Tao Tie and Hun Dun.

 Chapter 1044 - The Real Owner of the Traceless Sword

    <h4>Chapter 1044: The Real Owner of the Traceless Sword</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance shouted uncontrobly when they saw this as they saw how Tao Tie and Hun Dun swallowed the Candle Dragon.

    Was Sagely Battle God Meng Tian going to die?

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were extremely saddened. They knew that the four beasts were terrifying but they did not expect them to be so terrifying.

    It merely took one strike...

    And the respected Sagely Battle God Meng Tian was defeated?!

    ¡°Ants?! How can a son of a bitch like you call me an ant!¡± At this moment, Meng Tian¡¯s voice was heard in midair.

    He disappeared.

    Then, countless sword radiance came striking from the sky and covered the body of Qiong Qi like raindrops. Every single sword radiance was extremely chilling.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Qiong Qi was slightly shocked as he had already stepped on Meng Tian. An ordinary human would not be able to defend that attack.

    Even someone as powerful as Candle Dragon could not defend his attack.

    How could a human defend that?

    Qiong Qi could not believe it but there was indeed a sword radiance in front of him.Meng Tian did not die, the sword radiance prated Qiong Qi¡¯s entire body as theynded from the sky.

    ¡°Humankind, you have infuriated me!¡±

    Boom!

    With the ferocious roar of Qiong Qi, countless small rocks flew at the sword radiance. At the same time, Qiong Qi moved.

    He turned into a beam of red light and charged towards the sword radiance in the sky.

    ¡°Roar! Qiong Qi, did you just neglect my presence?!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared as Qiong Qi flew to the sky.

    In a blink of an eye, the red light was surrounded by golden radiance.

    Evidently, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five attacked.

    After Meng Tian attacked, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five also attacked. He no longer had the intention to flee and turned into thousands of beams of golden light that were surrounded by haze.

    ¡°Do you guys think that Qiong Qi can defeat both Xuanyuan Five and this human?¡± Tao Tie licked his lips as he looked at the sword radiance and golden light in the sky, seemingly disappointed because he did not get to feast on blood and flesh.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Xuanyuan Five is not easy to deal with. If not for him, why would we end up like this?¡± Hun Dun opened his mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. You guys figure out what to do ordingly, if you want to feast, go ahead, I will not do anything that doesn¡¯t bring me advantages.¡± Tao Wu shook his head.

    Evidently, he was more stubborn.

    Amongst the four beasts, Tao Wu¡¯s character was the strangest, he was emotionally unstable and nobody could read his mind or figure out whose side he would stand on.

    ¡°Big Head, what¡¯s your thoughts?¡± Tao Tie was not surprised by Tao Wu¡¯s response. He turned to Hun Dun and asked for his opinion.

    ¡°I will swallow you if you dare to call me Big Head again!¡± Hun Dun was annoyed.

    ¡°Then what about Small Head?¡±

    ¡°Bitch, do you want to die?¡±

    Roar!

    Roar!

    ¡°...¡±

    As everyone looked in astonishment, Hun Dun began to attack Tao Tie. He opened his gigantic mouth and was about to swallow Tao Tie.

    That was really strange.

    Moreover, Tao Tie fought back. Both beasts who were as gigantic as mountains started to fight as the ground cracked due to the immense force.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race watched this scene speechlessly.

    The four beasts had an internal fight?

    What was going on?

    Everyone was extremely confused but the fight between Tao Tie and Hun Dun was too violent and they looked as if they were ready to kill each other.

    It was too strange.

    ¡°No wonder they are the four beasts, they behave so strangely!¡±

    ¡°Exactly, but this greatly reduces the pressure on Senior Meng Tian.¡±

    ¡°Yes, if Xuanyuan Five and Meng Tian fought against Qiong Qi, we may have hope of winning. Let¡¯s hope the four beasts would get injured!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were not confused but instead felt happy because the internal fight amongst the four beasts could turn out to be something good.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, watch out!¡± Just as everyone thought the battle would progress to a positive oue, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard.

    At this moment, everyone widened their eyes in shock.

    That was because Tao Wu had attacked!

    Just as everyone thought that Tao Wu would not attack, he charged towards the Xuanyuan Five and Qiong Qi in the sky at a terrifying speed.

    Then, Tao Tie and Hun Dun followed suit.

    The two beasts who were fighting against each other also charged towards Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Scheme?!¡±

    ¡°It is a scheme?!¡±

    Everyone regained their senses when they saw this.

    However, it was toote as the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was not prepared when the beasts charged towards him.

    Boom!

    Then, a bloody mist was spat andnded from the sky. It bloomed like flowers before it wilted and fell gradually onto the ground.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five is injured!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone¡¯s heart sank.

    However, they soon realized that Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was not injured and was still fighting against Qiong Qi. Meanwhile, there was a figure in front of the other three beasts.

    Sagely Battle God, Meng Tian!

    His ck cloak was torn apart and his muscles were exposed. His flesh and bones were also seen due to the wound caused by the ws.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian blocked the attack!¡±

    ¡°How powerful, he managed to block thebined attack of the three beasts?!¡±

    Everyone was stunned. It was Meng Tian who blocked the attack of the three beasts. This sounded unbelievable but was the reality.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Is this your first time seeing a powerful man like me? I said five minutes and I mean it!¡± Meng Tian spat at the three beasts in front of him with blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°...¡±

    Astonishment, followed by cheers!

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Sagely Battle God, our Sagely Battle God!¡±

    ¡°He is a powerful human, the best of all the powerful people!¡±

    Everyone knew that Meng Tian would not be able to defeat the three beasts but his charisma was enough for all the humans to cheer for him.

    Meng Tian.

    The most powerful person who charged into the Blood Shadow City of the Demon Race with his spear and horse and severed the head of Demon Lord Si Kong, he was still ferocious

    Passionate and raging excitement...

    Countless different emotions were aroused in the disciples of the Human Alliance. It even caused some of the disciples who were influenced by the fury of hatred to regain consciousness.

    Righteousness could kill the evil!

    If everyone was raging with passion, the power of hatred would diminish and would not be sufficient to control a human¡¯s state of mind.

    Meng Tian changed the situation with his attack and spurred the excitement amongst the humans.

    ¡°Come, sons of bitches, I will like to see how you kill me!¡± Meng Tian attacked after he said this.

    He did not wait or retreat.

    Instead, he charged towards the three beasts and attacked the three beasts alone.

    ¡°Oh my goodness, Senior Meng Tian charged towards them!¡±

    ¡°He wants to fight against the three ancient beasts alone!¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°I want to help him, even if I die, I want to die with Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    The Human Alliance exploded in action. Sword radiance could be seen as the disciples pulled out their weapons and waved their swords at the three beasts.

    ¡°You are Meng Tian? Then I will kill you first!¡± Tao Tie was infuriated.

    They had always targeted the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five but they did not expect their perfect n to be disrupted by Meng Tian.

    ¡°I want to swallow him!¡±

    ¡°You two attack first, let me take a quick nap.¡± Tao Wu lied down and slept. He was not infuriated because of Meng Tian and instead fell on the ground.

    He actually slept.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance was speechless.

    How strange was Tao Wu? He did not feel angry when he was supposed to, yet when he was not supposed to attack, he was the first to attack, yet when he was supposed to attack, he began to sleep.

    Thunder, please struck this strange son of a bitch!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Tao Tie and Hun Dun were fighting with Meng Tian in the sky.

    Meanwhile, on the ground, Tao Wu was sleeping soundly. He opened his mouth and drooled in his sleep.

    ¡°Shameless thief.¡± At this moment, a pink shadow came beside Fang Zhengzhi and held his hand.

    Her hand was warm, smooth and soft.

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to the pink figure and instantly, he felt the fusion of their powers like the fusion of Yin and Yang.

    A cycle passed and he felt as though he saw everything that happened in the Heaven Zen Mountain again.

    This was the birth of Yin Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi had always thought that Chi Guyan was still unconscious in the Northern Mountain Vige and did not expect her to reach the Heaven Zen Mountain before him.

    Moreover, she experienced a series of battles.

    She severed one of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s fox tail? She had already progressed to the Sagely state and killed three Godly State experts consecutively?

    This girl was indeed as fierce as she was in the past!

    Candle Dragon...

    Four ancient beasts...

    Fang Zhengzhi could feel the message Chi Guyan sent him. Simrly? He could feel what Chi Guyan wanted to tell him. Moreover, when both their powers fused together, a strong warmth was felt in his body and made him feel as if he was soaking in a hot spring.

    ¡°You are injured?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked into Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes and asked without speaking.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Chi Guyan nodded her head slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s why I came here.¡±

    ¡°You are not polite at all.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan meant. She meant ¡®I am going to make use of your hand to cure my injury.¡¯

    ¡°Do I need to be polite?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t.¡±

    They were exchanging thoughts as their energy continued in a cycle in their bodies as they healed each other¡¯s injuries through the flow of Yin Yang.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu suddenly fell to her knees. Evidently, she noticed the injuries on Monster Emperor Baizhi and her eight tails.

    ¡°Mother!¡±

    ¡°Qingwu, you...¡±

    ¡°Who hurt you? Your tail!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi moved her lips before looking at Chi Guyan who was beside Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she turned to Qiong Qi and said, ¡°It¡¯s the four ancient beasts, they hurt me!¡±

    ¡°These beasts?!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook and was evidently surprised as she saw the gaze that Monster Emperor Baizhi gave Cui Guyan.

    She looked at Chi Guyan with a sense of frustration and hatred.

    However, Monster Emperor Baizhi said the four beasts were the ones who severed her tail. This made Yun Qingwu confused but she figured it out quickly.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was protecting her!

    Her mother did not want to show hatred to Chi Guyan?

    That was right...

    She was a servant and someone who was about to die. The four beasts were extremely powerful and would definitely not allow her to mess around with them.

    Indeed, everything was a futile attempt?

    Yun Qingwu lowered her head and her white hair flew in the strong wind. She gradually clenched her fists and radiance flowed continuously in her eyes.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not notice the gaze in Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes.

    He was fixated on Meng Tian who was engaged in a violent battle with Hun Dun and Tao Tie. Meanwhile, he raised his hand.

    ¡°So your name is Sagely God? However, I still prefer to call you Traceless!¡± Fang Zhengzhi grabbed the hilt of the Traceless Sword as he spoke.

    Hum!

    The Traceless Sword made a delightful hum!

    ¡°Why choose me? Isn¡¯t Senior Meng Tian right in front of you?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi. He really did not understand why Meng Tian returned the Traceless Sword to him.

    Moreover, the Traceless Sword epted it.

    Not only did it ept it, but he could feel that the Traceless Sword wanted to go back to Fang Zhengzhi from Meng Tian¡¯s tone.

    Hum!

    The Traceless sword made another hum!

    ¡°Hmm? You are saying that... Senior Meng Tian was not your real owner?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shocked when he felt the emotions expressed by the Traceless Sword.

    The Traceless Sword was pulled by him in the World of the Sage.

    Besides that, he saw the Traceless Sword in Meng Tian¡¯s hands earlier on and it was willing to be used by Meng Tian.

    Yet now, the Traceless Sword said that Meng Tian was not his real owner?

    Could it be that the Traceless Sword was older than Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?

    ¡°Traceless... can you tell me who is your real owner?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked after thinking about the question.

    Hum!

    The sound made by the Traceless Sword was loud and clear.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi waspletely dumbfounded. He stood rooted to the ground and looked at the Traceless Sword. He could not believe it because the answer given by the Traceless Sword was...

    ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m your real owner?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not understand. How could he, a young chap who was not yet 20 years old, be the real owner of an ancient sword which was older than Meng Tian?

 Chapter 1045 - Shrink, Impossible!

    <h4>Chapter 1045: Shrink, Impossible!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    That was too strange.

    The Traceless Sword¡¯s answer was unbelievable but Fang Zhengzhi did not have time to ponder over it as he had to recover as much as possible within a span of limited time.

    When he saw the Taiyi Xuan Mark on the Kunlun Mirror, he had already recovered a little. Now after fusing with Chi Guyan, he was more or less recovered from his injury.

    Of course, Chi Guyan¡¯s injury was still very bad.

    Fang Zhengzhi had to wait a little longer until Chi Guyan had enough energy to fight. Only so would they have the chance to win the battle.

    More preparation may quicken the speed in getting a taskpleted.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this very well.

    At this moment, Yan Xiu came beside Fang Zhengzhi. His gaze was sufficient to tell Fang Zhengzhi his decision.

    Fight!

    Do not retreat!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The situation had reached the fierce state, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Qiong Qi were killing each other. The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five seemed to have an advantage because they were fighting one on one.

    However, the battle between Meng Tian and Tao Tie and Hun Dun did not look optimistic.

    Although there were countless disciples of the Human Alliance who stood out to help, the two ancient beasts, Tao Tie and Hun Dun, were not easy to be dealt with.

    Yet, Tao Wu was still sleeping.

    Bam! After being hit by Tao Tie, Meng Tian fell to the ground andnded so heavily that a deep dent was formed and he was covered in blood.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance were extremely anxious. Dozens of disciples charged forward and blocked the attacks by Tao Tie and Hun Dun with their bodies.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°I will kill you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon, these disciples died miserably.

    Blood sttered across the sky and a bloody aura filled the Heaven Zen Mountain as though it was shrouded by a bloody mist.

    Fang Zhengzhi shuddered.

    Although these disciples were not powerful, they had the motivation to protect their race and were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect theirnd.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, Pavilion Master Mu, get some elites to surround Tao Wu in case of any sudden events.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi who were nearby.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Both of them nodded immediately.

    Although Tao Wu was still sleeping, he was a bigger threat than Tao Tie and Hun Dun as, after all, nobody could predict when he would attack again.

    ¡°Since he wants to sleep, we shall not allow him to sleep!¡± said Mu Qingfeng as he looked at Yan Qianli. ¡°Prince Yan, let¡¯s attack!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Yan Qianli did not hesitate.

    ¡°Who else is willing to join us? We are not forcing anyone!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded and looked at the sect leaders beside him.

    ¡°We will go!¡±

    ¡°Although we just entered the Sagely state and are not powerful enough, we have sufficient manpower and I don¡¯t think it will be hard for us to dy some time with this son of a bitch!¡±

    ¡°We will go together and help to get the time required by Senior Meng Tian and Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    After a short while, a few of the sect leaders stood out after exchanging gazes with each other.

    At critical junctures like this, the Human Alliance would not retreat as they knew that humankind would be doomed if they did.

    Everyone was afraid of death.

    However, they had families and friends.

    They could not tolerate their family and friends die because of the beasts. The only choice was to fight in this situation.

    ¡°Alright, we will write history with our blood after today¡¯s battle!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s gaze was burning as he saw the sect leaders who stood out.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, we will kill the four beasts even if we lose our lives!¡±

    ¡°Kill the four beasts!¡±

    ¡°Fight till our deaths and never retreat!¡±

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, Pavilion Master Mu, two of you shall stay at the back, I will attack first!¡±

    One of the sect leaders charged towards Tao Wu with a determined look after he finished his sentence.

    ¡°I am the Valley Master Mo, how dare you go before me?¡± Mo Shanshi also moved after the Sect Leader did.

    He moved faster than that Sect Leader!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The other sect leaders did not hesitate and stood up willingly. Even though they knew that they were going to die, they were not afraid.

    The radiance shone very brightly.

    Over ten sect leaders charged forward.

    They were one of the most powerful individuals amongst the Human Alliance. Although they were not as powerful as Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi, they were still powerful individuals whose skill levels were above that of the sages.

    Moreover, as sect leaders, they could rely on something they had.

    For example, when he reached Tao Wu, a tri-colored ray shot out from the body of the sect leader who was the first to charge out. Instantly, it covered the bodies of the other sect leaders.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Tri-colored Ice Silk!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that this treasure is with Sect Leader Li?!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, stop hiding your treasures, take all of them out for thest battle for the future of humankind!¡±

    While the disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked, they began to shout as they demonstrated their hidden skills and took out various types of treasures.

    Instantly, rays lit up the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    For the past six months, there were quite some changes all over the world. That included the discovery of some good treasures which had mostly ended up in the possession of the Monster Race and Demon Race and the Human Alliance.

    However, given no special circumstances, nobody would be willing to take them out.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance knew the lesson of ¡®the precious stonends its innocent possessor in jail¡¯ very well. They would definitely boast even if they owned a treasure.

    Yet now, when they saw the Tri-colored Ice Silk being used by Sect Leader Li, they no longer had any reservations and threw all their treasures out.

    ¡°How magnificent!¡± Ping Yang was rather excited.

    ¡°These brats were still hiding the treasures when they were in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, yet now they took all of them out!¡± Wu Yuer eximed.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Yuer.

    ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± Wu Yuer leaned back and looked as though she did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    ¡°You are a miser, I don¡¯t believe that you do not have any treasures with you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not believe that Wu Yuer had nothing.

    ¡°Er... I do have some but they are all rather useless, they are... Fine, I have a set of armor but it is for females, I don¡¯t think you will have any use for that?¡± Wu Yuer gritted her teeth and said.

    ¡°Take it out and let me have a look.¡± Fang Zhengzhi would not be fooled so easily.

    Wu Yuer frowned and looked unwilling to take it out. However, after looking around, she felt slightly embarrassed and eventually took out a set of armor from her waist.

    It was snow-white like jade.

    There were streaks of golden marks on it. Just by a simple nce, one could tell that it was an extraordinary and powerful item.

    ¡°Where did you get it from?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised by the extraordinary treasure that Wu Yuer owned, he had never seen it before.

    ¡°The Xuanji Sect was controlled by the Monster Race and Demon Race and controlled the noble family in the Radiant Moon Empire and War Pinnacle Empire. I was pissed off so I coborated with several other sects and identally killed the headquarters of the Xuanji Sect, therefore...¡± Wu Yuer did not say how she managed to obtain the treasure and it was evident that she had used some unteble methods.

    Fang Zhengzhi could already make a guess at this point in time.

    Coborated with a few sects to kill the headquarters of the Xuanji Sect. Such an act would be the most beneficial for the Shadow Sect.

    Therefore, in order to obtain this goal, Wu Yuer has definitely promised to distribute the treasure to the sect leaders of the other sects beforehand.

    However, Wu Yuer was a miser.

    How could she follow the allocation that was agreed upon earlier on when she saw the treasure? She probably entered the main treasure storeroom of the Xuanji Sect and took out the most valuable items.

    How shameless!

    ¡°Anymore?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again. If Wu Yuer could take out an armor, she was definitely hiding more things.

    ¡°I still have a sword... but I don¡¯t think you need it?¡± said Wu Yuer carefully as she looked at the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Pass everything to her.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Chi Guyan.

    He knew Chi Guyan¡¯s personality very well. She was not interested in treasures at all.

    ¡°You should have said that earlier, pass these to Younger Sis... Sister Guyan, I have no problem with that!¡± Wu Yuer was stunned for a moment before she smiled and continued.

    ¡°You should call her ¡®elder sister¡¯, like me, call her Elder Sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang was slightly unhappy. She called Chi Guyan an elder sister yet Wu Yuer called Chi Guyan a younger sister.

    Then that would mean she was two levels more inferior than Wu Yuer?

    She was unhappy!

    ¡°I am older than Younger Sister Guyan, I should address her as a younger sister!¡± Wu Yuer did not admit defeat so easily and insisted that Chi Guyan was younger than her.

    ¡°Unhappy? Want to fight?¡± Chi Guyan said with a calm tone.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Instantly, Wu Yuer and even Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang were stunned as they looked at Chi Guyan.

    ¡®Unhappy? Want to fight?¡¯

    She was so straightforward!

    However, the fact that Chi Guyan was concerned about the position of sisters...

    Surprised Fang Zhengzhi slightly.

    ¡°Haha... Harmony is precious, fighting would break this harmony, isn¡¯t it just calling her an older sister... Greetings, Older Sister Yan, I will give this armor and sword to you as a present!¡± Wu Yuer was also surprised but soon smiled. She was really flexible and had a typical face of a sly dealer

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Chi Guyan epted the white armor and blue long sword from Wu Yuer without hesitation.

    She gained possession of two pieces of treasures.

    Chi Guyan wore the armor quickly and instantly, the aura she exuded changed from one that was arrogant to one that was holy.

    Golden radiance flowed on the white armor. The blue long sword¡¯s hint had a golden gemstone that was glowing with radiance as well.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned.

    He had to admit that Wu Yuer had good taste. The two pieces of treasures were both extraordinary and the holy aura Chi Guyan exuded with them made one¡¯s heart flutter.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Chi Guyan tightened her grip on Fang Zhengzhi and ced the blue long sword in front of her with a determined and firm expression.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not wait longer.

    With the two pieces of treasure, Chi Guyan had the ability to fight. With Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, the four of them had a chance of winning when they fought against Tao Tie and Hun Dun,

    ¡°Hold on, I also have a piece of... treasure!¡± At this moment, a voice came from Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan¡¯s back.

    ¡°You too?¡± Ping Yang looked behind her.

    The person who spoke was none other than Yun Qingwu. However, Ping Yang did not believe that Yun Qingwu would pass them any valuable treasure to fight against the four beasts.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also surprised.

    Just as they were about to coborate and fight against the four ancient beasts, Yun Qingwu handed them a treasure? That was really strange and unpredicted.

    ¡°The Holy Stone of the Four Elements, I had once studied this in-depth. Each of the stone had the power of the four elements and I had instructed people to help me collect them from the area of the four elements. If you wear the Holy Stone of the Four Elements on your bodies, the four of you will be able to form the ¡®Killer Formation of the Four Elements¡¯. I believe this will be useful for you!¡±

    After her sentence, Yun Qingwu took out four stones with four different colors ¡ª red, blue, purple and green and each of the stones were like jade.

    ¡°Four elements?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the four stones in Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand.

    ¡°The four elements referred to the four directions ¡ª North, South, East, West. However, apart from these four directions, the Holy Stone of the Four Elements alsoprises of the four attributes ¡ª wind, thunder, water, and fire. The Killer Formation of the Four Elements can also allow the four people in the formation to obtain extra power from the four attributes,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°How much extra power do we get?¡±

    ¡°About twice as much.¡±

    ¡°Twice as much?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was really shocked. He did not expect Yun Qingwu to have such a good treasure.

    Wind, thunder, water, and fire, thrice as much of these four attributes!

    Just imagine that!

    That was so exaggerated!

    Fang Zhengzhi stared at Yun Qingwu. He wanted to make out something from her face but was disappointed.

    Yun Qingwu was too calm.

    She was so calm that nobody knew what she was thinking about.

    ¡°Stop looking at me. Even amongst the monster race, the four beasts... were not popr. Moreover, they injured my mother!¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°I am the one who injured your mother,¡± said Chi Guyan. She did not hide the truth.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Tang and Fang Zhengzhi were stunned for a moment. Was it the best option to own up at this time?

    ¡°I only believe my mother, she said the four ancient beasts injured her, so that should the truth!¡± Yun Qingwu was also shocked. She looked at Chi Guyan and replied.

    ¡°I get it now, Shameless thief. I believe her, let¡¯s use the Killer Formation of the Four Elements, Ping Yang takes the Fire position, Yan Xiu takes the Wind position, you take the Thunder position and I will take the Water position!¡± Chi Guyan looked at Yun Qingwu and nodded before turning to Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

 Chapter 1046 - Attracting Monsters and Dealing Damage!

    <h4>Chapter 1046: Attracting Monsters and Dealing Damage!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Ok, sister Yan!¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Both Ping Yang and Yan Xiu nodded after hearing Chi Guyan.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s Dao of Asura was extremely sharp by nature. It contained the properties of wind, so it was naturally the best for him to take on the position of the wind.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang¡¯s zing Qilin Spear contained unadulterated fire due to its bloodline. Therefore, the Fire position was the most advantageous one for Ping Yang.

    Neither of them was unhappy about the arrangement.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t know why Chi Guyan trusted Yun Qingwu. However, since she was willing to believe her, he wouldn¡¯t oppose her decision.

    ¡°Thunder position, huh?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held his Traceless Sword tighter. His sword moves, such as Dragon yer sh, were all in the form of lightning, so Thunder position was indeed the perfect choice.

    The Killer Formation of the Four Elements waspleted.

    All four of them were strengthened by the formation. On that point, it seemed like Yun Qingwu actually wanted to kill the four ancient beasts.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Senior Meng Tian can¡¯t keep going for much longer!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped hesitating. This was the first time he had prepared so much treasure for a battle, so he couldn¡¯t help being a little restless.

    ¡°Die!¡± Ping Yang grabbed a red Holy Stone of the Four Elements and initiated the attack. The me on her body soared and there was even a hint of golden radiance flickering in the me.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that that was the power of the Holy Stone of the Four Elements.

    With the additional power that the Holy Stone provided, Ping Yang was almost on the same level as Yan Qianli and the rest, so she was definitely a decent source ofbat power.

    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t say anything.

    He simply grabbed the green Holy Stone and joined the battlefield. The coldness on his expression was like a blizzard while the strong wind grazed his body.

    Fang Zhengzhi nodded at Chi Guyan. Then, they grabbed the purple and blue Holy Stones respectively and quickly followed after the other two.

    The Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were naturally shocked to witness that.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi is joining the fight!¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu too!¡±

    ¡°Can the four of them handle Hun Dun and Tao Tie?¡±

    ¡°I hope so!¡±

    There was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples. After all, Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, and the few others were theirst bit of hope.

    Four of them against two ancient beasts.

    Boom! A bolt of lightning came crashing down.

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared between Meng Tian and Tao Tie. He held Meng Tian¡¯s shoulder with one hand while pointing Traceless Sword towards Tao Tie¡¯s wide-opened mouth with another.

    ¡°Screw off!¡± His words were simple and straightforward.

    ¡°Ho, feeble human, how dare you disrespect me?!¡± Tao Tie roared angrily, sending a massive air st and a fearsome aura towards Fang Zhengzhi and made his hair flutter.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Fang Zhengzhi immediately lowered his head.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Tao Tie was startled.

    In fact, even the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were stumped and failed to react.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry?¡¯

    ¡®Did Fang Zhengzhi just apologize to Tao Tie?¡¯

    ¡®What the hell!¡¯

    While these thoughts went through their minds, a ball of snow-white powdernded on Tao Tie¡¯s face.

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world fell silent.

    In the meantime, to everyone¡¯s surprise, they saw Fang Zhengzhi raising his right leg and whipping Tao Tie¡¯s head with a sweeping kick.

    Boom! The loud bang could be heard thousands of miles away.

    ¡°Did you see that, Ping Yang? Take note, that is the best position to sucker-punch someone!¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned around and blinked at Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡±

    The world fell silent once again.

    However, they heard another sound soon enough.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± It came from none other than Meng Tian, who was standing behind Fang Zhengzhi. That was because one of Tao Tie¡¯s sharp ws was already heading towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was incredibly fast!

    Its w drew near to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face in an instant.

    That was because he had failed to send Tao Tie flying with his sweeping kick.

    ¡°You are sly enough, but it¡¯s a pity that you are too weak!¡± Tao Tie bellowed. It had already gotten a taste of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength through his kick.

    He was far weaker than Meng Tian.

    There was no way he could hurt it.

    Whoosh! Tao Tie¡¯s wnded on Fang Zhengzhi, and a ruthless expression appeared on its face as it said, ¡°Sly human, go to...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Hell¡¯ didn¡¯te out of Tao Tie¡¯s mouth because it sensed that something was wrong, as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was disappearing before him.

    ¡®An after-image?!¡¯

    In that split second, Tao Tie thought of evading.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi felt so weak just now since he couldn¡¯t even put a scratch on it even though he hit it while it was standing still. ¡®Evading? Is there really necessary?¡±

    After just a slight moment of hesitation, Tao Tie felt a tremendous force on its head. Furthermore, it was so acute that it felt a chill down its spine.

    Boom!

    Tao Tie dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground heavily like a huge cannonball, creating a massive crater.

    ¡°...¡±

    This was the third time that the world went silent.

    That was because everyone waspleted dumbfounded. They couldn¡¯t even believe what they were seeing. ¡®Did Fang Zhengzhi just dropkick Tao Tie onto the ground right after joining the battle?!¡¯

    That was right!

    With a single kick!

    However, aspared to just now, Tao Tie, to everyone¡¯s surprise, couldn¡¯t stand its ground at all. Its massive body crashed right into the ground.

    ¡°Am I... Very Weak?¡± Fang Zhengzhi had already jumped to the side afternding his attack. He held his sword in one hand while carrying Meng Tian, who was severely injured, in the other.

    ¡°You... You did that... On purpose?!¡± Tao Tie shook its head. It obviously knew how powerful the blow was.

    The two kicks came from the same person, yet they differed massively in power.

    In that case, there was only one possibility ¨C Fang Zhengzhi was pretending to be weak just now.

    ¡°You did that to save him? I see!¡± Tao Tie finally understood what was going on after it saw Meng Tian in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    When Fang Zhengzhi kicked it the first time, it actually defended itself with all its strength. After all, it saw right through Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sneak attack.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had used his full strength on his first kick, it definitely wouldn¡¯t have ended up in the current position.

    As for the second blow...

    It was too careless.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian, give me five and swap with me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Tao Tie and pped Meng Tian¡¯s palm, indicating that he could leave.

    ¡°...¡± Meng Tian nced at his hand, then at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile. He couldn¡¯t calm himself down at all.

    After all, he was the mighty Sagely Battle God.

    ¡®What the hell was ¡®give me five¡¯?!¡¯

    ¡®Is this a children¡¯s fight?!¡±

    Meng Tian wanted to shout into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears. However, he didn¡¯t actually do that because he saw the people standing in three other directions.

    Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang!

    They were each covered in a different colored radiance. Deep-blue, jade-green, and fire-red.

    ¡°So he was buying time for the three of them to get into their positions.¡± Meng Tian realized his motive. The sneak attack and the act were not just to rescue him, but also to buy time for Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, and Ping Yang.

    Fang Zhengzhi killed three birds with one stone!

    He boosted the morale, got everyone into position, and rescued Meng Tian!

    ¡®Although this kid seems extremely shameless and also less capable than Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu in strategizing, he is definitely the ¡®wittiest¡¯ in the world!¡¯ Meng Tian eximed inwardly.

    He first met Fang Zhengzhi in World of the Sage, and this could barely count as their second meeting. However, he knew quite a lot about Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Senior Meng Tian!¡±

    ¡°Meng Tian is... Why did he get hurt?!¡± At this moment, they heard a man and a woman¡¯s voices. It was Qian Yu and Emperor Lin Mubai, who came back to the mountaintop from the foot of the mountain.

    Qian Yu was surprised by Meng Tian¡¯s appearance.

    Lin Mubai, on the other hand, was more surprised by Meng Tian¡¯s injuries and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s presence, and he eximed, ¡°Eh? Fang Zhengzhi?! How did you... Guyan too?! Ping Yang as well... Why did you guys...¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, could you shut your mouth first? By the way, dear auntie, could you help me bring Senior Meng Tian down so that he could be treated and get some rest?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t expect Qian Yu and Emperor Lin Mubai to show up at this moment. It really ruined the mood a little.

    ¡®The atmosphere is supposed to be tense!¡¯

    ¡®Is it so fun to mess things up?¡¯

    ¡°...¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s expression changed. After all, he was the emperor of the powerful Great Xia Dynasty.

    His ¡®Prince Cang¡¯ actually pointed at his nose... And asked him to shut up!

    Did he care about his pride at all?

    Lin Mubai was furious, but he still kept his mouth shut obediently because Qian Yu was pinching his arm tightly.

    It hurt so much that he winced, but he didn¡¯t dare to make a sound.

    When Fang Zhengzhi saw that, he suddenly remembered the phrase ¡®Like mother like daughter¡¯. Ping Yang probably learned that trick from Qian Yu.

    Luckily, he educated her well.

    He had managed to get rid of Ping Yang¡¯s bad habit before it was toote, or else, he would probably be the one wincing right now.

    While he was feeling lucky, Qian Yu approached him.

    ¡°Is he really Meng Tian? Sagely Battle God Meng Tian?¡±

    ¡°Free recement if he isn¡¯t the real deal!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Mubai said that we¡¯d definitely win this battle with Senior Meng Tian around, and we just have to enjoy the show. Now it seems like... He isn¡¯t a big deal.¡± Qian Yu pursed her lips.

    Meng Tian¡¯s face was ck!

    It was incredibly ck!

    It seemed like ink could fall off his face.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t surprised by her tone at all. He was being a jerk and shifted the focus to another aspect of what she had said, ¡°Mubai? Have you rekindled the old me between you and the emperor?¡±

    ¡°You little brat, I... Sigh... How did Ping Yang fall for you?¡± Qian Yu was pissed, but she still carried Meng Tian away quickly.

    ¡°Auntie, you¡¯re actually still young. You¡¯d totally make another baby with his majesty!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted loudly at Qian Yu while she was leaving.

    Qian Yu instantly jolted and she shot Fang Zhengzhi a fierce nce.

    On the contrary, Lin Mubai seemed joyous. As he watched Qian Yu moving towards him, he purposely coughed and eximed, ¡°Yu Er, I actually feel that that brat is kinda right. We are very young indeed...¡± I

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Humans, how dare you look down on us!¡± Both Tao Tie and Hun Dun were enraged after hearing the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Qian Yu.

    Such disrespect!

    The four ancient beasts stood right before them.

    Yet, these puny little humans dared to talk about making another baby? Did they think that the four ancient beasts were just for show?

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He nonchntly swang Traceless Sword, looked at Tao Tie with a serious expression and said, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare to look down on you. We¡¯re just ignoring you!¡±

    ¡°Human, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    Roar!

    Tao Tie and Hun Dun charged towards Fang Zhengzhi simultaneously. Both of them were bursting with rage and swore that they would kill Fang Zhengzhi first.

    Under normal circumstances, Fang Zhengzhi would run away. However, he wasn¡¯t going to do that this time because he wanted to divert Tao Tie and Hun Dun¡¯s anger towards himself.

    To put it bluntly, he was pulling aggro.

    Inyman¡¯s terms, he was generating hate so that Tao Tie and Hun Dun would focus on him.

    He was the strongest amongst the four of them. In that case, he obviously couldn¡¯t get Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, or Chi Guyan to pull aggro.

    The three of them could only focus on dealing damage if he had generated enough hate.

    This was simple logic. Anyone in his previous world that had any experience with games that required teamwork knew about it extremely well.

    ¡°Die!¡± Ping Yang attacked Tao Tie when she saw it moving. She flicked the zing Qilin Spear and generated a me that covered the entire sky.

    Yan Xiu also moved.

    He opened his Silver Blood Fan and a bloody radiance started spreading. There was even a powerful wind that expanded Ping Yang¡¯s me constantly.

    The wind could add fuel to a fire.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The sky-full of mes and bloody radiance crashed onto Tao Tie and Hun Dun. However, it didn¡¯t draw any of their attention.

    That was because they werepletely focused on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Come and get me, you dumbasses. I¡¯m standing right here, and I definitely won¡¯t move!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the two ancient beasts disdainfully while the Rebirth te appeared above his head.

    Red, blue, green, silver, and ck lights lit up on the Rebirth te and spun ceaselessly, covering his entire body.

    At the meantime, Chi Guyan also moved.

    Tens of thousands of starlights appeared in the sky. A gigantic Milky Way that was as blue as the ocean descended from the sky like a waterfall. It carried tens of thousands of streams of sword radiance.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Countless sword radiance fell on Tao Tie and Hun Dun, turning in spots of blue light. Even though they were ancient beasts, they couldn¡¯t ignore such an attack.

    Roar! Tao Tie turned towards Chi Guyan with a chilling expression. After all, he felt threatened by her attack.

    ¡°Eh? Chi Guyan doesn¡¯t seem to know how to control aggro.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that if this went on, Tao Tie and Hun Dun¡¯s attention would be drawn to Chi Guyan instead. Without much hesitation, he yelled, ¡°Screw you monsters! Kill me first if you two idiots got any balls! You freaking call yourselves the four ancient beasts? I think you should change it to four ancient chickens. Female chickens!¡±

 Chapter 1047 - Full Power - An Insane Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1047: Full Power ¨C An Insane Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure if ¡®chicken¡¯ was a word that was extremely effective against ancient beasts, but he was certain that Tao Tie and Hun Dun seemed to be actually mad.

    Their anger was extremely real.

    After he said that, it seemed like there were two fireballs burning on top of their heads, and the two ancient beasts charged towards him insanely.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Both of them attacked him ruthlessly right away. One used its teeth while the other used its ws. They came from both directions in an attempt to tear Fang Zhengzhi to shreds.

    Whoost! At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly disappeared. He turned into a stream of faint blue light and vanished into thin air.

    The two ancient beasts were astonished.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t you say that you are not going to move?!¡¯

    ¡®Liar!¡¯

    They nced around and quickly realized that Fang Zhengzhi was nowhere to be found. In the meantime, the sword radiance in the sky kept falling onto their bodies like raindrops.

    Ao! They were both hurt, so they turned towards Chi Guyan once again. After all, her attack wasn¡¯t weak. It was enough to piss them off.

    However, as soon as they turned towards Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi appeared at the same ce where he had vanished, still holding on to Traceless Sword.

    ¡°What are you looking at? I didn¡¯t even move. Where are you dumbasses going?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the two ancient beasts condescendingly and taunted them once again.

    This time, Tao Tie wasn¡¯t angry.

    Instead, he looked above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head, then his eyes lit up and a chilling smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened!¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Hun Dun was more direct than Tao Tie. He soon pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi with his mouth wide opened and his razor-sharp teeth exposed.

    Fang Zhengzhi intuitively wanted to use Heaven Dao to escape again. However, before he did that, he suddenly sensed imminent danger.

    It felt like something was staring at his back.

    No!

    ¡®The four ancient beasts won¡¯t be defeated so easily!¡¯

    Although Fang Zhengzhi had never seen Tao Tie using his abilities, he could sense the ¡®predatory¡¯ look in his eyes.

    Without any hesitation, he decided to take Hun Dun¡¯s attack head-on.

    Traceless Sword moved at incredible speed, turning into a massive bolt of purple lightning and struck Hun Dun¡¯s wide-opened mouth.

    Boom!

    Hun Dun trembled and backed off. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arm felt sore, as if he was an ordinary man who was struck by a big rock.

    The terrifying power left a tight feeling in his chest.

    His internal organs had already been wounded. Although he had recovered a little, his injuries were still fairly severe.

    He felt like vomiting blood from the sh.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, are you alright?¡± Yan Xiu was a little anxious. Although he was standing at the Wind position, he could still feel the impact of Hun Dun¡¯s blow.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you ok? If you can¡¯t hold on, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Ping Yang was also anxious, and she even wanted to swap positions with him.

    ¡°Haha... It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m fine.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He nced at Hun Dun, as well as Tao Tie, who hadn¡¯t made a move, and he was inwardly surprised.

    ¡®Tao Tie didn¡¯t take advantage of the opportunity just now to attack me?¡¯

    ¡®Does he have other intentions after all?¡¯

    It seemed like it was impossible to pull aggro without getting hurt.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that as the person pulling aggro, he would naturally sustain the most damage. It was basically impossible to attract the attention of the monsters without standing in harm¡¯s way.

    ¡®The only thing is, what is Tao Tie waiting for?¡¯

    ¡®For me to use Heaven Dao?¡¯

    ¡°Who cares, die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped thinking. Tao Tie seemed like he had a n as he wasn¡¯t moving. However, that also gave him the opportunity to take on Hun Dun in a 1v1 fight.

    Roar! Hun Dun bellowed and charged towards him again. His massive body was like a gigantic meatball bursting with an incredible amount of power.

    Boom! The ground shook.

    Fang Zhengzhi held his sword firmly and attacked. Traceless Sword was covered in glittering bolts of lightning as it struck towards Hun Dun.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi shed Hun Dun¡¯s head instead of his mouth this time, and he actually wounded him.

    ¡°Ao ao ao...¡± Hun Dun screeched and rolled on the ground. Then, in mere moments, the wound on its head disappeared.

    ¡°I... What the f*ck?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi always knew that Monsters¡¯ self-healing abilities would be extremely terrifying after they reached the Godly State.

    However, wasn¡¯t this a little too unreal?

    ¡®Did he recoverpletely just by rolling on the ground?¡¯

    ¡®Does he really think that he¡¯s an eraser?¡¯

    As these thoughts crossed his mind, Hun Dun bolted towards him again. His massive body left a ravine-like crack on the ground as it rolled.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    He couldn¡¯t kill Hun Dun with a single blow, but Hun Dun seemed to have extremely terrifying self-healing abilities. Under these circumstances, he would eventually die from exhaustion.

    Most importantly, Tao Tie seemed to be preparing for something.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure what Tao Tie was preparing for, he knew that Tao Tie was the real threat to him even though he was just watching the fight at the side.

    At this moment, he had finally realized what kind of monsters Meng Tian was up against.

    The four ancient beasts!

    Every one of them had extraordinary capabilities. Qiong Qi could produce fury of hatred, control people¡¯s minds, and turn them into killing machines.

    On the other hand, Hun Dun seemed to possess insanely horrifying self-healing abilities. If his enemy couldn¡¯t kill him with a single blow, he would be virtually unkible.

    Both of their abilities were extraordinary.

    ¡®What is Tao Tie¡¯s ability?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was wondering about that, a deep-blue waterfall suddenly appeared in front of him. It waspletely made up of sword radiance.

    As soon as the waterfallnded, it sshed into the air.

    One after another, the sword radiance seemed to be drilling into the ground and resurfacing immediately, building a ¡®bridge¡¯ between him and Chi Guyan.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The sword radiance sted Hun Dun continuously and stopped him from moving, forcefully bringing him to a halt when he was just three steps away from Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°The four elements reinforce each other!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi heard Chi Guyan¡¯s voice clearly as if she was whispering into his ears.

    ¡®Water could conduct electricity!¡¯

    ¡®A thunderstorm is made up of both rain and lightning!¡¯

    ¡®So that¡¯s what it means.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi instantly understood Chi Guyan¡¯s intention. In the Killer Formation of the Four Elements, wind and fire coexisted as the wind could strengthen the fire. Following that logic, water and electricity could also coexist.

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    ¡°yer!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    He yelled.

    A dragon soared into the sky. It waspletely made up of purple lightning. As it breathed, lighting bolts flickered and it began to thunder.

    The dragon swallowed the silver waterfall as it flew into the air as if it was guzzling down water!

    Then, the dragon descended and opened its mouth, unleashing a jet of lightning-infused ¡®dragon breath¡¯. In other words, it was Chi Guyan¡¯s sword radiance waterfall.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The lightning-infused sword radiance sted Hun Dun, and he was screeching as its power forced him back.

    ¡°It¡¯s working!¡±

    ¡°Thebination of thunder and rain is too staggering!¡±

    ¡°I never knew that this kind of sword move is possible!¡±

    The Human Alliance¡¯s disciples looked excited when they saw the attack because even they could feel its power.

    ¡®Even Hun Dun is being overpowered?!¡¯

    ¡®Maybe there¡¯s really hope that we could kill the four ancient beasts!¡¯

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were bursting with hope.

    At this moment, Tao Wu, who had been sleeping on the ground, finally moved. Due to the harassment from Mu Qingfeng and the rest, he naturally couldn¡¯t continue his act of ¡®ying dead¡¯.

    Tao Wu¡¯s eyes were wide opened.

    He was obviously unhappy about the harassmenting from Mu Qingfeng and hispanions. He swung his long tail and mercilessly whipped Sect leader Li, who was at the front.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Sect leader Li was sent flying. Even though he was wielding the Tri-colored Ice Silk, he couldn¡¯t stand a chance against Tao Wu¡¯s tailwhip.

    ¡°Watch out, everyone. Don¡¯t take him head-on!¡± Mu Qingfeng caught Li Mengzhong with a stream of green radiance and yelled.

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°Try your best to fight him indirectly and keep him busy. DO NOT get close to him!¡±

    ¡°Wear him down with our numbers!¡±

    Mo Shanshi and Yan Qianli soon added on.

    They naturally weren¡¯t strong enough to take one of the four ancient beasts, Tao Wu, head-on. Hence, choosing to fight him indirectly and avoiding a head-on battle was the wisest choice.

    ¡°Fight me indirectly? Haha...¡± Tao Wuughed and mumbled. Then, he leaped into the air and rushed towards Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Crap! This son of a bitch is trying to escape!¡±

    ¡°We mustn¡¯t let him get away. Stop him!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get him!¡± Mo Shanshi roared. Then, he shot into the air and chased after Tao Wu.

    ¡°Old Mo, watch out! It may be a trap!¡± Mu Qingfeng was astonished that he saw that.

    Tao Wu¡¯s personality was extremely bizarre. Mu Qingfeng saw Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five almost getting screwed by Tao Wu with his own eyes just now. If Meng Tian hadn¡¯t interfered at the critical moment and fended off three of the four ancient beasts, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five would definitely be injured by the four beasts¡¯bined attack.

    Roar! A beastly roar was heard.

    It was just as what Mu Qingfeng expected. As the saying goes, ¡®Speak of the devil and he shall appear¡¯.

    As soon as Mo Shanshi leaped into the air, Tao Wu suddenly turned around and twisted his body to a terrifying extent.

    That felt like...

    ¡°I knew it, this son of a bitch is sly!¡± Mo Shanshi was surprised, and he quickly shielded himself with his giant ck hammer. However, it was toote, as Tao Wu¡¯s tail had already struck his back.

    It wasn¡¯t even a frontal attack!

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Mo Shanshi was sent flying. He vomited blood and his face turned ck. He had already been injured, so things were obviously going from bad to worse.

    ¡°Die!¡± Tao Wu moved again. He leaped around in the sky like a shooting star. His constant movements made it seem like there were ¡®stairs¡¯ beneath his feet.

    It was strange that he was so nimble.

    ¡°Old Mo!¡± Mu Qingfeng was anxious because Tao Wu was too fast.

    Just when Tao Wu was about to sink his teeth into Mo Shanshi, a bright red radiance appeared and appeared in front of Tao Wu out of nowhere.

    Bam! Tao Wu¡¯s head shed against the red radiance and shattered it into many spots of light.

    At the meantime, Yan Qianli, who was standing behind the red radiance, vomited blood.

    ¡°Prince Yan!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s heart ached. In mere moments, both Mo Shanshi and Yan Qianli became injured. Mo Shanshi even lost his ability to fightpletely.

    It was too terrifying!

    Although Yan Qianli saved Mo Shanshi at the cost of getting injured, the situation was taking a turn for the worse.

    ¡®A single ancient beast is already such a tough nut to crack, yet, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan are handling two of them?! Each generation is truly getting better than the previous one!¡¯ Mu Qingfeng eximed inwardly, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. He quickly rescued Mo Shanshi and Yan Qianli and popped two pills into their mouths.

    ¡°This son of a bitch... It seems like he could actually... Walk in the air!¡± Said Mo Shanshi with, unwilling to ept his defeat.

    He was once a sect leader of one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Yet, he was defeated by Tao Wu in a single blow. This was a hard pill for him to swallow.

    ¡°I figured it out. Rx, I¡¯ve got an idea!¡± Mu Qingfeng nodded andy Mo Shanshi down. Then, he nced around and said, ¡°Sect leaders, are you willing to trust me?¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, please speak your mind!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get close to him!¡±

    ¡°Get close to him?!¡± All the sect leaders looked like they couldn¡¯t believe what he had just said. After all, Tao Wu was one of the four ancient beasts.

    Fighting a monster up close!

    That was unbelievable.

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll get close to him.¡± Yan Qianli was also startled. However, he quickly agreed without any doubts.

    ¡°Are we really going to get close to him?¡±

    ¡°To a monster?¡±

    ¡°I trust Pavilion Master Mu. He must have his reasons!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Very soon, all the sect leaders nodded their heads in agreement. Although they didn¡¯t understand Mu Qingfeng¡¯s intention, they could only trust his decision now.

    ...

    The fights were all getting heated, be it Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s battle, or Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli¡¯s battle.

    The four ancient beasts also unleashed their terrifying strength.

    Although Qiong Qi was at a disadvantage because he was fighting Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five by himself, their battle didn¡¯t seem like it was ending anytime soon.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan managed to overpower Hun Dun with theirbined power, but Tao Tie didn¡¯t join the fight, so the situation was bizarre.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s side was in a worse spot. Yan Qianli was injured after just a short exchange, and Mo Shanshi even lost the ability to fightpletely.

    Everyone was watching the battles.

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi and Yun Qingwu looked a little nervous.

    It was too intense.

    This was definitely an insane battle.

    Since no one was putting their attention somewhere else, then naturally no one noticed that Nangong Mu, who was unconscious, had opened his eyes once again.

 Chapter 1048 - Lalala This Chapter Has a Wilful Name

    <h4>Chapter 1048: Lla This Chapter Has a Wilful Name</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The sound of powerful shes could be heard constantly.

    Nangong Mu slowly opened his eyes which were flickering with a golden radiance. The Tree of God in his eyes was so vivid that even the leaves could be seen clearly.

    Then, he nced around and saw Wu Yuer standing next to Yun Qingwu, as well as the four ancient beasts which were fighting ferociously.

    At this moment, his body moved.

    He wanted to stand up, but he soon spotted Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Fang Zhengzhi, who were fighting Qiong Qi and Hun Dun respectively.

    ¡®Where is this?¡¯

    ¡®Weren¡¯t I inside the ck Stone Pce beneath Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain?¡¯

    ¡®How did I end up here?¡¯

    Nangong Mu was a little puzzled. He didn¡¯t know where the ferocious beasts that he saw came from. He also didn¡¯t know where he currently was, until... He looked towards the sky and saw the three massive Gates of God.

    The Gate of God of the Monster Realm was already opened.

    The Gate of God of the Demon Realm was also opened. There was even a flickering radiance within the gate.

    On the other hand, the Door of the Realm of God was still closed and dull. It simply stood in the air together with the other two gates.

    ¡°Heaven Zen Mountain?!¡± Nangong Mu froze and he was filled with disbelief. That was because Heaven Zen Mountain was extremely far away from Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    It was possible to travel from the former to thetter within a short period of time.

    ¡®Is this a dream?¡¯

    Nangong Mu shook his head as hard as he could. His head was hurting badly, and as a result, he felt weak and couldn¡¯t exert any strength at all.

    It felt like he was sealed.

    ¡®Dream...¡¯

    ¡®This is a realistic dream.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m here again. Big brother, you fought here, and you died here as well. However, up till now, I still couldn¡¯t finish what you were destined to do.¡¯

    The corner of his eye became a little wet.

    He never cried because he would never show his weak side to others. However, it didn¡¯t matter since this was a dream.

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Nangong Mu cried, unable to ept the oue. He hated his uselessness and his inability to remain calm.

    If he was a little calmed, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this.

    ¡°I¡¯m useless and I couldn¡¯t fulfill our family¡¯s destiny. Father is dead, and so are you, big brother. I¡¯m the only one left. Ah....¡± Nangong Mu roared at the sky.

    He was venting his emotions, but he soon discovered that there were countless eyes watching him.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu woke... He woke up?!¡±

    Unlike Nangong Mu, who was filled with frustration and hatred, all the disciples of the Human Alliance were taken aback when they heard his angry cries.

    ¡®Nangong Mu actually woke up at this moment?!¡¯

    ¡°What?! Nangong Mu is awake? Hurry... Hurry up and take him down. Don¡¯t let him near the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Wu Yuer also was also badly startled.

    Most importantly, she knew that the fruit of the Tree of God was currently in Nangong Mu¡¯s body. In other words, he had the key to opening the Door of the Realm of God.

    That was a little frightening.

    The consequences of opening the Gates of God of the Monster and Demon Realms were obvious enough.

    Under such circumstances, they could never allow Nangong Mu to open the Door of the Realm of God. Otherwise, this world might be a living hell.

    ¡°Yeah, stop him now!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, if Nangong Mu really has a way to open the Door of the Realm of God, does that mean that we could deal with the four ancient beasts?!¡±

    ¡°Are you suggesting that we should fight the Monster Race with the human masters in the Door of the Realm of God?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s a definite no!¡±

    The Human Alliance was about to take Nangong Mu down when they heard Wu Yuer. However, different opinions soon started to appear.

    ¡°Do you guys want to destroy the world? We must never let Nangong Mu open the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Wu Yuer was anxious and she was on the verge of starting a fight.

    ¡°Listen to Sect Leader Wu!¡±

    ¡°Take Nangong Mu down first!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The people of the Human Alliance nced at each other. Although they had different opinions, they still chose to listen to the orders because of Wu Yuer¡¯s overbearing attitude.

    ¡°Take Nangong Mu down!¡± All of Human Alliance¡¯s disciples rushed towards him with their swords drawn.

    However, they stopped simultaneously as soon as they got close to Nangong Mu.

    That was because he stood up.

    Furthermore, he was walking towards them. His eyes were still teary and he clenched his fists extremely tightly.

    ¡°He just stood up?!¡±

    ¡°Does he still have his power?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance took a couple of steps back subconsciously because they had been truly shocked by Nangong Mu¡¯s strength when he was in the ck Stone Pce.

    They weren¡¯t sure at the moment if Nangong Mu was truly harmless.

    ¡°Dream... This is a dream. I, Nangong Mu, would never surrender. Are you trying to control me? Try me!¡± Nangong Mu started yelling and charged crazily towards them.

    Then...

    He was sent flying.

    That was because one of the disciples attacked Nangong Mu out of desperation. He threw a punch and blew him away.

    Thump! Nangong Mu dropped onto the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All of the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples looked at each other.

    The disciples who attacked him was even staring at his right hand with disbelief. Words could hardly describe how stunned he looked.

    ¡°I defeated Nangong Mu? I... I really defeated Nangong Mu. Hahaha... I¡¯m too powerful!¡± That disciple¡¯s astonishment slowly turned into excitement.

    ¡°Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five has restricted Nangong Mu¡¯s power!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu is just like a normal person now. He can¡¯t fight back at all!¡±

    ¡°No wonder!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, it¡¯s time for revenge. Although Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five said that we cannot kill him, but we could beat him up until he¡¯s half-dead!¡±

    The disciples quickly realized what was going on. No one hesitated anymore and they came to the same conclusion just by ncing at each other.

    ¡®Beat him up!¡¯

    ¡®Beat this traitor of mankind to a pulp, to the point where he cannot take care of himself!¡¯

    Rumble! After they rushed towards Nangong Mu, punches started falling onto his bodies like raindrops. All of the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples wanted to vent their anger.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him. Keep your weapons!¡± Wu Yuer remembered Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s words when she saw this, and she asked the disciples to restrain themselves.

    ¡°Rx, Sect Leader Wu. We know what to do. We would never kill him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°We should break his limps first so that it¡¯s easier to restrain him!¡±

    ¡°Rx, Sect Leader Wu. We¡¯d take care of Nangong Mu!¡±

    The disciples of Human Alliance replied as they continued to deliver a beating to Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Punches fell onto Nangong Mu¡¯s face, arms, and legs, like raindrops in a thunderstorm. None of the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples showed him any mercy.

    That was because they saw Nangong Mu as a traitor in their minds.

    A traitor to the Human Alliance.

    He disguised himself as one of the Gods of the Monster Race, Chou Qi, and fought against the Human Alliance. How could they see him as anything other than a traitor?

    ¡°Beat him, break his legs!¡±

    ¡°Break his hands too!¡±

    ¡°We can do anything as long as we don¡¯t kill him!¡±

    Human Alliance¡¯s disciples went mad. They were too frustrated and they needed to vent their emotions. Nangong Mu became the only target that they could go after.

    He was an easy target who waspletely incapable of fighting back.

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡± Punches didn¡¯t stop falling. However, to the disciples¡¯ surprise, they didn¡¯t manage to break Nangong Mu¡¯s hands and legs like what they had expected.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we break his legs even after all that?¡±

    ¡°It seems like his physical body is still incredibly strong even though his powers have been restrained!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, don¡¯t hold back. This guy can really take a beating. Exert all your strength! We must break all his limbs!¡±

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡±

    Their moring and the sound of punchesnding on Nangong Mu painted a bizarre picture atop Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Nangong Mu curled up into a fetal position.

    He wanted to stand back up, but it felt like he had lost the strength in his arms and legspletely. They couldn¡¯t support his body against all the punches.

    ¡°Why?! Why do I still feel pain in a dream!¡± Nangong Mu yelled angrily. He couldn¡¯t ept this, and his heart was burning with anger.

    ¡®Nangong Nobles¡¯ mission...¡¯

    ¡®Has failed!¡¯

    Even in his dream, he couldn¡¯t fight back and had to sumb to the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples violent beating.

    Hatred!

    Endless hatred!

    The golden radiance in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes flickered. However, it seemed to be restrained, so it could only protect his body instead of getting out.

    ¡°Ah... This isn¡¯t a dream. This is Heaven Zen...¡±

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    As soon as Nangong Mu opened his mouth, a punchnded on his face and forced his mouth shut.

    Then, more punches started rapidly attacking his head and his body. Furthermore, they were getting stronger and stronger. Some of them even used their Origin Energy.

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, this fellow is too tough!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, even my hands are getting sore. This won¡¯t work. We must use our weapons in order to break his legs!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, help me raise his legs up. I will break them for him!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡±

    The Human Alliance¡¯s disciples began their next n and forcefully dragged Nangong Mu up from the ground, and they lifted his left leg.

    In the meantime, several disciples took out their weapons.

    There was a hammer which was covered in iron nails, as well as a ck iron pole. All of them were heavy-duty weapons that could even crush metal with a single blow.

    ¡°Big brother...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m useless. I¡¯m getting beaten by this kind of guys and I can¡¯t even fight back!¡±

    ¡°Father...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m unfilial for killing you, and I¡¯m disloyal to the family for failing toplete our mission. I am even going to die here...¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    Nangong Mu kept mumbling before eventually roaring with anger.

    As his voice was heard, the hammer that was covered in iron nailsnded on his left leg and broke it.

    Crack!

    ¡°Have we finally broken it?¡±

    ¡°This guy is too tough. We have to use our weapons!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s switch to another leg. We¡¯ll break both of his legs and see if he could still do anything bad in the future!¡±

    The Human Alliance¡¯s disciples were all relieved when they saw Nangong Mu¡¯s leg breaking. Then, they lifted his other leg.

    Nangong Mu gritted his teeth tightly.

    He was simply venting his anger by roaring because he couldn¡¯t ept the final oue. However, he was screaming or shouting due to the pain from his broken leg.

    That was because he was on the verge of despair.

    His power had been restrained. Even if he wasn¡¯t in a dream and even if he really went back to Heaven Zen Mountain, what could he do?

    He could no longerplete his family¡¯s mission.

    ¡°Stop it, all of you!¡± At this moment, they heard someone¡¯s voice. Then, a person rushed into the crowd and bumped the disciples who were about to break Nangong Mu¡¯s other leg away.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yan Qing!¡±

    ¡°Yan Qing, the monster of War Pinnacle Empire?!¡±

    ¡°Yan Qing, although you¡¯re Sect Leader Wu¡¯s personal guard now, you are still a member of the Human Alliance. Moreover, do you remember when Nangong Mu¡¯s brother, Nangong Hao, stabbed you in Heaven Dao Pavilion back then?¡±

    ¡°Why are you helping him?¡±

    The disciples all took a step back subconsciously after they identified the person who rushed in because Yan Qing was a human-shaped monster.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, are you ok?¡± Yan Qing ignored the disciples around him. He just bent down and touched Nangong Mu¡¯s twisted and broken leg.

    Crack!

    His broken leg was reattached just like that.

    ¡°Yan Qing, what are you doing?! Do you want to be a traitor to mankind as well?¡± The disciples of the Human Alliance started questioning him when they saw that.

    ¡°His life belongs to Fang Zhengzhi. Before Fang Zhengzhi gives the okay to kill him, none of you can hurt him! Furthermore, his power has been restrained, so he¡¯s harmless!¡±

    ¡°Yan Qing, we could only ensure that he¡¯s harmless after we break his limbs!¡±

    ¡°Screw off! I¡¯ll kill you if you utter another word!¡± Yan Qing simply yelled at them coldly before helping Nangong Mu off the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Human Alliance¡¯s disciples fell silent instantly.

    On the other hand, Nangong Muughed, albeit painfully. There was blood on the corner of his mouth and his clothes were long torn to shreds. However, he was stillughing, so much so that his body was trembling.

    ¡°Yan Qing, let go of me!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Hehe... Are you trying to mock me? I, Nangong Mu, have failed. Nangong Nobles¡¯ mission could never bepleted. What¡¯s the point of me living?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. Nangong Nobles¡¯ mission is nothing like what you¡¯ve imagined!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?! What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. However, when I was protecting Sect Leader Wu in the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, I actually heard Fang Zhengzhi saying that Nangong Nobles¡¯ mission isn¡¯t bing the ruler of the world. Instead, it is actually bringing Emperor Huang Xuanyuan back. Do you understand? Bring Emperor Huang Xuanyuan with your ¡®Heaven-Receiving Door¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... Bring Emperor Huang Xuanyuan back?! Yan Qing, do you think I¡¯m a fool?!¡±

 Chapter 1049 - We Screwed Up - The Twelve Ancient Warlocks Have Descended!

    <h4>Chapter 1049: We Screwed Up ¨C The Twelve Ancient Warlocks Have Descended!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Don¡¯t you believe it?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Nangong Mu was certain. As descendants of Emperor Yan, how could they be mistaken about their mission that had been passed down for so many generations? He didn¡¯t believe it, and he wouldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Do you really not believe it!¡± Yan Qing looked at Nangong Mu seriously and asked.

    ¡°No!¡± Nangong Mu looked determined as he stared back at Yan Qing. Then, heughed and said, ¡°Are you going to kill me because I don¡¯t believe it? Hehe, go on, I¡¯m ready!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi will decide your life and death. I... Won¡¯t kill you.¡± Yan Qing shook his head. Then, he let go of Nangong Mu and walked away.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Nangong Mu uttered.

    Yan Qing stopped moving, but he didn¡¯t turn around.

    ¡°Tell me, is this Heaven Zen Mountain?¡± After a short silence, Nangong Mu asked and looked towards the sky in the meantime.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Qing replied emotionlessly.

    However, the disciples of the Human Alliance looked nervous because they saw Nangong Mu¡¯s expression when he looked towards the sky.

    The Door of the Realm of God was standing in the sky.

    Although Nangong Mu¡¯s power had been restrained, how could anyone be sure that he wasn¡¯t capable of opening the Door of the Realm of God?

    ¡°Is Fang Zhengzhi battling the four ancient beasts?¡± Nangong Mu ignored the expressions on the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples and looked towards Tao Tie and Hun Dun.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Yan Qing nodded.

    ¡°ording to the legends, the four ancient beasts are astoundingly powerful. Each one of them is almost as strong as a Five-wed Golden Dragon. How are you going to stop all four of them?¡± Nangong Mu asked once again.

    This time, Yan Qing¡¯s body twitched.

    He also looked towards the battlefield, where a dozen sect leaders adopted closebat after following Mu Qingfeng¡¯smand.

    However, it wasn¡¯t really working.

    Tao Wu was too powerful.

    Regardless of physical body or speed, Mu Qingfeng and the rest couldn¡¯t match up to him. In merely a few exchanges, two more sect leaders dropped to the ground, and no one knew if they were dead or alive.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, we can¡¯t hold on much longer if this going on!¡±

    ¡°Yeah... Pavilion Master Mu, what exactly is your n? If this continues, we can¡¯t hold our ground against Tao Wu!¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, we have to put distance between us and that beast. We cannot keep fighting him at close range anymore!¡±

    The dozen sect leaders were all panic-stricken because Tao Wu was far stronger than they had estimated.

    Most importantly, they could clearly sense that Tao Wu wasn¡¯t exerting all his strength. He was just toying with them.

    If he was so powerful even without exerting all his strength...

    What would happen if it did?

    The Sect leaders felt a chill up their spines when they thought of that because if that really happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    ...

    Yan Qing slowly looked away from Mu Qingfeng and the rest, before turning towards Nangong Mu again, saying, ¡°Your power has already been restrained. You don¡¯t have to worry about this.¡±

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    At this moment, they heard a loud noise from afar. One of the sect leaders who were ganging up on Tao Wu with Mu Qingfeng was sent flying by his w.

    Blood sttered.

    That sect leader¡¯s body was torn into pieces. There was no way he could have survived.

    The surrounding disciples were frightened to their cores when they saw that. If this went on, none of the sect leaders would survive.

    ¡®What should we do?¡¯

    ¡®What exactly should we do?¡¯

    All the disciples of the Human Alliance were extremely anxious.

    Tao Wu¡¯s strength was far beyond what Mu Qingfeng and the rest could handle. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s battle also seemed to have turned into some sort of stalemate.

    Hun Dun wasn¡¯t as agile as Tao Wu.

    However, it was extremely sturdy.

    No matter what Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan did to him, he could recover quickly and charge towards Fang Zhengzhi again.

    Furthermore, this was without Tao Tie¡¯s intervention.

    Once Tao Tie found an opportunity to attack, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan might be defeated immediately.

    The situation was extremely nerve-wracking.

    Even though Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five could suppress Qiong Qi, it didn¡¯t make too much of a difference because the three other ancient beasts were too powerful.

    Rumble!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, a sudden change urred.

    Countless bolts of lightning descended and sted the three Gates of God standing in the sky. Electricity zapped around the gates.

    ¡°Oh crap, look at the Gate of God of the Demon Realm!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Radiance seems to be surging out of the gate!¡±

    ¡°This is bad. We aren¡¯t even done with the four beasts yet. If Godly State masters of the Demon race appear at this moment, isn¡¯t mankind done for?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance eximed.

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race opened their eyes wide with astonishment when they saw that. Although they were forced to surrender to the Human Alliance, it didn¡¯t mean that they were really willing to ept defeat.

    ¡°Are more masters of the Demon Race descending?!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s hope!¡±

    ¡°I really hope that they aren¡¯t anything like the four ancient beasts, I really do!¡±

    The troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race were praying.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi and Yun Qingwu were also looking at the Gate of God of the Demon Realm, especially Baizhi, whose premonition was extremely strong because she was a Nine-Tailed White Fox.

    ¡°They are very strong!¡± She could sense that the aura of the masters that were going to descend from the Gate of God of the Demon Realm this time was extremely vast and almost on the same level as the four ancient beasts.

    Boom!

    A beam of light descended rapidly andnded on the peak of Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Then, the second beam descended, followed by the third one and the fourth one...

    Countless light beams rained down like a meteor shower. They all struck the peak of Heaven Zen Mountain and the peak started shaking.

    Such amotion delivered a massive shock even to Fang Zhengzhi and hispanions, not to mention the disciples of the Human Alliance and the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°More masters have descended?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned instantly.

    They were exhausted and even on the brink of death just from fighting the four ancient beasts. If masters of the Demon Race appeared at this moment, it would be too terrifying.

    There was no end to this.

    As long as the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons weren¡¯t closed, more powerful Demons and Monsters would keep descending from the gxy. There was no stopping them.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± The other sect leaders were also filled with despair.

    They had originally thought that the war was approaching its end and the Human Alliance would take control of the world again, while the Monster Race and Demon Race would fall back to the Great Swamp and Blood Shadow City.

    However, it seemed like...

    Things weren¡¯t so simple at all.

    Everything seemed to have just begun. The truly powerful Monsters and Demons had only just begun to descend into this world in an unopposable manner.

    Fear, despair, ineptness...

    Countless emotions filled their hearts, and it hurt.

    At this moment, they heard another loud bang. It was another sect leader who was struck by Tao Wu¡¯s tail and sent flying.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Another sect leader died.

    Tao Wu¡¯s eyes looked extremely cold. He didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of those light beams that descended from the Gate of God of the Demon Realm at all. He attacked Mu Qingfeng and the rest while they were distracted.

    ¡°Ao!¡± They heard a thundering roar.

    Tao Wu moved around rapidly and charged into the center of the sect leaders. He snapped at them while smacking them with his four sharp ws.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Soon, another sect leader was sent flying, and his arm was ripped off. Blood stained his clothes and he cried out in pain.

    ¡°Grandpa, watch out!¡± At this moment, Yan Xiu also noticed that Tao Wu was charging towards Yan Qianli, and he quickly alerted him anxiously.

    Boom!

    Yan Qianli ultimately managed to evade the attack.

    However, he was in a bad state because one of Tao Wu¡¯s ws had struck his thigh. He was bleeding from his leg and he was extremely pale.

    ¡°Prince Yan!¡± Mu Qingfeng yelled anxiously.

    ¡°Forget about me, handle this son of a bitch with all your might first!¡± Yan Qianli naturally noticed the countless light beams that had descended from the Gate of God of the Demon Realm too. He was equally anxious.

    However, the most important thing at the moment was stopping Tao Wu.

    ...

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Countless light beams descended, and each of them turned out to a giant ck rock that looked like it was previously chained up. They all looked incredibly massive.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance werepletely dumbfounded.

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest were in an extraordinarily tough spot because Tao Wu was too tough for them to handle. Yet, they felt a stronger pressure from these giant ck rocks.

    Their vast aura had affected the entire Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Boom! One of the giant ck rocks exploded. Countless rock shards flew towards the Human Alliance like a bunch of sharp knives.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Ahhhh....¡±

    In just an instant, a dozen disciples were struck by the shards because they couldn¡¯t avoid them in time. The shards pierced through their entire body.

    Almost all of them died.

    This was too terrifying!

    All the disciples were shaken to their cores.

    Meanwhile, a massive figure slowly appeared amidst the dust. It was a huge, muscr, and half-naked man.

    Numerous golden patterns flowed around his body and made him look exceptionally powerful.

    Most importantly, this big man was extraordinarily massive. He was about three to four meters tall and looked just like a gigantic tower.

    ¡°A giant?!¡±

    ¡°A Giant of the Demon Race?¡±

    ¡°How could a demon be so tall and big?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance eximed.

    Yan Qing was also astonished. Even he could sense the mighty aura of this massive demon.

    ¡°He¡¯s one of the Chi You tribesman!¡± Nangong Mu uttered.

    ¡°Chi You?!¡± Yan Qing froze. He was no stranger to this term because he Indestructible Body was somewhat rted to Chi You¡¯s bloodline.

    In the legends, there was an extremely powerful settlement in ancient times, and its leader was Chi You.

    Chi You was also a huge guy. His rumored height was between seven to eight meters, and his arms were terrifyingly powerful, for he could rip apart powerful divine beasts with just his hands.

    Although Chi You was eventually defeated by Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, they just banished his tribesmen instead of killing them all.

    ¡°Chi You¡¯s bloodline is part of the Demon Race?!¡± Yan Qing was truly stunned. He knew about Chi You, but he didn¡¯t expect them to be part of the Demon Race.

    ¡°Now, what do we do?¡± Nangong Mu didn¡¯t answer Yan Qing¡¯s question. He just stood there and watched Yan Qing¡¯s stunned expression silently.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Qing fell silent again.

    ¡®Yeah, what do we do now?¡±

    ¡®The powerful Chi You tribe is actually affiliated to the Demon Race.¡¯

    ¡®Furthermore, they havee back into this world once again. Under such circumstances, what should the Human Alliance do?¡¯

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Following a series of loud noises, the second, third, and fourth giant ck rocks exploded and revealed more massive figures.

    Each one of them was about three to four meters tall.

    To make things worse, one of them was astoundingly five meters tall. His entire body was red as blood and his face was covered in golden patterns. He looked just like an ancient Demon God.

    Rather, he was an ancient Demon God!

    The race of Chi You!

    ¡°Four ancient beasts? Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five? This ce... Is really lively!¡± The five meters tall man of the Chi You Race talked. His body waspletely red and his eyes exuded a chilling light.

    His voice was incredibly loud and it shook the jungles.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, who was fighting Qiong Qi in the air, looked towards the ground, and his expression instantly changed.

    ¡°Hong You!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five obviously knew this massive man of the Chi You Race. He identified him and said his name right away.

    Qiong Qi also stopped moving at this moment. At less than two meters tall, it stood in the air silently while its wings kept pping.

    ¡°It is pretty lively. However, you guys, the Twelve Warlocks of the Demon Race, are not weed!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°They are Chi You¡¯s twelve warlocks?!¡±

    ¡°The Twelve Warlocks of the Demon Race. Oh my god, it¡¯s them?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance instantly reacted to Qiong Qi¡¯s words.

    These weren¡¯t ordinary men of the Chi You Race. They were the twelve most powerful fighters under Chi You, and they were known as the Twelve Warlocks.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The explosion continued as massive figures appeared one after another. The radiance in the sky was dazzling while a loud and stunning voice echoed in the air.

    It sounded like the ring of an ancient bell.

    The twelve warlocks had all descended. They stood atop the peak of Heaven Zen Mountain like twelve massive metal towers, instilling fear in everyone¡¯s heart.

    This was a terrifying scene.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi stopped moving at this moment. He looked at the twelve warlocks and smiled bitterly.

    ¡°The Twelve Warlocks of the Demon Race, huh? Chi You¡¯s twelve strongest fighters? I can¡¯t believe they hold me in such high regard. All of them came down, not a single one is missing.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was really feeling helpless. He wasn¡¯t even done with the four ancient beasts, and the twelve warlocks had already descended.

    ¡®How am I going to deal with this?!¡¯

    ¡®Can someone please tell me how can I deal with this?¡¯

 Chapter 1050 - The Gathering of Gods - Dawn of the Ancient Era

    <h4>Chapter 1050: The Gathering of Gods ¨C Dawn of the Ancient Era</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was no way to do this happily.

    Two more popped up after he killed one of them, and now a whole damn bunch of them appeared after he dealt with the previous two.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like there was no end to his enemies. They were like a neverending flood and he could never kill them all. Moreover, the more enemies he ughtered, the stronger the new enemies were.

    He didn¡¯t even have the time to take care of the four ancient beasts before Chi You¡¯s twelve warlocks descended.

    In that case, would even stronger existences appear?

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t sure about that, but the chances of that happening were incredibly big. That was because he could sense that this world was heavily connected to the legends that he knew about in his previous life.

    The four ancient beasts?

    They were just the tip of the iceberg.

    Apart from them, there were many other legendary beings, such as the Four Spiritual Beasts, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, ck Tortoise, Qilin, and the Phoenix...

    There were too many of them.

    And that was just the Monster Race.

    If the twelve ancient warlocks were affiliated with the Demon Race, how many more powerful fighters were there in Chi You¡¯s Race? It would be uncountable.

    The stars...

    Yeah, there were as many ancient masters as the stars.

    How many of these masters that could upy their own territories in the gxy had survived, and how many of them would descend into this world? This waspletely out of one¡¯s control.

    Kill them?

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind killing some of them. However, the problem was, could he actually kill them? And could he kill them all?

    Putting other things aside, the four ancient beasts alone were enough to give him a headache. Now that the twelve warlocks of the Demon Race had descended as well, this waspletely going out of hand.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    While Fang Zhengzhi was upied with his thoughts, more radiance descended from the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons. It was like a sh flood that couldn¡¯t be stopped.

    Boom! A giant ck rock exploded.

    A huge monster with white fur and was shaped like a snow leopard appeared from the dust. Its long tail was wagging behind its back.

    ¡°Bai Ze?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes became wide open when he saw that monster.

    Just as he had expected, powerful masters weren¡¯t just appearing from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm. They were appearing from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm too.

    Bai Ze!

    A Godly Beast that was equally terrifying.

    It lived in the mythical Mount Kun Lun ording to the legends, and it was horrifyingly powerful.

    ¡°It¡¯s Bai Ze!¡±

    ¡°Another Godly Beast?!¡±

    ¡°What should we do? What exactly should we, humans, do?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance really started panicking when they saw Bai Ze.

    The four ancient beasts, together with the twelve warlocks and now Bai Ze, had all appeared. Was there really a need to continue this battle?

    Boom!

    me soared into the air.

    Then, they heard a crisp tweet. It was a gigantic red bird that had appeared from a giant ck rock. It was shaped like a crane, but its entire body was red, and it only had a single leg.

    Fang Zhengzhi intuitively wanted to yell out the name ¡®Vermilion Bird¡¯, but he realized that he was wrong after he saw that single leg. It was Bi Fang that appeared, not Vermilion Bird.

    He was another Godly Bird.

    Although he wasn¡¯t as terrifying as Vermilion Bird, it was still incredibly powerful. Most of the humans here did not stand any chance against him.

    ¡°Another one?!¡±

    ¡°Is that the ancient Godly Beast, zing Crane Bi Fang?!¡±

    ¡°This is over, we are really doomed this time!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance felt hopeless. They didn¡¯t even have the strength to think about it anymore because this battle was no longer something that they could control.

    Far too many Godly Beasts had descended.

    Furthermore, many massive figures appeared behind the twelve warlocks one after another. They walked towards the warlocks and kneeled down behind them.

    ¡°Greetings, master Hong You!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, master Qing Xin!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Simr greetings were heard one after another. It was clear that these demons were extremely tall. Even the shortest ones were standing at a height of close to three meters.

    All of them were from Chi You¡¯s Race.

    This scene didn¡¯t just leave the Human Alliance¡¯s disciples dumbfounded. Even the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race opened their eyes wide with astonishment.

    That was because their brain couldn¡¯t even keep up with the huge number of masters that had descended. The entire world seemed to have gone back to the ancient era all of a sudden.

    That¡¯s right!

    The ancient era!

    Countless ancient masters had descended. Furthermore, the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons were still blooming with radiance.

    More ancient masters continued to rush out of the two Gates of God.

    This was a nerve-wracking sight.¡¯

    ¡°Against so many ancient masters, is there still any hope... For mankind?¡± Nangong Mu raised his head and watched the radiance that fell from the sky. No one knew what his thoughts were.

    Yan Qing didn¡¯t say a word.

    That was because he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The development had far exceeded what his mind could keep up with. Too many ancient masters had descended, and to make things worse, it all happened at almost exactly the same time.

    It felt like they had nned this beforehand.

    If they were just up against the four ancient beasts, there might still be a faint hope if Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fought with their lives on the line.

    However, if they were up against such a terrifying army of ancient masters...

    No one could possibly beat them.

    Even if Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was here, he wouldn¡¯t dare to im that he could defeat this massive army of ancient masters by himself, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°There is no hope. There isn¡¯t any hope for the Human Alliance, or for this world. It¡¯s impossible. There is no hope... For us too...¡± Nangong Mu mumbled as he stood there motionless. His face was full of despair and he wasn¡¯t going to avoid the rocks that were flying towards him.

    Bam! Yan Qing caught a rock that was flying towards Nangong Mu¡¯s face, and a little blood dripped off his palm.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, rx. I¡¯d bring you out of this ce even if I lose my life. I won¡¯t let you die!¡¯ Yan Qing looked extremely determined.

    ¡°If you lose your life, how are you going to bring me out of this ce?¡± Nangong Mu asked.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Qing was speechless. He wasn¡¯t a good talker, and it was just a figure of speech to express his determination. However, he couldn¡¯t answer Nangong Mu¡¯s question.

    ¡®How are we going to leave this ce if we are dead?¡¯

    ¡°Go, you don¡¯t have to care about me. I just want to stay here with my big brother and....¡± Nangong Mu waved his wand and sat down before Yan Qing replied to his question.

    Bam!

    Nangong Mu took a solid punch to his head, and hended on the ground head first. His face was covered in dirt and there was a fresh bloodstain on the corner of his mouth. It was eye-catching.

    The person who hit him was naturally Yan Qing.

    Yan Qing was furious.

    When he saw Nangong Mu sitting down, he didn¡¯t know what went through his mind. He just wanted to wake him up with a good beating.

    It was a very strange feeling.

    Even Yan Qing himself didn¡¯t know what was the purpose of waking Nangong Mu up.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Nangong Muughed.

    ¡°Why are youughing? Mankind is on the verge of defeat, and the entire world is going to be screwed. Great Xia Dynasty, War Pinnacle Empire, and all the other empires will no longer exist!¡± Yan Qing screamed.

    However, Nangong Mu just keptughing as if he didn¡¯t hear him. He wasughing so madly that his body was twitching on the ground.

    ¡°Empires? You are still talking about empires at this moment?!¡± Nangong Mu suddenly became insane after he was doneughing and he pounced towards Yan Qing.

    Bam!

    However, he dropped onto the ground very quickly after Yan Qing threw a punch at him.

    He spat out blood and the expression on his face became a little twisted. The corner of his mouth was covered in blood, but he still wasn¡¯t giving up.

    It seemed like he wanted to kill Yan Qing.

    ¡°Screw off and leave me alone! You have no rights to mind my business!¡± Nangong Mu kept swung his fists at Yan Qing. The golden radiance in his eyes flickered, but there was no strength in his punches.

    Bam!

    Yan Qing dropped him to the ground once again.

    However, he didn¡¯t give up. He kept charging towards Yan Qing.

    He stood up and charged towards Yan Qing again and again. Then, he would end up on the ground, before standing up and charging towards Yan Qing once more. It was as if he was crazy.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, we are friends!¡± After the seventh time that he was defeated, Yan Qing suddenly bent down and grabbed Nangong Mu¡¯s cloth and eximed.

    ¡°Friends?!¡± Nangong Mu trembled. He looked at Yan Qing with an extremely weird andplicated expression on his face, but soon, heughed and said, ¡°Do you think that YOU are worthy? How could you call yourself my friend? How can you help me? There is nothing you could do for me as a friend!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I can¡¯t help you. However, I¡¯ve considered you to be one of my few friends ever since I fought against you in Heaven Dao Pavilion!¡± Yan Qing shouted angrily at Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be naive. I, Nangong Mu, don¡¯t need any friends! Fang Zhengzhi has deceived me, and you want to deceive me too. It¡¯s not happening, I¡¯d never fall for it again!¡± Nangong Mu also yelled furiously.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t deceive you!¡±

    ¡°He did!¡±

    ¡°He was helping you. He has been helping you all along. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t want to kill you even though you betrayed mankind. He never did!¡±

    ¡°Is that right? Didn¡¯t that dragon save me?¡±

    ¡°Did you really think that senior Xuanyuan Five could save you by himself? If Fang Zhengzhi wanted to kill you, you¡¯d have already been dead!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu fell silent.

    He didn¡¯tugh this time because he knew that Yan Qing was speaking the truth. If Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to kill him, he naturally had many ways to do it.

    He knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality well.

    He didn¡¯t like to take lives unnecessarily.

    However, he would be extremely decisive if he really wanted to kill someone.

    For example, Fang Zhengzhi ughtered five Sages consecutively underneath Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s mountain. Another example would be how he had killed several Gods just now.

    ¡°Yan Qing, what exactly are you saying to say? If you want me to save the Human Alliance, let me tell you that it¡¯d only happen in your dreams. It¡¯s not possible. It will never happen!¡± Nangong Mu stared at Yan Qing.

    ¡°Do you really have an idea?¡± Yan Qing¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No, you do. You¡¯re Nangong Mu, a descendant of Emperor Yan. Since you know about the ancient era, you must have an idea, right?¡± Yan Qing questioned him.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I know nothing apart from my mission.¡± Nangong Mu shook his head.

    ¡°It seems like I¡¯m mistaken... However, I¡¯d still treat you as a friend even if you don¡¯t know anything else and even if you don¡¯t treat me as your friend.¡± Yan Qing shook his head and let go of Nangong Mu¡¯s cor.

    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s funny!¡± Nangong Mu patted his cloth, looked towards the countless massive figures in the near distance and uttered, ¡°The twelve ancient warlocks, as well as the warriors of Chi You¡¯s Race, together with the four ancient beasts and other ancient Godly Beasts like Bai Ze and Bi Fang. Mankind... Is fated to be doomed!¡± ¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Yan Qing nodded. Then, he walked towards the battlefield with extreme determination.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Nangong Mu asked intuitively.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill them!¡±

    ¡°By yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, by myself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just courting death!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about dying? At the very least, I did what I could for mankind. Even if I die, I¡¯d die without any regrets!¡± After Yan Qing said that, he rushed towards the most powerful Demons, the twelve warlocks. Moreover, he was targeting Hong You.

    This definitely surprised the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    Simrly, Hong You, who was standing amidst a group of Chi You¡¯s warriors, was also a little astonished. After all, he really didn¡¯t expect a feeble human to challenge him.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Hong You smiled faintly when he saw the person rushing towards him. Then, he slowly raised his right hand.

    Crack!

    Hong You caught Yan Qing just like that.

    It felt like Yan Qing was pulled away by an extremely powerful suction force. He ended up in Hong You¡¯s hand instantly.

    ¡°Yan Qing!¡± Nangong Mu yelled.

    For some reason, he didn¡¯t want Yan Qing to die. It might be because he once fought against Yan Qing, or it might be because there were too many simrities between the two of them.

    Untalkative.

    Bad at interacting.

    Few friends throughout the entire life.

    Lonely, yet appearing to be extremely strong.

    However, who really knew how much they desired friends, care, love from their parents, and everything warm in this world, underneath their strong appearances.

    Yan Qing...

    Was a monster that grew up in the woods.

    Nangong Mu...

    Was ignored by his family and born to shoulder his family¡¯s mission.

    Their fates were too simr and their personalities had too much inmon. All of that led to the reluctance in Nangong Mu¡¯s heart.

    If Yan Qing really died.

    Who else in this world could understand his inner self?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even die from this? Your physique is pretty good.¡± Hong You pinched Yan Qing¡¯s neck and allowed him to struggle in his hands. His smile grew colder and he said, ¡°It seems like you have inherited a tiny portion of our bloodline of Chi You. Hmm... If you pledge your loyalty to me, I could consider letting you off. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°In... In your dreams!¡± Yan Qing¡¯s face was bright red. He found it hard to breathe due to Hong You¡¯s might. His body¡¯s power seemed to have beenpletely restrained, and he couldn¡¯t move a single muscle.

    ¡®Is this the power of the twelve ancient warlocks?¡¯

    ¡®They are really so strong!¡¯

 Chapter 1051 - The Terrifying Powers of Tao Tie

    <h4>Chapter 1051: The Terrifying Powers of Tao Tie</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yan Qing wanted to escape from Hong You¡¯s hands.

    However, he had no power to do that. There seemed to be an invisible force on Hong You¡¯s palm that was extremely powerful. No matter how much Yan Qing struggled, he could not move at all.

    As the palm pressed on him harder, his face turned purple and he felt like he was about to die because of the powerful force which made him unable to breathe.

    ¡°Yan Qing!¡± At this moment, a figure pounced at Hong You like a leopard, his eyes glistening with golden radiance.

    ¡°Oh? Another one?¡± Hong You kicked the figure without even looking.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    The figure flew back and fell t on his face. The powerful impact made a huge dent on the ground.

    However, he did not give up.

    He charged towards Hong You again.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Hong You was surprised as he could feel that although the human was pathetically weak, he was very stubborn.

    Moreover, the golden radiance in his eyes made him feel like it was both familiar and foreign at the same time.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    As predicted, Nangong Mu¡¯s body was sent flying again.

    Meanwhile, Yan Qing turned his head with much effort and looked at the figure who had fallen on the ground heartenedly. ¡°Nangong Mu... I... I will take my... my leave first...¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Nangong Mu eximed in shock.

    However, Hong You¡¯s hand had already moved and dropped Yan Qing¡¯s body heavily near his feet before stepping hard on him.

    Yan Qing covered his face with his hands instinctively.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The sound of bones cracking could be heard. The heavy force caused his body to sink into the rock and all his bones seemed to have cracked into powder form instantly.

    ¡°Am I going to die?¡± This thought shed across Yan Qing¡¯s mind. He looked at Nangong Mu and thought that he saw him yelling furiously.

    However, he could not hear what he was yelling about.

    The entire world became extremely silent. There was no sound of wind or roars of battle, the only sound left was the weak thumping of his heart.

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Ah! I want to kill you!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes turned golden and it looked as though there were waves tumbling in his golden eyes.

    Wu Yuer and the rest saw this too.

    ¡°Yan Qing?! Master, hurry... hurry and save Yan Qing!¡± Wu Yuer shouted desperately at Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°This...¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s body moved instinctively but stopped moving when he saw the twisted body of Yan Qing.

    He wanted to save Yan Qing.

    However, how could he possibly save him in this situation?

    Not only was there a powerful Hong You in front of him, he probably could not save Yan Qing given his severe injuries.

    Moreover, even if he managed to save his life, he would be paralyzed for life.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Yuer, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Go?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go, if not it will be toote...¡±

    ¡°Master!¡± Wu Yuer broke off Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s sentence and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°This time, I will definitely not leave. If Master wants to leave, please go ahead!¡±

    ¡°Yuer, you...¡±

    ¡°Master, do you not understand? If we lost today, we will not have any more hope, all the humans would be servants or even perish!¡± eximed Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Where¡¯s there¡¯s life there¡¯s hope, there is a lot of us, we will definitely have a chance, even if we lost today, we will still have a chance.¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint shook his head.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be any more chances, Master, I know you must know that. You must know that!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint fell silent.

    He looked at Wu Yuer, the Shadow Sect Leader whom he raised up, the person who was closer to him than his family.

    Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

    That was right, if they lost this battle and Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Mu Qingfeng and the rest died, would there still be hope for humankind?

    The so-called hope wasforting words only.

    ¡°Master, you can leave, I will definitely not leave!¡± said Wu Yuer determinedly without waiting for Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s reply.

    ¡°Yuer, wait for me!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint nodded his head before charging towards the battlefield. His target was Tao Wu.

    Wu Yuer did not understand that.

    The power of Tao Wu was extremely terrifying. He was undefeatable even with thebined efforts of Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi and the rest. It was only a matter of time before they lost.

    Yet her master, Heavenly Oasis Saint, who was not even as powerful as Yan Qianli, decided to join the battle against Tao Wu, what was his intention?

    Was hemitting suicide?

    ¡°Master, why are you going?!¡± Wu Yuer shouted at Heavenly Oasis Saint. She understood his character very well, no matter what, he would notmit suicide like that.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were also confused.

    After all, the Heavenly Oasis Saint had always kept a low profile which included being afraid of death.

    ¡°What is the Heavenly Oasis Saint doing?¡±

    ¡°Is he also trying to fight until his death?¡±

    ¡°Impossible?!¡±

    ¡°Why Impossible? I think it¡¯s very possible. The Heavenly Oasis Saint also craves for blood but he doesn¡¯t show it.¡±

    As the disciples of the Human Alliance were in the midst of a discussion, the Heavenly Oasis Saint turned around.

    He traveled at a speed faster than that when he charged forward.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance could not react to this change.

    However, they soon found out that there was something amiss as the Heavenly Oasis Saint did not return alone. He brought Mo Shanshi back with him.

    ¡°He brought Valley Master Mo?!¡±

    ¡°What on earth is he nning to do?¡±

    ¡°Unless he just wanted to bring Valley Master Mo back?¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were speechless.

    At this moment, the Heavenly Oasis Saint spoke, ¡°Nangong Mu, don¡¯t you want to save Yan Qing? I will give you the chance to do that!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were surprised.

    Then, they realized Heavenly Oasis Saint had brought the severely injured Mo Shanshi back to Nangong Mu as he pped the back of Mo Shanshi.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, we can only take a gamble if we want to win!¡±

    ¡°Huff...¡± Mo Shanshi breathed heavily as his face turned red. That was because the p of the Heavenly Oasis Saint made him feel as though he was bathing in the power of life.

    ¡°Hurry up, I can¡¯tst long!¡± hurried the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis Saint, did you...¡±

    ¡°Hurry!¡±

    ¡°I understand, Nangong Mu, you are also a human, I hope you don¡¯t disappoint us!¡± Mo Shanshi did not say anything else because he knew what the Heavenly Oasis Saint was thinking about.

    To deal with chaos with chaos!

    The only person who could still fight against the ancient beasts and powerful individuals was Nangong Mu.

    The traitor of humankind!

    He took away the restraints on Nangong Mu.

    This made the Heaven Zen Mountain more chaotic. Although it sounded ridiculous, it was the only choice given this situation.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Nangong Mu sprawled on the ground with the golden radiance surging within his body. However, no matter how he roared, a powerful force subdued him.

    Until a hand went above his head.

    It was Mo Shanshi¡¯s hand. It did not have a lot of energy but he felt a force flowing from his head into his body.

    Boom!

    A terrifying airwave surged out of Nangong Mu¡¯s body and turned into beams of golden radiance that shot out in all directions.

    ¡°Nangong Mu has been freed from his restraints?!¡±

    ¡°Oh my goodness!¡±

    ¡°We have yet to deal with the four ancient beasts and the twelve ancient warlocks and now we have Nangong Mu to deal with, this... do the humankind still have hope?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we freed Nangong Mu from his restraints because we don¡¯t have hope!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were astonished. However, they knew that it was done because they were left without a choice.

    ¡°Hmm? This brat actually had this power on him?¡± Even Hong You was slightly surprised when he saw the golden radiance radiating from Nangong Mu¡¯s body.

    ¡°Yan Qing?¡± Nangong Mu...¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt a strange movement long ago. He wanted to save Yan Qing but he could not.

    That was because he was held down by Hun Dun and Tao Tie.

    The two beasts did not stop because of the arrival of the twelve warlocks, instead, they attacked Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and the rest at an even faster speed.

    ¡°Nangong Mu broke through the restraints, what do we do?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face flushed and turned pale repeatedly and she looked as though her energy was depleted.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Alright?! Did you say it¡¯s alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes. the Heavenly Oasis Saint did the correct thing. I would do that too if I were him.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and did not make any otherments.

    ¡°Ping Yang, watch out!¡± Chi Guyan reminded her.

    Boom!

    Another dent was formed beneath Ping Yang¡¯s feet as small rocks flew in the sky. It was formed because of a breath made by Hun Dun.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you fighting against the twelve warlocks?¡± Ping Tang was very frustrated and scolded Hun Dun as she tried to divert his attention.

    ¡°Fight for f*ck!¡± Hun Dun replied.

    As for the meaning behind that sentence...

    Not many people understood it.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could make a rough guess. The real ¡°hunter¡± would definitely not only focus on more than one prey and would only focus on one prey.

    Kill one before moving on to the next!

    ¡°Yan Xiu, do you still remember the fight I had with Half Sage Canyang in the Southern Region?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yan Xiu. Since he could not retreat, he could only fight until his death.

    ¡°Hmm, I understand!¡± Yan Xiu reacted very quickly.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang blinked and did not understand what was the rtionship between what was happening and the battle with the Half Sage Canyang in the Southern Region.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu moved.

    They forwent the position of the wind and thunder. They attacked from the front and left of Hun Dun at the same time.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Hun Dun was shocked.

    That was because he could feel that the formation plotted by Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu should have been able to increase their powers in terms of wind and thunder.

    Yet they gave up on those?

    Could it be that...

    As Hun Dun was thinking about this, he realized that Chi Guyan who was on the position of water charged towards him with a blue long sword in her hand.

    The three of them attacked at the same time.

    Hun Dun was shocked.

    He had two choices. One was to forcefully attack Fang Zhengzhi and the other two people, and the other was to attack Ping Yang who had yet to attack.

    Comparing both options, Hun Dun chose the second option without hesitation.

    After all, he had yet to figure out the reason behind Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan¡¯s sudden decision to forgo the formation.

    Boom! The gigantic body of Hun Dun rolled towards Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang paled immediately. She thought that her weak and petite body would be crushed by the towering build of Hun Dun.

    Without any hesitation, she ran in the opposite direction.

    ¡°Trying to escape, go and die!¡± Hun Dun made a strange howl. He had figured out that Ping Yang was the weakest amongst the three long ago. No matter what was Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention, it was the best opportunity for him to kill Ping Yang now.

    He opened his mouth and was ready to swallow Ping Yang.

    However, at this moment, an azure blue beam shone above Ping Yang¡¯s head.

    Heavenly Dao, Shifting Forms!

    In a blink of an eye, Ping Yang vanished and Fang Zhengzhi who was wearing a blue robe appeared at her spot.

    ¡°You finally cannot hold it in? Hehe...¡± Tao Tie who had been crouching in the ground smiled as though he was a hunter who had finally found the perfect opportunity to attack.

    Meanwhile, the front ws of Tao Tie reached forward as he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of extremely strange airwave.

    Roar! A beastly roar was heard.

    A strange scene took ce.

    Fang Zhengzhi, who had reached where Ping Yang was, suddenly vanished and Ping Yang appeared again.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Apart from the disciples of the Human Alliance, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were also shocked by this strange scene.

    Reversal?!

    The power of Tao Tie was reversal?!

    He reversed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Shifting Form technique of Heaven Dao!

 Chapter 1052 - The Comeback of the Most Powerful Tactic

    <h4>Chapter 1052: The Comeback of the Most Powerful Tactic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    He waited for such a long time.

    The patience of Tao Tie was incredible. His power was rtively terrifying too as he managed to shift Ping Yang back.

    Ping Yang turned pale immediately.

    As she saw how Hun Dun was about to swallow her with his gigantic mouth, she instinctively wanted to run again but an attractive force was given out from Hun Dun¡¯s mouth.

    He was determined to swallow her.

    ¡°Help!¡± Ping Yang screamed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also shocked because he also did not expect Tao Tie to have such this terrifying power.

    Did his n fail?!

    No way!

    Fang Zhengzhi could tolerate the fact that his n failed but he definitely could not watch Ping Yang die because she was swallowed by Hun Dun in front of his own eyes.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared loudly as he moved extremely quickly. He charged towards Hun Dun like an illusion that shone continuously in the sky.

    ¡°Trying to stop me? No way!¡± Tao Tie smiled again before waving his front ws in front of him continuously.

    Almost instantly, Fang Zhengzhi was back at his original position.

    Another reversal!

    ¡°No!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared indignantly as the gigantic mouth of Hun Dun had reached Ping Yang and he was about to swallow her.

    The continuous reversal of Heaven Dao due to Tao Tie.

    He could not do anything else.

    Ping Yang also looked desperate. If Tao Tie did not act, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely had been able to stop Hun Dun. However, the reality was as such.

    ¡°Even if I die, I will not let you have a good time!¡± Ping Yang was desperate but did not give up. She stabbed her zing Qilin Spear and it went into Hun Dun¡¯s mouth.

    Crack!

    Hun Dun bit it.

    Instantly, he was choked by the zing Qilin Spear. He widened his eyes and his body shook as he felt as though he bit on a nail.

    However, soon after, a fierce look shed in his eyes.

    He did not bother about the zing Qilin Spear in his mouth and forcefully swallowed Ping Yang.

    However, the short pause gave Yan Xiu the opportunity to reach Hun Dun as, after all, even though Tao Tie was able to reverse Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Heaven Dao, he could not reverse the Dao of Asura of Yan Xiu at the same time.

    Bam!

    The Silver Blood Fan in Yan Xiu¡¯s hands turned into a beam of sword light and struck Hun Dun¡¯s gigantic body, causing him to tilt to the left.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    At this moment, Hun Dun rolled and forcefully closed his mouth, causing the zing Qilin Spear to pierce through his upper jaw.

    ¡°Ping Yang, run!¡± Yan Xiu shouted desperately.

    However, Hun Dun did not let the prey in his mouth go. He made use of the speed he obtained through the roll and opened his mouth again with an attractive force.

    Meanwhile, the zing Qilin Spear in his mouth had strangely vanished.

    It was a strange scene.

    Within the span of the opening and closing of his mouth, the zing Qilin Spear disappeared. If Ping Yang was in his mouth instead, she would have disappeared too.

    Hun Dun had a terrifying physical recovery ability.

    He also had the ability to swallow everything.

    Anything, be it weapons or living things, would be swallowed as long as they entered his mouth. They would disappear without any trace.

    That was Hun Dun.

    One of the four ancient beasts.

    Ping Yang paled significantly. She was stubborn and a little rebellious but she panicked when she was faced with such dangerous situations.

    After all, nobody wanted to die.

    He could swallow the zing Qilin Spear, if her petite body entered his mouth, would she be able to survive?

    Run!

    Ping Yang tried to run in the opposite direction with all her strength.

    However, the attractive force from Hun Dun¡¯s mouth was too strong and restrained her movement like an invisible force and pulled her towards his mouth.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡± Ping Yang screamed.

    Then, she felt that something wound up around her waist. She wanted to struggle but the force was so strong that it pulled her back.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    Ping Yang screamed painfully.

    She felt that she was really going to die. Wild thoughts shed past her mind, for example, she, as a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, had yet to hold a legendary wedding.

    For example, she was so petite and cute but had yet to enjoy a good life.

    How miserable!

    These wild thoughts that shed past her mind made Ping Yang extremely unhappy. She moved her arms and legs continuously like a small spider who was trying to break free.

    However, she soon found that something was wrong.

    Although she was flying back, she was flying in a nted direction upwards instead of straight back. This path caused her to miss Hun Dun¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ping Yang looked behind her.

    Then, she realized that a five-colored scaled snake tail was wound around her waist. Every single scale was glistening with radiance.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan did not reply to Ping Yang.

    That was because she was trying to pull Ping Yang from Hun Dun¡¯s mouth with all her might. The attractive force was extremely terrifying.

    If her snake tail was not solid enough, she would not have been able to snatch the ¡°snack¡± from Hun Dun¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Hun Dun was furious when he saw Ping Yang escape from his mouth. He turned and leaped instead of rolling on the ground.

    He looked like a giant frog.

    Of course, Hun Dun did not have limbs but only a gigantic head. This scene made one shudder.

    However, Hun Dun was very fast.

    He leaped.

    He reached where Ping Yang was and opened his mouth again as the powerful attractive force pulled on Ping Yang. He was snatching Ping Yang from Chi Guyan.

    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± When Fang Zhengzhi saw Ping Yang being saved by Chi Guyan, he initially heaved a sigh of relief.

    Yet now, Hun Dun was not giving up and wanted to snatch the ¡°food¡±.

    He could not hold in and cursed.

    Without any hesitation, he charged towards Hun Dun again at an ultimate speed with an azure blue radiance radiating from his body.

    ¡°Trying to help? Haha, how naive,e back!¡± Tao Tie saw Fang Zhengzhi using his Heaven Dao and smiled.

    He could already tell.

    As long as he managed to stop Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu alone would not be able to stop Hun Dun from swallowing Ping Yang.

    After Hun Dun swallowed Ping Yang, the Killer Formation of the Four Elements would be broken automatically.

    Then, be it Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu or Fang Zhengzhi, they would all end up as part of their feast.

    The power of reversal appeared again.

    As predicted by Tao Tie, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body went back to the original spot.

    Tao Tieughed until his gigantic eyes narrowed like slits. The feeling of teasing his prey was so good that his body shook from the excitement.

    Then...

    He really shook.

    That was because a sharp pain came from his back.

    It felt as though an extremely sharp object suddenly stabbed him in his butthole and his head exploded from the shock.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Even an ancient beast could not endure this killer pain.

    It was so painful!

    Moreover, it was too insulting.

    Tao Tie turned around to take a look at which sly individual was attacking him sneakily from his back as everyone in the scene was under his control.

    He did not understand who else could appear behind him.

    Was it Fang Zhengzhi?!

    How did he do that?

    As he turned around...

    His eyes widened again.

    That was because the person behind him was Yan Xiu.

    Yes.

    It was Yan Xiu.

    Moreover, Yan Xiu had a two-meter thick gigantic metal rod in his hands. He forcefully stabbed it into Tao Tie¡¯s butthole.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°How is this possible?! Impossible!¡± Tao Tie would not believe that such a ridiculous thing had happened. Yan Xiu was saving Ping Yang, so how could he possibly appear behind him?

    However, no matter what, Yan Xiu was indeed standing behind him and the gigantic metal rod was in his butthole. The sharp pain was so painful that he could not endure it.

    Yan Xiu...

    How did this happen?!

    Boom! At this moment, Hun Dun¡¯s body flew and the gigantic body rolled on the floor for several dozens of meters due to a terrifying force.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing at the position where Hun Dun was.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing at the position where Hun Dun was?

    He was not affected by the reversal...

    Could it be that...

    Tao Tie finally understood.

    Fang Zhengzhi used two Heaven Daos on two different people.

    To put it in simple terms, Fang Zhengzhi used the Shifting Forms first, allowing Yan Xiu to be reversed to his back.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi purposely disappeared in front of Tao Tie to trick Tao Tie from believing that his reversal was effective and hence he let down his guard on his back.

    Then, Yan Xiu sessfully sprung a sneak attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared ¡°tantly¡± and attacked Hun Dun who was not prepared for an attack by Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance could not figure out what Tao Tie had figure out, In fact, they did not even see what had happened.

    The next thing they knew was that Tao Tie had been sessfully attacked by Yan Xiu.

    Hun Dun was also kicked by Fang Zhengzhi and was flung for several dozens of meters.

    Apart from the disciples, Ping Yang also had her mouth agape in astonishment as she also did not figure out what Fang Zhengzhi had done.

    ¡°Why are you dazing? Kill him with me, hurry up!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pped Ping Yang¡¯s butt to help her regain her senses.

    ¡°What? Who?!¡± Ping Yang could not react.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless.

    Ping Yang was too inexperienced. In such a situation, killing Hun Dun would only cause the situation to end up in a stalemate.

    Just like how one kept hitting a ¡°meat shield¡± when one was fighting.

    The oue would be a loss.

    One had to learn to be flexible and kill the main opponent!

    Evidently, amongst the four ancient beasts, Tao Tie was the main opponent. He had the power to reverse things and could control the whole situation.

    However, he was not as easy to deal with as Hun Dun.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi flew and shed at Tao Tie with his sword.

    ¡°Trying to kill me? Dream... Ah!¡± Before Tao Tie couldplete his sentence, intense pain was felt from his back.

    In the Battle of the Southern Region, Fang Zhengzhi fought against the demon Half Sage Canyang.

    What tactic did he use in the situation that they had a huge disparity in terms of skill levels?

    It was none other than stabbing the butthole.

    This was a killer tactic for a God to stop another God. It definitely worked for sages or any of the four ancient beasts.

    Yan Xiu knew it when Fang Zhengzhi said his n.

    Therefore, when he went to the back of Tao Tie because of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shifting form technique, he used this tactic without hesitation.

    As for the effect...

    It was not bad.

    Tao Tie wanted to retreat when he saw Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword. However, the pain was more intense when he moved back.

    ¡°Ahh...¡± Tao Tie¡¯s painful screams echoed in the air. The sharp pain caused him to be unable to breathe properly and both of his legs almost turned into jelly.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword struck.

    With immense frustration, terrifying lightning bolts shone in the sky. Moreover, there was a long blue river shining with radiance beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet.

    The sword radiance of Chi Guyan also reached.

    Boom! Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s swordnded on Tao Tie¡¯s head and it stabbed his forehead. This made Tao Tie experience the pain from both the front and the back.

    Then, Chi Guyan¡¯s sword radiance struck.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Countless sword radiance struck Tao Tie¡¯s head. The long river entered Tao Tie¡¯s body from the cut made by the Traceless Sword.

    Tao Tie froze.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword cut open the hardest defense on Tao Tie¡¯s body while Chi Guyan¡¯s sword radiance surged into his body like a dragon that leaped into the sea.

    Tao Tie¡¯s eyes widened.

    There was radiance flowing in his eyes, it was blue like the sea for a moment and filled with lightning bolts for a moment. It looked very strange.

    At this moment, a loud growl was heard.

    ¡°I am here, kill him¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was loud and clear. Even without her zing Qilin Spear, she was still as fierce as ever. She threw a punch that had mes surrounding it.

    Boom!

    Tao Tie fell in front of Ping Yang and blood gushed out from his mouth. He stared with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

 Chapter 1053 - Change in Attitude of the Monsters and Demons

    <h4>Chapter 1053: Change in Attitude of the Monsters and Demons</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As one of the four ancient beasts, Tao Tie was extremely powerful. He was so powerful that even in the ancient era, he was able to rule over others and nobody was able to kill him.

    With his slyness, he was able to survive until now.

    He did not die in the ancient battlefields and was going to die now?!

    Tao Tie refused to ept that. He did not believe that he would lose but the power inside his body was swarming like a flood.

    Boom!

    Tao Tie¡¯s body copsed on the ground and blood soaked his entire body, staining his body red.

    This was a shocking scene.

    That was because none of the Human Alliance had thought that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were able to kill Tao Tie as he was way too powerful.

    However, now...

    Tao Tie had copsed on the ground and his body shrunk significantly until he was only less than one meter tall.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned.

    Ping Yang was stunned as well. She looked at her fist and Tao Tie who copsed in front of her and her expression changed.

    ¡°I... killed Tao Tie?!¡± Ping Yang could not believe her eyes, was her punch so powerful that it killed Tao Tie, one of the four ancient beasts?

    That was amazing!

    Was she that amazing?

    Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan beside her before she felt that a hand was touching her head.

    ¡°Ping Yang is amazing,¡± said Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t believe that too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Did I really kill him?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s mouth was wide open and she showed a strong sense of excitement.

    ¡°Definitely.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Ping Yangughed happily as though she hadpletely forgotten about the danger she faced earlier on in Hun Dun¡¯s mouth. Her face was red as she said, ¡°I killed Tao Tie, hahaha... I killed Tao Tie!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance looked at each other with an extremelyplicated expression when they heard Ping Yang¡¯sughter.

    Ping Yang killed him?

    Wasn¡¯t it Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan?

    Wait a minute!

    It really seemed like Ping Yang killed Tao Tie as she was thest person to hit him.

    At this moment, the disciples of the Human Alliance fell speechless.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, was not overly concerned. However, he did not expect Ping Yang to kill Tao Tie first.

    However, that being said, Ping Yang was very brave.

    After almost being swallowed by Hun Dun, she still managed to stab him. In terms of courage, Ping Yang was extremely courageous.

    ¡°She killed Tao Tie?!¡± The powerful individuals who had descended stared at her in shock.

    Tao Tie.

    One of the four ancient beasts!

    Even they needed to kill such a legendary figure with great efforts. Yet now, the four humans in front of them killed him together?

    Boom! A loud boom came from their backs while the powerful individuals were shocked. Then, the sky was lit with golden radiance.

    It was a gigantic old golden tree.

    It had gigantic tree branches and it grew straight into the clouds. There were also different colors of fruits hanging from the tree branches.

    Rumble! Bolts of golden lightning flowed on the old golden tree.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡± The powerful individuals had not seen the old tree before as they were trapped before Emperor Yan grew the Tree of God.

    However, they could still feel the power of the old golden tree.

    It had a terrifying breath of life. It was so powerful that it was able to suppress everything, including them.

    ¡°The humans in this world are very powerful!¡±

    ¡°Indeed!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The powerful individuals stopped being arrogant but were instead very cautious.

    Meanwhile, Hong You¡¯s body leaped up into the sky and looked as though he was trying to flee.

    That was right!

    Hong You was indeed fleeing.

    That was because there were dozens of gigantic golden branches with golden lightning bolts attacking him from beneath his feet.

    Boom! The ground cracked.

    Hong You leaped to several dozen meters away and was forced to punch the golden tree branches which refused to let him go.

    Bam!

    Crack!

    There was a collision of his terrifying strength and the golden tree branches.

    Hong You was forced to take five steps back and deep cracks were formed on the ground.

    ¡°This brat is pretty powerful!¡± Feeling the power of the old golden tree, Hong You shot out circles of red radiance from his body to surround his entire body.

    ¡°It¡¯s Nangong Mu!¡±

    ¡°He managed to attack Hong You sessfully after he was freed from his restraints!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe Nangong Mu was so powerful and was managed to fight against one of the twelve warlocks!¡±

    ¡°Of course he could, Nangong Mu could fight against the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. If the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not use his fifth w, Nangong Mu would not have lost!

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were stunned again.

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan managed to kill Tao Tie, one of the four ancient beasts. Nangong Mu also sessfully attacked Hong You, one of the twelve warlocks.

    This was a scene that aroused one¡¯s excitement.

    ¡°Brother!¡±

    ¡°This brat actually managed to attack our brother, let¡¯s take him on together!¡±

    ¡°Kill this brat first!¡±

    The twelve warlocks and the other powerful individuals suddenly regained their senses. All of them were demon gods who had experienced the ancient battlefield and would definitely not hesitate or show mercy when it came to a battle.

    Instantly, the other warlocks appeared beside Hong You.

    Apart from the twelve warlocks, the other soldiers of the Demon Race also ran towards Hong You.

    The situation ended up in a confrontation.

    However, Nangong Mu did not attack Hong You immediately. Instead, he pulled Yan Qing, who was on the ground, towards him with a tree branch.

    A blinding golden radiance covered Yan Qing¡¯s body.

    ¡°What is Nangong Mu trying to do?!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he is not even letting Yan Qing off? He is trying to absorb Yan Qing¡¯s energy?¡±

    ¡°He may be trying to save Yan Qing!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that Nangong Mu is so kind!¡±

    The Human Alliance expressed their different opinions.

    However, Nangong Mu did not bother about any of these. He continuously injected the golden radiance into Yan Wong¡¯s body, causing radiance to be continuously emitted from his body.

    ¡°Shameless brat, do you think Nangong Mu...¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I believe him, he will definitely not kill Yan Qing!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and broke off Ping Yang¡¯s sentence before looking at Hun Dun who was nearby.

    After Tao Tie died, the battle against the four ancient beasts had advanced to a brand new stage.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was able to suppress Qiong Qi.

    In the situation of four against one, Fang Zhengzhi was not afraid of a meatball-like Hun Dun. However, Mu Qingfeng was facing a difficult situation.

    Two sect leaders were heavily injured in a short span of time.

    They did not look like they couldst much longer.

    At this moment, the Godly beasts who had descended began moving. Each of them looked at the old golden tree before looking at the remaining three beasts.

    ¡°The girl killed Tao Tie, let¡¯s go and help!¡± Bai Ze¡¯s gaze turned to Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    As a Godly Beast who cultivated on the Kunlun Mountain, he was not much weaker than the four ancient beasts. However, he was still slightly weaker. After Tao Tie has died, he was slightly rash and was ready to attack.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like those few beasts, now that I¡¯m finally back, I want to walk around and admire the scenery!¡± Bi Fang blinked and looked slightly reluctant. Then, he pped his wings and flew to a ce far away without any intention to continue the fight.

    ¡°He left?¡± The body of Bai Ze, who was about to head over to help, shook as he looked up and yelled, ¡°Sister Bi Fang, don¡¯t leave yet, I have decided to go with you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance were shocked.

    That was because right after Bai Ze finished his sentence, he chased after Bi Fang. His posture was rather wild as he opened his legs and walked so quickly as though he was flying, disappearing almost instantly.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± The Human Alliance could not react to this situation.

    Meanwhile, the other Godly beasts exchanged nces and looked as though they figured out what was happening.

    ¡°This ce is dangerous!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t even have food to eat, why are we fighting?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, you guys can continue fighting!¡±

    ¡°Yo yo yo...¡±

    After a round of roars, the Godly beasts escaped in their own ways as though they were rushing to reincarnate.

    This turn of event was unexpected.

    The disciples of the Human Alliance thought that the Godly beasts would have started a massacre with the four ancient beasts.

    However, look at what was happening now.

    After witnessing the murder of Tao Tie, all of the Godly beasts fled!

    That was strange.

    However, they soon regained their senses. After all, it was not a rule that the Godly beasts would suddenly massacre after they descended?

    The ancient Godly beasts were not stupid.

    Those Godly beasts who were able to survive the ancient battlefields were extremely sly. Moreover, they did not want to be on the same team as the four ancient beasts.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    ck rocks continued tond and various types of demons and Godly beasts appeared.

    Of course, after they descended, they made different choices.

    Some chose to stay to watch while some fled. Some, on the other hand, started to show their wildness and attacked the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    Instantly, the Heaven Zen Mountain was in chaos.

    ¡°Brother, are we continuing?¡± Amongst the twelve warlocks, a Demon God asked Hong You and waited for his reply.

    ¡°This brat is strange, he could turn into an old tree? Moreover, he had such a powerful breath of death, perhaps he can replenish the life I have lost.¡± Hong You¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°I get it, let¡¯s go!¡± The other warlocks nodded.

    ¡°Hold on.¡± Hong You waved his hand and stopped the other warlocks.

    ¡°Why, Brother?¡±

    ¡°We will definitely attack but there¡¯s no need to rush. This brat can¡¯t do much to us yet, we just have to wait for a bit for the entire Demon army to descend before we attack!¡± Hong You looked in the sky.

    The Gates of God of the Monster and Demon realms hadpletely opened and beams of radiance shot down from the sky.

    The numbers were massive.

    Within a short span of time, the Heaven Zen Mountain was filled with demons. Apart from the twelve, there were over ten demon soldiers.

    Hong You was certain that only one day¡¯s time was needed to gather a hundred over powerful demons.

    By then, Nangong Mu was insignificant as the hundred over powerful demons could rule any world they went to.

    ¡°They seem to be waiting!¡± Wu Yuer saw how the twelve warlocks did not move and figured out what they were up to.

    Wait!

    Was the best choice!

    That was because the twelve warlocks had already felt the threat of humankind.

    Therefore, they would not be as rash as the four ancient beasts and waited patiently for more help toe so their overall power could be increased.

    ¡°Hmm, they will attack once all the ancient demons arrive. The Tree of God is an extremely attractive thing for them, they are definitely going for it,¡± replied Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Then, should I congratte you now?¡± asked Wu Yuer.

    ¡°What? Why are you congratting me?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Haha, aren¡¯t you hoping for the demon race to rule the world? Now that the monster race is somewhat scattered and the four ancient beasts don¡¯t look as though they can control them anymore. However, the demon race is different, with the twelve warlocks, they will be united and you will get what you want!¡± sneered Wu Yuer.

    ¡°The fact that four ancient beasts can¡¯t control the monster race doesn¡¯t mean that the monster race is scattered.¡± Yun Qingwu looked at Wu Yuer and shook her head.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Monsters... are more pragmatic.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer did not really understand what Yun Qingwu meant but she could feel that she was implying something else.

    More pragmatic?

    What did ¡°pragmatic¡± mean?

 Chapter 1054 - Arrival of the Era of Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 1054: Arrival of the Era of Destruction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yun Qingwu did not exin further.

    Powerful individuals of the Monster Race and Demon Race descended in front of her eyes at a speed that was much faster than before. Three of them descended in a few seconds¡¯ time.

    Exactly how many stars were there in the gxy?

    Probably nobody could answer this question just like how nobody knew how many powerful individuals would descend after the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons opened.

    There were way too many.

    Moreover, they were now facing a special situation.

    One of the four ancient beasts had died and the other three were fighting with Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. Meanwhile, Nangong Mu was going against the twelve ancient demon warlocks.

    Judging from the current situation...

    It looked like the Monster Race and Demon Race still had a huge advantage.

    However, this advantage was not well-used as many Godly beasts like Bai Ze and Bi Fang left.

    Even some demons who had descended also left.

    There were not the soldiers of the Chi You Race but other special characters. For example, ady in red who was currently walking down the mountain.

    Her entire body was as red as fire.

    Her clothes, shoes, hair, and even the whip in her hand were all red. Fire radiance flickered on her body and she radiated heat.

    She was a demon. However, she was a unique demon, a demon that was born with ¡°element¡±, or she could be called a Heavenly Demon.

    ¡°Who is that?!¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The army of the Great Xia Dynasty who was charging up from the foot of the mountain was shocked when they saw thedy in red.

    However, thedy in red did not seem to be bothered about the army of the Great Xia Dynasty in front of her. Neither did she greet the demons and the Godly beasts of the monster race.

    She left right away.

    She turned into a me and soared to the sky.

    She looked like a fairy that stepped on the stairway to heaven and went straight to the realm of fairy. The only difference was that instead of going to heaven straight away, she went somewhere far.

    ¡°She is a Demon?¡± Wu Yuer was curious about the scene as she just mentioned about how the demon race would be led by the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°Yes, they are the Heavenly Demons, the unique kind of the demon race. They were born with the ¡®demonic powers¡¯ and ispletely different from the Chi You.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded without feeling afraid of anything.

    ¡°Demonic powers?¡± Wu Yuer understood that the so-called demonic powers referred to the Origin Energy in the small dimension of the humankind but with a different name.

    Born with the demonic powers!

    What did that mean? It was very obvious.

    The Heavenly demons were very powerful!

    Besides that, they were definitely not inferior to the Chi You race or they would not disregard the twelve warlocks and leave casually.

    ¡°Do you feel extremely desperate to not die?¡± Wu Yuer looked at Yun Qingwu and said in a serious manner.

    ¡°But I will still die,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Do you not want to leave during the chaos?¡± Wu Yuer did not believe that Yun Qingwu was willing to die and thought that she would definitely have wanted to flee.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Why?¡± Wu Yuer did not understand. Yun Qingwu said she ¡°won¡¯t leave¡± instead of ¡°don¡¯t want to leave¡±. They might sound simr but were actually very different.

    ¡°Because I am in the wrong.¡±

    ¡°You are in the wrong?!¡± Wu Yuer was evidently shocked.

    This was the first time she had heard Yun Qingwu said that she was in the wrong. Moreover, she did not know what wrong did Yun Qingwu refer to.

    Wrong?

    Why?

    ¡°I thought I could the Monster Race and Demon Race and help them make aeback. However, now it seems like I am indeed in the wrong.¡± Yun Qingwu looked into the sky and the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons which was radiating with radiance. She seemed to be slightly lost.

    ¡°You are referring to... these?¡± Wu Yuer seemed to have figured it out.

    ¡°Let me ask you a question.¡± Instead of answering Wu Yuer, Yun Qingwu turned and look at her with a serious expression.

    ¡°Shoot.¡± Wu Yuer was slightly shocked but still nodded.

    ¡°How can a weak person make a powerful individualply with him?¡± asked Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°This...¡± Wu Yuer frowned slightly and seemed to be deep in thought. Soon after, she replied, ¡°There are many ways to make a powerful individualply with a weak person. For example, bribe or control him with a spell. However, in order to truly make a powerful individualply with him...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult.¡± Yun Qingwu continued before sighing. ¡°I thought I could do that and in reality, I am working towards this as well. However, the more I tried, the more powerless I felt.¡±

    ¡°Powerless?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my cultivation is not good enough and my mental strength is not strong enough tost for a long time as well. Therefore, I need sufficient time to rest to recover but once I rest and wake up, I will realize that there are lots of problems waiting for me to resolve.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡± Wu Yuer nodded.

    ¡°Eventually, I thought of a method, which is to make the powerful individuals control the weaker ones, the effect of this cycle is good.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, since you thought of a method, why do you still feel powerless?¡±

    ¡°What if I die one day?¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her fists and her snow white long hair flew in the wind. She looked very lonely.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer shuddered.

    That was because she finally understood what Yun Qingwu meant by feeling powerless and why she was in the wrong.

    As what Yun Qingwu said, there was no problem with controlling powerful individuals. As long as one could manage it well one level after level, it would eventually stabilize.

    This process would only deplete time and energy.

    However, once Yun Qingwu who was at the highest level copsed, what would happen?

    The entire pyramid would copse.

    By then, all the powerful monsters and demons would end up in chaos and a battle. The entire world would return to the times of conflict.

    ¡°I am wrong, my mistake is that I am overly confident and thought that I could take control. However, I made a grave mistake and neglected the main point. That is none other than the situation when I make a mistake and the world would end up with endless disasters. Fang Zhengzhi pulled me down from the top of the pyramid and made me realize this.¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the figure in blue at a distance.

    Fang Zhengzhi snatched her away from the few Godly State experts!

    Left with no choice, Yun Qingwu could only hand over the military power to Qin Xian in order to protect herself as she finds another chance to make aeback.

    However, gradually, Yun Qingwu realized...

    Even if she could escape from Fang Zhengzhi, even if she could lead the Monster Race and Demon Race again, the world would definitely end up in endless disasters.

    Just like what happened in the ancient era.

    Battle!

    Endless battles where people fought for mountains, rivers, spiritual fruits and treasures. The endless fight for things and widespread battles.

    If the world was like before, it would end up in blood.

    However, if the ancient powerful individuals were the ones who started the battle, it might result in an apocalypse.

    Just like what happened in front of them.

    The mountain rocks fell and the entire top of the Heaven Zen Mountain looked like it was falling off.

    Boom! At this moment, a loud boom was heard and the entire top of the Heaven Zen Mountain began to shake violently.

    ¡°Hun Dun is mad!¡±

    ¡°Tao Wu is mad too!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, the Heaven Zen Mountain is going to copse.¡±

    ¡°Run for your lives!¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance and the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty panicked when they saw the mountain stones crack open.

    The entire Heaven Zen Mountain shook violently.

    After witnessing the death of Tao Tie, the beastly nature of Hun Dun and Tao Wu waspletely exposed and they swore to kill the entire human poption as well as ruin the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Boom!

    Tao Wu¡¯s tail whipped the ground and the rocks were split open. Broken stones flew in the air and the gigantic crack spread continuously as though the Heaven Zen Mountain was about to split into half.

    Hun Dun, on the other hand, was more terrifying.

    His gigantic mouth opened and could swallow countless rocks at one go. He was more simple-minded, he wanted to swallow the entire Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Human Alliance were stunned.

    The four ancient beasts were way too powerful. They had the power to destroy the world and would really do it when they went crazy.

    ¡°These two brats are crazy!¡± Hong You also noticed the scene. He felt astonished as he watched how Tao Wu and Hun Dun were destroying the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    However, he was not very surprised.

    That was because he could do that with his skill level too. It was extremely easy for them to destroy a mountain.

    ¡°Brother, are we still going to wait?¡± The other warlocks asked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to follow these two crazy brats. Let¡¯s conserve our energy and wait to see what happens next in the sky!¡± Hong You thought for a moment before he spoke.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The other warlocks nodded.

    Then, the twelve warlocks and the demon soldiers started to fly into the sky and everyone stood in midair like gigantic statues of demon gods.

    Of course, they were demon gods.

    The ancient demon gods.

    However, to the disciples of the Human Alliance, the turn of the event made them panic as not every disciple could fly.

    The mountain rocks flew in the sky.

    Many of the disciples were hit by the broken rocks and fell in a pool of blood after the rocks went through their bodies.

    On the other hand, the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty ended up in a more miserable state as some of them were swallowed by the cracks on the ground and fell into the mountain.

    The destructive scene was violent and bloody.

    ¡°Four beasts, how dare you to destroy the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± Two beams of cold radiance shot out of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s golden eyes as he witnessed the destruction of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, you should worry about yourself,¡± sneered Qiong Qi.

    After fighting against the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five for so long and being in a disadvantageous position, he was excited to see the destruction of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ...

    ¡°Shameless brat, what do we do now?¡± Ping Yang leaped up as she was affected by the violent shakes.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    They had spent so much time and effort killing Tao Tie alone, they would probably need even more time to kill both Hun Dun and Tao Wu too.

    By then...

    The entire Heaven Zen Mountain would have been destroyed.

    Once the Heaven Zen Mountain was destroyed, the Human Alliance would be terribly injured. The soldiers from the Great Xia Dynasty would probably be wiped out.

    That was worth hundreds of thousands of lives.

    Were they really going to die there?

    ¡°Son of a bitch, stop, what do you want again?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was very desperate but he could not do anything to Tao Wu.

    Tao Wu had no intention to fight with them but was instead whipping the ground with his long tail, nning to destroy the mountain.

    ¡°All of you humans have to die for killing Tao Tie!¡± Tao Wu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he continued to attack the mountain rocks.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire top of the Heaven Zen Mountain copsed.

    It split from the center and the white altar sank into the cracks and disappeared. Meanwhile, the entire top of the Heaven Zen Mountain was shaking violently.

    It could be foreseen that the top of the Heaven Zen Mountain would be destroyed in a couple of minutes.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, countless golden tree branches surged out from the ground. Every single tree branch hugged the cracked stones like arms.

    The shaking was significantly reduced instantly.

    Although the rocks were still cracking open, the speed was much slower and the tree branches were gathering the rocks towards the center.

    ¡°It¡¯s Nangong Mu!¡±

    ¡°He is saving us?!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that he is saving us? We still wanted to break his arms and legs earlier on...¡±

    The disciples of the Human Alliance felt shocked and extremely guilty because they did not expect Nangong Mu to save them.

    ¡°This brat is very powerful, he managed to stop the two beasts from destroying the mountain?¡± Hong You¡¯s eyes lit up as he saw this.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± The other warlocks nodded.

    ¡°If we can get this breath of life, the demon race will be able to make aeback!¡± Hong You was very excited.

    In the ancient era, Chi You reunited the demon race, allowing the demon race to be powerful enough to fight against the army of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. They were very powerful.

    However, since the death of Chi You, the demon race was segregated and no longer powerful.

    A sense of hope for theeback of the demon race struck Hong You as he saw the golden tree formed by Nangong Mu.

 Chapter 1055 - Sacrifice, Gate of God!

    <h4>Chapter 1055: Sacrifice, Gate of God!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    None of the Demon Gods were concerned about how the two beasts were destroying the mountain.

    That was because they had only one thought in mind ¡ª how to rejuvenate the demon race andplete their upleted mission of the ancient era.

    Nangong Mu was their target.

    ¡°Do we continue to wait?¡± The other warlocks replied.

    ¡°Wait, we will wait until this brat¡¯s powers are depleted before we attack.¡± Hong You nodded. The fight with Nangong Mu earlier on made him realize that their skill levels were quite simr.

    He might ce himself in trouble if he forcefully attacked.

    Hong You did not want to an incident like how Tao Tie was killed by the humankind to happen again.

    ¡°Understood.¡± The other warlocks nodded their heads.

    Allow the two beasts to continue disrupting and they can sit back and watch the show. There was no harm in that at all.

    ¡°You are trying to stop us from destroying the mountain?¡± Tao Wu was furious when he saw Nangong Mu¡¯s attempt to pull the cracked mountain with the golden tree branches.

    He waved his tail again and the force became stronger.

    Boom! The rocks cracked open again.

    Hun Dun opened his mouth and swallowed the mountain rocks continuously. There was a gigantic and deep dent under his feet.

    Those rocks werepletely swallowed.

    Moreover, Hun Dun opened his mouth and bit on a segment of the golden tree branch, forcefully breaking it and swallowing it.

    ¡°The mountain can¡¯tst for much longer, run, everyone!¡±

    ¡°The Heaven Zen Mountain is going to be destroyed!¡±

    ¡°Run down the mountain, hurry...¡±

    Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the Human Alliance and the Great Xia Dynasty realized that Nangong Mu could only temporarily prevent the Heaven Zen Mountain from crumbling.

    Only temporarily.

    As long as Tao Wu and Hun Dun were still alive, it was only a matter of time before the Heaven Zen Mountain copsed.

    Boom!

    The ground cracked open again and the mountain that was pulled together forcefully by Nangong Mu started shaking again as rocks flew. The mountain looked as though it would copse any time from now.

    Meanwhile, the disciples of the Human Alliance and the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty began to run wildly down the mountain and nobody was willing to stay.

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    ¡°Retreat now!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Emperor Lin Mubai made amand. He had no other choices but to retreat as the Heaven Zen Mountain was about to be destroyed.

    They would definitely die if they stayed on.

    Moreover, the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty would also die. This was not what Lin Mubai wanted to see.

    Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi also did not have the intention to continue the battle. They began tomand the disciples of the Human Alliance.

    ¡°Retreat to the foot of the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Run, everyone!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The people were like the tides, they arrived quickly and left even more quickly. As Tao Wu and Hun Dun were destroying the mountain, the people retreated in a wild manner.

    That included the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Nobody was willing to stay on the top of the Heaven Zen Mountain as it was going to copse. Anyone who did not want to die knew that fleeing was the best choice.

    Soon after, the top of the Heaven Zen Mountain became clear.

    The rocks split open on the ground and were shaking non-stop. Only a few of the powerful individuals who could fly chose to stay and watch the battle in midair.

    Fang Zhengzhi had expanded his ck-golden wings.

    He flew into the sky. He was hugging onto Ping Yang on one hand while holding Yan Xiu on the other. Chi Guyan, on the other hand, did not need his help.

    That was because there was a silvery-white long river holding Chi Guyan beneath her feet. She stood steadily in the air and looked extremely holy.

    ¡°I hope that father and the rest manage to escape.¡± Ping Yang was slightly worried as he looked at the retreating soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    ¡°With auntie around, he will definitely be alright.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was aware that Emperor Lin Mubai and Qian Yu had reconciled and Qian Yu would definitely not leave Emperor Lin Mubai alone.

    ¡°Yes, Mother is here and she will definitely protect father just like how I protect you.¡± Ping Yang nodded her head seriously.

    ¡°You protect me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pouted as he looked at Ping Yang.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I kill Tao Tie?¡± Ping Yang raises her chest and looked extremely arrogant and cute.

    ¡°That¡¯s why the two beasts were infuriated.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi, Nangong Mu looks like he can¡¯t hold on for long. If I¡¯m correct, he will probably attack the... Door of the Realm of God¡± said Yan Xiu as he looked at the towering golden Tree of God and the unopened Door of the Realm of God in the sky.

    ¡°Door of the Realm of God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yan Xiu meant.

    Now that the fruit of the Tree of God was in Nangong Mu¡¯s possession, he could be said to have owned the key to opening the Door of the Realm of God.

    However, would the descended Godly beasts of the demon race and monster race allow Nangong Mu to do that?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi looked down and realized that there were a few shadows on the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest did not leave?

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, Heavenly Oasis Saint, Yan Qianli and some other sect leaders did not leave but were defending with all their might.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint surrounded Wu Yuer and Yun Qingwu in a triangr formation.

    ¡°Wu Yuer, leave!¡± shouted Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No, I will definitely not leave this time!¡± Wu Yuer had a determined expression. She flung a waistband in her hand and protected everyone around her, including Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Are you crazy?¡±

    ¡°We will live together and die together!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. She knew Wu Yuer¡¯s temper very well. Although she had a ssic look of a sly dealer, he knew that she had a heart that was burning with passion beneath the cold look.

    Once she had decided to do something, she would definitely not give it up. In fact, she would not mind even if she sacrificed her life.

    ¡®Forget it, with Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem in blocking the flying rocks and ensure everyone¡¯s safety. It should be alright to not attack.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not overthink as Nangong Mu began to move again.

    The golden Tree of God grew rapidly and wildly as the golden tree branches thickened and the tree leaves began to bloom and they blocked the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this scene was familiar.

    During the battle on the Heaven Zen Mountain, Nangong Hao attacked simrly to connect the Tree of God with the sky and sessfully opened the Gate of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons.

    If Fang Zhengzhi had not swallowed the fruit of the Door of the Realm of God, all three of the Gates would have been opened, causing the three races to fight against each other.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, you can¡¯t open the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi was unsure of what exactly would happen after the Door of the Realm of God was opened, he had a premonition that the world would really end once that happened.

    ¡°How are we going to defend against the Monster Race and Demon Race if we don¡¯t open the Door of the Realm of God?¡± Ping Yang blinked. She trusted Fang Zhengzhi but there were too many powerful demons and monsters who had descended.

    Moreover, they were still descending.

    Humankind would definitely not be able to defend against the powerful demons and monsters as there were too many ancient godly beasts and demon gods.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I feel that once the Door of the Realm of God opened, the history of the ancient era would repeat itself.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he really did not know.

    ¡°You mean a cosmic disaster would take ce?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure but it¡¯s highly possible.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Ping Yang fell silent.

    The battle amongst the three races triggered the cosmic disaster and the entire world was met with a huge disaster. Countless broken stonesnded from the sky and plunge the people into misery and suffering.

    If Mother Earth did not lead the powerful individuals from the three races to defend against the cosmic disaster, the world would have ended already.

    However, these were only records.

    What was the reality?

    Why did the battle trigger the cosmic disaster? Why did the three races listen to Mother Earth and stay united to defend against the cosmic disaster?

    How did Mother Earth persuade the three races?

    There were too many questions involved. Only the Godly demons who had experienced the ancient battlefield would know the answer.

    However, the demon gods and godly beasts who had descended were not concerned about battles as they had imagined. In fact, they had a strong liking for battles.

    Hong You, one of the four ancient beasts, including the Godly State experts who had descended in the past wanted to control the world and rule the world.

    It was too strange.

    If it was really as recorded and Mother Earth had persuaded the three races, why did the powerful individuals act like that?

    Moreover, why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan re-enter the gxy?

    None of the historical books had this recorded but it became the greatest question after they exited from Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s tomb.

    What was Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s purpose for entering the gxy?

    Nobody knew!

    ¡°I believe Fang Zhengzhi. Since he said not to open the Door of the Realm of God, we definitely should not open it!¡± Yan Xiu did not question further and said.

    ¡°Hmm, I believe him too.¡± Chi Guyan nodded too.

    ¡°Alright, since Sister Yan feels that we should not open the Door of the Realm of God, let¡¯s not open it then,¡± said Ping Yang as she stuck out her tongue.

    ¡°But will Nangong Mu listen to us?¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept looking at the Tree of God which was continuously growing. The answer to the question was evident.

    Nangong Mu would not listen to them.

    Even though Nangong Mu did not purposely go against humankind, his determination to open Door of the Realm of God was unchanged.

    Just like what Nangong Mu said to Yan Qing, he did not believe it!

    The mission of Nangong Nobles was passed down for thousands of years, generations after generations. He did not believe that his ancestors would lie to him.

    Just like how Yan Xiu trusted Fang Zhengzhi without any reasons.

    Boom! The golden Tree of God continued to grow towards the sky. Meanwhile, on the ground, Tao Wu and Hun Dun attacked the Heaven Zen Mountain with full force.

    Crack! Another gigantic crack appeared on the ground, it was not like the simple crack earlier on.

    It was probably going to crackpletely.

    Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli had brought Wu Yuer and the rest to the sky safely. Wu Yuer used her waistband to wind around Yun Qingwu as it was no longer possible to stand on the ground.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, take down Qiong Qi with me!¡± At this moment, a loud roar was heard from the sky. It was none other than Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, Xuanyuan Five, you found someone to help? Do you really think that the human can kill the four of us?¡± Qiong Qi sneered.

    ¡°Of course, isn¡¯t Tao Tie dead? If you don¡¯t want to end up like him, I will advice you to stop now!¡± affirmed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Qiong Qi felt speechless as Tao Tie was indeed killed by Fang Zhengzhi.

    This was unbelievable for Qiong Qi.

    After all, Tao Tie was indeed more powerful than him.

    However, Tao Tie was slightly physically weaker and could be said to be the weakest amongst the four beasts. However, he had a very special skill.

    He could reverse the Daos.

    That was why Tao Tie became one of the four ancient beasts.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, I believe that you can kill Qiong Qi!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to help Xuanyuan Five but Nangong Mu had already attacked.

    Meanwhile, Hong You and the rest of the Demon Gods were watching from above.

    If he decided to spring abined attack at Qiong Qi now, there would be some issues with Nangong Mu. Once Nangong Mu opened the Door of the Realm of God or was caught by Hong You or the rest...

    Both oues were terrible.

    ¡°...¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five felt speechless now. As the Five-wed Golden Dragon, number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, it was extremely rare for him to ask a Human for help.

    Yet, he was rejected?

    Rejected!

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five wanted to curse.

    However, Qiong Qiughed very happily. His body tumbled in the air as he pped both his wings continuously and moved in front of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Hahaha... that brat is not helping you, hahaha...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was mad. He swung his gigantic dragon tail which was surrounded by countless lightning bolts and it whipped Qiong Qi.

    He was really infuriated.

    However, no matter how angry he was, it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to go against Qiong Qi now.

    That was because the golden Tree of God formed by Nangong Mu had stopped growing. A figure appeared on the top of the Tree of God.

    It was a ck figure.

    It was none other than Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mu could not possibly stay in the trunk of the Tree of God forever if he wanted to open the Door of the Realm of God. He had to float out of the Tree of God to start the sacrificial ceremony.

    However, the biggest problem with this ceremony was that it required time.

    ¡°Haha, he finally came out?¡± Hong You smiled when he saw this and a cold look shed across his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go, don¡¯t let him enter that tree again!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The other warlocks dashed towards Nangong Mu instantly

 Chapter 1056 - Unpredictable Tactic

    <h4>Chapter 1056: Unpredictable Tactic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Since the beginning of the ancient era, the race of Chi You had used their powerful body and strength to rule over the world. Even Emperor Yan an Emperor Huang had suffered great losses while defending against them and almost lost the battle.

    Now, under the leadership of Hong You, the twelve warlocks attacked Nangong Mu together. One could imagine that Nangong Mu was definitely at a disadvantage.

    But will Nangong Mu give up?

    Obviously not.

    A few dozens of golden tree branches flew in the sky and blocked the twelve warlocks, Trying to stop them from approaching him.

    Nangong Mu was fighting for time.

    ¡°Trying to stop the twelve of us with his individual powers, how naive!¡± Hong You sneered as he charged down.

    Boom! The golden tree branch was torn apart.

    A huge amount of golden fluid dripped onto the ground, producing loud booms. Meanwhile, golden tree branches rose from the ground and grew wildly.

    ¡°They have the ability to regrow?¡± Hong You seemed to be very surprised but his eyes flew brighter. ¡°This is getting more and more interesting, the powerful breath of lifebined with the ability to regrow, if we obtained these power, it would only be a matter of time before the demon race ruled the world!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill this brat!¡±

    ¡°Absorb his skills!¡±

    The twelve warlocks attacked wildly at Nangong Mu together and the golden tree branches were quickly broken. Even though there were many golden tree branches growing on the ground, the rate of growth was powerless aspared to the wild attacks by the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what should we do? Should we help Nangong Mu?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    The situation was strange. Nangong Mu wanted to open the Door of the Realm of God, a situation that Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest did not want to see.

    However, they could not witness the murder of Nangong Mu by the twelve warlocks as that would cause humankind to end up in a disaster too.

    They were in a dilemma.

    Yan Xiu fell silent too.

    Helping Nangong Mu now would give them a high chance of opening the Door of the Realm of God, however, if they don¡¯t help him, it was highly possible that he could be killed.

    What should they do?

    ¡°No matter what, Nangong Mu can¡¯t die now.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned. It was evidently a difficult choice.

    However, he knew something for sure.

    He could not let the twelve warlocks kill Nangong Mu or else the world would be taken over by the demon race once the fruit of the Tree of God ended up in the twelve warlocks¡¯ possession.

    ¡°Hmm, the shameless thief makes sense, Nangong Mu can¡¯t die.¡± Chi Guyan nodded and her eyes lit up.

    ¡°Then should we help Nangong Mu first?¡± Ping Yang asked cautiously.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi affirmed.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s attack. Nangong Mu doesn¡¯t look like he canst much longer and could be killed anytime.¡± Ping Yang looked anxious as she watched the battle.

    The twelve warlocks were very powerful.

    In a second, he had almost reached Nangong Mu. The golden tree branches could not stop their wildness.

    Especially Hong You.

    His gigantic body was like a terrifying beast. He broke at least three golden tree branches for every punch he threw as he used a lot of strength.

    Looking at strength alone, Hong You was almost equivalent to Golden Dragon.

    ¡°So this is the power of the Chi You?¡± Mu Qingfeng and the rest were speechless when they saw that.

    ¡®Chi You¡¯ was a symbolism of power in the ancient era. However, Chi You was too violent and was killed by both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    However, the battle was very violent and dangerous.

    ording to legends, both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang had lost to Chi You. They barely won him because of their schemes.

    ¡°Look at the fruit in his hand.¡± said one of the warlocks.

    That was because he saw a golden fruit in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand. It was as clear as jade and had a powerful breath of life.

    ¡°So his powers originated from that fruit.¡± Hong You smiled.

    With the powers of the twelve warlocks, it was not very difficult for them to absorb Nangong Mu¡¯s breath of life and ability to reborn.

    However, it required some tactics.

    Moreover, it could not be affected by the surrounding people.

    However, it was much simpler as long as they snatched the fruit from Nangong Mu. They would definitely not lose once they attacked together.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange, why is Nangomg Mu forcefully starting the sacrificial ceremony when he knew that he could not defeat his opponents?¡± Ping Yang looked at the fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hands in confusion.

    ¡°He is waiting for us,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Waiting for us?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    Although she managed to get a confirmed answer and Fang Zhengzhi was willing to help Nangong Mu, she did not understand how Nangong Mu managed to guess that.

    ¡°Hmm, a quarrel which benefits only a third party, Nangong Mu is forcing us to start a fight with the twelve warlocks to buy time for him to open the Door of the Realm of God.¡± Fang Zhengzhi could somewhat read Nangong Mu¡¯s mind.

    The more risky it was, the higher the chances.

    It was a method to seed while taking a risk.

    Nangong Mu was alone. He had no chance of winning if he nned to attack the twelve warlocks or Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fought with the twelve warlocks, they could have created a chance for him.

    ¡°I am so annoyed. Although we have to help him, I am very unhappy with the fact that we are used by him!¡± Ping Yang said angrily.

    ¡°Yeah, I am very unhappy too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi could understand how Ping Yang felt.

    After all, it did not feel good to be used by others even though he had to help Nangong Mu in this situation.

    ¡°What will happen if we don¡¯t help him? Will he really hand the fruit of the Tree of God over to the twelve warlocks?¡± Ping Yang was not pleased.

    ¡°The problem now is, the fruit of the Tree of God will be snatched away by the twelve warlocks if we don¡¯t help Nangong Mu,¡± said Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Is there any way to please us while allowing us to keep the fruit of the Tree of God?¡± Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi and seemed to be asking for his opinion.

    ¡°Are you asking me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we need some unusual methods to achieve our goal. You definitely win me in this aspect.¡±

    ¡°You are basically saying that I am more shameless?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless.

    ¡°You mean that¡¯s not true?¡± Chi Guyan smiled.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu also smiled. The three of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for him to think of a solution.

    With regards to what Chi Guyan said...

    Fang Zhengzhi could not refute it.

    If there was a ranking for shamelessness, he would definitely be ranked number one.

    ¡°Satisfy our goal and keep the fruit of the Tree of God?¡± Ideas shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind. It was difficult to make a choice given the current situation.

    However, with a closer inspection, the critical issue only involved one thing.

    The fruit of the Tree of God!

    Nangong Mu wanted to open the Door of the Realm of God with the fruit of the Tree of God, the twelve warlocks wanted to get the energy of the fruit of the Tree of God while Fang Zhengzhi had to stop the Door of the Realm of God from being opened.

    ¡°I got it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°You have an idea? Tell us, what do we have to do?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up immediately with a look of expectation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this...¡± Fang Zhengzhi signaled the three of them to go closer as he tried to lower his volume and shared his n.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The expressions faces of Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu turned strange.

    The three of them exchanged nces and fell speechless.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too shameless?¡± said Ping Yang in a rtively excited manner. She could not resist the urge tough as she thought about the oue.

    ¡°Slightly happier now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled too.

    ¡°Yes, very happy. Let¡¯s do that, Sister Yan, Yan Xiu, what do both of you think?¡± Ping Yang nodded and looked at Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Yan Xiu had no objections.

    ¡°I have no objections.¡± Chi Guyan nodded too.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu would not object but he was slightly surprised by how Chi Guyan agreed so quickly.

    Indeed, even someone as gifted and superior as Chi Guyan would have a rebellious nature.

    ¡°Charge!¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi shouted, the four of them charged towards the center of the battle between Nangong Mu and the twelve warlocks at an extremely fast speed.

    This attracted the attention of Mu Qingfeng and the rest.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi finally attacked?¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned and seemed to feel helpless, ¡°Sigh... we indeed have no other choice.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, even if we are being used, we have to help Nangong Mu.¡± Yan Qianli nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Wu Yuer shook her head.

    ¡°Oh? Yuer, you mean you don¡¯t think Fang Zhengzhi will help Nangong Mu but help the twelve warlocks instead?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was confused.

    The four of them charged towards Nangong Mu and the twelve warlocks.

    It was obvious that they wanted to help Nangong Mu.

    It was impossible for them to help the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I feel that the shameless brat has a sneaky idea!¡± Wu Yuer did not even have to make a guess.

    That was because she could tell from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s blooming smile that he had some unexpected idea.

    Meanwhile, the twelve warlocks and Nangong Mu saw the four of them too.

    ¡°Brother, the humans who had killed Tao Tie asing!¡± One of the warlocks spoke.

    Although they belonged to the powerful race of the Chi You, they could not deny the fact that Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and the rest killed Tao Tie together.

    With this fact, they were definitely worried about the four of them as Tao Tie had very terrifying powers.

    ¡°I knew it.¡± Hong You nodded. Nangong Mu was a human and it was reasonable for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to assist him. Without hesitation, he said, ¡°The four of you shall hold them back. Remember, just hold them back and don¡¯t let theme over!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± The four warlocks nodded immediately.

    It did not require all the twelve warlocks to defeat Nangong Mu and snatch the fruit of the Tree of God. Eight of them was sufficient to win him.

    Now that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest came into the picture, sending four of them to defend and hold them back was the best idea.

    The four warlocks moved. With a straight-line formation, they stood in front of the four of them. Instead of attacking, they waited.

    ¡°Today¡¯s weather is good.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he saw the four warlocks.

    ¡°What?¡± The four warlocks were stunned as they looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and the lightning.

    ¡®The weather is good?¡¯

    How can the weather be called good weather?

    Moreover, was it time to talk about the weather?

    At this moment, the four warlocks realized that all four of them disappeared and only a beam of azure blue light was left behind.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Heavenly Rebirth Dao!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, stop them!¡±

    The four warlocks regained their senses quickly.

    They had underestimated the powers of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. Or rather, they did not expect Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to go around them.

    The four of them did not even bother fighting with the warlocks.

    Were the four of them intending to go directly to Nangong Mu and fight against the twelve warlocks together with him?

    ¡°They went around the warlocks directly?¡± Hong You frowned as he saw Fang Zhengzhi and the rest disappear. ¡°Come back, stop the defense and attack Nangong Mu directly!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± Just as the four warlocks were about to give chase, they stopped and regained their senses after hearing Hong You¡¯smand.

    Fang Zhengzhi was obviously distracting them.

    He was trying to make use of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao to make the four warlocks look for them. Then, they would spring a sneak attack and save Nangong Mu.

    It was not brilliant.

    But very useful.

    However, if they were not distracted, what would happen?

    After the four warlocks regained their senses, they quickly turned around and went back to Hong You and was about to attack Nangong Mu again.

    Then, they realized that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest appeared.

    However, what surprised them was that...

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest did not appear beside Nangong Mu. Instead, they appeared behind the warlocks and were pretty far away from them.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± The warlocks were stunned.

    If Fang Zhengzhi and the rest had taken the opportunity to go beside Nangong Mu and fight alongside him or spring a sneak attack behind them, these scenarios would be reasonable.

    However, the position they were at made it impossible for them to spring a sneak attack.

    What were they thinking about?

    ¡°Don¡¯t all of you think that today¡¯s weather is amazing?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi with a bright smile.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What on earth?¡±

    The twelve warlocks, including Hong You, felt speechless.

 Chapter 1057 - Moving Like The Wind, Super Duper Cool and Handsome

    <h4>Chapter 1057: Moving Like The Wind, Super Duper Cool and Handsome</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Weather, what f*cking weather!

    How was the current weather even good?

    Hong You was infuriated but calmed down quickly as he knew very well that the most important thing was to snatch the fruit of the Tree of God from Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not bother about Fang Zhengzhi and get the fruit first!¡± Although Hong You did not understand what on earth Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were doing, he quickly gave hismand.

    Then, he saw Fang Zhengzhi and the rest charge towards them from their backs as they glowed with a bright radiance.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The four of them yelled and raised their weapons. They looked very serious and acted as though they wanted to kill the warlocks.

    ¡°Die!¡± Hong You could no longer hold it in.

    He really did not expect the four of them to charge towards the warlocks. Did the four humans really think they could defend against the twelve warlocks?

    How hrious!

    Hong You attacked. He turned and attacked the four of them.

    However, at this moment, the four of them disappeared again and the beam of azure blue light was left behind.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Apart from Hong You and the other warlocks, Mu Qingfeng and the rest were also confused as to what the four of them were doing.

    These disappearances...

    Wouldn¡¯t they waste energy?

    It should be known that the Heavenly Rebirth Dao was extremely exhaustive. Moreover, the energy needed to bring four people around was even greater.

    Moreover; it waspletely useless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that Fang Zhengzhi is nning to stir shit?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint looked very confused. He would not have said this if this happened to other people.

    However, he had no choice but to think this way as it happened to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng was speechless.

    ¡°This...¡± Yan Qianli was speechless too as, after all, he knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character very well and that was extremely likely to happen.

    Just as everyone was shocked and confused, Fang Zhengzhi appeared on the left of the warlocks with the other three people. Just like before, he kept a distance away from the warlocks.

    ¡°What a good weather, why aren¡¯t you guys suntanning?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked sincere.

    ¡°Suntan, suntan for f*ck!¡± Hong You was extremely triggered. He really wanted to p Fang Zhengzhi and kill him like a housefly.

    However, Nangong Mu was waving his arms rapidly in front of him with a serious expression while he mumbled something.

    ¡°Sir Demon Lord, hurry... hurry and stop Nangong Mu, don¡¯t let him finish the spell, he wants to open the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression changed when she saw this.

    She knew what Nangong Mu wanted to do. Even though she was on the same team as the four ancient beasts, she was different from the twelve warlocks.

    Moreover, once the Door of the Realm of God opened, the advantage that the demon race and monster race enjoyed would disappear instantly.

    ¡°The Door of the Realm of God?!¡± Hong You took a nce at the closed stone door in the sky and figured it out. ¡°I see!¡±

    ¡°Brother, why not we kill Fang Zhengzhi and the few brats first?¡± The other warlocks were extremely furious as they were the most powerful individuals of the ancient era.

    As the twelve warlocks, how could they tolerate being fooled around by the humans?

    ¡°Let¡¯s not bother about them. They are just trying to buy time for Nangong Mu. We can attack Nangong Mu straightaway!¡± Hong You made up his mind.

    He had understood everything.

    It was unwise for him to fight against Fang Zhengzhi and the rest now as he knew how many powerful humans were there in the gxy.

    Once the Door of the Realm of God opened, the powerful humans from ancient times would descend and the oue would be obvious.

    Great War.

    Moreover, it would be an endless Great War. Blood would form rivers and the oue was unknown. What was the possibility for the demon race to rule over the world?

    ¡°Attack Nangong Mu first!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    Although the other warlocks were not very happy, Hong You¡¯s words reminded them about the urgency of things.

    Snatch the fruit of the Tree of God from Nangong Mu first.

    Before attacking Fang Zhengzhi!

    The twelve warlocks had made up their minds. Without hesitation, they ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s provocation and attacked Nangong Mu with all their might.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The twelve warlocks coborated and attacked Nangong Mu. Instantly, a few golden tree branches were torn apart.

    Drops of golden fluid dripped on the ground and golden tree branches grew again.

    Due to Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, the twelve warlocks were slightly disrupted and therefore there was an increase in the golden tree branches in front of them.

    However, this did not have a huge impact.

    After all, the twelve warlocks were amongst the most powerful in the ancient era. They were very powerful. Even if an individual demon god was unable topete with Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, when the twelve of them coborated, even Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was afraid topete with them.

    ¡°Attack with full force!¡± Hong You roared furiously and used his arms to break the thick golden branches in front of him, causing drops of golden fluid to stter.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest arrived.

    They passed by Hong You and the warlocks at an extremely fast speed while singing a beautiful tune, ¡°We are pests, we are pests...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world fell silent.

    The twelve warlocks¡¯ faces turned very ugly. They really wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    However, unfortunately, they could not.

    That was because they had already decided to gather their powers to take down Nangong Mu and ensure that he does not open the Door of the Realm of God sessfully.

    ¡°Ignore them!¡±

    ¡°Snatch the fruit first!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The twelve warlocks ignored Fang Zhengzhi but they were slightly cautious as they were afraid that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest would su.ddenly spring a sneak attack

    Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi and the rest appeared, they did not let their guard down and were fully prepared to defend.

    However, unexpectedly...

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest came quickly but left even more quickly.

    They literally floated in front of them and disappeared, having no intention to spring a sneak attack at them at all.

    ¡°...¡± The twelve warlocks were stunned.

    They did not attack?

    What were they doing?

    Besides the twelve warlocks, Mu Qingfeng and the rest were also confused. They looked lost and did not understand what just happened.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they spring a sneak attack? They had such a good chance.¡± Even the Heavenly Oasis Saint was surprised.

    To them, they were already sure that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were nning to stir shit and harass the twelve warlocks from different directions.

    However, something was wrong if they did not attack?

    What happened to the harassment?

    They had to at least do something, right?

    If not, how could that be considered harassment?

    ¡°Perhaps they haven¡¯t found the chance to do that!¡± Mu Qingfeng could understand that some patience was needed to spring a sneak attack on the twelve warlocks.

    If they sprung a sneak attack once they were close to the twelve warlocks, the chance of a failure was very high.

    ¡°Hmm, that sounds like the only possible exnation.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint nodded and decided to wait further.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest floated back.

    ¡°We are pests, we are pests...¡± The four of them sang in unison with bright smiles on their faces as though they were afraid that the twelve warlocks were not aware of their arrival.

    ¡°...¡± The twelve warlocks became cautious again.

    Then, they realized that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest floated away again. Just like before, they had no intention to attack them and came and left like the wind.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What is going on?¡± One of the warlocks was very confused.

    ¡°Ignore them. We just have to focus on defense!¡± Hong You frowned too. He could tell that his opponent was very patient.

    However, the lyrics of the song...

    Was very disturbing!

    However, what type of godly demon was Hong You? He had experienced the ancient battlefield and was the leader of the twelve warlocks. Therefore, he definitely had a state of mind that made him feel very powerful.

    He continued to attack Nangong Mu.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest came by again.

    Simr to the previous two times, they sang with a loud voice and floated by.

    However, the only difference was that the distance between Fang Zhengzhi and the twelve warlocks were closing up gradually and they were less than ten feet away from each other.

    A distance of ten feet.

    It was still very dangerous for a sneak attack.

    The twelve warlocks knew that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest looked like they were just floating in front of them but were actually waiting for the best moment to spring a sneak attack.

    Therefore, even though Fang Zhengzhi and the rest had yet to attack, they were on high alert and kept their guard up.

    However, the Heavenly Oasis Saint was somewhat anxious.

    Hun Dun and Tao Wu had almost destroyed the top of the Heaven Zen Mountain. Nangong Mu was also chanting at an increasing speed while Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were floating...

    Did they dare to attack?

    The Heavenly Oasis Saint was really impatient but no matter what, there was no way for him to interrupt.

    He could only wait.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest continued to float.

    ¡°We are pests, we are pests...¡±

    As the voice of the four of them sounded, they floated past the twelve warlocks for five or six times.

    The distance between them also became closer and they were only five feet apart.

    Hong You¡¯s eyes lit up. The distance of five feet was a good position for a sneak attack. He was waiting for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to act.

    Of course, their distance from Nangong Mu had also narrowed and was less than twenty feet away from him. The golden branches were also more or less cleared.

    Then, just at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest appeared again and floated past them with the song.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Why are they still not attacking?!¡± Hong You was confused.

    Meanwhile, the other warlocks also looked at each other. They thought that the four of them would have attacked at that distance but they did not.

    Most importantly...

    The speed at which Fang Zhengzhi and the rest floated by was increasing.

    They floated past again.

    They were only four feet away from the warlocks.

    Very near!

    So near that they could stab the warlocks¡¯ hearts with a sword.

    However, they floated past in a carefree manner and did not have the intention to attack the twelve warlocks at all.

    ¡°Trying topete to see who is more patient? I, Hong You, have a lot of patience!¡± Hong You held his breath and purposely resisted the temptation to attack as he continued attacking Nangong Mu.

    They were getting closer and closer!

    As the twelve warlocks attacked together, they were getting closer to Nangong Mu and was only fifteen feet away from him.

    Nangong Mu was drenched in perspiration.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were floating past, he felt very stressed as they did not attack the twelve warlocks.

    Moreover, as the twelve warlocks came closer to him, he could feel that he was using more energy and his legs started to tremble slightly.

    ¡°Hold on, Nangong Mu, you must hold on, the mission of the Nangong Nobles and the lives of humankind is in your hands. You can only save the world through opening the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Nangong Mu bit his lips and increased the speed of his hand gestures as he recited the spell.

    Then, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest floated past again.

    There were only three feet away from the twelve warlocks.

    The twelve warlocks were extremely cautious this time as even if they were prepared, they could be attacked at this distance.

    After all, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were not weak.

    ¡°Are they going to attack?!¡±

    ¡°They must be attacking, right?!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense for them to not attack at such a close distance?¡±

    The twelve warlocks, including Hong You, looked at them with a stern expression. They instinctively covered the vital parts of their bodies and waited for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to attack them suddenly.

    In fact, Mu Qingfeng and the Heavenly Oasis Saint were also extremely nervous. Their eyes widened as they did not want to miss the most exciting part of the battle.

    After all, such a chance was extremely rare.

    They would definitely attack!

    Then...

    There was no f*cking then.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi and the rest floated past again and did not spring a sneak attack at the twelve warlocks. They passed by like a gust of wind and only left behind the song...

    ¡°We are pests, we are pests...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 1058 - An Unexpected Event!

    <h4>Chapter 1058: An Unexpected Event!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If an innocent girl whom you had wooed for one year finally sat on your bed, blinked at you and shouted, ¡°Dear,e...¡±

    What would you do?

    By right, an ordinary man would have pounced over, right?

    However, the ending of the story was not as such.

    The man dashed forward but pulled the girl down from the bed and shouted, ¡°I just washed the bedsheets, are you blind?¡±

    Blind!

    That was what Mu Qingfeng and the rest felt.

    ¡°Are you really blind or pretending to be blind? Pests... what f*cking pests?! Fang Zhengzhi, are you dumb?!¡± Mu Qingfeng could not hold it in any further.

    A distance of three feet.

    And still not attacking?!

    If he was not blind, what else could it be?

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, even the face of Yan Qianli, who trusted Fang Zhengzhi, turned ck and he could not figure out what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about.

    Did he suddenly suffer a stroke because he used too much brainpower?

    However, the main problem was that not only did Fang Zhengzhi suffer a stroke, but also Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan and Ping Yang as none of them attacked.

    Let¡¯s not talk about Ping Yang for now! (Rant by Ping Yang: Why don¡¯t talk about me?!)

    Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan were people who knew the situation well. Yan Qianli did not believe that the grandson he had doted on did not see the urgency of the problem.

    Wait!

    ¡®No!¡¯

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi did not think it through properly, both Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu had no reason for acting the same way?

    Something was wrong!

    Just as Yan Qianli felt that something was wrong, there was a turn of event. The powers of the warlocks suddenly increased and they broke open all the golden tree branches in front of Nangong Mu instantly.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed.

    Based on his deduction, his golden tree branches could at least defend against two attacks by the twelve warlocks. However, all of them were broken apart at one go?

    It must be on purpose!

    Nangong Mu also figured it out very quickly, the twelve warlocks were holding back their true capabilities.

    They advanced calmly initially and gave Nangong Mu and Fang Zhengzhi the false impression that they still had time. Then, they suddenly attacked and made it difficult for them to react.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Yan Qianli was surprised.

    ¡°Nangong Mu is in danger!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Wu Yuer and the rest were also shocked.

    Although they had yet to figure out what Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were nning to do, they had invested all their hopes on them.

    After all, like what Yan Qianli had thought, even if Fang Zhengzhi was not thinking straight, it was impossible for both Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu to not think straight too?

    At this moment, the awful tune was heard again, it was still a very delightful voice, ¡°We are pests, we are pests...¡±

    Like before, the voice came from the back of the twelve warlocks and were still three feet away from them.

    ¡°Not again?!¡± The twelve warlocks, including Hong You, were annoyed.

    The four of them were still using such a harassment tactic at this point in time. It was rather hrious as Nangong Mu¡¯s defense had been broken apart.

    They were still not attacking?

    Were they dumb or what?

    The twelve warlocks did not want to underestimate their opponent but the voice was so clear that it was difficult for them to not believe it.

    In fact, besides the twelve warlocks, even Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli felt that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were dumb.

    Really dumb!

    ¡°He was still fooling around?!¡±

    That was what Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli felt. They would not have felt this way If Nangong Mu still had the power to defend.

    Yet now, the golden tree branches in front of Nangong Mu hadpletely broken apart.

    To put it nastily, the fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand could disappear in a blink of an eye and get snatched away by the twelve warlocks.

    Then...

    The fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand really disappeared.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Qianli opened his mouth

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you brat...¡± Mu Qingfeng could not resist the temptation to curse as he was almost desperate. However, he did not finish his sentence.

    The reason was simple, a figure wearing blue robe was standing behind Nangong Mu. He also had a slight smile on his face.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli, and the twelve warlocks widened their eyes as they never expected Fang Zhengzhi to appear behind Nangong Mu.

    Shouldn¡¯t he appear behind the twelve warlocks

    The twelve warlocks turned around instinctively.

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest also looked at a distance three meters behind the twelve warlocks.

    There was indeed a figure.

    However, there was only one.

    She was wearing a holy and grand armor that was white in color. She had a dark blue long sword in her hand and her ck long hair fell until her waist. She was extremely arrogant.

    ¡°Chi Guyan?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The person who appeared behind the twelve warlocks was Chi Guyan?

    Not only did the twelve warlocks not believe this, but Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest also could not figure out what had happened.

    ¡°Inertia!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard before he raised his hand slowly with a golden fruit in his hand. ¡°The mindset of inertia, even if you don¡¯t believe that we are still behind you, once you hear our voices, you have to believe it!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The world fell silent.

    The twelve warlocks, Nangong Mu, Mu Qingfeng, and the rest had their mouths agape but nobody said anything.

    Mindset of inertia!

    A mindset of inertia that managed to trick three parties at once!

    Everyone finally figured it out.

    Fang Zhengzhi had his eyes on the fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand all along but he managed to hide this intention very well.

    Of course, it was not easy for him to hide his intention.

    That was because both the twelve warlocks and Nangong Mu would be extremely cautious about the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi did not look interested in the fruit of the Tree of God, was he really not interested?

    Nangong Mu did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would listen to him and kept his guard up against both the twelve warlocks and Fang Zhengzhi.

    The twelve warlocks too.

    However, the golden tree branches were acting as a means of attack and defense between Nangong Mu and the twelve warlocks. This caused both parties to be more steady.

    Before the golden tree branches were destroyed...

    The fruit of the Tree of God would not be snatched by anyone.

    The mindset of the twelve warlocks was not simple and they were in fact very cunning.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was floating behind them, they could guess that Fang Zhengzhi would aim for the fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand.

    Therefore, they used a scheme to act steadily and create an illusion before they suddenly attacked and broke the tree branches.

    In reality, they did it.

    They were about to aplish their mission.

    They were extremely cautious at this moment. However, just while they were extremely cautious, the annoying song was heard behind them.

    ¡°...¡±

    The problem came.

    If the song was not heard, they would definitely watch out for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attack on Nangong Mu. However, the song was heard at that moment...

    Mindset of inertia...

    The f*cking mindset of inertia!

    Like what Fang Zhengzhi said, even though they did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would still float behind them, they had the false impression because of the mindset of inertia.

    They thought that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were still behind them.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯!

    Not only did Fang Zhengzhi tricked the twelve warlocks, but he also tricked Nangong Nu too.

    The twelve warlocks were stunned. As experienced schemers, they did not expect to lose because of a mere mindset of inertia.

    Nangong Mu was stunned too.

    He was so cautious and even made up his mind to return to the Tree of God when he saw the golden tree branches break.

    However, he lost to Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°Return me the fruit, you can¡¯t absorb it at all, there is no use for you even if you ate it!¡± Nangong Mu was anxious and his eyes turned red.

    He knew that if the fruit ended up with Fang Zhengzhi, the only oue was that he would open his mouth and swallow it.

    Although he still did not understand...

    Why didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi die after swallowing the fruit of the Tree of God?

    That was the reality.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi could swallow the fruit of the Tree of God in one bite.

    By then, it would be extremely difficult to get the fruit of the Tree of God out of Fang Zhengzhi stomach. After all, talking about escaping...

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely good at that!

    ¡°Brat, hand over the fruit. We, the twelve warlocks, can agree to any terms you bring up, be it a plot ofnd or making you the king of the generation!¡± said Hong You.

    After all, now that the fruit of the Tree of God was with Fang Zhengzhi, it was definitely much harder to snatch it from him than from Nangong Mu.

    ¡°The king of the generation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a look of disdain.

    At this moment, there was a turn of event. After Hong You finishes his sentence, the other eleven warlocks suddenly attacked Chi Guyan who was behind them.

    This was a trick that killed two birds with a stone.

    They used a tone for negotiation with Fang Zhengzhi but used a forceful tactic for Chi Guyan who was nearby.

    However, were they able to be forceful?

    When the eleven warlocks attacked, they realized that Chi Guyan had already escaped and had no intent to stay to y around with them.

    She escaped really quickly.

    ¡°...¡± The eleven warlocks were speechless.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhiughed brightly as he saw this. Chi Guyan was almost as good as him when it came to escaping.

    If not for that...

    He would not have ced Chi Guyan at that eye-catching position.

    The eleven warlocks instinctively wanted to give chase but Hong You waved his hand and signaled for them to stop.

    ¡°One wrong step caused us to be at a disadvantage.¡± Hong You shook his had. He knew that if Chi Guyan really wanted to escape, she would not be caught in a short span of time.

    Moreover, in front of them stood Fang Zhengzhi who mastered the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. If they missed the opportunity, it would be very difficult for them to catch Chi Guyan again.

    Since their original n had failed, Hong You diverted his attention to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Brother Fang, do you believe that I will keep my promise or not?¡±

    ¡°I believe. How can I not believe the words of the twelve ancient warlocks.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head. He was ying with the fruit of the Tree of God but did not stop moving his feet.

    Almost instantly, he had reached a ce that was far away with Yan Xiu and Ping Yang.

    Nangong Mu gritted his teeth.

    Since the start, the fruit of the Tree of God had been snatched by Fang Zhengzhi and that resulted in the failure of the ns of the Nangong Nobles. Finally, they managed to regain their loss...

    They were so close to opening the Door of the Realm of God.

    But the fruit got snatched?!

    How detestable!

    ¡°Since brother Fang believes me, then what are you worried about?¡± Hong You changed his tone and called Fang Zhengzhi as a brother. Then, he continued,¡± Unless brother Fang does not aspire to be a king? If that¡¯s the case, why not you state your terms, if we can do it, we will definitely do it without hesitation.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Hong You¡¯s eyes lit up, there was hope if there was a discussion. Once they obtained the fruit of the Tree of God, it was not up to Fang Zhengzhi to decide whether they would fulfill their promise or not.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t be stupid!¡± Mu Qingfeng was very anxious when he heard the conversation between Fang Zhengzhi and Hong You. ¡°Don¡¯t believe in the monsters and demons!¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Yan Qianli nodded too.

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli. He ced the fruit of the Tree of God into his mouth and opened it.

    ¡°No!¡± Nangong Mu was desperate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t... Brother Fang, hold on, state your terms, is one not enough? No problem, we will grant you three, three terms, how about that?¡± Hong You was also anxious.

    ¡°Three terms?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Hong You nodded and added, ¡°That¡¯s our limits, three terms, as long as we can do it, we will try our best.¡±

    ¡°Alright, kill the three beasts for me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointe at Qiong Qi, Hun Dun and the other ancient beast and smiled sheepishly.

    ¡°Kill the three beasts?!¡± Hong You was shocked as he turned to look at the three beasts. He narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°No problem, but I am afraid that we are not powerful enough to fight against them. However, if you hand over the fruit to us, we will have the power to kill the three beasts, are you willing to do that, Brother Fang?¡±

 Chapter 1059 - Turn of Event, A Shocking Move by Fang Zhengzhi

    <h4>Chapter 1059: Turn of Event, A Shocking Move by Fang Zhengzhi</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world fell silent. The twelve warlocks, Nangong Mu and Mu Qingfeng were all waiting for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s reply.

    Fang Zhengzhi was still smiling brightly.

    Hand over the fruit of the Tree of God to the twelve warlocks and the twelve warlocks would kill the three beasts together. How would he possibly believe such a nonsensical im?

    As the saying went, in order to fish, one has to put the bait first.

    However, in history, there was one person who did not use the bait to fish. The saying went, there were always fishes willing to be caught by angler Jiang Taigong.

    Fang Zhengzhi was definitely iparable to Jiang Taigong. Therefore, he did something that made much more sense.

    ¡°Crack!¡± He tightened his grip.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes turned into five different colors instantly ¡ª red, blue, ck, silver, green ¡ª the five colors shone together brightly.

    Meanwhile, there was also a tinge of golden light.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er!¡± Fang Zhengzhi yelled suddenly before he tossed the fruit of the Tree of God up.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°What is he trying to do?¡±

    Instantly, Nangong Mu and the twelve warlocks were astonished. Even Mu Qingfeng who was at a distance away had his eyes wide open in confusion.

    At this critical moment, Fang Zhengzhi tossed the fruit of the Tree of God?

    Was he overconfident?

    Or did his brain go haywire?!

    Nobody could understand but as Fang Zhengzhi shouted, a dark blue swordnd shone from the sky and radiance congregated.

    It was a beam of sword light.

    The sword light that came from Chi Guyan.

    Moreover, when the sword light shone, two other beams of light also shone, one was green like wind and one was like zing mes.

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang attacked too.

    Three of them attacked together and three beams of light lit up the sky.

    However, that was not the end. As the three beams of light shone, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s terrifying charisma also increased tremendously and it was soaring like the ocean waves.

    ¡°Break!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his Traceless Sword and stabbed at the fruit of the Tree of God that he had tossed into the sky with extremely fast speed.

    Boom!

    A loud boom was heard. The four beams of lightbined and the center of the intersection was none other than the fruit of the Tree of God.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The twelve warlocks, Nangong Mu, Mu Qingfeng and the rest were all astonished.

    That was because it happened too quickly. Moreover, it was extremely unexpected.

    Four people attacked at the fruit of the Tree of God at the same time?!

    What were they trying to do?!

    ng!

    After that, the airwave ripped to the surroundings in circles. It was the airwave caused by the collision of the four beams of radiance.

    In the center of the airwave, there was a cloud of golden haze that was turning into spots of light and spreading in the sky.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°The fruit of the Tree of God?!¡±

    ¡°It was split apart... by the four of them?!¡±

    Shock, astonishment, confusion...

    Different emotions were felt by the people who witnessed the scene. Everyone stared the haze in astonishment.

    The thick haze covered the entire sky.

    Then, it fell towards the ground like spots of radiance and graduallynded in the Heaven Zen Mountain that had already beenpletely split open.

    ¡°...¡± The entire world fell silent.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi pouted and looked at the twelve warlocks before pointing at the golden haze. ¡°There you go, the fruit of the Tree of God you wanted!¡±

    ¡°The fruit of the Tree of God...¡±

    ¡°You wanted!¡±

    ¡°You wanted...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the air.

    Meanwhile, the twelve warlocks stared at the golden haze. Then, their gazes turned cold, extremely cold.

    Fang Zhengzhi destroyed the fruit of the Tree of God!

    They never thought that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest would destroy the fruit of the Tree of God!

    It was one of the greatest treasures!

    The greatest treasure which had a terrifying breath of life!

    And it was destroyed?!

    The twelve warlocks were going crazy.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu waspletely stunned...

    Destroyed?

    The fruit of the Tree of God...

    Was destroyed?!

    Instead of what they thought Fang Zhengzhi would do, Fang Zhengzhi chose to destroy the fruit of the Tree of God instead of swallowing it? He chose to destroy the fruit of the Tree of God!

    ¡°Ancestors, my ancestors... your descendant Nangong Mu witnessed how the fruit of the Tree of God got destroyed by a human!¡± Nangong Mu froze on the spot.

    That was because he could no longer think.

    After all, although he had thought about thousands of possibilities, he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi, a person who was particr about treasures, would destroy a treasure?

    He destroyed a treasure!

    Moreover, it was the fruit of the Tree of God!

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left, are we still fighting?¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and a powerful gust of wind blew the thick golden haze away.

    However, after that, he felt extremely strange.

    That felt like...

    It was as though his body suddenly moved rapidly and his body cells became alive and started to jump about as though they were newly born.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan.

    He saw a strange expression on their faces as the thick golden haze was at the center of the four of them.

    Apart from Fang Zhengzhi who had absorbed the least haze as he was at the most bottom position, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu touched the cloud of thick golden haze.

    ¡°Eh? So we can suck on the fruit of the Tree of God like this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked.

    In reality, he had not thought about using such a method to absorb the energy of the fruit of the Tree of God as he was certain that the fruit of the Tree of God could no longer be used by them.

    Since they could not use it...

    Then they might as well destroy it.

    It was a simple logical thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not think too much about it. Moreover, he did not feel stress when he destroyed the fruit of the Tree of God as he was a simple-minded and straightforward person.

    So many people wanted the fruit of the Tree of God.

    Then he would just destroy it.

    How good was that solution as nobody would argue over it anymore?

    He understood the idea behind ¡®the precious stonends its innocent possessor in jail¡¯ very well.

    He did not want to end up like the past as he was on everyone¡¯s mind after he swallowed the fruit of the Tree of God and was in a risky position all along.

    If the fruit of the Tree of God ceased to exist, nobody would be able to get it and nobody could open the Door of the Realm of God.

    The world...

    Would be peaceful!

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng and the rest finally regained their senses after being stunned for a long time. They stared at each other and saw different emotions from each others¡¯ faces.

    Some of them felt helpless, some were sighing, some were frustrated while some were happy...

    Various kinds of emotions.

    However, everything went back to a peaceful one eventually.

    That was because they had understood the mindsets of Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and the rest. The fruit of the Tree of God was the root cause of everything and they would definitely not open the Door of the Realm of God.

    Therefore, they might as well kill the expectations of everyone.

    Destroy the fruit of the Tree of God.

    ¡°Brother, what should we do? The brat destroyed the fruit of the Tree of God!¡± One of the warlocks turned and looked at Hong You.

    ¡°This brat destroyed the hope of the demon race. Kill them and bring Nangong Mu over. No matter what, I want to kill him!¡± Hong You¡¯s gaze was ice cold and mes of fury were burning in his heart.

    He had endured for such a long time.

    Yet, the oue was as such.

    How would he be willing to ept it?

    Kill Fang Zhengzhi before capturing Nangong Mu and retrieve the secret of the Tree of God from Nangong Mu. That was the only thing Hong You had in mind at that moment.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, now that the fruit of the Tree of God is destroyed, why aren¡¯t you leaving yet?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted at Nangong any after he figured out what the twelve warlocks were up to.

    ¡°Destroyed...¡±

    ¡°There was no more fruit of the Tree of God!¡±

    ¡°Our hope has perished, the Door of the Realm of God can no longer be opened, it is impossible toplete my mission, do I, Nangong Mu... still have to run?¡±

    Nangong Mu mumbled continuously. He stared nkly into space and was extremely pale. He looked as if he had shriveled and waspletely energyless.

    The fruit of the Tree of God was destroyed...

    He had already thought of dying, so why would he run?

    ¡°Something is wrong, Nangong Mu seems to bemitting suicide?¡± Even Ping Yang felt that Nangong Mu¡¯s expression was weird.

    ¡°The fruit of the Tree of God was destroyed by us, he probably won¡¯t resist anymore. It will be bad if he gets caught by the twelve warlocks.¡± Yan Xiu frowned slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Chi Guyan was very straightforward.

    She moved and turned into a stream of light. Her entire body was full of starlight and she dashed towards Nangong Mu like the milky way.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, be careful!¡± Fang Zhengzhi believed in Chi Guyan¡¯s capability but she was facing the twelve warlocks who were extremely triggered.

    Getting Nangong Mu out of the twelve warlocks¡¯ hands alone?

    It was somewhat dangerous.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure how powerful the twelve warlocks were, but he remembered the scene when the twelve warlocks broke Nangong Mu¡¯s defense of the golden tree branches.

    In fact, the twelve warlocks had been hiding their powers during the battle earlier on.

    Yet now, the fruit of the Tree of God was destroyed and the twelve warlocks were burning with anger, how would they continue to hide their powers?

    Fang Zhengzhi actually wanted to stop her.

    However, Chi Guyan was so determined that he had no chance to stop her.

    Therefore, he could only pray that Chi Guyan would be careful.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang let out an exmation and looked extremely nervous.

    The twelve warlocks also spotted Chi Guyan and attacked without hesitation and without holding back.

    Rumble!

    Boom...

    Thunders boomed and lightning shed.

    The twelve warlocks were moving at an extremely fast speed.

    However, Chi Guyan still managed to reach before the twelve warlocks. She swung her long tail and forcefully took Nangong Mu away from the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°Detestable!¡±

    ¡°Little brat, you are indeed powerful, you managed to take a Nangong Mu away from us?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The twelve warlocks were evidently shocked.

    Meanwhile, when Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest saw this from afar, they heaved a sigh of relief as they did not expect Chi Guyan to make it.

    Snatching Nangong Mu away from the twelve warlocks.

    She was so powerful that it was unbelievable.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu also heaved a sigh of relief. They had to admit that the reason for this was not only because of the distance but also the speed of Chi Guyan.

    She was so fast that she looked like she teleported.

    In addition, her long tail managed to bring Nangong Mu to her almost instantly.

    She did not give the twelve warlocks any chance.

    Fang Zhengzhi also felt relieved and sighed silently. Chi Guyan was more powerful than he had thought.

    However, before he could finish giving a sigh of relief, he realized that radiance shed across Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Oh no, Yan¡¯er, let go of Nangong...¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    Before Fang Zhengzhi couldplete his sentence, Chi Guyan had already reacted.

    However, it was evidently toote as Nangong Mu¡¯s palm had reached the top of Chi Guyan¡¯s head. He smacked Chi Guyan¡¯s head.

    ¡°You guys destroyed my fruit of the Tree of God, go and die!¡± Nangong Mu was wild.

    After the fruit of the Tree of God was destroyed, he thought ofmitting suicide. Now that he suddenly saw his ¡°enemy¡± in front of him, the thought ofmitting suicide turned into a soaring sense of hatred.

    He wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Simrly, he would not let Chi Guyan off.

    Attack!

    Kill Fang Zhengzhi, kill Chi Guyan, kill Yan Xiu and Ping Yang.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu only had one thing in mind, to kill all four of them before fighting with the twelve warlocks.

    Everyone who eyed on the fruit of the Tree of God and destroyed it...

    Had to die!

    ¡°Shifting forms!¡± Just as Nangong Mu was about to hit Chi Guyan¡¯s head, a shocking voice was heard.

    Then, an azure blue radiance covered Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    Then, the radiance flickered.

    Chi Guyan disappeared.

    A teenager in blue robe sessfully swooped person with her.

    Fang Zhengzhi.

    At thest moment, he managed to swap his position with Chi Guyan. He did not think about using the Heaven Dao to move after the shifting of forms as Nangong Mu¡¯s p was so quick that it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to use the Heaven Dao.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body fell down the crack of the Heaven Dao Mountain like an artillery shell and disappeared in the dust.

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes turned red and charged down at an extremely fast speed.

    Yan Xiu charged down with her.

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡± Yan Xiu moved extremely fast as well. He disappeared in a second into the dust in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

 Chapter 1060 - Life, Loyalty and Filial Piety!

    <h4>Chapter 1060: Life, Loyalty and Filial Piety!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sudden turn of event happened too quickly.

    From the time when Chi Guyan saved Nangong Mu to the time when Fang Zhengzhi used the shifting forms technique to save Chi Guyan from Nangong Mu¡¯s sudden attack, to how Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu followed Fang Zhengzhi after he fell into the Heaven Zen Mountain...

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest werepletely stunned.

    They would never expect Nangong Mu to suddenly attack at this moment. They also did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to sacrifice himself to save Chi Guyan and how Chi Guyan and Yan Ciu followed him into the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°Nangong Mu!¡±

    ¡°Nangong Mu?!¡±

    The eyes of Mu Qingfeng and the rest turned red.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?! Hahaha... I actually killed Fang Zhengzhi? You destroyed my fruit of the Tree of God, I have sessfully taken my revenge, taken my revenge!¡± Nangong Mu seemed to be surprised too before he regained his senses andughed crazily until tears fell and he trembled non-stop.

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, a burst of strangeughter was heard. ¡°Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi tried to kill us? But ended up being killed first?¡±

    The strangeughter was mixed with Nangong Mu¡¯s crazyughter. It was none other than Tao Wu, one of the four beasts who destroyed the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Not only was Tao Wuughing, but Hun Dun also opened his mouth andughed extremely loudly as he pushed the rocks into the crack of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    He wanted to bury Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, and Yan Xiu alive.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, ah... Master, save them!¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes turned red from anxiety and instinctively wanted to jump into the mountain.

    However, Heavenly Oasis Saint grabbed Wu Yuer as he knew that she would definitely die if she went down the copsed mountain.

    ¡°No, Yuer!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint¡¯s eyes were also extremely red but Hun Dun and Tao Wu were too powerful. Mountain rocks fell as the two of them filled the mountain together.

    Who could stop the entire Heaven Zen Mountain from copsing?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi...¡± Yun Qingwu looked at the thick dust beneath and smiled. ¡°You definitely won¡¯t be able to survive this time, right? Hmm... you won¡¯t be able to survive. If that¡¯s the case, let me apany you so you don¡¯t feel lonely on the road to death.¡±

    Swoosh!

    Yun Qingwu broke free from the restraint of Wu Yuer¡¯s waistband when she was distracted and plunged into the dust beneath like Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu.

    ¡°What?! Yun Qingwu!¡± Mu Qingfeng and the rest were extremely shocked.

    How would they not be shocked?

    Yun Qingwu actually followed Fang Zhengzhi?!

    It was a strange scene.

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu went down in order to save Fang Zhengzhi. However, Yun Qingwu was definitelymitting suicide when she went down when Tao Wu and Hun Dun were filling the mountain.

    ¡°Qingwu, my daughter!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi who was hiding at a distance away roared when she saw Yun Qingwu plunge into the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The Monster Emperor who had one of her tails severed.

    Now, she could only hide in a distance and see how her biological daughter fell into the Heaven Zen Mountain. Even someone as emotionless as her was aching internally.

    As the saying went, one only learns to treasure after suffering a loss.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had not paid attention to Yun Qingwu all these years as she did not want to admit the marriage she had in the past.

    Moreover, Yun Qingwu was not a true monster.

    As the most powerful individual of the Holy Region in the past, Monster Emperor Baizhi was arrogant, cold and merciless. She ruled over thousands of monsters and had a high position in the pce in the Great Swamp.

    Yet now, scenes appeared in her mind.

    The scene when Yun Qingwu entered the Great Swamp was so cold and she was emotionless when she called ¡°mother¡±.

    ¡°Qingwu...¡±

    ¡°Qingwu, my daughter!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    They said that one especially treasured their family members when they grew old.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was not old yet but was at the most miserable point in her life. She was sad and insulted and did not want to lose thest dependency she had.

    ¡°Daughter, I aming with you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stood up and wanted to plunge into the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    However, at this moment, a long tail flung on her body and she was flung back to her original spot.

    ¡°Useless thing, how dare you to call yourself a godly beast?! You decided tomit suicide and disregard the future of the monster race? I think you don¡¯t need to call yourself the Monster Emperor in the future!¡± Tao Wu sounded cold and ignored Monster Emperor Baizhi as he continued to fill the Heaven Zen Mountain with soil.

    Nangong Mu was stillughing wildly in midair.

    The twelve warlocks managed to regain their senses and were all extremely shocked. However, cold smiles soon appeared on their faces.

    Internal fight.

    Humans were indeed humans!

    Although there were many of them, since the past, there were internal fights and that was the reason why the world of humankind was always in chaos.

    ¡°Take Nangong Mu down!¡± Hong Youmanded.

    ¡°Roger!¡± The other warlocks obeyed and charged towards Nangong Mu.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu stopped smiling and had an extremely cold gaze as he stared at the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°All of you have to die for snatching the fruit of the Tree of God too!¡± Nangong Mu growled. He looked at the twelve warlocks with a determined gaze and wanted to fight till his death with the twelve warlocks.

    However, at this moment, a red figure suddenly appeared on the top of Nangong Mu¡¯s head. The bright red mes burned in the sky.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, I will fight till my death with you!¡± Ping Yang thought she did not have the ability to fight against Nangong Mu but she could not endure the fact that Nangong Mu was still standing in front of her.

    The scorching hot mes surrounded her body and her ck hair flowed in the sky.

    She was Ping Yang.

    The princess that the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty doted on.

    However, her gaze was filled with anger and the zing Qilin Spear in her hands radiated a terrifying aura simr to the growl of wild beasts.

    She struck with her spear and mes filled the sky.

    ¡°Ping Yang?!¡± Nangong Mu was evidently shocked. He had ced his attention on the twelve warlocks and totally neglected Ping Yang who was behind him.

    However, how could he possibly allow Ping Yang to spring a sneak attack on him?

    Therefore, even though he was shocked, he still moved extremely quickly. He attacked in a blink of an eye and caught the zing Qilin Spear that was stabbing towards him.

    mes rose from Nangong Mu¡¯s hand.

    However, this ferocity waspletely disregarded by Nangong Mu. The red radiance surrounded his hand and the mes were segregated.

    However, at this moment, Ping Yang, who was holding onto the zing Qilin Spear suddenly slipped down.

    That was right!

    She slipped down.

    She abandoned the weapon in her hand and followed the spear of the zing Qilin Spear and charged towards Nangong Mu like a crazy cat.

    ¡°How dare you, Nangong Mu, I have a higher position than you and you dared to attack me?¡±

    ¡°Higher position?!¡±

    Nangong Mu¡¯s body shook when he heard that and felt an intense pain on his arm before he could retaliate.

    It was not too painful.

    However, it was enough for Nangong Mu to feel shocked.

    That was because Ping Yang bit him.

    She bit his arm and grabbed onto his arm like an octopus. This caused Nangong Mu to release his grip on the zing Qilin Spear slightly.

    This small release caused the zing Qilin Spear to slip down again.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang flipped in the air and kicked the bottom of the zing Qilin Spear while being upside down.

    sh!

    The zing Qilin Spear brushed past Nangong Mu¡¯s face with golden light, leaving behind a scar on his face and blood sttered across the sky.

    ¡°Ping Yang, you are also the person who destroyed my fruit of the Tree of God!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s haze turned cold. The ¡°harassment¡± of Ping Yang also caused him to be furious.

    If he had to choose one person to not kill amongst Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, that person would be none other than Ping Yang.

    The reason was...

    Ping Yang was too weak.

    Moreover, she was the princess of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Although Nangong Mu did not bother about the hierarchy, the Nangong Nobles had belonged to the Great Xia Dynasty all along.

    The concept of hierarchy was instilled in him since he was young.

    It was the concept of loyalty and filial piety!

    Nangong Mu did not want to kill Ping Yang but he had no choice but to p her mercilessly when he realized that she was an ¡°aplice¡±.

    Bam!

    Ping Yang was pped hard on her back and blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as she turned extremely pale.

    However, she did not loosen her bite on Nangong Mu¡¯s arm.

    She did not say anything and let the blood flow from the corner of her mouth. There seemed to be mes burning in her eyes and her ck hair flew in the sky.

    At this moment, the twelve warlocks had arrived.

    ¡°Hahaha... how interesting!¡± Hong Youughed very loudly. He was watching the internal fight between humans in disdain.

    ¡°It is indeed very interesting.¡± The other warlocksughed too.

    ¡°If there¡¯s time, I would really love to see who will win but I have no patience for this, kill the both of them!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    The other warlocks nodded and attacked together.

    A quarrel which benefited only a third party.

    The scene in front of them was too familiar.

    The fight between Nangong Mu and Ping Yang allowed the twelve warlocks to reap the benefit without even doing anything.

    ¡°Ping Yang, let go!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes were filled with blood-red radiance as he saw the twelve warlocks approach him and pped Ping Yang again.

    ¡°Spat!¡±

    Ping Yang could no longer hold it in and opened her mouth as she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood onto Nangong Mu¡¯s face.

    Then, Ping Yang smiled.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, I will die together with you!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face was extremely pale and blood flowed out of her mouth. However, despite that, she did not loosen her grip.

    She gripped Nangong Mu¡¯s arm and kicked non-stop with her feet. She looked extremely crazy and did not bother about the twelve warlocks around her.

    ¡°Die together?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression froze.

    He looked at the twelve warlocks around him who were sneering before turning to Ping Yang and suddenly looked very disheartened.

    He lost!

    No matter how unwilling he was, he had lost!

    The fruit of the Tree of God was destroyed, the Door of the Realm of God would never be opened again and the mission of Nangong Nobles could never be aplished.

    Yet now...

    He wanted to kill Princess Ping Yang of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Unfilial, disloyal!

    Bam! Ping Yang kicked Nangong Mu¡¯s face and his head tilted as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

    This shocked Ping Yang.

    That was because she knew Nangong Mu¡¯s capability very well. Even though she was fighting with all her might, she knew that it was extremely difficult to hit Nangong Mu.

    However, this time, she gave him a very steady kick.

    What was going on?

    Ping Yang was confused but her frustration stopped her from thinking too much as she only had one thing in mind, to take revenge for Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu.

    Kill Nangong Mu!

    Kill this betrayer!

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang continuously kicked Nangong Mu¡¯s face and his chest.

    She managed to hit the spots every single time.

    This scene was extremely unexpected. When Mu Qingfeng and the rest saw this, they had their mouths agape in shock.

    Ping Yang...

    Was beating Nangong Mu up?

    ¡°Your Highness, do you really want to kill me?¡± Nangong Mu spoke as he looked at Ping Yang with a look of freedom.

    ¡°Shut up, betrayer, how dare you call me ¡®Your Highness¡¯?! I want to kill you, I want you to die with Fang a Zhengzhi and Sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang kicked continuously

    She began to use both her hands and legs.

    ¡°Hahaha... die together?! Alright... then let I shall die together with them!¡± Nangong Muughed and dropped his body down in a straight line.

    ¡°Trying to escape?!¡±

    ¡°Stop them!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The twelve warlocks wanted to stop them.

    However, branches suddenly flew out from Nangong Mu¡¯s body and attacked towards the twelve warlocks at an extremely fast speed, making it impossible for them to go near.

    They fell.

    They fell continuously.

    Nangong Mu and Ping Yang were moving very quickly. Almost instantly, they fell into the dirt and soil of the Heaven Zen Mountain like Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Brother, are we still chasing after them?!¡± The other warlocks looked at Hong You.

    ¡°No need to!¡± Hong You¡¯s face was very ck and looked at the two beasts who were still filling up the soil before gritting his teeth. ¡°Forget it, now the fruit of the Tree of God is destroyed. The Door of the Realm of God cannot be opened and humankind can no longer be a threat to us. The only thing left for us to settle would be to kill the monster race!¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The other warlocks nodded.

    Without the threat of humankind, with only the monster race left, the demon race had more than 70 percent of chance to rule over the world.

 Chapter 1061 - Another Turn of Event, Arrival of the Last Era

    <h4>Chapter 1061: Another Turn of Event, Arrival of the Last Era</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Without saying anything, Hong You looked coldly beneath him.

    The fruit of the Tree of God was very important to the Demon Race. It was a good thing if they could get it but even if they did not manage to get it, there was nothing bad for it to get destroyed.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who was fighting with Qiong Qi in the sky gave a loud roar and pped Qiong Qi from the front.

    ¡°Hahaha... Xuanyuan Five, now that all the powerful humans are dead, do you want to reconsider returning to the monster race? You can also be freed from being owned by a human, right?¡± Qiong Qi spat out a mouthful of blood andughed.

    ¡°Qiong Qi!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was furious but he did not lose his mind.

    The situation now was extremely disadvantageous for the humankind. Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fell into the Heaven Zen Mountain and might be dead.

    Meanwhile, the remaining people...

    Be it Mu Qingfeng or Yan Qianli, nobody had the ability to fight against the three beasts. In fact, any Godly State experts could kill them.

    What should they do?

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five wanted to charge into the Heaven Zen Mountain to save Fang Zhengzhi and the rest but it was almost impossible to do that as Hun Dun and Tao Wu were pushing the rocks into the mountain

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, do you still want to fight?¡± Qiong Qi was actually exhausted as, after all, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five lived up to his name as the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era.

    He would be in an extremely dangerous position if he continued to fight.

    However, he looked very calm as even though he could not win Xuanyuan Five, he did not have any problem with escaping.

    Moreover, he knew that Xuanyuan Five could not continue to use his energy on fighting with him.

    The reason was simple. The Gate of God of the Monster Realm had already opened and Godly State experts of the monster race continuously descended from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm such that even Xuanyuan Five could not stop that from happening.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Golden Dragon roared before hended rapidly at the front of Mu Qingfeng and the rest.

    ¡°Senior, please save Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s eyes welled up in tears.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared.

    ¡°Senior!¡± Wu Yuer was indignant, really indignant.

    ¡°I said, go!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five widened his eyes and stared at Mu Qingfeng and the rest. ¡°If you don¡¯t go now, I won¡¯t be able to save you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest stared at each other. They understood what Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five meant, the Heaven Zen Mountain waspletely destroyed.

    Moreover, the Monster Race and Demon Race kept descending.

    There was no purpose for them to continue staying there.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Yuer.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint felt helpless. He wanted to save Fang Zhengzhi too but how could he do that if Xuanyuan Five could not?

    ¡°No, I am not leaving, even if I die, I will die with Fang Zhengzhi. I want to stay and die together with him. If Yun Qingwu can do that, I, Wu Yuer, can too!¡± Wu Yuer struggled with all her might, trying to escape from the hands of the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Yuer, have you thought about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents if you die?¡±

    ¡°His... parents?¡±

    ¡°Yes! You should know very well about what he is most concerned about? Moreover, given the current situation, you should know what will happen next!¡±

    ¡°What will happen next?¡± Wu Yuer froze.

    The Godly State experts kept descending from the Gate of God of the Demon Realm. Godly beasts were all over the ce and the twelve warlocks of the demon race were also waiting for their ¡°preys¡±.

    The world...

    Had changed!

    It was no longer the world of the past. There were countless powerful monsters and demons who could do anything they wanted to, including massacres.

    Therefore, would the world of humankind still exist?

    Would the Four Great Empires still be able to guard the spaciousnd like before?

    Wu Yuer¡¯s expression changed. She understood what the Heavenly Oasis Saint meant. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents could not defend themselves in a chaotic world.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Yuer, I know what you want to do but you can¡¯t do it yet. Fang Zhengzhi might not die, there¡¯s still a chance!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint touched Wu Yuer¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°There¡¯s still a chance?¡± Wu Yuer raises her head as tears streamed down her face. ¡°Master... Will Fang Zhengzhi stille back? Do humankind still stand a chance?¡±

    ¡°Yes, definitely!¡± affirmed the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Master...¡±

    Boom!

    At this moment, a loud sound was heard from the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain before beams of light started shining from the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    The radiance was very bright.

    They shot into the sky instantly and lit up the entire sky.

    The beams looked as though they had exploded and shot in all directions. Instead of a sharp aura, there was a warm and powerful aura of life.

    ¡°What is this?!¡± Wu Yuer initially had wanted to leave with the Heavenly Oasis Saint to the Northern Mountain Vige to protect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s parents.

    However, she was unsure after noticing the situation at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    That was because it had been covered with mountain rocks.

    Where did the radiancee from?

    Wu Yuer was shocked and so was Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. Everyone widened their eyes.

    Apart from them, the twelve warlocks in the sky and the three beasts were also staring at the beams of light in confusion.

    ¡°A strange phenomenon? So Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t die?¡± said one of the warlocks.

    ¡°No, this is not the aura given out by that human. This is the vitality of life, just like the fruit of the Tree of God in Nangong Mu¡¯s hand. However, it was slightly different too.¡± Hong You shook his head.

    ¡°So what is it?¡± The other warlocks were confused when they heard this.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Hun Dun opened his mouth and let out a loud roar. He stared at the beams of radiance with his eyes and his huge body began to expand rapidly.

    Hun Dun was growing bigger!

    Besides Hun Dun, Tao Wu was also growing bigger. Qiong Qi also felt the vitality of life from the radiance in the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°There¡¯s something beneath the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± said the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    As the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era and a monster, he was more sensitive than humans and demons, especially in terms of aura.

    ¡°There¡¯s something?¡± Mu Qingfeng was confused.

    What could there be under a mountain? Moreover, none of the historical books recorded that there were things buried under the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    It was such a huge mountain.

    Even if there was something below it, why wasn¡¯t it discovered?

    ¡°I think the power of life in the fruit had fallen into the Heaven Zen Mountain when Fang Zhengzhi destroyed the fruit of the Tree of God, thereby triggering some change. However, if it¡¯s merely the vitality of life... there should not be such massive movements. Therefore, there must be something in the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡± affirmed the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, mountain rocks tumbled and beams of radiance began to shoot out. Then, this radiance congregated in midair and turned into a gigantic piece of art.

    It was like a battlefield.

    A strange ancient battlefield.

    There were all sorts of broken weapons such as swords, shields, spears, axes inserted on the ground, or rather, on the mountain.

    The mountain was extremely tall and clouds moved vigorously.

    ¡°This is...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five looked at the battlefield and the mountains in the painting and widened his eyes.

    ¡°Senior, do you recognize this ce?¡± Mu Qingfeng asked.

    ¡°It is very familiar but I can¡¯t remember all of a sudden, however... I think I came here before, this ce...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five hesitated.

    ¡°You came here before?¡± Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli looked at each other.

    The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era and the closest friend of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. If he said that the scene looked familiar, it meant that it was really the scene of the ancient times.

    However, the scene of ancient times...

    Why did it appear in the middle of the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    Moreover, it appeared in this format. What secrets were hidden beneath the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    ¡°Brother, the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five said he came here before, do you remember this scene?¡± One of the warlocks turned to look at Hong You and asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Hong You shook his head.

    The scene in front of him was indeed a scene of the ancient battlefield. However, he had not entered the battlefield before as it was a tall mountain.

    The battle he had experienced was in the nd.

    During the battle between the troops of Emperor Yan, Emperor Huang and the demon troops of Chi You, the weapons were all over the floor too but the scene was different from what they saw in front of them.

    Qiong Qi and the rest of the beasts stared at the scene in front of them and could feel the powerful airwavesing from within.

    However, like the twelves, they were clueless too.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± Qi looked at the three beasts with a look of confusion.

    However, they soon stopped thinking about it as the ground changed when the scene appeared.

    The mountain rocks that were broken stopped rolling.

    It was not because Tao Wu and Hun Dun stopped filling rocks in the mountain but rather because green grass started growing between the mountain rocks.

    Moreover, the grass was very strong-willed.

    In a blink of an eye, they surrounded the mountain rocks and the ground turned green. There were also trees growing wildly in the patch of grass.

    ¡®The springes upon a withered tree?¡¯

    No!

    It was the ¡®sprouting of stones¡¯!

    This strange scene shocked the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, the three beasts and the twelve warlocks.

    Such things could actually happen?

    There were no seeds of the grass or tree amongst the broken rocks. However, grass and trees managed to grow in such conditions, how amazing was that!

    Or rather, this scene should be described as a strange one.

    The vitality of life spurted out continuously from the Heaven Zen Mountain. Beams of radiance bloomed and painted the sky with ¡°holy light¡±.

    Meanwhile, the painting became clearer in the holy light.

    Blood was flowing in the mountain and countless corpses lied in the forest. Trees were destroyed and the ground was littered with bones. An aura of death filled the air.

    Vitality, death.

    Twopletely different auras filled the air.

    Meanwhile, trees started to grow. Amongst the trees, flowers slowly bloomed, red, yellow, blue, purple...

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was so shocked that he forgot to run away. He stared at the strange scene beneath him.

    Grass grew between the broken rocks and some of them grew to trees and bore flowers.

    It was ridiculous.

    This phenomenon could not be exined withmon sense.

    Moreover, the flowers were still growing and blooming, causing the air to be filled with a light scent of aroma. Thick white clouds appeared from the haze.

    Gasp! Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s body shook and the fragrance caused him to breathe heavily and his entire body felt extremely rxed

    It was a special feeling.

    It felt as though the energy he used to fight with Qiong Qi earlier on was in the midst of recovering rapidly.

    Moreover, it was not only recovering rapidly but also undergoing a change. It was a change on Qiong Qi¡¯s body and made the golden radiance flow continuously.

    ¡°Something is wrong with these flowers!¡± said Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. The sensitivity of a monster allowed him to sense that the flower scent was filled with vitality.

    Besides him, Qiong Qi, Hun Dun and the other beasts also felt the difference.

    The three beasts opened their mouths and were absorbing the scent of the flower crazily. Beams of radiance flowed on their bodies and made their aura more terrifying.

    ¡°Brother, these flower scents seem to be able to help one regain their energy!¡± said one of the beasts as he had felt the change after absorbing the scent of the flower.

    ¡°Reiki, this is reiki!¡± Hong You¡¯s eyes widened immediately.

    In the ancient era, the world was filled with reiki. He was very familiar with this sensation. However, after descending from the Gate of God of the Demon Realm, he felt the difference in this world.

    The reiki was extremely weak.

    There was no heavy scent of reiki at all.

    However, after smelling the scent of the flower, he realized that there was extremely powerful reiki in the scent.

    Moreover, the reiki was even stronger than that in the ancient times.

    Plop! At this moment, a blooming flower fell and a red fruit grew from the spot the flowernded on. It gave off a strong aura of life and was clear and red like blood.

    ¡°Fruit!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes lit up and looked shocked when he saw the fruit.

    He moved instinctively.

    He dashed down towards the fruit unknowingly.

    Meanwhile, Qiong Qi and the three ancient beasts all dashed down towards the fruit with their eyes shining with radiance.

    ¡°Stop Xuanyuan Five!¡± Qiong Qi shouted.

    ¡°Hmph, why aren¡¯t you stopping him?!¡± yelled Hun Dun.

    On the other hand, Tao Wu kept silent and dashed towards the fruit with all his might. He stared at the fruit with a burning gaze and looked as though he wanted to swallow it in one bite.

    However, just as Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and the three beasts were about to reach the fruit, a shadow flew past the fruit and the fruit disappeared.

 Chapter 1062 - Breakthrough the Land of the Source of God!

    <h4>Chapter 1062: Breakthrough the Land of the Source of God!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In terms of speed, although the shadow was not as fast as Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and the three beasts, it acted before them.

    ¡°Who is that?!¡±

    ¡°Who dares to snatch the fruit?¡±

    ¡°Ridiculous, who dares to snatch our fruit?!¡±

    The three beasts¡¯ faces turned ugly. All of them noticed the fruit in the flower but they did not expect someone else to discover it earlier than them.

    Who was it?

    At this moment, the shadownded on the ground with radiance flowing in its snow-white fur. Judging from its body size, it was about the size of the three beasts.

    Moreover, there was a long tail behind the white body. It made loud sounds as it swung continuously and hit the floor.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A loud roar broke the silence.

    ¡°It¡¯s Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡±

    ¡°Baizhi?!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest finally saw and realized that the person who snatched the fruit was none other than the injured Monster Emperor Baizhi who was hiding between the mountain rocks.

    ¡°Baizhi?!¡± The three beasts were equally stunned.

    However, what happened in front of them was the reality. Monster Emperor Baizhi acted faster as though she had predicted that the fruit would grow from that position.

    Crack!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi stepped out with her w and stepped on the grass. She looked up into the sky and roared loudly.

    Turning into her original form!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi had turned into her original form when she attacked.

    As the Nine-Tailed White Fox, her biggest talent was her premonition. Her premonition was way better than any godly beasts, including Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and the three beasts.

    The flower bloomed and the fruit appeared.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi immediately sensed where the flower was. Then, she attacked without hesitation and swallowed the fruit in front of the three beasts and Xuanyuan Five.

    Boom! A powerful aura radiated outwards from Monster Emperor Baizhi in circles and the flowers and grass were blown from the ground.

    Flower petals flew in the air.

    It was an extremely beautiful scene.

    However, what was strange was that the broken tail of Monster Emperor Baizhi kept growing and grew out again.

    Her broken tail grew out again!

    Moreover, not only did her broken tail grow out again, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s white fur became more clear as though there was radiance flowing.

    ¡°How dare you snatch our fruit!¡±

    ¡°Kill her!¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    The three beasts were furious.

    Although they were also monsters, they exploded in anger when they saw Monster Emperor Baizhi snatch the fruit from them.

    The three beasts attacked together.

    They hit Monster Emperor Baizhi like three tall mountains.

    At this moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi turned around suddenly and stared at the three beasts with her green eyes. To one¡¯s surprise, her iris turned golden instantly.

    Besides her eyes, her nine tails were also changing. The nine colors of her nine tails be more obvious as the light shone.

    Red, blue, green, gold, silver, ck, white, purple...

    Her nine tails turned into nine different colors!

    ¡°Roar!¡± A breath spurted out from Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s mouth and she attacked Hun Dun and Qiong Qi with her ws.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The lightning was striking non-stop.

    The two beasts flew back because of Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s ws and knocked down Tao Wu who was behind them.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The three beasts fell on the ground with their eyes wide open.

    Besides them, Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli who were standing in midair were alsopletely stunned.

    How powerful was Monster Emperor Baizhi?

    She was only at the peak of the Sagely State. She was once the most powerful in the Holy Region because her original form was the Nine-Tailed White Fox.

    It was understandable for Monster Emperor Baizhi to fight against a Godly State expert when she struck with full power. After all, all the Godly beasts¡¯ gift was terrifying.

    However, if she was to fight against the three beasts...

    Moreover, in the situation of one against two or one against three, it looked impossible.

    However, it was reality. Monster Emperor Baizhi really managed to cause the two beasts to fly back even though she also took a few steps back.

    ¡°She became more powerful?!¡±

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi became so powerful after she swallowed the fruit?!¡±

    ¡°Her broken tail grew out again and the colors of her nine tails changedpletely, turning into nine different colors. Was this the real capability of the Nine-Tailed White Fox?¡±

    ¡°No, she made a breakthrough, Monster Emperor Baizhi made a breakthrough!¡±

    ¡°Was it because of the fruit?!¡±

    The remaining sect leaders looked at each other and the Nine-Tailed White Fox with nine different colored tails. All of them were shocked.

    Her powers managed to increase so tremendously within such a short period of time.

    If Monster Emperor Baizhi made the breakthrough by herself, they would definitely not believe it.

    It must be the fruit!

    After Monster Emperor Baizhi swallowed the fruit, she turned into a real godly beast and had the power to fight against the three beasts. This was too exaggerated.

    ¡°Something is wrong with the fruit¡± Mu Qingfeng regained his senses.

    After Monster Emperor Baizhi swallowed the fruit, the turn of event happened and her broken tail grew out again. Her nine tails turned into nine different colors and she immediately made a breakthrough and entered the Godly State.

    ¡°The fruit!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, see if the fruit is still here!¡±

    ¡°Plop!¡±

    As the sect leaders were busy looking for the fruit, a sound was heard and a beam of green light shone from a distance away.

    The rays shot up to the sky and a green fruit grew in the rays.

    ¡°There is... there is one there?!¡± Apart from the sect leaders, Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest were so excited that they shook.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi managed to make a breakthrough to the Godly State after she swallowed a fruit.

    That had already be a reality.

    Now that the second fruit grew out again, how would they not be excited?

    If they managed to snatch the second fruit, they might make a breakthrough to the Godly State like Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Qiong Qi, all of you are cruel in nature. Now that I have made the breakthrough to the Godly State, do you think I will still be afraid of you?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi spoke as she moved back and was about to swallow the green fruit again.

    However, a shadow moved faster than Monster Emperor Baizhi and the other sect leaders.

    It was Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five!

    It must be said that this thousand-year-old golden dragon was veryposed. Although he did not manage to get what he wanted, he had no intention to participate in the battle again.

    Hepletely ignored the battle with the three beasts and Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    When he saw the changes on Monster Emperor Baizhi, he was determined to look for the fruit and acted like a hunter that had been waiting for his prey for a long time.

    Meanwhile, at the instant when the green light shot up, he moved.

    He tumbled in the air as he stepped on the clouds. Before the people around him could react, he had reached the fruit.

    Then, he opened his mouth and the fruit, along with its roots, got sucked into his mouth.

    ¡°Smack smack!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five made some smacking noises as he showed a satisfied expression. He looked extremely happy.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five!¡±

    ¡°You scheming old dragon!¡±

    ¡°How dare you snatch the fruit while we are fighting!¡±

    The faces of the three beasts turned extremely ck as the growled furiously when they witnessed the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five snatching the second fruit with their own eyes.

    However, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five clearly did not bother about it.

    He raised his head and felt the change of his body. Meanwhile, the golden radiance on his body became thicker and a seven-colored pattern formed on his body.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared and a cloud of haze was produced. The seven-colored radiance looked extremely terrifying as it bloomed in the haze.

    ¡°There is still the third fruit!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not fight with Baizhi and get the third one!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The three beasts looked extremely greedy as they witnessed the bloom of the seven-colored radiance. However, they did not waste their time with Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    That was because they could tell that they had a chance.

    After the flowers withered, fruits would be borne. Their powers would be boosted after they swallowed a fruit.

    At this moment, who would have the will to fight?

    The three beasts moved immediately. With their sharp sense of premonition, they looked around and was ready to snatch and swallow the fruit once it appeared.

    Meanwhile, Hong You and the twelve warlocks also moved.

    They were not stupid.

    What happened in front of them was extremely obvious. Their chance came and they would definitely be unwilling to lose out. None of them continued to wait. They spread out and were ready to snatch the fruit.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Prince Yan, should we start snatching the fruit too?¡± One of the sect leaders swallowed his saliva and asked.

    ¡°What do you think, Prince Yan?¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s eyes lit up.

    As the sect leader of the Five Sects of the Holy Region who was once looked up by others but had since fallen from his position, how would he not be tempted given such a good opportunity?

    ¡°Snatch!¡± Yan Qianli was very straightforward.

    Although the current situation was not to the Human Alliance¡¯s advantage, it was unlike Western Liang Prince Yan¡¯s way of doing things if he did not fight for something given the opportunity.

    ¡°Could this be the ¡®Source of God¡¯ that Fang Zhengzhi had always been looking for?¡± Wu Yuer also had a strong desire for power but she was more concerned about Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Source of God?¡± Mu Qingfeng froze before he nodded. ¡°Probably. Let¡¯s not bother about this first, the most important thing is to snatch the fruit. Prince Yan, let¡¯s move together in case of a sneak attack!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Yan Qianli nodded.

    The three beasts and the twelve warlocks all had the ability to kill them. Therefore, it would be advisable for them to separate and move in different directions.

    However, they had a higher chance of being killed directly by other monsters and demons!

    That was because they had discovered that the time taken for the fruit to grow was longer than they had expected.

    Since the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had swallowed the second fruit, the third fruit had yet to grow out and there were only flowers on the ground.

    Snatch!

    However, they had to gather their powers!

    At critical moments like this, they had to be united or they might be killed straight away.

    Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli understood that very well. However, not all the sect leaders agreed with their view.

    As the saying went, you gain from taking a risk.

    A person who mastered the cultivation of Dao had experienced lots of difficulties. Therefore, they were definitely unafraid of danger.

    With the current situation, nobody knew where the fruit would grow. Therefore, their chance could be just below their feet.

    With this situation, if Mu Qingfeng and the rest were together, who would eat the fruit that was borne?

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Prince Tan, I will head over to the North with Brother Li!¡±

    ¡°We will go to the South.¡±

    ¡°Then we shall go to the West.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Very quickly, the sect leaders headed in different directions and only Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli, Heavenly Oasis Saint, Wu Yuer and two others were left on the spot.

    ¡°The situation still ended up like this?¡± Mu Qingfeng sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel this way, Pavilion Master Mu, this is human nature and especially so given the circumstances. I, Yan Qianli, don¡¯t care so much about this. If we find the fruit, Pavilion Master Mu can eat it first!¡± Yan Qianli waved his hand.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Qingfeng epted it.

    Amongst them, he was the most powerful. If he managed to obtain a fruit as soon as possible and breakthrough the Godly State, they would have a higher chance of obtaining the second fruit.

    Therefore, he did not decline the offer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Mu Qingfeng led the rest towards a ce where nobody was at.

    Yan Qianli followed closely behind.

    Meanwhile, Wu Yuer gritted her teeth and looked sad. ¡°Why? Why did the Source of God only appear now, if it had appeared earlier, the shameless brat would not have...¡±

    ¡°Yuer, let¡¯s go.¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint patted Wu Yuer¡¯s head. He knew what was going on in Wu Yuer¡¯s mind but it was not the time to feel sad.

    ¡°Master...¡±

    ¡°Believe him and believe in yourself. He will definitelye back!¡± said the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    ¡°Yes, he has a blessed life. He won¡¯t die, he won¡¯t die. He will definitely return. The Source of God appeared, he will definitely not miss such a great opportunity!¡± Wu Yuer wiped her tears and followed Yan Qianli and the rest with a determined expression.

    ¡°I hope so...¡± sighed the Heavenly Oasis Saint as he looked down.

    At this moment, a soft sound was heard. At the center of the Heaven Zen Mountain, a fruit was growing in a bunch of purple flowers.

    It was as clear as jade.

    It was blooming with purple radiance.

    One could feel the strong powers in the fruit just by a nce. The purple beams of aura surrounded the fruit.

    ¡°The third fruit!¡±

    ¡°We will definitely not allow it to end up with an outsider this time!¡±

    ¡°Who dares to snatch it will be killed!¡±

    The three beasts widened their eyes. After Monster Emperor Baizhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five swallowed the fruit, they experienced extremely big changes and that increased their desires.

    Breakthrough!

    Improve their powers!

    They had to get the purple fruit!

    ¡°Roar!¡± The beastly roar echoed in the air.

    At an extremely fast speed, the three beasts charged towards the purple fruit without hesitation. With their gigantic bodies, they crushed the grass below their feet as they ran across the field.

 Chapter 1063 - Walala, Yeeyayeezhiwei

    <h4>Chapter 1063: Wla, Yeeyayeezhiwei</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Countless flower petals flew in the sky.

    Their fragrance spread across the sky.

    The fragrance enables one to regain their physical strength very quickly but nobody had the time to care about the flower petals and the fragrance.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was on the third fruit.

    Snatch the fruit and make a breakthrough of their Enlightenment State.

    That was what went on in everyone¡¯s mind. Nobody would resist the temptation caused by this opportunity.

    As the three beasts attacked, everyone else charged towards the purple fruit and was afraid that it would be snatched by someone else if they were too slow.

    A great war began.

    However, the three beasts were extremely powerful. As they charged towards the fruit, rocks flew and nts were broken. The force was so powerful that the sect leaders were pushed aside.

    Meanwhile, having swallowed the fruit, Monster Emperor Baizhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five were absorbing the power of the fruit and securing their enlightenment state. Therefore, they did not bother snatching the other fruit.

    The three beasts attacked when there were no opponents.

    However, after the reached the purple fruit, another problem came.

    Who would eat the fruit first?!

    The three beasts did not solve this problem by talking but used their ws instead.

    Every single one of the four ancient beasts was extremely ferocious. They began to snatch the fruit without even considering about coboration.

    ¡°Brother, do we snatch it directly or?¡± One of the warlocks wanted to attack while the three beasts were not paying attention.

    ¡°The earlier the fruit appears, the stronger the reiki. The third fruit must be way more precious than the fourth and the fifth fruit,¡± affirmed Hong You.

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? With our powers, we may not lose to the three beasts!¡±

    ¡°Yes, attack!¡±

    The twelve warlocks did not hesitate as they knew that there was a pattern to such opportunities.

    The fruits were not equally precious.

    The first fruit was definitely more powerful than the second. Simrly, the third fruit must be more powerful than the rest. Now that they had lost the first two fruits, they definitely would have to get the third one.

    The twelve warlocks descended together and joined the chaotic fight.

    Seeing this, Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli stopped. They exchanged gazes and figured it out.

    The appearance of the third fruit caused a fight directly.

    They stood a chance to attack sneakily but the chance was extremely slim. Sometimes, they had to give up if they had no choice.

    ¡°The flowers can heal injuries and therefore should contain power too. Since not all the flowers bear fruits, should we just eat some flowers first to see the effects?¡± Mu Qingfeng pointed to a cluster of flowers nearby.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Yan Qianli nodded.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, Prince Yan, I study medicine, should I taste these flowers first?¡± asked Heavenly Oasis Saint as he looked at the flowers.

    Nobody knew what were the effects of the flowers.

    After all, nobody had directly swallowed the flowers before as everyone was fixated on the fruit. Therefore, Heavenly Oasis Saint was slightly worried.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis Saint makes sense. However, let me do this testing. If there¡¯s anything wrong, Heavenly Oasis Saint can save me.¡± Yan Qianli walked towards the flowers after he finished his sentence.

    Mu Qingfeng and Heavenly Oasis Saint looked at each other and did not stop him.

    Meanwhile, Yan Qianli plucked a flower and put it in his mouth before swallowing it after chewing on it.

    ¡°How do you feel? Is there anything wrong?¡± asked Mu Qingfeng anxiously.

    ¡°I can feel a gust of warmth... ah!¡± Yan Qianli suddenly stood up from the floor and perspiration covered his entire forehead and body.

    ¡°Prince Yan!¡±

    ¡°Prince Yan!¡±

    Seeing this, Heavenly Oasis Saint immediately went to Yan Qianli and ced his hand on Yan Qianli¡¯s chest as he tried to control Yan Qianli¡¯s movements

    However, Yan Qianli kept struggling.

    Meanwhile, as he struggled, a strange scene happened. Yan Qianli¡¯s white hair started turning ck.

    Apart from the changes to his hair, foul air started radiating from his body.

    ¡°Prince Yan is turning younger?!¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned when he saw this.

    ¡°Prince Yan, how are you feeling?¡± asked the Heavenly Oasis Saint anxiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s effective, I can feel that I am extremely close to making a breakthrough, these flowers can increase our cultivation state too!¡± Yan Qianli looked extremely excited as his condition stabilized.

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Eat them now!¡± Heading this, Mu Qingfeng plucked two flowers and put them in his mouth without hesitation.

    Soon after, Mu Qingfeng made a groan of agony as foul air started radiating from his body and he looked significantly younger.

    ¡°Yuer, hurry, eat this flower.¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint immediately plucked a flower and gave it to Wu Yuer as he saw the effect take ce on Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Wu Yuer did not hesitate.

    Meanwhile, some of the sect leaders saw this from a distance. After recovering from their initial shock, they exchanged nces and began to look for flowers wildly.

    The fight for fruit was extremely violent.

    If they could eat some flowers to boost their powers, they had more hope when the fruit appearedter.

    They began to pluck flowers too.

    ¡°Yo!¡± At this moment, a whistle was heard in the sky before a red shadow flew down at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°It¡¯s Bi Fang!¡±

    ¡°Bi Fang came back again?!¡±

    ¡°And Bai Ze!¡±

    ¡°All the ancient Godly beasts who had left are back again?!¡±

    As the whistle sound was heard, everyone realized that there were dozens of figures flying towards them. They were none other than the Godly beasts who had left.

    The Source of God appeared.

    Humans, demons and godly beasts all went mad.

    ...

    At the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain, Qian Yu, Emperor Lin Mubai and the rest felt the strange phenomenon on the Heaven Zen Mountain. The fragrance made them feel delighted.

    ¡°Yu¡¯er, what¡¯s happening?¡± Lin Mubai did not understand.

    ¡°The movements in the sky seemed to have ceased. The two beasts are no longer destroying the mountain. The fragrance seemed to be that of flowers. I have no idea about what is happening either.¡±

    ¡°Yu¡¯er, look, those godly beasts who had left are back again?!¡±

    ¡°The godly beasts are back... could it be...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Source of God!¡±

    ¡°Source of God?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, it must be the Source of God, it is on the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡±

    ¡°The Source of God is on the Heaven Zen Mountain?!¡± Lin Mubai was clearly stunned. If that was true, there must be something that caused the godly beasts to return. It was most probably able to change the fate of humankind and give them hope. ¡°Pass down mymand, head up the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    The army of the Great Xia Dynasty charged towards the Heaven Zen Mountain again.

    Meanwhile, the troops of the Monster Race and Demon Race also began to move. In fact, because of their ability as monsters, they were much faster than the army of the Great Xia Dynasty.

    ¡°Your Majesty, that looks like the army of the Radiant Moon Empire!¡±

    ¡°And the War Pinnacle Empire!¡±

    ¡°Those behind looks like the army of the Empire of the Northern Barbarians!¡±

    As the soldiers climbed up the mountain, they spotted the massive number of soldiers a distance away.

    ¡°They came on time. Let¡¯s not care about them and head up the mountain first!¡± Lin Mubaimanded as he took a nce at the army of the three empires.¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ...

    As a fight over the opportunity erupted on the Heaven Zen Mountain, something else happened at the deep regions of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Countless vines grew from the ground and blocked the falling mountain rocks like hands, forming a t ground at the foot of the mountain.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu were sitting in front of Fang Zhengzhi and stared at his face.

    Fang Zhengzhi was extremely pale.

    After being pped on the head by Nangong Mu, even though he managed to resist the hit at thest moment, the powerful impact still caused him to suffer severe injuries.

    Simrly, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu were also injured.

    They were hit by the mountain rocks as they fell. Their shirts were slightly broken and had traces of blood on their arms.

    ¡°Crack!¡± At this moment, a crisp cracking sound was heard before a white figure slid down the gaps of the vines.

    With a ¡®plop!¡¯ sound, the figure fell to the ground.

    Indeed, it was Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yan Xiu was shocked. He thought Yun Qingwu was beside Wu Yuer and should not have fallen with the rest of them.

    He was just about to walk over to take a look before he heard a roar before a cloud of fire moved down the vines. Then, two figures fell on the ground like stones.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu was stunned.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan dashed over immediately as she saw that one of them who came down was Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ping Yang? Why did you...¡±

    ¡°Ah, I want to kill you, kill you to take revenge for the shameless brat!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as she threw punches on Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Crack...

    As she threw her punches, dull sounds of impact were heard.

    However, Nangong Mu did not even frown and allowed the punches to hit his body until he saw Fang Zhengzhi who was sitting nearby.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi? You... you didn¡¯t die?!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s dull expression suddenly changed as he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive.

    He didn¡¯t die!

    How was that possible?!

    As Nangong Mu said that, Ping Yang¡¯s body also shook and noticed Fang Zhengzhi who was sitting on the ground in a distance, as well as Chi Guyan who was running towards her.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t die?! Sister... Sister Yan, this shameless brat didn¡¯t die?¡± Ping Yang was astonished and her tears flowed down uncontrobly.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not die.

    He really didn¡¯t die!

    Ping Yang was extremely agitated. She ran towards Chi Guyan andpletely disregarded Nangong Mu.

    However, at this moment, there was another turn of event.

    A blood-red radiance shed across Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes. If Fang Zhengzhi was dead, he did not mind being killed by Ping Yang.

    However, how could he ept the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard.

    It was straight to the point.

    Then, a snake tail shing with a five-colored radiance struck the back of Nangong Mu and pulled Nangong Mu back.

    Bam! Nangong Mu¡¯s body hit the mountain rock, causing it to crack open. Some of the vines that were wound around the mountain rock were also broken.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, you can¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi. If you insist on killing him, you will die!¡± Yan Xiu yelled as he stood up and blocked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Why? Why do all of you want to destroy my fruit of the Tree of God!¡± Nangong Mu growled. He looked indignant and tears of agony streamed down his face.

    He was also crying.

    Simr to Ping Yang but was much sadder and looked as though he was in much more agony.

    In terms of emotions, he did not want to be enemies with Fang Zhengzhi but in order to fulfill the mission of the Nangong Nobles, he had no choice.

    ¡°You can¡¯t open the Door of the Realm of God!¡± Yan Xiu sounded very cold.

    ¡°Why not?! Now the Gate of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons are wide open, how are we going to win the battle without any Godly State experts?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for it. Fang Zhengzhi said to not open it, so we can¡¯t open it!¡±

    ¡°What does he know?¡±

    ¡°Why do I not know?¡± A voice was heard and broke off Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu¡¯s sentences. Then, a figure stood up slowly from the ground.

    It was none other than Fang Zhengzhi!

    By right, he would need at least a couple of days to recover from his injuries.

    However, after the scent of flowers wafted to his nose, he suddenly felt that his injuries were healing rapidly.

    Where was he?

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up at the vines. There were giant rocks on the vines and there were only some gaps in between the rocks such that he could not see what was outside clearly.

    Was he at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    He did not die?

    That was amazing.

    After Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief, he looked at Nangong Mu and said, ¡°Nangong Mu, I only have one question for you, do you really think that Emperor Yan would go against Emperor Huang?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Nangong Mu clenched his fist.

    ¡°All of us are the descendants of Yan Huang. You should know the rtionship between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were like that of biological brothers. Do you really think that there was friction between them because they fought after the position of the ruler?¡±

    ¡°They would not do that if that was the only reason. However, are you sure there are no other reasons?¡±

    ¡°Talking about reasons... Do you know why the tomb of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan fell from the gxy? Why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan enter the gxy? And why did Emperor Yan nt the Tree of God?¡±

    ¡°What... what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Wake up, Nangong Mu, don¡¯t you already have the answers? If you don¡¯t believe it, look at the rock behind you!¡±

    ¡°Rock?¡± Nangong Mu turned back instinctively.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Nangong Mu¡¯s body froze and looked extremely indignant and angry but eventually copsed on the ground.

 Chapter 1064 - Tree of Cloud Pattern, Eye of the Source of God

    <h4>Chapter 1064: Tree of Cloud Pattern, Eye of the Source of God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was a type of lie called the unknowing nce to the back.

    The meaning was, when you looked back, you would realize that the world was dark and people were unpredictable.

    That was exactly what Nangong Mu felt. He thought he was very careful but still fell for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick.

    ¡°How annoying.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed as he looked at Nangong Mu beside his feet before he looked at the vines on top of him.

    The scent of flowers wafted through the air.

    It looked like a ce full of reiki.

    In fact, several broken petals fell through the gaps of the vines andnded on the ground before turning into sparks and disappeared.

    ¡°This ce is indeed special, Yan Xiu, Yan¡¯er, Ping Yang, don¡¯t you think this ce is the Source of God? I feel that the smell of the flowers... is a little different!¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned and looked at the three of them after he spoke.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan looked at each other speechlessly before their gazes fell on Nangong Mu who was on the ground.

    So Nangong Mu was knocked unconscious like that?

    Wait a minute.

    Source of God...

    This ce was the Source of God?!

    ¡°Shameless brat, did you say that this is the Source of God?¡± Ping Yang regained her senses. She looked shocked but somewhat excited too.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not die.

    Moreover, he was as shameless as ever.

    Therefore, Ping Yang would definitely not feel sad. Her state of mind went back to normal and looked at the vines above her.

    ¡°Source of God... is open... opened?¡± At this moment, the unconscious Yun Qingwu woke up and opened her eyes gradually as she spoke softly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not very sure, but we didn¡¯t die and the scent of the flowers has... uh? Aiyo, what the f*ck!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi screamed in surprise, a huge crack formed on the ground. The hole was probably caused by severe destruction of the ground and the slight movements caused by the fight.

    Fang Zhengzhi was standing right on the crack of the hole.

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu instinctively wanted to grab onto Fang Zhengzhi but just as they ran over, a crack formed beneath their feet and they fell with Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Along with some dull sounds, Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu, as well as Ping Yang, Yun Qingwu who just woke up as well as the unconscious Nangong Mu, fell into the crack.

    The ground seemed to havepletely cracked open.

    However, fortunately, they did not fall too deep into the crack. They managed tond sessfully although their postures were rather unmorous.

    As Fang Zhengzhi fell first, he was at the bottom.

    Meanwhile, since Chi Guyan was the closest to him, she fell on top of him. Although this was supposed to bemon sense, the issue came when Chi Guyan sat on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    ¡°...¡±

    There was an unwanted blessing.

    After all, even though Chi Guyan was the one who sat on his head, who would like someone to sit on his head?

    ¡°Are you alright? Shameless thief?¡±

    ¡°You... can you lift your butt first?¡±

    ¡°Lift my...¡± Chi Guyan froze. Just as she was about to stand up, she sat down again suddenly and looked stunned.

    ¡°...¡±

    Why did she sit down again after standing up?

    Could she just lift her butt?

    Sometimes, Fang Zhengzhi really could not understand what Chi Guyan was thinking about. She was indeed intelligent and pure.

    ¡®However, there is definitely something wrong for her to sit on my head and still look at me, right?¡¯

    ¡®Does she really think I am easily bullied?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother to be nice. He flipped over and caused Chi Guyan to fall t on the ground. Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to use the long-lost ¡®dragon-w¡¯ technique on her, he saw Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Yun Qingwu staring at him.

    They were indeed young and energized...

    ¡°Cough cough... are all of you alright?¡± Fang Zhengzhi climbed up from Chi Guyan and looked at the rest.

    However, none of them answered his question.

    They still stared at him with their eyes wide open.

    Chi Guyan also stared at him with the same expression as earlier on.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is there a flower on my face?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt strange and looked down before his eyes widened like Ping Yang.

    Chi Guyan was below him.

    However, that was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that there was a huge crowd of ck cloud pattern flowing below Chi Guyan.

    They looked as though they were alive.

    ¡°Where... are we?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around and was shocked because he saw the ck cloud pattern around him too.

    The entire world was flowing with a ck cloud pattern.

    The cloud pattern flowed continuously. The air between the mountain rocks gave off an extremely special force that was so strong that it was beyond one¡¯s imagination.

    ¡°Source of God, this ce is the Source of God!¡± Yun Qingwu spoke as she looked around. Her voice trembled significantly, ¡°And if I¡¯m not wrong, this is... is...¡±

    ¡°Is what?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    In terms of breadth of knowledge, Yun Qingwu was definitely the best at it. Even Chi Guyan could not match up to her.

    ¡°The eye of the Source of God!¡± Yun Qingwu did not hide anything.

    ¡°Eye of the Source of God?!¡±

    ¡°Eye of the Source of God?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu could not calm down after hearing that.

    Although they did not understand what the Eye of the Source of God was, they could infer from its name that it was the center of the Source of God.

    ¡°No... if this ce is the Eye of the Source of God, by right, there should be a tree, but...¡± Yun Qingwu stopped halfway through her sentence.

    ¡°Tree?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around. Apart from the ck cloud pattern, there were only mountain rocks that looked extremely hard.

    Where was the tree?

    Moreover, why would trees grow at the foot of the mountain?

    Was this ce not the Source of God?

    Fang Zhengzhi was suspicious. He knew that Yun Qingwu had a good understanding of the Source of God and her knowledge probably came from the ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± that he had never read before.

    However, he was not very sure of the real situation of the Source of God as he had yet to read ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±.

    ¡°ording to ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±, the Source of God was filled with the scent of flowers and fruits that were formed by the umtion of reiki. One could turn into a God immediately after eating the fruit!¡± nodded Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Turn into a God immediately? Then what are we waiting for? Look for the fruits!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around but could not find any trace of the fruit.

    Wait a minute!

    Filled with the scent of flowers and fruits...

    Was the actual Source of God the ce above them?

    That¡¯s right!

    Trees definitely did not grow on the foot of the mountain and had to grow on the mountain. The tree, flowers that gave off a fragrance as well as the fruit were all above them.

    ¡°Above us?¡± Yan Xiu regained his senses.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang felt speechless.

    If the Source of God was really above them, the Heaven Zen Mountain probably had already turned into a battleground.

    Moreover, the Source of God was activated.

    The flowers and fruits would appear immediately.

    It was definitely toote if they went up now.

    It was like a popr game in his past world. If one did not manage to pick up a gun immediately afternding, what would happen?

    When one was ready to show-off one¡¯s cool moves but realize that one¡¯s opponent had aimed his gun at one¡¯s head...

    The reality was cruel.

    No matter how cool the move was, one would end up dead.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what exactly happened above him but he was sure that the oue would be extremely cruel.

    ¡°Shameless brat, look at these cloud patterns...¡± Ping Yang said as her eyes lit up.

    ¡°Cloud Pattern? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think they look like a tree?¡±

    ¡°The cloud patterns look like...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body shook as he took a serious look at the ck cloud pattern beneath his feet.

    That was because the flowing cloud patterns really looked like a tree.

    Moreover, it was a gigantic tree. It extended from their feet to a far distance away and surrounded the hard mountain stones around it.

    Moreover, the ck cloud patterns had different thickness.

    The thick ones were like the tree trunks while the thin ones were like tree branches.

    If Ping Yang had not reminded Fang Zhengzhi, he would not have noticed it.

    A big tree made out of the ck cloud patterns?!

    ¡°A tree... made up of cloud patterns?¡± Yan Xiu realized the problem with the ck cloud patterns after looking at it closely.

    Yan Xiu had a lot of knowledge regarding paintings.

    For example, the Mountain River Illustration on his fan was the efforts of the ancestors of the Yan family.

    Apart from Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan also had a lot of knowledge in terms of calligraphy and painting. Her eyes lit up after taking a few looks and she began to make gestures with her fingers.

    ¡°Tree branches...¡±

    ¡°Tree trunk.¡±

    ¡°That looks like the top of the tree...¡±

    ¡°Shameless thief, move your leg away...¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Fang Zhengzhi quickly stood up and moved his leg away while Chi Guyan continued to look at the rest of the cloud pattern beneath his feet.

    ¡°The roots... are there.¡± Yun Qingwu pointed at a spot with mountain rocks.

    ¡°Hmm, they¡¯re covered, the roots should be behind the mountain rocks.¡± Chi Guyan raised her head and her eyes lit up.

    ¡°Why do we have to look for the roots?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    ¡°If this is the Source of God, the roots would be the real center of the Source of God. Perhaps there would be something even better than the fruits over there!¡± Chi Guyan exined patiently.

    ¡°I see, what are we waiting for? Let me break this stone now!¡± Ping Yang finally understood and immediately ran towards the roots.

    It was rather dark at the foot of the mountain.

    Moreover, after Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fell, the vines above them had disappeared and very little light shone down.

    However, with the cultivation state of a Sage, they had no problems seeing things in the dark.

    She took a huge step.

    Ping Yang reached the front of the mountain rock and raised her fist without hesitation before punching the rock that was painted with cloud patterns.

    Boom!

    The ground shook.

    Then...

    Ping Yang flew from the impact.

    Plop! She fell on her buttocks.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan frowned.

    Chi Guyan did not stop Ping Yang as she agreed with what she did.

    However, she did not expect Ping Yang to fail to break open a stone with her cultivation state?

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that this small piece of rock can stop me?!¡± Ping Yang blushed in embarrassment. Then, she stood up furiously and was ready to charge forward.

    ¡°It should be because of the ck cloud pattern.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pulled Ping Yang back with one hand while pointing at the ck cloud pattern on the ground with his other hand.

    ¡°Cloud Pattern?¡± Ping Yang did not understand.

    ¡°If these ck cloud patterns were the tree in the Eye of the Source of God, they should not be separated but take the form as a whole.

    ¡°A whole?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I think we need to sessfully break the entire tree in order to break this ck rock.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± agreed Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s do it together!¡± Ping Yang also understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    Her attacking power was insufficient.

    Would thebination of the force of a few people be sufficient then?

    That was what went on in Ping Yang¡¯s mind.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not have the intention to attack with Ping Yang. Instead, he turned to Yun Qingwu. ¡°Yun Qingwu, you should know what to do?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu fell silent.

    Ping Yang, on the other hand, was slightly stunned before she took a nce at Yun Qingwu in disdain. ¡°She? This Demoness is not even as good as me? How would she know what to do?¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang.¡± Chi Guyan called Ping Yang¡¯s name and shook her head.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang stuck out her tongue and shut up.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, since we have confirmed that this is the ce of the Source of God, should you tell us what is written in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

 Chapter 1065 - The Truth for the Mystery of the restricted land!

    <h4>Chapter 1065: The Truth for the Mystery of the restrictednd!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    All along, Yun Qingwu had not talked about the Source of God.

    Moreover, from her expression, one could tell that she had some reservations about the Source of God but after it had been activated, things had changed.

    ¡°So is this fate? The Source of God was under the Heaven Zen Mountain and could be triggered by the fruit of the Tree of God...¡± Yun Qingwu sighed after a pause.

    ¡°Triggered by the fruit of the Tree of God...¡± Ping Yang was slightly shocked and figured it out.

    Yes!

    After Fang Zhengzhi broke the fruit of the Tree of God and caused the immense vitality in it to fall into the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Source of God was triggered.

    However, despite that, this incident could be said to be very coincidental.

    If the Source of God was not below the Heaven Zen Mountain, or if Fang Zhengzhi had not destroyed the fruit of the Tree of God, all of these would not have happened.

    ¡°Alright, since all of you want to know, I will tell you everything I know,¡± continued Yun Qingwu after sighing.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and the rest exchanged gazes and calmed down.

    After all, amongst them, only Yun Qingwu had a good understanding of the Source of God. The others were merely making spections about it.

    ¡°ording to legends, in the ancient era, the world was filled with reiki and therefore resulted in the birth of various types of natural resources and treasures. Some of them are spiritual fruits while some of them are treasures.¡±

    At this point, Yun Qingwu made a short pause before continuing, ¡°Legends also mentioned that the Source of God is the Opening of Heaven and Earth and the first ce that was formed after the world was created!¡±

    ¡°The first ce that was formed after the world was created?¡± Ping Yang was shocked.

    ¡°Yes, whoever who got their opportunity from the Source of God became the most powerful people in the world. For example, Xuanyuan, ancestor Chi You, and more. All of them had obtained a huge opportunity from the Source of God before bing the leader of the entire world.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°Then after that? Why did the Source of God go missing?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Apparently, a great war destroyed the Source of God and the reiki slowly disappeared. As the reiki faded away, the number of treasures and therefore powerful individuals decreased too,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°The reiki fades away and the number of treasures and therefore powerful individuals decreased...¡± Ping Yang fell silent.

    Although she did not want to admit it, the reality was that the number of treasures indeed decreased since the ancient era.

    ¡°A great war? Are you referring to the great war of the ancient era?¡± Yan Xiu asked as he frowned slightly.

    ¡°I thought so too initially but I feel that it is not because even though that great war resulted in a cosmic disaster, the world¡¯s reiki did not disappear because of that.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°If the description of the great war was urate and Mother Earth needed the powerful individuals from the three races of humankind, demons and monsters, why would she seal up the world¡¯s reiki?¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Yan Xiu fell silent.

    As what Yun Qingwu said, when the cosmic disaster struck, it was the critical time when arge number of powerful individuals were needed. If the Source of God was ruined at that time...

    How would they possibly be able to defend against the cosmic disaster?

    However, if the Source of God was not destroyed in the great war as predicted by Yun Qingwu, what war world possibly destroy the Source of God?

    Unless there was a second great war in the ancient era?

    That was unlikely.

    None of the history books or records had any records about a war with powerful impacts.

    ¡°Based on your deduction, the Source of God was destroyed after the Cosmic Disaster?¡± Ping Yang spoke in confusion.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded.

    ¡°Do you know what war was that?¡±

    ¡°That I do not know. ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± did not have that recorded and that¡¯s a question I have always been wondering about.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°Hmm, are there any other records?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was more concerned about another question.

    Why did Yun Qingwu have reservations about the Source of God?

    There must be a reason behind that.

    And Yun Qingwu did not mention about that earlier on.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her fists and replied quickly, ¡°Apart from the records of how the Source of God was destroyed, there was a sentence in thest part of the records.¡±

    ¡°What sentence?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°The Source of God is... the restrictednd!¡±

    ¡°Restrictednd?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, it meant that it was heaven¡¯s will to destroy the Source of God and since it was heaven¡¯s will, we should obey instead of going against it,¡± emphasized Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Obey heaven¡¯s will instead of going against it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly.

    In this world, there was a popr belief that one could not go against heaven¡¯s will or one would be punished.

    He did not believe that in the past.

    After all, he trusted science more in his past world.

    However, the current world he was in was different.

    Science...

    Could science exin about the four ancient beasts?

    Of course, even though they were special and strange, that did not mean that ¡°Heaven¡± existed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a neutral stance and did not bother about heaven¡¯s will. However, he did not think about going against it.

    ¡°However, the Source of God had been activated now. We had already gone against heaven¡¯s will but nothing happened to us? Since when was there heaven¡¯s punishment! I think there¡¯s nothing terrifying about Heaven at all. Just go against it. At most I will fight with heaven and that would be rather exciting, right? Shameless brat?¡± Ping Yang was nonchnt.

    She was unafraid of anything.

    What ¡°don¡¯t go against heaven¡¯s will¡±...

    She did not care about it at all.

    ¡°Hmm, you are right.¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a slight smile. Sometimes, he felt that Ping Yang did not belong to this world.

    Going against heaven¡¯s will as and when she liked it?

    Was it really a good idea?

    ¡°Heaven, listen up, I am going to go against you now. If you are capable enough, kill me with a strike of lightning!¡± Ping Yang became excited and pointed to the sky brazenly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan were speechless.

    ¡°Watch out, there¡¯s lightning!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°Ah... Shameless brat, save me, I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡± Ping Yang was shocked and hid behind Fang Zhengzhi immediately.

    ¡°...¡±

    The situation was pretty interesting.

    After Ping Yang closed her eyes, she carefully opened them and looked up at the sky and pouted, ¡°Where is the lightning?¡±

    ¡°There was lightning but I blocked it so it didn¡¯t strike you,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Liar!¡± Ping Yang knew that she was tricked but still hid behind Fang Zhengzhi cautiously and was worried that she would really be struck by lightning.

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed to himself as he looked at Ping Yang, ¡®Indeed, the people in this world was afraid of being punished by heaven.¡¯

    Even though Ping Yang acted as though she was unafraid of anything, she was still concerned about some things.

    Therefore, it was normal for Yun Qingwu to be concerned about the record in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±.

    However, like what Ping Yang said, no matter whether heaven¡¯s punishment really existed or whether they went against heaven¡¯s will, the Source of God was indeed activated and there was no point in discussing about anything else.

    The most important thing now was...

    Find a way to split open the rock in front of them to find the real Source of God.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, do you have any way of breaking this ¡®Cloud Pattern Tree¡¯ apart?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped probing the history of the Source of God and turned his attention to breaking the ck stone apart to look for the root of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    ¡°We can try.¡± Yun Qingwu was not certain.

    ¡°I can help you,¡± said Chi Guyan after taking a look at the ck cloud patterns.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and started to observe the route of the ck cloud patterns and looked extremely serious.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan was observing the cloud patterns too.

    That was because both of them could already tell that although the ck cloud patterns formed a tree, there was an extremely special formation hidden within it.

    ¡°Is it the Eight Diagrams?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Not entirely...¡± Chi Guyan shook her head and pointed her long sword onto the ground. ¡°This seems like a point of the intersection but it is not in the Eight Diagrams that I studied, it seems like a random spot but...¡±

    Chi Guyan stopped and was deep in thought.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu turned to look at the formation point and frowned as she went deep in thought.

    In terms of thews of formation, both Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan had great knowledge.

    ¡°If we look at this point as an entire formation... it is not easily exined but if we look at it as though it is a painting, this point is the intersection point of this tree and the fifth tree branches and tree trunk,¡± said Yan Xiu after frowning.

    ¡°Look at it as though it is a painting?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up at almost the same time.

    Both of them looked at each other with a look of enlightenment as both of them had a new train of thought after hearing what Yan Xiu said.

    It looked like a painting but was a formation.

    It looked like a formation but was a painting.

    The Cloud Pattern was not purely a formation or a painting, instead, it was the naturalbination of painting and formation.

    ¡°The fusion of painting and formation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was deep in thought.

    ¡°Shameless brat, did you figure it out?¡± Ping Yang looked hopeful as she saw Fang Zhengzhi talking to himself.

    After all, to her, Fang Zhengzhi always had some unique ideas.

    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t study formations or paintings,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was stunned and felt speechless. ¡°Then what do you mean by ¡®fusion of painting and formation¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It was a casual remark.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi yawned and found a ce to sit down before fiddling around with his hands.

    Ping Yang ignored Fang Zhengzhi and instead, ran to Chi Guyan and followed what she was doing and started drawing on the ground with a tree branch.

    Everything seemed to have progressed to a period of waiting.

    Time passed very quickly.

    After a long time, piles of stones were made in front Fang Zhengzhi. It looked ordinary but the only strange thing was the fact that there were five piles of stones.

    Meanwhile, every pile was made up of identical stones, including the number and height.

    After imitating Chi Guyan for some time, Ping Yang decided to give up and said it was very difficult to figure the formation out despite her talent.

    Then, she went to Fang Zhengzhi.

    She noticed the five piles of stones in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Ping Yang was curious.

    ¡°What do you think it looks like?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled mysteriously.

    ¡°It looks like some formation but didn¡¯t you say you are clueless about formations and paintings?¡± Ping Yang was confused.

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    ¡°Hmm what?¡±

    ¡°Would you believe it if I said I was randomly ying with the stones?¡±

    ¡°How annoying!¡± Ping Yang pouted but seemed to be deep in thought as she stared at the five piles of stones.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was still piling the stones.

    After a while, the stones were almost half as tall as a person and looked like five small tombs made up of stones.

    Ping Yang looked very surprised.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi said he was clueless about formations and paintings, the five piles of stones in front of her have off a special feeling.

    ¡°Is this shameless brat really clueless about formations and paintings?¡± Ping Yang really could not understand as, after all, the five piles of stones looked strange.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not answer her.

    This made her feel somewhat helpless.

    Time passed again...

    Meanwhile, the stones in front of Fang Zhengzhi was already at the height of one person. Every stone had simr shapes and there was some styling in the pile of stones.

    If the pile of stone looked like a tomb earlier on, the current pile of stonepletely changed its form and looked like a person.

    One could roughly tell the head and body of the person.

    If not for the pile of stones underneath, Ping Yang would have thought that the five piles of stones were five sculptures made of stone.

    ¡°Shameless brat, are you really clueless about paintings and formations?¡± Ping Yang asked again as she could no longer hold in her curiosity.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am clueless.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded seriously before whipping out five long swords and inserted it on the pile of stone that was the height of a person.

    Instantly, Ping Yang felt that the five piles of stones came alive.

    Each pile of stone gave apletely different vibe. Unlike earlier on, they had a killer intent.

    ¡°How is this... how can you say that you are clueless about paintings and formations?!¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief with her mouth agape.

 Chapter 1066

    <h4>Chapter 1066: Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The aura given out by the five piles of stones was way too strong.

    It was so strong that Ping Yang could not neglect it all. She looked at the five piles of stones and gave her the illusion that she needed to take a step back.

    If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would not believe that Fang Zhengzhi made these five piles of stones by himself.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Ping Yang was thinking about. After he inserted the five long swords on the piles of stones, he looked around and smiled.

    ¡°Done, my masterpiece of five stone humans!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded satisfied but he did not know what these five stone humans could do.

    That was because he was really clueless about formations and paintings.

    He did not lie to Ping Yang. He started building the stone humans out of boredom.

    It was the same thought one had when one looked at the scenery full of snow. One would think of building a snowman for fun.

    Simrly, Fang Zhengzhi thought that he could pack the broken stones around him since he had nothing to do, to allow the ck cloud patterns beneath the stones to be seen clearly.

    He did a small favor for Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan.

    Why did he want to make piles of stones?

    This was obvious. Just like how one sweeps fallen leaves up to a pile, he piled the stones up.

    As for why did he make five piles, if anyone asked this question, the answer was boring because it was simply ¡°there are too many stones¡±.

    ¡°Shameless brat, I feel that you have definitely studied formations before. You are lying to me, right?¡± asked Ping Yang.

    ¡°Oh, you could tell that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked shocked.

    ¡°Of course, I am so brilliant, the five stone humans look extraordinary, are they some super powerful formation? Five Evil Formation? Or the Five Stone Formation?¡± Ping Yang lifted her head and said confidently.

    ¡°None.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head mysteriously.

    ¡°Then... what is it?¡± Ping Yang was even more curious.

    ¡°Shhh, this formation is extremely powerful. Let me tell you, this is the ¡®Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal¡¯!¡± whispered Fang Zhengzhi after looking at Ping Yang in a serious manner.

    ¡°Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal?!¡± Ping Yang was surprised and looks extremely excited. ¡°The name itself sounds impressive, are you trying to use this formation to break the ¡®cloud pattern tree¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi realized that he exaggerated.

    However, instead of being anxious, he smiled calmly and ced his hands behind his back, looked up and kept silent.

    Ping Yang was more certain about her guess as she saw how Fang Zhengzhi kept silent.

    Indeed!

    This shameless brat always made miracles, he must be helping Yun Qingwu the Demoness by iming that he was clueless about formations and paintings.

    Yes, that must be the reason!

    At this moment, the ground suddenly shook and the flowing ck cloud patterns suddenly moved violently.

    ¡°Wa, this ¡®Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal¡¯ is so powerful!¡± Feeling the vibration of the ground, Ping Yang credited it to Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan were studying the Cloud Pattern Tree and did not do anything.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yan Xiu quickly regained his senses and looked at the rapid flow of ck cloud patterns on the ground before looking at the five stone humans in a distance. ¡°Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal?¡±

    How powerful!

    It could trigger the cloud pattern tree?

    Besides Yan Xiu, Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan also felt the change of the cloud pattern tree and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Shameless thief, what did you do?¡± Chi Guyan knew Fang Zhengzhi well. From her memory, Fang Zhengzhi indeed made several miracles.

    However, in terms of formation...

    Fang Zhengzhi should not be good at it.

    ¡°This is?¡± Yun Qingwu was extremely surprised and could not believe her eyes but the cloud pattern tree was triggered was a fact.

    Was Fang Zhengzhi better than herself in terms of formation?

    No way!

    If Fang Zhengzhi was good at formation, why didn¡¯t he show it when he was in the tomb of Xuanyuan?

    ¡°Shameless thief, what formation is this?¡± Chi Guyan took a nce at the five piles of stones.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal¡± answered Ping Yang before Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal?¡± Chi Guyan narrowed her eyes and looked as though she was deep in thought. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear about this formation before?

    ¡°It¡¯s created by the shameless brat!¡± Ping Yang was very excited.

    ¡°Created?¡± Chi Guyan was speechless.

    There were many levels in thew of formation. For example, the beginner could recognize and breakthrough formations. After making certain aplishments, he could then plot formations and kill his opponents.

    Of course, there was another possibility after one reached an ultimate understanding of thew of formations.

    Creation of formations!

    Make use of one¡¯s knowledge and strengths to create a formation.

    One could be called the expert of thew of formation if one reached this level of expertise.

    Did this shameless brat reach this level of expertise?

    Chi Guyan trusted Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, she could not believe how Fang Zhengzhi had reached the expert level in terms of thew of formation as, after all, it was beyond her imagination.

    At this moment, the ground suddenly shook.

    Then, the ck cloud patterns started swarming towards the five piles of stones as though they were attracted by an invisible force.

    It felt as though the five piles of stones were attracting the cloud patterns...

    Or rather, it was restricting them!

    ¡°The cloud pattern tree seemed to have been restricted by the Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal, we stand a huge chance if we want to break the stone now!¡± Yun Qingwu also did not believe the level of expertise Fang Zhengzhi had obtained.

    However, it was reality.

    She had to believe it!

    ¡°Hmm, Yan Xiu, Shameless thief, both of you shall attack from the South and East while Ping Yang and I attack from the North and West. We will attack together and break the Cloud Pattern Tree!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Like what Yun Qingwu said, the current situation was that the Cloud Pattern Tree had been restricted by the five piles of stones. The formation was in chaos and it was 70 percent weaker than before.

    They had a very huge chance of making a breakthrough.

    ¡°Is the Cloud Pattern Tree... really being restricted?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression wasplicated when he looked at the five piles of rocks in front of him.

    So the Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal was really very powerful?

    Seriously?

    Such things worked?

    Wasn¡¯t he cheating? Moreover, he cheated so ridiculously.

    What the f*ck!

    With his clean reputation, he had never cheated or made use of luck. Since the Examination of the Law of Dao, he obtained his current status with his extraordinary intelligence and bravery.

    Double Roll Champion, it must have been because of his real capability.

    Killing Canyang, Monster King King Xieluo, Godly State Expert Lin Ji as well as Tao Tie, one of the four ancient beasts. All of these required his real power!

    However, look at what was happening now.

    He ended up bing a cheater!

    ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t want my reputation to be ruined because of this!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless. However, he had no idea what exactly happened.

    Building a stone human allowed him to create a formation that restricted the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    Besides Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan, even Fang Zhengzhi himself did not believe it!

    ¡°Shameless brat, I knew that you knew thew of formations!¡± Ping Yang smiled very brightly. Without hesitation, she dashed forward.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan also moved.

    The three of them attacked the rock where the root of the Cloud Pattern Tree was from different directions.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to exin that he had stacked the five stones randomly and did not have the intention to restrict the Cloud Pattern Tree at all.

    However, there was no way he could exin himself now.

    Forget it!

    We¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it, he would settle the Cloud Pattern Tree first.

    Fang Zhengzhi attacked. He followed Chi Guyan¡¯smand and along with three others from four different directions, he stabbed at the rock where the roots of the Cloud Pattern Tree was.

    Boom!

    The entire Cloud Pattern Tree shook violently.

    After that, ck cloud patterns surged out from the back of the rock. They umted at the bottom of the five piles of rocks like the ocean.

    ¡°It was really restricted? The Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s haze froze and a gigantic wave surged from her heart.

    She was studying the Cloud Pattern Tree with Chi Guyan.

    However, the more they studied it, the more shocking they felt as the Cloud Pattern Tree was continuously moving and that increased the difficulty of their analysis.

    It was simr to throwing a dart.

    A moving target would definitely be much harder to hit than a stationary one.

    Moreover, the cloud patterns of the Cloud Pattern Tree was tooplicated. It was almost impossible for one to remember all the cloud patterns.

    Yet now, after the Cloud Pattern Tree was restricted by the five piles of rocks, these problems seemed to be solved.

    The five piles of rocks were like five hands that pulled the ck cloud patterns in the Cloud Pattern Tree continuously, allowing the energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree to flow to the five piles of rocks.

    ¡°Diversion! I get it, it¡¯s diversion!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes lit up.

    She finally figured out the purpose of the five piles of rocks ¡ª diversion. The five piles of rocks became the five different formations within the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    These five formations were fighting over the energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    Seventy percent of the energy was distributed to the five piles of rocks, the remaining thirty percent of the energy was clearly insufficient to defend against the full-on attack of the Fang Zhengzhi and the others.

    With a loud boom, the rock finally cracked open.

    The ck cloud patterns which were as ck as ink flowed from the broken rock.

    The root of the Tree was the source of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    It was like the seawater that flowed into the rivers.

    It was the sea, the sea of the ck cloud patterns. Countless ck cloud patterns surged out from the ocean towards the five piles of rocks.

    As the roots of the tree broke open, the radiance on the five piles of rocks became brighter. The ck cloud patterns flowed continuously while surrounding the five piles of rocks and seeped into them.

    They looked as though they were about to engulf the five piles of rocks.

    ¡°Oh no, it seems like the Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal is unable to tolerate the force anymore?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed as she looked at the five piles of rocks.

    ¡°What will happen if they are unable to tolerate it?¡± Ping Yang asked instinctively.

    ¡°It will...¡±

    ¡°It will explode!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s expression changed.

    Boom!

    Before Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan could finish their sentences, the five piles of rocks exploded as they could no longer tolerate the powerful force of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    The ck cloud patterns flowed in all directions.

    If the ck cloud patterns were said to be restricted by the five piles of stones earlier on, the ck cloud patterns were like the ocean that looked desperately for a path to flow out from.

    ¡°I have... a bad premonition...¡± said Ping Yang as she widened her eyes and stared at the exploded rocks and ck cloud patterns.

    ¡°Premonition? F*ck this, hurry up and run!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what the so-called Formation of Destruction of Living Things by the Five Elemental Reincarnation of the Daluo Immortal was.

    It was five piles of rocks he had stacked randomly.

    What f*cking powerful formation!

    He realized now that it was not a cheater at all. Or rather, he did a good job!

    What would happen in this scenario?

    It was simple, give him a title!

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse. The five piles of rocks he had randomly stacked managed to coincide with the Cloud Pattern Tree and became the five formations that restricted the power of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    If this did not happen, even if it was difficult for Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan to make a breakthrough with their knowledge of thew of formations, they would have probably seeded.

    However, now...

    Although the Cloud Pattern Tree had been broken apart, the method they used was wrong and that caused the power of the Cloud Pattern Tree to be extremely wild instead of suppressed.

    Oh no, would they die from the explosion?

    ¡°Zhengzhi, leave with Ping Yang and I will bring Nangong Mu along!¡± Yan Xiu regained his senses and dashed towards the unconscious Nangong Mu.

    Soon after, Nangong Mu was lifted by Yan Xiu.

    ¡°I... think we can¡¯t... run anymore!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to reply before he realized the beams of ck cloud patterns surrounding his feet.

    Besides him, beams of ck cloud patterns attacked Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu¡¯s bodies.

    He moved extremely quickly.

    It was so fast that it became a gigantic whirlpool.

    Without the restriction of the five piles of rocks, the ck cloud patterns surged towards Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, surrounding their legs.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned very hard as he knew that if he could not withstand the power of the ck cloud patterns, he would end up like the five piles of rocks...

    Explode!

 Chapter 1067 - A Monk Washes His Hair Withâ€¦

    <h4>Chapter 1067: A Monk Washes His Hair With...</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Ah... I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡± Ping Yang screamed and grabbed onto Fang Zhengzhi with all her might while looking extremely terrified.

    Chi Guyan frowned too.

    She realized something was wrong almost immediately but the ck cloud patterns moved so quickly that they wound around her body and tied her down in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Shameless thief, we can¡¯t leave now. We can only hang in there and pray that we will be able to withstand the power of the Cloud Pattern Tree!¡± Chi Guyan turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hang in there?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Chi Guyan meant.

    The situation was very simple. The Cloud Pattern Tree had lost its formation and required a substitute urgently. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and the rest were in the formation.

    There were only two possibilities in this situation.

    One would be the explosion of the formation like the five piles of stones after failing to withstand the force. The other would be them regaining control of the Cloud Pattern Tree.

    However, the energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree was way too powerful.

    How difficult was it to control the immense energy?

    Even Fang Zhengzhi struggled to control the tree, what about Yan Xiu? How probable would it be for Yan Xiu to control it?

    Most importantly...

    What about Ping Yang?

    Ping Yang had just reached the Sagely State. The chances of her failing to withstand the immense energy were at least 90 percent.

    Moreover, there was another person that Fang Zhengzhi had to consider.

    Yun Qingwu.

    A terrible fighter who was only at the Star Conglomerate State.

    ¡°Let¡¯s fuse our powers with the Dao of Yin Yang!¡± Chi Guyan took two steps forward with much struggle and went beside Fang Zhengzhi before calling Ping Yang and Yan Xiu over.

    ¡°Dao of Yin Yang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly realized that he had once used the method of fusion of powers to withstand the immense energy of Thousand Years Fire Herb with Chi Guyan.

    Using the Dao of Yin Yang to resolve the crisis...

    Seemed to be the best method.

    However, he had never tried to fuse his powers with so many people. This was a very difficult attempt.

    However, he had no other choice.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, give me your hand.¡± Fang Zhengzhi held Chi Guyan on one hand and stretched out his other hand to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Me?¡± Yun Qingwu was slightly stunned.

    Her entire body was already wrapped by the ck cloud patterns. They flowed continuously on her face and her body.

    She looked as though she was in extreme agony.

    That was because the energy was so immense that she was unable to withstand it. She could even predict that her body was going to break down.

    Yet now, Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his hand to her?

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ping Yang snorted and looked unhappy. She pouted but after remembering what Yun Qingwu said regarding the record of the Source of God in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± and how she tried very hard to make a breakthrough on the formation, she eventually kept silent

    However, despite that, Ping Yang did not hold Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand. Instead, she held Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Nangong Mu¡¯s body is also...¡± Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan as he held Ping Yang using one hand and hugged Nangong Mu using the other.

    ¡°Hmm, bring him along!¡± Chi Guyan knew what Yan Xiu meant.

    It was not the time to abandon anyone. With the addition of Nangong Mu, they would have more power to withstand the energy and was definitely beneficial given the current situation.

    ¡°Xiu, hold Nangong Mu. Yun Qingwu, hold him too. The six of us shall form a circle and sit down. Do not resist and I will lead the energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not oppose and sat down with Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu kept silent.

    She allowed Fang Zhengzhi to hold her hand. However, when she sat down, an extremelyplicated gaze shed past her eyes.

    The six of them formed a circle very quickly.

    Every one of them was surrounded by ck cloud patterns and were slightly glowing. The intense energy flowed wildly.

    Ping Yang looked a little pale.

    She looked as if she could not hold on any further. Her body shook slightly and she looked extremely serious and was no longer joking around excitedly.

    Yan Xiu, on the other hand, looked slightly better.

    Amongst the six of them, Yun Qingwu suffered the most. Her face turned purple and her lips were trembling as blood trickled down the corner of her mouth.

    However, despite that, she did not make any sound.

    She bit her lips and allowed the wild ck cloud patterns to attack her.

    Of course, she held Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand extremely tightly until her hand turned purple and there were traces of blood due to her nails.

    ¡°Rx, imagine yourself as a rock on the mountain. The wind can¡¯t blow you away and the rain won¡¯t be able to wet you. Nothing can shake you...¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke softly as he saw the agony on Yun Qingwu¡¯s face as he used his palm to lead the violent energy in Yun Qingwu¡¯s body into his own body.

    This was the reason why he held onto Yun Qingwu¡¯s hand. Other people would not have been able to control Yun Qingwu¡¯s internal energy.

    A circle made by six people.

    He had to admit that Yun Qingwu would be able to withstand the least energy and he had to take the initiative and lead the flow of energy.

    ¡°I am starting, everyone, calm down!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°I can do this. Shameless brat,e on and use strength!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless after hearing Ping Yang¡¯s shout. Use strength? What the f*ck? Why does it sound so wrong?

    Of course, he had no mood to think about that.

    After diverting the intense energy out of Yun Qingwu¡¯s body, the cycle formed by six of them started to flow in an anti-clockwise direction.

    Buzz! Light shone.

    A gigantic te formed above their heads and six different spots of light matched six of them respectively.

    It was the Rebirth te of six Daos.

    Although only five out of the six Daos were lit up, there were still six positions and were sufficient to form a shield on top of them.

    Spat... Ping Yang opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    After that, blood trickled down Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth too.

    It was a cycle.

    Ping Yang spat out blood and caused Yan Xiu to be injured. Nangong Mu¡¯s position was surprisingly good but there was a change when it returned to Yun Qingwu.

    The intense energy caused Yun Qingwu¡¯s body to flop as she almost fell t on the ground. However, at thest moment, Yun Qingwu pushed her body up forcefully.

    At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s bloodshot eyes and her white hair flowed crazily behind her back although there was no wind.

    Even Ping Yang and Yan Xiu could not withstand such an intense power, but Yun Qingwu...

    Managed to withstand it with her strong willpower.

    ¡°Don¡¯t... don¡¯t bother about me, I... I can do this, if I really... really can¡¯t, it... it is my fate, you can... push... push me away...¡± Yun Qingwu clenched her teeth and continued with a soft voice.

    ¡°Hmm, I will.¡± nodded Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Ha... haha...¡± Yun Qingwuughed and rxed her body as the intense energy surged out of her body and hit Fang Zhengzhi.

    All waters returned to the ocean.

    That was exactly what Fang Zhengzhi felt at this moment. Perhaps he did not feel as ufortable after a cycle because there was already an ocean in his Small Dimension.

    At this moment, he had two choices.

    One would be to push the energy onto Chi Guyan through the cycle while the other would be to continue the cycle after pushing to his limits.

    Fang Zhengzhi chose thetter.

    Moreover, he diverted the intense energy into his Small Dimension and wanted to swallow the energy.

    ¡°Since it has entered, it must leave something behind, right?¡± As Fang Zhengzhi thought about this, he activated the ocean in his Small Dimension and it fused with the intense energy.

    Little by little!

    After about 10 minutes, he could notst any longer.

    However, despite that, a part of the intense energy remained in his Small Dimension.

    ¡°It really worked?¡± After his attempt, Fang Zhengzhi said, ¡°Yan¡¯er, you can try to divert the energy into your Small Dimension, you may get something out of it. Ping Yang, don¡¯t try it yet. Yan Xiu, you can try it in the third cycle. Yum Qingwu... forget it!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I try it now?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you are... weak!¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied after diverting his internal energy into Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ping Yang was indignant.

    ¡°Ping Yang, I am not joking!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that this princess was somewhat indignant and may do something rashly out of rebellion.

    After all, Ping Yang was not even twenty years old yet.

    She was at the phase of rebellion.

    ¡°I got it, I won¡¯t do anything funny, I will try it when I get the green light from you.¡± Ping Yang pouted and said.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and turned to look at Chi Guyan beside him.

    Chi Guyan kept silent.

    She was frowning slightly. It was obvious that she was trying and had alreadysted for quite a bit of time.

    It seemed like Chi Guyan could do it.

    Fang Zhengzhi was slightly envious. Being gifted could help one to save a lot of time.

    Chi Guyan was one of the most gifted people in the world.

    She read hundreds of books when she was three, essed Dao when she was five and reached the Divine Seal State when she was six. The thirteen-year-old Chi Guyan managed to reach the Heavenly Reflection State.

    Till now, she had attained the Hidden Dragon Roll and the Rising Dragon Roll.

    If Chi Guyan was the representation of giftedness, Fang Zhengzhi could be called the role model of ¡°the country¡¯s savior¡±.

    Even though he essed Dao by chance after looking at the Illustration of All Creation when he was six, he was overly obsessed withprehending Dao after that and was unable to get out of it.

    That caused him to be stagnant in terms of his Enlightenment State. He was still stuck at the Star Conglomerate State when he was fifteen and only managed to make a breakthrough from the Heavenly Reflection State during the battle of the Heavenly Treasure Hall.

    It could be said to be a history of trying to take over.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi knew his strength. He hadprehended the ¡°Law of Dao¡± and that was what allowed him, an ordinary viger, to get to where he was today.

    However, despite that, Chi Guyan was not any weaker than him.

    Her gift...

    Was extremely amazing!

    ¡°Ping Yang, calm down!¡± At this moment, Chi Guyan finally spoke. With perspiration all over her forehead, she reminded Ping Yang to calm down and looked as if she could notst any longer.

    Judging from time, she took almost as long as Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Although Ping Yang was stubborn, she listened to Chi Guyan and kept silent immediately.

    The second cycle waspleted very quickly.

    Meanwhile, because Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had led a part of the ck cloud patterns¡¯ energy into their Small Dimension, Yun Qingwu looked slightly more rxed aspared to earlier on.

    In the third cycle, Yan Xiu attempted to fuse the ck cloud patterns.

    ...

    When they reached the sixth cycle, Fang Zhengzhi felt that the intense energy was rtively much calmer and signaled Ping Yang to start her fusion.

    ¡°Alright, look closely and watch how I wave a magic wand and get what I want!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes lit up and sounded extremely excited.

    ...

    When they reached the tenth cycle, the ck cloud patterns had almost calmed downpletely. It was no longer wild and like the flowing river, it brushed against the bodies of the six of them.

    Meanwhile, the activity at the ¡°roots¡± where ck cloud patterns surged out from earlier on also reduced gradually and was no longer as vigorous as it was earlier on.

    ¡°Looks like it has stabilized.¡± Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we would not have seeded if the few of us tried to withstand it by ourselves.¡± Yan Xiu felt that he had escaped from death as the ck cloud patterns calmed down.

    ¡°How long more do we have to sit here for?¡± Ping Yang raised her head.

    ¡°Until everything melts.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ck cloud patterns on the ground before looking at the person who had his eyes shut all these while.

    Nangong Mu.

    A guy who was knocked unconscious by him.

    Yet now, he was sitting opposite him without a change in expression. He did not move at all and allowed the ck cloud patterns to flow in his body.

    However, did he really not feel anything?

    Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly and looked at Yun Qingwu.

    Then, he widened his eyes.

    That was because Yun Qingwu¡¯s white hair was changing. Although it was still white, it was not as dry as before.

    Instead, radiance flowed on her hair.

    ¡°Hmm? Could this be the legendary... flowiness?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremley shocked by this.

 Chapter 1068 - A Crazy Breakthrough, Godly State, Iâ€™m Coming!

    <h4>Chapter 1068: A Crazy Breakthrough, Godly State, I¡¯m Coming!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After all, the change Yun Qingwu underwent was too obvious.

    The changes in Yun Qingwu was the most obvious amongst the few of them. Not only was her hair smooth and glowing, but her skin was also like that of a newborn baby.

    Fang Zhengzhi figured that it was probably because Yun Qingwu¡¯s Enlightenment State was slightly low.

    As her Enlightenment State was slightly low, the blow on her body was slightly greater. However, by the same logic, the changes she underwent was also extremely great.

    ¡°I... think I broke through!¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu widened her eyes suddenly and looked extremely excited.

    To her, the breakthrough of Enlightenment State was a hurdle that she had never been able to ovee.

    Since she was young, she had a weak body and suffered many illnesses. She was evicted from the Blood Shadow City since five as her physical health was not suitable for cultivation.

    As mixed blood of the monster and demon race, she was blessed with supreme intelligence and calmness.

    However, that also made her unable to cultivate the skills of the demon race or have the bloodline and inheritance like an ordinary monster.

    However, she managed to breakthrough.

    She managed to break through the hurdle that had troubled her for years. It was impossible for her to not feel anything at this moment.

    ¡°Broke through?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat shocked when he heard Yun Qingwu as he could not believe that Yun Qingwu managed to break through in this situation.

    Moreover, she made the breakthrough very quickly?

    The Cloud Pattern Tree had just been suppressed and calmed down. There were still countless ck cloud patterns flowing beneath them.

    It was like a vast ocean.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Ping Yang snorted coldly in disdain.

    She was merely at the Star Conglomerate State, even if she managed to break through, how much could she do? At most the Heavenly Reflection State?

    Why was she so excited?

    Ping Yang pouted and started to feel the absorbed energy in her body. Soon, her expression changed slightly. ¡°My Enlightenment State seems to have... upgraded slightly too?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, this is good. Looks like the ck cloud patterns can be absorbed and perhaps allow all our Enlightenment State to be upgraded.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Although he did not feel the effect of a breakthrough, as the energy in his Small Dimension umted, his power was increasing steadily as well.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi.¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu spoke.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at her.

    ¡°I... I want to try to divert a little bit of the energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree into my body, I¡¯m not sure if...¡± Yun Qingwu was cautious as she spoke.

    ¡°Yes, you can.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not pause to think about the question.

    As one of the six members, it was Yun Qingwu¡¯s right to absorb some of the energy from the Cloud Pattern Tree after contributing to the team.

    Earlier on, Fang Zhengzhi stopped her and told her to not absorb the energy because her skill level was too low.

    ¡°Thank...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. This is your right.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded and tried to divert the ck cloud patterns that flowed past her body.

    ...

    Time passed.

    The energy of the Cloud Pattern Tree stabilized and Fang Zhengzhi began to speed up the cycle to help everyone absorb the energy better.

    At about the 17th round, Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes widened again and her face turned red.

    ¡°I feel that... I... broke through again?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This time, Ping Yang was no longer disdainful.

    In fact, she was starting to be jealous. Yun Qingwu managed to proceed from the Star Conglomerate State to the Heavenly Reflection State and then to the Supernatural State in merely an hour?

    What on earth?

    Ping Yang gritted her teeth. She remembered how she almost died and only managed to break through the Star Conglomerate State after eating the Monster Pearl of the Monster King.

    However, despite that, she experienced six months¡¯ worth of bad experience.

    In those six months, because of the Monster Pearl in her body, she often felt unbearably hot and needed to go to the Icy Pond.

    ¡°Unfair, this is unfair!¡± Ping Yang was very frustrated.

    She spent six months to reach the Sagely State from the Star Conglomerate State and suffered so much. Yet now, Yun Qingwu managed to make two breakthroughs in less than an hour.

    Apart from Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi also had a strange expression.

    What the f*ck, from Heavenly Reflection State to Supernatural State, since when was it so easy? He clearly remembered how much trouble he had suffered from this transition.

    She must have cheated!

    Even if it was so, she did not have to make it so obvious?!

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi heard a buzz which was very close to him.

    This caused him to turn to his left instinctively.

    Then, he saw Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes open suddenly and there was fivepletely different radiance shining in them.

    Red, blue, white, ck, gold!

    The five-colored radiance was extremely bright and there was a gigantic faint shadow floating behind Chi Guyan¡¯s back andpletely solidifying.

    Her snow-white dress, ck hair, snake tail that was covered in five-colored scales, arrogant features as well as her cold expression.

    It was so real that even Fang Zhengzhi felt that she was no longer a faint shadow but instead...

    N¨¹wa!

    ¡°Shameless brat, I... broke through!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard before a terrifying aura radiated from his body.

    ¡°Sister Yan, you are awesome!¡± shouted Ping Yang excitedly.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes almost fell out.

    ¡°...¡± Broke through? What on earth?!

    Chi Guyan managed to break through?!

    It was eptable if Yun Qingwu managed to break through because her Enlightenment State was too low, however, Chi Guyan¡¯s breakthrough was slightly unreasonable?

    They were both at the Sagely State...

    Why did that happen?!

    Moreover, he was evidently more powerful than Chi Guyan. By right, he should make the breakthrough before her?

    The scenario seemed to be a little strange.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    However, there was no way he could do that. Unless he wanted to shout at Chi Guyan, ¡°Before you make a breakthrough, can you please wait for me?¡±

    Fine...

    It was the gift!

    Yes, it must be because of Chi Guyan¡¯s gift.

    She was gifted. If Fang Zhengzhi could only absorb 50 percent of the energy, Chi Guyan managed to absorb 90 percent. It was normal for her to breakthrough before Fang Zhengzhi.

    This must be it!

    Fang Zhengzhiforted himself and had to put a bright smile on his face. ¡°Congrattions for breaking through to the Godly State, Yan¡¯er, for being able to break through to the Godly State, now we have ho...¡±

    He really could not the sentence with the word ¡°hope¡±.

    How could a man tolerate the fact that he was less capable than a woman?

    No!

    He had to breakthrough!

    Breakthrough and enter the Godly State before defeating Chi Guyan again.

    Do it with all his might.

    Continue to absorb and absorb...

    At this moment, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression turned strange before turning into extreme excitement.

    ¡°I... managed to breakthrough too?¡± As Yan Xiu said that, radiances that were as red as blood war formed on his body.

    It was very red.

    Pure and red.

    Like red gemstones, clear radiance flickered in Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Wow?! Yan Xiu, you made a breakthrough too? I feel that I am about to breakthrough as well!¡± Ping Yang looked increasingly excited.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, felt speechless.

    So Yan Xiu was also more gifted than him

    It must be so, right?

    No!

    What kind of shit was that, Yan Xiu was definitely weaker than himself and Chi Guyan, why did he break through to the Godly State faster than him?

    Why did that happen?

    He would not mind if Chi Guyan managed to breakthrough before him.

    After all, Chi Guyan was at about the same level as him. Moreover, she had a terrifying gift and it was understandable that she managed to break through to the Godly State before him.

    But why did Yan Xiu breakthrough before him as well?

    In terms of the level of cultivation stage, Fang Zhengzhi had always been at a higher level than Yan Xiu. He reached the Heavenly Reflection State, Rebirth and Sagely State earlier than Yan Xiu.

    However, look at what was happening now.

    Yan Xiu caught up with him

    Did it even make sense?

    Did this world even make sense?

    ¡°Zhengzhi, rest assured. With your gift, you will be able to break through very soon.¡± Instead of bragging, Yan Xiuforted Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, the energy here is so immense and even someone as week as me feel that I am going to break through soon. For someone like you, shameless brat, you must have almost broken through the limits?¡± Ping Yang smiled too.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Ping Yang.

    Limits?

    What f*cking limits?

    He wanted to be pushed to the limits but after checking carefully, he realized that countless ck cloud patterns were flowing in his Small Dimension.

    However, the ocean was too huge.

    It was so huge that the ck cloud patterns did not upy much space. He would not believe it if someone said that he had reached the limits.

    ¡°I think I made a breakthrough again.¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    So Yun Qingwu had reached the Rebirth State?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he was continuously stabbed by a knife. That pain made him feel like cursing

    ¡®All of you made a breakthrough?

    ¡®Why haven¡¯t I made a breakthrough then?¡¯

    No!

    He could no longer continue behaving this way. He had to be braver. Chi Guyan must have forcefully kept more ck cloud patterns in her Small Dimension in order to break through and advance to the Godly State so quickly.

    Yan Xiu...

    Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about Yan Xiu.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should not continue being ¡°perfunctory¡±. He had to try harder and feel the energy of the ck cloud patterns.

    ¡®Breakthrough, Godly State!¡¯

    ¡®I aming!¡¯

    ...

    There was a type of pain that was called a sharp pain.

    Fang Zhengzhi had never experienced it before but he felt the pain as though he had been forgotten by the world.

    That was because he saw a beam of light that dashed out from Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    It was very intense.

    It was extremely hot and was sizzling with heat. As the heatwave radiated in all directions, Ping Yang¡¯s eyes looked as though they were set aze.

    Then, he heard an excited scream.

    ¡°I broke through, hahaha... I reached the Godly State!¡± Ping Yangughed until her face cramped and could not suppress her excitement at all.

    It was a drastic change from the Sagely State to the Godly State.

    She was originally affected by Yun Qingwu¡¯s continuous breakthroughs. However, she managed to breakthrough too and reached the Godly State.

    All her unhappiness disappeared.

    At this moment, she was jumping around in excitement like a kid.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan smiled and nodded as they heard Ping Yang¡¯s screams. They were happy for her.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was troubled.

    What on earth?!

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s continuous breakthroughs from Star Conglomerate to Heavenly Reflection State to Supernatural State then to the Rebirth State made sense as Yun Qingwu¡¯s Enlightenment State was too low.

    It was reasonable for her to make continuous breakthroughs.

    Fang Zhengzhi could understand Chi Guyan¡¯s breakthroughs too. Chi Guyan was definitely the most gifted person on earth.

    As for Yan Xiu...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless.

    That was because he could not understand why Yan Xiu managed to reach the Godly State before himself.

    However, no matter what, he still felt happy for Yan Xiu

    After all, Yan Xiu was his true brother.

    However, Ping Yang also managed to breakthrough before him and advanced from the Sagely State to the Godly State. This did not make sense at all.

    What the hell?

    Yan Xiu managed to breakthrough because although he was not as powerful as Fang Zhengzhi, he had reached the peak of the Sagely State.

    Therefore it was reasonable for him to advance to the Godly State.

    But Ping Yang?

    She was merely at the start of the Sagely State.

    It was already good enough for Ping Yang to advance to the intermediate stage of the Sagely State. How could she advance to the Godly State before Fang Zhengzhi?

    ¡°What the f*ck? I don¡¯t want to continue anymore!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was extremely ck.

    If nobody managed to break through, he would not have anyments. However, everyone managed to breakthrough except for him.

    That was ridiculous!

    Shouldn¡¯t the normal scenario be such that Fang Zhengzhi breakthrough first before Chi Guyan and the rest?

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi was not as gifted as Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu, he was definitely more powerful than Ping Yang, right?

 Chapter 1069 - Terrifying Powers and Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 1069: Terrifying Powers and Massacre</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi really could not understand.

    Was his face very ck?

    ¡°Hey, shameless brat, don¡¯t tell me you manage to break through long ago but purposely didn¡¯t show it? It must be so!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s confident voice was heard again.

    Meanwhile, hearing that, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Yun Qingwu all turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, like what Ping Yang had said, everyone had managed to break through, that meant that the ck cloud patterns could really upgrade one¡¯s Enlightenment State.

    Therefore, by right, everyone should have had their Enlightenment State upgraded too.

    Fang Zhengzhi was the most powerful out of the few of them. By being able to fight against a Godly State expert, he could be said to be the closest to the Godly State amongst the rest.

    Therefore, how could he have not managed to breakthrough?

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed slightly. If it was possible, he really wanted to be like what Ping Yang had said, not revealing the fact that he had managed to breakthrough.

    However, the reality was such that he didn¡¯t breakthrough.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, you really did not break through?¡± Yan Xiu was curious when he saw the unnatural smile on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said cautiously.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be? Your Enlightenment State is much higher than me, how can you not have broken through?¡± Ping Yang was shocked and was in disbelief.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu both fell silent.

    They seemed to be deep in thought as Fang Zhengzhi ought to be the first to break through amongst the few of them.

    Yet, he ended up being thest...

    No way!

    Both of them felt that something must be amiss. However, none of them figured out what was the problem.

    At this moment, a beam of light appeared on Nangong Mu¡¯s body.

    Gold and red radiance surrounded him.

    There was also a mix of green and blue in the radiance. However, aspared to the gold and red radiance, the other two colors were much dimmer.

    ¡°Did the unconscious Nangong Mu manage to breakthrough too?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the radiance on Nangong Mu¡¯s body.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Yun Qingwu looked at each other.

    None of them said anything as they could tell that Fang Zhengzhi was fuming with anger.

    So the ck cloud patterns had immense power.

    Even if one was unconscious, one could still breakthrough as long as he was in the ¡°formation¡±?

    Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth. He had definitely tried very hard to transform the power in the ck cloud patterns but why was he still not breaking through?

    That was so strange!

    He wanted toin further but he lost the motivation as the number of ck cloud patterns beneath them started decreasing.

    It was no longer as intense as before.

    After the continuous cycles, the ck cloud patterns gradually decreased in number and now the cloud patterns only flowed like streams of the river.

    ¡°Rest assured, these cloud patterns are definitely sufficient for you to breakthrough,¡± said Chi Guyan as he held onto Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand tightly.

    ¡°Yes, you definitely can!¡± encouraged Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Shameless brat, I believe in you!¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°I have already made the breakthrough to the Rebirth State and it is going to be impossible for me to advance to the Sagely State. I shall give these ck cloud patterns...¡± Yun Qingwu was about to speak.

    ¡°No thanks.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and disrupted Yun Qingwu.

    That was because he knew that even if Yun Qingwu did not absorb these ck cloud patterns on purpose, there would still be a lot of them left as they flowed through Yun Qingwu¡¯s body.

    Fusion of Yin Yang.

    Its emphasis was on Fusion.

    Since the emphasis was on fusion, there was not much difference for taking initiative or not.

    Silence...

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that everyone should remain silent in this situation and feel sad for him for not having made the breakthrough.

    However, he seemed to have underestimated them.

    ¡°Hahaha, forget about him, he definitely has a way to break through, let¡¯s celebrate!¡± After Ping Yangforted Fang Zhengzhi, she eximed and broke the silence.

    ¡°Hmm, it surely deserves a celebration!¡± agreed Yan Xiu.

    ¡°I think... we should be able to head out after the Cloud Pattern Tree is absorbed.¡± Chi Guyan nodded and smiled too.

    However, Yun Qingwu kept silent.

    Nevertheless, the excitement on her face showed her happiness as, after all, she had advanced to the Rebirth State.

    Rebirth State...

    It was something she had never imagined to happen to her.

    ¡°Indeed, humans are selfish!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed. Everyone did not even care about his feelings and were smiling so brightly.

    No!

    He had to keep trying!

    He had to break through the Godly State and stop the others from boasting in front of him.

    Fang Zhengzhi calmed down and ignored theughter around him, trying to feel the changes in his Small Dimension.

    There was a vast ocean.

    The ocean waves were turning and the ocean was roaring violently. Meanwhile, countless ck cloud patterns were flowing in the ocean.

    ¡°Fuse, fuse the ck cloud patterns and my Origin Energy.¡± Fang Zhengzhi controlled the waves and the ck cloud patterns, enabling the two forces to gather slowly.

    With this motion, the ocean became more vast.

    The ck cloud patterns flowed into his body and were quickly absorbed before eventually turning into seawater that was glowing like gemstones.

    For some reason, Fang Zhengzhi had a feeling that his powers had been upgraded.

    Moreover, it was a big upgrade.

    At least, there was a solid improvement as the amount of seawater had increased by seven or eight times and was still increasing continuously.

    It was a terrifying increase.

    However, he still could not feel the signs of a breakthrough.

    ¡®Why is this happening?¡¯

    Was the amount not enough?

    So how much does he need to breakthrough to the Godly State?

    Many questions shed across Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind but they were not questions that he could understand as of now.

    If it was insufficient, he would continue giving it a push. He knew something all along, the change in the amount would trigger a change in quality. As long as there was a sufficient amount, there would be a change in quality.

    Continue!

    The ck cloud patterns had yet to disappearpletely.

    He still had a chance.

    As Fang Zhengzhiforted himself, he continued to divert the Origin Energy in his Small Dimension to fuse with the ck cloud patterns.

    Time flew by quickly.

    15 minutes passed unknowingly.

    At this moment, he suddenly realized that the violent waves seemed to have calmed down and were no longer as violent as earlier on.

    It was calmness.

    A calmness like the surface of theke.

    The ocean that calmed down still had ripples of waves as the wind blew on the water surface. There were no longer violent waves like earlier on.

    Meanwhile, the ck cloud patterns which were mixed in the waters also disappeared gradually.

    All of the ck cloud patterns turned into the Origin Energy and blended into the ocean, causing the water to turn bright and clear.

    It gave off an extremely pure feeling.

    It was like a gigantic gemstone that flowed.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen many oceans in his past life but seeing this spectacr scene was extremely pleasing to his eyes.

    ¡°Am I going to breakthrough soon?¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes before seeing a few pairs of eyes staring at himself.

    ¡°Did you break through?¡± Ping Yang went to Fang Zhengzhi as she blinked.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan and Yun Qingwu also looked at him, full of hope, waiting for his reply.

    ¡°Break through?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth moved and was just about to say something before he realized something was amiss.

    Why did Ping Yang end up in front of him?

    Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan too, why were they so close to him?

    Wait a minute!

    Could it be...

    Fang Zhengzhi looked beneath him before his face changed. That was because there were no more ck cloud patterns beneath him.

    The entire Cloud Pattern Tree disappeared.

    So there were no more ck cloud patterns? All of them had been absorbed.

    And yet he had yet to make a breakthrough?!

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t managed to break through?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.

    ¡°Could it be that you have managed to breakthrough but had yet to realize?¡± guessed Yan Xiu.

    ¡°There were very little records in the book regarding making a breakthrough without realizing, but that is not impossible. Shameless thief, do you think your energy increased?¡± Chi Guyan frowned slightly.

    ¡°My energy increased...¡±

    ¡°By how much?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, probably seven or eight times.¡±

    ¡°Seven or eight times?!¡± Ping Yang eximed when she heard that. Although she managed to break through to the Godly State, her energy only increased by five or six times.

    Yet, Fang Zhengzhi said his energy had increased by seven or eight times?

    Wasn¡¯t that even more than her?

    How ridiculous!

    ¡°Wow, shameless brat, you managed to break through but you denied. Are you trying to y around with me? My energy only increased by five or six times!¡± Ping Yang was extremely unhappy.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed too.

    There was a huge gap between the Godly State and Sagely State.

    However, the change in quality that made one¡¯s energy increase by five or six times was already considered a huge breakthrough. How could Fang Zhengzhi, whose energy had increased by seven or eight times, say he had yet to breakthrough?

    ¡°I think you managed to breakthrough. I also felt my energy increase by seven or eight times,¡± confirmed Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Hmm, probably.¡± Even Chi Guyan nodded.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, what about you? By how many times did you feel your energy had increased by?¡± Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Me?¡± Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously and said, ¡°About... more than ten times?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were speechless.

    How strange!

    All of them reached the Godly State but the increase in energy waspletely different.

    Ping Yang only had a five to six times increase in energy, while Yan Xiu had a seven or eight times increase. Yet Chi Guyan¡¯s energy managed to increase more than ten times?

    It was so exaggerated.

    ¡°If Fang Zhengzhi is not lying and have not managed to break through, then what kind of increase will we expect if he managed to break through?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were stunned.

    They looked at each other and could tell the fear in each other¡¯s eyes.

    If what Yun Qingwu said was true, Fang Zhengzhi already had seven to eight times of increase in energy before he made a breakthrough, what would happen if he managed to breakthrough?

    Then he would not be a monster.

    He would be a real...

    Ghost!

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at what exactly is at the roots of the Cloud Pattern Tree.¡± Chi Guyan changed the topic when she saw theplicated look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face:

    ¡°Hmm, I will go and take a look.¡± Ping Yang ran over instantly.

    The increase in her power gave her a lot of confidence. This time, she had no intention of asking Fang Zhengzhi for help at all.

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What did you find?¡± asked Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Ping Yangughed unrestrainedly and turned, ¡°There¡¯s nothing!¡±

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Yan Xiu poked his head over. There was indeed nothing inside.

    ¡°Are you very surprised?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu ignored Ping Yang.

    ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing, then let¡¯s go up first. Perhaps there are some changes upstairs. Didn¡¯t Yun Qingwu say that there are flowers and fruits in the Source of God?¡± said Chi Guyan after realizing that everything around her had returned to a calm state.

    ¡°Hmm, yup!¡± Ping Yang smiled immediately.

    After reaching the Godly State, she desperately wanted to show off her powers to the Godly State experts who were outside. She was even more enthusiastic after thinking about the flowers and fruits outside.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what do you think?¡± Chi Guyan turned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I have no objections.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and looked around him indignantly before realizing that there was indeed nothing odd around him.

    This was somewhat strange.

    By right, there should not only be one Cloud Pattern Tree in the Source of God, right?

    After all, Yun Qingwu had said that that was the restrictednd!

    Once the Source of God was activated, they might go against heaven¡¯s will and there would be severe consequences. However, there did not seem to be any problems as of now.

    Could the so-called problem be the Cloud Pattern Tree?

    The immense energy could destroy everything?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that this exnation was somewhat ridiculous but there were really nothing around him and he could only give up for now.

    They should head out first as they were not sure what was happening outside.

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and Wu Yuer were all outside. The appearance of the Source of God would have definitely triggered a battle. Hopefully, there were no idents.

 Chapter 1070 - Marry Me and You Wonâ€™t Regret

    <h4>Chapter 1070: Marry Me and You Won¡¯t Regret</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ...

    The Heaven Zen Mountain was no longer the same Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Flowers bloomed everywhere and fragrance wafted in the air. A few white clouds were floating in the air and the entire ce was as charming as an ancient wondend.

    However, this beautiful ce was filled with conflicts.

    As the Gates of God of the Two Realms of Monsters and Demons opened, monsters and demons descended continuously. Countless Godly beasts and the warriors of the Chi You, as well as some of the demons with special powers, had gathered.

    Meanwhile, in the Heaven Zen Mountain, a huge number of the army kept swarming to the mountain. There were hundreds of thousands of people from the Great Xia Dynasty, Radiant Moon Empire, Holy Barbarian Empire and the War Pinnacle Empire.

    Such arge scale was rarely seen.

    Moreover, all of these soldiers were the elites of the Four Great Empires and every one of them had the fighting power equivalent to that of nearly a hundred soldiers.

    ¡°What an intense fragrance, I feel that I am going to breakthrough.¡±

    ¡°What kind of ce is this, one can breakthrough by merely smelling the fragrance of the flowers?¡±

    ¡°Hurry, head up the mountain!¡±

    The soldiers of the Four Great Empires were all very excited as they had smelt the fragrance that wafted from the mountain. In fact, some soldiers had already managed to breakthrough.

    ¡°Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, you came from the mountain, what was it like up there?¡± The Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty took a sniff of the fragrance.

    He could feel that the fragrance was extraordinary.

    However, he still had to ask out of caution.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, there wasn¡¯t any fragrance when I came down. If I¡¯m correct, the Source of God had already been opened.¡± Lin Mubai shook his head.

    ¡°I?¡± The Emperor of War Pinnacle Empire was surprised by how Lin Mubai referred to himself <sup>1</sup> . ¡°Emperor of Great Xia, did you step down?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Mubai nodded.

    ¡°I see, then let¡¯s hurry and head up since the Source of God had been opened, it is a huge chance for us. However...¡±

    ¡°I understand what you mean. After heading up the mountain, let¡¯s split up in four directions ¡ª North South East and West and leave the center up to the people of the Holy Region to fight over.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... This is fantastic.¡±

    ¡°We will follow your orders, Emperor of the Great Xia.¡±

    ¡°I have no objections.¡±

    The other emperors nodded and agreed too. When a great chance was concerned, the greatest worry would be a quarrel over the positions. The most effective method would be to allocate based on directions.

    As for the others...

    Now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about those.

    As the hundreds of thousands of soldiers swarmed up, even if they really encountered some powerful individuals of the Holy Region, they had the ability to defend themselves as long as they did not confront them directly.

    After the discussion, the Four Great Empires went up in separate ways.

    However, they did not know that a battle had already begun on the Heaven Zen Mountain and intense radiance shed continuously. Some of the radiance was due to breakthroughs while some were the sword radiance.

    ...

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s mood wasplicated.

    After swallowing more than ten flowers at one go, he could feel the growing energy in his body. He felt as though he could make a breakthrough to the Godly State at any moment.

    This ought to be something worthy of a celebration.

    However, there were a few bodies on the ground near him and two Godly beasts were knawing on them.

    The bodies were none other than the Sect Leaders who stayed with him.

    However, they had died miserably in the battle.

    Two Godly Beasts who descended from the Gate of God of the Monster Realmnded on their heads and what ensued was a battle involving a huge disparity in power.

    A few of the Sect Leaders died immediately.

    Mu Qingfeng wanted to save them but felt helpless because he knew that before he managed to reach the Godly State, he would also die if he went over.

    There were too many of them.

    Besides the Godly State experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race, the Godly Beasts and the Godly State experts who had left earlier on had also returned.

    Everyone was fighting over the preciousnd.

    Meanwhile, after seeing how Mu Qingfeng and the rest swallowed the flowers, the Godly State experts of the Demon Race and the Godly Beasts also swallowed the flowers furiously.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A Godly beast with the build of a mountain roared.

    It was a terrifying monster with a horn and a monkey body with a white head and red limbs. He pped the ground with his gigantic arms until the ground trembled non-stop.

    Zhu Yan!

    A Godly Beast who was extremely violent.

    Now, Zhu Yan was looking around and his gaze fell upon Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli.

    Zhu Yan was one of the intelligent Godly Beasts with extremely sharp sensitivity. Although four people followed Mu Qingfeng, Zhu Yan immediately sensed how weak they were.

    ¡°That looks like... Zhu Yan?¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint was slightly guilty. He had eaten many flowers but had a long way to go before reaching the Godly State.

    ¡°The beast ising for us.¡± Yan Qianli frowned.

    Although Zhu Yan only took a nce at them, he could see the blood-thirstiness in Zhu Yan¡¯s eyes.

    It was an instinct developed from experience in the battlefield.

    After Yan Qianli said that, Zhu Yan began to move. He walked with two of his legs and went to the front of the group almost instantly

    ¡°Yuer, run!¡± The first person that came to Heavenly Oasis Saint ¡®s mind was Wu Yuer. He pushed Wu Yuer aside and flung the fly-whisk towards Zhu Yan.

    Silver threads flew in the air.

    It shrouded Zhu Yan like a gigantic silver.

    ¡°Master!¡± Wu Yuer was pushed far away became extremely anxious when she saw Zhu Yan charging towards them.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Zhu Yan sneered before grabbing on the silver with his hands and without much effort, he tore the silver into sparks.

    That was to test his power.

    After testing his power, he began the real attack.

    His gigantic body crashed down as he threw a punch.

    ¡°Bam!¡± The sound of bones cracking was heard.

    Heavenly Oasis Saint was sent flying from Zhu Yan¡¯s punch before he could even react.

    ¡°Heavenly Oasis Saint!¡± Yan Qianli shouted anxiously and wanted to catch the Heavenly Oasis Saint.

    However, at this moment, Zhu Yan began to move again. He bent his legs and leaped up to ten meters in height.

    Yan Qianli¡¯s expression changed.

    He had always known how terrifying the Godly Beasts were and had even fought against one of the four beasts before. However, when he was suddenly attacked, he felt that he was extremely weak.

    After all, in the past, more than ten Sagely Stage experts attacked together.

    However, now, it was only a fight of a few against Zhu Yan. Moreover, Zhu Yan had attacked first and sent the Heavenly Oasis Saint flying right away.

    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Just as Zhu Yan¡¯s fist was about to hit Yan Qianli¡¯s face, Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice was heard.

    After that, a finger sword stabbed down from the sky.

    ¡°Bam!¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s body swayed and retreated because of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s sword, giving a shocked look in his red eyes.

    He could feel that all of them had yet to enter the Godly State.

    They were all ordinary people!

    However, he did not expect such prating power on Mu Qingfeng¡¯s finger sword such that it was able to cause him to retreat.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Zhu Yan bent down and roared.

    Meanwhile, Yan Qianli got the Heavenly Oasis Saint up and dashed to a distance far away as fast as possible to keep a distance away from Zhu Yan.

    ¡°Prince Yan, protect Heavenly Oasis Saint and Sect Leader Wu while I fight against this son of a bitch.¡± Mu Qingfeng frowned. Although he managed to make Zhu Yan retreat earlier on with his strike, there was a sharp pain on his fingertip.

    It felt as if he had hit a metal board and he could not even feel anything.

    Indeed, there was a huge difference between the Sagely State and Godly State.

    Mu Qingfeng was extremely close to a breakthrough and was about to reach the Godly State. However, he still felt extremely tired while fighting against the legendary ancient Godly Beast.

    ¡°Master, are you alright?¡± Wu Yuer was extremely anxious.

    ¡°Cough cough... Old Man Yan, Yuer, don¡¯t bother about me, run!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint coughed out blood and was extremely pale.

    A simple punch caused all his chest bones to break and made it impossible for him to continue the fight.

    That was how powerful Godly Beast Zhu Yan was.

    ¡°Hehe... How dare you weak humans eye on the Source of God? Dream on!¡± said Zhu Yan in disdain.

    Mu Qingfeng stood in front of Yan Qianli and the rest but instead of attacking, he took a few steps back.

    Zhu Yan smiled coldly when he saw this.

    ¡°Roar!¡± He roared again and pped the ground continuously with his gigantic arms until the ground shook and made loud sounds.

    As he stopped roaring, the other Godly Beasts who were fighting over flowers and fruits turned around and saw Mu Qingfeng and the rest.

    Roar!

    ¡°Yo yo...¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    The three Godly beasts charged towards them while roaring and surrounded Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest in the center.

    ¡°Oh no, we can¡¯t leave.¡± Yan Qianli frowned when he saw the other three Godly beasts who were surrounding them.

    Zhu Yan alone was hard enough to deal with.

    Now that there were four beasts, it was definitely impossible to win.

    In the earlier battles, they could still fight against the Godly beasts because of their advantage in numbers. Yet now, the Godly beasts were the ones who had an advantage in terms of numbers.

    With Zhu Yan as the leader, the four Godly beasts surrounded Mu Qingfeng and the rest from the north, south, east and west, giving an extremely cold look.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, please leave first and be humankind¡¯sst hope,¡± said Yan Qianli.

    At this moment, they had no way to continue the fight with the four Godly beasts. Only Mu Qingfeng had the chance to escape alone.

    Mu Qingfeng clenched his fists.

    He could tell from the current situation. He could not match up to the four Godly Beasts and the only way out was to make a run for it

    However, did he have to leave Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint behind?

    ¡°Prince Yan, leave with Heavenly Oasis Saint and Sect Leader Wu first, I will stay back and earn some time for you!¡± Common sense told Mu Qingfeng that he should start making a run for it but ultimately, he asked Yan Qianli to leave first.

    There was no reason for that.

    The only reason was that he did not want to feel guilty.

    Aspared to anyone else, Yan Qianli and the rest trusted him so much that after finding the flowers, they passed the flowers to him immediately.

    Now, he could not be so selfish.

    He could only take a gamble!

    The gamble was that he would be able to make a breakthrough during the battle and enter the Godly State to save everyone¡¯s lives.

    ¡°Run? Haha... None of you can run!¡± Zhu Yan snorted coldly and advanced quickly without any fear of Mu Qingfeng.

    Meanwhile, the other three Godly Beasts also began to move.

    The three of the Godly Beasts charged together towards Yan Qianli and Wu Yuer at an extremely fast speed and reached them in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Yuer, move!¡± Yan Qianli wanted to push Wu Yuer away.

    However, it was toote as a Godly beast had already reached her. He opened his mouth and was about to swallow Wu Yuer.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, Yuer ising to join you!¡± Wu Yuer clenched her teeth and whipped out her waistband as it turned into a beam of tri-colored light stream.

    The light stream struck the mouth of the Godly beast.

    It turned into three long swords ¡ª red, blue and gold.

    The three long swords stabbed into the mouth of the Godly beast and caused him to take a step back as he made a loud thunderous sound.

    Then, Wu Yuer copsed to the ground.

    In order to be able to demonstrate the power of her waistband, she could only go all out. However, she only had one chance to do that. If she was not able to kill the Godly Beast, she would no longer have any means to fight back.

    The Godly beast took a step back.

    A cold look shed across his eyes. As an ancient Godly beast, it was an insult for him to be attacked by a weak human.

    The Godly beast attacked again and struck Wu Yuer¡¯s head with his gigantic front w.

    ¡°Yuer!¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint shouted in agony.

    Yan Qianli turned around instinctively and wanted to save Wu Yuer. However, his body was sent flying when the Godly Beast kicked his body.

    Meanwhile, Wu Yuer closed her eyes slowly.

    She listened to the wind and felt the cold wind blowing her hair. She knew that she would not be able to dodge and nobody would be able to save her.

    Was she going to die?

    She did not know if she was able to meet him again on the road to death.

    She only hoped that he would marry her.

    Even if they went to hell, she had no regrets and would stay with him forever.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    ¡°Is this how death feels like? It doesn¡¯t... seem to be painful.¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s tear streamed down her face and dropped on the ground.

    She died.

    She really died...

    But why could she still feel the tears on her face?

    Wind blew.

    Her face was cold.

    Wu Yuer gradually opened her eyes again and wanted to see what the world after death looked like. Then, she saw a familiar figure standing quietly in front of her and smiling brightly at her.

 Chapter 1071 - Kill Kill Kill, Too Cruel!

    <h4>Chapter 1071: Kill Kill Kill, Too Cruel!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    That face was way too familiar.

    The extremely bright smile gave one a feeling of disdainfulness and one felt like punching him out of impulse.

    However, Wu Yuer could not punch the person in front of him.

    That was because her tears were being wiped away by the other person¡¯s hand. It was so gentle and soft that Wu Yuer could not bond in his tears.

    On the road to death...

    They could indeed meet.

    Wu Yuer stared at the person in front of her and did not dare to even blink as she was afraid that the person in front of her would disappear once she blinked.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    Then, a sound rang in Wu Yuer¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Yo, how can the Sect Leader of the Shadow Sect Leader cry like a kid, sigh... what¡¯s wrong with this world? If you are bullied, you should just scream loudly. However, people may not save you even if you screamed as, after all, apart from a good figure and beautiful face, you are overall still a sly dealer!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What are you looking at? Have you not seen a handsome man like me?

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Eh? Look, Yan Xiu, Wu Yuer seemed to have be stupid after being beaten...¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted at Yan Xiu after seeing how Wu Yuer did not react.

    Meanwhile, nearby, Yan Xiu was pressing down on the other Godly Beast who had knocked Yan Qianli away. He continuously punched the Godly Beast.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The punches were like thunders and drumbeat.

    This scene stunned Mu Qingfeng and even Zhu Yan who was trying to kill Mu Qingfeng.

    A Godly beast who was being punched on the ground by a human teenager?

    Zhu Yan had fought countless times in the ancient battlefield and encountered lots of different situations. However, this was the first time he encountered this situation.

    Just as Zhu Yan felt extremely shocked, a loud boom was heard from another position.

    Then, Zhu Yan¡¯s eyes widened.

    That was because, after a loud boom, the ground hadpletely cracked into two. There was half of the Godly Beast¡¯s body on each of the two sides of the cracks.

    He cut open an ancient Godly Beast in one strike.

    ¡°Is this woman... still a hu... human?!¡± Zhu Yan opened his mouth and looked at the woman who was holding a sword as well as the blue long sword that was dripping with blood.

    A snow-white armor was on thedy¡¯s body.

    She was arrogant and cold.

    Both the aura and the vibe she exuded told Zhu Yan that thisdy was way more terrifying than the teenager who was riding on and punching the Godly beast.

    Who was she!

    Where did these peoplee from?!

    It had not been a long time since Zhu Yan had descended. Hepletely did not recognize Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu and looked at them in confusion.

    However, he was certain about something.

    One of the Godly Beast was cut into two by the sword while blood gushed out of the other Godly Beast¡¯s head. No matter what, both of the Godly beasts were dead.

    However, at this moment, Yan Xiu turned around and instead of looking at Zhu Yan, he turned to Fang Zhengzhi who was beside him, ¡°Sect Leader Wu is meticulous and calm, she should not be stunned because of that.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I think so too.¡± After hearing what Yan Xiu said, Chi Guyan nodded gently and smiled.

    ¡°Is that so? She is not stunned? Then let me touch and see...¡± Fang Zhengzhi extended his hand to Wu Yuer¡¯s chest as he spoke.

    ¡°...¡±

    p! Fang Zhengzhi hand was being pped away.

    Then, a body pounced into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest and tears flowed continuously from her eyes. However, she was biting stubbornly on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t die... shameless brat, you really didn¡¯t die, sob sob... how dare you say I am stunned, I... I will bite you until you die!¡±

    ¡°Aye? How did you end up the same problem as Ping Yang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked and wanted to dodge but was being hugged tightly by Wu Yuer.

    Then, a sharp pain was felt on his shoulder.

    Indeed...

    Wu Yuer was very good at biting too!

    ¡°What do you mean by my ¡°problem¡±? All of you have an opponent except for me... eh? There¡¯s another big one! I will take care of it!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard.

    One could tell that Ping Yang was rtively unsatisfied.

    Fang Zhengzhi pinned one of the Godly Beasts down on the ground while Chi Guyan sliced one of the Godly Beasts into half with her sword. Yan Xiu managed to save Yan Qianli while beating up a Godly Beast until his brain juices exploded.

    But what about her?

    Ping Yang, who was at the Godly State, was so free that she only managed to take care of Nangong Mu and Yun Qingwu.

    How would she be willing?

    ¡°Aye!¡± After Ping Yang finished her sentence, she let out an excited shout before scurrying to Zhu Yan and kicked his face.

    Mu Qingfeng was stunned.

    What happened in front of him surpassed his imagination.

    There was nothing wrong with the killing of the Godly Beasts by Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu as, after all, they had sprung a sneak attack.

    But what was Ping Yang doing now?

    A little girl who had just reached the first phase of the Sagely State and was not even as powerful as himself went to provoke Zhu Yan, the ancient Godly Beast. What on earth?

    ¡°Ping Yang, don¡¯t... don¡¯t go over!¡±

    ¡°Princess, your highness!¡±

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, the severely injured Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli also stopped her immediately.

    However, Ping Yang did not bother about them at all.

    She hopped enthusiastically to Zhu Yan.

    Then, something terrifying happened.

    Fire radiance shot up in the sky and was surging like the violent ocean. Besides that, the kick was so powerful that it produced airwaves.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Her kick missed Zhu Yan¡¯s face.

    After all, Zhu Yan¡¯s identity as the ancient Godly Beast could not be neglected. Even though he was shocked by the scene before him, he managed to react promptly before he met danger.

    He blocked his body with his two gigantic arms.

    He managed to block Ping Yang¡¯s kick with his powerful body.

    mes rose into the sky.

    They were burning on Zhu Yan¡¯s body.

    Meanwhile, Zhu Yan made a loud beastly roar and looked as though he was triggered as beams of golden light shot out from the horn on his head.

    Boom! A violent aura exuded from Zhu Yan¡¯s body and it blew the mes on his body away while forcing Ping Yang to take five steps back.

    Although Ping Yang initiated this attack, the person who retreated was Ping Yang and not Zhu Yan. This showed the immense power of the ancient Godly Beast.

    However, despite that...

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint were stunned.

    Ping Yang?!

    The weak Ping Yang was able to fight head-on with the ancient Godly Beast and did not suffer from any injuries?! Moreover, she almost defeated the ancient Godly Beast?

    What was happening?

    They could not understand but they were sure that Zhu Yan¡¯s anger was real. The beastly nature of Zhu Yan hadpletely erupted after Ping Yang¡¯s kick.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Zhu Yan roared furiously again and pounced towards Ping Yang, trying to p her with his two gigantic arms.

    ¡°Princess, run!¡± Yan Qianli shouted desperately.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± The Heavenly Oasis Saint also looked extremely concerned.

    However, before Zhu Yan¡¯s fists could hit Ping Yang, a figure suddenly appeared on top of his head.

    It was like teleportation.

    The blue robe flew in the sky.

    Then, a fist struck Zhu Yan¡¯s head.

    Boom!

    Zhu Yan fell from the sky before he could even react. Hended heavily on the ground like an artillery shell.

    ¡°Bam!¡± The ground cracked open.

    A huge dent was formed and Zhu Yan spat out blood and looked extremely rigid.

    It was a shocking scene.

    He managed to bring down Zhu Yan, the ancient Godly Beast in a punch.

    Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint were stunned. They widened their eyes and had their mouths agape in shock.

    Fang Zhengzhi...

    How did this brat be so terrifying?

    How was that possible!

    Could it be that he had managed to break through to the Godly State?!

    It was a suicidal battle.

    They were fighting against four Godly beasts at once and that included Zhu Yan, the ancient Godly beast that was known to be agile. Therefore, they thought they had no chance of surviving.

    However, when Fang Zhengzhi appeared, all of the four Godly Beasts sprawled on the ground.

    This scene not only shocked Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the Heavenly Oasis Saint, but even the three ancient beasts who were fighting for flowers and fruits, as well as the twelve warlocks and Monster Emperor Baizhi, noticed what had happened.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi?!¡± The three ancient beasts were all shocked.

    They thought that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were definitely going to die and get buried under the Heaven Zen Mountain. However, they appeared in front of them again.

    Moreover, they defeated the four Godly Beasts.

    How did this happen?!

    The three beasts were stunned.

    The twelve warlocks also had their mouths agape in shock as, after all, they had witnessed how Fang Zhengzhi and the rest got buried by Hun Dun and the three other warlocks.

    How did they not die?

    Moreover, they grew even more powerful!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you... you didn¡¯t die?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was also extremely astonished. She really wanted them to die.

    However, they were still alive.

    They didn¡¯t die.

    Qingwu...

    Qingwu didn¡¯t die too?

    ¡®Daughter, you are still alive too?¡¯

    Although Monster Emperor Baizhi was astonished by the fact that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were still alive, when she saw Yun Qingwu, she welled up in tears of excitement.

    As a mother, how could she bear to watch Yun Qingwu die?

    ¡®She didn¡¯t die, Qingwu didn¡¯t die, that¡¯s awesome.¡¯

    ¡°Qingwu, hurry...e to me!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi moved and dashed towards Yun Qingwu,pletely giving up on the fight over the fruits and flowers

    Meanwhile, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who was watching in midair stared with his golden eyes wide open.

    ¡°This brat didn¡¯t die? Moreover, he became so powerful? How... how impossible? What exactly happened at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had already swallowed a fruit and was rapidly bing more powerful.

    However, despite that, he still went down at a speed that was even faster than Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    A dragon and a fox ran towards Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    This shocked the new Godly Beasts and Godly State experts of the Demon Race who had recently descended and everyone was making spections about their identities.

    ¡°All of these humans... are not powerful individuals of the ancient era?!¡±

    ¡°But everyone is very powerful!¡±

    ¡°I think they most probably ate one of the fruits of the Source of God...¡±

    Although the Godly beasts and Godly State experts of the Demon Race who had just descended were impressed by the powers of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, they felt extremely jealous.

    If they could eat Fang Zhengzhi and the rest of the humans, perhaps there would be a chance for them to absorb the power of the fruit.

    That was the first idea that struck them but it soon changed when Fang Zhengzhinded on Zhu Yan.

    ¡°Monkey?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Zhu Yan curiously.

    ¡°I am a God... I am Zhu Yan!¡± Zhu Yan was extremely furious. He had an arrogant nature and was unwilling to be addressed as a monkey by a human.

    ¡°Zhu Yan? Oh...¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Then, he punched him on his head and sent his head directly into the pile of stones.

    ¡°Bam!¡± The loud sound shook the entire Heaven Zen Mountain.

    It caused some of the Godly beasts to stop too.

    ¡®This Human...¡¯

    ¡®Is pretty powerful!¡¯

    ¡°I initially thought you are the Monkey King? Looks like... you¡¯re not!¡± Fang Zhengzhi snorted in disdain and kicked Zhu Yan on his waist, sensing his body flying through the sky.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡±

    Soon after that, everyone saw an astonishing scene.

    Azure blue light shed around Zhu Yan as he flew in the air. With every sh, a loud boom was heard.

    It was like hitting a sandbag!

    How cruel!

    The surrounding Godly State experts of the Demon Race started perspiring and werepletely shocked.

    Meanwhile, Zhu Yan was extremely furious. After Fang Zhengzhi sprang a sneak attack on his head, he was continuously attacked and suffered a huge loss.

    However, that did not mean that he could not resist.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s punches were very heavy and could break his bones. However, how could the ancient Godly beast Zhu Yan be defeated so easily?

    Therefore, he finally dodged after seven or eight punches.

    ¡°Human, you are courting death!¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s entire body was aching and almost all his teeth were knocked off. He looked extremely pathetic and that caused him to rage.

    He was ready to fight back and tear Fang Zhengzhi into pieces.

    However, when he raised his arms, a beam of sword radiance shed at him.

    Crack!

    With that strike, Zhu Yan¡¯s head flew in the air.

    Zhu Yan looked at his body from midair with his eyes wide open.

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to remind you that I am better at swords.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard by Zhu Yan.

 Chapter 1072 - Aiyo, An Outstanding Bird!

    <h4>Chapter 1072: Aiyo, An Outstanding Bird!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Zhu Yan was frustrated and horrified.

    He was frustrated as although he was an ancient Godly beast, his head was severed by a human. He was horrified because his head managed to get severed.

    Who exactly...

    Was this human!

    The intense sense of crisis and the current situation he was in evoked Zhu Yan¡¯s intention to escape. After all, he had no choice but to escape now.

    Although he was an ancient Godly Beast, he needed time to recover after his head was severed.

    Meanwhile, during this period of time, his attacking power fell drastically. Any ordinary human who was slightly more powerful could kill him.

    ¡°Run!¡± Zhu Yan spat out a mouth of haze and wanted to make use of that to escape.

    However, before Zhu Zhan could spit out a mouthful of haze, a familiar figure shed past him with a bright smile on his face.

    ¡°We had no grudges against each other, why are you driving me to my death?¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s eyes were filled with anger, he really did not want to die because he had just escaped from danger.

    ¡°Trying to escape after beating up my girl?¡± Fang Zhengzhi grabbed the horn on Zhu Yan¡¯s head with his hand and didn¡¯t give him any chance to escape.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Zhu Yan roared furiously.

    He really did not. He was not the one who injured Wu Yuer. He was innocent and could only be called an aplice.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright even if I kill the wrong guy,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom!

    Zhu Yan¡¯s head exploded and a gemstone-like Monster pearl flew out from his head while shining with red and white radiance.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Dead?!¡±

    ¡°The human killed Zhu Yan?!¡±

    The Godly beasts who had just descended were astonished and did not dare to believe what they saw. However, it was the reality that Zhu Yan had been killed.

    Meanwhile, Zhu Yan¡¯s Monster pearl was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s possession.

    ¡°The Monster pearl of a Godly beast? I wonder how it would taste like, hopefully, I can breakthrough with this.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smacked his lips before swallowing the Monster pearl.

    ¡°He ate it?!¡±

    ¡°Does this human want to die? He swallowed the Monster pearl of the Godly Beast!¡±

    ¡°How daring!¡±

    The Monster pearl was the most precious item for the Godly beasts and was closely rted to their lives. Therefore, they definitely did not want to witness this scene.

    After all, nobody would want to be eaten by someone else after his death.

    However, not only did Fang Zhengzhi eat it, he ate it in front of all the Godly Beasts who had descended without any reservations at all.

    Of course, this was rted to his experience.

    After all, he had already eaten a few Monster pearls and did not know that it was something forbidden for the Monster race.

    ¡°Qingwu!¡± At this moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s voice was heard by Fang Zhengzhi. She did not ask about why Fang Zhengzhi ate the Monster pearl.

    That was because she only had Yun Qingwu in mind now.

    ¡°Monster Emperor Baizhi!¡± A figure stood in front of Monster Emperor Baizhi with a long blue sword in front of his chest while wearing a white holy-looking armor.

    Chi Guyan had attacked.

    There was also a Monster Pearl in her hand. It was the Monster Pearl of the Godly Beast she had killed.

    ¡°Chi Guyan? How dare you stop me!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi swayed her nine tails and nine different colors shed behind her back, making her look extremely majestic.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan merely nodded calmly.

    ¡°Hmm, I dare to.¡± She said casually and ignored the majestic lighting on Monster Emperor Baizhi. Instead, she was shocked by Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s newly grown tail.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, I am going to take revenge for my severed tail!¡±

    ¡°No, Mother!¡± Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was about to attack, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°Qingwu, are you really... going to betray the Monster Race and Demon Race... because of...¡±

    ¡°Mother, I will not betray the Monster Race and Demon Race. I am really alright now, don¡¯t need to worry about me. Moreover, I have already made a breakthrough to the Rebirth State and nobody hurt me,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Made a breakthrough to the Rebirth State?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned.

    She knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s body too well. She had been stagnant at her current Enlightenment State and had no signs of a breakthrough because she was mixed blood of the Monster and Demon Race.

    This also caused Yun Qingwu¡¯s health status to be rather bad.

    She probably did not have a long life expectancy too.

    However, Yun Qingwu said that she managed to breakthrough from the Star Conglomerate State to the Rebirth State.

    How was that possible?

    It had only been less than two hours since Yun Qingwu fell down the Heaven Zen Mountain to now.

    She managed to break through three or four states in two hours?!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who arrived with her was also shocked by how the mixed blood of the Monster and Demon Race who had a terrible gift managed to breakthrough to the Rebirth State?

    It was too strange.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five felt that this was very strange.

    Moreover, apart from Yun Qingwu, even Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang had a drastic improvement.

    What on earth was happening?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what exactly happened down...¡±

    ¡°Do you want to know?¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew what Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was asking for and did not wait for him toplete his sentence.

    ¡°Speak.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded.

    ¡°Sure, but you have to promise me something,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    Meanwhile, he was carefully feeling the changes in his Small Dimension.

    After he had swallowed Zhu Yan¡¯s Monster Pearl, it turned into two beams of red and white airwaves that shot around in his body in a violent manner.

    However, God knows how many times had he gone through the collisions in his body.

    As the saying went, the more collisions made one more strong.

    That was what he was experiencing. Therefore, without hesitation, he directed the airwaves into the Small Dimension in his heart.

    Two gusts of strong wind blew on the vast ocean.

    Red and white.

    The initially calm ocean became turbulent again as huge waves appeared and intertwined with the red and white airwaves.

    Eh?

    They were not absorbed immediately?

    Fang Zhengzhi was surprised but soon figured it out. After all, it was Zhu Yan¡¯s Monster Pearl, how could it be absorbed so quickly?

    It seemed like a lot of time was needed.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not disappointed. Instead, he felt hopeful as no matter how long it took, the two airwaves indeed sparked ¡°waves¡± after the entered his Small Dimension.

    It was a good thing as long as there were waves.

    It was at least better than having no waves at all.

    ¡°What deal are you trying to strike?¡± Although Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had experienced the shamelessness of Fang Zhengzhi long ago, he still felt speechless.

    He liked to strike a deal as and when he liked!

    Why couldn¡¯t he talk about evesting friendships?

    ¡°It¡¯s simple, help me take care of them!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Wu Yue, Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the unconscious Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Take care of them?¡± A spark shed across Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes. ¡°With your capability, why do you still need me to take care of them?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yes, I am very weak,¡± admitted Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Weak?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was shocked.

    He witnessed how Fang Zhengzhi killed Godly Beast Zhu Yan with his own eyes but Fang Zhengzhi was saying how he was weak with a serious tone. His skin was as thick as the most secure city walls.

    However, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five would definitely not fall for it.

    He had no issues with taking care of them.

    However, there needed to be a time limit or else he would not be able to take it if he was to take care of them for an extended period of time.

    ¡°How long do I have to take care of them for?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not argue with Fang Zhengzhi for a long time because he had to digest the fruit in his body.

    Of course, there was another important factor.

    He wanted to see how powerful did Fang Zhengzhi be.

    ¡°Two hours.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around and said.

    ¡°Alright, two hours is the limit.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded but was slightly worried. ¡°If you dare to lie to me, I will fall out with you!¡±

    ¡°Your face is so huge, you will crush the flowers and grass easily.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at him in disdain before turning to the other Godly Beasts. ¡°Greetings, ancient Godly Beasts and Demon Gods, although this is my first time here, I am still considered the owner of thisnd. I hope to mark out a piece ofnd at the Source of God, are there any objections from you, seniors?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Mark out a piece ofnd?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demon Gods, including the three ancient beasts and twelve warlocks looked at each other and could not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to say.

    ¡°Hmm, since none of the seniors made anyments, then I shall take the initiative and draw a line in the center and take half of the space to y around, are there any objections?¡± Fang Zhengzhi used his fingers to draw in the air.

    A beam of lightnded immediately.

    A sword radiance was drawn from the center of the Heaven Zen Mountain and split thend of the Source of God into half.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°He wants half of thend?!¡±

    ¡°Is this brat crazy?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All the Godly beasts and Demon gods werepletely shocked.

    A mere human wanted to take over half of thend of the Source of God, what a ridiculous joke?

    Even the three ancient beasts and the twelve warlocks were not so ambitious.

    There were a hundred over ancient Godly Beasts and nearby two hundred Demon Gods as well as soldiers of the Chi You Race at the Source of God. It could be said to be an extremely magnificent scene.

    The various Godly Beasts and Demon Gods were fighting on thend.

    All of them hoped to get the fruit to break through and reach a higher level ofpetency. One square ofnd gave them one spark of hope.

    Yet they were giving half of their hopes to an insignificant human?

    How was that possible?!

    ¡°Brat, aren¡¯t you too greedy?¡± A red gigantic figurended from the sky and sneered.

    It was none other than Bi Fang.

    There was another white gigantic beast standing behind Bi Fang. He was very beautiful and followed closely behind Bi Fang.

    Bai Ze.

    Both Bi Fang and Bai Ze had met Fang Zhengzhi before. Although it was a rushed meeting, they knew the ¡°true¡± capability of Fang Zhengzhi.

    Even if he managed to break through, he must have met some opportunities. Neither his Enlightenment State nor his skills were stable when he just managed to breakthrough. Therefore, they stood out.

    Of course, most importantly, they were all more capable than Zhu Yan.

    Both of them coborated and were not fearful of Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    ¡°No, not at all, initially I wanted to take the whole piece ofnd. However, after some consideration, I feel that I should give half of it to the seniors as a gift of appreciation for visitors,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi sincerely as he shook his head.

    ¡°Hmph, how insistent. Let¡¯s see whether you are capable enough!¡± After his sentence, a ball of me rose from Bi Fang¡¯s body and it was apanied by red rays.

    ¡°Wow... this bird looks pretty, why not catch it and turn it into my pet to ride on.¡± Ping Yang¡¯s excited voice was heard.

    It was at a rather inappropriate moment.

    However, something more inappropriate was how after Ping Yang made that remark, Fang Zhengzhi took a look at Bi Fang and nodded. ¡°I can consider that.¡±

    ¡°Humans, you are courting death!¡± Bi Fang was mad.

    Bai Ze was even more furious than Bi Fang as, after all, Bi Fang was a female <sup>1</sup>and Bai Ze was a male. As the saying went, ¡°opposites attract¡±.

    Most importantly, he had yet to ¡°ride¡± on Bi Fang.

    How could others ride on him first?

    Therefore, after Fang Zhengzhi spoke, Bai Ze attacked at a faster speed aspared to Bi Fang.

    However, he regretted the instant he reached Fang Zhengzhi.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang had all attacked in four different directions and surrounded him in the center.

    Four against one...

    This was taking advantage of him!

    ¡°Kill this ¡°outstanding bird¡±!¡± Fang Zhengzhi attacked first.

    Or in other words...

    Four of them attacked together.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang all attacked Bai Ze and none of them took notice of Bi Fang who was behind.

    Bai Ze¡¯s face turned pale immediately.

    He did not expect the four humans to be so violent and surrounded him as a group without even making friendly greetings.

    He could not escape.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Bai Ze roared furiously.

    However, that had no effect at all as Fang Zhengzhi had already thrown a punch at his face. Meanwhile Chi Guyan¡¯s sword, Ping Yang¡¯s long leg and Yan Xiu¡¯s...

    Plop.

    Bai Ze fell to his knees immediately.

    His two front limbs were severed by Chi Guyan¡¯s sword as he suffered a punch that knocked a few of his teeth. He also suffered a kick on his neck and that caused him to fall to the ground immediately.

    Then, he felt something stab his buttocks.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Bai Ze was speechless.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was also slightly shocked. Did they really have to make that killer move for a battle of four humans against one Godly Beast?

 Chapter 1073 - Mass Frustration? Not Fang but Small Fang!

    <h4>Chapter 1073: Mass Frustration? Not Fang but Small Fang!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Stabbing his buttocks immediately.

    Uh...

    Wasn¡¯t that too much?

    However, that was not what Yan Xiu felt. His mindset was simple and pure, to end the fight against Bai Ze as soon as possible.

    After all, Bi Fang was charging towards them.

    If he needed to end the fight as fast as possible, some deadly tactics had to be used.

    The unlucky Bai Ze never expected that he would end up like this.

    The sharp pain hit his brain hard. Furthermore, both of his front limbs were severed and his butt was raised.

    He looked extremely pathetic.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Old man Bai!¡± Bi Fang was also stunned and chills went down her back.

    Perhaps because she felt too astonished, she stopped five feet away from Ping Yang.

    It was too cruel.

    Bi Fang was afraid that she would end up like Bai Ze. The reason was simple, she was after all a female and was more sensitive than males regarding certain things.

    Apart from Bi Fang, the Godly Beasts nearby were also sweating.

    The tactics used by the four humans caused them to shudder in fear. Not only were they decisive in their actions, but they were also extremely cruel.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud boom was heard again.

    Bai Ze got heavily punched on his head and fell on the ground with tears in his eyes.

    Sacrifice before achieving triumph.

    This was not the saddest thing. The saddest thing was how the ¡°lover¡± he had always protected stopped and did not save him.

    Love...

    Did love still exist in this world?

    Despair and suicidal thoughts.

    Swoosh! At this moment, a sword light struck down and severed Bai Ze¡¯s head.

    Then, he could no longer think further.

    That was because his head had exploded immediately and all that was left was a pearl shining with a white radiance that was floating in midair. It was none other than Bai Ze¡¯s Monster pearl.

    Another ancient Godly Beast died.

    Moreover, he died in Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans¡¯ hands.

    Moreover, the monster pearl ended up with Fang Zhengzhi again and he swallowed it again.

    ¡°Hmm... I should be able to breakthrough with two of these?¡± thought Fang Zhengzhi as he diverted the white airwave into his Small Dimension.

    The waves in the Small Dimension became more violent.

    It was like a tsunami with cyclone. The waves were at least ten feet tall and looked extremely violent.

    However, the expected breakthrough...

    Did not happen.

    F*ck!

    Why was it so difficult?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt speechless. Then, he turned to look at Bi Fang in excitement. ¡°Should we deal with Bi Fang now?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding Godly Beasts were shocked beyond words.

    After seeing the look on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face, Bi Fang¡¯s expression changed immediately. Instead of advancing, she retreated and took three steps back before she regained her stability.

    ¡°Humans, you... you won¡¯t be able to kill me!¡± Bi Fang¡¯s voice was close to a roar but she still had to put on the arrogance of a Godly Beast.

    ¡°We won¡¯t kill you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Hmph, of course, all of you won¡¯t dare to...¡±

    ¡°Come and kneel.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Bi Fang was stunned.

    She was an ancient Godly Beast who had the superior bloodline. How could she possibly kneel in public and get humiliated because she lost a fight?

    ¡°Kneel and be the pet of Ping Yang. We can give you a part of the area we own. Or else, you will end up like Bai Ze!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was straight to the point.

    ¡°Hmm, if you are willing to be my pet, I will make sure you stay alive.¡± Ping Yang nodded excitedly.

    Bi Fang could create mes with her body.

    That matched Ping Yang¡¯s skills. If she was able to get Bi Fang as her pet, Ping Yang¡¯s fighting power might be able to match up to that of Yan Xiu.

    She did not want to be thest.

    Ping Yang felt proud of herself.

    However, to Bi Fang, these words were an insult. She would definitely not agree to be a pet to a human.

    She would be so embarrassed.

    ¡°Looks like she is not willing, we need to beat her up first.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that Bi Fang was not going to ept this humiliation easily.

    As the ssic saying went, ¡®how do we deal with kids who don¡¯t go to lessons because they are ill? They are probably acting so they will ¡®recover¡¯ after a round of beating.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm, alright,¡± agreed Ping Yang but she suddenly turned to Yan Xiu as something struck her mind. ¡°Yan Xiu, then you won¡¯t need to use that tactic to deal with my pet!¡±

    ¡°What tactic?¡± asked Yan Xiu.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang¡¯s expression looked strange.

    Indeed, Yan Xiu was no longer the Yan Xiu like before. Or rather, Yan Xiu was still the Yan Xiu like before but more innocent and adorable.

    ¡°Forget it, punch her.¡± Yan Xiu and Ping Yang moves when they heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯smand.

    Both of them went around Bi Fang from the left and the right. Meanwhile, Chi Guyan immediately dashed up to Bi Fang.

    ¡°Humans, you guys are too much!¡± Bi Fang was seriously frustrated. After being insulted repeatedly, she still had to be beaten up, how could she not be furious?

    Of course, she was not stupid.

    If Zhu Yan was not as powerful as her, she would not have bothered about the strength of Fang Zhengzhi and the others as Bai Ze¡¯s powers would be almost on par with hers.

    However, how long did Bai Zest?

    She fell to the ground almost instantly.

    She was not weaker than Bai Ze. Therefore, there was no5 much difference between fighting with all her might and courting death. As a result, she flew up immediately and was about to attack from midair.

    However, just when she flew for a height of about ten feet, she realized that someone was standing above her head. There was a pair of wings behind that person¡¯s back.

    Birdman?!

    No, it¡¯s Fang Zhengzhi with wings!

    While Bi Fang was unaware, she got kicked back to the ground by Fang Zhengzhi and a gigantic snake tail immediately wound around his body.

    Radiance shot out from the five-colored scales.

    Her snow-white armor was so holy that one dare not to look at it directly.

    Chi Guyan did not directly hurt Bi Fang but her snake tail hadpletely wound around Bi Fang, making it impossible for her to move.

    After that, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang punched her.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    ¡°Bam bam bam...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Punchesnded on Bi Fang like raindrops. They did notnd on fatal regions but sensitive areas.

    Not to kill but to hurt.

    Bi Fang felt that this punishment was even more torturous than death.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Bi Fang roared furiously and mes rose from her body as her red feathers stood out as though they wanted to get rid of the snake tails on her body.

    However, the snake tail did not move an inch.

    Chi Guyan.

    When she was still at the Holy State, she was able to defeat three Godly State experts by herself. None of the ordinary Godly State experts could match up to her terrifying talent.

    Yet now, she had broken free from the restraints of the Holy State.

    She advanced to the Godly State immediately and experienced more than tenfold increase in her skills. She was even more terrifying than the four ancient beasts.

    How could Bi Fang go against someone as powerful as her?

    Bi Fang thought she had seen through everything and figured out the ¡°true¡± capability of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. However, she was suiciding.

    She could not even match up to Chi Guyan.

    Moreover, she was fighting against four people. One of them was Fang Zhengzhi who could kill Godly State experts in the Holy State, one was Yan Xiu who could fight against Mu Qingfeng and the rest in the middle phase of the Holy State, and another one was Ping Yang, who was extremely smart even though she was weak.

    Four against one.

    Bai Ze had underestimated their capabilities earlier on.

    At this moment, Bi Fang finally figured out that she made a mistake, a terrible and naive mistake.

    The humans who looked weak were too violent. Except for Ping Yang, she could not match up to any of them.

    ¡°Do you want to die or live?¡± Fang Zhengzhinded on Bi Fang and pointed his Traceless Sword at Bi Fang¡¯s neck, speaking extremely coldly, ¡°Think before you speak, you only have one chance. Apart from ¡°die¡± or ¡°live¡±, I will kill you if you say anything extra!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Bi Fang was drenched in cold sweat.

    She wanted to curse loudly about how Fang Zhengzhi and the three others took advantage of their strength in numbers. However, she forcefully swallowed her words just as she was about to speak.

    That was because she could see the killer intent in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes.

    Moreover, Zhu Yan and Bai Ze had already died in front of her. Both of the Godly Beasts had died because of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest and their monster pearls had been swallowed by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Would it be possible for Fang Zhengzhi to say that he did not dare to kill her?

    Bi Fang knew that if she did not follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s instructions, she would be killed by him.

    After that, she would end up like Bai Ze and Zhu Yan, turning into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s food.

    Bi Fang¡¯s feathers were drenched in sweat.

    She did not want to surrender but she did not want to die either. No one wanted to die, moreover, it would be an unmeaningful death.

    If she wanted to die, she would not havested through thousands of years.

    She just attained freedom...

    She had yet to even enjoy this world and was going to die?

    Bi Fang regretted flying back to this ce and tried to act as an ¡°outstanding bird¡±.

    Now she suffered.

    She was a happy Godly Beast who enjoyed life and hoped to live a carefree life. She did not want to die like that.

    ¡°Live...¡± Bi Fang finally started talking. Then, she added as though she was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would not believe her, ¡°I want to live, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect, I have a pet now!¡± Ping Yang screamed in excitement before Fang Zhengzhi made anyments.

    Fang Zhengzhi immediately pped Bi Fang on her head.

    ¡°Bam!¡± Bi Fang¡¯s head crashed onto the ground. This caused Bi Fang¡¯s expression to change as she shook violently.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you... say that you will let me go... Wait a minute, what did you do to me?!¡± Bi Fang was about to ask before she realized that something was wrong.

    Beside her Monster Pearl, a few chains of different colors had appeared and they locked up her monster pearl tightly.

    ¡°You should have heard of it, it¡¯s the Near-Life Dao of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi before lifting Bi Fang¡¯s head up. ¡°Once you betray Ping Yang, you will have to die. Or rather, you have to join Ping Yang if she dies. No matter what, you will have to be stuck with her, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Bi Fang¡¯s expression changed.

    Near-Life Dao!

    It was a Dao used to restrict monster beasts.

    Now, it was used on her body. Moreover, she could feel the power of the Near-Life Dao and could not break free from it.

    ¡°I understand, if my master lives, I will live, if my master dies, I will die!¡± Bi Fang finally lowered her head and no longer wanted to run or resist.

    ¡°Hmm, from now on, you own part of the Source of God.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He did not intend to control Bi Fang using this method, but Ping Yang was indeed not powerful enough to fight against Bi Fang yet.

    If Bi Fang¡¯s only intention was to escape, everything would be fine. However, if Bi Fang was to revolt or did not want to protect her master and leave Ping Yang alone when she met danger, Ping Yang would be put in a very dangerous situation.

    He had no choice but to be merciless because of Ping Yang.

    ¡°Hahaha... my pet is a Godly Beast. Alright, from now on, your name is... Small Fang, Fang that stands for ¡°vibrance¡±!¡± Ping Yang was extremely excited.

    ¡°Small Fang?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a strange expression.

    ¡°...¡± Bi Fang did not make anyments. She wanted to curse. How could an ancient Godly Beast like her be called Small Fang?

    Who can be killed cannot be humiliated!

    However, she did not want to die and judging from the current situation, she could really find an opportunity in the Land of the Source of God if she listened to Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang.

    She was left with no choice.

    ¡°Sister Yan, please release Small Fang.¡± Ping Yang leaped onto Bi Fang and patted her head. ¡°What a smooth fur.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Bi Fang ¡°Small Fang¡± smiled ¡°happily¡±.

    Meanwhile; the other Godly Beasts made a lot of reaction as they were shocked by the power of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, as well as how Bi Fang gave in so quickly.

    However, the strongest emotion they felt was anger.

    Extreme anger.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar!

    ¡°...¡±

    The beastly roars continued and shook the mountains.

 Chapter 1074 - Intelligence that Accompanied Me for My Life

    <h4>Chapter 1074: Intelligence that Apanied Me for My Life</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Zhu Yan and Bai Ze died continuously and had their Monster Pearls swallowed by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Bi Fang gave in and became Ping Yang¡¯s pet.

    All these unbelievable events happened too suddenly and shockingly. None of the Godly beasts would have believed it unless they witnessed it with their own eyes.

    However, that was what made the Godly beasts even more frustrated.

    They could clearly feel how cruel their ¡°enemies¡± were. If they continued to fend for themselves, they would probably end up like Zhu Yan and Bai Ze.

    Either die or be a pet.

    They wanted none of these.

    The Godly beasts were extremely frustrated and roared. However, none of them dared to stand out as they did not want to be another ¡°outstanding bird¡±.

    It was a dilemma.

    They knew they had to stay united but they were not sure if the other Godly Beasts would cooperate.

    ¡°Seniors, don¡¯t be so frustrated. I have already said that I only want half of thend of the Source of God. You can choose to stand on our side or remain on the other side.¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored the furious roars of the Godly Beasts and pointed at thend.

    This caused the Godly beasts to look down instinctively.

    There were nearly a hundred of the Godly beasts on the battlefield. The Demon soldiers of the Chi You Race and the other powerful demons added up to about 200.

    There were more than 40 Godly beasts and more than 100 demons in the half of thend that Fang Zhengzhi had drawn with his sword radiance.

    ¡°...¡±

    The air was quiet and it felt strange.

    Although those who were standing on the other half felt frustrated, they felt lucky as they did not have to make a decision right now.

    Meanwhile, those who were standing in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s half...

    Their expression changed.

    If they left now, it would mean that they were giving in and was afraid of the humans. However, if they did not move, they would have to fight with the humans.

    Should they fight or move?

    They could not make up their mind.

    After all, anyone could tell that humans had the ability to fight with them.

    ¡°Humans, don¡¯t be overboard!¡± Finally, a Godly Beast shouted.

    It was a leopard-like Godly Beast with a horn and five tails. The muscles on his body were well-distributed and looked extremely powerful.

    Zheng, the ancient Godly Beast.

    He was an ancient Godly Beast with extremely fast speed and explosive power. Moreover, with his horn, he had an extremely terrifying attacking power.

    ¡°Looks like you want to die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took two steps towards Zheng with his Traceless sword and pointed it at his head.

    ¡°...¡± Zheng¡¯s expression changed. As an ancient Godly Beast, it was the first time he had been threatened by a human.

    He shuddered in fear when he saw the Traceless Sword pointing at him.

    That was because he could feel the killing intent of Fang Zhengzhi. He was not joking at all and could attack at any moment.

    This Human...

    Was too arrogant!

    Zheng was slightly fearful. It was impossible for him to defeat Fang Zhengzhi, the other three humans and Bi Fang.

    However, he was still an ancient Godly Beast.

    He would definitely flee like that.

    ¡°We have over a hundred of Godly Beast, even if there are more than 40 of them in your territory, I don¡¯t believe that you will really fight against all of us!¡± Zheng shed his trump card.

    He was taking a bet.

    He was betting that the surrounding Godly Beasts would not give in to the threats of the humans. He believed that they were burning internally with anger.

    If they exploded with this anger, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest would definitely die.

    In fact, the reality was as what he had predicted.

    After Zheng said his sentence, there were immediate responses from Godly beasts in either the forms of a roar or scream. Forty over Godly beasts immediately expressed their consent.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°How dare the few of you take up half of thend of the Source of God, dream on!¡±

    ¡°If you want to die,e and chase us away!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts quickly formed their alliance.

    This made Zheng sit up straight again as he arrogantly poised his head while looking at the humans.

    Meanwhile, the three ancient beasts exchanged nces with each other.

    Qiong Qi has already gotten a fruit and was having a rapid increase in his power. Meanwhile, Tao Wu had also obtained a fruit when Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fell down the mountain.

    Out of the three beasts, only Hun Dun was still ¡°hungry¡±.

    However, coincidentally...

    Hun Dun was standing outside the region with sword radiance.

    ¡°Roar.¡± Hun Dun roared and looked at Qiong Qi who was beside him. He seemed to be asking Qiong Qi if it was time to attack.

    Qiong Qi nced at Hun Dun and after a moment of silence, he shook his head and pointed at a distance away with his front left w.

    Hun Dun nced over and his eyes lit up.

    As one of the four ancient beasts, he was extremely sensitive to the aura and felt the specialty of that ce.

    There was an intense scent of growth and fragrance.

    By right, a fruit would grow at that ce.

    Since a fruit was about to grow...

    Why did he need to fight for it?

    Hun Dun stopped roaring and moved towards that position slowly, waiting for the fruit to appear so he could snatch it immediately.

    The twelve warlocks witnessed this scene.

    Especially Hong You.

    He had obtained a fruit too and was experiencing a rapid increase in power. However, he was not the Godly Beast and was not as sensitive to the aura.

    However, he was intelligent enough.

    He knew who to follow to eat the fruit.

    ¡°Brother, Hun Dun is walking towards that direction,¡± said one of the warlocks beside Hong You as he saw Hun Dun¡¯s movement.

    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s head over.¡± Hong You nodded.

    To put it frankly, the fruit he had obtained was actually affected by the ¡°direction¡± of the three beasts and he was taking a risk.

    The twelve warlocks coborated and fought against Tao Wu and Hun Dun.

    Hong You punched Hun Dun hard and snatched a fruit from him. However, unfortunately, another fruit appeared and was swallowed by Tao Wu.

    The reason was that Tao Wu learned from his lesson and yed a trick.

    Of course, all of these happened when Fang Zhengzhi and the rest fell from the Heaven Zen Mountain. Fang Zhengzhi and the rest did not know about how all of that took ce.

    Moreover, the rtionship between the three beasts and the twelve warlocks was a little strained.

    ¡°Not sure what trick will Hun Dun y now?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, as long as we can hold Hun Dun back for as long as possible when the fruit appears, the fruit will belong to us!¡± Hong You¡¯s eyes lit up.

    After swallowing a fruit, he knew what was special about the Source of God.

    However, he could also feel that although these fruits were great opportunities, he could not eat them without control.

    He did not understand it.

    However, it became clear after giving it some thoughts.

    It was as though one was eating tonics. Some amount of tonics would act as supplements but if one ate it without self-control, one would end up exploding from fullness.

    Hong You understood that.

    Moreover, he could tell that both Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Monster Emperor Baizhi also understood that. Therefore, both of them, as well as Qiong Qi, stopped snatching the fruit.

    As for why they did not leave...

    The reason was simple too.

    The Source of God was thend of opportunities! Apart from fruits, other forms of opportunities should exist.

    That was the important reason why Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five agreed to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s deal to protect Wu Yuer and the rest for two hours.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five wanted to know what was at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Were there fruits?

    No!

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was certain that the opportunity at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain was not the fruit. If it was fruits, Fang Zhengzhi would not have brought up the deal to upy half of the territory of the Source of God.

    ...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know that one could only eat one fruit.

    Therefore, he did not know what was going on in Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s mind. He had a straightforward mindset.

    To draw out half of the territory.

    If that¡¯s not possible, he would draw one-third. If not, one-forth.

    It was like a street market.

    Bargaining!

    One definitely had to sh the price to half first!

    Moreover, even if something bad happened, with their capabilities, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan had no problems with escaping...

    ¡°Shameless brat, you seemed to have triggered the public?¡± Ping Yang flew to Fang Zhengzhi and said softly to him as she saw the furious Godly Beasts.

    ¡°I think so too.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°So we have to fight against so many of them at once?¡± Ping Yang was confident but after fighting with Zhu Yan, she knew that it was a little crazy to fight against a hundred of Godly Beasts.

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    Not to mention about whether Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang could defeat the Godly Beasts, Fang Zhengzhi would definitely not do something that benefits a third party. After all, none of the three beasts and twelve warlocks had attacked.

    If he wanted to fight it out with these Godly Beasts, the oue would be obvious.

    ¡°What should we do now? Beat up the ¡®outstanding bird¡¯?¡± Ping Yang asked as she looked at the furious Godly Beasts.

    When Bi Fang heard this...

    It made him extremely annoyed.

    Indeed, he was an outstanding bird who was being beaten up.

    ¡®Master...¡¯

    ¡®I have already be your pet, can you stop sprinkling salt on my wounds?!¡¯

    ¡°I think we will create amotion if we continue beating the ¡®outstanding bird¡¯.¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew very well that beating the ¡®outstanding bird¡¯ once could frighten others, but excessive beating would create amotion.

    Now, they had met the purpose of a fright.

    Therefore, they should think about what to do next.

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu came to Fang Zhengzhi. Unlike Ping Yang, they did not question too much.

    ¡°Sister Yan, do you have any ideas?¡± Ping Yang trusted Chi Guyan since young and asked her after seeing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression of helplessness.

    ¡°Leave it to him.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head.

    ¡°But...¡±

    Ping Yang was about to continue before realizing that Fang Zhengzhi had moved. Like before, he took two steps further and was almost in front of Zheng.

    Ping Yang felt that something was wrong.

    Could it be that the shameless brat still had some ideas?

    At this moment, she saw Fang Zhengzhi stop his actions for a moment before he stretched out his left hand and gave Zheng a middle finger.

    This caused Zheng to be even more frustrated as he breathed heavily.

    ¡°Human, you are courting death!¡± Zheng looked at the rest with a fierce look but he was still sane enough to know that although every Godly Beast supported him now if he charged forward rashly, god knew how the oue would turn out to be.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m courting death but if you don¡¯t want to get out of my territory, you only have two choices,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi casually.

    ¡°What choices?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. One is to fight, it¡¯s very straightforward but will definitely result in a lose-lose situation and others who have malicious intents will take advantage of this oue.¡±

    Zheng kept silent but moved his mouth.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was stating the truth.

    Although all the Godly Beasts had expressed their support for Zheng, how many of them would go full-out after they start the battle?

    In thend of the Source of God, opportunities could appear anytime.

    As long as they are not fools, they would not make too many enemies as the urgent task was to get hold of the opportunity.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was not too arrogant and went too overboard with his request for half of the territory while kicking the rest of the beasts out, the Godly Beasts would not be stupid enough to fight it out with Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    ¡°What¡¯s the second option?¡± Zheng asked again after a moment of silence.

    ¡°Negotiation. Since you represent the Godly Beasts, you cane and have a negotiation with me. Rest assured, I won¡¯t kill you during the negotiation. There are so many godly beasts watching and I¡¯m a gentleman. I will definitely not do such sly acts.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we talk here?¡± Zheng was very confused.

    ¡°There are some deals that can¡¯t be discussed outrightly. You should know what I mean.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    ¡°Hmph, I will not fall for your trick, we shall discuss like this!¡± Zheng looked around and shook his head while cursing silently.

    ¡®Since you have made yourself clear, why should I talk to you in private?¡¯

    There were so many Godly Beasts!

    All of them were not foolish!

    ¡°You are not willing to? Then too bad, we shall wait.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand and pointed at a distance away. ¡°Wow, look, they are about to start fighting over the opportunity.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Zheng and the other Godly beasts turned around. Some of the Godly Beasts were already consuming the flowers and a ball of radiance was glowing.

    A fruit was about to appear!

    ¡°The best way out is to have a negotiation, it hurts both of us to dy this,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t youing to my side?¡± Zheng pondered over it for a while before he asked.

    ¡°There are a lot of beasts on your side... how can I defend against dozens of beasts swarming towards me? You are different, you must be extremely capable and have so many Godly Beasts supporting you, why are you afraid?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will believe you for this once!¡± Zheng finally nodded.

 Chapter 1075 - You are the Most Slutty!

    <h4>Chapter 1075: You are the Most Slutty!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As Fang Zhengzhi said, Zheng was extremely confident with his speed. Moreover, there were almost a hundred Godly Beasts behind his back.

    Zheng believed that if Fang Zhengzhi attacked him now, the Godly Beasts behind him would definitely not leave him in the lurch. They would swarm up and kill Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    With some assurance, Zheng calmed down, bent his rear limbs and leaped in front of Fang Zhengzhi at the speed of lightning.

    It was a disy of his skills.

    Actually, it was also a sign of warning to tell Fang Zhengzhi that his speed was very fast as well and if Fang Zhengzhi dares to attack, he would have to bear the consequences himself.

    ¡°Alright, how do you want to strike the deal?¡± Zheng stopped five feet away from Fang Zhengzhi and asked cautiously.

    ¡°Very simple, leave the territory that I have marked out and I will not kill any of you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not have the intent to attend and said in a gentleman manner.

    However, what he said caused Zheng to be stunned.

    Leave the territory?

    How was that a negotiation?

    If the Godly Beasts were willing to leave the territory, what negotiation do they still have to make? They could just leave!

    ¡°Human, are you kidding me?¡± Zheng was unhappy and looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a cold look, looking like he was trying very hard to hold in his anger.

    ¡°No, my term is to take half of the territory. You can bring up other terms if you have. This is a negotiation, it involves both parties.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Hmph, you want half of the territory, impossible! There¡¯s nothing to discuss, let¡¯s just do it with our capability!¡± Zheng stopped dragging on with Fang Zhengzhi as he realized that an intense fragrance had spread out from the other half of the territory.

    He could predict that the fruit was about to appear very soon.

    ¡°Alright, since you said this... then we shall follow behind you...¡± Fang Zhengzhi shrugged and gave off a nonchnt look.

    ¡°You...¡± Zheng finally understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intent.

    He wanted to follow behind Zheng. That was clearly a threat and what he targeted was extremely obvious.

    Once Fang Zhengzhi and the rest did that...

    How could he continue? There were a bunch of ¡°bandits¡± around him, he doubted he could even get hold of a flower petal.

    ¡°So, can we start the negotiation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s smile was getting increasingly vibrant.

    ¡°What exactly do you want? Half of this territory is impossible and I can¡¯t make the decision. Even if I am willing to leave, the other Godly Beasts will not!¡± Zheng was furious.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s talk about something in which you can make the decision...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Swoosh!

    An invisible shroud shrouded around Zheng, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. Instantly, Zheng¡¯s expression changed and was about to turn and escape.

    ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s only the shroud to block out the noise. I have already said that I am a gentleman.¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretched out one of his hand to signal that Zheng did not need to worry.

    ¡°Shroud to block out noise?¡± Zheng touched the shroud with his front w and seeing how it prated the shroud, he finally calmed down.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about the official terms, how can you be persuaded to give half of the territory to us?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Zheng rejected without hesitation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t reject so quickly, think about it, if you agree to my term, we can help you obtain a fruit, how about that?¡±

    ¡°Trying to trick me? I won¡¯t fall for it!¡±

    ¡°Believe it or not, it¡¯s your business. To do it or not, it¡¯s our business. Now that the fruit is about to appear, are you willing to give up on this opportunity?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Zheng hesitated.

    He knew that with his powers, he definitely did not stand an absolute advantage amongst the Godly Beasts as he was not as powerful as the three beasts and the twelve warlocks.

    The only way he could get the fruit was by luck.

    However, there would definitely be a smell before the fruit appeared. With that in mind, it would be almost impossible for him to get the fruit based on luck.

    However, if Fang Zhengzhi and the rest helped him...

    The oue would bepletely different.

    Zheng had witnessed the capability of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. They had killed Zhu Yan, Bai Ze and tamed Bi Fang, and definitely had the capability to fight with the three beasts and twelve warlocks.

    Would something so good happen to him?

    Zheng did not believe it.

    He felt that there must be something fishy as he was aware of the idea that for two parties to coborate, they had to have amon interest.

    ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t believe you, we don¡¯t have anymon interests, why would I believe you?¡± Zheng snorted coldly and chose to not believe Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°We do havemon interests, but it is up to you... to work with me,¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued without feeling surprised.

    ¡°Whatmon interest?¡±

    ¡°Of course it is to give you a fruit in exchange of half of the territory. Isn¡¯t thatmon sense?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Zhengughed and looked at Fang Zhengzhi suspiciously. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you naive enough to believe that all the Godly Beasts will listen to me?¡±

    ¡°You mean they don¡¯t?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly surprised.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Zheng shouted.

    ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s so, then we only have one way out.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We will help you get the fruit and once your power increase, we can take control of them together, so the Godly Beasts have to listen to you!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Zheng¡¯s expression looked strange.

    This deal was so good that it was better than getting free food falling from the sky.

    Help him get the fruit first?

    Zheng was overwhelmed with excitement. Although he did not really believe what Fang Zhengzhi said, he could not refuse his offer because of the good deal.

    After all, he had an opportunity.

    Once he missed the opportunity, he would not be able to get it in the future.

    This wasparable to someone who was extremely poor. When he saw a gold mine in front of him, even if he felt that something was amiss, he would not be able to resist the temptation to go towards it.

    Zheng was struggling internally.

    ¡°If you are still willing to ept this deal, then we will have no choice but to fight. Don¡¯t need to bargain with me, I only want half of the territory, if you help me with this, I will help you get a fruit.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head in disappointment when he saw Zheng keep silent.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zheng shouted.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised.

    ¡°If you are really able to help me get a fruit, I will help you get half of this territory. However, I can only say that I will try my best, no promises.¡± Zheng clenched his teeth. Then, he added to prevent Fang Zhengzhi from going against his promise, ¡°You have to understand after you get half of this territory, you will get way more than only one fruit. You guys are still the beneficiary at the end of the day.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, of course, so is it a deal?¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed loudly.

    ¡°Deal!¡± Zheng said in affirmation.

    ¡°Since we have reached an agreement, should you show some sincerity?¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his hand to Zheng.

    ¡°Sincerity? What sincerity?¡± Zheng stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and wanted to take a step forward but soon stopped.

    Being cautious was important.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi made it sound very good, Zheng did not believe him.

    Not only did Zheng not believe him, but he also had his own n, which was to wait for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to help him get his fruit before betraying them.

    ¡°The n, the n which will help us get half of the territory, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have one?¡± Fang Zhengzhi withdrew his hand but did not look angry.

    ¡°You mentioned n... yes, of course, I have it!¡± Zheng froze before he nodded vigorously.

    ¡°Then share a little?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Zheng did not have any ns but he needed to make up one because he wanted to make use of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest¡¯sbined powers. ¡°I know, I will go forward to strike a deal with them, I will say that you want half of this half of the territory. I think they can ept this deal.¡±

    ¡°You mean, instead of half, I get a quarter?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, you can take a quarter of this territory first then help us get our fruit. Once I have gotten the fruit, I can help you frighten them!¡±

    ¡°Are you lying?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Zheng pped his chest and said.

    ¡°Then tell me something else.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Who will be the first Godly Beast you will go against after you sessfully get the fruit?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Zheng did not understand the intention of this question but he still turned around and looked at the big group of Godly Beasts with a cold look. ¡°Kun Peng, he is so powerful that he can fight against the three beasts. He is also good at flying and this makes it extremely difficult to catch him. Only he travels at about the same speed as me. If I sprang a sneak attack at him on the ground, and with your help, I am 90 percent confident that I can kill him!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, not bad, then, who will you go against after that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°After that will be Hei Kan. He is very powerful and stubborn. If he don¡¯t die, it will be difficult for all of you to get half of the territory. Therefore, we have to kill him so the other Godly Beasts will not dare to resist,¡± Zheng said coldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, I didn¡¯t choose the wrong working partner. Let¡¯s start our coboration happily.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled in satisfaction and stretched out his right hand.

    ¡°Hahaha... Let¡¯s cooperate happily.¡± Zheng smiled again.

    This time, he did not stop in his steps but took a big step to Fang Zhengzhi and stretched out a right w before shaking Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Zheng was very happy.

    They said that humans were cunning, however, the guy in front of him was a fool, so what if he was powerful? Did Fang Zhengzhi think that he would help him after he got the fruit?

    What a joke!

    Just as Zheng was thinking about this, he realized a powerful forceing from the hand he was holding. It felt like a metal that restraint his front right w.

    This caused Zheng¡¯s expression to change...

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯

    ¡®This is a trap!¡¯

    Zheng did not understand why such a turn of event would happen. He also did not know why Fang Zhengzhi went against his words.

    However, the powerful sense of crisis sent chills down his back.

    Then, he saw the people around Fang Zhengzhi, such as Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Bi Fang move.

    Four humans and one beasts surrounded Zheng from north, south, east and west.

    ¡°You... Fang Zhengzhi, what do you want?!¡± Zheng was shocked and furious. Hepletely did not know what was happening. He wanted to run but he could not because his front w was stuck.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, do you want a pet to y with too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled extremely brightly and stopped looking at Zheng.

    ¡°Pet?! You... Don¡¯t you think you will anger the rest? Even if the sound is blocked, the Godly Beasts would not leave me in the lurch!¡± Zheng was afraid.

    However, he had his trump card. There were almost a hundred of Godly Beasts behind him. He did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would dare to make him a pet at this moment.

    However, what surprised Zheng was...

    Yan Xiu shook his head after taking a look at Zheng and said, ¡°No, this one is too stupid.¡±

    ¡°Too stupid.¡±

    ¡°... Stupid.¡±

    Yan Xiu¡¯s voice echoed in the air and reached the other side of the mountain before bouncing back, resonating near Zheng¡¯s ears.

    Zheng¡¯s expression changed.

    He turned to his back. The sound shield had disappeared and all the Godly Beasts were staring coldly at him.

    Why did the sound shield disappear...

    When did that happen?!

    ¡°The sound shield disappeared when you said the n!¡± Ping Yang touched Bi Fang¡¯s head and smiled cunningly.

    ¡°What?! When... when...¡± Zheng turned pale.

    He thought he was extremely cautious but just as he was extremely excited and thought he had everything nned out, he realized that he was walking into the trap.

    ¡°Kill me first? Spring a sneak attack? Zheng... not bad at all!¡± A sharp voice was heard from the crowd of Godly Beasts.

    It was a gigantic Roc Bird with golden feathers. His wings, when extended, could block the entire sky.

    Kun Peng!

    The most powerful of the Godly Beasts who was extremely fast. He was almost as fast as the four ancient beasts and his skills wereparable to Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    After Kun Peng¡¯s sentence, another Godly Beast stood out.

    It was a gigantic beast with silver fur, blue prints and a built of a ferocious tiger. He stared at Zheng silently with his two blue eyes.

    ¡°I, Hei Kan, trusted you so much and treated you like a brother, but you wanted to kill me after Kun Peng?¡± Hei Kan raised his head and looked extremely ferocious.

 Chapter 1076 - A Territory Won from a Bloody Battle!

    <h4>Chapter 1076: A Territory Won from a ¡°Bloody Battle¡±!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Kill that traitor!¡±

    ¡°He is detestable!¡±

    After Kun Peng and Hei Kan stood out, the other Godly Beasts also roared furiously as they heard Zheng too.

    Kill the Godly Beast together with the humans.

    Zheng¡¯s shameless n evoked fury from the crowd.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, Heavenly Oasis Saint and the rest who were watching from afar felt a sense of deja vu.

    However, they did not hear the conversation earlier on and could not understand how Zheng, an old Godly Beast who had lived for thousands of years, would fall for the shameless brat?

    Indeed, talking about shamelessness...

    Fang Zhengzhi was unbeatable.

    Even Zheng who was so cautious fell for his trick.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, shameless human, what good does it do to you by doing this!¡± Zheng¡¯s eyes were red. He knew that he was dead after hearing the furious roars.

    He was trapped by Fang Zhengzhi and the three others.

    And there was a group of Godly Beasts who wanted to kill him, where could he run to?

    ¡°I don¡¯t ask for any benefits, but I hope that I can help the respectable Godly Beasts by killing the evil one!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head and said righteously.

    ¡°Help the respectable Godly Beasts?¡±

    ¡°Kill the evil one?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Who would believe Fang Zhengzhi?

    Not only could the Godly Beasts and the Demon soldiers not believe him, but even Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the other humans refused to believe him. After all, everyone was not fools.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression was that of righteousness.

    ¡°This brat is pretty good at talking nonsense.¡± Mu Qingfeng felt speechless but could not make muchments.

    ¡°Hahaha... cough cough...¡± Heavenly Oasis Saintughed until he coughe out blood.

    Nobody had expected Fang Zhengzhi to trick Zheng like that. Moreover, it was effective.

    Zheng¡¯s face was extremely ck.

    He had no way out and could see his death. This caused him to go crazy as he still could not understand the real intention of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I will kill you even if I die!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    He was straightforward.

    Fang Zhengzhi made amand and Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang attacked. Even Bi Fang could not resist as Zheng really betrayed the Godly Beasts.

    He was so foolish.

    Too bad for him.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    After a series of agonizing screams, Zheng fell on the ground and a clear monster pearl floated in the air, glowing with radiance.

    After that, the Monster Pearl had reached Fang Zhengzhi and with a ¡°gulp¡±, it was swallowed by him.

    Zheng died.

    The Godly Beast who were initially ¡°united¡± stared at Zheng¡¯s body with aplicated look.

    They could tell that Zheng fell for Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s trick but they had no excuse of taking revenge for Zheng as he had betrayed the Godly Beasts.

    ¡°Senior Kun Peng, Senior Hei Kan and the other senior Godly Beasts, I, Fang Zhengzhi killed a traitor for all of you, shouldn¡¯t you show some sense of appreciation?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Godly Beasts after swallowing Zheng¡¯s Monster Pearl.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Kun Peng snorted coldly and did not say anything.

    Meanwhile, Hei Kan looked very serious and walked with his four limbs. He did not look friendly when he stared at Fang Zhengzhi.

    What f*cking killing a traitor!

    Fang Zhengzhi clearly tricked Zheng.

    The Godly Beasts knew that and waited to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans. However, after Zheng had died, nobody knew what the other Godly Beasts were thinking about.

    Stand out to lead the rest?

    That was so foolish!

    After living for thousands of years, the Godly Beasts would not make the same mistake again and again.

    From Bai Ze and Bi Fang to Zheng, every single Godly Beast who stood out would die or end up in a pathetic state. God knew what would happen to them if they stood out.

    Most importantly, there was no benefits for standing out. There was an even higher chance of dying.

    Who would be so foolish?

    The Godly Beasts fell silent. However, they were unwilling to retreat and hesitated.

    At this moment, a ear-deafening roar was heard.

    ¡°Twelve warlocks, how dare you!¡± The voice came from Hun Dun who looked extremely furious. Meanwhile, there was a fruit that was as ck as ink near him.

    Radiance flowed on the fruit and an intense liveliness and fragrance exuded from the fruit, causing the flowers nearby to bloom even more.

    ¡°A fruit has appeared!¡± The Godly Beasts reacted immediately and looked extremely excited.

    They could tell that the twelve warlocks and three beasts were going to fight.

    At that instant when the fruit appeared, the twelve warlocks had attacked and trapped Hun Dun to prevent him from going near the fruit.

    Meanwhile, on the other side, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu were blocking Hong You and the other warlocks from getting close to the fruit.

    Both sides had ended up in stalemate.

    A cunning look shed past Kun Peng¡¯s eyes. To him, it was the best chance for him to make use of his speed to snatch the fruits from the two parties.

    Without hesitation, Kun Peng reacted due to the lure of the fruit.

    He expanded his gigantic winds and flew up into the sky, looking down with his sharp eyes and was ready to zoom down to take the fruit.

    ¡°I must get the fruit this time!¡± Hei Kan also could not wait longer and leaped towards the fruit after Kun Peng moved.

    The other Godly Beasts froze when they saw this.

    Kun Peng and Hei Kan both left?

    Apart from them, the other powerful Godly Beasts also began to move as, after all, the fruit was the most important to them.

    Who would care about the territory after they got the fruit?

    Instantly, more than ten Godly Beasts out of the forty over Godly Beasts had left and the remaining twenty over of them stared nkly.

    They felt awkward and did not know what to do.

    That was because they were rtively weaker and were satisfied with the leftovers.

    They were unwilling to fight against the powerful individuals over the fruit.

    What should they do?

    They were hesitant.

    At this moment, a loud growl was heard.

    ¡°We respect you as seniors and helped you kill the ¡°spy¡±. Now that the spy is dead,all of you Godly Beasts are still not moving, don¡¯t tell me you want me to kick you to the curb after you have outlived your usefulness? If that¡¯s the case, I will kill you!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi was the one who spoke. Most importantly, he was extremely determined and before he finished his sentence, he charged towards the Godly Beasts with his Traceless Sword.

    The twenty over Godly Beasts were stunned.

    The human dared to kill them?

    Even though they were slightly weaker, they had an advantage in terms of numbers, how could twenty over Godly Beasts lose to a few humans?

    The Godly Beasts who were nearest to Fang Zhengzhi attacked immediately.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Aw, go and die!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    They pounced towards Fang Zhengzhi. Every single one of the Godly Beasts were as tall as a hill and looked like they were tumbling.

    However, that was useless.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Traceless Sword sent the fastest Godly Beast flying in the air and sliced him into half, causing blood to spurt in the air.

    On the other hand, Chi Guyan was even more exaggerated.

    The sword lightsnded and turned into sharp swords which the Godly Beasts could not block.

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh! Swoosh!

    ¡°...¡±

    Before Ping Yang and Yan Xiu could attack, the other two Godly Beasts had copsed on the ground and rolled continuously with their hands over their heads.

    Evidently, they were injured by the sword light.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°So... so powerful!¡±

    ¡°These humans are so cruel!¡±

    The other Godly Beasts who were about to attack realized that something was wrong. An attack by a handful of them would not work.

    They had to attack together!

    The Godly Beasts could only win Fang Zhengzhi if they attacked together.

    ¡°Let¡¯s attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them live...¡±

    The Godly Beasts roared ferociously and hoped to attack together.

    However, those who went forward to attack were only a handful..

    Then, after the handful of them charged forward, they realized something was wrong.

    That was because the other Godly Beasts behind them did not move at all and some of them had moved over to the other half of the territory ¡°identally¡±.

    They left the territory.

    What the f*ck!

    The handful of Godly Beasts who went forward realized immediately that the most unreliable thing to do was to shout and cheer, what f*cking use did it have?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest attacked.

    ¡°Come on, attack together, I will fight it out with all of you. I will kill all of you if you don¡¯t give me my territory!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to kill but still gave off a look of righteousness, as though he had suffered a great loss and was extremely furious.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts who stood out were speechless.

    That was because they were really shocked!

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Stop attacking!¡±

    ¡°Run there and hide first...¡±

    Without hesitation, they moved because they knew that they would end up like Bai Ze, Bi Fang and Zheng if they didn¡¯t.

    F*ck the territory.

    The most important thing was to save their lives, no?

    The few of the Godly Beast turned and ran.

    Seeing how the ¡°frontline soldiers¡± ran, the other Godly Beasts who were acting as spectators could no longer sit still.

    As powerful Godly Beasts, how would they be willing to give in?

    However, they had no choice now.

    After all, the other Godly Beasts had ran and they really could not afford to go against Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    Moreover, when they thought of how Fang Zhengzhi swallowed the Monster Pearl, they shuddered uncontrobly.

    Rumble!

    Rumble...

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts who were acting as spectators stopped looking and ran immediately.

    It was a strange scene.

    Twenty over Godly Beasts fled.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were shing with their swords and shouting, ¡°If you are daring enough, stop running!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli werepletely stunned.

    They could not understand what had happened!

    Weren¡¯t all of them Godly Beasts?

    They were Godly Beasts of the ancient era and each of them had a reputable story, however, they were chased by four humans?

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng and the rest, the army who were advancing up the Heaven Zen Mountain were also stunned.

    The Four Great Empires swarmed up towards the Heaven Zen Mountain in four directions.

    They were mentally prepared to see a magical scene on the Heaven Zen Mountain and perhaps meet some Godly State experts.

    However, they did not expect to see something so ¡°magical¡±...

    Lin Mubai and Qian Yu were the first two to witness this scene. They were extremely shocked by the gigantic Godly Beasts.

    However, the most stunning thing was how Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were chasing after them.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were shing randomly and the Godly Beasts were fleeing rapidly. The scene could not be described by words.

    ¡°What is happening?!¡± Lin Mubai was stunned.

    A group of Godly Beasts...

    Were chased by Fang Zhengzhi?!

    Did it even make sense?

    ¡°The brat is chasing after Godly Beasts?¡± Qian Yu¡¯s eyes widened too.

    Meanwhile, the Emperors and the army of the three other empires were shocked by this strange scene.

    Godly Beasts!

    They were legends.

    There were so many of them?!

    The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire was the most shocked as his son had died because of Fang Zhengzhi and his army had also lost to Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, what they saw were Godly Beasts!

    The legendary Godly Beasts were chased by Fang Zhengzhi, what on earth was happening?

    ¡°I... I am not see... seeing things, right? Fang Zhengzhi... is... chasing after a group of Godly Beasts?!¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire¡¯s mouth was agape.

    ¡°Stop running, Godly Beasts, if you have nuts, stop running!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the air and blood sttered across the sky as he shed his Traceless Sword.

 Chapter 1077 - The Truth of a Godly State Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 1077: The Truth of a Godly State Breakthrough</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Swoosh! A beam of sword light struck.

    The Godly Beast who was at the back immediately fell to the ground and his rear limbs got shed by the sword as his head hit the ground hard.

    Soon after, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu started to move.

    Both of them pounced onto the Godly Beast and beat him up until he could see stars and roared in agony while cupping his head.

    This scene made one speechless.

    ¡°Ping Yang is... beating up a Godly Beast?!¡± Qian Yu looked at her strangely.

    Since ancient times, all parents wanted their children to grow up, however, it was difficult for her to ept this extent of ¡°growth¡±.

    Apart from Qian Yu, Lin Mubai was also stunned.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, the other onlookers and the Emperor and the other soldiers of the Four Great Empires had their mouths agape in shock when they witnessed the scene.

    ¡°The world has changed...¡±

    ¡°Humans have made aeback!¡±

    ¡°This is amazing!¡±

    The army of the Four Great Empires was astonished but cheered vigorously after they regained their senses.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, Yan Qianli and the rest exchanged nces and all of them had an extremelyplicated look on their faces. Although they witnessed it with their own eyes, they felt speechless by the scene in front of them.

    Half of the territory...

    Was really taken over by Fang Zhengzhi?!

    ¡°This brat is really...¡±

    ¡°Each generation is getting better than the previous one!¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and Yan Qianli eximed. This was unpredictable. In the past, they thought Fang Zhengzhi was just being overly-ambitious and arrogant when he said he wanted to take over half of thend of the Source of God.

    However, the reality was cruel.

    Soon after, almost every one of the twenty over Godly Beasts had fled to the other side and only two Godly Beasts were left on the ground, beaten up by Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Roar... stop it!¡±

    The two Godly Beasts were screaming in agony.

    However, it was rather useless. Fang Zhengzhi and the rest did not show mercy at all and continued beating them up. If they had shown mercy now, they would have been perceived as being weak and timid.

    They could only have a foothold if they beat the Godly Beasts up until they were afraid of them.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this and did not show mercy to the two Godly Beasts who were left behind. With the strike of his sword radiance, the two Monster Pearls rolled on the ground.

    ¡°Gulp!¡± Fang Zhengzhi took one in each hand and stuffed them into his mouth. Then, he smacked his lips and swallowed the pearls.

    His Small Dimension started to vibrate.

    The turbulent seawater tumbled non-stop and huge waves were formed. There were a few violent and gigantic swirl pools in the sea and they glowed with radiance.

    He swallowed five Monster Pearls of the Godly Beasts continuously.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that no matter how vast his Small Dimension was, he should have managed to make a breakthrough.

    He was waiting for the breakthrough to the Godly State so that he could run over and get the fruit back.

    However, the expected breakthrough...

    Still did not happen.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely confused. He could not understand why the five Monster Pearls were still insufficient to help him break through the Godly State.

    He had swallowed five, five Godly Beasts¡¯ Monster Pearls.

    He still remembered how Ping Yang managed to reach the Sagely State with merely one Monster King¡¯s Monster Pearl. Her progress was extremely fast.

    Why did it be so difficult for him?

    Could it be he needed more Monster Pearls?

    Fang Zhengzhi thought that it was possible but was not sure because, after all, he remembered that he had left a Monster Pearl for Chi Guyan.

    Then, Chi Guyan woke up and sessfully reached the Sagely State.

    Hold on...

    Lin Ji was a Godly State Expert.

    By right, Ping Yang should have been able to break through to the Godly State. However, Lin Ji¡¯s Monster Pearl only managed to help Chi Guyan reach the Sagely State Instead of the Godly State.

    ¡°I get it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. He was only specting earlier on but now he could tell where the problem lied.

    It was the quality!

    Not the quantity!

    Although the ancient saying went, quantity affected the quality, it was not simple to have a quality change.

    Take Chi Guyan¡¯s breakthrough for example.

    During the battle in the Heaven Zen Mountain, Chi Guyan showed signs of a breakthrough and managed to show equivalent skills of the Sagely State.

    However, she fell unconscious because she had insufficient Origin Energy.

    Chi Guyan had fulfilled other conditions to make a breakthrough to the Sagely State and onlycked the quantity.

    Fang Zhengzhi left behind a Monster Pearl of the Godly State for Chi Guyan when he left the Northern Mountain Vige.

    This gave Chi Guyan the chance for a breakthrough.

    However, she only managed to make it to the Sagely State.

    Origin Energy!

    The more Origin Energy one had, the harder it was for one to make a breakthrough!

    This sounded incredible as, after all, by right, the more the Origin Energy, the easier it should be for a breakthrough.

    However, the reality was not as such.

    The more the Origin Energy, the more time was needed for one to change the nature of one¡¯s Origin Energy.

    Using the analogy of adding sugar to water to sweeten it, one only needed two scoops of white sugar to sweeten a cup of water but what about sweetening a pail of water?

    One needed way more than two scoops of sugar!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy was as vast as an ocean. To turn these Origin Energy from the Sagely State to the Godly State, he needed much more time.

    This could be said as a disadvantage.

    However, once he seeded, his skills would increase exponentially.

    Fang Zhengzhi had a good experience in this aspect. Even if he did not manage to break through to the Godly State, his energy increased by seven or eight times.

    It wasparable with Ping Yang and Yan Xiu.

    This also meant that Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy had been transforming continuously in the process of a breakthrough, changing from the Sagely State to the Godly State.

    However, he had yet to transformpletely and hence there were no signs of the Godly State yet.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, he was advancing to the Godly State and needed some time to achieve that!¡± Fang Zhengzhi figured it out and his grievances disappeared.

    Meanwhile, in his Small Dimension, as the waves tumbled, the seawater became purer and radiance could be seen from the bottom part of the sea.

    Initially, the seawater was extremely clear.

    Yet now, the seawater was like a flowing gemstone and nearly half of the seawater were glistening.

    Wait a little longer!

    He just had to wait a little longer to reach the Godly State.

    ¡°What should we do now? Those brats are enjoying themselves by fighting over the fruit, should we join in too?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice could be heard and she looked extremely excited.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s very appropriate.¡± Yan Xiu shook his head.

    He did not state the reason but he could tell from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression that it was not wise for them to snatch the fruit now.

    ¡°Hmm, Yan Xiu is right. We don¡¯t have to snatch the fruit.¡± Chi Guyan nodded and told Ping Yang to not be rash.

    ¡°Why? We will definitely win these Godly Beasts if we coborated, right?¡± Ping Yang could not understand because the humans had half of the territory of the Source of God.

    Moreover, the Godly Beasts were fearful of them.

    Why weren¡¯t they joining in the fight over the fruit?

    ¡°The fruit is indeed the main target that the Godly Beasts were going after. The shameless brat made use of this fact to obtain half of the territory of the Source of God,¡± exined Chi Guyan, ¡°If we fight for the fruit now, not only will we risk triggering the Godly Beasts, but we might also lose the territory we have.¡±

    ¡°Ah? It¡¯s so dangerous?¡± Ping Yang¡¯s mouth was agape.

    ¡°Haha... Yan¡¯er only mentioned the less serious consequences, it could be even more dangerous than that.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled too.

    Meanwhile, Qian Yu and Mu Qingfeng had reached Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yang¡¯er,e over here to mom.¡±

    ¡°Mother!¡± Ping Yang looked happy when she saw Qian Yu. ¡°Mom and Dad, guess what Enlightenment State I am at now!¡±

    ¡°Yang¡¯er, did you manage to break through to the Godly State?¡± Lin Mubai guessed.

    ¡°Hmm, yes, Father!¡± Ping Yang nodded and pointed at Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu who was beside her. ¡°Sister Yan and Yan Xiu also managed to reach the Godly State.¡±

    ¡°All of them reached the Godly State?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Hearing it with their ears and seeing it were two separate matters.

    Mu Qingfeng and Lin Mubai had witnessed how Fang Zhengzhi and the rest chased after the Godly Beasts. However, they were still extremely astonished when they heard Ping Yang¡¯s affirmation.

    Everyone managed to reach the Godly State.

    What exactly...

    Happened at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain?

    ¡°Not everyone, the shameless brat hasn¡¯t!¡± Ping Yang shook her head and waved at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°I¡¯m correct, right?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not deny.

    However, Mu Qingfeng and Lin Mubai were astonished again.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not break through to the Godly State?!

    It was impossible!

    They had seen how Fang Zhengzhi killed a Godly Beast with his sword with their own eyes. Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi kept swallowing the Monster Pearls of the Godly Beasts, with such a terrifying power, how could he have not managed to breakthrough?

    ¡°Brat, you are still at the Sagely State?¡± Qian Yu could not believe it as it did not make sense.

    ¡°Haha, not yet.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    He had not made a breakthrough. Although the Origin Energy within his Small Dimension was changing continuously, he had yet to reach the Godly State.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said earlier on. Shameless brat, you are one state lower than me, do you know that?¡± Ping Yang raised her head and looked extremely arrogant.

    Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang.

    He looked around casually and pointed at the Source of God which was blooming with flowers and said, ¡°Auntie, this is temporarily our territory, please feel free to take as many flowers as you want!¡±

    ¡°Take as many flowers as I want?¡± Qian Yu just arrived and did not know the purpose of thend of the Source of God.

    ¡°Tower Master Qian, you can increase your Origin Power by eating these flowers. After eating more than ten of this flower, I am reaching the Godly State soon,¡± exined Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°What?! These flowers can help you breakthrough to the Godly State?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, if you can find the fruit, then you can make a breakthrough immediately!¡± affirmed Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°This...¡± Qian Yu was excited.

    Even someone like her did not expect to make a breakthrough to the Godly State. This was extremely enticing for her.

    After all, everybody in this field wanted to improve, right?

    ¡°Now that we own half of the territory, you can feel free to pick all the flowers here. However, try not to enter the other half before you manage to breakthrough.¡± Fang Zhengzhi could read Qian Yu¡¯s mind and pointed at the boundary line nearby.

    Qian Yu and Lin Mubai looked at each other and figured it out.

    The scene of Fang Zhengzhi chasing after the Godly Beasts was due to a fight over the territory of the Source of God.

    It was too overwhelming!

    How did Fang Zhengzhi do that?!

    Qian Yu and Lin Mubai were both extremely astonished but they did not have the time to care about it as the Source of God was extremely attractive.

    Meanwhile, nearby, the other emperors of the three dynasties, especially the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire, stood rooted to the ground with a pale face.

    Fang Zhengzhi allowed Lin Mubai and Qian Yu to pluck the flowers as they wished.

    However, he did not allow them to do so.

    Therefore, even if they wanted to, how would they dare to pluck?

    The scene of Fang Zhengzhi chasing after the Godly Beast was sufficient to make them worried and did not dare to move forward.

    ¡°This... Fang... Oh, no, I mean Prince Cang, I heard that I have a son who had fortunately sought your guidance in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Without you, my son would not have made the breakthrough...¡±

    ¡°Are you the Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire?¡± Fang Zhengzhi broke off the sentence of a man in the dragon robe and smiled.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire nodded immediately.

    ¡°Pick 100 elites to enter and pluck the flowers. Remember, if anyone finds the fruit, they can¡¯t take it, or else...¡± Fang Zhengzhi had yet to finish his sentence.

    ¡°I understand, I will kill them myself!¡± The Emperor of the Prince Cang nodded immediately.

    He did not agree out of fear. Instead, he understood that the best choice was to gather the resources for the people who had the greatest chances of making a breakthrough.¡±

    The future of humankind was at stake.

    The more powerful had to bear more responsibility.

    ¡°Prince Cang... Actually, the War Pinnacle Empire has some connections with you too, I¡¯m not sure if you still remember Yan Qing...¡± A man wearing purple purple dragon robe stood out and said.

    ¡°100 elites, same condition.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand.

    ¡°Thank you Prince Cang, thank you! I, the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire, thank you for your help on behalf of our people!¡± The Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire gave thanks immediately.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard and a figure walked beside Wu Yuer.

    Her snow-white dress was swaying in the air.

    Indeed, it was Yun Qingwu.

 Chapter 1078 - A Happy â€œContractâ€!

    <h4>Chapter 1078: A Happy ¡°Contract¡±!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Yun Qingwu?!¡±

    ¡°Why is the daughter of the monster and demon... with the Prince Cang?

    ¡°...¡±

    The Emperors of the three empires were extremely stunned when they saw Yun Qingwu. That was because Yun Qingwu walked out from Wu Yuer¡¯s back.

    That was very strange.

    Wu Yuer could read the minds of the Emperors of the three empires and pointed casually at Yun Qingwu. ¡°She¡¯s now our servant and no longer on the monsters and the demons¡¯ side.

    ¡°Oh I see.¡±

    ¡°So Yun Qingwu is a servant...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Emperors of the three dynasties heaved a sigh of relief but could not understand why she came out and said, ¡°hold on¡±.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression did not change because of Wu Yuer. She only took two steps forward to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, didn¡¯t you always want to know where the remaining Maps of ess to Heaven was?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi reacted immediately. He had always remembered that Qian Yu and Lin Mubai shared about the story regarding the loss of the Maps of ess to Heaven.

    They hinted that the ce the lost Maps of ess to Heaven were at the Five Sects of the Holy Region and the three empires.

    ¡°If you trust me, you can ask them about it.¡± Yun Qingwu did not continue exining and retreated behind Wu Yuer after she finished her sentence.

    Fang Zhengzhiughed extremely happily.

    After descending from the Heaven Zen Mountain, Yun Qingwu had kept silent. Nobody expected her to give such a piece of valuable information.

    What she implied was very obvious.

    The Maps of ess to Heaven were with the three empires.

    ¡°I, Fang Zhengzhi, Prince Cang of the Great Xia Dynasty, greet Your Majesties of the Radiant Moon Empire, War Pinnacle Empire and Holy Barbarian Empire!¡± Fang Zhengzhi walked towards the Emperors of the three empires as he smiled.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Emperors of the three empires froze.

    They did not hear what Yun Qingwu and Fang Zhengzhi said as Yun Qingwu was very soft and she seemed to have made a sound wall.

    However, all of them saw the smile on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. It was very friendly but abnormal as Fang Zhengzhi did not smile so happily earlier on.

    What did Yun Qingwu, the demoness, say to Fang Zhengzhi?

    The emperors of the three dynasties felt chills down their backs. Although they had not met Fang Zhengzhi many times, they heard about him.

    He was extremely shameless!

    ¡°Er... Prince Cang, although I am the Emperor, I don¡¯t dare to ept your greetings.¡± Sweat formed on the forehead of the Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am not used to this, Prince Cang.¡± The Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire nodded too and said politely.

    He did not dare to not be polite.

    God knows what Fang Zhengzhi was up to.

    ¡°You don¡¯t dare to ept it? However, didn¡¯t the three of you still ept it earlier on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and pointed on the floor with his Traceless Sword.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chills went down the backs of the Emperors of the three empires.

    ¡®You were the one who wanted to greet us, and you are ming us for epting it?¡¯

    The Emperors of the three empires exchanged nces. They had seen how one sabotaged others but this was their first seeing how one ¡°put a me¡± on others by greeting them.

    Wasn¡¯t that being too much?

    That did not make sense at all.

    The Emperors of the three empires kept silent. The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire, especially, med himself for poking his nose into this matter.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell how the Emperors of the three empires felt.

    Afraid?

    That was right!

    ¡°Since all of you have epted my greetings, you should return it, correct?¡± Fang Zhengzhi gave a friendly ¡°reminder¡± to the Emperor of the three empires.

    ¡°Return? Of course!¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire initially thought Fang Zhengzhi wanted him to do something but he heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that all he had to do was to return the greetings.

    Without hesitation, he was about to make a bow.

    However, before he could bend his back, an invisible force caused him to stand upright again. It felt as though a hand held him.

    ¡°...¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was shocked.

    He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was terrifyingly powerful and he could not afford the anger him. However, it was apletely different concept after experiencing it in real life.

    He was too powerful!

    Although the hand was holding him, he felt that it was like a tall mountain that was so powerful that he felt like copsing.

    So... this was the power of the ¡®god¡¯?

    The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was drenched in sweat. He was considered a powerful individual who was at the peak of the Rebirth State. However, he was like an ant in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    He could feel that he would die if Fang Zhengzhi moved his fingers.

    ¡°Prince Cang, you... you are...¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was trying to sound nice.

    ¡°Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire, I was not referring to this as a return gift.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand withdrew the force of Heaven Dao that restraint the Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not this, then...?¡±

    ¡°Gift, of course, it must be a gift,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire froze.

    Was this the so-called ckmailing? Moreover, it was a tant and unreasonable ckmail. Most importantly, he did not dare to not obey Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s request.

    ¡°Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire, is everything alright? I¡¯m not asking too much for you to give me a greeting gift, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled in a friendly manner.

    ¡°Of course not, but what do you want?¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire wiped off the sweat on his forehead and asked.

    ¡°The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?!¡±

    ¡°You...¡±

    Apart from the Emperors of the Radiant Moon Empire and War Pinnacle Empire, even the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire who had kept silent all along widened his eyes and gasped in disbelief.

    The Emperors of the three empires exchanged nces again.

    They could see a simr look in each other¡¯s eyes ¡ª astonishment. That was because none of them expected Fang Zhengzhi to ask for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet straight away.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you know what is the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire spoke first.

    ¡°So are you willing to give it to me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not waste time.

    ¡°Hmph, over my dead body!¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire was extremely certain.

    The other two emperors also looked extremely firm and determined. Aspared to the fear earlier on, their expression now showed how they were willing to die to defend their stand.

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat shocked.

    Based on his understanding, it should not be difficult to get the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet from the Emperors of the three empires. However, the reaction of the Emperors showed otherwise.

    Indeed, that was human nature.

    He took into ount of the unity of humankind and agreed to the terms of the Emperors of the War Pinnacle Empire and Radiant Moon Empire, allowing them to send elites to pluck the flowers in the Source of God.

    However, when the ¡°ultimate interest¡± of the two empires was involved, it was apletely different story.:

    ¡°Prince Cang, I respect you and will agree to anything you ask except for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!¡± said the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire nodded.

    ¡°You can kill me but the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was obtained with the exchange of the life of the past emperor, even if you kill me, I won¡¯t hand it over to you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you can kill the three of us!¡±

    ¡°Even if you can destroy the three empires, you will still not be able to get the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire said firmly.

    ¡°Prince Cang, you have been influenced by the demoness. Please don¡¯t be tricked by her!¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire warned Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. He did not mind killing the three emperors but what would the oue be if he did that?

    Disregarding the impact on their unity, the hundreds of thousands of army of the three empires would be difficult to be dealt with.

    Once he killed the emperors of the three great empires, the army would end up in chaos and a war for ¡°revenge¡± might ensue.

    ¡°What if I exchange the entire Great Xia¡¯snd for it?¡± At this moment, Emperor Lin Mubai who was standing at the side said.

    ¡°Exchange with thend of Great Xia?!¡±

    ¡°You mean you want to use the city to exchange for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Emperors of the Radiant Moon Empire and War Pinnacle Empire, as well as the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire were evidently shocked.

    Using the city to exchange for the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!

    Although this was not something worth celebrating, it could be considered as a ¡°fair exchange¡±. At least, it was worth consideration.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, each of the Radiant Moon Empire and Holy Barbarian Empire has a Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, and the War Pinnacle Empire has two, right?¡± said Lin Mubai again.

    ¡°...¡± The three Emperors exchanged nces and kept quiet.

    ¡°If I offer to exchange two sectors of thend of the Great Xia Dynasty with the four Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, War Pinnacle Empire would get one sector while the Radiant Moon Empire and Holy Barbarian Empire each gets half of the sector, is that alright?¡± Lin Mubai stated his terms.

    ¡°Two sectors?!¡± The three Emperors were astonished again.

    They had initially thought Lin Mubai was joking and would only use thend in remote areas for exchange. They did not expect him to use two sectors for exchange.

    In fact, the entire Great Xia Dynasty only had four sectors ofnd. Two sectors were half of the Great Xia.

    ¡°If you are still not willing to exchange, then I will say, good luck for the battle. The consequences... I am sure all of you know.¡± Lin Mubai¡¯s expression was cold.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°Kill! I will kill you first before exchanging mynd with the sessor of the Holy Barbarian Empire!¡± Lin Mubai was very frank.

    ¡°Haha... How bossy!¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empireughed and nodded. ¡°Alright, I ept the exchange deal. However, we get to pick the ce for exchange. I want two of the residences of the Northern Lands, including the Golden Scale Residence!¡±

    ¡°Alright, the remaining three residences will belong to the Radiant Moon Empire!¡± Lin Mubai agreed without hesitation.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± The Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire said, ¡°I want the east area of the Great Xia Dynasty, is that alright?¡±

    ¡°Haha... Of course, take it.¡± Lin Mubai waved his hand in generosity.

    However, Ping Yang looked displeased. She pouted and her face turned red.

    She knew what the east region represented.

    The capital city of the Great Xia Dynasty was situated below the east region. By handing over the eastern region to the War Pinnacle Empire, it was almost equivalent to exposing the me Capital City to the War Pinnacle Empire.

    ¡°The eastern region is...¡±

    ¡°Yang¡¯er.¡± Qian Yu pulled onto Ping Yang and covered her mouth before shaking her head calmly.

    ¡°Umm... Annoying!¡± Ping Yang broke free from Qian Yu but swallowed her words and cursed angrily.

    Meanwhile, Qian Yu¡¯s expression was strange.

    That was because when Ping Yang resisted, she could not stop Ping Yang at all. It felt as if Ping Yang was an uncontroble furious lion.

    ¡®My daughter...¡¯

    ¡®Has indeed grown up!¡¯

    ¡°Emperor of Great Xia, how are you going to prove that you will do it? Do you dare to sign a contract?¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire was afraid that Lin Mubai would go against his words.

    ¡°Get me a pen and paper!¡± Lin Mubai waved.

    ¡°Roger!¡± A scroll of golden cloth was sent over.

    Without hesitation, Lin Mubai wrote down the details of the exchange and the locations.

    The Emperors of the three great empires heaved a sigh of relief.

    If it was possible, they did not want to go against Fang Zhengzhi as he was a powerful individual who was on par with a ¡°god¡±. Nobody wanted to die.

    Moreover, they knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality too well.

    After Fang Zhengzhi eyed on the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, the emperors knew that it was extremely difficult for them to keep the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet forever. They would rather make the exchange.

    They gained from this!

    The contract for the exchange was finished and all three Emperors were very satisfied. After signing the contract, they took out the ¡°ancient item¡±.

    One of them was a jade that was at the waist area of the Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire. It could be said to be a ¡°brazen¡± one. The other item was hidden more secretively. It was a button on his shirt.

    Thest item was more exaggerated. It was two pearls, one big and one small, sewn on the front and back of the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire¡¯s crown.

    Fang Zhengzhi touched these items and knew that they were treasures to hide things. The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet could definitely be hidden in them.

    ¡°Hmm, there¡¯s nothing wrong.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at Lin Mubai.

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect.¡± Lin Mubai nodded before something struck him. He turned to the three emperors who wereughing happily and said, ¡°Oh, I suddenly remembered something, I think I passed down my throne to Yun¡¯er before I came to the Heaven Zen Mountain, I have stopped addressing myself as the Emperor, did you not notice that?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Theirughter stopped immediately.

 Chapter 1079 - Evolution and Revelation of the Mystery!

    <h4>Chapter 1079: Evolution and Revtion of the Mystery!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Emperors of the three empires could not close their mouths. However, the reason was not that they wereughing but rather because they froze.

    Passed down the throne...

    Lin Mubai said he passed down the throne?

    What did he mean?!

    The emperors of the three empires looked at each other speechlessly with their faces red.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I, Lin Mubai, always keep my promises and will not lie. I have signed the contract. You can pass it to Yun¡¯er. I¡¯m pretty sure he won¡¯t have any objections.¡± Seeing the expressions of the three Emperors, Lin Mubai held his stomach and wanted tough but forcefully controlled himself.

    ¡®Keep my promises?!¡¯

    ¡®Will not lie...¡¯

    What the f*ck?

    Who was he fooling?

    None of the Emperors of the three great empires believed such a ridiculous statement. They have figured out that Lin Mubai was definitely doing it on purpose.

    ¡°Lin Mubai, don¡¯t you think you will wreak havoc by doing this?!¡± said the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire. As the most powerful empire of the four great empires, he had great confidence.

    Once the War Pannicle began a fight the Great Xia, he had an 80 percent chance of winning.

    Meanwhile, after hearing what the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire said, the Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire¡¯s face changed. As an Emperor, how could he tolerate the fact that he was being fooled around like that?

    ¡°If the War Pinnacle Empire starts a battle, the Radiant Moon Empire won¡¯t mind joining!¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was very furious and threatened.

    ¡°The Holy Barbarian Empire will join in too!¡± said the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire.

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Lin Mubai was not afraid at all and looked at the three Emperors in disdain before turning to Qian Yu who was beside him. ¡°Yu¡¯er, what are your thoughts?¡±

    ¡°Kill the empires!¡± Qian Yu said straightforwardly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All three Emperors were stunned.

    Then, they finally saw the features on the face of the female beside Lin Mubai. Instantly, an incident shed through their minds.

    Twenty years ago...

    There was a queen in the Great Xia Dynasty. Back in those days, the four great empires did not have an equal stand. In fact, the Great Xia Dynasty had an absolute advantage.

    That was because the queen ruled by force!

    And Lin Mubai called the queen by the name of Yu¡¯er.

    ¡°I forgot to give an introduction. This is Qian Yu, the ex-queen of the Great Xia Dynasty, the current Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower.¡± Lin Mubai smiled and radiance flowed in his eyes.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This was meant by ruling by force. Just her name alone was sufficient for the three Emperors to swallow their words.

    However, Lin Mubai did not seem to be satisfied yet. He pointed at Ping Yang and continued, ¡°Ping Yang, the Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, the current Tower Master of the Ling Yun Tower. She has just made a breakthrough to the Godly State.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The three Emperors¡¯ faces gradually turned pale.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, the child of Western Liang Prince Yan Yan Qianli, the current ruler of the Western Liang. He had also just made a breakthrough to the Godly State.¡± Lin Mubai pointed at Yan Xiu.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The faces of the three Emperors started to turn purple.

    ¡°Oh, and all of you must be familiar with him, right? Fang Zhengzhi, Prince Cang of the Great Xia Dynasty. I won¡¯t talk about his enlightenment state. Do you need another round of introduction?¡± Lin Mubai pointed at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No thanks!¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire shook his head immediately.

    Introduction?

    Did he need a f*cking introduction?

    He was not blind, he saw how Fang Zhengzhi chased after the Godly Beasts with his sword immediately when he reached the top of the mountain. It would be stupid for him to think that Fang Zhengzhi was weaker than Ping Yang and Yan Xiu.

    Meanwhile, the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire trembled slightly. He was being a f*cking bully. Moreover, he was not admitting it.

    How...

    Ridiculous!

    Could anything be sensible?!

    Wait.

    Talking about being sensible...

    The Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire spotted someone wearing white with white mustache and exuding a fairy-like aura amongst the rest.

    Mu Qingfeng.

    The Pavilion Master of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Someone who could take a neutral stance.

    Just before the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire could speak, the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire had already gone up to Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, I still remember the Holy Region had made a clear agreement with the Four Great Empires. Those who were above the Sagely State are not allowed to take part in the battle of the empires. Do you still remember, Pavilion Master Mu?¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire was extremely frustrated and felt unjust.

    Since the great war 20 years ago, the Sagely State had set a rule.

    This rule restricting anyone who was above the Sagely State to take part in the battle of the empires had continued for twenty years. It was set by the Sagely State and the Four Great Empires. He did not believe that Lin Mubai dared to go against it.,

    ¡°What rule?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked blur. Then, he turned to look at the heavily-injured Mo Shanshi and said, ¡°Old man Mo, is there such a rule?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t remember that.¡± Mo Shanshi looked confused too.

    ¡°Sect Leader Wu, Heavenly Oasis Saint, Prince Yan, do any of you remember this rule?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at Wu Yuer, Heavenly Oasis Saint and Yan Qianli.

    ¡°What shit are you talking about, just fight it out, there¡¯s no need for such nonsense. If the Northern Barbarians dares to attack, I will be the first one to kill them!¡± Yan Qianli shouted.

    ¡°I agree with old man Yan. If you need the Shadow Sect¡¯s assistance, I will send over my 3000 soldiers.¡± Heavenly Oasis Saint nodded and looked at Wu Yuer. ¡°Yuer, you don¡¯t have any objections, right?¡±

    ¡°How would I dare to object to a decision made by you, master?¡± Wu Yuer looked extremely obedient.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Mu Qingfeng sighed heavily and looked at the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire again. ¡°Look... They don¡¯t remember it anymore, why don¡¯t you ask the rest? Maybe they will remember.¡±

    ¡°...¡± What else could the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire say?

    He had never seen how people ganged up to bully others!

    Fairness!

    What happened to fairness?!

    How shady...

    The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire did not believe that there was nothing wrong. Lin Mubai must have bribes Mu Qingfeng and the rest of the Heaven Dao Pavilion would not be so unfair.

    The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire looked like he was feeling ¡°even more miserable than dying¡±.

    Meanwhile, the Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire quickly turned his frustration to strength. Instead of being frustrated, his face lit up like a blossoming flower.

    ¡°Aiyo, it¡¯s already something that happened twenty years ago. Let¡¯s not bring up anything from the past. Based on my opinion, we should just leave this as it is. Since the past emperor of the Great Xia has already signed the contract, how could he possibly run away? Prince Cang, since we have taken out our Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, the Land of the Source of God...¡±

    ¡°150 people is the maximum number I can offer,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi generously.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! On behalf of the entire poption of the War Pinnacle Empire, I thank you for your favor!¡± The Emperor of the War Pinnacle Empire looked as if he had gained an advantage.

    Meanwhile, Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire turned around.

    Screw the territory!

    It was obvious that everyone was ganging up. At this point, discussing the territory was redundant. One should grasp the opportunity to obtain any advantage if possible.

    Anyway...

    After giving out the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, they could not be retrieved back.

    ¡°Prince Cang, so for the Radiant Moon Empire...¡±

    ¡°120 is the maximum.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waves his hand impatiently.

    ¡°120?¡± The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was stunned for a moment before he quickly bowed and said. ¡°Thank you, Prince Cang, on behalf of the people of the Radiant Moon Empire, I thank you for the favor!¡±

    He who understands the time is a wise man.

    The Emperor of the Radiant Moon Empire was the ssic example. Great Xia Dynasty was extremely strong. He was extremely grateful as long as they did not attack the Radiant Moon Empire.

    Talk about fairness?

    Was it meaningful?

    Since the ancient era, there was only one logic in the world. The winner takes it all. Whoever who was physically stronger would be the one making sense.

    The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire finally understood what was meant by ¡®everyone kicks a man who is down¡¯.

    However, unfortunately, he was being kicked now. It was saddening and he felt helpless.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire sighed and lowered his head. ¡°Lin Mubai, although the Holy Barbarian Empire had some grudges with Great Xia, that was already in the past. On behalf of the entire poption of the Holy Barbarian Empire, I hope that you can show mercy...¡±

    ¡°Save your efforts.¡± Lin Mubai waved his hands and looked at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Prince Cang, how should we deal with the Holy Barbarian Empire?¡±

    ¡°Anything, the territory is big enough anyway,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi casually.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s arrange for 100 elites for the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian.¡± Lin Mubai heaved a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t willing to agree.

    After all, from his perspective, he was the one who was taking advantage of others.

    After getting the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet and from the Holy Barbarian Empire and the other two empires, he felt bad for not handing over the territory.

    ¡°Thank you, past emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty!¡± The Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire bowed to Lin Mubai before turning to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Thank you Prince Cang for helping!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded in response. He did not agree because he suddenly turned generous but was rather forced to work with the Four Great Empires.

    Not to mention the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire, the hundreds of thousands of the troops had a lot of soldiers backing them up.

    By being able to ept Lin Mubai¡¯s invitation and send soldiers to the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Emperor of the Holy Barbarian Empire could be said to be taking care of the big picture.

    However, he was fussy over the benefits.

    This was human nature.

    After all, in order to be the Emperor, one had to be concerned about benefits.

    ...

    After sessfully obtaining four of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, Fang Zhengzhi alone already had 32 out of the 36 Maps of ess to Heaven and only needed four more.

    Meanwhile, 28 of the maps had already been pieced together to form the Guangling Painting.

    So here came the question...

    Where were the remaining four maps?

    Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Yun Qingwu who was nearby. Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu turned around and stopped looking at Fang Zhengzhi, seemingly being unwilling to answer him.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt strange.

    By right, since Yun Qingwu was willing to remind Fang Zhengzhi about the three Emperors¡¯ possession of the Maps of ess to Heaven, she ought to not hide anything from him.

    But why did she not continue borating?

    Fang Zhengzhi still could not read Yun Qingwu¡¯s mind.

    However, the Emperors of the three empires had already quickly picked out the elites. A few hundred of them walked out from the troops and most of them were the Generals.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not question further.

    Although they were the elites amongst the three empires, once they entered the Source of God and had their powers upgraded, they could be a powerful source of help for the human race.

    He looked in a distance away...

    The battle over the fruit had already reached the fierce stage. The three beasts and the twelve warlocks were all slightly injured.

    However, as they were in the Source of God, their injuries healed very quickly and they continued the battle with full determination.

    However, at this moment, a beam of golden lightnded from the sky.

    It was extraordinarily fast.

    While Hun Dun was trapped, Qiong Qi and the other few warlocks took the opportunity to dash down to the fruit

    ¡°Roar!¡± Hun Dun roared furiously.

    Hong You and the other warlocks were evidently stunned. They knew what the golden light was about and wanted to stop it but it was toote.

    The golden light fell and flew into the sky again.

    The fruit on the ground had disappeared.

    ¡°Kun Peng!¡± Qiong Qi shouted in frustration. He knew that Kun Peng would do this but still underestimated his speed.

    He was extremely fast.

    Kun Peng¡¯s speed was definitely one of the fastest amongst the Godly Beasts. In fact, considering his agility and control of the air, he could be said to be the best.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Loudughter was heard from the sky before the golden light shone brightly and formed rays.

    The gigantic wings doubled in size immediately and the wings expanded in such a way that it could almost block out the entire sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi was stunned when he looked up and saw that.

    One fruit in the Source of God could cause a Godly Beast to evolve until its powers grew by multiple times.

    It was way too terrifying.

    ¡°Hold on, if the Source of God could cause the Godly Beast to evolve, then why was it being sealed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not rush to snatch the fruits and flowers as he felt that something was wrong.

    In fact, there may be a huge secret involved. A secret that could reveal the answer to the mystery after Emperor Huang entered the gxy.

 Chapter 1080 - Being Extremely Flirtatious!

    <h4>Chapter 1080: Being Extremely Flirtatious!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    All along, Fang Zhengzhi did not understand a few questions.

    The first would be the truth to the ancient Godly battle. Although there were relevant records on the ck Stone Tablet and the tomb of Emperor Huang, these records were way too vague.

    That felt like...

    Someone intentionally made some changes.

    It was very strange.

    The biggest reason for this suspicion was the attitude of the ancient demons and monsters. They did not seem to learn their lesson from the ancient Godly battle.

    This was way too strange.

    The second reason was the mystery of why Emperor Huang Xuanyuan entered the gxy and what happened after that.

    As for the third reason, it was none other than thend of the Source of God.

    There were very little records about the Source of God.

    Both the Four Great Empires and the Holy Region did not have a detailed description of the location of the Source of God. However, relevant records had always existed.

    For example, Yun Qingwu¡¯s ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± described the Source of God and how the flowers and fruits were full of vitality.

    Once one obtained the fruit, one could evolve to be a God.

    All of these may sound extremely ¡°mythological¡±. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi did not believe how one fruit could make one a God.

    However, what happened in front of them validated this.

    Kun Peng obtained a fruit and his powers grew tremendously. Simrly, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Monster Emperor Baizhi had an obvious increase in their powers.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi especially, had her ninth tail regrown!

    This was too exaggerated.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not feel that this was hard to understand. However, he felt that such a thing went against the ¡°regtions¡±, the ¡°regtions¡± of Heaven and earth.

    As the ancient saying went, ¡®nothing can be aplished without norms or regtions.¡¯

    If thend of the Source of God could really help one to turn into a ¡°God¡± so quickly, then who on earth would be bothered to train?

    Moreover, why was this magical ce sealed up for such a long time and nobody knew about it?

    A ce where countless people could be gods...

    Nobody knew about this ce for thousands of years. This was very strange as, after all, this ce existed in the ancient era.

    ¡°So what was the problem? The restrictednd that Yun Qingwu mentioned... what did it refer to?¡± Fang Zhengzhi really could not figure it out.

    He felt that something was wrong.

    However, he could not pinpoint the exact problem. After all, the information he had was too little. In fact, almost all the information about the Source of God came from Yun Qingwu.

    This made him even more suspicious.

    For example, could Yun Qingwu be intentionally hiding some things? Or, who wrote ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±? Was the information recorded in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± real or fake?

    There were too many possibilities.

    The oue could be affected if any part of the event went wrong.

    Fang Zhengzhi felt like he had fallen into a maze, there were all sorts of paths around him and he could not make a choice.

    At this moment, he heard various excited screams.

    ¡°I broke through, I broke through!¡±

    ¡°The aura here is too soothing, I feel that my whole heart had been cleansed and I am about to make a breakthrough any moment, this is amazing!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... I managed to breakthrough from the Supernatural State to the Rebirth State!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The sounds were filled with excitement.

    Meanwhile, the gloomy look of the Emperors of the three dynastiespletely disappeared upon seeing this. Thend of the Source of God was indeed extraordinary.

    If they were able to stay here for weeks, the number of elite Generals could increase by many times, perhaps dozens of times.

    The nation depended on its people!

    Although not all the Emperors understand this logic, they knew that the increase in power of the Generals affected the overall power of the country.

    ¡°It really allows for a breakthrough?¡± Fang Zhengzhi already knew how powerful thend of the Source of God was but he was still surprised.

    What exactly was the Land of the Source of God?

    Was it a coincidence for it to appear now?

    Fang Zhengzhi always felt ¡°strange¡± about it but none of the people in the Human Alliance noticed his thoughts.

    The generals who had entered the Source of God made continuous breakthroughs. The Emperors of the three empires were ted.

    Meanwhile, Lin Mubai also sent quite arge number of generals into thend of the Source of God.

    That included Marquis Xing Yuanguo. Under his leadership, the Generals of the Great Xia Dynasty began to harvest the flowers crazily.

    As for Mu Qingfeng and the rest...

    They began to move before the three great empires even attacked.

    Mo Shanshi was already severely injured beforehand. However, after consuming several flowers, not only did his injuriespletely disappear, he became extremely energized and was jumping like a monkey.

    ¡°I feel that I am at least twenty years younger now!¡± Mo Shanshi was very excited and he started to taste the flowers that were growing beautifully one by one.

    Mu Qingfeng also did not ck.

    He had reached the boundary of a breakthrough and could reach the Godly State he had always been dreaming about at any point in time. He was definitely unwilling tog behind.

    In fact, apart from Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shanshi and the rest, Lin Mubai and Qian Yu also started to consume the flowers as they enjoyed the intense vitality exuded from the Land of the Source of God.

    Evidently, the rtionship between the ¡°couple¡± was stabilizing. Lin Mubai was smiling and had plucked a flower to put on Qian Yu¡¯s hair.

    ¡°One was so beautiful that others cannot forget her looks.¡±

    ¡°One day of not seeing her caused one to go crazy from missing her.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    One had to admit that Lin Mubai was very flirtatious when he tried.

    The ¡°Phoenix¡± poem made Qian Yu, the ¡°tigress¡±,ugh in extreme joy.

    There were millions of opportunities in thend of the Source of God.

    Every flower, tree, grass and stones were filled with life.

    In this environment, one¡¯s mood definitely became happier and more excited, especially since Fang Zhengzhi had seized the territory from the others.

    How wonderful and joyful.

    The entirend of Source of God presented twopletely different auras.

    The half where Fang Zhengzhi was had a proud and happy vibe while the other half was filled with battles and anger.

    Hun Dun was tricked by the twelve warlocks and lost the fruit. He wanted to sabotage Kun Peng.

    However, Kun Peng¡¯s powers had increased tremendously, was at high ground and extremely agile. It was extremely tough for him to sabotage him.

    Therefore, he vented his anger on the twelve warlocks.

    ¡°Today, I promise I will kill all of you!¡± Hun Dun roared furiously and pounced forward. Like a rolling stone, he wanted to crush the twelve warlocks.

    The mountain cracked...

    Even though the twelve warlocks had huge builds, they could not stand the insane impact of Hun Dun. Therefore, they dodged rapidly.

    Then, the two parties began to engage in a chase.

    It was extremely violent.

    Many unnecessary injuries were caused inevitably. The Godly Beasts who were weaker were crushed by Hun Dun and had their bones broken before they could even open their mouths and eat the flowers.

    Blood stained the entire ground red.

    Blood flowed in the Land of the Source of God.

    However, strangely, there was no bloody scent. In fact, the fragrance in the Land of the Source of God became more and more intense and masked the bloody scentpletely.

    Another fruit appeared after a while.

    It was a white fruit. An ice-cold sensation exuded from the fruit and froze the air around it.

    Cracking sounds were heard.

    The Godly Beasts became even wilder. They approached the fruit with bloodshot eyes and werepletely unfearful of the cold air.

    ¡°Why did it appear at that side again, why don¡¯t our side have any fruits?¡± Ping Yang was unhappy when she saw the fruit at a distance.

    ¡°It¡¯s a blessing in disguise,¡± replied Chi Guyan coldly.

    ¡°Sister Yan, what do you mean?¡± Ping Yang did not really understand what Chi Guyan meant.

    ¡°If the fruit appeared in our territory, what should we do when the Godly Beasts charged over?¡± Chi Guyan asked as she touched Ping Yang¡¯s head.

    ¡°Then we will fight it out with them!¡± said Ping Yang in a determined manner.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Chi Guyanughed slightly and stopped.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was deep in thought again.

    Based on probability, he upies half of the Land of the Source of God. By right, there was 50 percent of chance the fruit would appear in his territory.

    However, both of the fruits appeared at the other half...

    That was strange.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not dwell over this matter. After all, it was still possible for both fruits to appear on the other half of thend.

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest wanted to snatch the fruit.

    However, unfortunately, they were not powerful enough and could only give up on this idea temporarily as they looked for more flowers to eat.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not go forward to snatch the fruit.

    There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he had yet to figure out the issue of the Land of the Source of God. Secondly, there were disparities between the powers of the humans and the Monster Race and Demon Race. It was not the best time to snatch the fruit now.

    After the Origin Energy in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body hadpleted changed and he managed to make a breakthrough along with the others, perhaps it would be worth a try!

    It was better for them to not be involved at this point.

    That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought now. Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu also did not oppose to that. Others stood beside Fang Zhengzhi and watched the fight quietly from a distance away.

    The oue of the battle of the fruit was out.

    A Godly Beast who looked like a snake crawled out from under the ground and swallowed the fruit, depriving the twelve warlocks and Hun Dun from getting it.

    However, the casualties were worse than earlier on.

    Perhaps the Godly Beasts thought that there was only a fixed number of fruits, they became extremely violent. Three or four Godly Beasts and five or six Demon soldiers of the Chi You Race died in this round.

    It was a deadly fight.

    Blood sttered across the sky andnded on the flowers and grass.

    The Godly Beasts looked extremely furious.

    However, the intense vitality healed their wounds quickly and they were energized again.

    At this moment, another fruit appeared.

    It was still at the other half of the territory!

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar!

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Whoever who dares to snatch this fruit will die!¡± Hun Dun was extremely furious and red with anger.

    This time, he did not show any mercy and went all out.

    Whoever who dared to block him, regardless of demons or Godly Beasts, he knocked them over.

    The twelve warlocks also turned crazy. They had suffered a great loss after five or six demon generals died, how could they give Hun Dun the fruit?

    ¡°Not that side again? Annoying!¡± Ping Yang was annoyed.

    Chi Guyan did not say anything. She looked at Yun Qingwu nonchntly and seemed to be deep in thought.

    Yun Qingwu fell silent.

    She did not bother fighting over the fruit. Instead, she stood silently on the spot like a white jade sculpture.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not get involved or stop this fight as, after all, the Godly Beasts came from the ancient era and she could not control them.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly.

    The third fruit appeared on the other side again. This was a little too much.

    Of course, he did not want the fruit to appear in his territory now but he was suspicious as nothing had yet to appear in his territory.

    It was a strange thought.

    However, he had to still wait a little until all of his Origin Energy had transformed in his Small Dimension before he attacked.

    He felt that two-thirds of his Origin Energy had be as clear as gemstone. It should be soon.

    This could be rted to the Land of the Source of God too.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about eating the flowers as he knew that he had sufficient Origin Energy in his Small Dimension. He needed quality instead of quantity as more quantity only prolonged the time he needed for a breakthrough.

    However, that did not mean that he stopped inhaling the fragrance. The fragrance still gave him a lot of energy when he breathed in.

    The Origin Energy in his Small Dimension was changing rapidly.

    It became clearer and brighter.

    At this moment, he felt a wave near him.

    Buzz!

    The air vibrated and a powerful gust of air spread out like waves in all directions.

    Then, another bright beam of light shone. It was golden and extremely holy. With a sharp aura, it felt as though a holy spirit wasing.

 Chapter 1081 - Change, The Last Opportunity!

    <h4>Chapter 1081: Change, The Last Opportunity!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I made a breakthrough! Finally!¡± An excited voice was heard from Mu Qingfeng who had managed to break through the boundary of the Godly State.

    It was his dream to be able to make a breakthrough to the Godly State.

    He was definitely excited since he managed to aplish it.

    However, Ping Yang gave him a strange look upon seeing this and nced at Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Shameless brat, even Mu Qingfeng managed to make a breakthrough, why haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Haha.¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed and did not reply.

    Did he need to reply?

    No.

    He could not be bothered about the breakthroughs. They were merely worthless things that he did not care about. As for whether he was salty about it, only he knew it the best.

    ¡°Congrattions, Pavilion Master Mu!¡±

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu is indeed our role model!¡±

    ¡°Now, humankind has greater hope.¡±

    Yan Qianli and Heavenly Oasis Saint congratted Mu Qingfeng.

    However, Mo Shanshi seemed to be unhappy. All along, he and Mu Qingfeng were good friends. Seeing how Mu Qingfeng managed to break through made him slightly unhappy.

    However, even though he was unhappy, he did not feel jealous because he was injured and it was reasonable for him to make the breakthroughter than Mu Qingfeng.

    The Human Alliance could be said to be very harmonious.

    However, the Godly Beasts and Demon Race, on the other hand, were extremely violent. With the attack of Hun Dun, many Godly Beasts and the soldiers of the Chi You Race died in pools of blood.

    Some of them died because of the spears.

    Some died because they tried to block the attacks.

    Blood flowed amongst the flowers and grass, umting to form a river before disappearing very quickly as though they were absorbed by the soil.

    The situation was violent.

    However, surprisingly, there was no reduction in the number of flowers. Instead, more and more beautiful flowers started growing from the soil.

    ¡°Something is wrong,¡± said Chi Guyan as she looked at the flowers and frowned.

    ¡°You think so too?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm. The flowers seemed to be growing much faster on the other side. The probability of fruits appearing there is also much greater.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    ¡°Does that mean our fengshui <sup>1</sup> is not good?¡± Ping Yang demonstrated her imagination when she heard what Chi Guyan said.

    ¡°What fengshui...¡± Fang Zhengzhi rolled his eyes. Ping Yang was such a naive and cute girl. Sometimes she was witty but sometimes she was very dumb.

    ¡°Is it not because of fengshui?¡± Ping Yang mumbled.

    ¡°It¡¯s blood.¡± Yun Qingwu said. Simrly to Chi Guyan, she had been observing the actions of her opponents.

    ¡°Blood?¡± Ping Yang was very confused.

    ¡°Perhaps this is the truth of the Land of the Source of God!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze was fixated on the flowers that bloomed continuously and started to frown even more.

    If he was not wrong, the Land of the Source of God was probably a huge scheme.

    However, he did not understand who was the one who plotted the scheme and who could do so.

    Control the Source of God!

    It was extremely terrifying to think about how one made the Godly Beasts and Demon Race kill each other to achieve one¡¯s ulterior motive.

    ¡°Roar!¡± At this moment, Hun Dun roared furiously and swallowed a Godly Beast who had a build of a small mountain.

    However, at the instant when he was about to swallow the Godly Beast, a shadow zoomed past him and snatched the fruit in an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Hun Dun was furious. He leaped up immediately and charged towards the figure at his fastest speed.

    Boom! A loud sound was heard.

    Qiong Qi and Tao Wu descended at the same time and stepped on the figure violently.

    It was a Godly Beast who looked like a deer.

    The fruit had disappeared and was evidently swallowed by that Godly Beast as his body transformed continuously and looked as though he was evolving.

    However, he was still not capable enough to match up to Qiong Qi and Tao Wu.

    At this moment, Hun Dun reached. He opened his big mouth and it was like a gigantic ck hole that made one shudder in fear.

    Then, a terrifying scene took ce. Hun Dub swallowed the Godly Beast who had eaten the fruit and the situation was insane.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts were stunned.

    They did not expect Hun Dun to be so crazy.

    Meanwhile, after swallowing the Godly Beast, Hun Dun gave a fierce look and stared around with his cold eyes while making grumbling sounds.

    The other Godly Beasts stepped back instinctively upon seeing this.

    He swallowed the Godly Beast who had eaten the fruit...

    This terrifying cruelty evoked fear amongst the other Godly Beasts.

    ¡°I said, I will kill anyone who dares to snatch the fruit from me!¡± Hun Dun roared as he raised his head, looking like a God of Death who murdered others in the battlefield.

    However, after hepleted his sentence, his gaze changedpletely.

    He looked as though he was in extreme difort. His mouth opened and he looked like he was trying to spit something out from his mouth.

    The Godly Beasts realized, to their horror, nothing as expected happened on Hun Dun¡¯s body and no radiance flowed from it.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡± Hun Dun rolled on the ground in pain as he opened his mouth and spat out blood and flesh. Meanwhile, his body expanded continuously.

    ¡°Hun Dun, are you alright?¡± asked Qiong Qi.

    However, Hun Dun was unable to reply to him and continued to roll on the ground, causing cracks to form and stones to fly all over the ce.

    Then, a loud boom was heard.

    Boom!

    Hun Dun¡¯s body exploded and blood fell like rain on the grass, covering all the flowers on the ground.

    It was a terrifying scene.

    The even more terrifying thing was how nothing flew out from Hun Dun¡¯s stomach after his body exploded. The Godly Beast who looked like a deer disappeared too.

    ¡°Did both of them die?!¡±

    ¡°Why did this happen?¡±

    ¡°What... exactly happened?¡±

    The Godly Beasts were astonished while the Generals of the Demon Race were confused as everything was just too strange.

    If Hun Dun had died because he swallowed the Godly Beast, then the deer-like Godly Beast should be the one killing Hun Dun.

    However, the deer-like Godly Beast also vanished.

    That was so strange.

    The Godly Beasts were stunned and could not figure out what had happened.

    Meanwhile, the Heaven Zen Mountain suddenly shook as dust formed and broken rocks flew all over the ce as though the ground almost cracked open.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hong You and the twelve warlocks looked extremely puzzled.

    Hun Dun died out of the blue. After that, the Heaven Zen Mountain shook and this caused them to have a bad premonition.

    Apart from them, the other Godly Beasts also felt unsafe.

    To the Godly Beasts, the premonition was their sharpest skill. Although they were not as good as Monster Emperor Baizhi in terms of their sense of premonition, they could still sense danger immediately.

    However, although it was dangerous, none of the Godly Beasts flew or left because they were too attracted to the Land of the Source of God.

    The entire floor of flower, fruits, and opportunities.

    They could not give those up.

    However, at this moment, a gasp of surprise was heard. It was made by one of the demons and he sounded extremely panicky.

    After that, the Godly Beasts realized that the demon was holding a flower.

    However...

    The flower was withering.

    The initial vitality disappeared entirely and it looked extremely dead.

    ¡°The flower withered?!¡±

    ¡°Ah... Look, the grass on the ground!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    After the first gasp, the second, and the third, more gasps were heard as all the Godly Beasts and demons behaved strangely.

    The Land of the Source of God Which was initially filled with vitality was bing ¡°quiet¡±.

    The flowers on the ground withered and the initially green grass also turned yellow and died.

    This change shocked the Godly Beasts and Demons.

    It was as though an opportunity disappeared right in front of their eyes. Every single one of them dashed forward to pluck the flowers which had yet to wither.

    However, it was toote.

    Even though they managed to pluck the flowers, before they could put them in their mouths, they had all turned into ¡°dead objects¡±.

    All the flowers had withered.

    That included the grass, flowers, and trees at the region where Fang Zhengzhi was at. All of them were disappearing and in a blink of an eye, cracked rocks appeared on the ground.

    ¡°No!!!¡±

    ¡°The opportunities...¡±

    ¡°Fruit, my fruit!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons gasped. They felt extremely sad as they stared at the rocks which had appeared on the ground. None of them could understand what had happened.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng, who was near Fang Zhengzhi, was also extremely shocked.

    He was making use of the Land of the Source of God to break through but now that the Land of the Source of God was disappearing, he felt extremely confused and was unwilling to ept the truth.

    He was unwilling to ept it because he had yet to secure his Enlightenment State.

    He was confused because he did not understand why something so strange happened?

    Of course, Mo Shanshi was the most affected. He had thought that he still stood a chance to make a breakthrough even though it would happen after Mu Qingfeng.

    Now that the Land of the Source of God was dying, how could he ept that?

    ¡°No, this is impossible, how can this ce disappear?! Dig, I want to see what the hell is underneath!¡± Mo Shanshi started to hit the ground with his hammer.

    This attracted the attention of the Godly Beasts and the Demons around them.

    They began to move.

    The Godly Beasts and the demons started to hit the ground and dig underneath as they tried to find what else could there be under the withered flowers.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what else is there underneath?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five also became impatient.

    Initially, he was not worried at all. However, now that the Source of God was about to disappear, he started to be slightly anxious and wanted to know what was under the rocks.

    ¡°A tree.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    ¡°Tree? What tree?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was confused.

    ¡°If I am not wrong, it should be a tree made up of Origin Energy. However, it is no longer there,¡± exined Fang Zhengzhi based on his understanding.

    ¡°Was it consumed by you?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five widened his eyes.

    ¡°You can say so, but the process is different.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not know how to answer his question.

    ¡°Do you mean that there is nothing underneath now?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five pauses slightly before raising the question again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but probably not.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing left, why are there still intense movements?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five asked as he did not believe it.

    Boom!

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could answer his question, the ground cracked open again and the rocks which had cracked open instantly turned into powder form.

    The movement was extremely big.

    It was bigger than the movement when the four ancient beasts destroyed the Heaven Zen Mountain. All of the broken rocks were broken by a powerful force and disappeared.

    Meanwhile, the roots which were tangled underground crackedpletely and nothing could stop the powerful force from gushing down the mountain.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, let¡¯s go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt that something was wrong. He felt as though something was about toe out from the ground.

    ¡°Run!¡± Mu Qingfeng was cautious too.

    Although he was still unwilling to give up, he was not crazy enough to stay behind. He immediately leaped into the sky.

    As Mu Qingfeng leaped, Heavenly Oasis Saint, Mo Shanshi, and the rest also leaped.

    Wu Yuer was held by Heavenly Oasis Saint while Yan Qianli and the rest stayed in the air stably for a while with their powers.

    Ping Yang had flown into the sky long ago.

    That was because she had Bi Fang, a pet who knew how to fly. Therefore, she had no problems at all.

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu also leaped. As they were both at the Godly State, they had no problems with flying. The only one left was Yun Qingwu.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi went to Yun Qingwu, hugged her and expanded his ck-Golden Wings.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± He went up into the sky.

    Meanwhile, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five pulled the unconscious Nangong Mu along and they reached midair almost immediately.

    They were wary of the danger. Simrly, the Godly Beasts and Demons also felt a sense of danger.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar...

    ¡°Run!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the demons flew up.

    However, some of them remained as they were unwilling to give up on this opportunity. They went down as the ground cracked open.

    ¡°There must be something beneath the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi and the rest got theirs under the mountain!¡±

    ¡°I have to get it first!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demon Race who went down were aware of the idea of ¡°the fastest takes it all¡± and wanted to get hold of thest opportunity amidst the danger.

 Chapter 1082 - Appear, Heaven-Opening Axe!

    <h4>Chapter 1082: Appear, Heaven-Opening Axe!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Dust flew in the sky.

    Most of the Godly Beasts and Demons had flown up to the sky. Simrly, a minority of the Godly Beasts and Demons went down towards the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    That was because they had role models.

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest had once fallen to the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain. Initially, they thought that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest would definitely die but all of them managed to escape unscathed.

    Moreover, all of them reached the Godly State.

    In this situation, there were definitely risk-takers amongst the Godly Beasts and Demons. Only the one who was brave enough was able to seize the tremendous opportunity.

    ¡°Rumble!¡± The ground exploded open continuously.

    The entire Heaven Zen Mountain was crumbling. The mountain split open from the middle and arge crack was formed. It was pitch ck and filled with dust, and nobody could see what was at the foot of the mountain.

    Meanwhile, at this moment, a scream of horror was heard from the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    After that, he spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood gushed out like spring water and caused the air to be filled with an intense bloody scent.

    Without the scent of the flowers, the scent of blood became more intense.

    ¡°What on earth is down there?¡± Hong You was surprised as he knew that the scream was from a general of the demon race.

    What on earth killed him?

    Was it a Godly Beast?

    Hong You could not confirm. If they fought with each other in the dust, it meant that there was probably a huge opportunity at the foot of the mountain.

    However, the did not hear the sounds of people fighting.

    He only heard the mountain rocks crumbling.

    Qiong Qi and the other Godly Beasts stared at the dust as they tried to make out what had happened too.

    However, theyer of dust was too thick such that they could not make out anything.

    At this moment, the second scream of agony was heard. After that, a mouthful of blood burst out and it looked extremely bloody at this critical moment.

    ¡°Another one dead?!¡± Besides Hong You, Qiong Qi and the rest of the Godly Beasts, as well as Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, were extremely shocked.

    That was because it was obvious that a Godly Beast had died.

    The loud beastly roar echoed in the mountain and it was filled with terror.

    After that, a terrifying event happened. The beastly roar of the Godly Beast and the sharp screams of the demons resonated from the Heaven Zen Mountain.

    Almost every Godly Beast and Generals of the Demon Race were screaming.

    ¡°What was it that made the Godly Beasts and Generals of the Demon Race scream in unison?!¡± All of the Godly Beasts, Demons, and humans in the sky felt chills down their backs.

    Many Godly Beasts and Demons went down.

    There were more than thirty of them.

    All of the Godly Beasts and demons shouted in agony together. How terrifying must the thing at the bottom of the mountain be?

    ¡°Should we go down to take a look?¡±

    ¡°No, wait a little longer!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons exchanged gazes and rose higher into the sky. None of them were willing to go down.

    Meanwhile, at this moment, a gigantic figure suddenly appeared.

    It was extraordinarily fast!

    It charged out from the Heaven Zen Mountain like a mountain and went towards the sky. Its eyes were bloodshot and looked like two rednterns.

    ¡°What is that?!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, dodge...¡±

    ¡°Wait, he looks like ¡®Lu Shu¡¯ <sup>1</sup> !¡±

    ¡°Lu Shu?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were stunned.

    Lu Shu was one of the Godly Beasts. He had a body of a horse and the fur of a tiger. He had a gigantic build and was extremely fast.

    Lu Shu went down earlier on.

    Yet now, he was trying to get out of the Heaven Zen Mountain with all his might.

    ¡°Quickly, quickly tell us what happened inside there?¡± One of the Godly Beasts shouted at Lu Shu and tried to get some details from him.

    ¡°Run, quickly...¡± screamed Lu Shu.

    However, he did notplete his sentence as a gigantic arm appeared behind him and grabbed onto his hind leg violently.

    ¡°No!!! Let me go, let me go!¡± Lu Shu roared crazily as he fiddled with the broken rocks with his front legs, trying hard to get out.

    However, the broken rocks immediately turned into dust.

    He could not grasp onto them at all.

    Boom!

    Lu Shu¡¯s body was forcefully dragged down by the gigantic hand and was buried in the dust instantly. Only the echoes of the astonished roars were left in the mountain.

    ¡°A hand?!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s indeed something at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain!¡±

    ¡°What is it? It managed to capture Lu Shu?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the demons¡¯ faces changed. They felt an immense sense of danger and wanted to escape. However, they did not dare to make their move as they were lured by the Source of God.

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything, take it out and we will kill him together!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that it can kill all of us. There must be opportunities at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain, a huge opportunity!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were determined.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi flew a distance in the sky with Yun Qingwu. That was because the hand was way too big and looked like a hard meteorite that had green patterns all over it.

    ¡°Shameless brat, I... I am a little scared...¡± Ping Yang leaned towards Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan and seemed to be trembling.

    ¡°Fly upwards a little more.¡± Chi Guyan frowned too.

    The true identity of the hand must be pretty extraordinary in order for it to be able to kill the Godly Beasts so easily. It could probably be the real mastermind of the scheme of the Land of the Source of God.

    However, that was still slightly impossible.

    A monster who could kill Godly Beasts beneath the Source of God?

    It sounded impossible.

    After all, based on the records on the stone tablet, after the ancient battle, all of the powerful individuals stopped the Cosmic Disaster with Mother Earth and almost everyone was trapped in the gxy in the sky.

    By right, there should not be any powerful monsters in this world.

    If there was, why did it not move for so many years?

    ¡°Ping Yang, what did you exactly see when you peered at the ¡®tree roots¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also very curious.

    When they were at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain, they were not attacked by any monsters. ording to Ping Yang, there was nothing in the tree roots too.

    ¡°Nothing? There¡¯s nothing at all. Everything is pitch dark and I can¡¯t see anything clearly...¡± Ping Yang shook her head very hard.

    ¡°Pitch dark and you can¡¯t see anything clearly?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan exchanged gazes and their expressions changed to be one that was extremely serious.

    Ping Yang was not lying.

    However, it was precisely because they knew that Ping Yang was not lying, this issue became more important. That was because it was really strange for Ping Yang to not be able to see anything at the root of the tree.

    After all, Ping Yang had reached the Godly State.

    Even someone at the Sagely State had night vision. So what was it that Ping Yang could not see clearly?

    Chills went down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back as he thought about this.

    How fortunate!

    It was very fortunate!

    It was fortunate that Ping Yang, and not any other person, went to take a look at the roots. Or else, the person would probably have gone into the tree roots to look at the details.

    Was this the legendary saying that went ¡°fools are blessed¡±?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, shameless brat, sister Yan, is there anything wrong? There¡¯s nothing inside, I couldn¡¯t see anything!¡± Ping Yang insisted.

    ¡°It is very strange because you couldn¡¯t see anything!¡± reminded Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t see anything, strange? Ah... Yeah, I should have already had night vision with my Enlightenment State, why can¡¯t I see anything?!¡± Ping Yang finally reacted.

    When she managed to make a breakthrough to the Godly State, all she had in mind was to kill some Godly Beasts to practice. When she saw that it was pitch ck inside, she thought that there was nothing.

    Now that she recalled, she realized that something was wrong.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a blessing in disguise, maybe we managed to escape unscathed because of your ¡®stupidity¡¯.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not me Ping Yang.

    ¡°What do you mean by my ¡®stupidity¡¯?!¡± Ping Yang was annoyed.

    Boom!

    At this moment, a loud boom was heard from the Heaven Zen Mountain. All the mountain rocks exploded and shot at the Godly Beasts and Demons in the sky.

    ¡°Hurry, run!¡±

    ¡°Dodge!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons fled but some of the demons were still struck by the stones. However, to them, the impact of the stones was not fatal.

    However, to the troops of the Four Great Empires who had yet to disperse...

    It was fatal.

    When the Heaven Zen Mountain copsed, the troops of the Four Great Empires dashed down the mountain without hesitation.

    However, despite that, they still did not manage to avoid the rockspletely.

    After all, everything happened too quickly. The mountain rocks copsed a crushed the troops of the Four Great Empires, causing them to turn into a pile of dead bodies.

    The Emperors of the Four Great Empires had their eyes bloodshot.

    Nearly half of the tens of thousands of soldiers who were the elites of the empires had died in the pile of mountain rocks. This was extremely unexpected.

    They were not killed by the Godly Beasts.

    Neither were they killed by the demon race.

    However, they were buried under the mountain rocks and arge pile of dead bodies was on the ground, staining the mountain rockspletely red.

    This was a battle that had almost wiped out the poption before it started.

    A mountain copsed.

    Aspared to a Cosmic Disaster, it was worse,

    ¡°Shameless thief, save them!¡± Chi Guyan immediately moved and arge number of bright spots turned into a gigantic light screen.

    The light screen shrouded the troops of the Four Great Empires like a gemstone.

    However, despite that, it was still unable topletely block out all the mountain rocks.

    Screams of agony were heard.

    Seeing this, Fang Zhengzhi moved without hesitation. Large patches of azure blue lightnded and shone through the light screen.

    After that, the soldiers who were crushed under the mountain rocks vanished into thin air.

    Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    Fang Zhengzhi used the Heavenly Rebirth Dao to send the soldiers down to the bottom of the mountain. However, such a gigantic troop used up the majority of his powers.

    After Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan made their moves consecutively, Mu Qingfeng and the rest also moved. Many light screens shone down and protected the troops of the Four Great Empires as they made their evacuation.

    All the Emperors of the Four Great Empires cried.

    They came all the way to the Heaven Zen Mountain to find some opportunities. However, little did they know that not only did they not manage to find anything, but their Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was ¡°snatched¡± away.

    Only they knew how painful this was.

    ¡°Let¡¯s run!¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°All to retreat!¡±

    The Emperors of the three great empires shouted.

    Lin Mubai had a better time aspared to the others as he was hugged by Qian Yu in midair. However, the troops of the Great Xia Dynasty still suffered great loss.

    This time, none of the empires had an advantage.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud boom was heard from the sky before a bolt of lightningnded and looked like it was splitting the sky into two.

    When the lightning bolt struck the Heaven Zen Mountain, the Heaven Zen Mountain could no longer withstand the impact and waspletely destroyed.

    Dust flew all over the ce.

    After that, arge amount of blood light gushed out of the Heaven Zen Mountain. They covered the entire ground like fresh blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?!¡± At this moment, even Qiong Qi who had swallowed the fruit and had his powers increase tremendously felt the threat. That was because the aura was too violent.

    Besides him, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Monster Emperor Baizhi and Hong You also felt stunned. There seemed to be something that scared them greatly in the bloody light.

    ¡°The murderous aura is really strong!¡±

    ¡°It felt as though it can engulf the entire sky!¡±

    ¡°Is this the opportunity at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the Generals of the Demon Race were horrified as the bloody light was moving extremely quickly towards them.

    ¡°Run now!¡± All of them dashed up into the sky.

    However, despite that, some of the slower-moving Godly Beasts and demons were stained by the blood light and made agonizing screams.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s forehead was covered in sweat.

    For this first time in forever, he felt fearful. The intense murderous aura waspletely different from a killing intent. It was way more immense and creepy.

    It felt as though the air froze.

    One¡¯s hands and feet became numb and could not move.

    His powers had increased by seven to eight times and four-fifth of the Origin Energy in his Small Dimension had turned into ocean.

    Yet, he was still affected by the murderous aura. Then what would the other Godly Beasts and demons feel?

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    ¡°No...¡±

    As the agonizing screams were heard, the Godly Beasts and demons who were stained by the bloody light had their reactions slowed down and they seemed to be stuck in their predicament.

    Then, a strange but terrifying scene took ce.

    The bodies of the Godly Beasts withered extremely quickly. Their flesh vanished and their bones were filled with a deadly aura. Eventually, their bones turned into powder form.

    Boom!

    At this moment, a gigantic hand stretched out from the bloody light and a gigantic ax came out from the ground and sliced the ground and the bloody light apart.

    It was a gigantic ax that was as red as blood and exuded a terrifying aura. The blood of the Godly Beast was dripping continuously too.

 Chapter 1083 - Ridiculous Attack!

    <h4>Chapter 1083: Ridiculous Attack!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The terrifying murderous aura shot up into the sky and caused the sky to darken.

    ¡°Ax?!¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All of the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race stared at the gigantic ax from the ground and shuddered uncontrobly as the murderous aura surged out from the ax.

    It felt as though it was about to split open the sky and earth after having remained dormant for thousands of years.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A beastly roar was heard and the bloody light swarmed towards a gigantic hand.

    The bloody light umted to form a gigantic shield.

    A sword and an ax!

    The gigantic ax had an intense murderous aura while the gigantic shield was as heavy as a mountain.

    After that, a gigantic figure charged out from the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain. It was more than hundred feet tall and was covered with dust as thick red haze was formed beneath his feet.

    ¡°What monster is that?!¡±

    ¡°So huge!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the generals of the demon race were extremely shocked.

    As the dust settled down, the gigantic figure became clear. It had thick arms and was wearing a thick ck armor at the bottom half of its body.

    However, that was not the main point...

    Most importantly, the gigantic figure had no head.

    ¡°No head?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze froze. When he saw the ax and sword earlier on, a legend immediately shed across his mind.

    The legend stated that when Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang ruled the world, there used to be a general under Emperor Yan who had a gigantic frame and wasparable to the giants of the Chi You race.

    In fact, before the two emperors coborated and was in the midst of the great battle. This general wanted to fight alongside Emperor Huang but was strictly banned by Emperor Yan.

    After Emperor Huang Xuanyuan lost to Chi You, this general could no longer hold it in and swore to fight alongside Emperor Huang to take over the world. They wanted to start a battle on the Changyang Mountain.

    The general was none other than Xing Tian!

    ¡°So the Heaven Zen Mountain was the Changyang Mountain of the ancient times?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely shocked and he hoped that all of this was not true.

    However, when the bloody light disappeared and a gigantic body was seen, he frowned.

    ¡°Xing Tian?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s Xing Tian!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible, he did not die?!¡±

    All the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race, as well as Mu Qingfeng and the rest, had their eyes wide open when they saw the headless giant..

    Xing Tian¡¯s name was way too terrifying.

    That was because he was the only one, apart from Chi You, who dared to fight against Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    And this ¡°battle god¡± of the ancient era appeared again with his ax and shield, climbing out of the Heaven Zen Mountain and stood in front of others.

    How could the people not feel terrified?!

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword. ¡®It¡¯s Xing Tian, what is going on? Why did this ¡®battle god¡¯ who was supposed to be deade back to life?¡¯

    ¡®Didn¡¯t Xing Tian in the battle on the Changyang Mountain?¡¯

    Wait a minute!

    No!

    The legend stated that Emperor Huang Xuanyuan severed the head of Xing Tian and buried it under the Changyang Mountain. However, Xing Tian¡¯s death was not recorded in the legend.

    Some rumors had it that Xing Tian still waved his ax and shield on the Changyang Mountain after his head was severed.

    Although Xing Tian lost, he still waved his ax and shield and wanted to fight on.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian¡¯s bellybutton opened and shouted. He had no intention ofmunicating with the Godly Beasts and the Demons.

    That was because after he finished his sentence, he had attacked. He threw his red gigantic ax towards a Godly Beast who was nearest to him.

    ¡°Ah, no!¡± The Godly Beast screamed and ran away speedily.

    However, Xing Tian¡¯s ax was way too fast and did not give the Godly Beast any chance to escape. It sliced the Godly Beast into half right away.

    Boom!

    The body of the Godly Beast exploded and did not even leave any Monster Pearl behind. It turned into a pool of bloody water andnded on Xing Tian and was immediately absorbed by Xing Tian¡¯s body.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    It was a shocking scene.

    A strike of the ax and a Godly Beast!

    This time, not only did the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race feel astonished, but even Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan and others had their mouths wide open in shock.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew how terrifying Xing Tian was.

    The ancient battle god.

    However, all of those were legends and nobody saw it with their own eyes. Therefore, he did not expect Xing Tian to be so terrifying such that he was able to kill the Godly Beast in seconds.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian shouted again and waved his gigantic ax.

    Boom!

    Space was almost split open by his ax.

    A gigantic crack appeared from his sword and turned into a ck hole, flying towards another Godly Beast nearby like a bolt of lightning.

    This time, the Godly Beast learnt his lesson.

    Before the crack had reached him, he sprinted and fled.

    However, despite that, he was still ¡°caught¡± by the crack and one of his rear leg was forcefully torn off. This caused his body to jerk abruptly.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Godly Beast roared painfully.

    Meanwhile, Xing Tian reached him and with a strike of his ax, he sliced the severely-injured Godly Beast into half.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Blood water fell like the rain.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Astonishment was insufficient to describe the panic that the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race felt as the scene was way too terrifying that it sent chills down one¡¯s back.

    Two strikes of the ax and two Godly Beasts?!

    Moreover, Xing Tian did not stop and continued charging towards the remaining Godly Beasts and generals.

    ¡°Scram!¡± It felt as though Xing Tian only knew how to say this word.

    Of course, apart from that, he still knew how to wave his ax and shield, killing whoever who was in front of him.

    It was too terrifying.

    He was like a massacre machine.

    Moreover, he was unreasonable.

    ¡°Is he nning to kill all the Godly Beasts alone?!¡±

    ¡°Even though he is Xing Tian, he should not be so violent and daring, right?!¡±

    ¡°How detestable!¡±

    Xing Tian¡¯s wildness evoked unhappiness amongst all the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race. Even though Xing Tian was very powerful, he was alone.

    It was crazy for him to kill all the Godly Beasts and the generals of the Demon Race alone.

    Qiong Qi attacked immediately as Xing Tian had already killed two Godly Beasts and was charging towards him. He had no choice but to attack.

    After Qiong Qi, Tao Wu attacked too.

    Two out of the four ancient beasts had already died. They could no longer separate and had to stay united to prevent more deaths.

    Both of the ancient beasts attacked together and charged towards Xing Tian from his left and his right.

    Boom!

    Qiong Qi threw a w at Xing Tian but was blocked by his shield. Afterwards, Xing Tian¡¯s ax had reached the top of Qiong Qi¡¯s head and he was about to kill him with a strike of his ax.

    However, at this moment, a long tail wound around Xing Tian¡¯s arm.

    It was none other than Tao Wu¡¯s tail.

    ¡°Roar! Whoever who do not want to die, follow us!¡± Tao Wu roared furiously. When he wound his tail around Xing Tian¡¯s arm, he could already feel how powerful Xing Tian was.

    Even though he had eaten the fruit and had a rapid increase in his powers, he still could not match up to Xing Tian.

    He was too powerful

    Xing Tian¡¯s powers was at the highest level of the Godly State. His powers were probablyparable to Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang during their peak performance.

    Most importantly, an intense murderous aura exuded from Xing Tian¡¯s body.

    Thousand of years of being dormancy caused the murderous aura to umte in Xing Tian¡¯s body. Now that it was released, it was extremely terrifying.

    Xing Tian could be said to bepletely different from the Xing Tian who had fought against Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in the ancient times. He was so powerful that it was exaggerated.

    Perhaps even Emperor Huang Xuanyuan could not win him.

    The other Godly Beast were stunned.

    Thebined attack of the two ancient beasts still failed to put Xing Tian under control?!

    ¡°Yo!¡± At this moment, a sharp whistle was heard and a beam of golden light fell from the sky.

    Kun Peng!

    He was extremely fast!

    Kun Peng¡¯s speed, especially when he was leaning forward, could be said to be the fastest in the Godly State.

    ¡°Crack!¡± Kun Peng grabbed onto Xing Tian¡¯s arm as he charged down.

    ¡°Break him apart!¡±

    ¡°Break!¡±

    Tao Wu and Kun Peng exchanged gazes and pulled in different directions.

    However, just as they started to move, Xing Tian¡¯s arm started to wave and struck Qiong Qi while dragging the two Godly Beasts along.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Qiong Qi was surprised and dodged quickly.

    He did not expect how Tao Wu and Kun Peng failed to stop Xing Tian even though theybined efforts.

    ¡°Crack!¡± His ax fell.

    A crack formed on one of the wings of Qiong Qi. His bones were broken and blood spurted out andnded on Xing Tian¡¯s body before he absorbed all of the blood.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Qiong Qi roared in agony and rolled in midair to a distant away. He looked extremely terrible and was unable to retaliate.

    So powerful!

    Ridiculously powerful!

    Fang Zhengzhi could not confirm if he was able to fight against Qiong Qi but he knew that he would definitely lose to Xing Tian.

    He was too violent.

    Moreover, he immediately attacked after shouting ¡°scram¡±!

    He did not even bother to negotiate at all.

    Both Godly Beasts and Demons died.

    Xing Tian was a Killer God.

    ¡°He is too terrifying, he is like a monster!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s face turned pale and shuddered in fear as she watched the battle.

    In fact, Ping Yang was not the only one.

    All the Godly Beasts and generals of the Demon Race were trembling in fear, affected by the powers of Xing Tian or perhaps the soaring murderous aura.

    ¡°Brother, what do we do? Should we fight?¡± One of the warlocks said as he turned to Hong You and waited for him to make a decision.

    ¡°The murderous aura of Xing Tian is too strong. If we do not kill him,we will have a lot of troubles in the future.¡± Hong You did not want to coborate with Qiong Qi and the rest but he could feel the threat that Xing Tian brought.

    If he allowed Xing Tian to kill Qiong Qi and the rest, nobody would be able to stop him from massacring in the future, and they could only wait to be killed by Xing Tian.

    ¡°So we are coborating with Qiong Qi?¡± The other warlocks looked at Hong You.

    In fact, they were also hesitating. If they did not coborate with Qiong Qi and wait for Qiong Qi to be killed by Xing Tian, they could get rid of some troubles.

    However, if that was the case...

    What should they do with Xing Tian?

    Without the restraints put on Xing Tian by Qiong Qi and the Godly Beasts, the Demon Race alone was unable to fight against Xing Tian. By then, things would get troublesome.

    ¡°Coborate and kill Xing Tian first. We can talk about the rest afterwards!¡± Hong You clenched his teeth and made a decision.

    He made this decision not because of Xing Tian¡¯s threat but because of the rtionship between Xing Tian and the Source of God.

    Xing Tian appeared and the Source of God vanished.

    So, what would happen after Xing Tian was killed? Would the Source of God reappear?

    Although this may not be guaranteed, it was possible.

    ¡°Listen up, all demons, kill Xing Tian first before fighting for the opportunity in the Source of God!¡± Hong Youmanded.

    ¡°Kill Xing Tian and fight for opportunity?!¡±

    ¡°Are there still opportunities?¡±

    ¡°Who said there¡¯re no more opportunities, perhaps there will be after we kill Xing Tian!¡±

    The demons exchanged nces and reached an agreement..

    That was because everyone had the same thought as Hong You. The sudden disappearance of the Source of God was too strange and answer could only be found after Xing Tian was killed.

    Moreover, Xing Tian exuded a murderous aura.

    It was way too dangerous!

    Aspared to any other Godly Beasts, he posed as a greater threat.

    ...

    After the Demon Race came to a decision, the Godly Beasts also exchanged gazes and made low roars.

    After that, all the Godly Beasts and Demons began to attack.

    Dozens of Godly Beasts and nearly 200 demons charged wildly towards Xing Tian, hoping to kill Xing Tian together.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Booms were heard continuously.

    Blood sttered across the sky. Xing Tian waved his gigantic ax and shield and was unafraid of the big group that were approaching him.

    One against the whole group of monsters and demons!

    This scene caused the sky to change color.

    Ping Yang¡¯s mouth was agape. Her face was as pale as a sheet and she looked extremely shocked.

    ¡°We... Shameless brat, should we help?¡± Ping Yang turned at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for him to make a decision

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned very hard.

    After that, he looked at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and saw how Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was staring at Xing Tian with his eyes wide open.

    He had aplicated expression.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, you must know something, right? Why did Xuanyuan Five appear in the Land of the Source of God, stop hiding it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood in front of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and pointed his Traceless Sword at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi. what are you doing?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was shocked.

    ¡°What happened during the battle on the Changyang Mountain? You must know the details. If I am correct, you participated in that battle, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued to ask.

    ¡°How... How did you know about Changyang Mountain?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned before a beam of light shot out from his eyes.

 Chapter 1084 - The Mystery of Changyang Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1084: The Mystery of Changyang Mountain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Is that important?¡± Fang Zhengzhi could not exin that it was the legend in his world, but that was not important for now.

    The most important thing was the rtionship between Xing Tian and the Source of God.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no purpose for me to hide anymore at this point. I can tell you that the battle on the Changyang Mountain was nned by Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.¡±Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five sighed and sounded as though he had troubles expression himself.

    ¡°n?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    Apart from him, Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and the rest beside him widened their eyes.

    Xing Tian was one of the highest-ranking generals under Emperor Yan¡¯s rule.

    Why did he kill Xing Tian on the Changyang Mountain?

    This did not make sense at all.

    ¡°I knew that Xing Tian had the intention to revolt. Both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang made use of this to lure Xuanyuan Five to the Changyang Mountain and severed his head while he was distracted. Then, they buried his head under the Changyang Mountain.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not borate on the details.

    This was not surprising.

    After all, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was the partner of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. Some things might concern Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s reputation and he had to hide it.

    ¡°You mean Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan both lured Xing Tian to the Changyang Mountain intentionally, and Xing Tian did not choose to fight with Emperor Huang Xuanyuan at the Changyang Mountain?¡± Fang Zhengzhi noticed the problem at this point.

    Luring to Changyang Mountain and choosing the Changyang Mountain were twopletely different things.

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s right, as for why he chose to lure Xuanyuan Five to the Changyang Mountain, I really do not know.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nodded slightly.

    ¡°Then let me ask you a question, was there the Source of God before Xing Tian died?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

    ¡°Yes!¡± affirmed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    In the past, he had made a brazen spection that the Source of God was formed by Xing Tian, or a plot set by Xing Tian.

    After all, this spection could exin the reason why the Source of God was a restrictednd.

    However, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s answer negated this possibility. If the Source of God appeared before Xing Tian had died, there was no direct link between the Source of God and Xing Tian.

    The Source of God was not set up by Xing Tian.

    However, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan purposely lured Xing Tian to the Changyang Mountain where the Source of God was for a fight and resorted to a sneak attack to severe Xing Tian¡¯s head before burying it below the Changyang Mountain.

    Wait...

    If it was only because of Xing Tian¡¯s intention to revolt, why didn¡¯t Emperor Huang Xuanyuan kill Xing Tian right away?

    Also, why did he spend so much effort slicing open the Changyang Mountain to bury Xing Tian¡¯s head?

    It was too strange!

    This was not a tactic used to punish a ¡°traitor¡±, or rather, it was not an ordinary tactic used to deal with a traitor.

    ¡°Shameless brat, have you figured it out?¡± Ping Yang blinked and asked when he saw Fang Zhengzhi keep silent.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, what about you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan.

    ¡°If we listen to what senior Xuanyuan Five said, Xing Tian¡¯s head was buried in the Changyang Mountain, it should be an intentional move made by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan!¡± said Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s what I said.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Intentionally?!¡±

    ¡°Intentional...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Mu Qingfeng frowned when they heard this.

    Xuanyuan Five evidently did not want to bring up this story. Perhaps there were hidden truths in the story, but Xuanyuan Five might not know the details too.

    After all, this concerned the reputation of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    ¡°Senior Xuanyuan Five, I have a question. Why did you ask Fang Zhengzhi why he knew the name of the Changyang Mountain?¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu finally spoke.

    ¡°This...¡± Xuanyuan Five hesitated.

    ¡°Is it because Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had instructed everyone to stop mentioning the name of the ¡°Changyang Mountain¡± after Xing Tian died?¡± Yun Qingwu asked.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Xuanyuan Five was shocked.

    ¡°Many descriptions were written in ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡±. However, ¡°Changyang Mountain¡± is not mentioned at all. The most mysterious ce of the Source of God is a ce where nobody knew the exact location of. I think this was perhaps the problem,¡± exined Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five fell silent.

    Meanwhile, after hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as though a query he had was being resolved.

    ¡°You mean Emperor Huang Xuanyuan did not want people to know about the ¡°Changyang Mountain¡±?¡± Fang Zhengzhi spoke.

    ¡°Hmm, you guessed it too?¡± Yun Qingwu nodded. She was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms and could feel the warmth at his chest area.

    ¡°I guessed some parts of it, but it¡¯s not detailed enough...¡±

    ¡°If we put Changyang Mountain and the Source of God together, then link it to the restrictednd, the exnation is easy,¡± reminded Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Put Changyang Mountain and the Source of God together, then link it to the restrictednd... I get it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly after pondering over it.

    ¡°Understand what?¡± Ping Yang widened her eyes.

    ¡°No, Xing Tian cannot die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed suddenly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Did you say that Xing Tian cannot die?¡±

    ¡°But he kills anyone he sees, be it monsters or demons. If we don¡¯t kill him, he will kill us!¡±

    Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng and the rest looked confused and did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    Xing Tian exuded a murderous aura.

    Moreover, he was killing Godly Beasts and demons.

    His presence was a huge threat. If they did not kill Xing Tian, the entire world would perish.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Xing Tian said ¡®scram¡¯, not ¡®kill¡¯,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi again as he looked at the confused individuals around him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that Xing Tian was chasing us away?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone was shocked.

    ¡°Hmm, if I am correct, the Source of God should be sealed by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan. They did not want this ce to resurface and hence intentionally removed the name of Changyang Mountain. However, they were afraid that the future generations discover the ce unintentionally, therefore they designed the...¡± exined Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Using Xing Tian to protect the Changyang Mountain?!¡± Changyang Mountain¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. ¡°They buried Xing Tian¡¯s head below the Changyang Mountain and did not kill him. They are trying to use Xing Tian to protect the Changyang Mountain so that nobody can get close!¡±

    ¡°So Xing Tian is the guardian of the Source of God?¡± Ping Yang blinked.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not as simple as that. If Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang made this n, perhaps there was a huge secret in this Source of God,¡± affirmed Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, the shameless thief is right. Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang did not mind sacrificing their reputation to lure Xing Tian to this ce. There must be way more terrifying items beneath the Source of God!¡± Chi Guyan was very certain too.

    ¡°So what should we do now? Save Xing Tian?¡±Ping Yang still did not understand the full picture but understood what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

    Xing Tian could not die!

    He was guarding the Land of the Source of God.

    Therefore, they should save him.

    ¡°Save Xing Tian?¡± Mu Qingfeng looked at a distance away. There was an extremely insane battle.

    Dozens of Godly Beasts and almost 200 demons surrounded Xing Tian.

    Be it the Godly Beast or the demons, they have formed a united team and sore to kill Xing Tian so the Source of God could reappear.

    Blood sttered across the sky.

    Blood sttered with every strike of Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic ax. His gigantic shield blocked his gigantic body and prevented others from hurting him.

    He was very brave and furious.

    Xing Tian definitely lived up to the name of the ancient Battle God.

    However, he was alone and surrounded by many Godly Beasts and Demons. He suffered some injuries inevitably.

    For example, Kun Peng made use of his speed to tear a piece of meat from Xing Tian¡¯s shoulder, causing blood to flow continuously from his shoulder.

    Meanwhile, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu also became extremely violent.

    Tao Wu became the main attacker after Qiong Qi was injured. He could slow Xing Tian down when he swayed his tail.

    This gave chance to the other Godly Beasts and demons.

    Especially after the twelve warlocks entered the battlefield, they made use of their gigantic body and powerful strength to fight against Xing Tian.

    ¡°How do we save him?¡± Chills went down Mu Qingfeng¡¯s back when he saw this. The Godly Beasts and demons came to amon decision.

    So many of them fought against Xing Tian together.

    If they joined the battle now, they would either be killed by the Godly Beasts and demons or be shed by Xing Tian¡¯s ax.

    After all, Xing Tian would not think that Mu Qingfeng was trying to save him.

    Anyone who approached Xing Tian would be regarded as an enemy.

    ¡°Is Xing Tian out of his mind? He wants to fight against all the demons and monsters by himself?¡± Ping Yang sighed when she saw this. No matter how powerful one was, one was courting death by doing that.

    ¡°No, he is not out of his mind, he does not even have one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    This was indeed a problem.

    Xing Tian would not bother to differentiate between a friend and a foe. If one dared to approach him, he would dare to sh with his ax. If they got killed by saving Xing Tian, they would have died in vain.

    ¡°How do you think we can let Xing Tian know that we are his friends and not his enemy?¡± Yan Xiu frowned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, aren¡¯t you the best at ideas? Think of one.¡± Ping Yang pouted as she looked at Yun Qingwu who was in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s arms.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any ideas.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    ¡°You...¡± Ping Yang was very angry.

    She felt that Yun Qingwu was targeting her on purpose. In the past when Fang Zhengzhi asked Yun Qingwu, she would always say that she had an idea. Now that Ping Yang asked her, Yun Qingwu ¡°ignored¡± her?

    How frustrating.

    Yun Qingwu could tell the displease in Ping Yang¡¯s eyes but decided to keep quiet.

    That was because Yun Qingwu really had no idea.

    Xing Tian was way too crazy and powerful. The only way to control Xing Tian was to defeat him.

    However. in order to defeat Xing Tian...

    It was too difficult.

    If dozens of Godly Beasts and nearly 200 demons were unable to control Xing Tian, what could she do?

    Everyone fell silent.

    As what Yun Qingwu thought, Xing Tian did not differentiate between a friend and a foe. If they wanted to save Xing Tian, it would be equivalent tomitting suicide. It was even more unlikely for Xing Tian to view them as a ¡°friend¡±.

    ¡°Senior Xuanyuan Five, don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t win Xing Tian too?¡± Ping Yang ced her hopes on Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and said, ¡°In the ancient era, Xuanyuan Five was the number one general of Emperor Yan. His power wasparable with Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan. Or else, why would Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan make use of their plot?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Ping Yang was speechless.

    She had witnessed how powerful Xing Tian was. Moreover, even after so many years, Xing Tian still exuded an intense murderous aura.

    Xing Tian was so powerful that it was ridiculous.

    He was able to fight against the various Godly Beasts and demons.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five definitely was unable to fight against him.

    ¡°So there is really no way to solve this problem?¡± said Heavenly Oasis Saint anxiously, ¡°ording to Zhengzhi, if Xing Tian died, a disaster will happen. We can¡¯t possibly sit here and watch Xing Tian die?¡±

    ¡°However, Xing Tian did not differentiate between a friend and a foe, how can we help him?¡± Yan Qianli asked.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Nobody said anything.

    That was because they came back to the topic after a huge round of discussion.

    To save Xing Tian, they had to go against Xing Tian, demons and the Godly Beasts. With their current strength, the humankind could not afford to be three parties¡¯ enemies.

    Nobody said anything.

    However, for some reasons, everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for him to speak.

    Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Traceless Sword.

    The current battle had entered the fierce stage. They couldn¡¯t separate Xing Tian and the Godly Beasts and the Demons. There was no way out.

    It was too difficult.

    Xing Tian¡¯s friend...

    How would someone without a head know who was his friend?

    Unless...

    Wait a minute!

    ¡°I got it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as a wild thought shed across his mind.

    ¡°You thought of something?¡± Ping Yang was shocked.

    ¡°Shameless thief, what is your idea?¡± Chi Guyan was also shocked.

    Besides them, Mu Qingfeng and the rest, including Yun Qingwu, were extremely shocked.

    If Yun Qingwu was unable to think of anything, how did Fang Zhengzhi think of it?

 Chapter 1085 - A Plan Needs to be Flirtatious to be Powerful!

    <h4>Chapter 1085: A n Needs to be Flirtatious to be Powerful!</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    ¡°You really have an idea?¡± Yun Qingwu did not doubt Fang Zhengzhi but there was no way out of a deadlock like this.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°How certain are you?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five spoke as, after all, he understood Xuanyuan Five¡¯s powers too well. Xuanyuan Five could fight against both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    ¡°I think I only have ten percent of confidence now.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said after giving it some thoughts.

    ¡°Ten percent?!¡±

    ¡°What, only ten percent?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was shocked.

    However, Ping Yang, Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, Yan Xiu and the rest were even more shocked because they knew Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s character very well.

    Fang Zhengzhi always said he had full confidence.

    Yet now...

    He only had ten percent of confidence?!

    That meant that the chance of sess was very pathetic.

    ¡°Alright, even if it¡¯s only ten percent, we have to give it a shot.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five clenched his teeth as he knew that they had no other choices now.

    Even if there was only ten percent of probability of sess, they had to take a gamble.

    ¡°However, if a dragon is willing to work with me, I have 50 percent of confidence,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi softly as he looked at Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Everyone fell speechless.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, on the other hand, was stunned and looked confused. Nevertheless, he said, ¡°Are you referring to me?¡±

    ¡°Are there any more dragons here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his eyebrows at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five felt speechless but said helplessly, ¡°cut straight to the point and tell me how do you want me to work with you.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t cut to the point like that. Come closer, I will speak to you only.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and signaled for him to get closer.

    ¡°Brat...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five fell speechless again. However, after a slight hesitation, he went closer to Fang Zhengzhi ¡°obediently¡±.

    This move was rather risky for a powerful individual.

    After all, although he was on the same team as Fang Zhengzhi, it was very easy for Fang Zhengzhi to do bad things to him.

    He could not resist at all.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi did not waste time. He went closer to Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s ears and told him his n.

    This was perceived as a strange one to others who were watching.

    That was because from Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng and the others¡¯ perspectives, Fang Zhengzhi should not hide anything from them. Hence this move was rather strange.

    However, they still chose to remain silent.

    The reason why Ping Yang kept silent was that she wanted to hear what Fang Zhengzhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five were talking about. However, she was disappointed because she could not hear anything.

    However, Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan and the rest did not feel the same way.

    There must be a reason for Fang Zhengzhi to keep his n a secret. For this, they did not suspect Fang Zhengzhi at all.

    Fang Zhengzhi finished exining his n very quickly.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished talking, a look of hesitation shed across Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes and he looked like he was having an intense internal struggle.

    ¡°So how, are you willing to do it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Are you sure you have 50 percent of confidence if you follow this n?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five clenched his teeth in disbelief.

    ¡°Give it a shot.¡±

    ¡°What if something happens...¡±

    ¡°Do we have any other choices?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five fell silent and eventually nodded his gigantic dragon head. ¡°Alright, we will follow your n, let¡¯s start!¡±

    ¡°Remember what I instructed.¡± Fang Zhengzhi confirmed again.

    ¡°Rest assured!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five replied.

    After obtaining the confirmation from Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest.

    ¡°Do you need us to do anything?¡± Ping Yang was slightly impatient.

    ¡°Of course, how can we not involve Princess, Your Highness.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°Then tell us, what do you want us to do?¡± rushed Ping Yang.

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. All of you just have to go forward and fight.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed to where Xing Tian was and said.

    ¡°Go forward and fight?!¡± Ping Yang was surprised.

    ¡°...¡±

    Apart from Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng and the rest were also stunned.

    Go forward to fight? Wasn¡¯t thatmitting suicide?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, the Monster Race and Demon Race are fighting against Xing Tian now, are you sure you want us to go forward tomit suicide?¡± Mu Qingfeng was evidently confused.

    In fact, Yan Qianli and the rest were also confused.

    What kind of n was that?

    A n for mass suicide?

    Ten percent of confidence?

    This n must not even have five percent of probability of sess...

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, you don¡¯t believe me?¡±Fang Zhengzhi blinked at Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Er...¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned and smiled bitterly. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I have lived for so many years, I¡¯m not asking too much for you to call me a ¡®senior¡¯ while I call you a ¡®junior¡¯, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°You know that I am not afraid of death. However, please let us know your detailed ns so that even if we were tomit suicide, we know what we are doing, right?¡± said Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, you must have misunderstood. I did not ask you tomit suicide, I only asked you to fight with Xing Tian,¡± exined Fang Zhengzhi with a smile.

    ¡°What is the difference between this andmitting suicide?¡± Mu Qingfeng was about to cry.

 Chapter 1086 - Lunatic, This Brat is a Lunatic!

    <h4>Chapter 1086: Lunatic, This Brat is a Lunatic!</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    The Monster Race and Demon Race had indeed coborated.

    However, that did not mean that they were united as one.

    Both Hong You and Qiong Qi were not foolish as they knew very well that they would suffer more loss if they were to distract Xing Tian, aspared to the losses if they were to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    After all, they could barely put Xing Tian under control when both the races coborated.

    Only one race?

    They would definitely lose!

    Moreover, although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s side did not have many people, they were rather powerful. It was not easy to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    The monster race or demon race had to go all out in order to kill him.

    However, if that was the case, the party who was distracting Xing Tian would suffer a great loss. Moreover, nobody knew how long would it take for the other party to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Qiong Qi, you...¡± Hong You was extremely angry.

    He knew what Qiong Qi was worried about but it was a big threat for them to waste time with Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Qiong Qi ignored Hong You¡¯s frustration. He would definitely not be tricked by Hong You.

    Both the Monster Race and Demon Race fell silent.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi continued to walk around casually at the boundary of the battlefield,pletely ignoring the worries on the Monster Race and Demon Race¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Aiya, you are blocking me!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi suddenly attacked and kicked the demon who was standing in front of him.

    ¡°Bam!¡±

    Although the demon was mentally prepared, he was still unable to react to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sudden attack and was kicked in the head.

    Instantly, the demon flew towards Xing Tian.

    Crack!

    Xing Tian¡¯s ax struck. Before the demon could even shout, he was cut into half.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were stunned.

    Attacking from their backs and making use of Xing Tian to kill the demons. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s intention was too obvious and detestable.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you...¡± Hong You¡¯s hair stood up in anger.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it was a slip of the hand. I only thought that he was blocking me, I identally... I did not expect him to die so easily, my fault.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was apologetic.

    However, this ¡°apology¡± sounded like sarcasm to Hong You.

    Hong You was really frustrated. Now both the Monster Race and Demon Race were busily defending Xing Tian, they hadpletely no time and manpower to fight against Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    However, if they did not bother about him...

    The Monster Race and Demon Race may end up perishing.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar!

    The Godly Beasts roared furiously.

    Qiong Qi¡¯s gaze was filled with anger. He also wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the rest but if he did so, he would need to give up on Xing Tian temporarily.

    ¡°Alright, if this is the case, then let¡¯s perish together!¡± Qiong Qi was not any calmer than Hong You. As one of the four ancient beasts, he was even more wild and crazy than Hong You.

    He wanted to perish together with Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t force us!¡± Hong You spoke too. He could only make this choice if Fang Zhengzhi continued on.

    He would give up on killing Xing Tian.

    Both the Monster Race and Demon Race coborated to kill Fang Zhengzhi regardless of the oue.

    ¡°No, please, I am here to help you. It¡¯s true, believe me, I also want to kill Xing Tian!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was anxious and exined immediately.

    ¡°Believe you? Why should I?¡± Hong You did not believe him.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Can¡¯t you guys leave a small gap for us to go in and we can all attack Xing Tian together?¡± said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Leave a small gap?¡±

    ¡°Attack Xing Tian together?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race exchanged gazes.

    They did not believe Fang Zhengzhi but they had no reasons to reject him.

    Was Fang Zhengzhi really there to kill Xing Tian?

    ¡°So how, Qiong Qi?¡± asked Hong You.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we will suffer any loss from leaving a small gap.¡± Although Qiong Qi felt that something was wrong, he eventually nodded and replied.

    ¡°Alright, then we will trust you for onest time. Fang Zhengzhi, if you dare to do anything funny, don¡¯t me us!¡± Hong You clenched his teeth and could only agree.

    ¡°Leave a space for them in the East!¡±

    ¡°Move aside!¡±

    ¡°Leave the space in the East for Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon after, a space in the East was formed.

    Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans really entered from the east. They looked extremely serious and ready to fight with Xing Tian.

    As for Mu Qingfeng...

    He was really clueless.

    However, he could feel something.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not kidding when he talked to him earlier on. They were really fighting against Xing Tian.

    ¡°Scram!¡± A loud and furious roar was heard.

    Xing Tian¡¯s voice was like loud thunder. Then, his ax reached the top of Mu Qingfeng¡¯s head and with violent wind and intense murderous aura.

    Mu Qingfeng turned pale instantly.

    Although he had a lot of experience in battles, he could not take the intense murderous aura on Xing Tian.

    At this moment, a figure blocked him.

    The blue robe was being blown and made fluttering sounds. That figure was not tall but it calmed Mu Qingfeng down immediately.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted and went forward with his Traceless Sword, blocking the strike of the ax with it.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The airwave spread out like water ripples and hit the Monster Race and Demon Race nearby.

    This scene made the Monster Race and Demon Race surprised, stunned as well as confused.

    They were surprised because Fang Zhengzhi managed to block the strike by Xing Tian!

    He was terrifyingly powerful!

    They were confused because Fang Zhengzhi did not have any other ¡°motives¡±. He went full out and attacked Xing Tian after he entered the battlefield, that was way too strange.

    However, how powerful was Xing Tian?

    Although he was blocked for the first time, he struck the second time without any hesitation.

    ¡°Scram, all of you, watch me as I kill Xing Tian!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted and he looked extremely crazy, although blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°This brat is a lunatic!¡±

    ¡°He is trying to fight against Xing Tian alone?!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were shocked as they saw how Fang Zhengzhi did not bother dodging despite Xing Tian¡¯s second strike and they felt that they had misunderstood Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was there to kill Xing Tian!

    He was really there to kill Xing Tian!

    Nothing was wrong!

    At this moment, an azure blue radiance shed across the sky and disappeared immediately.

    After that, a demon appeared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s spot earlier on.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, f*ck...¡±

    The demon was stunned.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    The demon who swapped positions with Fang Zhengzhi was struck by Xing Tian¡¯s ax and turned into a puddle of blood.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi appeared at another position.

    ¡°Phew, that was close, I almost died... Thank goodness I run fast enough!¡± Fang Zhengzhi patted his chest and looked emotionally unstable as he was extremely shocked.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Both the Monster Race and Demon Race were speechless.

    ¡®So, you ran and the demon race became the attack target?¡¯

    ¡°Attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard again and broke off what the Monster Race and Demon Race wanted to say. In a blink of an eye, he immediately reached where Xing Tian was.

    Then, the same thing happened.

    However, this time...

    It was a Godly Beast instead of a demon.

    A Godly Beast who was very close to Fang Zhengzhi was identally ¡°sabotaged¡± by Fang Zhengzhi and appeared on Xing Tian¡¯s ¡°face¡±.

    The Godly Beast waspletely stunned.

    The Godly Beast¡¯s ck face turned pale as he looked at the gigantic ¡°face¡± on his chest. He was so shocked that he forgot to run away.

    After that, the Godly Beast was squeezed by Xing Tian¡¯s arms.

    He was forcefully squeezed to his death.

    ¡°...¡± It was a pathetic scene.

    ¡°One¡¯s sess depended on thousands of death, if I can kill Xing Tian today, all of you will die in pride and your names will forever be remembered!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted loudly and righteously.

    ¡°What the f*ck did he mean by ¡®our names will forever be remembered¡¯!¡±

    ¡°And what f*cking ¡®one¡¯s sess depended on thousands of death¡¯?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    If the Monster Race and Demon Race still could not tell what Fang Zhengzhi was nning to do, they would be really foolish.

    However, what made them desperate was the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was fighting against Xing Tian. However, he was using the Monster Race and Demon Race as a defense.

    This tactic could no longer be described as ¡°shameless¡±.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you are doing this on purpose!¡± Hong You was so furious that his beard almost turned white.

    ¡°No, definitely not, why would I do this on purpose? I did that because I was about to die and I had no choice. You mean you won¡¯t do the same thing if you were me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked innocent.

    ¡°...¡± Hong You was so angry that he could not say anything.

    However, he could not refute as many monsters and demons had used the same method to save themselves.

    ¡°Brother, if this goes on, I think all of us will be killed by this brat!¡± Another warlock spoke when he saw Hong You keep silent.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t let this go on!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The other warlocks and demons nodded too.

    ¡°So what should we do?¡± Hong You felt helpless.

    If they forcefully went against Fang Zhengzhi and the rest, the only option was to leave Xing Tian alone and fight all out with the entire force of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, if that was the case, the Monster Race and Demon Race would be stuck between Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Tian.

    Attack from both sides.

    That could result in a lose-lose situation and all parties would perish.

    ¡°Is it possible for this brat to fight with Xing Tian first so that we can retreat a little...¡± said one of the warlocks.

    ¡°Will he be so foolish?¡± Hong You did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would ept such a deal.

    Ask Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to fight with Xing Tian while the Monster Race and Demon Race stood aside and watched. This was impossible.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What if he was really silly?¡± Another warlock asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s no harm in trying.¡± The other demons nodded. Although the possibility was close to zero, it was still a possibility.

    They had to make a Hail Mary effort.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s no harm in trying.¡± The other demons nodded. Although the possibility was close to zero, it was still a possibility.

    ¡°Promise him that we give them half of the benefits if we managed to defeat Xing Tian!¡±

    ¡°Half?! How can we give them half?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise anyway... when the timees, it¡¯s not up to him to decide whether we will give them the benefits. This brat is so greedy, he may really be tricked.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I will try.¡± Hong You had no other ideas. After all, this was the only solution they could think of.

    During their discussion...

    Another demon was sessfully ¡°sabotaged¡± by Fang Zhengzhi. He was thrown in front of Xing Tian and was hit until all his hair was gone.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, we can¡¯t continue like this. All three parties can¡¯t trust each otherpletely. Let¡¯s change another method to kill Xing Tian!¡± Hong You finally spoke.

    ¡°Oh? What method?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.

    ¡°Cycle tactic. All three parties can take turns to fight with Xing Tian. If we manage to kill him, all three parties will get benefits. If the Source of God appears again, we can split it evenly, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°But I was upying half of the Source of God just now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was unsatisfied.

    ¡°Half, Impossible!¡± Hong You rejected right away.

    ¡°Then stop the discussion, let¡¯s continue fighting this way.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was nonchnt.

    ¡°You...¡± Hong You was somewhat angry. He gritted his teeth before saying again, ¡°Alright, if you want to take half of the Source of God, you have to go up first and have to sustain for at least 15 minutes. Qiong Qi, what do the Monster Race think?¡±

    Hong You winked at Qiong Qi.

    As one of the four ancient beasts, Qiong Qi was definitely intelligent enough. He understood what Hong You meant immediately. After a slight hesitation, he nodded.

    ¡°If you can sustain for 15 minutes, you definitely deserve half of the Source of God!¡± said Qiong Qi.

    ¡°15 minutes, so long?¡± Fang Zhengzhi fell silent.

    Meanwhile, Hong You and Qiong Qi stared nervously at Fang Zhengzhi and waited for his reply. If they were sessful, they could retreat ¡°tantly¡± with the Demon Race and Monster Race.

    By then, Fang Zhengzhi had no choice.

    After the Monster Race and Demon Race retreated, Xing Tian¡¯s target would definitely change to Fang Zhengzhi.

    If the Monster Race and Demon Race retreated so far away, they did not need to participate in the battle anymore. Even after 15 minutes had passed, it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to escape unscathed.

    Or rather, even if they managed to escape, they would suffer a great loss.

    Therefore, what were they afraid of?

    The Monster Race and Demon Race could then coborate and kill the severely-injured Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans. They had at least 90 percent of chance of sess!

    ¡°So what? Half of the Source of God, you guys just have to sustain for 15 minutes and you can hand over the rest of the time to us. Humankind is not losing out!¡± Hong You rushed Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Sounds good, but I have a condition.¡± Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have made a decision.

    ¡°What condition?¡±

    ¡°The Nine-Tailed White Fox at the side shall be Yan Xiu¡¯s ¡°horse¡± for this round. If not, we won¡¯t be able to sustain for 15 minutes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at a distance away.

    This caused Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had just arrived in front of Yun Qingwu and was about to forcefully ¡°seize¡± her, to open her mouth in shock.

    She was evidently stunned!

 Chapter 1087 - The Secret of the Plan, Official Start of the Battle!

    <h4>Chapter 1087: The Secret of the n, Official Start of the Battle!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You want me to be the ¡°horse¡± of Yan Xiu? Dream on!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was an arrogant person. She rejected the insulting request straight away.

    After all, she was once the Monster Emperor, the most powerful individual in the Holy Region that ruled over the Great Swamp.

    How would she possibly be one¡¯s ¡°horse¡±?

    Moreover, she did not want to participate in the battle now. After making a breakthrough, she had only one thing in mind ¡ª to take her responsibility as a mother.

    ¡°Ask Baizhi to be Yan Xiu¡¯s pet?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Is that brat crazy?¡±

    The demons and Godly Beasts did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to bring up such a ridiculous deal.

    ¡°If you need a Godly Beast to help you, you can ask other Godly Beasts to help you. Why must it be Baizhi?¡± Qiong Qi frowned.

    ¡°Or else, do you want to do it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°How dare you. I am one of the four ancient beasts, how can I be the ¡°horse¡± for you humans?!¡± Qiong Qi was furious.

    ¡°Na... It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to change but it¡¯s because you are unwilling to. As the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Baizhi has an extremely strong sense of premonition and can sense danger before it strikes. This skill is very useful for us. How about this, I only have this term, do you guys agree? If you don¡¯t, then there¡¯s no need for us to continue the discussion!¡± Fang Zhengzhi had fixed his target on Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°If she is unwilling to, how can I force her?¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s the monster race¡¯s business. If I were you, I will use one method.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Either she is willing to do it or I will beat her up until she is willing to do it. If it¡¯s thetter, I will make use of my Near-Life Dao to put restraints on her to prevent her from resisting.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we will follow your method!¡± Qiong Qi nodded immediately.

    However, when Monster Emperor Baizhi heard their conversation, she shuddered immediately and her face flushed.

    ¡°This brat wants to use his Near-Life Dao on me?!¡± Chills went down Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s back. She had seen how Bi Fang fell to Fang Zhengzhi because of the Near-Life Dao.

    It was too pathetic.

    Once one was controlled by the Near-Life Dao, if one did not make use of one¡¯s power to forcefully break through the restraint, one would most probably end up being restrained for one¡¯s entire life.

    ¡°Baizhi, so are you willing to do it yourself, or do you want us to take part in this?¡± Qiong Qi was very straightforward. After all, as one of the four ancient beasts, he could afford to boss people around.

    Disregarding the fact that he was the temporary leader of the Monster Race, he was more powerful than Monster Emperor Baizhi after evolution.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi tightened the grip on her w.

    She had broken through the Godly State and aplished thest evolution stage of the monster race and her ninth tail managed to re-grow. However, she was iparable to Qiong Qi in terms of skill level.

    Moreover, most importantly, she was alone!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if you want to force me to be a pet, I will kill them!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi narrowed her eyes and was ready to attack Wu Yuer and the rest.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Yun Qingwu blocked Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Qingwu, what are you doing? Move aside, unless you want mother to end up being his pet?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi had already interacted with Yun Qingwu.

    She knew her daughter¡¯s stand.

    However, unlike earlier on when she agreed to let Wu Yuer and the others off, she couldn¡¯t agree to be a ¡°horse¡±.

    Yun Qingwu did not reply to Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    She turned slowly and looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was at a distance. ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I just want to ask you something, do you dare to be responsible for my mother¡¯s life?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t dare, but I can promise you, if your mother wants to die, she will die after me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi replies straightforwardly and looked extremely stern.

    Yum Qingwu stared into Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes and kept quiet for a long time. Then, she finally turned to look at Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    ¡°Mother, only Fang Zhengzhi can save the world now.¡±

    ¡°Save the world?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Yes, save the world. Mother, you should know what I mean.¡± Yun Qingwu nodded her head very hard.

    ¡°Haha... I understand, of course, I do... my daughter has grown up, not only does she have her own opinion, but she also has a crush on someone.¡±

    ¡°Mother...¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I am not ming you. I always believe in your decisions, be it when I first saw you or now. Since you think that this brat can save the world, I will believe that he can save the world.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Wu Yuer, Yan Qianli, Mo Shanshi, I will hand over my daughter to you. If any mishaps happen, I will definitely kill you!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi stared at Wu Yuer and the rest coldly.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t like to be threatened, judging from the special circumstances, I will assure you that we will take good care of Yun Qingwu!¡± Mo Shanshi raised his head.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Yan Qianli nodded slightly too.

    Wu Yuer did not say anything. She whipped out an object that looked like a mirror and handed it to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°This is the wee gift from me as a sister, keep it.¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head and rejected the mirror. Then, she added, ¡°If you want a wee gift, I should be the one giving it to you.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Wu Yuer was annoyed.

    What the hell?!

    As a Sect Leader of the Shadow Sect, it was alright if she was unable to get Chi Guyan, the beloved daughter of the Divine Constabry of the Northern Lands, under control. However, he was unable to get a demoness under control now?

    At this rate, he would lose his reputation in the future!

    ¡°You alone... won¡¯t be able to defeat Chi Guyan.¡± Yun Qingwu mumbled to herself as though she could read Wu Yuer¡¯s mind.

    ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Wu Yuer widened her eyes.

    ¡°She had Ping Yang¡¯s back and Ping Yang would listen to her. Your case is different, unless...¡±

    ¡°Unless what?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I can defeat Chi Guyan?¡±

    ¡°You mean...¡±

    ¡°This is my wee gift as a sister, tell me if you like it.¡± Instead of replying Wu Yuer, Yun Qingwu whipped out a waistband.

    It was a waistband that was white like jade. There were seven gemstones of different colors on the waistband, each glowing with radiance.

    Moreover, there were cloud patterns concentrated around the seven gemstones. The light flowed on it like water.

    ¡°Seven Treasures Colored ss Band, itprises of the changes of seven different Dao. You can attack and defend, as well as turn it into seven different weapons ¡ª sword, knife, spear, ax, halberd, rod and whip. Apart from that, you can also turn it into seven beautiful dresses. This is one of the three biggest treasures of the Demon Race,parable to the ck-Golden Wings on Fang Zhengzhi.¡± Yun Qingwu especially emphasized on the phrase ¡°beautiful dresses¡±.

    ¡°Gulp.¡± Wu Yuer swallowed her saliva and her eyes lit up.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi began to move. She turned into a nine-colored radiance extremely quickly and appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you have to remember, I¡¯m doing this only for this battle!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi bent forward and showed her back to Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Hmm, only for this battle.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    Yan Xiu did not waste time. He leaped and stood on the back of Monster Emperor Baizhi. As he opened his silver blood fan, a light screen shrouded him and Monster Emperor Baizhi together.

    Upon seeing this, the Godly Beasts and Demons began to move back slowly.

    The deal had been reached.

    They could retreat first.

    Fang Zhengzhi allowed the Monster Race and Demon Race to leave without stopping them.

    Hong You and Qiong Qi looked at each other.

    A cold gaze shed across both of their eyes.

    As long as the Monster Race and Demon Race left the battleground, Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans would be held back by Xing Tian and nothing would be under their control.

    Although they sacrificed a Nine-Tailed White Fox, aspared to the final victory, this sacrifice was definitely worth it.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, just wait for your death,¡± thought Hong You before he shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone to retreat and leave the space for them!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± All the demons nodded.

    Qiong Qi also roared loudly and all the monsters retreated after hearing his roar.

    This caused Xing Tian to rx.

    The immense stress he was under disappeared instantly. A fierce murderous aura filled the sky. He waved his ax and his shield in front of him and a cold look shed in his eyes, which was in front of his chest.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian roared and attacked again.

    This time, Chi Guyan was the one who stood out to stop him. With a sway of her gigantic tail, she wound her tail around Xing Tian¡¯s arm and blocked his attack.

    However, Xing Tian was too powerful.

    Although his hand was restrained by Chi Guyan¡¯s snake tail, he did not stop moving his arm. Chi Guyan was flung into the air.

    Mu Qingfeng turned even paler.

    He would never expect Fang Zhengzhi to agree to the suggestion by the Monster Race and Demon Race, to allow them to retreat and making the humans take over the fight against Xing Tian.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what on earth are you doing?¡± Mu Qingfeng was speechless. At this rate, humankind would perish.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, stop talking and get up on Bi Fang to help Ping Yang!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not respond to Mu Qingfeng and leaped up to the back of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Help Ping Yang?¡± Mu Qingfeng was slightly stunned but soon regained his senses and leaped onto Bi Fang¡¯s back to join Ping Yang.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared and breathed out a thick gust of golden haze from his mouth. In a blink of an eye, he shrouded Xing Tian and the other people in the haze.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Roars were heard.

    As the roars sounded continuously, the golden haze spread outward and the Monster Race and Demon Race could no longer see what was taking ce.

    ¡°We can¡¯t see clearly anymore?¡±

    ¡°What is happening inside?¡±

    ¡°Did Xing Tian kill Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans?¡±

    ¡°This brat is extremely cunning but he agreed to our terms. Is he really stupid or does he have other ns?¡±

    The sight of the Monster Race and Demon Race was blocked by the golden haze. They could not see what was happening inside and could only hear the roars.

    ¡°Who cares, I don¡¯t believe Fang Zhengzhi and the rest can kill Xing Tian!¡±

    ¡°Even if they manage to kill him, it is worth celebrating!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, no matter who dies, we will benefit from the oue.¡±

    Although the Monster Race and Demon Race did not understand why they agreed to this term, they could not think of how Fang Zhengzhi and the rest could survive.

    If that was the case, what did they have to worry about?

    ...

    In the thick golden haze, Fang Zhengzhi was standing on the top of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s head, Yan Xiu was standing on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s back while Ping Yang and Mu Qingfeng were riding on Bi Fang.

    Chi Guyan, on the other hand, had turned into a gigantic white girl with a snake tail, floating in the middle of the sky.

    They surrounded Xing Tian from four directions.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you want to fight to your death with Xing Tian?¡± Mu Qingfeng was slightly worried when he saw this formation.

    He was not afraid of death.

    He just thought that it was not worth dying like that.

    In order to give the Monster Race and Demon Race a chance in the future, they had to fight with all their might. This did not look like a wise choice.

    ¡°I am not stupid,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi

    ¡°Then why are you doing this?¡± Mu Qingfeng did not understand.

    ¡°Listen to mymand, surround him but don¡¯t attack.¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not bother exining further.

    ¡°Surround him but don¡¯t attack?¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and the rest followed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯smands. None of them attacked Xing Tian. However, that did not mean that Xing Tian would not attack them.

    Instantly, Xing Tian came right at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°How unlucky.¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed and fled into the thick golden haze with Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. Meanwhile, he struck his sword.

    Boom! Xing Tian froze on the spot as he got struck by the sword radiance.

    After that, Xing Tian strangely did not continue attacking Fang Zhengzhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five. Instead, he turned and went for Yan Xiu and the rest.

    ¡°Run!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed through the golden haze.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Yan Xiu and Monster Emperor Baizhi fled into the thick golden haze after hearing Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s shout. They disappeared instantly in the golden haze.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned.

    Of course, he regained his senses quickly as Xing Tian was sprinting towards him after losing track of Yan Xiu.

    So, it was his turn to run, right?

    Mu Qingfeng was about to run like Yan Xiu, before he heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voiceing from the thick golden haze.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, hold on!¡±

    ¡°What? Hold... hold on? Not run?!¡± Mu Qingfeng could not react. What the f*ck?

    ¡®All of you have fled.¡¯

    ¡®And you want me to hold on over here?!¡¯

 Chapter 1088 - Solve for XXXâ€™s Area of a Psychological Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 1088: Solve for XXX¡¯s Area of a Psychological Shadow</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Mu Qingfeng was speechless but Ping Yang, who was beside him, did not have any hesitation.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Ping Yang roared loudly and attacked straight away. She pushed her hands forward and mes rose from her entire body up into the sky.

    Apart from Ping Yang, Bi Fang also breathed out a mouth of mes.

    The two balls of mes merged to form a gigantic palm. It was extremely huge and blocked the gigantic ax of Xing Tian.

    Boom!

    The ax struck.

    And the gigantic palm turned into dust.

    Blood trickled down the corner of Ping Yang¡¯s mouth but she looked extremely determined.

    ¡°Xing Tian, I am not afraid of you!¡± Ping Yang roared loudly and was about to attack again.

    This scene caused Mu Qingfeng to tremble. As one of the five sects of the Holy Region and the Pavilion Master of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how guilty must he had been when he saw that Ping Yang was braver than himself.

    ¡°Ping Yang, move back, I will fight with him!¡± Mu Qingfeng clenched his teeth and a long sword appeared behind him. ¡°Dao creates one, one creates two, two creates three, three creates all living things!¡±

    As he chanted, the long sword turned one into two then three, and a forest with mountain rocks was formed. The mountain rocks had many variations in sizes and trees grew on them.

    Ir was a bizarre scene.

    The stone flew up and shot towards Xing Tian.

    However, Xing Tian was not afraid at all. He took a big step forward. Without any signs of retreat, he ced his shield in front of his chest.

    Rumble...

    The mountain rock broke and turned into dust.

    Meanwhile, Xing Tian charged out from the dust and ced his shield in front of him. He raised his gigantic ax with his right hand and struck Mu Qingfeng.

    Mu Qingfeng turned pale.

    He was too powerful!

    Not only did he have an extremely strong attacking power, but his defense power was also surprisingly strong. The shield seemed to be able to block all attacks.

    However, despite that, Mu Qingfeng would not retreat.

    That was his dignity!

    He had to fight till he died.

    ¡°Take that!¡± Mu Qingfeng roared again and countless trees flew. The leaves rolled up and the tree branches turned into vines and wound around Xing Tian¡¯s arm.

    At this moment, another voice was heard from the golden haze.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, trap Xing Tian with Mu Qingfeng!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± A gigantic figure leaped out from the golden haze. It was none other than Monster Emperor Baizhi who had turned into a Nine-Tailed White Fox and Yan Xiu who was standing on the back of Monster Emperor Baizhi.

    When the two of them charged out, they attacked Xing Tian from the side.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi made a furious roar and her nine tails turned long instantly. In a blink of an eye, her tails, along with the trees, wound around Xing Tian¡¯s arm with the gigantic ax.

    At the same time, a beam of red lightnded.

    The beams of light turned into thin strands of light. Although they were thin, radiance flowed on them.

    Dao of Asura.

    Millions of Asura Strands.

    Yan Xiu stood on Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s back. The Silver Blood Fan on his hand was the end of the Millions of Asura Strands. It tied around the other hand of Xing Tian like a puppet.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian roared loudly. He almost went crazy with both his hands tied up and he flung them vigorously.

    The powerful force caused Mu Qingfeng, Yan Xiu and the rest to fly into the air as they could no longer stand still.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, help them!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard from the golden haze.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Chi Guyan nodded. She flew towards Xing Tian and swung her gigantic snake tail, winding it around Xing Tian¡¯s waist.

    Although the strength of his arms was terrifying, those who knew martial arts would know that the body part with the biggest initiation of power was not on the arms but the waist. The waist was the core area for strength control.

    As Chi Guyan attacked, Xing Tian slowed down.

    Although he was still waving his arms, he was unable topletely get rid of Yan Xiu and the others.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, it¡¯s a chance!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he dashed out of the thick golden haze with Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you really want to kill Xing Tian?¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned when he saw the approaching Fang Zhengzhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Are we able to kill them?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng fell silent.

    Of course, he knew that he could not kill Xing Tian. Xing Tian was too powerful. Although thebined attack of a few people could trap Xing Tian for a moment, it was only a very short moment.

    That was because Xing Tian was almost about to get rid of the nine fox tails on his arm when Fang Zhengzhi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five charged out.

    If Fang Zhengzhi attacked Xing Tian now, there would not be any effects.

    However, if that was the case, what was their purpose for going all out?

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard again.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, throw it now!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Throw?! Throw what?¡± Mu Qingfeng was stunned.

    Then, he widened his eyes as he realized that someone was hanging from Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s stomach.

    It was none other than Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± With a light stream, the ¡°unconscious¡± Nangong Mu was thrown from Xing Yian¡¯s ¡°head¡± to the ground.

    That felt like...

    He was throwing a sandbag.

    Mu Qingfeng was stunned by this scene.

    Besides him, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Chi Guyan looked surprised too.

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Why did you throw... Nangong Mu out?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

    Even Xing Tian stopped moving for a while and raised his ¡°head¡± to look at an unconscious human above him who had his eyes shut.

    ¡°Bam!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s body fell heavily on Xing Tian.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    The entire world fell silent and time seemed to have stopped.

    So Fang Zhengzhi nned to throw Nangong Mu at Xing Tian?!

    ¡°Run, run now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his long sword and struck at Xing Tian after he saw how Nangong Mu was being thrown out.

    ¡°??¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Instantly, Mu Qingfeng was stunned.

    However, he could still make out the ¡°run¡± said by Fang Zhengzhi. Without hesitation, he turned and pulled Ping Yang as well as Bi Fang and ran towards the golden haze.

    Of course, apart from Mu Qingfeng and Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Mu Qingfeng and Chi Guyan also regained their senses and stopped their tactic of trying to put a restraint on Xing Tian.

    They turned and went towards the thick golden haze.

    Meanwhile, Xing Tian figured it out. He raised his shield on his left hand and blocked the sharp sword radiance made by Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! Xing Tian¡¯s body was as sturdy as a mountain.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi made use of this force to retreat backward with Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and vanished instantly.

    Only Nangong Mu was left ¡°sprawled¡± on Xing Tian¡¯s body.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian did not bother about whether Nangong Mu was conscious or not. He swept his right arm and was about to p Nangong Mu like a housefly.

    However, at this moment...

    The unconscious Nangong Mu suddenly opened his eyes and golden and red radiance flickered in his eyes.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you sabotage me!¡± Without hesitation, Nangong Mu leaped and was about to run into the golden haze like Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Nangong Mu in!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Ping Yang, and the rest were speechless.

    He threw Nangong Mu out...

    Yet he did not allow him to run?

    Was Fang Zhengzhi treating Nangong Mu like a spear?!

    Although they were speechless, what else could they do apart from believing in Fang Zhengzhi?

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± A bean of red light appeared within the golden haze and forced Nangong Mu out of it.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu turned pale.

    If he could, he really wanted to ask Fang Zhengzhi if he could sleep peacefully by doing such immoral things.

    ¡®What the hell!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi did not let him in.

    Nangong Mu admit that he had tricked Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. He had woken up long ago under the Heaven Zen Mountain

    However, could he really ¡°wake up¡± then?

    Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, as well as Ping Yang and Yan Xiu who had managed to break through to the Godly State were standing around him. He would be stupid to wake up then.

    After that, it was even more impossible for him to ¡°wake up¡±.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was in the midst of a battle with the Godly Beasts and was fighting for the territory. Moreover, he was extremely arrogant and imed to take down half of the territory of the Source of God.

    Nangong Mu definitely did not believe that.

    He waited for both Fang Zhengzhi and the Godly Beasts to suffer a great loss before he could reap the benefits. However, the oue disappointed him once again...

    Fang Zhengzhi obtained half of the Source of God!

    Nangong Mu was astonished.

    After that, the troops of the Four Great Empires appeared and hundreds of thousands of them gathered at the Heaven Zen Mountain to share thend that Fang Zhengzhi had obtained.

    Nangong Mu could not ¡°wake up¡± at this point too.

    Until...

    Xing Tian appeared.

    Nangong Mu wanted to wait for Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to get involved in the battle before he made use of that opportunity to escape.

    However, to his surprise, Fang Zhengzhi wanted Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to bring him up to Xing Tian for a fight.

    Then, like a ¡°beanbag¡±, Nangong Mu was being thrown onto Xing Tian.

    Everything was out of Nangong Mu¡¯s expectation.

    He did not expect Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s so-called n with ¡°50 percent chance of sess¡± was to throw him towards Xing Tian without giving him a f*cking warning.

    Whatever happened was simple...

    He could no longer act dead even if he wanted to as he would probably really end up dead if he continued to act.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, fight, that¡¯s your only choice!¡± Fang Zhengzhi kindly reminded Nangong Mu as he stared at his pale face.

    ¡°Fight for f*ck!¡± Nangong Mu roared furiously and ignored Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s kind intentions as he ran quickly towards another direction.

    Swoosh! A snake tail was flung.

    It whipped Nangong Mu extremely hard and caused him to turn a few rounds in midair before he barely stabilized himself.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you break through the Godly State already? Then fight, what are you afraid of?¡± Fang Zhengzhi reminded Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, if I can remain alive, I will definitely kill you!¡± Nangong Mu growled.

    However, he evidently had no other choice as Xing Tian was already moving closer to him and he had no other ways of escaping.

    He could only fight until his death.

    Boom! A gigantic tree appeared out of nowhere.

    Nangong Mu attacked. He turned into an ancient tree. His power increased multiple times after reaching the Godly State.

    The White Tree of God was dozens of feet taller than before.

    It wasparable to Xing Tian¡¯s height or perhaps even taller than him. White flowers bloomed on the white tree.

    However, Xing Tian acted as though he did not see it.

    Boom! He struck the white Tree of God with his ax.

    Crack!

    A gigantic tree branch was cut down and it turned into white sparks of light. It floated in the sky and fresh blood could be seen.

    Nangong Mu had a powerful defense ability.

    Especially after he turned into the white God of Tree, he could be said to be ¡°immortal¡±. He could heal himself and the tree branches as long as he was notpletely dead.

    Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi was not worried at all.

    ¡°How do you know that Nangong Mu was awake?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was confused. When he knew about Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n, hisrgest concern was whether Nangong Mu was awake or not.

    If Nangong Mu was still unconscious...

    It was a tragedy.

    Nangong Mu would definitely be cut into half by Xing Tian.

    ¡°Haha, if I said I saw his eyes twitch at the foot of the Heaven Zen Mountain, would you believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡°This reason is really...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five fell speechless.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s watch the show seriously.¡± Fang Zhengzhi stretched out his head from the golden haze.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was speechless again.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu looked as though he could notst much longer as Xing Tian¡¯s ax fell like raindrops on his body.

    Instantly, he almost turned into a ¡°bare wood¡±.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you guys not attacking? I have already followed your instructions and held him back. Are you guys not continuing with your ns?!¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was heard from the White Tree of God.

    ¡°The n as already begun.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said seriously.

    ¡°What do you mean?! You mean, you n to ask me to fight against Xing Tian? You guys are not attacking?!¡± Nangong Mu was stunned.

    He had thought that Fang Zhengzhi only threw him out as he knew that he was pretending to be unconscious. Fang Zhengzhi wanted to make use of his power to hold Xing Tian back before attacking when the opportunity was right.

    However, his heart sank immediately when he heard what Fang Zhengzhi said.

 Chapter 1089 - Explode, the Secret of the Changyang Mountain!

    <h4>Chapter 1089: Explode, the Secret of the Changyang Mountain!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted him to fight against Xing Tian?!

    That was revenge, real revenge!

    Nangong Mu hated it but he had no choice. He was surrounded in the golden haze by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s people.

    He could not flee.

    If he did not fight, he would die.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Mu roared furiously and his white tree branches of the Tree of God began to attack at Xing Tian furiously. Every tree branch hit Xing Tian like raindrops.

    However, would Xing Tian be defeated by Nangong Mu?

    Obviously not.

    Xing Tian, with a gigantic shield on his left hand and a gigantic ax on his right, said to be the battle god, blocked Nangong Mu¡¯s attack by cing his gigantic shield in front of his chest. He waved his gigantic ax and the tree branches turned into sparks of light immediately.

    ¡°This... Nangong Mu will definitely be defeated!¡± Mu Qingfeng was extremely confused because he did not understand what was the purpose of the n?

    Could it be just to take revenge on Nangong Mu? But that was so unnecessary?

    Apart from Mu Qingfeng, Ping Yang was also confused by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n. However, she believed in Fang Zhengzhi and would not me him even though he did this solely to take revenge on Nangong Mu.

    ...

    Loud booms were heard from the golden haze.

    Meanwhile, the Godly Beasts and Demons looked with a chilling gaze as they heard the continuous booms from the haze.

    As long as the battle continued, the power of Fang Zhengzhi and the rest would deplete extremely quickly. After the thick golden haze disappeared, they would be able to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this few humans canst so long?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but unfortunately, they won¡¯tst much longer!¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were waiting.

    Meanwhile, the situation was bing extremely violent on the battleground.

    However, the situation was leaning in one party¡¯s favor. Nangong Mu was struggling tost on but Xing Tian was way too powerful. His gigantic ax struck consecutively and the white Tree of God became smaller and smaller as a result.

    It could be predicted that Nangong Mu would die soon.

    ¡°This can¡¯t go on. Or else, Nangong Mu may really die!¡± Mu Qingfeng shook. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s n was unthinkable.

    Until now, he still did not understand what was the n meant for.

    He was about to attack.

    However, Ping Yang blocked Mu Qingfeng directly with her hand.

    ¡°Pavilion Master Mu, believe in Fang Zhengzhi.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± asked Mu Qingfeng again.

    ¡°All¡¯s good as long as you believe.¡± Ping Yang was determined.

    ¡°...¡± Mu Qingfeng was silent. He believed Fang Zhengzhi but judging from the current situation, he could not find an excuse to continue believing in him.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu shook. He could no longerst on and arge amount of blood spurted out like a fountain from the tree branches.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that the descendant of Emperor Yan was so weak?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded like he was despising Nangong Mu.

    As his voice was heard, Xing Tian¡¯s body shook slightly and he paused his motion with the gigantic ax before he struck it again.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu looked like he could no longerst on.

    The White Tree of Godpletely turned into sparks of light and disappeared gradually. Meanwhile, he charged out from the white Tree of God in his real form instantly and fled towards where Fang Zhengzhi was at.

    He was about to go all out.

    Even if he died, he would drag Fang Zhengzhi along.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you don¡¯t deserve to insult my ancestors!¡± A red light flickered in Nangong Mu¡¯s eyes. He reached the golden haze in a blink of an eye.

    Swoosh!

    At this moment, a beam of sword radiance struck.

    Without any doubts, this strike was made by Fang Zhengzhi. He managed to block Nangong Mu out of the golden haze with this sword and prevented Nangong Mu from entering.

    ¡°Emperor Yan is worthless. Even if he had descendants, none of them could change the world, why not let his bloodline end and just leave Emperor Huang¡¯s bloodline from now on!¡± yelled Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You...¡± Nangong Mu was extremely furious.

    He was shaking with rage. His Origin Energy was almost depleted after the battle with Xing Yian. Now he definitely did not have the chance to fight with Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he was unwilling to die like that.

    Moreover, he was insulted by Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, what could he do?

    Fang Zhengzhi was in front of him.

    Xing Tian was behind.

    The only thing he could do was to wait for the arrival of death, wait for Xing Tian to strike him and turn into a puddle of blood like the other Godly Beasts and demons.

    Nangong Mu closed his eyes gradually.

    However, for some reason, the moment of death which he had expected did not arrive. Xing Tian did not go to his back nor did he strike him with his gigantic ax.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Nangong Mu turned over as he made a guess, ¡®Could it be that Xing Tian was afraid of approaching the thick golden haze?¡¯

    This thought was negated by him almost instantly.

    That was because it did not make sense.

    ¡°You are the descendant of Emperor Yan?¡± A hoarse sound was heard. It was very deep but the enunciation of words could be deciphered.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Xing Tian spoke? Hold on, he can speak more than the word ¡®scram¡¯?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng, Ping Yang and the rest were evidently stunned.

    Apart from them, Nangong Mu also froze on the spot. He looked at Xing Tian and the gigantic ax which he was holding onto.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, he is a descendant of Emperor Yan, the only descendant!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard from the golden haze. He answered Xing Tian before Nangong Mu could.

    ¡°How can I believe that?¡± Xing Tian asked again with a deep voice.

    ¡°You should know that Emperor Yan had a seed that was able to grow into a Tree of God. The Tree of God you saw earlier on is formed from that seed,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Xing Tian fell silent.

    In fact, apart from Xing Tian, Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng, Monster Emperor Baizhi, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan all fell silent.

    They did not hear wrongly!

    Fang Zhengzhi was talking to Xing Tian.

    Moreover, they were talking about something very simple. Nangong Mu was the descendant of Emperor Yan.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯

    Why was Xing Tian so interested in this?

    On the other hand, how did Fang Zhengzhi know that Xing Tian would definitely be interested in this? Unless the main point of this n was Nangong Mu¡¯s identity!

    Wait a minute!

    Identity!

    Xing Tian was the Admiral of Emperor Yan!

    In this world, there were not many records regarding Xing Tian. Only ¡°An Ancient Handwritten Letter¡± had some records about the secrets of the ancient era.

    No other records brought up the secrets.

    ¡°Brat, why are you so sure that Xing Tian would definitely not kill Nangong Mu? Also, how did you know the name of Changyang Mountain, who on earth are you?¡± said Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    He knew that Xing Tian was once the Admiral under Emperor Yan. However, he also knew that Xing Tian was sabotaged by Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan.

    If that was the case...

    Why would Xing Tian show mercy to Nangong Mu?

    Did Fang Zhengzhi know more than himself?

    Impossible!

    That was impossible!

    How would a pathetic human that was born thousands of yearster know something that happened thousands of years ago and a rtionship thousands of years ago better than himself?

    ¡°Because of one word ¡ª loyalty,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi casually.

    ¡°Loyalty? But Xing Tian was about to betray Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five did not understand.

    ¡°Who saw him betraying them?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°This...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had heard about Xing Tian¡¯s intention to betray from Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. As for the details on the reason behind it and whether it was so he could take the position of the Emperor, he did not know at all.

    But Fang Zhengzhi should not know too?

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure about this initially but ever since you told me how Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan nned to bury Xing Tian¡¯s head under the Changyang Mountain, I thought of another possibility,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°What possibility?¡± asked Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Since we have confirmed that the Heaven Zen Mountain is the Changyang Mountain of the ancient era, and there must be something under the mountain. Moreover, if Xing Tian can¡¯t die, then can¡¯t we seduce that everything is a plot?¡±

    ¡°What plot?¡±

    ¡°Xing Tian is guarding the secret.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention this earlier on?¡±

    ¡°Yes, since Xing Tian¡¯s existence is only to protect a secret, did he really want to betray Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang? Or rather, even if he really wanted to betray, was he nning to betray Emperor Huang Xuanyuan or Emperor Yan, or both?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°You mean...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s expression changed.

    That was because if Fang Zhengzhi was right, this incident was too shocking that he could not believe it himself.

    Xing Tian did not betray!

    That meant that Xing Tian was trapped on the Changyang Mountain because of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang!

    But why?

    Why did they trap their General in the Changyang Mountain?

    ¡°Actually, these are all my spections. I am not certain and that¡¯s why I said I only have 50 percent of confidence. However, now, I think I am right!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    Even in this situation, Xing Tian did not kill Nangong Mu. This meant that Xing Tian had never betrayed his master, Emperor Yan.

    Of course, there was another possibility.

    That would be how although Xing Tian betrayed Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, he still missed them and did not bear to kill the only descendant of Emperor Yan.

    That was possible too.

    ¡°Xing Tian, you didn¡¯t betray Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang back then, right?¡± Instead of exining to Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Fang Zhengzhi asked again as he wanted to confirm his deduction.

    ¡°Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang? No, you are wrong, I swore to kill them!¡± replied Xing Tian.

    ¡°Swore to kill them? That¡¯s strange.¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned but stop probing further. Instead, he asked, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s under the Changyang Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Under the... Changyang Mountain? Ah! My head, return me my head!¡± Xing Tian suddenly went wild when he heard this.

    He waved both of his gigantic arms again. Loud booms were heard when he shed his gigantic shield and gigantic ax together. It sounded like a thunderstorm.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world seemed to be vibrating.

    The bolts of lightningnded on Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic shield and gigantic ax, producing extremely ferocious lightwaves.

    ¡°Oh no, Xing Tian is mad again.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was surprised.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, hurry up and stop him. You are the only person who can control Xing Tian now. There must be some secrets under the Changyang Mountain, we can¡¯t let Xing Tian die in the hands of Monster Race and Demon Race.¡± said Fang Zhengzhi immediately.

    All he could do was to let Xing Tian recognize Nangong Mu. However, only Nangong Mu, the descendant of Emperor Yan, could control Xing Tian.

    ¡°You say I can control Xing Tian?¡± Blood trickled down the side of Nangong Mu¡¯s mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked extremely fierce because of his scars.

    ¡°That¡¯s right... hold on, Nangong Mu, did you think that I was intentionally harming you earlier on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to nod his head when he had a bad premonition.

    ¡°You mean you weren¡¯t?¡± Nangong Mu sounded very cold.

    ¡°Stop fooling around, Nangong Mu. We are friends, why would I want to kill you? I was only taking a bet that Xing Tian would not kill you because you are the descendant of Emperor Yan.¡±

    ¡°So you threw me on him?¡± asked Nangong Mu.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡°Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, I have to thank you. You are very smart, you actually managed to guess that Xing Tian is controlled by me. Not bad, not bad at all!¡± Nangong Muughed extremely crazily.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, this is a special scenario. We are forced to do this. We have to coborate to fight against the Monster Race and Demon Race!¡± said Yan Xiu.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Nangong Mu!¡± Ping Yang nodded immediately.

    ¡°Hmm, taking a risk with my life, this is indeed what you guys like to do!¡± Nangong Mu nodded and turned to look at Xing Tian. ¡°Xing Tian, don¡¯t you want your head? I can get it for you now but you have to help me kill all of them!¡±

    ¡°Head, my head... return me my head...¡± Xing Tian continued to shout.

    ¡°Xing Tian, do you hear me?¡± Nangong Mu yelled again.

    ¡°My head, no, I can¡¯t get my head back, no... no... return me my head. As long as you can find my head, I can do anything for you,¡± shouted Xing Tian crazily.

    ¡°Very good!¡± Nangong Mu sneered and began to move. He dashed down towards the foot of the Changyang Mountain.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was stunned.

    ¡°Xing Tian¡¯s head... can¡¯t be taken out! Quick, stop Nangong Mu now!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he leaped down from Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back.

    He was extraordinarily fast.

    He sprang towards Nangong Mu.

    Nangong Mupletely ignored him and chanted continuously, ¡°Water gives wood, wood gives fire, fire gives soil, soil gives gold, gold gives water, open!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud boom was heard before gigantic tree branches emerged from the soil, cracking the ground.

 Chapter 1090 - The Moment of Breakthrough!

    <h4>Chapter 1090: The Moment of Breakthrough!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Nangong Mu, dream on!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi had reached too.

    His reaction was pretty fast. Moreover, as Nangong Mu had spent too much energy on the battle with Xing Tian, it was slightly difficult for him to break open the hard ground to retrieve Xing Tian¡¯s head immediately.

    In a blink of an eye, Fang Zhengzhi was at the back of Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t stop me!¡± Nangong Mu was ready to fight with all his might. Golden and red light shed in his eyes as he tried to dy the time using brute force.

    ¡°Rebirth, hell!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to persuade him initially, but Nangong Mu had misunderstood him so much that simple sentences would definitely not be sufficient to persuade Nangong Mu.

    If that was the case...

    There was only one way.

    Beat him until heplied!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s way of dealing with things was always to make use of his brain, instead of his hands, to solve problems whenever possible. However, when he could use his hands, he would not hesitate to do so.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± With a quiet roar, eight clouds of ck mes rose up and spread out rapidly, trapping Nangong Mu in the center. At the same time, the ground sank rapidly.

    Nangong Mu was unable to resist at all as he was amid the Rebirth Hell Dao.

    Boom!

    He fell onto the ground and the tree branches were forcefully hit into the ground, causing the cracked ground to sink even deeper.

    Nangong Mu looked as if he was in pain.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, just give up, you can¡¯t win me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi dashed down and was ready to control Nangong Mu with the fastest speed possible.

    ¡°No! I won¡¯t lose!¡± Nangong Mu roared.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned slightly. Nangong Mu was way too stubborn. He was like a double-edged sword.

    When he was your friend, he could do anything for you.

    Simrly, when he was your enemy, he would definitely go all out against you.

    ¡°Hell, reversal!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted again.

    As he shouted, Nangong Mu, who was initially in the ground, was suddenly pulled up by a powerful force andnded in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands immediately.

    Rebirth Hell Dao.

    The Rebirth Hell Dao manifested in two ways. The first was the ck mes of Hell which was able to burn everything. The second was the forces of attraction and repulsion which could control the earth.

    Simply by casually using the force of attraction and repulsion, Fang Zhengzhi managed to control Nangong Mu.

    It had to be admitted that Xing Tian was the one with the most credits. After all, Nangong Mu was almost exhausted and could not resist.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, just kill me. Even if you managed to kill me, I won¡¯t admit defeat!¡± Blood trickled down the corner of Nangong Mu¡¯s mouth as he looked extremely angry.

    ¡°I...¡±

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    Before Fang Zhengzhi couldplete his sentence of ¡°I won¡¯t kill you¡±, he heard a roar before a powerful force came pressing on him.

    If he was hit by the powerful force, he would definitely die or be severely injured.

    ¡°Oh no, I forgot that I can¡¯t beat Nangong Mu up in front of Xing Tian!¡± Fang Zhengzhi realized that the powerful force should have originated from Xing Tian.

    One single word of ¡°loyalty¡± allowed him to interact with Xing Tian.

    Simrly, the same word ¡°loyalty¡± cause him to make enemies.

    It was like the old saying that went, ¡°Winning or losing does not matter¡±.

    Without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi went down to the ground at an extremely fast speed without looking back.

    Swoosh! A sharp and strong wind brushed the back of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head. It did not strike him but the ripples from the wind still created a powerful impact.

    Bam!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back hurt and he released Nangong Mu¡¯s hand, causing him to fall to the ground, making a huge dent on the ground.

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you alright?!¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat!¡±

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard almost at the same time.

    ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m alright!¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back hurt a lot, he knew that he definitely should not be rash or he might be attacked by everyone.

    ¡°Ah, Xing Tian, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang, no!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After a few pulls, everything went back to the peaceful mode.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi had already crawled up from the dent. He was supporting the ground with one hand while holding onto the Traceless Sword with the other, five-colored light shed in his eyes.

    Meanwhile, in the sky, the extremely wild Xing Tian was carrying Nangong Mu on his shoulder. He flung his shield and ax in front of him continuously.

    ¡°Kill, kill...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s voice was weak. He was lying on Xing Tian¡¯s shoulder but he looked as though he waspletely sleeping on it.

    That was because Xing Toan was way too big.

    He was over a hundred feet tall, making him even taller than mountains. Nangong Mu looked as though he was lying on t ground.

    ¡°Die!¡± Xing Tian roared coldly. He stopped using his favorite ¡°scram¡± as he really wanted Fang Zhengzhi to die.

    ¡°I have no choice but to fight?¡± Fang Zhengzhi sighed but he could not afford to be distracted in the face of the powerful Xing Tian.

    He put all his attention on Xing Tian.

    Although this battle was different from his original n, it was still within his expectations.

    He had 50 percent of confidence!

    There was definitely a chance of failure.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not expect his n to fail because of Nangong Tian.

    He had deduced that Xing Tian would not kill Nangong Mu but he did not deduce that Nangong Mu would want to help Xing Tian retrieve his head.

    This logic was insane!

    In Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind, there was a part of memory that originated from the past world. In order words, who would retrieve their severed head in the past world?

    What bullshit?

    He only knew that a severed hand could be reconnected, but would a cock that was broken still have the same powerful effect after it was reconnected?

    Obviously not!

    If it was impossible for the cock, then it would be even more impossible for the head.

    The head that was severed thousands of years ago and buried under the Changyang Mountain should have turned into ashes? If he was able to reconnect Xing Tian¡¯s head, then it would be a miracle.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not expect Nangong Mu to have such a ¡°wonderful¡± thought in mind and began looking for the head.

    However, Nangong Mu did that.

    Moreover, he told Xing Tian that Xing Tian shall help him kill others if he managed to find Xing Tian¡¯s head. This also made Fang Zhengzhi realize that he was in a ¡°fairytale¡± world.

    Broken limbs were reattached and broken head could be reattached too.

    Who said it was impossible?

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    In this stalemate, Xing Tian made two consecutive roars before moving like a wild horse.

    Fang Zhengzhi could roughly guess that this was a battle tactic passed down from Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    Making use of roars to boost one¡¯s confidence.

    ¡°n failed, Yan¡¯er, leave first and I will stay to distract Xing Tian!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not run straight away as the golden haze had yet to disappear.

    Simrly, he could not possibly allow Chi Guyan and the rest to join the battle again as, after all, if that happened, the oue would be disastrous.

    Apart from him, Chi Guyan and the other humans could die too.

    ¡°Are you still leaving when your n failed?¡± At this moment, a sarcastic voice was heard from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back.

    Then, a gigantic w appeared from nowhere. It was a w that was covered in red scales, it was sharp and cold.

    It was terrifyingly fast too.

    It struck Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back at the same time the voice was heard.

    ¡°What?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attention was fixated on Xing Tian and did not realize that someone would spring a sneak attack from his back.

    Moreover...

    He did not feel any aura at all.

    However, he recognized the w.

    Qiong Qi!

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi was sent flying in the air with Qiong Qi¡¯s strike. He flew up while Xing Tian¡¯s ax struck at his head.

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat, dodge!¡±

    ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Chi Guyan¡¯s voices were heard continuously.

    After that, Fang Zhengzhi saw Xing Tian¡¯s body freeze in midair and the gigantic ax was only one inch away from his head.

    The sharp and cold aura made his scalp turn numb.

    Chi Guyan froze Xing Tian at thest moment.

    However, very quickly, cracking sounds were heard and the gigantic ax which was frozen moved again. Meanwhile, Chi Guyan spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Spat! The blood sttered across the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate. A hint of hope was still hope. An azure blue radiance shed across his body and he was about to flee with the Heaven Dao.

    However, just as he was about to flee, Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic ax swept across after its direction was being forcefully changed. It struck Fang Zhengzhi horizontally.

    Boom! With the azure blue radiance, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body flew down andnded on the ground with a loud thud.

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡± Chi Guyan shouted in surprise and went down towards Fang Zhengzhi at an extremely fast speed.

    Apart from her, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu also dashed down.

    ¡°Hahaha... Kill them!¡± Qiong Qi¡¯s voice was heard from the ground while over ten powerful Godly Beasts appeared from nowhere.

    In fact, when Nangong Munded on the ground, Qiong Qi and the other Godly Beasts had sensed that something odd was happening in the golden haze.

    They acted straight away.

    Making use of a Godly Beast who could prate through the haze, he nted himself silently on the ground and waited for the moment to kill Fang Zhengzhi and the other humans.

    Heaven responded in his favor.

    Fang Zhengzhi was struck by Xing Tian¡¯s ax

    Qiong Qi definitely would not give such a precious opportunity a miss. He attacked immediately and severely injured Fang Zhengzhi. He also made use of Xing Tian to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Yet now, Chi Guyan and the rest dashed down.

    This was an extremely rare opportunity to kill all powerful humans.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let any of them off!¡± Tao Wu shouted too. Meanwhile, he charged towards the weakest Ping Yang and Yan Xiu and was about to kill them together.

    Qiong Qi, on the other hand, charged towards Fang Zhengzhi. He wanted to make sure that Fang Zhengzhi was dead after being struck by Xing Tian. He would not give up until he saw his dead body.

    However, Chi Guyan did not give Qiong Qi the chance to do so.

    Tens of thousands of starlight swarmed towards Qiong Qi while Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Mu Qingfeng and the rest of the humans came down.

    A chaotic battle was beginning.

    Xing Tian wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Qiong Qi wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi too.

    The ten over Godly Beasts as well as the demon race who hade over from outside joined the battle too. From any perspective, the oue of this battle would end up in the death of humankind.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Loud sounds of collision could be heard repeatedly.

    Chi Guyan did not retreat. She made use of the starlight to stand in front of Fang Zhengzhi and defended the furious attacks of Qiong Qi as well as Xing Tian.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang coborated and fought against Tao Wu.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was also extremely fast. He floated in midair and defended against the crazy Godly Beasts along with Mu Qingfeng.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡°Kill Fang Zhengzhi before killing Xing Tian!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the demons were boiling with rage. Their advantage gave them absolute confidence. All of them were wild and pounced towards Chi Guyan and the other humans continuously.

    ¡°Shameless thief, you won¡¯t die, you definitely won¡¯t die!¡± Chi Guyan was extremely determined. She would not retreat no matter what Qiong Qi did.

    Swoosh! A beam of sword radiance shed across the air.

    It forced Qiong Qi to take five steps back as a crack was made on the ground. The sharp sword radiance was like the stars in the sky.

    ¡°Roar!!!¡± Qiong Qi roared furiously. He evidently did not expect Chi Guyan to be so powerful such that she was able to fight against him.

    However, he was already triggered. The stronger Chi Guyan was, the more he wanted to kill her before killing Fang Zhengzhi. He would not let this chance go.

    Qiong Qi pounced on them again.

    A chilling radiance shed from his ws as he pped his gigantic wings. This made his attack as sharp as a sharp knife.

    ¡°Crack!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s shoulder was hit by the w and her white armor cracked open. Although blood flowed from her injury, she did not frown a little.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    She kicked Qiong Qi and caused him to fall to the ground.

    However, at this moment, Xing Tian had reached. He struck his gigantic ax down and wanted to kill Chi Guyan.

    ¡°I can¡¯t retreat. Once I retreat, the shameless thief would die, I can¡¯t retreat!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes flickered with starlight and went forward for the attack.

    The ax and sword collided.

    The gigantic airwave rippled outward. It was so strong that the broken stones on the ground were blown up and the Godly Beasts were astonished.

    ¡°This human named Chi Guyan is so powerful!¡±

    ¡°But she can¡¯t beat Xing Tian!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were very sure.

    However, to their surprise, Chi Guyan did not move at all despite this collision of weapons. Her feet sank deeply into the ground and countless starlight shone on her body.

    ¡°Scram!¡± With a loud roar, a gigantic snake tail was flung from her back and radiance was flowing on its five-colored scales.

    Boom! The snake tail hit Xing Tian.

    The powerful force was like the copse of a mountain. Xing Tian rolled on the ground due to the impact and his gigantic ax was almost hit out from his hand.

    ¡°...¡±

    Gasp!

    The entire world fell silent.

 Chapter 1091 - Godly State, Rebirth!

    <h4>Chapter 1091: Godly State, Rebirth!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone looked at Chi Guyan.

    This was the first time Xing Tian was hit individually. Moreover, he managed to kick Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic body over with his powerful force.

    He was too powerful!

    Even Qiong Qi gave a look of disbelief when he saw this and he could believe that it was real.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡± Ping Yang was pleasantly surprised. He wanted to cheer for Chi Guyan but she could not neglect Tao Wu, who was sneakily heading behind them.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Ping Yang and Yan Xiu attacked almost at the same time. They hit Tao Wu from the left and right while everyone was shocked.

    Tao Wu¡¯s body shook.

    His sneak attack did not seed because of thebined attack of the two people. Instead, he was being forced to retreat and was punched in his head.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Tao Wu bent down and was ready to leap up again.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu also did not show any mercy. Both of them went for Tao Wu together and was not fearful even though their opponent was one of the four ancient beasts.

    The battle took ce again.

    Xing Tian, who was flipped over by the gigantic snake tail, shook off the soil on his body. Another loud boom was heard as the shield and ax collided.

    Xing Tian would not retreat.

    He would go all out once he confirmed his target.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian roared again and pounced towards Chi Guyan. He raised his gigantic ax and was about to strike on Chi Guyan.

    However, this time, he covered his shoulder area with his shield as he struck, evidently having learned his lesson.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s face turned pale.

    Her strength was depleted instantly after forcefully blocking the attack of Xing Tian. However, she was unable to move back as Fang Zhengzhi was lying behind her.

    Qiong Qi looked extremely cold. Everything seemed to have gone ording to n. Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, and the rest were heavily injured because of going against Xing Tian.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi was eyed on by Xing Tian.

    This oue was better than he had expected.

    Although Chi Guyan was an obstacle, she was merely a simple obstacle. It was only a matter of time before he got rid of this obstacle.

    After all, with Xing Tian¡¯s insane attack, he had unintentionally ended up in the same team as Xing Tian, intending to kill Fang Zhengzhi together.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, is this want you want to see? If Fang Zhengzhi is killed, you and Xing Tian will be the next target!¡± Mu Qingfeng¡¯s voice was heard.

    He was being attacked by the Godly Beasts and the demons led by Hong You were advancing towards them.

    Death...

    Was destined.

    They seem to have no hope of survival.

    However, he was unwilling to ept it. He was not afraid of death but he did not want humankind to perish and get killed by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°I...¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed.

    He was frustrated with the fact that Fang Zhengzhi made use of him to ¡°control¡± Xing Tian. He wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi but he was jolted awake by Mu Qingfeng¡¯s words.

    ¡®After Fang Zhengzhi dies...¡¯

    ¡®It will be me and Xing Tian next?¡¯

    Nangong Mu was not foolish. He did not want to listen to Mu Qingfeng but he knew that what Mu Qingfeng said was not wrong.

    If Fang Zhengzhi was confirmed to be dead and the rest of the humans died too, the only people who remain as threats to the Monster Race and Demon Race would be Xing Tian and himself.

    Was Xing Tian able to defend against the overpowering Monster Race and Demon Race?

    Nangong Mu had to think about this question. However, the more he thought about it, the more confused he got, to the point when he was about to go crazy.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nangong Mu roared furiously. He was caught in a dilemma and at a loss of what to do. Two different thoughts ¡°collided¡± in his mind, causing his head to hurt so much that it was about to explode.

    At this moment, Xing Tian reached where Chi Guyan was at.

    ¡°Boom!¡± He struck with his ax.

    Chi Guyan blocked the attack without hesitation. Her dark blue long sword glowed with an eye-catching radiance as it made a sharp whistle.

    After that...

    Crack!

    After blocking two consecutive strikes by Xing Tian, the ¡°treasure¡± was finally unable to take the blow and split open from the center, causing the de to drop on the floor with a ¡°ng¡±.

    Without her weapon, Chi Guyan turned extremely pale.

    Her lips were slightly purple as she breathed hard. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth and made sshes as they dripped on the ground.

    ¡°Hahaha, powerful humans, you guys are going to die soon!¡± Qiong Qiughed loudly as he attacked Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan bit her lips.

    After forcefully blocking the second strike of Xing Tian, her hands were already numb and her internal organs were extremely painful as they felt as though they were on fire.

    Yet, Qiong Qi took this chance to spring a sneak attack at her.

    How cruel!

    However, she did not think too much as she did not have the time for it. She flung her gigantic snake tail without hesitation and caused Qiong Qi to step back.

    Bam! Qiong Qi took seven to eight steps to stabilize his body due to the powerful force, making four gigantic cracks on the ground with his four sharp ws.

    This made him extremely shocked.

    He could not imagine how powerful a human had to be to do this after taking the strike of Xing Tian.

    This woman was very terrifying!

    She was even more powerful than Fang Zhengzhi and was extremely determined. In fact, she was even harder to deal with than Fang Zhengzhi!

    He had to kill her to get rid of this trouble.

    Thoughts shed across Qiong Qi¡¯s mind. He was waiting for Xing Tian to attack again. Meanwhile, he pped his wings continuously and was ready to use all his energy to kill Chi Guyan.

    As he had expected, after being thrown back by the strike of Chi Guyan¡¯s tail, Xing Tian went forward. Xing Tian insanely attacked Chi Guyan as though he had nned it with himself.

    However, this time, Xing Tian seemed to be even crazier.

    Instead of using his ax to strike Chi Guyan, he ced his gigantic shield in front of him and hit Chi Guyan with his head, as though he was going to send Chi Guyan flying in the air.

    Bam! Chi Guyan ced her hands in front of the shield.

    The powerful force caused her to be unable to stand still. She retreated extremely quickly and crushed the stones on the ground, causing a deep groove to be formed.

    Then, Xing Tian raised his ax again.

    One hit and one strike of the ax!

    Xing Tian was extremely insane. He behaved as though he was a gigantic battle machine that only knew how to kill and disregarded the consequences.

    He only had one thing in mind.

    To kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    Anyone who stopped him from that would die.

    Ka! Chi Guyan moved her gigantic snake tail again. She wound it around the handle of the ax andpeted with Xing Tian to decide on who was more powerful.

    ¡°Good opportunity!¡± Qiong Qi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    It was an opportunity that fell from heaven.

    Chi Guyan had ced both her hands on the shield and wound her snake tail around the handle of the gigantic ax while her feet were sunk deep into the ground.

    She could not possibly counterattack.

    Given this opportunity, how would Qiong Qi show mercy? His entire body flowed and he opened his wings as his ws dropped abruptly.

    Then, Qiong Qi began to move.

    He turned into a radiance like a meteor and went straight for Chi Guyan¡¯s head.

    This could be said to be the full-out attack of Qiong Qi. He did not show mercy at all and was extremely fast. In a blink of an eye, he had arrived in front of Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Roar, go and die!¡± A cold look shed across Qiong Qi¡¯s eyes as he looked at Chi Guyan who was biting her lips. He opened his mouth and was about to bite off the head of Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Sister Yan!¡±

    ¡°Guyan!¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan!¡±

    The anxious voices of Ping Yang, Mu Qingfeng and Yan Xiu could be heard at the same time. All of them wanted to save Chi Guyan but were tied down by the enemies beside them.

    Meanwhile, Mu Qingfeng was held on the shoulder by one of the Godly Beasts and could not move his arm.

    ¡°Qiong Qi, how dare you!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was somewhat anxious. His gigantic body moved and grabbed Mu Qingfeng before running towards Chi Guyan.

    Hepletely gave up in defending the Godly Beasts.

    However, Qiong Qi was too fast.

    Even Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five could not reach Chi Guyan before Qiong Qi did. After all, the distance between them was rather far.

    It was a close call.

    If he did not die, he would stay alive.

    Qiong Qi could smell the bloody taste and vegan salivating. The thought of biting off Chi Guyan¡¯s head excited him greatly.

    However, just as he was about to bite on Chi Guyan¡¯s head, a loud roar was heard.

    ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Instantly, Qiong Qi felt that his head was being restraint by an invisible force and he froze on the spot.

    He opened his mouth.

    However, he could not bite down on Chi Guyan.

    Meanwhile, to his surprise, he saw Chi Guyan raise her right hand gradually after withdrawing it from the shield.

    Then, he pointed his finger on Qiong Qi¡¯s head.

    Boom!Bam! A loud explosion was heard.

    Qiong Qi made seven or eight somersaults in midair as though he was a rolling Pikachu, forcefullynded on a gigantic rock.

    Boom! The gigantic rock broke.

    Blood trickled down the corner of Qiong Qi¡¯s mouth. Apart from the fact that he lost to Xing Tian, this was the worst injury he had suffered after making a loss after he had undergone the revolution.

    His mind was buzzing without thoughts.

    He felt as though countless airwaves were surrounding his body. The four ws faced the sky and he had a bloody hole on his forehead. He looked ridiculous.

    His hand was obstructed...

    His tail was caught.

    His legs were stuck.

    And now his mouth?!

    Qiong Qi did not expect his full-on attack to be broken by Chi Guyan¡¯s ¡°freeze¡±. This was the first time he felt insulted.

    He tried to struggle.

    He tried to forcefully break free from the aura on his body and wanted to charge forward again to kill Chi Guyan. However, at this moment, he realized a gigantic body had blocked him.

    Qiong Qi froze. He was just about to speak when he saw Chi Guyan¡¯s body flying as she spat out a mouth of blood.

    Evidently, the power of one hand was insufficient to take Xing Tian¡¯s blow.

    Chi Guyan used thest bit of her strength to stop Qiong Qi from moving. She also forcefully used one hand, her finger sword, to beat Qiong Qi up until he was severely injured.

    However, she suffered the collision from Xing Tian too.

    ¡°Sister Yan, no!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes welled up in tears. Since she was young, she thought Chi Guyan was undefeatable.

    Yet now, she was being attacked by Xing Tian and Qiong Qi.

    That was Xing Tian...

    The ancient Battle God.

    There was Qiong Qi, the head of the four ancient beasts, too.

    Moreover, Chi Guyan has to protect Fang Zhengzhi who was behind him.

    Ping Yang understood that in such a situation, even Chi Guyan had no chances of winning as her opponent was way too powerful and cunning.

    ¡°Die!¡± Xing Tian leaped up.

    As Chi Guyan got hit by him, she released her snake tail on the handle of his ax. This gave him a chance to re-attack.

    As he saw Chi Guyan¡¯s body in midair, he leaped up and struck his gigantic ax with full strength. After all, to him, he did not have the intention to take advantage of one¡¯s mishap. He only wanted to get rid of the obstacle that was obstructing him.

    ¡°Chi Guyan!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five moved again and spat at Xing Tian. However, he clearly could not stop him.

    That was because Xing Tian was too decisive.

    He did not even give Chi Guyan the chance tond.

    ¡°Am I going to die? Shameless brat... you have to survive and change the world¡¯s destiny...¡± Chi Guyan slowly closed her eyes.

    She had reached her limits.

    She had no energy to defend against the strike of Xing Tian¡¯s ax. If she could take a bit of a rest, perhaps she would not have been defeated so quickly.

    Even if Xing Tian and Qiong Qi coborated.

    However, there was no such possibility in the world. Therefore, she could only choose to ept this oue.

    The breeze was light.

    It felt extremely light like the fallen leaves.

    Of course, besides that, there was also a beautiful of sharp radiance that was approaching her. It was so close that she could feel the pain.

    So...

    Before one died, one could still feel pain.

    So would one still be able to feel pain after one died?

    At this moment, Chi Guyan realized the sword radiance seemed to have disappeared. Instead of pain, she felt warm.

    She felt as though she was being hugged by someone.

    So it seemed like one could not feel pain after one¡¯s death. One would feel warmth, the warmth in a hug, and a hand that was doing something inappropriate...

    ¡°Hmm... Hmm?!¡± Chi Guyan was about to close her eyes and go to sleep when she was jolted awake by the inappropriate position the hand was ced.

    Instinctively, she wanted to kill the person who was hugging her.

    But soon...

    She figured it out.

    There was only one person who could take advantage of her in this world.

    She opened her eyes immediately and saw a familiar face, as well as the smile and the undried blood at the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Beautifuldy, don¡¯t move, I can do it myself!¡±

 Chapter 1092 - The First Person of the Godly State Named Fang Zhengzhi!

    <h4>Chapter 1092: The First Person of the Godly State Named Fang Zhengzhi!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What do you mean by doing it by yourself? Chi Guyan blinked.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression froze. Even someone as thick-skinned as himself could not exin.

    Therefore, experienced drivers may not be stable too.

    Even when facing someone as ¡°pure¡± as a seedling, the driver may overturn his vehicle?

    He did not exin himself but held on tightly to Chi Guyan¡¯s hand while his Origin Energy flowed vigorously into Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    Soon after. Chi Guyan¡¯splexion returned to normal.

    ¡°I am alright, I just need a bit of a rest.¡± Chi Guyan released her hand. She understood that it was not the time to waste Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s Origin Energy now.

    ¡°Stand behind me.¡± Fang Zhengzhi ced Chi Guyan down on the ground.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Chi Guyan nodded and stood behind Fang Zhengzhi ¡°obediently¡± as she looked at the figure in front of her.

    It was very safe.

    As long as she stood behind this figure, everything seemed to be able to be resolved.

    Chi Guyan did not insist as she knew what was the correct time to the correct things. She had to participate in this battle.

    Rest and recover.

    Only after she managed to rest and recover, she would be able to help Fang Zhengzhi.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Xing Tian, Qiong Qi who was blocked by Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five as well as the Godly Beasts and demons who were charging towards him.

    Of course, the Monster Race and Demon Race were also staring at him.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi did not die?¡±

    ¡°Not only did he not die, but he even became more powerful. Did he manage to help Chi Guyan dodge Xing Tian¡¯s strike? How is this possible?!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race did not believe it.

    After all, they had seen the strike earlier on with their own eyes. Xing Tian¡¯s strike caused Fang Zhengzhi tond heavily on the ground. It was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to recover so quickly.

    Unless...

    Buzz! Just as they thought of a possibility, a powerful gust of airwave surged out furiously.

    Fang Zhengzhi stood quietly on the spot.

    He was manipting the ¡°ocean¡± in his Small Dimension. All the water had turned into a gemstone, a flowing gemstone.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Thunder was heard continuously.

    Bolts of lightning shed across the sky. They were extremely colorful, there were purple, red, and all different colors of lightning bolts.

    It was a strange scene.

    Moreover, the numbers were huge.

    The entire sky was covered by lightning bolts. If one had to calcte, there were at least 3000 bolts of lightning in the sky.

    It seemed like a way of venting, as well as a sign that all forms of life were awakening. It was also like a response of the Great Dao to a particr force.

    Red, blue, green, ck, silver. Five different colors of radiance flowed in the sky above Fang Zhengzhi. The radiance turned and blended in with the bolts of lightning.

    ¡°Godly State, this brat had reached the Godly State!¡±

    ¡°Why?! Why did he manage to trigger such a strange phenomenon at the Godly State?!¡±

    ¡°The lightning... seems to be Daos. Countless Daos arending!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished. Such a strange phenomenon was rarely seen. Even in the ancient era, they did not see anyone who was able to trigger so many ¡°Godly Lightning¡±.

    Nearly 3000 Daos of Godly Lightning!

    This terrifyingly strange phenomenon was never seen before.

    ¡°Shameless brat, you finally managed to break through to the Godly State!¡± Tears could be seen in Ping Yang¡¯s eyes. However, witnessing this scene, her heart was still trembling.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, congrattions!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth trembled too. They had too many shared experiences ever since they met each other.

    Until today, he still remembered the scene when he met Fang Zhengzhi.

    It was windy.

    However, it was that day when Fang Zhengzhi and his life were intertwined. There were a determination as well as separations, and everything seemed to havested for a century¡¯s time.

    Yet now, Fang Zhengzhi and he had both reached the Godly State.

    Most importantly, both of them had reunited and were fighting together for the future of the world.

    ¡°Indeed, this brat did not disappoint us... I knew it!¡± Mo Shanshi looked up at the lightning in the sky and shuddered.

    ¡°You finally reached the Godly State? Nearly 3000 Daos, he really managed to break through the final hurdle. Fang Zhengzhi, what level would you reach now?¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s lips moved.

    She did not speak.

    However, she was looking forward to it as she knew what Fang Zhengzhi was facing and how difficult it was for him to reach the Godly State.

    Yet now, Fang Zhengzhi did it.

    He really did it!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just the Godly State? I reached the Godly State thousands of years ago!¡± Tao Wu said in disdain.

    An insignificant human being.

    After so many efforts put in, he managed to reach the Godly State.

    It sounded very fantastic as he managed to break through the hurdle and stepped into the realm of God. However, so what? Tao Wu managed to do it long ago.

    ¡°So what if he managed to reach the Godly State?¡± Tao Wu was extremely unimpressed especially after seeing how excited Ping Yang and Yan Xiu looked.

    Maybe he should...

    Kill Fang Zhengzhi while the rest were not paying attention!

    Tao Wu turned to look at a Godly Beast who had half his head revealed behind a rock. A sneaky look shed across his face.

    The Godly Beast understood what Tao Wu meant immediately.

    Swoosh!

    Tao Wu disappeared and seemed to have entered another dimension. In a blink of an eye, he vanished.

    ¡°Hmm? Where¡¯s Tao Wu?! Zhengzhi, watch out!¡± Although Yan Xiu was happy for Fang Zhengzhi, he was paying attention to Tao Wu all along.

    He knew that something was wrong when Tao Wu vanished all of a sudden.

    ¡°Oh no, shameless brat, Tao Wu wants to spring a sneak attack?!¡± Ping Yang also regained her senses and yelled at Fang Zhengzhi.

    Just as both of them shouted, Tao Wu appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi and opened his gigantic mouth. He wanted to swallow Fang Zhengzhi while swaying his long tail and creating a gigantic made out of the intertwining of radiance.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed. After the first sneak attack, he had guessed that there was a Godly Beast who could control space.

    Therefore, how would he have not made preventive measures?

    Boom!

    He simply made use of his body as the core and released the Origin Energy from his Small Dimension.

    Instantly, a five-colored light pir soared up into the sky, connecting the sky and earth together.

    All along, he knew that there was a simple and cruel tactic to prevent all forms of attack.

    That was to forcefully force it out!

    Break apart all forms of attack using strength!

    This tactic was very popr amongst humans. It was especially useful to fight against those who were less powerful in terms of Enlightenment State. Mo Shanshi and Mu Qingfeng had both used it before but Fang Zhengzhi had yet to use it.

    That was because 80 percent of the enemies he faced was more powerful than him. Therefore, he had not had the chance to use it.

    Yet now, he wanted to try.

    He wanted to see how much more powerful was he aspared to Tao Wu?

    Bam! A figure was forcefully hit as the light pir soared into the sky. Tao Wu was sent flying like a kite and tumbled in the air.

    Then, with a thud...

    Hended heavily on the ground.

    Tao Wu was stunned.

    Besides him, Qiong Qi and Hong You, as well as all the Godly Beasts and demons werepletely stunned.

    Tao Wu was sent flying?!

    Tao Wu, the ancient beast whose power was boosted by the fruit, was sent flying by Fang Zhengzhi, a human who had just reached the Godly State!

    The world fell silent as nobody could believe that such a thing happened. However, it was reality.

    Fang Zhengzhi at the Godly State was even more powerful than Tao Wu who had swallowed the fruit? He was so powerful that he managed to send Tao Wu flying using his power?

    How crazy was that...

    However, wasn¡¯t it wasteful for Fang Zhengzhi to release his Origin Energy to turn into a gigantic light pir?

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished.

    However, despite that, they felt that Fang Zhengzhi was being overboard. Even if he was more powerful than Tao Wu, it was unwise for him to be so wasteful.

    After all, they overpowered the human race in terms of numbers.

    Of course, that was what the monsters and demons thought.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, did not think so. Although it seemed to require a lot of energy for him to release his Origin Energy and turn them into the light pir, it actually only took up a scoop of water from the entire ocean.

    How would a scoop of water from the entire ocean affect anything?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not mind at all. In fact, he thought he spent too little efforts. Therefore, after making that move, he expanded his light pir such that small light pirs were branched out from the main pir.

    It was like the ¡°tree branches¡± on the ¡°tree trunk¡±.

    The light pir expanded and attacked the Godly Beasts. Every light pir was at least five meters thick.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The light pirs struck the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    The Monster Race and Demon Race who were charging towards them did not even have time to react before they were ¡°hit¡± by the light pirs and flew across the sky.

    Then, loud sounds of collisions were heard.

    Ten over Godly Beasts and the demons who were at the front were sent flying in the air, crushing the rocks nearby as broken rocks flew all over the ce.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°This brat...¡±

    ¡°How detestable!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race did not suffer any severe injuries as the light pirs did not have as much prating power as the sword radiance.

    To put it more frankly, whatever just happened was only impressible but did not cause any actual injury.

    However, that was what made the Monster Race and Demon Race angrier. They felt that Fang Zhengzhi was teasing them.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s kill him together!¡±

    ¡°Go and die!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race was extremely furious and wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi together.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi totally neglected the expressions on the Monster Race and Demon Race¡¯s faces. He sighed to himself as he shook his head.

    ¡°This is indeed a show-off tactic.¡± Fang Zhengzhi kept his Origin Energy and whipped out his Traceless Sword.

    Buzz! The Traceless Sword made an excited buzz.

    ¡°Looks like you can¡¯t wait any longer?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and held his Traceless Sword in front of his chest.

    At this moment, the frustrated Monster Race and Demon Race had charged towards him as Fang Zhengzhi had kept his Origin Energy.

    That gave them a chance.

    After all, they did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would be more powerful than Xing Tian.

    If they managed to control Xing Tian, the ancient battle god, what about a human being who had just reached the Godly State? They were not afraid of him at all!

    The Monster Race and Demon Race charged over.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi acted as though he did not see them. He pressed his left hand on the de of the Traceless Sword and stroke it from the bottom to the top.

    Soon, he touched the purple scar on the Traceless Sword.

    Gradually...

    Inch by inch...

    With Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s stroke, the purple scar disappeared and seemed to have been absorbed by his hand.

    Buzz!

    When the purple scarpletely disappeared, the Traceless Sword shone with an eye-blinding radiance.

    Instead of the eerieness, it gave off a sense of righteousness.

    It felt as though all the righteous powers had umted and an eye-blinding radiance shot up from the Traceless Sword towards heaven.

    The golden radiance spread and formed a powerful airwave.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race who had reached Fang Zhengzhi were sent flying again. However, they were not as lucky as earlier on.

    That was because the golden radiance was different from the light pirs.

    The bloody mist could be seen as they tumbled in the air. It was the blood due to the injuries made by the golden radiance.

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    The yells of the Monster Race and Demon Race echoed in the air.

    The radiance from the sword de was sufficient to cause injuries to the Godly States of the Monster Race and Demon Race. This caused the other monsters and demons to stop moving.

    Even Qiong Qi and Hong You widened their eyes in fear.

 Chapter 1093 - â€œTwo Swordsâ€ Was Really â€œCheapâ€

    <h4>Chapter 1093: ¡°Two Swords¡± Was Really ¡°Cheap¡±</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If the sword radiance alone could hurt a Godly State Expert, what would happen if one got struck by this sword?

    It was unimaginable!

    Qiong Qi, Hong You, and the Godly Experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race all could not believe it. They looked closely at the golden long sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Soon, the golden radiance disappeared and turned into streams of light which blended into the hit and flowed along the entire sword.

    ¡°Could that be...¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°How could that be possible?!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race, including Qiong Qi and Hong You, were stunned as they stood rooted to the ground and looked in fear.

    That was because they saw how the sword looked like.

    A clear pattern was flowing on both sides of the sword de. One side had nts and looked so real that it made one¡¯s heart shudder.

    On the other side, there were sun and stars. The sun and stars were engraved on the sword and countless of stars emitted an eye-catching radiance.

    As for the hilt...

    There were many symbols flowing on it.

    One could not tell clearly but all of the monsters and demons knew what was written on the sword. One side was about the skills needed for farming while the other side was about how to conquer the world.

    That was because it was the Xuanyuan Sword!

    ¡°Xuanyuan Sword?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? How can he be holding onto the Xuanyuan Sword?!¡±

    ¡°Could he be...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished.

    Besides them, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five also widened his eyes as he was way too familiar with the aura exuded by the sword.

    Xuanyuan Sword!

    It was really the Xuanyuan Sword!

    Could this brat really be...

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around and raised his Xuanyuan Sword above his head.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race fell silent.

    ¡°...¡±

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu as well as Mu Qingfeng, also fell silent.

    When they saw Fang Zhengzhi raise his Xuanyuan Sword, they had spected that Fang Zhengzhi was rted to Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    However, that was merely spection.

    Why did he admit it on his own?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the Changyang Mountain. However, the atmosphere around him was extremely strange. The Monster Race and Demon Race, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Ping Yang all gave a strange look.

    ¡°I have the Xuanyuan Sword, do you guys still not believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Monster Race and Demon Race and raised his Xuanyuan Sword even higher.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Nobody spoke.

    ¡°I have already said. I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, do all of you still not bow down to me? Do all of you want to die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said sternly.

    ¡°...¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race exchanged gazes and nobody dared to talk or move forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    What was going on?

    Was he not acting like Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    All of them clearly looked extremely afraid when they saw the Xuanyuan Sword and shouted ¡®Xuanyuan Sword¡¯ instinctively.

    Was that not sufficient to scare them?

    They still did not treat him as Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to use this time of their hesitation to prepare and raise his sword higher so everyone could see it more clearly.

    The sword he was holding was indeed the Xuanyuan Sword.

    However, at this moment, a furious roar ruined his n.

    ¡°Ah... You are Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, why do you want to hurt me, why, kill, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± This voice was very deep but loud.

    Then, a gigantic figure ran towards Fang Zhengzhi. He was as fast as a charging horse and reached Fang Zhengzhi in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched.

    So, he spent so much effort acting, and instead of persuading the powerful monsters and demons, he ended up persuading the ¡°headless creature¡±, Xing Tian?

    What the f*ck!

    He really thought he was the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and came over to interrogate him about why he hurt him and wanted to take revenge?

    How naive!

    ¡®How do I f*cking know the reason why Emperor Huang Xuanyuan wanted to hurt you?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to protest from extreme dissatisfaction because, by right, the Monster Race and Demon Race should tremble and fall to their knees when he shouted, ¡®I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯.

    Then, they would hail Emperor Huang...

    Although he did not know if there was something like hailing the Emperor, there definitely should not be silence.

    Of course, he had to attack the rash Xing Tian.

    ¡°Xing Tian, how dare you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued to act and did not retreat. He intentionally exuded a golden radiance from his body which merged with the Xuanyuan Sword.

    Then, he went up against Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic ax.

    Boom!

    Xing Tian took five steps back.

    Fang Zhengzhi also moved back slightly but unlike Xing Tian, he only took one step back.

    One step versus five steps!

    That was insane!

    ¡°Gasp!¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race, including Qiong Qi and Hong You took a deep breath. Thy did not expect Xing Tian to be the one suffering loss from this battle.

    Was it because of the Xuanyuan Sword?

    No!

    The Xuanyuan Sword was only one of the reasons. The greater reason was that Fang Zhengzhi was really powerful and was able to fight against Xing. Tian

    It was too terrifying.

    Didn¡¯t he just enter the Godly State?!

    He managed to fight against Xing Tian, the ancient Battle God. Moreover, he had the advantage in terms of power during the one versus one battle.

    How terrifying was that?

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him live!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s kill him together before his injuries healedpletely!¡±

    Qiong Qi and Hong You made theirmands. Both of them looked shocked but despite that, all of them looked extremely fierce.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched.

    They coborated again?!

    What on earth was happening?

    ¡®Is the name of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan not useful? Despite knowing that I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, they still wanted to kill me?¡¯

    Wait a minute.

    Talking about Emperor Huang Xuanyuan...

    It really seemed to be not useful in front of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Fang Zhengzhi realized suddenly that in the ancient era, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan represented the humans as he was the leader and representative of the humankind.

    In the ancient battle, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had led the humans to fight against the Monster Race and Demon Race, thereby triggering the Cosmic Disaster. The three races only managed to reach a ceasefire thanks to Mother Earth¡¯s leadership.

    Therefore, they really did not have a good rtionship. It was a wrong step taken by Fang Zhengzhi, he should not have said he was the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    He should say that he was...

    ¡°Hold on, Xuanyuan Five, who is the leader of the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who had his eyes wide open.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was evidently stunned before he shook his head. ¡°Brat, you should look around you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe,¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed. He knew what the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was referring to. As Qiong Qi and Hong You coborated, he was already surrounded by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five hade to Fang Zhengzhi with Mu Qingfeng.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, as well as Monster Emperor Baizhi had made use of the time in between to go beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    A battle between the humans and the Monster Race and Demon Race took ce.

    The only ¡°heresy¡± was Xing Tian and Nangong Mu who was lying on Xing Tian¡¯s shoulders.

    Xing Tian¡¯s build was huge and he upied a space immediately. Meanwhile, the other positions were upied by Qiong Qi, Tao Wu and Hong You.

    They trapped Fang Zhengzhi and the rest from all directions.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what do you want to do?¡± said Monster Emperor Baizhi. As the Nine-Tailed White Fox, she did not have to get involved in such a battle.

    However, she got involved in this.

    Based on her agreement with Fang Zhengzhi, she would only help Yan Xiu temporarily and be his temporary ¡°horse¡±. She did not have to fight all out with the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Of course, aspared to Monster Emperor Baizhi, Bi Fang was much more posed¡± and did not question at all as she had not retreated.

    If Ping Yang lived, she would live. If Ping Yang died, she would die.

    ¡°What do we do? Bai... Auntie Baizhi, what should I do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat surprised by Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s question and asked instinctively.

    ¡°Did you call me ¡®auntie¡¯?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi as surprised too. However, they were not on the same line.

    ¡°Then should I call you an old wretch?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, call me Auntie.¡±

    ¡°So what should we do, Auntie?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and asked again.

    ¡°I am asking you that question!¡± said Monster Emperor Baizhi angrily.

    ¡°Haha... Alright, since Auntie is asking me, I shall be frank. It¡¯s simple, kill whoever whoes and attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded calm.

    ¡°...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi moved her mouth and wanted to say something but swallowed her words.

    ¡®You are good!¡¯

    ¡®You can go ahead and kill!¡¯

    There were dozens of Godly Beasts and nearly 200 powerful demons there. No matter how powerful one was, he would have limited strength, right?

    Could he really kill everyone?

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was thinking about that, a ¡°swoosh¡± was heard and she discovered, to her horror, Fang Zhengzhi had already dashed out.

    He really went towards the Monster Race and Demon Race on his own.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian roared loudly and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi again.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu who was lying on his shoulder suddenly crawled up and looked as though he was in extreme agony.

    ¡°Xing Tian, don¡¯t... don¡¯t kill him. Don¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Nangong Mu did not know how he managed to say this sentence but after he said it, he looked as though he was about to copse. He was covered with perspiration from head to toe, looking as though he had just gone through an exhausting battle.

    However, Xing Tian clearly did not bother to listen to Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian¡¯s voice was as loud as thunder. He came straight at Fang Zhengzhi andpletely disregarded what Nangong Mu said.

    He only had one thought in mind.

    Kill the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, Fang Zhengzhi!

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    He did not seem to have the intention to retreat at all.

    Instead, he went towards Xing Tian.

    Then...

    Disappeared!

    Yes, he disappeared again.

    A soldier of the demon race appeared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original position and was charging towards Xing Tian¡¯s ¡°face¡± mercilessly.

    Then, he was stunned.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    That was because Xing Tian¡¯s ax had already hit his head and sliced his body into half like cutting a watermelon.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Blood gushed out.

    Meanwhile, a person wearing blue robe appeared where the soldier of the demon race was at.

    It was none other than Fang Zhengzhi!

    There was another demon soldier in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°face¡±.

    Like the demon soldier who died, his expression changed from one that was merciless to one that waspletely stunned.

    The reason was simple...

    Fang Zhengzhi had stabbed his forehead. With a sh of golden light, Fang Zhengzhipletely destroyed the mark on his forehead.

    ¡°I said earlier on, I will kill whoever whoes to attack me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pressed his hand on the head of the demon soldier.

    Swoosh!

    The demon soldier fell straight onto the ground. He died with his eyes wide open.

    Everything happened too quickly.

    He could not react in time at all.

    Gasp!

    ¡°Is it the shifting forms technique of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao?!¡±

    ¡°The boundary... The boundary of the Shifting Forms technique had expanded to cover twenty... twenty feet!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race stared at Fang Zhengzhi nkly and cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.

    They had already figured out what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do.

    Xing Tian was on the Monster Race and Demon Race¡¯s side?!

    That¡¯s right!

    It may have looked like that.

    However, when they went deeper into the details, they realized that Xing Tian, instead of killing Fang Zhengzhi, was being used by Fang Zhengzhi as another ¡°sword¡±.

    One sword was named Xuanyuan.

    One sword was named Xing Tian.

    After performing the Shifting Forms technique, Fang Zhengzhi killed not one, but two demons or monsters. One died under the Xuanyuan Sword and one died under the ax of Xing Tian.

    How could they continue...

    With this battle?!

    It was like catching loaches in the soil, it was extremely slippery.

    No!

    This was not catching loaches. It was catching snakes. Moreover, it was catching snakes in the muddy water barehanded, one could not even see the shadow of the snake.

    ¡°Xing Tian, I am here,e and kill me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly and signaled to Xing Tian with his fingers.

    [0] Wordy on ¡®sword¡¯ and ¡®cheap¡¯ as they both have the same pronunciation in Mandarin

 Chapter 1094 - The Secret of the Changyang Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1094: The Secret of the Changyang Mountain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race had chills down their spines.

    If that happened a moment ago, they would be extremely thrilled to see Fang Zhengzhi fool around with Xing Tian. However, they had apletely different feeling now.

    He was not fooling around with Xing Tian.

    He was clearly trying to kill all of them by making use of Xing Tian as the weapon.

    ¡®What should we do?¡¯

    ¡®Should we continue this battle?¡¯

    To be honest, the Monster Race and Demon Race were not stubborn. At least, they could not continue doing what they have been always insisting without any reservations.

    Yet now, it was not their choice anymore.

    That was because Xing Tian had already turned around after hearing Fang Zhengzhi. He charged towards Fang Zhengzhi with his ax in one hand and his shield in the other.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Dodge...¡±

    ¡°Get further away from Fang Zhengzhi, his Heavenly Rebirth Dao can cover up to twenty feet. Try to attack beyond that boundary!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were shocked and fled in different directions.

    However, there were disparities between expectations and reality. Although twenty feet may sound very little, it was extremely wide.

    Especially since their speeds were being controlled.

    It was really not easy to try to escape.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed, with the boost of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao, was not only faster than any of the monsters and demons but also faster than Xing Tian.

    That was extremely terrifying.

    The Monster Race and Demon Race tried to get away from Fang Zhengzhi but realized, to their horror, instead of getting away, they were getting closer to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No!! Don¡¯te close to me!¡± One of the Godly Beast roared.

    Unfortunately, it was useless.

    A beam of azure blue light shed and Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of him. Then, he moved his finger slightly and swapped positions with the Godly Beast.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Godly Beast roared indignantly. He trembled as he saw Xing Tian running towards him.

    Bam!

    Both of them collided.

    The Godly Beast tried to defend with all his force and wanted to escape from Xing Tian¡¯s grasp. However, he was knocked out by Xing Tian¡¯s shield.

    In a daze, he saw a gigantic ax striking towards him.

    Crack! The sound of bones breaking was heard. The Godly Beast copsed and his gigantic body was sliced into half.

    Meanwhile, nearby, another demon soldier was experiencing the same fate.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was too fast. The sharp sense of righteousnesspletely suppressed the demon¡¯s internal energy, causing him to be unable to breathe.

    ¡°No!!!¡± The demon soldier roared unwillingly. He wanted to run but it was impossible.

    That was because the Xuanyuan Sword had already hit him.

    It must be said that anyone¡¯s potential was limitless at the edge of death.

    He made an extremely exaggerated wriggle in midair.

    To everyone¡¯s horror, he managed to escape from the Xuanyuan Sword. However, despite that, one of his arms was still severed.

    Blood sttered across the sky.

    As for what happened next...

    He did not think of resisting as he knew that he could not match up to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡®Run!¡¯

    However, before he could take two steps, a force overpowered him and eight balls of ck mes surrounded him.

    Rebirth Hell Dao.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± The demon soldier yelled in pain before he was set aze by the eight balls of mes and tumbled in the air.

    Until he turned into ashes.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race werepletely stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful.

    Within two encounters, one Godly Beast and three demon soldiers had died. Moreover, they died extremely quickly.

    Although the Monster Race and Demon Race won in terms of numbers, it was definitely not sufficient. Four of them had died in the past few minutes, how long more could theyst?

    If Fang Zhengzhi continued this, within two hours, all of the powerful monsters and demons would perish.

    ¡°We can¡¯t run anymore!¡±

    ¡°We have to stay united or all of us will die!¡±

    ¡°We have tobine our forces, hold back Xing Tian and kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Qiong Qi and Hong You¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. They could not tolerate such failure and were extremely unwilling to be killed by Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Tian.

    They had to go all out.

    They did not have any other choices. If they did not fight, they would die.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar...

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    After hearing what Qiong Qi and Hong You said, the Monster Race and Demon Race roared furiously but were still extremely afraid.

    If Xing Tian was described as a massacre machine, then Fang Zhengzhi would be the mastermind controlling the machine. Moreover, this mastermind could defeat Xing Tian.

    It was disastrous when the two of them ¡°coborated¡±.

    None of the monsters or demons expected that this battle would end up like this.

    Not only was Fang Zhengzhi still alive, but he even managed to make a breakthrough.

    He broke through to the Godly State and was as terrifyingly powerful as Xing Tian.

    ...

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned.

    When she first heard Fang Zhengzhi said he would kill anyone who came in his way, she thought Fang Zhengzhi was pretending again.

    However, after witnessing what had happened, her feelings could no longer be described by words.

    How did Fang Zhengzhi be so powerful?!

    This brat...

    How was it possible?!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not understand how a weak human being managed to obtain such a terrifying level of power within this short span of time.

    She always knew that Fang Zhengzhi had potential.

    However, she did not treat Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

    In the Great Swamp, Yun Qingwu had told her about a n of using Fang Zhengzhi as the trigger to trigger an internal fight amongst the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Although she listened to Yun Qingwu back then, she did not feel that Yun Qingwu¡¯s n would work.

    Until now...

    She finally understood.

    How shallow and short-sided her foresight was aspared to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Qingwu, you insisted for me to be Yan Xiu¡¯s ¡°horse¡±, are you trying to save me?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked confused.

    For some reason, she suddenly felt relieved.

    She was relieved that she listened to Yun Qingwu. Otherwise, she would probably end up like the Godly Beasts and demons in front of her.

    ¡°Is this brat really the reincarnated Xuanyuan?!¡± Aspared to the astonishment Monster Emperor Baizhi felt, more thoughts shed across Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s mind.

    He did not believe in it.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality waspletely different from that of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. However, Fang Zhengzhi was holding the real Xuanyuan Sword.

    Xuanyuan Sword acknowledged Fang Zhengzhi as his master!

    Was this really pre-destined?

    ¡°Hahaha... Kill them, kill all of these monsters and demons!¡± Ping Yang flushed in extreme excitement.

    Chi Guyan who was behind Ping Yang closed her eyes.

    She was recuperating and recovering.

    Judging from the current situation, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have the advantage. However, she knew that this battle would not be over so simply.

    There were still many unsolved mysteries.

    For example, why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan coborate to sabotage Xing Tian and bury his head under the Changyang Mountain instead of killing him right away?

    What exactly was the secret of the Changyang Mountain?

    Besides that, why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan enter the gxy in the past, what secret was there?

    Chi Guyan knew that all these secrets would be unveiled soon.

    Yet now, she needed to be prepared for that moment and allow her energy to reach the peak level once again.

    ...

    Blood covered the Changyang Mountain.

    It was the blood of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Theynded on the Changyang Mountain and disappeared gradually.

    It was a strange scene.

    However, nobody noticed that or bothered about that.

    Even Wu Yuer, Yun Qingwu, and the rest focused their attention on the center of the intense battlefield as they watched the battle in fear.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he was much more relieved and scurried amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race. He would severe a head or limb when he came across a monster or demon.

    He killed everywhere he went. He did not have any fixed route or intention and followed his heart.

    He killed anyone whom he did not like.

    He would throw the demon who shouted the loudest to Xing Tian.

    Qiong Qi and Hong You turned pale. They wanted to reunite the Monster Race and Demon Race but it was not as easy as they thought it would be.

    That was because some of the demons and monsters had already given up and were fleeing.

    In the face of death...

    Any treasures or opportunities were nothing!

    If they lost their lives, there was no use for treasures and opportunities.

    The dozens of Godly Beasts had all dispersed. No matter how loudly Qiong Qi shouted, they continued to flee in all directions.

    The same thing happened to the demon race.

    More than ten of the 200 demons had died. The remaining of them started to n how to stay alive and began to run in all directions.

    ¡°What do we do? Brother!¡± The warlocks felt afraid when they saw this. After all, they could die if this continued.

    ¡°Should we flee?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Hong You was frustrated. It was not the twelve warlocks¡¯ style to flee and they had never fled in a battle before.

    Even in the ancient era, they never fled when fighting against Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    Therefore, they definitely would not flee now.

    ¡°Hong You, what do the twelve warlocks think?¡± Qiong Qi looked at Tao Wu as he asked,

    ¡°Stand forward.¡± Hong You said coldly.

    He knew that if they did not want to be ughtered one after another, someone needed to stand forward to salvage the situation.

    If nobody could win Fang Zhengzhi or Xing Tian, they would definitely lose this battle.

    ¡°Alright, Tao Wu and I will hold Xing Tian back while the twelve warlocks attack Fang Zhengzhi, how about that?¡± said Qiong Qi.

    ¡°Alright, we will follow your n!¡± Hong You did not have any objections and did not pick his opponent.

    They had to strike an alliance at this time!

    Moreover, he knew that two out of the four ancient beasts had already died. It was extremely difficult for two of them to fight against Fang Zhengzhi.

    The twelve warlocks had to coborate and fight against Fang Zhengzhi for them to stand a chance to win.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Without hesitation, Qiong Qi roared furiously and charged towards Xing Tian.

    Tao Wu followed closely.

    The two beasts attacked together, trying to hold Xing Tian back.

    The other Godly Beasts hesitated when they saw this. Theirmon sense told them that they had to coborate with Qiong Qi.

    However, their instinct told them to sit back and wait.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar...

    Instead of calling for the other Godly Beasts, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu attacked Xing Tian from both sides.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian roared furiously and turned his ax and shield in front of him. A powerful murderous aura radiated from his body.

    However, the missed Qiong Qi and Tao Wu with his strikes of the ax.

    Evidently, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu did not have the intention to kill Xing Tian. They were holding him back so Xing Tian could not participate in the battle.

    Meanwhile, on the other end, twelve warlocks had surrounded Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hong You was standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi. The other warlocks also raised their weapons with serious expressions on their faces.

    It was extremely rare to see the twelve warlocks coborate.

    In the ancient era, rumors had it that the twelve warlocks could win Emperor Huang Xuanyuan if they coborated.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not know about that.

    ¡°Oh? Twelve of you came to face death together, how magnificent!¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed and looked at the twelve warlocks in disdain. However, he instinctively tightened his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword.

    The twelve warlocks.

    They were very famous in the ancient era and was said to be the most powerful followers of the Demon God Chi You.

    Nobody knew how they attacked, but they knew that the twelve warlocks were very powerful.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi acted like he did not care, he was extremely cautious and ced his Xuanyuan Sword in front of him. He was ready to attack or ask for help!

    ¡°Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation, Fang Zhengzhi, either you or we will die today!¡± Hong You bowed as his entire body cracked.

    After that, a strange scene took ce.

    Two gigantic bulges were formed on Hong You¡¯s back. The bulges seemed to have their own lives as they grew continuously.

 Chapter 1095 - The Ultimate Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1095: The Ultimate Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hong You wasn¡¯t the only one, the other warlocks were moving in the same way. They looked like 12 marites that had been connected together.

    A bulge appeared on the back of every single warlock.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After multiple cries, the eyes of the twelve warlocks turned blood red, as if there was actual blood flowing in them. This was a horrifying sight.

    However, what was more horrifying was the fact that a gigantic head and two arms actually grew out of Hong You¡¯s back.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡®What the hell is that?!¡¯

    ¡®Two arms and a head grew out?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually a little taken aback because it wasn¡¯t just happening to Hong You. Arms and heads grew out of the other warlocks¡¯ backs too.

    It looked extremely bizarre.

    ¡®Is this our young hero Little Nezha?!¡± (Nezha is a mythical hero in Chinese legends with three heads and six arms)

    No!

    Little Nezha had three heads and six arms, but the twelve warlocks each had two heads and four arms, so they were different. Furthermore, ording to what he knew, Little Nezha¡¯s extra heads and arms were part of his transformation.

    However, for the twelve warlocks...

    The extra heads and arms actually grew out of their bodies.

    ¡°Die!¡± The warlocks cried, and four weapons appeared in each of their hands as they charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°What happened to the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation? Isn¡¯t there any structure?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised because the twelve warlocks weren¡¯t supposed to be so rash.

    ¡®At the very least, they should attack from both front and back or form a few rows.¡¯

    ¡®However, attacking at the same time...¡¯

    ¡®Is a little unorthodox, isn¡¯t it?¡¯

    Despite these thoughts, Fang Zhengzhi already began evading their attacks. Taking thebined attack of the twelve warlocks head-on was tough but meaningless, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t do that.

    He soared into the sky immediately.

    The twelve warlocks followed after him at an astounding speed too.

    Soon, the warlocks were by his side and 48 weapons shed towards him in all directions.

    Woosh!

    Fang Zhengzhi disappeared, only leaving behind a sky blue radiance. Then, his body dropped downwards rapidly. He wanted to get behind the twelve warlocks with Heaven Dao and defeat them one by one.

    However, as soon as he appeared behind one of the warlocks, he suddenly discovered that the warlock in front of him had disappeared without a trace instantly.

    ¡°What?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled. He had obviously missed his attacks before, but it never happened after he reached Godly State.

    What was going on?

    While he was trying to figure it out, he realized that the twelve warlocks had once again appeared around him and they were the same distance away from him as when they had surrounded him just now.

    Even their positions were identical.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was still right in the center of their encirclement.

    ¡°Teleportation? Space reversal? What... The hell is this?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought of many possibilities, but he couldn¡¯t confirm any one of them.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t escape the encirclement!¡± Although it was Hong You who said that, the voice came out of all the twelve warlocks¡¯ mouths.

    All of the warlocks were talking, even the movement of their lips was identical.

    ¡°It¡¯s twelve warlocks¡¯ synthesis! Fang Zhengzhi, the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation allows the warlocks tobine their bodies and souls into one!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five exined.

    ¡°Really? This kind of formation exists?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    ¡®This ispletely unscientific. How could twelve people be one? They aren¡¯t Transformers, so how could theybine into one?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was really a little speechless.

    Of course, he also felt somewhat helpless because this world wasn¡¯t based around science, so many things truly couldn¡¯t be exined.

    However, since the twelve warlocks were known as Chi You¡¯s strongest force, it was understandable that they had unique abilities.

    Though, since that was the case...

    This wasn¡¯t fun anymore.

    The twelve warlocks weren¡¯t overly powerful individually. Every one of them was just a little stronger than the average Godly Beast. However, they weren¡¯t as strong as beasts like Qiong Qi.

    Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi saw the warlocks charging towards him, he actually thought that they were delivering ¡®free kills¡¯.

    This was slightly awkward.

    ¡®Does it mean that I have to fight 12 of them by myself?¡¯

    ¡°You have to do whatever you can to create an opening and kill one of them. As long as you did that, their overall strength would decrease by 10%, and it would be much easier afterward.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five exined once again.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Fang Zhengzhimended Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡®However, the underlying condition seems to be killing one of them. That¡¯s actually stating the obvious since it would naturally be much easier if I can kill one of them.¡¯

    ¡®The problem is if I can kill one of them or not!¡¯

    Without overthinking, Fang Zhengzhi decided to give it a try since trying never made anyone pregnant, just like how it wouldn¡¯t go in if you were just rubbing against the entrance.

    ¡°Die!¡± The twelve warlocks rushed towards him once again.

    This time, Fang Zhengzhi was going to take it head-on. He held on to Xuanyuan Sword tightly with a faint radiance in his eyes, and he looked extremely serious.

    They were getting closer and closer!

    He could even feel the chill from the weapons in the warlocks¡¯ hands.

    Boom!

    A ck me started burning furiously in the center of their encirclement. The surrounding air was hissing due to the heat.

    ¡°Where is he?!¡±

    ¡°Fall back!¡±

    The warlocks didn¡¯t manage to instantly locate Fang Zhengzhi. It was as if he had suddenly disappeared without warning. They were slightly rmed and decided to back away as a cautionary measure.

    As the saying went, ¡®Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee¡¯.

    That could probably describe how the twelve warlocks attacked and retreated simultaneously.

    However, they obviously weren¡¯t getting away this time.

    That was because multiple different;y colored chains flew out of the ck me right after they started moving back. They were headed towards one of the warlocks.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    That warlock was hit almost instantly and he stopped moving.

    Although the other warlocks weren¡¯t hit, they couldn¡¯t move their bodies either. They stopped in the air just like the warlock who was struck.

    ¡°Hmph, Near-Life Dao. Do you think we are Monsters? Open!¡± Hong You opened his mouth and the voice came out of all the warlocks simultaneously.

    In the meantime, the chains started breaking rapidly.

    The twelve warlocks hadbined as one.

    One of them was as strong as the twelve of thembined. Their power was interconnected, and so were their minds, and even their visions.

    Crack! They broke off another chain.

    Then, one after another, the chains broke.

    When thest chain was almost broken, twelve shadows appeared from the ck me, and each of them was holding a Xuanyuan Sword.

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    ¡°Conquers!¡±

    ¡°The Eight!¡±

    ¡°Seas!¡±

    They heard Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You want to defeat the twelve of us simultaneously with one move?! Naive!¡± Hong You¡¯s expression turned cold. As the shadow approached him, a metallic radiance appeared on his body.

    However, his eyes went agape when the shadow was in front of him.

    That was because the sword didn¡¯t fall... Like how he had expected.

    Instead, it was a ball of snow-white powder?!

    ¡°What?!¡± Hong You was shocked. He wanted to back away, but he hadn¡¯t broken off thest chain yet. He felt paining from his eyes before he managed to fall back.

    ¡°Eyes, my eyes!¡±

    ¡°Eyes, my eyes!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All of them warlocks uttered at the same time.

    That was because they experienced the same fate as Hong You. The shadows threw lime powder at their faces without any warning.

    The twelve warlocks were simultaneously ¡®blinded¡¯.

    Of course, it was just temporary for them. It wouldn¡¯t actually affect them, and their visions would recover shortly.

    However, despite that...

    They still realized quickly that their opponent wasn¡¯t just incredibly powerful. He would utilize shameless tactics thatmon masters wouldn¡¯t even bother with!

    ¡°Quick, fall back now!¡± Hong You didn¡¯t hesitate. He could predict that their temporary blindness could likely create an opportunity for Fang Zhengzhi.

    Although he wasn¡¯t sure how Fang Zhengzhi was going to break through theirbined defense, he¡¯d rather be safe than sorry.

    They fell back.

    The warlocks flew backward rapidly.

    Then, Hong You felt a sharp paining from his asshole.

    ¡°Ah?!¡± The intense pain coursed through Hong You¡¯s powerful nerves, and he didn¡¯t know what words he should use to describe the pain.

    Meanwhile, the surrounding Godly Beasts and Demons...

    Werepletely dumbfounded.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®What on earth?!¡¯

    ¡®What happened to the pride of a master?¡¯

    ...

    Pride?

    Fang Zhengzhi never cared about pride. He only knew one thing for certain ¨C Since their defense was interconnected, then, their pain was naturally interconnected as well.

    Poking one asshole was equivalent to poking 12 assholes...

    How could he pass up on such a good deal?

    Since he wanted to break through theirbined defense in one go, he¡¯d naturally be as ruthless as possible. He didn¡¯t need to care about anything else.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t poke Hong You¡¯s asshole.

    The victim was another warlock, but it was super effective. All the twelve warlocks, including Hong You, felt the sharp pain.

    ¡°Break up!¡± Hong You finally said something, he couldn¡¯t endure this pain anymore.

    The Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation could assemble and disband at will. Once assembled, they would bebined as one. They could also disband and endure the pain individually. They wouldn¡¯t feel the pain from before after assembling the formation again.

    This was one of the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation¡¯s huge advantages.

    They were incredibly tough when they werebined. However, if something was too much for them to endure, they could split up instantly and look for another opportunity to re-assemble afterward.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up instantly.

    ¡®They split up?!¡¯

    ¡®That makes things easy...¡¯

    After poking the bottom, it was naturally time to poke the top.

    Poking both the top and the bottom was the true essence of poking!

    That was the ultimate truth.

    Fang Zhengzhi descended from the sky, and Xuanyuan Sword exuded an extremely dazzling golden radiance in his hand. It dawned upon the warlock that was enduring the pain just like a bolt of lightning.

    Hong You regained his vision partially at this moment, and when he saw the golden radiance falling from the sky, he quickly uttered, ¡°Crap, assemble now!¡±

    However, it was toote.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi was too fast.

    sh! Xuanyuan Sword prated his head.

    Its sharp de was more than what any of the warlocks could handle individually. Once they split up, each one of them would be fighting by himself.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Blood gushed out.

    Till his death, that warlock couldn¡¯t believe that the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation would actually be broken by Fang Zhengzhi with such ¡®simple¡¯ and ¡®shameless¡¯ tactics.

    He first threw lime powder at their eyes and blinded them.

    Then, he took advantage of the opportunity to ¡®backstab¡¯ them.

    Finally, he immediately dealt a killing blow to one of the warlocks after they had temporarily separated. Each one of his tactics was something that any master with pride would never do.

    However, when those tacticsbined...

    They actually broke up their Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation!

    ¡°Ah! Lan Ling!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Lan Ling!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The eleven remaining warlocks uttered simultaneously, and all of them looked extremely furious.

    They lived together since ancient times and had never been separated before, yet now, Fang Zhengzhi killed Lan Ling?!

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All of the eleven warlocks¡¯ eyes were extremely red. After losing one of the warlocks, their strength went down by 10%, but that didn¡¯t affect their determination to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Actually, even if I killed one of them, when the eleven remaining onesbine... They are still pretty strong, aren¡¯t they?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile.

    In that case, he¡¯d try it again.

    After all, if the first try didn¡¯t her pregnant, more tries wouldn¡¯t necessarily get her pregnant either.

    ¡°Die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi yelled and leaped up above the eleven warlocks.

    ¡®Traceless...¡¯

    ¡®I finally understand why you are called Traceless.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s because you ARE Traceless!¡¯

    ¡®Your name is Traceless, and your de turns into Xuanyuan Sword!¡±

    Buzz! Xuanyuan Sword let out a loud buzz as if it sensed Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s heart. A terrifying radiance burst out of its golden body.

    Then, it grew bigger rapidly.

    One inch, two inches... Ten inches, a hundred inches...

    ¡°Traceless, let¡¯s do this together...¡±

    ¡°God-Killing!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze turned sharp all of a sudden, then, he headed towards the eleven warlocks who were charging towards him, with the gigantic golden Xuanyuan Sword in his hand.

    At this moment, there weren¡¯t any other colors in the sky.

    There was nothing but the golden radiance.

    ¡°God-Killing... sh?!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes were also glittering with a golden radiance at this moment. He gazed at the golden radiance that lit up the sky, as well as the vivid flowers, trees, mountains, and rivers that were flowing on Xuanyuan Sword. It was as if ancient history had appeared right before his eyes once again.

    ¡®Yes...¡¯

    ¡®He really is Xuanyuan!¡¯

    Boom! The sword radiancended right in the center of the warlocks. Millions of spots of light dispersed and brightened the entire sky just like the sun.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    One after another, streams of golden radiance fell onto the ground with a bang.

    Bright red drops of blood sttered in the air and rained down from the sky like a bloody rain. Then, they fell onto the ground and disappeared without a trace.

    Cracks started appearing on the ground where the blood fell, and it seemed like magma was overflowing.

    ¡°The ground has... Cracked open?¡± Everyone¡¯s attention was in the sky, except Yun Qingwu, who was looking at the ground.

 Chapter 1096 - The Heaven Receiving Ladder and the Head of Xing Tian

    <h4>Chapter 1096: The Heaven Receiving Ladder and the Head of Xing Tian</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Boom!

    Meanwhile, in the sky, the three warlocks fell straight to the ground. A look of disbelief and unwillingness was seen on their faces as they really could not believe how sharp Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was.

    Meanwhile, in the sky, the three warlocks fell straight to the ground. A look of disbelief and unwillingness was seen on their faces as they really could not believe how sharp Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was.

    Not only did he manage to destroy the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation, but he also managed to cause severe injuries to the three warlocks.

    Blood spurted out from their bodies.

    None of the three warlocks had aplete body. They were all cut by the sword radiance into halves and fell to the ground.

    At this moment, the redva flowed over.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°What? The ground...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Before the three severely-injured warlocks couldnd on the ground, they were swallowed by the redva and their bodies split open, producing cracking sounds.

    Of course, they had yet to die.

    As the twelve ancient warlocks, they were very strong-willed. Even if their bodies were cut into half and burnt by theva, they would not die immediately.

    However, it was definitely extremely painful.

    ¡°Save... save me!¡± The three warlocks were in extreme agony and shouted loudly at Hong You for help as they tried to leave theva.

    However, when they opened their mouths, theva gushed into their mouths and into their internal organs, causing the pain they felt to be even more intense.

    ¡°Stop moving, we areing to save you!¡± Hong You was injured too but it did not affect him much because it was merely on the skin.

    They lost?!

    This was unexpected for Hong You.

    In the ancient era when the twelve warlocks fought against Emperor Huang Xuanyuan together, they did not suffer such grave injuries like today.

    Detestable!

    Hong You was burning with rage but he could no longer care further as he had to save the three warlocks who were surrounded byva.

    He dashed down.

    However, a shadow moved faster than him.

    Swoosh! With a sh of light radiance, the shadow went into theva before leaving it, leaving behind some blue radiance.

    Meanwhile, the three warlocks who were surrounded by theva froze.

    Death...

    They eventually had to face it.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The three warlocks¡¯ bodies exploded and their flesh was engulfed by theva. They were instantly charred and turned into smoke.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I am going to kill you!¡± Hong You stared at the figure standing beside theva as well as the three warlocks who disappeared in theva.

    Since the ancient era, the twelve warlocks had fought many battles.

    And they had yet to lose any.

    However, today, four of them died in one battle. This battle was definitely the one that fuelled the greatest resentment amongst them.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    The other warlocks roared furiously too.

    They were so furious that they could not be bothered about anything else. All of them swarmed towards Fang Zhengzhi and vowed to kill him.

    ¡°Oh, you guys are angry? You mean you guys did not realize that you will be killed by me before deciding to kill me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    He did not like to kill.

    However, that did not mean that he would show mercy to his enemies. In fact, that was not being merciful but being stupid.

    After four of the twelve warlocks died, his stress disappeared instantly. Furthermore, with the loss of emotional control of the warlocks, they were no longer a threat to Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi was not afraid of the eight warlocks at all. He stood on the spot with his sword and waited for them to charge over.

    He actually enjoyed the feeling of how others could not stand him but could not kill him too.

    ¡®Come on, let¡¯s hurt each other.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m not scared!¡¯

    ¡°Boom!¡± At this moment, the second fountain ofva spurted out from the ground and burst into bright fireworks in the sky.

    The surrounding Godly Beasts and demons frowned when they saw this.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Is the ground cracking because of the impact?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, such a great battle could indeed result in an explosion.¡±

    Although the Monster Race and Demon Race were suspicious, they did not bother too much as, after all, before the huge battle in ancient times, the ground had exploded before.

    In a battle of the powerful individuals, it was not surprising to see incidences such as ground cracking and copse of mountains.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother as well.

    He was already in the midst of a fight with Hong You and the remaining eight warlocks.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Hong You and the rest of the warlocks were mad and every strike they took were targeted at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s vital areas. Their eyes were bloodshot.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body was glowing.

    He attacked swiftly amongst the crowd of Hong You and the other warlocks, causing blood to stter with every strike he took. He looked slightly insane as well.

    ¡°From now on, the twelve warlocks would disappear from history!¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved and his Xuanyuan Sword made a loud and clear whistle.

    Then, one of the heads of the warlock flew in the air.

    Followed by another head.

    All the warlocks had two heads. Fang Zhengzhi did not show mercy and his Xuanyuan Sword turned into a beam of golden light, crushing the bodies of the warlocks into pieces.

    Boom!

    Another warlock died andnded in theva.

    Meanwhile, the thirdva fountain gushed out from underground. Thick white clouds were formed when the scorching hotva touched the air.

    It happened almost instantly but shrouded Fang Zhengzhi and the warlockspletely.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I am going to kill you, kill you!¡± Hong You dashed across the white haze crazily. He wanted to get hold of Fang Zhengzhi and kill him.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was too sneaky.

    With the Heavenly Rebirth Dao, he was like a loach that could not be caught, weaving amongst the rest.

    Moreover, the Xuanyuan Sword that Fang Zhengzhi was holding onto was too sharp, he could easily break through the defense of the warlocks.

    If he was unable to catch Fang Zhengzhi, he could be ¡°bitten¡± by him at any moment...

    Hong You was going crazy.

    ...

    Qiong Qi and Tao Wu were fighting against Xing Tian.

    They were simrly injured. None of them approached Xing Tian directly as they made use of the ¡°drag on¡± tactic.

    However, the real significance of the ¡°drag on¡± tactic was...

    For the twelve warlocks to kill Fang Zhengzhi as soon as possible.

    Yet now?

    Five of the twelve warlocks had died and the remaining seven were ying ¡°hide and seek¡± with Fang Zhengzhi like absent-mindedly in the white haze.

    Therefore, did they have to continue dragging on?

    ¡°Roar... It seems like Hong You and the warlocks can¡¯tst longer!¡± Tao Qu spoke.

    ¡°Hmm, retreat!¡± Qiong Qi nodded and made the decision because he knew very well that they would be the next victims once the warlocks died.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Tao Wu understood this logic.

    Nobody would give up on opportunities if they could seize them. However, when they could no longer seize them, the most important thing was to protect their lives.

    It was easy to form alliances.

    However, it was even easier to break alliances once something went wrong.

    Qiong Qi and Tao Wu ran towards two different directions. Without evening greeting Hong You, they left the battle involving Xing Tian.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian roared loudly.

    His target had never been Qiong Qi and Tao Wu. If he was not being held back, he would have gone straight to Fang Zhengzhi and would not have wasted his time there.

    Therefore, he did not bother pursuing after the fact that Qiong Qi and Tao Wu had left.

    He roared and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi again.

    Bam! His gigantic body charged into the white haze and hit a warlock who was ¡°wandering around¡± out of the region.

    Then, an ax struck.

    Boom!

    The warlock died.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s Xing Tian?!¡±

    ¡°Brother, what do we do?¡±

    The other warlocks turned extremely pale when they saw how the warlock was hit out by Xing Tian who was charging into the area.

    What was meant by adding fuel to the fire?

    What was meant by adding hail to the snow?

    The answer was none other than Xing Tian¡¯s participation in the battle.

    Rumble! The fourth beam ofva gushed out from underground, the redva almost setting the air aze. Red mes started to burn in the white haze.

    The sky became extremely hot.

    The temperature was extremely high when the white haze surrounded one¡¯s body.

    Hong You¡¯s body was red and he perspired profusely. However, nothing could beparable to how his heart was frozen like ice.

    ¡®What should we do?¡¯

    ¡®Exactly, what should we do?¡¯

    The twelve warlocks were only left with six...

    What else could he do?!

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Hong You shouted as he turned towards the exit.

    However, at this moment, a figure appeared in front of him. His blue robe was blown by the white haze and flowed continuously in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat impressed by Hong You.

    Despite the fact that he was about to die, he still insisted on saying ¡°retreat¡± in a schrly manner? Shouldn¡¯t he be screaming for others to retreat?

    ¡°Trying to run away when you can¡¯t win? You are too naive.¡± Hong You pointed his sword at Hong You and his Xuanyuan Sword glowed with radiance like the sun.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, we are enemies!¡± Hong You was extremely furious. However, when he wanted to look for Fang Zhengzhi to fight, he could not find him.

    However, when he wanted to flee...

    Fang Zhengzhi appeared and blocked his way.

    Nobody would be pleased with this feeling of being ¡°teased¡±.

    Hong You attacked. Before Fang Zhengzhi came forward, he dashed towards Fang Zhengzhi. He would sacrifice himself for the other warlocks.

    ¡°Looks like you are somewhat beastly!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Although the twelve warlocks were cruel, none of them were useless and timid.

    They would die willingly.

    Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat impressed by their character. However, he did not intend to let any of them off.

    The reason was simple...

    If he did not get rid of all of them, they would revolt!

    ¡°None of you can leave!¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi shouted, the twelve balls of mes burned around the six warlocks.

    Rebirth Hell Dao.

    Meanwhile, a powerful attractive force sucked the other warlocks to the ground.

    As for Hong You...

    Fang Zhengzhi decided to kill him in a straightforward manner.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Hong You and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice could be heard at the same time.

    Then, both of them collided. Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword prated Hong You¡¯s chest urately and Hong You¡¯s eyes widened.

    Meanwhile, four of Hong You¡¯s arms attacked Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head and chest.

    However...

    All four arms stopped beyond Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body as ayer of golden shield blocked Hong You¡¯s final attack.

    ¡°You are indeed very powerful... You are more... more powerful than Emperor Huang Xuanyuan...¡± Hong You spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face.

    Fang Zhengzhi used his shield to block Hong You¡¯s attack.

    Hong You knew that it was the real defense.

    However, he was unwilling to let the twelve warlocks die in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hands.

    Shameless...

    Shameless!

    How could the Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation be defeated?!

    Hong You coughed out more blood. Although the strike of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was not fatal, Hong You had given up on resisting as Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful.

    Qiong Qi and Tao Wu had fled...

    And the rest of the warlocks were trapped.

    They were dead meat.

    Therefore, he only hoped to die before the other warlocks because he could not bear to watch the others die.

    ¡°Kill me, kill me!¡± Hong You kept his four arms and grabbed the Xuanyuan Sword with all his might, looking extremely terrifying.

    The other Godly Beasts and demons lowered their heads.

    They lost...

    The twelve warlocks lost.

    Qiong Qi and Tao Wu had already fled.

    They had no way to kill Xing Tian or Fang Zhengzhi. It was meaningless to stay here.

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race fled.

    At this moment, the fifth beam ofva surged out from underground into the sky. It was gigantic and different from the other four beams ofva in terms of temperature and texture.

    Rumble! The ground shook and broke open. The entire ground was red, or rather, the Changyang Mountain was no longer the Changyang Mountain as it was hell made up of fire redva.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°This... Lava is weird?!¡±

    ¡°Could there be... other forms of life underground?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were stunned as the fifth beam ofva was way too powerful. It connected the sky and earth like the Heaven Receiving Ladder.

    Moreover...

    There seemed to be a ck round spot in theva.

    ¡°What on earth is that?¡±

    ¡°It looks like... a head?!¡±

    ¡°Head?!¡±

    ¡°What? Could that be the head of Xing Tian that was buried underground?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were astonished.

 Chapter 1097 - The Deadliest Ancient Killer God.

    <h4>Chapter 1097: The Deadliest Ancient Killer God.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Xing Tian¡¯s head?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? How did Xing Tian¡¯s heade out of theva?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mu Qingfeng and the rest were equally stunned.

    Xing Tian¡¯s head, which was buried beneath Changyang Mountain...

    Hade out?!

    How could they remain calm?

    At this moment, Xing Tian suddenly turned its ¡®head¡¯ towards the massive ck spot in theva excitedly.

    ¡°My head... My head!¡± Xing Tian roared and rushed into theva.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re definitely going to die at the hands of Xing Tian!¡± Hong You suddenly startedughing for some reason when he saw that.

    He wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, since he couldn¡¯t do it himself, he could only ce his hope on someone else. He didn¡¯t care at all if it was Xing Tian because he just wanted Fang Zhengzhi dead.

    ¡°The head that had been buried for tens of millions of years... Actually exists?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was also somewhat surprised.

    Even though he knew that this was a mythical world, this scene still left his heart trembling.

    ¡®The appearance of Xing Tian¡¯s head...¡¯

    ¡®Is that the secret hiding beneath Changyang Mountain?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was engrossed in his thoughts, Xing Tian¡¯s head, which was in theva, started moving and flew towards Xing Tian¡¯s body at an extreme speed.

    Buzz! A terrifying and ominous aura rose up and surrounded that gigantic head.

    Xing Tian¡¯s body kept trembling as all sorts of weird sounds starteding out of its ¡®mouth¡¯. It sounded like birds chirping, but also like beasts roaring, giving everyone goosebumps.

    Then, something bizarre happened.

    As Xing Tian continued to making strange noises, the gigantic head looked like it was about to reconnect with Xing Tian¡¯s body, as if they were mas that were attracting each other.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that so freaking amazing?¡± Ping Yang eximed with her eyes wide open.

    ¡°No, we should stop him!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s expression turned cold. For some reason, he kept getting a feeling that if Xing Tian¡¯s head and body really reconnected, something bad would happen.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote to stop it.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shook his head.

    He was also getting a bad feeling. However, Xing Tian was too powerful, moreover, since his head was already moving towards its body voluntarily, it was toote to stop it.

    Boom! A bolt of lightning descended.

    Xing Tian¡¯s body and head had finally merged.

    At this moment, it seemed like even heaven and earth had changed color. A horrifying murderous aura shrouded Xing Tian¡¯s body and kept him suspended in the air motionlessly.

    ¡°Did they really merge?!¡±

    ¡°Xing Tian...¡±

    ¡°What... Is going to happen?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons stared at Xing Tian with their eyes agape.

    Meanwhile, Xing Tian wasn¡¯t moving at all. It felt like he had be a gigantic rock. There wasn¡¯t a single movement on his entire body.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not moving?¡±

    ¡°Should we take this chance to...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons stared at each other. Some of them wanted to attack Xing Tian, but they were hesitating because of how powerful he was.

    At this moment, Xing Tian finally moved.

    He raised his head and roared angrily.

    ¡°Ah...¡± His voice was incredibly loud and clear unlike how dull it was just now. Then, the eyes and mouth on his body disappearedpletely.

    Then, the eyes on his head suddenly opened.

    ¡°Did he wake up?!¡±

    ¡°Has Xing Tian reawakened?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This time, the Godly Beasts and Demons started escaping without hesitation.

    However, Xing Tian didn¡¯t seem to care about them at all. After roaring loudly, he instantly looked towards theva that was surging out from the ground.

    Swoosh!

    He actually charged towards the ground.

    Unlike how he wanted to kill Fang Zhengzhi just now, he didn¡¯t even throw Fang Zhengzhi a single nce before he dived headfirst into theva.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mu Qingfeng mumbled to himself with a confused look on his face.

    Ping Yang also blinked her eyes. After Xing Tian¡¯s head and body had reconnected, his murderous aura seemed stronger, but it felt like he was way more ¡®sober¡¯.

    It felt weird.

    Normal words couldn¡¯t even describe it. It felt like he had ¡®remembered something¡¯, or rather, he had ¡®regained his memories¡¯. All in all, it just felt extremely weird.

    Boom!

    Xing Tian rushed into the ground, stteringva into the air. Theva burst into balls of mes and burned the ground when it dropped down.

    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s something underneath the ground!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide, and she looked terrified, which was rare.

    ¡°Something? What is it?¡± Wu Yuer was a little puzzled, but she was surprised that Yun Qingwu lost her cool.

    ¡®Is she saying that there¡¯s something else underneath Changyang Mountain apart from Xing Tian¡¯s head?¡¯

    ¡°A seal. Xing Tian¡¯s head is the core of the seal formation. Five streams ofva... This aura... It¡¯s the Demon Seal Five Element Formation!¡± After Yun Qingwu said that, she quickly turned towards Fang Zhengzhi, who was stuck in a fight with Hong You and the other warlocks, and uttered, ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, Hurry... Hurry up and chop off Xing Tian¡¯s head again!¡±

    ¡°What? Chop it off again?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled.

    ¡®Does she really think that it¡¯s as easy as cutting vegetables?¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s Xing Tian. Furthermore, he has freaking dived into theva already.¡¯

    He didn¡¯t doubt Yun Qingwu¡¯s judgment, however, how could it be so easy to separate Xing Tian¡¯s head and body once again?

    Of course, even though he was speechless, he still had to do what he needed to do.

    After a brief pause, he suddenly pulled Xuanyuan Sword out of Hong You¡¯s chest, which was followed by a huge amount of blood falling from the sky.

    Then, he also charged towards the ground.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... Cough, Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t go!¡± Hong You yelled loudly. He was already prepared to die, but Fang Zhengzhi left him hanging.

    This was contempt!

    Downright contempt!

    Swoosh! As soon as Hong You said that, a sword light rushed out of his body and turned into a huge dragon and soared into the sky.

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯ve fulfilled your request. You¡¯re already dead.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice drifted to Hong You¡¯s ears through the wind.

    ¡°...¡± Hong You jolted. His lips curled into a relieved smile as he watched the huge dragon devouring his body.

    ¡®Am I dead?¡¯

    ¡®Am I really dead?¡¯

    ¡®I knew it. Death is the ultimate liberation. There¡¯s no more arguing or fighting. I have nothing to do with all the disputes in the world anymore.¡¯

    Boom!

    Hong You¡¯s body exploded with a loud bang.

    The other warlocks¡¯ eyes turned red when they saw that.

    ¡°Big brother!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All of them were drowning in sadness and pain.

    However, soon enough, they were also liberated because several streams of sword light had alreadye for them. They were too fast for them to avoid.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, all of the twelve ancient warlocks became history.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi had already reached the ground. His feet were less than a couple meters away from theva, and his clothes were on the verge of bing ignited.

    ¡°Can I really go down here?¡± Fang Zhengzhi did end the lives of three severely wounded warlocks in theva, but it didn¡¯t mean that he enjoyed the stay.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t the Vermilion Bird...

    Hold on!

    ¡®Vermilion Bird?!¡¯

    ¡°Is Bi Fang a fire-type just like Vermilion Bird?¡¯

    ¡°Ping Yang, lend me your mount.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Bi Fang and smiled as if he was saying ¡®What¡¯s yours is mine, and what¡¯s mine is still mine¡¯.

    ¡°Remember to return her after you¡¯re done!¡± Ping Yang wasn¡¯t being willful this time. She just caressed Bi Fang¡¯s head and agreed.

    ¡°Yo!¡±

    Bi Fang cried out loud.

    From her expression, it was clear that she was reluctant. However, after remembering Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s methods of getting things done, how could she refuse?

    Bi Fang pped her wings and ultimately flew towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, as soon as she started the move, theva suddenly gushed out. Then, a massive body rushed out of theva.

    It was Xing Tian.

    He was covered in mes as if he was the God of Fire. However, for some reason, his right arm was bleeding.

    There was a very deep cut on his right arm.

    It looked like he was cut by an ax.

    ¡°Xing Tian is injured?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons who started escaping were all shocked to their cores.

    Fang Zhengzhi was also astonished. He remembered that there wasn¡¯t a cut on Xing Tian¡¯s arm before he dived into theva. Yet, he came out of theva with an injury?

    Who could possibly hurt Xing Tian?!

    At this moment, they heard a roar that sounded like both man and beasting from beneath the ground. It sounded like something was venting tens of millions of years of frustration.

    ¡°There¡¯s something!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s really something beneath theva!¡±

    ¡°What is it?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons that had already flown far away were stunned when they heard that roar.

    Meanwhile, Xing Tian gritted his teeth as if he was struggling, and he actually charged towards Fang Zhengzhi again, saying, ¡°Human, help me now!¡±

    ¡°Help?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually surprised.

    ¡®Xing Tian has actually asked for my help?¡¯

    ¡®What does he need help with?¡¯

    ¡°Hurry, hurry up and chop my head down and bury it into Changyang Mountain again!¡± Xing Tian yelled and actually stuck his head in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    ¡°Hurry up!!!¡± Xing Tian yelled once again.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote, Xing Tian!¡± They heard a thunderous voice. Although it came from beneath the ground, it was so powerful that the entire area seemed like it was vibrating.

    Then, a massive arm appeared from theva.

    Then, a second arm appeared.

    Followed by a third one...

    And the fourth...

    ...

    A total of six arms appeared from theva.

    This was an extremely shocking and terrifying scene.

    Fang Zhengzhi wasn¡¯t the only one who was taken aback, Mu Qingfeng and the rest were dumbfounded too.

    Even Xing Tian¡¯s eyes became wide open once again when he saw the six arms that appeared from theva, and he started trembling.

    Then, he actually charged towards theva again.

    ¡°Die!¡± Xing Tian roared. He knocked his ax against his shield and summoned lightning bolts towards theva, causing a series of loud explosions.

    However, this plot twist unfolded too quickly.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t really understand what was happening.

    After Xing Tian¡¯s head merged with his body, he seemed to have be apletely different person. Instead of going after him, he actually started fighting the ¡®monster¡¯ in theva.

    Most importantly...

    Xing Tian actually stuck his head out so that he could chop his head off.

    Boom! The ground cracked open as the six arms battled Xing Tian. Lava kept surging out and exuding a fiery aura.

    Then, two horns appeared from the ground.

    They looked like cow¡¯s horns.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a monster like this buried underneath Changyang Mountain? What is it?¡± Ping Yang was also frightened, especially because this monster obviously wasn¡¯t shaped like a normal human.

    It actually had six arms, as well as horns like those of a cow.

    Could it be a Godly Beast?

    Ping Yang was extremely puzzled.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face actually turned a little pale. It wasn¡¯t because it was too hot or too cold, rather, he felt a strange sensation in his body when he saw the pair of sharp horns.

    It felt like something wanted to get out of his body.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously reached for his back. Then, the ck-Golden Wings on his back suddenly spread itself.

    It waspletely out of his thoughts¡¯ control.

    Swoosh!

    As soon as the ck-Golden Wings expanded, it left Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body and rushed towards the pair of horns below.

    Buzz! They felt an aura.

    ¡°How lucky. I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± They heard that voice from theva again, then, the ck-Golden Wings disappeared without a trace.

    After that, a violent force burst out of theva.

    Boom!

    Xing Tian was also blown away by the force. It seemed like he was no match for it.

    Meanwhile, a massive figure appeared in the sky, shrouded by thick ck smog. Its six arms were barely visible through the smog, and a pair of gigantic wings were pping on its back.

    It was the ck-Golden Wings.

    However, they were currently much bigger than they were on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back. It seemed like they could block the sun and the moon.

    ¡®Cow horns and wings!¡¯

    ¡®Six arms too...¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly jolted because a name suddenly appeared in his mind. It was the most terrifying name during ancient times.

    At this moment, he finally realized...

    He finally understood everything.

    He understood why Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan had to strip Changyang Mountain of its name, trick Xing Tian into a battle at the mountain, and try so hard to burn Xing Tian¡¯s head beneath it instead of killing him.

    It was to scare people off with Xing Tian¡¯s reputation!

    Changyang Mountain¡¯s secret wasn¡¯t Xing Tian or his head.

    Instead, it was the deadliest Killer God during ancient times.

    ording to the legends, this man¡¯s head was made of steel, and no weapons could prate his body. He was a terrifying existence who was known to be unkible, and once ruled the Jiu Li Settlement.

    The strongest ancient Demon God who possessed the power of both the Cow and Bird Totem!

    Chi You!

    ¡°How many years has it been since I was imprisoned here? Today, I shall finally be free. Xing Tian, your grudge is really strong. Your murderous aura hasn¡¯t dissipated even after tens of millions of years. Good, very good...¡± A pair of red eyes appeared in the ck smog, and aplicated pattern took shape in the eyes.

    It was the thing that both Nangong Mu and Nangong Hao had once used...

    The Blood Offering Illustration!

 Chapter 1098 - Appearance of the Bloody Sun â€“ Impending Death of All Existences

    <h4>Chapter 1098: Appearance of the Bloody Sun ¨C Impending Death of All Existences</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Chi You!¡± Xing Tian yelled and charged towards the ck smog once again.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was trembling a little. He had never expected that the power source of Nangong Nobles¡¯ Blood Offering Illustration was actually Chi You.

    ¡®Wait a minute.¡¯

    ¡®If Chi You is the source of the Blood Offering Illustration, then Xing Tian is...¡±

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was about to rush out intuitively, but it seemed like it was toote.

    The ck smog that shrouded Chi You¡¯s body had already neared Xing Tian. It engulfed him in an instant, and the only visible thing left was a ball of blood-red radiance.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Xing Tian roared loudly as he swung his ax and shield madly in an attempt to get out of the ck smog. However, it held on to Xing Tian tightly like an immeasurable number of arms.

    This was an insane sight to behold.

    Furthermore, it was exceptionally terrifying.

    That was because Xing Tian¡¯s massive body was actually shrinking gradually. It felt like his murderous aura and power were slowly melting away.

    Even the Godly Beasts and Demons that had already run far away were dumbfounded when they saw this, not to mention Fang Zhengzhi and the rest.

    ¡°Demon God Chi You?!¡±

    ¡°Demon God Chi You¡¯s body is actually buried underneath this mountain?¡±

    ¡°Forever indestructible!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were stunned. However, their expressions soon turned extremelyplicated.

    Chi You had returned!

    Demon God Chi You, once the strongest man of both the Monster Race and Demon Race and the ultimate Killer God during ancient times, had been revived. This should have been good news for them.

    However, they couldn¡¯t feel excited or joyous.

    That was because it was Chi You. The ruthless Killer God Chi You.

    ¡°Get back here now, all of you!¡± Chi You¡¯s voice came from within the ck smog. Then, a sky full of ck smog began rushing towards the Godly Beasts and Demons.

    ¡°Ah!¡± One of the Godly Beasts was caught by the ck smog. It let out a painful roar before its body shrivelled and turned into a pile of bones in an instant.

    ¡°...¡±

    All the Godly Beasts and Demons were shocked to see that.

    ¡°Greetings, Demon God!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Demon God!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon, all of them were cowering on the ground.

    The thick ck smog hovered them. They felt like they were seized by a massive hand, and none of them dared to fight back.

    ¡°Why did none of you free me from my imprisonment during the tens of millions of years that had passed?¡± Chi You walked out of the ck smog while grabbing Xing Tian by his throat with one of his arms.

    At this moment, Xing Tian was no longer as massive as he was.

    The skin on his entire body became incredibly rough, and his expression showed that he clearly did not resign to this situation. His arms were hanging by his waist powerlessly, although he was still holding on to his ax and his shield.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    He always knew that Chi You was extremely powerful, but he had never expected the real Chi You to be this powerful.

    The Blood Offering Illustration...

    Three heads, six arms, as well as an indestructible body.

    Chi You wasn¡¯t killed after he was defeated in the ancient war, rather, he was sealed underneath Changyang Mountain. This was truly hard to believe.

    Yun Qingwu also couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually Demon God Chi You? How could that...¡± Yun Qingwu murmured softly. No one knew what she was thinking, but her expression did not look good.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer¡¯s mouth was wide open and she waspletely speechless.

    At this moment, a golden radiance bolted towards Chi You. It was incredibly fast and neared him in an instant.

    It was Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°Roar!¡± This time, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five didn¡¯t hesitate or give Fang Zhengzhi a heads up. He just unleashed his dragon mes towards Chi You.

    ¡°Hahaha... Xuanyuan Five. How dare a lowly beast like you challenge me?¡± Chi You looked at Xuanyuan Five and smiled coldly.

    He moved nonchntly and stopped the dragon mes with one arm.

    Boom! The dragon mes dissipated.

    Chi You¡¯s other arm grabbed towards Xuanyuan Five¡¯s neck at an unbelievable speed and caught him like how he caught Xing Tian.

    Crack!

    Xuanyuan Five fell into his hands just like that.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Xuanyuan Five bellowed angrily and wriggled his massive body madly. He struck Chi You¡¯s arms and body with his tail and wed towards Chi You.

    However, Chi You didn¡¯t seem to care at all.

    He allowed Xuanyuan Five to struggle freely, holding him in one hand and Xing Tian in the other, looking like an enormous giant ughtering a dragon.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five whipped Chi You with his, but it couldn¡¯t harm him at all. There wasn¡¯t even a single scratch.

    ¡°Is this the legendary Demon God Chi You?¡± Ping Yang trembled. After all, this was too shocking.

    Chi You could actually take on Xing Tian and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five at the same time.

    It was too terrifying.

    She subconsciously looked at Fang Zhengzhi, but to her surprise, Fang Zhengzhi had already disappeared.

    Swoosh!

    A sword light descended from the sky.

    It was golden.

    And it wouldn¡¯t stop buzzing.

    Like a sword that could pierce through heaven, its golden radiance lit up the sky, cut through the thick ck smog, and fell towards Chi You at extreme speed.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Chi You seemed a little surprised.

    That was because the golden radiance felt extremely familiar, especially its aura. It reminded him of the battle that took ce tens of millions of years ago.

    ¡°Xuanyuan?!¡±

    Boom!

    The golden radiance lit up in the ck smog and dispersed in all directions, trying to rip apart the smogpletely. The sharp buzz of a sword echoed in the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi had previously managed to severely injure three of the twelve warlocks with the same sword.

    However, at this instance, when his sword struck Chi You¡¯s body, he felt like he hit a tough block of diamond.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared at this moment and a transparent w at his abdomen scratched towards Chi You¡¯s chest rapidly.

    Bam! There was a shockwave.

    Chi You took a small step back, and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Xing Tian slipped out of his hands. There was a hint of surprise on his face.

    That was until Fang Zhengzhi slowly appeared before him.

    ¡°Who... Are you?¡± Chi You nced at Fang Zhengzhi and the Xuanyuan Sword in his sword. He seemed a little curious.

    ¡°I am Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied with a straight face.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The surrounding area became dead silent immediately.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons who were cowering on the ground werepletely speechless.

    Even Mu Qingfeng and the rest had a strange expression on their faces. The only person in this world capable of saying something so shameless at this moment was probably Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Xuanyuan? Hahaha... You are Xuanyuan?¡± Chi Youughed so unrestrainedly as if he just heard the funniest joke in the world.

    Fang Zhengzhi was alsoughing.

    However, he wasn¡¯tughing too happily.

    That was because he didn¡¯t see a single wound on Chi You¡¯s body. It meant that his sword didn¡¯t manage to hurt Chi You at all.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t this way too ridiculous?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t understand why.

    Based on his strength, he was confident that he was almost as strong as Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in his prime. Furthermore, he even managed to kill the twelve ancient warlocks.

    In other words, even if there was still a gap between him and Chi You, the gap shouldn¡¯t be this big.

    ¡®What on earth is happening?¡¯

    While Fang Zhengzhi was upied with his thoughts, Xing Tian moved once again. Instead of charging towards Fang Zhengzhi, he went after Chi You just like before.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to stop him.

    However, it was already toote because Xing Tian wouldn¡¯t listen to his advice at all. The only thing on his mind seemed to be killing Chi You.

    Meanwhile, Chi You wasughing more and more unrestrainedly.

    It seemed like he had already expected that to happen. He was incredibly excited rather than feeling afraid, and he spread his wings and charged towards Xing Tian.

    Buzz! The sky and earth shook.

    A massive aura surged out of Chi You¡¯s body and turned into a gigantic Blood Offering Illustration, covering Xing Tian¡¯s bodypletely.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Blood Offering Illustration!¡±

    ¡°It really is the Blood Offering Illustration!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This was a shocking sight to behold for Mu Qingfeng and the rest.

    The only person who was more stunned was Nangong Mu, who was dumped at the side by Xing Tian.

    Nangong Mu¡¯s expression was filled with disbelief. He had already noticed something strange about Chi You¡¯s eyes since he had first appeared.

    However, when the Blood Offering Illustration really appeared, he clenched his teeth tightly.

    ¡®Why did the Blood Offering Illustration appear in Chi You¡¯s eyes?¡¯

    He didn¡¯t know why, but he knew that if the Blood Offering Illustration continued to engulf Xing Tian, Chi You wouldpletely devour his power.

    ¡°Blood Offering Illustration, activate!¡± Nangong Mu also made his move.

    He also summoned Blood Offering Illustration at the same time as Chi You. Eight extraordinarilyplicated symbols appeared in the sky and ovepped with the Blood Offering Illustration in the air.

    ¡°Hmm? A descendant of Emperor Yan?¡± Chi You noticed Nangong Mu at this moment, and he was a little astonished. However, he soon smiled again and said, ¡°What a pity. Emperor Yan only managed to steal a little of my flesh and blood back then. Today, I¡¯ll show you the real Blood Offering Illustration!¡±

    Boom!

    A mighty aura exploded.

    The entire sky seemed to have changed color. The sun¡¯s radiance gradually grew weaker, until eventually, the golden sun turned blood-red.

    The blood sun had appeared.

    In the meantime, the Blood Offering Illustration in the skynded on the ground, mixed andpletely fused with theva rapidly.

    Heaven and earth seemed to have connected at this moment.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of blood-red lightning descended like a bunch of massive hands. Some hit the ground while some struck the Godly Beasts and Demons.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°No... NO!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons who were struck by the blood-red lightning let out their final cries before melting into the ground and turning into strands of ck smog.

    These ck smog quickly gathered towards Chi You.

    ¡°Hurry... Run!¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons started running away in all directions.

    However, they soon discovered blood-red radiance surging out of the ground and grabbing their bodies tightly, prohibiting any movements.

    ¡°I said bow down to me!¡± Said Chi You coldly as he nced around. Murderous aura appeared on him as he continued, ¡°All those who don¡¯t bow down to me will die!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Demon God Chi You, please spare our lives!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll bow down to you!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons trembled in fear.

    Before absolute power, the only thing they could do was surrender. Even though Chi You was ughtering them, bowing down to him was their only choice.

    ¡°Shameless brat, hurry up and save us!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s voice was heard at this moment.

    That was because a bolt of blood-red lightning appeared above her head. She wanted to run away, but she couldn¡¯t abandon Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Take Chi Guyan and go!¡± Mu Qingfeng stood forward and flew towards the sky without any hesitation. He was going to stop that bolt of lightning.

    In the meantime, Yan Xiu also made his move. He waved his Silver Blood Fan and unleashed a beam of red light towards the sky.

    It was unbelievably fast.

    It actually struck the blood-red bolt of lightning before Mu Qingfeng did.

    Pshhh! When the lightning collided with the light beam, there wasn¡¯t an explosion unlike what everyone expected. Instead, it seemed like the light beam was absorbed.

    Mu Qingfeng¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡®Yan Xiu¡¯s Dao of Asura was absorbed by the Blood Offering Illustration?!¡±

    He looked the red lightning that was still falling towards him, then he nced down at Ping Yang and Yan Xiu, who were struggling to bring Chi Guyan away.

    In that split second, a lot went through his mind...

    As Heaven Dao Pavilion¡¯s Pavilion Master, he had lived a long life. However, there was someone that he could never forget.

    That person appeared before his eyes at this moment.

    There was a faint smile on her face. She was so elegant and gentle that Mu Qingfeng¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Waiting for you...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom! The blood-red lightning struck Mu Qingfeng and devoured his body rapidly, leaving nothing but a few spots of light behind.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Old Mu!¡± Mo Shanshi cried out with anger and sadness.

    Then, at this moment, he suddenly discovered that a bolt of lightning appeared above his head, and Heavenly Oasis Saint, Yan Qianli, Wu Yuer, and Yun Qingwu were all beside him.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Mo Shanshiughed.

    Hisughter sounded heart-wrenching yet tragic.

    He didn¡¯t give a heads up to Yan Qianli and the rest, but at this moment, a stern determination was visible on his expression. His entire body was covered in a dazzling radiance.

    Then, he moved.

    He headed rapidly towards that red lightning.

    ¡°Old Mu, wait for me!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Valley Master Mo!¡±

    ¡°Valley Master Mo!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± They heard a loud roar at this instance.

    Then, a sky-blue radiance appeared beneath the red lightning. The sword in his hand was golden and blinding, and it shone brightly in the bloody sun¡¯s radiance.

    ¡°Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, bring Yan¡¯er to me!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he shed towards the blood-red lightning.

    He couldn¡¯t save Mu Qingfeng because that bolt of lightning had appeared way too suddenly. However, he would never let the same thing happen to Mo Shanshi.

 Chapter 1099 - Fate â€“ Surpassing God

    <h4>Chapter 1099: Fate ¨C Surpassing God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Boom!

    The golden radiance on Xuanyuan Sword grew much brighter and collided with the blood-red lightning. It looked like a golden dragon was fighting against a red dragon in the sky.

    Boom! The thunder rumbled.

    The ground cracked open and moreva surged out, turning the ground into a sea of mes. It felt like an enactment of hell on earth, and the heat was so intense that people couldn¡¯t even get close.

    Mo Shanshi stood frozen in the air and watched this shocking scene unfold.

    ¡®He stopped it?¡¯

    He really didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to stop that bolt of blood-red lightning.

    As a result, he survived, unlike Mu Qingfeng, who was devoured by the lightning. However, he wasn¡¯t happy about it at all.

    ¡°Chi You!¡± Mo Shanshi clenched his fists so tightly that they turned pale.

    ¡°Valley Master Mo, take Wu Yuer and the rest and fall back!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword moved again. Xuanyuan Sword let out a sharp buzz and shot up into the sky.

    The blood-red lightning bolt had disappeared.

    Like what Mo Shanshi had witnessed, he stopped one of the lightning bolts. However, he could also feel how powerful it was.

    ¡®A single bolt of lightning is already so powerful?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi nced around and found countless bolts of blood-red lightning bolts forming in the sky. To make things worse, there were more and more of them, and they looked like a gigantic web of lightning.

    In other words, it was inescapable.

    ¡®It¡¯s too powerful!¡¯

    ¡®Is that the real Blood Offering Illustration?!¡¯

    ¡®Rather, is that the true strength of Chi You, the most powerful Demon God during ancient times?¡¯

    ¡®Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan...¡¯

    ¡®Managed to defeat such an existence?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi felt a chill down his spine. The Godly Beasts and Demons in the distance had already kneeled down on the groundpletely. None of them dared to raise his head and all of them were trembling.

    ¡®Ah...¡± He heard an angry roar from afar.

    It was Xing Tian.

    However, Xing Tian had now shrunk into the size of a normal human. His entire body turned bony and he was struggling in the red light that had engulfed him.

    ¡°Xing Tian!¡± Nangong Tian was incredibly pale. He wanted to save Xing Tian badly, but Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five stopped him.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, don¡¯t be rash. Xing Tian is already dead!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was also injured, and there was a fresh wound behind his neck.

    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t dead. Get out of my way!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Chi You, I¡¯m going to kill you. I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Xing Tian continued roaring, and a radiance burst out of his body. However, he couldn¡¯t break free from the Blood Offering Illustration at all.

    Boom!

    Finally, Xing Tian¡¯s bodypletely exploded and turned into spots of light.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons trembled when they heard the loud explosion, and all of them turned pale.

    The intense heat spread around them.

    However, none of them dared to move. Their sweat evaporated as soon as they appeared, and their skin turned red from the burning temperature.

    ¡°Xing Tian, NO!!¡± Nangong Mu cried out in sadness.

    He didn¡¯t have too many friends throughout his life. His father, his big brother... All of them died.

    All of his loved ones were gone.

    However, Xing Tian felt special to him, as if they were connected by blood, even though Xing Tian had never listened to him before.

    ¡°Xing Tian... Has really died?!¡± Wu Yuer couldn¡¯t believe it.

    He was once the God of War during ancient times.

    He was Emperor Yan¡¯s strongest warrior, and even Emperor Huang Xuanyuan didn¡¯t dare to take him lightly. Yet, Chi You managed to kill him just like that.

    ¡°...¡±

    Wu Yuer didn¡¯t know how to describe this.

    Perhaps, Xing Tian had been fighting for way too long. He expended too much of his energy when the Godly Beasts and Demons ganged up on him, and he was also injured during the battle with Fang Zhengzhi and the others.

    Having said that...

    He was still the ancient God of War.

    Chi You!

    Why was Chi You so powerful?!

    Fang Zhengzhi was also stunned.

    He wasn¡¯t much stronger than Xing Tian currently. Even if he was a little more powerful, he definitely couldn¡¯t kill Xing Tian so easily.

    ¡°Is Chi You¡¯s strength... So ridiculous?¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt fear for the first time.

    Most importantly, Chi You killed Xing Tian with the Blood Offering Illustration, which meant that Xing Tian¡¯s powers became part of Chi You now.

    ¡®Chi You plus Xing Tian...¡¯

    ¡®How terrifying would that be?¡¯

    ¡®How the hell do I fight him?¡¯

    ...

    The entire world seemed to have gone silent.

    Yun Qingwu was staring at the massive figure in the ck smog.

    Her expression changed rapidly, and soon there was nothing but fear on her face.

    ¡°The indestructible Chi You was imprisoned underneath Changyang Mountain... Xing Tian¡¯s head was buried under Changyang Mountain... Moreover, Changyang Mountain was also where the Source of God was located during ancient times. If everything was unintentional, isn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence? Is it possible that Chi You had already devoured the Source of God...¡±

    Yun Qingwu was shocked. If all of these were connected, the process and conclusion of this entire incident might change drastically. Even the massive war that took ce during ancient times could be re-written.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Wu Yuer asked anxiously.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be sure. However, if I guessed correctly, there¡¯s a huge possibility that... Chi You had already devoured the Source of God with the Blood Offering Illustration!¡± Yun Qingwu really couldn¡¯t be sure if she was right, because if she was, she truly couldn¡¯t imagine how powerful Chi You currently was.

    ¡°What?! You are saying that Chi You devoured the Source of God?¡± Wu Yuer quivered.

    Although Yun Qingwu said that she was just guessing, Wu Yuer knew very well that given Yun Qingwu¡¯s intellect, her guesses were basically true most of the times.

    Devoured the Source of God...

    How terrifying was that?

    ¡°Demoness Yun Qingwu, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!¡± Ping Yang and Yan Xiu had already brought Chi Guyan to Wu Yuer at this moment.

    She naturally heard their conversation.

    It made her extremely shocked.

    However, how could she believe in Yun Qingwu¡¯s words?

    ¡°Ping Yang, what Yun Qingwu has said might very likely be true.¡± Said Chi Guyan, who finally opened her eyes at this moment, and it looked like there were tens of thousands of stars in her eyes. They were extraordinarily dazzling.

    ¡°Sister Yan, do you also think that Chi You has devoured the Source of God? However, how is that possible?¡± Ping Yang was astonished and she couldn¡¯t believe it at all.

    ¡°Nothing is impossible. This Chi You is no longer the Chi You during ancient times.¡± Chi Guyan was extremely certain.

    That was because Chi You couldn¡¯t possibly be this powerful if they judged his strength solely by what had happened during the ancient war.

    It was as if he had surpassed God!

    ¡°Then... What should we do?¡± Ping Yang obviously wouldn¡¯t doubt Chi Guyan¡¯s words. However, her heart also sank into the abyss when she realized that it might be true.

    If Chi You had truly devoured the Source of God, it meant that although he was imprisoned underneath Changyang Mountain for tens of millions of years, he had been growing stronger continuously.

    A Demon God whose strength had already reached the top of the world.

    If he continued to cultivate in the Source of God for tens of millions of years...

    Just the thought of such a possibility was enough to make one¡¯s heart tremble.

    ...

    ¡°Bow down, or die!¡± Chi You¡¯s voice echoed within Changyang Mountain. At this moment, he was focused on Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons kept quiet.

    Fang Zhengzhi also kept quiet.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five wanted to attack Chi You again, but what had happened to Xing Tian was a stern warning to him and reminded him not to be rash.

    ¡°What about the two of you?¡± Chi You asked again, but he was looking at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Nangong Mu this time.

    ¡°Chi You, I¡¯d rather die than bow down to you!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had a backbone. Although he couldn¡¯t beat Chi You, it didn¡¯t mean that he would bow down to him like the other Godly Beasts.

    One could call that ¡®having a backbone¡¯.

    It was also a portrayal of Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s pride. He¡¯d rather die than tarnish the name of Xuanyuan. He was proud of his name.

    ¡°Then you can go to hell!¡± It was clear that Chi You wouldn¡¯t bother asking any more questions because two blood-red bolts of lightning had already appeared above Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s head when he said that.

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Instead of facing the lightning headon, Xuanyuan Five took Nangong Mu with him and ran away as fast as he could.

    He wouldn¡¯t bow down and he wasn¡¯t afraid of dying, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. He wouldn¡¯t hesitate when it was time to run away, and he wasn¡¯t ashamed about it either.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi uttered, ¡°Hold on, I want to know the benefits of surrendering to you.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone turned towards Fang Zhengzhi immediately.

    That included the Godly Beasts, the Demons, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Nangong Mu, as well as Mo Shanshi and the rest. There was no exception.

    ¡°Benefits?¡± Chi Youughed. He slowly raised his arm and pointed towards the blood-red lightning in the sky, saying, ¡°Would your life be considered a benefit?¡±

    ¡°It does, but I want more. After all, you know that I¡¯m Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s reincarnation. Don¡¯t you want to enjoy the feeling of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan bowing down to you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Chi You seemed a little interested. He nced at the Xuanyuan Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Did you kill the twelves warlocks?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Alright, if you kill Xuanyuan Five too, I¡¯d consider making you the twelve warlocks¡¯ recement.¡± Chi You pointed at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five nonchntly and said that.

    ¡°Ok, but could I ask a few questions before that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi inched toward Chi Guyan and the others as he said that.

    ¡°You¡¯re too talkative. You could either kill Xuanyuan Five or die. Make your choice.¡± Chi You wasn¡¯t going to waste more time talking to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°If I am right, you actually died at the hands of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan during the ancient war, didn¡¯t you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored him and kept talking.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Chi You snorted coldly.

    The heaven and earth violently trembled instantly.

    The red sun shone on earth as the blood-red lighting started gathering towards it. The entire sky seemed to have fallen and came crashing down towards the ground.

    A terrifying pressure started spreading in all directions.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s expression changed drastically and he quickly moved towards Fang Zhengzhi, nearing him in just the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, there¡¯s no going back. If Chi You takes over the world, billions of living things would lose their lives. The only thing we could do now is to fight him with all we¡¯ve got!¡± Xuanyuan Five shouted loudly. He was actually afraid that Fang Zhengzhi would surrender to Chi You.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dumb.¡± Fang Zhengzhi felt a little speechless. ¡®Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m buying time?¡¯

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and attack him together!¡± Xuanyuan Five became visibly anxious as he looked towards the red light falling from the sky.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you and Emperor Huang Xuanyuan defeat Chi You before? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know about his weaknesses?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually a little anxious too.

    However, it wasn¡¯t the time to be anxious. Chi You was too powerful. He was far more powerful than they could imagine.

    His sword couldn¡¯t injure Chi You.

    To make things worse, he didn¡¯t have a single clue about tackling Chi You¡¯s Blood Offering Illustration. Without a single solution, there was no way they could fight him.

    He actually wanted to trick Chi You into revealing his power.

    However, Chi You didn¡¯t want to waste time talking to him.

    That made things awkward. Chi You was too intelligent to be fooled.

    ¡°Chi You doesn¡¯t have any weakness, but...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had something to say, but he held his tongue.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°What you said just now reminded me of something. The Chi You standing in front of me right now is different from the Chi You during ancient times.¡±

    ¡°So, there are actually two Chi You in this world?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was a little surprised when he heard Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    ¡°...¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was speechless.

    ¡®Did I get it right?¡¯ When Fang Zhengzhi noticed that Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five wasn¡¯t talking, his expression became vivid instantly.

    ¡®Are you telling me that the plot is an old cliche...¡¯

    ¡®There were actually two Chi You in the world. One was male and the other was female. Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan worked together to kill the male one during ancient times.¡¯

    ¡®Then, the remaining female Chi You wanted to avenge him?¡¯

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, this would truly be the most ridiculous thing in the world!¡¯

    ¡°Bullshit. There¡¯s only one Chi You in the world. What I meant was... The current Chi You feels different from the Chi You during ancient times.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five finally began to ridicule him.

    ¡®What the f**k is wrong with his imagination?¡¯

    ¡®How could this guye up with the idea that there are two Chi You?¡¯

    ¡°Different? Do you mean that... He¡¯s uglier now?¡± Fang Zhengzhi nced at Chi You¡¯s barbaric expression and his six arms, and he looked like he realized what was going on.

    ¡®He¡¯s really pretty ugly.¡¯

    ¡®However, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the focal point, does it?¡¯

    ¡°Ugly... Ugly your... Wait a minute, did you say he¡¯s ugly?!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was just about to explode with rage when his expression suddenly changed. He immediately turned towards Chi You and continued, ¡°I know what¡¯s different. This Chi You¡¯s body doesn¡¯t look like the one from ancient times!¡±

    ¡®They don¡¯t look alike? Doesn¡¯t that mean that there are two Chi You?¡¯ Fang Zhengzhi was startled. Just as he was to say that, he felt an immense pressure crashing down on him.

    Rumble!

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    Thunder boomed.

    The blood-red sky was falling down.

    It was a sky that was formed from countless bolts of blood-red lightning. It was restless, violent, and crazy just like the raging sea. Moreover, its murderous aura seemed to have materialized.

 Chapter 1100 - Chi Youâ€™s Memories â€“ Secrets of the Ancient Times

    <h4>Chapter 1100: Chi You¡¯s Memories ¨C Secrets of the Ancient Times</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Chi You was obviously Chi You.

    There were only two options for those who faced him: surrender or die.

    There wasn¡¯t another option. Furthermore, Chi You would never give a person too much time to consider. This was true even though Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words had piqued his interest.

    After all, it only piqued his interest just a little.

    It seemedplicated, but one could figure it out fairly easily.

    When a person was strong enough to rule the entire world, would he care if his underlings were powerful or not?

    To put it bluntly, you have no bargaining chips at all. Even if there is some value in using you, it is basically negligible.

    That was how Chi You ruled. He was a dictator.

    ¡°The sky... Is falling?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons started panicking because they also felt that immense pressure that left them gasping for air as the sky was falling.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sky that was falling, and he clenched Xuanyuan Sword tightly.

    He was rarely serious about anything, but this time, there was an unmatched determination and unbreakable resolve on his face.

    In a certain sense, he could run away. However, Wu Yuer and the rest couldn¡¯t. Moreover, where could he run to?

    Out of Changyang Mountain?

    As long as he was alive, the battle against Chi You was unavoidable.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five, protect Yan¡¯er and the rest, as well as Nangong Mu. Follow my lead, I will... Tear the sky open!¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he had already started moving.

    He turned into a stream of golden light and rushed towards the blood-red sky.

    ¡°Tear the sky open?!¡± Xuanyuan Five was stunned.

    For the first time, he saw thete Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s shadow on Fang Zhengzhi. It was his unrivaled fortitude and the absolute responsibleness.

    However, could he really tear it open?

    He had doubts.

    However, he didn¡¯t hesitate.

    That was because he had no other option at this moment. If the blood-red sky couldn¡¯t be torn open, everyone would die.

    He could only follow Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s lead and charge straight ahead!

    ¡°Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and the rest of you get on my back. Nangong Mu too. Hurry!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five moved andy his body down in front of Ping Yang and the rest.

    ¡°Ping Yang, let¡¯s go!¡± Said Chi Guyan. Then, she leaped onto Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back.

    ¡°Ok.¡± Ping Yang nodded and leaped onto his back as well. However, her attention had never shifted away from the golden radiance above her head.

    She didn¡¯t follow after Fang Zhengzhi rashly this time or even spout any nonsense. She had no idea if it was because she trusted him.

    However, she knew that if Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t tear the sky open, and if he was going to die in front of her, she wouldn¡¯t want to continue living.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, let¡¯s go.¡± Yan Xiu nced at Nangong Mu and nodded.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu didn¡¯t say a word. He was biting his lips tightly as he watched the golden radiance above his head. Ultimately, he still leaped onto Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back.

    Then, he was followed by Yun Qingwu, Wu Yuer, Mo Shanshi...

    Everyone leaped onto Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back and chased after the golden radiance rapidly under his protection.

    Meanwhile, the Godly Beasts and Demons who were cowering on the ground raised their heads at this moment. Their expressions wereplicated. There was a mixture of fear, contempt, disbelief, as well as some kind of hope.

    Hum!

    The sword didn¡¯t stop buzzing.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t look down. He charged into the sky formed from the blood-red lightning at exceptional speed and started attacking it furiously.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    One after another, bolts of lightning descended on him, but he destroyed all of them with Xuanyuan Sword.

    However, there was too much lightning. To make things worse, they were falling at an increasing rate, rushing towards him from all directions just like a thunderstorm.

    Eventually, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back was hit.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi jerked. He felt an iparably terrifying absorption force in the blood-red lightning, and it was going to suck his Origin Energy dry.

    However, could it really suck him dry?!

    ¡°Break!¡± Instead of stopping, Fang Zhengzhi continued charging upwards, and he no longer defended himself from the lightning bolts with Xuanyuan Sword.

    He aimed his sword forward.

    Just as he said, he was going to tear the sky... Open!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    There weren¡¯t any unnecessary movements from beginning to end. He simply charged straight forward and destroyed the blood-red lightning in his way with Xuanyuan Sword.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was following closely behind him.

    A bolt of lightning came for him.

    Roar! Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five roared and swang his tail towards the lightning and shattered it.

    He jerked from the powerful impact and absorption force.

    However, he still stayed right behind Fang Zhengzhi and charged upwards instead of stopping. That was because he knew very well that he was already having a much easier time than Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! Another lightning bolt descended. This time, it appeared directly above Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back, as if it had teleported.

    ¡°Ping Yang, back off!¡± Someone uttered.

    Chi Guyan made her move. There wasn¡¯t any excessive movement, and she didn¡¯t even use a weapon. She stuck out her right hand and pointed her finger towards the lightning.

    Boom! The lightning bolt dissipated.

    The sh created massive turbulence, and her silky hair fluttered in the wind.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± There was finally a small change in Chi You¡¯s expression at this moment, and he intuitively nced at Chi Guyan.

    However, it was merely a quick nce.

    Soon, he looked towards Fang Zhengzhi once again.

    ¡°Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯s reincarnation? Hmph!¡± Chi You snorted and ced his six arms together, following which, a crackling and rattling noise was heard.

    As that happened...

    The lightning in the sky seemed to have been manipted, and all of them started gathering before Fang Zhengzhi, stopping his way.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    It sounded like a thunderstorm on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    In a split second, he was struck by over a dozen lightning bolts, and even his long blue robe was charred by the lightning.

    ¡°Chi You, can you not f**king destroy my clothes? Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see that there are women behind me?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted loudly, swinging Xuanyuan Sword in a growingly wild manner.

    However, his clothes were soon destroyed, and he gradually became butt-naked. He wasn¡¯t too fair as his skin was a little charred.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were speechless.

    ¡®So, this guy actually cares about his dignity under these circumstances?¡¯

    ¡®God knows how his mind works.¡¯

    ¡®Under these circumstances, shouldn¡¯t he bepletely focused on destroying the lightning in his way?¡¯

    ¡°Shameless thief, your butt is showing.¡± After Chi Guyan obliterated another lightning bolt with her finger, she softly took a shot at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The expression on the Godly Beasts and the Demons suddenly turned weird.

    ¡®So, it turns out that Fang Zhengzhi isn¡¯t the only one whose brain is wired differently. Chi Guyan too? But why would she say something that could easily distract him at this moment?¡¯

    While they were thinking about that...

    They heard an angry cry once again.

    ¡°Chi You, f**k you! My ass is now exposed. I¡¯ll never forgive you for that!¡± It was naturally Fang Zhengzhi who said that.

    When they heard that, an intense golden radiance lit up the sky.

    It turned into a dazzling sun.

    It was Xuanyuan Sword.

    However, aspared to before, Xuanyuan Sword had be incrediblyrge. The mountains and rivers on its body became clearly visible.

    Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was hugging the gigantic Xuanyuan Sword and swinging it wildly at the sky.

    Rumble!

    Rumble...

    ¡°...¡±

    It was as if two massive waves had collided.

    The lightning that headed for Fang Zhengzhi was almostpletely torn apart by the massive Xuanyuan Sword. There was only a gap big enough for Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five to pass through at the beginning, but it expanded by over ten times instantly.

    After all, Xuanyuan Sword became way too huge.

    It looked like Sun Wukong stirring the Eastern Ocean with his Golden Cudgel.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons werepletely dumbfounded.

    This was too shocking to behold. They truly didn¡¯t expect Fang Zhengzhi to ¡®work his ass off¡¯ because of a single sentence.

    Rather, it couldn¡¯t be called ¡®working his ass off¡¯ anymore...

    He went berserk!

    It was so exaggerated.

    They couldn¡¯t believe how terrifying Fang Zhengzhi was after he went berserk.

    That wasn¡¯t even the main thing. Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi was expending his energy ten times faster by increasing the range of his attacks by ten times.

    Ten times?!

    How ridiculous was that?

    The blood-red lightning wasn¡¯t just extremely powerful. More importantly, its absorption force was terrifying.

    ¡®Withstanding such an attack and its absorption force...¡¯

    ¡®Isn¡¯t that fellow worried about dying of exhaustion?!¡¯

    ¡°Insane, this guy has really gone insane!¡±

    ¡°If he preserves his strength, there might actually be a slim chance of making it out. However, if he keeps wasting his energy like that...¡±

    ¡°There won¡¯t be any hope at all!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons all felt that Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t just go insane. He might have be dumb too.

    Chi You also squinted with astonishment at this moment.

    In a certain sense, he was actually a little surprised by Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s strength and ferocity. After all, he had already metamorphosed.

    The ancient war...

    That was the only defeat he ever tasted in his life...

    Before that war, he conquered and united Jiu Li with absolute power, and he even became the strongest person within both the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    However, he was defeated in that war.

    Indestructibility!

    It was the ability that he relied the most on. Yet, his physical body, which was as tough as iron and steel, couldn¡¯t win him that war.

    As Fang Zhengzhi had spected, he was actually considered dead in a certain sense. However, he didn¡¯t die at the hands of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    Although he was defeated, his enemies didn¡¯t manage to kill him. He escaped, carrying a strong resentment, unable to ept his defeat. It took everyst bit of his strength to escape the battlefield.

    However, by that time, he was already severely wounded, and both the Monster Race and Demon Race had surrendered to the humans. Mankind ruled the world, and Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang had sessfully won everything.

    He wanted tounch a counter-attack, but he couldn¡¯t possibly do it alone. Moreover, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang had alreadye up with a way to suppress him.

    Failure?

    How could he ept his failure so easily?!

    Facing despair, he knew that there was only one chance to turn defeat into victory.

    It was the Source of God!

    However, now that the entire world had been amalgamated, how could he have any shot at upying the Source of God? Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang would never allow him to absorb natural Reiki in the Source of God. They would definitely kill him.

    Luckily, after the war, the Cosmic Disaster dawned on the world and brought it to ruin.

    During that time, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang couldn¡¯t spend any time and effort on hunting him down. That gave him a final glimmer of hope.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s spection was right. He did intend to make use of the Land of the Source of God¡¯s miraculous ability to quickly heal himself. However, there was a slight deviation from his n.

    The Source of God was the Eye of Heaven and Earth, and it was where all the reiki energy gathered.

    Did he want to devour the Source of God?

    That was ridiculously difficult.

    Chi You tried his best for a long time, but he didn¡¯t seed.

    Just then, Mother Earth led the three races and sessfully stopped the Cosmic Disaster, restoring peace in this world.

    Most importantly...

    Both Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang didn¡¯t die!

    They weren¡¯t imprisoned in the gxy, unlike the others. Instead, they brought Mother Earth, who had lost all her strength, to the Source of God.

    They were thinking of the same thing as him. They wanted to use the Land of the Source of God¡¯s reiki to restore Mother Earth¡¯s strength.

    ¡°...¡±

    At that moment, Chi You¡¯s heart crumbled.

    With his injured body, he attempted a final struggle, but his effort ended in vain. Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang defeated him once again.

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi You was desperate, so he resorted to hisst tactic...

    Mutual assured destruction!

    He unleashed all of his Demonic Energy and blew himself up in an attempt to kill Emperor Yan, Emperor Huang, and Mother Earth.

    In the end, he only managed to kill Mother Earth.

    However, to his surprise, he discovered that his soul actually started fusing with the Source of God!

    Part of his broken soul fused with the Source of God after he blew himself up and became one with it. In other words, he was the Source of God, and the Source of God was him.

    At that moment, he was incredibly joyous.

    That was because he sensed an enormous amount of vitality and saw the hope of victory. He was certain that he could rebuild his body in a decade or so and fight against Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang again.

    He would take back everything that he had lost.

    Then...

    There was no then.

    While he was happily waiting for that day toe, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang came back. And this time, they brought alone Emperor Yan¡¯s strongest warrior, Xing Tian.

    On that day, he watched a ¡®blockbuster film¡¯.

 Chapter 1101 - Stab the Sky Until It Explodes

    <h4>Chapter 1101: Stab the Sky Until It Explodes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The battle of Xing Tian and Emperor Huang Xuanyuan ended up with the severing and burying of Xing Tian¡¯s head by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in the Source of God, turning it into the Demon Seal Formation.

    Xing Tian¡¯s grievance turned into an endless murderous aura.

    The murderous aura never disappeared under the care of the Source of God.

    Chi You finally figured out what Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang wanted to do. The wanted to seal the Source of God along with his soul.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Chi You was extremely indignant.

    His opportunity wasing but reality hit him hard. Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang discovered his presence and did not give him any chance.

    100 years had passed...

    1000 years had passed...

    Chi You had been continuously suppressed by the Demon Seal Formation.

    Meanwhile, his murderous aura umted and did not dissipate.

    Chi You¡¯s capability was no longer the same as that during the battle. He had genuinely fused with the Source of God but was still unable to leave from its restraints.

    He had tried before but failed countless times. That made him realize that no matter how powerful he was, it was impossible to break through the Demon Seal Formation from the inside.

    Therefore, he could only do one thing...

    Fishing!

    He made use of the purest form of reiki in the Source of God to form a ¡°Reiki Tree¡±. Then, he made use of this ¡°Reiki Tree¡± to trigger the bearing of fruits of the nts outside the Source of God.

    To create a new ¡°Source of God¡±.

    Then, he waited...

    He waited and waited until he fell into a deep sleep.

    However, none of the fishes came.

    The vast ocean had turned into drynd.

    After god knows how many years...

    Chi You was close to despair because for the thousands of years, nobody had discovered his presence and he had been sleeping underground.

    However, at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest arrived.

    The Reiki Tree made by the Reiki of the Source of God was identally absorbed by Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. The ¡°Source of God¡± was fought over by the demons and monsters too.

    Finally, blood allowed the murderous aura of Xing Tian to surge out from underground...

    Xing Tian was freed!

    Most importantly, during the battle between Xing Tian and the Godly Beasts and the demons, the blood thatnded turned into a river and demolished some of the Demon Seal Formation underground.

    ¡°My chance has finally arrived after thousands of years of waiting!¡± Chi You wanted to roar and kill Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. However, the world had changed.

    Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were no longer alive.

    Only one descendant of Emperor Yan and a guy who was impersonating the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was left.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Chi You snorted coldly. He never intended to let Fang Zhengzhi off when he saw the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand.

    ¡®Make you listen to me before I kill you!¡¯

    ¡®Trying to resist?¡¯

    ¡®I have already surpassed the Godly State.¡¯

    ¡®Disregarding the fact that you are impersonating the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, even if Emperor Huang Xuanyuan is standing in front of me, he did not stand a chance to win me.¡¯

    Chi You looked cold and merciless. Instinctively, he regained his senses and looked at the figure who was trying to make the final struggle in midair.

    ¡°Hmm?! This... How can this be?¡± Chi You was very sure that he had spent quite a long time recalling about the past.

    Within this period of time...

    Fang Zhengzhi had no reason to be still alive!

    However, not only was Fang Zhengzhi still alive, he was alive and jumping. Golden light radiated from the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand and he did not seem to be exhausted at all.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of bloody lightning were blocked by the Xuanyuan Sword.

    All of them brokepletely.

    How was this possible?! Besides Chi You, the Godly Beasts and demons were alsopletely astonished.

    That was because they had witnessed the magnificent feat with their own eyes.

    It was so exaggerated!

    Fang Zhengzhi waved his gigantic Xuanyuan Sword and made his path without any depletion of energy. In fact, the golden radiance on the Xuanyuan Sword became stronger along the way.

    ¡°How strange!¡±

    ¡°Is this brat a human?!¡±

    ¡°How could he still have energy after such a long period of time?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were shocked.

    Some of them with weaker skills could not even sustain the blow of a bloody lightning bolt. However, there were at least several thousands of bolts of bloody lightning in the red sky screen.

    How could these thousands of bolts of bloody lightning fail to stop Fang Zhengzhi?

    They could not believe it if they had not seen it with their own eyes. There was a lunatic like Fang Zhengzhi present in the world.

    ¡°Die!¡± Chi You¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He pped his six arms towards the center and lightning swarmed towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Open!¡±

    ¡°Open!¡±

    ¡°Open for me!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi yelled furiously.

    He had no other thoughts in mind apart from breaking through the sky screen and make a piece of clothing to cover his buttocks.

    After all, it was too f*cking embarrassing?

    Not only was Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Mo Shanshi behind him, but there were also countless Godly Beasts and demons staring at him.

    So many people were staring at his buttocks...

    Who would f*cking like that?

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about whether it was a waste of his energy. After all, the Origin Energy in his Small Dimension was as vast as an ocean and would not be depleted so easily.

    Since it would not be depleted, what was he afraid of?

    ¡°Today, I will stab this sky!¡± Fang Zhengzhi charged up like a lunatic.

    Boom!

    With a loud boom, the bloody sky screen could no longer take the impact and copsedpletely. Arge hole was made in the sky and the blood mountain reappeared.

    The sky was really being stabbed!

    The entire world fell silent.

    Chi You froze on the spot.

    The Godly Beasts and the demons widened their eyes and had their mouths agape. All of them seemed to have forgotten about the scorching hotva beside them.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡®Oh my goodness...¡¯

    ¡®This brat really did it?¡¯

    ¡®After Chi Guyan¡¯s sentence, he went so crazy and managed to forcefully make a big hole in Chi You¡¯s Blood Offering Illustration with his Xuanyuan Sword?!¡¯

    ¡°Xuanyuan... Did you see that? This brat did not embarrass you. Xuanyuan Sword made the right choice to choose him!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five teared up.

    Ping Yang, Wu Yuer and the rest were extremely thrilled.

    If one could live, who would want to die?

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, watch out!¡± At this moment, a voice was heard. It was none other than Nangong Mu.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu had reached Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back when he shouted and pped Fang Zhengzhi with his hand.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, what are you trying to do!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Wu Yuer¡¯s voice sounded at almost the same time.

    They had yet topletely forget about Nangong Mu as he was still a threat to them.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu¡¯s actions confirmed this.

    They did not expect Nangong Mu to make use of the opportunity when everyone had lowered their sense of awareness to attack Fang Zhengzhi suddenly.

    Detestable!

    Ping Yang went forward immediately.

    However, to her surprise, Fang Zhengzhi acted as though he did not notice Nangong Mu¡¯s actions at all. He did not make any sense of defense with his Xuanyuan Sword and even stabbed it in front of him.

    ¡°Crack!¡± That strike of the sword broke the remaining energy of the sky screen.

    Meanwhile, a loud boom was heard behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom!

    Nangong Mu flew back at an extremely fast speed and blood trickled down the corner of his lips.

    Ping Yang¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. How could she allow Nangong Mu to spring a sneak attack at Fang Zhengzhi again?

    ¡°Ah, Nangong Mu, go and die!¡± Ping Yang pped Nangong Mu and mes covered the entire sky and ground.

    ¡°No, Ping Yang!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was suddenly heard. Then, a gigantic snake tail hit Ping Yang at an extremely fast speed.

    However, it was slightly toote.

    Although Ping Yang did not manage to hitpletely, some of the soaring mes had hit Nangong Mu¡¯s back.

    Instantly, Nangong Mu¡¯s body shook and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Spat!¡± Blood stted across the sky.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang looked extremely unhappy. She did not understand why Chi Guyan stopped her. If she did not stop her, she would have pped Nangong Mu until he was severely injured.

    ¡°Sister Yan, why...¡± Ping Yang was just about to ask when she saw a huge shadow standing behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    His huge body was as gigantic as a mountain.

    It was ferocious and exuded an extremely terrifying aura.

    Chi You!

    Chi You appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    So Nangong Mu¡¯s p was not targeted at Fang Zhengzhi...

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang fell silent.

    However, Yan Xiu, who was beside her, had already attacked. He turned and blocked Nangong Mu while holding on to him.

    ¡°Are you alright, Nangong Mu?¡± asked Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Cough... Haha, what could go wrong?¡± Nangong Mu coughed out a mouthful of blood. He looked extremely calm and did not me Ping Yang at all.

    After all, he knew that if he was in Ping Yang¡¯s position, he would make the same judgment.

    However...

    He did not understand why Fang Zhengzhipletely gave up on the defense behind his back to destroy the final bolt of bloody lighting instead of turning around to defend him.

    ¡®Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi still trusts me?¡¯

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± At this moment, a golden beam of sword radiance was shone again. The gigantic Xuanyuan Sword struck down at Chi You from the top.

    Boom!

    The sword hit one of Chi You¡¯s arm directly.

    However, what surprised them was that the Xuanyuan Sword did not leave any injuries on Chi You¡¯s arm.

    Not a trace of blood at all!

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu was astonished.

    Apart from him, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Mo Shanshi, as well as G, all looked in disbelief.

    How could he be so powerful?!

    ¡°This brat is so crazy and yet he still did not manage to break through Chi You¡¯s defense?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five felt the most as he was the one who had taken part in the battle.

    He was sure that Fang Zhengzhi was stronger than Emperor Huang Xuanyuan back then.

    Although Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had lost to Chi You nine times in the ancient times, it was not to the extent of...

    Taking the blow of the Xuanyuan Sword with his hand and yet not suffering any injuries?!

    ¡°Xuanyuan Sword? Hmph!¡± Chi You¡¯s body moved slightly and barged forward forcefully.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± A beam of azure blue radiance shed past.

    Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared again. Then, he appeared beside Chi Guyan and Ping Yang with undried blood at the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Fang Zhengzhi tried to stop Chi You from running towards him.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Chi You really stopped.

    ¡°Let me wear my clothes first, this is a valid request, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi held his Xuanyuan Sword in front of him while desperately covering his private area with his other hand.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Chi Youughed. He was alright with teasing around a little longer. ¡°Hmm, you deserve my respect for being able to break through my Blood Offering Illustration. Alright, I will give you some time for you to wear your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded and whipped out another shirt before putting it on.

    Meanwhile, after he had put on his clothes, a few other people appeared beside him.

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.

    Besides them, Yun Qingwu, Mo Shanshi and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five were following closing behind them with serious expressions on their faces.

    Chi You.

    He was way too powerful.

    He was so powerful that it was beyond their imagination.

    They had no other choice besides coborating for a fight.

    However, even if they coborated...

    Would they be able to win Chi You?

    ¡°May I take a shower first?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wiped off the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth and looked hopeful.

    ¡°Yes, you may.¡± Chi You nodded again and moved his six arms, causing a beam of light to be cast from the bloody sun in the sky.

    The lightnded on Chi You.

    Causing red light to flow around the ck haze surrounding his body.

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    Red bolts of lightning appeared again and gathered from all directions. It was much concentrated aspared to the sky screen earlier on and every bolt of bloody lightning was twice asrge as the bolts of lightning earlier on.

    ¡°I can wait for you even if you want to give birth here.¡± Chi You smiled and the bolts of bloody lightning turned into a gigantic cage, surrounding Fang Zhengzhi and the rest of the humans.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The thunder rumbled.

    The gigantic cage shrank and turned into a crystal-like structure.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression finally changed. He initially thought that he had plenty of Origin Energy. However, judging from the current situation, Chi You¡¯s ¡°Reiki¡± was...

    Way more than his Origin Energy!

    That was not fun.

    He could not win in terms of physical strength or quality. His opponent was even better than him in terms of Origin Energy, which was what he had been using to win.

    He was losing in all aspects...

 Chapter 1102 - Destruction of All Living Things

    <h4>Chapter 1102: Destruction of All Living Things</h4>

    It was not the first time Fang Zhengzhi had been forced into desperation. However, it was the first time he was faced with a situation where he had no hopes of winning at all.

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The cage made of bloody lightning was getting closer to him and he had no time to waste.

    ¡°Shameless thief, let¡¯s do it together,¡± said Chi Guyan.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    In this situation, apart frombining their forces, he had no other choices. He could not even escape.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Since there were no other choices, he did not need to hesitate any further.

    Fang Zhengzhi attacked immediately.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang caught up immediately. Golden Dragon Xuanyuan and anyone who could fight had attacked.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Chi Youughed.

    A beam of radiance shone from the bloody sun in the sky andnded on his body, producing an illusion of red light flowing on his body. His sharp horns were also turning redder.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The cage made of bolts of bloody lightning shrank at a rapid speed.

    In a blink of an eye, it had shrunk to less than half of its original size. Fang Zhengzhi and the rest had no choice to dodge but to engage with Chi You head-on.

    ¡°God-Killing!¡±

    ¡°sh!¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi strike with his sword.

    However, Chi You still blocked the attack.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan also attacked. While she pointed, shadows appeared behind her as she whipped her snake tail at Chi You.

    However, it was also stopped by Chi You¡¯s hand.

    He had six arms!

    Not only was Chi You extremely powerful, but he also had the ability to defend against six individuals at once.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five pounced over.

    The oue was still not pleasant.

    However, at this moment, Chi You edged forward again and went in front of Ping Yang and Yan Xiu, pping his arms towards the both of them.

    ¡°No!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five struggled and swung his dragon tail in an attempt to stop Chi You¡¯s attack. However, his body was forcefully dragged towards the left by Chi You.

    That caused his dragon tail to be unable to block Chi You¡¯s arms fully.

    After all, Chi You was way too huge.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu flew back.

    They flew towards the cage made up of bloody lightning in a straight line.

    ¡°Shifting forms!¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his teeth and forcefully swapped positions with Yan Xiu and Ping Yang. Meanwhile, he hit the cage with a loud thud.

    ¡°Rumble!¡± Lightning shed in the air.

    Fang Zhengzhi flushed and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

    He was too powerful!

    Even with thebined attack of the few of them, they could not win. They wouldpletely be suppressed by Chi You. He had surpassed the Godly State.

    ¡°Hahaha, is it fun?¡± Chi You¡¯s body moved and cut in the center of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s group as he kept the bloody cage.

    Bam!

    Fang Zhengzhi was immediately sprang back to the center.

    It felt as though he was teasing around with an ant.

    The Godly Beasts and demons who were watching from beneath fell silent and did not dare to speak after they saw that.

    However, it was clear in their minds.

    This battle...

    Had already ended.

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest had no chances of winning. Chi You had surpassed the Godly State and became the real leader of the world. Nobody could win him.

    ¡°It¡¯s hopeless.¡±

    ¡°Chi You is no longer the Chi You of the ancient era...¡±

    ¡°He is too powerful. Even if Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were alive, they won¡¯t be able to win him!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons knew that the only way to stay alive was to surrender and they would be continuously oppressed in the future.

    However, that was still better than dying.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five went forward but was sent flying again.

    Fang Zhengzhi also attacked with all his might. However, when he struck Chi You with his sword, nothing happened to Chi You.

    Chi Guyan¡¯s face turned pale.

    Her injuries had not healedpletely. Her body was stained with blood and she had sweat profusely during the several attacks.

    As for Ping Yang and Yan Xiu...

    They had to depend on Bi Fang and Monster Emperor Baizhi or they might have already lost their lives.

    The battle did notst for a long time.

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were injured in a short period of time. Mo Shanshi also crouched on Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s back and could not get up.

    ¡°You are indeed as powerful as Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in the past. However, unfortunately... I don¡¯t want to continue ying around with you.¡± After saying that, Chi You releases the thick ck haze surrounding his body.

    It was a thick haze made up of ck and red.

    Instantly, it filled the entire bloody cage.

    With a ¡°crack¡±, Mo Shanshi leaped from Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s body. His face was purple as though there was an invisible hand on his throat.

    After that, it was Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Yun Qingwu...

    The thick haze which was ck and red unfounded them and lifted their bodies in the air, allowing the thick haze to enter their bodies continuously.

    ¡°Shameless brat... I... I can¡¯t do this anymore...¡± Ping Yang widened her eyes and struggled with all her might but could not break free.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu did not say anything and stared quietly at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Leave... don¡¯t care...¡± Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi lifelessly.

    The disciple of the Yan Family of Western Liang!

    Even if they died in a battle, they would not surrender.

    Yet now, Yan Xiu looked as though he was about to give up. However, he stretched his hand towards Fang Zhengzhi as though he wanted to say something.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to go forward to save them but a strange aura flowed towards him.

    Boom! He blocked his chest.

    Instantly, he was sent flying by a powerful force.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan was struck by something beside him. She hit the bloody cage as she flew out.

    Then, the thunder rumbled.

    Chi Guyan opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Spat!¡±

    The blood was spat on Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face. It felt boiling hot.

    Fang Zhengzhi froze.

    He looked at Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and Yun Qingwu, as well as Mo Shanshi who was struggling. He felt as though his heart was prated by a sword.

    For some unknown reason...

    He never expected to see Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and the rest die in front of him.

    Perhaps it was because he thought he was powerful enough. Perhaps he had suffered countless situations of despair but managed to escape unscathed every time.

    They would not die like that...

    ¡®How did this happen?!¡¯

    Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Mo Shanshi, Xuanyuan Five...

    None of them could die, none!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, hurry... run, you can¡¯t... defeat him... him!!!¡± Mo Shanshi¡¯s voice trembled before his eyes were surrounded by the thick ck and red haze.

    Boom!

    Mo Shanshi¡¯s body exploded and blood fell like the rain.

    ¡°Hmph, he is really weak. He doesn¡¯t even deserve to be a servant.¡± Chi You snorted coldly before turning to Fang Zhengzhi. ¡°Reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan? Hahaha... very funny. You still don¡¯t seem to understand the difference in capability between us?¡±

    ¡°Chi You, I am going to kill you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Chi You to finish his sentence as he had no time to waste. He had to save Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and the rest.

    ¡°Oh? You are not dragging on? I thought you said that you wanted to shower earlier on? Hahaha... You don¡¯t understand, you don¡¯t understand who is the most powerful on earth!¡± Chi Youughed wildly.

    Boom!

    A sword struck Chi You.

    However, it still did not hurt him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel despair? It¡¯s useless, you will never win me. I can let you know that I have surpassed the Godly State and became the ruler of the world. I have the power to destroy everything on earth!¡± Afterpleting his sentence, Chi You gestured to Bi Fang.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Bi Fang struggled with all her might.

    However, soon, a ball of me began to burn on her body.

    Bi Fang, who was being burned by the mes, looked as though she was in extreme pain and suffered miserably.

    ¡°Bi Fang, who was born in the mes, can still be burned by the mes. This is my power, the power I have to destroy everything!¡± Chi You moved his hand again.

    ¡°Bam!¡± A ball of mes burst.

    Bi Fang disappeared in midair and turned into spots of light.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons trembled.

    They stared at the position where Bi Fang disappeared from and their faces werepletely pale.

    Bi Fang, the Godly Beast Bi Fang, the elf of mes, was burned by Chi You¡¯s mes. If they did not see this with their own eyes, they would never believe it.

    How was that possible?!

    Shouldn¡¯t mes be the origin of Bi Fang¡¯s powers?!

    They did not believe it.

    However, everything in front of them was the truth and they had to believe it.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t seem to believe me? Never mind, you will eventually believe me. Come... Try, prove using your powers!¡± mocked Chi You as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was pale.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not believe it.

    He used his Near-Life Dao.

    A few chains of different colors swarmed towards Chi You and tied around his body.

    ¡°I managed to tie the chains around him?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi did not believe it.

    Besides him, the Godly Beasts and demons also looked in disbelief.

    Chi You did not dodge?

    That was the Near-Life Dao, one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques. Once one was tied down by the chains, one would lose all their energy, including Chi You.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Yun Qingwu, I aming to save you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi went around Chi You and dashed towards them without hesitation.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you save Yun Qingwu and Xuanyuan Five and I will handle Ping Yang and Yan Xiu!¡± Chi Guyan said immediately and dashed towards Ping Yang whole clenching her teeth.

    Meanwhile, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five swept his tail past Yan Xiu¡¯s throat.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Three loud booms were heard.

    Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Yun Qingwu copsed on the ground.

    ¡°I really managed to save them? Was Chi You being careless?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely happy. He turned around immediately after saving Yun Qingwu and was ready to attack Chi You.

    However, when he saw Chi You, he frozepletely.

    That was because there were no Near-Life Chains on Chi You¡¯s body.

    ¡°What...¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook. Ever since he mastered five of the six Rebirth Dao techniques, he had not done anything wrong before.

    ¡°Do you still not understand? I said that I am the leader of the world and can destroy anything, any weapons, Daos, or power won¡¯t hurt me. Your Near-Life Dao belongs to one of the Daos and won¡¯t hurt me too!¡± Chi You stood quietly on the spot.

    ¡°Destroy anything...¡±

    ¡°Any weapons, Daos, or power won¡¯t hurt Chi You?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t believe Chi You, he is tricking you!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five broke off Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s train of thought. Meanwhile, he pounced towards Chi You. ¡°Chi You, if you said nothing can hurt you, the try my fifth w!¡±

    Boom!

    A clear and transparent dragon w hit Chi You¡¯s head.

    Chi You did not move at all and stared at Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five with a slight smile.

    ¡°Number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, the fifth w of Five-wed Golden Dragon, hmm... do you want to try again?¡± After Chi You spoke, he attacked with his arms.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five shouted in pain.

    He wanted to run!

    However; his head and his tail were held by Chi You¡¯s arms. No matter how hard he tried to struggle, he could not break free.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard again.

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡°Rebirth Hell Dao!¡±

    ¡°Rebirth Dao of Asura!¡± Yan Xiu attacked too.

    The Hell Dao and Dao of Asura intertwined in the air.

    Red radiance could be seen in the eight balls of mes. The two Daos merged. It was the ultimate tactic of Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

    Hell Asura.

    Rumble! The powerful force tore the space apart.

    However, Chi You still stood on the spot like earlier on. He grabbed Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five casually with his hands and allowed the red and ck mes to surround his body.

    ¡°Pssht .¡± A sound of mes distinguishing was heard.

    Upon touching Chi You, the Asura Hell turned into a ball of mes and disappeared.

    ¡°Do you understand now? This is what I meant by destruction. I can destroy anything ¡ª flower, grass, tree, mountain, rock, river, stream... Hmm... that includes the three Gates of God in the sky!¡± Chi You looked up at the three Gates of God of the Monster, Demon, and Godly realms.

 Chapter 1103 - The Awakening of Mother Earth

    <h4>Chapter 1103: The Awakening of Mother Earth</h4>

    ¡°Three Gates of God?!¡±

    ¡°The Gates of God of the Three Realms left behind by Mother Earth!¡±

    ¡°He said... he can destroy them?¡±

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, and the rest all did not dare to believe as, after all, it was the Gate of God left behind by Mother Earth from the ancient era. How could it be destroyed?

    Apart from them, the Godly Beasts and demons also did not believe it.

    However, Chi You made it sound so genuine.

    Moreover, after he said this sentence, a boom was heard from the Three Gates of God in the sky.

    It was as though they were struck by an invisible force.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The Gate of Gate of God of the Monster Realm shook violently before one crack appeared on it. Then, two and three cracks formed...

    Apart from the Gate of God of the Monster Realm, cracks appeared on the Gate of God of the Demon Realm and the unopened Gate of God of the Godly Realm too as loud sounds were heard. They looked as though they were close to destruction.

    They were going to break!

    The Godly Beasts and demons went nk.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu stood up abruptly and stared at the Gates of God of the Three Realms in the sky.

    ¡°No, no!¡± Nangong Mu shouted loudly.

    Since thousands of years ago, the mission of the Nangong Nobles had been to open the Door of the Realm of God to wee the members of the Nangong Nobles who had been locked inside.

    However, once the Gate of God was destroyed...

    How would it be possible for it to open again?!

    Despair, it was a real sense of despair.

    Nangong Mu charged towards the sky crazily. However, he did not manage to get out of the bloody gate. He collided with the gate and fell back to where he was.

    Nangong Mu charged towards the sky crazily. However, he did not manage to get out of the bloody gate. He collided with the gate and fell back to where he was.

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    The thunder rumbled.

    Unable to withstand the stress, the Three Gates of God crackedpletely and turned into a thousand pieces of rocks. As the bloody sun shone on them, they flickered like stars.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud boom was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°The Gates of God are destroyed!¡±

    ¡°The Gate of God of the Three Realms... which linked the monsters, demons and gods in the gxy... are really destroyed?!¡±

    ¡°Destroyed... he could destroy anything!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons trembled as they saw this.

    However, at this moment, the stars that were flickering the sky suddenly stopped and time seemed to have stopped.

    Buzz! A powerful force radiated outward.

    A gigantic faint shadow appeared out of nowhere in the sky.

    It had a human body and a snake tail.

    Its hair was like a waterfall, flowing to its waist area. The five-colored snake scales were glistening. Moreover, there was a five-colored mark on its forehead.

    Red, blue, white, ck, gold.

    The five-colored mark spun and moved towards the center like a blossoming flower petal.

    ¡°This... this is?!¡±

    ¡°Mother Earth!¡±

    ¡°So this is... the spirit that Mother Earth had left in the Gates of God of the Three Realms?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were extremely shocked.

    ¡°Chi You, the world should not be destroyed, forget your hatred!¡± The faint shadow spoke. She looked extremely superior and was so beautiful that one had to respect her.

    ¡°Nonsense, you are trying to stop me? How dare a spirit that was left behind say nonsense in front of me, disappear!¡± Chi You raised his head and did not seem to be surprised or fearful.

    The Gates of God of the Three Realms was left behind by Mother Earth.

    The spirit of Mother Earth was left behind too. That came as no surprise for Chi You.

    ¡°Boom!¡± An invisible force tore the faint shadow apart.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The world fell silent again.

    The Godly Beasts and demons closed their eyes as they could tell that it was the spirit of Mother Earth.

    In the ancient era, Mother Earth was loved and respected by the three races as she created the living things on earth.

    She was called the Mother of Life.

    However, the spirit of Mother Earth was destroyed...

    How could they tolerate that?

    They were hurt.

    But felt helpless.

    Just as they were about to open their eyes, they realized that the spirit of Mother Earth had turned into the ¡°rain of spring¡± that was formed by stars.

    However, the glistening raindrops did notnd on the ground. Instead, it went towards Chi Guyan like three Milky Ways that fell from the sky.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Chi Guyan, she...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Almost instantly, Chi Guyan¡¯s injuries were healed. A spark shone on her forehead and spread gradually, turning into five different colors.

    Red, blue, ck, white, gold!

    Five flower petals...

    Blossomed again!

    ¡°Mother Earth hase back... to life?!¡±

    ¡°No, this is the spirit of Mother Earth. The spirit of Mother Earth had fused with Chi Guyan¡¯s body... What... What is happening?¡±

    ¡°Could Chi Guyan have Mother Earth¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Bloodline!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the bloodline of Mother Earth!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were extremely excited.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan was stunned. He stared at Chi Guyan and the five-colored flower on Chi Guyan¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Bloodline of Mother Earth?¡± Chi You looked surprised and his gaze of disdain changed. After all, the power of Mother Earth in the ancient era could not be underestimated.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Buzz!¡± A gust of airwave was spread.

    Chi Guyan closed and opened her eyes. It was filled with radiance. Like a Milky Way, there was some type of connection between her left and right eye.

    Meanwhile, the faint shadow behind herpletely vanished.

    Or rather, the faint shadow had merged with her body into one entity.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang stared with her mouth agape.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu was speechless.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his eyes and stared at Chi Guyan nkly.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, do you still remember who I am?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The expressions on the faces of the Godly Beasts and the demons changed.

    What on earth were they thinking about?!

    ¡°Shameless brat, let¡¯s go together and rescue Xuanyuan Five!¡± Chi Guyan nodded and was not too surprised by what Fang Zhengzhi said.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi You.

    The two words ¡°shameless thief¡± was sufficient to prove Chi Guyan¡¯s identity as that was the only term that both Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi could understand.

    Of course, after confirming that Chi Guyan was still herself, what he should do next was simple.

    Rescue Xuanyuan Five and kill Chi You.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi was shocked because he did not expect the spirit of Mother Earth to be released after the Gates of God of the Three Realms were destroyed?!

    Moreover, the spirit could really ¡°arose¡± the bloodline in Chi Guyan¡¯s body.

    What happened was really insane!

    Awesome!

    Even Fang Zhengzhi was impressed by the plot that Mother Earth had set for thousands of years.

    Was there really something like fortune-telling present in the ancient era? Or else, one could not possibly have such an exaggerated deduction ability, right?

    Of course, it could be mere coincidence.

    Whether it was a coincidence or not, Fang Zhengzhi could not be bothered. After all that happened, what followed should be springing an attack on his opponent, right?

    ¡°Charge!¡± Fang Zhengzhi raised his Xuanyuan Sword and charged towards Chi You.

    Meanwhile, a shadow was standing close to him. That shadow moved extremely fast as well and looked as though it was flowing in the sky.

    It was none other than Chi Guyan.

    However, Chi Guyan looked different from when she was standing beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    She turned into a snake!

    Her entire lower body turned into a snake tail which was covered in five-colored scales. Itpletely fused with her body and was swaying non-stop behind her back.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

    He was used to this and was not overly surprised.

    However, he still had a question. He wondered if Chi Guyan¡¯s legs could still be reformed after her transformation to a snake.

    If not, it would be rather bad, right?

    ¡°Boom!¡± Fang Zhengzhi struck his sword on Chi You¡¯s body. Like earlier on, Chi You did not dodge at all and stood rooted to the ground.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan¡¯s finger sword reached too.

    ¡°Ka!¡± She pointed on Chi You¡¯s forehead. She moved so quickly that her finger sword disappeared in a sh afternding on Chi You.

    Then, it really disappeared...

    That was because nothing happened.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The entire world fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan.

    Chi Guyan also looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    So nothing happened?

    Then what was the purpose of her transforming into a snake?

    Fang Zhengzhi was seriously speechless. Although he felt despair when he saw how Chi You managed to destroy everything on earth, Heaven seemed to have sparked hope in him.

    Sparked hope!

    Chi Guyan¡¯s bloodline had been awakened.

    That gave him hope.

    However, hope came and went equally quickly.

    It disappeared?

    ¡°Roar!¡± Just as Fang Zhengzhi thought his hope had vanished again, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five struggled and broke free from Chi You¡¯s arm.

    ¡°...¡±

    What was happening?!

    Just as Fang Zhengzhi was shocked, he saw a beam of five-colored radiance sh across the corner of his eye.

    It was Chi Guyan¡¯s long snake tail. The five-colored scales were transparent and glistening like gemstones.

    Boom! The five-colored snake tail whipped Chi You.

    A terrifying scene happened.

    Chi You retreated. Moreover, he retreated extremely quickly and hit the bloody cage like a cannon.

    ¡°Bam!¡± A low thud was heard.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Sess?!¡±

    ¡°Did Chi Guyan¡¯s attack hurt Chi You?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were stunned.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and the others also widened their eyes and waited for the oue as they stared at Chi You.

    However, the oue was not what they had expected.

    The bloody cage was not broken by Chi You. After shaking for a moment, it returned to its original state and bolts of bloody lightning shone on it.

    Chi You shook his head.

    ¡°Attack of the spirit?¡± Chi You shook his head and turned to Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s somewhat effective.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°The attack of the spirit was effective?!¡±

    ¡°Chi You said that the attack earlier was effective?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons looked at each other.

    Meanwhile, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five retreated extremely quickly while pulling Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan along. He seemed to be thinking about something.

    ¡°I remember, in the ancient era, Chi You could not be killed as he was too physically strong and no weapons could hurt him. Emperor Huang has lost to him nine times but Emperor Huang Xuanyuan managed to win. Could Chi You¡¯s weakness be the spirit?¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five thought of a possibility.

    ¡°Chi You¡¯s weakness is the spirit?¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡±

    After exchanging nces, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu nodded.

    For one who was so physically powerful that nobody could match up to him, that did not mean that one¡¯s spirit was also undefeatable. After all, everyone¡¯s spirit was weak.

    No matter how powerful it was, there would be some weakness.

    ¡°Shameless thief, talking about the spiritual attack, aren¡¯t you very good at it too?¡± Ping Yang reminded Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Yes, I have some tactics in terms of spiritual attack, the Rebirth Ghost Dao!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°What are you waiting for, kill him!¡± Ping Yang was extremely excited.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded immediately and turned to Chi Guyan. ¡°Yan¡¯er, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s spring a spiritual attack against Chi You together.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    Meanwhile, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five stood up and his eyes flowed in gold.

    ¡°Let me find an opportunity for you two.¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five knew that some sacrifice was needed to attack Chi You¡¯s spirit.

    Therefore, he would be the sacrifice.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, I... I feel that something is wrong with what Chi You said. However, I can¡¯t pinpoint... the details...¡± Yun Qingwu hesitated.

    ¡°Shut up, Demoness! Chi You is the Demon God, do you want to him to win?¡± Ping Yang roared coldly and did not want to be affected by Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression changed and clenched her fists. However, she released them and did not bother quarreling with Ping Yang. Instead, she took a look at Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°If you are sure that Chi You¡¯s weakness is his spirit, then please be careful.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, rest assured.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    However, Chi Guyan looked at Yun Qingwu. She did not say anything but was evidently deep in thought.

    Of course, there was no time for hesitation.

    That was because no matter how small the possibility was, she had to give it a shot. Even if there was danger awaiting her, she could not retreat.

 Chapter 1104 - Strange Battle Tactics

    <h4>Chapter 1104: Strange Battle Tactics</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Roar!¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five moved first and spat out mes from his mouth.

    Meanwhile, Chi You did not dodge and allowed the mes tond on his body. Then, they turned into sparks of golden radiance and disappeared immediately.

    Destruction of all living things.

    However, at this moment, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five reached where Chi You was.

    He grabbed Chi You¡¯s shoulders with both of his front ws while spinning upwards, turning into a beam of golden light which wound around all six arms of Chi You.

    ¡°Opportunity!¡± Fang Zhengzhi knew that he could not afford to miss such an opportunity. Without hesitation, he charged forward and used his Rebirth Ghost Dao.

    Chi Guyan followed closely behind.

    Both of them reached where Chi You was almost immediately. In order to achieve the greatest effect, they held their hands tightly.

    The cycle of Yin and Yang and the coexistence of them.

    Both of their fingers touched Chi You¡¯s forehead at the same time. The spark of lightning was so fast that it had reached the ultimate speed.

    Chi You seemed to have the intention to dodge.

    He looked as though he was struggling but after being tied down by Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, how could he possibly dodge?

    With a loud ¡°bam¡±, Chi You leaned back and looked dazed.

    ¡°We hit him!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were extremely stunned by this scene.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were secretly happy. ¡®Taking one¡¯s advantage while itsted¡¯, both of them attacked immediately without hesitation.

    After his spirit was injured, he should not be able to use his Dao of Destruction.

    That gave them the chance.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attacked with his Xuanyuan Sword. With a loud and clear whistle, it struck Chi You¡¯s neck with a bright and clear radiance.

    Chi Guyan was equally cruel.

    She stepped on Chi You¡¯s head while forcefully pulling his head back, causing him to raise his head.

    Boom!

    The terrifying airwave spread continuously like a wave. There was an obvious difference between that and the calmness earlier on.

    ¡°It¡¯s effective, it¡¯s really effective!¡± Ping Yang was extremely excited and stared at the center of the airwave. ¡°Chi You should have died, right?¡±

    ¡°Something seems... amiss!¡± Yan Xiu suddenly widened his eyes and a red light screen was opened in front of him.

    Boom!

    Boom...

    With two consecutive loud booms, Yan Xiu flew back rapidly.

    What was happening?!

    Ping Yang was stunned. However, as Yan Xiu moved back, the airwave seemed to be swarming towards her like a wave, the force was so strong that it almost caused her body to break apart.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked up and roared suddenly. Her nine fox tails appeared and shrouded Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Yun Qingwu with them.

    However, despite that, she was still struck by the impact.

    She hit the bloody cage with a boom.

    ¡°Spat!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi spat out a mouthful of blood and looked extremely pale. Blood flowed from his nose and ears too.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Seeing this, Yun Qingwu was extremely anxious too.

    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine, I won¡¯t die so easily.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi shook her head with force and looked at Chi You. ¡°We got... got tricked...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Tricked?!¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Chi You, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest after they heard what Monster Emperor Baizhi said. Then, they realized the problem.

    In the raging airwave, Chi You still stood on the spot and was no longer as lost as earlier on.

    However, that was not the main point. The main thing was, Fang Zhengzhi was also at the same spot and did not move at all. He looked as though he had turned into a stone.

    Besides Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan who was standing on Chi You¡¯s head, as well as Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who was around Chi You, were all motionless.

    ¡°Hurry... Hurry up and save Fang Zhengzhi. Chi You¡¯s spirit was way more powerful than we imagined. It is not his weakness at all, all of them were being backfired by the spirit!¡± Yun Qingwu yelled.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed immediately.

    He already noticed the problem when Yun Qingwu shouted. He instinctively wanted to go forward but it was toote.

    Chi You had already attacked.

    While Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were frozen on the spot, he had broken free from Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and pped Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan with his six arms.

    ¡°Disappear!¡± Chi You looked extremely cold and was sneering.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and the rest shouted at the same time.

    However, they could not stop him at all. Chi You was extremely fast and he had nowhere to run to as Fang Zhengzhi and the rest were right in front of him.

    Boom!

    After that, a breaking sound was heard.

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    It was as though something hadpletely broken up and turned into powder.

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were red. He charged forward with all his might but an invisible force had restrained him.

    He was unable to move at all.

    Hmm?!

    This caused Yan Xiu¡¯s expression to change again as he could feel that the force that was restraining him did not intend to hurt him.

    Rebirth, Heaven Dao!

    ¡°Zhengzhi, didn¡¯t... didn¡¯t die?!¡± Yan Xiu was extremely shocked as he clearly saw how Fang Zhengzhi was hit by Chi You¡¯s hands.

    However, the oue was...

    Crack!

    Crack!

    ¡°...¡±

    The cracking sounds continued.

    It turned into countless bright spots and scattered in the air.

    Moreover, there were a lot of them, nine of the objects which were as ck as ink waspletely broken.

    ¡°Nine... Nine Cauldrons?!¡±

    ¡°The nine cauldrons on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?!¡±

    ¡°What on earth is happening? Why did the nine cauldrons... crack?!¡±

    Monster Emperor Baizhi immediately spotted some things that were as ck as ink. They were none other than the nine cauldrons disyed on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you to fool around with me!¡± Chi You sounded extremely angry and waved his six arms continuously and wanted to catch Fang Zhengzhi and the rest

    However, Fang Zhengzhi, along with Chi Guyan and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, had already returned to where Yan Xiu and the rest were.

    ¡°Zhengzhi, what... what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat, what are you...¡±

    Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were extremely confused and could not understand what had just happened.

    ¡°We were trying to y along. Chi You wanted to fake his weakness and cause our spirits to backfire, I decided to be straightforward and make use of him to destroy the nine cauldrons,¡± said Fang Zhengzhi casually.

    ¡°Make use of Chi You to destroy the nine cauldrons... why do you want to destroy the nine cauldrons?¡±

    ¡°Destroy the nine cauldrons?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu could not understand.

    ¡°The Nine Cauldrons were not treasures. I had kept them for a long time and did not find any use for them. Since Mother Earth appeared after the Gates of God of the Three Realms were destroyed, I thought some big shot would appear after the Nine Cauldrons was destroyed?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.

    ¡°...¡±

    This assumption made sense.

    However, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang had to admit that only Fang Zhengzhi was daring enough to think about this.

    He made use of Chi You¡¯s Dao of all Destruction to destroy the Nine Cauldrons before awakening the so-called ¡°big shot¡±?

    It sounded so idealistic.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± At this moment, the radiance which the nine cauldrons turned into umted in the sky and something seemed to be roaring inside it.

    Boom! The sky was torn.

    Cracks kept appearing and the ground started to rumble.

    ¡°Wow, there¡¯s a big shot!¡± Ping Yang opened his mouth.

    Apart from Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Monster Emperor Baizhi were evidently shocked. There was some mysterious power in the nine cauldrons?

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    The thunder rumbled.

    Then, the radiance that was umted struck rapidly.

    However...

    Fang Zhengzhi could not stand it as the radiance made by the nine cauldrons were tilted. Instead ofing down towards him, they went towards Ping Yang.

    ¡°Ah? Why are theying towards... me...?¡± Ping Yang scrambled to hide behind Fang Zhengzhi but the radiance was too fast.

    It entered her body instantly.

    Then, Ping Yang started to shout while three balls of mes ¡ª gold, red, and blue ¡ª¡±blossomed¡± like flowers on her forehead.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were speechless.

    Yan Xiu also looked confused.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, looked nkly at this scene. He wanted to curse, ¡°Why did all the benefits and my treasure end up with Ping Yang?¡±

    One should not be cheating like this!

    This was ridiculous.

    Even a little?!

    ¡°Shameless brat, I think I... I inherited ancestor... ancestor Emperor Yu¡¯s... power?¡± Ping Yang stood nkly on the spot.

    ¡°Ancestor Emperor Yu?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    The legend stated that Emperor Yu made the nine cauldrons after conquering the water. Then, he divided thend on earth with the nine cauldrons and turned it into ninends.

    Therefore, the Great Xia Dynasty was the descendant of Emperor Yu?

    So, the nine cauldrons on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were the nine cauldrons left behind by Emperor Yu?

    ¡°...¡±

    Although it made sense and the oue waspatible, Emperor Yu was rather selfish.

    Why did he only pass down his power to his descendants?

    Fang Zhengzhi sighed and whipped out other forms of treasures from his body. For example, the stone obtained from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and The Vast World he was using as a container.

    He took everything out!

    After all, if he died, there was no point keeping those things. If he could not defeat Chi You, these treasures were only just a treasure.

    He did not believe it, why didn¡¯t all the benefits go to him?

    ¡°Chi You,e on, destroy everything!¡± Fang Zhengzhi shouted loudly and threw The Vast World, stones, and other treasures at Chi You.

    Bam!

    Crack...

    ¡°...¡±

    The treasures fell like raindrops on Chi You¡¯s back andnded slowly, gradually falling on the ground.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s face was ck.

    Why happened to the Dao of all Destruction?

    Why wasn¡¯t it working?

    Chi You¡¯s face was ck too. Aspared to Fang Zhengzhi, it was even uglier. However, he stood rooted to the ground and clenched his fists on all of his six arms.

    Did he really think Fang Zhengzhi was dumb?!

    After the destruction of the Gates of God of the Three Realms, the spirit of Mother Earth appeared. After the Nine Cauldrons was destroyed...

    Although he did not know how Emperor Yu was like as he had fallen into a deep sleep in the Source of God in the era of Emperor Yu, he was still intelligent enough.

    ¡°So you are trying to make use of my Dao of all Destruction, right?¡± Chi You stared at Fang Zhengzhi and was surrounded by thick ck haze.

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you think that you are the ruler of the world? You mean you are still afraid?¡± Fang Zhengzhi tried to provoke him.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Chi Youughed as he was too angry. Then, his gaze turned cold. ¡°Very well, then I shall grant your wish!¡±

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Thunders rumbled and ck clouds covered the sky.

    Before Fang Zhengzhi could reply, Chi You had reached him. He was moving so fast that he could not be seen clearly. It was not teleportation as Chi You did not split the space apart.

    However, it was even more insane than teleportation.

    With a crack, the de of the Xuanyuan Sword was caught by Chi You. He did not give Fang Zhengzhi any chance to resist and overpowered himpletely.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changedpletely.

    That was because he could already guess what Chi You was about to do next.

    ¡°You can¡¯t destroy the Xuanyuan Sword!¡± Fang Zhengzhi tightened his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword while kicking Chi You¡¯s arm.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five attacked at the same time.

    All of them figured out the Chi You¡¯s intention.

    To destroy the Xuanyuan Sword!

    That was impossible!

    It was the only weapon left behind by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!

    If Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had used the Xuanyuan Sword to kill Chi You in the ancient era, then what else could kill Chi You if the Xuanyuan Sword was destroyed?

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five bit Chi You¡¯s arm.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan pped Chi You¡¯s head with all her strength.

    At this critical moment, everyone attacked together.

    Ping Yang used both her hands and legs and hang onto Chi You¡¯s arm like a monkey. Meanwhile, she grabbed onto the two fingers which Chi You used to hold the Xuanyuan Sword. The tri-colored mes ¡ª gold, silver and blue ¡ª burned on her body.

    ¡°Chi You, you old monster with bull horns and six arms. You ugly monster, let go right now and I will burn you to death, ugly and old monster!¡± Ping Yang shouted loudly and her face was red as she kicked her legs.

    Instantly, the Godly Beasts and demons watching from beneath were stunned.

    What f*cking tactic was that?

 Chapter 1105 - Muchen Pearl, The Real Identity of the Lady in the White Dress

    <h4>Chapter 1105: Muchen Pearl, The Real Identity of the Lady in the White Dress</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    That tactic could not be described at all.

    ¡®After all, you guys are already the Godly State experts, do you really have to be so ¡°exaggerated¡±? Can¡¯t you take note of the style of experts?¡¯

    ...

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what went on in the Godly Beasts and the demons minds, even if he knew, he would reply, ¡°What f*cking style of experts?¡±

    ¡®Regardless if it¡¯s ck or white, a cat that could catch mice is a good cat¡¯ <sup>1</sup> .

    The oue was the most important.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not bother about whether he was using any tactics anymore. He only had one thought in mind, which was to withdraw the Xuanyuan Sword from Chi You.

    In order to ensure that the Xuanyuan Sword was not destroyed, he could do anything. If Ping Yang did not care about her reputation as the Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, why else did Fang Zhengzhi need to care about?

    Not only was he stepping on Chi You with his feet, but he was also digging into Chi You¡¯s armpit with his free hand.

    He was not tickling him...

    He was scratching him.

    The strength involved waspletely different.

    He scratched him extremely strongly. He used all his strength and ultimately used his teeth.

    However, just as he bit on Chi You¡¯s waist, he realized...

    It was extremely hard.

    With his current capability, he could even bite on a metal. However, he felt like his teeth were breaking apart when he bit Chi You.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so humorous.¡± Chi You¡¯s cold voice was heard before a powerful force surged out from his body.

    Boom!

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five flew.

    Two broken dragon teeth flew out from his mouth. It was obvious that his bite on Chi You¡¯s arm was useless too.

    After that, Chi You¡¯s other arm grew rapidly and caught Xuanyuan Five immediately, strangling him on his neck.

    ¡°Roar...¡± Xuanyuan Five struggled with all his might.

    However, a group of thick ck haze surrounded his body immediately and entered his mouth, causing his eyes to turn cker.

    Fang Zhengzhi had seen this before.

    Chi You used the same method to kill Mo Shanshi. The ck haze entered from his mouth and nose before he exploded and died.

    ¡°Xuanyuan Five!¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to save him but he was forcefully hit away by the powerful force, even his Xuanyuan Sword was knocked out of his hand.

    Besides him, Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu, as well as everyone who attacked Chi You earlier on was hit away by the powerful force. Moreover, the other three arms of Chi You began to swing at Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu as that happened.

    Six arms.

    One was holding the Xuanyuan Sword, one was holding onto Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, three were swung towards Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang. Thest one appeared behind Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes were red. He used all his strength to stop himself in the sky and endured the powerful force.

    He was not caught by Chi You.

    However, that caused him to breathe heavily and a mouthful of blood went up to his mouth.

    However, he did not spit it out as he had no time to do that. He had to stop Chi You.

    Trying to stop him with one hand?

    That was impossible!

    He could dodge with the Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    Fang Zhengzhi dared to fight with Chi You because although he was unable to hurt him, he was able to dodge Chi You¡¯s attacks.

    However, if Chi Guyan caught Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu...

    That was another story.

    ¡°Chi Guyan, fight with me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi forcefully swallowed the blood in his mouth and shouted while charging towards Chi Guyan and the rest.

    ¡°Shameless thief, don¡¯t care about us, watch out!¡± Chi Guyan shouted immediately and anxiously when she saw Fang Zhengzhi running towards her.

    ¡°What?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked.

    However, it was toote. The three arms of Chi You turned around when Fang Zhengzhi charged over.

    All three arms went towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    They surrounded him from three different directions, in addition to the arm behind him.

    Attack from four directions!

    ¡°The legendary ¡®Arms Monster¡¯ was probably like that?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mind went nk when he saw the arms which were able to change in length.

    He could dodge one or two arms.

    However, his expression changedpletely when he saw the four armsing from four different directions.

    That was because the four arms were too fast.

    He was able to dodge with the Heavenly Rebirth Dao. However, when he was surrounded in all directions, how could he dodge?

    Downwards?

    Chi You was below him.

    Upwards!

    Fang Zhengzhi had no choice and no time to think. He immediately used his Heavenly Rebirth Dao and flew up.

    However, at this moment, a beam of radiance shone from the bloody sun in the sky.

    It was a scorching hot bloody radiance.

    Boom! The radiance hit Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s chest.

    Instantly, he felt as though he was being hit by the sun. It was so hot that his entire body felt as though it was on fire. The powerful force pressed his body down.

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯

    There were both Chi You and his four arms below him.

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to dodge but the powerful force did not allow him to resist at all.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, go and die!¡± Chi You¡¯s voice echoed beside his ears.

    After that, he saw the four arms moving towards him and struck his body from four directions. That caused his mind to go nk.

    Boom!

    Fang Zhengzhi spat out a mouth of blood.

    Then, he fell in a straight line.

    Plop!

    He fell into the boiling hotva.

    ¡°Shameless thief!¡±

    ¡°Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°Shameless brat!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu¡¯s voice was heard almost at the same time.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi could no longer hear them. He could only feel that his body was being burnt and could only see a bright red color in front of him.

    ...

    Painful, it was really painful.

    However, for some reason, Fang Zhengzhi thought that this felt familiar.

    It was not his first time inva. He felt that he had experienced something simr in his dreams before.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Am I dead?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around. He could no longer feel the existence of his body.

    ¡°No, you are not dead yet but you will be soon.¡± At this moment, he heard a voice.

    ¡®Who?¡¯

    ¡®Hmm.. Unless it¡¯s you?!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi tried to open his eyes but could only see a patch of red. However, he definitely heard something.

    The voice was familiar.

    It was the voice of thedy in the white dress he heard in his dreams.

    ¡°Do you still remember how I threw you into theva? Recall that feeling,¡± the familiar voice echoed beside Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Recall... that feeling?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi did not know what thedy in the white dress wanted, he had no other choice but to follow.

    The feeling in the dream...

    The feeling in theva.

    Fang Zhengzhi gradually calmed down. He was embracing the pain of being burnt. Although it was extremely painful, he was able to train himself.

    Very quickly, a feeling of warmth rose from his heart.

    It grew continuously like a sprout, gradually separating the scorching heat, making him feel as though he was taking a warm bath.

    At this moment, the world in front of him changed too.

    The bright red disappeared and he saw the ocean instead. There was a pearl floating above the ocean.

    It was that pearl?!

    The pearl under the pond in the parallel dimension of the Divine Constabry?!

    Fang Zhengzhi had never seen this pearl ever since he took it out of the pond. Yet now, it was floating in front of him.

    He would he not be surprised?

    ¡°Who on earth are you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said as he felt that the pearl was the real look of thedy in the white dress.

    ¡°I am not a human,¡± said thedy.

    ¡°Then what are you... Demon, monster, or a ghost?¡± Chills went down Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back as he said thest word.

    ¡°...¡± Thedy in the white dress fell silent.

    ¡°Answer me, are you a ghost?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly anxious.

    ¡°No, to be urate, I am a strand of remnant consciousness,¡± said thedy in the white dress again.

    ¡°Remnant consciousness?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, to put it frankly, I can tell you how to defeat Chi You, however...¡± Thedy in the white dress stopped talking again.

    ¡°However what?¡±

    ¡°However you won¡¯t be able to learn it.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi wanted to curse.

    So she said that for nothing?

    Moreover, that was not the way to destroy someone¡¯s confidence, right? How dare she say that Fang Zhengzhi was unable to learnt it? She did not even try teaching him before.

    ¡°Don¡¯t curse at me because you really won¡¯t be able to learn it. However, someone can.¡± The pearl in front of him disappeared and thedy in the white dress gradually turned into a human figure.

    ¡°Who? Chi Guyan?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought that only Chi Guyan could do it.

    This spection was not without a reason. That was because he remembered he found the pearl in the Divine Constabry. Therefore, it could be rted to the Divine Constabry.

    ¡°If Chi Guyan can learn it, then I won¡¯t bother looking for you. She had entered the parallel dimension of the ¡®Heavenly Treasure Hall¡¯ when she was 20 years old. I definitely had the chance of letting her try this.¡± Thedy in the white dress shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not Chi Guyan? Then could it be... are you referring to...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Yun Qingwu.¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded. ¡°Only someone who mastered The Art of Bing Invisible and has the supreme ability to make deductions can master this.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi fell silent.

    However, if they were to talk about The Art of Bing Invisible and deductions, Yun Qingwu was definitely the best at it.

    However, why was it Yun Qingwu?

    He did not understand.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t understand. You just have to remember to spit out my remnant consciousness into Yun Qingwu¡¯s mouth once you have woken up,¡± said thedy in the white dress again.

    ¡°So that¡¯s your idea?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked quietly at thedy in the white dress.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded.

    ¡°Why should I believe you?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

    Although he had interacted with thedy in the white dress many times and she had given him some reminders, it was merely a reminder.

    He was unsure of how thedy in the white dress appeared and her identity.

    Would someone who imed that she was able to fight against Chi You¡¯s ¡°remnant consciousness¡± exist in this world?

    He was unsure.

    ¡°How would you believe me?¡± Thedy in the white dress fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

    ¡°You should at least tell me your name.¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked serious as he had to confirm the real identity of thedy in the white dress.

    ¡°My name?¡± Thedy in the white dress fell silent again.

    She looked up slightly into the sky which was a boundless blue. She seemed to be recalling and thinking at the same time.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not disturb her. He was waiting.

    He had always been bothered by a question, who on earth was thedy in the white dress? Why did she know how to defeat Chi You?

    ¡°I can tell you my name. I also can rify another doubt of yours.¡± Thedy in the white dress finally spoke after a long time.

    ¡°Another doubt of mine?¡± Fang Zhengzhi blinked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you always want to know why the Emperor Huang Xuanyuan wasted his energy to go to the gxy?¡± Thedy in the white dress nodded and asked.

    ¡°Was he... trying to save you?¡±

    ¡°He wanted to save me but he did not have enough power. He was unsessful despite using all his strength. The only thing he could do is to put my remnant consciousness in the ¡®Muchen Pearl <sup>2</sup> ¡®.¡±

    ¡°Muchen Pearl?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly widened.

    Muchen Pearl, one of the three Godly Pearls?!

    The legendary Muchen Pearl which had the blood of the never-dying phoenix. It was left behind by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan after he had passed away.

    Hold on!

    Emperor Huang Xuanyuan passed away and left behind a Muchen Pearl?!

    This historical record...

    Did it mean that Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had once split the sky apart and entered another gxy, then putting the strand of remnant consciousness of thedy in the white dress into the Muchen Pearl before leaving it behind on earth?

    Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had apletely new understanding of the legend. Moreover, this legend was recorded.

    That was somewhat ridiculous.

    The secret story of the ancient era was reallyplicated.

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t belong to this world. However, I have a name in this world... they called me Xuan Nv <sup>3</sup> , hmm...¡¯Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens¡¯.¡± Thedy in the white dress sighed slightly and did not seem to want to talk about her name.

 Chapter 1106 - The Truth, Give Birth!

    <h4>Chapter 1106: The Truth, Give Birth!</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    ¡°Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was seriously shocked.

    That was because, if what thedy in the white dress said was true, she would be the only person who knew how to defeat Chi You in the world.

    ording to the legends, in the ancient era, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had once fought against Chi You with Emperor Yan for nine times. However, they lost all of the nine battles.

    They did not have any hopes of winning at all.

    However, at this moment, ady in the white dress arrived from the gxy.

    After that, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan seemed to have changed as a person. When Emperor Huang Xuanyuan fought against Chi You again, he won Chi You dramatically.

    And thisdy was named the Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°After realizing that Chi You made use of the Source of God to keep his spirit, Xuanyuan did not find a way to kill Chi You. Therefore, he could only lure Xing Tian to this ce and make use of his grievances to produce the raging murderous aura to be used as a suppressive. However, he knew that Chi You was only suppressed and could wake up again any day,¡± said Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens again.

    ¡°Therefore, he could only break open space and enter the gxy to bring you out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi roughly understood at this point.

    ¡°Hmm. Xuanyuan knew that he couldn¡¯t defeat Chi You on his own. Therefore, he put his hopes on me and made use of the blood of the phoenix to produce the Muchen Pearl. To ensure that my strand of remnant consciousness would not be destroyed, he sealed it in the Muchen Pearl.¡± Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens nodded.

    ¡°I see.¡± Fang Zhengzhi finally understood the whole event.

    All of his queries were answered.

    There was indeed a huge battle that took ce in the ancient era which triggered the Cosmic Disaster. After that disaster, Mother Earth led the three races ¡ª Human, Monster and Demon race ¡ª to defend against the disaster.

    Eventually, the Cosmic Disaster was sessfully curbed.

    However, the powerful individuals of the three races were left behind in the gxy. That included Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    Nothing was wrong with this.

    After all, as the emperor of humankind, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan both survived. That proved that someone else led humankind back then.

    The best choice was none other than Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    In the historical records, Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens had once appeared during the battle between Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Chi You. After that, she disappeared without a trace.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not expect this to have happened.

    Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens was stuck in the gxy.

    Meanwhile, Chi You¡¯s spirit had fused with the Source of God and could recover any moment. Emperor Huang Xuanyuan knew that he was not powerful enough to save Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    Everything made sense.

    Thereafter, Emperor Yan...

    Fang Zhengzhi could roughly understand that Emperor Yan was waiting for Emperor Huang Xuanyuan to receive Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens back. However, he did not expect Emperor Huang Xuanyuan to never return after entering the gxy.

    A Muchen Pearl.

    It was the final hope for Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    ¡°I have another question, why did you appear in the parallel dimension of the Heavenly Treasure Hall. Moreover, you were at the bottom of theke?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked thest question.

    ¡°I was initially in the hand of the oldest emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. However, after Great Xia Dynasty fell from power for a period of time, in order to reobtain the rule of the world, the new Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty gifted the treasures to some of the bigger families back then, including the Thirteen Constabries,¡± said Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°I get it now, nobody knew how the Muchen Pearl, one of the three ancient Godly pearls, worked. Eventually, it ended up in the Divine Constabry. Did you end up in the bottom of the pond because you were unwilling to wait in the Heavenly Treasure Hall?¡± Fang Zhengzhi guessed.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens nodded.

    ¡°Then why did you choose me? Is it because I am handsome?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled without feeling ashamed at all.

    ¡°...¡± Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens looked at Fang Zhengzhi and shook her head helplessly. ¡°I chose you because you look like someone. Moreover, both of you are fated.¡±

    ¡°Someone? Who?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was surprised.

    ¡°This story is somewhat long-winded. I have already said earlier on that I don¡¯t belong to this world. Of course, if you do get to meet him in the future, please send my greetings.¡±

    ¡°Greetings... for who?¡±

    ¡°For my ancestors.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ...

    There was a type of love that involved killing each other.

    Fang Zhengzhi was unsure how Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens was rted to ¡°that person¡±, however, he could tell that she hated him.

    However, if she hated him...

    Why did she choose Fang Zhengzhi, who was fated with ¡°that person¡±?

    A woman¡¯s mind was really f*cking hard to read.

    This was tooplicated so Fang Zhengzhi did not bother asking further.

    ¡°Oh, you mentioned that you still have another name, what is it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

    ¡°That name does not belong to this world. If you really want to know, you can ask him. Of course, you have to be able to see him first.¡± Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens did not say a lot.

    ¡°Let me guess... uh, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s ¡®White Lotus Flower¡¯?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked curious.

    ¡°...¡± The expression of Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens changed slightly. She was not angry but Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words triggered some memories. She sighed unknowingly and said with a deep voice, ¡°Since the Tang Dynasty, everyone in the world loved peony. Only he loved... the purity of the lotus flower...¡±

    Her voice because so deep that it was indecipherable.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed suddenly. Tang Dynasty...

    There was no such thing as Tang Dynasty in this world!

    ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t promise if Chi You would have already killed Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and Ping Yang if you continued asking,¡± said Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens after she regained her senses.

    ¡°What the f*ck!¡±

    ...

    In the sky above the Changyang Mountain, currently the Heaven Zen Mountain, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu all wanted to dash down and save Fang Zhengzhi up from theva. However, how would Chi You Allow that to happen?

    ¡°Hmph, trying to save him? Save yourselves first!¡± Chi You¡¯s voice was as loud as the thunders. Meanwhile, he moved his four arms again.

    Two arms went for Chi Guyan.

    The other two went for Ping Yang and Yan Xiu respectively.

    That also showed Chi You¡¯s reservations towards Chi Guyan. After all, anyone could tell that Chi Guyan had the power to fight against Fang Zhengzhi.

    Moreover, Chi Guyan had the blood of Mother Earth.

    Although Chi You was not afraid of that, he definitely had his reservations about it.

    Fang Zhengzhi had already died!

    After that, he would attack Chi Guyan, the person who had the blood of Mother Earth. After both of them were killed, nothing would pose as a threat for him.

    However, unfortunately, the beam of the bloody mountain wasted the energy of the bloody cage.

    In order to kill Fang Zhengzhi, Chi You had transferred all the energy required to form the bloody cage away. Now, the bloody cage was open.

    ¡°Ping Yang, leave with Yan Xiu first while I block him!¡± Chi Guyan obviously read Chi You¡¯s mind but had no intention of running away.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not leaving! Never!¡± Ping Yang looked at the palm of Chi You that wasing towards her. She moved continuously in the air and stepped on his arm.

    She was not caught immediately.

    In fact, Yan Xiu was in the most dangerous position.

    Unlike Ping Yang who inherited part of Emperor Yu¡¯s powers, all of her powers originated from her ow cultivation.

    Since the first time he met Fang Zhengzhi when his power was simr to that of Fang Zhengzhi, the difference in their powers was slightly obvious now, especially after Fang Zhengzhi had made a breakthrough to the Godly State.

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave, I need to take revenge for Zhengzhi!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He knew that he could not win Chi You but was unwilling to leave.

    Without any specific reason, he went ahead despite knowing the danger. It was very foolish but that was Yan Xiu¡¯s character.

    Nobody thought of leaving.

    Both of them were dodging Chi You¡¯s attack continuously.

    That surprised Chi You as he did not expect the two humans... no, three humans, as well as Yun Qingwu and the rest, to be so foolish.

    None of them left!

    ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t have to waste your energy to trap them.¡± Chi You was very cold. He would definitely not show mercy because Chi Guyan and the rest did not leave.

    He would never show mercy.

    Attack!

    ¡®Kill all the threats!¡¯

    ¡®Those who are not willing to surrender!¡¯

    ¡®Kill them all!¡¯

    That was the ¡°Dao¡± of Chi You¡¯s character. It was simrly the Dao of all Destruction.

    He ruled over everything on earth. He would destroy anything that did notply with him.

    Chi You was very determined and would not be easily swayed. That was because he had this belief for thousands of years.

    Meanwhile, the Godly Beasts and demons cowered¡¯ on the ground again.

    Chi You the Demon God.

    He had used the truth to tell them that whoever who were unwilling to surrender would die. That included Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who was being caught in Chi You¡¯s hand.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s eyes had almost turned ck.

    There was countless thick ck haze flowing in them. The intense thick ck haze was also entering from his mouth and nose, causing him to struggle non-stop.

    However, Chi You was way too powerful.

    Even Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, was unable to break free.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi... are you really dead?¡± Yun Qingwu was shaking violently and staring at the boilingva.

    She was praying.

    Praying for a miracle to happen again.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi had dropped into theva for a full ten minutes.

    It was neither a cave nor a cliff. It was the boiling hotva.

    Even if Fang Zhengzhi managed to make a breakthrough to the Godly State, it was still dangerous for him to stay there for a good ten minutes, right?

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi fell into theva when he was unconscious. If he was unconscious, he would not be able to use his Origin Energy to withstand the burn of theva, right?

    ¡°Will he die? He can¡¯t die!¡± Wu Yuer teared up.

    Mo Shanshi had died.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was also caught by Chi You and could explode and die at any moment.

    Everything changed.

    Chi You was way too powerful.

    Unlike before, everything was telling her that they had no hope of winning this battle. Humankind would perish and the Monster Race and Demon Race could only surrender.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Growl...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts roared softly.

    Meanwhile, Monster Emperor Baizhi was protecting Yun Qingwu by her side. She wanted to leave with Yun Qingwu but Yun Qingwu¡¯s attitude told her that...

    She couldn¡¯t leave.

    She knew Yun Qingwu¡¯s personality too well.

    Determination.

    As long as Yun Qingwu fixed her mind on something, she would be determined about it.

    However, would she still be able to seed this time?

    Even Monster Emperor Baizhi who had yet to doubt Yun Qingwu was somewhat dazed. That was because she did not know if Yun Qingwu could still get it right this time.

    Boom!

    At this moment, a loud sound was heard from theva.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Theva... could it be...¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts, demons, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and Yan Xiu, as well as Chi You, turned to look at theva beneath when they heard the sound. All of them looked shocked.

    That was right!

    Chi You was shocked.

    That was because when the sound was heard, he saw a figure charge out from theva.

    ¡°This brat... didn¡¯t die?!¡± Chi You did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would die because of theva alone but Fang Zhengzhi had indeed suffered two heavy blows.

    All the energy on the bloody cage had turned into a beam of red light and struck Fang Zhengzhi.

    Moreover, Chi You had hit Fang Zhengzhi with his four arms.

    Even so...

    Fang Zhengzhi did not die?!

    Chi You really could not understand.

    However, that was the reality. Fang Zhengzhi charged out from theva again. Moreover; his face was red and he looked as though he just drank some good wine.

    However, what confused Chi You was the fact that...

    After Fang Zhengzhi charged out of theva, he did not save Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five first or fight together with Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu.

    Instead, he sprinted towards where Yun Qingwu, Wu Yuer and the rest were at.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this brat is nning to flee?¡± As this thought shed across Chi You¡¯s mind, he immediately gave up on catching Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest. He moved and blocked Fang Zhengzhi from reaching Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Old demon Chi You, you are going against your own words. Didn¡¯t you say that you can wait for me to give birth?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice was heard and it echoed in Chi You¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Give birth?¡± Chi You was shocked.

    This brat...

    Who did he want to give birth with?

 Chapter 1107 - The Final Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1107: The Final Battle</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    In fact, apart from Chi You, the Godly Beasts and demons, as well as Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu and the rest, were all stunned.

    ¡®Give birth?!¡¯

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi moved again.

    While Chi You was in a daze, Fang Zhengzhi went past him with his Heavenly Rebirth Dao and sprinted towards where Yun Qingwu and Wu Yuer were.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Yuer was shocked. Then, she began to flush for no apparent reason.

    Fang Zhengzhi went to her?

    Moreover, did this shameless brat say he wanted to give birth?

    Give birth...

    Who would he want to give birth with?

    There were only three females ¡ª Yun Qingwu, Monster Emperor Baizhi and Wu Yuer ¡ª present. It could not possibly be Monster Emperor Baizhi? Their age difference was so huge. The shameless brat should not have such a huge appetite.

    It should not be Yun Qingwu too because, after all, Yun Qingwu was mixed blood of demon and monster. Based on this, Wu Yuer had the biggest chance?

    ¡®Could it be...¡¯

    Wu Yuer stopped thinking further as Fang Zhengzhi had already begun to move. He stretched his right hand out and went towards her.

    ¡°Shameless brat, don¡¯t do this, I... I am not ready... yet...¡± Wu Yuer widened her eyes before she could finish her sentence.

    Besides her, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu also widened their eyes.

    Yun Qingwu, as well as Monster Emperor Baizhi who revealed her monster form, also widened their eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Everyone turned their attention to Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.

    Everyone watched in anticipation.

    Meanwhile, with everyone looking, Fang Zhengzhi forcefully held Yun Qingwu¡¯s waist with one hand and lifted her head with the other.

    Instantly, their lips touched.

    ¡°...¡±

    Yun Qingwu widened her eyes and stared at the man in front of him in disbelief. She instinctively struggled and hit his back with her hands.

    However, the man was extremely stubborn.

    Without saying anything, he forcefully hugged her and kissed her despite her struggle. Moreover, he forcefully opened her tightly sharp lips with something.

    ¡°Mmm, mmm...¡± Yun Qingwu kept making noises.

    The whole world seemed to have stopped.

    Chi You turned around now. He did not know why but he did not attack Fang Zhengzhi immediately.

    ¡°This brat is rather manly... However, he is a little too slow? They have already kissed for so long? The men of the Jiu Li race I lead always strip immediately.¡± Chi You shook his head after looking at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons all looked at each other with a strange expression.

    Meanwhile, Yun Qingwu suddenly regained her senses after hearing what Chi You said. She stopped hitting Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s back and grabbed on to her clothes at her chest area.

    However, at this moment, she felt something slip into her mouth. It was round and went into her throat immediately.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s body shook violently before she felt an extremely hot energy radiate from her body.

    Buzz!

    The red airwave gushed out and turned into feathery-like radiance, floating behind Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A thunderous boom could be heard.

    The ground shook continuously and the violent airwave spread in all directions. Even the red sun in the sky was affected and radiance started shining in all directions.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was sent flying by the blow of this force.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°Is this airwave...¡±

    ¡°It is so familiar!¡±

    ¡°It is the... Undying... Undying Phoenix!¡±

    Witnessing this, the Godly Beasts and demons were extremely astonished.

    The red airwave was too familiar.

    Amongst the Godly Beasts, it was something that could be used to fight against Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five.

    The Undying bird, Fire Phoenix!

    ¡°What on earth is going on?! Just now... what did the shameless brat do? Why... why did Yun Qingwu suddenly be so powerful?!¡± Ping Yang was also extremely shocked.

    ¡°They are not making out?¡± Yan Xiu turned to look at Ping Yang.

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang fell speechless immediately.

    There was a type of trust that did not require any reasons. No matter what the other party said, one would not question. That probably describes Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Making out?

    How was this making out?!

    ¡°The shameless brat seemed to have fed Yun Qingwu something with his mouth, allowing Yun Qingwu to get some sort of special power!¡± Chi Guyan was very calm.

    She trusted Fang Zhengzhi too.

    However, unlike Yan Xiu, her trust leaned towards rational thinking.

    After all, she understood Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality too well. He could be rash when doing insignificant things but he was never rash when it came to significant things.

    Therefore, why would he make out at this moment?

    ¡°He passed on some special power to Yun Qingwu? This shameless brat is really... biased! Why didn¡¯t he pass his powers to me?¡± Ping Yang pouted unhappily.

    However, at this moment, Yun Qingwu suddenly withdrew her powers.

    The energy which was spreading violently in all directions suddenly became extremely calm. Nine beams of feathery-like red airwaves were still moving behind her back.

    ¡°Chi You,¡± said Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Chi You¡¯s expression changed. Although Yun Qingwu only said two simple words, he could sense a familiar and unforgettable aura on Yun Wingwu.

    ¡°Do you still remember me after these thousands of years?¡± Yun Qingwu spoke again.

    ¡°...¡± Chi You¡¯s body shook uncontrobly and stared at the nine feathery aurae on Yun Qingwu.

    Why was it so familiar?!

    This aura was like a bird and a human...

    ¡®Could it be...¡¯

    ¡®Impossible!¡¯

    ¡®She had already died and was locked in the gxy out of the world, she did not survive!¡¯

    Chi You¡¯s expression changed rapidly and he almost forgot about the Xuanyuan Sword and Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five he was holding onto. He froze on the spot.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang looked confused.

    Why weren¡¯t the two of them talking?

    At this moment, she saw a figure speed towards Chi You. At an extremely fast speed, she withdrew the Xuanyuan Sword from Chi You¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± Golden light shone.

    Meanwhile, a beam of sword radiancended on Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The airwave flew in the sky.

    The ck clouds surrounding Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five were immediately blown away by the airwave. The powerful force caused Xuanyuan Five¡¯s body to fall from Chi You¡¯s hand.

    However, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five had already lost consciousness.

    Although he left Chi You¡¯s hand, hended with his head down.

    Boom!

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Fivended on the ground with a thud and the boiling hotva flew all over the ce, turning into balls of mes.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were stunned by this.

    ]Xuanyuan Five was saved?!

    What on earth was Chi You the Demon God doing? Why did Chi You suddenly be unconscious after hearing what Yun Qingwu said?

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Just as the Godly Beast and Demons were extremely surprised, Chi You finally regained his senses andughed wildly. ¡°Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens, so you did not die!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens?¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu... is Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons widened their eyes when they heard what Chi You said.

    ¡°Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens? This... Chi You said Yun Qingwu, the Demoness, is Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens?!¡± Ping Yang also could not believe it.

    ¡°The female God of war in the ancient era? Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s eyes glowed when she heard what Chi You said.

    Chi Guyan had read many books regarding formations of war, she knew that there was a very famous godly figure in the ancient era.

    The skills of this godly figure were not powerful but she was well-versed in The Art of Bing Invisible and military schemes, she had once taught Emperor Huang Xuanyuan the militaryw and was called the teacher of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    Yun Qingwu...

    The military expert of Monster Race and Demon Race!

    She had inherited the power of Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°My daughter... is Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens?!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was extremely shocked. She had aplicated look on her face and did not know whether to be happy or feel afraid.

    ¡°...¡±

    The world was stunned.

    Except for Fang Zhengzhi, of course.

    That was because he knew what Yun Qingwu was doing. To put it frankly, although Yun Qingwu had inherited the power of Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens and the Muchen Pearl, she was still herself ultimately.

    The reason behind why Yun Qingwu acted as though she was Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens was simple. To put it in simple terms, she was merely acting.

    With Yun Qingwu¡¯s intelligence, after some hint given by Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens, she knew what identity would make Chi You fearful..

    ¡®Acting...¡¯

    ¡®This girl is pretty good at it!¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi was busy as he had figured out how to fight against Chi You.

    ¡°In order to kill Chi You, we have to use the Five Elements Formation!¡±

    That was passed down in the records of the ancient era. However, the Five Elements Formation was not the Five Elements Formation they knew. In fact, it was much moreplicated.

    That was why Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens said that Fang Zhengzhi would be unable to learn it.

    Only Yun Qingwu was able to plot such aplicated Five Elements Formation in the world.

    ¡°Vermilion Bird at the front and ck Tortoise at the back, Azure Dragon on the left and White Tiger on the right, soldiers in the center!¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu shouted.

    Meanwhile, countless radiance shot out from her body and surrounded Chi You, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest in it like a gigantic chessboard.

    ¡°What is Yun Qingwu, the demoness, doing?¡± Ping Yang knew something was wrong.

    ¡°Stop pretending over here. Hurry up go over to your position in the Fire position of the five elements!¡± At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi rushed to where Ping Yang was.

    ¡°Fire position of the five elements? What... do you mean?¡± Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi nkly and did not understand what he meant.

    ¡®Wasn¡¯t it Yun Qingwu who was supposed to fight against Chi You?¡¯

    ¡®Why do I need to get into position?¡¯

    Just as Ping Yang was about to ask, a force pushed her forward and she appeared at a position near to Chi You.

    ¡°...¡±

    Without exnation, Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu while sending Ping Yang to the Fire position of the five elements.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, you go to the Water position of the Five elements to support Ping Yang. Yan Xiu, your Dao of Asura is used to attack, go to the Gold position of the Five elements but remember to not act rashly.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡± Chi Guyan nodded.

    ¡°Hmm, alright.¡± Yan Xiu did not question further and dashed towards a position near to Chi You.

    After seeing Chi Guyan and Yan Xiu move, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze fell upon a figure nearby.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, Wood position!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Nangong fell silent as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi before suddenly turning around to stand at the Wood position of the five elements.

    There was a form of interaction that did not require words.

    Nangong Mu knew that he had joined Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s faction from how Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s did not attack Nangong Mu behind his back.

    Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were extremely good buddies.

    Nangong Mu did not bother thinking anymore. He would deal with the grievances after they killed Chi You.

    ¡°Let me be the center!¡± After Fang Zhengzhi saw how the four people were already in position. He suddenly tightened his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword.

    ¡°...¡±

    The expressions on the Godly Beasts and demons changedpletely.

    That was because all of them had experienced the great battle in the ancient era. In that battle, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan made use of the Five Elements Formation to defeat Chi You.

    Five Elements Formation...

    A formation made of five people!

    Although the Five Element Formation this time was not like the one in the battle where countless soldiers were involved, the formation was still equivalent in strength.

    Moreover, there was nobody behind Chi You too.

    Five versus one!

    Moreover, there was Yun Qingwu who was in charge ofmanding the formation.

    ¡°She... is really Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons all lifted their heads and looked at the scene above them as they were slightly moved.

    Five Elements Formation!

    The Five Elements Formation plotted by Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens herself!

    Would Demon God Chi You still stand a chance to win in such a great battle?!

    ¡°Chi You, you were defeated by me thousands of years ago. Now, you still won¡¯t be able to win. You have two choices, surrender or die!¡± Yun Qingwu moved her finger and the radiance umted on the ground waspletely secured by her hands.

    A mountain breeze blew past.

    Her white hair flew in the wind.

    Meanwhile, the eye-catching bloody sun was still shining eerily.

 Chapter 1108 - The Five Elements Formation Worked This Way?

    <h4>Chapter 1108: The Five Elements Formation Worked This Way?</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    ¡°Hahaha... Five Elements Formation, how nostalgic!¡± Chi You looked at the radiance surrounding him and the five people in their positions with a cold look.

    Five Elements Formation, coexistence and mutual destruction.

    All living things.

    It was one of the most powerful formations. Not only did it include the five elements of sky and earth, The Art of Bing Invisible and Mathematics were involved too.

    Thousands of years ago, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had defeated him with the Five Elements Formation.

    Would history repeat itself?

    Chi You sounded casual but his expression looked serious. That was because he was definitely affected by the Five Elements Formation which he lost to previously.

    However, the formation was dead but humans were alive.

    To show the prowess of the Five Elements Formation, one could not solely depend on the Five Elements Formation but had to depend on the person who was doing themands.

    This was equivalent to how different treasures had different prowess when used by different people. This was more obvious for thew of formation.

    To use the Five Elements Formation, not only was a powerful foundation required, but also a person who was extremely good at thew of formations to control it.

    Yun Qingwu...

    Could she make it?!

    Besides Chi You, the Godly Beasts and demons were worried about this. After all, the operation of the Five Elements Formation was tooplicated.

    The duration that Yun Qingwu took for the handover of Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens was too short.

    Cold she master the Five Elements Formation in such a short period of time?

    At this moment, Chi You began to move.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You did not attack Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang but instead charged towards where Yun Qingwu was.

    Kill Yun Qingwu.

    The Five Elements Formation would self-destruct!

    ¡°Wood position, wrap!¡± Yun Qingwu was not surprised by Chi You¡¯s attack. She began to move her fingers immediately.

    As her finger moved, a greenyer of light shrouded Nangong Mu¡¯s body.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A towering tree appeared out of nowhere in the Five Elements Formation in front of Chi You. The gigantic countless tree branches wound around Chi You.

    It was the Tree of God of Nangong Mu.

    However, with the support of the Five Elements Formation, the power of the Tree of God became more powerful, the tree branches became sturdier and it was as green as a gemstone.

    Crack!

    Chi You¡¯s six arms and feet were wound up by the tree branch immediately.

    ¡°Wood gives fire!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s gaze froze and moved his finger again. The nine feathery-like aura behind him flowed into Ping Yang¡¯s body along the lines connected by her fingers.

    mes started to burn in Ping Yang¡¯s body.

    Gold, red and blue.

    The tri-colored mes surrounded and burnt around her body. It was scorching hot and caused the space to crack open while producing cracking sounds.

    Meanwhile, the tree branches on Chi You were on mes too.

    The golden mes burnt towards Chi You.

    The red mes burnt towards Chi You¡¯s six arms.

    The blue mes burnt towards Chi You¡¯s legs.

    The three-colored mes were lit up at the same time.

    Chi You¡¯s body looked like it was on fire.

    ¡°Sess?!¡±

    ¡°Did we manage to trap Chi You the Demon God?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons widened their eyes as they stared at this scene.

    ¡°Hmph, with this level of skills, aren¡¯t all of you too weak?¡± Chi Youughed coldly before opening his big mouth and swallowing the three-colored mes on his body.

    This was a terrifying scene.

    Like the stream flowing into the ocean, all the mes swarmed into Chi You¡¯s mouth and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

    Meanwhile, when the three-colored mes disappeared, the green branches around Chi You¡¯s body broke apartpletely and turned into green sparks of light.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°This... this is way too exaggerated?!¡±

    ¡°The Five Elements Formation seemed to not affect Chi You at all?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were shocked as Chi You was able to break through the Five Elements Formation.

    The destruction of all living things.

    Anything who touched Chi You would be destroyedpletely by him. They could not possibly continue fighting?

    ¡°No, the Five Elements Formation can¡¯t possibly be so simple!¡± At this moment, one of the Godly Beast who was cowering on the ground said with a cold look.

    It was none other than Kun Peng, the Godly Beast who snatched Hun Dun¡¯s fruit earlier on.

    Meanwhile, after Kun Peng spoke, the Five elements changed.

    ¡°Fire gives soil!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was sharp but cold. She did not sound afraid at all because of Chi You¡¯s power.

    Boom!

    Right after she said that, Chi You¡¯s expression changed and looked as though he was in agony.

    This was the first time the Godly Beasts and the demons saw Chi You show this expression. Then, the tri-colored mes which were swallowed by Chi You initially was spat out by him.

    Upon entering the Five Elements Formation, the tri-colored mes turned into charred ck soil.

    It was a strange scene.

    However, the stranger thing was, the ck soil immediately swarmed into Chi You and surrounded his body as though they were alive.

    It turned Chi You into a gigantic sculpture.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°So powerful!¡±

    ¡°So is this the Coexistence of the Five elements of the Five Elements Formation? This is extremely amazing!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons eximed. The power of the five elements transformed freely. When one disappeared, the next followed immediately. This change was too powerful.

    No matter how powerful Chi You was, he would be tortured to death.

    Boom!

    Chi You¡¯s body shook violently and the ck soil on his body disappearedpletely and turned into sparks of light. The Dao of all Destruction was indeed powerful.

    However, at this moment, a sharp beam of radiance reached Chi You.

    ¡°sh!¡± A cold roar was heard.

    It was Yan Xiu.

    His Silver Blood Fan had turned into a sharp long saber. It sliced towards Chi You at an extremely fast speed.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi moved too.

    Being at the center of the formation, he was able to assist any side at any point in time. That was the good thing about the Five Elements Formation, not only did it allow coexistence and mutual destruction, but it also allowed mutual assistance and coborative attack.

    ¡°Swoosh!¡± A beam of golden light was seen from the Xuanyuan Sword. It made a sharp whistle and like the dragon that exited from the clouds, it was extremely majestic.

    Boom!

    The saber and the swordnded on Chi You¡¯s head almost at the same time.

    ¡°ng!¡± The metals nged.

    An airwave rippled out.

    Meanwhile, after the strike, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu retreated and went back to the original positions they were at.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Nothing happened?¡±

    ¡°Although we can trap Demon God Chi You, we can¡¯t kill him?¡±

    The Godly Beasts sighed when the saw Chi You still standing in the Five Elements Formation.

    The Five Elements Formation was indeed very powerful.

    However, if it was unable to hurt Chi You, no matter how powerful it was, it was useless as Chi You would kill them eventually.

    ¡°So that¡¯s all you can do? Are there anything else, I want to see!¡± Chi You looked around and his gaze fell on Yun Qingwu.

    Yun Qingwu looked calm.

    She was not anxious at all. She also did not look surprised by the fact that Chi You was not injured by Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi.

    Chi You clenched his fists on his six arms as he saw Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression.

    In the ancient battle, he had onceprehended how powerful the Five Elements Formation was. In fact, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan made use of the Five Elements Formation to defeat Chi You.

    However, back then...

    He did not master the Dao of all Destruction yet.

    After he was stuck in the Five Elements Formation, although he had extremely strong bones, he still could not take the blows and was eventually defeated.

    However, it was different now.

    He was no longer the same as before.

    He had the Dao of all Destruction and was confident of defending the attack of the Five Elements Formation. Although he was still trapped, he thought that Yun Qingwu and Fang Zhengzhi should be more anxious than him.

    They were not anxious?!

    Why was Yun Qingwu so calm?!

    He was sure that if Emperor Huang Xuanyuan was controlling the situation, he would have panicked already. However, Yun Qingwu was so calm and looked as though she was extremely confident.

    How was that possible?

    Was this woman harder to deal with than Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    ¡°Wood, continue!¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu spoke again with a calm tone. She did not seem to notice that their attacks were ineffective.

    As she said that, the Tree of God appeared in the Five Elements Formation again and surrounded Chi You.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the Demons were silent again.

    Apart from wasting their energy, what was the use of the same move?

    Apart from the Godly Beasts and the demons, Ping Yang¡¯s expression also changed and looked speechless.

    Again?

    Ping Yang wanted to ask Yun Qingwu what was she doing?

    However, she did not ask that question. It was not because Fang Zhengzhi signalled to her to not do it but because she knew that she could only trust Yun Qingwu at this moment in time.

    Although she did not like Yun Qingwu, she had to endure it in face of such situations.

    After all, she had to admit that Yun Qingwu was the best at formations.

    ¡°Water gives wood!¡± Yun Qingwu spoke again.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    ¡°She did not use ¡®wood gives fire¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Is this a reversal?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were evidently stunned when they heard this.

    There was a change!

    That meant there was hope.

    In reality, that was the case too. As Yun Qingwu said that, the Tree of God started to grow rapidly and doubled in size in thickness.

    The gigantic Tree of God stood in the Five Elements Formation, surrounding Chi You¡¯s body.

    Then...

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    Yun Qingwu was waiting for Chi You to struggle.

    ¡°So that¡¯s all?¡± Chi You was also waiting for Yun Qingwu to kill him with other tactics. However, nothing happened after a while.

    That confused him.

    Surrounding me?

    For what?

    He was just about to speak when a tree branch entered his mouth and sealed it.

    ¡°...¡± Chi You widened his eyes.

    Yun Qingwu looked at Chi You coldly and shook her head.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you struggle instead of wasting your time talking rubbish? Talking... That¡¯s not Demon God Chi You¡¯s style, right?¡± Yun Qingwu said in despise.

    ¡°...¡±

    Boom!

    The tree branches of the Tree of God around Chi You and the tree branch in his mouth turned into sparks of light again and werepletely destroyed by the Dao of all Destruction.

    However, aspared to earlier on, Chi You evidently looked mad.

    He initially wanted to wait for Yun Qingwu to show her trump card. However, he did not expect Yun Qingwu to despise him, the Demon God Chi You.

    How could he endure that!

    ¡°I will kill you!¡± After he broke free from the restraints of the tree branches of the Tree of God, Chi You went towards Yun Qingwu furiously.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Demon God Chi You was triggered?!¡±

    ¡°... I did not expect Chi You to be triggered first? He is evidently at an advantageous position, why did this happen?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and the Demon Race were shocked.

    One sentence triggered Chi You.

    That was incredible.

    As the saying went, ¡®Tunnel vision blinds the participants but not the spectators¡¯.

    They did not Chi You to lose his cool first instead of Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Coexistence of water and soil!¡± Yun Qingwu was still calm despite seeing Chi You charge towards her. She stood at her spot without moving.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Coexitence of water and soil?¡±

    ¡°Was there such thing in the five elements?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were extremely confused.

    However, at this moment, a gigantic shield of the ck soil blocked Chi You in the blue rain. There were extremely sharp and gigantic thorns on it.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Chi You hit the shield of ck soil and made a loud boom. Then, the ck soil broke apart and turned into mud and stones.

    However, a strange scene happened at this moment.

    The stones did not disappear. Instead, they turned into mushy soil in the storm and wound around Chi You;s legs like two gigantic palms.

    Then, all the ck soil broke apart.

    All of them turned into mushy soil.

    A gigantic swamp was formed beneath Chi You¡¯s feet. The mushy soil whirled around and swallowed Chi You¡¯s body.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Apart from the Godly Beasts and the demons, Ping Yang also blinked her eyes in shock and swallowed her saliva as she watched Chi You disappear from the formation.

    ¡°Wow, this works too?¡± Ping Yang was surprised and exhrated. She was surprised by how water and soil was able to coexist and exhrated because she was smart and did not trust the wrong person.

 Chapter 1109 - The Combination of the Thirty-six Maps of Access to Heaven!

    <h4>Chapter 1109: The Combination of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    Stuck because of the mud!

    No matter how powerful he was, he should not be able to escape, right?

    Ping Yang felt hopeful when she saw Chi You being dragged down by the mud. After all, this wasmon sense.

    However, aspared to Ping Yang, none of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan, as well as Yun Qingwu could rx. All of them were waiting.

    ¡°This... Do we still have to wait?¡± Ping Yang was very confused.

    However, at this moment, the ck mud suddenly moved crazily as though something was about to emerge from it.

    ¡°Why did this happen?!¡± Ping Yang was shocked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the destruction of all living things. Although Chi You was unable to use strength in the mud, he can destroy it directly!¡± said Chi Guyan.

    ¡°That works too? What...¡± Ping Yang fell speechless.

    As exined by Chi Guyan, if Chi You destroyed the mud directly using the Dao of all Destruction, he did not even need to use strength at all.

    ¡°Coexistence of water and mud!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s voice was heard again.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    A patch of ck soil and blue storm appeared in the Five Elements Formation again.

    The destruction of all living things.

    She wanted to see which was faster ¡ª destruction or creation.

    Evidently, Yun Qingwu did not mind dragging this on with Chi You. She continued creating new things in the Five Elements Formation as Chi You destroyed them.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons stared at the ck mud which shrunk and expanded continuously. They could tell Yun Qingwu¡¯s n by now.

    However, was she able to beat Chi You?

    This question was a no-brainer as the answer was a definite ¡®no¡¯.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew this the best. Therefore, Yun Qingwu should know that too.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything.

    That was because he knew that if the Five Elements Formation could not defeat Chi You, then nothing else in the world would be able to defeat him.

    ¡°Nangong Mu, are you going to keep hiding?¡± As everyone was waiting for Yun Qingwu to take the next step, Yun Qingwu suddenly asked.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were surprised.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were shocked and did not understand what Yun Qingwu meant.

    After all, Nangong Mu was in the same team as everyone else.

    Moreover, the right to control the Five Elements Formation was never on Nangong Mu but on Yun Qingwu.

    Nangong Mu...

    What did he hide?!

    ¡°What... what are you talking about?¡± Nangong Mu¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    ¡°If you want to continue fighting with Chi You, you should know what I am referring to,¡± continued Yun Qingwu as she narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°How do you... know?¡± Nangong Mu was extremely surprised when he heard this.

    ¡°There¡¯s no other possibility,¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s answer was very simple.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu fell silent.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.

    That was because he had figured out what Yun Qingwu was asking.

    Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven!

    He had always thought that thest four Maps of ess to Heaven were with Yun Qingwu and hence neglected another person, Nangong Mu.

    Now that he thought about it...

    He knew.

    Some of the Maps of ess to Heaven were lost in the battle twenty years ago.

    After the war, the Radiant Moon Empire, Holy Barbarian Empire and War Pinnacle Empire obtained four of the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven and all of those were with him now.

    Also, he obtained nine Maps of ess to Heaven in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    This was easy to be understood as the Great Xia Dynasty had all along being protected by the Heaven Dao Pavilion and was the closest to the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    It seemed like the Great Xia Dynasty of Great Xia Dynasty had been injured after the battle. They donated nine Maps of ess to Heaven in exchange for the protection.

    Meanwhile, the reason behind the close rtion of Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Great Xia Dynasty was rted to the nine Maps of ess to Heaven.

    Nine of the Maps of ess to Heaven belonged to Heaven Dao Pavilion.

    Therefore some of the other sects would not snatch with the Great Xia Dynasty.

    Of course, there was a special sect.

    It was none other than the Lingyun Tower!

    Lingyun Tower was the direct participant.

    By right, there were many Maps of ess to Heaven in the Lingyun Tower.

    However, in reality, the core of the battle was caused by Qian Yu. Therefore, judging from her personality as the ex-Tower Master of the Lingyun Tower, she would never eye on the Maps of ess to Heaven.

    The remaining sects were Yin Yang Hall, Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Fu Xi Valley.

    Fang Zhengzhi did not know how many Maps of ess to Heaven they had. However, he knew that they did not have a lot.

    Yun Qingwu had once controlled the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

    Therefore, even if they had the Maps of ess to Heaven, they were taken by Yun Qingwu within the six months of her search.

    After all, the Monster Race and Demon Race had the absolute advantage then and ruled over the world for six months.

    In this period of time, Yun Qingwu made use of the opportunity to search.

    However, after the great search, he still could not find the remaining four of the Maps of ess to Heaven.

    Where was it?!

    It would definitely be a mystery in the past.

    However now, this mystery was resolved.

    Knowing the truth of the Great War and being able to find the Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven, moreover, being so secretive that nobody knew.

    This amount of effort...

    Only the Nangong Nobles could do it.

    ¡°Thest four Maps of ess to Heaven is with you, right? Nangong Mu!¡± After figuring it out, Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Nangong Mu finally nodded. ¡°The Nangong Nobles had indeed obtained four of the Maps of ess to Heaven twenty years ago. They are with me now.¡±

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you taking them out?¡± Ping Yang asked impatiently.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan kept quiet. They knew that Nangong Mu did not take them out previously because of the grievances he had with Fang Zhengzhi.

    As for now...

    They could not force Nangong Mu if he did not want to take them out.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you already have 32 of them?¡± Nangong Mu asked after biting his lips.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Alright, I will hand over the remaining hope to you!¡± Nangong Mu whipped out a metal box.

    It was a box identical to that of what Yun Qingwu gave Fang Zhengzhi.

    Fang Zhengzhi could tell immediately. As the descendant of Emperor Yan in the Nangong Nobles, they had the same way to find the Maps of ess to Heaven.

    The box was immediately thrown to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Thest four Maps of ess to Heaven? What on earth is that used for? You should know by now, right?¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened the box and his eyes lit up.

    ording to legends, the Maps of ess to Heaven was left behind by Mother Earth.

    It used to be kept by Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    Now that all of the Maps of ess to Heaven were present, nobody knew how powerful they were.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± A beam of radiance surged out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    A roll of painting unrolled above his head. It was none other than the ¡°Guangling Painting¡± that Yun Qingwu pieced together earlier on.

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    The thunder rumbled.

    A few bolts of lightning appeared in the sky when the Guangling Painting appeared.

    Meanwhile, four beams of radiance surged out from Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s metal box. It merged towards the Guangling Painting like meteor.

    Yun Qingwu had already deduced the sequence of the Guangling Painting.

    The Guangling Painting looked like a painting with immense attractive force. In a blink of an eye, it merged with the four beams of radiance.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± A powerful force flowed out.

    The Guangling Painting glowed crazily and a godly sound echoed in the sky as though spirits were singing. The entire atmosphere seemed to have stopped.

    At this moment, Chi You¡¯s head suddenly appeared from the mud.

    ¡°Hmm? This is... Maps of ess to Heaven?¡± Chi You¡¯s gaze froze when he saw the Guangling Painting that lit up above his head.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Thirty-six Maps of ess to Heaven?!¡±

    ¡°What? It is Mother Earth¡¯s...¡±

    After seeing this, the Godly Beasts and demons widened their eyes.

    Boom!

    The Five Elements Formation shook violently.

    After the Maps of ess to Heaven fused, thousands of beams of rays shot out from the Maps of ess to Heaven and formed faint shadows.

    36 faint shadows!

    Every faint shadow was wearing a white dress. They were holding swords, spears, sabers, Guqin 1, sticks...

    36 types of weapons.

    Every weapon was radiating a vibrant radiance like the Godly army.

    ¡°So this are the Maps of ess to Heaven?!¡± Ping Yang¡¯s eyes widened and she waspletely stunned as she looked at the 36 white shadows.

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan were also staring closely at the shadows.

    Fang Zhengzhi, on the other hand, tightened his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword as he felt that the 36 white shadows were formed by the Guangling Painting.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi roared and pointed his Xuanyuan Sword at Chi You.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The 36 voices sounded at the same time.

    After that, the 36 white faint shadows also moved. They dashed over to Chi You who was trapped in the mud like a stream of light.

    Yun Qingwu clenched her fists instinctively.

    Chi You was too powerful.

    After a few rounds of attacks, she roughly knew that there was only 10% of chance for her to kill Chi You with the Five Elements Formation.

    However, if she had the Maps of ess to Heaven, she would have 50% of chance!

    ¡°I must seed. The Guangling Painting not only can kill, but also can increase the energy in the Five Elements Formation. It will kill Chi You!¡± Yun Qingwu watched attentively.

    The Godly Beasts and demons also widened their eyes.

    This scene was way too shocking and they did not want to miss it.

    Boom!

    An explosion was heard from the Five Elements Formation.

    The 36 figures instantly passed through Chi You¡¯s body like beams of light.

    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    Chi You¡¯s expression froze too.

    It felt as though he was experiencing some shbacks. It also felt as though his entire body had frozen and he stood rooted to the ground.

    ¡°That¡¯s our chance!¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes lit uppletely.

    Although nobody knew what was Chi You experiencing, now was definitely their best time to attack.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi attacked too.

    In the Five Elements Formation, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, Nangong Mu and Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body started glowing almost at the same time and all of them charged towards Chi You.

    Meanwhile, outside the formation, Yun Qingwu looked extremely nervous.

    Chance!

    Yes, it was their greatest chance!

    Swoosh!

    Swoosh!

    ¡°...¡±

    Gold, blue, red, ck, green.

    Five-colored radiance reached Chi You extremely quickly. The sharp aura almost tore the entire space apart and ck cracks appeared.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The Xuanyuan Sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand immediately reached where Chi You was and he cut Chi You on his neck with his sword.

    There was the greatest weakness of human.

    Where it was the easiest to be severed.

    Meanwhile, Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu and the rest also found the ces to attack. Heart, Heaven soul, and other fatal parts of the body.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Loud booms were heard continuously.

    The powerful force vibrates the sky and the earth.

    The ground almost copsed because of the gigantic force of the airwave. Lava sttered and sshed on the bodies of the Godly Beasts and demons.

    However, they did not seem to care at all.

    They allowed the scorching hotva to burn their bodies.

    That was because their attention was focused on Chi You and waited for the oue.

    Finally...

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest prated Chi You¡¯s bodypletely like the 36 white shadows.

    At the same time, blood sttered.

    A crack gradually appeared on Chi You¡¯s neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain and sttered in all directions.

    Apart from that, his arm and chest were also prated.

    Blood sttered all over the ce.

    It looked as though the rain of blood mixed with the mud, staining the ck mud red.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°They seeded?!¡±

    ¡°They really... really managed to kill Chi You?!¡±

    ¡°The number one ancient Demon God Chi You died... died in their hands?!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons expressions changedpletely when they saw that.

    It was extremelyplicated.

    Some were excited, some were eximing, some were exhrated, and some were in disbelief.

    That was because none of them expected Fang Zhengzhi and the rest to kill Chi You, the number one ancient Demon God.

    <i>Footnotes:</i>

    <h4>Ch 1109 Footnote 1</h4>

    a type of chinese instrument

 Chapter 1110 - The Final Battle!

    <h4>Chapter 1110: The Final Battle!</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    Chi You really died?!

    Fang Zhengzhi and the rest really could not believe it.

    Although they felt their swords cut through Chi You¡¯s body, they could not believe that it was real.

    After all, he was Chi You, the number one ancient Demon God, did he really die in their hands?

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of lightning struck.

    The entire world fell silent. Everyone stared closely at the center of the Five Elements Formation.

    Wait, a nervous wait.

    Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu and the rest started perspiring. They had attacked with all their might without holding back.

    It ended?

    It really ended?!

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan looked up slightly before widening her eyes and turning extremely pale.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t... didn¡¯t die?!¡± Chi Guyan said.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°How could he not die?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi, the Godly Beasts and demons were all shocked.

    ¡°Bloody sun, the bloody sun is still there, Chi You didn¡¯t die!¡± Chi Guyan pointed to the bloody sun in the sky and turned paler.

    The bloody sun was hanging in the sky like a bloody-red eye, staring on the ground.

    ¡°The bloody sun is still there!¡±

    ¡°If Chi You died... then...¡±

    ¡°How could he have not died, didn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi and the rest...¡±

    ¡°Look, blood!¡±

    ¡°Chi You¡¯s blood is agglutinating!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Everyone looked at the Five Elements Formation again upon hearing that.

    At that ce, fresh blood and the broken skull were moving towards the center and there seemed to be something flickering amongst them.

    ¡°Why did this happen? I killed him, why didn¡¯t he die?¡± Ping Yang clearly could not believe it.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu also tightened their fists.

    They felt that Chi You was cut by their swords, however, the scene in front of them was so strange.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t die?!¡±

    Did that mean they can¡¯t kill Chi You?!

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°No... it¡¯s not because we can¡¯t kill him, it¡¯s the Source of God! If the Source of God is not destroyed, Chi You won¡¯t die!¡± Chi Guyan clenched her fists immediately when she figured it out.

    They had neglected something that was the most important.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Chi You¡¯s Dao of all Destruction as they thought about how to break it.

    Be it the Five Elements Formation or the Maps of ess to Heaven, everything was meant to stop Chi You from using the Maps of ess to Heaven to look for a chance to kill Chi You.

    However, the most critical point was neglected.

    The reason why Chi You was able to live until now was not that he had won in the ancient battle but rather because he had merged with the Source of God After the battle.

    He could not be killed!

    Emperor Xuanyuan was unable to kill Chi You and therefore used Xing Tian¡¯s head as the formation to seal the Demon formation, trapping Chi You below the Changyang Mountain.

    Therefore, how would he die now?

    ¡°Boom!¡± The sky and earth shook.

    Yun Qingwu¡¯s expression finally changed at this moment. She had countless ns to make Chi You expose himself in front of her.

    That included triggering him and trapping him.

    All of those tactics was to find an opportunity for her to kill Chi You.

    However, now...

    Everything seemed to have returned to square one.

    That was because it was impossible to kill Chi You.

    ¡°Laddie, you are pretty smart, hahaha...¡± Chi You¡¯s voice was heard amongst the umted blood. After that, his body which was flowing with radiance gradually appeared.

    He walked out of the blood.

    He looked as though he was bathing in the bloody light and thick ck haze clouded the sky.

    Chi You was still Chi You.

    He had two gigantic sharp horns on his head a pair of wide ck wings behind his back and six thick and long arms.

    Everything looked the same as earlier on.

    He was standing in the Five Elements Formation and looked around.

    However, a powerful pressurizing force and chilly gaze swept around.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons all looked extremely stiff.

    The ancient Demon God which could not be killed had the Dao of all Destruction. Who would want an opportunity to defeat this monster?

    ¡°...¡±

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu were breathing heavily.

    They were not fearful of danger or how powerful Chi You was. However, if he was a monster that could not be killed, all of their efforts would go to waste.

    ¡°Since the Source of God is Chi You and Chi You is the Source of God, then can¡¯t we just destroy the Source of God?¡± said Ping Yang as she felt the oppressive aura around her.

    ¡°The Source of God is the source of reiki. If it can be destroyed easily, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan would have definitely destroyed it and wouldn¡¯t leave Chi You till now.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head.

    ¡°This... Is there no other ways?¡± Ping Yang looked indignant.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± Chi Guyan shook her head again. ¡°If I¡¯m correct, the Source of God is the reason for the existence of the world.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ping Yang finally fell silent.

    ¡®The reason for the existence of the world!¡¯

    ¡®The source of reiki!¡¯

    If that was the case, then it would be impossible to destroy the Source of God.

    Would the world still exist once it was destroyed?

    ¡°I have already said that I am the ruler of the world and I¡¯m even more powerful than God. All of you have two choices, to surrender or die!¡± Chi You said again.

    A terrifying aura spread through the air.

    It blew the 36 shadows wearing white dress.

    ¡°Even if I surrender, I will also die. I would rather die without surrendering!¡± Ping Yang but her lips and stood out despite Chi You¡¯s powerful aura.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Chi You looked surprised before he smiled coldly. ¡°Then I shall grant your wish!¡±

    ¡°Ready to attack!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu did not give up.

    Although they knew that there was no hope, they would not give up. As Ping Yang said, they would die no matter what.

    Chi You¡¯s Dao was meant to destroy.

    The destruction of all living things.

    If that was the case, they would rather wait for their death.

    ¡°Co-existence of water and soil!¡± Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    With the Maps of ess to Heaven, the power of the Five Elements Formation was greatly enhanced. As she shouted, the thick and heavy ck soil, as well as the blue thunderstorm, attacked Chi You again.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± This time, Chi You did not wait for the mud to swallow him. Instead, he opened his mouth and sucked the mud into his body.

    ¡°Gulp gulp...¡±

    He looked extremely happy eating the mud.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned strange.

    In the past world, one would only eat soil if they were in extreme poverty. He did not expect the ruler of this world, Demon God Chi You, to eat soil.

    ¡°Eating soil¡± had a positive connotation.

    However, it was not the time to think about this because the mud had disappearedpletely after entering Chi You¡¯s mouth.

    The destruction of all living things was really powerful.

    On top of that, Chi You would not die. They would be lying if they said that they were not stressed at all!

    Although Fang Zhengzhi was still thinking about other things, he was way beyond ¡°stressed¡±.

    What he felt was despair.

    However, he still had to fight.

    ¡°Fire and wood, burn the sky!¡± At this moment, Yun Qingwu said again.

    As Chi You swallowed the mud continuously, a soaring Tree of God appeared in the Five Elements Formation and the branches wound around Chi You¡¯s body.

    The tri-colored mes burned the branches.

    ¡°Destroy!¡± Chi You was straightforward this time. He only said one word and the tree branches which were burning with the tri-colored mes started breaking apart.

    Meanwhile, the space vibrated strongly.

    ¡°Oh no, watch out, Yun Qingwu!¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved instinctively and appeared in front of Yun Qingwu with his Heavenly Rebirth Dao.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You¡¯s appeared right after.

    He attacked Fang Zhengzhi with his six arms. His gigantic fists were bigger than sandbags and went towards Fang Zhengzhi like six mountains.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    He could not forcefully fight in the face of Chi You¡¯s powerful attack.

    ¡°Guangling Painting!¡± He had no choice but to retreat. Meanwhile, he attacked Chi You while controlling the 36 white shadows.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Roars were heard immediately.

    The 36 figures charged towards Chi You immediately.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Chi You roared and his entire body vibrated as though his heart was beating.

    ¡°Thump!¡±

    ¡°Thump thump!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The strong beating sounds caused the air to vibrate.

    The 36 shadows could not get close and were blocked by the strange vibration.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression looked very ugly.

    He had underestimated Chi You.

    As the ancient Demon God in the past, Chi You was called the cruelest killer God of the ancient era. Moreover, he defeated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan nine times.

    He did not defeat him solely because of the Dao of all Destruction.

    Chi You had other powers.

    And this strange power could block the Guangling Painting.

    No wonder the Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens said...

    If they wanted to defeat Chi You, they could only use the Five Elements Formation!

    The greatest strength of the Guangling Painting was to increase the power of the Five Element Formation. However, the 36 white shadows did not seem to be able to cause any fatal injuries to Chi You.

    It should be the attack in terms of mental strength.

    Fang Zhengzhi could gradually figure out that Chi Guyan had the bloodline of Mother Earth. Chi Guyan was also better at controlling one mentally.

    For example, she could put restraints on someone with her mental power.

    Earlier on when the 36 shadows prated Chi You¡¯s body, Chi You froze with a dazed expression.

    If he was right...

    This tactic was simr to Chi Guyan¡¯s power.

    The Maps of ess to Heaven was left by Mother Earth. Therefore, the mental attacking power that came along with it wasmon-sensical.

    However, this made things more difficult.

    Chi You had been tricked once.

    He was already mentally prepared and would not allow any simr things to happen once again. He would definitely not allow the 36 white shadows to get closer to him.

    ¡°...¡±

    What should he do?!

    Fang Zhengzhi felt miserable.

    However, at this moment, Yun Qingwu¡¯s voice was heard again.

    ¡°Shifting forms of the Five Elements!¡± As she said that, the beams connected to the positions of the five elements began to intersect with one another in front of her.

    In a blink of an eye, Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest changed their positions.

    That included Yun Qingwu.

    She had shifted seven or eight feet from her position and was beyond where Chi You could attack.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he stepped on the center of the formation again.

    ¡°No wonder Yun Qingwu is a master at The Art of Bing Invisible and deductions.¡± Fang Zhengzhi was slightly impressed.

    To stop Chi You earlier on, she had given up on the position of the center.

    In this situation, Yun Qingwu was still able to swap the position with the tactic of ¡®Shifting forms of the Five Elements¡¯. This was an ultimate move.

    Meanwhile, the Godly Beasts and demons were stunned when they saw this from beneath.

    ¡°Shifting forms of the Five Elements?!¡±

    ¡°Yun Qingwu must be better than Emperor Huang Xuanyuan in terms of deduction, right?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons had initially doubted Yun Qingwu¡¯s ability to grasp the Five Elements Formation. However, it looked like her capabilities had been affirmed.

    Chi You was also stunned for a moment.

    His eyes lit up as he looked around at Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest who had swapped positions.

    ¡°Not bad at all, girl!¡± Chi You nodded and looked around. ¡°Looks like I need some time and effort to destroy you directly. If that¡¯s the case, then I shall be more straightforward and tear the Five Elements Formation immediately!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Tear the Five Elements Formation immediately?¡±

    ¡°What does Chi You want?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were nervous.

    Chi You made use of actions to tell them that his target had changed from Yun Qingwu to the weakest spot in the Five Elements Formation.

    Yan Xiu!

    After a few rounds of fight, Chi You had figured out that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan we¡¯re capable while Nangong Mu¡¯s Tree of God was extremely powerful at restraining others.

    It was not easy for him to take the three of them down within a short time.

    Moreover, once he attacked these three positions, he would he crazily attacked by other four positions.

    Five Elements Formation.

    It was not the first time he had encountered it.

    After thousands of years, he had realized that the Five Elements Formation had a pattern for attacking. Once one position was attacked, the other four positions would counterattack at the same time.

    If that was the case, he would choose the weakest position.

    Ping Yang and Yan Xiu became Chi You¡¯s choice.

    Comparing the two, Chi You chose Yan Xiu as he was nonchnt and that annoyed Chi You,

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You charged towards Yan Xiu directly. He had a figure like a mountain and the surrounding thick ck haze kept pressing on him.

 Chapter 1111 - Arrival of Death, Six Rebirth Dao Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 1111: Arrival of Death, Six Rebirth Dao Techniques</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    He was at the Gold position of the Five elements. Amongst the five elements, Gold was the main attacker. In this position, his Dao of Asura was able to demonstrate the greatest power.

    However, his defense ability did not increase too much.

    Upon seeing Chi You charging towards him, the only thing he could do was to defend.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± Beams of radiance shot out from his body and formed twelve thin crystal-like shields in front of him.

    Meanwhile, Chi You hit the first shield at an extremely fast speed.

    ¡°Bam!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s shield was unable to stop Chi You¡¯s powerful attack and cracked immediately upon the collision.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi and the rest regained their senses at this point in time.

    ¡°Yan Xiu!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, Chi You changed his target to Yan Xiu.¡±

    ¡°Attacking from the back...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and Nangong Mu attacked almost at the same time.

    They assisted from four positions.

    This was the idea behind coexistence and mutual destruction. They could help each other and attack together. Simrly, they could attack and defend.

    Yun Qingwu did not choose to solely defend.

    That was because she could not defend.

    Chi You was like a gigantic beast trapped in the cage. Be it Fang Zhengzhi or Yan Xiu, nobody could defend against him for a long time.

    Chi You chose to attack Yan Xiu.

    In fact, it was equivalent to attacking the weakest point in the Five Element Formation.

    At this moment, Yun Qingwu did not have too many choices. She would die if she solely defended. If she solely attacked, she would also end up dying.

    After all, she had yet to find a way to kill Chi You.

    She could only drag on!

    Moreover, she had to find his weakness during the process.

    It was difficult!

    Extremely difficult.

    However, Yun Qingwu had no choice but to do it. Therefore, her only thought was for Yun Qingwu tost on as much as possible.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    A series of sounds were heard.

    As Fang Zhengzhi and the rest attacked Chi You, Chi Youpletely neglected the attacking tactics and charged forward towards the shield in front of Yan Xiu.

    Almost instantly, seven of the twelve shields broke.

    It happened too quickly!

    Chi You no longer had the intention to fight with Fang Zhengzhi and the rest. He attacked with all his might. Not only was he fast as though he was teleporting, but every punch he through had the force of a mountain.

    He threw a punch.

    The thunder rumbled, the mountain copsed and the ground cracked.

    His huge body was growling and he charged crazily towards Yan Xiu.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    Even though Fang Zhengzhi and the rest attacked with full force, Chi You tore open the shields which were blocking him.

    Seeing how there was onest shield left...

    A softer roar was heard again.

    ¡°Shifting forms of the Five Elements!¡±

    Eye-catching radiance flowed in the Five Elements Formation. Instantly, Yan Xiu appeared at another position.

    ¡°Changed again?!¡±

    ¡°She can deduce the Five element formation again in such a short time. Yun Qingwu... is indeed terrifying!¡±

    ¡°She is indeed good at this!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons praised in awe.

    Meanwhile, Chi You¡¯s gaze froze and looked at Yan Xiu who was far away. His expression did not change and he looked as though he had predicted it long ago.

    If he attacked Yun Qingwu, he would be stopped by everyone in the Five Elements Formation.

    If he attacked Yan Xiu, he would only be stopped by four people.

    Chi You was very sure that it was impossible to kill Yan Xiu in one shot. However, Yun Qingwu¡¯s deduction and the changing of position of the five elements had limitations.

    The limitation was none other than time.

    To re-deduce the five element formation and changing positions, it reqquired time.

    ¡°Very well, but what about now?¡± Chi You sneered and pounced towards Yan Xiu again.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression turned pale.

    Of course, he still clenched his teeth and produced twelve shields in front of him again. He was trying his best to dy the attack of Chi You.

    That time was used for Yun Qingwu to do another deduction.

    ¡°Buzz!¡± The twelve shields appeared again.

    However, this time, Chi You¡¯s attack was way more ferocious and faster than earlier on. It felt as though he had not used any energy earlier on.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    It was faster than his attack earlier on.

    Chi You¡¯s fist had hit the shields again and shattered them. Instantly, he reached where Yan Xiu was and there were no longer any obstructions in front of Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You attacked immediately.

    Meanwhile, another voice was heard.

    ¡°Shifting forms of the Five Elements!¡±

    Buzz!

    Yan Xiu¡¯s body teleported and avoided Chi You¡¯s punch before reappearing at another spot further away with some minor injuries in front of his chest.

    Blood flowed out from his injury.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, are you alright?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was extremely nervous.

    ¡°Yun Qingwu, shall we change our positions? Perhaps it would be better if Yan Xiu goes to Sister Yan¡¯s position instead?¡± Ping Yang was also anxious.

    ¡°...¡± Yun Qingwu kept silent.

    That was because she was sweating profusely and her palms which were controlling the radiance in the Five Elements Formation were shaking.¡¯

    Deduction was extremely exhausting.

    She had to focus and did not dare to get distracted at all.

    As Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he shook his head slightly. ¡°Ping Yang, it is toote for you to change positions now. Moreover, the effect of switching Yan Xiu to the water position is not big.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Ping Yang, focus on the battle.¡± Chi Guyan nodded too.

    Yun Qingwu had to focus on the Shifting forms of the Five Elements and was extremely stressed. She could not afford to get distracted at all.

    ¡°You guys will be in charge of attacking while Yan Xiu and I will defend together.¡± Nangong Mu clenched his fists. He was indeed better than Yan Xiu in terms of defense.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ping Yang nodded immediately.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ...

    As Nangong Mu joined the defense, the battle was dyed.

    After seven rounds of Shifting forms of the Five Elements, Yan Xiu¡¯s energy was almost depleted and he was extremely pale. He was so exhausted that he could barely stand.

    Apart from him, Nangong Mu was also drenched in perspiration.

    Chi You was too powerful.

    Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu alone were unable to defend against Chi You.

    ¡°Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu can¡¯tst much longer. Why not I join the defense and Sister Yan and shameless brat can attack Chi You,¡± said Ping Yang.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we canst much longer...¡±Chi Guyan did not object nor agree.

    That was because she had already noticed Yun Qingwu perspiring like crazy and the nine red tails behind her darkened.

    She could notst much longer!

    Apart from Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu, Yun Qingwu could notst much longer too.

    ¡°Is there no other ways? Are we going to die here?¡± Chi Guyan was indignant but there was really no other ways.

    She had already dragged on for an hour.

    Everyone was exhausted and Chi Guyan also felt tired.

    The only people who were still energised were Chi You and Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Brat, are you not tired at all?¡± Chi You turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi who was still chasing him wildly and looked slightly shocked.

    After thousands of years of umtion, the reiki in Chi You¡¯s body was so immense that it could not be used finish.

    However, he did not expect...

    That there would be another monster in the world that was simr to him. He had limitless energy and was still fully energised after nearly an hour of fight.

    ¡°Even if you die from exhaustion, I won¡¯t die from exhaustion,¡± replied Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hahaha... This is interesting. If there are five Fang Zhengzhi in the world, I can¡¯t guarantee that I will win. However, unfortunately, not everyone is called Fang Zhengzhi.¡± After saying that, Chi You attacked Yan Xiu ferociously.

    Bam!

    The shields broke.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips turned purple and he could not move at all. The depletion caused him to breathe extremely heavily.

    He could only hear his heavy breathing sound.

    ¡°Huff...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, he was pulled by a force and instantly appeared at another location that was ten feet away from Chi You.

    ¡°Huff...¡± Yan Xiu breathed heavily.

    He wanted to raise his hand and remake twelve shields in front of him. However, he could not raise his hand at all as it felt as though there was a mountain pressing on it.

    ¡°Yan Xiu, are you alright?¡± Seeing this, Nangong Mu stood as the Tree of God in front of Yan Xiu and blocked him from Chi You.

    ¡°I... I am alright... I still... canst...¡± Yan Xiu bit his lips and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Then, he raised his hand again.

    Buzz!

    The twelve shields appeared one after another.

    However, at the same time, Yan Xiu¡¯s face turned red and blood spurted out from his mouth. His legs turned jelly and he almost copsed to the ground.

    Chi You¡¯s expression turned extremely cold.

    ¡°Are you at your limits? Very good!¡±

    Boom!

    Chi You suddenly sped up and was more terrifying than before. Six of his gigantic arms flew out wildly and broke the Tree of God in front of him.

    ¡°Oh no, Yan Xiu, watch out!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed instantly. He could already tell that Yan Xiu was exhausted.

    He was able tost until now because of his strong will.

    However, no matter how strong one¡¯s will was, there would be a limit. When he was exhausted, he could no longer sustain with this determination.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You roared loudly and charged forward. He did not waste time using his fist to break the shield at all.

    He barged forward straightaway.

    The two gigantic bull horns glowed with radiance.

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    A series of breaking sounds could be heard.

    The twelve shields did not evenst for a second and were forcefully broken by Chi You. The two sharp bull horns were aimed at Yan Xiu¡¯s heart.

    Yun Qingwu shook.

    She wanted to save Yan Xiu.

    However, Yan Xiu gave her too little time and she could not deduce the new positions of the five elements in such a short time.

    ¡°Spat!¡± She spat out a mouthful of blood. She was exhausted and the nine beams of radiance behind herpletely disappeared.

    At this moment, apart from Yan Xiu, Yun Qingwu had also reached her limits.

    That was because she was facing more stress than everyone else.

    ¡°Oh no!!!¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved immediately when he saw Yun Qingwu copse. He turned into a beam of azure blue radiance and wanted to block Chi You.

    However, Chi You was too fast.

    Moreover, Chi You had calcted the time needed to reach where Yan Xiu was.

    He did not give Fang Zhengzhi any chance at all.

    Yan Xiu¡¯s face turned purple and his lips trembled. He wanted to dodge but he had no energy to even speak at all.

    ¡°No! Yan Xiu, dodge now!¡± Fang Zhengzhi yelled.

    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu stood stiffly on the spot and looked at Fang Zhengzhi helplessly as many thoughts shed across his mind.

    ¡®Dodge?¡¯

    ¡®I am too tired...¡¯

    ¡®Really too tired.¡¯

    ¡°Zhengzhi, thank you for the most valuable friendship in my life.¡¯

    ¡®I want to carry on fighting with you but I can¡¯t do it anymore. I can leave, I only hope that you can continue... continue to fight...¡¯

    Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes gradually closed.

    Scenes shed across his mind.

    He remembered the scene when he first met Fang Zhengzhi. His first impression of Fang Zhengzhi was strange and rebellious.

    He craved for the rebellion...

    Unknowingly, he started talking to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Let¡¯s be friends, okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we are already friends...¡±

    ¡°Friends have to trust each other.¡±

    ¡°I trust you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, me too.¡±

    ¡°I can betray anyone in the world except for one...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®I am really leaving this world?¡¯

    ¡®Zhengzhi, I don¡¯t bear to leave.¡¯

    Yan Xiu stopped defending and rxedpletely. He did not have any energy to say goodbye to his friend.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud boom was heard.

    After that, he felt as though he was pulled by a powerful force and howling sounds of the wind could be heard. The wind felt chilly and bloody.

    He used the remaining energy to open his eyes.

    The bloody sun was still hanging in the sky.

    It was very red and eerie.

    However, he did not seem to die. He was floating in midair with boiling blood on his face. The blood fell from the air, they were very, very hot...

    ¡®Why?¡¯

    ¡®Why am I not dead?¡¯

    ¡®Zhengzhi? Where is he?¡¯

    ¡°Wa...¡± A voice was heard at the position Yan Xiu was at previously. There was a slim and gigantic figure at that spot.

    However, that figure was beinig prated by a sharp bull horn.

    Blood sttered across the air.

    ¡°Shift... Shifting Forms?!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes widened and blood flowed from his mouth, nose and ears. ¡°No!!!¡±

 Chapter 1112 - Merger of Six Daos, The Ultimate Dao

    Chapter 1112: Merger of Six Daos, The Ultimate Dao

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Yan Xiu was howling.

    He did not have any energy left but was still howling.

    He could not believe it and refused to believe it.

    Even though he would make the same choice as Fang Zhengzhi if he was Fang Zhengzhi and use his life to protect his friend, he still could not belive it.

    ¡°No!!!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s voice echoed in the Changyang Mountain.

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Nangong Mu and Yun Qingwu werepletely stunned.

    Blood flew in the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi made use of hisst resort. As it was impossible to stop Chi You, he used his body to forcefully save Yan Xiu.

    ¡°Shameless thief!!!¡± Chi Guyan¡¯s vision was blurred. She could not hold back her tears at this scene.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ping Yang screamed.

    At this moment, she could not be bothered about anything else. The only thing in her mind was to go towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    Screw the Five Elements Formation.

    Would the Five Elements Formation exist if Fang Zhengzhi died?

    Ping Yang charged forward.

    Chi Guyan and Nangong Mu followed closely behind Ping Yang.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯te closer!¡± Fang Zhengzhi gripped the bull horn with one hand tightly and blood flowed out from his mouth.

    At thest moment, he managed to dodge and prevented the horn from attacking the fatal spot.

    His heart!

    However, after being prated by the horn, his Origin Energy depleted crazily. Even if he did not die immediately, he would not be able tost much longer.

    Moreover, he had already been caught by Chi You.

    He was tightly caught by Chi You.

    ¡°Hahaha... Fang Zhengzhi, I didn¡¯t expect it... I really didn¡¯t expect you to be so foolish!¡± Chi You was also stunned.

    However, after being stunned, heughed.

    Foolish humans!

    They decided to sacrifice themselves for a friend?

    How foolish was that.

    Since the ancient era, Chi You had always thought that the foolishness of humans was the main factor that would cause them to perish.

    For example, Mother Earth and Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens.

    For ordinary lives, they sacrificed themselves to fight against the Cosmic Disaster and eventually died.

    Foolish, extremely foolish.

    The world did not need these foolish humans to be present. It only required a powerful individual who could dominate and fight.

    Chi Youughed unrestrainedly.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s foolishness caught him by surprise.

    He killed the biggest threat just like that? It was much easier than what he had expected. In that case, what was left was to make Fang Zhengzhi pay the price for his foolishness.

    ¡°Go and die!¡± Chi You¡¯s eyes were blood-red.

    However, at this moment, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest had arrived.

    ¡°Freeze!¡± Chi Guyan roared coldly and released her powerful mental strength, freezing Chi You at the most critical moment.

    ¡°Scram.¡± Chi You moved.

    An invisible force was felt around his body. It tore the mental strength apart into shreds like a heart.

    ¡°Spat...¡± Chi Guyan spat out a mouthful of blood.

    She was extremely tired. After the sharp pain caused by the scene earlier on, she was almost pushed to her limits.

    After Chi Guyan¡¯s attack, her face turned extremely pale.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi moved his lips and wanted to stop her but he knew that both Chi Guyan and Ping Yang would not listen to him.

    That was because Ping Yang had already dashed towards him.

    ¡°Ah, Chi You, I will kill you!¡± Tri-colored mes were formed on Ping Yang¡¯s fists and her entire body was like a fireball.

    Talking about power, she was very powerful after inheriting the bloodline of Emperor Yu.

    However, she could not match up to Chi You.

    Chi You¡¯s fist hit Ping Yang and caused her to move back immediately. The tri-colored mes on her body disappeared immediately.

    ¡°Ping Yang!¡± Chi Guyan looked as though she was in extreme agony.

    Meanwhile, Nangong Mu, who was following closely behind Ping Yang, was also hit by Chi You and he spat out a mouthful of blood in midair.

    Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu were defending Chi You¡¯s attack together.

    They spent a lot of energy too.

    Moreover, Nangong Mu had participated in the battle long ago. Even if he had the powerful ability to recover with the Tree of God, he was currently at an exhausted state.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Has it ended?¡±

    ¡°The Five Elements Formation is broken and Fang Zhengzhi is caught by Chi You. Nobody else can match up to Demon God Chi You. The battle has ended.¡±

    ¡°Yeah... Yun Qingwu definitely won¡¯t be able to match up to Chi You.¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons lost all hopes as they looked at the figures who were sent flying.

    If given a choice, they even hoped that Fang Zhengzhi and the rest of the humans won this battle.

    That was because Demon God Chi You was too violent. Even if they managed to survive under his rule, they would be suppressed for life.

    They could not resist at all.

    ¡°Hahaha... foolish humans, you guys initially had the chance to live but now, you guys have given up on thest hope. How foolish!¡± Chi Youughed without restraint.

    He still had unlimited power.

    However, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang and the rest werepletely exhausted.

    In this situation, he could kill all of them just by moving his fingers.

    The ruler of the world!

    Demon God Chi You is back!

    Chi You looked at the bloody sun in the sky. He had endured and kept silent for thousands of years. He never gave up.

    The world belonged to him.

    It should have belonged to him since the ancient era.

    He should be standing at the peak of the world and looking at the insignificant living creatures beneath him, epting their worship.

    ¡°Surrender or die!¡± Chi You growled excitedly.

    He had waited too long for this moment. Now that it had finally arrived, he was definitely excited and happy.

    ¡°Foolish, hahaha, foolish!¡±

    ¡°This world is mine!¡±

    ¡°I am the only ruler of the world!¡±

    ¡°Nobody can stop me!¡±

    Chi You roared continuously and vented the anger he had suffered for thousands of years.

    ¡°No, you won¡¯t be the ruler of the world!¡± A voice was heard as he was shouting.

    ¡°Who?! Who dares to stop me!¡± Chi You turned around.

    There was nobody in front of him. He only saw Fang Zhengzhi and his blood.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, are you talking about yourself?¡± Chi You sneered.

    ¡°A Demon God who don¡¯t understand living creatures will never be their ruler, no matter how powerful you are!¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

    ¡°Oh? Looks like you are very indignant... Unfortunately, you had the chance to fight with me but you are too foolish to use your life to exchange for your useless partner!¡± Chi You looked down at Fang Zhengzhi like an emperor looking down at a weakling.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t get it.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Hahaha... you say I don¡¯t get it? Who are you to say that? I mastered the Dao of all Destruction. Every living thing on earth has to surrender!¡± Chi You was furious but heughed.

    ¡°So what if all living things on earth surrendered to you?¡± Fang Zhengzhi asked.

    ¡°What do you mean? As long as they surrender, I will be the ruler of all living things and the ruler of the world. They have to call me the Emperor, the God!¡±

    ¡°A real God does not need others to surrender or worship. Others would willingly respect him as a God, just like Mother Earth and Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens. However, you... Chi You, will not be respected by others!¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, go and die!¡± Chi You was furious.

    He did not n to quarrel with Fang Zhengzhi as Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s life was in his hand.

    He could kill Fang Zhengzhi just by lightly squeezing his hand.

    Everything could die in his hand.

    Death!

    Death was the real deal.

    There was only one logic on earth. Whoever who was powerful would be respected.

    ¡°Die!¡± Chi You forcefully squeezed his hand and wanted to use his Dao of all Destruction to destroy Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, he realized that Fang Zhengzhi was like a hard rock which did not react at all to his attack.

    How was that possible?!

    Chi You did not understand. He had never failed using his Dao of all Destruction before.

    He could even destroy the stars. Why couldn¡¯t he destroy an insignificant human in his palms?

    ¡°Die!¡± Chi You roared loudly again.

    ¡°...¡±

    However, Fang Zhengzhi remained unharmed in his hand.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons watched this scene with their eyes widened.

    Chi You had already yelled a few times. Why wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi dead yet?

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Exactly, why isn¡¯t he dead yet?¡¯

    Yan Xiu, Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Nangong Mu, as well as Yun Qingwu, stared closely at Fang Zhengzhi and did not want him to die.

    However, Chi You had the Dao of all Destruction.

    Who could stop him?

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi You¡¯s voice was heard repeatedly.

    His voice echoed in the Changyang Mountain.

    Apart from this voice, everything else was silent.

    The bloody sun was still hanging eerily in the sky. However, whatever that was happening was even more eerie than the bloody sun.

    What was going on?

    Why wasn¡¯t Fang Zhengzhi dead yet?

    ¡°Why did this happen? Why are you still alive? My Dao of Destruction had never failed before. I can destroy everything but why not you?!¡± Chi You growled continuously.

    ¡°Do you want to know the reason?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi You quietly.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡± Chi You¡¯s body shook.

    ¡°I said that you won¡¯t be able to rule the world because you... don¡¯t deserve it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s gaze became extremely sharp.

    It was like an eagle and a sword.

    However, there was a sense of neutrality and peace in his eyes.

    He had no hopes and no desire to stay alive or die.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Chi You was indignant. He tightened his grip on all six arms and was determined to kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    However, a powerful force attacked his palms.

    His palms were forced open.

    One, two, three, four...

    All six palms were forced open one after another.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi crawled out of his palm very slowly and stared at Chi You like how Chi You stared at him earlier on.

    He looked down on Chi You like an emperor.

    ¡°You are more powerful than God and have the Dao of all Destruction. You can even merge it with the Source of God and nobody can kill you. However, you will never be the ruler of this world!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stood on Chi You¡¯s palm while his injuries healed rapidly.

    This scene was extremely strange.

    The Godly Beasts and demons werepletely stunned.

    Even Ping Yang, Chi Guyan and the rest did not dare to move as they did not know if whatever that happened before their eyes was real.

    Fang Zhengzhi managed to...

    Force open Chi You¡¯s hands.

    He escaped from his hands and stood on his palms.

    How was that possible?

    Was this real or an illusion?

    Chi You also did not believe it.

    An insignificant human being...

    Managed to escape his control?!

    ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t I be the ruler of the world? I am the most powerful in this world and I am the only Emperor in this world! I am the Emperor forever!¡± Chi You looked extremely crazy.

    ¡°No, you are not.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°Foolish human, I will kill you!¡± Chi You can no longer hold in. He clenched his fists on all of his hands and punched Fang Zhengzhi.

    The sky and earth all seemed to be roaring.

    The ground shook continuously.

    Thunder rumbled in the sky.

    Chi You was so powerful that the sky changed color.

    However, when the five fists hit Fang Zhengzhi, Fang Zhengzhi did not die. Instead, the fists floated quietly above Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    Meanwhile, a gigantic te appeared beneath Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s feet.

    It was glowing brightly

    As though thousands of stars were shing.

    It was the 3000 Great Daos.

    Every single Dao took the form of a star and represented the living things on earth.

    The sun, moon and stars, the flowers and trees.

    Meanwhile, there were six gigantic circles around the gigantic te. A different light shone in the six circles.

    Blue, ck, red, silver, green, gold!

    The six radiance of different color was like six balls of mes that lit up the entire te. Meanwhile, six extremelyplicated symbols burned in the center of the six balls of mes.

    Six Rebirth Dao Techniques!

    Heaven Dao, Hell Dao, Dao of Asura, Ghost Dao, Near-Life Dao...

    Human Dao!

    When everything on earth had rules and regtions, everything would beplete.

    The Six Rebirth Daos were the rules and regtions.

    ¡°Although your Dao of all Destruction is powerful, it is unable to break free from the rules and regtions of this world. You neglected the fact that the most powerful thing on earth was not destruction.¡± The Six Rebirth Dao Techniques gradually floated as Fang Zhengzhi said.

 Chapter 1113 - Creation of All Things

    Chapter 1113: Creation of All Things

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The radiance was so bright that it lit up the entire world.

    With the enforcement of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, Fang Zhengzhi stood silently in front of Chi You. However, it made Chi You extremely stressed.

    It was the first time Chi You felt stressed.

    However, he refused to believe that someone could defeat him. He had absorbed reiki for thousands of years in the Source of God.

    Impossible!

    No one could defeat him!

    ¡°You are lying, destruction... destruction is the most powerful Dao!¡± Chi You suddenly looked like he was struggling and the ck haze surrounding his body entered his body instantly.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Bolts of lightning struck.

    It looked as though a thunderstorm had just hit.

    The bolts of lightning looked as though they were controlled by Chi You, striking at Fang Zhengzhi directly andnding on the top of his head.

    Fang Zhengzhi gradually extended his right hand.

    The bolts of lightning were gripped in his hand. He caressed them as though he was touching a kitten and did not have my intent to struggle.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were shocked beyond words.

    What kind of power was that?

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, and the other humans were also stunned.

    He held the bolts of lightning in his hand and did not destroy them. However, the bolts of lightning did not hurt Fang Zhengzhi at all? This scene was way too terrifying.

    They could not understand it at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said. Destruction is not the most powerful Dao.¡± After saying that, Fang Zhengzhi ces the bolts of lightning into the te of Six Rebirth Dao Techniques.

    Buzz!

    The radiance of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques shone again and countless bolts of lightning rose from within, turning into beams of lightning that struck at Chi You.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The thunderstorm was extremely heavy.

    Chi You¡¯s expression finally changed. The energy he used was controlled by Fang Zhengzhi and used to fight against himself?

    Was it the Blood Offering Illustration?!

    Since when did Fang Zhengzhi master the Blood Offering Illustration?

    This was impossible!

    Chi You refused to believe it but the thunderstorm had already struck his body, causing him to look extremely pathetic. Although he could destroy all living things, that required physical strength.

    Finally, the storm calmed down.

    The world returned to a peaceful state again.

    Chi You stared at Fang Zhengzhi with bloodshot eyes and thick ck haze in his eyes. The murderous aura was surging.

    ¡°Stop pretending in front of me. Even if you can defend against my attack, you won¡¯t be able to kill me, you will never be able to kill me. You can only watch me destroy the living things on earth like these weaklings whose lives are worthless!¡± Chi You was frustrated.

    However, he did not attack Fang Zhengzhi.

    He threw his punch to the ground.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, run...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were shocked and scurried.

    However, the strength of the punch was so powerful that airwaves pressed down and caused theva on the ground to simmer as though the ground was about to break.

    However, just as the airwaves were about to crash down, a vast ocean-like blue surrounded the bodies of the Godly Beasts and demons.

    Swoosh!

    The Godly Beasts and demons teleported from the ground into midair.

    Heavenly Rebirth Dao!

    However, the Heavenly Rebirth Dao was like the real Heaven. It was extremely vast and broad such that the Godly Beasts and demons could not resist at all.

    ¡°So powerful...¡±

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t I feel any murderous aura? I don¡¯t feel any murderous aura at all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and demons were still in shock.

    However, the feeling earlier on shocked them so much that they felt they were in the air although they were not.

    That was too strange.

    Moreover, it was ridiculous.

    Was this the real capability of Six Rebirth Dao Techniques?

    The Godly Beasts and demons looked at Fang Zhengzhi who was standing in the sky. They were stunned. The Six Rebirth Dao Techniques belonged to one person.

    Nobody had reached that state for thousands of years.

    Yet now, they witnessed the power of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques with their own eyes.

    It was even more powerful than Chi You¡¯s Dao of all Destruction!

    What exactly was it?

    ¡°Why are you wasting energy in saving them? Aren¡¯t they your enemies? You forgot that you are a human and they are monsters and demons!¡± Chi You turned to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Hmm, if it was an hour ago, I would definitely kill them. However, I won¡¯t do it now.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded before shaking his head.

    ¡°Mercy?¡± Chi You looked in disdain. ¡°So human beings are ultimately foolish beings, foolish enough to protect demons and monsters!¡±

    ¡°I thought it was foolish for me to this initially. However, what if one day, you realize that your mother is a monster?¡± Fang Zhengzhi replies calmly.

    ¡°...¡±

    The world fell silent.

    However, Yun Qingwu who was further away suddenly shuddered and gave an extremelyplicated expression.

    ¡°If my mother is a monster, I will kill her!¡± Chi You roared loudly.

    ¡°What about your siblings, would you kill all of them too?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was not wavered by Chi You¡¯s response.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Chi You gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Then why are you gritting your teeth? Why are you wavering? Is it because of your hesitation or is it because you think it¡¯s extremely difficult to answer?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, it is alright if you don¡¯t understand. However, let me ask you, if all the living things on earth are extinct, what can you do with your powers?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I am the ruler of the world, I can...¡± At this moment, Chi You¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    ¡°You can what?¡± asked Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°You... Unless you, you have already...¡± Chi You started perspiring.

    ¡°It seems like you have already understood. The most powerful thing in the world is never destruction but creation. Creation of rules, creation of all living things on earth!¡± Afterpleting his sentence, the te of Six Rebirth Dao Techniques had surrounded Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s body.

    However, it was no longer glowing.

    The stars returned to a peaceful state.

    The six balls of mes also vanished.

    All that was left on earth was a circle.

    A circle of peace.

    ¡°Nonsense, how can creation bepared to destruction?! Strength decides everything. If you can¡¯t kill me, how can you rule the world?¡± Chi You did not believe it.

    Or rather, he was unwilling to believe it. He was unwilling to ept the oue after thousands of years of hard work.

    Creation!

    Destruction!

    The opposition on Earth!

    He was unwilling to ept it!

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped saying anything else as he had already spoken enough. The Six Rebirth Dao Techniques hadpleted merged too.

    Since Chi You was unwilling to ept it, the only way to get him to ept it was to defeat him.

    ¡°Mountain!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed to the ground.

    Boom!

    The ground shook.

    A gigantic tall mountain surged out from the ground and grew with a terrifying speed. It reached Chi You¡¯s feet instantly

    ¡°...¡±

    This scene was too shocking.

    One word!

    And a tall mountain appeared!

    The Godly Beasts and demons were astonished.

    Chi You was shocked too. He shot up towards the bloody sun in the sky and tried his best to dodge the mountain that appeared from the ground.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand moved at this moment.

    ¡°Mountain!¡± He yelled the same thing.

    However, this time, a tall mountain appeared out of nowhere above Chi You¡¯s head. It pressed on his head without even giving him the chance to dodge.

    Boom!

    Chi You¡¯s body trembled

    Meanwhile, the two tall mountainsbined suddenly, trapping Chi You in between them as countless gigantic mountain rocks fell from the sky.

    ¡°...¡±

    It was too exaggerated.

    He created two tall mountains at one go?

    Was he still a human?!

    The Godly Beasts, Demons, as well as Chi Guyan and Ping Yang we¡¯re staring closely at the middle of the two tall mountains where Chi You was trapped.

    Boom!

    Chi You dashed out from the two tall mountains and charged towards where Fang Zhengzhi was at an extremely fast speed. Unlike earlier on, he was covered in ck armor

    That was the true fighting form of Chi You!

    The ck haze was his armor. It had apanied him since the ancient era and had experienced thousands of reiki.

    Nothing could destroy it!

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you won¡¯t be able to kill me, you won¡¯t!¡± Chi You growled and his six arms grew instantly and pped at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s head.

    ¡°Rain!¡± Fang Zhengzhi ignored Chi You.

    He pointed his fingers at Chi You¡¯s face

    Bam!

    Bam!

    ¡°...¡±

    Countless raindrops hit Chi You¡¯s face like knife, blocking his line of vision and destroying his attacking power such that he could no longer advance.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Chi You was frustrated

    However, as he opened his mouth, the rainnded in his mouth and stopped him from saying anything further as his entire body was surrounded by water.

    ¡°I will drown you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Hearing this, the expressions of the Godly Beasts and demons who were initially extremely stunned changed and they felt extremely strange.

    Drown Chi You?

    Indeed, although this brat mastered the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, his nature had not changed.

    This tactic...

    Was way too childish?

    ¡°Gulp gulp...¡± Bubbles were spat from Chi You¡¯s mouth. Then, he suddenly stood up and the bubble of water surrounding his body exploded.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    However, very quickly, another round of thunderstorm arrived.

    The thunderstorm gathered into a bubble of water and was much bigger than the bubble earlier on. It surrounded Chi You again and caused him to spit out bubbles.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi was still not satisfied.

    ¡°Looks like I have to add some other things.¡± Fang Zhengzhi said to himself. Then, his eyes lit up and said, ¡°How about adding some chilli?¡±

    Buzz!

    As he thought about this, the water moved.

    Some strange objects were fused into the clear rain. The rain turned bright red and a strong spicy smell could be smelt.

    ¡°...¡± Chi You¡¯s face turned red immediately.

    What the hell?!

    He felt his stomach on fire. However, it was not like mes but rather another strong sensation.

    ¡°Destroy!¡± The Dao of all Destruction was used again.

    The chilli water around his body and the chilli water in his mouth were destroyed instantly and vanished.

    However, he realized another round of thunderstorm struck again.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Is this ever ending?!¡¯

    Chi You was extremely furious. He felt as though he was trapped in a cage and could not move at all. Thunderstorm and mountain rocks would appear randomly around him.

    Moreover, this time, the taste of the water made him hiss.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you die of saltiness!¡± Fang Zhengzhi changed his method this time and wanted to try it salt could kill Chi You. Anyway, there was no harm in trying.

    Creation of things!

    How fun was that?

    ying with the wind and thunderstorm was too boring. Therefore, ideas struck him and he decided to mix some other elements into it.

    And these elements...

    Were notmonly seen in this world.

    At least, Chi You, who lived in the ancient era, never seen or heard of these elements before.

    ¡°Ah... gulp gulp...¡± Chi You¡¯s face turned extremely ugly. The taste made him feel like dying.

    ¡°Destroy!¡±

    The Dao of Destruction was used again

    However, he was already drenched in sweat.

    After a few rounds of attack, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed unable to kill him directly. However, he felt extremely ufortable and miserable.

    Torture.

    Fang Zhengzhi was torturing him.

    ¡°Maybe I should add some shit? Or add some poison in the shit... I wonder how it would turn out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi thought that this idea was good.

    However, it was slightly disgusting.

    Therefore, he chose to give up.

    ¡®Just add poison straightaway.¡¯

    ¡®I wonder if Chi You was the legendary creature that would not be affected by any type of poison?¡¯

    ¡°...¡±

    As Fang Zhengzhi attacked again, Chi You finally experienced what was meant by being bitten by thousands of ants, having his heart prated by sharp swords and experiencing unbearable tickles.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Rounds and rounds of thunderstorm struck.

    Before disappearing.

    And appearing again.

    And disappearing again.

    Meanwhile, Chi You¡¯s expression turned uglier amongst the appearance and disappearance of thunderstorm.

    ¡°Die, I want to kill you!¡± Chi You¡¯s body grew rapidly. He wanted his energy to reach his limit so he could break free from the restraints of the thunderstorm.

    Then, he would kill Fang Zhengzhi with a punch.

    However, at this moment, a few sounds like the popping of popcorn were heard.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    ¡°Ice!¡±

    ¡°Wind!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As these sounds were heard, Chi You¡¯s gigantic body waspletely stuck on the spot as a gigantic ice mountain had sealed his body inside it.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Creation of all things?! Creation of all things!¡±

    ¡°He is the God, the real God!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Upon seeing how Chi You was trapped by the ice mountain, the eyes of the Godly Beasts and demons lit up as though they saw hope to live on.

 Chapter 1114 - Undefeatable Law

    <h4>Chapter 1114: Undefeatable Law</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    If given a choice, no one in the world would willingly be a ve.

    Chi You was a ruthless dictator who had a thirst for blood. He would kill anyone that wasn¡¯t going to surrender to him.

    The only problem was that Chi You was too powerful, so much so that no one could oppose him.

    The Godly Beasts and Demon Race didn¡¯t have any other options. For the sake of survival, they had to bow down to him even though they knew that a bleak future awaited them.

    However, it was different now.

    Fang Zhengzhi was actually overpowering Chi You.

    How could they not be joyous?

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    One after another, bolts of lightning descended.

    They tried to destroy the gigantic ice mountain that imprisoned Chi You.

    However, the lightning bolts were stopped by a mighty aura before and turned into tamed ¡®kitties even before they could touch the ice mountain.

    ¡°...¡± The Godly Beasts and Demons gasped.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s power had already exceeded their understanding. They had never seen such a tremendous power even during ancient times.

    Nothing could cause any hard to him.

    It was as if he hadpletely tamed everything.

    However, what was strange was the fact that it was obvious that he didn¡¯t tame everything. It was a rather special sensation as if Fang Zhengzhi had be one with everything.

    Fang Zhengzhi was everything, and everything was Fang Zhengzhi.

    Boom! Chi You finally broke the ice mountain apart with his colossal strength.

    ¡°Ahh...¡± Chi You bellowed as he swung his arms continuously at the broken ice.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi You as if he had expected everything, then, he pointed towards him.

    ¡°Entangle!¡±

    A huge amount of thorny vines restricted Chi You¡¯s body instantly. Furthermore, the vines seemed to contain some sort of special power, and they actually turned his body stiff for a moment.

    ¡°Do you want to keep on fighting? Chi You, there¡¯s no way you could defeat me. Just surrender.¡± Fang Zhengzhi calmly gazed at the massive body that was entangled by the vines.

    It was a ¡®tall mountain¡¯.

    However, he was toying with it as he wished.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± For some reason, Chi You suddenly startedughing. Streams of light started flowing around his body, and the vines disappeared.

    He was standing in the air.

    However, it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to attack Fang Zhengzhi again.

    ¡°You want me to bow down to you?¡± Chi You clenched his fists tightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. I don¡¯t need a part, so why do I need you.?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shot Chi You a condescending nce and shook his head.

    ¡°Are you calling me a pet?¡±

    ¡°Although I didn¡¯t say that, I don¡¯t care if you want to interpret it that way. Moreover, what can you do even if I call you a pet? Are you going to hit me? Bite me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi shrugged.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, don¡¯t get cocky so quickly. You aren¡¯t attacking me anymore because you know that your attacks aren¡¯t effective. You haven¡¯t found a way to kill me, have you?¡± Chi You sneered.

    ¡°I just want toy with you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied.

    He naturally wouldn¡¯t want to admit it, but just as Chi You mentioned, he hadn¡¯t actually found a way to kill him yet. This thing was unkible.

    Both his soul and body had fused with the Source of God.

    How could he kill him?

    He couldn¡¯t possibly destroy the Source of God too, right?

    Although he could continue torturing Chi You like before, it would be a huge problem if he could never kill him.

    He knew that without tackling the root of the problem, it would onlye back to bite him.

    That was exactly what had happened to Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan tens of millions of years ago.

    They couldn¡¯t kill Chi You.

    Hence, they could only imprison him underneath Changyang Mountain and set up the Demon Seal Formation. They also used Xing Tian¡¯s head to collect an evesting murderous aura and used it as the foundation of the formation.

    He could do the same thing right now.

    However, whose head should he use to set the foundation for the formation?

    Xing Tian was already dead!

    How difficult was it to find another person who was as powerful as Xing Tian?

    Most importantly, the evesting murderous aura couldn¡¯t be reproduced so easily. A person must be betrayed by someone extremely close to him and held onto his resentment for tens of millions of years in order to produce that kind of murderous aura.

    During ancient times, although Xing Tian wanted to be an emperor, he didn¡¯t manage to fulfill his wish in the end.

    Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang worked together and tricked him intoing to Changyang Mountain. Then, they attacked him without any warning and chopped off his head. It was only natural that he was filled with resentment and murderous aura.

    In other words, there were too many factors involved.

    Who could Fang Zhengzhi kill?

    Chi Guyan? Ping Yang? Yan Xiu? Yun Qingwu and Nangong Mu?

    He couldn¡¯t kill any of them.

    Most importantly, these people were fundamentally different from Xing Tian.

    To put it bluntly, even if he really killed Chi Guyan or Yan Xiu at this moment, the two of them would never resent him for tens of millions of years.

    That was because they would likely understand that Fang Zhengzhi was trying to use their power as the foundation of the Demon Seal Formation. In that case, how could there be any resentment?

    Speaking of resentment...

    Nangong Mu would be quite a suitable target.

    However, he had already turned over a new leaf. There really wasn¡¯t anyone like Xing Tian.

    Of course, even if there was...

    Fang Zhengzhi would never kill someone that trusted him with his or her life. Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang could do something like that for the sake of the world, but he couldn¡¯t.

    Ultimately, he wasn¡¯t as mentallypetent as Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

    It wasn¡¯t because he was too kind-hearted.

    It was simply due to their differences in pursuits and goals in life.

    Fang Zhengzhi liked being free, unrestricted, and he didn¡¯t like dealing with troublesome affairs. To put it simply, he wouldn¡¯t want to be an emperor even if he was given the throne.

    How many people in this world... Were the same as him?

    It was truly extremely troublesome.

    He couldn¡¯t kill him, nor could he keep him sealed up for too long.

    Fang Zhengzhi was getting a headache from this.

    ¡®If there isn¡¯t another way, I¡¯ll just have to seal him up temporarily first. When Ie up with an idea, I just have to drag Chi You out, beat him up and kill him.¡¯

    ¡®If Chi You gets out again...¡¯

    ¡®That isn¡¯t a problem.¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯ll seal him up again if he gets out, and if he keeps getting out, I¡¯ll keep sealing him up until I think of something. Although it¡¯s troublesome, it¡¯s better than wasting more time on the current stalemate.¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi made up his mind.

    However, Chi You turned towards Chi Guyan, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang, and the others at this moment.

    ¡°Since you pissed me off, I won¡¯t let you off either!¡± Chi You¡¯s intentions were simple. ¡®Don¡¯t you want to toy with me? Let¡¯s do it then.¡¯

    ¡®I can¡¯t beat you!¡¯

    ¡®But I could kill Chi Guyan and the others, and make you suffer!¡¯

    Chi You acted on his thoughts right away as there weren¡¯t much analysis or hesitation. He dashed towards Ping Yang, who was the closest to him.

    ¡°Die!¡± Chi You yelled while he was about to attack her.

    However, at this moment, a golden radiance suddenly flew out from the Godly Beasts and Demons¡¯ side. It was even faster than Chi You.

    It was Kun Peng!

    He was extremely fast.

    In terms of strength, Kun Peng couldn¡¯t even match up to Xing Tian, much less Chi You. However, in terms of speed, he was definitely the cream of the crop.

    Therefore, the radiance soon arrived before Ping Yang and the others.

    He actually overtook Chi You.

    ¡°Yo, follow me!¡± Kun Peng spread his wings and got everyone on his back. Then, he flew straight up into the sky at extreme speed.

    ¡°Hmm?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Such a turn of events didn¡¯t just startle the Godly Beasts and Demons.

    Even Chi You was astonished.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I will ensure their safety. You just have to focus on handling Chi You!¡± They heard Kun Peng¡¯s voiceing from the sky.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Chi You was furious.

    He didn¡¯t expect Kun Peng to betray him at this moment. That was his bottom line, and he swore that he was going to kill Kun Peng as well.

    However, a massive number of shadows suddenly started moving just as he was about to charge towards Kun Peng.

    They came from all directions and stopped him in his tracks.

    ¡°Chi You, we wouldn¡¯t let you kill Kun Peng!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll stop you even if it costs our lives!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    They were the Godly Beasts and Demons that Fang Zhengzhi had saved.

    All of them were blocking Chi You¡¯s way.

    Chi You¡¯s expression changed.

    His face was extremely ck. He really didn¡¯t expect that these weak and pathetic Godly Beasts and Demons would betray him simultaneously and obstruct his way.

    ¡°Die! All of you shall die!¡± Chi You roared and charged towards them.

    However, a massive mountain appeared in from of him out of nowhere.

    ¡°Mountain!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Chi You, and a massive mountain came crashing down on him. The tremendous impact even forced him downwards.

    ¡°Ah... How could this happen?!¡± Chi You¡¯s eyes turned red with anger.

    lin

    However, the most important issue was...

    He was no longer Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s match.

    As long as Fang Zhengzhi wanted to protect these Godly Beasts and Demons, there was nothing he could do to them.

    Moreover, Kun Peng was terrifyingly fast.

    He was mad.

    He couldn¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi.

    He also couldn¡¯t kill Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and the rest.

    He couldn¡¯t even kill these Godly Beasts and Demons.

    Who else could he kill?

    He couldn¡¯t kill anyone...

    As the ultimate ancient Killer God, he couldn¡¯t kill anyone, not even a weakling. For him, this was the worst humiliation. It was even worse than death.

    Chi You clenched his fists tightly.

    Then, he saw something that he could never forget.

    It was a tree.

    A tall, ck tree without countless branches. It was filled with an extremely terrifying power that even made his heart tremble.

    ¡°Demon Seal Formation?!¡± Chi You¡¯s expression changedpletely.

    The people on Kun Peng¡¯s back, including Yun Qingwu and Chi Guyan, were also stunned.

    The creation of all matters...

    However, how was that possible?

    He actually...

    Re-created the Demon Seal Formation?!

    ¡°It will take some time, but I reckon a few seconds would suffice. Chi You, I can¡¯t kill you, but I can imprison you forever!¡± Fang Zhengzhi held the ck tree in his hand and swung it like a whip.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible. The Demon Seal Formation was those two bastards¡¯ unique creation. How could you recreate it?!¡± Chi You couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    ¡°I just said that all matters in the world, even thews of nature, could be created. The Demon Seal Formation falls under the boundaries of the world.¡± Fang Zhengzhi replied nonchntly.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons in the sky were trembling.

    ¡®Creatingws of nature!¡¯

    ¡®Creating all matters in the world!¡¯

    ¡®What kind of state is that?!¡¯

    Luckily...

    They turned over a new leaf in time.

    ¡°Chi You, you are going back to where you came from!¡± Fang Zhengzhi bolted towards Chi You instead of standing still.

    Meanwhile, the tall, ck tree in his hand turned into tens of thousands of branches and reached towards Chi You.

    Without any hesitation, Chi You turned tail and ran.

    This was the second time in his life that he ran away from a battlefield.

    The first time happened during ancient times when Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan worked together with Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens to defeat him. He lost all of his troops in that battle.

    This time, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose anything.

    He had to run.

    However, as soon as he turned around, five massive mountains appeared around him out of nowhere and surrounded him.

    The mountains had different colors.

    None of the mountains were simr. One was covered in mes; one contained a waterfall; one was dark as metal; one was full of trees, and the final one was golden.

    ¡°Five Elements Formation! He created the Five Elements Formation with five mountains?!¡± Chi You trembled. At this moment, he finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s words really meant.

    The Dao of Destruction was powerful, but it wasn¡¯t the strongest.

    Creation!

    Creating all matters in this world, even thews of nature.

    That was the strongest Dao in the world.

    The Dao of Creation!

    ¡°No... You can¡¯t imprison me. You can¡¯t!¡± Chi You struggled as hard as he could to escape the Five Elements Formation created by the five mountains but to no avail.

    The five mountains kept alternating in front of him, and every alternation made him feel like he was stuck in a quagmire with no escape.

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of him.

    ¡°You can¡¯t break free, so just give up and surrender to your fate. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll check on you every decade. If I¡¯m in a good mood, I might just tell you a story.¡± As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he swung the tall, ck tree.

    Swoosh!

    The ck branches wrapped around Chi You¡¯s right leg.

    It started spreading from his toes. The ck tree seemed to have a life of its own, and it kept moving upwards. Chi You¡¯s calve was entangled in just a split second.

    ¡°No, no, NO!¡± Chi You was actually anxious now because he could clearly sense that he couldn¡¯t move his calf anymore after it was entangled by the ck branches.

    Imprisonment!

    He had slept for tens of millions of years.

    Yet, he was about to be imprisoned once again after he had just gotten out?!

    Although he wouldn¡¯t die, how could he bear with tens of millions of years of loneliness, solitude, and the endless wait?!

    No!

    That was a definite no!

 Chapter 1115 - Appearance of the Source of God â€“ An Endless Cycle

    <h4>Chapter 1115: Appearance of the Source of God ¨C An Endless Cycle</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    ¡°Go to sleep, Chi You. You can¡¯t resist it!¡± Chi You didn¡¯t care about Chi You¡¯s opinion. Would he stop just because Chi You asked him to?

    He must do it!

    All of the ck branches reached for Chi You.

    One of his arms was entangled instantly.

    The ck branches on Chi You¡¯s right leg and one of his arms kept creeping towards his body, rendering him immobile.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his overly massive body, he would have long been entangledpletely.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re pushing me too far!¡± Chi You was panicking. He was overwhelmed by fear, and countless images appeared in his mind in an instant.

    It was the ancient battlefield ¨C bloody and ruthless.

    He once stood at the top of the world. He won countless battles and conquered the powerful Jiu Li Settlement. Furthermore, he defeated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan again and again.

    If Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens hadn¡¯t appeared so suddenly, he would have be the ruler of the world since a long time ago.

    Tens of millions of years of imprisonment...

    He waited underneath Changyang Mountain alone, and finally, after waiting for tens of millions of years, he sessfully managed to escape.

    Back to where he came from?

    How could he ept that?

    He didn¡¯t even want to be imprisoned for another second, much less tens of millions of years.

    That kind of pain, loneliness, and despair...

    He¡¯d never want to relive that moment again.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I won¡¯t forgive you!¡± Yelled Chi You. Then, his entire body actually shrank by half.

    In the meantime, he seemed to have gone through a metamorphosis, and a gigantic meatball fell out of his body.

    The meatball transformed.

    It turned into another Chi You in an instant.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. ¡®What¡¯s going on? Is he giving birth?¡¯

    Even Chi Guyan and the rest were startled. ¡®Chi You split into two?¡¯

    Chi You¡¯s body did shrink proportionately.

    However, what exactly was going on?

    While everyone was confused and dumbfounded, Chi You started splitting once again. Two turned into four, and four turned into eight. Yet, that wasn¡¯t the end.

    His body also shrank continuously in the meantime.

    Eventually...

    The sky was full of Chi You¡¯s bodies.

    81!

    There were 81 Chi You.

    ¡°Chi You¡¯s brothers?!¡±

    ¡°Could his brothers actually be Chi You himself?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were stunned.

    They had actually seen this before during the ancient times. However, they thought that they were Chi You¡¯s brothers back then.

    But now, they realized the truth.

    The 81 brothers were actually the same person.

    They were all Chi You.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you can¡¯t imprison me!¡± Instead of fighting, Chi You started escaping in all directions after he split into 81 bodies.

    ¡°Trying to run?¡± Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    He thought that Chi You was going to challenge him to a final fight after splitting into 81 bodies. He didn¡¯t expect him to run.

    ¡®Leaving behind one of his bodies so that the rest could get away?¡¯

    ¡°Chi You, you can¡¯t get away!¡± Fang Zhengzhi stopped holding back when he saw that Chi You was going to run away. Origin Energy started pouring out of his body.

    ¡°Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Mountain!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As he shouted continuously, countless mountains started appearing out of nowhere. Every five mountains turned into a Five Elements Formation, and he actually created 81 Five Elements Formation in just a mere moment.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons werepletely speechless.

    Chi You was also stumped. He had never expected that Fang Zhengzhi was capable of trapping all of his 81 bodies.

    He wasn¡¯t going to show him any mercy.

    Although Chi You knew that if they swapped positions, he also wouldn¡¯t let Fang Zhengzhi escape, he still panicked.

    On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi had already made his move.

    Since Chi You¡¯s body became smaller due to the splitting, the ck tree branch could imprison his body quickly now.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The first Chi You let out a scream and fell to the ground.

    He was followed by the second one.

    The third one...

    As Fang Zhengzhi moved, seven or eight of Chi You¡¯s bodies became imprisoned by the ck branch in just a couple of seconds and fell back into theva underneath Changyang Mountain.

    That wasn¡¯t the end.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Still trying to run?¡± Fang Zhengzhi wouldn¡¯t give Chi You an opportunity to escape because if he did, the entire world would be doomed.

    Chi You¡¯s face turned cker and cker.

    He was growing weaker as Fang Zhengzhi imprisoned more and more of his bodies. He knew that he would really be imprisoned if this went on.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, do you want to imprison me to protect this world? Well... Very well. In that case, I¡¯ll destroy this world and drag you down to hell with me!¡± Chi You¡¯s eyes were red as blood.

    He didn¡¯t want to be imprisoned.

    He¡¯d rather die.

    Therefore, he had chosen to die and destroy the world together with himself.

    Boom!

    One of Chi You¡¯s bodies blew up.

    It was self-destruction.

    It waspletely different from being killed. All of his Demonic energy was released, and even his soul was destroyed, along with any hope of resurrecting himself in the future.

    That massive explosion shook heaven and earth.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°Chi You is actuallymitting suicide?¡±

    ¡°What is he trying to do?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were horrified.

    For some reason, after Chi You blew himself up, they could clearly sense something wrong in the sky above Heaven Zen Mountain.

    ¡°Chi You¡¯s body and soul have fused with the Source of God. Through self-destruction, he wants to destroy the Source of God, and in turn, destroy the world!¡± Yun Qingwu replied.

    ¡°Destroy the world?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Both Ping Yang and Yan Xiu were shocked.

    Chi Guyan clenched her fists at this moment.

    That was right.

    If Chi You was really going to self-destruct, he would definitely die. However, the entire world would also be obliterated.

    Boom! There was another explosion.

    Another one of Chi You¡¯s bodies blew up.

    Heaven and earth finally started trembling. Bolts of lightning shed across the sky as if it was being ripped open.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi You had clearly gone mad.

    His bodies in theva, which had already been imprisoned, exploded and cracked the ground open. Lava surged into the air and sttered in all directions.

    The trees in the distance were ignited by theva and turned red-hot.

    In the meantime, the bloody sun in the sky started to darken and it gradually turned ck, as if there was a sr eclipse.

    ¡°We have to stop him!¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t, Cosmic Disaster will befall the world once again!¡±

    ¡°The ancient tragedy will repeat itself and the world will be turning into living hell!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were terrified.

    However, who could stop Chi You from blowing himself up?

    Self-destruction was enabled by one¡¯s mind. Even though Fang Zhengzhi could seal Chi You¡¯s body and power up, it was impossible for him to control his thoughts.

    As long as Chi You wanted to blow himself up, no one could stop him.

    Boom! The ground cracked.

    Boilingva was surging out of the ground and spreading towards all directions like a flood. Meanwhile, the bloody sun in the sky had be as dark as a massive ck hole.

    Soon, a tiny ck spot appeared below the ck hole.

    The tiny ck spot was getting bigger and bigger.

    Then, it burst into mes.

    Boom! The ground cracked open in the distance. A gigantic asteroid descended from the sky and left an enormous crater in the ground.

    ¡°The Cosmic Disaster is upon us!¡±

    ¡°The world is really going to be destroyed!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons went into hysterics.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi was staring at the asteroid that had fallen from the sky, and his mind was upied with countless thoughts.

    ¡®The Cosmic Disaster is upon us?¡¯

    ¡®Is this the Cosmic Disaster that urred during ancient times?¡¯

    ¡®Isn¡¯t this damn thing actually the legendary meteorite shower?¡¯

    He clearly remembered that there was an era before the human civilization was formed, which was called the Mesozoic Era in his previous world.

    That era was ended by a meteorite shower.

    The ancient Cosmic Disaster...

    Was a meteorite shower!

    This seemed to be the sh of the two worlds¡¯ cultures. In this world¡¯s context, this was the inescapable Cosmic Disaster that would destroy the world.

    However, ording to the exnation in his previous world, the Cosmic Disaster is a meteorite shower.

    ¡°I got it, I got it!¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. He finally realized that there weren¡¯t two different worlds. They were the same world, in the sense that they were in the same universe.

    The earth was shaking, andva surged out of the ground. That led to certain fundamental changes in the world. For example, its gravity.

    Do you know about Newton¡¯sw of universal gravitation?

    The world¡¯s gravity changed. It became incredibly strong, thus attracting the meteorites in the gxy. That was why they mmed into the earth.

    This was science!

    It came from studying!

    How could you understand science without studying?

    Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt lucky that he studied enough to understand the true nature of the Cosmic Disaster, as well as the fundamental principles of the world.

    ¡°Chi You, you can¡¯t destroy the world!¡± Fang Zhengzhi suddenly turned aggressive and charged towards Chi You, who was in the process of blowing himself up.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Chi You was both surprised and overjoyed when he saw Fang Zhengzhi charging towards him.

    He was surprised that Fang Zhengzhi was digging his own grave by approaching him.

    He was overjoyed because once he killed Fang Zhengzhi, he could still regain his strength even though 90% of his body was destroyed. It meant that one day, he would be the ruler of the world.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The body that was closest to Fang Zhengzhi exploded.

    The massive impact rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi like an ocean wave.

    However, with a simple wave of his hand, Fang Zhengzhi absorbed the impact. It disappeared without a trace almost instantaneously.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Chi You was dumbfounded.

    Unwilling to give up, he blew up another body.

    Boom!

    The same thing happened.

    In the meantime, he suddenly discovered that he was losing his strength rapidly. It felt like something in his body was being stripped away.

    It waspletely stripped away from both his body and soul.

    Chi You turned incredible pale immediately.

    That was because it was the Source of God.

    The Source of God, which had fused with his body and soul, was actually being stripped away from him, and its power was gradually taken from him.

    Lava was still surging out of the ground.

    However, Chi You¡¯s heart had sunken to the pit of his stomach like a block of ice.

    ¡°Why? Why is this happening? I don¡¯t understand, I don¡¯t understand!¡± Chi You couldn¡¯t believe it, and he didn¡¯t want to ept the truth. He had no idea why this was happening.

    ¡°Do you know why you could fuse with the Source of God?¡± Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of Chi You. He had already regained hisposure.

    ¡°What... What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Everything in the world can change, and that includes the Source of God. You adapted to the Source of God¡¯s changes at the appropriate time, hence the two of you fused into one.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t understand what you are talking about.¡±

    ¡°A tree could fuse with a rock. Simrly, a sword could fuse with another sword. As long as certain conditions, or rather, rules, are met, it could happen.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chi You¡¯s eyes became wide open.

    ¡°Taking two swords for example. Fusing them together is extremely simple. As long as you melt the swords with enough heat, they would naturally fuse with each other after they turn into molten metal. The same thing happened between you and the Source of God. Since you could fuse together, it¡¯s only natural that the two of you could be separated.¡±

    ¡°What, what are you trying to do?¡± Chi You finally understood him a little.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually very easy to kill you. As long as I find a way to separate the Source of God from you, you¡¯d no longer be indestructible! This is the power of science!¡±

    ¡°Science? What¡¯s that?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never studied in your life, so you won¡¯t understand. Remember this ¨C if you ever reincarnate, master science because it¡¯s very useful!¡±

    Without further ado, Fang Zhengzhi ced his hand on Chi You.

    Then, something strange happened. Chi You¡¯s separated bodies began fusing into one once again at a terrifying rate.

    Boom! Chi You¡¯s body increased in size tremendously.

    He became powerful again.

    However, he was filled with despair. He didn¡¯t know where he went wrong, and he also didn¡¯t understand why Fang Zhengzhi was capable of doing that.

    However, if a word could be used to describe his current feeling, it would be ¡®scared¡¯.

    It came from the bottom of his soul.

    ¡°No!!! I want all of you to die me! Die with me!¡± Chi You yelled. He couldn¡¯t ept that he was going to die at the hands of Fang Zhengzhi just like that.

    However, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand had already made another move.

    It was just like a giant vacuum, sucking the Source of God out from his body, stripping him of his powerpletely.

    ¡°You demon. You are a demon!¡± Chi You¡¯s body was shrinking again, but unlike before, it wasn¡¯t because he was splitting up.

    He was truly decreasing in size.

    His body was shrinking continuously because he was losing his power rapidly.

    Eventually, a radiance that was as bright as the sun rushed out of Chi You¡¯s body and lit up the bloody sun in the sky.

    Source of God!

    That was not the sun.

    That radiance was the Source of God.

    It was the source of life of all matters in the world, and also the source of all reiki. It nurtured and sustained everything in the world, and vice versa.

    It was the endless cycle of life.

 Chapter 1116 - Mending the Sky

    Chapter 1116: Mending the Sky

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°No!¡± Chi You shouted.

    Then, his body became incredibly red as if it was burning within. His entire body seemed to have be a gigantic furnace.

    Boom!

    Chi You¡¯s massive body blew uppletely.

    He chose to self-destruct at the moment the Source of God left his body. He wanted to use thest ounce of his strength to destroy the world and everything that was part of it.

    Rumble!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    The ground beneath Chi You cracked open towards all directions andva started pouring out of the underground like a bunch of waterspouts. The entire Changyang Mountain was affected.

    The impact was even spreading beyond the mountain.

    Thest explosion created a massive amount of power.

    Even Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t nullify the power instantly. He was blown away and only managed to regain his footing after flipping several rounds in the air.

    ¡°The ground is being destroyed!¡±

    ¡°The Cosmic Disaster... The Cosmic Disaster is upon us once again?!¡±

    ¡°Run, hurry up and run!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t run. We must stop the Cosmic Disaster. However... Who is going to lead us now?¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons were extremely distressed.

    However, many of them were honorable. They were still willing to do whatever it took to stop the Cosmic Disaster because they didn¡¯t want destruction to befall the world and its inhabitants.

    Soon, everyone was looking at Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Shameless thief, Mother Earth led everyone and stopped the Cosmic Disaster tens of millions of years ago. Since I carry her bloodline, this is my responsibility!¡± Chi Guyan suddenly uttered at this moment.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons instantly noticed her.

    That was right!

    Tens of millions of years ago, they followed Mother Earth¡¯s lead and sessfully stopped the Cosmic Disaster. Now that the Cosmic Disaster was upon the world once again, Chi Guyan, the one who possessed Mother Earth¡¯s bloodline, was the perfect choice.

    ¡°We¡¯re willing to follow Mother Earth¡¯s lead!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing!¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons nced at each other, and they all chose to agree with her.

    However, Ping Yang grabbed Chi Guyan¡¯s hand at this moment. She knew that Chi Guyan could do it, but Mother Earth expended everyst bit of her energy in order to stop the Cosmic Disaster tens of millions of years ago.

    Although Chi Guyan possessed Mother Earth¡¯s bloodline now, no one knew that... If she coulde back alive.

    ¡°No. Yan¡¯er, you don¡¯t have to go.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

    ¡°I have to go. Shameless thief, you are stronger than me, and this world still needs your protection. Although Chi You is dead, who knows if there are other Demon Gods or Monster Gods that have been sealed up?¡± Chi Guyan knew what Fang Zhengzhi was trying to say, but she insisted on her decision.

    ¡°Yup, Chi Guyan is right!¡±

    ¡°The greater the power, the greater the responsibility!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll stop the Cosmic Disaster. We were imprisoned in the gxy to begin with, so even if we are imprisoned once again... Haha, it is what it is.¡±

    Everyone nodded.

    Ping Yang didn¡¯t say another word, but she was extremely reluctant. She gazed at Chi Guyan silently as tears built up in her eyes.

    Chi Guyan caressed Ping Yang¡¯s hair and said with a smile, ¡°Ping Yang, you have to take care of the shameless thief from now on.¡±

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, I said that you don¡¯t have to go. It isn¡¯t just you. All the Godly Beasts and Demons don¡¯t have to go too.¡± Said Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what are you thinking of?¡±

    This time, everyone looked at Fang Zhengzhi with a confused expression.

    They could understand why he wanted to stop Chi Guyan.

    However, why did he want to stop everyone?

    Did Fang Zhengzhi intend to watch the world burn, or did he think that he could stop the Cosmic Disaster alone?

    That was impossible!

    Even during ancient times when Mother Earth was around, it was impossible for a single person to stop the Cosmic Disaster. Everyone had to work together.

    After all, it was the Cosmic Disaster!

    There were too many of them.

    Countless massive rocks, covered in mes, fell from the sky. They were extremely powerful. No matter how strong a person was, he couldn¡¯t stop the insane number of meteorites.

    ¡°Shameless thief, are you saying that...¡± Chi Guyan was also puzzled.

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m saying that I could stop this Cosmic Disaster alone.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head with certainty.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    All the Godly Beasts and Demons went ck-jawed.

    Even though they somewhat saw iting, they were still shocked when they actually heard the wordsing out of his mouth.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t this guy too cocky?¡¯

    ¡®The Cosmic Disaster is a huge number of rocks. Most importantly, it covers such a huge area. How could a single person stop it?¡¯

    ¡°Shameless thief, I know what you want to do, but there are so many of them... I think that...¡±

    ¡°If I do it the normal way, I certainly could not stop the Cosmic Disaster by myself. However, I can prevent the Cosmic Disaster from ever returning alone.¡± Fang Zhengzhi waved his hand.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?!¡±

    ¡°Prevent the Cosmic Disaster from ever returning?¡±

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and the others were as puzzled as the Godly Beasts and Demons.

    Fang Zhengzhi knew that he couldn¡¯t exin it now, but he had already grasped the true nature of the Cosmic Disaster.

    It was a meteorite shower!

    The meteorite shower was caused by the earth¡¯s gravity.

    To put it bluntly, before Chi You died, he exerted his greatest power and altered the orbit of this earth.

    It was the same reason why nuclear weapons were banned in the world in his previous life.

    When a nuclear weapon blew up on earth, it would actually alter the earth¡¯s orbit apart from harming the environment. If dozens of nuclear weapons were detonated at the same location, it might throw the earthpletely out of its orbit.

    Even secondary and primary school students knew about this logic in his previous life.

    However, it was extremely difficult to exin it to the inhabitants of this world.

    Fang Zhengzhi couldn¡¯t exin it, but he knew what to do. He just needed to correct this earth¡¯s orbit, which was altered by a massive power.

    Then, everything would return to normal.

    ¡°Shameless thief, can you really do it alone?¡± Chi Guyan gazed at Fang Zhengzhi. She could tell that he was serious.

    ¡°Yup, we¡¯vee so far, and I can¡¯t lose you guys anymore, not a single one of you.¡± Fang Zhengzhi nodded seriously.

    ¡°Shameless thief...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Chi Guyan fell silent.

    Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, and the rest also fell silent.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t say anything extremely heroic or noble, but they could all feel Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s care for them at this moment.

    There wasn¡¯t a need for even another word.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s attitude had already proven everything.

    ¡°Stopping the Cosmic Disaster by himself?¡±

    ¡°Can Fang Zhengzhi really do it?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons found it hard to believe.

    However, for some reason, they sensed an aura from Fang Zhengzhi. It was the aura of someone who was born to be a king.

    At this moment, they all lowered their heads.

    They bowed down to him... Willingly.

    They knew that if Fang Zhengzhi really managed to pull it off, he would be a real God in this world, an unsurpassable God.

    ¡°I, will stop the Cosmic Disaster!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at theva surging out of the ground, and he suddenly yelled, ¡°Earth!¡±

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡°...¡±

    After he yelled, a sky full of huge rocks appeared and fell towards theva, stopping it from surging out of the ground.

    However, there was so muchva, and these boulders weren¡¯t enough.

    ¡°Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Rock!¡±

    ¡°Earth!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi kept uttering one word after another, and countless rocks appeared in the sky and dropped down. Moreover, rocks were growing out of theva.

    It was as if they were living things.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    ¡°Wind!¡±

    ¡°Ice!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    A massive downpour appeared.

    A violent wind cooled theva rapidly.

    The ground finally began to calm down.

    ¡°...¡±

    The Godly Beasts and Demons held their breaths at this moment.

    Amazement.

    Heartfelt amazement.

    A single person could actually be powerful enough to fill up the ground and stop theva from pouring out. This scene showed them that Fang Zhengzhi was stronger than they could even imagine.

    However, massive rocks, covered in mes, were still falling from the sky, igniting the trees on the ground and spreading the fire towards all directions.

    Fang Zhengzhi looked up towards the sky at this moment.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, Ping Yang, Qingwu, Yu¡¯er, and Yan Xiu, wait for me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi rushed into the sky and towards the massive rocks.

    Boom!

    One of the rocks was blown to smithereens.

    However, the rubble didn¡¯t fall down. Instead, they turned to powder and permeated the air after Fang Zhengzhi pointed at them using an extraordinary technique.

    Buzz!

    Buzz!

    Enormous power kept descending from the sky.

    Rubbles filled the air.

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, and the rest were gazing at the sky.

    They could no longer see Fang Zhengzhi, but they could all sense the massive power that he constantly unleashed.

    A mysterious force seemed to be impacting the ground continuously.

    However, what was more mysterious... Was the fact that the ground wasn¡¯t going to crack open.

    That force was extremely gentle as if it was calming down the earth¡¯s pulse rate. It made people feel at ease.

    Strangely enough, they kept hearing loud noisesing from the sky.

    Fang Zhengzhi was fighting against the massive rocks that were falling.

    In the meantime, he was also slowly revitalizing the earth, its reiki, and its orbit. He was creating nutrients for the earth.

    Time passed by slowly.

    Two hours, four hours, six hours...

    The noises in the sky didn¡¯t stop.

    Chi Guyan, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, Yun Qingwu, and the rest didn¡¯t leave.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons also didn¡¯t leave.

    Everyone was waiting for the final conclusion of the Cosmic Disaster. Their faces were covered in sweat, and they were clearly nervous.

    ...

    A day passed.

    Two days passed.

    Three days passed.

    ...

    Seven days passed by in the blink of an eye.

    Changyang Mountain¡¯s earth had been scorched. The mes were put out and there weren¡¯t any more dust in the sky.

    That was because Fang Zhengzhi flew higher and higher while he was fighting against the Cosmic Disaster.

    ¡°Sister Yan, do you think he cane back?¡± Ping Yang stood on a huge rock and watched the sky as she asked Chi Guyan.

    ¡°He can.¡± Chi Guyan replied with certainty.

    ¡°But, it has already been seven days. Is he hungry? Did he run out of strength? He may be tired, should we help him...¡±

    ¡°Ping Yang, don¡¯t you trust him?¡±

    ¡°I... I do!¡± Ping Yang nodded with a firm expression.

    Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu were standing on a huge rock beside the two of them. They had also spent the past seven days here, but they never rested.

    They just stood on the rock silently for seven days and seven nights.

    The Godly Beasts and Demons found resting spots nearby. However, they didn¡¯t leave either. All of them were waiting patiently.

    There was no fighting.

    The world seemed to have restored its peacefulness once again.

    ¡°Qingwu, do you want something to eat.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s expression was full of motherly love as she ced a fruit in front of Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, mom.¡± Yun Qingwu shook her head.

    For seven days and seven nights, she didn¡¯t sleep or rest just like Chi Guyan and the others. She just stood there and waited quietly, and she didn¡¯t leave no matter how hard Baizhi tried to convince her.

    At this moment, an old man in a golden robe stuck his head out at the side, and his golden eyes were glowing faintly.

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t want it, why don¡¯t you give it to me?¡± The old man licked his lips.

    ¡°...¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi was a little speechless, but she still passed the fruit to him. However, she uttered in a slightly condescending tone, ¡°After all, you are still the number one Godly Beast of the ancient era, Xuanyuan Five. Can¡¯t you have a little pride?¡±

    ¡°Pride? I was wounded and almost beaten to death by Chi You. Where were you guys at that moment? You have the audacity to talk to me about pride?¡± Xuanyuan Five, who had turned into his human form, didn¡¯t care about what Baizhi said. He took the fruit and stuff it into his mouth angrily.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi didn¡¯t keep arguing with Xuanyuan Five.

    After all, Xuanyuan Five wasn¡¯t handsome after he turned into a man.

    He was so ugly!

    However, Xuanyuan Five himself didn¡¯t realize that. After loitering around Baizhi for a while more, he turned towards Nangong Mu, who was in the distance.

    ¡°Hey, the kid from Emperor Yan¡¯s family. I saved your life before. Does your Tree of God of bear any fruits? Why don¡¯t you give me some?¡± Xuanyuan Five stretched his neck out and said.

    ¡°...¡± Nangong Mu nced at Xuanyuan Five.

    Then...

    He stopped looking at him.

    He chose to ignore him.

    Xuanyuan Five got bored instantly. He knew that they were waiting, but they didn¡¯t even utter a single damn word. He had been stuck in the gxy for tens of millions of years, and he was lucky enough to survive Chi You¡¯s attack. Now that Chi You was dead, he was finally free. He wanted to talk to someone, but he realized that everyone was ignoring him.

    He was frustrated!

    ¡°Hey, Yun Qingwu, aren¡¯t you the child of both Demon and Monster race? Your mom is a Monster, in fact, she is the Monster Emperor. In that case, your dad is a Demon, and he should be the Demon Lord... By the way, why didn¡¯t I see your dad? Is your parents¡¯ rtionship bad? They quarreled, didn¡¯t they? Come, tell me all about it.¡± Xuanyuan Five found a spot, sat down, and raised his head while waiting for the story.

    However, his eyes became wide open as soon as he sat down and raised his head.

    ¡°Eh? A star is... Falling?¡±

 Chapter 1117 (END) - A New Journey (The End)

    <h4>Chapter 1117: A New Journey (The End)</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    ¡°A star?!¡±

    Everyone froze for a moment.

    There was actually a star falling from the sky rapidly. Even though it was daytime, they could still sense its dazzling radiance.

    ¡°He¡¯s back!¡±

    ¡°He really came back?!¡±

    ¡°He sessfully stopped the Cosmic Disaster by himself and came back?!¡±

    They were shocked, excited, and a little skeptical.

    However, it was true that Fang Zhengzhi came back. He descended from the sky like a star and eventuallynded softly in front of Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, and the rest.

    ¡°Are all of you waiting for me toe back before you start eating?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly and dusted his clothes.

    ¡°...¡±

    There was a moment of silence.

    Then, there was a thundering cheer.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced around him while everyone was cheering, and he eventually looked towards Xuanyuan Five, who was sitting on the ground, and said condescendingly, ¡°Eh? Who is that ugly bastard? Why haven¡¯t I seen him before?¡±

    ¡°Damn brat, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ...

    One monthter.

    There werenterns hanging all around Northern Mountain Vige, and every corner of the vige was filled with red silk cloth. Fang family¡¯s tiny courtyard had already been renovated into a massive mansion.

    Its red gates were embedded with gold and jade, and the two lions carved out of ck jade standing by the gates were extremely lifelike.

    This was a mansion that could rival even the royal pce.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind the bourgeois appearance because he was an uncultured man to begin with. Therefore, he wanted his mansion to be as extravagant and luxurious as possible. He was extremely close to carving all of the toilet bowls out of jade.

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were actually a little worried.

    However, when they saw the new emperor, Lin Yun, smiling so brightly, the butterflies in their stomachs disappeared.

    ¡°Brat, is it really ok to be so high-profile?¡± Xuanyuan Five nced at the mansion gates that were even taller than castle walls and felt a little speechless.

    ¡°You want me to keep a low-profile? That¡¯s impossible. By the way, didn¡¯t Lin Yun say that he would send me 3000 night pearls? Why aren¡¯t they here yet? Is he going back on his words?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pursed his lips. He turned around and was about to charge towards Lin Yun¡¯s ce to question him about it.

    ¡°Low... ss!¡± Xuanyuan Five shook his head. Then, he seemed to have suddenly remembered something and uttered, ¡°Hey, brat, can you give me 300 of those night pearls?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi gave Xuanyuan Five the finger without a second thought.

    However, when he was heading towards Lin Yun¡¯s room, he suddenly saw two people standing shoulder to shoulder at the doorway.

    It was a man and a woman.

    Both of them looked fairly calm.

    However, they were holding hands and standing at an obvious spot by the door as if they were waiting for someone.

    They were Yan Xiu and Qing Yi.

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed a little. He looked at them and coughed softly when he ultimately failed to keep quiet.

    The two of them turned back at the same moment.

    Qing Yi¡¯s expression obviously changed and she intuitively withdrew her hand.

    However, instead of letting go of her hand, Yan Xiu pulled Qing Yi into his arms and walked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I¡¯ve to return to Western Liang in two days.¡± Said Yan Xiu.

    ¡°So urgent?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯ve already notified them, and they are preparing for it.¡±

    ¡°Preparing for what?¡±

    ¡°I gave you 10,000 Western Liang war horses as a wedding gift. Since you don¡¯t have any use for them, why don¡¯t them give them back to me in a few days?¡± Yan Xiu smiled and said.

    ¡°So, I have to return 10,000 Western Liang war horses after they ate at my ce for half a month? Moreover, I¡¯ve to gift you a Sword Attendant who¡¯s at Sage State? Oh, that¡¯s right, I have to call her sister-inw now. Tell me honestly, when did the two of you start going out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯m older than you, so you have to call Qing Yi ¡®big sister¡¯.¡± Yan Xiu corrected him.

    ¡°No matter what, I feel like I drew the short straw.¡±

    Rumble!

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, they heard the thundering sound of galloping hoovesing from beyond the vige.

    Then, five long lines of people in bright red clothing rushed into the vige. They were extremely rowdy, and a festive mood permeated the air.

    ¡°The brides and their parties are finally here!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and check out the brides!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Zhengzhi is such a lucky man.¡±

    The vigers rushed out immediately, and all of them were smiling brightly.

    ¡°Lucky? The five of them aren¡¯t easy ones to please...¡± Fang Zhengzhi watched the parties that entered the vige one by one, and a bittered look gradually appeared on his face.

    The first one that came in was naturally the Northern Lands Divine Constabry that was escorted by the Iron Feather Guards. Northern Lands¡¯ Marquis Chi was standing at the front of the party, and his smile looked like a blooming peony.

    His aura was telling people that he was at the top of the world.

    There were four long and parallel lines following close behind.

    The party of Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor, Lin Mubai.

    The party of Shadow Sect.

    The party of Southern Region.

    Then, there was the most ridiculous-looking party.

    Nine gigantic beasts of different colors, each exuding a dazzling radiance, were pping their wings and pulling a massive golden carriage in the sky.

    There were many enormous figures following behind the golden carriage.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, wearing a snow-white fur dress that highlighted her curves, was standing on the back of a Godly Beast. She nced around and eventually looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I only have one request. The first door you enter tonight must be the door of Qingwu¡¯s room!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi said that with a cold expression.

    ¡°Why does he have to pick your daughter? Do you really think Ling Yun Tower is for show?¡± Qian Yu replied unhappily before Fang Zhengzhi managed to say a word.

    She rushed out from the bride¡¯s party straightaway.

    Her silver dress swayed in the wind, and she looked extremely majestic.

    ¡°Can you beat me?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi replied in a condescending tone.

    ¡°I can.¡± A voice came out of the carriage at the front. Although it wasn¡¯t loud, it suppressed all the other voices in the area.

    It was Chi Guyan.

    She didn¡¯t walk out of her carriage.

    However, she shut everyone¡¯s mouth with a single sentence.

    Northern Lands¡¯s Marquis Chi intuitively extended his neck out and nced around, thinking, ¡®You guys think you¡¯re good? Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s princess, Young Lord of the Demon Race, Leader of Shadow Sect, and Southern Region¡¯s king. So what? I only have one daughter, yet all of you have to stay behind me!¡±

    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud.

    There was nothing but silence.

    It was a little awkward.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned even more bitter. It was extremely troublesome to marry five women at once.

    Marrying Chi Guyan was a must. Ping Yang wanted to marry him no matter what, so he didn¡¯t have a choice. Wu Yuer, on the other hand, kept bothering him. She was going to cry if he didn¡¯t marry her, so he had to.

    As for Yun Qingwu and King of the Southern Region, Shan Yu, the circumstances were kind of bizarre.

    Marrying Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t an unreasonable choice, after all, it was for the sake of world peace. He had to care about Monster Race¡¯s and Demon Race¡¯s standing in the world, so he didn¡¯t mind.

    Shan Yu was a different story.

    While they were fighting at Changyang Mountain, Shan Yu actually stayed in Northern Mountain Vige and treated Qin Xuelian so well that she got used to calling her ¡®daughter-inw¡¯.

    When he returned to Northern Mountain Vige...

    The matter was already out of his control.

    ¡®Five of them...¡¯

    ¡®One too many for Mahjong, and two too many for Fight the Landlord. How am I going to y games in the future?¡¯

    ¡®Is there a game for five people?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi actually missed his previous world sometimes as it had everything. Even though this ce was luxurious andvish, it wasn¡¯t enough to fill the void in his heart.

    ...

    It was nighttime, and lights filled the vige.

    The grand wedding finally began.

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were sitting on the ce of honor, their faces were bright red because they couldn¡¯t stop smiling while looking at their five daughters-inw, who were kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Come on, Yan¡¯er, Yang¡¯er, Yu¡¯er, Qingwu, and Yu¡¯er, get up.¡±

    ¡°Yup, you can get up.¡± Fang Houde was also smiling.

    ¡°Thank you, father! Thank you, mother!¡± The five of them stood up simultaneously. Then, they turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°Greetings, hubby!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, my brides...¡± Fang Zhengzhi bowed.

    The music started.

    The ceremony waspleted.

    This weddingsted a long time. There were guests from all around the world, filling the entire Fang family¡¯s residence withughter and joy.

    Finally, night fell.

    It was time for a difficult decision.

    Fang Zhengzhi came to a road with five different paths. He was conflicted, lost, and full of hesitation. At this moment, he felt like this was more painful than fighting Chi You back then.

    Fighting Chi You was a temporary pain.

    However, if he made the wrong choice tonight, god knows if he would suffer every night from now on.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er is great. Qingwu works too. Ping Yang... She¡¯s fine. Yu¡¯er definitely knows how to please me. Shan Yu... Her body is fantastic. So, who should I pick?¡±

    Confliction!

    More confliction!

    Neverending confliction!

    ¡°...¡±

    After feeling conflicted for a full 15 minutes...

    He suddenly realized that... He actually never had a choice.

    He realized that it was an illusion.

    He thought that he had a choice, but as it turned out, he actually didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Alright, since I don¡¯t have a choice, I don¡¯t have to be conflicted about this.¡± Fang Zhengzhi followed the path at the center and soon arrived at a room.

    There were red candles burning inside the room.

    The candles¡¯ radiance even decorated the moonlight with a joyous mood.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, I...¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened the door softly and walked into the room. However, his eyes became wide open before he even finished his sentence.

    That was because there were actually five people in Chi Guyan¡¯s room.

    They were sitting in a row.

    Their heads were all covered with red veils.

    ¡°I knew it. Sister Yan, you¡¯re great. You easily guessed that the shameless brat would being to your room.¡± Ping Yang uttered.

    ¡°Yup, sister Yan is great!¡± Wu Yuer immediately nodded.

    ¡°Sister Yan shall be our head!¡± Shan Yu also joined in.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t say anything, but she nodded and gave her silent approval.

    ¡°He won¡¯t dare to go anywhere else!¡± Chi Guyan raised the veil on her head at this moment and stared at Fang Zhengzhi with her dazzling eyes.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as brightly as the sun and said, ¡°Are the five of you going to... Do it... Do it together?¡±

    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t you handle us?¡±

    ¡°I can. I definitely can!¡±

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha... My wives, I¡¯ming!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was overjoyed. He finally understood that all the confliction and choices weren¡¯t important.

    As long as Chi Guyan was here, she would arrange everything for him ordingly.

    ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± Just as he was about to pounce onto them, someone suddenly knocked on the door urgently. The impact almost broke the door.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was pissed off.

    ¡®It¡¯s ok to disturb us yfully!¡¯

    ¡®But you can¡¯t tear the door down!¡¯

    ¡°My lord, there¡¯s a big problem! An intruder barged in and we couldn¡¯t stop him!¡± It was obviously a Divine Constabry¡¯s soldier that was in charge of maintaining safety at the wedding.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t stop him? There¡¯s someone that can forcefully barge into my mansion?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually a little astonished.

    At this moment, there were close to a hundred Godly Beasts and Gods of the Demon Race in his mansion. Qian Yu, Monster Emperor Baizhi, and the others also hadn¡¯t made their leave yet.

    Who could possibly intrude the mansion?!

    ¡°Yes. That man is really powerful. He immobilized Divine Lord just by raising his hand. It happened to Lord Qian Yu and the Monster Emperor too... All of them were...¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Did another bastarde back to life again?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi was pissed off, he wasn¡¯t going to look down on that man.

    ¡®Even Monster Emperor Baizhi couldn¡¯t stop him...¡¯

    ¡®Who could it possibly be?¡¯

    Boom! At this moment, he heard a bang outside his room.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.

    ¡°Ladies, wait for me. I¡¯m leaving for a while, but I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened the door and exited the room right after he said that.

    ¡®A single second on the night of a wedding is worth a thousand dors.¡¯

    ¡®How dare you disturb me tonight...¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m going to kill you!¡¯

    As soon as he walked out of the room, Fang Zhengzhi saw a man in a turquoise long robe bathing in the moonlight. He was slim and tall.

    It was a young man.

    He was about 20 years old, and his lips curled into a faint smile.

    ¡°I calcted the time and figured that you would be in the midst of enjoying your wedding night, so here I am. You won¡¯t mind, would you?¡± The young man said that with a smile.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡®Bastard, you are clearly here for trouble, aren¡¯t you?¡¯

    ¡°Are you a little pissed off?¡± The young man continued.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists.

    ¡°Do you want a fight?¡± He nodded as if he was oblivious to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t want to destroy the nts in my mansion. Can you fly to the sky?¡± This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi met such a cocky fellow.

    ¡°The sky? Of course, that¡¯s where I live, ¡± the young man nodded, and he mumbled to himself, ¡°When did the moon appear? I toast to heaven and asked, wondering what date is it in the pce above the sky. Song Dynasty, Su Shi*. Oh, that¡¯s right, this poem made into a song before. Do you like Wang Fei**?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze.

    ¡®Song Dynasty, Su Shi!¡¯

    ¡®Wang Fei!¡¯

    ¡®Such familiar names!¡¯

    This was the second time he heard something like this. The first time was when Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens talked to him, but he didn¡¯t get an answer back then.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°My name is Lin Yi.¡± The young man didn¡¯t lie.

    ¡°Where did you...¡±

    ¡°You can stop guessing. I came from the same ce as you, and I can tell you that I am the one who created this world.¡±

    ¡°You created it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi would never believe bullshit like this two months ago. However, at this moment, he was convinced.

    ¡®A person that came from the same ce as me.¡¯

    ¡®Created this world!¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s why this world contains the Four Books and Five ssics, as well as all sorts of famous ancient sayings...¡¯

    ¡®However, all of them were summed up into one.¡¯

    ¡®The ¡°Law of Dao¡±!¡¯

    ¡°Do you want to follow my lead, create a world, rise above the Six Rebirth Dao, and attain eternal life?¡± Lin Yi found a ce and sat down. Then, he created a stone table, two cups, and a white-jade bottle that was full of delicious alcohol just by sticking his hand out.

    ¡°I can attain eternal life just by creating a world?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Then, he sat down and grabbed one of the cups.

    Lin Yi didn¡¯t stop him.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished his drink, Lin Yi refilled his cup.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be like you.¡± After finishing another cup, Fang Zhengzhi paused for a moment and shook his head slowly.

    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t you want eternal life? With your current power, it isn¡¯t very difficult to create a world. You understand the essence of the formation of a world, and you possess the ability to create all matters. Given tens of millions of years, you¡¯d definitely be able to create a world that belongs to you.¡± Lin Yi was a little surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s too troublesome.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    ¡°Troublesome?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s troublesome? It takes time for a rock to turn into a mountain and a tree into a forest. Why would I waste my time on something so boring and troublesome? Moreover, I might end up just like you, creating a world that is iplete and wasting all of my time in the process.¡±

    ¡°It seems like you have a deep understanding of this. However, you can¡¯t live forever without your own world.¡±

    ¡°Well... You don¡¯t have to create one.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What are you thinking of?¡± Lin Yi wasn¡¯t surprised to hear him this time. Instead, he was looking at Fang Zhengzhi with a smile and an interested expression.

    ¡°I could rob one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer was simple and straightforward.

    ¡°Hahaha..¡± Lin Yiughed unrestrainedly. Then, he grabbed the cup in front of him, emptied the drink in one breath, and asked, ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°Is there another possible option?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy to rob that world.¡±

    ¡°How difficult is it?¡±

    ¡°I will tell you that I¡¯ve thought of the same idea before, but Tai Bai wouldn¡¯t agree to it no matter what. He said something along the lines of ¡®Why do we have to torment each other even though we share the same roots¡¯. After that, I tried it once personally and it ended... Er, that¡¯s roughly what had happened.¡± Lin Yi smiled and didn¡¯t continue his story.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Tai Bai?¡±

    ¡°A senior.¡± Lin Yi exined.

    ¡°Oh. What if the two of us work together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask another question.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Yi rubbed his hands together, and his eyes lit up as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to be well-prepared in that case. When do you n to do it? I can lead the way. Actually, we could do it now since I have already made the necessary preparations before I came here.¡±

    ¡°The tenth of July.¡±

    ¡°Why must it be on the tenth of July?¡±

    ¡°Because that day¡¯s weather is good.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further. He simply nced at the moon in the sky and uttered, ¡°Earth, huh? Hehe... I¡¯ming!¡±

    *Su Shi was an actual poet in Song Dynasty.

    ** Wang Fei is a Chinese singer who is currently still alive.

 Chapter 1093: â€œTwo Swordsâ€ Was Really â€œCheapâ€

    <h4>Chapter 1093: ¡°Two Swords¡± Was Really ¡°Cheap¡±</h4>

    If the sword radiance alone could hurt a Godly State Expert, what would happen if one got struck by this sword?

    It was unimaginable!

    Qiong Qi, Hong You, and the Godly Experts of the Monster Race and Demon Race all could not believe it. They looked closely at the golden long sword in Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s hand.

    Soon, the golden radiance disappeared and turned into streams of light which blended into the hit and flowed along the entire sword.

    ¡°Could that be¡­¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°How could that be possible?!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race, including Qiong Qi and Hong You, were stunned as they stood rooted to the ground and looked in fear.

    That was because they saw how the sword looked like.

    A clear pattern was flowing on both sides of the sword de. One side had nts and looked so real that it made one¡¯s heart shudder.

    On the other side, there were sun and stars. The sun and stars were engraved on the sword and countless of stars emitted an eye-catching radiance.

    As for the hilt¡­

    There were many symbols flowing on it.

    One could not tell clearly but all of the monsters and demons knew what was written on the sword. One side was about the skills needed for farming while the other side was about how to conquer the world.

    That was because it was the Xuanyuan Sword!

    ¡°Xuanyuan Sword?!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? How can he be holding onto the Xuanyuan Sword?!¡±

    ¡°Could he be¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were astonished.

    Besides them, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five also widened his eyes as he was way too familiar with the aura exuded by the sword.

    Xuanyuan Sword!

    It was really the Xuanyuan Sword!

    Could this brat really be¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan!¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked around and raised his Xuanyuan Sword above his head.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race fell silent.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu as well as Mu Qingfeng, also fell silent.

    When they saw Fang Zhengzhi raise his Xuanyuan Sword, they had spected that Fang Zhengzhi was rted to Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    However, that was merely spection.

    Why did he admit it on his own?!

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s voice echoed in the Changyang Mountain. However, the atmosphere around him was extremely strange. The Monster Race and Demon Race, Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five and Ping Yang all gave a strange look.

    ¡°I have the Xuanyuan Sword, do you guys still not believe me?¡± Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Monster Race and Demon Race and raised his Xuanyuan Sword even higher.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Nobody spoke.

    ¡°I have already said. I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, do all of you still not bow down to me? Do all of you want to die?¡± Fang Zhengzhi said sternly.

    ¡°¡­¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race exchanged gazes and nobody dared to talk or move forward.

    Fang Zhengzhi frowned.

    What was going on?

    Was he not acting like Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    All of them clearly looked extremely afraid when they saw the Xuanyuan Sword and shouted ¡®Xuanyuan Sword¡¯ instinctively.

    Was that not sufficient to scare them?

    They still did not treat him as Emperor Huang Xuanyuan?

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to use this time of their hesitation to prepare and raise his sword higher so everyone could see it more clearly.

    The sword he was holding was indeed the Xuanyuan Sword.

    However, at this moment, a furious roar ruined his n.

    ¡°Ah¡­ You are Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, why do you want to hurt me, why, kill, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± This voice was very deep but loud.

    Then, a gigantic figure ran towards Fang Zhengzhi. He was as fast as a charging horse and reached Fang Zhengzhi in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s mouth twitched.

    So, he spent so much effort acting, and instead of persuading the powerful monsters and demons, he ended up persuading the ¡°headless creature¡±, Xing Tian?

    What the f*ck!

    He really thought he was the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and came over to interrogate him about why he hurt him and wanted to take revenge?

    How naive!

    ¡®How do I f*cking know the reason why Emperor Huang Xuanyuan wanted to hurt you?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi wanted to protest from extreme dissatisfaction because, by right, the Monster Race and Demon Race should tremble and fall to their knees when he shouted, ¡®I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡¯.

    Then, they would hail Emperor Huang¡­

    Although he did not know if there was something like hailing the Emperor, there definitely should not be silence.

    Of course, he had to attack the rash Xing Tian.

    ¡°Xing Tian, how dare you!¡± Fang Zhengzhi continued to act and did not retreat. He intentionally exuded a golden radiance from his body which merged with the Xuanyuan Sword.

    Then, he went up against Xing Tian¡¯s gigantic ax.

    Boom!

    Xing Tian took five steps back.

    Fang Zhengzhi also moved back slightly but unlike Xing Tian, he only took one step back.

    One step versus five steps!

    That was insane!

    ¡°Gasp!¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race, including Qiong Qi and Hong You took a deep breath. Thy did not expect Xing Tian to be the one suffering loss from this battle.

    Was it because of the Xuanyuan Sword?

    No!

    The Xuanyuan Sword was only one of the reasons. The greater reason was that Fang Zhengzhi was really powerful and was able to fight against Xing. Tian

    It was too terrifying.

    Didn¡¯t he just enter the Godly State?!

    He managed to fight against Xing Tian, the ancient Battle God. Moreover, he had the advantage in terms of power during the one versus one battle.

    How terrifying was that?

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him live!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s kill him together before his injuries healedpletely!¡±

    Qiong Qi and Hong You made theirmands. Both of them looked shocked but despite that, all of them looked extremely fierce.

    ¡°¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes twitched.

    They coborated again?!

    What on earth was happening?

    ¡®Is the name of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan not useful? Despite knowing that I am the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, they still wanted to kill me?¡¯

    Wait a minute.

    Talking about Emperor Huang Xuanyuan¡­

    It really seemed to be not useful in front of the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Fang Zhengzhi realized suddenly that in the ancient era, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan represented the humans as he was the leader and representative of the humankind.

    In the ancient battle, Emperor Huang Xuanyuan had led the humans to fight against the Monster Race and Demon Race, thereby triggering the Cosmic Disaster. The three races only managed to reach a ceasefire thanks to Mother Earth¡¯s leadership.

    Therefore, they really did not have a good rtionship. It was a wrong step taken by Fang Zhengzhi, he should not have said he was the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    He should say that he was¡­

    ¡°Hold on, Xuanyuan Five, who is the leader of the Monster Race and Demon Race?¡± Fang Zhengzhi took a look at the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five who had his eyes wide open.

    ¡°¡­¡± Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was evidently stunned before he shook his head. ¡°Brat, you should look around you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe,¡± Fang Zhengzhiughed. He knew what the Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five was referring to. As Qiong Qi and Hong You coborated, he was already surrounded by the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five hade to Fang Zhengzhi with Mu Qingfeng.

    Meanwhile, Ping Yang, Yan Xiu, as well as Monster Emperor Baizhi had made use of the time in between to go beside Fang Zhengzhi.

    A battle between the humans and the Monster Race and Demon Race took ce.

    The only ¡°heresy¡± was Xing Tian and Nangong Mu who was lying on Xing Tian¡¯s shoulders.

    Xing Tian¡¯s build was huge and he upied a space immediately. Meanwhile, the other positions were upied by Qiong Qi, Tao Wu and Hong You.

    They trapped Fang Zhengzhi and the rest from all directions.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, what do you want to do?¡± said Monster Emperor Baizhi. As the Nine-Tailed White Fox, she did not have to get involved in such a battle.

    However, she got involved in this.

    Based on her agreement with Fang Zhengzhi, she would only help Yan Xiu temporarily and be his temporary ¡°horse¡±. She did not have to fight all out with the Monster Race and Demon Race.

    ¡°Of course, aspared to Monster Emperor Baizhi, Bi Fang was much more posed¡± and did not question at all as she had not retreated.

    If Ping Yang lived, she would live. If Ping Yang died, she would die.

    ¡°What do we do? Bai¡­ Auntie Baizhi, what should I do?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was somewhat surprised by Monster Emperor Baizhi¡¯s question and asked instinctively.

    ¡°Did you call me ¡®auntie¡¯?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi as surprised too. However, they were not on the same line.

    ¡°Then should I call you an old wretch?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, call me Auntie.¡±

    ¡°So what should we do, Auntie?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled and asked again.

    ¡°I am asking you that question!¡± said Monster Emperor Baizhi angrily.

    ¡°Haha¡­ Alright, since Auntie is asking me, I shall be frank. It¡¯s simple, kill whoever whoes and attack!¡± Fang Zhengzhi sounded calm.

    ¡°¡­¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi moved her mouth and wanted to say something but swallowed her words.

    ¡®You are good!¡¯

    ¡®You can go ahead and kill!¡¯

    There were dozens of Godly Beasts and nearly 200 powerful demons there. No matter how powerful one was, he would have limited strength, right?

    Could he really kill everyone?

    Just as Monster Emperor Baizhi was thinking about that, a ¡°swoosh¡± was heard and she discovered, to her horror, Fang Zhengzhi had already dashed out.

    He really went towards the Monster Race and Demon Race on his own.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian roared loudly and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi again.

    At this moment, Nangong Mu who was lying on his shoulder suddenly crawled up and looked as though he was in extreme agony.

    ¡°Xing Tian, don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t kill him. Don¡¯t kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡± Nangong Mu did not know how he managed to say this sentence but after he said it, he looked as though he was about to copse. He was covered with perspiration from head to toe, looking as though he had just gone through an exhausting battle.

    However, Xing Tian clearly did not bother to listen to Nangong Mu.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Xing Tian¡¯s voice was as loud as thunder. He came straight at Fang Zhengzhi andpletely disregarded what Nangong Mu said.

    He only had one thought in mind.

    Kill the reincarnated Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, Fang Zhengzhi!

    At this moment, Fang Zhengzhiughed.

    He did not seem to have the intention to retreat at all.

    Instead, he went towards Xing Tian.

    Then¡­

    Disappeared!

    Yes, he disappeared again.

    A soldier of the demon race appeared at Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s original position and was charging towards Xing Tian¡¯s ¡°face¡± mercilessly.

    Then, he was stunned.

    Then¡­

    There was no ¡®then¡¯.

    That was because Xing Tian¡¯s ax had already hit his head and sliced his body into half like cutting a watermelon.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Blood gushed out.

    Meanwhile, a person wearing blue robe appeared where the soldier of the demon race was at.

    It was none other than Fang Zhengzhi!

    There was another demon soldier in front of Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s ¡°face¡±.

    Like the demon soldier who died, his expression changed from one that was merciless to one that waspletely stunned.

    The reason was simple¡­

    Fang Zhengzhi had stabbed his forehead. With a sh of golden light, Fang Zhengzhipletely destroyed the mark on his forehead.

    ¡°I said earlier on, I will kill whoever whoes to attack me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi pressed his hand on the head of the demon soldier.

    Swoosh!

    The demon soldier fell straight onto the ground. He died with his eyes wide open.

    Everything happened too quickly.

    He could not react in time at all.

    Gasp!

    ¡°Is it the shifting forms technique of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao?!¡±

    ¡°The boundary¡­ The boundary of the Shifting Forms technique had expanded to cover twenty¡­ twenty feet!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race stared at Fang Zhengzhi nkly and cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.

    They had already figured out what Fang Zhengzhi wanted to do.

    Xing Tian was on the Monster Race and Demon Race¡¯s side?!

    That¡¯s right!

    It may have looked like that.

    However, when they went deeper into the details, they realized that Xing Tian, instead of killing Fang Zhengzhi, was being used by Fang Zhengzhi as another ¡°sword¡±.

    One sword was named Xuanyuan.

    One sword was named Xing Tian.

    After performing the Shifting Forms technique, Fang Zhengzhi killed not one, but two demons or monsters. One died under the Xuanyuan Sword and one died under the ax of Xing Tian.

    How could they continue¡­

    With this battle?!

    It was like catching loaches in the soil, it was extremely slippery.

    No!

    This was not catching loaches. It was catching snakes. Moreover, it was catching snakes in the muddy water barehanded, one could not even see the shadow of the snake.

    ¡°Xing Tian, I am here,e and kill me!¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly and signaled to Xing Tian with his fingers.

    [0] Wordy on ¡®sword¡¯ and ¡®cheap¡¯ as they both have the same pronunciation in Mandarin

 Chapter 1094: The Secret of the Changyang Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1094: The Secret of the Changyang Mountain</h4>

    ¡°¡­¡± The Monster Race and Demon Race had chills down their spines.

    If that happened a moment ago, they would be extremely thrilled to see Fang Zhengzhi fool around with Xing Tian. However, they had apletely different feeling now.

    He was not fooling around with Xing Tian.

    He was clearly trying to kill all of them by making use of Xing Tian as the weapon.

    ¡®What should we do?¡¯

    ¡®Should we continue this battle?¡¯

    To be honest, the Monster Race and Demon Race were not stubborn. At least, they could not continue doing what they have been always insisting without any reservations.

    Yet now, it was not their choice anymore.

    That was because Xing Tian had already turned around after hearing Fang Zhengzhi. He charged towards Fang Zhengzhi with his ax in one hand and his shield in the other.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Dodge¡­¡±

    ¡°Get further away from Fang Zhengzhi, his Heavenly Rebirth Dao can cover up to twenty feet. Try to attack beyond that boundary!¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race were shocked and fled in different directions.

    However, there were disparities between expectations and reality. Although twenty feet may sound very little, it was extremely wide.

    Especially since their speeds were being controlled.

    It was really not easy to try to escape.

    Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s speed, with the boost of the Heavenly Rebirth Dao, was not only faster than any of the monsters and demons but also faster than Xing Tian.

    That was extremely terrifying.

    The Monster Race and Demon Race tried to get away from Fang Zhengzhi but realized, to their horror, instead of getting away, they were getting closer to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°No!! Don¡¯te close to me!¡± One of the Godly Beast roared.

    Unfortunately, it was useless.

    A beam of azure blue light shed and Fang Zhengzhi appeared in front of him. Then, he moved his finger slightly and swapped positions with the Godly Beast.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Godly Beast roared indignantly. He trembled as he saw Xing Tian running towards him.

    Bam!

    Both of them collided.

    The Godly Beast tried to defend with all his force and wanted to escape from Xing Tian¡¯s grasp. However, he was knocked out by Xing Tian¡¯s shield.

    In a daze, he saw a gigantic ax striking towards him.

    Crack! The sound of bones breaking was heard. The Godly Beast copsed and his gigantic body was sliced into half.

    Meanwhile, nearby, another demon soldier was experiencing the same fate.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s sword was too fast. The sharp sense of righteousnesspletely suppressed the demon¡¯s internal energy, causing him to be unable to breathe.

    ¡°No!!!¡± The demon soldier roared unwillingly. He wanted to run but it was impossible.

    That was because the Xuanyuan Sword had already hit him.

    It must be said that anyone¡¯s potential was limitless at the edge of death.

    He made an extremely exaggerated wriggle in midair.

    To everyone¡¯s horror, he managed to escape from the Xuanyuan Sword. However, despite that, one of his arms was still severed.

    Blood sttered across the sky.

    As for what happened next¡­

    He did not think of resisting as he knew that he could not match up to Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡®Run!¡¯

    However, before he could take two steps, a force overpowered him and eight balls of ck mes surrounded him.

    Rebirth Hell Dao.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± The demon soldier yelled in pain before he was set aze by the eight balls of mes and tumbled in the air.

    Until he turned into ashes.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The Monster Race and Demon Race werepletely stunned.

    Fang Zhengzhi was too powerful.

    Within two encounters, one Godly Beast and three demon soldiers had died. Moreover, they died extremely quickly.

    Although the Monster Race and Demon Race won in terms of numbers, it was definitely not sufficient. Four of them had died in the past few minutes, how long more could theyst?

    If Fang Zhengzhi continued this, within two hours, all of the powerful monsters and demons would perish.

    ¡°We can¡¯t run anymore!¡±

    ¡°We have to stay united or all of us will die!¡±

    ¡°We have tobine our forces, hold back Xing Tian and kill Fang Zhengzhi!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Qiong Qi and Hong You¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. They could not tolerate such failure and were extremely unwilling to be killed by Fang Zhengzhi and Xing Tian.

    They had to go all out.

    They did not have any other choices. If they did not fight, they would die.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar¡­

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    After hearing what Qiong Qi and Hong You said, the Monster Race and Demon Race roared furiously but were still extremely afraid.

    If Xing Tian was described as a massacre machine, then Fang Zhengzhi would be the mastermind controlling the machine. Moreover, this mastermind could defeat Xing Tian.

    It was disastrous when the two of them ¡°coborated¡±.

    None of the monsters or demons expected that this battle would end up like this.

    Not only was Fang Zhengzhi still alive, but he even managed to make a breakthrough.

    He broke through to the Godly State and was as terrifyingly powerful as Xing Tian.

    ¡­

    Monster Emperor Baizhi was stunned.

    When she first heard Fang Zhengzhi said he would kill anyone who came in his way, she thought Fang Zhengzhi was pretending again.

    However, after witnessing what had happened, her feelings could no longer be described by words.

    How did Fang Zhengzhi be so powerful?!

    This brat¡­

    How was it possible?!

    Monster Emperor Baizhi did not understand how a weak human being managed to obtain such a terrifying level of power within this short span of time.

    She always knew that Fang Zhengzhi had potential.

    However, she did not treat Fang Zhengzhi seriously.

    In the Great Swamp, Yun Qingwu had told her about a n of using Fang Zhengzhi as the trigger to trigger an internal fight amongst the Five Sects of the Holy Region.

    Although she listened to Yun Qingwu back then, she did not feel that Yun Qingwu¡¯s n would work.

    Until now¡­

    She finally understood.

    How shallow and short-sided her foresight was aspared to Yun Qingwu.

    ¡°Qingwu, you insisted for me to be Yan Xiu¡¯s ¡°horse¡±, are you trying to save me?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi looked confused.

    For some reason, she suddenly felt relieved.

    She was relieved that she listened to Yun Qingwu. Otherwise, she would probably end up like the Godly Beasts and demons in front of her.

    ¡°Is this brat really the reincarnated Xuanyuan?!¡± Aspared to the astonishment Monster Emperor Baizhi felt, more thoughts shed across Golden Dragon Xuanyuan Five¡¯s mind.

    He did not believe in it.

    Moreover, Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s personality waspletely different from that of Emperor Huang Xuanyuan. However, Fang Zhengzhi was holding the real Xuanyuan Sword.

    Xuanyuan Sword acknowledged Fang Zhengzhi as his master!

    Was this really pre-destined?

    ¡°Hahaha¡­ Kill them, kill all of these monsters and demons!¡± Ping Yang flushed in extreme excitement.

    Chi Guyan who was behind Ping Yang closed her eyes.

    She was recuperating and recovering.

    Judging from the current situation, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have the advantage. However, she knew that this battle would not be over so simply.

    There were still many unsolved mysteries.

    For example, why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan and Emperor Yan coborate to sabotage Xing Tian and bury his head under the Changyang Mountain instead of killing him right away?

    What exactly was the secret of the Changyang Mountain?

    Besides that, why did Emperor Huang Xuanyuan enter the gxy in the past, what secret was there?

    Chi Guyan knew that all these secrets would be unveiled soon.

    Yet now, she needed to be prepared for that moment and allow her energy to reach the peak level once again.

    ¡­

    Blood covered the Changyang Mountain.

    It was the blood of the Monster Race and Demon Race. Theynded on the Changyang Mountain and disappeared gradually.

    It was a strange scene.

    However, nobody noticed that or bothered about that.

    Even Wu Yuer, Yun Qingwu, and the rest focused their attention on the center of the intense battlefield as they watched the battle in fear.

    As for Fang Zhengzhi, he was much more relieved and scurried amongst the Monster Race and Demon Race. He would severe a head or limb when he came across a monster or demon.

    He killed everywhere he went. He did not have any fixed route or intention and followed his heart.

    He killed anyone whom he did not like.

    He would throw the demon who shouted the loudest to Xing Tian.

    Qiong Qi and Hong You turned pale. They wanted to reunite the Monster Race and Demon Race but it was not as easy as they thought it would be.

    That was because some of the demons and monsters had already given up and were fleeing.

    In the face of death¡­

    Any treasures or opportunities were nothing!

    If they lost their lives, there was no use for treasures and opportunities.

    The dozens of Godly Beasts had all dispersed. No matter how loudly Qiong Qi shouted, they continued to flee in all directions.

    The same thing happened to the demon race.

    More than ten of the 200 demons had died. The remaining of them started to n how to stay alive and began to run in all directions.

    ¡°What do we do? Brother!¡± The warlocks felt afraid when they saw this. After all, they could die if this continued.

    ¡°Should we flee?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Hong You was frustrated. It was not the twelve warlocks¡¯ style to flee and they had never fled in a battle before.

    Even in the ancient era, they never fled when fighting against Emperor Huang Xuanyuan.

    Therefore, they definitely would not flee now.

    ¡°Hong You, what do the twelve warlocks think?¡± Qiong Qi looked at Tao Wu as he asked,

    ¡°Stand forward.¡± Hong You said coldly.

    He knew that if they did not want to be ughtered one after another, someone needed to stand forward to salvage the situation.

    If nobody could win Fang Zhengzhi or Xing Tian, they would definitely lose this battle.

    ¡°Alright, Tao Wu and I will hold Xing Tian back while the twelve warlocks attack Fang Zhengzhi, how about that?¡± said Qiong Qi.

    ¡°Alright, we will follow your n!¡± Hong You did not have any objections and did not pick his opponent.

    They had to strike an alliance at this time!

    Moreover, he knew that two out of the four ancient beasts had already died. It was extremely difficult for two of them to fight against Fang Zhengzhi.

    The twelve warlocks had to coborate and fight against Fang Zhengzhi for them to stand a chance to win.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Without hesitation, Qiong Qi roared furiously and charged towards Xing Tian.

    Tao Wu followed closely.

    The two beasts attacked together, trying to hold Xing Tian back.

    The other Godly Beasts hesitated when they saw this. Theirmon sense told them that they had to coborate with Qiong Qi.

    However, their instinct told them to sit back and wait.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    Roar¡­

    Instead of calling for the other Godly Beasts, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu attacked Xing Tian from both sides.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xing Tian roared furiously and turned his ax and shield in front of him. A powerful murderous aura radiated from his body.

    However, the missed Qiong Qi and Tao Wu with his strikes of the ax.

    Evidently, Qiong Qi and Tao Wu did not have the intention to kill Xing Tian. They were holding him back so Xing Tian could not participate in the battle.

    Meanwhile, on the other end, twelve warlocks had surrounded Fang Zhengzhi.

    Hong You was standing in front of Fang Zhengzhi. The other warlocks also raised their weapons with serious expressions on their faces.

    It was extremely rare to see the twelve warlocks coborate.

    In the ancient era, rumors had it that the twelve warlocks could win Emperor Huang Xuanyuan if they coborated.

    Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not know about that.

    ¡°Oh? Twelve of you came to face death together, how magnificent!¡± Fang Zhengzhi eximed and looked at the twelve warlocks in disdain. However, he instinctively tightened his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword.

    The twelve warlocks.

    They were very famous in the ancient era and was said to be the most powerful followers of the Demon God Chi You.

    Nobody knew how they attacked, but they knew that the twelve warlocks were very powerful.

    Although Fang Zhengzhi acted like he did not care, he was extremely cautious and ced his Xuanyuan Sword in front of him. He was ready to attack or ask for help!

    ¡°Twelve Warlocks¡¯ Formation, Fang Zhengzhi, either you or we will die today!¡± Hong You bowed as his entire body cracked.

    After that, a strange scene took ce.

    Two gigantic bulges were formed on Hong You¡¯s back. The bulges seemed to have their own lives as they grew continuously.

 Chapter 1117 (END) - A New Journey (The End)

    Trantor:As StudiosEditor:As Studios

    ¡°A star?!¡±

    Everyone froze for a moment.

    There was actually a star falling from the sky rapidly. Even though it was daytime, they could still sense its dazzling radiance.

    ¡°He¡¯s back!¡±

    ¡°He really came back?!¡±

    ¡°He sessfully stopped the Cosmic Disaster by himself and came back?!¡±

    They were shocked, excited, and a little skeptical.

    However, it was true that Fang Zhengzhi came back. He descended from the sky like a star and eventuallynded softly in front of Chi Guyan, Yun Qingwu, and the rest.

    ¡°Are all of you waiting for me toe back before you start eating?¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled brightly and dusted his clothes.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    There was a moment of silence.

    Then, there was a thundering cheer.

    Fang Zhengzhi nced around him while everyone was cheering, and he eventually looked towards Xuanyuan Five, who was sitting on the ground, and said condescendingly, ¡°Eh? Who is that ugly bastard? Why haven¡¯t I seen him before?¡±

    ¡°Damn brat, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡­

    One monthter.

    There werenterns hanging all around Northern Mountain Vige, and every corner of the vige was filled with red silk cloth. Fang family¡¯s tiny courtyard had already been renovated into a massive mansion.

    Its red gates were embedded with gold and jade, and the two lions carved out of ck jade standing by the gates were extremely lifelike.

    This was a mansion that could rival even the royal pce.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t mind the bourgeois appearance because he was an uncultured man to begin with. Therefore, he wanted his mansion to be as extravagant and luxurious as possible. He was extremely close to carving all of the toilet bowls out of jade.

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were actually a little worried.

    However, when they saw the new emperor, Lin Yun, smiling so brightly, the butterflies in their stomachs disappeared.

    ¡°Brat, is it really ok to be so high-profile?¡± Xuanyuan Five nced at the mansion gates that were even taller than castle walls and felt a little speechless.

    ¡°You want me to keep a low-profile? That¡¯s impossible. By the way, didn¡¯t Lin Yun say that he would send me 3000 night pearls? Why aren¡¯t they here yet? Is he going back on his words?¡± Fang Zhengzhi pursed his lips. He turned around and was about to charge towards Lin Yun¡¯s ce to question him about it.

    ¡°Low¡­ ss!¡± Xuanyuan Five shook his head. Then, he seemed to have suddenly remembered something and uttered, ¡°Hey, brat, can you give me 300 of those night pearls?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Fang Zhengzhi gave Xuanyuan Five the finger without a second thought.

    However, when he was heading towards Lin Yun¡¯s room, he suddenly saw two people standing shoulder to shoulder at the doorway.

    It was a man and a woman.

    Both of them looked fairly calm.

    However, they were holding hands and standing at an obvious spot by the door as if they were waiting for someone.

    They were Yan Xiu and Qing Yi.

    ¡°¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression changed a little. He looked at them and coughed softly when he ultimately failed to keep quiet.

    The two of them turned back at the same moment.

    Qing Yi¡¯s expression obviously changed and she intuitively withdrew her hand.

    However, instead of letting go of her hand, Yan Xiu pulled Qing Yi into his arms and walked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°I¡¯ve to return to Western Liang in two days.¡± Said Yan Xiu.

    ¡°So urgent?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯ve already notified them, and they are preparing for it.¡±

    ¡°Preparing for what?¡±

    ¡°I gave you 10,000 Western Liang war horses as a wedding gift. Since you don¡¯t have any use for them, why don¡¯t them give them back to me in a few days?¡± Yan Xiu smiled and said.

    ¡°So, I have to return 10,000 Western Liang war horses after they ate at my ce for half a month? Moreover, I¡¯ve to gift you a Sword Attendant who¡¯s at Sage State? Oh, that¡¯s right, I have to call her sister-inw now. Tell me honestly, when did the two of you start going out?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯m older than you, so you have to call Qing Yi ¡®big sister¡¯.¡± Yan Xiu corrected him.

    ¡°No matter what, I feel like I drew the short straw.¡±

    Rumble!

    ¡°¡­¡±

    At this moment, they heard the thundering sound of galloping hoovesing from beyond the vige.

    Then, five long lines of people in bright red clothing rushed into the vige. They were extremely rowdy, and a festive mood permeated the air.

    ¡°The brides and their parties are finally here!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and check out the brides!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Zhengzhi is such a lucky man.¡±

    The vigers rushed out immediately, and all of them were smiling brightly.

    ¡°Lucky? The five of them aren¡¯t easy ones to please¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi watched the parties that entered the vige one by one, and a bittered look gradually appeared on his face.

    The first one that came in was naturally the Northern Lands Divine Constabry that was escorted by the Iron Feather Guards. Northern Lands¡¯ Marquis Chi was standing at the front of the party, and his smile looked like a blooming peony.

    His aura was telling people that he was at the top of the world.

    There were four long and parallel lines following close behind.

    The party of Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s emperor, Lin Mubai.

    The party of Shadow Sect.

    The party of Southern Region.

    Then, there was the most ridiculous-looking party.

    Nine gigantic beasts of different colors, each exuding a dazzling radiance, were pping their wings and pulling a massive golden carriage in the sky.

    There were many enormous figures following behind the golden carriage.

    Monster Emperor Baizhi, wearing a snow-white fur dress that highlighted her curves, was standing on the back of a Godly Beast. She nced around and eventually looked towards Fang Zhengzhi.

    ¡°Fang Zhengzhi, I only have one request. The first door you enter tonight must be the door of Qingwu¡¯s room!¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi said that with a cold expression.

    ¡°Why does he have to pick your daughter? Do you really think Ling Yun Tower is for show?¡± Qian Yu replied unhappily before Fang Zhengzhi managed to say a word.

    She rushed out from the bride¡¯s party straightaway.

    Her silver dress swayed in the wind, and she looked extremely majestic.

    ¡°Can you beat me?¡± Monster Emperor Baizhi replied in a condescending tone.

    ¡°I can.¡± A voice came out of the carriage at the front. Although it wasn¡¯t loud, it suppressed all the other voices in the area.

    It was Chi Guyan.

    She didn¡¯t walk out of her carriage.

    However, she shut everyone¡¯s mouth with a single sentence.

    Northern Lands¡¯s Marquis Chi intuitively extended his neck out and nced around, thinking, ¡®You guys think you¡¯re good? Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s princess, Young Lord of the Demon Race, Leader of Shadow Sect, and Southern Region¡¯s king. So what? I only have one daughter, yet all of you have to stay behind me!¡±

    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud.

    There was nothing but silence.

    It was a little awkward.

    Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s expression turned even more bitter. It was extremely troublesome to marry five women at once.

    Marrying Chi Guyan was a must. Ping Yang wanted to marry him no matter what, so he didn¡¯t have a choice. Wu Yuer, on the other hand, kept bothering him. She was going to cry if he didn¡¯t marry her, so he had to.

    As for Yun Qingwu and King of the Southern Region, Shan Yu, the circumstances were kind of bizarre.

    Marrying Yun Qingwu wasn¡¯t an unreasonable choice, after all, it was for the sake of world peace. He had to care about Monster Race¡¯s and Demon Race¡¯s standing in the world, so he didn¡¯t mind.

    Shan Yu was a different story.

    While they were fighting at Changyang Mountain, Shan Yu actually stayed in Northern Mountain Vige and treated Qin Xuelian so well that she got used to calling her ¡®daughter-inw¡¯.

    When he returned to Northern Mountain Vige¡­

    The matter was already out of his control.

    ¡®Five of them¡­¡¯

    ¡®One too many for Mahjong, and two too many for Fight the Landlord. How am I going to y games in the future?¡¯

    ¡®Is there a game for five people?¡¯

    Fang Zhengzhi actually missed his previous world sometimes as it had everything. Even though this ce was luxurious andvish, it wasn¡¯t enough to fill the void in his heart.

    ¡­

    It was nighttime, and lights filled the vige.

    The grand wedding finally began.

    Qin Xuelian and Fang Houde were sitting on the ce of honor, their faces were bright red because they couldn¡¯t stop smiling while looking at their five daughters-inw, who were kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Come on, Yan¡¯er, Yang¡¯er, Yu¡¯er, Qingwu, and Yu¡¯er, get up.¡±

    ¡°Yup, you can get up.¡± Fang Houde was also smiling.

    ¡°Thank you, father! Thank you, mother!¡± The five of them stood up simultaneously. Then, they turned towards Fang Zhengzhi and said, ¡°Greetings, hubby!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, my brides¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi bowed.

    The music started.

    The ceremony waspleted.

    This weddingsted a long time. There were guests from all around the world, filling the entire Fang family¡¯s residence withughter and joy.

    Finally, night fell.

    It was time for a difficult decision.

    Fang Zhengzhi came to a road with five different paths. He was conflicted, lost, and full of hesitation. At this moment, he felt like this was more painful than fighting Chi You back then.

    Fighting Chi You was a temporary pain.

    However, if he made the wrong choice tonight, god knows if he would suffer every night from now on.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er is great. Qingwu works too. Ping Yang¡­ She¡¯s fine. Yu¡¯er definitely knows how to please me. Shan Yu¡­ Her body is fantastic. So, who should I pick?¡±

    Confliction!

    More confliction!

    Neverending confliction!

    ¡°¡­¡±

    After feeling conflicted for a full 15 minutes¡­

    He suddenly realized that¡­ He actually never had a choice.

    He realized that it was an illusion.

    He thought that he had a choice, but as it turned out, he actually didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Alright, since I don¡¯t have a choice, I don¡¯t have to be conflicted about this.¡± Fang Zhengzhi followed the path at the center and soon arrived at a room.

    There were red candles burning inside the room.

    The candles¡¯ radiance even decorated the moonlight with a joyous mood.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, I¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened the door softly and walked into the room. However, his eyes became wide open before he even finished his sentence.

    That was because there were actually five people in Chi Guyan¡¯s room.

    They were sitting in a row.

    Their heads were all covered with red veils.

    ¡°I knew it. Sister Yan, you¡¯re great. You easily guessed that the shameless brat would being to your room.¡± Ping Yang uttered.

    ¡°Yup, sister Yan is great!¡± Wu Yuer immediately nodded.

    ¡°Sister Yan shall be our head!¡± Shan Yu also joined in.

    Yun Qingwu didn¡¯t say anything, but she nodded and gave her silent approval.

    ¡°He won¡¯t dare to go anywhere else!¡± Chi Guyan raised the veil on her head at this moment and stared at Fang Zhengzhi with her dazzling eyes.

    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled as brightly as the sun and said, ¡°Are the five of you going to¡­ Do it¡­ Do it together?¡±

    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t you handle us?¡±

    ¡°I can. I definitely can!¡±

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha¡­ My wives, I¡¯ming!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was overjoyed. He finally understood that all the confliction and choices weren¡¯t important.

    As long as Chi Guyan was here, she would arrange everything for him ordingly.

    ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± Just as he was about to pounce onto them, someone suddenly knocked on the door urgently. The impact almost broke the door.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Fang Zhengzhi was pissed off.

    ¡®It¡¯s ok to disturb us yfully!¡¯

    ¡®But you can¡¯t tear the door down!¡¯

    ¡°My lord, there¡¯s a big problem! An intruder barged in and we couldn¡¯t stop him!¡± It was obviously a Divine Constabry¡¯s soldier that was in charge of maintaining safety at the wedding.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t stop him? There¡¯s someone that can forcefully barge into my mansion?¡± Fang Zhengzhi was actually a little astonished.

    At this moment, there were close to a hundred Godly Beasts and Gods of the Demon Race in his mansion. Qian Yu, Monster Emperor Baizhi, and the others also hadn¡¯t made their leave yet.

    Who could possibly intrude the mansion?!

    ¡°Yes. That man is really powerful. He immobilized Divine Lord just by raising his hand. It happened to Lord Qian Yu and the Monster Emperor too¡­ All of them were¡­¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Did another bastarde back to life again?¡± Although Fang Zhengzhi was pissed off, he wasn¡¯t going to look down on that man.

    ¡®Even Monster Emperor Baizhi couldn¡¯t stop him¡­¡¯

    ¡®Who could it possibly be?¡¯

    Boom! At this moment, he heard a bang outside his room.

    Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.

    ¡°Ladies, wait for me. I¡¯m leaving for a while, but I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Fang Zhengzhi opened the door and exited the room right after he said that.

    ¡®A single second on the night of a wedding is worth a thousand dors.¡¯

    ¡®How dare you disturb me tonight¡­¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m going to kill you!¡¯

    As soon as he walked out of the room, Fang Zhengzhi saw a man in a turquoise long robe bathing in the moonlight. He was slim and tall.

    It was a young man.

    He was about 20 years old, and his lips curled into a faint smile.

    ¡°I calcted the time and figured that you would be in the midst of enjoying your wedding night, so here I am. You won¡¯t mind, would you?¡± The young man said that with a smile.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

    ¡®Bastard, you are clearly here for trouble, aren¡¯t you?¡¯

    ¡°Are you a little pissed off?¡± The young man continued.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fists.

    ¡°Do you want a fight?¡± He nodded as if he was oblivious to Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t want to destroy the nts in my mansion. Can you fly to the sky?¡± This was the first time Fang Zhengzhi met such a cocky fellow.

    ¡°The sky? Of course, that¡¯s where I live, ¡± the young man nodded, and he mumbled to himself, ¡°When did the moon appear? I toast to heaven and asked, wondering what date is it in the pce above the sky. Song Dynasty, Su Shi*. Oh, that¡¯s right, this poem made into a song before. Do you like Wang Fei**?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Fang Zhengzhi froze.

    ¡®Song Dynasty, Su Shi!¡¯

    ¡®Wang Fei!¡¯

    ¡®Such familiar names!¡¯

    This was the second time he heard something like this. The first time was when Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens talked to him, but he didn¡¯t get an answer back then.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°My name is Lin Yi.¡± The young man didn¡¯t lie.

    ¡°Where did you¡­¡±

    ¡°You can stop guessing. I came from the same ce as you, and I can tell you that I am the one who created this world.¡±

    ¡°You created it?¡± Fang Zhengzhi would never believe bullshit like this two months ago. However, at this moment, he was convinced.

    ¡®A person that came from the same ce as me.¡¯

    ¡®Created this world!¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s why this world contains the Four Books and Five ssics, as well as all sorts of famous ancient sayings¡­¡¯

    ¡®However, all of them were summed up into one.¡¯

    ¡®The ¡°Law of Dao¡±!¡¯

    ¡°Do you want to follow my lead, create a world, rise above the Six Rebirth Dao, and attain eternal life?¡± Lin Yi found a ce and sat down. Then, he created a stone table, two cups, and a white-jade bottle that was full of delicious alcohol just by sticking his hand out.

    ¡°I can attain eternal life just by creating a world?¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Then, he sat down and grabbed one of the cups.

    Lin Yi didn¡¯t stop him.

    After Fang Zhengzhi finished his drink, Lin Yi refilled his cup.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be like you.¡± After finishing another cup, Fang Zhengzhi paused for a moment and shook his head slowly.

    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t you want eternal life? With your current power, it isn¡¯t very difficult to create a world. You understand the essence of the formation of a world, and you possess the ability to create all matters. Given tens of millions of years, you¡¯d definitely be able to create a world that belongs to you.¡± Lin Yi was a little surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s too troublesome.¡± Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.

    ¡°Troublesome?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s troublesome? It takes time for a rock to turn into a mountain and a tree into a forest. Why would I waste my time on something so boring and troublesome? Moreover, I might end up just like you, creating a world that is iplete and wasting all of my time in the process.¡±

    ¡°It seems like you have a deep understanding of this. However, you can¡¯t live forever without your own world.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ You don¡¯t have to create one.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What are you thinking of?¡± Lin Yi wasn¡¯t surprised to hear him this time. Instead, he was looking at Fang Zhengzhi with a smile and an interested expression.

    ¡°I could rob one.¡± Fang Zhengzhi¡¯s answer was simple and straightforward.

    ¡°Hahaha..¡± Lin Yiughed unrestrainedly. Then, he grabbed the cup in front of him, emptied the drink in one breath, and asked, ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°Is there another possible option?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy to rob that world.¡±

    ¡°How difficult is it?¡±

    ¡°I will tell you that I¡¯ve thought of the same idea before, but Tai Bai wouldn¡¯t agree to it no matter what. He said something along the lines of ¡®Why do we have to torment each other even though we share the same roots¡¯. After that, I tried it once personally and it ended¡­ Er, that¡¯s roughly what had happened.¡± Lin Yi smiled and didn¡¯t continue his story.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Tai Bai?¡±

    ¡°A senior.¡± Lin Yi exined.

    ¡°Oh. What if the two of us work together?¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t ask another question.

    ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Lin Yi rubbed his hands together, and his eyes lit up as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to be well-prepared in that case. When do you n to do it? I can lead the way. Actually, we could do it now since I have already made the necessary preparations before I came here.¡±

    ¡°The tenth of July.¡±

    ¡°Why must it be on the tenth of July?¡±

    ¡°Because that day¡¯s weather is good.¡± Fang Zhengzhi didn¡¯t exin further. He simply nced at the moon in the sky and uttered, ¡°Earth, huh? Hehe¡­ I¡¯ming!¡±

    *Su Shi was an actual poet in Song Dynasty.

    ** Wang Fei is a Chinese singer who is currently still alive.

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